LOU! 
ftould be fixed by another convention for the payment of 
the debts due by France to the citizens of the United 
States. 
The boundaries of Louifiana, as formerly pofleffed by 
France and Spain, and now held by the United States, are 
ftated as follows : viz. fouth on the Gulf of Mexico, from 
the bay of^t. Bernard, fouth-weft of the Mifliffippi to the 
mouth of the Rio Perdido, or Loft River, f'o called by the 
Spaniards, becaufe it lofes itfelf under ground, and after¬ 
wards appears again, and difcharges itfelf into the fea a 
little to the eaft of Mobile, on which the firft French 
planters fettled ; up the Perdido to its fource, and thence 
(if it rife not north of the 31ft degree of lat.) in a ftraight 
line north to that parallel; thence along the foutherh 
boundary of the United States, weft to the Mifliflippi ; then 
up this river to its fource, as eftablifhed by the treaty of 
1783. Beyond this point, the limits (which have never 
been accurately afcertained) may be confidered as includ¬ 
ing the whole country between the White-Bear lake, or 
other head of the Miftiftippi, and the fource of the Mifl'ourij 
and between the laft and the head fprings of the Arkanfas, 
Red River, and other copious ftreams, which fall into the 
Miftiftippi. In other words, Louifiana may be confidered 
as bounded north and north-weft by the high lands which 
divide the waters that fall into the St. Lawrence and Hud- 
fon’s Bay from thofe which fall into the Miftiftippi ; weft 
by that high chain of mountains, known by the name of 
the Shining Mountains, which may be called the Spine, 
or Andes, of that part of North America, and which turn 
the waters on the weft of them to the Pacific, and thofe on 
the eaft to the Atlantic Ocean. In a word, it embraces 
the whole flope, or inclined plain, fronting the fouth-eaft 
and eaft, down which the various ftreams flow into the bed 
of the Miftiftippi. On the fouth-weft it is bounded by 
New Mexico, between which and Louifiana the divifional 
line has never been fettled. Some pretend that this boun¬ 
dary is a right line from the head of Red River to that of 
Rio Bravo, and thence down its channel to the Gulf of 
Mexico. Others make the Rio Colorado, and others, with 
treater probability, make the Rio Mexicano, the fouth- 
weft boundary of Louifiana. 
Louifiana may naturally be divided into the three fol¬ 
lowing diftrifts; viz. Eaftern, Lower, and Upper.-—The 
Eaftern divifion comprehends all that part of this territory 
which lies eaft. of the Miftiftippi, bounded fouth by the 
gulf of Mexico, eaft by Perdido river, north by the Mifti¬ 
ftippi territory, and weft by the Miftiftippi river. This 
divifion includes the ifland of New Orleans, and is watered 
by the Mobile, Pafcagoula, Pearl, Bouquechito, Tanfi- 
pnho, and Amir, rivers, with Thompfon’s creek, and Ba¬ 
you Sara. The whole coaft, embracing the old Biloxi dif- 
trift, confifts of a fine white fand, injurious to the eyes, 
and fo dry as not to be fit to produce any thing but pine, 
cedar> and fonne ever-green oaks. The Mobile river lias 
few fiili, and its'banks and vicinity are not very fertile. 
Between Pafcagoula and Miftiftippi rivers, the country is 
intermixed with extenfive hills, fine meadows, numerous 
thickets, and in fome places woods thick fet with cane, 
particularly on the banks of rivers and brooks, and proper 
for agriculture. Its coaft, though flat, dry, and fandy, 
abounds with delicious fhell and other fill), and affords 
fecurity againft the invafion of an enemy. 
