noon I passed the Bay Settlement.[60] This place contains several scattering houses, which are occupied principally by French people; and the aspect of the whole country is that of an illimitable marsh. Some parts of this tract of prairie are too wet for cultivation. A few miles east of the Bay there are several rises of land, the soil of which is light and well adapted to the cultivation of wheat.
Towards evening I reached the River Raisin. At the distance of a few miles east of it, I entered the Military Road, of which the public papers have spoken, and which leads to the old roads in the vicinity of Detroit.[61] This road is cut through a perfect wilderness {109} of a large growth of timber. It is very wide, and entirely free from stumps. The plan of it, and the manner in which the work has been executed, speak favourably of the judgment and fidelity of the military department.
The travelling on this road is, in the spring of the year, very heavy; and a person on foot is much annoyed by the sharp points of bushes which are concealed by the mud.
At the commencement of the road the country becomes rather elevated, is highly fertile, is covered with a superb growth of timber, and is intersected with streams well calculated for mills.
On the River Raisin stands Frenchtown, an ancient and considerable settlement.[62] The inhabitants on the river
