The reply to these inquiries has been, in part, anticipated by the

preceding details. Lead and other mines are, however, found in several

other sections of the western country. An extensive body of lead-ore is

found near Prairie du Chien, on the west bank of the Mississippi, about

five hundred miles above St. Louis. The ore is in the state of a

sulphuret, is easily reduced, and yields about sixty-two and a half per

cent. of metal. These mines are worked in an imperfect manner by the

savages, the Sacs and Foxes, the original owners of the soil; and

considerable quantities are annually brought down to St. Louis by the

north-west traders. Lead-ore is also found on the river Desmoines of

the Mississippi, where it was formerly worked by the French--on the

Osage, Gasconade, and Mine river of the Missouri; on the White river and

its tributaries; on the St. Francis; and on the Arkansas, where it is

combined with a small proportion of silver. It is also found at

Cave-in-Rock, Gallatin county, Illinois, accompanied by fluor spar; at

Drennon's Lick and Millersburgh, in Kentucky; and on New river, at

Austinville, in Wythe county, Virginia. At the latter place, it has been

worked without interruption for nearly fifty years; and the mines still

continue to be wrought. The ore is galena, accompanied by the carbonate

of lead, and the earthy oxide of lead; the latter of which is worked in

the large way, as is said, to a profit.

Zinc is found in Washington county, Missouri, in considerable

quantities; but only in the state of a sulphuret.

Copper has been found in small masses, in a metallic state, on Great

Muddy river, and at Harrisonville, Monroe county, Illinois. A grant of

land made to P. F. Renault, in 1723, at Old Peoria, on the Illinois

river, specifies the existence of a copper-mine upon it; but the most

remarkable bodies of copper which the globe affords, are stated to exist

on the western shores of Lake Superior, and on the Upper Mississippi. It

is found in the metallic state, but accompanied also, as is said, by the

sulphuret and carbonate of copper. The ores stretch over a very

extensive region, and have been traced as low as the falls of St.

Anthony. There is, indeed, reason to believe that copper is disseminated

from the west bank of Great Muddy river, in Illinois, in a north-west

direction, to the western shore of lake Superior, as all the streams, so

far as observed, which flow either north or south at right angles with

such a line, afford traces of copper. Thus, the Kaskaskia, the Illinois

and its tributaries, the St. Peter, Wisconsin, and the southern forks of

the Wabash and Miami, all furnish specimens of copper, as well as lead,

zinc, and iron. An attempt was made by President Adams to explore the

copper-mines of the north-west; but I know not what success attended the

undertaking. Considering the certainty with which all travellers, since

the days of Carver, have spoken of the existence of these mines, with

the daily concurrent testimony of traders from that quarter, and their

great importance in a national point of view, it is matter of surprise

that they have been so long neglected. Is not the present an auspicious

time for authorizing a mission into that quarter, for the purpose of

exploring its physical geography?

Iron is a mineral common to all parts of the western country. One of its

most remarkable localities is the head of the river St. Francis, in

Missouri Territory, where it extends through a considerable part of

Madison and Washington counties. The most noted body is called the Iron

Mountain, and is situated about forty miles west of the Mississippi, in

Bellevieu, Washington county. The ore is here found in immense masses,

and forms the southern extremity of a lofty ridge of hills, which

consists chiefly of red granite, but terminates, in a rich alluvial

plain, in a mass of solid ore. It is chiefly the micaceous oxide,

accompanied by the red oxide, and by iron-glance. It melts very easily,

producing a soft, malleable iron.

Coal is not less common, and may be considered among those extensive

mineral formations which stretch, in so remarkable a manner, throughout

the vast basin included between the Alleghany and Rocky mountains. Salt

and gypsum may also be referred to the same great geological formations,

as they are to be traced, accompanying each other, from the western

section of New York, to the southern banks of the Arkansas, where

immense quantities of salt and gypsum exist. Clay, flint, ochre of

various kinds, saltpetre, alum, reddle, soapstone, plumbago, oil-stone,

marble, serpentine, &c., may be enumerated among the useful minerals of

less importance, which characterize that region.

III. "To what extent and advantage do you think the mines might be

worked, under proper management and superintendence?"

IV. "Are the laws of Congress, which have been passed in relation to our

lead-mines, salutary in their operation?"

I have stated the amount of lead annually produced by the Missouri mines

at three millions of pounds, which, on reflection, I think is

sufficiently high. But there are numerous difficulties opposed to the

successful progress of mining in that country, by the removal of which,

the amount would be greatly augmented. Some of these difficulties arise

from the peculiar nature of the business, from a want of skill, or of

mining capital in those by whom mining operations are conducted; but by

far the greatest obstacle results from the want of a systematic

organization of the mining interest by the United States, or from

defects in existing laws on the subject.

Immediately after the occupation of Louisiana by the United States,

inquiry was made into the situation and extent of the mines; and a law

was passed, reserving all mines discovered on the public lands, and

authorizing the territorial executive for the time being to lease out

such mines for a period of three years. A radical defect in this law

appears always to have been, that there was not, at the same time,

authorized the appointment of a specific agent for the general

management and superintendence of mines. Such an officer has long been

called for, not less by the public interest, than by the intelligent

inhabitants of the western country, who feel how nearly a proper

development of its mineral wealth is connected with their individual

prosperity and national independence. The superintendent should reside

in the mine country, and such a salary should be attached to the office

as to induce a man of science to accept it. His duty should be to report

annually to Congress the state of the mines, their produce, new

discoveries, and proposed alterations in existing laws. He should lease

out and receive rents for the public mines--prevent the destruction of

timber on mineral lands, and the working of mines without authority, and

should be charged with the investigation of the physical and

geographical mineralogy of the country. At present, the most flagrant

violations of the laws are practised--mines are worked without

leases--wood is destroyed on lands which are only valuable for the wood

and the lead-ore they contain; and the government derives but a small

revenue from those celebrated mines, which, whether we consider their

vast extent, the richness of the ore, or the quantity of metal they are

capable of annually producing, are unparalleled by any other mineral

district in the world.

