Jay County, Indiana - The whole text, 1881 (part 6 of 11)

Education, etc. - The general supervision of the educational interests of the State is intrusted to a superintendent of public instruction, who, with the secretary of state and attorney -general, constitute the hoard of education for the State.

Alabama And Mississippi

ALABAMA, (Indian, "Here we rest,") one of the Southern States of the American Union and the ninth State admitted into the Union, lies between 30deg. lOmin. and 35deg. north latitude, and Sideg. 53min. and 8Sdeg. 30min. west longitude ; and is bounded on the north by Tennessee ; east by Georgia and Florida; south by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico; and west by Mississippi. It has an area of 50,722 square miles, or 32,462,080 acres. The State is very nearly of a rectangular shape, widening a little towards the southeast and southwest, thus causing us to expect an excellent seaboard, but Alabama is deprived of this by Florida, which occupies full three-fourths of the coast line. The country is neither mountainous nor level, but rugged and broken, especially in the centre, with many picturesque views and wild romantic gorges. The Alleghanies terminate in the north in a series of elevated hills, and the ground gradually slopes to within sixty miles of the Gulf of Mexico, when it becomes level. There are three bays in Alabama, the principal of which is Mobile Bay, stretching north for about thirty miles. There are also three large rivers - the Tennessee, the JCombigbee, and the Alabama.

History and Government. - Alabama first became known to the people of the old world in 1541, half a century after the discovery of America. The famous exploring expedition of De Soto fought its way fiercely through the savage tribes who peopled its wilds at that period", and who were much less savage and far greater numerically than the northern aborigines. In one instance, a chiefs house measured 120 feet by 40, and included small buildings like offices. Upon the Savannah River, at Silver Bluff, there was found a remarkable temple, 100 feet long and 40 feet wide, and proportionally high. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, the French erected a fort on Mobile Bay, but the city of that name was not commenced until nine years later, in 1711. In 1763 the entire French possessions east of the Mississippi, except New Orleans, fell into the hands of the English. Alabama constituted a part of Georgia up to 1802. from which period it was included in the Mississippi territory until 1817, when it was organized into a separate government. In 1819 it was admitted into the Union as a sovereign State. Alabama passed an ordinance of secession on January 11, 1861, and was readmitted into the Union by the Omnibus bill, in June, 1868.

The government is based on the revised constitution of 1877. The governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, and attorney -gen era!, are elected by the people, and hold office for two years, except the auditor who remains in office four years. The legislature meets on the third Monday in November. It is composed of a house of representatives of not more than 100 members; and a senate numbering not more than one-third nor less than one fourth of the representatives. The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of three justices with appellate jurisdiction only, except that it may issue writs of injunction, mandamus, habeas corpus, and quo warranto ; courts of chancery, circuit courts, each of which is held by one judge ; a probate court for each county; and city courts for Mobile, Montgomery, Selma and Huntsville; in addition to which the legislature may establish inferior courts of law and equity. Alabama sends seven delegates to Congress, and casts ten electoral votes.

Geology and Mineralogy. - In the northeastern corner of the State, extending southwesterly about 160 miles and averaging 80 miles in width, is the mineral region. Here, embracing an area of 4,000 square miles, are three coal fields, the Tennessee, Warrior, and Cahawba fields. Near the coal are found equally available deposits of iron ore, the seams of hematite being at some points from seven to fifteen feet in thickness. The hematite yields 56 percent, of metallic iron, and other ores from 36 per cent, upwards, lied ochre, lead, and manganese are also found. In this region white marble of excellent quality has been found and worked ; flagstone, soapstone, plumbago, and granite are also quarried. Near the coal fields are large beds of sandstone and limestone. There are, in various sections of the State, salt, sulphur, and chalybeate springs. A gold mine was also wrought for a short time in St. Clair county.

Climate and Soil. - The climate of this State is almost tropical, reaching to within seven degrees of the torrid zone, and its productions are allied to those of the tropics. Rivers rarely freeze. The lowlands are very unhealthy near the rivers and muscle-shoals, but the hilly regions are salubrious.

The soil is exhuberantly fertile in many places, yielding more cotton, the great staple of the south, than that of any other State. There are fine grazing lands in the low hills of the north, where the Alleghanies terminate, and the long fiat valleys between them are extremely rich. The central part is a great, broken, and swelling prairie, remarkably fertile; while the southern, though often

Products, Commerce, and Manufactures. - Among the chief products are cotton, in the production of which Alabama takes the lead; corn, fruit, wine, stock, etc. The region best adapted to agriculture and stock lies in the northwestern part of the State. Alabama is a rich timber country, yielding almost all kinds of useful timber. Besides the products mentioned, the State produces large quantities of oats, sweet potatoes, and butter; a considerable quantity of wheat, rye, rice, wool, hay, peas, beans, potatoes, fruit, market vegetables, and sugar ; some tobacco, barley, buckwheat, wine, cheese, grass-seeds, hops, flax, and silk are also raised.

The most important manufactories are flour and meal mills; establishments for ginning cotton ; cotton goods mills ; manufactories of cotton thread and yarn; iron foundries; leather and machinery manufactories ; and saw mills.

Education, etc. - The State board of education is composed of the superintendent of public schools, president of the board, and two members from each of the congressional districts elected for four years; the governor is ex-ojficio a member of the board, but has no vote. There are county superintendents, one in each county, who are elected by the people. The county boards are composed of the county superintendent and two others, and the township boards consist of three trustees, who contract with teachers. County directors examine teachers, and grant certificates good for two years in the county where granted. The school fund consists of the proceeds of all lands granted by the United States for school purposes, of special appropriations by the State or individuals ; of escheated estates ; of money paid for exemption from military duties; of an annual appropriation of one-fifth of the revenue; and a poll-tax of $1.50.

There is an insane hospital at Tuscaloosa ; a blind asylum at Mobile. The State Penitentiary is located at "Wetumpka, and is selfsupporting.

Mobile, the chief city and commercial emporium, is also one of the largest cities in the South. Montgomery, the capital, Tuscaloosa, and Selma are the principal cities.

Mississippi

MISSISSIPPI, the seventh State admitted into the Union, and eighteenth in population, is situated between latitude 30deg. 13min. and 35deg. north, and longitude 88deg. 7min. 91deg. 41min. west, and is bounded on the north by Tennessee ; east by Alabama; south by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana; and west by the Pearl and ilississippi rivers. It has an area of 47,156 square miles, or 30,179,840 acres. North of latitude 31deg. the western boundary is wholly formed by the Mississippi River, the country along which is a continued swamp, occasionally interspersed with patches sufficiently elevated to admit of cultivation. Prom this low plain the surface gradually rises towards the east, where a tract of moderately high land forms the watershed between the rivers joining the Mississippi in this State and those flowing separately into the Gulf of Mexico. Many other hill ranges, of no great height, traverse the State, giving to the greater part of it an undulating surface. Next to the Mississippi, the Yazoo, Pearl, and Pascagoula rivers are the principal, and lie wholly within this State. Mississippi has about 88 miles of sea-coast.

History and Government. - Although discovered by De Soto in 1542, there were no settlements made in Mississippi until 1682, when it was taken possession of by La Salle in the name of the king of Prance. The first attempt at colonization was made in 1698 by D'Iberville, the first governor of Louisiana (Mississippi being then known by that name), who is said to have ascended the river to the point where the Red River empties into the Mississippi. In 1700 M. de Tonty accomplished the daring feat of inarching from Illinois with a party of Canadian French and joined Iberville's colony. St. Peter's settlement was founded in 1703. New Orleans, which was shortly afterwards founded, soon drew together a population from the earlier settlements in addition to retaining nearly all the newly-arrived emigrants. The Port Rosalie massacre of 1729, in which two hundred people lost their lives, in addition to four hundred persons, including negroes, being captured, resulted in the destruction of every vestige of civilized life within the present borders of the State. The captives were subsequently rescued. Settlements soon began rapidly to extend, and it is estimated that the population, in 1733, was five thousand. Progress for some time was retarded by the Chickasaw war, which ended favorably to the combination of Indian tribes. The war between England and France ended by the relinquishment of all the territory east of the Mississippi of the latter nation to the former. At the termination of the Revolutionary struggle Mississippi was included as a portion of the United States territory, and in 1798 was, together with Alabama, formed into a territorial government. In March, 1817, Mississippi was separated from Alabama, and later in the same year was admitted into the Union as a sovereign State. It seceded in 1S61, and joined the Southern Confederacy. In 1S63, the city of Vicksburg, after a long defence, was forced to surrender to General Grant; and Jackson, the capital, was taken and partially destroved.

The executive nower is vested in a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary ot State, treasurer, auditor, attorney-general, and superintendent of public education, elected by the people for a term of four years, and a commissioner of immigration and agriculture, chosen by joint ballot of the two houses of the legislature, for the same term. Senators are elected by senatorial districts for four years, one half retiring biennially ; their number (at present 37) cannot be less than one-fourth nor more than one-third of that of the representatives. The representatives are elected for two years ; their number cannot be less than 100 nor greater than 120, (at present 115). The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, circuit courts, chancery courts, and justices of the peace.

Geology and Mineralogy. - The country is of the tertiary and upper secondary formations, with great alluvial valleys. The mineral wealth of the State is not great, and mining has little connection with the industries of the State.

Climate and Soil. - The climate nearly resembles that of Louisiana, but it is said to be healthier. But, during summer, fevers and bilious affections are more or less prevalent m all parts of the State.

