A New and Accurate Map of Part of North-America, Comprehending the Provinces of New England, New York, Pensylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island & Part of Virginia, Canada, and Hallifax.

For the Illustration of Mr. Peter Kalms Travels.

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PETER KALM’s
TRAVELS.

July the 1st. 1749.

At day break we got up, and rowed a good while before we got to the place where we left the true road. The country which we passed was the poorest and most disagreeable imaginable. We saw nothing but a row of amazing high mountains covered with woods, steep and dirty on their sides; so that we found it difficult to get to a dry place, in order to land and boil our dinner. In many places the ground, which was very smooth, was under water, and looked like the sides of our Swedish morasses which are intended to be drained; for this reason the Dutch in Albany call these parts the Drowned Lands.[1] Some of [[2]]the mountains run from S. S. W. to N. N. E. and when they come to the river, they form perpendicular shores, and are full of stones of different magnitudes. The river runs for the distance of some miles together from south to north.

The wind blew north all day, and made it very hard work for us to get forwards, though we all rowed as hard as we could, for our provisions were eaten to-day at breakfast. The river was frequently an English mile and more broad, then it became narrow again, and so on alternately; but upon the whole it kept a good breadth, and was surrounded on both sides by high mountains.

About six o’clock in the evening, we arrived at a point of land, about twelve English miles from Fort St. Frederic. Behind this point the river is converted into a spacious bay; and as the wind still kept blowing pretty strong from the north, it was impossible for us to get forwards, since we were extremely weak. We were therefore obliged to pass the night here, in spite of the remonstrances of our hungry stomachs.

It is to be attributed to the peculiar grace of God towards us that we met the above mentioned Frenchmen on our journey, [[3]]and that they gave us leave to take one of their bark boats. It seldom happens once in three years, that the French go this road to Albany; for they commonly pass over the lake St. Sacrement, or, as the English call it, lake George, which is the nearer and better road, and every body wondered why they took this troublesome one. If we had not got their large strong boat, and been obliged to keep that which we had made, we would in all probability have been very ill off; for to venture upon the great bay during the least wind with so wretched a vessel, would have been a great piece of temerity, and we should have been in danger of being starved if we had waited for a calm. For being without fire-arms, and these deserts having but few quadrupeds, we must have subsisted upon frogs and snakes, which, (especially the latter) abound in these parts. I can never think of this journey, without reverently acknowledging the peculiar care and providence of the merciful Creator.