218 EXPEDITION TO THE 



the Illinois, and one mile and a half near that of the St, 

 Peter. At the de Moyen rapids, the river is hurried down a 

 descent of about thirty feet in the distance of eleven miles, 

 and at the rapids of Rock Island, which are about fifteen 

 miles long, the aggregate descent is about forty-five feet. 



A description of the Falls of St. Anthony has been al- 

 ready given in the preceding narrative. For a descrip- 

 tion of the Mississippi above this point, we beg leave to 

 refer to the " Account of Pike's Expedition to the source" 

 of that river, as also to the narrative published by Mr. 

 Schoolcraft, and to that which Captain Douglas is prepar- 

 ing for the press. 



The Illinois river is to be ranked among the most im- 

 ])ortant of the western rivers, inasmuch as it affords greater 

 facilities as a water communication between the lakes and 

 the Mississippi than any other stream. Its length from its 

 mouth to its source, at the junction of the Kankakee and 

 Des Plaines, is three hundred miles. For a distance of 

 fifty miles on the upper part of the river shoals abound, 

 which are serious impediments to its navigation in a low- 

 stage of water. The most formidable obstructions of this 

 nature are the rapids situated at the confluence of Vermi- 

 lion river, which are utterly impassible for boats except in 

 times of flood. Below this, the navigation is exceedingly 

 easy, for boats of moderate draft and burden, to the mouth 

 of the river, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles. 

 The current throughout the distance last mentioned is ex- 

 ceedingly gentle, often quite imperceptible ; indeed, this 

 part of the river may with much propriety be denominated 

 an extended pool of stagnant water. Its valley is broad and 

 bounded by parallel ranges of bluffs, presenting, in most 

 places along the margin of the river, low bottoms covered 

 with a dense growth of timber trees, surmounting thickets 



