Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/372

 360 -n Account: of the Chikkafah 'Nation.

or bay and laurel of various forts, which are {haded with large expand ing trees they compofe an evergreen thicket, moftly impenetrable to the beams of the fun, where the horfes, deer, and cattle, chiefly feed during the winter : and the panthers, bears, wolves, wild cats, and foxes, refort there, both for the fake of prey, and a cover from the hunters. Lands of a loofe black foil, fuch as thofe of the Miffifippi, are covered with fine grafs and herbage, and well (haded with large and high trees of hic- cory, am, white, red, and black oaks, great towering poplars, black walnut-trees, faflafras, and vines. The low wet lands adjoining the rivers, chiefly yield cyprefs-trees, which are very large, and of a prodigious height. On the dry grounds is plenty of beach, maple, holly, the cotton-tree, with a prodigious variety of other forts. But we mud not omit the black mul berry-tree, which, likewife, is plenty. It is high, and, if it had proper air and fun-fhine, the boughs would be very fpreading. On the fruit, the bears and wild fowl feed during their feafon; and alfo fwarms of paroquets, enough to deafen one with their chattering, in the time of thofe joyful repafts. I believe the white mulberry-tree does not grow fpontaneouQy in North-America, On the hills, there is plenty of chefnut-trees, and chef- nut-oaks. Thefe yield the largeft fort of acorns, but wet weather foon fpoils them. In winter, the deer and bears fatten themfelves on various kinds of nuts, which lie thick over the rich land, if the bloflbms have not been blafted by the north-eaft winds. The wild turkeys live on the fmall red acorns, and grow fo fat in March, that they cannot fly farther than three or four hundred yards -, and not being able foon to take the wing again, we fpeedily run them down with our, horfes and hunting maf- tiffs. At many unfrequented places of the Miflifippi, they are fo tame as to be (hot with a piftol, of which our troops profited, in their way to take poflfefiion of the Illinois-garrifon. There is a plenty of wild parfley, on the banks of that river, the roots of which are as large as thofe of par- fnips, and it is as good as the other fort. The Indians fay, they have not feen it grow in any woods remote from their country. They have a large fort of plums, which their anceftors brought with them from South- Ame rica, and which are now become plenty among our colonies, called Chik kafah plums.

To the North Weil, the Miflifippi lands are covered with filberts,

-which are as fweet, and thin-fhelled, as the fcaly bark hiccory-nuts,

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