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rS'.:.7''J-'»5'.??i;iv '•• '•  '  -r "■ 
 
Cr .;■<
	-5~°!L
t	A
	TOUR
	THROUGH
PART OF VIRGINIA^	
	IN THE SUMMER OF
	X80S.
IN A	SERIES OF LETTERS,
         INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF
       HARPER'S FERRY,
THE  NATURAL BRIDGE,
      THE NEW DISCOVERY CALLED
          Weir*s Cave,

       MQNTICELLO,
              AND THE
   DIFFERENT MEDICINAL SPRINGS,
       Hot aud Cold Baths,
      VISITED BY THE AUTHOR,
      NEW-YORK:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR.
H. C. SOUTHWICK, PRINTER,    |          "  •,
  No. 2, Wall-Street. '      V   LIBRARY  J H

      1809.              ***"*' *""*, 
 
PREFACE.
  THE object of the Author in writing the following
Letters, being merely the entertainment of his friends,
during the approaching  winter evenings,  he hopes for
that indulgence in their perusal, which he is sensible that
both the style and the matter which it contains,  will re-
quire the good nature of the reader to bestow.
3<?s9;?f 
 
I—-!■--------.--------       - .   ■              i-J     -Jgg
LETTERS,  &c.
                           Baltimore, June 7, 1808.
 MY  DEAR FRIEND,

