4 FRONTIER FORTS AND SETTLEMENTS. [1763. 



Susquehanna. Eastward of this river, cabins of 

 settlers became more numerous, until, in the neigh- 

 borhood of Lancaster, the country assumed an 

 appearance of prosperity and cultivation. Two 

 roads led from Fort Pitt to the settlements, one of 

 which was cut by General Braddock in his disas- 

 trous march across the mountains, from Cumber- 

 land, in the year 1755. The other, which was the 

 more frequented, passed by Carlisle and Bedford, 

 and was made by General Forbes, in 1758. Leav- 

 ing the fort by this latter route, the traveller would 

 find himself, after a journey of fifty-six miles, at the 

 little post of Ligonier, whence he would soon reach 

 Fort Bedford, about a hundred miles from Fort Pitt. 

 It was nestled among mountains, and surrounded 

 by clearings and log cabins. Passing several small 

 posts and settlements, he would arrive at Carlisle, 

 nearly a hundred miles farther east, a place resem- 

 bling Bedford in its general aspect, although of 

 greater extent. After leaving Fort Bedford, nu- 

 merous houses of settlers were scattered here and 

 there among the valleys, on each side of the road 

 from Fort Pitt, so that the number of families 

 beyond the Susquehanna amounted to several hun- 

 dreds, thinly distributed over a great space. ^ From 

 Carlisle to Harris's Ferry, now Harrisburg, on the 

 Susquehanna, was but a short distance ; and from 

 thence, the road led directly into the heart of the 

 settlements. The frontiers of Virginia bore a 

 general resemblance to those of Pennsylvania. It 



1 There was a cluster of log houses even around Fort Ligonier, and a 

 trader named Byerly had a station at Bushy Run. 



