honey-suckle, and foliage of the most variegated hues. There is no direction post, and but few cabins near the road, so that a stranger, without precaution, may lose himself in the woods. RESIDENCE OF HARRISON SMITH, ESQ. This is a beautiful retreat. The surrounding little hills, covered with trees, are truly romantic. The road thither from Washington, leading through woods, is so tortuous and shaded, that a person unacquainted with it may readily go astray, which a lover of picturesque scenery will not regret. There is no direction post, and it is rather a bridle than a carriage way. This place, containing about a hundred and sixty acres, was purchased about ten years ago at ten dollars per acre. The soil is generally sandy, though in the little vallies the sand is mixed with clay and vegetable mould, which the rain carries down from the steep sides of the adjacent hills. On the 4th of June, 1811, we here witnessed a most tremendous storm of rain and hail, accompanied with lightning and awful peals of thunder. Large chesnut and oaktrees near the house were broken, the fences were levelled, and all around was a scene of desolation. The weather had been for some time uncommonly dry. On the day preceding the storm, a strong wind prevailed, which carried the dust from the roads into the air in the form of dark clouds. It is worthy of remark, that at certain moments, the sound of the Little Falls, several miles distant, is distinctly heard at this place. Near Mr. Smith's house there is a dry channel of considerable depth, which contains petrified wood of different species, easily distinguished by the bark and grain. At a small distance, in an opposite direction, there is a mineral chalybeate spring, of which the temperature in July was 62o of Fahrenheit. Near it there is a miserable hut, formed of rude boards, and just large enough to contain a bed and two old chairs. The poor woman who inhabits it, supports herself by spinning cotton and wool, and dying those substances with the root and bark of trees. Mrs. Smith proposed to place her in a family, where her useful experience in this art would have procured her a comfortable existence. She refused the offer, observing, that independence, however humble, was far preferable. This is the proud sentiment which animates the poorest class of American citizens. The cabins of this district are far from being comfortable. They are rented from year to year with a spot of land, and consequently the tenant has no encouragement to make improvements. In the bosom of the woods, near the habitation of Mr. Smith, there is a church, around which there is a place of interment, where lie the remains of some distinguished persons of this district. Mr. Smith's house, built of brick, has an agreeable situation, where he found excellent water at the depth of seventy-three feet, which he proposes to conduct to the kitchen. and other parts of the building by means of conduits. The expenses of this well L . The following trees and shrubs grow in this romantic place: Thorn of different species. Maple (red flowering) Acer rubrum. The persimon tree abounds here. The juice of its ripe fruit is employed to make a species of beer. Sugar is extracted from it, and also a fine liquor, which improves by age. The fruit contains a sufficient quantity of saccharine matter for its preservation in the form of sweet-meats. In this district, the bark of the crab-tree is employed to dye wool of a black colour; a mixture of the bark of maple and chesnut, for purple; that of dog-wood, for a pink colour; and that of the root of the sassafras gives a fine yellow. The flowers of this last tree serve to make a species of beer; and a decoction of the bark of its root is often administered as a cure for ague, and also for "purifying and thinning the blood." The fruit of the chincapin is agreeable to the taste. Two insects abound in this place, and torment the lovers of nature; the wood-louse1 1 Acarus Americanus, L.-A species of Zecca. |