444 AUDUBON 



of life of their own free will. They mostly remove from 

 other parts of the United States, after finding that land 

 has become too high in price, and they are persons who, 

 having a family of strong and hardy children, are anxious 

 to enable them to provide for themselves. They have 

 heard from good authorities that the country extending 

 along the great streams of the West, is of all parts of the 

 Union, the richest in its soil, the growth of its timber, 

 and the abundance of its game; that, besides, the Missis- 

 sippi is the great road to and from all the markets in the 

 world ; and that every vessel borne by its waters affords 

 to settlers some chance of selling their commodities, or 

 of exchanging them for others. To these recommenda- 

 tions is added another, of even greater weight with per- 

 sons of the above denomination, namely, the prospect of 

 being able to settle on land, and perhaps to hold it for 

 a number of years, without purchase, rent or tax of any 

 kind. How many thousands of individuals in all parts of 

 the globe would gladly try their fortune with such pros- 

 pects, I leave to you, reader, to determine. 



As I am not disposed too highly to color the picture 

 which I am about to submit to your inspection, instead 

 of pitching on individuals who have removed from our 

 eastern boundaries, and of whom certainly there are a 

 good number, I shall introduce to you the members of a 

 family from Virginia, first giving you an idea of their 

 condition in that country, previous to their migration to 

 the west. The land which they and their ancestors have 

 possessed for a hundred years, having been constantly 

 forced to produce crops of one kind or another, is now 

 completely worn out. It exhibits only a superficial layer 

 of red clay, cut up by deep ravines, through which much 

 of the soil has been conveyed to some more fortunate 

 neighbor, residing in a yet rich and beautiful valley. 

 Their strenuous efforts to render it productive have 

 failed. They dispose of everything too cumbrous or ex- 