A large proportion of the soil is fertile, and covered with timber ; oak, hickory, black walnut, maple, and pine being the principal forest trees. The prairie region of the northeast has a rich black, adhesive soil impregnated with lime, and yielding luxuriant crops of Indian corn and cotton. The southeast is sandy, with some fertile patches, producing abundance of small grains and rice. But the richest portion of the State is that section lying between the upland bluffs and the Mississippi, called sometimes the swamp-lands.

Products, Commerce, and Manufactures. - The sugar-cane grows in the south, and the orange on the lower banks of the Pearl and Pascagoula rivers; in the central region inaize, rice, tobacco, indigo, rigs, grapes, melons, and sweet potatoes attain to excellence, while apples and pears thrive in the north. Tobacco and indigo were formerly^ the staples of Mississippi. Till the late war cotton was the principal product, and its culture engrossed by far the greater portion of the attention of the planter.

Education, etc. - The State board of education consists of the State superintendent of education, the secretary of state, and the attorney-general. There is a superintendent for each county, appointed by the board of education with the consent of the senate for two years. Each county and each incorporated city of more than 3,000 inhabitants forms a school district, and has a board of six school directors, those for the cities being elected by the qualified voters, and those for the school districts outside of cities by the patrons of the schools. Among the educational institutions are the Mississippi College, Clinton, in Hinds County ; and the University of Mississippi. The university at Oxford is in a nourishing condition ; no tuition fees are required. Alcorn University has been organized; it is mainly for the education of colored youth.

According to the census of 1870 the total population of Mississippi was 827,922, of which 444,201 were colored, 809 Indians, and 16 Chinese.

Louisiana

LOUISIANA, the fifth State admitted into the Union, lies between 29deg. and 33deg. north latitude, and 8Sdeg. 40min. and 94deg. lOmin. west longitude ; and is bounded on the north bv Arkansas and Mississippi ; east by Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico ; south by the Gulf of Mexico ; and west by Texas. It has an area of 41,346 square miles. The surface, which is gener-' ally level, and slopes gradually towards the south, is traversed m its northern part by a few hill-ranges of inconsiderable height. Its shores, especially those of the delta of the Mississippi, are so very low that they are apt to be inundated by high spring tides. The delta, which comprises an alluvial flat of about 12,000 square miles, is nowhere raised much more than ten feet above the level of the gulf.

History and Government. - The region west of the Mississippi was first explored by Europeans in 1512 ; but no effective settlement was made in it till 1099, when two Frenchmen, Iberville, and Bienville, brother of Louis XIV", founded a French colony on the shores of Louisiana. In 1712 the king of France granted a charter to M. Crozat, which covered the whole province. Five years later this charter was surrendered to the king, and the great territory of Louisiana was granted to the western company. This company was organized by John Law, an enterprising Scotchman, who procured from the Duke of Orleans, then regent of France, a charter for a bank to which this company was attached. Everybody who took stock in the enterprise expected to amass great wealth, and the excitement attending the scheme of exploring the supposed inexhaustible royal mines near the Mississippi was almost as great as that which preceded the bursting of the famous " South Sea bubble." In three years Law became a bankrupt, and many others were ruined. The company's hopes of finding vast sums of gold in Louisiana were not fulfilled, and attention was turned to agriculture. Large grants of land were made to the wealthy and the powerful, Law receiving a plot of twelve miles square. The savages harassing the colony, and not so many settlers coming into the colony as was anticipated, the company lost all hope and surrendered the charter to the king. The French colonial government was now inaugurated. War breaking out between Great Britain and France in 1760, Canada was taken by the English, and many of its inhabitants sought a home in southern climes, some settling on the Acadian coast of Louisiana, and others proceeding west of the river, and forming the settlements of Attakapas, Opelousas, and Avoyelles. In 1762 the territory of Louisiana west of the Mississippi, with New Orleans, was ceded to Spain by a secret treaty. By the treaty of Paris in 1763, Great Britain, France, and Spain ended their difficulties. France abandoned to Great Britain all her northern

Sossessions, the whole of Louisiana east of the Mississippi, except few Orleans. The secret treaty of cession was not made public until 1764. The treaties between Great Britain, France, and Spain, and the United States concluded in 1783, threw open the Mississippi to navigation, ceded the Floridas to Spain, and bounded the possessions of the two countries by a line eastward of the thirty-first parallel on the Mississippi to the Appalachicola River, through the middle of that river to its junction with the Flint, from the Flint to the head of St. Mary's Eiver, and down that river to the Atlantic Ocean. The Spaniards, however, allowed the people of the United States very little intercourse through the Mississippi. In 1788 the navigation of the river was accorded to the young West, provided it would separate from the United States, and become a distinct empire. The West entertained the proposition, but on consideration returned to their country, and the scheme miscarried. In 1795 another treaty accorded to the United States the free navigation of the river, and the privilege of using New Orleans for ten years as a merchandise depot. In 1800 the famous treaty of San Udefonso was signed, and Louisiana again became a French colony. Everything seemed favorable for the re-establishment of the French government in the province, when a vessel arrived at the levee from Bordeaux, and the news soon spread that Bonaparte had sold their country and themselves to the neighboring republic. The treaty of Paris, signed 13th April, 1803, had ceded Louisiana and all its appurtenances forever to the United States ; and the United States had agreed to pay 60,000,000 francs to discharge certain claims of their citizens on France. In 1S04 a territorial government was established, and Louisiana was divided into two sections, of which that which at present constitutes the State of the same name was to be known as the Territory of Orleans. In 1S05 Congress established a government in Louisiana similar to that of the Mississippi Territory. Louisiana was admitted into the Union in 1812. In the war of 1812 Louisiana played an important part. On the 8th of January, 1815, the battle of New Orleans was fought and won by the Americans. This St;.te passed an ordi-

Louisiana And Texas

The executive power is vested in a governor, lieutenant-governor, (ez-otficio president of the senate), secretary of State^ treasurer, auditor, attorney-general, and superintendent of public education, elected bv the people for a term of four years. The legislative power" is vested in a general assembly, consisting of a senate and house of representatives. The senators, 36 in number, are elected for four .veal's, one-half retiring biennially ; the representatives numbering not more than 120 nor less than 90, (present number 107), hold office for two years. For senatorial purposes the State is divided into districts, (at present 24), of as nearly equal population as possible, no parish being divided except Orleans, from each of which not more than two senators are chosen. The representatives are apportioned among the parishes and 12 representative districts of Orleans according to population, each parish having at least one.

The judiciary is composed of a supreme court, district courts, and justices of the peace. Louisiana sends five representatives to Congress, and casts eight electoral votes.

Geology and Mineralogy. - The tertiary formation occupies two-fifths of the State ; it contains coal, salt, iron, ochre, gypsum, and marl. A saline bed seems to underlie the tertiary. The rest of the State is alluvial and diluvial. The mineral resources of the State are altogether insignificant, consisting of moderate supplies of iron in the west, and coal in the north. Salt, however, is obtained in abundance.

Climate and Soil. - Both heat and cold are experienced in a greater degree than in the other States in the same latitude. In the south the winter is usually characterized by a short period of northwest winds and white frosts at night ; but in the north and central parts sharp frosts and sometimes falls of snow occur. In summer the climate of the north is mild and comparatively healthy ; while in the south intense heats last for a long time, thunder-storms and hurricanes are frequent, and the yellow fever and other pestilential diseases are prevalent.

The soil of Louisiana is of every quality, from the most productive to the most sterile. Some portions of the great alluvial plain, and of lands on the banks of the rivers, are as fertile as any in the Union ; but the prairies consist for the most part of secondrate lands.

Products, Commerce and Manufactures. - Cotton and sugar are the great staples of Louisiana ; rice, maize, and tobacco come next in order ; but the raising of these has been neglected for that of cotton, and the culture of indigo is now almost abandoned. The crop of cotton, which is of various kinds, was estimated, previous to the breaking out of the civil war in the United States, at half a million bales a year. It is raised principally in the northeast part of the State. Pine timber is an important article of export, and the pine forests afford great quantities of pitch, tar, and turpentine.

The commerce of the State is centered in New Orleans. To facilitate internal water communication, various canals have been cut between the Mssissippi and the lakes of the low country. Railways also connect the principal towns. Louisiana is almost wholly an agricultural State.

Education, etc. - There is a State superintendent, and six division superintendents, all of whom constitute the board of education. The division superintendents are nominated by the State superintendent, and appointed by the governor. There are county boards which are composed of from five to fifteen members, one from each jury ward. The township boards consist of from, three to five members. Teachers are examined by the State and division superintendents, who give certificates valid for one year; certificates given by the State superintendent are valid anywhere in the State.

The capital of Louisiana, and the commercial emporium of the southwest, is New Orleans. It is situated on a bend of the Mississippi River, which has given rise to the name of the " Crescent City," and is regularly laid out, and tolerably well built. Its harbor is accessible for large ships, and it has a great and constantly increasing commerce. The population in 1870 was 191,- 322. Baton Rouge, which was the capital before the war, has a population of 0,498.

