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follows its tortuous course up the mountain's side, until it gains an elevation of hundreds of feet above the river, which it appears to nearly overhang. Gigantic mountains hem him in on every side; while far, from the dark ravine below, comes up the roar of the rapids. A little mountain rivulet, from amid the primeval forest, dashes across his path, and, leaping from rock to rock, hurries on to swell the stream below. Emerging from the pass, a beautiful and fertile country opens before him, and still westward the blue outlines of distant mountains in Rockbridge meet his view.

AUGUSTA.

AUGUSTA was formed from Orange, in 1738. "Previously, all that part of Virginia lying west of the Blue Ridge was included in Orange; but in the fall session of this year it was divided into the counties of Frederick and Augusta. Frederick county was bounded by the Potomac on the north, the Blue Ridge on the east, and a line to be run from the head spring of Hedgman to head spring of the Potomac, on the south and west; the remainder of Virginia, west of the Blue Ridge, to constitute Augusta. This immense territory, at the present time, comprises four entire states, and nearly 40 counties in western Virginia. As the population increased, the limits of Augusta were reduced until it reached its present boundaries in 1790." It is about 35 miles long, and 30 broad. The surface is generally uneven, and in the E. and w. mountainous. There are, however, some extensive bottoms of very fertile land. It is drained by tributaries of the James and Shenandoah rivers. Pop. 1830 19,925; 1840, whites 15,072, slaves 4,145, free colored 421; total 19,628.

There are several fine villages in the county, besides the large and flourishing town of Staunton. Greenville and Middlebrook, the first 12 miles ssw. and the last 11 miles sw. of Staunton, contain each about sixty dwellings. Waynesboro', at the western base of the Blue Ridge, on the main stage road from Charlottesville to Staunton, 12 miles easterly from the latter, is a wealthy and flourishing village, containing about 100 dwellings. Mount Sydney, 10 miles NE. of Staunton, contains about 40 dwellings. Mount Solon, Spring Hill, Mount Meridian, and New Hope, are small places, at the first of which there is considerable manufacturing carried on. There the Moss Creek Spring rises from a hill, and furnishes the power for a forge, a furnace, and 1 paper and 1 merchant mill.

The Augusta Springs are 12 miles NW. of Staunton. The water is strongly impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, and is said to equal the celebrated springs of Harrowgate, England. The improvements at this place are ample, and the situation extremely

picturesque. About 12 miles sw. of Staunton, is one of those ebbing and flowing springs, so common in western Virginia.

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Staunton, the county-seat, lies 116 ms. northwesterly from Richmond, 163 from Washington City, on one of the extreme head branches of the E. fork of Shenandoah River, in a fine valley between the Blue Ridge and north mountain chains.

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Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind, at Staunton, Va.

It contains 1 newspaper printing office, 2 female seminaries, 2 male academies, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, 1 Lutheran, and 1 Methodist church, and a population of about 2,200. It has many mercantile and mechanical establishments, and does a large business with the surrounding country. An excellent mac

The Western Lu

adamised road leads from here to Winchester. natic Asylum is located at this place, and is a noble pile of brick buildings. By the U. S. census of 1840, the whole number of insane and idiotic persons in Virginia was 892, or 1 to every 866 persons. The Virginia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind, has been established within a few years. A beautiful brick building is now erecting for it, near the town, on an elevated and picturesque site. By the U. S. census for 1840, the number of deaf and dumb in the state was 603, or 1 to every 2,056 of the population; the number of blind 802, or one to every 1390 of the population.

"When Tarleton, in the war of the revolution, pursued the legisture to Charlottesville, to which place they had adjourned from Richmond, they again fled and met at Staunton, where they finished their session. At some future day it will probably become the seat of government. It was at this place that two large conventions were held, to deliberate on forming the constitution of Virginia. The last met in July, 1825, and made an appeal to the legislature, who thereupon submitted the question to the people, and it finally resulted in the adoption of the new constitution.'

This county has been the birth-place or the residence of several prominent characters. Among them may be mentioned the Hon. Daniel Sheffey; Gen. Robert Porterfield, a gallant officer of the revolution; and Judge Archibald Stuart, father of the Hon. Alex. H. H. Stuart.

DANIEL SHEFFEY was born at Frederick, Md., in 1770, and was bred a shoemaker, in his father's shop. His education was inconsiderable; but possessing an ardent desire for knowledge, he passed his leisure in reading, and became particularly fond of astronomical and mathematical studies. Arrived at manhood, he travelled on foot, with his "kit" on his back, to Winchester. From thence he walked through the valley of Virginia, stopping at various villages on his route, and earning sufficient money by his trade, to pay his expenses, until he at last arrived at Abbeville, Wythe county. He was a stranger, friendless and destitute. "Here he commenced his trade once more. The novelty and originality of his character, and the flashes of genius which enlivened his conversation, often compelled his new-tried friends to look on the eccentric youth with wonder." Becoming popular, he was received into the office of Alexander Smyth, Esq., and after being admitted to the bar of Wythe county, was employed in the most important suits. After some years he settled in Staunton, and obtained a lucrative practice. He often represented Augusta in the House of Delegates, and, in 1811, was chosen as a member of Congress. "His speech, in favor of a renewal of the charter of the first bank of the United States, was a masterly combination of sound judgment and conclusive facts: for three hours profound silence reigned; and the most experienced statesmen were astonished at this exhibition of his talents." He was opposed to the declaration of war in 1812. On one occasion, he gave John Randolph, whose bitter sarcasm few could withstand, a most severe retort. In commenting upon a speech of Mr. Sheffey's, he said that "the shoemaker ought not to go beyond his last." In an instant Sheffey retorted, "if that gentleman had ever been on the bench, he never would have left it."

