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NEW ORLEANS TO NEW YORK. xxi

throated humming birds, one of the smallest of that diminutive
family, whose various evolutions, performed with the quick-
ness of light, the eye finds it difficult to follow. The beautiful
blue jay is so common, as to be troublesome. The orange and
black oriole, that makes the remarkable pendant nest, is here
by no means scarce ; its note is charming. Several varieties
of woodpecker are seen close to the house, and wild ducks were
hourly of the horse-pond, whilst the farm-yard abounds with
wild pigeon, as tame as our domestic ones ; and the quail,
nearly as large as our partridge, swarmed in the gardens,
orchards, and pleasure grounds. The children of the family
had their pet tame deer ; and a pair of the gigantic eik, or
wappetti (nearly the size of horses), ranged through the mea-
dows, and returned to the house, at milking-hours, with the
cows. A few weeks before, Mr. Carneal had parted with a
pair of American buffaloes, or Bonassus, which he had kept
for some time, for the purpose of improving his breed of draft
cattle.

Shortly after my return from Elmwood, I was informed
that Mr. Carneal was on the point of changing his residence,
and that the whole would be sold. I could not resist the
temptation of knowing the price, and, after a few days
consideration, I became the purchaser.

I now went to reside as a visitor with Mr. C., and remained
a fortnight in examining the property, and every day became
more satisfied with my acquisition. I found on it, every re-
quisite for building; the finest timber, abundance of stone
and lime, with gravel, sand, clay, &c. It appeared to me,
that a finer site for building a small town of retirement, in
the vicinity of a populous mannfacturing city, could scarcely
exist. I made a little model of the land, and determined to
have it laid out to the best possible advantage,with profes-
sional assistance, on my arrival in England, and prepared to
return home to collect my family, and those of my friends,
whose limited incomes made such a removal as I contem-
plated convenient, and, on June 2, took my departure in a
stage, that had just commenced running on a new road to
Sandusky, on Lake Erie. The distance is 200 miles ; but in
consequence of the rain, which had been considerable, the
road naturally bad and new, was worse than usual, and it
took us four days to perform it. This was the only part of
the journey through American (2400 miles) that we travelled
by land. We passed, in many places, through fine cul-