ing mountainous, except on the eastern limit. The centre of the State is beautifully undulating, and there is a tract 100 miles in length, and 50 in breadth, which for the beauty of its landscape, the delightful aspect of its open groves, and the fertility of its soil, is thought to be unequalled in the country. In the eastern part, the mountain streams wind round the bases of the low hills, cutting deep gullies in the soil. Many of these places are overgrown with im mense poplars, sometimes 8 feet in diameter, and exhibit scenes of indescribable beauty. The Barrens in the western parts are covered with grass, and trees are thinly scattered upon them.

2. Canals and Railroads. In 1835 a Board of Commissioners was created for the purpose of organizing a regular system of internal improvement, superintending the works authorized to be executed by the State, and subscribing in the name of the State in aid of such works undertaken by individuals, as should meet their approbation. The improvement of the navigation of the Green, Kentucky, Licking, Big Sandy, and Cumberland rivers by a series of dams and locks, is already in progress in conformity with the laws of the State, and macadamized roads have been constructed, or are constructing, in different quarters, under the same authority. The Louisville and Portland Canal, passing round the falls of the Ohio, is one of the most important works in the country; for although only a mile and a half in length, it is 200 feet wide at the surface, and 50 feet at the bottom, and from the peculiar difficulties encountered in its construction, is estimated to be equivalent to about 75 miles of ordinary canals; it has 4 locks, capable of admitting steamboats of the largest class, and a total lockage of 22 feet; it is constructed in the most solid and durable manner, and the cost of construction was 750,000 dollars. The Lexington and Ohio Railroad extends from Louisville through Frankfort to Lexington, 96 miles. The Green River Railroad from Hopkinsville to Eddyville, on the Cumberland River, 48 miles, is in progress. The projected route of the Charleston and Cincinnati Railroad extends through this State from Cumberland Gap by Lexington, to Newport or Covington.

3. Towns. The city of Louisville is the largest town, and one of the largest west of the mountains. It stands on the southern bank of the Ohio, about a quarter of a mile above the principal declivity of the falls; a stream called Beargrass Creek, falls into the river above the town, and affords a harbor for the steamboats and river craft. The site of the town is a gently

sloping plain; the principal streets run parallel with the Ohio, and command a fine view of the opposite shore. The main street is a mile in length, compactly built, and has many fine buildings. The town has extensive manufactures, and a great commerce by the way of the river. The former comprise cottons, woolens, cotton bagging and cordage, paper, leather, engines, and machinery, &c. The annual value of mercantile transactions amounts to 30,000,000 dollars. The population exceeds 25,000. Shelbyville, to the east, has 1,200 inhabitants, and Paducah, at the mouth of the Tennessee, about the same number.

Lexington is the oldest town in the State, and was for many years the seat of government. It stands on a beautiful spot, on a branch of the Elkhorn River, in the centre of the richest tract in the State. The principal street is a mile and a quarter in length, spacious, and well paved. The buildings are much superior in size and elegance to those of the other towns in the State, and may be compared to those of the Atlantic country. The Transylvania University, and the State Lunatic Asylum are established here. The public inns are large and convenient. The town has manufactories of woolen, cotton, and paper. The general appear

ance of the town is neat, and the neighborhood is adorned with many handsome villas, and finely ornamented rural mansions. Population, 6,000.

Maysville, on the Ohio, a considerable distance above Louisville, occupies a narrow bottom below the mouth of Limestone Creek, which affords a harbor for boats. It is a thriving town, and enjoys both the river and inland trade. It has manufactories of glass and other articles. Population, 4,000.

Frankfort is the seat of government. It stands on the east bank of the Kentucky, 60 miles above its entrance into the Ohio, and occupies a deep valley. The State house is built of marble, taken from quarries in the deep limestone banks of the river. Here is also the State penitentiary. A chain bridge crosses the river. Vessels designed for the sea, have been built here, and floated down the river to New Orleans. Population, 2,000.

