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Show 17 59• FA L L S 0 F R A p p A H AN N 0 C. ry1. 0g on a tt.a de with the back- fettlers; and is at pre fen t by far the mofl flouriQ1ing one in thefe parts. We left Frederidburg the 6th inflant, and went to fee !he Falls. At this place is a fmall mercantile to\~n called Falmouth ; whofe inhabitants are endeavouring to nval the Frederidburghers in their trade, It is built upon the north-fide of the river, and confifls of eighteen or twenty houfes. . The Falls of Rappahannoc are fimilar to thofe of James nver, except that they are not upon fo large a fcale. The whole range fcarcely exceeds half a mile, ~nd the breadth not a hundred yards. At the time of our gmng to fee them, .there was a frefh in the river, which added very much to theu beauty. The center of view was an ifiand of about a hundred acres c~vered with trees: this divided the river into two branches, Ill each of which, at regular diflances of fifteen or twenty yards, was a chain of fix or feve~n falls, one above another,. the lea,{l: of them a foot perpendicular. The margin was beauttfully variegated with rocks and trees, and the whole formed a pleafing romantic fcene. . At this place we met with a perfon who informed us of h_ts having been, a few days before, a fpeCtator of th at extraordinary phenomenon in nature, the fafcinating power of the r.attle- fnake. He obferved one lying coiled near a tree, lookll1g direCtly at a bird which had fettled there. The bird was under great agitation, uttered the mofi doleful cri es, hopped from fpray to fpray, and at length flew direCtly down to the fnake, which opened its mouth and [wallowed it. . From hence we afcended np the river, about fifteen miles, to Spotfwood's iron-mines; and in our way had a fine view of the A palachian mountains, or Blue Ridge, at the dill:ance of feventy miles. At this place I was much affe Cted with the following incident. A gentleman in our co ,npany, which was now S P 0 T S W 0 0 D's M I N E S. now increafed, had a fmall negro boy with him, about fout·teen years of age, th at had lived with him in a remote part of the country fome time as a fervant; an old woman who was work ing in the mines, and who proved to be the boy's grandmother, accident::dly caft her eyes on him; ibe viewed him with great attention for fome time; th en [creamed out, faying tha t it was her child, and flung herfelf down upon the ground. She hy there fomc feconds; rofe up, looked on him again in an extafy of joy, and fell upon his neck and kiffed him. After this, ibe retired a few paces, examined him afre{h with fixed attention, and immediately feemed to lole herfelf in thoughtful and profound melancholy. The boy all this while flood filent and motionlefs; reclining his head on one fide, pale and affeCted beyond defcri ption. Upon the whole, it would not have been in the power of Raphael, to have imagined a finer picture of dill:refs. We returned from this place the next day to Frederidburg; and ferrying over the Rappahannoc into th.eNorthern Neck, travelled about feventeen miles to a gentleman's houfe in Stafford County: in the morning we proceeded through Dumfries, and over Occoquan river to Colcheiler, about twenty-one miles. Thefe are two (mall towns lately built for the fake of the back trade; the former on Acq uia creek, the other upon Occoquan river, both of which fall into the Potowmac. About two miles above Colchefler there is an iron furnace, a forge, two fawmills, and a bolting-mill: at our return we had an opportunity of vi1iting them : they h ave every convenience of wood and water, that can be wi01ed for. The ore wrought here is brought from Maryland; not that there is any doubt of there being plenty enough in the adjacent hills; but the inh abitants re di fcouraged from trying for it by the proprietor's (viz. lord E 2 Fair- |