Alexandria Daily Advertiser

For the Alexandria Daily Advertiser

If the philosophy of "A Subscriber." be so

limited as to hold a doubt of the probable existence of a Salt Mountain; a doubt must exist

whether he can be informed, by reason, of moral

and natural causes. The Subscriber says--

"If such a Mountain ever existed, how does it happen

"it has not been melted down to a level with the surrounding earth before this, by the falling of rain for

"successive ages? I have generally believed that water

"would melt salt, and if I am correct in that, there

"can certainly fall no rain on the Mountain, or else it

"must have been raised from the bowels of the earth

"by some convulsion of nature, within a short time.

"Perhaps, indeed, to make our late purchase complete

"this may have been the case within the last twelve

"months: therefore I think our Demos must acknowledge

"one of those things, either that no rain falls on

"this mountain, or it must have been of but short

"standing; or it must be covered with some substance

"not penetrable by water."

Wonderful genius! And I might say, in turn,

if your head was not made of wood or clay, it

must, at times, have contemplated on the great

order of nature, and found wonders therein greater

than the Salt Mountain: I do premise, that a

Salt Mountain may exist where rains are great

and frequent, and never a jot diminished, tho'

it be not covered by any substance impenetrable

by water.

If the Subscriber in his infant days had asked

his grandmother, why the hills and mountains

were not all washed level with the plains, seeing

that when it rains, much of the earth is washed

away from all parts of those eminences; she

might possibly have thought that he was born of

some empire, or that he was more pert than

honest.

We find that the mountains and hills all yield

a part of their substance to the large rains, which

is carried to the lowest plain or valley adjoining,

and yet we find no proof of real diminution,

even of the most barren and porous hills. No

doubt when the rain washes along the visible

parts of the Salt Mountain, it takes with it its

proportion of that substance. but to where it is

finally carried, I refer the Subscriber to Mercury

--for the Democrats do not rule the destinies of

men or mountains. But again, we cannot but

suppose that this Mountain is incorporated with

the earth, and is a part or lump in the great chain

of nature, and must be congenial with the course

and order of her motions with the earth.

If I were to conjecture, in the style that the

Subscriber seems to do, I would rather suppose

that the earthy mountains would wash level

much sooner than the Salt Mountain; for let me

tell the boy, that if he should take a lump of

earth in its natural state, and the same size lump

of salt, I think the earth would be washed away

much the soonest by pouring water alike on each.

The Subscriber pretends to think that water must

melt salt: thus is but a lame hypothesis, for salt

may remain in water and not dissolve; I have

often dissolved alum in water, and the next day

found clear and large lumps of alum formed at

the bottom of the water. I this moment reflect

that I may be writing against a school boy, or I

would say more on the subject.

A DEMOCRAT.