   I LEAVE this city to-morrow, for the sweet springs
 in Virginia ;  the urgency of my friends, more than my
 own inclinations, induce my undertaking so long a jour-
 ney ; the delicate and precarious state of my health re-
 quiring, they think, the wholesome exercise of riding,
 change of  air, the use of the waters, and that degree of
 temperate dissipation, or medicine of the mind, which
 relieves the patient from the anxiety of worldly pursuits
 and vexations, and promotes that sunshine and hilarity
 within, so conducive to the re-establishment of health.
   Baltimore, the capital of Maryland, is situated on the
 north side of Patapsco river, it has arisen within a few
 years, from a place of little trade, to the rank of  the
 third city  in size,  opulence,  and commerce, in  the
 United States;  the exports in  1806, were, domestic,
 3,661,131; foreign,  10,919,774,  making 14,580,905
 dollars.  The public  spirit  of its inhabitants have con-
 verted Fell's  point into a regular well built town,  and
from being an unprofitable marsh, it may now vie in
wharves, streets, and buildings,  with any place of the
same size on the continent.   It is computed that the city
and point,  under the general name of Baltimore, contain
forty thousand inhabitants.  There  is a  new  college
erected for the education of youth, under the direction
of Roman  Catholic Clergy  and Preceptors, but young
men of all persuasions are educated without interference
with their religious opinions.  Schools of different des-
criptions are numerous;  the Baltimore College, directed
by the Rev. Mr. Knox, and the Rev. Mr.  Sinclaire, pro-
mises to be of the first literary consequence;  it is at pre- 
6
 odit highly respectable, and the pupils are increasing.—
 Churches and places of worship are many and handsome-
 ly built.  Baltimore abounds in sectarians, those  of the
 methodist persuasion seem to be rapidly gaining ground.
 The new Catholic Cathedral, when finished, will be a su-
 perb building,  .and the Court house and  Penitentiary
 will do honor to the taste of their projectors.   The fort,
 about four miles from town, adds to the beauty, as it
 contributes to the safety of the harbour; there is a suffi-
 cient depth of water to, and at the point,  for  first rate
 vessels, and at the wharves in town  for  large coasting
 vessels.  The water for drinking and culinary purposes,
 originally bad, is now brought at a considerable expence
 to the town ; and every individual can be supplied, at a
 trifling  rate, with this most necessary article of life, of
 good and wholesome quality.  The people of  opulence
 seem to enjoy the good things,and even the luxuries of life
 with greater gout than their neighbours to the eastward,
 the sf avoir vivre is well understood, and their markets, of
 course, are yearly improving in almost every article, that
 can add to the comforts, and to the splendour of the table.
 It must be, however, admitted that the style and expence
 of late years adopted here, rather exceeds the prudence
 of commercial calculation, and the disposition to gaming
 is rather increasing, and in some circles truly alarming
 to a reflecting mind.  It is but just to observe, that few
 of the younger part  of the fair sex join in these amuse-
 ments ; their manners are««engaging,  their conversation
 sprightly, their personal  charms far above mediocrity,,
 and their tout ensemble is calculated to delight and to im-
 prove.   The Theatre is  well attended:  no  city can
 boast of more eloquence in the pulpit or at the bar, nor
 are the people of Baltimore second to any other in correct
 classical and literary  information  and  acquirement.—
 There  are nearly four thousand uniformed troops, vol-
 unteers and militia, in this city, and a finer body of men
 never paraded; me military spirit is at its height, and em-
 ulation has its full and beneficial effect  among them.—
 Nine years since, house rent was very high;  it is now,
 in consequence of the  immense increase  of buildings,
more moderate, and servant's wages  are  from one to
three dollars per month less than in New-York, this may 
■7
be attributed to the number of negroes and free people of
colour, many of whom make excellent servants,
                         Adieu.
                    Harper's Ferry, Uth June 1802.
 MY DEAR FRIEND,
      The road from Baltimore to Ellicott's mills is ex-
 cellent ; it is a flourishing settlement,  consisting of flour
 and paper mills, a store, tavern and a pretty village of
 about a dozen houses; the distance from the capital be-
 ing but ten miles, induces the citizens to make frequent
 parties of pleasure to this neighbourhood.
   Near Ellicot's is the establishment formed by the Ma-
 ryland Manufacturing Society; they have  purchased a
 large tract, well circumstanced as to wood and water
 fails, and they are now about erecting their mills and ca-
 bins for workmen and manufacturers.  Their capital is
 large, their motives patriotic, and they are entitled, of
-course, to the support and best wishes of every friend to
 the interests of his country.  The Carolina slave dealers
 get frequent supplies from Jthis state, particularly from
 the eastern shore; and never were my feelings more out-
 raged, or my high notions of the freedom and liberty of
 my country more hurt, than by a scene which presented
 itself near Ellicott's—Two blanched and meagre looking
 wretches were lolling in their one-horse chair, protected
 from the excessive  heat of the  noon-day sun by a hugef
 umbrella, and driving before them four beings of the Af-
 rican race, fastened#to each other by  iron  chains fixed
 round the neck and arms, and attended by a black woman,
 a reliance on whose conjugal or sisterly  affection, pre-
 vented the application  of hand cuffs or neck collars; the
 peopk  on the road loaded the inhuman drivers with cur-
 ses and execrations, which,  at least, led me to suppose,
 and to hope that the present exhibition of the inequality
 of our laws, and of our comforts did not often occur.—
 The entire road  irom  Baltimore to Frederickstown has
 been lately turned  into a turnpike, and may in time be
 good; at present, it is in many places almost impassible,
 in consequence  of the roughness of the materials, and
 hurtful to both carriages and horses.  The expence of 
8
 tolls from Frederick to Baltimore, a distance of forty-six
 miles, and back again, for a waggon and six horses, is, I
 believe, six dollars, an enormous charge  to those of the
 back countries who have travelled hundreds of miles
 without paying any thing,  and with as little  injury  to
 their vehicles; this often engages a preference to George-
 town and Alexandria, instead of their former market of
 Baltimore.
   Frederick  is  supposed to be in  size, trade arid opu-
 lence only second to Lancaster as an inland  town, it  is
 in the midst of a fertile, luxurious and abundant coun-
 try; the domestic manufactures of hat making, shoema-
 king and sadlery are carried on to a  considerable extent.
 They have a branch of the Farmer's Bank of Maryland*
 and in the neighbourhood is a barrack for the  United
 States troops, which, during the war, afforded comforta-
 ble accommodation  to the British  and  Hessian  prison-
 ers.  Four miles from hence on the Tuscarora Creek,
 is the iEtna Window Glass Manufactory.
  From Frederick  to lYap is  eight miles, and from
 Trap to this place (Harper's-ferry)  is twelve miles; the
road miserably bad, but the country beautiful and the
land good ; the approach to the ferry is strikingly pictu-
resque, and after crossing, ascending the hill, and view-
ing the junction of the Shenandoah  and the Potowmack
forcing their way through the blue mountains, and pro-
ceeding in one joint stream to  the ocean  ; the mind is
lost in wonder and  admiration, and my pen in vain at-
tempts a  description of the scene itself, or the feelings I
experienced in contemplating this great work of nature!
Batteaux descend the river in spring an.d fall, to George-
town and Washington; they carry from 70 to 120 bbls.
of flour, and are from 70 to 75 feet long, and 4 or 5 feet
wide; the expence of transport is one dollar per  barrel.
Accidents rarely happen, and one per cent would be am-
pie  insurance for the whole navigation.  A Communica-
tion between the western and atlantic waters has been
contemplated by means of the Potowmack, but in some
future letter, I shall attempt to shew that such communi-
cation will be  more feasable by the lakes  and  Hudson
river, in New-York state.   The  United  States, govern.
ment have, within these few years, established at this
place a manufactory for arms; about one hundred men 
9
are now employed; the weighty part of the business is
conducted by the aid of machinery turned by water, and
there are now in the armory not less than 25,000 stand of
arms.   Government is considerably increasing, and en-
larging the works.
   The  direct road to my place of destination is by
Charleston, the capital of Jefferson county, but I prefer
a more circuitous route by Shepherdstown and Martins-
burgh,  the latter the capital of Berkley county.  My
host, his family and boarders  are attending the lectures
of a blind Philosopher, and have enabled me, in quiet j
to write this long letter, and to assure you
                I remain very affectionately,
                     Your Friend.
                                     Martinsburg.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
     This town has suffered much by the division of the
county; still it thrives and can boast of a most excellent
tavern, kept by Mr. Gautier, whose  accommodations
are better, and terms more reasonable than any I have
met with.  This good fare and cheapness bring a great
resort of company in the summer season, the proximity
to a much frequented sulphur spring, which is only eight
miles distant, and the advantage  of an excellent news-
room, where the most respectable papers on the continent
are taken, are additional  inducements for  strangers to
frequent this place.  The sulphur  springs, in this  vicin-
ity, are rented by an Italian, formerly servant to the cel-
ebrated General Lee, wlio left him a handsome legacy.
Many anecdotes are told of the general;  he lived in this
neighbourhood,  as did the other two disgraced generals,
Stevens and Gates.   Stevens died here,  and his friends
are now erecting a handsome monument to his memory.
Gates, you know, was never tried : he was soon deserv-
edly restored to  his country's favor, and died at an ad-
vanced aj?e in New-York, where he had resided for ma-
ny years.   I have found it necessary to apply a blister
to my breast; but such is the dread of this  application,
that rav landlord urged my consulting a physician, pre-
vious to making use of so dangerous a remedy,  and 1
                     B 
Itf
at length overcame his solicitude by assuming a know
ledge of the healing art.
  The Berkley springs are twenty-five miles distant; —
there are several houses of entertainment in their vicin-
age, which, I am told, are generally crowded.  Timber
is wasting rapidly throughout the state of Virginia; ow-
ing, in some measure, to the  constant fires kept up,
night and day, by the negroes in their huts, which no
prudence of the master can prevent; we may however
hope, that necessity  will oblige them to look for, and
discover in the  bowels of the earth, that best of fuel,
sea  coal, with which, no doubt,  many  of these moun-
tains abound,
                  I am truly.
                     Your affectionate friend.
                                      Winchester*
MY DEAR FJIENB,
     This town is twenty-two miles  from Martins-
burgh ; tfte road very indifferent.  Near the half-way
tavern a farm, .tof 260 acres, is offered for sale; about 160
acres cleared, and the  remainder in wood.   The land
is of the best quality,  and rated at 20 dollars per acre ;
it is eight miles from the Shenandoah, from  whence
boats proceed to Georgetown in the spring and fall, as
from Harper's ferry.  Winchester is the  capital of
Frederick county, it is about ninety miles from Balti-
more, bui the route I came is 110 miles ; a stage runs
weekly  between the two towns.   There are  here a jail,
court house, six churches and a poor-house.  The re-
mains of the brave general  Morgan lie buried in  the
Presbyterian burying  ground.  There are few inland
towns in the United States, which exceed this  in trade
and population ; the inhabitants may  be about 4000
and are governed by a mayor and corporation;   it was
formerly fortified, but  the fortifications are now in ruins.
They have an excellent supply of water, conveyed thro'
the streets in pipes, and rising as  in Philadelphia,  by
means of hydrants.
  I met with some Manchester weavers, who have an
abundance of country work.   Decent boarding may be 
11
obtained at 2 dollars, and 2 and a half dollars per week,
but travelling charges are higher than might be expect-
ed.   The people of old  Virginia, which  includes the
whole of the south side of the mountains, affect to consi-
der this north side, or new Virginia, as the back woods:
but the country throughout the valley is infinitely supe-
rior, both in soil and beauty, to the old territory.   The
land is in excellent heart, and not worn out, as in the
south side, by the cultivation of tobacco and the careless
labor of negroes, few'of whom, comparatively speaking,
are owned here: so that, could human nature be some-
what improved, this district of country, situated between
the north  and south mountains, might be aptly named
the "happy valley,"  The term,  new Virginia, is
used to denote  the recent settlement of the country.—
The beautiful river Shenandoah adds much to the charms
of the  scenery, and presents such pleasing variety as to
give new  delight to the beholder at every view of it.
                I remain, yours, &c.
                                    Woodstock,
MY DEAR FRIEND,
     From Winchester to  this place  is thirty miles of
indifferent road.  I passed through the villages of Ste-
vensburgh,  Middleton  and Strasburgh;  the country
populous and thriving, and this capital of Shenandoah
eounty a neat little town.  I would advise every traveller
on this road to carry pistols, and as a preventative is bet-
ter than a cure, so to expose them to view, as to deter the
ill-designing from making an attack. A few years since,
an unfortunate Philadelphia gentleman, on his way to the
springs for recovery of his  health, packed his loaded
pistols in his trunk ; a stout negro seeing him get into
his chair at Middleton, and unarmed, attacked  him three
miles from that village and murdered him.  The wretch
after secreting the plunder,  joined the  hue and cry in
the pursuit, and was not discovered to be the perpetrator
for some days; he soon after paid the forfeit of his crime,
on the spot where the murder was committed.  I have
had frequent occasion to remark the strong propensity
to gambling among {he Virginians of every class, grade 
12
and denomination, and a late melancholy occurrence may
not be unworthy your perusal.
  But three short months have elapsed since the com-
mon jail of this town was the  scene where the unfortu-
nate  ivlr.-----terminated his earthly  career.  Endued
with strong natural abilities, a graceful exterior and pol-
ished manners, the father of Mr.-----spared no expence
in givi >g the finish to a  mind, so calculated to receive
every refined and solid improvement, and to the blessings
of a respectable fortune and excellent character, was add-
ed that greatest  of Heaven's gifts, an amiable wife, who
brought him three lovely children.   An  infatuated at-
tachment  to gaming soon  blasted his  fairest prospects,
and to make 'good his  deficits at the Pharo Bank, and
his losses  in business, he procured in London,  plates,
from which he occasionally struck off  bank notes to  a
considerable amount; his expertness in the art of pen-
manship, enabled him to carry on his  iniquitous  system
for some time without detection, though  not free from
suspicion; but justice at length overtook him, and while
on a journey in  this neighbourhood,  he  was arrested
and lodged in prison. A number of notes were found in
his possession, and a quantity which it is  supposed he
swallowed, prevented the fatal operation of a  large dose
of laudanum ;  but to "  make assurance doubly sure,"
he soon afterwards cut his throat from ear to ear, after
having laid clown in his bed,  neatly dressed, as if to re-
ceive company.   Thus was the law deprived of its vic-
tim, and the friends of Mr -----left to lament the infa-
tuation which could have induced a man  of his attain-
ments to  the commission of crimes  which, sooner or
later, involve the unfortunate in never ending woe and
anguish.
   How often do we hear of the career of the gamester
terminating in suicide; you  recollect the  eloquent dis-
courses of our worthy friend doctor Saml. Miller, on this
subject;  it must be a source of pleasing reflection to
him, to know the happy effect his sermons have had in
the city of New-York and elsewhere.   One man in Bos-
ton, actually on the point of applying a deadly weapon
to his head, by chance  met with a few scattered leaves
of this production, and in a publication, afterwards, in one
of the Boston  Gazettes, he had the candor to admit the 
13
fact, and to acknowledge a sincere contrition.  It is well
known that since the delivery and publication of those
well-timed productions, the crime of suicide has been
scarcely heard of in New-York.
                     1 am, dear friend,
                         Yours, very truly.


