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Show 1 z TRAVELS TriRO GIT OH:'l'II A gr TCA: lour antl abo'l t t le fizc of a tl rufh , bu t t ·,ore ft ·n,lcr, it iP1itatcs, th.._ . 1 . l' 1 l t \\ 'th im n .l!l:d firm::th :\tJd [wcctncf:·. Til -.: {( 11 rr < j <..\ ll y Ol 1U ) IJ t, llt Q • • • c . birJ wbok fOI1'' it 11 ·ks gen -rnlly l[j S ; W<1y, il S it CO!li<..IOU~ Ot. bcm r cxc~ lh:d by th; other, atlJ J i!htisti('d with i ts own powcn. Jt ~ ~ :l _rc - k 1 .' . 1, 11y C·ttt fhv and ·h ich :1ppcars to b a VLry JUfl: !l1:\t' 10\Vl VCl , nJ,lUC • , ' ' ' . 1, t 1 J1.1t the birch in Am<:ri ca ar~ muc 1 itJf'crior to tho[c in J~uropc 111 0 1 ' ' . • • f 1 the 1m! 0~;y of tlH.ir 110tts , but th:1.t they arc fup l'n or 111 pomt ~ P \lll1<13 • f. .• . 1 · 1 l nc,w o no lll ctt~..an lit.ol t 1 ~t ln· ~ the rich m( llow note of o.u r . bllck- lm· d, t 11 c f pn·g 1 1 t1 y 1 o t r o f thc. [] y-l·n k ' or th fwcct and plamt1vc o ne of rhc n i •·h tin~alc. . Aftu- J~avin·~ lifl:cncd to the mocking hird, there is no 1 ovc~ty_J•l ltcZ~r ... • n- the fotJO' of' any other bird in tile CCJL111t ry ; and indeed thctr !ongs arc 111 feno· the mofbl p,trt but very fimplc b" l 1 i11 tbemli Ivcs, though com JOC( t 1 Y ;) re p k<lll ng. . The moil: remarkable for th ·ir plumage of thole commonly met w1th :-~rc, the blue b ird anti the red bird. The fir£1: is about the iizc of a l~n- 11et; its back, hea 1, ~nd wings arc of d ~trl ' yet b ri;5ht blue;. wh~n fly111g the 1 \nma,.c apn<.<lrs to the great ·ll advantas~e. The rud btrcl IS lamer than a '{l y.::>J:u+: though fmallc..:r than a thru01; it is. of a. v rmilion c~- 1our, ani has a [mall tuft on its head. A few hummmg birds mak' thur :l.J p~.1mn.z:e in [tll 11ncr, but their plumage i~ nut Co beautiful a thofe found mon:: to the fouthw;1.rd. f the other ommon hitds there :1rc lnt few worth notice. Doves and quails, or partridges as they are fometimcs called, afron.l good d · vcr_fion ~ r the fporti~11an. Thd"e Jail bitds in their habit: arc exa ly fimtlar to European partridges, excepting that they alight iometimcs upon trees; their tize is th<tt of the quail, but they arc neither the fame as the Er.tg li{h -quail or the EngliG1 partridge. It is the i~unc with many orh -r birds, a · j:1ys, robins, brks, phca~tnts, &c. which wcr called by the Engliili f<.:ttlcr,c; after tbe birds of the fame name in · England, bccaufe they bore fomc rcfemblancc to them, though in faa: they are materially diffcn:nt. [n the lower parts of Virgini , and to the fouthward, arc g reat numbers of large birds, called turk<. y buzzards, whi b, when mounted ,aloft on the wing, look like eagles. In Ca10lina there is n law prohibit-wg C. 0 L U M B I A. r IJ ing the killing thefe birds, as they feed upon putrid carrafes, ancl therefore ontributc to 1 ecp the air whol fomc. There is only one bird n ore which I 01al1 mention, the whipper-will, or whip-poor-will, as it is fometirnes called, fi·om the plaintive noilc that it makes; to my car it founded wyp-o .. !l. It begins to make this noifc, whi h is heard a great way ofF, about duO{., and continues it through the greater part of the night. This bird is fo very wary, and fo few infl:an 'es have occurred of its being fccn, much lcfs taken, that many have imag ined the noifc doe~ not proceed fi·om a bird, but from a frog, efpe ially as it is heard mofi:-'frcquently in the neighbourhood of luw ground • The frogs in America, it muft here be obfcrved, make a mofl: fingular noifc, fomc of them abfolutely whifl:ling, whilil: others croal- fo loudly, that it is diHicult at times to tell whether the found proce Is fi·om a .ttf or a frog: I have more than once been deceived by th 110ifc when walking in a meadow. Thcfe la!l: frogs arc called bull frogs; they mofily keep in pairs, and are never found but where there is good water; their bodies are frotn four to fcven inches long, and their leg arc in proportion ; they are extremely active, and take prodigious leaps. The firfl: town I reached on going tow:1rds the mountains was Columbia, or Point of Fork, as it is call d in the neighbourhood. It i~ fituated about fixty miles above Richmond, at the coll:flucncc of Rivanna. and Fluvanna rivers, which united form James River. This is a flouriiliing little place, containillg about forty houfes, and a warehoufc for the infpetl:ion of tobacco. On the neck of land between the two rivers, jufi oppofite to the town, is the magazine of the Il:atc, in which are kept twelve thou~wd iland of arms, and about thirty ton of powJer. The low land bordering upon the river in this neighbourhood arc extremely valuable. From Columbia to the Green Springs, about tw' .1ty miles farther on, the road runs almoft wholly through a pine forelt, and is v ry lonely. Night came on before I got to the end of it, and, as very commonly happens with travellers in this part of the world, I foon lot1 my way. A light, however, feen through the trees, fcemcd to indicate th,tt n. houfc was not far off; my fervant eagerly rode up to it, but the poor fell w·~ Q__ conftcrnation |