XVIII. ――GEOLOGY
The first important attempt toward a scientific view of the character and relations of the strata in the United States was made by Mr. Maclure, but a short time previous to the year 1812. His work was small and general, but has proved a valuable guide to subsequent inquirers. In order to obtain a view of the general geological formation of the territory of the states, it will be well to recapitulate its chief geographical features; the Apalachian mountains on the east, with the slope to the Atlantic ocean; the Rocky mountains to the west, with the valleys intervening between them and the Pacific ocean; and the extended valley between these elevated ranges, with the Ozark mountains dividing it in the centre, and the Black mountains occupying its north-western angle.
The summits of the Rocky mountains are formed entirely of primitive rocks, chiefly of granite itself. A red and saline sandstone rests on this granite, through the whole chain, as far as it has been explored. But few traces of that animal and vegetable life are found, which in other countries has reared mountains of limestone, clay-slate, and those other aggregates which are so often composed of the exuviæ of living beings. The western boundary of this sandstone formation corresponds to the side of the easternmost granite ranges. From the Platte toward 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 Arkansas. It consists of two members; red sandstone, and argillaceous or gray sandstone. This formation was at one time probably horizontal and uniform; it is now found in a state of entire disruption and disorder. This tract abounds in scenery of an interesting and majestic character. The angle of inclination of the strata varies from forty-five to ninety degrees. Though not very recent, the sandstone along the base of the mountains contains the relics of marine animals and plants, and embraces extensive beds of pudding stone.
South of the Arkansas are rocks of basaltic origin, overlaying the red sandstone. By the vastness and broken character of their masses, and their dark color, they present a striking contrast to the light, smooth and fissile sandstone on which they rest. Sometimes they are compact and apparently homogeneous in their composition, and in many particulars of structure, form and hardness, more analogous to the primitive rock than to those recent secondary aggregates with which they are associated. In other instances, dark and irregular masses of porous and amygdaloidal substances are seen scattered about the plain, or gathered in conical heaps, but having no immediate connection with the strata on which they rest. Most of the rocks of this class were observed in the neighborhood of the sources of the Canadian; and may be distinguished into two kinds, referable to the two divisions called greenstone and amygdaloid.
The valley immediately east of the Rocky mountain range is composed of an extensive accumulation of sand, seemingly the debris of the mountains. To an unknown depth, the soil is made up of rounded fragments of granite, varying in dimension from a grain of sand to a six pound shot. This accumulation has evidently been washed from the mountains, and slopes gradually from their base. The small particles derived from the quartzose portions of the primitive aggregates, being least liable to decomposition, have been borne to the greatest distance, and of these the eastern margin of the great sandy desert is almost entirely composed; the central portions are of coarser sand, intermixed with particles of mica and feldspar; nearer the mountains, boulders and pebbles occur abundantly, and at length cover almost the entire surface of the country.
In many other respects besides geological structure, the Apalachian range of mountains differs from that we have just been considering. The whole of their eastern front is composed of primitive rocks, comprehending both the granitic family and its associated strata of clay-slate and limestone. In New England, rocks of this class constitute the seacoast, and with some exceptions extend inwards towards the St. Lawrence. South of the Hudson, the edge of the primitive follows the general contour of the mountains, at a variable distance from the sea to their termination, and until it meets more recent deposits at the extremity of the mountain range. The breadth of this primitive belt is very unequal. In passing through the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland, it occupies but a small part of the country; in Virginia it increases in breadth, and proportionably in height, composing the greatest mass as well as the most elevated points of the mountains in Georgia and North Carolina. Besides this range, there is a great mass of primitive on the west side of lake Champlain.
In general, the primitive rocks run from a north and south to a north-east and south-west direction, and dip generally to the south-east at an angle of more than forty-five degrees with the horizon; their highest elevation is towards their north-western limit. The mountains of this formation consist generally of detached masses, with rounded flat tops and a circular waving outline. Granite in large masses constitutes but a small part of this formation, and is found indifferently in the plains and on the tops of mountains. Gneiss extends perhaps over a half of this formation, and includes in a great many places beds from three to three hundred feet thick. These beds are mixed, and alternate occasionally in the same gneiss with the primitive limestone, the beds of hornblende and hornblende slate, serpentine, magnetic iron ore, and feldspar rocks. In short, there are scarcely any of the primitive rocks that may not occasionally be found included in the gneiss formation.
The breadth of the transition district, like that of the primitive, is variable. Narrow towards the gulf of Mexico, it gradually widens towards the north-east, till it reaches the river Hudson. From its upper portion it sends off a considerable arm, which penetrates for several hundred miles into the granitic region, overlaying it, but running parallel with the principal body. After the primitive, it forms some of the highest mountains in the range, and seems to be both higher and wider to the west in Pennsylvania, Maryland and part of Virginia, where the primitive is least extended and lowest in height. It contains all the varieties of rocks found in the same formation in Europe.
It varies in breadth from twenty to one hundred miles. In the limestone of this formation there are many and extensive caves, some of which extend for miles under ground, and contain the bones of animals. It is the lowest, and is considered the most ancient of the rocks containing organized remains, which are those of cryptogamous plants, and animals without sight. The graywacke has been observed to contain impressions of organized remains, but they are usually those of zoophytic animals, and are exceedingly unlike those found so abundantly in the coal formations. Its colors are variable; it is, however, most commonly bluish, black, or dark brown. The graywacke seems to form the connecting link between the clay-slate and a rock which has been called the old red sandstone, and is usually found intimately blended either with the one or the other. This sandstone occurs throughout the whole extent of the transition formation, and evidently belongs to the oldest depositions of that rock. It is for the most part distinctly stratified, and in all cases its stratification is inclined.
Of the rocks thus described, the limestone occurs extensively all along the north-western side of the primitive strata. It is probable that transition limestone is the foundation through their whole extent of the Alleghany mountains of Pennsylvania, Maryland and the western parts of Virginia, on a level with the surface at the base of their eastern declivities. The clay-slate occurs in the central portions of that extensive field of transition, which skirts the western margin of the primitive of New York and New England, and forms the great body of the Catskill mountains. The old red sandstone in the transition district, along the whole range of mountains, is perhaps more abundant than any other aggregate. This region has also a considerable mixture of trap. Various large bodies of transition rock are thrown to a considerable distance into the primitive region; while in many instances, secondary rocks are found running along the valleys far into the bosom of the mountains.
With the edge of the transition strata, we approach the western summits of the Apalachian mountains, or the line from whence they begin to fall toward the Mississippi valley. Along this line commences a series of secondary rocks, stretching westward to an immense extent towards the Mississippi and the lakes, and constituting one of the most interesting and important geological formations in the United States. This secondary region extends unbroken across the whole country to the shores of the lakes, being bounded on the west probably by the river Wabash, and in descending the Mississippi by the more recent formations through which that river flows. It consists generally of various strata of sandstone, limestone and clay. Immense beds of secondary limestone, of all shades from light blue to black, sometimes intercepted by extensive tracts of sandstone and other secondary aggregates, appear to constitute the foundation of this formation, which extends from the head waters of the Ohio, with some interruptions, all the way to the waters of the Tombigbee, accompanied by slaty clay and freestone with vegetable impressions; but in no instance yet ascertained, covered by or alternating with any rock resembling basalt, or indeed any of those called the newest floetz trap formation. A grand peculiarity of this secondary region is the uniform, horizontal direction of the strata.
We will now briefly examine the region which occupies the centre of the Mississippi valley. The Ozark mountains consist chiefly of secondary and transition rocks; but there are two points at which the primitive makes its appearance. About fifteen miles south-east from the hot springs, near the Washita, granite is found in situ. It is very soft, and disintegrates rapidly when exposed to the air. It is compounded of greyish-white quartz, yellowish-white feldspar, and an unusually large proportion of mica in variously and brilliantly-colored masses. This granite, if of secondary formation, is much more extensive than any of the kind hitherto known. ‘We are ignorant,’ says Dr. James, ‘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 either the Apalachian or the Chippewayan mountains.’ Mr. Schoolcraft mentions another granite region as occurring in the north-eastern extremity of the Ozark range, in the mining district of Potosi.
