[S 
2 1 94 
Pcnnsyl'cnnia Eeconiioissancfi 
In confoiTiilly ^\h\\ tlie ovdcrs of the Secretan' of Wai", the Board 
of lutenial lujpravciaeni, in their way to the Eastern states, met and 
«;o-o perilled with the eanal coininissioncrs of Pennsylvania in making 
ji rocorasoissaitrc of tlie country from the Oliio to the Schuylkill. 
To convoy a general idea of this route, it is necessary to recal to 
mind the great features of the country. 
xlt the distance of thirty miles, hy the course of the /Alleghany, from 
Pittsburg, tiio Kiskimanitas, wiiosc uppei* eastern hranch is called 
the Conesnaugh, comes in from the east, that hranch heads opposite the.. 
Juniatta (itself a hranch of tlse Busquehannah): and, both to the cast and 
v.efifc,of the Alleghany mountain, are seen others, ranging transversely 
to these ri\ers — the Chesnut and Laurel on the \\est, and many ou 
the east, which divide Pennsylvania into fertile valleys; while farther 
heyond tiieSusrptehannah, Daujihin, Lancaster, and Chester counties 
exhibit a milder aspect of coujitry. 
This route naturally divides itself into four scctioiis: 1st, fi-om Pitts- 
burg to the mouth of the Little Conemaugh. computed to be 128 milest 
2d, thence, to the forks of the Juniatta, 40 miles: 3d, thence, to the Sus- 
quehannah, 1 10 miles; 4th, thence, to tite Schuylkill, 125 miles. The 
whole 403 miles. 
The first section has favorable ground along the rivei-, on alternate 
sides, for a large proportion of the distance, presuming the substra- 
tum will be found tenaci((us ground. Tlui principal cxce})tions are 
the ravines of Chesnut and Laurel mountains, one five, the other seven 
miles thi'ough. It will often he a question of expediency for skill and 
calculation, to decide wl:cther to carry the line along the declivity of 
steep shores, or to cross by an aqueduct to a more favorable ground for 
a distance, when the same alternative will again jjresent. For this 
.section, v.isich, from its elevation at tl^e eastern end, gives to the ^ 
stream the. characteristic of a torrent, and ])recludes improvement of 
th» natural mivigation, there will be water in abundance for a canal. 
Beside the tributary streams, which arc considerable, Stony brook 
\^as found to discharge, at Johnstown, at -this time, not indeed the low- 
est state of the river, 239 cubic feet per second, and the Little Cone* 
snaugli, near its mouth, 100 cubic feet per second. 
The second section includes the Alleghany mountain; ami here the 
question of how much water is in its natural flow at command, or may 
be had in reserve in the dryest season, becomes an inquiry of the 
greatest moment: our view v>as indeed cursory; but so far as the in- 
vestigati(m was carried, may be considered essentially accurate. 
One of the Board, Mr. Sullivan, had been acci(lentally detained/ 
ha] fa day at Pittsburg, and crossing the country to fall in with the party, 
had reached this place before them, and preceded the rest of the compa-» 
ny, attended by Mv. Livcrgood, one of the most respectable of the inha- 
lutants of .Tohnstov.n. At three miles from this place, up the Little 
Concmaugh, Ilildebrand's mill is situated. Tlse owner, Judge Hil* 
debrand, was asked how the present state of tlie water compared wit!^ 
