[20]This word is used in its common acceptation in 1819.
[20]This word is used in its common acceptation in 1819.
MISSOURI.
When Louisiana was admitted into the Union as an independent State, all that part of the territory situated north of 33° north latitude, and formerly known as Upper Louisiana, was erected into a separate territorial government, under the name of Missouri. This term is the name of a tribe of Indians who formerly dwelt near the Missouri river. The Territory also included those boundless plains and unexplored countries stretching from north to south, at the foot of the Rocky mountains, and which pass into the province of Texas on the south, and are bounded by the western line of Louisiana on the east. In the month of March of the present year, the southern part of Missouri Territory, including the unincorporated regions on the west and south-west, was erected into a separate Territory, under the name of Arkansas. The regions to the north-west may be considered as an unincorporated wilderness, where the authority of the United States, so far as the Indian title has been extinguished, is maintained in detached posts and garrisons, under the immediate government of military commandants. The bounds of Missouri, as designated in the late law respecting that country, are as follows: beginning on the Mississippi river, in latitude 36° north, and running due west on the latitude line to the river St. Francis, thence up that river to 36° 30' north latitude, thence west to a point due south of the mouth of the river Kanzas, thence north to a point opposite the mouth of the river Desmoines, thence east to the Mississippi river, and down the middle of that river to the place of beginning.
It embraces some of the most prominent geographical features of the western country, and, from the meeting of such mighty streams on its confines, and its relation to all the country situated north and west of it, must become the key to all the commerce of those regions, and is destined to have a commanding influence on the surrounding States, and on the political character and mutations of that country. It is bounded by theStates of Illinois and Kentucky, from which it is separated by the Mississippi river on the east and north-east, and by the Territory of Arkansas on the south.
The country west of the Mississippi differs, in some respects, from any other section of the western country, and affords a variety in its physical aspect which is nowhere else to be met with. A great proportion of the lands in this Territory are of the richest kind, producing corn, wheat, rye, oats, flax, hemp, and tobacco, in great abundance, and in great perfection. The lands bordering on the Missouri river, as far as the Territory extends, are rich beyond comparison. They consist of black alluvial soil, of unknown depth, and partaking largely of the properties of marl; and the heavy growth of forest trees by which it is covered, indicates the strength of the soil. As you recede from the banks of the rivers, the land rises, passing, sometimes by almost imperceptible gradations, and sometimes very abruptly, into elevated barrens, flinty ridges, and rocky cliffs. A portion of the Territory is, therefore, unfit for cultivation, but still serves as the matrix of numerous ores, which are distributed abundantly in the hills and mountains of the interior. There is very little land of an intermediate quality. It is either very rich or very poor; it is either bottom-land or cliff, prairie or barren; it is a deep black marl, or a high bluff rock; and the transition is often so sudden, as to produce scenes of the most picturesque beauty. Hence, the traveller in the interior is often surprised to behold, at one view, cliffs and prairies, bottoms and barrens, naked hills, heavy forests, rocks, streams, and plains, all succeeding each other with rapidity, and mingled with the most pleasing harmony. I have contemplated such scenes, while standing on some lofty bluff in the wilderness of Missouri, with unmixed delight; while the deer, the elk, and the buffalo, were grazing quietly on the plains below.
Situated between the 36th and 40th degrees of north latitude, the Territory enjoys a climate of remarkable serenity, and temperate warmth. That clear blue sky, so much admired by the aborigines, is characteristic of the country; and an atmosphere of unusual dryness, exempts the inhabitants from those pulmonary complaints which are more or less the consequence of a humid atmosphere. A country so situated cannot fail to prove genial to the vegetable kingdom. It would be difficult to point out a section of country which affords a more interesting field for the botanist. Its prairies and barrens are covered with a profusion of wild flowers, shrubs, and plants; and its cultivated fields yield to the hands of the planter, a great proportion of the useful vegetables of the earth. Corn succeeds remarkably; no country surpasses the banks of the Missouri for the vigor of its crops. Wheat, rye, oats, flax, and hemp, are also raised with advantage. Tobacco is an article recently introduced, but is found to succeed well, and the lands are said to be well adapted to its growth. Cotton is raised in the southern part of the Territory forfamily use, but is not an advantageous crop for market. The climate and soil are also adapted to the growth of the sweet or Carolina potato, and to fruit-trees of various kinds. The peach and the apple are most generally cultivated. Of wild fruits, the woods afford abundance; among which, the grape, persimmon, papaw, pecan, and filbert, are conspicuous. Some varieties of the grape are delicious, and they are very common at the mines, where the inhabitants prepare a wine from them, which has a pleasant flavor.
