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MISSOURI. ITS HISTORY-STATE GOVERNMENT, COURTS, ETC.-BOUNDARIES, AND SURFACE AND SOIL OF THE COUNTRY NATURAL PRODUCTIONS AND CLIMATE-PRINCIPAL RIVERS-CHIEF TOWNS-MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE-INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS-POPULATION-EDUCATION

Professor W.  C. Duncan

Debow's Review

September 1851

History

Hernando de Soto may be said to be the first European that beheld the river Mississippi, called by him, on its discovery, (April, 1541), "Rio Grande." Crossing this stream, probably some thirty miles below Helena, in the State of Arkansas, he traversed, at the head of his adventurous band, a goodly portion of the territory beyond. He is thought by some, but without sufficient reason, to have come, during this march, into the limits of the present State of Missouri. The Mississippi was first explored in 1673, by Marquette and Joliet, two French missionaries, and more fully by La Salle, also a native of France, in 1682. By him all the region situate between the so-called "Illinois country" and the Gulf of Mexico was formally declared an appendage of the French crown, and called Louisiana, in honor of the reigning monarch. From this time, settlements began to be made by the French within the Mississippi Valley, advancing respectively from the Northern and Southern extremities towards the interior. Canada had long (from 1608) been inhabited by colonists from France; but not till the beginning of the 18th century was the region bordering on the gulf alike distinguished. Natchez was settled in 1700; New-Orleans was founded in 1718; and within a few years the whole valley was protected from Spanish invasion by a chain of forts extending from the lakes to the Mexican gulf. Among these, was built in 1719, Fort Orleans, near the mouth of the Osage, not far from the present capital of Missouri. The " Illinois country," above mentioned, was discovered and explored by Joliet and Marquette, and was colonized before Louisiana. The first settlement was made at Kaskaskia, in 1684; the next, at Cahokia, in 1699; and Vincennes, in 1735.

In legal proceedings, the region now known as the State of Missouri was included by the French and Spanish in the Illinois country; but popularly and historically it was denominated "Upper Louisiana." The State of Arkansas was included within the same division. Situated in the central part of the valley, the progress of settlement in Missouri at first was not rapid. Its lead mines were worked as early as 1720. In 1755, the oldest town in the state, St. Genevieve, was founded; St. Louis, in 1764; and afterwards a number of towns in quick succession. During- all this time, there was granted only one tract of land within the limits of the state. Meanwhile (1763) the jurisdiction of the valley passed from France to Spain and England: Spain obtaining all the territory west of the Mississippi; England all east of that river. To England, too, was assigned, as the reward of conquest, made permanent by the treaty of 1763, the entire province of Canada. France, after a violent contest, had been despoiled of all her territorial possessions in North America. During the struggle, a number of Canadian French, expecting but dreading the English yoke, emigrated, by the way of the lakes, and, going southward, located in Illinois, and Upper and Lower Louisiana. Hence the first important impulse to the colonization of Missouri. The population of Spanish Louisiana at the time of its public transfer, not without serious opposition on the part of the settlers, (1769,) was estimated at 13,540 persons, of whom 5,556 were whites, the remainder Negro slaves. Of the whites, over 2,000 were able to bear arms. Of the whole population, the city of New-Orleans alone contained 3,190 souls, domiciliated in 468 houses. A river trade had sprung up between the northern and southern portions of the province; and the exports of the province amounted, the year before, to $250,000. The character of the new government was mild and conciliating. The laws of Spain were promulgated as the law of the land. The highest tribunal in Lower Louisiana was that of the governor; in Upper Louisiana, that of the lieutenant-governor. The commandants of the various posts in the province were the inferior tribunals. Lands were granted liberally to colonists, on the payment of a trifling douceur to the proper commandant; and every encouragement was given to those wishing to effect a settlement. Numerous emigrants from Spain flocked into the province. In 1775, St. Louis, originally a depot for the fur trade, had increased in population to 800. Its houses numbered 120, many of them built of stone. St. Genevieve contained 460 inhabitants, and about 100 houses. Just then the American revolution broke out, and Spain, siding with the English colonists, entered into hostilities against England. In Lower Louisiana and in West Florida, the arms of Spain were successful. Meantime St. Louis was besieged and attacked (1780) by a body of British troops and Indians, 1540 strong, from Michilimackinac and the southern extremity of Lake Michigan. Col. Clark, then at Kaskaskia, being called on for assistance, arrived in time to give succor, when the grand assault was being made upon the town (May 6); for, attacked by the " Longknives," as the Indians called the Americans, they fled from the scene, and returned in chagrin to their homes. During the siege, which lasted a week, about sixty persons were killed in the town and vicinity. Thirty more, who had been captured by the Indians, were rescued by the gallant Clark. The force under his command was not quite 500 men. The general peace of 1783 put an end to hostilities. Spain retained her previous possessions, and received in addition the whole of Florida south of the 31st parallel of latitude. Great Britain resigned East Louisiana, called also Illinois, to the United States, retaining only Canada. Emigration into Spanish Louisiana began once more on the restoration of peace, and trade and agriculture commenced again to flourish. The hardy settlers of the Western part of the United States now built their cabins in numerous places on the west side of the Mississippi. As might have been expected, difficulties soon arose between Spain and the United States. The former power became jealous of the increasing greatness of the latter. A dispute relative to the western boundary of Georgia and the navigation of the Mississippi was settled by a treaty, (Oct. 20, 1795), by which the Spanish king granted to the United States the free navigation of the Mississippi, and agreed to the 31st parallel of latitude as the northern boundary of the Floridas. Territory north of that line, occupied by Spain at the signing of the treaty, was not surrendered, however, until 1798, (March 28,) the rival powers having approached meanwhile the very brink of war. The promised free navigation of the Mississippi was unexpectedly obstructed, a place of commercial deposit refused, and disabilities thrown in the way of Americans desiring to settle in Louisiana. War would certainly have ensued, for Spain was jealous of American prosperity; and the American spirit of enterprise, resolved on passing any and every territorial bound, was not always intent on preserving the strictest regard to the rights, real or assumed, of its less adventurous neighbors. Invasion, however, was prevented by the cession of Louisiana to France, (March 21, 1801,) and its disposal by that power to the United States, (April 30, 1803.) In the European troubles consequent upon the French revolution of 1789, Spain had become involved in the general war, and her king was compelled to bow before the irresistible might of Napoleon, then First Consul of France, and surrender to that conqueror the province of Louisiana. Distrusting his power to retain it, engaged as he was in a contest with Europe, and pressed for money, Napoleon sold the province to the United States for $15,000,000. It was formally delivered to the United States Dec. 20, 1803, at New-Orleans; the outposts not being all resigned until the ensuing spring. At this time the province contained 49,500 inhabitants, of whom 6,028 were living in Upper Louisiana. The products of its agriculture, in 1802, were chiefly cotton and sugar;,-of the former, 20,000 bales, of the latter, 5,000 hogsheads. The commerce of New-Orleans had become extensive; its exports, coming from the province and the Western states and territories, and consisting chiefly of flour, pork, salt, beef, tobacco, cotton, sugar, molasses, peltries, naval stores, and lumber, amounted to 40.000 tons. The commerce of Upper Louisiana was flourishing. A prosperous trade was being carried on between St. Louis and New-Orleans, and with the settlements on the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. The annual crop was about 88,000 minots (264,000 bushels) of wheat, 84,000 of Indian corn, and 28,627 lbs. of tobacco. The mines produced 1,700 quintals (cwts.) of lead; the salines, about 1,000 bbls. of salt. The fur trade brought in about $70,000 dollars. Louisiana, henceforth, formed part of the United States, itself" an empire," bought, to use the words of Bonaparte, "for a mere trifle."

