excellent fish. 
Ml 
\ 
oysters found in America, not excepting 1 what 
are taken at New York, so close to the ocean, 
are, in the opinion of most European-;, very in¬ 
different and tasteless when raw. The Ame¬ 
ricans, on their part, find still greater fault with 
our oysters, which they say are not fit to be 
eat in any shape, because they taste of copper. 
The Patowmac, as well as the rest of the rivers 
in Virginia, abounds with excellent fish of 
Hi aw different kinds, as sturgeon, shad, roach, 
herrings, &c. which form a very principal part 
of. the food of the people living in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of them. 
The river at the ferry is about three miles 
wide, and with particular winds the waves rise 
very high ; in these cases they always tie the 
horses, for fear of accidents, before they set 
out; indeed, with the small open boats which 
they make use of, it is what ought always to 
be done, for in this country gusts of wind rise 
suddenly, and frequently when they are not at 
all expected : having omitted to take this pre¬ 
caution, the boat was on the point of being 
overset two or three different times as I crossed 
over. 
On the Virginian shore, opposite to the ferry 
house from whence I sailed., there are several 
large creeks, which fall into the Patowmac, 
and it is impossible to cross these on horseback, 
without riding thirty or forty miles up a sandy 
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