Newport and Covington are two small towns on the Ohio, divided by Licking River. They are directly opposite Cincinnati, and may be considered as suburbs of that city. Newport has an arsenal of the United States. These towns exhibit a beautiful appearance from the hills north of Cincinnati; they contain together about 4,000 inhabitants. Danville also contains

the Kentucky Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and about 1,000 inhabitants. Harrodsburg, famed for its mineral spring, a favorite resort of the Kentuckians, has the same number of inhabitants. Paris, near Georgetown, is a thriving village. Population, 1,500. The Choctaw Academy at Great Crossings, is in this vicinity.

Bardstown, on a branch of Salt River, has a Catholic seminary, where pupils from various parts of the Western States receive instruction. Danville, Augusta, Princeton, and Georgetown have also seminaries entitled colleges.

The

4. Agriculture. Wheat, hemp, and tobacco, are the staple articles of culture. wheat is of the finest kind. Maize is also cultivated, and cotton is raised in small quantities, for domestic use. Grapes flourish here, and there are many vineyards which produce wine. Most of the grains, pulses, and fruits of the temperate zone grow here.

5. Commerce. The river trade is so extensive, that it may take the name of commerce. This consists mostly of exports of flour, grain, butter, cheese, whisky, cider, fruit, pork, lard, horses and cattle, coal, and manufactured goods, to New Orleans. Steamboats are the principal craft, but there are also great numbers of flat boats navigating the river. The horses and cattle, which are reared in great numbers, are transported down the river in flat boats, or driven across the mountains to the Atlantic country.

6. Manufactures. The manufactures of Kentucky are of considerable value, and are daily growing in importance; the rapid increase of the cotton crop of the Southern States, has caused a corresponding demand for cotton-bagging, which is made in this State, from one of its great staples, and bale-rope and cordage are also extensively produced; upwards of 50,000 coils of bale-rope, and 70,000 pieces of cotton-bagging, have been exported from Louisville in a single year. Leather, whisky, cotton yarn, and some cotton and woolen stuffs, are also among the products of manufacturing industry; salt and iron are made, and there are some iron and brass founderies, engine and machine factories, steamboat yards, &c.

7. Government. The legislature is called the General Assembly, and consists of a Senate and House of Representatives. The senators are chosen for 4 years, and the representatives annually. The Governor is chosen for 4 years, and is ineligible for 7 years after the expiration of his term of office. Elections are popular, and suffrage is universal. Kentucky sends 12 representatives to Congress.

8. Religion. The Baptists have 300 ministers; the Methodists, 400; the Presbyterians, 100; the Catholics, 34, and the Episcopalians, 15. There are also Cumberland Presbyterians, Campbellites, Shakers, Unitarians, &c.

9. Education. Transylvania University, at Lexington, was established in 1798, and is the oldest in the western country. It has 15 instructers, and 60, or comprising the Medical College, 300 students. The Centre College, at Danville, was founded in 1822. It has 8 instructers, and 66 students. There is a college at Augusta, founded in 1823; another, called Cumberland College, at Princeton, founded in 1825; and another at Georgetown, founded in 1830. At Bardstown, is a Catholic seminary, called St. Joseph's College, with 15 teachers, and 130 pupils. Education is generally in a backward state. Attempts have been recently made to introduce a system of common schools into the State.

10. History. This State was originally a part of Virginia. The first settler within its limits was the celebrated Daniel Boone, who built a log hut, and established himself here with his family, in 1769. The town of Harrodsburg was founded in 1774; and Lexington, in 1776. A separation from Virginia took place in 1792, when Kentucky was admitted into the Union. The present constitution was formed in 1799.

CHAPTER XXX. OHIO.

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

1. Boundaries and Extent. Ohio is bounded N. by Michigan and Lake Erie; E. by Pennsylvania and Virginia; S. by Virginia, and Kentucky, and W. by Indiana. It extends from 38°

30 to 42° 20' N. latitude, and from 80° 35' to 84° 47' W. longitude. It is about 220 miles in length and breadth, and contains 45,000 square miles.

