nations of Indians living within the United States' territory can
only be attained by a long residence with them. They are seldom
communicative, except upon subjects intimately connected with their
personal experience or present interests and welfare. In regard to
matters of an abstract or metaphysical nature their ideas {247}
appear to be very limited; at any rate very little is known of their
sentiments upon subjects of this kind, owing, in a great measure,
to the inability of the persons usually employed as interpreters to
converse intelligently concerning them. The delicate trains of thought
and reflection attributed to them by writers who have attempted to
enlarge our acquaintance with the Indian character, usually have their
origin in the ingenuity of the writers themselves. The exploits of
their war-parties, and particularly those of individuals, are often
recounted, but are seldom transmitted to succeeding generations, unless
they are characterized by some signal advantage to the tribe or nation
to which the party or individual belongs. Hence their history is very
defective, affording but few incidents, and characterized by no regular
series of events. In regard to the number of persons, and strength
of the several tribes and nations, also the ages of individuals, no
precise statements can be made; all the information given under these
heads is almost without exception conjectural. In relation to subjects
of this kind the Indians are either ignorant or wilfully silent;
and deem it an impertinent curiosity that prompts a stranger to the
investigation of them.
Notwithstanding these obstacles in the way of acquiring authentic and
credible information concerning the savages, yet there are certain
traits in their general character that are observable on a partial
acquaintance with a variety of tribes and nations, and upon these the
following remarks are grounded.
They are, almost without exception, addicted to habits of extreme
indolence; self-preservation, self-defence, and recreation being
their usual incitements to action. The laborious occupations of the
men consist almost exclusively in hunting, warfare, and tending their
horses. Their amusements are principally horse-racing, gambling,
and sports of various kinds. The cultivation of corn and other
vegetables, {248} the gathering of fuel, cooking, and all other kinds
of domestic drudgery, is the business of the women, the men deeming
it degrading to their dignity to be occupied in employments of this
kind. Their religion consists in the observance of a variety of rites
and ceremonies, which they practise with much zeal and ardour. Their
devotional exercises consist in singing, dancing, and the performance
of various mystical ceremonies, which they believe efficacious in
healing the sick, frustrating the designs of their enemies, and in
giving success to any enterprize in which they may be embarked.
Amongst all these tribes and nations secret associations or councils
are common, the proceedings of which are held sacred, and not to
be divulged, except when the interests of the people are thought
to require a disclosure. To these councils, which they denominate
medicine, or rather magic feasts, none are admitted but the principal
men of the nation, or such as have signalized themselves by their
exploits in battle, hunting, stealing horses, or in any of the pursuits
accounted laudable by the Indians.
In these assemblies the policy of making war or peace, and the manner
in which it is to be effected, also all matters involving the interests
of the nation, are first discussed. Having thus been the subject of
deliberation in solemn council (for the proceedings at these feasts
are conducted with the greatest solemnity,) the decision, of whatever
nature it may be, is published to the people at large by certain
members of the council performing the office of criers. On such
occasions, the criers not only proclaim the measures that have been
recommended, but explain the reasons of them, and urge the people
zealously to support them. It is also the business of the criers, who
are generally men of known valour and approved habits, and are able
to enforce their precepts by the examples they have set, to harangue
the people of their village daily, and exhort them to such a course
{249} of life as is deemed praiseworthy. On such occasions, which
are usually selected in the stillness of the morning or evening, the
crier marches through the village, uttering his exhortation in a loud
voice, and endeavouring to inculcate correct principles and sentiments.
The young men and children of the village are directed how to demean
themselves, in order to become useful and enjoy the esteem of good
men, and the favour of the good spirit. In this way they are incited
to wage war or sue for peace; and to practise according to their ideas
of morality and virtue; and may be swayed to almost any purpose that
their elders, for such are their men of _medicine_ (or as the term
imports, magic wisdom), think proper to execute. They appear to have
no laws, except such as grow out of habitual usages, or such as are
sanctioned by common consent. The executive of their government seems
to be vested in the chiefs and warriors; while the grand council of the
nation is composed of the medicine council above mentioned, at which
the principal chief presides. In all their acts of devotion, as also on
all occasions where their confidence is to be won, or their friendship
to be plighted, the smoking of tobacco seems to be invariably regarded
as an inviolable token of sincerity. They believe in the existence of a
Supreme Being, whom they denominate "Master of Life" or "Good Spirit,"
but of his attributes their ideas are vague and confused. They are
generally in the habit of offering in sacrifice a portion of the game
first taken on a hunting expedition, a part of the first products of
the field, and often a small portion of the food provided for their
refreshment. In smoking, they generally direct the first puff upward,
and the second downward to the earth, or the first to the rising and
the second to the setting sun; after which they inhale the smoke
into their lungs, and puff it out through the nostrils for their own
refreshment.
{250} They have some indistinct notions of the immortality of the
soul, but appear to know no distinction of Heaven or Hell, Elysium or
Tartarus, as the abode of departed spirits.
The arts of civilized life, instead of exciting their emulation, are
generally viewed by the Indians as objects unworthy of their attention.
This results, as a natural consequence, from their habits of indolence.
They are aware that much labour is requisite in the prosecution of
them, and being accustomed from their infancy to look upon manual
labour of every description as a drudgery that pertains exclusively
to the female part of their community, they think it degrading to the
character of men to be employed in them. Hunting, horsemanship, and
warfare are the only avocations in which their ambition or sense of
honour prompts them to engage.
Their reluctance to forgive an injury is proverbial. "Injuries are
revenged by the injured; and blood for blood is always demanded, if
the deceased has friends who dare to retaliate upon the destroyer."
Instances have occurred where their revenge has become hereditary, and
quarrels have been settled long after the parties immediately concerned
have become extinct.
Much has been published in relation to the high antiquity of Indian
tradition, of those particularly which relate to their origin and
their religion. But from the examples afforded by the several nations
of Indians resident upon the Mississippi and its waters, but little
proof is to be had in favour of the position. It is not doubted that
the immediate objects of their worship have been held in reverence
by their predecessors for a long succession of ages; but in respect
to any miraculous dispensations of providence, of which they have a
traditional knowledge, their ideas are at best exceedingly vague and
confused; and of occurrences recorded in sacred history they appear to
be entirely ignorant. The knowledge they {251} have of their ancestry
is also very limited; so much so, that they can seldom trace back
their pedigree more than a few generations; and then know so little of
the place whence their fathers came, that they can only express their
ideas upon the subject, in general terms, stating, that they came "from
beyond the lakes,"--"from the rising or setting sun"--"from the north
or south," &c. In some instances, where their term of residence in a
place has evidently been of limited duration, they have either lost or
conceal their knowledge of the country whence their ancestors came, and
assert that the Master of Life created and planted their fathers on
the spot where they, their posterity, now live. They have no division
of time, except by years, seasons, moons, and days. Particular
periods are distinguished by the growth and changes of vegetables, the
migrations, incubations, &c. of birds and other animals.
Their language is of two kinds, viz. verbal and signal, or the
language of signs. The former presents a few varieties, marked by
radical differences, and a multiplicity of dialects peculiar to
individual tribes or nations descended from the same original. The
latter is a language common to most, if not all, of the western
Indians, the motions or signs used to express ideas being, with some
slight variations, the same amongst all of them. Nearly allied to the
language of signs is a species of written language which they make
use of, consisting of a few symbolical representations, and of course
very limited and defective. The figures they make use of have but a
faint resemblance to the object described, and are rudely imprinted
upon trees, cliffs, &c. by means of paints, charcoal, and sometimes by
carving with a knife or other edged tool, and are significant of some
movement, achievements, or design of the Indians. A variety of figures
of this description are to be seen upon the cliffs, rocks, and trees in
places held sacred and frequently resorted to by the Indians, {252} but
of their import little is known. Many of these symbols are made by the
magicians, or men of medicine, and are probably of sacred or devotional
import.
Much intrigue, cunning, and artifice are blended with the policy of the
Indians, and judging from their usual practice, it is a favourite and
well approved maxim with them, that "the end sanctifies the means."
In an interview with strangers it appears to be their first object to
ascertain their motives and the objects of their visits; and after
regarding them for some time without a show of curiosity, a variety
of interrogatories are proposed, in order to satisfy themselves upon
these points. This they appear to do with the view also of scrutinizing
into the character and disposition of their guests. In the course of
the conversation they become more and more familiar and impertinent,
till at length their familiarity is succeeded by contempt and insult.
Thus, from the coldest reserve, they are in a short time impelled
by curiosity and a propensity to abuse, where they are not in some
measure compelled to respect, to the commission of outrages, even
without the slightest provocation. This kind of treatment, however,
is easily obviated at the commencement of an interview, by resisting
every advance made by the Indians towards familiarity, and by uniformly
opposing firmness and reserve to the liberties they are disposed to
take.
These attributes of the Indian character manifest themselves not
only in the well-known stratagems they adopt in warfare, but in the
management of their domestic concerns, in which rivalships of one kind
or other are created; parties are formed and pretenders arise, claiming
privileges that have been withheld from them, and placing themselves
at the head of factions, occasionally withdraw from the mother tribe.
Thus new tribes are formed and distributed in various directions over
the country, with nothing to {253} mark their genealogy, but the
resemblance of their language to that of the parent stock, or of other
Indians that sprung from the same origin.
The chiefs, or governors of tribes, have their rank and title by
inheritance; yet in order to maintain them, and secure themselves in
their pre-eminence, they are under the necessity of winning over to
their interests the principal warriors and most influential men of
their tribe, whose countenance and support are often essential to their
continuance in authority. In conciliating the friendship of these, the
chief is often compelled to admit them to participate in the authority
with which he is invested, and to bestow upon them any effects of which
he may be possessed. Thus it often happens that the chiefs are amongst
the poorest of the Indians, having parted with their horses, clothes,
trinkets, &c. to ensure the farther patronage of their adherents, or to
purchase the friendship of those that are disaffected.
The situation of principal chief is very frequently usurped during
the minority of the rightful successor, or wrested from an imbecile
incumbent by some ambitious chief or warrior. In this case the
ascendancy obtained over the nation by the usurper is gradual, and
depends upon the resources of his own mind, aided by his reputation for
generosity and valour.
The condition of the savages is a state of constant alarm and
apprehension. Their security from their enemies, and their means of
subsistence, are precarious and uncertain, the former requiring the
utmost vigilance to prevent its infraction, and the latter being
attended with no regular supplies of the necessaries of life. In
times of the most profound peace, whether at their villages or on
a hunting expedition, they are continually on the alert lest they
should be surprised by their enemies. By day scouts are constantly
kept patrolling for a considerable distance around them, and by night
sentinels are posted to give notice of the approach of strangers.
{254} When they engage in a hunt, they generally abandon their
villages, old men, women, and children joining in the enterprize,
through fear of being left at home without the strength of their nation
to protect them. On their march they endeavour to make as great a
display of force as practicable, in order to intimidate any of their
enemies that may be lurking to spy out their condition. With this
view they are careful to pitch their lodges or tents at the places of
their encampment in such a manner, and in such numbers, as to give the
impression, at a distance, that they are numerous and formidable. We
have witnessed a hunting party on their march, consisting of not more
than one hundred persons, including men, women, and children, yet at
their encampment more than thirty lodges were pitched, each of which
would accommodate at least twelve adult persons.
It is an opinion generally credited, that the Indians are possessed
of strong natural appetites for ardent spirits, but there is at least
room to doubt of its being well-founded. That the appetites for them
are often strong and ungovernable is very certain; but they may be
considered as factitious rather than natural, having been created by
occasional indulgencies in the use of intoxicating liquors. Instances
are not rare in which Indians have refused to accept liquor when
offered them. After a long abstinence from food, any thing calculated
to allay the cravings of the appetite is eagerly swallowed, and on
such occasions nothing perhaps produces such an effect more speedily
than spirituous liquors. Indians, while lounging about a trading
establishment, are often destitute of food for a considerable time, and
can obtain no other kind of refreshment from the trader but liquor,
which is bestowed partly in exchange for commodities they may have to
dispose of, and partly by way of encouraging them to return to him with
the products of their next hunt. A small draught, on such occasions,
produces intoxication, and the sudden {255} transition from a state
of gnawing hunger to that of unconcerned inebriety cannot fail to
make them passionately fond of a beverage that can thus change their
condition so much to their immediate satisfaction. In their use of
ardent spirits, the Indians appear to be less captivated with their
taste than with their exhilarating effects. The quality of liquor is
not a subject of discrimination with them; provided it has sufficient
strength to inebriate they are satisfied, let its character in other
respects be what it may. Having contracted the habit of intoxication,
they seldom appear thankful for liquor, unless it has been bestowed in
such quantities as are sufficient to produce that effect.
In the indulgence of their appetites they display but few or no traits
of epicurism, choosing those kinds of food that are most nutritive,
without regarding their taste or flavour. In the preservation of
their food, no pains are taken to render it savoury or palatable;
their object is solely to reduce it to a state of security against
putrefaction. They make no use of spices or other aromatics, either
in preserving or cooking their food. Even salt is not considered as
an essential, and is seldom used as an appendage in their cookery.
This article is only prized by them on account of its usefulness
for their horses. In regard to their choice of food, however, and
manner of cooking it, the small variety within their reach, and the
impracticability of obtaining condiments of different kinds, perhaps
renders them less particular in these respects, than they would be
under different circumstances. It cannot be supposed that they are
entirely insensible to dainties of every description; on the contrary,
they appear remarkably fond of sugar and saccharine fruits.
