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Show 132 EMIGRANT'S GUIDE. the Com;a and the navigation throughout the winter and spring is good. ln 'dry seasoni, however, there is not sufficient depth of water for the Alabama boats. The Coosa river has a fine deep channel from its mouth, three miles by lanll below Fort Jackson, up to We~ tumpka, or the Great Shoals, five miles above the fort. H~re, .;n the present ~tate of things, we n!ay. reck.on the he~d of nav1gat10n on this river From the falls, th1s nver IS the Indian boundary up to the mouth of Will's creek, 120 miles, or thereabouts. ·' Tbe Talle:tpoosa is navigable, except in dry seasons, up to_the Great F a!ls, a few miles above Tookabatche, and about 35 miles auove Fort .Jackson. From the falls down to Fort Jackson, the general c urse of the Tallapoosa is nearly west. " The waters iu tbe~e rivers, particularly the Tallapoosa and Ala· bama, are subject to remarkable periodical elevation a~d ~epressions, owing entirely to this circumstance :-Many of the1r tnbutary streams, ori?;inating in, and passing through a country foundc~ on a bed of lime stones, are large and respectable water-courses m the winter anti spring, but in the fall months become perfectly dry. In the Alabama and Coosa rivers, however, there is always a sufficient depth of water for boating. ~' Proceeding southeastwardly along the boundary line, from the mouth of Lime creek, and up the same towards Chataboocba, at the distance of about 40 mi1es from Tallapoosa, we come to. the ridge sepe· rating the waters of Tal1apoosa and Alabama, from those of Conecub and Escambia. This riuge proceeds westwardly in a direction nearly parallel with the rivers Tallapoosa and Alabama ; but bend~ ing less to the south, it approximates very fast towards the river of!· low i,ts bend, near the mouth of Cahaba, and becoming less elevated anu distinct, it is finally cut off by the grand sweep of the river along the Alabama heights. ''This tract of country, bounded on the north and west by the l'iver, on the east by the boundary line, and on the south by the ridge, is probably the largest body oi good land to be found any where within the limits of the treaty, south of Tennes~ee river. It com· prebends an area of sixty townshtps, or about 2000 square miles, a con ~ 1derable portion of which is of the first quality, and there is but little of it that will fall below the rank of good second quality. About one half of the townships now offered for ·sale lies in this district. " The river cane bottom Janu, we suppose to be equal in fertility to any ou tbe cout.inP:nt, and mc.y average in width a half, or three qu ar t e r~ or a mile, the river winding through it in a serpentine course, and leaving the cane land sometimes on this side and sometimes on that. TtJe out::Hde of Lhe swamp joining the high Jand, as on most rivers, is low, wet, anrl cut u; with ponds and lagoons. Next to the river !-iwamp, and elevatP.J above it by a bluff of from 10 to 15 feet in height, we enlf!r upon an ex.ensive body of level rich land, of fine black. or. choco1a1e coloured soil. The principal growth is hickory : black oak, post oak, dogwood, and poplar, are also common, but pine timber is _rather scarce. This portion Q[ land is interspersed, more or less, With reed marshes, out of which issues constant running wa· er; and also in manyiplaces with fiat, wet weathe~ ponds, holding I EMIGRANT'S GUIDE. 133 water in winter, and becoming dry in summer. After this, comes in the prairies. ~hese a_r~ wide spreadi.ng plains, of a level, or gently waving land, Without t~mber, · clothed m grass, herbage, and ~o~~rs, insulated by narrow skirts of rich interv~l wood hnd _; an~ exhibiting, in the month of May, the most enchantmg scenery 1magmable. The soil is generally of a fine black rich cast, and has the _appearance ~f great fertility. Should they prove to be as producttve as the s01l promisas, they will be of great value, as the e~pense and labour ~f clearing land will here be saved ; and the soil being of such a quality as will not wash away, the land must be very durable. These vrairies extend 'nearly, or quite to the ridge; and as the country is open, dry, and airy, it promises to be healthy. The only objection to this part of the country seems to be the want of water. Tltis inconvenience, however, may probably be removed to a considerable extent by digging of wells. 'rhis .objection applies to most of the tract within the limits mentioned, except the land immediately on the river, and distant from it from one to three mile.s. In th1s range , there is an abundance of cool and plea~ant spring water, issuing from the bluffs and reedy heads already mentioned. Several large creeks water this district, which will afford good win.ter navigation for small boats, of sufficient size to transport the produce of the incurnbent farms to the river. The principal of these are the Catoma, Pincohna, Pohlahla, and Big swamp creek, all of which afford extensive bottoms of rich cane brake and beech swamp. Families living on and near the river, except in select places, will be subject to intermittent and l?ilious fevers ; but they have, hitherto appeared to be of a mild type. " After passing the ridge we enter into a country of very different character and features from that just noticed. It is generally piue land, intersected with innumerable creeks, rivulets arH.l branches, running southwardly into the bay of Escambia. The head wateri of Conecuh, which is the principal river emptying into the bay, spread out over a large extent' of country. The creeks and branches have wide swamps, and are in general too low and wet for cultivation. '~hey abound in the finest timber, particularly white oak of a surenor growth, swamp red oak of uncommon size and beauty, beech, maple, poplar, gum find cypress. The undergrowth is reed and cane, palmettos, rattan, gra~e vi~es, and chi.na brier. These swamps afford ~he finest stock .rang~ tmagmable, p~rtrcularly for hogs; as be'sides the tmmense qnanhty ot oak and beech ma~t, there is a great variety and plenty of ground nuts and roots, easily attainable in the soft soil or mutl of those swamps. " On the margins of the cree~ there are generally found strips of g_ood lane~ from a <jUarter to a half mile wide. In places it is very ncb,. b~anng oak, hickory, ash, and sometimes walnut trees. Next to .tb1s )~ very often found a skirt of ricb pine lanJ, dark mulatto soil, ~v1th h1ckory, buckeye, and shrubbery charact~ristic of rich land. "From this kind of land there is a gradual declension to the poor pine ~oods. ?n t~e hea~s of t~e numerous branches of Conecuh approachmg the ndge, th~ra 1s a skut of oak and hickory land five or six miles, |