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Before the revolution, Georgia, like all the fouthern ftates, was divided into parishes; but this mode of division is now abolished, and that of counties has fucceeded in its room.

Chief Towns.] The prefent feat of government in this state is AuGUSTA. It is fituated on the south-west bank of Savannah river, about 134 miles from the fea, and 117 north-west of Savannah. The town, which contains not far from 200 houses, is on a fine large plain; and as it enjoys the best foil, and the advantage of a central fituation between the upper and lower counties, is rising faft into importance.

SAVANNAH, the former capital of Georgia, stands on a high fandy bluff, on the fouth fide of the river of the fame name, and 17 miles from irs mouth. The town is regularly built in the form of a parallellogram, and, including its fuburbs, contains 227 dwelling-houses, one Epifcopal church, a German Lutheran church, a Profbyterian church, a Synagogue, and Court-house. The number of its inhabitants, exclufive of the blacks, amount to about 830, seventy of whom are Jews.

In Savannah, and within a circumference of about 10 miles from it, there were, in the summer of 1787, about 2300 inhabitants. Of these, 192 were above 50 years of age, and all in good health. The ages of a lady and her fix children, then living in the town, amounted to 385 years. This computation, which was actually made, serves to shew that Savannah is not really fo unhealthy as has been commonly reprefented,

SUNBURY is a fea port town, favoured with a safe and very convenient harbour. Several small islands intervene, and partly obstruct a direct view of the ocean; and, interlocking with each other, render the passage out to sea winding, but not difficult. It is a very pleasant, healthy town, and is the refort of the planters from the adjacent places of Midway and Newport, during the fickly months. It was burnt by the British in the late war, but is now recovering its former populousness and importance.

BRUNSWICK, in Glynn county, lat. 31° 10', is fituated at the mouth of Turtle river, at which place this river empties itself into St. Simon's found. Brunswick has a fafe harbour, and fufficiently large to contain the whole of his Molt Chriftian Majesty's flect; and the bar, at the entrance into it, has water deep enough for the largest vessel that swims, The town is regularly laid out, but not yet built. From its advantage. ous fituation, and from the fertility of the back country, it promises to be hereafter one of the first trading towns in Georgia.

FREDERICA, on the island of St. Simon, is nearly in lat. '31° 15′ north. It stands on an eminence, if confidered with regard to the marshes before it, upon a branch of Alatamaha river, which washes the west side of this agreeable island, and, after several windings, difembogues itself into the fea at Jekyl found it forms a kind of bay before the town, and is navigable for vefiels of the largest burthen, which may lie along the wharf in a fecure and fafe harbour.

The town of LOUISVILLE, which is designed as the future feat of government in this state, has lately been laid out on the bank of Ogeechee river, about 70 miles from its mouth, but is not yet built.

Rivers.] Savannah river forms a part of the divifional line, which feparates this ftate from South Carolina. Its course is nearly from northweft to fouth-east. It is formed principally of two branches, by the names

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of Tugulo and Keowee, which spring from the mountains. It is navigable for large veffels up to Savannah, and for boats of rco feet keel as far as Augufta. After rising a fall juft above this place, it is paffable for boats to the mouth of Tugulo river. Tybee bar, at its entrance in lat. 31° 57', has fixteen feet water at half tide.

Ogeechee river, about eighteen miles fouth of the Savannah, is a smaller river, and nearly parallel with it in its courfe.

Alatamaha, about fixty miles fouth of Savannah river, is formed by the junction of the Okonee and Okemulgee branches. It is a noble river, but of difficult entrance. Like the Nile, it difcharges itself by several mouths into the fea.

Besides these there is Turtle river, Little Sitilla, Great Sitilla, Crooked river, and St. Mary's, which forms a part of the fouthern boundary of the United States. St. Mary's river empties into Amelia found, lat. 30° 44′, and is navigable for veffels of confiderable burden for ninety miles. Its banks afford immenfe quantities of fine timber, fuited to the WestIndia market. Along this river, every four or five miles. are bluffs convenient for veffels to haul to and load.

The rivers in the middle and western parts of this flate are, Apalachi cola, which is formed by the Chatahouchee and Flint rivers, Mobile, Pafcagoula and Pearl rivers. All these running fouthwardly, empty into the Gulph of Mexico. The forementioned rivers abound with a great variety of fish, among which are the mullet, whiting, cat, rock, trouť, brim, white, fhad and sturgeon.

Climate, Difeafes, &c.] In fome parts of this ftate, at particular feafons of the year, the climate cannot be efteemed falubrious. In the low country near the rice fwamps, bilious complaints and fevers of various kinds are pretty univerfal during the months of July, August and September, which, for this reason, are called the fickly months.