Texas

TEXAS, the fifteenth State admitted into the Union, and nineteenth in population, lies between latitude 25deg. 50min. and 36deg. 30inin. north, and longitude 93deg. 30min. and 106deg. 40min. west, and is bounded on the north oy New Mexico, the Indian Territory, from which it is separated by the Red River, and Arkansas ; east by Arkansas and Louisiana ; southeast by the Gulf of Mexico; and southwest and west by Mexico and New Mexico. It has an area of 274,350 square miles, or 175,587,840 acres. The general aspect of the country is that of a vast inclined plane, gradually sloping from the mountains on the west, eastward to the sea, and intersected by numerous rivers, all having a southeast direction. The territory may be divided into three separate regions, differing in many respects from each other. The first, or level region, extends along the coast, with a breadth inland varying from 30 to 100 miles. The soil of this region is principally a rich alluvium, with scarcely a stone, yet free from stagnant swamps. Broad woodlands fringe the banks of the rivers, between which are extensive and rich pasture lands. The second division, the largest of the three, is the undulating or rolling prairie region, which extends for 150 or 200 miles farther inland, its wide grassy tracts alternating with others that are thickly timbered. Limestone and sandstone form the common substrata of this region : the upper soil consists of arich friable loam. The third, or mountainous region, situated principally in the southwest, includes the Sierra Guadaloupe, a portion of the Mexican Alps, and a uesert tract at the foot of the mountains. The surface is in most parts covered with luxuriant native grass, affording excellent pasturage. It has, also, an ample supply of timber, as well for use as for ornament. Live-oak, valuable for ship building, is here abundant and of excellent quality. White, black, and post-oak, ash, elm, hickory, musquite, walnut, sycamore, hois oVarc, so called from the Indians using it to make their bows, cypress, and caoutchouc, are among the common trees ; and the mountainous parts in the southeast abound with pine and cedar of fine quality.

The principal rivers of Texas, running from north to south, are the Neches, Trinidad, Brazos, Colorado, and Nueces. They all fall into the Gulf of Mexico, or rather (except the Brazos) into its bays and lagoons. The Rio Grande del Norte, a noble stream, " ving a course of about 1,800 miles, is, though partly broken by )ids, an important commercial channel. Galveston Bay, into which the Trinidad empties, the finest on the coast, is about 35 miles long, and from 12 to 18 wide. Its average depth is from nine to ten feet, but in the channel there are from eighteen to thirty feet of water.

History and Government. - The first Europeans who visited Texas were a colony of French emigrants under La Salle, who with the design of founding a settlement in the delta of the Mississippi, passed the delta unawares, landed at Matagora Bay, and erected Port St. Louis on the Lavaca. After many misfortunes, La Salle was murdered by his own men near the Neches River, in 1687. A Spanish settlement and mission was formed in 1690, but was soon abandoned. In 1715, the country was settled by the Spaniards, under the name of New Philippines, and several missions established ; but the Comanche and Apache Indians, among the most warlike in America, hindered the progress of the country. In 1803, when Louisiana was ceded by France to the United States, Texas, claimed by both Spain and the United States, became disputed territory. From 1S06 to 1816 settlements were formed, and several attempts made to wrest the country from Spain. In one of these, in 1813, 2,500 Americans and Mexicans were killed, and 700 inhabitants of San Antonio. Mina, a Spanish refugee, gained some successes, but was defeated and shot. Lafitte, a Gulf pirate, made a settlement at Galveston in 1815, but it was broken up in 1821. In 1819 the controversy between the United States and Spain in regard to the Texan boundary was ended by the cession of Florida to the United States, and the establishment of the Sabine River as the boundary line. Spain was guaranteed her possessions west of that river. In 1820, Moses Austin, an American, received a large grant of lands in Texas from the Mexican government, and began a settlement which rapidly increased ; but many of f he settlers were of so lawless a character, that in 1830 the government forbade any more Americans coming into Texas. In 1833, a convention of settlers, now 20,000 in number, made an unsuccessful attempt to form an independent Mexican State; and in 1835, a provisional government was formed, Sam Houston chosen commander-in-chief, and the Mexicans driven out of Texas.

The Mexican President, Santa Anna, invaded Texas with an army of 7,500 men, and was successively victorious and defeated in numerous skirmishes. The American settlers declared their independence in March, 1836, and the Mexicans were defeated and Santa Anna captured at San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, and

The Yosemitk Texas, Nebraska And Dakota

Texas became an independent republic, acknowledged in 1837 by the United States, and in 1840 by England, Franco, and Belgium. No serious attempts having been made by the Mexicans to regain Texas for eight or nine years, the political nationality of°tbe country was considered as consolidated, and in 1845 the United States admitted the young republic into the Union. The consequences of this act was war with Mexico - a war which the United States virtually assumed by the annexation, at a time when Texas was in a state of war with Mexico. The history of this war is well known. The arms of the United States were everywhere victorious ; and when peace returned, not Texas alone, but New Mexico and California Alta were parceled off to the Americans, and forever lost to the Mexican Republic. The joint resolutions of Congress, admitting Texas into tne Union, were signed by the President of the United States on the 1st of March, 1845, and ratified by the Congress of Texas, on the 4th of July of the same year. The State government was organized on the 19th of February, 1846. The boundary between New Mexico and Texas, the latter of which planned the line of the Bio Grande, was adjusted by compromise

In February, 1861, Texas joined the secession, and during the war furnished several able officers, many soldiers, and immense supplies to the Confederate armies, and being removed from the seat of war, gained in population and prosperity. Texas was restored to the Union in April, 1S69.

The executive officers are a governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of State, comptroller of public accounts, treasurer, commissioner of the general land office, and attorney-general. They hold office for two years, and are all elected by the qualified voters, except the secretary of state, who is appointed by the governor and senate. The lieutenant-governor is ex-qfficio president of the senate, and in that capacity receives the pay of a senator. The legislature consists of a senate of 31 members, elected by districts, and a house of representatives of 93 members, distributed amon" the counties. At the apportionment in 1880 the number of representatives may be increased to not more than 150. The representatives are elected biennially; the senators hold office four years, one-half being elected biennially. The sessions are biennial. The judicial anthority is vested in, a supreme court, a court of appeals, district courts, county courts, and justices of the peace, lexas sends six representatives to Congress, and oasts eight electoral votes.

Geology and Mineralogy - The coast region is formed of alluvial beds of sand or gravel ; the middle of outcrops of tertiary formations. In some places petroleum is found on the surface of acid springs, and the earth is so charged with bitumen as to be used for fuel. There are. fertilizing marls and gypsums, brown coal or lignite in beds of six inches to eight feet, and beds of hematite. Beyond the tertiary lies a wide range of cretaceous formations, beds of limestone, sandstone, clays, marls, and beyond these 5,000 square miles of coal measures - four distinct seams of eight or nine feet in all - resting on fire-clay. There are also excellent marbles, and some deposits of lead and copper. The most abundant mineral is iron, which is found iu several counties, though little has been done toward developing the resources of the State in this particular. There is also zinc and soapstone.

Climate and Soil. - The climate is pure, temperate and very salubrious. The thermometer ranges from an average of 81de°'. P., the hottest week in summer, to 29deg., the coldest week m winter. The eastern region is rainy ; the middle, moderate ; and the southwestern, dry.

Speaking generally, the soil is good. Among the natural curiosities of the country is the "cross-timber" of northern Texas, a continuous series of forests, varying in width from 5 to 50 miles, and extending in a direct line about the longitude 97deg. west, from the woody region at the sources of the Trinidad northward to the Arkansas Eiver. It appears at a distance like an immense wall of wood ; and from the west, such is its linear regularity, it looks as if it were planted by art. It forms the great boundary of the western prairies.

Products, Commerce and Manufactures. - Cotton is the principal product; the other products are wool, tobacco, the cereals, etc. Peaches, melons, figs, oranges, lemons, pineapples, dates, and olives are grown ; grapes are abundant ; vanilla, indigo sareaparilla, and a large variety of dyeing and medicinal shrubs and plants, are indigenous ; and on all the river-bottoms is an undergrowth of cane. Along the water-courses, also, and near the sea, the larger trees are sometimes wreathed with Spanish moss, which serves both for fodder and for the manufacture of cheap bedding.

public schools are regulated by an act of 1873, with amendments. In each county a board of five school directors is elected for four years; these choose one of their number president who is cx-qMcio county superintendent of public instruction. In each school district three trustees are elected annually. Cities may assume control of the schools within their limits, subject to the general school law. Among the educational establishments are St. Mary's College, at Galveston ; Baylor University, at Independence ; Waco University, at Waco; and Colorado Coilege, at Columbus.

NEBRASKA, the twenty-fourth State admitted into the Union, lies between latitude 40deg. and 43deg. north, and 95de<*. 25min. and 104deg. west longitude, and is bounded on the nortn by Dakota; east by the Missouri River; south by Kansas; and west by Wyoming Territory. It has an area of 75,995 square miles, or 48,636,800 acres. The greater part of the surface is elevated and undulating prairie. It has no mountains or hi°-h hills. °

History, Government, and Finances. - Nebraska is derived from the Indian language, and signifies shallow water. Nebraska was a part of the Louisiana territory purchased of France in 1803. It was first organized as a territory by the celebrated " Kansas' and Nebraska Bill" in 1854, and was admitted into the Union as a sovereign State in March, 1867.

The governor, secretary of state, auditor, and treasurer, are elected for a term of two years, the auditor for four. The legislature meets biennially on the Thursday after the first Monday in January, and consists of 13 senators and 39 representatives, which numbers may be increased by the legislature, but not beyond 25 senators and 75 representatives. The judiciary consists of a supreme court, district courts, probate courts, and justices of the peace. Nebraska sends one delegate to Congress, and casts three electoral votes.

