NOTICES OF NATURE. 24? 



I passed, may be termed prairie, the portion of forest land 

 being quite inconsiderable. In the immediate neighbour 

 hood of these villages, the surface is nearly level, and in 

 the intermediate space, sufficiently undulating for usefulness 

 and beauty. The forest trees on the margins of the prairie 

 are of small size, and chiefly oak ; those on bottom, or interval, 

 land, on the banks of rivers, are of immense size. Forests ge 

 nerally clothe the banks of streams, but sometimes prairies 

 descend to the water s edge, on both sides, and no general 

 rule can be laid down for the prevalence or want of timber. 

 After crossing the river Des Plaines, there was no indication 

 of marsh or wetness of soil, and I only observed one lake, of 

 very small extent. Rocks were not seen protruding above the 

 surface, although stones of considerable size were observed on 

 the wayside. The beds of the rivers Des Plaines, Du Page, 

 and Vermillion, at the places where I crossed, were strewed 

 with stones. The freestone rock, seen in crossing the Illinois, 

 and of which a considerable sized island was composed, was 

 observed for several miles below in the channels of tributary 

 streamlets. I examined seams of coal on the banks of the 

 river Sangamon, in the vicinity of Springfield. My view 

 was imperfect, as the seams had never been worked. They 

 appeared about two feet in thickness, of bituminous quality, 

 and fifteen feet above the level of the river. A contract was 

 entered into at the time of my visit, to furnish coal, by remov 

 ing the incumbent earth, at three cents per bushel. 



The soil of this district embraces almost every description, 

 from poor sand to rich clay of strong texture. It is of all 

 colours, and generally of superior quality. The poorest soil 

 was on the banks of the Sangamon, the richest on those of the 

 Illinois. The black sand, of which the prairies are partly com 

 posed, seems of a penetrating nature, and adheres to the skin 

 like soot. Before being aware of this circumstance, I mar 

 velled at the filthy appearance of some of the inhabitants, 

 who did 4 not wear stockings, and at evening I sometimes 

 found my feet and ankles coated with black dust, after having 

 been washed half a dozen times, in course of the day, in wa 

 ding streams. The burning of the herbage prevents the accu 

 mulation of vegetable matter on the soil, and the creeping- 



