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Title: A New Guide for Emigrants to the West
Author: Peck, John Mason, 1789-1858
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "A New Guide for Emigrants to the West" ***
by The Kentuckiana Digital Library)
A
NEW GUIDE FOR EMIGRANTS
TO THE
WEST,
CONTAINING SKETCHES OF
OHIO, INDIANA, ILLINOIS, MISSOURI, MICHIGAN, WITH
THE TERRITORIES OF WISCONSIN AND ARKANSAS,
AND THE ADJACENT PARTS.
BY J. M. PECK, A. M.
OF ROCK SPRING, ILL
BOSTON:
GOULD, KENDALL & LINCOLN.
FOR SALE BY THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED STATES.
1836.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1836,
By GOULD, KENDALL & LINCOLN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
INDEX.
CHAP. I.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Extent--Subdivisions--Population--Physical Features--Animal,
Vegetable and Mineral Productions--History--Prospective
Increase of Population, 11
CHAP. II.
GENERAL VIEW, &C., CONTINUED.
Productions, 32
CHAP. III.
CLIMATE.
Comparative View of the Climate with the Atlantic
States--Diseases--Means of Preserving Health, 37
CHAP. IV.
CHARACTER, MANNERS AND PURSUITS OF THE PEOPLE.
Cotton and Sugar Planters--Farmers--Population of
the large Towns and Cities--Frontier Class--Hunters
and Trappers--Boatmen, 102
CHAP. V.
PUBLIC LANDS.
System of Surveys--Meridian and Base Lines--Townships--Diagram
of a Township surveyed into Sections--Land Districts and
Offices--Pre-emption Rights--Military and Bounty
Lands--Taxes--Valuable Tracts of Country unsettled, 130
CHAP. VI.
ABORIGINES.
Conjecture respecting their former Numbers and Condition--
Present Number and State--Indian Territory appropriated as
their Permanent Residence--Plan and Operations of the U. S.
Government--Missionary Efforts and Stations--Monuments and
Antiquities, 144
CHAP. VII.
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
Face of the Country--Soil, Agriculture and Internal
Improvements--Chief Towns--Pittsburg--Coal--Sulphur and
Hot Springs--Wheeling, 163
CHAP. VIII.
MICHIGAN.
Extent--Situation--Boundaries--Face of the Country--Rivers--Lakes,
&c.--Soil and Productions--Subdivisions--Counties--Towns--
Detroit--Education--Internal Improvements projected--Boundary
Dispute--Outline of the Constitution, 179
CHAP. IX.
OHIO.
Boundaries--Divisions--Face of the Country--Soil and
Productions--Animals--Minerals--Financial Statistics--Canal
Fund--Expenditures--Land Taxes--School Fund--Statistics--
Canal Revenues--Population at different Periods--Internal
Improvements--Manufactures--Cities and Towns--Cincinnati--
Columbus--Education--Form of Government--History, 193
CHAP. X.
INDIANA.
Boundaries and Extent--Counties--Population--Face of the
Country, &c.--Sketch of each County--Form of Government--
Finances--Internal Improvements--Manufactures--Education--
History--General Remarks, 222
CHAP. XI.
ILLINOIS.
Boundaries and Extent--Face of the Country and Qualities of
Soil--Inundated Land--River Bottoms, or Alluvion--Prairies--
Barrens--Forest, or timbered Land--Knobs, Bluffs, Ravines and
Sink Holes--Rivers, &c.--Productions--Minerals--Lead, Coal,
Salt, &c.--Vegetables--Animals--Manufactures--Civil
Divisions--Tabular View of the Counties--Sketches of each
County--Towns--Alton--Projected Improvements--Education--
Government--General Remarks, 251
CHAP. XII.
MISSOURI.
Extent and Boundaries--Civil Divisions--Population--Surface,
Soil and Productions--Towns--St. Louis, 315
CHAP. XIII.
ARKANSAS AND TERRITORIAL DISTRICTS.
ARKANSAS.--Situation and Extent--Civil Divisions--
Rivers--Face of the Country--Soil--Water--Productions--
Climate--Minerals--State of Society. WISCONSIN.
Boundaries and Extent--Rivers--Soil--Productions--Towns, &c., 323
CHAP. XIV.
LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS FOR THE WEST.
Colleges--Statistical Sketch of each Religious Denomination
--Roman Catholics--Field for Effort, and Progress made--
Theological Institutions--Deaf and Dumb Asylums--Medical
Institutions--Law Schools--Benevolent and Religious
Societies--Periodical Press, 334
CHAP. XV.
SUGGESTIONS TO EMIGRANTS.
Modes of Travel--Canal, Steamboat and Stage Routes--Other
Modes of Travel--Expenses--Roads, Distances, &c., 364
INTRODUCTION.
Much has been published already about the WEST,--the GREAT
WEST,--the VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.--But no portion of
this immense and interesting region, is so much the subject of inquiry,
and so particularly excites the attention of the emigrant, as the States
of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Michigan, with the adjacent
territorial regions.
All these States have come into existence as such, with the exception of
Ohio, within the last twenty years; and much of the territory, now
adorned by the hand of civilization, and spread over with an
enterprising, industrious and intelligent people,--the field of public
improvements in Canals and Railways,--of Colleges, Churches, and other
institutions, was the hunting ground of the aborigines, and the scene of
border warfare. These States have been unparalleled in their growth,
both in the increase of population and property, and in the advance of
intellectual and moral improvement. Such an extent of forest was never
before cleared,--such a vast field of prairie was never before subdued
and cultivated by the hand of man, in the same short period of time.
Cities, and towns, and villages, and counties, and States never before
rushed into existence, and made such giant strides, as upon this field.
"_Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the
earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at
once?_" Isaiah, LXVI. 8.
The rapid increase of population will be exhibited in a tabular form in
the following pages, and other parts showing that the general
improvement of the country, and the development of its physical,
intellectual and moral resources have kept pace with the extension of
settlements. And such are its admirable facilities for commerce by its
numerous navigable rivers, and its lines of canals, some of which are
finished, and many others commenced or projected,--such the richness of
its soil, and the variety of its productions,--such the genial nature of
its climate,--the enterprise of its population,--and the influence it
must soon wield in directing the destinies of the whole United States,
as to render the GREAT WEST an object of the deepest interest
to the American patriot. To the philanthropist and christian, the
character and manners,--the institutions, literature and religion of so
wide a portion of our country, whose mighty energies are soon to exert a
controlling influence over the character of the whole nation, and in
some measure, of the world, are not less matters of momentous concern.
"The West is a young empire of mind, and power, and wealth, and free
institutions, rushing up to a giant manhood, with a rapidity and power
never before witnessed below the sun. And if she carries with her the
elements of her preservation, the experiment will be glorious,--the joy
of the nation,--the joy of the whole earth, as she rises in the majesty
of her intelligence and benevolence, and enterprise, for the
emancipation of the world."--_Beecher._
Amongst the causes that have awakened the attention of the community in
the Atlantic States, to this Great Valley, and excited the desires of
multitudes to remove hither, may be reckoned the efforts of the liberal
and benevolent to aid the West in the immediate supply of her population
with the Bible, with Sunday Schools, with religious tracts, with the
gospel ministry, and to lay the foundation for Colleges and other
literary institutions. Hundreds of families, who might otherwise have
remained in the crowded cities and densely populated neighborhoods of
their ancestors, have had their attention directed to these States as a
permanent home. And thousands more of virtuous and industrious families
would follow, and fix their future residence on our prairies, and in our
western forests, cultivate our wild lands,--aid in building up our
towns and cities, and diffuse a healthful moral and intellectual
influence through the mass of our present population, could they feel
assured that they can reach some portion of the Western Valley without
great risk and expense,--provide for their families comfortably, and not
be swept off by sickness, or overwhelmed by suffering, beyond what is
incident to any new country.
The author's first book, "A GUIDE FOR EMIGRANTS," &c. was
written in the winter and spring of 1831, to answer the pressing call
then made for information of these western states, but more especially
that of Illinois;--but many of its particulars, as to the character and
usages of the people, manners and customs, modes of erecting buildings,
general characteristics and qualities of soil, productions, &c. were
applicable to the West generally.
Since that period, brief as it has been, wide and rapid changes have
been made, population has rapidly augmented, beyond that of any former
period of the same extent;--millions of acres of the public domain, then
wild and hardly explored, have been brought into market; settlements and
counties have been formed, and populous towns have sprung up where, at
that time, the Indian and wild beast had possession; facilities for
intercommunication have been greatly extended, and distant places have
been brought comparatively near; the desire to emigrate to the west has
increased, and everybody in the Atlantic states has become interested
and inquires about the Great Valley. That respectable place, so much the
theme of declamation and inquiry abroad, "_The Far West_," has gone from
this region towards the setting sun. Its exact locality has not yet been
settled, but probably it may soon be found along the gulf of California,
or near Nootka Sound. And if distance is to be measured by time, and the
facility of intercourse, we are now several hundred miles nearer the
Atlantic coast than twenty years since. Ten years more, and the
facilities of railways and improved machinery will place the Mississippi
within seven day's travel of Boston,--six days of Washington city, and
five days of Charleston, S. C.
To give a brief, and yet correct account of a portion of this Great
Valley, its resources, the manners and customs of its inhabitants, its
political subdivisions, cities, commercial and other important towns,
colleges and other literary institutions, religious condition, public
lands, qualities of soil and general features of each state and
territory named in the title page, together with such information as may
form a kind of manual for the emigrant and man of business, or which may
aid him on his journey hither, and enable him to surmount successfully
the difficulties of a new country, is the object of this new work. In
accomplishing this task the author has aimed at _correctness_ and
_brevity_. To condense the particular kind of information called for by
the public mind in a small space, has been no easy task. Nor has it been
a small matter to collect from so wide a range as five large states, and
two extensive territories, with other large districts, the facts and
statistical information often found in the compass of less than a page.
It is an easy task to a belles-lettre scholar, sitting at his desk, in
an easy chair, and by a pleasant fire, to write "Histories," and
"Geographies," and "Sketches," and "Recollections," and "Views," and
"Tours" of the Western Valley,--but it is quite another concern to
explore these regions, examine public documents, reconcile contradictory
statements, correspond with hundreds of persons in public and private
life, read all the histories, geographies, tours, sketches, and
recollections that have been published, and correct their numerous
errors,--then collate, arrange, digest, and condense the facts of the
country. Those who have read his former "GUIDE FOR EMIGRANTS,"
will find upon perusal, that this is radically a _new work_--rather than
a new edition. Its whole plan is changed; and though some whole pages of
the former work are retained, and many of its facts and particulars
given in a more condensed form, much of that work being before the
public in other forms, he has been directed, both by his own judgment,
and the solicitude of the public mind in the Atlantic states, to give to
the work its present form and features.
There are three classes of persons in particular who may derive
advantage from this Guide.
1. All those who intend to remove to the states and territories
described. Such persons, whether citizens of the Atlantic states, or
natives of Europe, will find in this small volume, much of that species
of information for which they are solicitous.
It has been a primary object of the author throughout this work, to
furnish the outline of facts necessary for this class. He is aware also
that much in detail will be desired and eagerly sought after, which the
portable and limited size of this little work could not contain; but
such information may be found in the larger works, by Hall, Flint,
Darby, Schoolcraft, Long, and other authors and travellers. Those who
desire more specific and detailed descriptions of Illinois, will be
satisfied probably with the author's GAZETTEER of that State,
published in 1834, and which can be had by application to the author, or
to the publishers of this work.
2. This Guide is also designed for those, who, for either pleasure,
health or business, intend to travel through the western States. Such
are now the facilities of intercommunication between the eastern and
western States, and to most points in the Valley of the Mississippi,
that thousands are visiting some portions of this interesting region
every month. Some knowledge of the routes that lead to different parts
of this Valley, the lines of steamboats and stages, cities, towns,
public institutions, manners and customs of the people, &c., is
certainly desirable to all who travel. Such persons may expect a
correct, and it is hoped, a pleasant Guide in this book.
3. There is a numerous class of persons in the Atlantic States, who
desire to know more about the Great West and to have a book for
reference, who do not expect to emigrate here. Many are deeply
interested in its moral welfare. They have cheerfully contributed to
establish and build up its literary and religious institutions, and yet
from want of access to those facts which exist amongst us, their
information is but partial and limited. The author in his travels in the
Atlantic states has met with many persons, who, though well informed on
other subjects, are surprisingly ignorant of the actual condition,
resources, society, manners of the people, and even the geography of
these states and territories. The author is aware of the difficulty of
conveying entirely correct ideas of this region to a person who has
never travelled beyond the borders of his native state. The laws and
habits of associating ideas in the human mind forbid it.
The chief source of information for those states that lie on the
Mississippi, has been the personal observation of the author,--having
explored most of the settlements in Missouri and Illinois, and a portion
of Indiana and Ohio,--having spent more than eighteen years here, and
seen the two former states, from an incipient territorial form of
government, and a few scattered and detached settlements, arise to their
present state of improvement, population, wealth and national
importance. His next source of information has been from personal
acquaintance and correspondence with many intelligent citizens of the
states and territories he describes. Reference has also been had to the
works of Hall, Flint, Darby, Breckenridge, Beck, Long, Schoolcraft,
Lewis and Clarke, Mitchell's and Tanner's maps, Farmer's map of
Michigan, Turnbull's map of Ohio, The Ohio Gazetteer, The Indiana
Gazetteer, Dr. Drake's writings, Mr. Coy's Annual Register of Indian
affairs, Ellicott's surveys, and several periodicals.
J. M. P.
_Rock Spring, Illinois, January, 1836._
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Its extent,--Subdivisions,--Population,--Physical features,--Animal,
Vegetable and Mineral productions,--History,--Prospective increase of
Population.
The Valley of the Mississippi, in its proper geographical extent,
embraces all that portion of the United States, lying between the
Alleghany and Rocky Mountains, the waters of which are discharged into
the gulf of Mexico, through the mouths of the Mississippi. I have
embraced, however, under that general term, a portion of the country
bordering on the northern lakes, including the north part of Ohio, the
north-eastern portions of Indiana and Illinois, the whole of Michigan,
with a considerable territorial district on the west side of lake
Michigan, and around lake Superior.
_Extent._ This great Valley is one of the largest divisions of the
globe, the waters of which pass one estuary.
To suppose the United States and its territory to be divided into three
portions, the arrangement would be, the Atlantic slope--the Mississippi
basin, or valley--and the Pacific slope.
A glance on any map of North America, will show that this Valley
includes about two thirds of the territory of the United States. The
Atlantic slope contains about 390,000; the Pacific slope, about 300,000;
which, combined, are 690,000 square miles: while the Valley of the
Mississippi contains at least 1,300,000 square miles, or 833,000,000
acres.
This Valley extends from the 29° to the 49° of N. latitude, or about
1400 miles from south to north; and from the 3° to the 35° of longitude
west from Washington, or about 1470 miles from east to west. From the
source of the Alleghany river to the sources of the Missouri, following
the meanderings of the streams, is not less than 5000 miles.
_Subdivisions._ The states and territories included, are a small section
of New York watered by the heads of the Alleghany river, western
Pennsylvania, western Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri,
Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Territory of
Arkansas, Indian Territory, the vast unsettled regions lying to the west
and north of this Territory, the Wisconsin Territory including an
extensive country west of the Mississippi and north of the state of
Missouri, with the vast regions that lie towards the heads of the
Mississippi, and around lake Superior.[1]
_Population._ The following table, gives a comparative view of the
population of the Valley of the Mississippi, and shows the proportional
increase of the several States, parts of States, and Territories, from
1790 to the close of 1835, a period of 45 years. The column for 1835 is
made up partly from the census taken in several states and territories,
and partly by estimation. It is sufficiently accurate for general
purposes.
States, parts of | 1790 | 1800 | 1810 | 1820 | 1830 | 1835
States and | | | | | |
Territories. | | | | | |
====================+=======+=======+=========+=========+=========+==========
Western Pennsylvania| 75,000|130,000| 240,000 | 290,000| 380,000| 490,000
and a fraction of | | | | | |
New York.} | | | | | |
Western Virginia | 45,000| 75,000| 100,000| 147,178| 204,175| 230,000
Ohio | [_a_]45,000| 230,760| 581,434| 937,679|1,375,000
Indiana | | | 24,520| 147,178| 341,582| 600,000
Illinois | | | 12,282| 55,211| 157,575| 272,427
Missouri | | [_b_]20,845| 66,586| 140,074| 210,000
Michigan | | | 4,762| 8,896| 31,000| 83,000
Kentucky | 73,677|220,959| 406,511| 564,317| 688,844| 748,844
Tennessee | 35,691|105,602| 261,727| 422,813| 684,822| 735,000
Mississippi | [_c_]8,850| 40,352| 75,448| 136,806| 300,000
Louisiana | | | 76,556| 153,407| 214,693| 270,000
Arkansas Territory | | | | 14,273| 30,608| 51,809
[_e_]Wisconsin Ter. | | | | | |
and New purchase | | | | [_d_]3,608| 15,000
--------------------+-------+-------+---------+---------+---------+---------
Total |229,368|585,411|1,418,315|2,526,741|3,951,466|5,381,080
====================+=======+=======+=========+=========+=========+=========
_a_ Including Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan.
_b_ Including Arkansas.
_c_ Including Alabama.
_d_ Included with Michigan in the census of 1830.
_e_: The country west of the Mississippi, and north of the State of
Missouri, was ceded by the Sauk Indians, Sept. 1832. It now contains
about 6000 inhabitants.
Probably there is no portion of the globe, of equal extent, that
contains as much of soil fit for cultivation, and which is capable of
sustaining and supplying with all the necessaries and conveniences, and
most of the luxuries of life, so dense a population as this great
Valley. Deducting one third of its surface for water and desert, which
is a very liberal allowance, and there remains 866,667 square miles, or
554,666,880 acres of arable land.
Let it become as populous as Massachusetts, which contains 610,014
inhabitants on an area of 7,800 square miles, or seventy-eight to every
640 acres, and the population of this immense region will amount to
67,600,000. The child is now born which will live to see this result.
Suppose its population to become equally dense with England, including
Wales, which contains 207 to the square mile, and its numbers will
amount to 179,400,000. But let it become equal to the Netherlands, the
most populous country on the globe, containing 230 to the square mile,
and the Valley of the Mississippi teems with a population of 200
millions, a result which may be had in the same time that New England
has been gathering its two millions. What reflections ought this view to
present to the patriot, the philanthropist, and the christian.
_Physical Features._ The physical features of this Valley are peculiar.
1. It includes two great inclined planes, one on its eastern, and the
other on its western border, terminating with the Mississippi.
2. This river receives all the waters produced on these slopes, which
are discharged by its mouths into the gulf of Mexico.
3. Every part of this vast region can be penetrated by steamboats, or
other water craft; nor is there a spot in all this wide region,
excepting a small district in the vast plains of Upper Missouri, that is
more than one hundred miles from some navigable water. A boat may take
in its lading on the banks of the Chatauque lake, in the State of New
York; another may receive its cargo in the interior of Virginia; a third
may start from the rice lakes at the head of the Mississippi; and a
fourth may come laden with furs from the Chippewan mountains, 2,800
miles up the Missouri, and all meet at the mouth of the Ohio, and
proceed in company to the ocean.
4. With the exception of its eastern and western borders, there are no
mountains. Some portions are level, a large part is gently undulating,
or what in the west is called "rolling," and the remainder is made up of
abrupt hills, flint and limestone ridges, bluffs, and ravines.
5. It is divided into two great portions, the UPPER, and
LOWER VALLEY, according to its general features, climate,
staple productions, and habits of its population. The parallel of
latitude that cuts the mouth of the Ohio river, will designate these
portions with sufficient accuracy.
North of this line the seasons are regularly divided into spring,
summer, autumn, and winter. In the winter there is usually more or less
snow, ice forms and frequently blocks up the rivers, navigation is
obstructed, and cotton is not produced in sufficient quantity or quality
to make it a staple for exportation. It is the region of furs, minerals,
tobacco, hemp, live stock, and every description of grain and fruit that
grows in New England. Its white population are mostly accustomed to
labor.
South of this line, cotton, tobacco, indigo, and sugar are staples. It
has little winter, snow seldom covers the earth, ice never obstructs the
rivers, and most of the labor is done by slaves.
_Rivers._ The rivers are, the Mississippi and its tributaries, or more
correctly, the Missouri and its tributaries. If we except the Amazon, no
river can compare with this for length of its course, the number and
extent of its tributaries, the vast country they drain, and their
capabilities for navigation. Its tributaries generally issue either from
the eastern or western mountains, and flow over this immense region,
diffusing not only fertility to the soil, but affording facilities for
commerce a great part of the year.
The Missouri is unquestionably the main stream, for it is not only
longer and discharges a larger volume of water than the Mississippi
above its mouth, but it has branches, which, for the extent of country
they drain, their length, and the volume of water they discharge, far
exceed the upper Mississippi.
The characteristics of these two rivers are each distinctly marked. The
Missouri is turbid, violent in its motions, changing its currents; its
navigation is interrupted or made difficult by snags, sawyers and
planters, and it has many islands and sand-bars. Such is the character
of the Mississippi below the mouth of the Missouri. But above its mouth,
its waters are clear, its current gentle, while it is comparatively free
from snags and sand-bars.
The Missouri, which we have shown to be the principal stream, rises in
the Chippewan, or Rocky mountains in latitude 44° north, and longitude
about 35° west from Washington city. It runs a northeast course till
after it receives the Yellow Stone, when it reaches past the 48° of
latitude, thence an east, then a south, and finally a southeastern
course, until it meets the current of the Mississippi, 20 miles above
St. Louis, and in latitude 38° 45' north. Besides numerous smaller
streams, the Missouri receives the Yellow Stone and Platte, which of
themselves, in any other part of the world, would be called large
rivers, together with the Sioux, Kansau, Grand, Chariton, Osage, and
Gasconade, all large and navigable rivers.
Its length, upon an entire comparative course, is 1870 miles, and upon a
particular course, about 3000 miles. Lewis and Clark make the distance
from the Mississippi to the great falls, 2580 miles.
There are several things in some respects peculiar to this river, which
deserve notice.
1. Its current is very rapid, usually at the rate of four or five miles
an hour, when at its height; and it requires a strong wind to propel a
boat with a sail against it. Steam overcomes its force, for boats ply
regularly from St. Louis to the towns and landings on its banks within
the borders of the state, and return with the produce of the country.
Small steamboats have gone to the Yellow Stone for furs.
Owing to the shifting of its current, and its snags and sand-bars, its
navigation is less safe and pleasant than any other western river, but
these difficulties are every year lessened by genius and enterprise.
2. Its water is always turbid, being of a muddy, ash color, though more
so at its periodical rise than at other times. This is caused by
extremely fine sand, received from the neighborhood of the Yellow Stone.
During the summer flood, a tumbler of water taken from the Missouri, and
precipitated, will produce about one fourth of its bulk in sediment.
This sediment does not prevent its habitual use by hundreds who live on
its banks, or move in boats over its surface. Some filtrate it, but many
more drink it, and use it for culinary purposes, in its natural state.
When entirely filtrated, it is the most limpid and agreeable river
water I ever saw. Its specific gravity then, is about equal to rain
water; but in its turbid state, it is much heavier than ordinary river
water, for a boat will draw three or four inches less in it than in
other rivers, with the same lading, and the human body will swim in it
with but very little effort.
It possesses some medicinal properties. Placed in an open vessel and
exposed to the summer's sun, it remains pure for weeks. Eruptions on the
skin and ulcerous sores are cured by wading or frequent bathings, and
commonly it produces slight cathartic effects upon strangers upon its
first use.
The width of the Missouri river at St. Charles, is 550 yards. Its
alluvial banks however are insecure, and are not unfrequently washed
away for many yards at its annual floods. The bed of its channel is also
precarious, and is elevated or depressed by the deposition or removal of
its sandy foundation. Hence the elevation or depression of the surface
of this river, affords no criterion of its depth, or of the volume of
water it discharges at any one period.
Undulatory motions, like the boiling of a pot, are frequently seen on
its surface, caused by the shifting of the sand that forms its bed.
The volume of water it ordinarily discharges into the Mississippi is
vastly disproportionate to its length, or the number and size of its
tributaries. I have seen less than six feet depth of water at St.
Charles at a low stage, and it was once forded by a soldier, at
Bellefontaine, four miles above its junction with the Mississippi.
Evaporation takes up large quantities, but absorption throughout the
porous soil of its wide bottoms consumes much more. In all the wells dug
in the bottom lands of the Missouri, water is always found at the depth
of the surface of the river, and invariably rises or sinks with the
floods and ebbings of the stream. Volumes of sand frequently enter these
wells as the river rises.
Its periodical floods deserve notice. Ordinarily this river has three
periods of rising and falling each year. The first rise is caused by the
breaking up of winter on the Gasconade, Osage, Kansau, Chariton, Grand,
and other branches of the lower Missouri, and occurs the latter part of
February, or early in March. Its second rise is usually in April, when
the Platte, Yellow Stone, and other streams pour into it their spring
floods. But the flood that more usually attracts attention takes place
from the 10th to the 25th of June, when the melting snows on the
Chippewan mountains pour their contents into the Missouri. This flood is
scarcely ever less than five, nor more than 20 feet at St. Louis, above
the ordinary height of the river. On two occasions, however, since the
country was known to the French, it has arisen to that height in the
Mississippi as to flow over the American Bottom in Illinois, and drive
the inhabitants of Cahokia and Kaskaskia from their villages to the
bluffs. Rain in greater or less quantities usually falls during the rise
of the river, and ceases when the waters subside. So uniform is this the
case in Upper Missouri, the region beyond the boundary of the State,
that the seasons are divided into wet and dry.
Pumice stones and other volcanic productions occasionally float down its
waters.
_Mississippi River._ The extreme head of the longest branch of the
Mississippi river, has been found in lake Itaska, or Lac la Biche, by
Mr. Schoolcraft, who states it to be elevated 1500 feet above the
Atlantic ocean, and distant 3,160 miles from the extreme outlet of the
river at the gulf of Mexico. The outlet of Itaska lake, which is
connected with a string of small lakes, is ten or twelve feet broad, and
twelve or fifteen inches deep. This is in latitude about 48° north. From
this it passes Cedar and several smaller lakes, and runs a winding
course, 700 miles, to the falls of St. Anthony, where its waters are
precipitated over a cataract of 16 or 17 feet perpendicular. It then
continues a southeastern course to the Missouri, in N. lat, 38° 38',
receiving the St. Croix, Chippewa, Wisconsin, Rock and Illinois rivers,
with many smaller streams from the east, and the St. Peter's, Iowa, Des
Moines, and Salt rivers, besides a number of smaller ones from the west.
The current of the Missouri strikes that of the Mississippi at right
angles, and throws it upon the eastern shore. When at a low stage, the
waters of the two rivers are distinct till they pass St. Louis.
The principal branch of the Upper Mississippi, is the St. Peter's, which
rises in the great prairies in the northwest, and enters the parent
stream ten miles below the falls of St. Anthony. Towards the sources of
this river the quarries exist from which are made the red stone pipes of
the Indians. This is sacred ground. Hostile tribes meet here, and part
unmolested.
Rock river drains the waters from the northern part of Illinois and
Wisconsin, and enters the parent stream at 41° 30' north latitude. In
latitude 39° comes in the Illinois, signifying the "River of Men;" and
eighteen miles below this, it unites with, and is lost in the Missouri.
Custom has fixed unalterably, the name _Mississippi_, to this united
body of waters, that rolls its turbid waves towards the Mexican gulf;
though, as has been intimated, it is but a continuation of the Missouri.
Sixty miles below St. Louis, the Kaskaskia joins it, after a devious
course of 400 miles. In 37° north latitude, the Ohio pours in its
tribute, called by the early French explorers, "La Belle Rivière," the
beautiful river. A little below 34°, the White river enters after a
course of more than 1,000 miles. Thirty miles below that, the Arkansas,
bringing its tribute from the confines of Mexico, pours in its waters.
Above Natchez, the Yazoo from the east, and eighty miles below, the Red
river from the west, unite their waters with the Mississippi. Red River
takes its rise in the Mexican dominions, and runs a course of more than
2,000 miles.
Hitherto, the waters in the wide regions of the west have been
congregating to one point. The "Father of Waters," is now upwards of a
mile in width, and several fathoms deep. During its annual floods, it
overflows its banks below the mouth of the Ohio, and penetrates the
numerous bayous, lakes, and swamps, and especially on its western side.
In many places these floods extend thirty or forty miles into the
interior. But after it receives the Red river, it begins to throw off
its surplus waters, which flow in separate channels to the gulf, and
never again unite with the parent stream. Several of these
communications are held with the ocean at different and distant points.
_Ohio River._ The Ohio river is formed by the junction of the Alleghany
and Monongahela, at Pittsburg. The Alleghany river rises not far from
the head of the western branch of the Susquehannah, in the highlands of
McKean county, Pennsylvania. It runs north till it penetrates Cataraugus
county, New York, then turns west, then southwest, and finally takes a
southern course to Pittsburg. It receives a branch from the Chatauque
lake, Chatauque county, New York. The Monongahela rises near the
sources of the Kenhawa, in western Virginia, and runs north till it
meets the Alleghany.
The general course of the Ohio is southwest. Its current is gentle, and
it receives a number of tributaries, which are noticed in the States
where they run.
The Valley of the Mississippi has been arranged by Mr. Darby, into four
great subdivisions.
1. The _Ohio Valley_, length 750 miles, and mean width 261; containing
196,000 square miles.
2. _Mississippi Valley_, above Ohio, including the minor valley of
Illinois, but exclusive of Missouri, 650 miles long, and 277 mean width,
and containing 180,000 square miles.
3. _Lower Valley of the Mississippi_, including White, Arkansas, and Red
river vallies, 1,000 miles long, and 200 wide, containing 200,000 square
miles.
4. _Missouri proper_, including Osage, Kansau, Platte rivers, &c. 1,200
miles long, and 437 wide, containing 523,000 square miles.
"The _Valley of the Ohio_ is better known than any of the others; has
much fertile land, and much that is sterile, or unfit for cultivation,
on account of its unevenness. It is divided into two unequal portions,
by the Ohio river; leaving on the right or northwest side 80,000, and on
the left or southeast side, 116,000 square miles. The eastern part of
this valley is hilly, and rapidly acclivous towards the Appalachian
mountains. Indeed its high hills, as you approach these mountains, are
of a strongly marked mountainous character. Of course the rivers which
flow into the Ohio--the Monongahela, Kenhawa, Licking, Sandy, Kentucky,
Green, Cumberland, and Tennessee--are rapid, and abounding in cataracts
and falls, which, towards their sources, greatly impede navigation. The
western side of this Valley is, also, hilly for a considerable distance
from the Ohio, but towards its western limit, it subsides to a
remarkably level region. So that whilst the eastern line of this Valley
lies along the high table land, on which the Appalachian mountains rest,
and where the rivers of the eastern section of this Valley rise, which
is at least 2,000 miles generally above the ocean level; the western
line has not an elevation of much more than half of that amount on the
north, and which greatly subsides towards the Kaskaskia. The rivers of
the western section are Beaver, Muskingum, Hockhocking, Scioto, Miami,
and Wabash. Along the Ohio, on each side, are high hills, often
intersected with deep ravines, and sometimes openings of considerable
extent, and well known by the appellation of "Ohio hills." Towards the
mouth of the Ohio, these hills almost wholly disappear, and extensive
level bottoms, covered with heavy forests of oak, sycamore, elm, poplar,
and cotton wood, stretch along each side of the river. On the lower
section of the river, the water, at the time of the spring floods,
often overflows these bottoms to a great extent. This fine Valley
embraces considerably more than one half of the whole population of the
entire Valley of the West. The western parts of Pennsylvania and
Virginia, the entire states of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, the larger
part of Tennessee, and a smaller part of Illinois, are in the Valley of
the Ohio."
_The Upper Valley of the Mississippi_ possesses a surface far less
diversified than the Valley of the Ohio. The country where its most
northern branches take their rise, is elevated table land, abounding
with marshes and lakes, that are filled with a graniferous vegetable
called wild rice. It is a slim, shrivelled grain of a brownish hue, and
gathered by the Indians in large quantities for food. There are tracts
of arable land covered with elm, linden, pine, hemlock, cherry, maple,
birch and other timber common to a northern climate. From the same
plateau flow the numerous branches of Red river, and other streams that
flow into lake Winnipeck, and thence into Hudson's bay. Here, too, are
found some of the head branches of the waters of St. Lawrence, that
enter the Lake of the Woods, and Superior. In the whole country of which
we are speaking, there is nothing that deserves the name of mountain.
Below the falls of St. Anthony the river bluffs are often abrupt, wild
and romantic, and at their base and along the streams are thousands of
quartz crystals, carnelians and other precious stones.
But a short distance in the rear, you enter upon table land of extensive
prairies, with clumps of trees, and groves along the streams. Further
down, abrupt cliffs and overhanging precipices are frequently seen at
the termination of the river alluvion.
The whole country northwest of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi, as
far north as the falls of St. Anthony, exhibits striking marks of a
diluvial formation, by a gradual retiring of the waters. From the summit
level that divides the waters of the lakes from those of the
Mississippi, through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, which is
scarcely a perceptible ridge, to the south point of Illinois at the
junction of the Ohio and Mississippi, appears to have once been a plane
with an inclination equal to 12 or 15 inches per mile. The ravines and
vallies appear to have been gradually scooped out by the abrasion of the
waters.
"The _Lower Mississippi Valley_, has a length of 1,200 miles, from
northwest to southeast, considering the source of the Arkansas, and the
mouth of the Mississippi river as extreme points; reaching from north
latitude 29° to 42°, and without estimating mountains, ridges, or peaks,
differs in relative elevation at least 500 feet.
"The _Arkansas river_ rises near north latitude 42°, and longitude 32°
west from Washington, and falls into the Mississippi at 33° 56', passing
over eight degrees of latitude.
"_Red River_ rises in the mountainous country of Mexico, north of Texas,
in north latitude 34°; and west longitude 28° from Washington, and falls
into the Mississippi in latitude 31°. They are both remarkable rivers
for their extent, the number of their branches, the volume of their
waters, the quantity of alluvion they carry down to the parent stream,
and the color of their waters. Impregnated by saline particles, and
colored with ocherous earth, the waters of these two rivers are at once
brackish and nauseous to the taste, particularly near their mouths; that
of Red river is so much so at Natchitoches at low water that it cannot
be used for culinary purposes.
"At a short distance below the mouth of the Red river, a large bayou,
(as it is called,) or outlet, breaks from the Mississippi on the west;
by which, it is believed, that as large a volume of water as the Red
river brings to the parent river, is drained off, and runs to the gulf
of Mexico, fifty miles from the mouth of the Mississippi. The name of
this bayou is Atchafalaya, or as it is commonly called, _Chaffalio_.
Below this bayou, another of large dimensions breaks forth on the same
side, and finally falls into the Atchafalaya. This is the Placquemine.
Still lower, at Donaldsonville, ninety miles above New Orleans, on the
same side, the Lafourche bayou breaks out, and pursues a course parallel
to the Mississippi, fifty miles west of the mouth of that river. On the
east side, the Ibberville bayou drains off a portion of the waters of
the Mississippi, into lakes Maurepas, Ponchartrain, Borgnes, and the
gulf of Mexico, and thus forms the long and narrow island of Orleans.
"In the lower Valley of the Mississippi there is a great extent of land
of the very richest kind. There is also much that is almost always
overflown with waters, and is a perpetual swamp. There are extensive
prairies in this Valley; and towards the Rocky mountains; on the upper
waters of the Arkansas and Red rivers, there are vast barren steppes or
plains of sand, dreary and barren, like the central steppes of Asia. On
the east of the Mississippi, are extensive regions of the densest
forests, which form a striking contrast with the prairies which stretch
on the west of that great river.
"_The Valley of the Missouri_ extends 1200 miles in length, and 700 in
width, and embraces 253,000 square miles. The Missouri river rises in
the Chippewan mountains, through eight degrees, or nearly 600 miles. The
Yellow Stone is its longest branch. The course of the Missouri, after
leaving the Rocky mountains, is generally southeast, until it unites
with the Mississippi. The principal branches flow from the southwest.
They are the Osage, Kansas, Platte, &c. The three most striking features
of this Valley are, 1st. The turbid character of its waters. 2d. The
very unequal volumes of the right and left confluences. 3d. The immense
predominance of the open prairies, over the forests which line the
rivers. The western part of this Valley rises to an elevation towards
the Chippewan mountains, equal to ten degrees of temperature. Ascending
from the lower verge of this widely extended plain, wood becomes more
and more scarce, until one naked surface spreads on all sides. Even the
ridges and chains of the Chippewan, partake of these traits of
desolation. The traveller, who has read the descriptions of central
Asia, by Tooke or Pallas, will feel on the higher branches of the
Missouri, a resemblance, at once striking and appalling; and he will
acknowledge, if near to the Chippewan mountains in winter, that the
utmost intensity of frost over Siberia and Mongolia, has its full
counterpart in North America, on similar, if not on lower latitudes.
There is much fertile land in the Valley of the Missouri, though much of
it must be forever the abode of the buffalo and the elk, the wolf and
the deer.[2]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Why the names Huron, Mandan, Sioux, Osage, and _Ozark_ have been
applied by Darby and other authors, to the extensive regions on the
Upper Mississippi, the Upper Missouri, and the Arkansas rivers, I am not
able to solve. _Osage_ is a French corruption of _Wos-sosh-ee_, and
_Ozark_ is an awkward, illiterate corruption of Osage. _Sioux_ is
another French corruption, the origin of which is not now easily
ascertained. Carver and other travellers, call this nation of Indiana
Nau-do-wes-sees. Chiefs of this nation have repeatedly disclaimed the
name of Sioux, (pronounced Soos.) They sometimes call themselves
Da-co-tah.
[2] Darby.
CHAPTER II.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
(CONTINUED.)
Productions.
_Minerals._--But few mines exist in the Lower Valley of the Mississippi.
_Louisiana_, being chiefly alluvion, furnishes only two specimens,
sulphuret of antimony, and meteoric iron ore. It is supposed that the
pine barrens towards Texas, if explored, would add to the number.
The only minerals in _Mississippi_, are amethyst, of which one crystal
has been found; potter's clay, at the Chickasaw Bluffs, and near
Natchez; sulphuret of lead in small quantities, about Port Gibson; and
sulphate of iron. Petrified trunks of trees are found in the bed of the
Mississippi, opposite Natchez. In Arkansas Territory are various
species. Here may be found the native magnet, or magnetic oxide of iron,
possessing strong magnetic power. Iron ores are very abundant. Sulphate
of copper, sulphuret of zinc, alum, and aluminous slate are found about
the cove of Washitau, and the Hot Springs. Buhr stone of a superior
quality exists in the surrounding hills. The hot springs are
interesting on account of the minerals around them, the heat of their
waters, and as furnishing a retreat to valetudinarians from the sickly
regions of the south. They are situated on the Washitau, a large stream
that empties itself into Red river.
The _lead mines_ of Missouri have been worked for more than a century.
They are distributed through the country from thirty to one hundred
miles southwest from St. Louis, and probably extend through the
Gasconade country. Immense quantities of iron ore exist in this region.
Lead is found in vast quantities in the northern part of Illinois, the
south part of the Wisconsin Territory, and the country on the opposite
side of the Mississippi. These mines are worked extensively. Native
copper in large quantities is found in the same region. Large quantities
of iron ore is found in the mountainous parts of Tennessee and Kentucky,
where furnaces and forges have been erected. Also, in the hilly parts of
Ohio, particularly at the falls of Licking four miles west of
Zanesville, and in Adams and Lawrence counties near the Ohio river. With
_iron ore_ the West is profusely supplied.
_Bituminous coal_ exists in great profusion in various parts of the
Western Valley. The hills around Pittsburg are inexhaustible. It extends
through many portions of Ohio and Indiana. Nearly every county in
Illinois is supplied with this valuable article. Missouri, Kentucky,
and Tennessee have their share. Immense quantities are found in the
mountains along the Kenhawa, in Western Virginia, and it is now employed
in the manufacture of salt. The Cumberland mountains in Tennessee
contain immense deposits.
_Muriate of Soda_ or common salt, exists in most of the states and
territories of this Valley. Near the sources of the Arkansas
incrustations are formed by evaporation during the dry season, in the
depressed portions of the immense prairies of that region. The
celebrated salt rock is on the red fork of the Canadian, a branch of the
Arkansas river. Jefferson lake has its water strongly impregnated with
salt, and is of a bright red color. Beds of rock salt are in the
mountains of this region. Several counties of Missouri have abundant
salt springs. Considerable quantities of salt are manufactured in
Jackson, Gallatin and Vermillion counties, Illinois. Saline springs, and
"licks" as they are called, abound through Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana,
Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Western Virginia. Salt is manufactured
in great abundance at the Kenhawa salines, 16 miles above Charlestown,
Va., and brought down the Kenhawa river and carried to all the Western
States. Much salt is made also on the Kiskiminitas, a branch of the
Alleghany river, at the Yellow creek above Steubenville, and in the
Scioto country in Ohio. The water is frequently obtained by boring
through rock of different strata, several hundred feet deep.
Copper, antimony, manganese, and several other minerals are found in
different parts of the West, but are not yet worked. _Nitrate of potash_
is found in great abundance in the caverns of Kentucky and Tennessee,
also in Missouri, from which large quantities of Saltpetre are
manufactured. _Sulphate of Magnesia_ is found in Kentucky, Indiana, and
perhaps other states. Sulphur and other mineral springs are very common
in the western states.
_Vegetable Productions._--_Trees, &c._ Almost every species of timber
and shrub common to the Atlantic states is found in some part of the
Western Valley. The cotton wood and sycamore are found along all the
rivers below the 41° of N. latitude. The cypress begins near the mouth
of the Ohio and spreads through the alluvion portions of the Lower
Valley. The magnolia, with its large, beautiful flower, grows in
Louisiana, and the long leaf pine flourishes in the uplands of the same
region. The sugar maple abounds in the northern and middle portions. The
chestnut is found in the eastern portion of the Valley as far as
Indiana, but not a tree is known to exist in a natural state west of the
Wabash river. Yellow or pitch pine, grows in several counties of
Missouri, especially on the Gasconade, from whence large quantities of
lumber are brought to St. Louis. White pine from the Alleghany river is
annually sent to all the towns on the Ohio, and further down.
Considerable quantities of white pine grow on the upper Mississippi,
along the western shore of Michigan, about Green bay, and along the
shores of lake Superior. The yellow poplar, (Liriodendron tulipifera) is
a majestic tree, valuable for light boards, and may be found in some
parts of most of the western states. The beech tree is frequently found
in company. The live oak, so valuable in ship building, is found south
of the 31°, and along the Louisiana coast. The orange, fig, olive, pine
apple, &c. find a genial climate about New Orleans. High in the north we
have the birch, hemlock, fir, and other trees peculiar to a cold region.
Amongst our fruit bearing trees we may enumerate the walnut, hickory or
shag bark, persimmon, pecan, mulberry, crab apple, pawpaw, wild plum,
and wild cherry. The vine grows everywhere. Of the various species of
oak, elm, ash, linden, hackberry, &c. it is unnecessary to speak. Where
forests abound, the trees are tall and majestic. In the prairie country,
the timber is usually found on the streams, or in detached groves.
In the early settlement of Kentucky there were found, south of Green
river, large tracts, with stunted scattering trees intermixed with hazel
and brushwood. From this appearance it was inferred that the soil was of
inferior quality, and these tracts were denominated "barrens."
Subsequently, it was found that this land was of prime quality. The
term "barrens" is now applied extensively in the West to the same
description of country. It distinguishes an intermediate grade from
forest and prairie. A common error has prevailed abroad that our prairie
land is wet. _Prairie_ is a French word signifying _meadow_, and is
applied to any description of surface, that is destitute of timber and
brushwood, and clothed with grass. Wet, dry, level, and undulating, are
terms of description merely, and apply to prairies in the same sense as
they do to forests. The prairies in summer are clothed with grass,
herbage and flowers, exhibit a delightful prospect, and furnish most
abundant and luxuriant pasturage for stock. Much of the forest land in
the Western Valley produces a fine range for domestic animals and swine.
Thousands are raised, and the emigrant grows wealthy, from the bounties
of nature, with but little labor.
Of _animals_, _birds_ and _reptiles_, little need be said. The buffalo
was in Illinois the beginning of the present century. They are not found
now within three hundred miles of Missouri and Arkansas, and they are
fast receding. Deer are found still in all frontier settlements. Wolves,
foxes, wild cats, raccoons, opossums, and squirrels are plenty. The
brown bear is still hunted in some parts of the western states. Col.
Crockett was a famous bear hunter in Western Tennessee, The white bear,
mountain sheep, antelope and beaver, are found in the defiles of the
Rocky mountains. The elk is still found by the hunter contiguous to
newly formed settlements. All the domestic animals of the United States
flourish here.
Nearly all the feathered tribe of the Atlantic slope are to be found in
the Valley. Pelicans, wild geese, swans, cranes, ducks, paroquets, wild
turkeys, prairie hens, &c. are found in different states, especially on
the Mississippi.
_Reptiles._ The rattlesnake, copperhead snake, moccasin snake, bull
snake, and the various snakes usually found in the Atlantic states are
here. Of the venomous kinds, multitudes are destroyed by the deer and
swine. Chameleons and scorpions exist in the Lower Valley, and lizards
everywhere. The alligator, an unwieldy and bulky animal, is found in the
rivers and lakes south of 34° north latitude. He sometimes destroys
calves and pigs, and very rarely, even young children.
_History._--The honor of the discovery of this country is disputed by
the Spanish, English, and French. It is probable that Sebastian Cabot
sailed along the shores of what was afterwards called Florida, but a few
years after Columbus discovered America. Spanish authors claim that Juan
Ponce de Leon discovered and named Florida, in 1512. Narvaez, another
Spanish commander, having obtained a grant of Florida in 1528, landed
four or five hundred men, but was lost by shipwreck near the mouth of
the Mississippi. Ferdinand de Soto was probably the first white man who
saw the Mississippi river. He is said to have marched 1000 men from
Florida, through the Chickasaw country, to the Mississippi, near the
mouth of Red river, where he took sick and died. His men returned. Some
writers suppose De Soto travelled as far north as Kentucky, or the Ohio
river. This is not probable.
The French were the first to explore and settle the West, and they held
jurisdiction over the country of Illinois for 80 years, when it fell
into the hands of the British upon the conquest of Canada.
In 1564, Florida was settled by a colony of Huguenots, under Admiral
Coligny, who were afterwards massacred by the Spaniards, because they
were Protestant _heretics_.
In 1608, Admiral Champlaine founded Quebec, from which French
settlements spread through the Canadas.
About 1670, the notion prevailed amongst the French that visited Canada,
that a western passage to the Pacific ocean existed. They learned from
the Indians that far in the west there was a great river; but of its
course or termination they could learn nothing. They supposed that this
river communicated with the western ocean.
To investigate this question, P. Marquette, a Jesuit, and Joliet, were
appointed by M. Talon, the Intendant of New France. Marquette was well
acquainted with the Canadas, and had great influence with the Indian
tribes. They conducted an expedition through the lakes, up Green bay and
Fox river, to the Portage, where it approaches the Wisconsin, to which
they passed, and descended that river to the Mississippi, which they
reached the 17th of June, 1673. They found a river much larger and
deeper than it had been represented by the Indians. Their regular
journal was lost on their return to Canada; but from the account,
afterwards given by Joliet, they found the natives friendly, and that a
tradition existed amongst them of the residence of a "Mon-e-to," or
spirit, near the mouth of the Missouri, which they could not pass. They
turned their course up the Illinois, and were highly delighted with the
placid stream, and the woodlands and prairies through which it flowed.
They were hospitably received and kindly treated by the Illinois, a
numerous nation of Indians who were destitute of the cruelty of savages.
The word "Illinois," or "Illini," is said by Hennepin, to signify a
"_full grown man_." This nation appears to have originally possessed the
Illinois country, and also a portion west of the Mississippi. The nation
was made up of eight tribes:--the Miamies, Michigamies, Mascotins,
Kaskaskias, Kahokias, Peorias, Piankeshaws, and Tau-mar-waus.
Marquette continued among these Indians with a view to christianize
them; but Joliet returned to Canada and reported the discoveries he had
made.
Several years elapsed before any one attempted to follow up the
discoveries of Marquette and Joliet. M. de La Salle, a native of
Normandy, but who had resided many years in Canada, was the first to
extend these early discoveries. He was a man of intelligence, talents,
enterprise, and perseverance. After obtaining the sanction of the king
of France, he set out on his projected expedition, in 1678, from
Frontenac, with Chevalier Tonti, his lieutenant, and Father Hennepin, a
Jesuit missionary, and thirty or forty men.
He spent about one year in exploring the country bordering on the lakes,
and in selecting positions for forts and trading posts, to secure the
Indian trade to the French. After he had built a fort at Niagara, and
fitted out a small vessel, he sailed through the lakes to Green bay,
then called the "Bay of Puants." From thence he proceeded with his men
in canoes towards the south end of lake Michigan, and arrived at the
mouth of the "river of the Miamis" in November, 1679. This is thought to
be the Milwaukee in Wisconsin Territory. Here he built a fort, left
eight or ten men, and passed with the rest of his company across the
country to the waters of the Illinois river, and descended that river a
considerable distance, when he was stopped for want of supplies. This
was occasioned by the loss of a boat which had been sent from his post
on Green bay. He was now compelled by necessity to build a fort, which,
on account of the anxiety of mind he experienced, was called
_Creve-coeur_, or broken heart.
The position of this fort cannot now be ascertained; but from some
appearances, it is thought to have been near Spring bay, in the
northeast part of Tazewell county.
At this period the Illinois were engaged in a war with the Iroquois, a
numerous, warlike, and cruel nation, with whom La Salle had traded,
while on the borders of Canada. The former, according to Indian notions
of friendship, expected assistance from the French; but the interests
and safety of La Salle depended upon terminating this warfare, and to
this object he directed his strenuous efforts. The suspicious Illinois
construed this into treachery, which was strengthened by the malicious
and perfidious conduct of some of his own men, and pronounced upon him
the sentence of death. Immediately he formed and executed the bold and
hazardous project of going alone and unarmed to the camp of the
Illinois, and vindicating his conduct. He declared his innocence of the
charges, and demanded the author. He urged that the war should be
terminated, and that the hostile nations should live in peace.
The coolness, bravery, and eloquence of La Salle filled the Indians with
astonishment, and entirely changed their purposes. The calumet was
smoked, presents mutually exchanged, and a treaty of amity concluded.
The original project of discovery was now pursued. Father Hennepin
started on the 28th of February, 1680, and having passed down the
Illinois, ascended the Mississippi to the falls of St. Anthony. Here he
was taken prisoner, robbed, and carried to the Indian villages, from
which he made his escape, returned to Canada by the way of the
Wisconsin, and from thence to France, where he published an account of
his travels.
La Salle visited Canada to obtain supplies, returned to Creve-coeur,
and shortly after descended the Illinois, and then the Mississippi,
where he built one or two forts on its banks, and took possession of the
country in the name of the king of France, and in honor of him called it
_Louisiana_.
One of these forts is thought to have been built on the west side of the
river, between St. Louis and Carondalet.
After descending the Mississippi to its mouth, he returned to the
Illinois, and on his way back left some of his companions to occupy the
country. This is supposed to have been the commencement of the villages
of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, in 1683. La Salle went to France, fitted out
an expedition to form a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi, sailed
to the gulf of Mexico, but not being able to find the mouths of that
river, he commenced an overland journey to his fort on the Illinois. On
this journey he was basely assassinated by two of his own men.[3]
After the death of La Salle, no attempts to discover the mouth of the
Mississippi were made till about 1699, but the settlements in the
Illinois country were gradually increased by emigrants from Canada.
In 1712, the king of France, by letters patent, gave the whole country
of Louisiana to M. Crosat, with the commerce of the country, with the
profits of all the mines, reserving for his own use one fifth of the
gold and silver. After expending large sums in digging and exploring for
the precious metals without success, Crosat gave up his privilege to the
king, in 1717. Soon after, the colony was granted to the Mississippi
company, projected by Mr. Law, which took possession of Louisiana, and
appointed M. Bienville governor. In 1719, La Harpe commanded a fort with
French troops, not far from the mouth of the Missouri river.
Shortly after, several forts were built within the present limits of
Illinois, of which fort Chartres was the most considerable. By these
means a chain of communication was formed from Canada to the mouth of
the Mississippi.
In 1699, M. Ibberville arrived in the gulf of Mexico with two frigates,
and in March ascended the river in a felucca one hundred leagues, and
returned by the bayou or outlet that bears his name, through lake
Ponchartrain to the gulf. He planted his colony at Biloxi, a healthy but
sterile spot between the Mobile and Mississippi rivers, and built a
fortification. During several succeeding years much exploring was done,
and considerable trade carried on with the Indians for peltries, yet
these expeditions were a source of much expense to France.
In January, 1702, the colony at Mobile was planted; several other
settlements were soon after formed. The Catholics also commenced several
missions amongst the Indians. Difficulties frequently occurred with
their Spanish neighbors in Florida and Mexico.
M. Ibberville died in 1706, and M. Bienville succeeded him in the
government of Louisiana for many years. The city of New Orleans was
founded, during his administration, in 1719. It is situated on the east
bank of the Mississippi, one hundred and five miles from its mouth. From
1723 to 1730, the French had exterminating wars with the Natchez, a
powerful nation of Indians. They had killed 700 French in 1723, and
about 1730 the French exterminated the nation. Various wars took place
subsequently with the Spanish and English. But over most of the Indians
along the Mississippi, these French colonists gained extraordinary
influence.--During this period emigrants continued to arrive from
France, so that the colonists rapidly increased in numbers.
The Mississippi land scheme, or "bubble" as it was called, originated
with the celebrated John Law in 1717, which soon burst and spread ruin
throughout the monied interests of France. The amount of stock created,
was said to equal 310,000,000 of dollars. The whole proved an entire
failure, but it served to increase greatly the population of Louisiana,
so that from 1736, the colonies in the Lower Valley prospered.
In 1754, the war commenced between France and England relative to the
boundaries of the Canadas. At that period France claimed all the
countries west of the Alleghany mountains, while England on the other
hand had granted to Virginia, Connecticut and other colonies, charters
which extended across the continent to the "South Sea," as the Pacific
ocean was then called. A grant also was made by Virginia, and the crown
of Great Britain, of 600,000 acres to a company called "The Ohio
Company." The governor of New France, as Canada and Louisiana was then
called, protested, erected forts on lake Erie, and at the present site
of Pittsburg, and enlisted the Indians against the English and
Americans. Pittsburg was then called Fort du Quesne. Then followed
Braddock's war, as this contest is called in the west,--the mission of
Major (afterward General) Washington,--the defeat of Braddock; and
finally by the memorable victory of Wolfe at Quebec, and the lesser ones
at Niagara and Ticonderoga, and by victories of the English fleet on the
ocean, the French were humbled, and at the treaty of Paris, in 1763,
surrendered all their claims to the country east of the Mississippi.
Towards the close of the war, however, France, by a secret treaty, ceded
all the country west of the Mississippi, and including New Orleans, to
Spain, who held possession till 1803, when it was delivered to the
French government under Napoleon, and by him ceded to the United States
for 15,000,000 of dollars.
The English held possession of the military posts, and exercised
jurisdiction over the country of Illinois, and the adjacent regions,
till 1778, during the revolutionary war; when by a secret expedition,
without direct legislative sanction, but by a most enterprising,
skilful, and hazardous military manoeuvre, the posts of Kaskaskia,
Cahokia, Fort Chartres and Vincennes were captured by Gen. GEORGE
ROGERS CLARK, with a small force of volunteer Americans, and that
portion of the Valley fell under the jurisdiction of Virginia.
The legislature of Virginia sanctioned the expedition of Clark, which
the Executive, Patrick Henry and his council, with Thomas Jefferson,
George Wythe, and George Mason, by written instructions, had agreed
should be done, and a county called "Illinois" was organized the same
year.
In 1784, Virginia, in conjunction with other states, ceded all claims to
the Great West, to the United States, reserving certain tracts for the
payment of revolutionary claims. This cession laid the foundation for
five new states northwest of Ohio, when each district should have 60,000
inhabitants, and even a less number, by consent of Congress. Two
restrictions were peremptorily enjoined,--that each state should adopt a
constitution with a republican form of government, and that slavery or
involuntary servitude, should be forever prohibited.
It is unnecessary here to enter into details of the settlement of each
particular state,--the incessant attacks from the Indians,--the border
wars that ensued,--the adventures of Boone and his associates in
settling Kentucky,--the unfortunate campaigns of Harmar and St.
Clair,--the victorious one of Wayne,--or the reminiscences and events of
the war of 1812, and its termination in 1815. Some historical notices of
each state may be found in their proper place.