                                      Harrisburgh.
MY DEAR  FRIEND,
     I left Woodstock after dinner, and came that night
to Shrylocks, only five miles; it being nearly dark, when
we arrived at the narrow passage : I  cannot give you  a
perfect account of it.  It derives its name, from the road
lying between the steep and interesting banks of the
Shenandoah, on  one side,  and a  romantic declivity to a
rapid creek on the other ;  it is about a mile from Shry-
locks, and well worthy a more minute description.-----
Pollock's tavern is eight miles further, it is an excellent
inn, about a quarter of a mile from the ford of the She.
nandoah ; the ford is pretty deep and rapid, and often
dangerous.  I was told the waters had fallen, and I pas-
sed  it  without apprehension.  A  few weeks  since,
Miss  -----,   a  young lady  from near  Staunton, lost
her life in attempting this very pass.   The story is truly
melancholy, and her fate peculiarly lamentable.  She
was on her way, in the stage coach,  to her parental roof,
after paying a  visit, and was shortly to have  been united
in marriage to the lover of her choice—this is no exag-
gerated account, but the real story of the lovely subject
of this sad tale.  One of the horses took fright and alarm-
ed the passengers, a man  passing the ford on horseback
persuaded Miss----- to quit the coach and mount be-
hind him; in the attempt she lost her hold, but still clung
to the stirrup, which, in fear for his own safety, the man
wrested from  her grasp, and she sunk to the bottom;—
again she rose,  and with an indignant look directed to
the terror-struck and nerveless by-standers on the beach,
she had sufficient recollection to arrange her clothes, and
sunk forever from their view.
   New Market  is, I think,  eight miles from the river,
ahd eighteen miles further is this flourishing little town
t>f Harrisburgh,  the capital of Rockingham county,where 
14
we slept.  About twelve miles, in a southerly direction,
is the new discovered cave, which,  as the weather is now
damp, I propose visiting on my return.  Gamble's tav-
ern, in this town, is a most excellent inn.
                 I am, very sincerely,
                     Your affectionate friend.


                                         Staunton,
MY DEAR FRIENB,
     The land between Harrisburgh and this place is
good,  like most of that which I have passed in the val-
ley.   The town of Staunton is neat, flourishing, and
increasing ;  the inhabitants are about 3000, industrious
and respectable;  such  is the salubrity ox the air,  the
goodness  of the water, the excellence  of the taverns,
and their moderate charges, as to induce many travellers,
on their way to the springs, to spend many weeks here :
and very many invalids have reaped considerable advan-
tage by the  delay.  Caution is requisite in drinking too
freely of the water, which is strongly impregnated with
lime,  but in a few days becomes palatable to the taste,
and beneficial to many complaints.   In the neighbour-
hood a spa has been lately discovered; but its medicinal
properties have not yet been fully analyzed.  The Pres-
byterian minister serves one congregation here, and one
three miles distant; I proceeded to the latter to join in
the worship, and to witness the celebration of the Lord's
Supper;  and here was a scene exhibited, which, if they
had beheld it,  would have made  the bigotted zealots of
our Eastern  States, blush for the effrontery with which
they so often charge their southern  brethren with impie-
ty and want of religious decorum.   The unaffected zeal
of the four associating clergymen,  the genuine  spirit of
religion in the people shewn forth in their humility, their
sorrow, and their repentance, spoke more to the heart
and the feelings of an attentive observer, than the most
costly sacrifice of grandeur, or the  vain-glorious profes-
sions of the lofty pharisee.   Here indeed was a sight to
lift the mind of the worldly man from the vain pursuits
of time.   The Reverend Patriarchal Montgomery, the
energetic Brown, the eloquent Calhoun,  and another
minister, equally sincere, all labouring  in  the cause of 
15
their heavenly master, while a listening and devout peo-
ple, at times joined them in the fervency of prayer, at
times aspirated their thanksgiving and praise in sweetest
melody, or  attentively hearkened  to the words of in-
struction, expounded  from the book of life.   When
the  mind disengages itself from worldly pursuits and
trivial attachments,  surely  there  cannot  be a  more
lovely or interesting view of our brethren of mankind,
than to see them united as one family, in the great work
of prayer, praise and thanksgiving ;  alike free from that
bigotry or superstition, pomp or parade so inconsistent
with the true principles of their profession.


