Part 11 (1/2)

Twelve miles inland from Shawneetown are the celebrated salt works on Saline River,[107] near Equality; much salt is annually manufactured there, and sent to Shawneetown, on the Ohio, where it is embarked

Here, as at Mount Vernon, the environs of the place consist of damp forests, with many marshes, from which noxious exhalations arise The weather was chilly, windy, and rainy, especially towards evening, so that a fire was very welcome Coals are found about seven ood kind There were roes in Shawneetohereas, in Harmony and Mount Vernon, there were only two or three fa of the 19th, the weather being waron steahtly; on the banks the summits of the forest formed an even line parallel to the shore, as even as if they had been cut, the snohite stefisher, the wild duck, and red-breasted goose, were numerous in the wild, roan to be higher; the rocks are of limestone, which forms, in many parts of the forests, rorey colour The river was at this time nearly of the sa the ht, or Illinois bank, the long flat bank of rocks known by the name of Battery Rock[109] This wall of rock, at the lower part of the bank, is hty feet high, covered hitish or bluish green and bright green lichens and mosses, rent by several ravines, and crooods, and a se on the very summit

From this place , on the rocky banks, some red cedars here and there, froht I observe, for the botanist, that this tree is not found except where the bank consists of rocks After passing Cave-in-Rock Island, a long, wooded island, we glided past Cave-in-Rock,[110] a cavern which traverses from side to side a steep rock in Illinois, and has been drawn by Lesueur The rocky wall, in which this well-known opening is situated, is rey or reddish strata of limestone, and is croith cedars and other trees It is twenty-five miles beloneetown Calcareous petrifactions, or rather ier mouth of the cavern, towards the Ohio, is a smaller chamber, which is said to have formerly been the retreat of banditti and coiners The rock is hard limestone, with sea shells and animal remains scattered in it, but no fossil bones have ever been found there

Towards noon we reached Golconda Island, twenty and a half96] and then Golconda in Illinois, a ss, in which they were erecting a court-house, and which is the seat of the tribunals of Pope County Near Sister Islands we e flat boats, full of horses, which were being conveyed from Mount Vernon to New Orleans The owners of the horses have to pay above 500 dollars for the voyage Opposite cumberland Island is the mouth of the cumberland River, which cole This river is not so large as the Wabash A se, called Smithland, is built at the mouth, which reminded me of a little Brazilian villa, the houses,in a row by the water-side[111]

At this place the Paragon took in wood and provisions Not far from Smithland is the mouth of the Tenessee River, which is said to be more considerable than the cumberland, and to have a course of 1,200 e, Paduca, on the left bank of the Ohio, appeared to have much traffic, and a number of new shops had been built The Western Pilot of the year 1829 does not in From hence we came to the spot where Fort Massac formerly stood, stones of which are still found[112] We lay to some hundred paces below to take in wood, of which our vessel consurass on the banks was already of a bright green colour, and a race of large long-legged sheep were grazing on it We lay to for the night

Early in theof the 20th of March we approached the mouth of the Ohio, where it falls into the Mississippi, 959 ue of land on the right, which separates the two rivers, was, like the whole of the country, covered with rich woods, which were partly cleared, and a few houses erected, with an inn and store, and the dwelling of a planter, where we took in wood In this store , a heaps of skins, that of a black bear, lately killed, of which one of the three cubs, a very co bear had on his breast a semicircle of white hair The settlement, at which ere, has no other name than Mouth of the Ohio[113] We now entered the Mississippi, and ascended it, keeping to the left or eastern bank

This river is not broader here than the Ohio, and the water of both was of the same colour; the bank was steep, covered with broken steh slender poplars The lower banks were clothed with lofty trees, and at their feet strips of poplar and s bending over the water On the right hand, in particular, were romantic forest scenes; a wilderness of fallen trees, which the floods and storms had thrown and piled upon each other, like an _abatis_ Parasite plants wound round the trees, and ether; while, further on, rose the picturesque terraces of the wood-covered bank There beingin the water) in the river, we could only proceed by daylight The islands, covered with high poplars, were generally bordered with thickets of hich had now no appearance whatever of green, but looked of a bright yellowish red, fro 97] soave thee quantities of drifted ere frequently seen on the points of the islands towards the current

The water being very loere obliged to take soundings, and yet our vessel proceeded five or eight hours against the strearound in this place, and its people were e chiefly of lead[114]

