In former years a little grave unmarked by any stone, but surrounded by a circle of Lilies-of-the-Valley, was pointed out to visitors as the resting place of an infant son of Jefferson Davis. The remains, however, were removed to Virginia a number of years ago.

VIII. Cabin John Bridge and the Great Falls of the Potomac

Cabin John Bridge (Pl. III-D1), and Glen Echo Park, a summer amusement resort, are reached by trolley without change, via the F St., Georgetown Line: cars marked "Cabin John Bridge" run at half hour intervals; most conveniently taken at cor. of F and 9th Sts., twenty minutes before and ten minutes after each hour. Fare to Cabin John, 10 cents. The trip may be combined with a visit to Georgetown, in which case the visitor takes the Cabin John trolley from the corner of 36th St. and Prospect Place (upper level of Georgetown Union Station).

This forms the most attractive of all suburban trolley rides around Washington. After leaving Georgetown the road steadily rises, skirting the verge of the Palisades of the Potomac, with constant picturesque glimpses of the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal far below on the L. About a mile and a half before reaching Glen Echo a good view is had of the Little Falls of the Potomac, the title of which is misleading as they are not correctly speaking falls at all, but a series of picturesque rapids.

From this point the road runs inland through farming lands until Glen Echo Park is reached. This is a sort of miniature Coney Island, the attractions including: a Military Band, free open-air moving pictures, a popular dance hall, a "Gravity Railroad," a "Jolly Jigger," a "Derby Racer," "Carrousel," etc. Admission to Park free.

Half a mile beyond, at the terminal of the line, is the *Cabin John Bridge, one of the most noteworthy achievements of stone-masonry in the world. It was constructed for the purpose of carrying across the deep ravine of Cabin John's Run, the acqueduct which furnishes Washington with its water supply from the Potomac River above the Great Falls.

All surveys, projectcs and estimates for the city's water system, including Cabin John Bridge, were prepared by Captain M. C. Meigs. The actual work was begun in 1857, and was supervised by Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War. On December 5th, 1863, the water was turned into

the aqueduct, but the Bridge proper was not completed until the following year. The present parapet walls constructed in 1872-73, are of red sandstone from the quarries at Seneca, located about seven miles further N. on the Potomac River.

Dimensions. Cabin John Bridge is 450 ft. long over all, including abutments; a single span of 220 ft. and a rise of 57.26 ft. It is 4.2 ft. thick at the crown, 20.4 ft. wide and carries a brick conduit 9 ft. in diameter. The cut stone arcn is of Quincy (Mass.) granite. The rubble and spandrels are Seneca sandstone, and the abutments are gneiss from Montgomery Co., Maryland. The total cost, including the parapet walls, was $254,000.

On the S. side of the Bridge, about half way up the curve of the arch, are two inscriptions. The eastern one reads: "Union Arch: Chief Engineer, Captain Montgomery C. Meiggs, U. S. Corps of Engineers. Este perpetuum."

The western inscription reads: "Washington Aqueduct, begun A.D. 1853. President of the United States, Franklin Pierce; Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis. Building finished A.D. 1861. President of the United States Abraham Lincoln; Secretary of War, Simon Cameron." At the outbreak of the Civil War the name of Jefferson Davis was erased from this inscription; and the space remained blank until the name was restored by Act of Congress during the second Roosevelt administration.

The names Cabin John Bridge and Cabin John Run are popularly attributed to a hermit fisherman, Captain, or Cabin John, who is said to have formerly lived at the junction of Cabin John Run with Bowie Run. Romantic imaginations have evolved a tradition identifying this obscure hermit as the husband of the "Female Stranger" whose tombstone in Alexandria (p. 521) still stands as a memorial to an unsolved mystery.

b. The Great Falls of the Potomac

The Great Falls of the Potomac, the one great phenomenon of nature within the environs of Washington, is situated two miles above the head of tide water, and fifteen miles N. W. of Washington. The river above the Falls is 143 ft. higher than tide water. The Maryland side of the Falls may be reached from Cabin John Bridge by automobile along the Conduit Road, built over the Washington Aqueduct.

The best view of the Great Falls is from the south, or Virginia, bank of the Potomac, which is reached with some

difficulty from the Maryland side across a chain bridge. The simplest route is via the Washington and Old Dominion Railway, Great Falls Division, a trolley line with terminus in Georgetown at 36th and M Sts. Round trip is 35 cents.

The average running time from the terminus is from 45 to 50. minutes. The average intervals throughout the day are 45 minutes, but during the afternoon and evening the cars run somewhat more frequently.

The trolley, after crossing the Aqueduct Bridge, turns W. through Rosslyn, Va., and proceeds in a fairly direct line through an undulating farming district, barren of interest to tourists. Its terminus is in the midst of Great Falls Park, situated just at the southern end of the Rapids below the Falls, at the point where the Potomac, divided by gigantic bowlders in three separate channels, reunites in a churning caldron, beyond which it spreads out once again into a broad and placid river.

The trolley terminus in Great Falls Park is only a few hundred feet S. of the Falls. The path winds down past the Merry-go-round, and crosses the historic *Canal planned and supervised by George Washington from 1784 to 1789.

