161 



ALABAMA. 



ALABAMA. 



162 



Shoals, where the river spreads out from one mile to three miles in 

 width, with a rocky bottom, and is so shallow that boats can neither 

 ascend nor descend, except at high water during floods. A canal has 

 been made round these shoals 36 miles in length ; above them the 

 navigation is unobstructed for 250 miles. Pensacola Bay is entirely 

 within the limits of West Florida, but as this territory here con- 

 sists of only a comparatively narrow slip along the gulf, the sources 

 and the main body of the streams that enter Pensacola Bay are within 

 the state of Alabama. The main stream that discharges into Escambia 

 Bay (one of the upper inlets of Pensacola Bay) is the Escambia ; but 

 the chief branch of this river ia the Conecuh, though the name of the 

 Escambia prevails in the lowest part of their united course. The 

 Conecuh flows through an unproductive country ; it is navigable for 

 100 miles above its mouth. 



The alligator abounds in the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers. 



The state had 254 miles of railroad open in 1852 : 88 from Mont- 

 gomery to Weat Point in Georgia ; the Lagrange railroad 87 miles, 

 between the Atlanta and West Point ; the Tuscumbia and Decatur 

 linen in the Tennessee Valley, 46 miles ; and the Mobile and Ohio 

 railroad, of which 33 miles were open at the Mobile end. 



Soil, Product!, Ac. The soil is various, but the greater part of it 

 is excellent. " In the south it ia generally sandy and barren ; and a 

 part of the high-lands are unfit for cultivation. A large portion of 

 the country which lies between the Alabama and Tombigbee, of that 

 part watered by the Coosa and Talapoosa, and of the Tennessee Valley, 

 consists of very excellent land. On the margin of the rivers (in the 

 southern part) there is a quantity of cane-bottom land of great fertility, 

 generally from one-half to three-quarters of a mile wide : on the 

 outside of this is a space which is low, wet, and intersected by stagnant 

 water; next to this river-swamp, and elevated 10 or 15 feet above it, 

 succeed* an extensive body of level land, of a black rich soil, with a 

 growth of hickory, black oak, post oak, poplar, dog-wood, &c. After 

 this come the prairies, which are wide-spreading plains, or gently- 

 waving land (resting on a soft limestone rock, abounding in shells), 

 clothed with graa>, herbage, and flowers, and exhibiting, in the month 

 of May, the most enchanting scenery." (' Encyclop. American.') The 

 forest-trees, in the middle and northern parts of Alabama, are post, 

 black, and white oak, hickory, poplar, cedar, chestnut, pine, mulberry, 

 &c. ; the elm nourishes on the river banks. The chief wild animals 

 are the deer, bear, wolf, panther, fox, &c. The rattle-snake abounds in 

 this state. There is generally wood enough on the prairies to fence them. 

 It is arranged in lines and clumps on the lower and moister portions, 

 dividing them into open spaces of several hundred acres. The soil 

 is of variable depth and rests on a uniform bed of limestone. In 

 some places the rock juts out on the surface, where it easily decomposes. 

 There is a great deficiency of water, and what there is of it is very 

 bad : good water can be obtained by boring to the depth of 300 or 400 

 feet, and in many cases this water rises to the surface. The long-moss 

 region commences below 33 N. lat. The moss hangs in festoons from 

 the trees, giving to the forests the most dark and gloomy aspect. It 

 is much used for making mattresses. 



Cotton and corn, the staple products, are raised in great quantities. 

 The land produces from 400 Ibs. to 1800 Ibs. of seed cotton to the acre. 

 The cotton crop of 1840 yielded 117,138,8231bs. ; and the produce 

 baa been since increasing every year : the greater part of it is carried 

 to Mobile that from the Tennessee Valley only being taken to New 

 Orleans. The land is tilled almost entirely by slaves. The corn crops 

 of the same year, included 20,947,004 bushels of maize ; 828,052 

 bushels of wheat; 1,406,353 bushels of oats. Some barley and rye 

 are also grown, and a considerable quantity of rice. Other products 

 are tobacco, sugar, silk, fruits, and a little wine ; vast numbers of pigs 

 are fed and killed for export ; horses, sheep, and neat cattle are very 

 numerous. The total exports of Alabama in the year ending June 30, 

 1851, amounted to 18,528,824 dollars ; the imports are given at 413,446 

 dollars, but this sum includes the value of the imports by sea only. 

 Articles of common necessity mainly are manufactured. The cotton 

 manufacture is extending. There are great numbers of corn and flour 

 mills and distilleries, and also several iron-foundries. During the year 

 ending June 30, 1851, five vessels, with an aggregate burden of 354 tons, 

 were built. 



Iron ore is found in several places, and fossil coal abounds in the 

 basin of the Tuscaloosa River ; marble is found on the Cahawba, Qold 

 also has been found in small quantities. 



:iate. June is the hottest month in the year. The figand peach 

 arrive at great perfection below 34 N. lat., and the climate and noil 

 are well adapted to the grape, but not to the olive. The fruit trees 

 blossom between the middle of January and 1st of March, according 

 to the elevation of the place. Snow neither falls deep nor lies long ; 

 a thin sheet of ice sometimes covers the stagnant waters at the coldest 

 period ; the rivers are rarely frozen. The climate is healthy, except 

 in the bottom-land bordering on the rivers and in the lowlands on the 

 coast. In the elevated country it is delightful, the heat of summer 

 being tempered by the breezes from the Gulf of Mexico. The prevailing 

 diseases in low situations are intermittent and bilious fevers. 