In connection with the granite of the Washita is found a stratum of clay-slate, and another of transition sandstone, but neither of them of great extent. The hot springs of the Washita issue from the clay-slate, and it is supposed that a very large mass of clay-slate is interposed between the surface of the granite and the point at which the springs rise. The slate-rock about the hot springs is highly inclined, often flinty in its composition, and, as far as it has been hitherto examined, contains no organic remains. It is traversed by large upright veins, usually filled with white quartz. The mountains contain vast beds of secondary limestone, which from its peculiar crystalline appearance might be easily mistaken for the primitive. These vast beds of sparry limestone, almost exclusively made up of deposits from chemical solution, would seem to have been formed during periods of great tranquillity in the waters. The sandstones of this small group of mountains appear under almost every variety of character. A region similar in mineralogical character to the Ozark mountains extends northward from the confluence of the Missouri, to the Ouisconsin and Ontonagon rivers of lake Superior. The sandstones, limestones and other rocks have a striking resemblance. Of the Black mountains in the north-western part of the Mississippi valley, but little is known; they appear to be composed of sandstone lying horizontally, and to be destitute of valuable minerals. Between these mountains and the central district, is a wide alluvial tract containing the course of the Missouri. The same appellation has been given by Dr. James to a space between the Ozark mountains and the Chippewayan sands, and to the country on both sides of the lower Mississippi.
We must now turn our attention to the region which lies to the eastward of the Apalachian mountains. The eastern front of this range is composed of primitive rocks, which reach the sea as far south as the Hudson; from this point they take an inland course, and leave a considerable tract of land between them and the ocean all the way to the Mississippi. On this side, there is no appearance of any rocks of the transition class; the primitive terminates abruptly, and is skirted through its whole length by an extensive series of beds of shell-limestone, marl, clay, sand and gravel, constituting what has been described as the Atlantic slope. This class of strata begins at Long island, and gradually widens in its extent through the middle and southern states, forms the whole of Florida, and crossing the Mississippi, meets the secondary formation of that valley, and sends up a tongue for a considerable distance along the sides of that river. We may here notice one of the most peculiar features of our geology. This is the ridge of granite which forms the boundary between the primitive and secondary regions, and is conjectured to have been the ancient line of the seacoast. It commences in Georgia and extends as far north as New York, whence it seems to pass into Long island and under the sound into Connecticut.
The entire region to the eastward of the primitive was long considered as alluvial; but it has been found to comprehend secondary, as well as a large extent of tertiary formations. Decisive evidence of this fact has been furnished by the investigations of Dr. Morton of Philadelphia. The secondary strata are not, however, calcareous, but consist of beds of sand and clay analogous to the iron sand, green sand, and chalk marl or galt of England. Dr. Morton calls it the ferruginous sand formation. In Maryland commences a vast deposit of sand and clay, extending along the coast to the Mississippi; this tract abounds with tertiary fossils, which appear chiefly to belong to the upper marine formation of European geologists. The secondary strata are occasionally met with beneath it, and sometimes approach so near the surface as to be readily identified by their fossils. It is therefore reasonable to suppose, that the beds of ferruginous sand extend nearly the whole length of the Atlantic frontiers, of the states south of Long island. One of the most abundant mineral productions of these beds is lignite, which is found at the deep cut of the Chesapeak and Delaware canal, in almost every variety, from charred wood to well-characterized jet. It sometimes occurs in small fragments, and sometimes in large masses, presenting the trunks and limbs of trees thirty feet in length.
Though occurring largely on the Atlantic slope, the tertiary formations are by no means confined to it; they overlay the secondary strata to a great extent on both sides of the mountain chains. Of all visible strata, marly clay is one of the most universal; it is the common clay of all North America. In this clay, sulphate of magnesia frequently occurs, and sometimes muriate of soda. Bagshot sand and crag are next in extent to the marly clay, and generally overlie it. The plastic clay formation is stated to appear very distinctly on the west side of lake Champlain, and at various points from Martha’s Vineyard to the eastward of Long island, to Florida and the Mississippi. The silicious limestone of Georgia is asserted to be decidedly contemporaneous with the calcaire silicieuse of the Paris basin. In Virginia, the marly or London clay is found, and the sands of the upper marine formation are conceived to occur in the same state and in Staten island.
Of the geology of the region west of the Chippewayan mountains, nothing certain is known. The chains which stretch nearer to the Pacific are lofty, and are presumed to be primitive. Mr. Scrope represents the mountains which border the Pacific ocean as volcanic.
From the importance which fossil remains have recently assumed in geological science, much interest is naturally attached to those contained in the strata of the western world. It will be long before so vast a field of inquiry is fully explored, and with Mr. Maclure in 1812, we may still say that it has not yet been examined with that accuracy of discrimination necessary to form just conclusions. We derive such knowledge as is possessed on the subject from various sources. The fossils of the transition strata consist of the ancient coralline and encrinital families, and generally resemble those of similar rocks in other parts of the globe. Organic remains in the coal formations are found at Westfield, Connecticut; at Sunderland, Massachusetts; and it is said also in some other places. At Westfield they were found, in exploring for coal, lying upon bituminous shale.
The following information is furnished in an article by Mr. Caleb Atwater. ‘In the vicinity of the Ohio river, and on the waters of the Muskingum, I have carefully examined not a few of the fossil trees there existing. Among them I noticed the following, viz. black oak, black walnut, sycamore or button wood, white birch, sugar maple, the date or bread-fruit tree, cocoanut-bearing palm, the bamboo and the dogwood; and I have in my possession the perfect impression of the cassia and the tea leaf. Of ferns, I have beautiful impressions of the leaves, and of the bread-fruit tree flowers, fully expanded, fresh, and entire. I have specimens so perfect, and so faithful to nature, as to dispel all doubts as to what they once were. The larger trees are found mostly in sandstone, although the bark of the date tree, much flattened, I ought to say perfectly so, is found in shale covering coal. The date is a large tree, not very tall, and having numerous wide-spreading branches. Nine miles west of Zanesville, the body of a bread-fruit tree, now turned to sandstone, may be seen; it is exactly such sandstone as that in which M. Brongniart found tropical plants imbedded in France. It contains a considerable quantity of mica in its composition. The cassia was found in such sandstone in the Zanesville canal. The bamboo is mostly impressed upon ironstone, especially the roots, and the trunk and leaves are found in the micaceous sandstone. The ironstone is sometimes apparently made of bamboo leaves, the leaves of fern, and bamboo roots. It happens frequently that the trunks of small trees and plants are flattened by pressure, and the bark of them partially turned into coal. Thus the shale often contains a bark, now become coal, and a stratum of shale in succession, alternately, for several inches in thickness.’
Some further interesting particulars respecting fossil and other remains will be found in the following description of them by Mr. Atwater, as occurring in the state of Ohio. ‘I am credibly informed, that in digging a well at Cincinnati, in this state, an arrow-head was found more than ninety feet below the surface. At Pickaway plains, while several persons were digging a well several years since, a human skeleton was found seventeen feet six inches below the surface. This skeleton was seen by several persons, and among others, by Doct. Daniel Turney, an eminent surgeon; they all concurred in the belief, that it belonged to a human being. Pickaway plains are, or rather were, a large prairie, before the land was improved by its present inhabitants. This tract is alluvial to a great depth; greater, probably, than the earth has ever been perforated, certainly than it ever has been by the hand of man. The surface of the plain is at least one hundred feet above the highest freshet of the Scioto river, near which it lies. On the surface is a black vegetable mould, from three, to six, and nine feet in depth; then we find pebbles, and shells imbedded among them: the pebbles are evidently rounded and smoothed by attrition in water, exactly such as we now see at the bottom of rivers, ponds, and lakes.
