THE LAND OF EDEN. 113 



the world. The river is about eighty yards wide, always confined within 

 its lofty banks, and rolling down its waters, as sweet as milk, and as clear as 

 crystal. There runs a charming level, of more than a mile square, that 

 will bring forth like the lands of Egypt, without being overflowed once a 

 year. There is scarce a shrub in view to intercept your prospect, but grass 

 as high as a man on horseback. Towards the woods there is a gentle ascent, 

 till your sight Is intercepted by an eminence, that overlooks the whole land- 

 scape. This sweet place is bounded to the east by a fine stream, called 

 Sauro creek, which running out of the Dan, and tending westerly, makes the 

 whole a peninsula. I could not quit this pleasant situation without regret, but 

 often faced about to take a parting look at it as far as I could see, and so in- 

 deed did all the rest of the company. But at last we left it quite out of sight, 

 and continued our course down the river, till where it intersects my back 

 line, which was about five miles below Sauro town. We took up our quar- 

 ters at the same camp where we had a little before been alarmed with the 

 supposed Indian whistle, which we could hardly get out of our heads. 

 However, it did not spoil our rest ; but we dreamed all night of the delights 

 of Tempe and the Elysian fields. 



2d. We awoke early from these innocent dreams, and took our way 

 along my back line till we came to the corner of it. From thence we slant- 

 ed to the country line, and kept down that as far as the next fording place of 

 the river, making in the whole eighteen miles. We breathed all the way in 

 pure air, which seemed friendly to the lungs, and circulated the blood and 

 spirits very briskly. Happy will be the people destined for so wholesome a 

 situation, where they may live to fulness of days, and which is much better 

 still, with much content and gaiety of heart. On every rising ground we 

 faced about to take our leave of the mountains, which still showed their 

 towering heads. The ground was uneven, rising into hills, and sinking 

 into valleys great part of the way, but the soil was good, abounding in most 

 places with a greasy black mould. We took up our quarters on the western 

 bank of the river, where we had forded it at our coming up. One of our 

 men, Joseph Colson by name, a timorous, lazy fellow, had squandered away 

 his bread, and grew very uneasy when his own ravening had reduced him 

 to short allowance. He was one of those drones who love to do little and 

 eat much, and are never in humour unless their bellies are full. According 

 to this wrong turn of constitution, when he found he could no longer revel 

 in plenty, he began to break the rules by complaining and threatening to 

 desert. This had like to have brought him to the blanket, but his submission 

 reprieved him. Though bread grew a little scanty with us, we had venison 

 in abundance, which a true woodsman can eat contentedly without any 

 bread at all. But bears' flesh needs something of the farinaceous, to make 

 it pass easily oflf the stomach. In the night we heard a dog bark at some 

 distance, as we thought, when we saw all our own dogs lying about the fire. 

 This was another alarm ; but we soon discovered it to be a wolf, which will 

 sometimes bark very like a dog, but something shriller. 



3d. The fine season continuing, we made the most of it by leaving our 

 quarters as soon as possible. We began to measure and mark the bounds 

 of major Mayo's land on the south of the country line. In order to do this 

 we marched round the bent of the river, but he being obliged to make a 

 traverse, we could reach no farther than four miles. In the distance of about 

 a mile from where we lay, we crossed Cliff" creek, which confined its stream 

 within such high banks that it was difficult to find a passage over. We 

 kept close to the river, and two miles farther came to Hixe's creek, where 

 abundance of canes lay dry and prostrate on the ground, having suffered 

 in the late septennial slaughter of that vegetable. A mile after that we forded 



