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Ninth month 6th. [1799]. Set off early from Pitts-burg and immediately crossed the Allegheny river, a beautiful stream about a quarter of a mile wide. For about two or three miles after crossing, we rode through the richest piece of land I think I ever be-held, for so much. The stately walnuts [were] four feet through, and a great length, and other timber in proportion, every herb and plant appearing as luxu-riant as if it had grown out of a dung heap. Soon after that, a declension of soil took place and pro-gressed until it became, as I thought, very poor, rough, and hilly, until we came to one Duncan's, where we fed our horses and dined from the supply of our bags, it being eighteen miles; from thence to one Bovear's, where three of our company lodged. James Cooper and myself rode six miles further to my cousin, Abner Coats's, who is just newly settled in the woods; has got about ten acres of land cleared and seems in a likely way to make a living. He was very kind and glad to see me; tied up our horses, fed them with bran and cut corn-tops, with which they seemed to do very well. All this stage appeared to me to be very poor, until we turned off the road and got near Abner's, where the land appears tolera-bly level and pretty good soil. We crossed one large and one lesser stream running to the right, called Conyconeys. Divers places the road was intolerable for short steep hills,--so much so that going down some of them, leading our horses, we seemed in dan-ger of their falling down upon us. This day, rode thirty-four miles. 7th. Rode from Abner Coats's to Funk's, seventeen miles; it being a very rainy day, which made the road so bad, together with the bills, rocks, and sloughs or little guts descending out of the mountains, that for bad traveling it exceeded all I have yet met with. We crossed two large streams, the first called Mud Creek; the second, Slippery Rock. From thence to McClern's, nine miles. The road tolerably good for this country and the land about middling, being much covered with white oak. At this place we arrived about two in the afternoon; appearing to be good quar-ters for ourselves and horses, we stayed all night, and lodged comfortably in the barn. 8th. Set off early and rode to Franklin [country seat of Venango county, Pa.], a small town of perhaps ten or fifteen houses, on French creek, a small dis-tance above the fort at the junction of said creek and the Allegheny river, thirteen miles. The most of this stage is stony chestnut land. About four miles before we got to Franklin, we crossed Sandy Creek, the descent and ascent of the mountains on each side being each of them about half a mile, and in some places, I think near forty-five degrees of eleva-tion. Going down the hill I discovered my mare had lost one of her shoes, and by the time I got to this place she began to limp pretty much, and no smith here. The prospect looks dull to proceed from here to Jonathan Titus's, on Oil Creek, eighteen miles. Im- mediately after leaving Franklin we crossed French Creek, and soon entered very poor, barren land which continued for several miles; then came to land more level than any we have seen the west side of Allegheny river, for so much; some bottoms, very rich abounding with plums, some of it rather too much upon a dead level to be very good for wheat, and exceeding thick set with small timber, partic-larly quaking asp. About twelve miles from Frank-lin we came across a cabin and a few acres of ground cleared, where the people looked clean and decent; had abundance of watermelons with which they regaled us plentifully without charge. A few more cabins and small lots cleared we saw on our way between French Creek and Oil Creek. Rattlesnakes abound here. I saw a large one of about three feet nine inches long, and about as thick as my wrist. I alighted and killed it; cut off the rattles, being nine. Great numbers of wild tur-keys are here; we saw several flocks containing forty or more and might easily have shot some of them if we had had guns and ammunition. We arrived at Titus's a little before sunset; got our horses to good pasture, and lodged comfortably in his barn. Said Titus being a young man, settled here on Oil Creek in the woods about two and a half years ago, has made a great improvement for the time; owns 400 acres of land, the most of it a rich bottom; has got about twenty-six acres of excellent corn in the ground, a considerable quantity of wheat in stack; a spring of excellent water near the door, large enough to turn a breast-mill; so that upon the whole I think this farm likely in time to be of most inestimable value, Oil Creek being boatable this high, which is about eighteen miles from the mouth where it empties into Allegheny. Oil Creek took its name from the oil