Having again returned to Mobile, he left that place, in a trading-boat, the property of a Frenchman, who was about to sail to his plantations, on the banks of the Pearl river. Before Mr. Bartram set out on this expedition, he had been attacked by a severe complaint in his eyes, which occasioned extreme pain, and almost deprived him of sight: it did not, however, deter him from proceeding. On his arrival at Pearl river, he was, however, so ill, as to be laid up, for several weeks, at the house of an English gentleman, who resided on an island in that river. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered to prosecute his journey, he proceeded, in a boat, to Manchac on the Mississippi.
Having sailed westward for some days, he entered the river Amite, and, ascending it, arrived at a landing-place, from which he crossed, by land, to Manchac, about nine miles distant. The road was straight, spacious, and level, and extended beneath the shadow of a grand forest. On arriving at the banks of the Mississippi, Mr. Bartram stood, for some time, fascinated by the magnificence of this grand river. Its width was nearly a mile, and its depth at least two hundred and forty feet. But it is not merely the expansion of its surface which astonishes and delights: its lofty banks, the steady course of its mighty flood, the trees which overhang its waters, the magnificent forests by which it is bounded; all combine in exhibiting prospects the most sublime that can be imagined. At Manchac, the banks are at least fifty feet in perpendicular height.
After having continued in this place a short time, Mr. Bartram made an excursion several miles up the Mississippi. At his return, he once more set sail for Mobile, where, not long afterwards, he safely arrived.
On the 27th of November, he sailed up the river, from Mobile, in a large trading-boat, and the same evening arrived at Taensa. Here the merchandise, which the boat had conveyed, was formed into small packages, and placed on horses, for the purpose of being conveyed overland. The party now consisted of between twenty and thirty horses, two drivers, the owner of the goods, and Mr. Bartram; who found this mode of travelling very unpleasant. They seldom set out till the sun had been some hours risen. Each of the men had a whip, made of cow-skin; and, the horses having ranged themselves in a line, the chief drove them by the crack of his whip, and by a whoop or shriek, so loud as to ring through the forests and plains. The pace was a brisk trot, which was incessantly urged, and continued as long as the miserable creatures were able to move forward. Each horse had a bell; and the incessant clattering of the bells, smacking of the whips, and whooping of the men, caused an uproar and confusion which was inexpressibly disagreeable. The time for encamping was generally about the middle of the afternoon; a time which, to Mr. Bartram, would have been the pleasantest for travelling.
After having proceeded on their journey several days, they came to the banks of a large and deep river, a branch of the Alabama. The waters ran furiously, being overcharged with the floods of a violent rain, which had fallen the day before. There was no possibility of crossing this river by fording it. With considerable difficulty, a kind of raft was made, of dry canes and pieces of timber, bound together by a species of vines or vegetable cords, which are common in the woods of the tropical districts of America. When this raft was completed, one of the Indians swam over the river, having in his mouth the end of a long vine attached to it; and, by hauling the raft backward and forward, all the goods were safely landed on the opposite side: the men and horses swam across.
In the evening of the day on which they passed this stream, the party arrived at the banks of the great Tallapoose river; and encamped, for the night, under the shelter of some Indian cabins. On the ensuing day they were conducted across the river, in the canoes of a party of Indians who were resident in the neighbourhood. Not long afterwards, the travellers arrived at the Indian town of Alabama, situated near the junction of two fine rivers, the Tallapoose and the Coosa. At this place were seen the traces of an ancient French fortress, with a few pieces of cannon, half-buried in the earth. This, says Mr. Bartram, is perhaps one of the most eligible situations in the world for a large town: it is a level plain, at the conflux of two majestic rivers, each navigable for vessels, to the distance of at least five hundred miles above it, and spreading their numerous branches over a great extent of fertile and delightful country.
The travellers continued all night at Alabama, where a grand entertainment was made for them, with music and dancing, in the great square. They then proceeded along the Tallapoose to Mucclasse. In their journey they passed through numerous plantations and Indian towns, and were every where treated by the inhabitants with hospitality and friendship.
About three weeks after this, Mr. Bartram joined a company of traders, and proceeded with them to Augusta. They set out in the morning of the 2d of January, 1788, the whole surface of the ground being covered with a white and beautifully sparkling frost. The company, besides Mr. Bartram, consisted of four men, with about thirty horses, twenty of which were laden with leather and furs. In three days they arrived at the Apalachula or Chata Uche river, and crossed it at the towns of Chehau and Usseta. These towns nearly join each other, yet the inhabitants speak different languages. Beyond this river nothing of importance occurred, till they arrived at Oakmulge. Here they encamped in expansive, ancient Indian fields, and within view of the foaming flood of the river, which now raged over its banks. There were, at this place, two companies of traders from Augusta, each consisting of fifteen or twenty men, with seventy or eighty horses. The traders whom Mr. Bartram accompanied, had with them a portable leather boat, eight feet long. It was made of thick sole-leather, was folded up, and carried on one of the horses. This boat was now put together, and rigged; and in it the party was ferried across the river. They afterwards crossed the Ocone, in the same manner; and encamped in fertile fields on the banks of that beautiful river. Proceeding thence, they encamped, the next day, on the banks of the Ogeche; and, after two days hard travelling, beyond this river, they arrived at Augusta, whence, shortly afterwards, Mr. Bartram proceeded to Savannah.