190 SPRING AT THE CAPITAL. 



den bend or over a rocky bed ; receiving at 

 short intervals small runs and spring rivu- 

 lets, which open up vistas and outlooks to 

 the right and left of the most charming de- 

 scription, Rock Creek has an abundance 

 of all the elements that make up not only 

 pleasing, but wild and rugged scenery. 

 There is perhaps not another city in the 

 Union that has on its very threshold so much 

 natural beauty and grandeur, such as men 

 seek for in remote forests and mountains. 

 A few touches of art would convert this 

 whole region, extending from Georgetown to 

 what is known as Crystal Spring, not more 

 than two miles from the present State De- 

 partment, into a park unequalled by anything 

 in the world. There are passages between 

 these two points as wild and savage, and ap- 

 parently as remote from civilization, as any- 

 thing one meets with in the mountain sources 

 of the Hudson or the Delaware. 



One of the tributaries to Rock Creek 

 within this limit is called Piny Branch. It 

 is a small, noisy brook, flowing through a 

 valley of great natural beauty and pictur- 

 esqueness, shaded nearly all the way by 

 woods of oak, chestnut, and beech, and 

 abounding in dark recesses and hidden re- 

 treats. 



