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Show ;" . 1 EMIGRANT'S GUIDE. . d t d country exhibited them-fell, a11U the wmal featureS of an mun a C I selves. . .· :::' i river ~ strong current sets west- ·Frorn the mouth of t 1e .MissJl\S~lp~ . lt C(lrry.ing with it the tim-war dl y a 1o ug th•'. ... hores ot the .1eXIc'aln' l.g ut tL· ll·o current l.: :i um· t'o rm ·IS, d 1 tbat stn~a m la 1 ;,] • · b ber lJrought own lJ , t' .tl1 dob.,.;s thrown mto thP ~ult Y ~. h f t th at none o e <· '~ • • prove~ ~y. t ~ . ac .; nd to tlw north~ast of the mouth of th at nver' the M.I :::::ISSlppt IS { m t· I ~·t is strc·wcd witiJ Cl)tlvn wood, cypress, whilst to the west t~e w J.': e c~~ , L ~ pit.:ces of fla t bottom hua~, and in and other trees, wHl~ r<tl s; P '10 ~~' h . ~ is generally \Vrought, and left fact wood in all the forms mto WtllC ' !.· b . ~ t away by the flood. ' exposed to e swep c tl of the S.1bine in December, When the author was at the mou 1 . · . ... the coast of the Mex- 18\2, be had fullle~ure an~ m;;r~~~~f ;~~~1~1 :~J C-.lca~u rivNs, no ican gulf. Near t elmo~ l - t on ~bore by the tides, anJ trunks of timber is found but w \at IS ca!i . · h .J f £· d lym(]' upon t e slranu. . the largest trees are o ten ~ ~un t' ~ f a map of the gulf of Mexico, ll W\)u\d appear from an ~nspec IOnt oflows from tue latter into the and Caribbean sea, th~~. tA~lll~:~:r.e~nJ as:;uming a northern dirQcti~n , former, between CaptFl rida between the Apalachicola and Mubllc, re~ches the shore _o. o , t traversinlr the western shore o( rivers, and there dn·H.Ies ; one_ par . wa o b the nlf stream, be - East Florida, enco~nters anhd ~~ 1cardnedf aCu~ya . ~ut ~ucb the largest F'l 'd p nt and t e Js an o 'J ' • tween on a 01 1 cu est FloriJa Alabama tern tory, mass t urns to th.e .w e.s t, .p aLs ses. a. on.g v', d- the provi' nce of. ,I . exas, un t1'l the state of -r.1 tsstssippi, J ~uts~a~~~' a~\ds with the coast to the south reaching the bay fofhSt. . O;,ep 'tlty\~; Mexico and finfl.lly ::; weeplll~ l the shores o t e vtce-roya 4 • , f y ah@n~ f Campeachy and the western anJ northern _shoreb o . uc~ " t e ay o ~ent from wbich it ori ginated. This curn~ nt IS t e tan, meetts hthe culfr stream and divides the gulf of Mexico into two parent o t e gu ! . L t unequal whHlpools. d Immense, u . t , f timber alon<' the shores are foun Admixed With t le masses o ;:, f fl b . ·n fra ments from the size of a pea to that o a vu_r ar-· pumice-stone, 1 g . 1 bt brouoht from the volcano of Onzaba. rel This substance IS no < ou · b . T . . 1 ~ 't leaves and tree ~· are also found m abundance. roptca 1ru1 s, ' F , F N w-Orleans N . bl Streams-Roads-Crops- _rm.ts.- rom e avtga e M' . . to the bar at the mouth of the ISSJsstppt :~ M.'l No. 1. t ,es. To General Viilaret's, To Terre aux Bceufs, • English Turn, Fort St. Leon, Gentilly, - - Point Le Hache, Fort St. Philip, at Plaquemine Bend, Efflux of S. W. Pass, - - do. South Pass, do Pass a le LoutH~, - 6 3 2 5 10 1 , I 3(1 20 J 6 (j G 9 11 \6 26 40· 70 90 !H 96 102 Balize, - Bar, The settlements - J 105 co~tinu~ -in de~cendi~g the- Mississippi, from New E!\HGRAN'l"S GUIDE·. . .1,7 0rleans compaclly 0\1 both banks of the river to the Point le Hach~. Terre aux Breuf~ is a settlf•ment, which is connected with those on the Misgi ~ ·ippi, and winds tllong both banks of a small ancient outlet. The Jands upon the Terre aux Breufs are excellent. Sugar, cotton, and ~attle are the staples of this settlement, and some fine sugar-house& are established. The adjacent country towards Lake Borgne and Chandeleur bay is an open grassy morass. The Terre aux Breufs abound in excellent Jive oak, which is in a ~;tate of rapid destruction, occasioned by burning the cane and gra.s.s interminglPd with the trees, and by clear ing the land. BP.Iow Terre au Breuf is the benu of the :\:l is is.-ippi, to which has been given the name of the English Turn (Oetour Anglais). Thi cause of this mune is known to w·ry few persons. In the early set· -tlement of Louisiana by the FrPurb. the English government sent out a small squadron. consisting ol a frigate and one or two other ve;:,sels. This ex.pedition was for tbe purpose of exploring the Mississippi. Tb~ ~quadron succeeded in findin~ the mouth, and ascendin~ the river tp the bend that is now in qut>stiun. A French officer met the squadron, and succeeded in persuading the Engli sh commander that the stream that he was then on was not the great Canadian river, as it was then called, but another <,f far lP-ss conseqU<-:nce; that the object of his search was farther westward. In conteq uence of this information the English officer quitted tbe Mississippi , and went in searcu of it to the west ; then finally abandoned the euterprise, and returned to Europe. FrotT} this circumstance the present name arose.*' The manner in wbicb the Missi.-sippi turns at the English Bend ere· ates some embarrassment to vessels coming up to New Orlean-;, but must contribute in time of war to the safety of that city, on account of the difficulty of passing it with the same wiod by which it is approached The bend of the Plaquemine, (Perssinon ,) opposes the same kind of obitacle to commerce as that of the English Turn, and wi!J be always even more efficacious in arresting the advance of an enemy. From the nature of the adjacent shores, an army could be disembarked below the English Turn, on either baHk, and pass the forts ; bu.t at St. Philip, the swamps approach so near the m::~rgin· of the river. that to l' l'l='S with artillery unexposed, woulc1 be extremely difficult. The value u[ Fort St. Philip was made manifest in the last war between the United States and Great Britain. Below Plaquemine, all possibility of settlement for agricultural pur~ poses cP.ases ; and excepting some fishermen's huts, and the residenc~ of the pilots at the Balize, no human habitation is seen. Some scattered clumps of trees are found along the shore, but the general surface of the little land that ri se3 above the water is marsh prairie. The - aspect of tbe country is lileless and dreary, and even the low, grassconst .-ucted cabins of the fishermen contribute to the melancholy ap ... peara 1ce of the scene. On leaving the mouth of the Mississippi, you ~)most imagine yourself to have passed the last verge of terrestrial ex· istence. ~ LaHarp~. 3 |