—IF 
14 : Geographical Discoveries tn the » 
- For the Monthly Magazine. 
GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES 1n 
ruz BACK SETTLEMENTS. or 
NORTH AMERICA. : 
[The public naturally expecte d, on the. 
eftablifhment and repofe of the government 
of the United States, that meafures would 
be adopted for exploring the vaft tracts of 
unknown country which He between the 
peeks and* the Pacific Ocean. MHitheréo 
‘thefe expe@ations have been difappointe 
but the recent ceffion of Louifiana has, A 
n efpecial manner, drawn the attention of 
the American government towards its weftern 
territories, and the refult of feveral expedi- 
tions have juft been made public. 
We are indebted toa correfpondent in. New 
York for. the power of firf introducing a 
knowledge of thefe difcoveries to the Euro- 
pean public, and we {hall not fail to lay bes 
fore our readers every new fact as it tran- 
fpires, till every part of this immenfe con- 
tinent has heen explored, and till we have 
introduced the particulars to them. | 
Account of «a Journey up the Wafhita (or 
Ouachita) River, in Louifiana, perr 
Sormed by Wilken Dunbar, Ejfg. and 
Dr. Hunter. 
YP NUESE gentlemen were employ ed by 
Mr. Jet! ferfon, Prefident of the 
United States, purfuant to a provifion 
of Congrefs for exploring Louifiana. 
They fet out from St. Catharine’s Landing, 
on the Mitiitiippi, on the 16th of Octo- 
ber, 1804, and:proceeded to. the mouth 
of the Red River... This is fo called fron 
the red. appearance of the water, caufed 
by fome earthly impregnation tinged 
probably with iron. - 
At a little more, than twenty-three 
miles from the Miffifippi they entered 
the Black River, fo called from the cleaz- 
nefs of its water, looking dark when 
contratted with the maddy %: hue of the 
Red River. 
They. proceeded flowly upwards, pal 
ing the place where the river Tenfa en- 
ters from the ealt, and the Corabooa 
from the weli, and vifitu 
called Fort Mito, Sgt 200 miles a 
the entrance below, and which is the 
out-poft of the: United States in that 
quarter. -As far up as the junction of 
the three rivers jutt mentioned, the coun- 
try is alluvial and flat, the water flugeifh, 
and the . current fearcely perceptible, 
Immediately above, the high land and 
permanent ftrata of foil begin. 
The -latitude. of Fort Miro is die 
30° 30’. After vifiting various fettle- 
ments, and encountering raany duficul- 
[Feb. 1, 
ties Gintilld fhoals and rapids in the upper 
country, they arrived at length :at the 
Hot-Springs, fituated toward the fource 
of the river, in latitude 34° 31... «= 
In profecuting this expedition, it was 
difcovered that frequent falmes or falt= 
licks exifted there. They learned that 
in the furrounding country, and in the 
{paces lying far towards the north and 
weft, the rivers Wal thita, Arkanfa, and 
the Red River, were too brackifh to be 
potable in dry feafons. Salt fprings, and 
plains incrufted with falt, are reported 
to be interfperfed through thefe regions. 
On the Wathita they faw {wans and alli- 
gators. 
About the latitude 33°, the line of 
demarkation between Or leans and Lou- 
Viana, the long mofs or tillandfia almoft 
fuddenly ceales, being found no further 
to the northward; and about the fame 
place the ofiers, which grow on the banks 
of the river, ceafe, and fhow theimfelves 
farther on to the fouthward: 
The party proceeded no farther than 
the Hot-Springs, which are fix in num- 
ber, and are fituated about fix miles 
from the main ftream to the north-wett, 
as it there rans, and a little above the 
great rapids. Their heat is too great for 
the hand to bear; the higheft tempera- 
ture is about 150°. The water, on cool- 
ing, 1s palatable, and very coud to drink, 
having but little foreign impregnation, 
The body of the mountain from which it 
iffues is “fi theious, partly flint and partly 
free-ttone ; | but — fie. fuperficial parts, 
which have been overflowed | by the effu- 
fions from the fprings, are ineruitated 
with a ftratum of calcareous matter, that, 
in the courfe of time, has heen depofited 
from their water. A_ trifling portion of 
iron is contained in it too, and precipl~ 
tated with the line. 
In the hot water of thefe fprings a 
green plant vegetated, which teemed to 
be a fpecies of the on prowling in 
fuch fituations; probably the fontinalis. 
But what is more remarkable, a bivalue 
teftacedus animal adhered to the plant, | 
and lived in fuch a high temperature too. 
Tiere they difcovered a kind of wild -cab- 
bage, which. they cooked, and found to 
be nuld and good for food. Between 
the Hot-Springs and the place where the 
voyagers landed, ave feveral leks and 
oozings of falt-water. ‘They relate their 
furpriie at beholding plants, {hirubs, and 
trees, at the outlet of the: Aprings, abe 
folutely crowing and appearing. Healthy; 
while their roots were espoled toa heat 
of 150°. 
The 
