100 
the Missouri immediately from St. Charles to Chauvin’s ferry f 
where we had slept. We took our dinner here, and set out on 
the road to St. Louis in our little light carriage, about four o’clock. 
We got over the worst part of the road by daylight. We were 
surprised at the great numbers of partridges, upon which we 
came, and which were so tame, that they would hardly run out 
of our way: they remained sitting within ten paces of us. As the 
night overtook us, we reached the better part of the road. We 
passed a bivouack of an emigrant family, and arrived in St. Louis 
without accident, in a very cold night about ten o’clock. 
The 9th of April found us plunged into the midst of winter. It 
never ceased snowing and freezing during the whole day. Except 
a slight fall of it that I had experienced at Harper’s ferry, in the 
month of November, 1825, this was the first snow that I hap¬ 
pened to witness in America. We could not make up our minds 
to go abroad, but preferred sitting at the fire-side, and entertained 
ourselves with past happy days. Later, however, we paid Mrs. 
Clark a visit, and spent the evening at her house. 
The steam-boat Mexico, Captain Clark, from the Prairie des 
Chiens on the upper Mississippi, arrived this day, in the after¬ 
noon, at St. Louis, fired a cannon to announce it, and intended 
to sail the next morning down the Mississippi, and up the Ohio 
to Louisville and Pittsburgh. I determined to embrace this op¬ 
portunity to arrive in the Ohio, and then visit New Harmony on 
the Wabash. My design at first was to have gone by land through 
the state of Illinois, to Vincennes, and from there down the Wa¬ 
bash to New Harmony. From information since obtained, this 
road would be almost bottomless at this season of the year, seve¬ 
ral rivers were to be crossed, and those provided with miserable 
ferries. For these reasons, I declined the journey by land, in 
which, without such considerations, there was nothing interesting 
to attract attention. 
I had also felt a desire to visit the lead-mines, of which the 
most important lie at Potosi, sixty miles from St. Louis, which 
are almost daily increasing in consequence. I declined to join in 
this excursion, since the journey there would take at least two 
days, the return as much, and besides the road was described as 
wretched in the highest degree. I was told, that the lead ore 
lies almost on the surface, and is so extensive, that it is not worth 
the trouble to dig for it deep. If therefore a shaft is pushed so 
deep as to strike water, this shaft is abandoned and another 
opened. This easy method of working will last until the owner 
has laboured over every part of his territory, then he will be 
obliged to have recourse to water-pumps, and steam-engines. 
On Fever river, on the upper Mississippi, are also very rich lead- 
works. These, united to the works at Potosi, have delivered, 
