Mines and Minerals.] I knew a fingle inftance of gold found in this fate. It was interfperfed in fmall fpecks through a lump of ore, of about four pounds weight, which yielded feventeen penny-weights of gold, of extraordinary ductility. This ore was found on the north fide of Rappahannock, about four miles below the falls. I never heard of any other indication of gold in its neighbourhood.

On the Great Kanhaway, oppofite to the mouth of Cripple creek, and about 25 miles from our fouthern boundary, in the county of Montgo mery, are mines of lead. The metal is mixed, fometimes with earth, and fometimes with rock, which requires the force of gunpowder to open it; and is accompanied with a portion of filver, too fmall to be worth feparation under any procefs hitherto attempted there. The proportion yielded is from 50 to 80 lb. of pure metal from 100 lb. of wafhed ore. The moft common is that of 60 to the 100 lb. The veins are at sometimes moft flattering; at others they difappear fuddenly and totally. They enter the fide of the hill, and proceed horizontally. Two of them are wrought at prefent by the public, the best of which is 100 yards under the hill. Thefe would employ about 50 labourers to advantage. We have not, however, more than 30 generally, and thefe cultivate their own corn. They have produced 60 tons of lead in the year; but the general quanti-. ty is from 20 to 25 tons. The prefent furnace is a mile from the ore bank, and on the oppofite fide of the river. The ore is firft waggoned to the river, a quarter of a mile, then laden on board of canoes, and carried across the river, which is there about 200 yards wide, and then again taken into waggons, and carried to the furnace. This mode was originally adopted, that they might avail themselves of a good fituation on a creek, for a pounding mill: but it would be eafy to have the furnace and pounding mill on the fame fide of the river, which would yield water, without any dam, by a canal of about half a mile in length. From the furnace the lead is tranfported 130 miles along a good road, leading through the peaks of Otter to Lynch's ferry, or Winfton's, on James river, from whence it is carried by water about the fame diftance to Weftham. This land carriage may be greatly fhortened, by delivering the lead on James river, above the Blue Ridge, from whence a ton weight has been brought in two canoes. The Great Kanhaway has confiderable falls in the neigh

bourhood of the mines. About feven miles below are three falls, of three or four feet perpendicular each: and three miles above is a rapid of three miles continuance, which has been compared in its defcent to the great fall of James river. Yet it is the opinion, that they may be laid open for ufeful navigation, fo as to reduce very much the portage between the Kanhaway and James river.

A valuable lead mine is faid to have been lately difcovered in Cumberland, below the mouth of Red river. The greatest, however, known in the western country, are on the Miffifippi, extending from the mouth of Rock river 150 miles upwards. Thefe are not wrought, the lead ufed in that country being from the banks on the Spanish fide of the Miflifippi, oppofite to Kafkafkia.

A mine of copper was once opened in the county of Amherst, on the north fide of James river, and another in the oppofite county, on the fouth fide, However, either from bad management, or the poverty of the

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veins, they were discontinued. We are told of a rich mine of native cop per on the Ouabache, below the upper Wiaw.

The mines of iron worked at prefent are Callaway's, Rofs's, and Ballendine's, on the fouth fide of James river; Old's on the north fide, in Albemarle, Miller's in Augufta, and Zane's in Frederick. These two laft are in the valley between the Blue Ridge and North Mountain. Callaway's, Rofs's, Miller's, and Zane's make about 150 tons of bar iron each, in the year. Rofs's makes alfo about 1600 tons of pig iron annually; Ballendine's 1000; Callaway's, Miller's, and Zane's, about 600 each. Befides thefe, a forge of Mr. Hunter's, at Fredericksburgh, makes about 300 tons a year of bar iron, from pigs imported from Maryland;: and Taylor's forge on Neapfco of Patomak, works in the fame way, but to what extent I am not informed. The indications of iron in other places are numerous, and difperfed through all the middle country. The toughnefs of the caft iron of Rofs's and Zane's furnaces is very remarkable. Pots and other utenfils, caft thinner than ufual, of this iron, may be fafely thrown into, or out of the waggons in which they are tranfported. Salt-pans made of the fame, and no longer wanted for that purpose, cannot be broken up, in order to be melted again, unless previously drilled in many parts.

