however it would surprise you the manner of doing business in that part of the country I need not being to describe the manners of the people in that part of the Country for my sheet would not hold half w[h]at would describe the manners of the western people however we bought 100 head of cattle and three horses and commenced our Jurney homeward we had 12 men starting us and 3 to Pitsburg and one from there to Harrisburg we averaged 30 miles per day on our homward-bound trip we passed 45 droves we made the best driving ever was made on the three mountains road droving is a very dangerous fateaging business although very respectable we always drove on horseback. there is no fairs in the west like Ireland the manner of purchesing cattle is to ride through amongst the farmers and purchase them and appoint a place to muster your drove and there comes a old farmer with his cattle following him like a dog he generally bears a pan of salt under his arm and the cattle all follow him for the Salt it was hard sometimes for the farmer to find the cattle in the woods but as soon as the[y] found that the e[a]stern men wer[e] out for cattle and paying cash the[y] have come fifty miles for us to go and b[u]y there cattle and the[y] could not find them for two days all our cattl[e] excepting twenty were oxen I suppose you will not beleave [me] when I tell you that I have often swum all my cattle over rivers larger than the river ban and me still on horseback I have rode my horse as far as 70 Miles per day and repeatedly swim him 20 perches I have rode over rodes on swampey places for 3 miles on what we call cordeyroy roads that is the trees cut down and the branches chopped of[f] them and them laid accross the road as compact as possible I also say that I have crossed the river Delaware with my bullocks just at the same place that Washington crossed with his army I crossed the Sisquehannagh river over a bridge one mile and a half long.