The writings of George Washington; being his correspondence, addresses, messages, and other papers, official and private, selected and published from the original manuscripts; with a life of the author, notes and illustrations. By Jared Sparks.

APPENDIX.] EARLY PAPERS. 417
little straw matted together, without sheet or any thing else but only
one threadbare blanket, with double its weight of vermin. 1 was
glad to get up, and put on my clothes, and lie as my companions did.
Had we not been very tired, I am sure we should not have slept
much that night. I made a promise to sleep so no more, choosing
rather to sleep in the open air before a fire.
"lSth. - We travelled to Thomas Berwick's on the Potomac,
where we found the river exceedingly high, by reason of the great
rains that had fallen among the Alleganies. They told us it would
not be-fordable for several days, it being now six feet higher than
usual, and rising. We agreed to stay till Monday. We this day
called to see the famed Warm Springs.@ We camped out in the
field this night.
" 20th. - Finding the river not much abated, we in the evening
swam our horses over to the Maryland side.
" 21st. -We went over in a canoe, and travelled up the Maryland
side all day in a continued rain to Colonel Cresap's, over against the
mouth of the South Branch, about forty miles from our place of starting in the morning, and over the worst road I believe that ever was
trod by man or beast.
" 23d. - Rained till about two o'clock, and then cleared up, when
we were agreeably surprised at the sight of more than thirty Indians
coming from war with only one scalp. We had some liquor with us,
of which we gave them a part. This, elevating their spirits, put them
in the humor of dancing. We then had a war-dance. After clearing a large space and making a great fire in the middle, the men
seated themselves around it, and the speaker made a grand speech,
telling them in what manner they were to dance. After he had finished, the best dancer jumped up, as one awaked from sleep, and
ran and jumped about the ring in a most comical manner. He was
followed by the rest. Then began their music, which was performed
with a pot half full of water and a deerskin stretched tight over it,
and a gourd with some shot in it to rattle, and a piece of horse's tail
tied to it to make it look fine. One person kept rattling and another
drumming all the while they were dancing.
"25th. - Left Cresap's, and went up to the mouth of Patterson's
Creek. There we swam our horses over the Potomac, and went
over ourselves in a canoe, and travelled fifteen miles where we
camped.
* The mineral springs at Bath, in Virginia, afterwards and at the present
day the resort of many visiters in the summer season.
VOL. II. 53