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Show ;!..1.4- E ~HGRANT'S GUIDE. Since the last census of 1810. the nf'w counties of W~shington, Switzerlanl, Jefferson, \Vayne, GiiJson . Pos<'y, and Warw.rcl<, have been formeu. The di~tri b uti\'e popu l:Jtiun of the st~t~ ol ludr.a r~<~, at this tim , n. well as the aggregate ar~ )ljnt. mw-t drtler f>~sentl a tly frum the relative position and numhers founu seve-n ye<HS pa ~t.. The rive rs of the state of lnuiana, arc, Ohio, Walx~sh, lllmms, and :Maumee. Ohio river washes the state from the mouth of the Great Miami, to that of the Wabash, a distance, fo l ! owin~ the lwnJ c.:; o.f the str e~ m ~ ~f three hundred and sixty-five miles. It is a curious fa ct, th a ~ m thrs )ong course , no stream, above the size of a. lnrge creP k, !alls_tnto tbe Ohio from Judiana · White river branch of Wab<lsh , bavmg rt~ beadstreams wi thin tbi~ty miles of the bank of Ohio There are few. countries in tbe world ca n 1wch exceed this part of the b:.. nks of Ohio. The lands are varieJ , a consiJ rable portiou or· tbe ~rst qu ality, and but little th at can be rea lly considered unpro d u~t1~e. 'fhe se.ttlt>ments are in such quick pnwress as to render a dtscnptwn only nr cessa rily correct for tbe moment. . . Wabetslr, river is strictly the principal stream of Inthana, from the surface of which it draws the f:1r grer1 ter part of its waters. Tbe head branches of Wabash is in tl e ln dian country, of course very i rnperfectJy ·ex plored. This riv er rise with the Maumee ncar Fort \Y ayne, and like the Illinois, flows to the west tbro~J gb Indiana, un to almost the west border of tbe state, where the nver gradu ally curves to S. W. by S., which course it maintains to its j nctiou with the Ohio. The entire length of the Wabash ex~eecls three hunJred mi les ; it is a fine stream, 'l'.'ithout falls or extraor~mary rapids. It was through the channel of the Wabash that the l! rench of Canada first discovered the Ohio, to which they gave the name of Belle Riviere, or beautiful river, but cousidered the Wabash the main braurh, and gave the united rivers its name. In many old maps of North America, the Ohio below the junction of the two st reams, is called \V abasb. The Tellnesst>e was then very imperfectly known, aud considered at one-fourth the size it was found to possess by subsequ ent cJi scorery . J;Vhite River, the eastern branch of Wabash, is itself a ~tream of consitl erable importance, drain iug the heart, and far the fin P.st part of the state of l11diana. About forty mile above its junction with the Vi ah a~h, 'Wh ite river clivides into the north and south branches. North branch rises in the Indian country by a number of c~eeks, which, uniliua near the Indian bounuary line, forms a fine navigable river of about 180 miles in length; its course nearly S. W. South 'branch rises in tbe <:a me ridge with the White Water branch ~f the Gre r~ t Miami; its course S. W. by W. 150 miles. Upon thiS la tter ri ver mf1 ny of the most flouri shing settl ements in the st;:de have bet'n fo rmed. The country it waters is amongst the most agreeable, heal thy, and fertile in the Ohio valley. Illinois river bas its source in Indiana, but has been noticed when trea ti ng of tbe Illinois territory. Jl1 atnnee ri ses in fact in the state of Ohio, near Fort Loramie, uut flowing N. W. enters the state of Indiana, turns west, I SMIGltANT'S 6UIF>E. 215 encircles Fort Wayne, and turning N. E. aga in enters the state of Oh i0. through wll1ch it flow to the pl ;~ ce of its egress into Lake Erie. Tt~e southern extremity of Lake Michigan penetrates the state of Indi ana, and at or uear its extrcmP south elongation, receive5 the Calwllet, and not far north of iL S. E. ex tell i011, the small river St. J oseph enters from the state of Indiana, but enters the Michigan lake in the Michigan territory. T be country is here but very imperfectly known; even the latitude of the so uthern extremity of Lake 1\'l ichi g:-tn remains uncert3in. Wht' C\ the French posse.:sed Canada and Luui ·iana, their trad ers con~ tantly passed by Chicago into ll luwis, and by the l\faumee into Wabash, in their voy,a~ e s . T hese passages are now again becorn in!j frequented, and wi ll, within the lapse of a few years, present th~ ac tive transport of commercial wealth, and the daily in· tercourse of civilizeu men. It may be doubt eJ whether any state of the United State5 , all things duly considert>d, can present more a dvantages than Indi ana. lntnsected or bounded in all directions by navigable rive rs or lal<e5, enjoying a t<-mperate climate, and an immense variety of soil. Ne<tr two-thirJs of its territorial surface is yet in the hand s of the ln J ians, a temporary evil, that a short time will remcJy. When CJ lJ lhe ex .. tent comprised wi t bin the legal limits of this state are brought into a state of improvement, with one extremity upon the Ohio river, anci ~ e opposite upon Lake Michigan, with int f r~ecting navigable streams, Indi ana will be the real I ink that will unite the soul bern and northern J>arts of the United States. The connexion between the Can;idian lak P.s and the Ohio and Missi ssippi rivers, is by no route so duect as through Michigan and Wabash, and by L r-1ke Erie, Maumee and Wabash. The route by Lake Michigan and the Illinois river in to the Mississippi is more circuitous than by th at of the Wa\ lash into either Lakes Michigan or Erie, and the route tLrough Illinois hils another irremediable uisaJv antage, that of being in a more northern lati tude th an the Wabash. When the r ivers are in a state of flood, loaded boats of conside .. rable size pass from the head wate rs of 'Vabash into St. Mary river; the western branch of the . Maumee ; the same facility ~ f passage exists between Maumee ; the Chicago inh) the IJli· nois river.% T hese fac ts prove two thin~ :; : first, the almost perfect level of the country, and se conJly, the great ease with which canals can be formed, and the ve ry limited expense of their construction. In the present stft te of popul ation, the communication by the Wabash and Miami of the Lakes into Lfll'e Erie, must pro<.luce advantages of greatly more extensive be ne fit ~ th an by Lake Michigan and Illi nois river. Many years must elapse before either is opened. The country is yet wiluerness, and the ridht of soil in the aboriginal inhabitants. .. Like Jllinoi~ territory, the state of Indiana bas no mountaius; the latter is however more hilly than tbe former, particularly tpwards the Ohio river. *See Drake's Cincinnati, page 222 and 223. Volney, Paris edition, Vel. r. pa&e 29, |