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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commengant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: ie symbole — ♦► signifie "A SUIVRE" '- symbols V signifie "FIN". le Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent §tre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est film* A partir de ranyie supirieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thoue. 1 2 3 1 6 1 ians they mean all the people settled upon Redstone, vVc.) had marked the land from hence all the way to Red- bione; that there was a body of exceeduig tine land lying about this place, and up opposite to the Mingo Town, as also down to the moutl. of Fishing Creek. At this place we encamped. 24///. — We lelt our encampment before sunrise, and about six miles below it we came to the mouth of a pretty smart creek, coming in to the eastward, called by the Indians Split Island Creek, from its running in against an island. On this creek there is the appearance of good land a distance up it. Six miles below this again we came to another creek on the west side, called by Nicholson, Wheeling; and about a mile lower down appears to be another small water coming in on the east side, whicli I remark, because of the scarcity of them, and to show how badly furnished this country is with mill-seats. Two or three miles below this again is another run on the west side, up which is a near way by land to the Mingo Town ; and about four miles lower, comes in another on the east, at which place is a path leading to the settlement at Redstone. About a mile and a half below this again, comes in the Pipe Creek, so called by the Indians from a stone, which is found here, out of which they make pipes. Opposite to this, that is, on the east side, is a bottom of exceeding rich land ; but as it seems to lie low, I am apprehensive that it is subject to be overflowed. This bottom ends where the effects of a hurricane appear, by the destruction and havoc among the trees. Two or three miles below the Pipe Creek is a pretty large creek on the west side, called by Nicholson Fox-Grape-Vine, by others Captema Creek, on which, eight miles up, is the town called the Grape- \'ine Town ; and at the mouth of it is the place where it was said the traders lived, and the one was killed. To this place we came about three o'clock in the afternoon, and finding nobody there, we agreed to camp; that Nicholson and one of the Indians might go up to the town, and inquire into the truth of the report concerning the murder. 25/A. — About seven o'clock, Nicholson and the Indian re- turned; they found nobody at the town but two old Indian women (the men being a hunting) ; from these they learnt that the trader was not killed, but drowned in attempting to ford the Oliio; and lliat only one boy, belonginn; to the traders, was in these parts; the trader, (father to hitii) bein^ gone for horses to take home their skins. About half an hour after seven we set out from our encampment; around which and up the creek is a body of fine land. In our passage down to this we sec- innumerable ([uantities of turkeys, and many deer watering and browsing on the shore-side, some of which we killed. Neither yesterday nor the day before did we pass any rifts, or vetv rapid water, the river gliding gently along; nor did we percei\e any alteration in the general face of the country, except that the bottoms seemed to be getting a little longer and wider, as' the bends of the river grew larger. About five miles from the Vine Creek comes in a very large creek to the eastward, called by the Indians Cut Creek, from a town or tribe of Indians, which they say was cut off entirely in a very bloody battle between them and the Six Nations. This creek empties just at the lower end of an island, and is seventy or eighty yards wide ; and I fancy it is the creek com- monly called by the people of Red-stone cS:c Wheeling. It extends, according to the Indians' account, a great way, and interlocks with the branches of Split-Island Creek; abounding in very fine bottoms, and exceeding good land. Just below this, on the west side, comes in a small run; and about five miles below it, on the west side also, another middling large creek empties, called by the Indians Broken-Timber Creek; so named from the timber that is destroyed on it by a hurri- cane ; on the head of this was a town of the Delawares, which is now left. Two miles lower down, on the same side, is another creek smaller than the last, and bearing, (according to the Indians,) the same name. Opposite to these two creeks, (on the east side,) appears lo be a large bottom of good land. About two miles below the last mentioned creek, on the east side, and at the end of the bottom aforementioned, comes in a small creek or large run. Seven miles from this comes in Muddy Creek, on the east side of the river, a pretty large creek, and heads up against and with some of the waters of Mononga- hela, (according to the Indians' account,) and contains some bottoms of very good land ; but in general the hills are steep. and country broken about it. At the mouth of this creek is the largest flat I have seen upon the river; the bottom extending two or three miles up the river above it, and a mile below ; tho it does not seem to be of the richest kind and yet is ex- ceeding good upon the whole, if it be not too low and subject to freshets. About half way in the long reach we encamped. opposite to the bej;inninf:; of a bottom on the east side of the river. At this place we threw out some lines at nijj;ht and found a catfish, of the si/e of our lar^a-st river ( ats, hooked lo it in the morning, though it was of the smallest kind here. VN'e found no rifts in this day's passage, but pretty swift water in some places, and still in others. We found the jjottoms ir.