Middlebury, in Addison county, Vermont, situated on Otter creek, has a college, two academies, several churches, and manufactures of cotton, iron, and marble. A quarry of fine marble was discovered here in 1804, and is now wrought for a variety of purposes. Population, three thousand one hundred and sixty-two.
Middletown, a city of Middlesex county, Connecticut, on the west bank of the Connecticut river, and thirty-four miles from its mouth, is a pleasant place, and has considerable trade and manufactures. In 1816, it owned a larger shipping than any other town in the state. In the neighborhood is a lead mine, which was wrought during the war. A college, under the name of the Wesleyan University, was opened in this city in 1831. Population, seven thousand two hundred and ten.
Milledgeville, capital of Baldwin county, Georgia, and metropolis of the state, is situated on the west bank of the Oconee, eighty-seven miles south-west of Augusta. It is a depot of cotton for the Savannah and Darien markets. It contains several public buildings, and has four weekly papers. Population two thousand and ninety-five.
Mobile, a city of Mobile county, Alabama, on the west side of Mobile river, at its entrance into the bay. When this town came into the possession of the United States, in 1813, it contained about three hundred inhabitants; it now numbers twelve thousand seven hundred. It is pleasantly situated on a spot elevated above the overflow of the river; but the adjacent country is a marsh or a forest. Fire and the yellow fever have committed great ravages here; but trade has increased rapidly, and in the cotton business Mobile is inferior only to Charleston and New Orleans.
Montpelier, shire town of Washington county, Vermont, and seat of government, is situated on the north bank of Onion river, about ten miles north-east of the centre of the state, and is a great thoroughfare for travellers. It was incorporated in 1818, contains a number of public buildings and good seats for manufactories. Population, 3,725.
Nantucket, a town of Massachusetts, of the same extent with the island and county of that name, contains seven houses of public worship, two banks, and two insurance offices. It was formerly called Sherburne. The trade suffered greatly during the late war and the revolution, but has since been more flourishing. There are extensive spermaceti works here. Education is well attended to, and the people, who are chiefly Friends or Quakers, are generally moral and industrious. Population, nine thousand five hundred and twelve.
Nashville, capital of Davidson county, and seat of government of Tennessee, is regularly built, pleasantly situated on the south side of Cumberland river, and is much the largest town in the state. It is a rich and flourishing place. Steamboats from New Orleans ascend the river to this point. The state penitentiary, a fine stone building, is here erected. The University of Nashville was incorporated in 1806, and is now in a very prosperous condition. Pop. eight thousand one hundred and thirty-three.
Natchez, a city of Mississippi, and much the largest town of the state, stands on a bluff, upwards of one hundred and fifty feet above the surface of the river. The houses have an air of neatness, though few are distinguished for elegance or size. To enable the inhabitants to enjoy the evening air, almost every house has a piazza and balcony. The soil of the adjoining country is rich, and vegetation of most kinds attains to uncommon luxuriance; the gardens are ornamented with orange trees, figs plums, peaches, and grape-vines. Natchez is the principal town in this region for the shipment of cotton to New Orleans, and at the business seasons the streets are almost barricadoed with bales. In this place is the Planters’ bank, with a capital of three millions.
The reputation of Natchez in regard to morals seems to be rather at a discount. The lower town is said to have a worse character than any place on the river; and, particularly in the spring, to present a congregation of the most abandoned and desperate. The following picture by a recent traveller is probably overcharged: ‘In the evening, a steamer stops at Natchez to land or take in goods, the passengers observe several houses lighted up, and hear the sounds of fiddles and merriment, and they run up to see what is going on; they find men and women dancing, gambling and drinking; the bell of the steamboat rings to announce that she is about to continue her voyage, the lights in the houses of entertainment are immediately extinguished, and the passengers run out, afraid of being too late for the boat, and run down toward the landing; ropes are drawn across the road, the passengers fall heels over head, a number of stout ruffians throw themselves upon them, and strip them of their money and watches, and they get on board in doleful plight, and of course never see or hear more of their plunderers!’ Population, 4,826.
Natchitoches, commonly pronounced Nackitosh, a town of Louisiana, is beautifully situated on the south-west bank of Red river, at the head of steamboat navigation. The trade between Louisiana and the Mexican states centres here, and it must eventually become a place of great size and importance. This town was established more than a hundred years ago, and its population is a mixture of Americans, French, Spaniards, and Indians.