[nature seems to have disunited in a frolic. If a pretty high sea were suddenly arrested, and transformed into sand-hills, in the very form the waves existed at the moment of transformation, it would present the eye with just such a view as is here to be seen. Some little herbage, and a few small pines, grow even on this soil. The inhabitants are few, and have but a scanty subsistence on corn and sweet potatoes, which grow here tolerably well. This curious country continues till you arrive at a place called the Ridge, 140 miles from Charleston. This ridge is a remarkable tract of high ground, as you approach it from the sca, but level as you advance n. w. from its summit. It is a fine high, healthy, belt of land, well watered, and of a good soil, and extends from the Savannah to Broad River. Beyond this ridge commences a country exactly resembling the northern states, or like Devonshire in England, or Languedoc in France. Here hills and dales, with all their verdure and variegated beauty, present themselves to the eye. Wheat fields, which are rare in the low country, begin to grow common. Here heaven has bestowed its blessings with a most bounteous hand. The air is much more temperate and healthful than nearer the sea. The hills are covered with valuable woods, the valleys watered with beautiful rivers, and the fertility of the soil is equal to every vegetable production. This, by way of distinction, is called the Upper Country, where are different modes, and different articles of cultivation; where the manners of the people, and even their language, have a different

tone.

The land still rises by a gradual ascent; each succeeding hill overlooks that which immediately precedes it, till having advanced 220 miles in a n. w. direction from Charleston, the elevation of the land above the sea-coast is found by mensuration to be 800 feet.

Here commences a mountainous country, which continues rising to the w. terminating point of the state. The soil may be divided into four kinds; first, the pine barren, which is valuable only for its timber. Interspersed among the pine barren, are tracts of land free of timber and every kind of growth but that of grass.These tracts are called savannas, constituting a second kind of soil, good for grazing. The third kind is that of the swamps and low grounds on the rivers, which is a mixture of black loam and fat clay, producing natural canes in great plenty, cypress, bays, loblolly pines, &c. In these swamps rice is cultivated, which constitutes the staple commodity of the state. The high lands,

commonly known by the name of oak and hickory lands, constitute the fourth kind of soil. The natural growth is oak, hickory, walnut, pine, and locust. On these lands, in the low country, are cultivated Indian corn principally; and in the back country, besides these, they raise tobacco in large quantities, wheat, rye, barley, oats, hemp, flax, and cotton. From experiments which have been made, it is well ascertained that olives, silk, and madder may be as abundantly produced in S. Carolina, and we may add in Georgia also, as in the s. of France.

There is little fruit in this state, especially in the lower parts of it. They have oranges, which are chiefly sour, and figs in plenty, a few limes and lemons, pomegranates, pears, and peaches; apples are scarce, and are imported from the N. States. Melons, especially the water-melon, are raised here in great perfection. The river swamps, in which rice can be cultivated with any tolerable degree of safety and success, do not extend higher up the rivers than the head of the tides; ar I in estimating the value of this species of rice land, the height which the tide rises is taken into consideration, those lying where it rises to a proper pitch for overflowing the swamps being the most valuable. The best inland swamps, which constitute a second species of rice land, are such as are furnished with reserves of water. These reserves are formed by means of large banks thrown up at the upper parts of the swamps, whence it is conveyed, when needed, to the fields of rice.

Rice was first planted in S. Carolina, about the year 1688, when, by chance, a little of it, of a small unprofitable kind, was introduced into the state. In the year 1696, a bag of a larger and whiter rice, was presented by the captain of a brigantine from Madagascar, to the governor, who divided it between several gentlemen. Some time afterwards Mr. Du Bois, treasurer to the British East India Company, sent another parcel of rice; which probably made the distinction which now prevails, between white and gold rice. In its early cultivation, rice was planted on high land; but it being observed, that this plant not only required the richest kind of land, but also frequent flowings of water, the planters were naturally led from the high lands to the fresh water swamps. To these situations it was found perfectly adapted, and rice immediately became the great staple of the country. It was now that importations were made with great avidity; and the proceeds of a crop instead of being spent in dissipated living, as they are at this day, were].

