356 



INDIANA. 



CHAPTER XXXI. INDIANA. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. This State is bounded N. by the lake and State of Michigan , 

 £. by Ohio ; S. by Kentucky ; and W. by IHinois. It extends from 37° 45' to 41° 50' N. 

 latitude, and from 84° 42' to 87° 49' W. longitude. It is 250 miles in length, from north to 

 south, 150 in breadth, and contains 36,000 square miles. 



2. Rivers. The Ohio washes the southern limit of the State. The Wahash rises in the 

 northeastern part, and flows southwest nearly across the Stale, when it turns to the south, and 

 flows into the Ohio, forming towards its mouth the western boundary. It is 500 miles in length, 

 and is navigable for keel-boats to within 100 miles of its source, where there are rapids ; above 

 this point, small boats may ascend to the source of the river. The Llllle Wabash., Eel River, 

 White River, and Tippecanoe River, are branches of the Wabash. The Tippecanoe is cele- 

 brated for a battle fought upon its banks, in 1811, between the United States troops and the 

 Indians. White Water River, in the eastern part of the State, flows southerly to the Great 

 JMiami, a few miles above its mouth ; its waters are remarkably cold and transparent. The 

 St. Joseph of the Lake passes into IMichigan, the St. Joseph of the JMaumee into Ohio, and the 

 Kankakee into Illinois. 



3. Climate. On the borders of Lake Michigan, heavy rains are common, and the climate 

 is considered unhealthy. In the other parts, this State does not difler from Ohio. In the mid- 

 dle and southern parts, there is seldom more than G inches depth of snow ; but in the north, 

 there is sometimes a foot and a half. Peach trees blossom early in March ; the forests are in 

 leaf early in April. There are vast quantities of flowering shrubs, which put forth their blos- 

 soms before they are in leaf, and give an indescribable charm to the early spring. Frosts often 

 do great injury to the vegetation, both in spring and autun)n. The winter is seldom longer than 

 6 weeks. 



4. Soil. This State is generally level and fertile. All the rivers have uncommonly wide 

 alluvial borders. The prairies along the Wabash are celebrated for their richness and beauty. 

 Many of the prairies and intervals are too rich for wheat. In the northern part, are swampy 

 tracts, which are too wet for cultivation ; but, in general, a better country could hardly be de- 

 sired for all the purposes of agriculture. 



5. Minerals. Iron, native copper, and coal, have been found in this State, and there are 

 salt springs in some parts ; yet the mineral productions are, on the whole, inconsiderable. 



6. Caves. There are great numbers of caves in this State ; some of them have been 

 explored, but the most of them are very little known. On the bank of Big Blue River, 

 a small stream falling into the Ohio, is the Epsom Salts Cave. The entrance is in the side of 

 a hill 400 feet in height. About a mile and a half within the cave, is a white column, 15 feet 

 in diameter, and 30 feet high, regularly fluted from top to bottom, and surrounded by smaller 

 columns of the same shape and appearance. These pillars are described as satin spar. The 

 whole floor of the cave is covered with Epsom salt, sometimes in lumps of 10 pounds' weight, 

 and of the purest quality. The earth taken from the ground yields from 4 to 25 pounds -of this 

 salt to the bushel. The cave also contains saltpetre, aluminous earth, and gypsum. The rock 

 is limestone. On one of the walls is a rude painting of an Indian with a bow. 



7. Face of the Country. The southern border of the State is skirted by a range of hills and 

 bluffs, sometimes washed by the Ohio, and at other times receding 2 or 3 miles from the stream. 

 They are called the Ohio Hills, and are seldom above 300 feet in height. In some other quar- 

 ters, the country is hilly and broken, yet the whole State may be called level. Some of the 

 prairies are too extensive to be measured by the eye, and, wherever streams cross them, they 

 are marked by belts of timbered land. There are hundreds of prairies only large enough for a 

 few farms each. In the more extensive ones, there often occur oases of woody land, which 

 give a striking beauty to the landscape of these western wilds. The northern part is an exten 

 %i\e table-land, nearly level, and containing numerous marshes and lakes. 



