Received the following letters:  From R. Triplett to P. W. Grayson and Wm. Burnley.  From Wm. Lambeth to P. W. Grayson; one open, one sealed.  From Col. Huston to D. C. Barrett, San Felipe.  Coots & Kellogg, San Augustine; Gen'l S. Houston, Washington; A. Hotchkiss, San Augustine, open, and the following sealed, viz.: Gen'l Houston, Mrs. Eliz. Huston, San Augustine; S. Houston (from Norwich, Vermont), A. G. Kellog, Asst. Q. M. Texas army, San Augustine.  From J. J. Chewning to Mr. Mills, Brazoria.  From W. F. Ritchie to Capt. Vail, Natchitoches, and to Lambert Jones, Burnley and Farish.  From Dr. Barton to Col. Thorn, Nacogdoches.  From A. C. Allen to Jno. K. Allen, Nacogdoches.   From J. C. Lawhon to Mrs. Lawhon, San Augustine, sealed, and to Gen'l McFarland, San Augustine, unsealed.  Also an official letter from the Commissioners to Governor Smith, open.

The following were committed to me at the moment of starting, by Gen'l Austin, sealed--

To Thos. F. McKinney, Quintana, mouth of Brazoria.
To Gail Borden, Jr., San Felipe.
To Col. Phil Soublett, or Frost Thorn, San Augustine, or Nacogdoches.
To Col. Thos. J. Rusk, San Augustine.
To P. W. Grayson, Columbia.
To D. C. Barrett, Washington.
The boat did not leave the levee until 1 o'clock p.m.

The day is fine, and the plantations look lovely.  They are burning off the old cane, and ploughing the ground for a new crop.  The gardens are rich with green vegetables and full blown roses and other flowers, like ours in May.

The boat is crowded with passengers.  The captain says 350 souls on board, many settlers for Red River and Texas, with women and children.  Very few that I know; among them Mr. J. F. Irwin of Cincinnati, Mr. Chenoweth, of Louisville, with whom I went down in the Chancellor.  Introduced to Mr. Beeman, of Red River, Mr. Trotter of Kentucky, a lawyer, who is seeking a new home.  J. G. Bryce is also on board; he lives at Alexandria.

Wednesday, January 20, 1836

Much disturbed last night by the gentlemen gambling.  They kept it up until a late hour, some, I believe, all night.  We stopt from two hours in the night at Donaldsonville.  Mr. Chenoweth has left us.  His object is to buy the sugar crop of some planters on the river.  Gave me his card -- "T. L. Chenoweth & Co." Wholesale Grocers, etc. Louisville, Ky.

This morning passed Placquemine, a poor, decaying place, ----- miles from New Orleans.  Stopt to wood in the Parish of West Baton Rouge; went ashore and saw cabbages and turnips in bloom and going to seed.  At 11 o'clock passed