Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 9).djvu/312

 their journey to the eastward, after finding themselves dissatisfied with their prospects in the western country.

On the evening of the 2d and on the 3d, much rain fell. On the 4th, I resumed my journey.—I observed much land well adapted for meadow, and a few small patches actually occupied in that way; and noticed that the ground in general yields more grass, and has preserved its verdure better than that in the lower parts of the State. I halted for the night at Mount Vernon,[154] which is another county town, and the place of the Owl Creek Bank, well known among the paper manufactories of this country.

Owl Creek is one of the head waters of Muskingum River, and is a copious stream of clear water. It is crossed by a large wooden bridge, and turns an extensive mill, which is in sight of the road.

{280} On the 5th, I travelled over some high, rugged land, where chesnut trees are numerous and of a large size. The presence of this kind of timber, is understood to be an indication of the poverty of the soil on which it grows; but it is valued principally on account of its resisting the effects of the weather for a great length of time. In the afternoon a heavy shower of rain fell, which obliged me to stop at a tavern at the Clear Fork, which is only fifteen miles from Mount Vernon.

The Clear Fork is another head branch of Muskingum River, and has a plentiful run of water. It seems that the river Ohio derives the greater part of its waters, in dry seasons, from the springs which rise in the high lands at a considerable distance from it. I have, at various times, observed that most of the streams that originate