Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 133 



people have met with trees, roots, and 

 leaves of oak, for the greater! part, not yet 

 rotten, at the depth of eighteen feet. 



5. The beft foil and the richeft mould 

 is to be met with in the vallies hereabouts. 

 Thefe vallies are commonly croiTed by a ri- 

 vulet or brook. And on their declivity, a 

 mountain commonly rifes, which in thofe 

 places where the brook pafies clofe to it, 

 looks as if it were cut on purpofe. Mr. 

 Bartram believed, that all thefe vallies for- 

 merly were lakes ,- that the water had by 

 degrees hollowed out the mountain, and 

 opened a paffage for itfelf through it ; and 

 that the great quantity of flinie which is 

 contained in the water, and which had fub- 

 fided to the bottom of the lake, was the 

 rich foil which is at prefent in the vallies, 

 and the caufe of their great fertility. But 

 fuch vallies and cloven mountains are very 

 frequent in the country, and of this kind 

 is the peculiar gap between two mountains, 

 through which a river takes its courfe on 

 the boundaries of New York and Penfyha- 

 nia. The people in a jeft fay, that this 

 opening was made by the D — 1, as he 



^wanted to go out of Penfyhania into New 

 York. 



6. The whole appearance of the blue 

 mountains, plainly mews that the water 



slq r 1 3 formerly 