There is another feature in the existing law, which is not beneficial in

its operation. It is that clause restricting the terms of leases to

three years. To embark in mining operations with profit, it is necessary

to sink shafts and galleries, build engines, and erect other necessary

works, which are, in some degree, permanent in their nature, and require

much time and expense in their completion. A considerable part of the

period must, therefore, elapse before the mine can be put in a state for

working; and no sooner is that done, and it begins to afford a profit,

and promises a reward for the expense incurred, than the expiration of

the lease throws all these works into the hands of some new adventurer,

or more successful applicant. This prevents many from engaging in mining

on the public lands, and especially those who would be best able to

prosecute the business; and of the number who take leases, a great

proportion continue to pursue the desultory method of mining in

alluvial[20] ground, introduced at an early period by the French, but

which is attended with very great uncertainty.

Improvements remain also to be introduced in regard to the processes of

mining, the furnaces employed, and the method of raising the ore.

Inseparable from this subject is the distribution of more enlarged

practical and scientific views of mining and minerals generally, which

might, in a great degree, be effected by the dissemination of practical

treatises on the subject, or by the employment of experienced and

skilful miners from Europe.

When such improvements shall be effected, with others to which it is not

necessary here to advert--when miners are properly secured in the object

of their pursuit, either by permanent purchases from government, or by

leases for a long period of years--and when the facilities for

transportation which that country is destined to afford, by the improved

navigation of its streams, and by the introduction of turnpikes, roads,

and bridges, are introduced, there is reason to conclude that the

annual amount of lead produced will far surpass the proceeds of those

mines under the present arrangement, and, indeed, it is impossible to

calculate the extent to which it may be carried. It is, perhaps, a

moderate estimate to say, that they are capable of being made to yield,

by judicious management, six millions of pounds of lead per annum, and

that they will furnish employment to three thousand hands.

During my late tour throughout the western country, including nearly a

year's residence in the interior of Missouri, I devoted much time to

this interesting subject, and have been enabled to collect a body of

facts on the physical resources and character of that country, and

particularly of its mines and minerals, which it is my design to lay

before the public. I must, therefore, refer you to this work, which is

now in press, for further details on this subject, and, in the mean

time, I beg your indulgent perusal of this hasty outline.

With respect, Sir,

Your obedient servant,

HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

FOOTNOTE:

[20] This word is used in its common acceptation in 1819.

GEOGRAPHY.

MISSOURI.

When Louisiana was admitted into the Union as an independent State, all

that part of the territory situated north of 33 deg. 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 deg. north, and running due west on the latitude line to the river St.

Francis, thence up that river to 36 deg. 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 the States 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 for family 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 diagonally nearly 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 a

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, and situated 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 a 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-ore

in 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 a

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 a 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 a 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 a 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 on horseback. Their warriors are called _braves_, 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 a 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 deg. 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, Boeuf, Little Red, Grand, White, Black, Osage,

Maramec, Gasconade, and St. Francis rivers. Of these, White river, a

stream hitherto almost wholly unknown, or only known 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 few habitations. 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 be wanted 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 a 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 the _cut-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 a Thomas, Eleven-points, Spring, and

Strawberry 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 a 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.

STEAM NAVIGATION ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

Steamboats were first introduced on the Mississippi about 1812; and,

within seven years of that time, not less than fifty boats, of all

classes, had been built. The following list, which I made in 1819,

embraces all the steam-vessels which are known to have been put upon

that stream and its tributaries, prior to that era, and is believed to

give with accuracy their names and tonnage.

Fulton's first successful experiment in the application of Savary's

steam-engine, as improved by Watt and Bolton, to the propulsion of

vessels, dates in 1807; so that but five years elapsed before the

invention was introduced, and twelve years before it was spread, on the

western waters. The impracticability of navigating those waters by the

force of sails, caused the invention to be hailed there with

acclamation; and this explains the cause of its rapid multiplication.

No. Names. Tons. No. Names. Tons.

1. Etna 200 27. St. Louis Packet 150

2. Vesuvius 280 28. Ramapo 100

3. Orleans 200 29. Rising States 150

4. Alabama 300 30. Maid of Orleans 100

5. Columbus 400 31. Hamlet 100

6. Tamerlane 200 32. Perseverance 50

7. James Ross 250 33. Johnson 75

8. United States 500 34. Eagle 100

9. Paragon 250 35. Vesta 110

10. Thomas Jefferson 200 36. Harriet 40

11. Ohio 300 37. Constitution 45

12. General Jackson 100 38. Louisiana 60

13. Maysville 152 39. Governor Shelby 60

14. Exchange 154 40. Franklin 80

15. Volcano 140 41. Rifleman 60

16. Madison 100 42. Newport 45

17. Kentucky 60 43. Expedition 150

18. Hecla 100 44. General Clark 150

19. Napoleon 200 45. Henderson 150

20. Washington 150 46. Tornado 250

21. Buffalo 100 47. Elizabeth 175

22. James Monroe 70 48. Missouri Packet 100

23. Cincinnati 85 49. Post-Boy (for

24. St. Louis 200 pas'gers only)

25. General Pike 75 50. Western Engineer 40

26. Independence 100 -----

Total 7,306

In addition to these, there are two new boats building at Pittsburgh,

one at Wheeling, one at Steubenville, one at Marietta, two at

Cincinnati, one at Frankfort, two at Shippingport, one at Madison, and

two at New Albany, making a total number of sixty-three. There are also

several more in contemplation, so that it is probable another year will

considerably augment the number. The first steamboat on the western

waters was built at Pittsburgh in 1811, eight years ago. Hence it

appears there has been an average increase of eight boats per annum; but

by far the greatest proportion have been built within the last three

years.

7306 tons, at 4 cents per lb. freight up from New Orleans,

amounts to $584,480 00

7306 tons, at 1 cent per lb. freight down to New Orleans 146,120 00

10 passengers down in each boat, at $60 39,800 00

5 passengers up in each boat, at $100 31,500 00

-----------

$801,900 00

It is presumable that each boat will perform three trips to and from New

Orleans per annum, which will make an aggregate amount of freight and

passage money of $2,405,700 per annum. From this, some idea of the

trade, population, and business of the vast valley of the Mississippi,

may be formed. And let it be remembered, at the same time, that the

transportation of merchandise is not wholly done by steamboats. The Ohio

and Mississippi are still lined with keel-boats and barges; and much of

the produce is still carried to market in flat-bottomed boats, of a

temporary construction, which are not calculated to ascend the stream,

and are therefore generally sold for a trifle, or abandoned.

