These plains are covered with long coarse grass, which, at a future day, will probably afford feeding to numerous herds of cattle; at present they are totally unfrequented. Throughout the north-western territory of the States, and even beyond the head waters of the Mississippi, the country is interspersed with similar plains; and the farther you proceed to the westward, the more extensive in general are they. Amidst those to the westward are found numerous herds of buffaloes, elks, and other wild graminivorous animals; and formerly animals of the same description were found on these plains in the state of New York, but they have all disappeared long since, owing to their having been so constantly pursued both by the Indians and white people.
Very different opinions have been entertained respecting the deficiency of trees on these extended tracts of land, in the midst of a country that abounds so generally with wood. Some have attributed it to the poverty of the soil; whilst others have maintained, that the plains were formerly covered with trees, as well as other parts of the country, but that the trees have either been destroyed by fire, or by buffaloes, beavers, and other animals.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE WOODS.
It is well known that buffaloes, in all those parts of the country where they are found wild, commit great depredations amongst the trees, by gnawing off the bark; they are also very fond of feeding upon the young trees that spring up from seed, as well as upon the suckers of the old ones; it may readily be imagined, therefore, that the entire of the trees, on very extended tracts of land, might be thus killed by them; and as the American timber, when left exposed to the weather, soon decays, at the end of a few years no vestige of the woods would be found on these tracts, any more than if they had been consumed by fire.
It appears to me, however, that there is more weight in the opinion of those, who ascribe the deficiency of trees on the plains to the unfriendliness of the soil; for the earth towards the surface is universally very light, and of a deep black colour, and on digging but a few inches downwards you come to a cold stiff clay. On Long Island, in the state of New York, plains are met with nearly similar to these in the back country, and the Dutch farmers, who have made repeated trials of the soil, find that it will not produce wheat or any other grain, and, in short, nothing that is at all profitable except coarse grass. I make no doubt but that whenever a similar trial comes to be made of the soil of the plains to the westward, it will be found equally incapable of producing any thing but what it does at present.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE WOODS.
After having passed over a great number of these plains of different sizes, we entered once more into the thick woods; but the country here appeared much more diversified with rising grounds than it was in any part we had already traversed. As we were ascending to the top of a small eminence in the thickest part of these woods, towards the close of our second day’s journey, our Indian chief, China-breast-plate, who received that name in consequence of his having worn in the American war a thick china dish as an ornament on his breast, made a sign to us to follow him to the left of the path. We did so, and having proceeded for a few yards, suddenly found ourselves on the margin of a deep extensive pit, not unlike an exhausted quarry, that had lain neglected for many years. The area of it contained about two acres, and it approached to a circular form; the sides were extremely steep, and seemed in no place to be less than forty feet high; in some parts they were considerably higher. Near the center of the place was a large pond, and round the edges of it, as well as round the bottom of the precipice, grew several very lofty pines. The walls of the precipice consisted of a whitish substance not unlike lime-stone half calcined, and round the margin of the pit, at top, lay several heaps of loose matter resembling lime-rubbish. China-breast-plate, standing on the brink of the precipice, began to tell us a long story, and pointing to a distant place beyond it, frequently mentioned the word Niagara. Whether, however, the story related to the pit, or whether it related to the Falls of Niagara, the smoke arising from which it is by no means improbable might be seen, at times, from the elevated spot where we stood, or whether the story related to both, we could in no way learn, as we were totally unacquainted with the Seneka language, and he was nearly equally ignorant of the English. I never met with any person afterwards who had seen this place, or who knew any thing relating to it. Though we made repeated signs to China-breast-plate that we did not understand his story, he still went on with it for near a quarter of an hour; the other Indians listened to it with great attention, and seemed to take no small interest in what he said.
I should have mentioned to you before, that both the Indians and the white Americans pronounce the word Niagara differently from what we do. The former lay the accent on the second syllable, and pronounce the word full and broad as if written Nee-awg-ara. The Americans likewise lay the accent on the second syllable; but pronounce it short, and give the same sound to the letters I and A as we do. Niagara, in the language of the neighbouring Indians, signifies a mighty rushing or fall of water.
On the second evening of our expedition we encamped on a small hill, from whose top there was a most pleasing romantic view, along a stream of considerable size which wound round its base, and as far as our eyes could reach, appeared tumbling in small falls over ledges of rocks. A fire being kindled, and the tent pitched as usual, the Indians sat down to cook some squirrels which we had killed on the borders of the plains. These animals the Indians had observed, as we came along, on the top of a large hollow tree; they immediately laid down their loads, and each taking out his tomahawk, and setting to work at a different part of the tree, it was felled down in less than five minutes, and such of the squirrels as escaped their dogs we readily shot for them.
The Indian dogs, in general, have short legs, long backs, large pricked up ears, and long curly tails; they differ from the common English cur dogs in no respect so much as in their barking but very seldom. They are extremely sagacious, and seem to understand even what their masters say to them in a low voice, without making any signs, either with the hand or head.