for four dollars per gallon. A year or two later
when Isaac Coates

again passed through this
section of the country, he speaks of there being a great
improvement at this place. A young man by the
name of Titus, had purchased 400 acres of land,
the most of it rich bottom, He had then about 36
acres of excellent corn in the ground, and a consider-
able quantity of wheat in stock, A large spring of
excellent water near the door, large enough to turn a
breast mill, That upon the whole I think his
farm likely in time to be of most inestimable value.

He says the oil which was collected from the
surface of the waters, was principally valued for
medicinal purposes, and had long been used in
that way by the Indians. He then had no idea
of the wonderful changes which would be effected
in it by the sinking of oil wells, and the consequent
enormous developement of the production and
trade in petroleum. Now let us return to "Our
Travellers" who left this desirable place the next
morning which was white with frost tho' it was
the 15th of 5th month. Set off for Broken Straw, a large
stream of water. After riding two miles we
entered a white pine forest, where the Holland
Company

has a saw mill, and is erecting a
grist mill, tho' there are but few houses within
twenty miles.* * but people came there 20, 25, or more miles with bags of grain on a horse, to be ground, there
being no road that any carriage can pass; Indeed to those who have not seen these mountainous new
countries it would appear impracticable to pass with a single horse. This is the first pine woods worth
noticing since we crossed the mountains, To this