‘I have examined the spot where this skeleton was found, and am persuaded that it was not deposited there by the hand of man, for there are no marks of any grave, or of any of the works of man; but the earth and pebbles appear to lie in the very position in which they were deposited by the water. On the north side of a small stream, called Hargus creek, which at this place empties itself into the Scioto, in digging through a hill composed of such pebbles as I have described in Pickaway plains, at least nine feet below the surface, several human skeletons were discovered, perfect in every limb. These skeletons were promiscuously scattered about, and parts of skeletons were sometimes found at different depths below the surface. This hill is at least fifty feet above the highest freshets in the Scioto, and is a very ancient alluvion, where every stratum of sand, clay, and pebbles has been deposited by the waters of some stream. Other skulls have been taken out of the same hill, by persons who, in order to make a road through it, were engaged in taking it away. These bones are very similar to those found in our mounds, and probably belonged to the same race of men; a people short and thick, not exceeding generally five feet in height, and very possibly they were not more than four feet six inches. The skeletons, when first exposed to the atmosphere, are quite perfect, but afterwards moulder and fall into pieces. Whether they were overwhelmed by the deluge of Noah, or by some other, I know not; but one thing appears certain, namely: that water has deposited them here, together with the hill in which, for so many ages, they have reposed. Indeed, this whole country appears to have been once, and for a considerable period, covered with water, which has made it one vast cemetery of the beings of former ages. Fragments of antique pottery, and even entire pots of coarse earthen ware, have been found likewise in the excavations of the Illinois salt-works, at the depth of eighty feet and more from the surface. One of these was ascertained to hold from eight to ten gallons, and some were alleged to be of much greater capacity. This fossil pottery is stated not to differ materially from that which frequently occurs in the mounds supposed to have been formed by the aboriginal Indians.’
The largest and most interesting fossils of this country are the remains of the mastodon, an enormous creature of an extinct race, nearly allied to the elephant, and long considered identical with it, but now allotted to a distinct genus under the name of mastodon. For a minute and detailed account of these remains, we must refer our readers to the valuable work of Godman. The size of the living animal may be conjectured when it is stated, that the head at the posterior part is thirty-two inches across, the lower jaw two feet ten inches long, and the tusks ten feet seven inches long, and seven inches and three fourths in diameter at the base. It is wonderful to reflect that but for the accidental preservation of a few bones, we should never have known the existence of an animal so huge in its dimensions, and necessarily of such vast strength and power.
We know not where, better than in the present connection, to introduce a circumstance hitherto unexplained, if not altogether inexplicable. There have been found, it appears beyond all question, in naked limestone of the elder secondary formation, close on the western margin of the Mississippi at St. Louis, the prints of human feet. The prints are those of a man standing erect, with his heels drawn in, and his toes turned outward, which is the most natural position. They are not the impressions of feet accustomed to a tight shoe, the toes being very much spread, and the foot flattened in the manner that happens to those who have been habituated to go a great length of time without shoes. The prints are strikingly natural, exhibiting every muscular impression and swell of the heel and toes, with great precision and faithfulness to nature. The length of each foot, as indicated by the prints, is ten inches and a half, and the width across the spread of the toes, four inches, which diminishes to two inches and a half at the swell of the heels, indicating, as it is thought, a stature of the common size.
Every appearance seems to warrant the conclusion that these impressions were made at a time when the rock was soft enough to receive them by pressure, and that the marks of feet are natural and genuine. ‘Such was the opinion of Governor Cass and myself,’ says Mr. Schoolcraft, ‘formed upon the spot, and there is nothing that I have subsequently seen to alter this view: on the contrary, there are some corroborating facts calculated to strengthen and confirm it.’ At Herculaneum, in the same neighborhood, similar marks have been found, as well as on some of the spurs of the Cumberland mountains, always in similar limestone. In the latter case it is stated that the impressions are elongated, as of persons slipping in ascending a slimy steep. Opinions are much divided as to the origin and import of these impressions. Should similar observations multiply, important inferences may perhaps be drawn from them; at present it seems impossible to speak respecting them decisively or satisfactorily.
The following extraordinary facts, respecting what may be termed living fossils, appear to be well authenticated. During the construction of the Erie canal, while the workmen were cutting through a ridge of gravel, they found several hundred of live molluscous animals. ‘I have before me,’ says Professor Eaton, ‘several of the shells from which the workmen took the animals, fried and ate them. I have received satisfactory assurances that the animals were taken alive from the depth of forty-two feet.’ In addition to this discovery in diluvial deposits, mention is made of a similar one in a much older formation. In laying the foundation of a house at Whitesborough, the workmen had occasion to split a large stone from the millstone grit. ‘It was perfectly close-grained and compact. On opening it, they discovered a black, or dark brown spherical mass, about three inches in diameter, in a cavity which it filled. On examining it particularly, they found it to be a toad, much larger than the common species and of a darker color. It was perfectly torpid. It was laid upon a stone, and soon began to give signs of life. In a few hours, it would hop moderately on being disturbed. They saw it in the yard, moving about slowly for several days; but it was not watched by them any longer, and no one observed its farther movements. They laid one half of the stone in the wall, so that the cavity may still be seen.
‘The millstone grit,’ says Professor Eaton, who gives this account, ‘in which this toad was found, is the oldest of the secondary rocks. It must have been formed many years before the deluge. Was this toad more than four thousand years old? or was it from an egg introduced, through a minute and undiscovered cleavage, into this cavity or geode, made precisely to fit the size and form of a toad? I was particular in my inquiry, and learned that the whole stone was perfectly compact, without any open cleavage which would admit an egg. Besides, it is well known that the millstone grit is neither porous nor geodiferous. If this rock stratum was deposited upon the toad, it must have been in aqueous, not in igneous solution, and the toad must have been full grown at the time. Toads are often found in compact, hard, gravelly diluvial deposits, in situations which demonstrate that they must have lived from the time of the deluge. I think I am warranted in saying this without citing authorities, as it is a common occurrence. Then why may they not have lived a few centuries longer, if we admit them a life of at least three thousand years?’
GENERAL REMARKS ON GEOLOGY.
Geological researches are made with much greater facility in America than in Europe, especially in the region of the secondary strata. The immense extent over which they can be traced, the undisturbed condition in which they are found, and their generally horizontal position, afford great facility for efforts of system and generalization. The absence of the newest floetz-trap rocks, and of the effects of the violent convulsions, so frequent in the vicinity of this disputed formation, unquestionably assist geological research. A second and more efficient cause is found in the extent of the changes that have been wrought in the different classes of rocks on the European continent since their original formation, by the effect of water, and the continual action of rivers wearing deep beds, and exposing the subordinate strata. Rivers also in North America have not generally cut so deep into the different strata, either in the mountains, or during their course in the level country, as materially to derange the stratifications. Broken masses of one formation covering the tops of mountains, whose foundations are composed of rocks of a different class, seldom occur. A third cause of the facility of geological observation in this continent is found in the fact that the whole continent east of the Mississippi follows the arrangement of one great chain of mountains. Europe, on the contrary, is intersected by five or six distinct ranges, which follow different laws of stratification, and frequently interrupt each other.
The effect of opening this new field of observation has been striking and important. It has been to confound every previous effort at the determination and arrangement of general strata. European geologists themselves have acknowledged that the general strata must be determined in America. The absence of the chalk forcibly illustrates this; the chalk being not only a very prominent feature in the geological structure of Europe, but the grand point of division between the secondary and tertiary formations. The English oolite is not found in this country. It has been affirmed by Professor Eaton that the old red sandstone is not a general stratum, and even the existence of primitive clay-slate is questioned; while Mr. Maclure informs us that though the primitive formation contains all the variety of rocks contained in the mountains of Europe, yet neither their relative situation in the order of succession, nor their relative heights in the range of mountains, correspond with European observations. The order of succession from the clay-slate to the granite, as well as the gradually diminishing height of the strata, from the granite through the gneiss, mica slate, and hornblende rock, down to the clay-slate, is so often inverted and mixed, as to render the arrangement of any regular series impracticable.
It is of course out of the question in these remarks to present a detailed account of the general science of geology. For valuable and well-digested treatises on this subject, we refer to Cuvier’s Theory of the Earth, and Lyell’s Principles of Geology. The volumes of Silliman’s Journal, and Professor Cleaveland’s works, abound in important matter on the geology of our continent.
