# Historic Highways of America/Volume 4/Chapter 6

CHAPTER VI
A DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKWOODS
THE clearest insight into the days when Braddock's Road was built, and the most vivid pictures of the country through which it wound its course, are given in certain letters of a British officer who accompanied Braddock. No treatise on Braddock's expedition could be in any measure complete without reproducing this amusing, interesting, yet pitiful testimony to the difficulties experienced by these first English officers to enter the backwoods of America. This is given in a volume entitled Extracts of Letters from an officer in one of those Regiments to his friend in London, published in London in the year of Braddock's Defeat:
"You desire me to let you know the Particulars of our Expedition, and an Account at large of the Nature of the Country, and how they live here; also of ​the Manner of the Service, and which Corps is the most agreeable to serve in, because it has been proposed to you to strive to buy a Commission here, and that you awaited my Advice to determine. Dear Sir, I love you so well that I shall at once tell you, I reckon the Day I bought my Commission the most unhappy in my Life, excepting that in which I landed in this Country. As for the Climate, it is excessive hot in Summer, and as disagreeably cold in Winter, and there is no Comfort in the Spring; none of those Months of gentle genial Warmth, which revives all Nature, and fills every Soul with vernal Delight; far from this, the Spring here is of very few Days, for as soon as the severe Frosts go off, the Heat of the neighbouring Sun brings on Summer at once, one Day shall be Frost, and the next more scorching or sultry and faint than the hottest Dog-Day in England. What is excessively disagreeable here is, that the Wealth of the Country consists in Slaves, so that all one eats rises out of driving and whipping these poor Wretches; this Kind of Authority so Corrupts the Mind of the Masters, and ​makes them so overbearing, that they are the most troublesome Company upon Earth, which adds much to the Uncomfortableness of the Place. You cannot conceive how it strikes the Mind on the first Arrival, to have all these black Faces with grim Looks round you, instead of being served by blooming Maid Servants, or genteel white Livery Men: I was invited to Supper by a rich Planter, and the Heat of the Climate, the dim Light of the Myrtle Wax-Candles, and the Number of black half-naked Servants that attended us, made me think of the infernal Regions, and that I was at Supper with Pluto, only there was no beautiful Proserpine, for the Lady of the House was more like one of the Furies; she had passed through the Education of the College of Newgate, as great Numbers from thence arrive here yearly; Most being cunning Jades, some pick up foolish Planters; this Lady's Husband was far from a Fool, but had married, not only for the Charms of her Person, but because her Art and Skill was Quite useful to him in carrying on his Business and Affairs, many of which were worthy of an adept in the College she ​came from. Among others he made me pay for my Supper by selling me a Horse upon Honour, which, as soon as it was cool, shewed itself Dog-lame and Moon-blind.
"As for eating, they have the Names of almost every Thing that is delicious, or in Fashion in England, but they give them to Things as little like as Cæsar or Pompey were to the Negroes whom they call by those Names. For what they call a Hare is a Creature half Cat, half Rabbet, with white strong Flesh, and that burrows in rotten Trees; they call a Bird not much bigger than a Fieldfare, with hard, dry, strong Flesh, hardly eatable, a Partridge. The best Thing they have is a wild Turky, but this is only in Season one Month in the Year; the rest it is hard, strong, and dry. As for Beef, the Months of October and November excepted, it is Carrion; that is to say, so lean as it would not be called Meat in England; their Mutton is always as strong Goats' Flesh; their Veal is red and lean, and indeed the Heat of the Summer and the pinching Frost of Winter, makes all like Pharaoh's lean Kine. They brag of the Fruits, that they have such plenty of ​Peaches as to feed Hogs; and indeed that is true, they are fit for nothing else; I do not remember, among the Multitudes I have tasted, above one or two that were eatable, the rest were either mealy or choaky. Melons grow in Fields, and are plentier than Pumpkins in England, as large and as tasteless; there are such Quantities that the Houses stink of them; the Heat of the Country makes them at once mellow, so that they hardly ever have the fine racy Taste of an English good Melon, for in England you have many bad Melons to one good; but here the Heat makes all Fruits like us young fellows, rotten before they are ripe. With respect to Fish, they have neither Salmon, Carp, Trout, Smelts, nor hardly any one good Kind of Fish. They give the Name of Trout to a white