[economised, to increase the exertions of the ensuing year. Hence property was rapidly accumulated, and people from all parts were encouraged to try their fortunes in S. Carolina. Indigo was formerly a great source of wealth to this state, being introduced into it about the year 1745; and such was the success with which it was cultivated, that in less than two years 200,000 lbs. weight of indigo were exported to England. From that time its culture was much attended to throughout the lower, and in some situations, in the middle parts of the state; and many fortunes were made by pursuing this branch of agriculture. Since the commencement of the wars which have disturbed Europe for several years past, and in consequence of large importations from the E. Indies, its cultivation has ceased to be profitable, so that a very small quantity is now planted in S. Carolina. The lands which were suitable to the growth of this plant, are fortunately well adapted to the cultivation of cotton: hence, by an easy transition, and without much expense, the indigo planters, driven by necessity to search out other sources of industry, have directed their attention to the planting of cotton; and the success they have experienced ought to stimulate the British government to accomplish the same thing with regard to hemp in Canada, where every thing is congenial to its success, were only a right system adopted.

Cotton is noticed as an article of export in S. Carolina as early as the year 1754; but it is only within the last 20 years that it has become a staple commodity, and surpassed, in value, the greatest crops of rice or indigo that have ever been made in the state. The planter sells his cotton to the merchant at least for 1s. and generally for 1s. 6d. sterling the pound. In the year 1799, good cotton found an immediate sale in Charleston for 2s. 4d. and 2s. 8d. the pound; and it is said, that what is called the island or seashore cotton, is at least equal, in fineness and strength of staple, to that of Jamaica. Since the embargo, the best cotton sold for 10d. and the inferior from 4d. to 6d. the pound; and frequently no sale was to be found for it at any price.

In S. Carolina, tobacco is cultivated under some disadvantages; among which the expense and trouble of bringing it to market, is not the least to be encountered. It is grown principally in the upper country, remote from markets and navigation, where, although the land is well suited to its culture, yet no plantations of large extent have yet been established. Each farmer

plants a small field; which, though separately considered, cannot produce any considerable quantity, yet when collected for exportation, it forms a mass by no means unworthy the attention of the merchant.

Maize, or Indian corn, is much cultivated in S. Carolina, both for home consumption and exportation. Like tobacco it is indigenous to America, or was obtained by the Indians from some other parts, long before the discovery of the continent. It consists of several varieties, of which the gourd and flint kind are principally planted. The difference between these kinds of corn is, that the gourd is floury, and wastes much in the grinding; whereas the flint is more hard and nourishing, and grinds more into grist. Another peculiarity, which marks their difference, is, that the flint corn grows principally in the lower country, degenerating in the middle and upper country into gourd corn; and the gourd corn, if brought from the middle and upper country, is said to change into a more flinty kind.

Hemp is grown in the upper country for sale, particularly between Broad and Saluda Rivers, on what is called the Dutch Fork. Flax is also grown, but only for domestic use; as are generally all kinds of small European grain. Wheat, however, in parts adjacent to good flour mills, is an exception to this; for wherever mills are situated, a great encouragement is given to the growth of this valuable grain. The produce of wheat, in the upper country, where almost every one cultivates a little for domestic use, is generally about 15 bushels to the acre; but where the ground is well tilled, and the wheat ploughed in, (as is done by a few of the best farmers) the produce is from 20 to 25 bushels the acre. A slovenly practice too much prevails, of sowing the wheat over the Indian corn fields after the corn is gathered in, without having giving it any preparation whatever, except perhaps ploughing the seed (after it is sown) into the land; yet even in this careless manner the produce is frequently 12 bushels the acre. The reason which the farmers give for not setting those wheat crops in a better manner is, that in this way they make with ease, and with little attendance, as much wheat as their household concerns require; that to make more would be unnecessary, as they cannot conveniently transport so bulky an article any distance for sale. Canals and roads are, however, now constructing throughout the state, and will, in a few years, afford the back settlers every facility to dispose of their produce. Silk was formerly raised in S. Carolina and Georgia;]

[but it is now unattended to, though it appears that mulberry trees and silk worms are the spontaneous productions of the country.

