SNIPES. 
159 
a mile wide opposite the town, which is se¬ 
venty miles above its mouth. Sharks are very 
often seen in this river. What is very remark¬ 
able, the fish are all found on the side of the 
river next to the town. 
From Tappahannock to Urbanna, another 
small town on the Rappahannock River, si¬ 
tuated about twenty-five miles lower down, 
♦ 
the country wears but a poor aspect. 
The road, which is level and very sandy, 
rims through woods for miles together. The 
habitations that are seen from it are but few, 
and they are of the poorest description. The 
woods chiefly consist of black oak, pine, and 
cedar trees, which grow on land of the worst 
quality only. 
On this road there are many ereek$ to be 
crossed, which empty themselves into the Rap¬ 
pahannock River; in the neighbourhood of 
which there are extensive marshes, that ren¬ 
der (he adjacent country, as may be supposed, 
very unhealthy. Such a quantity of snipes 
are seen in these marshes continually, that it 
would be hardly possible to fire a gun, in a ho¬ 
rizontal direction, and not kill many at one 
shot. 
As I passed through this part of the country, 
I observed many traces of fires in the woods, 
which are frequent, it seems, in the spring 
of the year. They usually proceed from the 
