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Show FORESTS OF INDIANA----RICHNESS OF THE SOIL. 481 account. Mr. Badolet, of Geneva, who has long resided at this place, and is thoroughly acquainted with the country, was unfortunately indisposed. He takes much interest in the promotion of knowledge, and through his instrumentality a library has been formed, which, though still in its infancy, consists of about 1500 volumes. New books are added every year, and there are already some valuable works. Mr. Badolet likewise purchased the well preserved lower jaw of a mastodon, which was found in the White River. Mr. Lesueur made a drawing of this jawbone, which is deposited in the library. Another interesting character lives here, but forgotten, neglected, and in great poverty-I mean Colonel Vigo, who rendered important services to the Americans at the capture of Vincennes. They, indeed, gave him the rank of colonel, but suffer him to starve. In our excursions in the vicinity of this place we found many interesting plants. Mr. Bodmer took a view of Vincennes from the top of Warrior's Hill; while Mr. Lesueur visited the Indian barrows, of which there are several in the plain, and which the French settlers call mamelon. One of these hills was examined on a former occasion, and an excavation made through a wolf's den on one side of it, but nothing was taken from it but white clay; without doubt the examination must have been superficial. On the 13th of June we parted from our friend, Mr. Lesueur, and left Vincennes by the stage. We first passed through a tract of alternate meadows and thickets, and then, for a couple of miles, through the unbroken forests which characterize Indiana. After proceeding thirteen miles we came to a solitary post-house in the wood, where breakfast was ready, and of which we partook while they were changing horses. We then crossed in a ferry, an arm of White River, which runs between picturesque wooded banks. The roads were bad ; decayed trunks of trees were constantly in the way; the ground broken and uneven; and our stage, drawn by four very spirited horses, sustained many a violent jolt. We came to Washington and Mount Pleasant, where the farmers were cultivating their fields, in which isolated trees were frequently seen, but which afforded no shade from the sultry sun, for they were all destroyed by the fire. They are cut down, from time to time, when the people are in want of timber; and, as a sign that they are to be felled in the next winter, a circular ring is hewn into the bark. It is said to be very difficult to cultivate the land in Indiana, on account of the extremely vigorous vegetation. Except in the vicinity of the Wabash and the White River, it is, however, not so fertile as in Illinois, where, in the environs of Springfield, for instance, it is scarcely necessary to do more than hoe the ground, in order to obtain the finest crops. An acre of land there yields from sixty to eighty bushels of maize, and fifty bushels of wheat. The effects of the frost were everywhere visible on the trees : it had caused much damage, and killed all the fruit for this year. The fruits of the field were about as forward as they would be on the Rhine at this season. In the plantations there were great numbers of oxen, horses, sheep, and swine, the former of which were particularly large and handsome. At Mount Pleasant we 3q |
