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Show EMIGRANT'S GUID£·. there is not morE' than two f et water to be found in the 'Yho1e expans.e· of tl,e lat\e. Lakf' Borgne is terminated on the N. E. by the beautrfu bay St. Louis; on the east by Cat-Island, and S. E. by a long flat peninsula already noticed. . T!Jere are three passes, from the east extrem1ty of Lake Borgne ; the pas.· of Christian, pass. of Ma.ria~ne, and that o fth~ southe;st; the former is generally ,meu 111 nav1gatmg betwe n Mobile an~ New Or-, Jeans. There is e.xcellent anchorage on the southwest and north ot Cat-hland. The island is itself a mere bank of saud. but might be rendered of importance by its position. 1t was ~o the south ~f this island that the British ships of the lifle lay durmg the camp::ugn of J 814-15, in Louisiana ; their smaller vessels took shelter on the north ~ ide of the ·sland. Nearly opposite Cat-Island, and east of St Lo.uis Bay, the . c~as.t a~· su mes a totally different aspect from the alluvwn of the M1ss•s~•ppr. · Pine woot..ls are novv seen extending to the sea-shore, and the surface of the earth is elevated above t~ reach of inunuation. The soil is -sterile. hut the people of the country are healthy. There are !'iCattered settlements along the margin of the strait. Tae inhabitants raise large stocks of cattle and horses, and make lime and tar for the supply of New Orleans. The lime is mostly made from oyster· shells, and is of excellent qu<ility. Two rivers of comiderable cons.equ~nce fall into this channel, the rear! and Pascagoula. The settlements on these rivers are already respectable, <:~nd are incrt'asing in strength and wealth. The navigation of the Pe~rl is obstructed by ~hoals and timber, but it is probable that without any very considerable expense its navigation might be improved to a great degrP.e. Monticello, in Lawr~nce county, the pre sent ~eat of government of the state of Mississippi, stands on th€:! west bank of the r~arl river at s 1° 33' N. lat. being exactly OlJ a uue~east line from N atciJ~Z. 'fhe Pascagt'U!<l affords better navigation than the Pearl. Schooners drawing five feet water go up to the junction of Leaf and Chickisawha.\ rivers. Tbe general surface of the Ct1untry below 31° N. lat. and on the Pearl amJ Pascagoula, is sterile ; but much good land is to be met with ; and which admitti.1g the culti.ire of cottun, the settlements must flourish. Ever since the establishment of the United States government, emigrations to this quarter have been continually going o,n, but since the conclusion of the last war, the numbers are greatly augmented. The provisional line between the state of Mississippi ancl Alabama territory, terminates on the east side of the estuary of the Pascr.~goula . , This line follows the general course of the latter river and the Chickisawhay. East of the Pascagoula · to the Mobile. the aspect of the country, both on the sea-shore and interior, remains unchanged The islands are, like Cat-lsi::Hld, an embaukment of sand. dl(~ quered with a few dwarf pines and ~ea-myrtle bushes There :.tre pa::;~ es from the inner channel to tbf• )pen gulf, Letween Cat ant..! Shjp .Jslan<.l , between D0g, a~nd Horn-Island, and between Horn·lsland and Petite Bois.. · EMIGRANT'S GUIDE. 21 Pass aux Herons, leads into Mobile bay, and is crooked, and the ~.hallowest \'\'ater between New Orleans and Mobile or Blakely. After entering into 1\'Iobile bay, the water Jeepens to J 4 eet, which depth continues to the bar, where it shailows to 11 feet. After the bar is passed, the depth again is found to be about 13 or 14 feet to eit l:er Mobile or Blakely. Though Mobile was amongst the first pbces established by the French after their arrival in tbe gulf of Mexico, it remained a mere military pl)St dyring the exi stence of the French anil S p :mi .~ h authority in Louisiana. After the United State~ had taken p~>ss.e s sion of Mo· bile, as part of West Florida, the town continued, as formerly, of little consequence ; but since the eveuts of the last war, which put tbe fertile and exteusive re ~ions on t 1e confluent waters of the Mobile river into tile hands of the United States, the town then began to have some importance as a commercial depot. Events have succeeJed in this quarter with a rapidity that sc .... rcely leaves the mind leisure to pursue the chain with precision. Populatin!l uas in creased rapiJ!y . and commercial capital accumulated beyond the possi Lle calculation ot tLe most active foresight. It was at once> perceived, aft.er the cession of the adjacent country to the United Stat ·:- .. that a depot must be sought upon or in tbe vicinity of tbe l\1obile G.Jy. Variow; places were selected by diff~rent persons. Mohile, Blakely, Fort Stoddert, Fort St. Stephens, and Fo·rt Claiborne, have all their advocates. There can be but little doubt that the rivalry must rest between Mobile and Blakely; the facility of approach from the sea must decide till~ contest. ~fhe depth of water to either plc:.ce is nearly equal. Both towns are situated on elevated, solid, ami dry banks of the bay. It is pleas~ng to behold the emulation of industry and peace, to see .qew towns, farms and manufactories, rising, where silence and desola~~ on reigne~ twenty years past, and where only five years have elapsed Since that sd.ence was broken by the din of arms, and where cruel massacre stamed the earth with the blood of the most innocent and helpless part of the liluman race. Th~ region. w.atered by the Mobile river, and its confluent streams,. has gamed, w1thm one or two years past, an attention from the Arneri· Qan ant..! foreign emigrant, that the softness of the climate and the ex:• reme variety of the soil will long preserve. There are many extre~ ely ~·aluable vegetalJies not yet introduced into the United States, wh!ch rmgl~t, fron~ the great diversity of seasons, soil and climate, be easrly ~ulttvated with adv~_ntage. !here is, perhaps. scarcely one v.egetab.e ever reared out ot the tropics, that might not, in some situatwn or otl~er, lJe brou~bt to maturity in the United Sta tes. There JS .one branch of geographical science, and that the mosf im .. por.tant, whrch is neglected ; narnely, the local residence of vegetables~ Antmals, Irom their locomotion and the warmth of their blood, can neve~ be a cu~rect thermometer of climate ; whibt vegetables, from their fix tty, and from their liability, of many pecies, to perish by the actio11 t>f cold, are the true tests that disclose the changes and the ch~nacter of any giver~ climate. MAN .. the bor5e, the dog, the common poultry, and some other of the gregarious animals which have submitted to do_, esticity, are fou.nd in. almost every part of the globe ; the bear anti ; • |