relating to the Vale of the Mississippi. 57 
years ago, and the creek must of course discharge, in a given time, — 
an infinitely greater quantity of water. _ . 
What more need we say, in support of our position of subterra- 
neous water courses, by the infiltration of water through the earth. 
A new or uncultivated country, whether clothed with grass alone, or 
with trees and cane, will imbibe all the water that falls upon it, unless 
where the country is based upon strata of rock, or the soil is very 
sterile; and indeed many of the rocky districts, particularly those 
of limestone, are apt to contain more subterranean than superficial 
‘streams. It is worthy of remark, that in settling all the country 
west of the Alleghany mountains, there was a very general want of 
water; whether it was in the limestone regions of Tennessee, Ken- 
tucky and Ohio, or in the extensive prairies of Indiana, Illinois and 
Missouri, or in the great cane-brakes of our district; the scarcity of 
water was every where observed, and water was truly a desideratum. 
But as the settlements extended, with the introduction of cattle, the 
_ earth became more compact, and spontaneous vegetation less flour- 
ishing, which, by the increased firmness of the ground, caused the 
water to remain upon or rise to the surface ;—hence it was foun 
that streams of water multiplied with the increase ot nat 
The water of our district is strongly impregnated with lime, which 
jt receives from the snail shells, in passing through the upper and 
lower strata of clay and vegetable earth. Deposition of lime from 
the water takes place in all the cavities, whether occasioned by the 
decay of former deposits of wood, or of the roots of trees: this 
deposition of lime crystallizes, and is found, also, amorphous in 
the earth. 
pela 8 THE MISSISSIPPI. 
~ We are again brought to the spot where the magnificent’ Missis- 
sippi_now rolls. When did this river appear, and what is its age? 
Owing to causes unknown to us, this singular river was not, confined, 
but driven out from the land, by the operation of the numerous lakes 
and grand reservoirs of water, and by the extensive regions of cane, 
which alernated. with prairies, and began to show themselves and 
spread very generally over the continent. When the Indians arrived, 
(an unknown period,). they must have found no small difficulty in 
penetrating the cane-brakes. To make their journeys the more 
readily, they doubtless adopted the plan of burning the cane every 
ou. XXIIL.—No. 1. 8 
