foul and body together. Our mountainous countries must always prove excellent ranges for herds of cattle; the grafs, in the fummer, affording fufficient food to fatten them, without the expense of cultivated meadows, and the winters are seldom fo fevere as to require any other food than the cane and pea-vine.

"The navigation of this country has been much talked of. The distance from one place to another has been computed with fome degree of accuracy, and the various experiments which have been made confirm the opinion that its difficulty is merely imaginary.

"The common mode of descending the stream is in flat-bottomed boats, which may be built from fifteen to five hundred tons burthen. But, as far as I have been able to judge, I fhould fuppofe, that about fifty or fixty tons burthen would be the most convenient, wieldy, and confequently fafe, particularly when the waters are very high; for in fuch cafes the rapidity of the current makes it difficult to manage an unwieldy mass with facility. These boats are built of oak plank, with a certain proportion of breadth to their length, i. e. nearly as twelve feet to forty; which will be a boat of nearly forty tons. They are covered or not as occafion may require. The object is to build them as cheap as poffible, for their unwieldiness prevents the poffibility of their returning, and they can only be fold as plank.

"Several of these boats fetting out together, let us suppose five, ten, fifteen, or twenty, of fixty tons burthen each, which would require each fix hands to navigate them; ten boats then of fixty tons each will employ fixty hands, which will be equal to navigate up the ftream three boats of five tons each, and would be more than fufficient to bring back the cargo that the produce of the ten boats would purchase; as the articles we export are grofs and bulky, while we want only in return fuperfine goods: the coarfer goods of every fort will always be manufactured in the country. We alfo make our own falt, fugar, fpirits, malt liquor, and fhall foon make our own wine. These boats must be worked up with fteam and fails.

"The invention of carrying a boat against the stream by the influence of steam, is a late improvement in philofophy by a Mr. Rumfey of Virginia, whofe ingenuity has been rewarded by that State with the exclufive privilege of navigating thofe boats in her rivers for ten years; and as this grant was given previous to the independence of Kentucky, the act of feparation guarantees his right. Some circumstance or other has prevented his bringing them into ufe. However, there can be no doubt of the fuccefs of his fcheme, for the Affembly

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of Virginia had the most unequivocal affurances before they gave the privilege, in a certificate figned by General Wafhington and Man Page, Efquire fetting forth, that they had seen a boat, they believed to be conftructed by Mr. Rumfey, afcend a stream without the aid of manual labour, but without mentioning the operating cause, which has fince appeared to be fteam. If this principle fhould fail (and from fuch authority I do not conceive how it is to be prefumed,) I flatter myself that philosophy is capable of fupplying the place in the appropriation of fome one of the fecrets with which mechanics abound.

"In taking a retrospective view of the world, we are for a moment furprized when we recollect that fome thousands of years had elapfed before printing was invented; and that the only way of accumulating the copies of art and genius was by the tardy method of tranfcribing; and that the art of navigation was for nearly as long a time devious, and regulated by no certain laws, the ftars and head lands of different countries being the only guides to the adventurous mariner, who often perished when the heavens were obfcured. O Liberty! how many bleffings haft thou brought to America! Man in promulgating his opinions, now finds fecurity under the wings of an established freedom; and the difmal dungeon, which eclipfed the luminous mind of the celebrated Italian, would now be erected into a school for him to lec. ture in, instead of a prifon to bewail the miferable ignorance and depravity of his fellow-creatures. Truth and reafon have led to th's melioration of manners-it will lead to more benefits to mankind.--But should we still be obliged to row our boats against the stream, it is not only practicable, but cafy.

"The frequent turnings in the Miffiffippi produce in every bend eddy water; which, with the advantage the wind affords (that blowing the greater part of the year from the fouth-weft, and directly up the windings of the river, by reason of the vacancy between the banks and rifing forefts on either fide, affording a channel for the current of the air) is fufficient with fails, keeping as much as poffible in the eddy water, to carry a boat fifty miles a day up the ftream.

"To account for those winds philofophically would be extremely eafy; but as it is a circumftance notorious from the teftimony of voyagers in the Miffiffippi, and Ohio, I prefume the test of experience will be preferred to any philofophical difquifition upon the subject. "Should this navigation prove too tedious, and no improvements appear likely to be made in it, the importing into the country may be facilitated by another channel, from the gulf of Mexico up the Mo

bile, which is a lazy current; from the principal branch of which there is but a fhort paffage to a branch of the Tenneffee, when you will have the advantage of the ftream quite into the Ohio. I have enumerated this circumstance merely for the fake of information; for I have not the smallest doubt of the eligibility of the navigation of the Miffilippi, which is proved from the experiments which are daily making.

"The distance from Pittsburg to the Muskingum is one hundred and feventy-three miles; to the Little Kanhawa one hundred and feventy-eight: to the Great Kanhawa two hundred and eighty-five; to Great Sandy three hundred and forty-two; to the Scioto three hundred and ninety; to Lime-stone five hundred; to the Little Miami five hundred and ten; to Licking creek five hundred and twenty-four; to the Great Miami five hundred and fifty; to the Great-bone creek five hundred and eighty-two; to the Kentucky fix hundred and twenty:fix; to the rapids, feven hundred and three ; to Salt river feven hundred and twenty-three; to Green river nine hundred and twentytwo; to the Wabash one thousand and nineteen; to Cumberland river one thousand one hundred and thirteen; to the Tenneffee one thoufand one hundred and twenty-fix; to the Miffiffippi one thousand one hundred and eighty-three; from thence to New Orleans is about one thousand and five.

