Some families were in scattered settlements, three or four miles from us, on Station Camp Creek, and the Indians were becoming so very troublesome that it was necessary for the whites to form a company, to prevent their depredations; and Poe and myself entered the list for about three months; I spent the most of my time as a kind of spy, and hunting upon both sides of the river, and when my time was out, a party of bear hunters were passing on their route to the head of Barren river, and proposed to have me along, and having long since acquired a taste for hunting, and especially a mania for larger game than I had been in the habit of shooting, I leaped into the ranks, and marched off with them, and when we came into the hunting-grounds for bear, pitched our camp and rested for the night. The morning sun saw me plunge into the forest alone for a hunt. I travelled on until late in the afternoon, and thought of returning; but I hated the idea of having killed no game, and could not retrace my steps without a good deal of deliberation and regret; but I was already far away from camp, and to reach it by night must be off; but, alas for me, a lone wanderer in the wild woods,

I had ventured far beyond my depth, not in a sea of glory, as it turned out, but in a pathless wilderness, and long before I should have reached the camp I was lost; and after wending my way in directions which would lead me I knew not where, night arrested me under the wide-spread boughs of the largest tree I have ever seen before or since. I sat me down beside this mammoth of the forest, and as the last vestige of the twilight passed away, leaving "the world to darkness and to me," I fell into a deep meditation upon the nature and fate of man. But I shall never be able to recall my speculations, for just at the time my thoughts were the profoundest I was unfortunately frightened out of my wits by the heinous howling of wolves, which was suddenly set up by a whole pack, consisting certainly of no less than a hundred, which had approached to within a few rods of the spot I occupied. I heard them for awhile, and then kindling a little fire, I threw a chunk at them, at which they retreated a short distance; and I was about to say I slept; but no, I could not have done it if I had been so disposed, for when my little fire had died out, it seemed that they had only retreated

to increase their numbers and return, for as they prowled about, the howling seemed to grow louder and louder, and I knew not at what moment I should be literally devoured. Sleep? no! I only remained here in fear and trembling; now watching for the wolves to attack me, and now earnestly looking for the first gleam of day. At length the latter filled me with gladness, and it may be imagined how eagerly I took advantage of it, and turned my back upon the great tree, not, however, without stepping round it, with a view to ascertain its size, which I made out to be eleven feet in diameter, it being thirteen steps round. This tree, I should have mentioned, was a walnut, and I am informed that it may be seen, much enlarged of course, and still standing on the plantation of Mr. Rhodes, some four miles from Lafayette, a pretty little town in the county of Macon, and, as the story runs, there have been about fifteen hundred squirrels shot off of it since. When I left the tree I gave it the name of Wolf Camp.

The courses, which the day before were all wrong to me, had become right, and I moved on without any trouble towards my. companions, and

before I had gone far I saw a buck coming towards me, and shot him; the second came, and received the same fate; and the third soon slept beside them. I had to leave them, and went on to the camp, where for an hour I entertained my fellows with a much longer story than I could give at this period of my life. The next day Mr. Crane went out, and for fear of sharing my fate took me along; nor had we deeply penetrated the forest before our dogs commenced baying in a way that convinced Mr. Crane that they had struck the track of a bear. They were running from us. We put off after them at our best speed, each enthusiastic to shoot; for while Crane wished to swell the great number he had killed, I was on tiptoe to kill my first. We ran ahead of each other alternately, continually begging of each other the privilege of shooting, until finally he told me, if I would take good aim, I might shoot. The last syllable had scarcely escaped his lips before my good old rifle was laying to my face, and my eye darting along the unvarying barrel, and the trigger touched-she fired. The monster fell dead upon the ground, and, as Crane would have it, I leaped

the full length of my frame up into the air, so overjoyed was I at my luck; in fact, I felt as full of glory as though I had killed a whole army of Indians.

This bear fell upon a spot which has ever since been distinguished as the residence of an old constituent of General Washington, Daniel B. Claiborne, now aged about ninety years, and, commencing with Washington, has voted in every presidential election since. He likewise served against the whiskey insurrection in Pennsylvania in 1794, under Gov. Lee, of Virginia, on the approach of whom the insurgents laid down their arms. He has often seen Washington, and never hears his name called without feelings of the deepest emotion. He never went a man's security in his life, or asked one to go his. He is the father of Col. John Claiborne, clerk and master at Lafayette, and is proud of having descend⚫ed from William Claiborne, so well known in history.

And now to descend from the sublime to the ridiculous, or, to speak right out, from my highly esteemed friends Crane and Claiborne to one