They appear to have a natural propensity for the fumes of tobacco,
which they invariably inhale into the lungs, and eject through the
nostrils. They make no use of this article except in smoking, which
is an {256} indulgence of which they are exceedingly reluctant to be
deprived. When they cannot obtain tobacco, they use as a substitute the
dried leaves of the sumac, the inner bark of the red willow dried, and
the leaves and bark of a few other shrubs, the fumes of which are less
stimulating, but equally as palatable as those of tobacco.
The Indians under consideration know not the use or value of the
precious metals, except as trinkets or ornaments for their dress.
They use wampum, and in some few instances shells of a small size and
of a particular character, as a substitute for money. But in general
furs, peltries, horses, and various articles of dress at standing or
fixed rates of barter, are the immediate objects, both of internal and
external trade. They do not hold their property in common, but each
individual enjoys the fruit of his own toil and industry. They are
accounted more or less wealthy according to the number of horses they
are possessed of, and the style in which they are able to dress.
Polygamy is common amongst them, every man being allowed to have
as many wives as he can maintain. Marriages are binding upon the
parties only as long as they think proper to live together, and are
often contracted for a limited term particularly specified. Females,
during the periods of their catamenia, are excluded from society, and
compelled even to sleep apart from their families, in small tents or
lodges constructed for their use.
Dancing is common amongst them, both as a devotional exercise and an
amusement. Their gestures on both occasions are similar, except that
on the former they are accompanied by solemnity, and on the latter
by cheerfulness; and are characterized by extraordinary uncouthness,
rather than by gracefulness. No ribaldry, however, or tricks of
buffoonery are practised on these occasions; on the contrary, their
deportment is uniformly accordant with their {257} ideas of decorum.
This exercise is invariably accompanied by singing, or a kind of
chanting, in which the women, who are usually excluded from a
participation in the former, perform their part. Their music consists
in a succession of tones of equal intervals, accompanied by occasional
elevations and depressions of the voice. The modulations with which it
is variegated are by no means melodious; the voices of all the chanters
move in unison, and all appear to utter the same aspirations. The same
series of sounds appears to be common to the chanting of all the tribes.
The foregoing are among the most common features in the general
character of the western Indians. Although in a region so extensive
as that inhabited by them, and amongst so great a variety of tribes
and nations, a considerable diversity of character is to be expected
and admitted, yet it is believed that the traits above considered are
common to the whole, as a race of barbarians. And although the shades
of barbarism in which they are enveloped uniformly exclude the light of
civilization, yet it is not to be presumed that they are equally dark
and malignant in all cases.
OF THE MISSISSIPPI, MISSOURI, AND OHIO RIVERS
I trust it will not be deemed improper on this occasion, to offer a few
remarks upon the character of these rivers, embracing more particularly
the condition of their navigation.
The causes heretofore alleged as giving occasion to a diversity of
soil within the valleys of the western rivers, have an effect also in
giving character to their channels or beds. For example: the banks
near the mouths of the rivers, being composed of a fine unctuous and
adhesive alluvion, are less liable to crumble and wash away, and
constitute a more permanent barrier to resist the force of the current,
than those {258} higher up, that are composed of coarser materials. In
consequence, the beds of the rivers are rendered narrower and deeper
towards their mouths than at greater distances above them. This is
more particularly the case with the Mississippi, Red, Arkansa, and
some others, whose beds or channels gradually dilate, and become more
shoal on ascending from their mouths. Thus it happens also, that the
navigation of the Mississippi has fewer obstructions between Natches
and its mouth than above this part of the river, having so great a
depth of water, that mags, bars, &c. are sunk below the reach of any
kind of water-craft employed in its navigation. From Natches upward
to its confluence with the Missouri, the river presents impediments
that become more and more numerous and difficult to pass. Still,
however, the main channel, though intricate in many places, affords
a sufficient depth of water in all stages for boats of five or six
feet draft to ascend to the mouth of the Ohio. From this point to the
Missouri, a distance of more than two hundred and twenty miles, the
navigation is partially obstructed, during a very low stage of the
water, by shoals, so that it is navigable only for boats of moderate
burthen, requiring but about three feet of water. At the distance of
about thirty miles above the mouth of the Ohio there are two rocky bars
extending across the Mississippi, called the Big and Little Chains,
which in the deepest channel across them afford no more than five or
six feet of water in a low stage, and occasion a great rapidity of
current. The Mississippi is usually at its lowest stage about the
middle of August, the summer freshet of the Missouri having subsided
previously to that time. It usually continues in this stage till it is
swollen by the fall freshet of the Ohio, after which it subsides again,
and remains low during the winter. The distance from New Orleans to
the mouth of the Missouri is estimated at about twelve hundred miles;
its current in the main channel of {259} the river is supposed to have
an average velocity of three miles and three quarters per hour, in a
moderate stage of the water; but when the river is high its velocity
is considerably accelerated. Its water is turbid, being charged with a
fine argillaceous mud, of a light colour, derived exclusively from the
Missouri.
The Missouri is a very wild and turbulent river, possessing the
ruder features of the Mississippi, but destitute of the gentleness
characteristic of the latter in many places. The obstructions to the
navigation of the Missouri, although they are of the same character
with those of the Mississippi, are far more numerous and formidable
than those of the latter. The channel is rendered exceedingly
intricate by means of sand-bars and islands, and the navigation in many
places is very hazardous, on account of the multiplicity of rafts,
mags, sand-bars, &c. with which the channel is beset. No part of the
river is exempt from these obstructions for any considerable distance,
particularly when the water is low.
As this river in connexion with some of its principal tributaries
traverses a considerable variety of climates, embracing more than ten
degrees of latitude, a succession of spring freshets invariably takes
place, and maintains an elevated stage of water from the breaking up
of winter early in March, to the middle, and sometimes the last of
July, when the summer freshet, yielded by the most northerly of its
tributaries, takes place. During this period there is a sufficient
depth to admit boats of almost any burthen; but during the residue of
the year it can hardly be called navigable, except for boats drawing no
more than twenty-five or thirty inches. The river is usually blocked up
with ice during the winter season. The average velocity of its current,
in a middling stage of water, may be estimated at four miles and one
third. In time of a high freshet it moves with an {260} accelerated
velocity, equal to five or five and half miles per hour.
The Ohio river, as before hinted, differs from those just described,
in the rapidity of its current, the width of its bed, the character
of its channel, and in several other respects; but as its general
character is well known, a few remarks in relation to it will here
suffice. The obstructions to its navigation are sand-bars, some few
rafts and mags, and rapids, to which the intricacy of its channel in
several places may be added. During a middle and high stage of water,
the obstructions entirely disappear, and an accelerated current is the
only difficulty to be encountered. The average velocity of the current,
in a moderate stage of water, may be estimated at two miles and a half,
and in a high stage, at three miles per hour. The season in which the
navigation of the Ohio can be relied on, commences between the middle
of February and first of March, and continues to the latter part of
June. A fall freshet usually takes place in October or November, and
the river is again navigable for a few weeks. During the rest of the
year, boats of inconsiderable burthen meet with numerous obstructions
in their progress from the lowness of the water, and in many places
no channel can be found of sufficient depth to admit their passage.
At the distance of about seventeen miles from its mouth is the first
serious obstruction to its navigation, consisting of a limestone bar
extending across the river, denominated the Big Chain. Three miles
above is another of a similar description. The range of rocks, of which
these appear to be a portion, seems to extend across the point of land
situated between the Ohio and Mississippi, presenting itself again on
the latter, at the Big and Little Chains before mentioned. The falls
of the Ohio at Louisville are impassable for boats of burthen, except
in the higher stages of the water. Le Turt's Falls, and {261} numerous
other rapids, denominated ripples, are also impassable for boats of
heavy burthen when the river is at its lowest stages. In this state the
river is fordable in numberless places.
OF THE GREAT VALLEY OR BASIN OF THE MISSISSIPPI
This vast region, embracing more than twenty degrees of latitude and
about thirty of longitude, although it has been explored in various
directions by men of intelligence, is yet but imperfectly known; and
probably no country in the world affords a more ample or interesting
field for philosophic investigation. A thorough acquaintance with
its geological character would in all probability lead to the most
important conclusions in forming a correct theory of the earth, while
a knowledge of its vegetable and mineral productions may be conducive
to the comforts and enjoyments of a large portion of the human family.
All we shall presume to offer under this copious head, will be a
few general remarks relative to the position and conformation of
the valley, grounded almost exclusively upon the hydrography of the
country, so far as it has come under our observation.
The valley is bounded on the west by the Rocky Mountains, on the
east and south-east by the Alleghanies, and on the south by the Gulf
of Mexico. To the northward, no precise limits can be assigned as
its boundary. Although many have supposed that the waters of the
Mississippi are separated from those running north-westwardly into the
Pacific Ocean, and north-eastwardly into the Atlantic, by a mountainous
range of country, yet, from the best information that can be had on
the subject, the fact is quite otherwise. The old and almost forgotten
statement of savage origin, viz. that "four of the largest rivers on
the continent have their sources in the same plain," is entitled to
far more {262} credit. The rivers alluded to are the Mississippi,
the St. Lawrence, the Saskashawin, and the Oregon or M'Kenzie's
river. Agreeably to the accounts of Colonel Dixon and others who have
traversed the country situated between the Missouri and the Assinaboin,
a branch of Red river of Hudson's Bay, no elevated ridge is to be
met with; but, on the contrary, tributaries to both these streams
take their rise in the same champaign, and wind their way in various
directions to their far distant estuaries. Judging from the maps that
have been given of the country near the sources of the Mississippi, and
of the region generally situated northwardly of the great lakes, as
also from the accounts of various travellers who have penetrated many
parts of those countries, the same remarks appear equally applicable
to a large portion of the whole. The watercourses are represented as
chains of lakes of various magnitudes, while lakes and stagnant pools
are scattered in almost every direction, without ridges or perceptible
declivities to show the direction in which they are drained. But we
forbear to enlarge on this subject, and beg leave that reference
may be had to Bouchette's map of the region of which we have just
been treating, as a document containing ample illustrations of our
opinion. Hence it will be inferred that the valley of the Mississippi
is merely a portion of an immense region of valley or flat country,
extending from the Gulf of Mexico north-eastwardly to the Atlantic, and
north-westwardly to the Pacific Ocean.
Within the valley or region drained by the Mississippi, are situated no
less than three distinct ranges of mountainous country, the localities
of which we will attempt to point out. The first and most considerable
is a range of mountains commencing within the Spanish province of
Texas, and stretching in a north-eastward direction, till it is
terminated by the high lands on the lower part of the Missouri river.
To this range we have given the name of the Ozark {263} Mountains, an
appellation by which the Arkansa river was formerly distinguished, as
also the tribe of Indians, since denominated the Quapaws, inhabiting
near that river. Its direction is nearly parallel to that of the
Alleghanies. Its peaks and ridges are less elevated than those of the
latter, and do not present the same regularity in their arrangement.
The second is denominated the Black Hills, commencing on the South or
Padouca fork of the river Platte, at the distance of about one hundred
miles eastward of the Rocky Mountains, and stretching north-eastwardly
towards the great northerly bend of the Missouri. Of this range very
little is yet known; and the fact that there is such a range is
partially substantiated by the concurrent testimony of the traders and
hunters of the Missouri, with whom it is a noted landmark, but it is
more fully corroborated by the hydrography of the country, as may be
shown by the map.
The third is a range of hilly and broken country, commencing on the
Wisconsan near the Portage, and extending northwardly to Lake Superior.
To this range we have taken the liberty to give the name of the
Wisconsan Hills. The Ocooch and Smokey Mountains before mentioned,
are connected with this range. In its geological character, and more
especially in its metallic productions, so far as our inquiry will
enable us to decide, it appears nearly allied to the Ozark Mountains,
and circumstances are not wanting to induce the opinion, that they were
once the same continuous range. Dr. James is decidedly of opinion,
that the metalliferous region of the Mississippi, which extends from
Red river to Lake Superior in the direction of these two ranges,
strongly indicates that a continuous range, as just hinted, once had an
existence.
The Mississippi river may be regarded as occupying the lowest part
of the valley, from its great estuary, the Gulf of Mexico, to its
confluence with the Missouri and Illinois. Thence to Lake Michigan,
{264} the immediate valley of the Illinois is to be viewed as the
lowest part of the great valley under consideration. This conclusion
necessarily results from an attentive consideration of the characters
of the three rivers just mentioned. If the inclinations of the
plains down which these rivers respectively flow, be in any degree
proportionate to the velocities of their currents, the plain of the
Illinois will be found to have far the least inclination, inasmuch as
the velocity of its current is not more than one-fourth of that of
either of the others. But in order to have a more distinct view of
the matter, let us assume the parallel of latitude intersecting the
Illinois at its head, or point of confluence of the Kankakee and Des
Plaines rivers, and suppose a vertical section cut in the direction
of the parallel. Such a section would intersect the Missouri at the
distance of nearly seven hundred miles from its mouth, the Mississippi
at about two hundred and sixty, and the Illinois at two hundred and
fifty from the same point. Hence, allowing that the plains of each have
the same inclination, the point of intersection on the Missouri would
be at a greater elevation than that on the Mississippi, and that on
the Illinois would be less elevated than either. But the difference
of inclination in these plains is manifest, not only from the
comparative velocities of the several streams alluded to, but from the
circumstance, that the Illinois is destitute of any considerable rapids
throughout its whole course, whereas the Mississippi, in addition to
a current uniformly more rapid, is hurried down the De Moyen rapids,
eleven miles in length; and the Missouri, without a perversion of
terms, may be denominated a rapid throughout the distance above
specified. By a similar course of reasoning it may also be made to
appear, that the assumed point of intersection on the Illinois is less
elevated than any other point in the same parallel of latitude between
that river and Lake Erie, and even that it is somewhat lower than the
surface of {265} the lake itself; for the aggregate descent, from the
surface of Lake Michigan to the point under consideration, is evidently
greater than from the surface of the same lake to that of Lake Erie;
or, in other words, the descent of the Des Plaines, from Chicago to its
confluence with the Kankakee, is greater by a few feet than that of the
stream uniting Lakes Huron and Erie.
