CALCAREOUS MANURES— APPENDIX. 263 



tenth part of the western section of the valley, the province of Louisiana is 

 little better than a barren waste, and that the eastern side will always con- 

 tain a much greater population." — p. 72. 



" This western region, it is certain, can never become agricultural ; but it 

 is in many respects highly favorable for the multiplication of flocks and 

 herds. Those delightful spots, where the beauty and variety of the land- 

 scape rrjight challenge the fancy of the poet, invite to the pastoral life. 

 How admirably adapted to the interesting little animal, the sheep, are those 

 clean smooth meadows, of a surflice so infinitely varied by hill and dale, 

 covered with a short sweet grass, intei'mixed with thousands of the most 

 beautiful flowers, undeformed by a single weed. 



"I confess that, to me, nature never wore an aspect so lovely as on the 

 lonely plains of the west. From their dry. and unsheltered surface, no 

 damp and unwholesome vapors rise to lessen the elasticity of the air, or 

 dim the brilliant blue of the heavens. So transparent is the atmosphere, 

 that a slight smoke can be discerned at the distance of many miles, which 

 curiously exercises the caution and sagacity of the fearful savage, ever on 

 the watch to destroy, or to avoid destruction. And then, that sublime im- 

 mensity which surrounds us; the sea in motion is a sublime object, but not 

 to be compared to the varied scenes which here present themselves, and 

 over which the body, as well as the imagination, is free to expatiate. The 

 b'eams of the sun appeared to me to have less fierceness, or perhaps this 

 might be owing to the cool breezes which continually fan the air, bringing 

 upon their wings the odors of millions of flowers. The mind appears to 

 receive a proportionate elevation, when v\'e are thus lifted up so much 

 higher than the centre of the valley. There was to me something like the 

 fables of fairy land, in passing over a country where for hundreds of miles 

 1 saw no inhabitants but the buffalo, deer, the elk, and antelope : I have 

 called it the paradise of hunters, for to them it is indeed a paradise. There 

 are, however, some important drawbacks on the advantages of this country, 

 even considered as a pastoral district. To the north of the Missouri, rains 

 are extremely rare, but when they are Set in, pour down in torrents, while 

 to the south their place is chiefly supplied by heavy dews. In the dry 

 season, which is from the month of June until the latter end of September, 

 at a distance from the great rivers, water is el^ery wliere exceedingly scarce. 

 The buflfalo at this time leaves the plain and seeks the rivers, and the 

 Indians in their excursions to any considerable distance are obliged to 

 shape their courses by some known pond, and to carry besides a quantity 

 of water in bladders. It is possible, that wells might be sunk, but it is cer- 

 tain, that at this season one may travel for days without finding a drop of 

 water ; one may frequently pass the beds of large rivers which have disap- 

 peared in the sands, but after rains, or on the melting of the snows, impass- 

 able torrents are seen to fill their channels, and to roll down in turbid and 

 frightful floods."— pp. 73, 75. 



" The ti^act of country north of the Missouri is less hilly than that on 

 the south, but there is much greater proportion of prairie. It has a waving 

 surface, varied by those dividing ridges of streams, which in Kentucky 

 are called knobs. These prairies, it is well known, are caused by repeated 

 and desolating fires, and the soil is extremely fertile. 



" The plains of Indiana and Elinois have been mostly produced by the 

 same cause. They are very different from the savannas on the sea board, 

 and the immense plains of the Upper Missouri. In the prairies of Indiana, 

 I have been assured that the woods in places have been known to recede, 

 and in others to increa.se, within the recollection of the old inhabitants. In 

 moist places, the woods are still standing, the fire meeting there with obs*i"uc- 



