44$ 
TRAVELS m 
bama : the waters ran furioufly, being over- 
charged with the floods of rain which had fallen 
the day before. We difcovered immediately that 
there was no poffibility of croihng it by fording ; 
its depth and rapidity would have fwept our 
horfes, loads and all, inftantly frcm cur fight : 
my companion, after confideration, faid we muft 
make a raft to ferry over our goods, which we 
immediately fet about, after unloading our horfes 
and turning them out to range. I undertook to 
collect dry canes, and my companion, dry timber 
or logs and vines to bind them together : having 
gathered the necenary materials, and laid them 
in order on the brinks of the river, ready to work 
upon, we betook ourfelyes to repofe, and early 
next morning fat about building our raft. This 
was a novel fcene to me, and I could not, until 
flnifhed and put to praclice, well comprehend 
how it could pofhbly anfwer the efTecl defired. 
In the nrft place we laid, parallel to each other, 
dry, found trunks of trees, about nine feet in 
length, and eight or nine inches diameter ; which 
binding faft together with grape vines and withs, 
until we had formed this firft floor, about twelve 
or fourteen feet in length, we then bound the 
dry canes in bundles, each near as thick as a 
man's body, with which we formed the upper 
ftratum, laying them clofe by the fide of each 
other and binding them fail • after this manner 
our raft was conflrucled. Then having two 
ftrong grape vines, each long enough to crofs 
the river, we faflened one to each end of the 
raft ; which now being completed, and loading 
on as much as it would fafely carry, the Indian 
took the end of one of the vines in his mouth, 
plunged into the river and fwam over with it, and 
the vine fixed to the other end was committed to 
