Colonel Hamilton and Dr. Rogers accompanied us on Christmas day to the state-house. A travelling Unitarian clergyman from the northern states held divine service in the hall of representatives. The generality of people here are either Methodists or Baptists. As the Unitarian had found the churches here shut on this day, he had opened his temple in the state-house. His audience was composed of the beau monde, as a Unitarian was something new. He delivered a good discourse, in which he set forth pure morality, and received general approbation. After dinner he proposed to give a second service, for the purpose of expounding the doctrines of his belief, as founded on common sense.
Colonel Hamilton, a particular friend of Governor Troup, was formerly secretary of state of Georgia. The appointment to this office belongs to the legislature. This was the cause that though Troup is again chosen governor by the people, Mr. Hamilton and all the friends of the governor have lost their places, which are occupied by persons attached to the Clark party. Dr. Rodgers was secretary of the state treasury, and has been deprived of his office from the same cause. We saw here several Indians of both sexes, from the Creek nation, who sold bows, arrows, and very neatly made baskets. These Indians had a much better appearance than those I saw in the western part of the state of New York and Canada. Afterwards several of the grandees of the country were presented to me by Colonel Hamilton. All these gentlemen had their own peculiar character. It was evident that they lived in a state separated from the civilized world.
We were constrained to remain in Milledgeville on the day after Christmas, how unpleasant soever it might be. No stage goes from this place through the Indian territory to Montgomery on the Alabama river, whither we intended to bend our way. We therefore hired for this journey of one hundred and ninety-eight miles, a four-horse extra stage, for the price of two hundred and twenty-five dollars; this stage was at present under repair in the state prison, and could not be placed at our disposal before the 27th of December. It was necessary for us to have patience, and pass the time as well as possible, and the few gentlemen with whom we had formed acquaintance exerted themselves to amuse us.
On the 27th of December we left Milledgeville at nine o’clock in the morning. It was a pretty cold day, and there was ice half an inch thick. We rode only thirty miles to Macon. In spite of the large sum of money which our carriage had cost us, it broke twice; the repairs consumed much time, and we left it several miles behind. The day was very clear, and towards midday moderately warm, in the evening there was again a strong frost. I was pleased with the dark blue of the sky, such as we hardly have in Germany in a midsummer’s day. We met with several families, emigrating with their property to Macon and the State of Alabama. One of these families, who had paid their wagoners beforehand, had been left by them under frivolous pretext in the middle of the woods, two miles from Milledgeville: we found these unfortunate persons, who had made a bivouac, after they had waited several days in vain for their runaway wagoner and his horses. Several lonely houses which we passed were grog-shops, in which the neighbours were celebrating the third day of the Christmas holy-days. Every thing as at home, thought I, and fancied that I was in a European country. We noticed a gentleman and lady on horseback, the horses were not loaded completely, a barefooted negro wench was obliged to run with a heavy sack of corn on her shoulders to feed the horses! Then I was convinced, and with pleasure, that I was not in Europe! The road was sandy, uneven, and passed through pine woods. This wood was here and there cleared, and a patch of cotton and Indian corn planted. Close by Macon we crossed the Oakmulgee river in a ferry-boat, and reached the town after sunset. We found tolerable accommodation in a new tavern.
The country in which Macon is situated, was first purchased from the Creek Indians, in the year 1822, and the town began about two years ago. In the last war, the Indians had collected a number of their people here, and the United States built Fort Hawkins, on the left bank of the river, at present deserted.
In Macon we received a visit from a Colonel Danah, who formerly served in the army, and was now settled here. He introduced to me several of the distinguished people of the place, who had come to see me. The town has only three streets, which crossed at right angles. At the point of intersection is a large square, there are houses only on three sides of it; on the fourth side it is contemplated to erect the capitol, if, as it has been proposed, the government should be removed here from Milledgeville. One street runs perpendicular to the line of the river, over which a bridge is intended to be built: the mason work for its support has been completed on both sides. The streets are about one hundred feet wide, the roots of the felled trees are visible in them, of which trees the houses are constructed throughout. The place contains about sixteen hundred inhabitants, white and black. The population are partly young people from Georgia, partly emigrants from the two Carolinas and the northern states, who have fixed themselves here from motives of speculation. Although the site of the new town is represented as extremely healthy, yet they have suffered during the preceding summer from bilious fever. The country around is little built upon, and the woods begin not far behind the houses.
About nine o’clock in the morning, on the 28th December, we left Macon and rode thirty-one miles distance to the Indian agency, on the left bank of Flint river, called by the Indians, Thlo-no-teas-kah. The road was partly sandy, partly rocky, but extremely uneven. It was kept in very bad order. No pains had been taken to carry away or saw through trees, which had fallen more than a year back crosswise over the road; the carriage was obliged to make a considerable deviation through the woods to pass these fallen trees. The plantations by which we passed, are all new; the houses were completely log huts. The tiresome uniformity of the pine woods were, in the low and marshy places into which we often came, very pleasantly interrupted by evergreen cane, as well as by thorn oaks and laurel trees, we also saw several green-leaved trees, chiefly oaks, as formerly.