XIX. ――NATURAL CURIOSITIES
It is our intention to collect under this general head a few miscellaneous descriptions, that could not have been properly placed under any other division. The space that we can devote to this subject is small, and it is impossible to enter into much detail. Among the most admired and interesting natural curiosities of our country, are the Pictured Rocks, of lake Superior, which have been described by an intelligent traveller to whose observation we have been already largely indebted.
‘The Pictured Rocks,’ says Mr. Schoolcraft, ‘are a series of lofty bluffs, which continue for twelve miles along the shore, and present some of the most sublime and commanding views in nature. We had been told, by our Canadian guide, of the variety in the color and form of these rocks, but were wholly unprepared to encounter the surprising groups of overhanging precipices, towering walls, caverns, waterfalls, and prostrate ruins, which are here mingled in the most wonderful disorder, and burst upon the view in ever-varying and pleasing succession. In order to convey any just idea of their magnificence, it is necessary to premise, that this part of the shore consists of a sandstone rock of a light gray color internally, and deposited stratum super-stratum to the height of three hundred feet, rising in a perpendicular wall from the water and extending from four to five leagues in length.
Illustration: Pictured Rocks.
‘This rock is made up of coarse grains of sand, united by a calcareous cement, and occasionally imbedding pebbles of quartz and other water-worn fragments of rocks, but adhering with a feeble force, and, where exposed to the weather, easily crushed between the fingers. Externally, it presents a great variety of color, as black, red, yellow, brown, and white, particularly along the most permanent parts of the shore; but where masses have newly fallen, its color is a light gray. This stupendous wall of rock, exposed to the fury of the waves, which are driven up by every north wind across the whole width of lake Superior, has been partially prostrated at several points, and worn out into numerous bays and irregular indentations. All these front upon the lake, in a line of aspiring promontories, which, at a distance, present the terrible array of dilapidated battlements and desolate towers.
‘Among many striking features, two attracted particular admiration,――the Cascade La Portaille, and the Doric Arch. The cascade is situated about four miles beyond the commencement of the range of bluffs, and in the centre of the most commanding part of it. It consists of a handsome stream, which is precipitated about seventy feet from the bluff into the lake at one leap. Its form is that of a rainbow, rising from the lake, to the top of the precipice. We passed near the point of its fall upon the surface of the lake, and could have gone, unwetted, between it and the rocks, as it is thrown a considerable distance into the lake.
‘The Doric Rock is an isolated mass of sandstone, consisting of four natural pillars, supporting a stratum or entablature of the same material, and presenting the appearance of a work of art. On the top of this entablature rests a stratum of alluvial soil, covered with a handsome growth of pine and spruce trees, some of which appear to be fifty or sixty feet in height. To add to the factitious appearance of the scene, that part of the entablature included between the pillars is excavated in the form of a common arch, giving it very much the appearance of a vaulted passage into the court yard of some massy pile of antiquated buildings. A little to the west of this rock, the Miner’s river enters the lake by a winding channel, overshadowed with trees, and intersected by a succession of small rapids.’
Mineralized Tree.――About half a mile from the village of Chitteningo, in New York, a fossil or mineralized tree was some years ago discovered. It lies at the base of the Conasewago mountains, within a few yards of a branch of the Erie canal, which runs up to the village. The tree appears to have been blown down or broken off; there are eight or ten feet of stump remaining, with some part of the large end near the root; the stump is about three feet in diameter, the bark, the fibrous texture of the wood and two or three knots are very obvious; there is a substance very much resembling veins disseminated through what seems to have once been the sap vessels of the tree. The lower part of the root is imbedded in the soil, where it probably once grew. Vast quantities of mineralized wood, both in small and large masses, are scattered in all directions around this stump; fragments which from their loose and porous texture, seem to have been petrified, after the wood began to decay. Indeed so numerous are these fragments, that almost every stone in this vicinity appears to have been once a living plant.[58]
The Devil’s Diving Hole.――About four miles below the falls of Niagara, on the American side, is a very curious place called the Devil’s Diving Hole, which is nearly one hundred feet deep; the edge of it is so very near the road that they have taken the precaution to cut down some trees, so as to form a kind of barricado, in order to prevent cattle or strangers from falling into it. This hole, as it is called, is, more properly speaking, the narrow extremity of a considerable ravine, which has, at some remote period, been formed in the rock; it shelves off as it descends towards the river, and is in length about two hundred yards from the road to the river. The top is so overgrown with bushes that a hasty view would induce many to suppose it to be really a hole; but a closer examination soon leads their eye along the windings of its courses, and discovers a very considerable breadth at no great distance. A hemlock tree, firmly rooted at the bottom, stretches its top almost to the surface, and is so conveniently fitted to the hole or opening, that you have only to descend five or six feet, when its branches afford you a safe and easy step-ladder quite to the bottom, where you will find a copious spring of excellent water.
An occurrence is traditionally described as having taken place at this spot during the French war, the circumstances of which were as follows:――A British detachment, being pursued by a superior French force, were so hemmed in that their retreat to the road was cut off, and their escape effectually prevented by this ravine. Seeing their situation irretrievable, they laid down their arms, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Notwithstanding this surrender, the French rushed upon them with charged bayonets and precipitated the whole party down this precipice. Here they perished with the exception of a single soldier, who was preserved by falling on some of his comrades.
Natural Bridge.――This wonderful bridge is considered by many the greatest natural curiosity in this country. It has never been described so well as by Mr. Jefferson, and though his account of it has been so frequently reprinted, we have thought best to adopt it.
‘The Natural Bridge, the most sublime of nature’s works, is on the ascent of a hill, which seems to have been cloven through its length by some great convulsion. The fissure just at the bridge is by some admeasurements two hundred and seventy feet deep, by others only two hundred and five. It is about forty-five feet wide at the bottom, and ninety feet at the top: this of course determines the length of the bridge and its height from the water. Its breadth in the middle is about sixty feet, but more at the ends, and the thickness of the mass at the summit of the arch, about forty feet. A part of this thickness is constituted by a coat of earth, which gives growth to many large trees. The residue, with the hill on both sides, is one solid rock of limestone.
‘The arch approaches the semi-elliptical form, but the larger axis of the ellipsis, which would be the chord of the arch, is many times longer than the transverse. Though the sides of this bridge are provided, in some parts, with a parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have resolution to walk to them and look over into the abyss. You involuntarily fall on your hands and feet, creep to the parapet, and peep over it. Looking down from this height about a minute, gave me a violent headache.
‘If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It is impossible for the emotions arising out of the sublime to be felt beyond what they are here, so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light, and springing, as it were, up to heaven, the rapture of the spectator is really indescribable!
‘The fissure continuing narrow, deep, and straight for a considerable distance above and below the bridge, opens a short but very pleasing view of the North mountain on one side, and the Blue ridge on the other, at the distance each of them of about five miles. This bridge is in the county of Rockbridge, to which it has given name, and affords a public and commodious passage over a valley, which cannot be crossed elsewhere for a considerable distance. The stream passing under it is called Cedar creek. It is a water of James river, and sufficient in the driest seasons to turn a grist-mill, though its fountain is not more than two miles above.’
The description which follows is from another writer. ‘As we stood under this beautiful arch, we saw the place where visitors have often taken the pains to engrave their names upon the rock. Here Washington climbed up twenty-five feet and carved his own name, where it still remains. Some wishing to immortalize their names have engraved them deep and large, while others have tried to climb up and insert them high in this book of fame.
‘A few years since, a young man, being ambitious to place his name above all others, came very near losing his life in the attempt. After much fatigue, he climbed up as high as possible, but found that the person who had before occupied his place was taller than himself, and consequently had placed his name above his reach. But he was not thus to be discouraged. He opened a large jacknife, and in the soft limestone began to cut places for his hands and feet. With much patience and industry he worked his way upwards, and succeeded in carving his name higher than the most ambitious had done before him.
