Ixxvi 
LIFE OF WILSON. 
replied that it had not. Logan, he said, had been misinformed ; he detailed 
to me all the particulars, which are too long for repetition, and concluded by 
informing me that his father died early in the revolutionary war, of the camp 
fever, near New York. 
" Marietta stands on a swampy plain, which has evidently once been the 
ancient bed of the Muskingnm, and is still occasionally inundated to the depth 
of five or six feet. A Mr. Putnam, son to the old general of Bunker's Hill 
memory, and Mr. Gillman and Mr. Fearing, are making great exertions here, 
in introducing and multiplying the race of merinos. The two latter gentlemen 
are about establishing works by steam, for carding and spinning wool, and 
intend to carry on the manufacture of broadcloth extensively. Jlr. Gillman 
is a gentleman of taste and wealth, and has no doubts of succeeding. Some- 
thing is necessary to give animation to this place, for since the building of 
ships has been abandoned here, the place seems on the decline. 
" The current of the Muskingum is very rapid, and the ferry boat is 
navigated across in the following manner. A strong cable is extended from 
bank to bank, forty or fifty feet above the surface of the river, and fastened 
tight at each end. On this cable are two loose running blocks; one rope from 
the biw of the boat is fastened to the first of these blocks, and another from 
the after part of the boat to the second block, and by lengthening this last a 
diagonal direction is give to the boat's head, a little up stream, and the current 
striking forcibly and obliquely on her aft, she is hurried forward with amazing 
velocity without any manual labor whatever. I passed Blannerhasset's island 
after night, but the people were burning brush, and by the light I had a dis- 
tinct view of the mansion house, which is but a plain frame of no great dimen- 
sions. It is now the property of a Mr. Miller from Lexington, who intends 
laying it chiefly in hemp. It is nearly three miles long, and contains about 
three hundred acres, half of which is in cultivation ; but like all the rest of 
the numerous islands of the Ohio, is subject to inundations. At Galliopolis, 
which stands upon a high plain, and contains forty or fifty scattered houses, I 
found the fields well fenced and well cultivated, peach and apple orchards nu- 
merous, and a considerable appearance of industry. One-half of the original 
French settlers have removed to a tract of land opposite to the mouth of Sandy 
river. This town has one shap and two taverns ; the mountains press in to 
within a short distance of the town. I found here another Indian mound 
planted with peach trees. On Monday, March 5th, about ten miles below the 
mouth of the great Sciota, where I saw the first flock of paroquets, I encoun- 
tered a violent storm of wind and rain, which changed to hail and snow, blow- 
ing down trees and limbs in all directions ; so that for immediate preservation 
I was obliged to steer out into the river, which rolled and foamed like a sea, 
and filled my boat nearly half full of water; and it was with the greatest diffi- 
culty I could make the least headway. It continued to snow violently until 
dusk, when I at length made good my landing at a place on the Kentucky 
shore, where I had perceived a cabin ; and here I spent the evening in learning 
the art and mystery of bear-treeing, wolf-trapping, and wild-cat hunting, from 
an old professor. But notwithstanding the skill of this great master, the 
country here is swarming with wolves and wild-cats, black and brown; accord- 