The population of the Territory, exclusive of the aborigines, has been stated at 46,000, the greatest proportion of whom have emigrated into it within the last five years. They consist of people from various parts of the United States and Europe. A large number are from Tennessee, Kentucky, New York, and New England. The original inhabitants were French and Spanish. There are few of the latter remaining; but the former constitute a respectable proportion of the population.
The principal towns of Missouri are St. Louis, St. Genevieve, St. Charles, and Franklin. Of a lesser size, are Herculaneum, Potosi, New Madrid, Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Chariton, Florissant, and Carondelet. St. Louis is the capital of the Territory, and by far the largest town west of Cincinnati, Ohio. It consists of about 550 houses and 5000 inhabitants, and has two banks, three houses for public worship, a post-office, theatre, land-office, and museum, including forty stores, with several mills, manufactories, &c. It is eligibly situated on the western bank of the Mississippi river, eighteen miles below the junction of the Missouri, and, from its commanding situation, is destined to become the emporium of the western country.
Franklin, at Boon's Lick, on the Missouri, has 150 houses, is the thoroughfare for emigrants to that quarter, and is surrounded by one of the richest bodies of land west of the Alleghany mountains, to which emigration is flowing with unexampled rapidity.
St. Charles, situated twenty-one miles above St. Louis, on the Missouri, is also a handsome and flourishing town. The same may be said of Chariton, one hundred and eighty miles above, at the mouth of Chariton river.
No country in the world affords such an extent of inland navigation by its streams, as the basin lying between the Alleghany and Rocky mountains, whose congregated waters are carried to the ocean by those stupendous natural canals, the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. The Mississippi river itself, in whose current all these majestic streams unite, and are discharged into the Mexican gulf, washes the eastern boundaries of the Territory, from the mouth of the river Desmoines to that of the St. Francis, a distance of more than five hundred miles. The Missouri, swelled by its great tributaries, the Yellowstone, Little Missouri, Whitestone, La Platte, Kanzas, and Osage, passes diagonallynearly through its centre, affording on both sides a widely-extended tract of soil transcendently rich, and bearing a luxuriant growth of forest trees and plants, interspersed with prairie. It is navigable, without interruption, from its junction with the Mississippi to its falls, a distance of two thousand miles.
The Ohio is a thousand miles in length from its head, at Pittsburgh, to its junction with the Mississippi, and, in its passage, successively washes the shores of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois—shores which are covered with villages, towns, and settlements, and lined with an industrious and hardy population.
The Illinois is also a stream affording a great length of navigation, and lands of superior quality, and has a natural connection with the great north-western lakes, into which boats may, at certain seasons, uninterruptedly pass.
These rivers, communicating with all parts of the country by their tributaries, afford the advantages of commercial exchange, trade, and manufactures, to a greater extent, and a richer description of country, than is anywhere to be found in Europe, Asia, or Africa.
Of these advantages, the Territory of Missouri, occupying so commanding a position in the geography of the country, must always partake largely, and may, from the wealth already concentrated in its capital, St. Louis, enjoy almost exclusively the trade of the Missouri and upper Mississippi.
The streams which originate within the lines described by the political boundaries of the Territory, and which, either during their whole course, or for a considerable distance, meander through it, are the Osage, the Gasconade, Maramec, Salt river, St. Francis, and Black river. Of a lesser magnitude are Mine river, Chariton, Currents, Fourche à Thomas, Eleven-points, and Spring rivers; the four latter running southerly into the Arkansas Territory, and discharging their waters into Black river, which is itself a tributary of White river.
The Osage originates in a prairie country, near the ninety-sixth degree of west longitude, about one hundred miles north of the Arkansas, and, after meandering in an east and north-east direction for a distance of five hundred miles, unites with the Missouri one hundred and thirty miles above St. Louis. In its course it is swelled by several tributaries, the principal of which is the Little Osage, its great south-eastern fork. This river affords, in its whole length, large bodies of the choicest prairie-land, interspersed with woodland, and occasionally with hills, and is navigable for moderate sized boats. Its banks afford exhaustless beds of stone-coal, and some iron and lead is found, while its upper forks reach into the country of the Pawnees—a country rich in salt. The Osage Indians inhabit its banks; but a part of their lands have been purchased by the United States. It is a very beautiful stream, andsituated in a delightful climate; and when its borders are opened for emigration, and its resources properly drawn forth, will support a large population, and a profitable trade. Its fertile soil and genial climate entitle it to the rank of one of the first tributaries of the Missouri.
In estimating the length of western rivers, there is one circumstance which is not properly estimated by an eastern reader. It is their serpentine course, which is so remarkable, that, in running one hundred miles on a geographical line, they will, by their great windings, measure at least double that distance; so that a river stated to be one thousand miles in length by its banks, cannot be calculated to traverse a country of more than five hundred miles in extent; indeed, I believe that a fair average of distances would show the geographical distance to be less.