The implements of husbandry used in S. Carolina, are few and simple: they consist of various ploughs, such as the bar-share, shovel, fluke, single coulter, cutter, and drill; harrows, hoes, spades, waggons, carts, and sledges. Ploughs are chiefly used in the middle and upper country, where labourers are few, and the soil tenacious and stubborn. In the lower country they are but partially used, although the planters would probably find it their interest to adopt them more generally. In some cases they cultivate a cotton and Indian corn crop by the plough; but they are oftener done with the hoe, which may be considered as the principal instrument of husbandry in the lower country. The spade is used chiefly for ditching and draining the rice lands. But the hoe is used for cultivating them. In some tide, and inland plantations, however, where the ground is strong, and has been kept sufficiently dry, ploughs are used with great advantage.

Waggons and sledges are principally used in the middle and upper country, the first for transporting heavy articles to a distance, and the last for drawing wood, rails, and small timber about a settlement. In the lower country, ox carts, capable of carrying three or four barrels of rice, are almost solely the mode of land-carriage for the rice planters. They are drawn by three or four yoke of oxen, and attended by two or three Negro drivers.

There are upwards of 16 different grasses indigenous to S. Carolina; but in general little attention is paid to the forming of pasture and meadow lands. The cattle are sent into the woods to graze, and the culture of cotton, rice, and maize, becomes the chief object of the planter and farmer's attention. Some lands in the vicinity of Charleston are, however, converted into fields for mowing, as the high price of hay in that neighbourhood renders this branch of agriculture a profitable business; but the greatest proportion of hay is brought from the N. States in the packet vessels. In general the cattle is fed during winter upon the leaves and blades of the Indian corn, rice-straw, &c. Horses and poultry are fed with the corn, which, together with rice, also form the principal food of the Negroes. The white inhabitants are extremely fond of the corn bruised and boiled into a pudding, which they call hominy. It is eaten with milk, sugar, and butter, and is a favourite dish at breakfast.

While agriculture is so much attended to, and the means of engaging in it so easy, it is not surprising that few direct their attention to manufactures. Some years ago, a cotton manufactory was established near Statesborough, which bid fair to rise into consideration. It was, however, soon perceived that the price of labour was too great to permit its goods to stand any competition with those of similar qualities imported from Great Britain; consequently the proprietors were obliged to discontinue their operations. A numerous population, and scarcity of lands, must first be experienced in a country, before its inhabitants will resort to manufactures, while a more eligible mode of subsistence exists. In the upper country, however, necessity has obliged the inhabitants to provide for their respective wants from their own resources, in consequence of the difficulty and expense of conveying bulky articles from the sea-coast to the interior. The traveller there soon becomes accustomed to the humming music of the spinning wheel and the loom. Cottons and woollens of various descriptions are made in sufficient quantities for domestic use; and if we except the articles of salt and sugar, the people in the upper parts of the state may be considered independent of foreign support; for carpenters, smiths, masons, tanners, shoemakers, sadlers, hatters, millwrights, and other tradesmen, are conveniently situated throughout the country; and the materials necessary for their respective professions are met with in abun

dance.

At the distance of about 110 miles from the sea, the river swamps terminate, and the high lands extend quite to the rivers, and form banks in some places several hundred feet high from the surface of the water, and afford many extensive and delightful views. These high banks are interwoven with layers of leaves, and different coloured earth, and abound with quarries of freestone, pebbles, flint, crystals, iron-ore in abundance, silver, lead, sulphur, and coarse diamonds. The swamps above the head of the tide are occasionally planted with corn, cotton, and indigo. The soil is very rich, yielding from 40 to 50 bushels of corn an acre. It is curious to observe the gradations from the sea-coast to the upper country, with respect to the produce, the mode of cultivation, and the cultivators.

