204 "WILD SPORTS IN THE FAR WEST. 



was not dirtier than usual, and the smoke was not so 

 strong as to draw tears. 



We had also great fun in harpooning buifalo-fish, 

 which make for the swamps when the river is high. 

 The land here, at 100 to 150 paces from the river, is 

 lower than the bank ; it is covered with water in 

 winter and spring, and dries up in summer, generating 

 fever and disease, besides myriads of mosquitoes and 

 other insects. One afternoon, in the space of two hours 

 and a half, I caught fifteen fish, of which the smallest 

 weighed about ten pounds. 



Towards the end of April, having cut 18,000 canes, 

 we hailed the next boat that passed, embarked our 

 cargo, and landed at Cincinnati on the 30th. Our 

 canes were soon sold, and they were still in demand. 

 I had a great mind to make another voyage, but 

 resolved next time to go alone ; for though I found my 

 companion very willing to share the gains, he was by 

 no means so ready to share the pains. For the present, 

 however, I preferred staying a short time at Cincinnati 

 and amusing myself. 



I happened to fall in with some of my Jewish fellow 

 passengers on board the " Constitution." Acting on 

 the instructions of their friends and countrymen at 

 New York, they had begun to trade in a small way ; 

 all had gained something, and some few had become 

 comparatively rich. They generally begin as peddlers, 

 stopping at every farmhouse, and the farmer is obliged 

 to buy something to get rid of them. 



As the ri^-^rs were still rising, I made a second trip 

 to the canes. I had paid all my debts, and had some- 

 thing in hand. Towards the end of May, I embarked 



