The Ohio below the Rapids at Louisville—Ascent of the Mississippi from the mouth of the Ohio to St. Louis. Our small boat descended over the rapids without injury; and having taken on board some wood near New Albany, we proceeded on our voyage, with a pressure of steam equalling one hundred pounds to the square inch, upon all parts of the engine exposed to its immediate operation. This enabled us to descend, at the rate of ten miles per hour. A small island in the Ohio, about twenty-three miles below the rapids, is called Flint Island, from the great numbers of fragments of flints, broken arrow points, and various instruments of stone, heretofore used by the Indians, which are found there on turning up the soil. This island has probably been the favourite residence of some tribe, particularly expert in the manufacture of those rude implements, with which the wants of the aboriginal Americans were supplied. The stone employed in these manufactures appears to have been, in most instances, that compact flint, which occurs in nodular masses, in the secondary limestones. In one instance we met with a triangular prism, of a very hard and compact aggregate of felspar, and hornblende, unlike any rock we have seen in the valley of the Mississippi. This prism was about five inches long, with faces of about {30} an inch in width, and was perforated, from end to end, forming a complete tube, with an orifice about half an inch in diameter, and In the Philadelphia museum are many Indian pipes of that red indurated clay, found only (as far as hitherto known) on the Pipe Stone branch of the Little Sioux river of the Missouri; one of these, however, was found on the banks of the Rio de la Plata, in South America: several were found in the territory now called New England, and in the north-eastern part of the continent. On the 26th we passed the mouth of the Wabash, and On the 27th, several of the party went out to hunt in the forests and swamps, north-west of Shawaneetown. At about four miles' distance from the Ohio, they arrived at the banks of a small pond, three miles long, and only three or four hundred yards wide. Here they killed a turkey; and some small birds. On the bank of the pond, was found a specimen of the Lake Erie tortoise, We left Shawaneetown at twelve o'clock on the 28th, and stopped three miles below, to take in wood; then proceeding forward, at four P. M. we ran aground on a sand bar, seven miles above the "Cave Inn," or "House of Nature." Early the next morning, we went to visit the cave, of the entrance to which two views were sketched by Mr. Seymour. It is a perpendicular fissure, extending about one hundred and sixty feet into the horizontal limestone cliffs, which here form the north bank of the river. At times of high water, the Ohio flows in, and fills the cave nearly to its roof. In this cave, it is said, great numbers of large bones were some time ago found, but we saw no remains of any thing of this kind. Impressions and casts of the shells of submarine animals are seen in the rocks, forming the sides of the cave, as in all the strata of compact limestone, in this region. The organic remains here, do not appear to be so numerous as those of the rocks at the falls, and at Cincinnati; and are much less distinct, and visible in the fracture; indeed the fracture generally exhibits to the eye no vestige of organic remains. It is upon the surface only, and more especially in such parts As far as we could discover, they consist chiefly of the caryophyllÆ, similar to the radiated species, so common at the falls of Ohio; of the encrinus, but of this our specimens were not so perfect as to enable us to determine the analogy. Numerous other remains were exhibited, but not sufficiently characterized to be referred to their proper places in the system. The top of the cliff, into which this fissure opens, is said to be the favourite haunt of great numbers of birds of prey. This is not improbable, as many hawks and birds of prey always choose high and inaccessible cliffs to build their nests in. We saw about the tops of these rocks, only one pair of hawks, which we took to be of the red-shouldered species, (falco lineatus,) but a heavy rain, which commenced soon after we had ascended, prevented {33} us from procuring a specimen. About the cave, we found some fragments of pottery, arrow points, and other articles of Indian manufacture. Near Shawaneetown are extensive salt manufactories, at a place heretofore called United States' Saline, affording employment and a source of trade to a part of the inhabitants of that village. Common salt, with the nitrates of lime, potash, &c. occur in great plenty, in connexion with the horizontal limestones and sandstones on the Ohio. Of these we subjoin some account, from the mineralogical report of Mr. Jessup. On the 29th of May we passed the mouths