Chapter VIII: Michigan (2)

_Education._--Charters for eight or ten colleges and collegiate institutions have been granted. Congress has granted 92,800 acres of public land to this State, for colleges and academies. One township, (23,040 acres,) and a very valuable one, has been given to the Miami University, at Oxford. Two townships of land, (46,080 acres,) though of inferior quality, have been given to the Ohio University. Academies have been established in most of the principal towns. A common school system has been established by the legislature. Each township has been divided into school districts. Taxes are levied to the amount of three fourths of a mill upon the dollar of taxable property in the State, which, with the interest accruing from the different school funds already noticed, are applied towards the expenses of tuition. Five school examiners are appointed in each county, by the Court of Common Pleas, who are to examine teachers. The governor, in his recent Message, speaks of the common school system as languishing in proportion to other improvements.

_Form of Government._--The legislative authority is vested in a Senate and House of Representatives; both of which, collectively, are styled the General Assembly. The members of both branches are chosen by counties, or by districts composed of counties, according to population. The representatives are chosen annually; the senators biennially. The General Assembly has the sole power of enacting laws; the signature or assent of the governor not being necessary in any case whatever. The judiciary system comprises three grades of courts:--the Supreme Court, Courts of Common Pleas, and Justices' Courts. The justices of the peace are chosen triennially, by the people. The executive authority is vested in a governor, who is elected biennially, and must be thirty years of age, and have resided in the State at least four years. He is commander-in-chief of all the militia, and commissions all officers in the State, both civil and military. Each free, white, male citizen of the United States, of twenty-one years of age, and a resident of the State one year preceding an election, is entitled to a vote in all elections.

The following shows the professions, occupations, and nativity of the members of the legislature of Ohio, during the present winter, (1835-6,) and is about a proportionate estimate for other Western States:--

The members of the Ohio legislature, as to their occupations and professions, are:--farmers, 53; lawyers, 17; merchants, 13; doctors, 5; printers, 3; surveyors, 2; millers, 2; masons, 2; carpenters, 2; painter, 1; watch-maker, 1; blacksmith, 1; house joiner, 1.

Their nativity is as follows:--Ohio, 7; Pennsylvania, 30; Virginia, 22; New England States, 17; Maryland, 8; New York, 7; New Jersey, 4; Kentucky, 3; Delaware, 2; North Carolina, 1; Ireland, 5; England, 1; Germany, 1.

The youngest member in the Senate, is 33 years of age, and the oldest 56. In the House, the youngest 26; oldest 67. Under the Constitution, a senator must be 30; and a member of the House, 26.

_Antiquities._--Much has been said about the antiquities of Ohio,--the fortifications, artificial mounds, and military works, supposed to indicate a race of civilized people, as the possessors of the country, anterior to the Indian nations. At Marietta, Circleville, Paint Creek, and some other places, are, doubtless, antiquities, that exhibited, upon their first discovery, strong marks of a military purpose. I have no doubt, however, that credulity and enthusiasm have greatly exaggerated many appearances in the West, and magnified them into works of vast enterprise and labor. Mounds of earth are found in every country on the globe, of all forms and sizes; and why should they not exist in the western valley? Mr. Flint states that he has seen a horse shoe dug up at the depth of thirty-five feet below the surface, with nails in it, and much eroded by rust. He mentions also a sword, which is _said_ to be preserved as a curiosity, but which he had not seen, found enclosed in the wood of the roots of a tree, which could not have been less than five hundred years old! Those who delight especially in the marvellous, may consult the "Description of the Antiquities discovered in the State of Ohio, and other Western States, by Caleb Atwater, Esq."

_History._--The first permanent settlement of Ohio, was made at Marietta, on the 7th day of April, 1788, by 47 persons from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. This was the nucleus around which has grown up the populous State of Ohio. Amongst the most active promoters of this colony, were those called then "The Ohio Company." The next settlement was that of Symmes' purchase, made at Columbia, six miles above Cincinnati, in Nov. 1789, by Major Stiles and twenty-five others, under the direction of Judge Symmes. A colony of French emigrants settled at Gallipolis in 1791. In 1796 settlements were made by New England emigrants at Cleaveland and Conneant, on the southern shore of lake Erie. The intermediate country gradually filled up by emigration from various parts of the United States. Some slight diversity exists, in different sections of the State, in manners, customs, and feelings, amongst the people, in accordance with the States or countries from which they or their fathers emigrated. These shades of character will become blended, and the next generation will be _Ohians_, or, to use their own native cognomen, _Buckeyes_.

In Sept., 1790, the first territorial legislature convened at Cincinnati. The governor having exercised his right of _veto_ in relation to the removal of a county seat, an unhappy collision followed, and, upon framing the State Constitution, in Nov., 1802, the convention prevented the governor of the State from ever exercising the _negative_ power upon acts of the legislature.

DATE OF ORGANIZATION OF SOME OF THE OLDEST COUNTIES.

Washington, July 27th, 1788 Hamilton, Jan. 2d, 1790 Adams, July 10th, 1797 Jefferson, July 29th, 1797 Ross, August 20th, 1798 Trumbull, July 10th, 1800 Clermont, December 6th, 1800 Belmont September 7th, 1801

These were all organized under the territorial government.

INDIANA.

