about fifty miles to the northeast; and bifurcating from it westward are
Sweet's Mountain, the Altatoona Range, Great and Little Kenesaw and
Lost Mountains. All this region and thereabout is rolling and devoid of
swamps. Its salubrity, however, has been somewhat impaired by the
destruction of the forest which formerly obtained.
The Appalachian or Alleghany system of mountains, which here be-
gins, consists of a belt of several parallel ridges and valleys from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred miles wide, extending northward from
Georgia through the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and
Maryland, to Pennsylvania. It is everywhere equally well watered, and,
naturally, woodland and cultivable throughout. The elevations in
general are insufficiently continuous to cause any very decided contrasts
on the opposite slopes. The temperature and rain-fall are consequently
nearly equally distributed; the atmosphere is neither excessively moist
nor excessively dry, and with various altitudes, from a few hundred to
nearly 7,000 feet, a climate of remarkable salubrity obtains at all sea-
sons.
TOPOGRAPHY, ETC., OK TIIK ATLANTIC STATES. 1 l.">
Moreover, it is in this region that mineral waters <>r value abound.
In Georgia, those of most note are :
The Indian Springs, in Butts County, a lew miles from Macon. This
water is sulphurous, and according to analysis by J. 0. Colton one pint
contains : —
Solids. Grains.
Carbona-te of magnesia, ...... 1.982
Sulphate of potassa, ...... 3.415
Sulphate of magnesia, ...... 71.528
Sulphate of lime, ...... 7.152
84.077
Gases. Cubic inches.
Carbonic, . . . . . . . .1.000
Sulphuretted hydrogen, ..... 3.005
Nitrogen, . . . . . . . .0.156
The Merriweather Warm Springs, in the County of Merriweather,
twelve miles from Chipley, in the Pine Mountains. Temperature of
water 95°. By analysis of Prof. A. Means, one pint contains : —
Solids. Grains.
Oxide of magnesia, . . . . . .11.68
Oxide of calcium, ...... 4.64
Protoxide of iron, . . . . . . .2.14
18.46
Gases. Cubic inches.
Carbonic, . . . , . , . .1.11
Sulphuretted hydrogen, ... . trace.
Madison Springs, in Madison County ; Gordon's, in Murray County ;
and Rowland's, in Cass County, are all chalybeate waters, of considerable
repute; and the last is also said to contain saline matter. There are no
reliable analyses of these waters.
In South Carolina, the face of the country is very similar to that of
Georgia. From tide water to about eighty miles inland, it is low and
alluvial; and, to a very considerable extent, swampy and insalubrious.
But after this the land rises abruptly in successive terraces, alternating
with beautiful valleys and rounded, hills, until it reaches an average
altitude of about 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, and a climate of
rare salubrity all the year round. And for those who would seek a
greater altitude in the same latitude, the highest peaks of the Blue
Eidge Mountains, which run through the northwest part of the State, at-
tain an altitude of 4,000 feet.
Columbia, at an altitude of only 300 feet above the level of the sea,
latitude 34° north; longitude 4° 4' west, has always been a favorite refuge
for fugitives from Charleston in times of yellow fever; and with the ex-
10
146 TOPOGRAPHY, ETC., OF THE ATLANTIC STATES.
ception of malarial fevers, due to removable causes, is generally healthy.
And Aiken, 600 feet above the sea level, in the pine forest region, enjoys
a wide and deserved repute as a winter resort for consumptives. The
uplands generally, and especially the mountain slopes in the north-
western part of the State, are naturally salubrious at all seasons.
Mineral Springs of considerable value are found in various parts of
the State, chiefly chalybeate. Those of most repute are in the Abbeville
and Laurens Districts, near Parson's Mountains; some sulphurous
springs also exist in the same region: Glenn's Springs, in Spartansburg
District, and Chick's, a few miles above Greenville, are sulphurous.
Glenn's, besides the sulphates of magnesia and lime, also contain bi-
carbonate and chloride of lime. All these are pleasantly situated in the
upland and mountainous regions, and easy of access.
The Charleston artesian well waters, from a depth of over 2,000 feet,
are thermal 99°5; and, on analysis of S. T. Robinson, Jr., assistant in
the Laboratory for Analytical Chemistry of Prof. C. W. Shepard, one
U. S. standard gallon, of 231 cubic inches and weighing 58.438 grains,
on evaporation leaves a residue of 65.053727 grains, consisting of the
following ingredients : —
Organic matter and water of crystallization,
Carbonate of iron,
Sulphate of lime, ....
Sulphate of magnesia,
Chloride of magnesium,
Chloride of sodium,
Carbonate of soda, ....