Sea-fish, no more like a Trout than a Cat to a Hare; they have one good, nay excellent Kind of Fish, I mean a Turtle; but as Scarce as in England. With respect to public Diversions, the worst English Country Town exceeds all they have in the whole Province. As to Drink, Burgundy and Champaign were scarce ever heard of; ​Claret they have but poor Stuff, tawny and prick'd, for it cannot stand the Heat of the Summer, which also spoils the Port; the Madeira is the best Wine they have, but that only of the worst Growths, for the best are sent to Jamaica or England; their only tolerable Drink is Rum Punch, which they swill Morning, Noon, and Night. Their Produce is Tobacco; they are so attached to that, and their Avarice to raise it, makes them neglect every Comfort of Life; But the Intemperance of the Climate affects not only all the Cattle, Fruits, and Growths of the Country, but the human Race; and it is rare to see a native reach 50 Years of Age. I have heard from the best Judges, I mean the kind hearted Ladies most in Vogue, that a Virginian is old at 30, as an Englishman is at 60. The Ladies I speak of are well experienced, and for most of them the Public have for peculiar Merit paid the Passage, and honoured with an Order for Transportation on Record. I would not deceive you so have told you the truth; I have not exaggerated, but have omitted many disagreeable Circumstances, such as Thunder Storms, ​Yellow Fevers, Musketoes, other Vermin, &c with which I shall not trouble you. The Ship is just going."
"I Sent a Letter to you by Captain Johnson bound for Bristol, with a full Account of the Country, by which you will see the Reasons why it will be highly improper for you to buy into the Troops here; I send this by a Ship bound for London.
"They make here a Division between the Settlements and the Woods, though the Settlements are what we should call very woody in Europe. The Face of the Country is entirely different from any Thing I ever saw before; the Fields have not the Appearance of what bears that Name in Europe, instead of ploughed Grounds or Meadows, they are all laid out in Hillocks, each of which bears Tobacco Plants, with Paths hoed between. When the Tobacco is green it looks like a Coppice; when pulled the Ground looks more like Hop-Yards than Fields, which makes a very disagreeable Appearance to the Eye. The Indian Corn also, and all their Culture runs upon hilling with the Hoe, and the Indian ​Corn grows like Reeds to eight or nine Feet high. Indeed in some Parts of the Country Wheat grows, but Tobacco and Indian Corn is the chief.
"From the Heart of the Settlements we are now got into the Cow-Pens, the Keepers of these are very extraordinary Kind of Fellows, they drive up their Herds on Horseback, and they had need do so, for their Cattle are near as wild as Deer; a Cow-Pen generally consists of a very large Cottage or House in the Woods, with about four-score or one hundred Acres, inclosed with high Rails and divided; a small Inclosure they keep for Corn, for the Family, the rest is the Pasture in which they keep their Calves; but the Manner is far different from any Thing you ever saw; they may perhaps have a Stock of four or five hundred to a thousand Head of Cattle belonging to a Cow-Pen, these run as they please in the great Woods, where there are no Inclosures to stop them. In the Month of March the Cows begin to drop their Calves, then the Cow-Pen Master, with all his Men, rides out to see and drive up the Cows with all their new fallen Calves; ​they being weak cannot run away so as to escape, therefore are easily drove up, and the Bulls and other Cattle follow them; then they put these Calves into the Pasture, and every Morning and Evening suffer the Cows to come and suckle them, which done they let the Cows out into the great Woods to shift for their Food as well as they can; whilst the Calf is sucking one Tit of the Cow, the Woman of the Cow-Pen is milking one of the other Tits, so that she steals some Milk from the Cow, who thinks she is giving it to the Calf; as soon as the Cow begins to go dry, and the Calf grows Strong, they mark them, if they are Males they cut them, and let them go into the Wood. Every Year in September and October they drive up the Market Steers, that are fat and of a proper Age, and kill them; they say they are fat in October, but I am sure they are not so in May, June and July; they reckon that out of 100 Head of Cattle they can kill about 10 or 12 Steers, and four or five Cows a Year; so they reckon that a Cow-Pen for every 100 Head of Cattle brings about 40£ Sterling per Year. The Keepers live chiefly upon Milk, for out ​of their vast Herds, they do condescend to tame Cows enough to keep their Family in Milk, Whey, Curds, Cheese and Butter; they also have Flesh in Abundance such as it is, for they eat the old Cows and lean Calves that are like to die. The Cow-Pen Men are hardy People, are almost continually on Horseback, being obliged to know the Haunts of their Cattle.
