The river at the ferry is about three miles wide, and with particular winds the waves rise very high; in these cases they always tie the horses, for fear of accidents, before they set out; indeed, with the small open boats which they make use of, it is what ought always to be done, for in this country gusts of wind rise suddenly, and frequently when they are not at all expected: having omitted to take this precaution, the boat was on the point of being overset two or three different times as I crossed over. On the Virginian shore, opposite to the ferry-house from whence I sailed, there are several large creeks, which fall into the Patowmac, and it is impossible to cross these on horseback, without riding thirty or forty miles up a sandy uninteresting part of the country to the fords or bridges. As I wished to go beyond these creeks, I therefore hired the boatmen to carry me ten miles down the Patowmac River in the ferry boat, past the mouths of them all; this they accordingly did, and in the afternoon I landed on the beach, not a little pleased at finding that I had reached the shore without having been under the necessity of swimming any part of the way, for during the last hour the horses had not remained quiet for two minutes together, and on one or two occasions, having got both to the same side of the boat, the trim of it was very nearly destroyed, and it was with the utmost difficulty that we prevented it from being overset. [Sidenote: VIRGINIANS.] The part of the country where I landed appeared to be a perfect wilderness; no traces of a road or pathway were visible on the loose white sand, and the cedar and pine trees grew so closely together on all sides, that it was scarcely possible to see farther forward in any direction than one hundred yards. Taking a course, however, as nearly as I could guess, in a direct line from the river up the country, at the end of an hour I came upon a narrow road, which led to a large old brick house, somewhat similar to those I had met with on the Maryland shore. On enquiring here, from two blacks, for a tavern, I was told there was no such thing in this part of the country; that in the house before me no part of the family was at home; but that if I rode on a little farther, I should come to some other gentlemen’s houses, where I could readily get accommodation. In the course of five or six miles I saw several more of the same sort of old brick houses, and the evening now drawing towards a close, I began to feel the necessity of going to some one of them. I had seen no person for several miles to tell me who any of the owners were, and I was considering within myself which house I should visit, when a lively old negro, mounted on a little horse, came galloping after me. On applying to him for information on the subject, he took great pains to assure me, that I should be well received at any one of the houses I might stop at; he said there were no taverns in this