Climate, Soil, etc. - The soil is rich and arable. A fine vegetable mould, porous and friable, covers most of the surface to the depth of two or three feet, below which is a light loam. Beds of disintegrating limestone, plaster, and other lime°and sand stones exist in different parts of the State. Excellent buildino-- stone, limestone, magnesian limestone, and brown sandstone are found. The greater part of southern Nebraska is underlaid with coal of the best quality, which is profitably mined. The chief products are Indian corn, wheat, oats, hemp, tobacco, sorghum and hay. Large quantities of excellent grapes are grown. ° '

Education, etc. - Nebraska has no State board of education. There is a superintendent of publio instruction, and a county superintendent for each county, elected by the people. The county superintendents examine teachers, and grant certificates valid for six mouths, one, and two years. There is an asylum for the deaf and dumb at Omaha.

Omaha is the chief city. It is the eastern terminus of the Pacifio Railroad stretching across the continent. Lincoln, the capital is a flourishing place.

Dakota

THE Territory of Dakota is bounded on the north by British America; east by Minnesota and Iowa; south by Nebraska; and west by the Territories of Wyoming and Montana. It has an area of 152,000 square miles, or 97,280,000 acres. This Territory was organized in 1861, but since then Wyoming has been taken from its western side. The surface generally is elevated, but not mountainous. A plateau called the Coteaii des Prairies, with an average elevation of 1,500 feet, traverses the eastern portion of the State for several hundred miles ; the Coteau du Missouri, not so high as the table-land mentioned, runs from the southeastern to the northwestern portion, and westward nearly to the Missouri River. The basin of the lied River of the North, and that portion cast of the Dakota River, are covered will] grassy plains. The rest of the Territory is composed of high rolling prairie. Nearly all of the country is well watered ; in the western and northwestern parts there are excellent grazing lands.

The territorial government consists of a governor and secretary of state, appointed by the President ; and a treasurer, auditor, and superintendent of public instruction, elected by the people. The judiciary is composed of a supreme court, and three district courts, besides courts of probate in the settled counties. The Territory is rich in minerals. Gold, silver, iron, copper, and coal exist in large quantities in the Black Hills in the southwest. A valuable pipe-stone quarry has been opened near the eastern border. In the north, near Devil's Lake, there are rich salt deposits.

The superintendent of public instruction is elected by the people for two years, and county superintendents are elected for the same period. Either of the officers mentioned may examine teachers.

Montana

THE Territory of Montana, organized in 1SG4, lies between latitude 45deg. and 49de<r. north, and longitude 104deg. and 116deg. west from Greenwich. It is bounded on the north by the British possessions; east by Dakota; south by Dakota and Idaho ; and west by Idaho. It has an area of 143,776 square miles. The eastern part of the territory consists chiefly of rolling and elevated table-kinds, and the western portion is mountainous with many beautiful and fertile valleys. In the sheltered valleys, and in the basin of Clarke's Fork, as well as in the southern portion generally, the climate is salubrious, but on the more elevated lands it is colder.

Until 1S64, Montana was included in Idaho. At that time it was cut off, and given a separate territorial organization. The government consists of a governor, secretary, superintendent of Indian affairs, a chief justice and two associate justices, who are appointed by the President, and supported by the United States.

There are four or five principal gold-bearing regions on the Hell-Gate River, the Big-Hole Creek, and other tributaries of the Madison and Jeft'ei-son rivers; on the Missouri, from the junction of the Three Forks to the mouth of Smith's or Deep River; and on the branches of the Yellowstone, east of Helena. Silver is found in nearly all of the places mentioned. There are extensive deposits of copper and lead. Bituminous coal exists in abundance, and lignite is found in large quantities. Iron, gypsum, plumbago, antimony, arsenic, tin, tellurium, and cinnabar have also been met with. In numerous localities there are hot springs and geysers, chiefly, however, about the head-waters of the Madison River. The soil is said to be extremely fertile, and when cultivated makes almost incredible returns. Stock-raising is also profitable.

THE Territory of Wyoming, organized in July, 1868, lies between 41deg. and 45deg. north latitude, and 104deg. and llldeg. west longitude from Greenwich, and is bounded on the north by Montana; east by Dakota and Nebraska; south by Colorado and a portion of Utah ; and west by Idaho and a portion of Utah. It has an area of 8S,000 square miles. The face of the country is broken by several mountain ranges, outlying spurs of the Rocky Mountains, such as the Bighorn, Kattlesnake, and Wind River mountains, and also by the main chain of the Rocky Mountains which traverse the Territory from northwest to southeast. It is, for the most part, an elevated and rolling plateau, but the most of it is fertile and arable soil though requiring irrigation. The valley of Bitter Creek, and the region of Bridgers Pass are barren and desolate tracts. The northern portion consists of a series of fertile river valleys.

The government is composed of the regular territorial officers appointed by the President, and supported by the national treasury. In this Territory women are allowed to vote, sit on iuries and hold office. J '

Sweetwater, and in various other localities. The region in which the richest deposits are found extends from Fremont's Peak to the junction of the Grand and Green Rivers. A great impulse was given to the settlement of this Territory by the building of the Pacific Railroad, which traverses it from cast to west.

The cause of education is not in so prosperous a condition as could be wished. There are a territorial superintendent of public instruction, and county superintendents, who examine teachers.

Utah

THE Territory of Utah lies between 37deg. and 42deg. north latitude, and between 109deg. and llldeg. west longitude; and is bounded on the north by the Territory of Idaho ; east by Colorado; south by Arizona ;'and west by Nevada. It has an area of 88,058 square miles. The Wahsatcli mountain range traverses the center part of the Territory in a northern and southern direction. The portion of Utah lying west of this ran°-e forms part of the Great or Fremont Basin. This arid and sterile basin has its own system of lakes and rivers, which have no communication with the ocean. The Wahsateh mountains rise to an altitude of from 4,000 to 7,000 feet above the valleys and prairies. There are other mountain ranges in various parts of Utah. Great Salt Lake, lying northeast from the center of the Territory, is about seventy miles in length, and thirty miles in width, and has no visible outlet. The saline property of this lake is so strong that no living thing can exist in it. By evaporation in hot weather, a thick incrustation of salt is deposited on its shores. There are several other lakes, but this is the most important. The prinoipal rivers are the Colorado, Green, Grand, Sevier, and Bear.

Utah was organized in 1850 from the territory acquired from Mexico. Before the close of the Mexican war in' 1847, the religious sect known as the Mormons, who had been driven from Nauvoo, Illinois, by mob violence, settled in the vicinity of Great Salt Lake, and there created an independent State with the name of Deseret. This was reduced to the condition of a Territory of the United States, by act of Congress, on the 9th of Septomber, 1S50, but the colony has retained its peculiar institutions to the present time. The governor and secretary are appointed by the President, and a legislature, consisting of 13 councillors and 26 representatives, is chosen by the people.

Rich silver mines exist in Utah, and iron, coal, and salt abound. Tin and lead have been reported to have been found. The chief products are wheat, barley, rye, and Indian corn.

There is a territorial school superintendent, and county superintendents elected by the people for two years. Tho Territorial University has a normal department.

Salt Lake City is the only town in the Territory of any consequence. It is pleasantly situated on the shore of Great Salt Lake, and is the headquarters of the Mormons. Ogden and Corinne are flourishing little towns.

Colorado

COLORADO, the twenty-fifth State admitted into the Union, lies between 37deg. and 41deg. north latitude, and 102deg. and 109deg. west longitude. It is bounded on the north by Dakota and Nebraska ; east by Nebraska and Kansas ; south by New Mexico; and west by Utah. It contains about 106,000 square miles. The face of the country is generally mountainous. The Rocky Mountain range extends through the middle of the State north and south. Pike's Peak, one of the highest peaks of the range, rises to a height of 11,497 feet, near the center of the State. The summits of some of these peaks are covered with snow that never melts. The Arkansas River and the south fork of the Platte drain the eastern portion of the State. The Yampa or Bear River, the Bunkara and the Gunnison rivers flow from the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The Bunkara and Gunnison join in the western part of the State, and form the Grand River, a branch of the Colorada. The Rio Grande has its source in Colorado, and runs in a southern direction.

