> an fa’ = Ja em ] be a a - i ua wy te ‘ i ¢ ‘ es . " a¢ s Ac vs + ’ Se els abe ' 9 Se'148ikome \O5 LISTS OF SeONTRIBUTLORS. Hon. WILLIAM L. WiILsoNn, CHAIRMAN OF THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE, FIFTY-THIRD CON- GRESS. Lone] ax « SOLEY, FORMERLY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. EDWARD ATKINSON, LL. D., Ph. D. eore lee. LODGE, U.S) A; Col. GeorGce E. Warina, Jr. J. B. McMasTER, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE UNI- VERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. CHARLES DuDLEY Warner, LL. D. Major J. W. PoweLt, DIRECTOR OF THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND THE BUREAU OF ETH- NOLOGY. WiiuiaM T. Harris, LL. D., U. S. COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION. LyMAN AssotrT, -D. D. H. H. BANcRort, AUTHOR OF ‘‘ NATIVE RACES OF THE PACIFIC COAST.” HARRY PRATT JupDson, HEAD DEAN OF THE COLLEGES, UNI- VERSITY OF CHICAGO. Judge THomas M. Coo ey, FORMERLY CHAIRMAN OF THE INTER- STATE COMMERCE COMMISSION, CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS. D. A. SarGENT, M. D., DIRECTOR OF THE HEMENWAY GYM- NASIUM, IIARVARD UNIVERSITY. CHARLES HORTON COOLEY. A. E. KENNELLY, ASSISTANT TO THOMAS EDISON. DEO OILMANY LLD),. PRESIDENT OF JOHNS HOPKINS UNI- VERSITY. PiaGs. sPROUG. EDITOR OF THE RAILROAD GAZETTE. Pee NIChET, FORMERLY VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF DESIGN. Peavy... AUSSIG; PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY. HENRY VAN BRUNT. H. P. FAIRFIELD. SAMUEL W. ApssoTt, M. D., SECRETARY OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, MASSACHUSETTS. N. S. SHALER. INTRODUCTION. THE American of to-day needs to know much concerning the present conditions of his country and the prospects of its future. Histories of his people, statistics such as the current reports afford, and special monographs, are valuable to him who has the time to use them, but the characteristic American citizen is a very busy man, and he is often deterred from inquiries which would inform him as to the state of the commonwealth by the amount of labor involved in the task of consulting a multitude of books. What he needs, as the publishers of these volumes believe, is to have the America of to-day unrolled before him like a map, in order that he may survey its natural features, its achievements, and the position which it has attained among the nations. Such a presentation demands that the results of many investigations be put in convenient order, and that this work be done by writers who are recognized authorities in the various subjects. In a book of this nature, it is obvious that there should be brought to the attention of the reader first those matters which relate to the geographic, climatal, soil, and mineral con- ditions of the realm; he will thus obtain an idea of the stage on which he is to play his part; next he should be shown the actual station of those employments and other activities which make up our national life. As these tasks have been executed in this work, it is believed that it affords a better means for a clear understanding as to the position of the American citizen of to-day than is elsewhere to be found. The reader can see at a glance the development and status of American industry and manufactures in the clear and succinct (v) vi INTRODUCTION. tables and text prepared for this volume by Edward Atkinson. Specialists like Judge Cooley and H. G. Prout present the rail- ways of the country in their relations to the public and in the condition of their actual operation. The work of Americans in education, science, literature, and art is well set forth, and the state of American cities—a subject of increasing consequence—is thoroughly dealt with by Col. Waring. The methods of national and State Government are explained by Prof. McMaster and the Hon. W. L. Wilson; while other equally competent authorities picture American life from the beginning to the present time. Yet other writers take account of the commerce of the seas and the work of the National Guard, as well as the questions which now affect our currency. These volumes thus presént the thought of men qualified to speak with authority concerning the America of the end of the nineteenth century. To our people, the matter of first importance is their present situation; from a study of it they may obtain the inspiration which the citizen needs to move him to high deeds in advancing the good work of his forefathers, or in remedying the ills which mar the great inheritance. | NvSe5! CONTENTS. VOLeer, CHAPTER PAGE I.— THE CONTINENT, AND THE REASONS FOR ITS FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE . . . ° . . I Place of America among the continents. Invigorating climate. Agricul- tural regions. Rainfall and irrigation. Variety of crops. Material re- sources. European and native food plants. Colonization and the west- ward movement. Industrial conquest of the country. N. S. SHALER. -IL—NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH : : he) St. Lawrence district. New England district. Eastern Central States. Virginia district. Florida district. Mexican Gulf district. es. N.S, SHALER, III.—WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST . ; 3 ‘ lo? District of the Ohio Valley. The district of the Great Lakes. Upper Missi:sippi district. Arkansas district. Lower Missouri district. Dis- trict of the upper Missouri. Cordilleran plateau district. The Win- nipeg district. Cordilleran district. California district. Columbia dis- trict. Alaska district. The Caribbean district. N. S. SHALER. IV.—THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS . ; : : « ebOO Origin of the Indians. Indian sociology. Mythology and religion. In- dian languages. Indian history and migrations. Indian population. Indian villages and their distribution. Indian architecture. Mounds and mound builders. Subsistence of the Indians. Domestication of animals by Indians. Indian technology. Indian costumes and adorn- ments. Indian art of war. Indian modes of transportation. Indian music. General conclusions. MAJOR J. W. POWELL. V.—THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. : : . : ; : ‘ ey The land. How the United States came to own it. What the United States did with the valley. Character and order of settlement. The people of the valley. Social development. Mormons. Communists. Religion in the Constitution. Politics. Education. The outlook. isha ge Jupson. (vii) Vili CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE VI.—THE PACIFIC COAST . . . . . . . . . . Sat Conditions of settlement. The discovery of gold. Recent changes in the character of immigrants. Growth of San Francisco. The conditions of Oregon. Mining industries. Agriculture of the Pacific slope. Fruit growing and wine production. Agriculture of Oregon and Washington. Manufacturing industries. H. H. BANCROFT. VII—THE FARMER'S OPPORTUNITIES - : ; : : : . <376 Alluvial soils. Other varieties of soil. Marsh lands. Irrigation. The need of more thorough tillage. Stores of mineral fertilizers. Clearing land. Cattle-herding. Wide influence of American agriculture. The future of our exportable crops. N. S. SHALER. VIII. MINERALS AND MINING . : - : . ; : ; . Aly Geological history. The coal measures. Petroleum deposits. Iron ores. Effects of ice action. Sources of energy. Output of coal. Future of the iron industry. Copper ores. Lead, zinc, and tin. Gold and silver, Mineral fertilizers. Salt, granite, cement, clay, etc. A discussion of vol- canoes, earthquakes, and storms. N. S. SHALER. IX.—THE FORESTS AND THE LUMBER INDUSTRY . : ‘ : . Bes Relation of the forests to floods. Divisions of the American forests. The spruce district. Timber of the Rocky Mountains. Pacific coast woods. The Appalachian woodland. Preservation of the forests. The Canadian woodlands. Trees readily cultivated. Necessity of repairing waste. N. S. SHALER. X.—THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA . : : : « 50 American commerce after the Revolution. New England’s East Indian trade. Beginning of a navy. Influence of the War of 1812. Establish- ment of steam navigation. Superiority of American sea-captains. Advent of iron steamers. Decrease in tonnage during the civil war. Merchant, shipowner, and shipbuilder. Comparison with the commerce of Great Britain. Our advantages for the carrying trade. Encouragement to domestic shipping. Restrictions on foreign carriers. Rise of the trans- atlantic lines. Improvements in machinery and design. Fast modern steamers. The increasing use of steel. Present position of American shipbuilders. Probable effect of free ships. The navy before the civil war. Our new navy. Steel shipbuilding. J.. R..SOLEY. XI.—OUR MILITARY RESOURCES . : : : : . : ORS The National Guard. Value of a national reserve. The regular army and the militia. The militia by States. Uniform and discipline. Drill and manceuvres. Marches and encampments. National encampments. How to utilize our military resources. COLONEL T. A. DODGE, “Ur Saee - LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. VOL. I. PAGE Statue of George Washington, U. S. Sub-Treasury, New York . : Frontispiece Columbus Monument, New York j , ‘ : ; : : : ; ; 6 North American Elk . . 3 . : : i : é : 5 Ae View from East River Bridge, New ork Nal ae ‘ ‘ : : s pene 2T Immigrants’ Landing, Ellis Island, New York Hates : : ‘ : ; ere 3s The Rocky Mountain Goat : ; , : . ‘ : F : ‘ Perea West Point and the Hudson River . ; : . : : : : . 22048 Victoria Bridge, Montreal . : : A ; . . : ; ; : . Be A Group of Mule Deer , : ise 169 Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, owns Saati epee aad Cypress Knees F tert |: House of Negro Family in Florida. : ; ; : , ; : . Sg Packing Sponges, Bahama Islands. : : : : : ; ‘ See : A Screw Palm . : : ; ‘ , : : : ‘ : ; 1862; 1862. 1862. 1862. 1863. 1863. 1863. 1863. 1863. 1863. 1863. 1863. 1863. 1863. 1864. 1864. 1864. 1864. 1864. 1864. 1864. 1864. 1864. 1864. 1865. 1865. 1865. 1865. 1865. 1865. 1865. 1865. 1865. 1866. 1866. 1866. 1866. 1867. 1867. 1868. April 24. New Orleans surrendered to Admiral Farragut. July 1. The battle of Malvern Hills closed a seven days’ struggle between General Lee and General McClellan. July 1. President Lincoln called for 300,000 volunteers, August 29, 30. The second battle of Bull Run. September 17. Battle of Antietam. ; October 8. Battle of Perryville. December 13. Battle of Fredericksburg. January 1. Proclamation of Emancipation issued by the President. March 3. National Academy of Science created by act of Congress. May 2. Battle of Chancellorsville. June 19. West Virginia admitted to the Union. July 1-3. Battle of Gettysburg. July 4. Vicksburg surrendered to General Grant. July 8. Port Hudson surrendered, and the Mississippi River opened to its mouth. July 13-17. The draft riots occurred in New York city. September 19. Battle of Chickamauga. November 24, 25. Battle of Chattanooga. May 5-12. Battles in the Wilderness. June 19. Naval fight between the Alabama and the Kearsarge. July 11. The value of a gold dollar in New York city quoted at $2.85. August 5. Battle of Mobile Bay, with capture of forts by Admiral Farragut. September 1. Atlanta surrendered to General Sherman. October 19. Battle of Cedar Creek. October 31. Nevada admitted to the Union. November 15. The Columbia College School of Mines organized in New York city. November 16, General Sherman began his march from Atlanta to the sea. December 21. Savannah occupied by General Sherman. January 15. Fort Fisher taken by General Terry. February. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston organized. February 18. Charleston occupied by General Sherman. April 1. Battle of Five Forks. April 2. Richmond occupied by Union troops. April 9. The Army of Northern Virginia surrendered by General Lee to General Grant. April 14.. President Lincoln assassinated in Washington City. April 15. Vice-President Andrew Johnson succeeded to the Presidency. April 26. General Johnston’s army surrendered to General Sherman. April 2. Proclamation by the President declaring the rebellion at an end. July 25. Grade of General created in the United States Army for General Grant. July 25. Grade of Admiral created in the United States Navy for Admiral Farragut. July 27. The second Atlantic cable completed. March 1. Nebraska admitted to the Union. October 9. Alaska transferred to the United States by Russia for $7,200,000. March 7. Beginning of the trial of President Johnson for impeachment. XX1V IMPORTANT EVENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY. a 1868. March 23. The University of California, Berkeley, created by law. 1869, February 26. The Fifteenth Amendment recommended by joint resolution of Congress. 1869. March 4. Ulysses S. Grant inaugurated President. 1869. May 10. The first transcontinental railroad completed by the junction of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads. 1870, The eighth census showed the population to be 38,558,783. 1870, First cable street-railway established in San F rancisco, California, by Abner Doubleday. 1870, October 12. General Robert E. Lee died, aged sixty-three years. 1870. November. First issue of Scribner’s Monthly, now Century Magazine. 1871. October 8. The business portion of Chicago, Illinois, destroyed by fire. 1872. May. First issue of The Popular Science Monthly. 1872. Discovery of the Bonanza Mines on the Comstock lode. 1872. June 15 to September 14. The Geneva Tribunal held meetings, at which $15,500,000 were awarded to the United States for Alabama claims. 1873. July 30. Michigan State Board of Health created. 1874. July 4. Great steel bridge built by James B. Eads across the Mississippi at St. Louis, Missouri, opened. ; 1875. February 9. The Hoosac Tunnel, Massachusetts, completed, then the long- est in the United States and the second longest in the world. 1875. March 15. John McCloskey appointed the first Cardinal in the United States. 1876. The Johns Hopkins University organized in Baltimore, Maryland. 1876. May 10. Centennial World’s Fair opened in Philadelphia by President Grant. 1876. August 1. Colorado admitted to the Union. 1877. Society of American Artists organized in New York city. 1877. March 5. Rutherford B. Hayes inaugurated President. 1877. March 15. The telephone exhibited by A. Graham Bell, and its trial between Boston, Massachusetts, and Salem, Massachusetts. 1877. July 1-26. Railroad strikes prevail, with great destruction of property, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and other railroad centers. 1877. August 11. Discovery of moons of Mars by Asaph Hall. 1878. The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle organized by John H. Vincent. 1878. October. The discovery of subdividing the electric current announced by Thomas A. Edison, thereby making incandescent lighting possible. 1879. January 1. Specie payments resumed by the United States Government. 1879. March 3. National Board of Health created by act of Congress. 1879. March 3. The United States Geological Survey created. 1880. The tenth census showed the population to be 50,155,783. 1881. March 4, James A. Garfield inaugurated President. 1881. July 2. President Garfield assassinated in Washington City. 1881. September 20. Vice-President Chester A. Arthur succeeded to the Presi- _ dency. 1881. The Architectural League of New York organized. 1883. January 16. The National Civil Service Commission created by act of Con- gress, 1883. May 24. The East River Suspension Bridge, the longest in the world, opened. IMPORTANT EVENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, XXV . February 22. The Washington Monument dedicated in Washington City. - March 4. Grover Cleveland inaugurated President. . July 23. General Grant died in Mount MacGregor, New York, aged sixty- three. . February 11. Department of Agriculture created, with Norman J. Coleman as first Secretary. . March 4. Benjamin Harrison inaugurated President. . June 14. New York State Naval Militia created by act of Legislature. . November 1. North Dakota admitted to the Union. . November 2. South Dakota admitted to the Union. . November 8. Montana admitted to the Union. . November 11. Washington admitted to the Union. . The eleventh census showed the population to be 62,662,250, . July 3. Idaho admitted to the Union. . July 11. - Wyoming admitted to the Union. . The Leland Stanford Junior University organized in Palo Alto, California. . October 1. The University of Chicago organized. . March 4. Grover Cleveland inaugurated President. . May 1. The Columbian World’s Fair opened in Chicago, Illinois. . August 7. Congress met in special session to consider the repeal of the Sil- ver Purchasing Act. . a { r. p F ee x) A i << = ‘ Yi | ri i ' # ai = x M4 “* F ‘ ; e ‘ : %, - 2 . + ; ‘ ‘ 5 4 a > A e a = Fa 7! . te. oe ; , ’ Y =< ; . ; . , J . ra ' % ’ han ae pial) it ; yor 4 > ie’ @ A a « a> wa pe A 7 fee ONICED SPATES OF (AMERICA. CHAPAT Ry i: CUlRmeONITINENT AND THE REASONS POR ITS FITNESS TO imei eM EeOl- A. GAEAT PLEO, ALTHOUGH the principal object of this work is to set before the reader the existing conditions of the United States, it will be necessary for us at the outset to consider the general physical characteristics of this great land in which our people have wrought their history. Whatever be the nature or capacities of a people, however fortunate they may have been in the inherit- ances from their forefathers in other countries, their fate isin a great measure determined by the nature of the fields in which they come finally to dwell. We all recognize more or less clearly how our individual lives are shaped, how all our activities are ordered by the circumstances of the soil, climate, or under-earth resources of the region in which our lot is cast ; success or failure may be determined by those features of our environment. That which is true of the individual is true also of peoples or states. Thus the Northmen who settled in France in their time grew to be the most powerful folk of northern Europe; they became the conquerors of Britain and the rulers of other lands. Their kindred from the same Scandinavian country, who in the same period found their way to Iceland, have been hindered in their develop- ment by the stern climate and the sterile soil of their arctic dwelling place. Though the energy and talents of the Iceland- ers have enabled them to survive the trials of their position, they have a scanty population, and are without influence in the affairs of the outer world. From these and other instances which are evident in every stage in the history of men it is clear that, while no peculiarities of soil, climate, or earth resources can of them- selves make a people great, these conditions have much to do I (1) Z “RITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A. GREAT \FECra —~- with their success, their happiness, and the part they have to play in the affairs of mankind. As our aim is to take account of the present condition and pros- pects of our people in this country, it scarcely needs any arguments which will not be already in the mind of every well-informed per- son to show that it is necessary for us to give a good measure of attention to the realm in which we dwell. To secure a clear view of the past, present, and future of our people, we must see in what ways they have been helped or hindered by the gifts of good and evil which their dwelling place affords. Without this knowledge we can not hope to gain a clear idea of the struggles through which they have passed on the way to the prosperity which they now enjoy, or of the successes which are before them. Therefore in these first chapters, which treat mainly of the natural advantages and disabilities of this country, we must ask the reader to keep in mind a conception of the importance of this knowledge which we shall seek to gain concerning the resources of the continent. The picture which we have to present is fortunately not only impor- tant from the point of view of the end which we have in mind, but has in itself a great charm; it is in effect a review of a great land. In presenting the matter it will be well first to sketch the geo- graphic conditions of North America, considering mainly those features which determine its fitness for the occupation of the race to which the European peoples who now mainly possess it belong. The continent of North America is one of the group of great lands which are so placed that their widest parts lie about the north polar regions. These circumpolar continents are com- monly reckoned as three in number, Asia, Europe, and North America; but as the division between those which form the Old World is purely arbitrary, Europe being in fact the western fringe of Asia, we may fairly count the Old World as one great terri- tory, and look upon these northern lands as but two in number. As will be seen by the accompanying map of the region about the north pole, which shows the general shape and relation of these masses, these continents are near together at the arctic cir- cle, but, owing to their southward-pointing triangular form, they depart from each other as they approach the equator, so that they are separated by very wide stretches of sea. As we shall hereafter have occasion to note this feature of nearness in the northern and remoteness in their southern parts, we will i re- mark its existence in only a general way. The Pacific shores of these northern continents converge until THE, CHAIN OF ARCTIC LANDS. "4 3 at Bering’s Strait they almost touch each other, there being only about sixty miles of shallow sea intervening between the near- est points of Asia and America along the boundaries of that strait. On this part of the adjacent shores a swift steamer could Circumpolar regions. make the passage from either land in a few hours; and even a sav- age in his canoe might at certain seasons safely undertake the voyage. South of this strait lies the long curved line of the Aleutian Archipelago, where the numerous volcanic islands are set like stepping stones extending from the coast of America to near that of Asia, so that a vessel sailing along the curve de- scribed by this belt of isles would rarely be out of sight of some bit of land during its voyage from one main shore to the other. In the region about the North Atlantic the Old and the New Worlds are more distinctly divided from each other than they are along the ‘shores of the Pacific Ocean. From the nearest main- 4 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. ee land of America across the North Atlantic to the shores of Eu- rope the distance is about twenty-five hundred miles; but a vessel may sail from Labrador to Greenland, and thence to Iceland, and from there by way of the British archipelagoes, crossing no land- less portion of the sea having a width of over five hundred miles. Our swifter modern steamships, if they followed this route from the shore of one continent to the other, would not need to be more than twelve hours out of the sight of land. On the other Continental hemisphere. hand, when we go southward to the middle latitudes, in the par- allel of forty degrees, it is about six thousand miles across the Pacific and about three thousand miles from shore to shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, while the Old and New World lands are tolerably near neighbors in their circumpolar parts, they are widely separated from each other throughout the greater portion of their shore line. Owing to the fact that their juxtaposed parts DIFFICULT, ACCESS BY NORTHERN ROUTES. 5 are in the high and sterile north, where the lands are made deso- late by the extreme cold, these continents, at least to civilized man, ars much more completely parted from each other than their geography indicates. This fact is made the more evident when we consider how hard it was for the Northmen, though they were vigorous seafarers, to find their way to the fertile portions of the continent of North America. As early as 870 these daring and skillful seamen had won their way over the North Atlantic and taken possession of Iceland. In another century they pushed on to Greenland and founded numerous settlements on the inhos- pitable shores of that arctic land. It seems likely that Leif, the son of Eric, the most enterprising of these navigators, found his way down the North American shore as far as Newfoundland, or possibly to Nova Scotia, but so formidable were the conditions of the journey that even the inspiring reports of his voyage never Sean ATABV BS Iceland Swerklanad ? NG 7OS Wast of Greenwich Scale 1 : 60,000,000, Le a SS EE ee ore Se Discoveries of the Norsemen in the New World. led others of his countrymen to follow his path.* That the Scan- dinavian sailors, with all their daring and their knowledge of maritime affairs, did not win their way to the fertile portions of * This sketch-map shows the utmost limits of the explorations made by the Norse- men in North America. It is improbable, however, that their voyages ever extended to the south and west of Nova Scotia, called Vinland on the map. 6 - FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. the Atlantic coast, is sufficient to show how very difficult is the passage between the continents in the part of the Atlantic where the shores of the neighboring continents most closely approach each other. The reader is doubtless aware that some students of the Scan- dinavian sagas are of the opinion that the enterprising explorer Leif journeyed as far south as the southern coast of New Eng- land, but the weight of evidence is to the effect that even the boldest of these valiant seafarers of the Northmen people failed to attain the hospitable portion of the continent, and that its really fertile lands were, on account of the perils of a northern voyage, shut off from the people who for six hundred years before the time of Columbus dwelt along its northern shores. For a like reason—viz., the severity of the climate—the north- ern Pacific lands also fail to provide an easy way for the people of Asia to enter the New World. At first sight it would seem that the people of China and Japan, who, though by fio means such sailors as the Scandinavians, were not without skill in the use of ships, would have voyaged along the shores and across from one island to another until they had won their way to the fertile portions of the Pacific coast of this continent; but they failed to do so, or at least did not make any permanent settlement in this country for many centuries before the coming of the Euro- peans to the land. The truth is, that while it might be easy to make a coasting voyage from China or Japan to the shore about Oregon or California, the sterile coast which would have to be traversed between Kamtchatka and the mouth of Frazer River—a distance, as a coaster would sail, of about five thousand miles— would deter even the hardiest navigators in primitive ships, and turn them back toward their mother country. In fact, the scanty food-carrying power of the ancient ships, whether of Europe or Asia, made it almost impossible for an expedition to pass from the Old World to the New by coasting along the arctic shores, and thus to attain the fertile land of America in a condition to | meet the dangers which newcomers have to face in an unknown lary } 7 The evidence goes to show that for thousands of years before Columbus came to America there had been no exchange of popu- lation between the Old World and the New. A few Aleut Indians may from time to time have journeyed across the waters of Bering’s Strait, and now and then a derelict ship from China or Japan may have been carried by the winds or sea currents to Columbus Monument, New York. PLACE OF TAMERICA AMONG BME TCONTINEN TS. Wy. the shores of Alaska, but such chances were of little more im- portance in transplanting men than the floating of driftwood from the tropics to circumpolar lands is in changing the vegetation. Notwithstanding the propinquity of the boreal portions of the Old and New Worlds, it in the end proved easier for men to pass over the wider but less dangerous seas of the middle latitudes than to journey by the northern ways. In the ancient days, before the last Glacial period, perhaps before America was occupied by men, when the climate of the high north was far milder than it is now, there was doubtless a better chance for the intermingling of the animals and plants of the Old and New Worlds by these northern paths; but in the period of human history these ways have been closed by the rigor of the climate which infolds them in almost continuous winter. Notwithstanding the nearness of these lands to each other in their arctic regions, they are really parted by the space of wide oceans, and the barrier has long been so effective that Europeans and Asiatics voyaged for centuries before they found their way to the shores of America. But for the genius and de- termination of Columbus, it might have been yet another century before explorers discovered this continent. If his voyage had proved unsuccessful, or if, after the discovery of the West Indies, his expedition had been wrecked, it might have been as fruitless of subsequent enterprises as that of Leif Ericson. We have first of all noted the position of America with refer- ence to the Old World for the reason that this is a point of view that much interests us; we are descendants of people from Eu- rope, and the presence of our race on this continent is due to the accidents of its position. We must now take a more extended view of the position and relation of the continent with reference not only to the conditions which determined the coming of Europeans into its lands, but also as to its place among the con- tinents. North America is, in its general form, what we may term a normal continent. In shape it is somewhat rudely triangular, with the base of the figure toward the north and within the arc- tic circle. From this base it extends southward, gradually nar- rowing until the apex lies near the equator. At this southern extremity it terminates in an irregular strip of land, the Isthmus of Darien, by which the northern continent is united with South America. In its general shape, with its wide northern part and southward narrowing form, North America closely resembles the 8 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOEIZ: other continental areas. The great land mass of Europe-Asia is not very definitely triangular, but a distinct indication of this figure may be seen if we draw a line from the southern part of Spain to the southern extremity of Hindoostan, and another down the western shore of Asia. It will then appear that the area of the Old World continent has a general likeness as regards its form to our own, the difference being that the triangle of the > ESN LN rR Si ue Lisb Tale . Azores >"_ ue sat oN eager ea ae ee a peer ee S8Yarniig----~ +” x Re Ge ae eens POPES SaEO A A . 7 ae. > fe coe & 2* a aee eee ae rg 4, nt * Area * sy 2350 = Dabpiniguas =f tA CVerd Is/s, me SS - = - a iad é . So PER eis yy ACS. ondet” est af Greenies Scale 1 : 90,000,000. = §1,800 miles, Voyages of Columbus. Old World is broader based than that of the New, and also has a much more irregular shore line. The other continental masses are, as regards their form, much more nearly hke our own land than is the Old World. Africa and South America curiously resemble North America in their general outlines; they also have the three-sided form; their bases are toward the north and their longer sides converge toward the southern pole. The continent of Australia appears at first sight to be an exception to this general principle, that the great lands point southwardly and terminate in the manner we have de- scribed, but this exception is only apparent, and is due to the INVIGORATING CLIMATE OF NORTH AMERICA. 9 fact that Australia has not yet achieved the normal continental growth, much of its area not yet having attained the surface of the océan in which it lies. As we shall hereafter have occasion to note in tracing the development of North America, the usual process of continental increase appears to lead to the construction of its northern parts before the southern portion of the elevation is brought above the level of the sea. There can be no doubt that the general features of continental form which we have noted above are due to some modes of ac- tion of the earth’s forces which operate over all parts of the sur- face. To see how striking is the result, the reader should note the appearance of the continents either on a globe or on a world map, where the surface is drawn in the form of two hemispheres which show the relation of the several parts to each other, and not ona Mercator’s projection, such as is commonly used in our schools, where the proportions of the lands in the regions about the poles are greatly exaggerated. The best plan of all for the student is to frame a clear mental picture as to the general form of the earth through the memory of its aspect as presented ona globe. He should be able to represent it in his mind’s eye much as he might behold it if he stood upon the surface of the moon. In such a far view we may be certain that the southward pointing of the continents would appear as a singular and beautiful feature in the aspect of our planet. If there be intelligences in the stellar spheres to whom it is given to behold the geography of the earth, we may be sure that these uniformities in the order of its lands would be to them a matter of exceeding interest. | One of the many important, and in a way practical, results of the distribution of the continents is that the larger part of the surface of each is exposed to a particular belt of climates, and so the atmospheric condition of each one has a general uniformity in character. Thus, the continents of the northern hemisphere— Europe-Asia and North America—have the greater part of their areas in high latitudes, and so the most of their lands have cool or cold climates, and a relatively small part of each lies within the tropic realm. We may fairly term them the winter conti- nents, and their life of all grades—that of plants, the lower animals, and of man—is generally adjusted to the peculiar needs which frost brings to them. These winter lands are the region of stren- uous conditions, which demand strength and energy from their dwellers, which give much to the able-bodied, but are unfit for weakly creatures. “ 10 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE, TTT is The southern group of continents— Africa, South America, and Australia—have their widest parts beneath or near the equatar, which causes the greater portion of their land to be of exceeding warmth, and only a small part of them to have the conditions which are found in the northern continents. They are tropical countries, over three fourths of their surfaces having the tempera- ture which permits of the growth of the more delicate palms, and generally of plants which do not endure the touch of frost. Prob- ably not one tenth of their aboriginal peoples have ever seen snow or ice. In North America, on the other hand, nineteen twentieths of its surface experiences a freezing temperature, and snow Is a familiar spectacle to at least four fifths of its population. Fortunately for us, North America falls into the group of frees continents, for in them alone does the life of man find a fit condi- tion for its highest development either in body or mind. In this need of cold for his best estate man differs from the rest of the animal kingdom. His very remote cousins the monkeys— which are not, as they are sometimes believed to be, his ances- tors, but in fact his collateral kindred—are all strictly limited to the summer lands, and quickly perish in frigid countries unless they are strictly guarded from the influence of the cold. The greater part of the higher mammalia likewise shun high lati- fueles. and only attain ther perfection of growth in the warm re- gions. Of man alone can it be said that he is at his bestin the boreal climates. The Aryan race, which is by far the most vigor- ous of all the varieties of man, attained its qualities in that part of Europe which lies about.the Baltic Sea, where the winters are severe, and life is a constant struggle with the long-enduring cold which winter brings. In such conditions, as long as food and fuel is abundant the human body attains its greatest vigor, size, and longevity, and the mental powers are at their best; thence southward it may retain these qualities as long as the winter sea- son brings a moderate degree of frost. When we pass into the tropics, though the frame may with certain races exhibit a moder- ate development, it can not endure hardships as well as where it is bred in contact with an earth which is often snow-clad, and the mental powers appear always to be enfeebled. While from the point of view of human interests it must be deemed fortunate that our continent is so placed that it lies mainly in high latitudes, its position brings with it certain grave disadvantages. A large part of its area is exposed toa climate so rigorous as to make it unfit for the uses of civilized man, for it is THE UNTILLABLE NORTHERN PORTIONS. 1) placed so near the pole as to prevent the important food-produc- ing plants from ripening. In this manner a portion of the area of | the Canadian Dominion is in the present condition of the world’s climates as unfit for the use of the civilized races as is the region of the Sahara. Although the climate of this northern portion of North America is unsuited to the plants which the race needs, it is otherwise not unfit to be the abode of our people, for experi- | ence shows that men of our race may dwell for centuries in Ice-- land or southern Greenland. It is only because this northern | district can not be used for agriculture that it is unsuited for civ- ilization. On this account we must exclude from our estimate of the area of the continent which is valuable to the descendants of Scale 1 : 106,000,000, ES ayiltey srt SS), Isothermals of the United States. Europeans all that part of the land which can not be made to rear the crops, particularly those of grain, which constitute the foundation of our race life. This grainless area includes nearly all of the country which lies to the north of a line extending from southeastern Labrador in a northwesterly direction to near the head of Lake Superior; thence northwardly to the southern end of Lake Athabasca; thence again southwesterly to the mouth of the Frazer River on the Pacific coast. Thus about one fourth of the area of the continent may be regarded as beyond the limits of human enterprise, at least as far as agriculture is concerned. This excluded portion, though essentially useless from the point of view of agriculture, abounds in mineral resources, and will in time doubtless be more or less occupied by men who seek these subterranean stores. 2 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. Perhaps the noblest use to which the Canadian people could devote this northern realm would be to retain it as a wilderness, a vast continental park, where, in the manner of the state preserves or forests of Europe, or the nobler preservations of the Yellow- stone and Yosemite, the earth may be left to Nature, or at most the artifices of man shall be limited to the construction of ways which may give access to its beauties without marring its primitive as- pect. This region bids fair to remain in the time to come the only extensive field of a charming aspect which will be exempt from human use. We may look forward to the permanence of its wild state with greater satisfaction, for its climate, though in- hospitable, is in summer delightful. It has, moreover, a marvel- ously diversified surface, abounding in lakes, streams, and _ hills, and in its western parts, within the limits of the Cordilleran Mountains, the scenery has a dignity which may be compared with that of the Swiss Alps. In summer this region is the resort: of many species of our American water fowl, which breed in its re- cesses, and a number of our noblest American mammals prosper in its fields. The moose, the caribou or American reindeer, the musk ox, and a smaller variety of the nearly extinct American bison, are fitted to its climate. Along the northern part of its shores polar bears abound, while the black species occupies a large part of the area, and the grizzly bear exists in the western portion of the field. The fur-bearing animals are found in great plenty in nearly all parts of this high northern realm, and the traffic in their skins will always maintain a certain commerce be- tween its Indian tribes and the civilized world. The fresh waters abound in fish, which, though they belong to species which haye no great value as the basis of industry, are well suited to the sportsman’s use. Along the shores of this boreal land the marine fishes swarm, and each year these coasts become the seat of more extended fishing industries. Not only will this region remain a wilderness, unsought as the dwelling place of civilized man, but it is likely that it will become the seat and stronghold of the native Indians, who there may find a refuge from the debasement and final extinction which men- aces them in all parts of the continent which are suited for the . uses of our race. The American Indian is fitted to just such a life as this region affords to savages—a life as a hunter and fisher- man, with its seasons of intense activity and times of prolonged repose. Here he may be separated from the vices of civilization, and may long remain in his pristine state, the noblest animal of North American elk. BOUNDARY OF THE AGRICULTURAL REGION. 13 this vast preserve. It will require no such system of police as that which now with difficulty excludes the vagrant element of our people from our national parks to preserve this circumpolar part of the continent from debasement. This climate, by debar- ring its inhabitants from agriculture, has sealed it to the people of Canada and the United States as a place of recreation. The line of demarcation between the sterile and the tillable _ portion of North America is very sharply drawn. At many points —as, for instance, along the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence— the division between the two districts may be found in a belt of country not fifty miles wide, to the north of which no profitable _agriculture is possible; while to the south the soil repays the labors of the husbandman in a satisfactory manner. In the main valley of the continent, near the Cordilleras, the country which is suited to agriculture makes a broad and deep bend to the north- ward, extending to Athabasca Lake, and occupying the great valley of the Saskatchewan to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. It may, indeed, be found that certain of the hardier grains—oats, wheat, and rye, and perhaps buckwheat and barley—-may, by a proper selection of varieties, be made to yield subsistence for man and his domesticated animals up to near the borders of Great Slave Lake. The reason for this peculiar bay of good climate extending so far to the north in this central section of the conti- nent is mainly to be found in the effect of the western mountains on the temperature of the air which flows in from the Pacific Ocean. Owing to the fact that these eastward-setting winds de- scend from a great height upon the plains of the central district, they are warmed through the process of condensation which the air undergoes, and are so made better fitted to maintain life. The nature of this remarkable action will be discussed in the general account of the weather of the continent. It is for the present sufficient for us to notice the fact that, owing to a simple law of atmospheric temperature, this region of some two hundred thou- sand square miles is redeemed from what otherwise would be complete sterility. The direction in which this line which divides the sterile from the fruitful districts of North America crosses the continent admirably illustrates the influence of sea and mountain in deter- mining the climate of a great land. On the Atlantic coast the southern limit of the tillable belt is turned to the north as far as southern Newfoundland by the effect of the sea in-mitigating the rigors of the frost. This influence is relatively small along this 14 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT Peeters _part of the continental shore, because the waters next the coast line are cooled by a current setting southward next the margin of the land from the area of Baffin’s Bay. In the interior district, north of the Great Lakes, the border of the sterile field is deflected southward because of the height of the land. The northward bend of the valley of the Red and other rivers of the central dis- trict is, as we have noted, mainly due to the curious effect of the western mountains on the wind which blows over that surface. = a iss ERE SIREEDS. a SSE Ll _ West of Greenwich Scale 1 : 80,000,000, a 1,200 miles, Isothermals of North America, The sharp and long deflection of the tillable belt to the north- ward on the western coast of America, which carries the field of possible agriculture about one thousand miles nearer to the pole LANDS OF SCANTY RAINFALL. 15 than on the Atlantic, is due to the warmth of the waters on this shore, which receive the tide of the great Japan current, a stream essentially like our own Gulf Stream in its position and effects on the oceanic temperatures. | South of the sterile field of the Canadian Dominion the conti- nent of North America, except in the higher mountains, has a summer temperature suited to agriculture—not over one hun- dredth part of the area is in this regard unfit for the uses of the farmer. It must not, however, be supposed that the whole of this vast field is fit for tillage. Unfortunately the lack of moisture which prevails in many places is as sterilizing in its effects as is the lack of heat, and thus a large part of the warm section of the continent—probably one third of its surface—lacks ‘the rainfall which is necessary for husbandry. This arid or scantily watered region lies altogether in the central or westerly portions of the continent, where it extends from near the Canada line, at which point it is about a thousand miles in width, nearly AsaiaGesoutn as the city of Mexico, where, owing to the narrow- ing of the continent, it is only three or four hundred miles across. Although this arid district is a tolerably well-defined field, it shades off in a somewhat gradual manner on either side into the sufficiently though still scantily watered lands. Thus, on the east we find that the parts of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas which lie nearest to the Rocky Mountains are on the verge of or within the arid field. In certain seasons they so lack for rain that their crops are blasted ; again, for a term of years the field of sufficient precipitation swings to the westward, and their wonderfully fertile soils have a chance to yield their willing harvests. There is in this part of the continent a fringe of debatable land having a width of about two hundred miles, where the variation of the seasons now gives plenty, and again reduces the land to an unfruitful state. On the western or Pacific side of the arid region we find a sharper line between the desert and the fertile places. This dis- tinct demarcation is due to the fact that the limit between the arid and well-watered condition is there set by the position of the mountain elevations which face the Pacific Ocean, and by the character of the winds which blow in from that sea. In this part of the world the soil tiller can generally reckon on what he may expect from the sky with a measure of certainty which is unat- tainable in the central or eastern portions of the continent, where the winds are more variable and the climatal equations which 10 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPCE, determine rain are far more complicated and inconstant than they are along the Pacific coast, where one sea and one set of air cur- rents control the climate. The central arid field of North America is in its extent the fourth of the desert lands of the world; it is surpassed in the order in which they are named by those of northern Africa, central Asia, and western Australia. Of all the great deserts of the world it is the least completely sterilized by its lack of mois- ture. As the conditions of this scantily watered part of the con- tinent are of the utmost importance to the future of our people, the student will do well to compare its state with that of the deserts of the other great lands, so that he may see how far it is likely to afford a field for the extension of our growing popula- tion and of our developing arts. Such an examination is the more imperative for the reason that the completely sterile districts have ever presented the most insuperable barriers to civilization. Thus the civilization of Asia has surrounded but not conquered the great area of its central desert, and the culture of Egypt has for five thousand years remained fenced within narrow limits by the waterless sands of Africa. The desert of Australia is as yet hardly touched by civilization, but it seems to constitute a great wilderness which can never be subjugated by the singularly en- terprising people who have occupied its southern and eastern — boundary. The American desert of our older geographies was pictured as a most inhospitable realm, fit to be compared in sterility with the arid wildernesses of Asia and Africa. In part, the impression it made upon the early explorers was due to the fact that they went forth into its fields from the densely forested and super- abundantly watered district of the eastern part of the continent, where the rainfall is much greater than is necessary to maintain agriculture; where the earth brings forth its fruit in a measure almost unknown in any region beyond the tropics. These pio- neers were accustomed to a soil which was fairly sodden with water. If they had gone into the Cordillera region from such a country as India they would hardly have been inclined tq call much of it a desert. They would have seen that, while scantily watered, a very large part of its surface could be made useful for pasturage; and that much of it, by simple artifices in the manage- ment of its streams, could be made to yield noble harvests. Ina word, the name of desert, which was applied to this district, 1s to a great extent a misnomer: it might better be termed “the arid POSSIBILITY OF IRRIGATION. ty, ” region, or, better still, “the country of scanty: rain.’: To our early people the absence of the familiar forest coating, which had existed on all the lands they had hitherto explored, seemed to indicate hopeless sterility in this field. Even the first settlers of Kentucky called the admirable soil of the Green River district “The Barrens,” because they were in the state of open prairie; it was only after a time that they deemed them ee of occu- pation. In North America the lands of scanty rainfall occupy in ben erah the area from the one hundredth meridian west to the Coast ranges of the Pacific. In the southern section of the United States, and in northern Mexico, the arid district comes to the very shore. Within the limits of Mexico, and north of the city of that name, the larger part of the area, except a strip next the shore on the east and west, is of a rather arid nature, and much of it is com- pletely sterilized by drought. Over the most of this great area, where the land is high, the dryness is in its measure extremely variable, the rainfall over large districts being sufficient to secure the growth of tolerably well-developed forests. In the southern section the aridity is greater, and in Arizona and parts of New Mexico, and a large portion of the northern section of old Mexico, there is, save where the soil is artificially irrigated, no economic return except a scanty pasturage. In general we may say that south of the States which border on the Canadian line in the Cordillera district no true agriculture is possible save by the use of engineering devices for bringing water upon the land. The aridity of these countries, however, is not due to just the same cause as that which sterilizes the deserts of Central Asia or of the Sahara. In those countries there is an exceedingly small amount of rainfall, while over the larger part of the Cordilleran district the amount of precipitation is sufficient, if it were well distributed, to make some form of tillage possible. The difficulty is that the deposition takes place in the winter season, and toa certain extent is irregular, falling mainly on the higher mountain peaks in the form of snow. The fact that this region does not lack for water in a measure to reduce it to its sterile condition is indicated by the numerous rivers of considerable volume which are mainly fed from the snow which falls in the cold season. In the Sahara and various other true deserts there are no such streams. A considerable portion of the surface of this region, probably between fifty and one hundred thousand square miles, can be won to tillage and made to bear exceedingly abundant : 2 ay 18 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. crops by a system of appropriate reservoirs and irrigation ditches. A few years ago the Federal Government wisely undertook a systematic survey of this arid district with reference to its irriga- tion system. Though only a small part of the country has as yet been surveyed, the results obtained on several distinct fields show that the proper execution of an irrigation system such as has been instituted in British India would win to the use of agri- culture a vast body of very fertile land. A further consideration of the irrigation problem will be presented in the chapter on the Soils and Agriculture of this Country. ~ From the one hundredth meridian east to the Atlantic the rain- fall is in general sufficient to maintain the soil in a condition to yield profitable harvests. Over the most of this region the an- nual precipitation is on the average much greater than that which falls in those parts of Europe which have the greatest fertility, and the distribution of the rain as regards the seasons is generally favorable to the needs of the husbandman. The summers are rather drier than are those of Europe, and the winters are charac- terized by more intense cold. Although droughts occasionally damage particular sections of this great field, as they do the greater part of the Old World, it has never happened since this country was occupied by Europeans that the lack of rain has en- dangered our national prosperity. The scanty rainfall in any one district has usually been balanced by an abundant precipitation in other parts of the country, so that the average return from the soil has in general been more uniform than in any of the states of the Old World. In a similar manner the excesses of rainfall, where they occur in a measure to be.damaging to agriculture, have in general been of a local nature, affecting even less exten- sive fields than the droughts. It may, indeed, safely be said that the eastern half of this continent is by its natural condition in- sured from any widespread climatal accidents of a serious nature, such as are likely to bring distress upon the whole country. The advantages arising from this well-balanced climate of the great tillable district of North America are very great. They in- sure to this section of the continent, and especially to the United States, a practical immunity from the serious dangers arising from a general failure of the crops upon which the subsistence of the people depends, as well as of those products, such as cotton and other exportable materials, which do not serve as food, but which are of so much value in commerce. The experience of over two centuries on the eastern border of the continent, and of VARIETY OF CROPS. 19 about a hundred years in certain parts of the Mississippi Valley, serves to indicate that anything like a famine or even a serious dearth of soil products is not to be apprehended in this land. In most European countries, because of the less extensive areas and more imperfectly balanced climate, the soils are subject to sud- den and very great alterations in the rainfall, which seriously dimin- ish the returns from their fields. Thus, in Great Britain the farm- ers and the landholders during the last decade were to a great extent impoverished by the occurrence in a number of successive years of excessive summer rains. In this manner the agricultural interests of a country receives a shock so serious that it requires many prosperous seasons to accomplish a recovery. Although this uniform fruitfulness of our American fields is in this time of our prosperity a matter of great moment, it was of vastly greater importance in the earlier stages of our commercial history, before the accumulation of capital and the diversification of our indus- tries was accomplished. At any time during the colonial period of our history a decade of sterile years would have been an almost insuperable misfortune to the land. Another peculiar advantage arising from the wide range of climate in the eastern half of North America is found in the mani- fold variety of the crops which it insures. This interesting fea- ture will be more extensively considered in the chapter on Agri- culture; but it is important for our general view of the conditions which determined the habitability of this land to notice that the variety of soil products which are yielded by our fields in quanti- ties sufficient to give them a value in the economies of the world are in North America greater than in any other equally extensive land, and far exceed those contributed from any one European country. Thus Russia, the only Old World land which in tillage area can be compared with the United States, has only a few im- portant agricultural exports, namely, grain, flax,and hemp. Great ' Britain no longer contributes much in the way of soil products to the commerce of the world. -France and Germany yield beet sugar and silk, and Italy, along with France, both silk and wine. Spain, France, and Italy produce olive oil; British India exports, as does China, tea and some fibers, but no other articles of leading importance. Qn the other hand, from the United States is shipped the greater part of the cotton,* tobacco, and grain which enter * In 1889 there were 5,942,788 bales of cotton produced on 16,068,696 acres of land in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Lou- isiana, and Arkansas. 20 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. into international commerce. Its dairy products exceed those of any other country, as do also its shipments of meats. From its forests are sent forth larger amounts of timber than are afforded by any other country. We must also note in advance of the detailed consideration of the matter, in the chapter on Mineral Resources, that the stores of subterranean wealth in this country are such as to make it par- ticularly fit for the needs of civilized man. There are two sub- stances which in the present state of human culture form the common basis of all our more important commercial activities; these are coal and iron. With these materials in sufficient quan- tity and of suitable quality, the material bases of a civilization which is founded on a fertile soil is made secure. These two sub- stances exist in the central portions of the continent in greater abundance than in any other part of the world which is known to us. Unless it be in China, where it is evident that there is some- thing like the same abundance of these earth resources, North America is clearly more amply provided with them than any other great land.* The somewhat less important subterranean stores, such as copper, lead, zinc, manganese, iron pyrite, fertilizing minerals, and building stone, also abound in this part of the world. The precious and the. other rarer metals, except tin, all exist upon this continent. This last-named metal, though existing in con- ditions which make it the basis of profitable mining in the other great lands, for various reasons seems to be of little economic value in this country. It is doubtful if it occurs within the limits of North America in sufficient amount.and in such condition as to repay working at the price of American labor. Although this metal is of great economic value, it is less indispensable than either coal, iron, or copper, and its relatively high price makes it easy to transport it from other parts of the world in such quantities as are required by our needs. It is safe to say that no single state of Europe is so well provided with the sources of energy such as are afforded by coal,t or with the * It is estimated by Day, in the Mineral Resources of the United States, that the total value of all the mineral substances produced in the United States for 1887 was $542,284,- 225. Of this sum, $250,419,883 came from metals, $285,864,942 from nonmetallic sub- stances, and $6,000,000 represents the estimated value of unspecified mineral products. + In 1887 the United States held the second rank as a coal-producing country, the out- put being 116,049,604 short tons, against 162,119,812 produced by Great Britain. Ger- many, which held the third place, produced 73,637,596 tons. — ‘aspug ud]yoorg oy} Jo pua usajsva wo ‘Ioqiey YIOK MIN JO MOA MATERIAL RESOURCES, 21 @ grosser metals * demanded in the manufacture of all kinds of machinery, as is the field occupied by the United States. Among the resources of a natural kind which go far to deter- mine the fitness of a country for the uses of civilization, we must reckon as of first importance the products of the forest.+ The timber required for the very numerous construction purposes, and the bark of various trees which afford the tanning necessary for dressing leather, are indispensable to people above:the grade of the savages. The early European settlers of this country founded their colonies in that part of the continent which abounds in rich and varied forests. The Spaniards found in the Antilles and on the mainland a vegetation which contained a great number of trees well suited to the needs of architecture, two of which—the mahogany and the live oak—have remained to this day of great value for their strength, beauty, and durability. The people who settled in the country north of Florida found forests which in a general way resembled the European woods from which their an- cestors had drawn their supply of timber; but these forests of eastern North America were very much more varied and afforded a greater range of constructional wood than those of the Old World. Thus, in place of the four species of oak which had af- forded the constructional woods of greatest value in European countries, our American growth supplied from the fields which were shortly accessible to the colonists eight-or ten varieties of this genus of trees. The other broad-leafed trees—such as chest- nuts, beeches, walnuts, tulip trees, etc.—afforded a range of quality in the timber which far exceeded the resources of European for- ests. I'he narrow-leafed forms, such as the pines, firs, and hem- locks, plentifully existed in this section of the continent, and covered extensive areas with a finer growth than any of the trans- atlantic forests afforded. The woods of the Appalachian district were in all respects the finest of those found in any region beyond the tropical parts of the earth. Although the density of the east American forests for more than a century proved a formidable obstacle to the development *In 1887 the United States ranked second as an iron-producing country. Great Britain produced 13,098,041 tons, the United States 11,300,000 tons. Since then this ‘country has advanced to first place. + In 1880, according to Sargent, the total value of the forest crop of the United States, so far as it could be ascertained, was $490,073,094. Of this, $139,836,869 was the value of | saw logs; more than $325,000,000 worth was used as fuel, and the remainder for miscel- laneous purposes. The manufacture of uncultivated vegetable substances used in the preparation of medicines consumed $587,000 worth of material. e ® 22 ELINESS TO 4BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. ee of its agriculture—for it required a great expenditure of labor to clear the growth away and make the land fit for tillage—the pres- ence of these noble woods was of great advantage to the early settlers. They assured an abundant and readily obtained supply of materials for their domestic building and their ships, as well as the needed fuel for their fireplaces. Moreover, the forest prod- ucts of this district at once afforded important articles of export, © and they remain to this day very valuable elements in the trans- atlantic commerce of this country. The ships which bore the first colonists to the Atlantic coast generally returned laden with timber or with the bark of the sassafras, which in the olden time was supposed to have rare medicinal virtues. . Among the many advantages which the surface conditions of North America, particularly t its eastern part, afford to civilized man we must reckon the innumerable water powers which are available for the use of industry. In all the section from the St. Lawrence to near the Gulf States the streams which descend from the Appalachian highlands are numerous, and constant in their flow; they abound in waterfalls and rapids, and in many places exhibit the exceptional feature of cascades near the head of tide-water navigation. The forests, still abundant in this dis- trict, serve to retain the rainfall and deliver it somewhat gradu- ally to these streams. In New England and the other parts of the country where the surface is deeply covered with a layer of open-textured drift these remnants of the Glacial period store the water of the rains, feeding it gradually to the rivers. The result is that in this part of the world good sites for water mills abound, and the people even in early colonial times became adepts in their use. The rapid development of manufacturing industries in the section between Nova Scotia and Virginia was in a great measure due to the excellence of these natural sources of power which the streams afforded. | Perhaps the most important single feature in the physical con- stitution of this country is found in the general wholesomeness of its area. Many of the colonies which our race has essayed to plant in lands remote from its birthplace have been brought to ruin by the prevalence in the several regions of diseases which rendered the lands unfit for occupation. Thus British India has proved an impossible country for the permanent occupation of our people. The children of European settlers are enfeebled by the climate, and so the race has never taken root in that realm. The same is the case with many other tropical countries. There © Wii oOMPNE SS OF TDHE CLIMATE, 23 is not a single one out of the scores of settlements which have been made by the peoples of northern Europe in that part of the world where a fair measure of success has crowned the effort to establish peoples who were cradled in the high north. Where the colonists have survived in tropical countries they have in most cases won the endurance which was necessary to meet the condi- tions by mingling their blood with that of the aborigines, in this manner forming a mongrel folk, destitute of the characteristics which give to the pure European blood its peculiar intellectual and moral quality. Thus the Spaniards of the Caribbean district and the Portuguese of South America have become, by amalga- mation with the Indians or the imported Africans, very mixed ~ races. They have thus reconciled themselves to the climate, but they have lost much of their primitive excellence. Among the many blessings which this continent conferred upon the immi- grants from northern Europe we must count this feature of a favorable climate as the foremost: the success of our race in the New World absolutely depended upon it. Although the climate of North America in many ways differs from that of Great Britain or of Continental Europe, the likeness between the atmospheric conditions of the two lands is on the whole very great. In equal latitudes the climate of North Amer- ica is more variable than that of Europe. The winters of the New World are in the region north of the Potomac, Ohio, and Missouri rivers much more strenuous than they are in the prin- cipal states of Europe, and over the greater part of its surface the summers are much hotter than they are on the other side of the Atlantic. The peculiar feature of the winter and summer seasons in this country is found in the sharp contrast of tempera- ture which they exhibit. These alternations seem to be generally helpful to the condition of the human body, serving to maintain a degree of vital energy which does not appear to be attainable in regions where the temperature is continually high. This dif- ference between the winter and summer temperature exists over at least nineteen twentieths of the land area of this continent. Southern Mexico, Central America, and the lowlands of the West Indian islands are the only parts of its surface where the climate does not present these marked seasonal alternations. Even the highland district of Mexico, though generally well within the tropical belt, has such an elevation above the sea that snow gath- ers on a large part of its mountains, and a time of cold prevails forsome months. The Pacific coast of the United States has the 24 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF*A GREAT PEOrEE least of this winter quality in its climate, a feature due to the warmth of the neighboring seas and the direction of the prevail- ing winds. A portion of southern Florida, a belt of the shore from near Key West to the Indian River, has a really tropical climate, practically without winter, but even here occasional frosts occur, and at times thin sheets of ice are formed. As a result of this general likeness between the climates of Europe and America, the diseases of men and of the domesticated animals which prévail on this continent are substantially the same as those which affect the people of northern Europe. This iden- tity of the maladies in the two countries is a matter of more im- portance than may at first sight appear to the reader; for when men or the creatures of their flocks and herds encounter new dis- eases, they commonly suffer much more from the affliction than when they have been long exposed to them. By the exposure their bodies become accustomed to the action of the malady. Thus such ills as the tropical fevers, which the natives of that part of the world can fairly well withstand, are peculiarly deadly to Europeans; even if they survive the assaults of the disease they are likely to be permanently injured by the sickness, while the native-born of indigenous races are not so seriously affected. When North America was first settled from Europe there seems to have been in it the germs of no diseases which were not in their nature already familiar to Europeans, and a number of the more serious which were rife in the Old World were unknown here. The various plagues which had been so deadly in the Old World in their successive incursions from the East were not na- tive on this continent; so, too, smallpox, scarlet fever, measles, and leprosy did not exist among the aborigines of this country. On the whole, the New World was found by the colonists to be more wholesome than the Old. The only malady which was here encountered in a more serious form than in the native coun- try was ague or remittent fever, and perhaps some varieties of malarial disease occurring in the district about the Gulf of Mexi- co and known as dengue or break-bone fever. This class of maladies was, however, common in many parts of Europe, and — ordinary ague was of frequent occurrence in eastern and southern England. Our experience of the climate of North America indicates that it is as favorable to the life of man, and to that of his domes- ticated animals, as any other part of the world. It is true that we have brought with us from the Old World all the ancient HOSPITALITY TO EUROPEAN FOOD-PLANTS, 25 a a store of ailments which have been attendant on our civilization from immemorial times. It is also true that occasionally vio- lent epidemics, such as cholera, yellow fever, or influenza, invade this land from beyond the sea, but these appear to be essentially foreign to our land, and except yellow fever, which, probably in the first place imported from Africa, has become naturalized in the tropics of America, they do not take permanent root here, but depend for their occasional development on the importation of germs from the Old World. As will be shown in the chapters on the present condition of the American people, the effect of the climate and other conditions of man in this country has been to add to rather than to detract from the vigor of his frame. We have next to notice the advantage due also to the essential likeness of the climate of this country to that of the cradle land of _ our people, which arises from the ease with which the peculiar plants such as afford our field and garden crops can be reared in ithe New World. To perceive the importance of this ready adapta- _ tion of the economic plants to the conditions of this country, the reader should note the fact that all these vegetables have been slowly won by our forefathers by centuries of experiment with wild plants. They are, indeed, the ancestral treasures of our race, de- serving in value to be ranked with the noblest of our inheritances. They should, indeed, have the very first place among our riches, for upon them depends our civilization. The tax put upon an immi- grant people by the need of adjusting themselves to the culture and use-of new plants is most serious. In the first place, the skill gained by immemorial experience in rearing particular varieties of plants and animals, isa part of their possessions which is of very great use toa folk. If they have to take up with new agri- cultural arts, they can acquire them but slowly. Moreover, peo- ple become accustomed to a particular kind of food, and with difficulty form the habit of using other victuals. Thus, while cer- tain Southern plants, such as the plantain and the yam, yield very nutritious food, the native of northern Europe finds them un- _ suited to his inherited constitution, and is likely to be enfeebled if he is forced to depend upon them ‘for his diet. The only part of the settlements made by Europeans in North America, which had to adopt new tillage conditions or to rely on . new articles of food, were those which were founded in the re- .gion about the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. At the time when our race settled America the standard crops for the subsistence of north European Aryans were the so-called small 26 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. grains, wheat, rye, oats, and barley, all of which have been in the possession of those peoples from immemorial time. There were also certain other plants mostly eaten in their green state or used as dried herbs, such as cabbages, onions, beets, carrots, and vari- ous kinds of peas and beans, together with hops, and the plants, such as sage, which were used for flavoring food. All these garden varieties of plants had been associated with our people for many centuries, and all of them were found to do as well on the greater part of North America as they did in western Europe. So, too, the less important sources of food which the commoner fruits aflord have been shown by experience to develop and ripen quite as well in the New as in the Old World. Even the garden flowers, sensitive as they are to considerable climatal changes, suffered little from their transplantation to the New World, so that the early colonist in the region north of Florida found the familiar vegetable life to which he and his forefathers had looked for sustenance, or for the gratification of palate or of eye, ever be- side him as companions and aids in his new dwelling-place. After the first trials of the change were over, the New-Eng- lander and his brethren of the colonies on the north and south, from the Gulf of Mexico to the St. Lawrence, gazed upon fields and gardens which did not greatly differ in their aspect from those of the native land beyond the sea. The advantages arising from this similarity of crop in favoring the transplantation of Eu- ropean life to this continent, are only to be estimated by those who have attentively considered how hard it is for a rustic people to order their habits which depend upon the culture and products | of the soil. When a change in these’ regards is necessary, it vastly increases the difficulty of founding a colony—a task which in its simplest condition affords the greatest trials to which a peo- ple can be subjected. | Not only did North America afford a climate well suited to - the ancestral crops of our race, but from its native plants it at once contributed to the industry of the people two new and most important sources of food-supply for man and his domestic ani- mals—the Indian corn and the potato. The advantages derived from the use of Indian corn are manifold, and upon them in good part has rested the possibilities of rapid progress which we have made in the settlement and subjugation of this country. Maize, or Indian corn, has the peculiarly good feature that it is much stronger rooted than any other grain, and thus can prosper in the rude condition of the “ clearing’ which the farmer makes in the VALUABLE INATIVE)\/PLANTS. * 27 forest. When the trees have been killed by fire or by cutting away a rim of the bark, and the undergrowth subdued, the seeds of the plant may be placed in the earth with little or no preceding tillage, and almost without subsequent care will produce an abun- dant harvest. With each improvement in its nurture this sturdy plant affords a better crop: with the expenditure in the way of labor which will give a yield of twenty-five bushels of wheat, maize commonly yields about fifty bushels of grain, and on fertile soil with careful farming it generally produces a crop having more than twice the nutritive value of the smaller grain. Indian corn is surer to yield a reasonable harvest over the greater part of the continent than any other important food-giving crop. It is easily planted, and the harvest may be gathered over a period which commonly endures for some months, while wheat and simi- lar crops have to be garnered at a precise time. Thus, maize is characteristically the grain of the pioneer. On the frontiers of our civilization it has fed people during the time when they were winning their fields from the forest. The progress of our conquest of this continent would have been relatively slow had it not been for the good fortune which put this admirable food plant in the possession of our people. The potato is next after Indian corn the most important con- tribution in the way of food plants which this country has made to the resources of the world. As it was not in use by the North American Indians, it did not come directly to the colonists of this country, but only became a tillage crop of any importance at a relatively late date; although next after the grains the most valu- able element in the dietary of our people, it has never had with us so important a place as it has commanded in northern Europe. The tobacco plant was a most valuable resource which the native plants of America offered to the new settlers. Tobacco had been in the possession of the native Indian tribes from remote . antiquity, as is shown by the fact that pipes are found in very an- cient graves and tumuli. The aborigines valued it for the pecul- iar effect upon the nervous system which has since endeared it to the people of every clime. When the country was first settled by Europeans, this narcotic seems to have been in use in their cere- monials by all the tribes which dwelt in regions where the plant could be grown. The habit of smoking was quickly adopted in Europe, and spread thence with singular rapidity to many parts of Asia. No other conquest has ever been so rapidly effected as - that made by tobacco: within a century from the time of its ad- 28 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE, oo SS vent in the Old World it spread beyond the limits of any Euro- pean speech; it went, indeed, farther and faster than any faith has ever extended. Although tobacco will grow in almost any climate, the valued quality of its leaves varies in a remarkable manner with each pe- culiarity of soil which nurtures it and the climate to which it is exposed. No other plant except the vine is known to be so curl- ously dependent on the circumstances of its environment for the qualities of its product. Thus, American tobacco came to have a peculiar value in the markets of the Old World, and it has main- . tained its place in those markets, although exposed to competi- tion from the production in many other lands. In a short time after their settlement that part of the English colonies which lay to the south of the Delaware River became devoted in large meas- ure to the industry of cultivating tobacco. Although the crops of this plant were hurtful to the soils of the region in which it was grown, they gave immediate and large returns in the way of ex- change, and so the districts which relied upon this agriculture for a time prospered greatly. Notwithstanding the rapid way in which it exhausts the soil, we must count the culture of tobacco as of great profit to this country, for it quickly afforded the basis of an extensive commerce, and brought to the continent a body of immigrants and of capital for which it would have long waited if it had trusted to other bases of industry. Since the institution * of tobacco farming this soil product has been the most steadfast basis of our exchanges with the Old World. Several other plants now exceed it in the quantity of exportable values they yield, but none other has been of leading value for so long atime. In a later century, namely, in the beginning of the nineteenth, cot- ton became the most important basis of our commercial relations with the Old World; but the profitable culture of this latter plant, which is a native of the East, came so late that it did not have much consequence in determining the fate of our race on this continent. ’ . Inconnection with the early conquest over the rude nature of this continent, we must notice the development of the enforced immigration of African slaves. When the European population of this country was ina state of scattered and feeble colonies the - greatest difficulty was experienced in obtaining a supply of peo- ple fitted for agricultural labor. The early experiments which had for their object the subjugation of the Indians were utter failures. Although the American savage is a vigorous being, he ORIGIN OF SLAVE LABOR. 29 is essentially untamable. When domesticated and forced to do steadfast labor he quickly perishes. For a long time the Old World supplied to this country an abundance of enterprising men, who were able to direct far more work than their own hands could do. So far as possible the demand for laborers was met by shipping to this country paupers and ordinary criminals, as well as many worthy poor persons who could not pay the expenses of the rather costly voyage. These people, under the name of indented servants, were sold into a temporary slavery to pay the cost of their transportation over the sea; but this re- source was quite insufficient for the need; a large part of these servants when they became free proved to be active and indus- trious folk, who themselves demanded help in their enterprises. In this condition of the labor market the African slave trade, so far as the English colonies was.concerned, began. The natives of Africa in other centuries and climes had been much used as slaves, but they had never been to any extent asso- ciated with English people until they were introduced into the British colonies of North America. The conditions of Africa and of North America, as well as of the intervening sea, greatly favored the development of this forced immigration; Africa at this time was a teeming hive of savages, where the traffic in men had endured from a remote past. For goods of the value of a few shillings an able-bodied man could be purchased at many points along the Guinea coast. For a relatively trifling sum he could be transported to the colonies, where he commanded a price many times as great as he had cost the traders. It is doubtful if there ever-was a more remunerative commerce than that in slaves during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Although the ultimate effects of the slave trade were harmful to the best inter- ests of the country, the immediate influence was in an economic way advantageous. It enabled the clear-headed and vigorous early settlers to hasten the work of subjugating the wilderness of eastern North America in a measure which would have been im- possible to obtain if there had been no such servile labor at their command. | The condition of the surface of the continent, so far as it has effected the access of the people from the Old World to its area, is a matter which in a general way, as also in many particular in- stances, did much to determine the history of this country. So, too, the paths which lead into the interior portions of the conti- nent greatly influenced the development and the prosperity of 30 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. the European settlers. These matters, as far as the details are concerned, will be more extensively treated in the following chap- ter, when the progress of European settlements is to be consid- ered: we must, however, in this general sketch of the fitness of this continent for the uses of civilized men, give some general ac- count of these conditions which control our internal and external commerce. North America is, as we have seen, a very insulated land; in the parts of its area where it is nearest to Europe and Asia it is so bound in frost or rendered so inhospitable by storms that it is not only uninhabitable, but to a great extent inaccessible to the people of the Old World. All its temperate and tropical parts are separated from the seats of the old civilization by wide seas. The Atlantic, at least in those portions of its area which lie between the shores of what is now the United States and Eu- rope, is a storm-swept ocean, through which courses the east- wardly setting tide of the Gulf Stream. These conditions of tem- pest and current made it difficult for Europeans to find their way to this part of the world, and until the days of modern ships se- riously hindered all intercourse between the opposite shores of the ocean. On the western side of North America the Pacific Ocean affords a much less dangerous pathway for ships voyaging to and fro from this continent. Moreover, there is a current in that ocean which tends to favor the passage from the coast of China and Japan to the region of Alaska. If these eastern shores of the Old World had been occupied by an adventurous sea- faring people sufficiently advanced in civilization to be impelled to great voyages, either from curiosity or from commercial ambi- tion, this country would doubtless have been settled from that side, and Europe might have been discovered by America long before the Columbian time. It was probably through this west- ern way that savage man first came into this continent. Scientific inquiry has made it tolerably clear that the Ameri- can aborigines had been upon the continent for a very long time before the discovery by Columbus. From the region of the high north, which is inhabited by the peculiar races of the Eskimo, and the Alieuts to Cape Horn, the indigenous peoples bear a de- cided resemblance to each other. In fact, the aborigines of the American continent, at least in their physical characteristics, differ _ among themselves in a less degree than those of any other of the. great lands except Australia. The evidence that the Indians have been long upon this land is of importance for the reason that we may take the people as ABORIGINAL PEOPLES. 31 representing a very interesting experiment in the adaptation of men to the conditions which the continent affords. He has clearly been in the territory for many times the duration of its occupa- tion by our race, and the result of his experiences with its soil, climate, and other conditions is in a way shown in his physical | and mental character. We shall therefore in a general way ex- amine into the state of the Indian, so far at least as it is necessary [cr us to do so with reference to the end we have in view, leaving the detailed consideration of matters concerning our aborigines to the chapter which treats of them. The aboriginal peoples of the American continents appear to have been derived from northern Asia. Although this conclu- sion does not rest upon any identity of languages or customs, it is fairly supported by the evidence afforded by the general likeness of form of these peoples to those of the Tartar population of the Old World. In their general aspect the American Indians are not allied to any of the populations which inhabit the eastern bor- der of the Atlantic. It is accepted by all students of the subject that man did not originate in the New World, but came into ex- istence in the Old World group of lands and thence migrated to the twin continents of America. The most likely path for their passage into this country was by way of the peninsulas which so nearly join Asia to North America at Bering Strait. Besides the evidence of a linguistic character which goes to show thai the races of American Indians have long been upon the continent which they originally possessed, there is sufficient geo- logical proof that some early form of man was in existence in North America in a period of great antiquity. Thus, in Calaveras County, California, a number of implements which are undoubt- edly the work of human hands, and a well-preserved fragment of a human skull, have been found in the geological conditions which attest their great antiquity. The condition under which these remains were deposited seems to have been as follows: In an ancient day primitive men dwelt beside the river near where their remains are now found. Floods swept their bones and their im- plements from their dwelling or burial places into the bed of the stream, where they were mingled with sand and ‘gravel and also with nuggets of gold. Thencame a great outbreak of lava in the region about the head of the valley, and a stream of molten rock flowed down the gorge, filling the depression to a great depth. After it had cooled and the natural conditions of the country were restored, the rivers again began their slow task of excavat- 32 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. ing the rocks, carving a channel on either side of the lava stream to such a depth that finally the old river bed was left upon an in- tervening ridge, on the top of which a portion of the igneous rock remains in the manner shown in the diagram. rao cat TI TITIUT ieee Section across Table Mountain, Tuolumne County, California: L, lava; G, gravel ; S, slate ; R, old river-bed ; R’, present river-bed. The time required for the succession of events indicated in this history was manifestly great. It is, in fact, difficult for the geologist to assume for its accomplishment a less period than ten thousand years, and it may have occupied a much greater inter- val of time. In several other parts of the country other fragments of evi- dence have been obtained, all tending to show that the human race has been upon this continent for a time which far antedates the beginning of recorded history in any realm. It is not yet certain that these very ancient folk were of the same stock as our American Indians; but as there is no reason to suppose that peo- ples of diverse origin have occupied this land, or that there was any interval during which it was uninhabited, it is probably safe to assume that the men of Calaveras and their contemporaries in other parts of this continent were the ancestors of the folk whom the Europeans found here. . Although the race of North American aborigines has been for a great time on the surface of this continent, they have in gen- eral not advanced above the level of the savage life. In the Cor- dilleras, from Arizona to Chili, at various points, particularly in Mexico, Central America, and Peru, these people attained a so- cial and political station a little above the level of the normal sav- age. They came to depend upon agriculture for their subsist- ence, learned to build considerable architectural constructions, to model clay, and even to carve stone ina rudely artistic manner. Imaginative chroniclers have told us much concerning these peo- ples whom the Spanish conquerors encountered, and historians have hastily based their judgment on these reports, and thus have come to describe in glowing colors the civilization of Mexico and WHY THE INDIANS REMAINED UNCIVILIZED. 33 Peru. More critical modern inquiries have made it clear that the culture of these people has been much exaggerated, and that at their best, when measured by the standards of a true civiliza- tion, they are found to have attained to only a little way above the savage state. We have now to consider the reason why our North Ameri. can Indians, who have evidently been so long upon a continent well fitted for the uses of civilized men, have failed to advance be- yond the primitive condition of men. We can not fairly attrib- ute this retardation in their social development to an original lack of intellectual capacity. On the whole, these people seem to have more than the usual measure of ability which is found among savages. They are physically vigorous, and many of their chiefs and medicine-men have shown great intellectual power. Tecumseh, his brother the Prophet, Pontiac, Sequoyah, and a host of other pure-blood and half-breed Indians, have shown capacities as commanders, orators, and inventors which were distinctly of a high grade. As compared with the savages of other lands, it is safe to say that our Indians are people of rather uncommon abil- ity. Why, then, have they remained not only undeveloped, but incapable of taking the civilization which our own race has offered to them ? The fitness of a people to enter on the way of civilization probably depends upon a great variety of conditions. We can therefore expect from our inquiry to ascertain only a part of the - influences which have made it impossible for these folk to acquire of themselves, or to accept from our hands, the conditions of an advanced culture. Some of these retarding circumstances are tolerably evident. It is easily seen that the aborigines of this country lacked the peculiar advantages which were due to the possession on the part of Europeans and Asiatics of domesticated animals. Inthe Americas all the important groups of creatures which have been subjugated in the Old World are lacking. In the original state of the continent there were no horses, bulls, sheep, pigs, elephants, or buffalo—the species from which the Old World people derived their more valuable helpers of their labor. The American bison, though in many ways resembling the Asiatic buffalo, has proved undomesticable. The only Ameri- can animal which has ever been made to serve as a beast of bur- den belongs to the South American genus which contains the vicuna and alpaca. These closely related varieties were reduced to subjugation by the Peruvians, and, besides yielding good 3 34 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE; fleeces, were of some service as beasts of burden. In general, however, the aborigines of America had but one domesticated creature, the dog. | It is difficult to see how primitive folk can, without the aid afforded by beasts of burden, pass beyond the boundaries of a somewhat elevated savagery. The steps which lead from the lower to the higher state of human culture are mainly taken through the culture of the soil and the extension of commerce, which depends upon tillage and upon manufacturing industries. As long as men are limited in their tillage work to the labor of their own hands, it is impossible for them to secure crops in suff- cient abundance to provide for more than their most immediate needs. At best they may be able each year to provide for their own subsistence; they can never have any store for exchange with their neighbors. It is, in general, safe to say that the sub- stantial foundation in the way of food, on which civilization must always rest, can not be attained by any men who rely altogether upon the strength of their own hands. There is another influence arising from the possession of do- mesticated animals which has much effect on the culture of man. The care of these creatures is a constant incentive to those habits of forethought which tend to the elevation of the race. In north- ° ern countries some provision has to be made for the food of these creatures; they have to be herded and cared for. In fact, the possession of such dependents greatly enlarges the responsibili- ties of men, and compels them to adopt an orderly and continu- ously laborious life. In the advance of civilization the pastoral or herding habit has normally afforded the intermediate step be- tween the life of the hunter and that of the truly sedentary man. The retardation in the social and economic development of our North American Indians is doubtless in part to be explained by the lack in this country of those isolated tracts of land such as are afforded by the peninsulas and fertile mountain valleys of the Old World. All parts of this continent are so readily trav- ersable that savages could easily range from one district to an- other. There was no chance for a tribe well protected by geo- graphical boundaries to work out within itself the motives of a civilization. No sooner did any division of the aborigines adopt a somewhat sedentary life, enter on agriculture, and obtain a lit- tle store of wealth, than they were exposed to the cupidity of their more savage neighbors. Thus it came about that the greater part of our American tribes were pushed hither and ‘Joqivy YOK MON ‘purysy sy[y ‘surpuey sjueisrwuwy .THE BEGINNINGS, OF; EXPLORATION IN AMERICA. 35 a Ee AC al yon in their contests with the hostile people which surrounded them. We must now turn our attention to the effect arising from the primal conditions of the continent on its settlement by Europeans. We shall begin this part of our considerations with the steps which led to the colonization of the country; for the ways in which our ancestors were guided to this land, and the influence of the country on their success, are evidently of the utmost impor- tance. As we shall shortly see, these physical circumstances in the end determined that North America should become the great seat of the English race. It requires some exercise of the imagination as well as a knowledge of the dry facts of history to understand the motives which led to the settlement of America. The object of Colum- bus’s voyage was to find a way to western Asia. It had long been known that the far East was occupied by rich and populous nations, for some of the products of that country had for centuries found their way to the European world. When Columbus re- turned from his voyage he supposed that he had discovered the fringes of Asia, and for a long time thereafter it was not recog- nized that he had made a much greater discovery, in that he had found a new world. It was not until some time after the Colum- bian voyages that Europe awoke to the understanding that a vast land unpossessed by civilized peoples was opened to its enter- prise. Fora time the title to these new-found lands, which the Pope had given to Spain, as well as the maritime dominance of that country, in a measure deterred the northern states of Europe from secking any share in the opportunities which the country afforded. It was not, indeed, until near the close of the sixteenth century that France, Holland, and England ventured to claim a place for their people on the western shore of the Atlantic. With the defeat of the Spanish armada the old fear of Spain, which had so long rested on the peoples of northern Europe, in good part passed away. With the rise of religious dissent in those countries the authority of the Pope became less absolute. With these changes in the conditions of northern Europe all its maritime folk hastened to snatch what they could of its lands from the Spaniards. 3 Fortunately for these laggards in the race for Western pos- sessions, circumstances had led the Spaniards to found their American empire in the region about the Caribbean Sea. In resorting to this part of the continent they followed essentially 36 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. the path which Columbus had traversed—a way which was most favorable to transatlantic voyages, for the reason that it lay in the belt of the trade-winds, and was therefore well south of the stormy path of the North Atlantic; moreover, the Caribbean dis- tricts afforded a climate sufficiently like to that of Spain to attract its colonists. The indigenous peoples of this region were easily subjugated; the country contained many mines of silver and some gold-bearing deposits, which appealed to the cupidity of the invaders. Such explorations as the Spaniards made in those portions of North America which lay to the north of the Gulf of Mexico did not tempt them to extend their conquest in that direc- tion. Those who came back from De Soto’s unhappy expedition, and the survivors of the various other explorations, described a country of pathless woods or sterile plains, inhabited by danger- ous savages, and without mines of precious metal. Therefore, even acentury after the first Spanish settlements in America were established, the great body of North America, all of the area in- deed which lies to the north of the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande, though claimed by Spain, was not only in no sense occu- pied by that power, but remained, except for its shore line, sub- stantially unknown. It was as fortunate for the peoples of northern Europe as it was unfortunate for Spain that her colonies were planted in the tropical region of America, and that she neglected the more northern districts of our continent, for thereby the fairest por- tions of this land, or at least those which are best suited for the use of the vigorous people of our race, escaped from the domi- nancy of a state which has proved itself to be unfit to advance the interests of dependencies in any part of the world.. If the Spanish Government had recognized the true value of the district which lies to the north of the Gulf of Mexico, it would doubtless have made haste to plant forts and trading-posts along the Atlantic coast, thereby securing an actual hold, upon the country. As it was, save in rare instances, it limited its opposition to the appro- priation of the country by other states mainly to remonstrances. Of the three northern states of Europe which sought to found colonial establishments in North America, the French at first dis- played by far the greatest amount of vigor and enterprise. They chose for the seat of their establishment the northern coast of Florida, near the mouth of the St. John’s River, and the region about the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from near the mouth of the Pe- nobscot to Labrador. Their colonies in Florida were of brief DUTCH AND FRENCH COLONIZATION. 37 duration. Although France and Spain were at peace, the Spanish authorities in the Caribbean district shortly assailed the French settlement, captured their forts, and ruthlessly butchered the people. The French settlements in the State of Maine were also broken up by the English, but their possessions in Nova Scotia and along the shores of the gulf and the river St. Lawrence re- mained in their possession for more than a century. The Dutch, with their usual sense in choosing the sites of their commercial establishments in foreign lands, appropriated the re- gion along the Hudson River, a place which, next after the St. Lawrence, had the greatest strategic value as well as the greatest importance for the purpose of trading with the natives of any position on the Atlantic coast. The British were the laggards in the race for the possession of North America. To them fell at first the coast of New England and that part of the shore which lay to the south of New Amsterdam and to the north of an undefined line beyond which the Spaniards might be expected to assail them. Owing to their lack of energy in exploration and the in- sufficient organization of their colonial establishments, only the shreds of the continent fell to the English. One hundred and fifty years after the discovery of America it would have seemed to a philosophical student of the plantations in this country that the English-speaking people had but little chance of attaining a domi- nant place on the continent. Although the French were driven out of Florida by the Span- iards, they still held a most important part of the coast, the region about the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and had founded posts along the river of that name at a greater distance from the shore of the Atlantic than had been attained by any of the other colonists. In the latter part of the seventeenth century it seemed likely that this people would succeed in permanently establish- ing themselves in the great central valley of the continent. The geographical position of the Laurentian Valley greatly favored the efforts of the French to win control of these interior fields. Notwithstanding its rapids and the great waterfall of Niagara, the main channel of the St. Lawrence River and the lakes of this vast water system afford for more than half the year an excellent navigable way as far west as the meridian of the Mississippi. It is, in fact, the only natural path from the Atlantic shore to the in- terior of the continent. With the aid of their intrepid explorers they made excellent use of this opportunity, and by their dexter- ity in negotiating with the Indians they soon brought the savages 38 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. of the interior to consider the French king as their overlord. The theory which controlled the-management of the French colonists favored the rapid extension of their nominal authority. The aim of the French Government was to civilize and Christianize the Indians, and to make them faithful servants of France. It appears never to have been the object of that state to take any general possession of the soil for the sole uses of their emigrants. They thus avoided one of the principal grounds for dispute with the native people, and this element of contention lacking, it was easy by presents and persuasion to bring the Indians into something like accord with their imperial plans. If our native Americans had been of a character to be either civilized or subjugated, the French project might have succeeded; but they are an indom- itable people, and so, except for the fringe of settlements about the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the empire of France in the New World was soon proved to be but a flimsy affair. If the French had succeeded in discovering and controlling the mouth of the Mississippi, the fate of their settlements in the valley of that river might have been more fortunate ; but, although they came to know the upper parts of the stream and to make some use of those waters, the mouth of the river lay in the strong- hold of the Spanish power on this continent, from which the Spaniards were not dislodged until it was too late for the French to make head against the growing power of the English colonies. Thus, though the French settlements represent one of the most interesting and ambitious efforts at colonization which the world has ever known, the essay was in the end futile. Owing to their geographic position the British colonies on the Atlantic coast were deprived of all access to the interior. Except for the break made at the Hudson River, the coast from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to northern Georgia is bordered a little distance back from the shore line by the mountain ranges of the Appa- lachian system. Although these mountains have no great height, they were in their native state singularly difficult to traverse. They are intersected by but few rivers, and these, save the Hud- son, were essentially unnavigable. The whole of the area was covered by dense forests, which were not of an open nature, but were beset with a dense tangle of undergrowth. It is character- istic of this forest brushwood that it abounds in vines to a degree seldom found in extra-tropical countries, and these creeping plants knit the undergrowth together in such a manner that it requires the axe to clear a path passable to horsemen or pack- NARROW LIMITSJOF THE BRITISH COLONIES. 39 animals. Over a large part of the surface north of central Penn- sylvania the ground was densely covered with glacial bowlders, which afforded no footing for horses, and in every part of this district swamps abounded. In the primitive condition of this country there was very little intercourse between the Indians of the Atlantic coast and the interior of the continent, and as long as the British settlements remained near the shore they had nothing to fear from other than the neighboring savages. The pathway into the interior by way of the Hudson and the Mohawk Valleys was not embarrassed by mountain ranges, but its use was not open to the British for some time after the settle- ments were founded, and even when they had gained possession of this way it proved of little use to them. It is true they could sail up the Hudson to the mouth of the Mohawk, and thence pro- ceed up that stream for about a hundred miles farther into the wilderness, but between Utica and the shores of Lake Erie the country, on account of its boggy nature, was difficult to traverse ; moreover, it was densely forested, and its western portion was inhabited by a large body of the most warlike and able-bodied of our North American Indians. Thus, the British colonists were hemmed in along the Atlantic coast, and for the first century of their development did not dream of obtaining control of the vast, remote, and as yet mythical region of the Mississippi Valley. They were sufficiently content to guard their sea-front and their northern boundary from the French, and to hold their own against the Indians and the Spaniards on the west and south. The narrowed conditions of the British colonies, due to the phys- ical limits which geography had set to their enterprises on this continent, were in the end much to their advantage. Owing to the limited area which was accessible to them they were com- pelled to form tolerably dense settlements, which afforded con- ditions favorable for culture and political advancement ; they were induced to institute manufacturing industries, to obtain a subsist- ence which the scanty soil frequently denied ; and they were also led to develop a great seafaring industry, which was at once in a high measure educative and the source of much wealth. Thus, while the Spaniards and the French were winning what has proved to be but a shadowy empire, while they were scattering their settlers among the indigenous races and mingling their blood with that of a lowlier people, the New World England erew strong and like the mother-country in all the elements of its strength—in the love of social order, of religion, and of liberty. 40 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME -OF A GREAT PEOPLE; With the French, the Spaniards, and in a certain measure with the Dutch, the colonial theory has always been to reconcile them- selves with the aborigines and turn them to their tasks. The French and Spaniards have frequently intermarried with the na- tives of this country, and thus have to a great extent lost the native purity of their blood and with it the ancient quality of their people. The English motives have in general not admitted of any other than hostile relations with the American aborigines. After a brief effort to educate and to use the savages as do- mestic servants—an effort which was singularly unsuccessful— the British adopted the plan of dispossessing the Indians, either by war or purchase, or at times by a combination of these methods of obtaining title to the land. Where, as in rare in- stances, the Indians had not been driven out of the country which the descendants of the English have occupied, they have been forced upon reservations, generally denied the rights of citizen- ship, and been held in all social relations as aliens. The result has been that the aboriginal folk have been entirely without in- fluence upon the population of the Atlantic coast. Scarcely a trace of blood is admixed with the English of that district, and the natives have had no effect whatever on the conduct of its affairs. At the end of the first half of the eighteenth century the Eng- lish-speaking people of the Atlantic coast numbered about two and a half million souls. Although they had developed from many separate centers and differed a good deal in certain details of manners and of speech, they had in no wise departed in any important way from their ancestral quality. They were a vigor- ous, laborious, though very provincial people. Even the, most foresightful of them appear to have had little conception of the part they were to play in the history of the continent. In the second half of the eighteenth century they came to a knowledge of theirstrength. The first stage of their awakening was brought about by the remarkable campaign which led to the capture of the town of Louisbourg, in Cape Breton, and in time to the con- sequent overthrow of the French dominion on this continent. Although the siege of this town was ina military sense a small affair, and the immediate results unimportant, it was, as far as the land operations were concerned, a colonial enterprise, and the success greatly enhanced the esteem in which the British-Ameri- cans held their power. The capture of Louisbourg was to the English colonies in America in a certain way like the taking of Aer eee y ae gee Sor “s +: ak A 2A is ‘yeoS urejunoy AYDOY sy, BEGINNING OF THE WESTWARD MOVEMENT. 