mitted attention to the important interests of his country, and his unwearied application to, and able, faithful, and impartial discharge of the duties of his office; and assuring him that he had the warmest wishes of the convention for a speedy return to health, and an uninterrupted enjoyment of every felicity."

JEFFERSON.

JEFFERSON was formed in 1801, from Berkeley; its mean length is 22 miles, breadth 12 miles. The Potomac forms its northeastern boundary; the Shenandoah enters the county near its southeastern border, and flowing in a northeast direction, parallel with the

Blue Ridge, enters the Potomac at Harper's Ferry. The face of the country is rolling, and the soil almost unequalled in fertility by any other county in Virginia. "It was settled principally by old Virginia families from the eastern part of the state; and the inhabitants still retain that high, chivalrous spirit, and generous hospitality, for which that race was so remarkable in the palmy days of their prosperity." Pop. in 1840, whites 9,323, slaves 4,157, free colored 602; total, 14,082.

Middleway, 7 miles southwest of Charlestown, contains 1 Presbyterian, and 1 Methodist church, 3 mercantile stores, and about 500 inhabitants. Leetown is at the western end of the county, and contains a few dwellings. It derives its name from the celebrated Gen. Charles Lee, who once resided there.

Harper's Ferry is distant 173 miles from Richmond, 57 from Washington city, and 30 from Winchester, with which it is connected by a rail-road. This thriving manufacturing village is situated at the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Its name is derived from a ferry, long since established across the Potomac, where the river breaks through the Blue Ridge; at this place it is about 1200 feet in height. The name of the place was originally Shenandoah Falls.

"The scenery at Harper's Ferry is, perhaps, the most singularly picturesque in America. To attain the view here given, it was necessary to climb the Blue Ridge by a narrow winding path immediately above the bank of the Potomac. The view from this lofty summit amply repays the fatigue incurred by its ascent. The junction of the two rivers is immediately beneath the spectator's feet; and his delighted eye, resting first upon the beautiful and thriving village of Harper's Ferry, wanders over the wide and woody plains, extending to the Alleghany mountains. President Jefferson, who has given the name to a beautiful rock immediately above the village, has left a powerful description of the scenery of Harper's Ferry. He says:

"The passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge, is, perhaps, one of the most stupendous scenes in nature. You stand on a very high point of land; on your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of a mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Potomac, in quest of a passage also; in the moment of their junction, they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder, and pass off to the sea. The first glance of this scene hurries our senses into the opinion that this earth has been created in time; that the mountains were formed first; that the rivers began to flow afterwards; that in this place particularly, they have been dammed up by the Blue Ridge of mountains, and have formed an ocean which filled the whole valley; that, continuing to rise, they have at length broken over at this spot, and have torn the mountain down from its summit to its base. The piles of rock on each hand, particularly on the Shenandoah-the evident marks of their disrupture and avulsion from their beds by the most powerful agents of nature, corroborate the impression. But the distant finishing which nature has given to the picture, is of a very different character; it is a true contrast to the foreground; it is as placid and delightful as that is wild and tremendous; for the mountain being cloven asunder, she presents to your eye, through the clefts, a small catch of smooth blue horizon, at an infinite distance in the plain country, inviting you, as it were, from the riot and tumult warring around, to pass through the breach and participate of the calm below. Here the eye ultimately composes itself; and that way, too, the road happens actually to lead. You cross the Potomac above the junction, pass along its side through the base of the mountain for three miles, its terrible precipices hanging in fragments over you, and within about twenty miles reach Fredericktown, and the fine country round that. This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic; yet here, as in the neighborhood of the Natural Bridge, are people who have passed their lives within half a dozen miles, and have never been to survey these monuments of a war between rivers and mountains, which must have shaken the earth itself to its centre.'"

There are many points of view from which the scenery appears romantic and beautiful. Among these, that seen from Jefferson's Rock, which is on a hill overhanging the town, is very fine. The top of this rock is flat, and nearly twelve feet square; its base, which does not exceed five feet in width, rests upon the top of a larger rock; and its height is about five feet. The whole mass is so nicely balanced, that the application of a small force will cause it to vibrate considerably. On this rock once reposed another rock, on which Mr. Jefferson, during a visit to this place, inscribed his name. In the extraordinary political excitement of 1798-9, between the federal and the democratic parties, a Capt. Henry, who was stationed here with some U. S. troops, at the head of a band of his men hurled off the apex of this rock.

At Harper's Ferry, on the Maryland side, "there is said to be a wonderful likeness of Washington in the stupendous rocks which overhang the Potomac. The nose, lips, and chin are admirably formed, and bear the semblance of studied art. The forehead is obscure; yet there is sufficient to give the mind a just idea of the noble form and dignified carriage, with the mildness of feature, which the original possessed so pre-eminently as to inspire all men with a profound reverence towards this august personage."