Nitrate of soda, ....
Silicate of soda, ....
1.733689
.335028
.442367
.165247
.230291
11.390304
47.258488
.554260
2.524745
Silica, .361700
Total, .... 64.996119
North Carolina, along the coast, is deeply indented by sounds and
broad-mouthed rivers, with low-lying alluvial soil between, in some
places marshy and insalubrious, but in others covered by dense pine and
cypress forests, almost at the level of the sea, which, in the interior,
are salubrious notwithstanding their low level and great dampness.
Of such are the Great and Little Dismal Swamps extending from this
State into Virginia, embracing an area of 3,000,000 acres. Beyond this,
beginning at about 50 miles from the coast, is a broad undulating middle
portion, six hundred to a thousand feet above sea level, covered with
pitch-pine. This region is of exceptional healthfulness, particularly with
regard to pulmonary consumption. The pine-forest region gardually rises
into, but is lost in Western North Carolina, no part of which is less
than 1,500 feet above the level of the sea, and where the Alleghanies
reach their greatest altitude, and the loftiest peaks east of the Mississippi
TOPOGRAPHY, ETC., OP THE ATLANTIC STATES. M7
River. The range nearest the ooast is the Blue Ridge, while the suc-
ceeding groups are known aa the Black, Smoky, [ron, and CTnaka foun-
tains. The lowest points or gaps in the Black Mountains are nearly as
elevated as Mount Washington, while Mount Mitchell, according to the
measurement <>f Prof. (iuy.it. is 400 feet higher, or 6, 70"3 feet above the
level of the sea. The table land, or mountain-plateau between the ri< 1 lt»-^
consists of a scries of well- watered forest-covered or fruitful valleys and
hills, from -.'. duo to .'5,000 feet above the level of the sea. and is one of
the most picturesque and salubrious sections in the United States. The
average annual rain-fall in this region is about 44 inches. In the tide
water region it is from two to four inches more. The mean tempera-
ture at Ashville (2,250 Ceei above the level of the sea) is 48 to 50 . At
Raleigh, 60 ; Wilmington, 63.1°; Smithville, mouth of Cape Fear River,
64.13.
The mineral springs of North Carolina of best repute are the Warm
and If if Springs of Buncombe County, in the northwest part of the
State, on the western branch of the French Broad. River — a beautiful
and romantic region embosomed in lofty mountains. There are several
Bprings, varying in temperature from 94 to 104'. Analysis of the water
by Professor E. D. Smith (Sill i man's Journal, vol. viii.) gives the fol-
lowing results : —
Muriate of lime and magnesia, . ... 4 grains.
Sulphate of magnesia, .... 6 "
Sulphate of lime, ...... 14.05 "
Insoluble residue, ..... 2.05 "
Loss, ....... 1 "
Equal to 4.66 grains solids in a pint.
-.27.10
Shocco Springs, in TVarren County, nine miles from AVarrington, are
the saline-sulphur class, and aperient in their effects. "Jones' White
Sulphur and Chalybeate Springs" nine miles distant from the Shocco;
and Kittr ell's Springs, in Granville County, on the Welden railroad to
Raleigh, half a mile from Henderson, possess considerable local reputa-
tion for alterative and tonic effects, but no analyses have been furnished.
In the very heart of the pine forest and sandy soil region, near Manly,
there are also several chalybeate springs and one at least sulphurous, of
evident value, but no reliable analysis of these waters has yet been made.
In Virginia, the mountainous region is more expanded; there is a
greater variety of surface, and consequently a somewhat more varied
climate. The mean annual temperature in the State ranges from 60 to
64' in the southeastern part of the State to 48 to 52* in the valley and
mountains. The annual range from the lowest temperature in winter to
the highest in summer is about 86 : .
The following table represents the temperature and rain-fall at nine
US
TOPOGRAPHY, ETC., OF THE ATLANTIC STATES.
different places of observation in Virginia, compiled from Hotchkiss*
Summary and the Signal Service reports :
Meteorological Data.
>n
!P
C
o*j
a
, - â– -
•'c:
?- »
_- -
ra »;
— d
JjiO
= =
"Id
S.2
=.s
■£ d
â– " s
a >
d i
Temperature.
Mean temperature of year . .
Highest " '•
Lowest " "
Range of annual temperature
of year
Mean temperature of spring. .
Highest " "
Lowest " " ..I
Range " "
Mean temperature of summer
Highest " " ..I
Lowest " " ..
Range " "
Mean temperature of autumn
Highest " "
Lowest " "
Range " "
Mean temperature of winter
Highest " "
Lowest " "
Range " "
Rain-fall.
