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Show btl EMIGRANT'S GUIDE .• immense surface, cultivated society, wh~re, from countless a~es, t~ wild beasts of the plain and forest were pursued by the prow lmg sav-agBefore entering upon the settle~ent~, or art.i~cial prod~Jction~ of this immense region, it will be necessary to gtve an outltne ot tts 0e reography. . 11 h t f Louisiana, as ceded to the United States, mcluded a . t. a~ p~r o North America, comprised in the western slop~ of the .l\1 IS'-J SSIPP' va.lley and the inclined plane south of Red river, . and ~ast o! the H.to grand del Norte. When treating upon t~1e Mt~soun. tern tory, th~ western slope of the Missi~sippi vallf'y wdl lJe descr.lbed ; .t~~ ~ar~ now under review, lies south of Arkansaw, and west .o! the Mtsstss•ppl river, and comprises two-thirds of the state of L ow s1~ na, t.he wb~le province of Texas, and upwards of I OOO,UOO sg ua:e mdes. ot the Mtssouri territory. Its out I ines are extremely ~efi ntte, havmg the ,o: ulf of Mexico south ; the gulf of Mexico and Rw Grande d.el .N ?rl~ on the west ; the Arkensaw- river on the north ; and the Mtsstsstppt on the east. . U.ivers-Lakes-M ounttiins .~ The Mis~issippi has been noticed. The Arkansaw rises uearly as high as the forty-secon.d degree of north latitude, 33° west of W aslliugton city; pursuing a south cou.rse, of ab.out 200 miles, turns S. E. 500 miles ; then turns nearly at n .~ ht angles, and runs N. E. 150 miles; again re"~mes. a S. E .. co~rse, whrcb it pursues 150 miles; then assumes a~ east dtr~ctwn, wb1~h.11 pre:r;erves about 450 miles, to the place of its dtscbarge mto the M JSSJSSIP~'· • The river of secondary consequence in the region under revtew, I ~. 'Red river. This stream rises near Santa Fe, in .N. lat. 37° 30' and .29° west of Washington ; runs nearly parallel to the Arkansaw, joins the Mississippi at 31° N. lat. after a .comparative course of 1100 miles Between the Arkansaw and Reel rivers, at N. lat. 34° 39' and 19° west of Washin crton city, rises Ouachitta. The Ouachitta is formed by three Lranch~s, which pursuing a~1 east c?ur8e, unite. ab?ut ~00 mile~ below their sources; form the nver, wh1ch, below the JUnctJOn, turns a little east of south; runs in a direct line 250 miles; ·joins Red river 30 miles above the union of the latter and Mississippi. In the int~rval, between the Ouachitta, Arkansaw, and Mississippi, there exists several smaller streams, such as the Breuf, Tensaw, and Ma<;on rivers, which all join and contribute to form Ouachitta. The Atchafalaya flows from the ~Iississippi river, two mil~s below the mouth of H.€'d river, and may be correctly considered as the con· tinuation ofthe latter. Southwest of Red river flows, towards the gulf of Mexico, anothGr system of rivf'Ts, ::dl pursuing nearly a southeast course. T~ !bis system appertains the Teche, Menn'entau, C<tlcassiu, Sabine, TnnJt_f, 'Brasso3 a Dios, ColoraJo, Guadaloupe, St. Antoni.o, N ueces, and Hw Grande del Nort e. All those streams rise it) tbe angle between 1\c,d river and the Chippe\-\'an mountains, and wat.er the province of Texas and p:ut of the state of Louisiana. Only two ran~es of mountains i1re found on this tra.ct, that of ~assetne and St. Saba. 'l'he 1\'Iasseme chain i.s a prolot~gation of the EMfGRA'NT'S GUID.ft. ettippewan, and. rises in detached masses,' hetweer:J ~ed and Arkan .. saw rivers. Thts range has not been carefully exam1ned uy men of science ; of course its component parts are not correctly known. It is supposed to be rich in minerals, and there are ample indications uf iron. Mr. Dunbar, of Natchez, and Dr. Hunter, visited the warm springs on Ouachitta, which are situated on the spurs of this ridge. According to the inform<~tion given by those gentlemen, the moun- 'taius are composad of secondary materials ; aluminous schist abound. From the existence of salt (muriate of soda,) and gypsum, we would be led to believe this region the limit between the secondary and transition tracts. The range of salt anJ gypsum lies nearly north and south: water highly impregnated with the (orrner mineral has been found on Sauine, Red, Ouachitta, and Atkansaw, in great quantity ; the gypsum has only been rnet with on Ouachitta, but then~ rs much reason to believe its existence is extensive in this region. Limestone, marble, and supertine abound; but no un~quivocal tes· timcny has yet been adduced of any primitive mass rising above th~ earth in this country. From the scanty number of facts we have been able to collect on the geology of the interior of Louisiana anJ Texas, we are not able, at present, to decide upon its minute features; the general outline is all that can be given. 'rhe mountains of St. Saba appears to be a detacheJ chain, lying between Red river anJ the streams that flow into the gulf of Mexico~ This range is merely known to exist ; its component materials are ab.solutely unknown. The mass of native iron, now io the city of New-York, which wa~ . a few years past sent from Louisiana, was found in the vicinity of St. Saba, an·d transported to Red river by laud. The country included between the Arkansaw river and gulf of Mexico, is naturally divided into two distinctive portions ; the alluvial valleys of the l\'lississippi and its confluent streams ; and the parched sandy tract partly prairie, anJ partly forest, to the we.st and southwest of the former. The low flooded marsh, winding along 'll1e Mexican gulf, i" oHiy the termination of both these great portions._ Amongst the extravagant exaggerations that have been made re .. specting the various features of Louisiana, none have been more in iated than the accouj:lts respecting the extent of the prai ries. All the lands in the state that can be denominated prairie, even includ~ ing the swamps along the shore of th~ Mexican gulf, does not amounJ to 10,000 square miles, or 6,400,000 ac res; they m::~y equal about one:~fth of the entire surface. Excepting some small detached prames scattered over the country, the great ex panse of these sayan~ as are united in one continuous body, winding ::~round the coast, from the Pearl to the Sabine river. 'l"be prairies of Optlousas and Atta0-3pas, are like bays, indeAting the coun try. Some are, indeeJ, detached, such as Prairie Grand Chevreu i!, P rairie Laurent, Prairie Petite Bois, Grand Prairie, Prairie Mamou, and some others of lese note, but the lines of woods between them arc generally very narrow. For every purpose of a gene.ral ~ke tch, tho:e prairies may be consi,Pered a:s funning one itl1Q1C'HS.e meadow. The~r peculiar tra! ~') • |