Newspaper Page Text
Vv
fuel ihrough the h : v to a il’ntnnce of *
‘i t miles. Filiv villages in the vici- j
Ijitv <*f the torest wc/k clestfmeil. !
Many of'.lie unfortunate and idola
trous natives, believing the calamity
to be a direct visitation of some
vengelul deitv, and not choosing to
survive the loss of their property,
precipitated themselves into the
ilames. At the date of those letters
tlv conflagration had continued with
unabating fierceness for five weeks ;
und from the vast area in which the
bodv of fire lay, together with the
contiguity of other forests, the des
(.ruction of half the kingdom appear
ed.
Pams March 1.
FftSNCH Dsrttss.—Th. Engltfh ftaur
nalacannot recou.-ile i|>. r rematkt of Mr.
Ch*mpa|tny to Mr Armfoong, that the
Berlin and Milan Des reea arc tcvoVrd, with
the declaration ot the fame min'fter, in a
l«te report in w’aicb he fays, *• Sir, your
Majefty will pc’rfesere in your Decreet fo
long a- ^Enjr/i tn'j perfiftt in her Order* in
Council.’’ There at "no difficulty in under'
(finding this* The Decreet arc repealed
with r'lpccl tn America, becaufr America
it taki' f meafure# tocaufe ho flap to he
icfpfttrl, >'«i beraufe flir refutes to full
mir to the Brmlh Order* of tfioeand 1B07.
The oilier neutral power#, who donot thus
refill the Ordcrt, are liable to the decreet.
Londou, March TO.
i.etleri from Paris, as far hack a* the 12th
Tebtuarf, mention that fceeral American
vcflel# had airived in France, (one of which
liad touched at Gibraltar) ami admitted to
entry, giving ' bond* for the originality of
the vango.
BOM tiSTIC.
HIGHLY IMPORTANT.
Xxtract of a letter from a gentleman in Phi.
hdelpbia, to bis friend in Charleston, ua~
trd Mareb 29.
“ 1 have Itrn a letter to clay, from the
Captain of a Brig belonging to this port,
dating, that eariyin February he wag board,
cd by a Frcnchlprivateer, immediately from
Bordeaux. Tne captain treated him very
politely, and fine wed him the ropy of his
owneriiiiltrudik'ni, which directed him nor
to mo'eft Ameri an VelTelii—that the Berlin
<end Milan Detnes were no longer in force.
The pi ivatr er lefr Bordeaux >ii »he 2»th Ja
nuary. Thia it coroborattve of other ac.-
counts, and I have no doubt of thr fad. It
Will, in the opinion! here, raifc the price*
of cottou," 4c.
REVOLUTION IN MEXICO.
A Correspondent remarks on this
event, “ The revolution in the inte
rior provinces of Mexico is decisive ;
It may be considered the precursor
of the country by the natives ; and
thus will the descendants of Montt-
litiima be revenged on their tyrants.
The march of justice is slow, but it
is sure ; and wonderful are the ways
of Providence, by which it is secur
ed r—in,ig.
The Directors of the different
Banks of the U. States are eiidca
voring to obtain charters from the
ccverul States. Petitions have been
presented to the Legislatures of New.
York and Pennsylvania, offering ve
ry large premiums for a charter.
Notwithstanding the federalists
groaned and made such dreadful la
mentations about the non-renewal of
the U. States bank charter, we hear
Xto more About it now than if a char
ter had never been in existence.—
We hear of no more failures than u-
dual. The State Banks instead of
being all ruined a6 thr. bank specu
lators predicted, go on making divi
dends as heretofore. Bank S,ock in
Baltimore has experienced an ad
vance of 15 per cent, and we pre
sume there is no depression in ci
ther Neiv-York or Philadelphia.
( Colum. J
SKETCHES
or
The Territory of Louisiana.
No. II.
£'vers—-Face of tie country, Uc.