§|
IB
o
•-
^'
g
1
a
I-
i"
e
^
—
t-
c .
°«
o
.^
?a
r —
*"* In
^-
57.1 58.5! 59.5 56.8
95 100
9
86
52.4 54.
87 96
18 I 18
69 78
76.3! 78.
S.2
.11
>
s a)
— o
tad
104
104
-4
6
108
98
57.1
54.1
96
92
19
17
77
75
81.2
77.3
55.9 57.3 53.6 56.5 53.8
93 95 93 104 95
8 i 9 5 -3-4
95
57
38
58.4
90
27
63
41.3
74
9
65
m.
Annual amount ... 33. 16
Rain-fall of spring 10 . 69
" " summer 7.45
" " autumn 6.75
" " winter 8.27
100
60
40
58.
92
25
67
44.
78
6
72
104
60
44
55.3
91
20
71
44.6
74
-4
78
104
93
52
57
52
36
57.8
57.8
86
86
28
27
58
59
38.2
72
40.15 42.97 29.27
85
54.2
86
23
63
75.4
93
57
36
57.8
86
27
59
36.5
69
8
61
55.6
84 I
18
66
76.1
95
55
40
57.1
82
29
53
41.3
66
9
57
88
107
99
51.3
54.8
51
84
92
85
14
17
70
75
86
73.7
77.1
71
93
104
95
56
52
49
27
52
46
52.8 53.5
82 90
.5144.74
28
54
37
69
5
64
18
72
40.
74
77
50.9
82
18
64
35.6
62
-4
66
41.99 48.58 35.10
11.35 14.81 7.81 13.90 11.62 12.15 12.77 8.95
12.60- 8.80 7.3213.9014.30' 8.78! 8. 2811.05
6.80 8.52 8.681 9.51 9.1611.49 15.25 7.08
9. 40110.84 5.46lll.20 9.661 9.5712.23 8.02
From Old Point Comfort, Virginia, Surgeons G. E. Cooper and I. E.
Simmons, U. S. Army, on four years' observation at Fort Monroe ' re-
port the climate of this place comparatively mild. The winters are open
and the thermometer, except in extremely rare instances, does not fall
below 12° F. The duration of the cold period seldom passes seventy-
two hours, when the cold snap gives way and tne mercury indicates an
1 ''Report on the Hygiene of the U. S. Army." Circular No. 8, p. 51.
TOFOGB \i'in . i i« .. O] i BE All. ami. .- i \ i SB. I l'»
increase of temperature. The cold, however, is fell more perceptibly
than in those regions vehere it is continuous, and the Bystem is far more
susceptible to the influence of a decrease of temperature than it is in the
more nor! hern lat itudes. . . .
•• The prevailing winds of Bpringand summer are southeast and south-
west; those of fall and winter east, northeast, and northwest. The
easterly winds are the most severe in February and March, and with
them come diseases of the throat and lungs to both adults and infant-.
With the latter, croup is most common in February and early March,
when the winds, chilled by the icebergs on the banks, continue blowing
from the northeast for several successive days. . .
"Prior to the war of secession, there was but little, if any, malarial
disease, originating at Old Point Comfort proper, met with; and Fort
.Monroe was regarded as one of the few places in the tidal-water region
of Virginia exempt from its influence. So highly was the sanitary con-
dition regarded, that it became the great watering-place of the southern
states. Pleasu re-seekers in great numbers congregated here during
the summer months to enjoy the salt-water bathing; and many invalids,
who had been suffering from the effects of malarial cachexia, came to
Old Point Comfort to recuperate their health by the tonic sea-breezes,
and at the same time remove themselves from the depressing influences
of the fever poison to which, at their homes, they had been subjected.
Now, however, the sanitary status has changed, and malarial disease is
quite common here. There is no doubt of its being contracted, not only
on the point, but within the walls of the fort. Formerly the few cases
of malarial fever occurred in men who had been on picket-guard at
Mill-Creek Bridge, or in those who, gcing on leave, would get drunk,
and sleeping out during the night, expose themselves to the malarial
exhalations on the mainland. To what this change is attributable is not
certain. Two hypotheses are, with claims of reason, advanced. Before
the war occurred, the lands under cultivation were well-drained and well
cared for. They had been worked for a long time and could not be re-
garded as fresh soil, the upturning of which is always productive of ma-
larial disease in the southern States; much of the country, too, was
e 'vcred with virgin forests of pine, oak, and hickory, extending for a
short distance north and west of Mill Creek to Back River, thus inter-
cepting, to a great extent, the winds impregnated with malarial exhala-
tions which came from over the swamplands in its vicinity. This Back
River is the receptacle of the waters of many small streams and creeks
which head in the swamp-lands, and find their way through it into Chesa-
peake Bay at a distance of about a league to the north of the fort. The
lands proximate to these creeks are swampy for the greater part, the
waters upon them being only brackish. These swamps, when the tides
are low, and the rains heavy, as is often the case in late summer and
early autumn, become stagnant fresh-water marshes, and furnish all
150 TOPOGRAPHY, ETC., OF THE ATLANTIC STATES.
the material necessary for the production of southern autumnal fevers.
