The same day, shortly before reaching Suffolk, some negroes stopped us with an invitation to enter their cabin, situated on the road side, to see a very extraordinary animal, which they told us was a sea-lion. It was about seven feet long, covered with a hairy skin of the colour of the fallow deer, spotted with black: the size of its body near the shoulders was about that of a calf, from whence it diminished gradually till it terminated at the tail in large fins; its head was small, round, and slightly flattened, resembling a little that of the tiger; its mouth was furnished with long, strong and sharp teeth; its extremities were very short and had the shape of a hand; the fingers were united by a membrane capable of great extension, and armed with very strong and sharp claws. The negroes told us that in walking along the shores of Elizabeth River at low water, they perceived this animal upon the sand, where it appeared to have been left by the tide. As soon as it saw these men it moved towards them, but without any apparent hostile intentions. The negroes, however, ran away at first, whilst it followed them for some time, but at a slow pace, as it is easy to conceive on examining its short extremities, which appeared better adapted for swimming than walking. After having retreated a hundred steps, one of the negroes, who was armed with a musket, turned and fired at the animal, which received the charge in the flank, and almost immediately expired.[[2]]
A few compliments accompanied with some small money made these poor negroes very happy, and we left them to go and visit a neighbouring habitation, which was said to belong to a large family of free blacks. The house was very well kept, both externally and internally; I was struck with the order and neatness which prevailed, as well as the fine appearance of the inhabitants, who seemed to enjoy a state of comfort and ease superior to that of most of our European peasantry. One of our travelling companions, a citizen of Norfolk, assured us that this family had more than doubled the value of their property some years, by their intelligence and industry. I invite those who still persist in believing that the negroes are incapable of providing for themselves in a state of freedom, to visit this family, which, however, is not the only one of the kind which could be found in the state of Virginia.
After stopping a few moments among the citizens of Suffolk, we continued on our route to Murfreesborough, where we were to lodge. Our late arrival had the appearance of a nocturnal journey. The bad condition and length of the road had tired our horses, and we thought for a while that we should be compelled to sleep at the foot of the hill on which the town is built. An enormous bonfire, lighted on a neighbouring mountain, whose light displayed our distressed situation; the illuminations of Murfreesborough, which exhibited the appearance of a city in flames; the noise of cannon resounding on our right, with the effect of battery on our flank; the cries of our escort; the whipping and swearing of our drivers, all was insufficient to stimulate our horses, which, sunk in the mud to their knees, appeared to have taken root, refusing to make the least exertion to draw us out of this sad situation, in which we remained about an hour. At length we arrived, and were very amply compensated by the cordial hospitality of the inhabitants of Murfreesborough, who neglected nothing to prove to General Lafayette that the citizens of North Carolina were not less sincerely attached to him than those of the other states.
From Murfreesborough, we went the next day to Halifax, where we crossed the Roanoak, in a ferry-boat, amidst the thunder of artillery which awaited the arrival of General Lafayette on the opposite shore. Halifax was formerly the head quarters of Cornwallis, during his campaign in North Carolina. It was there that the English chief adopted the resolution, which proved so unfortunate, of entering Virginia. We only slept at Halifax, and in two days, after travelling over frightful roads, reached Raleigh, a pretty little town, situated on the west bank of the river Neuse. It is the seat of government for North Carolina, and contains about two thousand seven hundred inhabitants, of which about fifteen hundred are blacks, both free and slaves. One of the most precious monuments of this town, is the superb statue of Washington, executed in marble by Canova. It is preserved, with the greatest care, in one of the halls of the capitol.
The governor of the state, officers of government, militia, and, in fine, all the population, were prepared to receive and entertain, with proper dignity, the guest of the nation. Such was the height of the prevailing enthusiasm, that, in spite of bad weather, a company of volunteer dragoons had marched nearly one hundred and fifty miles, to assist at this family festival. The gallant men who composed it, had solicited and obtained leave to perform, for this day, the duty of guard to Lafayette; and they had founded their pretensions upon the circumstance, that the county of Mecklinburg, to which they belonged, was the first in the state where independence was declared, during the revolution. “Whenever it becomes necessary to serve for liberty or Lafayette,” said they, “we shall always be found among the foremost.” Nothing was neglected by Governor Burton, in doing the honours of his dwelling to the national guest.
