The sickness of Missouri is a prominent hinderance to its growth. Although there have been prevailing sicknesses, the number of deaths by no means corresponds to the extent of the disease. Intermittent fever, the almost universal form of sickness, is little understood by the scientific, and is cured by specifics whose "modus operandi" is still shrouded in mystery. Nearly all who emigrate to this state have to undergo acclimation. Congestion sometimes supervenes, and the disease in this stage often proves fatal. Young men seldom suffer from this stage, unless they have been very imprudent in exposing themselves to its causes. Strange as it may seem, it is often the means of removing chronic complaints and establishing the health of the patient. And after enduring a thorough seasoning, they are seldom attacked again. The importance of Missouri, from its agricultural resources, and vast mineral wealth, the large population it is calculated to sustain, from its peculiar advantageous commercial situation, is beyond calculation. Situated at the confluence of two of the mightiest rivers that water any continent, draining more than half of the territory of the United States -how vast the resources of this region when peopled by teeming millions! Where is the centre that is to have the greatest influence in this great valley? The Roman catholic bishop of St. Louis has more ecclesiastics under his control than any other in the country. The only university they have within the United States is at St. Louis. The mineral wealth of the southwest is greater than many would imagine. Capital and skill, properly applied, will develop resources of wealth undiscovered and now slumbering in unknown beds. It may not be generally known that Murphy and M'Clurg have now a smelting establishment in full and successful operation, where they are enabled to supply any demand for lead which the country can possibly require. Lead abounds in various parts of the southwest, but particularly in the vicinity of those waters which are tributary to White river. Much capital might be profitably employed in opening and working these mines. But the great misfortune is the obstruction in the navigation of the rivers. There are the Osage on the north, White river on the southeast, and the Neosho or Grand river on the west, draining an extensive, rich, and fertile country, with but few equals in mineral and agricultural wealth. These streams, with the improvement of which they are susceptible, would open an outlet to market at seasons of the year when the more northern outlets are closed. Missouri has increased rapidly in population, improvements, and wealth. Its tobacco, which is one of its staples, is quoted at the highest rates in the European markets. Hemp is an article of increasing growth and of the first quality. The population of Missouri in 1771 (by Hutchings), was 850; in 1804 (by Stoddard), 10,340; in 1810 (including Arkansas), 19,833; in 1820, 66,586; in 1830, 140,074; in 1840, 383,702; in 1850, 684,132. Towns and cities along the waters of the Missouri, above "Boone's Lick" settlement, are increasing. The state is subdivided into 101 counties. The River Missouri.-The Missouri is one of the largest rivers in America, so famous for the greatness of its streams. Its principal branch rises in the Rocky mountains, in about the latitude of fortythree degrees and thirty minutes north, and the one hundred and twelfth degree of western longitude: its head spring is said to be not more than one mile distant from the source of another great river-the Columbia-which flows in a contrary direction into the Pacific ocean. This branch has been termed by the American travellers, Captains Lewis and Clarke (who explored the whole course of the Missouri), Jefferson's river, in compliment to Mr. Jefferson, who was then president of the United States; and three of its tributaries have, in the same spirit, been dignified with the appellations of Philosophy, Philanthropy, and Wisdom. When Jefferson's river has run a course of about two hundred and seventy miles, it is joined by two others, called Gallatin's and Madison's, after the statesmen so named ; and their united waters flow together for nearly three thousand miles, under the name of Missouri, until they pour themselves into the channel of the Mississippi. of the Missouri" occur; and for the space of seventeen or eighteen miles, the river presents a succession of rapids and cataracts. At the "Great fall," as the largest of these is termed, it is three hundred yards wide; and for about a third of this breadth, the water rolls in one smooth, even sheet, over a precipice of nearly ninety feet in height. The the Rocky mount-remaining portion of the stream precipitates itself with a more rapid current, and being broken in its fall by projecting rocks, "forms a splendid prospect of perfectly white foam, two hundred yards in length," with "all that glory of refracted light, and everlasting sound, and infinity of motion, which," to use the words of a modern writer, "make a great waterfall the most