The following is extracted from a comparative statement of the increase

of the principal articles of produce which arrived at the New Orleans

market during a period of three years.

Productions. 1815. 1816. 1817.

Bacon and hams, cwt. 7,000 13,000 18,000

Butter, lbs. 500 1,800

Cotton, bales 60,000 65,000 65,000

Corn, bushels 120,000 130,000 140,000

Flour, barrels 75,000 98,000 190,000

Molasses, gallons 500,000 800,000 1,000,000

Pork, barrels 8,000 9,700 22,000

Sugar, hhds. 5,000 7,300 28,000

Taffia, gallons 150,000 300,000 400,000

Tobacco, hhds 5,000 7,300 28,000

Wheat, bushels 95,000

Whiskey, gallons 150,000 230,000 250,000

ANTIQUITIES AND INDIAN HISTORY.

SOME ARTICLES OF CURIOUS WORKMANSHIP FOUND IN AN ANCIENT BARROW.

An opinion is entertained by many well-informed persons in the United

States, that the country has, at some remote period, been inhabited by a

civilized people, prior to its settlement or subjugation by the savages.

To the many evidences furnished to strengthen this opinion, by the

remnants of fortifications, tumuli, &c., may be added the discovery of

several articles of antiquarian value, and of singular workmanship, of

glass, or antique enamel, lately made on the eastern shores of lake

Erie.

I have had an opportunity of examining a specimen of these antique

glasses, and, on the authority of my informant, am enabled to remark

that they were taken up about two months ago, from an ancient barrow in

the town of Hamburg, where they were found deposited in an earthen pot.

Contiguous to this pot were also found a skull, and some other human

remains, thought to be of an unusual size. This mound, or supposed

repository of the dead, is situated in an uncultivated part of the town,

and several trees were growing upon it at the time the excavation was

made; some of which were judged to be upwards of two feet in diameter.

The glass relic which I had an opportunity to examine, (and I am told

they are all alike,) is in the form of a large barrel-shaped bead,

consisting of a tube of transparent green glass, covered with an opaque

coarse red enamel. Its length is nine-tenths of an inch, its greatest

width six and a half tenths of an inch, and the bore of the tube

two-tenths of an inch. Near the circle of the bore of this tube, is an

aperture of the size of a large needle, perforating the tube from one

end to the other. The enamel which covers the tube of transparent glass

appears to have been ornamented with painting, in figures resembling a

spindle, or two inverted sections of a circle; but they are now hardly

perceptible, as the bead appears to have been considerably worn.

But the circumstance most indicative of art in the making of this bead,

is a species of enamelling which has been performed both on the external

and internal surfaces of the tube, previous to its being covered by the

coarse red enamel. This second enamel is white, and, as the external

surface of the tube was not smooth, but in parallel _strie_ or veins,

exhibits the appearance of a white vine between the green tube and the

red enamel. This enamelling appears to have been done, not by melting on

any vitreous composition, as is practised at the present day, but by the

effect of calcination for some time in a low red heat. This, it is

known, will deprive glass, especially green glass, of its transparency,

and render the surface white to a certain depth.

The composition of the tube of glass, I have judged to be simply a

silicious sand and an alkali, probably with a small addition of lime or

vegetable ashes. It is hard, and will not receive scratches like the

lead glasses; and I conclude from this circumstance that there is no

lead in the composition. Its color seems also owing to the impurity of

the materials employed, like the common window and bottle glass, and is

probably caused by a minute portion of iron, in the state of an oxide,

combined with the sand and alkali.

The red enamel covering the tube, and the pot in which these glasses

were found, seem to have been constructed of similar materials, as they

differ very little in color, texture, or other external character.

Probably a very fusible brick-clay, highly impregnated with the oxide of

iron, and pulverized fragments of green glass, are the principal

ingredients of both. The earthen pot is manifestly constructed of

different materials from those employed for brown pottery at the present

period. It is a more imperishable substance, of a close texture, and

vitreous appearance.

I shall not presume to speculate in opinions which discoveries of this

interesting nature are calculated to create; it may, however, here be

added, that the fabrication of these glasses would suppose a perfection

in the arts, which none of the Indian tribes inhabiting this country at

the period of its discovery, had arrived at. That if introduced by the

French from Canada, in their earliest communications with the Indians

inhabiting the western parts of the State of New York, a sufficient time

would hardly have elapsed for the growth of trees of such size as were

found upon the mound from which these relics were taken. And that, if

not introduced by the French at the period alluded to, we must refer

their manufacture back to a very remote date, and one on which Indian

tradition is wholly silent.

Since visiting the western country, I have had occasion to notice a

similar discovery on Big river, in the Territory of Missouri. On opening

an Indian grave (or what was considered such) on the bank of this river,

several beads of glass, of a similar character, were found. They were

accompanied by many bones of the human frame, of extraordinary size, and

which indicated, to common observation, a stature of seven or eight

feet in height. The person appeared to have been deformed, either by

birth or accident, as the right jaw-bone ran in a straight line from the

mouth back, while the left preserved the usual curve. The excavation was

made near the edge of the stream, where the soil is a rich alluvion, and

covered by a heavy growth of forest trees, such as are peculiar to the

richest Ohio and Mississippi bottom-lands. We may add, that it

corresponds best with history and probability to attribute these relics

to the early period of the fur-trade.

ANCIENT INDIAN CEMETERY IN THE VALLEY OF THE MARAMEC RIVER.

In the autumn of 1818, the existence of a number of small tumuli, or

antique Indian graves, was made known in the valley of the Maramec. This

discovery was made about fifteen miles south of St. Louis. Curiosity led

several persons to visit the spot and examine them, and my attention was

thus called to the subject. It was conjectured that the bones found in

these graves were the remains of a race of beings much smaller than

those of the present day.

The essential facts connected with these discoveries, are these:--The

tumuli, which are small, occupy a wood near the dwelling of a Mr. Long.