The whole purchase was speedily divided into the " Territory of Orleans" (since 1812 the State of Louisiana) and the "District of Louisiana," erected in 1805 into a territorial government, administered by a governor and territorial judges, under the title of "Territory of Louisiana." The seat of the government was St. Louis: its districts, St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, and Arkansas. In 1812, the name was changed to "Missouri Territory." The province extended from latitude 33~ to 410 north, and the territorial government became representative. Win. Clarke was the first governor. The assembly consisted of a Legislative Council of Nine, appointed by the President, and a House of Representatives, one member for every 500 free white males, elected by the people. The limits of Missouri Territory on the west, not far off where the cession was made by France, were gradually extended 'by treaties with the Indians, as the influx of immigrants required. People from the Western States began to move in from the time of the purchase. In 1810 the population numbered 21,000, of whom all but 1,500 belonging to Arkansas, were settled within the present limits of Missouri. Upon the organization of the regular territorial government, numerous American pioneers flocked in from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, etc., especially at the close of the war with England, (1815); overrunning, so to speak, the French settlements. American habits, usages, laws and institutions soon became prevalent. The old French settlers were quickly merged and almost lost among the later and more active population. Chiefly in the cities, where even now the Catholic religion is full of life and vigor, did they continue to exert for a time a leading influence; their habits, even in these, however, becoming more and more assimilated to those of the Anglo-Americans, until at length the whole became a homogeneous people.

Immigration was so rapid, that in 1817 the territory contained 60,000 souls. St. Louis counted at that time 5,000 inhabitants, against 1,000 in 1804. It had become already the emporium of the Upper Mississippi. In 1817, application was made by the assembly to Congress for authority to frame a state constitution preliminary to admission into the Federal Union. A fierce and stormy debate arose at once on the subject in Congress. A powerful party demanded that the new states should exclude slavery by their constitutions. The discussion raged for two years, threatening to tear the Union asunder. At length, however, the debate was stopped by the passage of the compromise resolutions of Mr. Clay, by which it was agreed that the institution of slavery should be recognised in Missouri, but in no other new state north of latitude 36~ 30'. The state constitution, slightly modified since its adoption, was framed by a convention of forty delegates, which met at St. Louis June 12, 1820, and adopted on the 19th of July following. The new state was found, by a census taken the same year, to contain a population of 66,586, of whom 10,222 were slaves.

From this time until the present, there has flowed a constant tide of immigration into Missouri from the Southern, Western and Northern states, and from Europe. Before the close of 1833, there had come to the state as many as 30,000 frugal and industrious emigrants from Germany alone. Agriculture, commerce, manufactures, etc., has kept pace with the population. In 1836, the 65 counties of the state contained in all, 244,208 inhabitants