"You see, Sir, what a wild set of Creatures our English Men grow into, when they lose Society, and it is surprising to think how many Advantages they throw away, which our industrious Country-Men would be glad of: Out of many hundred Cows they will not give themselves the trouble of milking more than will maintain their Family."
Braddock's Road near Frostburg, Maryland
​now they must be better taught than fed. Indeed the Officers are as ill off about Food as they, the General himself, who understands good eating as well as any Man, cannot find wherewithal to make a tolerable Dinner of, though he hath two good Cooks who could make an excellent Ragout out of a Pair of Boots, had they but Materials to toss them up with; the Provision in the Settlements was bad, but here we can get nothing but Indian Corn, or mouldy Bisket; the fresh Bread we must bake in Holes in the Ground having no Ovens, so besides the Mustiness of the Flour, it is half Sand and Dirt. We are happy if we can get some rusty salt Pork, or Beef, which hath been carried without Pickle; for as we cannot carry Barrels on Horses, we are forced to take out the Meat and put it in Packs on Horses Backs; sometimes we get a few live Cattle from the Cow-Pens, but they are so lean that they are Carion and unwholesome. To this is added, the Heat of the Country, which occasions such Faintness, that the Men can hardly carry their Arms; and sometimes when these Heats are a little relaxed, there comes such Storms of ​Rain, Thunder and Lightening, that all the Elements seems on Fire; Numbers of Pine Trees struck to Shivers, and such Effects of Lightening, that if not seen one could hardly believe; yet we have not as yet had one Man killed by Lightening, but we have had several died by the Bite of Snakes, which are mortal, and abound prodigiously in the Swamps, through which we are often forced to march; there is another Inconveniency, which, tho it seems small, has been as teasing to me as the greater, that is a Kind of Tick, or Forest Bug, that gets into the Legs, and occasions Inflammations and Ulcers, so that the wound itches and makes one ready to tear off the Flesh; this hath greatly distressed both Men and Officers, and there is no Help nor Cure for it but Patience: Indeed they seldom occasion Lameness, tho' sometimes they do; a Soldier of our Company was forced to have his Leg cut off, for the Inflammation caused by the many Bites mortifying. We have nothing round us but Trees, Swamps, and Thickets. I cannot conceive how we must do if we are attacked, nor how we can get up to attack; but the best is what the Gen​eral said, to reassure the old Soldiers who are all uneasy for Fear of being attack'd on the long March in Defiles, his Excellency with great Judiciousness says, that where the Woods are too thick so as to hinder our coming at them, they will hinder their coming at us.
"Just as I write this we hear the best News I ever heard in my Life, the General hath declared to the Virginians, that if they do not furnish us with Waggons and Provisions in two Days, he will march back; he has justly upbraided them for exposing the King's Troops, by their Bragging and false Promises. They undertook to furnish us with Horses, Bread and Beef, and really have given nothing but Carion for Meat, Indian Corn for Bread, Jades for Horses which cannot carry themselves. These Assurances of furnishing every Thing has deceived the General hitherto, and he, out of Zeal for the Service, hath undergone the utmost Difficulties; but now it is impossible to go farther without they comply with the Promises, they were weak, or wicked enough to make, for certainly they were never able to perform them; it is surprizing ​how they bragged before we left the Settlements, of what Plenty they would furnish us with at the Cow-Pens, and in the Woods; these Assurances has brought the General into the present Difficulties, and he has very justly told them, that if he marched any farther without a Supply, he should be justly charged with destroying his Majesty's Troops in the Deserts, and thereby occasion the Destruction of Virginia by encouraging the French; that if he was not supplied in two Days, he would march back, and lay their Breach of Faith before his Majesty.