The Gasconade enters the Missouri one hundred miles above St. Louis. Its length is about two hundred miles, and it is navigable for half that distance. It is made up of several streams running from a ridge of high lands, separating the waters which fall on the north into the Missouri, from those which flow on the south into the Mississippi. Its banks afford but a small proportion of tillable lands, being bordered with rocks and sterile hills. The rocks are, however, cavernous, and afford saltpetre; and the hills are covered by pine timber, which is sawed into boards and plank. In these two articles, the commerce of this river will always principally consist. The current is rapid, and affords by its fall many mill-seats, so that boats and rafts may descend with ease; but its ascent is attended with great labor. On this stream are already situated several saw-mills.
The Maramec also originates in high lands, two hundred and fifty miles south-west of its mouth, and is separated from the waters of the Gasconade only by a dividing ridge of land. It is swelled in its course by a great number of streams, the most noted of which are the Little Maramec, Bourbuse, Fourche à Courtois, Big river, and Mineral Fork. It forms a junction with the Mississippi eighteen miles below St. Louis, where it is two hundred yards wide. It is only navigable about fifty miles, except in high floods in the spring and fall, when most of its tributaries may be ascended with boats. This stream waters the country of the mines, and interlocks, by its affluents, with the Gasconade on the west, and the St. Francis on the south. The mines of Missouri are situated on its southern shores.
Salt river enters the Mississippi one hundred and three miles above St. Louis, and seventy-three miles above the mouth of the Illinois. The settlements on its banks are rapidly progressing, and the lands are noted for their fertility.
The St. Francis originates, with Big river, in broken lands in the southern part of Washington and St. Genevieve counties, and joins the Mississippi five hundred miles below. The most noted bodies of iron-orein the western country lie on its head, at Bellevieu. The La Motte lead-mines also lie along the banks of one of its tributaries. It affords, in its course, a proportion of excellent land, mixed with some that is rocky, and bordered near its mouth with much that is swampy, low, and overflown. A raft of trees, about two hundred and fifty miles above its mouth, obstructs the navigation, which would otherwise be good to within fourteen miles of St. Michael, the seat of justice for Madison county.
Black river has its origin near the heads of the Gasconade and the Maramec, and is swelled in its course by the river Currents, Fourche à Thomas, Eleven-points, Spring and Strawberry rivers, and forms a junction with White river about forty miles below Poke Bayou, where the road to Arkansas and Red river crosses it. The banks of Black river, and of all its tributaries, afford rich alluvial land of more or less extent; but the intervening ridges are rocky and sterile.
Although there is much high land in this Territory, there is perhaps none which, strictly speaking, is entitled to the appellation of a mountain. A ridge of high land, called the Ozark chain, commencing on the banks of the Maramec, near the Fourche à Courtois, extends in a south-west direction to the banks of White river, in Arkansas Territory, a distance of about four hundred miles, and occasionally rises into peaks of mountain height. This ridge serves to divide the waters of the Missouri from those of the Mississippi; the streams on one side running south into the latter, and those on the other running north into the former. The body of red granite found on the head of the St. Francis, lies in mountain masses, and forms, in connection with the accompanying rocks, some of the most rude and terrific scenery, full of interest in a mineralogical, as well as a geological point of view.
In the preceding view of the lead-mines of Missouri, and in the catalogue of minerals subsequently introduced, I have already anticipated much that might with propriety be given here; it may therefore be sufficient to give a brief synopsis of both.
The lead-mines in this Territory are situated about forty miles west of the Mississippi, and sixty miles south-west of St. Louis. They occupy a district of country between the waters of the St. Francis and the Maramec, one hundred miles in length, by about forty in breadth. The first lead-ore was discovered by Philip Francis Renault and M. La Motte, acting under the authority of the Company of the West, about the year 1720; since which period, the number of mines has been greatly augmented by new discoveries. The quantity of lead annually smelted from the crude ore, I have estimated at three millions of pounds; and the number of hands to whom it furnishes employment, at eleven hundred.
Iron-ore is found in very large bodies in Bellevieu, Washington county—on Fourche à Courtois, where it is accompanied by manganese—on Big river—on Platten and Joachim creeks—and on the waters of the St.Francis and Black rivers. Stone-coal exists in large bodies at Florissant, and in various places on the Osage river.