The climate of Colorado is delightful and healthy, and the soil, where it can be cultivated, fertile. The mineral resources are immense. Gold was first discovered in 1858. and it has since been discovered that the deposits are practically inexhaustible. Some of the lodes are very rich. Silver, iron, copper, and lead west by CahfornL It fcw Siffl^,^ 5 and ^C^^^ by drain he southern and southeastern parte Mos't of the W ?«S K "win PlateaU' f,0!? 3,000 t0 «'000 fee' abo°e the level 3

CAlJief°b?tuIet; te1eig'!!toeenth Stf<> admitted into the Union, UMe ^ 20min and a"leg. north latitude, and n,, t 1? ?' ^ 121deg- 22min. west longitude; and is bounded tl e ti and th" tC,0ast ranse- The shoo^ott from 17 000 feet in tZl ^t \thesn°»'-oapped Mount San J-i,uuu leet in height, being the connect n"- link It then north t t about latitude 38deg. 45min°, longitude tZZ whence it extends due north, forming from that point the eastern boundary of the State. Between thS coast ranTand the are numerous smaller ranges and isolated hills, inclosit beaS valleys. The range of the Sierra Morena, or Brown Mounta ns was also applied to the coast fart" e? north' *Th S California was visited in 1512 by Juan Rodriguez Cabr o a Por tuguese navigator, and by Sir Francis Drake in 1570 In 176? £ was invaded by Franciscan friars, the successor] i Mexico o "he newly-expelled Jesuits. These zealous apostles planted various missions bringing under their influence, such as i mass of the aborigines. Under such circumstances, the new ,ro

Stt?rael1fe"em,lnentVCTen in SPa"ish America, for evePr° thing that could paralyze the progress of a communi y Antlo Saxon speculators engrossed niosl of the trade- AmeT'ican tnn per. wal ced through the land as if it had bee, he" own Z mTTp estabbshed' m «»8 north, a town under the ominous title of Ross ov Russia; and a Swiss adventurer of the name of Sutter, who had carved out for himself a New m jia virtually set the government at defiance ' vlrtuauy at?h«fTn'a ":as,Part of the territory ceded to the United States at the c ose of the war with Mexico in ISIS, ard in 1S50 it tt, admitted into the Union as a State. Gold Wius discovered S January ISIS, by James W. Marshall, in the employ of Caota n Sutter, already mentioned, and from tins date the' unpreceZited aftef Z °Hf thS Sta'e la less than a yea and a hdf strted f6or 'Z^ZIZZ^ m°re 100'°00 ^ had mp^ne7*i,00S!titution' makinS complete changes in the o-0vern ment of the State, was adopted at the September elec ?o? 187q" Geology and Mineralogy. -The mountainous pm t on 'of the and !vZS dama?h- ^ unearI^ a11 Pa''te. dur^rtheXng 'dry and warn season, the soil becomes so Was to be incanable of being broken up until the first rains have rendered it. soft The sod, when it is capable of being tilled, is composed of a deep rich loam, and almost everywhere needs only irrigation to make it highly productive. Irrigation is necessary' to cultivation in almost all parts of the State, as the whole surface is parched up during the lonjr dry season. A considerable portion of the surface is covered with extensive forests of pine, spruce, oak, and cedar. The sequoia gigantea, or mammoth cedar, which grows on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, is the largest product of the vegetable kingdom.

Products, Commerce, and Manufactures. - California produces wheat, oats, barley, beets, flax, hops, chickory, tobacco, and some cotton and Indian corn. The root crops and garden vegetables grow to an enormous size. The climate and pasturage are well suited to the raising of sheep, and wool-growing is an extensive interest. Fruit-culture and the manufacture of wine are important industries. Tropical fruits succeed well. Of late years, the manufacture of beet-sugar has opened a new branch of industry, and there are several manufactories of that article. The mulberry-tree is easily grown, and the manufacture of silk is successfully carried on. The culture of tea has been introduced by the Japanese. The commerce of the State is immense.

California has woolen-mills, sugar-refineries, iron and steel manufactories, foundries, machine and locomotive works, flouringmills; wire-rope, cordage, and wire-cloths are extensively manufactured. The leather of California has a high reputation. Other manufactories are numerous.

In 1S70 the total population was 5G0,247. In 1SG0 the;'e were 34,933 Chinese in the State. According to the last census there are 49,277 Chinese, and 33 Japanese. The Indian population is 7,241 ; the colored population is 4,272.

Nevada

1VTEVADA, the twenty-third State admitted into the Union, and 1\ the thirty -seventh in population, lies between 35deg. and 42deg. north latitude, and 114deg. and 120deg. west longitude ; and is bounded on the north by Oregon and Idaho; east by Utah; south by Arizona; west and southwest by California. It has an area of 81,539 square miles. The entire State has an altitude of 4,000 feet or more above the level of the sea, but most of it constitutes a portion of the great Utah Basin. In the northern central part are the Humboldt mountains, and in the eastern part the East Humboldt mountains, and westward are the Toiyabe mountains, a long, parallel range. All the streams except the Virgin, and a few unimportant ones, empty into lakes or sinks within the limits of the State. The largest river is the Humboldt ; the other streams are Walker and Carson rivers. There are several lakes in the State that have no visible outlet.

Nevada was included in the territory acquired from Mexico at the same time as California. It was organized into a Territory in 1861, and admitted into the Union October 31, 1864. The executive officers of the State, including the governor and lieutenant-governor, are chosen for a term of four years. The legislature consists of 25 senators and 50 representatives, and meets at Carson City biennially on the lirst Monday in January. The judiciary consists of a supreme court, district courts, probate courts, and justices of the peace. The three supreme court judges are elected by the people for a term of four years.

The climate of the State is generally healthful, and the soil sterile, except a few fertile valleys. Agriculture is limited, but Nevada is one of the richest mining districts in the world. Gold exists in considerable quantities, and the silver-lodes are of incomparable richness and extent. Copper and iron mines have also been opened and are worked with profit. Lead and coal are found in various parts of the State.

The State superintendent of public instruction is elected by the people for two years. The State board of education is composed of the governor, the surveyor-general, and the superintendent of public instruction. A county superintendent of public schools for each county, is elected for two years; and a board of trustees of three or five members for each district, elected by classes for four years.

Idaho

THE Territory of Idaho, organized in March, 1863, lies between longitude 109deg. and 117deg. west, is bounded on the north by the British possessions, east by Montana and Dakota; south by Nevada and Utah; and west b'y Oregon and Washington Territory. It has an area of 00,932 square miles. The whole Territory is high laud, and part of it mountainous, varying in elevation from 2,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea. There are°numerous fertile, and well-timbered valleys in the Territory. It is well watered, the Clearwater, Salmon, Snake, and Boise Rivers and their numerous affluents, affording an abundance of pure water from their sources in the perpetual snows of the Bitter Root and Rocky Mountain summits. The table-lands are covered with a profuse growth of wild grass, and the mountains with forests of pine and fir.

The climate is mild and pleasant during the summer and fall, but during the winter the weather is severe, and the fall of snow is very great. Idaho belongs to the " dry " regions. The annual fall of rain is about one-fourth of that of the Atlantic States ; however, the soil in the valleys is deep, and may be successfully irrigated, thus allowing the crops to be depended upon with as much certainty as in regions where the fall of rain is greater.

The chief wealth of Idaho lies in its mines. Some of the richest deposits of gold and silver in the country are found there, and are worked with great success. Limestone and gray sandstone are also found in considerable quantities.

Idaho was organized in 1S63 from portions of Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The governor and secretary are appointed by the President, and a legislature, consisting of 10 councillors and 20 representatives is chosen by the people. A good public school system is in operation.

The total population in 1870 was 14,999 ; of which 4,27-1 were Chinese, 60 colored, and 48 Indians. The number of tribal Indians is officially estimated at 5,5S4. Boise City is the capital.

OREGON, the twentieth State admitted into the Union, and thirty-sixth in population, lies between latitude 42deg. and 46deg. north, and longitude HGdeg. 40min. and 124deg. 23min. west, and is bounded on the north by Washington Territory ; east by Idaho; south by California and Nevada; and west by the Pacific Ocean. It lias an area of 95,274 square miles. Oregon is usually divided into three sections, respectively denominated the lower, middle, and upper countries. The chief river is the Columbia, which is the largest on the Pacific coast. The others are the Snake or Lewis, a branch of the Columbia River, and its affluents the Powder, Malheur, and Owyhee. The surface is diversified with valleys of excellent agricultural and grazing lands, alternating with abrupt mountain ranges, the peaks of which rise to an altitude of 16,000 feet above the sea-level, and are covered with perpetual snow.

Oregon was first visited by Europeans about 1775, when a Spanish navigator visited Juan de Fuca Straits. Cook coasted along its shores in 1778. The Columbia River was probably first made known to the world in 1791, by Captain Gray, of the ship Columbia, of Boston, who saw the mouth of the river, but did not enter it till May of the following year, when he named it after his ship. In 1804 Thomas Jefferson, the President, dispatched an exploring expedition under Lewis and Clarke, who spent the winter at the mouth of the Columbia River. The treaty of 1846 gave to the United States all the country below 49deg. north latitude. People began to emigrate to the newly-acquired territory in 1839, and Oregon was admitted into the Union as a State on February 14, 1859. The legislature is composed of a senate and house of representatives. The governor is elected for four years. The legislature meets biennially on the second Monday in September, and the State election is held on the first Monday.

The climate of the State is genial and mild, and the soil, especially in the valleys, good. Wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, and apples are tlie staple products ; and tobacco, honip, flax, hops, etc., are raised. Vegetables and fruits thrive luxuriantly. The commerce of Oregon increases every year. Grain is supplied to England, and there are regular lines of transportation between the State and New York, and others to China. Australia, and Japan.

Washington And Alaska

THE Territory of Washington, organized in 1853, lies between 45deg. 33min. and 49deg. north latitude, and 116deg. 56min. and 124deg. 43min. west longitude, and is bounded on the north by the Straits of Juan de Fuca and British Columbia ; east by Idaho ; south by Oregon ; and west by the Pacific Ocean. It has an area of 09,994 square miles. The Cascade range of mountains divides the Territory into two unequal portions. The eastern division, including the great basin of the Columbia, embraces an area of 40,000 square miles, with an average height of from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above the sea-level. It is drained by the Columbia River and its affluents, which often pass through canons with perpendicular walls from 500 to 2,000 feet high. The western division extends from the summit of the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean. It is divided into three basins: the Columbia, the Cheballis, and the Puget Sound, and embraces a total area of 28,000 square miles. In the eastern portion the climate is in the main clear and cold in winter, and hot and dry in summer. It is principally a grazing district, the bunch grass affording excellent food for cattle, and a considerable portion is well suited to the growth of the cereals and root crops. There are two seasons in the western portion - the wet and the dry. For such a high latitude the climate is very mild, the difference in mean temperature between summer and winter, in Puget Sound, being only 24deg.

