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Show 8 APPENDIX TO PART II. tern lJt'<mch) and the La Platte ; on its ~outh wostcm side, it pro· duces the Rio Colorado of California ; on its cast the Al'lumsaw, and on its south the Hio del Norte of North Mexico. I have no hc-;itntion in asserting, that I can take a position in the mountains from '"hence I can vi!:.it the source of any of those rivers in one day. . . Numcl·ous have been the hypothesis formed by vanous natura-lists, to account for the vast tract of untimbcrcd country which lies between the w<~tcrs of the Missouri, Mississippi, and the wcstcm Occun, from the mouth of the latter river to the 18° north latitu.dc. Althoup;h not flattering myself to be able to elucidate that, whtch numbers of hig-hly scientific characters, have acknowlegcd to be beyond their dc.pth of research ; still, 1 would not thi1.1k I had clone 111y counu·y justice, cli<l I not give birth to what few hghts ~ny cxa· lnination of those internal deserts has enabled me to <~cqmre. In that vast country of which we speak, we find the soil generally dry and sanely, with gravel, and discovet· that the moment we .approach a stream, the Janel ht"comes more humid with small umber i 1 therefore conclude, that this country never was timbered, as from the earliest age, the aridity of the soil h<n·in~ so few water comses running through it, and tllcy being pt•incipally dry in summ~r, has never aff01·dcd moisture sufficient to support the growth of tunber. Tn all ti1nbere<l land, the annual discharge of the ll!aves, with the continual decay of old trees and br•mches, creates a manure ~nd moisture, which is preserved from the heat of the sun not l·>elllg permitted to direct his rays perpemlicularly, but only to ~hcd them obliquely thr·ough the folia~e. llut here a barren soil, pa~·ched aucl dried up for eight months in the year, presents neither motstu~·e 1101' 11Utl·' ll·l on su flil U· cnt, to noun·s I1 t 11 e t l' lll I) cr. 1'ilC".,C \'ast phuns of the western hcnn•s phere, m<~y 1J ecome m• t1· me equ.-t 11 }· c· ckbra.t cd as the !>andy desarts of A f n· ca; 1.o r 1 saw ·1 11 n1y rou t e, in Y''\ rwu::. pl.lrLs, ll'.tcts of many leagues, whc1·e the wi11d had thrown up the sand, in all the fa11c ilul forms of the ocean's rolling· ''ave, and on "bich not a hpcck of Vt getable matter cxi•;ted. But fro111 these immense prait·ics ntay <trisc one g·rcat adva!tta~c to tlt<: Unitl'd Slates, \ iz: The restrictio11 of our pup11Jat10n to some certain lirui tl'i, and thereby a continuation of the union. Our ci1izcns bring so Jll 'OJic to ra1llhlill!{ and extcndin~; thcmsrlvcs, ~11 the frosllit 1 ~, will, through necessity, be constrained to lillli_t ~hes.r <.:xtct t 011 the W('St, to the bordct·s of the Mt· ssoun' an cJ l\J i ~' SIS~! ppl, wbilc they Je,\Ve the J>l'<.ll i'.I CS .t ncapav'· Ie o f cu It l. \atJ.O n t o the wan e. ll r- ing and uuciv•t l•l zcd av1.o ug· 11• 1cs o f' t 11 c country. '1'1 1c Os• l lor C Imh<lll!i APPENDIX TO PART II. Jppear to have emigTated from the north and west, and from their speaking the same langua!{e with the Kans, Otos, Missouries, ancl Mahaws ; together with the gt·cat ~imilarity of manners, morals, and customs, there is left no room to cl,wbt, but that they wet·e orig inally the surne nation; but sepet·t~ted by that great law of nature, self· preservation, the love of freedom, and the ambition of various characters, so inherent in the b1·east of m:m. As uations purely erratic must depend solely on the chase fot' subsistence, unless pastoral, which is uot the case with OUJ' savages) it requires laq:?;c tracts of C'Ountr·y, to alford subsistence fot' a very limited nt1111ber of souls; consequently, sc lf-pt·csct·vation obliges them to expand themselves over a large and extensive district. The power of ce rtain clJicf." becoming- unlimited, ancl their rule severe, added to the P'tS!>iOll.ltc love of' liberty, and the ambition of other young, bold, and daring charactct·s, who st p forward to head the malcontents, and like the tribes of hmel, to lead them through the wild crncsc; to a new land ; the land of pro111ise, which flowed with milk anrJ honey. (alias abounded with dctJ' anti bulfalo ) These chal'actrrs soon succeed in leading forth a new colony, and in process of tin1e e~tabiishin!4' a new nation. The l\lahaws, l\Iissou1·ics, and (hos, t·emaincd on the banks of the Mis~ouri rivet·, such a cli!>t:mce up, as to be in tl1e rcacll of thc~t powerful cncmy, the Sioux, who with the aid of the stnall pox, which the former nations unfot·tunatcly contt·<Lcted by their con· ncction with the whites, have reduced the Mahaws fonncrly .l IH',lVe and powerful nation ) to a mere cyphct·, aml obliged the Otos an<l MissoLu·ics to join their forces, who now fot·m but one na tion. The Kanses HllCI Osa!{e, came I:u·thcr to the east, and thereby aYoidc(l the Sioux, but fell iuto the hand~ of the fowas, Sacs, Kickapo11s, Potowatomics, Delawares, Shawanese, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Chactaws, Arkunsaws, Caddues, and T ctaus ; and ''hat astouishe(l me cxtt·cmcly, is that they have not hecn entirely destroyed by those nations. llut it must only be uttributcd to thcit· ig-norance of the enemies' fo1·ce, their want of concel'l, wars between themselves, and the gt·cat renown the invaders always acquire by the boldness of the entcq>rise, on the minds of the i11 vaded. Thcit· govct·nment is olig.Lrchic<~l, but still partakes of the nature of a republic, for ulthough the power nominally is vested i11 a small number of chiefs, yet they never undertake any m:.lltcr of ilu· pot·tancc, without lit·st asscmblin!4' the warriot·s, and propobiug the subj~ct in council, there to be discu!)scd ;.md decided ou by a mnji) I ity, |
