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powerful agents of nature, corroborate the impreffion. But the diftant finishing which nature has given to the picture is of a very different character. It is a true contraft to the fore ground. It is ás placid and delightful, as that is wild and tremendous. For the mountain being cloven afunder, the prefents to your eye, through the cleft, a small catch of fmooth blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the plain country, inviting you, as it were, from the riot and tumult roaring around, to pass through the breach, and participate of the calm below. Here the eye ultimately compofes itself; and that way too the road happens actually to lead. You cross the Patomak above the junction, pafs along its fide through the base of the mountain for three miles, its terrible precipices hanging in fragments over you, and within about 20 miles reach Frederick town and the fine country round that. This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic. Yet here, as in the neighbourhood of the natural bridge, are people who have paffed their lives within half a dozen miles, and have never been to furvey these monuments of a war between rivers and mountains, which must have fhaken the earth itself to its center.-The height of our mountains has not yet been estimated with any degree of exactness. Allegany being the great ridge which divides the waters of the Atlantic from those of the Minifippi, its fummit is doubtless more elevated above the ocean than that of any other mountain. But its relative height, compared with the base on which it ftands, is not fo great as that of fome others, the country rifing behind the fucceffive ridges like the fteps of ftairs. The mountains of the Blue Ridge, and of these the Peaks of Otter, are thought to be of a greater height, measured from their base, than any others in our country, and perhaps in North America. From data, which may be found a tolerable conjecture, we fuppofe the highest peak to be about 4000 feet perpendicular, which is not a fifth part of the height of the mountains of South America, nor one third of the height which would be neceffary in our latitude to preserve ice in the open air unmelted through the year. The ridge of mountains next beyond the Blue Ridge, called by us the North Mountains, is of the greatest extent; for which reason they are named by the Indians the Endless Mountains.

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A fubftance supposed to be pumice, found floating on the Miffifippi, has induced a conjecture, that there is a volcano on fome of its waters: and as these are mostly known to their fources, except the Miffouri, our expectations of verifying the conjecture would of courfe be led to the mountains which divide the waters of the Mexican Gulph from those of the South Sea; but no volcano having ever yet been known at fuch a distance from the fea, we must rather fuppofe that this floating substance has been erroneously deemed pumice.

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Cafcades and Caverns.] The only remarkable cascade in this country, is that of the Falling Spring, in Augufta. It is a water of James river, where it is called Jackfon's river, rifing in the warm fpring mountains, about 20 miles fouth-weft of the warm fpring, and flowing into that valley. About three quarters of a mile from its fource, it falls over a rock 200 feet into the valley below. The sheet of water is broken in its breadth by the rock in two or three places, but not at all in its height. Between the sheet and rock, at the bottom, you may walk across dry. This cataract will bear no comparison with that of Niagara, as to the quantity of water compofing

compofing it; the fheet being only 12 or 15 feet wide above, and fomewhat more spread below; but it is half as high again, the latter being only 156 feet, according to the menfuration made by order of Mr. Vandreuil, Governor of Canada, and 130 according to a more recent ac

count.

In the lime-stone country, there are many caverns of very confiderable extent. The most noted is called Madison's Cave, and is on the north fide of the Blue Ridge, near the interfection of the Rockingham and Augufta line with the fouth fork of the fouthern river of Shenandoah. It is in a hill of about 200 feet perpendicular height, the afcent of which, on one fide, is so steep, that you may pitch a bifcuit from its fummit into the river which washes its bafe. The entrance of the cave is, in this fide, about two thirds of the way up. It extends into the earth about 300 feet, branching into fubordinate caverns, fometimes afcending a little, but more generally defcending, and at length terminates, in two different places, at bafons of water of unknown extent, and which I should judge to be nearly on a level with the water of the river; however, I do not think they are formed by refluent water from that, because they are never turbid; because they do not rife and fall in correfpondence with that in times of flood, or of drought; and because the water is always cool. It is probably one of the many refervoirs with which the interior parts of the earth are fuppofed to abound, and which yield fupplies to the fountains of water, diftinguished from others only by its being acceffible. The vault of this cave is of folid lime-ftone, from 20 to 40 or 50 feet high, through which water is continually percolating. This, trickling down the fides of the cave, has incrufted them over in the form of elegant drapery; and dripping from the top of the vault generates on that, and on the bafe below, ftalactites of a conical form fome of which have met and formed maffive columns.

