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Show 304 APPENDIX. 'tucky, North Carolina and Virginia, during the last 1 winter. ; a~d I <.~o not think 1 risk any thing when I venture to say, t 1at em1~r~t10ns o this county for 1817, \I'\' ill amount to three hun~ red famd1es at the close of the year. Indeed I should be safe at sa!mg five hundred. I expect the settlements will extend upwar~s Junng the present year, to within twenty miles of Fort Osage. fhe county of Huward (l mean the part settled) as fine a tract of ~ountry as any unJer Ilea-en. whether we con~iJer its fertility, cltmate, or healthfulness. A :en' cultivated fielu will produce, one year with another, 60 bushels of corn a11d 35 of wheat per acre. I ha~e averaged 8~ bushels ~f corn per acre at this place, but my field Is small and b1ghly cultl· ' yatRed .e h" 1 t' th 0 .. t~ barley Irish potatoes red and w 1te cover, 1mo y, and Ybl u' e ga ra's s, hun ' out extremely' w~ll. .' I""h ey rai•s e co Uo n su ffi - cient fur family consu m1~tion at Boones L1ck. Sweet potatoes do retty well · our kitchen gardens are not excelled by any of our ~ountry ; c;bbages, lettuce~ peas anu or~ion~. are remarkably fin~; hops, raspberries, goosebernes, !trawbernes an~ curr.ants, ~row w1ld and in great abundance all over the country. The timber JS walnut, hickory, a variety of oak, locust, ash, cotton tree, papau, paean, cof· fee nut, sycamore, elm, maple, sugar tree, hackberry, w 1llo.w, box, alder, some pine, and some red cedar. Th~ underg!owth IS hazel, arrow wood, red berry, plum, crab apple, wtl~ pea-vme and rushes. A variety of grapes, and wil? ~herry an~ persnnmon.-So m,uch. for the settlement of the .Missoun nver, particularly that of Boons L1ck, or Howard county. I shall now speak of the Missouri terril.ory generally. lly rcf~re~ce to the map you will find it embrace' an unmen.se tract of co~ntry, ~~eluding within it5 limits, t?e Ar~ansaw, Wh1te, St. Fran~•s, ~rrld mak, Gasconadf', Osage, M1ssoun, and many oth'Qr large nvers an I believe it embraces some of the wurst lanus as well as some of the .. best in the western country. . r f The climate is generally salubriou~ and healthy, and ~he •ace o the country beautU'ul, salubrious and inviting, LeaJ anJ Iron ore a:~ in very great abundance; salt spring~ t:lenty. In s~ort,. natur.e h been truly bountiful in the di'Stribution ot her favours m th1s territory. The Missouri is navigable for large boats 3000 miles, the Arkansa;v upwards of 1200, the \V"hite river 500, St. Francis ~00, Gasc?na he 200 Osaae 350. St. Louirs is the piiucipal commercial town m t e territory.0 It ha!5 from 350 to 400 house~, is beautifully situ.ated ~n th1~ Missis ippi river twenty miles below the mouth of the M•ssoun. .1 . . ' . fif 1 ercanh e 15 growmg very rap1dly, has at present. near ty regu ar m blish· houses, many merchants, and a proportiOn of the common esta ments to b« usually founJ in towus. . d th r The trade of the place consists in lead, furs and peltnes, an ° de Indian articles, pork, ueef, 10alt, tallow, flour, wheat, co~n, oatsj t~~ (roods groceries &c. Busin ess is commonly pretty brtsk, an 1 ·mb erch' ants gener' ally urow n. ch m• a .re w years. D ry eo oods are . o . . B 1 . They are brought to St. Lout:;, from Pluladelph1a and 3 tJmore. L . . the wagaoned to Pittsburg anJ from thence by water to St. oUis 1 d cost ~f transportation from Philadelphia to St. Louis does not excee APPENDIX. 805 mn c~nts pe'r lb. House-rent at St. Louis is very bigb, and lot.s for building are nearly as high as they arP. in some of our larger cities, and rising very rapidly. Lands near town are from 5 to 200 dollars an acre. Those Janus adjoining St. Louis, are worth from 600 dol· lars to 1000 per acre• Society in St. Louis pretty good, and fast improving. Provision markets tolerably well supplied, and pretty cheap. Labourers are very dear-say from fifteen to thirty dollars per month and find them. Good boarding is fifteen dollars per month, including lodging-'-tavern prices are yet high. Building is very expensive. Distance from St. Louis to New-Orleans, by water, 1500 miles-freight from New-Orleans to St. Lo~is, five dollars per hundred. Our groceries chiefly come from there. The Missouri territory will become an independent state in a few years without doubt. Its population must be already great enough to entitle its admission .i.nto the union. If there wa~ any prospect ef my being able to snatch as much lei - 3ure as would be necessary to write this incoherent and unconnected scrawl over again in time, I would certainly do so, but there is no such prospect. Such as it is, therefore, you must be inJu1gent enough to put up with it, , and make the m0st of it you can. It bas been written amidst continual interruptions, and I am compe1Jed to conclude abruptly. For myself, I have only, briefly, to inform you, that I have been rn the publi~ service in this country since tha fall of 1805.-In October, 18'08, I came here to make an establishment for government pertaining to Indian affairs-80 regular troops came with me as a guard- . the same number are here now in garrison. My office is agent of Indian trade and sub-agent of Indian affairs, for which I receive 1666 dollars per annum, and furnished one clerk, one interpreter of Indian languages, and a comfortable house and furniture at public expense. Many Indians of various tribes resort to this agency, giving me at times a great deal of trouble and perplexity. 1 am obliged to take my leave, ~ir, abruptly. If you have leisure, I shall be at all time$ happy to hear from you. Direct to me at St. Louis, Missouri territory. I am, sir, Very respectfully, Your mo~t obedient servant, G. SIBLEY. Mr. James G. Ma~k, lfenderson, N.C. N. B. The Indians in this quarter are pcaceah1e and generaJJy well clispo!!ed. No. IV. 'THE LATE INDIAN TREATY. CxNciNNA1'I, Oct. 17. The· commissioners on behalf of the United States, hav\ .. , at the reaty httely. bela at FG~t 1\Ieigs with the lodians, Q}Jt~ice~ a r~liu- 39 • |