dear, that falt water was discovered, and salt made by a poor man ; fince that time, under the direction of Colonel Arthur Campbell, it has been improved to a confiderable extent, and many thousands of inhabitants are fupplied from it with falt of a fuperior quality, and at a low price. The tract consists of about three hundred acres of flat marsh land, of as rich a foil as can be imagined in this flat, pits are funk in order to obtain the falt water; the best is found from thirty to forty feet deep. After paffing through the rich foil or mud, from fix to ten feet, you come to a very brittle lime-stone rock, with cracks or chasms, through which the falt water iffues into the pits, whence it is drawn by buckets and put into the boilers, which are placed in furnaces adjoining the pits. The hills that furround this flat are covered with fine timber, and not far distant a coal mine has been discovered.

On Frank river, about thirty miles in a direct line from its mouth, a large, clear, medicinal fpring has lately been discovered, which, on experiment, has been found to relieve various complaints of the human body; its temperature rather exceeds blood heat.

On the fame river, nearer its mouth, a valuable lead mine has been discovered.

On the banks of the Holftein are many mines of iron ore, of the best kind, fome of which have been opened and worked to advantage, and enough might be made to fupply the whole western country: thefe mines are the more valuable, as there is faid to be none of this ore near the Miffiffippi, and very little north of the Ohio.

Up the Hiwaffee river, in the mountains on the south fide, a mine has been discovered and ore taken, from which, it is said, gold was extracted by an artist, while the British were in poffeffion of Georgia: it is certain, that but few Indians know the spot, and those who do are very anxious to keep it a fecret: the gentleman who gave this information has been within view of the place. The mountain is very high and barren, and has several of the appearances described by mineralifts. The discovery was made by means of the river undermining the base of a large cliff or fpur of the mountain, which occafioned a great column of the earth or rock to tumble into the water; this difrupture discovered the vein of yellow metal at a great depth.

CIVIL DIVISIONS AND CHIEF TOWNS.

This territory is divided into two districts, each of which is again divided into counties as follows:

This is the shire town of Davidfon county, and is the largest town in the territory. The courts are held here; it has two houfes for public worship, and a handfomely endowed academy, establified in 1786.

ABINGDON.

Abingdon is the county town of Washington county: it contained in 1788 about twenty houfes, and was rapidly increasing: it is about two hundred and fixty miles from Richmond in Virginia, in a direct line, and three hundred and ten as the road runs, bearing a little to the south of weft latitude 36° 30′.

ROAD S.

The following are the distances on the new road from Nashville, in Davidson county, to Fort Campbell, near the junction of Holstein river with the Tenneffec.

By this new road, a pleasant paffage may be had to the western country with carriages, as there will be only the Cumberland mountain to pafs, and that, is eafy of afcent; and beyond it, the road is generally level and firm, abounding with fine springs of water.

POPULATION.

In 1765, there were but about ten families fettled west of the Kanhawa, fo many had joined them in 1773, that the settlement was erected into a county, and in 1776, again fubdivided into three.— In 1788, the number of inhabitants was reckoned at forty thousand: they must have greatly increafed fince that period-the following is the return made by the governor in 1791.

VOL. III.

Hh

WASH

To this return the following note was prefixed: There are several captains who have not as yet returned the schedules of the numbers of their districts, namely;-in Greene county, three-in Davidson, one-and South of French Broad, one district.

Though it is manifeft the deficiency in this return is great, yet we have not fufficient data to determine it, but we may reasonably suppose the prefent number of inhabitants to exceed fixty thoufaud.

In 1788, the militia of this district amounted to between feven and eight thousand effective men, who were principally armed with rifles. It is fuppofed that their number is increased to nearly double fince that period.

RELIGION AND CHARACTER.

The Prefbyterians are the prevailing denomination of Chriftians in this district they have a Prefbytery, called the Abington Prefbytery, eftablished by act of fynod, which, in 1798, confifted of

:

twenty

Total.

twenty-three large congregations, who were then supplied by only fix minifters. There are alfo fome of the Baptifts and Methodist denominations.

The inhabitants of this diftrict emigrated chiefly from Pennfylvania, and that part of Virginia which lies weft of the Blue ridge. The ancestors of these people were generally of the Scotch nation, fome of whom emigrated first to Ireland, and from thence to America. A few Germans and English are intermixed. The proportion of the whites to the blacks in this diftrict, judging from the foregoing inperfect cenfus, is as ten to one. In 1788, it was thought there were twenty white perfons to one negroe. The erection of this territory into a feparate government, it is believed, will tend to leffen the negroe population

There is nothing in the character of this people that distinguishes them from the fettlers of new countries in general. Among the bulk of the inhabitants a great fimplicity of manners prevails; duplicity, or the etiquette of cities and populous places, is unknown among them. If a man deceives another, he is deemed and called a liar; and it frequently happens that "a bloody nofe" is the confequence. Wreftling, jumping, running foot races, and playing at ball, are the com mon diverfions. Dancing is coming into fashion. Card playing is a rare amufement. The hunting fhirt is still worn by the militia on duty, and by hunters in purfuit of game. At home, and at public affemblies, they drefs like the Virginians.

Great was the damage fuftained by the inhabitants of this country during the war, occafioned by the incurfions of the Indians; and it is much to their honour, that when they were offered protection by the British, in the early ftage of the war, they nobly refused it.

COMMERCE,

As the waters of the Cumberland from Nashville, and of the Tenneffee from the Muscle fhoals to the Ohio, are navigable to the Ohio and Miffiffippi, the people of course, who live in the interior of the country, have the same advantages of water conveyance for trade, as those who live on the Ohio or Miffiffippi, to New-Orleans or elsewhere.

Befides, there is another probable avenue through which trade will be carried on with this country, which is from Mobile up the waters of the Mobile river as far as it is navigable, thence by a land carriage of about fifty miles, at most, to Ocochappo creek, which