4I -Troy by the peninsular Greeks. It gave them a sense of military prowess to which up to that time they had no title. The success of the Revolutionary War, although the loss of life and property which it entailed was most costly to the people of the colonies, affirmed and extended the national motive of our people. Many now began to dream of that Western empire upon which as yet only a few explorers and traders had set foot. The westward-harking motive was naturally strongest in Virginia and Maryland, for the reason that the population in that part of the colonies was more purely agricultural than elsewhere, and the people had acquired the habit of dwelling far apart on large plantations. Moreover, the Virginia soils had already been toa considerable degree impoverished by tobacco, which, as before remarked, taxes the earth in a very serious manner. Further- ' more, Virginia claimed the title to the district of the Ohio Valley under the old charters granted by the crown. At the end of the Revolutionary War this Commonwealth owed large debts to her soldiers, and was without means of paying en save in land . which lay beyond the mountains. Although the Alleghany Mountains stretched as an almost continuous barrier across the western border of Virginia, a geo- , graphical accident had provided a way more passable to the . fréntiersman than any other path across the Allechanies by which they might gain access to the valley of the Mississippi. The wide and beautiful valley of the Shenandoah, which lies between __,the foot of the Blue Ridge and the North Mountain, had already been occupied by the Virginian settlement. Following this val- ley to the southwest to the head-waters of the Roanoke, it was _ possible to pass over a country of gentle slope across the prin- cipal ridges of the Alleghanies and thence into the valley of the - ‘New River, or upper Kanawha. Following up this stream fora short distance, the travelers entered the broad vale of the upper _ Tennessee, through which it was practicable to make a path to the breach in the Cumberland range known as Cumberland Gap. Traversing that pass, access to the open forests of central Ken- -tucky was easily obtained. Although for many years the traders with the Indians had threaded their way through the difficult wilderness of the Alleghanies into the valley of the Ohio, the _. first exploring parties which entered Kentucky with a view of settlement made their way on foot along the above-described route. Among the many advantages which this trail presented we must include the immunity from contact with hostile Indians 42 FITNESS TO BE THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. which it afforded. As the result of long-continued intertribal wars, all the portion of the continent between the Shenandoah, the upper Tennessee, and the Ohio Rivers was without any per- manent Indian settlements. It was only occasionally traversed by hunting parties coming from the north of the Ohio or from the region south of the present boundary of Kentucky. Thus, in passing along this trail leading through Cumberland Gap the first settlers of the Ohio Valley were fairly well protected from the risk of meeting their ancient enemy ; and when they entered the fertile district of Kentucky they did not have to dispossess any aborigines, for they had deserted the district, or at most used it as an occasional hunting-ground. The settlement of the district west of the mountains was be- gun in the first years of the Revolutionary War, and it went for- ward so rapidly that, before the Indians under the lead of the British combined for the overthrow of the colony, it had attained such strength that it was able to maintain itself against their repeated though desultory assaults. After the Revolution the disbanded soldiers of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, and, Pennsylvania poured into the country in such numbers that this. outpost of our civilization soon became a strong and warlike State. Within twenty years from the beginning of the settle- ment it was able of its own strength to insure itself from any assault which the aborigines could deliver. Thus the conquest of the great continental valley was begun with the occupation of _ Kentucky, and from that base of supplies and of military strength ° the occupation rapidly extended to the north, south, and west of this vast field. It required nearly a half century of arduous labor in war and peace to insure the English conquest of the district to the east of the Mississippi. The Spanish, and afterward the French, long held the mouth of the great river. The British, with their In- dian allies, maintained their hold in the regions about the Great Lakes; and the Indians, who occupied the valleys of Georgia, Ala- bama, and Mississippi, barred the extension of the empire on the south. Nevertheless, after about 1790 the hold of our people | upon the central district of the continent was so firm and the in- - crease of their well-constituted society was so rapid that there — could be no doubt as to the final issue of the struggle. It is, in. ‘deed, from that time that we may date the full development of the sense that the continent in a way belonged to our nation. _ Much of the success which attended the English invasion of STURDY CHARACTER OF THE FRONTIERSMEN., 43 the Mississippi Valley was due to the peculiar character of the men and women who occupied this frontier. If they had been deliberately selected by some wise statesman for their peculiar task the choice could not have been better fitted to the end in view. If the occupation of the country had been trusted to ordi- __ nary immigrants from Europe it is very doubtful if the Ohio set- tlements could have maintained themselves during their early trials. If we compare the fate of these isolated people with that of the early English settlements in the Virginia district, we see how much depended on the quality of the folk who did outpost duty in the region west of the Alleghany Mountains. The first settlements in Virginia and North Carolina were destroyed, or languished for many years, because of the inability of the folk to contend with the wilderness and its savage inhabitants. The men _who made these Western settlements had for a century and a half been in training for such arduous work. They and their an- cestors had learned to fight in their struggles with the Indians, the French, and the British; they had, moreover, acquired the ‘more precious education of a political sort which enabled them -to act together in organizing and defending their societies. They were not only war-proof, but trained in the founding of States and in the maintenance of civil order. | To understand the difference in the fate of the Spanish and - French colonies on the one hand, and those of the English on the other, we must take account of the vast and most important con- trast which existed in the social motives of these two groups of settlers in this country. The Latin colonists never learned to act together in the manner of the British people. Their political history in this country is one long story of internecine difficulty, distrust, and treachery. Their colonies were weakened by con- spiracies and dissensions, andthe efforts of their noble leaders were often made fruitless by the untrustworthiness of their sub- ordinates. It is a most noteworthy fact that, in all the trials to which the early settlers of our race were exposed in this coun- try, the treasonable motive is conspicuously absent. Even in the difficult conditions of the Revolutionary War there was but one _act of treason on the part of a leader, and only a single conspiracy -which seems to have had any taint of treason in it, that which was led by Conway. During all the trials to which the Kentucky settlements were subjected during the last century, only one man fairly incurred the suspicion of treacherous conduct, and _ his of- fense consisted in the rather indistinct crime of taking pay as a 44 FITNESS TO BE. THE HOME OF A GREAT PEOPEE: retainer from the Spanish Government during the time when it seemed likely that Kentucky might be induced to seek the pro- - tection of that power. However fierce the private feuds of our frontier people have been, they have always acted in a willing and faithful manner in defending the public weal. With the close of the eighteenth century the outposts of our people were firmly planted in the Mississippi Valley, along a line extending from the Great Lakes to the Southern Tennessee, and the skirmish-line of the invading army had in Kentucky been pushed nearly as far as the Mississippi River. The first quarter of the nineteenth century saw the French and Spaniards displaced from the region about the Gulf of Mexico as far west as western Louisiana, the British influence destroyed in the region south of the Great Lakes, and the Indians of the Northwest so far crippled that they were no longer a menace to the developing States. In the second quarter of the present century the war with Mexico gave the vast district of Texas to the Federal Union, and displaced the Spaniards from all that portion of the Pacific coast which lies to the north of the Gulf of California, thus insuring to the de- scendants of the English folk the control of the part of the con- tinent which is well fitted for their use. The district of Central America and Mexico, though a beautiful country, rich in the re- sources of climate, soil, and under earth, is, as experience has shown, not a favorable region for the uses of our race. The last step in clearing away the settlements of other than’ kindred people from the northern part of the continent was brought about by the purchase of Alaska from the Russians in | 1872; the only remaining truly foreign holdings, those in posses- sion of other than English-speaking people, being the trifling set- tlement of the French on the island of Miquelon near Newfound- land and the few Danish villages on the southwestern border of Greenland. Thus, in less than one century, the English colonies passed from the state of a narrow fringe along the Atlantic coast to the possession of a continent. No other conquest has ever been so swiftly and surely made. It differs from all other invasions of ~ a great land in that it was not a military occupation, but a process of settlement. Although the frontier was the seat of almost con- stant battle, the warlike element of the great exploit is really its most trifling feature. The true grandeur of the march consists in the fact that it was the ongoing of a civilization; the axe and the plow were the principal weapons which armed the hands of the people. The result has been the delivery to the English- TNDOUST RIAL CONQUEST OF THE: COUNTRY. 45 speaking people of the one continent which seems eminently . fitted for their use. Since the ejection of the French from North America and the subordination of the Spanish power upon the seas, the advance of the folk of English origin in North America has mainly depend- ed upon the physical features of the continent. All the subse- quent conquests of the people have come about in a most natural way. Arms have had some share in the march of events, but in no part of the Old World have the steps which have led to the establishment of great States been generally so free from the in- fluences of war. The conquests have been won mainly through wholesome human labor, through the self-sacrifice of men who, though ready at all times for battle, have devoted themselves to the peaceful tasks of their time. The extension of our domain in the Mississippi Valley and the Pacific slope of the continent has princi- pally depended on the features of a geographical nature which characterize that part of the continent. The physical conditions of the Mississippi Valley were singularly favorable to the rapid exten- sion of our population over its surface. The streams of that great river system are more generally navigable than those of any other - great valley in the world, except the Amazon. For the greater part of the year it is possible with vessels of considerable draught to traverse not less than ten thousand miles in length of these wa- ter ways. When the country was first settled, boat journeys were attended with difficulty, because the voyagers had to trust mainly to the impulse of the current. It was a most arduous task for the -- pioneers to drag their boats on their return journey from their sea- port at New Orleans to their settlements along the Ohio River. Fortunately, however, in the early days of this century the steam- boat became a successful economic device, and, as its use rapidly extended, all the shores of navigable rivers were laid open to settle- ment. Moreover, by means of these craft it was possible to trans- port large bodies of troops to any part of the country which might be menaced by warlike Indians, and thus the danger from the savages was reduced to the risk which arose from local out- breaks; the steamboat rendered anything like a general Indian war in the great valley quite impossible. _ The next step in the settlement of the country was taken when the railway came into general use for distant land transportation. Until that time the communication between the East and West had been carried on by means of the few good wagon-roads, and by certain canals which more or less completely connected the 46 FITNESS TO BE THE. HOME. OF ‘A. GREAT PEGE. navigable waters of the Atlantic coast with those of the interior of the continent. Although these canals, combined with other natural waterways, were of vast advantage to the frontier people, they necessarily left many extensive tracts without means of swilt and cheap communication with the markets of the world. On the establishment of this connection in the manner which it has been attained by railways, the advance of the interior district in population and wealth most intimately depended. The same geographic features which insured the extensive navigation of the Mississippi system of streams, made all the parts of this val- ley which were suitable to agriculture remarkably well fitted for the construction of railways. The whole of this district is a re- gion of great plains, across which the iron ways may be carried at a relatively slight cost. In fact, over much of the surface no im- portant engineering work except the bridges over the streams is required in the construction of these routes. One of the most advantageous features connected with the central trough of the continent consists in the unbroken charac- ter of its fertile land. From the base of the Appalachians to the foot of the Rocky Mountains scarcely any part of its surface is too rude foragriculture. Certainly less than one fifteenth part of the dry land in this area can not be made fit for the plow. In other parts of this country, and over the greater portion of the Old World, the areas which are suited for human habitation are generally of relatively small extent, and divided from each other by great stretches having an untillable surface because of its mountainous nature. Although this arrangement of a continent is extremely advantageous in developing separate centers of civ- ilization, and in forming varieties of the races, it is not well suited for the habitation of a people who are to remain closely bound together by political and social ties. The central portion of North America affords the largest intimately connected field which is suited to the uses of our race. The nature of the surface indi- cates that this folk is to have a solidarity greater than that of any other people in the world. The rapid settlement of the northern portion of the Mississippi Valley was to a certain extent favored by the timberless charac- ter of that country. In all the other districts over which the English-speaking people had hitherto extended their domain they had to win their field from dense forests. Only those who have taken part in clearing away a primeval wood such as covers the Appalachian district of North America can imagine how great FEOPLING THE PRAIRIES. 47 has been the labor required to win the fields to the uses of civili- zation. From the time when the axe is first laid to the trees, it usually requires at least ten years for the stumps and roots to de- cay so that the plow may find a free path. With certain of the hard-wood timber trees twenty years of decay will scarcely effect this result. Until the soil is cleared of these obstructions noth- ing like systematic agriculture is possible. Where the woods are dense a farmer’s lifetime may be spent in winning twenty or thirty acres from their control. When the advancing front of our population escaped from the Appalachian woods and passed into the prairie district of the Mis- sissippi Valley, they entered on a region where the soil is gener- ally unforested, and where it needs only the help of a large plow, drawn by four horses, to put the surface into condition fora great variety of crops. It was holiday work to subdue the prairie to men who for generations had been engaged in a battle with the primitive forests of the Atlantic coast. The result was, owing to the open character of this country and the rapidity with which it was made accessible by railways, that the rate at which the frontier line moved to the west became vastly greater than be- fore. It demanded a century for the English-speaking settle- ments which were planted on the shores of the Atlantic to work back as far as the eastern front of the Appalachian Mountains. Another hundred years went by before they had pushed the fron- tier to the border of the prairie district; but, on attaining the open lands of the Mississippi Valley, it required less than half a century for the people to occupy every part of the surface sufh- ciently fertile to warrant its immediate possession. In a general way we may say that, in the first hundred years of our history, the westward movement of the frontier took place at a rate not exceeding one mile a year. In the second century the speed of movement was more than doubled, amounting to be- tween two and three miles a year. After 1830 the frontier ceased to have anything like a definite line, for the immigrants swarmed to the westward along all the ways of communication. It is safe, however, to say, that in the latter part of this century the open country of the continental fields has been won to the uses of men with more than ten times the speed which was made in any part of the preceding centuries. While much must be allowed for the influence of the steam- boat and the railway on the swift settlement of the Mississippi Valley, a great deal of this swiftness of movement has been due 48 FITNESS TO BE THE. HOME OF A GREAT PEOPLE. to the long education of our people in the work of subjugating a new country. This education has included a training in self-reli- ance which is necessary for men who are to do duty as frontiers- men. They must know the art of winning an immediate subsist- ence from the soil, as well as how, in the midst of other cares, to frame and consolidate their social and governmental systems. These lessons the Americans have learned in a measure which has been attained by no other people. It seems, indeed, unfortu- nate that there are no other lands for them to conquer. Doubt- less the energy involved in these vast pioneering toils will find its place in other activities—in the development of the resources of the under earth and in the betterment of our state—but the pecul- iar skill demanded of the frontiersman has almost ceased to have a place in the life of this continent. The greatest difficulty which our people have encountered in dealing with the conditions presented by the central portion of the continent has arisen from the presence of the Indians in that field. Although the wars with the aborigines were often san- guinary and always harassing, the most serious obstacles were not those of a military sort. It has always proved easy to over- ‘come the armed resistance of the savages, but always extremely difficult to make any satisfactory disposition of them. Although at no time has the population of these native folk north of the Rio Grande exceeded three hundred thousand souls, their habits were such as to require a great extent of land for their subsist- ence. In general, it may be said that the Indian needs from one to three square miles of land for the support of each of the mem- bers of his tribe. If confined within a smaller area, at least until he has adopted the agricultural habit, he is sure to become rest- less and predatory. Thus it has come about that our people have adopted the rather curious plan of confining these savages within large reservations, around which the tide of civilization has soon closed. In time these great areas given over to savagery have proved to be exceedingly inconvenient, whereupon the tribes were forced to move westward on to lands which were by new treaties devoted to their use. These great territorial penitentia- ries of the Indian reservations have usually been badly adminis- tered; their unhappy inmates have suffered much in the way of hardships and misgovernment. Their white neighbors have not been given to making any allowances for the inherited qualities of these primitive people; the result is, that our Indian system appears as the most unsatisfactory part of our American history. ‘IOSATQ UOSpN}FT oY} pue julog jsoM SS DEALINGS WITH THE INDIANS. 49 Although much of the criticism which has been directed against our administration of Indian affairs is doubtless well founded, few of the critics perceive how almost insuperable are the difficulties of dealing with an indigenous people having the qualities of this native American race. Centuries of experience has taught us that these folk are, from the point of view of our civilization, essen- tially untamable. In general, they can not take up the burden of our Anglo-Saxon civilization, or even accommodate themselves to our ways of living. Here and there, though rarely, some of the tribes, particularly those of the more southern parts of the country, when the more desperate element of the population has been weeded out by war and the blood somewhat commingled with that of the whites, have become soil-tillers, and thereby ceased to be troublesome to the state. The choice before our people in dealing with this indomitable folk lay between a method of extermination, such as has been practiced in other lands, and something like the system which we have adopted. A cruel- minded race such as the Romans would have made short work of the Indian problem. Each war would have been one of extermi- nation, and the primitive tribes would have been slain or enslaved, and thus removed from the field. The difficulties which we have encountered in dealing with the Indians have been in large meas- ure due to the fact that even when exasperated by conflicts with them our frontier people have retained a large share of the just and humane motives which are characteristic of our race. They have recognized the fact that our own people were the invaders of the Indian’s realm, and there has been an element of the apolo- getic in their treatment of the natives each time they came to make peace with them. Although the foregoing sketch of the conditions which deter- mined the fitness of this country to the uses of our race is in- adequate, it may serve to show the reader how great and ad- mirable was the fortune which gave this broad and fruitful land as the field for the development of our people. It is clear that it is better suited for the needs of the northern Aryans than any other extensive territory which has ever come into their posses- sion. From their first scanty holding on its shores they have ex- tended their empire with a swiftness and certainty which of itself shows how well suited the land was to their needs, and how well they were themselves suited to the inheritance. 4 CHAPTERS II, NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. To give in brief the results of our knowledge as to the regions of North America which are unfit for the use of our people, we may state that about one fifth of the area of the continent is made desolate by cold. About another fifth is useless except for the maintenance of flocks and herds, for which it will afford a scanty pasturage. A certain part of the remainder, in all about one hundred and twenty thousand square miles, is now in the condi- tion of fresh-water swamps and marine marshes, the greater part of which may be won to the uses of agriculture, and will doubt- less in time be made serviceable to our people. In the absence of complete studies of the country, such as the United States Geological Survey is now undertaking, it is not possible to make a definite estimate as to the portion of the continent which is fit for the uses of agriculture. The foregoing estimates must there- fore be taken as of a general nature. The proportion of the total area of this great land which may serve the needs of highly organ- ized societies is greater than that of any other continent except Europe—a land which indeed is not truly continental in its nature, but is, in fact, the mere western fringe ‘of the Asiatic area. . We turn now to a somewhat detailed consideration of the several geographic districts of the continent, beginning our task with the Atlantic coast, where the geographic variety of the coun- try affords more distinct fields than in most of the other parts of the continent. St. LAWRENCE DISTRICT. The most northern division of the Atlantic coast which affords the conditions required by civilization is that which lies about the mouth of the St. Lawrence River and the gulf of that name. This part of the continent is made up mainly of a group of pen- insulas and islands, which inclose a great gulf or shallow séa. The peninsulas are those of Gaspé and Nova Scotia, and the isl ands of considerable size Newfoundland, Anticosti, Prince Ed- (50) tHE Sly LAWRENCE, DISTRICT. SI ward, and Cape Breton. The surface of this region is extremely varied in contour, its northern and southern parts in Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton being occupied by low mountain ranges, the worn-down roots of what were formerly elevated chains. The climate of this field is very much affected by the _ conditions of the neighboring sea. The Gulf of St. Lawrence, which to a great extent freezes over in the long and cold winters, permits the arctic winds to have free access to all parts of its shore, and the waters remain exceedingly cold during the sum- mer season. A southward setting current from Baffin Bay drifts the arctic ice as far south as Newfoundland, and maintains the temperature of the water during the whole year at a low point. The result is, that this part of the continent has about the climate which characterizes Sweden and Norway—countries which lie nearly a thousand miles farther north. The soil of the Laurentian district, at least of the region south of the Labradorian shore, is prevailingly good. It is mainly composed of glacial waste, the whole of this region having been deeply overridden by the glacier of the last ice time. Owing, however, to the shortness of the summer season, the agricultural possibilities of the field are rather limited. The island of New- foundland is, on account of the excessively humid and cold sum- mer, almost beyond the limits of culture, the crops being restricted to certain garden plants and some of the hardier small grains, which may be reared in the southern portions of the island. The island of Anticosti, though owing to its limestone foundation it has a very good soil, is also so far north that it seems a field where tillage will always be a precarious basis for the support of a population. Prince Edward Island has a remarkably fertile soil, and the climate is exceedingly well suited to small grains and to forage crops, as well as to the growth of potatoes and other roots. The same may be said of Cape Breton, though on that island the soil is on the whole much less fruitful, owing to its stonier nature, than in the region to the west. The peninsula of Nova Scotia and the mainland of New Brunswick on the west afford an excel- lent soil and the climate well suited to all our field crops, such as are reared in the northern United States, except Indian corn, which through all parts of the Laurentian district will not mature its grain save inexceptional summers. That portion of the Lau- rentian district which lies along the tide-water belt of the St. Law- rence between Gaspé and Quebec, owing to its somewhat inland position, hasa more strenuous climate than the maritime portion 52 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH: of the provinces. It has, however, a fertile soil, which owes its quality in large measure to the chemical condition of the rocks, which were broken up by the glacier and transported from far- ther north into this field. The earth in this territory has proved remarkably enduring to the tillage of a rather imperfect kind, to which it has been subjected for about two hundred years. The population of the Laurentian district is of an extremely varied nature.. In the main it consists of two diverse strains of north European blood—British, mostly from northern Britain and Scotland, and northern French, presumably in the main descend- ants of the Scandinavians, who in the early centuries settled in that part of Europe. Intermingled with these two varieties of Aryan folk there is a certain though not great amount of Indian blood, the remnant of the ancient rather peaceful tribes which dwelt about the St. Lawrence. The French part of the population mainly dwells along the banks of the St. Lawrence River, where they form by themselves a large and very isolated population, re- taining their native speech and customs. Their physical condi- tion, after more than two centuries of exposure to a strenuous cli- mate, seems to be excellent. They are vigorous, extraordinarily fruitful, the birth-rate probably being as great as among any other Aryans. Although their development is retarded by the lack of variety of their industries and their exceedingly provincial state, they appear to bea people of excellent natural capacities. The great tide of emigration which is sent forth from this French district to the United States affords excellent laborers in every department of industry, and it is the testimony of those who are acquainted with their work in the mechanic arts that they have in many cases inventive minds. Eastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton are in the main settled by immigrants from the Highland section of Scotland; the greater portion of them retain the ancient Roman Catholic faith, and main- tain many of their ancient customs. The admirable physical condition of this population, which has been upon the soil for about a century, shows that the climate and other conditions of environment are well suited to them. Western Nova Scotia and New Brunswick received a large part of their settlers through the emigration of the Tories at the outbreak and the close of the Revolutionary War. Many of these emigrants from the revolt- ing colonies took their negroes with them, and this element of the population has been somewhat added to by refugees from the West Indies and the United States in the later days of slavery on Bridge, Montreal. tora Vic - CLIMATE OF NEW ENGLAND. 53 this continent. Although the amount of negro blood in the Cana- dian maritime provinces is small, these people afford interesting evidence that, although the African does not increase in numbers in this high northern latitude, he seems to be fairly well able to withstand its severe climate. NEw ENGLAND DISTRICT. Next south of the district of the St. Lawrence lies the some- what related area of New England. This territory is tolerably well defined by geographic limits. The great tidal river or fiord of the Hudson, together with Lake George and Lake Champlain, which occupy the same valley and are only slightly divided from the Hudson, bound this area on the west. It is, moreover, sepa- rated from the body of the continent by the considerable mount- ain ranges of the Berkshire Hills, the Adirondacks, and the Green Mountains. In the region to the north of Vermont and New Hampshire the boundary between New England and Canada does not rest upon topographic features, but between the eastern bor- der of New Hampshire and New Brunswick the boundary is more natural, lying in a range of hills and low mountains, which constitute the water-shed between the rivers of Maine and the drainage of the St. Lawrence. The line which divides New England on the east from New Brunswick is, again, of a rather unnatural kind, the two regions shading into each other along this political boundary. Owing to the fact that it contains neither large islands nor ex- tensive peninsulas, the New England district presents a more united surface than that about the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On account of the disposition of its mountains, and its considerable length in a north and south direction, and also because the Gulf Stream comes near to the shores in the region about Cape Cod, this field affords a range of climate unusual, in areas of similar size,in eastern North America. The portions of its surface which border on the Canada line have long and exceedingly cold win- ters, the summer season, or the period in which frosts do not occur, being not more than four months in length. On the other hand, in Cape Cod and the adjacent islands on the south of that promontory the thermometer rarely attains to zero on the Fahr- enheit scale, and the frostless period of the year generally con- tinues for at least six months. The belt of country next the Canada line is too cold to admit the profitable culture of Indian corn. The same is true of much of the upland district in the 54 NATURAL -CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. Berkshire Hills and in the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as in the eastern counties of Maine, next the New Brunswick line. In the other parts of New England all the grain crops which flourish in the Northern States of this Union may advantageously be reared. All the fruits of the country ex- cept those which require a subtropical climate, such as is found about the Gulf of Mexico or in southern California, will ripen over a large part of this field. The fitness of this part of the con- tinent for a wide range of field and garden products is due to the fact that it has a very warm summer. The difference in this re- gard between the New England territory and that of the Lau- rentian district is, in the main, due to the fact that the waters which border the shore in the more southern land are’ much warmer than those which lie about the islands and peninsulas at the mouth of the St. Lawrence. The marine current setting southward from Baffin Bay gradually loses energy as it creeps down the coast. It is felt as far south as Cape Cod, but there its tide ceases to flow. South of that great promontory the waters are prevailingly warm; the relatively brief and mild weather does not usually serve to chill them below an average temperature of about fifty degrees above zero. They are rapidly warmed in the summer season, and maintain a relatively high temperature until late in the autumn. The result is, as is shown by the vegetation, that southeastern Massachusetts has the general climatal condition proper to the district as far south as southern Pennsylvania, a number of trees such as the tupelo and sassafras, which gener- ally belong in the Middle States, flourishing in that district, as do also a number of the herbaceous and annual plants. The soils of New England all have the character which is im- pressed upon the country where a glacier has recently done its peculiar work upon the surface. Throughout the area they con- sist of a more or less thick sheet of débris, the upper part of which has by admixture with decaying vegetation become suited for the growth of plants. There are two principal variations in the character of this detritus which greatly affect the nature of — the soil. In one of these groups we find the coating to consist of a deposit known to geologists as till or bowlder-clay, a sheet-like mass often many feet in thickness, composed of commingled clay, sand, pebbles, and bowlders, all rudely mixed together. This de- posit was left on the surface of the earth when the ice melted away, and so the fragments of rocky matter originally commingled together in the glacier were deposited, when it melted, in a con- SOILS OF NEW ENGLAND. 55 fused order. The soils formed upon this till-sheet, which covers probably three fourths or more of the New England field, though of a stubborn character and generally inconvenient of tillage be- cause of the large bowlders which the mass contains, are never- theless in almost all cases fairly fertile, and withstand the drain which agriculture puts upon them in a remarkably effective way. This endurance is due to the fact that the pebbles which the mass contains generally consist of materials which on their decay contribute substances which refresh the soil. The character of these till or bowlder-clay soils depends much upon the nature of the rock whence the débris was derived. South of any large field occupied by rocks composed mainly or altogether of quartz, they are apt to be sterile, for the reason that the ice brought to the particular district and left upon the surface débris of this chemical nature. In general, however, the trans- portation of glacial waste has been from sucha distance and the intermingling of material so perfect, that the bowlder-clay makes a fertile substratum for the fields. The result is that, though the New England farmer has to expend a great deal of labor in re- moving the stones, so that he may turn the earth with the plow, he thereby wins fields which, though they appear rude, are often of admirable fertility, and demand less care than generally is neces- sary to keep the ground fit for crops. At the close of the Glacial period, when the ice was disappear- ing from the country, the waters which escaped from its front bore with them great quantities of sand and clay, the coarser part of this dédrzs, mostly finely divided bits of quartz, being scat- tered over the surface in the form oi extensive sand plains, the clay material being conveyed to the sea. The result is, that a considerable portion of New England is coated over by these sheets of arenaceous matter. Perhaps nearly one fourth of the area is occupied by these accumulations. Owing to the fact that the water in time of rain readily passes down to the depths of this porous covering, the soils of the sand plain are apt to be sterilized by drought. Only here and there, where the surface of the mass lies at such a low level with reference to the drainage that this downward percolation is hindered, are these soils fit for ordinary agriculture. Thus a large part of southeastern Massachusetts, including the greater part of Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket Counties, presents very extensive surfaces in the form of great plains which are easily tilled, but which are so liable to drought that they are left in their natural state. In this portion 56 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. of New England there are several hundred thousand acres of such land so worthless for agricultural purposes that it may be bought for less than a dollar an acre. In all, there is probably nearly a million acres of such sandy ground within the limits of New Eng- land which is fit only for timber culture. For this purpose it is in general well adapted. | Although the surface of New England is a tolerably united field, it presents a number of somewhat isolated areas which have characteristic features of sufficient physiographic value to affect the life of the people. In northern Maine lies the valley of the Holston River, the largest of the tributaries of the St. John. This valley, though situated near to the northern border of possible cul- ture, is, owing to the nature of the rocks whence the glacial débres was derived, exceedingly fertile. It is too far north for maize, but the small grains and all the root crops are at their best in this field. Between the sources of the Holston and the Canadian line on the north, and the central portion of Maine, lies a noble pine forest, which, owing to the prevailing moisture of the climate, has been to a great extent saved from the destruction which fire has brought to these woods in the country between the eastern margin of New Hampshire and the western boundary of Michigan. This realm of Maine woods is the seat of numerous glacial lakes which are singularly linked together by natural channels; the soil, though prevailingly sandy, is admirably suited to the growth of the white pine and various other timber trees; this region bids fair to re- main as a field of permanent woods, whence a great supply of construction timber will be delivered to the other parts of New England. The shore-land district, extending from Eastport on the line between New Brunswick and the United States to Cape Ann in Massachasetts, is characterized by an exceedingly indented coast- line, the coast having the same fiord character as that in the Laurentian district, as well as the Scandinavian coast, the region where our race acquired its early training in the seafaring habit. So numerous are these bays and islands along this portion of the shore from Boston Bay to Passamaquoddy Bay, that while the shore, measured from headland to headland, is less than three hundred miles in length, the total coast-line at high tide extends for a distance of about three thousand miles. The waters of the inlets are deep, and the shore-land district, for an average distance of a hundred miles from the coast, is prevailingly fertile land. The result is that this coast presents a combination, rare in othe Hiei ha ee CONNECTICUT VALLEY: 57 countries, of extraordinarily good harbors and excellent soil. The southern shore of New England, from Boston Bay to New York, is less well provided with harbors, and has a more meager soil next the shore. Both these disadvantages are due to the fact that this region is near the margin of the ice-sheet, and there- fore receive on its surface a great body of washed sands, which to a great extent filled up the indentations in the bed-rock, which otherwise would have afforded good harbors, and spreading over the surface formed extensive sand plains, which, as we have be- fore noted, provide indifferent soil. The Connecticut Valley constitutes one of the most interest- ing geographic features of New England. This noble vale ex- tends almost throughout the north and south expanse of New England. On its western border it is separated from the Hud- son Valley by the wide and elevated district of the Berkshire Hills and the Green Mountains. Through the greater portion of its extent this ancient vale is remarkably wide and fertile. It was in the main originally a much larger trough, which has to a great extent been filled in by deposits formed since the beginning of the last ice epoch. These recent accumulations of debris in general afford a fertile soil. There are, indeed, few valleys in this coun- try which contain lands better suited to a high grade of agricul- ture, or which have been made to yield a greater return of values, per unit of area, than the plains which border the Connecticut. Owing to its deeply recessed position in the elevated district of New England, this valley has a high summer temperature. On account of its north and south extent it is open to the polar winds, and is subjected to an intense winter cold. Nevertheless, the growing season is long enough to permit the development of all the Northern crops; even tobacco is successfully reared, and is, indeed, one of the most valuable products of this field. The elevated district between the Connecticut and the Hud- son Valleys has an average width of about sixty miles, and, though much intersected by the troughs of its various streams, has a sur- face prevailingly so high above the sea that it has a climate almost as cold during the growing season as that of the tillage belt along the St. Lawrence River. The greater portion of this dis- trict affords good soils, and is well suited to the nurture of all the Northern standard crops, except Indian corn. The climate is ex- ceedingly favorable to the development of the people of our race, as well as to their associated domesticated animals. Between the Connecticut Valley and the seaboard region lies 58 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. the broad ridge on which is situated some of the most attractive upland country of New England. This section extends from southern Connecticut to the Tile district of New Hampshire. It is more or less diversified by the remnants of ancient moun- tains, such as Wachusett in Massachusetts and Monadnock in New Hampshire. The average height of this ridge at its crest 1s about twelve hundred feet above the sea. The whole of its ex- panse was in the olden day the seat of an extensive mountain chain, which has been worn down by the action of atmospheric decay, the erosive action of the rivers, and of successive glacial sheets, and from time to time by the assaults of sea-waves in peri- ods when the ocean level lay higher against the land. This part of New England was among the first inland portions of this coun- try to be occupied by European colonies. Two hundred years of experience have proved it to bea fertile and salubrious region, one of the best portions of the continent for the uses of man, On the north of this great upland district, which for conven- ience we may term the Worcester field, from the city of that name, which lies high on its eastern versant, we find the great mountain district of New England, including the Franconia and White Mountain ranges. In this section we have an area of some thousands of square miles in extent, containing elevations of from five to six thousand feet in height, the highest point of which is Mount Washington, lying at six thousand two hundred feet above the sea. This elevated country is characterized by the presence of numerous valleys which the rivers have cut down to within about a thousand feet of the sea-level. In no other field in eastern North America are the mountainous slopes so steep or the valleys so profoundly excavated. In the White Mountain district the steep character of the hill- sides and the cold climate induced by the general elevation of the country in the main unfit the soil for tillage. It 1s, in fact, the largest part of the New England field ities is unsuited for cul- tivation. On the other hand, it is a district admirably fitted to maintain valuable forests, and with proper care may afford a most important nursery for timber. Only the upper parts of the mounteins, say above the height of four thousand feet, are so far sterilized by cold that our hardier coniferous trees can not attain to a vigorous growth. As a whole, the climate and soil of New England insure to the people a tolerable immunity from the diseases which are to be attributed to these natural conditions. Until within the pres- HEACEHYUENESSSOF “THE EASTERN: STATES, 59 ent half century the whole of its area was exempt from the visi- tation of ague, that group of malarial fevers which has proved such a hindrance to the development of many parts of the coun- try to the south and west of this district. Of late years, owing to some causes the nature of which is not well ascertained, mala- rial fever has somewhat afflicted the district of the Connecticut Valley and the lowlands along the Housatonic, and has spread along the shores of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to the neighborhood of Boston. It seems not unlikely that the extension of this disease into New England has been due to the construction of a great number of reservoirs, in which the water is stored for the supply of power to mills. These reservoirs are filled during the winter season and drained in the summer and autumn. In these dry seasons the bottoms of these basins, being exposed to the sun, become admirable breeding-places for mala- rial germs. Statistics show that the disease known as tuberculosis, which commonly manifests itself in consumption of the lungs, is more common in New England than in any other equal area within the United States. It is probable that the development of this mal- ady is favored by the prevailingly humid climate and often wet soil in the more clayey portions of this district, especially those situated near the margins of the rivers and lakes. Experience has shown that contagious diseases, such as cholera and yellow fever, do not find a natural place for development in New Eng- land. 3 The prevailing wholesomeness of New England is doubtless in large measure to be attributed to the excellent nature of the sources whence the water used for domestic purposes may be obtained. Almost everywhere it is possible for the farm-house or the town to obtain admirable water, which may readily be kept free from all risk of pollution. No other part of the United States is in this regard so advantageously placed as is the New England district. The mineral resources of New England consist mainly in its building-stone. In 1889, Massachusetts was first in the United States in the production of granite; Maine, second; Connecticut, fourth; Rhode Island, fifth; New Hampshire, seventh; Vermont, ninth. In marble, Vermont ranks first in the United States; Mas- sachusetts, eighth. In slate, Vermont is second ; Maine, third. These are of great variety, including a wide range of granitic materials, marbles, soapstones, and slates. The granitic rocks are 6) NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SORi. principally quarried along the Atlantic coast from eastern Maine to the western borders of Rhode Island; the marbles, in southern Vermont and in the Berkshire district of Massachusetts; the slates and soapstones, in this same district of uplands between the Connecticut and the Hudson. In southern Massachusetts, and in the portion of Rhode Island which borders on Narragansett Bay, there is a coal field having an area of about a thousand square miles. The coal of this district, though considerable in quantity, has not as yet proved important in the arts, and this on account of the great chemical changes which it has undergone. It is an ex- tremely hard anthracite, which often in character approaches the substance known as graphite, a material which, as is well known, is of a very incombustible nature. It is likely that in the future this Narragansett coal will be made useful in the production of water-gas and in smelting ores. For both these uses it has cer- tain chemical and physical features which give it a distinct value. For use in domestic fireplaces or for making steam experience shows that it is not fitted to compete with the coal from other parts of this country. Iron has been successfully mined in various parts of New England, but in the present condition of the production of this metal it seems clear that none of the deposits in this district have any considerable economic value. Iron pyrite, which is much used in the production of sulphuric acid, is mined in the district bordering the Deerfield River in Massachusetts and in southern New Hampshire. Copper was once produced in considerable quantity from the mines at Ely, in Vermont; but the great de- crease in the price of this metal, due to’the development of mines in the district of Lake Superior and in the Cordilleras, has made its further production in New England for the time unprofitable. The New England district has at present a remarkably varied population. The settlers during the colonial period were almost entirely from Great Britain and northern Ireland, and may be re- garded as of pure British stock. During the great emigration of Protestants from France, a few Huguenots came to the Massa- chusetts colonies, but their settlement was soon scattered, and. only a small part of the folk remained in New England. Perhaps the larger part of these British colonies were from the towns of Great Britain. Hence the early settlements were not generally made in the manner of scattered farmsteads, as in other parts of the country, but were prevailingly grouped in compact commu- nities, from which the people went forth to the surrounding tilled THE EASTERN CENTRAL REGION. 61 land. Until the middle of the present century the original char- acter of the British population was essentially unchanged. Since that time, however, a very rapid immigration has set in from various parts of Europe and from the Canadian-French district of the Dominion. It should be noted, however, that, with the exception of a few thousand immigrants and tRir descendants from the Azores islands, all of whom are settled along the south- ern coast of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, the population of New England of foreign origin has been derived from the northern portions of Europe. In closing this sketch of the New England district we may note the fact that its surface has a more varied character than that of any other part of North America of equal area. It is likely that this diversity in physical condition will always maintain a considerable variety of the population as regards habits of life and the mental and physical peculiarities which arise therefrom. EASTERN CENTRAL STATES. South and west of New England lies a group of States, con- sisting of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, which for convenience, rather than on account of their geo- graphic isolation, we may consider as one district. All these States have a share in the lowlands which border the Atlantic coast, and all except Delaware exhibit a considerable topographic variety, due to the fact that they lie in part upon the Appala- chian Mountain system. The northern part of the field borders upon the St. Lawrence River, and thus comes near to the north- ern limits of the tillable district of the continent. Southern Penn- sylvania borders upon the Virginia group of States, and except in the highlands has a winter rather less severe than that of southern New England. The Appalachian Mountain system extends from its northern termination in the region immediately west of Albany to its southern extremity in southern Pennsyl- _vania, but it does not exhibit within this field anything hke its extreme height. The greatest elevations connected with this system in this part of the country are found in the district of the Catskills, immediately west of the Hudson, where the higher peaks rise to about 4,000 feet above the sea. This Catskill elevation is not, indeed, in a proper sense to be considered moun- tainous, for the reason that the underlying rocks are not con- torted, but lie nearly horizontally. The elevations are, in fact, hills which have been carved in the western table-land of the 62 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. range, the mountains proper being reduced to a few lowly ridges which lie between the margin of the Hudson River and the foot of the great range. Passing to the north of the Catskills, the table-land of the Alleghanies rapidly declines in height, while the distinct folds altogether disafear, and along the line of the Mohawk River die out altogether. Just beyond the Mohawk to the north we find the great and peculiar mountain district of the Adirondacks, a system which was in existence long before the Alleghanies be- gan to form, and which is, indeed, perhaps the oldest mountain range of the eastern United States. This ancient group of eleva- tions occupies a field of somewhat circular shape. There are some scores of peaks in the Adirondack group the summits of which exceed three thousand feet in height. So ancient are these mountains, and so deeply worn down to their very roots by the erosive agents, that it is very difficult to determine anything con- cerning their original form or altitude. Besides the foregoing strongly marked groups of elevations, we have in eastern Pennsylvania, western New Jersey, and the part of New York about the mouth of the Hudson, extending thence to the northern part of the eastern boundary of that State, a portion of the Blue Ridge, that ancient mountain chain which runs from northern Alabama to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In Pennsylvania the Blue Ridge is of relatively trifling altitude, and is there known as the South Mountain. In western New Jersey they remain in the form of low but rugged elevations, and at the mouth of the Hudson they disappear, the river breaking its way across their line in the form of a very broad valley. In the Berkshire Hills this range again assumes the true mountain form, the summits attaining a height of three thousand feet or more, and having a very continuous face toward the Hudson Valley. The result of these mountainous disturbances within this field is that rather more than one third of its area lies at an altitude of over a thousand feet above the level of the sea, and somewhere near one tenth attains an average elevation of two thousand feet. As the effect of elevating the surface of a country to the height of three hundred feet is about the same as that which would be brought about by moving the district sixty miles, or one degree to the northward, the result is that a considerable portion of the field we are considering has a rather cold climate. In the more elevated valleys of the Adirondacks, on the summit of the Catskill SOI; AND; CLIMATE. 63 table-land, and in the higher mountains of Pennsylvania, the win- ter is so long and the summer time so liable to frosts that the agricultural interests are limited. Only the hardier small grains, the forage crops, and potatoes can withstand the strenuous cli- mate of these high-lying lands. The low country along the Atlantic in easterf Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey is blessed with an admirable climate, which somewhat compensates for the rather infertile nature of the soil. It has long been, and bids fair to remain, one of the greatest fruit-producing regions in the northern part of the United States. The valley district of Pennsylvania, which lies between the South Mountain and the Alleghanies, is, like its continuation in the Shenandoah region of Virginia, a district of admirably fer- tile soils. The valley of the Hudson, like that of the neighboring Connecticut, is, as far as the lowland is concerned, an exceed- ingly fertile country, presenting, as 1s rare in eastern America, a sharp contrast between the admirable agriculture at the foot of the mountains on either side, and the sterile heights which le above the plane of fertility. Passing from the Hudson Valley up the basin of its tributary, the Mohawk, we find the border- land of that stream to afford admirable soils, suited for the whole range of our Northern tillage products, and peculiarly well adapted to the growth of hops, a crop which does not generally flourish in the fields of North America. At the head of the Mohawk we pass insensibly upon the great region of tolerably elevated plateaus which slope from the north- ern table-land of the Alleghanies toward Lake Erie, Lake On- tario, and the banks of the St. Lawrence. Although the greater part of this district lies at the height of nearly one thousand feet above the sea, and therefore has a colder climate than is de- sirable for the most of our field and garden plants, the exceeding fertility of the soil, and the tolerable immunity from summer frosts which is insured by the waters of the Great Lakes on the north, make it an admirable field for agriculture. It is doubtful, indeed, if any other equally extensive field in the United States affords such a good and enduring soil as is found in the district between the mouth of the Mohawk and the borders of the Great Lakes. This region of high-grade soils extends up the valleys of the streams which flow to the northward, so that the valley of the Genesee, as well as those in which lie the finger-like lakes of cen- tral New York, are prevailingly very fertile. There is a considerable range in the excellent climate and 64 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE. EAST AND SOUTH: soil which much extends the fitness of this part of the country to produce a diversity of agricultural products. Along the Great Lakes, and generally in the plain country of northern New York, the soil is clayey and of a rather wet nature. The climate is also made somewhat more humid than it would otherwise be by the nearness of the @listrict to those great fresh-water seas. The val- | leys in the southern part of the State have a drier climate, and the summers are sufficiently protracted to permit the profitable culture of the grape, which here yields an excellent quality of white wine. Owing to the wide extension and prevailing great depth of the glacial detritus or drift in this part of the country, the rivers are maintained with a tolerably constant flow, and thus afford ex- cellent water powers. They are, however, singularly ill-suited for navigation, only the Hudson—which is, in fact, not a river, but a fiordlike arm of the sea—having any: considerable value as a way of communication. The unnavigable character of these streams is mainly due to the fact that they descend with considerable ra- pidity from elevated land to the sea level; the steepness of their — fall, while it unfits them for the use of boats, adds to their value as sources of power. In its primeval state the whole of this region, except a small portion of the higher mountain peaks, was occupied by dense for- ests which were rich in construction woods. These forests origi- nally represented one of the noblest sections of the Appalachian woodland district. The upland areas, particularly in the northern portion of the country, abounded in the cone-bearing, narrow- leaved trees—the pines, firs, and hemlocks. The lower grounds were mostly possessed by the broad-leaved forms. Two centu- ries of use and abuse has reduced these forest lands to mere shreds of their original area. |The only remnants which retain anything like the primeval character lie in the field of the Adi- rondacks and in the region about the head-waters of the Genesee, Susquehanna, and the Alleghany in the elevated table-land dis- trict of western Pennsylvania. \ This last-named district and the Adirondack wilderness, because of their cold climate, which makes them unsuited to agriculture, afford the natural nurseries of timber for the supply of this group of States. The whole of this region exhibits a tolerable immunity from the diseases which depend upon the conditions of climate and soil. The naturally good water supply should insure exemption from the assault of most germ diseases, and the food-producing THE PENNSYLVANIA COAL-FIELDS. 65 capacity of the soil should ever insure the people against the evils of imperfect nutrition. In the northern and upland portion of this territory, owing to the length of the winters, the people are housed for a great part of the year. A proper care in the construction and ventilation of farm dwellings should, however, to a great extent remove the evils arising from winter housing, and thus make a great part of this field exceedingly salubrious. Along the lowlands of the Hudson valley and the seaboard dis- trict to the southward ordinary ague prevails. The disease, however, is not of a malignant type, and its assaults may gen- erally be avoided by care as to the site of dwellings. Only limited portions of the country appear to be favorable to the development of the germs of this disease. These malarial places appear in general to be limited to fields where the soil is subjected to great alternations in the height of the ground water. The mineral resources of this district are among the greatest of those found in any other equal area in this country. The pro- duction of salt in New York in 1889 was 11,365,039 bushels; in 1890, it was 12,660,182 bushels. (See, for other statistics, the chap- ter on Mineral Resources.) They include a wide range of prod- ucts—coal, iron, nickel, salt, petroleum—and a number of other less important earth products, such as building stone, cements, and clays. The coal fields of this group of States are altogether limited to central and western Pennsylvania, where -they occupy a territory of over twenty thousand square miles in extent, and are, on the whole, of better quality and occur in greater abun- dance for the area they underlie than in any other known part of the world. These Pennsylvania coals are divided into the two important groups of anthracite and bituminous. The anthracite basins, of which there are several, lie to the east of the ordinary carbonaceous deposits, and cover an aggregate area of about six hundred square miles. The beds are prevailingly thicker than is usual with coals, and, although they have been a good deal disturbed by the mountain-building forces, they are remarkably well placed for economic use. Although there are excellent an- thracites in the Welsh district of England and in China, the de- posits of Pennsylvania have alone been worked in an extensive way as sources of fuel supply. Owing to a singular conserv- atism in their arts, the British people have never learned to avail themselves of the peculiar qualities of this coal, which has the advantage of affording more available heat for a given weight 5 eo 66 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. of material than any other form of combustible matter which is in a solid state. The western bituminous coal field of Pennsylvania, which ex- tends as far east as the upper waters of the Potomac and the Sus- quehanna, contains a total area of about twenty thousand square miles. Some of the beds in this field are among the best in the world, and, although the district of which these coals are buta. fragment extends to the west and south far beyond the limits of Pennsylvania, it is doubtful if any equal area of coal-bearing strata in this country, or in any other part of the world, contains so great a store of mineral fuel. In addition to its store of coal, the Pennsylvania district con- tains large deposits of petroleum and natural gas. The areas which have yielded petroleum in profitable quantities lie alto- gether in the extreme western portion of Pennsylvania, and are a part of the great field which is continued to the west and south in Ohio and West Virginia. Although the total amount of com- bustible matter of these rock oils is only a small fraction of that contained*in the coals, the commercial value of their product is very great. With the exception of the Caspian field of Asia, no other district in the world has as yet shown anything like the capacity to afford the supply of petroleum which has been exhib- ited by the Pennsylvania district. Besides the solid and the fluid fuels of this district, we find in western Pennsylvania and the neighboring portions of New York - extensive areas where the rocks yield to borings large quantities “of burnable gas. Within the last twenty years the rock gas of this district, and of the neighboring regions on the west and south, has found a large place in manufacturing industries and in do- mestic use. The evidence now in hand points to the conclusion that this source of fuel supply will not endure very long, but its effect on the economic history of this country has been very great, and it will probably not cease to be of commercial impor- tance for some decades to come. As a whole, this district of the eastern central States may fairly be regarded as containing the largest and most varied stores of fuel fitted for use in domestic and manufacturing purposes that is known to exist in any part of the world. The iron ores of this district are found over a considerable portion of the territory. In the valley of the Hudson, in the region immediately north of New York, there are extensive de- posits of magnetic iron oxides. These ores are found also in the OTHER MINERAI, RESOURCES. 67 Adirondack field, in northern New Jersey, and in eastern Penn- sylvania. Farther to the west, in central Pennsylvania, there are considerable beds of less rich ores, which lie mostly in Silurian strata, and occupy a belt which extends from northern New York through Pennsylvania and the States to the south as far as Ala- bama. Until within thirty years the ores of the district we are now considering were the richest and most available of all those which were mined in North America. Recent discoveries in the region about Lake Superior and in the southern portion of the Appalachian district have disclosed far richer and more workable deposits, so that at present the iron deposits of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York must be regarded as relatively infe- rior sources of supply. In that part of New York which lies to the west of the Mo- hawk Valley we find a portion of the great salt field of North America, which is one of the most extensive saliferous regions of the world. The beds of this nature he in the upper portion of the Silurian rocks, and consist of very thick strata of a crys- talline salt of tolerably pure nature. In the region about Syracuse the brines derived from these rock salts are brought to the surface and evaporated by heat. At other points they are mined in the solid form by means of ordinary shafts and gal- leries. There are a number of minor mineral products which are mined in this district, among which we may mention zinc, nickel, and iron pyrites, but none of them are produced in sufficient quantities to have a considerable influence upon the industries of the people. The building-stone and other earth materials which serve in architecture are, however, of notable value. Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey are rich in building stone and slates, and the whole of the area, except some small fields where the thick coating of drift hides the firm-set rocks, affords stone suitable for ordinary uses. The shore line of this district affords but one harbor of the first class—that of the port of New York. South of this point the coast is formed of rocks which readily break down under the action of the waves and tides, and hence the_harbors are natu- rally rather shallow and unsuited to the use of the larger modern ships, except they be kept open by artificial contrivances. The mouth of the Hudson is not only the most southern of the rock ports of the Atlantic coast, but it has the peculiar advantage that the tide ebbs and flows in a channel which extends for about a 68 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. hundred miles inland, and hence the scouring action of the cur- rents at its mouth is very powerful. The original population of this part of the country was in the colonial times much more diverse than that which was contrib- uted to any other equal area on this continent. The first settlers of New York were Hollanders; after them the Swedes made a considerable settlement in Delaware and New Jersey; and the Huguenots founded a colony on the Hudson. In the seventeenth century a large colony of Rhineland Germans was planted in central Pennsylvania. Eastern Pennsylvania was settled by one of the most peculiar body of English folk which ever came to this country, the immigrants who were led by William Penn. It is thus evident that, while New England was colonized by a homo- geneous people united by language, religion, and the qualities of blood, this Eastern central district was erat the beginning, 1 in re- gard to population, very diversely conditioned. Owing to the fact that New York has been the principal en- try-port of immigration, especially that from continental Europe, and Philadelphia also the landing-place of many hundred thou- sand foreigners, the original diversity in the quality of the people has in modern times been increased. The result is, that at the present time this district contains the most heterogeneous body of folk which can be found anywhere in this country, or perhaps in the wide world. The people who inhabit it speak more than a score of distinct languages and dialects, at least one of which, the Pennsylvania German, has been maintained in use for nearly two hundred years, and has departed so far from the parent stock as to be almost incomprehensible to educated Germans from the na- tive country. Although these foreign stocks have toa certain extent intermingled with the English folk, and all have been toa great extent affected by the social and political motives of the people who came from Great Britain, they still show a tendency to remain more or less isolated from each other. The Pennsyl- vania Germans are almost as distinct a people as they were when they came to this country. The Hollanders have only par- tially blended with their neighbors of English descent. The Irish and Germans of recent importation, especially where aggre- gated in cities, toa great extent keep apart from the other peo- ples. The result is, that in this section of the country the consid- erate observer may readily note a lack of coherence in the society, such as is shown in many other parts of the country where the folk are of one origin. The problem of the relation of these rey | it Lad Cis _ water a A group of mule deer, Ee yoICALSERATURES OF THE VIRGINIA DISTRICT. eh 4 people from foreign countries with the English-speaking folk, who constitute the body of our population, is made the more serious by the fact that in this part of the country ihe immi- grants appear to be of a lower grade than elsewhere. Very many of the incomers from abroad have been exported to the United States because they were unworthy members of the socie- ties whence they came. Such refuse people rarely go far beyond the entry-port at which they arrive. Experience shows that neither from them nor from their descendants can we hope to secure valuable elements for our States. While the race problem of this district is unquestionably of a serious nature, and seems likely much to affect the social and in- tellectual development of the field, we may look with confidence to the future of the district, which rests upon an assured founda- tion of admirable natural resources. VIRGINIA DISTRICT. The portion of the Atlantic seaboard and of the Appalachian highlands which is included in the States of Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, is sufficiently individualized to admit of a common description. In this district we have a group of commonwealths, all of which, except Maryland, have a wide range of topographic reliefs ; they all have ashare of the lowland country, which on the north extends as far as New York Harbor, but which broadens as we go south, until finally it forms a great southern plain bordering upon the Gulf of Mexico. The terri- tory of Maryland crosses the low Blue Ridge, which within its confines attains no great altitude and hardly has a mountainous aspect, and penetrates to the eastern border of the Alleghany Mountains. Virginia and the Carolinas include within their field the loftiest and most massive mountainous elevations which are found in eastern North America. Owing to this great di- versity in the elevation of the surface, which ranges from the lowlands of the Atlantic shore to the height of between six and seven thousand feet in the mountainous districts, this region ex- hibits a greater variety of climatal conditions than is found in any other part of eastern North America beyond the limits of the tropics. Next the Atlantic coast, the broad belt of lowlands, somewhat sheltered in the winter season from the cold conti- nental winds by the Appalachian« highlands, has a relatively warm climate. Although occasionally exposed to a low tem- perature, the periods of frost are very discontinuous; the 70 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST SAND S30 aan spring-time ordinarily manifests itself, even in the northern part of this lowland, as early as the middle of February, and killing frosts rarely occur before the first of December. In the southern portion of this district, from the region just south of New Berne, N. C., southward, the palmetto, a species of palm, occurs near the shore, giving the country a somewhat tropical aspect. The summers of this shore-land belt are exceedingly hot and generally moist, so that a wide range of plants may be reared. Rice is suc- cessfully grown as far north as the region near Norfolk, and all the other grains which are reared in this country succeed toler- ably well. Certain of the subtropical fruits, such as oranges and lemons, may be grown in the open air as far north as Charles- ton, and the fig thrives as far north as North Carolina. The whole of this belt to the south of the James has the protracted growing season which is suited to the cultivation of cotton; and along the coast of South Carolina, and the low islands which range its shore, this plant produces the longest and most valuable fiber which is found in this country. The lowlands of this district rise gently from the level of the sea at the rate of from five to ten feet to the mile as we go west- ward; next the shore the surface is so flat that much of the area, probably in all not far from ten thousand square miles of surface, is occupied by swamps, all of which are above the level of the sea, the water being retained upon them by the dense growth of reeds and other crowded vegetation; the dense mat of stems and leaves serves to retain the water on the surface and convert the area into very wet land, which may, however, readily be won to the uses of agriculture. In the northern part of this great plain land there are many re-entrants of the sea, termed bays, of which the many-armed Chesapeake Bay is the most conspicuous. Albemarle and Pam- lico Sounds are of the same nature, and several similar indenta- tions exist farther south. These indentations appear to be due to the fact that in recent times the shores stood at a higher level than at present, during which period the valleys in which the bays now lie were excavated. When the shore sank down, the sea flooded a great part of the river basin. With the exception of the main waters of Chesapeake Bay these great embayments rarely afford sufficient water for the larger modern craft, but they are admirably suited to the use of small coasting vessels; their waters abound in fish and oysters, and thus serve to maintain a large maritime population. ) THES beEUE RIDGESMOUN PAINS. 71 Gradually rising from the seashore, the southern plain at length merges on its western border in the hill country lying on the east- ern side of the great Blue Ridge Mountain range. This elevated region between the high mountains on the west and the coastal plain is commonly known as the “ Piedmont District.” It is a characteristic feature in the topography of the States we are now considering, and it affords in many ways the fairest lands con- tained within that area. The general surface of the Piedmont District lies at an altitude of from five hundred to one thousand feet above the level of the sea. It is fairly well protected from the bitter winter winds which arise in the interior of the conti- nent, and the cold is, moreover, tempered by the neighborhood of the warm Atlantic. Save for the narrow strip along the Pacific coast, no portion of North America to the north of the tropics pos- sesses a climate which so well escapes the extreme heat of summer and the excessive colds of winter. Notwithstanding their southern position, the mountainous fields of the Blue Ridge, owing to their great elevation, are sub- jected to a cold climate. The winter endures for about the same length of time that it does in New England, but, owing to the southern position, the higher range of the sun causes the winter frosts to be much less severe. Although in the summer the sun becomes nearly vertical and the days are hot, the height of the region causes the nights to be cool, and so the fervent heat of the lowlands on the west and south of this area is entirely escaped. On account of the beauty of its scenery, which has all the grace that mountain, forest, and stream can give to a landscape, this upland country of the Blue Ridge is fairly to be reckoned as the most charming part of the United States. Except it may be in the mountains of the larger islands of the Caribbean or the up- land region of southern Mexico, no part of the continent can vie with it in beauty. West of the Blue Ridge lies the great valley which separates that old mountain axis from the newer elevations of the Alle- ghany range. In Maryland this mountain trough is indistinct, because of the low nature of its eastern boundary, but in Vir- ginia, in the noble valley of the Shenandoah, it is a majestic feature in the architecture of the country. On either side it is bounded by high walls, and it is itself divided by ridges, one of which at least—the Massanutten range—is of truly mountainous aspect. The greater portion of the surface, however, has the form of broad, rolling plains and low hills, which are often tillable 72 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. to their tops. The floor of this valley has an elevation of from five hundred to two thousand feet above the sea. On the south it passes rather indistinctly over broad divides into its southern continuation in the valley of the New River and of the waters of the upper Tennessee. From the point of view of human interests, this broad vale between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies is perhaps the noblest tract in the Appalachian Mountain district. It has a magnificent climate; the winters are cold enough to have a tonic effect upon the population, and the summers are long and only of moderate heat. There is perhaps no other area in the United States where as wide a range of field and garden crops will flourish with the same luxuriance as here. West of the great valley in Virginia and Maryland lie the relatively new mountains of the Alleghany range. This part of the country is cast into long, rezular mountainous folds, the main axes of which extend in a prevailing north and south direction. The summits of these continuous crests attain in general to a height of from two to four thousand feet above the sea. They are thus within the field of a rather cold climate. This mountain district of the Alleghanies is a country of rude surface, the valleys are rather narrow, and the land, on the whole, notwithstanding the existence of many rich valleys, is relatively infertile. It gives less promise for the future use of man, at least as far as the soil is concerned, than any other part of the Virginia district. | Unlhke the New England and the New York group of States, the area we are now considering lies almost altogether to the south of the district occupied by the ice-sheet which in the geo- logical yesterday was imposed upon the-northern part of the con- tinent. The result is, that the soils of this area are much more varied than those in the region to the northward. There they depend for their substratum on the materials derived from a variety of rocks which have been commingled by glacial action, Thus, in this district as elsewhere.south of the glacial belt, the local variations in the quality of the soil are very great, as is also the range in their fertility. The plain region next the coast has its surface in general covered with sands which were brought into their position when the area in recent geological time lay below the level of the sea. These shore-lands have rather light soils, which are not en- during to the tax of agriculture, and which to a great extent have had their natural resources much wasted by a careless system of tillage. Where the land was originally occupied by swamps, ite Udit eA DUAN ICRCOAS POPLAINS., 73 which have been cleared away by the simple drainage system which they require to make them fit for the plow, the soil is found to be of great and enduring fertility. In fact, the best land by far of all this plain district has not been brought to the uses of man. Cincinnati Louis iille ew Alban yo per Bee Aiitmngton = A ¢-vUharleston= West of Greenwich Scale 1 : 11,000,000. es 186 miles. Axes of the Appalachian System south of the Susquehanna. It is still covered with cane and the other plants which form the water-containing mat of the swamp. These morasses constitute the most important land reserve of this area, and from them in time will be won more fertile fields than any which existed in the primeval state of the soil. It isa fortunate feature with these lowland sous that the under- lying rocks at many points contain marls which are well fitted to enrich the exhausted fields. Besides the fresh-water swamps, the marine marshes of this shore-land district, which are extensive, are to a great extent fit 74 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE (EAST -ANDSSGp wa for the uses of agriculture. In the present economic condition of the country they can not be so used; but when the region becomes the seat of a dense population, when, in a word, the state of the country is such as has existed for a century in Holland, these niarshes will be drained and will afford admirable soil. The geological resources of this district are great and varied. Rivereoee = Da va \ oo & aa ws sues (CG re , RW 7. sort Cross Road | ae 2 SiN et SS — Gs i CO Ae a 3) 7 ¢ TED Ae rm ee ° uf yy NS = = we Uy VAS ST ] os ; S WE ENB Dy verall3) \ hh oy } igo ay Se! 6 miles. Scale x : 325,000 A part of the Shenandoah Valley. The stores of mineral fuel are limited to bituminous coal. There are a few thin beds of a somewhat anthracitic nature in the moun- ‘saouy ssorddo pur ssaidho durems Surmoys ‘vurjoreg yon ‘dweag jewsiqd COAL AND IRON IN| VIRGINIA, 75 tains on the western side of the Shenandoah Valley, but they have at present no economic value. The most important bodies of bituminous coal within the limits of the five States we are now considering are confined to the southeastern part of Virginia, where, over a considerable area, they are of an admirable quality, and, like the best of those in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky, remarkably well suited for the production of coke which is to be used in iron smelting. These Virginia coals are of peculiar value for the reason that they are, of all the good coking coals, the nearest to the seaports of the south Atlantic. . The best of the beds are ten feet or more thick, and afford conditions under — which mining can be done with a less expenditure of labor than in any other coal field which is now operated in the world. Besides these high-grade bituminous coals, which are situated on the west- ern flank of the Alleghany Mountains, and are thus remote from the sea, there are several small coal basins formed in a stage of the earth’s history immediately after the Carboniferous period which lie close to tide water. In parts these basins are situated near the Dan River in North Carolina, but the only one of value lies to the south and west of Richmond, Virginia. In this James River coal field the deposits are of a fair burnable quality ; they have long been used as a source of supply for the immediate neighborhood, but they are, unfortunately, not well suited for mining. The beds are very much broken up by mountain-building disturbances—the faults and foldings to which compressed rocks are subjected; here and there they are altered by the injection of volcanic ma- terials, and the coal itself is remarkably full of gas, which readily inflames, in consequence of which the mines are liable to terrible explosions. With a proper system of mining, such as has never been undertaken in this district, it seems likely that the coal meas- ures of the Richmond field may be made to yield a large quantity of valuable fuel. The iron ores of the Virginia district consist principally of bedded deposits lying mainly in strata of Cambrian age. This series of iron ores occupies a belt along the eastern side of the Shenandoah Valley:and its continuation to the southward. The deposits appear in the foot-hills of the Blue Ridge. The accumu- lations of ore are of variable thickness, but usually of great depth. In the northern part of the field they are generally rather siliceous, but southward they become better suited for the manufacture of iron. At many points they contain too much manganese for the manufacture of foundry iron, but owing to the prevailing low per- 76 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH: centage of phosphorus they make a metal of excellent strength, well suited to all forging work. On the western side of the She- nandoah Valley, in beds of Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian age, lie otner bedded ores of less thickness than those which have just been described, but which afford iron of excellent quality. These two contrasted sets of iron-ore deposits follow the broad valley of the central Appalachian district from the Potomac southward to Tennessee, and, as we shall note hereafter, the same arrangement of strata-bearing ores extends as far southward as Alabama. In western North Carolina, especially at the mines at Cranberry, there are considerable accumulations of magnetic iron oxide, a high-grade ore which is not known to exist elsewhere in workable quantities in the Southern States. These deposits of magnetite, though of some extent, are as yet of uncertain value, for the reason that at some points the iron oxide is mingled with such quantities of other minerals that it is difficult to prepare an ore of fit quality for use. At other places the higher ores contain such an amount of the metal known as titanium that it can not be profitably smelted. The other metals of this district which have at present a com-. mercial importance are: manganese, which has been extensively mined on the western flank of the Blue Ridge between the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the Potomac; zinc, the ores of which exist in considerable quantity in southwestern Virginia; tin, which occurs in as yet unknown quantities in the head-waters of Irish Creek, a tributary of the James, which descends from > the western flank of the mountains a little south of Rockfish Gap; and iron pyrites, which are produced in considerable quanti- ties from mines on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge in Vir- ginia. Although these metalliferous ores are of only secondary importance with reference to the future economies of the dis- trict, they are likely to play a somewhat important part in its in- dustrial development. At various points in the Blue Ridge de- posits of copper occur. For a time in northern central North Carolina this metal was produced at a profit, but the recent de- cline in the price has apparently made it unremunerative to work the deposits. From about the beginning of the present century to the year 1860 the Piedmont districts of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Geor- gia were the seat of considerable gold mining, the precious metal being won both from placer deposits and from underground working. Many of these mines proved very profitable, and the GOLD IN THE PIEDMONT DISTRICTS. vig total value of the gold marketed during this period probably amounted. to $20,000,000. Since the abolition of slavery many of the old workings have been reopened, and at other points new mines have been dug, but with rare exceptions all these under- takings have proved unprofitable, and the few which have es- caped financial ruin have attained no conspicuous success. The failure of all these efforts to win gold frorh this district since the civil war is probably due to the change in the condition of the laboring people of the country. Of old, the cotton-planters, in the season when the men were not occupied in tilling their single crop, could detach their slaves for service in the mines. Over a large part of the field it was possible for men, as it is indeed at the present day, to win a dollar’s worth of gold for each day of labor. As the cost of clothing and subsisting the negroes was less than half this amount, the mines could be worked with profit, while at the present time, with labor which costs at least a dollar and a half per diem, the works can not be made to pay expenses. As the rainfall of this region on the average exceeds sixty inches per annum, it naturally abounds in large rivers. No other equal area on this continent contains as numerous streams of con- siderable flow. These rivers are, however, subjected to relatively great variation in the amount of water they convey at different seasons. As long as the forest coating remains in its original state, the downward course of the waters is somewhat hindered by the deep mat of decaying vegetation; but as the woods are cleared away and the land brought into the tilled state, floods be- come continually more destructive. As regards the healthfulness of the Virginia district, it may be’ said that as a whole it is remarkably exempt from serious maladies. The belt of land next the shore in which morasses abound is subjected to malarial fevers which are usually not of a malignant character. Experience has shown that this coast sec- tion is liable to the invasion of yellow fever; some very destruc- tive epidemics of this plague have ravaged the larger towns of the coast line. The population of the Virginia district, as regards the sources of its origin, presents a singular variety of peoples. The first settlers of the Commonwealth of Virginia and of Maryland were of pure British stock derived from England, Scotland, and north Ireland. The Irish element of the colonies was almost entirely descended from British settlers in that island. These early set- tlers ot Maryland and Virginia were mainly from the rural dis- 78 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. tricts of the mother country, and were among the most vigorous and enterprising of those who came to America in the first half of the seventeenth century. The first settlers of North Carolina, who occupied the coast district along the shores of Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, were in part derived from the Rhineland district of Europe. They were brought to this country by a land company which owned “the seacoast portion of North Carolina. A portion of the settlers of this Albemarle district were Germans and Swiss, who:had been driven from their homes by the French on account of their Protestant faith. They were brought to this country by contractors, who undertook to colonize the district in the interests of the corporation which owned the territory. Although in many regards an estimable people, they lacked the energy which is necessary in undertaking the arduous tasks of colonists. Experience shows that, to be successful in a new coun- try, immigrants must come to it altogether inspired by a desire to better their conditions. If their emigration is forced, or even greatly favored by the action of others, they rarely succeed in founding a colony of a vigorous and enterprising character. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the immigrants of eastern North Carolina were among the most unsuccessful colonists within the limits of the Virginia district. Their descendants have remained upon the land, but neither in the colonial nor the later days of the country have they shown any considerable vigor of mind or body. The difference between these people and those who settled in the tide-water district of Virginia has always been very great. It may be measured by the fact that, while the folk from the district about Chesapeake Bay have pro- duced at least fifty men of national fame, no man of general note has been developed from the people who first settled in the low- land area of North Carolina. In South Carolina, the first settlers who occupied the shore of that State and the neighboring district of Georgia were derived in part from Britain and in part from the expatriated Protestants of France, commonly known as Huguenots. Both these divi- sions of the settlers on this portion of the shore were of admirable character. The French blood in particular has exhibited in this district, as elsewhere, a singularly good admixture of qualities; energy, thrift, and a spirit of culture appear to be almost inevita- bly associated with Huguenot blood. The descendants of these remarkable people, in the South Carolina district at least, have preserved by intermarriage the purity of the original stock in I l Mh i i i ae : NCE lt Pie iii House of negro family in Florida. SETTLERS OF VIRGINIA AND THE CAROLINAS. 79 a such a measure that their French quality is still distinctly trace- able. From their admixture with those of English descent has Wew /7/e£ Q CERES BIER ——— ee Llete a 4 == : PRU CAST WEL ES == ——— Sees : _ o to 2% fathoms. 2% to ro fathoms. ro to 1,000 fathoms, 1,000 fathoms and upward. o Lighthouse. Scale 1 : 1,800,000. ——$S$ 36 miles, North Carolina sandbanks. arisen a body of people in the region about Charleston which is somewhat sharply differentiated from the other folk of the Atlan- tic coast line. After the settlement of the Virginia district, during the first 80 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. — half of the eighteenth century, there came into the country a great tide of immigration from Scotland and north Ireland. The exodus of this people from their native country was brought about by the rebellions in favor of the Stuart pretenders to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. To a great extent these Scotch immigrants occupied the Piedmont district of Virginia and the Carolinas. This second group of colonists have proved a valuable addition to the population of this district. From their descendants came in large measure the warlike folk which founded the first settlements in Kentucky and Tennessee. An- other element of the white population of the Virginia district has been derived from the Pennsylvania Germans, who settled just west of the colony of William Penn in the beginning of the eight- eenth century. These American-born Rhinelanders have ex- tended south of the Potomac, and have occupied a considerable portion of the Shenandoah Valley. This Teutonic population was somewhat re-enforced during the Revolutionary War by Hessians who surrendered at Saratoga. The proportion of negro population of the Virginia district increases in a tolerably steadfast ratio as we proceed southwardly from the Maryland line to the southern portion of South Caro- lina and the neighboring parts of Georgia. It is, however, limited in good part to the low-lying shore-lands and to the Piedmont portion of the country. It is almost absent in the highland parts of the interior. In the Blue Ridge and Appalachian country at higher levels than a thousand feet above the sea, the African ele- ment is comparatively insignificant in amount. The fact seems to be that the negro, although flourishing exceedingly in the low- lands next the coast, does not find the higher country suitable to his development. Although there was some negro element in the population of the colonies both to the north and south of the Virginia district, the lowland and Piedmont section of this part of the continent may fairly be regarded as the original seat of the American _African. From this part of the Atlantic coast line came the greater portion of the blacks who were settled in the latter part of the last century and the first half of this in the slaveholding States of the Mississippi Valley and the region about the Gulf of Mexico. Almost all the importations of African slaves came to the shore between the mouth of the Savannah River and the northern parts of Chesapeake Bay. The importation of Africans into Maryland and Virginia practically ceased more than a cen- THE NEGROES OF VIRGINIA. SI Ea ARS a a aac tury ago, and for about the last hundred years during which slaveholding endured, the region north of North Carolina was largely engaged in selling the surplus negro population to the inland Southern States. This traffic resulted in a remarkable im- provement in the quality of the Africans in this section. As the masters in succession parted with their slaves to the negro-traders they naturally chose for sale the least attractive of their servants, by preference disposing of the least favored members of the race. Through this process of selection, by which the more intelligent and amiable blacks were retained on the ground, the African blood of this district has been brought to a higher level than in any other part of the country. As a whole, the Virginia district, except for the large African element of its population, may be regarded as peculiarly fortu- nate as regards the quality of its people. The whites are of a purer English stock than those of any other part of the country, save, it may be, in the case of their descendants in Kentucky, Ten- nessee, and the adjacent States on the south. The trials of the civil war showed clearly that the English folk in this district have lost nothing of their vigor in the century or more of their residence in this part of the continent. It might, indeed, with reason be claimed that the race has gained in all its valuable quali- ties since it came to dwell within this field. The coast-land region of the Virginia district, with its gradual _ rise in the surface of the country from the seashore to the moun- tainous elevations of the Appalachians, continues through Georgia as far south as the northern portion of Florida. We there enter upon a district embraced within a great peninsula which is in many regards sharply contrasted with the other parts of the area occupied by the Atlantic States. On account of its peculiarities we shall consider this district under a separate heading. FLORIDA DISTRICT. The peninsula of Florida constitutes one of the most individ- ualized portions of the North American continent. In a general way it may be described as the summit of a vast ridge which rises from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico until it attains a level not exceeding about three hundred feet above the sea, thence declin- ing rather more steeply than on the Gulf side to the bottom of the channel which separates Florida from the Bahamas. The portion of this great arch which lies above the sea-level is rela- tively small; by far the greater portion of its area is covered by 6 82 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. the waters of the sea. Less than a tenth of its total elevation 3 1S above the plain of the ocean. Glancing at a map of North America, the reader will at once observe that the peninsula of Florida trends in a direction which is sharply contrasted with that followed by the other great penin- sulas of the eastern side of the continent, and that the ridge of which the land itself is the summit has its axis turned at nearly right angles to the direction of the Appalachian Mountains. The total length of Florida is about five hundred miles, and its average width but little exceeds one hundred miles. Nearly one half the peninsula lies at a height of less than fifty feet above the surface of the sea. A depression of one hundred feet would limit the area of dry land to-a relatively small field in the central and northern portions of the peninsula. Owing to its extreme southern position, and to ‘the fact that it is bathed on the east, south, and west by warm waters, and owing also to the slight elevation of its surface, Florida has an almost tropical climate. In all the more important climatal features there is less difference exhibited in this area than in any other field of equal dimensions and north and south extension on the continent. On the northern end of the peninsula the winter sea- son frequently brings frosts of considerable severity. Rarely, however, does the temperature fall more than a few degrees below the freezing point. Farther to the south, in the central portion of the narrow land, where the climate is more affected by the neighboring seas, the freezing temperature is only attained in occasional winters of unusual severity. The extreme southern part of the peninsula and the low coral reef islands which fringe its southern and southeastern border are almost exempt from frost. A man may in a lifetime never see ice or snow on this portion of the coast-line. The summer season of this district endures for about three fourths of the year. Owing, however, to the influ- ence of the neighboring seas the heat, though continuous, is never as great as it is on occasional days in districts several hundred © miles farther north. The range of temperature within the limits of the peninsula is not much more than half that which occurs along the banks of the St. Lawrence in ordinary years. The southern portion of Florida, from Lake Kissimmee south- ward, is an extremely low-lying land, the highest points rising not more than about twenty feet above the sea. Nearly the whole of this section of the State consists of swamps, with here and there hummocks or ridges which rise a few feet above the level of the SURHAGE AND SGIL OR (FLORIDA, 83 annual inundations. In the rainy season of the later summer and autumn this portion of the peninsula is a vast swampy lake, which may be traversed in almost any direction by means of canoes or other light boats. = ee Gh » he i Fernan ——— 30° = = oy Par 2 AG = ————— HO a George ae N \- == == aves eta Ke Weal NG ee ee Sy ae oo. West of Greenwich Depths. o to 1o fathoms. to to roo fathoms, too fathoms and upward. Scale 1 : 7,000,000. —__—$—— 125 miles. Peninsula of Florida. The soil of southern Florida is peculiar, in that it is of a very limy nature, which is due to. the fact that the materials com- posing the superficial rocks of the district were formed by coral animals, which built the reefs, and by various other limestone- secreting creatures which dwelt in the sea along with the reef- 84 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. builders. The peculiar origin of the rocks which have formed the soils of southern Florida causes them to be more limy than those of any other part of the shore-land district of North America. They also abound in phosphates, potash, and soda, and thus they - are exceedingly well fitted for the growth of certain crops. North of Lake Kissimmee the great part of the surface is occu- pied by fine siliceous sands, which were drifted into this district when in recent times it lay below the level of the sea. Near the shores these sandy districts are in the form of broad, rolling plains, which, as regards their surface contours, are essentially like the coast plain which stretches to the northward as far as New Jersey. As we advance from the shore of the peninsula toward the interior the surface becomes more and more rolling, and in the central portion of the area the sand ridges take on the form of sharp elevations, between which are inclosed a great number of lakes, varying from little dots of water to basins of fifty or more square miles in extent. Owing to the moist climate and low relief of this surface contained within the Florida Penin- sula every depression is occupied by a lake ora swamp. Except in the northernmost part of the country, there is no continuous area of land which is not in part covered by water during the rainy season. Although the dry land of Florida is, on the whole, of rather an infertile nature, the peninsula in general may be regarded as a region of great agricultural possibilities. Even the most sterile part of the sandy district, which in its natural state will barely support a scanty vegetation, and often presents a surface of nearly barren sand, will with a slight amount of artificial manuring yield abundant returns of fruits and vegetables. The fact is, the hu- midity of the climate and the prevalence of sunshine, along with the high temperature, have a remarkably stimulating effect on the growth of vegetation. The plants develop with such energy under these conditions of heat, sunlight, and humidity that they profit by all the sustenance which the soil affords. The swamp lands of Florida, which occupy an area of about. twenty-eight thousand square miles within the limits of the State, have not yet begun to be used for tillage. This vast area of more than seventeen million acres will when drained be fit for agricul- ture; probably nine tenths of the surface will in time, by simple engineering devices, be converted into fertile fields. When thus subjugated these inundated lands will be found extremely rich and enduring to the tax to which crops subject the earth. Pg) Ce is ’ : Line d P Lf ies c ie or wai’ ‘spuvjsy eueyeg ‘soduods Suryorg FRUIT-GROWING IN FLORIDA. 85 The forests of Florida are of an extremely varied nature. On the southern shore, including the belt of the mainland from near Jupiter Inlet to the southern extremity of the peninsula, as well as the Keys or elevated coral reefs which fringe this part of the coast, the vegetation is of an essentially tropical character. More than twenty species of tropical trees flourish along this part of the coast, and much of the lesser vegetation has an equatorial as- pect. Certain of these plants—as, for instance, the mangrove— extend up the eastern coast nearly as far north as St. Augustine. The whole of the upland soils of the State, as well as the drier parts of the swamps which here and there have been used for agriculture, are admirably suited to the growth of a great va- riety of tropical and subtropical fruits. In the district of the Keys, and along the eastern coast of the peninsula as far north as Jupiter Inlet, the pineapple flourishes, attaining a vigorous growth and producing excellent fruit. So sturdy is the plant, that when the burrs from which it is propagated are inserted in a crevice of the coral rocks the plants will attain their full development. The cocoanut palm develops as far north as Lake Worth, though its growth in that district is somewhat stunted. Along the shore as far as Cape Florida it attains tropical dimensions. From Cape Florida northward to the region about Jacksonville and west to the district about Tampa the orange and the lemon find a suita- ble freld for their development. Central Florida as far south as Lake Kissimmee produces admirable fruit of these species, and the country along Indian River from Jupiter Inlet to near St. Augus- tine is perhaps the best orange district in the world both for the amount of fruit which can be obtained and the quality of the pro- duct. Occasional frosts damage the crop in the northern portion of this district, but over the larger part of the area the groves are practically exempt from such visitations. Although the citrus fruits flourish throughout a large part of California, and can be successfully grown in southern Arizona and New Mexico, there is no other extensive field in the United States where they can be so economically cultivated as in the peninsula of Florida. In the western portion of the United States it is usually necessary to irrigate the ground for the culture of these species, while in Florida the rainfall supplies abundant moisture for the plants. On the western side of the peninsula, occupying an area of as yet unknown extent, lie vast fields underlaid by rock composed in the main of lime phosphate. It seems likely that this impor- tant territory contains an area of several hundred square miles, 86 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH; and that the store of this valuable fertilizer is sufficient to supply the demand of this country for centuries to come. As these de- posits have been known for but a brief time, it is not yet possible to determine their precise value and their probable relation to the export trade with Europe. It seems, however, likely that they will afford a basis for a very extended export trade, as well as fora great domestic commerce. There can be no doubt that, for the economic future of the peninsula, these resources are of more value than any stores of a metalliferous sort which could ever have been accumulated in rocks such as underlie this part of the country. The water supply of Florida is affected by certain curious conditions. Where the surface is underlaid by limestone rocks, streams course in underground channels and break forth in large springs, which often form at once rivers of considerable flow. In other cases, at least in the northern part of the peninsula, the land water passes in these cavernous channels to points beneath the sea, and there wells upward to the surface in great springs, which flow with such vigor that a boat is swept away from the center of the disk formed by the ascending fresh water on the surface of the sea. Such a submarine spring is known off the shore near St. Augustine, and several others occur on the west- ern coast of the peninsula. Where the rain water falls upon the porous sands it penetrates through the interstices of the mass to a great depth. In this regard its action is much the same as that which we have noticed as occurring in the stratified sands of glacial origin, such as those which are exhibited in southeastern New England and elsewhere in the region occupied by the ice during the last Glacial epoch. The result of this combined po- rosity of the sand and the cavernous nature of the limestone rock is that Florida has but few true rivers. The great channel of the St. John’s in the northern part of the State is to a considerable extent an arm of the sea. The free-flowing rivers bear little rela- tion to the amount of rain which falls within the region. The lagoons and streams of Florida, especially where the wa- ter is brackish, abound in fish, and the shoals about the shores also afford a great variety of edible forms. Probably no portion of the American coast so far abounds in species of this group which are useful to man. Up to the present time the fishing- grounds of Florida have been little used as sources of food for regions beyond the peninsula. The climate is unfavorable for preserving the harvest of these animals. It is probable, how- ELEMENTSTOR THE POPULATION: 87 ever, that in the future the various artificial processes of freez- ing which now can be applied on shipboard will make the admi- rable fisheries of this district more valuable than they are at pres- ent. The shores of Florida south of St. Augustine are much resorted to by the green turtle, and at many points they are caught in great quantities. Owing, however, to the reckless de- struction of their eggs by the whites and Indians, as well as by the bears and other wild animals, there is danger that this valu- able creature may be expelled from this region. Owing to its moist climate and high temperature, the whole of the Florida Peninsula is, during the protracted summer season, subjected to malarial fevers, which are most serious in the interior district, the immediate seaboard, especially the strips of land be- tween the salt-water lagoons and the open ocean, being almost exempt from such maladies, as are also the relatively high-lying sandy pine woods of the interior, except where they are situated near areas of swamp. These diseases are not usually of a very pernicious sort, except where they attack persons newly settled in the country, and who have not become acclimated. Besides the native fevers, this region is liable to invasion of the deadly yellow fever of the tropics. This malady has never become per- manently fixed in Florida or any other portion of the United States. It is always imported from the West Indies or other more southern lands. The population of Florida has been in part derived from the people who are settled on the coast plain which borders the Atlantic to the northward of the peninsula. In larger part, how- ever, it is composed of folk who have come to the State from the northern portion of this country. The whites from the nonslave- holding part of the United States constitute a larger proportion of the population in this district than is found in any other equally extreme region of the South. The African element of the penin- sula is relatively small, the proportion of those of this blood be- ing in this district less than is found in any other lowland part of the old slave States. Besides the whites of English descent, Florida contains a notable body of people of Spanish origin. A small part of these Spaniards are the descendants of the colonists who occupied this country during the two centuries in which it was held by Spain. In larger part they have come from Cuba, having been drawn to the peninsula as artisans employed in the manufacture of cigars. The peninsular district of Florida contains a considerable num- 83 NATURAL CONDITIONS :-OF) THE EAST AND S002 ber of persons who are neither of English nor Spanish origin. In the country about St. Augustine there are numerous descendants of a colony which came from the island of Minorca, and in the southern portion of the peninsula there is a large and interesting remnant of the Seminole Indians. After the second Seminole war an effort was made to deport all these savages to Indian Territory. Many of them, however, escaped from their pursu- ers, taking refuge on the almost inaccessible islands in the interior of the Everglades. There they have remained, free from the in- fluence of Indian agents. They have increased until the tribe probably numbers between three and five hundred souls. These Indians, made wary by their rude experiences with the whites, a me RR a a ise Miami He Sts ca KG scaynetS re Cape florida > Sal as er he = =e = ——A gaan Ke 2 = -/HET S/R ITA see eee . [a = < SSS = = 10,0 = Hagjeoae KS a — SS Se : Sa, ‘ ee Vi West of Greenwich Depths. o to 24% fathoms. 2% to1ofathoms. 10 to roo fathoms. 