Two near the Capitol, Square 634 coft 963 dollars, and with buildings, No. 5, 12, 13, and 14, the three laft water lots on the Eastern Branch, in fquare 667, containing together 34,438 fquare feet, at 12 cents, Alexandria. Corner of Pitt and Prince Streets, half an acre laid out into buildings, three or four of which are let on ground rent at 3 dollars per foot, Winchefter. A lot in the town of half an acre, and another in the 15,000 4,1325 4,000/ 400 μ Bath, or Warm Springs. Two well fituated, and had buildings to the amount of 1501. 800 w One covering Horfe, five carriage Horfes, four riding ditto, fix brood Mares, twenty working Horses and Mares, two covering Jacks, and three young ones, ten fhe Affes, 42 working Mules, 15 younger ones, 329 head of horned Cattle, 640 head of sheep, and a large ftock of Hogs, the precife number unknown. -My Manager has eftimated this Live Stock at 7000l. but I fhall fet it down in order to make a round fum at Aggregate Amount 15,653 530,000 Notes L Notes referred to in the foregoing Sche dule. a. This tract, for the fize of it, is valuable, more for its fituation than the quality of its foil, though that is good for farming; with a confiderable proportion of ground, that might very easily be improved into meadow. It lies on the great road from the City of Washington, Alexandria and George-Town, to Leefburg and Winchester, at Difficult Bridge, nineteen miles from Alexandria, lefs from the City and George-Town, and not more than three from Matilda-ville, at the Great Falls of Potomak. There is a valuable feat on the premifes, and the whole is conditionally fold for the fum annexed in the schedule. b. What the felling prices of lands in the vicinity of these two tracts are, I know not; but compared with thofe above the ridge, and others below them, the value annexed will appear moderate-a lefs one would not obtain them from me. c. The furrounding land, not fuperior in foil, fituation, or properties of any fort, fells currently at from twenty to thirty dollars an acre. The lowest price is affixed to thefe. d. The obfervations made in the laft note apply equally to this tract, being in the vicinity of them, and of fimilar quality, although it lies in another county. e. This tract, though fmall, is extremely valuable. It lies on Potomak River, about 12 miles above the Town of Bath (or Warm Springs) and is in the fhape of a horfefhoe, the river running almoft around it. Two hundred acres of it are rich low grounds, with a great abundance of the largest and fineft walnut trees, which, with the produce of the foil, might (by means of the improved navigation of the Potomak) be brought to a shipping port with more cafe, and at a fmaller expenfe, than that which is tranfported 30 miles only by land. f. This tract is of fecond rate Gloucefter low grounds. It has no improvements thereon, but lies on navigable water, abounding in fish and oyfters. It was received in payment of a debt (carrying intereft) and valued, in the year 1789, by an impartial gentleman, at 800N. B. It has lately been fold, and there is due thereon a balance equal to what is annexed in the schedule. g. Thefe 373 acres are the third part of undivided purchases made by the deceased Fielding Lewis, Thomas Walker, and myself, on full conviction that they would become valuable.-The land lies on the road from Suffolk to Norfolk, touches (if I am not mistaken) fome part of the navigable water of Nanfamond River; the rich Difmal Swamp, is capable of great improvement, and, from its fituation, must become extremely valuable. b. This is an undivided intereft which I held in the great Difmal Swamp Company, containing about 4000 acres, with my part of the plantation and stock thereon, belonging to the Company in the faid Swamp. i. Thefe feveral tracts of land are of the firft quality on the Ohio River, in the parts where they are fituated, being almoft, if not altogether, river bottoms. The fmalleft of these tracts is actually fold at ten dollars an acre, but the confideration therefore not received. The rest are equally valuable, and will fell as high; efpecially that which lies just below the Little Kanhawa, and is oppofite to a thick fettlement on the weft fide the river. The four tracts have an aggregate breadth upon the river of fixteen miles, and are bounded thereby that distance. k. Thefe tracts are fituated on the Great Konhawa River, and the first four are bounded thereby for more than forty miles. It is acknowledged 3 G2 by by all who have feen them (and of the tract containing 10,990 acres, which I have been on myself, I can affert) that there is no richer, or more valuable land in all that region. They are conditionally fold for the fum mentioned in the schedule, that is 200,000 dollars, and if the terms of that fale are not complied with, they will command confiderably more. The tract, of which the 125 acres is a moiety, was taken up by General Andrew Lewis and myself, for, and on account of, a bitumenous fpring which it contains, of fo inflammable a nature, as to burn as freely as fpirits, and is as nearly difficult to extinguish. 1. I am but little acquainted with this land, although I have once been on it. It was received (many years fince) in difcharge of a debt due to me from Daniel Jenifer Adams, at the value annexed thereto, and muft be worth more. It is very level lies near the River Potomak. m. This tract lies about 30 miles above the City of Washington, not far from Kittoctan. It is good farm ing land, and, by those who are well acquainted with it, I am informed that it would fell at twelve or fifteen dollars per acre. n. This land is valuable, on account of its local fituation and other properties. It affords an exceeding good ftand on Bradock's Road from Fort-Cumberland to Pittsburg; and, befides a fertile foil, poffeffes a large quantity of natural meadow, fit for the fcythe. It is diftinguished by the appellation of the Great Meadows, where the first action with the French, in the year 1754, was fought. 6. This is the moiety of about 2000 acres, which remains unfold, of 6071 acres on the Mohawk River (Montgomery county) in a patent granted to Daniel Coxe, in the Township of Coxeborough and CaroJan, as will appear by deed, from Marinus Willet and wife, to George Clinton (late governor of New York) and myself. The latter fales have been at fix dollars an acre, and what remains unfold will fetch that or more. p. The quality of thefe lands and their fituation, may be known by the Surveyor's Certificates, which are filed along with the patents.