John notices that the current of the river 'gripped" his raft. He says this is magic because the riveris usually " wide and calm". The river, with its bitter waters in the "Oudis-sun or Hudson River in New York. We can deduce that because all around he sees god-roads ( highways) that used to cross the river. The were once bridges that crossed the Hudson. The other clues show that the Place of the Gods was New York, with it large towers, and statues of "ashing" or George Washington and the "chariots", which were obviously cars and trucks. At night, John notices the lights of the city, which made the sky light up. He calls this "strong magic" He sees hears the rushing of the traffic and the city as it once was in a vision he has in that night and realizes it was once a large city.