State Government

According to the constitution, the governor is chosen by the people, for the term of four years. He must be 35 years old, a native of the United States, and a resident of the state for four years. He nominates the judicial and some other civil officers, pardons and reprieves; but his veto upon a legislative act is set aside by a majority of each house in the general assembly. The lieutenant-governor, chosen as the governor, is also president of the Senate. The general assembly, or legislature, is composed of two branches, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators (not fewer than 14 nor more than 33) must be 30 years old, citizens of the state for four years, tax payers, and are chosen for a term of four years. Representatives, (not above 100,) chosen every two years, must be 24 years old, inhabitants of the state two years, and of the county one, and must have paid a tax. Judges are appointed by the Senate on the nomination of the governor, and hold office during good behavior, or until 65 years of age. Soon, no doubt, they will be appointed by popular election. Every free white male citizen of the United States, 21 years old, a resident in the state for one year, and at the place of voting, three months, is a qualified elector. The Supreme Court is composed of three judges, and has only appellate jurisdiction. The circuit courts, held twice a year in each county, have exclusive criminal jurisdiction, hearing all cases, unless otherwise directed by law, not cognizable by a justice of the peace. County courts have jurisdiction over matters probate, and local county affairs.. Appeal is made to the circuit courts. Amendments to the constitution can be made by a vote of two-thirds of the general assembly. Only one bank, with not more than five branches, and a capital of not more than $5,000,000, one-half reserved to the state, can be established. Slaves have the same protection of life as whites, and in criminal cases are tried by a jury, and provided with counsel by the court. A revision and digest of the laws is to be made every ten years. The general assembly meets biennially, on the last Monday in December, in Jefferson City. The following is a list of the governors of Missouri from its territorial organization in 1804, to the present time: Territorial:-Amos Stoddard, (1804-5); James Wilkinson, (1805-7); Meriwether Lewis, (1807-13); William Clarke, (1813-20). State:-Alexander McNair, (1820-24); Frederick Bates, (elected in 1824); John Miller, (1828); Daniel Dunklin, (1832); Wilbur Boggs, (1836); Thomas Reynolds, (1840); John C. Edwards, (1844); Austin A. King, (1848.)

Besides the circuit and county courts, the city of St. Louis has a Court of Common Pleas, with jurisdiction very like that of the circuit court, a Criminal Court, a District Court of Probate, and a Recorder's Court. Samuel Treat is Judge of the Common Pleas, ($1,000); James B. Colt, of the Criminal Court, ($1,000;) P. G. Furgeson, of Probate, (fees;) Mr. Dougherty, Recorder, ($1,200.) The amount of the state debt is $684,997 40; the interest on it, $73,100. The branches of the State Bank (itself being in St. Louis) are located respectively in Fayette, Palmyra, Jackson, Springfield and Lexington. Of the stock paid in to the bank and its branches, up to December 21, 1850, $954,205 were owned by the state; $254,926 by individuals; deposits, $1,096,284; received in interest and exchange, $273,829; circulation, $2,552,500; bills discounted, $1,947,075; specie on hand, $1,198,268.

Boundaries and Surface and Soil of the Country

The State of Missouri lies, in general, between the parallels of 36~ 30' and 40Q 30' north latitude, and 12~ and 17~ 30' longitude west from Washington. More specifically its eastern boundary is the Mississippi, beginning at latitude 36~, and running north to the mouth of the Des Moines, whence the line follows the latter river up to its rapids, (40~ 30.') The northern boundary is the parallel of these rapids to the point where it cuts the Missouri. The western boundary follows the Missouri to the mouth of the Kansas, where it commences running due south, and so continues until it intersects the parallel of latitude 36~ 30'. The southern boundary line is the parallel of 36~ 30' as far as the St. Francis, whence it follows the course of that river to its mouth, and after that the parallel of latitude 30~ to its point of intersection with the Mississippi. The state contains, within these boundaries, 67,380 square miles, or 43,123,200 acres. In the southeastern part of the state, the country which was once capable of cultivation, became, after the earthquakes of 1811-12, marshy. This district contains, on estimate, 1,517,287 acres, and extends south from the neighborhood of Cape Girardeau into the northern part of Arkansas, a distance in Missouri alone of 108 miles, and westwardly as far as the river St. Francis. The land is well located as regards facilities of transport, and is said to be as fertile as any in the valley. The greater portion can be, and at some not very distant period will be, reclaimed by artificial means, and brought under cultivation. The probable cost of reclamation is estimated at $1,000,000. The remaining parts of the state, though they include much bottom land, are not swampy. The river Missouri separates the whole into two parts, distinguished from each other by dissimilar geological and geographical features. South of that river, the surface of the country is rolling as far west as the Osage, gradually rising into a hilly and mountainous district, forming the outskirts of the Ozark Mountains. Beyond the Osage, at some distance, commences a vast expanse of prairie land, which stretches away to the Rocky Mountains. The chief geological deposits of the region are solid strata of carboniferous and Silurian limestone and sandstone, reposing on, or around, the unstratified primitive rocks. In the hilly and broken mineral region, which includes the greater part of the state south of the Missouri, having an area of about 17,000,000 acres, the soil, which of course lies above the geological deposits just mentioned, is formed of decomposed sandstone, syenite and magnesian limestone. Soils constituted of the last two elements, are fertile; but in many of the districts of the mineral region, their productive ness is impaired by the admixture of oxyde of iron. Other districts, as the Bellevue Valley, and the valley of the Maramec, Gasconade and Osage, are well fitted for cultivation, or for pasture. Around the head waters of the White, Eleven Points, Current, and Big Black, where the land is most mountainous, the soil is formed of decomposed semi-vitreous sandstone, and is, in general, unproductive, though it supports a magnificent growth of yellow pine, valuable for its lumber. The intervening valleys, however, are decidedly fertile, but small in extent. The lands situate more immediately south of the Missouri, are partly sandy and partly calcareous. In general, where alumina or clay sufficiently abounds, we have here a fertile soil, adapted to the production of wheat, oats, barley, maize, hemp, tobacco, and the grasses.

That part of the state which lies north of the Missouri River is in no place mountainous, but either rolling or quite flat. It contains more inhabitants than the southern division; and being richer, is in a more advanced state of cultivation. Its geological substratum is chiefly carboniferous limestone. The coal measure of Illinois extends west of the Mississippi at St. Louis, and is probably commensurate with the northern division of the state, being limited on the south by the narrow strip of land above spoken of, lying south of the Missouri. The soils of this region are chiefly calcareous and arenaceous, the aluminous being limited in extent. The calcareous, or those abounding in lime, which are predominant, are fertile, particularly near the margins of the rivers. Of this character are the lands in the western part of the state, along the Missouri. The counties of Clay, Platt and Buchanan, cannot be readily surpassed in productiveness. The other western and interior counties are nearly equal in fertility to those specified. In the eastern part of the region, arenaceous or sandy soil predominates. These lands, which are comparatively barren, are found on the southern flank of the prairies which have their origin in north Missouri, and extend to the head waters of the Mississippi. In general, it may be said that the land of Missouri is productive. The mineral region of the south, unlike most others, is, on the whole, a ,fine agricultural district; but the want of a convenient market is a drawback to its agricultural advancement.