‘He could now triumph; but his triumph was short, for he was placed in such a situation that it was impossible to descend unless he fell upon the ragged rocks beneath him. There was no house near, from which his companions could get assistance. He could not remain in that condition, and, what was worse, his friends were too much frightened to do any thing for his relief. They looked upon him as already dead, expecting every moment to see him precipitated upon the rocks below and dashed to pieces. Not so with himself. He determined to ascend. Accordingly he plied himself with his knife, cutting places for his hands and feet, and gradually ascended with incredible labor. He exerted every muscle. His life was at stake, and all the terrors of death rose before him. He dared not look downwards lest his head should become dizzy, and perhaps on this circumstance his life depended.
‘His companions stood at the top of the rock exhorting and encouraging him. His strength was almost exhausted; but a bare possibility of saving his life still remained, and hope, the last friend of the distressed, had not yet forsaken him. His course upwards was rather oblique, than perpendicular. His most critical moment had now arrived. He had ascended considerably more than two hundred feet, and had still further to rise, when he felt himself fast growing weak. He now made his last effort and succeeded. He had cut his way not far from two hundred and fifty feet from the water, in a course almost perpendicular; and in a little less than two hours, his anxious companions reached him a pole from the top, and drew him up. They received him with shouts of joy; but he himself was completely exhausted. He immediately fainted away on reaching the spot, and it was some time before he could be recovered.
‘It was interesting to see the path up these awful rocks, and to follow in imagination this bold youth as he thus saved his life. His name stands far above all the rest, a monument of hardihood, of rashness, and of folly.’
Natural Stone Walls.――On the Missouri, at the distance of about one hundred miles from the Great Falls, are the natural stone walls which have thus been described by Lewis and Clarke:
‘We came to a high wall of black rock rising from the water’s edge on the south, above the cliffs of the river: this continued about a quarter of a mile, and was succeeded by a high open plain, till three miles further a second wall, two hundred feet high, rose on the same side. Three miles farther, another wall of the same kind, about two hundred feet high and twelve thick, appeared to the north. These hills and river cliffs exhibit a most extraordinary and romantic appearance. They rise in most places nearly perpendicularly from the water to the height of between two and three hundred feet, and are formed of very white sandstone, so soft as to yield readily to the impression of the water, in the upper part of which lie imbedded two or three horizontal strata of white freestone insensible to the rain, and on the top is a dark rich loam, which forms a gradually ascending plain, from a mile to a mile and a half in extent, when the hills again rise abruptly to the height of about three hundred feet more.
‘In trickling down the cliffs, the water has worn the soft sandstone into a thousand grotesque figures, among which, with a little fancy, may be discerned elegant ranges of freestone buildings, with columns variously sculptured, and supporting long and elegant galleries, while the parapets are adorned with statuary. On a nearer approach, they represent every form of elegant ruins; columns, some with pedestals and capitals entire, others mutilated and prostrate; and some rising pyramidically over each other till they terminate in a sharp point. These are varied by niches, alcoves, and the customary appearances of desolated magnificence. The illusion is increased by the number of martins that have built their globular nests in the niches, and hover over these columns; as in our country they are accustomed to frequent large stone structures.
‘As we advance, there seems no end to the visionary enchantment that surrounds us. In the midst of this fantastic scenery are vast ranges of walls, which seem the productions of art, so regular is the workmanship. They rise perpendicularly from the river, sometimes to the height of one hundred feet, varying in thickness from one to twelve feet, being equally broad at the top as below. The stones of which they are formed, are black, thick, and durable, and composed of a large portion of earth, intermixed and cemented with a small quantity of sand, and a considerable proportion of talc or quartz.
‘These stones are almost invariably regular parallelopipeds of unequal sizes in the wall, but equally deep, and laid regularly in ranges over each other like bricks, each breaking and covering the interstice of the two on which it rests. But though the perpendicular interstice is destroyed, the horizontal one extends entirely through the work. The stones, too, are proportioned to the thickness of the wall in which they are employed, being largest in the thickest walls. The thinner walls are composed of a single depth of the parallelopiped, while the thicker ones consist of two or more depths. These walls pass the river at several places, rising from the water’s edge much above the sandstone bluffs, which they seem to penetrate; thence they cross in a straight line, on either side of the river, the plains over which they tower to the height of from ten to seventy feet, until they lose themselves in the second range of hills. Sometimes they run parallel in several ranges near each other; sometimes intersect each other at right angles, and have the appearance of walls of ancient houses or gardens.’
I. ――POLITICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS
UNITED STATES. The territory of the United States extends from twenty-five to fifty-four degrees north latitude, and from sixty-six degrees forty-nine minutes to one hundred and twenty-five degrees west longitude; comprising one million eight hundred and thirty-two thousand three hundred and fifteen square miles. It is bounded north by Russia and British America; east by the Atlantic and British America; south by the Atlantic, the gulf and territory of Mexico, and west by Mexico, Texas, and the Pacific ocean. This extent of country is divided into twenty-six states, six territories, and the district of Columbia. The states are familiarly classed under the Eastern or New England, the Middle, the Southern, and the Western states. The first division comprehends Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut; the second, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland; the third, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana; the fourth, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Arkansas and Missouri. The territories are Florida, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, and Oregon. There are no territorial governments in the Missouri and Oregon territories. The whole extent of inhabited country includes more than eight hundred thousand square miles; and the whole population is seventeen million sixty-eight thousand one hundred and twelve.
I. NEW ENGLAND STATES.
Maine.――This state is bounded north and north-west by Lower Canada; east by New Brunswick; west by New Hampshire, and south by the Atlantic ocean. The north-eastern boundary is yet in dispute. Maine is divided into 18 counties.[59] The towns are about four hundred in number; Augusta is the capital. The other principal towns are Portland, Brunswick, Bath, Wiscasset, Bangor, Castine, Hallowell, York, Saco, Kennebunk, Eastport, Machias, Belfast, Gardiner, and Waterville. The chief rivers are the Saco, Penobscot, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Walloostook and Allagash, head streams of the St. John, and the St. Croix. Among the mountains are Bald, Ebeeme, Spencer and Katahdin. The lakes are Moosehead, Umbagog, Chesuncook, and Sebago. Mount Desert is the largest of the islands with which the coast is strewn. The bays are Portland, Passamaquoddy, Casco and Penobscot. Population, five hundred and one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.
New Hampshire is situated between forty-two degrees forty-one minutes and forty-five degrees eleven minutes north latitude, and between seventy degrees forty minutes, and seventy-two degrees twenty-three minutes west longitude. It is bounded on the north by Lower Canada; south by Massachusetts; east by Maine and the Atlantic ocean, and west by Connecticut river, which separates it from Vermont. Its extreme length from north to south, is one hundred and sixty-eight miles; and its greatest breadth from east to west, ninety miles; containing an area of nine thousand four hundred and ninety-one miles. This state is divided into ten counties. Portsmouth is the largest town, but Concord is the seat of government. The number of towns in the state is two hundred and 33, and besides those mentioned the principal are Dover, Exeter, Amherst, Hanover and Haverhill. The chief rivers are the Connecticut, Merrimac, and Piscataqua; the mountains are the Monadnock, Sunapee, Kearsarge, Carr’s, and Moosehillock. The White mountains are the most elevated in this state, and the highest east of the Mississippi. The lakes are Winnipiseogee, Squam, Ossipee, Newfound, Spafford’s, and Connecticut; Umbagog lies partly in this state, and partly in Maine. The population by the last census was two hundred eighty-four thousand five hundred and seventy-four.
Vermont is bounded on the west by lake Champlain and New York; south by Massachusetts; east by the Connecticut river, and north by Lower Canada. It is situated between forty-two degrees forty-four minutes, and forty-five degrees north latitude; and between seventy-one degrees thirty-three minutes, and seventy-three degrees twenty-six minutes west longitude. It is one hundred and fifty-seven miles in length; its breadth is ninety miles on the north line, and forty on the south. It is divided into thirteen counties, and two hundred and forty-five towns. None of the towns are very large. Montpelier is the seat of government. Among the chief towns are Middlebury, Bennington, Montpelier, Brattleboro’, Burlington, and Windsor. The rivers, all of which are small, are Lamoille, Onion, Otter, White, and Missisque; the west bank of the Connecticut forms the eastern boundary of the state. The mountains are Ascutney, Killington’s Peak, Camel’s Rump, and Mansfield, peaks of the Green mountains. The population in 1840 was two hundred and ninety-one thousand nine hundred and forty-eight.
