counties, and Green river, is a tract one hundred miles long, and fifty miles wide, beautifully undulating, with a black and fertile soil, which has been denominated the garden of Kentucky. The forest growth of this region is black walnut, cherry, honey locust, buckeye, papaw, sugar maple, elm, ash, hawthorn, coffee-tree, yellow poplar, with an abundance of grape vines of a large size. The country in the south-west part of the state, between Green and Cumberland rivers, has been improperly denominated barrens, as the soil is far from being poor. It is thinly wooded with short oak timber, and is covered, in summer, with a high grass. The whole state, below the mountains, rests on an immense bed of limestone, generally about eight feet below the surface, in which are frequent apertures, in which the waters of the rivers sink into the earth, causing the large rivers to be greatly diminished in the summer season, and some of the smaller ones entirely to disappear. In no part of the country do the rivers suffer so great a diminution in the dry season, as in Kentucky. The rivers have generally worn deep channels in the calcareous rocks over which they flow. Stupendous precipices are formed on Kentucky river, where the banks in many places are three hundred feet high, of solid limestone, with a steep and elevated ascent above them. In the south-west part of the state, between Green and Cumberland rivers, are several wonderful caves. The Mammoth cave, in Edmondson county, one hundred and thirty miles from Lexington on the road to Nashville, is one of the most remarkable caves in the world. It has been explored to a great distance, and is, with good reason, supposed to extend for eight or ten miles. The earth at the bottom is strongly impregnated with nitre, which has been, tó a considerable extent, manufactured from it.

The climate of this state is generally salubrious. The winters are mild, being only of two or three months' continuance, but the atmosphere is moist. The spring and autumn are delightful. The extremes of heat and cold through the year are less than in some other parts of the country. The first constitution was formed in 1790, and in 1799 the present constitution was formed. A governor is elected for four years by the people, and is ineligible for the next seven years. A lieutenant governor is chosen at the same time, who is president of the senate, and who, in case of the death or absence of the governor, discharges the duties of his office. The senators are elected for four years, one quarter of them being chosen annually. Their number cannot be over thirty-eight, the present number, nor less than twenty-four. The representatives are elected annually, and apportioned every four years among the different counties, according to the number of electors. The present number, one hundred, is the highest which the constitution allows, and there can never be less than fifty-eight. The general assembly meets annually at Frankfort, on the 'first Monday of November. Every free white male citizen, who is twentyone years of age, and who has resided two years in the state or county in which he offers his vote, is entitled to the right of suffrage, Votes are given openly, or viva voce, and not by ballot. The judges of the different courts hold their offices during good behaviour.

TENNESSEE.

THIS state was originally included in the charter of North-Carolina, given by Charles II., in 1664. In 1757 Fort London was built, and garrisoned; and the Indians, to induce artisans to settle among them, made donations of land. Fort London was established on the north side of Little Tennessee river, about one mile above the mouth of Tellico, in 'he centre of the Cherokee country. A war with that Indian nation hav

ing occurred, the garrison was besieged, and compelled to surrender for the want of provisions. By the terms of the capitulation they were to retire beyond the Blue Ridge; but after proceeding about twenty miles, the Indians fell upon and massacred the whole number, amounting to between two and three hundred, excepting nine persons. This happened in the year 1700. In 1761 Colonel Grant marched against the Indians and subdued them, and compelled them to sue for peace. The only settlements which had been made in the vicinity of Fort London were broken up by the war: but tranquillity having been restored, fifteen or twenty persons formed themselves into a company and came to a place now called Carter's valley, in East Tennessee. In 1768 an exploring party came into the country from Virginia. The first permanent settlements were made in 1768 and 1769, by settlers chiefly from North-Carolina and Virginia. The settlements continued to increase until 1774 and 1775, when an extensive purchase of land was made from the Indians by Henderson and company, but not without warm opposition from the chief, who declaimed against the encroachments of the whites, without effect. In 1776 war with the Indians occurred, but after some fighting an arrangement was inade by the states of North-Carolina and Virginia, by which the boundaries of the territory, now the state of Tennessee, were definitely settled. In 1779 Captain James Robertson and others from East Tennessee crossed Cumberland Mountain, and explored the country in the neighbourhood of Nashville, and planted corn that season on the ground where Nashville now stands. They all returned for their families exceptting three, who remained to keep the buffaloes, which abounded in this region, out of the corn. In May, 1790, congress passed a law for the government of the country southwest of the Ohio, and William Blount was, by President Washington, appointed the first governor of the territory, who in October, 1790, established his residence in East Tennessee. On the 19th of October the governor authorized an election of a colonial legislature by the people. The assembly met at Knoxville on the fourth Monday of February, 1794, and was regularly organized. In 1795, the territory was found to contain 77,262 inhabitants, which entitling them to become a state, a constitution was formed in February, 1796, and on the 6th of June, 1796, they were admitted to the Union. This constitution was revised and amended, and ratified by the people, in March, 1835.

