126 Journal of a Voyage through the 



CHAPTER IV. 



Continuation of difficulties and dangers. Discontents among 

 the people. State of the river and its banks. Volcanic 

 chasms in the earth. Dispatch various persons to discover 

 ways across the mountain. Obstacles present themselves 

 on all sides. Preparations made to attempt the mountain* 

 Account of the ascent with the canoe and baggage. The 

 trees that are found there. Arrive at the river. Extra- 

 ordinary circumstances of it. Curious hollows in the 

 rocks. Prepare the conoe. Renew our progress up the 

 river. The state of it, Leave some tokens of amity for 

 the natives. The weather very cold. Lost a book of my 

 observations for several days. Continue to proceed up the 

 river. Send a letter down the current, in a rum-keg* 

 Came to the forks, and proceed up the Eastern branch. 

 Circumstances of it. 



Mayn't 



1793. 3 *■ hat the discouragements, difficulties and dan- 

 gers, which had hitherto attended the progress of our en- 

 terprize, should have excited a wish in several of those 

 who were engaged in it to discontinue the pursuit, might 

 be naturally expected; and indeed it began to be mut- 

 tered on all sides that there was no alternative but to re- 

 turn. 



Instead of paying any attention to these murmurs, I de- 

 sired those who had uttered them to exert themselves in 

 gaining an ascent of the hill, and encamp there for the night. 

 In the mean time I set off with one of the Indians, and 

 though I continued my examination of the river almost as 

 long as there was any light to assist me, I could see no end 

 of the rapids and cascades ; I was, therefore, perfectly sa- 

 tisfied, that it would be impracticable to proceed any fur- 

 ther by water. We returned from this reconnoitring ex- 

 cursion very much fatigued, with our shoes worn out 

 and wounded feet ; when I found that, by felling trees on 

 the declivity of the first hill, my people had contrived to 

 ascend it. 



From the place where I had taken the altitude at noon, 

 to the place where we made our landing, the river is not 

 more than fifty yards wide, and flows between stupendous 



