in his early days the lamp of life had shed but a feeble ray along the path which it was his destiny to travel."* He died in 1830.

The Cyclopean towers, which are near the Augusta Springs, are among the greatest curiosities of nature in the Union. Yet for many years they were known only in the vicinity, and bore the rude appellation of "the chimneys." They are about 60 or 70 feet in height. We annex the following from a published description by a gentleman who visited the towers in 1834, and gave them

* Southern Literary Messenger.

their present name. It commences with a description of the country as he approached towards them:

After passing over a hilly and picturesque country, the road opened upon a fertile valley, which though in places narrow, was of considerable length-and when seen from an elevated position, appeared like the bed of an ancient lake, or as it really is, the alluvial border of a flowing stream. The strata of limestone hills followed their usual order of parallel lines to the great mountains of our continent, as though a strong current had once swept through this magnificent valley, forming in its course islands and promontories, which are now discoverable in numerous short hills and rocky bluffs, that are either naked and barren, or covered with a growth of stately trees. It was at such a projection, that we first descried the gray summits of what seemed a ruinous castle resembling those which were raised in feudal times to guard the passes of the Rhine, or like such as are still seen in mouldering majesty on many an Alpine rock. These summits or towers, of which there were seven, lifted their heads above the lofty elms, like so many antique chimneys in the midst of a grove; but, on approaching them nearer, our pleasure was greatly increased to find them rise almost perpendicularly from the bed of a stream, which, winding around their base, serves as a natural moat to a building not made with mortal hands.

These rocks in their formation resemble the palisades on the Hudson River-but are more regular in their strata, which appears to have been arranged in huge masses of perfect workmanship, with projections like cornices of Gothic architecture, in a state of dilapidation. Those who are acquainted with the structure of the Cyclopean walls of the ancients, would be struck with the resemblance.

A narrative of the circumstances connected with the settlement of Augusta county, by the Lewis family, collected from authentic reoords, and traditions of the family, and communicated for this work by a gentleman of the county:

John Lewis was a native and citizen of Ireland, descended from a family of Huguenots, who took refuge in that kingdom from the persecutions that followed the assassination of Henry IV., of France. His rank was that of an Esquire, and he inherited a handsome estate, which he increased by industry and frugality, until he became the lessee of a contiguous property, of considerable value. He married Margaret Lynn, daughter of the laird of Loch Lynn, who was a descendant of the chieftains of a once powerful clan in the Scottish Highlands. By this marriage he had four sons, three of them, Thomas, Andrew, and William, born in Ireland, and Charles, the child of his old age, born a few months after their settlement in their mountain home.

The emigration of John Lewis to Virginia, was the result of one of those bloody affrays, which at that time so often occurred to disturb the repose, and destroy the happiness of Irish families. The owner of the fee out of which the leasehold of Lewis was carved, a nobleman of profligate habits and ungovernable passions, seeing the prosperity of his lessee, and repenting the bargain he had concluded, under pretence of entering for an alleged breach of condition, attempted by the aid of a band of ruffians, hired for his purpose, to take forcible possession of the premises. For this end, he surrounded the house with his ruffians, and called upon Lewis to evacuate the premises without delay, a demand which was instantly and indignantly refused by Lewis; though surprised with a sick brother, his wife, and infant children in the house, and with no aid but such as could be afforded by a few faithful domestics. With this small force, scarce equal to one-fourth the number of his assailants, he resolved to maintain his legal rights at every hazard. The enraged nobleman commenced the affray by discharging his fowling-piece into the house, by which the invalid brother of Lewis was killed, and Margaret herself severely wounded. Upon this, the enraged husband and brother, rushed from the house, attended by his devoted little band, and soon succeeded in dispersing the assailants, though not until the noble author of the mischief, as well as his steward, had perished by the hand of Lewis. By this time the family were surrounded by their sym. pathizing friends and neighbors, who, after bestowing every aid in their power, advised Lewis to fly the country, a measure rendered necessary by the high standing of his late antagonist, the desperate character of his surviving assailants, and the want of evidence by which he could have established the facts of the case. He therefore, after drawing up a detailed statement of the affair, which he directed to the proper authorities, embarked on board a vessel bound for America, attended by his family and a band of

about thirty of his faithful tenantry. In due time the emigrants landed on the shores of Virginia, and fixed their residence amid the till then unbroken forests of west Augusta. John Lewis's settlement was a few miles below the site of the town of Staunton, on the banks of the stream which still bears his name. It may be proper to remark here, that when the circumstances of the affray became known, after due investigation, a pardon was granted to John Lewis, and patents are still extant, by which his majesty granted to him a large portion of the fair domain of western Virginia.

