Missouri is bounded south by Arkansas; east by Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee; west by Missouri territory and north by Iowa. It contains about sixty thousand square miles; its length being two hundred and seventy, and its breadth two hundred and twenty miles. Its limits are between thirty-six degrees and forty degrees thirty minutes north latitude; and between eighty-nine degrees and ninety-four degrees ten minutes west longitude. It is divided into fifty-one counties. The city of Jefferson, which has been laid out within a few years, is the seat of government. St. Louis is the largest town. Potosi, St. Genevieve and Herculaneum are flourishing towns. The chief elevations are the Ozark and Iron mountains. The rivers are the Mississippi, Missouri, Osage, Gasconade, Maramec, St. Francis, White, Black, Currant, Grand and Chariton. The population is three hundred and eighty-one thousand one hundred and two.
State of Arkansas.—Arkansas lies in a very compact form between Louisiana and Missouri, having Zennepee and Mississippi on the east, and the western territory of Mexico on the west. It is 240 miles in length; 250 in breadth; and has an area of 54,500 square miles. The centre of the state is broken and hilly, and the western portion is even mountainous. In general it is covered with a heavy timber. The western part is level and marshy.
Arkansas formed a part of Louisiana, and afterward of Missouri territory, till 1819, when it became a territorial government, and in 1836 an independent state. It is divided into 34 counties; and its capital, Little Rock, is a small town. The population is 95,642.
State of Michigan.—This state consists of two peninsulas, separated by the waters of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The southern division has Lake Michigan on the west, and Lake Huron, the Detroit river, the river and Lake St. Clair, and Lake Erie on the east. It is 280 miles in length, and about 190 in breadth in the southern part, and has an area of 36,000 square miles. The southern peninsula is between lakes Michigan and Huron on the south, St. Mary’s river on the east, and Lake Superior on the North—Montreal river on the west. It is 300 miles long, and varies in width from 100 to a few miles. Its area is about 20,000 square miles. In fertility the state is not surpassed perhaps in the world. The northern peninsula has been imperfectly explored, but seems to be far more hilly than the southern. Lake Michigan is 360 miles long and has an area of near 26,000 square miles. Some settlements were made here by the French in the 17th century; and Detroit was an important trading post at an early period. Michigan passed into English hands in 1763, and was afterward part of the north-western Territory. It was made a distinct Territory in 1805, and in 1836 was received into the Union. Population 212,267.
In 1835 the population of Detroit was estimated at 8,000. It was beseiged in 1763 by Pontiac a celebrated Ottawa chief. In 1812 it was surrendered by Hull to the British.
Fort Gratiot is a military post of the United States, at the outlet of Lake Huron. There is another on the island of Michilimackinac.
Missouri Territory is nine hundred miles in length, and eight hundred in breadth. It is bounded north by the British possessions; east by the Iowa territory, Illinois and Missouri; south and south-west by the territories of the Mexican republic; west by the Rocky mountains. It lies between thirty-four and forty-nine degrees north latitude; and ninety and one hundred and twelve degrees west longitude; its area is estimated at four hundred and seventy thousand square miles. The United States have two military posts in this territory. The mountains of this territory are ranges of the Rocky mountains. The rivers are the Missouri, Rivière de Corbeau, St. Peter’s, Cannon, Ioway, Yellowstone, La Platte, Kansas, Osage, Runningwater, Arkansas, Negracka, and Grand Saline. This territory is inhabited by various Indian tribes, whose numbers are not known.
Oregon Territory is a vast country, whose southern boundary is on the forty-second parallel to the Pacific; our north-west boundary is in dispute with Russia; our division from the British possessions is in the forty-ninth parallel. The Pacific is its western limit; Indiana and Missouri territories form its eastern. It lies between forty-one and forty-nine degrees north latitude, and between one hundred and seven and one hundred and thirty west longitude; it contains about three hundred thousand square miles. The Rocky mountains, and the unnamed chain between this range and the Pacific, present great elevations. The chief rivers are the Oregon and its tributaries. This region is claimed by the United States on the ground of priority of discovery and occupation. A settlement called Astoria was formed in1811 at the mouth of Oregon or Columbia river, by a number of American citizens. The number of Indian inhabitants is 140,000.
Florida Territory is bounded north by Georgia and Alabama; south and west by the gulf of Mexico, and east by the Atlantic. It extends from twenty-five to thirty-one degrees north latitude; and from eighty degrees thirty minutes to eighty-seven degrees twenty minutes west longitude; its length is three hundred and fifty, and its breadth one hundred and fifty miles. Its area includes about fifty thousand square miles. It is divided into fifteen counties. St. Augustine is the largest town; the other considerable places are Pensacola and Tallahassee. The rivers are the St. Mary’s, St. John’s, and Appalachicola. The population is fifty-four thousand two hundred and seven.
Wisconsin Territory.—This tract stretches from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river, and from the northern boundary of Illinois to British America. It is a lofty table land, and contains the richest lead deposites in the world. The land is rich and of easy cultivation. It was erected into a territory in 1836. It is a portion of the tract known as the Black Hawk purchase, ceded to the United States by the Sacs and Foxes in 1832.—Population, thirty thousand seven hundred and fifty-two.