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The lands on the Muskingum above Marietta are rich, thickly settled and well cultivated. At the distance of twelve miles is the town of Adams, and twenty-three miles, by water, is the town of Waterford, within the purchase of the Ohio company. At a small distance above this purchase, the bottom lands are narrow, and the hills are many of them steep, tufted with pine, for about thirty miles. They then begin to recede from the river, and bottoms increase in width to Zanesville; at the distance of a few miles west of the river the face of the country is swelling hills, with a rich soil, and the growth principally beach and oak.
The hills on this river abound with coal, and much of it of an excellent quality. It is said a vein of coal has been found crossing the bed of the river, remarkable for its purity. The pieces of the coal have the appearance of varnish, somewhat resembling japan, and when laid on the fire, a kind of fusion is produced, which continues until it is consumed by evaporation, without disagreeable smell, and deposits scarcely any cinder or ashes. Coal has been sold at Marietta at about three cents the bushel, and is much used by the inhabitants for fuel, in preference to wood, when wood can be purchased at one dollar per cord.
Descending the Ohio, at the distance of ten miles below Marietta is Bellepre. This beautiful village is several miles in length, extending
