Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 3).djvu/202

 had been very intimately acquainted with my father, and by his invitation I left my inn and went to lodge at his house.[38] Mr. Savary is one of the greatest proprietors in that part of the country; he possesses more than eighty thousand acres of land in Virginia, Tenessea and Kentucky. The taxes that he pays, although moderate, are notwithstanding very burthensome to him; more so, as it is with the greatest difficulty he can find purchasers for his land, as the emigrations of the eastern states, having taken a different direction, incline but very feebly towards Kentucky.

Near Millesburgh flows a little river, from five to six fathoms broad, upon which two saw-mills are erected. The stream was then so low that I crossed it upon large chalky stones, which comprised a part of its bottom, and which at that time were above water. In winter time, on the contrary, it swells to such a degree that it can scarcely be passed by means of a bridge twenty-five feet in height. The bridges thrown over the small rivers, or creeks, that are met with frequently in the interior of the country, more especially in the eastern states, are all formed of the {121} trunks of trees placed transversely by each other. These bridges have no railings; and whenever a person travels on horseback, it is always prudent to alight in order to cross them.

On this side Lexinton we passed through Paris, a manor-house for the county of Bourbon. This small town, in the year 1796, consisted of no more than eigh-*