Lower Louifiana comprehends that part of this territory 
bounded eaft by the Mifliflippi River, fouth by the gulf 
Mexico, fouth-weft and weft by New Mexico, north by 
a line drawn from the Mifliflippi weft, dividing the coun¬ 
try in which ftone is found from that in which there is 
none. This part of Louifiana is watered by Red River, 
and many others which fall into the gulf of Mexico. Oti 
both fides of the mouths of the Miftiftippi are quagmires, 
affording a fafe retreat for water-fowl, gnats, and mofqui- 
toes,and extendingfor more than twenty miles. The whole 
coaft from the Miftiftippi, weft as far as St. Bernard’s Bay 
and beyond it, refembles that already deferibed of the 
saftern divifion; and the foil is barren. In afeending the 
Vol. XIII. No. 937, 
SIAN A. (59 1 
Miftiftippi, beyond the marfhes are fome narrow ftrips of 
firm land, partly bare of trees and partly thickly covered 
with them; which are fit for cultivation. This part feents 
to have been either recovered from the fea, or formed 
by various materials that have delcended to it ; and it is 
not unreafonable to imagine, that in procefs of time the 
river and fea may form another trail of country like Lower 
Louifiana. The principal river is the Mifliffippi; which 
fee. The Red River has its fource not far from that of 
Rio Bravo, or Rio del Norte, on which the city of Santa 
Fe is built, and in the mountain which has the fprincs of 
the Mifiouri. On each fide of this river are fome Scattered 
fettlements, for about fifty miles to Bayan Rapide, in 
which are about one hundred families. The land here is 
not inferior to any in the world with regard to ferti¬ 
lity ; and, for a fpace of about forty miles from hence to 
the commencement of the Appalufa prairies, the country 
is equally rich and well-timbered. It is perfectly level, 
and the foil twenty feet deep, and like a bed of manure. 
Higher up, the banks and low lands are of fimilar quality 
with the lands on Bayan Rapide, the texture of the foil 
being fomewhat loofer; but there are few fettlements, till 
you come to the River Cane fettlements, fixty or leventy 
miles higher up Red River. Hence to the village or port 
of Natchitoches, about fifty miles, and twenty-five miles 
above it, the banks of one branch of Red Riverare fettled 
like thofe of the Mifliflippi; and the country abounds with 
beautiful fields and plantations, and luxuriant crops of 
corn, cotton, and tobacco. The low grounds of Red Ri¬ 
ver, generally five or fix miles wide, have an uncommonly 
rich foil, which is overflowed annually in the month of 
April. The crops of corn and tobacco are plentiful, and 
never fail. The foil is particularly favourable-for tobacco ; 
an acre yields from eighty to a bundled bufhels of corn ; 
and it is no lefs productive of cotton. Two men, with 
ten or twelve old pots with kettles, fupply the fettlement 
on Red River with fait, the fprings of which are almoft 
inexhauflible. Here is likewife plenty of iron and copper 
ore, pit-coal, fhell and ftone lime. The different branches 
of the river, the lakes, creeks, and bayans, furnifh abun¬ 
dance of very fine filh, cockles, foft-fhelled turtle and 
fhrimps, and in winter great varieties of wild fowl. The 
country is far from being fickly. The mofquito is rarely 
feen. The high lands are covered with oak, hickory, afh, 
gum, faffafras, dogwood, vines, &c. intermixed with fliort- 
leaved pine, and interfperfed with prairies, creeks, lakes, 
and fountains. Its hills and valleys are gently varied ; and 
the foil is generally a ftony clay. The country on Red 
River is moft valuable, beginning about fifty or fixty miles 
above the upper fettlements, and extending four or five 
hundred miles. The low lands about forty miles on each 
fide are remarkably rich, interfperfed with prairies, and 
beautiful ftreams and fountains ; alfo quarries of free- 
ftone, lime, flint, fl ( ate, grit, and almoft every kind of 
ftone. About thirty miles from the mouth of Red Ri¬ 
ver, Black River falls into it on the north fide, which is 
a clear and navigable ftream for five orfix hundred miles; 
about one hundred miles upwards, it branches in three 
different directions; the eaftern branch, called the Ten- 
faw, is navigable for many miles, and affords rich land 5 
the middle or main branch, called Wafheta, is navigable 
five hundred miles, and affords excellent lands, falt-fprings, 
lead-ore, and plenty of very good mill and grind (tones j 
the weftern branch, called Catahola, runs through a beau¬ 
tiful rich prairie country, in which is a large lake, called 
Catahola lake. On this lake are falt-fprings; and it 
abounds with fifh and fowl. On the river called Ozark 
are many valuable tracts of land, which is likewife the 
the cafe with refpeCt to White River and St. Fran$ois. 
Upper Louifiana comprehends all the remainder of thie 
territory, and is the largelt and moft valuable part. It 
is bound on the fouth by Lower Louifiana, on the eaft by 
Mifliflippi, north and weft by the highlands and moun¬ 
tains which divide the waters of St. Lawrence, Hudfon’e 
Bay, and the Pacific Ocean, from thofe of the Mifliffippi, 
8 K It 