On the banks of the Maramec and the Gasconade are found numerous caves, which yield an earth impregnated largely with nitre, procured from it by lixiviation. On the head of Currents river are also found several caves, from which nitre is procured; the principal of which is Ashley's cave, on Cave creek, about eighty miles south-west of Potosi. This is one of those stupendous and extensive caverns which cannot be viewed without exciting our wonder and astonishment, which is increased by beholding the entire works for the manufacture of nitre, situated in its interior. The native nitrate of potash is found in beautiful white crystals, investing the fissures of the limestone rock, which forms the walls of this cave; and several others in its vicinity exhibit the same phenomenon.
Of the number of inhabitants now resident in the Territory, I have estimated eleven hundred to be engaged in mining; but the number was much greater at a former period, one thousand men having been employed at Mine à Burton alone. The residue of the population are farmers, mechanics, and manufacturers, including professional men. There is also another class of society, which I shall notice under the name of hunters. The farming class is by far the largest, as the fertility of the soil, and the advantage of procuring lands on easy terms, and in a mild climate, afford the strongest and surest prospects of gain to the emigrant. There are probably fewer mechanics than are required by the existing population. The wages of mechanics of all kinds are very high. A carpenter or bricklayer cannot be hired for less than two dollars per day, and often receives more. Other mechanics are also in demand, particularly in the new settlements; and these are increasing with such rapidity, as to invite the emigration of skilful and industrious artisans from all parts, with the sure prospect of success.
The manufactures of the Territory, in addition to its grand staple, lead, consist in the distillation of whiskey from rye and corn, in the flouring of wheat, the fabrication of coarse cotton goods, and tow cloth in private families, and of patent shot. Some white lead has been made at St. Louis. A clothier's and fuller's works have been recently established on Big river; and a number of tan-yards, where raw hides are manufactured into leather, are in successful operation in various sections of the country.
Made up of emigrants from all other parts of the United States, and from Europe, the inhabitants can hardly be said to have acquired an uniform character. Hospitality to strangers, enterprise in business, ardor in the pursuit of wealth, an elevated pride of country, and perseverance under the pressure of many difficulties growing out of the infancy of the settlements, are the most conspicuous traits in the character of the inhabitants west of the Mississippi. They are robust, frank, and daring.Taught, by the hardships and dangers incident to a frontier settlement, to depend for security and success upon their own individual exertions, they rely little upon extraneous help, and feel that true independence, flowing from a conviction that their own physical exertions are equal to every call, necessity, and emergency of life. Observations drawn from habitual intercourse, and from witnessing their public debates, would also lead us to conclude, that their enjoyments arise more from those active scenes attendant upon adventures which require corporeal exertion, than from the arts of peace, refinement, and intellectual research.
Duelling is unfortunately prevalent in Missouri; and the practice, while it continues to receive the sanction of men occupying the first rank in society, cannot be expected to fall into disrepute, but must, on the contrary, continue to exert its influence over other classes of the community, and to involve, in some measure, in its consequences, those who from principle are opposed to it.
Those scenes of riot and atrocity, however, which have been imputed to the inhabitants of the mines by former travellers, do not now exist; the most beneficial changes having been effected in the state of society in that country. Emigration has added to the former population an accession of talents and intelligence, which has served to mark the society at the mines with much of the hospitality, decorum, and refinements of older settlements.
The first inhabitants of this part of ancient Louisiana were French and Spanish; the former of whom still constitute a considerable proportion of the population, but of the latter there are very few remaining. The French language is therefore spoken, in many settlements, almost exclusively; and many of the Americans have found it advantageous to acquire a knowledge of that tongue.
The hunter class of the population is composed of persons from various sections of the Union, who have either embraced hunting from the love of ease or singularity, or have fled from society to escape the severity of the laws, and to indulge in unrestrained passion. Learning and religion are alike disregarded, and in the existing state of society among the Missouri hunters, we are presented with a contradiction of the theories of philosophers of all ages; for we here behold the descendants of enlightened Europeans in a savage state, or at least in a rapid state of advance towards it. These hunters are chiefly located on the White, Arkansas, and Red rivers. Their numbers may be computed at a thousand or fifteen hundred. The late division of the Territory will throw nearly all of them into Arkansas.
The principal tribe of Indians in this Territory are the Osages, a powerful nation residing on the Osage river. They are remarkable for their tall stature, and their fine proportions. It is very rare to see any of them under six feet. They inhabit a delightful country, and are in amity with the United States. Their chiefs are hereditary, and in war they fight onhorseback. Their warriors are calledbraves, to which honor no one can arrive without having previously plundered or stolen from the enemy. Hence, plundering and stealing are acts of the greatest merit, and demand rewards proportionate to the adroitness or extent of the act. They are also in the habit of plundering white hunters and travellers, but are never known to commit murders on such occasions.
A part of the ancient and once powerful tribes of Shawnees and Delawares, also inhabit this Territory. They are located on the banks of Apple creek and Fourche à Courtois.
