UNITED STATES. 



The M'Jfiffipp'i (which fee) rifes, fays Mr. Melifli, in 

 Turtle lake, N. lat. 47° 47', and after receiving feveral 

 tributary itreanis, reaches the falls of St. Anthony in N. 

 lat. 44", which falls are 16 feet perpendicular, with a rapid 

 below of 58 feet. Below the falls, St. Peter's river forms 

 8 junftion with the Mifliffippi from the W., and a little 

 further, St. Croix river falls in from the E. About 15 

 miles below this, the river fpreads out into a beautiful (heet 

 of water, called lake Pepin, at the lower end of which it re- 

 ceives the waters of the Chippeway river. About 90 miles 

 below this river, the Ouifcoiiiin falls in from the eaftward, 

 which river approaches within if mile of the Fox river, 

 which falls into lake Michigan. At the mouth of the 

 Ouifconfin river is Prairie du Chien, where the United States 

 have lately formed a military eftablifhment, which will un- 

 doubtedly be very important to the fettlements of this part 

 of the country. After pafTmg the Ouifconfin river, the 

 Miffifiippi makes a confiderable bend to the eallward, and 

 meets the northern boundary of the Illinois territory ; then 

 bending weftward about 30 miles, it receives Stony river. 

 About 80 or 90 miles below this, the Riviere des Moines 

 falls in from the weftward, and then the Illinois falls in from 

 the eaftward, a little above the junftion of the MifTiffippi 

 and the Miffouri. The Illinois is a large river, the head 

 waters of which interlock fo clofely with thofe falling into 

 lake Michigan, that canoes, it is faid, have fometimes in the 

 wet feifon pafied from the one to the other. About 1 2 

 miles below the confluence of the Illinois with the Mif- 

 fiffippi, we arrive at the junftion of the Mifliffippi and 

 Miflburi : the former of which is, according to Mr. 

 Melifh, inferior in importance to the latter. The Miflburi, 

 he fays, is the main ftream, and the Miffifiippi only a tri- 

 butary branch. The former is in length double the latter, 

 and receives before its junftion with it, the waters of many 

 ftreams, one of which, the La Platte, is longer than the 

 Mifliffippi. The Arkanfas and Red river are alfo much 

 longer ; and the Ohio, allowing for its great bends, is aKo 

 longer ; and taken in conneftion with the Cumberland and 

 Tennaflije, is a river of much greater importance. 



After leaving St. Louis, we pafs along the Miffiffippi 

 about 80 miles to Kalkafliia, where the Kafkadcia, a con- 

 fiderable ftream, falls in from the eaftward ; and about 90 

 miles further below this, the Ohio river, augmented by its 

 numerous branches, joins the Miffiffippi. About 350 miles 

 below the Ohio, the White river, a beautiful ftream, falls 

 in from the weftward : 14 miles below this river, the 

 Arkanf^, a very large and important river, having its 

 fources in the mountains above Santa Fe, falls in from the 

 weftward. Below the Arkanfas river, 190 miles, the Yazoo 

 falls in from the eaftward : the Big Black river alfo falls 

 into the Miffiffippi 63 miles by water, but only 30 in a 

 direft line by land, below the Yazoo. A few miles below 

 this, we pafs the 31ft degree of N. lat., which forms the 

 boundary between the ftate of Louifiana and the Miffiffippi 

 territory ; after which the river bends to the weftward, and 

 receives the waters of the Red river. The Red river rifes 

 in the mountains, E. of Santa Fe, between 57" and 38^ of 

 N. lat., and purfuiug moftly a S.E. courfe, makes feveral 

 bends, and receives no confiderable ftreams until it joins the 

 WacLitta, and its great mafs of waters, a few miles before 

 it reaches the Miffiffippi. The latter paffes to the fea by 

 New Orleans and the Red river, through the Atchafalaya. 

