ILIUM ILLINOIS. 



43 



llithyias afterwards increased to three, of which two 

 were good, and one evil. All three were, at a later 

 period, called genetyllides, or goddesses of childbirth. 

 ILIUM, in ancient geography ; the name of two 

 cities, which are distinct from each other : 



1. NEW ILIUM, now known under the ancient name 

 of Troy, or the modern name of Trojahi, in the ter- 

 ritory of Troas, near the influx of the Hellespont 

 into the ^Egean sea. 



2. OLD ILIUM, or the celebrated city of Troy, so 

 called from llus, son of Tros, was situated farther 

 from the coast. See Troy. 



ILLINOIS; one of the United States of America; 

 bounded north by the territory of Huron, east by 

 lake Michigan and the state of Indiana, south by 

 the Ohio river, which separates it from Kentucky, 

 and west by the Mississippi, which separates it from 

 the state and territory of Missouri. Lat. 37 to 42 

 30' N. ; Ion. 87 20' to 91 Q 20' W. ; 380 miles long, 

 from north to south, and 210 miles wide, from east 

 to west ; square miles, 58,000. Population, accord- 

 ing to the United States' census of 1830, 157,575, 

 and according to the state census of the same year, 

 161,055. There are, besides, about 5900 Indians, 

 chiefly of the tribes of the Sacks and Foxes, and the 

 Pottawatamies. The state is divided into forty-eight 

 counties. The capital of the state is named Vanda- 

 lia. It is situated on the Kaskaskia river, a little 

 south of the centre of the state. The other principal 

 towns are Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Edwardsville, and 

 Shawneetown. The principal rivers, besides the 

 Mississippi, Ohio, and Wabash, which bound the 

 state on the west, south, and east, are the Illinois, 

 Kaskaskia, Little Wabash, Big, Muddy, and Rocky 

 rivers. The sources of the Illinois and Rocky rivers 

 are near those of the streams which empty into 

 Michigan lake, and the country is so flat that, 

 in the wet seasons, the waters of the rivers unite, so 

 that boats pass through them from the Mississippi to 

 the lake. It is proposed to construct a canal, which 

 shall unite the permanently navigable parts of the 

 Illinois with lake Michigan, and, to promote this 

 object, a large grant of land, lying upon the route of 

 the proposed canal, has been made by congress. 

 The southern and middle parts of the state are for 

 the most part level. The banks of the Illinois and 

 Kaskaskia, in some places, present a sublime and 

 picturesque sce:iery. Several of their tributary 

 streams have excavated for themselves deep and 

 frightful gulfs, particularly those of the Kaskaskia, 

 whose banks, near the junction of Big Hill creek, 

 present a perpendicular front of solid Rmestone 140 

 feet high. The north-western part of the territory 

 is a hilly, broken country, though there are no high 

 mountains. The climate is not materially different 

 from that of the same latitudes in the Atlantic states. 

 The low and wet lands, in the southern part, are 

 unhealthy. The cold of winter is sometimes ex- 

 tremely severe. The soil has been divided into six 

 distinct kinds : 1. Bottom lands, bearing a heavy 

 growth of honey locust, pecan, black walnut, beech, 

 sugar maple, buckeye, pawpaw, grape vines, &c. 

 This land is of the first quality, and is 'found, in 

 greater or less quantities, on all the considerable 

 rivers. It is of inexhaustible fertility, and is annu- 

 ally cultivated without manure. 2. Newly-formed 

 land, found at the mouths and confluences of rivers. 

 It produces sycamore, cotton wood, water maple, 

 water ash, elm, willow, oak, &c. There are many 

 thousand acres of this land at the mouth of the Wa- 

 bash, and at the confluence of the Ohio with the Mis- 

 sissippi. It is annually inundated, and is unhealthy. 