my  dear friend,                    Lexington.
     On leaving Staunton I quit  the direct road to the
springs, that I might visit the Natural Bridge.  I passed
through the villages of Greenville and Fairfield, and ar-
rived early at this place, being a distance of thirty-three
miles.  Here is the Washington or Liberty Hall Acade-
my, established and endowed by  General Washington,
out of part of the monies voted him by the legislature
of  this,  his native state.   This  great man's entire
life  seemed devoted to his country's good, and he was
truly anxious for the welfare of posterity.  Conscious
that the happiness and "well-being of a nation, depends
on the principles of virtue and wisdom, instilled into the
minds of the rising generation;  he on every  occasion
evinced an  anxious solicitude for the establishment of
suclii seminaries, as might best conduce to this all import-
ant purpose, and further his grand object of a national
university,  to which he also left a handsome  bequest.
He  says in his will—" It has always been a source of
serious regret with me, to see the youth of these United
States, sent to foreign countries for the purpose of edu-
cation, often before their minds were formed, or they
had imbibed any adequate ideas of the happiness of their
own ;  contracting, too frequently, not only the habits of
dissipation and extravagance, but principles unfriendly
to republican government, and to the true and genuine
liberties of mankind, which thereafter are rarely over-
come ;  for these reasons it has been my ardent wish to
sire a plan devised, og  a liberal scale, which woujd have 
16
 a tendency to spread systematic idea9 through all parts
 of this rising empire, thereby to do away  local preju-
 dices, as far as the nature of things would, or indeed
 ought to admit, from our national councils."   He then
 bequeaths a large and  generous legacy for the accom-
 plishment of his wishes, in the erection and endowment
 of an  university  in  the district of  Columbia.   The
 school in Lexington is not, I am told, in so flourishing a
 state as formerly, there are now, however, about eighty
 students, who pay a very moderate  sum for their board
 and education.    There  is  also a school of some celeb-
 rity for  young ladies.   The  situation is healthy,  the
 town neat, and provisions cheap and plenty.   It is the
 capital of Rockbridge county.
                 lam,  your'saffectionately.


 MY  DEAR FRIEND,
     I write this from Douthit's tavern,  one mile and
 a half from the Natural Bridge? and thirteen  miles from
 Lexington ; having just now returned from the bridge*
 I had determined on giving you a concise description of
 this sublime object, but fearing to fail short of the truth,
 I have turned to Mr. Jefferson's notes on Virginia, from
 whence I copy the following extract.  " It is on the as-
 cent of a hill which seems to have been cloven through
 its length by some great convulsiun.    The fissure just
 at the bridge is by some admeasurement, 270 feet deep,
 by others only 205, it is about 45 feet wide at the bot-
 tom, and 90 feet at the top, this of course determines the
 length cf the bridge, and its height from the water.   Its
 breadth at the middle is about 60 feet, but more at the
 ends, and the thickness of the mass at the summit of the
 arch about 40 feet; a part of this thickness is constituted
 by  a coat of earth, which gives growth to many  large
 trees ; the residue, with the hill on  both  sides,  is one
 solid rock of limestone.  The arch approaches the semi-
 elliptical form, but the larger axis of the ellipsis, which
 would be the chord of the arch, is many times longer
 than the transverse.   Though the sides of this  bridge
 are provided in some parts with a parapet of fixed rocks,
yet few men have the resolution to  walk to  them, and
look over into the abyss;  you involuntarily  fail  upog 
17
 your hartds and feet, creep to the parapet, and peep over
 it, looking down from this height about a minute, gave
 me a violent head ache.   If the view from the  top be
 painful and intolerable, that from below is delightful in
 an equal extreme.  It is impossible for  the  emotions
 arising from  the sublime, to be felt beyond what they
 are here :  so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light, and
 springing, as it were up to heaven !  the rapture of the
 spectator is really indiscribable.   The  fissure continu*
 ing narrow,  deep and strait for a considerable distance
 both above and below the  bridge, opens to a short, but
 very pleasing view of  the north mountains on one side,
 and the blue ridge on  the other, at the distance, each of
 them, of about five miles.   This bridge is in the county
 of Rockbridge,  to which it has given name ; it affords a
 public and commodious passage over a valley, which
 cannot be crossed elsewhere for a considerable distance.
 The stream passing under it is called Cedar creek; it is
 a water of James* river, and sufficient in the driest season
 to turn a grist mill, though its  fountain  is not  more
 than two miles above."  I felt so strongly "the emo-
 tions arising from the sublime" that I could not in plain
 rational language convey to you my ideas of what I had
 seen, so you may be well pleased that I thought of the
 extract.  I am here informed  that Mr. Jefferson,  since
 the  publication  of his  Notes on  Virginia, which first
 gave celebrity to this wonder of nature, has purchased
 from the United States fifteen acres of land, in the midst
 of which stands the bridge, and perhaps no private estate
 in the world can  produce a  grander or a more surprising
 subject of admiration—Adieu.


