76 EXPEDITION TO THE 



become very hot ; at noon, Fahrenheit's thermometer stood 

 in the shade at eighty-eight degrees. Our party began to 

 suffer much from the inconvenience of mosquitoes and 

 other insects. The entertainment which we received 

 along the road was observed to become more and more 

 rough, and to denote our speedy approach to the last 

 limits of civilization. The cotton-wood tree became 

 much larger as we advanced. Mr. Say noticed the Papilio 

 thoas and ajax in great number. 



On leaving, on the 25th May, the miserable hut which 

 had aflforded us a shelter during the storm, our route led 

 us along the banks of the St. Mary, which we followed 

 down to its confluence with the St. Joseph, occasionally 

 coming in sight of the river and keeping off from it, at 

 times, according as its course was a straight or devious 

 one ; we travelled for twelve miles over the swampy coun- 

 try through which this river flows, after which we struck 

 a beautiful dry prairie, known by the name of Shane's 

 prairie, and at eighteen miles from Fort St. JNIary we 

 crossed the river at a settlement called Shanesville ; both 

 the prairie and settlement, (which consists of but one fa- 

 mily,) owe their appellation to an interpreter, who is a 

 half-breed Indian, his father was a Canadian, his mother 

 an 6't-f a-wa'.* He was employed as an interpreter and spy 

 by General Harrison, during his western campaigns, and 

 is considered as having acquitted himself of his duties 

 faithfully ; on the conclusion of the war he was rewarded 

 by the grant of a section, (six hundred and forty acres,) of 

 land, which he has divided into town lots ; he resides 



• Whenever an Indian word occurs for the first time, its orthography 

 and pronunciation will be indicated by using Walker's key. The sign 

 (') prefixed to a vowel indicates that it is short, while the sign Q) 

 shows it to be long, the unaccented vowels have the usual quantity. 



