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Show TRAVELS THROUGH NORTH AMERICA: From Fred -ric I proceeded in a foutherly courfe through l\1ontgom~ry county 1·1 1 M a1 .y 1 a n d . In this dircC.lion the foil change to a yello_w 1ih fort of day mixed with rravd, and continues mnch the f.'unc t~nttl yo_u omc to the ft.:dc ral city, b yond which, as I h, vc Lcforc mcnt10ncd, lt become more acnd more fundy as you app ·oach the kt coa£1:. 1 he chan'rc in the £t ·c of the country after leaving Frederic is gradual, but at th~ end of a day's journey a !hiking Jiffcrcnce is perceptible. In [lead of well cultivat ·d fic.:lds, green with whe.:tt, fuch as arc met with along that rich track which runs contiguous to the mountains, large pieces of land, which have been worn o 1t with the culture of tobacco, arc here fcen lying wafl:e, with [care ly an herb to cover them. lnftcad of the furrow of the plough, the marks of the hoc appear on the ground ; the fields arc over[ pread W\th ] ittle. hillocks for the rccc ption of tobacco pbnts, aml the eye is ::tlhilcd in every dir cl:ion with the unplcafmt fight of gangs of male and female flaves toiling under the h, dh commands of the overfeer. The difference in the m:mners of the inhabitants is alfo great. InO:cad of being an1ong£1: the phlegmatic Germans, a trav eller finds hin1fe1f again in the midft ()f al1 'inquifi.ti\Te and prying fet of Americans, to gratify whofe curiofity it 'is always neceifary to devote a certain portion of time after alighting at a tavern. A traveller on arriving in. America may poffibly imagine, that it is the defire of obtaining ufcful information which leads the people, whet'ecvcr he flops, to accofl: him; and that the particular enquiries ref petting the objcc:t of his purfuits, the place of his abode, and that of his dcfiination, &c. arc made to prepare the way for queO:ions of a more general nature, and for converfation that may be attended with fome amufement to him; he therefore readily anfwers them', hoping in return to gain information about the country through which he pafies; but when it is found that thefe qucftions arc aiked merely through an idle and imp, ertinent curiofity, and that by far the greater patt of the people who a!k them arc igno~ant, Loori01 fellows; when it is found that thofe who can keep up fome little converf..1.tion immediately begin to talk upon politics, and to abufe every country excepting their own; when, la!Uy, it is fouud that the people fcarccly ever give fatisfaCtory anfwcrs at firfi: to FALLS OF THE PATOvVMAC. 77 to the enquiries which arc made by a ilranger r<:fpcCling their country, but always hcfitate, as if fufpicious that he was nfking thcfe quc!lions to procure fome Joc,1l infcJrmation, in order to enable him to ovcrrea h them in a bargain, or to make fomc fJlecnlation in land to their injury; the tmvcllcr then lofcs all 1 aticncc at this cl i!;Lgrccablc and prying difpofitron, and feel · JifJ)ofed to turn from them wi.th difgufl:; fiill, however,. if he \ ifh,; to go throllgh he country peaceably, and without quarrelling at every pbce where he i ops, it is abfolutcly nccc!1J.ry to anfwer fome few of their qu efiio ns. Having followed the high way as fu· as Montgomery court-houfc, which is about thirty miles from Fred ri , I turned off along a bye road running through the woods, in order to fee the great f< lis of Patowmac 1 iver. The view of them f10m the Maryland {bore is very ple< fing, but not fo much fo as that from the oppofitc fitle. Having reached the ri · ver therefore clofc to the falls, I rode along through the w ods, with which its banks arc covered, for fome difl:ancc hi her up, to a place where there was a ferry, and where I croifed into Virginia. From the place where I landed to the falls, which is a diflancc of about three miles, there is a wild romantic path running along the margin of the river, and winding at the fame time round the bafc of a high hill covered with lofty trees and rocks. Ncar to the fhore, almofi: the whole way, there arc clufrcrs of [mall iflands covered with trees, whi h fuddenly oppofing the rapid cour1e of the fiream, form very dangerous eddies, in which boats are fi-cquently lofl: when navigated by men who are not active and careful. On the lhore prodjgious heaps of white fand arc wafh .. cd up by the waves, and in many places the path is rendered almofl impaffablc by piles of large trees, which have been brought down from the upper country by floods, and drifted together. The river, at the ferry which I mentioned, is about one mile and n quarter wi ie, and it continues n1.nch th fame breadth as far as the falls, where it is confiderably contra_ cd and confined in its channel by immenfe rocks on either fide. There alfo its courfe is very fw.ldcnly al .. tered, fo much fo indeed, that below the falls for a fhort di{bncc it runs in an oppo!ite direCtion from what it did above, but foon after it rc-fumcs .... |
