MAMELLE PRAIRIE. 257 



Weeds, which in other situations were observed of diminutive 

 size, here attained magnitude, and I estimated the height of 

 some Indian corn at twenty feet ; amongst this crop purple 

 coloured convolvoluses were twining, the seeds of which were 

 added to my collection. On examining some wheat ricks, I 

 found the straw covered with mildew, and the grain shrivelled 

 skins. Fertile as the Mississippi bottom appeared, it bore no 

 traces of human enjoyment. 



On entering the prairie, which is elevated a little above the 

 bottom land, two lines of road diverge, and I was directed on 

 that leading to St Charles, by two men of colour chopping 

 firewood in front of a house, who, in all probability, were 

 the first slaves I had ever seen, Missouri being a state in 

 which slavery is tolerated, and in which I had travelled since 

 crossing the Mississippi. My way, for a considerable distance, 

 was over a waxy soil covered with water, the road being 

 bounded with tall grass, over which I could not see. On at 

 taining a higher elevation, the rank grass disappeared, the soil 

 became dry, and for miles was of poorer quality than any I 

 had seen since leaving the shores of Lake Michigan. The 

 soil, which was worn into inequalities by the action of wind 

 and travellers, was repeatedly examined, and the opinion 

 which I formed was corroborated by the thriftless and stunted 

 vegetation on its surface. On leaving the bottom there were 



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some spots covered with clover, and the finer descriptions of 

 grass, closely cropped by cattle, which formed the only verdant 

 pasturage I had met with since leaving Amherstburgh in 

 Canada. My progress over the wet roads had been slow, 

 and I felt fatigued and hungry. On applying for bread at a 

 log-house, the inmates cheerfully offered to prepare some for 

 me, but I departed after quaffing a glass of water. The soil 

 improved, without becoming very rich. Some people were 

 engaged in sowing wheat, and several herds of cattle were 

 observed. On the left-hand side of the road there was a 

 narrow and extensive sheet of water, covered with weeds and 

 water-fowl, and seemingly connected with the Missouri. Light 

 disappeared before I reached St Charles, and several miles 

 were traversed in darkness. 



I did ample justice to the viands set before me at St Charles, 



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