The streams which originate within the lines described by the political boundaries of the Territory, and which, either during their whole course, or for a considerable distance, meander through it, are the Osage, the Gasconade, Maramec, Salt river, St. Francis, and Black river. Of a lesser magnitude are Mine river, Chariton, Currents, Fourche à Thomas, Eleven-points, and Spring rivers; the four latter running southerly into the Arkansas Territory, and discharging their waters into Black river, which is itself a tributary of White river.
The Osage originates in a prairie country, near the ninety-sixth degree of west longitude, about one hundred miles north of the Arkansas, and, after meandering in an east and north-east direction for a distance of five hundred miles, unites with the Missouri one hundred and thirty miles above St. Louis. In its course it is swelled by several tributaries, the principal of which is the Little Osage, its great south-eastern fork. This river affords, in its whole length, large bodies of the choicest prairie-land, interspersed with woodland, and occasionally with hills, and is navigable for moderate sized boats. Its banks afford exhaustless beds of stone-coal, and some iron and lead is found, while its upper forks reach into the country of the Pawnees—a country rich in salt. The Osage Indians inhabit its banks; but a part of their lands have been purchased by the United States. It is a very beautiful stream, and situated in a delightful climate; and when its borders are opened for emigration, and its resources properly drawn forth, will support a large population, and a profitable trade. Its fertile soil and genial climate entitle it to the rank of one of the first tributaries of the Missouri.
In estimating the length of western rivers, there is one circumstance which is not properly estimated by an eastern reader. It is their serpentine course, which is so remarkable, that, in running one hundred miles on a geographical line, they will, by their great windings, measure at least double that distance; so that a river stated to be one thousand miles in length by its banks, cannot be calculated to traverse a country of more than five hundred miles in extent; indeed, I believe that a fair average of distances would show the geographical distance to be less.
The Gasconade enters the Missouri one hundred miles above St. Louis. Its length is about two hundred miles, and it is navigable for half that distance. It is made up of several streams running from a ridge of high lands, separating the waters which fall on the north into the Missouri, from those which flow on the south into the Mississippi. Its banks afford but a small proportion of tillable lands, being bordered with rocks and sterile hills. The rocks are, however, cavernous, and afford saltpetre; and the hills are covered by pine timber, which is sawed into boards and plank. In these two articles, the commerce of this river will always principally consist. The current is rapid, and affords by its fall many mill-seats, so that boats and rafts may descend with ease; but its ascent is attended with great labor. On this stream are already situated several saw-mills.
The Maramec also originates in high lands, two hundred and fifty miles south-west of its mouth, and is separated from the waters of the Gasconade only by a dividing ridge of land. It is swelled in its course by a great number of streams, the most noted of which are the Little Maramec, Bourbuse, Fourche à Courtois, Big river, and Mineral Fork. It forms a junction with the Mississippi eighteen miles below St. Louis, where it is two hundred yards wide. It is only navigable about fifty miles, except in high floods in the spring and fall, when most of its tributaries may be ascended with boats. This stream waters the country of the mines, and interlocks, by its affluents, with the Gasconade on the west, and the St. Francis on the south. The mines of Missouri are situated on its southern shores.
Salt river enters the Mississippi one hundred and three miles above St. Louis, and seventy-three miles above the mouth of the Illinois. The settlements on its banks are rapidly progressing, and the lands are noted for their fertility.
The St. Francis originates, with Big river, in broken lands in the southern part of Washington and St. Genevieve counties, and joins the Mississippi five hundred miles below. The most noted bodies of iron-ore in the western country lie on its head, at Bellevieu. The La Motte lead-mines also lie along the banks of one of its tributaries. It affords, in its course, a proportion of excellent land, mixed with some that is rocky, and bordered near its mouth with much that is swampy, low, and overflown. A raft of trees, about two hundred and fifty miles above its mouth, obstructs the navigation, which would otherwise be good to within fourteen miles of St. Michael, the seat of justice for Madison county.
Black river has its origin near the heads of the Gasconade and the Maramec, and is swelled in its course by the river Currents, Fourche à Thomas, Eleven-points, Spring and Strawberry rivers, and forms a junction with White river about forty miles below Poke Bayou, where the road to Arkansas and Red river crosses it. The banks of Black river, and of all its tributaries, afford rich alluvial land of more or less extent; but the intervening ridges are rocky and sterile.
Although there is much high land in this Territory, there is perhaps none which, strictly speaking, is entitled to the appellation of a mountain. A ridge of high land, called the Ozark chain, commencing on the banks of the Maramec, near the Fourche à Courtois, extends in a south-west direction to the banks of White river, in Arkansas Territory, a distance of about four hundred miles, and occasionally rises into peaks of mountain height. This ridge serves to divide the waters of the Missouri from those of the Mississippi; the streams on one side running south into the latter, and those on the other running north into the former. The body of red granite found on the head of the St. Francis, lies in mountain masses, and forms, in connection with the accompanying rocks, some of the most rude and terrific scenery, full of interest in a mineralogical, as well as a geological point of view.
In the preceding view of the lead-mines of Missouri, and in the catalogue of minerals subsequently introduced, I have already anticipated much that might with propriety be given here; it may therefore be sufficient to give a brief synopsis of both.