Natural Productions & Climate

Except on the prairies, Missouri is well timbered. The river bottoms, in particular, are covered with a luxuriant growth of oak, elm, ash, hickory, cottonwood, and black and white walnut. In the more barren districts are found white and pin-oak, and sometimes forests of yellow pine. Many of the trees and shrubs met with, differ from those found in the same latitude in Ohio. The crab-apple, paw-paw, and persimmon, are abundant; as also the hazel and pecan. Three species of wild grape-vine are common throughout the country. The prairies are covered, in the proper season, with numerous varieties of flowers, and with a coarse tall grass, which, either green or cured, is excellent fodder for cattle. Of the cultivated natural productions, wheat and Indian-corn succeed the best. Rye, barley, oats, and the other productions of the middle and northern states, as buckwheat, hops, hay, &c., are successfully cultivated. Hemp has, of late years, been raised with considerable success; but, owing chiefly to haste and carelessness in its preparation, it has lost ground in the market, and does not command near so fair a price as that not naturally better, imported from abroad. Flax is also produced. Cotton can be raised in the southeastern limits of the state. Tobacco is being raised in abundance, and will become, probably, one of the leading staples of Missouri. Apples, peaches, pears, apricots, nectarine and other fruit trees, produce in profusion. Potatoes of both kinds succeed well; and so does the vine, which is successfully cultivated on the southern slopes of hills and eminences. The dryness of soil and of atmosphere, characteristic of the state, is favorable to its development. The wild animals of the region are those common to this part of the valley. The most formidable disappear with the advance of civilization. Wild fowls are abundant. The facilities for raising cattle, horses and sheep, are superior to those of any other western state, Illinois excepted. Hogs are reared with more ease than in Ohio, and are beginning to be extensively raised for export. Poultry succeeds admirably.

The climate of Missouri is extremely variable. In winter, the cold is excessive; in summer, the heat. The thermometer falls below zero, and the Missouri and Mississippi are frozen over, so that heavy-loaded wagons can cross in safety for weeks at a time. The country being open and exposed to the sun's rays, and the soil loose and sandy, and consequently retentive of heat, the summer is exceedingly warm. The atmosphere, however, is dry and pure; and cooling winds tem per the heat of the summer. Bilious and remittent fevers prevail in the bottom lands during warm weather. Other portions of the state are deemed healthy, and will, probably, become more so as settlements increase. Pulmonic, or lung complaints, terminating in consumption, in spite of the variableness of the weather, are rare; but pleurisy and lung fevers are not unfrequent in winter. 

Principal Rivers

Omitting the Mississippi as not flowing with in the limits of the state, we may mention first, as most important among the rivers of Missouri, the stream from which it takes its name. This river rises in the Rocky Mountains, not far from the head waters of the Columbia, 3,096 miles from its mouth, The last four or five hundred miles of its course alone lie within the limits of the state: the rest flows through the Territory of Missouri. The trough through which the river flows is from two to four miles wide, and is bounded by rocky limestone hills, which rise to a height of from one to three hundred feet. Nearly all the bottoms of the Missouri are on its north side; and ordinarily, they are not subject to overflow. In this respect they differ widely from those of the Mississippi, which latter are, moreover, of greater width, and formed of soil less sandy and less easily percolated by water. The Missouri flows down an inclined plane, the upper strata of which are readily disintegrated and transported by the rapid flow of the main stream and its chief tributaries, the Yellow-Stone and the Platte. Its waters be come thoroughly impregnated, as we find them at its mouth, with mineral and organic substances in solution, or suspension, imparting to it that turbid character for which it is distinguished. The alluvial lands lying along the river are subject to being covered, during inundations, with drifting sands; they are, however, occupied by a luxuriant vegetation both of trees and herbs. These bottom lands are favorites with settlers, and they are capable of supporting a dense population. The river is navigable from its mouth to the falls, 2,000 miles from its mouth. Its valley has double the elevation of that of the Mississippi; and the average rapidity of the stream is as fast again as that of the other. In 1819 it was first navigated by a steam boat. The products of the Santa Fe and of the Indian fur trade find their way down this river. The former trade is valued at $500,000 a year, the latter at $300,000. / The next largest river of the state is the Osage, a tributary of the Missouri, coming in on its south side, 120 miles from its mouth. At its mouth the Osage is 400 yards wide; and is navigable for boats of a light draught for about 200 miles, at high water. About the head waters of this stream are found the best cotton lands in the state. The Gasconade comes into the Missouri below the Osage, near the town of Hermann, and is important for the supplies of fine plank and timber which it furnishes to the country below. The Maramec is a beautiful river, running through the mineral region, and flowing into the Mississippi, 18 miles below St. Louis. Further south are the rivers St. Francis and the White, with their branches. North of the Missouri we find Salt River flowing into the Mississippi; and the Chariton and the Grand, which empty into the Missouri. Propositions have been made for improving the Osage, Grand, Salt and Maramec; and it is expected that no long time will elapse before the desired improvements, at least in the Osage (cost, $204,600) and the Grand, ($19,787,) will be effected. Those proposed to be made in the former will, on estimate, save the people residing within the territory which it waters an annual aggregate of $329,594. Other rivers than those mentioned are of minor importance.