Massachusetts is bounded east by the Atlantic; west by New York; north by Vermont and New Hampshire, and south by Connecticut, Rhode Island and the Atlantic. It lies between forty-one degrees fifteen minutes and forty-two degrees fifty-four minutes north latitude; and between sixty-nine degrees fifty-four minutes and seventy-three degrees thirty minutes west longitude. It is one hundred and eighty miles long from east to west; and ninety-six miles broad from north to south. Its area includes seven thousand and eight hundred square miles. The rivers are Connecticut, Merrimac, Charles, Concord, Blackstone, Miller’s, Chickopee, Deerfield, Westfield and Housatonic. The mountains are Saddle mountain, Tagkannuc, Holyoke, Tom and Wachuset. This state is divided into fourteen counties and three hundred and seven towns. Boston is the capital. Salem and New Bedford are next in size and importance; Lowell, Taunton, Springfield, and Waltham are extensively engaged in manufactures; Nantucket, Newburyport, Plymouth and Marblehead are fishing and commercial ports. Worcester, Northampton, and Pittsfield are pleasant inland towns. The population in 1840 was seven hundred and thirty-seven thousand six hundred and ninety-nine.
Connecticut is bounded north by Massachusetts; east by Rhode Island; south by Long Island sound, and west by New York. It lies between forty-one degrees and forty-two degrees two minutes north latitude; and between seventy-one degrees twenty minutes and seventy-three degrees fifteen minutes west longitude. Its length is eighty-eight miles, and its average breadth about fifty-three; its area is four thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight miles. It is divided into eight counties. Hartford, New Haven, Middletown, New London, Norwich and Bridgeport are incorporated cities; Danbury, Guilford, Killingworth, Newtown, Stamford, Stonington and Waterbury are boroughs. Hartford and New Haven are the seats of the state government; and the legislature holds its sessions alternately at the two places. The principal rivers are the Connecticut, Housatonic, Thames, Farmington and Naugatuck. The greatest elevations are a continuation of the Green mountains. The population of this state is three hundred and ten thousand and fifteen.
Rhode Island is bounded west by Connecticut; south by the Atlantic ocean; north and east by Massachusetts. It lies between forty-one and forty-two degrees north latitude; and between seventy-one degrees eight minutes and seventy-one degrees fifty-two minutes west longitude. The average length of the state from north to south is about forty-two miles; its mean breadth about twenty-nine miles; its whole area, including Narraganset bay, comprises one thousand one hundred and twenty-five miles. It contains five counties, and thirty-one towns. Providence is the capital, and in population and wealth the second town in New England. Newport, Bristol, Pawtucket and Warwick are the other chief towns. Pawtucket is the only river of any importance; the Pawtuxet is also the seat of a number of manufactories. The islands are Rhode Island, Conanicut, Prudence and Block. Narraganset bay extends more than thirty miles into the state. The population is one hundred and eight thousand eight hundred and thirty.
II. MIDDLE STATES.
New York is bounded east by Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut; north by lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence; west by Pennsylvania, lake Erie and Niagara river; south by New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Its length is three hundred and forty, its breadth three hundred and four miles; and, including Long island, it contains forty-six thousand and eighty-five square miles. It is comprised between forty degrees thirty minutes and forty-five degrees north latitude; and between seventy-three degrees and seventy-nine degrees fifty-five minutes west longitude. It is divided into eight districts, which are subdivided into fifty-six counties. There are seven hundred and sixty-two towns and cities. The population is 2,428,921. New York city is the largest in the western world; Albany is the seat of government, and the second city in the state. Brooklyn, Troy, Hudson, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Catskill, Plattsburgh, Rochester and Buffalo are all important towns. The mountains are the Peruvian, Catskill and Shawangunk. The Hudson, Mohawk, Gennessee, Black, Oswegatchie and Susquehannah are the chief rivers. The lakes are Ontario, Champlain, George, Oneida, Skeneateles, Owasco, Cayuga, Seneca, Crooked, Canandaigua, and Chatauque. The islands are Long, Shelter, Grand and Manhattan. The bay of New York is the only large harbor; there are several harbors on lake Ontario.
New Jersey is bounded north by New York and the Atlantic; south by the Atlantic; west by Delaware and Pennsylvania. Its length is one hundred and sixty-three, its breadth fifty-two miles; its area in square miles is seven thousand four hundred and ninety. It lies between thirty-eight degrees seventeen minutes and forty-one degrees twenty-one minutes north latitude; and seventy-five degrees thirty minutes and seventy-three degrees fifty-three minutes west longitude. The state is divided into fourteen counties. Trenton is the seat of government. The other principal towns are Newark, Paterson, Hackensack, Morristown, Newton, Perth Amboy, Belvidere and Elizabethtown. The chief rivers are Second, Hackensack, Passaic and Raritan. Raritan bay is a spacious estuary, on the eastern coast, affording ready access at all seasons to Perth Amboy, the chief seaport town of the state. The population of New Jersey is three hundred and seventy-three thousand three hundred and six.
Pennsylvania is bounded on the north by New York, and the north-west by lake Erie; on the east by the river Delaware which divides it from New York and New Jersey; on the south by Virginia, Maryland and a small portion of Delaware; on the west by Virginia and Ohio. It lies between thirty-nine degrees forty-three minutes and forty-two degrees north latitude; and between seventy-four degrees and eighty degrees forty minutes west longitude. It is divided into the eastern and the western districts; containing fifty-two counties, and six hundred and fifty-one townships. The population of the state is one million seven hundred and twenty-four thousand and thirty-three. Harrisburg is the seat of government. Philadelphia is the chief city, and the second in the union. Pittsburg, Reading, Lancaster, Easton and Bethlehem are large towns. The rivers of this state are the Delaware, Susquehanna, Tioga and Monongahela. The mountains are the South, Kittatiny, Sideling, Ragged, Great Warrior, East Wills, Alleghany, Laurel and Chesnut ridges.
Delaware is bounded south and west by Maryland; east by the ocean and Delaware river and bay, and north by Pennsylvania. Its greatest width is twenty-three miles, and its length ninety-two miles; it is the smallest state in the union with the exception of Rhode Island. It is comprised within thirty-eight degrees twenty-nine minutes and thirty-nine degrees forty-seven minutes north latitude; and within seventy-four degrees fifty-six minutes and seventy-five degrees forty minutes west longitude. Delaware is divided into three counties, which are subdivided into twenty-four hundreds. Dover is the capital; the other principal towns are Wilmington and Newcastle. Brandywine and Christiana creeks are the only streams; Delaware bay forms a large part of the eastern boundary. The population is seventy-eight thousand and eighty-five.
Maryland is bounded south and west by Virginia; east by Delaware and the ocean; north by Pennsylvania. It is divided into nineteen counties. Annapolis is the seat of government. Baltimore is the third commercial city in the union; the other important towns are Fredericktown and Hagerstown. The rivers are the Potomac, Susquehanna, Patapsco, Severn and Patuxent. The northern half of Chesapeak bay is comprised in this state, including many small islands. Maryland lies between thirty-eight degrees and thirty-nine degrees forty-four minutes north latitude; and between seventy-five degrees ten minutes and seventy-nine degrees twenty minutes west longitude. It contains thirteen thousand nine hundred and fifty square miles. Its population is four hundred and sixty-nine thousand two hundred and thirty-two.
