have not, however, more than 30 generally, and these cultivate their own corn. They have produced 60 tons of lead in the year; but the general quantity is from 20 to 25 tons. The present furnace is a mile from the ore bank, and on the opposite side of the river. The ore is first 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 situation on a creek, for a pounding mill: but it would be easy to have the furnace and pounding mill on the same side 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 transported 130 miles along a good road, leading through the peaks of Otter to Lynch's ferry, or Winton's, on James' river, from whence it is carried by water about the same distance to Westham. This land carriage may be greatly shortened, by delivering the lead on James' river, above the Blue ridge, from whence a ton. weight has been brought on two canoes. The great Kanhaway has considerable falls in the neighbourhood of the mines. About seven. 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 descent to the great falls af James' river. Yet it is the opinion, that they may be laid open for useful navigation, so

as to reduce very much the portage between the Kanhaway and James' river.

A valuable lead mine is said to have been lately discovered in Cumberland, below the mouth of Red river. The greatest, however, known in the western country, are on the Missisipi, extending from the mouth of Rock river 150 miles upwards. These are not wrought, the lead used in that country being from the banks on the Spanish side of the Missisipi, op posite to Kaskaskia.

2

A mine of copper was once opened in the county of Amherst, on the north side of James river, and another in the opposite country, on the south side. However, either from bad management or the poverty, of the veins, they were discontinued. We are told of a rich mine of native copper on the Quabache, below the up per Wiaw.

The mines of iron worked at presentaré Callaway's, Ross's, and Ballendine's, on the south side of James' river; Old's on the north. side, in Albermarle; Miller's in Augusta, and Zane's in Frederic. These two last are in the valley between the Blue ridge and North moun tain. Callaway's, Ross's, Miller's and Zane's, make about 150 tons of bar iron aach, in the year. Ross's makes also about 1600 tons of pig iron annually; Ballendine's 1000; Callaway's, Miller's, and Zane's, about 600 each. Besides. these, a forge of Mr. Hunter's, at Fredericks-burg, makes about 300 tons a year of bar iron, from pigs imported from Maryland; and Tay lor's forge, on Neapsco of Patowmac, works ins the same way, but to what extent I am not in

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formed. The indications of iron in other places are numerous, and dispersed through all the middle country. The toughness of the cast iron of Ross's and Zane's furnaces is very remarkable. Pots and other utensils, cast thinner than usual, of this iron, may be safely thrown into, or out of the waggons in which they are transported. Salt-pans made of the same, 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 western country, we are told of iron mines between the Muskingum and Ohio; of others on Kentucky, between the Cumberland and Barren rivers, between Cumberland and Tanissee, on Reedy creek, near the Long island, and on Chesnut creek, a branch of the Great Kanhaway, near where it crosses the Carolina -line. What are called the iron banks, on the Missisipi, are believed, by a good judge, to have no iron in them. In general, from what is hi therto known of that country, it seems to want iron.

3. Considerable quantities of black lead are taken occasionally for use from Winterham, in the county of Amelia. I am not able, however, to give a particular state of the mine. There is no work established at it; those who want, going and procuring it for themselves.

The country on James' river, from 15 to 20 miles abové Richmond, and for several miles northward and southward, is replete with mineral 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 western country coal is known to be in so many places, as to have induced an opi nion, that the whole tract between the Laurel mountain, Missisipi, and Ohio, yields coal. It is also known in many places on the north side of the Ohio. The coal at Pittsburg is of very superior quality. A bed of it at that place has been a-fire since the year 1765. Another coalhill on the Pike-run of Monongahela has been a-fire ten years; yet it has burnt away about. twenty yards only.

I have known one instance of an emerald found in this country. Amethists have been frequent, and crystals common; yet not in such numbers any of them as to be worth seeking.

There is very good marble, and in very great abundance, on James' river, at the mouth of Rockfish. The samples I have seen, were some of them of a white as pure as one might expect to find on the surface of the earth: but most of them were variegated with red, blue, and pur-ple. None of it has been ever worked. It forms a very large precipice, which hangs over a navigable part of the river. It is said there is marble at Kentucky.

But one vein of lime-stone is known below the Blue-ridge. Its first appearance, in our country, is in Prince William, two miles, below the Pignut ridge of mountains; thence it passes on nearly parallel with that, and crosses the Rivanna about five miles below it, where it

is called the South-west-ridge. It then crosses Hardware, above the mouth of Hudson's creek, James' river at the mouth of Rock-fish, at the marble quarry before spoken of, probably runs up that river to where it appears again at Ross's iron- works, and so passes off south-westwardly by Flat creek of Otter river. It is never more than one hundred yards wide. From the Blue ridge westwardly, the whole country seems to be founded on a rock of lime-stone, besides infinite quantities on the surface, both loose and fixed. This is cut into beds, which range, as the mountains and sea coast do, from south-west to north-east, the lamina of each bed declining from the horizon towards a parallelism with the axis of the earth. Being struck with this observation, 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 result was within one-third of a degree of the elevation of the pole or latitude of the place, and much the greatest part of them taken separately were litLe different from that: by which it appears, that these lamina are in the main, parallel with the axis of the earth. In some instances, indeed, I found them perpendicular, and even reclining the other way: but these were extremely rare, and always attended with signs of convulsions, or other circumstances of singularity, which admitted a possibility of removal from their original position. These trials were made between Madison's cave and the Patowmac. We hear of limestone on the Missisipi and Ohio, and in all the mountainous country be

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