362 
, & The Miffouri, for 260 leagues from 
St. Louis, traverfes and forms beautiful 
meanders through fine meadows, as level 
as atable: the vale or bottom is from 
twelve to eighteen miles in breadth. ‘The 
river fometimes glides along the hills on 
each fide, but its general courfe is to the 
fouth of the plain: for 400 leagues it is 
full of little iflands, and receives very 
confiderable ftreams above R. Platte, 
190 leagues from St. Louis. From the 
Pancas to the Mandans, which is about 
190 leagues, it has forced its way, and 
runs furioufly through mountains and 
hills full of mine, 
‘& Having explored and taken a chart 
of the Miftourh for 1800 miles, I re- 
turned with its rapid current, in 63 days, 
to St. Louis, July 15, 1797, afier being 
abient nearly two years. I was well 
received by the Spanifh officers, who 
preffingly folicited me to undertake ano- 
ther adventure,acrofs the continent,to the 
Pacific. ; . 
_ © In refpe&t to the Weld Indians, I 
have only to inform you, that I could 
not meet with fuch a people; and from 
the intercourfe I have ee with Indians, 
trom lat. 35 to 49, I think you may with 
fafety inform our friends, that they have 
no exiftence. 
_ & The applications made to me, by 
‘this government, prevent.my coming at 
prefent to Philadelphia; thould I accept 
of the offer, it will be fome time before 
TE fee you.” y 
Signed, ‘* JOHN THomaAS Evans.” 
"The above is the refult or the expedi- 
tion undertaken by Evans, which was 
announeed to take place about five years 
ago; and accompanied by fome docu- 
ments, upon which the hope of fircceed- 
ing therein in a great meature depended. 
"The above accounts do not explain ciearly 
why Evansreturned from the point men- 
tioned by him, which, from all the in- 
formation received, is fhort of the fitua- 
tion affigned for the people he was in 
fearch af. Yours, &&c. MEIRION. 

To the Editar of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
f\. 1. PHOUGH no man can more ea- 
& is gerly ftriye than Ido, to obey the 
apottolic injunction, “ Live peaceably 
with all men,”? yet there is one refpeét in 
which I rank with the difaffected part of 
this nation, and have feldom failed for 
fevetal years of my life, ty oppofe one of 
the pofitive laws of my country. [allude 
now fo the State Lottery, and my mode 
of oppofitien is this. J endeavour to 
- Welfo Tndians—Prize in the Lottery. 
perfuade’ all “my friends, particularly 
thofe who think they would have good. 
luck, toavoid buying tickets, or fharés _ 
of tickets ; and although this be abfelute- . 
ly flying in the face of that government _ 
which has, in its wifdom, projeéted and 
commanded this fcheme of fmance, yet 
I have hitherto contrived to tteer pretty 
clear of punifhment, beeaufe, although 
there are many claufes in the aét which 
conftitutes and appoints a lottery, 
there is not one which compels us to 
purchaie tickets. In my ‘oppefition, 
therefore, € proceed fecurely, and, what 
is more, J] aft fairly ; for I never repeat 
my annual admonitions unlefs at the 
clofe of the drawing. ‘There are two 
reafons why I act thus; firft, that I may 
not feem factions or invidious, and, -{é- 
condly, becaufe at the end of a lottery, 
I find many perfons melined to take my 
advice, who, at the beginning of it, 
would not liften to me. . 
-But why, you will fay, am I fo hoftile 
to lotteries? Y will anfwer in few words 
—Becaufe I once was fortunate, and 
from that time had to date the miferies 
from which I am recovering only by very 
flow degrees; for I fuppofe I need not 
tell you, that a war is a very unhealthy 
~ time for perfons recovering from lofles in 
trade. It isa bad time to pick up, as we 
fay—It is like fending’ a confumptive 
pair of lunes into a fharp air, or curing 
the ague in the fens of Lincolnfhire. 
But to my ftory, which has been the | 
burthen of my fong for fo mainy years. — 
‘ You muit know, Sir, that I began 
life in the humble capacity of 'a very 
refpectable tallow chandler, in White- 
chapel, and carried on for fome time a 
very fnug trade. Befides families and 
chance cuftomers, I furnifhed two hof- 
pitals with candles, and frequently had 
the honour to throw light on the many 
fubje&ts of political fpeculation, which 
were agitated in a neighbouring public- 
houfe. Things went on then, Sir, ex- 
aétly as they fhould do, My profits, if 
not great, were certain; and, upon the 
word of a tallow-chandler, I declare 
they were honeft, for I made it a rule ta 
{tick to the trade price, and never re-— 
fufed at Chrifimas to give my cuftomers’ 
maids a few rufh-lights, in order to fhew 
them ‘how to play qw#z/t like their matters, 
As to politics, I went not a jot farther 
than the Daily Advertifer enjoined me 5 
and, like a good fubje&t, T had a heart - 
felt fatisfaétion in the victories of my 
country, efpecially when they were fe 
grect as to yequire the aid of my trade te 
give 
