442 TRAVELS Itf 
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 poflibiiity of croffing it by fording ; 
its depth and rapidity would have fwept our 
horfes, loads and all, inftantly from our fight : 
my companion, after confideration, faid we mutt 
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 
colled dry canes, and my companion, dry timber 
or logs and vines to bind them together : having 
gathered the neceffary materials, and laid them 
in order on the brinks of the river, ready to work 
upon, we betook ourfelves to repofe, and early 
next morning fat about building our raft. This 
was a novel fcene to me, and I could not, until 
finifhed and put to pradice, well comprehend 
how it could poflibly anfwer the effed defired. 
In the firft 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 faff 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 
dratum, laying them clofe by the fide of each 
other and binding them faff : after this manner 
our raft was conftruded. Then having two 
ftrong grape vines, each long enough to crofs 
the river, we fattened 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 