magnificent of all earthly objects." The fall which is next in height, is perhaps a more remarkable object still. It extends completely across the river, where its width is at least a quarter of a mile; "the whole Missouri," says the narrative of Lewis and Clarke, "is suddenly stopped by one shelving rock, without a single niche, and with an edge as straight and At the distance of about one hundred and eighty miles from this junction-or of four hundred and fifty miles from the source of the Jefferson branch-the river escapes from among ains, and loses the character which, till shortly previous, it had borne throughout, of a foaming torrent. The spot at which it emerges, is remarkable for the sublimity of its scenery; for nearly six miles, precipitous masses of rock rise perpendicularly from the water's edge, to the height of nearly twelve hundred feet. 66 They are composed," says the official narrative of Lewis and Clarke, "of a black granite near its base, but from its lighter color above, and from its fragments, we suppose the upper part to be flints of a yellowish brown and cream color. Nothing can be imagined more tremendous than the frowning darkness of those rocks, which project over the river, and menace us with destruction. The river, of three hun-regular as if formed by art," over which dred and fifty yards in width, seems to have forced its channel down this solid mass, but so reluctantly has it given way, that during the whole distance the water is very deep, even at the edges, and for the first three miles there is not a spot, except one of a few yards, in which a man can stand between the water and the towering perpendicular of the mountain. The convulsion of the passage must have been terrible, since at its outlet there are vast columns of rock torn from the mountain, which are strewed on both sides of the river, the trophies, as it were, of the victory. Several fine springs burst out from the chasms of the rock, and contribute to increase the river, which has now a strong current; but very fortunately we are able to overcome it with our oars, since it would be impossible to use either the cord or the pole. This extraordinary range of rocks we called the Gates of the Rocky mountains." About one hundred and ten miles from this tremendous chasm, the "Falls the volume of its waters is precipitated "in one even, uninterrupted sheet, to the perpendicular height of fifty feet, whence, dashing against the rocky bottom, it rushes rapidly down, leaving behind it a spray of the purest foam. The scene which it presented was, indeed, singularly beautiful, since, without any of the wild, irregular sublimity of the lower falls, it combined all the regular elegances which the fancy of a painter would select, to forra a beautiful waterfall." From the falls down to the very mouth of the Missouri-a distance of more than two thousand five hundred miles-there is no obstacle to the navigation of this river, but what arises from the rapidity of its current. In this long course, its waters are increased by the junction of many other streams, both great and small: among the largest are the Yellow Stone, La Flatte, Kansas, and Osage, the first of which is one thousand eight hundred and eighty, and the last one hundred and thirty-three miles above the union with the Missis- | twelve yards of clear water on that side sippi. It would be difficult to comprise of the river, while all the rest was mudin any general description, the charac- dy. The line of actual contact was parteristics of a river so extensive in its course, and fed by so many various streams; still, the Missouri is sufficiently powerful to give to all its waters something of a uniform character-and one extremely remarkable. Its prodigious length, its uncommon turbidness, its impetuous and wild character, and the singular country through which it runs, impart to it a natural grandeur belonging to the sublime. "We have never crossed it," says Mr. Flint, "without experiencing a feeling of this sort, nor without a stretch of the imagination, to trace it along its immense distance, through its distant regions, to the lonely and stupendous mountains from which it springs." 66 The Mississippi is remarkable for the clearness of its waters, which are of a light blue, not unlike the hue of the deep sea, or of the Rhone at Geneva. The Missouri, on the other hand, is described as being "nearly as thick as pea-soup," and of a dirty muddy-whitish color. A glassful of the former appears as clear as any spring-water; one of the latter is perfectly turbid, worse than the rain-puddles on a highway-road," and in a few minutes deposites a stratum of mud; yet this turbid water, according to Mr. Flint, after the settlement of the whitish earth, which soon falls down, is remarkably pure, pleasant, and healthy; and another American geographer says, that it is more easily preserved cool, and fit to drink, than other waters are. The surface of the Mississippi, above the junction, is generally clear of drift-wood, while that of the Missouri is all covered with half-burnt