Indium. The Cherokees formerly occupied the north-east corner 



of the state, and extended into Georgia and Tennessee : the Creeks 



occupied the eastern districts with part of Georgia ; and the Chicka- 



laws and Choctaws the west, extending into Mississippi. These tribes 



OEOO. TJIV. VOL. I. 



have all emigrated west of the Mississippi, where a large tract of country 

 has been ceded to them by the United States in exchange for their 

 own. There are remains of moxinds and roads in the state respecting 

 which the Indians have no traditions. 



Counties and Towns. The state is divided into 49 counties. Tusca- 

 loosa, the former capital, is situated at the falls and head of steam-boat 

 navigation on the Tuscaloosa River ; in 33 12' N. lat., 87 42' W. long., 

 256 miles N. from Mobile by land. It takes its name from the Choctaw 

 appellation of the river. The situation of the town is healthy and 

 pleasant, being on an elevated plain of several miles in extent. The 

 university of Alabama, founded in 1831, is about one mile from the 

 town. Coal is found on the banks of the river, and in the vicinity 

 abundance of materials for building, particularly stone and pine 

 timber : population, about 2000. Mobile, the principal port, is situated at 

 the influx of Mobile River into the bay of the same name in 30 41' 48" 

 N. lat., 87 59' W. long. ; 50 miles by land from Pensacola, 1033 miles 

 S.W. from Washington, and 160 miles E.N.E. from New Orleans. In 

 1813 it was surrendered by Spain to the United States, and then con- 

 tained about 300 inhabitants : the population in 1850 was 20,513. The 

 back country is dependent on Mobile for a market. The principal exports 

 from Mobile consist of cotton, of which it ships larger quantities than 

 any other town of the United States except New Orleans, and corn. 

 Steam-boats and schooners ply regularly to New Orleans. HuntreHle, 

 in the north part of the state, 10 miles N. of the Tennessee River, in 

 34 36' N. lat., 86 57' W. long., has a considerable trade in cotton 

 with New Orleans, and a communication with the Tennessee River 

 by a canal. The town is large and well built, and contains several 

 handsome public buildings. Montgomery, on the Alabama River, is 

 a flourishing town, situated 200 miles N.E. from Mobile, on a high 

 bluff at the head of the steam-boat navigation. It is, since 1847, 

 the legislative capital of Alabama. The state capitol destroyed by fire 

 in 1849 has since been rebuilt ; the new building was completed 

 November 1, 1851. The town contained seven churches and 2250 

 inhabitants in 1840. Cotton is shipped to the amount of over 40,000 

 bales annually. A railroad 88 miles long connects Montgomery with 

 West Point in Georgia. C'uhaicua was once the capital of the state. 

 Florence, situated on an elevated plain on the right bank of the 

 Tennessee, immediately below the Muscle Shoals, is a well-built 

 town, and has considerable facilities for trade : population 2000 iu 

 1840. Wetnmpl-a, on the left bank of the Coosa, 110 miles S.E. from 

 Tuscaloosa, is much frequented for the Harrowgate springs near it : 

 population, 2600. in 1840. 



Government. The legislative power is vested in a General Assembly, 

 consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate 

 consists of 33 members elected for four years, one-half going out every 

 two years. The House of Representatives consists of 100 members, 

 elected for two years. Since 1847 the legislature meets biennially in 

 the city of Montgomery. The members of both houses are paid four 

 dollars a day each. The judges of the Supreme Court, which has 

 appellate jurisdiction only, are elected by joint vote of the two Houses 

 for six years. The court holds its sessions at the seat of government. 

 The executive power is vested in a Governor, who is elected by the 

 people for two years, and is eligible four years out of six ; he possesses 

 a qualified negative on legislative acts, and the pardoning power : in 

 cases of treason, the consent of the Senate is necessary. In case of 

 his death, absence, &c., the president of the senate acts as governor ; 

 the salary is 2500 dollars. The qualifications required for members 

 of the legislature are citizenship, two years' state and one year's 

 district residence ; a senator must be 27 years of age ; a governor 

 must be 30 years old, a native citizen, and must have resided four 

 years in the state. A voter must be 21 years of age ; one year's state 

 and three months' district residence are required. Blacks in all cases 

 are excluded. Two-thirds of the General Assembly may propose 

 amendments to the constitution, which, if ratified by the people at 

 the next election, and by two-thirds of the subsequent legislature, 

 become valid. 



Judiciary. The state is divided into 3 chancery divisions; and 

 39 districts, in each of which there is a circuit-judge, who has juris- 

 diction in all civil and criminal causes in the state, and holds one 

 or more sessions in the year. There is a special court for the city of 

 Mobile, which holds three sessions in the year, and has concurrent 

 jurisdiction with the circuit courts except in real actions. By an 

 amendment of the constitution, ratified in 1850, the judges of the 

 circuit courts, the judge of the city court of Mobile, and the judges 

 of probate (one in each county), are all elected by the people for a 

 term of six years. The judges are removable by impeachment, and 

 by the governor on the address of two-thirds of the General Assembly 

 the judge must be heard in defence. The other public officers are 

 the secretary of state, comptroller of public accounts, state treasurer, 

 and attorney-general ; the first three receive a salary of 1000 dollars. 



;. The laws in this state differ but little from those of the other 

 states of the Union. The punishments are fine, imprisonment in the 

 county jail, standing in the pillory, branding, whipping, and death by 

 hanging. The crimes punishable with death are murder, treason, 

 rape, man-stealing," slave-stealing, arson, robbery, burglary, counter- 

 feiting, and forgery. The consequence of making BO many offences 

 capital is that many go unpunished, or are pardoned by the executive. 

 Very severe laws have been passed againnt duelling ; killing in a duel 



