UNITED STATES. 



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boats, which were partly rowed along the eddies of the stream, and partly drawn by ropes 

 along the shore. In this tedious process, more than three months were consumed in ascending 

 from New Orleans to the falls of the Ohio. The passage is now made by steamboats in 10 

 days. The first steamboat seen upon these waters was in 1810. There are now 400. The 

 number of flat boats or arks which yearly descend the river, amounts to 5,000. 



The Missouri, in regard to its length, may be considered the main stream of the Mississippi, 

 and, in connexion with that stream, it is the longest river in the world. From its source in the 

 Rocky Mountains to tlie Gulf of Mexico, its extreme length is 4,420 miles. It is navigable 

 from the Great Falls to the sea, 4,000 miles, and has been ascended by steamboats 2,200 miles 

 from the Mississippi. 



This river rises in three head streams, which unite at the base of the Rocky Mountains, and 

 are named Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison. The source of one of these head streams is so 

 near to that of the Oregon, on the other side of the mountains, that a person may drink from the 

 springs of each without traveling more than a mile. For some distance the river is a foaming 

 mountain torrent, and then spreads into a broa:' and gentle stream, full of islands, and in some 

 places bordered by shores of blackish and precipitous rocks, 1,000 feet in height. The Great 

 Falls of the Missouri are within 60 miles of the most eastern ridge of the Rocky Mountains, 

 and for the combination of beauty and grandeur, they are second only to Niagara. The river, 

 which is here 1,000 feet wide, is pressed in between perpendicular clifi's and banks, and falls at 

 first in an unbroken sheet 9S feet perpendicular, and afterwards in a succession of cataracts and 

 foaming rapids for a distance of 17 miles. The whole descent is 360 feet. 



The general direction of the Missouri is southeasterly till it unites with the Mississippi. Its 

 current is very rapid and tortuous, and it embosoms a vast number of islands. Like the Mis- 

 sissippi, it is subject to annual floods, which begin in March and end in July ; the average rise 

 is 25 feet. Vast quantities of sand are brought down by its waters. 



The Missouri has a more rapid current than the Mississippi. From the Kansas to the Mis- 

 sissippi, it runs from 5 to 7 miles an hour. Below this, sometimes 10 miles. The Mississippi 

 below the Missouri, flows at a medial rate of 4 miles an hour. The Mississippi, at its junction 

 with the Missouri, is a mile and a half wide, while the Missouri, at the same point, has a width 

 of but half a mile. The course of the Mississippi exhibits a perpetual succession of curves, in 

 such a regular uniformity, that the boatmen and Indians were accustomed to calculate their pro- 

 gress by the number of bends they had passed. 



The alluvial banks of the Missouri are narrower than those of the Mississippi, and are for the 

 most part destitute of trees. The blufl^s which skirt the alluvion are generally a limestone rock. 

 The Missouri has several large tributaries. The Yelloiv Stone rises in the Rocky Mountains, 

 and falls into the Missouri after a course estimated at 1,800 miles, nearly half of which it is navi- 

 gable. The PZai^e joins the Missouri further downward, and is supposed to have a course of 

 2,000 miles. The Kansas, sUU farther down, is 1,200 miles in length; all these tributaries 

 are from the south and west. 



6. Bays, Gulfs, ^-c. The Gulf of Mexico borders the southern part of the country, and 

 receives the waters of all the central regions. The coast of the Atlantic is indented by nume- 

 rous deep bays, the chief of which are Chesapeake, Delaivare, and Jvlassachusetls Bays : all 

 these are navigable. 



7. Shores and Capes. In the north, the Atlantic coast is rocky, high, and bold, and broken 

 into numerous headlands. Towards the south, the land subsides into an unvarying level flat, 

 which extends to a great distance into the country. The most prominent capes, are Cape Cod 

 in Massachusetts, Cape Ilatteras in North Carolina, Cape Florida, and Cape Sable, the south- 

 ern extremity of the United States. 



8. Climate. Every diversity of climate is found in this country, from the perpetual summer 

 of Florida and Louisiana, to the dreary winter of the Canadian borders. The general charac- 

 teristic of the climate is its sudden transitions, from extreme heat to extreme cold. In a general 

 view, the country may be regarded as comprised within three distinct zones. 1. That of the 

 cold climate, containing the New England States, the norlbern part of New York, Michigan, 

 and the western districts. 2. The middle climate, comprising the Middle States, with Ohio, 

 Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Iflinois, Iowa, and Missouri. 3. The hot climate, comprising 

 the Southern States and Arkansas. Throughout the country the climate is much colder than 

 on the eastern continent under the same parallels of latitude. 



More rain falls in the United States 'w. the course of a year than in Europe, yet the proportion 



