456 



AUDUBON 



magnificent forests, its numberless navigable streams, its 

 salt springs and licks, its saltpetre caves, its coal strata, 

 and the vast herds of Buffaloes and Deer that browsed on 

 its hills and amidst its charming valleys, afforded UiMplo 

 inducements to the new settler, who pushed forward wil'.i 

 a spirit far above that of the most undaunted tribes which 

 for ages had been the sole possessors of the soil. 



The Virginians thronged towards the Ohio, An axe, a 

 couple of horses, and a heavy rifle, with store of ammuni- 

 tion, were all that were considered necessary for the equip- 

 ments of the man, who, with his family, removed to the 

 new State, assured that, in that land of exuberant fertility, 

 he could not fail to provide amply for all his wants. To 

 have witnessed the industry and perseverance of these 

 emigrants must at once have proved the vigor of thoir 

 minds. Regardless of the fatigue attending every move- 

 ment which they made, they pushed through an unexplored 

 region of dark and tangled forests, guiding themselves by 

 the sun alone, and reposing at night on the bare ground. 

 Numberless streams they had to cross on rafts, with their 

 wives and children, their cattle and their luggage, often 

 drifting to considerable distances before they could effect 

 a landing on the opposite shores. Their cattle would 

 often stray amid the rice pasturage of these shores, and 

 occasion a delay of several days. To these troubles add 

 the constantly impending danger of being murdered, while 

 asleep in their encampments, by the prowling and ruthless 

 Indians; while they had before them a distance of hun- 

 dreds of miles to be traversed, before they could reach 

 certain places of rendezvous called Stations. To encounter 

 difficulties like these must have required energies of no 

 ordinary kind; and the reward which these veteran 

 settlers enjoy was doubtless well merited. 



Some removed from the Atlantic shores to those of the 

 Ohio in more comfort and security. They had their wag- 

 ons, their negroes, and their families. Their way was 



