I congratulated her upon the late arrangements of Government, which afforded her the prospect of speedily being rid of these neighbours; but she seemed to think the day of departure was still far distant, not over five hundred having as yet availed themselves of the offers held out to them, although the greater number of those remaining in the country had already disposed of their allotments to speculators and dissipated the money they had received for their land; having neglected to plant an ear of corn, or prepare the least provision for the present winter,--an improvidence of character peculiar to the natives, and which it was, she said, impossible to guard against without depriving them of all free-agency. Many, as she assured me, of these wretched people were at this time suffering from extreme want, and thousands were fast hastening to the like condition, when, unless aided by Government, they must steal or starve. This poor couple had, as they told me, dwelt in the Indian nation for the last seven years: they seemed decent, industrious folk, yet their habitation bore few marks of growing comfort; the interstices between the logs were unfilled, through these the wind and rain had both free ingress. Their hope, I imagine, was to secure a good allotment of land amongst the improvident sales made by the Indians: they said the place was a good one, and tolerably healthy, excepting in spring and fall; judging by the looks of the family, I should, however, take their estimation of health to be a very low one. After breakfast the driver made his appearance, and desired us to come down to the stable and fix ourselves as well as we could on the _Box_. Conceiving he alluded to me, I asked if the stage was ready, but received for reply an assurance that it was not intended the stage should be any longer employed on the service; but that, by the agent's order, the _Box_ was to be taken on from this point, and that those that liked might go on with it, and those that did not might stay behind. This was pleasant, but all appeared desirous of trying the _Box_. I confess that a mail conveyance bearing a name so novel excited my curiosity; so, sallying forth, I walked down to the starting-place, where, ready-harnessed and loaded, stood literally the _Box_, made of rough fir plank, eight feet long by three feet wide, with sides two feet deep: it was fixed firmly on an ordinary coach-axle, with pole, &c. The mails and luggage filled the box to overflowing, and on the top of all we were left to, as the driver said, "fix our four quarters in as leetle time as possible."