scarcely reached half-way to the buttons ; unlike the wit's small clothes, the difficulty 

 was to keep them doicn ; this was accomplished by white thongs ; the roof leaked sadly, 

 but the civil white driver, who was son to a farmer, and had a fancy for driving and 

 frequenting the nine-pin allies, " reckoned" it would not rain for the few days he engaged 

 to keep us on the road ! In twenty-four hours he made a sudden descent from his perch, 

 the bottom of which fell out, but he borrowed a saw of the eccentric Colonel Crow, re- 

 paired the seat with a plank, and " reckoned" it was as good as ever. The rack behind 

 was a " wrack" indeed, and let the baggage down into the mud and streams. The 

 wheels had been besjyoked so frequently as to have double tlie usual amount of timber in 

 them. You would not loilUnghj have made your entre into Broadway or Chestnut Sti-eet 

 thus ; but it was better than full stages and the uncertainty of getting even these, and 

 thus we journeyed to the Salt Sulphur and onwards. 



At this beautiful spot, where the planting and laying out of the grounds have been 

 neatly done, we found every accommodation and comfort ; at the " Red Sulphur" we had 

 met mostly consumptive patients whose sad complaints, at least many of them, were im- 

 proving ; here the scene was less depressing. Good company and gay seemed disposed 

 for enjoyment and repose ; the table was attractive and even clean and elegant ; the 

 water less esteemed, perhaps, for its curative properties than some others, but still possess- 

 ing qualities in which many place great confidence. The number assembled here was 

 about the same as at the Red, not more than one hundred and sixty, while the "White, 

 near by, with its numerous discomforts and its fashion, counted little less than one 

 thousand ; and loaded stages were arriving every hour, the inmates fully informed that 

 there was no accommodation, but determined to say they had been to the " White Sul- 

 phur Springs ;" such is the force of fashion ! 



Our vehicle, shabby as it was, was received with respect, and if I am rightly informed, 

 presented about as respectable an aspect to the mountaineers as that of a former Presi- 

 dent, who travelled in one no better, and with four horses immensely inferior to ours. 

 The bad roads, and certainly, in many places, none could be much worse, and " I reckon 

 it will do" carries the day for every species of carelessness. * 



The trees that have most attracted attention, are the Magnolia acuminata, the Ken- 

 tucky Coffee tree. Sugar Maple, Ohio Buckeye, and White Oak ; apples were very abun- 

 dant ; peaches and melons as poor as they could be ; we should not consider the former 

 good enough to make into pies, but here they were eagerly bought and eaten ; black and 

 whortleberries -were the only table fruits. At the Salt Sulphur you will taste youv first 

 good butter; that it is to be had there, proves that it can be made in the mountains, and 

 you will be puzzled to know why it is not more general. The visitors here strike us as 

 remarkably well after the hospital look at our first residence ; the attendants are of a 

 better class ; the landlord most respectable, and altogether a stay at the Salt might be 

 prolonged with satisfaction, for the summer months. 



Maple sugar constitutes a considerable article of manufacture and traffic, in Western 

 Virginia ; a "sugar orchard" is still a valued possession, and the beautiful tree assumes 

 hereaway its most beautiful form. The product of a single one is estimated from three 

 to ten pounds, and even more, where the limbs are abundant and tha age sufficient. 

 What a provision for man in his earlier stages of civilization is the " sugar tree !" A 

 bushel of sap makes a pound of sugar ; that the withdrawal of ten or more bushels every 



At one of the Springs, there was not a corkscrew on the premises. The mode of liberating a liquid was to 

 bore through the corlc with an old rusty gimlet, and pouring out as you do your ink. Other deficiencies were 

 still more striking and inconvenient. 



VOL. 5. 



