Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 8).djvu/337

 possess the consistency of the New-England grass. The flies and musquetos on the Mississippi are so numerous and voracious, that nothing is more common here than to see horses tied in the fields to feed, and a small fire by them for the purpose of keeping at a distance these troublesome assailants.

The cattle in this part of the country are not worth, in the market, more than one fourth of the price of New-England cattle. The cows seldom calve more than once in two years, and they give very little milk. The milk of a Yankee cow will make more butter than that of ten of them.

In progressing towards the tropics, appearances peculiar to the various degrees of climate were continually presenting themselves. Many kinds of trees, flowers, and grasses, and many species of birds and quadrupeds, entirely new to me, made their appearance. The rains, winds, thunder and lightning too, of the country, towards the equator, are peculiar. The latter are here more sudden, loud, and vivid than those of the north. The rains near the Mississippi resemble, in a measure, those of the West-Indies. Here it frequently rains violently at a little {225} distance, whilst where one stands there is a clear sun-shine. These showers sound quite loud, and present an interesting appearance.

I have repeatedly spoken of the slaves in the south and west. Some of them are treated kindly; but some suffer all the evils incident to this wretched condition. All the pride, all the ill-nature, all the petulance of man are frequently wreaked upon these friendless beings. I speak from experience. For a venial fault, I have witnessed cruel inflictions. Whilst passing a plantation on the lower part of the Mississippi, my ears were assailed by sounds novel and distressing. The shriek of anguish, and