_Prospective increase of Population._ For a long period, in the states
of the west, the increase of population was slow, and retarded by
several causes. Difficulties of a formidable character had to be
surmounted. The footsteps of the American emigrants were everywhere
drenched in blood, shed by infuriated savage foes, and before 1790 more
than 5,000 persons had been murdered, or taken captive and lost to the
settlements. "It has been estimated, that in the short space of seven
years, from 1783 to 1790, more than fifteen hundred of the inhabitants
of Kentucky were either massacred or carried away into a captivity worse
than death, by the Indians; and an equal number from Western
Pennsylvania and Virginia, in the same period, met with a similar fate.
The settlers on the frontiers were almost constantly, for a period of
forty years, harassed either by actual attacks of the savages, or the
daily expectation of them. The tomahawk and the scalping knife, were the
objects of their fears by day and by night."[4]
Hence, in suggesting reasons showing why the population of this Valley
must increase in future in a far greater ratio than in the past, it will
appear:
1. That the most perfect security is now enjoyed by all emigrants, both
for their families and property.
By the wise and beneficent arrangement of government, the Indian tribes
have nearly all removed to the Territory specially allotted for their
occupancy west of Missouri and Arkansas. The grand error committed in
past times in relation to the Indians, and which has been the source of
incalculable evils to both races, has been the want of definite, fixed
and permanent lines of demarcation betwixt them. It will be seen under
the proper head, that a system of measures is now in operation that will
not only preserve peace between the frontier settlements and the Indian
tribes, but that to a great extent, they are becoming initiated into the
habits of civilized life. There is now no more danger to the population
of these states and territories from _Indian_ depredations, than to the
people of the Atlantic states.
2. The increased facilities of emigration, and the advantage of sure and
certain markets for every species of production, furnishes a second
reason why population will increase in the western Valley beyond any
former period.
Before the purchase of Louisiana, the western people had no outlet for
their produce, and the chief mode of obtaining every description of
merchandize,--even salt and iron,--was by the slow and expensive method
of transportation by wagons and pack-horses, across almost impassible
mountains and extremely difficult roads. Now, every convenience and
luxury of life is carried with comparative ease, to every town and
settlement throughout the Valley, and every species of produce is sent
off in various directions, to every port on earth if necessary. And
these facilities are multiplying and increasing every hour: Turnpike
roads, rail roads, canals, and steamboat navigation have already
provided such facilities for removing from the Atlantic to the Western
States, that no family desirous of removing, need hesitate or make a
single inquiry as to facilities of getting to this country.
3. The facilities of trade and intercourse between the different
sections of the Valley, are now superior to most countries on earth, and
are increasing every year. And no country on earth admits of such
indefinite improvement either by land or water. More than twenty
thousand miles of actual steamboat navigation, with several hundred
miles of canal navigation, constructed or commenced, attest the truth of
this statement. The first steamboat on the western waters was built at
Pittsburg in 1811, and not more than seven or eight had been built, when
the writer emigrated to this country in 1817. At this period, (January
1836,) there are several hundred boats on the western waters, and some
of the largest size. In 1817, about twenty barges, averaging about one
hundred tons each, performed the whole commercial business of
transporting merchandize from New Orleans to Louisville and Cincinnati.
Each performed one trip, going and returning within the year. About 150
keel boats performed the business on the Upper Ohio to Pittsburg. These
averaged about 30 tons each, and were employed one month in making the
voyage from Louisville to Pittsburg. Three days, or three days and a
half is now the usual time occupied by the steam packets between the two
places, and from seven to twelve days between Louisville and New
Orleans. Four days is the time of passing from the former place to St.
Louis.
4. A fourth reason why population will increase in future in a greater
ratio than the past is derived from the increase of population in the
Atlantic states, and the greater desire for removal to the west. At the
close of the revolutionary war the population of the whole Union but
little exceeded two millions. Vast tracts of wilderness then existed in
the old states, which have since been subdued, and from whence thousands
of enterprising citizens are pressing their way into the Great Valley.
Two thirds of the territory of New York, large portions of New
Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, an extensive district in middle
Pennsylvania, to say nothing of wide regions in the southern states,
were comprised in this wilderness. These extensive regions have become
populous, and are sending out vast numbers of emigrants to the west.
Europe is in commotion, and the emigration to North America, in 1832,
reached 200,000, a due proportion of which settle in the Western Valley.
5. A fifth reason will be founded upon the immense amount of land for
the occupancy of an indefinite number of emigrants, much of which will
not cost the purchaser over _one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre_.
Without giving the extravagant estimates that have been made by many
writers of the wide and uninhabitable desert between the Indian
Territory west of Missouri and Arkansas, and the Rocky mountains, nor
swampy and frozen regions at the heads of the Mississippi river, and
around lake Superior, I will merely exhibit the amount of lands
admitting of _immediate_ settlement and cultivation, within the
boundaries of the new States and organized Territories.
According to the report of the Secretary of the Treasury up to the 30th
day of September, 1831, the estimated amount of unsold lands, on which
the foreign and Indian titles had been extinguished, within the limits
of the new States and Territories, was 227,293,884 acres;--and that the
Indian title remained on 113,577,869 acres within the same limits.[5]
The Commissioner of the General Land Office in December, 1827, estimated
the public domain, beyond the boundaries of the new States and
Territories, to be 750 millions of acres. Much of this however, is
uninhabitable.
According to the Report of 1831, there had been granted to Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, and Alabama for internal Improvements, 2,187,665
acres;--for Colleges, Academies and Universities in the new States and
Territories, 508,009;--for education, being the thirty-sixth part of the
public lands appropriated to common schools, 7,952,538 acres;--and for
seats of government to some of the new States and Territories, 21,589
acres. Up to January, 1826, there had been sold, from the commencement
of the land system, only 19,239,412 acres. Since that period to the
close of 1835, there have been sold, about 33 millions of acres, making
in all sold, a little more than 52 millions. This statement includes
Alabama and Florida, which we have not considered as strictly within the
Valley. After a hasty and somewhat imperfect estimate of the public
lands that are now in market, or will be brought into market within a
few years, within the limits of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri,
Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Michigan, and the Territory of
Wisconsin, the amount may be put at 130 millions of acres. This amount
admits of immediate settlement and cultivation, and much of it may be
put under cultivation without the immense labor of clearing and subduing
forest lands.
The comparison between the amount of sales of public lands within the
last ten years, and the preceding forty years, shows that emigration to
the West is increasing at a ratio beyond what is ordinarily supposed,
and that the next ten years will find a majority of the population of
the United States within this Great Valley.
Sales of land from 1786 to 1826, (40 years) 19,239,412 acres.
" " from 1826 to 1835, (10 years) 33,000,000 acres.
Three millions of families may find farms in the West.
The extensive prairie lands of Illinois and Missouri present no obstacle
to the settlement of the country. Already, prairies for many miles in
extent have been turned into farms.
6. A sixth reason why the increase of the future population of the
Valley will greatly exceed the past, is derived from the increased
confidence of the community in the general health of the country. The
most unreasonable notions have prevailed abroad relative to the health
of the western states. All new settlements are more or less unfavorable
to health, which, when cultivated and settled become healthy. As a
separate chapter will be devoted to this subject, I only advert to the
fact now of the increased confidence of the people in the Atlantic
States, in the salubrity of our western climate, which already has
tended to increase emigration; but which, from facts becoming more
generally known, will operate to a much greater extent in future.
7. I will only add that there is already a great amount of intelligence,
and of excellent society in all the settled portions of the Western
Valley.
"The idea is no longer entertained by Eastern people, that going to the
West, or the 'Backwoods,' as it was formerly called, is to remove to a
heathen land, to a land of ignorance and barbarism, where the people do
nothing but rob, and fight, and gouge! Some parts of the West have
obtained this character, but most undeservedly, from the _Fearons_, the
[Basil] _Halls_, the _Trollopes_, and other ignorant and insolent
travellers from England, who, because they were not allowed to insult
and outrage as they pleased, with Parthian spirit, hurled back upon us
their poisoned javelins and darts as they left us. There is indeed much
destitution of moral influence and means of instruction in many, very
many, neighborhoods of the West. But there is in all the principal towns
a state of society, with which the most refined, I was going to say the
most fastidious, of the eastern cities need not be ashamed to
mingle."--_Baird._
The eastern emigrant will find, that wholesome legislation, and much of
the influence of religion are enjoyed in the Valley of the Mississippi,
extending to him all he can ask in the enjoyment of his rights, and the
protection of his property.
Common School systems have been commenced in some of the states,--others
are following their example, and the subject of general education is
receiving increasing attention every year. Colleges and other literary
institutions are planted, and religious institutions and means of
religious instruction are rapidly increasing. Noble and successful
efforts are making by the Bible, Missionary, Tract, Sabbath School,
Temperance, and other Societies in the West. Great and rapid changes are
taking place, if not to the extent we desire, yet corresponding in a
degree with the gigantic march of emigration and population. Many other
reasons might be urged to show that its prospective increase of
population will vastly exceed the ratio of its retrospective increase,
but these are sufficient.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] La Salle appears to have discovered the Bay of St. Bernard, and
formed a settlement on the western side of the Colorado, in 1685.--_See
J. Q. Adams's Correspondence with Don Onis. Pub. Doc. first session 15th
Congress, 1818._
[4] Baird.
[5] See Mr. Clay's Report on the Public Lands, April 26, 1832, U. S.
Papers.
CHAPTER III.
CLIMATE.
Comparative view of the Climate with the Atlantic States.
Diseases.--Means of preserving health.
_Climate, &c._ In a country of such vast extent, through 15° of
latitude, the climate must necessarily be various. Louisiana,
Mississippi and the lower half of Arkansas, lie between the latitudes of
30° and 35°, and correspond with Georgia and South Carolina. Their
difference of climate is not material. The northern half of Arkansas,
Tennessee and Kentucky, lie west from North Carolina and the southern
portion of Virginia. The climate varies from those states only as they
are less elevated than the mountainous parts of Virginia and Carolina.
Hence, the emigrant from the southern Atlantic states, unless he comes
from a mountainous region, will experience no great change of climate,
by emigrating to the Lower Mississippi Valley. Missouri, Illinois,
Indiana and Ohio, lie parallel with the northern half of Virginia,
Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and so much of New York
and New England as lies south of the 42° of north latitude. But several
circumstances combine to produce variations in the climate.
1. Much of those Atlantic states are hilly, and in many parts
mountainous, some of which are 2 and 3000 feet above the level of the
ocean. The parallel western states have no mountains, and are not
proportionably hilly.
2. The Atlantic states border on the ocean on the east, and feel the
influence of the cold, damp winds from the northeast and east. Their
rains are more copious and their snows deeper. The northern portions of
the West, equally with New York and Vermont, are affected with the
influence of the lakes, though not to the same extent.
5. "The courses of rivers, by changing in some degree the direction of
the winds, exert an influence on the climate. In the Atlantic states,
from New England to North Carolina, the rivers run more or less to the
southeast, and increase the winds which blow from the northwest, while
the great bed of the Mississippi exerts an equal influence in augmenting
the number and steadiness of the winds which blow over it from the
southwest; and there is another cause of difference in climate, chiefly
perceptible, first, in the temperature, which, if no counteracting cause
existed, they would raise in the west considerably above that of
corresponding latitudes in the east; and, secondly, in the moisture of
the two regions, which is generally greater west than east of the
mountains, when the southwest wind prevails; as, much of the water with
which it comes charged from the Gulf of Mexico, is deposited before it
reaches the country east of the Alleghanies."--_Dr. Drake._
It is an error that our climate is more variable, or the summers
materially hotter, than in a correspondent latitude in the Atlantic
states. "The New Englander and New Yorker north of the mountains of West
Point, should bear in mind that his migration is not to the _West_ but
_South West_; and as necessarily brings him into a warmer climate, as
when he seeks the shores of the Delaware, Potomac, or James' River."
The settlers from Virginia to Kentucky, or those from Maryland and
Pennsylvania to Ohio, or further west, have never complained of hotter
summers than they had found in the land from whence they came.
To institute a comparative estimate of temperature between the east and
the west, we must observe: first, the thermometer; and, secondly, the
flowering of trees, the putting forth of vegetation, and the ripening of
fruits and grain in _correspondent latitudes_. This has not usually been
done. Philadelphia and Cincinnati approach nearer to the same parallel,
than any other places where such observations have been made.
Cincinnati, however, is about 50' south of Philadelphia. The following
remarks are from Dr. Daniel Drake of Cincinnati, to whose pen the west
is much indebted.
"From a series of daily observations in Cincinnati or its vicinity, for
eight consecutive years, the mean annual temperature has been
ascertained to be 54 degrees and a quarter. Dr. Rush states the mean
temperature of Philadelphia at 52 degrees and a half; Dr. Coxe, from six
years' observations, at 54° and a sixth; and Mr. Legaux, from seventeen
years' observations, at Spring Mill, a few miles out of the city, at 53°
and a third; the mean term of which results, 53° and a third, is but the
fraction of a degree lower than the mean heat of Cincinnati, and
actually less than should be afforded by the difference of latitude.
"A reference to the temperatures of summer and winter, will give nearly
the same results. From nine years' observations, (three at Spring Mill,
by Mr. Legaux, and six in Philadelphia, by Dr. Coxe,) the mean summer
heat of that part of Pennsylvania, appears to be 76 degrees and
six-tenths. The mean summer heat at Cincinnati, for an equal number of
years, was 74 degrees and four-tenths. The average number of days in
which the thermometer rose to 90 degrees or upwards, during the same
period, was fourteen each summer; and the greatest elevation observed
was 98 degrees: all of which would bear an almost exact comparison with
similar observations in Pennsylvania. Mr. Legaux states the most intense
cold, at Spring Mill, from 1787 to 1806, to have been 17 and
five-tenths degrees below cipher,--while within the same period it was
18° at Cincinnati. The average of extreme cold for several years, as
observed by Mr. Legaux, was one and eight-tenths of a degree below
cipher:--the same average at Cincinnati, was two degrees below. From all
which we may conclude, that the banks of the Delaware and Ohio, in the
same latitudes, have nearly the same temperature."
The state of Illinois, extending as it does through five and a half
degrees of latitude, has considerable variation in its climate. It has
no mountains, and though undulating, it cannot be called hilly. Its
extensive prairies, and level surface, give greater scope to the winds,
especially in winter. In the southern part of the State, during the
three winter months, snow frequently falls, but seldom lies long. In the
northern part, the winters are as cold, but not so much snow falls, as
in the same latitudes in the Atlantic States.
The Mississippi at St. Louis is frequently frozen over, and is crossed
on the ice, and occasionally for several weeks. The hot season is
longer, though not more intense, than occasionally for a day or two in
New England.
During the years 1817-18-19, the Rev. Mr. Giddings, at St. Louis, made a
series of observations upon Fahrenheit's thermometer.
Deg. Hund.
Mean temperature for 1817 55 52
Do. do. from the beginning
of May, 1818, to the end
of April, 1819 56 98
Mean temperature for 1820 56 18
The mean of these results is about fifty-six degrees and a quarter.
The mean temperature of each month during the above years, is as
follows:
Deg. Hund.
January 30 62
February 38 65
March 43 13
April 58 47
May 62 66
June 74 47
July 78 66
August 72 88
September 70 10
October 59 00
November 53 13
December 34 33
The mean temperature of the different seasons is as follows:
Winter, 34.53--Spring, 54.74--Summer, 74.34--Autumn, 60.77.
The greatest extremes of heat and cold during my residence of eighteen
years, in the vicinity of St. Louis, is as follows:
Greatest heat in July 1820, and July 1833, 100 degrees. Greatest cold
January 3d, 1834, 18 degrees below zero,--February 8th, 1835, 22
degrees below zero.
The foregoing facts will doubtless apply to about one half of Illinois.
This climate also is subject to sudden changes from heat to cold; from
wet to dry, especially from November to May. The heat of the summer
below the 40° of latitude is more enervating, and the system becomes
more easily debilitated than in the bracing atmosphere of a more
northerly region.
At Marietta, Ohio, in lat. 39° 25' N. and at the junction of the
Muskingum river with the Ohio, the mean temperature for 1834, was 52
degrees, four-tenths; highest in August, 95 degrees,--lowest, January,
at zero. Fair days 225,--cloudy days 110.
At Nashville, Tenn. 1834, the mean temperature was 59 degrees and
seventy-six-hundredths; maximum 97, minimum 4 above zero. The summer
temperature of this place never reaches 100°. On January 26th, 1832, 18
degrees below zero. February 8th, 1835, 10° below zero.
The putting forth of vegetation in the spring furnishes some evidence of
the character of the climate of any country, though by no means entirely
accurate. Other causes combine to advance or retard vegetation. A wet or
dry season, or a few days of heat or cold at a particular crisis, will
produce material changes.
The following table is constructed from memoranda made at the various
dates given, near the latitude of St. Louis, which is computed at 38°
30'. The observations of 1819 were made at St. Charles and vicinity, in
the state of Missouri. Those of 1820, in St. Louis county, 17 miles N.
W. from the city of St. Louis. The remainder at Rock Spring, Illinois,
18 miles east from St. Louis. It will be perceived, the years are not
consecutive. In 1826, the writer was absent to the eastern states, and
for 1828, his notes were too imperfect to answer the purpose.
In the columns showing the times of the first snows, and the first and
last frosts in the season, a little explanation may be necessary. A
"light" snow means merely enough to whiten the earth, and which usually
disappears in a few hours.
Many of the frosts recorded "light" were not severe enough to kill
ordinary vegetation.
|Peach & |Strawberries|Blackberries|Apple |Apple |
|Red bud |in |in |leaves |trees in |
Year.|in blossom|blossom. |blossom. |begin to |blossom. |
| | | |put forth| |
| | | | | |
=====+==========+============+============+=========+=========+
| | | | | |
1819 |April 4. |Not noted. |May 19. |April 15.|April 20.|
| | | | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
|April 14. | |May 10. | | |
1820 |No peach |April 2. |fall off |Mar. 25 |April 15.|
|B. | |17. | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
|April 26. | | | | |
1821 |No peach |April 30. |May 21. |April 24.|May 3. |
|B. | | | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
| | | | | |
1822 |April 5. |April 25. |May 10. |April 18.|April 22.|
| | | | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
| | | | | |
1823 |April 19. |April 26. |May 20. |April 15.|April 28.|
| | | | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
| | | | | |
1824 |April 20. |April 28. |May 18. |April 20.|April 29.|
| | | | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
| |April 3. | | | |
1825 |Mar. 25. |Ripe |May 8. |Mar. 30. |April 5. |
| |May 17. | | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
| | | | | |
1827 |April 4. |April 10. |May 15. |April 4. |April 13.|
| | | | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
| | | | | |
1829 |April 20. |April 24. |May 20. |April 20.|April 26.|
| | | | | |
-----+----------+------------+------------+---------+---------+
| | | | | |
1830 |April 1. |April 5. |May 9. |April 1. |April 9. |
| | | | | |
continued
|Grass |Oaks and |First |Last |First
|green in |other forest|snow on |frost in |frost in
Year.|prairies.|trees |approach |Spring. |Autumn.
| |put forth |of winter. | |
| |leaves. | | |
=====+=========+============+============+============+==========
| | | | |
1819 |April 18.|Half size |Oct. 8. few |May 18, |Sept. 23.
| |May 19. |flakes. |very light. |
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| |April 22. |Oct. 24. few|June 1, |Sept. 20.
1820 |April 10.|full size |flakes. Nov.|very light. |Oct. 8,
| |May 7. |11 3 inches.| |ice.
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| |Ap. 26 to |Nov. 8. |April 18, |
1821 |April 26.|May 3. f. |2-½ in. |severe. |Oct. 8
| |grown 22 | |May 9, light|
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| |April 29. |Nov. 16, |April 16, |
1822 |April 10.|full size |light. |severe, ice.|Oct. 13.
| |May 14. | | |
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| | | | |
1823 |April 10.|April 23. |Nov. 1, |April 24. |Sp. 21-2.
| | |light. | |Ice 23.
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| | | | |Oct. 21.
1824 |April 14.|April 30. |Nov. 7. |May 5. |hard
| | | | |freeze.
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| | |Dec. 11, |Feb. 22. |Oct. 2-3.
1825 |Mar. 16. |April 3. |3 inches. |Next. |27th, ice.
| | | |Ap. 20, ice.|
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| |April 10. |Nov. 25, |May 7, |Sept. 23,
1827 |Mar. 25. |full size |light. |light. |light.
| |April 30. | | |
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| | |Nov. 12, | |
1829 |April 24.|April 27. |4 inches. |Not noted. |Sept. 17.
| | |sleet. | |
-----+---------+------------+------------+------------+----------
| |begin Ap. | | |
1830 |April 1. |5. f. size | | |
| |May 1. | | |
These observations, upon a comparison with the same parallels of
latitude in the eastern states, show that there is no material
difference of climate between the two sections of our country, except
that produced by local causes, as mountainous districts, contiguity to
the ocean, &c.
A similar error has existed in relation to sudden and extreme changes of
weather in the West. People who emigrate to a new country have their
curiosity awakened, and perhaps for the first time in their lives become
quite observing of such changes. From habitually observing the weather
the impression is produced on their minds that there is a marked
difference in this climate. Dr. Rush declares that there is but _one_
steady trait in the character of the climate of Pennsylvania--and that
is, _it is uniformly variable_, and he asserts that he has known the
thermometer fall 20° in one hour and a half. March 26-27, 1818, the
thermometer in St. Louis, fell 41° in 30 hours--from 83° to 42°. I have
no record or recollection of a more sudden change in 18 years. Mr.
Legaux saw it fall in the vicinity of Philadelphia, 47° in 24 hours, and
Dr. Drake states that this is five degrees more than any impression ever
observed in Cincinnati, in the same length of time. Emigrants from New
England and the northern part of New York state, must not expect to find
the same climate in the West, at 38 or 40 degrees; but let them remove
to the same parallel of latitude in the West, to Wisconsin, or the
northern part of Illinois, and they will probably find a climate far
more uniform than the land of their birth.
Prevailing winds modify and affect the climate of every country.
Southwestwardly winds prevail along the Mississippi Valley. The
following tabular view of observations made at Cincinnati, by Dr. D.
Drake, for six succeeding years, with so few omissions, that they amount
to 4200, will give further illustrations of this subject. They have been
brought from eight points of the compass.
OBSERVATIONS.
MONTHS | S.E. | S. | S.W. | N.E. | N. | N.W. | E. | W. | CALM.
===========+======+====+======+======+====+======+====+====+=======
January | 6 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 6
February | 5 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 8
March | 10 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 4
April | 7 | 0 | 24 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 5
May | 7 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 6
June | 9 | 1 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3
July | 6 | 1 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 4
August | 6 | 1 | 23 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 6
September | 6 | 1 | 23 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3
October | 9 | 1 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 3
November | 9 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 5
December | 7 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 9
-----------+------+----+------+------+----+------+----+----+-------
Total | 87 | 14 | 221 | 106 | 14 | 136 | 16 | 50 | 62
The results of my own observations, made for twelve years, with the
exception of 1826, and with some irregularity, from travelling in
different parts of Missouri and Illinois during the time, do not vary in
any material degree from the above table, excepting fewer east and
northeast winds.
Dr. Drake has given a table, setting forth the results of 4268
observations on the state of the weather at Cincinnati, from which it
will be perceived that of the 365 days in a year, about 176 will be
fair, 105 cloudy, and 84 variable.
Dr. L. C. Beck made similar observations at St. Louis during the year
1820, which produced the result of 245 clear days, and cloudy, including
variable days, 110.
Years. |Clear days.|Cloudy days.|Variable days.
==============+===========+============+==============
1 | 180 | 107 | 68
2 | 158 | 112 | 91
3 | 187 | 78 | 85
4 | 152 | 106 | 107
5 | 185 | 111 | 68
6 | 172 | 112 | 74
--------------+-----------+------------+--------------
Total 6 years.| 1,034 | 626 | 493
--------------+-----------+------------+--------------
Mean terms. | 172.33 | 104.33 | 82.16
The following table shows the condition of the weather in each month of
a mean year, for the above period.
MONTHS. | Clear days. | Cloudy days. | Variable days.
==========+=============+==============+================
January | 9.8 | 13.1 | 7.8
February | 10.3 | 12.0 | 6.5
March | 13.5 | 9.1 | 8.3
April | 13.1 | 10.8 | 7.6
May | 15.0 | 8.5 | 7.5
June | 15.5 | 5.0 | 9.6
July | 19.0 | 5.5 | 6.0
August | 19.6 | 4.6 | 6.5
September | 19.5 | 5.3 | 6.1
October | 16.1 | 6.0 | 8.1
November | 9.5 | 13.5 | 5.5
December | 9.6 | 14.1 | 5.8
There would be some variations from the foregoing table in a series of
observations in the country bordering upon the Upper Mississippi and
Missouri. The weather in the states of Ohio and Kentucky, is doubtless
more or less affected in autumn by the rains that fall on the Alleghany
mountains, and the rise of the Ohio and its tributaries. So the weather
in the months of April, May and June in Missouri, is affected by the
spring floods of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
The following table is constructed from a series of observations made at
the Military posts in the West, by the Surgeons of the U. S. Army, for
four years:--1822, 1823, 1824, and 1825. [See American Almanac for 1834,
p. 81.]
------------------+--------------------------+---------+---------+----------
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| |N. |Elevation|Mean Temp.
Posts. | Situations. |Latitude.|above the|for four
| |deg. m. |ocean. |years.
------------------+--------------------------+---------+---------+----------
Fort Brady, |Sault de St. Mary, outlet | 46 22 | 5 95 | 41 37
| of Lake Superior, | | |
Fort Snelling, |Mouth of St. Peters, 10 m.| 46 39 | 7 80 | 45 00
| below Falls St. Anthony,| | |
Fort Howard, |Green bay, Wisconsin T. | 45 00 | 6 00 | 44 50
Fort Crawford, |Prairie du Chien, W. Ter. | 43 25 | 5 80 | 45 52
Council Bluffs, |Upper Missouri, | 41 31 | 8 00 | 50 82
Cantonment Jessup,|On Red river, La. | | | 68 31
Baton Rouge, |Louisiana, | 30 32 | | 68 07
continued
------------------+--------+--------+------------+-------------------------
| | | | Weather.
| | | +-------------------------
| | | | MONTHLY AVERAGE.
| | | +-----+------+-----+------
Posts. | | |Range of |Fair |Cloudy|Rainy|Snow
|Maximum.|Minimum.|Thermometer.|days.|d's |days.|days.
------------------+--------+--------+------------+-----+------+-----+------
Fort Brady, | 90 | -33 | 1 23 |13 30| 2 27 |7 83 |6 02
| | | | | | |
Fort Snelling, | 96 | -29 | 1 25 |16 94| 5 50 |5 77 |2 22
| | | | | | |
Fort Howard, | 1 00 | -38 | 1 38 |15 47| 7 98 |4 56 |2 42
Fort Crawford, | 96 | -28 | 1 24 |16 80| 6 29 |3 87 |1 32
Council Bluffs, | 1 08 | -21 | 1 29 |19 68| 6 54 |2 95 |1 25
Cantonment Jessup,| 97 | 7 | 90 |18 63| 4 49 |7 25 | 05
Baton Rouge, | 99 | 18 | 81 |20 16| 4 08 |6 16 |
- _signifies below zero._
The times of observation at the above posts were 7 A. M., and 2
and 9, P. M. The mean of each month was deduced from 90
observations, and of each year from 1095 observations. The reader, who
is desirous of following up this comparative view of the climate between
the Atlantic states and the Valley of the Mississippi, can compare the
observations recorded in these tables, with similar observations made in
the same parallels of latitude. He will find the climate of the West
quite as uniform, and the weather as little variable as in the Atlantic
states.
_Diseases_,--_Means of preserving health, &c._ Of the Lower Valley, I
shall say but very little on this subject. Dr. Drake observes, "The
diseases of this portion of the Great Valley are few, and prevail
chiefly in summer and autumn. They are the offspring of the combined
action of intense heat and marsh exhalation." They are generally
remittent and intermittent bilious fevers. Emigrants most generally
undergo a seasoning, or become acclimated. Many persons, however, from
the northern and middle states, and from Europe, enjoy health. In sickly
situations these fevers are apt to return, and often prove fatal. They
frequently enfeeble the constitution, and produce chronic inflammation
of the liver, enlargement of the spleen, or terminate in jaundice or
dropsy, and disorder the digestive organs. When persons find themselves
subject to repeated attacks, the only safe resource is an annual
migration to a more northern climate during the summer. Many families
from New Orleans, and other exposed situations, retire to the pine
barrens of Louisiana, in the hot and sickly season, where limpid
streams, flowing over a pebbly bed, and a terebinthine atmosphere are
enjoyed. Eight months of the year, are pleasant and healthy in the Lower
Mississippi Valley.
The advice of Dr. Drake is, that "Those who migrate from a colder
climate to the southern Mississippi states, should observe the following
directions: First--To arrive there in autumn, instead of spring or
summer. Second--If practicable, to spend the hottest part of the first
two or three years, in a higher latitude. Third--To select the
healthiest situations. Fourth--To live temperately. Fifth--To preserve a
regular habit. Lastly--To avoid the heat of the sun from 10 in the
morning till 4 in the afternoon, and above all the night air. By a
strict attention to these rules, many would escape the diseases of the
climate, who annually sink under its baleful influence."
Those states and territories to which this work is intended more
immediately as a GUIDE, do not differ very materially in
salubrity. The same general features are found in each. There is but
little diversity in climate,--their geological and physical structure
coincide, and the experience of years shows that there is no great
difference. Where autumnal fevers are common they are usually of similar
character. The same causes for disease exist in Ohio as in Missouri, in
Michigan as in Illinois, in Kentucky and Tennessee as in Indiana. All
these states are much more infested with the maladies which depend on
variations of temperature, than the states farther south. All have
localities where intermittents and agues are found, and all possess
extensive districts of country where health is enjoyed by a very large
proportion of emigrants. There is some difference between a heavily
timbered and a prairie country, in favor of the latter; other
circumstances being equal. Changes favorable to continued health are
produced by the settlement and cultivation of any particular portion of
country. Of one fact I have long since satisfied my mind, that ordinary
fevers are not caused by the use of the water of the West.
Exceptions may be made in some few cases, where a vein of water is
impregnated with some deleterious mineral substance. The use of a well,
dug in the vicinity of a coal bed in Illinois, was supposed to have
caused sickness in a family for two seasons. Any offensive property in
water is readily detected by the taste. Cool, refreshing water is a
great preservative of health. It is common for families, (who are too
indifferent to their comfort to dig a well,) to use the tepid, muddy
water of the small streams in the frontier states, during the summer, or
to dig a shallow well and wall it with timber, which soon imparts an
offensive taste to the water. Water of excellent quality may be found in
springs, or by digging from 20 to 30 feet, throughout the western
states. Most of the water thus obtained is hard water, from its
limestone qualities, but it is most unquestionably healthy. Those
persons who emigrate from a region of sandstone, or primitive rock,
where water is soft, will find our limestone water to produce a slight
affection of the bowels, which will prove more advantageous to health
than otherwise, and which will last but a few weeks. Whenever disease
prevails in the western states, it may generally be attributed to one or
more of the following causes.
1st. _Variations of the temperature._ This cause, we have already
shown, exists to as great extent in the same latitude east of the
mountains.
2nd. _The rapid decomposition of vegetable matter._ In all our rich
lands, there are vast quantities of vegetable matter mixed with the
soil, or spread over the surface. Extreme hot weather, following
especially a season of much rain, before the middle of July, will
produce sickness. If the early part of summer be tolerably dry, although
a hot season follows, sickness does not generally prevail. The year 1820
was an exception to this rule. It was throughout, a very dry, hot,
sickly year through the West; indeed, throughout the world. A wet
season, with a moderately cool atmosphere, has proved healthy.
3d. _Marsh exhalations._ These, combined with heat, will always generate
fevers. Indeed, there is probably very little difference in the miasm
thrown off from decomposed vegetable matter, and that produced from
sluggish streams, standing waters and marshes. These, in the great
Valley, abound with decayed vegetable matter. Hence, along the streams
which have alluvial _bottoms_ (as low lands upon streams are called in
the West,) some of which are annually overflowed, and where the timber
and luxuriant vegetable growth are but partially subdued, the
inhabitants are liable to fevers, dysenteries and agues. Situations
directly under the bluffs adjacent to the bottom lands, that lie upon
our large rivers, especially when the vegetation is unsubdued, have
proved unhealthy. So have situations at the heads or in the slope of
the ravines that put down from the bluffs towards the rivers.
The principal diseases that prevail may be stated as follows. In the
winter, and early in the spring, severe colds, inflammation of the lungs
and pleurisies are most common. The genuine hereditary consumption of
New-England is rare, and families and individuals predisposed to that
disease might often be preserved by migration to this Valley. Acute
inflammation of the brain, and inflammatory rheumatism are not unusual
at that season.
During the summer and autumn, cholera infantum with children in large
towns, diarrhoea, cholera morbus, dysentery, intermittent and
remittent bilious fevers prevail. The intermittent assumes various
forms, and has acquired several names amongst the country people, where
it prevails more generally than in large towns. It is called the "chill
and fever,"--"ague,"--"dumb ague," &c., according to its form of attack.
The remittent fever is the most formidable of our autumnal diseases,
especially when of a highly bilious type. In most seasons, these
diseases are easily managed, and yield to a dose or two of medicine.
Sore eyes, especially in autumn, is a common complaint in the frontier
settlements, and when neglected or improperly managed, have terminated
in total blindness.
The "milk sickness," as it is called, occasionally prevails in some
localities, some particulars of which will be found in another place.
There is a disease that afflicts many frontier people, called by some
"sick stomach," by others, "water brash," from its symptoms of sudden
nausea, with vomiting, especially after meals.
In 1832, the cholera made its appearance in the West. In many places,
its first approach was attended with great mortality, but its second
visit to a place has been in a milder and more manageable form. It has
visited various parts of the West on each returning season since,
especially along the great rivers and about the steamboats. It appears
to have changed somewhat the characteristics of our western diseases,
and will probably become a modified and manageable disease. Since its
visit, our fevers are more congestive, less bile is secreted, and the
stomach more affected. The subject will doubtless be noticed by our
physicians, and observations made, how far this new disease will become
assimilated to the ordinary diseases of the country.
We are satisfied, after a long course of observations, much travelling,
and conversing with many hundreds of families with the view of arriving
at correct conclusions on these subjects, _that there is no such
operation as that of emigrants undergoing a seasoning, or becoming
acclimated_, in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, or the Wisconsin Territory. _Nor does it
make the least difference from what part of the United States, or
Europe, they come, nor whether they arrive here in the spring or
autumn._ There is an erroneous notion prevailing in some of the Atlantic
states on this subject, that should be corrected. When sickness
prevails, there is just as much, and it is equally severe, amongst the
old settlers, those born in the country, or who migrate from the
Carolinas or Georgia, as those who come from the northern states.
Families are just as liable to sickness, and are as often attacked for
the first time, after residing several years in the country, as at any
other time. A large proportion of the families and individuals, who
remove from New England to the various parts of the Valley, north of the
37th degree of latitude have no sickness the first year.
The impression has formerly existed abroad, that Illinois is less
healthy than other western states. This is entirely erroneous. As in all
countries, there are some localities, where the causes that produce
sickness exist more than in others. This is not the fact with Illinois
in general.
That this state is as healthy as any other western state, can be
abundantly supported by facts. Let a candid observer compare the health
of the early settlers of New England, with that of the early settlers of
the West, and he will find the scale to preponderate in favor of the
latter. Unless there is some strange fatality attending Illinois, its
population must be more healthy than the early settlers of a timbered
region. But in no period of its history have sickness and death
triumphed, in any respect equal to what they did two or three years
since, in the lake country of New York.
The year 1811, is recorded in the memoirs of the early settlers, as a
season of unusual sickness near the banks of the Mississippi and
Missouri rivers. The latter river rose to an unusual height in June, the
waters of the small creeks were backed up, and a large surface of
luxuriant vegetation was covered and deadened. This was succeeded by hot
and dry weather. Bilious and intermittent fevers prevailed extensively.
The seasons of 1819, '20, and '21 were usually sickly in Illinois and
Missouri. Emigrants, in shoals, had spread over a wide range of country
within a year or two preceding. Multitudes were placed under
circumstances the most unfavorable to the preservation of health, in new
and open cabins of green timber, often using the stagnant water of
creeks and ponds, with a luxuriant vegetation around them undergoing
decomposition, and all the other evils attendant on the settlement of a
new and unbroken country. Under such circumstances, can it be surprising
that many were sick, and that many died? The summer of 1820 was the
hottest and driest ever known in this country. For weeks in succession,
the thermometer, in the shade at St. Louis, was up to 96° for hours in
the day. Not a cloud came over the sun, to afford a partial relief from
its burning influence. The fevers of that season were unusually rapid,
malignant, and unmanageable. Almost every mark of the yellow fever, as
laid down in the books, was exhibited in many cases, both in town and
country. The bilious fever put on its most malignant type. Black,
foetid matter was discharged from the stomach, and by stools. The
writer and all his family suffered severely that season. He lived
seventeen miles from St. Louis, on the road to St. Charles in Missouri,
on a farm. The settlement had been called healthy. The Missouri bottom
was one mile distant. Three miles west southwest, was the Creve-coeur
lake, a body of water several miles in length and half a mile in width,
connected by an outlet with the Missouri river. The water of this lake
was entirely stagnant, covered with a thick scum, and sent forth a
noisome smell. Fish in it died. My oldest son, a robust youth of ten
years of age, and my brother-in-law, a hale and stout young man,
sickened and died the first week in October. I was attacked the 5th day
of July, came as near dying as a person could and recover. All my
children were sick. While convalescent, in September, I took a long
journey to Cape Girardeau country, 120 miles south, and back through the
lead mine country to the Missouri river, 60 miles west of St. Louis, and
in all the route found that sickness had prevailed to the same extent.
At Vincennes and other parts of Indiana, disease triumphed. The country
around Vincennes, on the east side of the Wabash, is a sandy plain. A
gentleman who escaped the ravages of fever in that place, and who was
much engaged in nursing the sick and consoling the dying, stated to me
that nothing was so disheartening as the cloudless sky and burning sun
that continued unchanged for weeks in succession. Mortality prevailed to
a great extent along the banks of the Wabash. Hindostan, a town on the
east fork of White river, 38 miles from Vincennes on the road to
Louisville, was begun the preceding year. Seventy or eighty families had
crowded in at the commencement of the year 1820. The heavy timber of
poplar, (whitewood) oak and beech, had been cut down, the brush burned,
and the logs left on the ground. By June the bark was loosened, an
intolerable stench proceeded from the timber,--sickness followed, and
about two thirds of the population died! And yet, to look about the
place, there is no local cause that would indicate sickness. In the
summer of 1821, sickness prevailed very extensively, but in a much
milder form. Its type was intermittent, and usually yielded to ordinary
remedies. During that year the number of deaths in St. Louis was
136--the population 5000. At least one third of that number were
strangers and transient persons, who either arrived sick, or were taken
sick within two or three days after arrival. St. Louis had then no
_police_ regulations--the streets were filthy in the extreme--and the
population were crowded into every hole and corner. This was the most
sickly and dying season St. Louis ever knew, except when the cholera
prevailed in October, 1832.
The same years (1820-21) were noted for unusual sickness throughout the
United States, and indeed the whole world. The bilious fever prevailed
in the hilly and mountainous districts of Virginia and Pennsylvania, and
even among the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Very little general sickness (except cholera in 1832-'33) prevailed in
1830, '31, '32, or '33. In 1834, congestive fever, and dysentery, with
some of the symptoms of cholera, existed in many places in the West,
though not extensively fatal. In the month of June, were frequent sudden
showers in Illinois and Missouri, with intervals of extreme heat. July
and August very hot and dry. The disease began early in July and
continued till September.
The year 1835, was the most sickly year, for common intermittents,
_which prevailed more amongst the old settlers, than the newly arrived
emigrants_. In Illinois, and generally throughout the West, below the
fortieth degree of latitude, it was sickly, though not fatal. Early in
the spring, till the month of May, it was unusually dry, and vegetation
was two weeks later than usual. May and a part of June were very wet,
followed by a few days of extremely hot weather. Vegetation grew with
great luxuriance. Newly ploughed ground sent forth a noxious effluvium,
with a most offensive odour, and after a few days would be covered with
a greenish coat, like the scum on stagnant water. Town situations, even
along the banks of river, were comparatively healthy.
In case of sickness, physicians are to be found in almost every county,
and every season adds to their number. Charges are somewhat higher than
in the northern states. Many families keep a few simple articles of
medicine, and administer for themselves. Calomel is a specific; and is
taken by multitudes without hesitation, or fear of danger. From fifteen
to twenty grains are an ordinary dose for a cathartic. Whenever nausea
of the stomach, pains in the limbs, and yawning, or a chill, indicate
the approach of disease, a dose of calomel is taken at night, in a
little apple honey, or other suitable substance, and followed up in the
morning with a dose of castor oil, or salts, to produce a brisk purge.
Sometimes an emetic is preferred. Either a cathartic or an emetic will
leave the system under some debility. The mistake frequently made is, in
not following up the evacuating medicine with tonics. This should be
done invariably, unless the paroxysm of fever has commenced. A few doses
of sulphate of quinine or Peruvian bark in its crude state, will restore
the system to its natural tone. To prevent an attack of fever, medicine
should be taken on the very first symptoms of a diseased stomach; it
should not be tampered with, but taken in sufficient doses to relieve
the system from morbid effects, and then followed up by tonics, to
restore its vigor and prevent relapse.
New comers will find it advantageous for protecting themselves from the
damp atmosphere at night, to provide close dwellings; yet when the air
is clear, to leave open doors and windows at night for free circulation,
but not to sleep directly in the current of air; and invariably to wear
thin clothing in the heat of the day, and put on thicker garments at
night, and in wet and cloudy weather.
I have observed that those families are seldom sick who live in
comfortable houses, with tight floors, and well ventilated rooms; and
who, upon change of weather, and especially in time of rains, make a
little fire in the chimney, although the thermometer might not indicate
the necessity.
In fine, I am prepared to give my opinion, decidedly, in favor of the
general health of this country and climate. I would not certainly be
answerable for all the bad locations, the imprudences, and whims of all
classes of emigrants, which may operate unfavorably to health. I only
speak for myself and family. I decidedly prefer this climate, with all
its miasm, to New-England, with its northeast winds, and damp, "raw" and
pulmonary atmosphere. We very seldom have fogs in Illinois and Missouri.
My memoranda, kept with considerable accuracy, for twelve years, give
not more than half a dozen foggy mornings in a year.
The following comparisons between St. Louis and several eastern cities,
will afford some evidence of the opinions expressed above. I have
remarked already, that 1821, was more sickly in St. Louis, than any
preceding year, and deaths were more numerous in proportion to the
population. Some cases of fever were more malignant in 1820, in that
place, but deaths were more frequent the following season. I solemnized
the marriage of a young lady of my acquaintance, who was under the age
of fourteen years. In eight days she was a widow. At the funeral of a
gentleman the same season, who left a widow under twenty years, there
were present thirteen widows, all under twenty-four years of age, and
all had lost their companions that season. Young men were victims more
than any other age or condition. And yet I am prepared to show, that St.
Louis, that summer, was not more sickly than several eastern cities were
in 1820 and 1823.
The population of St. Louis in 1821, varied but little from 5,000; the
number of deaths during that year was one hundred and thirty-six. This
account was taken by the Rev. Salmon Giddings, who was particular in
collecting the facts. The proportion of the deaths to the population was
one to thirty-five.
In 1820, Boston contained a population of 43,893,--number of deaths
1,103; proportion one to thirty-nine and three fourths.
New-York the same year contained a population of 123,000,--deaths 3,515;
being a proportion of one to a fraction less than thirty-five.
In Philadelphia, the population then was 108,000,--deaths 3,374; being
a proportion of one to thirty-two.
Baltimore had a population of 62,000,--deaths 1,625; being a proportion
of one to thirty-eight.
The aggregate population of these four cities in 1820, was 336,893; the
aggregate number of deaths, 9,617; the proportion of one to thirty-five,
the same as that of St. Louis.
IN 1823.
_Boston._ Population estimated at 45,000; number of deaths by official
returns, 1,154; the proportion of one to thirty-nine.
_New-York._ Population about 130,000,--deaths 3,444; proportion of one
to thirty-seven and two thirds.
_Philadelphia._ Population about 120,000,--deaths 4,600, proportion of
one to twenty-six. [This was an uncommonly sickly season in
Philadelphia.]
_Baltimore._ Population estimated at 65,000; deaths were 2,108;
proportion of one to thirty and two thirds.
I have thus selected the mortality of St. Louis during the most sickly
season since my residence in this country, and compared it with the
bills of mortality of four eastern cities for two years, those of 1820
and 1823, and the result is favorable to the health of St. Louis, and by
consequence, to the adjoining States. For ten years past, there has been
no general sickness in St. Louis, during the summer and autumnal
months, excepting the cholera in 1832.
Some parts of Indiana and Ohio are unquestionably more subject to
bilious attacks than Illinois. The reason is obvious. Much of that
region is heavily timbered, and, upon cutting it away in spots, and
letting in the rays of the sun upon vegetable matter undergoing
decomposition, miasmata are generated. These regions will become
comparatively healthy, when put under general cultivation.
The story is told, that the late emperor of France lay encamped with one
of his armies near a place reputed unhealthy, when one of his officers
requested a furlough. The reason being asked, and given, that the place
was unhealthy, and the applicant feared to die an inglorious death from
fever: Napoleon replied, in his accustomed laconic style, "Go to your
post; men die everywhere."
If a family emigrate to a new and distant country, and any of the number
sicken and die, we are apt to indulge in unavailing regret at the
removal; whereas had the same afflictive event happened before removal,
it would have been regarded in quite a different light. Let then, none
come to Illinois who do not expect to be sick and to die, whenever
Divine Providence shall see fit so to order events.
The _milk sickness_ is a disease of a singular character, which prevails
in certain places. It first affects animals, especially cows, and from
them is communicated to the human system by eating the milk, or flesh.
The symptoms of the disease indicate poison; and the patient is affected
nearly in the same way, as when poisonous ingredients have been received
into the system. Cattle, when attacked by it, usually die. In many
instances it proves mortal in the human system; in others, if yields to
the skill of the physician. Much speculation has been had upon its
cause, which is still unknown. The prevailing idea is, that it is caused
by some poisonous substance eaten by the cattle, but whether vegetable
or mineral, remains undetermined. Physicians and others have attempted
to ascertain the cause of this disease, but hitherto without success.
It infests only particular spots, or small districts, and these are soon
found out. There are places in Ohio, Indiana, and the southern states,
where it exists. Its effects are more frequent in autumn than any other
season; and to guard against it, the people either keep their cows in a
pasture, or refuse to use their milk. Some have supposed this disease to
be produced by the cattle feeding on the _cicuta virosa_, or water
hemlock; as a similar disease once infested the cattle in the north of
Europe, the cause of which was traced out by the great naturalist
Linnæus; but it is not known that this species of plant exists amongst
the botanical productions of Missouri and Illinois.
Anxious to furnish all the information, on this very important subject,
to persons desirous of emigrating to the West, I will prolong this
chapter by inserting the following:
"ADVICE TO EMIGRANTS, RECENT SETTLERS, AND TO THOSE VISITING THE
SOUTHERN COUNTRY.
"The outlines which have already been given will afford some information
to emigrants from other sections of the Union, or from Europe. We will
now offer a few cautionary remarks, particularly intended for such as
are about to settle, or have recently settled in this section of the
United States.
"Of new comers, there are two tolerably distinct classes: the one
comprising farmers, mechanics, and indeed all those who calculate on
obtaining a subsistence by manual industry; the other is composed of
professional men, tradesmen, and adventurers of every description.
Towards the first class our attention is now directed, premising that
throughout a great portion of the western country, except in large
towns, almost every mechanic is almost necessarily a farmer; the
population being in but few places sufficiently dense to support that
designation of mechanical employments which is common in the eastern and
middle states.
"For the industrious and temperate of this class, our country holds
forth inducements which are not generally known or understood.
"The language of indiscriminate panegyric, which has been bestowed on
its climate and soil, has conveyed little information, and is the source
of many fears and suspicions in the minds of people at a distance. Other
accounts have described the western country as uniformly sickly; but the
habit of exaggeration in its favor has been most prevalent; neither need
we wonder, when much of the information communicated, has been afforded
by interested landholders, or speculators, and by travellers, whose
views have been superficial, and whose journeys have been performed
generally, either on the rivers or by post roads.
"The first inquiry of a substantial farmer, from one of the old settled
states, is mostly, for good land in the vicinity of a market; and
afterwards, whether the situation be healthy. It is true that there are
many places in the western country, affording the qualities expressed in
this description, but they are perhaps all occupied; and it would be, in
several respects, more advisable for a farmer, possessing even a
considerable sum of money in hand, to inquire first for a healthy
situation, and then good land.
"The spirit of improvement throughout the United States, especially
evidenced in canalling, and rail-roads, will, it is hoped, in a few
years, open modes of communication, which as yet are wanting, with the
markets.
"The same remarks will apply to the poorer class of emigrants. If they
value their own health, and that of their families, the main object of
their attention will be to secure, if possible, a situation remote from
the fogs that hover over the channels of large rivers, which become
partly dry in summer, and from the neighborhood of swamps, marshes,
ponds, and small lakes.
"Every person, on coming from beyond the mountains, and especially from
the eastern States, or Europe, will have to undergo some degree of
change in his constitution, before it becomes naturalized to the
climate; and all who move from a cold to a considerably warmer part of
the western country will experience the same alteration; it will,
therefore, be wisdom for the individual brought up in a more rigorous
climate, that he seek a situation where the circulation of the air is
unimpeded and free, and that he avoid those flat and marshy districts,
which have been already described.
"Those who settle in new countries are almost universally exposed to
inconveniences which have an unfavorable influence on health. They are
seldom able for a length of time to erect comfortable places of
residence; and indeed, many postpone this important object of attention,
even after their circumstances will permit them to build comfortable
dwelling houses.
"Wool is mostly a scarce article in new settlements, so that cotton and
linen garments are too frequently worn in winter. There is another
circumstance, which no doubt has an unfavorable influence on health,
especially among the poorer class: it is the want, during the summer
season particularly, of substantial food. This is sometimes owing to
indolence or improvidence; but perhaps oftener, to the circumstances in
which a few families are placed, at a distance from any established or
opulent settlement.
"Erroneous views are too generally entertained in relation to hardening
the human system; and the analogies drawn from savage life, are
altogether inconclusive. The manners of the North American Indians are
essentially different from those of the whites. It is true, there is a
portion of the latter, especially in Illinois and Missouri, who from
infancy are educated almost in the habits of the aborigines.
"We have frequently heard the example of savages referred to, as an
argument in favor of attempting to strengthen the constitution by
exposure.[6] There is plausibility in this; but might not the example
of the negroes in the lower parts of South Carolina and Georgia, be also
quoted as evidencing the propriety of living on corn meal and sweet
potatoes, and working every day in the water of a rice field during the
sickly season? They are generally more healthy than the whites who own
them, and who reside on the plantations in the summer. The civilized man
may turn to savage life perhaps with safety, as regards health; but then
he must plunge with the Indian into the depths of the forest, and
observe consistency in all his habits. These pages are not written,
however, for such as are disposed to consider themselves beyond the pale
of civilized society; but for the reflecting part of the community, who
can estimate the advantages to be derived from a prudent care of health.
"Much disease, especially in the more recently settled parts of this
country, is consequent to neglecting simple and comfortable
precautionary means; sometimes this neglect is owing to misdirected
industry, and at others to laziness or evil habits.
"To have a dry house, if it be a log one, with the openings between the
logs well filled up, so that it may be kept warm in winter; to fill up
all the holes in its vicinity which may contain stagnant water; to have
a good clean spring or well, sufficient clothing, and a reasonable
supply of provisions, should be the first object of a settler's
attention: but frequently a little, wet, smoky cabin or hovel is
erected, with the floor scarcely separated from the ground, and
admitting the damp and unwholesome air. All hands that can work, are
impelled, by the father's example, to labor beyond their strength, and
more land is cleared and planted with corn than is well tended; for
over-exertion, change in the manner of living, and the influence of
other debilitating causes, which have been mentioned, bring sickness on
at least a part of the family, before the summer is half over.
"It is unnecessary for even the poorest emigrant to encounter these
causes of distress, unless seduced by the misrepresentations of some
interested landholder, or by the fantasies of his own brain, to an
unhealthy and desolate situation, where he can neither help himself, nor
be assisted by others.
"Many persons on moving into the _back woods_, who have been accustomed
to the decencies of life, think it little matter how they live, because
_no one sees them_. Thus we have known a family of some opulence to
reside for years in a cabin unfit for the abode of any human being,
because they could not find time to build a house; and whenever it
rained hard, the females were necessarily engaged in rolling the beds
from one corner of the room to another, in order to save them from the
water that poured in through the roof. This cabin was intended at first
as only a very temporary residence, and was erected on the edge of a
swamp, for the convenience of being near to a spring. How unreasonable
must such people be, if they expect health!
"Clothing for winter should be prepared in summer. It is a common, but
very incorrect practice among many farmers, both west and east of the
Alleghany mountains, to postpone wearing winter clothing until the
weather has become extremely cold: this is a fruitful source of
pulmonary diseases, of rheumatisms, and of fevers.
"With regard to providing a sufficiency of nourishing food, no specific
directions can be given, further than to recommend, what is much
neglected--particular attention to a good garden spot; and to remark,
that those who devote undivided attention to cultivating the soil,
receive more uniform supplies of suitable nourishment than the more
indolent, who spend a considerable portion of their time in hunting.
"New settlers are not unfrequently troubled with diseases of the skin,
which are often supposed to be the itch: for these eruptions they
generally use repellant external applications; this plan of treatment is
prejudicial.
"The most proper time for the removal of families to this country from
the Atlantic states, is early in the spring, while the rivers are full;
or if the journey be made by land, as soon as the roads are sufficiently
settled, and the waters abated.
"Persons unaccustomed to the climate of the lower Mississippi country,
are necessarily exposed, whilst there in the summer season, to many
causes of disease. It will be advisable for such to have a prudent care
of their health, and yet, a care distinct from that finical timidity
which renders them liable to early attacks of sickness.
"There is one important consideration, which perhaps has been somewhat
overlooked by medical men, who have written on this subject. Natives of
colder and healthier regions, when exposed in southern and sickly
climates, experience, if they remain any length of time without evident
and violent disease, an alteration in the condition of the liver, and
of the secreted bile itself; when it passes through the bowels, its
color being much darker than usual. Sometimes, indeed, it appears to be
"locked up in the liver," the stools having an ashen appearance. This
state of the biliary secretion is frequently accompanied, although the
patient is otherwise apparently in tolerable health, by a pain over the
eye-balls, particularly when the eyes are rolled upward.
"The proper mode of treatment for such symptoms is, to take without
delay, not less than twenty grains of calomel, and in eight hours a wine
glass full of castor oil. The tone of the stomach should not be suffered
to sink too much after the operation of the medicine, which, if
necessary, may be repeated in twenty-four hours. Sulphate of quinine, or
other tonics, with nutritive food, which is easy of digestion, should
also be taken in moderate portions at a time.
"Where diseases are rapid in their progress, and dangerous, no time is
to be lost. The practice of taking salts and other aperients, when in
exposed situations, and for the purpose of preventing disease, is
injurious. It is sufficient, that the bowels be kept in a natural and
healthy state; for all cathartics, even the mildest, have a tendency to
nauseate the stomach, create debility, and weaken the digestive faculty.
A reduction of tone in the system, which is always advantageous, will be
more safely effected by using somewhat less than usual of animal food,
and of spirituous, strong vinous, or fermented liquors. The robust will
derive benefit from losing a little blood.
"It ought to be well understood, that as we approximate tropical
climates, the doses of medicine, when taken, should be increased in
quantity, and repeated with less delay than is admissible in colder
countries. Exposure to the night air is certainly prejudicial; so also
is the intense heat of the sun, in the middle of the day. Violent
exercise should also be avoided. Bathing daily in water of a comfortable
temperature, is a very commendable practice; and cotton worn next the
skin is preferable to linen.
"It is impossible to prevent the influence of an atmosphere pregnant
with the causes of disease; but the operation of those causes may
generally be counteracted by attention to the rules laid down; and it is
no small consolation to be aware, that on recovery from the first
attack, the system is better adapted to meet and sustain a second of a
similar nature. The reader will understand that we do not allude to
relapses, occurring while the system is enfeebled by the consequences of
disease."
To the foregoing remarks, I add the following, from an address of Judge
Hall to the "Antiquarian and Historical Society of Illinois," December
10, 1827.