"I now begin to hope that I shall once more have the Pleasure of seeing you, and the rest of my Friends. Pray acquaint my dear Mr. M—, that I desire he would not sell my Farm at —, since I hope soon to be over." [The rest relates to private affairs]. ......
"As the Intention of marching back continues, another Courier is to be sent, which Opportunity I take, not only to let you know I am well, but to desire my Cousin — would not send any Money to ​Mr. — to be remitted to me in Virginia. As the Pen is in my Hand, I will give you an Account of a Diversion we had some Nights ago, it was an Indian Dancing, which I cannot call a Ball, though it was a Kind of Masquerade, the Habits being very antick; but this as every Thing in this Country is, was in the Stile of the Horrible; the Sal de Ball was covered with the Canopy of Heaven, and adorned with the twinkling Stars, a large Space of Grass was mark'd out for the Dancing-Place, round which we the Spectators stood, as at a Cricket-match in England, in the Centre of it was two Fires, at a small Distance from each other, which were designed as an Illumination to make the Dancers visible; near the Fires was seated the Musick, which were a number of Men and Women, with a Kind of Timbrels or small Kettle-Drums, made of real brass Kettles, covered with Deer Skins made like Parchment by the Indians, and these they beat, and keep good Time, although their Tunes are terrible and savage; they also sing much in the same Stile, creating Terror, Fear, and all dreadful Passions, but no pleasing ones. ​After this Noise had gone on for some Time, at once we heard a most dreadful Shout, and a Band of horrid Figures rushed into the Ring, with a Nimbleness hardly conceivable; they struck the Ground in exact Measure, answering the rough Musick; at once all the Descriptions of the Fawns and Satyrs of the Latin Poets came into my Mind, and indeed the Indians seemed to be the same Kind of brown dancing People, as lived under King Faunus, some 3000 Years ago in Italy; they are most chearful and loving to their Friends, but implacable and cruel to their Enemies. They drink and act when drunk much like Silenus and his Satyrs; their whole Life is spent in Hunting, War, and Dancing, what they now perform'd was a War Dance; as soon as this Surprize ceased the Dancers followed one another, treading a large Ring, round the two Fires and Music, and ceased Singing; the Timbrels and Voices in the Centre set up a Tune to which they continued dancing, and follow'd one another in the Ring with a very true Measure, antick Postures, and high Bounds, that would puzzle our best Harlequins to ​imitate; soon after, to every five Dancers came out a Boy, carrying in their Hands flaming Splinters of light Wood instead of Torches, which cast a glim Light that made Things as distinguishable as at Noon-Day; and indeed the Surprisingness and Newness of the Spectacle made it not unpleasing; the Indians being dress'd, some in Furrs, some with their Hair ornamented with Feathers, others with the Heads of Beasts; their Bodies naked, appearing in many Places, painted with various Colours, and their Skins so rubbed with Oyl as to glitter against the Light; their Waists were girded round with Bear or Deer Skins with the Hair on, and artificial Tails fixed to many of them that hung down near unto the Ground. After they had danced some Time in a Ring, the Music ceased, the Dancers divided into two Parties, and set up the most horrid Song or Cry, that ever I heard, the Sound would strike Terror into the stoutest Heart. They then formed themselves into two Bodies, four deep, all which they did, still dancing to the Tune and Measure; they ceased singing, and the Music began, on which the two Bodies run ​in at each other, acting all the Parts the Indians use in their Manner of Fight, avoiding Shot, and striving to surround their Enemies. Some Time past in this Manner, and then at the Signal of a dismal Cry the Dancers all at once rushed out again, leaving one only behind them, who was supposed to have mastered his Enemy; he struck the Ground with his Tomohawk or Club, as if he was killing one lying there, then acting the Motions of scalping, and then holding up a real dried Scalp, which before hung upon him amongst his Ornaments; he then sung out the great Achivements which some of their Nation had performed against the French, told the Names of the Indian Warriors, and how many of French each had scalped, and then the Dance ended, &c."
