Spread of English-Speaking Peoples 189 



night .extinguishing their camp-fire and sleeping a 

 mile or two from it. 



They built a bark canoe in which to cross the 

 Kentucky, and on the ist of July they met another 

 party of surveyors on the banks of that stream. 46 

 Two or three days afterward, Floyd and three com- 

 panions left the others, agreeing to meet them on 

 August ist, at a cabin built by a man named Har- 

 wood, on the south side of the Kentucky, a few 

 miles from the mouth of the Elkhorn. For three 

 weeks they surveyed and hunted, enchanted with 

 the beauty of the country. 47 They then went to the 

 cabin, several days before the appointed time; but 

 to their surprise found everything scattered over the 

 ground, and two fires burning, while on a tree near 

 the landing was written, "Alarmed by finding some 

 people killed and we are gone down." This left 

 the four adventurers in- a bad plight, as they had but 

 fifteen rounds of powder left, and none of them 

 knew the way home. However, there was no help 

 for it, and they started off. 48 When they came to 

 the mountains they found it such hard going that 

 they were obliged to throw away their blankets and 



46 Where the journal says the land "is like a paradise, it is 

 so good and beautiful." 



47 The journal for July 8th says: "The Land is so good that 

 I can not give it its due Praise. The undergrowth is Clover, 

 Pea-vine, Cane & Nettles; intermingled with Rich Weed. 

 It's timber is Honey Locust, Black Walnut, Sugar Tree, 

 Hickory, Iron- Wood, Hoop Wood, Mulberry, Ash and Elm 

 and some Oak." And later it dwells on the high limestone 

 cliffs faring the river on both sides. 



48 On July 25th. 



