by which we were detained two hours in drawing our boats over it: detained again from one till two o'clock in the afternoon in passing another shoal. Shortly afterwards, two black men belonging to a boat we fell in with in the morning, were drowned in attempting to go to the shore in a canoe. We sent some of our people to aid in finding them, one was taken up but could not be revived. Light showers of rain in the evening. -Thermometer rose from 27° to 63°.

18th, Left the shore before sunrise, got fast, and were detained for more than one hour. Passed the mouth of Sandy Creek, which is one of the boundaries between the states of Virginia and Kentucky. Encamped just before dark. A heavy fog in the morning, the afternoon remarkably clear.-Thermometer rose from 43° to 64°. Water in the river 46°.

19th, Set off before day, got fast on a log where we remained till near sunrise. The fog was so thick, that we could neither discover sand-bars nor logs, till it was too late to avoid them. The fog disappeared about ten o'clock in the forenoon: reached the mouth of the Big Scioto a short time before noon, and took the sun's meridional altitude, by which the latitude appeared to be 38° 43′ 28′′ N. The waters of the Scioto have a strong petrifying quality. We collected several fine specimens. Proceeded down the river, and encamped after sunset.

Cloudy, with thunder and lightning in the evening, accompanied by a shower of rain. The atmosphere again filled with smoke.-Thermometer rose from 43° to 65°.

20th, Left the shore at daylight, had a sharp thunder gust between six and seven o'clock, in the morning. At ten o'clock, I left the boats, and went on shore with my skiff to view the salt works, which are about one

mile from the river, in the state of Kentucky, and collected the following information, viz. that 300 gallons of water, produce one bushel of salt: that they had 170 iron kettles, and made about 30 bushels of salt per day, which sold for 2 dollars cash per bushel, or 3 dollars in trade, as they term it. The salt lick, or spring, is situated in the bed of a small creek, which when high overflows it. The back water from the river also inundates the lick, or spring, when high, together with all the works. From these causes, they were not able to carry on the business more than eight months in the year. But the greatest difficulty they found, was with the bitter water, which I supposed was what the manufacturers of salt in England, call bittern, and drains from the salt after it is granulated, and stowed away in the drales to dry. However I asked the manager for an explanation, who replied, "Bitter water is mixed with the salt water, and separated from it in this manner. After boiling the water, till the salt will just begin to crystallize, it is laded out into troughs, or vats, and let stand for some time, and the bitter water which assumes a dark brown colour, floats on the top of the salt water, and is skimmed off, and thrown away, and if this separation was not made, the salt would not properly granulate, but become tough, and form a hard mass of a bitter taste, and quite useless: and if the bitter water was evaporated, it would leave a hard mass of matter, of a disagreeable, and nauseous taste, but as it was useless, they had none of it by them." He likewise informed me, that the bitter water was very injurious to cattle, by inflaming the skins of such as frequently drank it, that the same effect was often experienced by their workmen, and that in a few hours it would destroy the quality of leather. The lick, or spring, does not appear to have been much

frequented

frequented either by buffaloes, or deer, and the cattle in the neighbourhood are not remarkably fond of it. The temperature of the water in the spring was 60°.

Returned to the river, and followed the boats, passed two villages, one in Kentucky by the name of Preston, the name of the other I did not learn. Overtook my company about sunset, and encamped. Cloudy in the evening.-Thermometer rose from 45° to 70°. Water in the river 50°.

21st, Set off before day, and arrived at Limestone about ten o'clock in the forenoon. It is a miserable village; left it in about an hour. Encamped at dark. Cloudy, with mist, and light showers all day.-Thermometer rose from 39° to 42°.

22d, Rain, and hail from four till ten o'clock in the forenoon, when a heavy fall of snow began, and continued till night. The weather was so extremely bad, that we could not proceed.-The thermometer was 42° in the morning, 33° at noon, and 25° at eight o'clock in the evening.

23d, Clear morning, and hard frost, cleared our boats of ice and snow by ten o'clock in the forenoon, and proceeded down the river. Encamped at sunset. -Thermometer rose from 19° to 27°.

24th, Got under way at eight o'clock in the morning. About eleven o'clock in the forenoon my boat struck the root of a lodged tree in the river, and was so much injured by it, that we had to put to shore and stop the leak, which detained us till noon. The river was much lower than it had ever been known, since the first settlements commenced in that country, and it was with the greatest difficulty we made any progress on that day, being obliged to drag our boats over several shoals, of considerable extent, the weather at the same time being so cold, that the men's

clothes

clothes froze stiff almost as soon as they came out of the water. Encamped after sun set on the east side of the river, opposite to a village called Columbia.Thermometer rose from 14° to 25°. Water in the river 40°.

25th, Proceeded to Cincinnati, where we arrived about ten o'clock in the forenoon, and found ourselves under the necessity of procuring another boat, in place of one which was rendered useless by dragging it over rocks, stones, and shoals, and repairing the one I had from General Wilkinson. The waters were so low that no boats but ours had reached that place from Pittsburgh since the preceding August, and the season was then so far advanced that no others could be reasonably expected. Our success was owing to the number of people we had with us, and whose quiet submission to unusual hardships does them great credit. A clear day.-Thermometer rose from 20° to 25° and fell to 14° at nine o'clock in the evening.

26th, A clear day.-Thermometer 3° below 0 at sun rise, rose to.21° but fell to 9° at ten o'clock in the evening. Water in the river 334°.

27th, A clear day.-Thermometer 7° at sunrise, rose to 25°. The water rose this day about 2 inches. 28th, A little fine snow last night.-Thermometer rose from 15° to 37°. In the evening the water appeared to have risen about one foot.

29th, A fine pleasant day, and the snow began to melt. The boat being repaired, and another procured, we left Cincinnati in the evening. The water had risen about three feet.-Thermometer rose from 35° to 46°.

Cincinnati was at that time, the capital of the North Western Territory: it is situated on a fine high bank, and for the time it has been building, is a very respectable

D

ble place. The latitude by a mean of three good observations is 39° 5' 54" N. During our stay, we were politely treated by Mr. Winthrop Sargent, secretary of the government, and Captain Harrison who commanded at Fort Washington.

30th, Floated all night, and passed the mouth of the Great Miami early in the morning. The river in much better order for boating. Rain and snow all day. Encamped in the evening.-Thermometer rose from 26° to 37°. Water in the river 35°.

December 1st, Left the shore at daylight. Snow and rain the whole day.. Encamped about dark.Thermometer 37° all day. 2d, Set off at daylight. Stopped and took breakfast at a small village just above the mouth of Kentucky river. Made but little way on account of a strong head wind. Encamped just before dark. Cloudy all day. Thermometer continued at 29°.

3d, Got under way at daylight; but made little way on account of head winds. Encamped at dark.Thermometer rose from 23° to 30°. Water in the river 33°.

4th, Set off at daylight, and proceeded down to the rapids, and encamped. The water was so low that the pilots would not be answerable for the safety of the boats in passing the falls.-Thermometer rose from 28° to 35°.

5th, Concluded to risk the boats, rather than be detained till the rise of the waters, and sent all the people, who were either afraid of the consequences, or could not swim, round by land, and a little after noon, all the boats were over, but not without being considerably damaged: the one that I was in, had nine of her timbers broken. Squalls of rain and snow, all the afternoon.-Thermometer rose from 24° to 29°.