On the banks of, and in all the country near to Bock River, malarial
fevers have full sway during the greater portion of the year, and in the
autumn, when not promptly and skilfully treated, are very destructive
to life, as in many cases they assume the malignant type, here called
congestive remittent, corresponding to the disease so admirably described
by Professor George B. Wood, in his work on the Practice of Medi-
cine, under the name of pernicious fever. . . .
" During the war, the greater part of the forest to the northwest of
the fort was cut down, thus giving free scope to the winds blowing over
the marshes of Black River. Much, too, of the virgin laad formerly cov-
ered by forest has been turned up for cukivation. The cultivated land,
too, which was lying fallow during the five years of the war, is once more
being worked, poorly, it is true, for the drains are all filled up or
choked, and the owners, wanting as they are in labor or the means of
procuring it, cannot put them in proper order. The result of this want
of proper drainage is that the rains collect upon the lowlands, to be re-
moved only by solar evaporation. ...
" The other hypothesis — more probably the correct one, so far as
the production of malarial disease inside the fort is concerned — that large
quantities of clay and soil have been brought into and around the fort
for the purposes of repairing and filling up the roads inside and outside
of the same, as well as for repairing portions of the work. This clay
and soil were procured and brought from the west side of Mill Creek,
in the locality where malarial fevers are most common. Prior to the
spreading of this clay upon the roads, there were few, if any, fevers of a
malarial tvpe originating in the fort: but in a very short time afterwards
they presented themselves for medical treatment. Previous to this the
young children who went not outside of the walls in the night or in the
early morning, did not suffer from malarial disease, but since then, chil-
dren who seldom go outside the fort, and never off the Point, are at-
tacked with both remittent and intermittent fever. In addition to fevers
of a malarial origin, diarrhceas and dysenteries are frequently met
with, caused either by irritating ingesta, or showing symptoms and com-
plications of malarial disease. Indeed, there is scarcely any disease of
importance presented for treatment which does not in its course give indi-
cations of malarial complications, and which does not require for its treat-
ment antiperiodics of some kind or other. In early summer, which is
generally hot and humid, there is much derangement of the hepatic secre-
tions, at times excessive, producing diarrhceas; at others diminished,
running oftentimes into jaundice. These conditions, if not promptly re-
lieved, seem to be but the precursors of remittent fevers, more or less
severe. The locality is unfavorable to those affected with diseases of the
lungs."
The mineral springs of Virginia and West Virginia are of almo-t
TOPOOBAPHY, ETC., OF THE ATLANTIC STATES.
L51
every roriety, and some of them of world-wide repute; comprising
various and different compounds of sulphur, dialybeate, simple and
compound; acidulous or carbonated; saline; aluminated chalybeate, and
thermal waters.
The White Sulphur Springs are in Greenbrier county, West Va., on
Howard's Creek, in the midst of a beautiful and picturesque valley,
about six miles from the Alleghany ridge, which separates the waters
that flow into the Chesapeake Bay from those which flow into the tribu-
taries of the Mississippi River.
According to analysis of Prof. AV. B. Eodgers, one pint of this water
at 62° F. contains —
Solids.
Carbonate of magnesia,
Carbonate of lime,
Chloride of sodium, .
Chloride of magnesium,
Chloride of calcium,
Sulphate of soda,
Sulphate of magnesia,
Sulphate of lime,
Sulphate of alumina,
Protosulphate of iron, .
Earthy phosphates,
Iodine (combined with sodium or magnesium),
Organic matter, ....
Grains.
0.146
0.441
0.065
0.020
0.003
1.169
2.370
9.148
0.003
0.019
trace
undetermined
0.001
13.394
Cubic inches.
1.06
. 0.37
0.05
. 0.54
Gases.
Carbonic gas, .....
Sulphuretted hydrogen, ....
Oxygen, ......
Nitrogen, ......
Flow thirty gallons per minute.
Thirty-five miles to the north of the White Sulphur are the famous
Warm Springs, in the midst of a region described as follows by Prof.