                                 Sweet Springs.
 MY  DEAR  FRIEND,
    My road from the bridge lay through Petersburgh,
 twelve miles;  here  is a ferry across James River,  but I
preferred going three miles further, and  crossing a very
handsome bridge, which made the distance ten miles
to Fincastle, the capital of Botetanrt county; it is about
 200 miles W. by N. of Richmond, and is a thriving little
 town.  Some excellent farms are in the  neighbourhood
 __Mr. Brackenridge has the most extensive; his house 
18
is elegant, and his demesne handsomely laid out.   The
usual route from Fincastle to this place is a distance of
above fifty miles,  but I came direct over the mountain,
and reduced my travelling to 22 miles.   I had however,
much difficulty to encounter, and was assured that  I
was the first person who attempted crossing the moun-
tains in a carriage, those vehicles being usually  sent
round, while their owners preferred the less dangerous
method of riding on horseback.  I was, however,  obli-
ged to procure the aid of a very strong horse, to assist
my quadruped in hauling over the  chair,  and arrived
without accident, to the no small surprize of the visitors
at the springs.
  There is a post office kept here,  which I presume is
unproductive,  as company  only resort  to the springs
from June to August, or beginning of  September.—
There are upwards of  eighty  thousand  miles of  post
roads, and more than two thousand post offices in the
United States,  and this must be one of the many  that
does not yield  revenue.   The waters of these  springs
have never yet  been correctly analysed.  Some people
assert, while others deny their efficacy  in pulmonary
complaints; they act both as a purgative and a diuretic,
and are peculiarly useful in relieving the patient from the
bad effects of a course t>f mercury.  There are accom-
modations here for two hundred persons;  families are
provided with cabins of two, three, or four rooms  with
furniture, individuals with log-houses, roomy or croud-
ed, according to the increase of the company,  and all
that are able meet at the public table to a plentiful break-
fast, dinner and supper, where there is  little appearance
of ill health or want of appetite in the majority.   Wine
is seldom introduced ; musick and dancing frequently
crown the evening, and cards are resorted to, by many,
more to pass time than through a spirit of gaming, al-
though there are professed gamblers  at this place,  who
have set up a Pharo Bank, but must starve for want of
trade, unless they meet more encouragement than the
present water-drinking folks seem inclined to give them.
                  I am, yours very truly. 
19
                                Sweet Springs.
 MY DEAR  FRIEND,
     The charge for boarding is seven dollars per week,
 and half a dollar per day for each horse;  this is extrava-
 gantly high for the latter, as hay,  oats and corn are re-
 markably low. This place was formerly in Green briar,
 but now makes part of Munroe county.  It is surround-
 ed by mountainous country, but there are in the vallies
 very fine tracts of grazing and meadow lands ; grain too
 of every description is plentifully  produced, and hemp
 grows to great perfection.  There are large quantities
 and varieties of game, and you may frequently purchase
 venison at  one cent, beef and mutton at three cents per
 lb. and chickens at six cents per pair;  of fish the supply
 is small, though they say they sometimes have good cat
 fish, as large as 100 lbs. weight, from New River.  The
 Rattlesnake mountain is five miles from hence, and'many
 curious persons have visited it, but the danger of the ex- *
 cursion, and the difficulty of ascent prevented me from
 satisfying my curiosity.   It is said this reptile is harm-
 less and inoffensive, unless when attacked, and that it
 then gives  notice of its hostility ere it strikes, its poison.
  This being the anniversary of our independence,  one
 of our company gave us an oration on the occasion, and
 very justly remarked, " that so long as this day was com-
 memorated, and its return hailed with joy and thankful-
 ness,  so long would our republican institutions be sup-
 ported; so long would the glorious  spirit of '76 dwell
 within us."
  About one mile from these springs is another spa;—
 a considerable sum of money  has  been expended in
 building houses and accommodations for company, but
 it is now totally deserted, and I am told the present pos-
 sessor is involved in a chancery suit respecting the pre-
 mises.
  The company here feel much interested for old  Mr.
 E-----, who is confined, with very little hope of recove-
 ry ; his son is his constant nurse and attendant, scarcely
 moving from his bed-side,  so that we enjoy but little of
 his society.   It is pleasing to  see the man,  whose voice
thunders in the senate, whose  eloquence and virtue enti-
tle him to the applause of his country, thus exercising
his filial affection, smoothing the bed of death, and gent- 
20
ly tending the expiring  lamp of the author of his  be-
ing.    It  is on  such occasions we can  best  appre-
ciate character, and cannot refuse our love and our es-
teem to a man thus  performing the dauble duty of the
most dutiful son, and the most affectionate friend.
                           Adieu.


