The herds of gregarious animals, particularly
the buffaloes, are innumerable. Such is the gen-
eral character of the country, until we come in
contact with the spurs of the Rocky Mountains.

As far as the limits of the state, this river is ca-
pable of supporting a dense population, for a con-
siderable distance from its banks. Above those
limits it is generally too destitute of wood, to be-
come habitable by any other people than hunters
and shepherds. All the great tributaries of this
river are copies, more or less exact, of the parent
stream. One general remark applies to the whole
country. The rivers have a narrow margin of
fertility.    The country, as it recedes from the

river, becomes more and more sterile, sandy and
destitute of water, until it approximates in char-
acter towards the sandy deserts of Arabia.

Missouri, one of the United States, lying west
of the Mississippi, and intersected by the great
river from which it takes its name. It is bounded
N. and W.bytheTerritory of Missouri, E. by Illin-
ois, Kentucky and Tennessee, and S. by Arkan-
sas ; extending from 36. to 40. 30. N. lat. and from

89. to 94.10. W. long. 270 m. in length and 220
'n breadth. It contains 60,000 sq. m. The Mis-
sissippi washes the eastern boundary, the other
principal streams are the branches of the Mis-
souri and this river. The Ozark Mountains ex-
tend south-westerly from this state into Arkansas,
and there are some mountain ridges toward the
east A large extent of this great state in its
south-east angle commencing above New Mad-
rid, and extending down the great swamp, and
through the alluvial region, a considerable dis-
tance back from the Mississippi, is low, swampy,
full of lakes, and in many places subject to be in-
undated. Beyond that region, which is generally
marked by a bold line of rolling and fertile high
lands, the country gradually rises into high flint
knobs, still rising beyond that region to the moun-
tainous country of the lead mines. This country
extends to the Osage and its tributaries. Beyond
this the country is broken and hilly; until we
open upon the boundless belt of open prairies,
which spreads beyond the western limits of this
state. The best portion, and the most inhabited
parts of the state are between the Missouri and
Mississippi. This vast tract is no where moun-
tainous. It contains great tracts of alluvial and
hillv prairies. It is for the most part a surface,
delightfully rolling and variegated. There is no
part of the globe, where greater extents of coun-
try can be traversed more easily, and in any di-
rection by carriages of any description, where
tbere are no roads, and that is yet in a state of
nature.

One specific difference between the soil of this
country, and the country bordering on the Ohio
is, that trie land here contains a much greater pro-
portion of sand, is more loamy and friable, and the
soil is not so stiff. There are tracts over all this
country, wrier? we find the Hayey soils of Ohio
and Kentucky. But they are small. The roads
generally, ran over tracts, where the falling rain
and snow are so readily absorbed, even in the win-
ter, that the people are not troubled with the deep
and almost impassable roads, that we find in those
states. The rich uplands are of a darkish grey
colour; with the exception of the great tract about
the lead mines, where trie soil, composed of decom-
posed pyrite, is reddish, and of a colour brighter
than Spanish brown. The poorer uplands are
generally covered with white oak, and that small
shrubby species of oak denominated here pin oak.

It is usually a stiffer and more clayey soil than
the other; and it is of a light yellow colour. There
are two extensive tracts of that fine kind of tim-
bered upland alluvion, which constitutes the finest
central portions of Kentucky. The one is, per-
haps, fifteen or twenty miles in extent. It is south-
west of the mine country, and is called Bellevue
settlement. The other tract is much larger, and
is called in this country the Boone's lick settle-
ment. There are smaller extents of this kind of
land, spread over all the state. In a state of na-
ture, it strikes the eye delightfully. The surface
rolls gently and almost imperceptibly. It has the
same trees and shrubs, and the grand vegetation,
that designate the rich alluvions; and at the same
time it has the diversified surface, and the asso-
ciated ideas of health, and springs of water that
are naturally connected with the notion of up-
lands. These lands are limbered with the same
trees which the alluvions bear. Like those, they
are surmounted with grape vines, and are free
from underbrush. The graceful pawpaw, the
persimou, and the wild cherry tree, all denoting
rich soils, abound in these regions ; and they are
nearly as fertile as the bottoms of the Missouri, or
the Mississippi.

The prairies are generally level and of an inter-
mediate character between the richer and the
poorer uplands. The alluvial^irairies are univcr
sallv rich, and nearly as fertile as the bottoms
Some tracts of the upland prairies are rich But
there are scarcely any lands in this state suffi-
ciently level for cultivation, that have not ferti-
lity enough to bring good crops of corn without
manure ; and in many instances the poorer lands
are better for wheat than the richer. The grand-
est objects of nature will, probably, not excite so
much surprise in the mind of a traveller from the
Atlantic states, as tl.e first view of a prairie. Ri-
ding, day after day, through forests, where the
small improvements made in the wilderness
scarcely interrupt the general aspect of woods, he
opens at once upon the view of a boundless hori-
zon. In the early periods of summer, he beholds
outstretched under his eye a perfectly level plain,
of the most soft and beautiful verdure, covered
with a thousand flowers of every scent and hue.
Here and there, in the skirts of the prairies, and
often in their centre are clumps of oaks, and pec-
cans and black walnuts, disposed in forms so re-
gular, and generally circular, as could not fail to
delight the eye of an admirer of the ancient style
of gardening. He is unprepared for such a view,
seen in such strong contrast with dark and lonely
forests. It is, after all, impossible to convey by
description the impression, which these views