Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/284

 2; 2 An Account of the Muikohge Nation.

their own company : the purfued Toon difcovered them, and immediately in- fwamped, whereupon the four were forced to decline the attack, the difad- vantage being as four to eight in an open engagement. In a few days after, I fell in with them ; their gloomy and fierce countenances cannot t>e expreffed, and I had the uncourted honour of their company, three different times before I could reach my deftined place, on account of a very uncommon and fudden flow of the rivers, without any rain. Between fun- fet and eleven o'clock the next day, the river, that was but barely our height in the evening, was fwelled to the prodigious height of twenty-five feet per pendicular, and fwept along with an impetuous force.

It may not be improper here to mention the method we commonly ufe in croffing deep rivers. When we expect high rivers, each company of traders carry a canoe, made of tannned leather, the fides over-lapped about three fingers breadth, and well fewed with three feams. Around the gun nels, which are made of fapplings, are ftrong loop-holes, for large deer-fkin firings to hang down both the fides : with two of thefe, is fecurely tied to the ftem and ftern, a well-fliaped fappling, for a keel, and in like manner the ribs. Thus, they ufually rig out a canoe, fit to carry over ten horfe 'loads at once, in the fpace of half an hour ; the apparatus is afterwards commonly hidden with great care-, on the oppofite fhore. Few take the trouble to paddle the canoe, for, as they are commonly hardy, and alfo of an amphibious nature, they ufually jump into the river, with their leathern barge a-head of them, and thruft it through the deep part of the water, to the oppofite more. When we ride only with a few lug gage horfes, as was our cafe at Sip-fe^ or " Poplar," the above-mentioned high-fwelled river, we make a frame of dry pines, which we tie together with ftrong vines, well twifted ; when we have raifed it to be fufficiently buoyant, we load and paddle it acrofs the ftilleft part of the water we can conveniently find, and afterward fvvim our horfes together, we keeping at a little diflance below them.

At the time we firft began to fearch for convenient floating timber,

I chanced to : ftand at the end of a dry tree, overfet by a hurricane,

within ; three feet of a great rattle fnake, that was coiled, and on his

watch of felf-defence, under thick herbage. I foon efpied, and killed

7 him.

�� �