In the representation of this coun
try, on the maps, we see, strongly
exemplified, the force of prejudice,
and the common error, of consider
ing those objects, with which, we
arc most fan-'iliarly acquinted, as of
the greatest intrinsic importance. The
Missouri, was lormerly thought,
nothing more, than a considerable
tributary stream, of tue Mississippi,
navigable a thousand or twelve him
dred miles ; the Red River,, and the
Arkansas, eithtr. of which, is, at
least, five hundred miles, further na
.vigable, than the Mississippi, above
I be Missouri, hardly seem to de
serve, from their appearance on the
map, the name of rivers. The White
y'-ver is scarcely noticed ; and yet, in
« ctml, and excellence of navigation,
A yields but little, to the Ohio ; and
i vals it, in ihe'bcauty and fertility,
el the country through which it pas-
sA.
The Arkazuns, and the O.-sagc ri j
vers, traversing but for a shun tlis- j
lance, the Ossage purchase, they art !
not properly, within the limits, to
which I have confined myself.
The Arkansas, after the Missouri 1
and Mississippi, is the most consi
derable rivrr of this Territory.—
It takes its rise, near the 418, of
north latitude, with the Rio de Norte,
and the Platte and Roche Juuoe ol
the Missouri, and the Colorado of
California, in an immense ridge of
mountains, which gives rise to the
Red River of die Mississippi, and
runx, in a S. E. and N. W. direc
tion, across the province of New
Spain'—by the Spaniards, it is called,
the Cordeliers—another ridge, south
of it, runs parallel to it, forming a
valley, in which, is enclosed the
town of St. a Pee. The Arkansas,
is about 2,000 miles in length , the
navigation, however, cannot be said,
to be good the channel is wide and
shallow, and is interrupted, by a con
siderable rapid, about six hundred
miles up, formed by a ledge of rocks,’
which crosses its bed. Until aJ.nost
half way, from its source, it has no
considerable tributary streams ; ow
ing to the vicinity, of the Kansas, on
the one side, and of Red river, on
the other. The chief rivers that
fall into it,' are the Nagraka, the Ca
nadian river and the grand river.—
But the tributary waters of this ri
ver, are far from being numerous,
and are frequently dry in the sum
mer inton, the adjacent country not
bounding in springs. Several, are
remarkable, from their being strong
ly impregnated with salt: the- Grand
Saline, 150 yards wide ; the strong
Saline, 75 yards wide and a num
ber of others. From the Vast bo
die of salt, in this country, the
greater part of the streams, are brack
ish ; this is often known, to be the
casjs with the Arkansas, itself. A
pure salt rock, is undoubtedly found
in its vicinity, and what are called
salt prairies, are common. This
subject, however, is reserved for a
future number. Specimens of the
salt have been exhibited at St. Louis,
it is also found crystalised, on the
hills, where salt springs falling over
rocks, leave it adhearing in large
masses.
The country of the Ossage river,
and of the white river, appears to
be, higher than that of the Arkan
sas ; a person on entering it, from
that of the Ossage, appears to de
scend into a level, and the views, ge
nerally, of great extent. This coun
try of the Arkansas, is chiefly open,
or prairie; the proportion of hilly, 8i
wooded land, is considerable ; and
it is in many places, subject to in
undation. Bayou’s frequently make
out of the river, in high water.
The Ossage river rises in the
Black mountains, which seperate its
waters, from those of the Arkansas.
It is said to be navigable six hundred
miles; but it does not afford, any
good navigation, being full of shoals
and ripples. A considerable num
ber of streams, discharge thetnselvs
into it. The principal, are the Nan-
gira, the Grand river the Fork the
Cooks river, and Vermilion river;
besides a number of large creeks,
that can scarcely be considered navi
gable. It is generally a high prairie
country’ which it occupies, though,
there is well timbered Und in the vi
cinity of the rivers. There is a cu
rious cascade, of 300 feet fall, in that
many yards, from a spring, over
three different ledges of rocks, on
the Nangira, about twenty miles
from its mouth. After falling to
the bottom, it collects, into a beau
tiful bason, from whence it flows in
to the river, a considerable stream.