"In my last I acquainted you with the joyful News that our General resolved not to be any longer deceived by the Virginians, Orders were given for our March back, but the Day before that was appointed there arrived five Quakers decently dressed, they were pure plump Men, on brave fat Horses, ​which, by the way, were the first plump Creatures I had seen in this Country. Then, as I told you before, I believed Virginia was peopled by Pharaoh's lean Kine, but these Quakers seem to come from the Land of Goshen, they looked like Christian People; they went directly to his Excellence, and Curiosity carried us all to the general Quarters. They came with Thanks to the General from the People of Pensilvania, for the great Labour he had gone through in advancing so far into the Wilderness for the Protection of his Majesty's dutiful Subjects. They acquainted him further, that they had been cutting Roads to meet him with a Number of Waggons loaded with Flour, Cheese, Bacon, and other Provision; though this was good News I did not half like it, I fear'd it would occasion our Stay, and prevent our marching back; besides it was ominous, your Cheese and your Bacon being the Baits that draw Rats to Destruction, and it proved but too true; this Bait drew us into a Trap where happy was he that came off with the Loss of his Tail only. This Evening we saw the Road and Waggons, ​and the Men eat, this was a Duty so long disused, that it was a Tour of Fatigue to the Teeth. The Fellows who drove the Waggons, tho' they would have made but a shabby Figure amongst our Hampshire Carters, yet here they looked like Angels, compared with the long, lank, yellow-faced Virginians, who at best are a half-starved, ragged, dirty Set; if by Accident they can clear enough by their Tobacco to buy a Coat, they rather chuse a half-wore gaudy Rag, than a substantial coarse Cloth, or Kersey; they are the very Opposites to the Pensilvanians, who buy Coats of Cloth so strong as to last as long as the Garments of the Israelites in their March through the Desert; a Coat serves a Man for his Life and yet looks fresh, but this comes from their never wearing them at Home; when out of Sight they work half naked. They are a very frugal People, and if they were not so would be as beggarly as their Neighbours the Virginians. The Ground does not bear half the Crops as in England; they have no Market but by Sea, and that very dull, if you consider they are forced to put their Flour in Barrels after grinding and ​sifting, all at their own Charge, and no Consideration thereof in the Price; whilst the English Farmer only threshes his Wheat, and sends it to Market. Tho' Pensilvania is a Paradise to Virginia, it is a very poor Country compared to England, and no Man in his Senses can live with Comfort in England stays here; as soon as they get Estates they come over to England. The Proprietor, a most worthy Gentleman, and universally admired, went over, and out of Complaisance staid a little Time with them, but soon returned back to England, where he resides. If Pennsylvania could be agreeable to any one, it would be so to him, who is one of the most amiable Men living, and the whole People used their utmost Endeavors to make the Place agreeable; but alas, the Intemperature of the Climate, the Nearness and Frugality in their Manner of Living, necessary to carry on the Cultivation; the Labor that most are forced to undergo to live, prevent their giving Way to Pleasure, and the rest, as soon as they by Labor and Frugality get enough to come to England, leave that Country, so there are not People enough at ​Ease to make an agreeable Society; nor to occasion those Improvements in Gardens, Buildings, and Parks, as would make Life agreeable, much less is their Numbers enough of Rich to afford encouragement to support public Diversions; so that America is a very disagreeable Place, the least Shire-Town in England has more Pleasures than the best Town in North America.
"But to return to our Quakers, the Chief of them told the General that he feared greatly for the Safety of the Army; that the Woods, the farther we went, would be the more dangerous, and the French were a subtle and daring Enemy, and would not neglect any Opportunity of surprising us; that the further we went the more difficult it would be to supply us with Provisions, and that the Country was not worth keeping, much less conquering. The French not yet knowing our Force were in Terror, and if he sent would perhaps come into a Treaty; that Peace was a heavenly Thing; and as for the Country in Dispute it was misrepresented by those Projectors, who had some private Advantage; for it was fit for none but Indians, the Soil bad, far from ​the Sea, and Navigation; therefore he thought if the French would abandon and destroy their Forts, and we do the same, and leave the Lands to their rightful Owners the Indians, on Condition that that Nation should pay some Furrs and Deer Skins, by Way of Tribute, to our most gracious King George, a Pacification might be established till the Matter was made up before his Majesty. That General Oglethorp had in that Manner settled all Differences with the Spaniards on the Southern Frontiers, towards Florida, and the Accord lasted to this Day; on the other Hand, he said, that if the French refused, then the Indians, who are a free and warlike Nation, and much too powerful to be despised, would probably take our Side; if we would pull down the French Forts, and our own also, they would be the guard of our Colonies with very small Expense to England.