of the Cumberland and Tennessee, the two largest rivers, tributary to the Ohio. At the mouth of the Cumberland is a little village called Smithland; where, for a considerable part of the year, such goods are deposited as are designed for Nashville and other places on the Cumberland. The Cumberland and Tennessee rivers are, for many miles, nearly parallel in direction, and at no great distance apart. Between them are some low sandstone hills; but, we believe, no lofty range of mountains, as has been About half way between the mouth of the Cumberland and Tennessee, near the old deserted settlement originally called Smithland, It is here called petalfra, which, as well as catalpa, {34} the received appellation, may be a corruption from Catawba, the name of the tribe by whom, according to the suggestion of Mr. Nuttall, the tree may have been introduced. Following the directions of the Pittsburgh navigator, On the 30th, we arrived at a point a little above the mouth of Cash river, where a town has been laid out, called America. This position may be considered as the head of constant {35} navigation for the Mississippi. The Mississippi, from New Orleans to the Ohio, is navigable for boats of the largest size; and America may be considered as the head of constant as well as heavy navigation. Ice is seldom to be found in the Mississippi as low down as the mouth of the Ohio, and never in so large quantities as to oppose any serious obstruction to the navigation. The navigation of the Ohio has a serious impediment about four and a half miles above the town, occasioned by a limestone bar extending across the river, called the Grand Chain. This bar is impassable in the lowest stage of the water, and will not admit boats of any considerable burden, except in the higher stages. The Mississippi has, in like manner, two bars, called the Big and Little Chain, which appear to be a continuation Boats suited to the navigation of both rivers above the bars here specified, should be of inferior size; those for the Mississippi not exceeding one hundred tons burden, and those for the Ohio from fifty to seventy-five tons. Any position on the Mississippi in the neighbourhood of the Ohio would be objectionable, for the following reasons:—First, The rapidity of the current, which renders it difficult to find a safe and commodious landing, there being no rocky-bound shore within thirty miles above and a far greater distance below the point. The Iron Banks, Second, There are no positions on the Mississippi, except the Iron and Chalk Banks, for a great distance below the Ohio, secure from inundation. The bottom directly opposite the mouth of the Ohio, on the west side of the Mississippi is elevated a little above high water; but as it is an alluvial shore, having no permanent foundation, and the banks often falling in, it affords no conveniences or security as a place of business. Third, No places of anchorage for boats of heavy burden are to be found, except in the main channel of the river, where they would be exposed to drift-wood, great quantities of which are brought down in times of freshet; and when borne along with the rapid current of the river, occasion serious danger to boats lying in its way. The town of America is almost entirely exempt from any of these objections;—although it has not a rocky foundation, (which may be said of most of the towns on the Ohio,) the current of the river is so gentle, that no such guard against the undermining and wasting away of the banks is required. In case of an excessive flood, or an unusual quantity of floating ice (which may possibly be apprehended in remarkably cold seasons), the mouth of Cash river, five miles below the town, is a harbour in which boats may lie in perfect security. We would not encourage the idea, that the site {37} now fixed upon as a town is exclusively the point where business In view of the great extent of inland navigation centring at this place, and the incalculable amount of products to be realized, at no distant period, from the cultivation of the rich vallies and fertile plains of the west, a great proportion of which must find a market here, no doubt can be entertained that it will eventually become a place of as great wealth and importance as almost any in the United States. In the afternoon of the 30th we arrived at the mouth of the Ohio. This beautiful river has a course of one thousand and thirty-three miles, through a country surpassed in fertility of soil by none in the United States. Except in high floods, its water is transparent, its current gentle, and nearly uniform. For more than half of its course its banks are high, and its bed gravelly. With the exception of about two miles at the rapids, at Louisville, it has sufficient depth of water, for a part of the year, to float vessels of 300 tons burthen to Cincinnati. The