"When I look out upon the river, I wonder that boats are not continually
snagged. Little trees are sticking up on all sides, and sometimes we
seem to be going over a meadow and pushing among rushes.

"A yawl, which was sent out yesterday to sound, was snagged by a stump
which was high out of water; probably they were carried on to it by a
current. The little boat whirled round and round, and the men were
plainly frightened, for they dropped their oars and clutched the sides
of the boat. They got control, however, in a few minutes, and had the
jeers of the men left on the steamer for their pains.

"March 30. We stopped at Natchez before breakfast this morning, and,
having half an hour, we took a carriage and drove through the city. It
was like driving through a succession of gardens: roses were hanging
over the fences in the richest profusion, and the arbor-vitae was
ornamenting every little nook, and adorning every cottage.

"Natchez stands on a high bluff, very romantic in appearance; jagged and
rugged, as if volcanoes had been at work in a time long past, for tall
trees grew in the ravines.

"Most of our lady passengers are, like ourselves, on a tour of pleasure;
six of them go with us to the St. Charles Hotel. Some are from Keokuk,
Ia., and I think I like these the best. One young lady goes ashore to
spend some time on a plantation, as a governess. She looks feeble, and
we all pity her.

"To-day we pass among plantations on both sides of the river. We begin
to see the live-oak--a noble tree. The foliage is so thick and dark that
I have learned to know it by its color. The magnolia trees, too, are