Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 8).djvu/221

 beautiful view of the river Detroit. The rises of land consist of a rich black mould, upon a limestone bottom. At the foot of them there are fine springs, and on their summits a good growth of hard wood.

The day after leaving Magagua I arrived at Detroit, to which place I had long looked for that rest and those comforts, which would enable me to make new exertions. In marching to this place I was constantly employed, with the exception of one day, for seven weeks. The distance from New-Hampshire to Detroit, by the rout which I took, is about one thousand miles. Ere I reached the city my clothes became much torn, and in going through the bushes my eyes were greatly injured. Within one hundred miles east of Detroit, I crossed upwards of thirty rivers and creeks.

The prospect in approaching this place is picturesque and interesting. At the distance of several miles, the traveller, in moving along the western bank of the river, sees several large buildings, and several wind-mills in the town of Sandwich. This place is very considerable, and is situated on the Canada side of the river, opposite Detroit. The general appearance of this part of the country is truly European.

The city of Detroit is very beautifully situated.[65] Its principal street and buildings are upon a bend of the river, of a mile or two in length, and they occupy the whole extent of it. The bend forms a semi-circle, and the banks of it are gently sloping. The houses and stores are near the summit of the bank, {115} and the slopes form pleasant grounds for gardening. The streets intersect each other at right angles, and the situation is calculated for a large and elegant city. The Fort and Cantonment lie about