logs, trees with their branches torn off, and great rafts or floating islands of timber, drifted from the interior, sweeping and whirling along at a furious rate. The Missouri enters the Mississippi from the westward, nearly at right angles to it; and such, says Captain Hall, is the impetuosity of its current, that it fairly divides the Mississippi even to the left or eastern bank. "There were literally," he says, "not above ten or ticularly interesting; it seemed as if the dirty Missouri had insinuated itself under the clear Mississippi, for we saw it boiling up at a hundred places. First, a small curdling white spot, not bigger than a man's hand, made its appearance near the surface; this rapidly swelled and boiled about, till, in a few seconds, it suddenly became as large as a steamboat, spreading itself on all sides in gigantic eddies or whirlpools, in a manner that I hardly know how to describe, but which was amazingly striking. At other places the two currents ran along, side by side, without the least intermixture, like oil and water; but this separation never continued long, and the contaminating Missouri soon conquered the beautiful Mississippi-indeed, the stain is never got rid of for one moment, during the twelve hundred miles that the united stream runs over, before it falls into the gulf of Mexico." The Missouri carries down a great quantity of sand; this, with the aid of what is derived from the neighboring banks, forms sand-bars (as they are called), projecting into the river. By forcing the stream toward the opposite bank, these sand-bars aid materially in the process of undermining its loose texture, yet they are themselves constantly removing. Travellers mention an instance in which this shifting character was likely to have produced serious results. A party had encamped upon one of these sand-bars, and in the middle of the night, the sergeant on guard alarmed them by crying that it was sinking. "We jumped up," say they, "and found that both above and below our camp the sand was undermined and falling in very fast; we had scarcely got into the boats and pushed off, when the bank under which we had been lying fell in, and would certainly have sunk the two perioques (open oared boats), if they had remained there. By the time we reached the opposite shore, the ground of our encampment sunk also." This incident occurred as they were making the circuit of the Great Bend. From the shifting of these | the sand washed from under her. It has been contended by some, that from the length of the Missouri, the volume of its waters, and the circumstance of its communicating its own character in every respect, to the Mississippi below the junction, it ought to be considered as the main river, and to impart its name to the united stream during its course to the sea. Malte Brun states it to be now known that the Missouri is the principal branch, and has the better claim to the magnificent title of "Father of Waters," which the Indians have conferred upon the smaller one; and Balbi, a still more recent authority, has a similar remark. An American geographer, however, Mr. T. Flint, remarks, in opposition to this claim, that the valley of the Missouri seems in the grand scale of conformation to be secondary to the Mississippi-that the Missouri has not the general direction of the lower portion of the Mississippi, but, on the contrary, joins it at nearly right angles-that the valley of the Mississippi is wider than that of the Missouri, and the river broader-and that the course of the river, and the direction of the valley, are the same above and below the junction. "From these," he says, " and many other considerations, the Father of Waters' seems fairly entitled to his name." Captain Hall also supports the claim of the more direct river of the two, to give its name to the joint cur rent. Missouri has every description of soil and of surface, from mountainous and rocky ridges, dense and rolling forests, beautiful undulating prairies, extensive tracts of inferior rugged soil, and low inundated swamps. Extensive districts in the counties of Jefferson, Franklin, Washington, St. Francis, Madison, Crawford, and the adjacent regions, are vast mineral regions, and abound in lead, iron, copper, and a variety of other minerals. ST. GENEVIEVE is the oldest town and permanent settlement in Missouri. The village church was situated two miles from the river (with its extensive" common field" of several thousand acres in front on the river, extending along its rich bottom land), and was commenced about 1754. On the arrival of Laclede, in 1763, "it was a town of some note,' and the point to which the lead was brought from the mines in the interior on deposite. The landing on the river was at a rocky bluff two miles above. The lead mines of Missouri were discovered by Philip Francis Renault and M. de la Motte, agents under a branch of the " Company of the West." La Motte discovered the mines that go by his name, on the waters of the St. Francis. Renault left France in 1719, with two hundred artificers and miners, to ex |