Mr. Sheffey was a plain man; his accent German, his pronunciation not agreeable; yet the most refined audience always paid him profound attention. He seized upon the strong points of a case, and maintained them with unconquerable zeal. "Like Patrick Henry, he was the artificer of his own fortune, and like him, in after-life, lamented that

Kercheval's MSS. for a 2d edition of his History of the Valley.

in his early days the lamp of life had shed but a feeble ray along the path which it was his destiny to travel." He died in 1830.

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The Cyclopean towers, which are near the Augusta Springs, are among the greatest curiosities of nature in the Union. Yet for many years they were known only in the vicinity, and bore the rude appellation of "the chimneys." They are about 60 or 70 feet in height. We annex the following from a published description by a gentleman who visited the towers in 1834, and gave them

* Southern Literary Messenger.

their present name. It commences with a description of the country as he approached towards them:

After passing over a hilly and picturesque country, the road opened upon a fertile valley, which though in places narrow, was of considerable length-and when seen from an elevated position, appeared like the bed of an ancient lake, or as it really is, the alluvial border of a flowing stream. The strata of limestone hills followed their usual order of parallel lines to the great mountains of our continent, as though a strong current had once swept through this magnificent valley, forming in its course islands and promontories, which are now discoverable in numerous short hills and rocky bluffs, that are either naked and barren, or covered with a growth of stately trees. It was at such a projection, that we first descried the gray summits of what seemed a ruinous castle-resembling those which were raised in feudal times to guard the passes of the Rhine, or like such as are still seen in mouldering majesty on many an Alpine rock. These summits or towers, of which there were seven, lifted their heads above the lofty elms, like so many antique chimneys in the midst of a grove; but, on approaching them nearer, our pleasure was greatly increased to find them rise almost perpendicularly from the bed of a stream, which, winding around their base, serves as a natural moat to a building not made with mortal hands.

These rocks in their formation resemble the palisades on the Hudson River-but are more regular in their strata, which appears to have been arranged in huge masses of perfect workmanship, with projections like cornices of Gothic architecture, in a state of dilapidation. Those who are acquainted with the structure of the Cyclopean walls of the ancients, would be struck with the resemblance.

A narrative of the circumstances connected with the settlement of Augusta county, by the Lewis family, collected from authentic records, and traditions of the family, and communicated for this work by a gentleman of the county:

John Lewis was a native and citizen of Ireland, descended from a family of Hugue nots, who took refuge in that kingdom from the persecutions that followed the assassination of Henry IV., of France. His rank was that of an Esquire, and he inherited a handsome estate, which he increased by industry and frugality, until he became the lessee of a contiguous property, of considerable value. He married Margaret Lynn, daughter of the laird of Loch Lynn, who was a descendant of the chieftains of a once powerful clan in the Scottish Highlands. By this marriage he had four sons, three of them, Thomas, Andrew, and William, born in Ireland, and Charles, the child of his old age, born a few months after their settlement in their mountain home.

The emigration of John Lewis to Virginia, was the result of one of those bloody affrays, which at that time so often occurred to disturb the repose, and destroy the happiness of Irish families. The owner of the fee out of which the leasehold of Lewis was carved, a nobleman of profligate habits and ungovernable passions, seeing the prosperity of his lessee, and repenting the bargain he had concluded, under pretence of entering for an alleged breach of condition, attempted by the aid of a band of ruffians, hired for his purpose, to take forcible possession of the premises. For this end, he surrounded the house with his ruffians, and called upon Lewis to evacuate the premises without delay, a demand which was instantly and indignantly refused by Lewis; though sur. prised with a sick brother, his wife, and infant children in the house, and with no aid but such as could be afforded by a few faithful domestics. With this small force, scarce equal to one-fourth the number of his assailants, he resolved to maintain his legal rights at every hazard. The enraged nobleman commenced the affray by discharging his fowling-piece into the house, by which the invalid brother of Lewis was killed, and Margaret herself severely wounded. Upon this, the enraged husband and brother, rushed from the house, attended by his devoted little band, and soon succeeded in dispersing the assailants, though not until the noble author of the mischief, as well as his steward, had perished by the hand of Lewis. By this time the family were surrounded by their sympathizing friends and neighbors, who, after bestowing every aid in their power, advised Lewis to fly the country, a measure rendered necessary by the high standing of his late antagonist, the desperate character of his surviving assailants, and the want of evidence by which he could have established the facts of the case. He therefore, after drawing up a detailed statement of the affair, which he directed to the proper authorities, embarked on board a vessel bound for America, attended by his family and a band of

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