354 



extensive peninsula, stretching into the sea, far be- 

 yond the borders of its neighbouring coasts, or the 

 original and primitive shores of the ocean : this, 

 however, is not altogether the case. But it may he 

 asked, what means the long strip of land extending 

 beyond a line drawn from Bastien Bay to Black Lake, 

 to the head of the present delta, or where the river is 

 divided into three branches, a distance of about thirty- 

 five miles in a straight line ; and to the extremity of the 

 land at the South Pass, about forty-seven miles ? 



I am perfectly willing to admit the existence of this 

 strip of land, and that it has been formed princip<illy 

 by the alluvion deposited from the waters of the Mis- 

 sissippi river. But before I proceed to answer this 

 question, it is necessary in order to come at truth in 

 this case, to take a view of the whole ground, and the 

 various circumstances necessarily attending it. 



To the persevering industry and exertions of Mr. 

 Darby, we are principally indebted for the means by 

 which to form something like correct ideas of the sub- 

 ject under consideration. In his map of the Missis- 

 sippi Territory, we find laid down an immense tract of 

 alluvial lands, projecting into the gulf of Mexico, 

 more than sixty miles beyond a right line drawn from 

 the entrance into Mobile bay, or Pensacola river, to 

 the mouth of the Sabine, or Mermentau river, which 

 line corresponds very nearly with that of the coast 

 generally; that is, east and west of the Mississippi 

 river. This projection of land, with the little islands 

 adjacent, as represented, form a pretty correct segment 