On the eastern boundary is a chain of mountains denominated in its different parts, Unko, Iron, Smoky and Bald mountains which constitute a continuous range. None of the mountains of Tennessee are over two thousand feet high, and they are generally wooded to their tops, though in some instances too rough for cultivation. Iron ore is found in nearly every county in Eastern and Middle Tennessee, and in many places it is wrought, furnishing iron equal in quality to any in the country. On the borders of Georgia and North-Carolina some gold has been found, and a beautiful variegated marble near Nashville..

The climate is mild and generally healthy. The winter in Tennessee resembles the spring in New-England. Snow seldom falls to a greater depth than ten inches, or lies longer than ten days. Cumberland river has been frozen over but three or four times since the first settlement of the country. On some low grounds in the western parts of the state, the inhabitants are subject to bilious fevers, and fever and ague in the autumn. The governor is elected by the people biennially, and is not eligible more than six years in any term of eight years. He must have attained the age of thirty years, must be a citizen of the United States, and a citizen of the state for seven years next preceding his election. The senate consists of twenty-five members, elected by the people once in two years. Every senator must have attained the age of thirty years, must be a citi zen of the United States, must have been an inhabitant of the state for

three years, and of the district for which he is elected for one year, immediately preceding his election. The house of representatives consists of seventy-five members. elected at the same time and for the same period as the senators. Every representative must be a citizer of the United States, of the age of twenty-five years, must have been a citizen of the state for three years, and a resident in the county for which he is elected one year immediately preceding his election. All judges are elected by the joint vote of the general assembly. The judges of the supreme courts are elected for twelve years, and must have attained the age of thirty-five years. The judges of the inferior courts are elected for eight years, and must have attained the age of thirty years. The state attorneys are elected in the same manner, for the term of six years. The secretary of state is elected by the joint vote of the general assembly for four years; and the state treasurer, in like manner, for two years. Every free white male citizen of the United States, who has been a citizen of the county where he offers his vote for six months next preceding the day of election, enjoys the right of suffrage; and no person is disqualified from voting on account of his colour, who is, by the laws of the state, a competent witness in a court of justice against a white man. The legislature meets biennially at Nashville, on the first Monday of October

OHIO.

OHIO is the most populous, wealthy, and improved state west of the Alleghany Mountains. It contains an area of forty thousand five hundred square miles, and a population of more than one and a half millions of souls. The first white settlement was made in 1789; yet now Ohio is the third state of the Union in population, and has nearly a thousand miles of canal and railroad. The country is generally level, except in the south-east, where it is broken and hilly; it is forested, except in the centre and north-west, where are extensive prairies. In a state of nature Ohio was, with the exception of some central prairies, covered with a dense forest, to which the fertility of the soil gave a stupendous developement. The most extensive prairies are found on the head waters of the Muskingum and Sciota; also near the sources of the Miami river. The soil is very fertile, and nine-tenths of the whole is capable of profitable cultivation. Corn, wheat, and pork are the staple productions; iron, coal, and salt abound in the south-east counties. Columbus, the capital, is a flourishing place on the Sciota river and national road, near the centre of the state. Cincinnati, on the Ohio, near the south-west corner of the state, is the largest and wealthiest city in the west, and the greatest pork market in the world.

The

The first permanent settlement was made at Marietta, in 1788. next was at Columbia, six miles above Cincinnati, in 1789; and the next settlement was made by the French emigrants at Gallipolis, in 1791. Cleveland was settled by New-England, in 1796, as also was other points upon Lake Erie. The first territorial legislature met at Cincinnati, in 1799, and organized the government. In 1802, Ohio formed her state constitution, and was admitted a member of the Union.

The legislative authority is vested in a senate and house of representatives, both of which collectively, are styled the general assembly. The representatives are chosen for one year, and for eligibility must be citizens of the United States, and twenty-five years of age, having resided in the state one year, and paid taxes. Their number must never exceed seventy-two, nor be less than thirty-six. The senate is composed of members elected for two years, who must not exceed one-half nor fall

short of one-third, of the number in the house of representatives. A sen ator must be a citizen of the United States, thirty years of age, and have resided two years in the district from which he is chosen. The genera. assembly has the sole power of enacting all the state laws, the assent or signature of the governor not being necessary in any case whatever. The qualifications of an elector, are, to be one year a resident of the state, twenty-one years of age, and a citizen of the United States. The judiciary system comprises three several grades of courts, namely; the supreme court, courts of common pleas, and justices' courts. The supreme executive authority is vested in a governor chosen biennially by the people. He must be thirty years of age, and have resided in the state at east four years. He is commander-in-chief of the militia, and commissions all officers in the state, both civil and military.

INDIANA.