J. L. Cabell, of the University of Virginia.
"The Hot Springs" and two other thermal watering-places, long
and favorably xnown to the citizens of Virginia as summer resorts,
namely, the " Warm Springs " and. the " Healing Springs," are in a nar-
row valley between two mountain ranges which run parallel to each
other from northeast to southwest in the County of Bath. This county
extends from the western limits of Augusta County to the Alleghany
Mountains, which is here the boundary between Old and West Virginia.
This county is very mountainous and broken, and is well watered by the
Jackson and. the Cow Pasture Rivers and their numerous tributaries.
Shortly beyond the southern border of the county, these two rivers
unite near Clifton Forge, in Alleghany Countv, to form the James River.
152 TOPOGRAPHY, ETC., OF THE ATLANTIC STATES.
Within the limits of the county, they skirt the base of the mountains on
one or both sides, but elsewhere considerable tracts of alluvial flats in-
tervene, and these constitute a large part of the most valuable arable
land of the county, though in many places, not only the subordinate
valleys, but the sides of the mountains for a considerable distance from
their base are susceptible of remunerative tillage. Among these sub-
ordinate valleys, that which derives its popular name of "The Warm
Springs Valley/' from the numerous thermal sources which it affords, is
much the most remarkable. It is bounded on the east by "The Warm
Springs Mountain," which extends for a distance of more than thirty
miles in a straight direction and without a gap, while, on the west, the
mountain barrier is a deeply serrated ridge; the gaps, which are found
at short distances apart, extending quite to the foot of the ridge, and
presenting extremely picturesque gorges, barely, in some places, wide
enough for the passage of a creek and a narrow road-bed which fre-
quently crosses the winding stream, according the exigences of the situ-
ation. These creeks, having watered the valleys into which their waters,
descend from the mountain sides, find thus a ready outlet by these nu-
merous gorges into the larger valley of Jackson Eiver. This somewhat
peculiar topographical feature insures a perfection of drainage and of
ventilation not often attainable in narrow valleys surrounded by lofty
mountains, which exclude the sun's rays for a large part of the day, and
oppose insurmountable barriers to the ready escape of the waters by
surface drainage.
" The Hot Springs lie at the head of one of these intersecting gorges,
and the stream (Cedar Creek) which results from the united body of
their waters rushes down the steep declivity of the gorge, so as to clear
the main valley within a few feet from their sources. Through this west-
ern gap the rays of the evening sun brighten the settlement long after
its disk has sunk behind the mountain in other parts of the valley.
Twelve or fifteen miles from the Hot Springs, the valley terminates
abruptly by merging into that of Jackson Eiver, but at an elevation of
about two hundred feet above the latter; and just here the Falling
Springs Creek, descending from the Warm Springs Mountain on the
east, crosses the road, and then presents the picturesque spectacle of an
unbroken fall from the top of the precipice to the valley beneath. This
miniature cataract, miniature as to breadth and volume of water, is half
as high again as that of Niagara, and was considered by Mr. Jefferson
worthy of being mentioned and described in his "Notes on Virginia."
" The average elevation of the valley above the sea-level may be stated
to be about 1,600 feet, and that of the mountain ridge at least 2,500
feet. The mountain is of white sandstone, but the rocks of the valley
are chiefly limestone, and the calcareous soil abounds in caverns. The
springs for the most part contain a notable amount of carbonate and a
small quantity of sulphate of lime; but those which issue from the moun-
["OPOGBAPHY, ETC., OP THE ATLANTIC 3TATE8. L53
tain sides a shorl distance above their base bave no calcareous matter,
or -.) little as not to be Bensibly affected by the ammonium oxalate <
Their water is inn-fan:! sparkling, and it, has accordingly been utilized
for drinking and cooking purposes as a substitute for the more highly min-
eralized water of the valley. Similar arrangements for the water-supply
exisl at the Warm Springs, live miles north, and at the Qealing Spri]
three miles south of the Hot Springs.
••(apt..!. A. August, the intelligent manager of the Hot Springs, in-
forms me that the temperature on the three lml test days of the last
slimmer \va> as follows:
July istli. is?."i. at 6 a.m., 78" F.; at 12 M.. sj ; at G p.m., 85°.
An-. L8tli, 70 3 F.; " " 76 • " " 72°.
Sept. 4th, " " " 70° F.;" " 77;" " 74°.
"The mean temperature for the three summer months registered at
the three specified hours was 6G\ After nine o'clock at night, or often
earlier, there is a depression of several degrees, but no record has been
kept of the minimum night temperature. More frequently than other-
wise, blankets are required, even by persons in strong health.
" Dr. B. F. Hopkins, who has practised medicine in this valley for
twelve years, reports that no epidemics have occurred in all that time.