The attention of this gentleman was arrested by this smallness of

cemeterial dimensions, or place of burial. Drs. Walker and Grayson, of

St. Louis, proceeded to the spot, opened several of the graves, and

examined their contents. The length of the stature of the interred

persons, measured by their stony casings, varied from twenty-three

inches, to four feet two or three inches. But the skeletons, with the

exception of the teeth, were reduced to a complete limy substance, and

their forms destroyed. The graves had originally been cased with rude

flat stones at the sides, and also at the head and feet. A flat stone

had also, in some instances, been laid over the top, and earth piled on

the grave, above the surface of the ground, to the general height of

three feet. This was a characteristic feature, and seemed designed to

mark the locality. In this stony coffin, all the softer and destructible

parts of the body had submitted to decay, with the exception before

mentioned--the teeth. The examination of these became, therefore, the

principal source of interest. They found the enamel perfect, and were

surprised to discover that they were the teeth of rather young persons,

who had, however, passed the age of puberty. The molars and incisors

were of the ordinary dimensions and character of second teeth. The

jaw-bone of the first specimen examined, appeared to have its full

complement, except the dentis sapienta, which physiologists do not

generally recognize until after the ages of eighteen to twenty-three.

Many graves were examined, which differed more or less in length,

between the extremes stated, but agreed in their general conformity of

parts; from all which, these gentlemen came to the conclusion that the

remains denoted a stature of inferior size, while appearances indicated

a remote antiquity as the epoch of burial, which might as well be

supposed to be five centuries as one. This antiquity was inferred, as

well from the reduction of the bones to their elements, as from the

growth of large trees upon the graves, the roots of which penetrated

into their recesses.

Upon this exhibition of facts, a legal gentleman[21] of intelligence

calls attention, with great pertinency, to the ancient manners and

customs of the Indians, in the burial of their dead.

"As yet, I have seen no attempt to account for the size and appearance

of these skeletons, upon any other supposition than that they are the

remains of a people far less in size than any known at the present day.

Unwilling to adopt a belief so contrary to the general order of nature,

and to the history of the human species, so far as it has been

transmitted to us, I shall hazard some conjectures upon the subject,

which I think will, in some measure, tend to dissolve the mystery that

hovers over these bones, and to reconcile their appearance with the

general history of our race. To be sure, Nature, in her sport, has now

and then produced monsters. A taste for the marvellous among travellers

and historians, has occasionally conjured up a race of giants, or a

nation of pigmies; but when the light of truth has reached us from the

distant corners of the earth, where they were said to dwell, we have

found them to assume the size, shape, and attitude of men, and nothing

more. So far as observation or history extends, we find the species

nearly the same in all ages and in all countries. Climate has had some

effect upon the size, and upon the complexion. The excessive cold of the

north has shortened an inch or two the necks of the Esquimaux, and the

heat of the south has colored the African. But what, in this genial

climate, should make dwarfs? It is here, if anywhere, that we should

naturally expect to find giants! All the other productions of nature are

here brought forth in the highest perfection. And shall _man_ here grow

a pigmy? Unless we are ready to adopt the opinion of certain

naturalists, that the human species are the legitimate descendants of

the apes, and that they once wore tails, and were of their diminutive

size--unless we are ready to believe the history of the Lilliputians,

and of Tom Thumb--I think we shall discard the idea of a nation of

dwarfs, as wholly preposterous. But how, on any other supposition, shall

we account for the appearances upon the farm of Mr. Long?

"None of the graves found there exceed four feet in length, many of

them fall short of three, and the teeth found in all of them show that

they contain the remains of human beings who had arrived at years of

maturity. The manners and customs of the Indians with respect to the

treatment of their dead, will, I think, solve all difficulties, and

satisfactorily account for these appearances, without doing violence to

nature. According to the testimony of travellers and historians, it has

been the custom among many tribes of Indians to hang their dead in

baskets upon trees and scaffolds, until their flesh was consumed, and

then to take them down, clean their bones, and bury them. There existed

an order of men among them called _bone-pickers_, with long nails like

claws, whose business and profession it was to clean the unconsumed

flesh from the bones, previous to burial. This custom still exists among

the Indians on the waters of the Missouri, and rationally accounts for

the appearances upon the farm of Mr. Long. The bones of a skeleton of

the ordinary size, when separated, would naturally occupy a grave of

three or four feet in length. It appears that in all the graves which

were opened, the bones, except the teeth, were reduced to a chalky

substance, so that it would be impossible to know, with any certainty,

in what state, condition, or form, they were deposited there. These

skeletons are said to rest on their sides. Taking this fact to be true,

it goes to strengthen my ideas on this subject. In burying a corpse, it

is natural, and, so far as we are acquainted, universally the custom, to

bury them with the face upwards. We can look upon our dead friends with

a melancholy complacency--we cast a long and lingering look after them

until they are completely shut from our view in the grave; and nothing

is more hard and heart-rending than to tear our last looks from them. It

is natural, then, that the body should be placed in such a position as

most to favor this almost universal desire of the human heart. But, in

burying a skeleton, it would be as natural to avert the horrid grin of a

death's-head from us. To face the grinning skeleton of a friend, must

fill us with horror and disgust. 'Turn away the horrid sight,' would be

the language of nature. If we adopt my supposition as correct in this

case, all the facts correspond with nature. But if we adopt the opinion

of a recent writer, our conclusions will be at war with nature, reason,

and universal observation."

The following observations by the Rev. J. M. Peck, of St. Louis, may

also here be added:

"One grave was opened which measured four feet in length; this was

formed by laying a flat stone at the bottom, placing one on each side,

one at each end, and covering the mouth with another. In the last

circumstance, this grave differed from the others that were opened; the

contents were a full-grown skeleton, with the head and teeth, part of

the spine, the thigh and leg bones, in a tolerable state of

preservation. The leg-bones were found parallel with the bones of the

thighs, and every appearance indicated, either that the corpse had been

entombed with the legs and thighs placed so as to meet, or that a

skeleton had been deposited in this order. The first opinion seems the

most probable, from the fact that a large stone pipe was found in the

tomb, which I understand is now in the possession of Mr. Long."

Both implements of war, and of domestic use, are buried with the dead

bodies of the Indians; but it admits of a query if they are ever

deposited with the mere skeleton.

"It is a well-known fact," says Bishop Madison, while writing on the

supposed fortifications of the western country,[22] "that, among many of

the Indian tribes, the bones of the deceased are annually collected and

deposited in one place, that the funeral rites are then solemnized with

the warmest expressions of love and friendship, and that this untutored

race, urged by the feelings of nature, consign to the bosom of the

earth, along with the remains of their deceased relatives, food, weapons

of war, and often those articles they possessed, and most highly valued,

when alive."