In roves, whose tall stems spread into branches at the suht, and are one of the characteristic features in the landscape scenery of the Mississippi and Missouri At twelve at noon, Reauh wind, which blew the sand of the sand banks into the air We lay to, to take in fuel, which cost three dollars for two cords Here was a high, steep, sandy bank, and a s-house, exposed on all parts to the wind, the sides of which consisted only of boards set upright A couple of bad beds took up almost the whole of the interior The woman, with her pipe in her mouth, was occupied at the miserable fire-place; the man was just returned, with a boy, from the forest; the two other children looked unhealthy, weak and pale; one of these girls was e onions in a sround A couple of oxen, five or six young hogs, and soe Inificent, dense, and lofty forest, which we resolved at once to explore, and there very sensibly felt the heat of the spring, because the wind could not penetrate The underwood of the forest consisted of the spicewood (_Laurus benzoin_), which grows to the height of ten and fifteen feet; its bark is highly aromatic, and it was covered with small yellow blossoms, which appear before the leaves, and resemble those of our cornelian cherry The abundance of these flowers gives to the underwood a lively tint, which strikes the eye at a distance Large, lofty trees, overgroith cliround was covered with a delicate yelloering plant (_Corydalis flava, N_) In the front of the cottage, which was close to the bank, stood a tree, about which a beautiful _Bignonia radicans_ entwined; and the turkey buzzards hovered high in the air above the forest

As we proceeded on our voyage, the as so high, and it raised the waves and the sand so excessively, that we sought the protection of the opposite bank We passed ht into the formation of the banks of the Mississippi One of them, especially, showed, at a certain place, a bank which had sunk dohere we perceived layers of large trunks of trees, heaped one upon another, the tops of which were visible On such foundations the river throws its sand, s and poplars grow up, by the leaves of which good earth is forh the Paragon drew only five feet of water, ere often aground; the wind laid the vessel a little on the side, the crew shoved with poles, sounded, stopped the engine, then98] and then sidewards, and so got afloat again

Little villages were seldom seen on this part of the banks of the Mississippi; however, we cae of Commerce,[115] on a rocky hill, and it is here that rows of hills of a very interesting appearance coiniana_) iht in these calcareous rocks, especially the planes, which are more colossal in Indiana; and on the eroups of rocks are often seen, frequently of singular for in, we retired to our cabin to avoid the cold evening air, and lay to under cover of the bank At this spot there was a single planter's dwelling upon the steep bank, which was fifty or sixty feet high A large fire was kindled at the top, which brilliantly illuh trunks of the forest, and ware of the peasant, which ell closed on all sides, we conversed with his wife, who told us that their house had been burnt down a short time before, and rebuilt; she said also that wild anis especially are numerous, but bears are rarely met with

On the 21st of March we reached Cape Girardeau, an ancient French settlee, which, as ere told, had of late much improved Beds of limestone appeared on the bank, and heaps of it were piled up; it containsDevil's Island, we found in the river a sunk steam-boat, which was now quite broken up; many of these vessels passed us The spiceas everywhere in flower in the forests on the bank, and it is said that its appearance indicates a fine soil The pretty narrow-leaved , on the contrary, was still covered with its last year's dry leaves We passed by the villages of Bainbridge and Harrisburg, and then ca-Bend, where the Mississippi is wide and beautiful Various strata and ravines are observed in the wooded calcareous mountains; such a stratified rock, cleft perpendicularly, has the name of Devil's Tea-table; other rocks rese close to each other, all croood, where the turkey buzzard resorted[116] The opposite or Illinois bank has very seldom any such rocks, and it is more cultivated close to the river Flocks of ducks, probably _Anas rufitorques_, were swiht yellow, bright blue, or yellowish red, were frequently very singularly for Grand Tower, an isolated, cylindrical rock, froht, which we reached when it was splendidly illuht, on the Illinois bank, opposite the Tower Rock, at the point or corner of thetowards the Mississippi, three or four very strangely for, full of clefts and ravines, the foremost of which is called the Devil's Bake-oven, and is covered at the su 99] quite isolated on the left bank; and its summit is croith red cedars Behind it there is another large rock, split into several perpendicular divisions, like towers, and the whole group forinal portico Soainst these rocks A little above that narrow rocky portico of the river, the Obrazo Creek, in the State of Missouri, appears, where we took in fuel The ravine of the streafisher resorted A couple of cottages were inhabited by negroes, and in front of them lay a piece of fertile land, where rows of cotton trees were planted The high old ele red cedars, around the dwellings, were still partly laden with their black berries The _Mniuhbourhood Above Hat Island, we lay to for the night on the Missouri bank

