EPISODES 241 



Ohio. Lastly, I observed traces of its ravages on the sum- 

 mits of the mountains connected with the Great Pine 

 Forest of Pennsylvania, three hundred miles beyond the 

 place last mentioned. In all these different parts it ap- 

 peared to me not to have exceeded a quarter of a mile in 

 breadth. 



COLONEL BOONE 



Daniel Boone, or, as he was usually called in the West- 

 ern country, Colonel Boone, happened to spend a night 

 with me under the same roof, more than twenty years 

 agro. We had returned from a shooting excursion, in 

 the course of which his extraordinary skill in the man- 

 agement of the rifle had been fully displayed. On retir- 

 ing to the room appropriated to that remarkable indi- 

 vidual and myself for the night, I felt anxious to know 

 more of his exploits and adventures than I did, and accord- 

 ingly took the liberty of proposing numerous questions to 

 him. The stature and general appearance of this wan- 

 derer of the western forests approached the gigantic. His 

 chest was broad and prominent; his muscular powers 

 displayed themselves in every limb; his countenance gave 

 indication of his great courage, enterprise, and persever- 

 ance ; and when he spoke, the very motion of his lips 

 brought the impression that whatever he uttered could 

 not be otherwise than strictly true. I undressed, whilst 

 he merely took off his hunting shirt, and arranged a few 

 folds of blankets on the floor, choosing rather to lie there, 

 as he observed, than on the softest bed. When we had 

 both disposed of ourselves, each after his own fashion, 

 he related to me the following account of his powers of 

 memory, which I lay before you, kind reader, in his own 

 words, hoping that the simplicity of his style may prove 

 interesting to you. 



VOL. II. — 16 



