182 TRAVELS IN THE CONFEDERATION 



hardly the half of a month ; and had there been the 

 desired amount on hands there was a lack of pack- 

 horses to get it forward,* although in order to have 

 less to carry, the cattle intended for meat-rations was 

 driven along with the army, for of salted meat they 

 had none. The burning desire of the troops to be 

 avenged on the Indians, the enthusiasm of the officers, 

 and an animating speech of the General removed all 

 obstacles ; the proposal to diminish the daily rations 

 was universally approved, and without protest the 

 ration was fixed at half a pound of meal and half a 

 pound of fresh meat. 



I should not have given so much space to this expe- 

 dition had it not been a doubly remarkable one, on 

 account of the fact that on this occasion there was dis- 

 covered among these nations more of a polity and a 

 higher degree of civilization than even those had 

 guessed who had long lived in their neighborhood, in- 

 deed had lived almost among them. Sullivan found 

 with astonishment that no guides familiar with the 

 country were to be had, and there was no way for 

 him to find out where the Indian villages were except 

 by following up their tracks as if they had been wild 

 beasts. But since it is their custom to march one be- 

 hind the other, the last always covering with leaves 

 his own track and his companions', it is a difficult 

 business to trace them, requiring much practice, much 

 patience, and a sharp eye. 



By Sullivan's account (which I have made use of) 

 the degree of civilization remarked in these Indian vil- 



* However the statement was that some 1200 horses were 

 either worn out on this expedition or lost in the woods. 



