ver_, and one
hundred and fifty miles beyond Richmond. This town contained about one
hundred houses; and a warehouse for the inspection of tobacco, where
about two thousand hogsheads were annually inspected. It had been built
within the last fifteen years, and, in consequence of its advantageous
situation for trade, was rapidly increasing.

Between Lynchburgh and the Blue Mountains, the country is rough and
hilly, and but thinly inhabited. The few inhabitants, however, who are
seen here, are uncommonly robust and tall: it is rare to observe a man
amongst them who is not six feet high. The Blue Ridge is thickly covered
with large trees, to the very summit. Some of the mountains are rugged
and stony; others are not so; and on the latter the soil is rich and
fertile. It is only in particular places that this ridge can be crossed;
and at some of the gaps the ascent is steep and difficult.

The _Peaks of Otter_, near which Mr. Weld crossed it, are the highest
mountains in the Blue Ridge, and, measured from their bases, they are
supposed to be more lofty than any others in North America. The
principal peak is said to be about four thousand feet in perpendicular
height.

Beyond the Blue Ridge, Mr. Weld observed very few settlements, till he
approached _Fincastle_. This town is about twenty miles from the
mountains, and fifteen south of _Fluvanna River_. It was only begun
about the year 1790; yet, when Mr. Weld was there, it contained sixty
houses, and was rapidly increasing. The inhabitants consisted
principally of Germans.

On the eastern side of the Blue Mountains, cotton grows extremely well;
and, in winter, the snow scarcely ever remains more than a day or two
upon the ground. On the opposite side, cotton never comes to perfection;
the winters are severe, and the fields are covered with snow for many
successive weeks. In every farm-yard are seen sleighs or sledges, a kind
of carriages that are used for travelling upon the snow.

In this part of America, the soil consists chiefly of a rich brown
mould, in which white clover grows spontaneously. To have a fertile
meadow, it is only necessary to leave a piece of ground to the hand of
nature for one year. A bed of limestone also runs entirely through the
country.

It appeared to Mr. Weld that there was no part of America where the
climate would be more congenial to the constitution of a native of Great
Britain or Ireland than this. The frost in winter is more regular, b