"The climate, particularly in reference to its influence on the human
system, presents another subject of investigation. The western country
has been considered unhealthy; and there have been writers, whose
disturbed imaginations have misled them into a belief that the whole
land was continually exposed to the most awful visitations of
Providence, among which have been numbered the hurricane, the
pestilence, and the earthquake. If we have been content to smile at such
exaggerations, while few had leisure to attempt a serious refutation,
and while the facts upon which any deliberate opinion must have been
based, had not been sufficiently tested by experience, the time has now
arrived when it is no longer excusable to submit in silence to the
reproaches of ignorance or malice. It is proper, however, to remark, as
well in extenuation of those who have assailed our country, as in the
support of the confidential denial, which I feel authorized to make to
their assertions, that a vast improvement in the article of health has
taken place within a few years. Diseases are now mild which were once
malignant, and their occurrence is annually becoming less frequent. This
happy change affords strong authority for the belief, that although the
maladies which have heretofore afflicted us, were partly imputable to
the climate, other, and more powerful causes of disease must have
existed, which have vanished. We who came to the frontier, while the axe
was still busy in the forest, and when thousands of the acres which now
yield abundance to the farmer, were unreclaimed and tenantless, have
seen the existence of our fellow citizens assailed by other than the
ordinary ministers of death. Toil, privation and exposure, have hurried
many to the grave; imprudence and carelessness of life, have sent crowds
of victims prematurely to the tomb. It is not to be denied that the
margins of our great streams in general, and many spots in the vicinity
of extensive marshes, are subject to bilious diseases; but it may be as
confidently asserted, that the interior country is healthy. Yet the
first settlers invariably selected the rich alluvion lands upon the
navigable rivers, in preference to the scarcely less fertile soil of the
prairies, lying in situations less accessible, and more remote from
market. They came to a wilderness in which houses were not prepared for
their reception, nor food, other than that supplied by nature, provided
for their sustenance. They often encamped on the margin of the river
exposed to its chilly atmosphere, without a tent to shelter, with
scarcely a blanket to protect them. Their first habitations were rude
cabins, affording scarcely a shelter from the rain, and too frail to
afford protection from the burning heat of the noonday sun, or the
chilling effects of the midnight blast. As their families increased,
another and another cabin was added, as crazy and as cheerless as the
first, until, admonished of the increase of their own substance, the
influx of wealthier neighbors, and the general improvement of the
country around them, they were allured by pride to do that to which they
never would have been impelled by suffering. The gratuitous exposure to
the climate, which the backwoodsman seems rather to court than avoid, is
a subject of common remark. No extremity of weather confines him to the
shelter of his own roof. Whether the object be business or pleasure, it
is pursued with the same composure amid the shadows of the night, or the
howling of the tempest, as in the most genial season. Nor is this trait
of character confined to woodsmen or to farmers; examples of hardihood
are contagious, and in this country all ranks of people neglect, or
despise the ordinary precautions with respect to health. Judges and
lawyers, merchants, physicians and ministers of the gospel, set the
seasons at defiance in the pursuit of their respective callings. They
prosecute their journeys regardless of weather; and learn at last to
feel little inconvenience from the exposure, which is silently
undermining their constitutions. Is it extraordinary that people thus
exposed should be attacked by violent maladies? Would it not be more
wonderful that such a careless prodigality of life could pass with
impunity? These remarks might be extended; the food of the first
settler, consisting chiefly of fresh meat without vegetables and often
without salt; the common use of ardent spirits, the want of medical aid,
by which diseases, at first simple, being neglected become dangerous;
and other evils peculiar to a new country, might be noticed as fruitful
sources of disease; but I have already dwelt sufficiently on this
subject. That this country is decidedly healthy, I feel no hesitation in
declaring; but neither argument nor naked assertions will convince the
world. Let us collect such facts as amount to evidence, and establish
the truth by undeniable demonstration."
FOOTNOTES:
[6] Uniform exposure to the weather is favorable to health. I can affirm
this from long experience and observation. Our hunters, and surveyors,
who uniformly spend their time for weeks in the woods and prairies, who
wade in the water, swim creeks, are drenched in the rains and dews, and
sleep in the open air or a camp at night, very rarely are attacked with
fevers. I have known repeated instances of young men, brought up
delicately in the eastern cities, accustomed, as clerks, to a sedentary
life, with feeble constitutions,--I have known such repeatedly to enter
upon the business of surveying the public lands, or in the hunting and
trapping business, be absent for months, and return with robust health.
It is a common thing for a frontier man, whose health is on the decline,
and especially when indications of pulmonary affection appear, to engage
in a hunting expedition to renovate his health. I state these facts, and
leave it to the medical faculty to explain the _why and wherefore_. One
circumstance may deserve attention. All these men, as do the Indians,
_sleep with their feet towards the fire at night_. And it is a common
notion with this class, that if the feet are kept hot through the night,
however cold the atmosphere, or however much exposed the rest of the
body, no evil consequences will ensue. I have passed many a night in
this position, after fatiguing rides of thirty or forty miles in the day
on our extreme frontiers, and through rains, and never experienced any
inconvenience to health, if I could get a pallet on the cabin floor, and
my feet to the fire.
Those who are exposed to these hardships but occasionally, when
compelled by necessity, and who endeavor to protect themselves at all
other times, usually suffer after such exposure.
I have observed that children, when left to run in the open air and
weather, who go barefoot, and oftentimes with a single light garment
around them, who sleep on the floor at night, are more healthy than
those who are protected.
CHAPTER IV.
CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND PURSUITS OF THE PEOPLE.
Cotton and Sugar Planters;--Farmers;--Population of the large towns and
cities;--Frontier class;--Hunters and Trappers;--Boatmen.
There is great diversity in the character and habits of the population
of the Valley of the Mississippi.
Those who have emigrated from the Atlantic states, as have a very large
proportion of those persons who were not born in the Valley, of course
do not differ essentially from the remaining population of those states.
Some slight shades of difference are perceptible in such persons as have
lived long enough in the country to become assimilated to the habits,
and partake of the feelings, of western people.
Emigrants from Europe have brought the peculiarities of the nations and
countries from whence they have originated, but are fast losing their
national manners, and feelings, and, to use a provincial term, will soon
become "westernized."
The march of emigration from the Atlantic border has been nearly in a
line due west. Tennessee was settled by Carolinians, and Kentucky by
Virginians. Ohio received the basis of its population from the states in
the same parallel, and hence partakes of all the varieties from Maryland
to New England. Michigan is substantially a child of New York. The
planters of the south have gone to Mississippi, Louisiana, and the
southern part of Arkansas. Kentucky and Tennessee have spread their sons
and daughters over Indiana, Illinois and Missouri; but the two former
states are now receiving great numbers of emigrants from all the
northern states, including Ohio, and multitudes from the south, who
desire to remove beyond the boundaries and influence of a slave
population.
Slavery in the west, keeps nearly in the same parallels as it holds in
the east, and is receding south, as it does on the Atlantic coast. Many
descendants of the Scotch, Irish and Germans, have come into the
frontier states from Western Pennsylvania.
We have European emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland. Those of the
latter are more generally found about our large towns and cities, and
along the lines of canalling.
The French were the explorers and early settlers of the Valley
immediately bordering on the Mississippi, 150 years since. They formed
the basis of population of Louisiana a few years since, but are
relatively diminishing before the emigration from other states of the
Union. Their descendants show many of the peculiar and distinctive
traits of that people in all countries. They possess mild vivacity, and
gaiety, and are distinguished for their quiet, inoffensive, domestic,
frugal, and unenterprising spirit and manners. The poorer class of
French are rather peculiar and unique. Their ancestors were isolated
from the rest of the world, had no object of excitement or ambition,
cared little for wealth, or the accumulation of property, and were
accustomed to hunt, make voyages in their canoes, smoke and traffic with
the Indians. But few of them knew how to read and write. Accustomed from
infancy to the life of huntsmen, trappers and boatmen, they make but
indifferent farmers. They are contented to live in the same rude, but
neatly whitewashed cabin, cultivate the same cornfields in the same
mode, and drive the same rudely constructed horse cart their fathers
did. In the neatness of their gardens, which are usually cultivated by
the females, they excel the Americans. They are the _coureurs du bois_
of the West.
The European Germans are now coming into the Valley by thousands, and,
for a time, will retain their manners and language.
_Cotton and Sugar Planters._--These people, found chiefly in
Mississippi, Louisiana, and the southern part of Arkansas, have a great
degree of similarity. They are noted for their high-mindedness,
generosity, liberality, hospitality, sociability, quick sense of honor,
resentment of injuries, indolence, and, in too many cases, dissipation.
They are much addicted to the sports of the turf and the vices of the
gaming table. Still there are many planters of strictly moral, and even
religious habits. They are excessively jealous of their political
rights, yet frank and open hearted in their dispositions, and carry the
duties of hospitality to a great extent. Having overseers on most of
their plantations, the labor being performed by slaves, they have much
leisure, and are averse to much personal attention to business. They
dislike care, profound thinking and deep impressions. The young men are
volatile, gay, dashing and reckless spirits, fond of excitement and high
life. There is a fatal propensity amongst the southern planters to
decide quarrels, and even trivial disputes by duels. But there are also
many amiable and noble traits of character amongst this class; and if
the principles of the Bible and religion could be brought to exert a
controlling influence, there would be a noble spirited race of people in
the southwestern states.
It cannot be expected that I should pass in entire silence the system of
slaveholding in the lower Valley, or its influence on the manners and
habits of the people. This state of society seems unavoidable at
present, though I have no idea or expectation it will be perpetual.
Opposite sentiments and feelings are spreading over the whole earth, and
a person must have been a very inattentive observer of the tendencies
and effects of the diffusion of liberal principles not to perceive that
hereditary, domestic servitude must have an end.
This is a subject, however, that from our civil compact, belongs
exclusively to the citizens of the states concerned; and if not
unreasonably annoyed, the farming slaveholding states, as Kentucky,
Tennessee and Missouri, will soon provide for its eventual termination.
Doubtless, in the cotton and sugar growing states it will retain its
hold with more tenacity, but the influence of free principles will roll
onward until the evil is annihilated.
The barbarous and unwise regulations in some of the planting states,
_which prohibit the slaves from being taught to read_, are a serious
impediment to the moral and religious instruction of that numerous and
unfortunate class. Such laws display on the part of the law makers,
little knowledge of human nature and the real tendency of things. To
keep _slaves_ entirely ignorant of the rights of man, in this
spirit-stirring age, is utterly impossible. Seek out the remotest and
darkest corner of Louisiana, and plant every guard that is possible
around the negro quarters, and the light of truth will penetrate. Slaves
will find out, for they already know it, that they possess rights as
men. And here is the fatal mistake now committed in the southern
slaveholding states--legislating against the instruction of their
slaves--to keep them from knowing their rights. They will obtain some
loose, vague, and undefined notion of the doctrine of human rights, and
the unrighteousness of oppression in this republican country. Being
kept from all the moral and religious instruction which Sabbath schools,
the Bible, and other good books are calculated to impart, and with those
undefined notions of liberty, and without any moral principle, they are
prepared to enter into the first insurrectionary movement proposed by
some artful and talented leader. The same notion prevailed in the West
Indies half a century since, and many of the planters resisted and
persecuted the benevolent Moravians, who went there to instruct the
blacks in the principles and duties of religion. A few of the planters
reasoned justly. They invited these benevolent men on their plantations,
and gave them full liberty on the Sabbath, and at other suitable
seasons, to instruct their slaves. The happiest effects followed. On
these plantations, where riot, misrule, and threatened insurrections,
had once spread a panic through the colony, order, quietness and
submission followed. Such would be the effects if the southern planter
would invite the minister of the gospel and the Sunday school teacher to
visit his plantation, allow his slaves to be instructed to read, and
each to be furnished with a copy of the Scriptures. The southern planter
hourly lives under the most terrific apprehensions. It is in vain to
disguise the fact. As Mr. Randolph once significantly said in Congress,
"_when the night bell rings, the mother hugs her infant closer to her
breast_." Slavery, under any circumstances, is a bitter draught--equally
bitter to him who tenders the cup, and to him who drinks it. But in all
the northern slaveholding states, it is comparatively mild. Its condition
would be much alleviated, and the planter might sleep securely if he would
abolish his barbarous laws, more congenial with Asiatic despotism than
American republicanism, and provide for his slaves the benefits of
wholesome instruction. Philanthropy and interest unite in their demands
upon every southern planter to provide Sunday school instruction for his
slaves.
The planting region of the lower Valley furnishes an immense market for
the productions and manufactures of the upper Valley. Indirectly, the
Louisiana sugar business is a source of profit to the farmer of Illinois
and Missouri. Pork, beef, corn, corn-meal, flour, potatoes, butter, hay,
&c. in vast quantities, go to supply these plantations. In laying in
their stores, the sugar planters usually purchase one barrel of second
or third quality of beef or pork per annum, for each laborer. Large
drafts for sugar mills, engines and boilers, are made upon the
Cincinnati and Pittsburg iron foundries. Mules and horses are driven
from the upper country, or from the Mexican dominions, to keep up the
supply.
The commerce of the upper country that concentrates at New Orleans is
amazing, and every year is rapidly increasing. Sixteen hundred arrivals
of steamboats took place in 1832, and the estimated number in 1835 is
2,300.
_Farmers._--In the northern half of the Valley the productions, and the
modes of cultivation and living are such as to characterize a large
proportion of the population as farmers. No country on earth has such
facilities for agriculture. The soil is abundantly fertile, the seasons
ordinarily favorable to the growth and maturity of crops, and every
farmer in a few years, with reasonable industry, becomes comparatively
independent. Tobacco and hemp are among the staple productions of
Kentucky.
Neat cattle, horses, mules and swine are its stock. Some stock growers
have monopolized the smaller farms till they are surrounded with several
thousand acres. Blue grass pastures furnish summer feed, and extensive
fields of corn, cut up near the ground, and stacked in the fields,
furnish stores for fattening stock in the winter.
In some counties, raising of stock has taken place of all other
business. The Scioto Valley, and other districts in Ohio, are famous for
fine, well fed beef. Thousands of young cattle are purchased by the Ohio
graziers, at the close of winter, of the farmers of Illinois and
Missouri. The Miami and Whitewater sections of Ohio and Indiana, abound
with swine. Cincinnati has been the great pork mart of the world.
150,000 head of hogs have been frequently slaughtered there in a season.
About 75,000 is estimated to be the number slaughtered at that place the
present season. This apparent falling off in the pork business, at
Cincinnati, is accounted for by the vast increase of business at other
places. Since the opening of the canals in Ohio, many provision
establishments have been made along their line. Much business of the
kind is now done at Terre Haute and other towns on the Wabash,--at
Madison, Louisville, and other towns on the Ohio,--at Alton and other
places in Illinois.
The farmers of the West are independent in feeling, plain in dress,
simple in manners, frank and hospitable in their dwellings, and soon
acquire a competency by moderate labor. Those from Kentucky, Tennessee,
or other states south of the Ohio river, have large fields, well
cultivated, and enclosed with strong built rail or worm fences, but they
often neglect to provide spacious barns and other outhouses for their
grain, hay and stock. The influence of habit, is powerful. A Kentuckian
would look with contempt upon the low fences of a New-Englander as
indicating thriftless habits, while the latter would point at the
unsheltered stacks of wheat, and dirty threshing floor of the former, as
proof direct of bad economy and wastefulness.
_Population of the Cities and large Towns._ The population of western
towns does not differ essentially from the same class in the Atlantic
states, excepting there is much less division into grades and ranks,
less ignorance, low depravity and squalid poverty amongst the poor, and
less aristocratic feeling amongst the rich. As there is never any lack
of employment for laborers of every description, there is comparatively
no suffering from that cause. And the hospitable habits of the people
provide for the sick, infirm and helpless. Doubtless, our
_circumstances_ more than any thing else, cause these shades of
difference. The common mechanic is on a social equality with the
merchant, the lawyer, the physician, and the minister. They have shared
in the same fatigues and privations, partook of the same homely fare, in
many instances have fought side by side in defence of their homes
against the inroads of savages,--are frequently elected to the same
posts of honor, and have accumulated property simultaneously. Many
mechanics in the western cities and towns, are the owners of their own
dwellings, and of other buildings, which they rent. I have known many a
wealthy merchant, or professional gentleman occupy on rent, a building
worth several thousand dollars, the property of some industrious
mechanic, who, but a few years previous, was an apprentice lad, or
worked at his trade as a journeyman. Any sober, industrious mechanic can
place himself in affluent circumstances, and place his children on an
equality with the children of the commercial and professional community,
by migrating to any of our new and rising western towns. They will find
no occasion here for combinations to sustain their interests, nor meet
with annoyance from gangs of unprincipled foreigners, under the
imposing names of "Trades Unions."
Manufactures of various kinds are carried on in our western cities.
Pittsburg has been characterized as the "Birmingham of America." The
manufactures of iron, machinery and glass, and the building of
steamboats, are carried on to a great extent.
Iron and salt, are made in great quantities in Western Pennsylvania, and
Western Virginia. Steamboats are built to a considerable extent at
Fulton, two miles above Cincinnati, and occasionally at many other
places on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Alton offers great facilities
for this business. Cotton bagging, bale ropes, and cordage, are
manufactured in Tennessee and Kentucky. The following article from the
Covington Enquirer, gives a few items of the industry and enterprise of
Kentucky,--of the manufacture of Newport and Covington. Both of these
thriving towns lie at the mouth of the Licking river, the one on the
right bank, and the other on the left, and both in direct view of
Cincinnati.
MANUFACTURES IN COVINGTON AND NEWPORT.
"Founding the calculation upon the actual manufactures of October, and
the known power of their machinery, the Company will the ensuing year,
give employment to more than four hundred operatives, and manufacture,
60,000 lbs. of Cotton Bagging,
84,000 do Cotton Yarns,
274,268 lbs. Bale Rope,
448,000 do Cordage,
44,592 yards Linseys,
63,588 do Cotton Plains,
97,344 do Kentucky Jeans,
548,530 do Cotton Bagging and Hemp.
Estimating Bale Rope and Cotton Bagging at 33 per cent under the price
at which the Company have sold these articles for the last six months,
the manufactures of this Company during the ensuing year will amount to
$358,548.44. Almost all the manufactures at Covington and Newport being
exported to foreign markets, it will result that the annual exports from
these points will, in round numbers, be from the
Interior $750,000
Campbell County 150,000
Boone County 234,000
Covington 548,500
Newport 358,500
----------
$2,041,000
The Newport Manufacturing Company has depended principally for its
supply of Hemp, on the production of Mason county, of which Maysville is
the market;--this season they have not been able to get a supply at
Maysville, and it is a remarkable fact in the history of the Hemp
manufactories in Kentucky, that this company, owing to the scarcity and
high prices of Hemp in Kentucky, _has imported this season_ 354,201 lbs.
_Russia Hemp_.
Various manufactures are springing up in all the new states, which will
be noticed under their proper heads.
The number of merchants and traders is very great in the Valley of the
Mississippi, yet mercantile business is rapidly increasing.--Thousands
of the farmers of the West, are partial traders. They take their own
produce, in their own flat boats, down the rivers to the market of the
lower country.
_Frontier class of Population._ The rough, sturdy habits of the
backwoodsmen, living in that plenty which depends on God and nature,
have laid the foundation of independent thought and feeling deep in the
minds of western people.
Generally, in all the western settlements, three classes, like the waves
of the ocean, have rolled one after the other. First comes the Pioneer,
who depends for the subsistence of his family chiefly upon the natural
growth of vegetation, called the "range," and the proceeds of hunting.
His implements of agriculture are rude, chiefly of his own make, and his
efforts directed mainly to a crop of corn, and a "truck patch." The last
is a rude garden for growing cabbage, beans, corn for roasting ears,
cucumbers and potatoes. A log cabin, and occasionally a stable and corn
crib, and a field of a dozen acres, the timber girdled or "deadened,"
and fenced, are enough for his occupancy. It is quite immaterial whether
he ever becomes the owner of the soil. He is the occupant for the time
being, pays no rent, and feels as independent as the "lord of the
manor." With a horse, cow, and one or two breeders of swine, he strikes
into the woods with his family, and becomes the founder of a new county,
or perhaps state. He builds his cabin, gathers around him a few other
families of similar taste and habits, and occupies till the range is
somewhat subdued, and hunting a little precarious, or, which is more
frequently the case, till neighbors crowd around, roads, bridges and
fields annoy him, and he lacks elbow-room. The pre-emption law enables
him to dispose of his cabin and cornfield, to the next class of
emigrants, and, to employ his own figures, he "breaks for the high
timber,"--"clears out for the New Purchase," or migrates to Arkansas or
Texas, to work the same process over.
The next class of emigrants purchase the lands, add "field to field,"
clear out the roads, throw rough bridges over the streams, put up hewn
log houses, with glass windows, and brick or stone chimneys,
occasionally plant orchards, build mills, school houses, court houses,
&c., and exhibit the picture and forms of plain, frugal, civilized life.
Another wave rolls on. The men of capital and enterprise come. The
"settler" is ready to sell out, and take the advantage of the rise of
property,--push farther into the interior, and become himself, a man of
capital and enterprise in time. The small village rises to a spacious
town or city,--substantial edifices of brick, extensive fields,
orchards, gardens--colleges and churches are seen. Broadcloths, silks,
leghorns, crapes, and all the refinements, luxuries, elegancies,
frivolities and fashions, are in vogue. Thus wave after wave is rolling
westward--the real _el dorado_ is still farther on.
A portion of the two first classes remain stationary amidst the general
movement, improve their habits and condition, and rise in the scale of
society.
The writer has travelled much amongst the first class--the real
pioneers. He has lived many years in connexion with the second grade,
and now the third wave is sweeping over large districts of Indiana,
Illinois and Missouri. Migration has become almost a habit in the west.
Hundreds of men can be found, not fifty years of age, who have settled
for the fourth, fifth, or sixth time on a new spot. To sell out and
remove only a few hundred miles, makes up a portion of the variety of
backwoods life and manners.
But to return to the Frontier class.
1. _Dress._--The hunting shirt is universally worn. This is a kind of
loose, open frock, reaching halfway down the thighs, with large sleeves,
the body open in front, lapped over, and belted with a leathern girdle,
held together with a buckle. The cape is large, and usually fringed with
different colored cloth from that of the body. The bosom of this dress
sometimes serves as a wallet for a "chunk" of bread, jerk or smoke-dried
venison, and other articles. It is made either of dressed deer skins,
linsey, coarse linen, or cotton. The shirt, waistcoat and pantaloons are
of similar articles and of the customary form. Wrappers of cloth or
dressed skins, called "leggins" are tied round the legs when travelling.
Moccasins of deer skins, shoe packs, and rough shoes, the leather tanned
and cobbled by the owner, are worn on the feet.
The females' dress in a coarse gown of cotton, a bonnet of the same
stuff, and denominated in the eastern states a "sun-bonnet." The latter
is constantly worn through the day, especially when company is present.
The clothing for both sexes is made at home. The wheel and loom are
common articles of furniture in every cabin.
2. _Dwellings._--"Cabin" is the name for a plain, rough log-house,
throughout the west. The spot being selected, usually in the timbered
land, and near some spring, the first operation of the newly arrived
emigrant is to cut about 40 logs of the proper size and length for a
single cabin, or twice that number for a double one, and haul them to
the spot. A large oak or other suitable timber, of straight grain, and
free from limbs, is selected for clapboards for the roof. These are four
feet in length, split with a froe six or eight inches wide, and half an
inch thick. _Puncheons_ are used for the floor. These are made by
splitting trees about eighteen inches in diameter into slabs, two or
three inches in thickness, and hewn on the upper surface. The door way
is made by cutting out the logs after raising, of a suitable width, and
putting upright pieces of timber at the sides. The shutter is made of
clapboards, pinned on cross pieces, hung by wooden hinges, and fastened
by a wooden latch. A similar aperture, but is wider made at one end for
the chimney. The men of the settlement, when notified, collect and raise
the building. Four stout men with axes are placed on the corners to
notch the logs together, while the rest of the company lift them up.
After the roof is on the body of the building, it is slightly hewed down
both out and inside. The roof is formed by shortening each end log in
succession till one log forms the comb of the roof. The clapboards are
put on so as to cover all cracks, and held down by poles or small logs.
The chimney is built of sticks of wood, the largest at the bottom, and
the smallest at the top, and laid up with a supply of mud or clay
mortar. The interstices between the logs are chinked with strips of wood
and daubed with mortar both outside and in. A double cabin consists of
two such buildings with a space of 10 or 12 feet between, over which the
roof extends.
A _log house_, in western parlance, differs from a cabin in the logs
being hewn on two sides to an equal thickness before raising,--in having
a framed and shingled roof, a brick or stone chimney, windows, tight
floors, and are frequently clapboarded on the outside and plastered
within.
A log house thus finished, costs more than a framed one. Cabins are
often the temporary dwellings of opulent and highly respectable
families.
The axe, auger, froe, drawing knife, broad-axe, and crosscut saw are the
only tools required in constructing these rude edifices;--sometimes the
axe and auger only are employed. Not a nail or pane of glass is needed.
Cabins are by no means as wretched for residences as their name imports.
They are often roomy, comfortable and neat. If one is not sufficient to
accommodate the family, another is added, and another until sufficient
room is obtained.
3. _Furniture and mode of living._--The genuine backwoodsman makes
himself and family comfortable and contented where those, unaccustomed
to his mode of life, would live in unavailing regret, or make a thousand
awkward apologies on the visit of a neighbor or traveller. A table is
made of a split slab and supported by four round legs. Clapboards
supported by pins stuck in the logs answer for shelves for table
furniture. The bedstead is often made in the corner of the room by
sticks placed in the logs, supported at the outward corner by a post, on
which clapboards are laid, the ends of which enter the wall between the
logs, and which support the bedding. On the arrival of travellers or
visiters, the bed clothing is shared with them, being spread on the
puncheon floor that the feet may project towards the fire. Many a night
has the writer passed in this manner, after a fatiguing day's ride, and
reposed more comfortably than on a bed of down in a spacious mansion.
All the family of both sexes, with all the strangers who arrive, often
lodge in the same room. In that case the under garments are never taken
off, and no consciousness of impropriety or indelicacy of feeling is
manifested. A few pins stuck in the wall of the cabin display the
dresses of the women and the hunting shirts of the men. Two small forks
or bucks-horns fastened to a joist are indispensable articles for the
support of the rifle. A loose floor of clapboards, and supported by
round poles, is thrown over head for a loft which furnishes a place to
throw any articles not immediately wanted, and is frequently used for a
lodging place for the younger branches of the family. A ladder planted
in the corner behind the door answers the purpose of stairs.
The necessary table and kitchen furniture are a few pewter dishes and
spoons, knives and forks, (for which however, the common hunting knife
is often a substitute,) tin cups for coffee or milk, a water pail and a
small gourd or calabash for water, with a pot and iron Dutch oven,
constitute the chief articles. Add to these a tray for wetting up meal
for corn bread, a coffee pot and set of cups and saucers, a set of
common plates, and the cabin is furnished. The hominy mortar and hand
mill are in use in all frontier settlements. The first consists of a
block of wood with an excavation burned at one end and scraped out with
an iron tool, wide at top and narrow at the bottom that the action of
the pestle may operate to the best advantage. Sometimes a stump of a
large tree is excavated while in its natural position. An elastic pole,
20 or 30 feet in length, with the large end fastened under the ground
log of the cabin, and the other elevated 10 or 15 feet and supported by
two forks, to which a pestle 5 or 6 inches in diameter and 8 or 10 feet
long is fixed on the elevated end by a large mortice, and a pin put
through its lower end so that two persons can work it in conjunction.
This is much used for pounding corn. A very simple instrument to answer
the same purpose, is a circular piece of tin, perforated, and attached
to a piece of wood like a grater, on which the ears of corn are rubbed
for meal. The hand mill is in the same form as that used in Judea in the
time of our Savior. Two circular stones, about 18 inches in diameter
constructed like ordinary mill stones, with a staff let into the runner
or upper stone near its outer edge, with the upper end inserted in a
joist or board over head, and turned by the hands of two persons while
one feeds it with corn. Horse mills follow the mortar and hand mill in
the scale of improvement. They are constructed variously. A _hand_ mill
is the most simple. A large upright post is placed on a gudgeon, with
shafts extending horizontally 15 or 20 feet. Around the ends of these is
a band of raw hide twisted, which passes around the trundle head and
turns the spindle and communicates motion to the stone. A _cog_ mill is
formed by constructing a rim with cogs upon the shafts, and a trundle
head to correspond. Each person furnishes his own horses to turn the
mill, performs his own grinding, and pays toll to the owner for use of
the mill. Mills with the wheel on an inclined plane, and carried by oxen
standing on the wheel, are much in use in those sections where water
power is not convenient, but these indicate an advance to the second
grade of society.
Instead of bolting cloths, the frontier people use a sieve or as called
here, a "search." This is made from a deer skin prepared to resemble
parchment, stretched on a hoop and perforated full of holes with a hot
wire.
Every backwoodsman carries on all occasions, the means of furnishing his
meat. The rifle, bullet pouch and horn, hunting knife, horse and dog are
his constant companions when from home, and woe be to the wolf, bear,
deer or turkey that comes within one hundred and fifty yards of his
trail.
With the first emigration there are few mechanics; hence every settler
becomes expert in supplying his own necessaries. Besides clearing land,
building cabins, and making fences, he stocks his own plough, repairs
his wagon and his harness, tans his own leather, makes his shoes,
tables, bedsteads, stools or seats, trays and a hundred other articles.
These may be rudely constructed, but they answer his purpose very well.
The following extracts from the graphic "SKETCHES OF THE WEST,"
by James Hall, Esq. completes this extended picture of backwoods
manners.
"The traveller, accustomed to different modes of life, is struck with
the rude and uncomfortable appearance of every thing about this
people,--the rudeness of their habitations, the carelessness of their
agriculture, the unsightly coarseness of all their implements and
furniture, the unambitious homeliness of all their goods and chattels,
except the axe, the rifle, and the horse--these being invariably the
best and handsomest which their means enable them to procure. But he is
mistaken in supposing them indolent or improvident; and is little aware
how much ingenuity and toil have been exerted in procuring the few
comforts which they possess, in a country without arts, mechanics,
money, or commercial intercourse.
"The backwoodsman has many substantial enjoyments. After the fatigue of
his journey, and a short season of privation and danger, he finds
himself surrounded with plenty. His cattle, hogs, and poultry, supply
his table with meat; the forest abounds in game; the fertile soil yields
abundant crops; he has, of course, bread, milk, and butter; the rivers
furnish fish, and the woods honey. For these various articles, there is,
at first, no market, and the farmer acquires the generous habit of
spreading them profusely on his table, and giving them freely to a
hungry traveller and an indigent neighbor.
"Hospitality and kindness are among the virtues of the first settlers.
Exposed to common dangers and toils, they become united by the closest
ties of social intercourse. Accustomed to arm in each other's defence,
to aid in each other's labor, to assist in the affectionate duty of
nursing the sick, and the mournful office of burying the dead, the best
affections of the heart are kept in constant exercise; and there is,
perhaps, no class of men in our country, who obey the calls of
benevolence, with such cheerful promptness, or with so liberal a
sacrifice of personal convenience.
"We read marvellous stories of the ferocity of western men. The name of
Kentuckian is constantly associated with the idea of fighting, dirking,
and gouging. The people of whom we are now writing do not deserve this
character. They live together in great harmony, with little contention
and less litigation. The backwoodsmen are a generous and placable race.
They are bold and impetuous; and when differences do arise among them,
they are more apt to give vent to their resentment at once, than to
brood over their wrongs, or to seek legal redress. But this conduct is
productive of harmony; for men are always more guarded in their
deportment to each other, and more cautious of giving offence, when they
know that the insult will be quickly felt, and instantly resented, than
when the consequences of an offensive action are doubtful, and the
retaliation distant. We have no evidence that the pioneers of Kentucky
were quarrelsome or cruel; and an intimate acquaintance with the same
race, at a later period, has led the writer to the conclusion, that they
are a humane people; bold and daring, when opposed to an enemy, but
amiable in their intercourse with each other and with strangers, and
habitually inclined to peace."
In morals and the essential principles of religion, this class of people
are by no means so defective as many imagine. The writer has repeatedly
been in settlements and districts beyond the pale of civil and criminal
law, where the people are a "law unto themselves," where courts,
lawyers, sheriffs, and constables existed not, and yet has seen as much
quiet and order, and more honesty in paying just debts, than where legal
restraints operated in all their force. The turpitude of vice and the
majesty of virtue, were as apparent as in older settlements. Industry,
in laboring or hunting, bravery in war, candor, honesty, and hospitality
were rewarded with the confidence and honor of the people. Regulating
parties would exist, and thieves, rogues and counterfeiters were sure to
receive a striped Jacket "worked nineteen to the dozen," and by this
mode of operation, induced to "clear out;" but truth, uprightness,
honesty and sincerity are always respected. Many of the frontier class
are _illiterate_, but they are by no means _ignorant_. They are a
shrewd, observing, thinking people. They may not have learned the black
marks in books, but they have studied _men and things_, and have a quick
insight into human nature. They are not inattentive to religion, though
their opportunities of religious instruction are few, compared with old
countries. They have prejudices and fears about many of the organized
benevolent societies of the present age, yet there are no people more
readily disposed to attend religious meetings, and whose hearts are more
readily affected with the gospel than the backwoods people; and as large
a proportion are orderly professors of religion as in any part of the
Union. Ministers of the gospel and Missionaries, who can suit themselves
to the circumstances and habits of frontier people,--who like Paul, can
"become all things to all men,"--find pleasant and interesting fields of
labor on all our frontiers. But let such persons show fastidiousness,
affect superior intelligence and virtue, catechise the people for their
plainness and simplicity of manners, and draw invidious comparisons, and
they are sure to be "used up," or left without hearers, to deplore the
"dark clouds" of ignorance and prejudice in the west.
_Hunters and Trappers._ Entirely beyond the boundaries of civilization
are many hundreds of a unique class, distinguished by the terms Hunters
and Trappers. They are engaged in hunting buffalo and other wild game,
and trapping for beaver. They are found upon the vast prairies of the
West and Northwest,--in all the defiles and along the streams of the
Rocky mountains, and in various parts of the Oregon Territory, to the
peninsula of California. They are an enterprising and erratic race from
almost every state, and are usually in the employ of persons of capital
and enterprise, and who are concerned in the fur and peltry business.
Expeditions for one, two, or three years, are fitted out from St. Louis,
or some commercial point, consisting of companies, who ascend the rivers
to the regions of fur. The hunters and trappers, receive a proportion of
the profits of the expedition. Some become so enamored with this
wandering and exposed life as to lose all desire of returning to the
abodes of civilization, and remain for the rest of their lives in the
American deserts. There are individuals, who are graduates of colleges,
and who once stood high in the circles of refinement and taste, that
have passed more than twenty years amongst the roaming tribes of the
Rocky mountains, or on the western slope, till they have apparently lost
all feelings towards civilized life. They have afforded an interesting
but melancholy example of the tendencies of human nature towards the
degraded state of savages. The improvement of the species is a slow and
laborious process,--the deterioration is rapid, and requires only to be
divested of restraint, and left to its own unaided tendencies. Many
others have returned to the habits of civilization, and some with
fortunes made from the woods and prairies.
_Boatmen._ These are the fresh water sailors of the West, with much of
the light hearted, reckless character of the sons of the Ocean,
including peculiar shades of their own. Before the introduction of
Steamboats on the western waters, its immense commerce was carried on by
means of _keel boats_, and _barges_. The former is much in the shape of
a canal boat, long, slim-built, sharp at each end, and propelled by
setting poles and the cordelle or long rope. The barge is longer, and
has a bow and stern. Both are calculated to ascend streams but by a very
slow process. Each boat would require from ten to thirty hands,
according to its size. A number of these boats frequently sailed in
company. The boatmen were proverbially lawless at every town and
landing, and indulged without restraint in every species of dissipation,
debauchery and excess. But this race has become reformed, or nearly
extinct;--yes, reformed by the mighty power of steam. A steamboat, with
half the crew of a barge or keel, will carry ten times the burden, and
perform six or eight trips in the time it took a keel boat to make one
voyage. Thousands of flat boats, or "broad horns," as they are called,
pass _down_ the rivers with the produce of the country, which are
managed by the farmers of the West, but never return up stream. They
are sold for lumber, and the owners, after disposing of the cargo,
return by steam. The number of boatmen on the western waters is not only
greatly reduced, but those that remain are fast losing their original
character.
CHAPTER V.
PUBLIC LANDS.
System of Surveys.--Meridian and Base Lines.--Townships.--Diagram of a
township surveyed into Sections.--Land Districts and Offices.
--Pre-emption rights.--Military Bounty Lands.--Taxes.--Valuable Tracts
of country unsettled.
In all the new states and territories, the lands which are owned by the
general government, are surveyed and sold under one general system.
Several offices, each under the direction of a surveyor general, have
been established by acts of Congress, and districts, embracing one or
more states, assigned them. The office for the surveys of all public
lands in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and the Wisconsin country is located
at Cincinnati. The one including the states of Illinois and Missouri,
and the territory of Arkansas is at St. Louis. Deputy surveyors are
employed to do the work at a stipulated rate per mile, generally from
three to four dollars, who employ chain bearers, an axe, and flag man,
and a camp-keeper. They are exposed to great fatigue and hardship,
spending two or three months at a time in the woods and prairies, with
slight, moveable camps for shelter.
In the surveys, "_meridian_" lines are first established, running north
from the mouth of some noted river. These are intersected with "_base_"
lines.
There are five principal meridians in the land surveys in the west.
The "_First Principal Meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of
the Miami.
The "_Second Principal Meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of
Little Blue river, in Indiana.
The "_Third Principal Meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of
the Ohio.
The "_Fourth Principal Meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of
the Illinois.
The "_Fifth Principal Meridian_" is a line due north from the mouth of
the Arkansas. Another Meridian is used for Michigan, which passes
through the central part of the state. Its base line extends from about
the middle of lake St. Clair, across the state west to lake Michigan.
Each of these meridians has its own base line.
The surveys connected with the third and fourth meridians, and a small
portion of the second, embrace the state of Illinois.
The base line for both the second and third principal meridians
commences at Diamond Island, in Ohio, opposite Indiana, and runs due
west till it strikes the Mississippi, a few miles below St. Louis.
All the _townships_ in Illinois, south and east of the Illinois river,
are numbered from this base line either north or south.
The third principal meridian terminates with the northern boundary of
the state.
The fourth principal meridian commences in in the centre of the channel,
and at the mouth of the Illinois river, but immediately crosses to the
_east_ shore, and passes up on that side, (and at one place nearly
fourteen miles distant) to a point in the channel of the river,
seventy-two miles from its mouth. Here its base line commences and
extends across the peninsula to the Mississippi, a short distance above
Quincy. The fourth principal meridian is continued northward through the
military tract, and across Rock river, to a curve in the Mississippi at
the upper rapids, in township eighteen north, and about twelve or
fifteen miles above Rock Island. It here crosses and passes up the
_west_ side of the Mississippi river fifty-three miles, and recrosses
into Illinois, and passes through the town of Galena to the northern
boundary of the state. It is thence continued to the Wisconsin river and
made the principal meridian for the surveys of the territory, while the
northern boundary line of the state is constituted its base line for
that region.
Having formed a principal meridian with its corresponding base line,
for a district of country, the next operation of the surveyor is to
divide this into tracts of six miles square, called "_townships_."
In numbering the townships _east_ or _west_ from a principal meridian,
they are called "_ranges_," meaning a range of townships; but in
numbering _north_ or _south_ from a base line, they are called
"_townships_." Thus a tract of land is said to be situated in township
four north in range three east, from the third principal meridian; or as
the case may be.
Townships are subdivided into square miles, or tracts of 640 acres each,
called "_sections_." If near timber, trees are marked and numbered with
the section, township, and range, near each sectional corner. If in a
large prairie, a mound is raised to designate the corner, and a billet
of charred wood buried, if no rock is near. Sections are divided into
halves by a line north and south, and into quarters by a transverse
line. In sales under certain conditions, quarters are sold in equal
subdivisions of forty acres each, at one dollar and twenty-five cents
per acre. Any person, whether a native born citizen, or a foreigner, may
purchase forty acres of the richest soil, and receive an indisputable
title, for fifty dollars.
_Ranges_ are townships counted either east or west from meridians.
_Townships_ are counted either north or south from their respective base
lines.
_Fractions_, are parts of quarter sections intersected by streams or
confirmed claims.
The parts of townships, sections, quarters, &c. made at the lines of
either townships or meridians are called _excesses_ or _deficiencies_.
_Sections_, or miles square are numbered, beginning in the northeast
corner of the township, progressively west to the range line, and then
progressively east to the range line, alternately, terminating at the
southeast corner of the township, from one to thirty-six, as in the
following diagram:
+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | | | | | |
| 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| | | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | | | | | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| | | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | | | | | |
| 18 | 17 | 16[A]| 15 | 14 | 13 |
| | | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | | | | | |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| | | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | | | | | |
| 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| | | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+------+
| | | | | | |
| 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
| | | | | | |
+------+------+------+------+------+------+
[A] Appropriated for schools in the township.
I have been thus particular in this account of the surveys of public
lands, to exhibit the simplicity of a system, that to strangers,
unacquainted with the method of numbering the sections, and the various
subdivisions, appears perplexing and confused.
All the lands of Congress owned in Ohio have been surveyed, and with the
exceptions of some Indian reservations, have been brought into market.
In Indiana, all the lands purchased of the Indians have been surveyed,
and with the exception of about ninety townships and fractional
townships, have been offered for sale. These, amounting to about two
millions of acres, will be offered for sale the present year. In
Michigan, nearly all the ceded lands have been surveyed and brought into
market. The unsurveyed portion is situated in the neighborhood of
Saginaw bay; a part of which may be ready for market within the current
year.
In the Wisconsin Territory, west of lake Michigan, all the lands in the
Wisconsin district, which lies between the state of Illinois and the
Wisconsin river, have been surveyed; and in addition to the lands
already offered for sale in the Green Bay district, about 65 townships,
and fractional townships, have been surveyed and are ready for market.
The surveys of the whole country west of lake Michigan and south of the
Wisconsin river, in Illinois and Wisconsin territory, will soon be
surveyed and in market. Here are many millions of the finest lands on
earth, lying along the Des Pleines, Fox, and Rock rivers, and their
tributaries, well watered, rich soil, a healthy atmosphere, and
facilities to market. A temporary scarcity of timber in some parts of
this region will retard settlements, for a time; but this difficulty
will be obviated, by the rapidity with which prairie land turns to a
timbered region, wherever, by contiguous settlements, the wild grass
becomes subdued, and by the discovery of coal beds. Much of it is a
mineral region. In Illinois, the surveys are now completed in the
Danville district, and in the southern part of the Chicago district.
They are nearly completed along Rock river and the Mississippi. The
unsurveyed portion is along Fox river, Des Pleines and the shore of lake
Michigan, in the north-eastern part of the state. Emigrants, however, do
not wait for surveys and sales. They are settling over this fine portion
of the state, in anticipation of purchases. In Missouri, besides the
former surveys, the exterior lines of 138 townships, and the subdivision
into sections and quarters, 30 townships in the northern part of the
state, and contracts for running the exterior lines of 189 townships on
the waters of the Osage and Grand rivers have been made. A large portion
of this state is now surveyed and in market. Surveys are progressing in
Arkansas, and large bodies of land are proclaimed for sale in that
district.
I have no data before me that will enable me definitely to show the
amount of public lands now remaining unsold, in each land office
district. In another place I have already given an estimate of the
amount of public lands, within the organized states and territories,
remaining unsold, compared with the amount sold in past years.
The following table exhibits the number of acres sold in the districts
embraced more immediately within the range of this Guide, for 1834, and
the three first quarters of 1835, with the names of each district in
each state. It is constructed from the Report of the Commissioner of the
General Land Office to the Treasury Department, December 5th, 1835. The
sales of the last quarter of 1835, in Illinois, and probably in the
other states, greatly exceeded either the other quarters, and which will
be exhibited in the annual report of the Commissioner in December,
1836.
_Statement of the amount of Public Lands, sold at
the several Land Offices in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, and
Arkansas, in 1834._
=====================+==============
| _Acres and
LAND OFFICES. | hundredths_
---------------------+--------------
OHIO.
Marietta district, 11,999.52
Zanesville do 33,877.23
Steubenville, do 4,349.19
Chillicothe, do 21,309.32
Cincinnati, do 27,369.52
Wooster, do 9,448.77
Wapaghkonetta do 125,417.13
Bucyrus do 245,078.56
----------
Total for the State, 478,847.24
INDIANA.
Jeffersonville district. 67,826.11
Vincennes do 56,765.80
Indianopolis do 204,526.63
Crawfordsville do 161,477.87
Fort Wayne do 96,350.30
La Porte do 86,709.73
----------
Total for the State, 673,656.44
ILLINOIS.
Shawneetown district. 6,904.24
Kaskaskia do 15,196.52
Edwardsville do 124,302.19
Vandalia do 20,207.61
Palestine do 22,135.69
Springfield do 66,804.25
Danville do 62,331.38
Quincy do 36,131.59
----------
Total for the State, 354,013.47
MICHIGAN TERRITORY
Detroit district. 136,410.69
Monroe do 233,768.30
White Pigeon Prairie }
Bronson do } 128,244.47
----------
Total for the Territory 498,423.46
WISCONSIN TERRITORY.
Mineral Point dist. 14,336.67
MISSOURI.
St. Louis district. 43,634.68
Fayette do 71,049.74
Palmyra do 76,241.35
Jackson do 18,882.11
Lexington do 43,983.80
----------
Total for the State, 253,791.70
ARKANSAS TERRITORY.
Batesville district. 8,051.31
Little Rock do 25,799.74
Washington do 65,145.88
Fayetteville do 24,514.94
Helena do 26,244.59
----------
Total for the Territory 149,756.46
_Statement of the amount of Public Lands, sold at
the several Land Offices in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, and
Arkansas, from January 1st, to September 30th,
1835, including nine months._
=====================+=============
| _Acres and
LAND OFFICES. | hundredths_
---------------------+-------------
OHIO.
Marietta Dist. 11,012.98
Zanesville do 42,978.36
Steubenville do 3,649.29
Chillicothe do 12,586.87
Cincinnati do 20,105.76
Wooster do 5,157.68
Wapaghkonetta}
and Lima, } do 103,020.23
Bucyrus do 154,706.63
----------
Total for the State, 353,217.80
INDIANA.
Jeffersonville Dist. 44,634.81
Vincennes do 70,903.62
Indianapolis do 158,786.68
Crawfordsville do 108,055.22
Fort Wayne do 148,864.28
La Porte do 227,702.35
----------
Total for the State, 758,946.96
ILLINOIS.
Shawneetown Dist. 5,754.08
Kaskaskia do 13,814.38
Edwardsville do 123,638.07
Vandalia do 16,253.46
Palestine do 14,088.01
Springfield do 316,966.70
Danville do 94,491.35
Quincy do [A]40,274.58
Galena do [B]262,152.73
Chicago do 333,405.73
------------
Total for the State, 1,220,838.76
MICHIGAN.
Detroit Dist. 213,763.57
Brownson do 400,722.48
Monroe do 446,631.61
------------
Total for Michigan}
proper, } 1,061,127.66
WISCONSIN.
Mineral Point Dist. 67,052.55
Green Bay do 68,365.53
----------
Total for Wisconsin}
Territory, } 135,418.08
MISSOURI.
St. Louis Dist. 32,914.57
Fayette do 55,839.58
Palmyra do 101,018.00
Jackson do 28,995.19
Lexington do 42,801.45
Springfield do 320.00
----------
Total for the State, 261,888.79
ARKANSAS.
Batesville Dist. 2,021.22
Little Rock do 22,291.92
Washington do 43,360.81
Fayetteville do 8,723.72
Helena do 312,169.09
----------
Total for the Territory 388,566.76
[A] Returns only to May 31st.
[B] Returns only to July 31st.
Since those periods, sales at
these Offices have been immense
The reader will perceive that the sales of the three first quarters of
1835, almost doubled those of the whole year of 1834. The inquiry was
often made of the writer, while travelling in the Atlantic states in the
summer of 1835, whether there was still opportunity for emigrants to
purchase public lands in Indiana, Illinois, &c. where land offices had
been opened for sale of lands many years. He found almost everywhere,
wrong notions prevailing. The people were not aware of the immense
extent of the public domain now in market, and ready to be sold at _one
dollar and twenty-five cents per acre_, and even in as small tracts as
forty acres. Take for example, the Edwardsville district, in which the
writer resides. It extends south to the base line, east to the third
principal meridian, north to the line that separates townships 13 and 14
north, and west to the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, and embraces all
the counties of Madison, Clinton, Bond, Montgomery, Macouper, and
Greene, a tier of townships on the south side of Morgan and Sangamon,
five and a half townships from Fayette, and about half of St. Clair
county. The lands for a part of this district have been in market for 18
or 20 years;--it contains some of the oldest American settlements in the
state, and has also a number of confined claims never offered for sale.
And yet the receiver of this office informed me in November last, that
he had just made returns of all the lands sold in this district, and
they amounted to just _one third_ of the whole quantity. Every man,
therefore, may take it for granted that there will be land enough in
market in all the new states, for his use, during the present
generation. These are facts that should be known to all classes. The
mania of land speculation and of monopolists would soon subside, were
those concerned to sit down coolly, and after ascertaining the amount of
public lands now in market, with the vast additional quantity that must
soon come into market, use a few figures in common arithmetic, with the
probable amount of emigration, and ascertain the probable extent of the
demand for this article at any future period.
The following information is necessary for those who are not acquainted
with our land system.
In each land office there are a Register and Receiver, appointed by the
President and Senate for the term of four years, and paid by the
government.
After being surveyed, the land, by proclamation of the President, is
offered for sale at public auction by half quarter sections, or tracts
of 80 acres. If no one bids for it at one dollar and twenty-five cents
per acre, or more, it is subject to private entry at any time after,
upon payment of $1.25 cents per acre at the time of entry. _No credit in
any case is allowed._
In many cases, Congress, by special statute, has granted to actual
settlers, pre-emption rights, where settlements and improvements have
been made on public lands previous to public sale.
_Pre-emption rights_ confer the privilege only of purchasing the tract
containing improvements at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, by
the possessor, without the risk of a public sale.
In Illinois and several other western states, all lands purchased of the
general government, are exempted from taxation for five years after
purchase.
_Military Bounty lands._--These lands were surveyed and appropriated as
bounties to the soldiers in the war with Great Britain in 1812-'15, to
encourage enlistments. The selections were made in Illinois, Missouri,
and Arkansas. The Bounty lands of Illinois lie between the Illinois and
Mississippi rivers, in the counties of Calhoun, Pike, Adams, Schuyler,
Macdonough, Warren, Mercer, Knox, Henry, Fulton, Peoria, and Putnam. Out
of five millions of acres, 3,500,000 were selected, including about
three-fifths of this tract. The remainder is disposed of in the manner
of other public lands. The disposition of this fine country for military
bounties has much retarded its settlement. It was a short-sighted and
mistaken policy of government that dictated this measure. Most of the
titles have long since departed from the soldiers for whose benefit the
donations were made. Many thousand quarter sections have been sold for
taxes by the state, have fallen into the hands of monopolists, and are
now past redemption. The Bounty lands in Missouri, lie on the waters of
Chariton and Grand rivers, north side of the Missouri river and in the
counties of Chariton, Randolph, Carroll, and Ray, and include half a
million of acres. The tract is generally fertile, undulating, a mixture
of timber and prairie, but not as well watered as desirable. With the
bounty lands of Arkansas I am not well acquainted. Their general
character is good, and some tracts are rich cotton lands.
_Taxes._--Lands bought of the U. S. government are exempted from
taxation for five years after sale. All other lands owned by
non-residents, equally with those of residents, are subject to taxation
annually, either for state, or county purposes, or both. The mode and
amount varies in each state. If not paid when due, costs are added, the
lands sold, subject to redemption within a limited period;--generally
two years. Every non-resident landholder should employ an agent within
the state where his land lies, to look after it and pay his taxes, if he
would not suffer the loss of his land.
CHAPTER VI.
ABORIGINES.
Conjecture respecting their former numbers and condition. Present number
and state.--Indian Territory appropriated as their permanent
residence.--Plan and operations of the U. S. Government.--Missionary
efforts and stations. Monuments and Antiquities.
The idea is entertained, that the Valley of the Mississippi, was once
densely populated by aborigines;--that here were extensive
nations,--that the bones of many millions lie mouldering under our feet.
It has become a common theory, that previous to the settlement of the
country by people of European descent, there were _two_ successive races
of men, quite distinct from each other;--that the first race, by some
singular fatality, became exterminated, leaving no traditionary account
of their existence. And the second race, the ancestors of the existing
race of Indians, are supposed to have been once, far more numerous than
the present white population of the Valley.
Some parts of Mexico and South America, were found to be populous upon
the first visits of the Spaniards; but I do not find satisfactory
evidence that population was ever dense, in any part of the territory
that now constitutes our Republic. Mr. Atwater supposes, from the mounds
in Ohio, the Indian population far exceeded 700,000, at one time in that
district. Mr. Flint says, "If we can infer nothing else from the mounds,
we can clearly infer, that this country once had its millions." Hence, a
principal argument assigned for the populousness of this country is, the
millions buried in these tumuli, the bones of which, in a tolerable
state of preservation, are supposed to be exhibited upon excavation. The
writer has witnessed the opening of many of these mounds, and has seen
the fragments of an occasional skeleton, found _near the surface_.
Without stopping here to enter upon a disquisition on the hypothesis
assumed, that these mounds, as they are termed, are as much the results
of natural causes, as any other prominences on the surface of the globe:
I will only remark, that it is a fact well known to frontier men, that
the Indians have been in the habit of burying their dead on these ridges
and hillocks, and that in our light, spongy soil, the skeleton decays
surprisingly fast. This is not the place to exhibit the necessary data,
that have led to the conviction, that not a human skeleton now exists in
all the western Valley, (excepting in nitrous caves,) that was deposited
in the earth before the discovery of the New World, by Columbus.
The opinion that this Valley was once densely populous, is sustained
from the supposed military works, distributed through the West. This
subject, as well as that of mounds, wants re-examination. Probably, half
a dozen enclosures, in a rude form, might have been used for military
defence. The capabilities of the country to sustain a dense population,
has been used to support the position, that it must have been once
densely populated. This argues nothing without vestiges of agriculture
and the arts. With the exception of a few small patches, around the
Indian villages, for corn and pulse, the whole land was an unbroken
wilderness. Strangers to the subject have imagined that our western
prairies must once have been subdued by the hand of cultivation, because
denuded of timber. Those who have long lived on them, have the evidences
of observation, and their senses, to guide them. They know that the
earth will not produce timber, while the surface is covered with a firm
grassy sward, and that timber will spring up, as soon as this
obstruction is removed.
To all these theories, of the former density of the aboriginal
population of the Valley, I oppose, first, the fact that but a scattered
and erratic population was found here, on the arrival of the
Europeans,--that the people were rude savages, subsisting chiefly by
hunting, and that no savage people ever became populous,--that from time
immemorial, the different tribes had been continually at war with each
other,--that but a few years before the French explored it, the
Iroquois, or Five nations, conquered all the country to the Mississippi,
which they could not have done had it been populous, and that Kentucky,
one of the finest portions of the Valley, was not inhabited by any
people, but the common hunting and fighting grounds of both the northern
and southern Indians, and hence called by them, _Kentuckee_, or the
"Bloody ground."[7]
That the Indian character has deteriorated, and the numbers of each
tribe greatly lessened by contact with Europeans and their descendants,
is not questioned; but many of the descriptions of the comforts and
happiness of savage life and manners, before their country was possessed
by the latter, are the exaggerated and glowing descriptions of poetic
fancy. Evidence enough can be had to show that they were degraded and
wretched, engaged in petty exterminating wars with each other, often
times in a state of starvation, and leading a roving, indolent and
miserable existence. Their government was anarchy.--Properly speaking,
civil government had never existed amongst them. They had no executive,
or judiciary power, and their legislation was the result of their
councils held by aged and experienced men. It had no stronger claim upon
the obedience of the people than advice.
In Mexico, civilization had made progress, and there were populous towns
and cities, and edifices for religious and other purposes. With the
exception of some very rude structures, the ruins of which yet remain,
and which upon too slight grounds, have been mistaken for military
works, nothing is left as marks of the enterprise of the feeble bands of
Indians of this Valley. Their implements, utensils, weapons of war, and
water-craft, were of the most rude and simple construction, and yet
prepared with great labor. Those who have written upon Indian manners,
without personal and long acquaintance with their circumstances, have
made extravagant blunders. The historian of America, Dr. Robertson,
seems to suppose that the Indians cut down large trees, and dug out
canoes with stone hatchets,--and that they cleared the timber from their
small fields, by the same tedious process. Their stone axes or hatchets,
were never used for _cutting_, but only for splitting and pounding. They
burned down and hollowed out trees by fire, for canoes, and never
chopped off the timber, but only deadened it, in clearing land. The
condition of depraved man, unimproved by habits of civilization, and
unblest with the influences and consolations of the gospel, is pitiable
in the extreme. Such was the character and condition of the "Red skin,"
before his land was visited by the "Pale faces." I have often seen the
aboriginal man in all his primeval wildness, when he first came in
contact with the evils and benefits of civilization,--have admired his
noble form and lofty bearing,--listened to his untutored and yet
powerful eloquence, and yet have found in him the same humbling and
melancholy proofs of his wretchedness and want, as is found in the
remnants on our borders.
