hv_coatesi_account_1798_023

appeared pleased with the charge assigned him, 17th. Set out with our Indianguide, who could not speak or understandEnglish that we know, and after riding aboutfour miles in which we crossed the Conewango,we had a rough mountainous country, the roadbeing better calculated for an Indian path, thanriding on horse back, being much obstructed bywind-fallen Timber, and the young growth being** so thick that if we were two sodsapart we would have to call out toeach other, in fear of being lost. When we reached the river we stopped tolet out horses eat grass, there being plenty of iton some of the bottoms, which was a pleasing sight, and tended to remove some fears respectingthe fare of our horses, when we got among theIndians, While here a number of Indianscame by in canoes, who stopped to see us,shook hands with us and looked pleasant. One man came down from the mountainwith a large turkey on his back, which he hadjust shot, and we thought it would have weighedmore than twenty pounds, It conveyed theidea that small game was plenty, among themand maybe we would come in for a share, One of the canoes had a quantity of finefish, but we found when among them that aturkey, or any other small came was very seldomtaken: it was rare to see a squirrel in the wilder-ness. We saw some pheasants but no partridges.