Botanical Excursion to the Mountains of North Carolina. 5 



Retracing bis steps, he reached Charleston at the end of Decem- 

 ber, with a large collection of living trees., roots, and seeds. The 

 remainder of the winter Michaux passed in the Bahama Islands, 

 returning to Charleston in the month of May. Early in Jane he 

 set out upon a journey to a different portion of the mountains of 

 North Carolina, by way of Camden, Charlotte, (the county seat 

 of Mecklenburg,) and Morgan ton, reaching the higher mountains 

 at '• Turkey Cove, thirty miles from Burke Court House," (prob- 

 ably the head of Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Catawba,) on 

 the loth of June. From this place he made an excursion to the 

 Black Mountain, in what is now Yancey County, and afterwards 

 to the Yellow Mountain, which Michaux at that time considered 

 to be the highest mountain in the United States. If the Roan be 

 included in the latter appellation, as I believe it often has been, 

 this opinion is not far from the truth ; since the Black Mountain 

 alone exceeds it, according to Prof. Mitchell's recent measure- 

 ments. Descending this elevated range on the Tennessee side, 

 and travelling for the most part through an unbroken wilderness, 

 near the end of June he reached the Block House on the Hol- 

 ston, famous in the annals of border warfare. Several persons 

 had been killed by the Indians during the preceding week, and 

 general alarm prevailing, Michaux abandoned his intention of 

 penetrating into Kentucky, and resolved to botanize for a time 

 in the mountains of Virginia. He accordingly entered that State, 

 and arrived on the first of July at " Washington Court House, 

 premiere ville dans la Virginie que I'on trouve sur la cote occi- 

 dentales des montagnes, en sortant de la Carolinie Septentrio- 

 nale." To this he adds the following note : " Premiere ville, 

 si I'on pent nommer ville une Bourgade composee de douze mai- 

 sons, {log-houses.) Dans cette ville on ne mange que des pain 

 de Mays. II n'y a viande fraiche, ni cidre, mais seulement du 

 mauvais i?ztm." Abingdon, the county seat of Washington 

 County, is now a flourishing town ; but Michaux's remarks are 

 still applicable to more than one premiere ville in this region. 

 From this place he continued his course along the valley of Vir- 

 ginia throughout its whole extent, crossing New River, the Roa- 

 noke, and passing by Natural Bridge, Lexington, Staunton, and 

 Winchester ; thence by way of Frederick in Maryland, and Lan- 

 caster, Pennsylvania, he arrived at Philadelphia on the 21st of 

 July, and at New York on the 30th. In August and September 



