o mend the matter, was
so interlac'd with bamboe-briars, that there was no scuffling thro'
them without the help of Pioneers. At the same time, we found the
Ground moist and trembling under our feet like a Quagmire, insomuch
that it was an easy Matter to run a Ten-Foot-Pole up to the Head in
it, without exerting any uncommon Strength to do it.

Two of the Men, whose Burthens were the least cumbersome, had orders
to march before, with their Tomahawks, and clear the way, in order to
make an Opening for the Surveyors. By their Assistance we made a Shift
to push the Line half a Mile in 3 Hours, and then reacht a small piece
of firm Land, about 100 Yards wide, Standing up above the rest like
an Island. Here the people were glad to lay down their Loads and take
a little refreshment, while the happy man, whose lot it was to carry
the Jugg of Rum, began already, like AEsop's Bread-Carriers, to find it
grow a good deal lighter. . . . . . .

Since the Surveyors had enter'd the Dismal, they had laid Eyes on no
living Creature: neither Bird nor Beast, Insect nor Reptile came in
View. Doubtless, the Eternal Shade that broods over this mighty Bog,
and hinders the sun-beams from blessing the Ground, makes it an
uncomfortable Habitation for any thing that has life. Not so much as a
Zealand Frog cou'd endure so Aguish a Situation.

It had one Beauty, however, that delighted the Eye, tho' at the
Expense of all the other Senses; the Moisture of the Soil preserves a
continual Verdure, and makes every Plant an Evergreen, but at the same
time the foul Damps ascend without ceasing, corrupt the Air, and
render it unfit for Respiration. Not even a Turkey-Buzzard will
venture to fly over it, no more than the Italian Vultures will over
the filthy Lake Avernus, or the Birds of the Holy Land over the Salt
Sea, where Sodom and Gomorrah formerly stood.

. . . . . . . . .

_How they Slept in the Dismal Swamp._--They first cover'd the Ground
with Square Pieces of Cypress bark, which now, in the Spring, they
cou'd easily Slip off the Tree for that purpose. On this they Spread
their Bedding; but unhappily the Weight and Warmth of their Bodies
made the Water rise up betwixt the Joints of the Bark, to their great
Inconvenience. Thus they lay not only moist, but also exceedingly
cold, because their Fires were continually going out. . . . . . . .

We could get no Tidings yet of our Brave Adventurers, notwithstanding
we despacht men to the likeliest St