Excerpt: Batts and Fallam discover the New River
"Sept. 16 [1671]. Our Indians... brought us some exceeding good Grapes and killed two turkies which were very welcome and with which we feasted ourselves and about ten of the clock set forward and after we had travelled about ten miles one of our Indians killed us a Deer and presently afterwards we had sight of a curious River like Apomatack River. Its course here was north and so as we suppose runs west about a certain curious mountain we saw westward. Here we had... our quarters, our course having been west. We understand the Mohecan Indians did here formerly live. It cannot be long, since we found corn stalks in the ground.
"Sept. 17. Early in the morning we went to seek some trees to mark, our Indians being impatient of longer stay by reason it was likely to be bad weather, and that it was so difficult to get provisions. We found four trees exceeding fit for our purpose that had been half bared by our Indians, standing after one the other. We first proclaimed the King in these words: 'Long live Charles the Second, by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France, Ireland and Virginia and of all the Territories thereunto belonging, Defender of the faith, etc.' firing some guns and went to the first tree which we marked... with a pair of marking irons for his sacred majesty."
Source: Robert Fallam, A Journey from Virginia to Beyond the Appalachian Mountains (1671).
Related Articles
|
|
