Barton's mine, since the improvements made 

 by Mr. Austin, is calculated to produce lead to 

 the amount of twenty thousand dollars per annum* 

 As the mineral is so easily obtained, the other 

 mines, under proper management, might, doubt- 

 less, be rendered exceedingly profitable. 



On the borders of the Mississippi, from Saint 

 Genevieve to Cape Girardeau, there are scattered 

 settlements and some considerable villages ,* but 

 from the Cape to the mouth of the Ohio, there 

 are very few settlers. 



The face of the country in Upper Louisiana 

 is somewhat broken, but the soil is generally fer- 

 tile. "It is elevated and healthy, and well, 

 watered, with a variety of large rapid streams, 

 calculated for mills and other water works. From 

 Cape Girardeau, above the mouth of the Ohio, 

 to the Missouri, the land contiguous to the river 

 is generally much higher than on the east side, 

 and in many places very rocky on the shore. 

 Some of the heights exhibit a scene truly pictur- 

 esque. They rise to a height of at least three 

 hundred feet, faced with a perpendicular lime and 

 free stone, carved into various shapes and figures 

 by the hand of nature, and afford the appearance 

 of a multitude of antique towers. From the tops 

 of these elevations, the land gradually slopes back 

 from the river, without gravel or rock, and is 

 covered with valuable timber. It may be said 

 with truth, that, for fertility of soil, no part of the 

 world exceeds the borders of the Mississippi ; 



