This poor couple had, as they told me, dwelt in the Indian nation for the last seven years: they seemed decent, industrious folk, yet their habitation bore few marks of growing comfort; the interstices between the logs were unfilled, through these the wind and rain had both free ingress. Their hope, I imagine, was to secure a good allotment of land amongst the improvident sales made by the Indians: they said the place was a good one, and tolerably healthy, excepting in spring and fall; judging by the looks of the family, I should, however, take their estimation of health to be a very low one.
After breakfast the driver made his appearance, and desired us to come down to the stable and fix ourselves as well as we could on the Box. Conceiving he alluded to me, I asked if the stage was ready, but received for reply an assurance that it was not intended the stage should be any longer employed on the service; but that, by the agent's order, the Box was to be taken on from this point, and that those that liked might go on with it, and those that did not might stay behind.
This was pleasant, but all appeared desirous of trying the Box. I confess that a mail conveyance bearing a name so novel excited my curiosity; so, sallying forth, I walked down to the starting-place, where, ready-harnessed and loaded, stood literally the Box, made of rough fir plank, eight feet long by three feet wide, with sides two feet deep: it was fixed firmly on an ordinary coach-axle, with pole, &c. The mails and luggage filled the box to overflowing, and on the top of all we were left to, as the driver said, "fix our four quarters in as leetle time as possible."
Now this fixing, in any other part of the globe, would have been deemed an impossibility by persons who were paying for a mail conveyance; but in this spot we knew redress was out of the question—the choice lay between the Box and the forest. We, however, enjoyed the travellers' privilege,—grumbled loudly, cursed all scoundrel stage-agents, who "keep the word of promise to the ear and break it to the hope:" we next laughed at our unavailing ill-humour, which the driver bore with the calmness of a stoic, and finally disposed of our persons as we best could; not the least care having been taken in the disposition of the luggage, our sole care, in fact, was to guard against being jolted off by the movement of the machine; any disposition in favour of ease or comfort was quite out of the question.
During the change, our female companion and her proprietor had walked on; and these were yet to be provided for; however, the sun shone brightly; and we found a subject for congratulation in the fact that rain was not likely to be superadded to our miseries. Short-sighted rogues that we are! What a blessing is it, a knowledge of the evils to come is not permitted to cloud our enjoyments in possession! Crack went the whip. "Hold on with your claws and teeth!" cried the driver; the latter, we found, were only to be kept in the jaws by compression: for the former, we had immediate occasion; our first movement unshipped a trunk and carpetbag, together with the band-box of our fair passenger—the latter was crushed flat beneath the trunk, and its contents scattered about the way: exposed to the gaze of the profane, lay the whole materiel of the toilet of this fair maiden of Sodom. We gathered up a lace cap; ditto of cambric; six love epistles, directed to the lady in as many different hands; a musk-box, and several other indescribable articles; together with an ivory-hilted dagger, of formidable proportions, a little sullied, like the maiden's honour, but sharp as a needle. Of the articles enumerated we made a bundle, leaving the shattered band-box on the road. I took the precaution to roll the several billets up in the cambric cap, "guessing" they were not intended for the Colonel's eyes; for so was our male companion styled by the driver.
When we overtook the pair, we made every exertion to dispose of the poor girl, at least securely; who, in truth, merited our cares by the cheerful and uncomplaining spirit she evinced under circumstances full of peril, and ill to bear for the hardiest frame.
Wherever the way permitted a quicker pace than a walk, our condition was really pénible to a degree; luckily, this did not arrive often, or last long: to crawl at a snail-pace through the mud was now a relief, since one could retain one's seat without straining every muscle to hold on.
Thus we progressed till the evening advanced, when the clouds gathered thick, and then began to roll towards the north-west in dark threatening masses, right in the teeth of a brisk, fitful breeze.
"We'll get it presently," observed our driver, eyeing the drift; "hot as mush, and 'most as thick, by the looks on 't."