Length 240, breadth 150 miles. Between 37 deg. 48' N. latitude, and 7 deg. 45' and 11 deg. W. longitude. Bounded north by the State of Michigan and lake Michigan, east by Ohio, south by the Ohio river, which separates it from Kentucky, and west by Illinois. It contains about 37,000 square miles, equal to 23,680,000 acres.

It is naturally subdivided into the hilly portion, bordering on the Ohio; the level, timbered portion, extending across the middle of the State; the Wabash country, on that river; and the northern portion bordering on the State of Michigan and the lake. The two last portions include nearly all the prairie country.

For civil purposes, this State has been divided into counties, and those subdivided into townships.

TABLE.

------------+----------+------+----------++-----------------+------------- | | | || |Bearing and | Date of |Square|Population|| |distance from COUNTIES. |Formation.|miles.| 1830. ||SEATS OF JUSTICE.|Indianopolis. ------------+----------+------+----------++-----------------+------------- Allen, | 1823 | 720 | 1,000 || Fort Wayne, | Bartholomew,| 1821 | 588 | 5,800 || Columbus, | Boon, | 1830 | 400 | 622 || Lebanon, | Carroll, | 1828 | 450 | 1,614 || Delphi, | Cass, | 1829 | 460 | 1,154 || Logansport, | Clark, | 1802 | 400 | 10,719 || Charlestown, | Clay, | 1825 | 360 | 1,616 || Bowling Green, | Clinton, | 1830 | 450 | 1,423 || Frankfort, | Crawford, | 1818 | 350 | 3,184 || Fredonia, | Daviess, | 1816 | 460 | 4,512 || Washington, | Dearborn, | 1802 | 448 | 14,573 || Lawrenceburgh, | Decatur, | 1821 | 400 | 5,854 || Greensburgh, | Delaware, | 1827 | 400 | 2,372 || Muncietown, | Dubois, | 1817 | 420 | 1,774 || Jasper, | Elkhart, | 1830 | 576 | 935 || Goshen, | Fayette, | 1818 | 200 | 9,112 || Connersville, | Floyd, | 1819 | 200 | 6,363 || New Albany, | Fountain, | 1825 | 400 | 7,644 || Covington, | Franklin, | 1810 | 400 | 10,199 || Brookville, | Gibson, | 1813 | 450 | 5,417 || Princeton, | Grant, | 1831 | 415 | ---- || Marion, | Greene, | 1821 | 540 | 4,250 || Bloomfield, | Hamilton, | 1823 | 400 | 1,705 || Noblesville, | Hancock, | 1828 | 340 | 1,569 || Greenfield, | Harrison, | 1808 | 470 | 10,288 || Corydon, | Hendricks, | 1823 | 420 | 3,967 || Danville, | Henry, | 1821 | 440 | 6,498 || Newcastle, | Huntington, | 1832 | 400 | ---- || | Jackson, | 1815 | 500 | 4,894 || Brownstown, | Jefferson, | 1809 | 400 | 11,465 || Madison, | Jennings, | 1816 | 400 | 3,950 || Vernon, | Johnson, | 1822 | 300 | 4,130 || Franklin, | Knox, | 1802 | 540 | 6,557 || Vincennes, | La Porte, | 1832 | 420 | ---- || La Porte, | Lagrange, | 1832 | 380 | ---- || Mongoquinon, | Lawrence, | 1818 | 460 | 9,237 || Bedford, | Madison, | 1823 | 420 | 2,442 || Andersontown, | Marion, | 1821 | 440 | 7,181 || INDIANOPOLIS, | Martin, | 1818 | 340 | 2,010 || Mount Pleasant, | Miami, | 1832 | 330 | ---- || Miamisport, | Monroe, | 1818 | 560 | 6,578 || Bloomington, | Montgomery, | 1822 | 500 | 7,376 || Crawfordsville, | Morgan, | 1821 | 530 | 5,579 || Martinsville, | Orange, | 1815 | 378 | 7,909 || Paoli, | Owen, | 1818 | 380 | 4,060 || Spencer, | Parke, | 1821 | 450 | 7,534 || Rockville, | Perry, | 1814 | 400 | 3,378 || Rome, | Pike, | 1816 | 430 | 2,464 || Petersburgh, | Posey, | 1814 | 500 | 6,883 || Mount Vernon, | Putnam, | 1821 | 490 | 8,195 || Greencastle, | Randolph, | 1818 | 440 | 3,912 || Winchester, | Ripley, | 1818 | 400 | 3,957 || Versailles, | Rush, | 1821 | 400 | 9,918 || Rushville, | Scott, | 1817 | 200 | 3,097 || Lexington, | Shelby, | 1821 | 430 | 6,294 || Shelbyville, | Spencer, | 1818 | 400 | 3,187 || Rockport, | St. Joseph, | 1830 | 740 | 287 || South Bend, | Sullivan, | 1816 | 430 | 4,696 || Merom, | Switzerland,| 1814 | 300 | 7,111 || Vevay, | Tippecanoe, | 1826 | 500 | 7,161 || La Fayette, | Union, | 1821 | 224 | 7,957 || Liberty, | Vanderburgh,| 1818 | 225 | 2,610 || Evansville, | Vermillion, | 1823 | 280 | 5,706 || Newport, | Vigo, | 1818 | 400 | 5,737 || Terre Haute, | Wabash, | 1832 | 380 | ---- || | Warren, | 1828 | 350 | 2,854 || Williamsport, | Warrick, | 1813 | 412 | 2,973 || Boonville, | Washington, | 1813 | 550 | 13,072 || Salem, | Wayne, | 1810 | 420 | 23,344 || Centerville, |

The total population in 1830, was 341,582. The estimated population in the message of Gov. Noble to the legislature, December, 1835, was 600,000.