The diforders peculiar to this climate, originate chiefly from the badnefs of the water, which is generally brackish, and from the noxious putrid vapours which are exhaled from the ftagnant waters in the rice fwamps. Befides, the long continuance of warm weather produces a general relaxa tion of the nervous fyftem, and as they have no neceffary labour to call them to exercise, a large fhare of indolence is the natural confequence; and indolence, efpecially among a luxurious people, is ever the parent of difeafe. The immenfe quantities of fpirituous liquors, which are ufed to correct the brackishness of the water, form a fpecies of intemperance, which too often proves ruinous to the conftitution. Parents of infirm, fickly habits, often, in more fenfes than one, have children of their own likeness. A confiderable part of the difcafes of the prefent inhabitants, may therefore be viewed as hereditary. I must add as a general obferva tion, that to the three laft mentioned causes may be afcribed no inconfiderable part of those disorders which prevail in fouthern climates.

Before the fickly feafon commences, many of the rich planters of this state remove with their families to the sea islands, or fome elevated healthy fituation, where they refide three or four months, for the benefit of fresh air. In the winter and spring pleurifies, peripneumonies, and other

Pronounced Oltamarhaw.

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inflammatory diforders, occafioned by fudden and violent colds, are con fiderably common, and frequently fatal. Confumptions, epilepfies, can cers, palfies and apoplexies, are not fo incident to the inhabitants of the fouthern as northern climates.

The winters in Georgia are very mild and pleasant. Snow is feldom or never feen. Vegetation is not frequently prevented by fevere frofts. Cattle fubfift tolerably well through the winter, without any other food than what they obtain in the woods and favannahs*, and are fatter in that feafon than in any other. In the hilly country, which begins about 80 or 100 miles from the fea, the air is pure and falubrious, and the water plenty and good. In the flat country there is here and there a spring only, which is clear and pretty good. Neither is the air fo pure here as in the hilly country, being more confined, and lefs fubject to agitations from the winds, and withal impregnated with putrid vapours from the rice fwamps In the fouth-caft parts of this ftate, which lie within a few degrees of the torrid zone, the atmosphere is kept in motion by impreffions from the trade winds. This ferves to purify the air, and render it fit for refpiration; fo that it is found to have a very advantageous effect on perfons of confumptive habits.

Face of the Country.] The eastern part of the ftate, between the mountains and the ocean, and the rivers Savannah and St. Mary's, a tract of country more than 120 miles from north to fouth, and 40 or 50 eaft and weft, is entirely level, without a hill or a stone. At the distance of about 40 or 50 miles from the fea-board, or falt-marfh, the lands begin to be more or lefs uneven. The ridges gradually rife one above another into hills, and the hills fucceffively increafing in height, till they finally terminate in mountains. That vaft chain of mountains which commences with Katts Kill, near Hudson's river, in the state of New-York, known by the names of the Allegany and Apalachian mountains, terminate in this ftate, about 60 miles fouth of its northern boundary.- From the toot of this mountain spreads a wide extended plain, of the richest foil, and in a latitude and climate favourably adapted to the cultivation of most of the EaftIndia productions.

Soil and Productions.] The foil and its fertility are various, according to fituation and different improvement. The islands on the fea-board, in their natural state, are covered with a plentiful growth of pine, oak, and hiccory, live oak, and fome red cedar. The foil is a mixture of fand and black mould, making what is commonly called a grey foil. A confiderable part of it, particularly that whereon grow the oak, hiccory and live oak, is very fertile, and yields on cultivation good crops of indigo, cotton, corn and potatoes. Thefe iflands are furrounded by navigable creeks, between which and the main land is a large extent of falt marsh, fronting the whole ftate, not lefs, on an average, than four or five miles in breadth, interfected with creeks in various directions, admitting, through the whole, an inland navigation between the islands and main-land, from the northeastward to the fouth-eastward corners of the state. The foil of the mainland, adjoining the marshes and creeks, is nearly of the fame quality with

* A favannah is a tract of ground covered with grafs, but without any or fhrubs. They are often to be found in pine lands in the fouthern States.

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that of the islands; except that which borders on those rivers aud creeks which ftretch far back into the country. On thefe, immediately after you leave the falts, begin the valuable rice fwamps, which on cultivation, afford the prefent principal staple of commerce. The most of the rice lands lie on rivers, which, as far as the tide flows, are called Tide-lands, or on creeks and particular branches of water, flowing in fome deeper or lower parts of the lands, which are called inland fwamps, and extend back in the country from 15 to 25 miles, beyond which very little rice is planted, though it will grow exceedingly well, as experiment has proved, 120 miles back from the fea. The intermediate lands, between these creeks and rivers, are of an inferior quality, being of a grey foil, covered chiefly with pine, and a fort of wild grafs aud finall reeds, which afford a large range of feeding ground for ftock both fummer and winter. Here and there, are interfperfed oak and hiccory ridges, which are of a better foil, and produce good crops of corn and indigo, but thefe are very little elevated above the circumjacent lands. The lands adjoining the rivers are nearly level, and, for a hundred miles in a direct line from the sea, continue a breadth from 2 to 3 or 4 miles, and wherever, in that distance, you find a piece of high land that extends to the bank of the river on one fide, you may expect to find the low or fwamp ground proportionably wide on the oppofite fide of the river. This feems to be an invariable rule till you come to that part where the river cuts the mountains.