This view of the subject affords us a clue whereby to ascertain, with
some degree of precision, the aggregate fall of the water, from the
head of the Illinois, to the Gulf of Mexico. Agreeably to the surveys
of the Great Canal of New York, the elevation of Lake Erie above
tide-water is found to be 564 feet. Hence we may assume, in round
numbers, 450 feet as the altitude of the head of the Illinois above the
ocean.
Of the conformation of the valley in other respects, no other ideas
can be advanced but such as are suggested by a general view of the
topography of the country, and especially of the courses of the
principal rivers, as exhibited in the map of the country drained by the
Mississippi. We will only add, that the inclined plain constituting
the western side of the valley, or, in other words, the great slope
down which the Red, Canadian, Arkansa, Konzas, Platte, and other
large rivers have their courses, has probably a greater general
inclination than any other side of the valley. In forming an estimate
of the aggregate descent of this slope, commencing at tide-water,
and extending to the base of the Rocky Mountains, Pike allows 8000
feet, which probably exceeds the truth by more than one-half. We
would substitute 3000 feet as the aggregate elevation of the base of
the mountains above the ocean, and are of opinion, that this amount
rather exceeds the truth. This altitude, added to that of James's Peak
as before stated, would give for the height of that Peak above the
ocean, 11,500 feet; comparing this altitude with that of the "inferior
{266} limit of perpetual snow," as estimated by M. De Humboldt for the
latitude of 40 degrees, viz. 9846 feet above the ocean, we find the
summit of the Peak 1654 feet higher than that elevation; and judging
from appearances, this difference of altitude seemed sufficiently well
marked by the distance to which the snow extended from the summit
downward, upon the sides of the Peak, to authenticate in a good degree
the calculation above stated.
* * * * *
The foregoing report is intended as a civil rather than a military
description of the country. For a partial description of its military
features, I beg leave to refer to my report of the 12th May, 1818, to
Brigadier General T. A. Smith, on file in the War Department.
In the performance of topographical duties I have been aided by
Lieutenants Graham and Swift, who have rendered essential service in
these and other operations. The former of these gentlemen is at present
occupied in completing the calculations upon the various astronomical
and other observations we took in connexion with our duties; the latter
is engaged in delineating the surveys made in behalf of the expedition.
The services of Captain Bell are to be recognized as highly important
and useful to the expedition, in keeping a journal of our proceedings,
and conducting detached parties whenever an occasion required. He is
now busily engaged in revising his journal, a copy of which will soon
be in readiness to be disposed of agreeably to your instructions.
The duties in the various departments of natural science were
discharged with zeal and ability by Mr. Say and Dr. James, assisted
by Mr. Peale, who was active and industrious in the collection and
preservation of such rare specimens of animals, &c. as came under our
observation. The vessel on board of which most of these specimens were
shipped {267} from New Orleans, has very lately arrived in this port,
and discharged our packages in good order. I take this opportunity to
express my acknowledgements of the politeness of her owners, Messrs.
Price and Morgan, who have kindly franked the transportation of the
collections. A catalogue, embracing the zoology of the country explored
by us, is shortly expected from Mr. Say, and shall be forwarded by the
earliest opportunity. Dr. James has been instructed also to furnish a
mineralogical and botanical catalogue, which is daily expected. Both of
these are intended as accompaniments to this report.
Mr. Seymour has taken numerous landscape views, exhibiting the
characteristic features of various parts of the country, besides many
others of detached scenery.
A map of the country situated between the meridian of Washington City
and the Rocky Mountains, shall be reported as soon as the necessary
elements and data can be compiled and the drawings executed.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
most respectfully,
Your obedient and humble Servant,
S. H. LONG,
Major U. S. Engineers.
_Honourable J. C. Calhoun,
Secretary of War._
OBSERVATIONS ON THE MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY OF A PART OF THE UNITED
STATES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
EXTRACTED FROM A REPORT TO MAJOR LONG[79]
The following remarks are designed to give a summary and connected
view of the facts and observations collected during the progress of
the exploring expedition, relative to the geology and mineralogy of
the several regions traversed by the party, more particularly of the
Rocky Mountains, and the western portions of the great valley of
the Mississippi. In an attempt of this kind, some difficulty arises
from the unsettled and progressive condition of geognostic science.
A nomenclature, constructed upon principles applicable to the other
branches of natural history, has been extended to this. Attempts
have been made to define classes, orders, genera, and species of
rocks; while it must be acknowledged, that the inventors of systems
have hitherto failed to point out such infallible foundations for
distinction of character as exist in the animal and vegetable kingdoms.
Among minerals, from one extreme of the series to the other, there is
a constant transition of approximating aggregates into each other.
The particles of unorganized matter, being exempt from the influence
of those peculiar laws which regulate the forms and characters of
living {272} beings, and moving in obedience only to the impulses
of attraction and affinity, arrange themselves together not always
in an invariable order, and after a permanent and unalterable type,
but are variously intermixed and confounded, as circumstances may
have variously influenced their aggregation. Definitions, it must be
acknowledged, have been constructed, strictly applicable to particular
portions of matter, which may occur under similar circumstances in
remote quarters of the globe. Fragments of granite may be found in
the Rocky Mountains of America which could not be distinguished from
the granite of Egypt, such as is seen in our collections. These
definitions, then, may be sufficient for the purposes of the naturalist
who confines his inquiries to his cabinet; but when examinations are
extended, when we approach the imaginary limits of these artificial
divisions, we not uncommonly find ourselves deserted by our boasted
distinctions and definitions. It must be evident to any person in
the slightest degree familiarized to the examination of the rocky
materials composing the earth's surface, that between any two of the
contiguous artificial divisions there is often-times no definite and
discoverable boundary. Granite must consist essentially of felspar,
quartz, and mica; so must gneiss and mica-slate; and between the two
former, it is often extremely difficult to point out the line which
shall be considered as marking the termination of the one and the
commencement of the other. It will, we think, be acknowledged, that not
one of the names applied to rocks, as constituting extensive strata,
conveys of itself a definite and satisfactory idea. Hence the necessity
which is felt, in attempting to give a detailed account of the rock
formations of any particular district, to define the names in almost
every instance of their application. If the following remarks should
on this account seem faulty, by a certain monotony and appearance of
{273} repetition, we hope there are a few, who, for the sake of the
facts detailed, will excuse any want of precision in the language which
may have necessarily resulted from the unsettled condition of the
nomenclature.
[Illustration: VERTICAL SECTION on the PARALLEL of LATITUDE 41 degrees
North
_intended as a continuation of MACLURE'S third Section from the
sea-shore to the summit of the Alleghenies_.
VERTICAL SECTION on the PARALLEL of LATITUDE 35 degrees North
_intended as a continuation of MACLURE'S fifth Section_.]
No part of the earth, it is probable, presents a greater degree of
simplicity and uniformity in the structure and conformation of its
surface than North America. The mountain ranges are here distinct,
forming each its own particular system, and preserving severally,
through their whole extent, a similarity in external appearance, as
well as in the structure and aggregation of the various rocks of which
they are composed.
The outlines of a physical delineation of the continent of North
America would present, first, the great chain of the Rocky Mountains,
evidently a continuation of the Andes of the southern hemisphere,
stretching parallel to the direction of the western coast from the
isthmus of Panama to the northern ocean. Their summits penetrating
far into the regions of perpetual winter, look down upon the vast
plains of the Mississippi and its tributaries; in which we distinguish
a comparatively inconsiderable range of rocky hills, commencing
near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi, and running
south-west of the Gulf of Mexico, near the estuary of the Rio del
Norte. Beyond these, the surface subsides to a plain, stretching
eastward to the commencement of the great chain of the Alleghanies.
The range of the Alleghanies, far less elevated and alpine than that
of the Rocky Mountains, traverses the continent in a direction nearly
parallel to the Atlantic ocean, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the
north-east, to the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, in
the south-west. Compared to the Rocky Mountains, this range is without
summits, presenting, instead of conic peaks, long and level ridges,
rising in no point to the inferior limit of perpetual frost, and scarce
in any instance reaching that degree of {274} elevation which is
incompatible with the growth of forests.
In many particulars there is a manifest resemblance between the
Alleghanies, and the comparatively inconsiderable group known by the
name of the Ozark mountains. They are parallel in direction, making an
angle of about forty degrees with the great range of the Andes. They
agree in having their most elevated portions made up of rocks of recent
formation. It is well known, that, from the highly primitive gneiss
rock at Philadelphia, there is a gradual ascent, across strata more and
more recent, to the rocks of the coal formation, about the summit of
the Alleghanies. Whether the same thing happens in every part of the
range, our examinations have not yet been extensive enough to decide.
We know that some of the granitic mountains of New England are far
surpassed in elevation by the neighbouring hills and ridges of mica
slate, talcose rocks, or even more recent aggregates.
In the Ozark mountains, as far as they have been hitherto explored,
the granites and more ancient rocks are found at the lowest parts,
being surmounted by those of a more recent date, the newest horizontal
sandstone, and strata of compact limestone, forming the highest
summits. What we wish to remark is, that the reverse of this being the
case with the Rocky Mountains, the granite there far surpassing, both
in extent and elevation, all the other aggregates forming the central
and higher portions of all the ridges, that range has a character very
distinct from the Ozark or Alleghany mountains.
It has been suggested by Major Long, that the hydrography of the upper
portion of the Missouri seems to indicate the existence of a mountain
range, approaching that river from the south-west, near the great
northern bend, in the country of the Mandans. From Lewis and Clarke we
have also some accounts tending to the confirmation of this opinion.
Further {275} examination may perhaps prove this third range, called
the Black hills, to resemble in direction and general character the
Alleghany and Ozark mountains. The Rocky Mountains have not inaptly
been called the backbone of the continent: these three lateral ranges,
going off at an angle of about forty degrees, may with equal propriety
be called the ribs. In latitude 38° north, the eastern base of the
Rocky Mountains is found to be in about 106° west longitude: following
the same parallel of latitude eastward, you arrive at the base of
the Ozark mountains, nearly in longitude 94°. The intervening space,
occupying the extent of near twelve degrees of longitude, is a wide
and desolate plain, destitute of timber; scorched in summer by the
reverberation of the rays of the sun, howled over in winter by the
frozen west winds from the Rocky Mountains.
Though we have assumed twelve degrees of longitude as the medium width
of this great plain, it is to be remarked, that to many parts of it
our examinations have not been extended. In the latitude of 41°, no
mountain, and scarce an elevation deserving the name of a hill, occurs
between the western range of the Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains.
But at no great distance north of this parallel, low ranges of hills
begin to appear in the region south-west of Lake Michigan; and though
too inconsiderable in point of elevation to deserve particular notice,
still they exhibit peculiar characters, which seem to designate an
intimate connection with the Ozark mountains, south of the Missouri.
The same succession of strata, the same alternation of crystalline
beds, with those of mechanical deposition, and similar depositories of
metallic ores, are observed here, as in the regions about the Merameg
and St. Francis. A marked difference is also, as we think, to be
discovered between the rocks and soils on the different sides of this
range. Of this we shall speak more {276} particularly in another place.
For our present purpose, it is sufficient to assume as a boundary
of the region we propose first to consider, a line running from the
confluence of the Arkansa and Canadian rivers on the south-west, to
the junction of the Mississippi and Wisconsan, on the north-east.
Assuming this as the direction of the range of the Ozark mountains,
it will be perceived, by examining the map, that to the north-west
of this line spreads an extensive plain, reaching to the base of the
Rocky Mountains. This plain has been crossed in three different places
by the exploring party, as already detailed in our narrative; once in
ascending by the River Platte, between latitude 40° and 41° 30´; again,
in descending the Arkansa, in 38°; and, thirdly, by the route of the
Canadian, in 34°. To the information collected in these journeys, we
have added a little from other sources; but the greater part of this
extensive region yet remains unknown.
_Of the Great Desert at the base of the Rocky Mountains_
The portion of country which we design to consider under this division
has an average width of five or six hundred miles, extending along the
base of the Rocky Mountains from north to south: as far as we have any
acquaintance with that range, consisting entirely of granitic sands, or
of secondary aggregates made up of the _detritus_ of that great chain
of primitive mountains, there seems to be a degree of propriety in
designating it by some name recognising relation to those mountains.
It has been mentioned as the "Mexican desert;" a name sufficiently
applicable, perhaps, to some portions of it, but one by no means to
be extended to every part alike, as there can be little doubt of
its occupying an extensive {277} portion of the interior of North
America. That a similar desert region exists on the western side of the
mountains, we have sufficient evidence; but whether as uninterrupted
and as extensive, we have not the means of determining.
The Jesuit Venegas, speaking of the early history of California, says
"Father Kino and his companions, after travelling thirty leagues from
San. Marcelo, came to a small rancheria (Indian village); and leaving
on the north the great mountain of Santa Clara, whose sides, for the
length of a league, are covered with pumice-stone, they arrived at the
_Sandy Waste_, on the 19th of March." Our information is, however, too
limited to justify an attempt to fix the boundaries of this desert; we
will, therefore, content ourselves with communicating the observations
our opportunities have enabled us to make.
The channel of the Missouri, near the mouth of the Platte, discloses
here and there rocks of horizontal limestone; which, from their
peculiar character, we are disposed to consider as belonging rather
to the Ozarks, than having any connection with the Rocky Mountains.