The counties in which the population has not been given in the foregoing table, have been formed since 1830. Probably other new counties, along the waters of the Wabash and Kankakee, have been formed recently, of which no intelligence has been had by the author. The counties in the northern portion of the State have increased the most in population since 1830.

For electing representatives to Congress, the State is divided into seven electoral districts.

For judicial purposes, it is divided into eight circuits, in each of which there is a circuit judge, who, together with two associates in each county, holds the circuit courts.

POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.

Population. | Increase. In 1800,(excluding Illinois,) 2,641 | From 1800 to 1810, 21,879 " 1810, 24,520 | " 1810 to 1820, 122,658 " 1820, 147,178 | " 1820 to 1825, 74,822 " 1825, 222,000 | " 1825 to 1830, 119,582 " 1830, 341,582 | " 1830 to 1835, 119,582 " 1835,(estimate,) 600,000 |

In 1825, the number of voters was 36,977, and the number of paupers 217!

_Face of the Country, &c._--The counties bordering on the Ohio river are hilly;--sometimes abrupt, precipitous, stony, occasionally degenerating into knobs and ravines. Commencing at the mouth of White river on the Wabash, and following up that stream on its east fork, and thence along the Muskakituck, through Jennings and Ripley counties to Lawrenceville, and you leave the rough and hilly portion of Indiana, to the right. Much of the country we have denominated hilly is rich, fertile land, even to the summits of the hills. On all the streams are strips of rich alluvion of exhaustless fertility. The interior, on the two White rivers and tributaries, is moderately undulating, tolerably rich soil, and much of it heavily timbered with oaks of various species, poplar, beech, sugar tree, walnuts, hickory, elm, and other varieties common to the West. There is much level, table land, between the streams. Along the Wabash, below Terre Haute, is an undulating surface, diversified with forest and prairie, with a soil of middling quality, interspersed with some very rich tracts. Along the Wabash and its tributaries above Terre Haute, the land in general is first rate,--a large proportion forest, interspersed with beautiful prairies. The timber consists of oaks of various species, poplar, ash, walnut, cherry, elm, sugar tree, buckeye, hickory, some beech, sassafras, lime, honey locust, with some cotton wood, sycamore, hackberry and mulberry on the bottom lands. The undergrowth is spice bush, hazel, plum, crab apple, hawthorn and vines. Along the northern part of the State are extensive prairies and tracts of barrens, with groves of various kinds of timber and skirts of burr oak. Towards lake Michigan, and along the Kankakee and St. Joseph rivers, are lakes, swamps and marshes.

_Rivers._--The Ohio meanders along the southeastern and southern parts of the State for 350 miles. The east and west forks of White river, and their tributaries, water the interior counties for 100 miles in extent. They are both navigable streams for flat boats during the spring and autumn floods. The Wabash river has several heads, which interlock with the waters of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's, which form the Maumee of lake Erie. It runs a south-westwardly course across the State to Warren county,--thence southwardly to Vigo county, where it becomes the boundary between Indiana and Illinois, along which it meanders to the Ohio, which it enters 12 miles above Shawneetown. The St. Joseph of lake Michigan, already noticed under the State of Michigan, makes a curve into Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, forming what is called the _South Bend_. The Kankakee, which is the longest branch of Illinois river, rises in Indiana, near the South Bend. Some of its head waters interlock with those of Tippecanoe, a prominent tributary of the Wabash.

SKETCH OF EACH COUNTY.

The following sketch of each county,--its streams, surface, soil, and minerals,--has been made and collated with much labor, from an excellent Gazetteer of this State, published in 1833, by Douglass and Maguire of Indianopolis,--from personal observation of many of the older counties,--and from an extensive correspondence.

ALLEN.--Streams; St. Joseph's and St. Mary's, which form the Maumee of lake Erie, navigable for small keel boats,--and numerous creeks; generally heavily timbered; soil, clay,--sandy on the rivers.

BARTHOLOMEW.--Streams; Driftwood, Clifty, Flat Rock, and Salt Creeks,--all mill streams. Surface, level; soil, a rich loam, mixed with sand and gravel; the western part hilly, with clay soil. Minerals; limestone, coal, iron ore, red ochre.

BOON.--Watered by the tributaries of Raccoon and Sugar Creeks. Surface, level,--soil rich.

CARROLL.--Streams; Wabash river, Deer, Rock, and branches of Wildcat creeks. Considerable timber,--some prairies, of which Deer prairie is the largest and most beautiful. Considerable quantities of limestone on the surface; a remarkable spring near Delphi,--the water reddish.

CASS.--Streams are Wabash and Eel rivers, which unite at Logansport,--the head of steamboat navigation of the Wabash, and termination of the W. and E. canal. Surface, generally level, rolling towards the rivers with abrupt bluffs; soil, near the rivers, a mixture of loam and sand; at a distance from them, flat and clayey. Large proportion, forest land,--some prairies.

