13 



and where ^nerally a long ^rass affords them a 

 secure hold against the rapid current of these moun- 

 tain streams. The expansion of the Tennessee 

 river, known by the name of Muscle shoals, is of the 

 character I have described; it is shallow, ornamented 

 with a number of small islands, and its bed is full of 

 the long grass w^hich abounds in various species of 

 Naiades. The lover of the grand and the beautiful 

 in natural scenery, as well as the student in science, 

 will here find abundant sources of interest. He will 

 be delighted with a noble river, whose beautiful and 

 numerous islands are clothed with gigantic trees; 

 whose high and undulating shore on one hand is 

 ornamented with thriving villages, and on the other 

 spreads out an extensive alluvial, rich in all the gifts 

 of Ceres, or rises abruptly from the river a mural 

 escarpment of carboniferous limestone, which re- 

 flects its blue and sombre aspect in the crystal 

 waters at its base. Like many other spots, how- 

 «)ver, remarkable for their loveliness, the subtle 

 messengers of death have chosen it for their abode, 

 infusing the poison of their breath into the serenity 

 of autumn, when the transparency of the air and the 

 purity of the sky, together with the gorgeous scenery, 

 present at first to the unconscious traveller, sensa- 

 fions alone of health and enjoyment. 



Elk river has a bed of limestone, which is also 



