Part 8 (1/2)
UNITED STATES CONTINUED.
_Narrative of_ MR. WELD'S _return from Richmond to Philadelphia, through the central parts of Virginia._
Having continued at _Richmond_ somewhat more than a week, Mr. Weld mounted his horse, and, accompanied by his servant, proceeded towards the _South-west_ or _Green Mountains_.
The country around Richmond is sandy; but it is not so much so, nor so flat, as on the south side of James River, towards the sea. When Mr.
Weld was here it wore a most pleasing aspect. The first week in May had arrived; the trees had acquired a considerable part of their foliage; and the air, in the woods, was perfumed with the fragrant smell of numberless flowers and flowering shrubs. The music of the birds also was delightful: the notes of the mocking-bird or Virginia nightingale, in particular, were extremely melodious.
In this part of America there is a singular bird, called whipper-will, or whip-poor-will, which has obtained its name from the plaintive noise that it makes. This it commences every evening about dusk, and continues through the greatest part of the night. The frogs in America make a most singular noise. Some of them absolutely whistle; and others croak so loudly, that it is difficult, at times, to tell whether the sound proceeds from a calf or a frog. Mr. Weld, whilst walking in the meadows, was more than once deceived by it. The largest kinds are called bull-frogs: they chiefly live in pairs, and are never found but where there is good water; their bodies measure from four to seven inches, and their legs are of proportionate length. These animals are extremely active, and take prodigious leaps.
In one part of his journey, the road extended almost wholly through pine-forests, and was very lonely. Night came on before he reached the end of it; and, as commonly happens with travellers in this part of the world, he soon lost his way. A light, however, seen through the trees, seemed to indicate that a house was not far distant. His servant eagerly rode up to it, but the poor fellow's consternation was great indeed when he observed it moving from him, presently coming back, and then, with swiftness, departing into the woods. Mr. Weld was himself at a loss to account for this singular appearance, till, after having proceeded a little further, he observed the same sort of light in many other places; and, dismounting from his horse to examine a bush, where one of these sparks appeared to have fallen, he found that it proceeded from a fire-fly. In the present instance Mr. Weld was much surprised; but, as the summer advanced, these flies appeared every night. After a light shower in the afternoon, this gentleman says he has seen the woods sparkling with them in every direction. The light is emitted from the tail, and the animal has the power of emitting it or not at pleasure.
After wandering about till near eleven o'clock, he came at last to a house, where he obtained information respecting the road: and, about midnight, he arrived at a miserable tavern. During the next day's ride he observed a great number of snakes, which were now beginning to come forth from their holes.
The _South-west Mountains_ run nearly parallel to the _Blue Ridge_, and are the first that are seen in Virginia, on going up the country, from the sea-coast. They are not lofty, and ought indeed rather to be called hills than mountains. These mountains are not seen till the traveller comes within a few miles of them; and the ascent is so gradual, that he reaches their top almost without perceiving it.
The soil is here a deep clay, particularly well suited to the culture of grain and clover, and it produces abundant crops.
The salubrity of the climate, in this part of Virginia, is equal also to that of any part of the United States; and the inhabitants have, in consequence, a healthy and ruddy appearance, totally different from that of the residents in the low country.
In these mountains live several gentlemen of large property, who farm their own land. Among the number was Mr. Jefferson, the vice-president of the United States. His house was about three miles from Charlottesville, and was most singularly situated, being built on the top of a small mountain, the apex of which had been cut off. At this time it was in an unfinished state; but, if carried on, according to a plan which had been laid down, it promised to be one of the most elegant private habitations in America. Several attempts have been made in this neighbourhood, to bring the manufacture of wine to perfection; none of them, however, have succeeded to the wish of the parties concerned in it.
The country between the South-west Mountains and the Blue Ridge is very fertile, and is much more closely inhabited than that in the lower parts of Virginia. The climate is good, and the people have a healthy and robust appearance. Several valuable mines of iron and copper have been discovered here.
Having crossed the South-west Mountains, Mr. Weld proceeded to _Lynchburgh_, a town on the south side of _Fluvanna River_, and one hundred and fifty miles beyond Richmond. This town contained about one hundred houses; and a warehouse for the inspection of tobacco, where about two thousand hogsheads were annually inspected. It had been built within the last fifteen years, and, in consequence of its advantageous situation for trade, was rapidly increasing.
Between Lynchburgh and the Blue Mountains, the country is rough and hilly, and but thinly inhabited. The few inhabitants, however, who are seen here, are uncommonly robust and tall: it is rare to observe a man amongst them who is not six feet high. The Blue Ridge is thickly covered with large trees, to the very summit. Some of the mountains are rugged and stony; others are not so; and on the latter the soil is rich and fertile. It is only in particular places that this ridge can be crossed; and at some of the gaps the ascent is steep and difficult.