The ht of the rising sun fronificent; as the fla of day rose above the woody banks of the Mississippi, the waves forloith the htened by our Paragon, hastened aith rustling wings; the kingfisher was frequent on the shrubs Near St Mary River we ran aground, but were not long delayed by this accident The cords of wood for the stea the price and the quantity The village of Chester, in Illinois, where we took in wood, was quite a new settle the liama undulata_, Daud), which is said to attain a considerable size, especially on the river St Peter The buds of the red oak were very forward At noon the weather was excessively warm, and on the river the thermometer was +11 Reaumur We saw the mouth of the Kaskaskia River, on the Illinois bank, six miles up which Kaskaskia is situated, one of the oldest French settlements on the Mississippi[119] The tribe of Kaskaskian Indians dwelt in these parts, and some remains of them still live near the settlement We were told that there was at present only onethe the Kaskaskia, in which large colu, doubtless occasioned by the woods being on fire Nu at noon on the trunks of trees and stones in the river They have hard shells, and h we often shot at theeese alking upon the sand-banks; we fired at theree discompose them; at the second, when the ball whizzed close by them, they fleay, but only to a short distance At St Genevieve Island, the river divides, and we steered to the west of the island It is covered with lofty trees; the banks are abruptly broken; large trunks [pg 100] of trees were lying in the water Before usSt

Genevieve,[120] where columns of smoke ascended in the distance; on the island was a small settlement, with a hut, worse than that of an Indian, and near, the canoe, turned bottom upwards The inhabitants were sunburnt, badly clothed, of a savage aspect, like the Indians A tall forest surrounded this characteristic scene The Mississippi is here very broad, and is certainly a very noble streahly picturesque Gentle eminences bound the horizon, and on account of a bend which the river h a narrow opening St Genevieve, an old French settlee, with 600 or 800 inhabitants, is about twenty -place, and appears to be in a state of decline; it was founded at the sales, unpaved, and bordered with hedges The houses, which are of one story, are separate froeneral, a verandah in front The church is built of red brick French and English are spoken, and there are several Ger from hence to the interior of the western prairies, to Sante Fe and the Rocky Mountains; they consist of ons The well-known lead mines are further up the country[121] Limestone everywhere stands out: the water is very bad, and not fit for drinking

On the htly, strange forh forests, appeared on the banks of the river; on the left, or western bank especially, the walls of rock were cleft by rude valleys, frole pines are scattered in the woods; on the right bank, on the skirts of the forest, is a row of poplars, of perfectly equal height, but the planes are not so high as those we have before seen We passed the place where Fort Chartres formerly stood[122] The liinal shapes and forht be said if our limits would permit They have often natural caverns and excavations, like the niches cut for the iular [pg 101] projecting ledges and lofty cones; sometimes they are so rounded as to represent a row of perpendicular towers, &c On many of the rocks shot towers have been erected, the whole country, as is well known, abounding in lead

[Illustration: Formations of limestone rocks]

We passed by the settlee of Herculaneu of about thirty houses, the immediate vicinity of which is remarkable for a perforated limestone rock The distance from hence to Genevieve is twenty-oneround the point of Little Rock, which is about forty feet high--beyond which the small Platteen Creek falls into the river--we soon reached the e flocks of ducks and sea-gulls[125] About Robert's Island the country beco we reached Jefferson barracks, on the left bank, where the 6th regi of the United States was hoisted These barracks were interesting at this time, because the celebrated Indian chief, Black Haas iht, we passed the French settleo, a large scattered village, the inhabitants of which are reported to be not very industrious The neighbouring hills are covered with low oak bushes We passed the night nearly opposite Kahokia, and on the reat joy, beheld the town of St Louis[126] Its first appearance is not prepossessing, as it has no high steeples The mass of houses, however, unfolds itself as you approach; the environs are low and , in a cold high wind The people e first saere roes, or labourers

St Louis is a rapidly increasing toith 6,000 or 8,000 inhabitants, on the western bank of the Mississippi, about 1,200It is built on a rather bare, gently rising, and not very elevated part of the banks; forms two streets parallel to the river, besidessee rapidly On this upper part there are churches and other considerable buildings, of which the town has hly favourable situation, in the centre of the trade of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri, will soon make it one of the inally founded by the French; at first there was only a fort, and it was not till 1764 that the building of the town commenced, which in 1816 contained about 2,000 inhabitants Persons were still living--for instance, M

Chouteau--who had the wood felled on the spot where the buildings of the to stand[127] The principal streets are full of handsoo, daily, to and fro, Cincinnati, Louisville, Prairie du Chien, &c; and a very brisk trade employs the motley population of many nations Most of the merchants have their warehouses, which are mostly built of solid stone, on the bank of the Mississippi The greater part of the workroes, and their descendants, who, as in the State [pg 102] of Missouri, are all slaves They are very nuh modern travellers represent in very favourable colours the situation of this oppressed race, the negro slaves are no better off here than in other countries

Everywhere they are a demoralized race, little to be depended upon; and the ood as has been represented We itnesses of deplorable punishhbours at St Louis, for instance, flogged one of his slaves in the public streets, with untiring aran anew