100 fathoms and upward. o Lighthouse. Scale x : 3,500,000 60 miles. The Florida Reefs. with their dwelling-places well secured from invasions, have re- tained their primitive habits in a measure uncommon among our American aborigines. They have rarely been seen by trav- elers except when they come forth to exchange their peltries and the starch which they manufacture from the “‘cumpte root” with the traders along the shore. For many years they have been an inoffensive people, abiding in permanent dwelling- MEXSICANT GULF (DISTRICT, 89 places, and relying mainly upon agriculture for their subsist- erice: | Before closing this sketch of the population of the peninsula of Florida we may note the fact that on.the islands of the Flor- ida Keys there is a population which has been derived from Eng- land by way of the Bahamas, and which has certain interesting peculiarities. This body of folk, numbering in all perhaps two thousand souls, is the only part of our native people who com- monly exhibit the peculiarity of what is known in England as the cockney dialect, which is characterized by the loss of the sound of the letter ““h”’ where that consonant begins a word, and by its addition to many other words which properly begin with a vowel. It seems likely that the peninsula of Florida, which is at the present time an essentially unoccupied country, is destined in the main to be settled by a people who will resort to it from the more northern parts of the country, and who will.be led to the southern land in order to escape the rigors of the severe winters which prevail in the high latitudes of the continent. MEXICAN GULF DISTRICT. The region included in western Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas east of Austin, constitutes a field which is tolerably well distinguished from the other portions of North America. The whole of this district is bordered on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, and all the rivers of the field drain to that great inclosed sea. A large part of the area consists of lowlands, which were formed below the waters of the Gulf when they ex- tended much farther to the. north, and have in modern geologic ages been upborne above the level of the sea. This plain, like that which borders the Atlantic, is a part of the continental shelf formed next the shore-line by the detritus which is worn from the land and deposited on the sea-floor. From the low shore of the Gulf of Mexico this plain-land gradually rises in successive benches toward the interior of the continent. On the east it attains the southern foot of the Appalachian ranges, low eleva- tions which divide the streams which flow into the Gulf from the tributaries of the Ohio. In the central portion of the area the lowland is continued indefinitely to the delta lands of the Missis- sippi and along its tributaries into the heart of the continent. On the west the lowlands gradually rise to the mountains of the Indian Territory and to the outliers of the Cordilleras in western Texas. The northern parts of Alabama and Mississippi drain gO NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOU iaE: toward the Ohio, and the corresponding portions of the Texas district toward the Red River. Although the characteristic fea- ture of these States, that which leads us to group them together in one district, is the plain-land of the Mexican Gulf, two of them —Alabama and Texas—have portions of their surface which, though they send their waters southwardly, attain to considerable elevations. In Texas the coast-plain passes, by successive upward steps, northwardly and northwestwardly into the great, gently inclined table-land which borders the Cordilleran system on the east. ' The southward slope of this group of States presents fea- tures of climate which are on the whole tolerably well distin- guished from those exhibited by any other portion of North America. These peculiarities are due to the relation of the land to the southern sea and to the northern interior of the continent. The waters of the Gulf of Mexico are, by the incursion of the Gulf Stream, maintained at nearly the same warmth as are the tracts of ocean which lie immediately beneath the equator. Therefore, the winds which blow upon the coast-land from the south have an almost tropical temperature at all seasons of the. year. On the other hand, as this portion of the country lies wide open to the north, unprotected either by high mountains or by expanses of water, the winds which blow from the north are, at least during the winter season, exceedingly cold. It is doubtful if there is another portion of this country subjected to such extreme alternations of temperature as is this coast-belt during the winter season of the year. The summer climate of this district is characterized by trop- ical warmth, which continues, with slight interruptions brought about by cooling winds from the fen north, during the months between April and November. The heat, however, is less oppress- ive than in more northern districts, for the reason that the day- light is shorter and the earth has more time to cool during the night than in higher latitudes. This difference is well indicated by the fact that while sunstroke is of frequent occurrence in the northern part of the United States, it is a rare malady in the dis- trict about the Gulf of Mexico. The winter season is the variable portion of the year as regards temperature; gales from the north frequently bring freezing cold, and it occasionally happens that the thermometer falls on the shores of the Gulf to about 20° Fahr. These periods of frost are always of brief duration, enduring only while the north wind blows. The prevailing winter wind is from Ly j ¢ -*- ' ' ' i J; e, ta : \ ( > . ! : " nm i iy , 4 i os 1 a { 1 . ’ , « > \ ' - ) : Pp Ri i i re a2). —~ : ~ i + ‘ é F r a " + 5 er Tu . e 1 *, 1h a! ‘ 1 Li at A screw palm. SOIL OF THE GULF LANDS. gI the Gulf of Mexico or the southern Atlantic, so that a freezing _ temperature is rarely maintained for more than twenty-four hours. The rainfall over the whole of this district to the east of cen- tral Texas is relatively large. In southern Louisiana it amounts on the average to about ninety inches a year. From this point of maximum rainfall the precipitation gradually decreases in an eastwardly and northwardly direction, but over a part of the dis- trict east of Texas it averages about seventy inches per annum. West of Louisiana the decrease in rainfall goes on very rapidly, and attains such proportions that in the valleys of the Middle Red, Colorado, and Brazos Rivers the moisture is no longer sufficient to support the characteristic forests which cover the eastern por- tion of North America. From this land westerly the diminution in precipitation continues, until in western Texas the rain-giving influence of the Gulf of Mexico almost disappears, and the coun- try becomes too arid for general agriculture. The soil of the lowland district which borders the Gulf of Mexico is generally much more fertile than that which lies along the Atlantic coast. The reason for this considerable difference in the agricultural value of the land is found when we consider the diverse conditions under which these plains were formed. On the Atlantic coast the level country is mostly made up of adébris which has been worn from the crystalline rocks that bor- der the shore to the northward, or that occupy the country from which the rivers of the southern Appalachians drain. On the other hand, the déérzs forming the greater part of the lowland along the Gulf of Mexico has been in large measure derived from the interior portions of the continent, having been brought out to the shore by the streams which drain from that part of.the land This silt from the interior of the continent is toa great extent composed of waste derived from rocks of a limy or clayey nature; a relatively small part of it only is of a siliceous character. A- considerable part of the lowland district we are now con- sidering, an area of perhaps fifty thousand square miles, is under- laid by a soil the mineral elements of which have been brought into position by river currents. These soils are contained in the existing deltas of the great streams, and in the similar deposits which are no longer overflowed by the annual inundation and do not now have a distinct deltalike character. In the higher parts of this district, where the soils are derived from the older rocks by the process of decay, the fields are also more fertile than those of similar origin along the Atlantic coast, for the reason that the Q2 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOU strata are of a nature better calculated to yield an earth suited to the uses of plants. On these accounts the soil of this lowland district is on the average very much more fertile than that upon pe 8 ae Cc Selcourt Lake accor yy nah E i oc VI - Uf SiN °3. Bearlake, %, ( / bye i ¥ : 25 -_ : ALO ff i ° e oW : < y g \ ms f y | Ptr Cio es tee , 1}: CY (8 | ‘ ‘ { 3) =~ HT 4 \ \ Gt f\ i if \ . Ji}\Rosedale > . : an f © West of Greenwich Dyke. The old site of Napoleon is now under water. Scale 1 : 47£,000. —————_—————— 6 miles. Mississippi-Arkansas confluence. land of similar elevation along the Atlantic coast. The delta dis- tricts of the Mississippi and its tributaries, and the similar allu- vial lands which occupy broad fields near the lower portion of the other streams flowing into the Gulf, have proved the most enduringly fertile area of this country, and this for the reason RAINFALL AND DRAINAGE. 93 that the occasional overflows of the streams carry over the plain a tide of turbid water which deposits a coating of mud rich in the elements required by the crops. The field of good soils con- tinues into the western part of Texas, even beyond the territory where there is sufficient rainfall to insure the growth of any of the domesticated plants. The principal hindrance to the fit use of the soils of this dis- trict is found in the imperfect drainage of the alluvial land. The delta districts are all liable to overflow in the spring months, after the crops have been planted, and these inundations frequently ruin the chances of the planter during the season in which they occur. Along the Mississippi River this evil has been in part overcome by the institution of an extensive system of dikes— levees, as they are locally termed. Still, more than one half of the inundated lands in this field remains unclaimed, and the proper control of the river floods of the region will tax the engineering skill of the centuries to come. In the central and western por- tions of Texas the conditions of water supply are the reverse of those which have just been considered. In that part of the coun- try the problem is not how to restrict floods, but how to retain and distribute the rain water in such manner as will serve to make the arid lands fit for the uses of man. It seems probable that a considerable portion of western Texas, where the rainfall comes mainly in the winter season, may be made fertile by a sys- tem of reservoirs and distributing canals, by which the flow of the streams may be stored and conveyed to the level lands, which need only water in order to afford good ground for tillage. The forests of this district are generally of exceeding luxuri- ance. The field of the great Appalachian woods occupies all the territory along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico northward to the line of the Tennessee River and westward to near Austin. In no other portion of this great Eastern American forest do we find an equal number of species attaining to a like size and perfection of growth. In the higher-lying portion of the country of Alabama and Mississippi the hard-wood timbers maintain their hold. The several species of oak which are characteristic of the Blue Ridge and the Alleghany fields prosper in that section, and are consid- erably intermingled with the pines. On the lower-lying land the Southern pine abounds, and attains nobler proportions than in any other part of the country. In all the swamp districts, where the ground is perennially wet, the Zaxodium, or bald cypress, flour- 94 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. ishes exceedingly. Within the limits of this district there is prob- ably an aggregate area of not less than five thousand square miles which is occupied by this tree to the exclusion of other species, and probably a like area in which this cypress is plentifully com- mingled with other arboreal forms which demand a very wet soil for their nurture. These swamp-land areas of woods are among the most important timber reserves which this country now affords. The agricultural products of the Gulf district are in variety greater than those of any other equally extensive portion of the continent. All the ordinary cereals do well in the northern por- tion of the field. Rice and the sugar cane are grown with toler- able success in the reclaimed swamp lands along the lower por- tions of the Mississippi and the other great streams. Experi- ence seems to show that the whole of the district is better fitted ° for the growth of cotton than any other equally extensive area in the world. That crop is now, and bids fair long to remain, the Scale 1 : 1,700,000, 30 miles, Flooded region between the Arkansas and Yazoo. leading agricultural product of this part of the United States. In the northern portion of the district the root crops which are cul- RESERVE LANDS. 95 tivated in this country succeed tolerably well, and throughout the whole of its extent the familiar fruits used by our people ll i Ti ISS es | Over a half. Over a quarter. Over a sixteenth. Under a sixteenth. Scale x : 25,000,000. eee 620 Mills, Range of forests in the central region. Although the most fertile upland soils of this district have already been won to agriculture, it contains the largest and most valuable reserves of high-grade land which are to be found in this country. These lie in the undrained swamps which occupy ex- tensive areas in all the States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, and which in the aggregate contain an area of not far from thir- ty thousand square miles. These morasses vary in the measure of their inundation, from very wet woods where the land could be made fit for the plow by removing the timber and cutting oc- casional shallow ditches, to wide fields occupied by shallow lakes, 96 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE EAST AND SOUTH. such as occur in the Mississippi Valley, and which can only be improved by costly engineering devices like those which have been applied to the drowned lands of Holland. The mineral resources of the district about the Mexican Gulf are varied and important. About the head-waters of the streams which drain into the basin from southwestern Georgia and north- ern Alabama lie extensive fields of coal and iron. In 1880 the output of the Alabama coal mines amounted to 323,972 short tons; whereas, in 1889, it had grown to 3,378,484 short tons. The im- portant coal deposits are limited in their extent, and lie mainly within the State of Alabama. The quality of the fuel is poorer than that in the more northern portion of the United States. It contains a larger amount of ash and sulphur than does the coal from the region about the head-waters of the Ohio and Tennessee, or the anthracites of Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, this area of mineral fuel is of very great value, for the reason that it lies near to the most extensive deposits of iron ore which are known on this continent to the east of Lake Superior, and also for the rea- son that the field is very accessible to the Caribbean district, and is, in fact, the only good area of coal which is conveniently placed for the use of this part of the world. Whenever a canal is opened through the Isthmus of Darien, or a marine railway constructed for the transportation of ships, the Alabama coal will doubtless find an extensive market along the Pacific shores of North and South America. The iron ore of the north Alabama district and the neighbor- ing fields of Georgia lies in part within the drainage of the Ten- nessee River. The greater portion of the deposit, however, is adjacent to the head-waters of the streams which flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The beds occur in the Paleozoic rocks which have been tilted at high angles by the mountain-building disturb- ances which formed the Appalachian system of uplifts. Al though the ores of this district contain on the average not more than fifty per cent of metallic iron, and they are usually too phos- phatic for the production of steel by the Bessemer process, they are excellently well suited for making foundry and mill iron, and can be converted into steel by what is known as the “ basic” process. Owing to the fact that the beds are thick and are often exposed, in positions extremely favorable for working, the cost of mining the ore is only a small part of that incurred in mining the magnetites of the Lake Superior district, which are at present the source whence more than half of the pig iron of the United States IRON ORE) INPeIHE GUL STATES: 97 $$. is made. At certain of the Alabama iron mines enough ore to produce a ton of pig metal can be mined and loaded upon rail- way cars at an actual cost of about one dollar per ton, while an equivalent amount of ore from Lake Superior costs, when it is fed into the furnaces at Pittsburg, not less than eight dollars per ton. Although the iron ores of this district, on account of the ease with which they are mined and the accessibility of the fuel re- quired for their reduction, are certain to play an increasing part in the domestic commerce of the United States, it appears likely that the most important market for their product will be found beyond the sea. The continents of Africa and South America are now entering upon a stage of social development in which large quantities of iron will be demanded. Although both these great lands abound in feriferous ores, they lack the fuel which is required for smelting processes. The mines of Europe, already seriously taxed to supply the ever-increasing demand of that part of the world, can not afford the resources to meet these new economic needs. There is no other field so well placed for the needed supply as that of northern Alabama and the adjacent territory on the east and north. The next generation will doubt- less see an export trade in iron from this district which is clearly destined to attain a very great importance. Other and extensive deposits of iron ore occur in eastern Texas. These are, however, of inferior quality, and do not seem likely to add any value, except perhaps for the needs of the local- ity in which they occur. Yet farther west, in the arid-land dis- trict of that State iron ores have been discovered, but their ex- tent and value are as yet undetermined. So far no coal of satisfac- tory quality has been found in any part of the district west of the Mississippi, although there are extensive beds of an unsatisfac- tory quality in central Texas. Therefore any future discoveries of iron ores are not likely to prove of commercial importance, un- less they are accompanied by the disclosure of good coal fields— a contingency which the geology of the district shows to be most improbable. No deposits of petroleum or of natural gas, occur- ring in sufficient quantities to serve for economic purposes, have been found within the limits of this field, which lies immediately to the north of the Mexican Gulf. The only other considerable mineral resource which is known in the region of the Gulf slope, in the States which weare now considering, is an extensive deposit of salt which lies in western Louisiana. In 1887, 341,093 barrels of salt came from this region. 7 98 NATURAL CONDITIONS: OF THE EAST, AND SOUTH. This saliferous deposit occurs in the solid form known. as rock salt, and, as is usual, the material is associated with gypsum. For some years this accumulation has been extensively mined, and there is at present no sign of its exhaustion. As it is the only de- posit of this nature known in the district, it promises to play a large part in the industries of the country. The occurrence of salt in this position is in a geological sense very remarkable, for the reason that deposits of this nature can only be formed in parts of the world where the climate is so dry that the water of the sea or of rivers may be completely evaporated. At present this portion of the continent is the seat of a remarkably heavy rainfall. It is difficult to conceive how, during the Cretaceous or Tertiary time, when this material was accumulated, the climate could have been sufficiently dry to insure such an excessive evap- oration. Salt deposits are also worked in central Texas. | At various points in the States of Alabama and Mississippi the beds of Cretaceous or Tertiary age contain a certain amount of lime phosphate in the form of nodules. As yet, none of the de- posits which have been discovered are sufficiently rich in. phos- phatic matter to give them much importance. So far, however, there has been no systematic search for this material, and it seems not improbable that careful inquiry will disclose accumulations which may be of value. The geological structure of all this dis- trict is so far similar to that of eastern South Carolina and west- ern Florida, in which phosphatic deposits abundantly occur, as to make it likely that they will be found at various points in the Gulf district. The central and southern portions of Texas, a sec- tion of the field which has not been as yet carefully examined by geologists, has a geologic structure such as to make it likely that phosphates. occur in the strata. In the western portion of the last-named State, rather beyond the field of the low- lands which border the Gulf, deposits of copper and of man- ganese have been found, but their value has not as yet been de- termined. The water supply of this district, as is usually the case in the lowland country, is not generally very well fitted to the needs of domestic use. In the northern portion of Alabama pure mountain streams abound; but when the rivers attain the plain-land they are necessarily much polluted by the sewage of the towns near their borders. Through the greater part of the district a domes- tic and civic supply can only be obtained in a satisfactory state of purity by means of bored wells. Owing to the geological ‘odvis vas oy] DISPASEDS OF -THIST DISTRICT: 99 structure of the country these subterranean waters generally con- tain more mineral matter than is desirable. In all that relates to the healthfulness of the district this portion of the country has about the same conditions as those which affect the Atlantic coast land south of New York and the peninsula of Florida. Nearly all this area is liable to malarial fevers of the ordinary type. This liability is greatest when a particular area has just been subjugated to tillage. Experience shows that after a time the ground which is by plowing exposed to the sun loses, in part at least, its capacity of breeding malarial germs and becomes comparatively wholesome. In addition to ordinary malarial diseases, this district, like the other lowlands in the eastern parts of North America, is subject to an occasional invasion of the tropical yellow fever. Serious epidemics of this nature have ravaged the large cities of the coast line, and have oc- casionally extended to the northward, particularly along the banks of the Mississippi to the junction of the Ohio with that stream. Here, as elsewhere in the United States, this malady has never taken permanent root: each winter insures the destruction of its germs. The disease thus only recurs when its seeds are imported from points nearer the equator. It appears certain that a proper care in the sanitation of the cities will make it impossible for this plague to obtain any foothold in this part of the country. The rapid alternations of temperature in the winter season, and the peculiar dampness of the climate, due mainly to the con- tact of the warm moisture-laden airs from the Gulf of Mexico with the cold current from the northern part of the continent, make this section of the lowland district of North America rather less wholesome than the territory of northern Florida or the coast region to the north of that State. Nevertheless, the phys- ical condition of the people shows clearly that the district is toler- ably well suited to the needs of those people of English descent who constitute the dominant part of the population. The colo- nies of Germans in central Texas, on the eastern margin of the moderately arid portion of the State, though planted about fifty years ago, have proved successful, the people retaining their vigor and living the farmer’s life without suffering from climatal evils. The population of this district of lowlands about the Mexican Gulf is, in its character, rather more varied than that of any other part of North America except the peninsula of Florida. The body of the white population was derived from the Virgin- ian group of States, which, as we have already seen, was of nearly I00 NATURAL CONDITIONS OF THE. EAST AND SOUTH, pure British stock. This blood, however, is locally and consider- ably intermingled with that from France and Spain. The folk of French descent are mainly confined to the State of Louisiana, while they are somewhat intermingled with the whites of British ancestry and with the Spaniards. Although the Gallic popu- lation about the mouth of the Mississippi numbers perhaps not more than a hundred thousand souls, and is not the tenth part of the Canadian French, the colony has retained the language and other characteristics of the mother country in a remarkable measure. The French town of New Orleans is as sharply distin- guished from the portion of the city which has grown since its occupation by our own people as is a part of Marseilles from a characteristic portion of New York. The tenacity with which these people have clung to their native customs is indeed surpris- ing, and constitutes one of the most interesting and instructive incidents in our history. Takenalong with the evidence afforded by the settlements of Germans in Pennsylvania, it shows that, where foreigners are domiciled in compact communities in this country, they may remain for generations comparatively uninflu- enced by the spirit of our American life. In the lowland district of Texas there are many Mexican Span- iards. These people, like their kindred in Old Mexico, are toa great extent intermingled with the aboriginal population of this part of America. They are a frugal, hardy, and tolerably in- dustrious folk, and, although they lack certain qualities of our race, they afford a useful element in the population. As before noted, there are certain German settlements in Texas which were made about the middle of the century. Inasmuch, however, as the Teutonic people do not in any essential way differ from the English folk, these Germans have not contributed in any impor- tant measure to the variety of population in this district. The most serious questions connected with the future of the lowlands which border the Gulf of Mexico arise from the large proportion of Africans in the population, and from the fact that, the whole of this great area, as far west as central Texas, appears to be peculiarly well adapted to the descendants of this tropical folk, and less well suited to the laboring population of our own race. It is true that the negro population in eastern South Caro- lina is, relatively to the whole number of people in the district, as large as that which is found in any other portion of the United States, but in South Carolina there is a very extensive upland territory which, from the conditions of its climate, is not likely A LAND FOR WINTER SOJOURN. 101 to be extensively occupied by the negroes. On the other hand, the greater portion of Alabama, the whole of Mississippi and Louisiana, and the eastern part of Texas, present conditions which peculiarly favor the rapid increase of the black people. The whole of the district about the Gulf of Mexico, and the neighboring areas of Florida and the eastern section of the Caro- linas, to a great extent derive the value they have to our race from the fact that they form the subtropical portion of a conti- nent which is mainly a winter land. The early setting in of the summer season fits this district to supply garden products to the more northern regions, in which spring begins some months after the vernal time of the more southern land. With the increase in the facilities for travel, the resort of Northern peoples to this region, in which they may escape the trials of a Northern winter, becomes the greater. We may, in fact, foresee that in the cen- turies to come this portion of the United States will be a place of refuge for vast numbers of our population during the colder months of the year. CHAPTER III, WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. DISTRICT OF THE OHIO VALLEY. THE region occupied by the river system of the Ohio contains an assemblage of States which vary greatly in most of their char- acteristics, yet they present certain common features which make it desirable to consider them in one description. The surface of nearly all this area lies at a considerable height above the sea. Excepting a small part of the field near where the Ohio joins with the Mississippi, the elevation of the country exceeds one thousand feet above the ocean level, and a large part of its surface attains an elevation of more than two thousand feet. On the northern border the basin of the Ohio is but slightly separated by the valley in which lie the Great Lakes of North America. On the east the head-waters of the stream descend from the loftiest portion of eastern North America. On the south the basin is parted from the Gulf district by the low spurs of the southern Appalachian system. On the west and southwest it lies wide open to the central part of the Mississippi Valley. The whole area of Kentucky and of Tennessee, except a narrow fringe of land in the western part of these States, drains directly into the Ohio River. The greater part of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, a portion of western New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi, contribute waters to its stream. No other river basin of equal area on this continent has the land it contains so well placed for the uses of our race, the soil so fertile, or the underlying earth so rich in mineral re- sources as this district of the Ohio. The climate of this region is characterized by the existence of a tolerably long-continued summer or growing season, the dura- tion of which in the northern and southern field varies consider- ably. In northern Ohio there is ordinarily some sign of spring- time visible by the middle of March, but frosts continue until the first days in May. In northern Alabama the vernal season sets in (102) CLIMATE OF THE OHIO: VALLEY. 103 by the middle of February, and danger from frost is generally past by the first of April. North of the Ohio River the cold is tolerably enduring. Along the borders of the Tennessee River eg]] j [x py Xe : KK Scale x ? 3,600,000. 60 miles. Meeting of the waters in the center of the Mississippi Valley. the influence of the Gulf of Mexico is so far felt that there is rarely more than a week in the year during which the ground is frozen, and the winter season often passes without the surface being snow-covered for more than a few hours’ duration. Throughout this valley the winds from the Gulf of Mexico have a decided influence, and share nearly equally with the air from the northwest in determining the quality of the climate. The greater portion of the rainfall is derived from the air which comes from over the Mexican Gulf, while the northwest winds are dry. The precipitation varies from about sixty inches on the southern border and in the mountains on the east to about thirty- 104 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. five inches in the extreme northwest of this basin. Throughout the area the rainfall is sufficient, as regards its quantity and dis- tribution generally, to secure ample returns from the fields. Dur- ing the summer season the region, especially in its western and — northern parts, is occasionally assailed by droughts of some severity. Yet more rarely the winter rains continue so far into the planting season that the crops are somewhat damaged by the excess of moisture. Asa whole, however, this portion of the con- tinent is perhaps more uniformly watered than any other equal area within its bounds. It is, indeed, doubtful if any other region of like extent beyond the limits of the tropics has a more regular rainfall or the precipitation better distributed for the needs of the agriculturist. The abundant supply of rain causes this district to © be the seat of many large streams. The main Ohio is, measured by its flow, the largest tributary of the Mississippi, and among its affluents there are a number which are of sufficient size to afford navigation for large vessels. In the element of navigable streams this district is perhaps richer than any other equally extensive field, except portions of the valley of the Amazon and a part of eastern China. Besides the main channel of the Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee, the Kentucky, the Big Sandy, the Kanawha, and the Monongahela are all of much service for transportation purposes, and there are at least a dozen other streams which are serviceable to the inter- est of navigation for a considerable part of the year. Hundreds of the lesser tributaries are useful for downward navigation, and serve to convey the products of the fields, forests, and mines to market. In the aggregate there are probably not less than twelve thousand miles in length of streams in this district which have some importance as transportation routes. The main Ohio, al- though much of its commerce has been diverted to the railways which run parallel with its course, remains one of the most im- portant commercial arteries of the continent. Although. the streams which are tributary to this river, as is indicated by their navigable character generally, have but a slight fall, they are often fitted to afford excellent water powers. So far this source af power has not been much used, for the reason that the steam- producing coals of this district are extremely low-priced, and occur in very large quantities in various parts of the field. The soils of the Ohio district are of an extremely varied qual- ity. In the mountainous districts of southwest Virginia, West Virginia, western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and eastern i Wy ah Aree | rn LE EH ATTA OTHE WANA ANAM WAAL ATA AE Willi! ATAU | WAV AAA ATAH THETA Nh WANA WA HAHAH EE | YY MTA TANTO TARA AVGRLOTATL eM PTAA UGG HM LAUT TAA AT WY NATHAN Meat ll | NWT Hili! TT tilt WTAE UA HH ANI Hl | | WG | PUVA TAAAAARROHT THAT HAN TN MATH Nil] | | HAAMANMUANA tlt HUN || Pi i q TVA TWITTY Ni {I nn ; eae V(X \ ag ( : Ndi | AAA eG i BA A Chi go AN NG | tt nt The mammoth terraces, Yellowstone National Park. CHARACTER? OF ‘THE SOIL. 105 Kentucky only the broad valleys between the greater ridges are fitted for the use of the plow. Perhaps three fourths of this part of the Ohio basin are suited for agriculture in any form; the remainder, however, with exceptions, which probably in all do not amount to as much as fifteen hundred square miles, bears luxuriant forests, and even the portions which are too infertile to maintain dense woods are tree-covered, and not without value as nurseries of timber. On a small portion of the area of the basin, perhaps in all not exceeding six thousand square miles, is inun- dated land—either permanent swamp, or so subject to periodic overflows by the streams that it can not be tilled without costly engineering devices. No other equal area of the continent has so little of its surface unfit for the uses of man. In the region north of the Ohio, except a portion of the coun- try in southern Indiana and Illinois near the margin of the Ohio, the surface is underlaid by a deep coating of glacial drift, which in this portion of the continent attains a greater thickness than in any other part of the field affected by the glacial ice. As is usual with soils of this description, the drift-underlaid region of western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois affords soils of an even quality and of remarkable endurance. The fertility of this district is greater than that of the drift-covered sections in the other parts of the country, for the reason that the rocks which were broken up by the glacier and distributed over the surface of the land were mostly of a chemical nature well suited to afford food for plants. Moreover, in this field there are rela- tively few areas occupied by sand plains, which, as we have seen in our account of the New England district, afford but infertile soils. In the driftless section of the Ohio Valley the character of the soil depends upon the nature of the rocks which immediately underlie it, or, where it is formed on alluvial deposits, on the character of the strata which are exposed in the upper portion of the valley where the given field lies. Owing to this more imme- diate derivation of the soils on the southern division of the Ohio drainage, the country exhibits very remarkable contrasts in the measure of its fertility—contrasts which are due to the diverse conditions under which the rocks of the deeper earth were formed. Thus, in eastern Kentucky and central Tennessee, where the earth is underlaid by the coal measures, the greater part of which deposits are of a sandy nature, the soils are usually thin, and can only be reckoned as of the third order of fertility— 106 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. that is, they may serve to maintain a population which depends almost altogether on the products of its own fields, and is unable to afford any considerable share of luxuries, such as may be ac- quired by an export trade. This relatively infertile field continues to the westward to a line along which the deeper-lying Silurian limestones appear at the surface. Here suddenly, often within a distance of a few hundred feet, the nature of the soil undergoes a wonderful change. It at once takes on an exceedingly fertile character. The area of these fields underlaid by the Silurian limestone is commonly known as “the Blue-grass Region” of Kentucky and Tennessee, for the reason that the species of grasses belonging to the genus Poa, which are common in other parts of the world, here take ona singular luxuriance of growth, and in their time of blossoming give to the fields they occupy a distinct- ly blue tint. This group of rocks underlies the southwestern por- tion of Ohio; but in that district, owing to the considerable thick- ness of the drift mantle, the soil is not quite as fertile as in the section south of the Ohio. The blue limestone soils are contin- ued southward through Tennessee to the northern border of Ala- bama, but owing partly to the sandier nature of the rock in that section they produce somewhat less fertile soils than in the cen- tral portion of Kentucky. The exceeding fertility and the remarkable endurance to till- age of the soils in this limestone district entitle the field to rank as the best portion of our American agricultural lands. When first subjected to agriculture, the soil is somewhat less productive of grain than the best of those in the prairie district of the North- west. They afford, however, from the beginning, better grass land and are suited to a rather wider range of crops. Their prin- cipal advantage, however, consists in the fact that with moderate care they can be maintained in a higher state of productiveness than any of the prairie soils. The explanation of this greater permanence of quality is easily perceived. The fertility of the prairies is only in a subordinate degree due to the character of the underlying rock. The subsoils are usually of a relatively in- fertile nature, and the refreshment of the tillable layer which is brought about by subsoiling is usually not great. The soils of the limestone district of Kentucky, on the other hand, owe their fruitfulness to the fact that they are underlaid by rocks which abound in fossils belonging to groups of animals which had the organic habit of building lime phosphate into their bodies. These rocks are readily decomposed by the action of the rain water, TIMBER-TREES. 107 and, as they decay, provide materials for the continuous restora- tion to the soil of the mineral matters demanded by vegetation. When by tillage the earth is somewhat impoverished, deeper plowing so contrived as year by year to mingle a portion of the subsoil with the layer in which the plant roots feed, will com- monly in large part restore the waste brought about by crop- ping. In southwestern Kentucky and the neighboring portions of Tennessee there is an extensive field underlaid by limestones which were formed just before the time of the coal measures, and which afford soils only a little less fertile than those of the blue- grass district. In the valleys of the streams which form the head-waters of the Tennessee there are also considerable lime- stone districts, partly of Silurian and partly of subcarboniferous age. Thus, within the basin of the Ohio we have an area of about twenty thousand square miles where the fields, owing to the fertilizing nature of the bed rock, are toa great extent insured from exhaustion, and where the soil-tiller is in a measure exempt from the tax which the need of manuring the soil commonly places upon him. Including the alluvial lands bordering on the Mississippi, the Ohio and its greater tributaries, and also the admirable soils of the drift region north of the Ohio, we may safely reckon the very rich fields of this district as occupying an area of not less than one hundred and ten thousand square miles, The remainder of the basin affords soils of a lower order, but the larger part of it is not fitted to produce any considerable amount of grain. It is, however, suited for other agricultural uses, much of it being excellently well adapted to the growth of certain vari- eties of tobacco or for fruit culture. The valuable timber of this country is mainly found in those broad-leaved species of trees that lose their foliage during the winter season. There are thirty or more kinds which have an economic importance. First among these in value we may note the tulip tree, which in this part of the country attains its best devel- opment. No other species of plant belonging in eastern North America attains to the dignity and beauty commonly exhibited by the adult forms of the tulip tree. The trunks often rise to the height of a hundred feet or more without a limb, and are of a beau- tiful, even columnar form. The white oak, the best of our Ameri- can construction timbers for varied use, abounds throughout this district and attains its best growth on lands of the second quality. The other species of oaks, known as the red, Spanish, post, and 108 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. chestnut oaks, also abound, but their timber is less valuable, and as yet has not entered to any extent into use. The beeches abound in the clayey districts; the black walnut and the cherry were both originally very abundant on the fertile limestone land and in the coves at the head-waters of the mountain streams, where, owing to the small power of the stream, a thick layer of fertile soil had accumulated. In the western portion of the dis- trict, in the States of Kentucky and Tennessee, the holly takes on a treelike growth, and, though less well developed than in the district beyond the Mississippi, affords a certain amount of timber well suited for the uses where a hard and easily carved wood is desired. For the first half century in the growth of this country these forests were, owing to the imperfect transportation, of little eco- nomic importance. Only of late years have they furnished much material for export trade. They are now, however, fast becom- ing valuable properties, and owing to the rapidity with which the trees developed and of the excellent quality of the timber which they afford, it seems certain that in the centuries to come the remaining woodlands will have a great value as sources of timber supply for foreign export, as well as for the needs of the vast unwooded country beyond the Mississippi. At least one fourth of the Ohio Valley is better fitted for timber culture than for agricultural use. The average returns which could be ob- tained from it by a proper system of forestry are probably greater than those which the plow would afford. The mineral resources of this district, though limited in vari- ety, are of exceeding economic importance, and promise to be- come the most determining of the natural features in all that re- lates to the social condition of the valley. We may advanta- geously begin our account of these materials of the under earth by a statement concerning the substances elsewhere important, which are not found in valuable quantities in this district. The precious metals do not occur in this field. Ores of copper were formerly worked in the Ducktown district of the upper Tennessee, but the mines are now abandoned. Galena, or sulphide of lead, occurs in many parts of the limestone district, but owing to the vast deposits of a more workable nature in the region west of the Mississippi there is no probability that any of the veins within the Ohio Valley can be mined with profit. Ores of manganese are sparingly exhibited in the region of the upper Tennessee, but these are so scanty that they are not likely to have a commercial value. COACZORGIHE OHIO’ VALLEY: I0Q The really valuable mineral products of this district are lim- ited to the iron ores and the fossil fuels. In these two elements of subterranean wealth this field is exceedingly rich. As regards its sources of fuel supply there is probably no other area of equal extent which is so amply provided. The fossil fuels may be divided into three groups: coal, petroleum, and rock gas. To these also we may, for convenience, add certain deposits of an asphaltic nature, which as yet are only known to occur in western Kentucky, and which are likely to be extensively used for road materials. The coal deposits of this district consist altogether of the bitumi- nous varieties of that substance—that is, they all give in burning a long flame, which is due to the relatively large amount of volatiliza- ble carbonaceous material. Certain of the thicker layers extend- ing from the region about Pittsburg southwardly to the field near Cumberland Gap contain but a small amount of ashy matter, often as little as two or three per cent, and are also low in sul- phur, which is an extremely harmful material in fuel which is to be used for smelting ores. Owing to the thickness and horizon- tal position of these beds the coal can be mined at a less cost than in any other part of the United States. Although it is good for ordinary domestic purposes and for making gas, its greatest value is found in the hard and strong coke which may be manufactured from it. This peculiar form of fuel has of late years become of the utmost importance in the work of iron-smelting, and so these caking or coking coals are to play a most important part in the great history of iron manufacturing. The greater portion of the coal of this district 1s in thinner beds, and contains more ash and sulphur than the few strata which are fit for the manufacture of coke. Nearly all the beds, however, which are of workable thickness are suitable for domes- tic purposes and for the production of steam. A rarer variety of bituminous coal occurs in certain limited fields, none of which are known to extend over an area of more than a few hundred acres. This substance is known as cannel coal, and it is made up of deposits which were accumulated in the small lakes which lay in the old swamps amid the peat-bogs which formed the ordinary coals. On account of its bright luster and the long flame which it forms in burning, this cannel coal is much prized for domestic fireplaces, and the large amount of volatile carbonaceous matter which it contains makes it useful in the manufacture of gas. » The distribution of the coal deposits of the Ohio Valley is as IIO WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. follows, viz.: The coal-bearing strata are divided into two great detached fields and a number of smaller areas, which are closely related to one or the other of these principal sections. The east- ern coal field occupies the head-water district of the Ohio drainage in the States of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. According to the census bulletins, the output of coal from these States, in 1889, was as follows: Pennsylvania, 40,- 665,152 long tons of anthracite, and 36,174,089 short tons of bitumi- nous coal; West Virginia, 6,231,880 short tons; Kentucky, 2,399,- 7ss short tons; and Tennessee, 1,925,689 short tons. In nearly all these fields the output has more than doubled in the decade be- tween the tenth and eleventh censuses. It isa part of the great Appalachian coal district which extends from central Alabama to near the southern border of New York, and from central Ken- tucky to beyond the ridges of the Alleghanies into the drainage basins of rivers which flow into the Atlantic. By far the greater portion of this Appalachian coal field is drained by rivers which fall into the Ohio. This basin has in all about forty-five thou- sand square miles of this area of coal-bearing rocks. Only the fringes of the field extend beyond the Ohio Valley and on to the slopes which lead to the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. la western Kentucky and southern Illinois * there is another carbon- iferous district, occupying an area of not far from twelve thou- sand square miles. The coals of this area are, as regards both their quality and position, much less valuable than those of the Appalachian field. They are prevailingly much more ashy, and contain a larger amount of sulphur and less volatile combustible matter. It is as yet doubtful whether a coke suitable for the needs of a blast-furnace can be made from them. Owing to the generally level character of the country these coals in almost all cases have to be mined through vertical shafts, which makes it decidedly more costly to win the fuel than where, as is often the case in the Appalachian district, the mines may be opened by means of galleries entering from the hillside. The next element in commercial importance which within the limits of this valley is drawn from the under earth is petro- leum, which was originally introduced into the commerce of the world by the sources which are afforded in the extended fields of supply along the margin of the upper Ohio and its tributary the * Illinois, in 1889, ranked second as a coal-producing State, the output amounting to - 12,104,272 short tons, PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS. III Alleghany River. So far the petroleum of this district has been produced in the main from a field which occupies a part of northwestern Pennsylvania and the contiguous portion of Ohio; * from a small area in West Virginia,t which also lies near the main channel of that stream; and from a third and relatively un- important field in southern Kentucky just south of the Cumber- land River. Although petroleum in small quantities has been discovered in various other parts of this basin of the Ohio, the thoroughgoing exploration to which this district has been sub- jected in the search for rock oil makes it tolerably clear that the great store of the substance lies in the field about the upper Ohio. Some of these outlying deposits, however, because they afford oil of peculiar quality, may have certain economic importance. Where their products are suitable for lubricating purposes, though the wells yield but small quantities of material, they may be profitably worked. As petroleum and the various substances extracted from the crude state of the fluid are now indispensable economic elements in our civilization, it is a satisfaction to know that the rocks from which they may be obtained exist in such quantities, and are so readily obtained, that the product can be secured at a cost not very much greater than is required to obtain the crude oil and to refine it for use. The area occupied by the Devonian black shales is not far from one hundred thousand square miles, and its average thickness is probably not less thana hundred feet. If this material should throughout prove to contain as much as fifteen per cent of the petroleum group of substances, it would afford prac- tically an inexhaustible source of supply. The greater portion of the Devonian black shales lies within the valley of the Ohio. It is, indeed, the most characteristic deposit in this district. Al- though there are other beds of a similar nature in other parts of the world, this deposit of the Ohio Valley is by far the largest which is known to geologists. It may therefore be fairly regarded as one of the valuable though not immediately available resources of this part of the country. The natural gas of this field has long been known as of a burnable nature. For more than half a century it has been used at the salt-wells of the Kanawha, where it comes forth with the brine. It*has served well as a fuel used in the evaporation of the * Out of a total output in the United States, in 1889, of 34,820,306 barrels of petro- leum, Pennsylvania produced 21,486,403, and Ohio 12,471,965 barrels, + The output from this field, in 1889, was 358,269 barrels. 112 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. fluid in the pan. It was not, however, until the latter part of this century that it crept into more general use and became of com- © to 5 fathoms. 5 to r2 fathoms. Depths. == — = 12 to 25 fathoms. 25 fathoms and upward, Scale 1 : 1,9000,000, 30 miles, Oil and natural gas region. Sul Ivays-daays IRON ORES. 113 mercial importance. Only within ten years has it come to play a large part in the manufacturing industries of the Ohio Valley, where the principal supplies are found.* The extent of country underlaid by rocks containing natural gas is much greater than that in which petroleum is found. Nearly all the strata below the level of the coal measures and above the Potsdam sandstone in the Ohio Valley contain more or less of this material, which is yielded to borings such as are made for petroleum. The quantity of the gas, however, varies greatly in different parts of the dis- trict. The most plentiful sources of supply lie in the region where petroleum is found. This is naturally the case, for the gas is probably only one of the series of products formed in the de- compositions which make the rock oil. The natural bitumens which constitute the fourth group of burnable carbonaceous substances occurring in the Ohio Valley are, so far as is at present known, limited to a small field in west- ern Kentucky, between the Ohio River and the Green River. In this section the sandstone rocks lying in the lower part of the coal measures are extensively impregnated with a bituminous material resembling asphalt, which promises to be valuable for use as a road-making material such as is frequently applied in the streets of towns. As the discovery of this substance in Kentucky is of very recent date, it is not yet possible to say much concern- ing its economic value. According to Mineral Resources for 1889-90, the bituminous rock of Kentucky does not differ essen- tially from that produced in California. The most widely distributed of the mineral resources of this district and that which in economic value ranks next to coal is the ironore. There are three principal levels, or, as they are called by geologists, horizons, in which the ores of this nature characteris- tically occur. The lowest of these is in the section known as the Clinton, one of the divisions of the Upper Silurian; the second is in the horizon of the Oriskany ; the third occurs on the top of the subcarboniferous limestone, in most cases immediately below the pebbly deposit known as the Millstone Grit. The lowermost of these limestone ores is extensively developed throughout the east- ern portion of North America, from the shores of Lake Ontario southward into central Alabama. The greater portion of the iron oe) * The amount of coal displaced by natural gas in 1887, chiefly in Pennsylvania, was 9,867,000 short tons, at a value of $15,838,000. Much more than this amount of gas was obtained, but there is no basis for a calculation of this, since a great deal of it “as entirely lost. 8 114 WHAT NATURE HAS: DONE FOR THE WES? ores of Pennsylvania, a large part of those from New York, the deposits which have made the wealth of Birmingham, Ala., the ores at present most extensively mined in Kentucky, Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia, are derived from these ferrated Clin- ton deposits. Good steel can be made from these ores by the process known as the “ basic,” and though the cost of this meth- od of treatment is about two dollars more per ton than is required by the Bessemer or acid system of purification, the greater cheap- ness of the ore makes it advantageous to produce steel from these deposits. A short vertical distance above the level of the Clinton ores, in the horizon of the Oriskany sandstone, there are occasional de- posits of iron ore of excellent quality for furnace use. So far only a few areas of these Oriskany ores have been found, and those of a workable character lie altogether in the western part of Virginia and in eastern Kentucky. The somewhat scattered na- ture of the deposits is probably due to the fact that the limestone in which the iron has been concentrated was originally distrib- uted in very local accumulations, and not, as is usual in such de- posits, in the form of a widely extended layer. The third and uppermost horizon of ores of good quality lies on the top of the subcarboniferous limestone. Wherever this horizon is exposed an iron-ore layer of greater or ‘less thick- ness is almost sure to be found. As the beds of this age have their edges appearing at the surface in many parts of the Ohio Valley, forming altogether an outcrop lined in the aggregate some thousands of miles in length, the subcarboniferous ores are accessible throughout a great extent of country. Unfortunately, however, the beds are usually rather thin, and where of workable thickness they are generally accumulated in somewhat detached masses termed pockets. Owing to the originally pure nature of the limestone which has been altered to iron ore, this layer yields an excellent iron. : In the lower portion of the coal measures there are a number of beds of iron, which at one time, in the region of the upper Ohio, were extensively mined. These deposits commonly do not exceed about a foot in thickness, and though they are rather free from deleterious admixtures such as phosphorus and manganese, they carry but a small amount of metal; usually not more than thirty-five per cent of iron can be obtained from them. With the recent fall in the price of iron these ores of the coal measures have become practically worthless, and they will not again be of SALINE DEPOSITS. IIs economic value until the rich deposits of ore which occur in other parts of the district have been exhausted. While the iron ores of the Ohio Valley are much less rich than those which occur in the region about Lake Superior, their posi- tion is peculiarly advantageous for the manufacture of pig metal and of steel. Owing to the extensive outcrops of the beds they can to a great extent be mined by open-air digging, the miner be- ing spared the cost and dangers arising from underground work. Moreover, almost all these ores lie contiguous to coals which in their raw state or in the form of coke are well suited to use in furnaces. The natural seats of manufacture are in the densely peopled part of the country, where there is an extended market for their products, and they generally lie near to the greater streams, and are thus easily and cheaply conveyed by boats throughout the wide field which is made accessible by the rivers of the Mississippi Valley. Our account of the mineral resources of the Ohio Valley should include two substances, once of considerable economic importance, which are no longer of any value among the earth products of this region. These are salt and saltpeter. For fifty years or more after the settlement of the valley the people were dependent for salt on the saline springs which break forth in vari- ous parts of its area. At Big Bone Lick and various other of these sources the hunters found that the wild animals, such as the deer and buffalo, came at certain times of the year for the salt which they required. Therefore, in their hunting they were naturally led to these sources of supply, and they made the salt required for their own use and for the supply of their domes- ticated animals by boiling the waters from these springs. Aftera time they learned to bore wells into the rock in various parts of the country, and from these they generally obtained richer brines. A half century ago there were in the Ohio Valley a dozen or more considerable establishments for the manufacture of salt from these underground waters, which are, in fact, the waters of the ancient seas which were imprisoned in the strata at the time when they were laid down on the sea floor. Of late years the discov- ery of richer brines, and of rock salts in the basin of the Great Lakes, have rendered these more costly sources of supply in the Ohio Valley comparatively valueless. During the first half century after the settlement of the region west of the Alleghanies there was much difficulty encountered in obtaining a sufficient supply of gunpowder for the firearms 116 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. upon which the people depended in hunting and in warfare. At the outbreak of the War of 1812 this need became crying, and it led to a careful search for all the sources whence saltpeter could be obtained. It was soon found that the caverns of western Kentucky, the Mammoth Cave, and the other grottoes which abound in that part of the country contain near their entrances great quantities of nitrous earth; therefore for a time there was a considerable manufacture of this material, the work being car- ried on in the recesses of the caverns. Those who have visited the Mammoth Cave have seen the remains of these subterranean factories, where for years oxen and horses were stabled in the depths of the earth, and used to draw the fine, loamy matter to the leaching-vats. In case of need the cavern districts of the Ohio Valley could afford extensive supplies of saltpeter. The water supply of the cities in the Ohio Valley presents a somewhat difficult problem. In the eastern portion of the dis- trict, where the mountain streams drain from valleys which are not likely ever to be occupied by considerable bodies of people, it is now, and probably ever will be, easy to secure pure water for. the use of towns; but in the central and western portions of the district, where the rivers have coursed for long distances through valleys which are the seat of a population already dense, and rap- idly increasing in numbers, the streams are already seriously contaminated, and are sure each year to become less fit to be used as sources of drinking-water. In many another part of the world where these conditions exist it is possible to obtain an ample sup- ply of wholesome water by wells sunk into the porous underly- ing strata. Unfortunately, however, this resource is generally unavailable in the Ohio district, for the reason that the strata still contain a greater or less proportion of the brines which were inclosed when the beds were laid down in the old ocean. Where this is not the case, the subterranean waters are generally limy, slightly sulphurous, and occasionally mixed with small quantities of petroleum. Experience of more than a century has shown that nearly the whole of the Ohio Valley is, as regards its healthfulness, admi- rably suited to the use of man and of his domesticated animals. Only a small part of the area—that which is occupied by the allu- vial land along the Mississippi, and in the narrow valleys of the streams which are tributary to the Ohio—is to any extent affected by the ordinary malarial diseases. Experience has shown that it is only where the level of the ground water is subject to great EUEMEN horort tii POPULATION: iy, seasonal variations, particularly during the summer and autumn months, that the germs of malarial disease are readily bred. Yel- low fever, though it has occasionally invaded the part of this dis- trict which lies to the south of the Ohio River, and on two of its invasions has proved very deadly along the borders of the Missis- sippi to the southwest, has never shown any tendency to become a serious malady within the limits of the Ohio Valley. The colo- nies of the disease which have from time to time been established at several different points in Tennessee and along the channel of the main Ohio have been easily stamped out. It is evident that the conditions of soil and climate of this part of the country are not favorable for the establishment and propagation of the species of disease-germ which give rise to this malady. As regards their origin, the people of the Ohio Valley exhibit great local differences. South of the Ohio, the greater part of the folk trace their descent from the colonists who settled in Mary- land, Virginia, and North Carolina. Probably nine tenths of the people of European descent in this southern section of the valley are of essentially English blood, and have come to the region from the original group of colonial settlements. A considerable portion of the remainder of the white people are from the other Northern States and are also of English origin. A notable fraction has been derived from the Pennsylvania Germans; a small por- tion, perhaps in all not more than two per cent, are Celtic Irish. This southern section of the Ohio Valley, at least as regards its white population, probably contains a larger body of folk whose blood is derived from pure English stock than any other part of this country. It is doubtful, indeed, if in the mother country itself there now exists any body of population as little com- mingled with foreign blood. North of the Ohio River the popu- lation exhibits the complicated intermingling of peoples which is characteristic of almost all portions of the great West. Never- theless, the mass of the population is of English derivation, and the greater part of its other elements is from Germany, having come to the country either by recent immigration or in the sec- ondary way, from the German settlements in Pennsylvania. Although the white population of the Ohio Valley is, on the whole, tolerably homogeneous, there are certain districts which are mainly occupied by somewhat discriminated and peculiar groups of people. Thus, a portion of the Scioto Valley is to a great extent tenanted by the descendants of Virginians, and at various other points in the region north of the Ohio the folk still 118 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. bear the stamp given to the communities by the original colonists from New York, New England, or the other characteristic colo- nies on the more southern portion of the Atlantic coast. A part of central Kentucky, in and about the county of Washington, is occupied by the descendants of a Maryland Catholic colony which was founded in the early days of the State, and which has preserved the religious and social characteristics of the English Catholic folk. In the valley of the Tennessee and the Cumber- land Rivers the observer may note a people derived from the socially unfortunate colonies which were planted by the land company of North Carolina in the eastern district of that State. The progeny of these people, commingled with the descendants of the lower-grade peasants who in the colonial time found a place in the Virginia group of settlements, constitute the lowest class of the Southern whites—an unintellectual folk, with little physical vigor, and who are about as unfit material out of which to make an American citizen as exists on the continent. The negro population of this district is, considering the fact that more than half its area lay within the old slaveholding States, of relatively small amount. This is due to the fact that quite one third of the area in the region where slavery found a place, being of a mountainous character, was unfit for agricultural use in large plantations. The folk who settled in these hills could not profitably employ slave labor, and therefore the institution did not develop in their society. Thus, in the hill and mountain district of eastern Kentucky, and in the neighboring elevated por- tions of Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, negroes have always formed a less considerable element in the population than in New England. In the lower lying and richer portions of Kentucky and Ten- nessee there is a considerable element of Africans, but the pro- portion of this blood to that of the whites in the southern section of the Ohio Valley does not exceed about one to ten. Several conditions have co-operated to bring the negroes of this district to a relatively high state of culture. In the first place, essentially all the folk of African blood in this part of the country came from the slaves which were brought in the earlier part of the last century to the Virginia group of colonies. Therefore the ances- tors of these people, having been long upon the soil, the race has had a greater opportunity of securing the training in the ways of - civilization which contact with the whites has so singularly afford- ed to the African savages. As the negroes civilize with a rapidity GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE LAKE DISTRICT. 119 unknown in the case of any other savages with which our race has had to deal, the difference of one or two generations in the length of their sojourn on the continent makes a great change in their social and moral state. It is also a noteworthy fact that the greater portion of the blacks who were held as slaves in the Ohio Valley were retained as household servants, or where used as farm hands were kept about the farmstead, in immediate contact with the families of the proprietors, and not isolated from the im- proving influences of the home, as was the case on the more southern plantation. In passing southward from the Ohio Val- ley, where the negroes have generally been in close social rela- tions with the whites, to the plantation country of Mississippi and Alabama, where the relations between the races were much less intimate, the trained observer can at once note the difference in the condition of the blacks, the more southern negroes not having attained as high a station. THE DISTRICT OF THE GREAT LAKES. Although we have had occasion to touch upon a part of the ground occupied by the region of the Great Lakes in the account of the New York group of States, the region is so peculiar in many ways that it deserves a special consideration. On the north, this district contains the larger portion of the tillable land of the Canadian province of Ontario. On the south of the Great Lakes only one American State (Michigan) is contained altogether within the valley which they occupy, but portions of seven other com- monwealths—namely, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York—lie about these great fresh- water seas. In its geographic features the valley of the Great Lakes is the most peculiar, and as yet unexplained, basin of the North Ameri- can continent. Its eminent singularity consists in the fact that on the southern and western borders the divides which separate its waters from those of the neighboring river valleys are singu- larly low and imperfectly defined. In the springtime, when the rivers and lakes are full, it is possible to pass with very small portages by means of a canoe from the head-waters of Lake Su- perior into the valley of the Red River of the North; and from the southern end of Lake Michigan a slight excavation would lead the waters of that basin into an affluent of the Mississippi. Allalong the southern margin to the source of the Mohawk in New York State there are low divides over which there is rea: I20 WHAT NATURE-.HAS:. DONE: FOR; THE- WEST: son to suspect the drainage of this district from time to time in the past, especially in the closing stages of. the Glacial period, found its way into the sea. A portion of the northern barrier Depths. o to 12 fathoms. 12 to sofathoms. 50 fathoms and upward, Scale 1 : 1,500,000. 38 mills. Region about Chicago before the foundation of the city. of this basin, that which lies beyond the north shore of Lake Superior, also lacks : the s4accent which we usually find in the divisions between the drain- ages of great rivers. It is possible to pass from Lake Superior through the streams which flow into it from the north to the divide which -separates the basin from Hudson’s Sea, and thence by small portages to enter the streams which fall into the Arctic Ocean. Although _ the valley of the Great Lakes occupies a large extent of ter- ritory, these fresh- water seas Cover so great a portion of its surface that the dry land which re- mains occupies a relatively small part of thearea. In gen- eral, the strip of country bordering the lake-shore and draining toward the basins has a width of less than one hundred miles: On this account, and also because of the relatively slight rainfall, the rivers of this district are all shallow and essentially unnaviga- ble to modern craft, though in the early days of the country, when NAN AWS \ ANS \ Wines \\ \ \ Nett A AY Zs IN\ Maem a ee ARSE Wy => = — &€ —— Source of the Kanab Wash, Colorado River. COMMUNICATION WITH THE SEA. I2I the hand-propelled boats were of small size, they were useful in the infant commerce. The lakes themselves now afford the most important means of water communication in our inland trade ex- cept the ways of the Mississippi River system. By means of the Welland Canal, and that which leads by the rapids of the St. Law- rence, and the similar way which connects Lake Superior with the lower waters of the other Great Lakes at the Sault Sainte Marie, ships of large size can now pass from Duluth, at the head of Lake Superior, to the broad waters of the Atlantic. Thus, although these inland seas are parted from the ocean by falls and rapids, they are now, in a commercial sense, united with the broad waters of the sea. Unfortunately for their fullest use, they are generally-ice-bound for nearly half the year. t is Che) Or o%, ° TTA IO . . o e SP ee a ae Whalska- bene® Ce OF y oe Teele - So. a ° oe MPU 52 Wy ehh wl YM 03: Q “1 MW sihh e's efiNZe iene." Oo. A 4 as Muro FY NY eee ae 8 Bes 6 Depths. o to 32 feet. 32 to 80 feet. 80 feet and upward. Scale 1 : 600,000. ——— 2 mills, Sault Sainte-Marie. The northern shores of the Great Lakes lie on the extreme confines of the country which, owing to its climate, is fit for the uses of civilization. It is, on the average, less than a hundred miles beyond the northern shore of these seas that we find the arctic limit, beyond which the fields will not produce an ade- quate return. In the summer season, when the winds are from the southward versant, this Canadian portion of the district has the air somewhat moistened by the evaporation of the lakes E22 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. over which the winds blow. The southern border of the lakes is very considerably affected throughout the growing season by its nearness to these large bodies of fresh water. From the time when the ice disappears in the spring until it returns in the later Vv autumn the winds from the northward have their temperature — much modified in their passage over the water. They are thereby somewhat warmed and toa considerable extent moistened. The result is, that the climate in the summer season is made cooler and more humid than it would otherwise be. This effect is most conspicuous in the State of Michigan, the area of which is made up of peninsulas. The climate of this State has an almost mari- time character during the season when the lakes are not frozen, and when the winds are prevailingly from over their surfaces. The soils of the Great Lake district are usually of an excellent quality. They are altogether formed upon deposits of drift ma- terial, which is generally of a nature to afford the mineral sub- stances required by the vegetation. The greater portion of the soil is of a clayey nature, but in certain districts, particularly in the lower peninsula of Michigan, extensive deposits of sand, such as are formed by the débris washed out by the subglacial streams from beneath an ice-sheet, occupy considerable areas, and afford an earth which for agricultural purposes is of a rather inferior quality. The soils north of the Great Lakes are to a great ex- tent composed of the adébris worn by the glacier from the crystal- line rocks, and has therefore, in general, the character of the New England soil, being rather bowldery and difficult to make ready for tillage, but remarkably enduring to the tax of agriculture. On the southern shores of the basin bowlders are relatively rare and ~ seldom obstruct the plow, but the clay element is often rather excessive, and the soils in consequence are often extremely wet. Excepting for the basin of Lake Superior, where only the for- age crops, certain roots, and some of the hardier grains afford fair returns, the shore-lands of the Great Lakes are well suited to all the staple crops which are grown in the northern part of the| — United States. Indian corn, a plant which requires a tolerably long summer and a high temperature for its full development, succeeds well along the southern borders of these waters. Cer- tain selected varieties of the same grain, which are able to ripen their ears in about a hundred days from the time of planting, do well in the Canadian part of the country which borders on Lakes Erie and Ontario. The hardier fruits succeed throughout the dis- trict, and even the more delicate species, such as grapes and CLIMATE “ABOUT THE GREAT. LAKES. 123 peaches, flourish exceedingly well in the Michigan peninsula and the section south of Lake Erie. Their success in this field is largely due to the fact that late spring frosts are, owing to the fogs from the lakes, as well as to the warmth which their open water secures, prevented from occurring as frequently as in other parts of the country which are not thus protected from such acci- dents of climate. The original forests of this district were generally of excellent quality. The white pine in particular attains in the district of the lower Michigan peninsula, and along a part of the shores of the lower lakes, a size and perfection of timber unequaled save in the woods of northern New England. So, too, the hemlock, a tree which demands a considerable amount of moisture in the air, at- tains its best development in this district. The general effect of the lakes upon the forest in its primitive condition was to in- crease the growth in the inland district of the continent, especially to limit the eastward extension of the prairies, these treeless plains becoming more or less broken up with woodlands in the section south of the Great Lakes, and disappearing in Ohio, where the moisture of the climate along the border of the lake is too great to permit of serious forest fires, save in very exceptional seasons. The same influence arising from the moisture of the air promotes the growth of certain cultivated plants in the district bordering on these lakes; thus the hop-vine, which succeeds very well in the moist climate of England, where the air is kept humid by the neighboring seas, does not generally do well in our dry American climate. It finds, however, a suitable station in the region south of Lakes Erie and Ontario, where the dry northwest winds have their character qualified by their journey over these extensive bodies of water. It is a noteworthy fact, that the nurserymen who grow trees from seed toa size fit for planting find the region south of Lake Ontario excellently well adapted to their needs. So, too, the district south of Erie, in Michigan, has been found similarly advantageous for this use, though in a less conspicuous degree. All the forage crops likewise feel the influence of the humid air, and attain a development unusual in the interior parts of the continent. The subterranean sources of wealth in this field, the value of which has been well proved by extensive mining operations, in- clude iron, copper, lead, silver, and salt. Of these, the iron and copper are by far the most valuable. The iron district, as well as that containing copper, lies almost altogether about the head 124 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. of Lake Superior and in the district between that section and the northwestern border of Lake Michigan. These ores of iron are found principally in the two forms of magnetic iron oxide and hematite. Both these metals occur in deposits of unusual thick- ness and of remarkable purity. The deposits of magnetic ore are limited to the highly metamorphosed rocks in the western por- tion of the upper peninsula of Michigan, and to the fields under- laid by strata of similar age, which lie to the north and northwest of the head of the lake.* The deposits in this region have been worked for more than a score of years, and the mining operations have revealed bodies of ore of surprising richness and purity. No other known region on this continent has an equally extensive accumulation of the ores of this metal, and in none other is the material so free from deleterious admixtures, such as sulphur, phosphorus, or titanium. The region to the north of the lake, though as yet imperfectly explored, is known to contain ores of iron which are even richer and more abundant than those which occur on the southern border of the lake. Next, and hardly second in value to the iron ores of this dis- * trict, come the deposits of copper. These are practically limited to the central and western portion of the upper peninsula of Michigan. The copper ores of Michigan are peculiar in the fact © that the metal generally occurs in its metallic state. In all the other great copper-producing districts of this and foreign countries the material is found in chemical combination with various sub- stances, forming pyrites or carbonates, combinations which have to be broken up in the furnace or by means of other apphances before the metal can be obtained. Inthe Lake Superior district the most valuable deposits are found in the conglomerate or pebbly bed where the metal occurs lodged between the bits of rocky mat- ter. Very similar accumulations occur in the same district where the metal has been packed in between the grains of a volcanic ash. In this latter mode of occurrence the copper is often found ageregated into great masses of a sheetlike form, which often weigh many tons. Owing, however, to the fact that these great masses have to be laboriously cut up by means of hammers and chisels before they can be taken from the mine, it has been found more profitable to work the beds, where the copper exists in the form of small fragments to the amount of from five to ten per cent * The Lake Superior iron mines produced, in 1887, 4,738,903 long tons of iron— nearly double the production of 1884, and more than one half of the total output of the country. MINERAL RESOURCES: OF (LAKE! DISTRICT, 125 of the mass, than to extract these occasional solid accumula- tions. 8 The silver-bearing ores of this district occur in two diverse forms. From the region north of the Sault Ste. Marie eastward, through a large part of the province of Ontario, veins of galena ~ are found which are of considerable size and occasionally contain a noteworthy admixture of silver. At present these veins can not be profitably worked, for the reason that the tariff on lead ex- cludes the product from the markets of the United States. With a free commercial intercourse between these two parts of the continent, which only man has put asunder, the lead mines of this district could probably be worked to advantage, and would afford a certain amount of silver as a by-product. Silver in the metallic form occasionally occurs in the copper-bearing district of Lake Superior and on the Canadian shore to the northward. In the rocks near the copper mines, sometimes amid the deposits of that metal which occur in the beds of volcanic ash, this metallic silver affords beautiful branched shapes of the metal. Some of these very local accumulations are so rich that from spaces of a few cubic yards many thousand dollars’ worth of silver have from time to time been obtained. The Silver Eylet mine, néar the north shore of Lake Superior, afforded from a larger but similarly lim- ited aggregation of metallic silver a very profitable return toa mining company. Notwithstanding the occasional occurrence of these very rich though limited deposits of silver there is no rea- son to expect that the lake district will ever afford an important supply of this metal. North of Lake Ontario, particularly in the section immedi- ately east and north of Kingston, there are numerous vein depos- its of a crystallized lime phosphate known as apatite. Although the mines which have been worked for this substance have hith- erto proved fairly profitable, recent discoveries of other and cheaper sources of supply make it unlikely that they are hereafter to afford adequate returns. In the same district occur, in close association with the deposits of apatite, numerous localities which afford an excellent quality of mica. This transparent mineral, which easily splits into thin films, has, it is true, a certain limited use in the arts; but the market for the substance is not increasing, and the supply from the mines in New England and in North Carolina already exceeds the demand. In the section about Lake Huron and along the southeastern shore of Lake Erie there are extensive deposits of rock salt. Al- 126 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. though these saliferous fields are imperfectly explored, it seems probable that théy contain very large stores of this substance. These deposits occur in a field which extends from the head- waters of the Mohawk River westward to the lower peninsula of Michigan.* No other large bodies of rock salt which are known to exist in North America are so well placed for commercial use as these which lie in the drainage basin of the Great Lakes.. The only deposits which may be compared with them, as regards their extent or the ease with which they may be worked, are the singu- lar accumulations which occur on the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico in western Louisiana. 3 As regards its healthfulness, the district of the Great Lakes is ° one of the most satisfactory sections of the continent. No portion of its area is to any considerable extent subject to malarial fever. The region has never been invaded by yellow fever; and the other forms of contagious diseases which affect men are not more seri- ous in this district than in the other northern parts of the inhab- ited portion of the continent. The population of this district is mainly derived from north. ern Europe. In the province of Ontario is an admixture of French blood, partly a survival from the old colonial days when the French carried on an extensive trade with the Indians. This French element is to a considerable extent commingled with the native races, it having been the habit of the Gallic peoples to in- termarry with the Indians. During the slaveholding times of this country many negro refugees peal the States sun of the Ohio River gathered in the part of Canada which lies to the north of Lake Erie. Although this essentially foreign population has not increased in its northern home, their descendants consti- tute a notable part of the people in several townships, and are particularly interesting for the reason that they have success- fully endured the very strenuous winters of this district in some cases for three generations. There is probably no other case in the world where a folk of tropical origin have been transplanted to as frigid a climate as that to which these negroes are exposed.. The fact that they have endured it tolerably well is one of the many evidences of the vigor and accommodative power of the African races. The people of north European blood, who oc- cupy this basin to the exclusion of almost all other folk, appear throughout to find its conditions admirably suited to their needs. * In 1887, 3,944,309 barrels of salt came from Michigan, and 2,353,560 barrels from New York, and the total product of the country was 7,831,962 barrels. FUTURE OF THE GREAT LAKES REGION. 127 The purest English population lies upon the northern shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario; much of it has been upon the soil for three quarters of a century, and its admirable condition shows clearly that the English race has nothing to fear from exposure to this strenuous climate. The southern portion of the lake basin in - western New York, northern Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana, in west- ern Wisconsin and in Michigan, contains perhaps the most pro- miscuous rural people of north European descent which is found in any part of this country. Those of English ancestry are mostly from the settlements which their people made in New England and New York; but Germans, Scandinavians, Celtic Irish, Poland- ers, and even Russians, are commingled in the population of the various towns, and have also found a place among the soil-tillers. All the natural conditions of this district combine to make the shores of its inland seas the seat of great cities. The waters of these basins afford a natural pathway for a large part of the in- terior commerce of the continent; the mineral resources favor the development of varied manufacturing industries ; and the cli- mate is one which animates men to the utmost exercise of their vigor. Except about Lake Superior, which is rather too far north for successful agriculture, the soil is usually fertile, and affords a wide range of the crops and animal products which are suited to distant exports. All these conditions combine to insure to this part of the country exceedingly varied industries, and will enable it to support a denser population than any other section in. the northern part of the continent. Next after the Ohio Valley it is the most richly provided by Nature with the material re- sources of civilization of any of the great divisions of the conti- nent. It is even more fortunate than this district on the south, for the reason that it will never have to deal with the difficulties arising from the presence of a large element of African blood in its population. Perhaps its greatest good fortune consists in the, fact that it has relatively little else than north European blood. Notwithstanding some elements of friction with newcomers from Europe, there can be no doubt that all the diversities of race, language, and national motive will shortly become fused into a people of great physical and mental vigor. UprER MISSISSIPPI DISTRICT. In the valley of the upper Mississippi, from the junction of the Missouri River with the so-called main stream northward to the basin of the Red River of the North near the Canada line, we 128 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. $$ find a district which has a certain geographic individuality which makes it fit to consider it apart from the other portions of the country. Within this valley lie parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois; no one of these States lies altogether in the valley of the upper Mississippi. The whole of this area is in the broad central trough of the continent, in which the underlying rocks have never been to any extent disturbed by the mountain- building forces. On this account its surface is generally of slight inclination; the streams are of gentle descent, except where they pass over the edges of the horizontally outcropping strata; and the divides between the streams are singularly destitute of topo- graphic accent. The barrier between the drainage of the Mis- sissippi and that of Lake Michigan is very slight, and between the waters of this basin and those of the Red River of Canada it is possible in very wet seasons to take a boat without any portage whatever. On the west the division between the waters of the upper Mississippi and those which flow into the Missouri is, at least in the northern part of the divide, of a more distinct charac- ter, the tributaries of the two streams heading in a high-lying plain country, which is, however, without any distinct line of either mountains or hills. Owing to the lack of strong boundaries this valley has no in- dividuality of climate. On the north and west it lies wide open to the invasion of the cold, dry winds from the northern part of the continental interior, and on the south and east to the warmer and relatively moist air from the lower parts of the Mississippi | Valley. The range of temperature, as is the case with nearly the whole of the interior district of North America, is very great. In the summer season the hot waves carry the thermometer to near 100° Fahr., and in winter it often descends to 30° below zero on that scale. Owing, however, to the relatively dry air, these varia- tions of heat are less important in their effect upon the economy of the human body than are those of the Atlantic seaboard. The whole of this region is near the western limit of that part of the continent which is characterized by a somewhat excessive rainfall. The annual precipitation varies from about thirty-five inches in the eastern and southern border of the field to about thirty inches on its western margin. Asa whole, the precipita- tion has a rather better seasonal distribution than in the fields lying to the south and east. The winter rainfall especially, which in most of the districts east of the Mississippi is disadvantageously great, is lessened in this field. On the western border of the valley . we 4 oO eee | y - if i" b } Sour 7S w a ‘ = LIBRARY: OF THE | UNIVERSITY OF ILLINUIS. . i < . é = ' y " 4 z ; LAD Pe i A #| ae 3 7 « 1 ay - te Eagle: Crag, Rio Virgen, Utah. BLIZZARDS AND TORNADOES. 129 of the upper Mississippi the precipitation in the growing season is occasionally insufficient for the fullest development of the tillage crops, but as a whole the agriculture of this part of North Amer- ica suffers less from climatal accidents than in many other por- tions of the continent, the occasional losses from drought being ~ compensated for by the exemption from damage due to excessive rainfall in the spring and early summer, such as frequently occurs in the better watered parts of the country. This part of the con- tinent is, along with the other portions of the Mississippi Valley north of the Gulf States, subjected to two peculiar classes of climatal accident: “blizzards,” or fierce northwest winds, which occur in the winter season; and tornadoes, which are commonest in the spring and early summer. The violent north winds of the cold season occur at the close of those great circular air move- ments, the common storms of this country. The air movement in this section is greater than elsewhere, probably in part for the reason that the surface is commonly level and destitute of exten- sive woods, so that the energy of the motion in the atmosphere is not to any great extent diminished by the friction it encounters in moving over the surface of the earth. In the early condition of the country, when the settlements were detached and the buildings of the farmstead of a frail and insufficient character, _. these winter winds often led to a considerable loss of life among the people and their domesticated animals. With the progres- sive improvement in the farm buildings, the extent of this evil is constantly reduced, so that these storms are not likely in the future to be very serious. The tornadoes which occur on the southeastern part of the advancing front of the ordinary storms are more serious evils. As set forth in the section of this work which treats of American weather, the detailed characteristics of these singular whirlings of the air and their dangers are noted. We will therefore only remark the fact that the loss to life and property which is likely to arise from these calamities will probably increase as the popu- lation becomes denser, provided care is not taken, by the use of a proper system of building, to diminish as far as may be the ills which they inflict. Veen the population has come to organize its constructions with reference to these dangers, they will prob- ably afford much less ground for Peyatenren than they do at present. Owing to its high northern position, and the relative clearness of the sky in the summer season, this region is blessed with much 9 130 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE. FOR THE Wise sunshine, which is very advantageous to the health of the people and to the growth of the crops. The dryness of the winter air serves to mitigate the evils arising from the intense cold. More- over, the temperature in winter is less variable than in the south- ern parts of the Mississippi Valley—a feature which is due to the fact that the warm winds from the Gulf of Mexico do not often penetrate so far to the north, and when they reach this district have already been much cooled by their long passage over the land. The soil of this district is throughout stamped by the effects arising from the recent occupation of the country by the glacial sheet. Except an area in southern Wisconsin, which for some unexplained reason was exempt from the tread of the ice, the character of the soil is everywhere more or less affected by the drift coating. In the northern part of the area this sheet of débris is commonly thick, and as it is composed to a great extent of waste worn from rocks which contain much lime, it is well suited to afford the mineral substances required for plants. In the southern portion of the field there is a considerable extent of country which is covered by a fine-grained, compact mass, which in the main appears to be made up of silt deposited by the waters which flowed from beneath the glacial sheet. This accumula- tion, known to geologists by the name of loess, affords soils of excellent quality. 7 Owing to the fact that there are no mountainous or even very hilly Haile in this part of the country, practically all the rock sur- face, except that which is exposed on the steep escarpments of the river cliffs, is soil-clad and fit for tillage. Owing to its rela- tively dry climate, the swamp areas are very small; and, except certain fields near the very numerous lakes which occur in the northern part of the district, these limited areas of inundated ground can be easily won to tillage. Probabiy no other equal area on this continent is as uniformly fit for the plow. Of the dry land more than ninety-nine hundredths is suited to agriculture. One of the most characteristic features of this section is found in the very numerous small lakes which occupy an extended dis- trict in the northern part of the basin, and which likewise occur in great numbers in that part of Wisconsin which slopes toward Lake Michigan. These areas of water owe their existence mainly to the irregular distribution of the débrzs which was left upon the surface at the end of the last Glacial period. The number of these lakes, varying in size from tiny dots of water to those of suf- Weer Ol THE UPPER PMISSISSIPRI DISTRICT. 131 ficient dimensions to have some importance in navigation, is to be counted by thousands. They constitute a beautiful feature in the landscape, and are likely to prove of great value as sources of water supply. Owing to the deep and porous nature of the drift coating, the streams which are tributary to the upper Mis- sissippi, though of relatively small size, maintain an unusually uniform flow for a country of such moderate rainfall. Many of them are suited to afford valuable water-power, and the Missis- sippi at the Falls of St. Anthony, where the water is precipitated over thick beds of the St. Peter’s sandstone, affords the most important water-power which has been utilized in the central portion of the United States. Y Cy, /, ify, ign My F-. 4 } rN 5 g u a & vie i : TLL e \ a \\ I Wy) NEY fase AS ie Ki = 2, > Wee “fff 2S an SNS NS 4h 4) SS \ Ks pe . HA \ % x R Se yh ili i a v. AW a r- i aoe, iy Mig (Zs Pes Sy a Ka Z: WEE: wT Aj WY = qth. ; Y pps aR = Lf, ZENS NW WN Si WN \ \ pi t ‘i my Z S&S ENS WRG VLE GAMES MMi iN AK UINZEN Uy nn tyne Zip SMS 14° West s si 12°30) Scale 1 : 1,500,000. 30 miles. Grand Cafion of the Colorado. by irrigation. By storing the excess of water which passes into the rivers in the rainy season—a process which could be readily effeeted by constructing reservoirs in the mountain dis- tricts—enough could be retained within the field properly to irri- gate areas aggregating many thousand square miles. In nearly all the valleys of this area the earth fitted for soil purposes is deep, and when sufficiently moistened produces crops of remark- able luxuriance. Here, as elsewhere in arid districts, the growth of vegetation where plants have sufficient water is remarkably favored by the continuous and brilliant sunshine. It seems likely that when the rainfall of this district is made to do its utmost service in the way of irrigation, the region will be able to supply the large part of the food products required by the vast mining population which in time is to find occupation within it. 168 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. In all that relates to the health of the people this district seems the most favored portion of the continent. The excellent bodily condition of those who have been born and nurtured in this part of the country shows clearly that the realm is ad- mirably suited to the physical needs of our race. This fact is the more interesting and instructive for the reason that in the Cordilleran district the north European people have for the first time to occupy a region of prevailingly great elevation. Ex- perience clearly shows that these novel conditions are in no wise unsuited to their habit of body. Except in the southern por- tion of this district, within Mexico and the neighboring parts of the United States, this region has been settled by an admirable class of immigrants, mostly of English blood. The Mexican dis- trict contains a mixed race, in part derived from Spain, but very largely intermingled with the aboriginal population. It is evident that the Cordilleran district is to be the seat of a peculiar people, rendered exceptional by the character of their occupations. In the main, they are to be engaged in winning the subterranean resources of the field. They are to be miners and smelters of ore. Those engaged in tilling the soil are to be em- ployed in a very high grade of agriculture, such as is required on irrigated land. Here and there in the desert there are to be oases of rare fertility, and from perhaps hundreds of mining sta- tions there will be produced a very wide range of subterranean products. It seems likely that in twenty years from the present time the aggregate of commercial values which will thus be won from this “ Great American Desert” will be as large as that ob- tained in any equal area of the continent. CALIFORNIA DISTRICT. In the Sierra Nevada and along the Pacific coast of North America we have two districts which deserve special mention. That of California is the southernmost of these fields. This area may be regarded as including the coast-land belt and the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, as well as the great promontory of southern California. This section includes a nar- - row area having a length of about fifteen hundred miles. The southern half of the extension includes the peninsula of Lower California, on many accounts the most singular of the hallf-isl- anded lands of North America. The southern section of this district, including about one half of the whole surface, may be briefly described. LOWER CALIFORNIA. 169 Lower California is a promontory having an average width of about a hundred and fifty miles and a north and south extension of about seven hundred. It is in effect the southern prolongation of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which here, though less elevated than within the limits of California, is a lofty and con- tinuous set of ranges, bordered on either side by foot-hills and a narrow belt of plains. As this peninsula extends from about 26° north latitude southward to beyond the tropics, it lies within the more heated portion of the continent, and under ordinary condi- tions would be a region of rare fertility. Although it is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and on the east by the wide Gulf of California, it is the most arid district which exists on the shore-lands of the continent. The average rainfall probably does not exceed about ten inches. As the air is excessively dry, but little of this water courses to the streams, which are of trifling volume, and almost altogether dry in the summer season. Except here and there, where some small field may be irrigated, the whole region is absolutely unfit for agriculture. Between the southern border of California and the line of the Santa Maria River, in the thirty-fifth parallel, the air is still so dry that the forests are extremely scanty, only a few districts of timbered land on the elevated ground deserving the name of woods. From the line of the Santa Maria River northward to near the borders of Oregon the California area is occupied by the rivers which discharge through the harbor of San Francisco and by the narrow strip of coast-land that lies at the foot of the mountains separating that wonderful vale from the sea. This basin of California is by far the richest portion of the Cordille- ran system. It is favored alike in climate, soil, and under-earth resources. The great north and south extension of this district induces a considerable variety in its climate. Southern California is a land of untempered heats, having the characteristics of the other trop- ical deserts of the world. From its northern border to the great _ California basin the climate is subtropical, and near the coast of a delightful character, the warmth of the summer being modified by the air from the sea; while the winter temperature is likewise made constant by the neighborhood of a great body of warm sea- water. A somewhat steadfast increase of the rainfall as we go northward causes the whole of the great valley of California, as well as much of the shore-land, to have an air of moderate hu- midity. The climate of this basin is remarkably uniform through- 170 WHAT NATURE HAS’ DONE FOR THE WEST. out the whole of its north and south extension. Probably no section of the continent having an equal length on the meridians varies as little in the measure of its temperature and its humidity. The only atmospheric ill from which this region suffers consists in the prevailing drought, which sets in in the later springtime, and commonly continues, with slight interruptions, for about six months. The summer temperature of the interior valley is high; the winter cold is, however, moderate, as is indicated by the fact that the orange and other subtropical fruits can be grown throughout the greater part of the district. The shore-land belt has an equable climate, the thermometer | in winter rarely falling below the freezing point, and in summer seldom attaining a temperature above 85°. The relatively cool waters of the Pacific Ocean, which along this part of the shore are affected by a current setting southwardly from the Alaskan district, greatly mitigate the summer heat and induce much fog. The rainfall of the area is very irregularly distributed. The most considerable precipitation is along the western face of the Coast -Ranges and on the same slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The whole of this area, however, is traversed by the rivers which drain from the upland country on the east and west, so that, even wheré the local precipitation is not sufficient for the needs of agri- culture, the ground can often be watered by irrigation ditches for a considerable distance from the streams. Those portions of the country in and about the great valleys which are not. heavily timbered, and which are not irrigable, are tolerably well suited for use as cattle ranches and for the pastur- - age of sheep. These flocks and herds find the climate admirably suited to their needs. They are unusually exempt from diseases ; and the natural forage, though it probably could be greatly in- creased in value by the introduction of foreign grasses and legu- — minous plants, is richer than in the other equally arid portions of the continent. The whole of this region is naturally adapted to the culture of small grains and of fruits. It is doubtful if any portion of this continent is so well suited for the rearing of these two varieties of agricultural products. There are wider areas of grain fields in the Mississippi Valley, but none where the annual yield is larger, or where the soil endures the tax of tillage so well as here. Throughout the great valley, and on the belt of coast lands south of San Francisco, all our ordinary fruits are easily. reared and attain a great perfection. The grape and the varie- ties of citrous fruits are also very successful as far south as San’ y YK H v Mi Wi, } The Marble Cafion, Colorado River. f = | Bi, AE ntversiTy OF | Pelal ae ii Sphai i ‘hl THEVCALIFORNIAN “FORESSS: 171 Diego, but irrigation is generally necessary in that country. As a whole, the region is too dry for most of the root crops. ee ie = PO ae eS Se Zi ZB) SUNS Ly EZ, —— SH z, Yy Zu Sy 47° Zz-G Wed ZAIN i SS = igs Ei Sy f QI Tes é =} ah CO RZ Ne S ROS WAAC KS : AS 1 WAZ | Aes INS a \) OY a pe SS = 1 \57, ( 1 Do See i Bap SS 1a oy Y NZ ai P= @ Y = | sx \ Riis 3 I SN aS . a : Noa y LAE a HID WD ESAS ee ap . Oe AW os, V4 e\\ sat Ss tas a) ZABT° iN u renter ay d } il a ie = Das . vi NG UU SS SS = Z- tS ss S53 Sy ra = Z SQM C) > : SS a fee NY. DISA \ Spy z T SS Uf Hae x , WY ay ‘ | tes Vg ~ ~\ # : ‘wr x Z ~ =| * SN ( HS o SS in i ( \i Sz WI WO, A S 19°40" “a of pater ey, 'Q°oq-" Waterfalls. Scale 1 : 400,000. 6 miles. Yosemite Valley. The forests of this district are practically limited to the region in and about the great valley. South of its area there are only a few patches which have a forestlike character, by far the greater portion of the area being either absolutely without trees, or cov- ered with a stunted and scattered growth which is without com- mercial value. Along the coast belt north of San Francisco, and on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, the forests are denser than in any other part of the United States, except in the yet nobler woods of eastern Oregon and Washington. Over an ag- gregate area of more than fifteen thousand square miles it is estimated that the timber amounts to more than two hundred cords to the acre. As a compensation for the scanty development of the hard- wood timbers, the conifers of this district attain majestic size, and afford admirable timber for ordinary construction purposes. The, 172 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. most important of these are the sugar-pine, the yellow pine, the red fir, and the redwood. The latter is the most important eco- nomic tree in California, or perhaps in this country. Single trees occasionally yield as much as seventy-five thousand feet of lumber, and two million square feet have been taken from a single acre. The greatest of our American trees, perhaps the largest arboreal form in the world, is the Seguota gigantea. This species, belonging to a group which at one time occurred over a considerable part of the continent, is now limited to certain small fields in the south- ern portion of the Sierra forest. The total area occupied by these woods is only a few square miles, and there is much danger that the species may, in the centuries to come, cease to be represented. The tallest of these trees approach four hundred feet in altitude. In height they are probably exceeded by some of the greater eucalpytus trees of Australia, but in girth of trunk as well as in dignity of form they are doubtless unsurpassed by any other plant. All the forests of California are subject to serious ravages by fire. In the year 1880, Professor Sargent estimates that over three hundred and fifty thousand acres of these woodlands were thus ruined. At this rate of destruction it will require only about thirty years to destroy these noble woods, and reduce the regions they now occupy to an arid state. Owing to the fact that these forests of California are inheritances from the time when the rain- fall seems to have been more considerable than at present, it is doubtful if the process of natural growth will ever return the - surface to the wooded state in the measure in which the repair is effected in the moister parts of the continent. There is prob- ably no portion of this country which is blessed with noble for- ests that would be likely so severely to suffer from their loss, or where such exceeding care is necessary for their preservation. The effect upon the flow of waters in the rivers which would arise from their destruction would doubtless be very great. Many streams which now have a tolerably steadfast flow, would, if their head-water districts were deforested, become raging tor- rents in the rainy season and dry during the arid portion of the year. The population of the California district is of an exceedingly varied nature. The few people who dwell in Lower California are of the Mexican mixed race. The southern portion of the State of that name contains a considerable remnant of Mexicans who settled in the country before it became a part of the United GOLD IN. CALIFORNIA. 173 States. Most of the people are, however, of English derivation, and have in the main been longer upon the soil than those occu- pying any other part of our Cordilleran area. There are already many thousands who are of-the third generation since the settle- ment of their ancestors on the land, and their physical condition shows that the climatic and other features of the area are admira- bly suited to the requirements of our race. Owing to the great distance of this territory from the principal seats of the English- speaking people, the process of its occupation has been slow. It has in its soil and mineral resources the basis for the maintenance of a population several times as great as now dwells within its bounds. The present quality of the people is well indicated by the condition of the higher education in the district. As meas- ured by the age of the State, by its population or wealth, Cali- fornia has a nobler system of higher instruction than any other part of this country. In no other State has the teaching in the upper grades advanced so rapidly as in this. The mineral resources of this district are great and singularly varied. The fossil fuels consist of coals contained in rocks of sec- ondary age. These are tolerably well suited to domestic use and for steaming. They are, however, unfit for metallurgical pur- poses. There are also some limited. deposits of petroleum which have yielded oil for local use. The iron ores of this field are scanty, and none are known which are likely to have any com- mercial value. Among the rarer metals gold holds the first place,* the district of California proper, in and adjacent to the great val- ley, having afforded more of this metal than any other equally extensive area in the world. From the time when this region was annexed to the United States gold has been the most important element in its commer- cial history. Although the value of the product has decreased in late years, it still remains considerable in amount. The reduc- tion has been due altogether to the legislative enactments which forbid the washing of the gravels about the head-waters of the streams by the hydraulic process, it having been found that the débris from such work injured the farming lands along the greater rivers. Considerable deposits of the ores of mercury exist in the Coast Range, and there are several mines which have produced this metal. Owing, however, to the high cost of labor as com- * In 1887 California produced $13,400,000 of gold, of the total $33,147,000, produced in the country. 174 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. pared with European countries where there are mines of quick- silver ores, the production has of late years diminished in quan- tity.* . Numerous other metals of the rarer sort occur in various parts of this area, but none‘of them have been made the objects of the miner’s art. There are some deposits of silver associated with lead, but they appear to have. much less value than those which are found in the neighboring district of Nevada. Impor- tant as the mining industries of this district have been and are at present, it is evident that it is as an agricultural rather than as a mineral field that it is to have value for the future. It is better adapted to the culture of fruits which have a high commercial value than any other equally extensive area within the United States. It is doubtful, indeed, if any portion of the tropical dis- trict of America can vie with it in these products. It is particu- larly well suited for rearing grapes for the purpose of making wine, the orange, and the peach—all fruits which afford a very large return for the care bestowed upon them. The grape in particular exhibits a vigor and producing capacity unequaled in any other portion of the continent; and the wines from this dis- trict, although still somewhat inferior to those of the Old World because of the lack of traditional skill in their treatment, already have a high place. in this country, and are valued in the Euro- pean markets. | Until the completion of the Pacific Railway, in 1867, the de- velopment of California,-by its singularly isolated position, was — greatly retarded. It contained the only considerable body of the English race domiciled on the borders.of the Pacific Ocean. Its commercial relations with the eastern part of the continent were conducted with great difficulty by way of Cape Horn or the Isth- mus of; Darien. In fact, until railway communication was se- cured, California was not an integral part of the American Union, but a far outlying colony, as remote from the heart of the national life as any of the great possessions of the British Empire are from England at the present day. Although the rapid advance of rail- way construction during the last twenty years has greatly bet- tered its situation, the improvement in the conditions have not been sufficient to give to the region anything like the measure of advantages due to its commanding position. In the port of San Francisco it has one of the best harbors of North America—the * In 1880 there were 59,926 flasks of mercury, of 2,000 pounds each, produced from this district, but in 1889 the production had fallen to 26,464 flasks. ‘eqolluvy ‘Surysviy} pue SuIMOo[g ~~ T. GHARACTER, OF (THE, COLUMBIA, DISTRICT, 175 only thoroughly satisfactory port on the western border of the continent south of Puget Sound. Along with the region of the Columbia River on the north, California is evidently destined to be the seat whence the English of North America will obtain commercial control of the lands about the Pacific Ocean. It is through the extension of the commercial relations in this vast realm that this part of our land will find its place in the affairs of the world. COLUMBIA DISTRICT. North of California, including the seaboard portion of Oregon and Washington and a part of the Canadian Dominion which lies to the south of Alaska, lies a part of the continent which deserves especial mention, and which we may name, from its greater river, the Columbia district. This belt of country has an average width of about two hundred and a length of about a thousand miles. On the east it is bordered by the considerable mountain ranges which continue the Cascade Range to the northward. Further inland from this range we enter upon the arid portion of the Cor- dillera field. South of Puget Sound the Pacific coast-line of this territory is but little diversifed by indentations. North of that inlet the shore has the ford type, being bordered by islands and deeply parted by many-branched re-entrants. A large part of the surface of this area, perhaps more than one half of its superficies, has a mountainous character, but the elevations are much less than in the California district, and the slopes usually more gentle. Probably two thirds of the region is suitable for some form of cul- tivation. : The most important climatal peculiarity of this region is found in its relatively great rainfall. In no portion of the area is the winter climate severe, the temperature of zero being rare even in the northern portion of the field. The summer heats, though occasionally great in the southern area, are not continuous. The climate as a whole more closely resembles that of Great Britain than any other portion of the American continent. From this point of view the region is, indeed, the true New England of America. The range of seasonal variation in temperature is not more than that of the British Isles. The greater islands which border the coast—Vancouver and Queen Charlotte—are the largest insulated lands along the Pacific coast of the Americas. In general the climatal conditions are dominated by the neigh- boring sea, it being little affected by the winds from the circum- polar regions, or from the dry country on the east. 176 . WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR -THE WEST, The soil covering of this district is commonly deep, and of a very fertile nature. = ————— [- = = SS = == —— “= = = > . 