vered with oyfter and cockle fhells, and, by fome gullies, they ap pear to be of confiderable depth. A plantation at Day's Point, on James river, of as many as one thoufand acres, appears at a distance as if covered with fhow, but on cxamination the white appearance is found to arife from a bed of clam fhells, which by repeated plowing have become fine and mixed with the earth.

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It is worthy notice, that the mountains in this State are not folitary and scattered confufedly over the face of the country; but com mence at about one hundred and fifty miles from the fea coaft, are difpofed in ridges one behind another, running nearly parallel with the fea coaft, though rather approaching it as they advance northeaftwardly. To the fouth-weft, as the tract of country between the fea coaft and the Miffiffippi becomes narrower, the mountains converge into a fingle ridge; which, as it approaches the gulph of Mexico, fubfides into plain country, and gives rife to fome of the waters of that gulph, and particularly to a river called Apalachicola, probably from the Apalachies, an Indian nation formerly refiding on it. Hence the mountains giving rife to that river, and feen from its various parts, were called the Apalachian mountains, being in fact the end or termination only of the great ridges paffing through the continent. European geographers, however, have extended the fame northwardly as far as the mountains extended; fome giving it after their feparation into different ridges, to the Blue Ridge, others to the North mountains, others to the Allegany, others to the Laurel Ridge, as may be seen in their different maps. But none of these ridges were ever known by that name to the inhabitants, either native or emigrant, but as they faw them fo called in European maps. In the fame direction generally are the veins of lime-ftone, coal, and other minerals hitherto discovered; and fo range the falls of the great rivers. But the courses of the great rivers are at right angles with thefe. James and the Potomack penetrate through all the ridges of mountains eastward of the Allegany, which is broken by no watercourfe. It is in fact the spine of the country between the Atlantic on one fide, and the Miffiffippi and St. Lawrence on the other. The paffage of the Potomack through the Blue ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in nature. You stand on a very high point of land. On your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountain an hundred miles to feek a vent; on your left approaches the Potomack, in quest of a paffage also: in the mo

ment

ment of their junction, they rush together against the mountain, rend it afunder, and pafs off to the fea. The first glance of this fcene hurries our fenfes into the opinion, that this earth has been created in time, that the mountains were formed first, that the rivers began to flow afterwards; that in this place particularly they have been dammed up by the Blue ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean which filled the whole valley; that continuing to rife, they have at length broken over at this spot, and have torn the mountain down from its fummit to its base. The piles of rock on each hand, but particularly on the Shenandoah, the evident marks of their dif ruption and avulfion from their beds by the most 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 contrast to the fore ground; it is as placid and delightful, as that is wild and tremendous. For the mountain, being cloven afun der, prefents to the eye, through the cleft, a fmall catch of fmooth blue horizon, at an infinite diftance, 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 itfelf; and that way too, the road actually leads, You cross the Potomack above the junction, pafs along its fide through the base of the mountain for three miles, its terrible preci pices hanging in fragments over you, and within about twenty miles reach Frederick-town and the fine country round that. This fcene is worth a voyage àcrofs 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 the mountains has not yet been estimated with any degree of exactnefs. The Alles gany being the great ridge which divides the waters of the 'Atlantic from thofe of the Miffiffippi, its fummit is doubtless more elevated above the ocean than that of any other mountain. But its relative height, .compared with the bafe 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 mountaing 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 Virginia, and perhaps in North-Ame rica. From data, which may be found a tolerable conjecture, we

fuppofe

fuppofe the highest peak to be about four thousand feet perpendicular, which is not a fifth part of the height of the mountains of SouthAmerica, nor one third of the height which would be neceflary in our latitude to preserve ice in the open air unmelted through the year. The ridge of mountains next beyond the Blue ridge, called the North mountain, is of the greatest extent; for which reason they are named by the Indians the Endlefs mountains.

The Quafioto mountains are fifty or fixty miles wide at the Gap. Thefe mountains abound in coal, lime, and free-ftone; the fummits of them are generally covered with a good foil, and a variety of timber; and the low, intervale lands are rich and remarkably well watered.

An infpection of the map of Virginia will give a better idea of the geography of its rivers, than any description in writing. Their na vigation, however, may be imperfectly noted.

Roanoke, fo far as it lies within this State, is no where navigable but for canoes, or light batteaux; and even for thefe, in fuck detached parcels as to have prevented the inhabitants from availing themselves of it at all.

James river, and its waters, afford navigation as follows: the whole of Elizabeth river, the lowest of those which run into James river, is a harbour, and would contain upwards of three hundred hips. The channel is from one hundred and fifty to two hundred fathoms wide, and at common flood tide, affords eighteen feet water to Norfolk. The Strafford, a fixty gun fhip, went there, lightening herfelf across the bar at Sowell's point. The Fier Rodrigue, pierced' for fixty-four guns, and carrying fifty, went there without lightening. Craney ifland, at the mouth of this river, commands its channel tolerably well.

