Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 V13.djvu/62

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

3d.] This morning I walked up the right bank of the river, to view an aboriginal station, said to be situated on the present estate of Mr. Warf, on Park's bottom; but, on proceeding about two miles through an enswamped beech forest, I relinquished the undertaking, finding it to be more than three miles above Mill creek, which I had crossed the preceding day. {28} I understood that this work was a circular embankment, including an area of three or four acres; and in the vicinity of which, were several inconsiderable mounds. Beech woods, flanked by elevated cliffs, still continued for four miles on the Virginia side, to Le Tart's rapids,[27] where the boat was to wait my arrival. On the way I found abundance of the Dracocephalum cordifolium with long slolons like ground ivy, also Hesperis pinnatifida, but I was more particularly gratified in finding the Tilia heterophylla. Nothing is here more abundant than the Stylophorum (Chelidonium. Mich.). This evening, we were 16 miles above Galiopolis;[28]

4th.] About 11 miles from which, I observed a bed of coal, now worked on the bank of the river, some distance above the base of a high cliff, and overlaid by a massive micaceous sandstone, constituting the main body of the hill, and, as usual, horizontally stratified. Beneath the coal appeared a laminated limestone. Not many miles from hence, nitre is also obtained in caves.

The wind still continued against us, and with consider-*