Cities & Towns

The oldest town in the state is St. Genevieve, on the west bank of the Mississippi, about 60 miles below St. Louis. It is interesting chiefly for its early history, and for its future prospects. At present it is much decayed, though beginning again to flourish. The old village, (Le Vieax Village,) now called the Big Field, (Le Grand Champ,) and distant about three miles from the present town, was settled about the year 1755. The original settlers were cultivators of the soil, traders in furs, peltries and lead, and voyageurs. Of the old village, nothing now remains. The new town was settled about 1785, the year of the great flood (I' annee des grands eatx,) by emigrants from Kaskaskia, in Illinois, and a portion of the inhabitants of the old town. About a year ago, the last survivor of the new town settlers, Jean Bapt.Valle, sen., died at an advanced age. The present town is located in the neighborhood of a rich mining and agricultural country, and must in time enjoy considerable commerce. When the contemplated rail-road between it and the Iron Mountain shall have been finished, its prosperity will be insured. Marble and limestone abounds in its vicinity. Its sand is the best in the United States for the manufacture of glass, and Boston and Pittsburgh use it in large quantities in their manufactories. The village possesses, too, great advantages for manufacturing. Besides iron, there is deposited here for shipment all the lead, cobalt, and copper made in the neighboring counties of southeast Missouri. New Madrid, another of the first settled towns in Missouri, was founded by Jaque Clamorgan, a Scotbchman, holding office under the Spanish government, in the year 1788 or 1789. Its founders and first inhabitants were men fond of adventure, intelligent, and most of them possessed of comfortable means of living. They engaged in raising cotton, which, together with furs and peltries bought from the Indians, they exported. None of the old town is now in existence. Its fort, churches, cemeteries, and houses, have all been swept away by the encroachments of the Mississippi. In a few years no trace of the town, so noted for its sufferings during the earthquakes of 1811-12, will be discoverable by the inquiring stranger. The present town was laid out back of the old, in 1820. The location is, or rather will be, good, in a commercial point of view. The chief drawback from the advancement of the town is the vast region of swamp, or submerged land lying directly in its rear. That portion of the neighboring country which can be tilled, is rich and highly productive. When the proposed drainage of the surrounding districts shall have been completed, therefore, New-Madrid will awake to new life and energy. Its annual exports reach in value about $100,000. 

The city of St. Louis, by far the largest in the state, and the largest west of the Mississippi, destined to be second only to New-Orleans in all the valley, was founded in 1664 by a company of merchants, who had an exclusive grant for carrying on commerce with the Indians on the Missouri. The city is situated on the Mississippi, on the first bluff, 20 miles below the mouth of the Missouri; and is admirably located for carrying on commerce. It has access to a vast region o(f country: on the north by the Mississippi and the Illinois, on the west by the Missouri, and on the southeast by the Ohio. The mighty Mississippi gives it an outlet to the ocean. Its trade surpasses that of -any place on the river above New-Orleans. In 1810 its population was 1,600; in 1820, 4,598; in 1830, 6,694; in 1840, 16,496; in 1850, 77,465, of whom 2,616 were slaves. Capital in vested in the city in 1850 amounted to $3,853,351; persons employed, 7,929; annual product, $13,908,577. Of the population, 40,414 were natives of foreign countries, of whom 23,774 were born in Germany. This emigrant population is one of the chief causes of the city's advance in wealth and prosperity. The bluff on which the city is built is composed of limestone, formed into two distinct banks: the first 20, the second 60 feet above high water. The city is thickly settled a mile-and-a-half along the river, but extends in all six-and-a-half miles by the curve of the river. Its breadth reaches back in all three miles; but the thickly settled part only three-quarters of a mile. The houses are usually of neat construction, the most recent being built of brick, and some of stone quarried on the spot. The city contains 49 churches, valued at $1,213,500. Of these, 12 are Roman Catholic; 12 Methodist; 8 Presbyterian; 5 Episcopal; 5 Lutheran; 2 Baptist; 2 Unitarian; 2 Evangelical; 1 Boatmen's. There are, besides, two synagogues. There are within the city limits 44 common schools, with 2,847 pupils; 15 public [private] schools, with 2,378 pupils; 9 Roman Catholic, with 1356 pupils; a Catholic College with 250 pupils; and two Medical Colleges, with 14 professors and 262 students. The trade of St. Louis is, of course, extensive and increasing. Of the principal articles of trade, there were received at that point during the year 1850, 60,862 bales of hemp; 573,502 pigs of lead; 1,792,074 bushels of wheat; 325,070 barrels of flour; 101,562 barrels of pork; and 9,055 hogsheads of tobacco. The number of steamboat arrivals during the same year, was 2,599. The amount of lumber received and manufactured into shingles, laths, and staves, was 29,676,099 feet.

Among the other towns in the state may be mentioned Jefferson City, on the Missouri, just above the mouth of the Osage, distinguished only as being the seat of government. Boonville, on the Missouri, above Jefferson City, in Cooper County, was settled by Daniel Boone, of Kentucky. Glasgow, in Howard, laid out in 1836, contains now 1,000 inhabitants, and is flourishing in its commerce. Lexington, in Lafayette, also on the Missouri, is a thriving place, situated in a rich region, and containing about 2,500 inhabitants. Weston, in Platte, on the same river, is a flourishing place. Independence, in Jackson, is the starting point of the Santa Fe trading caravan. St. Charles, near the mouth of the Missouri, is the most important town on that river. Potosi, in the mining district, is on the increase. Herculaneum is the principal place of deposit for lead from the mines. Cape Girardeau, on the Mississippi, below St. Genevieve, has a fine harbor, and is the port of a flourishing region in the rear. Louisiana, Clarkesville, and Hannibal, are most important landing places on the Mississippi, above St. Louis. Palmyra, lying back of Hannibal, was once a thriving village, but afterwards became much decayed. It is now again flourishing, containing about 2,000 inhabitants.

