before they reach the middle, trembles and shakes, till pref ently down they fall, with horrid fhricks. In this dark and dreary gulf, they fuppofe, refides a great dog, fomefay a dragon, infected with the itch, which makes him per petually reftlefs and fpiteful. The guilty inhabitants of this miferable region all catch this difeafe of the great dog, and grope and roam from fide to fide of the r gloomy manfion, in perpetud torments.-Sometimes they approach fo near the lappy helds of Etkanane, that they can hear the fongs and dances of their former companions. This only ferves to increase their torment, as they can difcern no light, nor difcover any paffage by which they can gain access to them. They fuppose idiots and dogs go into the fame gulf, but have a more comfortable apartment, where they enjoy fome little light.

Ilands.] There are three islands of note 1elonging to this ftate, viz. York Iland, Long Island, and Staten Ifland.

Long Island extends 140 miles eaft, and terminates with Montauk Point. It is not more than ten miles in breadth, on a medium, ard is separated from Conneéitgut by Long Island Sound. The ifland is divided into three counties; King's, Queen's, and Suffolk.

The fouth fide of the island is flat land, of a light fandy foil, bordered on the fea coat with large tracts of falt meadow, extending from the weft point of the island to Southampton. This foil, however, is well calculated for raifing grain, especially Indian corn. The north fde of the ifland is hilly, and of a ftrong foil; adapted to the culture of grain, hay and fruit. A ridge of hills extends from Jamaica to Southhold. Large herds of cattle feed upon Hampstead plain, and on the falt marthes upon the fouth fide of the island.

The produce of the middle and western parts is carried to New York.

Staten island lies nine miles fouthweft of the city of New York, and forms Richmond county. It is about eighteen miles in length, and at a medium, fix or seven a breadth, and contains 4563 inhabitants. On the

Q

fouth

fouth fide is a confiderable tract of level, good land; but the ifland in general is rough, and the hills high. Hiftory.] See Smith's Hiftory of New York, publifhed by Matthew Carey-and Hazard's Collection of State Papers.

NEW

Miles.

Length 160
Breadth 52

JERSEY.

SITUATION AND EXTENT.

39°41°24′N. The body of

between the State lies between the meridian of Philad. & 1° E. long.

Boundaries.] B the fea; fouth, by the fea; weft, by

OUNDED eat, by Hudfon's river and

Delaware bay and river, which divide it from the States of Delaware and Pennsylvania; and north, by New York. Containing about 3,320 fquare miles, equal to 5,324,800 acres.

Civil Divifions, Population, &c.]

ed into 13 counties, as follows:

New Jerfey is divid

(Bergen

Effex

Elizabethtown

22,269

1,521

Middlefer
Monmouth

Somerfet

part of Brunswick 12,815

1,863

Morris

Morristown

17.750

775

Thirteen

211,149 12,423 Bayss

Bags, Ponds, Rivers and Cana's New Jersey is washed, on the eaft and foutheast, by Hudion's river and the ocean; and on the weft, by the river Delaware.

The most remarkable bay is Arthur Kull, or Newatk Bay, formed by the union of Palik and Hackinfak rivers.

The rivers in this ftate, though not large, are numer eus. A traveller, in pafling the common road from New York to Philadelphia, crofies three confid.rable rivers, viz. the Hackiak and Peffaik, between Berg'un and Newark, and the Raritan by Iranfvick.

Paffaik is a very cocked river. It i. navigable about ten miles, and is 230 yards wide at the furry. The cataract (or Great Falls) in this river, is one cf de greatest natural curioâties in the state. The river is best forty yards wide, and moves in a flow gentle current, unul coming within a fhoit difiance of a deep cleft in a rock which croffes the channel, it defcends and falls above 70 feet perpendicularly, in one entire fheet. One end of the cleft, which was evidently made by feme vi lent convulfion in nature, is clefed; at the other, water rushes out with incredible fwiftnefs, forming acute angle with its former dueftion, and is received into a Irge bafon, whence it takes a winding courk through the rocks, and fpreads into a broad imooth fream The cleft is from four to twelve feet broad. The filling of the water occafions a cloud of vapour to arife, which, by foating amidit the fun beams, prefents rairbows to the view, which add beauty to the tremendous fcenc. The Lew manufacturing town of Patterson is erected upon the Great Fall in this river.

