All hopes of being able to get on shore at Presqu’ Isle were now over, for the captain, as our vessel was in such a ticklish condition, was fearful of venturing in there, lest he might lose sight of the sloop; we made up our minds, therefore, for being carried once more to our old quarters, Fort Erie; and after a most disagreeable passage of four days, during which we encountered several squalls not a little alarming, landed there in safety.
ENGAGE INDIAN GUIDES.
Our friends immediately set out for Newark, from whence, if the season would admit of it, and a favourable opportunity offered, they proposed to sail to Kingston, and proceed afterwards to Lower Canada; we, on the contrary, desirous of returning by a different route from that by which we had come up the country, crossed over to Buffalo Creek, in hopes of being able to procure horses at the Indian village there, to carry us through the Genesee country. To our disappointment we found, that all the Indians of the village who had horses had already set out with them on their hunting expedition; but the interpreters told us, that if we would consent to walk through the woods, as far as the settlements of the white people, the nearest of which was ninety miles from Buffalo Creek, he did not doubt but that he could find Indians in the village who would undertake to carry our baggage for us; and that once arrived at the back settlements, we should find it no difficult matter to hire horses. We readily agreed to his proposals, and he in consequence soon picked out from the Indians five men, amongst which was a war chief, on whom he told us we might place every reliance, as he was a man of an excellent character. The Indians, it was settled, were to have five dollars apiece for their services, and we were to furnish them with provisions and liquor. The interpreter, who was a white man, put us on our guard against giving them too much of the latter; but he advised us always to give them some whenever we took any ourselves, and advised us also to eat with them, and to behave towards them in every respect as if they were our equals. We had already seen enough of the Indians, to know that this advice was good, and indeed to have adopted of ourselves the line of conduct which he recommended, even if he had said nothing on the subject.
Having arranged every thing to our satisfaction, we returned to Fort Erie; there we disposed of all our superfluous baggage, and having made some addition to the stores of dried provisions and biscuits which our kind friend Captain E—— had furnished us with on leaving his hospitable roof, we embarked, with all belonging to us, in the ship’s boat, for the village on Buffalo Creek, where we had settled to pass the night, in order to be ready to start early the next morning.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE WOODS.
The Indians were with us according to appointment at day-break; they divided the baggage, fastened their loads each on their carrying frames, and appeared perfectly ready to depart, when their chief requested, through the interpreter, “that we would give them before they set out a little of that precious water we possessed, to wash their eyes with, which would dispel the mists of sleep that still hung over them, and thus enable them to find out with certainty the intricate path through the thick forest we were about to traverse;” in other words, that we would give them some brandy. It is always in figurative language of this kind that the Indians ask for spirits. We dispensed a glass full of the precious liquor, according to their desire, to each of them, as well as to their squaws and children, whom they brought along with them to share our bounty, and then, the Indians having taken up their loads, we penetrated into the woods, along a narrow path scarcely discernible, owing to the quantities of withered leaves with which it was strewed.
After proceeding a few miles, we stopped by the side of a little stream of clear water to breakfast; on the banks of another stream we eat our dinner; and at a third we stopped for the night. Having laid down their loads, the Indians immediately began to erect poles, and cover them with pieces of bark, which they found lying on the ground, and which had evidently been left there by some travellers who had taken up their quarters for the night at this same place some time before; but we put a stop to their work, by shaking out from the bag in which it was deposited, our travelling tent. They perceived now that they must employ themselves in a different manner, and knowing perfectly well what was to be done, they at once set to work with their tomahawks in cutting poles and pegs. In less than five minutes, as we all bore a part, the poles and pegs were cut, and the tent pitched.
One of the Indians now made signs to us to lend him a bag, having received which he ran into the woods, and was soon out of sight. We were at a loss to guess what he was in pursuit of; but in a little time he returned with the bag full of the finest cranberries I ever beheld. In the mean time another of them, of his own accord, busied himself in carrying heaps of dried leaves into the tent, which, with our buffalo skins, afforded luxurious beds to men like us, that had slept on nothing better than a board for upwards of a month past. In the upper country it is so customary for travellers to carry their own bedding, that even at our friend Captain E——’s house we had no other accommodation at night than the floor of an empty room, on which we spread our skins. As for themselves, the Indians thought of no covering whatsoever, but simply stretched themselves on the ground beside the fire, where they lay like dogs or cats till morning. At day-break we started, and stopped as on the preceding day beside streams of water to eat our breakfasts and dinners.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE WOODS.
From Buffalo Creek to the place where we encamped on the first night, distant about twenty-five miles, the country being very flat, and the trees growing so closely together that it was impossible to see farther forward in any direction than fifty yards, our journey after a short time became very uninteresting. Nothing in its kind, however, could exceed the beauty of the scenery that we met with during our second day’s journey. We found the country, as we passed along, interspersed with open plains of great magnitude, some of them not less, I should suppose, than fifteen or twenty miles in circumference. The trees on the borders of these having ample room to spread, were luxuriant beyond description, and shot forth their branches with all the grandeur and variety which characterizes the English timber, particularly the oak. The woods round the plains were indented in every direction with bays and promontories, as Mr. Gilpin terms it, whilst rich clumps of trees, interspersed here and there, appeared like so many clusters of beautiful islands. The varied hues of the woods at this season of the year, in America, can hardly be imagined by those who never have had an opportunity of observing them; and indeed, as others have often remarked before, were a painter to attempt to colour a picture from them, it would be condemned in Europe as totally different from any thing that ever existed in nature.