297 
XX. 
SEPTEMBER 10th. 
Excursion to the Bois Brule. — A " Slash." — Indian Wickup. — Old Mill. — 
Fruits and Berries. — Aphis. — Scarlet Stoneberry. — The Brule. — Swamp 
Plants. — Indian Cup. — Character of the Woods. — Origin of this place. 
— Return by another Route. — Arched Lane. 
Father. — A few days ago, I accompanied a friend to a 
singular place^, of which I had often heard, and about which 
my curiosity was excited. It is the Bois Brule, a large tract 
of land^ lyi^^g at no great distance, but so hidden in the 
recesses of the woods, and so out of the way of any travelled 
road, that it is not often visited^ except by the trapper. 
Charles. — I should have liked to be with you ; but^ as it 
is^ you would gratify me by a brief account of your walk. 
F. — We proceeded up Bradley's Brook, on the steep 
bank of which I found a thistle in flower, with crenated 
leaves Cnicus Altissimus f J which I have not observed 
elsewhere. The first quarter of a mile lay through a very 
rough slash, 
(7. — Excuse the interruption ; but what is a slash ? 
F, — Sometimes a person wishes to cut down the timber 
from a piece of land, when he has not time to trim the trees, 
pile the brush, or cut the logs ; he, in that case, fells all the 
trees, letting them lie promiscuously on the ground, as they 
fall ; this is called a slash, and the plan is chiefly followed 
in the thickly-timbered evergreen swamps. After the trees 
o 5 