On the islands upon the sea-coast, and for 40 or 50 miles back, and on the rivers much farther, the cultivators are all slaves. No white man, to speak generally, ever thinks of settling a farm and improving it for himself without Negroes:]

[if he has no Negroes, he hires himself as overşeer to some rich planter who has more than he can or will attend to, till he can purchase for himself. The articles cultivated are corn, rye, oats, every species of pulse and potatoes, which, with the small rice, are food for the Negroes; rice, indigo, cotton, and some hemp, for exportation. The culture of cotton is capable of being increased equal to almost any demand. The soil was cultivated till lately almost wholly by manual labour. The plough, till since the peace, was scarcely used. Now the plough and harrow, and other improvements, are introduced into the rice swamps with great success, and will, no doubt, become general. In the middle settlements, Negroes are not so numerous. The master attends personally to his own business. The land is not properly situated for rice. It produces tolerable good indigo weed, and some tobacco is raised for exportation. The farmer is contented to raise corn, potatoes, oats, rye, poultry, and a little wheat.

In the upper country there are but few Negroes; generally speaking, the farmers have none, and depend, like the inhabitants of the N. States, upon the labour of themselves and families for subsistence; the plough is used almost wholly. Indian corn in great quantities, wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, &c. are raised for food; and tobacco, wheat, cotton, hemp, flax, and indigo, for exportation. From late experiments it has been found that vines may be cultivated, and wine made to great advantage. Snake-root, pink-root, and a variety of medicinal herbs grow spontaneously; also ginseng on and near the

mountains.

This country abounds with precious ores, such as gold, silver, lead, black-lead, copper, and iron; but it is the misfortune of those who direct their pursuits in search of them, that they are deficient in the knowledge of chemistry, and too frequently make use of improper menstruums in extracting the respective metals. There are likewise to be found pellucid stones of different hues, rock crystal, pyrites, petrified substances, coarse cornelian, marble beautifully variegated, vitreous stone, and vitreous sand; red and yellow ochres, which, when roasted and ground down with linseed oil, make a very excellent paint; also potter's clay of a most delicate texture, fuller's earth, and a number of dye-stuffs, among which is a singular weed which yields four different colours, its leaves are surprisingly styptic, strongly resembling the taste of alum; likewise, an abundance of chalk, crude alum, sulphur, nitre, vi

triol, and along the banks of rivers large quantities of marle may be collected. There are also a variety of roots, the medicinal effects of which it is the barbarous policy of those who are in the secret to keep a profound mystery. The rattle-snake root, so famous amongst the Indians for the cure of poison, is of the number. The next is the venereal root, which, under a vegetable regimen, will cure a confirmed lues. Another root, when reduced to an impalpable powder, is singularly efficacious in destroying worms in children. There is likewise a root, an ointment of which, with a poultice of the same, will in a short space of time discuss the most extraordinary tumours,particularly what is termed the white-swelling; this root is very scarce.There is another root, a decoction of which, in new milk, will cure the bloody dysentery; the patient must avoid cold, and much judgment is requisite in the portion to be administered. There is also a plant, the leaves of which, being bruised and applied to the part affected, relieves rheumatic pains; it occasions a considerable agitation of the parts, attended with most violent and acute pains, but never fails to procure immediate ease. There is also a plant, the leaves of which have a most fetid smell; these leaves being boiled, and any person afflicted with cutaneous complaints, once bathing therein, will be radically cured. There is a root which acts as an excellent purge, and is well calculated for the labouring part of mankind, as it is only necessary to chew it in its crude state, and it requies no manner of aid to facilitate its operation. An equally efficacious and simple purge is obtained from a weed, the stalk of which is red, is about three feet high, and the flower white; the leaves run from the bottom of the stalk in opposite and corresponding lines; the seed is about the size of a wheat grain, globular in the centre, and oblate at both ends; it is full of oil, and tastes like a walnut kernel: 20 grains of this, chewed and swallowed, is, in point of mildness and efficacy, equal to any rhubarb; and the pleasantness of its taste, as a deception to weak stomachs, appears to have been a design of Providence in its operation it resembles castor-oil. A very sovereign remedy is extracted from the bark of a tree, which may be used to great advantage in the diseases incident to this climate. Every climate, some believe, has its peculiar disease, and every disease its peculiar antidote under the same climate. In addition to the above is another species of bark, of a sweet and nauseous taste: the tree grows contiguous to a very powerful chalybeate spring ;]

[the bark, when sufficiently masticated, operates as a very potential purge and emetic, and in the hands of a skilful chemist may be rendered very serviceable. In this country is a tree which bears a large pod, inclosing a kind of mucilage, the juice of which is very sharp; the bark smells like tanned leather, and when prepared like hemp, makes the very best of cordage; also another tree, which bears an ear like a corn-cob, covered with berries containing a large proportion of oil. There is likewise a very singular tree, which affords a most superb shade; it produces a round ball, which, in the heat of summer, opens and enlarges a number of male insects, which be come very troublesome wherever they lodge: this happens generally some distance from their pa

rent tree.

