A Sketch of the History of Oneonta by Dudley M. Campbell
page 14 of 58 (24%)
page 14 of 58 (24%)
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earth for my bed, I roll myself in a blanket, and without a dream to
disturb my repose, pass the night in quiet, and never awake till the eye-lids of morning are opened, and the penetrating rays of the sun look through the surrounding foliage. "It may not be impertinent to observe that in this wilderness we neither see nor hear any birds of music. These frequent only the abodes of man. There is one _wood-bird_, not often seen, but heard without any melody in his note, in every part of the wilderness wherever I have been. In some parts of this extensive country, the wild pigeons breed in numbers almost infinite. I once passed an extensive valley where they had rested; and for six or eight miles, where the trees were near and thick, every tree had a number of nests upon it, and some not less than fifteen or twenty upon them. But as soon as their young are able, they take wing and are seen no more." The next extract is from the journal of May 30th, 1753: "We were impatient to see the famous Susquehanna, and as soon as we came, Mr. Woodbridge and I walked down to its banks. Disappointed at the smallness of its stream, he exclaimed, 'Is this the Susquehanna?' "When we returned our young Indians, who had halted, came in, looking as terrible and ugly as they could, having bedaubed their faces with vermilion, lampblack, white-lead, etc. A young Indian always carries with him his looking-glass and paint; and does not consider himself as dressed until he has adjusted his countenance by their assistance. "Mr. Woodbridge and Mrs. Ashley, our interpreter, could not travel any further by land. We therefore concluded to get a canoe and convey them |
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