Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 8).djvu/193

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  • necticut. This tract is bounded North by Lake Erie,

South and West by Ohio, and East by Pennsylvania. It is 120 miles long and 72 broad; making about 4,000,000 of acres. The country here is level, with occasional swells; and the soil is a rich loam and clay mixed with sand. It contains no small stones; but ledges and quarries are numerous. It abounds in various kinds of hard wood; but pine is seldom seen here. With emigrants, this tract of land is in high repute.

The principal rivers in New Connecticut is the Grand, and Cayahoga.[44] The latter enters Lake Erie about forty miles east of the river Huron. On its banks is situated a village, inhabited by the Cayuga Indians. The river is navigable for boats; and its mouth is wide and deep enough to receive considerable vessels from the Lake. The mouth of Grand River is about seventy yards wide; but there are obstructions to its navigation, particularly at its mouth.

Early in March I experienced a long storm of rain. My garments, after a while, became wet; which circumstance rendered my situation uncomfortable. I travelled, during the whole of the storm, in the belief that continual motion was necessary to preserve my health. No one can take cold in the worst of weather, during an active arterial circulation. It is in a sudden check of this impetus, that severe colds are experienced, and diseases contracted.

Having passed several small rivers, besides the Grand and Cayahoga, I arrived, on the 4th of March, at Rocky River. The weather was still rather {89} moderate, and thinking it would be dangerous to cross this stream upon the ice, I passed along its southerly side and went upon the Lake. This course was fortunate, inasmuch as