CLARK.--Silver and Fourteen Mile creeks furnish excellent mill sites. Ohio river on the south. Surface, rolling and hilly; soil, loam, mixed with sand. Minerals; limestone, gypsum, water lime, marble, salt, iron ore, copperas, alum.

CLAY.--Eel river and tributaries. Surface moderately undulating; soil various, chiefly clay and loam, and a mixture of sand, in places; timber predominates,--some prairies.

CLINTON.--Watered by the South, Middle, and Kilmore's Forks of Wildcat creek. Surface, moderately undulating, or level: Twelve Mile prairie extends from S. W. to N. E. 12 miles, and is three fourths of a mile wide. The remainder timbered land. Soil, a rich sandy loam, and exceedingly fertile.

CRAWFORD.--Waters; the Ohio and Blue rivers,--plenty of water power, and excellent springs. Surface, hilly and broken; in places, tolerably productive; in others, soil thin and rocky. A timbered region, and abundance of limestone.

DAVIESS.--Streams; Forks of White river, with its tributaries, Smother's, Prairie, Veal, Aikman's and Sugar creeks. Level bottoms on the rivers--sometimes inundated; undulating on the high grounds. Soil on the West Fork, sandy; much timber,--an extensive tract of sugar tree; some prairies. The county destitute of rock near the surface; plenty of lime and sandstone in the bed of West Fork of White river, at the rapids. Plenty of coal.

DEARBORN.--Watered by the Great Miami, Whitewater, Laughery, Hogan's and Tanner's creeks. Surface, hilly and broken, with rich, level, bottom lands, on the Miami. Soil, one fourth first rate, one fourth second rate,--remainder inferior. A timbered region.

DECATUR.--Flat Rock, Clifty, and Sand creeks, are all good mill streams. Surface, generally level,--some parts undulating; soil, loam, with a substratum of clay; well adapted to grain--timbered. Minerals; limestone, some iron ore and coal.

DELAWARE.--Streams; Missisinawa, and West Fork of White river; surface tolerably level; soil, loam, mixed with sand. Minerals; some limestone, and granite bowlders scattered over the surface.

DUBOIS.--Streams; East Fork of White river, Patoka and Anderson creeks. Surface rolling,--some parts hilly and broken,--some level tracts; soil rich and sandy loam near the streams. Minerals; sand rock and coal.

ELKHART.--Watered by St. Joseph of lake Michigan, Elkhart and tributaries. Surface, generally level,--a portion undulating; soil various, but generally rich; forest and prairie, both wet and dry.

FAYETTE.--Watered by the West Fork of Whitewater, and a small lake in the north. Surface, undulating; soil, on the high ground, clayey, and a mixture of sand,--on the bottom lands, a rich, sandy loam. Limestone found in masses and quarries.

FLOYD.--Watered by the Ohio river, Silver creek, and some head branches of Big and Little Indian creeks. Surface various,--a range of knobs,--east of these knobs, it is gently undulating; soil inferior. Minerals; shale, soft sandstone, limestone, freestone, iron ore, and some traces of coal. A boiling spring, from which is emitted an inflammable gas.

FOUNTAIN.--Watered by the Wabash river, and Coal and Shawnee creeks, with numerous mill sites. Surface, gently undulating; soil, a black loam, mixed with sand, and very rich. Minerals; coal, and some sandstone.

FRANKLIN.--Watered by the East and West Forks of Whitewater. Surface, on the eastern part level,--western, rolling; soil, in the central and northern parts, a black loam,--in the south-west, thin and clayey.

GIBSON.--Watered by the Wabash, White, and Patoka rivers. Surface, rolling and timbered; soil, generally a sandy loam, and productive.

GRANT.--Watered by the Missisinawa and tributaries. Surface level,--generally heavily timbered; soil, clay and loam on the table lands,--sandy on the river bottoms.

GREEN.--Watered by White and Eel rivers, and Richland creek; soil, on the rivers a rich loam,--on the bluffs, sandy,--east side, hilly,--west side, level. White river is navigable. Minerals; lime and sandstone, coal, and some iron ore.

HAMILTON.--The streams are White river, and Cicero, Coal, Stoney, and Fall creeks. Generally forest,--some few prairies; soil, in places, clay,--more generally, a sandy loam. Minerals; lime, and some soft sand rock.

HANCOCK.--Watered by Blue river, Sugar and Brandywine creeks, with excellent mill sites, and well supplied with springs. Surface, either level or gently undulating; soil, a rich loam, mixed with sand,--heavily timbered.

HARRISON.--Watered by Big and Little Indian, and Buck creeks, and Blue river. Surface various,--some parts hilly and broken,--some parts undulating,--some parts level; soil, in the low grounds, a rich loam,--on the high grounds, calcareous and gravelly. A large tract of "barrens" in the west. Minerals; a quarry and several caves of black flint, salt licks, limestone.

HENDRICKS.--The waters are White Lick, and branches of Eel river, with good mill sites. Surface, gently rolling, and timbered with the varieties of the Wabash country; soil, a mixture of clay, loam and sand.

HENRY.--Watered by Blue river, Flat Rock and Fall creeks. Surface, in some places, broken,--in most parts, level; soil, a mixture of sand with loam and clay. Plenty of springs and mill sites. Mostly timbered, but several tracts of prairie.

HUNTINGTON.--The streams are Salamania, Little river, and Wabash. Surface, on the rivers, level,--back, gently undulating; soil, loam and clay, with a slight mixture of sand. Several tracts of prairie, but generally forest land.