"The General not only heard this Proposal with Pleasure, and communicated it to most of the Officers, but doubted if he had Power to execute it. Some of the Braggadocio Virginians, who last Year ran away so stoutly, began to clamor against ​the Quakers and the General; so we marched on; the General got as far as the Meadows, where, to hasten our March, he fortified and intrenched a Camp, and left the heavy Baggage, sick Men, and spare Provision &c, and to cover our Communication, he left Colonel Dunbar with 800 Men. This place was the only one where regular Troops could make Use of their Discipline and Arms, and it is all open Ground, therefore the General made this Camp as a Place of Arms, where a Fortification being erected would supply the Army as they should want, and might receive, and lay up the Provisions in Safety, as they arrived from Pennsylvania; the General also said, that as this Place was on the West Side of the Allegane Mountains, it preserved his Majesty's Rights against the French, who pretended that those Mountains bounded his Majesty's Dominions. Here we halted and refreshed ourselves bravely, by the Help of the Pensilvania Provisions, and of Deer, wild Turkeys, and Game of several other Kinds brought in by the Indians, which though we should deem it bad enough in England, ​for there is not above one Deer in ten that is fat, yet here our former Wants made these delicious.
"On the 4th of July our Indians were defeated in the Woods by the French Parties; a few only was killed, but their chief Man was taken; the French have treated them very kindly, and declare they intend no War against the Indians. The General is apprehensive this will make an ill Impression on them, therefore does not care to trust them any further; he has publickly said he will advance himself with 1200 Men, drive the Enemy out of the Woods, and invest Fort Du Quesne; he is resolved to be prepared for all Accidents, therefore leaves Colonel Dunbar with a strong Party to make good this Camp. The Ground round the Camp is open, and the Situation so advantageous, that this Camp is defensible against all the Efforts the French can make, if any Accident, should happen to the General; and he has declared, he has put it in this Condition, that his Majesty's Affairs may not suffer if he should miscarry.
"The General seems very anxious about marching through the Woods, and gave ​very particular Orders; Powder and Bullet were given out, and every Thing fit for Action; two Lieutenant-Colonels were ordered to command the advanced Party. The General followed with the Gross of the two Regiments from Europe, the Americans followed, and the Rear was brought up by Captain Dumary's, and another Independent Company. We marched on in this Manner without being disturbed, and thought we had got over our greatest Difficulties, for we look'd upon our March through the Woods to be such: We were sure we should be much above a Match for the French, if once we got into the open Ground near the Forts, where we could use our Arms. We had a Train, and a gallant Party of Sailors for working our Guns, full sufficient to master better works than those of the French Forts, according to the Intelligence we had of them. Then we march'd on, and when within about ten Miles of Fort Du Quesne, we were, on a sudden, charged by Shot from the Woods. Every Man was alert, did all we could, but the Men dropped like Leaves in Autumn, all was Confusion, and in Spight of what ​the Officers and bravest Men could do, Numbers run away, nay fired on us, that would have forced them to rally. I was wounded in one Leg, and in the other Heel, so could not go, but sat down at the Foot of a Tree, praying of every one that run by, that they would help me off; an American Virginian turned to me, Yes, Countryman, says he, I will put you out of your Misery, these Dogs shall not burn you; he then levelled his Piece at my Head, I cried out and dodged him behind the Tree, the Piece went off and missed me, and he run on; soon after Lieutenant Grey, with a Party of Dumary's Company came by, who brought up the Rear; the Firing was now Quite ceased, he told me the General was wounded, and got me carried off. When we arrived at the Meadows, we found Colonel Dunbar did not think it expedient to wait for the French there, but retired, and carried us, the wounded, with him to Will's Creek. I have writ till I am faint."
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