A few miles below this place, there
is a great abundance of iron ore.
White river, next to the Arkan
sas, is unquestionably the finest ri
ver, of the country which I have un
dertaken to describe. It occupies*
with its various branches, a great ex
tent of country. The Westerinost
or more properly White river, rises
in the Black mountains which sepa
rates it, from the Arkansas ; the nor
thern, and eastern, take their waters,
from the vicinity of the Ossage, the
Gasconade, the Maramack, and the
western branch of the St. Francis.
It enters the Mississippi, about twen
ty miles above the Arkansas ; thirty
miles up, it communicates with that
river, by a channel with a current
setting alternately into the one stream,
and into the other, as either happens
to bv highest. By computation, it
is navigable, eleven or twelve hun
dred miles though it is excci rfinglv
crooked. It is interrupted by no
fchca!, or rr.yii ; i.j v.av-i., ar.- pure?
and limpid, ajid cnrrVnr exi
fy gentle., .irul never becomes
on - , even ituke dryest season.
zc.t\) -Hi rjv.’ L t.:’.cut* - ya the north ovr- ;tbc phr.it equally-—makes it equally
very ] ing to its* proximity to the waters of j strong in all places—renders i :
Four j the Mrsiouri, on that side. : more inflexible—gives it a' lively
hundred milep from its mouth, it re- The Gasconade l ists near the j bright color—and what is an object
ceives Black fiver, its principal eas- j Maramack ; it docs not afford more j of vast importance, especially as res-
psrn branch ji it afterwards, receives than an hundred miles navigation.: pects durability under weather, it
a number of others, which are known being interrupted by shoals and some
falls.
by various fames. Rapid, John.
James and Rfd river, are each navi
gable, from one, to three hundred
miles.
Black river,is navigable lour or
five hundred aiiies.; receiving, a num
ber of tributary streams of consider
able siie. p»e Current, Eleven
point, and Spring river, are, princi
pally spoken of. The last deserves
a more particular description. It
rites srddenly ! from a number oi
springf, which uniting, within a short
d.tcante, of the place from whence
they ssue, form a river, of two hun
dred and fifty yards in width, afford
mg a navigation, from thence, for (
baiteaux, to the Mississippi ; con i
tr-cting its breadth, however, to fifty
or sixt' yards. This immense spring,
is lull oithe finest fish—bass, perch,
pike, mingle here indiscriminately. In
the'winter it is the resort, of swarms,
of ducks,swans and geese. It isa
[Tlie following trice, we prefeme, is
from llir pen ot Mr. Adams himself; it
' certainly fpcak* his laiij’uagv. Brfnle*
. the interest it derives from the fource
; whence it proeeds, it contain, s very fa'
itltary hint on tfic tuhjecr of Executive
duties, as defined by the cr* #* tution
• (Nat. Int.
FtoM THE ROSTOV PATRIOT
* “ li Mv. Au.tuis w j s ,i tuan sub
ject to such intemperate pass.ions as
Mr. Pickering says he was, how
eouid it happen that in the xhree
years and three months in which he
was in daily habits of business whth
Mr. P. that he should be aide to re-
-, rain them in such a manner as, ac
cording to Ir. P’s own account, ne
ver to have been guilty of the like
will receive and retain a greater
oortion of tar—than when prepared
bv u dew rotting.” It may be here
urther remarked, that the more
.'ear and pure the stream of water, •
be Irrighter will be the color of tho
u-mp.
“ Dew rotting” requires many t
veeks of constant attention. But ‘
iracttc;.il men affirm, that, in a pui-t;
warni stream of water, the process
of dissolution, will frequently be
completed in five or six days.