Many of the plantations and mines are worked by slaves, and among them are to be found blacksmiths and carpenters, whose services are extremely valuable to their masters. The introduction of slavery into this section of the western country, appears to have taken place at an early day, and it has led to a state of society which is calculated to require their continued assistance.
HOT SPRINGS OF WASHITA.
The attention of the traveller in the interior of Missouri and Arkansas, is frequently arrested by the novelty of the scenery, and the wild and singularly fanciful aspect of the country; he is often induced to stop, to survey some cavern, water-fall, high, loose-hanging cliff, or other natural phenomenon. It is in this light that those natural curiosities, the Hot Springs of Washita, will be found to reward attention.
These springs, which have been known for many years, are situated on a stream called Hot Spring creek, which falls into the Washita river eight miles below. They lie fifty miles south of the Arkansas river, and six miles west of the road from Cadron to Mount Prairie, on Red river.
The approach to the Springs lies up the valley of the creek, which is partly made up of its waters. On leaving the banks of the Washita, the face of the country almost imperceptibly changes from a rich soil, covered with a luxuriant growth of trees, to a sterile mineral tract. On the right hand rises the Hot Mountain, with the springs issuing at its foot; on the left, the Cold Mountain, which is little more than a confused and mighty pile of stones; and the view in front is terminated by a high point of land, which makes down gradually into the valley, and separates the creek into two forks, of nearly equal size.
The Hot Mountain is about three hundred feet high, rising quite steep, presenting occasionally ledges of rocks, and terminating at top in a confused mass of broken rocks, with here and there a pine or oak tree. Its sides, notwithstanding their sterility and the steepness of the ascent, are covered by a most luxuriant growth of vines, particularly muscadine, the fruit of which is delicious.
The Cold Mountain is separated from the Hot by a valley of about fifty yards wide, through which the creek flows; it is nearly as steep as the other, about of an equal height, and terminates in the same confused manner. Some pine trees are found on it, but its sides are destitute of vegetation.
The springs issue near the foot of the Hot Mountain, at an elevation of about ten feet above the level of the creek. They are very numerous all along the hill-side, and the water, which runs in copious streams, is quite hot. It will scald the hand, and boil an egg hard in ten minutes. Its temperature is considered that of boiling water; but Dr. Andrews, of Red river, tells me that it cannot be reckoned over 200° of Fahrenheit.There is a solitary spring, situated seventy feet higher than the others, on the side of the mountain; but it is also of an equal temperature, and differs in no respect from those below. Evaporation produces a dense fog, which hangs over the springs, and upon the side of the hill, looking at a distance like a number of furnaces in blast. It is probably the condensation of this fog by the cold air at night, which produces such a rank growth of vines on the side of the mountain, where, otherwise, there would hardly exist a sign of vegetable life.
An idea of the beneficial effects of this water is generally prevalent throughout the Territory, and numbers annually resort to the springs. They are found serviceable in rheumatisms, paralysis, pains in the breast, and all chronic and nervous complaints. The method of using the water is various. Bathing and sweating are generally resorted to. It is also drunk as hot as can be borne, and is not, like ordinary warm water, productive of nausea in the stomach. Of the chemical or medicinal properties of the water, little is known, as no accurate analysis has been made. The water appears clear, pure, and beautiful; it deposits a sediment, which is sometimes red, and in other places green or yellow. Some of the springs have a petrifying quality. The warmth of the water, acting along the courses of the streams, has a stimulating effect on the vegetation.
There is abundance of a beautiful green moss growing in the springs, near their edges; and their devious courses to the creek below are only indicated by a more vigorous growth of grass and moss all along the borders, and a brighter green.
The mineralogical character of the country around the springs is highly interesting. Three miles above is a quarry of oil-stone, of a peculiar and valuable kind. It has a very compact texture, is heavy, translucent, and gives a fine edge to a razor. The rock formations here are limestone, slate, and quartz. Veins of white quartz, four or five feet in width, are found running through the slate rock. Fine crystals of limpid quartz are also abundant in the neighborhood. At the cove on Washita river, fifteen miles below the springs, there is a body of magnetic iron-ore; sulphates of copper and zinc, and sulphuret of iron, in cubical crystals, occur in the same locality.
These springs, geologically, exist in a primitive formation, which may be considered the southern termination of the Ozark chain. Ancient volcanic forces have raised the beds of slate, sienite, and greenstone, of the chain, to their present elevations. The waters owe their heat to these long-extinguished, but deep-slumbering fires, which may hereafter break out into new activity.