-They lay in the vicinity of Cincinnati; one tract near the mouth of the Little Miami-another feven, and the third ten miles up the fame. I have been informed that they will readily command more than they are estimated at. q. For the defcription of thofe tracts in detail, fee General Spotfwood's letters, filed with the other papers relating to them. Befides the general good quality of the land, there is a valuable bank of iron ore thereon, which, when the fettlement becomes more populous (and settlers are moving that way very faft) will be found very valuable, as the Rough creek, a branch of Green River, affords ample water for furnaces and forges. LOTS-Vız. City of Washington. r. The two Lots near the Capi. tol, in Square 634, coft me 963 dols. only, but in this price I was favoured, on condition that I should build two brick houses, three flory high each; without this reduction the felling prices of thofe lots would have coft me about 1358 dols. Thefe lots, with the buildings thereon, when completed, will stand me in 15,000 dollars at least. . Lots No. 5, 12, 13 and 14, on the Eastern Branch, are advantageoufly fituated on the water, and although many lots much less convenient have fold a great deal higher, I will rate thefe at 12 cents the fquare foot only. preciated in that rate-and was fo fettled by public authority. y. The value annexed to thefe shares is what they have actually coft me, and is the price affixed by law; and although the prefent felling price is under par, my advice to the Legatees (for whofe benefit they are inford to lie out of the money) is that tended, especially thofe who can afeach fhould take and hold onethere being a moral certainty of a from them, in the course of a few great and increafing profit arifing years. z. It is fuppofed that the Shares in the James River Company must also be productive: but of this I can give no decided opinion, for want of more accurate information. Thefe are the nominal prices of the fhares in the Banks of Alexandria and Columbia-the felling prices vary according to circumftances ;but as the ftock ufually divides from eight to ten per cent. per annum, they must be worth the former, at leaft, fo long as the Banks are conceived to be fecure, although circumftances may fometimes make them EXTRACTS FROM SYMES'S ACCOUNT OF AN EMBASSY TO AVA. (Concluded from page 366.) Military establishment of the Birmansable; thefe have been imported, at Food-Climate. THE government of Ava is extremely attentive to provide, in times of peace, for the contingencies of war; the royal magazines, I was told, could furnish 20,000 firelocks, which, if they refembled the fpecimens I faw, cannot be very formid different periods, into the country, by flips trading to Rangoon and other parts of the empire, and are either of French manufacture, or condemned mufkets from the English arfenals in India. The Birmans are very fond of their arms, of which they take great care; their gun faiths, fmiths, who are all natives of Caffay, keep them in repair, but they are in general fo bad as to be out of the power of art to render them serviceable. I faw a tolerable good fowling-piece, which they faid was entirely the work of a Caffay artificer; this, however, was allowed to be an extraordinary effort of genius; the perfon who showed it to me, prefented me, at the fame time, with a bamboo, which threw out a fhort fpear of iron, by means of a spring; it was executed by the maker of the gun, and seemed to be formed after a model of an English walking-ftick, that contained a concealed fpike; the imitation evinced much ingenuity, although the workmanship was coarfe, and the iron badly polished. By far the most refpe&able part of the Birman military force is their eftablishment of war-boats. Every town of note, in the vicinity of the river, is obliged to furnish a certain number of men, and one or more boats, in proportion to the magnitude of the place. I was informed that the king can command, at very short notice, five hundred of these veffels: they are constructed out of the folid trunk of the teak tree, which is excavated partly by fire, and partly by cutting; the largest are from eighty to one hundred feet long, but the breadth feldom exceeds eight feet, and even this space is produced by artificially extending the fides after the trunk has been hollowed. They carry from fifty to fixty rowers, who ufe fhort oars that work on a spindle; the prow is folid, and has a flat furface, on which, when they go to war, a piece of ordnance is mounted, a fix, a nine, or even a twelve pounder; the gun carriage is fecured by lafhings to ftrong bolts on each fide, and fwivels are frequently fixed on the curvature of the stern. The rowers are feverally provided with a fword and a lance, which are Blaced by his fide whilft he plies the oars. Befides the boatmen, there are ufually thirty foldiers on board, who are armed with mufkets: thus prepared, they go in fleets to meet the foe, and, when in fight, draw up in a line, prefenting their prows to the enemy. Their attack is extremely impetuous; they advance with great rapidity, and fing a war-fong, at once to encourage their people, daunt their adverfaries, and regulate the ftrokes of their oars; they generally endeavour to grapple, and when that is effected, the action becomes very fevere, as thefe people are endued with great courage, ftrength, and activity. In times of peace they are fond of exercising in their boats, and I have often been entertained with the dexterity they difplay in the management of them. The veffels being low in the water, their greatest danger is that of being run down by a larger boat ftriking on their broadfide; a misfortune which the steersman is taught to dread, and to avoid above all others. It is furprising to see the facility with which they fteer, and elude each other in their mock combats. The rowers are also practifed to row backwards, and impel the veffel with the ftern foremost; this is the mode of retreat, by means of which the artille y ftill bears upon their opponent. The largest of the war-boats do not draw more than three feet water. When a person of rank is on board, there is a fort of moving tilt or canopy, for his particular accommodation, placed fometimes in the centre, and fometimes on the prow. The fides of the boat are either gilt as far as the water's edge, or plain, according to the rank of the perfon it carries. Gilded boats are only permitted to princes of the blood, or to perfons holding the higheft ftations, fuch as a Maywoon of a province, and a minifter of state. It is by no means improbable that the ufe of gunpowder was welk known |