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But, as I heard and saw nothing, I had more courage the next night, and slept fine. At last I slept too well, for my fire would go out and I would wake up freezing. I walked some twelve or fourteen days. I only walked slowly, and often went out of my way to shoot. Here I saw my first wild turkeys, two old ones with twelve or fifteen half-grown ones walking over a clearing. I did not know them at first. They were black, and much prettier than the tame ones. I crept as near as possible and shot after the old ones. I thought if I could get him I could run down the young ones. I did not get the old one, and when I shot, all the young ones flew away. Only one lit in a tree not far away. I went in under it and shot it, to my great joy. They are less dry than the tame turkey. I saw several deer, but, as I had enough to eat, I would not kill any. I saw only three houses, and one was empty. But at the others	they were very hospitable.	I ate with them and	they would take no
pay, and even gave me a loaf	of bread when I	left. They	live a very lonely
life, raise everything they eat. Only a couple of times a year they drive a load of corn to Waterloo, a little town by the river. After twelve to fourteen days wandering I arrived at Florentz, where I immediately took hire on a keel boat for one dollar per day and board. It went up the river about twenty miles for a load of cotton, and then down to Waterloo. We were twenty men who poled it up the river by setting the pole against the shoulder and walking on the thin boards along the side of the boat. It hurt the shoulder, and, as I was not used to it, my pole would slip and I would fall head first overboard. The current was so swift that the only way to get back on board was to swim ashore, run a piece above the boat and then drift down to it.
When	we got loaded all	the men	left the	boat except	two men and myself
who should	let the boat drift	down to	Waterloo.	We took no	provisions, as they
thought we might be there by morning, although it was over forty miles. Two of us went to sleep, and the third, who should have watched, did the same. When we awoke we were hard aground on an island in the river. We tried all sorts of tricks to get off, but the current was so strong we could only wade out knee deep or the water would throw us down.
In the meantime we were well into the day, and we began to get very hungry. There was nothing to do but for one of us to go down to Waterloo for help. We	had	no boat,	so we took one of the	hatch covers	and put it in the
water. I	sat	down on	this shaky raft and, by the help of	a pole, I reached
Waterloo in the evening. It was twenty miles and the current was so swift I was only three hours on the trip. I got help, and that night we brought the boat down.
I had had enough of the keel boat, and as there was a steamboat in Waterloo, I took hire in it and went down the mouth of the river where Paducah is situated. Here I left it as I did not want to go up the Tennessee again. Here I met	the	man whom	I left in Carolsville.	As there was	no steamboat which
needed men	we	bought a	little canoe to take us	to the mouth	of the Ohio, where
we were	sure	to	find	ships.	The mouth was	about sixty miles	from Paducah.	My
clothes,	that	I	had left it	Carolsville, we	put in the bottom	of the canoe.	We
started, each with a gun, but no provisions.
Here the current was slow, so we made not much progress. To protect us from the	sun	we	made	an awning of blankets.	In the day we lay down under	the
awnings	and	let the	boat	drift. Toward	evening we went	ashore and shot
squirrels and parrots enough to do us the next day. "After supper we lay down and went to sleep. There is only one kind of parrot in North America, much prettier than the common ones. They are yellow, green, and red, with long
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