7UNew Du ngeness = \Poet Townsend = » ; Dp» ZZ WV SS ayn MS) ois S bee i! Day, AVE > - en, HEY Yi RC cS ‘Pertti /2 isqually WY, at Depths. il i oto 25 fathoms. 25 fathoms and upward. Scale 1 : 1,100,000 25 miles. Puget Sound. rock, which here, as elsewhere in regions of considerable rainfall, afford excellent soils. Although there has doubtless been some glacial action in the higher parts of the country, there is hardly To a certain extent it rests upon volcanic A LAND OF NOBLE FORESTS. 177 anything which can be classed with the drift of the Ice period, the detrital matter having been usually derived from the rocks which immediately underlie the particular field. The alluvial deposits of the valleys are extensive, and afford soils of exceeding fertility. : The forest covering of this part of the country, though not the most unbroken, is the heaviest of any in the United States, and it is doubtful if, on the whole, it is surpassed by any other equal area in the world, These admirably timbered fields may be regarded as the northward continuation of the great woods of California. In Oregon they occupy two broad belts, each from fifty to sixty miles wide, lying to the east and west of the fertile Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue River Valleys, the dis- position of the woods being much the same as that which exists about the great valley of California. In Washington the forests are more massive, but they are partly divided into east and west areas, being but slightly connected by a great isthmus of wood- land in the central portion of the State. The most valuable woods of this great system of forest belong, as in California, to the cone-bearing genera. The most valuable species are the red fir and the red cedar, but a number of other forms akin to the hemlock and the spruce are important elements in the forest. A considerable portion of these forests in Washington afford more than two hundred cords of wood per acre, and by far the greater part of their area is so dense that more than fifty cords can be obtained. It is stated by Sargent that a yield of two hundred thousand square feet of lumber to the acre is not uncommon, and that over an area of twenty thousand square miles in Washing- ton alone a yield of two hundred and fifty thousand feet per acre may be reckoned on. North of Washington the valuable portion of the timber belt is considerably narrowed, and with the further northing the dimensions of the timber trees steadily decrease. Valuable forests, however, forming a strip along the shore, extend into the southern portion of the Alaskan area. As far north as the: parallel of fifty degrees, or as far as the mouth of the Fraser River, the climate of this district permits the rearing of all the ordinary crops to which our race is accus- tomed. The fruits of the district, however, do not include the grape, for, though that plant will develop in the area, the climate is too humid for its best crop. Like California, the region is par- ticularly well suited to the small grains. Owing to the depth and fertility of the coating, as well as to the infrequency of torrential {2 178 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. rain, the wasting of the soil goes on much less rapidly than in the eastern parts of the continent. So far as experience has gone, the earth promises to be unusually enduring to the tax of tillage. The considerable annual precipitation leads to the development of many large rivers. The Columbia is the greatest stream south of the Yukon, and is, indeed, the only considerable river on the Pacific coast of the Americas which is destined to have any im- portance to man. Many of the streams are of such permanent he) WN hes We AN Ds MIS Sy, Mrz ~ s\\! Noo = “4 S 2m y ars Ry Ne v i ES 'a\ NPS) W 3 a a eos (oat We ote, ?i bY West of Greenwich: Scale 1 : 7,000,000, 124 miles. Missouri-Columbia divide. flow that they are suited for water powers, and will doubtless have much importance for manufacturing purposes. THE COAL OF THE PACIFIC COAST. | 179 Within the fiord district, from northern Washington to the ex- tremity of the tillable field, excellent harbors abound, which are well placed with reference to the interior country. The waters of Puget Sound, in Washington and in British Columbia, next after _ San Francisco, afford the best portals of the Western coast. They have the peculiar advantage that they are nearer the grain-pro- ducing States of the Mississippi Valley than any other region of harbors on the main shore of the Pacific Ocean. The port at the mouth of the Columbia is suited to the use of large vessels, though it is somewhat difficult of entrance. It can, with proper improve- ments, however, be made one of the most important marine gates of North America. Asa whole, the harborage facilities of this part of the coast of the continent are better than those which exist along any other portion of its shore where the resources of soil and of underlying rocks are great. In few lands is the combination of the natural resources and ports so perfect as here: The mineral deposits of this district are much less well known than those in the other portions of the mountain-built region of the North American Cordilleras. The, reason for this is simple. While in the central portion of these mountains, and even in much of California, the surface is generally timberless, and the rocks toa great extent exposed to view, the Columbian area is usually occupied by dense forests, which entirely conceal the surface of the ground, and thus leave the disclosure of mineral deposits to chance excavations. So far the only mineral resources of much value which have been exploited in this field consist of coal and gold. The coal-beds which have been worked lie in the region about Puget Sound on Queen Charlotte Island and the neighbor- ing portions of the mainland. So far as is yet ascertained, these coals are the best found on the Pacific coast of the Americas. They are of fair quality for domestic use and for the production of steam. It is not yet certain that they are fitted for the pro- duction of coke of a quality suited for use in smelting iron. The gold field of the district occupies a considerable portion of its area. So far, however, the principal workings have been limited to the placer deposits. Considerable deposits of vein gold are known to occur in the southern part of the territory, and with the advance in the knowledge of the geology of the country, _ which will be slowly gained, we may expect that very numerous other lodes will be found. Deposits of nickel are known in the southern portion of the area, and it seems probable that the mines 180 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. of this metal may prove hereafter to be next in importance to those which produce coal. | The water supply of this district which may be used for do- mestic or manufacturing purposes is better than on any other in- habitable part of the Pacific coast of the Americas. Almost everywhere there are large and permanent streams heading in the forested mountains, the waters of which may be led to cities. The deep layer of detrital material which covers the country maintains the volume of these streams, and affords good mill water in the greater portion of its area. The ground water is generally exempt from that excess of soluble mineral matter which degrades its quality throughout the greater portion of the Cordilleran Mountains. The experience of the people in this district since the settle- ment of the country appears to indicate that all the circum- stances of their environment are admirably suited to their phys- ical needs. The difficulties arising from the malarial poisons which produce ordinary ague have been experienced in the lower valleys along the coast, but no other portion of the con- tinent having an equally humid and warm climate has been so little affected by this class of diseases. An analysis of the vital statistics appears to show that the region is more wholesome than any other equally extensive area on the continent. It is doubtful, indeed, if there is any other part of this continent of similar extent so well suited to develop and maintain the vitality of man. The whole of this region has been exceedingly fortunate in the character of the white population which has come to occupy it. These people have been, in the main, drawn from the English- speaking people of the northern part of the United States, and of Canada. Probably no other equally extensive portion of the con- tinent now contains as unmixed a body of people who derived their blood from the British Isles. The isolated character of the settlement has clearly served to maintain the vigor of its colonies. The journey from the eastern portion of the United States or from Canada is long and costly. Only people of decided enter- prise, and of some means, are likely to undertake it. As regards the population, the only serious difficulty arises from the nu- merous Indian reservations which beset its surface. A consid- erable portion of Washington is occupied by these stumbling- blocks to the progress of our race, and some of them are found in the fertile portion of Oregon as well. Fortunately, however, The Rocky Mountain sheep. THE SALMON FISHERY. 18! these citadels of savagery, which have been unwisely planted in this land, are held by small bodies of Indians. The marine fisheries of this district are already among the more important of the continent. The fiord part of the coast-land is an admirable nursery for the salmon, species of this group at- taining a numerical development in this region which is unex- ampled in any other part of the shore line of the continent. Although the other indigenous fishes have not a like great value, it seems probable that the efforts of the United States Fish Commis- sion will, by plantations of species from the Eastern shore, succeed in making this region one of the best fishing-grounds in the world, both as regards the number of kinds and their numerical abun- dance. The aborigines of this field were to a great extent fish- ermen, and it seems likely that their successors, the whites, are likewise to be much engaged in the same employment. Owing to the admirable harborage of the Columbia region, it is likely to be the principal seat of commerce between the conti- Yy SG, Ge A ) TA\ u Gs Ze % | i 1 é J gil . y 7 YY VEE SY QE \S : \ Re 3 s ) Closed basin. Scale 1 : 37,000,000. 620 miles. River basins of the West. nent of North America and the other countries which border on the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. There are already ind1- 182 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. cations that much of the trade of Europe with the eastern coast of Asia is to traverse North America on the northern system of transcontinental railways which terminate in the harbors along this part of the shore of the great ocean. The student of North America who seeks to foretell the course of events in the coming century finds great assurance as to the prosperity of this part of the continent. As regards the natural resources of the soil and the rocks, the quality of its climate and the character of its population, it seems likely to attain a swift and eminent development. Taken together with the California district, the possession of this field by our race goes far to insure the dominance of our people in the wide realm of the lands in and about the Pacific Ocean. With the Australian English colonies in the southern hemisphere, and this American group of settlements in the northern region, we may feel sure that our race is eventu- ally to control that great system of seas. Of all the seacoast of the Pacific except China this Anglicized part of the western coast of North America is the best suited for manufacturing industries. The abundant water power, and the considerable amount of coal, as well as the character of the climate of that field, admirably fit it to be the seat of great mechanical industries, and it is through this group of arts that commercial power alone can be obtained. Notwithstanding their great resources, the Australian colonies are not nearly as well placed for the development of the technic arts as is this portion of the American coast. ALASKA DISTRICT. North of the Columbia district, from the parallel of fifty-five degrees north latitute to beyond the arctic circle, lies the vast domain which the United States purchased from Russia. At the time when this territory came into the possession of our people an exaggerated value was put upon its natural resources. Further inquiry has shown that, on the whole, the country is essentially unfitted for any extensive occupation by civilized people. The narrow fringe of mainland and islands which lies to the south of the parallel of sixty degrees north latitude is sufficiently far south for the brief summer to admit the tillage of certain hardy crops, such as the small grains. The climate is equable, exceedingly moist, and the cold waters of the neighboring sea cause the country to be fog-wrapped for much of the year. The main district of Alaska, from Mount St. Elias northward, is totally unfit for any form of tillage. The winter is long and the cold en- SURFACE OF ALASKA. 183 during, while the summer season is brief and cool. As far north as Mount St. Elias the shore is extremely beautiful, being, in fact, the most picturesque portion of the continent. The elevations attain a greater altitude than any other mountains which are so near the open ocean. Mount St. Elias is probably the highest peak of the continent. The beauty of the scenery of this region is greatly increased by the fact that this portion of the Cordil- leran system is extensively occupied by glaciers; a number of the ice streams force their way down the valleys to the border of the sea. North of Mount St. Elias the Alaskan area contains no great mountain chains. Its most remarkable geographic feature (DS SS ee SS ee oe ou = ° hae oe De aera eee black Foxes? at Te acme ge ° = 0 aks 9 a 622 ° =--silver Foxes’? 2 oo oO o fs o WN ° DA Ae, Ag — a (rsBe f —- = Lae ° om tata ee eed Tundras. Limit of ’ Range of Limit of Limit of dwarf willow. conifers. Murray pine. American larch, Scale 1 : 20,000,000. 320 miles. Zones of trees and range of chief animal species in Alaska. consists in the wonderful archipelago of volcanic isles which ex- tends eastwardly toward the Asiatic shore. Although the greater part of this area is sterilized by cold, it 184 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. affords quite a wide range of natural products which are of com- mercial importance. The southernmost portion of the district, from Simpson River to Sitka Island, is covered by the northern- most part of the great woodland which is so richly developed in the: Columbia district. Although this forest is relatively stunted, it contains much timber of value, and it is likely to be much drawn upon for the supply of the mining establishments which are devel- oping along the southern shore of Alaska. On any other part of the coast-line of this continent these woods of southern Alaska would have a very great commercial value, but in competition with the marvelous timber resources of the Columbian and Cali- fornia regions they would have but little importance. The whole of this coast affords excellent fishing-grounds, and in its northern part lie the breeding-places of the most valuable of all the fur- bearing animals, the seals of the north Pacific. The mainlands also yield valuable peltries, though the region is less well suited to the fur-bearing animals than the interior portion of the conti- nent. -40° NWoatak a —__-__—-- 34 ‘ A s A Z )p = 5° : Michael] = ; < f eC ] Kuskokvion Se Q AA? dct Selkirk Shs , : -2° —————e er me West of Greenwich IS5° Scale TH. 20,000,000, amma fC) mules, Isothermal lines of Alaska. ‘BYSeTV ‘B3I1S ee! j « raet i ’ ‘ heh 34 Re ee eee 1, en GOLD IN ALASKA. 185 The most important subterranean resource of Alaska is prob- ably to be found in the gold-bearing ores of the seashore belt, and yet the exploration of the field has been confined to a small part of the area; but in proportion to the search the disclos- ures of value have been surprisingly great.* There is reason to anticipate that in the immediate future this section may be- come the most productive seat of gold-mining within the limits >; ; S ———$ > VEVLASS. (SIA = ie SOSH “18187 RE pen ~—— —= —y a! Gi ee : “> o = CBT ETTIRT (FA STEAD GS. > -_—____ > § ss at ——— hy = pp SSS ee Uae eg ey SSS SS at = —— nes IRI Ta] == = —. a ee a ee —————— o to 32 feet. 32 to 320 feet, 320 to 640 feet. 640 feet and upward. Scale 1 : 200,000. 3 miles. Sitka Bay. of North America. Asa whole, it is well placed for such indus- tries. The water supply is abundant, and timber suitable for fuel or for construction purposes can readily be obtained in the forests * Although as late as 1880 the gold mines yielded no returns, the eleventh census shows that in 1889 the output of gold from Alaska amounted to $700,coo per year. 186 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. of the southern portion of the area. The geological structure of the country, so far as known, makes it seem unlikely that valuable coals will be found within this field. If beds of this nature are discovered, they will probably belong to the Cretaceous age, and have the same elements of inferiority which characterize the other deposits on the Pacific coast of this continent. Although the Alaskan district is never likely to prove the seat of any important agriculture, it seems probable that its mines and fisheries will give employment to a considerable population. It will become a nursery of seamen, and it may afford much mineral wealth. The Territory as a whole must be regarded as a mere adjunct to the other portions of the Pacific coast. It can never secure a large place in the social or commercial life of that region. THE CARIBBEAN DISTRICT. In the southern portion of North America, within the tropics, and therefore under climatal conditions which are unfavorable to the descendants of north European peoples, lies a great area of mainland and island which is at present so intimately related to our own portion of North America, and is in the future to be so closely bound up with the economic history of the more northern part of the land, that it should receive some mention in this sketch of the regional divisions of the continent. This area in- cludes the long strip of relatively narrow land from the city of Mexico southward to the Isthmus of Darien, and the remarkable- archipelago of the West Indies, extending from near the north- ern point of Yucatan to the mouth of the Orinoco River in South America. The continental portion of these lands is formed by parallel ridges of the Cordilleran system, and by certain curious diversions in the way of ridges, which depart widely from the prevailing trend of that system in the promontories of Honduras and Yucatan. The archipelago of the West Indies appears to be composed of the crests or higher portions of a long mountain range, the larger part of the mass of which is below the level of the sea, and of volcanoes and coral islands which are associated with the submerged ridges. The lands of this district, together with the peninsula of Florida, inclose two important seas—the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea—the two forming what is essentially one system of waters, which communicates with the Atlantic through the Strait of Florida and by the numerous pas- sages between the several islands which border the basin on the east. As these intimately united bodies of water deserve a com- WEALTH OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION. 187 mon name, it may not be amiss to term it the Columbian Sea, commemorating thereby the name of the explorer who first pene- trated to this part of the New World. The whole of this region except the upland parts of the higher mountains has a truly tropical climate, and is thereby unfitted for the best uses of our race. The English settlements on Barbadoes, Jamaica, and some of the other small islands which have been colonized by the British, have, as in the case of the other tropical colonies founded by that people, shown that the conditions of con- tinuous high temperature are, on the whole, unfavorable to the constitution of this race which was cradled in the high north. The experience of the settlers from other portions of northern Europe is to the same effect. The history of all these colonies points to the conclusion that the north Europeans do not belong in this part of the world. The only profit which they can obtain from it will be won through commerce, and not by occupation of the country with their own folk. The natural resources of this region, both those of the soil and of the subterranean realm, are great and varied. The earth produces the whole range of trop- ical products ; every portion of the surface, except that of some small islands in the western Caribbean, has a sufficient rainfall for tillage; in general the soil is fertile, and almost every part of the area is advantageously placed for the shipment of its products. Taking into account the relations of these lands with the remainder of North America and with Europe, we may fairly deem this the most fortunately placed of all the tropical realms. It has been in every way favored by Nature; its only misfortunes have come through the character of its popu- lation. The whole of the Caribbean region, with the exception of a few of the islands which have been more or less continuously con- trolled by the northern states of Europe, represents in its condi- tions the traditions of the Spanish people. The object of these invaders, unlike those who settled the English portions of North America, was to obtain profitable dominion rather than to found states in the likeness of the mother country. Unlike the English settlers, they have mingled their blood with that of the aborigi- nal race. This intermixture was most completely effected in the continental portions of the area. In proportion to the European people, the number of Africans imported into this district was larger than in any part of North America. Although a consid- erable part of the cultivated people of European descent remain 188 WHAT NATURE HAS DONE FOR THE WEST. pure-blooded, the body of the population which occupies this field is of mixed race. The negro population is proportionally largest in the greater islands of the West Indies. In Hayti and Jamaica they have almost complete control of the land; and in Cuba, those who have negro blood in their veins probably constitute a majority of the population. In the first named of these islands the govern- ment of the country has been for many years in the hands of the negroes, and the result of their dominance has been altogether evil. This beautiful island, which by the French and Spaniards had been brought to a relatively high state of cultivation, has to a great extent relapsed to its primitive condition. On the main- land the intermixture of negro blood is less considerable, but that of Indian origin is greater than in the archipelago. Although the aboriginal folk of Central America, Yucatan, and southern Mexico were decidedly further advanced on the path of civiliza- tion than the Indians in the northern part of the continent, they had not won their way above the level of barbarism, and were on the whole a folk unsusceptible of much culture. ) ry, a ‘souvp-a1y ofeaeN oe hail * * f --,. t « = by Fai? Pe J Fs 6 , ao + La ’ c - = ' { 5 J a 4 - 7 a 7 . . MINGLING OF MYTHOLOGIES. 201 mate, but a few daimons of inanimate objects are found, while the phenomena of the heavens are more exalted; yet animal life occu- pies the chief attention in this stage. In physitheism daimons and zoic deities are many but inferior, and chief attention is given to the deities of the skies. All these forms of mythology have rep- resentation among the North American Indians, but the principal form is zootheism. Wherever a new language is found anew system of mythology is discovered. Not only do the personages have different names, but they perform different 7é/es in the drama of creation, change, and life which constitutes the substance of the stories that recount the doings of the gods. A true mythology is always a living be- lief, and it not only affects the opinions of the people, but it largely influences their acts, and in it they find the origin of the known world, with all its phenomena, and the sanctions for their own habits, customs, and institutions. Tribes speaking ‘languages of a common stock have much of their mythology in common, though a small change of language is always accompanied by some ma- terial change in the mythology. But it appears from the evi- dence, so far as it has been collected, that some myths travel be. yond the boundaries of linguistic divisions—that is, myths have been borrowed by one linguistic stock from another, but in passing _ have been more or less diversified. Yet the same phenomena are usually explained in a somewhat similar manner inall mythologies, and it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to separate those mytholo- gies which have been diffused from some common center, and whose likeness is due to this cause, from those existing among different tribes having a common likeness, due to the interpreta- tions given by analogies common to the savage mind—that is, it is difficult to distinguish between autogenous and syngenous myths. Through the instruction of missionaries and teachers, and by as- sociation with white men, especially trappers and hunters, the In- dian tribes rapidly acquired some of the ideas of the Christian re- ligion, and readily adopted the belief in a supreme God, whom they usually called by some term signifying Great Spirit. Having listened to many Bible stories, they have often adopted them, and thus at the present time their own mythology is strangely mixed with Bible history. Every tribe has, besides its living mythology, a great body of folklore—stories of ghosts, giants, pygmies, fairies, and wonderful adventures of various kinds. It is in these stories that animism chiefly appears. Folklore is a phase in general mythology which 202 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. is believed by some, not believed by all; and in general the sanc- tions for customs and institutions are not found therein. Folk- lore among the Indians consists chiefly of tales that are told about the camp-fire, and constitutes a great body of traditional romance. Religion.—The term religion is here used to include the rites, ceremonies, services, and observances performed by a people in worship and in honor of their deities, and to secure their good- will, in order that good may be done to them, and evil averted. Among the tribes of North America such religious acts were very multifarious. In every tribe there was a body of men, vul- garly called by the white explorers “ medicine-men,’ but more appropriately termed “shamans,” who were the custodians of mythologic lore; and these shamans recounted to the people the tales of their mythology, their creation myths, and the doings of the gods in general. They were, and still are, also the leaders and chief performers in all religious rites. A great many seasons of worship and festival were observed from time to time, mainly con- trolled by the phases of the moon, and extending over periods varying from a few hours to several days. Four-day periods were most common, the number 4 usually being the sacred number, symbolic of east, west, north, and south. On such occasions the people listened to the stories of the shaman, and from time to time performed many ceremonies, accompanied by music and dance; in fact, the worship of the North American Indians may be char- acterized as Terpsichorean. The green-corn dance and the new- moon dance, the hunting dance, the fishing dance, and many others were observed. Such festivals were often carried on until the people became half crazed with excitement, and the more pious devotees often lapsed into the trance state. Sometimes there were wild orgies, beginning with fasting and ending with feasting. On such occasions the shamans and their neophytes were accustomed to use emetics and various intoxicants and narcotics, all of which aided in producing a state of trance, which is everywhere held to be of prime importance as a condition of divination. These Terp- sichorean ceremonies were largely invocations for abundant har- vests, for rain, for snow, for successful hunting and fishing, and for health and prosperity generally, and on special occasions for suc- cess in war. It is difficult to conceive of a more impressive scene than the closing exercises of a war-dance which has been con- tinued for four days, when the hell of human passions seems to be open, and from its jaws pours forth a stream of weird song, RELIGIOUS. RITES. 203 eS ululation, and imprecation, accompanied with symbolic mimicry of the horrors of war. . Among the more advanced tribes the relation of mythology, Terpsichorean ceremonies, and many strange rites is more thor- oughly systematized into dramatic performances. In these re- ligious plays the shaman class constitutes the chief performers, though all the people take part in chorus dancing and singing. It is thus that in savage religion the beginnings of the drama appear. The paraphernalia of this religious drama is very elaborate. The masks found everywhere throughout North and South America were used as the character costumes of the shaman actors in these religious dramas. In this stage well-defined sacrifices were found, exhibited in the burning of food, the sprinkling of meal, and the pouring forth of libations. Sacrifice had its beginning in zoothe- ism, but is not well defined until Nature worship is reached. Mortuary practices constitute a special branch of the cere- monies and occurrences of religion. It may be sufficient to note here that all these practices ascertained to exist now, or to have once existed, in any part of the world, have their parallels in some of the tribes and regions of North America. In the class of inhu- mation are included pit burial, grave burial, burial in stone graves or cists, burial in mounds, burial beneath or in cabins, wigwams, or houses, and cave burial. There are also examples of embalmment or mummification, of urn burial, surface burial, and cairn burial. Cremation, whole or partial, was practiced in some localities. There are also many examples of aérial sepulture, divided into lodge burial, box burial, tree and scaffold burial, partial scaffold burial and ossuaries, and superterrene and aérial burial in canoes. Aquatic burial was not uncommon where the environment was favorable. Corpses were sometimes exposed to be devoured by beasts and birds—not through neglect, but asa rite. In these dif ferent forms of burial customs there were special regulations for mourning, sacrifices, feasts, dances, songs, and games ; and the erec- tion of marked objects, such as gravestones, at the place of deposit of the remains, was frequent. Mortuary practices among the In- dians were affected by the same general ideas regarding the mys- teries of life and death, yearning for a future existence, and awe of powers above humanity, as have continued, with modifications, to affect the most civilized peoples. The varieties in the mortuary forms among different tribes and in separated regions were occa- sioned by diversities of environment, of traditions, of institutions, and of arts. 204 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Cult societies have flourished among very many of the Indian tribes. The purpose of these societies seems to be the systematic performance of religious rites, which are always to a greater or less extent Terpsichorean, and oftendramatic. The shamans, who are the leading personages, are the custodians of the tribal lore, and the teachers by whom it is transmitted from generation. to generation. They are sorcerers, and perform many feats of magic, to the wonder of the people. In their dramatic performances an elaborate system of religious paraphernalia appears. Such per- formances are symbolic of the myths of creation, and the shaman actors personify the gods of the Indian cosmogony, and clothe themselves in various costumes, and especially make use of masks to portray more vividly the mythic scenes. These societies do not run parallel with the clans and gentes, but constitute an independ- ent congeries of social bodies. Yet the religious organization is usually curiously and intimately interwoven into the tribal organ- ization, which is designed for civil purposes. Military functions are relegated to both religious and civil authorities. Toa large extent the cult societies under the control of the shamans decide whether war or peace shall prevail. They also forecast results, or prophesy, and by divination decide upon the wisdom of measures; but the execution of war is more often a civil function. Usually, though not always, the great captains are shamans. INDIAN LANGUAGES. The comparative study of language teaches that the lower the grade of culture in any grand division of mankind the greater is the number of distinct languages. When tribes are in the plane of savagery it is found that in general a very small body of people speak the same tongue. This fact is well exhibited among the aboriginal peoples of America. It has long been a matter of as- tonishment to many linguists that so many distinct tongues were spoken there. Again and again it has been found that a tribe hav- ing but a few score of people speak a language unrelated, so far as can be discovered by philologic research, to that of any other people in the world. In other cases, several languages prove to be more or less distinctly related to one another, so that a stock may be composed of many languages. In North America, the Algon- quian, the Siouan, and the Shoshonean stocks are good examples of this composition. Where many languages and dialects belong to the same stock it is usually found that the differentiation thus exhibited is due to the absorption of materials from other lan- NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 205 guages, which are often extinct, except so far as a portion of their materials is preserved in the languages by which they have been absorbed. In this manner evidence is afforded that a still greater number of languages existed among the tribes of the continent in some remote past time than at present. Within the historic period throughout the world the loss of languages, except as a few words here and there are preserved by absorption, is a phenomenon well attested, and the same process of diminution seems to have gone on in prehistoric times. All the facts, therefore, lead to the con- clusion that they diminish in number with the progress of cul- ture, and that the dialects and languages of the same stock are not properly a phenomenon of multiplication, but attest the dis- appearance of tongues differing radically from those at present spoken. By this process the conclusion may be reached, with a fair degree of certainty, that primordially a vast number were spoken, that every little tribe developed a language of its own, and that from that stage to the present the number has steadily but surely diminished, so that at the present time comparatively few are spoken. It has already been mentioned that many languages were spoken by the tribes of North America. The number is so great and the characteristics are so diversified, that any intelligible ac- count of their peculiarities would require a special and voluminous treatise. In the year 1836 Albert Gallatin published the first at- tempt to classify them. Since that time much has been done in this field of research, and various scholars have added to the work begun by Gallatin, so that a well-founded account can now be given of the families or stocks spoken in North America by the aboriginal tribes. - The terms family and stock are here applied interchangeably toa group of languages that are supposed to be cognate. A single language is called a stock or family when it is not found to be cognate with any other. Languages are said to be cog- -nate when such relations appear between them that they are supposed to have descended from a common ancestral speech. The evidence of cognation is derived exclusively from the vocab- ulary. Grammatic similarities are not supposed to furnish evi- dence of cognation, but to be phenomena in part relating to stage of culture and in part adventitious. It must be remem- bered that extreme peculiarities of grammar, such as the vowel mutations of the Hebrew or the monosyllabic separation of the Chinese, have not been discovered among Indian tongues. It 206 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. therefore becomes necessary, in the classification of Indian lan- guages into families, to neglect grammatic structure, and to con- sider lexic elements only. But this statement requires further explanation. It is postulated that in the growth of languages new words are formed by combination, and that these new words change by attrition to attain economy of utterance, and also by assimilation (analogy) for economy of thought. In the compari- son of languages for the purpose of systematic philology, it often becomes necessary to dismember compounded words for the pur- pose of comparing the more primitive forms thus obtained. The paradigmatic words considered in grammatic treatises may often be the very words which should be dissected to discover in their elements primary affinities. But the comparison is still lexic, not grammatic. A lexic comparison is between vocal elements; a grammatic comparison is between grammatic methods—such, for example, as gender systems. The classes into which things are relegated by distinction of gender may be animate and inanimate, and the animate may subsequently be divided into male and female, and these two classes may ultimately absorb, in part at least, inani- mate things. The growth of a system of genders may take an- other course. The animate and inanimate may be subdivided into the standing, the sitting, and the lying, or into the moving, the erect, and the reclined: or, still: further, {he superposed classification may be based upon the supposed constitution of things, as the fleshy, the woody, the rocky, the earthy, the watery. Thus the number of genders may increase, while further on in the history of a language the genders may decrease so as almost to disappear. All these characteristics are in part adventitious, but to a large extent the gender is a phenomenon of growth, indicating the stage to which the language has attained. A proper case system may not have been established in a language by the fixing of the case particles, or, having been established, it may change by the increase or diminution of the number of cases. A tense system also has a beginning, a growth, anda decadence. A mode system is variable in the various stages of the history of a language. In like manner, a pronominal system undergoes changes. Particles may be prefixed, infixed, or affixed in com- pound words, and which one of these methods will finally prevail can be determined only in the later stage of growth. All these things are held to belong to the grammar of a language, and to be grammatic methods, distinct from lexic elements. DIFFICULTY OF STUDYING INDIAN LANGUAGES. 207 With terms thus defined, languages are supposed to be cognate when fundamental similarities are discovered in their lexic ele- ments. When the members of a family of languages are to be classed in subdivisions and the history of such languages investi- _gated, grammatic characteristics become of primary importance, The words of a language change by the methods described, but the fundamental elements or roots are more enduring. Grammatic methods also change, perhaps even more rapidly than words, and the changes may go on to such an extent that primitive methods are entirely lost, there being no radical grammatic elements to be preserved. Grammatic structure is but a phase or accident of growth, and not a primordial element of language. The roots of a language are its most permanent characteristics, and while the words which are formed from them may change so as to obscure their elements, or in some cases even to lose them, it seems that they are never all lost, but can in large part be recovered. The difficulties inherent in the comparative study of Ameri- can languages, together with the fact that the material on hand, though large in amount, is imperfect, and the complicating con- ditions that have arisen by the spread of civilization over the country, combine to make the problem intricate. The attempts which have hitherto been made to classify the languages have resulted in much confusion, for the following reasons: First, later authors have not properly recognized the work of earlier la- borers in the field; second, the attempt has more frequently been made to establish an ethnic or tribal classification than a linguistic classification ; third, linguistic characteristics have been confused with biotic peculiarities, arts, habits, customs, and other human activities, so that the radical differences of language have often been ignored, and slight differences have been held to be of primary value. The attempts at a classification of these languages and a cor- responding classification of ethnic divisions have led to the de- velopment of a complex, mixed, and inconsistent synonymy, which must first be unraveled, and a selection of standard names made _ therefrom according to fixed principles. It is manifest that, until proper rules are recognized by stu- dents specially engaged in researches concerning the languages of North America, the establishment of a determinate nomencla- ture is impossible. It is therefore necessary to set forth the rules that have been adopted, together with brief reasons for their choice. 208 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. A fixed nomenclature in biology has proved to be not only advantageous but a prerequisite to progress in research, as the vast multiplicity of facts, ever accumulating, would otherwise overwhelm the scholar. In philologic classification fixity Of no- menclature is of corresponding importance; and while the anal- ogies between linguistic and biotic classification are limited— many of the principles of nomenclature which biologists have adopted having no application in philology—still, in some impor tant particulars the requirements of all scientific classifications are alike ; and though many of the nomenclatural points met with in biology do not occur in philology, some of them do occur and may be governed by the same rules. What is now needed is a rule of some kind leading scholars to use the same terms for the same things; and it would seem to matter little in the case of linguistic stocks what the nomenclature is, provided it becomes denotive and universal. In treating of the languages of North America it has been suggested that the names adopted should be the names by which the people recognize themselves; but this is a rule of impossible application, for where the branches of a stock diverge very great- ly no common name for the people can be found. Again, it has been suggested that names which are to become permanent in science should be simple and euphonic. This also is impossible of application, as it would involve invention and distortion, with no recognized standard. Simplicity and euphony are largely ques- tions of personal taste, and he who has studied many languages loses speedily his idiosyncrasies of likes and dislikes, and learns that words foreign to his vocabulary are not necessarily repulsive. Biologists have decided that the author who first distinctly characterizes and names a species or other group shall thereby cause the name thus used to become permanently affixed, but under certain conditions adapted to a growing science which is continually revising its classifications. This law of priority may well be adopted by philologists. By its application it will occasionally happen that a name must be taken which is objec- tionable or which could be much improved. But if names may be modified for any reason, the extent of change that may be wrought in this manner is unlimited, and such modifications would ultimately become equivalent to the introduction of new names, and a fixed nomenclature would thereby be overthrown. On the whole, it has been deemed necessary to adopt the rule of priority. LINGUISTIC DIVISIONS. 209 As there are many linguistic families in North America, in a number of which there are many tribes speaking diverse lan- guages, it becomes important that some form should be given to the family name by which it may be distinguished from the name _ of a single tribe or language. In many cases, some one language within a stock has been taken as the type and its name given to the entire family ; so that the name of a language and that of the stock to which it belongs are identical. This would be in- convenient and lead to confusion. For such reasons it has been decided to give each family name the termination “an” or ian: LiNGuiIstic Divisions. The following isa classification of the linguistic families of Indians in North America north of Mexico, including the peninsula of Lower California and so much of Mex- ico as is required to show the range of families common to that country and the United States. The principal tribes or divisions of the several families are also noted when distinctly ascertained and of importance. Algonquian Family. The principal tribes are: Abnaki, Algon- quin, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Conoy, Cree, Delaware, Fox, Illinois, Kickapoo, Mahican, Massachuset, Menominee, Miami, Micmac, Mohegan, Montagnais, Montauk, Munsee, Nanticoke, Narra- ganset, Nauset, Nipmuc, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Pamlico, Pennacook, Pequot, Piankishaw, Pottawotomi, Powhatan, Sac, Shawnee, Siksika, Wampanoag, Wappinger. Athapascan Family. The principal tribes are divided into groups, as follows: Northern group—Ah-tena, Kaiyuh-khotana, Kealtana, K’naia-khotana, Koyukukhotana, Kutchin, Montagnais, Montagnards, Nagailer, Slave, Sluacus-tinneh, Taculli, Tahl-tan, Unakhotana. Pacific group—Ataaktit, Chasta, Costa, Chetco, Dakube tede, Hupa, Kalts’erea tinné, Kenesti or Wailakki, Kwalhioqua, Kwajami, Micikqwutme tinné, Mikono tinné, Nal- tinne tfinné, Owilapsh, Owinctiinnetfin, Saiaz, Taltfictun tfide, Tcémé (Joshuas), Tcétléstcan tinné, Terwar, Tlatscanai, Tolowa, Tutu tanné. Southern group—Arivaipa, Chiricahua, Coyotero, Faraone, Gilefio, Jicarilla, Lipan, Llanero, Mescalero, Mimbrefio, Mogollon, Na-isha, Navajo, Pinal Coyotero, Tchikiin, Tchishi. Attacapan Family. Beothukan Famtly. Caddoan Family. The principal tribes are: Pawnee, divided into Grand Pawnee, Tappas, Republican Pawnee, and Skidi; Arikara, Wichita, Kichai, Caddo, Adaize. 14 210 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Chimakuan Family. The principal tribes are: Chimakum, Ouileute. Chimarikan Family. The principal tribes are: Chimariko, Chimalakwe. Chimmesyan Family. The principal tribes are: Nasqa, divided into Ndsqa and Gyitksan; Tshimshian proper, divided into Ts’emsidn, Gyits’umri’lon, Gyits’alaser, Gyitqa’tla, Gyitga’ata, and Gyidsedzé. Chinookan Family. Principal tribes: Lower Chinook, divided into Chinook and Clatsop; Upper Chinook, divided into Cathla- met, Cathlapotle, Chilluckquittequaw, Clackama, Cooniac, Eche- loot, Multnoma, Wahkiacum, and Wasco. Chitimachan Family. Chumashan Family. Coahuiltecan Family. Principal tribes: Alasapa, Cachopostate, Casa chiquita, Chayopine, Comecrudo, Cotoname, Mano de perro, Mescal, Miakan, Orejone, Pacuache, Pajalate, Pakawa, Pamaque, Pampopa, Pastancoya, Patacale, Pausane, Payseya, Sanipao, Ta- came, Venado. | Copehan Family. The principal tribes are: Patwin, divided into Chenposel, Guilito, Korusi, Liwaito, Lolsel, Makhelchel, Malaka, Napa, Olelato, Olposel, Suisun, Todetabi, Topaidisel, Waikosel, Wailaksel; Wintu, divided into Daupom, Nomlaki, Nommuk, Norelmuk, Normuk, Waikenmuk, Wailaki. Costanoan Family. Eskimauan Family. The principal tribes and villages are as follows: Greenland group—East Greenland villages: Akorninak, Aluik, Anarnitsok, Angmagsalik, Igdlolnarsuk, Ivimiut, Kemisak, Kikkertarsoak, Kinarbik, Maneetsuk, Narsuk, Okkiosorbik, Ser- miligak, Sermilik, Taterat, Umanak, Umerik. West Coast villages: Akbat, Karsuit, Tessuisak. Labrador group—lItivimiut, Kiguagq- tagmiut, Suginimiut, Taqagmiut. Middle group—Aggomiut, Aha- knanelet, Aivillirmiut, Akudliarmiut, Akudnirmiut, Amitormiut, Iglulingmiut, Kangormiut, Kinnepatu, Kramalit, Nageuktormiut, Netchillirmiut, Nugumiut, Okomiut, Pilingmiut, Sagdlirmiut, Sikosuilarmiut, Sinimiut, Ugjulirmiut, Ukusiksalingmiut. Alaska group—Chiglit, Chugachigmiut, Ikogmiut, Imahklimiut, Inguh- klimiut, Kaialigmiut, Kangmaligmiut, Kaviagmiut, Kittegareut, Kopagmiut, Kuagmiut, Kuskwogmiut, Magemiut, Mahlemiut, Nunatogmiut, Nunivagmiut, Nushagagmiut, Nuwungmiut, Ogle- miut, Selawigmiut, Shiwokugmiut, Ukivokgmiut, Unaligmiut. Aleutian group—Atka, Unalashka. Asiatic group—Yuit. LINGUISTIC DIVISIONS. 211 Esselenian Family. Lroquotan family. The principal tribes are: Cayuga, Chero- kee, Conestoga, Erie, Mohawk, Neuter, Nottoway, Oneida, On- ondaga, Seneca, Tionontate, Tuscarora, Wyandot. Kalapootan Family. Vhe principal tribes are: Ahdantchuyuk, Atfalati, Calapooya, Chelamela, Lakmiut, Santiam, Ydmil, Yon- kalla. . Karankawan Famtly. Keresan family. YVhe divisions or villages are: Acoma, Aco- mita, Cochiti, Hasatch, Laguna, Paguate, Pueblito, Punyeestye, Punyekia, Pusityitcho, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, Seemunah, Sia, Wapuchuseamma, Ziamma. Kiowan Family. Kitunahan Family. The principal tribes are: Cootenai, or Upper Cootenai; Akoklako, or Lower Cootenai; Klanoh-Klat- klam, or Flathead Cootenai; Yaketahnoklatakmakanay, or To- bacco Plains Cootenai. Koluschan Family. The tribes are: Auk, Chilcat, Hanega, Hoodsunu, Hunah, Kek, Sitka, Stahkin, Tagish, Taku, Tongas, Yakutat. Kulanapan Family. The tribes are: Ball6 Kai Pomo, Batem- dikayi, Bauldam Pomo, Chawishek, Choam Chadila Pomo, Chwa- chamaju, Dapishul Pomo, Eastern People, Erio, Erissi, Gallino- méro, Gualala, Kabinapek, Kaimé, Kai Pomo, Kastel Pomo, Kato Pomo, Komacho, Kula Kai Pomo, Kulanapo, Lama, Misalamagiin or Musakakiin, MitoAm Kai Pomo, Poam Pomo, Senel, Shéddo Kai Pomo, Siako, Sokéa, Yokaéya Pomo, Yusal Pomo. Kusan Family. The tribes are: Anasitch, Melukitz, Mulluk or Lower Coquille, Nacu. _ Lutuamian Family. The tribes are: Klamath, Modoc. Mariposan Family. The tribes are: Ayapai, Chainimaini, Chukaimina, Chik’chansi, Chunut, Coconitin, Ititcha, Kassovo, Kau-i-a, Kiawétni, Maydyu, Notodnaiti, Ochingita, Pitkachi, Po- hallin Tinleh, Sawdkhtu, Tachi, Télumni, Tinlinneh, Tiséchu, Wichikik, Wikchimni, Wiksachi, Yukol. Moquelumnan Family. The principal tribes are: Miwok divi- sion—A wani, Chauchila, Chumidok, Chumtiwa, Chumuch, Chum- wit, Hettitoya, Kani, Lopolatimne, Machemni, Mokelumni, Newi- chumni, Olowidok, Olowit, Olowiya, Sakaiakumni, Seroushamne, Talatui, Tamoleka, Tumidok, Tumun, Walakumni, Yuloni. Ola- mentke division—Bollanos, Chokuyem, Guimen, Likatuit, Ni- ake THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. cassias, Numpali, Olamentke, Olumpali, Sonomi, Tamal, Tulare, Utchium. | Muskhogean Family. The principal tribes are: Alibamu, Apa- lachi, Chicasa, Choctaw, Creek or Maskoki proper, Koasati, Seminole, Yamacraw, Yamasi. | Natchesan Family. The principal tribes are: Na’htchi and Taensa. ae Palaihnihan Family. The principal tribes are: Achoma’wi, Atudmih, Chumf’wa, Estakéwach, Hantéwa, Huma’‘whi, Ilma’wi, Pakamalli. ? Piman Family. The principal tribes are: Northern group— Opata, Papago, Pima. Southern group—Cahita, Cora, Tarahu- mara, Tepeguana. : Pujunan Family. Principal tribes: Bayu, Boka, Eskin, Heélto, Hoak, Hoankut, Hololipai, Koloma, Konkau, Kul’meh, Kulomum, Kwatéa, Nakum, Olla, Otaki, Paupdkan, Pustna, Taitchida, Ti- shum, Toamtcha, Tosikoyo, Toto, Ustéma, Wapumni, Wima, Yuba. Quoratean Family. The tribes are: Ehnek, Karok, and Peht- sik. Salinan Famuly. : Salishan Family. The principal tribes are: Atnah, Bellacoola, Chehalis, Clallam, Colville, Comux, Copalis, Cowichin, Cowlitz, Dwamish, Kwantlen, Lummi, Met’how,’ Nanaimo, Nanoos, Ne- halim, Nespelum, Nicoutamuch, Nisqualli, Nuksahk, Okinagan, Pend d’Oreilles, Pentlatc, Pisquow, Puyallup, Quaitso, Queniut, Queptlmamish, Sacumehu, Sahewamish, Salish, Samamish, Sam- ish, Sanetch, Sans Puell, Satsop, Sawamish, Sekamish, Shomamish, Shooswap, Shotlemamish, Skagit, Skihwamish, Skitsuish, Skoko- mish, Skopamish, Sktehlmish, Smulkamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmi, Soke, Songish, Spokan, Squawmisht, Squaxon, Squonamish, Stehtsasamish, Stillacum, Sumass, Suquamish, Swinamish, Tait, Tillamook, Twana. Sastean Family. Shahaptian Family. Principal tribes: Chopunnish (Nez Percé), Klikitat, Paloos, Tenaino, Tyigh, Umatilla, Walla Walla. Shoshonean Family. The principal tribes are: Bannock, Che- mehuevi, Comanche, Gosiute, Pai Ute, Paviosto, oe a shoni, Tobikhar, Tukuarika, Tusayan, Uta. Siouan Family. The principal tribes are: I. Dakota—(4) Santee, includes Mdé-wa-kan-ton-wan and Wa-qpé-ku-te. (4) Sisseton. (C) Wahpeton. (D) Yankton. (£4) Yanktonnais, di- ‘ ‘ssaisoid ut s0uvp-u109 ay} { ODIxaJ MON ‘ofqeng vunse'qT jo pivd-}1n09 & Ul 9UIDG S 7 - - bs) : : ’ - +, as a | , 1 ‘ Se ' . \ ' i i ; “ ‘ ‘ ; 3 ~ - \ ‘4 J ‘ : ‘ fs ~ : ¥ b: ‘ ae tc aT) rt : s 7 fear Ee ee ‘89 ind gh eye ; ey LINGUISTIC DIVISIONS. 213 vided into Upper and Lower. (/) Teton, including (@) Brulé, Upper Brulé, and Lower Brulé; (¢) Sans Arcs; (c) Blackfeet ; (¢) Minneconjou; (e) Two Kettles; (7) Ogalalla, including Wa-za-za and Loafers; (g) Uncpapa. II. Assinaboin. III. Omaha. IV. Ponca. V. Kaw. VI. Osage—Big Osage, Little Osage, Arkan- sas Band. VII. Quapaw. VIII. Iowa. IX. Otoe. X. Missouri or Missouria. XI. Winnebago. XII. Mandan. XIII. Gros Ventres. XIV. Crow—Absaruge, Aubsaroke, etc. XV. Tutelo. XVI. Biloxi. XVII. Catawba. XVIII. Woccon. Skittagetan Family. The principal tribes or villages are: - Haida, divided into Aseguang, Cumshawa, Kayung, Kung, Kunxit, Massett, New Gold Harbor, Skedan, Skiteiget, Tanu, Tartanee, Uttewas; Kaigani, divided into Chatcheeni, Clickass, Howakan, Quiahanless, Shakan. Takilman Family. Tanoan Family. Timuguanan Family. The principal tribes are in groups, as follows: (A) Shores of St. John’s River, from mouth to sources— Patica, Saturiwa, Atore, Homolua or Molua, Alimacani, Casti, Malica, Melona, Timoga or Timucua, Enecaqua, Choya, Ede- lano (island), Astina, Utina, Patchica, Chilili, Calanay, Ono- chaquara, Mayarca, Mathiaca, Maiera, Mocoso, Cadica, Elo- quale, Aquonena. (#) On a (fictitious) western tributary of St. John’s River, from mouth to source—Hicaranaou, Appalou, Oustaca, Onathcaqua, Potanou, Ehiamana, Anouala. (C) East Floridian coast, from south to north—Mocossou, Oathcaqua, Sorrochos, Hanocoroucouay, Marracou. (2) On coast north of St. John’s River—Hiouacara. (£) Acquera, Aguile, Basisa or Vacissa, Cholupaha, Hapaluya, Hirrihiqua, Itaf, San Mateo, Santa Lucia de Acuera, Tacatacuru, Tocaste, Tolemato, Topo- qui, Itara, Machaua, Napetuca, Osile (Oxille), San Juan de Guacara, Tucururu, Ucita, Urriparacuxi, Yupaha (perhaps a province). Tonikan Family. Tonkawan Family. Uchean Family. Watilatpuan Family. The principal tribes are: Cayuse and Molale. Wakashan Family. The principal tribes are as follows: Aht division—Ahowsaht, Ayhuttisaht, Chicklesaht, Clahoquaht, Hish- quayquaht, Howchuklisaht, Kitsmaht, Kyoquaht, Macaw, Mano- saht, Mowachat, Muclaht, Nitinaht, Nuchalaht, Ohiaht, Opechisaht, ota THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Pachenaht, Seshaht, Toquaht, Yuclulaht. Haeltzuk division— Aquamish, Belbellah, Clowetsus, Hailtzuk, HaishiJia, Kakamatsis, Keimanoeitoh, Kwakiutl, Kwashilla, Likwiltoh, Mamaleilakitish, Matelpa, Nakwahtoh, Nawiti, Nimkish, Quatsino, Tsawadinoh. Washoan Family. Wettspekan Family. The principal tribes are: Chillila, Mita, Pekwan, Rikwa, Regua, Sugon, Shragoin, Weitspek. Wishoskan Family. The tribes are: Patawat, Weeyot, and Wishosk. Yakonan Family. The tribes are: Alsea, Yakwi’na, Kuitc, and Siuslaw. | WVanan Family. Yukian Family. The principal tribes are: Ashochimi, Chu- maya, Napa, Tatu, Yuki. . Yuman Family. The principal tribes are: Cochimi, Cocopa, Cuchan or Yuma proper, Dieguefio, Havasupai, Maricopa, Mohave, Seri, Waicuru, Aalapai. ~ Zunian Family. | Properly to appreciate the difficulties in the classification above mentioned, it must be remembered that nearly all of the names given, both those of families and of tribes, have at least one syn- onym, and that many of them have a considerable number of synonyms, often wholly unlike both in sound and in literation. The linguistic families contained in the above list are exhibited by the different colors or patterns upon the map presented here- with, the total number of families contained in the whole area being fifty-seven. It is believed that the families of languages rep- resented upon the map did not spring from a common source; they are as distinct from one another in their vocabularies, and apparently in their origin, as they are from the Aryan or the Semitic families. Further and more critical study will probably result in the fusion of some of these families. As the means for analysis and comparison accumulate, resemblances now hidden will be brought to light, and relationships hitherto unsuspected will be shown to exist. Such a result may be anticipated with the more certainty because the present classification has been made upon a conservative plan. Where relationships between families are suspected, but can not be demonstrated by convincing evi- dence, it has been deemed wiser not to unite them, but to keep them apart, until more material shall have accumulated and proof of a more decisive character shall have been brought forward. While some of the families indicated on the map may in future be DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 218 united to other families, and the number may thus be reduced, there seems to be no ground for the belief that the total of the linguistic families of North America will be materially diminished, at least under the present methods of analysis; for there is little reason to doubt that, as the result of further investigation in the field, there will be discovered tribes speaking languages not classifiable under any of the present families; thus the decrease in the total by reason of consolidation may be compensated by a corresponding increase through discovery. It is even possible that some of the similarities used in combining languages into families may, on further study, prove to be adventitious, and the number of groups may be thereby increased. It remains for the future to reveal upon which side the numerical balance will fall. As stated above, all the families occupy the same basis of dis- similarity from one another—i. e., none of them are related—and consequently no two of them are either more or less alike than any other two, exceptin so far as mere coincidences and borrowed ma- terial may be said to constitute likeness and relationship. Coinci- dences in the nature of superficial word resemblances are common in all languages of the world. No matter how widely separated geographically two families of languages may be, no matter how unlike their vocabularies, how distinct their origin, some words _ may always be found which appear upon superficial examination to indicate relationship. There is not a single Indian linguistic family, for instance, which does not contain words similar in sound, and more rarely similar in both sound and meaning, to words in English, Chinese, Hebrew, and other languages. Such resem- blances have been discovered and pointed out, not as mere acci- dental similarities, but as proof of genetic relationship. Borrowed linguistic material also appears in every family, tempting the un- wary investigator into making false analogies and drawing erro- neous conclusions. Neither coincidences nor borrowed material, however, can be properly regarded as evidence of cognation. It will be observed that, while occupying the same plane of genetic dissimilarity, the Indian families of North America are by no means alike as regards either the extent of territory occupied, the number of tribes grouped under them respectively, or the number of languages and dialects of which they are composed. The list and map show that some of the families cover wide areas, the dimensions of which are stated in terms of latitude and longitude rather than by miles. Others occupy so little space that the marks representing them are hardly discernible upon the map. 216 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Some of them contain but a single tribe; others are represented by scores of tribes. In the case of a few, the term “family” is commensurate with language, since there is but one language and no dialects. In the case of others, their tribes spoke several lan- guages, so distinct from one another as to be for the most part mutually unintelligible, and the languages shade into many dia- lects more or less diverse. Szgn Language. A special result followed from the fact that in North America a comparatively small number of inhabitants were scattered over a very large space, separated by many linguistic and dialectic boundaries. Each of the distinctly different tongues was for an indefinitely long period confined toa few speakers, who were verbally incomprehensible to all other persons who did not, from some rarely operating motive, laboriously acquire their lan- - guage. Sign language anciently was, and still is, used between persons who can not speak at all, or who can not speak a com- Petroglyph at Mesa Pintada. mon language. For the necessary intercommunication between members of different American tribes, it resulted that the medium of sign language was either retained, or perfected (according as its original relation in time to oral speech may be considered) to a degree beyond that known in any other part of the world. The PICTURE WRITING. 217 signs used over the continent are not identical for the same con- cepts or objects, though they are founded on the same principle and are therefore intelligible to all sign-talkers. A sufficient num- ber, however, had been so long and frequently used by neighbor- ing tribes as to have become conventional, and thereby groups were established whose tribes could communicate with greater ease than with other tribal groups which had evolved other con- ventions. In later times, when a language had become predomi- nant over a large region, or when a verbal jargon was adopted, the language of signs decayed. Picture Writing. This, is another form of expressing thoughts and noting facts, which is intimately connected with sign language, Characters sculptured on sandstone, Arizona. and is of great antiquity in most parts of the world, but has gen- erally become disused. In America, however, its employment is still current, and it can therefore be studied as in actual existence applied to records and communications, without dependence wholly on inference and hypothesis. Its chief intrinsic interest is in the ideography it displays, but historically it is important from the fact that in it have originated all the current alpha- bets and syllabaries of the world. This step in evolution had apparently just been commenced in America when it was arrested by European invasion, as its partial transition into signs of sound appears in the Aztec and Maya characters. The rock carvings in the area occupied by the map above presented may be grouped In accordance with the typical styles of their characters and 218 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS, workmanship, and to some extent correspond with the largest linguistic divisions, but are also strongly affected by the phys- ical characteristics of the several regions in which they are found. INDIAN HISTORY AND MIGRATIONS. The traditions of the Indians, corroborated by the accounts of early European explorers who penetrated to tribes remote from the civilized frontier, afford sufficient historic material to show that those tribes, though speaking different languages and organ- ized into different bodies politic, still usually lived at peace with one another, and held much intercourse, especially at times of fes- tival. A custom of almost unbounded hospitality existed among all of them, and the best energies of the people were expended in preparing feasts and gifts for visiting neighbors. Comparatively little barter occurred between tribes, but instead of it gifts were extensively interchanged. The advent of the Europeans largely broke up this peaceful life. The whole land had been substan- tially divided into districts by well-marked natural boundaries, each district being in the possession of some tribe or confederacy, the members of which had the exclusive right to cultivate the soil, to hunt, to fish, and to gather fruits therein. But as the Eu- ropean invasion proceeded, tribe after tribe was driven from its ancestral home and thrown back beyond its boundary into the dwelling-place of some other tribe or tribes. Thus tribes en- croached on tribes, and intertribal war resulted. Often the en- croaching tribes were furnished toa greater or less degree with firearms. Sometimes the tribes which thus came into compul- sory contact united with each other by amicable treaty, but those which were possessed of superior weapons generally acted as merciless conquerors. The acquisition of the horse and the possession of firearms wrought great changes in aboriginal habits. The horse enabled the Indian of the treeless plains to travel with ease and celerity distances which before were practically impossible, and the pos- session of firearms stimulated tribal aggressiveness to the utmost pitch. Firearms were doubly effective in producing changes in tribal habitats, since the quite gradual introduction of trade placed these deadly weapons in the hands of some tribes, and of whole congeries of tribes, long before others could obtain them. Thus the general state of tribal equilibrium, which had before prevailed, was rudely disturbed. Tribal warfare, which hitherto had been attended with inconsiderable loss of life and slight ter- fos ee ha OD aos " ; ; the! Oily . an ; aa Te y Ate ie fos rv I + Wud a = i. « ¥. << Wy j ‘ i . ° i ES | h j | = | x f wu ‘ Ps hi ‘ | 5 3 , + | al > ; | t te { | ‘ 5 ; | = | n 1 . 4 : 4 > “ae a i | way “a | F : , | Are | F , 1 ee 2 US ; | | ; ts iis As a Ue ae iY = : . ‘ ia |) : : ae. » PO Pe) yee le i ow » Shoshone village. CONTACT WitlH® EUROPEAN COLONISTS. 219 =. ritorial changes, was now made extremely destructive, and the territorial possessions of whole groups of tribes were augmented at the expense of those less fortunate. The horse made nomads of many tribes which there is sufficient evidence to show were _ before nearly sedentary. Firearms compelled migration and caused thorough changes im the habitats of tribes, to effect which in the natural order of events would have required many centu- ries. The changes resulting from these combined agencies, great as they were, are, however, slight in comparison with the tre- mendous effects of the sweeping occupancy of Indian territory by Europeans. As that proceeded, a wave of migration was started first from east to west, and was afterward met by another from the Pacific coast, both of which affected tribes far remote from the inceptive point of disturbance, ever forcing them within nar- rower and narrower bounds, and, as time went on, producing greater and greater changes throughout the entire country. The system of village life was rapidly destroyed by other effects of the gifts of civilization. The Indians were not only provided with firearms, and in many parts of the country with horses and with various traps and snares invented by civilized man, but were also furnished by the invaders with a market for furs. A seminomadic life was thereby initiated, and village life, with agriculture, seed gathering, and fishing, was more or less abandoned. But this successful hunting led to the destruction of the game, and wild animals were to some extent replaced by domesticated animals originally obtained from the white man, and thus among a large number of tribes a real nomadic life was established. | North America was settled from various European states, and each state sought to establish colonies, tributary and obedient to the mother country. This led to wars between colonies. In these intercolonial wars the Indian tribes were often enlisted and furnished with firearms, and they speedily developed a mode of warfare half savage and half civilized. The warfare which they learned as allies of colonies they soon used for other purposes, and tribe made war on tribe, and the ranks of the Indians were thus greatly thinned. At various times, and in many parts of the land, they turned their arms against the white settlers, ultimately to be defeated and to be still further diminished in numbers. Thus, by intercolonial wars, by intertribal wars, and by border wars against the civilized settlers, their population rapidly de- ‘creased. But the contact between savage tribes and civilized 220 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. men was not wholly, nor chiefly, one of warfare. The Indian everywhere speedily acquired some of the arts of the invader. Many learned to speak a European tongue. Missionaries and teachers were sent among them from the very first settle- ment of the country, and these pious, patient, and tireless agents spread the elements of the new religion in the wilderness. Some of the tribes became herdsmen, a few learned to culti- vate the soil by civilized methods, and gradually tribe after tribe entered into treaty relations with the civilized peoples, and, adopting some of the civilized habits, settled down to peaceful life. | The invaders who belonged to the Latin peoples, especially the French and Spanish, generally intermarried with the aborigi- nes. Thus, in Canada there is an extensive body of mixed-blood people, French-Indian. In the southeastern portion of the United States, and still southward through Mexico, the Spanish immi- grants intermarried with the Indians, and the people usually known as “ Mexicans” are these half-breeds. The English, Irish, Germans, and Scandinavians pursued a different course. They refused to intermarry with the natives, but, on the other hand, attempted to induct them into the ways of civilization by teach- ing them the industrial arts, inducing them to become agricultur- ists, and establishing schools among them. This policy began in the colonial times, and on the organization of the Government of the United States it was definitely formulated into law, a system of governmental supervision being organized for the purpose. The policy thus inaugurated by the founders of the Government has with very little alteration continued to the present time. From time to time, as administrations have changed, the policy has been reformulated, and new vigor has been infused into the administration of Indian affairs. But the Indians themselves never looked with favor upon this policy. They desired to re- main in possession of their ancestral homes and hunting-grounds, and did not wish to engage in civilized labors; so they generally resisted the efforts of the missionaries and teachers. But the filling of the country by civilized men proceeded, and valley after valley was occupied, and the primeval life of the Indian was in- exorably doomed. , From the foundation of the Government to the present time the attempt has been made to induce Indians to take land in sever- alty, and treaty after treaty has been made giving reservations to the tribes. These were at first large enough to afford them hunt- OWNERSHIP OF LANDS. 221 s ing and fishing grounds of more or less value, but never sufficient for their complete support in this manner. Such reservations were granted always with the purpose, expressed or implied in the treaties or agreements, that the Indians should become herds- -men and agriculturists. In the earlier administration of affairs the attempts to induce the Indians to take lands in severalty were rarely successful, but in later years they have commenced to see the importance, and even the necessity, of securing permanent homes for themselves in this manner. There are two practical impediments in Indian society that must be overcome before this desirable end can be reached. The first arises from the fact that among these tribal peoples ownership of land in severalty was un- known, tribal or confederate ownership only being recognized. Thus their traditional laws and customs were opposed to it, and they looked with the same horror upon individual ownership in the land with which they would have regarded the ownership of the air or the water, and it was everywhere radically opposed by the dictates of tribal mythology. The second difficulty inheres in the system of inheritance existing among the Indian tribes. As before mentioned, most of the tribes were organized into clans by kinship reckoned in the female line. Some property was inherited by the tribe, other property by the clan, but direct inheritance by individual from individual was unknown; and the little personal property held by a person was sometimes destroyed at his death, under religious sanction, to prevent contention over it. Under clan organization, with descent in the female line, the children be- long to the mother’s clan, not to the father’s. Thus the children inherit as a member of their mother’s clan. When an Indian man has acquired a tract of land under the laws of the United States, at his death his own children fail to claim it and his sister’s children demand it, for such with them is the primitive law of descent, which would determine inheritance when the latter became recog- nized. But gradually civilized systems of descent and inheritance have become popular from recognition of their necessity. Many tribes have already formally adopted civilized customs and laws. The Indians themselves realize that in order to secure lands they must own them in severalty, and that hunting-grounds can not be preserved for their exclusive use. Much more than half of the In- dians of the United States have accepted these principles in good faith, and all the rest are contemplating them with more favor from year to year. In general, the lands reserved for this purpose by the Government are sufficient to make the Indians prosperous 222 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. and wealthy, though in a few instances ample provision for this purpose has not been made. It is interesting to notice that the intermarrying policy of the Latin peoples has in the main been productive of immediate peace, while the civilizing policy of other European settlers has led to many difficulties, often characterized by petty warfare, with ac- companying cruelties and horrors; but the civilizing policy has saved the white race from a serious degradation, and the tribes which have been forced into civilization are superior to the mixed blood peoples. The accompanying linguistic map, based as it is upon the best evidence. obtainable, itself offers conclusive proof not only that the Indian tribes were in the main sedentary at the time they were first met by Europeans, but that they had been se- dentary fora very long period. It will be noticed that the colors or patterns representing the several linguistic families are usually in single bocies—i. e., that they represent continuous areas —and that with some exceptions the same color is not scattered here and there over the map in small spots. Yet the latter condi- tion is precisely what would be expected had the tribes represent- ing the families been in any marked degree nomadic. If nomadic tribes had occupied North America, instead of spreading out each from a common center, as the patterns show that the tribes composing the several families actually did, they would have been dispersed here and there over the whole face of the country. That they are not so dispersed is proof that in the main they were sedentary. Migrations more or less extensive of some tribes over the country had taken place prior to European occupancy. This fact is disclosed by a glance at the present map. The great Athapascan family, for instance, occupying the larger part of British America, is known from linguistic evidence to have sent off colonies into Oregon, California, Arizona, and New Mexico. How long before European discovery of this country these migrations took place can not be told, but in the case of most of them it was undoubtedly many years. By the test of language it is seen that the great Siouan family, which had been regarded as almost exclusively Western, had one offshoot in Virginia (Tutelo), another in North and South Carolina (Catawba), and a third in Mississippi (Biloxi); and the Algonquian family, so important in the early history of the country, while occupying a nearly con- tinuous area in the North and East, has yet secured a foothold, probably in comparatively recent times, in Wyoming and Colo- 1} ie Ww 7 ~-t . O.'6 29 6 Sa THE FOLLOWING FOLDING PLATE HAS BEEN FILMED IN 3__SECTIONS IN THE SEQUENCE SHOWN x . © ae SHT = - dl , -. Uo a * ‘ r 7 toe a mI he 1" : OONIXAN JO HLYON SNVIGNI NVOIGINV JO SHOOLS OLLSIODNIT ae aes ep es 2 TVEMOd 'M 'T S27Yff APIERS CPI OO€ OOL = O88 0 Oot ay Sv NWHOVW rh. tay Fo we Hrunossiw | a — SUE Nie CHARACTER (Or SDAE sERIBES, 223 rado. These and other similar facts sufficiently prove the power of individual tribes or gentes to sunder relations with the great body of their kindred and to remove to distant homes. Tested by linguistic evidence, such instances appear to be exceptional, and the fact remains that, in the great majority of cases, the tribes composing linguistic families occupied continuous areas, and hence were and long had been practically sedentary. Nor is the bond of a common language, strong and enduring as that bond is usually thought to be, entirely sufficient to explain the phe- nomenon here pointed out. The linguistic tie would undoubtedly aid in binding together the members of a tribe when small in num- ber, but as the people speaking a common language increase in numbers and come to have conflicting interests, the linguistic tie has often proved to be an insufficient bond of union. In the case of the Indian tribes, feuds and internecine conflicts were common between members of the same linguistic family. In fact, it is probable that a very large number of the dialects into which In- dian languages are split originated as the result of such internal strife. Factions, divided and separated from the parent body, developed distinct dialects or languages by contact, intermarriage, and incorporation with foreign tribes. But the proof that the North American Indians were not nomadic does not depend upon linguistic evidence alone. Cor- roboration of their sedentary character is found in the form of kinship system, with mother-right as its chief factor, which has before been explained, but which is of such transcendent and pervading import that it must be reiterated. This system is not adapted to the necessities of nomadic tribes, which need to be governed by a patriarchal system, and also to be possessed of flocks and herds. There is also an abundance of historic evidence to show that, when first discovered by Europeans, the Indians of the east- ern United States were found living in fixed habitations, This does not necessarily imply that the entire year was spent in one place. Agriculture not being practiced to an extent sufficient to supply the Indians with full subsistence, they were compelled to make occasional or periodic journeys in large or small parties from their permanent home to the more or less distant waters and forests to procure supplies of food. When furnished with food and with skins for clothing, the hunting and fishing parties re- turned to the village which was their true home. At longer periods, for several reasons—chiefly the hostility of stronger 224 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS, tribes, a failure of the fuel supply near the village, and the com- pulsion exercised by potent superstitions—the villages were aban- doned and new ones formed, usually at no great distance from the old, to constitute new homes, new points from which to set out on and return from their hunts and expeditions. The tribes of the eastern United States had fixed and definitely bound- ed habitats, and their marches were in the nature of temporary excursions to established points resorted to from time immemo- rial. As, however, they had not yet entered completely into the agricultural condition, to which they were fast progressing from the hunter state, they may be said to have been nomadic toa very limited extent. This method of life also prevailed, though toa less degree, in the Pacific States. Upon the Pacific coast proper the tribes were even more sedentary than upon the Atlantic, as the mild climate and the great abundance and permanent sup- ply of fish and shellfish left no cause for a seasonal change of abode. INDIAN POPULATION. During many years all the authorities agreed in the supposi- tion, which until recently remained uncontradicted, that the In- dian population of North America at the time of its discovery was very large, some estimates amounting to sixteen millions, and others still higher. That their present numbers, as lately enumer- ated and estimated with approximate accuracy, show so great a decrease has been explained by a theory that the Indian race is afflicted with an innate defect by which its civilization, or even existence in civilized environments, is-impossible. The statement and the theory are both erroneous. The pre-Columbian popula- tion was astonishingly small as compared with the enormous ex- tent of territory, and during late decades, when the influence of civilization has been strongest, no important decrease has been noted ; indeed, some tribes which are. most nearly civilized have Increased. Some of the reported decrease has occurred, not through extinction, but through absorption—a common eyent in history. The present number of Indians in the United States is not much less than three hundred thousand. The number of those in the Dominion of Canada is not so accurately known. The statistical accouuts relative to the present and former Indian | population of Mexico are not trustworthy. In 1877, Colonel Garrick Mallery, of the Bureau of Ethnology, published the results of his investigation into the former and present numbers of the Indians of the United States, which sug- NUMBER OF THE INDIANS. 225 gested some causes for the exaggerated statements of the early authorities, apart from the mere concerted boasting or crafty pretension of the Indians themselves, which also had their effect. The European explorers and pioneers used the only readily avail- able highways of seacoast and river, near which the Indians, for convenience of food supply, were most numerous and stationary. The early explorers seldom traversed the vast inland forests and plains, which, when examined, showed that no Indian was habitu- ally there. If an expedition through the wilderness was under- taken—which was seldom, as it required large cost and a strong armed force—its passage attracted from curiosity all the tribes scattered over a large region. This congregation would natu- rally imply to the members of such expeditions which first ex- plored the interior that wherever they might go the Indians were there living in large numbers. It was seldom that any competent explorer could overcome the immense distances of separation so as to have opportunity to examine personally and accurately any large number of tribes; therefore they and their permanent habi- tat were not identified. A similar source of error arose from the fact that, though the American Indians were not nomadic, most of them for conven- lence changed their camps several times during the year, while also holding permanent village homes. An observation of these seasonal resorts, without understanding their intention and brief | occupation, would multiply by three or four the numbers of every tribe. The utterly confused synonymy of tribes and tribal divi- sions was a still more potent cause of statistical reduplication. Besides the designated name, sometimes metaphoric and there- fore varying, by which members of each tribe called themselves, each tribe of its several Indian neighbors on every side called it by another, which was sometimes a mere term of hatred or obloquy in the language of the aliens. When the tribe or its neighbors were first met by the French, Spaniards, English, or Dutch, every one of the terms first caught by any one of the travelers or traders was naturally accepted as correct, and there- after was relegated to statistics, probably with blundering pro- nunciation and arbitrary literation. Instances have been ascer- tained where the same body of men, now identified, appeared Statistically with many repetitions on elaborate tables in which the numbers estimated for each synonym were added together, thereby from this cause alone increasing manifold the officially reported population of the regions discussed. T5 226 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. On the other hand, the story of the rapid fatal extinction is disproved. Many of the accounts are explained by the facts immediately above mentioned, but treated conversely. When a name of a tribe had been adopted, whether correctly or not, and a number of other names of the same tribe had been abandoned or disused, the number of people before reported as belonging to all those disused names was subtracted from the total. So they were considered to be extinct. Doubtless tribes became extinct through their destruction by the European invaders in all parts of the country, especially in Massachusetts and California, but as a general rule the defeated tribes fled to other regions of the con- tinent which were unoccupied and as good for their habitation as those they left, and were not “annihilated,” as was the common expression. Even when they infringed upon the regions claimed by a body. of Indians occupying them, there was seldom difficulty about the adoption of the weaker by the more powerful and suc- cessful folk. The hereditary, traditional, and most hated enemies of tribes were adopted mutually, and this fact, in addition to those before mentioned, explains the disappearance of tribal names as published by imperfectly informed writers. The tribes, as such, did disappear from their old habitat and were not recognized under their former names, but the people did not cease to exist. So there was neither the immense population nor the horrible extinction on which sentimental stories have been founded, and from which the fere nature theory has been deduced. _ Undoubt- edly, since the Columbian discovery there has been a large actual diminution of their numbers from the causes explained above and others not now dwelt upon, such as the importation of strange diseases and the critical effects of enforced sudden transitions in habits; but there was no such enormous decrease as reported, simply because there was no such original population. Many millions of Indians are found in exaggerated stories, but only hun- dreds of thousands were ever discovered on the ground. A cause which kept down the Indian population before and when wholly independent of the European invasion has not been adequately considered by most writers on the subject. The Indians had no reasonable or efficacious system of medicine. They believed that diseases were caused by unseen evil beings and by witchcraft, and every cough, every toothache, every head- ache, every chill, every fever, every boil, in fact, all their ailments, were attributed to that cause. Their so-called medicine practice was a horrible system of sorcery, and to such superstition human INDIAN VILLAGES. 227, life was sacrificed on an enormous scale. The sufferers were given over to priest-doctors to be tormented, bedeviled, and de- stroyed. A universal and profound belief in witchcraft also made them suspicious, and led to the killing of all suspected and ob- noxious people, and engendered blood feuds on a gigantic scale. It may be safely said that while famine, pestilence, disease, and war have killed many, superstition killed more; in fact, a natural death in a savage’s tent is a comparatively rare occurrence, but death by sorcery, maltreatment, and by blood feud arising from a belief in witchcraft is exceedingly common. INDIAN VILLAGES AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION. At the time of the discovery of North America tribes of peoples were found at several points along the Atlantic coast. As explorations continued, from time to time other Indian tribes were found along the rivers, about the lakes, and on the Pacific coast, and such tribes were dispersed over a large part of the continent. No one tribe was very large; some of them were very small. They numbered from two hundred to five hundred persons; a few exceeded this number, and a few were smaller. Though tribes were many, the vast area of the continent was not fully occupied. Sometimes several cognate tribes lived near to- gether, and in such cases they were organized into confederacies. Between the homes of tribes or confederated tribes great spaces of unoccupied territory intervened, so that villages or groups of villages were two or three or even ten days’ journey apart. All these tribes were practically sedentary, living in villages which were permanent, with the qualifications before explained, viz., that they were temporarily abandoned at certain seasons of the year, to visit favorite hunting-grounds and fisheries, and to gather the fruits of the forest and prairie, and also that in the lapse of years their sites were shifted. With some few exceptions. the tribes constituting a confeder- acy and grouped in adjacent villages spoke a common language. Only in rare cases did two or more confederacies speak the same language. In many cases the difference in speech was slight, amounting merely to dialectic variation; in many others the variation was more pronounced, so that while the languages _ be- longed to the same stock or family, the difference was so great that the people of different tribes could not understand one an- other. Among the many bonds which held a people together in a tribe or confederacy, that of language was one of the most potent. 228 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. Every tribe lived in a village, and every village constituted a distinct tribe. In some villages the habitations were scattered, - but were so near one another that all the people could be assem- bled at the sound of the drum. VALLEY. romantic hue of his life and exploits have associated his name with the “dark and bloody ground”’ quite as closely as accident did that of Americus Vespucius with the New World to which Columbus by another accident pointed the way. The early and thorough settlement of the West was creatly facilitated by this fact, that its most attractive parts were immedi- ately contiguous to the populous States of the Atlantic coast. If the emigrants had been obliged to cross a long expanse of desert in order to reach fertile soil, the exodus from the East would have been tardy. The migration from Europe would have been much more difficult to set in motion, and the whole process of the con- quest of the valley for civilization would have been materially dif- ferent, as well as much later in point of time, than it actually was. Il. How THE UNITED STATES CAME TO OWN IT. The land of the Mississippi Valley, thus richly endowed by Nature, came into the possession of the republic by a chain of causes that belong to the romance of history. That this great central empire is American, and not French or Spanish or Eng- lish, is due to no one fact alone. Indeed, if any one of a series of events had taken another turn, the course of things might have ~ been very different; and if it had turned out that the Union had been limited by the Alleghanies, or even by the Mississippi, on the West, we should to-day by no means be the imperial power that the great republic in fact is. We should be at best a nation of the Sous rank, unable to cope either i In war or commerce with England or France or Germany. And that is not all. The relations of the States to one another and to the Union would have been radically different. The great fact of the first century of the American Union is, that it has grown to be a nation. In 1776 it was a confederacy, and a very loose one at that; in 1876 it was a nation, and a very coherent one. And the addition of new States from the public domain is what, more than anything else, cemented the loose aggregation of discordant States into this solid republican empire. If the origi- nal partners to the compact had remained the only ones, the schism between North and South could hardly have been pre- vented. Calhoun and not Webster would have been the authori- tative expounder of the Constitution, and in all likelihood Mason and Dixon’s line would to-day part two independent and mutually jealous little republics. The possession of the West by the Union turned the current of history. THE STRUGGLE FOR DOMINION. 281 The land between the Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains was in early colonial times claimed by England and France at the same time, and the first settlers on its soil were French. Louisiana was a populous French colony. French posts were established at strategic points—at Pittsburg, at Detroit, in Illinois, at Mackinac. The long struggle for dominion between the Frank and the Saxon had many vicissitudes. It was for a long time by no means sure that the entire civilization of North America should not be Latin rather than Teutonic. The genius and inflexible determination of William Pitt were what turned the scale. The French were at last overthrown. The treaty between France and England in 1763 abandoned to England all the region east of the Mississippi; all the land to the west of that river went to Spain. Thus one step was made. France was eliminated for the time being from the problem of empire. The Mississippi and the land it drained were divided between mighty Britain and feeble Spain. Thus the cis-Mississippi region was once for all devoted to Eng- lish civilization, and the trans-Mississippi was virtually held in trust by Spain until some more virile power should be ready to take and use it. Spain could no longer colonize. She could barely hold the land under her flag, and the day was bound to come when feebleness must yield to force. What that force should be remained in the unknown future. The next act in the drama was in 1783. The King of Great Britain in that year made a treaty with his rebellious American colonists, recognizing them as an independent nation, and divid- ing with them his once fair domains, and by that document the new Union was confirmed in all the old English possessions east of the Mississippi. This result was by no means a foregone conclusion, nor was it reached by a simple exercise of diplomacy. The Americans held the land in dispute, having conquered it in the course of the war. But it was far from sure, at first, that they would be able to retain it. Their allies, the wily French, had no notion of allowing the young republic to be too strong, and so they proposed that the bulk of the territory north of the Ohio River should be yielded to England; then, a broad strip in the Southwest should be al- lotted to the Indian tribes, as a sort of “ buffer state’ between the Americans and the Spaniards. This scheme would have shorn the republic of nearly all on the west side of the mountains. Franklin, the leading American commissioner, was too old a bird to be caught with chaff, even if it came from a loving ally. 282 THE -MISSISSIPPIO VALLEY: \ He, too, was ready with a proposition quite as audacious. He coolly proposed that not only the land east of the Mississippi, but all Canada, should be ceded to the United States. As the out- come of these warring propositions and counter-propositions, the Americans finally obtained a share to which they were without doubt fairly entitled. All that had been English east of the Mis- sissippi and south of the lakes was yielded to the republic. And thus one half the valley came to its manifest destiny. The forests of Kentucky and Ohio were endowed with the potentiality of becoming free States in the free Saxon republic. Two more decades passed. Jefferson sat on the republican throne at Washington, and Napoleon on the consular throne of France. The mind of the great Corsican was filled with world- wide dreams, He would take up the plans of colonization which had dropped from the feeble hands of the Bourbon kings. He acquired Louisiana from Spain, and he meant to fill it with an aggressive French population. Spanish feebleness was replaced by a living force. And if this force should transform the wil- derness into a new France, with the tricolor at the mouth of the Mississippi, the American Union would be hemmed in once for ail between dangerous neighbors. Its growth would cease, and the prosperity of its western moiety would be at the mercy of the French prefect at New Orleans; for the commerce of the settlers west of the mountains of necessity went to that city, and there was no market for their surplus hams or flour but in New Orleans; so these commodities were loaded on flatboats and floated down to that port. And then came the trouble. New Orleans was in possession of a foreign power. The Goy- ernor could refuse permission for the American produce to be landed or to be transhipped. He could tax it, or turn it back altogether. The only exit for the commerce of the valley was in foreign hands, and the prosperity of the farmers and traders of Kentucky and Ohio was wholly at the mercy or the caprice or the hostile interests of these remote European officials. The valley was like a great jug, of which a foreign power held the mouth and the cork. This state of things had hampered settlement, and had made those who did settle restless and turbulent. Some had pro- posed that the West should secede from the Union altogether and join the dominions of Spain. Others proposed to seize New Orleans by force and annex it to the territories of the United States. Others still would have formed an independent State of © THE STRUGGLE FOR DOMINION. 283 the American lands west of the mountains, with the addition of a large portion of the Spanish domain. It was while affairs were in this unpromising condition that Louisiana was ceded to France by Spain—and Louisiana meant all the country from Texas tu British America between the Mis- sissippi and the Rocky Mountains. This cession was ominous to the Americans. If the Spaniards were troublesome neighbors, the French were likely to be dangerous. The Spaniards had barely held possession; the French meant to push colonization. The Spaniards had been a passive obstacle to American enter- prise; the French would be very sure to become active rivals. With Spain at New Orleans all things were at least possible, but France would hem in the Americans on the west quite as effec- tually as did England on the north. To relieve the situation, President Jefferson in 1803 sent com- missioners to Paris empowered to treat for the purchase of New Orleans. The: mouth of the river, at least, it was felt must be in our hands. We could not afford longer to expose the growing interests of the West to so humiliating, so exasperating a check. The commissioners were authorized to offer Bonaparte two mil- lion dollars for the outlet of the valley. The moment was marvelously opportune. The First Consul was fast drifting into a war with England, and one immediate result of such war would undoubtedly be the loss of Louisiana. England was mistress of the seas. A French colony was impos- sible while English fleets could cut off all succor and could land English troops at any point with impunity. And, at the same time, war meant money. A tidy sum in cash would be a great help to Napoleon in beginning hostilities; and so he amazed the Amer- ican envoys by offering the whole of Louisiana, from the river to the mountains, for eighty million francs (about fifteen million dollars) ! The envoys had no authority to make any treaty so extraor- dinary. But the chance was too great to be lost; no such op- portunity might ever come again. If England should once get Louisiana, the case would be hopeless. And there was no tele- graph cable for instant communication with the home Govern- ment. Accordingly, the commissioners assumed the responsibility. They closed the bargain, signed the treaty of cession and the accompanying conventions guaranteeing payment, and trusted to the gravity of the emergency for their vindication. The dilemma was a curious one. There was no warrant what- 284 SUN ESMISSISSIPRI AAR. ever in the Constitution for the acquisition of foreign territory ; and Jefferson and his party were committed to strict construc- tion. Still, the situation was such as hardly admitted even hesi- tation. The prize to be secured was so vast, the danger to be avoided was so imminent, and the opportunity so advantageous, that all other considerations could only be set aside. It was not safe to delay, as the chance might slip through the fingers while constitutional questions were being debated, and so the work of the commissioners was promptly ratified. Constitution or no Constitution, the Mississippi question was once for all set at rest, and the western border of the le was moved westward to the “Stony Mountains.” This great achievement of Jefferson was not wrought without opposition. The Federalists in Congress fought it bitterly. They assailed the treaty as a piece of wanton folly. The desert bought with so enormous an outlay was, it was said, really worthless. No one knew what lay beyond the Mississippi. But it was clear that the wilderness was vast—so vast that it could never be settled. If it should ever be settled, the result would simply be a republic so unwieldy that it could not hold together. It was absurd to suppose that representatives would ever come to Congress from the slopes of the Rocky: Mountains. As well expect .to construct a State from a slice of China or from South Africa. As to Ken- tucky and Tennessee, if their people were dissatisfied with the Union as it was, let them go. They were of no sort of use any- way. The whole territory west of the Alleghanies: was little better than an incumbrance. It was too far away from any- where to be of any value, and here was a new territory pur- chased that was yet farther away! Again, supposing, after all, that the Western lands should fill with settlers, that result would constitute a real danger rather than a benefit. It would simply mean that the best blood of New England would be drained off to this Western section, leaving the East weak in people and in wealth. All this sounds odd enough to us. We are familiar with all parts of a much wider republic than even Jefferson’s purchase contemplated. It excites no comment for a special train to set out from the Golden Gate of California, carrying not represent- atives to the national Congress, but delegates to a national po- litical convention which gathers at some Atlantic coast city. We have seen population rolling up in the West at such a rate as the world never before dreamed of, and yet the East is not depopulated ACOUISIIIONA BYP HESUNITEDSSTATES. 285 or impoverished. But what to us are the commonplaces of every day, to our grandfathers, when the century opened, were beyond the wildest visions of a disordered imagination. They knew nothing of steam or the telegraph. They had no conception of the tide of emigration that should soon sweep millions of brawny hands from Europe to the Western plains. And, above all, they were animated by a bitterness of political hatred such as we can with difficulty realize. Anything that Jefferson did was of neces- sity dangerous and wicked. That was the brief creed of the Federalists, and their unquestioning conviction of the truth of that creed gave vividness and force to their honest doubts of the legality or wisdom of the great purchase. Fortunately for the nation, the Federalists were a helpless minority in Congress. The treaty with Napoleon was ratified. The Mississippi Valley in its every part—every foot of ground whose drainage ran toward the Father of Waters—was now Amer- ican. It was the greatest achievement since the adoption of the Constitution, as that was the next great achievement after the winning of our independence from England. In building up the republic the name of Jefferson we should honor second only to that of Washington. It was in these two ways, then, that the United States came to own the Mississippi Valley, and both great acquisitions were due to what would commonly be called lucky accidents. It is true that in a broader view of history there is no luck. There is no event without a cause. Each age, with its trials and sufferings and triumphs, is a direct product of forces which we can usually trace. Still, when some of these forces converge just in the nick of time to produce results of wide beneficence, we must rejoice in what surely seems a most fortunate concurrence of things. It was just such a fortunate series of happenings that made the great valley American. If, when our commissioners at Paris, in 1783, were negotiating the treaty of peace with England, English military forces had held the forts in the territory north of the Ohio River, we should never have been able to extort that rich country from England. Ohio and Indiana, and Illinois, and Michigan, and Wisconsin would to-day be part of the Dominion of Canada. Chicago and Cincinnati would be English cities. The Great Lakes above the Falls of Niagara would be British waters. Kentucky and Tennessee would in all likelihood have cut loose from the East and have joined their neighbors on the North or the West. 286 THES MISSISSIPPISVALUEY: There would never have been a reason for purchasing Louisi- ana. The American Republic to-day would be on the eastern slopes of the Alleghanies—a slender territory, surely. England would have conquered Louisiana from France in 1804, and the imperial power of North America to-day would be not the United States but Great Britain. The heart of the continent—the valley of the Mississippi—would in every acre be under the flag of St. George. But it happened otherwise, and it so happened because of George Rogers Clarke and a handful of Virginia militia. During the Revolutionary War the attacks of the Indians on the Virginia frontier were peculiarly exasperating, and these at- tacks were instigated from the British forts in Michigan and Illi- - nois. To cut up this sort of warfare by the roots, General Clarke gathered a small force of volunteers, and, under orders from the State of Virginia, set out not only to subdue the savages, but to capture the posts which supplied them with plans and arms. He was completely successful. One after another the posts sur- rendered, and so it was that at the close of the war nearly all this great territory was under the American flag. Hence it was easy enough for the commissioners to insist that we should of course retain what we had; and so we retained the great Northwest. The instigation of Indians to burn and pillage and massacre on — the American frontier was not a mere accident. It was a part of the deliberate policy of Lord George Germaine, in the hope that the rebellious colonists might thus be worried into submission ; and the infamous device recoiled on his own nation. England lost the golden Northwest simply because the English minister formed and executed the cruel plan of letting loose the savages on the defenseless American settlers. It is not always that na- tional crimes are so soon and so signally punished. The acquisition of Louisiana seemed quite as fortuitous. Had it not been that Napoleon became involved in hostilities with England, he would not for a moment have thought of parting with his cherished province in America. He had vast plans for its settlement and development. These he abandoned reluctantly, and only perforce. He sold Louisiana rather than see it fall into the long list of colonies that England had added to its roll by conquest. Again, unless the Americans had acted with prompt- ness, the precious opportunity would have vanished. Had the Federalists been strong enough even to cause delay the moment would have gone by forever. England would have sent a fleet CHANGES IN THE. MISSISSIPPI VAELEY. 287 to New Orleans, and the great trans-Mississippi region would have belted in the States on the West forever. On incidents so slender do great historic results sometimes depend. 3 ‘ Ill. WHAT THE UNITED STATES DID WITH THE VALLEY. The history of the world has never before known such a series of events as transformed the Mississippi Valley from a desolate wilderness to an abode of busy civilization. Other migrations have been known. Nations have changed their home, but at no other time has this been done on so grand a scale, in so few years, and with results so far-reaching. The contrasts are startling. © Nations that have migrated in past ages have usually been at a low stage of advancement themselves, and not infrequently have destroyed higher forms of life which they displaced. So in the new lands the whole process of development has begun low in the scale, and has advanced slowly and very irregularly. The immi- grants into the Mississippi Valley took the place of a lower and sparse form of civilization. Not only that: the newcomers brought with them the appliances of a high degree of progress. They had the Church and the common school and the printing-press, and so almost at once the solitary forest and prairie became vocal with the glad sounds of human industry. The discovery of the continent of North America in 1497 by John Cabot had for a century little result in the way of settlement. The Spaniards came up from Mexico, perhaps in 1640, and made Santa Fé their capital. The same people settled in Florida at St. Augustine in 1565. The French penetrated the St. Lawrence and fixed their homes at Quebec in 1608; and the first English homes were reared in Virginia in 1607. But these beginnings had small and slow results. After two hundred years of effort there were scattered along the Atlantic coast not more than six million Euro- peans, from Labrador to Darien. In the single century in which we live there have come into the Mississippi Valley not less than forty million souls. New York in 1783 had but little more than thirty thousand, and Philadelphia but little more than forty thou- sand people, and at that time New York had been founded more than a century and a half, and Philadelphia a full century. Cin- cinnati, begun in 1788, had in 1890 nearly 300,000 people. Minne- apolis had less than six thousand in 1860, and one hundred and sixty-five thousand in 1890. Chicago in 1837 had four thousand 288 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. souls ; in 1890 there were overa million. And these are but types of the process that has been going on through the century. The production of wealth has kept pace with the increase of population. As the eighteenth century neared its end the scat- tered farmers along the Ohio made a rude living from Indian corn. They were only too glad to exchange a small surplus of hams and flour with the Spaniards in Louisiana for a few of the comforts of life. To-day the upper valley States send abroad enough wheat and flour to feed a large part of Europe. The farmers of the West can compete successfully at Liverpool with grain growers in the British Islands. Cattle from beyond the Mississippi not only feed New York and Boston, but are begin- ning to displace the roast beef of Old England. And not agri- culture alone absorbs the energies of the West. The great cities that are scattered over the area that in our grandfathers’ times was a solitary waste are centers of active manufactures and ex- tensive commerce. The second bank in the United States in volume of business is in Chicago. The greatest flour mills in the world are in Minneapolis, with a capacity of nearly fifty thousand barrels a day. : The settlement of the Mississippi Valley is the first instance in history of the reduction of a wilderness in a single lifetime. Not a few men are now living who were pioneers in this great move- ment. To-day their home is amid a civilization vastly richer and more complex than that they left when they came West. And the reasons for this extraordinary metamorphosis are not far to seek. The nineteenth century is the master of a control over the forces of Nature such as no past age has witnessed. Machinery, steam and electricity are its servants, and by these agencies human power is vastly multiplied. The settlement of the Missis- sippi Valley is the first fruit of the application of this new mastery over natural forces to the development of a raw land. Since then we have seen the conquest of the Pacific slope and of the moun- tains. Australia has been created. Africa is being subjugated. But the first triumph of steam applied to transportation was in the pouring of a ready-made nation into the great valley beyond the Alleghanies. When steamboats were put on the Western rivers, and the Atlantic passage was reduced from a month or six weeks to one or two weeks, it became a comparatively easy thing for the farmer in Massachusetts or the peasant in Germany to reach a new home. The chains which keep the masses in place have been time, expense, and discomfort. Steam at one stroke IMMIGRATION. 289 has largely eliminated all these. A mere distance in miles does not count if only one can pass over it rapidly, cheaply and comfortably. Indeed, one is more likely, being once in motion and having no particular reason for stopping, to go one hun- dred miles than ten if it can be done just as well. This, then, is the first factor in the population of a new land—facility of getting to it. And this same beneficent steam, that removed difficulty of transportation from the path of human progress, has at the same time and by the same means destroyed the second impediment to colonization. It does not much matter how easily one can get to a place, if it does not pay to be there. Why should the Eastern farmer or the Irish laborer go so far from the associations of his home life unless by so doing he can put himself into a better en- vironment? And a better environment may mean a variety of things. It must usually include, first of all, a better living—better food and shelter and clothing. It may imply means of education and religious expression, and more attractive political institutions. But this second class of conditions will quite generally depend on the first. Material needs are the foundation of life. All this was easily solved for the immigrants into the West. The soil would produce abundantly, and the same ease of transportation that brought the settler to his home, at once made it possible for him to reach a market with his surplus, and thus he was able to transmute his labor into all that variety of forms which at the same time gratify and stimulate human wants. The hardy pioneers who first penetrated across the mountains into Kentucky and Ohio made but slow progress. It was not easy to reach their destination. It was out of the question to transport the produce of their farms back over the Alleghanies to Eastern marts. The long flatboat journey to New Orleans was their only resource; and the returns were as scanty as they were slow. But the steamboat and the canal cut a speedy path into the heart of the continent. This at once opened a channel both ways; immigrants poured in, produce poured out. But it was not merely as a field for settlement and the devel- opment of civilization from the crude materials of a new land that the Mississippi valley has had a place in the growth of the repub- lic. It has played a most important part in the political life of the nation. It has transformed the essential character of the United States as a political entity, and it has had a vital share in the Se edt struggles that have marked the century. 19 290 THE -MISSISSIBPLSVALLEY.. —— When our Government was formed, the thirteen States re- garded themselves as in many ways mutually independent. The Constitution they felt had been granted by themselves. In rati- fying it they had given up something which they possessed, and had given it for the general welfare. But, after all, one who has had a thing and has yielded possession of it is in a different posi- tion and has a different feeling from one who has never had it at all; and this was just the difference between the original thirteen and the new States. The latter did not concede a Constitution to the Union. On the contrary, the Union conceded to them Statehood. They were only grantees, and had never been grantors. Accordingly, the direct result of the settlement and admission of the new States was a strengthening of the sentiment of nation- ality. The citizen of Ohio was never an Ohioan quite in the sense that one Southerner was a Virginian and another a South Caro- linian. Besides, the short time in which the settlements grew up, and the constant changes that were going on in the process, hardly allowed the immigrants to fix their roots so deep in the soil as was the case in the older States. They might be resi- dent in Ohio to-day, and in a few weeks move to Illinois or Iowa; but they were always Americans. And so it was that early in the century a new school of politicians grew up in the land west of the Alleghanies. These were the “ Young Republicans,” and their peerless leader was the brilliant Henry Clay, of Kentucky. They were intense patriots and nationalists. It was they who forced the conservative and traditional Republicans of the Mid- dle and Southern States into war with England in 1812. That war was in defense of the national honor, and it was Henry Clay’s war. Again, when the war was ended, it was the Young Repub- licans of the West who led in Henry Clay’s new policy, in which they gloried, as the ‘‘American system.” And this policy was far-reaching. It meant not only the encouragement of American manufactures; it meant also a thorough system of internal im- provements, by which communication might be made easy and cheap—roads and canals. It meant also the hand of sympathy to other communities on the continent that were struggling for their liberty—it meant the Monroe doctrine. Clay would gladly have given tangible aid to the revolted Spanish colonies, but he could not carry the country with him. It was because of this burning spirit of nationality that Clay could not endure the thought of danger to the concord of the CHARACTERTOP SETTLEMENT. 