This fact is substantiated from various respectable sources. The pious

custom of collecting the relics of the dead, which accident, or the

events of a battle, might have dispersed through the wilderness, easily

accounts for the graves on the Maramec, as well as explains the origin

of the artificial mounds in the vicinity. If these were opened, there

would be found promiscuously deposited the bones of the aborigines,

which pious veneration, from year to year and from century to century,

industriously collected. The cemetery alluded to, on the plantation of

Mr. Long, may be viewed as the public burial-place of some powerful

nation of the same size, and similar customs, with other Indians.

FOOTNOTE:

[21] Rufus Pettibone, Esq., of St. Louis.

OSAGES.

This tribe claims, as original possessors, the territories of the

Ozarks, over which my journeys have chiefly laid. They claim all the

country north of the Arkansas, to the Maramec. The term Ozark appears to

me to be compounded from Osage and Arkansas.

They are manly, good-looking, stout-limbed men, erratic in their mode of

life, living a part of the year in fixed villages, and roving with their

families through the forests, in search of game, the remainder. Their

territories are immense.

The Osages, if we may judge from popular opinion, are very much in the

condition of the sons of Ishmael--"Their hand is against every man, and

every man's hand against them." It is remarkable that they possess so

much skill as they do in public negotiations, which they manage with

address, with a bold, direct air, employing enlarged thoughts and

phrases, which are calculated to impress the hearer favorably as to

their mental abilities.

But little opportunity has been had of personal observation on their

manners and customs. Their mode of encampment has been seen, and is so

arranged as to place the chiefs of the village, or camp, in the position

of honor. It is stated that, at daybreak, a public crier makes

proclamation of the expected events and duties of the day, which, to

ears uninitiated, sounds like a call to prayer. I fancy the prayer of

Indians, if they pray at all, is for deer and buffalo.

It appears from the manuscript records of General William Clark, at St.

Louis, which I have been permitted to see, that they have a tale, or

fiction, of their origin from a snail and beaver. If this is an

allegory, we are to suppose that persons bearing these names were their

progenitors. I avail myself of the public interpreter of the language to

submit the following vocabulary of it.[23]

FOOTNOTES:

[22] See American Philosophical Transactions, Vol. VI.

[23] Omitted.

EXTRACTS FROM THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE.

Notice of "A View of the Lead-Mines of Missouri, including

some Observations on the Mineralogy, Geology, Geography,

Antiquities, Soil, Climate, Population, and Productions, of

Missouri and Arkansas, and other sections of the Western

Country; accompanied by three Engravings. By HENRY R.

SCHOOLCRAFT, Corresponding Member of the Lyceum of Natural

History of New York." 1821.

As this work has been more than a year before the American public, and

is already well known, it may seem superfluous to make any remarks upon

it at so late a period. It was our purpose to have given it an early

notice, but circumstances which could not be controlled, prevented.

Still, as it is devoted to subjects which form a prominent object in

this Journal, and is, as far as we are informed, the only elaborate and

detailed account of a mining district in the United States, we are not

disposed to remain silent, especially as the discharge of the duty is

not likely to be painful, either to ourselves or to the author. Reviews

in form, although within the plan of this Journal, do not constitute one

of its most leading objects, and we do not hold ourselves responsible

for analyses or even for notices of new American books, unless they

appear particularly interesting or important, or hold a very intimate

connexion with the great design of our work.

We have already intimated that we regard Mr. Schoolcraft's work in this

light. We take it for granted that the statements of facts made by this

author, are both faithful and accurate; the information which we have

incidentally derived from other sources, certainly countenances this

impression, but the whole amount of it is small, compared with the

details contained in the present volume.

Mr. Schoolcraft's opportunities for observation were extensive,

particularly in relation to the mines of lead in the Missouri region.

Among those mines he spent a year. "I have made (says he) a personal

examination of every mine of consequence, with a view to ascertain its

general character and value and its peculiarities. I have travelled on

foot over the whole mine country, exploring its minerals, its geological

structure, its geographical position, soil, climate, productions, towns,

streams, settlements, and whatever else appeared to me to be necessary

to describe, explain and illustrate the subject before me."

Mr. Schoolcraft appears to have made good use of the advantages which he

enjoyed, and his countrymen are indebted to him for a great amount of

valuable information. He appears also to have studied the observations

of preceding writers, and, with their works before him, it was in his

power to correct errors and to supply deficiencies.

He has prefixed an historical sketch which we presume will be acceptable

to every reader. The French, as is well known, were the original

discoverers and settlers of the Missouri, and Illinois regions, which

were embraced in their vast scheme of forming a chain of posts and

settlements from the mouth of the St. Lawrence, to that of the

Mississippi. They did not occupy the country of the Missouri and

Illinois till more than a century after the settlement of Quebec, and

about a century before the present period. At that time, (1720,) the

lead mines were discovered by Philip Francis Renault, and M. La Motte,

and by them they were wrought, although they and the adventurers under

them were disappointed in their expectations of finding gold and silver.

At the end of about half a century, the country passed into the hands of

the Spaniards, and under their dominion, probably about forty years

since, the principal mine was discovered by a man of the name of Burton,

and from him it has derived the name of Mine a Burton.

It appears that the processes of mining under the Spaniards were very

imperfect, as they obtained only fifty per cent. of lead from the ore,

threw away the lead ashes, and did not attempt any manufactures of shot

or any other articles. They employed only the open log furnace.

In 1797, Moses Austin, Esq., a native of Connecticut, who had been

occupied with lead mines in Wythe county, in Virginia, obtained from the

Spanish government, a grant of a league square in the mining district in

consideration of his introducing a reverberatory furnace. He sunk the

first regular shaft--the mining having, till that time, been prosecuted

solely by open digging, in the manner of quarries. Mr. Austin also

introduced the manufacture of shot, and that of sheet lead soon

followed. About the same time several other American families collected

at the mines, and infused new spirit and enterprise into the mining

operations, so that they were carried on with considerable vigour at the

time when (in 1803) the country was transferred to the United States.

