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Show TRAVELS THROUGH UPPER CANADA: was dcpofitcd, our travelling tent. The) perceived n~w that they m.nfi: employ thcmf·lvcs in a difFerent manner, arHl know11w ~crfe8.1y w ·11 what was to be done, they at once f{;t to work with the1r tomahawks in cutting poles and 1 cgs. In 1 -fs than five mit utes, as we all bore a part, the poles nml pegs were cut, and the tent pitc 1cd. . One of the Indians now made fians to us to lend him a bag, hwmg receive l which he ran int the wood , and was foon out of fight. We were at a lois to gu (- wh,lt he was in purfuit of; but in a little time he returned with the bag full of the finefi crnnben i ·s I ever beheld. In the mean time another of them, of his own accor l, bulied himldf i 1 carrying helps of dried leav s into the tent, whi ·h, wi h o.ur buiillo fl .... in s, afforded luxurious beds to men like us, that 1ad ikpt on not 1111g bcttL:r th:m a board for upwards of a momh palt. In the upper couutry it is [o cuilomary for travdlc.:rs to carry the ir ovvn bedding, that even at our friend CaptJin E 's honfc we h· d 110 other ace rnmod.ttion at night than the floor of an empty rootn, on which we fjxcad our fkins. As for thcmfdv ·s, the Indims thought of no covering whatfocver, but fimply fir tchcd thw fclvc on the 1.:>round bcfide the fire, where they lay like do0 s or c,tts till morning. At day-break we ftarted, and fl:oppcd ~ts on the preceding dcty bdiuc fircan s of warer to cat our breakt:all:s and dinners. From Ihffillo Creek to the place where we encamped on the .firll: night, difbnt about twenty-five miles, the cou ntry being very flat, und the trees gro,, ing fo clofely together that it was impoH1ble to fl:c farther forward in any direCtion than firty yards, our journey after a OlOrt time b c,ttnc v ry uninterdl:.ing. No hing in its kind, however, could exceed the beauty of the !Ccncry that we met with dur'ng onr ft:cond day's journey. vV e found the country, as we pafTed along, intcrfperfcd with open plains of great magnitude, iomc of them not lcfs, I OlOuld fuppofc, than fifteen or twenty miles in ircumfercnce. The trLCS on the borders of thcfc having ample room to fprcad, were luxuriant beyond dt:[;·ription, and 010t forth th~ir branches with all the grandeur and variety whicb characterizes the Englifh timber, particularly the oak. The woods round the plains were indented in every dir Ction 3 with JOURNEY T H R 0 UGII T liE \VOOD S. ' it 1 bays and promontories, as Mr. Gilpin tcrrns it, whilil: rich clumps of trc ·s, intcrfper!l:d here and there, appeared lil·c io many clu{h.:rs ol beautiful iflands. The varied hues of the wood, at this il.:a!on of the year, in America, an hardly be imagined by thofc who never have h·Hi an opportunity or obfcrving them; ::lllcl indeed, as Ot 1CrS have often remarked before, w.::rc :1. pain•cr to attempt to colour a pitlurc fr rn them, it would b~ condemned in Europe as tottlly di!Tt:rent from any thing th ,1t ever exificd in nature. Thcfe )lains arc cover d with lon rr coarfc r;r.lf.<;, which, at a future day, will probctbly afford feeding to numcrou herd· of attlc; at pr ·fcnt they arc total ly unfrc(}llentcd. Thronghout the north-weficrn territory of the States, and even beyond the head waters of the Mi{]iffippi, the country is intcrf]Jcrfcd with fimilar plains; and the f.uther you proceed to the wcflward, the more extenfive in eeneral arc they. AmidO: thole to the wdlward arc Ii)l111d numerou" herds f bnffidoes, elk·, and other wild gramini\'Orous animals; and formerly animals of the C1m d ·fcription were found on thcfe plains in the fiat of New York, but they have all dif.•ppe:uetl long finc e, owing to their having bcc.;n fo conftantly pmfued both by the Indians and white ptople. V cry ditTcrcnt opinions have been entertained refpeCting the deficiency of trees on thefc extend d traCts of land, in the midfl: of a country that abounds fo generally with wood. omc have attributed it to the poverty of the foil; 'hilrt others 1avc m, intained, that the plains were formerly cover d with trecc;, as well ns other parts of the country, Lut that the trees h;we either been ddlroyed by rc, or by buff.dots, bc.wers, and other animals. It is well known that OLlffalo s, in all thofe parts of the country where they are found wild, commit gr at depredations amoogfl: the trees, by gnawing off the bark; they arc alfo very fond of feeding upon the yollng trees that fpring up from feed, as well a upon the ilrckcrs of the old one ·; it may reJ.clily be imagined, therefor , that the entire of the trees, on very extended trads of land, might be thus killed by them; and as the Arnet'ican timb r, when left expofed to the weather, foon decays, at 3 I 2 the |