III. SOUTHERN STATES.
Virginia is bounded south by North Carolina and Tennessee; north by Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland; east by Maryland and the Atlantic; and west by Ohio and Kentucky. It lies between thirty-six degrees forty minutes and forty degrees forty-three minutes north latitude; and seventy-five degrees twenty-five minutes and eighty-three degrees forty minutes west longitude. Its mean length from east to west is three hundred and fifty-five miles; its mean breadth from north to south is one hundred and eighty-five miles. It is divided into one hundred and sixteen counties, fifty of which are situated on the west, and sixty-six on the east of the Blue ridge. Richmond is the capital. The other principal towns are Norfolk, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, Wheeling, Winchester, Shepardstown, Staunton, Martensburg, Lexington, Fincastle, Williamsburg and Charlottesville. The chief rivers are the Potomac, Shenandoah, Rappahanock, York and James; these empty into the Chesapeak bay, and other streams intersect different portions of the country. The mountains are ranges of the Apalachian chain; the Alleghany ridge is continued from Pennsylvania; the other ridges are Greenbriar, North mountain, Broad mountain, Back Bone, Jackson river mountain, Iron mountain and Great Flat Top. The highest summits are the Peaks of Otter in the Alleghany ridge. The population of Virginia is one million two hundred and thirty-nine thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven.
North Carolina is bounded west by Tennessee; south by South Carolina and the ocean; east by the ocean; and north by Virginia. It contains forty-three thousand and eight hundred square miles; extending from thirty-three degrees fifty minutes to thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude; and seventy-five degrees forty-five minutes to eighty-four degrees west longitude. It is divided into sixty-seven counties. Raleigh is the seat of government; Newbern is the largest town. The other towns of importance are Fayetteville and Wilmington. The rivers are the Roanoke, Chowan, Pamlico, Cape Fear and Yadkin; the mountains, Iron, Bald and Smoky. The sounds are Albemarle and Pamlico; the coast is skirted by small islands. The population is seven hundred and fifty-three thousand four hundred and nineteen.
South Carolina is bounded south and west by Georgia; east by the Atlantic, and north by North Carolina. It is two hundred miles long and one hundred and twenty-five broad; lying between thirty-two degrees and thirty-five degrees eight minutes north latitude; and seventy-eight degrees twenty-four minutes and eighty-three degrees thirty minutes west longitude. It contains thirty thousand and eighty square miles; and is divided into twenty-nine districts. Charleston is the chief city and great commercial port; it was formerly the seat of government. Columbia is now the capital. Georgetown, Beaufort and Camden are the other principal towns. The rivers are the Great Pedee, Santee, Edisto and Savannah. The population of South Carolina is five hundred and ninety-four thousand three hundred and ninety-eight.
Georgia is bounded west by Alabama; south by Florida; east by South Carolina and the Atlantic; north by North Carolina and Tennessee. It extends from thirty degrees thirty minutes to thirty-five degrees north latitude; and from eighty degrees fifty minutes to eighty-six degrees six minutes west longitude; its length is two hundred and seventy, and its breadth two hundred and fifty miles. It is divided into ninety-three counties. Savannah is the largest town; Milledgeville is the seat of government. Augusta and Macon are the other principal towns. The chief rivers are the Savannah, Oakmulgee, Oconee, St. Mary’s, Alatahama and Chatahoochee. The mountains are the peaks of the southern extremity of the Blue ridge, and the Lookout mountain. Georgia is bordered by ranges of small islands. The population, exclusive of Indians, is six hundred and ninety-one thousand three hundred and ninety-two.
Alabama is bounded on the south by Florida and the gulf of Mexico; west by Mississippi; east by Georgia, and north by Tennessee. It lies between thirty degrees twelve minutes and thirty-five degrees north latitude; and eighty-five degrees and eighty-eight degrees thirty minutes west longitude. Its breadth is one hundred and sixty, and its length two hundred and eighty miles; the whole area including forty-six thousand square miles. This state is divided into forty-six counties. Tuscaloosa is the seat of government. Mobile is the great commercial depot, and the only town of consequence. Among the other towns are Blakely, St. Stephens’ and Cahawba. In the northern part of this state is the western extremity of the Apalachian mountains, consisting chiefly of limestone rocks. Alabama is the longest river; this unites with the Tombeckbee, and takes the name of Mobile. The population of Alabama, not including Indians, is five hundred and ninety thousand seven hundred and fifty-six.
Mississippi is bounded south by Louisiana; west by Louisiana and the state of Arkansas; north by Tennessee, and east by Alabama. Its breadth is one hundred and fifty, and its length three hundred and thirty-five miles; it contains forty-five thousand seven hundred and sixty square miles. It lies between thirty degrees ten minutes and thirty-five degrees north latitude; between eighty degrees thirty minutes and eighty-one degrees thirty-five minutes west longitude. It is divided into forty-three counties. Natchez is the only large town in the state. Jackson is the seat of government. Monticello, Warrenton and Vicksburgh are considerable places. The rivers that water this state are the Tombeckbee, Pascagoula, Pearl, Yazoo and Big Black. The Mississippi washes the western limit. The population is three hundred and seventy-five thousand six hundred and fifty-one.
Louisiana is bounded east by Mississippi, and the gulf of Mexico; west by Texas; south by the gulf, and north by the state of Arkansas and Mississippi. It is divided into the Eastern and Western districts; which are subdivided into thirty-three parishes. New Orleans is the seat of government, and the commercial mart of all the western country. Donaldsonville, Baton Rouge, St. Francisville, Point Coupee, Alexandria and Natchitoches are considerable places. The rivers are the Mississippi, Red, Washita, and Sabine. The lakes are Maurepas, Pontchartrain, and Borgne. The Chandeleur islands are mere heaps of sand; Barataria has been of some note as a resort for pirates. The population of Louisiana is three hundred and fifty-two thousand four hundred and twenty-two.
IV. WESTERN STATES.
Tennessee is bounded south by Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi; west by the river Mississippi, separating it from Missouri and Arkansas; east by North Carolina, and north by Kentucky. Its breadth is one hundred and four, and its length is about four hundred and thirty miles; its area is forty thousand square miles. It lies between thirty-five and thirty-six degrees thirty-six minutes north latitude; and between eighty-one degrees thirty minutes and ninety degrees ten minutes west longitude. It is divided into East and West Tennessee; the former has twenty-two counties, and the latter forty. Nashville is the seat of government, and the largest town. Knoxville, Murfreesborough and Memphis are growing settlements. The mountains are the Laurel, Stone, Yellow, Iron, Bald and Unaka, peaks of a continued chain; Welling’s and Copper Ridge, Church, Powell’s and Bay’s mountains are in the north-east. The Cumberland Ridge intersects the state, running from north-east to south-west. The rivers are the Tennessee, Cumberland, Obian, Forked Deer, Big Hatchee and Wolf. The population of Tennessee is eight hundred and twenty-nine thousand two hundred and ten.
Kentucky is bounded west by Missouri and Illinois; east by Virginia; south by Tennessee; north by Indiana and Ohio. Its length is three hundred miles, its mean breadth one hundred and fifty; its area includes about forty thousand square miles. It lies between thirty-six degrees thirty minutes and thirty-nine degrees ten minutes north latitude; and between eighty-one degrees fifty minutes and eighty-nine degrees twenty minutes west longitude. It is divided into eighty-four counties. Frankfort is the seat of government. Lexington, Louisville, Maysville, Washington, Paris, Georgetown and Versailles are the chief towns. The rivers that water this state are the Ohio, Mississippi, Cumberland, Tennessee, Licking, Kentucky, Green and Big Sandy. The population is seven hundred and eighty thousand two hundred and ninety-seven.
Ohio is bounded north by the state of Michigan and lake Erie; east by Pennsylvania: south-east by the Ohio river, which separates it from Virginia, and west by Indiana. Its length is two hundred and ten miles, its mean breadth two hundred; its area includes forty thousand square miles. It lies between thirty-eight degrees thirty minutes and forty-one degrees nineteen minutes north latitude; and between eighty degrees thirty-five minutes and eighty-four degrees forty-seven minutes west longitude. It is divided into seventy-four counties. Cincinnati is the largest city; Columbus is the seat of government. Zanesville, Steubenville, Chilicothe, Dayton, Marietta and Circleville are flourishing towns. The chief rivers are the Ohio, Muskingum, Scioto, Great Miami, Little Miami, Maumee, Sandusky and Cuyahoga. The population one million five hundred and ten thousand four hundred and sixty-seven.