Mr. Schoolcraft, from whom these facts are taken, remarks, that since

1804, the number of mines has been astonishingly multiplied--population

has flowed rapidly in--the processes on the ore have been much

improved--better furnaces have been constructed, and "every season is

adding to the number of the mines." "Every day is developing to us the

vast resources of this country, particularly in lead," and the author

expresses his opinion that "the mines of Missouri are paralleled by no

other mineral district in the world."

From the specimens which we possess of this ore, and from the documents

produced by the author respecting the produce of the mines, we believe

his opinion is correct, especially if we consider the fact that "the

earth has not yet been penetrated over eighty feet;" "we know not what

may be found in the lower strata." "There is reason to believe that the

main bodies of ore have not been hit upon, that they lie deeper, and

that we have thus far been only engaged upon the spurs and detached

masses."

Mr. Schoolcraft informs us that although the mining business is much

improved, there is still a great deficiency both of capital and of

skill--there is in the whole district but one regular hearth furnace for

smelting, and that not the best;--among forty mines, there are only four

or five regular shafts--there is among all the mines, no engine of any

description for raising water, and some of the richest mines with the

best prospects in view, have been in consequence abandoned. Yet, under

all these disadvantages, the annual produce of the mines is estimated at

three millions of pounds of lead.

The author suggests the expediency of establishing a school of mines and

minerals in the midst of the mines themselves; this would, without

doubt, be a very proper measure, but in the meantime, skilful practical

miners, and captains of mines, such as are found in every mining

district in Europe, would supply the immediate demands of the country.

The mining district, formerly called the lead mines of Louisiana, is

situate between the 37th and the 38th degree of north latitude, and

between the 89th and 92d degree of west longitude, covers three thousand

one hundred and fifty square miles--it is from seventy to one hundred

miles long by forty or forty-five, extending in width from the

Mississippi south-west to the Fourche a Courtois, and in length from the

head waters of St. Francis northerly to the Maramec.

Lead ore is found in almost every part of this district. Mr. Schoolcraft

says, "the general aspect of the country is sterile, though not

mountainous: the lands lie rolling, like a body of water in gentle

agitation. In some places the hills rise into abrupt cliffs, where the

great rock formations of the country may be seen; in others, they run

into level plains--a kind of highland prairie."

"The soil is a reddish colored clay, stiff and hard, and full of

fragments of flinty stones, quartz and gravel; this extends to the depth

of from ten to twenty feet, and is bottomed on limestone rock. It is so

compact in some places, as almost to resist the pick-axe; in others it

seems to partake of marl, is less gravelly, and readily penetrated. The

country is particularly characterized by quartz, which is strewed in

detached pieces over the surface of the ground, and is also found

imbedded in the soil at all depths. This is here called blossom of lead.

Iron ores and pyrites are also scattered over the surface of the ground,

and occasionally lead ore. Such is the general character of the mineral

hills, which are invariably covered by a stinted growth of oaks."

Walnut is also found on the hills, and there is a ridge of yellow pine,

not more than six or eight miles wide, running nearly south-east and

north-west, but it is nearly or quite destitute of lead--the mines lie

generally east of it. In summer the flinty aspect of the country is

veiled by a luxuriant growth of grass, which gives it a very pleasing

and picturesque appearance.

The valleys have a rich alluvial soil, well fitted for cultivation; but

our limits will not allow us to mention the vegetable productions of the

country. This region is well irrigated, and very healthy, being

possessed of a fine climate. Mr. Schoolcraft remarks, that during a

residence of ten months he never heard of a death; the country is free

from the fevers which infest some of the neighboring regions. It seems,

however, that the animals are visited by what is called the mine

sickness. "Cows and horses are frequently seen to die without any

apparent cause. Cats and dogs are taken with violent fits, which never

fail, in a short time, to kill them." It is said that the inhabitants

impute these affections to the sulphur exhaled in smelting the lead, as

the cattle are often seen licking about the old furnaces. But sulphur is

not poisonous either to men or animals. The author imputes it to the

sulphate of barytes, with which the district abounds, which he states is

a "poison to animals."

The carbonate of barytes is eminently poisonous; but we have never heard

that the sulphate is so. May not the licking around the furnaces expose

the cattle to receive lead in some of its forms, minutely divided? or,

if it be not active in the metallic state, both the oxides and the

carbonate, which must of course exist around the furnaces, would be

highly active and poisonous. Is it not possible, also, that some of the

natural waters of the country may, in consequence of saline or acid

impregnations, dissolve some of the lead, and thus obtain saturnine

qualities? We must allow, however, that we are not acquainted with the

existence of any natural water thus impregnated.

Among the mineral productions of this region, certainly not the least

remarkable mentioned by Mr. Schoolcraft, is the Iron Mountain, where the

ore is piled in such enormous masses as to constitute the entire

southern extremity of a lofty ridge, which is elevated five or six

hundred feet above the plain: the ore is the micaceous exide, and is

said to yield good malleable iron.

There is another body of iron ore five miles west of the iron mountain,

scarcely inferior to that mentioned above, and it appears that several

other beds exist in the same vicinity.

Zinc is abundant, but as the ore is the sulphuret, it is not very

valuable. It is not mentioned that calamine, which is the useful ore of

zinc, has been found.

As to the geological nature of the country, in which the lead mines are

situate, he informs us that "Bellevue abounds in granite;" that the only

vein of granite rock in the mine country (as far as he had opportunity

to observe) passes across the south-western end of Madison county--runs

into Bellevue--is four or five miles wide, and twenty or thirty miles in

a direction from south-east to north-west.

The granite is spoken of in another place, (p. 170,) as being a

geological phenomenon, as containing imbedded in it or lying upon its

surface, gneiss, green stone, porphyry, iron ores, &c.; it is spoken of

as a red granite, containing very little mica, and as being used for

millstones. It is mentioned as the "only mass of granite known to exist

between the primitive ranges of the Alleghany and Rocky mountains," and

as being surrounded on all sides, and to an almost immeasurable extent,

with secondary limestone.