Towards four o’clock in the afternoon we reached the agency, a group of twenty log houses, and some negro huts. It is appointed for the residence of the agent of the United States with the Creek Indians, (he, however, was absent at this time,) and is situated in a very handsome tract of land on the left side of the Flint river, which rushes over a rocky bed between pretty steep banks. The right bank belongs to the Creek nation, of about twenty-one thousand souls, and is inhabited by them. The contest between the state of Georgia and the United States is caused by this territory. The state of Georgia had concluded a treaty with one of the Creek chiefs, M‘Intosh, concerning the surrender of this district of land; the nation, discontented with the treaty, and is nowise willing to evacuate their country, insisted that they had been deceived, and killed M‘Intosh. The United States espoused the side of the Indians, and blamed the Georgia commissioners for scandalous impositions upon the Indians. Congress is now about to decide upon this matter. In one of the log-houses, with a Mr. Crowell, we took up our night’s lodging, and enjoyed some very well cooked venison. In a neighbouring grog-shop we found a collection of drunken Indians, and some negroes, who were frolicing during the Christmas holy-days. Several of them were well dressed; they wore mocassins and leggings of leather; broad knee-bands ornamented with white glass beads, a sort of coat of striped cotton, and upon the head a striped cotton cloth, almost like a turban. Several of them were very large. For a treat of whiskey, which I gave them, eight of them performed the war dance. They skipped here and there in a circle, moved themselves right and left, sprung against each other, raised their hands on high, let them fall again, and bellowed horribly through the whole scene. Some old men who stood near, took it in dudgeon, that the young men should dance in such a way before white people. They called to them to stop. Mr. Crowell, however, brought them to silence easily, by whiskey.
The colour of these Indians is a dusky brown. They have black straight hair. Several of them possess negroes, to whom it is very acceptable to live with them, since they are treated with more equality than by the whites. Some of these negroes were very well clothed in the Indian manner, they drank and jumped about with the Indians. One of them was of colossal stature, and appeared to be in great request among the Indians, to whom he served as interpreter. The constitution of these Indians is a mixture of aristocratical and republican form of government. The chiefs are chosen for life, and the dignity is not hereditary; for improper conduct they can be deposed. They cannot write their language. Their laws are of course very simple, and founded on traditionary usage.
It had rained hard in the night, between the 28th and 29th of December, it rained also in the day, almost incessantly, yet this rain was mild and warm, nearly like a spring rain in Germany. There was a consultation, whether we should remain or go farther on, I determined on the latter. About nine o’clock we left our night quarters. In the vicinity thereof, the governor of the state of Georgia had built Fort Lawrence, which was evacuated, and given up at the peace. The houses, which belonged to the agency, were then built as magazines and hospitals for the troops, and arranged for a post of defence. Near the chimney, and the doors and windows, (the last without glass sashes,) were loop-holes pierced. Behind this post we passed the Flint river in an Indian ferry-boat, and found ourselves landed upon their territory. We rode twenty-eight miles farther to a lonely plantation, called Currel’s. The road ran through the worst part of the Indian lands, the woods consisted as before, of the long-leaved pine, and it was only in damp places we observed green leaves. In particular, there grew high and beautiful cane. The soil is for the most part dry sand, in strata, and particularly in the bottoms it is mixed with clay, and of a full yellow colour. The Indians have thrown bridges over two brooks with marshy shores, at each of them we paid, with great pleasure, half a dollar toll-money. The bridges are indeed not remarkably good, yet better than several in the christian state of Georgia, and even in many of the more northern states. We met but few of the Indian inhabitants; these were all wrapt up in woollen blankets. We only saw three wigwams, Indian houses, chiefly toll-houses of the bridges. They resemble the log-houses, neither are they so open as those which I saw last summer in the state of New York. The day was exceedingly uninteresting. Mr. Currel, with whom we passed the night, is a Virginian, who has settled here for the opportunity of speculating among the Indians, from whom he purchased his land at a rather cheap rate: to judge from his habits of intoxication, he has already adapted himself too much to their mode of life. His plantation buildings are, as all the rest, log huts: the wind blew to our heart’s content through the room; no lamp could burn, and we were forced to use a great hearth fire to give us light. There was no ceiling to our room, but a transparent roof of clap-boards directly over us. I was surprised to discover Shakspeare’s works in this place. In one of the out-houses there was a very good supper set before us, at which, especially, we had excellent venison.