The introduction of ardent spirits, and of several diseases, are the
evils furnished the Indian race, by contact with the whites, while in
other respects their condition has been improved.
From the second number of the "_Annual Register of Indian Affairs,
within the Indian (or western) Territory_," just published by the Rev.
Isaac McCoy, the following particulars have been chiefly gleaned:
Mr. McCoy has been devoted to the work of Indian reform for almost
twenty years, first in Indiana, then in Michigan, and latterly in the
Indian territory, west of Missouri and Arkansas. He is not only
intimately acquainted with the peculiar circumstances of this
unfortunate race, and with the country selected as their future
residence by the government, but is ardently and laboriously engaged for
their welfare.
INDIAN TERRITORY.
The Indian territory lies west and immediately adjacent to Missouri and
Arkansas. It is about 600 miles long from north to south, extending from
the Missouri river to the Red river, and running westwardly as far as
the country is habitable, which is estimated to be about 200 miles. The
almost destitution of timber, with extensive deserts, renders most of
the country from this territory to the Rocky mountains uninhabitable.
The dreams indulged by many, that the wave of white population is to
move onward without any resisting barrier, till it reaches these
mountains, and even overleap them to the Pacific ocean, will never be
realized. Providence has thrown a desert of several hundred miles in
extent, as an opposing barrier.
As very contradictory accounts have gone abroad, prejudicial to the
character of the country selected for the Indians, it becomes necessary
to describe it with some particularity. The following, from Mr. McCoy
(if it needed any additional support to its correctness,) is
corroborated by the statements of many disinterested persons.
"There is a striking similarity between all parts of this territory. In
its general character, it is high and undulating, rather level than
hilly; though small portions partly deserve the latter appellation. The
soil is generally very fertile. It is thought that in no part of the
world, so extensive a region of rich soil has been discovered as in
this, of which the Indian territory is a central position. It is watered
by numerous rivers, creeks and rivulets. Its waters pass through it
eastwardly, none of which are favorable to navigation. There is less
marshy and stagnant water in it than is usual in the western country.
The atmosphere is salubrious, and the climate precisely such as is
desirable, being about the same as that inhabited by the Indians on the
east of the Mississippi. It contains much mineral coal and salt water,
some lead, and some iron ore. Timber is too scarce, and this is a
serious defect, but one which time will remedy, as has been demonstrated
by the growth of timber in prairie countries which have been settled,
where the grazing of stock, by diminishing the quantity of grass,
renders the annual fires less destructive to the growth of wood. The
prairie (i. e., land destitute of wood) is covered with grass, much of
which is of suitable length for the scythe."
The Chocktaws, Creeks, Cherokees, Osages, Kanzaus and Delawares, are
entitled to lands westward of this territory for hunting grounds; some
to the western boundary of the United States, others to the Rocky
mountains.
Mr. McCoy estimates the number of inhabitants of this territory at
47,733.
INDIGENOUS TRIBES.
Osage, about 5,510
Kanzau, " 1,684
Ottoe and Missourias, 1,600
O'Mahaus, 1,400
Pawnees, four tribes, 10,000
Puncahs, about 800
Quapaws, " 450
------
21,444
EMIGRANT TRIBES.
Chocktaw, about 15,000
Cherokee, " 4,000
Creek, " 3,600
Seneca, Shawanoe of Neosho, 462
Wea, about 225
Piankeshau, 119
Peoria and Kaskaskias, 135
Ottawa, 81
Shawanoe of Kanzau river, 764
Delaware, 856
Kickapoo, 603
Putawatomie, 444
------
Emigrants, 26,289
Indigenous, 21,444
------
Total, 47,733
The estimate of the Chocktaws include about 400 negro slaves,--that of
the Cherokees 500, and that of the Creeks about 450 slaves.
_Chocktaws._ Their country adjoins Red river and the Province of Texas
on the south, Arkansas on the east, and extends north to the Arkansas
and Canadian rivers, being 150 miles from north to south, and 200 miles
from east to west. Here are numerous salt springs. For civil purposes,
their country is divided into three districts.
_Cherokees._ The boundaries of their country commences on the Arkansas
river, opposite the western boundary of Arkansas Territory;--thence
northwardly along the line of Missouri, 8 miles to Seneca river;--thence
west to the Neosho river;--thence up said river to the Osage
lands;--thence west indefinitely, as far as habitable;--thence south to
the Creek lands, and along the eastern line of the Creeks to a point 43
miles west of the Territory of Arkansas, and 25 miles north of Arkansas
river;--thence to the Verdigris river, and down Arkansas river, to the
mouth of the Neosho;--thence southwardly to the junction of the North
Fork and Canadian rivers;--and thence down the Canadian and Arkansas
rivers to the place of beginning. The treaty of 1828, secures to this
tribe 7,000,000 of acres, and adds land westward for hunting grounds as
far as the U. S. boundaries extend.
The _Creeks_, or Muscogees, occupy the country west of Arkansas that
lies between the lands of the Chocktaws and Cherokees.
The _Senecas_ join the State of Missouri on the east, with the
Cherokees south, the Neosho river west, and possess 127,500 acres.
The _Osage_ (a French corruption of _Wos-sosh-ee_, their proper name,
which has again been corrupted by Darby and others into _Ozark_) have
their country north of the western portion of the Cherokee lands,
commencing 25 miles west of the State of Missouri, with a width of 50
miles, and extending indefinitely west. About half the tribe are in the
Cherokee country.
The _Quapaws_ were originally connected with the Osages. They have
migrated from the lower Arkansas, and have their lands adjoining the
State of Missouri, immediately north of the Senecas.
The _Putawatomies_ are on the north-eastern side of the Missouri river,
but they are not satisfied, and the question of their locality is not
fully settled. 444 Putawatomies are mingled with the Kickapoos, on the
south-west side of the Missouri river.
The Weas, Piankeshaws, Peorias and Kaskaskias are remnants of the great
western confederacy, of which the Miamies were the most prominent
branch. These and other tribes constituted the Illini, Oillinois, or
Illinois nation, that once possessed the country now included in the
great States of Indiana, Illinois, &c. Their lands lie west of the State
of Missouri, and south-west of the Missouri river.
The _Delawares_ occupy a portion of the country in the forks of the
Kanzau river, (or, as written by the French, Kansas.) They are the
remnants of another great confederacy, the _Lenni-Lenopi_, as
denominated by themselves.
The lands of the _Kickapoos_ lie north of the Delawares, and along the
Missouri, including 768,000 acres.
The _Ottoes_ occupy a tract of country between the Missouri and Platte
rivers, but their land is said to extend south and below the Platte.
The country of the _O'Mahaus_ has the Platte river on the south, and the
Missouri north-east.
The country of the _Pawnees_ lies to the westward of the Ottoes and
O'Mahaus. The boundaries are not defined.
The _Puncahs_ are a small tribe that originated from the Pawnees, and
live in the northern extremity of the country spoken of as the Indian
territory.
_Present Condition._--The Chocktaws, Cherokees and Creeks are more
advanced in civilized habits then any other tribes. They have organized
local governments of their own, have enacted some wholesome laws, live
in comfortable houses, raise horses, cattle, sheep and swine, cultivate
the ground, have good fences, dress like Americans, and manufacture much
of their own clothing. They have schools and religious privileges, by
missionary efforts, to a limited extent. The Cherokees have a written
language, perfect in its form, the invention of Mr. Guess, a
full-blooded Indian. The Senecas, Delawares, and Shawanoes, also, are
partially civilized, and live with considerable comfort from the
produce of their fields and stock. The Putawatomies, Weas, Piankeshaws,
Peorias, Kaskaskias, Ottawas, and Kickapoos, have partially adopted
civilized customs. Some live in comfortable log cabins, fence and
cultivate the ground, and have a supply of stock; others live in bark
huts, and are wretched. The Osages or Wos-sosh-ees, Quapaws, Kanzaus,
Ottoes, O'Mahaus, Pawnees and Puncahs have made much less improvement in
their mode of living. A few have adopted civilized habits, and are
rising in the scale of social and individual comforts, but the larger
portion are yet _Indians_.
Mr. McCoy estimates the whole number of aborigines in North America,
including those of Mexico, at 1,800,000, of which 10,000 are so far
improved as to be classed with civilized men, and amongst whom, there
are as many pious Christians, as amongst the same amount of population
in the United States. In addition to these, he estimates that there may
be about 60,000 more, "which may have made advances toward civilization,
some more and some less."
For some years past, the policy of the government of the United States
has been directed to the project of removing all the Indians from the
country organized into States and Territories, and placing them
sufficiently contiguous to be easily governed, and yet removed from
direct contact and future interruption from white population. This
project was recommended in the period of Mr. Monroe's administration,
was further considered and some progress made under that of Mr. Adams,
but has been carried into more successful execution within the last five
years. It is much to be regretted that this project was not commenced
earlier. The residence of small bands of Indians, with their own feeble
and imperfect government, carried on within any organized state or
territory, is ruinous. Those who argue that _because_ of the removal of
the Indians from within the jurisdiction of the states, or an organized
territory, _therefore_ they will be driven back from the country in
which it is now proposed to place them, evince but a very partial and
imperfect view of the subject. The present operation of government is an
experiment, and it is one that ought to receive a fair and full trial.
If it does not succeed, I know not of any governmental regulation that
can result, with success, to the prosperity of the Indians. The project
is to secure to each tribe, by patent, the lands allotted them,--to form
them into a territorial government, with some features of the
representative principle,--to have their whole country under the
supervision of our government, as their guardian, for their benefit,--to
allow no white men to pass the lines and intermix with the Indians,
except those who are licensed by due authority,--to aid them in adopting
civilized habits, provide for them schools and other means of improving
their condition, and, through the agency of missionary societies, to
instruct them in the principles of the gospel of Christ.
_Missionary Efforts and Stations._--These are conducted by the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,--the Baptist Board of F.
Missions,--the Methodist Epis. Missionary Society,--the Western Foreign
Missionary Society,--and the Cumberland Presbyterians. Stations have
been formed, and schools established, with most of these tribes. About
2,500 are members of Christian churches of different denominations. The
particulars of these operations are to be found in the Reports of the
respective societies, and the various religious periodicals.
Of other tribes within the Valley of the Mississippi, and not yet within
the Indian territory, the following estimate is sufficiently near the
truth for practical purposes.
Indians from New York, about Green Bay 725
Wyandots in Ohio and Michigan 623
Miamies 1,200
Winnebagoes 4,591
Chippeways, or O'Jibbeways 6,793
Ottawas and Chippeways of lake Michigan 5,300
Chippeways, Ottawas and Putawatomies 8,000
Putawatomies 1,400
Menominees 4,200
They are all east of the Mississippi, and chiefly found on the
reservations in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, and in the country between
the Wisconsin river and lake Superior. Those tribes west of the
Mississippi river, and along the region of the upper Missouri river, are
as follows:
Sioux 27,500
Ioways 1,200
Sauks of Missouri 500
Sauks and Foxes 6,400
Assinaboines 8,000
Crees 3,000
Gros Ventres 3,000
Aurekaras 3,000
Cheyennes 2,000
Mandans 1,500
Black Feet 30,000
Camanches 7,000
Minatarees 1,500
Crows 4,500
Arrepahas and Kiawas 1,400
Caddoes 800
Snake and other tribes within
the Rocky mountains 20,000
West of the Rocky mountains 80,000
The Camanches, Arrepahas, Kiawas and Caddoes roam over the great plains
towards the sources of the Arkansas and Red rivers, and through the
northern parts of Texas. The Black Feet are towards the heads of the
Missouri.
_Monuments and Antiquities._--Before dismissing the subject of the
aborigines, I shall touch very briefly on the monuments and antiquities
of the west,--with strong convictions that there has been much
exaggeration on this subject. I have already intimated that the mounds
of the west are natural formations, but I have not room for the
circumstances and facts that go to sustain this theory. The number of
objects considered as antiquities is greatly exaggerated. The
imaginations of men have done much. The number of mounds on the American
bottom in Illinois, adjacent to Cahokia creek, is stated by Mr. Flint at
200. The writer has counted all the elevations of surface for the extent
of nine miles, and they amount to 72. One of these, Monk hill, is much
too large, and three fourths of the rest are quite too small for human
labor. The pigmy graves on the Merrimeek, Mo., in Tennessee, and other
places, upon closer inspection, have been found to contain decayed
skeletons of the ordinary size, but buried with the leg and thigh bones
in contact. The _giant_ skeletons sometimes found, are the bones of
buffalo.
It is much easier for waggish laborers to deposit old horse shoes and
other iron articles where they are at work, for the special pleasure of
digging them up for credulous antiquarians, than to find proofs of the
existence of the horses that wore them!
There may, or may not, be monuments and antiquities that belong to a
race of men of prior existence to the present race of Indians. All that
the writer urges is, that this subject may not be considered as settled;
that due allowance may be made for the extreme credulity of some, and
the want of personal observation and examination of other writers on
this subject. Gross errors have been committed, and exaggerations of
very trivial circumstances have been made.
The antiquities belonging to the Indian race are neither numerous or
interesting, unless we except the remains of rude edifices and
enclosures, the walls of which are almost invariably embankments of
earth. They are rude axes and knives of stone, bottles and vessels of
potter's ware, arrow and spear heads, rude ornaments, &c.
Roman, French, Italian, German and English coins and medals, with
inscriptions, have been found,--most unquestionably brought by
Europeans,--probably by the Jesuits and other orders, who were amongst
the first explorers of the west, and who had their religious houses here
more than a century past.
Copper and silver ornaments have been discovered in the mounds that have
been opened. The calumet, or large stone pipe, is often found in Indian
graves. Two facts deserve to be regarded by those who examine mounds and
Indian cemeteries. First, that the Indians have been accustomed to bury
their dead in these mounds. Secondly, that they were accustomed to place
various ornaments, utensils, weapons, and other articles of value, the
property of the deceased, in these graves, especially if a chieftain, or
man of note. A third fact known to our frontier people, is the custom of
several Indian tribes wrapping their dead in strips of bark, or
encasing them with the halves of a hollow log, and placing them in the
forks of trees. This was the case specially, when their deaths occurred
while on hunting or war parties. At stated seasons these relics were
collected, with much solemnity, brought to the common sepulchre of the
tribe, and deposited with their ancestors. This accounts for the
confused manner in which the bones are often found in mounds and Indian
graveyards. Human skeletons, or rather mummies, have been discovered in
the nitrous caves of Kentucky. The huge bones of the mammoth and other
enormous animals, have been exhumed, at the Bigbone licks in Kentucky
and in other places.
FOOTNOTES:
[7] See Pownal's Administration of the British Colonies,--Colden's
History of the Five Nations,--New York Historical Collections, vol.
II.,--Charlevoix Histoire de la Nouvelle France,--Hon. De Witt Clinton's
Discourse before the N. Y. Historical Society, 1811,--Discovery of the
Mississippi river, by Father Lewis Hennepin,--M. Tonti's Account of M.
De La Salle's Expedition,--La Harpe's Journal, &c.
CHAPTER VII.
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA.
The portion of Pennsylvania lying west of the Alleghany ridge, contains
the counties of Washington, Greene, Fayette, Westmoreland, Alleghany,
Beaver, Butler, Armstrong, Mercer, Venango, Crawford, Erie, Warren,
McKean, Jefferson, Indiana, Somerset, and a part of Cambria.
_Face of the Country._--Somerset, and parts of Fayette, Westmoreland,
Cambria, Indiana, Jefferson, and McKean are mountainous, with
intervening vallies of rich, arable land. The hilly portions of
Washington, and portions of Fayette, Westmoreland, and Alleghany
counties are fertile, with narrow vales of rich land intervening. The
hills are of various shapes and heights, and the ridges are not uniform,
but pursue various and different directions. North of Pittsburg, the
country is hilly and broken, but not mountainous, and the bottom lands
on the water courses are wider and more fertile. On French creek, and
other branches of the Alleghany river there are extensive tracts of
rich bottom, or intervale lands, covered with beech, birch, sugar maple,
pine, hemlock, and other trees common to that portion of the United
States. The pine forests in Pennsylvania and New York, about the heads
of the Alleghany river, produce vast quantities of lumber, which are
sent annually to all the towns along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It
is computed that not less than thirty million feet of lumber are
annually sent down the Ohio from this source.
_Soil, Agriculture, &c._--Portions of the country are excellent for
farming. The _glade_ lands, as they are called, in Greene and other
counties, produce oats, grass, &c., but are not so good for wheat and
corn. Those counties which lie towards lake Erie are better adapted to
grazing. Great numbers of cattle are raised here. Washington and other
counties south of Pittsburg produce great quantities of wool. The
Monongahela has been famous for its whiskey, but it is gratifying to
learn that it is greatly on the decline, and that its manufacture begins
to be regarded as it should be,--ruinous to society. A large proportion
of the distilleries are reported to have been abandoned. Bituminous coal
abounds in all the hills around Pittsburg, and over most parts of
Western Pennsylvania. Iron ore is found abundantly in the counties along
the Alleghany, and many furnaces and forges are employed in its
manufactory. Salt springs abound on the Alleghany, and especially on the
Conemaugh and Kiskiminitas, where salt, in large quantities, is
manufactured.
The natural advantages of Western Pennsylvania are great. Almost every
knoll, hill and mountain can be turned to some good account, and its
rivers, canals, rail and turnpike roads afford facilities for
intercommunication, and for transportation of the productions to a
foreign market. The advantages of this region for trade, agriculture,
raising stock, and manufacturing, are great. The streams furnish
abundant mill-seats, the air is salubrious, and the morals of the
community good. Till recently, Pennsylvania has been neglectful to
provide for common schools. A school system is now in successful
operation, and has a strong hold on the confidence and affections of the
people in this part of the State.
_Internal Improvements._--Pennsylvania has undertaken an immense system
of internal improvements, throughout the State. The Alleghany portage
rail-road commences at Hollidaysburgh, on the Juniata river, at the
termination of the eastern division of the great Pennsylvania canal, and
crosses the Alleghany ridge at Blair's Gap, summit 37 miles, to
Johnstown on the Conemaugh. Here it connects with the western division
of the same canal. It ascends and descends the mountain by five inclined
planes on each side, overcoming in ascent and descent 2570 feet, 1398 of
which are on the eastern, and 1172 on the western side of the mountain.
563 feet are overcome by grading, and 2007 feet by the planes. On this
line, also, are four extensive viaducts, and a tunnel 870 feet long, and
20 feet wide, through the staple bend of the Conemaugh river. The
western division of the Pennsylvania canal commences at Johnstown, on
the Conemaugh, pursues the course of that stream, and also that of the
Kiskiminitas and Alleghany rivers, and finally terminates at Pittsburg.
In its course from Johnstown it passes through the towns of Fairfield,
Lockport, Blairsville, Saltzburg, Warren, Leechburg, and Freeport, most
of which are small villages, but increasing in size and business. "The
canal is 104 miles in length: lockage 471 feet, 64 locks, (exclusive of
four on a branch canal to the Alleghany,) 10 dams, 1 tunnel, 16
aqueducts, 64 culverts, 39 waste-wiers, and 152 bridges.
"The canal commissioners, in their reports to the legislature, strongly
recommend the extension of this division to the town of Beaver, so as to
unite with the Beaver division. By a recent survey, the distance was
ascertained to be 25.065 miles, and the estimated cost of construction,
$263,821. This, with a proposed canal from Newcastle to Akron, on the
Ohio and Erie canal, will form a continuous inland communication between
Philadelphia and New Orleans, of 2435 miles, with the exception of the
passage over the Alleghany portage rail-road, of 36.69 miles in
length.[8] It is 395 miles from Philadelphia to Pittsburg by this
canal.
The Beaver division of the Pennsylvania canal commences at the town of
Beaver, on the Ohio river, at the junction of the Big Beaver river,
25-½ miles below Pittsburg, ascends the valley of that river, thence
up the Chenango creek to its termination in Mercer county, a distance of
42.68 miles. This work, together with a feeder on French creek, and
other works now in progress, are parts of a canal intended eventually to
connect the Ohio river with lake Erie, at the town of Erie; which, when
finished, will probably be about 130 miles in length. It is also
proposed to construct a canal from Newcastle, on the Beaver division,
24.75 miles above the town of Beaver, along the valley of the Mahoning
river, to Akron, near the portage summit of the Ohio and Erie canal, 85
miles in length, 8 miles of which are in Pennsylvania, and the residue
in Ohio. Estimated cost, $764,372.
The Cumberland, or National road, crosses the south-western part of
Pennsylvania. It passes through Brownsville where it crosses the
Monongahela river, and Washington, into a corner of Virginia to
Wheeling, where it crosses the Ohio river, and from thence through Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois to the Mississippi river, or perhaps to the western
boundary of Missouri.
_Chief Towns._--_Brownsville_, situated on the east side of the
Monongahela river, is in a romantic country, surrounded with rich farms
and fine orchards, and contains about 1200 inhabitants. It is at the
head of steamboat navigation. _Washington_ is the county seat of
Washington county, surrounded with a fertile but hilly country, contains
about 2000 inhabitants, and has a respectable college. _Cannonsburgh_ is
situated on the west side of Chartier's creek, 8 miles north of
Washington. It also has a flourishing college, with buildings in an
elevated and pleasant situation. _Uniontown_ is the county seat of
Fayette, on the National road, and contains about 1500 inhabitants.
_Greensburg_ is the seat of justice for Westmoreland county, on the
great turnpike road from Philadelphia by Harrisburg to Pittsburg, and
has about 850 inhabitants. _Beaver_ is situated at the mouth of Big
Beaver, on the Ohio, with a population of 1000 or 1200, and is a place
of considerable business. _Meadville_ is the seat of justice for
Crawford county, situated near French creek, and has about 1200
inhabitants. Here is a college established by the Rev. Mr. Alden, some
years since, to which the late Dr. Bentley of Salem, Mass., bequeathed a
valuable library. It is now under the patronage of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
_Erie_ is a thriving town, situated on the south side of lake Erie, one
hundred and twenty miles north of Pittsburg. Steamboats that pass up the
lake from Buffalo, usually stop here, from whence stage routes
communicate with Pittsburg, and many other towns in the interior. The
portage from this place to the navigable waters of the Alleghany river
is fifteen miles over a turnpike road. The population of Erie is from
1500 to 2000, and increasing.
_Waterford_, the place where the Erie portage terminates, is situated on
the north bank of the French creek; it is a place of considerable
business. French creek is a navigable branch of the Alleghany river.
_Franklin_, _Kittanning_, and _Freeport_, are respectable towns on the
Alleghany river, between Pittsburg and Meadville.
_Economy_ is the seat of the German colony, under the late Mr. Rapp,
which emigrated from their former residence of Harmony on the Wabash
river in Indiana. It is a flourishing town on the right bank of the
Ohio, 18 miles below Pittsburg. It has several factories, a large
church, a spacious hotel, and 800 or 900 inhabitants, living in a
community form, under some singular regulations. The Economists, or
Harmonists, as they were called, in Indiana, are an industrious, moral
and enterprising community, with some peculiarities in their religious
notions. There are many other towns and villages in Western
Pennsylvania, of moral, industrious inhabitants, which the limits of
this work will not permit me to notice.
PITTSBURG is the emporium of Western Pennsylvania, and from its
manufacturing enterprise, especially in iron wares, has been
denominated the "Birmingham of the West." It stands on the land formed
at the junction of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers on a level
alluvion deposit, but entirely above the highest waters, surrounded with
hills. This place was selected as the site of a fort and trading depot
by the French, about eighty years since, and a small stockade erected,
and called Fort du Quesne, to defend the country against the occupancy
of it by the English, and to monopolize the Indian trade. It came into
the possession of the British upon the conquest of this country after
the disastrous defeat of Gen. Braddock; and under the administration of
the elder Pitt, a fort was built here under the superintendence of lord
Stanwix, that cost more than $260,000, and called Fort Pitt. In 1760, a
considerable town arose around the fort, surrounded with beautiful
gardens and orchards, but it decayed on the breaking out of the Indian
war, in 1763. The origin of the present town may be dated 1765. Its plan
was enlarged and re-surveyed in 1784, and then belonged to the Penn
family as a part of their hereditary manor. By them it was sold.
The Indian wars in the West retarded its growth for several years after,
but since, it has steadily increased, according to the following
TABLE.
1800, 1,565
1810, 4,768
1820, 7,248
1830, 12,542
1835, _estimated_, 30,000
The estimate of 1835, includes the suburbs. The town is compactly built,
and some streets are handsome; but the use of coal for culinary and
manufacturing purposes, gives the town a most dingy and gloomy aspect.
Its salubrity and admirable situation for commerce and manufactures
ensure its future prosperity and increase of population. The exhaustless
beds of coal in the bluffs of the Monongahela, and of iron ore, which is
found in great abundance in all the mountainous regions of Western
Pennsylvania, give it preëminence over other western cities for
manufacturing purposes. It really stands at the head of steamboat
navigation on the waters of the Ohio; for the Alleghany and Monongahela
rivers are navigable only at high stages of water, and by the recent
improvements in the channel of the Ohio, and the use of light draft
boats, the navigation to Pittsburg is uninterrupted except in winter.
The suburbs of Pittsburg are Birmingham, on the south bank of the
Monongahela, Alleghany town, on the opposite side of the Alleghany
river, and containing a population of about seven thousand,
Lawrenceville, Northern and Eastern Liberties.
MANUFACTURES.
Nail Factories and Rolling Mills. Weight in lbs. Value.
Union, 720,000 $43,200
Sligo, 400,000 32,000
Pittsburg, 782,887 86,544
Grant's Hill, 500,000 20,000
Juniata, 500,000 30,000
Pine Creek, 457,000 34,100
Miscellaneous factories, 360,000 28,200
The foregoing table was constructed in 1831. Doubtless this branch of
business has greatly increased.
The same year there were 12 foundries in and near Pittsburg, which
converted 2963 tons of metal into castings, employed 132 hands, consumed
87,000 bushels of charcoal, and produced the value of $189,614.
The following sketch of manufactures in Pittsburg and vicinity, is
copied from Tanner's Guide, published in 1832:
Steam engines 37, which employed 123 hands. Value, $180,400.
Cotton factories 8, with 369 power-looms, 598 hands; value, $300,134. In
the counties of Westmoreland and Alleghany, there are 5 cotton
factories.
In Pittsburg and the two counties just named, are 8 paper mills, valued
at $165,000.
In Pittsburg and vicinity are 5 steam mills, which employ 50 hands.
Value of their products annually, $80,000.
There are 5 brass foundries and 8 coppersmiths' shops. Value of the
manufactures, $25,000.
Within the limits of the city, there are 30 blacksmiths' shops, which
employ 136 hands. There are also 4 gunsmiths, and 9 silversmiths and
watch repairers.
In Pittsburg and the counties of Westmoreland and Alleghany, there are
26 saddleries; and 41 tanneries, 64 brick yards, and 11 potteries. There
are in the city 4 breweries, and 4 white lead manufactories, at which
7,400 kegs are made annually; value, $27,900.
There are 6 printing-offices in Pittsburg, and 6 more in the two
counties.
The estimated value of the manufactures of every kind in Pittsburg, and
the counties of Alleghany and Westmoreland, in 1831, was $3,978,469.
Doubtless they have greatly increased since.
_Coal._--The bituminous coal formations around Pittsburg are well
deserving the attention of geologists. Coal Hill, on the west side of
the Monongahela, and immediately opposite Pittsburg, is the great source
of this species of fuel, and the miners, in some places, have perforated
the hill to the distance of several hundred feet. It is found in strata
from 6 inches to 10 or 12 feet in thickness, and often at the height of
300 feet above the bed of the river, in the hills around Pittsburg, and
along the course of the Alleghany and Monongahela. Below this one
stratum, which is of equal elevation, none is found till you reach the
base of the hill below the bed of the river. Besides supplying
Pittsburg, large quantities are sent down the river.
There are in Pittsburg, (or _were_ two years since) three Baptist
churches, or congregations, one of which is of Welch, four Presbyterian,
four Methodist, one Episcopal, one Roman Catholic, (besides a cathedral
on Grant's Hill,) one Covenanter, one Seceder, one German Reformed, one
Unitarian, one Associate Reformed, one Lutheran, one African, and
perhaps some others in the city or suburbs.
Of the public buildings deserving notice, I will name the _Western
University of Pennsylvania_, which stands on the Monongahela, near
Grant's Hill;--the _Penitentiary_, in Alleghany town, which has cost the
State an immense amount, and is conducted on the principle of solitary
confinement;--the _Presbyterian Theological Seminary_ is also in
Alleghany town;--the _Museum_;--the _United States Arsenal_, about two
miles above the city, at Lawrenceville. It encloses four acres, and has
a large depot for ordnance, arms, &c. The _City Water Works_ is a
splendid monument of municipal enterprise. The water is taken from the
Alleghany river, by a pipe, 15 inches in diameter, and carried 2,439
feet, and 116 feet elevation, to a reservoir on Grant's Hill, capable of
receiving 1,000,000 gallons. The water is raised by a steam-engine of 84
horse power, and will raise 1,500,000 gallons in 24 hours. The aqueduct
of the Pennsylvania canal, across the Alleghany river, is also deserving
attention.
The inhabitants of Pittsburg are a mixture of English, French, Scotch,
Irish, German and Swiss artisans and mechanics, as well as of native
born Americans, who live together in much harmony. Industry, sobriety,
morality and good order generally prevail. Extensive revivals of
religion prevailed here about a year since.
The population of Western Pennsylvania is characterized for industry,
frugality, economy and enterprise. Temperance principles have made
considerable progress of late years.
WESTERN VIRGINIA
--Embraces all that part of Virginia that lies upon the western waters.
The counties are Brooke, Ohio, Monongalia, Harrison, Randolph, Russell,
Preston, Tyler, Wood, Greenbrier, Kenawha,[9] Mason, Lewis, Nicholas,
Logan, Cabell, Monroe, Pocahontas, Giles, Montgomery, Wythe, Grayson,
Tazewell, Washington, Scott and Lee:--26.
Its principal river is the Kenawha and its tributaries. Of these, Gaula,
New river and Greenbrier are the principal. New river is the largest,
and rises in North Carolina. The Monongahela drains a large
district;--the little Kenawha, Guyandotte, and Sandy are smaller
streams. The latter separates Virginia from Kentucky for some distance.
Much of Western Virginia is mountainous, lying in parallel ridges, which
are often broken by streams. Some of the vallies are very fertile. The
Kenawha Valley is narrow, but extends to a great distance. The salt
manufactories extend from Charlestown up the Kenawha, the distance of 12
miles. They are 20 in number, and manufacture nearly two millions of
bushels annually. The river is navigable for steamboats to this point at
an ordinary depth of water. Coal is used in the manufactories, which is
dug from the adjacent mountains, and brought to the works on wooden
railways. Seven miles above Charlestown is the famous burning spring.
Inflammable gas escapes, which, if ignited, will burn with great
brilliancy for many hours, and even for several days, in a favorable
state of the atmosphere. The State of Virginia has constructed a
tolerably good turnpike road from the mouth of the Guyandotte, on the
Ohio, to Staunton. It passes through Charlestown, and along the Kenawha
river to the falls;--from thence it extends along the course of New
river, and across Sewall's mountain by Louisburg to Staunton. The falls
of Kenawha are in a romantic region, and merit the attention of the
traveller. Marshall's pillar is a singular projecting rock that
overhangs New river, 1015 feet above its bed. The stage road passes near
its summit.
This route is one of the great stage routes leading from the Ohio Valley
to Washington city, and to all parts of old Virginia.
The _White Sulphur_, _Red Sulphur_, _Hot_, _Warm_, _and Sweet Springs_,
are in the mountainous parts of Virginia, and on this route. These are
all celebrated as watering places, but the White Sulphur spring is the
great resort of the fashionable of the Southern States. Let the reader
imagine an extensive campground, a mile in circumference, the camps neat
cottages, built of brick, or framed, and neatly painted. In the centre
of this area are the springs, bath-houses, dining hall, and mansion of
the proprietor. The cottages are intended for the accommodation of
families, and contain two rooms each. This is by far the most extensive
watering place in the Union. Of the effect of such establishments on
_morals_ I shall say nothing. The reader will draw his own conclusions,
when he understands that the card-table, roulette, wheel of fortune, and
dice-box are amongst its principal amusements. Here, not unfrequently,
cotton bales, negroes, and even plantations, change owners in a night.
The scenery around is highly picturesque and romantic. Declivities and
mountains, sprinkled over with evergreens, are scattered in wild
confusion. A few miles from White Sulphur springs, you pass the dividing
line--the Alleghany ridge, and pass from Western into Middle Virginia.
_Chief Towns._--Wheeling is the principal commercial town, and a great
thoroughfare, in Western Virginia. It has a large number of stores, and
commission warehouses; and contains six or eight thousand inhabitants.
It is 92 miles by water, and 55 miles by land, from Pittsburg. It has
manufactures of cotton, glass, and earthenware. Boats are built here.
The Cumberland or National road crosses the Ohio at this place, over
which a bridge is about to be erected. The town is surrounded with bold,
precipitous hills, which contain inexhaustible quantities of coal. At
extreme low water, steamboats ascend no higher than Wheeling.
Charlestown, Wellsburgh, Parkersburgh, Point Pleasant, Clarksburgh,
Abington, Louisburg, and many others, are pleasant and thriving towns.
The climate of Western Virginia is preeminently salubrious. The people,
in their manners, have considerable resemblance to those of Western
Pennsylvania. There are fewer slaves, less wealth, more industry and
equality, than in the "Old Dominion," as Eastern Virginia is sometimes
called.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] See "Mitchell's Compendium of the Internal Improvements in the
United States," where much valuable information of the rail-roads and
canals of the United States is found in a small space.
[9] I have adopted the orthography of the legislature.
CHAPTER VIII.
MICHIGAN.
Extent,--Situation,--Boundaries;----Face of the Country; Rivers, Lakes,
&c., Soil and Productions;--Subdivisions, Counties;--Towns,
Detroit;--Education;--Improvements projected;--Boundary
Dispute;--Outline of the Constitution.
Michigan is a large triangular peninsula, surrounded on the east, north
and west, by lakes, and on the south by the States of Ohio and Indiana.
Lake Erie, Detroit river, lake St. Clair, and St. Clair river, lie on
the east for 140 miles; lake Huron on the north-east and north, the
straits of Mackinaw on the extreme north-west, and lake Michigan on its
western side. Its area is about 40,000 square miles.
_Face of the Country._--Its general surface is level, having no
mountains, and no very elevated hills. Still, much of its surface is
undulating, like the swelling of the ocean. Along the shore of lake
Huron, in some places, are high, precipitous bluffs, and along the
eastern shore of Michigan are hills of pure sand, blown up by the winds
from the lake. Much of the country bordering on lakes Erie, Huron, and
St. Clair, is level,--somewhat deficient in good water, and for the most
part heavily timbered. The interior is more undulating, in some places
rather hilly, with much fine timber, interspersed with oak "openings,"
"plains," and "prairies."
The "_plains_" are usually timbered, destitute of undergrowth, and are
beautiful. The soil is rather gravelly. The "_openings_" contain
scattering timber in groves and patches, and resemble those tracts
called _barrens_ farther south. There is generally timber enough for
farming purposes, if used with economy, while it costs but little labor
to clear the land. For the first ploughing, a strong team of four or
five yoke of oxen is required, as is the case with prairie.
The _openings_ produce good wheat.
The "_prairies_," will be described more particularly under the head of
Illinois. In Michigan they are divided into wet and dry. The former
possess a rich soil, from one to four feet deep, and produce abundantly
all kinds of crops common to 42 degrees of N. latitude, especially those
on St. Joseph river. The latter afford early pasturage for emigrants,
hay to winter his stock, and with a little labor would be converted into
excellent artificial meadows. Much of the land that now appears wet and
marshy will in time be drained, and be the first rate soil for farming.
A few miles back of Detroit is a flat, wet country for considerable
extent, much of it heavily timbered,--the streams muddy and
sluggish,--some wet prairies,--with dry, sandy ridges intervening. The
timber consists of all the varieties found in the Western States; such
as oaks of various species, walnut, hickory, maple, poplar, ash, beech,
&c., with an intermixture of white and yellow pine.
_Rivers and Lakes._--In general, the country abounds with rivers and
small streams. They rise in the interior, and flow in every direction to
the lakes which surround it. The northern tributaries of the Maumee rise
in Michigan, though the main stream is in Ohio, and it enters the west
end of lake Erie on the "debatable land." Proceeding up the lake, Raisin
and then Huron occur. Both are navigable streams, and their head waters
interlock with Grand river, or Washtenong, which flows into lake
Michigan. River Rouge enters Detroit river, a few miles below the city
of Detroit. Raisin rises in the county of Lenawee, and passes through
Monroe. Huron originates amongst the lakes of Livingston, passes through
Washtenaw, and a corner of Wayne, and enters lake Erie towards its
north-western corner. Above Detroit is river Clinton, which heads in
Oakland county, passes through Macomb, and enters lake St. Clair.
Passing by several smaller streams, as Belle, Pine, and Black rivers,
which fall into St. Clair river, and going over an immense tract of
swampy, wet country, between lake Huron and Saginaw bay, in Sanilac
county, we come to the Saginaw river. This stream is formed by the
junction of the Tittibawassee, Hare, Shiawassee, Flint, and Cass rivers,
all of which unite in the centre of Saginaw county, and form the Saginaw
river, which runs north, and enters the bay of the same name. The
Tittibawassee rises in the country west of Saginaw bay, runs first a
south, and then a south-eastern course, through Midland county into
Saginaw county, to its junction. Pine river is a branch of this stream,
that heads in the western part of Gratiot county, and runs north-east
into Midland. Hare, the original name of which is Waposebee, commences
in Gratiot, and the N. W. corner of Shiawassee counties, and runs an
east and north-east course. The heads of the Shiawassee, which is the
main fork of the Saginaw, are found in the counties of Livingston and
Oakland. Its course is northward. Flint river rises in the south part of
Lapeer county, and runs a north-western course, some distance past the
centre of the county, when it suddenly wheels to the south, then to the
west, and enters Genesee county, through which it pursues a devious
course towards its destination. Cass river rises in Sanilac county, and
runs a western course. These rivers are formed of innumerable branches,
and water an extensive district of country. Other smaller streams enter
lake Huron, above Saginaw bay; but the whole country across to lake
Michigan is yet a wilderness, and possessed by the Indians. Doubtless it
will soon be purchased, surveyed and settled. On the western side of the
State are Traverse, Ottawa, Betsey, Manistic, Pent, White, Maskegon,
Grand, Kekalamazoo, and St. Joseph, all of which fall into lake
Michigan. Those above Grand river are beyond the settled portion of the
State. Grand river is the largest in Michigan, being 270 miles in
length, its windings included. Its head waters interlock with the Pine,
Hare, Shiawassee, Huron, Raisin, St. Joseph and Kekalamazoo. A canal
project is already in agitation to connect it with the Huron, and open a
water communication from lake Erie, across the peninsula, direct to lake
Michigan. Grand river is now navigable for batteaux, 240 miles, and
receives in its course, Portage, Red-Cedar, Looking-glass, Maple,
Muscota, Flat, Thorn-Apple, and Rouge rivers, besides smaller streams.
It enters lake Michigan 245 miles south-westerly from Mackinaw, and 75
north of St. Joseph;--is between 50 and 60 rods wide at its mouth, with
8 feet water over its bar. The Ottawa Indians own the country on its
north side, for 60 miles up. Much of the land on Grand river and its
tributaries, is excellent, consisting of six or seven thousand square
miles;--and, considering its central position in the State,--the general
fertility of its soil,--the good harbor at its mouth,--the numerous mill
sites on its tributaries,--this region may be regarded as one of the
most interesting portions of Michigan. The Kekalamazoo rises in Jackson
and Eaton counties, passes through Calhoun, and the northern part of
Kalamazoo, enters the south-eastern part of Allegan, and passes
diagonally through it to the lake. There is much first-rate land,
timber, prairie, and openings, on its waters, and is rapidly settling.
The St. Joseph country is represented by some as the best country in
Michigan. This stream has several heads in Branch, Hillsdale, Jackson,
Calhoun, and Kalamazoo counties, which unite in St. Joseph county,
through which it passes diagonally to the south-west, into
Indiana,--thence through a corner of Elkhart county, into St. Joseph of
that State, makes the "South Bend," and then runs north-westerly, into
Michigan, through Berrian county, to the lake. The town of St. Joseph is
at its mouth. It has Pigeon, Prairie, Hog, Portage, Christianna,
Dowagiake, and Crooked rivers for tributaries, all of which afford good
mill sites. In Cass and St. Joseph counties, are Four-mile, Beardsley,
Townsend, McKenny, La Grange, Pokagon, Young, Sturges, Notta-wa-Sepee,
and White Pigeon prairies, which are rich tracts of country, and fast
filling up with inhabitants.
Michigan abounds with small lakes and ponds. Some have marshy and
unhealthy borders;--others are transparent fountains, surrounded with
beautiful groves, an undulating country, pebbly and sandy shores, and
teeming with excellent fish. The counties of Oakland, Livingston,
Washtenaw, Jackson, Barry, and Kalamazoo, are indented with them.
_Productions._--These are the same, in general, as those of Ohio and New
York. Corn and wheat grow luxuriantly here. Rye, oats, barley,
buckwheat, potatoes, and all the garden vegetables common to the
climate, grow well. All the species of grasses are produced luxuriantly.
Apples and other fruit abound in the older settlements, especially among
the French about Detroit.
It will be a great fruit country.
_Subdivisions._--Michigan had been divided into 33 counties in 1835,
some of which were attached to adjacent counties for judicial purposes.
Other counties may have been formed since. The following organized
counties show the population of the State, (then Territory,) at the
close of 1834.
=================================+=================================
| _Dist. from
COUNTIES. _Population._ | SEATS OF JUSTICE. Detroit._
---------------------------------+---------------------------------
Berrian, 1,787 | Berrian, 180
Branch, 764 | Branch, 133
Calhoun, 1,714 | Eckford, 100
Cass, 3,280 | Cassopolis, 160
Jackson, 1,865 | Jacksonsburgh, 77
Kalamazoo, 3,124 | Bronson, 137
Lenawee, 7,911 | Tecumseh, 63
Macomb, 6,055 | Mount Clemens, 25
Monroe, 8,542 | Monroe, 36
Oakland, 13,844 | Pontiac, 26
St. Clair, 2,244 | St. Clair, 60
St. Joseph, 3,168 | White Pigeon, 135
Washtenaw, 14,920 | Ann Arbor, 42
Wayne, 16,638 | Detroit,
------ |
_Total_, 85,856 |
---------------------------------+-----------------------------
The other counties are Hillsdale, Van Buren, Allegan, Barry, Eaton,
Ingham, Livingston, Lapeer, Genesee, Shiawassee, Clinton, Ionia, Kent,
Ottawa, Oceana, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland, Saginaw, Sanilac, Gladwin
and Arenac, the population of which are included in the counties given
in the table. Doubtless, the population of Michigan now (Jan. 1836)
exceeds one hundred thousand.
The counties are subdivided into incorporated townships, for local
purposes, the lines of which usually correspond with the land surveys.
For the sales of public lands, the State is divided into three land
districts, and land offices are established at Detroit, Monroe, and
Bronson.
_Chief Towns._--Detroit is the commercial and political metropolis. It
is beautifully situated on the west side of the river Detroit, 18 miles
above Malden in Canada, and 8 miles below the outlet of Lake St. Clair.
A narrow street, on which the wharves are built, runs parallel with the
river. After ascending the bench or bluff, is a street called Jefferson
Avenue, on which the principal buildings are erected. The older
dwellings are of wood, but many have been recently built of brick, with
basements of stone, the latter material being brought from Cleveland,
Ohio. The primitive forest approaches near the town. The table land
extends 12 or 15 miles interior, when it becomes wet and marshy. Along
Detroit river the ancient French settlements extend several miles, and
the inhabitants exhibit all the peculiar traits of the French on the
Mississippi. Their gardens and orchards are valuable.
The public buildings of Detroit, are a state house, a council house, an
academy, and two or three banking houses. There are five churches for as
many different denominations, in which the Episcopalians, Presbyterians,
Baptists, Methodists, and Roman Catholics worship. The Catholic
congregation is the largest, and they have a large cathedral. Stores and
commercial warehouses are numerous, and business is rapidly increasing.
Town lots, rents, and landed property in the vicinity are rising
rapidly. Lots have advanced, within two or three years, in the business
parts of the city, more than one thousand per cent. Mechanics of all
descriptions, and particularly those in the building line, are much
wanted here, and in other towns in Michigan. The population is supposed
to be about 10,000, and is rapidly increasing. This place commands the
trade of all the upper lake country.
_Monroe_, the seat of justice for Monroe county, is situated on the
right bank of the river Raisin, opposite the site of old Frenchtown. Two
years since, it had about 150 houses, of which 20 or 30 were of stone,
and 1600 inhabitants. There were also two flouring and several
saw-mills, a woollen factory, an iron foundry, a chair factory, &c., and
an abundant supply of water power. The "Bank of the River Raisin," with
a capital of $100,000, is established here. The Presbyterians,
Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists, and Roman Catholics have houses of
worship and ministers here. It was at this place, or rather at
Frenchtown in its vicinity, that a horrible massacre of American
prisoners took place during the last war with Great Britain, by the
Indians under Gen. Proctor. The sick and wounded were burned alive in
the hospital, or shot as they ran shrieking through the flames!
Of the 700 young men barbarously murdered here, many were students at
law, young physicians, and merchants, the best blood of Kentucky!
Mount Clemens, Brownstown, Ann Arbor, Pontiac, White Pigeon, Tecumseh,
Jacksonsburgh, Niles, St. Joseph, Spring Arbor, and many others, are
pleasant villages, and will soon become populous.
_Education._--Congress has made the same donations of lands, as to other
Western States, and will, doubtless, appropriate the same per centage on
the sales of all public lands, when the State is admitted into the
Union, as has been appropriated to the other new States. A respectable
female academy is in operation at Detroit. The Presbyterian denomination
are about establishing a college at Ann Arbor, the Methodists a seminary
at Spring Arbor, the Baptists one in Kalamazoo county, and the Roman
Catholics, it is said, have fixed their post at Bertrand, a town on the
St. Joseph river, in the south-eastern corner of Berrian county, and
near to the boundary line of Indiana. Much sentiment and feeling exists
in favor of education and literary institutions, amongst the people.
_Improvements projected._--A survey has been made for a rail-road across
the peninsula of Detroit, through the counties of Wayne, Washtenaw,
Jackson, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, Van Buren and Berrian, to the mouth of St.
Joseph river. Another project is, to commence at or near Toledo on the
Maumee river, and pass through the southern counties of Michigan into
Indiana, and terminate at Michigan city. A third project is, to open a
water communication from the navigable waters of Grand river, to Huron
river, and, by locks and slack water navigation, enter lake Erie. A
canal from the mouth of Maumee Bay to lake Michigan, has also been
spoken of as a feasible project;--or one from the mouth of the river
Raisin to the St. Joseph, would open a similar communication. It has
also been suggested to improve the river Raisin by locks and slack water
navigation. Doubtless not many years will elapse before some of these
projects will prove realities.
_Boundary Dispute._--This unpleasant dispute between Ohio and Michigan,
relates to a strip of country about fifteen miles in width at its
eastern, and seven miles at its western end, lying between the
north-eastern part of Indiana and the Maumee Bay. A portion of the
Wabash and Erie canal, now constructing by Indiana, and which is
dependent for its completion on either Ohio or Michigan, passes over
this territory. Michigan claims it by virtue of an ordinance of
Congress, passed the 13th of July, 1787, organizing the "_North-Western
Territory_," in which the boundaries of _three_ States were laid off,
"Provided, that the boundaries of these three States shall be subject so
far to be altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient,
they shall have authority to form one or two States in that part of the
said territory _which lies north of an east and west line drawn through
the southerly bend or extreme of lake Michigan_;"--Ohio claims it by
possession, and because, by being received into the Union with this
portion in possession, Congress virtually annulled that part of the
former ordinance that fixed the south bend of lake Michigan as the
boundary line, and by having run the line north of this.
_Outlines of the Constitution._--A convention assembled at Detroit, on
the 11th of May, 1835, and framed a constitution for a state government,
which was submitted to, and ratified by vote of the people on the first
Monday in October.
The powers of the government are divided into three distinct
departments;--the legislative,--the executive,--and the judicial.
The legislative power is vested in a _Senate_ and _House of
Representatives_. The representatives are to be chosen annually; and
their number cannot be less than 48, nor more than 100.
The senators are to be chosen every two years, one half of them every
year, and to consist, as nearly as may be, of one third of the number of
the representatives.
The census is to be taken in 1837, and 1845, and every ten years after
the latter period; and also after each census taken by the United
States, the number of senators and representatives is to be apportioned
anew among the several counties, according to the number of white
inhabitants.
The _legislature_ is to meet annually, on the first Monday in January.
The executive power is to be vested in a governor, who holds his office
for two years. Upon a vacancy, the lieutenant governor performs
executive duties. The first election was held on the first Monday in
October, 1835, and the governor and lieutenant governor hold their
offices till the first Monday in January, 1838.
The _judicial power_ is vested in one _Supreme Court_, and in such other
courts as the legislature may, from time to time, establish. The judges
of the Supreme Court are to be appointed by the governor, with the
advice and consent of the Senate, for the term of seven years. Judges of
all county courts, associate judges of circuit courts, and judges of
probate, are to be elected by the people for the term of four years.
Each township is authorized to elect four justices of the peace, who are
to hold their offices for four years. In all elections, every white male
citizen above the age of 21 years, having resided six months next
preceding any election, is entitled to vote at such election.
Slavery, lotteries, and the sale of lottery tickets, are prohibited.
The seat of government is to be at Detroit, or such other place or
places as may be prescribed by law until the year 1847, when it is to be
permanently fixed by the legislature.
OHIO
--Is bounded on the north by lake Erie, and the State of Michigan, east
by Pennsylvania and the Ohio river, south by the Ohio river, which
separates it from Virginia and Kentucky, and west by Indiana. The
meanderings of the Ohio river extend along the line of this State 436
miles. It is about 222 miles in extent, both from north to south, and
from east to west. After excluding a section of lake Erie, which
projects into its northern borders, Ohio contains about 40,000 square
miles, or 25,000,000 acres of land.
_Divisions._--Nature has divided this State into four
departments,--according to its principal waters.
1. The Lake country, situated on lake Erie, and embracing all its
northern part. Its streams all run into the lake, and reach the Atlantic
ocean through the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
2. The Muskingum country, on the eastern side, and along the river of
that name.
3. The Scioto country, in the middle,--and,
4. The Miami country, along the western side.
For civil purposes, the State is divided into _seventy-five_ counties,
and these are again subdivided into townships. Their names, date of
organization, number of square miles, number of organized townships,
seats of justice, and bearing and distance from Columbus, are exhibited
in the following
TABLE.
------------+----------+------+----------+-----------------+--------------
| | | | | Bearing And
| When |Square| No. of | |Distance from
COUNTIES. |organized.|Miles.|Townships.|SEATS OF JUSTICE.| Columbus.
------------+----------+------+----------+-----------------+--------------
Adams, | 1797 | 550 | 10 |West Union, |101 _s._
Allen, | 1831 | 542 | -- |Lima, |110 _n. w._
Ashtabula, | 1811 | 700 | 27 |Jefferson, |200 _n. w._
Athens, | 1805 | 740 | 19 |Athens, | 73 _s. e._
Belmont, | 1801 | 536 | 16 |St. Clairsville, |116 _e._
Brown, | 1818 | 470 | 14 |Georgetown, |104 _s._
Butler, | 1803 | 480 | 13 |Hamilton, |101 _s. w._
Carroll, | 1833 | [A] | [A] |Carrollton, |125 _e. n. e._
Champaign, | 1805 | 417 | 12 |Urbanna, | 50 _w. n. w._
Clark, | 1818 | 412 | 10 |Springfield, | 44 _w._
Clermont, | 1800 | 515 | 12 |Batavia, | 96 _s. w._
Clinton, | 1810 | 400 | 8 |Wilmington, | 60 _s. w._
Columbiana, | 1803 | [A] | [A] |New Lisbon, |150 _e. n. e._
Coshocton, | 1811 | 562 | 21 |Coshocton, | 68 _n. e._
Crawford, | 1826 | 594 | 12 |Bucyrus, | 60 _n._
Cuyahoga, | 1810 | 475 | 19 |Cleveland, |140 _n. n. e._
Dark, | 1817 | 660 | 10 |Greenville, | 93 _w._
Delaware, | 1808 | 610 | 23 |Delaware, | 24 _n._
Fairfield, | 1800 | 540 | 14 |Lancaster, | 28 _s. e._
Fayette, | 1810 | 415 | 7 |Washington, | 38 _s. w._
Franklin, | 1803 | 520 | 18 |COLUMBUS, |
Gallia, | 1803 | 500 | 15 |Gallipolis, |102 _s. s. e._
Geauga, | 1805 | 600 | 23 |Chardon, |157 _n. e._
Greene, | 1803 | 400 | 8 |Xenia, | 56 _w. s. w._
Guernsey, | 1810 | 621 | 19 |Cambridge, | 76 _e._
Hamilton, | 1790 | 400 | 14 |Cincinnati, |110 _s. w._
Hancock, | 1828 | 576 | 5 |Findlay, | 90 _n. n. w._
Hardin, | 1833 | 570 | -- |Kenton, | 70 _n. n. w._
Harrison, | 1813 |[A]-- | 13 |Cadiz, |124 _e. n. e._
Henry, | -- | 744 | 2 |Napoleon, |161 _n. w._
Highland, | 1805 | 555 | 11 |Hillsborough, | 62 _s. s. w._
Hocking, | 1818 | 432 | 9 |Logan, | 46 _s. s. e._
Holmes, | 1825 | 422 | 14 |Millersburg, | 81 _n. e._
Huron, | 1815 | 800 | 29 |Norwalk, |106 _n._
Jackson, | 1816 | 490 | 13 |Jackson, | 73 _s. s. e._
Jefferson, | 1797 | 400 | 13 |Steubenville, |147 _e. n. e._
Knox, | 1808 | 618 | 24 |Mount Vernon, | 47 _n. n. e._
Lawrence, | 1817 | 430 | 12 |Burlington, |130 _s. s. e._
Licking, | 1808 | 666 | 25 |Newark, | 33 _e. n. e._
Logan, | 1818 | 425 | 9 |Bellefontaine, | 50 _n. w._
Lorain, | 1824 | 580 | 19 |Elyria, |130 _n. n. e._
Lucas,[B] | 1835 | | -- |Toledo, |150 _n. n. w._
Madison, | 1810 | 480 | 10 |London, | 25 _w. s. w._
Marion, | 1824 | 527 | 15 |Marion, | 45 _n._
Medina, | 1818 | 475 | 14 |Medina, |110 _n. n. e._
Meigs, | 1819 | 400 | 12 |Chester, | 94 _s. s. e._
Mercer, | 1824 | 576 | 4 |St Mary's, |111 _n. w._
Miami, | 1807 | 410 | 12 |Troy, | 68 _n. of w._
Monroe, | 1815 | 563 | 18 |Woodsfield, |120 _e. s. e._
Montgomery, | 1803 | 480 | 12 |Dayton, | 68 _w._
Morgan, | 1819 | 500 | 15 |M'Connelsville, | 75 _s. e._
Muskingum, | 1804 | 665 | 23 |Zanesville, | 52 _e._
Paulding,[C]| -- | 432 | 3 | |170 _n. w._
Perry, | 1818 | 402 | 12 |Somerset, | 46 _e. s. e._
Pickaway, | 1810 | 470 | 14 |Circleville, | 26 _s._
Pike, | 1815 | 421 | 9 |Piketon, | 64 _s._
Portage, | 1807 | 750 | 30 |Ravenna, |135 _n. e._
Preble, | 1808 | 432 | 12 |Eaton, | 50 _w._
Putnam,[C] | -- | 576 | 2 | |148 _n. w._
Richland, | 1813 | 900 | 25 |Mansfield, | 74 _n. n. e_
Ross, | 1798 | 650 | 16 |Chillicothe, | 45 _s._
Sandusky, | 1820 | 600 | 10 |Lower Sandusky, |105 _n._
Scioto, | 1803 | 700 | 14 |Portsmouth, | 90 _s._
Seneca, | 1824 | 540 | 11 |Tiffin, | 87 _n._
Shelby, | 1819 | 418 | 10 |Sidney, | 70 _n. w._
Stark, | 1809 | [A] | 16 |Canton, |116 _n. e._
Trumbull, | 1800 | 875 | 34 |Warren, |160 _n. e._
Tuscarawas, | 1808 | [A] | 19 |New Philadelphia,|100 _e. n. e._
Union, | 1820 | 450 | 9 |Marysville, | 30 _n. w._
Vanwert,[C] | -- | 432 | -- | |100 _n. w._
Warren, | 1803 | 400 | 9 |Lebanon, | 80 _s. w._
Washington, | 1788 | 713 | 19 |Marietta, |106 _s. e._
Wayne, | 1812 | 660 | 20 |Wooster, | 89 _n. e._
Williams, | 1824 | 600 | 10 |Defiance, |130 _n. w._
Wood, | 1820 | 750 | 7 |Perrysburg, |135 _n. w._
[A] Carroll county has been formed from Columbiana, Harrison,
Stark and Tuscarawas since the edition of the Ohio Gazetteer of 1833
was published, from which the foregoing table has been constructed.