UNICA, OR WHITE RIVER
In order duly to estimate the magnitude, position, character, and importance of any of our great western rivers, it is necessary to consider the relation they bear to each other, and to the surrounding country. A mere topographical description of an isolated section of country—a mountain, a stream, or a mine—may possess its value; but without a survey, however cursory, of the contiguous regions, it must lose much of its interest to the general reader, and much of its utility to the geographical student. It will be necessary, therefore, to cast a glance at the extensive country in which this river lies, before its individual consideration can be profitably commenced.
In looking on the map of ancient Louisiana, the most striking physical trait presented is the Rocky mountains, extending from Mexico into the unexplored regions north and west of lake Superior, with the del Norte, Red river, Arkansas, Kanzas, La Platte, and Yellowstone, all issuing from its sides near the same point, and uniting (with the exception of the former) at different points in the vast basin below, with the Missouri, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, in whose congregated floods they roll on to the Mexican gulf. Other streams traverse the country; but these are the principal rivers of Louisiana, whose heads rest on the Rocky mountains. Immediately at the foot of these mountains commence the almost interminable plains of sand, or Kanzian desert, stretching from north to south for more than a thousand miles, and with an average breadth of six hundred. To this succeed the highlands and mountains of the present Territories of Missouri and Arkansas, which preserve a pretty exact parallelism, from north to south, with the Rocky mountain chain, and give rise to several rivers of secondary magnitude. This again is bounded by the alluvial tract of the Mississippi, being the third grand parallel division presented by the surface of the soil. Through these, the Red river and the Arkansas hold their unaltered course, and reach the Mississippi without a fall; while the Kanzas, the La Platte, and the Yellowstone, bending northward, reach the Missouri, without meeting any mountains to oppose their progress. The rivers of secondary magnitude, whose origin is east of the highlands bordering the western desert, are the Teche, Vermillion, Tensaw, Washita, Little Missouri, Courtableau, Bœuf, Little Red, Grand, White, Black, Osage, Maramec, Gasconade, and St. Francis rivers. Of these, White river, a stream hitherto almost wholly unknown, or onlyknown to hunters, and which has not received its deserved rank on any existing map, is one of the most considerable. It was therefore with surprise that I found, on travelling into those remote regions, so considerable a stream unnoticed by geographers, or only noticed to attest their want of information respecting its size, length, tributaries, character, productions, and importance. I therefore concluded that a summary of these particulars, as observed by myself during a tour into that quarter, would be an acceptable piece of service, and, with this view, began these observations.
White river originates near the ninety-seventh degree of west longitude, and about the thirty-sixth of north latitude, and, after running in a very serpentine course for thirteen hundred miles, enters the Mississippi fifty miles above the mouth of the Arkansas, and seven hundred above New Orleans. Its waters, unlike most of the western rivers, are beautifully clear and transparent, being wholly made up of springs that gush from the diluvial hills which are found, for more than half its length, within a few miles of, and often immediately upon, its banks. So much of the country through which it runs, is, therefore, sterile and rough; but the immediate margin of the river uniformly presents a strip of the richest alluvial bottom-land, from a quarter of a mile to a mile and a half in width. On this, corn, wheat, rye, oats, flax, hemp, and potatoes, have a vigorous growth; the mildness of the climate, and the fertility of the soil, combining to render it one of the most favorable of all countries for the pursuits of agriculture. Cotton also succeeds on the banks of this river as high up as settlements have extended, and will hereafter be an important item among its agricultural productions. The district of tillable land on this river, like many others west of the Mississippi, is chiefly confined to its banks. Bordering this, is found a chain of hills on either side, which sometimes close in upon the river's banks in perpendicular cliffs; and the adjacent country may in general be considered as sterile. To this remark, all its tributaries are exceptions; for they invariably afford, however small, tracts of the most fertile land, covered with a heavy growth of forest trees and underbrush. The cane is also common to this stream in its whole course, and affords a nutritious food for cows, horses, and hogs, who are fond of it, and fatten upon it. This plant being an evergreen, cattle and horses may feed upon it all winter; and it is accordingly given to them, as a substitute for hay, by the Indians and hunters.
The only inhabitants on the upper part of White river, so far as inhabitants have penetrated, are hunters, who live in camps and log cabins, and support themselves by hunting the bear, deer, buffalo, elk, beaver, raccoon, and other animals, which are found in great plenty in that region. They also raise corn for bread, and for feeding their horses. They seldom, however, cultivate more than an acre or two, subsisting chiefly on animal food and wild honey, and pay no attention to the cultivation of garden vegetables, if I except some cabbages, noticed at a fewhabitations. When the season of hunting arrives, the ordinary labors of a man about the house and cornfield devolve upon the women, whose condition in such a state of society may readily be imagined. The inhabitants, in fact, pursue a similar course of life with the savages, having embraced their love of ease, and their contempt for agricultural pursuits, with their sagacity in the chase, their mode of dressing in skins, their manners, and their hospitality to strangers.
