Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (Vol 1 1904).djvu/113

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1760-1761]
Croghan's Journals
107

from fire Creek, where Mr Braam with his party had been some time encamped.[1]

12th.—At half an hour after Eight A.M. set sail, very Calm, about 10 came on a great squawl, the Waves run Mountains high, about half an hour after twelve we got into Gichawaga Creek where is a fine Harbour, some of the Battoes were forced a shore on the Strand and received considerable damage, some of the flower wet and the Ammunition Boat allmost staved to Pieces, here we found several Indians of the Ottawa Nation hunting, who received us very kindly they being old Acquaintances of mine, here we overtook Capt Brewer of the Rangers with his party who set of by Land with some Cattle, this day came about four Leagues.[2]

13th.—We lay by to mend our Boats.

14th.—The Wind blew so hard we could not set of[f]. This day we were allarmed by one of the Rangers who reported he saw about Twenty French within a Mile of our encampment on which I sent out a party of Indians and Major Rogers a party of Rangers, both partys returned without discovering any thing, but the Tracts of two Indians who went out a hunting that Morning.

15th.—Fine Weather we set sail and at twelve o'Clock
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  1. Lieutenant Dietrich Brehm (Braam) was a German engineer who came to America in 1756 with the 32nd regiment (later the 60th or Royal Americans). Little is known of his military career, save that in the line of promotion he was captain in 1774, and major in 1783.—Ed.
  2. Probably "Gichawaga" was Cuyahoga River, the site of the city of Cleveland, and a well-known rendezvous of the Ottawa Indians, who had a village some miles up its banks. Rogers speaks of it as Elk River, which by some geographers is placed east of Cuyahoga River; but Rogers's list of distances, allowing for much tacking, would indicate that the expedition had by this time certainly come as far beyond Grand River as Cuyahoga.—Ed.