A TOUGH WALK FOR A YOUTH. 373 



turkey cock run close by, directed his attention to it, when, as if sudden- 

 ly refreshed, he got up and ran a few yards towards the bird. From that 

 moment he seemed to acquire new vigour, and at length we reached Wil- 

 cox's, where we stopped for the night. We were reluctantly received at 

 the house, and had little attention paid to us, but we had a meal and went 

 to bed. 



The sun rose in all its splendour, and the Ohio reflected its ruddy beams. 

 A finer view of that river can scarcely be obtained than that from the 

 house which we were leaving. Two miles through intricate woods brought 

 us to Belgrade, and having passed Fort Massacre, we halted and took 

 breakfast. S. gave us to understand that the want of roads made travel- 

 ling very unpleasant ; he was not, he added, in the habit of " skulking 

 through the bushes or tramping over stony bars in the full sunshine," 

 but how else he had travelled was not explained. Mr Rose kept up 

 about as well as Victor, and I now led the way. Towards sunset we 

 reached the shores of the river, opposite the mouth of the Cumberland, 

 On a hill, the property of a Major B., we found a house, and a solitary 

 woman, wretchedly poor, but very kind. She assured us, that if we 

 could not cross the river, she would give us food and shelter for the night, 

 but said that as the moon was up, she could get us put over when her 

 skiff came back. Hungry and fatigued we laid us down on the brown 

 grass, waiting either a scanty meal, or the skiff that was to convey us 

 across the river. I had already grated the corn for our supper, run down 

 the chickens, and made a fire, when a cry of " Boat coming" roused us 

 all. We crossed half of the Ohio, walked over Cumberland Isle, and 

 after a short ferry found ourselves in Kentucky, the native land of my 

 beloved sons. I was now within a few miles of the spot where, some 

 years before, I had a horse killed under me by lightning. 



It is unnecessary to detain you with a long narrative, and state every 

 occurrence until we reached the banks of Green River. We had left 

 Trinity at 12 o'clock of the 15th October, and on the morning of the 

 18th four travellers descending a hill, were admiring the reflection of the 

 sun's rays on the forest-margined horizon. The frost which lay thick 

 on the ground and the fences, glittered in the sheen, and dissolved away ; 

 all nature seemed beautiful in its cahu repose ; but the pleasure which I 

 felt on gazing on the scene was damped by the fatigue of my son, who 

 now limped like a lamed turkey, although, as the rest of the party were 

 not much better off, he smiled, straightened liimself, and strove to keep 



