£24 



for some time with serious consequences, before 

 they could be checked and repelled. The first 

 may be encouraged, and in all probability ad- 

 vantageously extended, as easily as the latter 

 can be guarded against when the possibility of 

 the attempt and its contingencies are under- 

 stood. This river flows from Lake Champlain 

 in a northerly course, to its confluence with the 

 St. Laurence, through the well cultivated seig- 

 niories that have been already described. Its 

 banks are generally between eight and twelve 

 feet high, diversified on each side by many 

 farms and extensive settlements, in a very high 

 stat^ of improvement ; some neat, populous, 

 and flourishing villages, handsome churches, 

 numerous mills of various kinds, good roads in 

 all directions, with every other characteristic of 

 a country inhabited by an industrious popula- 

 tion. The navigation is carried on by boats, 

 canoes, and other craft of large dimension and 

 burthen, and by rafts. From its junction with 

 the St. Laurence, decked vessels of one hundred 

 and fifty tons may ascend from twelve to four- 

 teen miles. This river is noticeable for the un- 

 usual circumstance of being much narrower at 

 its discharge than at the place from whence it 

 flows, and for the gradual diminution of the 

 breadth of its bed. At its mouth it is about two 

 hundred and fifty yards wide, which it preserves, 