“ In Russia, three weeks are al
lowed for steepingwhere the water
is not very cold ; hut if cold, as in
rivers and springs, five, and some
times six weeks are found to be ne
cessary. To ascertain whether the
,'iei.np be sufficiently steeped, a head
taken out of the pound, dried and
misdemeanor but once,'to him, dur- i ^fand fahe htXcomes^'off; "the
mg that whole period; and that ,)ut ! l:c!V ,p is considered as having been
tor rrtnttu-nf 1 * , g O
sufficiently steeped. It is then taken
for 3 moment.
“ And when he had such a ntan to
deal with as Mr. P. has discovcd
bout 200 niles west, oi'Cape Girar-1, f , . .. .
j ea i U ; himself to be, by his late pubiicati
These rrers are all remarkable for 0US ' - Slirdy ht must have ,iefen, P° 3 *
the good mvigation which they at’
lord ; most oi them having sufficient
water, to ca-ry a boat without any
! oas.
sest of mucii restraining grace.
“ Suppose a commander in chief
ihould j ;ive ordt'-s to one of his sene
out ot‘ the pound upon sticks placed
horizon 'tally for the purpose of drv- •
ing; aft -T remaining in the ..pen air
in this sit nation about a fortnight, - IT*
is remnvet 1 and pot into a kiln, where?
it is suffere J to remain 24 hours. It
s then readjV lor breaking, whicho-
cimoiu any : ( . . , , i is men reauw sor oreiiKing, wnicno-
iuterruption almost to their Vur . j°t bngade,to draw up a set of irt- ' r ‘ ation u p t r .formed bv means of a
lets are cur-1 st f uctl ° ns * ^ or t the comiucf ofeer La ,d mill; al ter this is done, the
^. i cam olir.r.ers TOimr nnnn a inv. >im ,.v. ... ~ . . . . 7 .
•;sk is beaten off strilthig the head
obliquely with iron aend wooden in4
-trum-mts of tfu shape of a large
t wo < dged knife fin ally it is drawn
hrough a wooden cemb with one
row of wide wootlen teeth, for the
source. Spnngs and rivulets a,*; - ; . rr. . ,
prisingly abundant* Capt. Manv as-! ‘" ( ' rcr5 E^mg upon a foreign _
cended the VYkite river, but the ] l’ 11 ' “ ,on * aiK -l ^ a t genera^Ishcu^Id de
country, cannoi properly be said, to) 4? ‘‘f “ Uty> f nt * a!ter thl5 cie,av
have been expLred, by any but him- : f houid ; of ^otojAying with
ters. Every ie, who has traver-1 hlS L' - * 13 ’ Hi ! fc ^ ^ commander „
sed it, agrees, that the country ot^u-1 1 V iH '‘ U *i’ <C ed h ‘* s b 1 rJ .' -ncr j row of wid
pied by the w^ers of White river, 1 c wr an r insulted them p Ur p 0Sie Q f unravellin g and cleanin
perhaps two hundred and fiftv mb,J j lPOn the sub J ect « that it was j 1
best to postpone the expedition. Ii
such a case ought not the common
drr in chief to break such an officer
When the chief alone was respon
sible for the cxpnhti a contempla
ted.
perhaps two hundred and fifty miles
squaj-e, is one o the finest ior settle-
ments, in western America. It is
interspersed what are called
knobs; hills orrulges, the summits
strewed with horn stone, but gener
ally the land is of the first rate qua
lity ; in most places finely wooded,
and the prairiep of small extent.
The <\> riptiops of Kentucky, at
first deemed romance, would be up
plicable to this country.
The St. Francis, enters the Mis
sissippi seventy five miles above
White river, aud affords a navigation
of six hundred miles. Its v/esiern
branch rises widi the waters of White
river and its eastern one, with Big
river, a branch of the Maramack. it
is very erroneously laid down on the
its general course
common maps ; its general course . * y . .
