instead of being of the usual red. are of a light
yellow or cream color, which gives to the ware-
houses and solid portions of the town, where
this material is used, a peculiarly bright and
beautiful appearance. Steamboats ply continu-
ally between this place and Buffalo, in the season
of lake navigation ; and also to connect it with.
Chicago and other ports south, on Lake Michi-
gan, and with the termini of the Michigan Cen-
tral and Southern Railroads. Plank roads are
rapidly extending from this point into the inte-
rior ; a railroad is in progress to the Mississippi,
and one is proposed to Chicago.

Mina, N.Y., Chautauque co. Watered by French
Creek and Finley's Lake, a small sheet of water.
Surface uneven; soil gravelly loam and clay.
15 miles S. AY. from Mayville, and 348 S. by AY.
from Albany.

Minden, La., c. h. Claiborne parish. 404 miles
N. W. from New Orleans.

Minden, N. Y., Montgomery co. Bounded on
the N. by the Mohawk River, and drained by
Otsquake Creek. The surface is diversified and
the soil fertile, particularly in the valley of the
Mohawk, where are some rich alluvial marshes.
15 miles W. from Fonda, and 67 N. AV. from
Albany.

Mineral Point, Wn., Iowa eo. On a head
branch of Pekatonica River. 52 miles W. S. W.
from Madison. Here are several smelting fur-
naces for copper and lead.

Minersville, Pa., Schuylkill co. 66 miles N. E.
from Harrisburg. In the Schuylkill coal field.

Minerva, N. Y., Essex co. The Hudson River
and some of its branches water this town, the
surface of which is hilly and mountainous, being
partly covered by the Adirondack range, and the
soil fertile in some of the valleys. 30 miles
S. W. from Elizabeth, and 92 N. by AV. from
Albany.

Minot, Me., Cumberland co. A large town-
ship, on the E. side of the Androscoggin, opposite
Lewiston, with two pleasant villages. 33 miles
S. W. from Augusta, and 35 N. from Portland.

Minster, 0., Mercer co. 94 miles W. N. W.
from Columbus.

Mississippi County, As., c. h. at Osceola. Bound-
ed N. by Missouri, E. by the Mississippi River,
separating it from Tennessee, S. by Crittenden
co., and W. by St. Francis River, separating it
from Poinsett and Greene counties. Whitewater
River waters the interior.

Mississippi County, Mo., c. h. at Osceola. On the
eastern border, opposite the mouth of the Ohio.

Mobile County, Aa., c. h. at Mobile. Bounded
N. by Washington co., E. by Tombigbee and
Mobile Rivers and Mobile Bay, separating it
from Clarke and Baldwin counties, S. by Pas-
cagoula Bay, and W. by Mississippi. Drained
by branches of the Mobile River on the E., and
of the Pascagoula on the W. Surface hilly in
the N., and undulating in the S. portions ; soil
sterile.

Mobile, Aa. City, port of entry, and seat of
justice of Mobile co. Situated on the W. side
of Mobile River, at its entrance into Mobile Bay,
30 miles N. of Mobile Point, at the entrance of
the bay. 217 miles S. by W. from Tuscaloosa,
160 E. N.E. from New Orleans, and 55 W. by N.
from Pensacola, Fa. Population in 1830, 3194;
1840, 12,672 ; 1850, 20,500.

It is the only town of much importance in the
lower part of Alabama. It is pleasantly situated
58

on an extended plain, elevated 15 feet above the
highest tides, and has a beautiful prospect of
the bay, extending 30 miles, with an average
width of 12 miles, to the Gulf of Mexico. Access
to the town is rendered somewhat difficult by a
swampy island opposite, so that vessels draw-
ing more than 8 feet of water cannot come
directly in, but must pass up Spanish River,
six miles, round this island, into Mobile River,
and then drop down to the city, into a harbor
perfectly secure from winds, storms, or enemies.
It has about 50 wharves, and, next to New Or-
leans, is the largest cotton market in the United
States. Its business and prosperity have in-
creased with great rapidity since it came under
the government of the United States. Although
one of the earliest settled towns in the country,
it never became, under the French and Spanish
rigirne, which continued to 1813, any thing more
than a military post. The churches of the
city are of the Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist,
and Roman Catholic denominations. There is
an academy, called Barton Academy, a court
house, jail, custom house, a United States
naval hospital, and a city hospital. An aque-
duct, by which water is brought through iron
pipes 2 miles, supplies the city abundantly with
this element of life, purity, and comfort. There
are many steamboats running between Mobile
and the more important places above it, on the
Mobile, Tombigbee, and Alabama Rivers; and
also a line of communication by steamboats
with New Orleans, by the way of Lake Pont-
chartrain. There are also a great number of
packet schooners, which run between Mobile and
New Orleans; some by the way of the lake, and
some by the Mississippi. The great project,
now in a state of hopeful progress, of construct-
ing a railroad from this city to Cairo, at the
junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, to
connect with the Illinois Central Railroad, run-
ning thence, and terminating by its northern
branches at Dubuque, on the Upper Mississippi,
and at Chicago, on Lake Michigan, cannot fail,
when accomplished, of bringing an immense in-
crease of business and prosperity to Mobile.

This place was ceded to the Americans by
Spain in 1813, chartered as a town in 1814, and
incorporated as a city in 1819. It has suffered
repeatedly by desolating fires. In 1827, 170
buildings were consumed; and in 1839, 600.
But the town has been rebuilt with increased
convenience and beauty.

Mohawk, N. Y., Herkimer co. On the S. side
of the Mohawk River, on the Erie Canal. 79
miles W. N. W. from Albany.

Mohawk, N. Y., c. h. Montgomery co. Bound-
ed on the S. by the Mohawk River. The sur-
face is hilly on the N., and the soil fertile in the
Mohawk valley. 42 miles N. AY. from Albany.

Moira, N. Y., Franklin co. The Little Salmon
River waters this town, the surface of which is
level, and the soil sandy loam. 13 miles AY. from
Malone, and 225 N. N. AY. from Albany, on the
Ogdensburg Railroad, from which latter place it
is distant 47 miles.

Moniteau County, Mo. In the central part of
the state. On the S. bank of the Missouri.

Monklon, Vt., Addison co. The western part
of the town is watered by Little Otter Creek,
and the eastern part by Pond Brook. Lewis
Creek runs a short distance in the north-eastern
part. These streams afford but few mill privi-