Raritan river is formed by two con lerable fireanis, called the north and fouth branches; cue of which, hat its fource in Morris, the ether in Hunterdon county. It paffes by Brunfwick and Amboy, and, mingling with the waters of the Arthur Full Sound, helps to form the fine harbour of Amboy.

Bridges are erected over the Pafik, Hackinfick and Raritan rivers, on the poft road betwcen New York and 1hiladelphia. These bridges greatly facilitate the intercourfe between these two great cities. Another Lidge is contemplated over the Delaware,

at Trenton

Face

The counties of

Face of the Country, Mountains, Suffer, Morris, and

Soil and Productions.

the northern part of Bergen, are mountainous.

As much as five-eighths of moft of the fouthern counties, or one-fourth of the whole ftate, is almost entirely a fandy barren, unfit in many parts for cultivation.

This State has all the varieties of foil from the worst: to the best kind. The good land in the fouthern counties lies principally on the banks of rivers and creeks. The barrens produce little elfe but fhrub oaks and yellow pines. These fandy lands yield an immense quanti ty of bog iron ore, which is worked up to great advantage in the iron works in thefe counties.

In the hilly and mountainous parts of the State, which are not too rocky for cultivation, the foil is of a ftronger kind, and covered in its natural ftate with stately oaks, hickories, chefnuts, &c. and when cultivated, produces wheat, rye, Indian corn, buck-wheat, oats, barley, flax, and fruits of all kinds common to the climate. The land in this hilly country is good for grazing, and farmers feed great numbers of cattle for New York and Philadelphia markets.

The orchards, in many parts, of the State, equal any in the United States, and their cider is faid (and not without reafon) to be the best in the world.

The markets of New York and Philadelphia receive very confiderable proportion of their fupplies from the contiguous parts of New Jersey. Thefe fupplies confift of vegetables of many kinds, apples, pears, peaches, plums, ftrawberries, cherries, and other fruits-cider in large quantities, butter, cheefe, beef, pork, mutton, and the leffer meats.

Trade.] The trade of this State is carried on almoft folely with and from thofe two great commercial cities, New York on one fide, and Philadelphia on the other; though it wants not good ports of its own.

Manufactures and Agriculture.] The manufactures of this State have hitherto been inconfiderable, not fuflicient to fupply its own confumption, if we except the articles of iron, nails and leather. A fpirit of industry and improvement, particularly in manufactures, has, Lowever, greatly increafed within a few years.

The

The iron manufacture is, of all others, the great.A fource of wealth to the ftate. Iron work, are ere ted in Gloucester, Burlington, Sux, Morris, ad ether counties. The mountains in the county of Maris give rife to a number of streams, neceflary and conve nient for thefe works, and at the fame time furth a c()pious fupply of wood and ore of a fuperior quality. In this county alone are no less than 7 rich iron mines, from which might be taken cre futhcient to 14 ply the United States; and to work it into irou, there are two faraaces, two rolling and fitting mills, and acut thirty forges, con- " taining from two to i ur fires each. Thete works produce annually, al out 540 tons of bar ire cc tons of pigs, befides large quantities of hell w ware, f. et iron, and nail rods. In the whole State it is fuppeled, there is yearly made about 1,200 tons of bar iron, 1,200 du. of pigs, 80 do. of nail reds, exclusive of hollow ware, and various other cafungs, of which vatt quantities are made.

Although the bulk of the i.abitants in this ftate are farmers, yet agriculture has not been improved (a few inftances excepted) to that degree, which, trem long experience, we might rationally expect, and which the fertility of the foil, in many places, feems to encourage. A great part of the inhabitants are Dutch, who, although they are in general, ne. t and induftrious farmers, have very little enterprize, and feldom adopt any new improvements in husbandry; becaufe, through habits and want of education to expand and liberalize their minds, they think their old modes of taling the best. Indeed this is the cafe with the great body of the common people, and proves almoft an infu: mountable obitacle to agricultural improvements.

Charader, Aanners, and Customs.] My circumstances concur to render thefe various, in different parts of the State. The inhabitants are a colection, of Low Dutch, Germans, English, Scotch, Irth, and New Lng. kinders, or their defcendants. National at.achim.ent, and mutual convenience, have generally induced the feveral kinds of people to fet:le together in a body, and this way their peculiar national manners, customs, and character are itill preferved, especially among the Q 2