JACKSON.--Watered by Indian, Driftwood, White, Muscatatack, and Gum creeks. Surface, rolling and in places hilly; soil, clay and loam, mixed with sand. In the forks of the creeks, sand predominates. On the west and north-west, inclined to clay.

JEFFERSON.--Watered by the Ohio river, Indian, Kentucky and Big creeks. Surface various; along the river and creeks, low alluvion; soil, loam mixed with sand. The bottoms are bounded by precipitous bluffs, with towering cliffs of limestone. The table lands are undulating, and the soil inclined to clay. Timber various. Abounds with limestone, masses of freestone, and scattered granite bowlders.

JOHNSON.--Watered on the eastern side by Blue river, and Sugar and Young's creeks,--on the western side by Indian, Crooked, and Stott's creeks. Surface, gently undulating; soil, a rich, black, sandy loam; timbered. Minerals; masses of freestone, and scattered granite bowlders.

JENNINGS.--Watered by Graham's Fork, and the North Fork of the Muscatatack. Surface, in some parts level, some parts very hilly; soil, calcareous, rich and productive; timber of all varieties; abounds with limestone.

KNOX.--The Wabash on the west side,--White river south,--the West Fork of White river east,--and Maria and Duchain creeks, interior. Surface undulating; soil, somewhat various,--a rich loam in places,--sandy in other places;--some tracts of prairie, but timber predominates.

LAGRANGE.--Watered by Pigeon and Crooked rivers. Surface, gently rolling; northern part extensive prairies; southern portion chiefly forest; soil, loam and sand.

LA PORTE.--Watered by the Kankakee, Galena, and Trail creek, at the mouth of which is Michigan city, and a harbor for lake Michigan commerce. Surface, gently undulating; abounds with large, rich prairies, with groves of timber, and lakes of clear water interspersed; soil, a sandy loam, rich and productive.

LAWRENCE.--Watered by Salt, Indian, Guthrie's, Beaver, and Leatherwood creeks, and excellent springs. Surface, generally hilly,--some level lands;--soil, on the water courses, sandy,--back from the streams, loam and clay. Abounds with limestone.

MADISON.--The West Fork of White river is navigable. The other streams are Killbuck, Pipe, Lick and Fall creeks. Surface, generally level, with some broken land near the streams; timbered, with a wet prairie, 7 miles long and three fourths of a mile wide; soil, sand, mixed with clay and loam,--productive. Minerals; lime and freestone, marble that polishes well, and some traces of iron ore.

MARION.--West Fork of White river passes through it, on which is situated INDIANOPOLIS, the capital of the State. Fall creek is an excellent mill stream. Surface, chiefly level forest land; soil, a deep black loam, with a mixture of sand. Large granite bowlders are scattered over the surface.

MARTIN.--The East Fork of White river passes through it, and receives Lost river from the left, and Indian and Flint creeks from the right. Surface, on the east side of White river, broken and hilly; soil, clay and loam; on the west side, level, or gently undulating, with portions of barrens and prairie land; soil, clay and loam, mixed with sand. Minerals; coal in large quantities, lime, sand and freestone.

MIAMI.--The Wabash and Eel rivers pass through it, and the Missisinawa comes from the east, and enters the Wabash about the centre of the county. The Wabash and Erie canal passes through it. Surface, gently undulating and beautiful,--chiefly forest, and interspersed with small prairies; soil, the richest in the State, of loam, clay and sand intermixed.

MONROE.--Streams; Salt, Clear, Indian, Raccoon, Richland, and Bean-blossom creeks,--pure springs. Surface, hilly and undulating; soil, second rate. Minerals; limestone rock, salt licks, with manufactories of salt.

MONTGOMERY.--The heads of Shawnee and Coal creeks in the north-west,--Sugar creek in the centre,--and Big Raccoon on the southeastern part. Surface, gently undulating; the northern portion prairie, interspersed with groves, with a rich soil of black loam, mixed with sand,--the middle and southern portions timbered. Excellent quarries of rock in the middle,--granite bowlders in the northern parts.

MORGAN.--White river, which is navigable. The mill streams are White Lick, Sycamore, Highland, and Lamb's creeks on the west side, and Crooked, Stott's, Clear, and Indian creeks on the east side. Surface, generally rolling,--some parts hilly; soil, calcareous and clayey,--on the bottoms, a rich sandy loam. Minerals; limestone, and some iron ore.

ORANGE.--Streams; Lost river, French Lick, and Patoka. Surface, hilly and broken,--limestone rock,--springs of water, of which Half-moon and French Lick are curiosities. On the alluvial bottoms, the soil is loamy,--on the hills, calcareous, and inclined to clay. Excellent stones for grit, equal to the Turkey oil stones, are found in this county.

OWEN.--Watered by the West Fork of White river, with its tributaries, Raccoon, Indian, Mill, Rattlesnake, and Fish creeks. The falls of Eel river furnish the best water power in the State. Surface rolling; soil, in some places a dark loam,--in others clayey and calcareous. Minerals; immense bodies of lime rock, and some iron ore.

PARKE.--Watered by the Big and Little Raccoon, and Sugar creeks, (with excellent mill sites,) all of which enter the Wabash on its western side. Surface, generally level,--some beautiful prairies, but mostly forest land; soil, a loam mixed with sand and rich. Minerals; lime and sandstone, coal and iron ore.

