xviii INTRODUCTION.
the day before were still, now rushed at a rapid rate toward
the Gulf. About two o'clock in;the afternoon, we reached
Houston, completely drenched;; and were soon afterwards introduced
to the President General 1 iousxoN, who received us
kindly, and offered us horses and men to assist us in our researches.
The town was crowded with hundreds ¡of I ndians,
only a few of whom were sober; - Although here and then;
groups of great interest to the painter might be seen; their
howlings ant gesticulations were by no means pleasing. • The:
beautiful level plain on the margin of which Houston is situated,
was e<rvef(kl With water ankle deep. Having seeii all
that w&B thought interesting, and offered the President as wrii
as all the ofMers V>f his Staff my best thanks, we returned to
our yii«i; and floating on the accumulated waters, Hew as it
were dowtr the stream'. ' SiiVeral da¥s Were afterwards spent,
in nmiblhig as tmiteh astKfeiblcvover'tlie. country, and among
other places, we visited' thebattle-gnmnd of San Jacinto, where
we saw scattered tlie' «mains of. numerous individuals destroyed
in f hat bloody fray; •
Oil bur way towards " Hod-Fish' Bwiv'? we' stopped two days
at the hospitable Mansion 'of Colonel iRjwp.<MoBeate}vwiro&gg
ceived us in the most friendly manner.'s.¡iTMsipotrfoteefging
a fine extent of woodland, surrounded* ljy vastiprawies; ornamented
with numerous' detabhed-gro'\l<*y reminded iu& of'some
of the beautiful parks < of'England, i iwi'Wiiig-orlH'r rarities;
we procured a fitfe spfeifflen'^f^hi-ettsmfeingi Rattleysnato
with rubur'ced fangs, which; aloiig with several others,of the
same kind, is now in my fiostessirifi.«11!
On the 18th of May we bade adieu to the Texas,^amid the
salutes of the several armed¡'Texi-a® vessels at Galveston, and
INTR@0®a;iIifON'.; _ xi*
were soon onf the broad waters of the Gulf of Mexico, We.
had as passenger Mr .OUAWKORI), the British Consul at Tampieo
; and after a pleasant voyage,-anchored on the 24th within
the south-west J'ass of the/Mississippi. After vising. Captain
T«moa and iris family at the Balize, we were towed by
a steamer to New Orleans, where we arrived on the 27th.
J fere I had the gratification of meeting with my, youngest
brother-in-law, WIJXIAM G. BAKEWELL, Esq., of Louisville, Kenr
tuckv, as well as with his amiable wife, neither of whom I
had seen for several years. >
The-,commercial revolution which had taken plage during
our absence,- prompted us to proceed at once to the eastward,
and bidding farewell to our friends, I and my ¡son set out
fer-.iCharleston by way,of Mobile, whence, we crossed the
country in a cart with the United States' mall-bags, whereon,
in lieu of downy beds and pillows, our bones .rested in
cramped positions during the niglit, whilst, b^,-day we had
ample opportunities.-of¡walking. over, miserable roads, through
an almost uncultivated country, and withvery indifferent fare.
On'teaching iJ^ontgomery; however, we met with a good coach,
and moved more rapidly toward our destination.
My friend EI>\VAIU> HAKJUS had parted from us, at New
Orleans;) and ¡gone up the Mississippi to secure for me a, collection
of preserved) Rep tiles ¡and other, ¡objects; but, after a
more pleasant-journey-than oursj byway of Mobile, Pensacola,
and the level- country, ¡between* the latter and Augusta in
Georgia; joined us-again at the^iouse of our friend Dr BACHMAN,
where we arrived on thi!-.yth of June. And here, goodnatured
-Header, let-me say .to you, that, the friendship which
had so long subsisted- between-. that, reverend gentleman and