IX.
ISAAC WELD.
1796.
Hoe’s Ferry—Freshwater Oysters—Vicissitudes of Ferriage—By-Ways and Hospitality—The Northern Neck—Tappahannock—A Forest Fire—From Urbanna to Gloucester—Norfolk—Richmond—The Mocking-Bird—Frogs—Columbia—The Green Springs—The Southwest Mountain—Monticello—Lynchburgh—New London—Botetourt County—The Lower Valley—Lexington, Staunton, Winchester.
1.
THE following are the observations of young Isaac Weld, of Dublin. He was on his way from Philadelphia, and stopped at the Falls of the Potomac:
“From hence I followed the course of the river downwards as far as George Town, where I again crossed it, and after passing through the Federal city, proceeded along the Maryland shore of the river to Piscatoway, and afterwards to Port Tobacco. In the neighborhood of Piscatoway there are several very fine views of the Virginian shore; Mount Vernon in particular appears to great advantage. From Port Tobacco to Hoe’s Ferry on the Potowmac River, the country is flat and sandy and wears a most dreary aspect. Nothing is to be seen here for miles together but extensive plains that have been worn out by the culture of tobacco, overgrown with yellow sedge and interspersed with groves of pine and cedar trees, the dark green colour of which forms a curious contrast with the yellow of the sedge. In the midst of these plains are the remains of several good houses.