SPRING AT THE CAPITAL 145 
a sudden bend or over a rocky bed; receiving at 
short intervals small runs and spring rivulets, which 
open up vistas and outlooks to the right and left, of 
the most charming description, — 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 Springs, not more than 
two miles from the present State Department, into 
a park unequaled by anything in the world. There 
are passages between these two points as wild and 
savage, and apparently as remote from civilization, 
as anything one meets with in the mountain sources } 
of the Hudson or the Delaware. eae 
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 picturesqueness, shaded nearly all the 
way by woods of oak, chestnut, and beech, and 
abounding in dark recesses and hidden retreats. 
I must not forget to mention the many springs 
with which this whole region is supplied, each the 
centre of some wild nook, perhaps the head of a 
little valley one or two hundred yards long, through 
which one catches a glimpse, or hears the voice, of 
the main creek rushing along below. 
My walks tend in this direction more frequently 