- rreased in size, both as to length and breadth, and the river more choked up with fallen trees, and the bottom of the river next the shores rather more muddy, but in general stony, as it has been all the way down. 26M, — Left our encampment at half an hour after six o'clock, and passed a small run on the west side about four miles lower. At the lower end of the long reach, and for some distance up it, on the east side, is a large bottom, but low, and covered witli beech near the river-shore, which is no indication of good land. The long reach is a straight course of the river for about eighteen or twenty miles, which appears the more extraordinary as the Ohio in general is remarkably crookeil. There are sev- eral islands in this reach, some containing an hundred or more acres of land ; but all I apprehend liable to be overflowed. At the end of this reach we found one Martin and Lincfsa\', two traders, and from them learnt, that the person drowned was one Philips, attempting, in company with Rogers, another Indian trader, to swim the river with their horses at an im- proper place ; Rogers himself narrowly escaping. Five miles lower down comes in a large creek from the east, right .ngainst an island of good land, at least a mile or two in length. At the mouth of this creek (the name of which I could not learn, except that it was called by some Bull's Creek, from one iJuU that hunted on it) is a bottom of good land, though rather too much mixed with beech. Opposite to this island the Indians showed us a buffalo's path, the tracks of which we see. Five or six miles below the last mentioned creek we came to the Three Islands before which we observed a small run on each side coming in. Below these islands is a large body of (lat land, with a watercourse running through it on the east side, nnd the hills back neither so high nor steep in appearance, as they are up the river. On the other hand, the bottoms do not appear so rich, though much longer and wider. The bottom last mentioned is upon a straight reach of the river, I suppose six or eight miles in length, at the lower end of which on the east side comes in a pretty large run from the size of the movith. About this, above, below and back, there seems to be a very large body of flat land with some little risings in it. I HI ■ ™' 8 i [tI ■ f ' About twelve miles below the Three Islands we encamped, just above the mouth of a creek, which appears pretty lar^e at the mouth, and just above an island. All the lands from a little below the creek, which [ have distinguished by the name of liull Oeek, appear to be level, with some small hillocKS intermixed, as far as we couUl see into the country. We met with no rifts to-day, but sf)me jirelty stronjj; water; uj^on the whole tolerable j;entle. The sides of the river were a good deal inconunoded with old trees, which impeded our passage a little. This day proved clear and pleasant; the only day since the i8th that it did not rain or snow, or threaten the one or other. 21th. — Left our encampment a (juarter before seven; and after passing the creek near which we lay, and another much the same si/e and on the same side, (west) also an island about two miles in length, (but not wide,) we came to the mouth of Muskingum, distant from our encampment about four miles. This river is about one hundred and fifty yards wide at the mouth ; it runs out in a gentle current and clear stream, and is navigable a great way into the country for canoes. From Muskingum to the liittle Kanhawa is about thirteen miles. This is about as wide at the mouth as the Muskingum, but the water much deeper. It runs up towards the inhabitants of Monongahela, and, according to the Indians' account, forks about forty or fifty miles up it, and the ridge between the two prongs leads directly to the settlement. To this fork, and above, the water is navigable for canoes. On the upper side of this river there appears to be a bottom of exceeding rich land, and the country from hence quite up to the Three Islands level and in appearance fine. The Ohio running round it in the nature of a horse-shoe forms a neck of fiat land, which, added to that running up the second long reach (aforemen- tioned,) cannot contain less than fifty thousand acres in viev,. About six or seven miles below the mouth of the Little Ken- hawa, we came to a small creek on the west side, which the Indians called