For many years after the settlement at Fort Lewis, great amity and good will existed between the neighboring Indians and the white settlers, whose numbers increased apace, until they became quite a formidable colony. It was then that the jealousy of their red neighbors became aroused, and a war broke out, which, for cool though desperate courage and activity on the part of the whites, and ferocity, cunning, and barbarity on the part of the Indians, was never equalled in any age or country. John Lewis was, by this time, well stricken in years, but his four sons, who were now grown up, were well quali fied to fill his place, and to act the part of leaders to the gallant little band, who so nobly battled for the protection of their homes and families. It is not my purpose to go into the details of a warfare, during which scarcely a settlement was exempt from monthly attacks of the savages, and during which Charles Lewis, the youngest son of John, is said never to have spent one month at a time out of active and arduous service. Charles was the hero of many a gallant exploit, which is still treasured in the memories of the descendants of the border riflemen, and there are few families among the Alleghanies where the name and deeds of Charles Lewis are not familiar as household words. On one occasion, Charles was captured by the Indians while on a hunting excursion, and after having travelled some two hundred miles, barefoot, his arms pinioned behind him, goaded on by the knives of his remorseless captors, he effected his escape. While travelling along the bank of a precipice some twenty feet in height, he suddenly, by a strong muscular exertion, burst the cords which bound him, and plunged down the steep into the bed of a mountain torrent. His persecutors hesitated not to follow. In a race of several hundred yards, Lewis had gained some few yards upon his pursuers, when, upon leaping a prostrate tree which lay across his course, his strength suddenly failed, and he fell prostrate among the weeds which had grown up in great luxuriance around the body of the tree. Three of the Indians sprang over the tree within a few feet of where their prey lay concealed; but with a feeling of the most devout thankfulness to a kind and superintending Providence, he saw them one by one disappear in the dark recesses of the forest. He now bethought himself of rising from his uneasy bed, when lo! a new enemy appeared, in the shape of an enormous rattlesnake, who had thrown himself into the deadly coil so near his face that his fangs were within a few inches of his nose; and his enormous rattle, as it waved to and fro, once rested upon his ear. A single contraction of the eyelid—a convulsive shudder-the relaxation of a single muscle, and the deadly beast would have sprung upon him. In this situation he lay for several minutes, when the reptile, probably supposing him to be dead, crawled over his body and moved slowly away. "I had eaten nothing," said Lewis to his companions, after his return, "for many days; I had no fire-arms, and I ran the risk of dying with hunger, ere I could reach the settlement; but rather would I have died, than made a meal of the generous beast." During this war, an attack was made upon the settlement of Fort Lewis, at a time when the whole force of the settlement was out on active duty. So great was the surprise, that many of the women and children were captured in sight of the fort, though far the greater part escaped, and concealed themselves in their hiding places, in the woods. The fort was occupied by John Lewis, then very old and infirm, his wife, and two young women, who were so much alarmed that they scarce moved from their seats upon the ground floor of the fort. John Lewis, however, opened a port-hole, where he stationed himself, firing at the savages, while Margaret reloaded the guns. In this manner he sustained a siege of six hours, during which he killed upwards of a score of savages, when he was relieved by the appearance of his party.

Thomas Lewis, the eldest son of John Lewis and Margaret Lynn, labored under a defect of vision, which disabled him as a marksman, and he was, therefore, less efficient during the Indian wars than his brethren. He was, however, a man of learning and sound judgment, and represented the county of Augusta for many years in the House of Burgesses; was a member of the convention which ratified the constitution of the United States, and formed the constitution of Virginia, and afterwards sat for the county of Rockingham in the House of Delegates of Virginia. In 1765, he was in the House of Burgesses, and voted for Patrick Henry's celebrated resolutions. Thomas Lewis had four sons actively participating in the war of the revolution; the youngest of whom, Thomas, who is now living, bore an ensign's commission when but fourteen years of age

Andrew, the second son of John Lewis and Margaret Lynn, is the Gen. Lewis who commanded at the battle of Point Pleasant. (See his memoir in Bottetourt co.)

Charles Lewis, the youngest of the sons of John Lewis, fell at the head of his regiment, when leading on the attack at Point Pleasant. Charles was esteemed the most skilful of all the leaders of the border warfare, and was as much beloved for his noble and amiable qualities as he was admired for his military talents.

William, the third son, was an active participator in the border wars, and was an officer of the revolutionary army, in which one of his sons was killed, and another maimed for life. When the British force under Tarleton drove the legislature from Charlottesville to Staunton, the stillness of the Sabbath eye was broken in the latter town by the beat of the drum, and volunteers were called for to prevent the passage of the British through the mountains at Rockfish Gap. The elder sons of Wm. Lewis, who then resided at the old fort, were absent with the northern army. Three sons, however, were at home, whose ages were 17, 15, and 13 years. Wm. Lewis was confined to his room by sickness, but his wife, with the firmness of a Roman matron, called them to her, and bade them fly to the defence of their native land. "Go my children," said she, "I spare not my youngest, my fair-haired boy, the comfort of my declining years. I devote you all to my country. Keep back the foot of the invader from the soil of Augusta, or see my face no more." When this incident was related to Washington, shortly after its occurrence, he enthusiastically exclaimed, "Leave me but a banner to plant upon the mountains of Augusta, and I will rally around me the men who will lift our bleeding country from the dust, and set her free."