                          Red Sulphur Springs.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
    This place is forty miles from the sweet springs,
in a  westerly  direction.   Union-town,  the capital  of
Munroe county, is halfway, and consists of a jail, court
house, and about a  dozen, dwellings.   About twenty
miles to the northward is Lewisburgh, the  capital of
Greenbriar county.   Old Mr. E-----  died the  day  I
left the sweet springs, and never did I see the expression
of grief more strongly pourtrayed, or the distress  of the
hear* more forcibly depicted, than in the countenance of
his afflicted son.
  The virtues and medicinal qualities of these Red Sul-
phur Springs were known, it is supposed,  for ages by
the Indians, but the first intimation the present possess-
ors had, of there being so great a treasure on their farm,
arose from the circumstance of deer and other tenants of
the woods  frequently resorting to it.  It  has, within
these six or eight years,  became a  place of great celeb-
ritv, though 1 think their situation very unfit for delicate
constitutions.   I would  recommend invalids bringing
with them warm cloathing, some wine, and a supply of
such medicine as they may be in the practice of using at
home.  We seldom see the sun until nine, nor after five
o'clock, and heavy fogs are so frequent, that we  found
it necessary to burn fires  in the mornings and evenings
of the month of August, while many invalids kept their
rooms until the mists would be dispelled by the force of
the sun beams.
   The water is very sulphurous, but so extremely cold
as to be hurtful to many  who used it incautiously.   I
was, however, witness to surprising cures performed by
it. _ In the vicinity of this place is a sycamore tree, per-
fectly sound, with most amazing extended branches, of
a great height, and thirty-six feet round; I measured it 
21
at some distance from the root.  Indiana creek is cross-
ed thirty one times between Union Town and this place.
It runs through a cave in a mountain of a quarter of a
mile in extent, where are manufactories of salt-petre.
  New River is six miles to the westward;  it is a broad
shallow stream,  and when joined by  Green-briar river,
forms  the Kenhawa; it  falls into the Ohio, and if Mr.
Gallatin's masterly  report to congress, " on roads and
navigation" be carried into effect,  there will be a com-
plete communication opened  between these Western
states and the Atlantic ocean, by the Lakes and the Hud-
son river, in the state of New-York.   If we may antici-
pate the rising greatness of our country  by the  events
which have taken place  within the last fifty years, we
may fairly hope that this navigation will be  opened, and
unite,  even by closer ties, the people at the extremes of
this vast extended continent.   The rapid and surprising
improvements in steam boats, the laudable and prevalent
disposition for new discoveries, the advancement in
agriculture, arts and manufactures, the increasing spirit
of energy, speculation and trade, all  combine to con-
vince  that these United  States promise fair to be the
emporium  of cultivation, and the garden of the world.
That immense tract of country called the "Illinois,"
is perhaps  superior in beauty  and fertility,  to any other
in the  United States, and many travellers think it equal
to any in the world.  Its appearance is so delightful,
that some French travellers call it the " terrestrial para-
dise ;"—grapes are in such abundance that they yield,
in plenty, a very good red wine, for the consumption of
the inhabitants.   The Illinois river  empties itself into
die Mississippi, on the east side,  160 miles below  the
Falls of St. Anthony, and is navigable about 450 miles;
between one of its  branches  and the Chickago river,
which empties  itself  into lake Michigan, there is  a
portage of  two miles ; from this portage to the lake is a
batteaux navigation of 16 miles ; so that by this commu-
nication there would only be a land carriage of 28 miles
between New-York  and New-Orleans, a distance of
nearly 4000 miles.   I am thus particular, as I think the
Illinois will be the most eligible country in the United
States for new settlers, or emigrants from the eastward,
                     I am, yours, &c. 
22
                                  Warm Springs.
  MY DEAR FRIEND,
      On  leaving the Red Sulphur,  I returned  to  the
' sweet springs,  and from there took a ride to Bowyer's
  sulphur springs, the strongest of any I have  tasted.
  They are about 17 miles from the sweet springs, across
  the mountain,  which is not passable for carriages;  the
  distance by the public road is 45 miles.   Bowyer's wa-
  ters have been found highly beneficial for disorders of
  the blood, and  cutaneous complaints.   Here I received
  a well authenticated account of the harmless disposition
  of the Rattlesnake,  when unprovoked.   A Mr. Bollen,
  when an infant, had seated himself with his mush and milk
  on the  green before the door, when his terrified mother
  beheld him holding  his spoon full of food to the mouth
  of a rattlesnake; she had no assistance at hand, and  the
  fear of  irritating the animal, and endangering  the life of
  her child, induced her to keep quiet.   The snake con-
  veyed its head into the bowl, and after cordially partak-
  ing of little Bollen's fare, departed; the next day, about
  the same hour,  the  snake again appeared,  when  it was
  killed by a negro, and the skin preserved as a  memento
  of  remarkable  deliverance.   The hot  springs  are in
  Bath county, 36 miles from the sweet springs.   Here
  are three  baths,  one of vital  heat,  or 96 degrees of
  Farenheit's thermometer: one of 104°, and it is said the
  hottest is 112°, and  sufficiently hot to boil an egg. The
 patient,  on coming out of the two latter, is wrapped  up
 in blankets, and lies stewing in the sweating  room ad-
 joining  the bath, until the prespiration has freely spent
 itself from every pore of the body.   I was shewn the
 remains of an Indian sweating house, and was  informed
 it was supplied with  a large fire and a number of stones,
 which, when made hot, were sprinkled with water, and
 the  patient, after being drenched in vapour, leaped into
 a cold  bath, but came  out  instantly, and was then
 enveloped in  blankets  until  prespiration had its full
 effect.    A petrified  rattlesnake is   preserved  by  a
 person  in this neighbourhood,  where  there is a water
 said to possess this quality.   The warm springs, from
 whence  I date this letter,  are five miles from the hot
 springs ; here is, perhaps, the largest and most elegant
 hath in  the  world.   The water is blood warm, and 
23
bubbling  out of the rock underneath, can be raised of
lowered at the pleasure of the bathers ; both it, and the
hot springs are highly useful in the cure of rheumatisms,
and many other complaints have been relieved by their
efficacy.   From the mountain above the spring, there
is a most delightful and extensive prospect, but it re-
quires both strength and fortitude in an invalid to attain
the summit.  The farmers in this neighbourhood,  and
to the westward, make great quantities of maple sugar,
some as much as 1000 weight in a year.   The process
is simply cutting a hole in the tree, and placing a wooden
trough underneath  to  catch  the  sap, which  oozes in
February and March, six or eight gallons per day, from
each tree.   This quantity, when boiled down, produces
about one pound of sugar, or one pound  and a half of
molasses,  both good and palatable.  The tree should be
suffered to remain unnotched  until  twenty-one years
old ; it is properly called  the  sugar tree, and is distin-
guished from  the common maple by both its bark and
leaf being rougher.
                  I am, your's truly.