These rocks appear at the lowest parts of the valleys, and are usually
surmounted by extensive beds of soil, consisting principally of flinty
sand in the most minute state of division, but variously intermixed
with the remains of organized beings, and sometimes with calcareous
and aluminous earth. Proceeding westward, the sand becomes deeper and
more unmixed; not a rock or a stone, in place or out of place, is to
be met with for some hundreds of miles. It is believed that no rocky
bluffs appear along the valley of the Platte, within three hundred
miles of its mouth, though a small part of this distance, on the lower
portion of the river, has not hitherto been explored. The surface is
not an absolute plain, but is varied with gentle undulations, such
{278} as the draining of water, from an immense table of a light
arenaceous earth, for a succession of centuries, may be supposed to
have occasioned. The gradual intermixture of the exuviæ of animals
and vegetables, with what was formerly a pure siliceous sand, has
at length produced a soil capable of supporting a scanty growth of
grasses; now almost the only covering of these desolate regions. Scales
of mica, little particles of brownish felspar, and minute fragments of
hornblende, may here be detected in the soil.
About four hundred miles west of the mouth of the Platte, a low range
of sandstone hills crosses the country from south-west to north-east.
The strata composing these hills have no perceptible inclination, and
present appearances which indicate their deposition to have been
nearly contemporaneous to that of many of our coal formations. It has
already been suggested that this range may probably be a continuation
of the Cotes Noir, or Black hills, said to contain the sources of
the Shienne, the Little Missouri, and some branches of the Yellow
Stone.[80]
These inconsiderable hills being passed, the surface again subsides
nearly to a plain. The fine and comparatively fertile sand which
prevailed to the east of the ranges, is exchanged for a gravel made
up of rounded granitic fragments, varying in dimensions from the
size of a six-pound shot to finish sand. This great mass of granitic
fragments, evidently brought down by the agency of water from the
sides and summits of the Andes, slopes gradually from their base,
appearing, as far as examinations have extended, to correspond in some
measure, in magnitude, to the elevation and extent of that part of the
mountains opposite which it is placed. The minute particles derived
from the quartzy portions of the primitive aggregates, being least
liable to decomposition, have been carried to the greatest distance,
{279} and now form the almost unmixed soil of the eastern margin of the
great sandy desert. The central portions are of a coarser sand, with
which some particles of felspar and mica are intermixed: nearer the
mountains, pebbles and boulders become frequent, and at length almost
cover the surface of the country.
The opinion above advanced, that the great sandy desert has resulted
from the wearing down of the mountains, both before and since the
retiring of the ocean, should, perhaps, be received with some caution.
We have no foundation for the belief, but in the examinations which
enabled us to discover that the materials composing both regions are
similar in kind; that the granitic soils of the plain are precisely
such as would result from the disintegration of the rocks now existing
in the mountains; and that the numerous deep ravines and water-worn
valleys traversing the mountains in various directions, indicate the
change here supposed to have happened.
It is probable many parts of this extensive desert may differ from that
traversed by the Platte, in having the surface more or less covered
with horizontal strata of sandstone and conglomerate, instead of loose
sand and pebbles. Indeed, there are many appearances indicating that a
formation of this kind formerly extended down the Platte much farther
than at present. From the minute account given in the narrative of
the expedition, of the particular features of this region, it will be
perceived that its eastern portions bear a manifest resemblance to
the deserts of Siberia. The soils, and I believe the rocks, wherever
any occur, are saline: plants allied to chenopodium and salsola
are peculiarly abundant, as are the astragali and other herbaceous
leguminæ; while trees and forests are almost unknown.
The surface of the sandy plain rises perceptibly towards the base
of the mountains; and becoming constantly more and more undulating,
is at length broken, disclosing some cliffs and ledges of micaceous
{280} sandstone. Near the Platte this sandstone occurs in horizontal
strata, sometimes divided by the beds of the streams, and forming
low ridges parallel to the Rocky Mountains. Whether they continue in
an uninterrupted line along the base of the mountains, we have not
been able to ascertain. They are separated from the first range of
primitive, by more elevated cliffs of a similar sandstone, having
its strata in a highly inclined position. Behind these, occur lofty
but uninterrupted ranges of naked rocks, destitute of any covering
of earthy or vegetable matter, and standing nearly perpendicular. At
a distant view, they present to the eye the forms of walls, towers,
pyramids, and columns, seeming rather the effects of the most laborious
efforts of art, than the productions of nature. When surveyed from the
more elevated summits of the first granitic range, these immense strata
of sandstone standing on edge, and sometimes inclining at various
angles towards the primitive, resemble the plates of ice often seen
thrown into a vertical position in the eddies and along the banks of
rivers.
Climbing to the summits of such of these elevations as are accessible,
and crossing their stratifications towards the primitive, we observe
appearances similar to those found in the valleys, when circumstances
enable us to push our inquiries to a corresponding extent below the
surface. Having crossed the upturned margin of the whole secondary
formation which occupies the plain, and arriving at the primitive, we
find these highly inclined strata of sandstone reposing immediately
against the granite. We search in vain for any traces of those rocks
distinguished by the Wernerians as rocks of the transition period. We
also observe an entire deficiency of all those primitive strata which
the doctrine of universal formations may have taught us to look for in
approaching the granite.
The sandstone along the base of the mountains, {281} though apparently
not very recent, contains the remains of marine animals and plants,
and embraces some extensive beds of puddingstone. It may be remarked
that the sand and gravel composing these aggregates have in general
the same close resemblance to the materials of the granitic mountains,
as we have already observed in the un-cemented materials of the
plain. Indeed, it does not seem easy to determine whether the sands,
gravel-stones, and pebbles, now loosely strewed over the extensive
plains of the desert, have been brought down immediately from the
granitic mountains whence they were originally derived, or have
resulted from the disintegration of the stratified sandstone and
conglomerates deposited during a long series of ages, while the waters
of the ocean rested upon the great plain, and washed the bases of the
Rocky Mountains. The very wide and equal distribution of these sands,
in other words, the very gradual slope of the débris of the mountain,
would seem to countenance the latter supposition.
The position of the strata of sandstone varies in the distance of a
few miles from nearly horizontal to an inclination of more than sixty
degrees, and that without any very manifest change of character, or
the interposition of any other stratum. The laminæ most distant from
the primitive, occupying the eastern sides of the first elevations,
though lowest in actual elevation, may with propriety be considered
the uppermost, as resting on those beyond. At the level of the
surface of the great plain, they sink beneath the alluvial; and in
the neighbourhood of the river Platte, they are no more seen. The
uppermost are of a yellowish-gray colour; moderately fine; compact and
hard; constantly varying, however, at different points, in colour as
well as most other characters. The light-coloured varieties usually
contain small round masses about the size of a musket-ball, which
are more friable than the rock itself, {282} from which they are
easily detached, leaving cavities corresponding to their own shape
and dimensions. They are commonly of a dark-brown colour, and of a
coarser sand than that which constitutes the rock itself. Where these
are found, I could never discover any of those remains of shellfish so
distinctly seen in many of the secondary rocks in this neighbourhood.
Passing downwards, or in other words, proceeding towards the primitive,
crossing the edge of the secondary, the sandstone becomes more coarse
and friable, its colour inclining more to several shades of brown and
red. This variety contains numerous masses of iron ore, and does not
appear to abound in the remains or impressions of organized beings. It
is also less distinctly stratified than that just mentioned; and it
often becomes exceedingly coarse, with angular fragments intermixed,
being in no respect different from the rock denominated breccia, and by
some geologists considered a distinct stratum.
This tract of sandstone, which skirts the eastern boundary of the Rocky
Mountains, and appears to belong to that immense secondary formation
which occupies the valley of the Mississippi, abounds in scenery of a
grand and interesting character. The angle of inclination of the strata
often approaches 90°, and is very rarely less than 45°. That side of
the ridges next the primitive appears to have been broken off from a
part of the stratum beyond; and is usually an abrupt and perpendicular
precipice, sometimes even overhanging and sheltering a considerable
extent of surface. The face of the stratum is usually smooth and hard,
and both sides are alike destitute of soil and verdure. Elevations of
this description are met with, varying from twenty to several thousand
feet in thickness; neither are they by any means uniform in height.
Some of them rise, probably, three hundred or four hundred feet; and
considering their singular character, would appear {283} high, were
they not subjected to an immediate and disadvantageous comparison with
the stupendous Andes, at whose feet they are placed. Their summits
in some instances are regular and horizontal, and are crowned with
a scanty growth of cedar and pine. Where the cement and most of the
materials of the sandstone are siliceous, the rock evinces a tendency
to break into fragments of a rhombic form; and in this case the
elevated edge presents an irregularly notched or serrated surface.
Sandstones consisting of silex, with the least intermixture of foreign
ingredients, are the most durable. But in the region of which we
speak, the variations in the composition, cement, and characters of
the sandstone, are innumerable. Clay and oxide of iron entering into
its composition in certain proportions, seem to render it unfit to
withstand the attacks of the various agents, whose effect is to hasten
dissolution and decay. Highly elevated rocks of this description may
well be supposed in a state of rapid and perceptible change. The
sharp angles and asperities of surface which they may have originally
presented, are soon worn away; the matter constantly removed by the
agency of water from their sides and summits is deposited at their
feet; their elevation gradually diminishes, and even the inclination of
their strata becomes at length obscure or wholly undiscoverable. This
appears to have been a part of the process by which numerous conic
hills and mounds have been interspersed among the highly inclined naked
rocks above mentioned. These hills, often clothed with considerable
verdure to their summits, add greatly to the beauty of the surrounding
scenery. The contrast of colours in this rude but majestic region, is
often seen to produce the most brilliant and grateful effects. The deep
green of the small and almost procumbent cedars and junipers, with the
less intense colours of various species of deciduous foliage, acquires
new beauty from being {284} placed as a margin to the glowing red and
yellow seen in the surfaces of many of the rocks.
_Of the Sandstones of the Rocky Mountains_
Having commenced our account of the Rocky Mountains with the
consideration of that vast accumulation of rounded fragments
constituting the Great Desert, which may be reckoned the most recent
formation connected with that great range of mountains, we proceed to
speak of the sandstones, the next member in the inverted order we have
adopted; and here we take occasion to remark the peculiar grandeur and
simplicity of features which distinguish the mineral geography of this
part of our continent. We have here a stupendous chain of granitic
mountains, many hundred miles in extent, and with no stratified rocks
resting about their sides, except a few sandstones, equally granitic,
and almost equally primitive. We discover here comparatively few traces
of that magnificent profusion of animal and vegetable life, which in
other parts of the globe has reared mountains of limestone, clay-slate,
and those other aggregates, which if not entirely, are often in a great
measure, made up of the exuviæ of living beings. We shall not here
be understood to contradict the assertion we have before made, that
the sandstones along the base of the Rocky Mountains contain organized
remains, and bear abundant evidence of having been at a comparatively
recent period deposited gradually from the waters of the ocean. The
particular we wish to remark as distinguishing these mountains most
strikingly from the Alleghanies, and many other ranges, is the entire
want of the aggregates referred by the Wernerians to the transition
period, as well as nearly all the stratified primitive rocks, and the
limestones of the secondary formations.[81] This great range, as far
as hitherto known to us, lies nearly from north to south. Considered
{285} topographically, the sandstone formation belongs both to the
mountains and the plains, sloping down from the sides of the granite,
and disappearing under the sands of the Great Desert.
The western boundary of this formation of sandstone, as far as our
examinations have searched, appears to be defined, and corresponds to
the side of the easternmost granitic ranges. From the Platte towards
the south, the sandstone increases in width, and on the Canadian it
extends more than half the distance from the sources of that river to
its confluence with the Arkansa. This sandstone formation we consider
as consisting essentially of two members.
1st. _Red sandstone._--This rock, which is the lowest of the horizontal
or fletz rocks met with in this part of the country, is very abundant
in all the region immediately subjacent to the Rocky Mountains. We have
never met with a similar rock in the eastern part of the valley of the
Mississippi. It occurs at intervals along the base of the mountain,
reposing against the primitive rocks, in an erect or highly inclined
position. It varies in colour from bright brick red, to dark brown; and
is sometimes found exhibiting various shades of yellow and gray. It is,
however, almost invariably ferruginous; and the predominance of red
in the colouring certainly entitles it to the distinctive appellation
of red sandstone. The lowest part of the stratum has frequently least
colour, and is also the most compact and hard. This is not, however,
invariably the case; for in the neighbourhood of the Platte, that part
of it which lies immediately upon the granite is white, and contains
beds of coarse conglomerate or puddingstone. At the lowest points we
have been able to examine, are found embodied large oval or irregular
masses of hornstone, usually of a yellowish-white, or bluish colour;
and near the surface of these masses are found the few well-marked
organic relics the stratum can be said to contain. Higher {286} up
the rock becomes much softer, and usually of a browner colour. It is
disposed in immense horizontal laminæ or strata, which, when broken
transversely, exhibit some tendency to separate into fragments of a
rhombic form. Near the upper part of the stratum are frequently seen
broad belts of a lighter colour, conspicuously marked with reticulating
yellowish veins. The cross fracture of the stone is even and earthy,
except in the conservatories. When divided in a direction parallel to
that of the strata, small scales of mica are seen; but this is usual
only in those parts of the stone where natural seams or fissures
existed. Small specimens from many parts of this stratum could not be
distinguished from the red sandstone quarried at Nyae in New Jersey,
and used in great quantities in the cities of New York, Albany, &c.
for building. The character which most particularly distinguishes this
rock from "the old red sandstone of Werner," pointed out by Maclure
in New York and New Jersey, appears to be the constant accompaniment
of gypsum, and muriate of soda; the colour of the stratum is also in
general of a brighter red, approaching vermilion, and is more copiously
imparted to such streams of water as traverse it.
