The swamp varies very much in different parts; in some the surface of it is quite dry, and firm enough to bear a horse; in others it is overflowed with water; and elsewhere so miry that a man would sink up to his neck if he attempted to walk upon it; in the driest part, if a trench is cut only a few feet deep, the water gushes in, and it is filled immediately. Where the canal to connect the water of Albemarle Sound with Norfolk is cut, the water in many places flows in from the sides, at the depth of three feet from the surface, in large streams, without intermission; in its colour it exactly resembles brandy, which is supposed to be occasioned by the roots of the juniper trees; it is perfectly clear however, and by no means unpalatable; it is said to possess a diuretic quality, and the people in the neighbourhood, who think it very wholesome, prefer it to any other. Certainly there is something very uncommon in the nature of this swamp, for the people living upon the borders of it do not suffer by fever and ague, or bilious complaints, as is generally the case with those resident in the neighbourhood of other swamps and marshes. Whether it is the medicinal quality of the water, however, which keeps them in better health or not, I do not pretend to determine. As the Dismal Swamp lies so very near to Norfolk, where there is a constant demand for shingles, staves, &c. for exportation, and as the very best of these different articles are made from the trees growing upon the swamp, it of course becomes a very valuable species of property. The canal which is now cutting through it will also enhance its value, as when it is completed, lumber can then be readily sent from the remotest parts. The more southern parts of it, when cleared, answer uncommonly well for the culture of rice; but in the neighbourhood of Norfolk, as far as ten feet deep from the surface, there seems to be nothing but roots and fibres of different herbs mixed with a whitish sand, which would not answer for the purpose, as rice requires a very rich soil. The trees, however, that grow upon it, are a most profitable crop, and instead of cutting them all down promiscuously, as commonly is done, they only fell such as have attained a large size, by which means they have a continued succession for the manufacture of those articles I mentioned. Eighty thousand acres of the swamp are the property of a company incorporated under the title of “The Dismal Swamp Company.” Before the war broke out a large number of negroes was constantly employed by the company in cutting and manufacturing staves, &c. and their affairs were going on very prosperously; but at the time that Norfolk was burnt they lost all their negroes, and very little has been done by them since. The lumber that is now sent to Norfolk is taken principally off those parts of the swamp which are private property. [Sidenote: ACCOMMODATION.]