291 republic from the slavery question; and so he helped on the Compromise of 1820, and in 1850 invented that last Compromise which staved off civil war for another decade. But the West had its share, too, in these great disputes which rent the sections asunder, and not merely an incidental but a vital share. The Mason and Dixon line, extended westerly by the Ohio River, divided the valley as well as the East into slave and free States, and so arrayed them on opposite sides in the con- test of arms. Not only this. It was the admission of Missouri that: precipitated the first real collision between the opposing forces. It was the settlement of Kansas and Nebraska that brought the question to the issue of arms. It was the election of a Western Free-Soiler to the presidency that set the secession ball a-rolling. And there was no mightier campaign in the civil war than those fought out by the Western armies. Shiloh and Chickamauga and New Orleans and Vicksburg were all in the valley of the Mississippi. ) If there had been no Western territory, the bond of union would in all probability have been weaker. Disrupting forces would quite likely have torn the republic asunder long before 1861, and secession would have been unresisted, whether North or South had taken the initiative. On the other hand, had there been no Western land, there would have been no question of ex- tension of slave or free territory ; there would have been no dis- pute over Missouri or Kansas, no “squatter sovereignty” or border war. And so in many ways the possession and develop- ment of the West have powerfully affected the politics of the country. And the political center of gravity is even yet moving steadily from the East. The day is not far distant when the West will be the controlling influence in national politics. IV. CHARACTER AND ORDER OF SETTLEMENT. The reclamation of the land west of the Alleghanies from a state of nature is as interesting in the order and sequence of its processes as for its extraordinary results and for its bearing on the development of the republic. The vast area included naturally led to an order of evolution in some respects materially unlike that of any other part of the Union. The first pioneers of the wilderness were Frenchmen. Ad- venturous fur traders from Canada crossed the divide and floated down the Ohio, and finally the Mississippi, long before an English word was heard on those waters. Others came up from New Or- 292 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, leans, and gradually a slender network of French posts planted at strategic points made sure the communications between Montreal and the Gulf of Mexico. Some of these posts grew into settle- ments of French people and ideas—Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, St. Louis, Natchez. But the reservoirs at New Orleans and Que- bec were at best but scantily filled. The force of impact from the home country became exhausted. The military power of England prevailed in the long duel with France. And so the French influ- ence, strong at the mouth of the Mississippi, stronger yet at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, through most of the Mississippi -Val- ley became in time almost inappreciable. In Illinois and Minne sota it is but one of the curiosities of historical investigation. The first Englishmen to cross the Alleghanies were also fur traders and hunters. They were in jealous rivalry with the Frenchmen for the traffic with the Indians, and this dispute for furs was the natural precursor of the later dispute for land. There is no passion more characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon race than land hunger. As soon as a portion of this race has spread over a given area, and reached the limit, not of its possi- bilities, but of its productivity with the appliances at hand, the in- stinct at once is not to seek better means of tillage, but more land to till in the old way. So it was that the farmer followed in the wake of the roaming hunter, and the people of Virginia and Carolina drifted through the mountains and built their cabins and planted their cornfields in the wilderness of the West. The settlement of the valley by the English-speaking peoples which now occupy it falls into four rather distinctly marked pe- riods differentiated by the evolution in means of transportation. Immigration implies the transfer of people, and more or less of their effects, from one place to another. The kind and num- ber of people who emigrate, the nature and bulk of the movables that will be transported with the owners, and hence the whole quality of the movement of population, will then depend largely on the difficulties of travel to be overcome and on the means at hand for overcoming them. The first epoch was that of the forest trail. There were no roads. The frontiersman led his pack horse through the defiles of the mountains and among the trees of the open forest till he reached ground which suited his fancy. He erected a blockhouse without nails, scratched the soil with rude tools, and lived quite as much on the produce of his skill with the rifle as on that of his industry with the hoe. When enough settlers had thus made THECPIRST SETTLERS: 203 ee ea their way into the woods to warrant greater exertions, a rude road was cleared, and the stout wagon drawn by oxen or horses enabled the farmer to convey more of his goods to his new home. It was this epoch which saw the primitive settlement of West Virginia and Kentucky and Tennessee. The settlers were Vir. ginians and Carolinians of British stock. They were the daring pioneers whose homes were always on the extreme verge of civil- ization, and who found an added zest in the occupation of choice land in the heart of the Indian country, remote from the defense of settled law and military force. People fitted for such enter- prise were, doubtless, somewhat rude. They were certainly forceful. Energy and courage are not effeminate qualities; and without these such a migration as that of the Western borders would have been impossible. This, then, was the character of the first epoch. It was Eng- lish. It was energetic and self-reliant. Alone in the remote forests, the settlers defended themselves from the savage, made their own laws, and organized their own government. The move- ment was individual. It had the backing of no pubiic authority, no land corporation, no organization of any sort. It was merely the spontaneous action of homogeneous people under similar condi- tions of life. It is said that if a number of Americans should be shipwrecked on an uninhabited island, their first proceeding would be to hold a mass meeting and organize it by the choice of a chair- man and secretary. Somewhat of this Anglo-Saxon instinct for civil order was shown by the pioneers across the Alleghanies. They cleared the woods, made their homes, and then set up gov- ernment. The Tennesseeans, chafing under neglect, established an independent State, which existed for some little time under the name of Franklin. The Kentuckians sought independence from Virginia, but always under the forms of law. And, finally, each community succeeded in securing civic autonomy. ihe ritlesthe axe and the hoe were not all that the pioneers carried through the forest trails. They were imbued with the ideas and methods of civil liberty. It was law, and not license, that they. took to their distant homes. The second epoch in the process of settlement was that of the flatboat. As soon as immigrants in sufficient numbers reached the numerous water ways of the valley, they availed themselves of these natural avenues to extend and accelerate their progress. This flatboat was in point of evolution one degree in advance of 204 THE. MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. the raft; it was commodious and safe. It would transport greater cargoes than many wagons or pack horses, and, so long as di- rected with the current, would move with considerable speed. And in this way colonies gathered from New England in 1788, settled in Ohio, and in succeeding years occupied other points in that and neighboring States. By this means of transport the current of immigration became a steady stream. Not isolated families, as on the western slopes of the Alleghanies, or scanty villages, as in the forests of Kentucky, were the product of this stage of the movement. In Ohio and along both banks of the beautiful river from which the State takes its name, populous little towns sprang up in the wilderness like magic. Marietta, Losantiville (an absurd name, soon changed to Cincinnati), Louis- ville, were the germs of cities. The wave swept back from the Ohio, up the affluent streams, and into the interior. But never- theless every settlement was on some navigable water, and fleets of flatboats and keel boats continually brought recruits from the Fast. This second wave of immigration was materially different from the first. It was more numerous: It was also gathered from the farther East. It was not formed from the skirting borderers who could only breathe on the fringe of civilization, and who delighted to plunge farther and farther into the wilderness. These wan- derers on the forest trails might aggregate in little groups for defense from Indians; but their joy was in a solitary existence. A neighbor within ten miles made these Ishmaelites feel crowded. They needed breathing space. On the contrary, the river settlers loved to build their homes together. They created towns, and aspired to make them cities. They were no nomads. Most of them were from the heart of old communities—hard-headed and hard-handed Yankees from New England, Scotchmen from New York, thrifty Germans from Pennsylvania. It was not adventure, but improvement of material conditions, which primarily affected them. Again, not a few were directly from the Old W orld—Eng- lish, Irish, French refugees. It was these last who founded Galli- polis, in Ohio. By means of the river craft they were able to reach remote points in the West, though little inured to the hard- ships of forest travel. The use of the rivers as paths of immigration meant, then, a great and rapid increase in numbers, a steadier and more advanced type of civilization, and a greatly multiplied diversity in the kind of settlers. vf RIVER TRAVEL. 295 a au eT But the rivers had a second use. They not merely afforded avenues for the ingress of population; they as well provided egress for surplus of produce. It was not enough that the new settlers found the rich soil of the West respond bountifully to till- age—not enough that they had but “to tickle the soil with a hoe, and it laughed abundant crops.” Unless a part of these crops could be exchanged for other commodities, the resources of the settlers would be scanty indeed. Corn meal and pork would an- swer for food, but they were hardly available directly as clothing or shelter or furniture. And into all these they could be trans- muted only by the alchemy of commerce ; and for this the flat- boats provided means. They were floated down the Ohio and the Mississippi, until among the Frenchmen and Spaniards of New Orleans a market was found. Flour and bacon and hams were wanted in Louisiana and the West India Islands. These food products the Americans along the Ohio had in boundless quanti- ties. And the rivers at once opened a broad and easy route for conveying the abundant supply to the region of the demand. To one inconvenience the river boats were subject. They would float down stream with ease, and, when propelled by pole or oars, with tolerable speed; but to return up stream was quite another matter. Some few were laboriously poled and rowed up the rivers to their homes; but nearly all ended their voyage at New Orleans, and there were broken up for lumber. The results | of the traffic were usually embarked on shipboard, and thus con- veyed to the ports of the Atlantic coast, and thence over the mountains to the Ohio Valley. This was along and circuitous route; but the current of trade usually flowed in just that round- about way. The time consumed was very great. A light boat with only two or three passengers could go from Pittsburg to New Orleans jn somewhat less than four weeks; a heavy barge would take at least seven; and if it was attempted to stem the current and thus return up the rivers, the time was correspondingly greater. No less than three months would often be used in the voyage from the Gulf to St. Louis. As the farms became more numerous along the Ohio their owners grew venturesome in seeking a market. The many deep and sluggish rivers that fed the Ohio from the north provided outlets for a great expanse of country ; and the farmers, even long after steamboats had been common, were in the habit of taking cargoes to the distant Southern market in person. It was an ac- 296 THE eMISsiss PPR WALLEY. customed sight for the level prairie to be broken by a flatboat gliding apparently over its level surface, with brawny young men steering and fending it from the banks. As time went on, very few men had not made one or more voyages to New Orleans. It came to be a sign of inertness, indeed, not to have made at least one such trip. The effect of this custom. on the character of the Western people was quite marked. The life of the settler was usually rather solitary. He lived much alone with his family. But the tendency of a lonely existence to harden and stiffen character was counteracted by the results of travel. The farmer’s vision was not bounded by his farm or by his little neighborhood. He saw many changing. scenes. He mixed with men of all sorts. The busy and romantic life of the river, the thronged levees and streets of New Orleans, the keen competition of trade on a large scale, all tended to broaden the farmer’s sympathies and to quicken his intelligence. Thus the farmer in the valley settle- ments was broader of mind, quicker of thought, more brimful of energy than his compeer in the older States. eae The next era of migration was heralded in 1811 by the first steamboat on the Western waters. This was the ‘“ New Orleans,” built at Pittsburg, and designed to ply between New Orleans and Natchez. As it ran down the Ohio, making extraordinary speed in comparison with anything before known, the quiet denizens of the forests along the river banks were amazed and frightened by the strange apparition. Not a few of the more ignorant folk thought the Day of Judgment was at hand, as they watched the shower of sparks and heard the rush of the wheels. And when the craft stopped at Louisville, well along in the night, and let off steam, the roar from the escape-pipes brought a good share of the town tumbling out of their beds to see what was the matter. This pioneer boat was followed by others in quick succes- sion. The great network of rivers in the valley had now found its appropriate means of navigation. The number of steamboats on the Mississippi and its tributaries in 1834 was two hundred and thirty, with an aggregate tonnage of thirty-nine thousand. The entire tonnage of the keel boats and flatboats on the Mis- sissippi and its tributaries in 1817 was about six thousand five hundred. The time to New Orleans was greatly reduced, and, best of all, it was found that the new power enabled boats to stem the flood of the great river at a reasonable pace, so that Title st 2 3 THE FOLLOWING FOLDING PLATE HAS BEEN FILMED IN _2_ SECTIONS IN THE SEQUENCE SHOWN r een out ee i i a ad ay Lae \ f & i. y ai. ial NA! ind “1 Pert, ae rl 7 p f H iy JO ¥ : “4 a WA sane x @ ft vee 4 + “e ae 2 =~ 8 4a i in “3p # a, oo cw iF » oe. 5 a # 4 a2 aHT ¥ é b®COLUMBU CHIBLICOTHES> ®FRANKFOF BS tc | { 7 ee oe > . ‘ a ‘ > +0 ad Spe sts eae st np | } : i eS ae Tm me Bon, Chaat be Pee Pye piers jee ha Hs t6 Til ~a",> : y ie J f on yp ae 4) Pm’ = ©» — a) wr a ae ae . : —- : bs + ae A ‘ * ban a 3 7 ‘ , - ‘ vk 4 uf . : i ( ' ’ A ¢ ‘ 4 i 5 y ~ a ‘ 4 A hes i/ F } i ‘. & | ° yo } a ts - “ = ’ + ‘ ‘ j ‘ : ‘ ° ' ’ . ‘ ¢ he : * AY an Sar - | - \ L { i | Py - 2 ¥ Pa i. Ts 5 ' ‘ " , . ? f ‘ ‘1 ; . ¥ 2 i 4 : 1 yi ‘ rt | v sy I * i \ f r\ “ j é ‘ we, x a P ‘ uP i ; i me | is [ , = 1 : ¥ . ~~ + J, oe © ms i> iy* F a aie . “6 4 se Wie io One z Sone jy ty ve i - i! \ - A’ % fie i ie a” a a i s ae : voy ia, Sa ‘a “nt iy ie) ET ea an ire ec Seti MAP SHOWING THE POSITION OF THE CENTER OF POPULATION AT THE CLOSE OF EACH DECADE FROM 1790 to 1890 } Q WHEBLING We <7 CLARKSBURG © BS Thee =a ww S) GN te aaa ‘THE GROWTH OF SETTLEMENTS. 297 it was no longer necessary to convey merchandise by the At- lantic route. The steamboat Enterprise, in 1817, ran from New Orleans to Louisville in twenty-five days, instead of the three months required for a boat propelled by hand. The gain in ’ time over the flatboats, indeed, seemed at the moment something marvelous. A firm advertised for patronage on the ground that its boats could make nine miles an hour. And with this speed of transit the Mississippi Valley became at once a bound- less mine of wealth. People could easily reach its fertile soil, and the product of their labor could find a market at remunera- tive rates. s The immediate result was seen in a great increase in im- migration and the growth of settlements. In the United States west of the Alleghanies there were, in 1790, about one hundred thousand people, besides the Indians; in 1800 there-were some three hundred and eighty thousand; in 1810, one million; in 1820, two million five hundred thousand ; and in 1832, four million. This last number exceeded the whole population of the republic at the time that Great Britain recognized our independence, in 1783. And the territory of the valley was carved into States and ad- ‘mitted into the Union in rapid succession. Kentucky in 1792, and Tennessee in 1796, had become States before the eighteenth century closed. The settlements on the Ohio and along the shore of Lake Erie had become a State in 1802. Louisiana was received in 1812; then came Indiana, 1816; Mississippi, 1817; Illinois, 1818; and Alabama, 1819. Missouri in 1820, Michigan in 1835, and Arkansas in 1836, made ten States—nearly as many as had re- volted against Great Britain in 1775—that were now under the flag west of the mountains, within the first half century of national life under the Constitution. This great development of what had been the trackless wil- derness was furthered by a variety of causes all operating to- gether. The invention and use of steamboats was one; another was the fact that the economic conditions of the country took an abrupt turn with the end of the long period of European wars. The battle of Waterloo, in 1815, terminated a quarter century of the greatest wars in history, in which all Europe was involved. During a large part of this period the capital and industry of the United States were very largely engaged in the carrying trade on the ocean, which the neutral character of our flag made enormously profitable. But gradually the nation became involved in difficulties with the belligerents, which difficulties culminated 208 Uri MISSISSIPED AVAL. in Mr. Jefferson’s embargo, in 1807—o9, and the second war with — England, 1812—14. These two events for the time being put an end to the ship- ping interests of Eastern and Middle State capitalists, and at the same time threw out of employment many thousands of seamen. Then, when the general peace came, with the final overthrow of Napoleon in 1815, the advantage which the United States had possessed as a neutral was of course lost. All these things to- gether tended to divert the capital and labor of the seaboard into new channels. Much of it embarked in manufactures, thus in no great time transforming the economic character of our East- ern States. And much more of this surplus energy flowed off into the West. Coming as it did at the same time that steam naviga- tion had made travel easy and rapid and the products of the fer- tile soil of the West a source of profit, this change in the general direction of industry powerfully stimulated the growth of the valley States and Territories. Another fact that tended in the same direction lay in the con- ditions of life in Europe. The long wars had wasted and impoy- erished every European nation. Great public debts had been incurred. Taxes were correspondingly burdensome. At the same time the artificial prosperity that the wars had created at once vanished with the peace. All Europe had danced to the ~ music of Bonaparte’s cannon. Now all Europe must pay the fiddler; and, as invariably occurs, it was the poor who felt the burden most heavily. The Peace of Paris was followed by years of industrial depression and great suffering among the laboring ciasses. — _ This was not all. The defeat of Napoleon meant the triumph of reaction. The bright dreams of the French Revolution had faded out. The “rights of man” had become a laughing-stock. Practically every throne on the Continent was now held by a despot; and in England Toryism was supreme. Tyranny was everywhere a grinding fact. It now seemed to be a settled doc- trine that “one half of mankind was born saddled and bridled ” for the other half to ride. The oniy bright spot in the general darkness was America. Here was a free republic. Here was equality before the law. Here was no hereditary privilege. And, besides all this, here was abounding prosperity. Taxes were low. There was no crushing militarism. The production of wealth was expanding enormously. And here, too, just in the nick of time, it was possi- SOURCES OF IMMIGRATION. 299 ble to reach the rich soil out of which light labor easily persuaded vast crops. So the introduction of steam coincided not only with the changed state of business in our own country, but also with a situation in Europe that powerfully impelled the masses to seek -a better home; and our ports were filled with immigrants. Prior to 1819 our Government kept no statistics of immigra- tion; but from the census of 1820 to the present time we have carefully collected data; and it is an interesting study to trace the steady increase, with occasional fluctuations, of the living tide from Europe. Many remained in the Atlantic States, but large numbers pressed at once into the West; and so the nature of the population in the new States was materially modified. In fact, the different lines and sources of the early immigration impressed a character on various parts of the West that has be- come fixed apparently for all time. The original settlers were Americans from the Atlantic States. They gave a form to society and institutions which no subsequent European immigrants greatly changed. The latter, on the whole, served to fill up the outline which the Americans so boldly sketched. The European immi- grants, indeed, themselves became Americans; and the thor- oughness with which such masses of foreigners have been ab- _sorbed and assimilated is one of the wonders of modern political life. Still, distinct lines of cleavage yet mark communities that had a different origin. The New Englanders went due West, following the parallels of latitude. Large sections of southern Ohio, and the “ Western Reserve” of that State, on the shore of Lake Erie, were settled quite solidly by people from Connecticut and Massachusetts, and in those sections of Ohio there is yet anew New England. In religion, in politics, in education, in social customs and ideas, the typical qualities of the New England Yankee are modified only by the largeness of view and energy of action that the new en- vironment of necessity implies. The Congregational churches of Ohio are quite like those of Connecticut in their powerful influ- ence on the community. The Western Reserve and Dennison Universities remind one of Williams College and Brown. Joshua R. Giddings and Salmon P. Chase were naturally political co- workers with Sumner and Phillips in the antislavery cause. The same thing is true, again, of large portions of Indiana and Illinois. It is still more emphatically true of Iowa, which was created by New England. It is true of both Dakotas, which were flooded by New England blood from Iowa. It was lumbermen 300 LHEAMISSISSIPPI VALLE VY: from Maine who first exploited the pine forests and vast water- power of Minnesota, and the North Star State to this day is in touch with the rugged thought and austere life of New England. And Kansas, in the bloody days of 1857 and ’58, was seized and held by a body of Yankee free-soil enthusiasts, who have left their mark on her legislation and her society. The emigrants from Virginia, having crossed the mountains, poured out toward the West in a more fan-like order. They oc- cupied Kentucky; they crossed the Ohio, and built up large dis- tricts in the State of that name; they filled a large part of Indiana, and powerfully affected Illinois. These Virginians and Kentuck- lans were in most cases slaveholders, or at least in sympathy with slavery. They desired to hold slave property in their new homes. The Ordinance of 1787, on which the political institutions of all the Northwest were founded, explicitly forbade that institution. Repeated efforts to secure from Congress a repeal of the anti- slavery clause having failed, and the Compromise measures of 1820 having definitely barred slavery out of all the remainder of the Northwest, the motives for further immigration into that sec- tion from the South were removed. And so the Virginia-Ken- tucky influence in the States north of the Ohio cease with the three States named—Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. . On the other hand, there was little or no attraction for settlers from the free States on the south of the Ohio. Kentucky and Tennessee were naturally filled up from the adjoining States on the seaboard—Virginia and North Carolina. Their institutions and habits of life were essentially Southern. And these strange social conditions, as well as the employment of servile labor, tended to repel farmers from Massachusetts, for instance, accus- tomed to different habits. And similar facts diverted the laborers of Europe away from States in which the relation of labor and capital was that of property. In consequence of these things, the States in the valley south of the Ohio and those north of that stream came to diverge widely in the character of the population and the trend of their develop- ment. On the south slavery prevailed. A considerable negro population tilled the fields and did the necessary work of the household. On the north labor was free. The number of negroes was small. Labor of all kinds was done by whites. On the south the white population was, and largely remains, quite purely American. On the north there was a great mass of Europeans— Irish, German, Scandinavian. SOURCES OF IMMIGRATION. 301 On the south the employment of slave-labor and the traditions of the Virginia or Carolina home made the plantation the distin- guishing fact of life. The growth of large cities was not encour- aged. Kentucky was distinctively a land of rural homes. It was ‘much like rural England in its habits of life. There were wealth and refinement. But the home, even of the most wealthy, was not a city palace, but a country seat. On the north, while it is true that in the early days agriculture was the leading employ- ment, yet the tendency from the first was to aggregate in towns and to develop manufactures and commerce. And so a cluster of great cities has grown up—Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and many more. The effects of all this are yet seen. In these three respects the States south of the Ohio still differ quite widely from those north—the presence of a large body of negro laborers, the relative purity of American blood among the whites, and the tendency to rural rather than urban life. It is true that the differences are becoming less marked. In the last respect especially changes are already apparent. But yet the impress of the original settlement is yery persistent, and probably will long endure. On the west of the Mississippi the character of early settle- ment and the results in the present condition of the States have been quite similar to those already detailed. Missouri and Ar- kansas received their settlers and their institutions from Kentucky and Tennessee. Kansas and the Northwest were filled and held by the same type of men that ruled from the Pennsylvania line west to the Father of Waters. Louisiana, at the mouth of the great river, has had a peculiar character of its own. It is the only State of all our Union, aside from the Mexican cession, that was not Teutonic in the controlling quality of its early occupation and development by Europeans. There were French colonies in Illinois and Indiana, but they were so small as soon to be swallowed up by the mass of other settle- ment. Louisiana, however, was so overwhelmingly French in its population and in its resulting institutions that it has never lost this tincture. French speech and ideas still color New Orleans, and French blood flows in the veins of a large proportion of the ruling class in the State. If the use of steam on waterways gave a great impetus to the evolution of civilization in the West, it can readily be seen that the application of the same agency to propel trains on land routes had a still more marked effect, and this last era of settlement has 302 THE “MISSISSIPPI *+VALLEY, been the most prolific in achievements. It is since the opening of railroads that the West has filled with people, and that its means of producing wealth have been exploited with the most abundant results. The once trackless wilderness is now gridironed with steel rails. The journey from the seacoast to the interior, that once consumed weeks, can now be made in as many days. And so, as the difficulty of movement that has made populations sta- tionary, has steadily been eliminated, in the same proportion the uneasy masses in Europe have left their homes in search of better and happier conditions of life. The Manchester and Liverpool Railway was opened for traffic in 1830, and proved an immediate success. This had been pre- ceded tm 1825 by an experiment on a merchandise road that showed sufficiently how well adapted the new motor was to supply the power needed for the increasing exchange of commodities in a modern community. Thus George Stephenson was the pio- neer of this new era of transportation that has so thoroughly rey- olutionized the world. That there was opposition goes without saying. Those whose capital was invested in stage-coaches or canals were alarmed at the appearance of so resistless a competi-. tor. The English country gentleman regarded the locomotive as a devouring monster that would destroy the privacy and beauty of his rural home. And the caution of the conservative English- man was sufficiently indicated by the sage words of the British Quarterly Review: “We should as soon expect the people of Woolwich to suffer themselves to be fired off upon one of Con- greve’s ricochet rockets as to trust themselves to the mercy of such a machine going at such a rate.” But the world kept mov- ing, in spite of vested interests and selfish luxury and sluggish ap- prehensiveness. Railroads soon appeared in all parts of England. In the United States railways were at once welcomed as the very thing most needed to help on the opening of a new country whose distances were so vast. In 1828 there were in this coun- try three miles of railway; in 1830 there were forty-one miles; in 1840 there were 2,200; in 1850, 7,500; in 1860, 29,000; in 1870, 49,000; in 1880, 93,671; in 1892, 171,000. This development not merely connected the coast cities by a continuous chain of roads, but at the same time opened routes to the West, and either by. the rivers or rail routes it thus became easy for the immigrant, once landed in New York, to reach any part of the Mississippi Valley—easy in point of money as well as of time. But this was not all. During the same decades of the early EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS. 303 expansion of railroads, steam was being applied to navigation on the ocean. It was in 1819 that the Savannah, the first ocean steamer, crossed the Atlantic from America. In 1825 the Enter- prise rounded the Cape of Good Hope for India. In 1840 the Cunard line was started, and thereafter the Atlantic liner became a regular feature of travel. The effects of this new mode of crossing the Atlantic were not at first apparent in the handling of immigrants. In 1856 ninety-seven per cent still came in sailing vessels, but after that date the figures were rapidly reversed. By 1873 more than ninety-six per cent of our immigration came in steamers, and less than four per cent in sailing vessels. But the railway era of migration, greatly aided in these last decades by the fleets of transatlantic liners, has been the most extraordinary in history. Since the battle of Waterloo some twenty-seven millions of persons have left Europe for other homes. More than half of this immigration (nearly fifteen mil- lions) has come to the United States, and has been disseminated throughout the republic. As the years went on, what at first seemed a temporary movement of the floating part of European population, appeared a steady and permanent stream. The few thousands of 1820 became tens of thousands by 1840, hundreds of thousands before 1850, and in 1882 reached three quarters of a million. Of course all this has meant a general stirring up and unset- tling of European industrial populations. The immigrants before 1815 were as a rule the most restless and enterprising political refugees, or those whom some special calamity had deprived of hope in the home-land. But asa knowledge of the New World became more general, and at the same time as means of transit became less expensive, less uncomfortable, and more expeditious, many more were tempted to try a new clime in the expectation of bettering their condition. And so far has the process now gone, so cheap and easy a thing is it to cross the once terrible ocean, that to-day the very tramps and thieves, the scum of corrupt civ- ilizations, are entering our republic in company with the industri- ous colonist. The present problem is not how to induce immigra- tion of a desirable sort, but how to keep out what is undesirable. 4 Vo DAE PEOPLE OF THE VADLEY. mas From the foregoing sketch of the way in which the Mississippi Valley became occupied by civilization, it is apparent that its 304 THE MISSISS(PPD-VALEEYV? population is very varied in its origin. Each different source of migration is plainly evident in the people whom we find to-day in the different States between the mountain ranges. The Amer- icans are everywhere—and by Americans we mean those whose ancestors were in America before the nineteenth century opened. But at an early date the valley witnessed the ingress of a motley population of many races. Flint wrote in 1832: “ The people of this valley are as thorough a combination and mixture of the peo- ple of all nations, characters, languages, conditions, and opinions as can well be imagined. Scarcely a State in the Union, or a na- tion of Europe, but what has furnished us immigrants.” And the growth of the young States has gone on in just the lines there indicated. The immigrants from Europe have in general become diffused quite widely and mingled among the people from the Eastern States. Still, just as some sections of the valley were settled rather solidly by New-Englanders, like the Western Reserve, or by Ger- mans from Pennsylvania, as is the case with a considerable belt across the center of Ohio, so not a few portions of various States have foreign settlements in masses. And this is especially true of Germans and Scandinavians. | The general distribution of the foreign immigration is indicated by the following table:* “The geographical relation of the for- eign and colored elements of the population is complemental in a high degree. Taking the States of Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri as constituting a central zone neutral to the two elements, we have the following numerical proportions for each one thousand of the population: Colored. Foreign. Northern and Northwestern States..............0.e.00. 14 197 Gentral: Statesiag 05) .ioti.ae Ape eee oe ed A 132 gI southern and Southwestern States, .....)../...:..-.<:. 415 22 “Some of the foreign elements are themselves in turn comple- mental in their location. Thus, two thirds of the Germans are found west of Buffalo, two thirds of the Irish east of it: the Scandinavians are mainly west of Lake Michigan, the British Americans east of it.” ~ Thus it appears that the main body of the German and Scan- dinavian immigrants have settled in the northern portion of the * First Century of the Republic. The figures are from the census of 1870. THE PEOPLE OF THE VALLEY. 305 Mississippi Valley. The Germans are especially numerous in Illinois and Wisconsin. The Scandinavians are strong in. Wis- consin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. A few figures will further illustrate. In 1880 Illinois had a total foreign-born population of 583,576. Of these, 235,786 were born in the German Empire, and 65,414 in the Scandinavian countries. Wisconsin, with 405,425 foreign-born, had 184,328 Germans and 66,284 Scandinavians. Minnesota had 267,676 foreign-born, 66,592 Germans and 107,- 768 Scandinavians. Of course, these figures consider only those who were born in foreign lands, and take no account of those whose parents or grandparents were of foreign birth. The re- sults in such cases would not vary materially from those quoted. But if. these should be added to those born in foreign lands, the number of those of foreign race in the first or second genera- tion would be materially increased. : For instance, the census of 1880 gave Wisconsin a total popula- tion of 1,315,497, and reported of these 405,425 as born in foreign countries, and 547,580 born in the United States but having fathers born in foreign countries. Taking the nationality of the father as a basis, it is seen that nearly three fourths of the people of Wisconsin in 1880 were foreigners in the first or second generation. When settlements are made in such masses, the immigrants re- tain much longer their home language and customs than if smaller numbers should be infused gradually among native Americans. Accordingly, we find the German and Scandinavian languages very widely used in the cluster of States in which those nationalities are so strong. German signs are very com- mon in the streets of Chicago and Milwaukee. German news- papers are numerous and influential throughout the Northwest ; and churches in which the services are conducted in German or Swedish or Norwegian are largely attended. There are coun- ties in Wisconsin through which one may ride for miles among farms owned and occupied by Swedes or by Germans. There are extensive sections of Minnesota and the Dakotas in which the English language is rarely heard. The reasons for the aggregation of people of the same race in adjoining territory are very obvious. Those coming as stran- gers would naturally seek the vicinity of settlers of the same blood and speech. Then, each family that found its new home a gain on the conditions of life in the fatherland would speedily communicate that fact to friends and relatives in the old coun- 20 306 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. try, and many would thus come to join the immigrants. Besides these reasons, which are always operative, there were many special schemes formed for making settlements of a specific kind. Just as colonies of New England abolitionists were poured inte Kansas, so in many points there were colonies formed of Ger- mans or Scandinavians. It was long a favorite dream with Ger- mans to create a colony in some American State which should preserve German ideas and customs and the German language. It was even thought that so many Germans might be brought to some one State as to control it altogether, so that it might hold such a place in the American Union as the French province ‘of Quebec does in the Dominion of Canada. For this purpose, longing eyes were directed to Texas and Iowa and Wisconsin. At one time some of these enthusiasts schemed to Germanize Pennsylvania, seeking to make its official language German as well as English in courts and schools. This plan, however, was defeated in the Pennsylvania Legislature. In 1835 and 1836.societies were formed that had as their object the creation of a Germany in America; but the idea could never be realized, and was finally abandoned. Still, while the movement had little or no practical result in forming settlements, it doubtless served to keep certain sections of the West before the attention of Germans desiring to emigrate. And so, when they did cross the ocean, they naturally pushed on to a land with whose advantages they were already familiar. The State of Wisconsin early took measures to attract immi- grants from Europe. In its Constitution framed in 1848 was the very liberal provision that suffrage should be granted after only one year’s residence, to “ white persons of foreign birth who have declared their intention to become citizens.’ This provision was adopted under the influence of German delegates to the constitu- tional conventions, and of course it stimulated the stream of mi- gration which the natural advantages of soil and climate and the easy terms on which land could be bought had already set in mo- tion toward that State. In 1852 a law was passed providing for a Commissioner of Immigration, whose special function should be to advertise the advantages of the State and induce immigrants to settle there. This law remained three years on the statute-books, and in 1867 was re-enacted in the shape of providing a Board of Immigration. With some changes this scheme was in force until Gaye ; By these various means an especially large tide of German GERMANS AND SCANDINAVIANS. 307 migration was attracted to Wisconsin; and as a result about a third of the people of that State are Germans—either born in Germany, or born in this country with both parents Germans. To sum up: “The causes of the presence of this large German element among us must be looked for not primarily in plans to form a German State in the Northwest—though such plans have un- doubtedly had their influence—but they are rather to be looked for in economic, political, and social influences. Among these were the natural advantages which this State possessed for Germans in the way of climate and productiveness, the low price of lands, due to the abundance of Government land and the peculiar policy of the State in disposing of its land grants for schools at low prices, for the sake of attracting immigration, and the opening of the State at an opportune moment. The German spirit in music, politics, and social life which early showed itself, particularly in Milwaukee, and which had its influence in shaping a liberal State Constitution, doubtless attracted the better elements. » Again, the success of the Germans who came early to the State, particu- larly those from North Germany, has served to draw many oth- ers from the same region; and, finally, the State immigration agents, many of whom have been Germans, have directed their attention chiefly to Germany, with some success.” * Another European race element especially strong in the north- ern section of the valley is the Scandinavian. Since the civil war the Northmen have been coming from their homes in the north of Europe without cessation, and nearly all who land at once push on to the West. There were only eighteen thou- sand Scandinavians in the entire population of the republic at the census of 1850, and only seventy-two thousand in 1860. In the single year 1882 the number that landed at our ports was one hundred and five thousand three hundred and twenty-six. In the five years ending with 1885, 352,334 arrived; and in the next five years, 304,160. “With a few minor exceptions, the whole movement has been unorganized, though agents of steamship and railway companies, and even some of the States, have systematically worked up im- migration sentiment in the North lands. . . . The natural love of adventure, the prospect of the ownership of land, which is prac- * How Wisconsin came by its Large German Element. By Kate Asaphine Eve- rest, Fellow in History, University of Wisconsin. 308 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. tically impossible to the great majority in the old home, and the desire for greater personal independence—in a word, material bet- terment—these have been the motives of Scandinavian immigra- tion. Letters from the New World, winter visits of prosperous immigrants to their old friends, the innumerable low-priced pre- paid passage tickets, have been the most powerful preachers of the gospel of the New World’s advantages. The broad, rich prairies of the Northwest have had from the first an Edenlike attractiveness to these North folk, coming as they have from FT land where mountains, marshes, thin soil, and short summers made life a perpetual struggle for existence. It was the vision of level fields, of marvelous fertility that could be had almost for the asking, that cheered their tedious way across the ocean, up the Erie Canal and around the Great Lakes in the early days. Min- nesota, lowa, Dakota, are still the watchwords as they come, and are household words in almost every cranny from Hammerfest to Gjedser.” * The Scandinavians have very largely taken up farms. Few of them in comparison with the Germans, fewer still in comparison with the Irish, are denizens of cities. There are representatives of all these Scandinavian peoples in all the eighty counties of Minnesota; and in the newer counties of that State and the Da- kotas from thirty to forty per cent of the people are of Scandina- vian parentage. It is said that one may travel three hundred miles across Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota without once leav- ing Scandinavian owned land. This movement of the Scandinavians, as has been said, has very largely been unorganized and spontaneous. The same causes that led the earlier comers of them to the upper Mississippi Valley have continued to operate. And, of course, a powerful at- tractive influence has been exerted by the great body of their countrymen already living here. The familiar Norse tongue on every hand gives the immigrant a home feeling that, so far from the scenes of his former life, is very precious to him; and he needs something to assuage the homesick feeling. The Scandi- navians are a home-loving people. A considerable portion of the inmates of Minnesota insane asylums are Scandinavians; and it is homesickness when superadded to discouragement that in many ~ cases has driven the lonely wanderer insane.t But these are the — * Kendric C. Babcock, in The Forum for September, 1892. + The late Probate Judge Von Schlegel, of Minneapolis, made this statement to the writer as a fact of the experience of the probate court. GERMANS AND SCANDINAVIANS. 309 exceptions. The mass of these Scandinavians have manfully met the difficulties incident to pioneer life in a new country and have conquered them. They have made prosperous and comfortable homes by thousands; and they have settled down contentedly under the Stars and Stripes as good American citizens. A fair illustration of the way in which a settlement of homo- geneous foreign elements was made, without any extraneous in- ducements, is afforded in the story of the founding of the city of New Ulm, in Brown County, Minnesota. This thoroughly German little city owes its settlement toa group of half a dozen immi- grants of that nation living in Chicago in 1853. They joined to- gether at first as a class to learn the language of their adopted country. Their success in this concerted effort led to the thought that they might combine for their further advantage in the pur- chase and settlement of land. They formed the scheme of getting beyond the reach of speculators, buying Government land, and laying out a model town surrounded with gardens. Accordingly, in July, 1853,.a public meeting was held, and the “ Chicago Land Verein” formed, with the objects named. After considerable time spent without success in investigation to secure just the right place, in the autumn of 1854 a committee of the Verein se- lected a spot in the then Territory of Minnesota, at a point where the Cottonwood flows into the Minnesota River. At this place the committee were met by twenty members of the Verein, and the band of pioneers spent the winter getting ready for active opera- tions in the spring. In May, 1855, twenty more members of the Verein reached their comrades, and the new town was laid out. As many of the settlers were natives of Wiirtemberg, they chose the name of the famous old town of Ulm for their new home. Claim shanties were erected, a saw mill was put up, and all pos- sible work was done toward securing title to the land. In the spring of 1856 a committee of the Verein, consisting of its presi- dent, Frederick Beinhorn, and Albert Blatz, arrived at New Ulm with the funds necessary to make the purchase, and this impor- tant formality was effected forthwith at the land office at Winona. To obtain the money thus used, each member of the Verein had paid in thirty dollars, and about two hundred and fifty men had done so. Each member, in consideration of this payment, was entitled to twelve town lots and nine acres outside the town. Meanwhile another German society with similar purpose, “The Colonization Society of North America,’ was formed in Cincinnati. This was an outcome of the Turner movement, the 310 CHE MISSISSIPPE Varley. society being formed by action of the Cincinnati Turngemein- de. The scope of their plans was somewhat larger than that of the Chicago organization. The latter aimed primarily at bet- ter homes. The Cincinnati associates had in mind a wide scheme of opening the way for a broad and liberal development, physical and mental. It must be remembered that this was the time when Know-nothingism was rife in the East, and these Germans, dis- gusted with the narrowness and intolerance of that movement, sought room on the prairies of the West to carry out high ideals of ecu civilization. In the spring of 1856 a committee of three men was sent west to find a suitable place for a colony. They looked through Mis- sourl, [owa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Minnesota, and in the last- named State fell in with the Germans who were just about to locate on the Minnesota River. William Pfaender, the head of the Cincinnati committee, liked the site, and entered into negotiations for a union of the two societies. On the following 4th of July an agreement was reached in Chicago, by virtue of which the Chi- cago Land Verein and the Colonization Society of North Amer- ica were both merged into a new organization known as the Ger- man Land Association of Minnesota. An additional quantity of land was bought, making the whole amount over four thousand acres, of which seventeen hundred were laid out in the town site, and suitably apportioned among the members of the consolidated society. The town thus started grew apace. Stores and mills were erected, additional German settlers moved in from the East, and prosperity attended their enterprise. German churches and schools were organized, and now New Ulm presents the pic- ture of a thriving city of nearly four thousand inhabitants. It is German yet in the bulk of its population. Its churches are mainly German—Catholic, Methodist Episcopal, and Lutheran. German names predominate in its lists of officials. And in similar ways many islands of European settlers have been formed in the Northwest. VI. SoctaL DEVELOPMENT. The development of social forms in a new country is the direct resultant of two forces: the character of the settlers and the char- acter of the environment under which their new life goes on. Of course, this is merely a restatement for the community at large of the trite fact that the individual is the product of heredity and Pepe Se Oe Een OW a LIP Es, 311 environment, in varying proportion. The same is true of a col- lection of individuals; and while it is difficult to estimate the relative weight of the two forces, it is always interesting to trace their action. Tearing up home life and transplanting it to new soil is not easy. It usually implies no little force of character, decision, courage. The immigrant must take large risks; he must under- go many hardships, and he must break away from the associa- tions and affections of a lifetime. The indolent, the supersen- sitive, the timid, will always prefer to endure the ills they have rather than to risk making them worse in the hope of alleviation. This being the case, we must expect that those who left the East for Western homes should be, as a rule, the most forceful elements of the old population. They are the most energetic and persistent. Of course, this is only a general truth, to which there must be many qualifications and exceptions. The motive for mi- gration is usually the desire to better one’s lot; and those who have already attained prosperity under existing conditions will rarely seek to change them. And so it is clear that the bulk of the immigrants will be of those not above the middle class in point of financial strength. Again, lack of prosperity often results from lack of capacity, and such immigrants are perhaps as little likely to succeed in one community as in another. And in movements to new lands there will always be a proportion of those who have earned an unsavory reputation at home, and hope to escape it among strange surroundings, perhaps to indulge with impunity in a ruder form of society, and in comparative freedom from re- straint, those inclinations which readily run counter to the estab- lished modes of thinking and acting so powerful in an orderly and long-settled community. Still, after allowing for all these, there remains the fact that generally one quality at least may fairly be expected among the settlers in a new country—energy. The weakling can not expect to cope successfully with the rude and hard conditions of a new life, and in the struggle for existence in the West the weaklings have usually disappeared. They have been eliminated by their own imbecility. This forcefulness of the West is seen in all forms of social life. It is indicated by those modes of business and habits of action so familiarly known as “hustling.” The Western man is bound to succeed, and sticks at no obstacles. A few years since the people of a certain religious denomination in Minnesota began to take measures for the organization of a church in a rising suburb of a 312 THE | MISSISSIPPE:) VALLEY, great city; but the management was in the hands of an Eastern society, and plans did not at once materialize in deeds. The members of another organization not radically different in creed learned what was contemplated. There was room at the time for not more than one church, and whatever one was the first to start was quite sure to be the leading one when the suburb should become populous. Accordingly, one Sunday afternoon about two weeks before the proposed meeting for organization under the auspices of the Eastern society the members of this other denomi- nation held a quiet meeting on their own account. They then and there perfected a church organization, elected officers, ap- pointed a pastoral committee and a building committee, and ad- journed. The next day the building committee bought a lot, and on the following day began the erection of a temporary building. Meanwhile the pastoral committee telegraphed a call to a young clergyman to become their pastor; he accepted, and at once took a train for his new field. On the following Sunday, one week from the time of the original meeting, the completed building was dedicated by the new pastor. The other enterprise was aban- doned. The church so rapidly put in form has to-day a fine house of worship and a large membership. Many such instances could be given. The early settlers in the valley were neither very rich nor, as a rule, very poor. There was a general level in material con- ditions from which the variations were slight. All were engaged in the common struggle to subjugate Nature. The hardships of a pioneer’s life were about the same for all. The successes won did not as a rule mean more than a fair degree of comfort. Under these circumstances it is clear enough that sucha society, like any other, must always value most just those qualities that insure triumph over opposing obstacles; and that means energy, Clear- sightedness, common sense. The higher refinements of life are out of place in a warfare with Nature; and the forceful attributes that lead to victory in that warfare are confined to no social stratum. In the free interchange of ideas that the varying cir- cumstances of life on the frontier necessitate, natural qualities soon have their proper value set. A Clay, a Lincoln, a Garfield, may force his way from rude surroundings to the foremost place in the land. In accordance with these facts, nothing has from the first been more characteristic of the West as a whole than the universal spirit of democracy. Plainness and equality have been the meth- ARISTOCRACY AND WEALTH. 313 ods of life. The century ushered in by Thomas Jefferson’s induc- tion into the White House sent West a tide of Jefferson’s ideas along with the tide of population; and so in theory as well as from force of surroundings the Western people have been the most characteristically democratic in their ways of all in this great democratic republic; and this has been evident in all things —in social usages, in politics, in religion. Andrew Jackson owed his marvelous hold on the people to the common conception of him as a blunt, plain, outspoken man, who had no finical ways, and who went straight to the point with the directness and the energy of a battering-ram. A Tennesseean slaveholder, he was a democrat by nature and by education. But this by no means pre- vented him from being most courtly and dignified in bearing. Democracy often gives dignity to manners, because that comes primarily from a sense of one’s own worth; and the true democrat is unconscious of the superiority to himself of any other. To be sure, the Kentucky aristocracy was and is as proud as any onearth. But, after all, it has always been a more democratic aristocracy than that of Virginia. Its spirit has penetrated deeper among the masses than it ever did east of the mountains. The dweller in the blue grass country, whether rich or poor, is equally proud of the land of his birth. And, again, the Kentucky and Tennessee poor below the mountains are not so poor as the “ white trash” of Virginia and the Carolinas. The Kentuckians are not yet far removed from the days when civilization was achieved. The Virginians have long been the descendants of many genera- tions from the conquerors. Of late years wealth has come to the valley. Great cities have sprung up. The tendency to aggregate in masses, common to all modern civilizations, is not wanting here. Chicago is the typical marvel of American city-building. Cincinnati, St. Louis, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Omaha, Kansas City, have grown apace. That new flower of nineteenth century society, the millionaire, is sprinkled thickly in these and other crowded towns. But with the coming of the millionaire there has been very little importa- tion of snobbishness. ‘ The Four Hundred” are as yet an Eastern possession not envied by the West; and Anglomania has made little headway in the elegant mansions of Euclid Avenue or Michi- gan Avenue. In truth, a real aristocracy needs prescription; and Mississippi Valley millions are redolent yet of the stockyards and the wheat-field and the miner’s lamp. Wealth has been acquired, not inherited; and although this by no means implies 314 THE MISSISSIPPD VALLEY, inability to use it with good sense, it does imply that its pos- sessor does not yet feel himself of finer clay than plainer liv- ing mortals. And so even the growing chasm between the very rich and the very poor has not yet effaced the deep im- press of democracy that early circumstances fixed on Western character. Naturally, a society filled with democratic energy is at times more or less crude as to the finer aspects of life. Force and fine- ness are apt to be at odds—especially when force is the one thing needed, and when fineness is rather difficult to attain or to retain. A log cabin is not of necessity the home of coarseness; but, other things being equal, a society that makes power its ideal is apt to be dominated by ruggedness rather than by elegance. And then, in ademocratic community there is always room for individuals who in older settled regions would be relegated to a more retired sphere of action. It was just this raw life of the frontier that Charles Dickens surveyed with so much wonder and amusement on his first visit to this country. That he was disgusted and enraged by some of its more obvious features was only to be expected. He knew nothing of sociology ; he had no vision of what this rude life meant in its larger aspects. He utterly failed to comprehend what was going on in the new land which these restless and rude settlers — were exploiting for civilized society. But then Dickens never did understand the deeper relations of things. He saw only what was on the surface, and from these surface aspects of the Ameri-_ can West he drew the vivid caricatures in the “ American Notes” and “ Martin Chuzzlewit.” They were caricatures with so many lines of truth that they threw the American people into a parox- ysm of rage; but to us, looking back, the rage is quite as droll as the caricatures. Dickens could always paint a pig so deftly that one could almost hear the animal grunt, but a human face with a soul back of it was beyond his art. The wealth gained now in the valley States is very great; the number of rich men is not small, and in the use of this vast wealth there is certainly shown as much intelligence and public spirit as anywhere in the nation. In the first place, what may be called the selfish uses of money show taste and understanding alike. There is abundance of good architecture. Homes are fur- nished artistically as well as luxuriously. Art galleries filled with really good and valuable pictures abound in many private homes. The children of wealthy families are highly educated, and their SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. 315 members are refined and broadened by travel in all parts of the world. But, after all, the measure of civilization attained by millionaires is the public and hence unselfish uses to which they devote their _ fortunes. To endow a family with an estate reaching tens and hundreds of millions is merely a triumph of personal vanity. To endow a great university, a hospital, a library, an industrial insti- tute, not merely perpetuates a name, but at the same time extends substantial benefits to the whole community for countless genera- tions. And such beneficence is a fact in every city west of the Blue Ridge. Chicago, St. Louis, and St. Paul are filled with these benefactions. The peculiarities of social development in this new land whose people have poured in from all parts of the world exhibit an- other feature. There is the freedom from constraint and readi- ness to adopt radical views that one would expect in so energetic and practical a community. And there is also a powerful con- servative influence. That these two tendencies coexist in the same people is by no means strange. Human nature is every- where contradictory ; and the results are somewhat discordant at times. | These diverse tendencies are especially plain in religion and politics. Not a few settlers in a new country are apt to lay aside the restraints of religion that perhaps lay rather loosely on them in their original home; and hence many in the West have drifted from the churches, and either become indifferent, or ready to take up with all manner of vagaries that are at odds with received standards. On the other hand, the home ties are very strong when they are strong at all. Ideas and customs current before migration become doubly dear when far from the surroundings in which they prevailed. And so when the church is reared it is not merely the yearnings of religion that it satisfies, but as well the hunger for familiar scenes and emotions. The direct result of this is not merely a persistence in the old forms even stronger than in the old home, but a strong disinclination toward innovation ; and so it is that in all the churches, on the whole, the West is really more tenacious of orthodoxy than the East. It is in New England that religious revolutions have arisen; and the West has quite steadily opposed such movements. For the same reason, denominational lines are more closely drawn in the West. 316 THE MISSISSIEPD VALERY, The various religious sects are quite jealous of their autonomy and of their prominence. Union churches have been not uncom- mon in some parts of the East; they are rare in the West. In the small villages church edifices are multiplied. At State con- ventions of religious bodies home missionaries exhibit maps with counties maintaining churches of their particular form in white, and counties having no churches of their kind in black. The existence of any other sorts of churches is carefully ignored. Denominationalism and orthodoxy are, on the whole, strong in the West. This peculiar conservatism, especially in questions of theol- ogy, seems at first view scarcely in consonance with the free and liberal air of Western sentiment on most subjects. One would perhaps more naturally look for the Western churches to be pioneers of speculative liberalism, as they certainly are pioneers in many questions of methods of work. Woman suffrage, co- education, and a score of other notions sturdily opposed in the East, have been quite freely discussed and adopted in the West. And yet, when the Presbyterian Church is shaken by theological disputation, it is the conservative Western presbyteries that form an impregnable wall against heterodoxy. The reason, after all, is easily found. The primary concern of Western life has long been the mastery of material conditions. This fact has, of course, impressed a fixed character on Western society. The Western man is bold, independent, and fertile in re- sources as he confronts the problems with which he must deal. His fearlessness becomes audacity on questions of business, of en- gineering, of the construction of cities; and in church work he applies the same methods. No one has more energy and original- ity in extending the bounds of his parish or in devising ways of dealing with the community of which his church isa part. But for these very reasons the Western man has little time to deal with questions of abstract theology; he is quite content to take them by prescription, and to devote his energies to putting in material form the agencies on which depends the material aggrandizement of his church. The Eastern man may speculate; the Western man acts. The religious life of the valley was marked, as the nineteenth century opened, by the great revival which so strangely swept over Kentucky. There was an awakening to religious thought such as the world has seen only at long intervals. The rugged life of the frontier had given a materialistic tinge to the character of the DENOMINATIONAL DIVISIONS. 317 —— whole community, while the recklessness and coarseness natural to the rude conditions of the forest settlements seemed likely to banish finally all seriousness of thinking and sensitiveness of con- science. In the midst of this state of things came the revival. It was a religious frenzy which had many strange forms of manifes- tation. People wept and shouted, and threw themselves on the ground in delirious ecstasy; the most callous roisterers were seized by the influence that was abroad ; camp meetings blossomed everywhere, and everywhere the same torrent of enthusiasm swept all before it. Sooner or later, probably half the people of Kentucky came under the control of this extraordinary religious power. It was not always lasting; so great excitement is, of course, apt to be followed by a corresponding reaction of lassitude, and there may be more refined ways of reaching and expressing religious sentiment than the wild fervor of these primitive days; yet it can hardly be doubted that, on the whole, the religious and moral condition of the State was permanently uplifted by the movement. A religious map of the valley to-day would picture quite nearly the sources of the population. The various churches are strong about in the ratio of the race and State elements in whose home, east of the mountains, those churches predominate. Kentucky was settled largely from Virginia. Accordingly, we find the Baptists, who among the classes apt to emigrate from that State had a strong following, are now numerous and powerful in Kentucky. The Scotch-Irish borderers in the west of Virginia also shared in the Kentucky settlement, and the Presbyterian Church followed in their steps. The movement of secession from that Church which resulted in the formation of the Campbellite body originated west of the Blue Ridge, and spread in a fanlike direction southwest and northwest. West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois are therefore the States in which this Church has its greatest strength. The Congregational churches always mean New England, and the New-Englander in his movement westward kept to the paral- lels of latitude, shunning the line that separated slave labor from free labor. North of the Ohio River and of the Missouri Compromise line, then, we find Congregationalists numerous and influential; south of those limits they hardly occur. The Con- gregational Year-Book for 1889, for instance, shows in Kentucky eleven churches, every one organized since 1871; while in Ohio there were 236, dating from all along since 1796; in lllinois 269, 318 THE. MISSISSIPPI, VALLEY, and in Iowa, a largely New England State, 261. Kansas was oc- cupied just before the civil war by a flood of New England anti- slavery settlers, and this is significantly illustrated by the fact that it had, in 1889, 205 Congregational churches, while its neigh- bor, Arkansas, showed Just 71, and these all organized since 1881. Minnesota, again, developed by hardy lumbermen and millers from Maine and New Hampshire, had 163 Congregational churches, while Tennessee had about two dozen, and Louisiana only sixteen. Methodists and Baptists, of course, are everywhere; it was not any section to which they primarily appealed, but to certain elemental qualities in the average man. And so Mason and Dixon’s line was no barrier; North and South, East and West, the plain people are found in multitudes under their banners. To be sure, that fatal schism which for so many years parted the sec- tions appears in these churches, and the Methodist Episcopal Church South has its independent counterpart in the North, just as the Baptists of the North meet in one general conven- tion and the Baptists of the South in another. These division lines run across the Mississippi Valley on the ancient barrier be- tween the slave and free States; but otherwise the Baptist of Dakota and the Baptist of Tennessee are not materially different. The main foreign element in the Northwest, we remember, is German and Scandinavian, with a considerable Irish element in most of the cities, and in consequence the national churches of these peoples are correspondingly strong. Roman Catholics and Lutherans are found by the thousand in all the States from Ohio to Montana, while in the Southwest the Lutherans are merely sporadic. Of course, the Roman Catholics are stronger in the last-named section; the French creoles of Louisiana are of that faith, and Irish and Germans are in all the cities, while some infusion of Maryland blood gives a certain amount of American backing to the old Church. The adherence of the races from northern Europe to the two Churches named has produced some marked social and political results. These people are apt to act with a degree of solidarity on most questions, and when their cherished educa- tional ideas were apparently assailed by one great political party the defection of German and Scandinavian votes gave an over- whelming political triumph to the other. It can hardly be said that the West is distinctively a religious community in such sense as was Connecticut two centuries since. RELIGIOUS LIFE. 319 a But, for that matter, no part of the United States is now in that condition. The trend of modern religious life is materially differ- ent from that of the Puritans; and in the great cities in the valley —Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago—the European element is so large _as to give them a character not at all Puritan. In nothing is this seen more plainly than in respect to Sunday observance. The curious overlaying of races which makes so much of the life of the republic is very obvious in the customs that intermingle in our city streets. On Sunday the shops and business houses, as a rule, are closed; but places of amusements of all sorts are usually open. In most cities of the West the saloons are required by law to be closed, but are, in fact, open as on other days; and in some cities they make no pretense of closing. The street cars are crowded on all pleasant Sundays, and parks, theatres, and beer gardens are populous; in fact, there seems to be shaping itself a new sort of Sunday. It is by no means that of the continent of Europe, for it implies cessation from most kinds of labor for profit; it is also by no means Puritan, for it allows recreation as an essential part of the day; it is religious, as a good part of every community is occupied in a variety of services of worship and religious instruction; and all branches of business connected with religious observance or recreation are generally prosecuted. Means of transit are used alike by church-goers and theatre- goers, by Sunday-school workers and frequenters of the parks. Most restaurants, tobacco stores, soda-water devices, and the like, do a thriving business. This sort of Sunday may be better or worse than that of the Puritans; but it has probably come as a permanent custom. De- tails will doubtless always vex; but the conglomerate populations of our Western cities seem to have worked out a scheme which for them at least is satisfactory. VII. MORMONS. Connected with the development of religious life is the at- tempt in some form or other to invent a new sort of faith, or a new way of living together under the sanctions of the old. The ~ Mormon delusion isa fair example of the former, while the various communistic enterprises on a religious basis illustrate the latter. The Mormons originated in the State of New York. But any form of religion so utterly at variance with accepted methods has usually the option of only two courses of action: to convert the entire community, or move out. The former the Mormons could 320 THE. MISSISSIPPIS VALLEY, not do, so the latter naturally they did. After various desultory locations, they finally made two successive attempts at finding a permanent home in the Mississippi Valley. This was at a time when these States were but sparsely settled, and it seemed pos. sible that some considerable piece of land might become their home without interference from outside influences. The residence of the Mormons in Missouri was rather brief, their departure from that State being accelerated by complaints somewhat urgent in their expression, implying a failure on the part of the Mormons always to discriminate clearly between meum and tuum. Crossing the Mississippi to the east again, this strange people then took up their abode in Illinois, on the shores of the great river. Here for six years they lived and worked, trying to found a real Mormon State. Their city they named “Nauvoo”; and they aimed to make it a model of comfort and beauty. Here they began to erect.a magnificent temple for the center of their worship. These Mormons were not merely a set of crazy religious en- thusiasts. They had no little hard business sense, and some capi- tal, which they knew how to employ. It must be admitted that both in Illinois and in Utah they showed themselves industrious, frugal, and clear-sighted. Their farms were prosperous, their business flourished, they amassed wealth, they opened banking houses, and organized an elaborate civil government. When they fled from Missouri they were received by the people of Illinois with pity and hospitality, as persecuted and abused refugees. Then, too, every addition to the productive power of the young State was welcomed, and the newcomers promised to be a mate- rial addition to the Commonwealth. No one is keener to scent a prospective advantage than a politician, and the solid Mormon vote was at once an object of rivalry between Whigs and Democrats. In 1840 the city of Nauvoo was incorporated, and, although the charter contained some very objectionable features, it passed both Houses of the Legislature without discussion or opposition. Power was given the new city to annex any adjacent land by merely laying it out in town lots and recording it, thus providing for indefinite expansion. The City Council of Nauvoo was empowered to enact any ordi- nances not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States or to that of the State, thus being really a co-ordinate body with the State Legislature, and able to nullify any legislation of that body so far as the city was concerned. The city courts had jurisdic- ‘yeig ‘aye y yes yeory ‘yovog pyayaey THE MORMONS. cae) tion limited only by appeal to the State Circuit Court; and the Nauvoo Legion was organized independently of the State militia, being answerable only to the Governor. In this way the Mormon city became an zmpertum in tmperio, with the slightest dependence -on the constituted authorities of the State; and all this came about because the rival political parties vied with each other in pandering to the Mormon vote. The government formed under this remarkable charter was in effect an autocracy, of which the prophet, Joseph Smith, was the head. He was elected mayor. By virtue of this office he was President of the Council, and thus shaped legislation which as mayor he was to execute. He was also ex officio presiding judge of the municipal court, and thus interpreted the laws which he had assisted to make and which he had enforced. As commander of the Nauvoo Legion he added the sword to his other powers ; and as prophet he commanded the implicit obedience of the people whom in his civil capacity he governed. Church and state could hardly be more closely united. A power so far independent of the ordinary operations of civil government could not avoid coming in conflict with its neigh- bors. Trouble of various kinds broke out. The State of Mis- _ souri demanded the extradition of Joseph Smith and other Mor- mon leaders on the charge of a variety of crimes. This requisition the Mormons resisted, and so they came into collision with the authorities. Then it began to be suspected that the people at Nauvoo were plotting to establish on this remote frontier an inde- pendent government that should owe no allegiance either to State or nation. This is, in truth, what the Mormons afterward very nearly did in Utah. Only the accident of the annexation of that Territory to the United States at the close of the Mexican War pre- vented the success of a colonization scheme which Mexico could hardly have resisted. And the new revelation from heaven, by which the prophet learned that polygamy was still lawful, was not acceptable to neighbors who were disposed to regard monogamy as the settled policy of modern civilization. In various other ways the Mormons became obnoxious. They openly avowed their purpose to acquire all the land near Nauvoo, and it was alleged that in some cases they made Gentile owners anxious to sell by a system of petty persecution.* *Tt is said, when they wished to possess the property of a Gentile, they offered what they considered a reasonable price for it, and in case of refusal they proceeded to enforce acceptance by various intolerable annoyances. Whittling was resorted to as one method 21 322 THE VMISSISSIPELOV ALLY: In these ways, and many others, the Mormons at Nauvoo grad- ually wore out their welcome in Illinois, and a series of collisions with the Gentiles near by, and ultimately with the State authori- ties, led to what has been called the “ Mormon War.” After many outrages, and those by no means all confined to one side, the Mor- mon state collapsed, and the “Saints,” in 1846, were compelled by force to leave Illinois. Their prophet, Smith, had previously been taken from jail and murdered by a mob, and the fugitives suffered many hardships before they reached the promised land peyous the Rocky Mountains. This episode is one of the strange results of a peculiar epoch in American history. There was a ferment of mind which led to many extravagances, especially as the American intelligence was, on the whole, somewhat crude. Reforms and “isms” were rife —dress reform, food reform, temperance, antislavery, woman's rights, communism, spiritualism, and what not. In such a soil the Mormon revelation took root and grew apace; and it was but natural that it should seek transplanting to a land where there would be less crowding. Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, were tried suc- cessively, but all proved unkindly homes. The Mormon experi- ment could not reach its fruition except in a wilderness far from human haunts. The Salt Lake Valley gave it a resting-place that seemed at first the very one needed. But in 1848 the United States ‘“acquired”’ Utah, with other assets of Mexico, and at the same time gold was found in California. The one event brought the Mormons back under the American flag, the other opened their secluded valley to the tide of gold-seekers rushing toward the Pacific. Both together made the Mormon state impossible in Utah, as it had been at Nauvoo. of vexation. For this purpose three persons weré appointed, who, armed with sticks and jackknives, took a position in front of the obdurate owner’s residence and commenced whittling. Ifhe went to church, to the post office, market, or other place of business, they followed him whittling. If he expostulated, became angry, threatened or swore, they answered by whittling. If idle boys laughed and jeered the victim, his tormentors de- murely whittled. When he returned home the whittlers followed, and again took their places in front of his house and continued their annoyance from early dawn till late at night. The irritated owner could not look from a window without encountering the inso- lent stare of his persecutors, who were still whittling. Generally a single day, it is said, was sufficient to make him submit, very rarely he held out two days, but never was able to endure more than three days of this ludicrous yet insufferable martyrdom.—Dayidson and Stuvé, History of Lilinois, p. 502, note. COMMUNISTS. 323 VIII. COMMUNISTS. The Mormon experiment was not the only social movement with a religious basis that the Mississippi Valley has seen. Such movements need land; and, in the days when the accessible new land lay between the great mountain ranges, projectors almost necessarily turned to the West. The good Moravians early had settlements in Ohio, and succeeded for a time in winning to a quiet and civilized life a group of the savages who had helped to make Ohio rival Kentucky as a “dark and bloody ground.” But the turmoil of the Revolutionary War was too much for the suc- cess of this interesting attempt to civilize our aborigines by some milder method than the rifle. The Moravian villages were de- stroyed, and many of the Christian Indians were massacred. The missionaries were driven to Canada for refuge, and their Ohio settlement disappeared forever. The community at Economy, near Pittsburg, was founded early in the present century by a band of Germans who fled from religious persecution at home. They adopted the community life as an essential part of their religion, deeming private property a mere product of the sin of selfishness. These Harmonists, as they are called, have been very successful in one way, having amassed property estimated now at tens of millions of dollars. They have lived a quiet, peaceful life, and perhaps have, on the whole, possessed one secret of happiness, even if they have not succeeded in reorganizing society at large on their model. Their numbers are small; at one time they had a thousand members, but now there are but three or four dozen. For many years past they have lived as celibates. At Zoar, in‘Ohio, is another community of German religious enthusiasts. These worthy people had tenets not unlike those of the Quakers, objection to war being one of them. Such no- tions are hardly compatible with European militarism, and soon after the Napoleonic wars were ended the community in ques- tion left their homes in Wiirtemberg for the New World. Here they succeeded in acquiring a body of land in Ohio, on which they settled and where they have thrived by sober industry. Communism was not a part of their original scheme, but was adopted as a necessity in order to secure and retain the land that many individuals might have lost. They own land and manufacturing establishments enough to make the community independent and thoroughly comfortable. 324 THE MISSISSIPPI’ VALLEY: In Iowa is the Amana community, another body of Germans whose community life is founded on religion. They, too, have succeeded in winning property to a large extent, and have a considerable membership. These three are perhaps fair types of communistic experi- ments with religion as an essential element, that have, on the whole, been successful in attaining their chief aims. In all alike the members live a peaceful, uneventful life, without large anxieties or great ambitions. They are industrious, but free from the feverish rush that marks the scramble for the almighty dollar among their neighbors of the valley. ‘They are apt to live to a good old age, and doubtless have a fair share of quiet happiness. Whether the community life is a solution of many social problems, is a question to which perhaps more than one answer may be given. But there is no doubt of the entire sincerity of these people. Of their success in a worldly point of view there can be as little doubt; and they are united in deeming the re- ligious life essential to a safe community. These religious communities have been imported into the Western country from Europe. Those above mentioned are Ger- man. In Iowaa French community was founded at Icaria; and the Trappist monks in Kentucky are only another instance of se- clusion from the world from religious motives by immigrants. IX. RELIGION IN THE CONSTITUTION. But the West has an indigenous religious feeling of its own, and in most of the valley States, this fact finds expression in the organic law. The preamble of the Ohio Constitution recites, ““We, the people of the State of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom,” etc. The Illinois.preamble recites: “ We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political, and religious liberty which He hath so long per- mitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same unimpaired to suc- ceeding generations,” etc. These expressions.or their equivalent are found also in the Constitutions of Indiana, Wisconsin, lowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. This devout phraseology is in striking contrast to the businesslike curtness of the Louisiana preamble, which in its entirety is merely this: “‘ We, the people of the Stas of Lou- isiana, do ordain and establish this Constitution.” Many good people have complained that God is not recog- POLITICS. 325 nized in the Constitution of the United States. The new Com- monwealths, as a rule, seem not to be obnoxious to that charge. Mae OLILICS The trend of politics in the valley States is, like other social tendencies, the product of heredity and environment. In other words, the political ideas of the immigration and the circum- stances that surrounded it in its new home together created a political atmosphere. The occupation of the West on a large scale coincided with the decadence of the old aristocratic Feder- alist party. The ideas of Jefferson prevailed in the nation at large; and the same circumstances which made social equality in the West a necessity—in other words, which made society essen- tially democratic—naturally re-enforced powerfully in that section the tendency to political democracy ; and at first the Democratic Republican party of Jefferson commanded the undivided support of the Mississippi Valley. The first division of parties in a presidential election was in 1796, when Washington retired at the end of his second term: and the last Federalist elector was chosen in 1816. During all that time not a Federalist electoral vote was cast west of the Alleghanies. Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, and Indiana, they were successively admitted, voted solidly for the Republican candidates—for Jefferson in 1796, 1800, and 1804; for Madison in 1808 and 1812; and for Monroe in 1816 and 1820. But, after all, the politics of the young West was not the speculative democracy of the philosopher of Monticello. It was a vigorous, assertive national sentiment. It found its best expo- nent in Henry Clay, whom Kentucky sent as its choicest fruit to the Federal Congress, and whom the Blue Grass State never ceased to follow with a glad enthusiasm. It was the West which combined with the South to assail England in 1812, in defense of the national honor. The New England Federalists stigmatized the war as “Mr. Madison’s war.” They were totally wrong: it was Henry Clay’s war; and the Kentucky volunteers were ready to march on Canada, or to follow Jackson to New Orleans, or wherever the national flag had need of strong arms and stout hearts. . After Mr. Monroe’s second election, in 1820, new party divi- sions began to appear, and the West fell readily into the National Republican movement which allied Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams against the rugged new democracy of Andrew Jackson. 320 THE -MISSISSIPPD VALLEY: Kentucky and Ohio cast their solid vote of 1824 for Henry Clay, and in the same year Adams had one of the three votes of Illi- nois and two of the five votes of Louisiana. While Jackson was President his strong sway carried the West with him, save Kentucky, always loyal to Clay. The newly baptized Whig party of 1836 did not succeed in defeating Van Buren, but yet in that year William Henry Harrison won all the nine votes of In- diana, the fifteen of Kentucky, and the twenty-one of Ohio; and in 1840 Van Buren retained only Illinois and Arkansas in the West. Every other State in the valley was swept by the Whigs. In 1844 Henry Clay made his last effort for the presidency. He lost the prize, but Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee continued true to his banner. The last two States remained under the Whig banner in 1848 and 1852, as well as Louisiana in the former year. But here ended that gallant but unfortunate party. It was national in every sense, not sectional: it fairly divided the West; it car- ried Kentucky at every one of its five or six presidential contests, Indiana twice, Ohio three times, Louisiana once, Arkansas once, Tennessee three times, Mississippi once. Illinois and Missouri never chose a Whig elector. After the election of 1852 the Whig party disappeared. The ~ absorbing slavery question by that time had swallowed up Whig issues of high tariff and internal improvements, and at the next election the new Republican party appeared. Iowa and Michi- gan cast their first presidential votes-for its candidates, and they were joined by Ohio and Wisconsin... The slave States, West as well as South, of course voted in 1856 for Buchanan. This un- happy sectional division in 1860 became still more marked, every free State west of the mountains voting for Lincoln, and every slave State against him; but even at that fateful election it was clear that secession was not meant by all the States which opposed Lincoln, as Kentucky and Tennessee both joined Virginia in vot- ing for the Union candidate, John Bell; and Kentucky, at least, while its sons were divided in the sad contest of arms that fol-’ lowed, never forgot the national spirit of the times of Henry Clay. Since the war political issues have been gradually shifting. The Northwest, as a rule, has steadily upheld the Republican party, and the Southwest has been uniformly true to the Democrats. The old line between slave and free States has still, on the whole, been a line between national parties. Indiana, to be sure, has been curiously balanced, inclining now to one party.and now to another, thus sharing with New York the equivocal renown of being a FINANCIAL CONDITIONS. 327 pivotal State; but aside from that, the Democrats have never since the war, until 1892, in a presidential campaign, carried any old free State in the Mississippi Valley. While party allegiance has thus been pretty steady in these Western States, still there have been from time to time peculiar political movements which have set party calculations at defiance. These, as a rule, have come from adverse economic conditions for which some popular and easy remedy has been sought, and the at- tempt has been followed often by a political convulsion of more or less violence. Financial panics have been felt severely in the West; the hard times of 18109, the great crash of 1837, and the corresponding dis- asters of 1857 and 1873, all swept their waves of business trouble over the States in process of settlement. Indeed, they have been peculiarly exposed to danger from these times of constriction. Speculation and credit are inseparable from the antecedent condi- tions that seem to produce a business panic, and credit and specu- lation are just what the settlement of new States invites as almost matters of course. As the tide of population rolls into a new land its resources are eagerly sought and rapidly developed; the rush for a favorable location creates towns and cities, and wherever there is a water power, a mine, or especially rich arable land, there is opportunity for the quick creation of wealth. Labor and brains are supplied in profusion, capital meets with large returns, and whoever has it at command is easily master of great gains. Nat- urally, then, any one able to secure credit will use it eagerly to exploit the forces of Nature that he sees about him in such pro- fusion; whether farmer, manufacturer, or merchant, the process 1s the same. A small amount of borrowed capital, secured by mort- gage on land, crop, or stock, has often enabled the agriculturist to get a piece of land from which one or two years’ returns have put him out of debt and thus made him independently comfortable, And the large profits from mill or store, in like manner, make it possible to pay high rates of interest for the advances of money which can be turned over many times in a short interval. These facts at once lead to a considerable expansion of credit operations. Men are so sure of large gain that they take great risks; the fever for speculation sets in, prudence is lost, business becomes a bubble, and bubbles are sure sooner or later to burst. Then comes the retribution: banks and business houses fail, mort- gages are foreclosed, credit can no longer be had. Everybody suffers, and everybody seeks desperately for a way of escape. . 328 THE MISSISSIPEI YY ALLEY. This is the story that is repeated over and over again in the financial history of all our new States, and the trouble is that it seems so hard to learn from experience. A generation which has suffered passes away, and a new generation takes its place that too often needs apparently in turn to go through the same cycle. The experience of Kentucky after the depression of 1819 is in- structive. Very many people were in debt, notes came due, and assets had vanished, or at least values had largely disappeared. In this emergency the idea began to spread that somehow the State could get people out of trouble if only it would; and the readiest means was to set up a bank—an institution which would issue paper currency and loan it readily, and this paper was to be a legal tender for the payment of all debts. Accordingly, the bank was chartered, the paper printed, and at first it seemed that every- thing was likely to go on swimmingly. People could get out of debt, after all, and prosperity in time would come back to the State. But then an obstacle arose. Creditors were not willing to take inconvertible paper in payment of a loan that had been made in specie, and appealed to the courts. The courts sus- tained them, holding that the State act was a law impairing the obligation of contracts, and hence in conflict with the Constitu- tion of the United States, and void. The paper people were furious at this course of the judges, and in the election of 1824 chose by an overwhelming majority a Governor and Legislature in sympathy with the popular view, and this State government proceeded to legislate the Supreme Court out of office and to constitute another in its place. But, again, the judges were re- fractory. Holding that their status was determined by the Con- stitution, and hence was unassailable by any legislation short of a constitutional amendment, they refused to vacate their posi- tions, and appealed to the people for justification. The State election in the following year was fought on this issue, and really meant simply whether the people of Kentucky should adopt the policy of honesty or that of swindling. The canvass was the hot- test in the history of Kentucky politics, and, to the everlasting credit of the State, resulted in a decisive victory for good faith. The paper-money party was decisively overthrown; the judges who had dared to decide what was just in the face of popular obloquy were at last sustained by the sober second thought of the people of their State, and the victory was permanent in its results. Kentucky seemed to have learned the lesson once for BANK QUESTIONS. 329 all that even a State can not make something out of nothing. The financial policy of the Commonwealth since then has been conservative and eminently sound; no midsummer madness of monetary moonshine has since afflicted it. In other of the valley States, however, as much can not be said. The bank question at one time or other played a prominent part in most of the West. During the flush times preceding the panic of 1837, banking charters were freely bestowed, and paper “money” was afloat in great quantities. When the crash came, these banks, having in most cases nothing back of their circulation, of course failed on all sides. Their notes became worthless, and were left on the hands of their unlucky holders. This dearly bought experience led some States to attempt restriction of legislative power for evil. In the Constitution of Illinois adopted in 1848, Article X, section 3, reads, “ No State bank shall hereafter be created, nor shall the State own or be liable for any stock in any corporation or joint-stock association for banking purposes to be hereafter created.” And in section 5 it is provided that ‘“‘no act to incorporate banks shall go into effect unless previously submitted to the people and approved by a majority of the popular vote.” Still, the State bank question was not finally put out of the field of practical politics, so far as issuing paper currency is con- cerned, until the act of Congress taxing such issues in the inter- est of the national currency. This made local bank paper impos- sible. After the civil war the condition of the agricultural States in the West became very critical. So long as the Government was a large buyer of farm produce, prices were high and the farmer made money; but with the cessation of hostilities this large customer, that was buying property right and left for the ul- . timate purpose of destroying it, of course ceased to purchase. Prices fell off; commodities were in superabundance; and the farmer began to use for fuel the corn that did not pay to take to market. The cause of this unfortunate condition of things was not plainly understood. The bondholders were charged with bring- ing it about; they had bought national bonds at a discount, pay- ing in depreciated greenbacks; and by the act of 1869 these bonds were to be paid in coin, even though they contained no specific stipulation to that effect. This the farmer felt was rob- 330 THE: MISSISSIPPE “VALLEY, bery ; and when the Resumption Bill of 1875 became law, added to the act of 1873 providing for the single standard, it seemed still clearer that there was a clique of bankers manipulating the Gov- ernment for private profit. These considerations led to consider- able agitation in the agricultural States, especially in the North- west, looking toward the restoration of the “ people’s money,” greenbacks, to general use and especially to a legal-tender status. A Greenback Convention at Indianapolis, in 1874, laid the founda- tion for an independent national party on that issue; and in 1876 a second convention at the same place duly organized such party, and nominated a ticket for President and Vice-President of the United States. A considerable vote was cast for these candi- dates, especially in Indiana, I[l]linois, Lowa, Michigan, and Kansas. In 1878 this Greenback party fused with the labor agitators, and in a convention at Toledo formed the “‘ National” party. In the elections of that year the new party cast a million votes, and elected fourteen Congressmen throughout the nation. In 1880 the convention of this party was held at Chicago, and General James B. Weaver, of Iowa, was nominated for the presi- ency. He received only about three hundred thousand votes, and the only Congressmen chosen by his followers in the West were from Missouri. The most recent political movement of dissent from the old parties is that coalition of various phases of dissatisfaction that is now known as the People’s party, or Populists. This movement originated among the farmers, who for some years past certainly have not prospered. The cause for this change in the profits of agriculture have been variously assigned. The currency, the railroads, the money-lenders, have all been assailed. Some farm- ers have thought that copious issues of paper “ money” would bring back that prosperity which was so general when, in the war times, paper money was abundant. The railroads have been charged with tyranny, unjust discrimination, overcharging, and virtual monopoly. Without the railroad, of course, the Western farmér would be absolutely helpless. He would be out of reach of a market, and the most abundant crops would be in the main quite useless on his hands. With the railroad he is able to wring money from his soil, sometimes in great quantities. It is only because of steam transportation that the Dakota agricul- turist can compete in the Liverpool market with the Russian peasant. THE CORPORATION AND THE FARMER, 331 But the same thing that makes the railroad essential to the farmer also puts him quite in the power of the corporation. The power which can make can as easily unmake, or at least can refuse to make; and so, when the hard-working farmer sees his profits evaporating but the railroad growing rich at the same time, he naturally feels that his labor is going mainly to fatten a soulless corporation. Under this vague sense of injustice, and not always with a very clear idea of how to improve matters, the farmer Legislatures of the agricultural States have now for years been trying to rem- edy their ills by legislation. The first attempt by any legislature was made in Illinois. The Constitution of that State gave the Legislature power to regulate railroads—a power employed in an act passed in 1871. But this act the courts declared unconstitu- tional, and the defect was remedied in 1873. This last act pro- vided that railroad rates must be “reasonable,” and then estab- lished a State Commission to decide what rates would be so. Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other valley States, took a similar course. These commissions have not always been successful. In some cases, notably in Wisconsin in 1874-76, the railroads were by the operation of law deprived of all power to earn any profits at all. They ceased to pay dividends, railroad construction was discontinued,. and the development of the State was suddenly checked. Another cause for the bad times in many sections of Western agricultural communities lies in the peculiar character that farm- ing has assumed of late years in many places. In the early years of the century, indeed until after the civil war, the farmers as a class were looked on as a conservative part of the population. Of late years the most radical measures, in some cases rivaling advanced socialistic programmes, have received their strongest ' support among some of our Western agriculturists; and the reason for this has been a puzzle. ; Still, the explanation is not difficult. In earlier days the average farmer owned his land. If it was mortgaged, it was generally for such portion of its value that he was usually able to carry the interest and to meet the principal. Being a real property-holder, he had a stake in the community, and was averse to radical and unsettling measures. But since the war a new state of things has grown up. The marvelous extension of railroads and opening new lands have caused a rush to get 332 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. hold of farms. In some of the early years the crops of wheat and corn were sufficient in a year or two to pay for the farm and its outfit. On the contrary, if there were two or three suc- cessive seasons of bad crops, a farmer who was largely in debt would be driven to the wall. But the chance of so large profit was too strong a temptation to be resisted. Many immigrants bought land on credit, usually at a high rate of interest, and stocked it in the same way. They trusted to a few good crops to make them safe. But meanwhile they, in reality, owned nothing except the chance to get a large return; and so specu- lative an enterprise is hardly legitimate farming. Such ven- turers lack the frugality, industry, and persistence of the man who has a safe income from his labor, even if his chances of great wealth are small. When seasons are bad, when prices are low, these speculative farmers suffer. There have been many thousands of settlers, especially on the wheat lands of the Northwest, to whom this description applies. They are rather gamblers than dona fide farmers; and when the game has gone against them they have been ready for any reckless measures that seemed to promise a way of escape. Of course, it will be understood that this description by no means applies to all Western farmers, and probably only to a minority of them. The “money sharks” have been a real grievance. They have been able to extort enormous rates of interest for small loans in time of necessity; and they have fairly bled the small farmers of some sections of Dakota and Kansas. Heavily mortgaged farms, lack of thrift, huge rates of interest, crop failures caused by droughts and grasshoppers, crushing rates of freight to the market, these are some of the causes that in the last few years have been making the farmers of many sections of the Northwest and West lose all faith in the wisdom of the old po- litical parties. The immediate relation between grasshoppers and politics it is not always easy to see; but the sufferer can often see what no one else can. And so a new party which professes to be able to remedy the ills of the land finds abundance of recruits. From 18g0 to 1892 the new party has elected Legislatures, Govern- ors, members of Congress, and United States Senators. For the first time since 1860 electoral votes in several States were given to the candidates of a third party, and Kansas and North Dakota were of the number. Another influence that in some of the valley States has trav- THE TEMPERANCE ISSUE. 3335 ersed the policies of national parties has been the temperance question. The agricultural States have been inclined to deal rigorously with the saloon. JIowa, Kansas, and the Dakotas have adopted the policy of prohibition, either as a constitu- tional provision or as a legislative enactment. The enforce- ment of such laws has been a source of trouble in considerable towns. But the States in question have been peculiarly favored in regard to the issue by the fact that in none of them is found a large city. Prohibition in a farming community and _ prohi- bition in a city like Chicago or New Orleans are very different matters. Minnesota, with two cities of some three hundred thousand people all told, has chosen to deal differently with the question. High license, one thousand and five hundred dollars, and the local option to towns of voting license or no license, is the method in the North Star State. And inthe city of Minneapolis there is a further legislative enactment which confines all saloons to the business streets, thus keeping residence sections clear of them. This device of the “patrol limits,” as it is called, together with high license, has materially reduced the number of saloons. There are about three hundred in the Flour City. The people of the valley have dealt with their political prob- lems in the light of such experience as they have been able to get. In general, their fundamental laws have exhibited no great diver- gence from those of the rest of the Union. As Territories became States, they formed Constitutions modeled on that of the United States and of older States. In general, there is a Bill of Rights, embodying the familiar principles of English and American liber- ties. Trial by jury, the “abeas corpus, freedom of speech and of the press, freedom of worship, divorce of state and church, ap- pear in constant repetition. Any peculiar provisions are usually due to some particular circumstances of the community. For in- stance, the first Constitution of Louisiana, adopted in 1812, pro- vided that no clergyman should be eligible to civil office. There was also a provision that in the Legislature either the French or the English language might be used. In Illinois the Governor had no real veto power until 1870. This fact went back to the Constitution of Ohio, the first State to be admitted from the territory of the old Northwest. General Arthur St. Clair, the Territorial Governor of Ohio, was in that capacity invested with an absolute veto. Smarting under the rec- ollection of this, and of its very exasperating use by the Governor, 334 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. the Constitutional Convention of 1802 gave the Governor of the State no veto power at all. The States have shared in some general tendencies of constitu- tional change. The right of suffrage has been extended. Several States have granted the ballot to women at elections for school officials. The judiciary has generally become elective for a term of years, instead of being appointed for good behavior. A vast number of restrictions has been put on the powers of Legisla- tures, and definite attempts have been made to restrain railroads and other corporations. All these facts are resultants of the steady spread of democratic ideas, and of the struggle of society to grapple with the new and perplexing developments of corporate wealth that so clearly mark the last decades of the nineteenth century. People have learned also that, on the whole, over-legislation is an inevitable tendency of a legislative body; and so, how to prevent legisla- tion is the study of constitution-makers. XI. EDUCATION. The settlers in the valley brought with them a fixed convic- tion that widely diffused education is essential in a republic. A typical small town in the West shows a cluster of low wooden buildings, several church spires, and near the center a substan- tial brick schoolhouse. Indeed, school architecture in the West compares very favorably with that of the East. There is a very general desire to get the best: improved appliances for heat- ing and ventilation are readily adopted; sanitation and comfort are both heeded. The whole community takes a pride in its school. But care for education has not depended on the mere varying whims of immigrants; it has been imbedded from the first in the fundamental anton of the new States. It was a part of Thomas Jefferson’s broad conception of the future of American democracy, that the public lands in the Western territory might be made the means of supporting free schools. Accordingly, an Ordinance of Congress was enacted, May 20, 1785, prescribing that in every township of thirty-six square miles, section number sixteen should be reserved “for the maintenance of public schools in said township.” This provided an endowment, for the purpose named, of six hundred and forty acres of land in each township. By a further ordinance of July 23, 1787, this reservation was made perpetual. THRE STATE -AND. EDUCATION, 335 The Magna Charta of the Western States is the ordinance of July 13, 1787, for the government of the “ Territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio.” In this ordinance Article IIf reads as follows: ‘ Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.” “Encouraged,” of course, refers to legislative action for mate- rial support; and the initial aid thus given was the reservation by the General Government of the sixteenth section in each town- ship. As new States were carved out of the Western territory and successively admitted to the Union, the reservation above named was made a condition of the compact, and so the land in question became an educational fund in each State. In 1848 Senator Stephen A. Douglas secured an additional grant of the thirty-sixth section for Oregon and each State thereafter admitted, and this has been given, up to the present time, to thirteen States. The same ordinance of July 23, 1787, that made perpetual the reservation of section sixteen in each township, also provided “That not more than two complete townships be given per- petually for the purpose of a university. . . .” This provision also is a part of the compact between each State and the United States; and in accordance with it free State universities have been organized, and are an essential part of the system of public education in these States. A third provision for public education was made by act of Congress, July 2, 1862, whereby a grant of land was made to each State for the support of agricultural and mechanical col- leges. In some cases these institutions are organized in con- nection with the State universities, in others they are entirely — separate. This system of land grants for free instruction has not only afforded the material foundation for public schools, but has also served to keep the policy of State education fixed beyond any adverse question. And not only that: public education in the West means more than it does in the East. In the West the fundamental idea is that all should have equal opportunities, from the primary school to the university. Free education is not confined to the “three r’s.” Whoever has the ability and the energy can, if he will, become a university graduate. Of course, this conception means more than merely fitting all 330 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. for the elementary duties of citizenship. It implies opening wide the door of opportunity, so that any who will may enter; it is, if you please, a form of State socialism. But it is thoroughly established, not in the theory of law alone, but consecrated by the action of many years. The State universities have a large plant; they have great invested funds; they have considerable bodies of alumni, exerting—for instance, in the case of Michigan and Wisconsin—already a decided influence on public opinion. The University of Michigan gathers nearly three thousand stu- dents, and the University of Minnesota more than half that number. Such great agencies of the higher education can not fail to give a decided direction to the social activities of the communi- ties in which they are situated; and this state of things is mate- rially different from the educational conditions and tendencies of the older States. The great scheme of public instruction in the West is not completed by the land grants. Much of these were sold long ago at very low prices, while had they been held till the present time they would be of enormous value. Still, they have afforded large sums, which yield a safe income; but in all cases they are supplemented by taxation, and in not a few instances have bene- fited by private munificence. It is this union of public grants and individual generosity that will probably afford the safest foundation for permanent prosperity. The magnificent Science Hall which Governor J. S. Pillsbury gave to the university at Minneapolis is quite as significant of the trend of educational progress as the annual tax levy of the several States. But public education is not the only form that Western schools have taken. Church institutions have been founded in great numbers, and that in all grades; secondary schools, col- leges, and theological seminaries are found in every State. Many of these are ambitious beyond their means, using the name “college” or “university”’ when “academy” would be a more accurate designation. But some of them have won quite solid success; and the present tendency is toward clipping the wings of imagination and making names more nearly correspond to facts. The great bodies of German and Scandinavian Lutherans and of German and Irish Roman Catholics have given peculiar vitality to the educational institutions of those Churches, and they play a considerable part in the social and sometimes in the political THE OUTLOOK. 