. k .i . • . •. in a court ot equin, because thev
mustbcatleast,3ittyorseventvmi es • , , 1 '
C . „ . A r ca never did exist. Let the man ot ar.v
further east. After pursuing a course . . , u ,
, . i - 6 wuise i nartv come forward and say .ha.
nearly south, and uniting with its : »« * » . , - ' d
/ , , . .. , b . , 115 Mr. Adams ever used any means to
western branch, it suddenly turns! . • i .
« w' ... i y > , i obtain or solicit a vote for himsci:
S. W. so as to correspond with he u .k
, r ,, v*. • • • • ,• in a " the various and important otfi
course or the Mississippi, ar.ci runs * t . 1 . , ,
, . r ’ 1 res he has sustained, m t N c whole
nearly parallel with that river, four .•. , • *. , , c
.hundred miles. The St. Francis, is [c°' 4- X'C* r » * iaown w * M wu
•navigable from a point sixty miles [r *4 /!» ' (. . " i \ ais ! * nc j the culture of hentip, cordage n
ofS.. G.nevievei 1 Before i, roale , ! ^ ^ h “!*« bro
! U »l!i la».wro ng . 5 howra. .he faToi
'i? aU k streonj ; passing | t j.e mwi, who, from his own know-
through . charming country, bulaf. !eil „ e „’ U ^ ,hat hr ha S _7
" As to the dim; ito & soil best a-
iapted f ci the cultunc of hemp, it inav
observed that it is raised both in
the frigid and torrid- zones, and that
my soil if not wet may Ire made to
w r„ .i,' , • . I yield hemp—although tiie richer tho
1 ,H J -ne c . !l ' SLli *he belter, and a flat cauntry isj.
“ Z h lt h ob .j , S es President for thi , u t(5 bc . p l c f erred > .
to call together all the friends ol a 1 u a . .i ’ • , , c „
c . . , , 7,1 As to the cert;a»n*y and profit of
Secretary, to consult them whether it! \ ,
■ ■ * U crop of hemp, it is be beved that no
would ne advisable lor him to dis
iii'ss r. man who opposed measures
which he.himself considered lor the
benefit of the country ,,
rile public will judge from Mr.
Pickering’s letters whether it would
not have been proper for him to re
move the beam from his own eye, be
fore he brought accusations against
his superior, tuijt he could not prove
terwards encfcised ir size, and en
tering the low lands, flows with a
slow and lazy current. It commu
nicates with the lakes, that lie, to the
east, heJ.iveen.it an.d the Mississippi;
which are formed by the rivulets
flowing from (the, upland country, and
the springs , which lose themselves
in the level commencing at Cape Gi
rardeau. On.the south side it over
flows its batiks considerably ; so that
when high, a person may easily lose
the chunuel unless well acquainted
with its course. The channel, is, in -
many’ places, much impeded with
drift wood. The north bank is less
subject t® inundation, and in many
places produces quantities of cane.
The Maramack river, enters the
Mississippi, about forty miles below
the Missouri.. Although extremely
crooked, it is a fine river, and navi
gable 2JO ntijes, to its very source,
for like Spring river, it issues forth
suddenly from a large fountain.
This appears to be a cifcumstance
no: uu isaal with the rivers of this
country. It rises near the waters
of White river. The Maramack is
remarkable for the quantities of fi.;h
with which it abounds ; large quan
tities arc caught and salted up. The
White fish is considered one of the
best fish of the fresh water, and is
found in abundance in this river. A
considerable branch, called the Ne
gro fork , navigable forty or fifty, mih s
with canoes rises near the Aline a
Burton, and the Big river; a branch
ol this, has, its source, at a very short
distance from the St. Francis, and in
a circuitous, course of forty miles,
almost includes t’iu Mine a Burton. I
T:\i Jluiii’.ivjrk'f'.a; r.o
will shew my face to him.’