country which it washes may, with propriety, be considered under two divisions. The first, extending from its head at Pittsburgh to the little town of Rockport, Compact limestone, and sandstone of several varieties, are the rocks which invariably occur along that portion of the Ohio we are now considering. Sandstone of a light gray or ashen colour, of a compact {38} texture, an argillaceous cement, and a slaty or lamellated structure, is the most abundant, and occupies the lowest points which we have hitherto been able to examine. This rock frequently contains alternating beds of coal, bituminous shale, and its accompanying minerals. The beds of compact limestone, which occur in this region, usually rest upon the sandstone just mentioned. Considered as a stratum, its distribution is the reverse of that of the sandstone. It occupies the central and least elevated portions of the formation; and on the borders where the sandstone is most abundant, the limestone is of less extent and of more uncommon occurrence. These remarks are applicable to the hilly district on the upper portion of the Ohio river. From Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, the prospect from the river is that of hills of moderate elevation, sometimes rocky and abrupt, but often sufficiently gradual in their ascent to admit of cultivation to their summits. Their character, as to extent, direction, &c. seems to be determined by the number, direction, and magnitude of the streams which traverse them. They are the remains of what was formerly a continuous and nearly horizontal stratum, with a large deposit of superincumbent soil, which the flowing of water, during the lapse of ages, has channelled and excavated to its present form. These hills diminish in altitude as you approach the falls from above; there they again rise to a height nearly equal to what they attain at the head The beach or sloping part of the immediate bank of the Ohio, throughout its whole extent, is of rather gradual ascent, and covered with timber a considerable distance below high-water mark. The average rapidity of the current of the Ohio is about two and a half miles per hour, and the descent of its surface nine inches per mile, as estimated by Dr. Drake of Cincinnati. The annual inundations happen in the spring. The range between extreme high and low water, in the upper part of the river, is more than 60 feet; but below, where it is not confined by high banks, it is much less. About the falls of Ohio, the cane, (myegia macrosperma of Persoon,) begins to be seen, and increases in quantity thence westward to the Mississippi. The "Cave Inn Rock," or "House of Nature," which we have before mentioned, is an immense cavern penetrating horizontally into a stratum of compact limestone, which forms the river bank for some distance above Golconda in Illinois. Its entrance is a large and regular arch, placed immediately on the brink of the river, and a similar form is preserved in some degree through its whole extent. The Battery Rock is a high mural precipice of the same stratum, running in a straight line, and forming the northern bank of the river which washes its base. The face of this precipice is smooth and naked, and it is surmounted {40} by a heavy growth of timber. This limestone is compact, entirely horizontal in its position, and filled with organic remains. It is traversed by veins containing sulphuret of lead; and at several places near Golconda, this is accompanied by fluat of lime, in beautiful yellow and violet-coloured crystals. Fluat of lime is also found disseminated in small and irregular masses throughout the rock. At Golconda, six miles below the cave, a coarse gray flinty sandstone is found, extending some distance to the west. This rock forms broad hills on the Kentucky side, between the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers; where it abounds in iron ore of several kinds. Perhaps these hills ought to be considered as a spur from the Cumberland hills. At the mouth of the Tennessee river, is a locality of the columnar argillaceous oxide of iron, which rises from the surface in pyramidal and columnar masses, somewhat resembling the cypress knees. An extensive tract of land between the Tennessee and The confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi, is in latitude 37° 22' 9 north, according to the observations of Mr. Ellicott, and in longitude 88° 50' 42 west, from Greenwich. Finding it necessary to renew the packing of the piston in the steam-engine, which operation would require some time, most of the gentlemen of the {42} party were dispersed on shore in pursuit of their respective objects, or engaged in hunting. Deer, turkeys, and beaver are still found in plenty in the low grounds, along both sides of the Mississippi; but the annoyance of the mosquitoes and nettles preventing the necessary