1809. } 
Tons which he wives, that ** No part of 
North America wilf require lef3 encou- 
ragement for the production of naval 
ftores, and raw materials for manufacto- 
ries in Europe, and for fupplying the Weit 
India Iflands with lumber, provifions, 
&c. than the country of the Ohio,” 
From the accotints of thefe and 
other perfens, the following’ uleful arti- 
cles alfo appear to be found near ‘the 
branches of the Ohio: near Licking and 
Lacomic creeks, a plenty of coals, and 
ftones for building ; near- Kifkeminetas, 
coal and falt; near Mufkincum, timber 
for thip-butlding, falt-fprings, coal, free- 
ftones, whetitones, white and blue clay 
for glafs-works and pottery ; near Hock- 
hocking, coal and freettone ; near Tet- 
tery, the large reed, or Carolina cane ; near 
Great Salt Lick Creek, falt-{prings, white 
clay, and limeftone; near Bufifaloe river, 
{at 925 computed miles from Fort Pitt) 
hemp, flax, wheat, tobacco, coal, lime, 
and freeftone; near Oniatanon, a filver- 
mine, lime, freeftone, falt, coal; blue, yel- 
low, and white clay (ior glafs-works and 
pottery); hemp, grapes, hops, apples, 
peaches, pears, cherries, currants, goole- 
berries, melons, &c. ; 
the latter river trade iv furs and deer-fkins 
to the amount of goool. fterling annually. 
From the junction of the *Miffifiippi- 
and Onio, tee former, by means of various 
bfanches, extends to and communicates 
with the lakes Erie, Ontario, St. Clair, 
and Huron. ‘he defcription of the lands 
on its borders is nearly the fame as that 
before given, and needs not be repeated. 
There are feveral French and cther fettle- 
ments on the Miffiffiippi above its junttion 
with the Ohio, which, fo Jong ago as 
1771, Captain Hutchins defcribes as able 
to furnith 1273 fencible-men. 
An extra&t, faid to be from the manu- 
feript of a late traveller, has been publith- 
ed in America, in which it is laid down, 
that ‘© Many tokens remain on both fides 
of the Mifiiflippi of the country being in 
ancient ages as well cultivated and. as 
thickly inhabited as the country on the 
Danube or the Rhine; which fully 
proves that the literati have been too hafty 
50 denominating America a New World, 
or an ofiginal prefent to the Europeans 
from the hands of rude nature.’ 
The reafons upon which this opinion is 
grounded, are curious, and, weré they 
not from an anonymous pen, appear to be 
worthy of attention, However, for the 
entertainment of thofe who meddle with 
antiquity, they are as follow : 
© Befides thofe ruins in the Illinois and 
Monruiy Mac. No. 102. 
+ 
Defcription of the River Miffiffippi. 
the inhabitants near 
541 
Wabath countries, (lying immediately 
above the confluence of the Mifhiffippi 
and Ohio,) which have been often men- 
tioned, there are others no lefs 
able many hundreds of miles farther weft, 
and particularly in the country about the 
great falis of the Mififippi. As we ap- 
proach thofe falls commonly called St. 
Anthony’s, we frequently meet with py- 
ramids of earth from 30 to 70, and even 
So'feet) im) “Height. -*Thefe’are;* mote 
probably, the tombs of the ancient nH 
and chieftains of this:part of America 
though there are others wich I am a4 
clined to believe were erected in confe- 
quence of fome fignal victory, and, pof- 
fibly, to cover the’ bones and carcafes of 
the flain. In digging horizontally into 
feveral of thefe pyramids, a aia above 
the bafe, we generally found a fratum ‘of 
white fubitance, fomewhat like moift lime, 
and giutinous withal, extendeng ‘in ‘all 
probability feveral yards sitia or per- 
haps nearly the whole length of the dia- 
metrical line. I had even reafon to be- 
lieve this confolidated chalky fubftance 
to be the remains of fkeletons buried per- 
haps twenty centuries and converted by 
time and the operation of the elements 
into their prefent ftate. 
<¢ A copper-mine was opened fome years 
fince farther down the Miffiffippi; and, 
to the great furprize of the labourers, a 
large collection of mining-tools were found 
feveral fathoms below the fuperficies of the 
earth.- Another perfon, in digging for a 
well, difcovered a furnace of brick’ work, 
five fathoms below ‘the prefent furface ; 
and in this furnace were found a quantity 
of coals and firebrands, which, for 
aught we know, might have been kindled 
in the days of Moles or Peas 
&* Not ‘long fince, at a {pot on the fhore 
of the Ohio, where the bank -had been 
watted by the undermining of the water, 
a ftone dropped out, of the hardeft kind 
remark- > 
a black marble, about feven pounds in - 
weight, having twelve equal furfaces, each 
fartase being. mathematically equilateral 
and equangular five-fided figures. This 
does ‘not appear to be a 
a work of exquifite art, the offspring of 
human ingenuity. 
<« Near the falls of the Miflifippi there is 
a-falt {pring in the bed of a river, which 
has been inclofed with ftone-work of un- 
known antiquity to keep out ‘frefh water. 
In times of frefhes, however, the ‘river 
overflows the ftone-work, and mixes with 
the brine, fo that it does not afford {alt to 
the favages hereabouts until the river is 
confiderably fallen. 
4A 
v 
ee In 
lufas natura, but. 
