L * 3 
pears to have been amongst the last in becoming known. The Spa¬ 
niards, who possessed it from 1769, until after 1800, cannot be said to 
have done any thingto wards its further discovery. The French, who were 
first settlers, had made considerable progress in exploring it, but those 
exploring parties originating principally with private individuals, un¬ 
supported by the government, or any wealthy society, were consequent¬ 
ly neither sufficiently extensive nor accurate. It is a singular fact, that 
so great a portion of it, should to this day remain an entire blank on 
the map, and that there should be no correct standard work, to refer 
to, for knowledge of a country inhabited by Europeans for more than 
ond hundred years. A few writers, such as Charlevoix, Du Pratz, Du¬ 
mont, de la Harpe, &c collected the materials furnished by a variety 
of individuals, who passed over different parts of it, and formed their 
books by joining to them the observations made by themselves; but 
they were unfortunately too ready to receive all the falsehoods with 
which they were fraught. In fact, but little was accurately known of 
this country, until it fell into the possession of the United States. Be¬ 
sides the observations of a number of individuals, there have been some 
exploring expeditions sanctioned and equipped by the government; 
these are too well known to require enumeration. The sources of the 
Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, lied river, Washita, and of White river, 
are known to the world for the firsbtime. In the course of the last eight 
or ten years, such a number of authentic accounts have appeared, that 
the time may be regarded as not distant, when the geographer will be 
able to speak of Louisiana with as much certainty, as of any other part of 
the United States. The materials for its history have also been augment¬ 
ed : a variety of facts, scattered through the pages of writers almost ob¬ 
solete, or of transactions known but to tradition, have been carefully 
collected and preserved. I have no higher aim in these (S Views,” than 
to be considered one of those who furnish materials for abler hands. 
Mr. William Darby, to whom I am indebted for the statistical view 
and table, has been engaged for a number of years in preparing an ela¬ 
borate work on Louisiana. Possessing strong original genius, with con 
siderable acquirements, and indefatigable industry, the public may ex¬ 
pect something substantially useful in his labors. He has already al¬ 
most completed, from actual survey, a map of the new state of Louisi¬ 
ana; a work of vast difficulty and labor, from the strange configura 
tion of the country, being cut up, and infinitely diversified, by bayoux, 
swamps, lakes, lagoons, and a thousand other objects calculated to im¬ 
pose difficulties on the undertaking. 
It has always appeared to me, that the observations of travellers, if 
made with any tolerable degree of accuracy, should rank amongst the 
most useful productions, and should, moreover, be entitled to great irk- 