Hence the townships in each are not given.
[B] Lucas county has been recently formed from parts taken from
Sandusky and Wood counties, and from the disputed country claimed
by Michigan.
[C] Paulding, Putnam, and Vanwert counties had not been organized
at the period of our information.
Much of the land in Vanwert is wet. The southern portion contains
much swampy prairie.
There are nineteen congressional districts in Ohio, which elect as many
members of Congress, and twelve circuits for Courts of Common Pleas.
_Face of the Country._--The interior and northern parts of the State
bordering on lake Erie, are generally level, and, in some places, wet
and marshy. The eastern and south-eastern parts bordering on the Ohio
river, are hilly and broken, but not mountainous. In some counties the
hills are abrupt and broken,--in others they form ridges, and are
cultivated to their summits. Immediately on the banks of the Ohio and
other large rivers are strips of rich alluvion soil.
The country along the Scioto and two Miamies, furnish more extensive
bodies of rich, fertile land, than any other part of the State. The
prairie land is found in small tracts near the head waters of the
Muskingum and Scioto, and between the sources of the two Miami rivers,
and especially in the north-western part of the State. Many of the
prairies in Ohio are low and wet;--some are elevated and dry, and
exhibit the features of those tracts called "barrens" in Illinois. There
are extensive plains, some of which are wet, towards Sandusky.
_Soil and Productions._--The soil, in at least three fourths of the
State, is fertile;--and some of it very rich. The _poorest_ portion of
Ohio, is along the Ohio river, from 15 to 25 miles in width, and
extending from the National road opposite Wheeling, to the mouth of the
Scioto river. Many of the hills in this region are rocky.
Among the forest trees are oak of various species, white and black
walnut, hickory, maple of different kinds, beech, poplar, ash of several
kinds, birch, buckeye, cherry, chestnut, locust, elm, hackberry,
sycamore, linden, with numerous others. Amongst the under growth are
spice-bush, dogwood, ironwood, pawpaw, hornbeam, black-haw, thorn, wild
plum, grape vines, &c. The plains and wet prairies produce wild grass.
The agricultural productions are such as are common to the Eastern and
Middle States. Indian corn, as in other Western States, is a staple
grain, raised with much ease, and in great abundance. More than 100
bushels are produced from an acre, on the rich alluvial soils of the
bottom lands, though from 40 to 50 bushels per acre ought to be
considered an average crop. The State generally has a fine soil for
wheat, and flour is produced for exportation in great quantities. Rye,
oats, buckwheat, barley, potatoes, melons, pumpkins, and all manner of
garden vegetables, are cultivated to great perfection. No markets in the
United States are more profusely and cheaply supplied with meat and
vegetables than those of Cincinnati and other large towns in Ohio. Hemp
is produced to some extent, and the choicest kinds of tobacco is raised
and cured in some of the counties east of the Muskingum river. Fruits of
all kinds are raised in great plenty, especially apples, which grow to
a large size, and are finely flavored. The vine and the mulberry have
been introduced, and with enterprise and industry, wine and silk might
easily be added to its exports.
_Animals._--Bears, wolves, and deer are still found in the forests and
unsettled portions of the State. The domestic animals are similar to
other States. Swine is one of the staple productions, and Cincinnati has
been denominated the "pork market of the world." Other towns in the
west, and in Ohio, are beginning to receive a share of this trade,
especially along the lines of the Miami, and the Erie canals. 150,000
hogs have been slaughtered and prepared for market in one season in
Cincinnati. About 75,000 is the present estimated number, from newspaper
authority. Immense droves of fat cattle are sent every autumn from the
Scioto valley and other parts of the State. They are driven to all the
markets of the east and south.
_Minerals._--The mineral deposits of Ohio, as yet discovered, consist
principally in iron, salt, and bituminous coal, and are found chiefly
along the south-eastern portion of the State. Let a line be drawn from
the south-eastern part of Ashtabula county, in a south-western
direction, by Northampton in Portage county, Wooster, Mount Vernon,
Granville, Circleville, to Hillsborough, and thence south to the Ohio
river in Brown county, and it would leave most of the salt, iron and
coal on the eastern and south-eastern side.
_Financial Statistics._--From the Auditor's Report to the Legislature
now in session, (Jan. 1836,) the following items are extracted. The
general revenue is obtained from moderate taxes on landed and personal
property, and collected by the county treasurers,--from insurance, bank
and bridge companies, from lawyers and physicians, &c.
Collected in 1835, by the several county treasurers, $150,080, (omitting
fractions): paid by banks, bridges, and insurance companies,
$26,060;--by lawyers, and physicians, $1,598;--other sources,
$24,028,--making an aggregate of $201,766. The disbursements
are,--amount of deficit for 1834, $16,622;--bills redeemed at the
treasury for the year ending Nov. 1835, $182,005;--interest paid on
school funds, $33,101, &c., amounting to $235,365--and showing a deficit
in the revenue of $33,590.
CANAL FUNDS.
These appear to be separate accounts from the general receipts and
disbursements.
_Miami Canal._--The amount of money arising from the sales of Miami
canal lands up to the 15th of Nov., 1835, is $310,178. This sum has been
expended in the extension of the canal north of Dayton.
_Ohio Canal._--The amount of taxes collected for canal purposes for the
year 1835, including tolls, sales of canal lands, school lands, balance
remaining in the treasury of last year, &c., is $509,322. Only $38,242
of the general revenue were appropriated to canal purposes, of which
$35,507 went to pay interest on the school funds borrowed by the State.
The foreign debt is $4,400,000;--the legal interest of which is $260,000
per annum. The domestic debt of the State, arising from investing the
different school funds, is $579,287;--the interest of which amounts to
$34,757,--making an aggregate annual interest paid by the State on
loans, $294,757. The canal tolls for the year 1835, amount to $242,357,
and the receipts from the sale of Ohio canal lands, $64,549,--making an
aggregate income to the canal fund of $306,906 per annum;--a sum more
than sufficient to pay the interest on all loans for canal purposes.
_Items of Expenditure._--Under this head the principal items of the
expenditures of the State government are given.
Members, and officers of the General Assembly, per annum, $43,987
Officers of government, 20,828
Keeper of the Penitentiary, 1,909
For new Penitentiary buildings, 46,050
State printing, 12,243
Paper and Stationary for use of the State, 4,478
Certificates for wolf scalps, 2,824
Adjutant, and Quarter Master Generals, and Brigade Inspectors, 2,276
Treasurer's mileage on settlement with the Auditor of State, 1,027
Deaf and Dumb Asylum, 5,700
Periodical works, &c. 400
Postage on documents, 545
Reporter to Court in Bank, 300
Members and clerks of the Board of Equalization, and
articles furnished, 1,960
Paymaster General,--Ohio Militia, 2,000
The extra session of the legislature on the boundary line, in June,
1835, was $6,823.
_Land Taxes._--The amount of lands taxed, and the revenue arising
therefrom, at several different periods, are herewith given, to show the
progressive advance of the farming and other interests of the State.
--------+------------+----------------
Years. | Acres. | Taxes paid.
--------+------------+----------------
1809 | 9,924,033 | $63,991.87 cts
1810 | 10,479,029 | 67,501.60
1811 | 12,134,777 | 170,546.74
From 1811 to 1816, the average increase of the taxes, paid by the
several counties, was $59,351. From 1816 the State rose rapidly in the
scale of prosperity and the value of property. In 1820, the number of
acres returned as taxable, exceeded a fraction of 13 millions, while the
aggregate of taxes, was $205,346.
The period of depression and embarrassment that followed throughout the
west, prevented property from advancing in Ohio. In 1826, '27, '28, '29,
'30, a material change in the amount of property taxable took place,
from a few hundred thousands, to more than fifty millions. The total
value of taxable property of the State for 1835, (exclusive of three
counties from which returns had not been received,) amounts to the sum
of _ninety-four millions, four hundred and thirty-seven thousand, nine
hundred and fifty-one dollars_.
_School Funds._--The amount of school funds loaned to the State, up to
Nov. 15th, 1835, is--
Virginia Military land fund, $109,937
United States Military land fund, 90,126
Common School fund, 23,179
Athens University, 1,431
School section, No. 16, 453,000
Connecticut Western Reserve, 125,758
--------
Total, $803,432
The following tabular view of the acres of land, total amount of taxable
property, and total amount of taxes paid for 1833, is taken from the
Ohio Gazetteer. It should be noted that in all the Western States, lands
purchased of the government of the United States, are exempted from
taxation for _five_ years after sale. It is supposed that such lands are
not included in the table. I have also placed the population of each
county for 1830, from the census of that year;--reminding the reader
that great changes have since been made.
-----------------+------------+-------------+--------------+---------------
| | | Total Amount |
| Population | Acres of | of taxable | Total Amount
Counties. | 1830. | land. | property. | of Taxes paid.
-----------------+------------+-------------+--------------+---------------
Adams | 12,231 | 234,822 | $832,565 | $6,995.41
Allen | 578 | 14,159 | 51,214 | 725.28
Ashtabula | 14,584 | 449,742 | 1,347,900 | 13,524.97
Athens | 9,787 | 365,348 | 481,579 | 5,820.90
Belmont | 28,627 | 301,511 | 1,591,716 | 11,590.33
Brown | 17,867 | 267,130 | 1,358,944 | 8,179.35
Butler | 27,142 | 257,989 | 2,514,007 | 20,111.55
Carroll | ---- | 185,942 | 529,575 | 6,876.92
Champaign | 12,131 | 233,493 | 908,571 | 5,956.66
Clark | 13,114 | 247,083 | 1,114,995 | 7,744.89
Clermont | 20,466 | 280,679 | 1,542,627 | 15,645.31
Clinton | 11,436 | 239,404 | 785,770 | 6,482.14
Columbiana | 35,592 | 317,796 | 1,491,099 | 14,217.28
Coshocton | 11,161 | 246,123 | 850,708 | 9,307.28
Crawford | 4,791 | 79,582 | 217,675 | 3,630.09
Cuyahoga | 10,373 | 292,252 | 1,401,591 | 18,122.96
Dark | 6,204 | 107,730 | 260,259 | 3,312.81
Delaware | 11,504 | 338,856 | 831,093 | 8,516.66
Fairfield | 24,786 | 308,163 | 1,992,697 | 13,716.97
Fayette | 8,182 | 234,432 | 544,539 | 6,428.98
Franklin | 14,741 | 325,155 | 1,663,315 | 13,247.34
Gallia | 9,733 | 205,727 | 427,962 | 4,826.55
Geauga | 15,813 | 381,380 | 1,427,869 | 15,832.65
Greene | 14,801 | 251,512 | 1,441,907 | 12,082.36
Guernsey | 18,036 | 275,652 | 908,109 | 9,855.72
Hamilton | 52,317 | 239,122 | 7,726,091 | 97,530.42
Hancock | 813 | 9,302 | 50,929 | 421.70
Harden | 210 | 125,607 | 118,425 | 1,291.43
Harrison | 20,916 | 22,412 | 1,025,210 | 12,400.97
Highland | 16,345 | 317,079 | 1,065,863 | 8,755.29
Hocking | 4,008 | 92,332 | 215,272 | 1,919.29
Holmes | 9,135 | 182,439 | 556,060 | 6,364.03
Huron | 13,346 | 504,689 | 1,512,655 | 15,490.88
Jackson | 5,941 | 57,874 | 197,932 | 2,239.69
Jefferson | 22,489 | 230,145 | 1,855,064 | 13,149.44
Knox | 17,085 | 313,823 | 1,252,294 | 13,329.41
Lawrence | 5,367 | 56,862 | 241,782 | 2,280.80
Licking | 20,869 | 393,205 | 2,101,495 | 17,370.83
Logan | 6,440 | 203,509 | 519,622 | 3,925.65
Lorain | 5,696 | 360,863 | 889,552 | 10,539.09
Madison | 6,190 | 256,421 | 600,578 | 4,643.91
Marion | 6,551 | 168,164 | 390,602 | 5,599.78
Medina | 7,560 | 296,257 | 931,599 | 10,198.31
Meigs | 6,158 | 229,004 | 380,172 | 5,111.58
Mercer | 1,110 | 12,688 | 54,118 | 714.30
Miami | 12,807 | 240,093 | 1,000,748 | 6,423.09
Monroe | 8,768 | 95,520 | 280,572 | 3,666.61
Montgomery | 24,362 | 267,349 | 2,293,419 | 14,649.12
Morgan | 11,800 | 169,135 | 452,991 | 4,945.02
Muskingum | 29,334 | 366,609 | 2,362,616 | 18,567.75
Perry | 13,970 | 175,123 | 729,241 | 6,116.55
Pickaway | 16,001 | 300,969 | 1,798,665 | 10,924.76
Pike | 6,024 | 129,153 | 521,109 | 4,114.37
Portage | 18,826 | 472,156 | 2,019,029 | 17,787.06
Preble | 16,291 | 246,678 | 1,086,322 | 7,441.82
Richland | 24,008 | 433,620 | 1,354,169 | 15,069.92
Ross | 24,068 | 328,765 | 2,897,605 | 17,474.81
Sandusky | 2,851 | 95,822 | 275,992 | 3,354.64
Scioto | 8,740 | 105,539 | 963,882 | 7,926.93
Seneca | 6,159 | 108,758 | 302,089 | 3,916.51
Stark | 26,588 | 374,101 | 1,854,967 | 16,361.36
Shelby | 3,671 | 66,863 | 194,468 | 1,961.26
Trumbull | 26,123 | 556,011 | 1,807,792 | 16,635.58
Tuscarawas | 14,298 | 237,337 | 902,778 | 8,955.75
Union | 3,192 | 259,101 | 380,535 | 5,193.68
Warren | 21,468 | 243,517 | 2,143,065 | 16,247.33
Washington | 11,731 | 282,498 | 681,301 | 7,463.12
Wayne | 23,333 | 382,254 | 1,451,996 | 14,584.77
Williams and | } 1,089 | 17,797 | 90,066 | 1,351.02
others not incor.| } | | |
Wood | 1,102 | 17,981 | 127,862 | 1,572.22
-----------------+------------+-------------+--------------+---------------
Total | 937,903 | 17,133,481 | 78,019,526 | 730,010.75
OHIO STATISTICS--1836.
From the Annual Report of the Auditor of State, it appears there were
returned on the General List for Taxation, 17,819,631 acres of land,
under the new valuation, made under the law of 1833-4.
Lands, including buildings, valued at $58,166,821
Town Lots, including houses, mills, etc. 15,762,594
269,291 Horses, valued at $40 each, 10,491,640
455,487 Cattle, valued at $8 each, 4,043,896
Merchants' capital, and money at interest, 7,262,927
2,603 Pleasure Carriages, valued at 199,518
-----------
Total amount of taxable property, $94,438,016
On the value of taxable property, the following taxes were levied:
State and Canal tax, $142,854.15
County and School tax, 396,505.80
Road tax, 66,482.16
Township tax, 102,991.65
Corporation, Jail, and Bridge tax, 51,276.89
Physicians' and Lawyers' tax, 3,144.19
School-House tax, 1,482.84
Delinquencies of former years, 13,044.37
-----------
Total taxes, $777,782.07
No returns were made from the counties of Crawford, Hancock, Jefferson
and Williams.
CANAL REVENUES.
The total amount of receipts for tolls, for the year ending on the 31st
of October, 1835, was as follows:
OHIO CANAL.
Cleaveland, $72,718.72 | Newark, $20,487.85
Akron, 6,362.90 | Columbus, 4,605.37
Massillon, 13,585.78 | Circleville, 9,651.44
Dover, 8,096.42 | Chillicothe, 12,134.75
Roscoe, 14,555.83 | Portsmouth, 23,118.78
---------- ----------
115,319.45 $69,998.00
115,319.45
-----------
Total, $185,317.45
MIAMI CANAL.
Dayton, 14,016.75
Middleton, 8,747.19
Hamilton, 3,664.88
Cincinnati, 25,803.77
----------
Total, 52,232.59
----------
Total tolls received on both canals, $237,550.04
Deduct contingent expenses on Ohio canal, $5,836.05
Do. on Miami canal, 2,954.68--8,790.73
------------
$228,759.31
Toll received on Lancaster Lat. Canal, 1,062.56
From water rents and sale of State Lots, 3,700.07
Arrearages paid of Tolls received in October, 1834, 7,835.26
-----------
$242,357.20
POPULATION OF OHIO AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.
In Population. | From Increase.
1790, about 3,000 | 1790 to 1800, 42,365
1800, " 45,365 | 1800 " 1810, 185,395
1810, " 230,760 | 1810 " 1820, 350,674
1820, " 581,434 | 1820 " 1830, 356,469
1830, " 937,903 | 1830 " 1835, 437,097
1835, _estimated_, 1,375,000 |
_Rivers._--The streams which flow into the Ohio river, are the Mahoninga
branch of the Beaver, Little Beaver, Muskingum, Hockhocking, Scioto,
Little Miami, and Great Miami. Those which flow from the northward into
lake Erie, are the Maumee, Portage, Sandusky, Huron, Cuyahoga, Grand,
and Ashtabula. Hence the State is divided into two unequal inclined
planes, the longest of which slopes towards the Ohio, and the shortest
towards the lake. The head waters of the Muskingum, Scioto and Miami,
interlock with those of the Cuyahoga, Sandusky, and Maumee, so as to
render the construction of canals not only practicable, but
comparatively easy. All the large streams are now navigable for boats
during the spring season.
_Internal Improvements._--These consist of canals, rail-roads, turnpike
roads, and the National road, now under the supervision of, and owned
by, the State. The canalling is managed by a Board of Commissioners. The
State canals were projected about 1823, and, considering the youthful
character of the State, its want of funds and other circumstances, they
are, undoubtedly, the greatest works ever executed in America.
The _Ohio and Erie Canal_ connects lake Erie with the Ohio river. It
commences at Cleaveland, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga, passes along that
river and its tributaries, to the summit level, from thence to the
waters of the Muskingum, and to the border of Muskingum county; from
thence it strikes across the country past Newark, in Licking county, and
strikes the Scioto, down the valley of which it proceeds to its mouth,
at Portsmouth. The principal places on the canal are Akron, New Portage,
Massillon, Bolivar, New Philadelphia, Coshocton, Newark, Bloomfield,
Circleville, Chillicothe, Piketon, and Portsmouth. It was commenced on
the 4th of July, 1825, and completed in 1832; and, together with the
Miami canal to Dayton, cost about $5,500,000, and has greatly enriched
the State and the people. Private property along its line has risen from
five to ten fold.
LENGTH OF OHIO AND ERIE CANAL.
Miles.
Main trunk from Cleaveland to Portsmouth, 310
Navigable feeder from main trunk to Columbus, 11
Navigable feeder from main trunk to Granville, 6
Muskingum side cut, from the Muskingum river at Dresden, 3
Navigable feeder from the Tuscarawas river, 3
Navigable feeder from the Walhonding river, 1
---
Total length of Ohio canal and branches, 334
The _Miami Canal_ commences at Cincinnati, and, passing through the
towns of Reading, Hamilton, Middletown, Franklin, and Miamisburg,
terminates at Dayton, 65 miles. It has been navigated from Dayton to the
head of Main street, Cincinnati, since the spring of 1829. An extension
of the work is now in progress, to be carried along the vallies of St.
Mary's and Au Glaise rivers, and unite with the Wabash and Erie canal,
at Defiance; distance from Cincinnati about 190 miles.
An act passed the Ohio legislature in 1834, for continuing the Wabash
and Erie canal, (now constructing in Indiana, by that State,) from the
western boundary of Ohio, to the Maumee bay. Operations have been
suspended by the boundary dispute with Michigan.
The _Mahoning and Beaver Canal_ has already been noticed, under the head
of Western Pennsylvania. It is proposed to carry it from Akron, on the
Portage summit, along the valley of the Mahoning river, to Newcastle, on
the Beaver division of the Pennsylvania canal. Distance in Ohio, 77
miles. The work is in progress.
The _Sandy Creek and Little Beaver Canal_ is in progress by a chartered
company. It commences near the town of Bolivar, on the Ohio and Erie
canal, in Tuscarawas county, and passes along near the line of Stark and
Carroll counties to the Little Beaver in Columbiana county, and from
thence to the Ohio river.
The _Mad River and Sandusky Rail-Road_ will extend from Dayton, on the
Miami canal, to Sandusky, through Springfield, Urbanna, Bellefontaine,
Upper Sandusky, Tiffin, and down the valley of the Sandusky river to
lake Erie. The route is remarkably favorable for locomotive power.
Length 153 miles; estimated cost, $11,000 per mile. The work was
commenced in September, 1835.
The _Erie and Ohio Rail-Road_ is intended to be constructed from
Ashtabula on the lake, through Warren to Wellsville, on the Ohio river,
a distance of 90 miles. Other rail-roads are in contemplation in this
State, the most important of which is the _Great Western Rail-Road_,
from Boston, by Worcester, Springfield, and Stockbridge, through New
York, by Albany, Utica and Buffalo, along the summit ridge, dividing the
northern from the southern waters, through Pennsylvania, Ohio, to
intersect the Wabash and Erie canal at La Fayette, in Indiana. From
thence provision is already made for it to pass to the eastern boundary
of Illinois, from which, a company has been recently chartered to
construct it across the State of Illinois by Danville, Shelbyville,
Hillsborough, to Alton on the Mississippi. It must be some untoward
circumstance that shall prevent this splendid work from being completed
the whole length before 1850.
The project of a rail-road from Cincinnati, to Charleston in South
Carolina, has been entered upon with great spirit in the South, and in
all the States more directly concerned in the enterprise. It will,
undoubtedly, be carried into effect.
The State of Ohio has incorporated a number of turnpike companies, some
of which have gone into operation. The first is near the north-eastern
corner of the State, from Pierpont, through Monroe and Salem townships
to the mouth of Conneant creek, 16 miles long. The second is the
Trumbull and Ashtabula turnpike, leading from Warren to Ashtabula, 48
miles. The third is from the town of Wooster, through Medina, to
Cleaveland, 51 miles. The fourth is from Columbus to Sandusky, 106
miles, now in the course of construction. Another from Cincinnati,
through Lebanon and Columbus, to Wooster, has been commenced on the
McAdamized plan, but is not completed. A McAdam turnpike from Cincinnati
to Chillicothe is in progress. The National road, constructed by the
general government, and transferred to the State, passes from Wheeling,
through Columbus to the Indiana line.
_Manufactures._--The principal factory for woollen goods is at
Steubenville. A number of cotton factories are in the towns along the
Ohio river. Furnaces for smelting iron ore are in operation in the
counties bordering on the Ohio, near the mouth of the Scioto. Glass is
manufactured in several towns. Considerable salt is made on the
Muskingum below Zanesville, on the Scioto, and on Yellow creek above
Steubenville. About half a million of bushels were made in the State in
1830.
Cincinnati rivals Pittsburg in the number, variety and extent of its
manufacturing operations.
In every town and village through the State, mechanics' shops are
established for the manufacture of all articles of ordinary use.
_Cities and Towns._--To enter upon minute descriptions, or even name all
these, would much exceed the bounds of this work.
CINCINNATI is the great commercial emporium of the State. It is
pleasantly situated on the right or northern bank of the Ohio river,
about equidistant from Pittsburg and its mouth, in N. lat. 39° 06', and
W. lon. from Washington city 7° 25'.
Directly fronting the city to the south, and on the opposite side of the
Ohio river, are the flourishing manufacturing towns of Newport and
Covington, which are separated by the Licking river, of Kentucky, which
enters the Ohio directly opposite the Cincinnati landing.
The wharf arrangements are the most convenient, for lading and unlading
goods at all stages of the water, to be found on our western rivers. The
town site is beautifully situated on the first and second banks of the
river--the former of which is above ordinary high water, and the latter
gently rises sixty or seventy feet higher, and spreads out into a
semicircular plain, surrounded with elevated bluffs.
Cincinnati was founded in 1789, but did not grow rapidly till about
1808. The progressive increase of population will appear from the
following table:
1810, 2,320 | 1826, 16,230
1813, 4,000 | 1830, 26,515
1819, 10,000 | 1835, _estimated_, 31,000
1824, 12,016 |
Add the adjoining towns of Covington and Newport, whose interests are
identified, and the aggregate population will equal 35,000; and, in all
reasonable probability, in 1850, these towns, with Cincinnati, will
number 100,000 active, educated, and enterprising citizens. In 1826,
according to the Picture of Cincinnati, by B. Drake, Esq. and E. D.
Mansfield, Esq., the manufacturing industry alone, according to an
accurate statistical examination, amounted to 1,800,000 dollars. At that
time there were not more than fifteen steam engines employed in
manufactures in the city. At the close of 1835, there were more than
fifty in successful operation, besides four or five in Newport and
Covington. "More than 100 steam engines, about 240 cotton gins, upwards
of 20 sugar-mills, and 22 steamboats--many of them of the largest
size--have been built or manufactured in Cincinnati, during the year
1835."[10] Hence the productive industry of Cincinnati, Covington and
Newport, for 1835, may be estimated at 5,000,000 of dollars. By a
laborious investigation, at the close of 1826, by the same writer, the
exports of that year were about 1,000,000 of dollars in value. A similar
inquiry induced him to place the exports of 1832 at 4,000,000. The
estimate for 1835, is 6,000,000.
To enumerate all the public and private edifices deserving notice, would
extend this article to too great a length. The court house, four market
houses, banks, college, Catholic Athenæum, two medical colleges,
Mechanics' Institute, two museums, hospital and Lunatics' Asylum,
Woodward high school, ten or twelve large edifices for free schools,
hotels, and between twenty-five and thirty houses for public worship,
some of which are elegant, deserve notice. The type foundry and
printing-press manufactory, is one of the most extensive in the United
States. Here is machinery, lately invented, for casting printer's types,
exceeding, perhaps, anything in the world. Printing, and the manufacture
of books, are extensively carried on in this city. Here are six large
bookstores, several binderies, twelve or fifteen printing-offices, from
which are issued ten weekly, four triweekly, four daily, four monthly,
and one quarterly publications. Two medical publications, of a highly
respectable character, are issued. The Western Monthly Magazine is too
well known to need special notice here. The Cincinnati Mirror is a
respectable literary periodical. The Presbyterians, Baptists,
Methodists, Roman Catholics, and, perhaps, other sects, have each their
weekly paper, respectable in size and character. During four months, in
1831, there were issued from the Cincinnati press, 86,000 volumes, of
which 20,300 were original works. In the same period, the periodical
press issued 243,200 printed sheets. The business has increased greatly
since that time.
The "_College of Professional Teachers_," is an institution formed at
the convention of teachers, held in this city, in October, 1832. Its
objects are to _unite_ the professional instructers of youth throughout
the Western country in the cause in which they are engaged, and to
elevate the character of the profession. Their meetings are held on the
first Monday in October annually. Lectures are given, discussions held,
reports made, and a respectable volume of transactions published
annually. There is no doubt that much good will result to the cause of
education in the West, from this annual convocation.
_Law School._--An institution of this character has been organized,
under the management of Hon. J. C. Wright, and other gentlemen of the
bar.
Of _Medical Schools_ there are two, at the heads of which are gentlemen
of high character and attainments in their profession.
The _Mechanics' Institute_ is designed for the diffusion of scientific
knowledge among the mechanics and citizens generally, by means of
popular lectures and mutual instruction. The _Cincinnati Lyceum_ was
formed for the purpose of useful instruction and entertainment, by means
of popular lectures and debates. The _Academic Institute_ is designed to
aid the cause of education, and elevate the profession, amongst the
teachers in Cincinnati. Its meetings are monthly. The _Athenæum_ is an
institution under the management of Roman Catholic Priests. The college
edifice is a splendid and permanent building, of great capacity. The
_Woodward High School_ was founded by the late William Woodward. The
fund yields an income of about $2000 annually. It is conducted by four
professors, and has about one hundred and twenty students. The
corporation has established a system of free schools, designed to extend
the benefits of primary education to all classes, and ten or twelve
large edifices have been erected for the purpose. I regret the want of
documents to give particulars of this liberal and praiseworthy
enterprise, which reflects much honor upon the city and its honorable
corporation. In 1833, there were twenty public schools for males and
females, and two thousand pupils. Many excellent private schools and
seminaries, some of deserved celebrity, are sustained by individual
enterprise.
COLUMBUS, the political capital of the State, and nearly in the
centre of the State, is a beautiful city, on the east bank of the Scioto
river. In 1812, it was covered with a dense forest, when it was selected
by the legislature for the permanent seat of government. The public
buildings are a state house, a court house for the Supreme Court, a
building for the public offices, a market house, &c., all of brick. The
State penitentiary is here, for which a new substantial building is
constructing, and an Asylum for the deaf and dumb, sustained by
legislative aid.
Chillicothe, Cleaveland, Zanesville, Steubenville, Circleville and many
others, are large and flourishing towns.
_Education._--Charters for eight or ten colleges and collegiate
institutions have been granted. Congress has granted 92,800 acres of
public land to this State, for colleges and academies. One township,
(23,040 acres,) and a very valuable one, has been given to the Miami
University, at Oxford. Two townships of land, (46,080 acres,) though of
inferior quality, have been given to the Ohio University. Academies have
been established in most of the principal towns. A common school system
has been established by the legislature. Each township has been divided
into school districts. Taxes are levied to the amount of three fourths
of a mill upon the dollar of taxable property in the State, which, with
the interest accruing from the different school funds already noticed,
are applied towards the expenses of tuition. Five school examiners are
appointed in each county, by the Court of Common Pleas, who are to
examine teachers. The governor, in his recent Message, speaks of the
common school system as languishing in proportion to other improvements.
_Form of Government._--The legislative authority is vested in a Senate
and House of Representatives; both of which, collectively, are styled
the General Assembly. The members of both branches are chosen by
counties, or by districts composed of counties, according to population.
The representatives are chosen annually; the senators biennially. The
General Assembly has the sole power of enacting laws; the signature or
assent of the governor not being necessary in any case whatever. The
judiciary system comprises three grades of courts:--the Supreme Court,
Courts of Common Pleas, and Justices' Courts. The justices of the peace
are chosen triennially, by the people. The executive authority is vested
in a governor, who is elected biennially, and must be thirty years of
age, and have resided in the State at least four years. He is
commander-in-chief of all the militia, and commissions all officers in
the State, both civil and military. Each free, white, male citizen of
the United States, of twenty-one years of age, and a resident of the
State one year preceding an election, is entitled to a vote in all
elections.
The following shows the professions, occupations, and nativity of the
members of the legislature of Ohio, during the present winter, (1835-6,)
and is about a proportionate estimate for other Western States:--
The members of the Ohio legislature, as to their occupations and
professions, are:--farmers, 53; lawyers, 17; merchants, 13; doctors, 5;
printers, 3; surveyors, 2; millers, 2; masons, 2; carpenters, 2;
painter, 1; watch-maker, 1; blacksmith, 1; house joiner, 1.
Their nativity is as follows:--Ohio, 7; Pennsylvania, 30; Virginia, 22;
New England States, 17; Maryland, 8; New York, 7; New Jersey, 4;
Kentucky, 3; Delaware, 2; North Carolina, 1; Ireland, 5; England, 1;
Germany, 1.
The youngest member in the Senate, is 33 years of age, and the oldest
56. In the House, the youngest 26; oldest 67. Under the Constitution, a
senator must be 30; and a member of the House, 26.
_Antiquities._--Much has been said about the antiquities of Ohio,--the
fortifications, artificial mounds, and military works, supposed to
indicate a race of civilized people, as the possessors of the country,
anterior to the Indian nations. At Marietta, Circleville, Paint Creek,
and some other places, are, doubtless, antiquities, that exhibited, upon
their first discovery, strong marks of a military purpose. I have no
doubt, however, that credulity and enthusiasm have greatly exaggerated
many appearances in the West, and magnified them into works of vast
enterprise and labor. Mounds of earth are found in every country on the
globe, of all forms and sizes; and why should they not exist in the
western valley? Mr. Flint states that he has seen a horse shoe dug up at
the depth of thirty-five feet below the surface, with nails in it, and
much eroded by rust. He mentions also a sword, which is _said_ to be
preserved as a curiosity, but which he had not seen, found enclosed in
the wood of the roots of a tree, which could not have been less than
five hundred years old! Those who delight especially in the marvellous,
may consult the "Description of the Antiquities discovered in the State
of Ohio, and other Western States, by Caleb Atwater, Esq."
_History._--The first permanent settlement of Ohio, was made at
Marietta, on the 7th day of April, 1788, by 47 persons from
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. This was the nucleus
around which has grown up the populous State of Ohio. Amongst the most
active promoters of this colony, were those called then "The Ohio
Company." The next settlement was that of Symmes' purchase, made at
Columbia, six miles above Cincinnati, in Nov. 1789, by Major Stiles and
twenty-five others, under the direction of Judge Symmes. A colony of
French emigrants settled at Gallipolis in 1791. In 1796 settlements were
made by New England emigrants at Cleaveland and Conneant, on the
southern shore of lake Erie. The intermediate country gradually filled
up by emigration from various parts of the United States. Some slight
diversity exists, in different sections of the State, in manners,
customs, and feelings, amongst the people, in accordance with the States
or countries from which they or their fathers emigrated. These shades of
character will become blended, and the next generation will be
_Ohians_, or, to use their own native cognomen, _Buckeyes_.
In Sept., 1790, the first territorial legislature convened at
Cincinnati. The governor having exercised his right of _veto_ in
relation to the removal of a county seat, an unhappy collision followed,
and, upon framing the State Constitution, in Nov., 1802, the convention
prevented the governor of the State from ever exercising the _negative_
power upon acts of the legislature.
DATE OF ORGANIZATION OF SOME OF THE OLDEST COUNTIES.
Washington, July 27th, 1788
Hamilton, Jan. 2d, 1790
Adams, July 10th, 1797
Jefferson, July 29th, 1797
Ross, August 20th, 1798
Trumbull, July 10th, 1800
Clermont, December 6th, 1800
Belmont September 7th, 1801
These were all organized under the territorial government.
INDIANA.
Length 240, breadth 150 miles. Between 37° 48' N. latitude, and 7° 45'
and 11° W. longitude. Bounded north by the State of Michigan and lake
Michigan, east by Ohio, south by the Ohio river, which separates it from
Kentucky, and west by Illinois. It contains about 37,000 square miles,
equal to 23,680,000 acres.
It is naturally subdivided into the hilly portion, bordering on the
Ohio; the level, timbered portion, extending across the middle of the
State; the Wabash country, on that river; and the northern portion
bordering on the State of Michigan and the lake. The two last portions
include nearly all the prairie country.
For civil purposes, this State has been divided into counties, and those
subdivided into townships.
TABLE.
------------+----------+------+----------++-----------------+-------------
| | | || |Bearing and
| Date of |Square|Population|| |distance from
COUNTIES. |Formation.|miles.| 1830. ||SEATS OF JUSTICE.|Indianopolis.
------------+----------+------+----------++-----------------+-------------
Allen, | 1823 | 720 | 1,000 || Fort Wayne, |
Bartholomew,| 1821 | 588 | 5,800 || Columbus, |
Boon, | 1830 | 400 | 622 || Lebanon, |
Carroll, | 1828 | 450 | 1,614 || Delphi, |
Cass, | 1829 | 460 | 1,154 || Logansport, |
Clark, | 1802 | 400 | 10,719 || Charlestown, |
Clay, | 1825 | 360 | 1,616 || Bowling Green, |
Clinton, | 1830 | 450 | 1,423 || Frankfort, |
Crawford, | 1818 | 350 | 3,184 || Fredonia, |
Daviess, | 1816 | 460 | 4,512 || Washington, |
Dearborn, | 1802 | 448 | 14,573 || Lawrenceburgh, |
Decatur, | 1821 | 400 | 5,854 || Greensburgh, |
Delaware, | 1827 | 400 | 2,372 || Muncietown, |
Dubois, | 1817 | 420 | 1,774 || Jasper, |
Elkhart, | 1830 | 576 | 935 || Goshen, |
Fayette, | 1818 | 200 | 9,112 || Connersville, |
Floyd, | 1819 | 200 | 6,363 || New Albany, |
Fountain, | 1825 | 400 | 7,644 || Covington, |
Franklin, | 1810 | 400 | 10,199 || Brookville, |
Gibson, | 1813 | 450 | 5,417 || Princeton, |
Grant, | 1831 | 415 | ---- || Marion, |
Greene, | 1821 | 540 | 4,250 || Bloomfield, |
Hamilton, | 1823 | 400 | 1,705 || Noblesville, |
Hancock, | 1828 | 340 | 1,569 || Greenfield, |
Harrison, | 1808 | 470 | 10,288 || Corydon, |
Hendricks, | 1823 | 420 | 3,967 || Danville, |
Henry, | 1821 | 440 | 6,498 || Newcastle, |
Huntington, | 1832 | 400 | ---- || |
Jackson, | 1815 | 500 | 4,894 || Brownstown, |
Jefferson, | 1809 | 400 | 11,465 || Madison, |
Jennings, | 1816 | 400 | 3,950 || Vernon, |
Johnson, | 1822 | 300 | 4,130 || Franklin, |
Knox, | 1802 | 540 | 6,557 || Vincennes, |
La Porte, | 1832 | 420 | ---- || La Porte, |
Lagrange, | 1832 | 380 | ---- || Mongoquinon, |
Lawrence, | 1818 | 460 | 9,237 || Bedford, |
Madison, | 1823 | 420 | 2,442 || Andersontown, |
Marion, | 1821 | 440 | 7,181 || INDIANOPOLIS, |
Martin, | 1818 | 340 | 2,010 || Mount Pleasant, |
Miami, | 1832 | 330 | ---- || Miamisport, |
Monroe, | 1818 | 560 | 6,578 || Bloomington, |
Montgomery, | 1822 | 500 | 7,376 || Crawfordsville, |
Morgan, | 1821 | 530 | 5,579 || Martinsville, |
Orange, | 1815 | 378 | 7,909 || Paoli, |
Owen, | 1818 | 380 | 4,060 || Spencer, |
Parke, | 1821 | 450 | 7,534 || Rockville, |
Perry, | 1814 | 400 | 3,378 || Rome, |
Pike, | 1816 | 430 | 2,464 || Petersburgh, |
Posey, | 1814 | 500 | 6,883 || Mount Vernon, |
Putnam, | 1821 | 490 | 8,195 || Greencastle, |
Randolph, | 1818 | 440 | 3,912 || Winchester, |
Ripley, | 1818 | 400 | 3,957 || Versailles, |
Rush, | 1821 | 400 | 9,918 || Rushville, |
Scott, | 1817 | 200 | 3,097 || Lexington, |
Shelby, | 1821 | 430 | 6,294 || Shelbyville, |
Spencer, | 1818 | 400 | 3,187 || Rockport, |
St. Joseph, | 1830 | 740 | 287 || South Bend, |
Sullivan, | 1816 | 430 | 4,696 || Merom, |
Switzerland,| 1814 | 300 | 7,111 || Vevay, |
Tippecanoe, | 1826 | 500 | 7,161 || La Fayette, |
Union, | 1821 | 224 | 7,957 || Liberty, |
Vanderburgh,| 1818 | 225 | 2,610 || Evansville, |
Vermillion, | 1823 | 280 | 5,706 || Newport, |
Vigo, | 1818 | 400 | 5,737 || Terre Haute, |
Wabash, | 1832 | 380 | ---- || |
Warren, | 1828 | 350 | 2,854 || Williamsport, |
Warrick, | 1813 | 412 | 2,973 || Boonville, |
Washington, | 1813 | 550 | 13,072 || Salem, |
Wayne, | 1810 | 420 | 23,344 || Centerville, |
The total population in 1830, was 341,582. The estimated population in
the message of Gov. Noble to the legislature, December, 1835, was
600,000.
The counties in which the population has not been given in the foregoing
table, have been formed since 1830. Probably other new counties, along
the waters of the Wabash and Kankakee, have been formed recently, of
which no intelligence has been had by the author. The counties in the
northern portion of the State have increased the most in population
since 1830.
For electing representatives to Congress, the State is divided into
seven electoral districts.
For judicial purposes, it is divided into eight circuits, in each of
which there is a circuit judge, who, together with two associates in
each county, holds the circuit courts.
POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.
Population. | Increase.
In 1800,(excluding Illinois,) 2,641 | From 1800 to 1810, 21,879
" 1810, 24,520 | " 1810 to 1820, 122,658
" 1820, 147,178 | " 1820 to 1825, 74,822
" 1825, 222,000 | " 1825 to 1830, 119,582
" 1830, 341,582 | " 1830 to 1835, 119,582
" 1835,(estimate,) 600,000 |
In 1825, the number of voters was 36,977, and the number of paupers 217!
_Face of the Country, &c._--The counties bordering on the Ohio river are
hilly;--sometimes abrupt, precipitous, stony, occasionally degenerating
into knobs and ravines. Commencing at the mouth of White river on the
Wabash, and following up that stream on its east fork, and thence along
the Muskakituck, through Jennings and Ripley counties to Lawrenceville,
and you leave the rough and hilly portion of Indiana, to the right. Much
of the country we have denominated hilly is rich, fertile land, even to
the summits of the hills. On all the streams are strips of rich alluvion
of exhaustless fertility. The interior, on the two White rivers and
tributaries, is moderately undulating, tolerably rich soil, and much of
it heavily timbered with oaks of various species, poplar, beech, sugar
tree, walnuts, hickory, elm, and other varieties common to the West.
There is much level, table land, between the streams. Along the Wabash,
below Terre Haute, is an undulating surface, diversified with forest and
prairie, with a soil of middling quality, interspersed with some very
rich tracts. Along the Wabash and its tributaries above Terre Haute, the
land in general is first rate,--a large proportion forest, interspersed
with beautiful prairies. The timber consists of oaks of various species,
poplar, ash, walnut, cherry, elm, sugar tree, buckeye, hickory, some
beech, sassafras, lime, honey locust, with some cotton wood, sycamore,
hackberry and mulberry on the bottom lands. The undergrowth is spice
bush, hazel, plum, crab apple, hawthorn and vines. Along the northern
part of the State are extensive prairies and tracts of barrens, with
groves of various kinds of timber and skirts of burr oak. Towards lake
Michigan, and along the Kankakee and St. Joseph rivers, are lakes,
swamps and marshes.
_Rivers._--The Ohio meanders along the southeastern and southern parts
of the State for 350 miles. The east and west forks of White river, and
their tributaries, water the interior counties for 100 miles in extent.
They are both navigable streams for flat boats during the spring and
autumn floods. The Wabash river has several heads, which interlock with
the waters of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's, which form the Maumee of
lake Erie. It runs a south-westwardly course across the State to Warren
county,--thence southwardly to Vigo county, where it becomes the
boundary between Indiana and Illinois, along which it meanders to the
Ohio, which it enters 12 miles above Shawneetown. The St. Joseph of lake
Michigan, already noticed under the State of Michigan, makes a curve
into Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, forming what is called the _South
Bend_. The Kankakee, which is the longest branch of Illinois river,
rises in Indiana, near the South Bend. Some of its head waters interlock
with those of Tippecanoe, a prominent tributary of the Wabash.
SKETCH OF EACH COUNTY.
The following sketch of each county,--its streams, surface, soil, and
minerals,--has been made and collated with much labor, from an excellent
Gazetteer of this State, published in 1833, by Douglass and Maguire of
Indianopolis,--from personal observation of many of the older
counties,--and from an extensive correspondence.
ALLEN.--Streams; St. Joseph's and St. Mary's, which form the
Maumee of lake Erie, navigable for small keel boats,--and numerous
creeks; generally heavily timbered; soil, clay,--sandy on the rivers.
BARTHOLOMEW.--Streams; Driftwood, Clifty, Flat Rock, and Salt
Creeks,--all mill streams. Surface, level; soil, a rich loam, mixed with
sand and gravel; the western part hilly, with clay soil. Minerals;
limestone, coal, iron ore, red ochre.
BOON.--Watered by the tributaries of Raccoon and Sugar Creeks.
Surface, level,--soil rich.
CARROLL.--Streams; Wabash river, Deer, Rock, and branches of
Wildcat creeks. Considerable timber,--some prairies, of which Deer
prairie is the largest and most beautiful. Considerable quantities of
limestone on the surface; a remarkable spring near Delphi,--the water
reddish.
CASS.--Streams are Wabash and Eel rivers, which unite at
Logansport,--the head of steamboat navigation of the Wabash, and
termination of the W. and E. canal. Surface, generally level, rolling
towards the rivers with abrupt bluffs; soil, near the rivers, a mixture
of loam and sand; at a distance from them, flat and clayey. Large
proportion, forest land,--some prairies.
CLARK.--Silver and Fourteen Mile creeks furnish excellent mill
sites. Ohio river on the south. Surface, rolling and hilly; soil, loam,
mixed with sand. Minerals; limestone, gypsum, water lime, marble, salt,
iron ore, copperas, alum.
CLAY.--Eel river and tributaries. Surface moderately
undulating; soil various, chiefly clay and loam, and a mixture of sand,
in places; timber predominates,--some prairies.
CLINTON.--Watered by the South, Middle, and Kilmore's Forks of
Wildcat creek. Surface, moderately undulating, or level: Twelve Mile
prairie extends from S. W. to N. E. 12 miles, and is three fourths of a
mile wide. The remainder timbered land. Soil, a rich sandy loam, and
exceedingly fertile.
CRAWFORD.--Waters; the Ohio and Blue rivers,--plenty of water
power, and excellent springs. Surface, hilly and broken; in places,
tolerably productive; in others, soil thin and rocky. A timbered region,
and abundance of limestone.
DAVIESS.--Streams; Forks of White river, with its tributaries,
Smother's, Prairie, Veal, Aikman's and Sugar creeks. Level bottoms on
the rivers--sometimes inundated; undulating on the high grounds. Soil on
the West Fork, sandy; much timber,--an extensive tract of sugar tree;
some prairies. The county destitute of rock near the surface; plenty of
lime and sandstone in the bed of West Fork of White river, at the
rapids. Plenty of coal.
DEARBORN.--Watered by the Great Miami, Whitewater, Laughery,
Hogan's and Tanner's creeks. Surface, hilly and broken, with rich,
level, bottom lands, on the Miami. Soil, one fourth first rate, one
fourth second rate,--remainder inferior. A timbered region.
DECATUR.--Flat Rock, Clifty, and Sand creeks, are all good mill
streams. Surface, generally level,--some parts undulating; soil, loam,
with a substratum of clay; well adapted to grain--timbered. Minerals;
limestone, some iron ore and coal.
DELAWARE.--Streams; Missisinawa, and West Fork of White river;
surface tolerably level; soil, loam, mixed with sand. Minerals; some
limestone, and granite bowlders scattered over the surface.
DUBOIS.--Streams; East Fork of White river, Patoka and Anderson
creeks. Surface rolling,--some parts hilly and broken,--some level
tracts; soil rich and sandy loam near the streams. Minerals; sand rock
and coal.
ELKHART.--Watered by St. Joseph of lake Michigan, Elkhart and
tributaries. Surface, generally level,--a portion undulating; soil
various, but generally rich; forest and prairie, both wet and dry.
FAYETTE.--Watered by the West Fork of Whitewater, and a small
lake in the north. Surface, undulating; soil, on the high ground,
clayey, and a mixture of sand,--on the bottom lands, a rich, sandy loam.
Limestone found in masses and quarries.
FLOYD.--Watered by the Ohio river, Silver creek, and some head
branches of Big and Little Indian creeks. Surface various,--a range of
knobs,--east of these knobs, it is gently undulating; soil inferior.
Minerals; shale, soft sandstone, limestone, freestone, iron ore, and
some traces of coal. A boiling spring, from which is emitted an
inflammable gas.
FOUNTAIN.--Watered by the Wabash river, and Coal and Shawnee
creeks, with numerous mill sites. Surface, gently undulating; soil, a
black loam, mixed with sand, and very rich. Minerals; coal, and some
sandstone.
FRANKLIN.--Watered by the East and West Forks of Whitewater.
Surface, on the eastern part level,--western, rolling; soil, in the
central and northern parts, a black loam,--in the south-west, thin and
clayey.
GIBSON.--Watered by the Wabash, White, and Patoka rivers.
Surface, rolling and timbered; soil, generally a sandy loam, and
productive.
GRANT.--Watered by the Missisinawa and tributaries. Surface
level,--generally heavily timbered; soil, clay and loam on the table
lands,--sandy on the river bottoms.
GREEN.--Watered by White and Eel rivers, and Richland creek;
soil, on the rivers a rich loam,--on the bluffs, sandy,--east side,
hilly,--west side, level. White river is navigable. Minerals; lime and
sandstone, coal, and some iron ore.
HAMILTON.--The streams are White river, and Cicero, Coal,
Stoney, and Fall creeks. Generally forest,--some few prairies; soil, in
places, clay,--more generally, a sandy loam. Minerals; lime, and some
soft sand rock.
HANCOCK.--Watered by Blue river, Sugar and Brandywine creeks,
with excellent mill sites, and well supplied with springs. Surface,
either level or gently undulating; soil, a rich loam, mixed with
sand,--heavily timbered.
HARRISON.--Watered by Big and Little Indian, and Buck creeks,
and Blue river. Surface various,--some parts hilly and broken,--some
parts undulating,--some parts level; soil, in the low grounds, a rich
loam,--on the high grounds, calcareous and gravelly. A large tract of
"barrens" in the west. Minerals; a quarry and several caves of black
flint, salt licks, limestone.
HENDRICKS.--The waters are White Lick, and branches of Eel
river, with good mill sites. Surface, gently rolling, and timbered with
the varieties of the Wabash country; soil, a mixture of clay, loam and
sand.
HENRY.--Watered by Blue river, Flat Rock and Fall creeks.
Surface, in some places, broken,--in most parts, level; soil, a mixture
of sand with loam and clay. Plenty of springs and mill sites. Mostly
timbered, but several tracts of prairie.
HUNTINGTON.--The streams are Salamania, Little river, and
Wabash. Surface, on the rivers, level,--back, gently undulating; soil,
loam and clay, with a slight mixture of sand. Several tracts of
prairie, but generally forest land.
JACKSON.--Watered by Indian, Driftwood, White, Muscatatack, and
Gum creeks. Surface, rolling and in places hilly; soil, clay and loam,
mixed with sand. In the forks of the creeks, sand predominates. On the
west and north-west, inclined to clay.
JEFFERSON.--Watered by the Ohio river, Indian, Kentucky and Big
creeks. Surface various; along the river and creeks, low alluvion; soil,
loam mixed with sand. The bottoms are bounded by precipitous bluffs,
with towering cliffs of limestone. The table lands are undulating, and
the soil inclined to clay. Timber various. Abounds with limestone,
masses of freestone, and scattered granite bowlders.
JOHNSON.--Watered on the eastern side by Blue river, and Sugar
and Young's creeks,--on the western side by Indian, Crooked, and Stott's
creeks. Surface, gently undulating; soil, a rich, black, sandy loam;
timbered. Minerals; masses of freestone, and scattered granite bowlders.
JENNINGS.--Watered by Graham's Fork, and the North Fork of the
Muscatatack. Surface, in some parts level, some parts very hilly; soil,
calcareous, rich and productive; timber of all varieties; abounds with
limestone.
KNOX.--The Wabash on the west side,--White river south,--the
West Fork of White river east,--and Maria and Duchain creeks, interior.
Surface undulating; soil, somewhat various,--a rich loam in
places,--sandy in other places;--some tracts of prairie, but timber
predominates.
LAGRANGE.--Watered by Pigeon and Crooked rivers. Surface,
gently rolling; northern part extensive prairies; southern portion
chiefly forest; soil, loam and sand.
LA PORTE.--Watered by the Kankakee, Galena, and Trail creek, at
the mouth of which is Michigan city, and a harbor for lake Michigan
commerce. Surface, gently undulating; abounds with large, rich prairies,
with groves of timber, and lakes of clear water interspersed; soil, a
sandy loam, rich and productive.
LAWRENCE.--Watered by Salt, Indian, Guthrie's, Beaver, and
Leatherwood creeks, and excellent springs. Surface, generally
hilly,--some level lands;--soil, on the water courses, sandy,--back from
the streams, loam and clay. Abounds with limestone.
MADISON.--The West Fork of White river is navigable. The other
streams are Killbuck, Pipe, Lick and Fall creeks. Surface, generally
level, with some broken land near the streams; timbered, with a wet
prairie, 7 miles long and three fourths of a mile wide; soil, sand,
mixed with clay and loam,--productive. Minerals; lime and freestone,
marble that polishes well, and some traces of iron ore.
MARION.--West Fork of White river passes through it, on which
is situated INDIANOPOLIS, the capital of the State. Fall creek
is an excellent mill stream. Surface, chiefly level forest land; soil,
a deep black loam, with a mixture of sand. Large granite bowlders are
scattered over the surface.
MARTIN.--The East Fork of White river passes through it, and
receives Lost river from the left, and Indian and Flint creeks from the
right. Surface, on the east side of White river, broken and hilly; soil,
clay and loam; on the west side, level, or gently undulating, with
portions of barrens and prairie land; soil, clay and loam, mixed with
sand. Minerals; coal in large quantities, lime, sand and freestone.
MIAMI.--The Wabash and Eel rivers pass through it, and the
Missisinawa comes from the east, and enters the Wabash about the centre
of the county. The Wabash and Erie canal passes through it. Surface,
gently undulating and beautiful,--chiefly forest, and interspersed with
small prairies; soil, the richest in the State, of loam, clay and sand
intermixed.
MONROE.--Streams; Salt, Clear, Indian, Raccoon, Richland, and
Bean-blossom creeks,--pure springs. Surface, hilly and undulating; soil,
second rate. Minerals; limestone rock, salt licks, with manufactories of
salt.
MONTGOMERY.--The heads of Shawnee and Coal creeks in the
north-west,--Sugar creek in the centre,--and Big Raccoon on the
southeastern part. Surface, gently undulating; the northern portion
prairie, interspersed with groves, with a rich soil of black loam,
mixed with sand,--the middle and southern portions timbered. Excellent
quarries of rock in the middle,--granite bowlders in the northern parts.
MORGAN.--White river, which is navigable. The mill streams are
White Lick, Sycamore, Highland, and Lamb's creeks on the west side, and
Crooked, Stott's, Clear, and Indian creeks on the east side. Surface,
generally rolling,--some parts hilly; soil, calcareous and clayey,--on
the bottoms, a rich sandy loam. Minerals; limestone, and some iron ore.
ORANGE.--Streams; Lost river, French Lick, and Patoka. Surface,
hilly and broken,--limestone rock,--springs of water, of which Half-moon
and French Lick are curiosities. On the alluvial bottoms, the soil is
loamy,--on the hills, calcareous, and inclined to clay. Excellent stones
for grit, equal to the Turkey oil stones, are found in this county.
OWEN.--Watered by the West Fork of White river, with its
tributaries, Raccoon, Indian, Mill, Rattlesnake, and Fish creeks. The
falls of Eel river furnish the best water power in the State. Surface
rolling; soil, in some places a dark loam,--in others clayey and
calcareous. Minerals; immense bodies of lime rock, and some iron ore.
PARKE.--Watered by the Big and Little Raccoon, and Sugar
creeks, (with excellent mill sites,) all of which enter the Wabash on
its western side. Surface, generally level,--some beautiful prairies,
but mostly forest land; soil, a loam mixed with sand and rich. Minerals;
lime and sandstone, coal and iron ore.
PERRY.--Watered by the Ohio river, with Anderson's, Bear,
Poison, and Oil creeks interior. Some level land, with a rich, sandy
loam, on the streams,--all the high lands very broken; hilly, with a
clayey, sterile soil. Minerals; immense bodies of limestone, grindstone
quarries, iron ore and coal.
PIKE.--Has White river on the north, and Patoka creek through
the centre. Surface all forest land and undulating; soil, eastern part
clay and sand,--western, a rich, dark loam, mixed with sand,--some
swampy land. Minerals, limestone and coal.
POSEY.--In the forks of the Ohio and Wabash, with Big, Mill,
and McFadden's creeks interior, and good springs. Surface, rolling, and
all forest land; soil, a sandy loam, and produces well. Minerals; sand,
and limestone and coal.
PUTNAM.--Has Raccoon creek, and Eel river, with abundant water
privileges, and fine springs. Surface, gently undulating; soil, in
places calcareous and clayey,--in other places a rich loam; limestone.
RANDOLPH.--Watercourses, the West Fork of White river and
Missisinawa and their tributaries, which furnish good mill sites.
Surface, either level or gently undulating; soil, a rich loam,--in some
places marshy; a small quantity of limestone, with granite bowlders.
RIPLEY.--Watered by Laughery and Graham's creek. Surface level,
forest land; soil clay,--in some parts inclines to sand,--with limestone
abundant.
RUSH.--The streams are Big and Little Blue rivers, Big and
Little Flat Rock, with excellent water power. Surface, moderately
rolling, and heavily timbered; soil, loam on clay, with a slight mixture
of sand.