Little Hockhocking ; but before we did this, we passed another small creek on the same side near the mouth of that river, and a cluster of islands afterwards. The lands for two or three miles below the mouth of the Kenhawa on both sides of the Ohio appear broken and indifferent; but opposite to the Little Hockhocking there is a bottom of exceeding good land, through which there runs a small watercourse. I suppose there may be, of this bottom and flat land together, two or three thousand acres. The lower end of this bottom is opposite to a small island, wliicli I dare say little oi it is to be st'i-n when the river is iiit;li. About eiyht miles below Little Ht)ckh(tckin^ we encamped opposite to the mouth of the (ireat Hockhockiri^, which, though so called, is not a large water; tiioiigh the Ind- ians say canoes can go up it forty or titty miles. Since we left the Little Kenhawa the lands appear neither so level nor so good. 'I'he benvls of the river and bottoms are longer, indeed, but not so rich as in the uppi:r |)art of the river. 28///. — Left our encampment about seven o'clock. Two miles below, a small run comes in, on the east side, through a piece of land that has .1 very good appearance, the bottom beginning above oui encampi.. 'it, and continuing in appear ance wide for four miles down to a place where there comes in a small run, and to the ni!is, where we found Kiashuta and his hunting party encamj ■ . Here w were under a necessity of i)aying our compliments, as t!iis person was one of the Six Nation chiefs, and the head of 'M>m upon this river. In the person of Kiashuta I found an old acquaintance, he being one of the Indians that went to the I*rench i.i 1753. He exjiressed a satisfaction at seeing me, and treated u'^ with great kindness, giving us a quarter of very fine buffalo. He iii.-.isted upon our spending that night with him, and, in order to retard us as little as possible, moves his camp down the river about 6 nii'es just below the mouth of the creek, the name of which I couul not learn, it not being large. At this place we all encamped. After much counselling the o\-er night, they all came to my fire the next morning with great formality; when Kiashuta, rehearsing what had passed between me and the Sachems at Colonel Croghan's, thanked me for saying, that peace and friendship were the wish of the people of Virginia, (with them) and for recommending it to the traders to deal with them upon a fair and equitable footing ; and then again expressed their desire of having a trade oj^ened with Virginia, and that the governor thereof might not only be made accjuainted therewith, but of their friendly disposition towards the white people. This I promised to do. 29M. — The tedious ceremony, which the Indians observe in their counsellings and speeches, detained us till nine o'clock. Opposite to the c.eek, just below which we encamped, is a pretty long bottom, and I believe tolerably wide ; but about eight or nine miles below the aforementioned creek, and just below a pavement of rocks on the west side, comes in a creek, with fallen timber at the mouth, on which the Indians say there are wide bottoms and good land. The river bottoms above, 'ii lO for some distance, are very good, and continue for near half a mile below the creek. The pavement of rocks is only to be .seen at low water. About a mile or a little better below the jnouth of the creek there is another pavement of rocks on the east side, in a kind of sedgy ground. On this creek many buffaloes are according to the Indians' account. Six miles below this comes in a small creek on the west side, at the end of a small, naked island, and just above another pavement of rocks. This creek comes thro a bottom of fine land, and oppo- site to it, (on the east side of the river,) appears to be a large bottom of very fine land also. At this place begins what they call the Great Bend. Five miles below, this, again on the east side, comes in (about 200 yards above a little stream or gut) another creek, which is just below an island, on the upper point of which are some dead standing trees, and a parcel of white- bodied sycamores ; in the mouth of this creek lies a sycamore blown down by the wind. From hence an east line may be run three or four miles; thence a north line till it strikes the river, which I apprehend would include about three or four thousand acres of exceeding valuable land. At the mouth of this creek which is three or four miles above two islands (at the lower end of the last is a rapid, and the point of the bend) is the warrior's jjath to the Cherokee country. For two miles and a half below this the Ohio runs a north-east course, and finishes what they call the Great Bend. Two miles and a half below this we encamped. . . . No7>embcr \st. — A little before eight o'clock we set off with our canoe up the river, to discover what kinds of lands lay upon the Kenhawa. The land on both sides this river just at the mouth is very fine ; but on the east side, when you get towards the hills, (which 1 judge to be about six or seven hun- dred yards from the river,) it a[)pears to be