PERRY.--Watered by the Ohio river, with Anderson's, Bear, Poison, and Oil creeks interior. Some level land, with a rich, sandy loam, on the streams,--all the high lands very broken; hilly, with a clayey, sterile soil. Minerals; immense bodies of limestone, grindstone quarries, iron ore and coal.

PIKE.--Has White river on the north, and Patoka creek through the centre. Surface all forest land and undulating; soil, eastern part clay and sand,--western, a rich, dark loam, mixed with sand,--some swampy land. Minerals, limestone and coal.

POSEY.--In the forks of the Ohio and Wabash, with Big, Mill, and McFadden's creeks interior, and good springs. Surface, rolling, and all forest land; soil, a sandy loam, and produces well. Minerals; sand, and limestone and coal.

PUTNAM.--Has Raccoon creek, and Eel river, with abundant water privileges, and fine springs. Surface, gently undulating; soil, in places calcareous and clayey,--in other places a rich loam; limestone.

RANDOLPH.--Watercourses, the West Fork of White river and Missisinawa and their tributaries, which furnish good mill sites. Surface, either level or gently undulating; soil, a rich loam,--in some places marshy; a small quantity of limestone, with granite bowlders.

RIPLEY.--Watered by Laughery and Graham's creek. Surface level, forest land; soil clay,--in some parts inclines to sand,--with limestone abundant.

RUSH.--The streams are Big and Little Blue rivers, Big and Little Flat Rock, with excellent water power. Surface, moderately rolling, and heavily timbered; soil, loam on clay, with a slight mixture of sand.

SCOTT.--Watered by tributaries of the Muscatatack. Surface rolling,--some flat lands inclining to marsh; soil, clay. Minerals; limestone, iron ore, salt, sulphur, and copperas.

SHELBY.--Watered by Big and Little Blue rivers, Brandywine, and Sugar creeks, with good mill sites,--all heads of the East Fork of White river. Surface, generally level with forest land; soil, clay mixed with loam.

SPENCER.--Ohio river, Anderson's, Little Pigeon, and Sandy creeks. Surface tolerably level, and forest land; soil, clay mixed with loam. Minerals; coal, and lime and sand rock.

ST. JOSEPH.--St. Joseph's river, Kankakee, and Bobango, with some small creeks. Extensive marshes on the Kankakee, and near the South Bend of the St. Joseph. These marshes are of vegetable formation. Surface, in some parts level,--in others gently undulating; soil, a loam,--in some places sand. The north-west part chiefly prairies and barrens, including the large and fertile prairies of Portage and Terre Coupe. The north-eastern, barrens,--the south-eastern, forest. Minerals are granite bowlders, and bog iron ore.

SULLIVAN.--Has the Wabash river on its western side, and Turman's, Busseron, and Turtle creeks interior. Surface rolling,--some prairies, but generally forest land,--some poor barrens; soil, loam and sand;--lime and sand rock and coal.

SWITZERLAND.--The Ohio east and south,--Indian, Plum, Bryant's, Turtle, and Grant's creeks interior. Surface various,--bottom lands level, and rich,--then a range of precipitous bluffs, with cliffs of limestone,--the table land rolling with a calcareous and clayey soil. At Vevay are extensive vineyards.

TIPPECANOE.--Watered by the Wabash river, and Wildcat, Wea, Burnett's, and Mill Branch creeks. The Wabash affords navigation, and the other streams excellent mill sites. Surface gently undulating, with extensive level tracts, and consists of one half prairie, one eighth barrens, and the remainder heavy forest land. The prairie soil is a rich, black loam,--the barrens cold, wet clay,--the forest a very rich loam and sand.

UNION.--Streams; the East Fork of White river and its tributaries, Hanna's, Richland, and Silver creeks, all of which furnish excellent mill sites. Surface, moderately rolling; soil, a dark loam.

VANDERBURGH.--Watered by the Ohio, and Great Pigeon creek. Surface, high, dry, rolling land, with good timber, and well watered; soil, clay and sand, of inferior quality. Minerals; lime and sandstone, salines, and a mineral spring.

VERMILLION.--A long, narrow county, between the Wabash river and the State of Illinois. The streams are Wabash, Big and Little Vermillion, and their tributaries. Surface high, rolling land, with abrupt bluffs near the streams; a good proportion of prairie and timber; soil, rich, sandy loam, and very productive. Minerals; freestone and limestone, and large coal banks.

VIGO.--The Wabash passes through it--navigable. The mill streams are Prairie, Honey, Otter, and Sugar creeks, but their waters fail in a dry season. Surface level, or gently undulating, with forest and prairies; soil, rich loam and sand,--first rate. Minerals; gray limestone, freestone, and inexhaustible beds of coal.

WABASH.--The Wabash river, and W. and E. canal, pass through it, as does the Missisinawa, Eel, Bluegrass, and Salamania. Surface,--wide, rich bottoms on the streams,--bluffs and ravines adjoining,--table lands further back, either dry and rolling, or flat and wet, and abound with willow swamps. Limestone rock abundant, and many excellent springs of pure water.