caution and silence in approaching the haunts of these animals, our hunting was without success. We were gratified to observe many interesting plants, and among them several of the beautiful family of the The progress of our boat against the heavy current of the Mississippi, was of necessity somewhat slow. Steam-boats in ascending are kept as near the shore as the depth of water will admit; and ours often approached so closely as to give such of the party as wished, an opportunity to jump on shore. On the first of June, several gentlemen of the party went on shore, six miles below the settlement of Tyawapatia bottom, and walked up to that place through the woods. They passed several Indian encampments, which appeared to have been recently tenanted. Under one of the wigwams they saw pieces of honey-comb, and several sharpened sticks, that had been used to roast meat upon: on a small tree near by was suspended the lower jaw-bone of a bear. Soon after leaving these they came to another similar camp, where they found a Shawanee Indian and his squaw, with four children, the youngest lashed to a piece of board, and leaned against a tree. The Indian had recently killed a deer, which they purchased of him for one dollar and fifty cents—one-third more than is usually paid to white hunters. They afterwards met with another encampment, where were several families. These Indians have very little acquaintance with the English language, and appeared reluctant to use the few words they {43} knew. The squaws wore great numbers June 2d. As it was only ten miles to Cape Girardeau, and the progress of the boat extremely tedious, several of the party, taking a small supply of provisions, went on shore, intending to walk to that place. Above the settlement of Tyawapatia, and near Cape À la Bruche, About five miles above Cape Girardeau we found the steam-boat Jefferson, destined for the Missouri. She had been detained some time waiting for castings which were on board the Western Engineer. Several other steam-boats, with stores for the troops about to ascend the Missouri, had entered that river, and were waiting to be overtaken by the Jefferson and the Calhoun, which last we had left at the rapids of the Ohio. On the 3d of June we passed that insular rock in the middle of the Mississippi, called the Grand Tower. In the summer of 1673, Father Marquette and M. Joliet descended the Mississippi, probably as far as the mouth of the Arkansa. Their narrative contains sufficient evidence that they passed the mouth of the Missouri, the Grand Tower, the mouth of the Ohio, &c. As their work may not be easily accessible to many of our readers, we subjoin, in a note, an interesting passage, in which these objects are mentioned. The strata of sandstone containing the extensive beds of coal which have been explored, about the Muddy river of Illinois, are here divided transversely by the bed of the Mississippi. The Grand Tower, the precipice opposite the mouth of the Obrazo, The Grand Tower, from its form and situation, strongly suggests the idea of a work of art. It is not impossible {45} Compact and sparry limestones are frequent in this region; but all the rocks seem to be acted upon with great rapidity by currents of water. The country on the east side of the Mississippi, back of Fort Chartres, and about the river St. Mary, is much broken by sink holes, having the form of a funnel, and occasioned, probably, by the action of subterraneous streams of water finding their way through the friable sandstones, which underlay the deep and fertile soils in those places. We passed in succession the mouths of the river St. Mary, opposite to which is the fine settlement of the Bois Broule bottoms; the Ocoa, or Kaskaskia river; the St. Lora, a handsome stream, from the west; and the Gabaree Creek, on which stands the old French town of St. Genevieve. A little below the mouth of the Kaskaskia, is a creek called the Saline, entering on the west side. A grant of a tract of land, one league square, was here made by the Spanish government, in favour of a Frenchman named Pegreau, the founder of the deserted town called New Bourbon. At the mouth of the Kaskaskia river, on the east bank On the 5th the wind blew from the south-east, and with the aid of sails, we were enabled to ascend the river with considerable rapidity. As we were proceeding briskly forward, our boat struck upon one of those concealed trunks of trees so frequent in the Mississippi, and soon afterwards we discovered that a leak had occurred, which made it necessary for us to lie by. By the constant use of the pumps during the remainder of the day, and the following night, we were able to prevent the water from gaining further upon us; and the next day, having discovered the leak, we raised the stern of the boat, by means of a pair of shears, and succeeded in repairing