The foil between the rivers, after you leave the fea board and the edge of the swamps, at the distance of 20 or 30 miles, changes from a grey to a red colour, on which grows plenty of oak and hiccory, with a confiderable intermixture of pine. In fome places it is gravelly, but fertile, and fo continues for a number of miles, gradually deepening the redish colour of the earth, till it changes into what is called the Mulatto foil, confifting of a black mould and red earth. The compofition is darker or lighter according as there is a larger or fmaller portion of the black or red earth in it. The mulatto lands are generally itrong, and yield large crops of wheat, tobacco, corn, &c. To this kind of land fucceeds by turns a foil nearly black and very rich, on which grow large quantities of black walnut, mulberry &c. This fucceffion of different foils continues uniform and regular, though there are fome large veins of all the different foils intermixed, and what is more remarkable, this fucceffion, in the order mentioned, ftretches across this ftate nearly parallel with the fea coaft, and extends through the feveral ftates. nearly in the fame direction, to the banks of Hudfon's river. In this ftate are produced by culture, rice, indigo, cotton, filk, (though not in large quantities) Indian corn, potatoes, oranges, figs, pomegranates, &c. Rice, at prefent, is the ftaple commodity; and as a fmall proportion only of the rice ground is under cultivation, the quantity railed in future must be much greater than at prefent. But the rapid increase of the inhabitants, chiefly by emigrations, whose attention is turned to the raifing of tobacco, and the vast extent of land, with a richness of foil fuited to the culture of that plant, renders it probable, that tobacco will fhortly become the staple of this state.

The tobacco lands are equally well adapted to wheat, which may hereafter make an important article of commerce.

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On the dry plains, grow large crops of fweet potatoes, which are found to afford a wholesome nourishment, and from which is made, by diftilla tion, a kind of whisky, tolerably good, but inferior to that made from rye. It is by properly macerating and wathing this root, that a fediment or ftarch is made, which has obtained the naine of Sago, and answers all the purposes of the India fago.

Moft of the tropical fruits would flourish in this ftate with proper atten tion. The rice plant has been, and the tea plant, of which fuch immenfe quantities are confumed in the United States, may undoubtedly be, tranfplanted with equal advantage. The latitude, the foil, and the temperature of climate, all invite to make the experiment.

From many confiderations, we may perhaps venture to predict, that the fouth-western part of this flate, and the parts of Eaft and Weft Florida, which lie adjoining, will, in a few years, become the vineyard of America.

Remarkable Springs.] In the county of Wilkes, within a mile and an half of the town of Washington, is a medicinal fpring, which rifes from a hollow tree, four or five feet in length.-The infide of the tree is covered with a coat of nitre, an inch thick, and the leaves around the fpring are incrufted with a fubftance as white as fnow.-It is faid to be a fovereign remedy for the fcurvy, fcrofulous diforders, confumptions, gouts, and eve ry other disease arifing from humours in the blood.-A perfon, who had a fevere rheumatifm in his right arm, having, in the fpace of ten minutes, drank two quarts of the water, experienced a momentary chill, and was then thrown into a perfpiration, which, in a few hours, left him entirely free from pain, and in perfect health.

This fpring, fituated in a fine, healthy part of the ftate, in the neighbourhood of Washington, where are excellent accommodations, will no doubt prove a pleasant and falutary place of refort for invalids from the maritime and unhealthy parts of this and the neighbouring states.

Curiofities.] About 90 miles from the fea, as you advance towards the mountains, is a very remarkable bank of oyfter fhells, of an uncommon fize. They run in a direction nearly parallel with the sea coaft, in three diftinct ridges near each other, which together occupy a space of feven miles in breadth. The ridges commence at Savannah river, and have been traced to the northern branches of the Alatamaha. This remarka ble phenomenon has already been accounted for (page 49.) But by whatever means thefe fhells were placed there, they are an inexhauftible fource of wealth and convenience to the neighbouring inhabitants, as from them they make their lime for building, and for the making of in digo, in which it is indifpenfibly neceffary.

Commerce, manufactures and agriculture.] The chief articles of export from this state are rice, tobacco, indigo, fago, lumber of various kinds, naval ftores, leather, deer skins, fnake root, myrtle, bees wax, corn, live ftock, &c. The value of the exports from this ftate in 1772, was £.121,677 fterling. The number of veffels employed this year, was 217, whofe tonnage was 11,246, as will be feen in the following statement.

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