The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-06-09


--msru,n .Eal of the genuine Attic Grength and
favour: How unlucSy will It be if they iliould
have reaton to exclaim at lalt, what pretty pic
kle theie democrats have got us in now.
Facetious fouls ts'v drolly did they C,sfh
the brine about them How it poured down
ON the devoted head OF our s5ii2f6bb;cni Pref
dent How kindly too did they furnih the Iriih
c;nigrants with inexhau6ible magazines of failed
ihad to excite their Thrift, and whole lakes of
whitkcy to quench it What pity it is that all
thefe ingenious lucu5rations ihould ceaie that
there ihould be only one falt mountain in the
world, and one credulous philcfopher, for theft.
federal vikings to fneer at but let them not
dcipair: l can find them other E,lt mountains,
and other philosophers ancient and modern, G.
qually credulous and equally proper for their
gibes aud ;eers.
The 18th chapter of the sllt book of Pli1y Tie
naturalia, treats of ialt, its natural formation,
the varieties of its appearance on the earth,
the places where it is found, and its u
fcs in medicine and the arts. Speaking of
the variety of its appearance, he Jays: Stunt CT
nontsS nativi falls, ut in Iudis Oromeuus in quo
iapidicnarum modo coditur renafcens ma
,jufque regum ve6tiga ex co eft, Guam ex auro
ct atque margaritis. A little further in the fame
chapter he Gays Africa cuca Uticam conitruit
acuvos falls ad collium fpecimen qui ubi fole lu-
fcrro duntque.
DR.. Thomas Shaw, a regius protector of
Greek in the Unworthy of Oxford. and fellow
ofthe ROYAL Society, undoubtedly therefore fi,f-
6cient of philosopher to be a flbieet for de-
riiion, lays in page l45 oftte fecond edition in
quarto of his travels into Baroary ant, the Lee
want, firt pubhfhed in 1915 Hfibbei Had-!eE
fa is entire mountain OF ialt, fituate near the
eaitern extremity Of the Lake of Marks. The
falt oft is of a quite different quality and ap-
pearance from that ofthe Saline, being as hard
and fold as tone, and of reddilh or purple CO.
lour." In the fame paragraph ne mentions
other falt mountains near L7Uota;ab and 1:E5eI
MiVss, of grey or hluith colour.
DR.. Walton, the prefent Biihop OF landau, "a
philosopher alfo) in his chemical aaays, VOL g
page RI, mentions that al Cordona, in the pro-
vince of Catalonia, in Spain, there is fold
mountain of rock falt between 4 and 500 feet in
height, and league in circuit. It's depth BE-
low the iurflce ofthe earth is not known. It
hss no mixture Of any other matter with it.
He quotes the Hih. naturelle de PEfpagne, p.
4o6.
'ThiS fngular phenomenon" fsys Doctor
Towntend IN p. l39 ofthe l It vol. of his Journey
through Spain, fpeaking of the vicinity OF Mont
icrrat, g IS rendered more remarkable by flu
pendous mountain in its vicinity, defcribed by,
Bowles, a mountain Of miles in circumfer-
enre. near the village OF Cordona, which is one
MATS of Salt, and equal in height to the Pyren-
nees, on which it borders. In climate like
ours England fuch MATS had been long Ence
diDoived, but III Spain they employ this rock
falt, as in Derbyfhire they do -four foar to make
fluff boxes and Yates, with ornaments and trim
lets. I carried little fragment with me all
through Spain without the leaf fign of deli
ouefcence, but when / came to England foon
found it fllrrounded with pool of watcr''
The fame fact is quoted by Richard Kirwan,
Etq beyond doubt the mott learned chemiit and
mineralogif in Europe, fee his miner vol. 2. D.
81. Butt fllall conlipe my quotation TO the c =
oLoG9 of shis philofopher, SIS &c Many
mountains entirely confilting of falt have been
difcoyered. The falt mountain of Cordona, in
Valentia, is from to 500 feet high, and about
8 miles in circumference, (Bowles 4o6.) Forts
mentions fcvcral in Calabria, attended with fone
of Gypfum feveral in the hates of Tunis and
Algiers are mentioned by Shaw, p. oo9, and
another in the province Of Aftracan, Buff Min.
Syo. p. 1.-the fat in this however contains a
mixture of foreign ingredients, the nature of
which has not been accurately determined. In
the province of Yakoutz in Siberia, near the RI
yer Kaptindei, there is a mountain of fat 100
feet high and 100 in length, but at two thirds of
It's height it is covered with hratum of red
clay, which reaches TO its fImmit.....I Gonelir.
voy. Sal, cited by Maquart, SO.
In page $50 of the fame book (Kirw Cecil
the reader viii find reply to the objection why
are not thefe mountains diGolved by firearms and
rains and feveral facts ilufrative of the reafon
Oh their continuance, but too long toquote here.
Twill iuft add to the above authorities, that in
the prospectus lately publfhed of General Col
lots travels in Louiiiana, an account is promi-
fed of the falt mountain there and have now
before me a large map of North America and
1.-The Wet Indies, by L. S. De La Roulette, pub
ilhed at London by Wil!,infon in 1875, wherein
4 falt Rock is laid down near the MiTouri far UP
THE river, about the interfection of latitude SO
with longitude &c from London.
T. Republicans did not laugh at Mr.. Ieferron's
account, becaufe they are iii The habit of read
ing and giving credit to common books OF eta
blifhed authority: but the fcderaIiits who read
little and know leis, thereby monopolize all the
Port TO themfelves, and enjoy to the full Their
executive privilege of laughing without bluff
at ali tlofe whom public eRimation has ranked
as the diftinguilhed yotaries of fcience and PHI
lofophy.
THOMAS COOPER.
NorfbaMLerland.