• Another of thofe caves is near the North Mountain, in the county of Frederick, on the lands of Mr. Zane. The entrance into this is on the top of an extensive ridge. You defcend 30 or 40 feet, as into a well, from whence the cave then extends, nearly horizontally, 400 feet into the earth, preferving a breadth of from 20 to 50 feet, and a height of from 5 to 12 feet. After entering this cave a few feet, the mercury, which in the open air was at 50°, rofe to 57° of Farenheit's thermometer, anfwering to 11° of Reaumur's, and it continued at that to the remoteft parts of the cave. The uniform temperature of the cellars of the obfervatory of Paris, which are 90 feet deep, and of all fubterranean cavities of any depth, where no chymical agents may be fuppofed to produce a factitious heat, has been found to be 10° of Reaumur, equal to 54° of Farenheit. The temperature of the cave above-mentioned fo nearly correfponds with this, that the difference may be ascribed to a difference of inftruments.

At the Panther gap, in the ridge which divides the waters of the Cow and the Calf pafture, is what is called the Blowing Cave. It is in the fide of a hill, is of about 100 feet diameter, and emits conftantly a current of air of fuch force, as to keep the weeds proftrate to the diftance of twenty yards before it. This current is strongest in dry frosty weather, and in long fpells of rain weakeft. Regular infpirations and

expirations

expirations of air, by caverns and fiffures, have been probably enough accounted for, by fuppofing them combined with intermitting fountains; as they muft of courfe inhale air while their reservoirs are emptying themfelves, and again emit it while they are filling. But a conftant iffue of air, only varying in its force as the weather is drier or damper, will require a new hypothefis. There is another blowing cave in the Cumberland mountain, about a mile from where it croffes the Carolina line. All we know of this is, that it is not conftant, and that a fountain of water iffues from it.

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The Natural Bridge, the moft fublime of Nature's works, though not comprehended under the prefent head, must not be pretermitted. It is on the ascent of a hill, which feems to have been cloven through its length by fome great convulfion. The fiffure, juft at the bridge, is, by fome admeasurements, 270 feet deep, by others, only 205. It is about 45 feet wide at the bottom, and 90 feet at the top; this of course determines the length of the bridge, and its height from the water. Its breadth in the middle is about 60 feet, but more at the ends, and the thickness of the mass at the fummit of the arch, about 40 feet. A part of this thickness is conftituted by a coat of earth, which gives growth to many large trees. The refidue, with the hill on both fides, is one folid rock of lime-stone. The arch approches the femi-elliptical form; but the larger axis of the ellipfis, which would be the cord of the arch, is many times longer the tranfverfe. Through the fides of this bridge are provided in fome parts with a parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have refolution to walk to them, and look over into the abyss. You involuntarily fall on your hands and feet, creep to the parapet, and peep over it. Looking down from this height about a minute, gave me a violent head-ach. If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It is impoffible for the emotions arifing from the tublime, to be felt beyond what they are here: fo beautiful an arch, fo elevated, fo light, and fpringing as it were up to Heaven, the rapture of the fpectator is really indefcribable! The fiffure continuing narrow, deep, and freight for a confiderable distance above and below the bridge, opens a fhort but very pleafing view of the North mountains on the fide, and Blue Ridge on the other, at the distance each of them of about five miles. This bridge is in the county of Rock bridge, to which it has given name, and affords a public and commodious paffage over a valley, which cannot be croTed elsewhere for a confiderable diftance. The stream paffing under it is called Cedar creek. It is a water of James river, and fufficient in the driest feasons to turn a grift-mill, though its fountain is not more than two miles above *." There is a natural bridge, fimilar to the one above defcribed, over Stock creek, a branch of Pelefon river, in Washington county.

*Don Ulloa mentions a break, fimilar to this, in the province of Angaraez, in South-America. It is from 16 to 22 feet wide, 111 deep, and of 13 miles coutinuance, English measure: Its breadth at top is not fenfibly greater than at bottom.

Mines and Minerals.] I knew a fingle inftance of gold found in this ftate. It was interfperfed in small specks through a lump of ore, of about four pounds weight, which yielded seventeen penny-weights of gold, of extraordinary ductility. This ore was found on the north fide of Rappahannock, about four miles below the falls. I never heard of any other indication of gold in its neighbourhood.