-and I
[Doubts were hitherto entertained,
that the soil or. climate of out coun
try was not congenial to the raising
of Hemp. Its rapid increase within
the last two or three years, has suf
ficiently proven the contrary.
To those concerned in the culture
of this article, the following obser
vations on the subject from the Se-
crop is more certain, when sown in
ground adapted eO it, and to tbf;
grower it yields a profit superior to
most articles and exceeded but I'y’
ft w—an acre of ground well plough
ed, harrowed and manured, will yield
a thousand pounds <»f clean hemp,
worth, when properly cured and
dressed, from 100'to Sl50—sonie-
limts 8200. The labor and neces^
arv buildings required, in the sow
ing, preserving and preparing for.
market a crop of heanp, are incon
siderable when compared with som?
other articles and especially tobacco
—while the profit is greater and the
injury done to the soil milch less.
From a disposition to encourago
made
. jught
into ui»e in our navy—For standing
and running rigging and indeed for
most other purposes, excepting ca
bles, it is found to answer very well
even when made of “ dew rotted)*
hemp. Of the wetter rotted” hemp
we have not yet been able to pro
cure a sufficient quantity to justify
our excluding the use of Russia
hemp especially for cabcls—Ame
rican “ water rotted?’, hemp is no
doubt equal m all respects to tho
best Russia hemp : indeed, I rather
recline to think it superior.
American ‘ dew rottrd ’ hemp be'-
cretary of the Navy, elicited bva' in ^ color, frequently neither
call on that Department for infor
malion, during the last session of
Congress, will be found pertinent
and interesting.J—Ed. Geo. Jour.
' 1° preparing the hemp ior break
ing, the pernicious practice of what
is commonly called “ dew rotting”
still prevails to a great extent—a
practice tedious in its process—par
tial and unequal in its effects upon
the fibre—and destructive of consi
derable quantities of hemp bv the un
avoidable exposure of it to the winds,
which blow it about and entangle it.
Hemp thus prepared is in some pla-
I ces strong, in others weak, and has
' moreover a dark colour.
In hemp there is a viseus gum?
my substance by which the fibres of
the bark are bound together and to
the body of the plant; and all that
is necessary to prepare it lor break*
ing, is to dissolve this substance.
The experience of other nations has
long since decided, that this dissolu
tion can best be effected by immers
ing or steeping l\l plant m pure clear
tunning water, which in a much
shorter period of time than any oilier
system heretofore practised, produ-
' i-’s this Uissrfutba over all farts of
broke our scutched as it ought to be and
brought to market without being pro
ps iy embaled, does not, in such cafes,
command a good price in our markets.
I ll se are the caufes, and this the effed.
Ihe growers of hemp ought not, ho we.
ver, to be discouraged by tins circurn*
(lance. 1 hey (hnuld remember, that
in removing the cauie the effeft will
cease , and they may be allured that, iF
their htmp is properly prepared, it will
always command a price equal to the
hemp of Raffia, probably fup-rior. .For
my own part, a’s Secretary of the N«vy,
I can only, fay, that in fuch, I ihould feel
it to be my duty to give a detid d pre”
t'erence to hemp of our own g o’wth.
*’ 1 he quantity of hemp raised in our
country increaies every year, and .jm>
doubt exifla, that in a very fl, 01l p-riocl
of time enough will be railed to (upply
every public and private demand for ail
the purpofes to which it is applicable.
*’ Some few of our country men do, a*,
this ii ne. I am told, entertain appiehen-
lions t a our markets will be ovtrftock-
r»l with American hemp, and that the
pnee will be great’y diminifhrd. This
admitted, they mve ir in their power to
ure.vr n th- unp rlation «t all foreiga
hemp. 1 his inci.cd in a muional view,
would be an important point gained. Cut
when it is coididered to what a variety
! purooftjs h»mp is applicable ; that v-d
I (ic at this time greatly dependent up-o