TRAVELS IN 
4'2 
unknown family, called Indian lettuce, made its firft 
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 
yeilowifh green, fmooth furface, and of a delicate 
frame, or texture ; thefe leaves fpread equally on 
every fide, almoft reclining on the ground ; from 
their centre arifes a fdraight upright Idem, five, fix, 
or feven feet high, fmooth and polifhed ; the ground 
of a dark purple colour, which is elegantly pow- 
dered with greenifli yellow fpecks ; the Idem, three- 
fourths of its length, is embellifhed with narrow 
leaves, nearly of the fame form with the radical ones, 
placed at regular diidances, in verticilate order. The 
iiiperior one-fourth divifion of this item is formed 
in a pyramidal fpike of flowers, rather diffufe $ 
thefe flov/ers 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 vaid extended proje&ion 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 j it every where approaches much nearer the 
waters of the Alatamaha than thefe of the Savanna, 
At one particular place, w 7 here we encamped, on 
the Great Ridge, during our repofe there part of 
a day, our hunters going out, underftanding that 
their route was to the low lands on the Ocone, 
I accompanied them : we had not rede 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, 
are 