Alaska

ALASKA occupies the extreme northwest portion of the North American Continent, and has an estimated area of 600,000 square miles. This territory was acquired by the United States in 1867, by purchase from Itussia. Prior to that time it had long been under the dominion of the Emperor of Russia, and was known as Russian America. There are several good harbors on the coast, and numerous Islands, large and small. Little is known of the interior, except that it is mountainous, and apparently unfit for cultivation. The great River is the Yukon, which flows from the interior and empties into Behring Sea. The climate is much less severe than one would suppose from the latitude. The temperature of Sitka is but little lower than that of Portland, Maine; but it rains nearly all the time. The excessive moisture renders anything like agriculture impossible.

Gold and silver are said to exist in Alaska, but its abundant supplies of iron and coal are of much greater importance. The forests, too, are the most extensive and the finest on the continent. Fish abound, and agreat variety of fur-bearing animals is found, though the fur trade has been steadily diminishing since the country came into the possession of the United States. Birds and insects are abundant.

The United States maintains its authority over this vast territory by means of a small number of troops and officials stationed at Sitka. There are about 4,000 Americans and Europeans at Sitka, and 8,300 Indians.

Ancient Geographical Discovery

From the earliest ages war between neighboring nations and the pursuit of commerce have been the great causes which have led to geographical discovery. In modern times the love of science and a spirit of adventure have produced expeditions, both public and private, for the exploration of unknown regions.

The first people who communicated to other nations a knowledge of distant countries were the Phoenicians, whose territory skirted the eastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Phoenicia consisted of several cities, each of which was an independent state. Of the more important were Sidon and Tyre, the latter of which, in the reign of Hiram, its second king, acquired supremacy over the others, and became the greatest commercial city in the ancient world. Hiram was an ally of the Jewish king, Solomon, in whose navy 'he sent his servants, shipmen, that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir' (supposed to have been the general name of the eastern coast of Africa and other countries round the western branches of the Indian Ocean), 'and fetched from thence gold.' . . . 'great plenty of almug-trees, and precious stones' . . . . and ( the king * (Solomon), ' had at sea a navy of Tharshish, with the navy of Hiram : once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks ' - 1 Kings ix. and x.

Previous to 800 b.o., or the age of the Greek poet Homer, the Phoenicians had formed commercial establishments along the coast of Asia Minor and the shores of the Black Sea. Sailing westwards, they had occupied the chief islands of the Mediterranean, and had founded colonies along the northern coast of Africa. Continuing their course of commercial enterprise, they planted colonies in the south-west of Spain, (the ancient Tharshish). passed the Straits of Gibraltar (the ancient Pillars of Hercules, the national deity of the Tyrians), and penetrated to the British Islands and the coasts of the North Sea, carrying back with them to the great cities of Sidon and Tyre, the tin of Cornwall, and amber from the coasts of Prussia. Of all their colonies, the most important were those on the north coast of Africa, the city of Carthage, founded about 900 b.o., rivalling Tyre itself in wealth and prosperity. Carthaginian navigators are believed to have visited the islands of Madeira and the Canary Islands, and to have sailed as far south along the western coast of Africa as Cape Blanco. During the seventh century b.o., they are said to have circumnavigated Africa, having entered the Indian Ocean by the Red Sea, and returned to Egypt by the Straits of Gibraltar, after an absence of three years.

Herodotus, the oldest Greek historian (born at Halicarnassus, 484 b.o.), hence called 'The Father of "History,' may" also be styled « The Father of Geography,' for in his history of the wars between the Greeks and Persians we find an account of the geographical knowledge of his time. Having- himself travelled for about 1,700 miles from east to west, and nearly as far from north to south, his statements are the more to be relied upon, and from them we gather that the world, as then known, was bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean, on the west by the Atlantic, on the north by the Baltio Sea, and on the east b.v the eastern limits of Persia.

"While Alexander was carrying his arms to the banks of the Indus and Oxus, Pytheas, a Greek navigator, of the Grecian colony at Marseille, sailed past Spain and Gaul, (now France,) through the English Channel, and round the .east coast of England, into the Northern Oceon, where, after six days' sailing, he reached Thule (supposed to be Iceland or the Shetland Isles), and, on bis return, passed into the Baltic.

The Persian Empire having been subverted by Alexander the Great, the dominions of the latter were in their turn overrun by the Romans, who were more remarkable for their conquests than for their maritime discovery or encouragement of trade. The Roman Empire may be said to have included all the countries between the Euphrates and the Atlantic. In Europe it extended from Spain on the west to the rivers Rhine and Danube. It included part of Britain, which was for the first time circumnavigated by the Roman general, Agricola, in 84 a.d., and it was during this voyage that the Orkney Islands were discovered. Ireland was known to the Romans onlv by name. In the north-west of Europe, the countries on the Baltic Sea were little known to the Romans, who seemed to have considered Norway, Sweden, and Finland as islands of the German Ocean. In Africa they occupied the territories formerly belonging to the Egyptians and Phoenicians, embracing the whole of the northern coast, and extending southwards to the desert. India became known to them after their conquest of Egypt, but they were chiefly acquainted with only its western coast and with Ceylon, Malacca, and Sumatra.

Great service was done to geographical knowledge by a survey of the Roman Empire, begun by Julius Caesar and completed by the Emperor Augustus. The Sistoria Naturalis of Pliny (23-79 a.d.), gives an admirable compendium of the geographical knowledge of his time. He had travelled in Spain, Gaul, Germany, and Africa, and in the work he has left he notices the Arctic regions, Scandinavia, Mount Atlas, the course of the river Niger in Africa, and various settlements in the north of that continent. He also declares Ceylon to be an island, although it was previously supposed to be the commencement of a now continent. Geographical study in ancient times may be said to have terminated with Claudius Ptoleinasus, a celebrated astronomer and geographer of Egypt -during the second century. His great work on geography, in eight books, continued to be regarded as the most perfect system of the science down to the fifteenth century.

During the ninth century two Arabian travellers penetrated to China, and Arabian geographers had their knowledge of Asia and Africa considerably extended. In the same century Alfred, King of England, sent a present to the shrine of St." Thomas, near Madras, on the Coromandel cost of India.

The Crusades of the eleventh an twelfth centuries served greatly to extend European geographical knowledge. The existence of the great empire of Cathay or China was further reported by two friars who had been despatched to the east by Pope Innocent IY. about the middle of the thirteenth century, but it was reserved for Marco Polo, a Venetian, before the end of the same century, to astonish Europeans by the discovery of about one-half of Asia. He was the first to notice Japan, the great plain of W. Siberia, the Spice Islands, eto.

ONE of the earliest acta of the Fathers of the Republic, assembled in Confederate Congress, was the formation of what is appropriately termed the "Land System of the United States," providing for the survey of the vast territories of land embraced within their bnrder^ ami their sale, or other disposition, to the people, who were to possess ami enjoy them. On the 7th of May, 1781, was introduced "An Ordinance for ascertaining the mode of locating and disposing of lands in (lie Western Territories," widen, however, did not become a law till the year following, May 7, 1735. Tue ordinance made provision for surveying and dis[>. .sing ot the public d imain, as well as for donations in the cause ol education ami for military purposes. The rectangular system of survey, adopted by this ordinance, now extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans and from the northern tu the southern boundaries of the Union, except in the six New En- land States New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky an I Texas, the United States not being the owner of hinds in any of the-.' poli ieal divisions. For nearly a century this system has commended itself to the people, not only for its accuracy in designating the location and lines of the various tracts of land embraced by it, but for its general convenience. Under this system, initial or starting points are designated, w here certain Base Lines, bo termed, running East and West on a parallel of latitude, are crossed by other lines, called Meridian Lines, running North and South of said Base Lines, These Base Lines and Meridian Lines are extended at pleasure, or as far as may be deemed necessary or convenient. There are at present permanently established twenty principal Base Lines, and twenty-five principal Meridians, governing the surveys in the several States and Territories, hi California there are three different initial points, necessitated by abrupt mountain ranges running through the State. These Base Lines and Meridian Lines being duly established, the territory is divided into Townships of six miles square, containing 23,040 acres, and these are numbered in the following maimer: Commencing at the initial, or crossing point, the first Township North and East is designated as Township one, North of Range one, East. The next Township North would be styled Township two, North of Range one, East, and so on. So there would bt Townships North, and Ranges West; Townships South, and Ranges East oi West, as the case might be. The following diagram will explain this systerr.