Again, (p. 193,) the granite is cited as the "old red granite in

mountain masses, with some veins of green stone, green stone porphyry,

and gneiss;" it is said to terminate in very rough and broken high

lands. At page 213, it is mentioned, still again, as giving origin to

the river St. Francis, whose "springs gush out among these stupendous

piles of red granite." Besides the ores of iron, lead and zinc, "quartz,

feldspar, shorl, mica, and graphite are among the minerals furnished by

that region," and "green stone, gneiss, and green stone porphyry, are

among the larger masses of rock." The green stone, it seems, "is found

in large isolated fragments, lying promiscuously among the fragments of

granite which have tumbled down from the lofty cliffs above, and is

rendered porphyritic by crystals of green and flesh-colored feldspar."

We have no right to doubt that the rock described is granite, as the

principal features delineated, correspond with that supposition. As it

is described as being solitary, the only granite between the Alleghanies

and the Rocky mountains, we are led to ask, is it a portion of the

nucleus of our globe, covered on every side, for many hundred miles,

with secondary rocks, and here heaving its head through the

superincumbent strata, and standing alone? But what are we to conclude

of the limestone? We should have liked especially to have had the

relations of this limestone with that remarkable granite region pointed

out. Does this latter repose on the granite, where it dips obliquely

under, as it probably does, in order to find its way beneath the other

rocks, and to vindicate its claim to a fundamental position? But,

perhaps we are asking more than is reasonable, for, it may be that there

are no such sections in the strata as would expose all these facts to

view, and enable the observer to decide.

These hints we have dropped, not, we trust, from a captious disposition,

but because we have found a real difficulty in conceiving clearly of the

geological nature of this limestone, which, it seems, is the basis of

the lead-mine country, and therefore it is very important that its

characters should be indubitably fixed. We have not been so fortunate as

to see Mr. Schoolcraft's specimens; possibly a view of them would have

rendered the preceding remarks, in part at least, unnecessary.

Leaving the geological features of the lead-mine district, we proceed to

cite some interesting and important facts from Mr. Schoolcraft's

work:--"The soil," he remarks, "is a reddish colored clay, stiff and

hard, and full of fragments of flinty stone, quartz and gravel; this

extends to the depth of from ten to twenty feet, and is bottomed on

limestone rock. It is so compact in some places as almost to resist the

pick-axe; in others it seems to partake of marl, is less gravelly, and

readily penetrated. The country is particularly characterized by quartz,

which is strewed in detached pieces over the surface of the ground, and

is also found imbedded in the soil at all depths. This is here called

blossom of lead. Iron ores and pyrites are also scattered over the

surface of the ground, and occasionally lead ore. The mineral

productions of the country, in addition to lead, are zinc, iron, ochre,

red chalk, saltpetre, sulphur, alum and salt."

The ore (the author remarks) is the lead glance, galena, or sulphuret of

lead. It is very rich and beautiful, and specimens in our possession

fully confirm Mr. Schoolcraft's account; they have a very broad and

perfectly foliated fracture, and a high degree of metallic lustre; they

break in cubical fragments, and the minutest portions still retain this

form.

We have already observed that large fragments are found loose in the

earth: they sometimes weigh four or five pounds; we have such specimens

from these mines; they are of a cubical form, and are surrounded, except

where they have been broken, by an earthy incrustation.

It is observed that the marly earth thrown out from the pits, enriches

the ground, so that in a few years it is covered with a very rank growth

of trees, vines, &c., and this is a regular characteristic of old

diggings. Innumerable portions of radiated quartz, and sharp fragments

of flinty stones are mixed with the clay, and form the first stratum of

about fourteen inches. The next is of a red clay, and is four or five

feet thick, and less mixed with similar siliceous substances. Then comes

a layer of gravel and rounded siliceous pebbles, about one foot thick,

containing small portions of lead ore. The thickness of the bed of ore

is generally a foot; and the lumps of ore appear to have been rounded by

attrition, like common gravel. "This is the character of what is called

the gravel ore, and no spars are found accompanying it. The greatest

proportion of lead ore is, however, found imbedded in, and accompanied

by, the sulphate of barytes, resting in a thick stratum of marly clay,

bottomed on limestone rock." They invariably arrive at the rock at the

depth of from fifteen to twenty, or sometimes thirty feet; a new process

by boring and blasting is now necessary, and most diggers abandon their

pits rather than prosecute them at this expense. If, however, as there

can be little doubt, the limestone is the real matrix of the lead ore,

the time will come when the present diggings will be considered as

merely superficial beginnings, and the work will be resumed where

hitherto it has been abandoned. It seems that the almost invariable

practice of the miners is, to persevere till they strike the rock, and

then to go and dig elsewhere; they cannot, if disposed, prosecute the

business by levels or galleries, for they are not permitted to carry on

their mining except immediately under the surface that is covered by

their respective leases, or by twelve feet square, which, if unoccupied,

an adventurer may cover by occupancy. Among the substances accompanying

the lead, blende and the sulphate of barytes are said to be very

abundant; the latter in specimens which we have, is particularly

brilliant and white;[24] the quartz is often prettily crystallized, and

is so invariable a concomitant of the ore, that the miners, as we have

before remarked, give it the meaning appellation of mineral blossom.

A curious fact is mentioned by Mr. Schoolcraft, respecting the Elliott's

mines. "During the remarkable earthquakes of 1812, a fine spring of

water at the mouth of the mines suddenly became warm and foul, and in a

few days dried up entirely, and no water has run there since."

"Illuminations in the atmosphere are frequently observed in this

vicinity on the approach of night."[25]

It seems there is a considerable quantity of a greyish white sublimate

collected at the log hearth furnaces, and rejected by the workmen upon

the supposition that it is sulphur and arsenic; but Mr. Schoolcraft, by

unquestionable experiments, ascertained that it was lead, as would

appear, in the form of a carbonated oxide. A considerable loss is in

this manner sustained, and in a more advanced state of the metallurgic

operations of these mines, the author's valuable suggestions will not be

neglected. There is one mine (M'Kain's) where the ore is of the

steel-grained variety--it is said to yield less lead, and is inferred to

contain more silver than the common ores; we are aware that this is the

common impression, but our own experiments on different varieties of

lead ore would induce us to think that it cannot be relied upon. We have

examined fine steel-grained ore which contained very little silver; in

one specimen only one five-thousandth part, and in another, and that a

foliated specimen, we found three and a half per cent, of silver.

