Dr. Saugrain provided a rare first-hand account of an attack on his flatboat by Northwest Indian Federation warriors. See end note for the book’s Introduction, page xviii, par. 2, lines 6-7.
“Two young men of uncommon knowledge”
Journal
John Bartram and William Bartram
The Bartrams explored and extolled the agricultural promise of the Floridas and Mississippi Delta. Like the Bartrams, Dr. Saugrain sought to extend scientific knowledge and commercial possibilities in the trans-Allegheny West and South. See end note for the book’s Introduction, page xviii, par. 3, line 8.
“As safe as on any river in France”
Native Americans regularly attacked pioneering and commercial flatboats on the Ohio River during the Northwest Indian War. The Forman pioneers had good reason to fear such depredations, intended by Chief Little Turtle (Miami nation) and his allies to dissuade settler encroachments into traditional Indian lands. See end note for the book’s Introduction, page xxi, par. 3, lines 14-15.
Settlements at Wheeling, Fort Harmar, Limestone, and Maysville
In 1788 The Ohio Land Company established Marietta in the immediate vicinity. See end note for the book’s Introduction, page xxi, par. 5, line 4.
In Louisville a most relieved Saugrain tarried for almost seven weeks
The town of Louisville was established as a military outpost in 1778 just below the Falls of the Ohio River. Saugrain found Louisville “quite small.” “[L]ow grounds, filled with water, from which exhales the most dreadful stench.” See end note for the book’s Introduction, (page xxvi, par. 2, lines 3-4).