2. Rivers. The Ohio, which gives name to this State, is formed by the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela at Pittsburg; it flows in a very serpentine course, southwesterly into the Mississippi. It is 950 miles in length, by its windings, though the distance from Pittsburg to its mouth, in a straight line, is only 614. It forms the whole southern limit of this State, and in the lower part of its course divides Kentucky from Indiana and Illinois. From Pittsburg to Cincinnati it is above a third of a mile in 'width. Below Cumberland River, its average width is above a mile. Its depth varies 50 feet, according to the season. The heats of the summer dry up the head streams, and the river decreases till September, when it is at its lowest stage. At this time it may be forded at the falls near Louisville,

though in every other part it is navigable for boats. Towards the end of the year it begins to rise, and in March it reaches its highest point. A sudden flood will sometimes raise it 12 feet in a single night. At Pittsburg, it is commonly frozen for several weeks in the depth of winter, and even for 400 miles below. At the breaking up of the ice, immense damage is sometimes occasioned, in the destruction of all kinds of river vessels. For about half the year, it is navigable by large steamboats through its whole course. At Louisville, is a fall or rather a rapid, which is the only obstruction of that kind from Pittsburg to the sea; this is avoided by the canal described in the preceding chapter. The Ohio is a very beautiful stream, and was denominated by the French discoverers, la belle rivière. It contains more than 100 islands, and its banks are varied with rich, cultivated intervals, and bold, towering bluffs. Its current is commonly gentle, but varies from 2 to 4 miles an hour. In autumn, its waters glide calmly between broad and clean sand-bars. In the spring, it rolls in full current, and inundates many of the islands between its banks.*

The Muskingum rises in the northeastern part of the State, and flows southerly into the Ohio. It is 200 miles in length, and is navigable for boats 100 miles. It is connected by a canal with Lake Erie. The Scioto rises in the western part, and flows southerly into the Ohio. It is about 200 miles in length, and is navigable 130. There are rich and beautiful prairies on this river, and its valley is wide and fertile. The Ohio canal passes along this valley, and extends northeasterly into the Muskingum. The Great Miami rises in the western part, and flows southerly into the Ohio; it is above 100 miles in length, and has a rapid current, but is difficult of navigation. The Little Miami flows nearly parallel to the former, into the Ohio. Both these streams water a pleasant, healthy, and fertile country. The rivers of the Erie basin have a shorter course, and are more obstructed by rapids and falls. The Maumee rises in the northeastern part of Indiana, and flows through the northwestern part of this State into Lake Erie; it is broad and deep, but has an obstruction, from shoals and rapids, 20 miles above its mouth. It is connected with the Miami by a canal. The Sandusky rises in the northern part, and flows northerly into Lake Erie; it is 100 miles in length, and is navigable. The Cuyahoga is a small stream in the northeast, falling into Lake Erie. The Ohio canal passes along its valley to the lake.

This

3. Bays and Harbors. This State has above 150 miles of coast upon Lake Erie. extent embraces several harbors. Sandusky Bay, in the west, is 20 miles in length, and from 3 to 4 wide; it communicates with the lake by a narrow strait, and affords an excellent haven. Maumee Bay, in the northwest, a small basin, also affords a capacious and commodious harbor for ships. Several islands in Lake Erie belong to Ohio, among which is Put in Bay Island, with a good harbor. The harbor of Cleveland, at the outlet of the Ohio canal, and those of Ashtabula, further east, and Huron to the west, are frequented by steamboats and other lake craft.

4. Climate. The general temperature of the air is some degress colder than in the Atlantic regions, in the same parallel. The winters are often severe, and the Ohio has been frozen at Cincinnati, for 2 months. The summer is subject to tornadoes, but the autumn is always temperate, serene, and pleasant. Along the valley of the Ohio, the weather is more equable and mild than in the interior. In the southern part there is little snow; in the north, the snows are deep, and there is much sleighing in the winter. Near marshy spots, and stagnant waters, fevers and agues prevail, especially among the new settlers; but in general, the State may be pronounced healthy.

