op
about fifteen feet. Two small streams come together, one from the west
and another from the south-west. A point of the bluff on the south-west
fork spans the northern fork, and terminates about sixty feet beyond in
a sharp point; a few large masses of rock lie near the termination of
the promontory, and fifty feet beyond, the bluffs of the opposite hills
rise abruptly from the bottoms. The bluffs, both above and below, are
very precipitous, the middle and lower beds of the Third Magnesian
Limestone forming perpendicular escarpments, frequently studded with
cedar, some occurring on top of the bridge. A perfectly clear stream of
water courses through this valley. The bottoms near are overspread with
a dense growth of trees and vines, among which latter I noticed the
Muscadine grape. The valley at this part being shut in by its
perpendicular cliffs with not a path to guide the traveler through the
dense thickets, is wildly picturesque and romantic in its loneliness."

Of the cave he says: "This cave is a quarter of a mile east of Cave
Spring Creek, and has a wide and elevated entrance; passing into it a
hundred yards or more, the passage narrows, and in order to go further a
stream of water has frequently to be waded through; this passage has
been followed by some persons several miles without finding any object
of interest; but a few hundred yards from the entrance, by diverging to
the right, we enter a large chamber, studded with stalactites and
stalagmites, many uniting and forming solid columns of support. Many of
these are very beautiful, and often as white as alabaster. There are
other large rooms, but they possess no peculiar interest. Found large
deposits of earth on the floor having a saline taste."

Of the extensive pine forests in Ozark County, he says: "The size and
quality of the timber will compare favorably with that of the
celebrated pineries of Wisconsin and Minnesota."

In several other counties the pine is equally good, and other valuable
timber everywhere abundant, although in a school geography published in
1838, the following descriptions of this region occur:

"The lowlands of the Mississippi are bounded by the region of the Ozark
Mountains. With the exception of the alluvial tracts on the borders of
the streams, it is extremely hilly and broken. The mountains rise from
eight hundred to eighteen hundred feet above the streams, with rounded
summits and often perpendicular cliffs, and have a rock