The methods of digging for the ore are sufficiently simple. "A pick-axe

and shovel are the only tools used for removing the earth, and the

drill, hammer and priming rod are added when it is necessary to blast."

The process is carried on as in digging a common well.

We must refer our readers to the book itself for a clear account of the

furnaces and furnace operations, employed for smelting the lead; it will

be the more intelligible, as it is accompanied by two good plates

containing views and sections of the furnaces. A circumstance which

appears very extraordinary is, that the furnaces are most commonly built

of limestone, which is of course calcined, and brought to the condition

of quicklime by a few blasts, and then it crumbles and the furnaces must

be rebuilt.

The ore yields at first fifty per cent., and then the ashes give fifteen

per cent, more--sixty-five[26] in the whole.[27]

Custom, says the author, has established a number of laws among the

miners, with regard to digging, which have a tendency to prevent

disputes. Whenever a discovery is made, the person claiming it is

entitled to claim the ground for twenty-five feet, in every direction

from his pit, giving him fifty feet square. Other diggers are each

entitled to twelve feet square, which is just enough to sink a pit, and

afford room for throwing out the earth. Each one measures and stakes off

his ground; and though he should not begin his work for several days

afterwards, no person will intrude upon it. On this spot he digs down,

but is not allowed to run drifts horizontally, so as to break into or

undermine the pits of others. If appearances are unpromising, or he

strikes the rock, and chooses to abandon his pit, he can go on any

unoccupied ground, and, observing the same precautions, begin anew. In

such a case, the abandoned pit may be occupied by any other person; and

sometimes large bodies of ore are found by the second occupant, by a

little work, which would have richly rewarded the labors of the first

had he persevered.

Mr. Schoolcraft, from various particulars, infers that the average

annual produce of the Missouri lead mines, as mentioned before, is three

million pounds per annum, and the lead was worth in 1819, at the mines,

four cents per pound. For the last three years, up to 1819 inclusive,

the produce of the mines was estimated at three million seven hundred

twenty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six pounds per annum of pig

lead, which the author supposes to be not more than one half what the

mines are capable of yielding.

The number of miners is between eleven and twelve hundred, and the

number of hands employed in labor at different mines is from twenty to

two hundred and forty, including in both cases persons of all

descriptions.

Many miscellaneous topics connected with the general subject of his

work, are introduced by Mr. Schoolcraft, such as the sections relating

to the manufactures, and uses of lead, &c., but it is not our object to

advert to these topics.

Among the miscellaneous mineral productions of the western regions,

there are some that are interesting; and it will be seen from the

author's table of minerals, that the list is various. There are several

caverns which produce nitrate of potash by the usual treatment; and

Ashley's Cave, about eighty miles from Potosi, is said to be one of

stupendous size, and to "afford native nitrate of potash in beautiful

white crystals."

The novaculite is mentioned as occurring on Washita, as described by Mr.

Bringier in the present number.

Steatite exists in abundance at the falls of St. Anthony, on the

Mississippi, and is used by the Indians for pipes.

The fluate of lime, near Shawneetown, was described in the first volume

of this journal.

Among other minerals, Mr. Schoolcraft mentions chalcedony in several

varieties, earthy oxide of lead, native copper, alum, manganese,

opalized and agatized wood, opal, jasper, coal, gypsum, native epsom

salts, pumice stone, agate, onyx, burr millstone, native iron, &c.; for

the localities and descriptions of which, we must refer to the book

itself.

Those facts of Mr. Schoolcraft's volume which relate to statistical and

political topics, do not come within the plan of these remarks.

During our cursory notice of this work, we have cited a number of the

most prominent facts which it contains, both because they are in

themselves important, and because we were willing to call the attention

of our readers both to them, and to the volume in which they are

contained. Both are, in our view, entitled to great respect; and we

confess ourselves very much indebted to Mr. Schoolcraft for a great mass

of valuable information, which, in a connected form, is, we believe,

nowhere else to be found. His statements (as regards the most valuable

part) are drawn from his own research and observations, and have

evidently been the result of much effort, and of no small share of

fatigue and personal privation. We trust that so valuable a work will

not stop with a single edition, and perhaps we might venture to suggest

to the author, that in a second, he might advantageously condense into

one view some facts which are several times repeated in different parts

of the volume--such as those respecting the granite and its connected

rocks, the lead ore and its associated minerals, &c.

We consider the present work as an acquisition to our means of

information respecting our mineral resources, and believe that it must

be a regular volume of reference for all those who are interested in the

investigation of these subjects.

FOOTNOTES:

[24] It is mentioned by the author, as a chemical test or reagent: it

may, by decomposing it by ignition with charcoal, or with an alkaline

carbonate, be made to afford its earth for the preparation of barytic

tests, but we are not aware that it is itself ever used as a test.

[25] They are attributed by the author to phosphorus. Is it supposed to

be in the form of phosphuretted hydrogen? May not these be electrical

phenomena?

[26] According to Dr. Meade, the Missouri ore affords only a trace of

silver. (See Bruce's Minl. Journal, vol. 1, p. 10.)

[27] Mr. Schoolcraft thinks it may yield seventy per cent.--it gave him

by analysis eighty-two per cent.

THE END.

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| Transcriber's Note: |

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| Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the |

| original document have been preserved. |

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| Typographical errors corrected in the text: |

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| Page 24 musquitoes changed to mosquitoes |

| Page 64 develope changed to develop |

| Page 94 M'Gary's changed to M'Garey's |

| Page 103 20th changed to 29th |

| Page 110 brandt changed to brant |

| Page 113 Gasconage changed to Gasconade |

| Page 139 Quiquate changed to Quiguate |

| Page 155 emigate changed to emigrate |

| Page 155 Philips changed to Phillips |

| Page 156 Peora changed to Peoria |

| Page 160 scientic changed to scientific |

| Page 161 borers changed to borders |

| Page 170 M'Kane's changed to M'Kain's |

| Page 186 octohedral changed to octahedral |

| Page 191 precicision changed to precision |

| Page 196 develope changed to develop |

| Page 207 1719 date in paragraph 39a may be 1749 |

| Page 208 irridescence changed to iridescence |

| Page 211 octohedrons changed to octahedrons |

| Page 217 annnally changed to annually |

| Page 246 some changed to same |

| Page 254 coutained changed to contained |

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