 3. Dry prairifs, approaching the rivers and border- 

 ing on the bottom land, from thirty to one hundred 

 tVet higher, and from one to ten miles wide. These 



prairies are destitute of trees, except where they are 

 intercepted by streams of water and occasional tracts 

 of woodlands It has been estimated that as much as 

 two-thirds of the whole state consists of open prairie. 

 The dry prairie has a black rich soil, well adapted 

 to the purposes of agriculture, and is covered with 

 rank grass. 4. Wet prairie, found remote from 

 streams, or at their sources. This is generally colJ 

 and unproductive, abounding with swamps and 

 ponds, covered with tall grass. 5. Land covered 

 with timber, moderately hilly, well watered, and of a 

 rich soil. 6. Hills of a sterile soil, and destitute of 

 timber, or covered with stunted oaks and pines. The 

 prevailing forest tree in Illinois is oak, of which as 

 many as thirteen or fourteen different species have 

 been enumerated. Honey locust, black walnut, mul- 

 berry, plum, sugar maple, black locust, elm, bass 

 wood, beech, buckeye, hackberry, coffee nut, syca- 

 more, spice wood, sassafras, black and white haws, 

 crab apple, wild cherry, cucumber, and pawpaw, are 

 found in their congenial soils throughout the terri- 

 tory. White pine is found on the head branches of 

 the Illinois. On the Saline river, a branch of the 

 Ohio, are salt springs, from which salt is manufac- 

 tured at a cheap rate. About 300,000 bushels of sal t 

 are made here annually. At Galena, on Fever river, 

 near the north-western corner of the state, are very 

 rich lead mines, from which great quantities of that 

 metal are obtained at a very trifling expense. The 

 working of these mines was begun in the year 1821. 

 In 1824, there were made 175,220 Ibs. of lead ; in 

 1825, 664,530 Ibs.; in 1826,958,842 Ibs.; in 1827, 

 5,182,180 Ibs.; in 1828, 11,105,810 Ibs.; in 1829, 

 13,343,150 Ibs.; and in 1830, 8,323,998 Ibs. The di- 

 minution in the quantity made in 1830, compared with 

 the produce of the preceding year, was occasioned 

 by the great reduction in the price of lead. The 

 quantity of lead received by the United States, iu 

 1830, from the miners, for rents, was 504,214 Ibs. 

 The chief produce of the state is Indian com, wheat, 

 and the other agricultural productions of the North- 

 ern States. A few families emigrated from Canada 

 about the year 1720, and settled at Kaskaskia and 

 Cahokia, where their descendants still remain. In 

 1800, the whole population of the territory, which 

 now forms the state, exclusive of Indians, was 215. 

 In 1810, the population was 12,282 ; in 1820, 

 55,211 ; and in 1830, as we have already stated, 

 157,575, of whom, at the last named date, 1653 

 were free blacks, and 746 slaves. 



The territory of Illinois was formed into a state, 

 and admitted into the Union, in 1818. The consti- 

 tution provides, that MO more slaves shall be admit- 

 ted into the state. The legislative power is vested 

 in a general assembly, consisting of a senate and a 

 house of representatives. The senators are chosen 

 for periods of four years, and the representatives for 

 two years. The executive power is vested in a 

 governor, who is chosen for four years, and is ineli- 

 gible for the next succeeding four years. There 

 is a supreme court established by the constitution, 

 and there are inferior courts established by the gene- 

 ral assembly. The judges are appointed by the as- 

 sembly, and hold their offices during good behaviour, 

 or till removed by the governor, on the address of' 

 two-thirds of each branch of the general assembly. 

 One section of land, in each township, amounting to 

 a thirty- sixth part of the township, is granted for 

 the support of schools ; and three per cent, of the 

 net proceeds of the United States' lands sold within 

 the state, is appropriated for the encouragement oi 

 learning, of which a sixth part is required to be be- 

 stowed on a college or university. A further prp vi- 

 sion lias been made for a university by the grant of 

 two townships of land by the United States. A col- 