The idea of the so-called "Washington Canal" was conceived shortly after Washington surrendered command of the Federal army. He left Mt. Vernon September 1st, 1784 (as is shown in his manuscript journal), with the intention of visiting his lands in the Ohio valley, in order to discover the shortest and best communication between the eastern and western waterways, and to facilitate, so far as possible, the inland navigation of the Potomac. On September 6th he examined at Bath a "model of a boat constructed by the ingenious Mr. Rumsey.' It was this model, "propelled by mechanism and small manual assistance against rapid currents," that encouraged Washington to undertake the colossal task of constructing a canal around the Falls on the Virginia side.

On May 7th, 1785, Washington became the first President of the Potomac Co., and retained this office until his election as President of the United States.

One part of Washington's project was to establish a manufacturing city adjoining the locks of the proposed canal at Great Falls. This city which was to be known as Matildaville, was laid out and many of the lots sold, and a few structures built. All that remains today are a few ruins and the historic Dicky's, a century-old tavern.

Midway to the river, the path crosses the old canal at the point of its present termination, where its waters flow down through the ruined foundations of Washington's Mill. North from here to the dam the canal is still in fair preservation, and row-boats may be hired for a trip upon it (25c. per hour). South of the Mill the canal is dry and partly filled in, although its former course can still be traced.

Opposite the Mill, where the lofty bluff overhangs the river, are a series of jutting crags on which a look-out plat

form has been built, commanding the best view of the Falls. On the southern face of these rocks is the following bronze tablet:

"In memory of George Washington of Fairfax County, Va. Patriot, Pioneer and Man of Affairs, who spent in developing his country the life he risked in her defence. This is exemplified in the Patowmack Company, incorporated to build the Patowmack Canal of which George Washington was first President. Placed by Fairfax County Chapter D. A. R."

The visitor should not fail to see the five *Great Locks of the Canal, for they constitute the only surviving examples of Washington's engineering skill. They are all situated S. of the mill and are reached by following the straight, broad path running southward between the dancing pavilion and the Great Falls Inn (specialty: Black-Bass-and-Chicken Dinner).

The path terminates at a field, where a sign-post marked "Dicky's" points to the historic old farm-house on the right. Crossing this field diagonally to the S. W. cor. we pass around a second cottage and through the barnyard behind. Here the path divides, one branch ascending the hill on the R., the other dipping down into the hollow on the L., leading to the locks. It is only a five minutes' walk from the farmhouse; but the path is hard to follow, winding in and out of thickets, and over and under the trunks of fallen trees.

The first of the five locks is situated one mile from the beginning of the canal; the other four follow at intervals of a few hundred feet. They are all of practically the same dimensions: 100 ft. long by 12 ft. wide; and all but the last are constructed of massive blocks of Seneca brownstone carefully dressed and fitted. The fifth lock is a cut 50 ft. deep, blasted out of the solid rock and piercing the bluff clear to the river. Note the century-old iron rings in the rocky walls, once used for inooring the canal-boats during passage through the locks.

The entire descent accomplished by the five locks from the level above the Great Falls to that below the Rapids was 76 ft. At the Little Falls, 31⁄2 miles below, there was formerly another canal, 21⁄2 miles long, with three locks and a descent of 37 ft. to tide-water. The dimensions of both canals were: 6 ft. deep and 25 ft. wide.

The financial decline of the Potomac Company began almost simultaneously with the completion of the locks. It was found that between the ice of winter, the swollen waters of spring and the drought of late summer, there were few months when boats could come and go in safety. After a quarter of a century the project of using the upper Potomac as a waterway was abandoned, and the Potomac Company's Charter and property were, in 1825, transferred to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company.

THE VIRGINIA SUBURBS

I. Mt. Vernon

Mount Vernon, the home and burial place of George Washington, is situated on the western or Virginia side of the Potomac River, sixteen miles S. of the National Capital. The grounds and Mansion House are open to the public daily, except Sundays, as follows: from November 1st to March 31st, 10 A.M. to 3.15 P.M. (closing hour 4 P.M.); from April 1st to October 31st, 9.30 A.M. to 4.45 P.M. (closing hour 5.30 P.M.). Admission fee 25 cents. Refreshments and light lunches may be obtained outside the grounds, near the railway terminal.

Routes. Mount Vernon may be reached either by allrail or by all-water routes; also by Sight-Seeing Cars (2. 21). I. The all-rail route is by the Washington-Virginia Electric Railway (p. 19) from city terminal at 12th St. and Pennsylvania Ave., via Highway Bridge, Arlington Junction and Alexandria (p. 512). Through cars to Mount Vernon run approximately once an hour, from 6.20 A.M. to 11.15 P.M. From 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. (the only hours of interest to the tourist) the cars leave on the even hour. Round trip, with stop-over privileges at Alexandria, 80 cents. Combination trip, including Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, Arlington and Ft. Myer, 90 cents.

The cars run W. on C St. and Ohio Ave.; thence S. on 14th St., passing (on L.) the greenhouses and offices of the Agricultural Department, and (on R.) the Washington Monument, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The car now curves W. through Potomac Park and crosses the river on the Highway Bridge, which has replaced the historic Long Bridge of the Civil War times. From the Bridge a fine view is had of the Potomac: and in the distance (on R.) the Lincoln Memorial, and on the Virginia side, Arlington Heights with the National Cemetery and the historic Lee Mansion; also the Radio Station at Ft. Myer; and (on L.), in the distance, the mouth of the Anacostia River, Congress Heights, and the Government Insane Asylum. After crossing the Bridge, note the numerous brick kilns on either side of the line, the manufacture of bricks and tiles being one of the leading local industries. About a mile further on we reach Arlington Junction (13 min. from Washington), where the cars for Arlington and Falls