Annals of our ancestors; one hundred and fifty years of history in the ...

TALES OF THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN 309
James is one of the best of men but he is totally deaf and I can
only communicate with him by signs, though I can understand
what he says. After my marriage with him I felt so
lonely that after father's death I had mother come to live with
us. James is greatly attached to her and tho' she is over sixty
she has more courage and strength of mind than I. Speaking
of James being deaf reminds me of what happened to us while
crossing a river. The wheels of the wagon ran over a stone
and the sudden jar loosened the tongue of the wagon from the
yoke, the tongue fell to the ground, the wagon stopped and
James calmly drove the oxen on across. When he looked back
and saw the wagon standing in the river and mother and me
laughing with all our might, he swung his hat and laughed with
us and took it for a good joke, though getting all in order
agam was not so funny.
27 July.
To-day and yesterday we have been looking about for a
boat to take us down to Fort Washington, five hundred miles
below here on the Ohio River. At first we thought we would
have to join with others and build a boat, but we heard of one
for sale to-day and went to look at it. I wanted a big boat,
enough for fifteen or twenty families, but this was a wretched
little thing and did not look as if it had room for even two or
three. I condemned it at once and told James I would rather
stay here all summer and help build a big boat so that we
could float down the river in some sort of safety. Mother
thought this little boat would do; it would hold three families,
and if we could find five men to make the crew we would do
very well. I fear the dangers of the water and also of the
Indians, tho' we have been told that for the last five years,
thanks to General Wayne, no one has been molested. We
heard to-day of a young man who was making up a herd of
cattle and horses to drive thro' the woods to Fort Washington
and to-morrow we will see if we can put in our oxen and our
horse if he does not charge too much. No road to Fort
Washington has yet been cut through. There is only a path
and very few houses at which we could stop. There are more
settlers on the Virginia side than on the other side. The road