by the falls of the water, over the sudden depressions of its bed, which is formed of large, flat stones, close to each other. These falls are six, eight, or ten feet in height, and follow one another so closely, that they may be compared to a vast flight of steps. Large round stones, five or six feet across, lie in the middle of the river; but it is not possible to say how they came there.

The right bank rises in some places to a hundred feet, and is overtopped by projecting rocks, in some parts covered with a kind of white moss, resembling snow.

The prospects are rendered still more romantic, by a number of magnificent cascades, formed by large rivulets, which, after meandering through the forests, fall over the shores of Roaring River, and are lost amidst its waters. The rocks are covered with moss, which forms a verdant carpet, beneath the rich flowering trees and fhrubs that grow here in great variety.

On the banks of this river are several caverns, that produce alum of so pure a quality, that the inhabitants use it in dyeing, and export it to Kentucky.

Having supplied ourselves with provisions, we entered the mountainous territory of the Cherokees. At midnight we encamped near a small river, where there was plenty of grass, and after having made a fire, lay down in our blankets, watching our horses by turns, with Sancho, lest

the

the Indians should steal them, which they are very apt to do, without the strictest precaution.

In the morning we packed up our baggage, and met several flocks of wild turkeys, forty or fifty in a company. A party of Indians, who were seeking for summer grapes and chinquapins, a welltasted small species of chesnut, crossed our road, and in exchange for some of their fruit, received a couple of loaves of bread, which to them is a great luxury; their common food being chiefly deer's flesh roasted.

Small boards, painted black, are nailed against the trees, to show travellers how far they have gone; after passing two of these, since our traffic with the Indians, we saw a carriage full of wealthy emigrants, followed by their negroes on foot. At the confluence of the rivers Clinch and Holston, we passed a pallisaded fort, built on a high hill, called West Point. About a mile beyond it, the road goes through Kingstown, composed of near forty log-houses. In the evening we reached Knoxville, which is the seat of government of the state of Tenessee. It is but a small town, built almost entirely of wood, and has no manufactures but that of tanning leather: there is, however, some trade, and the stores are better furnished than those at Nashville.

The traders obtain goods from Philadelphia by land, which is distant six hundred and forty miles;

and

and they send flour, cotton, and lime, by the river Tenessee, to New Orleans, which is as far.

A merchant, who is now setting off for Philadelphia, will take this letter, and forward it to England by the first vessel that sails from that post. I am your very affectionate friend,

HENRY FRANKLIN.

LETTER XX.

Arthur Middleton to his Brother Edwin,

DEAR EDWIN,

Morgantown.

THE love of variety supports me under the fatigues and hardships we are often obliged to suffer, in passing through uninhabited or savage districts; and I console myself, when I have no other bed than the hard ground, that when I return to my native country, the meanest accommodations will satisfy me, nay will appear luxurions, in comparison with those I have often been glad to procure amongst the wilds we have traversed.

We have lately passed through the territory of the Cherokee Indians: they are a warlike people, and vigorously resisted the intrusion of the first settlers. Their stature is above the middle size,

and

and they are plumper than might be expected, from the long fasts they often endure, whilst pur. suing the wild animals in the woods, which is their chief sustenance; though for some years past they have followed the example of the white settlers, in cultivating their lands. Some of them have good plantations, and negroes to labour for them. It is impossible to imagine any set of men more free and independent than these savage tribes, and their contempt for a slave equals their love of liberty; consequently they despise the poor negroes still more than the white people do, though they are willing to employ them.

The men commonly wear a shirt, which they leave loose; and a piece of blue cloth passed between their legs, and fastened behind and before, to their girdle, which serves them for breeches. They cover their legs and feet with gaiters, and shoes or socks, made of prepared deer-skin. A tuft of hair is left on the top of their heads, formed into several tresses, which hang down the sides of their faces; and very frequently the ends are decorated with feathers, or small pipes of silver. A great many of them make holes through the gristle of the nose, to put rings into; and when they are very young, cut their ears, and make them grow to a great length by hanging pieces of lead to them. They paint their faces red, blue, or black, which disfigures them very much.

In many respects the women dress like the men:

they

they wear a man's shirt, and short petticoat, with socks and gaiters of deer's skin. They let all their hair grow, which, like that of the men, is of a jet black, but they do not pierce the nose or cut the ears.

In winter, both men and women defend themselves from the cold by a woollen blanket wrapped round their shoulders. A blanket is an essential part of their baggage, and they always carry one with them. The fœderal government encou rages them to be industrious, by furnishing them with implements for agriculture, and tools for handicraft trades. Some of the women have learned to spin, and weave cotton cloth.

At a store near Fort Blount, we saw a great number of these people, who had brought ginsing, and the skins of bears, deer, and otters, to exchange for coarse stuffs, knives, hatchets, and other articles. Their intercourse with the white people has altered their manners, in a small degree, as we were told by a very aged chief, whom we saw in one of their towns. He said, that when he was a young man, they had no iron hatchets, pots, hoes, knives, razors, nor guns; but that they then made use of their own stone axes, clay pots, flint knives, and bows and arrows: and that he was the first man who brought these articles from the whites, having walked with a load of them on his back several hundred miles. It was delightful to see the vene. ration and respect that was paid to this white

headed,