Owl Creek is one of the head waters of Muskingum River, and is a copious stream of clear water. It is crossed by a large wooden bridge, and turns an extensive mill, which is in sight of the road. {280} On the 5th, I travelled over some high, rugged land, where chesnut trees are numerous and of a large size. The presence of this kind of timber, is understood to be an indication of the poverty of the soil on which it grows; but it is valued principally on account of its resisting the effects of the weather for a great length of time. In the afternoon a heavy shower of rain fell, which obliged me to stop at a tavern at the Clear Fork, which is only fifteen miles from Mount Vernon. The Clear Fork is another head branch of Muskingum River, and has a plentiful run of water. It seems that the river Ohio derives the greater part of its waters, in dry seasons, from the springs which rise in the high lands at a considerable distance from it. I have, at various times, observed that most of the streams that originate in the lower country are either entirely dried up, or are very small runs in summer, while the tributaries in the higher parts of the country run copiously. This fact is corroborated by the present superior verdure of the high country, in showing, that the quantity of rain is greater than in the lower parts. A lower temperature, and the intermixture of breezes from the valleys of the Mississippi and the Ohio, with those from the lakes and the river St. Lawrence, are to be inferred as the most probable causes. _Oct. 6._ Between the Clear Fork and Mansfield (9¹⁄₂ miles) the ground is hilly, and part of it, like that travelled over on the 5th, abounding with chesnut trees. Except for the strength and spirit of my horse, I had not succeeded in carrying my baggage over this rugged part of the country. The roads are not laid out under proper supervision, but pass over steep land, or round the fences of inclosed fields, at the will of interested persons. {281} They calculate badly, however, who disregard utility. Mansfield is another county town,[155] and is favoured as the seat of a bank. I lodged at Trucksville, a new town, consisting of about half a dozen of frame-houses. The lands of the neighbourhood appeared excellent. On the 7th, I passed through a part of the country with a surface which is gently undulated. The little intervales seem to be nearly horizontal in their bottoms. This, with the woods that obstruct the view everywhere, imposes the aspect of a low flat country, an illusion that I could only dispel by recollecting that throughout my journey I had travelled in a direction contrary to the motion of the rivers, and by observing that the waters run in different directions, part towards the Ohio, and part towards Lake Erie.