Nansémond river is navigable to Sleepy Hole, for, veffels of two hundred and fifty tons; to Suffolk, for thofe of one hundred tons; and to Milner's, for thofe of twenty-five. Pagan creek affords eight or ten feet water to Smithfield, which admits veffels of twenty tons. Chickahominy has at its mouth a bar, on which is only twelve feet water at common flood tide. Veffels paffing that, may go eight miles up the river; thofe of ten feet draught may go four miles farther, and those of fix tons burthen twenty miles farther.

The Appamattox may be navigated as far as Broadways, by any veffel which has croffed Harrifon's bar in James river; it keeps eigft

or nine feet water a mile or two higher up to Fisher's bar, and four feet on that and upwards to Petersburg, where all navigation ceases.

James river itself affords harbour for veffels of any fize at Hampton road, but not in fafety through the whole winter; and there is navigable water for them as far as Mulberry ifland. A forty gun fhip goes to James-town, and, lightening herself, may pafs to Harrison's bar, on which there is only fifteen feet water. Veffels of two hundred and fifty tons may go to Warwick; thofe of one hundred and twentyfive go to Rocket's, a mile below Richmond; from thence is about feven feet water to Richmond; and about the center of the town, four feet and a half, where the navigation is interrupted by falls, which in a courfe of fix miles defcend about eighty feet perpendicular: above thefe it is refumed in canoes and batteaux, and is profecuted fafely and advantageoufly to within ten miles of the Blue Ridge, and even through the Blue Ridge a ton weight has been brought, and the expenfe would not be great, when compared with its object, to open a tolerable navigation up Jackfon's river and Carpenter's creck, to within twenty-five miles of Howard's creek of Green Briar, both of which have then water enough to float veffels into the Great Kanhawa. In fome future ftate of population, it is poffible that its navigation may also be made to interlock with that of Potomack, and through that to communicate by a fhort portage with the Ohio. It is to be noted, that this river is called in the maps James river, only to its confluence with the Rivanna; thence to the Blue Ridge it is called the Fluvanna; and thence to its fource, Jackfon's river. But in common fpeech it is called James river to its fource.

'The Rivanna, a branch of James river, is navigable for canoes and batteaux to its interfection with the fouth-west mountains, which is about twenty-two miles; and may eafily be opened to navigation through thofe mountains, to its fork above Charlottesville.

York river, at York-town, affords the best harbour in the State for veffels of the largest size. The river there narrows to the width of a mile, and is contained within very high banks, close under which the veffels may ride. It holds four fathom water at high tide for twenty-five miles above York to the mouth of Poropotank, where the river is a mile and a half wide, and the channel only feventy-five fathem, and paffing under a high bank. At the confluence of Pamunkey

munkey and Mattapony it is reduced to three fathom depth, which continues up Pamunkey to Cumberland, where the width is one hundred yards, and up Mattapony to within two miles of Frazier's ferry, where it becomes two and a half fathom deep, and holds that about five miles. Pamunkey is then capable of navigation for loaded flats to Brockman's bridge, fifty miles above Hanover-town, and Mattapony to Downer's bridge, feventy miles above its mouth.

Piankatank, the little rivers making out of Mobjack bay, and those of the eastern fhore, receive only very small veffels, and these can but enter them. Rappahannock affords four fathom water to Hobbe's Hole, and two fathoms from thence to Fredericksburg, one hundred and ten miles.

The Potomack is seven and a half miles wide at the mouth; four and a half at Nomony bay; three at Aquia; one and a half at Hallooing point; one and a quarter at Alexandria. Its foundings are feven fathom at the mouth; five at St. George's ifland; four and a half at Lower Matchodic; three at Swan's point, and thence up to Alexandria; thence ten feet water to the falls, which are thirteen miles above Alexandria. The tides in the Potomack are not very strong, excepting after great rains, when the ebb is pretty strong, then there is little or no flood; and there is never more than four or five hours flood, except with long and strong fouth winds.

The distance from the capes of Virginia to the termination of the tide water in this river is above three hundred miles, and navigable for fhips of the greatest burthen, nearly that distance. From thence this river, obftructed by four confiderable falls, extends through a vaft tract of inhabited country towards its fource. These falls are, ift, The Little Falls, three miles above tide water, in which distance there is a fall of thirty-fix feet; 2d, The Great Falls, fix miles higher, where is a fall of feventy-fix feet in one mile and a quarter; 3d, The Seneca Falls, fix miles above the former, which form short, irregular rapids, with a fall of about ten feet; and 4th, The Shenandoah Falls, fixty miles from the Seneca, where is a fall of about thirty feet in three miles: from which laft, fort Cumberland is about one hundred and twenty miles diftant. The obstructions which are opposed to the navigation above and between these falls are of little confequence.

VOL. III.

M

Early