160 
many more mountains, ridges 
and table lands are found with 
peculiar names, being formed 
by the valleys breakings. 
Westerly of the Backbone 
mountain is the Laurel moun- 
tain or ridge 7 to 15 miles 
broad, next the Chesnut hills, 
or ridge, after which comes a 
hilly broken region 200 or 300 
miles broad North of the Ohio 
river extending spurs through 
Ohio called Scioto hills forming 
the Silver hills of Indiana, the 
Wabash hills of Illinois, and 
separated from the the Ozark 
mountains by the Mississippi 
valley and gap of Girardeau. 
South of the Ohio river in 
Kentucky is a large hilly table 
land, called Knob hills or Wa- 
sioto of the Indians, uniting 
with the Scioto hills at the Sci- 
oto river, with the Silver hills 
at Salt river, and with the Wa- 
bash hills below the Wabash 
river. This range or table- 
land is very irregular and I 
have traced it throughout in 
Tanner’s map, the height over 
the low lands or limestone 
plains, varies from 200 to 500 
feet, or higher still East when 
called Pine mountains. It is 
properly a spur 400 miles long 
of the Cumberland mountains; 
and of the same geological 
structure slaty and grity. 
The Cumberland or Wasioto 
mountains fill the whole of 
West Virginia, giving rise to 
many rivers. It is properly a 
Plateau or the Western step of 
the Alleghany, forming North 
a broken ridge ending at the 
Ohio, and South abroad table- 
land in Tenessee, sending 
West a spur called the Buffalo 
hills, dividing the Waters of the 
Cumberland and Tennessee ri- 
vers. South of the Tennessee 
river are the Apalachian moun- 
tains, the least known of all 
our mountains, and which I 
pant to explore ; they are rep- 
resented as a winding ridge 
running East to West, but are 
probably also a tableland with 
aprons and spurs, giving rise^ 
to the rivers falling in the gulf 
of Mexico. Their structure and 
geology is hardly known; but 
they are deemed secondary and 
filled with fossil remains to the 
West in Alabama and Missis- 
sippi, while they meet in Geor- 
gia, by the Lookout mountains 
with the primitive Cheroki 
mountains at the head of Cuza 
or Coosa river, these last are 
here very lofty 4500 feet high, 
yet called the Blue ridge on its 
South 4 West end, but are the 
end South East of the Allegha- 
nies collectively. This long 
East ridge is very winding 
through the Carolinas and Vir- 
ginia, unbroken by rivers, ex- 
cept by James’ river near the 
Otter Peaks, the Central knot 
of this primitive chain. It has 
many other chains and groups 
of peaks. 
It is very remarkable that 
S. of James’ River, this chain 
becomes the loftiest, and di- 
vides the W aters of the Atlan- 
tic and Ohio basin: while the 
secondary Alleghany ranges 
westerly becomes lower and 
broken by the water gaps of the 
many rivers forming the Ken- 
haway and Tennessee. 
This is a peculiar feature of 
