QUERY IV.
A NOTICE OF ITS MOUNTAINS?
For the particular geography of our mountains I must refer
to Fry and Jefferson's map of Virginia, and to Evans's analysis
of his map of America for a more philosophical view of them
than is to be found in any other work. It is worthy of notice,
that our mountains are not solitary and scattered confusedly
over the face of the country, but that they commence at about
150 miles from the sea-coast, are disposed in ridges one behind
another, running nearly parallel with the sea-coast, though
rather approaching it as they advance Northeastwardly. To the
Southwest, as the tract of country between the sea-coast and
the Missisipi becomes narrower, the mountains converge into
a single ridge, which, as it approaches the Gulf of Mexico,
subsides into plain country, and gives rise to some of the waters of
that Gulf, and particularly to a river called the Apalachicola,
probably from the Apalachies, an Indian nation formerly residing
on it. Hence the mountains giving rise to that river, and
seen from its various parts, were called the Apalachian
mountains, being in fact the end or termination only of the great
ridges passing through the continent. European geographers
however extended the name northwardly as far as the
mountains extended; some giving it, after their separation into
different ridges, to the Blue Ridge, others to the North Mountain,
others to the Alleghaney, others to the Laurel Ridge, as may be
seen in their different maps. But the fact I believe is, that
none of these ridges were ever known by that name to the
inhabitants, either native or emigrant, but as they saw them so
called in European maps. In the same direction generally are
the veins of lime stone, coal and other minerals hitherto
discovered; and so range the falls of our great rivers. But the
