84 THE RAVEN. 



situated on a small projecting stone scarcely a foot square; yet the Raven 

 appeared quite satisfied as to the security of her brood on that narrow bed. 

 This extraordinary production of Nature is placed on the ascent of a hill, 

 which appears to have been rent asunder by some convulsion of the earth. 

 The fissure is about 200 feet deep, and above SO in width under the arch, 

 narrowing to 40 or so at the bottom. The thickness of the arch probably 

 exceeds 30 feet, and increases at either end. At the bottom is seen the 

 water of what is called Cedar Creek, gently meandering in its rocky channel. 

 The place, when I saw it, was graced by handsome trees, and in some posi- 

 tions there was a pleasing view of the "Blue Ridge" and the "North 

 Mountain." Tradition reports that General Washington threw a dollar 

 over the bridge from the creek below. 



I have already stated that some Ravens breed as far south as the Carolinas. 

 The place to which they resort for this purpose is called the Table Moun- 

 tain, which is situated in the district of Pendleton, and of which I extract an 

 account from Drayton's Views of South Carolina. "The Table Mountain 

 is the most distinguished of all the eminences of the State. Its height 

 exceeds 3000 feet, and thirty farms may be discerned at any one view from 

 its top by the unaided eye. Its side is an abrupt precipice of solid rock, 

 300 feet deep, and nearly perpendicular. The valley underneath appears to 

 be as much below the level as the top of the mountain towers above it. 

 This precipice is called the Lover's Leap. To those who are in the valley, 

 it looks like an immense wall stretching up to heaven, and the awe which it 

 inspires is considerably increased by the quantities of bones which lie 

 whitening at its base, — the remains of various animals which had incautiously 

 approached too near its edge. Its summit is often enveloped in clouds. The 

 gradual ascent of the country from the sea-coast to this western extremity of 

 the State, added to the height of this mountain, must place its top more than 

 4000 feet above the level of the Atlantic Ocean; an eminence from which 

 vessels crossing the bar of Charleston might be seen with the aid of such 

 improved glasses as are now in use. Large masses of snow tumble from the 

 side of this mountain in the winter season, the fall of which has been heard 

 seven miles. Its summit is the resort of deer and bears. The woods pro- 

 duce mast in abundance; Wild Pigeons resort to it in such numbers as some- 

 times to break the limbs of trees on which they alight." 



A friend of mine, who is an excellent observer of the habits of birds, has 

 told me that he saw a Raven's nest in the high lands of New York placed in 

 a deep fissure of a rock, in the immediate vicinity of that of a Golden Eagle. 

 I chanced one day, while in the Great Pine Forest of Pennsylvania, to stop, 

 for the purpose of resting and refreshing myself, at a camp with Jediah 

 Irish. We had seen some Ravens that day, and our conversation returning 