Natural Resources

The mineral region of Missouri occupies an area of from seventeen to eighteen millions of acres, an extent of country greater than New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware united. It was described as early as 1718, on a French chart, as pays plein de mines, a country full of mines. The elevation of the district above the sea varies from 600 to 1200 feet. Its temperature is not as variable as that of other parts of the state; its climate is salubrious, and it includes much valuable agricultural land. No one of the mining districts of Europe affords such facilities for support to its population; and yet the Hartz Mountains, with an area of 300,000 acres, sustain 60,000 inhabitants; the Erzgebirge of Saxony, with a million and a half of acres, one half a million; Cornwall in England, with 760,000 acres, 300,000 inhabitants. Populated in the ratio of the Erzgebirge, the mineral region of Missouri would contain 6,000,000 of souls. Excepting gold and platina, most of the important and useful metals and ores are known to exist in Missouri. The following minerals, metallic and non-metallic, arranged here according to their intrinsic value, have been found within its limits: lead, iron, copper, cobalt, silver, nickel, zinc and calamine, manganese and wadd, coal, rock-salt, barytes, sand and quartz, carbonate and sulphate of lime, alumine and potters' clay, fillers' earth, variegated marble and oolite, saltpetre, antimony, tin, tungstate of iron and lead, diamonds, chalcedony and feldspar. To these, others might be added.

The lead mines of this state have been wrought from the earliest period of its settlement; but since 1827 the production of the metal has scarcely increased, many miners having been drawn away by the reports respecting the mines of Galena, in Illinois. The lead is found as a sulphuret (called also galena) and as a carbonate, and no mine of it has yet been, or seems likely to be, exhausted. Zinc, in the form of calamine and blende, is found mixed with it in the upper mines; that is, in Potosi and its neighborhood. The lead contains six ounces of silver per ton. It is found in Cole, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, St. Francois, St. Louis, Washington, and several other counties. The mines of Perry and Valle are the most productive. The La Motte mines also yield abundance of this as well as other metals. It was at this mine that the workmen were taught, only a few years ago, how to reduce the carbonate which they had hitherto cast aside as worthless. It yields 72 per cent. of pure metal. The metal from the upper mines commands a better price than that from the lower; but none of it is quite equal in market value to the lead of Illinois. The ores are all easily reduced; the carbonate by means of a blast furnace. The sulphuret of Potosi yields from 70 to 80 per cent.; that of La Motte, not over 66 per cent. Iron, in the form of hematite, and the ochrey, the micaceous, and the red oxydes, is found in the greatest abundance. In this respect, and in facilities for the manufacture and transportation of the article, Missouri cannot be equalled by any other state of the Union. The metal is found throughout the whole mineral region, and extends even into the coal formation, which occupies the rest of the state. Her celebrated mountains of micaceous oxyde of iron, the Iron Mountain and the Pilot Knob, are almost inexhaustible. They are the eastern extreme of the Ozark Mountains, the range in the outskirts of which the mineral region is included, and are situated in St. Francois County, a few miles southeast of Potosi, and about forty miles from the town of St. Genevieve. The two peaks are about six miles apart. The more northerly of the summits, the Iron Mountain, is a mile and a half long, one mile broad, and 444 feet high. The whole top of the mountain is a solid sheet of iron, and one sees nothing but iron lumps as far as the eye can reach. The ore yields 60 per cent. of pig metal, which is deemed, in the market of St. Louis, superior to that of Tennessee. Edge-tools have been manufactured and forged from the crude ore. The Pilot Knob is larger than the Iron Mountain, being not less than 1,500 feet high, and extending, some say, a mile from the base to its summit. This, however, is an erroneous statement. Dr. Feuchtwanger estimates the quantity of pig iron imbedded in the mountains at 600,000,000 of tons, enough to supply the world for more than a century. The mines of Elba, of Sweden, or of Nor way, do not contain the same amount of metallic iron ore. The operation of smelting the ore is now carried on with diligence at the mountains, and the pig iron is transported in wagons, at the cost of one quarter of a cent a pound, to St. Genevieve. The contemplated railroad between the two points, will, when constructed, give a new impulse to the mining operations. It is only of late years that the iron mines of Missouri have been wrought; and even now the manufactories do not produce enough to supply the foundries of St. Louis, that city being obliged to import a large quantity of Scotch pig iron, an inferior article, for which as much again is paid as metal of the best quality can be produced for within the limits of the state. Copper is, perhaps, destined to be the most valuable mineral production of Missouri. The ores of this metal are found throughout the mineral region, but chiefly to the south and west of the mine La Motte. The ore is of every variety, and usually very rich. It is found combined with iron, lead, and frequently manganese, cobalt and nickel. It is generally pyritous, but oxydes and carbonates are frequently found. A very rich mine, called Buckeye, of argentiferous copper, combined with cobalt and nickel, was discovered a few years since, about five miles south of the mine La Motte. A shaft has been sunk in it to the depth of one hundred feet, discovering large veins rich in ores. The ores appear to be, in general, a cement uniting angular fragments of lime rocks, forming a breceia; and much of it is easily removed by the pickaxe alone. Three-fourths of the ore yields more than 34 per cent. of metal. It is probable that the main lode of the deposit has not yet been reached. The ore as it comes up is worth $75 dollars a ton. As yet, regular systematic mining for copper has not begun in the state, except on a small scale in the vicinity of the two or three smelting establishments previously in operation. It is expected that copper mining will be carried in this state to depths rivaling those of the celebrated mines of Wales and Germany. The mines are considered more valuable than those on Lake Superior. Indications of extensive and heavy lodes of the metal have been traced for miles, situate, a great part of the distance, in public land, liable to entry at $1 25 an acre. The ore needs but little cleansing, and is often smelted in the condition in which it is thrown up from the mine.

