into compartments of different colours. Most of them were clothed with a piece of blanket wrapped round them, and with leather mocasins, or shoes, on their feet, and the habiliments of others approached very near to the form of clothing worn by civilized people. Some of the men are sprightly and well formed in their persons, displaying an energy and frankness in their countenances which indicate the absence of suspicion and fear.
My journey has been, on the whole, more pleasant than I could have anticipated. The principal obstructions in the way were the stumps and roots of trees, which obliged me to drive with much caution, and often restricted my horse to a walk. At taverns I sometimes found that the landlord was from home, and that no hostler was kept, and found it necessary to feed and water my horse, and to yoke or unyoke as occasion required; but every landlord that I met with acted in an obliging manner, and of some of them I conceived the most favourable opinion.
In the last hundred and fifty miles which I travelled, I met with few travellers, but several {286} of these few were well dressed and polite men. I have also seen some elegant ladies by the way. Indeed, I have often seen among the inhabitants of the log-houses of America, females with dresses composed of the muslins of Britain, the silks of India, and the crapes of China. During the journey just detailed, I must confess that I never saw a people more exclusively devoted to agriculture, and proportionally fewer idle men lounging in taverns, than I did in the more populous parts of the country. The most disagreeable quality that I discovered, was the inquisitive dispositions of some of them.—"What are you loaded with?" was reiterated almost every day; and, "Where are you going? Where are you come from? Are you pedling? Is it goods