337 —— life of the Northwest. They have amassed large capital, and evidently have ‘‘come to stay.” The exact relations of public to corporate education will only be settled by time and experience. In no case can there be the difficulty, however, in a free republic, that the same questions have excited in Europe. A “Cultur- kampf” is quite possible in Germany or France; in America it is out of the question. Still, while church and state are sharply separated in our country, they are likely at times to come into collision. It needs always the wisest statesmanship and the broadest charity to handle and settle such questions. It has been objected that education in the West is materialistic in its tendency. This, to some extent, is probably true. The mas- tery of material forces which knowledge gives must appeal direct- ly to people engaged actively in the subjugation of a new land, and it is for this reason that schools of engineering and agri- culture have had a great development. Still, learning for the sake of learning is by no means neglected, and is daily assuming a larger place. The increase of wealth and leisure and settled modes of life lead directly to culture in all its forms; and it is a question perhaps worth considering, whether this is not likely to be at least a more virile culture than that which comes from older and less forceful conditions of civilization. LE. el HB: OUTLOOK. The future possibilities of the Mississippi Valley are insepara- bly bound up with those of the republic. As has been said, the valley is the core of the nation. It is in nearly all points typical of the national character and tendencies, and it shares in the action of the great forces that are making our future. There is no reason to suppose that the vast extent of land be- tween the mountains has yet reached its greatest possible density of population. Great areas, especially of the States west of the Mississippi River, are yet very sparsely settled. The soil can undoubtedly be made to support many millions more of people. If there are forty millions to-day, there seems no reason to doubt that one hundred millions may be found living here in equal com- fort a hundred years hence. But as the population becomes dense there will soon appear the dangers of poverty and misery that are apt to accompany a crowded civilization. The enormous pressure of masses of people seems to crush out the hope and energy and prosperity of a large proportion of them; and the great problem of modern progress, 22 338 THE MISSISSIPPI: VALLEY. after all, is how to deal with this tendency—how to prevent the forces of advancing social evolution from being destructive as well as creative. Of course, it is from the soil that human life is primarily sup- ported. Food and clothing—the elementary necessities of our physical existence—are the products of man’s energy applied to the land, and it would seem that the further settlement of the valley must be dependent on the possibility of greatly enhanced profit in agriculture; and it must be confessed that in extensive districts farming is to-day a very uncertain vocation. But this problem is only one of an intermingled group, the solution of which is a necessary condition of our future industrial prosperity. Methods of agriculture, the relation of means of transportation to commerce, the just incidence of taxation—all these things, and many more, are socio-political questions that the early future must solve; and the fermentation now going on through all the valley States is but a part of the process from which settled conditions will come in time. The native resources of the valley are only partly developed. Productive soil, mines, water powers, are yet imperfectly exploit- ed, and from their use it seems quite certain that a considerable increase of wealth must come; how large, would be mere guess- work. Buta century hence it can hardly be otherwise than that the material resources of the valley will be great beyond the present dreams of the most visionary. 3 It is true that the economic history of some sections of our country shows a transfer of industrial energy. Agricultural com- munities become manufacturing ; farms become profitless and are abandoned ; factories take the place of the plow. But one reason for this transformation has been the opening of new and rich soils to occupation. The stony hills of New Eng- land can not compete with the prairie loam of Illinois and Min- nesota. But the process now going on must soon come to anend. The richest virgin soils are about all taken up; and the agriculture of the future will come, not from the discovery of new lands more adapted by nature for tillage than any yet held, but rather from the application of more productive methods to lands already in use, or to new lands even inferior to much now tilled. The character of the population that will fill the center of the republic in the twentieth century may be partly conjectural. Still, the present condition of things is one of transition. The SOCIAL” AND *POLITICAL FPUFURE. 339 movement of European people to our country has been perhaps the dominant social fact of at least the latter half of this century. With a more nearly equalized condition of life between the Old World and the New—an equilibrium that can not fail to come— this movement will practically cease; and with the lapse of a few generations the foreign character that now marks so many of our citizens will disappear. Differences will fade out; there will be a settling together of discordant qualities, an assimilation to a com- mon type of nationality. It will be the same process which has made one nation out of the various elements once so distinct in France, in Spain, and in England. It seems possible that this common type which will result from the unification of our population will be in some respects different from any form yet seen. Doubtless the Teutonic idea will pre- dominate. The English shaping of that idea which our history has shown, will continue ; but it can hardly fail to get a new color- ing from the great continental infusion, and the combination will make a nation rich in peculiarly strong elements. That race idiosyncrasies will not be altogether lost is a matter of course. The descendants of the Pennsylvania German and of the South Carolina Huguenot can still be distinguished, but yet in all essen- tials they are Americans, and a hundred years hence the denizens of the valley, we can be quite sure, will be Americans in a more positive sense than to-day. The social and political future of the valley communities will be that of democracy. Democratic institutions are spreading the world around. They are now in the ascendant; but the final judgment of history on democracy will not depend on its van- quishing and displacing other forms of social organization. The question rather relates to the use which the people make of their power. Is democracy calculated to make society better, more prosperous, and happier? To ascertain the answer to this ques- tion, we must watch the methods and the success of the democ- racy in dealing with the complicated relations of modern life. These difficulties, which the opening of a new land has deferred, can not be evaded forever; they must be faced and settled in some way or other. The relation of capital to labor, the status of corporate enterprises, the problems of poverty and crime—all these must be considered. And then there is a higher life—that of refined culture, of literature and art and science, for their own sake. What is the tendency of a democratic society on this form of human development? 340 THE’ MISSISSIPPI «VALLEY; These are some of the questions the solution of which the future has in store; and in no other part of the world than in this central portion of North America will the evolution of society in these ways be more interesting to the student of sociology. The material conditions of life and the aggregation of diverse human forces are unique, and the vital energy thus far shown certainly gives rich promise of what is yet to be wrought. Vernal Fall, Yosemite Valley, California, three hundred and thirty-six feet high. CHAPTER VI. dite. AGE COAST, IF it be true that to diversity of climate and configuration are largely due the differences in race characteristics and condi- tions, then should the people of our Pacific shores become one of the most heterogeneous of all the communities on earth. 368 THE PACIFIC COAST. peach and nectarine, the plum and cherry, with berries and cur- rants of many descriptions, and grapes of almost every. known variety. Among our advantages is ‘the warm, rainless summer, causing the trees to°come earlier into bearing and to bear more abundant crops than in the fruit regions of the Eastern States, while permitting the best and least expensive methods of drying and curing. On the other hand, we have the disadvantages of ex- cessive freights, three hundred dollars per carload being demanded in 1891 for transportation to the Atlantic coast, or at the rate of about thirty dollars a ton, while the average net returns were less than forty dollars a ton. Complaint was also made of delay in transit, rendering unmarketable considerable portions of the ship- ments, and this after paying to the railroad companies nearly one half of the total value of the consignments. From less than one thousand tons in 1871, shipments of fresh fruits to Eastern markets increased to about three thousand six hundred tons in 1881, and for 18go0 were estimated at thirty-seven thousand five hundred tons. The first consignments of dried fruits were made in 1875, and amounted to two hundred and seventy-five tons; for 1880 there were only some two hundred tons; but in 1890 the shipments had increased to about seventeen thousand tons. Canned fruits were first shipped in 1872, to the extent of less than one hundred tons, increasing to three thousand three hundred and fifty tons in 1880, and to twenty-eight thousand tons in 1887, since which date there has been a further increase. The dried fruits consisted principally of peaches, prunes, apricots, and raisins, and the canned fruits of peaches, apricots, and pears. As to the general condition of the fruit trade in 1890, the opera- tions of the California Fruit Union will serve as an indication, handling as it did nearly two thirds of our shipments of green de- ciduous fruits. By this association were shipped eastward, between May and November of that year, thirteen hundred and seventy car- loads, mainly to Chicago, but also to points extending as far north as St. Paul and as far south as New Orleans. Its total sales ex- ceeded one million five hundred thousand dollars, with expenses, including freight, commissions, and storage, of seven hundred and eighty thousand dollars, and net returns of seven hundred and twenty thousand dollars. One advantage of their system is its dispatch ; a carload arriving overnight is sold at auction before noon on the following day, and a few hours later a check is mailed for the proceeds. In 1890 the total area of the California vineyards was esti- WINE PRODUCTION IN. CALIFORNIA. 369 mated at two hundred thousand acres, the crop of wine-grapes for that year being the largest as yet recorded. Through lack of experience and of other than local markets, the production of wine _has been subject to many disadvantages, and not until recently has it begun to be profitable. It is only within the last decade that the choicer varieties of grapes have been used for wine- making, largely superseding the so-called mission grapes, such as were raised by the padres in the days of Junipero Serra, produc- ing only a coarse and flavorless beverage. But since the organi- zation of the State Board of Viticulture, established in 1880 with a view to foster this industry, a better condition of affairs has pre- vailed. For 1890 the vintage was estimated at sixteen’ million gallons, at about which point it had remained for several years. Of late, however, the Eastern and foreign demand have almost kept pace with the supply. From less than three million gallons in 1882, exports increased to eleven million five hundred thousand gallons in 1890, and to this must be added at least five million gal- lons for the consumption of the Pacific coast. Our wines are gradu- ally finding favor in Eastern markets, and in California are almost superseding imported descriptions. From ten boxes of raisins, shipped to New York in 1874 by way of experiment, our exports increased to two million boxes in 1890, Fresno County taking the lead as a raisin district, with a total product for that year of nearly one million boxes. From Califor- nia is now supplied about one half the total consumption of the United States, and at prices little below those of the Malaga prod- uct This result is somewhat remarkable, in view of the differ- ence in rates of labor between the two countries, amounting to at least seventy per cent in favor of the Spanish viticulturist; more- over, the duty on imported raisins is offset by a freight charge of nearly two cents a pound from San Francisco to New York against less than half a cent from Spanish ports. But such disad- vantages have been more than counterbalanced by our superior process of curing and packing—a process which the Spaniard has yet to learn. A partial failure of the orange crops of Florida and Louisiana caused the season of 1890—’91 to be one of the most profitable ever known in the citrus region of California, three thousand car- loads being shipped to Eastern markets at fairly remunerative prices. Olives thrive well in the southern portion of the State, with a yield of more than one hundred pounds to a tree of seven years’ growth. The fig comes into bearing in its third or fourth 24 370 THE PACIFIC COAST. year; the peach is a favorite, on account of its abundant fruitage and suitability for shipment, whether fresh or dried or canned ; and the Bartlett pear, with its delicate flavor and aroma, ranks among our choicest~fruits, often’ commanding, in Eastern Stal a higher price than their own orchard products. With markets for our fruit extending throughout the East, where the climate in most sections forbids the production of sub- tropical varieties, the future of our fruit-raising industries is as- sured almost beyond a peradventure. It may, indeed, be pre- dicted that at no very distant date California is destined to become the orchard of the United States. To bring about such a result there is needed a closer attention to methods of cultiva- tion, a more careful system of irrigation, and such cheaper and better facilities for shipment as will result from competition in overland traffic. Though for orchards planted in the southern portion of the State, and especially in the citrus belt, irrigation is almost a necessity, it is seldom used in central and northern California except for vegetables and the smaller fruits, while of our grain fields not ten per cent receive artificial watering. In 1889 there were three million three hundred thousand acres under irriga- tion, and to this area has since been added about five hundred thousand acres. On irrigated tracts it is estimated that returns have been increased by more than fivefold of their former pro- duction, and in the counties where irrigation has been most largely developed the result has been to increase even in greater ratio their population and aggregate wealth. Between 1870 and 1890 the population of Los Angeles County increased from fif- teen thousand to one hundred thousand, and her taxable wealth from seven million dollars to sixty-seven million dollars; Tulare, from four thousand five hundred to eighty-five thousand, and her assessment roll from three million five hundred. thousand dollars to twenty-two million dollars; San Diego, from five thou- sand to thirty-five thousand, and her property valuation from two million five hundred thousand dollars to twenty-eight mil- lion dollars. These, with Fresno and San Bernardino Counties, are the sections containing the most extensive irrigation works. At the Anaheim colony, for instance, lands originally pur- chased for two dollars an acre are now rated at from one thou- sand to two thousand dollars, while other tracts before deemed almost worthless now furnish a comfortable livelihood for a family td Mountain dome in Tuolumne County, California. AGRICULTURE OF OREGON AND WASHINGTON. WA! on each ten-acre subdivision. Already the occupants of our fruit- growing regions have been multiplied by tens of thousands, and the value of their property by tens of millions; and yet these re- sults may appear insignificant to those who in future years shall avail themselves of the more economic and scientific methods that will follow in the track of experience. A feature within recent years has been the formation of agri- cultural and horticultural colonies, provided with irrigation facili- tiés, and to a certain extent co-operative. The success of the Anaheim colony, founded in Los Angeles County on a site laid out and planted under the direction of an experienced viticultur- ist, encouraged others to follow its example, and led to a subdi- vision of many of the larger ranches, often with improvements in the shape of irrigating canals, and with incipient orchards and vineyards, in the expectation, of building up towns and settle- ments. To such ventures. are, due the establishment of thou- sands of our smaller: horticultural, homesteads. In Colorado similar experiments have also-been. attended with success, as in the case of the Greeley and. Tennessee colonies, the former con- taining, only,two years after its foundation, several hundred com- fortable homes, and with the adjacent lands divided into small agricultural, holdings. .’.The. remarks that have been made on the agricultural and Peittural industries of California apply in part to other sec- tions.of the coast, and the little that remains to be said’on this subject may be condensed into the briefest of phrase. Apart from California, the only large, wheat-growing States are Oregon and Washington, and, though the combined product of the two latter has never been equal; to that of the former, it is by no means’ impossible that either may yet exceed its maximum yield of more. than fifty million,;bushels for the year 1880. ; At present, however, indications do not point in that direction.: For 1892, the Oregon‘and ‘Washington crop was estimated at twenty- two‘ million, or, some -three million. bushels less than -in 18gI, against thirty-eight million, for California,.a’ gain of about one mil- lion bushels over the preceding season. Nor is it probable that the California harvest of 1880 will be surpassed by any section of the Pacific coast for many a year to come. There are but few States in the Union whose wheat crop has amounted to fifty mil- lion bushels, and in these such a yield has seldom been duplicated. In Illinois alone has the crop exceeded sixty million bushels, and that also for the year 1880; Kansas, Minnesota, and Indiana 372 THE PACIFIC COAST. being each credited in 1891 with somewhat over fifty million bushels. | As a fruit-producing region Oregon has in some respects the ~ advantage over California, as in the flavor, substance, and size of its orchard products, and especially of its apples and plums. In southeastern Oregon and Washington are districts suitable for viticulture, and in the former for the fig and apricot. In both — these States, with their increasing network of railroads, stock- raising is largely giving place to the production of cereals and fruits. In Utah we have a remarkable instance of what may be ac- complished with the aid of irrigation, and nowhere in this part of the continent has the system of artificial watering been applied — with more careful method. Reaching, in 1847, the site of their modern Zion in an almost destitute condition, the Mormons at once undertook the construction of irrigating canals, of which, by 1865, they had completed more than one thousand miles, extend- ing over an area of one hundred and fifty thousand acres: Here the yield of cereals is about the average of the coast, with a crop in choice locations of nearly sixty bushels of wheat or oats to the acre. Such orchard products as apples, peaches, and plums thrive equally well, and for the most part are of excellent quality. In Colorado are some of the largest irrigation works of the United States, with several hundred reservoirs and several thou- sand miles of irrigating ditches and canals, supplying in 1890 an area of three million acres. In Wyoming and Idaho a system of artificial watering has also been introduced; but the entire cereal product of the transmontane section of the coast is but a fraction of the yield accredited to the single State of California. Except for Colorado, whose grain and fruit crops were valued, as early as 1883, at more than ten million dollars, this region is still largely dependent on the mining and stock-raising interests, though with a steady, if slow, development of its agricultural resources. The mild winters of the Pacific slope, and especially of the portion west of the Sierra Nevada, is very favorable to the stock- raising interest, and nowhere do domestic animals thrive better and increase more rapidly than in the sheltered valleys of Califor- nia. In proportion to population, the quantity of live-stock is unusually large, with an average of nearly twice the number of kine and five or six times the number of sheep fer capita as com- | pared with the whole United States. Of the two million cattle and the ten million sheep contained on this coast in 1880, about one half MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 373 were credited to California; but with the steady encroachment of farmers and fruit-growers on the area available for pasturage this ratio has been greatly reduced. Nevertheless, she contains to-day some of the largest stock farms in the world, a single indi- vidual, who in 1850 landed in San Francisco with less than ten dollars in his pocket, owning in 1888 one hundred thousand cattle and eighty thousand sheep, distributed over an area almost equal to that of Rhode Island, and with sales of products amounting to one million five hundred thousand dollars a year. Other States have also their so-called cattle kings, and especially Oregon, Neva- da, Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming, where hundreds of men, start- ing with no other capital than their own intelligence, industry, and enterprise, have accumulated princely fortunes. Not the least noticeable feature in the industrial annals of the coast is the progress of its manufactures, though limited, of course, to those sections where agriculture has attracted popula- tion and furnished supplies of raw material. Already has been fulfilled in California the prediction of political economists, that the manufacturing interests of the State would exceed both min- ing and agricultural in aggregate wealth ; and yet, in this direc- tion, the Golden State is merely on the threshold of her career. From twenty-three million five hundred thousand dollars in 1860, her manufactured products had increased to more than one hun- dred and forty million dollars in 1891, distributed among seven thousand establishments, giving employment to fifty thousand operatives, and with an invested capital of at least seventy-five mil- lion dollars. These figures, although estimated, may be accepted as approximately true. For 1870 California manufactures were estimated at sixty-six million dollars, and for 1880 at one hundred and sixteen million dollars, at which latter date there were nearly six thousand establishments, with a capital of sixty-one million dollars, employing forty-four thousand hands, and from seventy- three million dollars of material producing one hundred and six- teen million dollars of fabrics. With her magnificent harbor, her railroad system, and her facilities for securing labor and material in sufficient quantity and at reasonable rates, it is but natural that San Francisco should be the manufacturing center of the coast, producing at least three fourths of its entire output, and with an endless variety of products. Here are foundries and machine shops, wire, steel, copper, lead, and other metal works, woolen mills, clothing, and other factories, tanneries, saddleries, and boot 374 THE: PACIFIC COAST. and shoe factories; breweries and distilleries; flour mills and sugar mills; salmon-canning, fruit-canning, and meat-packing es- tablishments, with others too numerous here to be mentioned. With abundant supplies of raw material, there are neverthe- less many serious drawbacks to the manufacturing industries of the Pacific coast. Among them are the sparseness of its popula- tion, and the difficulty in securing a foothold in other than local markets ; the superior attractions of mining, farming, and horti- culture; high rates of taxation; high prices of fuel and water; and, above all, the want of cheap and trustworthy labor, due to the independent spirit and condition of our operatives. Asa rule, its must be admitted that this has been the least profitable of all our branches of enterprise, yielding but a meager return on the capital invested. Thus it is that we send to the Eastern States a large proportion of the raw material which, under more favorable conditions, could here be made up into fabrics; that we ship, for instance, to Boston, more than three fourths of our wool clip, to be washed and scoured, made into blankets or clothing, and per- haps returned to us in the shape of fabrics, with all the added charges of freight, commission, and manufacture. In time, how- ever, these defects will be remedied into a cheaper and more plentiful supply of labor and capital, into railroad competition reducing the cost of transport, and with the growing demand developed by a steady increase of population. In proportion to their population there are several cities which will compare not unfavorably with San Francisco as manufacturing centers, and especially is this true of Portland, whose products increased from two million six hundred thousand dollars in 1880 to about thirty million dollars in 1890. Seattle and Tacoma, both of which were mere villages less than a dec- ade ago, each reported in 1890 an output of twelve million to fourteen million dollars. The manufacturing industries of Colo- rado represented in 1890 a value of at least fifty million dollars, the foundries, car shops, and factories of Denver alone employ- ing several thousand operatives. Nevertheless, it is improbable that any of these cities will wrest from San Francisco herssuss premacy as a manufacturing center. GCHAPTERYyV IT: THE FARMER'S OPPORTUNITIES. IN considering the value of any great land for*the uses of civilized man it is of first importance to take into account the character of its soil coating and the relation of that layer of earth material to agriculture. Whatever be the other advantages of a country—however rich its mineral resources, good its climate, and advantageous its situation with reference to the trade of the world—its fitness for the occupation of cultivated people is in the main determined by the harvests which it may yield. Therefore, at the outset of our inquiry into the several great divisions of the earth resources which are provided by North America, we shall note the tillage value of its fields. In order to acquire a clear conception of the problems presented by the soil, it is well to begin the inquiry with some general considerations as to the way in which this coating is formed, how its fertility is maintained, increased, or impaired, and how it stands related to the life which may grow upon it. The phenomena exhibited by the soil coating of the earth are so familiar that they are often contemptuously overlooked. The mass of decaying mineral and organic matter of which the layer is composed appears to most persons mere dirt. They fail to conceive the marvelous chemical and vital processes which are there in action, or how intimately the work which they do is re- lated to the life of land and sea. It isextremely desirable to have these crude notions cleared away, and to have them replaced with correct ideas which will serve to ennoble our understanding of this, the most marvelous of all the parts of our earth. This end can only be obtained through knowledge. Every person should gain at least a general notion as to the history and function of the soil coating, in order that he may become a guardian of the fields on which the life of his kind intimately depends. Taking a bit of ordinary soil from the layer in which the plant roots feed, the observer may even with the naked eye, but better with a hand lens, perceive that the mass is made up of D (375) 376 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. broken bits, generally in the main derived from the rocks, but always more or less mingled with the waste derived from the bodies of plants and animals. A careful experimental study of the soil will show him that the fitness of the material to maintain vegetation is due to this commingling of the débrzs derived from the mineral and the organic kingdoms. A very simple experi- ment—one which may be noted in almost any country—is exhib- ited whenever the soil coating has been artificially cut away, leaving bare a portion of the earthy matter below the level to. which the pkant roots have attained. Although the finely divided rock which composes this earth exactly resembles in its general appearance that which is found in the fertile soil, it is easy to see that it is not fit for the occupation of most plants. Only the low- lier forms manage after a year or two to take root upon it; very often lichens and mosses—forms which have no roots of a distinct character—can maintain themselves on the area. It may require a decade before the superficial layer is sufficiently commingled with organic debris to be fit for the occupation of any of the higher forms of vegetation, and centuries may pass before it is converted into a condition of good tillable soil. The fact is, a soil'to be fertile requires an intimate mixture of two kinds of decaying materials: that derived from decomposing rocks, and that obtained from the waste of organic life. The commonest method by which the detritus is formed from bed rocks and introduced into the soil may be observed in any country which is beyond the limits of those northern areas which were occupied by the glacial sheet in the last Ice Epoch and out- side of the alluvial plains which border on the larger streams. In these particular fields the soil has been derived from places remote from the position it now occupies, but over most of the earth the mineral matter has come from the bed rocks which imme- diately underlie the surface. Cutting through this ordinary form of soil coating, and selecting for the exploration a field of virgin forest, we first pass through a layer which may be from a few inches to some feet in depth, and which is altogether composed of decayed vegetable matter. This layer of humus at its base gradually passes into a true soil by becoming more and more in- termingled with fine bits of decaying mineral matter. At first the waste of vegetation greatly predominates, but as we descend through this soil the proportion of organic material diminishes, until, at the depth of at most a few feet, we find the subsoil, which is only here and there penetrated by the roots of trees. Board of Trade Building, Chicago. 7) 7) ORIGIN OF STHEyALCUVIAL, SOILS. 377 This material is generally compact, so hard, indeed, that it has to be excavated with a pick. A little way down in it we begin to find hard bits of rock enveloped by the decayed mineral matter, which often preserves a trace of its bedding planes and joints, so that we see at once that it is the decayed but essentially undis- turbed remains of the firmly set earth. Farther down, the size of the undecomposed fragments increases until we attain to the solid foundation of:rocky matter. | Although the greater portion of the soil areas of the earth owe their formation, so far as their mineral elements are con- cerned, to the decay of the rocks which underlie them, and there- fore may be called soils immediately derived from the subjacent strata, there are two other important groups in which the rock detritus has a somewhat different origin: these are the alluvial soils which border the rivers and those which rest upon masses of glacially transported detritus. As the alluvial soilsare the most common, and on the whole the most important, we shall now con- sider the conditions of their origin. To trace the history of their formation the observer should take note of what occurs in a dis- trict where he may note the movement of the rain water from a district of hills or mountains of sufficient height and steepness to bring about the formation of torrents down the valleys in which these swift streams flow to a region of true rivers and thence to the sea. A little observation will show him how effective is the rain water in breaking up the rocks and forming the soil layer. Ordinarily, these alluvial plains in which the adébris worn from the hills by the torrents is for a time lodged are in the flood times of each year overflowed by the turbid waters of the stream and receive some small contribution to their mass from. its sediment. In the process of their growth the mineral matter derived from the rocks is thoroughly mingled with vegetable waste, so that throughout the alluvial plain the mass has the general character which, in the case of ordinary soils, characterizes only the upper foot or so of the coating. As long as the detrital matter remains in the alluvial plain the process of decay of the rock material con- tained in the bowlders, pebbles, and grains of sand goes on rapidly. The waters which percolate through the mass convey a large part of the dissolved matter to the neighboring river, by which it is discharged into the sea. Where the stream flows amid these alluvial plains it is continually swinging slowly to and fro across the valley; here undermining the bank and removing the materials which it has previously deposited, there rebuilding the 378 TZHESFARMERS OPPORTUNITIES, terrace where it had previously worn it away. Sometimes, in its | wanderings, it forms very devious S-shaped curves, across which from time to time the stream makes short cuts, leaving great portions of its old channel in the form of ox-bow cut-offs or moats. It needs only a moment’s consideration to show us that, owing to the frequent storage of the waste of the rocks in these alluvial - plains, it requires on the average a long time for the mineral mat- ter taken from the slopes of the Rocky Mountains or the Appa- lachians to find its way to the mouth of the rivers into which those fields drain. It is likely that on the average a particle of sand or mud which escapes from the Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico has been more than five thousand years on the journey from its original site in the bed rock. Owing to the long repose of this mineral matter in the alluvial plain it attains a very exten- sive decomposition, and being thoroughly intermingled with or- ganic matter it makes a rich and porous soil, into which the roots of plants may readily penetrate to a great depth. In consequence of these conditions the alluvial lands of most countries, in fact those bordering all streams of any size, afford fields of great fer- tility. They are not all equally rich, for the reason that the char- acter of the mineral matter is determined by the nature of the rocks which are worn in the torrent sections of the stream along the banks of which the deposits lie. Where the valley is alto- gether occupied by sandstone rocks the mineral matter may be unfit to afford materials for a soil of high grade. Where the de- posit is very porous the downward percolating water may pass through it with such ease that the soluble mineral matter may be drained downward to below the level which the roots of ordinary crops can attain. With such slight exceptions, however, the allu- vial land of the world affords the richest and the most permanent fields for agriculture. The indefinite depth of the soil layer and the refreshment of its fertility, which may be secured by allowing the annual flood waters to cover its surface and deposit their contribution of sedi- ments, make them by far the most enduring to tillage. They are, indeed, the only portions of the earth which are not almost neces- sarily exposed to a rapid depreciation in the harvests they yield, wherever the soil is not continually refreshed by some fertilizing materials artificially brought upon them. The only considerable disadvantage of these alluvial lands arises from floods which may cover their surface during the tillage season. In most regions _ ORIGIN OPS THE STILL SOILS: 379 a a ee where such grounds are extensively used it is necessary to protect them by dikes from these incursions of the stream, but it is desir- able to so arrange these barriers that the fertilizing floods may at the proper time have access to the field. When first reduced to cultivation alluvial lands are apt to be productive of malaria, and to be-much less wholesome than the higher-lying parts of the country. Experience such as has been gained in Holland indi- cates, however, that when by engineering work the level of the ground water in the district is maintained at a uniform height during the warm season of the year, this evil, in good part if not altogether disappears, and the soil becomes as well suited to main- tain its inhabitants in the state of health as the drier uplands. We may, indeed, regard any land as fortunate which possesses a large area of these river lowlands. Though difficult to bring into the best state for the uses of man, they are, when well ordered, per- manently and exceedingly fertile. The third important group of soils is that which is formed upon the surface which during the last Glacial period was cov- ered by a thick layer of ice which steadily moved over the area of the country. Such a glacial envelope often attained a thickness of thousands of feet, and in its motion over the rocks disrupted even the most firm-set materials, breaking them into fragments varying in size from the finest grains of mud to huge bowlders as large as an ordinary house. This disrupted rock material became mingled with the lower part of the ice and was conveyed toward the front of the glacier, where, by the melting process which arrested the further advance of the ice wall, the débris dropped upon the surface of the earth, forming the great walls of detritus known as frontal moraines. When the glacier came to melt away the rocky matter which was inclosed fell upon the earth as the molten water escaped to the streams. This detritus formed a broad sheet of varying thickness, in which the Clay, sand, pebbles, and bowlders lie heterogeneously commingled, the whole consti- tuting what is commonly called till or bowlder clay. Inthe region occupied by the glaciers which covered the northern half of this continent in the last geologic epoch this till covering is the most universal mark of the former presence of the ice. The thickness of the layer where it is present may vary from a few inches to several hundred feet. Its constitution differs according to the nature of the rock whence its components were worn. Sometimes it is merely a sandy clay with rare pebbles and bowlders; again, the large masses of stone are relatively so numerous that the finer 380 THE FARMER'S *OPPORTUNITIES, materials can not fill the interspaces between them, and the whole surface seems to be occupied by rudely quarried rocks confusedly heaped together. Although a bowlder-clay district is commonly much occupied by large fragments of stone which need to be cleared away before the plow can turn a furrow, experience has shown that. the soils which are thus laboriously won have certain peculiar excellences. In the first place, in such areas there is no division of a definite kind between superficial soil and subsoil; it is all essentially alike except for the proportion of organic waste which it may contain, and which can be readily increased by deep plowing provided the larger fragments do not make the work impossible. Even when first tilled these soils have usually only a moderate fertility, but they maintain their original productiveness in a very satis: factory manner. The fact is, that the innumerable bits of stone which the mass commonly contains are under the process of till- age continually decaying, and by this decay they contribute fresh and generally valuable mineral matter to the earth. The stirring action of the plow promotes the decomposition of the stone, and thus the pebbles, while in part an obstruction, are really important sources whence the soil may derive refresh- ment. It is important for those who have these till soils in their keep- ing to note the fact that where the earth, as is usually the case; is very pebbly, it is necessary to make the tilth deeper than in ordi- nary earth, in order to afford the plants a fit share of finely divided mineral matter, which alone can serve their needs. Thus where, as not infrequently occurs, one-half the mass of the soil is made up of bits larger than grains of fine sand, the plowing should be-twice as deep as that which would be applied in a fine- grained alluvial or prairie earth. It should also be noted that the waste brought to a surface by glacial action has been exposed dur- ing its formation to none of those agencies of decay which so rapidly accomplish the decomposition of river alluvium or of the soil which is formed by the decomposition of the immediately un- derlying bed rock. While it was conveyed in the ice or subject to the action of the water which melted from it, it was practically unaffected by carbonic acid or the other materials which give such a remarkable solvent power to the soil waters. Moreover, except so far as in the brief time since the close of the Ice period, the roots may have been able to penetrate into the material till deposits lack organic matter. Therefore, those who would secure OTHER VARIETIES OF SOIL. 381 profit from such ground should take pains, as far as possible, to deepen the coating in which vegetable mold is present. It is now a well-ascertained fact that, during the time when the great glacier covered a large part of North America and of Eu- rope, numerous and considerable rivers Howed beneath ice arches at the contact of the glacier with the earth. As the waters of these streams were driven to the ice front under great pressure, they moved with much energy. They bore with them vast amounts of waste, which they discharged at the front of the ice, either on to the bottom of the sea where that front overlapped the margin of the land, or on the surface of the country where the glacial wall lay above the level of the sea. When this adébris escaped from beneath the ice it was assorted in accordance with the size of the fragments: the pebbles and sand falling near the point of exit of the stream, the clay being carried away to a greater distance. The result is, that beyond the margin of the ice extensive deltalike accumulations of these materials may be found. Where, as in a large part of the shore-land district of Maine, clay was laid down, it affords a stubborn but fertile soil. Where, how- ever, sand was accumulated, as is the case over a large part of the glacial area—as, for instance, in southeastern Massachusetts—the fields are often composed of such purely siliceous materials and are so excessively permeable to water that they will only maintain certain varieties of trees, such as the pines, which are very endur- ing to drought and are almost valueless for tillage purposes. As the front of the ice gradually retreated across the surface of the country, frequently pausing as it fell back and occasionally re- advancing over the ground it had abandoned, these sand plains and clay beds are distributed in a scattered manner over a large part of the northern districts of the continent. ) On the southern portion of the ice sheet, particularly in the valley of the upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, there are very extensive deposits of a massive nature composed of fine- grained sediments, which were probably deposited in an area of water lying to the south of the great glacier. The peculiarly uniform, compact, and fine-grained character of this material has led geologists to apply to it the name of loess, a word derived from the German language, where it is used to designate like accumulations in the valley of the Rhine and elsewhere. The soil formed upon these loess deposits is of excellent quality, hav- ing many of the advantages which pertain to the alluvium of the higher levels along our river banks. Some of the richest soils in 382 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. the Northwest are founded upon these materials, and the experi- ence gained in other countries shows that these fields are likely to prove very enduring to tillage. Although the foregoing divisions of our American soils—we may say, indeed, of the whole world—describe the leading groups of such materials, there are many other less important classes. First among them we may reckon those areas which, though coy- ered with detrital matter composed of commingled mineral and organic waste, are by the conditions of their drainage maintained in a state of such excessive humidity that they are unfit for agri- cultural use. Nearly all our cultivated plants tolerate only a mod- erate amount of moisture. Their roots need to find water in the soil; they need, indeed, to be occasionally bathed in the fluid, but they can not perform their functions where their underground parts are continuously submerged. The same limitation applies to all our important forest trees with the exception of the man- grove, the swamp tupulo, and the bald cypress. Few of the arbo- real forms in any country can live with their roots below the wa- ter level, and these plants manage to tolerate such conditions only because they have certain peculiar structural features which fit them for the singular habit. In almost all regions which have been thoroughly subjected to the uses of civilization there were originally considerable areas of swamps; thus, up to about the tenth century the island of Great Britain contained vast areas of unimproved morasses, which were so extensive that they served in part as boundaries between the original kingdoms of that country. At the present time scarcely a trace of these inundated lands remains evident to the eye. In our own country, owing to the existence of a frontier region where lands could ever be had for the asking, it has not hitherto been profitable to win these excessively humid areas to agriculture. Only a few hundred square miles of these areas have in a piecemeal and unsystematic way been so brought fnto tillage. Now that the frontier has disappeared, and our people are being driven to till the lands of a second-rate quality, their attention is being turned to the improvement of these valuable inundated lands. The total area of the inundated lands of the United States probably exceeds a hundred and fifteen thousand square miles, counting only those flooded areas which are at present unsuited by their excessive humidity for agricultural use, but which may be won to that service by engineering devices such as have been MARSH LANDS. 383. applied in the regions occupied by the old civilizations. These areas which require drainage may be divided into four classes, | the distinction being based on variations in their physical state. | First of these come the marine marshes, a belt of lowland along the coast line which is visited by:the tides, the surface of which lies between high and low water of these oscillations. The process by which these mud flats are formed is very interesting and easily understood.* Wherever a portion of the shore is sheltered from the ocean waves the winds and tides convey into it a quantity of finely divided débris, much of which floats against the coast line and falls as a sediment upon the bottom. As this detritus is of a very fertile nature, it is seized upon by certain varieties of plants, principally grasses, which can withstand the peculiar influence of salt water in a way that is not common to land vege- tation. Amid the thickly set stems of these grasses more tidal waste is entangled; the roots and upper parts of the plants are by their growth and decay constantly adding something to these accumulations, and so the shelf rapidly extends from the shore toward the deeper water. The surface of the deposit never rises above the high-tide level, for the reason that the plants in the growing season require the constant visitation of the tide to keep them alive. On the coast of New England the growth of these marine marshes has gone on with such rapidity that in some re- entrants they have formed savannas having an area of several thousand acres. On the eastern shore, between New York and Portland, the area of these reclaimable marshes amounts to about three hun- dred and fifty thousand acres. In their present condition these tide-visited fields are of some service to man, as they yield a little hay of inferior quality. South of New York the area of these Swamps in proportion to the length of the shore line rapidly in- creases, but owing to the fact that the rise and fall of the tide is lessened, they can not so easily be won to tillage. A large part of the field, indeed, will demand the use of pumping engines such as are employed in Holland, in order to lower the water level to the plane where the land will become sufficiently dry for plowing. The total area of marine marshes on the Atlantic and Pacific sea- boards of the United States, including the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, probably amounts to more than twenty thousand square * A more detailed description of these marine marshes will be found in the Sixth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, pp. 353-398. 384 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. miles. Where the rise and fall of the tide exceed on the average five feet, it requires only a system of dikes, with automatic flood gates so arranged as to prevent the ingress of the sea while permit- ting the outflow of the land water, in order to bring them toa state where they can be made ready for tillage purposes. After the sea is excluded, it is necessary to ditch the land and to break up the dense mat of vegetation formed by the roots of the salt-water grasses. After the land has remained fallow for some years, so that the marine salts which it contains have had a chance to de- compose, it will bear abundant crops of grain, hay, or roots, and will maintain itself readily without manuring for an indefinite period. Experience with the salt marshes of Delaware, where considerable areas have been under cultivation, seems to indicate that the fertility of these soils is practically inexhaustible. Re- claimed areas in eastern Massachusetts yield regularly crops of hay greater than can be won in the most favorable seasons from any part of the upland country in the same district. In southern Florida the marshes of this nature are occupied by a dense growth of mangrove trees, plants which have the curious habit of fixing their roots on the floor of the shallow sea wherever the waves are not so strong as to break up their growth. With this exception the marine marshes, on account of the large amount of salt which they contain, always remain entirely unforested ; the plants which occupy their surface never have perennial stems, their roots only surviving through the winter season. South of Chesapeake Bay a relatively large part of these accumulations along the coast, which is formed of the waste brought to the shore by the action of the tide, is but scantily occupied by grasses, and have rather the character of mud flats. Were it not for the fact that the tides have but slight range in height, these deposits, which afford a very fertile soil, could readily be won to tillage. In the region about the Bay of Fundy, where the tides have a vertical range of from thirty to fifty feet, the currents of the sea next the shore are extremely strong. They sweep about vast quantities of mud. The enterprising folk of this district have fol- lowed the plan of diking in the mud flats, so that with the rising tide the floating detritus may enter the basin and be deposited on their bottom. So rapidly is this accumulation formed, that in a tew years the level of these impounded areas is lifted to near the plane of high tide; then, by excluding the sea altogether, the sur- face is quickly made ready for the plow, and it bears abundant Elevator, Chicago. INLAND SWAMBS. cee harvests. By this process areas which in the aggregate probably exceed fifty thousand acres have been won from the sea. This method of reclamation is probably peculiar to this country; the _ physical conditions which make it possible rarely exist in any other part of the world. Owing to their great area and the exceeding fertility of the soils which they afford, the marine marshes of North America and the associated mud flats which may be won to the uses of agriculture constitute one of the most important of our several classes of-land reserves. In another century it seems likely that we may gain from these tidal areas lands which from their pro- ductiveness: will afford a larger food supply than that which is won at the present time from any of our American States. As yet these areas have received but little attention, and their re- sources, as well as the method of improving them, is unknown to our people. The United States Geological Survey, however, has undertaken a careful study of’ these and the other areas of inun- dated land, and the results of this inquiry will in time be fully presented. This systematic study is the more important for the reason that all these redeemable salt-water marshes are near the seashore, and’ are thus‘in positions whence their products can _ be readily transported’ to market.. Moreover, ‘a great portion of their area is near the seaboard cities, where there is always a demand for the products which they may be made to yield. The next important group of inundated lands consists of areas where the field originally occupied by a lake has by the growth of peaty accumulations been transformed into'a swamp. The subject of fresh-water morasses is treated in some detail in the Tenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, pages’ 255-339. These lacustrine bogs are mainly limited to that portion of the continent which was occupied by the glacial sheet. Owing in part to the irregular manner in which the ice wore away the rocks, and ina yet larger measure to the confused way in which the glacial drift was left upon the surface, this district, at the:time/of the disappearance of the ice, was the seat of innu- merable lakes, the most of which were rather shallow. Winchell says (Final Report, Minnesota Geological Survey, vol. i, p. 130) “the number of lakes in Minnesota is about ten thousand.” These are all glacial lakes, and are but the remnants of a still greater number, since transformed to swamps. Although the basins which are still open are to be counted by the tens of thou- sands, the greater part of them have been modified into bogs, 25 386 —” THE FARMERS TOPPORTUNITIES, which, except in the season of inundation, or where they have been converted into reservoirs for the supply of mill-wheels, now appear as broad fields covered with marsh plants or by trees which endure humid conditions. In southern New England, a region which was early aban- doned by the ice in the process of the retreat of the glacier, more than three fourths of these basins have ceased to be permanent lakes. In general we may say that only those water areas of con- siderable size, where the waves are strong enough to break up the growth of plants which form peat, have entirely escaped this pro- cess of filling. Wherever the waves were of trifling size the mosses belonging to the genus Sphagnum began to grow along the mar- gin of the water and rapidly extend the mat of vegetation out over itssurface. The floating sheet of tangled stems rapidly in- creased in depth, the more decayed parts fell to the bottom, and so in time, by the upgrowth of the floor and the down-sinking of the floating mass, the area became converted into a continuous bog. When the deposit closed the lake basin the mosses grew upward until the surface became somewhat dry, so that herbaceous plants, or even trees, such as the water maples, could take root upon it. It is well worth the observer’s while to visit some of these lakes where the above-described process of occlusion is as yet incomplete. He will there find that next the shore the peaty de- posit extends from the surface downward to the original bottom of the water. Near the margin of the sheet which is toward the open part of the lake he will note the fact that the bog coating is thin, and floats upon the water. By sounding, he will find that the bottom for some distance beyond the floating raft of vegeta- tion is covered with a deep layer of muck formed by the decayed portion of the mosses which have been broken off by the waves. He may here notice a beautiful arrangement by which the frail front of the moss raft is to a great extent protected from the lashing of the water in the time of storms. Numerous species of lilies and of rushes take root upon the bottom, and, lifting their leaves to the surface, make a natural breakwater, which to a great extent destroys the force of the waves. The total area of these lacustrine swamps within the agricul-. tural district of North America is not yet ascertained, but it prob- ably exceeds forty thousand square miles. A large part of these fields is to a greater or less extent reclaimable. The basins in which they lie are usually somewhat above the general drainage of the country, and the barriers which confine them are often of small CRANBERRY CULTURE. 387 extent, and of easily excavated sand and gravel. In many cases, however, the considerable thickness of the muck deposit and its almost purely vegetable nature makes it necessary to remove the superficial portion of the mass before the area is fit for any ordinary tillage. This excess of peaty matter will, if the region is thoroughly drained, gradually disappear by a process of natural decay, or during dry seasons it may be cleared away by burning in a manner which has been extensively practiced in the reclama- tion of such lands in northern Europe. | In the eastern part of the United States, and to a certain ex- tent in the region about the western end of the Great Lakes, these fresh-water swamps are now being brought into use for cranberry culture, a peculiar agricultural industry which has developed its methods within the United States. In winning lacustrine bogs to this use the practice is to cut away and remove from the swamp the superficial layer which contains the roots of the living vege- tation. The surface of the bared peat is then covered with a coating of sand to the depth of half a foot or so, and in this sand the cranberry vines are planted at intervals of from one to two feet ; extending rapidly, they soon cover the surface with a mantle of vegetation. Usually the surface of the bog is provided with ditches to remove the excess of water, and dams with appropriate flood gates are so fitted to the needs that the area may be readily flooded and drained. When properly prepared, the fields which are arranged for this singular culture cost more than those which serve for any other form of cropping. The annual return from the most carefully prepared land may be reckoned at sixty bar- ~ rels of fruit, worth about five hundred dollars. With a due allow- ance for the considerable expenses involved in the care of the fields and in the labor of harvesting, the average annual profit from such grounds may be estimated at two hundred dollars—a rate of return which is probably secured only in the best placed market gardens or the richer orange groves of this country. It is interesting to note the fact that this exceedingly high-grade form of tillage is an American invention. Wild cranberries have been gathered in Europe for centuries, but ‘their systematic cult- ure appears to be peculiar to this land. It seems not improbable that the same method of appropriation which serves to fit bog earths for cranberry culture may serve to prepare the ground for many other market-garden crops where it is desirable in tillage to secure a perfect control of the water supply. The advantage of the coating of sand is found in the 388 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES: ET ee Tira Ree OE RP ee Mee ee ee ee mG os en on fact that it serves to maintain a firm footing for those who care for the plants, while at the same time the roots may find moisture and nutrition at a little depth beneath the surface. As it is the practice of those who have the care of bogs to put the sand upon the surface when the area is ice-bound, this part of the prepara- tion of the soil can readily be effected. Where these lacustrine bogs are not well placed for drainage they are still in most cases well suited for use as nurseries of timber. The swamp cedar or juniper of the Eastern United States flourishes on the humid earth, growing with exceeding rapidity. As the timber of this tree has a high value even when of small size, it seems likely that its culture may provide a use for many of these swamp areas. A third group of swamps, one which attains great develop- ment in certain parts of the United States, consists of low-lying land the surface of which is elevated to a sufficient height above the general drainage level of the country to permit the rain water — to flow away were it not for the dense tangle of vegetation which hinders its movements toward the streams. The great rainfall and humid air in all that part of the Southern lowlands which is within thirty or forty miles of the sea promotes the rapid growth of numerous water-loving plants, which form a very dense tangle on the surface of the ground. The most important of these moisture-loving species is the ordinary reed or cane which abounds in all this Southern country. It is a peculiarity of this species that the stems tend to grow very close together and to attain a great height. In the denser canebrakes there are often from fifty to a hundred stems to the square foot of area, and the slender column may rise to the height of ten feet or more. The vegetation is perennial, and the leaves which fall each season become packed in between the stems of the living and dead plants, forming a mass so dense that the water en- counters great friction in making its way toward the drainage channels. Thus the effect of this and other plants is to maintain the land in an excessively watered state throughout the year. An excellent example of this class of upland swamps is af- forded by the great morasses which lie on and about Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, in North Carolina and Virginia. In this district we have an area of more than four thousand square miles, nearly all of which lies at elevations of from five to twenty-five feet above the plane of the neighboring tidewater. Experience has shown that when the mat of vegetation is cleared away, as may be readily effected by fire in very dry seasons, and the MARSHES ALONG THE GREAT RIVERS: 389 ground is properly ditched to secure the more rapid discharge of the water, the soil which is thereby won is of great and enduring fertility. The result of the long-continued swamp condition has been to store in the otherwise sandy earth a very large amount of material suited to the needs of all our ordinary crops. So far these upland morasses of the South have been mainly valued for the timber which they contain; they are naturally well adapt- ed to the growth of two species which afford valuable wood, the juniper and the bald cypress; yet:around the margins of these swamps a fringe of their lands has been won to tillage. The proper improvement of the areas demands that the drainage works be prosecuted on a large scale and under skillful manage- ment. With such a system of engineering work there will be no difficulty in winning all the areas of this class of inundated lands to the uses of agriculture ; and the fields so gained will be far more fruitful than any equal areas situated in the States in which they lie. It is indeed doubtful whether any land in the United States, except some portions of the Mississippi alluvial fields, are as valuable for the uses of the farmer. For market-garden purposes they appear to.be unsurpassed. The total area of the bogs of this nature where the excessive humidity of the land is due mainly if not altogether to the natural vegetation, is not yet ascertained, but it amounts to many thousand square miles. The last important group of American swamps which we shall have to consider is that which is formed in the alluvial districts of the greater rivers. It is a common feature of these detrital plains or benches—a feature which becomes more characteristic of them as they approach the sea—that the land is highest next the channel of the stream, and gradually declines from its margin toward the base of the upland which borders the valley on either side. The result is, that along the banks of the Mississippi River and some of our other greater streams only narrow strips of the alluvial plain are tillable even when protected by dikes. Passing from the margin of the river we often find that at a distance of a mile from its border the ground has declined so much in height that it is in the condition of permanent marsh. The reason for this curious slope of the alluvial plain away from the waters of the stream to which it owes its construction is as follows: When the river overflows its banks and the flood-water enters the tangle of the forest on either side, the motion is arrested, and the sediment which was held up in the water by the stirring to which it was exposed in the current quickly settles to the bottom. 390 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. By far the larger part of this suspended matter is deposited near the margin of the open current. The result is, that the part of the alluvial plain next the stream is built up with considerable rapidity, while that of the back swamps rises very slowly. The total area of these fluviatile marshes in the United States is considerably less than that of any of the other groups before mentioned. The greater part of the area is contained within the Mississippi delta, or the section of its alluvial land between the Gulf of Mexico and the point where it receives its principal con- fluent, the Ohio River. Some areas of a similar nature exist along the banks of the Missouri, the upper Mississippi, and the Ohio, as well as in the plains of the other streams which flow into the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. In general these back swamps are unfavorably placed for reclamation. The height of their floors is usually only a little above the plain of the river even in the dry season of the year, and, as they commonly receive a good deal of drainage water from the neighboring country, it is in most cases very difficult to protect them by diking. Their im- provement will have to await the time when the demand for land in this country is sufficiently great to make it worth while to drain them in the manner practiced under similar conditions in Holland by means of pumps operated by windmills or by steam power. The more elevated portions of the alluvial plains are not properly to be ranked as swamps, though they may fall in the class of inundated lands. Along the banks of all our larger rivers the alluvial plains which lie below the level of the greater floods are subject to inundation, which occasionally damage or destroy the crops. From Cairo southward to the Gulf nearly the whole of these fluviatile areas are exposed to such frequent incur- sions of the flood waters that the land is unserviceable except where it has been protected from overflow by a system of dikes —levees as they are called in that part of the country. Even with these protections the agriculturist is continually in peril, for the endless lateral swingings of the stream are ever likely to undermine the defenses which protect him from the incursions of the mighty river. | In the extreme southern part of Florida we find in the district of the Everglades a single field representing a type of swamp which, though unique within the limits of the United States, is not uncommon along the tropical shores of this and other con- tinents. The Everglades lie upon a foundation of marine deposits such as are formed in and about coral reefs. The deposit was RICHNESS OF SWAMP “SOILS. 301 laid down upon the floor of a shallow sea, and has recently been uplifted so that its surface is a little above tide level. Around the seaboard of this field there is a prevailing dense tangle of vegetation mainly composed of the mangrove tree, which, as before remarked, flourishes exceedingly when its roots obtain access to salt water. The effect of this peculiar matlike jungle is to restrain the outflow of the water from the Everglade district. This action, though due on the main to the mangrove, is com- bined with that of many other water-loving plants, with the result that during the season of heavy rains nearly the whole of the area is covered with water. In the time of scanty rain of the winter and early spring this water drains away, so that more than two thirds of the area is moderately dry. In its general character and the conditions of its formation the Everglade swamp somewhat resembles the elevated bogs which have just been described, and of which the Dismal Swamp of Virginia may be taken as a type; but this inundated district of Florida is distinguished by the fact that the water is to a great extent retained by the rim of vegeta- tion of a very dense character which surrounds its margin. The exceeding richness of the soils which are formed beneath the swamps of this and other countries appears to be in the main due to the fact that the deposits there formed contain a singularly large amount of limy matter, partly in the state of lime phos- phate, a substance which is most essential to the development of nearly all our important crops. This phosphatic deposit appears to be accumulated through the actions brought about by the growth and death of the various species of smali crustaceans which inhabit the waters of the bog. The hard shells of these little creatures, like those of the kindred crabs and lobsters, are to a great extent composed of lime phosphate, which they obtain from the swamp vegetation, the plants securing the store from the water of the swamp. When these crustaceans die, their shells are built into the strata which accumulate on the floor of the area and serve to enrich the soil. Various other substances useful to our crops are gathered from the water by the plants and similarly contributed to the peaty matter. The result is that in all our swamps we find a concentration of the mineral materials which have drained into the basin from the higher-lying land about it. Every bog is a garner where is stored away materials which, but for the presence of the basin, would through the rivers have passed directly to the sea. By way of contrast with the group of soils which are rendered 392 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. useless to man through their excessive humidity, we may next consider the yet wider fields of this country which are toa greater or less extent sterilized through their lack of sufficient rainfall or the failure of that precipitation to occur in the season when crops require the moisture. The greater portion of this insufficiently watered field lies to the west of the one hundredth meridian, ex- tending from near that line to the belt of country which lies within about two hundred miles or less of the Pacific coast. On the south it extends to the shore of that ocean. It includes a large part of northern Mexico, the whole of Lower California, and nearly the whole of the Cordilleran region within the limits of the United States. Throughout this vast area the rainfall is either insuffi- cient, or so variable as to make ordinary tillage impossible. Although this region has commonly been regarded as a desert, there are only a few portions of its area—lying mainly in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and the northern parts of Old Mex- ico—where the conditions render widespread areas unfit for any form of tillage. The greater portion of the district contains fields of considerable extent which may be watered by irrigation ditches and canals, and when so provided with moisture the soil is of ex- ceeding fertility. Over a.large part of the area the natural pas- turage has a certain value for cattle and sheep, and its forage resources can doubtless be considerably increased by the intro- duction of foreign species of plants which afford nutritious food for cattle and which will endure a dry climate. The total area of these lands which may be won to tillage by irrigation methods probably exceeds fifty thousand square miles, and the food-pro- ducing capacity of the soil will, on account of the large returns which it affords, probably be at least as great as is at present ob- tained from the States of Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. In order to win any large share of these irrigable lands to a profitable state it will be necessary for the water system of each river basin to be managed in such a fashion that the annual flow shall be properly distributed with reference to the areas of ground which lie in a suitable position for watering. In the pres- ent condition of our land laws the process of improvement is sure to be interfered with by the conflict between the different land- owners. It is difficult to see how, under our system of govern- ment and with our peculiar method of land tenure, this control can well be accomplished. Our laws of proprietorship have un- fortunately been derived from a country where the ownership of water, except for mill purposes or for fishing, was a matter of no IRRIGATION IN THE ARID REGION. 393 importance. Never before having dwelt in an arid climate, our people are without customs or traditions which control the man- agement of streams when they are used for irrigation. The only practicable method of attaining the end which it is necessary to win, if this arid country is to come by its possibilities, is to put the control of the stream, in all matters which pertain to the use ofits waters on the land, in the hands of some authorities who repre: sent the people in the particular valley. Proper legislation look- ing to this or some other equally effective end is imperatively and immediately necessary, for the reason that individuals and private corporations are now acquiring water rights which may debar ex- isting and future settlers from a reasonable chance of using the needed scanty water supply which the country affords. Much improvement has been made of late years in the intro- duction of artesian water for irrigation purposes, and this method promises to be of great value in the future development of the arid region. In 1890, according to the census bulletin, there were 8,097 artesian wells in the western half of the United States. Of these, 3,930 were used for irrigating, and were made to water 51,896 acres of land, or 13.21 acres per well.. One half of these wells were in California, where fruit-raising makes it possible to use SO expensive a method. On a large part of the lands which lie within the arid district of North America the soil is of a great depth, and is richly stored with the mineral matters which are necessary to vegetation, par- ticularly the materials which are required by our grain crops. It seems clear that in very recent times,* probably during the Glacial period, this area was the seat of abundant rainfall, when all the country was well watered, and when the interior lakes which now remain as shrunken salt seas freely discharged over the neighboring “divides” into the channels of the greater rivers. Since the desiccation of this country began and the vegetation to a great extent died away, the scanty precipi- tation has favored the decomposition of the rocky matter, until the soil, which has been very little leached by the passage of the water through it, has become excessively charged with dissolved mineral matter. The result is, that these lands are often covered, in the dry season at least, with a coating of what is commonly * For very interesting descriptions of these changes in climatic conditions, reference may be made to Gilbert’s Lake Bonneville, Monograph I, U. S. Geological Survey, and to Russel’s Lake Lahontan, Monograph XI, U. S. Geological Survey, or to abstracts of these in the Second and Third Annual Reports of the U. S. Geological Survey. 394 THE FARMER'S OPPORTUNITIES. termed alkali, but which consists of varied mineral substances, in their character differing in separate fields, which have been left upon the ground as the water of the soil was evaporated. It is often assumed that this coating invariably indicates an ineradi- cable evil in the earth, and that the ground so covered is unsuited to tillage. That this is not always the case is fully proved by the fact that when our tidal marshes are first brought into use a simi- lar crust of mineral matters whitens the surface in times of drought, and for a few years may reappear in such quantities as to be hurtful to young plants. Also, in one of the most fertile dis- tricts in the delta region of the Nile it has been found that, when the farmers did not use a sufficient amount of irrigation water, a crust of the same nature appeared on the surface of the ground and was likewise injurious to the crops. So far from the alkaline coating indicating a ricco infer- tile soil, it is rather to be taken as a proof that the detrital matter contains an excess of such soluble materials as may with the proper water supply serve the needs of plants. The fact is that any soil which is deep and thoroughly charged with dissolvable mineral matter will, if subjected to a rainfall so slight in quantity that the material is not taken away by the springs as rapidly as it is formed, become covered with such an incrustation. When the dry air evaporates the water on the surface, it necessarily leaves behind it all the mineral matter which it contained, while at the same time more water is drawn up through the crevices of the surface in the manner in which oil is brought up to the flame of a lamp-wick. In fact, the crust of the wick and that of the soil owe their origin to essentially similar actions. In general, when fields are covered with this alkali crust it requires only plowing and abundant irrigation quickly to bring the earth into a state where the crust-forming material no longer exists in such quanti- ties as to reproduce the coating. Even where irrigation can not be used, but where the rainfall is sufficient for certain crops, deep plowing will to a certain extent effect the same result. Hf the coating contains a considerable amount of magnesia, as is not infrequently the case, it is usually necessary to apply a coating of ordinary lime, which by a simple chemical reaction remedies the evil. A number of circumstances have combined to direct the at- tention of our people to the improvement of our arid land. The interest in such betterment is greater than in the case of the in- undated districts, for the reason that the Cordilleran district is EXTEND OB LANDS ALREADY IRRIGATED. 395 nnn a rEItIEII UIE IEEISESIIEEI SSIS the seat already of very extensive mining enterprises, and this industry is advancing with exceeding rapidity; the only hin- drance to its growth being found in the arid character of the coun- cry’; which makes it necessary to import food from very distant fields—a tax which greatly increases the cost of the labor which is used in the mines. The first irrigation works of this field of the Cordilleras appears to have been constructed by the Spaniards and the Indians. The latter practiced the art long before they were subjected to the influence of Europeans. When the Mor- mons were driven from Nauvoo they took refuge in the Salt Lake Valley, where agriculture was only possible by means of irrigation. Through them the art was introduced to our frontiersmen, and, with the readiness which characterizes those people, they have already undertaken constructions which are only surpassed by the similar imperial works of British India. So rapid 1s the prog- ress of these hydraulic systems in our arid districts, that before the middle of the next century they seem likely in their impor- tance far to exceed those of any other country. According to the returns of the census for 1890, there were in the Territories so far reported upon 1,669,448 acres of land in the arid regions upon which crops were raised during the year 1890. Since the reports upon several of the important districts are not yet published, these statistics are only partially complete. It is probable that the number of acres will be increased to not far from two million five hundred thousand. These statistics are simply for the acreage actually furnishing crops during that year, and hence fall far short of the total area capable of irrigation under the present system. From three to five tenths of one per cent of the total area of the regions are cultivated. Of the re- mainder a very large percentage can never be reclaimed. The statistics in detail are as follows: Arizona A " : : 9 05, o2 beaches. New Mexico e ; A O45 y rah. «. ‘ : , ‘ (203047 Seen Wyoming . : : 5 220,070) Montana . : : i 21350;59700ee Idaho . : : ; ; 92 17,005 ss Nevada Wer a : ‘ 2224 408 ‘ Oregon Maly 6th} oy LZ Od Washington . - 48,799 - © Besides the arid lands, properly so called, of this country, a large part of the area of the Mississippi Valley and a portion of 390 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. the eastern slope of the continent, though receiving a large annual rainfall, are more or less subject to summer droughts. There are indeed few fields in this country which are adequately and uni- formly watered. As the advantages of irrigation are the better understood, there is no doubt that ihe area which will be subjected to such a treatment in the region east of the one hundredth meridian will be far greater than that which can be thus won to culture in the Cordilleran district. Many areas which now bear crops which the farmer deemed thoroughly satisfactory can readily be made to yield a double harvest by leading in the waters of the neighboring streams. Although irrigation is appli- cable to much of this country which is now pretty well watered, the results won by the method in the arid districts will doubtless always be more satisfactory than elsewhere. The reasons for this are twofold. In the first place, the soils of that region are, as be- fore noted, exceedingly rich in mineral materials which have been rendered soluble during centuries of exposure through which vegetation has made no attack on the resources, and they have not been leached away by heavy rains; in the second place, the clear skies of this part of the world appear greatly to promote - the growth of plants and the perfect development of their seeds and fruit. It seems likely that the continuity of the sunlight in - part accounts for the remarkable growth of crops on these arti- ficially watered soils. | There is another group of soils—that of the prairies—which is in its nature somewhat distinguished from the classes which we have already considered. Although treeless plains exist in regions which are well watered on several other continents, the largest fields of this description and those with the most fertile soil belong to North America. In general, wherever a region is thickly soil-clad and in receipt of a considerable rainfall, the sur- face is occupied by dense forests. In the region of the upper Mississippi, however, and in the valleys of all the great confluents of that river there are vast timberless areas, more or less fretted by belts of forest which have developed along the streams. As re- gards the character of soil and form of surface, the prairie districts exhibit much variety in their condition. In general, the state of the immediate under earth is that which is given by the long-con- tinued growth of a dense vegetation where the tops of the plants die down each year while the roots are perennial. Before the first plowing this dense mat of underground stems forms a coat- ing which is often about a foot in thickness. The subsoil is com- Chamber of Commerce Building, Chicago. = ' i? at i ' : ~~ he - vi o »% > . "Oe. ‘ a). Tr wf *% ij > - ’ * * a) / ‘ 4 # i ” ‘ - ‘ 1 ‘ee ‘ ‘ By 4 ab ‘ tas i . . ’ 4 F e ’ * ‘ ” i ; i be 4 aah 4 a « “i. ’ i We a F _ | >. 1 “ ‘% h ha Ba) 71 CHARACTER OF THE PRAIRIE SOIL. 397 pact and commonly rather destitute of vegetable matter, character- istics which are due to the absence of strong roots such as the forest trees afford, and which in wooded districts act as plows to stir the lower-lying earth for the depth of some feet below the surface, and by their decay to introduce into it a certain amount of vegetable matter. In the section of the prairie country near the southern shores of the Great Lakes there is a more or less consid- erable amount of fine detritus just below the soil which has accu- mulated in the area when those .great water basins were at a higher level than at present. In the region about the upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers the soil often hes on deposits of loess, a fine-grained sediment which appears in part at least to have been laid down on the area when the front of the ice sheet was near by. In yet other portions of the open country the soil rests upon ordinary glacial drift; here and there it lies upon the bed rocks, and clearly has derived its mineral matter from these subjacent strata. Certain portions of the prairies deserve the name of plains, for the surface has a gently rolling aspect and appears to the eye almost perfectly level. In other parts of the district the surface is cast into a more irregular form, which received the name of rolling prairies. A careful inspection will convince the observer that the essential peculiarity of this part of the continent is due to the absence of timber where, so far as the moisture and other features of the climate are concerned, forests might well have grown. Various suggestions have been made to explain the lack of forest trees in this fertile and well-watered country. The most likely supposition seems to be that the woods which in the time just after the Glacial period were doubtless abundantly de- veloped over most if not the whole of this surface up to and within the Rocky Mountains, were in the drier conditions which have recently come upon the country destroyed by the action of fire. It is a well-known fact that the aborigines of this country were in the habit of burning over the surface of the plains in order to promote the growth of the grasses which gave pasturage to the. buffalo and the other wild animals which abound in this part of the world. These fires in the dry season extended into the regions of woodland, and destroyed the young growth in such fashion that the western border of the Appalachian woodlands was driven further to the east than it belonged, so far as its distribution was determined by the climatal conditions of the country. The effect of these prairies upon the agriculture of the Mis- 398 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. sissippi Valley has been very great, and has been mainly due to the exceeding fertility of the soil which they possess and to the unwooded character of their surface. Among the many difficul- ties encountered in the subjugation of the eastern part of North America to the uses of agriculture, the greatest has arisen from the universal presence of dense forests in that part of the conti- nent. The pioneer has been compelled to remove the woods and eradicate the stumps of the trees before he could obtain any real command of the soil resources. Beginning in his youth the laborer was fortunate if with strong arms he could during a life- time of toil reduce a hundred acres to a good state for the plow. It was a century and a half before the westward-setting tide of our population slowly cut its way through the great Appalachian forest and entered upon the fertile, unwooded district of the prairies, where the land demanded only breaking to be brought into use. The result of this great opportunity afforded by the timber- less lands of the West has been to give a very swift increase to the yield of the soil of North America in the sixty or seventy years which have elapsed since our people entered on the posses- sion of the prairie land. , Owing to the absence of primeval forests in the prairie dis- trict and to the abundant growth of grasses in that field—a condi- tion which has prevailed for many centuries—the soil has become richly stored with soluble mineral matter. Where a country is enveloped with a dense forest, the mass of decayed vegetation ac- cumulated upon it retains the greater part of the water as ina sponge, and gradually yields it to the true soil. Passing through this soil the ground water takes up the soluble mineral matter and discharges it through the rivers to the sea. The result is that in these conditions the mineral material which is in the state to serve the need of plants is not accumulated, but is steadfastly removed about as fast as it is formed. On the other hand, where as in the case of the prairies, the surface is covered by a densely compacted mass of fine grass roots and has only a very thin layer of decayed vegetation, the rain enters the soil with difficulty, and afar greater amount of the precipitation is discharged over the surface, and thus obtains possession of little of the soluble material of the under earth. Ina word, the leaching process is very per- fectly carried on beneath the primeval wood, but is imperfectly per- formed under a prairie soil. The grasses of the prairie district, belonging in the same group of plants as our ordinary small grains, appropriate mineral matter of essentially the same description as SOU Reus Ohy hah LIVE YeINe SOILS: 399 is required for our most important field crops. As their products are not taken away, but are annually restored to the soil, they aided in preparing the ground forthe service of man. The result of these conditions has been found in the extreme fertility which the prairies exhibit when the soil is first tilled, and when the crops avail themselves of the plant-food which has been long accumu- lating in the earth. It is characteristic of the prairie soils that, while they yield surprisingly abundant crops of grain for some years after they are first brought into cultivation, the returns from the fields, unless they be artificially fertilized, are, after a few decades, subject to a rapid depreciation. In place of the thirty or forty bushels of wheat which they may at first afford, the yield generally falls away to an average of not more than fifteen or twenty bushels. Thus their fertility, as far as the natural resources are concerned, is of a temporary nature, and can, as elsewhere, only be maintained by modes of tillage in which the refreshment of the soil is prop- erly cared for. Notwithstanding this tendency to depreciation, the prairie district is to be reckoned as the largest field of high-grade soils which is in the possession of our race. With due care the resources which it affords may remain in unimpaired possession of the people. Whatever may be the diversity in the conditions which leads to the formation of a soil, the fertility of the deposit in the main depends upon the character of the rocks whence its mineral ele- ments have been derived. It is on the chemical nature of the mineral foundations of a country that the value of its detrital cov- ering to man inevitably rests. Where the rocks which afford the detritus abound in lime, potash, soda, and phosphoric acid, the soil is sure to be of a fertile nature; where, on the other hand, the rocks of the region are composed of very silicious sandstones, as is the case in many parts of the world, or even where the un- derlying deposits are of an extremely clayey nature, the resulting soils are apt to be infertile. .In general we may say that the fer- tility of the earth mainly depends upon the amount of organic matter which was laid down in the strata at the time when they were formed as muds upon the ancient sea floor; for it is through the action of organic bodies that the chemical elements which are necessary to vegetation were separated from the sea water and stored in the strata. Fortunately, the geological history of | North America has provided the greater portion of its area with deposits which yield detritus well suited to the formation of 400 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. fertile soil. A very large part of its surface, perhaps more than half the total area, is underlaid by rock, which yields a consider- able portion of the required elements in the process of their decay. Some portions of the territory—perhaps in the aggregate as much as one tenth of its area—is underlaid by limestones, which are crowded with fossil organic remains belonging to species which had the habit of storing lime phosphate in their bodies. The soils which have been formed on these rocks are invariably fertile, and depreciate but slowly through the process of cropping. The most characteristic, though not the largest of these limestone areas, where the soil is founded on rocks which yield exceedingly fertile débris, lies in the Ohio Valley, between Springfield, Ohio, and the southern portion of Tennessee. In the northern part of this area, as far south as Cincinnati, the fertility-giving influence of the underlying strata is somewhat masked by the coating of glacial drift which is here much intermingled with the waste of other rocks; but in the States of Kentucky and Tennessee this great limestone area has a soil which is entirely made up of the waste from the underlying deposits. An experience of a century’s dura- tion has shown that these soils of the blue-grass district with- stand the loss of tillage more perfectly than any other in the United States, except it be the rich alluvial lands, or those won from the marine marshes and mud flats of the north Atlantic coast. ~ In passing in an east or west direction from the limestone dis- trict above noted, we enter at once upon the higher-lying rocks which are prevailingly destitute of lime and the other materials the presence of which is due to organic action. The transition in the character indicates the change in the underlying rock in a startlingly distinct manner. Within the distance of a mile we may often pass from fields of exceeding fertility to those of very infe- rior quality. At many points the transition from the fertility- giving underlying rock of a limy’nature to the*sandy layers is observable within a distance of a hundred feet. Wherever, in the dislocations of the strata which occur in the Appalachian Moun- tains, these limestones of Silurian period which underlie the cen- tral part of Kentucky are brought to the surface, they make a rich area, such as that of the Powell Valley near Cumberland Gap, where rocks of this age and quality are bordered by sand- stone strata of various ages which afford sterile soils. The valley itself is exceedingly fertile, while the hills which wall it in have a thin and sterile soil. Although the soils of North America are prevailingly in théir THE NEED OF MORE. THOROUGH TILLAGE. 4O! nature extremely well adapted to the uses of agriculture, their conditions present certain peculiar features the nature of which should be clearly apprehended by all who are concerned in their care. They should indeed be understood and well considered by every citizen, for each dweller in the land is immediately inter- ested in all which relates to the preservation of its earth resources. Upon those resources his own well-being and that of his posterity absolutely depend. In their occupation of our territory the Amer- ican people came into possession of a virgin soil, of fields in which the natural processes had for ages been accumulating the stores of nutriment which the crops remove. So far our agriculture has almost altogether rested upon these ancient accumulations of fer- tility. By a swift and unheeding process of tillage we have been gathering in this harvest and sending the products away to for- eign lands. Except in the longer settled parts of the country, little attention has been given to the conservation of the soil. Over great areas the farmers have been in the habit of winning what the earth would afford without any system of manuring, and when the land was thus impoverished they have abandoned the exhausted fields for the farther frontier. In general the plow tillage has been but shallow, so that the deeper resources of the plant-sus- taining layer are happily to a great extent unimpaired. Many of these nomadic farmers have abandoned fertile ground which was but six inches below the surface of the field for land which was a thousand miles away in the West. This reckless system of till- age is now rapidly giving way to a more considerate and legiti- mate agriculture. Not the least of the advantages that will arise from the fact that all the naturally remunerative soils of this country, except some contained in the Indian reservations, has now passed out of the hands of the Government, will be found in the arrest which has at last been brought about to the unprofit- able wandering*of our farming population. They will soon have to abide on the land from generation to generation, and thereby form a close union with an ancestral earth. , The almost necessary object of the American farmer has been to win as rapidly as possible the largest attainable returns from the soil. Entering upon a new country, he has had to provide himself with the necessities and the conveniences of civilization which in long-tilled lands have been acquired by centuries of labor. Toacertain extent he has been justified in pursuing the methods which would best attain this end. By shallow plowing, by the neglect of artificial fertilizing, by rudely tilling a large 26 402 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. area, and thus turning the most accessible wealth of the soil into his garners, he has immediately bettered the conditions of his household. Unfortunately, all systems of labor tend to perpetuate theniselves, and in no class is this conservatism more marked than among farmers. The difficulty at present is to change this method of work, which was warranted at the outset of our agriculture, into a system which now fits the conditions of our population. As is indicated by the language of modern agricultural science, the farming methods hitherto pursued in the greater portion of this land have been in their nature extensive, the aim being to till as large an area as possible, and to win from it the greatest imme- diate returns. We need now to exchange this plan of work fora system of intensive culture, where the object is also to secure the greatest immediate profit, but-at the same time to maintain, and if possible to increase, the yield which the fields may afford. In the greater part of Europe the conditions are such as to enforce this latter method in the management of the soil, and in that re- gion the relations of the farming class to the earth are such as to make the use of this system imperative. The transition from the old extensive to the new intensive methods of tillage will tax the understanding of our farming class in a more serious measure than may at first sight appear to be the case. There are, however, a number of conditions which are now at work, and which bid fair to bring about the change in a toler- ably rapid manner. The people of English blood in this country have acquired a great confidence in the results of scientific re- search, and have thereby escaped in a remarkable way from the thorough domination of tradition which prevails in other lands. The soil-tillers, in particular, have come to look to the litera- ture of their science, particularly to that which contains the re- sults of researches made by our Government bureaus and scien- tific stations for guidance in their work. A very large part of our population has, as is shown by the vast array of American inven- tions, an experimental turn of mind. They are, indeed, more pos- sessed with the spirit of inquiry than any other people. The same motive which had led to the almost innumerable inventions which pertain to the agricultural art is sure to favor the improvement in the treatment of the soil. As soon as our farmers come to feel that they and their descendants are likely to abide upon the ground which they now occupy, a state of mind which the occu- pation of the great West is rapidly engendering, we may expect our tillage methods to rise to the highest plane of the art. OURS LORES.TOR MINERAL PERTILIZERS. 403 Among the conditions which will serve to insure a develop- ment in the immediate future of a high-grade agriculture in this country is the existence within its limits of large deposits of ma- terials from which artificial fertilizers are manufactured. These accumulations are mainly found in the section of the coast belt between the James River and the southern portion of Florida. In this section of the country the deposits of lime phosphate, sufficiently rich to be used in the manufacture of artificial ma- nures, occupy a larger area than in any other known part of the world. As the beds in western Florida containing the materials are near the surface, they can be worked in open pits, and the rock, containing sixty per cent or more of the lime phosphate, can be mined at acost of about a dollar aton. The most rapid advance in our tillage methods, and that which promises in the end to bring about the greatest and most far-reaching improve- ment in the system of farming, has arisen from the use of these artificial manures. Every farmer who employs them on his fields necessarily learns how profitable it is to till a small area in a careful way. In proportion as our agriculture comes to rely on these costly methods of manuring, the motives which lead to the care of the soil and the understanding of its conditions will surely be strengthened. As yet the search for mineral fertilizers has, within the limits of this country, been but begun. Somewhat unfortunately, the varieties of rocks which are valuable for such purposes do not indicate their utility, at least to the untrained eye, by their out- ward aspect. They often appear as ordinary limestone, or at times as nodular bits of rock which have no evident value. Ow- ing to their peculiar chemical constitution, which demands a treat- ment by acid before the phosphoric matter may be easily obtained by plants, the soil immediately overlying these deposits may ex- hibit no unusual fertility. If this country had been searched for mineral fertilizers as it has been examined for ores of gold and silver, it is likely that we should have access to tenfold the number of localities which are now known to exist within the area of the continent Considering the fact that it is only about forty years since lime phosphate was resorted to in order to pre- pare an imitation of guano, the extension of use which is made of these geological sources of enriching material has advanced ina very rapid manner. At present the greater part of the cotton crop is aided in its growth by the use of lime phosphate more or less intermingled with other fertilizing materials, and a large por- 404 THE) FAKMER’S -OPPORMTUNIDIES: tion of our garden produce is likewise fed with the same mate- rial. Gradually the use of this artificial aid to the fertility of the soil is being extended to other crops. It is easy to foresee that at the present rate in the increase in the use of the geological manures they will be made to serve in the course of the coming decade in a large part of the agricultural work of this country. In addition to the sources whence lime or lime phosphate may be obtained, North America contains extensive deposits of marl, which affords mainly the salts of potash and soda, as well as fields which are rich in gypsum. The potash-bearing marls appear to be mainly limited to the newer rocks of Cretaceous and Tertiary age which occur in the coastal belt of the Atlantic and the Gulf olf Mexico. The deposits of gypsum occur in the district about the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the southern Appalachians, and in the Cordilleran fields. Although these marls and gypsums are of local use, they have not sufficient value to make it worth while to use them in a general commercial way. The principal resource of this kind must be found in the deposits of lime phosphate. In the preparation of this material it is the custom of the manufac- turers to treat the rock with sulphuric acid and to mingle with the product a considerable amount of the refuse of animal bodies, which serve to yield nitrogen to the soil. Fortunately for the cheap production of the compound, the waters of the Atlantic coast abound in fishes which are captured for making oil, and the waste from the factories, known as fish pumice, is available at a moderate price. The sulphuric acid required for the chemical treatment of lime phosphate is readily to be obtained from the abundant deposits of iron pyrites which exist in many of the dis- tricts of crystalline rocks near the eastern shore of North Amer- ica. Thus, as a whole, this country is very well placed for the production of those artificial fertilizers which not only increase the yield of the soil, but help to induce the more careful treat- ment of the fields. So far our considerations have been mainly directed toward the advantages presented by the soils of this continent. It is now neces- sary to set forth certain evils in their management which are due in part to the physical conditions of the country and in part to the neglect of proper precautions in the tillage methods: Although there are extensive regions of plain-land in this country, a large _ part of its area is of a hilly nature, the soil lying upon slopes of from five to twenty degrees of inclination. On such declivities the rainfall tends rapidly to wash the soil from its original position into ‘YIOA MON ‘Sulpling sduvyoxy sonpoig THE WASTING OF SOILS. 405 the lower part of the valleys and thence to the streams. This evil, though considerable in Europe, is much more serious in this coun- try, for the reason that the American fields are commonly sub- jected to torrential rainfalls. Even where the annual precipitation is insufficient for the needs of agriculture, it often happens that several inches of rain descends in a single brief shower. When a torrential rain falls upon the surface of the tilled earth, especially where the soil has recently been released from the frozen state, the effect may be calamitous. A single such shower may remove the loose earth to the depth of half an inch or more from a considerable surface of country, and a score of such accidents can almost destroy the fertility in fields which were originally very productive. In a state of nature the soil is everywhere protected from the injury which the rain may inflict by the coating of vegetation which forms upon its surface wher- ever the precipitation is considerable and the detritus of sufficient thickness to nurture plants. In densely forested districts the tangle of decayed vegetation generally retains all the water which falls upon the surface, and yields it but slowly to the streams. Even where the area has the character of our prairies and other open plains, the firm mat of roots, a covering which is so deep and fibrous that it is difficult to break it with a plow, acts asa shield to protect the earth ‘from the rude assaults of the surface water. Unfortunately, all tillage demands that this protecting covering be from time to time stripped away. Where the crops are of grass or of small grain these cultivated plants may in a few weeks partly restore the shield of vegetation; but where, as with Indian corn, cotton, and many other crops, the plants are neces- sarily far apart and the soil is tilled during a period of some months’ duration, the earth is unprotected during a great part of the year. Such fields, when the harvest is gathered, are com- monly exposed during the following winter to the assault of the rain, and thus waste with exceeding rapidity. The evils which arise from the action of heavy rains on the plowed ground of this country vary greatly in different portions of the area. They are least in the districts which are underlaid by a sheet of glacial débris ; that coating is often so far pervious to water as to permit the greater part or even the whole of the rainfall to enter the earth where the water moves so slowly as to effect no damage through the removal of the soil material. Even where the deposit is of such a clayey nature that the rain does not freely enter the earth, the innumerable bits of stone 406 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. which it contains act as obstacles to the erosive work which is accomplished on ordinary soils. On nearly level areas, where the inclinations may not exceed one or two degrees of declivity, the water which gathers on the surface moves so slowly that its scouring action is relatively slight. On the alluvial plains, owing to their slight inclination and generally porous nature, there is likewise an exemption from this class of injuries. The evil of excessive erosion is most marked in the districts lying to the south of the Ohio and the Potomac, where all the district except that occupied by the alluvial deposits is commonly underlaid by a compact earth which does not readily take in the rain water, and which, from its prevailingly fine-grained character, is readily washed away in times of heavy rain. In every county in this district we may find more or less evidence that this process of soil destruction is rapidly going on. Wherever the earth has been tilled for a decade or more we observe that the upper part of each inclined field is already impoverished by the process. For a time the soil washed down from the elevated ground may serve in a measure to fertilize the lower parts of the area. Grad- ually, however, the zone in which this pauperizing process has had a decided effect descends the hillside until all the surface down to the level of the alluvial plain has become too poor to repay tillage. Although the greater part of this Southern field has been under cultivation, on the average, for less than half a century, the depre- ciation of the soil is already of moment, and has begun to affect the economic value of the country. In that district not less than five thousand square miles of what was originally very fertile land has been abandoned because of the impoverishment which this careless agriculture brings about, and perhaps ten times that area has seriously suffered from this action. Another century of such reckless tillage will reduce a large part of the upland district of the South to the state of much of the land about the northern shore of the Mediterranean, where, over wide stretches of country, the shiftless methods of former ages have led to the destruction of the soil. Although a portion of the damage which rain inflicts upon the soil which lies on steep slopes is inevitable wherever they are sub- ‘ mitted to plow tillage, a large part of the loss may be prevented | by the simple device of deep plowing. Where the soil is over- turned to the depth of only six inches it may be unable to take into its interstices the rainfall of a heavy shower, and so during a PROTECTING THE SOIL OF HILL-SIDES. 