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Communication relative to the periodical freshes every 

 fourteen years in the De law ire and North East 

 Branch of the Susquehanna rivers, &c. 



Stockport, March 1st, 1817. 

 rjCT^On the Delaware, below its bii.iiciits. The waters of the 

 western branch of Delaware* and those of »h<- north east branch 

 of Susquehanna, nearly approach each other.] 



Respected Friend, 



I have not forwarded you any communications for 

 sometime; !yit,b? perceiving ^ome of my memorandums 

 and observations, I consider the curious circumstance of 

 the periodical high freshes in the Delaware and North 

 East branch of the Susquehannah every fourteen years, 

 worthy of notice in the natural history of our country. I 

 shall therefore proceed to state the facts, with some of my 

 observations of their effects on agriculture. 



When I began my improvements in the year 1788, 

 there was then living at Cosheckton, a very aged man, by 

 name Joseph Ross, who had resided most of his life 

 among the native Indians, understood their language, and 

 was a man of a strong clear mind. He came to see me 

 for the purpose of giving me some friendly advice ; that 

 was, to set all my buildings sufficiently out of the reach of 

 the periodical 14 years high freshes ; and, as there had been 

 one two vears before, we could readily see, by the drift 

 wood, how far it had reached on the banks. He informed 

 me that the native Indians had a traditional account, that 

 every 14 years there came a great flood in these rivers, 6 

 or 7 feet higher than took place at any intermediate times ; 

 for which reasons the Indian* were in th prac tice, in the 

 fall before they come, 1 to remove their corn and stores on 