2d. _Argillaceous or gray sandstone._--Immediately above the red
sandstone, we have invariably found, where any rock rests upon it,
a grayish or yellowish-white sandstone, which we distinguish as
the second variety. It most frequently contains a large proportion
of argillaceous earth in the cement, and has a more or less slaty
structure. Hence it may with propriety be denominated argillaceous
sandstone, though it may in some respects differ from the rock known
to many by that name. This variety being uppermost in actual position,
is perhaps more frequently seen than the other, while at the same
time it is probably less abundant. The line of separation betwixt the
two is often manifest and well defined; and in other instances, they
pass by imperceptible gradations into each other. {287} The upper, or
gray sandstone, is usually more compact and homogenous than the red;
it breaks like the other, though more rarely, into large cubic or
rhombic masses, which, on account of the more compact texture of the
stone, retain their form longer than those of the other variety. The
precipices formed by both are often lofty and perpendicular; but the
projections and angles of the red are more worn and rounded than those
of the gray. The narrow defiles and ravines which the streams of water
have excavated, are less tortuous when they are made entirely in the
gray sandstone, than in other instances. The springs of water flowing
from it are more free of mineral impregnations, than such as are found
in the other variety. It sometimes consists of glittering crystalline
particles, but does not in this case appear to be a chymical deposit.
In fine, it appears under an endless variety of characters, of which
it would be in vain to attempt the enumeration. Although the gray
sandstone is not invariably distinguished by the presence of an
argillaceous ingredient, yet it is constantly found accompanying soft
clay-slate, or bituminous shale and coal, wherever these last are met
with.
If this formation of sandstone, consisting of the two varieties just
mentioned, ever extended across the valley of the Mississippi to the
Alleghany mountains, as some might be disposed to believe, we cannot
pretend to determine what was its position relative to the immense
masses of fletz, limestone, and other rocks now found in that valley.
But as the red variety is still extensively disseminated, and usually
accompanied by those valuable substances, salt and plaister, it may
not be amiss to trace, as far as our examinations have enabled us
to do it, the outline of the region which it occupies. As we have
before mentioned, it is found in the vicinity of the river Platte,
in a highly inclined position, covering a narrow margin immediately
at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. {288} From the accounts of Lewis
and Clarke, we are induced to believe that it exists under similar
circumstances, near the falls of the Missouri. On the Canadian it is
constantly met with, from the sources of that river on the borders of
New Mexico, near Santa Fé, 106° west, until you arrive within a short
distance of its confluence with the Arkansa, in long. 97° west. The
waters of the Canadian, from flowing over the sandstone in question,
acquire an intense red colour, and are so impregnated with muriate
of soda and other soluble salts as to be unfit for use. This, we are
credibly informed, is also the case with the waters of three small
rivers tributary to the Arkansa, above the Canadian, on the same side;
also with the waters of Red river. Hence the conclusion appears to be
justified, that this rock extends from near the Arkansa on the north,
to a point beyond Red river on the south; and from near the mouth of
the Canadian, an unknown distance to the west. It is not unlikely it
may exist about the sources and upper branches of the Rio Colorado of
California, the Red river of Santa Fé, and the other Red rivers of New
Mexico. Near the mountains, and for a great distance to the south and
east of the High Peak, it is covered by the gray sandstone already
mentioned. This gray sandstone is the uppermost of those horizontally
stratified rocks which are seen in this region, possessing convincing
evidence of their being the deposition of an ocean or lake of salt
water.
Perhaps the most striking feature of this formation of sandstone, is
the great and abrupt change in the inclination of the strata in the
parts near the granite. We have already described this in a manner
sufficiently explicit, as we suppose, to convince most of our readers
that since the deposition of the sandstones, a signal change must have
happened in the elevation of the secondary aggregates as compared
with the granite. The appearances are precisely {289} such as we must
suppose would have ensued, had the sudden emerging of the granite
broken off, and thrown into an inclined or vertical position the margin
of the horizontally stratified rocks of the plains. We are conscious
that inclined strata of sandstone are by no means infrequent about the
declivities of lofty mountains, but we are not well assured that the
same strata being traced to a little distance, are often found in a
horizontal position in the plains, as is the case in the instance under
consideration.
It may perhaps be thought possible that the gradual wearing away, by
the agency of rivers, of some portions of the sandstone, may have been
sufficiently extensive to have occasioned that change of elevation
of which we speak; and that those rocks now found in an inclined
position, are insulated portions of what was formerly the upper part
of the stratum, which having been undermined on their eastern side,
and supported by the granite on their western, have fallen into their
present situation.
This supposition, however, seems incompatible with the vast magnitude
and extent of these rocks, and entirely irreconcilable to the fact that
they dip to a great and indefinite extent below the present level of
any of the beds of the river.
The position of this formation in relation to the granite is similar
to that of the sandstone of Guachaco, in South America, observed by
Humboldt; also to that spoken of by Mr. Burkhardt, at the entrance of
Nubia, superimposed upon the granite of Syene, and to that mentioned
by Mr. Schoolcraft, as found near Lake Superior, but it does not
appear that those formations have the same peculiarities in regard to
inclination.
FLETZ TRAP ROCKS
Another family of rocks, of recent formation, and connected with the
sandstone last mentioned, remains to be noticed.
{290} These are rocks of basaltic conformation, belonging to the
class, by some mineralogists denominated superincumbent rocks, and by
many considered of volcanic origin. They present a striking contrast,
by their dark colour, by the vastness and irregularity of their
masses, to the smooth, light, and fissile sandstone on which they
rest. Sometimes they are observed compact and apparently homogeneous
in their composition, and in many particulars of structure, form,
hardness, &c. seeming more analogous to the primitive rocks than to
those recent secondary aggregates with which they are associated. In
other instances, black and formless masses of porous and amygdaloidal
substances are seen scattered about the plains or heaped in conic
masses, but having no immediate connection with the strata on which
they rest. Most of the rocks belonging to this class were observed
in the neighbourhood of the sources of the Canadian. Among them we
distinguish two kinds, referable to the two divisions called greenstone
and amygdaloid.
1. _Greenstone_, JAMESON.--It appears in the limited district we
examined under almost every variety of form and character noticed
by mineralogists. Sometimes it is nearly or quite free from any
intermixture of hornblende, is of a fine dark green colour, and
closely resembles some varieties of serpentine. Sometimes its colour
is a dull gray, graduating into brown and black of various shades and
intensities. It forms numerous conic hills of considerable elevation,
scattered without order, or grouped in various directions. These
hills are usually of a regular and beautiful form. The great plain on
which they are based is elevated and destitute of timber or water,
but ornamented with a carpet of thick and verdant grasses. The hills,
though steep and high, are sometimes smooth and green to the summit,
the surface on all sides being unbroken by trees or rocks, and covered
with thick turf. The whole forms a scene of singular {291} beauty.
During our journey across the district, based upon the rocks now under
consideration, we had constantly occasion to admire the freshness
and abundance of the grasses and other herbaceous plants. The plains
of the Platte and Arkansa we had seen brown and desolate, as if
recently ravaged by fire; but here we passed elevated tracts, where,
for many miles, we could find no water for our own necessities, yet
the vegetation possessed the freshness of spring in the most fertile
regions. But the conic hills just mentioned, are not invariably the
form under which the greenstone appears. It sometimes rises in low
irregular ridges, extending a considerable distance, and sloping on
both sides into the level of the plain.
In the narrow channels which the streams of water have sunk in it,
may be seen perpendicular precipices of great elevation, but the
valley between them is usually almost filled with large broken masses
of the rock, which frequently exhibit a prismatic form. It falls
readily into large masses, but seems strongly to resist that progress
of disintegration which it must undergo before it can be removed
by the water. The face of the perpendicular precipices are almost
invariably marked by distinct and large seams running nearly parallel
to each other, and at right angles with the horizon. Following the
watercourses, which are sunk considerable distance below the surface,
the line of separation from the sandstone on which the greenstone
rests, at length becomes visible on account of the descent of the
surface.
2. _Amygdaloid_, KIRWAN, JAMESON.--We apply this name to a porous
or vesicular rock, of a very dark gray, greenish or black colour,
usually found near the greenstone, but sometimes in connection with the
sandstone. In its ultimate composition it resembles greenstone, but we
have never seen in it such large fragments of felspar and scales of
mica, as are observed in that rock. The amygdaloidal {292} cavities
which every where penetrate this rock, are of various sizes, some of
them appearing like bubbles which have been formed in a semifluid mass,
and afterwards lengthened and variously distorted by the motions of
the contiguous matter. Near the surface they contain a soft white, or
yellowish white substance, very different from the rock itself, usually
a soft chalk-like carbonate of lime. This gives the recent surface a
mottled appearance. In surfaces which have been for some time exposed
to the air, this soft substance has been removed, and the pores and
vesicles are found empty.
Amygdaloid does not appear to occupy any very great extent of the
country near the Rocky Mountains. We have not met with it imbedded in,
or surmounted by any other rock. Like the greenstone, it forms conic
hills which sometimes occur in deep water-worn vallies, bounded on
both sides by perpendicular walls of sandstone. It is likewise seen in
the high plains, sometimes in the form of narrow and crooked ridges,
apparently following what were anciently the beds of small brooks. Some
very high and sharp conic hills were visible to the westward, but at a
great distance. Two of this kind which stand near each other, and seem
to be detached from the primitive mountains, are called the Spanish
peaks, and at the end of July, snow was still to be seen on them.
When either of the two rocks last mentioned occur, it is not uncommon
to find detached masses of a stone somewhat resembling the pumice-stone
of commerce. It is usually of a faint red, or yellowish white colour,
but sometimes it is brown, or nearly black. It feels less harsh than
the pumice-stone which is used in the arts, and seems to consist in
a great degree of clay. It appears to be entirely similar to the
substance brought down the Missouri by the annual floods, and by many
considered as a {293} product of pseudo-volcanic fires, said to exist
on that river.
With regard to the soils resting upon the rocks of this trap formation,
it may be worthy of remark, that gravel and water-worn pebbles rarely
occur, except in situations where it is easy to see they may have
been derived from the substratum of sandstone. We are not disposed to
enter into any discussion concerning the origin of the trap rocks. The
volcanists, and those who believe the trap formations to have been
thrown up in a state of fusion from beneath the crust of the earth,
will have an easy method of accounting for a fact mentioned in our
journal, namely, that pieces of charred wood were found enclosed in
the sandstone underlying the formation in question. Though we sought
in vain for some evidence that the rocks of this formation traversed
the strata of sandstone in the manner of the whin dikes of England,
we are conscious our examinations were far too limited to justify us
in asserting that this is not the case; nor can we adduce a single
fact from which it could be inferred that these basaltiform rocks
have been deposited, like the accompanying strata of sandstone, from
suspension in water. The country occupied by this formation, exhibits
scenery of a very peculiar and interesting character. It is remarked
by Humboldt,[82] that "in the Canary islands, in the mountains of
Auvergne, in the Mittelgebirge, in Bohemia, in Mexico, and on the banks
of the Ganges," and we may add, in the United States, the formation
of trap is indicated by a symmetrical disposition of the mountains
by truncated cones, sometimes insulated, sometimes grouped, and by
elevated plains, both extremities of which are crowned by a conical
rising. In some of the unpublished drawings by Mr. Seymour, these
peculiar {294} features of the scenery of the fletz trap formation,
have been preserved.
RECAPITULATION
The secondary formations along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains,
are:
1st. _Red Sandstone_--Rests immediately upon the granite, is rather
indistinctly stratified; strata sometimes inclined and sometimes
horizontal; abounds in gypsum, salt, and iron, but exhibits no
indications of coal.
2d. _Argillaceous_, or _Gray Sandstone_--Overlays the red, conforming
to it in the inclination of the strata, occurs principally near the
primitive; contains coal and iron.
3d. _Greenstone_ and _Graystone_[83]--Of an imperfectly columnar
structure, resting on the argillaceous sandstone.
4th. _Amygdaloid_--Sometimes containing argil, and sometimes
hornblende, occurs with the greenstone about the sources of the
Canadian river, constituting with the former the newest fletz trap
formation.
5th. _Sand_ and _Gravel_--Accompanying the sandstones and extending
over the great desert, but rarely found resting on the trap rocks.
The sandstones being entirely mechanical aggregates, consisting
of rounded fragments of rocks formerly constituting a part of the
primitive mountains, would seem to have been deposited at a very remote
period, when the waters of the primeval ocean covered the level of the
great plain and the lower regions of the granitic mountains.
Subsequent to the deposition of the horizontally stratified rocks,
the position of these in relation to the primitive, has been somewhat
changed either by the action of some force beneath the primitive
rocks, {295} forcing them up to a greater elevation than they formerly
possessed, or by the sinking down of the secondary, produced by the
operation of some cause equally unknown. Without supposing some
change of this kind, how can we account for the great inclination of
the margin of the sandstone rocks which is found resting against the
granite almost perpendicularly? Nearly contemporaneous to this change,
was the retiring of the sea, and the formation of the trap rocks. The
beds of loose sand and gravel which are still constantly accumulating,
have been formed in part from the disintegration of the sandstones and
puddings, and partly by the action of those currents of water which are
constantly bringing down small fragments from the primitive rocks, and
depositing them in the plains.
