LIFE OF WILSON. CXXV 



tie had eaten the whole bark from the trunk, even to that of 

 the roots. 



" Nineteen miles from Lexington I descended a long, steep 

 and rocky declivity, to the banks of Kentucky river, which is 

 here about as wide as the Schuylkill ; and winds away between 

 prodigious perpendicular cliffs of solid limestone. In this deep 

 and romantic valley the sound of the boat horns, from several 

 Kentucky arks, which were at that instant passing, produced a 

 most charming effect. The river, I was told, had already fallen 

 fifteen feet; but was still high. I observed great numbers of 

 uncommon plants and flowers, growing among the cliffs; and 

 a few solitary bank swallows were skimming along the surface. 

 Reascending from this, and travelling for a few miles, I again 

 descended a vast depth to another stream called Dick's river, 

 engulfed among the same perpendicular masses of rock. 

 Though it was nearly dark I found some curious petrifactions, 

 and some beautiful specimens of mother of pearl on the shore. 

 The roaring of a mill-dam, and the rattling of the mill, pre- 

 vented the ferryman from hearing me till it was quite night; 

 and I passed the rest of the road in the dark, over a rocky 

 country, abounding with springs, to Danville. This place 

 stands on a slight eminence, and contains about eighty houses, 

 chiefly log and frame buildings, disposed in two parallel streets, 

 crossed by several others. It has two ropewalks and a woollen 

 manufactory; also nine shops and three taverns. I observed a 

 great many sheep feeding about here, amidst fields of excellent 

 pasture. It is, however, but a dull place. A Roman Catholic 

 chapel has been erected here, at the expense of one or two in- 

 dividuals. The shopkeepers trade from the mouth of Dick's 

 river down to New Orleans, with the common productions of 

 the country, flour, hemp, tobacco, pork, corn, and whiskey. I 

 was now one hundred and eighty miles from Nashville, and, 

 as I was informed, not a town or village on the whole route. 

 Every day, however, was producing wonders in the woods, by 

 the progress of vegetation. The blossoms of the sassafras, dog- 

 wood, and red bud, contrasted with the deep green of the pop- 