                                    Weir's Cave.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
    On  quitting the warm springs, I came the direct
road for Staunton,  instead of pursuing the circuitous
route by  Lexington.   Staunton is 54 miles from the
warm springs, and this place (Weir's  Cave) is  16 miles
from  Staunton.   Madison's Cave, mentioned in Mr.
Jefferson's notes, is now abandoned as an  object of
curiosity,  and is about a quarter of a mile  from Weir's
Cave, which was discovered  in  February, 1806, by a
Pole Cat's being caught in  a trap,  and retreating for
shelter to  the Cave, to which  a dog pursued her.   The
owner of  the dog enlarged the hole by which the animal
entered, and discovered the  place from whence  I now
write to you.  It is certainly  the most remarkable sub-
terraneous curiosity on this continent, or perhaps in the
world, and is well worth  the attention of an observing
traveller.   The entrance, and even after you proceed
some paces, is by no means  calculated to increase the
ardour for research,  but adyancing further, and getting 
.24
into the midst of a variety of cones and cylindrical pil-
lars, gives fresh hopes and vigor for further discovery.
In order to designate the different objects of this Cave,
I shall give to each the name affixed  to it by our con-
ductor.   The drawing room is the first large opening,
after creeping and going through a number of narrow
passages,  in  which we were frequently obliged to get
forward on our hands and knees, to guard our heads
from being broke by the crystallizations  which hung
over them, and to ascend and descend by artificial, and
oftentimes,  crazy ladders.   The  dining  room is the
next large apartment, here are a great number of pillars
and bu9ts, which, on the first approach, appear to be in-
debted for their shape to the art of the chissel, and a
variety of chairs, decorated like bishop's stalls, give it
the appearance of a cathedral;  this room is 39 yards
long; adjoining is a  collection  of tamboreens,  or na-
tural drums, formed  by sheets or curtains of petrifac-
tion, and sounding, when struck, like the martial instru-
ment from which they are named.  The ball room is
42 yards long, 15 wide, and about 30 feet high, the ap-
pearance of a music gallery at one end, adds to the de-
ception  which the mind encourages in this romantic
grotto;  here is a very curious pillar and also a number
of columns, extending from top to bottom ; near this is
the resemblance of a grand chair of state, called the
president's chair ; a representation of a bank of ice, as
white and transparent as the native original, and seem-
ingly underneath, a beautiful cascade of falling water.
Washington room is  90 yards long, and of an immense
height; a bust  stands nearly in the centre, and at  a
distance, so like the  great man whose name it bears,
that nature, though only shewing her skill in its forma-
tion by  drops of water, felling for ages, from the lofty
ceiling above, could not be excelled by the most skill-
ful statuary.   An admirer of  the virtues of this best of
men, while gazing on his likeness in  this spell bound
cavern,  can only be prevented by respect for the second
commandment,  from  falling down and worshipping.
Lady Washington's  room opens out of the last men-
tioned.   The diamond room takes  its name from the
variety of cbry9talizations and transparencies it exhibits:
our lights  were not sufficiently splendid, but had they 
25
  done justice to the  scene  before us, I question if the
  eye could be presented with a more glittering or mag-
  nificent  object.   The enchanted  room contains  the
  image of " Lot's wife" in the very act of tripping away,
  and turning  her head half round, when she was caught
  in  the fact, and  paid the dear forfeit of her curiosity.
  She has  now as much the appearance of a pillar of  salt
  as  of  petrifaction.   How happy  for mankind, if* the
  evils brought on families and on society, by their foibles,
  which Mrs. Lot undoubtedly inherited from her mother
  Eve, were to be done away, by a few such examples of
  terrific justice !  I denominated^ very rough passage^
  the wilderness  of sin,  and  John Buhyan himself could
  not have painted a more terrific road into the garden of
  £den, where the perspective  presented a pleasing as-
  semblage of  trees, shrubs,  variegated walks, and orna-
  mental flowering plants.   The tout ensemble appearing
  like a petrified  flower garden,  formed by nature in  her
  playful moments, as if  for her own amusement.  In the
  bar room there is  a spring of cool water,  and as  the
  conductor is generally provided with a bottle of brandy,
 the almost exhausted  strength of the explorator may
 here be recruited.  The mountain of salt, better des-
 cribed by the name it bears than any idc-v I can-give of
 it,  is not the least wonderful of the  works of nature in
 this cavern.  On the whole,  it is highly worth the  at-
 tention of the curious, the notice of the naturalist, and
 the observation of the philosophic traveller:  and  where
 is the contemplative being that visits it,  and views  the
 sublimo and grand scenery  I witnessed in the close of
 the day, in the ascent, on the top, and in the descent of
 the majestic blue mountains, that is not prepared to cry
 out in exstacy, with the poet,
   " These are thy glorious works, Parent of Good /"
 —The good people throughout this part of the country
 which is but thinly settled,  have an uncouth  way  of
 conferring an obligation.   They will neither take out
 licences, nor suffer their houses to be  called taverns, and
 yet they entertain guests in what, they term, private en-
 tertainment.   They tell  the way worn traveller he rn-a-y
 stay all night,  but they make him pay tavern prices  in
the" morning.  From  the Cave  to the beautiful village 
26
of Charlottesville, where I finish this letter, is 37 com-
puted miles ; in this vicinity are some handsome farms
and  elegant houses, the spacious and well appointed
mansion and ground of Mr. Divers, are well worth no-
tice, but as I have already extended this letter to an un-
reasonable length, I shall break off, and in my next, en-
tertain you with an account of Monticello,  three  miles
from Chariotteville,
               And remain yours, &c.