On the Great Kanhaway, oppofite to the mouth of Cripple creek, and about 25 miles from our fouthern boundary, in the county of Montgo mery, are mines of lead. The metal is mixed, fometimes with earth, and fometimes with rock, which requires the force of gunpowder to open it; and is accompanied with a portion of filver, too small to be worth feparation under any procefs hitherto attempted there. The proportion yielded is from 50 to 80 lb. of pure metal from 100 lb. of washed ore. The most common is that of 60 to the lb. The veins are at fometimes moft flattering; at others they disappear fuddenly and totally. They enter the fide of the hill, and proceed horizontally. Two of them are wrought at prefent by the public, the best of which is 100 yards under the hill. Thefe would employ about 50 labourers to advantage. We have not, however, more than 30 generally, and these cultivate their own corn. They have produced 60 tons of lead in the year; but the general quantity is from 20 to 25 tons. The prefent furnace is a mile from the ore bank, and on the oppofite fide of the river. The ore is first waggoned to the river, a quarter of a mile, then laden on board of canoes, and carried across the river, which is there about 200 yards wide, and then again taken into waggons, and carried to the furnace. This mode was originally adopted, that they might avail themselves of a good fituation on a creek for a pounding mill: but it would be easy to have the furnace and pounding mill on the fame fide of the river, which would yield water, without any dam, by a canal of about half a mile in length. From the furnace the lead is tranfported 130 miles along a good road, leading through the peaks of Otter to Lynch's ferry, or Winfton's on James river, from whence it is carried by water about the same distance to Weftham. This land carriage may be greatly fhortened, by delivering the lead on James river, above the Blue Ridge, from whence a ton weight has been brought in two canoes. The Great Kanhaway has confiderable falls in the neighbourhood of the mines. About feven miles below are three falls, of three or four feet perpendicular each: and three miles above is a rapid of three miles continuance, which has been compared in its defcent to the great fall of James river. Yet it is the opinion, that they may be laid open for ufeful navigation, fo as to reduce very much the portage between the Kanhaway and James river.

A valuable lead mine is faid to have been lately discovered in Cumberland, below the mouth of Red river. The greateft, however, known in the western country, are on the Miffifippi extending from the mouth of Rock river 150 miles upwards. These are not wrought, the lead ufed in that country being from the banks on the Spanish fide of the Miffifippi, oppofite to Kafkafkia.

A mine of copper was once opened in the county of Amherst, on the north fide of James river, and another in the opofite county, on the fouth fide. However, either from bad management, or the poverty

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of the

veins,

veins, they were difcontinued. We are told of a rich mine of native copper on the Ouabache, below the upper Wiaw.

The mines of iron worked at prefent are Callaway's, Rofs's, and Ballendine's, on the fouth fide of James river; Od's on the North fide, in Albemarle; Miller's in Augufta, and Zane's in Frederick. Thefe two laft are in the valley between the Blue Ridge and north Mountain. Callaway's, Rois's, Miller's, and Zane's make about 150 tons of bar iron cach, in the year. Rofs's makes also about 1600 tons of pig iron annually; Ballendine's 1000; Callaway's, Miller's, and Zane's, about 600 each. Bendes thefe, a forge of Mr. Hunter's, at Fredericksburgh, makes about 300 tons a year of bar iron, from pigs imported from Maryland; and Taylor's forge on Neapfco of Patomak, works in the fame way, but to what extent I am not informed. The indications of iron in other places are numerous, and difperfed through all the middle country. The toughness of the cast iron of Rofs's and Zane's furnaces is very remarkable. Pots and other utenfils, caft thinner than ufual, of this iron, may be fafely thrown into, or out of the waggons in which they are transported. Salt-pans made of the fame, and no longer wanted for that purpose, cannot be broken up, in order to be melted again, unless previously drilled in many parts.

In the western country, we are told of iron mines between the Muskingum and Ohio; of others on Kentucky, between the Cumberland and Barren rivers, between Cumberland and Tenniffee, on Reedy creek, near the Long Island, and on Chefnut creek, a branch of the Great Kanhaway, near where it croffes the Carolina line. What are called the iron Banks, on the Miffifippi, are believed, by a good judge, to have no iron in them. In general from what is hitherto known of that country, it seems to want iron.

• Confiderable quantities of black lead are taken occafionally for ufe from Winterham, in the county of Amelia. I am not able, however, to give a particular state of the mine. There is no work established at it,

those who want, going and procuring it for themselves.

The country on James river, from 15 to 20 miles above Richmond, and for feveral miles northward and fouthward, is replete with mineral coal of a very excellent quality. Being in the hands of many proprietors, pits have been opened, and before the interruption of our commerce, were worked to an extent equal to the demand.

In the western country coal is known to be in fo many places, as to have induced an opinion that the whole tract between the Laurel Mountain, Miffifippi, and Ohio, yields coal. It is alfo known in many places on the north fide of the Ohio. The coal at Pittsburg is of a very fuperior quality. A bed of it at that place has been on fire fince the year 1755. Another coal-hill on the Pike Run of Monongahela has been on fire ten years: yet it has burnt away about 20 yards only.

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I have known one inftance of an emerald found in this country. methysts have been frequent, and chryftals common; yet not in fuch numbers any of them as to be worth feeking.

There is very good marble, and ia very great abundance, on James river, at the mouth of Rockfish. The famples I have feen, were fome of them of a white as pure as one might expect to find on the furface of the

earth:

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