The morning of our arrival at Raleigh was near being marked by a very unfortunate accident. In one of the calashes which followed us, was General Daniel of the militia, and a young officer of his staff; their horses ran off, and, the driver not being able to guide them, dashed violently against the trunk of a tree. The force of the shock threw both the riders and the coachman to some distance, but the one most hurt was poor General Daniel, who lay almost senseless upon the spot. Our progress was immediately suspended, and General Lafayette, who, at the time, was a considerable distance in advance of the procession, hastily returned to assure himself of the nature of the accident. General Daniel already began to recover, when the hasty zeal of his friend, General Williams, was upon the point of placing him in greater danger than arose from the fall. This gentleman insisted upon his being immediately bled, and already held the fatal lancet in hand to proceed with the operation, when Mr. George Lafayette besought him seriously to forbear, representing that we had just left the table, and that a bleeding immediately after dinner might be attended with injurious consequences. After having rendered General Daniel the first attentions which his situation demanded, we had him carried to the house of a rich planter, whom we had visited in the morning, some miles off; and, the next day, our wounded friend joined us at Raleigh, entirely recovered from his fall, returning his warmest thanks to Mr. George Lafayette, for having averted the employment of the lancet.
I was, at first, much surprised to see this lancet drawn upon such an occasion, but one of our travelling companions informed me, that in the southern and western states, and especially in those where the population is widely scattered, the art of blood-letting is familiar to almost all the great planters. The difficulty of finding a surgeon at the moment of accident, often makes it necessary to bleed themselves, which they sometimes do so profusely, that the most hardy phlebotomists of the French school would be alarmed at the sight.
On the 4th of March, we arrived at the pretty little town of Fayetteville, situated on the western bank of Cape Fear river. The weather was dreadful, the rain pouring in torrents, notwithstanding which, the road for many miles in front of the town was covered with men and boys on horseback, and militia on foot. In the town, the streets were crowded with ladies elegantly dressed, hurrying, regardless of consequences, across the gutters, to approach the carriage of the general, and so occupied with the pleasure of beholding him, that they did not appear to notice the deluge which seemed ready to engulf them. This enthusiasm may be more readily conceived, when we consider that it was manifested by the inhabitants of a town, founded forty years ago, to perpetuate the recollection of services rendered by him whom they were this day honouring.
General Lafayette was conducted to the front of the town-house, where, upon an elevated platform, he was received and addressed by Chief Justice Troomer, on behalf of the town council. In the course of his harangue, the orator recapitulated, with enthusiasm, the obligations which America owed to Lafayette, retraced some of the persecutions to which he had been exposed in France and Austria, for having remained faithful to the cause of liberty and the rights of man, which he had been the first to proclaim in Europe, and concluded by drawing a forcible parallel between the young republics of the United States and the old monarchies of the ancient continent of Europe.
After General Lafayette had expressed his gratitude for the reception given him by the citizens of Fayetteville, and his sympathy for the sentiments of the orator, we were conducted to the residence of Mr. Duncan M‘Rae, where, by the attentions of Mrs. Duncan, our lodgings had been prepared in an elegant and commodious manner. The general was there received by the committee, appointed to supply all his wants. “You are here in your own town,” said the chairman of the committee to him, “in your own house, surrounded by your children. Dispose of all—every thing is yours.” Every moment of our short stay at Fayetteville was occupied by festivals of gratitude and friendship. Notwithstanding the bad weather, which never ceased to oppose us, the volunteer militia companies, assembled to render military honours to the last surviving major-general of the revolutionary army, would not quit the little camp which they had formed in front of the balcony of the house, whence the general could easily see them manœuvre. They were still under arms, on the morning of our departure, and we passed in front of their line on leaving the town. It was then that General Lafayette, wishing to give them an expression of his gratitude, alighted, and passing through the ranks, took each officer and soldier affectionately by the hand. This conduct excited the spectators to such a pitch of enthusiasm, that a great portion of the population, willing to prolong the pleasure of seeing him, accompanied his carrage a considerable distance on the road, and only quitted him when the sun was nearly set.