407 torrential fall the whole of the layer may slide down the slope with exceeding rapidity. On the other hand, if the tilth have a depth of ten or twelve inches, all the water may be stored in the open-textured layer and be only gradually yielded to the streams. In general, however, the only way to prevent this depreciation of the highly inclined fields is by retaining them as pasture land, for which use they are generally well fitted; or, if they must be plowed, by planting them with those crops, such as the small grains, which protect the surface during their growth, and after harvest leave a thick-set stubble to arrest the ale motion of the rain water. In general these highly inclined areas near the hilltops had best be preserved as forests. The total area of these grounds is probably not greater than is required for the supply of the timber which is demanded in this country, and the effect of these forest tangles on the hilltops is to retain moisture in the dry seasons, and to yield it gradually to the tilled ground at lower levels. To note the ad- vantage which may thus be gained, the reader has only to observe the difference in the character of the crops on two hillside fields whose conditions are alike except that the one has a forest above it and the other is tilled to the top of the ridge. The only remedy for this evil which menaces the productive- ness of our soils in a large part of this country is to be found through the development of a sound public opinion which sternly reprobates all waste of man’s great inheritance, a store which should be transmitted unimpaired from generation to generation. When men are made to feel that it is a crime to permit the soil which is in their keeping to fall below its best estate; when, more- over, they feel it their duty to transmit their fields in a condition at least as good as that in which they received them from Nature or from their ancestors, this shameful waste will cease. Already there are many signs which indicate the development of such a public sentiment. Thus, ina large part of the South, where cotton is grown on hilly land, the practice has recently been introduced of making benches on the slopes, which arrest or at least restrain the downward motion of the water in times of heavy rainfall, and thus protect the surface from the worst evils which we have de- scribed. With the advance in the price of land we may expect that such care will be continually increased. There is another though less serious evil which American agriculture has encountered in the past, and which still in many districts operates somewhat to limit its success. When our fore- fathers first came to the fields of this continent they brought with 408 THE FARMER’S. OPPORTUNITIES. them a number of species of plants and animals which had devel- oped under the conditions of the Old World, and were especially adapted to the peculiarities of the soil and climate of that country. With them they also brought a body of traditions concerning methods of tillage which had been developed during centuries of experience in northern Europe. Fortunately, the state of the soil and climate of North America was on the whole well suited to the growth of the greater part of these domesticated creatures under the same care as had been given them in the Old World. The general environment of organic life on the Atlantic seaboard is so like to that of Europe, that no considerable departure as to the crops which were tilled or the methods employed in their care was necessary to make the agriculture of the New World toler- ably successful. In proportion, however, as our population has penetrated to the interior districts they have come to possess fields where the soil and the seasons have been ever more and more peculiar and unfitted for the conditions of their domesticated creatures or the care which they have been accustomed to give them. Experience has shown that it requires much time and per- sistent effort intelligently pursued in order to develop varieties of most of our plants, and of some of our animals, so that they may just suit the conditions which the interior parts of the continent present. A striking instance which may serve to show the reader something of these needs is exhibited by our Indian corn. The variety of this plant which is tilled in Alabama requires so long a time for its grain to mature that it is unfit for cultivation in north- ern New England or the Canadian Dominion; but by a careful system of selection and acclimatizing, a modification of the species has been made which suits the Northern conditions, for it will mature the seed in a hundred days from the time it is planted. Although the above-described instance of the variation which it has been necessary to bring about in order to fit maize for the use of the Northern farmer is the most conspicuous which can be adduced, similar variations have been or can be advantageously established in the case of many other species. Along with these variations in the habits of the cultivated species there has neces- sarily to go changes in the system of tillage which is applied to them. The result is, that when a new portion of our frontier is occupied there is apt to be a period of rude and painful experience in which there is a frequent loss of crops, leading to the impres- sion that the area is more or less unsuited to the needs of agricul- ture. After a time the culture becomes more or less reconciled THE AMERICAN WAY OF CLEARING LAND. 409 to the environment, and the people become more hopeful of their future. It is doubtful, however, if the adjustment of our crops as regards their constitutional varieties or the methods of cultivation is in any part of this land so complete as it is in the fields of Eu- rope: throughout the Mississippi Valley it seems to the present writer quite clear that this accord between the physical state of the country and the subjects and methods of tillage is still quite imperfect. Undoubtedly a large part of the future improvement in our farming methods will consist in the perfection of the rela- tions between the products and usage of our fields and the na- ture of the country they occupy. We have now to consider some of the peculiar successes of American agriculture and the reflex action which they have exer- cised on the development of this and other lands. These suc- cesses are numerous, and only a few of the most important can be here noted. They consist in part in improvements in the methods by which the work of the laborer has been done, and in part in the culture of plants which in this land were first brought to the serv- ice of man. | The first novelty in the way of method in the treatment of the soil which was instituted in this country was in the subjugation of the forest. In clearing away the woods, the custom was in Europe to hew down the trees, grub out the roots, and so to pre- pare the soil at once for the use of the plow. In practice this method was in this country found too expensive in labor. There- fore the early settlers betook themselves to a plan which they perhaps learned from the Indians. This was to strip away a ring of bark from the trees, which led in one or two years to their death, and immediately to such a loss of their leaves as would per- mit the sunlight to have access to the soil. Then in the dry season, burning over the rubbish of decayed vegetable matter which covered the true soil, they planted Indian corn, beans, and other plants which did not require the complete overturning of the earth in the interspaces between the roots. Gradually, after several years of imperfect tillage with the hoe, the decay of the roots permitted the plow to do its service. In the northern parts ' of the country the stumps of the trees were, after a year or two's decay, removed by means of levers and dragged to the margin of the field, where they were often used for fences. This innovation in the method of winning the forested tract to agriculture was made possible by the dry climate of our later summer and autumn, which made fire a valuable auxiliary in the work of clearing the 410 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. timber away,and by the existence of maize, a plant which the people obtained from the aborigines, which will yield a good re- turn with but little tillage. Perhaps the next important innovation due to the inventive skill of our soil-tillers is found in the method before described, by which the cranberry, a plant which was never systematically cul- tivated in Europe, has in this country been made the subject of a very high-grade cultivation. Other innovations may be traced, as in the culture of tobacco, a crop which was originally peculiar to this country ; in the widespread planting of the small grains in the spring-time instead of in the autumn, as was the custom in Europe ; and in many other less important details in the general manage- ment of fields. As a whole, however, the improvements which have been won in farming methods in this country consist in the application of mechanical contrivances to the processes of seeding, tilling, and harvesting of crops. The general use of horse powers for the work which follows the plowing and preparation of the soil for the seed is mainly due to the inventive skill of our people. The original ideas of many of these inventions have come from — Great Britain, but their practical application to husbandry has been to a very great extent due to the peculiarly inventive mind of the Americans. It is indeed a most noteworthy fact, that all the valuable inventions which have served so greatly to diminish the demand for hand labor in tilling the soil owe their contrivance to the English-speaking people. Although a large part of all the mechanical devices which have served to ennoble our modern civilization are of English origin, the predominance of this race is particularly well indicated in the machines which pertain to the soil. The innovations in the way of soil products which are due to this country, though not numerous, are of an interesting charac- ter, and have proved most important in the economical history of the whole world. The most noteworthy contributions consist of maize and tobacco, two plants which the early settlers found in use by the Indians and almost the sole object of their scanty agri- culture. The corn of the Indians proved exactly adapted to the needs of the European immigrants. As before noted, it can be tilled in the half-destroyed forest; on soils of like quality it yields far more food than any other grain; it is easily harvested, suffers little from ordinary droughts, and the dried foliage is valuable for forage purposes. Therefore from the very first this plant has been the staff of our American life. Its use has spread to other CATTLE-HERDING. 4II countries, and it is now the staple product of many areas in Eu- rope and other parts of the world. Next to maize we must rank tobacco, which, although it has contributed nothing to the utilities of the world, nevertheless proved for many decades the most important product for exportation which this country af- forded. The use of this plant has extended to every land, and has changed the social habits of many peoples. The potato and the tomato, though the ancestral varieties of each extended into North America, probably came to Europe from the southern con- tinent of the New World. The wild turkey, our sole contribution to the domesticated animals of our race, was probably introduced into Europe from Cuba. Among the innovative features of our American agriculture it _will not be amiss to note the curious development of the cattle industry on our Western plains. From the beginning of the set- tlement of this country it has been a common habit of the people to make use of the unoccupied lands as ranges for horned cat- tle or sheep. Until within a few years a system of herding long prevailing on the island of Nantucket. The pasturage grounds were jointly held, each owner holding so many sheep rights, each of which gave him the privilege of maintaining one of these ani- mals on the commons which belonged to the town. This system of joint holdings appears never to have had much extension on this continent, and is interesting only as a survival of the method of land tenure which is of great antiquity in the Old World; which, indeed, antedates the present method by which individuals hold a fee in the soil and other resources of the earth. Neverthe- less, it has been the habit to consider all unfenced land as common property, so far, at least, as its pasturage resources were concerned. All government land has always been so used by the frontier people. As forests have little value for pasturage, no account has been made of the unoccupied timber areas for this purpose; but shortly after the settlement of the Western plains began it became the custom to keep great herds upon these open ranges. Within thirty years the use of the lands on the Cordilleran plateau for cattle herding has been rapidly extended. At present about all of that area which is fit for this use is occupied by droves of cattle and flocks of sheep, and the greater part of the population in the district is engaged in this pastoral industry. As the herbage is very scanty, it is necessary, in order to maintain these flocks and herds, to keep them in almost constant motion. The 412 THE FARMER'S’ OPPORTUNITIES. animals belonging to different proprietors become inextricably commingled, and often scattered over an area of thousands of square miles, so that it requires peculiar skill on the part of the herdsman to keep track of the beasts, and to assemble them at such times as may be necessary. In many ways this peculiar ranching industry is a reversion to a lower state of agricultural employment than any in which our race has been engaged for many centuries of the past. Only in the northern part of the Cordilleran table-land near the Canada line is any care taken to provide this half-wild stock with a winter supply of food. In all, save a certain submission to their mounted guardians, they are in as primitive a state as their predecessors, the bisons of the Western plains. It seems likely that for an in- definite period in the future this rude but profitable industry will - be maintained and to a considerable degree extended throughout the arid district of the West. Although the territory where ranching is pursued is now very nearly stocked to the point at which it can profitably maintain these animals, it seems likely that, as before remarked, it is quite possible to increase the pasturage value of these poorly watered districts. This end can be accomplished by introducing into the territory a variety of the grasses such as grow on the plains of central Asia, the pampas of South America, and the arid districts of Africa and Australia. It is a well-known fact that the total number of species of these wild plants which can maintain them- selves in a dry climate and afford there desirable forage is very great. Probably not more than one tenth of these forms which are valuable in arid districts now exist in the Cordilleran field. Owing to the fact that all the region in and about the Rocky Mountains was not long ago the seat of an abundant rainfall, the plants of this region have had scant time to adapt themselves to the relatively new conditions of the climate. In several other parts of the world it is tolerably clear that the aridity has contin- ued for a greater time, and we may therefore expect to find in those districts plants suitable for pasturage purposes which will attain a more luxuriant growth than any of our own species. It is a well-known fact that even on our highly cultivated meadows and better pasture lands it is profitable to have several species of grasses growing together. The yield of the soil is thereby increased, and the crop seems to be, at least in its green state, better suited to the joint consumption of sheep and cattle. We may expect the same principle to hold when the species of | ue T® poem. a @ ty my Cotton Exchange Building, New York. WIDE INFLUENCE OF AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 413 I a grasses within our arid districts are increased in number: par- ticular forms will suit particular situations, and the land as a whole come to bear a denser mantle of vegetation. In the choice of plants for the improvement of the forage in the Cordilleran district we are not limited to the grasses alone. There is a host of species belonging to the family of the Leguminose, or the kindred of the peas, and the locusts, which tolerate rather arid conditions and at the same time yield nutritious food for herbiv- orous animals. There are probably in all not far from a hun- dred different kinds of plants belonging to foreign lands which are likely subjects for this experiment in their acclimatization. The project seems attractive, not only on account of the imme- diate results in the way of gain in the pasturage which may be through it attained, but also because any considerable increase in the growth of vegetation in this arid district would be likely somewhat to modify the dryness of its climate. If plant growth enough could be brought upon the soil to retain the rain water which falls at certain seasons of the year for any considerable time during the more arid terms, the result would probably be a perceptible increase in the rainfall of the region. A portion at least of the water so kept from the streams would pass into the air and return again in the form of rain. Even if no incre- ment of the rainfall were brought about, the value of the streams for irrigation purposes would be enhanced by their somewhat more continuous flow in the drier part of the year. | The most remarkable feature in the agricultural history o North America is found in the singular extension which it has given to the English race both in this country and in Europe. The resources of American soil have gone far in making it possible for the English-speaking people in the course ofa century to advance to a position in which they now dominate the earth. They have, indeed, secured in a substantial way to the kindred states on either side of the Atlantic a place in human affairs which has never been held by any other kindred population in the world. The commercial effect of this agriculture is not limited to the English. | | ~The influence of American agriculture upon that of Europe has been considerable, and is destined in the future to be greater than in the past. We have furnished to the Old World from the aboriginal store of the New Indian corn, the potato, the tomato, and tobacco, all four of which vegetables have come to play an important part. Valuable as are these vegetables, we owe 414 THE FARMER’S OPPORTUNITIES. far more than we have repaid to the lands over the sea in the way of cultivated plants. When we consider, however, the extent to which the soil products of America have served to provision the population of Europe, we perceive that we have in a measure re- paid our ancestral debt to them. At the present time the ship- ments of food from this country to Europe are so great that the peoples of that continent could not maintain themselves in their present condition were they cut off from the products of our American fields. The great manufacturing centers of England, Belgium, Germany, and France can notat the present time be pro- visioned from the territories of those several states. Even in their years of plenty many millions of their people would be reduced to starvation were it not for the grain products of our Western fields ; and in times of dearth, such as come upon the eastern por- tions of the Old World last year, widespread famine can only be avoided by access to our American granaries. Since the development of cotton culture in the United States the people of the civilized world, and a large part of those in barbaric and savage countries as well, have come to depend to a great extent upon clothing made from the fiber of this plant which has grown on fields in the southern part of the United States. Although cotton is extensively reared in India and in Egypt, and develops well in many other parts of the world, there seems to be no land except our own where the conditions of soil, climate, and of society make it possible to produce it in sufficiently large quantities to supply the demand of European mills. Even during the period of our civil war, when our prod- uct was only about half as great as at present, a partial interfer- ence with the exports from this country brought about disastrous disturbances in the manufacturing and commercial interests of Europe. To those who speculate on the danger of war between this country and the greater states of the Old World, it is a sufficient answer to say that at present, and for many years to come, we have a firm bond of peace with those peoples which is well guar- anteed by their necessities. Any disturbance which would lead to a general nonintercourse with European states, or which might compel us to a cessation of commercial relations with the Old World, would quickly force a peace on the basis of their impera- tive needs. While we would be greatly distressed by such a rup- ture of commercial relations, we should by no means lack for food or the other necessaries of life. Tit EOUDURESOR GQUR EXPORTABLE CROPS. 415 It is by no means certain how long the North American conti- nent will continue to afford to other parts of the world this great share of its soil products. There are two reasons why we may expect in the near future to see a progressive and rather rapid re- duction in the amount of our exportable crops. In the first place, the grain lands of this country are, as experience has shown, sub- ject to a rapid depreciation in the amount of their annual yield. In general, thirty years of tillage reduces the return of grain by at least two fifths; so, as far as this most important source of sup- ply is concerned, the depreciation in the value of the soil alone appears likely to diminish the surplusage which may be used for exportation. Moreover, the population of this country is rapidly increasing, so that in another generation, except for the resources which may be won from our swamps and arid lands it appears doubtful whether our grain supply will greatly exceed the local demand. The condition of our tillage as regards the tobacco crop appears to be even more serious. This plant is exceedingly destructive to the land. Experience seems to show that the tax put upon it is greater than in the case of any other crop. Alarge part of the area in Virginia, Maryland,and North Carolina, which afforded the supply of this product in the last century and in the first part of this, no longer gives remunerative returns. Unlike all our other crops, tobacco can not be advantageously reared by the use of artificial fertilizers. The product of fields which are thus refreshed is of an unsatisfactory quality. The only tillage crop of this country which seems likely to afford a continued in- crease of exportable material for some decades to come is cotton. Probably not more than one third of the area which is suited to the needs of the plant is now in cultivation, and bya free use of commercial fertilizers, which add to rather than diminish the quality of the crop, it will probably be possible to increase the aggregate product to at least threefold the quantity which is now produced. It is an interesting fact that during the last fifty years, particu- larly in the last two decades, American agriculture has profited more by governmental aid than that of any other country. The Federal bureau for the dissemination of information, and the many agricultural colleges and experiment stations which have been founded by the Washington authorities, have provided the people with a free access to scientific knowledge and the experience which has been gathered from other countries in a singularly effective way. There is reason to believe that this great work is 416 THE FARMER'S OPPORTUNITIES. SS but in its beginning, and that in the century to come we shall find in this country a body of agriculturists more skillful in their use of the resources of the soil and more careful of its well-being than those of any other country. Probably the greatest economic rev- olution which the youth of to-day may in his old age behold will be found in this all-important branch of our industries. CHAPTER VIII. MINERALS AND MINING. AT many points in the foregoing discussions concerning the relation of man to the continent of North America it has been necessary to refer to the work which, during the olden days, the natural forces have done upon this land. It is a peculiar feature of our modern science that it becomes ever more and more necessary in the advance of learning to explain the living moment by the dead past. This method of consideration, which is peculiarly characteristic of our own time, has not only an intel- lectual but an economic importance. From the point of view of learning men may profit greatly from the study of the past, for such inquiry vastly extends their understanding of their place in the world, and by enlarging the perspectives of thought gives a dignity and beauty to the history of man and the fields he inhabits which can be attained in no other way. On the other hand, through a comprehension of the events which have taken place in the development of any land, the men who dwell in it are able, in a systematic way, to avail themselves of the economic resources which are stored in the depths of its earth, or which are contained in the soil. The fitness of the earth to produce crops depends upon the character of the rocks which have afforded the mineral matter of the soil, or upon the nature of the forces which have acted to bring these materials into the position where they may be taken into the bodies of plants. The coal which is won from the depths of the earth owes its development and preservation to events which took place in remote ages. The plants which formed it were fostered by the ancient sunshine; the swamps in which the peaty matter was preserved were due to the conditions of the geography and the climate of those vanished days. The burial and preservation of the peat were brought about through the deposition of strata upon the old morasses. When we burn the fuel we avail ourselves of energy which has been husbanded through age-long actions. Thus the power of our engines, the 27 (417) 418 MINERALS AND MINING. productiveness of our fields, the mineral wealth of the deeper earth, all have a history which extends far into the past, and which must be understood by those who would win the profit of thought and action which they may afford. So far we have been considering the physical conditions of the America of to-day with reference to the present needs of our people and the possibilities of their immediate future. We must now endeavor to extend these perspectives by a study of the mineral resources of the country. To do this task in a satisfac- tory manner it will be necessary for us to trace, at least in a gen- eral way, the process by which the continent has come to its existing state and has become the storehouse of vast subterranean wealth. Anything like a complete description of the successions by which this continent has attained to its existing condition would be a task which would far transcend the limits of this work. It would indeed require as much printed matter as is contained within the pages of these volumes. It will therefore be neces- sary for us to limit the inquiry to those features which have an immediate and evident relation to human affairs, omitting as we go the vastly more extensive phenomena which, though in a way related to the interests of mankind, are not of clear and domi- nant importance. Although the mineral resources of any continent are apt to be distributed through the rocks of divers ages, formed between the beginning of the earth’s history and the present day, it isa noteworthy fact that the greater part of these resources are com- monly stored in the more ancient formations. In most cases the actions which lead to the development of mineral veins and other deposits of valuable ores require a long time, and the process by which they are produced and revealed at the earth’s surface can only be accomplished in the course of ages. Therefore, in our account of the development of the resources of North America it will be necessary for us to begin the story in the very remote periods before this great land had assumed the character of the continent, when it was an archipelago of scattered islands lying in the midst of a widespread ocean. The remotest age in which we have succeeded in tracing some- thing of the history of North America is known as the Laurentian time. This period in the development of our sphere has left us but faint trace of its conditions. We know that there were seas and lands, but little is ascertainable concerning their limits. So far as North America is concerned the evidence enables us only GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA. 419 to discern that in the part of the world now occupied by the con- tinent the process of rock-making was going on upon the ancient sea-floor. This process indicates the existence of some land areas in this portion of the earth’s surface from which sediments were derived and accumulated on the floor of the sea. Strata of this age are still preserved in a considerable area north of the St. Law- rence and to the east and west of Hudson Bay, as well as in the Adirondacks, at several points in the region now known as the Appalachian Mountains, and in the Cordilleran district of the con- tinent. All these ancient sediments have been greatly changed by chemical actions brought about through the agency of water and heat; all have been buried at one or more times beneath sub- sequently formed deposits, and this to a great depth, so that they have been exposed to the alterations which are brought about through the high temperature of the earth’s interior. Instead of sandstones, slates, conglomerates, and other forms of ordinary sedimentary strata, the beds now appear as crystalline rocks, as gneisses, mica schists, or granite. So great have the changes been which have occurred in these rocks that none of their fossils have been distinctly preserved, and we are left in complete uncertainty as to the character of the organic life which dwelt on these ancient lands and within these olden seas of the Laurentian age. At the close of the Laurentian age the beds formed during that time which are known to us appear generally to have been lifted above the ocean’s surface and brought into a condition of dry land; not in the shape of a continuous continent, but as de- tached islands, which by their position foreshadowed in a way the future shape of North America. In this second period, commonly known as the Cambrian, the heart of the continent was indicated by large isles in Canada and the Adirondacks, by smaller and probably elongated islands in the Appalachian and Cordilleran districts, and perhaps by smaller areas of land in the region of the Ozark Mountains. ’ The detritus worn by sea and rain from the islands of the North American archipelago, together with the limy and other organic matter taken by the animals and plants from the sea and air, was built into strata of the Cambrian age. This age was long, and the beds formed during it often have an aggregate thickness of ten thousand feet or more. Though con- siderably altered by the agents of change, and sometimes, like the Laurentian beds, metamorphosed into gneisses or mica schists, these Cambrian strata very frequently preserve their fossils in a recognizable form. From these organic remains we know that 420 MINERALS AND MINING. the seas of that time contained very numerous species of animals and plants, all of which differ much from the existing forms, and many of which belong to families and even orders of life which have long since vanished from the earth. So abundant were the West of Greenwich Quaternary. Tertiary. Cretacean Carboniferous Paleozoic. Eruptive. Jurassic. red sandstone. en Scale 1 : 65,000,000. —2HA 1,250 miles. Geological formations of the United States. Shellfish, the crustaceans, the worms, and other forms which separated lime carbonate and lime phosphate from the water of those ancient seas, that very thick deposits of a limy nature were laid down—beds which at the present day, owing to the charac- ter of the organic remains they contain, afford excellent soils. It was to the great accumulation of these Cambrian strata which in the ancient days overlaid much of the area of the Laurentian rocks that these last-named strata owed, in part at least, the great chemical changes which they underwent—changes which served to develop the veins or lodes of lime phosphate, galena, zinc, cop- per, lead, and the more precious metals. In part these changes are due to later ages, but there is reason to believe that it was to a considerable extent brought about in this very ancient time, which can not well be reckoned at less than a hundred million years from the present day. Although the geography of the earth and the character of its THE SILURIAN: PERIOD. 421 inhabitants were both very different from those we now find, there is every reason to believe that in all other regards our sphere was much the same as now. On some of the ancient beaches of the later Cambrian time we may note where the reflux of the tide left the smooth sands bare and impressible, and on the surface the rain-drops fell during a brief shower. Into the little pits formed by the falling globules of the passing shower the wind swept dry sand, so that the molds were preserved and buried beneath the subsequent accumulations which were brought by the currents and laid over the surface where the prints were made. So perfect is the preservation, that these fossil raindrops are as clear as if they were recently buried. The changes of the seasons, the ocean currents, the great movements of. the air, were all in that day doubtless what we find them at present, differing in the details of their action, but indicating that the great climatal mechanism which determines the fitness of our earth for the uses of organic life was already established. The next great geologic age, that of the Silurian, was ushered in by a further uplift of that part of the crust on which the conti- nent of North America has been built, and through this movement extensive areas of the sea bottom on which the sediments of the Cambrian age had accumulated became dry land. Most of the islands which constituted the germs of the continent had their areas widened by this uprising. The Silurian time is notable for the fact that in it we find the lowest forms of backboned animals. A recent discovery made by Mr. C. D. Walcott, of the U.S. Geo- logical Survey, shows us that the fishes somewhat related to the gar pikes occur as low as the beds which were deposited shortly after the close of the Cambriantime. Hitherto these finned creatures have not been known below the base of the Devonian section, but this discovery shows us that in what is now the Cordilleran district of North America the ancient seas contained many fishes of high grade, and this fact makes it probable that these backboned ani- mals existed in some part of the world as early as the Cambrian time. In the Silurian, for the first time, we find evidence that there was animal and vegetable life upon the land. This proof comes to us in the shape of rare fossils found in the valley of the Ohio and in Scandinavia, which preserve the remains of an insect related to the scorpion. A few plant fossils show us that the lands were occupied by a growth similar to our lowly ferns. It seems almost certain that at this time there were none of the higher true-seeded plants in existence. A22 MINERALS AND MINING. Owing to the fact that the animal and plant life of the seas was — more abundant and more varied in the Silurian time than in the earlier ages, the rocks of this section are more prevailingly limy and afford richer soils than those formed on the beds which were laid down in the Laurentian and Cambrian periods. The most productive fields of North America and some of the richest of the Old World lie upon the Silurian rocks. Thus the marvelously fer- tile soil of central Kentucky and of the neighboring portions of Tennessee and Ohio owe their great grain-producing capacity mainly to the lime phosphate which they derive from the decaying remains of the fossils contained in the underlying rock. Where the beds of this age have been subjected to a considerable amount - of metamorphism, so that mineral veins are formed, these deposits are apt to contain notable quantities of gold, together with the ores of silver and lead. Some of the most extensive deposits of the above-named metals in this and other continents are con- tained in the Silurian strata. It is probable that this considerable store of the rarer metals was built into the ancient strata by the action of certain sea-weeds, which separated the substances from the waters of the ocean and accumulated them on the old ocean bottom. During and at the close of the Silurian time the vast arch of North America swayed upward yet farther above the surface of the sea, its islands were enlarged, and, although there was as yet no distinct continent above the ocean level, the islands formed by its higher parts appear to have become much larger than before. Then followed the long successive stages of the Devonian period, during which over wide areas the seas appeared to have become shallow. The presence of neighboring lands is marked in*the marine strata by a rapid increase in the number and variety of fishes, and by the frequent occurrence of fossil insects which clearly dwelt upon the land. In the higher strata of this age we find numerous ferns which indicate a tolerably high development of these vegetable forms; in many of the rocks we find evidence of strong current action such as can only have been brought about in shallow water. All the evidence points to the conclusion that the greater part of the surface was now in general at no great depth beneath the sea; that it was ready, in fact, to pass from its — ancient condition of an archipelago to the more elaborated state of a true continent. At this stage of its development North America was mostly covered by the ocean. Between the emerged lands of the Appalachian district, which now consisted THE: DEVONIAN’ PERIOD. 423 of a few great islands and the island belt of the Cordilleras, there was a wide sea. From this basin there appears to have been water communication with the Arctic Ocean, probably through the space between the great Laurentian land and the northern Cordilleras, though there may have been a passage through the region in which now lies the river St. Lawrence. In the middle portion of the Devonian age we find evidence which leads to the conclusion that a great marine stream, probably the equivalent of the current which now sweeps from the Gulf of Mexico into the north Atlantic, passed over the central portion of the North American field. It is likely that this path of the equa- torial current was established as early as the lower portion of the Silurian age, and continued to be traversed by the tide of warm waters until the time of the coal measures. The evidence of this movement is afforded by the existence of numerous coral reefs which in the olden time as well as at the present day could only develop where a current of warm water struck upon a shallow or ashore. In the region of the Ohio Valley and in the neighbor- ing portions of the Virginias, Pennsylvania, and New York, the Devonian section contains a thick bed of dark shales commonly known as the Devonian black or the Ohio shale—a deposit which is supposed to have been formed beneath a sea abundantly charged with floating algz in the manner in which we now find the Sargasso Sea of the Atlantic to be occupied by floating gulf weed. It is probable that at this time the Gulf Stream swept away toward where the Rocky Mountains now lie, and that this sea weed of the Devonian time occupied a portion of the ocean to the east of its tide, the place being exactly comparable to that which the weed-laden waters now hold in the existing Atlantic. The Devonian time shaded upward into the Carboniferous age by rather insensible gradations, during which the seas appear to have become shallower, but they were still swept over by the warm currents, as is indicated by the rich and varied life which they contained. Finally, the upward growth of the continent con- verted a vast region which had hitherto been a sea bottom into dry land, and the great coal-making age began. In this age the greater portion of the Mississippi Valley, probably nearly all the area now drained by the rivers which fall into the great river above the mouth of the Ohio and including the valley of the last- named stream, became elevated to a slight height above the plane of the sea,and at the same time a broad belt along the Atlantic coast north of New York appears to have shared in the upward 424 MINERALS AND MINING. movement and been converted into a strip of low-lying plain. At this time the Alleghany Mountains had not been formed, so that the great continental plain extended from the foot of the Blue Ridge westwardly to near the base of the Rocky Mountains and northwardly to central Michigan. Its southern margin lay at least as far south as southern Alabama. This great change, which we may indeed term a revolution in the history of the continent, was suddenly accomplished, but it had been in course of prepa- ration during the long ages in which the originally deep waters which covered the continent were gradually shallowing as the great arch rose toward the surface. As soon as the broad plain lands of the continent were lifted above the level of the sea they were occupied by an abundant growth of ferns, “horse-tails,’ and rushlike plants which had been gradually developing their peculiarities on the ancient islands, and were now ready to make a conquest of these lowlands and to perform a part in the earth’s economy which has been of the utmost importance to man. The new-made portions of the area not having been elevated much above the level of the sea, and being as yet unaffected by the mountain-building forces, had an imperfect drainage. It was the habit of the plants which then existed to grow in close-set order, much after the manner of the mosses in our modern swamps. They were all well fitted to attain their best development in marshes, many of them had imperfect roots, and nearly all of them could flourish with their bases below the level of fresh water. The air at this time appears to have been very humid and the temperature prevailingly mild. Under these conditions the newly emerged continental plain became oc- cupied by vast morasses. It is a well-known characteristic of swamps that the woody matter which accumulates in them does not undergo the complete decay which is the fate of the leaves and branches beneath a for- est, but 1s converted into a soft black material known as peat or muck. The other conditions necessary for the completion of the process by which the vegetable matter was converted into coal were brought about by the singular up-and-down movements of the land during this age. These swayings of the land appear to have been unusually frequent and sudden during the time of the coal measures. The result was, that after the peat bogs were formed on the newly emerged lands the areas they occupied were depressed below the water-level. While thus lowered extensive sheets of clay, sand, and gravel were laid down upon the swamps. *pooOM pdTol]TIs fo aspluq [UrANIe Ny Ne | any a THE TIME OF THE COAL MEASURES. 425 ae After a brief submergence the area was again uplifted and another accumulation of vegetable waste came about, which in turn was lowered beneath the waters. In this manner thousands of feet in thickness of strata were accumulated which contained scores of coal beds, many of which were of such depth that even after they had been compressed and shrunken from the changes which took place in them in their buried state remain of sufficient thickness to be worked by the miner. After peaty matter is inclosed in the rocks in the manner above described it has to undergo important changes before it is brought into the state of good coal. While it remains unburied, although it will afford a burnable material, it is almost valueless in the arts, for the reason that it contains an excessive amount of water and yields a considerable part of its weight in gases which have little heating value. Fortunately for the interests of man, the chemical and mechanical qualities which act on the rock-inclosed peat are admirably suited to bring the material into the shape suited for use in the arts. The pressure of the overlying rock combined with the gases which are generated in the coal force out the excess of water and consolidate the original open-structured mass to a fraction of its original thickness. Chemical changes, which slowly operate, but which in the ages prove very effective, re- move the volatile materials to a greater or less degree, and so in- crease the value of the deposit for use as fuel. We may in this country trace every stage in this process of change by observing the condition of the buried peat swamps formed during the ages from the present day backward and downward to the base of the carboniferous strata. The newer coals, which are commonly known as lignites and which abound in the western portion of the United States, have only undergone a part of the preparation which is necessary to give them their best form. The ordinary bituminous layers of the coal measures, though further advanced in their preparation, having been greatly consolidated and having lost much of their volatile carbon, afford better fuels. The an- thracites represent a more advanced state in the process of change; there the fixed carbon constitutes by far the larger part of the mass. It is interesting to note that in certain rare cases the change in the coal carries it somewhat beyond the burnable point, and con- verts the carbon into a state in which it resembles graphite, which is familiarly known as the so-called lead of pencils, a substance so far unburnable that it is used in making crucibles which have to 426 MINERALS AND MINING. withstand the heat which will melt almost all the metals. It is most fortunate for the interests of man that this extreme change Vie RCA SAN Sy ern E, qi \ | KN wa Wwe Se SSSR as ‘ Pog i, ‘ Say hi, wy : ! Ng Ys, my » ey me Sent Tw ahi We 5 bi “ont EY yw ! Fe fay fk MY AW fav TNS ae, ly lis iS WAQWA AN SA KN Sean Bn ree yn ann Cy ayy s Si Wires | liamsport WHE ie Sm, ts Zui ie x WT wis hia" IN KS Zw ra Rs — s\fiy x ri > thud NS Beka © is - nea 517,477 Tdahoies ca dese ecn wesc eaves ecbnas aces ccen es cl |) pecs een AW yotnbiior 2 soc ales te wey ott ee oN gh ee Gs he Pal 3 cat 1,870,366 Uta eee ie. Sea Ae Py alatlatcks ole Dados kris ors cheeks a 318,159 MSOlOTAACO Oa, os Sees bow eee ane the ONS eis eal Saas Stet ll 3,094,003 IN GWE ERIC fics Ske de ck wel eed oR ere tact yo tons op ovate we in 375,777 ‘cane 6,205,782 Pacific coast : —————— Washington 7. :'s Je. Giewte deus oe > «1s tae gfa's wie eine mate e nnn 1,263,689 OTEGON ir Tic See els BBs « eile ¥ Bie Bi Se asi hue ain elope ee 61,514 CalifOrnbesd .). c's c «bin eaters sie's' 915 cies =:8.9s weiss a) ogeirig eet Ae 110,711 eee 1,435,914 Total product Sold... 0... see sesewcserascesse «| els «a .5/nnn hn Colliery consumption ....5... 0... cscs sccrsonsce al | slsie onan i Total product, including colliery consumption.....| = ..... 157,788,656 By far the greater part of it is contained in the Appalachian district extending from northern Pennsylvania to central Alabama. Small, detached, and relatively unimportant fields exist in Nova Scotia and in the region about Narragansett Bay, in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, in eastern Virginia and North Caro- lina. The Appalachian coal district extends in the form of scat- tered patches about as far west as the great forests of that part of the continent. Coal of tolerable quality for domestic uses and for steaming occupies a large area in southern Illinois and the neighboring portions of Indiana and Kentucky, and small de- tached areas of yet lower grade occur in lowa, Missouri, Arkan- sas, and Indian Territory. This Appalachian coal field is the largest and richest area of such deposits which is known in the world. It is doubtful if it be equaled in extent or in the goodness of its product by the great field of China, which alone can vie with it in resources. We thus perceive that the section east of the Mississippi is re- markably well supplied with the two important sources of energy, water powers and fossil fuel. To these resources we must, however, OUTPUT OF COAL. A53 add the stores of burnable rock gases and of petroleum which are contained in larger quantity and extend over a wider field than in any other part of the world. This assemblage of power-giving I y ll | * s.. Cu DDwly y ) wv West of Greenwich Tons per square mile. 0 to 1,000, 1,000 tO 4,000. 4,000 and upward. Area of 3,800 square miles. Scale r : 45,000,000. 1,240 miles, Output of coal in the United States. conditions insures to this section of the continent very singular advantages in all that part of our industries in which the com- mand of dynamic energy is important. In the sections from the central portions of the Mississippi westward to the Pacific the coal fields, though numerous, are of small area and their products generally of inferior quality. Asa whole, the Cordilleran district must be said to be ill supplied with fuel. The forests are scanty, and the coal beds, as compared with those of the Appalachian district, of inferior value. Within the limits of Central America and Mexico no deposits of fossil fuel of economic importance have yet been discovered, and from what is known of the geological conditions of the country none are likely hereafter to be brought to light. New Mexico, Arizona, and the wide field of what is called the Great Basin, extending as far north as the Canada line, appear to contain but little valuable subter- 454 MINERALS AND MINING. en eee ranean fuel. In the range of the Rocky Mountains from southern Colorado northward into the Canadian Dominion there are some coal deposits as yet imperfectly explored, which give promise of being of great value in the development of that portion of the continent. East of this section, in the region formerly occupied by the Great Lakes about the head-waters of the Missouri, de- posits of impure coal occur which have a certain limited value for local use, and on account of the timberless nature of the coun- try are a precious resource for the domestic fireplaces. They are, however, not very well suited for steaming purposes, and are not at all adapted to the metallurgists art. _ Along the Pacific coast we again find considerable fields of coal of a second-rate quality. These deposits extend from the northern part of California to near the southern extremity of Alaska. The beds are prevailingly thin and rather irregular, so that mining the fuel is relatively very costly as compared with the expense of extracting the Appalachian coal. So far as is known, there is no high-grade coal on any part of the Pacific coast of North and South America. As soon as a canal way is made through the Isthmus district the fuel supply of this part of the world will doubtless be drawn from the southern portion of the great Appalachian field. Even at the present time a large part of the coke which is used in smelting the ores on the Pacific coast is brought from western Pennsylvania by railway transportation. Little is known concerning the stores of petroleum or of nat- ural gas which may be contained in the western section of North America. It seems likely, however, that both these substances are far from abundant in this part of the world. A few wells have yielded oil in California; the amount of their product, however, has been small, and the general geological conditions of the Cor- dilleran realm contraindicate the existence of any large deposits of these fluid and gaseous fuels. Although the valuable mineral fuels of North America appear to be mainly limited to its eastern half, the aggregate of this most important group of valuable materials seems certainly greater than that of any other continent except possibly Asia, which may contain a total store of burnable earth products greater than that of any other continent. The larger part of this fossil fuel con- tained in Asia lies in China, where coal fields of great extent and richness are known to exist. If ever this obstinately conservative people come to make an appropriate use of these mineral re- sources in combination with their cheap and willing labor, that TRONSORES TOP SUNITEDS STATES. \. 455 Value of Natural Gas consumed in the Untted States in 1889, by States, and the Amount and Value of Coal and Wood displaced by the same. Vale Of nates COAL DISPLACED. WOOD DISPLACED. STATES AND TERRITORIES. ral gas supplied and used. Tons. Value. Cords. Value. MPSMMGVIVANIA ros... 6 eee es 32077353 i O09 0620, RIL EGS.O8q) |. 4h ot SIM). eee ee MRE ees ss oo wis ov 56 1,362,472 716,461 2,002,762 | 44,888 | $72,940 os BE eee 1,120,997 1,660,456 5,123,569 | 24,130 92,100 MOLI, ca cracs era sceue ss 204,325 130,159 BSO;0202 | ameners oe tiahe. tie eters OCCT BA 27,825 11,859 BaCOI sweets ere meee. iar cnet wastes | OU SOS ae 13,060 4,538 PROT aati n eaes eee PORTO, occ sis csc sees ae 12,680 3,517 TE. GBOul saraiere oy lobe es teens MMMNEST, Se are sce os se 8s 8,658 7,245 TOOL SMB ae suckerot |i sar ausiese PCY Geiss eas le oe aes 2,580 = ONG DRO wycare ie coh Wana ‘oe ReecreVirginia............. 2,000 600 DMM cies arbi furs! ayia ae ET eres a cet s ey se 1,728 288 Leos Aaa el lem ecn cee MEE 6 div gis x's e's si, s 375 107 S75 el ie ratetd) [ise sie "1 eG a SS eas 150 18 TOG trsvsees st (ius aneetrcne: BeIeMMAKOLA oc ss cs nde 25 5 ORME Ce ON Whee os oe PENA ys care ates $11,044,858 | 9,398,930 | $19,332,059 | 69,018 | $165,040 Mptracpipe lines. 2s 2.56. alo. dese es 100,000 ZOO; OOOT| Fg Nes Sevens + eet, Used for drilling and pump- 5) ht LE GS ASS nnOn a Onc nine 400,000 BOOLO0OR [sates sateen ent. LEAST er oe | en gg 300,000 GOO, COON ara head Hohe Grand totaly cc. sece:. $11,044,858 | 10,198,930 | $20,932,059 | 69,018 | $165,040 country should win the first place in the manufacturing indus tries of the world. Next in importance to the sources of this energy on this conti- nent we may rank its stores of iron ore. These are remarkable in quantity, and are exceedingly well placed, at least on the eastern half of the continent, with reference to the sources of fuel which are required for the conversion of the ore to the metallic state. The iron ores of this continent occupy three great fields and a number of subordinate areas. On the east the Appalachian field contains very extensive deposits of iron ore. These extend from Newfoundland south- ward to central Alabama and through Kentucky westward to the Tennessee River. The iron ores of this district exhibit a consid- erable variety. In older rocks, mainly those of Laurentian age, magnetic oxide is found; in the more southern section from New York southwardly by far the larger portion of the deposits belong to the group of brown ores or ordinary peroxides of iron. The iron ores of New England and of the Canadian prov- inces about the Gulf of St. Lawrence have in general the unfor- tunate peculiarity that they contain a considerable amount of the mineral known as titanium, which is intimately mingled with the ore and makes it extremely difficult to smelt. In the valley of the 456 MINERALS AND MINING. Production of Vartous Kinds of Iron Ore tn 1890, by States. Brown : Carbon- Total of all Per- STATES. meee hematite. Magnctite: ate pecan Centagel Long tons. Long tons. | Long tons. |Long tons.| Long tons. Michican Wee. 6,426,077 402,274 EPR Ro ub gat en 7,141,656 44.54 Alabaiiascs ne 2 1,538,297 ZLOB 1S | voice eel ice 1,897,815 11.83 Pennsylvania... ... 143,745 415,779 | 765,318 | 36,780 1,361,622 8.50 NewYork. (feo. 196,035 30,968 | 945,071 | 81,319 | 1,253,393 7-82 WISCONSIN tat ee 784,257 TOA, 70ST io oc ete = i eer eee 948,965 5.92 WLinnesota essen SOE OTOT| Tass e ccs }) ewan os FT) he eee 891,910 5.56 Wirginie bie cet eee 16,212 522,908 4,403 4 eee 543,583 3-39 IN GM MLexSey, ces. nie OOCO herrea weitere 489,808 | isbn 495,808 3.09 Tennessee... J. 2. 278,076 187,019) + oi +s chvae ee 465,695 2.90 (SEOT UIA fai ee es 69,271 Lipp Weal hy fa Mee ge MEN 244,088 Tce MUISSOUTT asses oe 159,440 22 BEOUNe. 2c ais) eee 181,690 a 8) CRA a ae eGo Toll Rete ee Wa eceks 8 piveee derk ela ee 169,088 169,088 1.05 COlOTAI On crt. suas 14,698 Q0;577 | oasul «ass el eee 114,275 0.71 Montana. seni. Se A: ; 3,632 48,000 30,000 | cles 81,632 0.51 Ul taliitoe acs Weentick yj. o2tnes ee uta eae 15,035 Ap eran 62,000 77,685 0.48 ary lati cise akties cee 23.343) 1 ene 12,314 35,657 0.22 Massachusetts..... 32,034. \ scp a sony lee 32,934 0.21 Connecticuty |. Sis. las cla ete 20,088 | Sn a0 piel eee 26,058 0.16 Wests VITOUIIS. gts col emi werent Q;000 Sir cme 16,116 25,116 0.16 North Carolina....2 lsc. sete a oe seven D2 872) ie cae 22,593 O.14 ey ORAS. Ee aitcans ketene Rel BOR ae 22 OO0-4)" $i. aenieirenl en ae 22,000 0.14 Mainet.< 45-00 aie en eee 2,500 I, cut eunio me cee 2,500 0.02 LGtalaarirg sears 10,527,650 | 2,559,938 | 2,570,838 | 377,617 | 16,036,043 | 100.00 Percentage of total . 65.65 15.96 16.03 2.36 100-000 jawemere Hudson, and in the Adirondacks as far as the Canada line, the magnetic iron ores are prevailingly of excellent quality, though from their conditions they are tolerably expensive sources of this metal. The ores of the Appalachian district south of New York probably afford the source whence the principal supply of this metal is to be drawn in the centuries to come. They have the peculiar advantage that they lie near to fuel which may be ob- tained at a low cost and is extremely well suited for furnace use. The iron ores of the region about Lake Superior are, at the present time,a more important source of supply of the metal than those of the Appalachian field. The deposits are extensive and of remarkable purity, but owing to the circumstances of their occurrence their ores are in most cases costly to mine; moreover, the beds are situated in a region remote from coal which may be used for smelting iron. So long as the Bessemer process is the means by which the greater part of the steel used in this country is produced, these ores of the Lake Superior region are likely to be the principal sources of supply for the furnaces of the Ohio FUTURE OF THE IRON INDUSTRY. 457 ——) Valley and the region about the Great Lakes. With the gradual increase in the use of those methods of treatment by which the phosphatic irons may be converted into steel, it is possible that these ores of the lake district will become of relatively less im- portance in our industries. It seems certain, however, that they _will always prove among the more important deposits of this country. The Cordilleran district, particularly the section known as the Rocky Mountains and the southward continuation of that range in Mexico, contains numerous and extensive deposits of iron ore. Unfortunately, the coals of this district are not usually well suited for manufacturing, iron and the region asa whole is so far removed from the great centers of population that any iron production which may be brought about can serve only the local market. In Colorado however, where the coals are better suited for metal- lurgical use than those which are known to occur in any other portion of the Cordilleras, there is a prospect that the production of iron may there attain considerable importance. Some of the ores of the metal are incidentally won from the silver mines about Leadville, where large deposits of ferriferous ores of good grade are frequently encountered amid the silver-bearing deposits. It seems not improbable that from this region may come the supply of iron and steel required in the Mexican States, for, while that portion of the continent abounds in good ores of the metal, it is destitute of smelting fuel. On the Pacific coast of the United States and of Canada no very extensive deposits of iron have yet been discovered. If such should be found they would be of small value for any save local industries, for the reason that, owing to the absence of satisfactory stone coals, they would have to be smelted by means of charcoal, a method which does not permit of any very large production and can not afford cheap iron. In the island of Cuba, and probably also in Haiti, there are extensive deposits of high-grade iron ores which promise to be of much value to the industries of the continent. In the first-named island these beds are already extensively worked; the product is shipped to the United States, where it is used in the furnaces of Maryland, Penn- sylvania, New Jersey, and New York. These deposits still fur- ther serve to re-enforce the resources of the Appalachian district, and to insure to that area in the immediate future a dominant position in the manufacture of this metal. The resources in the way of iron ore which have hitherto sup- plied the furnaces of Europe have already been so seriously drawn 458 MINERALS AND MINING. a eee upon that they are at many points approaching exhaustion. It is evident that no enhancement in the amount of this production in the Old World can be attained without a considerable addition to the average cost of the product. At the same time it is clear that in the immediate future the great increase in the production of iron and steel is to be called for. The continents of South America and of Africa are entering on an advance in their social : Short tons. Production of pig iron in the United States in 1880, .. ;feeaceee 8,516,079 ‘ 7 " “\ESQO0, 5 a eee 10,307,028 Long tons. Production of pig iron in Great Britain in T88Q s s:s ss as oe 8,322,824 : Ms oy MO I8G0T. a> cee eee 7,904,214 condition which will demand a very large amount of the grosser metals, particularly of iron, for the material work of their civil- ization. There is no other portion of the world except China where we can expect a production which will serve these new needs. In the Atlantic section of North America the annual out- put of metallic iron can readily be quadrupled without any con- siderable increase in the cost of the product, and the supply can be maintained for centuries to come. This part of the world is just entering upon its iron age, and we may expect in the immediate future an amazing increase in this most important of the metallic industries. Next after iron, which, though commonly reckoned as the basest metal, is really the most precious of all metallic substances, we may rank copper as the most valuable of our under-earth re- sources. This metal was the first to be reduced from its ores and made serviceable in the arts. With the discovery of the process by which iron was won, copper descended to a very subordinate place in our industries. Until within a decade, though an ex- tremely useful substance, it was not altogether indispensable in the arts. With the modern use of electricity this substance, be- cause of its conducting power, has again come to have great place in the arts. It already occupies a most important position, and with the rapid extension in the use of electrical energy it is sure | in the immediate future to, be of the utmost value. Fortunately for the future interests of the New World, the copper-bearing _ deposits of both the American continents are very extensive and extraordinarily rich. So far as is known, these regions contain larger available supplies of the metal than any part of the Old “ Hydraulic mining, Butte County, California. COUP ReO neon OF THE CCOUNTRY. 459 World. The copper ores of North America are mainly accumu- lated in the central and western sections of the continent. SOURCES. Pounds, 1890. RUM EEL CONN tS pies Sea sltetale sy elas, see e's o's wh Fee oc 100,745,277 SR rier On eiris ci cle eke + eis bk © aol eipiaies eg 006 oe. ee ale 34,796,689 OO EEEE So pean Jota UR a IPO IRS aa a Pa oe A 112,980,896 Read IRD gS credo chsh 9. $a versie orang a Al aradblecwceiniipiesacajecn, © ave ea 850,034 Seem Te N Oe tasers ie er gales «ce 6 Ak ost «ob. ise oee wane ee nied 6 ees 23,347 a a SR ea cc Fee ce see 5 ai ciclese'de stew Gev.a bebe s 1,006,636 Eee eos Shahi ee as sc Cae tec cee ee ceve uses ees 883,132 aR ta ee Pela he ester gi sacl ae gn aie wiyi'e eee 6 Sie s's 6 ose See teae tes Rn See Ma Ns ere e Cay alias vi sie oc os se creep teccic neces tie seeteetes EE EI A rat g ns, aver tide aa Us dies ore Sip 0% Saco sie'e'e § ais aso are 87,243 Ue URLS ss coed by ORE AT ai ara Sie rar a . Maine and New Hampshire GRIN OIE te gh icad oaeh a wo « Gouiher States te te ere eet ete nes 378,840 MEOTLIG SALES TIA e644 v0 5s Ree VETIZGTS AULC OE teers ss sce sls vc adiecce ss cccs acne 4,643,439 RE De URSCCLS cityee sc eiiciy SA) oda <) oe a oo 92 « Sci SAR OR Cem Oe: 2,702,559 Be OIC SIC COP DOR eee Suc s as vclscsc ss eccsesss ces 259,098,092 ROTO DYTiles ODM OLeSr. Ge elec a secs nese c ewes aes 6,017,041 Total (including copper*from imported pyrites)........... 265,115,133 In the Appalachian district there are a number of localities in Newfoundland, Vermont, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee. where veins of copper occur, and these have at various times been considerably worked. At present, however, the production is limited to certain deposits of copper pyrites which are found in southern Newfoundland, the other mines of the Atlantic district having proved unremunerative in competition with the Western sources of production. ? The largest known deposits of copper are found in the Kewee- naw district of the northern peninsula of Michigan, where the material occurs in the metallic form in the interspaces between the grains of an ancient volcanic ash and in the neighboring beds of conglomerate which occupy a considerable area in this district. Already the yield of copper from this field is greater*than that from any other of equal area in the world, except that from Mon- tana, which temporarily at least has attained a more consider-. able production. The conditions of the sources of supply are such that the metal may be contributed to commerce by the best placed mines even in much greater quantities than at present, and, with labor at a high price, at a cost not exceeding six or eight cents a pound. This region is peculiar among all the 460 MINERALS AND MINING. known localities where copper occurs in the fact that the sub- stance almost altogether appears in the metallic state. Owing to its occurrence in the form of metal, the processes by which it is won to the arts in the Lake district are simpler and less ex- pensive than those usually required in the treatment of the ore. =" apartar’ Eagle Rivera o LOE ALLEY EC Tak RK ake SP Syd Alle - : 1 or i Pca eS E t BAN pn: 70° Khe Y May . RS oS ss ue, x ye es gue oes oy Yio e ond : AR ieee % 4 tale = be SS We : at Ty Re SES (de pak Ne aU ES os Cee mi ee we ais; 4 20 Pay as Depths. == o to 50 fathoms. 50 fathoms and upward. Scale 1 : 1,000,000. 12 miles, Keweenaw peninsula. The copper ores of the Cordilleran field occur over a wide ex- panse of country between the Sierra range and the eastern margin ofthe Rocky Mountains. Although the ores are rich and occur in very great bodies, they generally appear in the form of carbon- ates or of pyrites. The fuel required for smelting is dear and of rather poor quality, except that which is brought from afar, and thus the cost of producing the metal is greater than in the Michi- gan field. As a whole, the copper-bearing rocks of North LEAD AND ZINC ORES. 461 —- America, owing to their great extent and richness, give promise of affording mining values second only to those which will be afforded by the iron ores of this country. tHelena © alla Walla’s ol Gcieee pia tad ips Joie. {0 1" ipSinia City Ps Oy Vib 20refille B ne ® of « ville * A 79 iWirginialt WA ri \Or - a ; WWleadville new; Almaden oY i.Cuencame West of Greenwich o 4 © ? Gold. Silver. Quicksilver. Copper. 620 miles. Scale 1 : 45,000,000. Some of the gold, silver, quicksilver, and copper mines in the United States. Third in the order of the metals which this country affords we .may reckon lead and zinc. In the circumstances of their distribu- tion these substances closely resemble copper. The Appalachian field, though containing noteworthy deposits of both these metals, affords no localities which give fmuch promise of extensive pro- duction, at least in the present condition of the market prices. In southwestern Virginia and the neighboring portion of Tennessee there is a field of considerable area where zinc ore abounds, but it is as yet doubtful whether the deposits are sufficiently rich to per- mit them to be worked in competition with those of the Missis- sippi Valley or the Cordilleran area. The central portion of the Mississippi Valley, particularly the southwestern portion of the State of Missouri, contains many fields where ores of lead and zinc abound. Of these the Missouri area appears to be by far the most important, and, from the extensive mines which have been opened there, very large amounts of these metals are marketed. 462 MINERALS AND MINING. eee In the Cordilleras metallic lead is produced in very large quan- tities from the mines, which are primarily worked for the silver which the ores contain. Ata number of points, the lead which is thus won as a by-product almost if not quite equals in commercial value the more precious metal which is obtained. So rich and numerous are the sources of lead and zinc in this country that the demand of the world for centuries could be supplied from this continent alone. Production of Lead from 1887 to 1890 tncluszve. YEARS. Gross production. merpane tcc piseiehe Tons. Tons. Tons. TOS 7 Re ces Poet ety tn: ee 160,700 * 15,000 145,700 bea bg nm Ae thd alas MOU aan Alte 180,555 28,636 151,919 to ENIAC Get bis NAb gm Gi tee Fie 182,967 26,570 156,397 LEOO eae & 5 Geer ea Tene ee cs Tes & 161,754 18,124 143,630 * Estimated. Production of Zinc Ore in the leading States in 1889. STATES AND COUNTIES. Quantity. Value. Wisconsin : Short tons. Towa ‘Cotntyuseey aes eae eee een coe eee 16,996 . $237,463 Latayette County ua nue a ae. ora ee 7,132 152,973 Grant: County,t con oo eee a ees Bens 703 10,132 ‘Rotal; Wisconsin @ eee yee ares Pa oe oe 24,831 $400,568 Missouri: Parry § OUD LY tess re ere AC aR er enh: see cis atts 180 2,340 Lads County; Ace: ccc ee ee ote le 153 1,308 Greene Couhtyss aoe eee eee tino ae oes 677 17,139 Jasper County °c... erik cease ok. 72,026 1,629,538 Lawrence! County sos 2 ee een meee cL oe 9,463 158,665 Mofgan County 20 halen eee eee tae wee 15 480 Newton, County,’ 7g. eee eee 8,307 191,487 ot. Francois County @cca ee een eam en fie 2.510 23,100 Total .Miss6urit .4..0 ‘ ‘ NECESSITY FOR REPAIRING WASTE. 517 wise be conserved. Among the many elements of the rich in- heritance which the possession of this continent has confided to the people of our race, the forests must be reckoned as the most precious though they are the most ephemeral. It will be an abid- ing shame if our people permit these gifts of Nature to be utterly wasted and destroyed. Already they have inconsiderately injured their resources; at best they can only transmit them to the future in a very impaired state. It behooves us at once to take meas- ures which may serve to repair the unnecessary harm, and to re- tain all the forests which the needs of the present will in any way enable us to spare. CEPA Rex) THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. PRIOR to the middle of the seventeenth century the commerce of Europe and therefore of the world, apart from the local trade of the Mediterranean states, was divided between the English, the Dutch, and the enterprising burghers of the Hanse towns. On the continent the preponderance of trade was with the Dutch. Their small territory, so situated as to form a gateway or point of embarkation for the whole of Europe, with harbors improved by extraordinary perseverance and art; the character of their popu- lation, fond of the sea, skilled in nautical pursuits, and destitute of a territorial area sufficient to invite their efforts or yield thema support in agriculture ; and, finally, the possession of distant col- onies in the East, whose products were peculiarly rich—all con- tributed to place them in advance of their competitors. The jealousy and alarm produced among English shipowners by this great and growing commerce of Holland led to the passage, in 1651, of the celebrated Navigation Acts, substantially a revival of the half-forgotten restrictions of the Middle Ages, and destined for the next two centuries to determine the maritime policy of Great Britain. A preliminary measure had been adopted the year be- fore, excluding foreigners from trade with the colonies. In 1651 the scope of thelaw was extended and broadened, and upon the Restoration, in 1660, it was confirmed by the Parliament of Charles II. The essential principles embodied in the English navigation laws were as’ follows: First, trade generally with England was allowed to foreigners only when trading from their own ports ; second, exportation from English colonies was allowed only to England; third, all trade with English colonies was reserved ex- clusively to vessels English both in nationality and in construc- tion, with a crew three fourths of which must be composed of Englishmen; and, fourth, the coast trade was reserved to national vessels. Before the passage of these acts Dutch commerce had flour- ENGLISH NAVIGATION ACTS. 519 ished with little obstruction. Even Virginia tobacco and other products of the North American colonies were carried to Holland in Dutch ships and distributed thence to the restof Europe. The long-voyage trade in particular was carried on chiefly by the Dutch. The effect of the act was to exclude them in great meas- ure from this trade, and to throw it, as far as the English colonies were concerned, entirely into English hands. A further change was brought about, in respect to the direct trade between other European countries and England, by opening it partly to foreign- ers, but restricting the privilege to the products of their own country and to navigation from their own ports. This provision, ingeniously contrived, raised up in every maritime state of Eu- rope a competitor with Holland for the native trade with Great Britain. The Navigation Act was followed by the famous Dutch wars, the first in 1652, the second in 1665, and the third in 1672. These wars were undertaken upon trivial pretexts, their object being to crush by force the naval supremacy of Holland, as its commercial supremacy had already been assailed by legislation. ‘“ What mat- ters this or that reason?” said Monk, with refreshing candor, when asked for a casus belli. “ What we want is more of the Dutch trade.” Notwithstanding the courage and skill of the illustrious admirals to whom these wars gave their opportunity, foremost among whom were Tromp and Ruyter, the power of the Dutch was broken, and from that time forth England maintained among European nations a position of leadership at sea. Before the Revolution the thirteen American colonies had found the English navigation laws in some ways advantageous and in others detrimental. The acts virtually closed the colonial ports to foreign vessels, and thus relieved colonial shipping from all foreign competition. On the other hand, they prohibited im- portation to the colonies from any country but England, and the exportation of the great staples, such as tobacco, to any country but England. Such was the laxity, however, with which they were enforced against the colonists that the latter were able to maintain an extensive illegal trade in defiance of the prohibitions. This was especially true of the commerce with the Spanish pos- sessions in the West Indies, exportation to which was practically unobstructed. An active over-sea trade was also carried on with the Catholic countries, Spain, Portugal, and the Canaries, the American vessels taking out fish and bringing back wine and sil- 520 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. ver coin. But as time wore on the lines were more tightly drawn, and colonial commerce suffered more and more from the | restraints put upon it by the home Government. These restraints added new fuel to the fires of revolution, which had already been kindled by other acts of oppression. The effect of the Revolutionary War on the merchant marine of the colonies, which thereby secured their independence as the United States, was notyso disastrous as might have been expected. Many ships were lost or captured, and the gains of maritime com- merce were reduced; but to offset these losses an active fleet of privateers found profitable employment in the seizure of English merchantmen, and thus kept alive the maritime spirit of the coun- try, and supplied a revenue to the shipowners whose legitimate pursuits were suspended by the war. In 1783, therefore, the American merchant marine was in a fairly healthy condition. During the next six years the disadvantages of the new situ- ation made themselves felt. Before the Revolution the colonies had had open trade with their fellow-subjects in the British West India Islands. The commerce thus carried on was a very profit- able business. The island colonies were supplied with lumber, corn, fish, live stock, and surplus farm produce, which the contti- nent furnished in abundance, together with rough manufactured articles such as pipe staves, and in return the ships of New York and New England brought back great quantities of coffee, sugar, cotton, rum, and indigo. It is estimated that in the later colonial period this trade with the British West India Islands aggregated # 3,500,000 per annum. As a result of independence, the West India business was en- tirely cut off. The merchantmen of the United States then came in on the footing of foreign vessels, and all such vessels, under the terms of the Navigation Act, were rigorously excluded from trade with the British colonies. It was evident, however, that the sud- den cessation of this trade, whatever loss it might inflict on the newly created state, would be tenfold more harmful to the islands, which had so long depended upon their neighbors of the main- land for the necessaries of life. Pitt, then Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, appreciated this difficulty, and in 1783 brought a bill into Parliament granting open trade as to articles that were the produce of either country. The measure failed, owing to Pitt’s resignation, and the next ministry, in consequence of the violent opposition of British shipowners, passed a merely temporary act, vesting in the crown the power of regulating trade with Amer- AMERICAN COMMERCE AFTER THE REVOLUTION. 521 ica. his power was occasionally exercised by suspending cer- tain provisions of the navigation laws, under annual proclama- tions, but it did not serve to avert the disaster that Pitt had fore- seen. Terrible sufferings visited the population of the West India colonies, and between 1780 and 1787 as many as fifteen thousand slaves perished from starvation, having been unable to obtain the necessary supply of food when their own crops had been destroyed by hurricanes. Apart from the unfavorable condition of the West India trade, another and more important cause had operated to check the prosperous development of American commerce. The only bond of political union at this time was that formed by the Articles of Confederation, constituting a mere league of independent States, any one of which could pass laws calculated to injure the com- merce of the others. A series of confused and contradictory enactments, often retaliatory and always productive of dispute, brought the maritime growth of America almost to a standstill. It was recognized that some measure must be adopted which would bring the commerce of the thirteen States under a single homogeneous system. In fact, the Annapolis Convention, which led directly to the formation of the Constitution, had for its sole object the regulation of trade, and was itself induced by the con- troversy between Maryland and Virginia over the navigation. of the Potomac. It was therefore directly due to commercial neces- sities that the Constitution devised by the Convention of 1787 went into operation in 1789; and from this period dates the beginning of the marvelous development that was subsequently attained by the American merchant marine. In order to show the original condition of American shipping, its extension, culmination, and subsequent decline, with the im- portant stages at which, from one cause or another, its forward or backward movement has been interrupted, the plan has been pursued of dividing the century from 1789 to 1889 into twelve periods, with tables showing for each year the amount of tonnage registered in the foreign trade, the values of exports and imports, and the proportion actually carried by American vessels. The periods are as follows: I. 1789-1793, the first advance. 1794-1810, high-water mark. 1811-1814, the War of 1812. 1815-1819, the reaction from the war. 1820-1830, the second high-water mark. ae tea ay 522 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. 6. 1831-1846, the first falling off. 7. 1847-1858, the period of over-production. 8. 1859-1861, culmination of registered tonnage: waning trade. g. 1862-1865, the civil war. 10. 1866-1871, reaction. II. 1872-18709, return to war figures. 12. 1880-1890, further decline. First Pertod, 1789-1793. The First Advance. Average Proportion of Carrying Trade, 52 per cent. PROPORTION OF AMERICAN Revict A CARRIAGE IN FOREIGN TRADE. be: cakes Total exports | |>_ YEAR. ee Exports.* Imports.* ead jinports-™ pas Bos ‘Combined ae ports ,ilepeees imports and ‘ ‘ exports, Tons. Per ct. | Per ct. Per ct. L7IBQ. > oot 2 123,895 Wir ate aniasec lee lek Mikado oee hee | eee eae een | ae O®) 23.6 LI7QO Ses | SAO, SHANI sk le ne eth) ais a teekfa aietet ola aeds eet ae 41.0 | 40.0 40.5 I791....| 363,110 | $19,012,041 | $29,200,000 | $48,212,041 | 58.0 | 52.0 55.9 TIG2 sieve M41 S498 20,753,098 31,500,000 52,253,098 | 67.0 | 61.0 64.0 O | 77-0 79-5 1793----| 367,734 26,109,572 | 31,100,000 | 57,209,572 | 82. When the United States began its existence under the consti- tutional Government the conditions of the shipping trade were still somewhat unfavorable. The continental states of the Old World, imitating the policy of England in the Navigation Acts, . had hampered commerce between their own and other countries by restrictive legislation, tending to exclude foreigners from com- petition. The six years that had elapsed since the Treaty of Paris were years of financial exhaustion, commercial depression, and of a government so crude and imperfect, that, but for the nat- ural orderliness and law-abiding tendencies of Americans, their political condition would have been little better than anarchy. In other respects, however, there was much in the situation to excite in the thoughtful observer a confidence in the maritime destinies of America. The geographical position of the country marked it as the great sea power of the New World. Its interior, still unsettled—much of it, indeed, hardly explored—gave occu- pation in the tilling of the soil to only a small part of its popula- tion. Of the settled portion of the country, which comprised a mere strip along the seacoast, one important district, that of New England, from the natural poverty of its soil, excluded any pros- pect of great agricultural development, and led its people to turn * Exclusive of coin and bullion, the exports and imports of which do not enter into these columns. RAPID EARLY DEVELOPMENT. ve naturally to the sea. From one end of the coast to the other the thirteen States abounded in natural harbors adapted to serve as ports for mercantile vessels, and as distributing centers for the products of the interior. At intervals great estuaries indented the coast, from which navigable rivers formed a highway into the interior. The rugged, bold, and enterprising spirit of the people was peculiarly adapted to maritime undertakings. The necessi- ties of water transportation had compelled them at an early period to turn their attention to shipbuilding, the materials for which were to be found in inexhaustible quantities in the forests of the North, while the Southern seaboard furnished naval stores in abundance. As far as natural advantages went, it would be hard to find a situation more favorable to maritime progress. No one who has studied the course of commercial develop- , ment in any country can fail to observe that, of the many forms of mercantile enterprise, shipowning is one of the most sensitive, being in the highest degree dependent upon the feeling of confi- dence that exists in the community. It is subject to great risks and great profits, and not the least of the qualities required to make it successful is boldness in commercial ventures. Without such boldness in some portion of its people a community can not hope under any conditions for maritime success. The sudden development of this period was therefore all the more remark. — able, coming, as it did, upon the heels of so many years of dis- couragement. But the fact is, that the adoption of the Constitu- tion, and still more the smoothness and certainty of its practical operation from the beginning, by raising up in men’s minds a conviction that the panacea for political and commercial evils had at last been found, caused an instantaneous reaction, which was further stimulated by the act of 1790 to establish the public credit. This is the real explanation of that amazing development of mari- time industry in the United States which followed immediately upon the adoption of the new scheme of government. Considering the necessities that brought about the constitu- tional movement, it is not surprising that the earliest petitions addressed to Congress, and its earliest legislation, related to com- merce and shipping. In fact, the very first act passed at the first session of the First Congress, with the exception of a purely for- mal statute in reference to the taking of oaths, was the law of July 4, 1789, entitled “ An act for laying a duty on goods, wares, and merchandise imported into the United States,” which contained the first provisions for the protection of American shipping. The 524 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF; AMERICA] object of the act is indicated in its famous preamble: “Whereas, it is necessary for the support of the Government, for the dis- charge of the debts of the United States, and the encouragement and protection of manufactures, that duties be laid on goods, wares, and merchandise imported.” In this act was first adopted not Bails the principle of protect- ing native products by duties on imports, but also that of protect- ing shipping by a discrimination in the rate of duty between goods imported in American and those in foreign vessels. It provided specifically, for example, in reference to teas imported from China or India in United States vessels;a light schedule of duties of six, ten, and twelve cents per pound on the lower grades, and of twenty cents on the higher grades, On teas imported from Eu- rope in American vessels a highér duty was imposed of eight, thirteen, and sixteen cents on the lower grades, and twenty-six cents on the higher. { On teas imported in foreign vessels the duties were fifteen, twenty-two, and twenty-seven cents on the lower grades, and forty-five on the higher, On other East India goods imported in foreign vessels an ad valorem duty of twelve and a half per cent was laid. A tariff was adopted comprising a schedule not so long as that of the present day, but still consid- erable, and it was provided that upon dutiable goods imported in American vessels a discount should be allowed of ten per cent. The next act on the statute-book was based on the same gen- eral idea of protection to American shipping. It was that of July 20, 1789, imposing duties on tonnage, namely: on ships built in the United States and owned by Americans, six cents a ton; on ships built in the United States and owned by foreigners, thirty cents; and on ships built and owned abroad, fifty cents. These two acts, embodying the principle of a discount on the du- ties imposed on goods imported in American vessels, and a dis- criminating duty on tonnage, together with three others, one for the collection of the duties, a second for registration and enroll- ment, and a third assuming to the General Government control of lights and other aids to navigation, comprised the whole legis- lation under which the foreign commerce of this period was car- ried on. One of the most important provisions of the first tariff act was that relating to the East India trade. Not only was an induce- ment held out to American ships to bring to America East India products, but by drawing a distinction between these goods when brought from the country of their production, and the same goods ‘Tresdoy qif oy Sunjeg—ryor A NEW ENGLAND'S EAST INDIAN TRADE. 525 as brought from European ports, the Government put a premium upon the long East India trade voyages, of which the Americans of New England were not slow to take advantage. They had all the more reason for doing this, in that the false restrictive policy of England had closed this trade to English subjects generally, through the monopoly of the East India Company. The result was, that Massachusetts merchants, who already had some forty vessels employed in the trade, rapidly enlarged their ventures, and laid the foundation of those great fortunes which constitute the origin of the wealth of so many of the older New England families. These merchants shipped cargoes sometimes directly to the East, sometimes to intermediate ports, to be replaced by other cargoes of suitable character, and brought back for the use of their countrymen immense quantities of tea, spices, sugar, coffee, silks, nankeen and other cloths—all of them articles of great value in proportion to their bulk, and therefore yielding heavy profits in the carrying trade; and whatever did not find a market at home was reshipped from New England ports and sold at Hamburg or other commercial centers of northern Eu- rope. It may be said that the marked commercial feature of the period was the development of this trade. It was the era of which Hawthorne speaks in his famous description of the Custom- House, in the introduction to The Scarlet Letter, where he calls up “the image of the old town’s brighter aspect, when India was a new region, and only Salem knew the way thither.” In 1790 an act was passed for the government and regulation of seamen. This act embodied the best usages then prevailing in reference to the employment of seamen, and made it the subject of specific requirements and prohibitions. A*written contract was to be entered into with the seamen, specifying the voyage and the rate of wages. In the absence of the shipping articles required by law, the master had no control over his men, and was compelled to pay for their services the highest current rates, the ship itself being made liable for wages. Masters were for- bidden, under heavy penalties, to abandon native mariners in a foreign country; but if, after contracting, the seamen deserted, they were liable to forfeiture of wages, and could be brought back under compulsion. Thisact, with subsequent modifications, forms the basis of existing legislation in regard to seamen. In the same year the tariff was revised and additional duties were imposed. A modification was also made in the method of exacting discriminating duties on goods imported in foreign ves- 526 THE ‘MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF .AMERIGA; sels. The discount on imports in American vessels was discon- tinued, and a general addition of ten per cent was made to the rates of the tariff, when the importation was in foreign ships.’ It differed from the old law, which provided a scale for foreigners and a discount for Americans, in establishing a scale for Ameri- cans, and attaching a supplementary imposition for foreigners, The principle, however, remained the same. In 1793 occurred a slight falling off in the amount of tonnage registered for the foreign trade, which up to this time had shown a steady and very marked development. It is possible that this was due to the alarm caused by the conclusion of the treaty be- tween Algiers and Portugal, by which the Algerine corsairs be- came free to renew their depredations. No serious results fol- lowed, however, and the reduction in tonnage was only moment- ary. There was no set-back in the proportion of exports and imports carried by American vessels, which increased without a break from 23.6 per cent in 1789 to 79.5 in 1793. The restoration of business confidence by the legislation of the First Congress, the establishment of the national credit, the provision of a national revenue, and the success of the new Con- stitution, combined to a give a powerful stimulus to every form of mercantile industry, and the end of this period shows an enor- mous development, ina phenomenally short space of time, in all directions—shipbuilding, shipowning, and the exchange of com- modities with foreign countries. New fields were opened to commercial enterprise. Not only China and India, but the north- west coast of America, invited American mariners to ventures hitherto unknown, and the year 1790 is marked as that of the first - complete voyage ‘of circumnavigation by an American vessel, the Columbia, of Boston, which, under Gray, visited Nootka Sound and.returned home by way of China and the Cape of Good Hope. Two years later Gray made his second voyage, and entered the Columbia River, thus laying the foundation of the great terri- torial acquisitions subsequently made by the United States on the Pacific coast. ‘ Second Pertod, r794-1810. High-water Mark. Average per cent, 89. At the opening of this period, in 1794, Jay’s treaty was, adopt- ed. Among other things the treaty attempted to regulaté West Indian trade. It provided for a free commerce in vessels of over seventy tons between the British West India Islands and the United States, in goods that were the growth, manufacture, or produce Pe JAY’S TREATY, 527 PROPORTION OF AMERICAN Registered CARRIAGE IN FOREIGN TRADE. YEAR. for foreign Exports. Imports. Total exports ; fee and imports. oe Ret SA poh imports an ports ports pis ts: Tons. Per ct.\ Per ct. Per ct. 1794.---| 438,863 | $33,043,725 | $34,600,000 | $67,643,725 | g1.0 | 86.0] 88.5 T705«..-| 529,471 |-7:47,989,872 69,756,268 | 117,746,140 | 92.0 | 88.0 90.0 F700-,-61 | 570,733 58,574,625 81,436,164 | 140,010,789 | 94.0 | 90.0 92.0 W707 28% =) 5975777 51,294,710 75,379,406 | 126,674,116 | 92.0 | 88.0 gO.0 £'7O3, ie.) 003,370 61,327,411 68,551,700 | 129,879,111 | 91.0 | 87.0 89.0 17007 <6 1). 05 7,142 78,665,522 79,069,148 | 157,734,670 | 90.0 | 87.0 88.5 TOO en gs [02007 , 107 70,971,780 91,252,768 | 162,224,548 | 91.0 | 87.0 89.0 TS801....-| - 630,558 93,020,513 | 111,363,511 | 204,384,024 | 91.0 | 87.0 89.0 1802....} 557,760 71,957,144 | 76,333,333 | 148,290,477 | 88.0 | 85.0 86.5 128035457.111. 505,910 55,800,033 64,666,666 | 120,466,699 | 86.0 | 83.0 84.5 1804....| 660,514 77,699,074 85,000,000 | 162,699,074 | 91.0 | 86.0 88.5 T1805... -|'" 744,224 95,566,021 | 120,600,000 | 216,166,021 | 93.0 | 89.0 gI.O £80055, | 6-798,507 101,536,963 | 129,410,000 | 230,946,963 | 93.0 | 89.0 g1.o PhO 7. feel 1 O10,103 108,343,150 | 138,500,000 | 246,843,150 | 94.0 | g0.0 92.0 E500 us. 2) 705,252 22,430,960 56,990,000 79,420,960 | 93.0 | 88.0 90.5 1809....}| 906,855 52,203,233 59,400,000 | 111,603,233 | 88.0 | 84.0 86.0 TSIO7 7. |) .QSI,019 66,757,970 85,400,000 | 152,157,970 | 93.0 | 90.0 QgI.5 of either party, with no higher tonnage and other duties or charges in the ports of either than were exacted by the other. It was stipulated, however, in the twelfth article, that American vessels should carry and land their cargoes in the United States only, and should be prohibited from the carrying of molasses, sugar, cocoa, coffee, and cotton in American vessels either from the British Islands or from the United States to any port of the world except in the United States. Although cotton had not yet be- come a considerable article of export, it was already extensively produced, and Jay’s concession can only be set down to ignorance of the future of the cotton trade. As might have been expected, the provisions of the treaty governing the West India trade were never ratified. The treaty also attempted to regulate commerce in general between the United States and Great Britain, making the illusory statement that “there shall be between all the dominions of his Majesty in Europe and the territories of the United States a re- ciprocal and perfect liberty of commerce and navigation.” This reciprocity consisted in the provision that no higher duties should be paid on ships or merchandise of one party in the ports of the - other than such as were paid for like vessels or merchandise in the ports of all other nations, nor should a higher duty be imposed in one country on the importation of articles which were the growth or the produce of the other than were required on the importation of like articles the produce of a third foreign country. 528 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. The provisions just quoted are reciprocal, but the manner in which reciprocity was put in practice rendered it of questionable benefit to the United States. The East Indian coasting trade and the trade between Europe and the British East Indies, so important to traders from the United States, continued to rest entirely upon the favor of the British Government. The restrictions of the nay- igation laws were not modified. The treaty also contained the following reservation: “The British Government reserves to itself the right of impos- ing on American vessels entering into British ports in Europe a tonnage duty equal to that which shall be payable by British ves- sels in the ports of America; and also such duty as may be ade- quate to countervail the differences of duty now payable on the importation of European and Asiatic goods when imported into the United States in British or American vessels.” The British act giving effect to the treaty, which was not passed until 1797, made no provision for the admission of Ameri- can vessels into the British colonies, and only indicated that American ships were at liberty to import into Great Britain such produce of their own States as was admissible in British vessels. It also took advantage of the stipulation in the treaty providing for a tonnage duty and fora discriminating duty onimports. The treaty, which was little more than a modus vivendi pending the adoption of some reasonable arrangement, came to an end in 1807. It had little influence on the maritime development of the country. One further enactment is to be noticed in the United States during this period, inthe same general direction as those which have been already mentioned. This was the act of March 27, 1804, imposing duties on additional articles, with the usual further im- position of ten per cent on goods imported in foreign vessels, and providing also that a duty of fifty cents per ton, to be denominated “light money,” should be levied and collected on all foreign ves- sels entering the ports of the United States. The only further point noticeable in the legislation of either the United States or Great Britain is the opening of the trade between the United States and the British North American colonies in 1807. Until the close of this period the tonnage in the foreign trade continued to show an enormous increase, rising from four hundred and thirty-eight thousand tons in 1794 to nine hundred and eighty- one thousand tons in 1810, or eight times the amount that the country possessed at the adoption of the Constitution. The pro- portion of American carriage in the foreign trade was maintained SENSITIVENESS UF SHIPPING OUINIERESTS, 529 at ninety per cent, as against twenty-four per cent in 1789. San Juan . : : ‘ : ; ni palayier Mt Clyde : : : : : arZOlO ge Costa Rica . : ; ‘ : oa 70m Barracouta ; : : : : ne else) BS City of Panama ; 14 00she Notwithstanding the eaiant: Sat hing of te Collins line, the period which we are now considering appeared, and in some re- 550 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. spects with reason, to represent a great advance in the progress of maritime industry over that which had preceded it, and to be the forerunner of an equally remarkable development in the fu- ture. The tonnage registered for the foreign trade advanced at an average rate of over one hundred thousand tons per annum. Great as had been the progress made in the sixty years preced- ing, during which the registered tonnage had increased from 123,000 to 943,000, the developments of the period which had now been reached were far more rapid. Tonnage multiplied until it was twenty times its original amount. From carrying one quarter of the goods exported from and imported into the United States, it now carried three quarters; and although there had been peri- ods, and considerable periods, too, when the proportion had risen to nine tenths, yet to the minds of most men a profitable carrying trade still maintained at from seventy to seventy-five per cent represented a prosperous business. Moreover, the falling off in the proportion of the carrying trade did not represent an equal. falling off in the receipts of American owners on account of freights. Many of our vessels found more profitable employment in the trade between foreign ports than in that to or from the home ports, and accordingly passed all their time abroad. The Crimean War, from 1854 to 1856, occupied many European steamers in special service auxiliary to the war, and for a time made new openings for American shipping. The result of this accumulation of favorable indications was shown in an enormous increase in shipbuilding, and consequently of registered tonnage. During nearly three quarters of a century of growth and de- velopment American ships had made a name for themselves all over the world. The sailing clipper, which for forty years had been the type and model of excellence:in ocean shipbuilding, was an American product. By long practice our builders had reached a degree of skill in constructing these vessels equal to that of the finest mechanics, while the abundance and cheapness of materials of which the ships-were built made the first outlay of the ship- owner exceedingly small. It was in these ships that for nearly half a century not only the largest freights of the world were car- ried, but the finest and most profitable as well. Merchants hav- ing valuable cargoes to export would wait for the sailing of a | favorite clipper, and merchants with goods to import would in- struct their correspondents to wait in like manner. In these ships not only did the character of the cargoes cause profits to run high, but the insurance was low, thereby adding materially to SUPERIORITY OF AMERICAN SEA-CAPTAINS, Soi their value. Even as late as the beginning of the period of which we are now speaking the finer qualities of merchandise were almost wholly transported in these vessels. American shipping had a further advantage in the personnel of its crews. The excellent character of American seamen was a matter of common remark in every commercial port of the world. Lindsay thus testifies to their qualities : * | “During the first half of this century the masters of American vessels were as a rule greatly superior to those who held similar positions in English ships, arising in some measure from the lim- ited education of the latter, which was not sufficient to qualify them for the higher grades of the merchant service. American shipowners required of their masters not merely a knowledge of navigation and seamanship but of commercial pursuits, the nature of exchanges, the art of correspondence, and a sufficient knowl- edge of business to qualify them to represent the interests of their employers to advantage with merchants abroad. On all such matters the commanders of English ships, with the exception of the East India Company’s, were at this period greatly inferior to the commanders of the United States vessels. ... . ' Tn confirmation of this opinion Mr. Consul Peter [British consul], of Philadelphia, states: ‘A lad intended for the higher grades of the merchant service in this country, after having been at school some years and acquired (in addition to the ordinary branches of school learning) a competent knowledge of mathe- matics, navigation, ship’s husbandry, and perhaps French, is generally apprenticed to some respectable’ merchant, in whose counting-house he remains two or three years, or at least until he becomes familiar with exchanges and such other commercial matters as may qualify him to represent his principal in for- eign countries. He is then sent to sea, generally in the capacity ‘of second mate, from which he gradually rises to that of cap- Pete os “Nor were the interests of the common seamen overlooked. Boys of all classes, when fit, had the privilege of entering the higher free schools, in which they could be educated for almost every profession. An ignorant native American seaman was therefore scarcely to be found; they all, with few exceptions, knew how to read, write, and cipher. Although in all nations a mariner is considered a citizen of the world, whose home is on * Lindsay, History of Merchant Shipping, vol. iii, p. 15 e¢ seg. 552 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. oe ee the sea, and as such can enforce compensation for his labor in the courts of any country, his contract being recognized by general jurisprudence, the cases of disputes between native-born Ameri- cans and their captains have ever been less frequent both in this country and abroad than between British masters and seamen, owing in a great measure to the superior education and more rig- © orous discipline on board American vessels.” At the same time British seamen, the principal competitors of Americans, had a bad name—so much so that in 1843 the Foreign Office issued a circular of inquiry to the consuls, which stated: “T am desirous of gaining information in regard to instances which have come to your observation of the incompetency of British shipmasters to manage their vessels and their crews— whether arising from deficiency of knowledge of practical navi- gation and seamanship or of moral character.” Some of the answers received to this circular are quoted by Lindsay. H.B.M. Consul Baker, of Riga, stated: “ Foreign ship- masters are generally a more respectable and sober class of men than the British. I have always been convinced that, while Brit- ish shipowners gain by the more economical manner in which their vessels are navigated, they are great losers by the serious’ delays occasioned while on the voyage, and discharging and tak- ing in cargoes, growing out of the incapacity of their shipmasters and their intemperate habits. I have had occasion to remark, while consul in the United States, that American vessels in par- ticular will make three voyages to two of a British vessel, in this way having an immense advantage over their competitor; and also from the superior education, and consequent business habits, obtaining better freights and employment for their vessels on for- eign exchanges.” He further remarked that in several instances he had been compelled, on the representations of the consignees, to take from shipmasters the command of their vessels in a foreign port, and to appoint others for the return voyage; their constant state of intoxication rendering them wholly “unfit to carry on their duties.” It is no wonder that under such conditions American ships had acquired the foremost place as ocean carriers in the world, and that they carried the best freights at the highest rates. Al- though the percentage of the carrying trade in American vessels had been reduced, yet they still obtained the choicest part of the business. They were stancher and faster vessels, they carried more sail, made quicker voyages, and took better care of their ADVENT OF IRON STEAMERS. 550 goods. Both in speed and in safety, the two essential conditions of a successful carrying trade, they were in advance of all rivals. Their officers and crews received higher wages, but so much did they excel in the highest qualities of the sailor, that fewer men were required in the service, and the running expenses were not thereby incréased. Shippers preferred them, insurers preferred them, consignees preferred them, and their profits down to 1856 were enormous. The type of ship which had been so great a source of profit for half a century to American owners was now shortly to become a thing of the past. The days of the sailing clipper were num- bered ; the vessel of the future was to be the iron or steel steamer. This fact had already obtained partial recognition both in the United States and Great Britain. In 1853, of the total tonnage of vessels built in the United Kingdom nearly twenty-five per cent were steamers, and a little more than twenty-five per cent were of iron. From that time on the percentage of iron ships and of steamships in the building tonnage of Great Britain steadily increased, until at the present time three fourths of the vessels built annually are steamers, and none at all are built of wood. Inthe United States, in 1853, twenty-two per cent of the total tonnage built consisted of steamers, but only an inapprecia- ble portion were constructed of iron. «In 1891 half the tonnage built in the United States consisted of steamers, and a little more than one fourth was of iron or steel. It is apparent, therefore, that although in 1853 we were on a level with England in the percentage of steam tonnage built, we were even at that date far behind in iron tonnage; and at the present day, when wood has been totally laid aside as a material for shipbuilding in Eng- land, we are still using it in the proportion of seventy-two per cent, while the whole proportion of our steam tonnage is fifty per cent, as against seventy-one per cent in Great Britain. It is unnecessary to enumerate the figures between these two dates, but it is enough to say that soon after 1853 we fell behind in the comparison, as far as steamers were concerned, and have re- mained behind ever since, while in the adoption of modern ma- terials we have never stood anywhere near the foreign builders. The advantages of iron or steel over wood as a material of construction, may be briefly stated. The metal gives greater buoyancy, greater space for carrying, finer lines, and increased rigidity of hull. It lasts longer, the ship which is constructed of it is better able to resist collision, and is drier and safer and faster. 554 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. The iron hull resists decay, its construction in water-tight. com- partments makes it almost unsinkable, and there is far less danger than in other ships from fire. The advantages of steamers over sailing vessels lie in the very conditions of speed and safety which have already been mentioned. Steamers average three times the speed of sailing vessels at sea, while their greater speed in enter- ing and leaving port and in loading and unloading makes the pro- portion of time saved 4s five to one. As far as the conditions of safety are concerned, their ability to avoid storms and other dangers places them far above sailing vessels. Actual statistics show that they are seven times safer, looking at the number of wrecks in comparison with the number of voyages made. They are therefore more economical and more efficient. Just as the model American packet was superior to the average sailing ves- sel of the period which it represented, so the iron steamer was superior and in much the same qualities to the sailing packet. Thus the iron steamers, which in the fifties Great Britain was turning out at the rate of one fourth of the whole shipbuilding tonnage, gradually increasing to one half and then to three fourths, competed with the clippers on their own exclusive ground. They injured the clippers precisely as the clippers had injured their competitors—they took away all the finer trade. In distant trad- ing for long voyages, andefor cheap and bulky freights, the wood- en sailing vessels might still be run at a profit, but the cream of the business at this period was passing out of their hands. The comparative statement which has been made above justi- fies the assertion that the shipping interests in the United States have been more than conservative in reference to the adoption of modern improvements in the construction of the vehicles of mari- time traffic, and it explains toa great extent the process by which the foreign carrying trade, even from our home ports, has slipped out of our hands. : At this critical period American competition was placed at a disadvantage, not only by the conservatism of builders and own- ers, and by their adherence to the beautiful model of the sailing clipper, which had so long been their darling and their pride, but by commercial and mechanical obstacles to the development of a modern fleet. The building of wooden ships, which had absorbed the attention and employed the labor of great numbers of expert mechanics in the production of half a million tons per annum, was a totally different trade from that of iron shipbuilding which was: to take its place. It required a different kind of plant, different ‘diys soddijo yw OUR -OsS°IN’ THE CHANGE. FROM WOOD: TO -IRON, 555 kinds of tools, and, worse than all, different kinds of mechanics, and they were plants, tools and mechanics of which we had com- paratively few in this country. Wooden shipbuilding, although it had arrived ata nicety and perfection which constituted ita high form of mechanical art, was nevertheless essentially of that class of rude manufactures which a community may undertake with success in its earlier and more rudimentary stage of develop- ment. It had, in fact, been successfully prosecuted by the colo- nists before the Revolution, at a time when machinery was un- known, when co-operative industry was in its infancy, and when, in respect to many of the necessaries of life, the consumer was also the manufacturer. The construction of iron ships could not proceed from any such crude beginnings; it belonged essentially _ toa high state of civilization and to accommunity far advanced in manufacturing arts. It requireda greater amount of capital for the construction of a single vessel of size than the earlier ship- builders ever dreamed of. It required not only skilled labor in putting the ship together, but a great variety of experts in differ- ent branches of industry, through whose co-operation alone the finished product could be obtained. « In the period between 1850 and 1860 we no doubt had the elements in our population for developing a successful iron ship- building industry. Neither then nor since have our people shown any want of mechanical skill, or of the necessary ingenuity and enterprise to carry on with success any branch of manufacture ; and, curiously enough, the recent experience of some of our builders goes to show that a good force of shipwrights, thor- oughly skilled in wood-working, can by training, and in com- bination with a sufficient number of skilled workers in iron, be converted into good iron-workers themselves. But the fact re- mains, that with large numbers of workmen trained to the old ’ business, and almost none who had any experience in the new, it required more than usual persistence and boldness to under- take the conversion of a fleet from wooden sailing vessels into iron steamers. But.this was not the worst of the situation. The change in the character of merchant ships worked wholly for the benefit of our great commercial competitor. As we had had an advantage in the early part of the century in the comparative cheapness and abundance of the materials needed for the kind of shipbuilding then prevailing, so in the latter half of the century England has had the advantage of us in the superior cheapness and abundance 556 THE: MARITIME: INDUSTRIES OF (AMERICA; of the materials required in the new art. So far as we knew, we had neither cheap iron nor suitable coal for working it. We had not the shops or the mechanicseby means of which the ships of the future could be built. Finally, we had an immense number of shipwrights whose business was the production of wooden vessels, and whom no one would undertake to train in the art of building vessels of iron. It may seem strange that in view of its probable future wooden shipbuilding should have gone on to the extent disclosed by the figures in the ten years between 1847 and 1857. During those years the average annual output of American shipyards was four hundred thousand tons. It is because of this distin- guishing characteristic that we have called it the period of over- production. The cause of this overproduction is to be found in certain exceptional circumstances, already alluded to, which cre- ated an urgent, but in some respects, only a temporary demand. The discovery of gold in California in 1849 immediately directed thither a vast stream of population, not only by the overland route, but by way of the Isthmus in the Pacific Mail steamers, and by sailing vessels around the Horn. The Pacific coast in- stantly became a center of population, of production, and of com- mercial activity. All this required ships, and American ships ob- tained the lion’s share of the new business. From 1854 to 1856, again, the existence of the war in Europe, involving three of the principal powers, tended to create an artificial demand for the services of American vessels. The period also was characterized by a marvelous commercial development all over the world. Our import and export trade advanced in these years at an average rate of over fifty millions of dollars per.annum, some years going far beyond that figure, as in 1851, when the increase was eighty- two millions, and in 1856, when it was one hundred and fifteen millions. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the business classes connected directly or indirectly with foreign trade, above all the shipowners and shipbuilders, should have looked forward to an era of uninterrupted prosperity. Ezghth Period, 1859-1861. Culmétnation of Shipbuilding Tonnage. Waning Trade. Average per cent, 66. The period now under’ consideration might really be said to be a part of that immediately preceding it. As it showed, how- ever, a uniform proportion of American shipping in the American carrying trade, and as this proportion was a decided reduction THE HEIGHT OF OVER-PRODUCTION, 557 Sey PROPORTION OF AMERICAN Renter CARRIAGE IN FOREIGN TRADE. YEAR. for foreign Exports. Imports. Total exports c trade. and imports, Tee Ex. | Combined imports and orts. . P ports exports. Tons. Per ct. \ Per ct. Per ct. 1859....| 2,321,674 |$2g92,902,051 |$331,333,341 |$624,235,392 | 63.7 | 69.9 | 66°9 1860....| 2,379,396 | 333,576,057 | 353,616,119 | 687,192,176 | 63.0 | 69.7 66°5 I861....| 2,496,894 | 219,553,833 | 289,310,542 | 508,864,375 | 60.0 | 72.1 65°2 on the average of the preceding period, it is stated separately, in order to point out more clearly the downward tendency then in operation. The percentage was sixty-six as against seventy-two. Commerce still showed great activity, and tonnage continued to increase, until, in the year 1861, it reached the highest figure known in our history, 2,496,000 tons. We know now, as we look back upon the succession of events, that this high figure, the high- est ever reached, represented a fictitious prosperity, and that it was merely the extreme point attained by the overproduction which had been going on without interruption during the pre- ceding years. Most, though not all, of the causes operating at that time were still active, but the conditions were becoming more and more hopeless, in the attempt, by turning out model sailing ships, to compete with a community which had already, in great part, converted its tonnage into iron steamers. It had taken a long time to bring about the change, but the change had come. In 1850 the share of ocean freight carried by steamers was only fourteen per cent; in 1860 it had risen to twenty-eight per cent. Although, according to Lindsay’s computation, the United States in 1860 owned a larger amount of tonnage, includ- ing lake and river steamers, than the United Kingdom, or nearly as muchas Great Britain and all her colonial possessions com- bined, it was, as far as the foreign trade was concerned, a failing ‘business. The higher tonnage was an evil, and not a blessing, and the glories of American ocean traffic, although few recog- nized it, were soon to be a thing of the past. The clearest evidence of overproduction lies in the fact that -in the year 1858 shipbuilding, which, as already stated, had been maintained at an average of 400,000 tons a year during the preced- ing ten years, suddenly dropped to 244,000, and in 1859 to 156,000 tons. Sucha marked reaction, which must have thrown many shipwrights out of employment, could only be accounted for by overproduction. Another significant fact is to be noted in the sales of vessels to foreigners, which up to the year 1854 had averaged 558 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA; ten thousand tons perannum. During the years from 1854 to 1859 inclusive they averaged nearly fifty thousand tons per annum. Ninth Period, 1862-1865. The Civil War. Average per cent, 37. PROPORTION OF AMERICAN Registered CARRIAGE IN FOREIGN TRADE, YEAR. for foreign Exports. Imports. ey Paes Combined trade. aa Im- Ex- imports and ports. | ports. exports. Tons. t Per ct.| Per ct. Per ct. 1862....| 2,173,537 |$190,670,501 |$189,356,677 |$380,027,178 | 44.8 | 54.5 | 50.0 1863....| 1,926,886 | 203,964,447 | 243,335,815 | 447,300,262 | 43.3 | 40.0 41.4 1864....| 1,486,749 | 158,837,988 | 316,447,283 | 475,285,271 24.6 | 30.0 27.5 1865....] 