Travels In The United States Of America; Commencing In The Year 1793, And Ending In 1797. With The Author's Journals Of His Two Voyages Across The Atlantic By William Priest
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The Soil Had Never Submitted To The Ploughshare, And
The Air That Circulated Through This Domain Of Nature Was Replete With
That Balmy Fragrance, Which Was Breathed Into The Lungs Of The Long-Lived
Race Of Men, That Flourished In The First Ages Of The World.
"At last we approached the wigwam, as I discovered by the barking of a
yellow dog, who ran out to meet us.
The building seemed to be composed of
rough materials, and at most was not more than eight feet in height, with
a hole in the centre of the roof, to afford a free passage to the smoke
from within. It was situate in a thicket of lofty trees, on the side of a
stream of clear water, at a considerable distance from the haunts of
civilized men. A young indian girl was angling in the deepest part of the
stream, whence she every now and then drew a trout, or some other
inhabitant of the waters. An old squaw sat at a very small distance, and,
after cutting off the heads, and extracting the entrails, hung the fish in
the smoke, to preserve them against the time of winter.
"The Indian and myself then entered the wigwam, and without ceremony
seated ourselves on blocks of wood covered with fox skins. The furniture
of his habitation consisted of scarcely any thing besides. The flooring
was that which was originally common to all men and animals. I thought
myself happy, that I had been permitted to come into the world, in an age
when some vestige of the primitive men, and their manners of living, were
yet to be found.
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