38 WANDERINGS IN 



First state wild and uncultivated as the forests through which 



Journey. 



they strayed. 



There was nothing in the hut of this savage, saving 

 the presents he had received from government, but what 

 was barely sufficient to support existence ; nothing that 

 indicated a power to collect a hostile force ; nothing that 

 showed the least progress towards civilisation. AU was 

 rude and barbarous in the extreme, expressive of the 

 utmost poverty, and a scanty population. 



You may travel six or seven days without seeing a hut, 

 and when you reach a settlement, it seldom contains more 

 than ten. 



The further you advance into the interior, the more 

 you are convinced that it is thinly inhabited. 



The day after passing the place where the white man 

 lived, you see a creek on the left hand, and shortly after 

 the path to the open country. Here you drag the canoe 

 up into the forest, and leave it there. Your baggage 

 must now be carried by the Indians. The creek you 

 passed in the river, intersects the path to the next settle- 

 ment ; a large mora has fallen across it, and makes an 

 excellent bridge. After walking an hour and a half, you 

 come to the edge of the forest, and a savanna unfolds 

 itself to the view. 



The finest park that England boasts, falls far short of 

 this delightful scene. There are about two thousand 

 acres of grass, with here and there a clump of trees, and 