Harper's Ferry is compactly, though irregularly built, around the foot of a hill; but the engraving annexed shows but a small portion of it. It contains about a dozen mercantile stores, several mechanical and manufacturing establishments, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Catholic, 1 Methodist, and 1 Free Church; and, including the suburbs, has a population of over 3,000. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal passes along the left bank of the Potomac, and the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road passes through the town. The town is connected with the Maryland side by a fine bridge across the Potomac, of about 800 feet in length. The United States Armory and the National Arsenal, at Harper's Ferry, are worthy of attention. In the latter, 80,000 or 90,000 muskets are usually kept, which, as they are sent away, are replaced by others from the factories.

Dwelling of Rumsey, the first Steamboat Inventor.

Shepherdstown is situated on the Potomac, in the northwestern part of the county, 5 miles north of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and about 12 miles above Harper's Ferry. It was established by law in November, 1762, laid off by Capt. Thomas Shepherd, and named Mecklenburg: its first settlers were German mechanics. It contains 6 or 8 mercantile stores, 3 merchant mills, 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 German-Reformed, and 1 Lutheran church, and a population of about 1,600. There is a small stream, of considerable fall, which runs through the town, immediately opposite to which is an inlet-lock to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

This town is remarkable as being the place where the first steamboat was constructed and navigated. Previous to detailing the experiments at this place, we shall introduce a brief historical sketch of navigation by steam:

"Who invented the steamboat?" is a question which has occasioned much controversy-an achievement of which nations, as well as individuals, have been covetous.

Several of the early experimenters in steam appear to have conceived of the idea. The first account we have on the subject, is given in a work recently published in Spain, containing original papers relating to the voyage of Columbus, said to have been preserved in the royal archives at Samancas, and among the public papers of Catalonia, and those of the secretary at war for the year 1543. This narrative states that "Blasco de Garay, a sea-captain, exhibited to the emperor and king Charles V., in the year 1543, an engine by which ships and vessels of the largest size could be propelled, even in a calm, without the aid of oars or sails. Notwithstanding the opposition which this project encountered, the emperor resolved that an experiment should be made, as in fact it was, with success, in the harbor of Barcelona, on the 17th of June, 1543. Garay never publicly exposed the construction of his engine; but it was observed, at the time of his experiment, that it consisted of a large caldron, or vessel of boiling water, and a moveable wheel attached to each side of the ship. The experiment was made on a ship of 209 tons, arrived from Calibre to discharge a cargo of wheat at Barcelona; it was called the Trinity, and the captain's name was Peter de Scarza. By order of Charles V., and the prince Philip the Second, his son, there were present at the time, Henry de Toledo, the governor, Peter Cardona, the treasurer, Ravago, the vice-chancellor, Francis Gralla, and many other persons of rank, both Castilians and Catalonians; and among others, several sea-captains witnessed the operation-some in the vessel, and others on the shore. The emperor and prince, and others with them, applauded the engine, and especially the expertness with which the ship could be tacked. The treasurer, Ravago, an enemy to the project, said it would move two leagues in three hours. It was very complicated and expensive, and exposed to the constant danger of bursting the boiler. The other commissioners affirmed, that the vessel could be tacked twice as quick as a galley served by the common method, and that, at its slowest rate, it would move a league in an hour. The exhibition being finished, Garay took from the ship his engine, and having deposited the wood-work in the arsenal of Barcelona, kept the rest to himself. Notwithstanding the difficulties and opposition thrown in the way by Ravago, the invention was approved; and if the expedition in which Charles V. was then engaged had not failed, it would undoubtedly have been favored by him. As it was, he raised Garay to a higher station, gave him a sum of money (200,000 maravedies) as a present, ordered all the expenses of the experiment to be paid out of the general treasury, and conferred upon him other rewards."

The editor of the Franklin Journal, from which this extract has been made, observes, "when the Public Records' shall appear in an authentic form, their evidence must be admitted; until then, he should not be inclined to commence the history of the invention of the steamboat so far back as 1543. For, circumstantial as the account is, it seems

to have been written since the days of Fulton."

He is not alone in this opinion, as it is generally regarded as a mere fiction, the offspring of an individual jealous of his country's reputation. This, too, it must be remembered, is stated to have occurred 54 years previous to the birth of the Marquis of Worcester, to whom history assigns the credit of being the original inventor of the steam-engine. When we consider how slow is the progress of invention-how it took several generations of ingenious men, each of whom successively contributed his share in improving upon the first crude conception of Worcester, ere it could be successfully applied-how rude the state of mechanic arts three centuries since, and the difficulties of perfecting so complicated a work of mechanism as the steam-engine-it seems incredible that one mind alone should have overcome them all, and, at a single leap, done that which has taken the successive light and talent of generations of men, and all the mechanical skill and knowledge of the 19th century, to consummate.

