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26 wango Creek. The water was low and, borrowing the words of Céloron: "On the 29th at noon I entered 'la Belle Rivière.' I buried a plate of lead at the foot of a red oak on the south bank of the river Oyo and of the Chauougon, not far from the village of Kanaouagon, in latitude 42° 5′ 23″." Of this same occasion Father Bonnécamps wrote: "Finally, overcome with weariness, and almost despairing of seeing the Beautiful River, we entered it on the 29th at noon. Monsieur de Céloron buried a plate of lead on the south bank of the Ohio; and, farther down, he attached the royal coat of arms to a tree. After these operations, we encamped opposite a little Iroquois village, of 12 or 13 cabins; it is called Kananouangon.

It is an ancient custom of the French people to assert claim to lands in their possession by burying leaden plates at the mouths of all streams that drain that territory. When Céloron started upon his memo-