ARKANSAS. 



369 



The Catholic cathedral is a magnificent structure. The hospital, and orphan asylum, under 

 the care of the Sisters of Charity, the Convent of the Sacred Heart, the City Hall, &,c., 

 are among the public buildings. The population is 16,000, including many Germans and 

 French. The fur trade, the lead mines, the supplies for the Indians, create a good deal of 

 business here, and St. Louis is the emporium of the vast regions on the Upper Mississippi and 

 the Missouri. The manufactories are also extensive and increasing, and the abundance of coal 

 in the neighborhood and the mineral wealth of the State, must make this an important branch 

 of industry. There is a United States Arsenal just below the city, and 5 miles distant are 

 Jefferson Barracks^ an important military station. 



St. Genevieve, on a small creek, near the Mississippi, has a Catholic church and some neat 

 French houses ; most of the inhabitants are French. Considerable lead is exported from this 

 place. Population, 800. Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi, 50 miles above the Ohio, is 

 finely situated upon a bluff, but is not a flourishing town. Potosi, in the centre of the mining 

 country, occupies a pleasant spot, surrounded by hills. It has a great trade in lead. 



Herculaneum, on the Mississippi, 30 miles below St. Louis, stands on a narrow, alluvial spot, 

 bounded on the land side by lofty bluffs. It is the chief depot for the lead mines, and has sev- 

 eral shot towers. JSTew Madrid, on the Mississippi, 50 miles below the Ohio, was once a 

 considerable place, but suffered severely by earthquakes in 1811 and 1812. St. Charles, on 

 the Missouri, is pleasantly situated and handsomely built, and is a flourishing town. Population, 

 2,000. The City of Jefferson is the seat of government. The situation is on the southern 

 bank of the Missouri, in the centre of the State, and is agreeable and commanding. Here 

 are a State-house and penitentiary. 



3. Agriculture. Maize, wheat, rye, oats, flax, and hemp, are extensively cultivated. Some 

 cotton is raised in the southern parts. Tobacco is also raised. The land is easy of tillage, 

 but the great obstacle to farming is the want of fencing materials, the soil in some places af- 

 fording neither stones nor timber fit for the purpose. 



4. 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. Elections are popular, and suffrage is 

 universal. The State sends two representatives to Congress. 



5. Religion. The Baptists and Methodists are the most numerous sects ; there are also 

 Presbyterians, Episcopalians, many Catholics, &c. 



6. Education. The University of St. Louis is a Catholic Institution. It was founded in 

 1829. It has 15 instructers, and 200 students. St. Maryh College, in Perry, has 15 teach- 

 ers, and 130 pupils. Marion College at Palmyra, Columbia College at Columbia, and 

 St. Charles''s College at St. Charles, are useful institutions. There are also several convents 

 in the State, where females are sent for education. 



7. History. This State was originally a part of the great Territory of Louisiana. Some 

 settlements had been made by the French in 1764 ; yet, previous to the acquisition of the 

 country by the United States, it contained but few inhabitants. In 1804 it was separated from 

 Louisiana, and erected into a Territory. A constitution was formed in 1820, and the next 

 year it was admitted as a State into the Union. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. ARKANSAS. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. This State is bounded N. by Missouri ; E. by the River 

 » Mississippi, which separates it from Tennessee and Mississippi ; S. by Louisiana, and W. by 



the Indian Territory. It lies between 33° and 36° 30' N. latitude, and between 90° and 94° 

 30' W. longitude. Its length is 240 miles, and its breadth varies from 200 to 280 miles , 

 it contains 54,500 square miles. 



2. Mountains. Several ranges of the Ozark chain cross the northwestern part of the 

 State ; they are here called t'ne Black Mountains. A ridge called the Masserne Mountains, 

 branches off from the Ozark, and extends easterly to the south of the Missouri. These 

 mountains have been little explored. 



3. Rivers. The Jlrkansus, one of the greatest branches of the Mississippi traverses this 

 State from northwest to southeast. It rises in the Rooky Mountains in about latitude 41° N. 



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