SCOTT.--Watered by tributaries of the Muscatatack. Surface
rolling,--some flat lands inclining to marsh; soil, clay. Minerals;
limestone, iron ore, salt, sulphur, and copperas.
SHELBY.--Watered by Big and Little Blue rivers, Brandywine, and
Sugar creeks, with good mill sites,--all heads of the East Fork of White
river. Surface, generally level with forest land; soil, clay mixed with
loam.
SPENCER.--Ohio river, Anderson's, Little Pigeon, and Sandy
creeks. Surface tolerably level, and forest land; soil, clay mixed with
loam. Minerals; coal, and lime and sand rock.
ST. JOSEPH.--St. Joseph's river, Kankakee, and Bobango, with
some small creeks. Extensive marshes on the Kankakee, and near the South
Bend of the St. Joseph. These marshes are of vegetable formation.
Surface, in some parts level,--in others gently undulating; soil, a
loam,--in some places sand. The north-west part chiefly prairies and
barrens, including the large and fertile prairies of Portage and Terre
Coupe. The north-eastern, barrens,--the south-eastern, forest. Minerals
are granite bowlders, and bog iron ore.
SULLIVAN.--Has the Wabash river on its western side, and
Turman's, Busseron, and Turtle creeks interior. Surface rolling,--some
prairies, but generally forest land,--some poor barrens; soil, loam and
sand;--lime and sand rock and coal.
SWITZERLAND.--The Ohio east and south,--Indian, Plum, Bryant's,
Turtle, and Grant's creeks interior. Surface various,--bottom lands
level, and rich,--then a range of precipitous bluffs, with cliffs of
limestone,--the table land rolling with a calcareous and clayey soil. At
Vevay are extensive vineyards.
TIPPECANOE.--Watered by the Wabash river, and Wildcat, Wea,
Burnett's, and Mill Branch creeks. The Wabash affords navigation, and
the other streams excellent mill sites. Surface gently undulating, with
extensive level tracts, and consists of one half prairie, one eighth
barrens, and the remainder heavy forest land. The prairie soil is a
rich, black loam,--the barrens cold, wet clay,--the forest a very rich
loam and sand.
UNION.--Streams; the East Fork of White river and its
tributaries, Hanna's, Richland, and Silver creeks, all of which furnish
excellent mill sites. Surface, moderately rolling; soil, a dark loam.
VANDERBURGH.--Watered by the Ohio, and Great Pigeon creek.
Surface, high, dry, rolling land, with good timber, and well watered;
soil, clay and sand, of inferior quality. Minerals; lime and sandstone,
salines, and a mineral spring.
VERMILLION.--A long, narrow county, between the Wabash river
and the State of Illinois. The streams are Wabash, Big and Little
Vermillion, and their tributaries. Surface high, rolling land, with
abrupt bluffs near the streams; a good proportion of prairie and timber;
soil, rich, sandy loam, and very productive. Minerals; freestone and
limestone, and large coal banks.
VIGO.--The Wabash passes through it--navigable. The mill
streams are Prairie, Honey, Otter, and Sugar creeks, but their waters
fail in a dry season. Surface level, or gently undulating, with forest
and prairies; soil, rich loam and sand,--first rate. Minerals; gray
limestone, freestone, and inexhaustible beds of coal.
WABASH.--The Wabash river, and W. and E. canal, pass through
it, as does the Missisinawa, Eel, Bluegrass, and Salamania.
Surface,--wide, rich bottoms on the streams,--bluffs and ravines
adjoining,--table lands further back, either dry and rolling, or flat
and wet, and abound with willow swamps. Limestone rock abundant, and
many excellent springs of pure water.
WARREN.--The Wabash on the S. E. border for thirty miles, and
navigated by steamboats; interior streams, Rock, Redwood, and Big and
Little Pine creeks, all of which afford good mill sites. Some pine and
cedar timber. Surface generally level, with broken land on the bluffs of
creeks; some forest, but the largest proportion prairie; soil, a rich
and very fertile loam. Minerals; lime and excellent freestone for
building purposes,--coal,--iron,--lead and copper,--with several old
"diggings" and furnaces, where both copper and lead ore have been
smelted in early times.
WARRICK.--Watered by the Ohio river, Big and Little Pigeon, and
Cypress. Surface, rolling and hilly; soil, a sandy loam on clay.
Minerals; quarries of freestone, some limestone, and inexhaustible beds
of coal.
WASHINGTON.--Streams; Muscatatack on the north, Rush, Twin,
Highland, Delany's, Elk, Bear, and Sinking creeks, and the heads of Blue
and Lost rivers, with mill sites. Surface, diversified from gentle
undulations, to lofty and precipitous hills; soil, in part, second rate,
with much of inferior quality. Substratum of limestone, caves, hollows,
and sink holes.
WAYNE.--Streams, East and West Forks of Whitewater, with
excellent water power for machinery. Surface, moderately hilly; heavy
forest land; soil, a rich loam; substratum, clay. Minerals; generally,
limestone, and excellent for buildings.
_Form of Government._--This differs very little from that of Ohio. The
Constitution provides that an enumeration be made every five years of
all free white male inhabitants, above the age of twenty-one years; and
the representation of both houses of the General Assembly is apportioned
by such enumeration, in such ratio that the number of representatives
shall never be less than 36, nor exceed 100, and the number of senators
not exceeding one half, nor less than one third the number of
representatives. Every free white male citizen, twenty-one years of age,
who has resided in the State one year, is entitled to vote; "except such
as shall be enlisted in the army of the U. S., or their allies."
Elections are held annually, by ballot, on the first Monday in August.
Senators, the governor, and lieutenant governor, hold their offices for
three years. The judiciary is vested in a Supreme Court, in Circuit
Courts, Probate Courts, and Justices of the peace. The Supreme Court
consists of three judges, who are appointed by the governor, with the
advice and consent of the senate, for the term of seven years, and have
appellate jurisdiction. The Circuit Courts consist of a presiding judge
in each judicial circuit, elected by joint ballot of both houses of the
General Assembly, and two associate judges in each county, elected by
the qualified voters in their respective counties, for a like term. The
Probate Courts consist of one judge for each county, who is elected by
the voters, for the same term. Justices of the peace are elected in each
township, for the term of five years, and have jurisdiction in criminal
cases throughout the county, but, in all civil cases, throughout the
township.
_Finances._--The Indiana Gazetteer, of 1833, estimates that the revenue
for State purposes amounted to about $35,000 annually, and, for county
purposes, to about half that sum. The aggregate receipts for 1835,
according to the governor's message, of Dec. 1835, amounted to $107,714;
expenditures for the same time, $103,901.
Sales of canal lands for the same period, $175,740. The canal
commissioners have borrowed $605,257, for canal purposes, on a part of
which they obtained two per cent. premium, and, on another part, as high
as seven per cent.; and have also borrowed $450,000 bank capital, for
which they received four and a half per cent. premium. Three per cent.
on all sales of U. S. lands within the State, is paid by the general
government into the State treasury, to be expended in making roads. The
receipts from this source, in 1835, amounted to $24,398. Sales and rents
of saline lands, produced an income of $4,636. The proceeds of certain
lands, donated by the general government towards the construction of a
road from the Ohio river to lake Michigan, amounted to $33,030.
_Internal Improvements._--This State has entered with great spirit upon
a system of internal improvements. It consists of canalling, improving
river navigation, rail-roads, and common turnpike roads.
_Wabash and Erie Canal._--This work will extend from La Fayette, on the
Wabash river, up the valley of that stream, to the Maumee and to the
boundary of Ohio; distance, 105 miles. The cost of construction has been
estimated at $1,081,970, and lands to the amount of 355,200 acres, have
been appropriated by the general government, the proceeds of which will
be sufficient to complete the canal to Fort Wayne. The middle division,
32 miles, was completed in July, 1835, and the remainder is in active
progress. Its whole distance, through a part of Ohio to Maumee bay, at
the west end of lake Erie, will be 187 miles.
The _Whitewater Canal_, 76 miles in length, along the western branch of
Whitewater, is intended to pass through Connorsville, Brookville,
Somerset, and other towns, to Lawrenceburgh, on the Ohio river.
Provision is made to improve the navigation of the Wabash river, in
conjunction with Illinois, where it constitutes the boundary line, and,
by this State alone, further up.
_Rail-Roads._--From Evansville, on the Ohio, to La Fayette on the
Wabash, 175 miles; from La Fayette to Michigan city, 90 miles; forming a
line from the Ohio river to lake Michigan, 265 miles in length:--From
Madison, on the Ohio, to Indianopolis, the seat of government, 85 miles;
and several others were projected two years since. But at the session of
the legislature of 1835-6, a bill was passed to borrow, in such
instalments as should be needed, _ten millions_ of dollars; and a system
of internal improvements, including canals, rail-roads, and the
improvement of river navigation, was marked out. In a few years, this
State will be prominent in this species of enterprise.
_Synopsis of Canals surveyed by order of the Indiana Legislature during
the Year 1835._
La Fayette and Terre Haute division of the Wabash and Erie canal.
Length, 90 miles; total cost, $1,067,914.70; per mile, $11,865 79.
Central canal, north of Indianopolis. Total length, from Indianopolis
via Andersontown, Pipe creek summit to the Wabash and Erie canal at
Wabash town, 103 miles 34 chains; total cost, $1,992,224.54; per mile,
$17,106 51. Length, via Pipe creek summit to Peru, near the mouth of the
Missisinawa, 114 miles 46 chains; total cost, $1,897,797.19; per mile,
$14,871.85. Length, via Pipe creek summit (including lateral canal to
Muncietown) to Wabash town, 124 miles 51 chains; total cost,
$2,103,153.61; per mile, $15,873.83. Length, via Pipe creek summit
(including lateral canal to Muncietown) to Peru, 185 miles 63 chains;
total cost, $2,008,726.26; per mile, $14,793.12. Total length, from
Indianopolis via Muncietown to the Wabash and Erie canal at Peru, 131
miles 41 chains; total cost, $2,058,929.41; per mile, $14.549 71.
Central canal, south of Indianopolis. Total length, from Indianopolis to
Evansville, 188 miles; total cost, $2,642,285.92; per mile, $14,054.71.
Route down the valley of Main Pigeon. Length, 194 miles; total cost,
$2,400,957.70; per mile, $12,376.02.
Terre Haute and Eel river canal, which forms a connexion between the
Wabash and Erie canal and White river or Central canal. Total length,
40-½ miles; total cost, $629,631 65; which, including a feeder, is
$13,540.46 per mile.
Wabash and Erie canal, eastern division, [east of Fort Wayne], Upper
line: Length, 19 miles 30 chains; total cost, $154,113.13; per mile,
$7,952.17.--Lower line: Total length, 20 miles 76-½ chains; total
cost, $254,817.52; per mile, $11,159.04.
The following are the works provided for in the Bill, and the sums
appropriated for them:
1st. The White Water Canal, including a
lateral canal or rail-road, to connect said
canal with the Central or White river
canal, $1,400,000
2d. Central or White river Canal, 3,500,000
3d. Extension of the Wabash and
Erie Canal, 1,300,000
4th. Madison and La Fayette Rail-road, 1,300,000
5th. A M'Adamized turnpike road
from New Albany to Vincennes, 1,150,000
6th. Turnpike or rail-road from
New Albany to Crawfordsville, 1,300,000
7th. Removing obstructions in the
Wabash, 50,000
-----------
$10,000,000
8th. The Bill gives the credit of the
State to the Lawrenceburgh and Indianopolis
Rail-road Company, for the sum of $500,000.
_Manufactures._--Besides the household manufacture of cotton and
flannels, common to the western people, at Vincennes, and probably other
towns, machinery is employed in several establishments. It will be seen
from the sketch of each county, already given, that in most parts of the
State there is a supply of water power for manufacturing purposes. Both
water and steam power, saw and grist mills, are already in operation in
various parts of the State.
_Education._--The same provision of one section of land in each
township, or a thirty-sixth part of the public lands, has been made for
the encouragement of common schools, as in other Western States. A law
has been enacted providing for common schools, and the public mind has
become measurably awakened to the subject of education. Some most
extravagant and exaggerated statements have been made relative to an
incredible number of children in this State, "who have no means of
education." As in all new countries, the first class of emigrants,
having to provide for their more immediate wants, have not done so much
as is desirable to promote common school education; but we have no idea
they will slumber on that subject, while they are wide awake to the
physical wants and resources of the country. Academies have been
established in several counties, and a college at Bloomington, from the
encouragement of State funds, and other institutions are rising up, of
which the Hanover Institution near the Ohio river, and Wabash College at
Crawfordsville, promise to be conspicuous.
_History._--This country was first explored by adventurers from Canada,
with a view to the Indian trade, towards the close of the seventeenth
century; and the place where Vincennes now stands is said to have been
thus early occupied as a trading post. A company of French from Canada,
made a settlement here in 1735. The country, in common with the Western
Valley, was claimed by France, until it was ceded to Great Britain, at
the treaty of peace in 1763, under whose jurisdiction it remained, until
subdued by the American arms under the intrepid Gen. G. R. Clark, and
his gallant band, in 1779. A territorial government was organized by
Congress in 1787, including all the country north-west of the river
Ohio, which was then called the North-western Territory. In 1802, when
the State of Ohio was organized, all that part of the Territory lying
west of a line due north from the mouth of the Great Miami, was
organized into the Territory of Indiana,--which was divided, and from
which Illinois Territory was formed in 1809. In June, 1816, a
constitution was adopted, and at the ensuing session of Congress,
Indiana was made a State.
_General Remarks._--The importance of Indiana, as a desirable State for
the attention of the emigrant to the West, has been too much overlooked.
Though not possessing quite equal advantages with Illinois, especially
in the quality and amount of prairie soil, it is far superior to Ohio,
and fully equal,--nay, in our estimation, rather superior to Michigan.
Almost every part is easy of access, and in a very few years the liberal
system of internal improvements, adopted and in progress, will make
almost every county accessible to public conveyances, and furnish
abundant facilities to market.
Along the wide, alluvion bottoms of the streams, and amidst a rank
growth of vegetation, there is usually more or less autumnal fever,
yet, in general, there is very little difference in any of the Western
States as to prospects of health.
Mechanics, school teachers, and laborers of every description, are much
wanted in this State, as they are in all the States further west; and
all may provide abundantly and easily, all the necessaries of living for
a family, if they will use industry, economy and sobriety.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] See a valuable statistical article, by B. Drake, Esq., in the
Western Monthly Magazine, for January, 1836, entitled, "_Cincinnati, at
the close of 1835_."
CHAPTER XI.
ILLINOIS.
Situation, Boundaries, and Extent.
The State of Illinois is situated between 37° and 42°, 30´ N. latitude;
and between 10° 25´, and 14°30´ W. longitude from Washington city. It is
bounded on the north by Wisconsin Territory, north-east by lake
Michigan, east by Indiana, south-east and south by Kentucky, and west by
the State and Territory of Missouri. Its extreme length is 380 miles;
and its extreme width, 220 miles; its average width, 150 miles. The area
of the whole State, including a small portion of lake Michigan within
its boundaries, is 59,300 square miles.
The water area of the State is about 3,750 square miles. With this,
deduct 5,550 square miles for irreclaimable wastes, and there remains
50,000 square miles, or 32 millions of acres of arable land in
Illinois,--a much greater quantity than is found in any other State. In
this estimate, inundated lands, submerged by high waters, but which may
be reclaimed at a moderate expense, is included.
_Face of the Country, and qualities of Soil._--The general surface is
level, or moderately undulating; the northern and southern portions are
broken, and somewhat hilly, but no portion of the State is traversed
with ranges of hills or mountains. At the verge of the alluvial soil on
the margins of rivers, there are ranges of "bluffs" intersected with
ravines. The bluffs are usually from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet
high, where an extended surface of table land commences, covered with
prairies and forests of various shapes and sizes.
When examined minutely, there are several varieties in the surface of
this State, which will be briefly specified and described.
1. _Inundated Lands._ I apply this term to all those portions, which,
for some part of the year, are under water. These include portions of
the river bottoms, and portions of the interior of large prairies, with
the lakes and ponds which, for half the year or more, are without water.
The term "bottom" is used throughout the West, to denote the alluvial
soil on the margin of rivers, usually called "intervales," in New
England. Portions of this description of land are flowed for a longer or
shorter period, when the rivers are full. Probably one eighth of the
bottom lands are of this description; for, though the water may not
stand for any length of time, it wholly prevents settlement and
cultivation, though it does not interrupt the growth of timber and
vegetation. These tracts are on the bottoms of the Wabash, Ohio,
Mississippi, Illinois, and all the interior rivers.
When the rivers rise above their ordinary height, the waters of the
smaller streams, which are backed up by the freshets of the former,
break over their banks, and cover all the low grounds. Here they stand
for a few days, or for many weeks, especially towards the bluffs; for it
is a striking fact in the geology of the western country, that all the
river bottoms are higher on the margins of the streams than at some
distance back. Whenever increase of population shall create a demand for
this species of soil, the most of it can be reclaimed at comparatively
small expense. Its fertility will be inexhaustible, and if the waters
from the rivers could be shut out by dykes or levees, the soil would be
perfectly dry. Most of the small lakes on the American bottom disappear
in the summer, and leave a deposit of vegetable matter undergoing
decomposition, or a luxuriant coat of weeds and grass.
As our prairies mostly lie between the streams that drain the country,
the interior of the large ones are usually level. Here are formed ponds
and lakes after the winter and spring rains, which remain to be drawn
off by evaporation, or absorbed by an adhesive soil. Hence the middle
of our large, level prairies are wet, and for several weeks portions of
them are covered with water. To remedy this inconvenience completely,
and render all this portion of soil dry and productive, only requires a
ditch or drain of two or three feet deep to be cut into the nearest
ravine. In many instances, a single furrow with the plough, would drain
many acres. At present, this species of inundated land offers no
inconvenience to the people, except in the production of miasm, and even
that, perhaps, becomes too much diluted with the atmosphere to produce
mischief before it reaches the settlements on the borders of the
prairie. Hence the inference is correct, that our inundated lands
present fewer obstacles to the settlement and growth of the country, and
can be reclaimed at much less expense, than the swamps and salt marshes
of the Atlantic States.
2. _River Bottoms or Alluvion._ The surface of our alluvial bottoms is
not entirely level. In some places it resembles alternate waves of the
ocean, and looks as though the waters had left their deposit in ridges,
and retired.
The portion of bottom land capable of present cultivation, and on which
the waters never stand, if, at an extreme freshet, it is covered, is a
soil of exhaustless fertility; a soil that for ages past has been
gradually deposited by the annual floods. Its average depth on the
American bottom, is from twenty to twenty-five feet. Logs of wood, and
other indications, are found at that depth. The soil dug from wells on
these bottoms, produces luxuriantly the first year.
The most extensive and fertile tract, of this description of soil, in
this State, is the _American Bottom_, a name it received when it
constituted the western boundary of the United States, and which it has
retained ever since. It commences at the mouth of the Kaskaskia river,
five miles below the town of Kaskaskia, and extends northwardly along
the Mississippi to the bluffs at Alton, a distance of ninety miles. Its
average width is five miles, and contains about 450 square miles, or
288,000 acres. Opposite St. Louis, in St. Clair county, the bluffs are
seven miles from the river, and filled with inexhaustible beds of coal.
The soil of this bottom is an argillaceous or a silicious loam,
according as clay or sand happens to predominate in its formation.
On the margin of the river, and of some of its lakes, is a strip of
heavy timber, with a thick undergrowth, which extends from half a mile
to two miles in width; but from thence to the bluffs, it is principally
prairie. It is interspersed with sloughs, lakes, and ponds, the most of
which become dry in autumn.
The soil of the American bottom is inexhaustibly rich. About the French
towns it has been cultivated, and produced corn in succession for more
than a century, without exhausting its fertilizing powers. The only
objection that can be offered to this tract is its unhealthy character.
This, however, has diminished considerably within eight or ten years.
The geological feature noticed in the last article--that all our bottoms
are higher on the margin of the stream, than towards the bluffs,
explains the cause why so much standing water is on the bottom land,
which, during the summer, stagnates and throws off noxious effluvia.
These lakes are usually full of vegetable matter undergoing
decomposition, and which produces large quantities of miasm. Some of the
lakes are clear and of a sandy bottom, but the most are of a different
character. The French settled near a lake or a river, apparently in the
most unhealthy places, and yet their constitutions are little affected,
and they usually enjoy good health, though dwarfish and shrivelled in
their form and features.
"The villages of Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, and Cahokia, were built
up by their industry in places where Americans would have perished.
Cultivation has, no doubt, rendered this tract more salubrious than
formerly; and an increase of it, together with the construction of
drains and canals, will make it one of the most eligible in the States.
The old inhabitants advise the emigrants not to plant corn in the
immediate vicinity of their dwellings, as its rich and massive foliage
prevents the sun from dispelling the deleterious vapors."[11]
These lakes and ponds could be drained at a small expense, and the soil
would be susceptible of cultivation. The early settlements of the
Americans were either on this bottom, or the contiguous bluffs.
Besides the American bottom, there are others that resemble it in its
general character, but not in extent. In Union county, there is an
extensive bottom on the borders of the Mississippi. Above the mouth of
the Illinois, and along the borders of the counties of Calhoun, Pike,
and Adams, there are a series of bottoms, with much good and elevated
land; but the inundated grounds around, present objections to a dense
population at present.
The bottoms of Illinois, where not inundated, are equal in fertility,
and the soil is less adhesive than most parts of the American bottom.
This is likewise the character of the bottoms in the northern parts of
the State.
The bottoms of the Kaskaskia are generally covered with a heavy growth
of timber, and in many places inundated when the river is at its highest
floods.
The extensive prairies adjoining, will create a demand for all this
timber. The bottom lands on the Wabash are of various qualities. Near
the mouth, much of it is inundated. Higher up it overflows in high
freshets.
These bottoms, especially the American are the best regions in the
United States for raising stock, particularly horses, cattle, and swine.
Seventy-five bushels of corn to the acre is an ordinary crop. The roots
and worms of the soil, the acorns and other fruits from the trees, and
the fish of the lakes, accelerate the growth of swine. Horses and cattle
find exhaustless supplies of grass in the prairies; and pea vines,
buffalo grass, wild oats, and other herbage in the timber, for summer
range; and often throughout most of the winter. In all the rush bottoms,
they fatten during the severe weather on rushes. The bottom soil is not
so well adapted to the production of small grain, as of maize or Indian
corn, on account of its rank growth, and being more subject to blast, or
fall down before harvest, than on the uplands.
3. _Prairies._ Much the largest proportion is undulating, dry, and
extremely fertile. Other portions are level, and the soil in some cases
proves to be wet;--the water, not running off freely, is left to be
absorbed by the soil, or evaporated by the sun. Crawfish throw up their
hillocks in this soil, and the farmer who cultivates it, will find his
labors impeded by the water.
In the southern part, that is, south of the National road leading from
Terre Haute to the Mississippi, the prairies are comparatively small,
varying in size from those of several miles in width, to those which
contain only a few acres. As we go northward, they widen and extend on
the more elevated ground between the water courses to a vast distance,
and are frequently from six to twelve miles in width. Their borders are
by no means uniform. Long points of timber project into the prairies,
and line the banks of the streams, and points of prairie project into
the timber between these streams. In many instances are copses and
groves of timber, from one hundred to two thousand acres, in the midst
of prairies, like islands in the ocean. This is a common feature in the
country between the Sangamon river and lake Michigan, and in the
northern parts of the State. The lead mine region, both in this State
and the Wisconsin territory, abounds with these groves.
The _origin_ of these prairies has caused much speculation. We might as
well dispute about the origin of forests, upon the assumption that the
natural covering of the earth was grass. Probably one half of the
earth's surface, in a state of nature, was prairies or barrens. Much of
it, like our western prairies, was covered with a luxuriant coat of
grass and herbage. The _steppes_ of Tartary, the _pampas_ of South
America, the _savannas_ of the Southern, and the _prairies_ of the
Western States, designate similar tracts of country. Mesopotamia, Syria,
and Judea had their ancient prairies, on which the patriarchs fed their
flocks. Missionaries in Burmah, and travellers in the interior of
Africa, mention the same description of country. Where the tough sward
of the prairie is once formed, timber will not take root. Destroy this
by the plough, or by any other method, and it is soon converted into
forest land. There are large tracts of country in the older settlements,
where, thirty or forty years since, the farmers mowed their hay, that
are now covered with a forest of young timber of rapid growth.
The fire annually sweeps over the prairies, destroying the grass and
herbage, blackening the surface, and leaving a deposit of ashes to
enrich the soil.
4. _Barrens._ This term, in the western dialect, does not indicate _poor
land_, but a species of surface of a mixed character, uniting forest and
prairie.
The timber is generally scattering, of a rough and stunted appearance,
interspersed with patches of hazle and brushwood, and where the contest
between the fire and timber is kept up, each striving for the mastery.
In the early settlements of Kentucky, much of the country below and
south of Green river presented a dwarfish and stunted growth of timber,
scattered over the surface, or collected in clumps, with hazle and
shrubbery intermixed. This appearance led the first explorers to the
inference that the soil itself must necessarily be poor, to produce so
scanty a growth of timber, and they gave the name of _barrens_ to the
whole tract of country. Long since, it has been ascertained that this
description of land is amongst the most productive soil in the State.
The term _barren_ has since received a very extensive application
throughout the West. Like all other tracts of country, the barrens
present a considerable diversity of soil. In general, however, the
surface is more uneven or rolling than the prairies, and sooner
degenerates into ravines and sink-holes. Wherever timber barely
sufficient for present purposes can be found, a person need not hesitate
to settle in the barrens. These tracts are almost invariably healthy;
they possess a greater abundance of pure springs of water, and the soil
is better adapted for all kinds of produce, and all descriptions of
seasons, wet and dry, than the deeper and richer mould of the bottoms
and prairies.
When the fires are stopped, these barrens produce timber, at a rate of
which no northern emigrant can have any just conception. Dwarfish shrubs
and small trees of oak and hickory are scattered over the surface, where
for years they have contended with the fires for a precarious existence,
while a mass of roots, sufficient for the support of large trees, have
accumulated in the earth. As soon as they are protected from the ravages
of the annual fires, the more thrifty sprouts shoot forth, and in ten
years are large enough for corn cribs and stables.
As the fires on the prairies become stopped by the surrounding
settlements, and the wild grass is eaten out and trodden down by the
stock, they begin to assume the character of barrens; first, hazle and
other shrubs, and finally, a thicket of young timber, covers the
surface.
5. _Forest, or timbered Land._ In general, Illinois is abundantly
supplied with timber, and were it equally distributed through the State,
there would be no part in want. The apparent scarcity of timber where
the prairie predominates, is not so great an obstacle to the settlement
of the country as has been supposed. For many of the purposes to which
timber is applied, substitutes are found. The rapidity with which the
young growth pushes itself forward, without a single effort on the part
of man to accelerate it, and the readiness with which the prairie
becomes converted into thickets, and then into a forest of young timber,
shows that, in another generation, timber will not be wanting in any
part of Illinois.
The kinds of timber most abundant are oaks of various species, black and
white walnut, ash of several kinds, elm, sugar maple, honey locust,
hackberry, linden, hickory, cotton wood, pecan, mulberry, buckeye,
sycamore, wild cherry, box elder, sassafras, and persimmon. In the
southern and eastern parts of the State are yellow poplar, and beech;
near the Ohio are cypress, and in several counties are clumps of yellow
pine and cedar. On the Calamick, near the south end of lake Michigan, is
a small forest of white pine. The undergrowth are redbud, pawpaw,
sumach, plum, crab apple, grape vines, dogwood, spice bush, green
brier, hazle, &c.
The alluvial soil of the rivers produces cotton wood and sycamore timber
of amazing size.
For ordinary purposes there is now timber enough in most parts of the
State, to say nothing about the artificial production of timber, which
may be effected with little trouble and expense. The black locust, a
native of Ohio and Kentucky, may be raised from the seed, with less
labor than a nursery of apple trees. It is of rapid growth, and, as a
valuable and lasting timber, claims the attention of our farmers. It
forms one of the cleanliest and most beautiful shades, and when in
blossom gives a rich prospect, and sends abroad a delicious fragrance.
6. _Knobs, Bluffs, Ravines, and Sink-holes._ Under these heads are
included tracts of uneven country found in various parts of the State.
_Knobs_ are ridges of flint limestone, intermingled and covered with
earth, and elevated one or two hundred feet above the common surface.
This species of land is of little value for cultivation, and usually has
a sprinkling of dwarfish, stunted timber, like the barrens.
The steep hills and natural mounds that border the alluvions have
obtained the name of _bluffs_. Some are in long, parallel ridges, others
are in the form of cones and pyramids. In some places precipices of
limestone rock, from fifty to one or two hundred feet high, form these
bluffs.
_Ravines_ are formed amongst the bluffs, and often near the borders of
prairies, which lead down to the streams.
_Sink-holes_ are circular depressions in the surface, like a basin. They
are of various sizes, from ten to fifty feet deep, and from ten to one
or two hundred yards in circumference. Frequently they contain an outlet
for the water received by the rains. Their existence shows that the
substratum is secondary limestone, abounding with subterraneous
cavities.
There are but few tracts of _stony ground_ in the State; that is, where
loose stones are scattered over the surface, and imbedded in the soil.
Towards the northern part of the State, tracts of stony ground exist.
Quarries of stone exist in the bluffs, and in the banks of the streams
and ravines throughout the State.
The soil is porous, easy to cultivate, and exceedingly productive. A
strong team is required to break up the prairies, on account of the
firm, grassy sward which covers them. But when subdued, they become
fine, arable lands.
_Rivers, &c._--This State is surrounded and intersected by navigable
streams. The Mississippi, Ohio and Wabash rivers are on three
sides,--the Illinois, Kaskaskia, Sangamon, Muddy, and many smaller
streams are entirely within its borders,--and the Kankakee, Fox, Rock,
and Vermillion of the Wabash, run part of their course within this
State. The Mississippi meanders its western border for 700 miles. Its
principal tributaries within Illinois, are Rock, Illinois, Kaskaskia,
and Muddy rivers. The Illinois river commences at the junction of the
Kankakee, which originates near the South Bend in Indiana, and the Des
Plaines, which rises in the Wisconsin Territory. From their junction,
the Illinois runs nearly a west course, (receiving Fox river at Ottawa,
and Vermillion near the foot of the rapids,) to Hennepin, where it
curves to the south and then to the south-west, receiving a number of
tributaries, the largest of which are Spoon river from the right and
Sangamon from the left, till it reaches Naples. Here it bends gradually
to the south, and continues that course till within six miles of the
Mississippi, when it curves to the south-east, and finally, to nearly an
east course. Its length, (without reckoning the windings of the channel
in navigation,) is about 260 miles, and is navigable for steamboats at a
moderate stage of water to the foot of the rapids. The large streams on
the eastern side of the State are Iroquois, a tributary to the Kankakee,
Vermillion of the Wabash, which enters that river in Indiana, Embarras,
that has its source near that of the Kaskaskia, runs south-easterly, and
enters the Wabash 9 miles below Vincennes, and Little Wabash near its
mouth. Along the Ohio, the only streams deserving note are the Saline
and Bay creeks, and Cash river, the last of which enters the Ohio six
miles above its confluence with the Mississippi.
_Productions._--These are naturally classed into _mineral_, _animal_ and
_vegetable_.
_Minerals._ The northern portion of Illinois is inexhaustibly rich in
mineral productions, while coal, secondary limestone, and sandstone, are
found in every part.
Iron ore has been found in the southern parts of the State, and is said
to exist in considerable quantities in the northern parts.
Native copper, in small quantities, has been found on Muddy river, in
Jackson county, and back of Harrisonville, in the bluffs of Monroe
county. Crystallized gypsum has been found in small quantities in St.
Clair county. Quartz crystals exist in Gallatin county.
Silver is supposed to exist in St. Clair county, two miles from Rock
Spring, from whence Silver creek derives its name. In early times, a
shaft was sunk here, by the French, and tradition tells of large
quantities of the precious metals being obtained.
In the southern part of the State, several sections of land have been
reserved from sale, on account of the silver ore they are supposed to
contain.
_Lead_ is found in vast quantities in the northern part of Illinois, and
the adjacent territory. Here are the richest lead mines hitherto
discovered on the globe. This portion of country lies principally north
of Rock river and south of the Wisconsin. Dubuque's, and other rich
mines, are west of the Mississippi.
Native copper, in large quantities, exists in this region, especially at
the mouth of Plum creek, and on the Peek-a-ton-o-kee, a branch of Rock
river.
The following is a list of the principal diggings in that portion of the
lead mine region that lies between Rock river and the Wisconsin,
embracing portions of Illinois State, and Wisconsin Territory. Some of
these diggings are, probably, relinquished, and many new ones commenced.
Apple Creek,
GALENA and vicinity,
Cave Diggings,
Buncombe,
Natchez,
Hardscrabble,
New Diggings,
Gratiot's Grove,
Spulburg,
W. S. Hamilton's,
Cottle's,
McNutt's,
Menomonee Creek,
Plattsville,
CASSVILLE and vicinity,
Madden's,
Mineral Point,
Dodgeville,
Worke's Diggings,
Brisbo's,
Blue Mounds,
Prairie Springs,
Hammett & Campbell's,
Morrison's,
and many others.
_Amount of Lead Manufactured._ For many years the Indians, and some of
the French hunters and traders, had been accustomed to dig lead in
these regions. They never penetrated much below the surface, but
obtained considerable quantities of the ore which they sold to the
traders.
In 1823, the late Col. James Johnson, of Great Crossings, Ky., and
brother to the Hon. R. M. Johnson, obtained a lease of the United States
government, and made arrangements to prosecute the business of smelting,
with considerable force, which he did the following season. This
attracted the attention of enterprising men in Illinois, Missouri, and
other States. Some went on in 1826, more followed in 1827, and in 1828
the country was almost literally filled with miners, smelters,
merchants, speculators, gamblers, and every description of character.
Intelligence, enterprise, and virtue, were thrown in the midst of
dissipation, gaming, and every species of vice. Such was the crowd of
adventurers in 1829, to this hitherto almost unknown and desolate
region, that the lead business was greatly overdone, and the market for
awhile nearly destroyed. Fortunes were made almost upon a turn of the
spade, and lost with equal facility. The business has revived and is
profitable. Exhaustless quantities of mineral exist here, over a tract
of country two hundred miles in extent.
The following table shows the amount of lead made annually at these
diggings, from 1821, to Sept, 30, 1835:
Lbs. of lead made from 1821, to Sept. 1823, 335,130
do. for the year ending Sept. 30, 1824, 175,220
do. do. do. 1825, 664,530
do. do. do. 1826, 958,842
do. do. do. 1827, 5,182,180
do. do. do. 1828, 11,105,810
do. do. do. 1829, 13,344,150
do. do. do. 1830, 8,323,998
do. do. do. 1831, 6,381,900
do. do. do. 1832, 4,281,876
do. do. do. 1833, 7,941,792
do. do. do. 1834, 7,971,579
do. do. do. 1835, 3,754,290
----------
Total, 70,420,357
The rent accruing to government for the same period, is a fraction short
of six millions of pounds. The government formerly received 10 per cent.
in lead for rent. Now it is 6 per cent.
A part of the mineral land in the Wisconsin Territory has been surveyed
and brought into market, which will add greatly to the stability and
prosperity of the mining business.
_Coal._ Bituminous coal abounds in Illinois. It may be seen, frequently,
in the ravines and gullies, and in the points of bluffs. Exhaustless
beds of this article exist in the bluffs of St. Clair county, bordering
on the American bottom, of which large quantities are transported to St.
Louis, for fuel. There is scarce a county in the State, but what can
furnish coal, in reasonable quantities. Large beds are said to exist,
near the Vermillion of the Illinois, and in the vicinity of the rapids
of the latter.
_Agatized Wood._ A petrified tree, of black walnut, was found in the bed
of the river Des Plaines, about forty rods above its junction with the
Kankakee, imbedded in a horizontal position, in a stratum of sandstone.
There is fifty-one and a half feet of the trunk visible,--eighteen
inches in diameter at its smallest end, and probably three feet at the
other end.
_Muriate of Soda_, or common salt. This is found in various parts of the
State, held in solution in the springs. The manufacture of salt by
boiling and evaporation is carried on in Gallatin county, twelve miles
west-north-west from Shawneetown; in Jackson county, near Brownsville;
and in Vermillion county, near Danville. The springs and land are owned
by the State, and the works leased.
A coarse freestone, much used in building, is dug from quarries near
Alton, on the Mississippi, where large bodies exist.
Scattered over the surface of our prairies, are large masses of rock, of
granitic formation, roundish in form, usually called by the people
"_lost rocks_." They will weigh from one thousand to ten or twelve
thousand pounds, and are entirely detached, and frequently are found
several miles-distant from any quarry. Nor has there ever been a quarry
of granite discovered in the State. These stones are denominated
_bowlders_ in mineralogy. They usually lie on the surface, or are
partially imbedded in the soil of our prairies, which is unquestionably
of diluvial formation. How they came here is a question of difficult
solution.
_Medicinal Waters_, are found in different parts of the State. These are
chiefly sulphur springs and chalybeate waters. There is said to be one
well in the southern part of the State strongly impregnated with the
sulphate of magnesia, or Epsom salts, from which considerable quantities
have been made for sale, by simply evaporating the water, in a kettle,
over a common fire.
There are several sulphur springs in Jefferson county, to which persons
resort for health.
_Vegetable Productions._ The principal trees and shrubs of Illinois have
been noticed under the head of "_Forest or timbered land_." Of oaks
there are several species, as overcup, burr oak, swamp or water oak,
white oak, red or Spanish oak, post oak, and black oak of several
varieties, with the black jack, a dwarfish, gnarled looking tree,
excellent for fuel, but good for nothing else.
The black walnut is much used for building materials and cabinet work,
and sustains a fine polish.
In most parts of the State, grape vines, indigenous to the country, are
abundant, which yield grapes that might advantageously be made into
excellent wine. Foreign vines are susceptible of easy cultivation. These
are cultivated to a considerable extent at Vevay, Switzerland county,
Indiana, and at New Harmony on the Wabash. The indigenous vines are
prolific, and produce excellent fruit. They are found in every variety
of soil; interwoven in every thicket in the prairies and barrens; and
climbing to the tops of the very highest trees on the bottoms. The
French in early times, made so much wine as to export some to France;
upon which the proper authorities prohibited the introduction of wine
from Illinois, lest it might injure the sale of that staple article of
the kingdom. I think the act was passed by the board of trade, in 1774.
The editor of the Illinois Magazine remarks, "We know one gentleman who
made twenty-seven barrels of wine in a single season, from the grapes
gathered with but little labor, in his immediate neighborhood."
The wild plum is found in every part of the State; but in most instances
the fruit is too sour for use, unless for preserves. Crab apples are
equally prolific, and make fine preserves with about double their bulk
of sugar. Wild cherries are equally productive. The persimmon is a
delicious fruit, after the frost has destroyed its astringent
properties. The black mulberry grows in most parts, and is used for the
feeding of silk-worms with success. They appear to thrive and spin as
well as on the Italian mulberry. The gooseberry, strawberry, and
blackberry, grow wild and in great profusion. Of our nuts, the hickory,
black walnut, and pecan, deserve notice. The last is an oblong, thin
shelled, delicious nut, that grows on a large tree, a species of the
hickory, (the _Carya olivæ formis_ of Nuttall.) The pawpaw grows in the
bottoms, and rich, timbered uplands, and produces a large, pulpy, and
luscious fruit. Of domestic fruits, the apple and peach are chiefly
cultivated. Pears are tolerably plenty in the French settlements, and
quinces are cultivated with success by some Americans. Apples are easily
cultivated, and are very productive. They can be made to bear fruit to
considerable advantage in seven years from the seed. Many varieties are
of fine flavor, and grow to a large size. I have measured apples, the
growth of St. Clair county, that exceeded thirteen inches in
circumference. Some of the early American settlers provided orchards.
They now reap the advantages. But a large proportion of the population
of the frontiers are content without this indispensable article in the
comforts of a Yankee farmer. Cider is made in small quantities in the
old settlements. In a few years, a supply of this beverage can be had in
most parts of Illinois.
Peach trees grow with great rapidity, and decay proportionably soon.
From ten to fifteen years may be considered the life of this tree. Our
peaches are delicious, but they sometimes fail by being destroyed in the
germ by winter frosts. The bud swells prematurely.
_Garden Vegetables_ can be produced here in vast profusion, and of
excellent quality.
That we have few of the elegant and well dressed gardens of gentlemen in
the old states, is admitted; which is not owing to climate, or soil, but
to the want of leisure and means.
Our Irish potatoes, pumpkins and squashes are inferior, but not our
cabbages, peas, beets, or onions.
A cabbage head, two or three feet in diameter including the leaves, is
no wonder on this soil. Beets often exceed twelve inches in
circumference. Parsnips will penetrate our light, porous soil, to the
depth of two or three feet.
The _cultivated vegetable productions in the field_, are maize or Indian
corn, wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes,
turnips, rye for horse feed and distilleries, tobacco, cotton, hemp,
flax, the castor bean, and every other production common to the Middle
States.
_Maize_ is a staple production. No farmer can live without it, and
hundreds raise little else. This is chiefly owing to the ease with which
it is cultivated. Its average produce is fifty bushels to the acre. I
have oftentimes seen it produce seventy-five bushels to the acre, and in
a few instances, exceed one hundred.
_Wheat_ yields a good and sure crop, especially in the counties
bordering on the Illinois river. It weighs upwards of 60 pounds per
bushel; and flour from this region has preference in the New Orleans
market, and passes better inspection than the same article from Ohio or
Kentucky.
In 1825, the weevil, for the first time, made its appearance in St.
Clair and the adjacent counties, and has occasionally renewed its visits
since. Latterly, some fields have been injured by the fly.
A common, but slovenly practice amongst our farmers, is, to sow wheat
amongst the standing corn, in September, and cover it by running a few
furrows with the plough between the rows of corn. The dry stalks are
then cut down in the spring, and left on the ground. Even by this
imperfect mode, fifteen or twenty bushels of wheat to the acre are
produced. But where the ground is duly prepared by fallowing, and the
seed put in at the proper time, a good crop, averaging from twenty-five
to thirty-five bushels per acre, rarely fails to be procured.
The average price of wheat at present is a dollar per bushel, varying a
little according to the competition of mills and facilities to market.
In many instances a single crop of wheat will more than pay the expenses
of purchasing the land, fencing, breaking the prairie, seed, putting in
the crop, harvesting, threshing, and taking it to market. Wheat is now
frequently sown on the prairie land as a first crop, and a good yield
obtained.
Flouring mills are now in operation in many of the wheat growing
counties. Steam power is getting into extensive use both for sawing
timber, and manufacturing flour.
It is to be regretted, that so few of our farmers have erected barns for
the security of their crops. No article is more profitable, and really
more indispensable to a farmer, than a large barn.
_Oats_ have not been much raised till lately. They are very productive,
often yielding from forty to fifty bushels on the acre, and usually sell
for twenty-five cents the bushel. The demand for the use of stage and
travellers' horses is increasing.
_Hemp_ is an indigenous plant in the southern part of this State, as it
is in Missouri. It has not been extensively cultivated; but wherever
tried, is found very productive, and of an excellent quality. It might
be made a staple of the country.
_Tobacco_, though a filthy and noxious weed, which no human being ought
ever to use, can be produced in any quantity, and of the first quality,
in Illinois.
_Cotton_, for many years, has been successfully cultivated in this State
for domestic use, and some for exportation. Two or three spinning
factories are in operation, and produce cotton yarn from the growth of
the country with promising success. This branch of business admits of
enlargement, and invites the attention of eastern manufacturers with
small capital. Much of the cloth made in families who have emigrated
from States south of the Ohio is from the cotton of the country.
_Flax_ is produced, and of a tolerable quality, but not equal to that of
the Northern States. It is said to be productive and good in the
northern counties.
_Barley_ yields well, and is a sure crop.
The _palma christi_, or castor oil bean, is produced in considerable
quantities in Madison, Randolph, and other counties, and large
quantities of oil are expressed and sent abroad.
_Sweet Potatoes_ are a delicious root, and yield abundantly, especially
on the American bottom, and rich sandy prairies.
But little has been done to introduce cultivated grasses. The prairie
grass looks coarse and unsavory, and yet our horses and cattle will
thrive well on it.
To produce timothy with success, the ground must be well cultivated in
the summer, either by an early crop, or by fallowing, and the seed sown
about the 20th of September, at the rate of _ten or twelve quarts of
clean seed to the acre_, and lightly brushed in.
If the season is in any way favorable, it will get a rapid start before
winter. By the last week in June, it will produce two tons per acre, of
the finest hay. It then requires a dressing of stable or yard manure,
and occasionally the turf may be scratched with a harrow, to prevent the
roots from binding too hard. By this process, timothy meadows may be
made and preserved. There are meadows in St. Clair county, which have
yielded heavy crops of hay in succession, for several years, and bid
fair to continue for an indefinite period. Cattle, and especially
horses, should never be permitted to run in meadows in Illinois. The
fall grass may be cropped down by calves and colts. There is but little
more labor required to produce a crop of timothy, than a crop of oats,
and as there is not a stone or a pebble to interrupt, the soil may be
turned up every third or fourth year for corn, and afterwards laid down
to grass again.
A species of blue grass is cultivated by some farmers for pastures. If
well set, and not eaten down in summer, blue grass pastures may be kept
green and fresh till late in autumn, or even in the winter. The English
spire grass has been cultivated with success in the Wabash country.
Of the trefoil, or clover, there is but little cultivated. A prejudice
exists against it, as it is imagined to injure horses by affecting the
glands of the mouth, and causing them to slaver. It grows luxuriantly,
and may be cut for hay early in June. The white clover comes in
naturally, where the ground has been cultivated, and thrown by, or along
the sides of old roads and paths. Clover pastures would be excellent for
swine.
_Animals._ Of _wild animals_ there are several species. The buffalo is
not found on this side the Mississippi, nor within several hundred miles
of St. Louis. This animal once roamed at large over the prairies of
Illinois, and was found in plenty, thirty-five years since. _Wolves_,
_panthers_ and _wild cats_, still exist on the frontiers, and through
the unsettled portions of the country, and annoy the farmer by
destroying his sheep and pigs.
_Deer_ are also very numerous, and are valuable, particularly to that
class of our population which has been raised to frontier habits; the
flesh affording them food, and the skins, clothing. Fresh venison hams
usually sell for twenty-five cents each, and when properly cured, are a
delicious article. Many of the frontier people dress their skins, and
make them into pantaloons and hunting shirts. These articles are
indispensable to all who have occasion to travel in viewing land, or for
any other purpose, beyond the settlements, as cloth garments, in the
shrubs and vines, would soon be in strings.
It is a novel and pleasant sight to a stranger, to see the deer in
flocks of eight, ten, or fifteen in number, feeding on the grass of the
prairies, or bounding away at the sight of a traveller.
The _brown bear_ is also an inhabitant of the unsettled parts of this
State, although he is continually retreating before the advance of
civilization.
Foxes, raccoons, opossums, gophers, and squirrels, are also numerous, as
are muskrats, otters, and occasionally beaver, about our rivers and
lakes. Raccoons are very common, and frequently do mischief in the
fall, to our corn. Opossums sometimes trouble the poultry.
The _gopher_ is a singular little animal, about the size of a squirrel.
It burrows in the ground, is seldom seen, but its _works_ make it known.
It labors during the night, in digging subterranean passages in the rich
soil of the prairies, and throws up hillocks of fresh earth, within a
few feet distance from each other, and from twelve to eighteen inches in
height.
The gray and fox squirrels often do mischief in the cornfields, and the
hunting of them makes fine sport for the boys.
_Common rabbits_ exist in every thicket, and annoy nurseries and young
orchards exceedingly. The fence around a nursery must always be so close
as to shut out rabbits; and young apple trees must be secured, at the
approach of winter, by tying straw or corn stalks around their bodies,
for two or three feet in height, or the bark will be stripped off by
these mischievous animals.
_Wild horses_ are found ranging the prairies and forests in some parts
of the State. They are small in size, of the Indian or Canadian breed,
and very hardy. They are found chiefly in the lower end of the American
Bottom, near the junction of the Kaskaskia and Mississippi rivers,
called _the Point_. They are the offspring of the horses brought there
by the first settlers, and which were suffered to run at large. The
Indians of the West have many such horses, which are commonly called
Indian ponies.
_Domestic Animals._ These are the same as are found in other portions of
the United States. But little has been done to improve the breed of
horses amongst us. Our common riding or working horses average about
fifteen hands in height. Horses are much more used here than in the
Eastern States, and many a farmer keeps half a dozen or more. Much of
the travelling throughout the Western country, both by men and women, is
performed on horseback; and a large proportion of the land carriage is
by means of large wagons, with from four to six stout horses for a team.
A great proportion of the ploughing is performed by horse labor. Horses
are more subject to diseases in this country than in the old States,
which is thought to be occasioned by bad management, rather than by the
climate. A good farm horse can be purchased for fifty dollars. Riding or
carriage horses, of a superior quality, cost about seventy-five or
eighty dollars. Breeding mares are profitable stock for every farmer to
keep, as their annual expense in keeping is but trifling: their labor is
always needed, and their colts, when grown, find a ready market. Some
farmers keep a stallion, and eight or ten brood mares.
_Mules_ are brought into Missouri, and find their way to Illinois, from
the Mexican dominions. They are a hardy animal, grow to a good size,
and are used by some, both for labor and riding.
Our _neat cattle_ are usually inferior in size to those of the old
States. This is owing entirely to bad management. Our cows are not
penned up in pasture fields, but suffered to run at large over the
commons. Hence _all_ the calves are preserved, without respect to
quality, to entice the cows homeward at evening.
In autumn their food is very scanty, and during the winter they are
permitted to pick up a precarious subsistence amongst fifty or a hundred
head of cattle. With such management, is it surprising that our cows and
steers are much inferior to those of the old States?
And yet, our beef is the finest in the world. It bears the best
inspection of any in the New Orleans market. By the first of June, and
often by the middle of May, our young cattle on the prairies are fit for
market. They do not yield large quantities of tallow, but the fat is
well proportioned throughout the carcass, and the meat tender and
delicious. By inferiority, then, I mean the _size_ of our cattle in
general, and the quantity and quality of the milk of cows.
Common cows, if suffered to lose their milk in August, become
sufficiently fat for table use by October. Fallow heifers and steers,
are good beef, and fit for the knife at any period after the middle of
May. Nothing is more common than for an Illinois farmer to go among his
stock, select, shoot down, and dress a fine beef, whenever fresh meat
is needed. This is often divided out amongst the neighbors, who in turn,
kill and share likewise. It is common at camp and other large meetings,
to kill a beef and three or four hogs for the subsistence of friends
from a distance.
Steers from three years old or more, have been purchased in great
numbers in Illinois, by drovers from Ohio. Cattle are sometimes sent in
flat boats down the Mississippi and Ohio, for the New Orleans market.
We can hardly place limits upon the amount of beef cattle that Illinois
is capable of producing. A farmer calls himself poor, with a hundred
head of horned cattle around him. A cow in the spring is worth from
seven to ten or fifteen dollars. Some of the best quality will sell
higher. And let it be distinctly understood, once for all, that a poor
man can always purchase horses, cattle, hogs, and provisions, for labor,
either by the day, month, or job.
Cows, in general, do not produce the same amount of milk, nor of as rich
a quality as in older States. Something is to be attributed to the
nature of our pastures, and the warmth of our climate, but more to
causes already assigned. If ever a land was characterized justly, as
"flowing with milk and honey," it is Illinois and the adjacent States.
From the springing of the grass till September, butter is made in great
profusion. It sells at that season in market for about ten cents. With
proper care it can be preserved in tolerable sweetness for winter's
use. Late in autumn and early in the winter, sometimes butter is not
plenty. The feed becomes dry, the cows range further off, and do not
come up readily for milking, and dry up. A very little trouble would
enable a farmer to keep three or four good cows in fresh milk at the
season most needed.
Cheese is made by many families, especially in the counties bordering on
the Illinois river. Good cheese sells for eight and sometimes ten cents,
and finds a ready market.
_Swine._ This species of stock may be called a staple in the provision
of Illinois. Thousands of hogs are raised without any expense, except a
few breeders to start with, and a little attention in hunting them on
the range, and keeping them tame.
Pork that is made in a domestic way and fatted on corn, will sell from
three to four and five dollars, according to size, quality, and the time
when it is delivered. With a pasture of clover or blue grass, a
well-filled corn crib, a dairy, and slop barrel, and the usual care that
a New Englander bestows on his pigs, pork may be raised from the sow,
fatted, and killed, and weigh from two hundred to two hundred and fifty,
within twelve months; and this method of raising pork would be
profitable.
Few families in the west and south put up their pork in salt pickle.
Their method is to salt it sufficiently to prepare it for smoking, and
then make bacon of hams, shoulders, and middlings or broadsides. The
price of bacon, taking the hog round, is about seven and eight cents.
Good hams command eight and ten cents in the St. Louis market. Stock
hogs, weighing from sixty to one hundred pounds, alive, usually sell
from one to two dollars per head. Families consume much more meat in the
West in proportion to numbers, than in the old States.
_Sheep_ do very well in this country, especially in the older
settlements, where the grass has become short, and they are less
molested by wolves.
_Poultry_ is raised in great profusion,--and large numbers of fowls
taken to market.
Ducks, geese, swans, and many other aquatic birds, visit our waters in
the spring. The small lakes and sloughs are often literally covered with
them. Ducks, and some of the rest, frequently stay through the summer
and breed.
The prairie fowl is seen in great numbers on the prairies in the summer,
and about the corn fields in the winter. This is the grouse of the New
York market. They are easily taken in the winter.
Partridges, (the quail of New England,) are taken with nets, in the
winter, by hundreds in a day, and furnish no trifling item in the
luxuries of the city market.
_Bees._ These laborious and useful insects are found in the trees of
every forest. Many of the frontier people make it a prominent business,
after the frost has killed the vegetation, to hunt them for the honey
and wax, both of which find a ready market. Bees are profitable stock
for the farmer, and are kept to a considerable extent.
_Silk-worms_ are raised by a few persons. They are capable of being
produced to any extent, and fed on the common black mulberry of the
country.
_Manufactures._--In the infancy of a state, little can be expected in
machinery and manufactures. And in a region so much deficient in water
power as some parts of Illinois is, still less may be looked for. Yet
Illinois is not entirely deficient in manufacturing enterprise.
_Salt._ The principal salines of this State have been mentioned under
the head of minerals.
The principal works are at Gallatin, Big Muddy, and Vermillion salines.
_Steam Mills_ for flouring and sawing are becoming very common, and in
general are profitable. Some are now in operation with four run of
stones, and which manufacture one hundred barrels of flour in a day.
Mills propelled by steam, water, and animal power, are constantly
increasing. Steam mills will become numerous, particularly in the
southern and middle portions of the State, and it is deserving remark
that, while these portions are not well supplied with durable water
power, they contain, in the timber of the forest, and the inexhaustible
bodies of bituminous coal, abundant supplies of fuel; while the northern
portion, though deficient in fuel, has abundant water power.
A good steam saw-mill with two saws can be built for $1,500; and a steam
flouring mill with two run of stones, elevators, and other apparatus
complete, and of sufficient force to turn out forty or fifty barrels of
flour per day, may be built for from $3,500 to $5,000.
Ox mills on an inclined plane, and horse mills by draught, are common
through the country.
_Castor Oil._ Considerable quantities of this article have been
manufactured in Illinois from the palma christi, or castor bean. One
bushel of the beans will make nearly two gallons of the oil. There are
five or six castor oil presses in the State, in Madison, Randolph,
Edwards, and perhaps in other counties. Mr. Adams of Edwardsville, in
1825, made 500 gallons, which then sold at the rate of two dollars fifty
cents per gallon. In 1826, he made 800 gallons; in 1827, 1000
gallons,--the price then, one dollar seventy-five cents: in 1828, 1800
gallons, price one dollar. In 1830, he started two presses and made
upwards of 10,000 gallons, which sold for from seventy-five to
eighty-seven cents per gallon: in 1831, about the same quantity. That
and the following season being unfavorable for the production of the
bean, there has been a falling off in the quantity. The amount
manufactured in other parts of the State has probably exceeded that made
by Mr. Adams.
_Lead._ In Jo Daviess county are eight or ten furnaces for smelting
lead. The amount of this article made annually at the mines of the Upper
Mississippi, has been given under the head of minerals.
_Boat Building_ will soon become a branch of business in this State.
Some steamboats have been constructed already within this State, along
the Mississippi. It is thought that Alton and Chicago are convenient
sites for this business.
There is in this State, as in all the Western States, a large amount of
domestic manufactures made by families. All the trades, needful to a new
country, are in existence. Carpenters, wagon makers, cabinet makers,
blacksmiths, tanneries, &c., may be found in every county and town, and
thousands more are wanted.
There has been a considerable falling off in the manufacture of whiskey
within a few years, and it is sincerely hoped by thousands of citizens,
that this branch of business, so decidedly injurious to the morals and
happiness of communities and individuals, will entirely decline.
