On every side is a charming and variegated succession of woodlands, meadows, pastures, and cultivated fields; in front, is the broad expanse of James river. The hills opposite are picturesque, some entirely covered with wood; others partially cultivated, and exhibiting pa ches of waving con, and dark forest, while here and there are scattered over the landscape, many elegant mansions of the wealthy planters. The whole view is strikingly rich and variegated.

Wheeling, on the Ohio, in the north-western part of the state, is a well built and very thriving town, situated at the point where the great Cumberland road strikes the river. It is much frequented by travellers and emigrants from the Atlantic country. Pop. 5,221.

4. AGRICULTURE. Virginia has been chiefly distinguished for the culture of tobacco, although wheat and maize receive a good share of attention; these three articles constitute the chief exports of the state. The cultivation of tobacco has considerably fallen off within a few years, and the land, in many cases, has been neglected in consequence of the exhaustion of the soil. Many tracts in the eastern parts, formerly devoted to tillage, are now abandoned and overgrown with pines. Agriculture in general, may be pronounced in a backward state in Virginia. East of the mountains, the labor is almost wholly performed by the slaves, and this portion of the state appears to be declining in wealth. West of the mountains, slave labor is less relied upon, and the country is improving in its condition.

5. COMMERCE. The imports into this state for 1829, amounted to 395,352 dollars; the domestic produce exported, to 3,783,493 dollars; total exports, 3,787,431 dollars. The enrolled and licensed shipping in 1828, amounted to 67,302 tons.

6. MANUFACTURES. These consist chiefly of iron and salt. The salt works, on the Kanahwa, produce about 2,000,000, bushels of salt yearly. At Harper's Ferry, is a manufactory of muskets, employed principally for the United States.

7. GOVERNMENT. The legislature consists of a Senate and House of Representatives. The senators are 32; they are elected by districts, and hold their office four years, one quarter of their number being renewed every year. The representatives are chosen yearly. These elections are made viva voce, and not as in other states, by ballot. The Governor is elected for three years, by the two branches of the legislature, and is eligible but once in 6 years. There is a council of three, chosen like the Governor; the senior councillor is Lt. Governor. The right of voting comes very near to universal suffrage. Clergymen are ineligible as legislators. No legislative provision can be made for religious worship. The state sends 22 representatives to Congress.

8. RELIGION. The most numerous sect in Virginia, are the Baptists, who have 337 churches; the Presbyterians have 104; the Episcopalians, 45 ministers; the Methodists 77. There are also Lutherans, Catholics, and Jews in small numbers.

9. EDUCATION. William and Mary College was founded at Williamsburg in 1691. King William endowed it with 2,000 pounds, 20,000 acres of land, and a revenue of a penny on every pound of tobacco exported from Virginia. Other endowments were afterwards added, and its income was formerly 3,000 pounds a year, but it is now much reduced. It has at present, 7 instructers, 60 students, and libraries containing about 4,000 volumes. There is one vacation of nearly four months, in summer and autumn. Commencement is in July.

Hampden Sydney College, in Prince Edward's county, was founded in

1774. It has 6 instructers, and 54 students. Washington College at Lexington, was founded in 1812. It has 23 students, and libraries of 2,200 volumes. The University of Virginia at Charlottesville, was founded i› 1819. It has 9 instructers, and 130 students. The libraries have 8,000 volumes. The state has a literary fund of 1,510,689 dollars.

12. HISTORY. Virginia was the earliest settled of all the British American colonies. An expedition was despatched by the London Company, under Captain Newport, who was accompanied by Gosnold and the celebrated Captain Smith. They entered the Chesapeak, and discovered James's river, in April, 1607. A settlement was immediately formed at Jamestown, but the colonists soon began to suffer severely by famine and the hostility of the natives. Smith was taken prisoner, and when on the point of being put to death by the savages, was rescued and released by the romantic generosity of Pocahontas, the King's daughter. The affairs of the colony after this, fell into so bad a state, that all the settlers embarked, and were under sail to leave the country, when several ships arriving with supplies, they were induced to

return.

From this period, the settlement began to thrive, though much harassed by Indian wars. Charles I. conferred upon the inhabitants the right to elect representatives; in return for which favor, the Virginians adhered to the royal interests during the civil wars which preceded his overthrow. The parliament, in 1652, sent a fleet which brought them to submission, and for 9 years, Cromwell appointed the Governor of the colony. After the restoration, Virginia was much disturbed by a civil war in her own territory, but the Governor continued to be appointed by the King till the beginning of the American Revolution. In 1776, a new constitution was formed; and in 1830, it was revised by a Convention for that purpose.

The inhabitants of Virginia were from the beginning strongly averse to the introduction of slaves, and their legislatures passed many laws to prohibit it, but the refusal of the higher officers of government to sanction the laws, rendered these efforts fruitless.