The subdivision or survey of the Township commences with the southeast corner section, or section ;n>, then proceeding to section one in the northeast corner of the Township; thence returning to section and proceeding north to section 2, and so on till the Township is complete.!, all fractions, arising from the convergence of Meridian lines, or other t

General enter into contracts with professional surveyors, whom they ( mission as their deputies, describing the particular field work to be executed, the time within which it is to be completed, and the compensation per lineal mile for the work to be done. The report of the deputy is made under oath

East of the Meridian. In the prairie regions of the Northwest the Township numbers sometimes extend to one bundl ed, and the Ranges nearly to the same extent. The fines of public surveys over level ground are measured with a four-pole chain, if feet in length, *fi chains constituting a lineal mile; but with a two-pole chain where the features of the country are broken and hilly. The lines thus chained are marked through limber land by chops or "blazes" on line trees on each side, and, in the absence of such trees, those standing nearest the survey, on both sides, are blazed diagonally toward the line run. Trees standing at the precise spot where legal corners are required are made available. If no such trees are there the corners are perpetuated by posts or stones, with inscriptions, and the positions of the same are indicated by witness trees or mounds, the regular bearing and distances from the corner being ascertained and described in the field notes. The lines intersecting navigable streams require the establishment of meander comer posts, the courses and distances on meandered navigable streams governing the calculations from which the true contents of fractional lots are computed and expressed on township plats, Township corner posts, or posts common to four townships, are set diagonally properly marked with six notches on each of the four angles cardinal points of the compass, and mile posts on township 1 with as many notches on them as they are miles distant tron s respectively; the four sides of the township and

1792 the price was advanced to two dollars per acre, and the lands were sold to the settlers upon credit. By Act of April 24, 1*20, it was again reduced to one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, at which it remains to the present time. The exceptions are certain mineral lands, and certain tracts designated as Railroad Lands, being lands adjoining Railroad Land grants, and which are advanced to the double minimum price, or two dollar-, and fifty cents per acre.

Pre-emption. - By Act of March 3. 1807, it was made unlawful for any person to take possession of, make settlements upon, or survey any portion of the public lauds, until duly authorized bv law; offenders being subjected to to the four forcible ejection and loss of all their improvements. Settlers upon public measured and marked, and the corner boundaries thereon established, the process of surveying and marking the exterior line of Townships north and south of the Base, and east and west of the Meridian, will be readily comprehended.

The Governmental surveys do not usually subdivide sections; but this is done by county surveyors, under the law of their respective Slates. Sales are made by the Government, as the purchaser may desire, of sections, quarter sections, half -quarter sections, or quarter-quarter sections, the latter subdivision to contain 40 acres.

649,393,052 acres, leaving unsurveyed at that date a total" of 1,185,605,3 thus showing that nearly two-thirds of the public lands have not even yec been surveyed.

The Townships of six miles square having been duly surveyed, their corners and 'boundaries established, are now ready to be subdivided into 36 sections, of one square mile each, containing 640 acres. Commencing at the the land, and secure its peaceable surrender at the demand of the Government, or to any purchaser under the law; all such applicants being required to sign a declaration repudiai ing all claim to the occupancy of the premises, except the indulgence of the Government. Inasmuch as such tenants-at-will might become purchasers when the lands were offered for sale, this privilege may be regarded as the germ of the pre-emption privilege subsequently granted." This" policy of ejection of trespassers was found to be impracticable. The great western movement of our people had alreadycommenced, and the facilities for evading the execution of the law presented resistless temptations to unlawful settlement. The number of trespassers soon became formidable, reijuiring a powerful and expensive eifort lor their ejection. Instead of rigorously enforcing the provisions of the Act of 1*H7, Congress avoided the difficulty. By Acts of M.iv 2!l, is:j0. January 23, 1*32, July 14, 1832, June 19, 1831, "July 2, 1*36, June 22, 1*3*. and June 1. 1*40, provisions number of breaches of the la"", by granting pre-emption to settlers, regardlc-s of restrictions. The i called forth these retrospective statutes became so numerous and pressing as to raise the question of the soundness of the restrictive policy. By Act of September 4, 1841, this policy was finally repudiated, and settlement prior to purchase was no longer regarded as a trespass. Bv this statute, and the subsequent Act of March :J.. 1813. pro--mpl i.m was engrafted upon the public land enacted May 20, id June 21, 1860. Under entitled to a pre-emption may settle upon a tract not otherwise appropriated, am) nut exceeding one hundred and sixty acres minimum, or eighty acres of double minimum lands, and by continued occupying and cultivation for live Years, may perfect Ids title by making proper proof 0? bavin- complied will, ihe conditions, prescribed in the law, and by paying a small amount of fees to defray the cxpemse of lo- al administration. By Act of June 21. ISM, the public lands in Alabama, Mk^sippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, are snhicci io di-po-d onlv under the provi-ions oi the homestead law. The 25th section of the Act of Jnlv 15. 1>>7<>. so far modi lied the original Homestead Act, as to allow oiliccrs, soldiers, and sailors, who have served in tiie army or navy of the United Stales for ninety days, and remained loyal to the Government", to enter one bundled and sixt\ acres instead of eighty acres of double minimum lands, or lands held at l» o dollar- and titty cents per acre. In all other respects the requirements of the original and amendatory Acts a of the United States, and may, i proof of honorable miliian service, be admitted to ... after not less than one year's residence in the United States, and shall thereupon be entitled 1.0 all the ben, Ids oi the homestead laws. For homestead entries on surveyed lands in Michigan. Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Dakota, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, fees are to be paid according to the following i California. Nevada Oregon. Colorado, New Mexico, n Virginia, Idaho, Utah, W yoming, and Montana, the rand fees are to be paid according to the following bona fide improvement and cultivation of it must be shown for the period required by the statute. Lands obtained on. lor the homestead laws are exempted from liability for debts contracted prior to Ihe issuing of patents therefore Under an Act of Congress of June 8. 1872. the homestead law was amended in favor of parties who served in the army or navy of the United ' ty days, or more, during the late v w account of their services to the country, certain rights the general law, in taking homesteads on the public lands, oldier and officer of the army, and every i honorably discharged and has remained loyal to the Government, to enter, under the provisions of the homestead law, one hundred and sixty acres of the public land, including the double minimum land. The time of service, or the whole term of enlistment, when di-chargod on account of wounds or disability, shall be deducted from the time heretofore required to perh-ct title: Provided, however, that the person shall reside upon, improve, and cultivate his homestead lor a period ol at least one year after be shall commence bis improvements. It is required that the period, whether one year or more, ol actual service, improvement and cultivation that may be found necessary to perfect each ca-e of entry under this Act, shall follow immediately upon the date of entry. The widow, if unmarried, or in case of her death or marriage, the minor orphan children of a person who would be entitled to the benefits of tins Act, iiiiiv ciiler lands, under its provisions, with the additional privilege accorded, that if the person died during his term of enlistment, the widow or minor children shall have the benefit of the whole term of enlistment. _ Any_ person entitled to the benefit of this Act may file his clai through an agent, and shall have six months thereafter i bis entry, and adjudicating c 1872, i ' "

,.. ^^.s under the Soldiers aud Sailors' Homestead Act of June 8, i held that April 15, 1861, the date of the President's proclamation calling out the militia for suppressing the Rebellion, is to be taken as the beginning and Augn.-i 2o. if ltd. the date of the President's proclamation declaring the war at an end in the State of Texas, as the end of the Rebellion. Of the cases adjudicated, and principles settled under this Act, the following are noted as of general application: An unmarried woman, having entered land under the homestead law, and subsequently married, does not by her marriage forfeit her rights under such entry, provided she should fulfil the requirements of the statute regarding settlement and cultivation of the entered tract. Where a woman, abandoned by her husband, and acting as the head of the family, entered a homestead, and the husband subsequently returned to his wife and family, it was held that the wife, notwithstanding the return of her husband, was entitled to perfect her entry by making the required settlement and cultivation of the land, and to obtain a patent therefor, on making final proof after the expiration of five vears from the date of entry.

Timber CULTURE. - The Timber Culture Act was March 8, 1873, and amended March 18. 1874, having for its obiect the promotion of the growth of timber on the we^-rn prairies, by providing a method of acquiring title to public laud.-, on condition that timber should be grown thereon, to an extent, and lor a period of time therein specified. Its provisions are: That any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the'United States, or who shall have filed his dedaratii n of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the Unit d Mate-, who shall plant, protect, and keep in a healthy growing condition for eight years, forty acres of timber, the trees thereon not being more than twelve fee't apart each way, on any quarter section of any public lands of the United State.-., or twenlv acres on any legal subdivision of eighty acres, or ten l any legal subdivision of forty acres, or one fourth part of any frac-

Upon payment of the fee and commissions, in accordance with the foregoing tables, the receiver will issue bis receipt therefor and furnish a duplicate to the claimant. The matter will then be entered on their records and reported to the general land office. An inceptive right is vested in the settler by such proceedings, and upon faithful observance of the law in regard to settlement and cultivation lor the continuous term of five years, and at ihe ex piration of that time, or within two years thereafter, upon proper proof to the satisfaction and shall thereupon of the land officers, and payment to the receiver, the register will issue Ins certificate, and make proper returns to the general land office as the basis of a patent or complete title for the homestead. In making final proof, it is indiswill be required break ten acres of land the Brat year| ten acres the second year, and twenty acres the third year after the date of entry; and to plant ten acres of timber the second year, ten acres the third year, and twenty acres the fourth year after date of entry. The same proportions are required in tracts of lesser size. It is further provided that any person, who has entered land under the Homestead Act, may, at any time after bis third year of residence thereon, make proof that, in addition to the settlement and improvements required under the the trees thereon not being more than twelve feet apart each good, thrifty condition, for each and every sixteen acres 3 njg patent for said homestead.

pensable, under the statu to, that the home-avad party -dm II appear i the district land office, and there make the a liidavit requited of lum by law in support of his claim. When from physical disability, distance, or other good cause, the witnesses of said party cannot attend in person at the district office, their testimony in support of the claim may be taken where they reside, before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. When a homestead settler dies before the consummation of his claim, the widow, m- in ease of her death, the heirs, may continue the settlement and cultivation, mid obtain title upon [ requisite proof at the proper time. If the widow proves up, the title passes to her; if she dies before proving up and the heirs make the proof, the title will vest in them. When both parents die leaving infant hears, the homesteads may be sold for cash for the benefit of such heirs, and the purchaser will receive title from the United States. As the law allows but one homestead privilege, a settler relinquishing or abandoning his claim, cannot thereafter make a second enlry. Bui in ease of the illegality of bis entry, be may make a second claim. If the homestead settler dues not wish to remain five years on his tract, the law permits him to pay for it with cash or warrants, upon making proof of settlement and cultivation for a period not less than six months from the dale of entry to the time of payment.

