336 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



In sppnkin<^ of the geogrnpliical features of North America, he 

 divideil the country into prairie, niouniaiii, ami forest area; the 

 liri^t the least, and tin? last the most desirai)le for Indian oeeupa- 

 tion. He dcliiUHl the extent of the prairie, whieh, he said, ^Yas 

 over 31 parallels of latitude, and 19 i)arallels of longitude; the 

 greatest expanse measurin<^ more than 1,700 miles from north to 

 south, and 1,000 from east to west, contninint]^ 800,000 square 

 miles. After crossing the Missouri, going westward, the forests 

 decreased and disapi)eared, except along tlie margins of the prin- 

 cipal water-courses, and the prairies grew less luxurious as one 

 advanced, until they degenerated into barren plains before the 

 Rocky Mountains were reached. As the Indians had to obtain 

 their sustenance by the way, and had no means of transportation, 

 there were only three or four routes by which migration was pos- 

 sible ; and over either of these routes 800 miles of prairie must be 

 traversed, which Americans, aided l)y the advantages of civiliza- 

 tion, were, for a long time, barely able to pass. Tiiese prairies 

 were never occupied by the Indians, inasmuch as they were fishers 

 and hunters, except to a very limited extent. 



The mountain regions were distinguished for their great length, 

 and for their lateral extent. These great ranges furnished as 

 well as suggested the highways of migration, and gave to the 

 movements a general direction from north to south, or the re- 

 verse. 



The forest areas presented the greatest obstacles and hindrances 

 to the migration of the Indians; yet, notwithstanding this, the 

 finest Indians were found in the strictly forest nations. 



Prof. ^lorgan, after sj)eaking at some length on the different 

 areas, referred to the means of subsistence which tlie Indians 

 possessed, and said that the abundance or scarcit}' of food must 

 exercise a great influence over their migration. The iliiVerent 

 kinds of food on which the Indians subsisted, and their modes of 

 obtaining the same, were stated in detail. He then considered 

 whether the natural or agricultural subsistence held the masteiy 

 as time advanced. The art of cultivation, doubtless, si)rung up 

 as a ha])py accident. Where it originated, it was impossible to 

 ascertain ; but the reasonable inference was, that it must have 

 been in a hot climate. AVithout agriculture, the Indians could 

 nut have reached the second stage of their development, namel}', 

 villages. In Central America, Mexico, and the "West Indian I>les, 

 tlie greatest attention was paid to agriculture ; but the implements 

 in use were very rude, and the productions necessarily small. 

 Their efforts were limited to garden S])ots, where the soil, if dry, 

 was irrigated. The methods of irrigation adopted by the Indians 

 Avere exidained by Prof. Morgan. The great drawback to their 

 advancement was the contracted extent of the areas cultivated, 

 the iliflicuity of subduing the forests, which was imj)ossii)le with- 

 out tlu- use oinietallic instruments; and exiensive cultivation was 

 impossible without the assistance of the horse, ox, and plough. 



