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Show ~MIGRANT'S GUIDE. " At the moment of the cession of Louisiana to the United States the disperse<.! and defenceless state of the population W ;:J too appaQ rent to esc~pe the most inatt(~ ntive observer It was perceived by our st(ltesmen, and the same comprehensive mind that conceiv£-u and oxecuteJ the transff!r of the country under our authority, bl!iug then at the head of the go~ernment, tbe only possible mean::; to augment the population of Louisiana was atternpteJ. Comn.issiouers were sent ~o receivt::. a regi~ter of the claims of indivitlual., auJ to t!ecide tlpon their merits. Little delay or dilliculty was apprehended; but the result proved very much the contr:1ry. The conunissioners were unacquainteu with the nature of the titles, and the inhabttant w<.:rc suspicrous of some fiscal tllanc.euvre being concealed under the whole transactioll'. An adherence to technical but inapplicable rult"s, re· tarueu the proceeJ ings of the commi~sioners, and a refractory distrust prevented the people from producing th,eir paper·~ with facility. Be· ' tween the parties, the liberal , and cnligbteued policy of the general government bas hithPrto been unproductive of the benefits that would have resultet! from a speedy adjustn1ent of the land claims in Louisiana. lf one gigantic mind hat! not rtrisen to repair the mischief, the nation would have expenenceu the destructive consequences of this delay. As things still remain, no land c~n be procured in Louisiana or .Missouri, except vy purchase from individuals. Tbe £m<:~ller claims are genc-·ra !ly expen ive, and most of the larger have doubtful titles. En:igration is as a matter of cour.-,e, turned towards places where Jand can be purchased from the United States. The only two lar~e titles in the state ol Louisiana havina any con· siderable bodies of lanu open to purchase bave been n~ticed. In Mif'souri territory there are a number of large claims covering extensive tracts of the best Janus in thr..> coul)lry. The Jeau min~s both above and below the junction of tiJe Missi. sippi autl Missouri rivers, are involved in . orne of tlwse daim • How many years will yet tran ~ pire before the adju tment of tltese claims, the sale of the public land, anJ the country be laid open to emigration, it i::- ditlicuJt to conjecture. If nothing lJUt the mere settlement of the Lands were involved in thi9 question, the inquiry would be of little moment; as the reM moval of til~ citizens from one place to another can adtl not!Jing to their numbers, anJ comparatively but little to the national we<J !th; but the expo~ed situation of the state uf Louisiana J-larticularly, and it vit(ll importance to the United State , reuders all consideratwus of policy in which the subject is involved, of ~Hin ~ary importance. Takeu as a whole, LouisJ<ma was perhaps the grcate:: t, bloodless, conquest ever made by man. Its acqursit111n at once enlaraeJ aud strt"ngtbened the United States. Its citizeus, by the fuHilltJent of the severest tluty Illankind c(ln perform, have hovrn them5elves worthy of all the protection that the nation can give. In the hour of alarm, tbe Loui::iani:111s were at the post of duty, and, in the day of b~ttleJ stood firm at the post of honour. Their g(gllantry aiJeJ iu gi~ ing the Uu1ted Stntes a n .. une, that time may render veneraule, but cannot de ·troy. lt has already been repeatedly observed in this treatise, that the. EMIC-ltANT'S GUIDE. 147 . . f those parts of Norlh America lying upon the wester~ sl~)p~ "'~~~!ev~lie y of t be Mi" i ">i p pi, is colder than the co rres 1:"11 d '"~. I~ 0 1·t Je,s east of the Alt·abany. This statement is ver~ JdlE1~rent 110 . I U , · . 