The town begins to wear a melancholy appear ance, from the breaking out of the yellow fever. Numbers are ill, and all intercourse with the country prohibited, except by the negroes, who are not subject to the disease.

This circumstance has determined me to take my departure without delay. The necessary preparations requiring my attendance, I must conclude, with the greatest respect, your's, &c.

H. FRANKLIN.

LETTER XII.

Arthur Middleton to his Brother Edwin.

DEAR BROTHER,

Sunbury.

THE yellow fever drove us from Charlestown in great haste; but the desire of visiting East Florida overcame every apprehension of meeting again with this terrible disorder, further south, therefore we proceeded to Savannah, along the coast, which is much intersected with rivers, and broken by many small bays and inlets. The town, which was formerly the capital of Georgia, stands on a high hill of burning sand, on the south side of the river of the same name, and seventeen E 3 miles

miles from its mouth. It is one of the largest places in this country, though of no very great magnitude. It has several churches, belonging to different sects ; and a synagogue for the Jews, of which people there are many families settled there.

The name of Savannah will be`recorded in bistory, from the defeat of the French and Americans, under M. d'Estaing, who endeavoured to take it from the English; but General Prevost preserved it by his superior address, in obtaining a cessation of arms for twenty-four hours, whilst he procured reinforcements that enabled him to defend the place.

We were not sorry to take our departure from Savannah, which, from its situation and unhealthiness, is a disagreeable residence.

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The country we are going to explore being thinly inhabited, and not likely to afford regular accommodations so often as we might want them, Mr. Franklin purchased three horses; one for himself, one for me, and one for a negro whom I have rescued from slavery: he is qualified to be very useful to us in case of accidents. Before I ceed any further in my journey, I must explain to you that America is inhabited by three distinct kinds of people; Indians, European settlers, and Negro slaves: entirely different in their origin, that is, as far as we can trace it; for I do not mean to say that they did not all spring from Adam. The native inhabitants, whom I have never yet intro

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duced to your acquaintance, are the Indians, who once uninterruptedly possessed the whole country, and ranged, as free as air, through the vast forests planted by the hand of Nature, where they pursued the wild animals for their support; and each tribe possessed extensive tracts, in which they would suffer no interference from their neighbours. They were ignorant of the art of cultivating the ground, and trusted to the success of the chace, and the wild fruits of the forest alone, for the supply of food. This mode of life required a prodigious extent of country to maintain a small number of inhabitants; and the Indians would have received inestimable blessings from the instructions and example of the Europeans, who discovered their country, and formed settlements in it, if the white people had been guided by disinterested motives of fellowship and good will; but instead of this, avarice influenced them to seize upon the lands, and to drive the poor Indians into the interior parts of the country. A few purchased their estates: others obtained them by stratagem and faithless treaties; and many more by force. This has caused almost continual wars between the white people and the Indians; but these simple people are not a match for an European army, governed with regular military discipline.

When we read of the discovery of South America by Columbus, you may remember that his success encouraged other adventurers to go in quest of

nknown lands; and voyages of discovery became a kind of fashion, sanctioned by the most powerful nations of Europe, who were, most of them, eager to found colonies in the new world. These settlements have gradually risen to considerable states; and emigrants from all parts of Europe continue to add to the number of the white inhabitants. In the multitude of these emigrants, there are many unprincipled adventurers, who have no means of subsisting at home, and are therefore willing to seek a maintenance in a foreign country, where their character is not known. It is common for these people to retire to the uncultivated parts of the country, and obtain a grant of a certain portion of land. Their first care is to build a hut, or a log-house, for their family; when this is effected, they begin to cut down trees, and loosen the soil, for the reception of as much Indian corn and potatoes as their own wants require; and for the rest, game and pork supply the deficiency. A restless spirit, and the desire of independence, as the country around them becomes more peopled, often induce these borderers, as, they are called, to quit the spot on which they have bestowed some labour, before it is completely clean, and remove further into the forest, where they can live anrestrained by law or good manners: in short, they are a kind of savages, hostile to the Indians, and to their more civilized countrymen, who succeed theth, and improve their rude beginnings. Thus a farm will

sometimes

sometimes own two or three masters before it comes into thorough cultivation. The number of the Indians is said to diminish rapidly; and it is thought that, in time, the white nations will become the sole possessors of the vast continent of America. I need not tell you that the negroes are brought from Africa, against their inclination, and sold for slaves.

I basten to recal your attention to our journey. From Savannah we proceeded to Sunbury, a seaport town, beautifully situated between Medway and Newport rivers, and about fifteen miles south of Great Ogeeche river. The town and harbour are defended from the fury of the sea by the north and south points of St. Helena and South Catherine's islands, which we visited the next morning, and, in order to reach them, forded a narrow shoal. The soil of these islands is sandy, and not very fertile, except on particular ridges near the sea. shore, formed of heaps of sea-shells, perhaps thrown up by the surf from the most distant ages. Time, and the effects of the air, have converted the greater part of these shells into earth, which is of such a * productive nature, that it yields almost all kinds of vegetables; and amongst others, some of the most beautiful flowering shrubs you can imagine. I wished Catherine had been with me, to have admired the variety of magnolias, kalmias, &c. that flourish here, almost unobserved by the inhabitants, to whom they are no novelty. As I was groping