attlements, and
buttresses, around whose summits the inhabiting buzzard, with broad
extended wings, floated and rocked in air and swept in majestic circles.

The few inhabitants of this region were principally the tenants of the
bounty lands, which the State of South Carolina had conferred upon the
soldiers of the Revolution; and their settlements, made upon the rich
bottoms of the river valleys, were separated from each other by large
tracts of forest.

I had much perplexity in some portions of this day's journey in finding
my way through the almost pathless forest which lay between two of these
settlements. That of which I was in quest was situated upon the Seneca,
a tributary of the Savanna river, here called Tooloolee. It was near
sundown, when I emerged from the wilderness upon a wagon road, very
uncertain of my whereabout, and entertaining some rather anxious
misgivings as to my portion for the night.

I had seen no one for the last five or six hours, and upon falling into
the road I did not know whether I was to take the right or the left
hand--a very material problem for my solution just then.

During this suspense, a lad, apparently not above ten years of age,
mounted bare back on a fine horse, suddenly emerged from the wood about
fifty paces ahead of me, and galloped along the road in the same
direction that I had myself resolved to take. I quickened my speed to
overtake him, but from the rapidity of his movement, I found myself, at
the end of a mile, not as near him as I was at the beginning. Some open
country in front, however, showed me that I was approaching a
settlement. Almost at the moment of making this discovery, I observed
that the lad was lying on the ground by the road-side. I hastened to
him, dismounted, and found him sadly in want of assistance. His horse
had run off with him, thrown him, and dislocated, as it afterwards
appeared, his shoulder-joint.

Whilst I was busy in rendering such aid as I could afford, I was joined
by a gentleman of venerable aspect, the father of the youth, who came
from a dwelling-house near at hand, which, in the engrossment of my
occupation, I had not observed. We lifted the boy in our arms and bore
him into the house.

I was now in comfortable quarters for the night. The gentleman was
Colonel T----, as I was made aware by his introduction, and the kindly
welcome he offered me, and I very soon found myself established upon the
footing of a favored guest. The boy