The _Peaks of Otter_, near which Mr. Weld crossed it, are the highest mountains in the Blue Ridge, and, measured from their bases, they are supposed to be more lofty than any others in North America. The princ.i.p.al peak is said to be about four thousand feet in perpendicular height.
Beyond the Blue Ridge, Mr. Weld observed very few settlements, till he approached _Fincastle_. This town is about twenty miles from the mountains, and fifteen south of _Fluvanna River_. It was only begun about the year 1790; yet, when Mr. Weld was there, it contained sixty houses, and was rapidly increasing. The inhabitants consisted princ.i.p.ally of Germans.
On the eastern side of the Blue Mountains, cotton grows extremely well; and, in winter, the snow scarcely ever remains more than a day or two upon the ground. On the opposite side, cotton never comes to perfection; the winters are severe, and the fields are covered with snow for many successive weeks. In every farm-yard are seen sleighs or sledges, a kind of carriages that are used for travelling upon the snow.
In this part of America, the soil consists chiefly of a rich brown mould, in which white clover grows spontaneously. To have a fertile meadow, it is only necessary to leave a piece of ground to the hand of nature for one year. A bed of limestone also runs entirely through the country.
It appeared to Mr. Weld that there was no part of America where the climate would be more congenial to the const.i.tution of a native of Great Britain or Ireland than this. The frost in winter is more regular, but is not more severe than what commonly takes place in those islands.
During summer the heat is somewhat greater; but there is not a night in the year in which a blanket is not found comfortable. Fever and ague are disorders here unknown; and the air is so salubrious, that persons who come from the low country, afflicted with those disorders; get rid of them in a short time.
In the western part of the country there are several medicinal springs, to which, about the end of summer, great numbers of people resort, as much for the sake of escaping the heat in the low country, as for drinking the waters. Those that are most frequented are called the _Sweet Springs_; but there are others in _Jackson's Mountains_, a ridge that runs between the Blue Mountains and the Alleghany. One of these is warm, and another quite hot. There is also a sulphur spring near them, into which, if the leaves of trees fall, they become thickly incrusted with sulphur, in a very short time; and silver, if put into them, will be turned black almost immediately.
Mr. Weld, now bending his course in a northerly direction, again crossed the _Fluvanna River_. About ten miles from this stream, there is, among the mountains, a deep cleft or chasm, about two miles long, and, in some places, three hundred feet deep. Over one part of this is a natural arch, called _Rockbridge_, which consists of a solid ma.s.s of stone, or of several stones so strongly cemented together that they appear but as one. The road extends over this natural bridge. On one side of it is a parapet or wall of fixed rocks, but on the other there is a gradual slope, to the very brink of the chasm. The slope is thickly covered with large trees, princ.i.p.ally cedars and pines. The whole width of the bridge is about eighty feet: the road runs nearly along the middle of it, and is pa.s.sed daily by waggons.
At the distance of a few yards from the bridge there is a narrow path, which winds, along the sides of the fissure, and amidst immense rocks and trees, down to the bottom of the chasm. Here the stupendous arch appears in all its glory, and seems even to touch the skies. The height, to the top of the parapet, is two hundred and thirteen feet. The rocks are of limestone, and nearly perpendicular; and the sides of the chasm are thickly clad with trees, wherever there is s.p.a.ce sufficient to admit of their growth. A small stream runs at the bottom of the fissure, over beds of rock, and adds much to the beauty of the scene.
About fifty miles beyond Rockbridge, there is another remarkable natural curiosity: a large cavern, known by the name of _Maddison's Cave_. It is in the heart of a mountain, and about two hundred feet high. Persons who reside in a house, not far distant from this cave, act as guides, and use, as lights, splinters from the wood of the pitch pine-tree, a bundle of which they carry with them for this purpose. This cave is of great extent, and is divided into many large, and singularly-shaped apartments, covered with stalact.i.tes, or petrifactions, at the top and sides. Before these were blackened by the smoke of the torches, they are said to have been extremely beautiful. The floor is of a deep sandy earth, which has been repeatedly dug up, for the purpose of obtaining saltpetre, with which it is strongly impregnated.
The country immediately behind the Blue Mountains, is agreeably diversified with hill and dale, and abounds in extensive tracts of rich land. Clover grows here in great luxuriance. Wheat also is raised, and in crops as abundant as in any part of the United States. Tobacco is not grown, except for private use. The climate is not here so warm as in the lower parts of the country, on the eastern side of the mountains.