WARREN.--The Wabash on the S. E. border for thirty miles, and navigated by steamboats; interior streams, Rock, Redwood, and Big and Little Pine creeks, all of which afford good mill sites. Some pine and cedar timber. Surface generally level, with broken land on the bluffs of creeks; some forest, but the largest proportion prairie; soil, a rich and very fertile loam. Minerals; lime and excellent freestone for building purposes,--coal,--iron,--lead and copper,--with several old "diggings" and furnaces, where both copper and lead ore have been smelted in early times.

WARRICK.--Watered by the Ohio river, Big and Little Pigeon, and Cypress. Surface, rolling and hilly; soil, a sandy loam on clay. Minerals; quarries of freestone, some limestone, and inexhaustible beds of coal.

WASHINGTON.--Streams; Muscatatack on the north, Rush, Twin, Highland, Delany's, Elk, Bear, and Sinking creeks, and the heads of Blue and Lost rivers, with mill sites. Surface, diversified from gentle undulations, to lofty and precipitous hills; soil, in part, second rate, with much of inferior quality. Substratum of limestone, caves, hollows, and sink holes.

WAYNE.--Streams, East and West Forks of Whitewater, with excellent water power for machinery. Surface, moderately hilly; heavy forest land; soil, a rich loam; substratum, clay. Minerals; generally, limestone, and excellent for buildings.

_Form of Government._--This differs very little from that of Ohio. The Constitution provides that an enumeration be made every five years of all free white male inhabitants, above the age of twenty-one years; and the representation of both houses of the General Assembly is apportioned by such enumeration, in such ratio that the number of representatives shall never be less than 36, nor exceed 100, and the number of senators not exceeding one half, nor less than one third the number of representatives. Every free white male citizen, twenty-one years of age, who has resided in the State one year, is entitled to vote; "except such as shall be enlisted in the army of the U. S., or their allies." Elections are held annually, by ballot, on the first Monday in August. Senators, the governor, and lieutenant governor, hold their offices for three years. The judiciary is vested in a Supreme Court, in Circuit Courts, Probate Courts, and Justices of the peace. The Supreme Court consists of three judges, who are appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, for the term of seven years, and have appellate jurisdiction. The Circuit Courts consist of a presiding judge in each judicial circuit, elected by joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly, and two associate judges in each county, elected by the qualified voters in their respective counties, for a like term. The Probate Courts consist of one judge for each county, who is elected by the voters, for the same term. Justices of the peace are elected in each township, for the term of five years, and have jurisdiction in criminal cases throughout the county, but, in all civil cases, throughout the township.

_Finances._--The Indiana Gazetteer, of 1833, estimates that the revenue for State purposes amounted to about $35,000 annually, and, for county purposes, to about half that sum. The aggregate receipts for 1835, according to the governor's message, of Dec. 1835, amounted to $107,714; expenditures for the same time, $103,901.

Sales of canal lands for the same period, $175,740. The canal commissioners have borrowed $605,257, for canal purposes, on a part of which they obtained two per cent. premium, and, on another part, as high as seven per cent.; and have also borrowed $450,000 bank capital, for which they received four and a half per cent. premium. Three per cent. on all sales of U. S. lands within the State, is paid by the general government into the State treasury, to be expended in making roads. The receipts from this source, in 1835, amounted to $24,398. Sales and rents of saline lands, produced an income of $4,636. The proceeds of certain lands, donated by the general government towards the construction of a road from the Ohio river to lake Michigan, amounted to $33,030.

_Internal Improvements._--This State has entered with great spirit upon a system of internal improvements. It consists of canalling, improving river navigation, rail-roads, and common turnpike roads.

_Wabash and Erie Canal._--This work will extend from La Fayette, on the Wabash river, up the valley of that stream, to the Maumee and to the boundary of Ohio; distance, 105 miles. The cost of construction has been estimated at $1,081,970, and lands to the amount of 355,200 acres, have been appropriated by the general government, the proceeds of which will be sufficient to complete the canal to Fort Wayne. The middle division, 32 miles, was completed in July, 1835, and the remainder is in active progress. Its whole distance, through a part of Ohio to Maumee bay, at the west end of lake Erie, will be 187 miles.

The _Whitewater Canal_, 76 miles in length, along the western branch of Whitewater, is intended to pass through Connorsville, Brookville, Somerset, and other towns, to Lawrenceburgh, on the Ohio river.

Provision is made to improve the navigation of the Wabash river, in conjunction with Illinois, where it constitutes the boundary line, and, by this State alone, further up.

_Rail-Roads._--From Evansville, on the Ohio, to La Fayette on the Wabash, 175 miles; from La Fayette to Michigan city, 90 miles; forming a line from the Ohio river to lake Michigan, 265 miles in length:--From Madison, on the Ohio, to Indianopolis, the seat of government, 85 miles; and several others were projected two years since. But at the session of the legislature of 1835-6, a bill was passed to borrow, in such instalments as should be needed, _ten millions_ of dollars; and a system of internal improvements, including canals, rail-roads, and the improvement of river navigation, was marked out. In a few years, this State will be prominent in this species of enterprise.

_Synopsis of Canals surveyed by order of the Indiana Legislature during the Year 1835._

La Fayette and Terre Haute division of the Wabash and Erie canal. Length, 90 miles; total cost, $1,067,914.70; per mile, $11,865 79.

