562 



ILLINOIS. 



it is nearly as old as Kaskaskia. Shawneetoicn, on the Ohio, is the largest place in this State, 

 upon the river. It has about 1,000 inhabitants. Galena, in the northwest, on the Mississippi, 

 is the centre of a lead-mining district. 



Springfield, a busy and flourishing town, in the centre of the State, has Jately been made 

 the capital ; it stands on the borders of a beautiful prairie, in the midst of a highly fertile tract, 

 and is the most important intei'ior town in the State. Population, 2,500. Jacksonville, with 

 nearly as many inhabitants, is a thriving village in the vicinity. Peoria and Peru, on the upper 

 Illinois, are becoming important centres of business. 



But the two largest towns, and the commercial depots of the northern and southern parts of 

 the State respectively, are Alton and Chicago, the former in the southwest, on the Mississippi, 

 the latter in the northeast, on Lake Michigan. Chicago is pleasantly situated at the mouth of 

 rhe river of the same name, and at the point where the chain of great lakes approaches nearest 

 lo the Mississippi, and has become the great mart of Illinois ; having easy communication with 

 die Atlantic at New York and Quebec, and with the Mississippi by the canal and the Illinois, 

 A. is the great thoroughfare for northwestern travel, and the chief depot for imported merchan- 

 dise. In 1830 there were but a few huts here, and at present the population exceeds 6,000. 

 Annual value of imports, about 3,500,000 dollars. Alton stands on the bluffs, at the head of 

 the American bottom, between the mouths of the Illinois and Missouri, and commands the 

 trade of an extensive and growing population. The town consists of two distinct villages, 

 Uppei and Lower Alton, and contains a college, penitentiary, theological seminary, numerous 

 manufactories, &c. Population, 4,000. Q.uincy is the principal town on the Mississi])pi 

 above Alton. Population, 2,000. 



5. Agriculture. Agriculture, as might be expected in a new country, with a scattered 

 population and a teeming soil, absorbs almost entirely the attention of the inhabitants. Indian 

 corn, or maize, is the staple product of the State, and the average crop is about 50 bush- 

 els to the acre. Wheat is also raised in large quantities, and yields flour of a superior quahty, 

 which is highly esteemed in the New Orleans market ; oats, rye, and buckwheat, are found to 

 thrive. Hemp, flax, cotton, and tobacco, are also raised, and the castor-oil-bean is success- 

 fully cultivated. Large herds of horned cattle, and droves of horses and mules, are raised and 

 kept with liule trouble, and great numbers are driven out of the State on the hoof, or sent 

 down the river in flat-boats. Thousands of hogs are raised with little attention or expense, 

 aod pork is largely exported. 



6. J\Ianufactures. Manufactures, except of the ruder sort of articles of the first necessity, 

 can hardly be said to exist. Castor-oil and linseed-oil, flour, whisky, leather, salt, the com- 

 mon agricultural implements, cotton-yarn and some cotton, and cotton and woolen goods, are 

 produced, the latter mostly of household make. The abundance of coal in the southern part, 

 and the inexhaustible water-power of the north, offer every facility for the introduction of large 

 manufacturing establishments ; but the present condition of the inhabitants does not permit 

 their application on a large scale. It appears from returns made to the legislature in 1835, 

 that there were, at that time, 916 mills, 142 distilleries, and 339 manufactories in the State ; 

 but the last item includes many handicraft's workshops. Steamboat building has of late begun 

 to assume importance as a branch of mechanical industry. 



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

 and House of Representatives. The senators are chosen for 4 years, and the representa- 

 tives for 2. The Governor is chosen for 4 years. The legislature has but one stated session 

 in 2 years. Elections are popular, and suffrage is universal. The State sends three rep- 

 resentative to Congress. 



8. Religion. The Baptists have 160 ministers, and the Campbellites, Christians, and Re- 

 formers are numerous ; the Methodists 300 preachers ; the Presbyterians 60, exclusive of the 

 Cumberland, Reformed, and Associate Reformed Presbyterians. The Episcopalians number 

 10 societies, the Roman Catholics 12, and there are Friends, Dunkers, Moravians, and Mor- 

 mons. 



9. Education. Illinois College, at Jacksonville, was founded in 1830. It has 5 instructers, 

 and 60 students. Shurtleff College at Alton, McKendrean College at Lebanon, and Mc- 

 Donough College at Macomb, are still more youthful institutions. Large tracts of land have 

 been granted by the government for the support of schools, but no system of general education 

 has yet been organized. 



10. History. This Stale was first explored by Marquette, a French traveler, in 1673, and 