In the wettern country, we are told of iron mines between the Mufkingum and Ohio; of others on Kentucky, between the Cumberland and` Barren rivers, between Cumberland and Tenniffee, on Reedy creek, near the Long Island, and on Chefnut creek, a branch of the Great Kanhaway, near where it croffes the Carolina line. What are called the Iron Banks, on the Miffifippi, are believed, by a good judge, to have no iron in them. In general from what is hitherto known of that country, it seems to want iron.

Confiderable quantities of black lead are taken occafionally for use from Winterham, in the county of Amelia. I am not able, however, to give a particular ftate of the mine. There is no work established at it, thofe who want, going and procuring it for themselves.

The country on James river, from 15 to 20 miles above Richmond, and for feveral miles northward and fouthward, is replete with mineral1 coal of a very excellent quality. Being in the hands of many proprietors, pits have been opened, and, before the interruption of our commerce, were worked to an extent equal to the demand.

In the wettern country coal is known to be in fo many places, as to have induced an opinion, that the whole tract between the Laurel Moun tain, Miflifippi, and Ohio, yields coal. It is alfo known in many places on the north fide of the Ohio. The coal at Pitifburg is of a very fuperior quality. A bed of it at that place has been on fire fince the year 1765. Anctlier coal-hill on the Pike Run of Monongahela has been on fire ten years: yet it has burnt away about 20 yards only.

I have known one inftance of an emerald found in this country. Amethysts have been frequent, and chrvítals common; yet not in fuch numbers any of them as to be worth feeking.

There is very good marble, and in very great abundance, on James river, at the mouth of Rockfish. The famples I have feen, were fome of them of a white as pure as one might expect to find on the furface of the

earth:

earth but most of them are variegated with red, blue, and purple. None of it has been ever worked. It forms a very large precipice, which hangs over a navigable part of the river. It is faid there is marble at Kentucky.

• But one vein of lime-ftone is known below the Blue Ridge. Its firft appearance, in our country, is in Prince William, two miles below the Pignut Ridge of mountains; thence it paffes on nearly parallel with that, and croffes the Rivanna about five miles below it, where it is called the Southweft Ridge. It then croffes Hardware, above the mouth of Hudfon's creek, James river at the mouth of Rockfish, at the marble quarry before fpoken of, probably runs up that river to where it appears again at Rofs's iron-works, and fo paffes off fouth-weftwardly by Flat creek of Otter river. It is never more than 100 yards wide. From the Blue Ridge weftwardly the whole country feems to be founded on a rock of limeftone, befides infinite quantities on the furface, both loofe and fixed. This is cut into beds, which range, as the mountains and fea-coaft do, from fouth-west to north-eaft, the lamina of each bed declining from the horizon towards a parallelifm with the axis of the earth. Being ftruck with this obfervation, I made, with a quadrant, a great number of trials on the angles of their declination, and found them to vary from 22° to 60°, but averaging all my trials, the refult was within one-third of a degree of the elevation of the pole or latitude of the place, and much the greateft part of them taken feparately were little different from that: by which it appears, that thefe lamina are, in the main, parallel with the axis of the earth. In. fome inftances, indeed, I found them perpendicular, and even reclining the other way but these were extremely rare, and always attended with figns of convulfion, or other circumstances of fingularity, which admitted a poffibility of removal from their original pofition, Thefe trials were made between Madifon's cave and the Patomak. We hear of lime-stone on the Miffifippi and Ohio, and in all the mountainous country between the eastern and western waters, not on the mountains themselves, but occupying the valleys between them.

Near the western foot of the North Mountain are immenfe bodies of Schift, containing impreffions of fhells in a variety of forms. I have received petrified thells of very different kinds from the first fources of the Kentucky, which bear no refemblance to any I have ever feen on the tidewaters. It is faid that fhells are found in the Andes, in South-America, 15,000 feet above the level of the ocean.'

Medicinal Springs.] There are feveral medicinal fprings, fome of which are indubitably efficacious, while others feem to owe their reputation as much to fancy, and change of air and regimen, as to their real virtues. None of them having undergone a chymical analyfis in skilful hands, nor been fo far the fubject of obfervations as to have produced a reduction, into claffes of the diforders which they relieve, it is in my power to give little more than an enumeration of them.

