“The day had been remarkably serene; in the afternoon, however, it became sultry, and streams of hot air were perceptible now and then, the usual tokens of a gust. About 5 o’clock the horizon towards the north became dark, and a terrible whirlwind arose. I was standing with some gentlemen on an eminence at the time, and perceived it gradually advancing. As it came along it leveled the fence rails, and unroofed the sheds for the cattle. We made every endeavor, but in vain, to get to a place of shelter; in the course of two minutes the whirlwind overtook us; the shock was violent; it was hardly possible to stand, and difficult to breathe. The whirlwind passed over in about three minutes, but a storm, accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning, succeeded. On looking round immediately after the whirlwind had passed a prodigious column of fire now appeared in a part of the wood where some brushwood had been burning; in many places the flames rose considerably above the summit of the trees, which were of a large growth. It was a tremendous, and at the same time sublime sight. The negroes in the surrounding plantations were all assembled with their hoes, and watches were stationed at every corner to give the alarm if the fire appeared elsewhere. “The country between Urbanna and Gloucester is neither so flat nor so sandy as that bordering upon the Rappahannock. The trees, chiefly pines, are of very large size, and afford abundance of turpentine, which is extracted from them in large quantities by the inhabitants, principally, however, for home consumption. Gloucester contains only ten or twelve houses. There are remains here of one or two redoubts thrown up during the war. The town of York consists of about seventy houses, an Episcopalian church, and a gaol. Great quantities of tobacco were formerly inspected here; very little, however, is now raised in the neighborhood. The little that is sent for inspection is reckoned to be of the very best quality, and is all engaged for the London market. In the town the houses bear evident marks of the siege; and the inhabitants will not, on any account, suffer the holes perforated by the cannon balls to be repaired on the outside. Till within a year or two the broken shells themselves remained; but the New England men that traded to York, finding they would sell well as old iron, dug them up and carried them away in their ships. Twelve miles from York, to the westward, stands Williamsburg. The town consists of about 1,200 inhabitants, and the society in it is thought to be more extensive and more genteel at the same time than what is to be met with in any other place of its size in America. No manufactures are carried on here, and scarcely any trade.