t plenty. The sugar maple
existed everywhere, and the Indians, who were the original sugar makers
of the world, made large quantities of this toothsome article. In
addition to this the whole valley was filled with wild fruits and
berries, such as blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, gooseberries,
and the luscious wild strawberry, that grew everywhere in the open
spaces and far out on the bordering prairies.

This sketch of the Wabash and its wonderful possibilities may not be
more aptly closed, than by appending hereto the description of Thomas
Hutchins, the first geographer of the United States. It appears in his
"Topographical Description," and mention is made of the connection of
the Wabash by a portage with the waters of Lake Erie; the value of the
fur trade at Ouiatenon and Vincennes, and many other points of vital
interest.

[Illustration: The Wabash River at Merom Bluff, Sullivan County,
Indiana, La Motte Prairie beyond.]

"Ouiatenon (Author's note: Just below Lafayette), is a small stockaded
fort on the western side of the Wabash, in which about a dozen families
reside. The neighboring Indians are the Kickapoos, Musquitons,
Pyankeshaws, and a principal part of the Ouiatenons. The whole of these
tribes consists, it is supposed, of about one thousand warriors. The
fertility of soil, and the diversity of timber in this country, are the
same as in the vicinity of Post Vincent. The annual amount of skins and
furs obtained at Ouiatenon is about 8,000 pounds. By the river Wabash,
the inhabitants of Detroit move to the southern parts of Ohio, and the
Illinois country. Their route is by the Miami river (Maumee) to a
carrying place (Author's note: Miamitown or Fort Wayne), which, as
before stated, is nine miles to the Wabash, when this river is raised
with freshies; but at other seasons, the distance is from eighteen to
thirty miles, including the portage. The whole of the latter is through
a level country. Carts are usually employed in transporting boats and
merchandise, from the Miami to the Wabash river."

No less wonderful was the valley of the Maumee, directly on the great
trade route between the Wabash and the post of Detroit. Croghan, who was
a good judge of land, and made careful observations, found the Ottawas
and Wyandots here in 1765, the land of great richness, and game very
plentiful. It was a region greatly beloved by the Indian tribes, and the
scene after the revolution, of many grand councils of