A Sookerman practices as a physician in sickness, but always abandons his patient before the approach of death; he tells fortunes, can discover thieves, and when the hurricane months are near approaching, he resorts to some hill with his cutlass in his hand, which he waves in the air to prevent the gales from destroying their crops of vegetables. He collects an annual tax from all the inhabitants of his district, for his services in cutting the breeze as they call it. If they refuse to pay his tax the laws of the country allow him to seize upon any property he can find, not excepting a man's dinner-pot. If a gale of wind happens to sweep over the country and destroy their crops, he screens himself by saying, "Some rascals have neglected the payment of their tithes." He cannot see a woman in child-bed, or the woman or child under nine months after the birth of it. He is prohibited from seeing any dead corpse, as he imagines the sight of either of these would cause his immediate death. The Sookerman makes all his journies in canoes, accompanied by some of his friends. When they approach any village, he lays down in the bottom of his canoe, and a sail is covered over him to protect his eyes, while some of his comrades visit the houses of the villagers to ascertain whether there are any of those dread sights in their houses. When his wife shows signs of pregnancy she retires to a house built in the woods, where she must remain nine months after her accouchment, before she can return to her husband. My landlord, Patterson, informed me that he knew a Sookerman who landed at a village in a canoe, without sending a messenger before him to discover the object of his danger; it being stormy weather he landed in great haste and ran to the nearest house for a shelter, and opening the door quickly, the first object he saw was a woman holding a child in her arms. The shock was so great that he fell down on the threshhold of the door and died the third day after. Two miles from the village where I had located myself was another settlement called Bigman Bank, a village of some renown, being the residence of General Bigman and Admiral Walkin. Soon after I had my store arranged to receive company I was visited by a number of young ladies from Bigman's Bank who were considered the belles of the village. The Indians residing in villages on the sea-coast imagine themselves far superior to the inland tribes. They form the same opinion that a fopish city dandy does of a country farmer, supposing him to be destitute of common sense because he does not put all his earnings on his back and cheat the tailor and shoemaker out of more.