I have frequently heard, when a boy, an anecdote related by an old settler, somewhat to this effect: The white, or wild clover, is of indigenous growth, and abounded on the banks of the rivers, &c. The red was introduced by John Lewis, and it was currently reported by their prophets, and believed by the Indians generally, that the blood of the red man slain by the Lewises and their followers, had dyed the trefoil to its sanguine hue. The Indians, however, always did the whites the justice to say, that the red man was the aggressor in their first quarrel, and that the white men of western Virginia had always evinced a disposition to treat their red brethren with moderation and justice.

Weyer's Cave, is 17 miles N. of Staunton, in a hill a short distance west of the Blue Ridge. It derives its name from Bernard Weyer, who discovered it in 1804, while hunting.

Within a few hundred yards of it, is Madison's cave, described by Jefferson. This, however, has superior attractions. No language can convey an adequate idea of the vastness and sublimity of some, or the exquisite beauty and grandeur of other of its innumerable apartments, with their snowy-white concretions of a thousand various forms. Many of these, with their striking and picturesque objects, have names exceedingly inappropriate, which to mention would degrade any description, however well written, by the association of the beautiful and sublime, with the vulgar and hackneyed. Washington Hall, the largest apartment, is 250 feet in length. A foreign traveller who visited the cave at an annual illumination, has, in a finely written description, the following no

tice of this hall:

"There is a fine sheet of rock-work running up the centre of this room, and giving it the aspect of two separate and noble galleries, till you look above, where you observe the partition rises only 20 feet towards the roof, and leaves the fine arch expanding over your head untouched. There is a beautiful concretion here, standing out in the room, which certainly has the form and drapery of a gigantic statue; it bears the name of the Nation's Hero, and the whole place is filled with those projections, appearances which excite the imagination by suggesting resemblances, and leaving them unfinished. The general effect, too, was perhaps indescribable. The fine perspective of this room, four times the length of an ordinary church; the numerous tapers, when near you, so encumbered by deep shadows as to give only a dim religious light; and when at a distance, appearing in their various attitudes like twinkling stars on a deep dark heaven; the amazing vaulted roof spread over you, with its carved and knotted surface, to which the streaming lights below in vain endeavored to convey their radiance; together with the impression that you had made so deep an entrance, and were so entirely cut off from the living world and ordinary things; produces an effect which, perhaps, the mind can receive but once, and will retain forever."

"Weyer's Cave," says the writer above quoted, "is in my judgment one of the great natural wonders of this new world; and for its eminence in its own class, deserves to be ranked with the Natural Bridge and Niagara, while it is far less known than either. Its dimensions, by the most direct course, are more than 1,600 feet; and by the more winding paths, twice that length; and its objects are remarkable for their variety, formation, and beauty. In both respects, it will, I think, compare, without injury to itself, with the celebrated Grotto of Antiparos. For myself, I acknowledge the spectacle to have been most interesting; but, to be so, it must be illuminated, as on this occasion. I had thought that this circumstance might give to the whole a toyish effect; but the influence of 2,000 or 3,000 lights on these immense caverns is only such as to reveal the objects, without disturbing the solemn and sublime obscurity which sleeps on every thing. Scarcely any scenes can awaken so many passions at once, and so deeply. Curiosity, apprehension, terror, surprise, admiration, and delight, by turns and together, arrest and possess you. I have had before, from other objects, one simple impression made with greater power; but I never had so many impressions made, and with so much power, before. If the interesting and the awful are the elements of the sublime, here sublimity reigns, as in her own domain, in darkness, silence, and deeps profound."

There died in this county, in February, 1844, a slave, named Gilbert, aged 112 years. He was a servant to Washington at the time of Braddock's defeat, and was afterwards present, in the same capacity, at the surrender of Cornwallis.

BATH.

BATH was formed in 1791, from Augusta, Bottetourt, and Greenbriar. It is about 35 miles long and 25 broad. It is watered by the head-branches of the James, Cow Pasture and Jackson Rivers. Some of the valley lands are very fertile, but the greatest proportion of the county is uncultivated, and covered with mountains. Pop. 1830, 4,008; 1840, whites 3,170, slaves 347, free colored 83; total 4,300.

Warm Springs, the county-seat, is 164 miles W. of Richmond, and 40 miles N. E. of the White Sulphur Springs of Greenbriar.