The most efficacious of thefe are two fprings in Augufta, near the first fources of James river, where it is called Jackfon's river. They rife near the foot of the ridge of mountains, generally called the Warm Spring mountain, but in the maps Jackfon's mountains. The one is diftinguished by the name of the Warm Spring, and the other of the Hot

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Spring. The Warm Spring iffues with a very bold ftream, fufficient to work a grift-mill, and to keep the waters of its bafon, which is 30 feet in diameter, at the vital warmth, viz. 96° of Farenheit's thermometer. The matter with which these waters is allied is very volatile; its smell indicates it to be fulphureous, as alfo does the circumftance of turning filver black. They relieve rheumatifms. Other complaints alfo of very different natures have been removed or leffened by them. It rains here four or five days in every week.

The Hot Spring is about fix miles from the Warm, is much smaller, and has been fo hot as to have boiled art egg. Some believe its degree of heat to be leffened. It raifes the mercury in Farenheit's thermometer to 112 degrees, which is fever heat. It fometimes relieves where the Warm Spring fails. A fountain of common water, ifluing within a few inches of its margin, gives it a fingular appearance. Comparing the temperature of thefe with that of the hot fprings of Kanfchatka, of which Krachininnikow gives an account, the difference is very great, the latter raising the mercury to 200°, which is within 12° of boiling water. Thefe fprings are very much reforted to in fpite of a total want of accommodation for the fick. Their waters are ftrongeft in the hottest months, which occafrons their being vifited in July and Auguft principally.

The fweet fprings are in the county of Botetourt, at the eastern foot of the Allegany, about 42 miles from the warm fprings. They are ftill lefs known. Having been found to relieve cafes in which the others had been ineffectually tried, it is probable their compofition is different. They are different alfo in their temperature, being as cold as common water: which is not mentioned, however, as a proof of a distinct impregnation. This is among the first fources of James river.

• On Patomak river, in Berkeley county, above the North mountain, are medicinal fprings, much more frequented than thofe of Augufta. Their powers, however, are lefs, the waters weakly mineralized, and fearcely warm. They are more vifited, becaufe fituated in a fertile, plentiful, and populous country, better provided with accommodations, always fafe from the Indians, and neareft to the more populous ftates.

In Louifa county, on the head waters of the South Anna branch of York river, are fprings of fome medicinal virtue. They are not much ufed, however. There is a weak chalybeate at Richmond; and many others in various parts of the country, which are of too little worth, or too little note to be enumerated after those before-mentioned.

We are told of a Sulphur Spring on Howard's creek of Green Briar, and another at Boonfborough on Kentucky.

In the low grounds of the Great Kanhaway, 7 miles above the mouth of Elk River, and 67 above that of the Kanhaway itfelf, is a hole in the earth of the capacity of 30 or 40 gallons, from which iffus conftantly a bituminous vapour in fo ftrong a current, as to give to the fand about its orifice the notion which it has in a boiling fpring. On prefenting a lighted candle or torch within 18 inches of the hole, it flames up in a column of 18 inches diameter, and four or five feet in height, which fometimes burns out within zo minutes, and at other times has been known to continue three days, and then has beed left ftill burning. The fame is unsteady, of the denfity of that of burning fpirits, and fmells

Jike burning pit coal. Water fometimes collects in the bafon, which is remarkably cold, and is kept in ebullition by the vapour iffuing through it. If the vapour be fired in that ftate, the water foon becomes fo warm that the hand cannot bear it, and evaporates wholly in a fhort time, This, with the circumjacent lands, is the property of his Excellency General Washington and of General Lewis.

There is a fimilar one on Sandy river, the flame of which is a column of about 12 inches diameter, and 3 feet high. General Clarke, who informs me of it, kindled the vapour, flaid about an hour, and left it burning.

The mention of uncommon fprings leads me to that of Syphon fountains. There is one of thefe near the interfection of the lord Fairfax's boundary with the North mountain, not far from Brock's gap, on the ftream of which is a grift-mill, which grinds two bushels of grain at every flood of the fpring. Another near the Cow-pafture river, a mile and a half below its confluence with the Bull-pafture river, and 16 or 17 miles from the Hot-Springs, which intermits once in every twelve hours. One alfo near the mouth of the North Holfton.

After thefe may be mentioned the Natural Well, on the lands of a Mr. Lewis in Frederick county, It is fomewhat larger than a common well: the water rifes in it as near the furface of the earth as in the neighbouring artificial wells, and is of a depth as yet unknown. It is faid there is a current in it tending fenfibly downwards. If this be true, it probably feeds fome fountain, of which it is the natural refervoir, diftinguished from others, like that of Madison's cave, by being acceffible. It is used with a bucket and windlafs as an ordinary well.