The South East Mountain* is, perhaps, the same as Haverstraw, between Orange and Rockland coun ties, New York, and traverses the Hudson valley between Peekskill and West Point; and thence in flecting with the Blue Ridge to the north-east, stretches towards and reaching is traversed again by another river, the Housatonick, in the western border of Litchfield county, Connecticut. Here once more the South East Mountain, similar to all the other chains of the Appalachian system, inflects to a course only a few degrees east of north, form ing the Housatonick mountains of Massachusetts, and Green mountains of Vermont. In Massachu setts, and the southern part of Vermont, the South East Mountain is kept separate from the Blue Ridge; but between the sources of Onion and White rivers the two chains are confusedly deli neated on our maps, and the name of Green moun tains appropriated at different places to both chains, and in the existing state of our topographical know ledge sets at defiance accurate specific classifica tion. We may remark, nevertheless, that, reason ing from all analogy, the two chains remain dis tinct. beyond the limits of the United States.
Returning to the channel of Delaware river, we are able to tract the South East Mountain in its south-westward range with tolerable certainty. In common with the general conformity in the relative courses of the chains, the South East Mountain, leaving the Delaware river, curves with the Blue Ridge and Kittatinny chains, is cut by the Schuyl kill above Pottstown, forming the boundary be tween Northampton and Bucks county; between Bucks and Lehigh, and between Berks and Mont gomery and Chester counties. Thence traversing Lancaster and York counties and cut by the Sus quehannah river between those two counties, passes from the latter into Maryland, which it traverses by the name of Parr Spring Ridge, having the val leys of Gunpowder, Patapsco, and Patuxent on the south-cast, and Monocacy on the north-west. Im mediately below the mouth of the Monocacy into Potomac, this chain rises into the remarkable Peak called the Sugar Loaf, but rapidly sinks to the gap through.which flows the Potomac; it enters Virgi nia, within which it traverses the counties of Lou doun, Fauquier, Culpepper, Madison, Orange, Al bemarle, Nelson, and Amherst, reaches James ri ver above the town of Lynchburg. Beyond James river, the South East Mountain, maintaining its general parallelism to the Blue Ridge, separates Bedford from Campbell, and Franklin from Pittsyl vania, and traversing Henry county enters North Carolina, between Surry and Stokes counties, and merges into the valley of Yadkin, having been tra versed in Virginia by the Roanoke between Bedford and Pittsylvania counties.
In North Carolina the South East Mountain is traversed by the Yadkin in Surry; thence separates Wilkes from Iredell, and once more broken by a mountain stream, is traversed by the Catawba river between Burke and Lincoln. Again bending with
the corresponding curve of Blue Ridge, it inflects to nearly due south, separating Rutherford from Lincoln, and entering South Carolina, between York and Spartanburg districts, is no longer noticed even in fragments, on the large State Map of South Ca rolina, or any other map I have seen. From the courses of the rivers, and the boundaries of the districts of South Carolina, I have no doubt of its continuity over that state to Savannah river. Of the correctness of this theory I would not speak so confidently, if I had not actually traced the same chain in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, where it rises and extends with all the boldness and distinctness of a mountain chain, and where its existence is not represented on any map I have had the good fortune to examine. Confined to its known range in the United States, from the southern border of Lower Canada to the north-western of South Carolina, its length is about 900 miles; SOO north-eastward from the Hudson, and 600 south-westward from that tide boundary.
The Blue Ridge, if we regard the as . the outer chain of their common system, is the se cond, and following with each a similar coarse of survey, we trace the former, from where it is tra versed by the Delaware river directly below the mouth of Lehigh. Rising from the Delaware, it ranges over New Jersey and New York, in a north easterly direction to the Hudson, which it reaches between West Point and Newburg. Many of the river passages through mountains have been no ticed and celebrated, and, amongst others, the pas sage of the same chain by the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, but it may be doubted, whether any other similar phenomenon on earth combines so many very remarkable circumstances as the tide stream of the Hudson through the two chains, the South East Mountain and Blue Ridge.
Profoundly deep, far below the utmost draught of the largest vessels of war, the flux and reflux of the tides rush along a tortuous channel, bounded by enormous and almost perpendicular walls of rock, rising to from one thousand to twelve hun dred feet. Passing along this truly wonderful gorge. the mind involuntarily demands, by what operation of nature has this complication of wonders been formed? But what in an eminent degree enhances the surprise and wonder is, that for many miles on both sides of these great masses of granite, both chains are comparatively humble, and the river or bay, call it by either term, fills the bottom of a chasm in a series of peaks, much broader in base and far more elevated than the ordinary extent of either chain. The highest peaks, however, arc above West Point, and belong to Blue Ridge. Of these peaks, the most elevated is Butter Hill, which rises to 1535 feet above the ocean tides; and rising directly from the river affords a very extensive land scape to the south-west and north.