used to sacrifice.
This, they would make us believe, was so clear, that the grain of a
man's skin might be seen through it; and was so heavy too that when they
removed their gods and kings, not being able to carry it away, they
buried it thereabouts; but the place has never been yet discovered.

Mr. Alexander Whittaker, minister of Henrico, on James river, in the
company's time, writing to them, says thus: "Twelve miles from the
falls there is a crystal rock, wherewith the Indians do head many of
their arrows; and three days journey from thence, there is a rock and
stony hill found, which is on the top covered over with a perfect and
most rich silver ore. Our men that went to discover those parts had but
two iron pickaxes with them, and those so ill tempered that the points
of them turned again, and bowed at every stroke, so that we could not
search the entrails of the place; yet some trial was made of that ore
with good success."

Sec. 10. Some people that have been in that country, without knowing any
thing of it, have affirmed that it is all a flat, without any mixture of
hills, because they see the coast to seaward perfectly level: or else
they have made their judgment of the whole country by the lands lying on
the lower parts of the rivers, (which, perhaps, they had never been
beyond,) and so conclude it to be throughout plain and even. When in
truth, upon the heads of the great rivers, there are vast high hills;
and even among the settlements there are some so topping that I have
stood upon them and viewed the country all round over the tops of the
highest trees for many leagues together; particularly, there are Mawborn
hills in the freshes of James river; a ridge of hills about fourteen or
fifteen miles up Mattapony river; Toliver's mount, upon Rappahannock
river; and the ridge of hills in Stafford county, in the freshes of
Potomac river; all which are within the bounds of the English
inhabitants. But a little farther backward, there are mountains, which
indeed deserve the name of mountains for their height and bigness; which
by their difficulty in passing may easily be made a good barrier of the
country against incursions of the Indians, &c., and shew themselves over
the tops of the trees to many plantations at 70 or 80 miles distance
very plain.

These hills are not without their advantages; for, out of almost every
rising ground, throughout the country, there issue abundance of most
pleasant streams, of pur