ca, for a more philofophical view of them than is to be found in any other work. It is worthy notice, that our mountains are not folitary and scattered confufedly over the face of the country; but that they commence at about 150 miles from the fea-coaft, are difpofed in ridges one behind another, running nearly parallel with the fea-coast, though rather approaching as they advance north-eaftwardly. To the fouthweft, as the tract of country between the fea-coaft and the Miffifippi 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 the 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 extended the name northwardly as far as the mountains extended; fome giving it, after their feparation into different ridges, to the Blue ridge, others to the North mountain, others to the Alleghaney, others to the Laurel ridge, as may be feen in their different maps. But the fact I believe is, that 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. generall

^

generally are the veins of lime-ftone, coal, and other minerals hitherto discovered and fo range the falls of our great rivers. But the courses of the great rivers are at right angles with these. James and Patowmac penetrate through all the ridges of mountains eaftward of the Alleghaney; that is broken by no water course, It is in fact the spine of the country between the Atlantic on one fide, and the Miffisippi and St. Laurence on the other. The paffage of the Patowmac through the Blue ridge is perhaps one of the most ftupendous scenes in nature. You ftand 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 Patowmac, in queft of a paffage alfo. In the moment of their junction they rush together against the mountain, rend it afunder, and pafs off to the fea. The first glance of this scene 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 bafe. The piles of rock on each hand, but particularly on the Shenandoah, the evident marks of their difrupture and avulfion form their beds by the most

powerful

powerful agents of nature, corroborate the impreffion
But the distant finishing which nature has given to
the picture, is of a very different character. It is a
true contraft to the foreground. It is as placid and
delightful, as that is wild and tremendous. For the
mountain being cloven afunder, fhe presents to your
eye, through the cleft, a fmall catch of fmooth blue
horizon, at an infinite distance in the plain country,
inviting you as it were, from the riot and tumult roar-
ing around to pass through the breach and participate
of the calm below. Here the eye ultimately compof-
es itself; and that way too the road happens actually
to lead. You cross the Patowmac above the junction,
pass along its fide through the bafe of the mountain
for three miles, its terrible precipices hanging in frag-
ments over you, and within about 20 miles reach
Fredericktown, and the fine country round that. This
fcene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic.
here, as in the neighborhood 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 cen-
tre. (B.)

Yet

The height of our mountains has not yet been estimated with any degree of exactnefs. The Alleghaney being the great ridge which divides the waters of the Atlantic from thofe of the Miffifippi, its fummit is doubtlefs more elevated above the

ocean

But its

ocean than that of any other mountain. 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 steps 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 found a tolerable conjecture, we suppose 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 preferve ice in the open air unmelted through the year. The ridge of mountains next beyond the Blue ridge, called by us the North mountain, is of the greatest extent; for which reason they were named by the Indians the Endless mountains.

A substance, supposed to be pumice, found floating on the Miffifippi, has induced a conjecture, that there is a volcano on fome of its waters: and and as thefe are mostly known to their fources, except the Miffouri, our expectations of verifying the conjecture would of course be led to the mountains which divide the waters of the Mexican Gulph from thofe 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 fubftance has been erroneously deem, ed pumice.

QUERY

QUERY V.

ITS 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 Jackson's River, rifing in the warm fpring mountains, about twenty miles fouth west 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 the rock, at the bottom, you may walk acrofs dry. This cataract will bear no comparison with that of Niagara, as to the quantity of water 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 mensuration made by order of M. Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada, and 130 according to a more recent account.

In the lime-ftone 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