On the second evening of our expedition we encamped on a small hill, from whose top there was a most pleasing romantic view, along a stream of considerable size which wound round its base, and as far as our eyes could reach, appeared tumbling in small falls over ledges of rocks. A fire being kindled, and the tent pitched as usual, the Indians sat down to cook some squirrels which we had killed on the borders of the plains. These animals the Indians had observed, as we came along, on the top of a large hollow tree; they immediately laid down their loads, and each taking out his tomahawk, and setting to work at a different part of the tree, it was felled down in less than five minutes, and such of the squirrels as escaped their dogs we readily shot for them. The Indian dogs, in general, have short legs, long backs, large pricked up ears, and long curly tails; they differ from the common English cur dogs in no respect so much as in their barking but very seldom. They are extremely sagacious, and seem to understand even what their masters say to them in a low voice, without making any signs, either with the hand or head. [Sidenote: JOURNEY THROUGH THE WOODS.] Whilst the squirrels were roasting on a forked stick stuck in the ground, and bent over the fire, one of the Indians went into the woods, and brought out several small boughs of a tree, apparently of the willow tribe. Having carefully scraped the bark off from these, he made a sort of frame with the twigs, in shape somewhat like a gridiron, and heaping upon it the scraped bark, placed it over the fire to dry. When it was tolerably crisp he rubbed it between his hands, and put it up in his pouch for the purpose of smoking. The Indians smoke the bark of many different trees, and a great variety of herbs and leaves besides tobacco. The most agreeable of any of the substances which they smoke are the leaves of the sumach tree, rhus-toxicodendron. This is a graceful shrub, which bears leaves somewhat similar to those of the ash. Towards the latter end of autumn they turn of a bright red colour, and when wanted for smoking are plucked off and dried in the sun. Whilst burning they afford a very agreeable perfume. These leaves are very commonly smoked, mixed with tobacco, by the white people of the country; the smoke of them by themselves alone, is said to be prejudicial to the lungs. The sumach tree bears tufted bunches of crimson flowers. One of these bunches dipped lightly, for a few times, into a bowl of punch, gives the liquor a very agreeable acid, and in the southern states it is common to use them for that purpose, but it is a dangerous custom, as the acid, though extremely agreeable to the palate, is of a poisonous quality, and never fails to produce a most alarming effect on the bowels if used too freely.