TOPOGRAPHY. 129 



to all who pass the river as the most attractive in natural 

 scenery of any place within the usual route of the boats. 



Mercer, Henderson, and Hancock, have some good land, 

 but a large amount of waste upon the river, and an undue 

 proportion of prairie. The towns of New Boston, Oquawka, 

 Navoo (the city of the Mormons), and Warsaw, are upon the 

 river in these counties, the two last in Hancock, as also 

 Carthage, the county seat, back from the River. Hancock is 

 a populous and important county. Warsaw, situated at the 

 mouth of the Des Moines, has a commanding position. It is 

 partly on the bluff and partly below. It will be the depot 

 for a considerable back country in Illinois, and for the pro- 

 ducts descending the Des Moines, which last will be of great 

 amount when the State of Iowa shall become more popu- 

 lous, and the navigation of the river shall be improved. It is 

 also the point where, in low water, the steamboats discharge 

 their cargoes, Avhich they are unable to transport over the 

 rapids, the town being a short distance below. From here, 

 the keel-boats, laden with goods, are towed up by a class of 

 light draught steamers. 



Adams, the next county on the river, is, in territory and 

 population, one of the most important in the State. Quincy 

 is the lara;est and best built town on the left bank of the river, 

 between Alton and Galena, with the exception of the city of 

 the " saints," so called as " lucus a non luccndo." Quincy 

 is one hundred and fifty miles above St. Louis, and over one 

 hundred and twxnty above tlie mouth of the Illinois River. 

 It is the depot for the trade of a large country north of the 

 river, and a populous, handsome, and flourishing town, with 

 the Land Office for the district. 



Below Adams, a large tract, extending from river to river, 

 forty miles or more in average breadth, and from north to 

 south about the same, is formed into the county of Pike. It 



