XXX 



progressive accumulation in Europe and 

 Asia, and on the quantity of gold and sil- 

 ver, which, since the discovery of America 

 down to our own times, the old world has 

 received from the new. The geographical 



sisippi, and to the interior Parts of New Spain, Phi- 

 ladelphia, 1810) contains valuable notions on the ri- 

 vers La Platte and Arkansas, as well as on the 

 chain of mountains which extends to the North of 

 New Mexico, towards the sources of these two rivers : 

 but the numerous statistical data, which Mr. Pike has 

 collected in a country of the language of which he was 

 ignorant, are for the greater part very inaccurate. Ac- 

 cording to this author, the mint of Mexico coins every 

 year 50 millions of piastres in silver, and 14 millions 

 in gold : while it is proved by the tables annually 

 printed by order of the Court, and published in the 

 Political Essay, that, the year in which the produce of 

 the mines was the most abundant, the coinage 

 amounted only to 25,806,074 piastres in silver, and to 

 1,359,814 piastres in gold. Mr. Pike displayed admi- 

 rable courage in an important undertaking for the 

 investigation of western Louisiana; but, unprovided 

 with instruments, and strictly watched on the road 

 from Santa Fe to Natchitoches, he could do nothing 

 towards the progress of the geography of the provin~ 

 cias internas. The maps of Mexico, which are annexed 

 to the narrative of his journey, are reduced from 

 my great map of New Spain, of which I left a copy y 

 in 1804, at the secretary of states's office at Wash- 

 ington. 



