tracts of land entirely destitute of trees, and covered with rank grass, in some parts more than 6 feet high. Some of these tracts are not larger than a common field, while others extend farther than the eye can reach. Their surface is generally level, and the soil of a great part of them very rich.

Climate. The climate is generally temperate and healthy. It is milder than in the same parallels of latitude east of the Alleghany mountains.

Productions. The productions are various. Some of the most important are wheat, Indian corn, rye, barley, and hemp. Various kinds of fruit are cultivated. Cattle are

numerous. In the southern parts cotton and tobacco are important productions.

Commerce. The commerce of the Western States centres chiefly at New Orleans. 'The northern and eastern

parts have considerable trade with New-York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

Towns. The principal towns are Cincinnati, St. Louis, Lexington, Louisville, and Nashville. »

Manufactures.

Manufactures have of late been introduced to a considerable extent, particularly in Ohio and Kentucky. The most important manufacturing towns, west of Pittsburgh, are Cincinnati, and Lexington.

Religion. There are various denominations, but the most numerous are Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists. Settlement. But a few years since, this part of the Union was a wilderness, inhabited only by Indians and wild beasts. It has been very rapidly settled, chiefly by emigrants from the Atlantic states. The population of these 5 states, in 1790, was only 110,000; in 1820, 1,750,000.

Antiquities. Throughout the western parts of America are to be seen monuments of the ancient inhabitants. They extend from the great lakes to the gulf of Mexico, and from the Alleghany mountains to the Pacific ocean. They consist of mounds of earth, fortifications, and walls, of various forms and dimensions. No hewn stone or bricks are to be seen. They are found on the valleys of large streams, on elevated plains, and sometimes on hills. Trees several hundred years old, are seen, in many instances, growing out of them. Their origin and history are entirely unknown..

TENNESSEE.

Division. The Cumberland mountains divide this state into 2 parts, East and West Tennessee.

Chief towns.

Murfreesborough, the seat of govern

ment, is pleasantly situated, 32 miles SE. of Nashville, and is a thriving town.

Nashville is a flourishing town, and the largest town in the state. It is situated on the Cumberland, in a fertile and populous country, and contains upwards of 3,000 inhabitants. The other most considerable towns in West Tennessee are Franklin, Fayetteville, Shelbyville, Columbia, Clarkesville, Carthage, and Gallatin.

Knoxville, the largest town in East Tennessee, is pleasantly situated on the Holston. Population about 2,000 The other principal towns, in East Tennessee, are Jonesborough, Greenville, and Rogersville.

Education. Greenville college, 75 miles E. of Knoxville, is the most respectable seminary in the state, and has about 70 students. Colleges have also been incorporated at Knoxville, Nashville, and in Washington county.

Rivers. The Mississippi forms the western boundary of this state. The two other great rivers are the Tennessee and Cumberland. Some of the smaller ones are the Holston, Clinch, French Broad, Notahacky, Hiwassee, and Duck.

Mountains. The Cumberland mountains run from SW. to NE. through the middle of the state, and the Alleghanies extend along the eastern parts.

Face of the country. The western part is level or undulating the middle hilly; and the eastern part, called East Tennessee, abounds in mountains, many of them lofty, and presenting a grand and picturesque scenery.

Soil. The western part has generally a black, rich soil; in the middle there is much excellent land; the mountains in the eastern part are lean, but there are many fertile valleys.

Curiosities. The Whirl or Suck, in the Tennessee, where it breaks through the Cumberland mountains, is a great curiosity. It is near the southern border of the state. The river is here compressed to about 70 yards. Just as it enters the mountain, there projects from the northern shore, a large rock, against which the water is thrown with great violence and rebounds around the point of the rock, and produces the whirl,-There are several remarkably caves.

Indians. The Chickasaws possess all the western part of the state between the Mississippi and the Tennessee. The Cherokees own a large tract near the southeast part, on both sides of the Hiwassee river. They are considerably advanced in civilization. Brainerd, 140 miles WSW. of Knoxville, is a missionary station.

History. Some settlements in Tennessee were formed about 1775. It formed a part of North Carolina till 1790; and in 1796, it was erected into a state.

Chief towns. Frankfort, the seat of government, is situated on Kentucky river, 60 miles above its confluence with the Ohio. Population 1,700.

Lexington, the largest town, is pleasantly situated on a branch of the Elkhorn, 22 miles ESE. of Frankfort. It is handsomely built, chiefly of brick, and is one of the greatest manufacturing towns in the western states. The coun

try around is level and extremely fertile, and the vicinity is much admired for its rich and beautiful scenery.

ulation 5,300.

PopLouisville, situated at the rapids of the Ohio, 52 miles W. of Frankfort, is the second town in size, and has an extensive commerce.

Russellville, 190 miles SW. of Lexington, is situated in a very fertile country. Population 1,700. The other most considerable towns are Maysville, Washington, Bairdstown, Paris, Danville, Georgetown, Newport, Winchester, and Hopkinsville.

Education. Transylvania University, at Lexington, is a flourishing institution, and has a law school, and a medical school connected with it.

Rivers. The Ohio bounds the state on the north, the Mississippi on the west, and the Big Sandy on the east. The Tennessee and Cumberland flow through the western part. The other principal rivers are the Kentucky, Green, Barren, and Licking.

Face of the country. The eastern counties are mountainous, those on the Ohio are hilly, the rest of the country is partly level, and partly undulating.

Soil. Much of the soil is very excellent; particularly in the country for fifty miles around Lexington; also a district in the southwest, between Green and Cumberland rivers. All the level and undulating parts lie upon an immense bed of limestone, usually about 8 feet below the surface. In dry seasons the inhabitants in many parts suffar inconvenience from the scarcity of water.

Salt Springs. There are several valuable salt springs, from which salt is manufactured, for the supply not only of Kentucky, but also of a great part of Ohio and Tennessee. -At Harrodsburgh, 30 miles SW. of Lexington, there is a mineral spring, from which Epsom salt is obtained.

Curiosities. The caves in the SW. part of the state are great curiosities. One styled Mammoth cave, 130 miles SW. of Lexington, is said to be 8 or 10 miles long, with a great number of avenues and windings.

Cumberland, Kentucky, and Dick's rivers have excavated the earth so as to form abrupt precipices and deep gulfs. The precipices formed by Kentucky river are in many pla