Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1820-01-11

their names and salaries--rendered in O.
bedience to law which statements, &c.
were ordered to lie on the table and be
printed.
On motion Of MIR. Strong, of New
York, it was
Resolued, That committee be APP.
pointed 10 enquire into the expediency Of
providing by law for furnishing the army,
the navy and the Indian department, with
articles of clothing, and other merchant
disc, of domestic manufacture, except
such articles only as cannot with econo-
my, and in sufficient quantity, be manu-
featured in the United States.
The tollomiag is an extract Of letter from
a gentleman ,uho visited Florida about
the period that the Spanish Treaty mas
made
From Mobile, bent my course into
Florida, aud trayersed on foot that sterile
region, accompanied by my friend, thro,
wide waste where no white man had
ever pitched his tent. Whenever night
came on aud fatigue had urged us to rest,
our mother earth afforded us grateful
bed, on whose lap We rested our wearled
limbs, reposing our heads on some friendly
log. Although the woods teemed with
wolves and panthers, those reputed enc
mics of mankind, yet we laid ourselves
down fearlessly on the ground, aud enjoy
ed such delectable comfort 10 our rest, as
the pampered voluptuary never experien-
ced in his dowDy bed.
The general character of both East aud
West Florida is that of sterility, although
there are many very fine tracts OF bottom
and alluviai land, bordering on most Of the
rivers and creeks, capable Of yielding both
sugar and cotton, the most valuable pro-
ductions OF the United States.
The common pine (pinus rigida) is the
lord of the Forest" and its sole dominion
is acknowledged throughout the whole of
that country, except 10 the low land and
marshy grounds, where the live oak & cy
prus claim an asylum. None OF those ex-
tensive savannas, which spread over SO
large portion of The western states, and
which astonisb the wandering traveller &
confound the admiring and cause-searching
philosopher, are here 10 be seen. The whole
OF the highland country presents an insipid
sameness OF sterile plain covered with
pine trees of a small size scattered at an
average distance of 80 feet from each other,
without any under brush and almost with
out any vegetable, save that OF some wild
grass intervening. The bottom lands are
generally rich, capable Of producing any
of the vegetable kingdom congenial TO this
climate. This description Of land is only
to be found on the margin of rivers and
creeks, and is usually from fourth TO a
half mile 10 width. The rivers on which
the best land IS tobe found are the Escam-
bia, Chatahoochie, Octahachie, Chactaw-
hachie, AppalachicoIa, Confena, and St.
Johns.
To the botanist and mineralogist, this is
an extremely interesting tract Of country.
Quartz sand prevails through the whole
upland country. One remarkable phe-
nomenon, however, is worthy Of notice. -
Fragments Of volcanic lava, found scat
tered all over West Florida; and no one
there could give any account or coniec-
ture concerning the same, and, as it seems
quite improbable, that it could have been
thrown from any volcano, known at the
present time. | must leave the investisa-
ton Of this to the fanciful genius Of some
future traveller.