Zinc ores, in the form of calamine and sulphuret, are often discovered in abundance in mining for lead. They are, as yet, deemed valueless, but will, no doubt, be turned to profitable use with the advance of metallurgic information.* /Manganese ores are also very , In commerce, zinc is often known under the name spelter. Being a cheap and light metal, and one which, after having been superficially oxydized, long resists the further action of air and water; it has been much used of late years as a substitute for lead in lining water cisterns and covering houses. It is employed, also, in the operation of transferring printing. called zincography abundant, and must in time be sought for with avidity.* Cobalt has become an object of exploration. It is usually found associated with nickel, in the form of the sulphuret or the black oxyde. An apparatus for the preparation of cobalt oxyde has been fitted up at the mine La Motte, and it is estimated that the tract will produce from three to five thousand pounds of the article per annum. The fact of the existence of this ore to any valuable extent, is only a very recent discovery.t Nickel, which, with cobalt, is the most valuable, intrinsically, of the metals, after silver, has not yet been extracted in any form to any considerable quantity.

Silver is not found in this state in mines, nor, is it likely, will be. But all the ores of lead contain it; many of them in quantities that will justify its extraction by the well-known and simple process of crystallization, practised successfully on the Missouri lead by capitalists in England. Three hundred and fifty pounds of pure silver were obtained from 1,000,000 lbs. of lead; 100 lbs. of the latter containing one half an ounce of the former. Some of the lead ore of Missouri, analyzed by Dr. King, was found to contain an amount of silver equal in value to the lead. Tin has been found near Caledonia, but not in sufficient quantities, it would seem, to justify working. Gold has not been discovered in Missouri. It will probably never be found in placers, but may be in combination with other metals.

In minerals of the non-metallic kind, Missouri abounds. The carboniferous limestone formation, on which St. Louis is built, and which extends throughout the northern division of the state, forms a beautiful and compact building material. Some of the layers abound in a species of coral, the stone from which presents a fine appearance when polished. Other layers furnish an excellent lime; and it is thought, by Dr. Prout, that some are sufficiently aluminous to make a good hydraulic cement. Sandstones are abundant, but are of too loose a texture and too coarse-grained to be used as a building material, though some species would answer very well for flagstones. The white sandstone of St. Genevieve makes superior glass. Porphyries, some of them having a red ground interspersed with crystals, and susceptible of a high polish, are numerous in Southern Missouri. They are well fitted for architectural and ornamental uses. Syenite is also found; but it is too coarse and loose of texture to answer building purposes. Afarbles are found in different parts of the state. They are usually * Manganese, in the form of the black oxyde, (a compound containing one part of the metal and two of oxygen,) is extensively made use of as a source of oxygen, and is particularly valuable on account of the use made of it in decomposing common salt for the production of chlorine. Some of the protosalts of the metal are employed in calico printing to produce brown colors, and occasionally as deoxydizing agents.The oxyde of cobalt is nearly black; but when existing as a hydrate, or when largely diluted by fusion with glass or borax, it produces its well known blue color. This color being permanent at very high temperatures, this oxyde is an invaluable article in the manufacture or porcelain and pottery, all the blue colors of which are derived from it. Fused with glass, it imparts a blue tint without impairing its transparency. Since the commencement of the manufacture of German silver (argentan), nickel has become an article of considerable commercial importance. It is most usually found in combination with the ores of cobalt. Its separation is a complicated process of a highly crystalline character, and traversed, sometimes, by veins of different colors, which impart to the marble a beautiful appearance. Several varieties are found in the vicinity of Pilot Knob Mountain. Gypsum, or sulphate of lime, from which plaster of Paris is made by heating the gypsum, has been discovered in Jackson county, extending in a regular layer, some distance along the bank of the Missouri. It may prove very valuable in agriculture. Saltpetre is known to exist in caverns on the banks of the Maramec, Current, and Gasconade. Sulphate of baryta, or heavy spar, is found in the lead diggings. Coal exists in abundance in the northern part of the state. It is in general what is called bituminous coal. At Cote Sans Dessein, however, it assumes the form of cannel coal, a variety which contains less bitumen and more carbon than the other. It has been discovered at several distinct points in Cole and Callaway counties, and as high as 40 miles upon the Osage. Some of its layers are of a great thickness. On distillation, this coal furnishes an excellent coke, and gives out gas of a fine illuminating power. It burns with a bright and copious flame, and leaves but little ashes. Being destitute of sulphur, it is well adapted to furnaces and manufacturing purposes. Clays, useful for economical purposes, are found in different parts of Missouri. The subsoil of the region around St. Louis, abounding as it does in oxyde of iron and alumina, makes brick of a very hand some red tint and smooth texture. It is fitted, too, for the manufacture of pottery. Variegated clays are found in the same vicinity. Kaslin (the Chinese name for porcelain clay) and pipe clays, of which porcelain and earthenware may be made, have been discovered near Caledonia and near Cape Girardeau. Delftware is manufactured in St. Louis from clay obtained near Commerce, in Scott county.

