5. The rivers of the third system are the Chowan, the Roanoke, the Tar, the Neuse and the Cape Fear, usually navigable some for fifty and others to near one hundred miles for boats of light draught. Of these the three last have their rise near the northern boundary of the State, in a comparatively small area, near the eastern source of the Yadkin. The Chowan has its rise in Virginia, below Appomattox Court House. The principal sources of the Roanoke, also, are in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge, though some of its head streams are in North Carolina, and very near those of the Yadkin. Only one of these rivers, the Cape Fear, flows directly into the ocean in this State; the others, after reaching the low country, move on with diminished current and empty into large bodies of water known as sounds. 6. The great rivers of these three systems, with their network of countless tributaries, great and small, afford a truly magnificent water supply. Flat lands border the streams in every section; they are everywhere exceptionally rich, and in the Tidewater section, of great breadth. In their course from the high plateaus to the low country all the rivers of the State have a descent of many hundred feet, made by frequent falls and rapids. These falls and rapids afford all unlimited motive power for machinery of every description; and here many cotton mills and other factories have been established, and are multiplying every year. 7. The sounds, and the rivers which empty into them, constitute a network of waterway for steam and sailing vessels of eleven hundred miles. They are separated from the ocean by a line of sand banks, varying in breadth from one hundred yards to two miles, and in height from a few feet above the tide level to twenty-five or thirty feet, on which horses of a small breed, called "Bank Ponies," are reared in great numbers, and in a half wild state. These banks extend along the entire shore a distance of three hundred miles. Through them there are a number of inlets from the sea to the sounds, but they are usually too shallow except for vessels of light burden. Along its northern coast the commerce of the State has, in consequence, been restricted; it has, however, an extensive commerce through Beaufort Harbor and the Cape Fear River. 8. The sounds, and the rivers in their lower courses, abound with fish and waterfowl. Hunting the canvas-back duck and other fowls for the Northern cities is a regular and profitable branch of industry; while herring, shad and rock-fishing is pursued, especially along Albemarle Sound, with spirit, skill and energy, and a large outlay of capital. QUESTIONS. 1. What is the subject of this chapter? How may the mountains of North Carolina be classed? Describe each chain. Point out these mountains on the map. 2. Describe the Smoky Mountains. The Blue Ridge. The Brushy. The Oconeechee.