The furs and peltries which are collected during repeated excursions in the woods, are taken down the river at certain seasons in canoes, and disposed of to traders, who visit the lower parts of this river for that purpose. Here they receive, in exchange for their furs, woollen cloths, rifles, knives, hatchets, salt, powder, lead, iron for horse-shoes, blankets, iron pots, shoes, and other articles of primary importance in their way of life. Those living near the cultivated parts of Lawrence county, in Arkansas Territory, also bring down, in exchange for such articles, buffalo beef, pork, bears' meat, beeswax, and honey, which are again sold by the traders along the banks of the Mississippi, or at New Orleans. Very little money is paid, and that in hard cash only; no bank-bills of any kind being taken in that quarter. I happened to be present, on my return from the head-waters of White river, at one of these exchanges, where a further opportunity was offered of observing the manners and character of these people. Bears' meat was sold at $10 per cwt.; buffalo beef at $4; cows' beef at $3; pork, in the hog, at $3 50; venison hams at 25 cents each; wild turkeys, the same; wild honey at $1 per gallon; beaver fur, $2 per lb.; bearskins, $1 50 each; otter skins, $2; raccoon skins, 25 cents; deerskins, 25 cents per lb. These prices were considered high by the purchaser; but they were only nominally so, as he paid them off in articles at the most exorbitant rates. Common three-point or Mackinaw blankets were sold at $8 each; butcher-knives at $2; rifle-locks at $8; common coarse blue cloth at $6 per yard; coffee at 75 cents per lb.; salt at $5 per bushel; lead at 25 cents per lb.; gunpowder at $2 per lb.; axes at $6 each; horseshoe-nails at $3 per set, &c. The trade of this river is consequently attended with profits which amply repay the risks and fatigues incident to a voyage in that quarter. Vast quantities of furs and skins are annually brought down this river, with some beeswax, honey, beef, bacon, &c.; and whenever the hunter population yields to the farming and mechanical class, the list of its productions will be swelled by corn, rye, wheat, oats, flax, hemp, and cotton; a sufficiency of each of which has already been raised, to show that the climate and soil are well adapted to their culture. Its mineral products are also worthy of attention. Iron-ore, lead, zinc, and manganese, have already been discovered; and among its earthy minerals may be enumerated marble, agate, jasper, hornstone, and rock crystal; specimens of which, with some others, I picked up during my journey there. Caves with nitre are also common; and large forests of pine timber, which will bewanted in the progressing settlements on the Mississippi, are situated on its northern tributaries, and may be floated down at an inconsiderable expense.
White river runs through a section of country which, according to a recent political division, belongs chiefly to the Territory of Arkansas; but several of its tributaries originate in Missouri, the chief of which are James river, Great North Fork, or Pine river, and Black river, with its auxiliaries—Currents, Fourche à Thomas, Spring, Eleven-points, and Strawberry rivers.
About a hundred and fifty miles below the Pawnee mountains, the main south fork of White river is joined by the War Eagle and Osage forks; a region remarkable for the abundance of beaver found in its streams. In the course of the succeeding two hundred miles, it is joined by King's river and Tower creek on the south, and by Roaring fork and James river on the north; the latter being by far the largest stream it has thus far received, and contributing nearly as much water as all the others put together. From the mouth of James river to its junction with the Mississippi, it is successively joined by Long, Bull, Swan, Beaver, and Big creeks, by the Little and Great North Forks, Black and Cash rivers, on the north; and on the south by Bear and Crooked creeks, Buffalo Fork, and Little Red river; and it is finally connected with the Arkansas river by a natural canal called thecut-off, about thirty miles above its junction with the Mississippi, which affords a navigable water communication at all seasons. Many of the above tributaries are streams of no ordinary magnitude, and afford boat navigation for many hundred miles; they are all characterized by tracts of rich alluvial lands on their banks. James river, Buffalo Fork, Great North Fork, Black river, and Little Red river, merit individual attention.
James river originates in the Ozarks, a few miles south of the Gasconade, in Missouri Territory, and, after running in a south-west direction for two hundred miles, in the course of which it is swelled by Findley's river, and by other streams, forms a junction with White river a thousand miles above the mouth of the latter. Its waters are as pure as crystal; it lies under a climate the most mild, salubrious, and delightful; and on its banks are situated a body of the most fertile and beautiful lands which the whole valley of the Mississippi affords. The timber on its banks is abundant; a remark which cannot with justice be made of many parts of the adjacent country, and nothing can exceed the vigor and the verdure of vegetable nature on the borders of this beautiful stream. Prairies are also found within a mile of its western banks, and extend towards the Grand Osage, as far as the eye can reach, level as a graduated plain, and waving with tall grass, on which the elk, the buffalo, and the deer, feed in countless numbers.
