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 very few of those troublesome insects, in our descent of the Ohio, and though we occasionally heard the unwelcome hum of a few solitary ones, we never once saw or heard a swarm of them: we were however sometimes at night, when sleeping in our skiff, infested by gnats or sand flies, but not in such numbers as we might have expected on a river in the warmest season of the year.

CHAPTER XIV

Fishing creek—Apathy of relatives for a dying man—Long reach—Charles Wells's—Remarkable petrifaction—Squire Green's—Little Muskingum river—Marietta—Muskingum river—Ingenuous mode of ferrying—Vestiges of Indian fortification.

At half past four on Wednesday 22d July, we loosed from the bank, and drifted down the stream: The banks on both sides low, and the bottoms very extensive.

At eight we were abreast of Fishing creek on the left seven miles below Wells's. It is about the size of Fish creek, and has a saw mill on it, and at its mouth, one Morgan has a farm beautifully situated.

{102} At half past eight we overtook Frazey's boat which we had passed on the 18th, and which had floated past us during the night. The sick man had had fits yesterday, yet neither his wife, his son, nor his brother seemed much affected with his situation, but spoke of it very carelessly, though they did not expect him to live twenty-four hours longer. He had been some years in a declining state, and perhaps they thought that his death would be convenient both to them and to himself.

Three miles and a half below Fishing creek, we left Peyton's island on the left. It is about a mile and a half long, and is cultivated and inhabited.—From hence, the Long reach in its whole length of eighteen miles, the islands