Page:Historic highways of America (Volume 5).djvu/96

92 told all this. Who to the Contrary was the first adviser. Let the road to Fort Cumberland from Raes town be finished with all Diligence because if we must go by Fort Cumberland it must be through Raes town as it is now too late to make use of the road by Fort Frederick and I fancy you will agree that there is no time to be lost." General Forbes wrote an interesting letter to Pitt under the date of July 10. Speaking of Raystown he writes: "The place having its name from one Rae, who designed to have made a plantation there several years ago." Speaking of the country he observes: "Being an immense Forest of 240 miles in Extent, intersected by several ranges of mountains, impenetrable almost to any thing human save the Indians (if they be allowed the appelation) who have foot paths or tracks through those desarts, by the help of which, we make our roads I am in hopes of finding a better way over the Alleganey Mountain, than that from fort Cumberland which General Braddock took. If so I shall shorten both my march, and my labor of the road about 40 miles,