He was gifted by nature with an herculean frame; his manners were rough; his mind was strong, but uncultivated; and his disposition frank and fearless. In his 19th year, he was with the Virginia provincials at Braddock's defeat. He then returned and continued engaged in agricultural pursuits. When the revolutionary war broke out, he joined the American army. He was taken prisoner at Germantown, and remained so until Nov. 1, 1780. In the succeeding spring he repaired to Winchester to recruit his regiment. He was colonel-commandant of the Hampshire and Berkeley regiments at the siege of York, and nobly sustained the character he had previously won for bravery and heroic daring. After the war he returned to agriculture. He was chosen, with Gen. Stevens, to represent Berkeley county in the Virginia convention of 1788, and voted for the federal constitution. Subsequently, he was repeatedly elected to the legislature. At St. Clair's defeat, Col. Darke commanded the left wing of the army. When the Indians were making their most desperate onsets, and the whites were falling in heaps before his eyes, St. Clair at this crisis ordered Darke to charge with the bayonet, who drove the enemy from his position with his usual gallantry, but, for want of riflemen, could not continue the pursuit. The Indians again penetrated to the camp; Darke, assisted by Butler and Clarke, made a second charge, with success-recovered the artillery, and drove the enemy before them. But these exertions were not sustained, so that a concentrated effort could not be made, and the loss of officers increased every moment. Among these was Capt. Joseph Darke, his youngest son, who was mortally wounded. His father saw him fall, paused for a moment, and then rushed to the contest. The retreat soon commenced, and Darke arrived that evening at Fort Jefferson, distant 30 miles, with his son on a horse-litter, although he himself was wounded in the thigh, and liable to be overtaken and slain. A council of war was held at Fort Jefferson, and Darke urged the expediency of an immediate attack, and contended that the Indians might be beaten, because they were flushed with victory and unprepared for the contest. But he was overruled. Darke died Nov. 20th, 1801.

Charlestown, the seat of justice for the county, is on the line of the rail-road from Winchester to Harper's Ferry, 8 miles from the latter, and 22 from the former. This town was established in October, 1786, and named from the Christian name of its first proprietor, Col. Charles Washington, a brother of George Washington. Eighty lots were divided into lots and streets, and the following named gentlemen were appointed trustees: John Augustine Wash ington, William Drake, Robert Rutherford, James Crane, Cato Moore, Magnus Tate, Benjamin Rankin, Thornton Washington, William Little, Alex. White, and Richard Ranson. Col. Charles Washington resided in a log-house, which stood a short distance from the town. A fine spring marks the spot. The whole of the land in the vicinity of Charlestown originally belonged to the Washington family, and a considerable portion still remains in the possession of their descendants. Col. Chas. Washington was the only brother of Washington that settled west of the Blue Ridge. He was an amiable, modest, and dignified gentleman, and in his appearance, as well as character, resembled his illustrious brother. Braddock's army, in their route to the west, passed through this region; one mile west of the village, on the land of Bushrod Washington, Esq., there is a well dug by them.

The annexed view was taken in the central part of the village, looking down the principal street; the public building on the right, is the court-house, recently erected. The town is flourishing, and contains 11 mercantile stores, a branch of the Bank of the Valley, an academy, newspaper printing-office, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Episcopal, and 1 Methodist church, and a population of about 1,400.

Washington's Masonic Cave is two and a half miles southeast of Charlestown. It is divided into several apartments, one of which is called the lodge-room. Tradition informs us that Washington, with others of the masonic fraternity, held meetings in this cavern. In the spring of 1844 the masons in this vicinity had a celebration there.

About two miles southwest of Charlestown, near the line of the rail-road to Winchester, in an open, cultivated field, stand the remains of an ancient church. It is a venerable and picturesque ruin, overrun with vines, which, clinging in their beauty and verdure to the crumbling walls, gently wave in the passing winds. The cedar-wood of the windows is yet sound and fragrant, and on the walls are carved the names of visitors. Its age is unknown. The dead of other generations, who repose at its base, are despoiled of the monuments that once marked their resting-place, and gave token to the stranger of the names, and ages, and virtues of the departed.

The Shannondale Springs are situated upon the Shenandoah River, near the Blue Ridge. They are easier of access from the

Atlantic cities, than any others in Virginia. The cars from Baltimore will convey the traveller, in seven hours, through Harper's Ferry to Charlestown, at which place coaches run to the springs, a distance of five miles. The scenery of this place is most beautiful and magnificent, to which the engraving annexed by no means does justice.

