NORTH AMERICA- 
341 
I am led over hiils and vales, groves and high 
forefts, vocal with the melody of the feathered 
fongfters ; the fnow-white cafcades glittering on 
the fides of the diftant hills. 
It was now afternoon ; I approached a charming 
vale, amidft fublimely high forefts, awful fhades ! 
Darknefs gathers around 5 far diftant thunder rolls 
over the trembling hills : the black clouds with 
auguft majefty and power, move llowly forwards, 
fhading regions of towering hills, and threatening 
all the deftrudtion of a thunder ftorm : all around 
is now ftill as death ; not a whifper is heard, but a 
total inactivity and filence feem to pervade the 
earth ; the birds afraid to utter a chirrup, in 
low tremulous voices take leave of each other, 
feeking covert and fafety : every infedt is filenced, 
and nothing heard but the roaring of the approach- 
ing hurricane. The mighty cloud now expands its 
fable wings, extending from North to South, and 
is driven irrefiftibly on by the tumultuous winds, 
lpreading its livid wings around the gloomy con- 
cave, armed with terrors of thunder and fiery fhafts 
of lightning. Now the lofty forefts bend low be- 
neath its fury; their limbs and wavy boughs are 
tolled about and catch hold of each other ; the 
mountains tremble and feem to reel about, and 
the ancient hills to be fhaken to their foundations : 
the furious ftorm fweeps along, fmoaking through 
the vale and over the refounding hills : the face 
of the earth is obfcured by the deluge defcending 
from the firmament, and I am deafened by the din 
of the thunder. The tempeftuous fcene damps my 
ipirits, and my horle finks under me at the tre- 
mendous peals, as I haften on for the plain. 
The ftorm abating, I faw an Indian hunting 
Z 3 cabin 