5. Soil. Nine tenths of the surface of this State are susceptible of cultivation. The intervals of the rivers are highly fertile. In the interior, are the largest tracts of rich level plain, in any settled portion of the United States. The prairies produce no timber except a few

"No river in the world rolls for 1,000 miles a current so smooth and peaceful as the Ohio. Its tributaries wind through as many valleys in 10 different States. The Tennessee, the first in size, having passed a navigable course through 3 States, for more than 1,000 miles, falls into the Ohio River 50 miles above its mouth; the Cumberland, 62 miles, being navigable for steamboats to Nashville, and for keelboats 300 miles further; the Wabash 200 miles; Green river 280 miles from the mouth of the Ohio, -navigable 200 miles, and 200 yards wide at the mouth; the Kentucky 504 miles, and navigable 150 miles; Great Miami 482 miles; Great Kanawha 850 miles, - navigable

64 miles to the Salines, where annually are made from 500 to 700 bushels of salt; Great Muskingum 950 miles. These are the principal auxiliaries which give substance and strength to the Ohio. In its course of more than 1,000 miles, it washes 6 States, and, with its tributaries, has more than 5,000 miles of navigable waters. Its mean width is 600 yards, with the exception of its lowest 50 miles, the average width of which is 1,000 yards. The average rapidity of its current is 3 miles an hour. It rises 50 or more feet. At low water, its surface at Cincinnati is supposed to be 130 feet below the level of Lake Erie, and 430 above the tide water of the Atlantic. Such is the Ohio."

scattered trees, and now and then a small grove. Some of them are marshy, and the more elevated are called barrens, yet they have often a tolerably fertile soil. The eastern and the southeastern parts are the most hilly; but hardly any portion of the surface is sufficiently broken to be unfavorable to tillage. The marshy tracts in the north, have an excellent soil, and may be easily drained when all the other good land in the State is occupied. On the whole, Ohio may be regarded as one of the most fertile countries in the world.

6. Geology. We have as yet had no complete account of the geological formations of this region. Its strata are in general but little disturbed, though upliftings or downthrows are occasionally manifest; but they are much cut through and worn away by the action of some mighty flood or floods. The surface is often strewn with numerous boulders of primary rock, so strikingly differing from the rock in place, as to have attracted the notice of the people, by whom they are called "lost rocks." The rocks of the southeastern part evidently belong to the carboniferous group, forming a continuation of the great deposits of western Pennsylvania and Virginia, and northeastern Kentucky. This series of sandstones, clay slates, and limestones, full of treasures of coal, salt, and iron-ore, appears to be terminated, toward the west, by a line drawn northwardly from the mouth of the Scioto, by Newark, towards the head of the Tusca rawas, and thence curving round to the east. The rest of the State seems to belong to the older or transition formations, although it has been represented to comprise extensive tertiary deposits.

7. Natural Productions. The forests produce black walnut, various species of oaks, hickory, sugar-maple, and several other sorts of maple, beech, birch, poplar, ash, sycamore, pawpaw, buckeye, cherry, dogwood, elm, hornbeam, &c. With the exception of a few cypress trees, this State produces hardly any evergreens. Many sorts of medicinal roots are to be found here, as ginseng, valerian, columbo, snakeroot, and bloodroot.

8. Minerals. Coal is abundant in the eastern parts, as also iron; but there are few mines. Marble is plentiful, and salt springs are common, which furnish water nearly as strong as that of the sea. Near the falls of the Little Miami, are the Yellow Springs, the waters of which are a strong chalybeat, and in considerable esteem for their medicinal qualities. The Delaware White Sulphur Springs have the same properties as the famous White Sulphur of Virginia.

9. Face of the Country. This State is remarkably level, and altogether free from mountains. In the southeast, along the Ohio, are many low hills. It is remarkable, that the highest lands in the State, between the great rivers, are by far the most wet and marshy, while the driest tracts are along the banks of the rivers. In a general appearance, the country exhibits a great proportion of unbroken forest, here and there checkered with farms.