96 
into the Mississippi, divides the place into two parts. Hercu¬ 
laneum is thirty miles from St. Louis, is very small, but con¬ 
tains several decent houses, and supports itself by the lead estab¬ 
lishments, furnished by the mines in the neighbourhood, and by 
two shot factories. The rocks, which form the right bank of 
the river, open themselves here to let the Owashingpass through, 
which flows in a narrow, truly picturesque valley, which again 
recalled the Ilmthal to my mind. Looking from the river, Her¬ 
culaneum is situated between two high crags of rock, in the 
back ground woody heights crowned with rocks, and appears 
very handsome. On each summit of the rocks, stands what is 
called a shot tower. The material of the rock here is wacke, 
in which there are many flints. We stopt here to take in wood. 
The 7th of April, we continued our voyage about five o’clock* 
and reached St. Louis about eleven o’clock forenoon. Thus had 
we accomplished a distance of 1150 miles in less than thirteen 
days against the current, which before the introduction of the 
steam-boat required at least three months, a new testimony of 
the importance of this noble discovery, so honourable to the 
human intellect. 
We enquired in several houses for accommodation, but found 
the most of them too bad; and remained at length in the Missouri 
Hotel, a tolerably moderate kind of an inn, where we were 
obliged to house ourselves very narrowly. 
St. Louis has existed since the year 1763, and was settled by 
French and Canadians. In that year when Canada with the left 
bank of the Illinois and Mississippi were ceded to England, 
these people were not willing to be English subjects, and with¬ 
drew to the right bank of the Mississippi, which then was under 
the dominion of France, but soon after was given up to Spain. 
The emigrants built St. Louis and St. Charles on the Missouri, 
as well as several other little places: they lived a long time cut 
off from the civilized world, and surrounded by Indians. They 
effected but little in the cultivation of the soil, had almost no ag¬ 
riculture, and supported themselves by hunting. They would 
at length have become savages, had not this territory, with 
Louisiana, in the year 1803, came into the possession of the 
United States. Since that time communication and roads have 
been opened between the United States and St. Louis; many 
Americans and foreigners removed here, and brought their pro¬ 
perty and their industry with them: and by the introduction of 
the use of steam-boats, a new and easy intercourse was opened with 
the shores of the Ohio, and with New Orleans, that important 
depot of the western states. A glance at the map of the United 
States shows what an interesting place St. Louis is destined to 
become, when the white population has spread itself more west- 