The late Dr. DE BUTTS analyzed the Shannondale water in 1821. An examination was made from a quantity of the solid contents of both springs, obtained by evaporation. One hundred grains from the principal fountain afforded the following results :-sulphate of lime, 63; carbonate of lime, 10.5; sulphate of magnesia, (epsom salt,) 23.5; muriate of magnesia, 1; muriate of soda, 1; sulphate of iron, 0.3; carbonate of iron, 0.7. GASEOUS CONTENTS :-sulphureted hydrogen, quantity not ascertained; carbonic acid, quantity not ascertained. SOLID CONTENTS: 30 grains to the pint. TEMPERATURE: 55 of Fahrenheit.

Conformably to the preceding analysis, the Shannondale water may be properly classed with the Saline Chalybeates, a combination of the most valuable description in the whole range of mineral waters, and closely resembling the celebrated Bedford waters in composition, operation, and efficacy.

KANAWHA.

KANAWHA was formed in 1789, from Greenbrier and Montgomery: it is about 60 miles long, with a mean breadth of 40 miles. Gauley River unites with New River, and forms the Great Kanawha upon the eastern border of the county. The Kanawha then flows through the county in a Nw. direction, receiving in its passage through the county, Elk, Pocatalico, and Coal Rivers. The surface of the county is much broken. It is famous for its mineral treasures, salt, coal, &c. Pop., in 1840, whites 10,910, slaves 2,560, free colored 97; total, 13,567.

The first settlement in what is now Kanawha county, was made about twenty miles above Charleston, at Kelly's creek, by a man after whom that creek was named. One of the first settlers was Lewis Tachet, concerning whom, and the marauding parties of Indians that harassed the early settlers, there are many traditions in the Kanawha valley. He erected a fort at the mouth of Cole River, which was destroyed by a party of Indians from the towns on the Scioto, in 1788, when his family were made prisoners. In 1798 there was a fort built immediately above the mouth of Elk, on the site of Charleston. Among the earliest settlers were also the Morrisses from Culpeper, whose descendants, mostly of the first respectability, now form perhaps nearly a tenth of the population of the county. Joseph Carroll, the Clendenins, John Young, William Droddy, Andrew Donnally, Michael See, and John Jones, were also very early settlers. For many years they subsisted chiefly on buffalo, bear, elk, deer, and raccoon meat, and Indian corn broken in stone mortars. In the Indian dialect, Kanawha signifies "river of the woods." Pocatalico, a considerable tributary of that stream, signifies "plenty of fat doe."

Charleston, the seat of justice for the county, is 308 miles w. of Richmond, and 46 miles E. of the Ohio River. It is a neat and flourishing village on the north bank of the Kanawha. Charleston was named after Charles Clendenin, an early settler, and an owner of the soil forming its site. The first house of worship was built by the Methodists, the second by the Presbyterians, in 1830, and the third by the Episcopalians, in 1835. There are in the

place, 11 dry-goods and 6 grocery stores, 2 saw and grist mills, a newspaper printing-office, a branch of the Bank of Virginia, and a population of about 1,500. The district court of the United States is held at this place twice a year. Within the present century Charleston has arisen from the wilderness. Where, within the memory of man, a few scattered log-huts once arrested the traveller's eye, he now sees commodious and, in some instances, elegant buildings, the abodes of comfort and refinement. The

Kanawha is here a beautiful sheet of water, more than 300 yards wide, and is navigated by steamboats. The state turnpike, the principal thoroughfare from Richmond to Guyandotte on the Ohio, passes through the town. Fine sandstone and bituminous coal abound in the vicinity.

Terra Salis, or Kanawha Salines, is a flourishing town about 6 miles above Charleston, containing 4 dry-goods and 2 grocery stores, an extensive iron-foundry, 1 Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, and 1 Methodist church, and a population of about 800.

The Kanawha salt-works commence on the river, near Charleston, and extend on both sides for about 15 miles, giving employment, directly and indirectly, to about 3,000 persons. The view annexed was taken opposite the residence of Col. Reynolds, 6 or 8 miles above Charleston, and gives an idea of the character of the scenery in which the salt-works are situated. The description below (written several years since) is from the pen of a gentleman, now occupying a prominent office in the government of the state.

It is nearly 20 miles below the falls before the Kanawha valley widens into something like a plain, and opens its beautiful vista to the eye. The mountains which enclose it on either side become gradually depressed into hills; and, for the first time, the dense, dark volumes of smoke which ascend from the salt-furnaces, announce the