The hand of nature never formed a country with more natural advantages, or blessed it with a more serene or healthful climate. It abounds with game of all kinds, is a very fine fruit country, and is peculiarly adapted to the growth of vines, the olive, silk, and coffee trees, and the production of cotton. It is a perfect garden of medical herbs, and its medicinal springs are not inferior to any in Europe.

The iron-works, known by the name of the Era Etna Iron-work, are situated in York County, within two miles of the Catawba River. Within the compass of two miles from the furnace, there is an inexhaustible quantity of ore, which works easy and well in the furnace. The metal is good for hammers, gudgeons, or any kind of machinery and hollow ware, and will make good bar-iron. Some trial has been made of it in steel, and it promises well. Nothing is necessary for preparing the ore for use but burning. The ore consists of large rocks above the surface; the depth not yet known. In the cavities between, lie an ochre and seed ore. It is said there will be no occasion to sink shafts or drive levels for 50 years to come. The Era furnace was built in 1787; the Ætna in 1788. The nearest landing at present (1795) is Camden, 70 miles from the furnace. The proprietors of the works, and seven others, have obtained a charter to open the Catawba to the N. Carolina Line, and a charter from N. Carolina to open the river 80 miles higher in that state, and boats came within 40 miles of the works in the course of the summer of 1795, as there were boats already built for the purpose which were to carry 30 tons, and in the course of the following summer they were brought within two miles of the works. The works are within two miles of the river, and

VOL. IV.

the creek can be made navigable to the works. Mr. William Hill, one of the principal proprietors of these works, has contrived a method, by means of a fall of water, of blowing all the fires both of the forges and furnaces, so as to render unnecessary the use of wheels, cylinders, or any other kind of bellows. The machinery is simple and cheap, and not liable to the accident of freezing. In the middle, and especially in the upper country, the people are obliged to manufacture their own cotton and woollen cloths, and most of their husbandry tools; but in the lower country, the inhabitants, for these articles, depend almost entirely on their merchants.

Late accounts from the interior parts of this state inform, that cotton, hemp, and flax, are plenty; that they have a considerable stock of good sheep; that great exertions are made, and much done in the household way; that they have long been in the habit of doing something in family manufactures, but within a few years past great improvements have been made. The women do the weaving, and leave the men to attend to agriculture. This state furnishes all the materials, and of the best kind, for ship building. The live oak, and the pitch and yellow pines, are of a superior quality. Ships might be built here with more ease, and to much greater advantage, than in the middle and e. states. A want of seamen, is one reason why this business is not more generally attended to. So much attention is now paid to the manufacture of indigo, in this state, that it bids fair to rival that of the French. It is to be regretted, that it is still the practice of the merchants concerned in the Carolina trade, to sell at foreign markets the Carolina indigo of the first quality, as French. The society for the information and assistance of persons emigrating from other countries, in a printed paper, which bears their signature, say, that "A monied capital may be profitably employed, 1st. In erecting mills, for making paper, for sawing lumber, and especially for manufacturing wheat flour. There are hundreds of valuable mill seats unimproved, and the woods abound with pine trees. A bushel of wheat may be purchased in S. Carolina for half a dollar, which will make as good flour as that which in the vicinity of proper mills sells for double that price. Such is the cheapness and fertility of the soil, that half a dollar a bushel for wheat would afford a great profit to the cultivators thereof. 2. In tanning and manufacturing leather. nufacturing leather. Cattle are raised with so much ease, in a country where the winters are both mild and short, that hides are remarkably] 3 N