The absence of any formation of limestone is a distinguishing
characteristic of the country under consideration. A traveller to the
upper part of the Missouri mentions "calcareous and petrosiliceous
hills," as existing in the coal districts on that river. But in
ascending the Platte from its confluence with the Missouri to the
mountains, we saw not a single fragment of limestone. Small veins
of carbonate of lime crystallized in the usual form, are met with
in the argillaceous sandstone of the Arkansa, also the sulphate in
small quantities. Gypsum is very abundant on the Canadian river, at
a distance of three or four hundred miles from the mountains. It is
disseminated in veins and thick horizontal beds in the red sandstone.
The extent and thickness of these horizontal beds are, perhaps, such as
would justify the appellation of stratum, but as it is not met with in
great quantities, except in connection with the sandstone, with which
it often alternates, it may with propriety be considered a subordinate
rock.
_Rock Salt._--This substance has often been said to exist in some
part of upper Louisiana, in the form of {296} an extensive stratum:
we have met with salt among the natives in masses of twenty or thirty
pounds weight. The interior of these masses when broken, presented a
crystalline structure, being made up of incomplete cubic crystals
variously grouped together. On one of the surfaces, which had probably
been the one in contact with the ground or rock on which the salt had
rested, a considerable mixture of red sand was discoverable. These
masses had apparently been produced by the evaporation, during the dry
season, of the waters of some small lake. The whole country near the
mountains abounds in licks, brine springs, and saline efflorescences,
but it is in the neighbourhood of the red sand-rock before mentioned,
that salt is met with in the greatest abundance and purity. The
immediate valley of the Canadian river in the upper part of its course,
varies in width from a few rods to three or four miles, but it is
almost invariably bounded by precipices of red sand-rock, forming "the
river bluffs." In the valley between these, incrustations of nearly
pure salt are often found, covering the surface to a great extent,
in the manner of thin ice, and causing it to appear when seen from a
distance, as if covered with snow.
Most of the remarkable formations of rock-salt hitherto known, have
been found in the stratum denominated "the lowest red sand rock,"
which appears to correspond in character, position, &c. with the
sandstone above mentioned. Rock salt is found in connection with this
sandstone in Cheshire, and at Northwich and Droitwich, in England, at
Cardona in the province of Catalonia in Spain, and at the base of the
Carpathian mountains in Moldavia and Poland. In Peru it is accompanied
by sandstone and gypsum.
Accident, or further examination, it is probable, may hereafter bring
to light those extensive beds of {297} this substance, which there is
reason to believe exist in the neighbourhood of the Rocky Mountains.
The briny character of those great streams, the Arkansa and Red rivers,
flowing over the red sandstone formation, and receiving from it the
peculiar character and colour of their waters, affords sufficient
evidence of the existence of such beds, and the greatness of the
quantity washed away in any given time, would lead to the conclusion,
that they must be of vast extent. By the analogy of other rock salt
formations apparently similar in character, we should be instructed
to search for these beds in depressed situations and basin-shaped
cavities, whose contents had not been worn down and removed by the
currents of water.
Other secondary rocks found in different parts of the great valley
of the Mississippi will be noticed hereafter. Those above enumerated
seem to have a peculiar dependence upon the Rocky Mountains, and for
this reason, we thought proper to consider them in connection with
that range; they also appear to be, in some measure, independent of
the other members of that great secondary formation on the borders of
which they occur. The peculiar features of the region occupied by these
rocks have been minutely described in the narrative of our journey. It
is a region unfitted by the barrenness of its soil, the inhospitable
character of its climate and other physical disadvantages, to become
the residence of a permanent and numerous population. The immense
grassy plains of the southern and eastern portions are adapted to the
feeding of cattle and horses; and it is not improbable the countless
herds of bisons and wild horses will soon give place to domesticated
animals. The coal, salt, plaster, and iron, which constitute the
mineral wealth of this portion of the United States' territory, lose
much of their value on account of their remoteness from navigable
streams. Beautiful carnelions and agates occur in the alluvial regions
of {298} the Platte and the Missouri; but these will never become
objects of any importance.
_Of the Ozark Mountains_
Leaving the newest fletz trap rocks, about the sources of the Canadian,
and returning eastward along the great woodless plain between the
Arkansa and Red rivers, we find an extensive tract occupied exclusively
by the red sandstone of the salt formation. This rock, as we have
already remarked, is constantly accompanied by gypsum and muriate of
soda. The red and somewhat argillaceous soil which results from its
disintegration is far more fertile than that of the gravelly plains of
the Platte, being often covered with a luxuriant growth of grasses, and
affording pasturage to great numbers of herbivorous animals.
About one hundred and fifty miles west from the confluence of the
Arkansa and Canadian, this red sandstone is discontinued, being
succeeded, or perhaps overlaid by an extensive coal formation. The
argillaceous sandstone of this formation assumes various characters at
different points. The Falls of the Canadian, particularly described in
our narrative, are occasioned by a small ridge of fine argillaceous
sandstone of a deep green colour, crossing the bed of the river
obliquely. The coal beds in this region are of great thickness, and
are apparently extensive and numerous. This formation appears, in a
great measure, unconnected with the coal strata along the base of the
Rocky Mountains, and the sandstone of the two districts are often
remarkably dissimilar. Though the strata in both instances are nearly
horizontal, the formation at the base of the Rocky Mountains must have
an actual elevation greatly surpassing that of the district now under
consideration. For these reasons, we have been induced to consider
{299} this as belonging to the small group of mountains we have already
had frequent occasion to mention, and which have received from Major
Long, the name of Ozark mountains. These we shall now proceed to
describe, according to the information in our possession.
From an inspection of the map annexed to this work, it will be
perceived that the course of the Missouri, below the mouth of the
Konzas, is considerably inflected to the east, in order to pass round
the end of a range of hills, rising in the angle between this river and
the Mississippi. This range increases in elevation for some distance
to the south-west, its highest point being somewhere near the sources
of the White and Osage rivers, the two most considerable streams
originating in these mountains. Farther to the south-west, losing a
part of its elevation, it is traversed in succession by the Arkansa and
Red rivers from the west, and gives origin to the Washita, the Sabine,
and some other rivers of inconsiderable magnitude. Our acquaintance
with the country between Red river and the Rio del Norte is too
imperfect to enable us to trace particularly the continuation of the
Ozark mountains, which is believed to extend to that river, and to have
some connection with its great southern bend, below the confluence of
the Rio Conchos. We will, therefore, at present, confine our attention
to that portion north-east of Red river. Though there is no point
of great elevation in any part of the range, the whole is truly a
mountainous region, and well entitled to a distinctive appellation. Its
parallelism in general direction to the Atlantic coast, and the great
chain of the Alleghanies, as well as the character and inclination of
its component strata, afford unequivocal indication that it belongs
to a different system from the great chain of the Rocky Mountains. In
several particulars, there is a striking resemblance between this range
and the Alleghanies, {300} and in some, as we shall notice hereafter,
as manifest a dissimilarity.
Near the western limits of the coal formation, which are also the
limits of the mountainous countries on the Canadian and Arkansa,
compact limestone occurs for the first time (as far as our acquaintance
extends) on this side the Rocky Mountains. This formation of limestone,
and the accompanying strata of argillaceous sandstone, though they
do not, perhaps, always strictly coincide in position, may be traced
far to the north; and these we consider as marking the western limits
of the Ozark mountains. It is to be remarked, however, that in
these observations, we do not intend to apply this name with strict
geographical precision to those portions only which are sufficiently
elevated to be called mountains; but so far to extend its signification
as to include not only the high and broken ridges, but several less
elevated tracts possessing the same peculiar mineralogical features.
The few facts and observations we have it in our power to contribute
towards an account of this interesting range, were collected during
a pedestrian excursion from Bainbridge on the Mississippi, through
the country of the lead-mines, at the sources of the Merameg and
St. Francis, and a journey from Belle Point, by the way of the hot
springs of the Washita, and the upper settlements of White river,
to Cape Girardeau. For many important facts we are indebted to Major
Long's unpublished journals of tours in various parts of the region in
question, and to Mr. Nuttall's "Travels into the Arkansa Territory."
_Compact Limestone._--We commence with the consideration of this
stratum, as it is one of frequent occurrence, and perhaps occupies a
greater extent of surface than any other. It so frequently alternates
with the micaceous sandstones, and with the peculiar flint-rock of
this district, that we have never been able to devise any theory
of arrangement {301} which appeared applicable to more than an
inconsiderable extent of territory.
A few miles west of the Rapids of the Canadian, a thin stratum of
compact limestone, of the common blue variety, and abounding in
organized remains, overlays the argillaceous sandstone of the coal
formation. This limestone becomes more abundant towards the south,
and is the prevailing rock on that part of Red river, near the
confluence of the Kiamesha.[84] At Cape Girardeau, in the country a
few miles in the rear of Herculaneum and St. Genevieve, and in many
places throughout the district of the lead-mines, there is a coarse
crystalline limestone, of a light gray colour, which is usually
the lowest rock exposed in those places. It is very indistinctly
stratified, and has in many respects a considerable resemblance to
the more crystalline varieties of primitive limestone: for such it
appears to have been mistaken by Mr. Schoolcraft, who, in his work on
the lead-mines, asserts that the "mineral soil at Mine a Burton, and
the numerous mines in its vicinity, reposes on primitive limestone,"
page 108. Afterwards, at page 119., speaking of this same primitive
limestone, he says, "On going deeper, the rock again graduated into a
compact limestone, very hard, and of a bluish gray colour, in which
were frequently found small cavities studded over with minute pyramids
of limpid quartz." And again, at the page first referred to, he informs
us, "The primitive limestone passes into transition, and secondary, in
various places on the banks of the Mississippi, between Cape Girardeau,
and Saint Louis." We adduce these statements as confirming our own
observations of the alternation of the _crystalline_ or _sparry_
limestone, with the compact blue variety; but as we have examined with
great care several of the places mentioned by Mr. Schoolcraft, and many
others apparently similar, we are disposed to think he has mistaken
the character of the rock. We have never met with any {302} limestone
about the lead-mines which did not contain organized remains; and the
white crystalline variety abounds particularly in casts of encrinites,
though these are not always manifest without careful examination.
This limestone, though rather indistinctly stratified, is marked by
horizontal seams, distant one or two feet, and sometimes more, from
each other. Its exposed surface becomes somewhat bleached and rough
with small prominences, in which we may often distinctly trace the
forms of animal remains. The recent fracture is uneven, distinctly
crystalline, and much like that of many moderately fine-grained
granites. Careful examination shows that in many instances the most
minute particles visible under a lens, have assumed the rhombic form
so common to the carbonate of lime. These crystalline particles vary
greatly in size, and are sometimes half an inch across. In the interior
of the casts of animal remains, they are sometimes less distinct than
in parts of the rock where no such remains are discovered.
These vast beds of sparry limestone, made up almost exclusively of
deposits from chymical solution, would seem to have been formed during
periods when great tranquillity prevailed in the waters of the primeval
ocean; and their alternation with limestones of the common earthy
variety, and with sandstones made up of fragments rounded by attrition,
may be considered as proofs that those periods, whatever may have been
their distinguishing peculiarity, alternated with other periods of a
different character.
This variety of limestone is perhaps the lowest rock hitherto
noticed in the country of the lead-mines, and it may, according to
the suggestion of Schoolcraft, be considered as the basis rock in
that district; but as it certainly passes through every intermediate
variety into the compact blue limestone, there seems to be no propriety
in separating it from that rock, which often overlays the newest
sandstones. If this view of the subject be admitted, it results that
we are to consider {303} the whole of that part of the Ozark mountains
which contains the lead-mines as belonging to a coal formation. We have
met with nothing north of the Arkansa which appears to us to have any
claim to be considered as belonging to the class of primitive rocks.
Mr. Schoolcraft informs us, that granite, gneiss, and mica slate exist
in Missouri, but has omitted to point out the particular localities.
See Views of the Lead Mines, page 92.
At St. Louis, Cote sans Dessein, Isle a Loutre, and at many points
on the Missouri, the limestone partakes of the character of both
the varieties above mentioned, but is rarely if ever so exclusively
crystalline as in the lead-mine district. Most of the limestones
between Franklin on the Missouri, and the Council bluffs, are
distinctly crystalline, and are usually of a yellowish or reddish white
colour.
The horizontal limestone near the mouth of the Ohio, is of a bluish
gray colour, of a compact or fine granular structure, and contains some
metallic ores often occurring in veins of beautifully crystallized
fluat of lime. Near some of these localities of fluat of lime, we have
observed the rock itself to contain small and apparently water-worn
masses of hornstone, and some fragments of a perfectly white granular
limestone.
_Petrosilex._--In the vicinity of Bainbridge, ten miles above Cape
Girardeau, is a stratified gray flint rock very similar in aspect, and
having nearly a similar fracture to the common gun-flint. This rock
is here an extensive stratum, and occurs in connection with compact
limestone. In tracing it towards the south-west, we have not been
able to detect the slightest interruption to its continuity through
an extent of more than two hundred miles along the central portion
of the mountainous district. Towards the south-west it is found to
acquire gradually a more and more primitive character, and losing,
near the Chattahoocke mountain the accompanying stratum {304} of
compact limestone, it appears near the hot springs of the Washita,
associated with the highly inclined argillite of that district. This
rock, as far as our limited observations have extended, exhibits no
traces of organized remains. Its colour seems gradually to change
according to its age, or at least with the apparent age of the rocks
associated with it. South of the Arkansa it is of a yellowish or
pearly white colour; about White river, it is a dirty yellow, and at
the St. Francis a grayish brown. A corresponding change may also be
noticed in the inclination of the strata, and in other particulars.
