immediately, fo that veflels may pafs through the whole winter, fubjeft only to accidental and fhort delays. Add to all this, that in cafe of a war with our neighbours, the Anglo-Americans or the Indians, the route to New-York becomes a frontier through almofl: its whole length, and all commerce through it ceafes from that moment. But the channel to New- York is already known to pradiice; whereas the upper waters of the Ohio and the Patowmac, and the great falls of the latter, are yet to be cleared of their fixed obftruc- tions. (A.)
QUERY III. A NOTICE of the beft Sea-ports of the ftate, and how big are the veflels they can receive?
Having no ports but our rivers and creeks, this ^lery has been anfwered under the preceeding one.
QUERY IV. A NOTICE of its Mountains?
For the particular geography of our mountains I muft refer to Fry and Jeffer- fon^s map of Virgininia; and to Evanses analyfis of his map of America, for a more philofophical view of them than is to be found in any other work. It is worthy notice, that our mountains are not foiitary and fcattered confufedly over the face of the country; but that they commence at about 150 miles from the fea-coaft, are difpofed in ridges one be- hind another, running nearly parallel with the fea-coaft, though rather approaching it as they advance north-eaftwardly. To the fouth-weft, as the trad: of country between the fea-coaft and the Miffifipi becomes narrower, the mountains converge into a fingle ridge, which, as it ap- proaches the Gulph of Mexico, fubfides into plain country, and gives rife to fome of the waters of that gulph, and particu- larly to a river called the Apalachicola, probably from the Apalachies, an Indian nation formerly refiding on it. Hence the mountains giving rife to that river, and feen from its various parts, were cal- led the Apalachian mountains, being in fa£t the end or termination only of the great ridges paffing through the continent.