Internal Improvements

Missouri is far in the rear of other newly settled states, as regards works of internal improvement. There were in the state, at the beginning of 1850, five Macadamized roads, commencing at the city of St. Louis, neither of which, however, were in use more than a few miles beyond the city limits; a rail-road in progress of construction from Independence to the Missouri River, a distance of about three miles; and certain improvements had been made on the Osage River, at a cost of about $18,570. Common roads and bridges excepted, these were all the public improvements made up to 1850, in the state. Charters for sundry rail-roads, —one running from Palmyra to the Mississippi, one from Hannibal to St. Josephs, one from Independence to White River, one from Alexandria to St. Francisville, in Clark County, and another from Lexington, Lafayette County, to the Mississippi, have been obtained from the legislature; but it is probable that no further steps will be taken for some time towards constructing at least the second, third, and fifth mentioned roads. The obtaining a charter has been the only noteworthy event in the history of most rail-road enterprises in Missouri. We have learned by verbal communication, that a plank road is being constructed, in lieu of the proposed rail-road from St. Genevieve to the Iron Mountain. The work is being carried on with zeal. Measures are being taken also for the construction of a plank road from Cape Girardeau to Jackson. The amount of $30,000 has been subscribed for the purpose. The work has been commenced.

Manufacturing and mining are in advance of internal improvements. The amount invested in both would not, it is thought, have exceeded, in 1850, $2,000,000. Few states possess more manufacturing facilities than Missouri; but, as yet, only a few factories are in operation. In 1840, there were in the state, according to the census, 9 woolen manufactories: 6 in Calloway, and 3 in Pike, with 13 workmen, a capital of $5,100, and goods produced to the value of $13,750. There are no cotton or silk manufactories. Home-made cotton goods, of family wearing, amounted in value to $1,149,544. Several bale rope and bagging factories were in operation on the Missouri, and two in St. Louis.* The statistics of 1840 show that the lumber trade of that year produced $70,355; and that there were sold 196,032 horses and mules, 433,875 neat cattle, 348,018 sheep, 1,271,161 swine, and poultry to the value of $270,647. Since that time all these articles of trade have increased in yearly quantity; as also the agricultural products of the state. We have no means at present of ascertaining the precise increase.

 Population

From 1848 to 1850 the state increased 93,936 souls, or nearly sixteen per cent. in population, notwithstanding the large emigration to California. The ratio of increase of the whites and that of the slave is nearly exactly the same. In the 100 counties of the state there resided, in 1848, 588,971 people; in 1850, 682,907; of whom 595,140 were free, and 87,769 slaves. Next to St. Louis County, which contained 105,064, Platte County, containing 16,929, had the greatest number of inhabitants.

The subjoined extract, from the message of Gov. Edwards, for 1846, sets forth the principal supposed causes which retard the advancement, as well as those which tend to promote the establishment, of manufactures in Missouri: "The establishment of manufactories is attended with its difficulties. To carry them on very successfully, large investments and a superior population are required. We are not without capital, but the high rate of interest, and the many supposed profitable investments for money which have heretofore existed, have prevented the appropriation of funds to the erection of manufacturing establishments. If the rate of interest were lower, capital would be profitably invested in manufactories to a considerable extent. The tariff, also, retards the establishment of manufactories in our state, whether it be a tariff for protection, or a tariff for revenue, for all tariffs for revenue are tariffs for protection to a greater or less extent; but a high tariff tends more to prevent the establishment of manufactories in our state, than a low one, being a protection to the eastern manufacturer. The eastern manufacturer contends that he cannot succeed without protection against his foreign competitor. Our interior position, and our remoteness from the principal ports of entry, gives the manufacturer in this country a protection which no tariff can immediately affect. If, then, the eastern manufacturer was but lightly protected, or not protected at all, he would find it profitable to remove his capital, and to invest it in manufactures in the West, where nature would always protect him against the foreign competitor. No country can manufacture cheaper than our state. We have all the necessary ingredients at the lowest prices. We have tile real estate, the water power, the ore to make the iron to make the machinery, the manual labor, the provisions to support the hands, the raw material, the flax, hemp, and wool of our own production, and the cotton in exchange for our wheat, corn and tobacco, hogs, horses, cattle and mules; and these ingredients we have, taken together, cheaper than any other country on earth. Even our manual labor is at the lowest price. But, as before observed, to manufacture very successfully, a superior population is required. This we can soon have by fostering the common school, and developing the genius and mechanical ingenuity of the youth of our country."

Education

The state supports common schools, which seem to be working well. It contains, beside these and private schools and academies, five colleges: the University of St. Louis, a Roman Catholic Institution, located in St. Louis, and founded in 1829; St. Mary's College, at Barrens, also Catholic, founded in 1830; Marion College, at New Palmyra, founded in 1831; St. Charles College, Methodist, at St. Charles, founded in 1839; Fayette College, at Fayette; and Missouri University, at Columbia, founded in 1840. They could number in all, in 1840, about 500 students. The University of Missouri had, in 1850, 154 medical students; 6 seniors; 13 juniors; 10 sophomores; 21 freshmen; and 30 in the preparatory department. The President is Rev. James Shannon, A. M.: the professors are, W. W. Hudson, A. M., Math., Nat. Philos. and Astronomy; E. H. Leffingwell, A. M., Chems., Mineral. and Geology; R. F. Barrett, M. D., Physiol. and Mat. Medica; J. M. McDonell, M. D., Anat. and Surgery; J. S. Moore, M. D., Theory and Prac. of Medicine; R. S. Thomas, A. M., Metaph., Rhet., and Logic; G. H. Matthews, A. M., Anc. Languages; John B. Thompson, M. D., Pathol. and Clin. Medicine; R. A. Grant, A. M., tutor of Mathematics; W. C. Shields, A. B, tutor of Languages; J. S. Moore, M. D., Dean of Med. Faculty; I. J. Hodgen, MA. D., Demonst. of Anatomy; R. S. Thomas, A. M., Librarian. In 1840 the Methodists had 51 traveling preachers in the state; the Baptists, 86 ministers and 146 churches; the Presbyterians, 17 ministers and 33 churches; the Roman Catholics, one bishop and 30 priests; the Episcopalians, three ministers.