want of sleep. The weather was still moderate; and the water, rushing through the vallies, seemed to sing the requiem of my lost companions. My lone steps too, through the streams, forcibly reminded me of their absence.
{100} In the course of the day I passed over the low and swampy grounds, and the prospect became a little diversified. A few small yet steep hills presented themselves. Here the soil is fertile and the growth of timber elegant; upon one spacious rise of ground near these, however, there are a few scattering oaks, and the soil is thin and sterile.
The following night I heard the howling of some beasts of prey, and apprehended an attack. I newly primed my gun and pistols; but my ragged domicil was not invaded.
A day or two after, I reached Sandusky Rapids.[49] The land in the vicinity of this river is very fertile. The hill, a little west of the river, is high, and its summit constitutes a vast plain of rich land. A town, I understand, is here to be laid out. The soil below the hill, on both sides of the river, is also very rich; but the situation is too low to be pleasant, and must, I think, be unhealthy. On the west of the river are a few scattering houses. The river at the rapids is about thirty rods wide; and when I crossed it, it was full of floating ice. The velocity of the current was great. Sandusky Bay is situated about eighteen miles below the rapids; and Upper Sandusky lies about forty miles above them.[50] Upon this river are situated several tribes of Wyandot and Seneca Indians; and the