wet, and better adapted for meadow than tillage. This bottom continues up the east side for about two miles ; and by going up the Ohio a good tract might be got of bottom land, including the old Shawnee Town, which is about three miles up the Ohio, just above the mouth of a creek, where the aforementioned bottom ends on the east side the Kenhawa, which extends up it at least fifty miles by the Indians' account and of great width (to be ascertained as we come down) ; in many places very rich, in others somewhat wet and pondy; fit for meadow, but upon the whole exceeding valuable, as the land after you get out of the rich bottom is very good for grain, tho' not rich. We judged we went up this river about ten miles to-day. On the 1 1 ues up I Ohio he old io, just bottom it at dth (to y rich, t upon out of We n the east side appear to be the same good bottoms, but small, neither long nor wide, and the hills back of them rather steep and poor. 2d. — We proceeded up the river with the canoe about four miles farther, and then encamped, and went a hunting ; killed live buftaloes and wounded some others, three deer, ivc. This country abounds in buffaloes and wild game of all kinds; as also in all kinds of wild fowl, there being in the bottoms a great many small, grassy ponds, or lakes, which are full of swans, geese, and ducks of different kinds. Some of our people went up the river four or five miles higher, and found the same kind of bottom on the west side ; and we were told by the Indians, that it continued to the falls, which they judged to be fifty or sixty miles higher up. . . . 17///. — There is very little difference in the general width of the river from Fort Pitt to the Kenhavva ; but in the depth 1 believe the odds are considerably in favor of the lower parts, as we found no shallows below the Mingo Town, except in one or two places where the river was broad, and there, 1 do not know but there might have been a deep channel in some part of it. I'^very here and there are islands, some larger and some smaller, which, operating in the nature of locks, or steps, occa- sion pretty still water above, but for the most part strong and rapid water alongside of them. However there is none of these so swift but that a vessel may be rowed or set up with poles. When the river is in its natural state, large canoes, that will carry five or six thousand weight or more, may be worked against stream by four hands, twenty or twenty-five miles a day ; and down, a good deal more. The Indians, who are very dexterous (even their women) in the management of canoes, have their hunting-camps and cabins all along the river, for the convenience of transporting their skins by water to market. In the fall, so soon as the hunting-season comes on, they set out with their families for this purpose ; and in hunting will move their camps from place to place, till by the spring they get two or three hundred or more miles from their towns; ihen beaver catch it in their way up, which frequently brings them into the month of May, when the women are employed in planting, the men at market, and in idleness, till the Fall again, when they pursue the same course. During the summer months they live a poor and perishing life. The Indians who reside upon the Ohio, (the upper parts of it at least.) are composed of Shawnees, Delawares. and some of the Mmgoes, who, gelling but liille part of the c JUbideration i ? : 1 I j-« n V^ "■ 1 ( ■^ma i«i>Mai>t subject of his thought upon the close of the devolution. He explored the Mohawk route !■ the West. Ho explored the head waters of the Potomac and the Ohio, travelling nearlv - n miles on horseback, makinp careful maps. He wrote a remarkable letter to Benjamin Har- rison, the governor of Virginia, urging the opening of lines of communication with the We>!. See this letter and the historical notes in Old South Leaflet, No. 16 He became the pres- ident of the Potomac Company, organized in 17S5 for establishing connections with the West. See Pickell's A .\'ew Chapter in the Early Life of H'ashington for a full accour.i of this, and Washington's letters to Jefferson, Lee, and others on the importance of open- ing u|) the West antl binding tlie sections of the country tirnily together, which latter point he strongly emphasized in his Farewell Address. For bis interest in the Ordinance of 17S; and his services in behalf of tlen. Rufus Putnam and the Ohio Company in the settlement of Marietta and the organization of the Northwest territory, see the Life, Journal's, ana Correspondence 0/ Rev. Manasseh Cutler and the St. Clatr Papers. The whole fiistory of Washington's interest in the opening of the West forms one of the most important chapteis of his lite. lew the isy and be coiii- lotvvitii- e other ing ami edstone le Ohio suppose t it may judged, pposing i, if the lople at ly out of nong the •shiiigtviii, 'ompanv, try, — the otir>ial of posts on ilized tlic ossession t in that ;s on tlie ssed hin;- )llcd over probably etters Con- X eniplfiyei! in 177", t(i reniafkabli- rn country, place \vheie ire to {(iiiiul h Jefferr^dti cliamie! of as the tir