As soon as the river was more open, we got into the boat again, and continued our journey in it. The breadth of the river, however, did not exceed eight or nine yards, and frequently it was not above three or four yards broad, and generally so shallow, that our boat got on with difficulty. Sometimes it acquired such a sudden depth, that we could not reach the ground with sticks of seven feet length. The stream was very rapid in some places, and very slow in others. The shores were low at first, but afterwards remarkably high and steep, and now and then a rock projected into the water, which always caused a great depth in such places. The rocks consisted here of a grey quartz, mixed with a grey limestone, lying in strata. The water in the river was very clear and transparent, and we saw several little [[310]]paths leading to it from the woods, said to be made by beavers, and other animals, which resorted here to drink. After going a little more than three English miles, we came to a place, where a fire was yet burning, and then we little thought that we had narrowly escaped death last night, as we heard this evening. Now and then we met with several trees lying across the river, and some dykes of beavers, which were troublesome to us.
Towards night we met with a French serjeant, and six French soldiers, who were sent by the commander of Fort St. Frederic, to accompany three Englishmen to Saratoga, and to defend them in case of necessity, against six French Indians, who were gone to be revenged on the English, for killing the brother of one of them in the last war. The peace was already concluded at that time, but as it had not yet been proclaimed in Canada, the Indians thought they could take this step; therefore they silently got away, contrary to the order of the Governor of Montreal, and went towards the English plantations. We here had occasion to admire the care of Providence for us, in escaping these barbarians. We found the grass trod down all day along, but had no thoughts of danger, [[311]]as we believed that every thing was quiet and peaceable. We were afterwards informed, that these Indians had trod the grass down, and passed the last night in the place where we found the burning brands in the morning. The usual road which they were to take, was by Fort Anne, but to shorten their journey they had gone an unfrequented road. If they had gone on towards Fort Anne, they would have met us without doubt, and looking upon us all as Englishmen, for whose blood they were gone out, they could easily have surprised and shot us all, and by that means have been rid of the trouble of going any further to satisfy their cruelty. We were greatly struck when the Frenchmen told us how near death we had been to-day. We passed the night here, and though the French repeatedly advised and desired me not to venture any further with my company, but to follow them to the first English settlement, and then back to Fort St. Frederic, yet I resolved, with the protection of the Almighty, to continue my journey the next day.
We saw immense numbers of those wild pigeons flying in the woods, which sometimes come in incredible flocks to the southern English colonies, most of the inhabitants [[312]]not knowing where they come from. They have their nests in the trees here; and almost all the night make a great noise and cooing in the trees, where they roost. The Frenchmen shot a great number of them, and gave us some, in which we found a great quantity of the seeds of the elm, which evidently demonstrated the care of Providence in supplying them with food; for in May the seeds of the red maple, which abounds here, are ripe, and drop from the trees, and are eaten by the pigeons during that time: afterwards, the seeds of the elm ripen, which then become their food, till other seeds ripen for them. Their flesh is the most palatable of any bird’s flesh I ever tasted.
Almost every night, we heard some trees crack and fall, whilst we lay here in the wood, though the air was so calm that not a leaf stirred. The reason of this breaking I am totally unacquainted with. Perhaps the dew loosens the roots of trees at night; or, perhaps there are too many branches on one side of the tree. It may be, that the above-mentioned wild pigeons settle in such quantities on one tree as to weigh it down; or perhaps the tree begins to bend more and more to one side, from its center of gravity, making the weight always greater [[313]]for the roots to support, till it comes to the point, when it can no longer be kept upright, which may as well happen in the midst of a calm night as at any other time. When the wind blows hard, it is reckoned very dangerous to sleep or walk in the woods, on account of the many trees which fall in them; and even when it is very calm, there is some danger in passing under very great and old trees. I was told, in several parts of America, that the storms or hurricanes sometimes only pass over a small part of the woods, and tear down the trees in it; and I have had opportunities of confirming the truth of this observation, by finding places in the forests, where almost all the trees were thrown down, and lay all in one direction.
Tea is differently esteemed by different people; and I think we would be as well, and our purses much better, if we were both without tea and coffee. However, I must be impartial, and mention in praise of tea, that if it be useful, it must certainly be so in summer, on such journeys as mine, through a desart country, where one cannot carry wine or other liquors, and where the water is generally unfit for use, as being full of insects. In such cases, it is very relishing when boiled, and tea is drunk with it; [[314]]and I cannot sufficiently describe the fine taste it has in such circumstances. It relieves a weary traveller more than can be imagined, as I have myself experienced, together with a great many others who have travelled through the desart forests of America; on such journeys, tea is found to be almost as necessary as victuals[84].
June the 30th. This morning we left our boat to the Frenchmen, who made use of it to carry their provisions; for we could not make any further use of it, on account, of the number of trees which the French had thrown across the river during the last war, to prevent the attacks of the English upon Canada. The Frenchmen gave us leave to make use of one of their boats, which they had left behind them, about six miles from the place where we passed the last night. Thus we continued our journey on foot, along the river; and found the country flat, with some little vales here and there. It was every where covered with tall trees, of the deciduous kind; among which the beech, the elm, the American lime-tree, and the sugar-maple, were the [[315]]most numerous. The trees stand at some distance from each other; and the soil in which they grow is extremely rich.
After we had walked about a Swedish mile, or six English miles, we came to the place where the six Frenchmen had left their bark boats, of which we took one, and rowed down the river, which was now between nineteen and twenty yards broad. The. ground on both sides was very smooth, and not very high. Sometimes we found a hill consisting of grey quartz, mixed with small fine grains of grey spar. We likewise observed black stripes in it; but they were small, that I could not determine whether they were of glimmer, or of another kind of stone. The hills were frequently divided into strata, lying one above another, of the thickness of five inches. The strata went from north to south; and were not quite horizontal, but dipping to the north. As we went further on, we saw high and steep hills on the river-side, partly covered with trees; but in other parts, the banks consist of a swampy turf ground, which gave way when it was walked upon, and had some similarity to the sides of our marshes, which my countrymen are now about to drain. In those parts where the ground was low and flat, we did not see any [[316]]stones either on the ground, or on the softer shore; and both sides of the river when they were not hilly, were covered with tall elms, American lime-trees, sugar-maples, beeches, hiccory-trees, some water-beeches, and white walnut-trees.
On our left we saw an old fortification of stones laid above one another; but nobody could tell me whether the Indians or the Europeans had built it.
We had rowed very fast all the afternoon, in order to get forward; and we thought that we were upon the true road, but found ourselves greatly mistaken: for towards night we observed, that the reeds in the river bent towards us, which was a mark that the river likewise flowed towards us; whereas, if we had been on the true river, it should have gone with us. We likewise observed, from the trees which lay across the river, that nobody had lately passed that way, though we should have seen the steps of the Frenchmen in the grass along the shore, when they brought their boat over these trees. At last, we plainly saw that the river flowed against us, by several pieces of wood which floated slowly towards us; and we were convinced, that we had gone twelve English miles, and upwards, upon a wrong river, which obliged us to return, and to row till [[317]]very late at night. We sometimes thought, through fear, that the Indians, who were gone to murder some English, would unavoidably meet with us. Though we rowed very fast, yet we were not able to-day to get half-way back to the place where we first left the true river.
The most odoriferous effluvia sometimes came from the banks of the river, towards night, but we could not determine what flowers diffused them. However, we supposed they chiefly arose from the Asclepias Syriaca, and the Apocynum androsæmifolium.