CHAPTER XVI. NORTH CAROLINA.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT. This state is bounded N. by Virginia, E. by the ocean; S. by the ocean and South Carolina, and W. by Tennessee. It extends from 33° 50′ to 36° 30′ N. lat. and from 75° 45' to 84° W. lon. It is 435 miles in length, from E. to W. and 180 in breadth. It contains 43,800 square miles.

2. MOUNTAINS. The Blue Ridge crosses the western extremity of the state, and the western limit is formed by a parallel ridge, called the Iron, Bald, and Smoky Mountains. The Blue Ridge has the highest summits.

3. VALLEY. The only large valley lies between the ridges above mentioned. It extends from N. E. to S. W. 180 miles, and is from 10 to 40 miles

in width.

4. RIVERS. The Roanoke and Chowan rise in Virginia, and flow through this state into Albemarle Sound; the latter is navigable for small vessels, 75 miles. Pamlico, or Tar River, and the Neuse, flow into Pamlico Sound; they are navigable for marine craft 40 miles. Cape Fear River flows to the

sea in the southern extremity of the state, and has a ship navigation 34 miles. The Yadkin runs through the western part into South Carolina.

5. ISLANDS. The coast is skirted by a range of low, sandy islands, thrown up by the sea. They are long and narrow, and enclose several bays or sounds. They are generally barren.

6. SOUNDS AND BAYS. The largest is Pamlico Sound, lying between the main land and one of the above mentioned islands. It is 86 miles in length along the coast, and from 10 to 20 broad. It communicates with the ocean by several narrow mouths, the most common of which for navigation is Ocracoke Inlet. A little to the north, is Albemarle Sound, which extends 60 miles into the land, and is from 5 to 15 miles wide. It communicates with Pamlico Sound and with the sea, by several narrow and shallow inlets.

7. SHORES AND CAPES. The shores are low and swampy, and the navigation along the coast dangerous, on account of the shoals. Cape Lookout and Cape Fear, indicate by their names the dread with which mariners approach them. But the most formidable, is Cape Hatteras, the elbow of a triangular island, forming the seaward limit of Pamlico Sound. Its shoals extend a great distance from the land, and render it one of the most dangerous headlands on the American coast.

8. CLIMATE. In that small part of the state toward the west, which is mountainous, the climate is temperate, and the air salubrious; this region is one of the most healthy in the country, and though the days in summer are hot, the nights are refreshed by cool breezes. In all the eastern parts, the climate is unhealthy, and intermittent fevers are common in summer and autumn. The inhabitants have a pale, yellowish, and bilious complexion. The winters are very mild. The wheat harvest takes place in the beginning of June; the maize harvest early in September.

9. SOIL. In the level country generally, the soil is poor and sandy, with large swampy tracts. The banks of some of the rivers are tolerably fertile, and there are some glades of moist land, possessing a black, fruitful soil. West of the hilly country, the soil is good, and resembles that of the states farther north.

The Great Dismal Swamp lies in the northeastern part of the state, and extends into Virginia. It is 30 miles in length, and 10 in breadth, and covers an extent of 150,000 acres; the soil is marshy, and the whole tract is overgrown with pine, juniper, and cypress trees, with white and red oak in the drier parts. In the centre of it is a pond 15 miles in curcuit. Many parts of the swamp are impervious to man from the thickness of the woods and bushes. A canal is carried through it from Norfolk to Albemarle Sound.

Between Albemarle and Pamlico Sound is another, called Alligator, or Little Dismal Swamp, which also has a pond in the centre; this has been partly drained by means of a canal, and the land rendered fit for the cultivation of rice.

It is estimated that there are 2,500,000 acres of swampy land within the state, capable of being drained at a trifling cost, and fitted for the culture of cotton, tobacco, rice, and maize. These swamps have a clay bottom, over which lies a thick stratum of vegetable compost. The drained lands are found to be exceedingly fertile.

10. GEOLOGY. The western part is primitive, but all the Atlantic region is alluvial. The soil in this quarter abounds in marine shells.

11. MINES. The gold mines of this state have been recently discovered, but have already grown into importance. The region containing the gold, embraces in this state an extent of 1000 square miles, and reaches from Virginia, across the centre of the state, to South Carolina; continuing through

the latter state, and Georgia, into Alabama. In some parts the gold is obtained by mining, and in others by washing the sand and gravel. The veins of ore are sometimes several feet in width, and sometimes only a few inches. The mines are not sunk very deep, but the horizontal galleries are extensive. There are a great number of mills for grinding the ore, driven by steam and water. The mines in this state occupy above 20,000 men. Those employed in washing, collect the soil near the surface in deep gullies, and beds of what appear to have been rivers and creeks. Here the gold occurs pure and in small particles, seldom exceeding in size the head of a pin. Sometimes, much larger pieces are found, and in a single instance, a lump was obtained, weighing in its crude state, 28 pounds avoirdupois. The amount annually furnished by the mines, is estimated at 5,000,000 dollars. Most of this is sent to Europe. The greater part of the laborers are foreigners, who come from almost every quarter of the world; there are thirteen different languages spoken at the mines.

12. NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. A great part of the country is covered with forests of pitch pine. In the plains of the Low Country, this tree is almost exclusively the natural growth of the soil. It much exceeds in height the pitch pine of the Northern States. The tar, turpentine and lumber, afforded by this valuable tree, constitute one half the exports of the state. The moisture of the air, in the swampy regions, loads the trees with long, spongy moss, which hangs in clusters from the limbs, and gives the forest a singular appearance. The mistletoe is often found upon the trees of the interior. This state also produces several valuable medicinal roots, as ginseng, Virginia, and seneca snakeroot, &c. The rich intervals are overgrown with canes, the leaves of which continue green through the winter, and afford good fodder for cattle.

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. DIVISIONS. This state is divided into 62 counties.* The population is 738,470, of whom 246,462 are slaves.

2. TOWNS. Raleigh, the seat of government, is situated on the Neuse, near the centre of the state. It is regularly laid out, with some handsome buildings, but does not appear to be a very thriving place, as its population has diminished in ten years from 2,674, to 1,700. The state house, at this place, was destroyed by fire in 1831. This disaster was accompanied with the further and irreparable loss of Canova's admired statue of Washington. Newbern is the largest town in the state. It stands on the Neuse, 30 miles above Pamlico Sound. Vessels from the sea ascend to this place, and

This town

it has a considerable trade in exporting timber, grain and tar. has a theatre, and was once the seat of government. Pop. 3,776. Fayetteville, on Cape Fear river, at the head of boat navigation, has a trade in grain, flour, tobacco and naval stores. Pop. 2,868.

Wilmington, on Cape Fear river, 34 miles from the sea, is a commercial town, and the port for the trade of Fayetteville. In commerce, it is the first town in the state; but its harbor is not commodious, being, like most others on this coast, barred with sand. The situation also is unhealthy.

3. AGRICULture. The most common articles of culture are maize and wheat, to which the nature of the soil seems well adapted. Some attention is paid to cotton and rice. Tobacco is raised in the uplands, as well as most of the productions of the Middle States. Agricultural societies exist in different parts of the state, and sums of money are annually paid by the government for their assistance. Agriculture, however, is in a backward condition.

4. COMMERCE. This state is deficient in good harbors and inland navigation. The produce of the interior is generally carried to the trading towns in Virginia and South Carolina for a market. Timber and plank, grain, flour and naval stores are the chief exports. The shipping of the state, amounted, in 1828, to 54,094 tons. The imports for the same period, were 283,347 dollars; the exports of domestic produce, 564,506 dollars.

5. MANUFACTURES. There are no large manufacturing establishments, but the domestic fabrics, made in the state, are considerable and increasing. 6. GOVERNMENT. The legislature is styled the General Assembly, and consists of a Senate and a House of Commons. Each county chooses one senator and two representatives. The Governor is chosen annually by the legislature, and is ineligible three years out of six. Voters for senators must be freeholders. The clergy are excluded from the legislature. The state sends 13 representatives to Congress. The expenses of the state for 1829, were 121,151 dollars.

7. RELIGION. The Baptists have 272 churches; the Presbyterians 126; the Lutherans 45; the Episcopalians 11; the United Brethren 4. The Methodists have 32 preachers, and there are a number of societies of Quakers.

8. EDUCATION. The University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, was founded in 1791. It has 9 instructers, and 69 students. Its libraries have about 5,000 volumes. It has two vacations in summer and winter, of 10 weeks. Commencement is in June. The state has a small literary fund, but its income has not yet been applied to the purposes of education.

9. HISTORY. This state was visited by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584. He landed and traded with the natives at Pamlico, and Albemarle Sounds. The next year, a settlement was attempted at the island of Roanoke, in Albemarle Sound, but after two or three years, it was abandoned, and this part of the country was for a long time neglected. The first permanent settlements were made by the fugitives and seceders from Virginia, who, between 1640 and 1650, fled beyond the limits of that state to avoid religious persecution. A patent for the territory had been previously granted by Charles I. but no effectual use had been made of it. After the above settlement, the patent was transferred to Lord Clarendon and some others, and a government was organized. The constitution, subsequently formed for the colony, is a remarkable document in American history, for it was the work of the celebrated John Locke. The chief magistrate was called the Palatine, and there was a hereditary nobility, with the titles of Landgrave and Cazique. The legislature was called a parliament. This constitution was found upon trial to be ill adapted to the character of the people, and it was abolished in 1693.