Several companies for manufacturing purposes, have been incorporated by
the legislature.
_Civil Divisions._--There are 66 counties laid off in this State, 59 of
which are organized for judicial purposes. The six last named in the
following table were laid off at the recent session of the legislature,
Jan. 1836. The county of _Will_ was formed from portions of Cook,
Lasalle, and Iroquois, with the town of Juliet for its seat of justice,
near the junction of the Kankakee and Des Plaines.
In this State, there are no _civil_ divisions into townships as in Ohio,
Indiana, &c. The township tracts of six miles square, in the public
surveys, relate exclusively to the land system. The State is divided
into _three_ districts to elect representatives to Congress, and into
_six_ circuits for judicial purposes.
TABULAR VIEW OF THE COUNTIES.
------------+----------+------+--------+----------+--------------+-----------------
| | | | | |Distance &
|Date of |Square|Votes |Population|SEATS OF |bearing from
COUNTIES. |formation.|miles.|in 1834.| 1835. |JUSTICE. |Vandalia.
------------+----------+------+--------+----------+--------------+-----------------
Adams, | 1825 | 820 | 728 | 7042 |Quincy, |175 _n. w._
Alexander, | 1819 | 375 | 249 | 2050 |Unity, |135 _s._
Bond, | 1817 | 360 | 519 | 3580 |Greenville, | 19 _w. s. w._
Calhoun, | 1825 | 260 | 151 | 1091 |Gilhead, |134 _w. n. w._
Champaign, | 1833 | 864 | 102 | 1045 |Urbanna, |103 _n. n. e._
Clark, | 1819 | 500 | 451 | 3413 |Darwin,[A] or | 82 _e. n. e._
| | | | | Marshall, |
Clay, | 1824 | 620 | 172 | 1648 |Maysville, | 50 _s. e._
Clinton, | 1824 | 500 | 414 | 2648 |Carlyle, | 28 _s. s. w._
Crawford, | 1816 | 378 | 519 | 3540 |Palestine, |100 _e._
Coles, | 1830 | 1248 | 680 | 5125 |Charleston, | 75 _n. e._
Cook, | 1830 | [B] | 528 | 9826 |Chicago, |268 _n. n. e._
Edgar, | 1823 | 648 | 788 | 6668 |Paris, |100 _n. e._
Edwards, | 1814 | 200 | 239 | 2006 |Albion, | 96 _s. e._
Effingham, | 1831 | 486 | 129 | 1055 |Ewington, | 29 _e. n. e._
Fayette, | 1821 | 684 | 665 | 3638 |VANDALIA, |
Franklin, | 1818 | 850 | 759 | 5551 |Frankfort, | 83 _s._
Fulton, | 1825 | 590 | 607 | 5917 |Lewistown, |135 _n. n. w._
Gallatin, | 1812 | 828 | 1312 | 8660 |Equality, |100 _s. s. e._
Greene, | 1821 | 912 | 1360 | 12274 |Carrollton, | 90 _w. n. w._
Hamilton, | 1821 | 378 | 460 | 2877 |McLeansboro', | 76 _s. s. e._
Hancock, | 1825 | 775 | 357 | 3249 |Carthage, |180 _n. w._
Henry (not | 1825 | 800 | -- | 118 | |210 _n. n. w._
organized,)| | | | | |
Iroquois, | 1833 | [B] | 67 | 1164 |(Not |165 _n. n. e._
| | | | | established,)|
Jackson, | 1816 | 576 | 354 | 2783 |Brownsville, | 96 _s. s. w._
Jasper, | 1831 | 288 | -- | 415 |Newton, | 60 _e._
Jefferson, | 1819 | 576 | 455 | 3350 |Mount Vernon, | 48 _s. s. e._
Jo Daviess, | 1827 | [B] | 492 | 4038 |Galena, (nnw) |300 _n. n. w._
Johnson, | 1812 | 486 | 316 | 2166 |Vienna, |120 _s._
Knox, | 1825 | 792 | 180 | 1600 |Knoxville, |182 _n. n. w._
Lasalle, | 1831 | [B] | 289 | 4754 |Ottawa, |187 _n._
Lawrence, | 1821 | 560 | 618 | 4450 |Lawrenceville,| 88 _e. s. e._
Macon, | 1829 | 404 | 292 | 3022 |Decatur, | 75 _n._
Madison, | 1812 | 750 | 1307 | 9016 |Edwardsville, | 58 _w._
Macoupen, | 1829 | 720 | 624 | 5554 |Carlinville, | 55 _w. n. w._
Marion, | 1823 | 576 | 372 | 2844 |Salem, | 25 _s. s. e._
McDonough | 1825 | 576 | 304 | 2883 |Macomb, |155 _n. w._
McLean, | 1830 | 1916 | 496 | 5311 |Bloomington, |120 _n._
Mercer, | 1825 | 558 | -- | 497 |New Boston, |209 _n. w._
Monroe, | 1816 | 360 | 449 | 2660 |Waterloo, | 72 _s. w._
Montgomery, | 1821 | 960 | 475 | 3740 |Hillsboro', | 28 _n. w._
Morgan, | 1823 | 1150 | 2717 | 19214 |Jacksonville, | 91 _n. w._
Peoria, | 1825 | 648 | 223 | 3220 |Peoria, |141 _n. n. w._
Perry, | 1827 | 446 | 273 | 2201 |Pinckneyville,| 71 _s. s. w._
Pike, | 1821 | 800 | 657 | 6037 |Pittsfield, |126 _w. n. w._
Pope, | 1816 | 576 | 444 | 3756 |Golconda, |130 _s. s. e._
Putnam, | 1825 | 1340 | 383 | 4021 |Hennepin, | 80 _n._
Randolph, | 1795 | 540 | 814 | 5695 |Kaskaskia, | 90 _s. s. w._
Rock Island,| 1831 | 377 | 83 | 616 |Stephenson, | 20 _n. w._
Sangamon, | 1821 | 1234 | 2219 | 17573 |Springfield, | 79 _n. n. w._
Schuyler, | 1825 | 864 | 680 | 6361 |Rushville, |128 _n. w._
Shelby, | 1827 | 1080 | 636 | 4848 |Shelbyville, | 40 _n. n. e._
St. Clair, | 1795 | 1030 | 1183 | 9055 |Belleville, | 64 _w. s. w._
Tazewell, | 1827 | 1130 | 433 | 5850 |Tremont, |131 _n._
Union, | 1818 | 396 | 545 | 4156 |Jonesboro', |120 _s._
Vermillion, | 1826 | 1000 | 1025 | 8103 |Danville, |135 _n. e._
Wabash, | 1824 | 180 | 441 | 3010 |Mount Carmel, | 95 _s. e._
Warren, | 1825 | 900 | 266 | 2623 |Monmouth, |184 _n. w._
Washington, | 1818 | 656 | 333 | 3292 |Nashville, | 48 _s. s. w._
Wayne, | 1819 | 576 | 471 | 2939 |Fairfield, | 76 _s. e._
White, | 1815 | 516 | 977 | 6489 |Carmi, |103 _s. e._
[A] It is expected the seat of justice of Clark county will be removed to
_Marshall_, 10 miles N. W. from Darwin, and on the National Road. The
distance is computed to Marshall.
[B] These counties have been recently subdivided, and their superficial
area is not known.
-------------+----------+------+--------+----------+-------------------------------
_New Counties| | | | |
formed, Jan. |Date of |Square|Votes |Population|SEATS OF JUSTICE.
1836._ |formation.|miles.|in 1834.| 1835. |
-------------+----------+------+--------+----------+-------------------------------
Will, | 1836 | | | |Juliett.
Whiteside, | " | | | | These counties were taken
Kane, | " | | | |from Jo Daviess, Lasalle, Cook,
Ogle, | " | | | |and Iroquois. The seats of
McHenry, | " | | | |justice not established, and
Winnebago, | " | | | |much of the land unsurveyed,
+----------+------+--------+----------+though rapidly settling.
_Total,_ | | | 34,102 | 272,427 |
SKETCHES OF EACH COUNTY.
ADAMS.--The streams are Bear creek and branches, Cedar, Tyrer,
Mill, Fall, and Pigeon creeks, with the Mississippi river on its western
border. Timber various, with equal portions of prairie. First rate
county.
ALEXANDER.--In the forks of the Ohio and Mississippi, with Cash
river through it. All timbered,--half alluvion,--some inundated at high
water,--lime and sandstone on the Ohio;--soil, generally rich.
BOND.--Shoal creek and its branches through it, with Hurricane
creek on the east side;--proportioned into timber and prairie;--rather
level,--second rate. Sandstone, coal, and salt springs.
CALHOUN.--Long and narrow, in the forks of the Illinois and
Mississippi;--alluvial and sometimes inundated along the rivers;--broken
bluffs and interior table land;--good soil;--prairies at the foot of the
bluffs. Coal, lime and sandstone.
CHAMPAIGN.--The streams are the heads of the Kaskaskia,
Sangamon, Vermillion of Illinois, Salt Fork of the Vermillion of the
Wabash, and the Embarras, all running in opposite directions. Extensive
prairies, a little undulating and rich;--timber in groves;--many granite
bowlders.
CLARK.--North Fork of Embarras, Mill and Big creeks. Timber and
prairie,--second rate soil.
CLAY.--Watered by Little Wabash and tributaries. Two thirds
prairie,--of inferior quality,--rather level and wet.
CLINTON.--Kaskaskia river, with its tributaries, Crooked,
Shoal, Beaver and Sugar creeks, pass through it. Equally proportioned
into timber and prairie. Soil, second rate; surface, a little
undulating.
COLES.--The Kaskaskia, Embarras, and heads of the Little Wabash
water it. Much excellent land,--much undulating, rich prairie;--some
level and wet land in the southeastern part. Timber in sufficient
quantities.
COOK.--Adjoins Lake Michigan, and has the branches of Chicago,
Des Plaines, Du Page, Au Sable and Hickory creeks. Surface, tolerably
level; rich soil,--extensive prairies,--timber in groves;--a few swamps.
Plenty of limestone, and the streams run over rocky beds.
CRAWFORD.--The Wabash river on its eastern side, with Lamotte,
Hudson, Raccoon and Sugar creeks. Some level prairies, rather sandy,
with a full supply of timber.
EDGAR.--Watered by Big, Clear, and Brulette's creeks on the
eastern, and Little Embarras on its western side. Southern and eastern
sides timbered; northern and western sides much prairie; some
undulating,--some level and rather wet. Grand View is a delightful tract
of country.
EDWARDS.--The Little Wabash on its western, and Bon Pas on its
eastern border. Several prairies, high, undulating, and bounded by heavy
timber. Soil, second quality.
EFFINGHAM.--Watered by the Little Wabash and its tributaries;
due proportion of timber and prairie; tolerably level,--second rate.
FAYETTE.--Kaskaskia river, Hurricane, Higgens', Ramsey's and
Beck's creeks. The bottom lands on the Kaskaskia low, and inundated at
high water; considerable prairie; much heavy timber; soil, second rate.
FRANKLIN.--Watered by the Big Muddy and its branches, and the
South Fork of Saline creek. The prairies small, fertile and
level,--timber plenty,--soil rather sandy.
FULTON.--The Illinois on the south-eastern side, with Spoon
river and several small creeks through it. About half heavily timbered,
with rich, undulating prairies; streams flow over a pebbly bed; soil,
first rate.
GALLATIN.--Joins the Wabash and Ohio rivers, and has the Saline
and branches running through it. Soil, sandy, with sand rock,
limestone, quartz crystals, excellent salines, &c. Timber of various
kinds; no prairies.
GREENE.--Has the Mississippi south, the Illinois west, with
Otter, Macoupen and Apple creeks. Much excellent land, both timber and
prairie, in due proportion, with abundance of lime and sandstone, and
coal.
HAMILTON.--Watered by branches of the Saline, and Little
Wabash; a large proportion timbered land; soil, second and third rate,
with some swamp in the northern part. Sandstone and some lime.
HANCOCK.--Besides the Mississippi, it has a part of Bear,
Crooked, and Camp creeks; large prairies; timber along the streams;
rich, first rate land.
HENRY.--Has Rock river north, with Winnebago swamp, and its
outlet on Green river, and one of the heads of Spoon river, and Edwards
river interior. Some rich, undulating prairies and groves, with
considerable wet, swampy land. Not much population.
IROQUOIS.--Kankakee, Iroquois and Sugar creek. Sand ridges and
plains; much rich prairie; some timber, but deficient. It is found
chiefly in groves and strips along the water courses.
JACKSON.--Has the Mississippi on the southwest, and Muddy river
running diagonally through it, with some of its tributaries. Some
prairies in the north-eastern part,--much heavy timber,--some hilly and
broken land,--with abundance of coal, saline springs, lime and
sandstone.
JASPER.--The Embarras runs through it, and the Muddy Fork of
the Little Wabash waters its western side. Much of both the prairie and
timbered land is level and rather wet; some fertile tracts.
JEFFERSON.--Watered by several branches of the Big Muddy and
Little Wabash. Soil, second rate; surface, a little undulating; one
third prairie; several sulphur and other medicinal springs.
JO DAVIESS.--Formerly embraced all the State north-west of Rock
river, but recently divided into three or four counties. Besides the
Mississippi, it has Fever river, Pekatonokee, Apple river, and Rush and
Plum creeks. A rich county, both for agricultural and mining purposes.
Timber scarce, and in groves; surface undulating,--in some places hilly;
well watered by streams and springs, and has good mill sites. Copper and
lead ore in abundance.
JOHNSON.--The Ohio on the south, Cash river and Big Bay creek,
and a series of lakes or ponds interior. A timbered country, tolerably
level; soil sandy, with considerable quantities of second rate land.
KNOX.--Watered by Henderson and Spoon rivers, and their
tributaries. The prairies large, moderately undulating, and first
quality of soil, with excellent timber along the water courses.
LASALLE.--Besides the Illinois river, which passes through it,
Fox river, Big and Little Vermillion, Crow, Au Sable, Indian, Mason,
Tomahawk, and other creeks, water this county. They generally run on a
bed of sand or lime rock, and have but little alluvial bottom lands.
Deficient in timber, but has an abundance of rich, undulating prairie,
beautiful groves, abundant water privileges, and extensive coal banks.
LAWRENCE.--The Wabash east, Fox river west, and Embarras and
Raccoon through it. An equal proportion of timber and prairie, some
excellent, other parts inferior,--and some bad, miry swamps, called
"_purgatories_."
MACON.--South-east portion, watered by the Kaskaskia and
tributaries; the middle and northern portions by the North Fork of
Sangamon, and the north-western part by Salt creek. The prairies large,
and in their interior, level and wet,--towards the timber, dry,
undulating and rich.
MADISON.--The Mississippi lies west; Cahokia and Silver creeks,
and Wood river, run through it. A part of this county lies in the
American bottom, and is a rich and level alluvion; but much of the
county is high, undulating, and proportionably divided into timber and
prairie. Well supplied with stone quarries and coal banks.
MACOUPEN.--The Macoupen creek and branches water its central
and western parts, the Cahokia the south-eastern, and the heads of Wood
river and Piasau, the south-western parts. A large proportion of the
county is excellent soil, well proportioned into timber and prairie, and
slightly undulating.
MARION.--Watered by the East Fork, and Crooked creek,
tributaries of Kaskaskia river, on its western, and heads of Skillet
Fork of Little Wabash on its eastern side. Much of the land of second
quality, slightly undulating, about one third timbered,--some of the
prairie land level, and inclined to be wet.
MCDONOUGH.--Crooked creek and its branches water most of the
county. The eastern side, for 8 or 10 miles in width, is prairie,--the
western and middle parts suitably divided between prairie and forest
land; surface, moderately undulating; soil, very rich.
MCLEAN.--One third of the eastern, and a portion of the
northern side, is one vast prairie. The timber is beautifully arranged
in groves; the surface moderately undulating, and the soil dry and rich.
The head waters of the Sangamon, Mackinau, and the Vermillion of the
Illinois, are in this county. Its minerals are quarries of lime and
sandstone, and granite bowlders, scattered over the prairies.
MERCER.--Has the Mississippi on the west, and Pope and Edwards
rivers interior, along which are fine tracts of timber; in its middle
and eastern parts are extensive prairies; surface, generally undulating;
soil, rich.
MONROE.--Watered by Horse, Prairie de Long, and Fountain
creeks. The American bottom adjacent to the Mississippi is rich
alluvion, and divided into timber and prairie. On the bluffs are ravines
and sink-holes, with broken land. Further interior is a mixture of
timber and prairie. Abundance of limestone, coal, and some copper.
MONTGOMERY.--Watered by Shoal creek and branches, and Hurricane
Fork. Surface, high and undulating, and proportionably divided into
timber and prairie. Soil, second rate.
MORGAN.--A first rate county,--well proportioned into prairie
and forest lands,--much of the surface undulating; watered by the
Illinois river and Mauvaise-terre, Indian, Plum, Walnut, and Sandy
creeks, and heads of Apple creek. Coal, lime and freestone.
PEORIA.--Watered by the Illinois, Kickapoo, Copperas,
Senatchwine, and heads of Spoon river. Surface, moderately rolling, rich
soil, and proportionately divided into prairie and forest.
PERRY.--Streams; Big Beaucoup, and Little Muddy; one third
prairie, tolerably level, and second rate soil.
PIKE.--Besides Mississippi and Illinois, which wash two sides,
it has the Suycartee slough, running through its western border, and
navigable for steamboats, and a number of smaller creeks. The land and
surface various,--much of it excellent undulating soil,--some rich
alluvion, inundated at high water,--large tracts of table land, high,
rolling, and rich, with due proportion of timber and prairie. A large
salt spring.
POPE.--With the Ohio river east and south, it has Big Bay,
Lusk's, and Big creeks interior. A timbered region, tolerably level,
except at the bluffs, with good sandy soil, and sand and limestone.
PUTNAM.--The Illinois runs through it,--Spoon river waters its
north-western part, and Bureau, Crow, Sandy, and some other streams,
water its middle portions. Here are beautiful groves of timber, and
rich, undulating and dry prairies, fine springs, and good mill sites.
Lime, sand and freestone, and bituminous coal. A few tracts of wet
prairie, with some ponds and swamps, are in the north-western part.
RANDOLPH.--Has the Mississippi along the western side;
Kaskaskia river passes diagonally through it; soil, of every quality,
from first rate to indifferent; surface, equally as various, with rocky
precipices at the termination of the alluvial bottoms.
ROCK ISLAND.--Is at the mouth of Rock river, which, with the
Mississippi, and some minor streams, drain the county. Rich alluvion
along the Mississippi, with much excellent table land,--both timber and
prairie interior. Some wet, level prairie, south of Rock river.
SANGAMON.--Watered by Sangamon river and its numerous branches.
Much of the soil is of the richest quality, with due proportions of
timber and prairie, moderately undulating, and a first rate county.
SCHUYLER.--The south-eastern side has the Illinois, the
interior has Crooked and Crane creeks, and the south-west has McKee's
creek. Along the Illinois is much timber, with some inundated bottom
lands. Interior, there is a due proportion of prairie and timber and
rich soil, with an undulating surface.
SHELBY.--Is watered by the Kaskaskia and tributaries; has a
large amount of excellent land, both timber and prairie, with good soil,
moderately undulating.
ST. CLAIR.--The streams are Cahokia, Prairie du Pont, Ogle's,
Silver, Richland, and Prairie de Long creeks, and Kaskaskia river. The
land is various, much of which is good, first and second rate, and
proportionably divided into timber, prairie, and barrens. The minerals
are lime and sandstone, and extensive beds of coal, and shale.
TAZEWELL.--Watered by the Illinois, Mackinau, and their
tributaries. Much of the surface is undulating, soil rich; prairie
predominates, but considerable timber, with some broken land about the
bluffs of Mackinau, and some sand ridges and swamps in the southern part
of the county.
UNION.--Watered by the Mississippi, Clear creek, the heads of
Cash, and some of the small tributaries of the Big Muddy. Much of the
surface is rolling and hilly,--all forest land. Soil, second and third
rate. Some rich alluvial bottom.
VERMILLION.--Is watered by Big and Little Vermillion of the
Wabash, with large bodies of excellent timber along the streams, and
rich prairies interior. Surface, undulating and dry; soil, deep, rich,
and calcareous.
WABASH.--Has Wabash river on the east, Bon Pas on the west, and
some small creeks central; surface rolling, and a mixture of timber and
prairie; soil, generally second rate. Minerals; lime and sandstone.
WARREN.--Besides the Mississippi, its principal stream is
Henderson river, which passes through it, with Ellison, Honey, and Camp
creeks. Much of the land on these streams is rich, undulating, deficient
somewhat in timber, with excellent prairie. Along the Mississippi, and
about the mouth of Henderson, the land is inundated in high water.
WASHINGTON.--Has the Kaskaskia on its north-western side, with
Elkhorn, Little Muddy, Beaucoup, and Little Crooked creeks interior. The
prairies are rather level, and in places inclined to be wet; the timber,
especially along the Kaskaskia, heavy.
WAYNE.--The Little Wabash, with its tributaries, Elm river, and
Skillet Fork, are its streams. It is proportionably interspersed with
prairie and woodland, generally of second quality.
WHITE.--The eastern side washed by the Big Wabash, along which
is a low, inundated bottom; the interior is watered by the Little
Wabash and its tributaries. Some prairie, but mostly timber. Soil and
surface various. Some rich bottom prairies, with sandy soil.
TOWNS.
Vandalia is the seat of government till 1840, after which it is to be
removed to Alton, according to a vote of the people in 1834, unless they
should otherwise direct. It is situated on the right bank of the
Kaskaskia river, in N. lat. 39° 0' 42", and 58 miles in a direct line, a
little north of east from Alton. The public buildings are temporary.
Population, about 750.
_Alton._ Two towns of this name are distinguished as Alton, and Upper
Alton. Alton is an incorporated town, situated on the bank of the
Mississippi, two and a half miles above the mouth of the Missouri, and
at the place where the curve of the Mississippi penetrates the furthest
into Illinois, 18 miles below the mouth of the Illinois river. For
situation, commerce, business of all kinds, health, and rapidity of
growth, it far exceeds any other town on the east bank of the
Mississippi, above New Orleans. The population is about 2000. The
commercial business done here is already immense, and extends through
more than half of Illinois, besides a large trade on the western side of
the Mississippi. Five large mercantile establishments do wholesale
business only, four do wholesale and retail, besides four wholesale and
retail groceries, and fifteen or twenty retail stores and groceries;
and yet many more mercantile houses are necessary for the business of
the country. Great facilities for business of almost every description,
especially for every kind of mechanics, are to be had here. It offers
one of the best situations on the western waters for building and
repairing steamboats. Town lots and lands adjacent have risen in value
from 500 to 1000 per cent. within the last twelve months.
Alton has respectable and well finished houses of worship for the
Presbyterian, Methodist Protestant, and Baptist denominations; two good
schools, a Lyceum, that holds weekly meetings, and two printing-offices.
The population in general, is a moral, industrious, enterprising class.
Few towns in the West have equalled this in contributions for public and
benevolent objects, in proportion to age and population.
Arrangements have been made for doing an extensive business in the
slaughtering and packing of pork and beef. Four houses are engaged in
that line, and have slaughtered about 25,000 hogs the present season.
Many buildings will be erected the approaching season, amongst which
will be an extensive hotel, which is much needed. The town is situated
at the base, side, and top, of the first bluffs that extend to the
river, above the mouth of the Kaskaskia. Adjacent to it, and which will
eventually become amalgamated, is Middletown, laid off directly in the
rear.
_Upper Alton_ is from two and a half to three miles back from the river,
and in the rear of Lower Alton, on elevated ground, and in every respect
a very healthy situation. It has exceeding 120 families, and is rapidly
improving. Adjacent to it, and forming now a part of the town plat, is
"_Shurtleff College, of Alton, Illinois_," which bids fair to become an
important and flourishing institution. Also "_Alton Theological
Seminary_," which has commenced operations. Both these institutions have
been gotten up under the influence and patronage of the Baptist
denomination. A female seminary of a high order, under the name of the
"_Alton Female Institute_," has been chartered, and a building is about
to be erected for the purpose. The Baptists, Methodists and
Presbyterians have congregations here, and two houses of worship are to
be built the present year.
_Chicago_ is the largest commercial town in Illinois. It is situated at
the junction of North and South branches, and along the main Chicago,
near its entrance into lake Michigan, on a level prairie, but elevated
above the highest floods. A recent communication from a respectable
mercantile house, gives the following statistics: "Fifty-one stores, 30
groceries, 10 taverns, 12 physicians, 21 attorneys, and 4,000
inhabitants. We have four churches, and two more building, one bank, a
Marine and Fire Insurance company about to go into operation, and a
brick hotel, containing 90 apartments.
There were 9 arrivals and departures of steamboats in 1835, and 267 of
brigs and schooners, containing 5,015 tons of merchandise and 9,400
barrels of salt, besides lumber, provisions, &c.
The harbor now constructing by the U. S. government, will be so far
completed in 1836, as to admit vessels and steamboats navigating the
lakes. A few miles back of Chicago are extensive tracts of wet prairie.
_Galena_ is the seat of justice for Jo Daviess county, situated on Fever
river, in the midst of the mining district. It has about 20 stores, a
dozen groceries, and about 1,000 inhabitants.
_Springfield_ is near the geographical centre of the State, and in the
midst of a most fertile region of country. It is a flourishing inland
town, and contains about 2,000 inhabitants. _Jacksonville_, the county
seat of Morgan county, has about the same population, and is equally
delightful and flourishing.
One mile west, on a most beautiful eminence, stands "_Illinois
College_," founded under the auspices of the Presbyterian denomination,
and bids fair to become a flourishing seat of learning.
I have not room to name, much less describe, the many growing towns and
villages in this State, that excite and deserve the attention of
emigrants. On the Illinois river are Ottawa, and several eligible sites
in its vicinity, where towns have commenced; Beardstown, a short
distance below the mouth of Sangamon river, Peoria, at the foot of
Peoria lake, (a most beautiful site, and containing 1,000 inhabitants,)
Meredosia, Naples, Pekin, Hennepin, &c. On the Mississippi, are Quincy,
Warsaw, New Boston, and Stephenson, the seat of justice for Rock Island
county. Interior, are Bloomington, Decatur, Tremont, Shelbyville,
Hillsboro', Edwardsville, Carlyle, Belleville, Carrollton, and many
others. Towards the Wabash, are Danville, Paris, Lawrenceville, Carmi,
and Mount Carmel, the last of which has an importance from being
connected with the grand rapids of the Wabash. Shawneetown is the
commercial depot for the south-eastern part of the State. On the
Military Tract are Rushville, Pittsfield, Griggsville, Carthage, Macomb,
Monmouth, Knoxville, Lewistown, Canton, &c., all pleasant sites, and
having a population from two or three hundred to one thousand
inhabitants.
For a more particular description of each county, town, and settlement,
with all other particulars of Illinois, the reader is referred to "A
GAZETTEER OF ILLINOIS," by the author of this GUIDE.
_Projected Improvements._--The project of uniting the waters of lake
Michigan and the Illinois, by a canal, was conceived soon after the
commencement of the Grand canal of New York, and a Board of
commissioners, with engineers, explored the route and estimated the
cost, in 1823. Provision, by a grant of each alternate section of land
within five miles of the route, having been granted by Congress,
another Board of commissioners was appointed in 1829, a new survey was
made, and the towns of Chicago and Ottawa laid off, and some lots sold
in 1830. Various movements have since been made, but nothing effectually
done, until the recent special session of the legislature, when an act
was passed to authorize the Governor to borrow funds upon the faith of
the State; a new Board of commissioners has been organized, and this
great work is about to be prosecuted with vigor to its completion.
Funds, in part, have been provided, from the sales of certain saline
lands belonging to the State, to improve the navigation of the Great
Wabash, at the Grand Rapids, near the mouth of White river, in
conjunction with the State of Indiana. From the same source, funds are
to be applied to the clearing out of several navigable water-courses,
and repairing roads, within the State.
Charters have been granted to several rail-road companies, some of which
have been surveyed and the stock taken. One from Alton to Springfield
was surveyed last year, and the stock subscribed in December. Another
from St. Louis, by the coal mines of St. Clair county, to Belleville, 13
miles, is expected to be made immediately. The project of a central
railway from the termination of the Illinois and Michigan canal, at the
foot of the rapids, a few miles below Ottawa,--through Bloomington,
Decatur, Shelbyville, Vandalia, and on to the mouth of the Ohio river,
has been entered upon with spirit. Another charter contemplates the
continuance of a route, already provided for in Indiana, and noticed
under Ohio, from La Fayette, Ia. by Danville, Shelbyville and
Hillsboro,' to Alton, the nearest point from the east to the
Mississippi. A rail-road charter was granted at a previous session of
the legislature from Meredosia to Jacksonville, and another from
Vincennes to Chicago.
We have only room to mention the following charters, which have been
recently granted, in addition to those already specified:
One from Pekin to Tremont, in Tazewell county, 9 miles.
One from the Wabash, by Peoria to Warsaw, in Hancock county.
The Wabash and Mississippi rail-road company.
The Mount Carmel and Alton rail-road company.
The Rushville rail-road company.
The Winchester, Lynville, and Jacksonville rail-road company.
The Shawneetown and Alton rail-road company.
The Pekin, Bloomington, and Wabash rail-road company.
The Waverly and Grand Prairie rail-road company.
The Galena and Chicago Union rail-road company.
The Wabash and Mississippi Union rail-road company.
The Mississippi, Carrollton and Springfield rail-road company.
The _National Road_ is in progress through this State, and considerable
has been made on that portion which lies between Vandalia and the
boundary of Indiana. This road enters Illinois at the north-east corner
of Clark county, and passes diagonally through Coles and Effingham
counties in a south-westerly course to Vandalia, a distance of 90 miles.
The road is established 80 feet wide, the central part 30 feet wide,
raised above standing water, and not to exceed three degrees from a
level. The base of all the abutments of bridges must be equal in
thickness to one third of the height of the abutment.
The road is not yet placed in a travelling condition. The line of the
road is nearly direct, the loss in 90 miles being only the 88th part of
one per cent. Between Vandalia and Ewington, for 23 miles, it does not
deviate in the least from a direct line.
From Vandalia westward, the road is not yet located, but it will
probably pass to Alton.
_Education._--The same provision has been made for this as other Western
States, in the disposal of the public lands. The section numbered
sixteen in each township of land, is sold upon petition of the people
within the township, and the avails constitute a permanent fund, the
interest of which is annually applied towards the expenses, in part, of
the education of those who attend school, living within the township.
A school system, in part, has been arranged by the legislature. The
peculiar and unequal division of the country into timber and prairie
lands, and the inequality of settlements consequent thereupon, will
prevent, for many years to come, the organization of school districts
with _defined geographical boundaries_. To meet this inconvenience, the
legislature has provided that any number of persons can elect three
trustees, employ a teacher in any mode they choose, and receive their
proportion of the avails of the school funds. _In all cases, however,
the teacher must keep a daily account of each scholar who attends
school, and make out a schedule of the aggregate that each scholar
attends, every six months_, and present it, certified by the trustees of
the school, to the school commissioner of the county, who apportions the
money accordingly.
This State receives three per cent. on all the net avails of public
lands sold in this State, which, with the avails of two townships sold,
makes a respectable and rapidly increasing fund, the interest only of
which can be expended, and that only to the payment of instructers.
Good common school teachers, both male and female, are greatly needed,
and will meet with ready employ, and liberal wages. Here is a most
delightful and inviting field for Christian activity. Common school,
with Sunday school instruction, calls for thousands of teachers in the
West.
Several respectable academies, are in operation, and the wants and
feelings of the community call for many more. Besides the colleges at
Jacksonville and Alton already noticed, others are projected, and
several have been chartered. The Methodist denomination have a building
erected, and a preparatory school commenced, at Lebanon, St. Clair
county. The Episcopalians are about establishing a college at
Springfield. One or more will be demanded in the northern and eastern
portions of the State; and it may be calculated that, in a very brief
period, the State of Illinois will furnish facilities for a useful and
general education, equal to those in any part of the country.
_Government._--The Constitution of Illinois was formed by a convention
held at Kaskaskia, in August, 1818. It provides for the distribution of
the powers of government into three distinct departments,--the
legislative, executive, and judiciary. The legislative authority is
vested in a general assembly, consisting of a senate and house of
representatives. Elections are held biennially, as are the ordinary
sessions of the legislature. Senators are elected for four years.
The executive power is vested in the governor, who is chosen every
fourth year, by the electors for representatives; but the same person is
ineligible for the next succeeding four years. The lieutenant governor
is also chosen every four years.
The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, and such inferior
courts as the general assembly from time to time shall establish. The
supreme court consists of a chief justice and three associate judges.
The governor and judges of the supreme court constitute a council of
revision, to which all bills that have passed the assembly must be
submitted. If objected to by the council of revision, the same may
become a law by the vote of a majority of all the members elected to
both houses.
The right of suffrage is universal. All white male inhabitants, citizens
of the United States, twenty-one years of age, and who have resided
within the State six months next preceding the elections, enjoy the
right of voting. Votes are given _viva voce_. The introduction of
slavery is prohibited. The Constitution can only be altered by a
convention.
GENERAL REMARKS.
1. Farms somewhat improved, are almost daily exchanging owners, and a
considerable spirit of enterprise has been awakened within a year or two
past. The prices of farms and improvements vary greatly, and are
influenced much by factitious and local circumstances. From St. Clair
county northward, they average probably from five to ten dollars per
acre, and are rising in value. In some counties, farms will cost from 2
to 5 dollars per acre. A _farm_ in Illinois, however, means a tract of
land, much of it in a state of nature, with some cheap, and, frequently,
log buildings, with 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100 acres, fenced and cultivated.
Good dwellings of brick, stone, or wood, begin to be erected. Amongst
the older residents, there have been but few barns made. The want of
adequate supplies of lumber, and of mechanics, renders good buildings
more expensive than in the new countries of New England or New York.
2. Merchant's goods, groceries, household furniture, and almost every
necessary and comfort in house-keeping, can be purchased here; and many
articles retail at about the same prices as in the Atlantic States.
3. The following table will exhibit the cost of 320 acres of land, at
Congress price, and preparing 160 acres for cultivation or prairie land:
Cost of 320 acres at $1,25 per acre, $400
Breaking up 160 acres prairie, $2 per acre, 320
Fencing it into four fields with a Kentucky
fence of eight rails high, with cross stakes, 175
Add cost of cabins, corn cribs, stable, &c. 250
-----
Making the cost of the farm, $1145
In many instances, a single crop of wheat will pay for the land, for
fencing, breaking up, cultivating, harvesting, threshing, and taking to
market.
4. All kinds of mechanical labor, especially those in the building line,
are in great demand; and workmen, even very coarse and common workmen,
get almost any price they ask. Journeymen mechanics get $2 per day. A
carpenter or brick mason wants no other capital, to do first rate
business, and soon become independent, than a set of tools, and habits
of industry, sobriety, economy and enterprise.
5. Common laborers on the farm obtain from $12 to $15 per month,
including board. Any young man, with industrious habits, can begin here
without a dollar, and in a very few years become a substantial farmer. A
good cradler in the harvest field will earn from $1,50 to $2 per day.
6. Much that we have stated in reference to Illinois, will equally apply
to Missouri, or any other Western State. Many general principles have
been laid down, and particular facts exhibited, with respect to the
general description of the State, soil, timber, kinds of land, and other
characteristics, under Illinois, and, to save repetition, are omitted
elsewhere.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Beck.
CHAPTER XII.
MISSOURI.
Length, 278; medium breadth, 235 miles: containing 64,500 square miles,
and containing 41,280,000 acres.
Bounded north by the Des Moines country, or New Purchase, attached to
Wisconsin Territory, west by the Indian Territory, south by Arkansas,
and east by the Mississippi river. Between 36° and 40° 37' N. latitude,
and between 11° 15' and 17° 30' west longitude.
_Civil Divisions._--It is divided into 50 counties, as follows:--Barry,
Benton, Boone, Callaway, Cape Girardeau, Carroll, Chaviton, Clay,
Clinton, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Green, Howard,
Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, La Fayette, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison,
Marion, Munroe, Montgomery, Morgan, New Madrid, Perry, Pettis, Pike,
Polk, Pulaski, Randolph, Ralls, Ray, Ripley, Rives, St. Francois, St.
Genevieve, St. Charles, St. Louis, Saline, Scott, Shelby, Stoddart, Van
Buren, Warren, Washington, and Wayne.
POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.
_Population._ | _Increase._
1810, (including Arkansas,) 19,833 | From 1810 to 1820, 46,753
1820, 66,586 | " 1820 " 1824, 14,500
1824, 80,000 | " 1824 " 1830, 60,455
1830, 140,455 | " 1830 " 1832, 35,820
1832, 176,276 | " 1832 " 1836, 33,724
1836, (estimated for Jan'y) 210,000 |
The Constitution is similar to that of Illinois, in its broad features,
excepting the holding of slaves is allowed, and the General Assembly has
no power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves, without the
consent of their owners, or paying an equivalent. It is made the duty of
the General Assembly "to oblige the owners of slaves to treat them with
humanity, and to abstain from all injuries to them extending to life or
limb." "Slaves shall not be deprived of an impartial trial by jury." In
1832, there were in the State, 32,184 slaves, and 661 free colored
persons. Every free white male citizen has the right of suffrage, after
a residence in the State of one year.
_Surface, Soil and Productions._--The surface of this State is greatly
diversified. South of Cape Girardeau, with the exception of some bluffs
along the Mississippi, it is entirely alluvial, and a large proportion
consists of swamp and inundated lands, the most of which are heavily
timbered. From thence to the Missouri river, and westward to the
dividing grounds between the waters of the Osage and Gasconade rivers,
the country is generally timbered, rolling, and in some parts, quite
hilly. No part of Missouri, however, is strictly mountainous. Along the
waters of Gasconade and Black rivers the hills are frequently abrupt and
rocky, with strips of rich alluvion along the water courses. Much of
this region abounds with minerals of various descriptions. Lead, iron,
coal, gypsum, manganese, zinc, antimony, cobalt, ochre of various kinds,
common salt, nitre, plumbago, porphyry, jasper, chalcedony, buhrstone,
marble, and freestone, of various qualities. The lead and iron ore are
literally exhaustless, and of the richest quality. To say there is
probably iron ore enough in this region to supply the United States with
iron for one hundred thousand years to come, would not be extravagant.
Here, too, is water power in abundance, rapid streams, with pebbly beds,
forests of timber, and exhaustless beds of bituminous coal. The only
difficulty of working this vast body of minerals is the inconvenience of
getting its proceeds to the Mississippi. The streams that rise in this
region, run different courses into the Missouri, the Mississippi, and
the Arkansas, but they are too rapid and winding in their courses to
afford safe and easy navigation.
Were the rafts now lodged in the St. Francois, removed by the agency of
government, as they have been in Red river, the lower section of the
mineral country could be reached by steamboat navigation. The citizens
of St. Louis, very recently, have entered upon the project of a railway
from that city, through the heart of this country, to the fine farming
lands in the south-western part of the State. Such a project, carried
into effect, would open a boundless field of wealth in Missouri.
The western part of the State is divided into prairie and forest land,
much of which is fertile. Along the Osage, it is hilly, and the whole is
undulating, and regarded as a healthy region, abounding with good water,
salt springs, and limestone. North of the Missouri the face of the
country is diversified, with a mixture of timber and prairie. From the
Missouri to Salt river, good springs are scarce, and in several counties
it is difficult to obtain permanent water by digging wells. Artificial
wells, as they may be called, are made by digging a well forty or fifty
feet deep, and replenishing it with a current of rain water from the
roof of the dwelling house. Much of the prairie land in this part of the
State is inferior to the first quality of prairie land in Illinois, as
the soil is more clayey, and does not so readily absorb the water.
Between Salt river and Des Moines, is a beautiful and rich country of
land. The counties of Ralls, Marion, Monroe, Lewis and Shelby, are first
rate. The counties of Warren, Montgomery, Callaway, Boone, Howard, and
Chaviton, all lying on the north side of the Missouri river, are
rolling,--in some places are bluffs and hills, with considerable good
prairie, and an abundance of timbered land. Farther west, the
proportion of prairie increases to the boundary line, as it does to the
northward of Boone, Howard and Chaviton counties. After making ample
deductions for inferior soil, ranges of barren hills, and large tracts
of swamp, as in the south, the State of Missouri contains a vast
proportion of excellent farming land. The people generally are
enterprising, hardy and industrious, and most of those who hold slaves,
perform labor with them. Emigrants from every State and several
countries of Europe, are found here, but the basis of the population is
from Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The natural productions of
Missouri are similar to those States already described, and the
agricultural productions are the same as in Illinois, except that more
tobacco is produced in the middle, and considerable quantities of cotton
in the southern counties.
_Towns._--The city of Jefferson is the political capital of the State.
It is situated on the right bank of the Missouri, a few miles above the
mouth of the Osage, and about 138 miles from St. Louis. It is a small
town, with little business, except what pertains to the government of
the State. A state house, governor's house and penitentiary have been
erected.
St. Louis is the commercial capital, and the most important place in all
this portion of the Valley of the Mississippi. It stands on the western
bank of the Mississippi, 180 miles above the junction of the Ohio, 18
miles below that of the Missouri, and 38 miles below that of the
Illinois. It is beautifully situated on ascending and elevated ground,
which spreads out into an undulating surface to the west for many miles.
Two streets are parallel with the river on the first bank, and the rest
of the city stands on the second bank; but very little grading is
necessary, to give the streets running back from the river, their proper
inclination. The old streets, designed only for a French village, are
too narrow for public convenience, but a large part of the city has been
laid out on a liberal scale. The Indian and Spanish trade, the fur and
peltry business, lead, government agencies, army supplies, surveys of
government lands, with the regular trade of an extensive interior
country, makes St. Louis a place of great business, in proportion to its
population, which is about 10,000.
The following, from the register of the wharf master, will exhibit the
commerce for 1835:
STEAMBOAT REGISTER.
Number of different boats arrived, 121
Aggregate of tonnage, 15,470
Number of arrivals, 803
Wharfage collected, $4,573.60
_Wood and Lumber, liable to Wharfage._
Plank, joist, and scantling, 1,414,330 feet.
Shingles, 148,000
Cedar posts, 7,706
Cords of fire-wood, 8,066
The proportionate increase of business will be seen by reference to the
following registry for 1831:
Different steamboats arrived, 60
Average amount of tonnage, 7,769
Number of entries, 532
The morality, intelligence and enterprise of this city is equal to any
other in the West, in proportion to its size. The American population is
most numerous, but there are many French, Irish and Germans. About one
third of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics. The Presbyterians,
Methodists, and Episcopalians have large congregations and houses of
worship: the Baptists and Unitarians are rather small, and without
public edifices. The Roman Catholic cathedral is a costly pile of
buildings of freestone, and has a splendid chime of bells, sent over
from Europe. St. Louis is a pleasant and healthy situation, and
surrounded with a fertile country.
We have not space to give particulars respecting many interesting and
flourishing towns in Missouri.
Cape Girardeau is a commercial depot for the southern part of the State.
St. Genevieve stands a little back from the river, and is known only as
an old French village.
Selma is a landing and depot for the lead mine country, 38 miles below
St. Louis.
Clarksville, Hannibal, Saverton, and La Grange are commercial sites on
the Mississippi, above the mouth of Missouri. Palmyra is a beautiful
town, of about 1,000 inhabitants, and the seat of justice for Marion
county. Along the Missouri are Portland, Rocheport, Boonville,
Lexington, Independence, and many other places of various degrees of
importance. Franklin formerly stood on the north bank of Missouri, but
most of it has been removed, three miles interior, to the bluffs. Potosi
is a central town, in the mineral district. Fulton, Columbia, and
Fayette are the seats of justice for Callaway, Boone, and Howard
counties, and are pleasant and flourishing towns.
About the same provision for education has been made in this as in other
Western States, and a disposition to encourage schools, academies and
colleges is fast increasing.
CHAPTER XIII.
ARKANSAS, AND TERRITORIAL DISTRICTS.
Arkansas, which has recently formed a constitution, lies between 33° and
36° 30' N. latitude, and between 13° 30' and 17° 45' W. longitude.
Length, 235; medium breadth, 222 miles;--containing about 50,000 square
miles, and 32,000,000 acres.
_Civil Divisions._--The following are the counties, with the population,
from the census taken in 1835:
Counties. Population.
Arkansas, 2,080
Carroll, 1,357
Chicot, 2,471
Conway, 1,214
Clark, 1,285
Crawford, 3,139
Crittenden, 1,407
Greene, 971
Hempstead, 2,955
Hot-Spring, 6,117
Independence, 2,653
Izard, 1,879
Jackson, 891
Jefferson, 1,474
Johnson, 1,803
La Fayette, 1,446
Lawrence, 3,844
Miller, 1,373
Mississippi, 600
Monroe, 556
Phillips, 1,518
Pike, 449
Pope, 1,318
Pulaski, 3,513
Scott, 100
Sevier, 1,350
St. Francis, 1,896
Union, 878
Van Buren, 855
Washington, 6,742
------
Total, 58,212
Another table we have seen, makes out the population, as officially
reported (with the exception of two counties, from which returns had not
been made,) to be 51,809;--white males, 22,535; white females,
19,386;--total whites, 41,971: slaves, 9,629;--free persons of color,
209. The population, in 1830, 30,388;--in 1833, 40,660.
The following graphical description of Arkansas, from the pen of a
clergyman in that State, is corroborated by testimony in our possession,
from various correspondents. It was written in 1835.
_Letter from Rev. Harvey Woods, to the Editor of the Cincinnati
Journal._
"Arkansas Territory is a part of that vast country ceded to the United
States by France, in 1803. From the time of the purchase, till lately,
the tide of emigration hardly reached thus far. In 1800, the population
was 1052. Arkansas was erected into a Territory in 1819. At this time it
is receiving a share of those who retire beyond the Mississippi.
_Rivers._--The Territory is admirably intersected with navigable rivers.
The Mississippi on the east, the Great Red river on the south. Between
these, and running generally from N. W. to S. E. are the St. Francis,
White, Arkansas, and Washitau rivers; all fine streams for steamboat
navigation.
_Face of the Country._--It is various. No country affords more
diversified scenery. The country in the east, for 100 miles, is flat
with marshes and swamps; in the middle, broken and hilly; and in the
west, hilly and mountainous. There are some prairies, some thickly
timbered land, some heavy timbered. The country is generally a timbered
country. Some parts are sandy, some rocky, and some flinty.
_Soil._--Should a man travel here, and expect to find all good land, he
would be sadly disappointed. The best lands are generally contiguous to
the rivers and creeks; and these are exceedingly fertile, not surpassed
by any soil in the United States. Arkansas soil that is rich, has just
sand enough to make it lively and elastic. Our best lands are covered
with walnut, hackberry, mulberry, oak, ash, grape vines, &c.
_Water._--The hilly and mountainous parts are well supplied with
springs, limestone, and freestone. Also good streams for mills. In the
flat country, good water is easily obtained by digging.
_Productions._--Cotton and corn are the principal. The Arkansas cottons
commanded the best price last season, in the Liverpool market. It is a
country of unequalled advantages for raising horses, mules, cattle and
hogs.
_Climate._--It is mild, and from its difference in latitude, say from
32° 40' to 36° 30' N., and the difference in local situation, we would
guess, and correctly too, that there is much difference in the health of
different places; the high and northern parts healthy, and the flat and
southern subject to agues and bilious fevers. The climate has been
considered unhealthy to new settlers; but it is not more so than other
new countries.
_Minerals._--There are quantities of iron, lead, coal, salt, and, it is
asserted by some, silver. There are many salt and sulphur springs. On
the Arkansas river, beyond the limits of the Territory proper, is a
section of country called the salt prairie, which, according to good
authority, is covered for many miles, from four to six inches deep, with
pure white salt. In the Hot Spring country, are the famous hot springs,
much resorted to by persons of chronic and paralytic diseases. The
temperature, in dry, hot weather, is at boiling point.
_State of Society._--The general character of the people is brave,
hardy, and enterprising--frequently without the polish of literature,
yet kind and hospitable. The people are now rapidly improving in morals
and intellect. They are as ready to encourage schools, the preaching of
the gospel, and the benevolent enterprises of the age, as any people in
new countries. The consequences of living here a long time without the
opportunity of educating their children, and destitute of the means of
grace, are, among this population, just what they always will be under
similar circumstances. Ministers of all denominations are "few and far
between." We have no need _here_ to build on other's foundation.
I am living in Jackson county, on White river. This county has a larger
quantity of good land than any one in the Territory. White river is
always navigable for steamboats to this place, 350 miles from its mouth.
Well-water is good,--some fine springs. Washington county, and some
others, that have the reputation of better health, are more populous.
We want settlers; and we have no doubt that vast numbers of families in
the States, particularly the poor, and those in moderate circumstances,
would better their situation by coming here, where they can get plenty
of fertile and fresh land at government price, $1,25 per acre. They can
have good range, and all the advantages of new countries. Emigrants,
however, ought not to suffer themselves to expect all sunshine, and no
winter. We have cloudy days and cold weather, even in Arkansas! If they
have heard of the _honey pond_, where flitters grow on trees, they need
not be surprised if they don't find it. Cabins cannot be built, wells
dug, farms opened, rails made, and meeting-houses and school-houses
erected, without work.
It may be asked, "If Arkansas be so fine a country, why has it not been
settled faster?" There are perhaps three reasons;--a fear of the
Indians, a fear of sickness, a fear of bad roads. The Indians are now
all peaceably situated beyond the Territory proper, and are blessed with
the labors of a number of good pious missionaries, who are teaching them
to read the Bible, and showing the tall sons of the forest the way that
leads to heaven. Sickness is no more to be dreaded here than in Illinois
and Missouri. The roads have indeed been bad.--For a long time, no one
could venture through the Mississippi swamps, unless he was a Daniel
Boone. But appropriations have been made by Congress for several roads.
This summer, roads from Memphis to Little Rock, and to Litchfield and
Batesville, and other points, will be completed. An appropriation of
upwards of $100,000 has been made to construct a road through the
Mississippi swamp.
Again: we want settlers--we want physicians, lawyers, ministers,
mechanics and farmers. We want such, however, and _only such_ as will
make good neighbors. If any who think of coming to live with us, are
gamblers, drunkards, Sabbath-breakers, profane swearers, or the like, we
hope that when they leave their _old_ country, they will leave their
_old_ habits."
We have not seen the Constitution of this State, now pending before
Congress for admission into the Union, but understand that its essential
principles are the same as that of the other Western States.
WISCONSIN TERRITORY.
Under this name is now comprehended an extensive district of country,
lying on both sides of the Mississippi river, above Illinois and
Missouri, and extending indefinitely north. That portion lying betwixt
the northern boundary of Illinois and the Wisconsin river, and from lake
Michigan to the Mississippi, has the Indian title extinguished, and, in
part, has been surveyed and brought into market. There is much excellent
land in this part of the Territory, and it is well watered with
perennial streams and springs. Offices are opened for the sale of public
lands, at Mineral Point and Green Bay, and a large amount has been sold,
and some at a high price. The country immediately bordering on lake
Michigan, is well timbered, with various trees. Here are red, white,
black and burr oaks, beech, ash, linden, poplar, walnut, hickory, sugar
and white maple, elm, birch, hemlock, and pine, with many other kinds.
The soil is not so deep and dark a mould as in the prairies of Illinois,
but is fertile and easily cultivated; and sandy, especially about the
town of Green Bay. Towards the lake, and near the body of water called
Sturgeon Bay, connected with Green Bay, and between that and the lake,
are extensive swamps and cranberry marshes. Wild rice, tamarisk, and
spruce, grow here. About Rock river and from thence to the Mississippi,
there is much excellent land, but a deficiency of timber. Lead and
copper ore, and probably other minerals, abound in this part of the
country. Along to the east and north of the Four lakes, are alternate
quagmires and sand ridges, for 50 miles or more, called by the French
_coureurs du bois_, "_Terre Tremblant_," (trembling land,) the
character of which is sufficiently indicated by the name.
There are several small lakes in the district of country we are now
examining, the largest of which is Winnebago. It is situated 30 or 40
miles south of Green Bay,--is about ten miles long, and three broad, and
is full of wild rice. Fox river passes through it. Kushkanong is six or
eight miles in diameter, with some swamps and quagmires in its vicinity.
It is on Rock river, between Catfish and Whitewater.
The _Four lakes_ are strung along on a stream called Catfish, which
enters Rock river 25 or 30 miles above the boundary of Illinois. They
are 6 or 8 miles long, abounding with fish, and are surrounded with an
excellent farming country.
Green Bay settlement and village is 230 miles north of Chicago, 220
north-east from Galena, 120 from Fort Winnebago, and in N. latitude 44°
44'. _Navarino_ is a town recently commenced in this vicinity, with an
excellent harbor, grows rapidly, and bids fair to become a place of
importance. Property has risen the last year most astonishingly.
Fort Winnebago is a military post, at the bend, and on the right bank of
Fox river, opposite the portage. From thence to the Wisconsin, is a low
wet prairie, of three fourths of a mile, through which, a company has
been chartered to cut a canal. On this route, the first explorers
reached the Mississippi in 1673. The Wisconsin river, however, without
considerable improvement, is not navigable for steamboats, at ordinary
stages of the water, without much trouble. It is full of bars, islands,
rocks, and has a devious channel.
The streams that rise in the eastern part of this Territory, and flow
into lake Michigan, north of the boundary of Illinois, are in order as
follows: Pipe creek, a small stream, but a few miles from the
boundary,--Root river next,--then Milwaukee, 90 miles from Chicago. It
rises in the swampy country, south of Winnebago lake, runs a
south-easterly course, and, after receiving the Menomone, forms
Milwaukee bay. Here is a town site, on both sides of the river, with a
population of six or eight hundred, which promises to become a place of
business. The soil up the Milwaukee is good, from 6 to 32 inches in
depth, a black loam and sand.
Passing northward down the lake is Oak creek, 9 miles below
Milwaukee,--thence 21 miles is Sauk creek, a small stream. Seventy miles
from Milwaukee is Shab-wi-wi-a-gun. Here is found white pine, maple,
beech, birch and spruce, but very little oak: the surface level and
sandy. Pigeon river is 15 or 20 miles further on, with excellent land on
its borders;--timber,--maple, ash, beech, linden, elm, &c. Fifteen miles
further down, is Manatawok. Here commences the hemlock, with
considerable pine. This stream is about 40 or 50 miles from Green Bay
settlement. Twin rivers are below Manatawok, with sandy soil, and good
timber of pine and other varieties. From Milwaukee to Green Bay, by a
surveyed route, is 112 miles;--by the Indian trail, commonly travelled,
135 miles. North of the Wisconsin river, is Crawford county, of which
Prairie du Chien is the seat of justice. From the great bend at Fort
Winnebago across towards the Mississippi is a series of abrupt hills,
rising several hundred feet, and covered with a dense forest of elm,
linden, oak, walnut, ash, sugar maple, &c. The soil is rich, but is too
hilly and broken for agricultural purposes. There is no alluvial soil,
or bottoms along the streams, or grass in the forests.
The Wisconsin river rises in an unexplored country towards lake
Superior. The _coureurs du bois_, and _voyageurs_ represent it as a
cold, mountainous, dreary region, with swamps.
West of the Mississippi, above Des Moines, and extending northward to a
point some distance above the northern boundary of Illinois, and for 50
miles interior, is a valuable country, purchased of the Indians in 1832.
Its streams rise in the great prairies, run an east or south-eastern
course into the Mississippi. The most noted are Flint, Skunk,
Wau-be-se-pin-e-con, Upper and Lower Iowa rivers, and Turkey, Catfish,
and Big and Little Ma-quo-ka-tois, or Bear creeks. The soil, in general,
is excellent, and very much resembles the military tract in Illinois.
The water is excellent,--plenty of lime, sand and freestone,--extensive
prairies, and a deficiency of timber a few miles interior. About
Dubuque, opposite Galena, are extensive and rich lead mines. Burlington
is a town containing a population of 700, at the Flint hills opposite
Warren county, Illinois. Dubuque is situated on the Mississippi, on a
sandy bottom, above high water, and 14 miles N. W. from Galena. It has
about 60 stores and groceries, 2 taverns, 2 churches, and about 1000
inhabitants, and we have before us the prospectus for the "DUBUQUE
VISITER," a weekly newspaper. Peru is in the vicinity, and contains
about 500 inhabitants. The New Purchase, as this district of country is
called, is divided into two counties, Dubuque, and Des Moines, and
contains a population of 8 or 10,000. The whole Wisconsin Territory is
estimated by its legislature, now in session, to contain 30,000
inhabitants.
Hitherto, for civil purposes, this region has formed a part of Michigan
Territory, and still its legislature acts under that name; but a bill is
before Congress to organize a territorial government under the name of
WISCONSIN, which doubtless will be effected in a few weeks. Not
many years will elapse before two new States will be formed out of this
district of country, the one on the eastern, and the other on the
western, side of the Mississippi.
CHAPTER XIV.
LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS FOR THE WEST.