Central canal, north of Indianopolis. Total length, from Indianopolis via Andersontown, Pipe creek summit to the Wabash and Erie canal at Wabash town, 103 miles 34 chains; total cost, $1,992,224.54; per mile, $17,106 51. Length, via Pipe creek summit to Peru, near the mouth of the Missisinawa, 114 miles 46 chains; total cost, $1,897,797.19; per mile, $14,871.85. Length, via Pipe creek summit (including lateral canal to Muncietown) to Wabash town, 124 miles 51 chains; total cost, $2,103,153.61; per mile, $15,873.83. Length, via Pipe creek summit (including lateral canal to Muncietown) to Peru, 185 miles 63 chains; total cost, $2,008,726.26; per mile, $14,793.12. Total length, from Indianopolis via Muncietown to the Wabash and Erie canal at Peru, 131 miles 41 chains; total cost, $2,058,929.41; per mile, $14.549 71.

Central canal, south of Indianopolis. Total length, from Indianopolis to Evansville, 188 miles; total cost, $2,642,285.92; per mile, $14,054.71. Route down the valley of Main Pigeon. Length, 194 miles; total cost, $2,400,957.70; per mile, $12,376.02.

Terre Haute and Eel river canal, which forms a connexion between the Wabash and Erie canal and White river or Central canal. Total length, 40-1/2 miles; total cost, $629,631 65; which, including a feeder, is $13,540.46 per mile.

Wabash and Erie canal, eastern division, [east of Fort Wayne], Upper line: Length, 19 miles 30 chains; total cost, $154,113.13; per mile, $7,952.17.--Lower line: Total length, 20 miles 76-1/2 chains; total cost, $254,817.52; per mile, $11,159.04.

The following are the works provided for in the Bill, and the sums appropriated for them:

1st. The White Water Canal, including a lateral canal or rail-road, to connect said canal with the Central or White river canal, $1,400,000

2d. Central or White river Canal, 3,500,000

3d. Extension of the Wabash and Erie Canal, 1,300,000

4th. Madison and La Fayette Rail-road, 1,300,000

5th. A M'Adamized turnpike road from New Albany to Vincennes, 1,150,000

6th. Turnpike or rail-road from New Albany to Crawfordsville, 1,300,000

7th. Removing obstructions in the Wabash, 50,000 ----------- $10,000,000 8th. The Bill gives the credit of the State to the Lawrenceburgh and Indianopolis Rail-road Company, for the sum of $500,000.

_Manufactures._--Besides the household manufacture of cotton and flannels, common to the western people, at Vincennes, and probably other towns, machinery is employed in several establishments. It will be seen from the sketch of each county, already given, that in most parts of the State there is a supply of water power for manufacturing purposes. Both water and steam power, saw and grist mills, are already in operation in various parts of the State.

_Education._--The same provision of one section of land in each township, or a thirty-sixth part of the public lands, has been made for the encouragement of common schools, as in other Western States. A law has been enacted providing for common schools, and the public mind has become measurably awakened to the subject of education. Some most extravagant and exaggerated statements have been made relative to an incredible number of children in this State, "who have no means of education." As in all new countries, the first class of emigrants, having to provide for their more immediate wants, have not done so much as is desirable to promote common school education; but we have no idea they will slumber on that subject, while they are wide awake to the physical wants and resources of the country. Academies have been established in several counties, and a college at Bloomington, from the encouragement of State funds, and other institutions are rising up, of which the Hanover Institution near the Ohio river, and Wabash College at Crawfordsville, promise to be conspicuous.

_History._--This country was first explored by adventurers from Canada, with a view to the Indian trade, towards the close of the seventeenth century; and the place where Vincennes now stands is said to have been thus early occupied as a trading post. A company of French from Canada, made a settlement here in 1735. The country, in common with the Western Valley, was claimed by France, until it was ceded to Great Britain, at the treaty of peace in 1763, under whose jurisdiction it remained, until subdued by the American arms under the intrepid Gen. G. R. Clark, and his gallant band, in 1779. A territorial government was organized by Congress in 1787, including all the country north-west of the river Ohio, which was then called the North-western Territory. In 1802, when the State of Ohio was organized, all that part of the Territory lying west of a line due north from the mouth of the Great Miami, was organized into the Territory of Indiana,--which was divided, and from which Illinois Territory was formed in 1809. In June, 1816, a constitution was adopted, and at the ensuing session of Congress, Indiana was made a State.

_General Remarks._--The importance of Indiana, as a desirable State for the attention of the emigrant to the West, has been too much overlooked. Though not possessing quite equal advantages with Illinois, especially in the quality and amount of prairie soil, it is far superior to Ohio, and fully equal,--nay, in our estimation, rather superior to Michigan. Almost every part is easy of access, and in a very few years the liberal system of internal improvements, adopted and in progress, will make almost every county accessible to public conveyances, and furnish abundant facilities to market.

Along the wide, alluvion bottoms of the streams, and amidst a rank growth of vegetation, there is usually more or less autumnal fever, yet, in general, there is very little difference in any of the Western States as to prospects of health.

Mechanics, school teachers, and laborers of every description, are much wanted in this State, as they are in all the States further west; and all may provide abundantly and easily, all the necessaries of living for a family, if they will use industry, economy and sobriety.

FOOTNOTES:

[10] See a valuable statistical article, by B. Drake, Esq., in the Western Monthly Magazine, for January, 1836, entitled, "_Cincinnati, at the close of 1835_."