{128} September, 23d. After leaving the wide and fertile bottoms of the Short Mountain Bayou, our path lay across high and rocky hills, altogether covered with woods. The upland forests are almost exclusively of oak, with some little intermixture of hickory, dogwood and black gum. They are open, and the ground is in part covered with coarse grasses. At noon we arrived at the Cherokee settlements on Rocky Bayou, and were received with some hospitality at the house of the metif chief, known by the name of Tom Graves. Though entirely an Indian in his character and habits, he has the colour and features of an European, and it was not without some difficulty we could be made to believe that he was in reality allied by birth to the people among whom he holds the rank of a chief. His house, as well as many we passed before we arrived at it, is constructed like those of the white settlers, and like them surrounded with enclosed fields of corn, cotton, sweet potatoes, &c., with cribs, sheds, droves of swine, flocks of geese, and all the usual accompaniments of a thriving settlement. Graves, our landlord, though unable to speak or understand our language, held some communications with us by means of signs, occasionally assisted by a black girl, one of his slaves, who interpreted the Cherokee language. He told us, among other things, that the Osages do not know how to fight; that the Cherokees were now ready to give up the Osage prisoners, if the Osages would deliver into their hands the individuals who had formerly killed some of the Cherokees, &c. He has shown his admiration of military prowess, by calling one of his children Andrew Jackson Graves. He treated us with a good degree of attention, and showed himself well acquainted with the manner of making amends by extravagant charges. Our dinner was brought in by black slaves, and consisted of a large boiled buffaloe fish, a cup of coffee, corn bread, {129} milk, &c. Our host and his wife, of unmixed aboriginal race, were at table with us, and several slaves of African descent were in waiting. The Cherokees are said to treat their slaves with much lenity. The part of the nation now residing on the Arkansa, have recently removed from a part of the state of Tennessee. They are almost exclusively agriculturists, raising large crops of corn and cotton, enough for clothing their families, which they manufacture in their own houses. After dinner we proceeded a few miles, taking with us one of Graves's sons as a guide, who led us to a place affording good pasture for our horses. Here we encamped. September 24th. From the settlement of the Cherokees, at Rocky Bayou, our route lay towards the south-east, across the succession of rocky hills, sparingly wooded with oak, intermixed with the cornus porida, attaining an unusual magnitude.