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THE OHIO. 



To render more pleasant the task which you have imposed upon your- 

 self, of following an author through the mazes of descriptive ornithology,' 

 permit me, kind reader, to relieve the tedimn which may be apt now and 

 then to come upon you, by presenting you with occasional descriptions of. 

 the scenery and manners of the land which has furnished the objects that 

 engage your attention. The natural features of that land are not less 

 remarkable than the moral character of her inhabitants ; and I cannot find 

 a better subject with which to begin, than one of those magnificent rivers 

 that roll the collected waters of her extensive territories to the ocean. 



When my wife, my eldest son (then an infant), and myself were re- 

 turning from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, we found it expedient, the 

 waters being unusually low, to provide ourselves with a sli'tff, to enable 

 us to proceed to our abode at Henderson. I purchased a large, commo- 

 dious, and light boat of that denomination. We procured a mattress,- 

 and our friends furnished us with ready prepared viands. We had two . 

 stout Negro rowers, and in this trim we left the village of Shippingport, 

 in expectation of reaching the place of ovir destination in a very few days. 



It was in the month of October. The autumnal tints already deco- 

 rated tlie shores of that queen of rivers, the Ohio. Every tree was 

 hung with long and flowing festoons of different species of vines, many 

 loaded with clustered fruits of varied brilliancy, their rich bronzed car- 

 mine mingling beautifully with the yellow foliage, which now predomi- 

 nated over the yet green leaves, reflecting more lively tints from the clear 

 stream than ever landscape painter portrayed or poet imagined. 



The days were yet warm. The sun had assumed the rich and glow- 

 ing hue which at that season produces the singular phenomenon called 

 there the " Indian Summer." The moon had rather passed the meri- 

 dian of her grandeur. We glided down the river, meeting no other 

 ripple of the water than that formed by the propulsion of our boat. 

 Leisurely we moved along, gazing all day on the grandeur and beauty 

 of the wild scenery around us. 



Now and then, a large cat-fish rose to the surface of the water in pur- 

 suit of a shoal of fry, which starting simultaneously from the liquid ele- 