Aside from this apparently intimate connection there is a particular
resemblance between the petrosilex of the Washita, and the flint rock
of the lead-mine district. The rock in both instances falls readily
into small masses of a few ounces weight. The hills it forms have
usually a rounded outline, and often bear open forests of pine, while
the timber on the sandstone hills is usually oak. Open woods of pine
and oak occur in almost all the uplands in the Ozark mountains, and are
considered unfailing indications of a meagre and flinty soil.
_Argillaceous Sandstone._--The sandstones of this small group of
mountains appear under almost every variety of character, but in most
of them, as far as hitherto examined, we discover traces of coal or of
those minerals and organized remains which usually accompany it. In
the inclined sandstone near the hot springs, there are, it is true, no
indications of coal; and that rock is in every respect similar to what
are called the transition sandstones of the Alleghany and Coatskill
mountains, but by following it an inconsiderable distance either east
or west, it is found passing imperceptibly into the coal strata of the
Poteau, and of the Little Red river of White river. In this instance,
as in that of the stratum last mentioned, we find a rock apparently
possessing as much unity as can belong to such a subject, passing from
{305} recent _secondary_ down, through all the intermediate grades, to
the oldest _transition_, and thus heaping confusion upon our doctrines
of the original continuity and systematic succession of strata.
A conspicuous character in the sandstones about the central and western
portions of the region under consideration, is the great proportion of
mica, in large scales, which enters into their composition. Fragments
of the sand-rock, about the mouth of the Poteau, might be mistaken for
mica slate. This mica is rarely if ever of that dark coloured variety
which prevails in the Rocky Mountains; and in the other materials of
these aggregates, there is a manifest want of resemblance to those
mountains. A very slight comparison of the secondary formations at the
base of the Rocky Mountains, with the similar aggregates in the Ozark
range, will be sufficient to convince any one that they have resulted
from the wearing down of primitive mountains, very dissimilar in
character to each other.
We might have remarked, when speaking of the Rocky Mountains, the
absence of any formation of talcose rocks, and indeed of magnesian
fossils of any kind, and a corresponding deficiency of talcose and
chloritic sandstones among the secondary rocks. We no sooner arrive at
the western margin of the secondary belonging to the Ozark mountains,
than we meet with extensive beds of sandstone, in which the prevalence
of magnesia forms a conspicuous character. The beautiful argillaceous
chlorite sandstone at the rapids of the Canadian, has been already
described, and similar beds are not uncommon in many places in the
vicinity of extensive depositions of coal.
Another peculiar variety of sandstone occurs, in connection with the
sulphuret of lead, at the old mines of St. Michael, and at many places
thereabouts. This bears apparently the same relation to the common
sandstones, as the crystalline limestone above {306} mentioned does to
the earthy varieties, and it alternates with and passes into the common
rock in a similar manner. Its particles are crystalline, and appear
to remain undisturbed in the position in which they were originally
deposited from solution in water. Nevertheless the aggregate is
manifestly secondary, and embraces the relics of many organized beings,
as is common in the other secondary rocks.
There is also about the lead mines a sandstone composed of small
glimmering grains of transparent quartz, and so loosely cemented as to
fall rapidly to pieces, forming a light gray sand. In this variety we
have sometimes observed the lead ore either disseminated, or forming
horizontal veins between the laminæ of sandstone. An examination of
some spots might lead to the conclusion that the soil in which most of
the lead has hitherto been found, has resulted from the disintegration
of a sandstone of this kind.
Sandstone, though often covered at the surface by compact limestone
or some other stratum is probably the rock which occurs in the
greatest quantity throughout every part of this range of mountains.
It is the prevailing stratum in all the country between the Arkansa
and Red rivers, from the confluence of the Mamelle westward; rising
to the height of two or three thousand feet, to form the summits of
the Cavaniol, Sugar Loaf, and Mt. Cerne, and to a less considerable
elevation at the Mamelle, Magasin, Caslete, and Short mountains.
North of the Arkansa it forms the body of the Chattahoocke mountain,
and of many nameless elevations, which diversify the surface from the
sources of the Little Red river to the Mississippi. Beds of coarse
conglomerate or puddingstone, are met with in many places; but these
are particularly frequent in connection with the inclined or transition
sandstones about the Washita.
_Native Argil._--Nine miles west of Bainbridge, on {307} the road to
Jackson, and on the right bank of the Mississippi, near the head of
Tiawapeti bottom, also in various other places in this vicinity, there
are extensive beds of perfectly white native argil, of about the
hardness of common chalk, for which it has often been mistaken.[85]
See Schoolcraft's "Catalogue of Western Minerals," art. 1st.
Notwithstanding Mr. Schoolcraft's confident assertion, it must yet be
considered doubtful whether any chalk has ever been found in the region
under consideration.
Specimens of the substance called chalk by the inhabitants, were
collected at several places between Cape Girardeau and St. Louis.
Also on the north side of the Missouri, on the road from St. Louis
to Franklin. Some of these which were brought to New York, have been
examined by my brother, Dr. J. James, and others, and were found to
consist principally of argil, none of them occasioning the slightest
effervescence with acids.
This substance, whatever it is to be considered, is distributed
extensively throughout the country lying around the confluence of the
Missouri and Mississippi. Some specimens have been sent from Illinois
to the Lyceum of Natural History at Troy, where they are spoken of
as a "littrographic carbonate of lime;" but whether any experiments
have been made to ascertain their real character we have not been able
to learn. We have not, from our own observation, found occasion to
confirm the statement, that nodules of flint are found imbedded in this
substance; but we have commonly found it accompanied by the flint rock
already mentioned, which has in many respects a manifest resemblance to
the flints occurring in chalk formation. We have sought in vain for the
remains of echini and other animals so common in chalk beds.
_Argillite._--Of the older secondary rocks, we have observed in the
Ozark mountains only the inclined {308} sandstones and conglomerates
above mentioned, and a limited formation of argillite, extending a
few miles around the hot springs of Washita, and re-appearing on
the Arkansa at and above the town of Little Rock, being usually
accompanied by vast beds of petrosilex. This latter ought, perhaps, to
be considered a distinct stratum, but south of the Arkansa we have not
been able to trace it uninterrupted for any great distance.
Mr. Nuttall, in his valuable Journal of Travels into the Arkansa
Territory, mentions _grauwacke slate_ as occurring along the Arkansa
river near Little Rock, p. 105. We have observed none here in any
considerable degree similar to the grauwacke slate of the transition
mountains of New York, or even to that of the Alleghanies. We are
aware, however, that some of the aggregates which we call sandstones,
have all the characters attributed to grauwacke slates, "_grauwacke
is a complete sandstone_,"[86] and in a district where both are
so intimately blended as in that we are considering, perhaps it
is unnecessary to attempt any distinction between them; or we may
persevere in the use of the two names at the same time, acknowledging
they are both applied to the same stratum.
The hot springs of the Washita issue from clay-slate, and if we may
judge from the inclination of the strata, and the distance at the
surface from the granite of the cove, we may conclude a very large mass
of clay-slate is interposed between the surface of the granite and the
point at which the springs rise. This however it is not possible to
ascertain. The hottest springs on the globe rise from beneath or within
the granite,[87] and it is not improbable this rock may approach near
the surface at many points {309} in the Ozark mountains, where it has
not yet been uncovered.
The slate rock about the hot springs is highly inclined, often a
good deal flinty in its composition, and as far as we have observed,
contains no organised remains. It is traversed by large upright veins,
filled usually with white quartz, contrasting strongly in colour with
the dark blue of the slate-stone. The elevation of the "Hot Springs
mountain" is estimated by Hunter and Dunbar at three hundred feet
above the surface of the creek at the springs. This point is probably
raised twenty or thirty feet above the Washita at Keisler. North of
the springs the slate-rocks rise to greater elevation; but it is not
probable that at any point where we have seen them, they attain the
height of one thousand feet above the Mississippi.
The high lands between Washita and Red river are occupied principally
by sandstone, the clay-slate appearing to extend from north-east to
south-west, which, as far as we have observed, is the direction of the
strata; these, when they are not perpendicular, usually dipping to the
north-west.
The country about the sources of the Washita is represented as
affording many interesting minerals; among them are enumerated "a
martial pyrites, large bodies of crystallised spar, and hexagonal
prisms, which are known to contain no small portion of the precious
metals."[88] If the clay-slate in any part of this mountainous region
should be found accompanied by its usual attendant, the metalliferous
limestone, we should be more ready to credit the accounts of the
precious metals being found, as at least some of the valuable mines
in America exist in that stratum. But as yet we have no satisfactory
accounts of the occurrence of that limestone, or any of the precious
metals in that part of the United States.
{310} _Granite._--About fifteen miles south-east from the hot springs,
near the Washita, granite is found _in situ_. It forms the basis,
and, as far as we could discover, the whole mass of a small hill, but
little elevated above the level of the river; we found it emerging from
beneath the soil at several parts of an area for two hundred or three
hundred acres; but had not an opportunity to trace it to any great
distance, nor to observe its connection with any other rock. The extent
of surface which it covers, we believe, cannot be very great. This
granite is very soft, and disintegrates rapidly when exposed to the
air. It is compounded of grayish-white quartz, yellowish-white felspar,
and an unusually large proportion of mica, in variously and brilliantly
coloured masses. These large laminæ of mica are white, pearl colour,
yellow, brown, green, and often black, and in some instances are so
large and numerous as to exceed in proportion the other ingredients
of the aggregate. Talc also enters in large proportion into the
composition of this granite. It is indeed sometimes so abundant as
to occasion a doubt whether the whole should not be considered a bed
of talc, rather than granite. This talc is in tabular masses, two or
three inches in diameter, and about half an inch in thickness. Zeolite
is also so abundant as sometimes to seem to take the place of the
other materials of the granite. It is of two varieties, radiated and
mealy. Stilbite (blaettriger zeolith of Werner) occurs in connexion
with zeolith. The bed of one of the small streams which traverses this
formation of granite is paved with small crystals of schorl, that of
another with native magnet. Sulphuret of iron is disseminated in the
granite. Several of the appearances presented by this interesting
mass of granite, would seem to countenance the opinion that it is of
secondary origin, like that mentioned by Saussure, as existing near the
valley of Valorsine, at Semur en Auxois, and at the city of Lyons. In
speaking of the granite {311} at these places, he says, "It could not
be doubted on seeing these heaps of large crystals, that they are the
produce of the rain-waters, which, passing through the granite, have
dissolved and carried down these different elements, and have deposited
them in these wide crevices, where they have formed new rocks of the
same kind. The crystals of these new granites are larger than those of
the ancient, on account of the repose which the waters enjoyed in the
inside of these reservoirs."
The granite of the Washita, if it is to be considered as of secondary
formation, appears to be much more extensive than any of the kind
hitherto known. Many more particulars must, however, be ascertained
before this question can be settled. We are ignorant of the manner of
its connection with any other rock. Nor do we know of any formation of
primitive granite from which it could, by the action of water, have
been derived. One can have no hesitation, however, in considering the
Ozark mountains, as a separate system within themselves, and having
no immediate connection with the Alleghanies or Rocky Mountains. The
sandstones which lie about these mountains, abound much more in mica
than those near the Rocky Mountains, nearly in the same proportion as
the granite of the latter has less than what is met with in the little
we have seen of the former. The Ozark mountains exhibit evidence of
metallic riches far exceeding any thing that appears in the Rocky
Mountains. May not an extensive range of granite and other primitive
rocks have existed at some distant period where the Ozark mountains
now are, containing the vast quantities of the ores of lead, iron,
&c. now found in rocks of recent secondary origin, and even in the
alluvial? and may not the operations of water during many ages, when an
ocean rolled over the summits of these mountains, have worn down those
primitive rocks, their detritus having been deposited horizontally
upon their submarine sides and summits; {312} so that the greater
part of their surfaces are now covered by secondary aggregates? Our
acquaintance with this range is however much too limited to admit of
indulgence in such speculations.
Numerous specimens of minerals brought by Lieutenant Graham and Dr.
Somerville from the Upper Mississippi and the Illinois rivers and
others from that region, now in the possession of Dr. L. C. Beck, of
St. Louis, have a peculiar resemblance to similar minerals met with in
the Ozark mountains, south of the Missouri. From these resemblances,
and the corroborating testimony of all the accounts we have received
concerning that country, rich in mines, which lies along the eastern
side of the Upper Mississippi, we have been induced to believe that a
continuation of the Ozark mountains, or at least, of a region similar
in Mineralogical features, extends from the confluence of the Missouri,
northward to the sources of the Wisconsan, and the Ontonagon river
of Lake Superior, north of the Missouri, the country is very little
elevated; but aside from this it appears to possess all the peculiar
features of the region we have been considering. The sandstones, the
limestones, and other rocks, have a striking resemblance. Both regions
abound in the ores of lead, and both afford copper.[89]
We are aware that the great irregularity in the direction of the ridges
accessory to this range, and of the dip and inclination of the older
secondary rocks belonging to it, may be considered objections to our
idea of the connection and continuity of the different parts and the
general direction of the group. But we are by no means anxious to
maintain the position we have assumed. Our examinations have been
limited, and we shall rejoice in any opportunity of correcting our
errors, and enlarging our acquaintance with this interesting range of
country.
{313} We subjoin in a note some account of a few of the most
interesting minerals hitherto observed in connection with the rocks of
this district.[90]
_Recapitulation_
The Ozark mountains extend from the sources of the Rio Colorado of
Texas on the south-west, to the confluence of the Mississippi and
Missouri on the north-east, and are continued in a low range from this
point towards Lake Superior. They are widest in the south-west, and in
that quarter they mingle with some low tracts of secondary sandstone,
extending from near the Gulf of Mexico to the base of the easternmost
ridge of the Rocky Mountains. Whether there is any similar expansion at
the northern extremity, or whether this range is connected as a spur to
the great primitive chain supposed to exist north of the great lakes,
and is separated by a wide secondary and alluvial valley from the Rocky
Mountains, is yet to be determined. This range consists of low ridges,
irregular in direction, rarely rising to an elevation of more than 1500
or 2000 feet, and consisting principally of secondary rocks.