                                          Milton.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
   This village is three miles from the seat of Mr. Jef-
ferson, President of the United States; my stay  there
did not exceed one hour, and my opportunity of con-
verse with  this great man  was much shorter than I
wished  ; however from my own observation, and from
correct and authentic information, I am enabled to give
you such an account of Monticello and its philosophic
owner as may afford you gratification and entertainment,
and as the most minute particulars respecting so emi-
nent a character, and whatever may concern him, must
interest  you, I hope I shall not be accused of prolixity.
Thomas----is the oldest surviving son of Peter Jeffer-
son ;  he has one  brother and three sisters yet living,
most of them have families; he had six  children, two
daughters alone lived to maturity; one married to Mr.
John  Eppes, the other to Mr. Thomas M. Randolph;
the patriotism and talents of both  these gentlemen  are
well known to the community.   Mrs. Eppes died about
five years  since, and left two children, one of whom is
since dead.  Mr. and Mrs. Randolph lived  near this
place; they have a large family of children, and reside
with the President during his visits to Monticello.   Mr.
Jefferson is very regular and temperate in  his mode of
living;  he retires to his chamber about nine o'clock,
and rises before the sun, both in summer and winter,
and it is not easy to conceive a  more grand or sublime
sight than the rising of the sun viewed from the summit
of Monticello.  Until breakfast (which is early) he is
employed in writing, after that he generally visits his
work-shops, labourers,  &c. and then, until 12 o'clock. 
27
 he is engaged in his study, either in drawing, writing or
 reading;  he then rides over his  plantation, returns at
 two, dresses for dinner and joins his company ; he re-
 tires from table soon after the cloth is removed, and
 spends the evening in walking about, reading the papers
 and in conversation  with such guests as may be with
 him.  His disposition is truly amiable, easy of access,
 quick and ready in the dispatch of business, and so con-
 descending and naturally, pleasing in his manners and
 address, that no person, at all acquainted with him, can
 feel in his presence perplexity or embarrassment.  Mr.
 Jefferson is seen to less advantage at the seat of govern-
 ment, than at this, his favourite residence.
   Monticello is a conical hill;—its summit, on which
 stands the house, is 500 feet above the adjoiriing coun-
 try.  The view from hence is extensive, variegated and
 charming;  to  the west, the blue mountains,  at a dis-
 tance of about fifteen miles,  bound the prospect, while
 to the north and east, the eye wanders in rapture over an
 expanse of, I think,  45 miles; and can distinguish par-
 ticular objects at that distance.  It is near a mile from
 the public road which leads between  Charlottesville and
 Milton.   In a few years, when  some  improvements,
 now begun, are complete, the approach will be worthy
 the taste of the proprietor.
   The house is an irregular octagon, with porticoes on
 the east and west sides, and piazzas  on the north and
 south ends.  Its extent, including the porticoes and pi-
 azzas, is about one hundred and ten by ninety feet;  the
 external is finished in the Doric order complete, with a
 ballustrade on the top of it.   In the centre of the S. W.
 side, over the parlour, is an attic story, terminated with
 a dome, which has a fine effect, and  forms a beautiful
 room inside.  The internal of the house contains speci-
 mens of all the different orders,  except the composite,
 which is not introduced; the hall is in the Ionic, the di-
 ning room, in the Doric, the parlour, in the Corinthian,
 and  dome in the Attic; in the other rooms are introdu.
 ced  several different forms of these orders, all in the tru-
 est proportions, according to Palladio.   On the ground
floor are eleven rooms; on theseeond, six; and on  the
 attic, four;  there are cellars under the whole.  Through
 the antes  of the house, from N. to S. on the cellar floor, 
£3
 is a passage of 300 feet long,  leading  to  two wings  or
 ranges of building of one, story, that stand equi distant
 from each end of the house, and extend  120 feet east-
 w^ardiy  from the passages, terminated by a paviUion of
 two sto. ies at the end of each.  The roofs of the passa-
 ges, and range of  buildings,  form an agreeable  walk,
 being flat and floored, and are to have a Chinese railing
 round them; they rise but a little height above the lawn,
 that they may not obstruct the view.   On the south side
 are the kitchen,  smoke house, dairy, waste house and
 servant^.' rooms; on the north are the ice house, coach
 hbuse.s, &c. &c.   The  library is extensive, and con-
 tains, as might indeed be expected, a vast collection of
 rare and valuable works, on all subjects,  and in all lan-
 guages.  Mr. Jefferson  has also a large collection  of
 mathematical, philosophical, and  optical instruments,
 and Indian  curiosities.  Among the latter are busts of
 a male and female, sitting in  the Indian position ; they
 are supposed to  be of great antiquity,  and to have been
 formed  by the Indians : they were ploughed up in the
 state  of. Tennessee,  are  of very hard  stone, but  a
 considerably defaced ;  there is also in the hall a repre-
 sentation of a battle between the Panis and Osage ; also
 a map of the Missouri and its tributary streams, both
 executed by Indians  on dressed Buftaloe  hides ; bows,
 arrpws and  quivers; poisoned lances, pipes of peace,
 wampum belts,  mockasins,  &c.  Sec. several dresses,
 and cooking utensils  of the Mandan and other natiops of
 the Missouri.   The statuary in the hall consists of  a
 collosal bust of Mr.: Jefferson, by  Carrachi, it  is on  a
 truncated column, on the pedestal of which are represen-
 ted the twelve tribes of Israel, and  the twelve signs  of
 the Zodiac.   A  full length figure of Cleopatra,  in a re-
 clining position,  after she had applied the asp,  and busts
 of Voltaire and Thurgot, in plaister;  there is likewise
 a model of one of the pyramids of £gypt.  In the parlour
 are busts of the emperors Alexander of Russia, and Na-
 poleon of France, sitting on columns, and a sleeping Ve-
 nus.  In the bow of the dining room are busts of Gen).
 Washington, Doctor Franklin, Marquis de La Fayette,
and Paul Jones, in plaister.  The collection of paintings
is considered by connisseurs to be of the first rate.----.
Among  them is the Ascension, by  Poussin, the Holy 
29
Fainily, by Raphael, scourging of Christ, by Reubens,
Crucifixion,  by Guido, and a great  many other scrip-
ture and historic pieces, by the first masters; portraits,
prints, medalions, medals, &c. of celebrated characters
and events.   The collection of natural curiosities is tol-'
erably extensive, and consists  of mammoth and other
bones, horns of different kinds, a head of the mountain
ram, petrifactions, chrystalizations, minerals, shells &c.
In short, it is supposed there is no private gentleman in
the world in possession of so perfect and complete a sci-
entific, useful and ornamental collection.  His lands ad-
joining Monticello are said to be about eleven thousand
acres.   About fifteen hundred acres of cleared land, and
a proportion of his negroes are hired  out; as his public
duties, since  he became President, have prevented his
engaging in agricultural pursuits: he proposes however
making a beginning next year, and no doubt the farm-
ing community will  be benefited both by his observa-
tions and practice.  He has  a merchant  mill,  which he
lets at a rent' of 1200 dollars per annum,  and a grist mill
which he works himself.   He has a large tract of land in
Bedford county, where he raises annually about 40,000
wt. of tobacco, and  grain sufficient to maintain the plan-
tations.  He keeps  no stock of horses or cattle here, but
uses mules for his  waggons.  The number of his ne-
groes are about two hundred.   His  flock of sheep are
valuable,  although  not numerous; they consist of the
Cape or large tail, Shetland, and Marino breed.  The
only manufactories at present carried  on by him, are at
Bedford, of Smith's work, and at Monticello a  nailery,
the latter conducted by boys; but he is making arrange-
ments for the manufacture of cotton and woolens, on his
return to domestic life.  The garden, though justly ce-
lebrated for variety of delicious  fruit,  has  been much
neglected, but Mr.  Jefferson proposes making conside-
rable improvements, useful snd ornamental, both here
and in his pleasure grounds.
                     I am,  dear friend,
                         Yours, very truly. 
30
                                    Alexandria;
 MY  DEAR FRIEND,

     At length I am arrived in this city, after repeatedly
 losing myself in the woods.  I can say with truth I have
 found the roads in Virginia to be, as the Poet represents
 the ways  of Providence, "puzzled in mazes and per-
 plex'd in errors."   Between Milton and Orange court-
 houses I met a great number of persons going to a fune-
 ral and a sermon, which it is usual in this country,  I un-
 derstand,  to preach on these occasions.   Montpelier,
 the seat of Mr. Secretary Madison, is near Orange court
 house;  from the latter place, I took the private or  mid-
 dle road, it being recommended to me by the President,
 in preference to either of the otlfer public  roads, one of
 which goes by Fredericksburgh, and the other  by  Cul-
 pepper court houee; this last is his winter route to and
 from the city; but the middle is the best and coolest for
 a summer journey.  I passed through Stephensburgh,
 a decayed looking village, and at Slaughter's mills, three
 miles further, I witnessed a scene to me altogether novel
 and equally pleasing.  There were assembled about 400
 ladies and gentlemen,  from round  the country, to the
 extent of 30 miles, as elegandy ancffashionably dressed*
 as good taste and good clothes could make them:  they
 met at this place in the morning, and had  been  the en-
 tire day engaged in dancing, conversation or  other a-
 musements.   Refreshments of every kind had been lib-
 erally provided by the guests themselves.  I understood
 these merry meetings  (termed Barbicues) were very fre-
 quent during the summer, and I observed that the  hope
 of soon assembling at another, took the sting from adieu
 when about to part.  A Virginia Barbicue seems a day
 of rejoicing and jubilee to the whole of tfce surrounding
 country.  The next town I passed, is called Occoqua
 Mills, a new place, settled by Mr.  Ellicott, one of the
 industrious and respectable family of that name; it is
 16 miles from  this city of Alexandria, where there is
 but little appearance of improvement since my last visit,
 three years ago; it is in Fairfax county, on  the south
 side of the Potowmack,  the situation is pleasant, and the
 original setders laid out the streets on  the plan of Phila-
delphia.   It contains about 780 houses and 6000 inhabi-
tants.  The new bridge erecting over the Potowmack; 
31
wjll reduce the distance to the capitol in the Federal city,
tp about six miles.  I intend proceeding to Washington
to-morrow;  that city is 124 miles from Monticello,
                  I am, my dear friend,
                       Your's affectionately. 
r.-..";/:«; 
 
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
NLM 02702Efe,5 1
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