Indiana is bounded north by the lake and state of Michigan; south by the Ohio, which divides it from Kentucky; east by Ohio, and west by Illinois. Its breadth is one hundred and fifty, and its length two hundred and fifty miles. It lies between thirty-seven degrees forty-seven minutes and forty-one degrees fifty minutes north latitude; and eighty-four degrees forty-two minutes and eighty-seven degrees forty-nine minutes west longitude. It is divided into eighty-five counties. Indianapolis is the seat of government. Vincennes, New Albany, Jeffersonville, Vevay, and Madison are flourishing settlements. The rivers that water this state are the Ohio, Wabash, White Water and Tippecanoe. The population is six hundred and eighty-five thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Illinois is bounded north by Wisconsin, east by Lake Michigan and Indiana, south by Kentucky, and west by Missouri and Iowa. It extends from 37° to 42° 37′ north latitude, and from 87° 17′ to 81° 15′ west longitude. It is 380 miles in length, and 160 in mean breadth, and contains 59,000 square miles. It is divided into 87 counties. Springfield is the seat of government. Chicago, situated on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the river Chicago, which forms a fine harbor and connects with the Illinois and Mississippi rivers by canal, offers great advantages for trade. Alton, on the Mississippi river, enjoys advantages only second to Chicago. Quincy, Galena, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Jackson, Cairo, and Shawneetown, are also thriving places. Nauvoo, the city of the Mormons, is in the western part of this State. The rivers are the Mississippi, Illinois, Rock, Kaskaskia, and Little Wabash. Population, according to the last census, 476,183.
Missouri is bounded south by Arkansas; east by Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee; west by Missouri territory and north by Iowa. It contains about sixty thousand square miles; its length being two hundred and seventy, and its breadth two hundred and twenty miles. Its limits are between thirty-six degrees and forty degrees thirty minutes north latitude; and between eighty-nine degrees and ninety-four degrees ten minutes west longitude. It is divided into fifty-one counties. The city of Jefferson, which has been laid out within a few years, is the seat of government. St. Louis is the largest town. Potosi, St. Genevieve and Herculaneum are flourishing towns. The chief elevations are the Ozark and Iron mountains. The rivers are the Mississippi, Missouri, Osage, Gasconade, Maramec, St. Francis, White, Black, Currant, Grand and Chariton. The population is three hundred and eighty-one thousand one hundred and two.
State of Arkansas.――Arkansas lies in a very compact form between Louisiana and Missouri, having Zennepee and Mississippi on the east, and the western territory of Mexico on the west. It is 240 miles in length; 250 in breadth; and has an area of 54,500 square miles. The centre of the state is broken and hilly, and the western portion is even mountainous. In general it is covered with a heavy timber. The western part is level and marshy.
Arkansas formed a part of Louisiana, and afterward of Missouri territory, till 1819, when it became a territorial government, and in 1836 an independent state. It is divided into 34 counties; and its capital, Little Rock, is a small town. The population is 95,642.
State of Michigan.――This state consists of two peninsulas, separated by the waters of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The southern division has Lake Michigan on the west, and Lake Huron, the Detroit river, the river and Lake St. Clair, and Lake Erie on the east. It is 280 miles in length, and about 190 in breadth in the southern part, and has an area of 36,000 square miles. The southern peninsula is between lakes Michigan and Huron on the south, St. Mary’s river on the east, and Lake Superior on the North――Montreal river on the west. It is 300 miles long, and varies in width from 100 to a few miles. Its area is about 20,000 square miles. In fertility the state is not surpassed perhaps in the world. The northern peninsula has been imperfectly explored, but seems to be far more hilly than the southern. Lake Michigan is 360 miles long and has an area of near 26,000 square miles. Some settlements were made here by the French in the 17th century; and Detroit was an important trading post at an early period. Michigan passed into English hands in 1763, and was afterward part of the north-western Territory. It was made a distinct Territory in 1805, and in 1836 was received into the Union. Population 212,267.
In 1835 the population of Detroit was estimated at 8,000. It was beseiged in 1763 by Pontiac a celebrated Ottawa chief. In 1812 it was surrendered by Hull to the British.
Fort Gratiot is a military post of the United States, at the outlet of Lake Huron. There is another on the island of Michilimackinac.
Missouri Territory is nine hundred miles in length, and eight hundred in breadth. It is bounded north by the British possessions; east by the Iowa territory, Illinois and Missouri; south and south-west by the territories of the Mexican republic; west by the Rocky mountains. It lies between thirty-four and forty-nine degrees north latitude; and ninety and one hundred and twelve degrees west longitude; its area is estimated at four hundred and seventy thousand square miles. The United States have two military posts in this territory. The mountains of this territory are ranges of the Rocky mountains. The rivers are the Missouri, Rivière de Corbeau, St. Peter’s, Cannon, Ioway, Yellowstone, La Platte, Kansas, Osage, Runningwater, Arkansas, Negracka, and Grand Saline. This territory is inhabited by various Indian tribes, whose numbers are not known.
Oregon Territory is a vast country, whose southern boundary is on the forty-second parallel to the Pacific; our north-west boundary is in dispute with Russia; our division from the British possessions is in the forty-ninth parallel. The Pacific is its western limit; Indiana and Missouri territories form its eastern. It lies between forty-one and forty-nine degrees north latitude, and between one hundred and seven and one hundred and thirty west longitude; it contains about three hundred thousand square miles. The Rocky mountains, and the unnamed chain between this range and the Pacific, present great elevations. The chief rivers are the Oregon and its tributaries. This region is claimed by the United States on the ground of priority of discovery and occupation. A settlement called Astoria was formed in 1811 at the mouth of Oregon or Columbia river, by a number of American citizens. The number of Indian inhabitants is 140,000.
Florida Territory is bounded north by Georgia and Alabama; south and west by the gulf of Mexico, and east by the Atlantic. It extends from twenty-five to thirty-one degrees north latitude; and from eighty degrees thirty minutes to eighty-seven degrees twenty minutes west longitude; its length is three hundred and fifty, and its breadth one hundred and fifty miles. Its area includes about fifty thousand square miles. It is divided into fifteen counties. St. Augustine is the largest town; the other considerable places are Pensacola and Tallahassee. The rivers are the St. Mary’s, St. John’s, and Appalachicola. The population is fifty-four thousand two hundred and seven.
Wisconsin Territory.――This tract stretches from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river, and from the northern boundary of Illinois to British America. It is a lofty table land, and contains the richest lead deposites in the world. The land is rich and of easy cultivation. It was erected into a territory in 1836. It is a portion of the tract known as the Black Hawk purchase, ceded to the United States by the Sacs and Foxes in 1832.――Population, thirty thousand seven hundred and fifty-two.
Iowa Territory.――This is a tract situated between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and reaches from Missouri to British America. This territory, as to soil and surface, resembles that of Wisconsin. It also contains rich lead deposites, and was a part of the Black Hawk purchase. It was erected into a territory in 1837. Population, forty-three thousand and thirty-five.
The Western or Indian Territory.――This region, which has been denominated in official papers the Western Territory, extends from Red river on the south, to the Running Water river and the north fork of the Platte on the north. Its greatest width is 600 miles; and its greatest breadth the same; with an area of 200,000 square miles. It is an extensive region, set aside by the federal government as a permanent home for the Indian tribes. It is truly to be hoped that this original intention of the United States may be carried out in full, both for the honor of our country, and the improvement and happiness of the rude races that may thus pitch their tents in a land they may call their own.
It is a noble region, watered by noble rivers; of which the Arkansas is the chief. It appears by the report of the commissioners on Indian affairs in 1834, that a considerable portion of the land is as good as is found in any of the western states.
The District of Columbia is a territory ten miles square, under the immediate government of Congress. It is divided into two counties and three cities. The cities are Washington, Alexandria and Georgetown. This district lies on both sides of the Potomac, one hundred and twenty miles from its mouth, and was ceded to the general government in 1790, by Virginia and Maryland, within whose territory it was situated. The capital at Washington, from which American geographers often compute their meridian, is in thirty-eight degrees fifty-three minutes north latitude, and seventy-seven degrees one minute and forty-eight seconds west longitude from Greenwich. Population 43,712.