The strata are--
1st. _Granite_--at the cove of the Washita.
2d. _Argillite_--ranging north-east and south-west from Little Rock
on the Arkansa to the hot springs, and thence to the sources of the
Kiamesha.
3d. _Transition Sandstone_--a narrow margin, following nearly the
same direction on the north-west side of the argillite, and usually
inclining like it to the south or south-east.
4th. _Flint_ (petrosilex)--From the hot springs north-east to the
Mississippi, and usually forming the basis of the pine-lands.
5th. _Limestone_--Compact and sparry; distributed {314} in the same
direction as the last, but more extensive.
6th. _Argillaceous Sandstone_--with extensive beds of coal, and
abounding in mines of lead.
7th. _Alluvial_--There are many extensive tracts of deep argillaceous
or calcareous loam; in other instances, a more meagre soil has
resulted from the disintegration of the sand-rock.
These are the remarks we have been able, from observation, to make
respecting the geology of a part of the United States' territory,
west of the Mississippi. Relating to that part of the interior of
our country which lies north-west of Lake Superior, and north of the
sources of the Missouri, we have little satisfactory information.
From the accurate and intelligent Mackenzie,[91] we are however able
to collect a few important particulars. This enterprising voyager, it
is well known, travelled from Montreal, L. C., in latitude 45° 30´,
longitude 74°, in a north-west direction, to the mouth of Mackenzie's
river, latitude 69°, longitude 135°; and again, at a later period,
leaving his former route at the Lake of the Hills, about midway between
Lake Superior and the mouth of Mackenzie's river, he ascended, in a
south-west direction, the Unjegah, or River of Peace, to the Rocky
Mountains, and crossing them, fell upon the sources of the northern
branch of the Columbia, and from thence arrived at the Pacific, at a
point a little north of the inlet of Queen Charlotte's sound. From him
we learn that the Rocky Mountains continue in an uninterrupted chain,
from the sources of the Missouri in the south, to a point beyond the
sixty-fifth parallel of north latitude, near the mouth of Mackenzie's
river. The River of Peace which he ascended in his journey to the
western ocean, has its source in these mountains in about 55° north,
nearly opposite to those of the great northern branch of the Columbia.
Farther towards the south are the sources of the Saskatchawin, a
large river, discharging itself from the {315} north-west into Lake
Winnipic. The mountains in this part seem to be less elevated than
those more to the south, but in other respects entirely similar.
Their northern termination, according to this traveller, is in about
north latitude 65°, 130° west longitude. Santa Fé in New Mexico is
in latitude 36°, longitude 104° 53´ west.[92] From this it will be
perceived, that the general direction of this great mountain range is
nearly from north-north-east to south-south-west. We have no evidence
to confirm the conjecture, which, nevertheless, is highly probable,
that the principal ridges of this range consist through their whole
extent of granite or other primitive rocks. Considering the stupendous
character, the great elevation and uniformity of the appearance of that
portion of these primitive mountains with which we are acquainted,
we should be led to look for similarity of character, and similar
uniformity throughout. It is commonly believed, as asserted by Maclure,
that "a large mass of primitive occupies all the northern part of this
continent;" and he considers the great Atlantic range of primitive,
the mountains of New England, New York, and the Alleghanies, as a
spur for this formation. We are not acquainted with the grounds on
which this opinion is founded, but we see no reason to consider it an
improbable one. Of the northern boundary of that vast formation of
secondary which certainly occupies a very large portion of the interior
of this continent, we are ignorant. On the south-east, its limit is
the irregular border of the transition of the Alleghanies, commencing
between the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, and running north-west
to Fort Anne, near Lake Champlain. From this point, a narrow and
perhaps interrupted strip of secondary extends through the valley of
Lake Champlain to the upper parts of St. John's river. The island and
mountain of Montreal are of secondary. The country {316} also between
St. John's and La Prairie is most probably secondary, as is much of
that along the St. Lawrence below Montreal. From the termination of
the transition near the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee, the
secondary rocks continue on the south-west, sometimes concealed by the
recent alluvial to the Black-lake river, near Natchitoches. Beyond
this, the information we have is not satisfactory. From this point,
turning north-west, we may for the present consider the Red river of
Louisiana as the boundary of the secondary, or rather the limit of our
acquaintance with this formation.
Beyond the Ozark mountains, the district between the Red river and
the Canadian is occupied by the red sandstone of the salt formation,
mentioned when speaking of that region, and is undoubtedly to be
considered secondary. How far it extends to the west beyond the sources
of Red river and the Canadian, we are unable to determine. At the
commencement of the most eastern ridge of the Rocky Mountains, a few
south of the high peak, and at no very great distance north from Santa
Fé, the boundary again becomes determinate. From this point it runs
nearly north one hundred and fifty miles, where it crosses the river
Platte. From the narrative of Lewis and Clarke, we are enabled to
determine with sufficient accuracy, that it crosses the Missouri not
far from the Falls, in longitude 110° west. Beyond this, the little
information we have, we owe to Sir Alexander Mackenzie. He informs
us, that great quantities of pit coal are found about the sources of
the Saskatchawin which lie near the Rocky Mountains, and between 50°
and 55° north latitude. The sources of Saskatchawin are placed by this
traveller near the base of the Rocky Mountains; and the coal formation
which he mentions, lies on the margin of a plain extending far to the
north and east. The Saskatchawin running to the east, traverses 15°
of longitude, and discharges its waters into Lake Winnipic in {317}
latitude 53° north. Lake Winnipic is connected by the Severn and
Port Nelson rivers to Hudson's-bay. There is a water communication,
interrupted by one portage, from the Saskatchawin, north-west, to the
Mississippi or Churchill's river; and from thence, by the Lake of the
Hills, Slave Lake, and Mackenzie's river, to the North Sea. Near the
Lake of the Hills, in latitude 59°, Mackenzie found several brine
springs. This, though not decisive evidence, perhaps justifies the
conclusion, that secondary rocks exist in that neighbourhood. A view of
the character and direction of the several large rivers which traverse
the region about Hudson's Bay, of their numerous inosculations, and
the number and position of the small lakes which abound in every part
of it, afford, at least, presumptive evidence, that it is an extensive
plain little inclined in any direction.
We may, perhaps, venture to conclude, that the secondary formation
extends uninterrupted along the base of the Rocky Mountains, as far
as to the Saskatchawin, where coal was observed by Mackenzie. What
lies beyond is as yet unknown. From this coal formation, our boundary
must for the present run in a direction a little south of east to Lake
Superior, whence it may, with a few inconsiderable interruptions,
follow the territorial boundary of the United States, until it
arrives at 45° parallel of latitude, thence by the St. Lawrence to
Montreal. The slight acquaintance we have with the country north of
this line, is perhaps insufficient to justify the conjecture, that
secondary formations occupy an extensive portion of that country. It
is improbable, that formations of secondary extend along the base of
the Rocky Mountains through their whole course, and from thence spread
themselves to the east, knowing no limits but Atlantic mountains,
the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the northern ocean. We
know that rocks of this formation exist about the {318} Gulf of St.
Lawrence, whence coal, plaster, and sandstone, are brought to our
markets.[93]
This boundary of the great formation of secondary rocks, which occupies
so large a portion of the interior of our continent, includes a
vast area of surface, extending through 25° of latitude, and 60° of
longitude. I intend to consider that portion of it only of which the
state of facts at present known enables us to speak with some degree
of confidence. This portion may be conceived as occupying the area of
a large triangle, the base of which is a line running from Montreal
in Lower Canada, south-west to a point, near the outlet of the river
Sabine, the western boundary of the state of Louisiana. The summit
would be at the sources of the Saskatchawin, which are west of north
from the mouth of the Sabine, and north of west from Montreal. The
Rocky Mountains on the west, and the Alleghanies on the south-east
mark the limits of the secondary in those directions. Its extent
towards the north and north-east is as yet unknown.
In the wide space included within the lines above mentioned, we know
of but one exception to the remark, that all the rocks found in place
are secondary. This is the instance of the Ozark hills traversing
the horizontal strata from south-west to north-east, somewhat in the
manner of a whindyke. The most striking peculiarity of this range, is
the prevalence among the secondary strata of crystalline substances,
and what are called rocks of chymical deposition, and the alternation
of these with beds and strata whose integrant particles bear evident
marks of having been worn and rounded by mechanical attrition. {319}
Appearances of this kind are observed in all formations of secondary
rocks, but it is believed, are, in few instances, as extensive or
as numerous as in this. It is well known, that the ores of lead, so
abundant in many parts of this range, occur in the uppermost strata
of horizontal sandstone, or in primary soils superimposed upon those
sandstones. It has been suggested, that these ores of lead may have
been brought down in the alluvion of rivers from some more ancient
and elevated region, but any one who shall examine them in connection
with the substances with which they are now found associated, will,
we think, be convinced of their having been of contemporaneous origin
with the sandstone. That the sparry limestones, the crystalline
sandstones, and perhaps the ores of lead, (almost invariably found in
the form of crystals,) have been deposited from solution in water, is
highly probable; and that these depositions must have taken place
in connection with circumstances not unfavourable to animal life is
evident, as all these crystalline rocks abound in organised remains.
In attempting an explanation of these appearances, can any assistance
be derived from recourse to the ingenious suggestion of Bakewell, that
_the matter of these crystalline beds and strata has been ejected from
beneath the crust of the earth in a state of chymical solution_. These
submarine eruptions may have been numerous, and may have happened
at different and remote periods; hence the alternation of rocks,
consisting of particles mechanically aggregated together with those of
chymical deposition. Hence the existence of metallic ores overlaying
recent marine sandstones and compact limestones; for these ores, in a
state of solution, may have been the matter thrown out in some of the
latest eruptions.
This supposition may derive some confirmation from the well known
fact that this region is still in a remarkable degree subject to
subterranean concussions {320} and earthquakes. These concussions
centring apparently in this range of mountains, and felt at times
throughout all the western parts of the United States, are certainly
too considerable in force and extent to be attributed to the operation
of a cause so limited and superficial as the decomposition of beds
of lignite lodged among the alluvion of the Mississippi. We do not
insist upon the accounts that have been so often circulated, of the
blowing, smoking, and burning mountains, said to exist in the country
west of the hot springs of the Washita, because these accounts want
confirmation.
Though this range of mountains has probably a nucleus of primitive
rocks running through its whole extent: yet these appear but rarely at
the surface. We have seen such only in the places already mentioned,
and have been informed of others in Washington county, near the sources
of the St. Francis, and about Lake Superior.[94]
From the information we have been able to collect, we are induced to
believe that secondary rocks occupy the country on both sides of Red
river, from its sources to its confluence with the Mississippi. If this
be the case, the primitive of the Ozark mountains must be considered a
small and insulated mass.
The inequalities of surface in this great secondary formation are
considerable. It has often been called the "basin of the Mississippi,"
but with little propriety, since it might with equal accuracy be
called the basin of the St. Lawrence, the Saskatchawin or Mackenzie's
river. The form of that part of it which contains the Mississippi, is
however similar to that designated by geologists as a _basin-shaped
cavity_. As far as our acquaintance extends, it is bounded on all
sides, except a narrow space at the outlet of the Mississippi, by a
surface of greater elevation than itself. But whether this surface is
not sometimes of secondary {321} formation is doubtful. It is dangerous
to infer the existence at a former period of an insulated inland sea
from any formation of secondary rocks, without being acquainted with
its whole extent, with its elevation at different points, and its
connexion with other rocks. On the south-east, secondary sandstones and
depositions of coal are met with in some of the most elevated parts
of the Alleghany mountains. The positive elevation of the primitive
mountains of New England is, except at a few points, scarce equal to
that of the secondary in the western parts of the state of New York.
From the primitive rocks near Philadelphia, to the secondary of the
Alleghanies, is an almost uninterrupted ascent. The clay-slate and
granite of the Washita, occupy nearly the lowest part of the surface
of the Mississippi valley. We are as yet destitute of barometrical or
other observations, by which we might determine the actual height which
the secondary rocks reach on the sides of the Rocky Mountains. Pike
estimates the elevation of the plain at the foot of the mountains, at
8000 feet above the level of the ocean. This is doubtless overrated. We
have already observed, that secondary rocks are found upon the sides
of the Rocky Mountains, considerably above the level of the plain. It
is probable, that this estimate of Pike's far exceeds the truth, yet
any one who considers the great length and rapidity of the rivers which
flow from that region, the severity of cold in winter, the rapidity
with which evaporation is carried on in summer, the transparency and
peculiar aspect of the sky, will be convinced that those tracts are
highly elevated; and there is unquestionably good reason to believe,
the secondary rocks along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains
have in many points an elevation at least equal to the summits of the
Alleghanies.
This vast formation of secondary, extending as it probably does from
the Gulf of Mexico to the Northern ocean, and from the Bay of St.
Lawrence {322} to the Rocky Mountains, must of necessity occupy in
various parts different and sometimes great elevations: like other
great fields of the same formation, its borders are marked by high and
broken ridges, which become less elevated and less frequent towards
the centre. Sandstone appears to be the basis and predominating rock
occupying the borders contiguous to the primitive and transition, and
passing under the more recent secondary. In this sandstone on the
outskirts of the secondary, have been found most of the extensive coal
beds hitherto known, also gypsum and brine springs.