0 . . h ~ 1. • t . , b J c h a Ill OS t U Bl - tLl(• comrr~only received opml(- 11 on. t e ~uujeC ' " "11 . tl e fo' r-mly supposes the contrary. It' t he sea~~HI . wei· e more m1 < 10 l 1 • t Jley of the MissJ. ss;ippr. t ba n m. . 1. rn1. 1a r 1a t 1t UL 1e . <>n the At ant1c coa.s ,. tvha'. ) fact would be an ant maly m. nCIIure . . '['·tI Ie Alc, g. han.y b lm ount,td nsr ]. · N E an·• S W position anJ shJeiJ a constder<t e pa_r o .. 1e rn a · · u • • - ' · · · · d ~ of the t·h co<lst ot the Atbntic ocean from the refrrg1rat~~1g .wm ~ - noer 1t1 On the contnJry the vall('y o f t1 1 e l\1 'r s .· J-~SIPP 1. exp.O S· ('S all 1 . opt~n • and compar~tively ' an unbroken p1·a m· , w l W5t:. sur face 1,'s IJI1 1~u 11 cr th<ln the alluvial shore that extends from New-York t~ Cape Sa c .. Mr. J lfe r ~ on, in hi!"' invalu(ll>ie N otes on V~. rg·m 1·a . ilr :·-;· t \u''a veS(lllCtlOlJ to tile opt·n t·c m that rnore 11 e<l~ wa.s· enj· oyet1 L' 1) r the~ in• k- .tbl•t aoh on the 1 J ~. Mr. Ohio thau on the Potom<1c 111 the same p :u~llel~ of I;; ttl 1 c J·~ . Vulney prctt~ JlUed to Jetermine uy vegetable an<llogy tlle .e.x._ ct I Cl· eiJ·e · ·w<l thotwh this method is certainly tlw best tor whtcb dat~1 c::m " ' • 0 be found in nature, yet the rnere eX·J titence o f a. t ree ~· n one, 1,f a· ce ' and its beinl' WC:tntirw in another, gives no conclu'iJ~e ev1denc~ 0 dan_y real dilf·~renbc e iu tb.,.e res}Ject·t ve c 11· mates. Th e~ ta· cts mcntwn_e m this treatis~ respectm. g the l·m ·o d en( J ron tu 1!· jH·rt el. a ( pop Jar) anu1 11 I C robinia lJseu' J acact.a are .1 11 pom· t . 7r- ·r o rna ke a vegetable a . true thermometer, its life' , modes of growt 11 , m· .~:]u rescence, t.l w so1 1 ,t ol wh1ch it is congenial, and its habituJes, mu~t be known and comparel by means o f spect·m ens ra1·s ew-• a t t wo p 1a ces, whus· ~· te. mr1er. aturesl arc different. The presence or absence of any vegetable m a gtvcn .P ace prove nothing, but that presence or absence. . M" Dr. Drake was the first writer on the valley of the Ob1~, or ts ~ 3ISstppi, who possessed, at tbe same time, t:1lents and practtcal .experience on the subject. Climate is like the bum<ln character Ill o_ne thin<Y · neitber can be known by any other means th ~ n long ant! ll1· · 0 tunate' acquam· tauce. 'T he eou.mon toun·s · t I· S 1J U t '~- 'eldorn well en ,low- eel with the patience and skdl to collect, and still more rarely Wil1l the power of mind to compare facts of any kind ; much more where the common pr~juuices of HIP. world are to ue encountereu. Dr. Drake, with the modesty thflt frequently accompr~nies talent, ad~l~ces facts which provP that at Cincinoati;t the climate is as severe, tl nut more so, than at Phdadelphia, though the former is upwards of~ d~< Yree of latitude more southward than the latter. Mr Stodderd, 111 hiS I-Ii'.ltorical anu Descri})tive sketches of Louisiana+ enckavours to :u~· port the common rwt1.0 n that more beat ,·. , t'e 1t on ttt le b.r t.nks o{- the Mis..;issi11pi than on the A'tlantic coast in tbe same latitude, , but a - knowl~drres that the i.o rmer place I.S al);o co 1u. J er I• ll wm· t er. fhe- ex .. treme suom mer heat j not· so certam. a cn·t en·o n o t' c 1·u na tc ' as. the' ex- treo~1e ot . winter cold. Heats are casua 1 am1 exces:-,J· ve·' m. veryt' h .r( Jh northern latJ· tudes co ld I·S rnuc l1 1e ss v<~rt· a bl e. D. .e duc. t1olls o tl' elt-•per:-.ture drawn from the rising and f a 11·m g o t· th e spl nts m a co.m Q moo thtrmo'm eter, are f'a r f rom 1u. em• g cone lu;-,· t·ve data rec~: .pectm:r..,·i • See paO'e 67. i Picture of Cincinnati, page 115 ~nd sequel. 1 Page 235, , I |
