"A Terrestrial Paradise"

"A Terrestrial Paradise". . , The following is an excerpt from the journal of James Elliot, a soldier at Greene Ville from 1795 to 1796. Here he describes the area before you now as he saw it then., "May 5, 1795 , This afternoon I took a walk, accompanied by two of my fellow soldiers, into the the woods west of the cantonment. In the course of our perambulations, we observed and accurately examined a huge sycamore tree, which, at a few inches from the ground, measured between 40 and 50 feet in circumference. From this enormous trunk proceeded seven considerable branches, four of which would be called large trees in the northern states., If a person could be removed in his sleep from the populous shores of the Atlantic to the western wilderness at this blooming season, he would, on waking, almost fancy himself in the midst of a terrestrial paradise. Murmuring rills, and gentle cascades, an exuberant variety of herbs, plants, and flowers fragrant and beautiful beyond description; the wild plum and many other trees, blooming tall the pride of nature; the melodious nares of numerable feathered songsters in short, all those beauties of nature, which regale the senses, delight the eye, or charm the ear, conspire to render the scene delightfully enchanting. In these sweet retreats and philosophic shades a contemplative and poetic genius might almost realize another golden age., The prairie adjacent to the encampment was now covered with verdare, and, exhibited a prospect luxuriantly, beautiful.