BUFFALO CREEK, 
145 
Opposite to the mouth of Buffalo Creek 
there is a very dangerous sand bar, which at 
times it is totally impossible to pass in any other 
vessels than bateaux; we found it no easy 
matter to get over it in the ship’s long boat 
with four oars on going into the creek; and in 
returning the passage was really tremendous. 
The wind, which was westerly, and of course 
. impelled the vast body of water in the lake 
towards the mouth of the creek, had increased 
considerably whilst we had been on shore, and 
the waves had begun to break with such fury 
over the bar, that it was not without a con¬ 
siderable share of terror that we contemplated 
the prospect of passing through them : the 
commodore of the King’s ships on the lake, 
who was at the helm, was determined, how¬ 
ever, to cross the bar that night, and accord¬ 
ingly, a strict silence having been enjoined, that 
the crew might hear his orders, we boldly 
entered into the midst of the breakers: the 
boat now rolled about in a most alarminsr 
manner ; sometimes it mounted into the air on 
the top of the mighty billows, at other times it 
came thumping down with prodigious force 
on the bar; at last it stuck quite hist in the 
sand ; neither oafs nor rudder were any longer 
of use, and for a moment we gave ourselves 
over for lost; the waves that rolled towards 
us broke on all sides with a noise like that of 
vo l. ir. 