Adjoining Farm Hostgsteads. - There is another class of homesteads, designated as " adjoining faun homesteads." In these cases the law allows an applicant owning and residing on an original farm, to enter other land lying contiguous thereto, which shall not, with such farm, exceed, in the aggregate, one hundred and sixty acres. Thus, for example, a party owning and occupying eighty acres, may enter eighty a< ie-. additional ufVd-'*5 land, or forty acres of $2.50 land. In entries of " adjoining f anils," the settler must describe lus affidavit the tract he owns and is settled upon, as his original farm.

the liberal provisions made for popular education, Under the ordinance of March 20, 1785. section 16 of every Township was set apart for the endowment of public schools, a policy which at once met with enthusiastic applause from the public, and was tacitly incorporated into the American system as one of its organic ideas. This beneficent Act continued in force, furnishing a nucleus for the educational system in all the new States, until the 14th of February, 1859, the date of the admission of Oregon into the Union, when, in the case of this new State, and all others since admitted, this grant was doubled by the addition of the 36th section in every Township. These grants already amount to more than seventy millions of acres, covering a larger surface than, the united areas of England, Wales, Sc. d hi ml and Ireland.

Agricultural and College Grants. - By Act of July 2, 1802, our educational endowment system was enlarged by the donation to each State of thirty this liberal donation are seen in the numerous schools and colleges created under it in the several States, the most noteworthy example of which is the Cornell University, at Ithaca, New York.

struction of 12, 7(ilJ miles' of railroad, thus opening up otherwise inaccessible regions of country fo the immigrant, and binding together with links of iron the widely-separated sections of the nation. Add to these the nume grants in aid of internal improvements, the bounties to soldi era, and the r than sixty millions of acres of swamp ami overflowed lands granted t

Indiana Constitutional Amendments

The present Constitution of the State took effect on the hist - lav of November, 18.11. having been adopted as a whole, cxeopi Article 13th, providing; for the ««*/*.;»» n.h.nhutloii of journals, and referred to the General Assembly to be chosen at the next, general election: and if, in the General Assembly so next chosen, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be

Governor Hendricks, in his inaugural message, delivered in January, 1ST:-!, called attention to the necessity ofprovidine more stringent laws for securing additional safeguards for guarding against fraudulent votes at elections: and again in his last message to the Legislature, in .January, 1S77, he renewed the subject, and among the topics urged upon' the attention of that body, he suggested a constitutional amendment, providing for State' elections on the first Tuesday next after the first. Monday in November, instead of the second Tuesday in October, and also an amendment requiring a residence of sixty davs in the election precinct, as a qualification of voters.

In conformity with the provisions of the Kith Article of the Constitution, and in compliance with the recommendations of the Governor, as well as with what, was believed to be the general sentiment of the people, the Legislature, at its session in IN77 introduced ten amendments, seven of which were adopted ami one of which annulled the 13th Article being a dead litter 'as it was m conflict with the amendments of the." Constitution of the I rated Slates, and besides it was out of all harmony with more htened public opinion lotions shall be held on the first Monday in November, but township elecich time as may be provided by law : Provided, that the General Assembly may provide bylaw for the election of all judges of courts of general and appellate jurisdiction by an election to be held for such officers only, at which time no other officer shall be voted for, and shall also provide for the registration of all persons entitled to vote."

" Akticle IV, Section 4. The General Assembly shall, at its second session after the adoption of this Constitution, and every sixth year thereafter, cause an enumeration to be made of all the whit< male inhabitants over the age of 21 years.

" Section 5. The number of Senators anil Representatives shall at the session next following each period of making such ,. aeration, be lixed by law. ami apportioned among rhe'scveral counties, according to the number of n-hit, male inhabitants, above 21 - years of age. in each."

Section 22, of Article IT, prohibits the General Assembly from passing any local or special laws in fifteen cases, which arc enumerated. In the fourteenth enumerated ease, to the words "In relation to fees and salaries," the fifth amendment adds this exception :

By a test case submit led to the Snprein full uenchof five judges, two of the jud° of the amend meats, and three decided tin tutionally adopted.

The two judges, Xiblack and Scott, based their decision substantially on the position that, in any election lee, fly provided and duly announced, a majority of the votes ^"determine the result - the assumption being that electors not votino- have no choice on the question submitted, or among the candidates voted for-and that otherwise many elections would not determine anything.

The majority of the Court held that in contemplation of the Constitution, a majority of all the electors in the State, as determined by the last State enumeration, or at least aioritv of the thus there have been three approvals of the same by three consecutive Legislatures. . mice uou '-vcn,,,,. Porter gave them his official sanction, and bv due announcement they were submitted to a vote of the qualified eleeto s of the state, and at special election, held M r l 14 MM. the amendments were adopted by a large majority of the

The sixth amendment makes Section 1, of Article VII, read as follows: '- the judical powers of the State shall be vested in a Supreme Court Circuit Courts, and such other courts as the General Assembly may establish." The only change bein»- in substituting the word "other" for that of "inferior"

"Section 2. All contracts made with any negro or mulatto coming int., the State, contrary to the provisions of the foremen..- section, shall be void; and any person who shall eni],lov"sucE negro or mulatto, or otherwise encourage him to remain 'in the State, shall be fined m any sum not less than ten dollars, nor more than live hundred dollars.

"Section 3. All fines which may be collected for a violation of lie provisions of this Article, or of any law which mav hereafter be passed for the purpose of carrying the same into' execution s,ml ^Y'pm't and appropriated for the colonization of such negroes and mulattoes, and their descendants, as mav be in the i nic'roV'16 ad0pti0" of this Uonst'tation, and may be willing to

Hnn^^JfoH11' 1',K" lrolitical or municipal corporaion n, this State shall ever become indebted, in any manner or tor any purpose to an amount, in the aggregate, exceeding two pe centum on the value of the taxable property within such corl"»a ion. to be ascertained by the last assessment for State and vymd.v axes, previous to the incurring of such indebtedness, and a" bonds oi oblations m excess of such amount, given by such corporations, shall be void : Provided, that in time of ,vn Lv m invasion, or other great public calamity, on petition of a majority ot he property owners, in number and value, within the 1,,, its of such corporatmn. the public authorities, in their discretion m^y ncur obligations necessary tor the public protection and defense to such amounts as may be requested in such petition."

Causes Which Have Made The Country

THE historic material of Northeastern Indiana is too voluminous to be given in detail in a work of this kind. Rather than present a dry chronologic table, we prefer to briefly review and discuss the causes which have made the country what il is.

To understand more clearly its physical characteristics, we first consider some of the facts and theories of the science of geology, which teaches us that " the sea is the mother of continents," that " what we know as ierra firma is a type of instability, that all lands are constantly undergoing changes of level," that " over all the continents the sea has rolled, not once, but many times." Geology teaches us that during each period of submergence the primitive rocks were overlaid with a series of stratified rocks composed mainly of the sediment of the ocean. As the southeastern part of North America emerged the second time from the great Silurian Sea, which had extended west to the Rocky Mountains, and north to the primitive hills of British America, the retiring flood left immense rock-bound lakes of salt water, covering a large portion of the continent. As those "dead seas" evaporated, their mineral and organic matter solidified and formed a thick stratum of rock, which geologists have named the " water-line " stratum. This is now the topmost layer of rock underlying a large portion of the north half of Indiana. It is the "bed-rock " of Northeastern Indiana, excepting only a narrow strip along its eastern boundary, where an older stratum is exposed, and the northeastern corner, where the edges of the strata of a later formation appear.

Cincinnati Arch

After the water-lime rock was deposited, the continent was again repeatedly deluged, but it is supposed that the subsequent formations in this region were comparatively thin, for an upheaval of the crust of the earth had occurred, forming a low mountain range stretching from the highlands of Canada to the southern boundary of Tennessee. This bulge was caused by the contraction attending the cooling of the earth, and the pressure of the oceans on either side of the continent. This ancient ridge is known among geologists as the " Cincinnati Arch," the " anti-clinal " which separates the coal-beds of the Alleghenies from those of Illinois. The axis of the Cincinnati Arch was over Sandusky County, Ohio, from which the rocky strata sloped to the east and west.

Coal Beds Formed

Passing the age of fishes, the age of amphibians (during which the coal-beds were formed), the age of reptiles, and the first period of the age of mammals, we come to the " glacial " epoch, the beginning of a geological period in which the topography of the continent, especially of this region, was materially modified. Geologically this period is one of the latest; but, compared with human history, it is immeasurably remote.