Page:History of Delaware County (1856).djvu/137

DELAWARE COUNTY. 113 river, which had been an Indian settlement before the war. Here they constructed several rafts out of logs, which they fastened together by withs and poles running crosswise, on which, after untying us, we were placed, themselves managing to steer. These soon floated us down as far as the mouth of Chemung river, where we disembarked and were again tied, taking up our line of march for the Grenesee country. ^^The Indians, we found, were more capable of sustaining fatigue than we were, and easily out-travelled us, which cir- cumstance would have led to the loss of our lives, had not a singular Providence interfered to^ave us; this was the indis- position of Brant, who, every other day for a considerable time, fell sick, so that the party were compelled to wait for him : this gave us an opportunity to rest ourselves. Brant's sickness was an attack of fever and ague, which he checked by the use of a preparation from the rattlesnake. The rattlesnake he caught on the side of a hill facing the south, on which the sun had shone and melted away the snow from the mouth of their dens, when, it appears, one had crawled out, being invited by the warmth. The reader will also observe that now about a fortnight had elapsed since the time of our captivity, so that the season was farther advanced ; and, added to this, the snow is sooner melted on the Chemung in Pennsylvania, being farther south by about three degrees, than the head of the Delaware ; yet in places, even then, there was snow on the ground, and in the woods it was still deep. Of this snake he made a soup, which operated as a cure to the attack of the ague. " The reader will remember the three bushels of corn given us at the mill ; this they fairly and equally divided among us all, which amounted to two handsful a day; and that none should have more or less than another, while it lasted, the corns were counted as we received them ; in this respect Brant was just and kind. This corn we were allowed to boil in their 10*