KENTUCKY. 



345 



ported supplies on the Tennessee, the Cumberland, and the Mississippi ; but the eastern part 

 has only the choice of the long and tedious course of the Tennessee through Alabama, inter 

 rupted by several serious obstructions to its navigation, or of the equally slow and difficult pas- 

 sage of the mountains, by wagons. Several schemes have accordingly been projected, to con- 

 nect this district with the eastern ports by an easier route, and there is now a prospect of the 

 speedy construction of a railroad from Charleston to Knoxville, through the valley of the French 

 Broad River, and of another from the Savannah to the Tennessee. The State takes one third of 

 the stock of any railroad, of which two thirds are secured from companies and individuals. The 

 JS'ew Orleans and J^ashville Railroad, will connect those two cities. The only works of this 

 kind as yet executed, are the Memphis and Lagrange Railroad, 50 miles in length, with a 

 branch of 13 miles, from Moscow to Somerville, and the Hiwassee Railroad, from Calhoun, 

 on the Hiwassee, to Knoxville, 70 miles. 



6. jyianufactures. The manufactures of iron, hemp, cotton, and cordage are considerable 

 in amount, but there are no large manufacturing establishments. 



7. Government. The legislature is called the General Assembly, and consists of a Senate 

 and House of Representatives. The members of both Houses are chosen biennially, as also 

 the Governor, who is eligible 6 years out of 8. The Governor is elected by a plurality. Suf- 

 frage is universal. Clergymen are excluded from office. The State sends 13 representatives 

 to Congress. 



8. Religion. The Methodists and Baptists are the most numerous sects ; the former num- 

 bering about 30,000, and the latter about 20,000 communicants. The Presbyterians have 120 

 churches and 10,000 communicants, exclusive of the Cumberland Presbyterians, who are also 

 numerous. The Episcopalians have 1 bishop and 12 ministers, and there are Roman Catho- 

 lics, Lutherans, Friends, Christians, &c. 



9. Education. There are 68 academies in the State, one having been endowed in each 

 county, by grants of public land, but many of these are not in actual operation. The collegiate 

 institutions are the University of Mashvilk, in that city, one of the most respectable educational 

 institutions in the West, having 6 teachers, and 130 students ; Greeneville College, at Greene- 

 ville ; Washington College, in Washington county ; East Tennessee College, at Knoxville ; 

 and Jackson College, at Columbia. There is also a Presbyterian theological seminary, at 

 Maryville. 



10. History. Tennessee is one of the oldest of the Western States, and the first settle- 

 ments were made between the years 1765 and 1770. The earliest inhabitants were emigrants 

 from North Carolina and Virginia, and the country was included within the limits of North Car- 

 olina till 1790, when it was placed under a territorial government, with the name of the Terri- 

 tory South of the Ohio. In 1796, a constitution was formed, and Tennessee was admitted into 

 the Union as an independent State. In 1834, the constitution was revised and amended. 



CHAPTER XXIX. KENTUCKY. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. ^ 



1. Boundaries and Extent. Kentucky is bounded N. by Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio ; E. 

 by Virginia ; S. by Tennessee ; and W. by Missouri and Illinois. It extends from 36° 30' 

 to 39° 10' N. latitude, and from 81° 50' to 89° 20' W. longitude. It is 300 miles in length, 

 from east to west, with a mean breadth of 150. It contains 40,000 square miles. 



2. Rivers. The Ohio washes the whole southern limit ; it will be described in the nexi 

 chapter. The Mississippi forms a small part of the western boundary. The Cumberland and 

 Tennessee rivers pass through the western extremity of the State, into the Ohio. In the north- 

 ern part, the Licking and Kentucky rivers take their rise in the Cumberland Mountains, and 

 flow northwesterly into the Ohio ; they are each about 200 miles in length ; the latter is navi- 

 gable for 150 miles, and has a width of 150 yards at its mouth ; the current is rapid, and the 

 shores are high. For a great part of its course, it flows between perpendicular banks of hmestone. 

 The voyagei passing down this stream, experiences an indescribable sensation on looking up- 

 wards to the sky frr m a deep chasm hemmed in by lofty parapets. Green River rises in the 

 eastern part, and flov»'s westerly into the Ohio. It has a boat navigation of 200 miles. The 

 Big Sandy forms a jiart of the eastern boundary, and flows north into the Ohio. 



44 