Findley river forms a junction with this stream, near the centre of this choice body of land, and about one hundred miles above its mouth.Twenty miles above the junction of these streams, on the immediate banks of James river, are situated some valuable lead-mines, which have been known to the Osage Indians, and to a few White river hunters, for many years. The Indians have been in the habit of procuring lead for bullets at that place, by smelting the ore in a kind of furnace, made by digging a pit in the ground, and casing it with some flat stones, placed so as to resemble the roof of a house inverted; such is the richness of the ore, and the ease with which it smelts. The ore has not, however, been properly explored, and it is impossible to say how extensive the beds or veins may prove. Some zinc, in the state of a sulphuret, is found accompanying it. There is not one inhabitant on all this stream; my own cabin, erected for a temporary purpose at the mines in January last, being the only human habitation within two hundred miles of that place.
Buffalo Fork originates near the north banks of the Arkansas, and, after traversing a rocky country for about one hundred and eighty miles in a north-east course, joins White river at the Buffalo Shoals, about seven hundred miles above the Mississippi. It is a fine region for game, and affords some good lands.
The Great North Fork, or Pine river, is a stream of two hundred miles in length, and a hundred yards wide at its mouth. Its waters are clear, being entirely made up of springs, which are numerous all along its banks; but the navigation is interrupted by rapids. It originates with James river and the Gasconade, in a ridge of high land, which throws a part of its waters into the Missouri, and a part into the Mississippi, the streams running in opposite directions. In travelling into that country, I accidentally arrived at the extreme head of this river, where it consists only of some drizzling springs, and pursued it down, in all its windings, to its junction with White river, about twelve miles below the mouth of Buffalo Fork. It is bordered on both sides by limestone bluffs, covered generally with tall pines, and affording some detached strips of valuable land. On the whole, however, it must be considered a sterile region, which will never admit of a dense population. The bottoms are overrun by cane and brier, which render travelling extremely fatiguing.
This stream appears generally to have been considered by geographers as the head of White river, which is accordingly, on most maps, made to originate at this place. The error has been, in some degree, corrected in Robinson's new map of Louisiana, lately published at Natchez, which may be esteemed the best map extant respecting that section of country. He calls it Pine river.
Black river is a large, deep, and gentle stream, composed of numerous auxiliaries, which draw their waters from the counties of Wayne, New Madrid, and Lawrence; the two former lying in Missouri Territory, and the latter in Arkansas. It is navigable with boats of the largest burden, at all seasons of the year, for more than one hundred miles. Little Black, Currents, Fourche à Thomas, Eleven-points, Spring, andStrawberry rivers, are all streams of considerable size, coming in on the west, and deserve particular notice on the future maps of that country. Their banks afford choice bodies of fertile lands, which are already the seat of many plantations and farms, where corn, rye, wheat, oats, flax, hemp, and cotton, are raised in the greatest perfection, and the settlements are rapidly increasing. Considerable quantities of beef and pork are also put up for the New Orleans market, every facility being afforded by the luxuriance of grass in the woods, and the abundance of acorns in the fall, for raising and fattening hogs and cattle. Lawrence county is generally considered among the first farming districts west of the Mississippi. Davidsonville, the seat of justice for this county, is situated on the west bank of Black river, at the junction of Spring river. The settlements on Strawberry river, on the Currents, Fourche à Thomas, Poke Bayou, and other places, are in a flourishing condition.
Little Red river issues near the sources of Buffalo Fork, and runs parallel with the Arkansas for a great distance, but inclines gradually to the north-east, and joins White river about two hundred miles above its mouth. It affords a considerable body of choice land, but is subject to very sudden rises, which overflow its banks, and have retarded, to some extent, the further settlement of its valley.
Such are the principal tributaries of White river; a stream which is navigable, with keel-boats of thirty tons burden, to the foot of Buffalo Shoals, a distance of seven hundred miles from its mouth, and may be ascended with light vessels five hundred miles higher. It draws its waters from a district of country about three hundred miles in width, by seven or eight hundred in length, having on its borders and tributaries large bodies of very rich lands, mixed with much that is poor and unfit for cultivation; but, taking into view its advantageous situation for commerce, its political relation to the two Territories, in a part of each of which it lies, and the extensive bodies of farming-lands on James river, Buffalo Fork, and Black river, we may anticipate the period when a large population shall find their support on its banks—when numerous villages and towns shall decorate its shores, and the productive labor of its inhabitants swell greatly the commerce of the western country, while they themselves command an important influence in its political transactions.
One of the most interesting events connected with the history of this river, is the visit paid to it by De Soto in 1542. The place of his crossing it is not certainly known.