16^ UNITED STATES. 



ing place, where the chatmel is so narrow that it is 

 necessary to make use of setting poles instead of oars. 

 The land on this river is remarkably fertile, and se- 

 veral parts of it are natural meadows, of great ex- 

 tent, covered with fine long grass. The timber is 

 large and high, and in such variety, that almost all 

 the different kinds growing upon the Ohio, and its 

 branches, but with a greater proportion of black and 

 v/hite mulberry trees, may be found here. A silver 

 mine has been discovered about twenty. eight miles 

 above Ouiatanon, on the northern side of the Wa~ 

 bash, and probably others may be found hereafter. 

 The Wabash abounds with salt springs, and any 

 quantity of salt may be made from them, in the man- 

 ner now done at the Saline in the Illinois country : 

 the hills are replenished with the best coal, and there 

 is plenty of lime and freestone, blue, yellow, and 

 white clay, for glass works and pottery. Two 

 French settlements are established on the Wabash, 

 called Post Vincient and Ouiatanon ; the first is 150 

 miles and the other 262 miles from its mouth. The 

 former is on the eastern side of the river, and con- 

 sists of sixty settlers and their families. They raise 

 Indian corn, wheat, and tobacco of an extraordinary 

 good quality ; superior, it is said, to that produced 

 in Virginia. They have a fine breed of horses, 

 brought originally by the Indians from the Spanish 

 settlements on the western side of the river Missis- 

 sippi, and large stocks of swine and black cattle. 

 The settlers deal with the natives for furs and deer 

 skins, to the amount of about 5000/. annually. Hemp 

 of a good texture grows spontaneously in the low 

 lands of th.Q Wabash, as do ^grapes in the greatest 