IN 1702, Vincennes was settled by French soldiers of Louis XIV. from Canada. Separated from the rest of the world, they became assimilated to the savages by whom they were surrounded, and with whom they intermarried. At the peace between England and France in 1763, this country came into possession of the English. In the revolutionary war the inhabitants took sides with the Americans, in consequence of which the general government ceded to them a tract of land about Vincennes. In 1787, the United States took possession of Vincennes, and erected a fort on the opposite side of the river, for a defence against the savages. The inhabitants at that period consisted of French, Canadians, and Indians. The victories and treaty of Wayne in 1795, put an end to Indian hostilities. In 1811, in consequence of depredations and murders, a military force was sent against the Indians; and the bloody battle or Tippecanoe, under General Harrison, compelled them to sue for peace. In 1816, Indiana was admitted to the Union as an independent state, having previously been under territorial government, and has since rapidly progressed in population and improvement.

There are no mountains in Indiana, but the country bordering on Ohio river is hilly and broken. A range of hills runs parallel with Ohio river, from the mouth of the Great Miami to Blue river, sometimes approaching to within a few rods of the river, and at other times receding from it to the distance of two miles. Immediately below Blue river, the hills cease, and an immense tract of level land, covered with timber, is presented to the view. Strips of bottom and prairie land, covered with a heavy growth of timber, skirt all the principal rivers, excepting the Ohio, from three to six miles in width. With some few exceptions, the greater proportion of this state may be pronounced to be one vast level. The prairies and timber land alternate, and in general these kinds of land are more happily balanced than in other parts of the western country. Many prairies are long and narrow, so that the whole can be taken up, and timber be easily accessible by all the settlers. Even in the large prairies are those beautiful islands of timbered land, which form such a striking feature in the western prairies. The great extent of fertile land, and the happy distribution of rivers and springs, has been one cause of the very rapid increase of population in this state.

Iron and coal have been found in the state, and there are some salt springs, and Epsom salts are found in a cave near Corydon; but the mineral productions have no great interest. The climate is generally pleasant and healthy.

A governor is elected by the people for three years, and may be once

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re-elected. At every election of governor, a lieutenant-governor is elected, who is president of the senate, and in case of the death, resignaion, or removal of the governor, discharges the duties of the office. The senators and representatives are apportioned among the counties, according to the number of male white inhabitants, over twenty-one years of age. There can be no fewer than thirty-six nor over one hundred repre sentatives. The representatives, and one third of the senators, are elected annually by the people. The legislature meets in December, annually, at Indianapolis. The judges of the supreme and circuit courts are appointed for the term of seven years. The judges of the supreme court are appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate; the chief justices of the circuit courts by the legislature; and the associate judges by the people. All male white inhabitants over twenty-one years of age, who have resided in the state for one year next preceding the election, enjoy the right of suffrage.

ILLINOIS.

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In the latter part of the seventeenth century, Illinois was explored by the French from Canada, and some forts and trading posts were established. About 1720, several forts were built within the present limits of Illinois, of which Fort Charles was the most considerable, and a chain of communication was formed from Canada to the mouth of the Mississippi river. The oldest document in the state is at Kaskaskia, which is a petition to Louis XV. for a grant of common fields, stating the great losses of the people the year before by an extraordinary flood. At the peace of 1763, this country, together with Canada, was ceded to the English. In 1765, Captain Sterling, of the Royal Highlanders, took possession of Illinois, and was followed by several other commanders. In the Revolu tionary war, the Virginia militia, under General Clarke, subjugated Fort Chartres, Kaskaskia, and conducted a successful expedition, in 1788, against Port Vincent, now Vincennes. In the same year the legislature of Virginia organized, in this remote region, the country of Illinois, which was afterward ceded to the United States. In 1800 the present territory of Illinois contained about three thousand inhabitants. In 1809 the terri torial government was formed, and the population the next year amounted to twelve thousand. In 1818 a state constitution was formed, and Illinois was received into the Union as the twenty-second state.

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The general surface of the country is level, or moderately undulating the northern and southern portions are broken, and somewhat hilly, bu no part of the state is traversed by ranges of hills, and there is nothing in the state which can be denominated a mountain. That portion of the state which lies south of a line from the mouth of the Wabash river to the mouth of Kaskaskia river, is generally covered with timber, but north of this the prairie country predominates. It is computed that two-thirds of the surface of the state is covered with prairies. The eye sometimes wanders over immense plains covered with grass, and, in the season of them, adorned with flowers, with no other boundary of vision but the distant horizon, though the view is often broken with occasional woodlands. Much of the prairie land is undulating and entirely dry. The dry prairies are generally from thirty to one hundred feet higher than the bottom land on the river, and are often very fertile. In many instances, there are copses or groves of timber, of from one hundred to two thousand acres, in the midst of prairies, like islands in the ocean. This is a common feature of the country between Sangamon river and lake Michigan in the north part of the state. Illinois in general is abundantly supplied with