St Louis was theto us, at this mo acquainted with the North Ainality; for the office for all the Indian affairs of the west is at St Louis, under the direction of General Clarke, celebrated for his journey with Captain Lewis to the Rocky Mountains and Columbia River, who has the title of superintendent of Indian affairs[128] He ers ish to visit the interior of the western territory are obliged to have a passport froents are under hi our stay at St Louis, a deputation came down the Mississippi froamis, to intercede for the Black Haas a prisoner in Jefferson barracks[129] A Saukie chief, named Kiokuck, was at the head of this numerous deputation, and he was the very same person who had delivered the unfortunate Black Hawk into the hands of the Americans[130] General Clarke, to whom I was introduced by the kindness of Duke Bernhard of Saxe Weis or councils which he held with the Indians, and we had the pleasure of being able thoroughly to observe and study these ree azine near the harbour, to which we immediately repaired We saw already on the beach a collection of the populace, and auished the strange dark brown figures, enveloped in red, white, or green blankets We did not coht of them, which did not a little surprise reat affinity to the Brazilians, so that I cannot hesitate to consider the to the same race[131] They are stout, well formed men, many of them above the middle size, broad shouldered, muscular and brawny The features of the ly ular; the dark brown eyes animated and fiery, and especially in youth, the inner corner rather dran, but not so much so as in the Brazilians The outer corner of the eye is not elevated either in the North or South A 103] in very few instances The forehead appears to enerally assumed, which is also the case with the Brazilians

Meyen[132] confirms this with respect to the people west of the Cordilleras The teeth are strong, firenerally perfectly sound, even at an advanced age The nose is large and prominent, often much arched, but not always, a trait which occursthe Brazilians[133] The lips are usually rather thick; the hair straight, smooth, and black, as in all the Ahter brown, often deeper than in the Brazilians, but, on the whole, perfectly the same

Some of these Indians resemble the Chinese, which Bossu, too, affirms of the now extirpated race of the Natchez The features of others strongly reminded me of the Botocudos[134]

It may be observed here, with Von Hueneral affinity and resereat diversities a the people of Ae aquiline nose of several northern nationsthe ancient tribes of Mexico, as is proved by the oldcountry Though this similarity appears to indicate an affinity of the Mexicans with more northern nations, a similar conformation was found here and there in South America also; as Duperrey[136] represents the Peruvians, and as Dr Meyen also states I am, however, of opinion that the notion of the last-named learned travellers is untenable, _viz_, that on account of the different[137] form of their skulls, the Puris and the Botocudos, who live so near to each other, are distinct races I have compared nuenuine, and found great diversity in the of the forehead and the flattening of the head In the same manner the brown colour of the American is of different shades

Mr Von Humboldt found the Mexicans darker than many South Americans;[138] and many of the North American nations which I have seen, were likewise of a darker complexion than many Brazilians My observations with respect to this point coincide so perfectly with the views of that distinguished traveller, that I es in his works which treat of the A the Botocudos I met with individuals ere nearly white; Volney was certainly deceived by Michichinakua (the little tortoise), anted to raise hinity of a white hter colour on [pg 104] those parts of their bodies which are clothed, than on those which are exposed to the air and sun Pike, and sono the North American Indians, especially the pawnees and the Sioux;[139] but I can affirh I saw a few instances of it in Brazil Mr Von Humboldt very justly observes, on this head, that not merely the bodily confor, of the two races, are entirely different The great contrast between the Aol races is immediately apparent, e consider that the former have no breed of cattle, and do not subsist on milk, without which the latter cannot live[140]

The Tartar features, which are very handsome, did not occur to me in North Aives a drawing of a vessel found near the river Cany, which is adorned with three hunomy, as the author believes, but precisely that of the North Aeneral conformation of the North Americans, we return to our narrative

The Saukies and Foxes had shaved their hair off the whole head except a sreater part of which was cut short, like a brush, and which terminated in a thin braid, to which was fastened the chief ornament of the head, the deer's tail, which is a tuft of hair fro, white, with so dyed red with verenious s of wood, to the tuft of hair at the back of the head; and in the middle of it, concealed between the hair, is a small piece of carved wood, to which a sle's feather is fastened, projecting horizontally behind; this feather is often dyed with vermilion, and is the characteristic distinction of a brave warrior

He who has beco to their notions, is a heroic exploit, fastens to the tip of this feather the rattle of a rattlesnake The whole deer's tail, when it is not worn, is rolled up in the form of a thick ball, fastened with leather straps, and kept in this manner, that the hair may remain smooth, and in the proper position Mr Bodle's nest), a handso this head-dress[143] The North Americans pluck out their eyebrows, beard, &c, like the Brazilians, and, at present, es of which they take hold of the hair

These nations adorn their ears in a very original e holes, one above the other, are s of blue and white wa, like tassels

So 105] the whole outer rim, which remained attached only above and below, and was adorned with strings of was, and pieces of blue and white shells, are worn in many rows around the neck