"I have mentioned that it is about two hundred and thirty miles from the mouth of the Ohio up the Miffiffippi to the mouth of the Miffouri, and about twenty from thence to Illinois, which is navigable for batteaux to its fource. From thence there is a portage only of two miles to Chickago, which is alfo navigable for batteaux to its entrance into lake Michegan, which is a distance of fixteen miles. This lake affords communication with the river St. Lawrence through lake Erie, paffing Niagara by a portage of eight miles. The lakes Erie and Michegan are navigable for veffels drawing fix and seven feet water. This is one of the routes by which the exchange of commodities between the northern and fouthern parts of this empire will be facilitated.

"In continuing the plan of intercourse, it will be found extremely eafy to pass through lake Ontario to Wood creek; up Wood creek, and by a portage of about three miles, you arrive at a creek, which in three miles more brings you to fort Edward upon the Mohawk river, a branch of Hudson's river. There are several carrying places between that and its junction with Hudfon; but very little

labour

labour would remove them, and which I have no doubt but the State of New-York will be judicious enough to fet early about. It is certain they have ordered furveys to be made, and plans are forming for the removal of those obstructions. It has been long in embryo with them.* It was impoffible a plan of fo much utility could efcape that fage and penetrating politican General Schuyler, whofe vast estate lies moftly in that part of America.

"There are alfo portages into the waters of lake Erie from the Wabash, Great Miami, Mufkingum, and Allegany, from two to fixteen miles. The portage between the Ohio and Potomack will be about twenty miles when the obftructions in the Monongahela and Cheat rivers are removed, which will form the first object of the gentlemen of Virginia when they have compléted the canal on the Potomack.

"The obftructions to the navigation of the great Kanhawa are of fuch magnitude, that it will require a work of ages to remove them; but if ever that should be done, there will be an eafy communication between that and James river, and likewife with the Roanoake, which runs through North-Carolina. But this is an event

too remote to deserve any confideration at present.

"All the rivers in this country of fixty yards wide and upwards, are navigable almoft to their fources for flat-bottomed boats during their floods, and for batteaux the greater part of the year, the Great Kanhawa and little Miami excepted. The Tenneffee has a confiderable fall where it paffes through Cumberland mountain, where there must be a portage alfo. From thence it is navigable quite to Holfton.

"The rapids of the Ohio are no obstruction in high water to boats going down the river, and indeed batteaux may pass almost at any time. There are two small rapids in the Wabash between its mouth and St. Vincent's, but they are no impediment to navigation, except at times of low water. The Kafkafkia is a small river which runs into the Miffiffippi below the Illinois, and is navigable a confiderable way above the plains. The Miffiffippi is navigable to St. Anthony's falls, without any obftruction. Carver defcribes it as navigable above them as far as he travelled. We have too little knowledge of

That State paffed an Act of Assembly in July 1792, for removing all the obftructions between Hudfon's river and lake Ontario; by which means, when it is done, there will be an inland navigation, taking its various courfes of nearly two thousand miles in extent.

the

the Miffouri to form any decided opinion of the extent of its naviga. tion. It is however certain, that it is a more powerful ftream than the Miffiffippi, and in entering that river, it triumphantly rushes across, and its turbid waters, unmixed, feem to difdain a connection fo inferior. From the best information that we have been able to collect, it is navigable for twelve or fifteen hundred miles above its mouth without obstruction; and I think it is not unlikely, that in settling the country towards its fource, we shall find it is not remote from the fources of the streams running into the Pacific ocean, and that a communication may be opened between them with as much eafe as between the Ohio and Potomack, and also between the settlements on the Miffiffippi and California. This circumstance is the more likely to happen, as it does not appear that the ridges of hills which divide the waters of the Pacific ocean from the waters of the Miffiffippi, are either so high or fo rugged as the Allegany moun tains.

"You will obferve, that as far as this immenfe continent is known the courses and extent of its rivers are extremely favourable to communication by water; a circumftance which is highly important, whether we regard it in a focial or commercial point of view. The intercourse of men has added no inconfiderable luftre to the polish of manners, and, perhaps, commerce has tended more to civilize and embellish the human mind, in two centuries, than war and chivalry would have done in five.

"The federal government regulating every thing commercial, must be productive of the greatest harmony, fo that while we are likely to live in the regions of perpetual peace, our felicity will receive a zeft from the activity and variety of our trade. We fhall pafs through the Miffiffipi to the fea-up the Ohio, Monongahela and Cheat rivers, by a small portage, into the Potomack, which will bring us to the federal city on the line of Virginia and Marylandthrough the feveral rivers I have mentioned, and the lakes to New York and Quebec-from the northern lakes to the head branches of the rivers which run into Hudfon's bay into the Arctic regions-and from the fources of the Miffouri into the great fouth fea. Thus in the center of the earth, governing by the laws of reafon and humanity, we feem calculated to become at once the emporium and protectors of the world.

"Frequent rains in the latter end of the autumn produce floods in the Ohio, and it is an uncommon feason when one of those floods does

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