Colleges;--Statistical Sketches of each Denomination;--Roman
Catholics;--Field for effort, and progress made.
In giving a sketch of literary and religious institutions in the West,
the very limited space remaining to be occupied in this work, compels me
to throw together a few general facts only. The author has made some
progress in collecting materials, and he designs to prepare another work
soon, in which a variety of particulars and sketches will be given of
the early history, progress of literary and religious institutions,
colleges, seminaries, churches, Bible, Sunday school, education and
other kindred societies in the Western Valley, with the present aspect
of each denomination of Christians. The interest taken in the affairs of
the West, and the anxiety evinced by the community for facts and
particulars on those subjects, demand that they should be treated more
in detail than the limits of this Guide will allow.
I. COLLEGES.
OHIO.--_Ohio University_, at Athens, was founded in 1802;--has
an endowment of 46,030 acres of land, which yields $2,300 annually. A
large and elegant edifice of brick was erected in 1817. The number of
students about 90. _Miami University_, was founded in 1824, and is a
flourishing institution at Oxford, Butler county, 37 miles from
Cincinnati. It possesses the township of land in which it is situated,
and from which it receives an income of about $5000. Number of students
about 200. Patronized by Presbyterians. The _Cincinnati College_ was
incorporated in 1819, continued to be sustained as a classical institution
for some years, and then suspended operations. It has been revived and
re-organized lately, and will probably be sustained. _Kenyon College_, at
Gambier, Knox county, in a central part of the State, was established in
1828, through the efforts of Rev. Philander Chase, then bishop of the
Ohio Diocess, who obtained about $30,000 in England to endow it. Its
chief patrons were those excellent British noblemen, Lords Kenyon and
Gambier. It is under Episcopal jurisdiction, and has a theological
department, for the education of candidates for the ministry in the
Episcopal church. It has about 150 students. _Western Reserve College_ is
at Hudson. It was founded by Presbyterians and Congregationalists in 1826,
and has 82 students in all its departments. _Franklin College_ is in New
Athens, Harrison county, on the eastern side of the State, and has about 50
students. The _Granville Literary and Theological Institution_ originated
under patronage of the Baptist denomination in 1831. It is designed to
embrace four departments,--preparatory, English, collegiate, and
theological. It is rapidly rising, and contains more than 100 students.
_Oberlin Institute_ has been recently established in Lorain county, under
the influence of "new measure" Presbyterians, with four departments, and
has 276 students, as follows: In the theological department, 35;
collegiate, 37; preparatory, 31; female, 73. The citizens of Cleveland
have recently contributed to it $15,000, of which six persons gave $1000
each. The _Willibough Collegiate Institute_ is in the lake country of
Ohio, and has been gotten up within a few years past. The _Marietta
Collegiate Institute_ is said to be a flourishing and respectable
institution, having a large number of students in various departments.
INDIANA.--_Indiana college_ is a State institution, established
at Bloomington, and commenced operations in 1828. Present number of
students not known. In 1832 the number exceeded 50.
_Hanover College_ is at South Hanover, six miles below the town of
Madison, and near the Ohio river. It is a flourishing institution, with
arrangements for manual labor, and is styled "South Hanover College and
Indiana Theological Seminary." The number of students exceed 100.
_Wabash College_, at Crawfordsville, has just commenced operations under
auspicious circumstances. Under patronage of the Presbyterians.
ILLINOIS.--_Illinois College_, near Jacksonville, commenced as
a preparatory school in 1830, and has made rapid progress. Large funds
for its endowment have been recently provided in the Eastern States. The
number of students about 80.
_Shurtleff College of Alton, Illinois_, was commenced under the efforts
of Baptists at Alton in 1832, as a preparatory institution;--chartered
as a college in February, 1835, and has been recently named in honor of
a liberal patron, Dr. Benjamin Shurtleff, of Boston, Mass., who has
presented the institution with $10,000. It has 60 students, and its
prospects are encouraging. _McKendreean College_ has been chartered, a
building erected, and a school commenced at Lebanon. It is connected
with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Charters have been recently granted
for other colleges in this State, and measures adopted to bring some of
them into existence. The Rev. Philander Chase, whose persevering labors
brought into existence and successful operation, Kenyon college in Ohio,
and who is now bishop of Illinois, is at present in England, where, by
recent advices, he has obtained $50,000 to invest in Illinois lands, and
to establish a college for the interests of the Episcopal church.
MISSOURI.--The Roman Catholics have two institutions of a
collegiate character, established in this State, _St. Mary's College_,
in Perry county, was established by Bishop Du Bourg, in 1822. It has
6,000 volumes in the library. Including the _nunnery_, and school for
females, a seminary for the education of _priests_, a preparatory, and a
primary school, the number of teachers and students are about 300.
_St. Louis University_ was founded in 1829, and is conducted by the
Fathers of the society of Jesuits. The edifice is 130 feet, by 40, of 4
stories, including the basement, and is situated on elevated and
pleasant ground, on the confines of the city.
For the Protestants, the following institutions have been established.
_Columbia College_, adjacent to Columbia, Boon county. The institution
opened in 1835, under encouraging circumstances. _Marion College_ is in
a delightful tract of country, a prairie region, in the western part of
Michigan county,--and has between 80 and 100 students. It is connected
with the Presbyterian interests. The project as developed by some of its
founders, is an immense one, including English, scientific, classical,
theological, medical, agricultural, and law departments,--all to be
sustained by manual labor, and the proceeds of extensive farms.
Doubtless, by prudent and persevering efforts, a respectable college may
be brought into successful operation. A _college_ at St. Charles, has
been founded, principally by the liberality of George Collier, a
merchant of St. Louis, and two or three other gentlemen, and a
classical and scientific school has been commenced.
ARKANSAS.--Efforts are making to establish a college by
Presbyterian agency, at Cane Hill, in this newly formed State. Two or
three collegiate institutions will soon be needed in this region.
KENTUCKY.--_Transylvania University_, at Lexington, is the
oldest collegiate institution in the West. It was commenced, by a grant
of 8,000 acres of land by the legislature of Virginia, in 1783, and was
then called "Transylvania Seminary." The "Kentucky Academy" was founded
in 1794, and both institutions were united and incorporated in 1798,
under the present name. It has classical, medical, law, and preparatory
departments,--and including each, from 300 to 400 students.
_Center College_, at Danville, was founded by the Presbyterian church,
in 1818, for which the synod of Kentucky pledged $20,000. Number of
students about 100. _Augusta College_ was founded in 1822, by the Ohio
and Kentucky conferences of the Methodist Episcopal church. It adopted
collegiate regulations in 1828. Number of students in the collegiate,
academical and primary departments, about 200.
_Cumberland College_ was incorporated in 1824, and is established at
Princeton, in the western part of the State. It is under the patronage
and jurisdiction of the Cumberland Presbyterians. A farm, including a
tract of 5,000 acres of land, with workshops, furnish facilities for
manual labor. It has about 80 students.
_St. Joseph's College_ is a Roman Catholic institution, at Bardstown,
with college buildings sufficient to accommodate 200 students, and
valued at $60,000. It commenced with 4 students in 1820. In 1833 there
were in the collegiate and preparatory departments, 120 students. The
St. Thomas and St. Mary Seminaries are also under the charge of Roman
Catholic priests, the one in Nelson county, four miles from Bardstown,
and the other in Washington county.
A college was founded by the Baptists at Georgetown in 1830, but from
untoward circumstances, is probably relinquished by the denomination.
TENNESSEE.--The _University of Nashville_ is a prominent
institution. The laboratory is one of the finest in the United States,
and the mineralogical cabinet, not exceeded, and this department, as
well as every other in the college, is superintended with much talent.
The number of students is about 100. _Greenville_, _Knoxville_ and
_Washington_ colleges are in East Tennessee. _Jackson College_ is about
to be removed from its present site, and located at Columbia. $25,000
have been subscribed for the purpose. A Presbyterian Theological
Seminary is at Maryville.
MISSISSIPPI.--_Jefferson College_ is at Washington, six miles
from Natchez. It has not flourished as a college, and is now said to be
conducted somewhat on the principle of a military academy. _Oakland
College_ has been recently founded by Presbyterians, and bids fair to
exert a beneficial influence upon religion and morals, much needed in
that State. The Baptist denomination are taking measures to establish a
collegiate institution in that State.
LOUISIANA.--Has a college at Jackson, in the eastern part of
the State, The Roman Catholics have a college at New Orleans.
There is a respectable collegiate institution, under the fostering care
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at Lagrange, in the north-western
part of ALABAMA.
Academies have been established in various parts of the West, for both
sexes, and there are female seminaries of character and standing at
Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Granville, Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, and
many other places. Several more colleges, and a large number of minor
institutions, will be needed very shortly to supply the demands for
education in the West. The public mind is awake to the subject of
education, and much has already been done, though a greater work has yet
to be accomplished to supply the wants of the West in literary
institutions.
An annual convention is held in Cincinnati, on the first Monday in
October, denominated the "_Western Institute and College of
Professional Teachers_." Its object, according to the constitution, is,
"to promote by every laudable means, the diffusion of knowledge in
regard to education, and especially by aiming at the elevation of the
character of teachers, who shall have adopted instruction as their
regular profession." The first meeting was held in 1831, under the
auspices of the "Academic Institute," a previously existing institution,
but of more limited operations. The second convention, in 1832, framed a
constitution and chose officers, since which time regular meetings have
been held by delegates or individuals from various parts of the West,
and a volume of Transactions of 300 or 400 pages published annually.
II. THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTIONS.
The _Western Theological Seminary_ at Alleghany town, opposite
Pittsburg, is under the jurisdiction of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church. It commenced operations in 1829. At _Canonsburg_ is
a seminary belonging to the Associate church, of which Dr. Ramsey is
Professor. The Associate Reformed church have a theological school in
Pittsburg, under charge of the Rev. John T. Pressly D. D. The Baptist
denomination are now engaged in establishing a manual labor academy in
the vicinity of Pittsburg, for both ministerial and general education.
The theological departments of Oberlin, Granville, and other collegiate
institutions, have been noticed already. _Lane Seminary_, near
Cincinnati, was founded in 1830, by Messrs. E. & W. A. Lane, merchants,
of New Orleans, who made a very liberal offer of aid. Its location is
excellent, two and a half miles from Cincinnati, at Walnut Hills, and is
under the charge of the Rev. Dr. Beecher, and a body of professors.
Number of students about 40. The _Hanover Institution_ in Indiana, has
been noticed already. In the theological department are three professors
and 12 students. The Baptists in this State are about establishing a
manual labor seminary for ministerial and general education.
A valuable property has been purchased, adjoining Covington, Ky.,
opposite Cincinnati, and measures have been put in train to found a
theological seminary by the Baptist denomination. The executive
committee of the "_Western Baptist Education Society_," have this object
in charge. The "_Alton Theological Seminary_," located at Upper Alton,
Illinois, is under an organization distinct from that of _Shurtleff
College_, already noticed. This institution has 50 acres of valuable
land, and a stone edifice of respectable size, occupied at present in
joint concern with the college, and a valuable library of several
hundred volumes. Its organization has been but recently effected. Rev.
L. Colby, is professor, with 8 students. Other institutions, having
theological education, either in whole or in part, their object, are in
contemplation.
Two remarks, by way of explanation are here necessary. 1. Most of the
colleges and theological schools of the Western Valley have facilities
for manual labor, or are making that provision. In several, some of the
students pay half, and even the whole of their expenses, by their own
efforts. Public sentiment is awake to this subject, and is gaining
ground. 2. In enumerating the students, the members of the preparatory
departments are included, many of whom do not expect to pass through a
regular collegiate course. The circumstances and wants of the country,
from its rapid growth, seem to require the appendage of a large
preparatory department to every college.
It may be well to observe here, that a great and increasing demand
exists in all the Western States, and especially those bordering on the
Mississippi, for teachers of primary schools. Hundreds and thousands of
moral, intelligent, and pious persons, male and female, would meet with
encouragement and success in this department of labor. It is altogether
unnecessary for such persons to write to their friends, to make
inquiries whether there are openings, &c. If they come from the older
States with the proper recommendations as to character and
qualifications, they will not fail to meet with employment in almost any
quarter to which they may direct their course. There is not a county in
Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, or Indiana, where persons would not meet
with constant employment in teaching, and especially where teachers in
Sabbath schools are needed. Persons desirous of such a field, of humble,
yet useful labor, should come here with the fixed purpose to mix with,
and conform to the usages of the Western population, to avoid
fastidiousness, and to submit to the plain, frank, social, and
hospitable manners of the people.
III. DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUMS.
There are two institutions of this description in the West,--one at
Columbus, Ohio; the other at Danville, Ky. The one in Ohio contains
about 50 pupils.
IV. MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS.
The medical department in Transylvania University, Kentucky, has six
professors, and usually about 200 students to attend the lectures. Fees
for an entire course, with matriculation and library, $110. Two medical
institutions of respectable standing exist in Cincinnati,--one connected
with the Miami university, the other with Cincinnati college.
The _Ohio Reformed Medical School_, was established at Worthington, 9
miles north of Columbus, in 1830. No specified time is required for
study, but when a student will pass examination, he is licensed to
practice.
V. LAW SCHOOLS.
The law department of Transylvania University, is under the charge of
two able professors, who hear recitations and deliver lectures. The
average number of students is about 40.
A law school was established at Cincinnati, in 1833, with four
professors,--Messrs. John C. Wright, John M. Goodenow, Edward King, and
Timothy Walker. The bar, the institution, and the city have recently
sustained a severe loss in the decease of Mr. King.
VI. BENEVOLENT AND RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
To enumerate and give particulars of all these, would make a volume. We
can but barely call the attention of the reader to some of the more
prominent organizations, amongst the different Christian denominations
in this great Valley, for doing good.
The _Foreign Missionary Society of the Valley of the Mississippi_, is a
prominent auxiliary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions. Its seat is Cincinnati, but by agencies and branches, it
operates throughout the Valley. The Report of November, 1835, states
that _eighteen thousand six hundred and fifty eight dollars_ had been
received into the treasury the preceding year. An edition of 3000 copies
of the Missionary Herald is republished in Cincinnati, for circulation
in the West.
The _Western Education Society_, connected with the American Education
Society, has also its seat of operations at Cincinnati. Auxiliaries
also exist in most of the Western States. 71 beneficiaries were under
its charge at the last anniversary.
The _American Tract Society_ has auxiliaries and agencies in most of the
Western States. The operations of the _American Bible Society_, through
its numerous auxiliaries, is felt to the remotest parts of the West.
The _American Sunday School Union_ has recently established a central
agency in Cincinnati, and is preparing to renew, and greatly enlarge its
very important efforts for the benefit of the rising generation in the
West.
A series of very interesting anniversaries are held in Cincinnati, the
first week in November, when all the great objects of Christian effort
receive a renewed impulse.
The _American Home Missionary Society_ has more than 200 missionaries,
laboring in the States, west of the mountains. In 1835, they assisted
217 Presbyterian ministers in this field.
The _Temperance Effort_ has not been neglected, and an interesting
change is going forward, in a quiet and noiseless way, in the habits of
the people, in reference to the use of intoxicating liquors. It is to be
hoped that more prompt and vigorous efforts will be made to promote this
cause, but even now, there are many thousands, who abstain from the use
of spiritous liquors, without any formal pledge.
The _Methodist Episcopal Church_, in addition to their regular system of
circuits, are extending the influence of their denomination on the
frontiers, by missionary operations, and their labors are prospered.
The _Baptist denomination_ have made some important movements in the
Western Valley within the last three years. Their Home Mission Society
has nearly 100 missionaries in the West. In November, 1833, the
"_General Convention of Western Baptists_," was organized by more than
100 ministers and brethren, assembled from various parts of the West. It
is not an ecclesiastical body, claiming jurisdiction either over
churches or ministers, nor is it strictly a missionary body. Its
business, according to the constitution, is "to promote by all lawful
means, the following objects, to wit:--Missions both foreign and
domestic;--ministerial education, for such as may have first been
licensed by the churches; Sunday schools, including Bible classes;
religious periodicals; tract and temperance societies, as well as all
others warranted by Christ in the gospel."
At its second session, in 1834, the "_Western Baptist Education
Society_" was formed. Its object is "the education of those who give
evidence to the churches of which they are members, that God designs
them for the ministry." The executive committee are charged temporarily,
with establishing the Central Theological Seminary, already mentioned,
at Covington, Ky.
Many other interesting associations for humane, philanthropic, and
religious purposes exist in the Valley, which are necessarily omitted.
VII. THE PERIODICAL PRESS.
The number of different periodicals published in the Valley of the
Mississippi, must exceed 400, of which 12 or 15 are daily papers. There
are 25 weekly periodicals in Mississippi, 116 in Ohio, 38 in Indiana, 19
in Illinois, 17 in Missouri, 3 and probably more, in Arkansas, 2 at
least in Wisconsin Territory. The _Western Monthly Magazine_, edited by
James Hall, Esq., and published at Cincinnati is well known. The
_Western Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences_, edited by Daniel
Drake, M. D., Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine in the
Cincinnati College, is published quarterly, in Cincinnati. There are a
number of religious weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly periodicals,
devoted to the interests of the principal denominations through the
Valley. There are known to be at least one in Western Virginia, 2 in
Western Pennsylvania, 7 in Ohio, 4 in Kentucky, 4 in Tennessee, 2 in
Illinois, 2 in Missouri, and one in New Orleans. Supposing the average
number of copies of Western periodicals equalled 750, this, estimating
the different periodicals at 400, would give 300,000. We see no marked
and essential difference in the talent, with which the editorial press
is conducted, betwixt the Eastern and Western States. The limits of
this work will not allow me to add further evidence that our Western
population is not all "illiterate," and that "not more than one person
in ten can read," than the following epitome of the issues, of one of
the publishing houses in Cincinnati, as exhibited in the Cincinnati
Journal:
"_Western Enterprise._--The enterprise of the West is not generally
appreciated. As a specimen, we have procured from Messrs. Corey &
Webster the following LIST OF BOOKS published by them within
the last three years. These books, with the exception of the Life of
Black-Hawk, are of sterling value.
The Western Primer, 60,000; Webster's Spelling Book, 600,000; the
Primary Reader, 7,500; the Elementary Reader, 37,000; Western Reader,
16,000; Webster's History of the United States, 4000; Miss Beecher's
Geography, 15,000; Pocket Testament, 6,500; Watts' and Select Hymns,
8000; Dr. Beecher's Lectures on Scepticism, three editions, 1000 each;
Prof. Stowe's Introduction to the Study of the Bible, 1500; the
Christian Lyre, 2000; Mitchell's Chemistry, 1000; Eberle on the Diseases
of Children, 2000; Ditto Notes of Practice, 1500; Young Lady's Assistant
in Drawing, 1000;, Munsell's Map, 3,500; Chase's Statutes of Ohio, three
volumes, 1000; Hammond's Reports, 6th vol. 500; total, _seven hundred
and seventy eight thousand two hundred and fifty!!!_ Probably some of
the many other publishers in the city have got out nearly or quite as
many books. Truly, we are a book-making and book-reading nation."
VIII. RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.
In exhibiting the following statistics, entire correctness is not
attempted. In some of the States, the latest reports have been had,--in
others, the author has taken data of two or three years date. Of the
numbers of some of the numerous sects existing, the opinions of
individuals have been the chief data he could obtain.
1. _Baptists._
----------------------+-----------+------------+---------------
| Churches. | Ministers. | Communicants.
----------------------+-----------+------------+---------------
Western Pennsylvania, | 50 | 30 | 2,569
Western Virginia, | 89 | 48 | 3,306
Ohio, | 332 | 175 | 13,926
Michigan, | 60 | 30 | 1,700
Indiana, | 320 | 175 | 15,000
Illinois, | 240 | 163 | 6,741
Missouri, | 180 | 115 | 6,990
Arkansas, | 25 | 18 | 700
Louisiana, | 20 | 12 | 1,000
Mississippi, | 100 | 46 | 4,000
North Alabama, | 125 | 53 | 5,700
Tennessee, | 348 | 292 | 22,868
Kentucky, | 558 | 296 | 38,817
Total, 2447 churches, 1353 ministers, and 123,317 communicants.
_Periodicals._--The _Cross and Journal_, weekly, and _Baptist Advocate_,
monthly, at Cincinnati;--the _Baptist Banner_, weekly, at Shelbyville,
Ky.;--the _Baptist_, a large monthly quarto, at Nashville, Ten.;--the
_Pioneer_, semi-monthly, at Rock Spring, but shortly to be enlarged,
removed to Upper Alton, and published weekly;--and the _Witness_, a
small quarto, published weekly at Pittsburg.
2. _Methodists_, (_Episcopal._) This denomination is divided into
Conferences, which are not arranged exactly with the boundaries of the
States. A large book and printing-office is established at Cincinnati,
where all the society's publications are kept for sale. Another
depository is kept at Nashville.
-----------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+------------
|Circuit |White |Colored.|Indians.|Total number
Conferences. |Preachers|members.| | |of members.
|&c. | | | |
-----------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+------------
Mississippi, | 55 | 6,358 | 2,622 | 727 | 9,707
Alabama, (one District,| | | | |
in the Valley,) | 16 | 3,051 | 492 | | 3,543
Pittsburg, | 156 | 40,155 | 296 | | 40,451
Ohio, | 204 | 62,686 | 544 | 217 | 63,447
Missouri, (including | | | | |
Arkansas,) | 57 | 7,948 | 1,061 | 889 | 9,898
Kentucky, | 100 | 25,777 | 5,592 | | 31,369
Illinois, | 61 | 15,038 | 59 | | 15,097
Indiana, | 70 | 24,984 | 229 | | 25,213
Holston, | 62 | 21,559 | 2,478 | | 24,031
Tennessee, | 120 | 29,794 | 5,043 | 508 | 35,345
+---------+--------+--------+--------+------------
Total, | 901 |237,350 | 18,416 | 2,341 | 258,101
Allowing two _local_ to one _circuit_ preacher, which is rather under
than over the proportion, would make 1802, which, added to the number of
those whose names are on the Minutes of the Conferences, would make 2703
Methodist Episcopal ministers of the gospel in the Valley of the
Mississippi. The Pittsburg Conference Journal, Western Christian
Advocate, and Western Methodist, are their periodicals.
3. _Methodist Protestants._--There are two conferences of this
denomination in the West,--the Pittsburg, and Ohio conferences, and
their circuits, preaching stations and members extend through the States
north of the Ohio river, with a few stations and churches south.
_Pittsburg Conference_ has 28 circuits, and 85 local preachers and
licentiates, 25 circuits, 4 stations, and 2 mission circuits, with 6,902
members in society.
_Ohio Conference_, has 28 circuit, 90 local preachers, 22 circuits, 3
stations, 3 missionary circuits, and 3667 members. The Methodist
Correspondent, a neat semi-monthly quarto periodical, published at
Zanesville, Ohio, is devoted to their interests.
4. _Presbyterians._--The following table (with the exception of
Illinois) is constructed from the returns to the General Assembly in
1834,--the Minutes of 1835, we understand, have not been printed.
------------------+-----------+------------+---------------
States and parts. | Churches. | Ministers. | Communicants.
------------------+-----------+------------+---------------
W. Pennsylvania | | |
and W. Va. | 212 | 135 | 22,687
Michigan, | 32 | 20 | 1,397
Ohio, | 400 | 255 | 27,821
Indiana, | 99 | 55 | 4,339
Illinois, | 71 | 50 | 2,000
Missouri, | 33 | 29 | 1,549
Arkansas, | 12 | 9 | 390
Kentucky, | 120 | 83 | 8,378
Tennessee, | 121 | 90 | 9,926
North Alabama, | 15 | 12 | 725
Mississippi, | 33 | 24 | 761
Total, 56 Presbyteries, 1,148 churches, 753 ministers, and 79,973
communicants.
_Periodicals._--The _Cincinnati Journal and Western Luminary_, published
at Cincinnati;--_Christian Herald_, at Pittsburg;--_Ohio Observer_, at
Hudson, Ohio;--_Western Presbyterian Herald_, at Louisville, Ky.;--_New
Orleans Observer_, at New Orleans;--and _St. Louis Observer_, at St.
Louis, Mo.,--all weekly;--and the _Missionary Herald_, republished at
Cincinnati, monthly.
5. _Cumberland Presbyterians._--This sect originated from the
Presbyterian church in 1804, in Kentucky, but did not increase much till
1810, or 12. They are spread through most of the Western States, and
have 34 Presbyteries, 7 Synods, and one General Assembly. The Minutes of
their General Assembly, now before me, are not sufficiently definite to
give the number of congregations. These probably exceed 300. An
intelligent member of that denomination states the number of ordained
preachers to be 300, licentiates, 100, candidates for the ministry, 150,
and communicants, 50,000.
_Periodicals._--The _Cumberland Presbyterian_ is a weekly paper,
published at Nashville, Tenn. Another has been recently started at
Pittsburg.
6. _Congregationalists._--In Ohio, especially in the northern part, are
a number of Congregational churches and some ministers, as there are in
Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois. There are 2 or 3 ministers, 12 or 15
congregations, and about 500 communicants in Illinois, who are organized
into an association in Illinois.
7. _Protestant Episcopal Church._--This denomination has 7 Diocesses in
the Western or south-western States, exclusive of Western Pennsylvania,
and Western Virginia, which belong to the Diocesses of those States. They
are, Ohio,--Michigan,--Illinois,--Kentucky,--Tennessee,--Mississippi, and
Indiana, and Missouri. There are about 75 or 80 ministers, and twice as
many churches in the West. Provision has been made in part, for the
endowment of the theological seminary at Gambier, O., in England, and
Bishop McIlvaine has obtained about $12,600, to be appropriated in the
erection of a gothic edifice to be called "Bexley Hall," with three
stories, and accommodations for fifty students. A weekly periodical is
issued at the same place to support the interests of the denomination.
8. _German Lutherans._--We have no data to give the statistics of this
denomination. There is a Synod in Ohio, another in Western Pennsylvania,
and perhaps others. There are probably 50 or 60 ministers in the West,
and 150 congregations.
9. _German Reformed Church._--There are 80 congregations in Ohio, 20 in
Indiana, and probably 50 others in the West, with 40 or 50 ministers.
10. The _Tunkers_, or _Dunkards_, have 40 or 50 churches, and about half
as many ministers in the Western States.
11. The _Shakers_ have villages in several places in Ohio, and Kentucky,
but are losing ground.
12. The _Mormons_ have a large community at Kirkland, Ohio, where, under
the direction of their prophet, Joseph Smith, they are building a vast
temple. They have probably 200 preachers, and as many congregations in
the West, and still make proselytes.
13. _Christian Sect_, or _Newlights_, have become to a considerable
extent amalgamated with the "_Reformers_," or "_Campbellites_." I have
not data on which to construct a tabular view of this sect,--but from
general information, estimate the number of their "bishops," and
"proclaimers," at 300, and their communicants at 10,000 or 12,000. They
have three or four monthly periodicals.
Alexander Campbell, who may be justly considered the leader of this
sect, (though they disclaim the term _sect_,) is a learned, talented,
and voluminous writer. He conducts their leading periodical, the
_Millennial Harbinger_.
14. The "_United Brethren in Christ_," are a pious, moral and exemplary
sect, chiefly in Ohio, but scattered somewhat in other Western States.
They are mostly of German descent, and in their doctrinal principles and
usages, very much resemble the Methodists. They have about 300 ministers
in the West, and publish the _Religious Telescope_, a large weekly
paper, of evangelical principles, and well conducted. It is printed at
Circleville, Ohio.
15. _Reformed Presbyterians_, or _Covenanters_, have 20 or 30 churches,
and as many ministers, but are much dispersed through the Northern
Valley.
16. The _Associate Church_, or _Seceders_, are more numerous than the
Covenanters.
17. The _Associate Reformed Church_. The Western Synod of this body
still exists as a separate denomination. Their theological school, at
Pittsburg, has already been noticed. I know not their numbers, but
suppose they exceed considerably the _Associate Church_.
18. The _Friends_ or _Quakers_, have a number of societies in Western
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, &c.
19. The _Unitarians_ have societies and ministers at Pittsburg,
Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, and probably in other places.
There are many other sects and fragments in the West. The Valley of the
Mississippi, like all new countries, is a wide and fertile field for the
propagation of error, as it is for the display of truth.
IX. ROMAN CATHOLICS.
The number of Papal Diocesses in the Valley, including the one at
Mobile, is _seven_, of each of which a very brief sketch will be given,
commencing with,
1. _Detroit_, including Michigan and the North-Western Territory,--1
bishop, with sub-officers, 18 priests, and as many chapels. At Detroit
and vicinity, for 2 or 3 miles, including the French, Irish and
Germans, Roman Catholic families make up one third of the population;
probably 3,500, of all ages. At Ann Arbor, and in the towns of Webster,
Scio, Northfield, Lima and Dexter are many. At and near Bert rand on the
St. Joseph's river, adjoining Indiana, they have a school established
and an Indian mission. Including the fur traders, and Indians, they may
be estimated at 10,000 in this Diocess.[12]
2. _Cincinnati._--A large cathedral has been built in this place, and 15
or 520 chapels in the Diocess. Ten years ago, the late bishop Fenwick
could not count up 500. The emigration of foreigners, and the laborers
on the Ohio canals, and not a little success in proselyting, account for
the increase. There are 25 congregations, and 18 priests. A literary
institution, called the _Athenæum_, is established at Cincinnati, where
the students are required to attend the forms of worship, and the
Superior inspects all their letters. St. Peter's Orphan Asylum is under
charge of 4 "Sisters of Charity." The number of Catholics in Cincinnati
is variously estimated, the medium of which is 6000, and as many more
dispersed through the State.
3. _Bardstown._--This includes the State of Kentucky, and has a bishop,
with the usual subordinates, 27 congregations, and 33 priests, 11 of
whom reside at Bardstown. A convent of 6 Jesuit priests at Lebanon;
another of 5 Dominicans, called St. Rose, in Washington county; the
college at Bardstown, already noticed, and St. Mary's Seminary in
Washington county, for the education of priests. Of _female_
institutions, there are the _Female Academy of Nazareth_ at Bardstown,
conducted by the "Sisters of Charity," and superintended by the bishop
and professors of St. Joseph's college,--150 pupils; the female academy
of Loretto, Washington county, with accommodation for 100 boarders, and
directed by the "_Sisters of Mary at the foot of the cross_." This order
have six other places for country schools, and are said to be 135 in
number. The _Convent of Holy Mary_, and the _Monastery of St.
Magdalene_, at St. Rose, Washington county, by Dominican nuns, 15 in
number, and in 1831, 30 pupils. The Catholics have a female academy at
Lexington with 100 pupils.
I have no data to show the Roman Catholic population of this State, but
it is by no means proportionate to the formidable machinery here
exhibited. All this array of colleges, seminaries, monasteries, convents
and nunneries is for the work of proselyting, and if they are not
successful, it only shows that the current of popular sentiment sets
strongly in another direction.
4. _Vincennes._--This is a new Diocess, recently carved out of Indiana
and Illinois by the authority of an old gentleman, who lives in the
city of Rome! It includes a dozen chapels, 4 or 5 priests, the St.
Claire convent at Vincennes, with several other appendages. The Roman
Catholic population of this State is not numerous, probably not
exceeding 3000. Illinois has about 5000, a part of which is under the
jurisdiction of St. Louis Diocess. In Illinois there are 10 churches,
and 6 priests, a part of which are included in the Diocess of Indiana. A
convent of nuns of the "_Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary_," at
Kaskaskia, who conduct a female school, with a few boarders and about 30
or 40 day scholars.
5. _St. Louis._--This Diocess includes 18 congregations and 19 priests,
with the following appendages:
1. _St. Louis University_, already noticed, with 6 priests for
instructors, and 150 students, of which, about 80 are boarders. The
rules require their attendance on morning and evening prayers, the
catechism, and divine service on Sundays and holidays. 2. St. Mary's
College, also noticed in our description of colleges. 3. Noviciate for
_Jesuits under St. Stanislaus_, in St. Louis county. Of female
institutions there are,--1. Convent of the "_Ladies of the Sacred
Heart_," at St. Louis; 2. another of the same description, and their
noviciate, at Florrissant;--3. another of the same order at St.
Charles;--4. a female academy at Carondalet, six miles below St. Louis,
by the "_Sisters of Charity_;"--5. a convent and academy of the
"_Sisters of Loretto_," at New Madrid;--6. a convent and female academy
at Frederickstown, under supervision of a priest;--7. a convent and
female academy of the "_Sisters of Loretto_," in Perry county. The Roman
Catholic population in Missouri does not exceed 15,000. Their pupils, of
both sexes, may be estimated at 700. To the above may be added the
hospital, and the asylum for boys, in St. Louis, under the management of
the Sisters of Charity.
Roman Catholic teachers, usually foreigners, disperse themselves through
the country, and engage in teaching primary schools; availing themselves
of intercourse with the families of their employers to instruct them in
the dogmas of their religion. The greatest success that has attended the
efforts of the priests in converting others, has been during the
prevalence of the cholera, and especially after collapse and
insensibility had seized the person! We know of more than 60 Roman
Catholics who have been converted to the faith of Christ and joined
Christian churches within 3 or 4 years past, in this State.
6. _New Orleans._--The Roman Catholics in Louisiana are numerous,
probably including one third of the population. Relatively, Protestants
are increasing, as a large proportion of the emigration from the other
States, who care any thing about religion, are Protestants. There are
26 congregations, and 27 priests with several convents, female
seminaries, asylums, &c.
7. _Mobile._--A splendid cathedral has been commenced here. This Diocess
extends into Florida.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] The reader will note that our estimates of Roman Catholics include
the whole family of every age. Whereas, our statistics of Protestant
denominations included only communicants.
CHAPTER XV.
Suggestions to Emigrants--Canal, Steamboat and Stage Routes--Other Modes
of Travel--Expenses--Roads, Distances, &c. &c.
In the concluding chapter to this GUIDE, it is proposed to give
such information as is always desirable to emigrants upon removing, or
travelling for any purpose, to the West.
1. Persons in moderate circumstances, or who would save time and
expense, need not make a visit to the West, to ascertain particulars
previous to removal. A few general facts, easily collected from a
hundred sources, will enable persons to decide the great question
whether they will emigrate to the Valley. By the same means, emigrants
may determine to what State, and to what part of that State, their
course shall be directed. There are many things that a person of plain,
common sense will take for granted without inquiry,--such as facilities
for obtaining all the necessaries of life; the readiness with which
property of any description may be obtained for a fair value, and
especially farms and wild land; that they can live where hundreds of
thousands of others of similar habits and feelings live; and above all,
they should take it for granted, that there are difficulties to be
encountered in every country, and in all business,--that these
difficulties can be surmounted with reasonable effort, patience and
perseverance, and that in every country, people sicken and die.
2. Having decided to what State and part of the State an emigrant will
remove, let him then conclude to take as little furniture and other
luggage as he can do with, especially if he comes by public conveyances.
Those who reside within convenient distance of a sea port, would find it
both safe and economical to ship by New Orleans, in boxes, such articles
as are not wanted on the road, especially if they steer for the
navigable waters of the Mississippi. Bed and other clothing, books, &c.,
packed in boxes, like merchants' goods, will go much safer and cheaper
by New Orleans, than by any of the inland routes. I have received more
than one hundred packages and boxes, from eastern ports, by that route,
within 20 years, and never lost one. Boxes should be marked to the owner
or his agent at the river port where destined, and to the charge of some
forwarding house in New Orleans. The freight and charges may be paid
when the boxes are received.
3. If a person designs to remove to the north part of Ohio, and Indiana,
to Chicago and vicinity, or to Michigan, or Greenbay, his course would
be by the New York canal, and the lakes. The following table, showing
the time of the opening of the canal at Albany and Buffalo, and the
opening of the lake, from 1827 to 1835, is from a report of a committee
at Buffalo to the common council of that city. It will be of use to
those who wish to take the northern route in the spring.
------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------
| Canal opened at | Canal opened at | Lake Erie opened
Year. | Buffalo. | Albany. | at Buffalo.
------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------
1827 | April 21 | April 21 | April 21
1828 | " 1 | " 1 | " 1
1829 | " 25 | " 29 | May 10
1830 | " 15 | " 20 | April 6
1831 | " 16 | " 16 | May 8
1832 | " 18 | " 25 | April 27
1833 | " 22 | " 22 | " 23
1834 | " 16 | " 17 | " 6
1835 | " 15 | " 15 | May 8
The same route will carry emigrants to Cleveland and by the Ohio canal
to Columbus, or to the Ohio river at Portsmouth, from whence by
steamboat, direct communications will offer to any river port in the
Western States. From Buffalo, steamboats run constantly, (when the lake
is open,) to Detroit, stopping at Erie, Ashtabula, Cleveland, Sandusky
and many other ports from whence stages run to every prominent town.
Transportation wagons are employed in forwarding goods.
SCHEDULE FROM BUFFALO TO DETROIT BY WATER.
Miles.
Dunkirk, N. Y., 39
Portland, " 18-57
Erie, Pa., 35-92
Ashtabula, Ohio, 39-131
Fairport, " 32-163
Cleveland, Ohio, 30-193
Sandusky, " 54-247
Amherstburg, N. C. 52-299
Detroit, Mich., 18-317
_From thence to Chicago, Illinois._
Miles.
St. Clair River, Michigan, 40
Palmer, 17-57
Fort Gratiot, 14-71
White Rock, 40-111
Thunder Island, 70-181
Middle Island, 25-206
Presque Isle, 65-271
Mackinaw, 58-329
Isle Brule, 75-404
Fort Howard, W. Territory, 100-504
Milwaukee, W. T. 310-814
Chicago, Ill., 90-904
_From Cleveland to Portsmouth, via. Ohio canal._
Miles.
Cuyahoga Aqueduct, 22
Old Portage, 12-34
Akron, 4-38
New Portage, 5-43
Clinton, 11-54
Massillon, 11-65
Bethlehem, 6-71
Bolivar, 8-79
Zoar, 3-82
Dover, 7-89
New Philadelphia, 4-93
New-Comers' Town, 22-115
Coshocton, 17-132
Irville, 26-158
Newark, 13-171
Hebron, 10-181
Licking Summit, 5-186
Lancaster Canaan, 11-197
Columbus, side cut, 18-215
Bloomfield, 8-223
Circleville, 9-232
Chillicothe, 23-255
Piketon, 25-280
Lucasville, 14-294
Portsmouth, (Ohio river,) 13-307
The most expeditious, pleasant and direct route for travellers to the
southern parts of Ohio and Indiana; to the Illinois river, as far north
as Peoria; to the Upper Mississippi, as Quincy, Rock Island, Galena and
Prairie du Chien; to Missouri; and to Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas,
Natches and New Orleans is one of the southern routes. There are, 1st,
from Philadelphia to Pittsburg by rail-roads and the Pennsylvania canal;
2nd, by Baltimore,--the Baltimore and Ohio rail-road,--and stages to
Wheeling; or, 3dly, for people living to the south of Washington, by
stage, via Charlottesville, Va., Staunton, the hot, warm, and white
sulphur springs, Lewisburg, Charlestown, to Guyandotte, from whence a
regular line of steamboats run 3 times a week to Cincinnati.
Intermediate routes from Washington city to Wheeling; or to Harper's
ferry, to Fredericksburg, and intersect the route through Virginia at
Charlottesville.
_From Philadelphia to Pittsburg, via rail-road
and canal._
Miles.
Columbia on the Susquehanna
river by
rail-road, daily, 81
By canal packets to
Bainbridge, 11-92
Middletown, 17-109
Harrisburg, 10-119
Juniata river, 15-134
Millerstown, 17-151
Mifflin, 17-168
Lewistown, 13-171
Waynesburg, 14-195
Hamiltonville, 11-206
Huntingdon, 7-213
Petersburg, 8-221
Alexandria, 23-244
Frankstown and
Hollidaysburgh, 3-247
From thence by
rail-road across
the mountain to
Johnstown is 38-285
By canal to Blairsville, 35-320
Saltzburg, 18-338
Warren, 12-350
Alleghany river, 16-366
PITTSBURG, 28-394
The _Pioneer_ line on this route is exclusively for passengers, and
professes to reach Pittsburg in _four_ days--but is sometimes behind
several hours. Fare through, $10. Passengers pay for meals.
_Leech's line_, called "_the Western Transportation line_," takes both
freight and passengers. The packet boats advertise to go through to
Pittsburg in _five_ days for $7.
Midship and steerage passengers in the transportation line in six and a
half days; merchandize delivered in 8 days. Generally, however, there is
some delay. Emigrants must not expect to carry more than a small trunk
or two on the packet lines. Those who take goods or furniture, and
expect to keep with it, had better take the transportation lines with
more delay. The price of meals on the boats is about 37-½ cents.
On all the _steamboats_ on the Western waters, no additional charge is
made to cabin passengers for meals,--and the tables are usually
profusely supplied. Strict order is observed, and the waiters and
officers are attentive.
_Steamboat route from Pittsburg to the mouth
of Ohio._
Miles.
Middletown, Pa. 11
Economy, " 8-19
Beaver, " 10-29
Georgetown, " 13-42
Steubenville, Ohio, 27-69
Wellsburgh, Va., 7-76
Warren, Ohio, 6-82
_Wheeling_, Va., 10-92
Elizabethtown, " 11-103
Sistersville, " 34-137
Newport, Ohio, 27-164
_Marietta_, Ohio 14-178
Parkersburgh, Va., 11-189
Belpre, and Blennerhassett's
Isl'd, O., 4-193
Troy, Ohio, 10-203
Belleville, Va., 7-210
Letart's Rapids, Va., 37-247
Point Pleasant, " 27-274
Gallipolis, Ohio, 4-278
_Guyandot_, Va., 27-305
Burlington, Ohio, 10-315
Greensburg, Ky., 19-334
Concord, Ohio, 12-346
_Portsmouth_, (Ohio, canal,) 7-353
Vanceburg, Ky., 20-373
Manchester, Ohio, 16-389
_Maysville_, Ky., 11-400
Charleston, " 4-404
Ripley, Ohio, 6-410
Augusta, Ky., 8-418
Neville, Ohio, 7-425
Moscow, " 7-432
Point Pleasant, Ohio 4-436
New Richmond, " 7-443
Columbia, " 15-458
Fulton, " 6-464
CINCINNATI, Ohio 2-466
North Bend, " 15-481
Lawrenceburgh, Ia., and mouth
of the Miami, 8-489
Aurora, Ia., 2-491
Petersburg, Ky., 2-493
Bellevue, " 8-501
Rising Sun, Ia., 2-503
Fredericksburgh, Ky., 18-521
Vevay, Ia., and Ghent, Ky., 11-532
Port William, Ky., 8-540
Madison, In., 15-555
New London, In., 12-567
Bethlehem, " 8-575
Westport, Ky., 7-582
Transylvania, Ky., 15-597
LOUISVILLE, Ky., 12-609
Shippingsport thro' the canal, 2-½-611-½
New Albany, In., 1-½-613
Salt River, Ky., 23-636
Northampton, Ia., 18-654
Leavenworth, " 17-671
Fredonia, " 2-673
Rome, In., 32-705
Troy, " 25-730
Rockport, In., 16-746
Owenburgh, Ky., 12-758
_Evansville_, Ia., 36-794
Henderson, Ky., 12-806
Mount Vernon, Ia., 28-834
Carthage, Ky., 12-846
Wabash River, Ky., 7-853
Shawneetown, Ill., 11-864
Mouth of Saline, Ill., 12-876
Cave in Rock, " 10-886
Golconda, " 19-905
_Smithland_, mouth of the
Cumberland River, Ky., 10-915
_Paducah_, mouth of the
Tennessee River, Ky., 13-928
Caledonia, Ill., 31-959
Trinity, mouth of Cash River, Ill., 10-969
MOUTH OF THE OHIO RIVER, 6-975
Persons who wish to visit Indianopolis will stop at Madison, Ia., and
take the stage conveyance. From Louisville, via Vincennes, to St. Louis
by stage, every alternate day, 273 miles, through in three days and
half. Fare $17. Stages run from Vincennes to Terre Haute and other towns
up the Wabash river. At _Evansville_, Ia., stage lines are connected
with Vincennes and Terre Haute; and at _Shawneetown_ twice a week to
Carlyle, Ill., where it intersects the line from Louisville to St.
Louis. From Louisville to Nashville by steamboats, passengers land at
Smithland at the mouth of Cumberland river, unless they embark direct
for Nashville.
In the _winter_ both stage and steamboat lines are uncertain and
irregular. Ice in the rivers frequently obstructs navigation, and high
waters and bad roads sometimes prevent stages from running regularly.
Farmers who remove to the West from the Northern and Middle States, will
find it advantageous in many instances to remove with their own teams
and wagons. These they will need on their arrival. Autumn, or from
September till November, is the favorable season for this mode of
emigration. The roads are then in good order, the weather usually
favorable, and feed plenty. People of all classes from the States south
of the Ohio river, remove with large wagons, carry and cook their own
provisions, purchase their feed by the bushel, and invariably _encamp
out at night_.
Individuals who wish to travel through the interior of Michigan,
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, &c., will find that the most convenient,
sure, economical and independent mode is on horseback. Their expenses
will be from 75 cents to $1.50 per day, and they can always consult
their own convenience and pleasure as to time and place.
Stage fare is usually 6 cents per mile in the West. Meals at stage
houses, 37-½ cents.
_Steamboat fare, including meals._
From Pittsburg to Cincinnati, $10
" Cincinnati to Louisville, 4
" Louisville to St. Louis, 12
And frequently the same from Cincinnati to St. Louis;--varying a little,
however.
A _deck_ passage, as it is called, may be rated as follows:
From Pittsburg to Cincinnati, $3
" Cincinnati to Louisville, 1
" Louisville to St. Louis, 4
The _deck_ for such passengers is usually in the midship, forward the
engine, and is protected from the weather. Passengers furnish their own
provisions and bedding. They often take their meals at the cabin table,
with the boat hands, and pay 25 cents a meal. Thousands pass up and down
the rivers as deck passengers, especially emigrating families, who have
their bedding, provisions, and cooking utensils on board.
The whole expense of a single person from New York to St. Louis, via.
Philadelphia and Pittsburg, with cabin passage on the river, will range
between $40 and $45. Time from 12 to 15 days.
Taking the transportation lines on the Pennsylvania canal, and a deck
passage on the steamboat, and the expenses will range between 20 and
$25, supposing the person buys his meals at 25 cents, and eats twice a
day. If he carry his own provisions, the passage, &c., will be from 15
to $18.
The following is from an advertisement of the _Western Transportation,
or Leech's Line, from Philadelphia_:
Miles. Days.
Fare to Pittsburg, 400 6-½ $6.00
" " Cincinnati, 900 8-½ 8.50
" " Louisville, 1050 9-½ 9.00
" " Nashville, 1650 13-½ 13.00
" " St. Louis, 1750 14 13.00
The above does not include meals.
_Packet Boats for Cabin Passengers, same line._
Miles. Days.
Fare to Pittsburg, 400 5 $7
" " Cincinnati, 900 8 17
" " Louisville, 1050 9 19
" " Nashville, 1650 13 27
" " St. Louis, 1750 13 27
Emigrants and travellers will find it to their interest always to be a
little sceptical relative to the statements of stage, steam and canal
boat agents, to make some allowance in their own calculations for
delays, difficulties and expenses, and above all, to _feel_ perfectly
patient and in good humor with themselves, the officers, company, and
the world, even if they do not move quite as rapid, and fare quite as
well as they desire.
ERRATA.
Page 40, 8th line from the bottom, for _Tau-mar-wans_, read
Tau-mar-waus.
41. For _Milwankee_, read Milwaukee.
" For _Fonti_, read Tonti.
GOULD, KENDALL & LINCOLN,
PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS, AND STATIONERS,
59 Washington St. Boston.
G. K. & L. keep a general assortment of Books in the various departments
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WAYLAND'S ELEMENTS OF MORAL SCIENCE. Abridged and adapted to the Use of
Schools and Academies, by the Author, FRANCIS WAYLAND, D. D.,
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The publishers would respectfully request the attention of
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ROMAN ANTIQUITIES AND ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY. By CHARLES K.
DILLAWAY, A. M., Principal in the Boston Public Latin School.
Illustrated by elegant engravings. Third edition, improved.
This work is rapidly going into use all over our country; it is
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BLAKE'S NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, _New Edition_, Enlarged. Being Conversations
on Philosophy, with the addition of Explanatory Notes, Questions for
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Perhaps no work has contributed so much as this to excite a
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The familiar comparisons with which it abounds, awaken
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BLAKE'S FIRST BOOK IN ASTRONOMY.
Designed for the Use of Common Schools. Illustrated by steel plate
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FIRST LESSONS IN INTELLECTUAL PHILOSOPHY; or, a Familiar Explanation of
the Nature and Operations of the Human Mind. _Second Edition._ Edited by
Rev. SILAS BLAISDALE. One volume, 12mo. 360 pages.
YOUNG LADIES' CLASS BOOK. A Selection of Lessons for Reading, in Prose
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In order to give this work a more extended
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publishers have determined to REDUCE THE PRICE, in
order to remove every obstacle in the way of its being
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PALEY'S THEOLOGY. _Eighth Edition_, illustrated by Forty Plates, and
Selections from the Notes of Dr. Paxton, with additional Notes, original
and selected, for this Edition, with a Vocabulary of Scientific Terms.
Edited by an eminent Physician of Boston.
THE CLASS BOOK OF NATURAL THEOLOGY; or, the Testimony of Nature to the
Being, Perfections and Government of God. By the Rev. HENRY
FERGUS; revised, enlarged, and adapted to Paxton's Illustrations;
with Notes, selected and original, Biographical Notices, and a
Vocabulary of Scientific Terms. By CHARLES HENRY ALDEN, A. M.,
Principal of the Philadelphia High School for Young Ladies.
THE NATIONAL ARITHMETIC, combining the Analytic and Synthetic Methods,
in which the Principles of Arithmetic are explained in a perspicuous and
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Arithmetic, designed for Schools and Academies in the United States. By
BENJAMIN GREENLEAF, A. M., Preceptor of Bradford Academy.
BALBI'S GEOGRAPHY. An Abridgment of Universal Geography, Modern and
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BALBI. By T. G. BRADFORD; accompanied by a splendid Atlas,
and illustrated by engravings.
The above work contains 520 pages 12mo. and is the most copious
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thing of the kind now in use.
_Religious Works._
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF THE REV. ANDREW FULLER, with a Memoir of his Life.
By ANDREW GUNTON FULLER, in two volumes. With a correct
likeness.
This valuable work is now published in two large octavo
volumes, on fair type and fine paper, at a very low price. The
cost of former editions ($14) precluded many from possessing
it. The publishers are gratified in being able to offer to the
Christian public a work so replete with doctrinal arguments and
_practical_ religion, at a price that every minister and
student may possess it. No Christian can read Fuller, without
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CAMPBELL AND FENELON ON ELOQUENCE. Comprising
Campbell's Lectures on Systematic Theology and Pulpit Eloquence, &c.
Edited by Prof. RIPLEY, of Newton Theological Institution.
MORRIS'S MEMOIRS OF FULLER. The Life and Character of the Rev. Andrew
Fuller Edited by Rev. RUFUS BABCOCK, Jr., President of
Waterville College.
FEMALE SCRIPTURE BIOGRAPHY. Including an Essay on what Christianity has
done for Women. By F. A. COX, D. D., LL. D., of London. In 2
vols.
This is a very interesting work, and should be in the hands of
every female professor, and in every Church and Sabbath School
Library in the land.
REMAINS OF REV. RICHARD CECIL, M. A. To which is prefixed a View of his
Character. By JOSIAH PRATT, B. D., F. A. S.
CHURCH MEMBER'S GUIDE. By J. A. JAMES, A. M., Birmingham,
England. Edited by J. O. CHOULES, A. M., Pastor of the First
Baptist Church in New Bedford, Mass.
HELP TO ZION'S TRAVELLERS. By Rev. ROBERT HALL. With a Preface
by Dr. RYLAND. Edited by Rev. J. A. WARNE.
THE TRAVELS OF TRUE GODLINESS. By the Rev. BENJAMIN KEACH,
London. And a Memoir of his Life. By HOWARD MALCOM. A. M.
AIDS TO DEVOTION; in three parts. Including Watts' Guide to Prayer. [A
very valuable and truly excellent work.]
BEAUTIES OF COLLYER. Selections from Theological Lectures. By Rev.
W. B. COLLYER, D. D., F. S. A.
BAXTER'S SAINT'S REST. By Rev. RICHARD BAXTER. Abridged by
B. FAWCETT, A. M.
BAXTER'S CALL TO THE UNCONVERTED, to which are added several valuable
Essays. By RICHARD BAXTER. With an Introductory Essay. By
THOMAS CHALMERS, D. D.
THE CHRISTIAN CONTEMPLATED; in a Course of Lectures delivered in Argyle
Chapel, Bath, England. By WILLIAM JAY.
MEMOIRS OF HOWARD. Compiled from his Diary, his Confidential Letters,
and other authentic Documents. By JAMES B. BROWN. Abridged by a
Gentleman of Boston, from the London quarto edition.
THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. In Three Books. By THOMAS à
KEMPIS. With an Introductory Essay, by THOMAS
CHALMERS, of Glasgow.
AN EXAMINATION OF PROF. STUART ON BAPTISM. By HENRY J. RIPLEY,
Professor of Biblical Literature in the Newton Theological Institution.
MEMOIR OF REV. WM. STAUGHTON, D. D. By Rev. W. S. LYND, A.M.,
of Cincinnati, Ohio. Embellished with a Likeness.
The thousands still living, who have listened with rapture to
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LIFE OF PHILIP MELANCTHON, comprising an account of the most important
transactions of the REFORMATION. By F. A. COX, D. D.
LL. D., of London. From the Second London edition, with important
alterations, by the Author, for this edition.
MEMOIR OF MRS. ANN H. JUDSON, late Missionary to Burmah. New and
enlarged edition Including a History of the American Baptist Mission in
the Burman Empire to the present time. By JAMES D. KNOWLES.
Embellished with engravings.
NEW AND IMPROVED EDITION, JUST PUBLISHED.
MEMOIR OF GEORGE DANA BOARDMAN, late Missionary to Burmah, containing
much intelligence relative to the Burman Mission. By Rev. ALONZO
KING, of Northborough, Mass. With a Valuable Essay, by a
distinguished Clergyman.
The rapid sale of the large edition of this work first
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which its circulation has accomplished, have induced the
publishers to bestow much expense and labor upon it, in order
to present the present edition in as complete and attractive a
form as possible, with a view to giving it a still wider and
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A valuable Essay of _thirty-five pages_, written at the request
of the publishers has been added; and in addition to its having
been handsomely stereotyped, a correct likeness of Mr.
Boardman, taken on steel, from a painting in possession of the
family, and a beautiful vignette representing the baptismal
scene just before his death, have also been added.
+-----------------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber's Note: |
| |
| Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the |
| original document have been preserved. |
| |
| Errata mentioned on Page 374 have been |
| corrected in the text. |
| |
| Typographical errors corrected in the text: |
| |
| Page vii hut changed to but |
| Page x Mitchel's changed to Mitchell's |
| Page 25 steril changed to sterile |
| Page 31 Wos-sosh-e changed to Wos-sosh-ee |
| Page 35 chesnut changed to chestnut |
| Page 36 persimon changed to persimmon |
| Page 36 paupau changed to pawpaw |
| Page 36 pecaun changed to pecan |
| Page 38 turkies changed to turkeys |
| Page 44 steril changed to sterile |
| Page 48 harrassed changed to harassed |
| Page 61 Farenheit changed to Fahrenheit |
| Page 70 Chein chanaged to Chien |
| Page 75 occacasionally changed to occasionally |
| Page 100 journies changed to journeys |
| Page 114 Poineer chainged to Pioneer |
| Page 135 Saginau changed to Saginaw |
| Page 137 territoriesr changed to territories |
| Page 138 Chilicothe changed to Chillicothe |
| Page 138 Miueral changed to Mineral |
| Page 139 Chilicothe changed to Chillicothe |
| Page 156 Punchas changed to Puncahs |
| Page 162 Fonti's changed to Tonti's |
| Page 175 artizans changed to artisans |
| Page 207 it changed to its |
| Page 211 Considerble changed to Considerable |
| Page 223 Bowlinggreen changed to Bowling Green |
| Page 231 Missisinewa changed to Missisinawa |
| Page 237 Missasinawa changed to Missisinawa |
| Page 262 pecaun changed to pecan |
| Page 273 pecaun changed to pecan |
| Page 279 gophars changed to gophers |
| Page 280 gophar changed to gopher |
| Page 290 Macoupin changed to Macoupen |
| Page 304 attornies changed to attorneys |
| Page 337 Lorrain changed to Lorain |
| Page 339 circumstanses changed to circumstances |
| Page 360 accomodation changed to accommodation |
| Page 367 Masillon changed to Massillon |
| Page 368 Charlottsville changed to Charlottesville |
| Page 368 Guiandotte changed to Guyandotte |
| Page 368 Juniatta changed to Juniata |
| Page 368 Holladaysburgh changed to Hollidaysburgh |
| Page 377 Guaging changed to Gauging |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
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