 As this river receives no ftreams of importance after paffing 

 the Atchafalaya, it may be confidered as having reached its 

 maximum ; and it may be viewed in its progrels from hence 

 to the ocean, as having an average breadth of 800 yards, its 

 depth about 1 20 feet, and the velocity of its current about 

 one mile per hour. Accordingly, it runs on with majeftic 



fway, and pafles St. Frahcifville, Baton- Rouge, Donaldfon- 

 ville, Manchac, and, 250 miles below the Atchafalaya, 

 reaches New Orleans, where it makes a confiderable bend to 

 the S. and E. After paffing the Englifh Turn, a con- 

 fiderable bend in the river, 16 miles below New Orleans, 

 fituated on its northern bank, we next meet fort St. Philip, 

 or Placqueraines, diftant 54 miles. Below this, at the in- 

 terval of 19 miles, the river feparates into three grand divi- 

 fions, i>iz. the South-eaft or Main Pafs, the South Pafs, and 

 the South-weft Pafs. Four miles below the Forks, on the 

 Main Pafs, a ftream ifl'ues to the N.E., called Pafs a la 

 Loutre, and the Main Pafs is divided into two parts at the 

 outlet, one called the North and the other the South-eall 

 Pafs. The South-weft Pafs is alfo divided into two parts at 

 the outlet ; the weftern one being called the Weft Pafs. 

 On all tliefo pafles there are bars at the outlet, with the 

 water comparatively fliallow : the Main Pafs has about 13 

 feet; tiie South-weft Pafs 12 ; the Weft Pafs 9 ; and the 

 South Pafs 8. The courfe of the river may be traced to a 

 confiderable diilance from the ftiore, when it is finally lofl; 

 in the mafs of waters forming the gulf of Mexico. 



Mr. Darby, in his valuable work on Louifiana, has given 

 the following calculation of the quantity of water difcharged 

 by the Miffiffippi. In one foot longitudinal feftion of the 

 river, it is eilimated that there are 141,372 cubic feet of 

 water, the mean velocity being one mile per hour ; and as 

 the mile contains 5280 feet, the river will of courfe dif- 

 charge 5280 times 141,372, or 746,444,160 cubic feet of 

 water every hour. This being reduced to gallons, gives 

 4,573,938,000, being upwards of 76 millions of gallons in 

 a minute, and of 1270 thoufand gallons in every fecond of 

 time. The magnitude and importance of this river are ex- 

 hibited by Mr. Melilh in anotlier point of view, thus : the 

 eaftern extremity of the waters of this river is the head 

 waters of the Allegany, which are fituated in Pennfyl- 

 vania, about 190 miles N.W. of Philadelphia: the weftern 

 extremity is the head waters of Jefferfon's river, about 

 540 miles from the Pacific ocean ; and the diftance between 

 thefe two extremities, in a direft line, is about 1700 miles. 

 The northern extremity is a branch of the Miffouri, in 

 50° 42' N. Idt., 550 miles W. by N. of the Lake of the 

 Woods : the fouthern extremity is the fouth pafs into the 

 gulf of Mexico, 29° N.lat., 90 miles below New Orleans ; and 

 the diftance between thefe two extremities, in a direft line, 

 is 1 680 miles. Hence it appears, by a fubjoined ftatement, 

 that the river and its branches fp read over nearly 1,500,000 

 fquare miles, or above two-thirds of the whole territory of 

 the United States. 



The laics of the United States are fome of the largeft in 

 the world. The principal of thefe lie in a chain along their 

 northern boundary, upon the Canada line, and are, lakes 

 Superior, Michigan, Huron, St. Clair, Erie, Ontario, 

 Champlain, George, Memphremagog, Umbagog, Chilma- 

 cook, and Moofehead, &c. &c. The chief of thefe are 

 defcribed under their appropriate names, and others under 

 the account of the ftates to which they belong. 



Of the minerals, foil, produce, and chmate of the United 

 States, it is needlefs to give in this place more than a gene- 

 ral ftatement, as they are mentioned under the appellations 

 of the refpeftive ftates and territories to which they 

 pertain. 



As to minerals, iron, lime-ftone, and free-ftone abound 

 through the country. Coal is plentiful in the weftern terri- 

 tories, and is found in feveral diftrifts in the Atlantic ftates. 

 Lead abounds in the diftrift near St. Louis, where the mines 

 are extenfive and v,iluable. Copper mines are alfo found in 

 feveral places, and it is faid that gold and filver, in great 

 profufion, exift in Upper Louifiana. In this province mar- 



ble 