the injury. On the beach, opposite the place where we lay by for these repairs, was a large flock of pelicans, which remained in sight for several hours. We had met with some wild geese; and a swan, which we saw was unable to fly, having at that time cast its feathers. The yellow-breasted chat, chuck-wills-widow, the falco haliatus, the kingfisher, At the mouth of the Kaskaskia river, on the east side of the Mississippi, commences the celebrated valley called the American Bottom, extending along {47} the eastern bank of the river last mentioned to the Piasa hills, four miles above the mouth of the Missouri. It is several miles in width, and has a soil of astonishing fertility, consisting of comparatively recent depositions from the river. It has all the disadvantages usually attending tracts of recent river alluvion, the most valuable parts of it being liable to be swept away by the current of the Mississippi, and its surface descending from the brink of the river to the stagnant pools and lagoons, at the outskirts of the valley. But the inexhaustible fertility of its soil makes amends for the insalubrity of the air, and the inconveniences of a flat and marshy situation; and this valley is undoubtedly destined to become one of the most populous parts of America. We were formerly shown here a field that had been cultivated, without manure, one hundred years in succession, and which, when we saw it (in August, 1819) was covered with a very luxuriant growth of corn. The town of Kaskaskia, the villages of Prairie de Roches, Kahokia, Prairie du Pont, Harrisonville, and Fort Chartres, are situate in this tract. Some of them are in a flourishing condition. Fort Chartres, which was built by the French government, at the expense of one million and a half of dollars, stood near the bank of the river, about twenty miles from Kaskaskia. Not long after they were erected, a part of the works were undermined by the washing of the river; since which time the whole has The country west of the Mississippi, opposite the American Bottom, is of a very different character. The high lands approach the river, presenting abrupt declivities, prominent points, and in many places perpendicular precipices from one to two hundred {48} feet high, frowning over the brink of the river. One of the most remarkable of these is known by the name of the Cornice Rock. It bounds a narrow arm of the river, which has generally sufficient water to admit the passage of boats. The rock extends nearly in a straight line, having a front of about four hundred yards, the brow of the precipice at some points impending over the channel through which boats pass. The rock rises above, to the height of fifty or sixty feet, smoothly rounded by the attrition of the water, which never rising to the upper part of the precipice, leaves that to project in the form of a cornice. Though the lands on the west side of the Mississippi are less fertile than those of the American Bottom, they are of great value, and have long been objects of scandalous speculation. Among a variety of stratagems, practised in this part of the country to obtain titles to lands, was one which will be At five o'clock, on the afternoon of the sixth, we passed the Platteen rock, a perpendicular precipice, not unlike the Cornice rock, near the mouth of a creek of the same name. Along the base of this cliff, we found the water three and sometimes four fathoms deep. In the evening we arrived at Herculaneum, a small village on the west side of the Mississippi, depending principally upon the lead mines for its business. Here are three shot manufactories, all of them built at the summits of perpendicular precipices; by which means, the expense of erecting high towers has been avoided. Thirty or forty miles to the south-west of Herculaneum, commences the region of the lead mines, which, though not yet satisfactorily explored, is known to extend for many miles through the hilly country, at the sources of the Merameg, the St. Francis, and the other small rivers, rising in the angle between the Mississippi and Missouri, below the mouth of the latter river. Soon after the cession of Louisiana to the United States, particular care was taken to have all claims to land investigated and registered. Some few {50} may have been omitted, which may be hereafter revived, but these cannot be numerous. In all the recent sales of public lands in the On the 7th, after taking in wood at Herculaneum, we moved up the river; but had scarcely passed the mouth of the Merameg, A few rods above our anchoring ground, were two graves, supposed to be those of Indians. One of them was quite recent, and both were covered with heaps of loose stones, probably designed as monuments, and to protect the graves from the ravages of wolves or other animals. The eighth of June brought us to the small village |