Rappahannock affords 4 fathom water to Hobb's hole, and 2 fathom from thence to Frederickfburg.
Patoivmac is 74. miles wide at the mouth;
44 at Nomony bay; 3 at Aquia; li. at Hallowing point; i^ at Alexandria. Its foundings are, 7 fathom at the mouth; 5 at St George's ifland ; 41at Lower Mat- chodic; 3 at Swan's point, and thence up to Alexandria; thence 10 feet water to the falls, which are 1 3 miles above Alex- andria. Thefe falls are 15 miles in length, and of very great defcent, and the navigation above them for batteaux and canoes, is fo much interrupted as to be Uttle ufed. It is, however, ufed in a fmall degree up the Cohongoronta branch as far as fort Cumberland, which was at the mouth of Willis's creek; and is ca- pable, at no great expence, of being ren- [ lO ] dered very pra6ticable. The Shenandoah branch interlocks with James river about the Blue Ridge, and may perhaps in fu- ture be opened.
The MifTif^pi vi^ill be one of the princi- pal channels of future commerce for the country weftward of the AUeghaney. From the mouth of this river to where it receives the Ohio, is looo miles by wa- ter, but only 500 by land, paffing through the Chickafaw country. From the mouth of the Ohio to that of the Miflburi, is 230 miles by water, and 140 by land, from thence to the mouth of the Illinois river, is about 25 miles. The Miflifipi, below the mouth of the Miflburi, is al- ways muddy, and abounding with fand bars, which frequently change their places.
However, it carries 15 feet water to the mouth of the Ohio, to which place it is from one and a half to two miles wide, and thence to Kafkafkia from one mile to a mile and a quarter wide. Its current is fo rapid, that it