The most prominent and authentic account of the early projects of applying steam as a motive power to the propelling of vessels, is given in a treatise printed in London in 1737, entitled "Description and draught of a new-invented machine, for carrying vessels out of, or into any harbor, port, or river, against wind and tide, or in a calm for which his majesty George II. has granted letters patent for the sole benefit of the author, for the space of 14 years; by Jonathan Hulls." The draught or drawing prefixed, is a plate of a stout boat, with chimney smoking, a pair of wheels rigged out over each side of the stern, moved by means of ropes passing around their outer rims; and to the axis of these wheels are fixed six paddles to propel the boat. From the stern of the boat a tow-line passes to the foremast of a two-decker, which the boat thus tows through the water. There is no evidence that Hulls ever applied his conceptions to practice.

Previous to the great and successful experiment of Fulton, in 1807, several attempts

were made in this country and in Europe, to navigate vessels by steam. The first in order of time, was made by the subject of this sketch; the second was John Fitch, who, in 1789, succeeded in propelling his steamboat by paddles, at the rate of eight miles an hour, on the Delaware. In his autobiography he says, "I know of nothing so perplexing and vexatious to a man of feelings, as a turbulent wife and steamboat building. I experienced the former, and quit in season; and had I been in my right senses, I should undoubtedly have treated the latter in the same manner. But for one man to be teased with both, he must be looked upon as the most unfortunate man of this world." Fitch died at Bardstown, Kentucky, about the year 1796. It was his wish to be buried on the banks of the Ohio, that he might repose "where the song of the boatman would enliven the stillness of his resting-place, and the music of the steam-engine sooth his spirit." How melancholy is the sentiment found in his journal: "The day will come when some more powerful man will get fame and riches from my invention; but nobody will believe that poor John Fitch can do any thing worthy of attention." As early as 1783, both Rumsey and Fitch had exhibited models to Gen. Washington.

Shortly after the experiment of Fitch, a Mr. Symington succeeded in propelling a steamboat on the Clyde, in Scotland.

John Stevens, of Hoboken, commenced his experiments in 1797. With various forms of vessels and machinery, he impelled boats at the rate of five or six miles an hour. In the year 1797, Chancellor Livingston built a steamboat on the Hudson, and he applied to the legislature of New York for an exclusive privilege. Being unable to comply with the conditions of their grant-viz., that he should propel a vessel by steam at the rate of three miles an hour, within a year-the project was, for a time, dropped. He afterwards associated with Stevens, and being aided by Nicholas Rosevelt, they carried on their experiments until Livingston was sent minister to France. Mr. Stevens continued his experiments until several years later, when Mr. Livingston obtained a renewal of the exclusive grant from the legislature of New York. Mr. Stevens, with the assistance of his son, now applied himself with increased assiduity to the project, and succeeded in 1807, only a few days later than Mr. Fulton's convincing experiment, in propelling a steamboat at the required velocity. Mr. Fulton had, in 1803, made a successful experiment upon the Seine, with a boat which moved at the rate of four miles per hour.

Another of these indefatigable experimenters in navigation by steam, was Oliver Evans, of Philadelphia, the inventor of the high-pressure steam-engine, the only one which can be successfully applied to locomotives. "In the year 1804, Mr. Evans, by order of the board of health of Philadelphia, constructed at his works, situated a mile and a half from the water, a machine for cleaning docks. It consisted of a large flat, or scow, with a steam-engine of the power of five horses on board, to work machinery in raising the mud into scows. This was considered a fine opportunity to show the public that his engine could propel both land and water conveyances. When the machine was finished, he fixed, in a rough and temporary manner, wheels with wooden axletrees, and, of course, under the influence of great friction. Although the whole weight was equal to 200 barrels of flour, yet his small engine propelled it up Market-st., and round the circle to the water-works, where it was launched into the Schuylkill. A paddle-wheel was then applied to its stern, and it thus sailed down that river to the Delaware, a distance of 16 miles, leaving all vessels that were under sail at least half way, (the wind being ahead,) in the presence of thousands of spectators-which he supposed would have convinced them of the practicability of steamboats and steam-carriages. But no allowance was made by the public for the disproportion of the engine to its load, nor for the rough manner in which the machinery was fixed, or the great friction and ill form of the boat; but it was supposed that this was the utmost it could perform. In 1802, Evans built a steamboat to ply on the Mississippi between New Orleans and Natchez. The boat being ready, a drought left it high and dry, and the steam-engine was placed temporarily in a saw-mill. The mill was like to deprive some who sawed lumber of profitable jobs; and, on the third attempt, it was burnt by incendiaries. Thus were the projectors ruined, and a laudable attempt to establish steamboats on the Mississippi, three or four years before Fulton's experiment, defeated."

JAMES RUMSEY, who is believed to be the first person that ever succeeded in propelling a boat by steam, was a native of Maryland. When a young man, he removed to Shepherdstown, where he devoted much of his time to mechanics.

He was, at one period of his life, engaged as a merchant in company with a Mr.