Page:Economic History of Virginia Vol 1.djvu/106

 at a glance, on account of the enormous growth of trees covering the surface of the ground. The earth at different places bore a close resemblance to bole armoniac and lemnia, and on every hand there were deposits of terra sigillata, marl, or fuller&#8217;s earth. In general, he states that the soil was a sandy black loam, interspersed at intervals with a thick slimy clay, and beds of barren earth and stone. In his voyage of exploration in the autumn of 1608, he was very much impressed by the great area of fertile land seen in the vicinity of the Indian Moysonicke on the Chickahominy, which, upon examination, he found to be composed of a light black sandy mould, while the cliffs abutting upon the river were masses of red and white clay. At the point where the main stream of the Nansemond divided itself into several branches, he discovered, in a second voyage, a wide expanse of the most productive low grounds, constituting a pleasant, beautiful, and varied prospect. In the course of his journey as a captive from Pyankatank to the residence of King Powhatan at Werowocomoco, situated on the York, he passed through a country which he describes as a desert in the sense that it was uninhabited, but in soil, extremely fertile, with the most magnificent trees covering its surface, and a crystal stream winding its way through every valley. Along the banks of the Youghtomund, one of the confluents of the Indian Pamunkey, he came upon very sandy ground, while the valley of the other confluent was distinguished for a mixture of white sand and clay. Here were to be seen the finest specimens of terra sigillata which the country afforded. In his earliest voyage in the unknown waters of the Chesapeake, Smith visited the eastern shores of the bay, and observed, among other things, that the territory of