42 
TRAVELS IN 
unknown family, called Indian lettuce, made its firfl 
appearance in thefe rich vales ; it is a biennial ; the 
primary or radical leaves are fomewhat fpatuled, 
or broad, lanceolate, and obtufe pointed, of a pale 
yellowifti green, fmooth furface, and of a delicate 
frame, or texture ; thefe leaves fpread equally on 
every jide, almoft reclining on the ground ; from 
their centre arifes a ftraight upright ftem, five, fix, 
or fo/en feet high, fmooth and poliihed : the ground 
of a dark purple colour, which is elegantly pow- 
dered with greenim yellow fpecks ; the ftem, three- 
fourths of its length, is embellifhed with narrow 
leaves, nearly of the fame form with the radical ones, 
placed at regular diftances, in verticilate order. The 
fuperior one-fourth divifion of this ftem is formed 
into a pyramidal fpike of flowers, rather diffufe ; 
thefe flowers are of the hexandria, large, and ex* 
panded ; of a dark purple colour, delicately pow- 
dered with green, yellow, and red, and divided 
into fix parts, or petals ; thefe are fucceeded by tri- 
quetrous dry pericarpi, when ripe. 
This great ridge is a vaft extended projection of 
the Cherokee or Alegany mountains, gradually in- 
creafing in height and extent, from its extremity 
at the Lick, to its union with the high ridge of 
mountains anciently called the Apalachian moun- 
tains ; it every where approaches much nearer the 
waters of the Alatamaha than thofe of the Savanna. 
At one particular place, where we encamped, on 
the Great Ridge, during our repofe there part of 
a day, our hunters going out, underftandjng that 
their route was to the low lands on the Ocone, 
I accompanied them : we had not rode above 
three miles before we came to the banks of that 
beautiful river. The cane fwamps, of immenfe 
extent, and the oak forefts, on the level lands, 
