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Show 14 lt iC'II.\IW lf UROIS. world would pause and tlc liLrratc to ex plore our wilds, we plunge incontinently forward; mul th<' fore st fulls Lcforc our nxc, and the desert blooms nncler tltc providcnco of our cultivntor, as if tl1c w:llld of au enchanter h:ul waved over them witlt the rising of a sudden moonlight. Ynnkco necessities, and southcm and wcstcm curiosity, will 1wobc to the very core of lite dusky woods, :md palsy, by the cxllibition of BUllCrior powers, the very souls of tltcir old possessors. I was true to the tcmllCr and the nature of my countrymen. 'J'hc plncc in whiclt ] wns born could 110t keep me always. "\V ith mnnhood-ay, long before I was a mHn - camc the de~ sire to range. JHy thoughts cr:n-cd freedom, my drcnms prompt· etl the same desire, :mll the wandcri11g spirit of our peoj!lc, per· petn::dly stimul:itctl by tl1e continual ?PCI~ing of new r?gious and more promising abodes, was workmg 111 IllY l1enrt w1th all t l10 volume of a volcnno. l\ la nl100d came, nml I Lnrst my shack les. I rcsolvC'cl u!JOH t l1c CHjoymcnt for wl1ich I lwd (lre:lmcd and prayed. I had no fears, for I was stout of limb, bold of heart, prompt in t he IISC of my weapon, a fearless rider, ::wd a fata l shot. H ere arc the inev itnLie possessions of tl1e soutiJcrn and ·western man, from Virgin ia to the g ulf, and back· ward to the Ohio. I had these, with little other l1eritnge, from my Alabmna origin, and I was resolved to make tl1c t~ost ~f them as soon ns I could. You may be sure I lost no tm1e m 1mtti ng my rcsoh'cs into execution. Our gmin-crops in 1\fa.rengo were r ipe in August, and my l1eart ho ~md~J ';'til the uufold ing of the sheaves. I was out of my mmonty 111 tl1e same fortunate season. I waited for the coming October only . I fe lt tLat my parents had now no claims upon me. 'l'hc customs of our soc iety, the necessities of our modes of l ife, the cxcur!;ivc at1d mhcnturous habits of our people, all justified a desire, which, in a stat ionary community, would seem so adverse to the n icer designs of humanity. Hut the life in the city l1as very few standards in common with that of the wilderness. \\'c acknowledge few, at least. 'J'hc impulses of tl1c latter, to our miuds, nrc worth any dny all the mercant ile wcnltl1 of the former; and that we are sincere in thi s opi nion m:ty be r~t irl y in fe rred from tho prefe rence which the fores ter wiU always slww fOr th e one over the A 'I'HU,\ NT DISPOSITION. lf> other region. Cain is no consideration for t1Jose who live in every musclr, and who find enjoyment from tl1c exercise of every limb. The man who lives by mensuring tape and pins by tLc sixpr11ce worth, may make monry by his vocation-but, God lJe lp lJi1n! he is scarce n man. ] Lis veins (lxpanfl not with generous ardor ; l1is lllllf:icles wither and van ish, as t!Jcy nrc u ncm~ ployed; a nd h is soul- it has no emotions whi ciJ prompt him to noble rest lessness, miCl higl1 :mel generous exertion. Let him keep at J1is \'Ocntion if he wi ll , but he might, morally and })hysi. cally, do fa1· better if he would. J\Ty resolves were soon known to all nrouncl me. 'rhcy arc not yet known to the reader. '\Vel!, they arc qu ickly told. 'J'he freed youth at twenty-one, for the first t ime freed, and im. patient only fo1· tl1e exerc ise of his freedom, hns but few p urposes, nnd his plans arc usua lly single and unsOI)IJist icatcd enough. llemember, I nm speaking for t he forester and farmer, not fo1· the city youth who is· taught the arts of trade from the crndlc up, and lcnrns to scheme nnd connive wlJi lc yet he clips the contl in l1is boneless gums. I was l itcrnlly goi 11g abroad, nftcr tile fashion of t.l1c poorer youth of our neigh bor· hood, to seck my fOrtune. As yet, l ktd but little of my own. A fine Jwrse, a fCw hund red dolla rs in specie, three nLle-bodieJ Hcgroes, a good rifle, which carried eighty to the pound, and w:ts lhe <Hlmirntion of mnny who were even Letter sJJOts thnn myself-these m:1cle pretty m11 ch the sum total of my cnr t hly possessions. But I thought not much of this mnttcr. ·r o mm. Lie a wlJilc, at least unti l my money wns nll gonr, and tl1 en to take service on sh:u·es with some IJ lanter wbo ltacl land and llCcdcd the l1elp of one like myself, wns <t ll my secret. I had heard of t ile Chickasaw B lufl's, and of the st ill more recent Ohoc. taw purcliase - at tha t time a land of promise ou ly, as its ac· qu isit ion l1ad not been dJCctcd-and l was desirous of look in,..... upon these regions. 'l'hc Choctaw terri tory was reported to b~ n cl1 :1s cream; and I med itated to find out the best spots, in order to secure them by entry, ns soon as the go\'ermncnt could cfl'cct the treaty which sl10 uld throw t hem into t he mnrkct. Jn t hi s. ul ~erior obj ect I wns UJ1hcld lJy some of our 11eighboring cup ltal.Jsts, wl1o had urgetl, to some exten t, the measure u pon !lle. 1 was not unwi lling to do tJ1is for them, pa rt icularly as it |
