Waterways of Westward Expansion - The Ohio River and its TributariesHulbert, Archer Butler
History
Waterways of Westward Expansion - The Ohio River and its Tributaries
Hulbert, Archer Butler
Ohio River
On the sixteenth at nine o'clock, the party resumed its journey, making
nearly twelve leagues. On the seventeenth Céloron makes record of having
seen two "beautiful" rivers the names of which he says he does not know.
"I disembarked early to hunt, being altogether reduced to a diet of
bread."[28]
The journey was resumed at an early hour the next day, but the party was
forced to camp at noon, as the rain prevented their continuing. On this
day, the eighteenth of August, the fifth leaden plate was "buried, at
the foot of a tree, on the southern shore of the Ohio and the eastern
shore of Chiniondaista."[29] Father Bonnécamps gives the name of this
river, the Great Kanawha, Chinodaichta. The spelling of the name on the
plate, which was found in 1846 and has been preserved by the Virginia
Historical Society, differs somewhat from that of the _Journal_, that on
the plate being Chinodahichetha. This place, where the fifth plate was
interred, was named Point Pleasant, West Virginia, by the early settlers
and still bears that name.
At this point the expedition was delayed on account of rain, but all
reëmbarked on the twentieth, and during the day encountered a Loup, who,
upon being asked how many inhabitants there were at St. Yotoc,[30]
replied there were eighty or a hundred cabins. On the following day
Joncaire, two chiefs of the Sault de St. Louis, three Abenakis chiefs,
and M. de Niverville were sent ahead to St. Yotoc "to tranquilize the
nations and restore their spirits, in case any carrier of news had
troubled them."
Céloron gave his envoys a start of several hours before resuming his
journey. By embarking early on the morning of the twenty-second, they
were enabled to reach St. Yotoc that day, and encamped opposite the
village. The next three days were spent in holding councils. The
Chaouanons (Shawanese) inhabitants of "St. Yotoc" were very suspicious
of the French and their intentions. Bonnécamps says: "Monsieur the
Commandant had great difficulty to reassure them." "The situation of the
village of the Chaouanons is quite pleasant--at least, it is not masked
by the mountains, like the other villages through which we had passed.
The Sinhioto river, which bounds it on the West, has given it its name.
It is composed of about sixty cabins. The Englishmen there numbered
five. They were ordered to withdraw, and promised to do so."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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