PETER KALM’s TRAVELS. (continued 4)
Johann Reinhold Forster translation
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 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 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.
The Musk-Rats could likewise be smelled at night. They had many holes in the shores, even with the surface of the water.
We passed the night in an island, where we could not sleep on account of the gnats. We did not venture to make a fire, for fear the Indians should find us out, and kill us. We heard several of their dogs barking in the woods, at a great distance from us, which added to our uneasiness.