NORTH AMERICA. 
443 
my charge, to Ready the raft and haul it back 
again after being unloaded. As foon as he had 
fafe landed and hauled taught his vine, I pufhed 
off the raft, which he drew over as quick as pof- 
fible, I Readying it with my vine : in this man- 
ner, though with inexpreffible danger of lofing 
our effects, we ferried all fafe over. The laft 
load, with other articles, contained my property, 
with all my clothes, which I ftripped off, except 
my breeches, for they contained matters of more 
value and confequence than all the reft of my pro- 
perty put together ; befides I did not choofe to ex- 
pofe myfelf entirely naked to the alligators and 
ferpents in crofting the flood. Now feeing all the 
goods fafe over, and the horfes at a landing place 
on the banks of the river about fifty yards above, 
I drove them all in together, when, feeing them 
fafe landed, I plunged in after them, and being a 
tolerable fwimmer, foon reached the oppofite more. 
But my difficulties at this place were not yet at art 
end, for our horfes all landed jufl below the mouth 
of a confiderable branch of this river, of fifteen 
or twenty feet width, and its perpendicular banks 
almoft as many feet in. height above its fwift wa- 
ters, over which we were obliged to carrv every 
. O J J 
article of our effects, and this by no other bridge 
than a fapling felled acrofs it, which is called a 
raccoon bridge ; and over this my Indian fiiend 
would trip as quick and light as that quadruped, 
with one hundred weight of leather on his back, 
when I was fcarcely able to fhuille myfelf along 
over it aftride. At laft having re-packed and fat 
off again, without any material occurrence inter- 
vening, in the evening we arrived at the banks 
of the great Tallapoofe river, and came to camp 
under (belter of fome Indian cabins, in expanfive 
fields. 