1,518,350 | 166,029,303 | 238,745,580 404,774,883 | 29.9 | 26.1 2 ee EEE Notwithstanding the steadiness of the downward tendency which had been slowly manifesting itself since 1830, it is possible that this tendency might have been arrested, or at least have pro- ceeded with equal slowness, in the thirty years following, had not the civil war intervened. Had the movement only continued with the same deliberateness as during the previous period, we should now be carrying forty-two per cent of our exports and im- ports, instead of thirteen per cent; and there is little doubt that during this time a readjustment of the business of shipowning and of shipbuilding would have taken place, which would, in part at least, have corrected the evils of the situation of 1860. But the war struck a blow at the American merchant marine so rude and so unforeseen as to produce in the shipping interests a condition almost of paralysis. It of course cut off at once the whole carrying trade not only of Southern ports but of Southern products. But this was by no means its worst or most lasting in- jury to American commerce. Although the Confederates had no navy, and were in no position at any time to wage a naval war, yet by procuring cruisers from England of the most efficient type then known, they were able to prosecute an attack upon the mer- chant fleet of the Union more vigorous and more destructive in its results than had been carried on by any nation in any previous war. Nor was there any possibility of returning this attack. In the Revolution and in the War of 1812, as has been already re- marked, our merchant marine, although cut off from the ordinary pursuits of commerce, was able to carry on with great profit the business of privateering as a partial compensation; and an addi- tional compensation lay in the fact that to this distinct element of profit was added an equally distinct loss to its commercial rivals, with whom the nation was then at war. In the war of the re- DECK ASE OFS TONNAGE DURING, THE) CIVIC PWAR. § 559 bellion our enemies had no commerce that we could attack, and we fitted out no privateers; consequently both the profit to our- selves and the losses to our rivals, which had distinguished the earlier wars, which had kept alive maritime activity, and which, as it were, had tided over the period of interrupted trade, were alike wanting. The figures that characterize this period may be briefly noted. Although commerce decreased in 1862, it presently rose again, and, before the war ended, reached a fairly high point. The loss in registered tonnage was about nine hundred thou- sand tons—a sudden fall from the high-water mark of 1861—the decrease being about thirty-eight per cent in four years. The loss was distributed as follows: Tons. epee EI EOAC BUS Oe epee card oj ce occ! s%s ooo a cle ehadigisiies sists 114,939 Ho PONG CROP cnet (2 esp’ gets os Sele gle cia selely 217,126 “ i hey Ae tens chee se as vie asi ope ha ae ata atwinie.<'s 291,383 ie ‘ce BA et cee tose 0 fs Siete doh 0s vigor eisai 8 3% 128,197 PU Siict ee state nee MRI 6 ay 6 ys 5,4 y's sisie ago walalae vies 44 751,595 Beare Dy MOM te etetG CIN sClSsr 5 yc. cs. see cen agers sans 110,000 Average loss, from casualty, say four per cent.............0.. 40,000 USE ES ek re ri 901,595 In estimating the significance of these losses, it is fair to say that, as far as the sales were concerned, they were partly due to the overproduction of the preceding ten years, and also that they consisted in part of vessels of a type that was destined in a few years to pass out of use. Nevertheless, the extraordinary figure of the total tonnage sold, which distinguishes these four years, shows that by far the largest part of the selling movement was owing to the sudden stress of the war, and to a prospect little short of impending ruin, due to this immediate cause, that com- pelled the shipowners to unload their property as rapidly as pos- -sible. The sales were forced sales, and they were made at great pecuniary sacrifice. There was no natural demand that made a sudden call throughout the rest of the world: during the years from 1862 to 1865 for seven hundred and fifty thousand tons of American shipping, and those writers who undertake to show that this great transfer of tonnage was really a relief to the inter- ests involved, willfully ignore the conditions of financial hardship under which it was accomplished. The total amount of tonnage captured—viz., one hundred and ten thousand tons—was far less than the amount of tonnage sold, and seems in comparison a small quantity. The direct losses that it involved were subsequently 560 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. made up to the owners, but the immediate effect upon the com- mercial community of these captures, representing two hundred vessels more or less, is not to be measured by the actual value of the vessels and their cargoes. As the news is reported day after day of the capture, let us say of one vessel a week, during two whole years, the effect upon a commercial community, and es- pecially upon a business as sensitive as shipowning, is neither more nor less than absolute panic, and a panic resulting not from a sin- gle crisis, but from shock after shock, repeated with deadly effect over a protracted period. When we consider the various mani- festations by which such shocks ramify and make themselves felt throughout a commercial community in the rates of marine insur- ance, in the aversion to maritime enterprise, and in the withdrawal of business by shippers, the wonder is not that a merchant marine should diminish in prosperity, but that it should ever be able to recover from such continued and stunning blows. The loss in the proportion of carriage of American freights was thirty-eight per cent, the fall being from sixty-six per cent in 1861 to twenty-eight per cent in 1865. The situation at the close, therefore, showed a nation which had carried ninety per cent of its own exports and imports during the early period of its history, and which had fallen in the course of thirty years to eighty-three, seventy-two, and sixty-six per cent, now reduced in the course © of four years to twenty-eight per cent, and seeing nearly three fourths of its merchandise carried by foreigners. In connection with this subject it is a fact that can not be passed over, that the disastrous influence of the war on our mer- cantile marine was wholly due to the action of our only important commercial rival, whose professed relations with us at the time were those of peace and amity. Now we do not pretend to say, nor do we believe, that British commercial enterprise is in the nature of a conspiracy, or that supplies of “ British gold,” surrep- titiously used, have any influence or control over the commercial destinies of America. It is admitted that in a business competi- tion our competitors are free to get the better of us if they can, and it is for us to do everything in our power to get the better of them if we can. Yet the simple fact remains, that at the. out- break of the war we had but one commercial rival, and that we had up to that time a great and prosperous commerce; that the illegal acts of this rival in the fitting out or permitting the fitting out of cruisers in his own ports, to prey upon’ our commerce, in violation of his friendly professions, in defiance of law, and in the BREPISH AID) LO THE CONFEDERATES. 561 face of the most specific and earnest protest made in ample time to prevent the acts in question, resulted in the capture and de- struction of over one hundred thousand tons of our shipping, in the sale, consequent upon these captures, of three quarters of a million more, and in the almost total extinction of our foreign commerce, to his own great advantage and benefit; and, finally, that the price which was paid by this rival for his unfriendly and illegal acts—namely, $15,500,000, of the Geneva award—was a ridiculously cheap price to pay for the benefits directly resulting to him from these acts. That a commercial state should use every legitimate means to extend its commerce, that it should endeavor to crowd out its rivals, that it should seize every possi- ble advantage, is to be expected. That it should in an open war try to crush its enemy’s commerce, is reasonable. But that it should take advantage, when at peace with its rival, of a con- dition of feebleness brought about by the strain of a civil war, to perform covertly illegal acts of hostility, whereby a great national industry is ruined, is a matter for which the payment of a few million dollars of indemnity is no compensation. Whatever may be said of British policy in reference to protection and subsidy, no other nation ever gave such protection to its shipyards as that afforded by the Government of Great Britain during our civil war, or subsidies having such far-reaching results as the indem- nity which it was obliged to pay by reason of its having afforded this protection. It protected British shipbuilders in the building of vessels fitted for war cruisers, and it protected shipowners by allowing the vessels so built to escape from its jurisdiction and exterminate our.commerce. The mere capture of one hundred thousand tons of shipping is in itself no great matter. Even the sale of seven hundred and fifty thousand tons in four years is not an irreparable disaster; but the loss by interruption of commerce, by the advance in insurance premiums, by general alarm and panic, and, above and beyond all, by the diversion of trade into new channels, which the wrong-doer himself was ready to occupy, and, having once acquired, to retain in possession, can not be esti- mated in dollars and cents. Tenth Period, 1866-1871. Reaction. Average per cent, 34. During this period, as might be expected, commerce showed an immense increase, the natural rebound after the decline dur- ing the war. Tonnage held its own, for a time increasing, and remained at the end almost the same that it had been at the be- 36 562 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. PROPORTION OF AMERICAN . CARRIAGE IN FOREIGN TRADE, Registered Total exports YEAR, hor foreign Exports. Imports. and imports. ‘ < Combined a ey X- | exports and ports. | ports. imports. Tons. Per ct. | Per ct. Per ct. 1866....| 1,387,756 |$348,859,522 |$434,812,066 |$783,671,588 | 25.1 | 37.7 a27% 1867....| 1,515,648 | 294,506,141 | 395,761,096 | 690,267,237 | 28.0 | 39.1 33-9 1868....] 1,494,389 | 281,952,899 | 357,436,440 | 639,389,339 | 33.0 | 36.6 366% 1869....| 1,496,220 | 286,117,697 | 417,506,379 | 703,624,076 | 31.3 | 34-9 33.1 1870....| 1,448,846 | 392,771,768 | 435,958,408 | 828,730,176 | 33.1 | 37-7 35.6 1871....| 1,363,652 | 442,820,178 | 520,223,684 | 963,043,862 | 31.0 | 32.6 31.8 ginning. The percentage of American carriage in the foreign trade increased from the lowest figures of the war—twenty-eight per cent—but the increase was slight and unimportant, the effect of mere reaction. In 1868 and 1870 it rose as high as thirty-five’ per cent, but the average was thirty-four, as against sixty-six in the last year of the ante-bellum period. Legislation, so far from ameliorating the situation, only made it more burdensome and discouraging. The act of February 10, 1866, prevented the re- turn to our registry of vessels which had passed during the war under a foreign flag. Perhaps we had lost so much of the carry- ing trade that they would have found only a restricted employ- ment; but however that might be, the law was an obstruction to the re-establishment of business in its previous channels. The continuance after the war of the internal revenue tax of two per cent on the hulls of vessels built, and of three per cent on marine engines (the latter increased to five per cent by the act of March 3, 1865), neither of which was repealed until March 31, 1868, was another fatal mistake. In fact, the domestic production of nearly every form of material or article used in shipbuilding, including masts, spars, paints, sails, pig-iron, manufactured iron, castings, steel, rivets, copper, and lead, was taxed under the comprehen- sive internal revenue acts adopted to provide for the necessities of the Government during a crisis. It is no wonder, under these circumstances, that there was no revival of shipbuilding, and no immediate recovery in the shipping business, such as had been seen at the close of the earlier wars. An act of Congress of February 16, 1865, authorized the estab- lishment of an ocean mail service between San Francisco and China and Japan. Under the provisions of this act a mail con- tract was entered into with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, by which it received an annual compensation of five hundred thousand dollars for carrying the mails. The new line was started LOSS OF THE WAR NOT RECOVERED. 563 Sinica in 1867, with four four-thousand-ton steamers, luxurious in their internal arrangements, but built of wood, with paddle-wheels and walking-beam engines. In 1850 they would have been fine ships; in 1867 they were obsolete. All of them have long since disap- peared. No better illustration could be given of the fatal con- servatism of American shipping interests than the policy pursued in this period subsequent to the war of our greatest American steam navigation company. The distressing character of the civil war so close to our doors, and its complete absorption for the time of the energies of the whole people, caused a sort of torpor, the result of physical exhaustion, to settle upon the country during the first years im- mediately following it. Buta reaction soon set in, and commer- cial and manufacturing enterprise began to renew its activity. The volume of imports and exports increased with surprising rapidity. Toward the close of this period the internal develop- ment of the country, especially in the matter of railroads, took enormous strides and began to absorb vast amounts of capital. In the years 1870 and 1871 there was an incréase of fourteen thousand in the mileage of roads operated. It might have been expected that the carrying trade would advance along with other industrial interests, but, as a matter of fact, the discouragement caused by the war, following upon the misdirected efforts of the previous ten years, had given shipowners an experience which acted as a powerful deterrent from further enterprise in this field. The shipbuilders were not yet in a condition to furnish an Amer- ican merchant fleet of modern type; the shipowners were not in a condition to employ it. When trade has fixed itself in new channels it is not easy to restore it to the old, and it was doubly difficult when the occupant of the new field possessed such over- whelming advantages in the building of ships. To these facts must be added another, perhaps the most important, that the in- ternal development of the country offered employment for capital far more promising and more attractive, and far less open to com- petition, than merchant shipping. Agriculture, manufactures, the development of cities, and land transportation, as competitors in the employment of capital, completed the work which had been begun by the shipowners of Great Britain as competitors in the earning of freight. The two influences combined were all-suf- ficient to account for our failure to recover our proportion of the carrying trade during the twenty years following the war. During this period the condition and prospects of the mercan- 564 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA, tile marine received much attention, and were the subject of ex- ‘tended comment both in the press and in Congress, but without leading to any definite result. The Lynch report, so called from its author, the chairman of the Committee on Commerce in the House of Representatives, was submitted to the House February 17,1870. It contained an exhaustive review of the subject, and advocated the passage ofa bill remitting duties on importations of shipbuilding material and of ships’ stores. It also recommended a bounty to sailing and steam vessels engaging during six months of the year in the foreign trade. The report was widely dis- cussed, but the bill failed to pass. The American Steamship Company of Philadelphia was or- ganized in 1871, for the establishment of a freight and passenger line between Philadelphia and Liverpool. Four vessels were built by Cramp for this line—the Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. They are iron screw steamers of about thirty-two hun- dred tons, of excellent construction, and are still running. The pioneer of the line—the Pennsylvania—was launched in August, 1872, and made her first voyage in May, 1873. During the last twenty years the American Steamship Company stands out among the immense fleets of transatlantic traffic as the only important line sailing under the American flag. It passed ultimately into the hands of the International Navigation Company, an American corporation, which also controlled the Inman Line between New York and Liverpool, and the Red Star, Line between New York and Antwerp. Under the direction of its able president, Mr. Clement A. Griscom, the foremost man to-day in the business of American shipping, this company bids fair to lead the way in the restoration of the merchant marine. Eleventh Pertod, 1872-1879. Return to War Figures. Average per cent, 27. In this period a steady decrease in imports, with an equally steady and marked increase in exports, kept the total of commer- cial exchanges at a nearly uniform figure of about eleven hundred millions perannum. Tonnage remained stationary, but the carry- ing trade was passing away from our hands. The utmost effect of the reaction from the war had spent itself. Thirty-five per cent was the highest point attained through this influence. In the seventies we went back to a point even lower than that reached in 1865, and our proportion of the carrying trade was re- duced to twenty-seven per cent. In this period the Pacific Mail contract was discontinued. ‘gies ev ut drysuivoys ev Suipivoq joyid yIOX MAN V MU hati’ DECLINE, 565 — PROPORTION OF AMERICAN Registered CARRIAGE IN FOREIGN TRADE, YEAR. | for foreign Exports. Imports. Total exports foade. and imports. ine Ee. Aaa im i: ports, ports BA Tons. Per ct. | Per ct. Per ct. 1872..| 1,359,040 |$444,177,586 |$626,595,077 | $1,070,772,663 | 26.8 | 29.8 2015 7573.2) 1,378,533. | 522,470,022 | 642,136,210 | 1,164,616,132 | 27.0 | 25.7 Boe 1874..| 1,389,815 | 586,283,040 | 567,406,342 | 1,153,689,382 | 30.2 | 24.6 A he 1875..| 1,515,598 | 513,442,711 | 533,005,436 | 1,046,448,147 | 29.2 | 23.7 26.2 1876..| 1,553,705 | 540,384,671 | 460,741,190 | 1,001,125,861 | 30.8 | 25.4 PA hg 1877..| 1,570,600 | 602,475,220 | 451,323,126 | 1,053,798,346 | 31.5 | 23.7 26.9 1878..| 1,589,348 | 694,865,766 | 437,051,532 | 1,131,917,298 | 32.2 | 22.6 203 1879. .| 1,451,505 | 710,439,441 | 445,777,775 | 1,156,217,216 | 32.6 | 17.6 23.0 What the general falling off had been may be illustrated by the following figures: In the year ending September 30, 1822, the American vessels entering the port of New York registered 217,- ooo tons, the foreign vessels 22,000 tons. In the year ending June 30, 1874, the entrances of American vessels at New York were 1,124,000 tons, and of foreign vessels 3,925,000 tons. In 1850, 1,600,000 tons of American shipping entered at ports of the United States, and ‘1,300,000 tons of foreign shipping; in 1860, 3,300,000 tons of American to 1,700,000 of foreign; while in 1871 the proportion was 2,600,000 American and 4,300,000 foreign. The general discussion of remedial measures continued. In 1872 the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Boutwell, submitted a plan to the Committee on Commerce of the House of Represent- atives, embodying a scheme for a bounty on the construction of iron vessels to be employed in foreign commerce. The experi- ment was to be tried for five years. The plan, however, came to nothing. In the same year, the act of June 6, 1872, provided for the entry duty free of material imported for use in wooden ship- building. The value of materials admitted under this act has been about seventy thousand dollars annually. Twelfth Period, 1880-1890. F: urther Decline. Average per cent, 16. Of this period there is little to be said. Commerce took a new start in 1880, and the aggregate of exports and imports has risen in twelve years from eleven hundred millions to seventeen hun- dred millions. The American carrying trade has experienced a further decline, the proportion finally falling to thirteen per cent instead of twenty-seven in the previous period. American car- riers retain a larger share of the import than of the export trade, but both are so low that the difference hardly seems material. 566 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. PROPORTION OF AMERICAN Registered CARRIAGE IN FOREIGN TRADE, YEAR. | for are Exports. Imports. cera ' e Combined trace. ie ie imports and ports ports os ore Tons. Per ct.\ Per ct. Per ct. 1880. .] 1,314,402 |$835,638,658 | $667,954,746 | $1,503,593,404 | 22.00| 13.07 E76 . 1881. .] 1,297,035 | 902,377,346 | 642,664,628 | 1,545,041,974 | 19.90} 13.30 16.2 1882..| 1,259,492 | 750,542,257 | 724,639,574 | 1,475,181,831 | 19.20| 12.80 16.0 1883..| I,269,681 | 823,839,40% | 723,180,914 | 1,547,020,316 | 20.70] 33.40 17.0 1884..| 1,276,972 | 740,513,609 | 667,697,693 | 1,408,211,302 | 22.40] 14.40 18.4 1885. .) 1,262,814 | 742,189,755 | 577,527,329 | 1,319,717,084 | 21.30] 13.70 17.0 1886..] 1,088,041 | 679,524,830 | 635,436,136 | 1,314,960,966 | 20.00 | 13.60 16.8 1887..| 989,412 | 716,183,211 | 692,319,768 | 1,408,502,979 | 18.60] 12.20 15.4 1888..] 919,302 | 695,954,507 | 723,957,114 | 1,419,911,621 | 18.50] 11.70 15.1 1889..| 999,619 | 742,401,375 | 745,131,652 | 1,487,533,027 |17.08/11.62| 14.3 1890..| 928,062 | 857,828,684 | 789,310,409 | 1,647,139,093 | 16.60] 9.03 12.8 Even the tonnage in the foreign trade has fallen below one million for the first time since 1846. The year 1891 showed a slight im- provement in tonnage, the figure for that year being 988,719 tons, as against 928,062 tons in 1890; but a part of this gain has since been lost, the amount for 1892 being 977,624 tons. The legislation of this period included the act of June 16, 1884, providing that imported merchandise needed as supplies for merchant vessels of the United States might be withdrawn from warehouse free of duty. Under this act, goods amounting in value to about sixty-five hundred dollars are annually with- drawn. Toward the close of the period came a much more important piece of legislation—the Postal Contract Act of March 3, 1891. This will be considered at length in a later place. 1,584,254 351,554 1,935,808 PERCU LCS 61a, .o = bic seen o.aielcdyiels ooo 143,346 1,567,539 1,710,885 OSs spo OL Se a eee 506,351 930,640 1,436,991 on ud treet ec eee 773,030 498,958 1,271,988 REE Si eyes vie vio ois sicisin e's b+ 6 875,692 304,605 1,180,297 1 I nai: Ss al nl a 683,162 430,886 1,114,048 “ROE ES SS eee a 1,046,895) Wot Setegeneaty 1,046,895 MMOD acai a io erg siate'e ce sieie sia oleae 2.2 151,303 851,440 1,002,743 PUMASOT rials fat cee wc gies css en eee ss 939,021 59,438 998,459 EP ALISOLSIINTS fee ccc cist cis sicltea sieeve. we| (5 0 leew acete 936,541 936,541 RNG Pet LIC cter ss ole oa 0-6 $5'¢, eee os. * 615,750 148,803 764,553 io Oke Stee SC Se SE ae eae 402,847 288,271 691,118 eS cs cin oie als Nm Se dr ee oes Hs 470,044 192,860 662,904 REP ies oi Swi iss she din dials ne. + © 28,096 601,814 629,910 WMRIEETPO LOM sais ects ss certs theo ore neces 276,229 351,398 627,627 MOP E Abie Sao! af lc aseiahs's bcs 's 30s oe 6 4 8 346,899 273,874 620,773 SAIS. isco as vine west seescens 305,029 297,374 602,403 el RR eRe eee 25,930,132 25,266,974 51,203,106 574 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. FISHERIES. In the colonial period fisheries were an extensive, prosperous, and remunerative industry. The importance of encouraging them was recognized by the home Government, which paid a bounty of £20,000 per annum to American fishermen. At the outbreak of the Revolution the active sale of fish in the West Indies in exchange for'rum and molasses ceased, the bounty was withdrawn, and for the time being the fisheries were almost an- nihilated. It did not, however, take them long to revive. In 1790 the cod fishery employed four hundred and eighty vessels, aggregat- ing 27,000 tons, and the amount of fish taken was 400,000 quintals per annum. The interests of the fishermen were carefully looked after by the Government. No tonnage duty was exacted of fish- ing vessels, and a bounty was provided by law to replace that of the pre-Revolutionary period. The rights of fishermen on the coasts of the British North American provinces were the subject of endless negotiations and of repeated treaty stipulations. The period of highest development in American fisheries was from 1836 to 1862 for the whale fishery, and from 1852 to 1864 for the cod and mackerel fishery. The former, in 1858, boasted a regis- tered tonnage of 198,594 tons. Since that time it has shown a steady decrease. It received its first severe blow during the war from the depredations of the Confederate cruisers, especially the Shenandoah, in Bering Sea, in 1865. Subsequently the new uses and applications of petroleum still further reduced its operations, until it has now fallen to 17,231 tons. The seventy-one vessels representing this tonnage are distributed between seven ports in the United States—Boston, Barnstable, Edgartown, and New Bedford, in Massachusetts; Stonington and New London, in Con- necticut; and San Francisco. Of these, New Bedford takes the lead, with a total tonnage of 12,550; and San Francisco is second, with a total of 3,021 tons. Of the New Bedford tonnage, how- ever, only go2 tons are steam vessels, whereas the whole amount credited to San Francisco is steam tonnage. The products of the whale fisheries amounted, in 1890, to $895,901 ; in 1891, to $952,990. Of the two principal rivals in this trade, the New Bedford product has decreased in productive value from $325,752 in 1890 to $264,- 977 in 1891, while the San Francisco product has increased in the same period from $470,036 in 1890 to $571,509 in 1891. These figures go to show that the seat of the whale fishery is being LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. x ve t ‘ ee i ; te 4 . —_ 4 ‘eiueduies drysuresys EXTENT OF OUR FISHERIES. 575 I a gradually transferred from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The opening of railroad communication has made it cheaper to land cargoes from whalers at San Francisco and ship them by rail over the country than to take the long voyage by way of Cape Horn. The cod and mackerel fishery reached its highest point in 1862, when the tonnage thus employed was 231,597 tons. Since that period it has shown a great decrease—not, however, by any means to the extent of the whale fishery. In 1891 there were em- ployed in the cod and mackerel fishery fourteen hundred and eighty-three vessels, with a total tonnage of 68,933 tons. The vessels are distributed over a small number of States, comprising, in addition to the maritime States of New England, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, California, Ore- gon, and Alaska. Massachusetts heads the lst, with seven hun-' dred and twenty-six vessels, having a tonnage of 42,989; and Maine stands second, with three hundred and ninety-six vessels, having a tonnage of 11,688. These two comprise nearly five sixths of all the vessels so employed in the United States. Taking all classes of ocean products which can be comprised under the designation of fisheries, including shellfish, it appears that there were employed in the coast fisheries of the United States, in 1888, 137,444 persons, employing vessels and boats to the value of $3,082,000, and a total of property of all kinds, in- cluding apparatus of capture, capital, shore property, etc., of $45,000,000. The value of the fisheries during the year under consideration, as stated by the Fish Commissioner, was $34,234,- 045. Among the States represented, Massachusetts heads the list with $6,000,000, California stands second, and New Jersey third. GENERAL ACCOUNT OF EQUIPMENT AND OPERATION. (From the census of 1890.) TABLE I.—EQUIPMENT. Number, Tonnage, and Value of all Steamers, Sailing Vessels, and Unrigged Craft registered tn the Ports of the Untted States, December 31, 1859. STEAM VESSELS, SAILING VESSELS. GEOGRAPHICAL — MY ISIONS: Number.} Long tons. Value. Number.} Long tons. Value. Atlantic coast...... 2,713 | 793,571 | $70,593,090 | 6,490 | 1,383,108 | $45,545,357 Gulf of Mexico..... 220 45,591 2,961,450 613 17,249 788,110 bearer coast... 531 170,503 15,526,455 822 208,080 6,715,570 Great Lakes....... 1,489 599,949 41,193,324 987 187,006 4,275,050 Mississippi Valley. .| 1,114 210,772 LO,5 30:25 le gta coe etece even a miter atk - SEALS fo oir o « 6,067 | 1,820,386 |$140,813,570 | 8,912 | 1,795,443 | $57,324,687 576 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. a TABLE I.—Continued. UNRIGGED, TOTAL, GEOGRAPHICAL Divisions. Number.| Long tons. Value. Number.| Long tons. Value. Atlantic coast...... 3,250 | 617,761 | $7,735,730 | 12,453 | 2,794,440 | $123,874,177 Gulf of Mexico..... 175 14,722 IOI,7I0O | 1,008 77,502 3,851,270 Pacie. coastaen 489 63,356 825,345 | 1,842 441,939 23,067,370 Great Lakes....... 308 | 139,400 3,472,500 | 2,784 | 926,355 48,941,474 Mississippi Valley..| 6,339 | 3,182,608 4,795,754 | 7:453 | 3,393,380 15,335,005 Polal ina. 10,561 | 4,017,847 | $16,931,039 | 25,540 | 7,633,676 | $215,069,296 TABLE IJ].—FREIGHT TRAFFIC. Statement showing the Freight Movement tn Tons by all Classes of United States Commerctal Craft operating during the Year ended December 31, 1880. GEOGRAPHICAL DIvISIONS. By steamers. Nicene On enneee Total all craft. tlantic’ Comat seu alah. es ee 28,778,341 38,283,401 10,535,884 77,597,026 Gulfiof .Mexi€oc. sas anteckns eee 1,455,450 1,359,526 49,980 2,864,956 Pacihie coast ceri eae 741,940 2,761,826 314,597 8,818,363 Great) bakes ee sut. seen eee 20,181,483 19,302,949 13,940,000 53,424,432 MississippieValléye......cccn cee 10,345,504 | Geax eee 19,059,542 29,405,046 Total fic. ohistis soak on meee 66,502,718 61,707,702 43,900,003 | 172,110,423 TABLE III.—CREWS AND WAGES. Statement showing the Total Number of Persons of all Classes employed to make up the Ordinary Crews of all Operating Vessels of the United States during the Year ended December 31, 18809. STEAMERS AND UNRIGGED. SAILING recnre: TOTAL ALL CRAFT. GEOGRAPHICAL . Divisions. No. of Amount of No. of Amount of No. of Amount of employees.| wages paid. |employees.| wages paid. employees. wages paid. Atlantic coast....} 23,174 |$10,358,426 | 31,685 |.$8,503,773 | *54,859 | * $18,862,199 Gulf of Mexico... 2,479 880,743 1,412 335,001 * 3,891 * 1,215,744 Pacifie coast... = 9,750 3,682,062 6,059 2,445,639 15,809 6,127,701 Great Lakes..... 18,095 6,519,891 5,909 1,854,188 24,004 8,374,079 Mississippi Valley.| 15,996 6.399, SO2M Peaieccitn rie « Biats sie eas 15,996 5,338,862 otal te. ae 69,494 |$26,779,984 | 45,065 |$13,138,601 | * 114,559 | * $39,918,585 Having outlined briefly the history of American shipping, more particularly of the foreign trade, during its first century, it remains to examine the influences that are now operating upon its development. It is necessary, in the first place, to distinguish between the three great forms of maritime industry; to compare them from the * Exclusive of pleasure craft on the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico. Poevien CHANT hike SHIPOW NER; AND THE SHIPBUILDER. 577% point of view of national importance; and to notice in what re- spect they are antagonistic or interdependent, and how they are affected, beneficially or adversely, by surrounding conditions. The three branches of maritime industry are commerce, or the movement of merchandise to a market, which is the business pri- marily of the merchant or shipper, though it concerns indirectly the producer and manufacturer; second, transportation, or, as it is commonly called, the carrying trade, which concerns the ship- owner; third, construction, which is the business of the shipbuild- er. Viewed narrowly, the interests of these three classes—the mer- chant, the shipowner, and the shipbuilder—are in many respects hostile ; an increase of profits for one means a loss of profits for the other. The merchant wants low freights. The profits of the shipowner lie in high freights and in ships that can be cheaply built and cheaply run. The shipbuilder is in search of a high rate of profit in ship construction. So far the interests are an- tagonistic; but from the broader and truer standpoint they run together. The merchant wants low freights, but nothing tends so much to lower freights as cheap ships and plenty of them. He is therefore directly benefited by the increased number and prosperity of builders and shipowners. The shipowner wants cargoes; and the extension of markets and increased volume of exchanges which make the prosperity of the merchant are also a source of prosperity to himself. He, too, wants cheap ships, and to that end the surest road is a flourishing shipbuilding industry. The shipbuilder wants a great demand for his ships, and sucha demand can only come through the large volume of business which is given by the merchant to the shipowner. Hence, the three interests are closely interdependent, and each must work upon broad lines for the welfare of the other. Without such co- operation ultimate success in maritime enterprise is well-nigh im- possible. The two great commercial rivals of the world to-day are the United States and Great Britain. The United States, from being considerably in advance, has fallen far behind, but, nevertheless, these two still remain the great shipping nations of the world. The secret of Great Britain's success is largely to be f und in the co-operation of these three interests, by means of which all anfago- nisms are adjusted; and with each the first principle is, the union of all against a common rival. In America the opposite result is in great part due, if not to antagonism, at least to an absence of intelligent co-operation, and to the inability or unwillingness on a7 578 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. the part of one interest or the other to yield any material advan- tage, although thereby a great and lasting benefit may be secured for all together. In reference to foreign commerce in its restricted meaning— that is to say, the exchange of commodities with other nations—. there is not much to be said here, because, although in one sense a maritime industry, it is only so in reference to the vehicles of trans- portation. It does not, therefore, fall within the present subject to trace the influences under which the total imports and exports of the United States have increased from 48,000,000 in 1790 to 219,000,000 in 1845, and to 1,700,000,000 in 1891, being an average increase of 16,500,000 per annum, and during the last half century of 33,000,000 per annum. There have been occasional checks in this advance, but they have been too moderate to disturb mate- rially the steadily increasing totals. To examine into the causes of these fluctuations would involve a discussion not only of the com- mercial legislation of this and other countries, but of the course of production in agriculture, mining, and manufactures, and of the laws governing markets at home and abroad. Without going into this discussion, certain facts may be noticed as indicating the close relation between the business of exchange and the business of transportation. _ One of the primary elements in determining a commerce is the cost of freights. An almost infinitesimal difference in the cost of laying down grain at Liverpool may decide the question whether our surplus wheat product, in any given year, shall find a market there. If, therefore, the carrying trade is in hostile hands, sufh- ciently united among themselves to make a combination, it may easily, in part at least, cut off a market. It will no doubt be said that the question of freights, like any other question of commercial profit, is regulated by the laws of supply and demand. This is true whérever unrestricted compe- tition exists, but where one community is seeking a market and is dependent upon another for transportation, the conditions upon which transportation shall be furnished will be largely deter- mined by the general policy of the latter in reference to the mar- ket which shall be afforded to its competitor. It is idle to say, in the face of what we see daily, in comparing the foreign commer- cial relations of England with those of the United States, that the carrying trade is simply a question of profit. There are combi- nations in reference to maritime trade and transportation as well as in every other industrial enterprise, and the policy of helping COMPARISON WITH THE COMMERCE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 579 those who are on the inside of the combination, and cutting off those who are not, goes on continuously here as elsewhere. Itis perfectly legitimate, as a business method, for the various interests involved in maritime enterprise to give each other, as they inva- riably do in England, this mutual support, and the failure to adopt a similar policy has beyond all doubt operated greatly to the dis- advantage of the United States. The fields of commercial activity covered respectively by the two countries are shown in the following table: Commerce of the United States and Great Britain compared. CouNTRIES. cere eee eeeeeee Austria (BYEWAI LY Scie RES are Ne cere Denmark MON MTR eoae France French poss. (Africa).... Germany Great Britain Gibraltar British North America... Br. W. I. and Br. Guiana British Honduras eee eee es eee tone eee eee ees ose ece eC ey Hong-Kong Australasia (British) British poss. (Africa) .... Tee err eee eee ee eee Italy eee e oes ee eee eee ers ee scee eee es see eee eee Peru eset eee e reer ee ee oe oe Ce Spain Cuba and Porto Rico.... Other Spanish possessions Sweden and Norway..... Turke eer ee ses ee ese eresese escort ee oe ee ees oe eee e are eere NOMEN oe oo ele 6 9 9 O02 WIETIEZUCI AI sce se sete esse PUMOETICES Fo W500 o's cise UNITED STATES (July x, 1890-June 30, 1897). Exports. $2,820,035 I, 311,083 14,120,246 6,813,316 3,145,025 8, 701,008 3, 182,644 3)317,137 636,515 903,159 60,693, 190 609,919 92,795,450 445,414,026 480, 105 39,843,755 11,637,880 462,839 4,400, 103 4,768,697 13,017,132 3,141,799 159,445 6,983, 504 24,113,977 2,102,942 71925) 592 14,619,335 14,380, 122 305,058 4,943,180 330,609 1,076,575 4,784,956 11,489, 439 GREAT Britain, 1890. Imports. $5,976, 544 I 1,595,310 10,945,672 83,230,595 9,799, 122 3,448,290 19,321,850 4,765,354 268, 288,381 836,437 76,688,995 390,953 97,316,383 194, 723,262 82,829 40,434,535 21,176,390 219,090 23,350,989 503,275 6,239,021 959,401 1,378,333 4,853,814 21,678,208 19,309, 198 27,295,992 12,422, 174 6,778,992 386, 518 1,618,252 458331345 6,033,481 64,878, 505 5,206, 746 3) 723)201 6,260,835 2,350,739 12,078, 541 33) 129,241 Total. Exports. Imports. $8, 796, 579 12,906,393 38, 486,096 975350,841 16,612,438 6,593,915 28,022,858 7,947,998 3)585,823 924,896 1,739,590 137,382, 185 1,000,872 190, 11,839 640,137,288 562,934 80,278,290 32,814,270 681,929 27,757,092 51331;972 19,256,153 4,101,200 1,537)778 11,837,378 3797259133 24,116,891 42,205,612 36,536, 151 881,934 1,786,509 6,605,390 12,758,937 20,652,816 79,258,627 5,511,804 8,666, 381 6,591,444 3:433)314 16,863,497 44,018,680 $48,244,725 8,245,398 66, 168,902 371934) 722 5,048,940 16,379, 782 32,913,215 5,886,606 14,249,141 575,712 1,502,639 I10,255, I22 2,220,379 148, 501,482 4,360, 798 40,259, 302 19,089, 537 579,843 190,862,689 13,347,042 123,950,698 53,979,955 6,010, 742 2,663,965 41,478,197 20,377,850 957945133 80,034,414 8,151,650 6,009, 378 12, 714,402 43,049,321 37) 752,095 14,158,123 7:446,674 34,076, 542 52,562,380 225,513,069 10,059,324 4,076,152 43,629,005 $20,097,682 8,410,952 84,599,146 21,172,559 6,425,264 16,903,048 23) 509,331 1,480,687 37) 731,867 11,601 354,489 218,156,182 4,509,998 126,885,866 "242,828 60,661,105 13,209,078 1,339,714 200,929, 783 5,961,774 142,835,881 36, 168,676 9,551,956 436,005 15,056,552 4,988, 128 2,042,407 125,846,846 5,951,910 5) 127,3€5 14,318, 186 115,583,598 60,870,775 622,447 8,866,485 57:942,227 64,168,374 4731429, 418 1,653,888 1,581,558 47,112,809 Total. $68, 342,407 16,656,350 150, 768,048 59,107,281 11,474,204 33,282,830 50,422,546 7,307,293 51,981,008 587,313 1,857,128 328,411,304 6,736,377 275,387,348 eevee rt ores 100,920, 407 32,298,615 1,919,557 391,792,472 19,309,416 266, 786,579 90, 145,631 I 5) 562,698 3,099,970 56,534) 749 25,305,978 12,436, 540 205,881,260 14, 103, 560 11,136,743 27,032,588 158,632,919 98,623,470 14, 780, 570 16,313,159 92,018, 769 116,730, 754 698,943,087 II ’ 713) PAPA 5,057,710 90,741,814 Social and political’ as well as commercial conditions affect On the west coast of South the business of transportation. America the trade is entirely in English hands, although the 580 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF AMERICA. English have there no natural advantage over the Americans. Australia and New Zealand have an extensive commerce; they lie nearer to the United States than to England; they need much that we produce as well as or better than any other nation in the world, and they produce much that we want: yet virtually their whole commerce goes to England. In 1879, Australia sent $35,- 000,000 of wool to the mother country, of which the United States bought over $23,000, 000, thereby paying double freights and double cost for handling. Our total trade with British Austral- asia 1n 1890 was $19,000,000, while the trade of the United King- dom with that region during the same year was $266,000,000. A new branch of commerce will call into existence the tonnage movement or carrying trade necessary to keep it up; but the converse is also true, that the establishment of regular vehicles of transportation on a given route will develop a commerce simply by giving access toa market. It is the same law that governs in railroad traffic: the necessity for exchange of surplus products in two directions creates a demand for rail communication, and, on the other hand, the connection of two points by rail invariably leads to an exchange of surplus products. If the lines of trans- portation under such circumstances are all controlled by a com- mercial rival, the market will be worked, as far as possible, for the benefit of the rival. The co-operation of allied interests which has always been a feature of the commercial policy of England and one of the chief factors in her success, presents a phase of commercial develop- ment from which we may well take a lesson. The principle of co-operation is familiar enough in most branches of business in America. We see every day illustrations of it in the great com- mercial centres. We see its workings frequently in smaller cities where the men with capital or credit unite in a group to control a store, a bank, a savings bank, an insurance company, and possi- bly a manufactory and a real-estate agency, and, by operating each institution for the benefit of all, put the financial business of the community almost in the hands of a partnership. The applica- tion of the same principle of co-operation to the allied interests of commercial exchange, shipowning, shipbuilding, and, by no means least, marine insurance, is tending slowly but surely to reduce the commercial transportation of the world to an English monopoly. To pass from commerce proper to the question of the carrying trade, from the interest of the shipper to the interest of the ship- owner, it is easy to define the general conditions favorable to the OUR ADVANTAGES FOR THE. CARRYING TRADE. 581 existence of such a trade in any particular country. Among these are a central geographical position, good harbors, and a popula- tion sufficiently endowed with a spirit of daring and enterprise, which last becomes tenfold more productive when combined with the instinct of trade. The conditions that sustain commerce also sustain the carrying trade, namely, abundance of surplus products of one kind and the necessity of obtaining abroad another kind. In the absence of these conditions, a negative influence may be found in the want of a soil of a quality or extent to render agri- culture profitable, or in the absence of mechanical aptitude and tendency in the people. The first of these influences is strikingly illustrated in Norway and Sweden, whose geographical position is unfavorable, but which nevertheless have taken a high place among maritime nations, and are attaining a high degree of mari- time prosperity. In Great Britain both the negative and positive influences exist. It lies at the gateway of Europe. Its harbors are unsurpassed. To its people the occupation of following the sea comes almost by nature. Its soil in many districts offers little inducement to agriculture, while the system governing land tenures and the descent of landed estates is distinctly opposed to small holdings, and to the encouragement of an independent and numerous Class of landowners and farmers. Except those last mentioned, most of the conditions prevailing in England are found in the United States, and some of them ina higher degree. The position of the country marks it as a pivotal state in the future maritime development of the world. ) Pip a Ts P+ é oS SPV a Bs bel . 7 .: - . rar ‘ ‘ ~ Ley ee, 3 ; ’ “irs? Vv r A STIMULUS TO STEEL SHIPBUILDING. 623 represent a new departure in warship construction. In every feature of naval efficiency they stand at the head, not only of ships of their type, but of warships of any type, at home or abroad ; and they constitute the real strength of the navy as it is projected to-day. : It is the construction of this fleet of vessels, amounting alto- gether to 180,000 tons, that has given to steel shipbuilding a place among the foremost branches of manufacture in America, and to the United States a place among the foremost shipbuilding na- tions of the world. At the time the first ships were undertaken, neither our designers nor our constructors, private or public, had had any experience in the construction of steel ships. The Gov- ernment requirements were intentionally placed high, as it was determined that the ships should be, as in the earlier period, the best of their kind in the world. No private customer ever called for such a quality, either of material or workmanship, as that which the Navy Department has exacted in its vessels. It was at first supposed that it would be impossible to comply with these requirements, but the result has amply justified the adoption of the standard set by the Navy Department. The programme has been carried out without any serious defects either in design or construction. Problems which the shipbuilder would never have grappled with under the stimulus of merely private enterprise, have been successfully met and overcome. The work in the private and public shipyards has trained, either in the construc- tion of the ships themselves or in auxiliary branches of manufac- ture, over 50,000 skilled mechanics a year. The benefits of the work have been felt not only by the shipbuilders but by the found- ries, the rolling mills, the manufacturers of steel castings, and of all other branches of work that go into the construction, arming, or equipment of a steel ship. New processes of manufacture have been established in America solely for this purpose, and immense sums have been spent for new and improved machinery. It is di- rectly due to this development that American shipbuilders are now able to promise that they will turn out the most finished product in the world, and secure the same results that have been reached in the great transatlantic steamers at no greater price than that charged by their foreign rivals. The industry is now prepared to meet any demands that may be made on it; and if the wise principle of the Inman Line act, rightly named “A bill to encourage American shipbuilding,” could be adopted as a gen- eral provision, we should soon have a fleet of merchant steamers, 624 THE MARITIME INDUSTRIES OF’ AMERICA? flying the American flag and built in American shipyards, which, if not so numerous, would bear as good a name and yield as high a rate of profit as did that earlier fleet which, half a century ago, filled with American ships every highway of maritime com- merce. CHAPTER XI. OUR MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM ? WE Americans are supposed to be a peaceful people, but our history demonstrates the contrary. From the time when our ancestors landed on the inhospitable New England shore and began the battle of civilization until the present generation, which has astonished the world with the magnitude of its armies and the tenacity of its battles, our history has been one of wars and rumors of wars. The conflicts with the Indians were an unavoid- able sequence of the newcomers wresting from the aborigines room for a new home; but the rest of the colonial wars arose from pure British combativeness; and they called upon the sparse population for exertions unequaled, in view of the fact that the struggle for bare existence was already a serious demand upon their slender resources. Colonial history is one long recital of wars, to a curious extent without substantial cause or worthy result. The Revolution was believed to have changed all that. Emerg- ing from the struggle with all lost save liberty, an era of peace was entered upon which there was no predictable cause to inter- rupt. And yet the sequence of our quarrels since that day has been unbroken. We have had wars with England and Mexico, with Tripoli and Algiers; broils with Paraguay and Corea, and a gigantic civil war; rumors of wars with France, England, Spain, and Italy. We have had the John Brown raid, the Fenian raids to Canada, many incursions across the Mexican border, and the filibustering expeditions to Cuba and Nicaragua, We have had the Whisky and Shays’s rebellions, the election, draft, railroad, reconstruction, and sundry serious city riots; the Homestead and Buffalo troubles; we have had well on to two hundred deadly Indian fights, accompanied by blood-curdling massacres. We have suffered more casualties in active war since the Revolution than any nation of Europe; during our entire history we have lost more men in proportion to our population. This record 40 (625) 626 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? sounds oddly enough when contrasted with the statements of the peace-at-any-price folks who claim for us the reputation of a cool- headed people which minds its own business, has no call for army or navy, and can dispense with coast defenses. The ocean has so far in our history been no preventive of imbroglios with foreign nations. We have a national spirit of antagonism which is not apt to decrease. Our freedom of speech leads us into highly provocative moods. Our combativeness is bred in the bone; it is a true Anglo-Saxon characteristic. Di- plomacy may not be guided by journalism, but it is often influ- enced by it, and editors are not as a class dispassionate. There is no lack of inflammable material in our national policy. The Monroe doctrine is capable of volcanic action. Patience is not a distinguishing American trait. It is certainly not probable that we shall be led into foreign complications; but such incidents as the New Orleans lynching in 1891, and the Chilian imbroglio of 1891-’92, bring us uncomfortably close to such a disaster. It needs no argument to show that no enemy could in the long run main- tain a footing on American soil; but this is the age of speed in military matters as in every other field of action. It is the initial danger we have to dread—the damage we may suffer before we are prepared to defend ourselves. A nation whose preparations are complete can act at once. Rapid mobilization is the keynote of military security to-day, and mobilization presupposes a force to mobilize. It is no easy matter to prepare an armed force. To create a navy and coast defenses is a business of at least a dozen years. We have no regular army which can be concentrated in a body exceeding six or eight thousand men. It is spread over a huge territory, and every man is needed where he stands. To mobilize a suitable force of militia or volunteers consumes months; to bring the best of material from an utter ignorance of field duties into fighting trim is shown by our experience in the civil war to require at least a year. Meanwhile we have no means of resisting foreign aggression. For twenty years succeeding the civil war there was at the call of the national Government, alike in North and South, a vet- eran material for volunteers rarely equaled in any country. But nearly thirty years have elapsed since that struggle was at its flood tide, and the youngest of the volunteers of 1861—'65 has long ago passed the age where his services in the ranks can be availed of. We have in America a population peerless in its value for supplying soldiers, for intelligence is to-day the most THE NATIONAL GUARD. 627 important quality. No volunteer has, on the whole, quite reached the notch of efficiency which the American easily scored. But volunteers, to be of any value as soldiers, must undergo a certain period of training. Whenever American volunteers have passed through their probation, be it at the rendezvous or in the field, they have proved of the highest grade. This is not a matter of boasting ; it is statistically proved. But without the probation the American volunteer is not much better than the militiaman, and the militiaman pure and simple has proved no more trust- worthy in our history than in any other. We have a right to be proud of our seasoned volunteers; not so of our militia, using that word in the constitutional sense. The war history of the one is a succession of noble services; the war history of the other is that of our military failures. And yet both come of precisely the same stock. The difference between them is simply the difference in discipline. The volunteer, so soon as he is mustered into the United States service, is subjected to the same course of education as the regular. The militia, called into the national service, is already supposed to be a disciplined body, but it has rarely had any training worthy the name. I am speak- ing of the militia contemplated by the Constitution, such as we understood the term up to the civil war. Since that day there has grown up a new body called the National Guard, or active or volunteer militia, which has very superior qualifications to the old “cornstalk militia.” That this new militia in many of the States is better than anything we had in ante-bellum days can not be gain- said ; it could scarcely fail of being so, for it is now raised, organ- ized, and disciplined in a much more rational manner than ever before, though by no means as yet in a manner to make it the homogeneous force the country needs. The influence of the war veterans on the volunteer militia has been marked. But even this militia is not, can not well be, an arm on which the Govern- ment can rely in case of sudden invasion. Militia has never proved efficient, and this National Guard will not be thoroughly so, under any organization which has as yet obtained. It needs but a superficial reading of our history to demonstrate this fact. The old militia in 1812 was opposed to forces not more its supe- rior than the National Guard of to-day would be if mobilized to resist an invasion of some of the highly trained regular forces of any European nation. The exceptions when militia has been of some value only the more certainly prove the rule. It is generally admitted that our national bulwarks—navy and 628 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? coast defenses—should be more carefully fostered. The corollary to this proposition ought to follow, that a national force—a Land- wehr—should exist in this country, capable of being drawn on by the central Government, and of such quality of material, such degree of discipline, and such knowledge of our strategic and topographical conditions, as will enable it to hold head to foreign regulars should we ever be subjected to invasion. To speak of foreign regulars landing ‘on our shores is wont to produce a smile of incredulity ; but it must be remembered that we are very quick to provoke antagonism, and that England, France, and Italy have fleets which to-day could enter any one of our ports without diffi- culty, convoying the largest ocean greyhounds, which they can at any moment command, filled with armed men, and that other nations are only a trifle less well equipped; while on the other hand our coasts are naked of defenses and our navy is a thing of the future. A national reserve on our Atlantic seaboard isa matter of prime necessity, if we desire to be in a position to save ourselves from humiliation in some of our foreign imbroglios, not to mention loss many times greater than the cost of a respectable military establishment. If, when other nations make demands upon us, we are willing to adopt the policy of settling the bill right or wrong, to stand and deliver whenever held up on the highway of foreign inter- course, we shall have no need of army or navy or of coast de- fenses. But such a course is too un-American, let alone too ex- travagant to be considered. We must be prepared to hold our own in defensive war as well as to assert our rights in diplomacy. That we shall adopt the 7vé/e of invaders is not probable; and though our past history makes it by no means impossible, we hope to limit our use of armed forces to our own territory ; still, we have been recently led to show an offensive intent toward Chili, and we may be called on to do the like elsewhere. It is not a difficult problem to produce, without great cost, out of the present active militia of the States, a national reserve of one or two hundred thousand men, which shall be of good ma- terial, well trained, well armed, and quickly mobilized. Any dif- ficulties which exist are purely political, practically imaginary. There are something over nine millions of arms-bearing men of proper age in the United States. Such a calculation may, however, be disregarded. The old. constitutional provision for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia has for forty years been a dead letter. The National Guard of the several States, a ie Po ey 4 - rae Net.. " ‘pOgi ‘1€ yous patdnos0 ‘y10R MON ‘quouSey ys1y-hyUeaeg oy) Jo AroWsry 3 ‘GSO OOM ONS ESES6OLIMEPERESLIE LESLIE IOOEE RIDE AME ODRO SIEBER TAE SD AUTHORITY OF ARMY OFFICERS, 629 though but one hundred thousand strong to-day, gives us a much _ better basis of action. In 1792 was passed the first congressional law for maintaining and drilling a militia. Every able-bodied man between eighteen and forty-five was to be enrolled in each State, and each man was to provide himself with arms and accoutrements. The States were to distribute this self-armed body into brigades and divi- sions. Every one can readily imagine, some have heard from their grandsires, what a motley and unreal force this was, and how useless “the good musket or firelock, sufficient bayonet and belt, spare flints and knapsack” were. From the day of the first law down to the Mexican War this militia system obtained, but the force existing under it was a broken reed. Its utter im- practicability gradually brought it into disrepute, and it had been, for years prior to our civil war, a thing of the past. Under the Constitution, Congress has power to provide for the common defense of the United States; to declare war; to raise and support armies; to provide and maintain a navy; to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces; to provide for calling out the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ; to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia. And the United States is holden to guarantee to every State in the Union a republican form of government ; to protect each of them against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or Ex- ecutive when the Legislature is not in session, against domestic violence. But these powers are limited. Such action as is taken under the latter provisions falls on the army as the agent; and the army is hedged about by a network of laws and precedents. Some people conceive army officers to be meddlesome fellows, ready to thrust their thumb into every civil pie, and governed by neither rule nor reason. The reverse is true. The official au- thority of an officer of the army can not be exceeded without personal liability, not only to trial by court-martial but to civil suit for damages—a notable deterrent from exceeding his power. His authority can be derived solely from the President ; and the President’s rests solely on application from the States. The officer is bound hand and foot, as is no other citizen, by inflexible regulations. Ina riot or other civil disturbance, for instance, he may, of his own motion, not even seek to produce a peaceful moral effect by parading his troops or making a show of standing on the side of law and order. And he is especially enjoined, 630 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? under serious penalties, to avoid any interference or show of in- terference with elections or at election time. Slight excéptions under the Civil Rights Bill and the laws relating to the Indians or the public health do not in reality extend the power of the army. Its authority as against a State is very strictly limited. Only in case of unlawful disturbances threatening Government property or of interference with the mails—in other words, matters solely within the province of the United States—can the army or any of its officers act independently, and then only when there is no time to seek instructions, and in any event at in- dividual peril if a mistake of law or fact is made. In Americaa soldier ceases not to be a citizen, and his authority as a soldier is extremely small. Such being the case, the undoubted existence of so strong a prejudice against a standing army, or anything akin to it, in America is hard to explain. We now have but one blue-coat for every one hundred and forty-four square miles of our territory. Still, such prejudice, born of British interference with the colonies, does, and it is well that it should, exist; for even the soldier with the keenest professional pride is first of all an American, and feels that too great an extension of the regular force is not advisable. While there is this feeling against a large regular establishment, there is on the other hand a growing favor exhibited toward the volunteer. In order to raise a sufficient national reserve, it is not necessary to combat the popular antagonism to the regulars, for the people have already taken the matter into their own hands, and have raised an active militia of no mean proportions or efficiency. It is but a question of inducing the State Legislatures to make the National Guard more homogeneous and available for larger and quicker work. | The association in late years of regulars and militia at the vari- ous annual encampments is fast eradicating the unreasonable preju- dice against a standing force, if kept within limits. Such preju- dice, which would be well enough against a force of the dimensions of those in Europe, is certainly baseless when harbored against our small army of twenty-five thousand men; for this is scarcely equal to the demands of the Indian problem, and it is essential as a leaven for our volunteer system. The feeling is held by some that an army of any kind breeds quarrels. This isanerror. It is the statesman’s act which brings about war, the soldier’s heroism and sacrifices which secure peace. The profession of arms, which, properly exercised, is the one that VALUE OF A NATIONAL RESERVE. 631 in all ages has called out, and to-day evokes, the best qualities ofa man’s nature, is by many Americans looked upon askance. The army blue, which has covered the breasts of so many heroes, is in some sections a badge of ostracism. It was not so in the days when the regular army furnished our successful generals, when volunteers poured out from farm and factory to defend the Union. But that day is past, and now the professional soldier is given few words of cheer; the militiaman is looked at as one who period- ically indulges in a picnic. It is this false sentiment which lies at the root of desertion in the regular army, which prevents the very best element from enlisting. It is only when serious danger threatens from turbulent crowds of the misled worst elements of the community, when the mere presence of a company or two of regulars suppresses a riot with which regiments of militia have failed successfully to cope, that the people for a moment express their respect for the professional soldier ; and this is soon effaced by the well-worn antagonism to what in past ages has been the right arm of the tyrant. We forget that it was the same element which overturned his power. It is this false estimate which pre- vents some State Legislatures from giving more generous support to their National Guard. But, as before said, the idea is on the wane; every member of the National Guard who has been in camp with regulars has found out the value of our small army, and applies at home the best corrective to the prevailing miscon- ception. - : There still lurks in some parts of the country a feeling that in times of peace an army is not essential; that when the danger is at our doors it is time to organize resistance. The rapid growth of the National Guard shows that this error, too, is on the wane among the intelligent. Thinking men see that the United States is no longer safe in these days of rapid war enginery and trans- portation, without a means equally rapid of mobilizing a force of reliable troops. In olden days time was more ample to prepare for war. To-day, within three weeks after a declaration of war several army corps of regular troops could be landed in any one of our harbors. Nothing but sound coast defenses, a suitable navy, and a strong national reserve can put us beyond danger. That such an invasion is in the highest degree improbable in no wise weakens the argument. The impulse toward creating a national reserve should come from the people. The first step has already been taken by cre- ating the active militia in the several States. The second step is, 632 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? to utilize the small regular army as a leaven to the lump of citizen soldiery. This step has also been taken by associating the regulars once a year with the National Guard. It remains to instruct the people so that every citizen may see the true value of both the volunteer militia and the regular army. Closer relations should be cultivated between army and people. So long as the belief in a half-trained militia as a sufficient means of meeting armed in- vasion remains even among a small minority of our voting popu- lation, so long shall we remain without adequate protection. A large regular force is not advisable. Despite the feeling of some professional soldiers that the military security of the United States should reside in a regular army large enough to cope with any probable danger; though our meager army of twenty-five thousand men could undoubtedly be increased somewhat to the advantage of all, it remains true that our chief reliance as a people should not be placed on regulars. These havea manifest duty. In time of peace the army is to act as an educational body, by whose means a reserve can be kept in training; when war comes it is to bear the first brunt until such a force can be mobilized. Both these are important véles. The second it may not be called on for many years to perform; the first it performs in a limited measure now, and should be given opportunity of performing with the utmost efficiency. At some of the recent encampments of the State militia a small regular force has been present with the best effect. At most encampments inspectors of the regular army have attended, and have been welcomed by all, and the justice of their criticisms has been accepted as frankly as the soundness of their advice has been acknowledged. Such working in unison should be fostered, for it is through the militia that the army can best make its value felt among the people. __ There has on rare occasions been expressed by militia officers the feeling that they did not want the interference of regulars, either as inspection officers or as a pattern for imitation. The idea has prevailed in some quarters that the one would be hyper- critical, and that the other would laugh at the shortcomings of the “holiday-soldier.” This impression has always been dissipated when regulars and militia have actually come into contact. Per- haps the least critical of men is one who thoroughly knows his business and the difficulty of acquiring it. Your severe critic is always the half-instructed man. It is certain that the experiment of adding to a militia encampment a regular officer or two, ora regular company, has always succeeded to the entire satisfaction THE REGULAR ARMY AND THE MILITIA. 633 of the militia, both officers and men. And the practice of sending a United States inspecting officer to the several State encamp- ments to aid, by suggestion and demonstration, in perfecting drill _and discipline, was adopted at the request of the State officials. It has not only been met with alacrity by the State authorities, but has been productive of the greatest good. The reports of these officers, sent in to the War Department and thence distributed to the National Guard concerned, have been just and helpful. They . are eagerly sought for as a basis for improvement. Before the regular army can, however, act to the best advan- tage upon the State militia, it should itself be beyond criticism. Though, within the limitations prescribed by a Congress which never ceases from tinkering our much-enduring regular establish- ment, the army is of a very high grade, there are weak points which it would be of eventual economy to amend. In the matter of the training of officers, it is universally admitted, abroad and at home, that the Military Academy at West Point is without a superior. Putting national characteristics into the scale and the physical requirements, it may be fairly said that, at graduation, there leaves no educational institution in the world so fine a body of young men as are those who are sent out annually from West Point. Those who do not remain in the service go back into the people, with a marked capacity to influence the military status of their several States. It would be well that the capacity of West Point should be increased, and that there should be sent out each year some score of well-educated, perfectly trained young officers, who, returning directly to the people, could impress upon the State volunteers the stamp of our Military Academy. That these young men would do so is certain, and that the graduates of West Point never forget their early training was abundantly demon- strated during our civil war. In the matter of ex-noncommissioned officers, the advantage of having many of these interspersed among the ranks of the volun- teers is unquestionable. Every old soldier who stands in the volunteer ranks strengthens the line. To-day the pay of our United States soldiers is insufficient; the pay of our noncom- missioned officers is absurdly so compared with the rate of wages in the market. The status of an enlisted man in the United States Army should be made one to be proud of. This is most quickly and efficiently done by raising the pay and allowances toa point where the very best element would be glad to enlist, and one which would enable recruiting officers to reject all but men of 634. MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? the best character as well as of the requisite physical grade. If our military establishment is small, it should be perfect. Two million dollars added each year to the budget for the purpose of raising the grade of the rank and file of the army to the highest standard by pay which is worthy the class sought for, and of properly remunerating the noncommissioned officers, would be twice recouped in the saving of desertion with its accompanying vast disbursements in arresting, trying, and punishing the delin- quents. And to discharge such men as this better class would | become after one or two terms of enlistment and send them back to their several States, there to train, drill, and discipline the militia element, would be of a benefit far beyond the outlay. So far, since the war, the influence of the old volunteer officers upon the State forces has been strongly felt; it is they, in fact, who have been the creators of the fine bodies of volunteer militia now in many of our States. But none of these men will outlast two more decades; few will carry their utility forward to the twentieth century. How are we to replace them except in the manner above suggested? They have begun the good work, not the least of the benefits of our civil war. To carry it forward is a just tribute to their intelligence and farsightedness. Without them, or some one to follow them, their work will not live. Let us see what forces we have at our command to mold into an effective national reserve. The following table is from the ~ latest procurable returns from the several States as reported to the War Department. These organized men are not the ancient enrolled militia which was supposed to arm and equip itself, but volunteers who seriously undertake to learn so much of a soldier’s duties as the sparse time they can devote to the matter will enable them to compass, and who are armed and equipped by a congres- sional appropriation, and paid for their time by the several States. Abstract of Men Available for Military Duty, and Organized Militza of the United States. i i : vailabl i STATES. neon eee STATES. military duty) enna Te labamasunnees 160,000 2,958 ||10. Florida.......... 48,000 1,021 ZowA laskte cay hates £000) Wty ar, whee Ti. Georgia... 2... 6s 264,000 4,577 BP PATIZON Aaaws cs. 5 co 7,200 293 ||\12. Tdaho.s. a... 54 10,000 308 QitATKkansasoii eevee 116,000 T0040 (it Biel INOIS 5". vives so ote 550,000 4,389 Bee A LOPNIS ak. eiaete 153,000 4,218 |\14. Indian Territory..| ©. .2. 3.7) pee G. Colorado... f4rase 2 85,000 SAR UTR. MUD CIAIA don aco a eee 469,000 2,459 7. Columbia, Dist. of 42,000 T41S8 1G6.0 lows: .. «20. ates 243,000 2,443 Se GONneCtiCut.. cen g2,000 Z,O87 117. RANSAS .'o.5.. .f st 250,000 1,738 9: Delawarés... Ms 30,000 501 |j18. Kentucky........ 395,000 1,319 DISTRIBUTION OF THE MILITIA. 635 a a ae Se i eee ee I Sa ean Ue eee ilable for |Organiz i i States, SO cedesirinida. Srares. adltarg caceieaianee To. (otisiana. oJ... .:. 138,000 1,152 || 37. Oklahoma....... 5,000) eae 2OPNaineS erst) M.'s. 97,000 Ee Li4e i 33.1 Oregons 0, ce 40,000 1,506 BUC PPEALY LATO, ots! 5.0. 5.-<.c 125,000 2,094 || 39. Pennsylvania....| 736,000 8,469 22. Massachusetts....] 340,000 5,511 || 40. Rhode Island.... 60,000 1,434 23. eIGRIZaN sh as s,s 3 400,000 2,515 || 41. South Carolina ..| 200,000 5,616 24. Minnesota....... 200,000 1,838 || 42. South Dakota... 60,000 526 25. Mississippi....... 233,000 1,712 || 43. Tennessee...... 290,000 1,357 26s Missouti: 2 oc Sos 350,000 Boo7 Whe Ads Dexas. Peo. oe. 300,000 3,368 27 MONG As so vos os 5 34,000 BUOR HBAS CAN Ge cc, sche. 35,000 Fr en Sa eDIASka yl. >. . 5. 125,000 EO73y) 40.. Vetmont......2. 44,000 786 SOnENCWAGas. We. 3c, 10,000 75 ved fae IPA hist dns ws 220,000 2,844 30. New Hampshire. . 34,000 1,229 || 48. Washington..... 60,000 1,145 Sin New persey® i): 285,000 4,233 || 49. West Virginia...| 150,000 728 32. New Mexico..... 25,000 | . 586 || 50. Wisconsin....... 309,000 2737 BGsmNEewr VOTK. . 2°, vs 650,000 | 13,539 || 51. Wyoming....... 30,000 309 34. North Carolina... 235,000 1,586 2 35. North Dakota.... 36,000 " 513 Total........ 9,375,000 | 110,718 BOIMIO! ae ice c aks o's 600,000 5373 SS 0 1 eS 2a Here is a goodly total of troops which are largely drawn from the very best classes in the community, are uniformly anxious to learn, and are susceptible of a high grade of discipline and eff- ciency so soon as they are schooled. That they are stanch and loyal has been distinctly shown by their conduct during the re- cent Homestead riots and the Buffalo strike. As a rule, these organizations are spread abroad in each State, a company here and a company there, but on the lines of railway so as to be read- ily concentrated. Inthe more populous States only can they be assembled by regiments for instruction. Each company or regi- ment has its armory, where are kept the arms and equipments, and where more or less regular drills are had. The rent of these armories is generally defrayed by the State, in some localities by subscriptions among the members of the several organizations. Annual encampments by regiment, brigade, or division may now be said to be the rule, and here the troops have the advantage of learning more than mere manual drill and company movements. These encampments are usually for six days, from Sunday to Sun- day. In some States, but rarely, they are longer, ten or even fourteen days. The term is not now long enough to make in- struction become habit; and habit is the shibboleth of the soldier, whether it be the habit of drill or the habit of intelligent in- itiative. Congress appropriates $400,000 a year for division among the States in ratio of population ; and this sum is issued in stores, arms, and equipments; but no State is entitled to such issue unless it has 636 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? one hundred uniformed men for each congressional representa- tive. The stores remain the property of the United States. This National Guard is generally uniformed in the fatigue dress of the United States Army, though many organizations retain a full dress, which has become their pride from many years’ association. It is gradually getting armed with the regulation Springfield rifle, and in accoutrements and in camp and garrison equipage is fast approaching the national standard. There natu- rally remains much room for criticism, but the body is on the way to become a serviceable army. At many of the annual encamp- ments the inspections made by United States officers show a com- mendable condition of affairs, and all evince improvement. At each encampment there remains much to be done, but the various organizations are quick to accept, and in good part, the criticisms of the inspectors. When it is remembered that to-day the first aati of the soldier after bodily soundness is intelligence, we have every rea- son to expect excellent results from developing our militia thus organized. But it must also be borne in mind that it is intelli- gence coupled with at least one year’s constant service in the ranks which is deemed essential to produce the modern soldier who shall not forget his training; and it is to this standard that we must aim. America should never be satisfied with less than the very best; but this may be obtained for our own purposes by other means than those of Europe. It is not my purpose to institute any comparison between the active militia of the several States. In some it dates back a num- ber of years and has been made extremely efficient, so that the National Guard of some of the States could to-day be relied on to do stanch work in case of war. In others it is of recent origin and leaves very much to be desired. The Legislatures of some of the States have been generous in their appropriations; in others these are lacking. Aside from the numbers enrolled, it is well to look at what is reported by the State officers as well as the in- specting officers of the United States Army. Though each in- spector has his own point of view, so that we can not profitably compare the reported condition of the National Guard in the sey- eral States, their statements will give a fair general idea of the character of the force in each State. What follows is summarized from the reports of the State adjutants general, and from the reports of State officers and United States inspectors. To take the States and Territories in alphabetical order: ARRIVING AT CREEDMCOR ce belly te 2" N ‘tf tage 2S WAV Sang to Zur > | Ar 200 YARDS i 7s ee SMa pp Ey a AYN ABA Re AT .500 YARDS ~*~ ¥ Rifle practice. “ THE MILITIA BY STATES. 637 Alabama has a force of twenty-nine hundred and fifty-eight men, in three regiments with thirty-five companies, two separate colored companies, three troops of cavalry, and four batteries of artillery, generally organized and equipped like United States troops. No brigade organization exists. Until 1891 the annual encampments had been by regiments. In 18g1 all troops were brought together at Mobile. There was some opposition to this assembling of the forces. Zeal was apparent and instruction eagerly sought. Discipline was lacking. Guard duty was not understood ; sentinels repeatedly left their post. Drills, parades, and reviews were excellent; guard mounting less good, showing lack of teaching. The manual was well executed. There exists much rivalry of the “ prize-drill”” era; each company wants to be a separate organization, not a part of one whole. The value of the larger body as a body is not appreciated. Stress is laid on the showy side, and the serious aspect of military life is neglected. The social element comes too much to the surface. This is well enough in the armory, but will not do in the annual encampment, where the individual must absolutely be merged into the soldier. The camp policing, done by hired men, was poor. The personnel of the troops is very high, but the setting up is poor. The ration- ing was excellent, but effected by a general mess; it would be better done by companies, so that the men might learn what they are to expect in the field. Alaska has no organized militia. Arizona.—There are ten companies authorized by law. Of these, there are enlisted nine companies of from thirty to thirty- five men each—two hundred and ninety-three men. The State is trying to organize a volunteer militia, but the Legislature has not so far done much to this end. The sum of three hundred and sixty dollars has been allowed to each company for expenses. There is no National Guard as a body. Arkansas.—The office of adjutant general was abolished in 1879. Little has been done since; but a regiment is being organ- ized, and one thousand and ninety-four men are reported. The State has its share of the United States appropriation. It is hoped that the coming years will see some serious work done. California has forty-two hundred and eighteen men, in one di- vision of two brigades, comprising eight regiments, two artillery companies, and one troop of cavalry. There is a naval battalion of four companies of ninety-two men each. The State spends seventy thousand dollars a year on the encampment. The mess- 638 MILITARY RESOURCES--HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? ing is usually by companies, and is good. At the 1891 encamp- ment the camp policing was satisfactory ; not so the tent policing. The personnel of some regiments is composed largely of minors, and is not well set up. The arms and accoutrements are not all of United States pattern, and are illy cared for. Clothing is fair, but not well-fitting, and there is much lack of uniformity. Target practice is enthusiastically done, and shows some excellence. Bat- talion drill at the encampment was spirited but ragged. Some companies seemed well taught, others not at all. Brigade drill was naturally poor; brigade review excellent. Guard duty was with some regiments slouchy; better in others; all improved to- ward the close. Behavior was excellent ; military courtesy much lacking. Too much familiarity existed between officers and men off duty. A sham battle was an excellent feature of the encamp- ment. Some regiments were much higher in grade than others, one or two being of the very best. In most there was a decided improvement over previous years. The personnel varies. In some regiments it is exceptionally fine ; in some the men are too young, and look weak. On the whole, the California National Guard is a body of excellent material and commendable discipline; if graded up to its best elements it would be equal to any. It could soon be made available for service. Colorado has one brigade, comprising eleven companies of infantry, one battery of artillery, and two troops of cavalry, mak- ing a total of eight hundred and twenty-five men. Each company has an armory, and there is an annual encampment as well as target competition. The National Guard as a body has yet some improvement to make. The several organizations exhibit much interest in their work. Columbta.—The District has an active militia of fourteen hun- dred and eighteen men, including a troop of cavalry and a bat- tery of artillery. There are two regiments of twenty-three com- panies. The men are well taught and disciplined. The cavalry undertook a practice march last year to advantage ; but the horses being hired, makes drill, which is occasional only, of questionable value. The troops have the presence of regulars to profit by, and seem to be a promising body of men. | Connecticut has a brigade of four regiments, two of ten and two of eight companies, two colored companies, and one battery of artillery ; total, twenty-six hundfed and eighty-seven men. Each regiment has a Gatling gun served by a platoon, a signal corps, a hospital corps, anda band. The State spends over one hundred io Peevibele lA BY so EATES: 639 thousand dollars on its annual encampment. That of 1891 was at Niantic. The men are paid two dollars a day while on duty. Rations and forage are those of the United States regulations. The uniform is like that of the United States. The arms do not all conform to United States pattern. The messing was done by caterers, but not satisfactorily. The United States ration was issued and commuted at thirty cents. Camp policing was excel- lent; hospital service perfect. The Gatling guns were efficiently served and handled. The signal service, with bicycle messengers and scouts, was admirable. The artillery, considering that the horses are trained but seven times a year, was good. Roll-calls were fairly prompt; formations rapid. Guard duty was well done. From revez//é at 6 A.M. to end of brigade dress parade at 6 P.M. the men and officers worked continuously. Drills were good; skirmish drills commendable. Outpost duty was well taught; the colored troops were especially expert at it. Target- practice is had at other seasons. Inspection, at 8 A. M., showed exceptional cleanliness of tents and company streets. The men are anxious to learn, but do not sufficiently observe military cour- tesy. The noncommissioned officers do not insist on being salu- ted, as they should. On the whole, the brigade is such as in thirty days to be fit for field duty, and to do it well. Delaware’s volunteer force consists of a regiment of eight com- panies and one squadron of cavalry, five hundred and one men strong. The cost of its annual encampment is twelve thousand seven hundred dollars, and its share of the United States distribu- tion of stores is received. The annual cost of maintaining its vol- unteers is twenty-two dollars and twenty-eight cents per man, against forty-three dollars and thirty-eight cents in Massachu- setts; but the latter State is very liberal to its militia. The target practice of Delaware is good; its drills and guard duty fair. At the 1890 encampment there were fair skirmishing, problems of attack and defense, and some mob drill, to show the method of clearing streets. The discipline toward the end of the week became a trifle slack, as if the men had tired of restraint. Florida has a force of fourteen hundred and sixty-four men authorized by law, in five four-company battalions. But so far only a force of one thousand and twenty-one men has been raised, including one battery. This is in three battalions, which are not given a regimental organization because of sparse population and local pride. The battalions are on the United States scale. At the encampment at St. Augustine, in 1891, the personnel showed 640 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? itself to be good, but the setting up was poor. The men objected to the initial drill. Camp administration was excellent ; ambition to learn was apparent. Dress parade and guard mounting were well performed and with steady improvement. Drills were regular. Guard duty was cheerfully performed, but with mis- takes of detail, showing lack of instruction. More time is needed on this. Subsistence was by companies on the commuted United States ration, and well-done. Slight change would make this rationing admirable. Behavior was good; discipline fair; mili- tary courtesy scarcely fair. Arms were rusty and badly cared for, except in a few companies. “dar Pa ae " The Centennial Celebration, New York, 188g. Doel LAS BY STATES, 643 and twenty-four dollars have been expended in four years, with little to show for it. At instruction there were too many absen- tees, the officers not caring to study up for the classes. If regu- lar encampments can be had, the condition of the Kentucky National Guard will sensibly improve, for the material is of the best. There is a strong martial spirit, but the proper military spirit, which inculcates subordination of the individual to the good of the whole body, is still lacking. Annual encampments will teach this. Louisiana has an active militia of eleven hundred and fifty-two men, in one brigade. This consists of one battalion of five com- panies, one of four companies, two of three companies, four inde- pendent companies, one battery and three companies of artillery, and two companies of cavalry. Less has been done in Louisiana toward making this force a body of disciplined troops than in most other States. Isolated companies, however excellent as such, can not be considered as an effective military body. Mazne has a force of eleven hundred and fourteen men, in two regiments of eight companies and one gun company each, and one independent company. The regiments are not brigaded. At the 1891 encampment the camp policing was excellent, but there were no arrangements for bathing. Messing by companies was well done. Drill was four hours a day; instruction fair. Field officers were familiar with their work; not so the others. There was lack of uniformity in instruction, but all were alert and zealous, and improvement during the encampment was clear. On the whole, company and battalion drill were commendable. Target practice is not systematic. There are many good shots, many who have never fired a gun. Guard duty was weak, but the men appeared anxious to learn. Discipline was good, and salutes general; the behavior of the men exemplary. Dress was careless in many individuals. Uniforms are nearly like the United States regulation, and good. The armament is various, and arms were rusty. Camp equipage well cared for. Reviews were good. The State appropriates twenty thousand dollars; the United States issue is fifty-five hundred dollars. Maryland has thirty-eight companies, viz., two regiments of ten companies each, three battalions of four companies each, three independent colored companies; total, two thousand and ninety- four men. The biennial ten days’ encampment costs thirty thou- sand dollars, the appropriation being forty thousand dollars. Stores to the amount of seventy-five hundred and ninety-four dol- 644 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? lars are drawn from the United States. The officers are paid a per diem equal to the pay of United States officers; the enlisted men receive one dollar and thirty-three cents a day, with forty cents for subsistence. At the 1891 encampment the arms— Springfield rifle, caliber 45, of 1873—were fairly cared for. Uni- forms partly United States regulation, but much worn; partly gray. Guard duty was poor at the start, but the men were zeal- ous to improve; it was good at the close of ten days. Drills were good ; target practice lacking. The medical department was ex- cellent. The State appropriates forty thousand dollars a year. Messing was on a large scale, and excellent. Discipline was good. The colored companies are armed with various patterns of rifles ; they have United States fatigue uniform, and their drill and dis- cipline were good. On the whole, the Maryland National Guard ranks well. Massachusetts has two brigades, comprising six regiments of infantry of twelve companies each, the two corps of cadets, one battalion of cavalry and one independent company, one _bat- talion of artillery and one independent battery, a signal and ambulance corps, and a naval battalion, making a total of fifty- five hundred and eleven men. The total State expenses for the militia are from one hundred and fifty thousand to one hundred and ninety thousand dollars a year, and thirteen thousand dollars is drawn in kind from the United States. No better National Guard exists; few States have troops so well-taught. The polic- ing of the camp at Framingham, in 1891, was reported excellent, but visitors were permitted to litter up the ground. Much zeal was shown by the troops, but military courtesy needed some im- provement among the enlisted men. Discipline was good. Uni- forms are the United States standard, and fit well. Arms appeared well cared for; equipments the like. Setting-up drill took place daily, as well as skirmish drill; the manual and marching were up to regular army standard. The artillery and cavalry were good, but hired horses prevent reaching perfection. The signal service was good. Target practice was excellent.. Guard duty averaged well. Rations are included in the two dollars a day appropriated for the men. The First and Second Corps cadets are ideal or- ganizations, with no superiors anywhere. The National Guard of Massachusetts has few equals in the United States; as a volunteer organization, no equal abroad. It can be ordered into active serv- ice as a division and do good work from the start. Michigan has a force of twenty-five hundred and fifteen men, in PHESMILTIVAS BY SEATES, 645 one brigade of four regiments, or forty companies. A tax of sev- enty-two thousand dollars sustains this militia. The annual en- campment costs forty thousand dollars. The State draws twelve thousand dollars in United States stores. This body of men is excellent. Practice marches and the problems of attack and de- fense are made part of the annual drill, and the men are worked hard. Some parts of the drill are as good as in regular regi- ments. Skirmish drill has not been so well taught. The United States inspecting officer of 1891 reported the arms and equip- ments lacking in care, and that the elective system forbade the officers to exert sufficient severity to control the men—a trouble which is universal. Discipline could be improved somewhat. There is a canteen system. The food at mess was reported too rich and varied. The simpler United States ration is better. Battalion and brigade drill were creditable, and there was a marked interest in the work and decided improvement. Part of the expense falls on the men, which is a mistake. The Michi- gan National Guard is a more than creditable body. Minnesota has three regiments of ten, nine, and eight companies, and two battalions of artillery, a total of eighteen hundred and thirty-eight men. The annual encampment is by regiments, and costs seventy thousand dollars; appropriation forty thousand dollars. The men receive one dollar and fifty cents a day, and seven dollars for rations, during the encampment. At the 1891 encampment discipline in camp was reported good, but salutes often lacking. Obedience was cheerful. RRoll-calls were slack. Guard duty was, as usual, not well understood, but distinct im- provement was made. The policing of camps was excellent. During the ten days there was a marked gain made. Drills were fairly good. Skirmish drill was tolerable only. Dress parades and reviews were excellent. Target practice showed proficiency. It is questionable whether the artillery is worth sustaining unless put on a far better footing. | Mississippi has a force of seventeen hundred and twelve men. Reports as to its standing have been unobtainable. Missouri has four regiments of thirty-three companies, a total of twenty-three hundred and eighty seven men. There is an annual encampment, but the men pay their own expenses and receive no compensation, the State appropriating but twelve thousand five hundred dollars. The encampment of 189! was held near St. Joseph, but in an unfavorable locality, and the camp was so poorly laid out as to interfere with proper drill and dis- 646 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? cipline. The messing was by companies and excellent. The food issued cost twenty-four and a half cents per ration. Guard duty was zealously performed, but with lack of knowledge of its requirements. All desired to learn. Guard mounting lacked uni- formity and skill. Drills were constant despite the heat, but showed that the men had not had enough armory work. At review and dress parade there was an improvement. Instruc- tion of officers was daily held. Target practice had received little attention. Setting up was poor, and roll-calls slack. The uniform is the United States fatigue, but was not neat and well brushed. Arms were ill cared for. Considering that the men defray their own expenses, the encampment may be pronounced a success. The men should be taught all minor duties in the armories, and leave the encampment for the larger work. Much may be ex- pected from future encampments. Montana has one regiment of ten companies, two troops of cavalry, and one battery, a total of five hundred and seventy men. No appropriation was made in 1890 and 1891 for the legal annual encampment, owing to the expense of those of 1888 and 1880. The troops were inspected at their several armories. There is a great difference in the companies. Some of them are a farce, some in a chaotic condition. The artillery company’s guns were in bad order; the cavalry company was rarely mounted. It is cavalry only in name. Some of the infantry companies, on the other hand, are good. The fersonnel, largely hardy miners, is splendid, but a lack of instruction is manifest. In some com- panies discipline is excellent. There is no target practice. A great deal of enthusiasm and soldierly spirit may be seen, but they require systematic development. Nebraska has by law an annual encampment, but not always an appropriation. In 1891 there was an encampment. The thousand and seventy-three militia are in two regiments of ten companies each of infantry, one four-gun battery, and one troop of cavalry. The State spends fourteen thousand dollars a year on the militia. During the Indian outbreak of 1890-91 the Nebraska troops were under arms. The fersonnel is good; clothing and arms are fair. The cavalry and artillery horses are not well trained. There is no target practice, and at the annual encampment there was not enough work; the picnic idea was uppermost. But the desire to learn was manifest, and at the end of the encampment matters went much more smoothly. The arms and equipments are not uniform or well cared for. Camp policing was good. Messing 4 THE MILITIA. BY STATES. 647 was not well systematized. The National Guard needs more support from the public. Nevada has a battalion of five hundred and seventy-five men, in seven companies. There is an irregular encampment, and occasional public reviews are held. The State pays part, the companies part, of the expenses. Many good riflemen are in the ranks. The members are mostly laboring men, and show a com- mendable spirit in keeping up the organizations without assist- ance. But there is not enough support given to the Nevada National Guard to enable it to do as well as its zeal prompts. New Hampshire has a force of twelve hundred and twenty-nine men in one brigade, or three regiments of eight companies each, one four-gun battery, and one troop of cavalry. The annual ap- propriation is thirty thousand dollars, and the cost of the annual encampment eighteen to twenty thousand dollars. The annual encampment of 1891 was an improvement on its predecessors. The men were constantly at work. The policing was excellent. Arms were only fairly well cared for. Discipline was very good; all were anxious to learn. The five days devoted to the work are quite too little. There should be more setting up and skirmish drill, more guard-duty instruction in armories, and more target practice. The past year has shown the New Hampshire National Guard to rank high. But there is room for developing the good points already shown. New Jersey has a volunteer militia forty-two hundred and thirty- three strong, in one division of two brigades, seven regiments, and three battalions. The fersonnel is not uniform. There are many men in the ranks physically defective, whom active service would at once weed out. Arms are in good condition, but accou- trements are not all on hand. The uniform is the United States fatigue, and generally good. Guard mounting and drills are creditable, and there is an efficient signal corps. Target practice is held after the encampment, and is admirable. Rationing is by company, and well managed. On the whole, the National Guard of New Jersey is of a high grade. New Mexico's National Guard has been much neglected until of late, and is still somewhat chaotic. It has not been well sustained by the Legislature. It is reported as numbering five hundred and eighty-six men. There is a regiment of infantry and one of cav- alry, each of five companies, which it is hoped to increase to seven. Drills are fair; arms pretty well cared for; accoutrements lacking. Reviews are unsatisfactory from lack of practice. Considerable 648 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? EEE interest exists, and it is hoped that the National Guard of New Mexico will receive more recognition. The members are enthu- siastic, but can not build up a militia without public aid. New York has a National Guard of thirteen thousand five hun- dred and thirty-nine men. There are four brigades of fourteen regiments, one battalion, forty-five unattached companies, five batteries of artillery, a troop of cavalry, and three signal corps. At the last camp of instruction eighty-three per cent of the total enlistment was present. The State has many armories. The State post and camp ground at Peekskill are excellent. Target practice is held at Creedmoor instead of at camp of instruction. All regiments have not yet been armed with the standard weapon, and in some regiments the equipments are showy but poor. Pa- rades are well done; guard duty poorly. Drills are fair. The encampments show a steady progress; the men are anxious to learn, but the company officers lack instruction. The New York National Guard is of so high a grade that what in their encamp- ment there is found to criticise would in many States be subject of commendation. Some regiments in camp are as near perfect as can be. The State could turn out a larger force of well-trained men fit for active service than any other. But even in New York setting up is defective ; the noncommissioned officers do not exert enough authority, and officers, noncommissioned officers and men have not enough instruction. Some special regiments are unsurpassed in quality. The attitude of the National Guard of New York in the late strike at Buffalo shows it more than worthy of high commendation. North Carolina has four regiments, of six, six, seven, and eight companies respectively, and one company of cavalry, besides two colored companies; total, fifteen hundred and eighty-six men. The State neither pays nor feeds its militia; the expense falls on the men, a matter which will never create an efficient National Guard. Cloth is had from the United States, but the men have to make it up. Battalion drill is simple and good; the spirit of the men is excellent, but the encampment is too much like a pic; nic. There is no target practice nor instruction in guard duty, but arms and equipments are clean. More work should be done at the encampments, and more instruction be given in the armo- ries. It is a pity that so strong a military spirit as that which prompts the men to continue the National Guard without State aid should not be properly fostered. It is a distinct loss to the State. The fine material should be molded into form. evil tA; BY oS tATES, 649 North Dakota has five hundred and thirteen men in one regi- ment of nine companies of foot, one battery, and two troops of cavalry. For the 1891 encampment eleven thousand dollars was _ appropriated by the State, and the same for 1892. The drill was fair; the parades and marching were good. Sentry duty was slack. The men were well employed from 6.30 A. M. to 6 P. M., and de- cided improvement was shown. Some officers were well in- structed, some lacking. Discipline was good, but showed that much was yet to be learned. There was one serious infraction: a company left camp without leave and went home, showing utter want of soldierly ideal. The uniform is the United States fatigue, and as a rule arms and accoutrements were fair. Policing was good, and messing by companies excellent. There is needed in- struction in setting up, guard duties, and target firing. The jer- sonnel is high, and much improvement may be looked for. Ohio has:a legal force of ninety-five hundred men enrolled; a force of fifty-three hundred and seventy-three men armed and equipped, viz., two regiments of twelve companies, one of eleven, three of nine, two of eight, one battalion of three colored com- panies, one unattached company, one regiment of eight batteries of artillery, and two troops of cavalry. For the annual encamp- ment eighty-five thousand dollars is appropriated. The compa- nies are reported as greatly varying in quality, but are generally good, and the fersonnel is universally excellent. The officers are of a high grade, and the enlisted men of the best material. There are apparently no idlers in the ranks. The guard duty at annual encampment was reported well done, and drill, both company and battalion, fair. One troop of cavalry was reported of very high grade. The men receive one dollar a day, and forty cents for rations. The encampment is for six days. The uniform is the United States fatigue. The arms are mostly the regulation ; some of the older ones were battered and rusty, and accoutrements were mixed. Clothing and equipments in many companies were not neat. Messing was by company. Policing was generally ex- cellent, occasionally bad. Roll-calls were slow. The men looked on such routine as unessential. Drills were for three and a half hours daily, and the men showed steady improvement. Setting up was poor, and ignorance of guard duty could be seen. There was no target practice. Discipline and individual behavior were good, but saluting was neglected. On the whole, the Ohio Na- tional Guard is in good shape, and able to do excellent service. Oklahoma has no militia. 650 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? a ee eS eee Oregon has a brigade of three ten-company regiments, two troops of cavalry, and one battery ; total, fifteen hundred and six men. The annual encampment of 1891 cost the State thirty thou- sand dollars. Few companies had ever seen a battalion drill, but all were eager for instruction. Guard mount and dress parade had to be learned aé inztio, but were properly taught during the encampment. The sentinels improved rapidly. Work was steady. The officers are fairly Competent, the men zealous. Rationing was by contract. The chief thing learned at the 1891 encamp- ment was guard duty. In this the men made great progress. Poor guard duty is a general criticism in almost all the States. Pennsylvania's National Guard is eighty-four hundred and six- ty-nine strong—one division, three brigades, fifteen regiments, one hundred and twenty-seven companies and one independent com- pany, and one battalion of four companies, three cavalry compa- nies, and three artillery companies. The troops are organized, armed, and equipped like regulars. Each infantry company re- ceives five hundred dollars for armory rent; each artillery and cavalry company receives one thousand dollars. The pay of offi- cers is, for the time employed, at the same rate as those of the United States: orderly sergeants receive three dollars a day, sergeants two dollars, corporals one dollar and seventy-five cents, men one dollar and fifty cents, plus twenty-five cents for a re- enlistment. The annual encampment is eight to fourteen days, — and is by division, brigade, or regiment, but only five days’ pay is allowed. The annual appropriation is three hundred thousand dollars, of which the encampment costs one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The enlistment is for three or five years. Of ficers are subject to examination, though elected by the men. They have winter schools. Sixty per cent of the men are quali- fied marksmen; twelve per cent are sharpshooters. Employers are generally interested in the attendance of the men, and the State rules are rigid; ninety-five and a half per cent of the men have been present at the annual encampment. Absence without leave is actually punished, which is not commonly the case elsewhere. The material of the rank and file is of the very best, relatively better than that of the officers, who are of the highest class but not always instructed in their duties. The uni- form is the United States fatigue. Discipline is good. Arms and equipments are not well cared for; the setting up is poor, and military courtesy is not usual. There is not much alertness on guard. Too much time is given to parade and review. Skir- "YIOK MIN YUoUMISIY YUEAIS ay} Jo ALOU i : : y t 3 2 : i sett THE SMILITIA BY STATES, . 651 mishing should rather be practiced. The National Guard of Penn- sylvania is a division really equipped and ready for the field. Its condition may well be emulated. The late troubles at Home- stead, among the most serious labor problems we have ever en- countered, and the concentration of the entire militia on the spot, have proved the stanchness of this National Guard beyond cavil. Rhode [sland’s National Guard numbers fourteen hundred and thirty-four men, in one brigade of two regiments of eight com- panies each, two independent companies, two batteries, and a bat- talion of two companies of cavalry. Nearly thirty thousand dollars is spent annually on the militia. The annual encampment costs eighteen thousand dollars. It is held at Oakland Beach, a locality affording much room for larger manceuvres. Arms and equip- ments at the 1891 encampment were reported old but in good condition, of United States standard of 1878. The dress is the fatigue uniform of the United States. The men worked hard; from 5 A.M. reveil/é to brigade drill, ending at 5.30 Pp. M., there was little let-up. On two days there were sham battles with the entire command. Every man enjoyed the work. Company drills were good; the colored companies proved to be the best in skir- mish drill. The cavalry and artillery drilled as well as could be expected with hired horses. Setting up and more steadiness in the ranks were desirable. Guard duty was only fair. Policing was poor. No target practice was held, for lack of a range. South Carolina has a National Guard of fifty-six hundred and sixteen men, including twelve hundred and twenty-four cavalry and five hundred and forty artillery. The infantry is brigaded. There are five regiments with, in all, forty-six companies, two regiments with fifteen companies, and four unattached companies. There are two regiments of cavalry of eleven troops, four battal- ions of cavalry of thirteen troops, and five unattached troops. There are three batteries of artillery. The number of men en- rolled in the National Guard of South Carolina is large in propor- tion to its population, but there does not appear to have been much done to discipline the force. There have been voluntary encampments of separate organizations, but no money is appro- priated by the State for general or regimental encampments. There have been too many companies raised and too little done for them. The United States fatigue suit is universal, and a dress uniform of gray. There was a centennial celebration at the State capital, which assembled a large number of organizations. The Adjutant General of South Carolina hopes to get an appropria- 652 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? tion from the State of five dollars per man passing inspection. The military spirit of the troops is said to be excellent; but with- out regular instruction, encampments, and inspections, such uni- formity as will make the body serviceable as part of a national reserve can scarcely be expected. It is hoped encampments will be held in future. South Dakota has a regiment five hundred and twenty-six strong, and an annual appropriation of four thousand dollars. “The troops are in excellent condition, well armed and equipped,” reports the Adjutant General of the State. An annual encamp- ment is provided by law, but no appropriation is made. The United States has given the State a part of the abandoned Fort Sisseton Military Reservation as a camp ground. Each company has two drills a month; average present, seventy-five per cent. There seems to be a soldierly spirit prevailing, and the promise is of a good National Guard. Tennessee has one brigade of three regiments of nine, seven, and five companies respectively, a company of cavalry, and a company of artillery; total, thirteen hundred and fifty-seven men. The battery has one twelve-pounder and three Gatling guns. An encampment was held in 1890, and one was intended to be held in 1892. The cost of the militia is about twenty-five thousand dol- lars a year. Each company receives two hundred dollars for armory expenses. The companies are said by the Adjutant Gen- eral of the State to be finely drilled, but .they have not acquired the habit of working as a body. There are two good military schools in Tennessee, each having a cadet company. It is hoped that the encampment system will be continued, and the National Guard be built up as a body ready for duty as part of a national reserve. | Yexas has thirty-three hundred and sixty-eight men. There is an annual encampment at Austin, and twelve hundred and twenty men appeared at it in 1891. The force was a division of two bri- gades. A battalion of the Twenty-third United States Infantry, a battalion of the Third United States Cavalry, and one battery of the Third United States Artillery also attended. The pres- ence of these regulars was an object-lesson eagerly received by the volunteers. The National Guard is well armed, has Gat- ling guns, and the cavalry is well equipped. The uniform is the United States fatigue; the two companies of Zouaves should have the dress changed. Messing by companies was excellent. Guard duty began ineffectively, but steady improvement was made. THE MILITIA BY STATES. 653 one ee eens eee neas ar NRE Company drill was good; battalion drill better than the year be- fore. Cavalry drill is improving. Artillery drill was fair. Dress parade was good. Mob drill was made part of the instruction at encampment. The fersonnel is very hardy and fine. Discipline was good, but saluting was rare. The policing was excellent. Instruction in camp was steady, but many officers and noncom- missioned officers were illy taught. There was no target practice. Arms were badly cared for. There was no knowledge of patrol duty or scouting, nor any skirmish drill. The men were badly set up. Great enthusiasm prevailed. A few more annual en- campments will make the Texas National Guard a superior body of men. Utah has no National Guard. It is hoping for a law to estab- lish one. Vermont has a National Guard of seven hundred and eighty-six men, in a brigade consisting of one regiment of twelve companies, +n three battalions, and one battery. The annual camp of 1891, at Bennington, for eight days, cost twenty thousand dollars. The uniform is the United States fatigue. The arms—United States regulation—were in fair condition ; equipments old. Discipline was good, military courtesy fair. Officers of excellent stuff, but lacking experience. The men are young, and not well set up. They were so new to the work that the programme made for the encampment could not be carried out. In drill there was much improvement over last year.’ Field manoeuvres were fair. Guard _duty was poor; the sentinels were uninstructed. Dress parade toward the end became almost perfect. Target practice was un- satisfactory. At this encampment the West Point Cadet Corps and Battery B, Fourth United States Artillery, were present, and their exhibition drills were highly appreciated. At the Benning- ton battle-monument dedication the parade was good. The Ver- mont National Guard is smaller than it should be. During the civil war one-tenth of the population of Vermont was in the field; now only one five hundredth belongs to the National Guard. It ought to be doubled in size by adding another regi- ment. The personnel is of the best, and with support by the State, so that good armory work can be done, the annual encamp- ments will end by making a fine body of men which will be a credit to the nation. Virginia's National Guard—“ The Virginia Volunteers '’—con- sists of twenty-eight hundred and forty-four men, in one brigade of four regiments of thirty-four companies, with two unattached 654 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? companies, one regiment of cavalry of six troops, one battalion of artillery of four batteries, and two battalions of colored infantry of ten companies. The appropriation of the State 1s ten thousand dollars; the organizations pay their own expenses. There is no general encampment. -Many of the companies are finely trained organizations, but they do not make one body ; they are a mere aggregation. Every one knows the military spirit which has always prevailed in the.State, and the splendid education given in the military academies. But to perfect her National Guard as a body, there should be annual encampments, and the several or- ganizations should be taught guard duty and skirmish drill, and be given a thorough training. Only thus can the holiday element be eliminated, and her National Guard be made a homogeneous part of the national reserve. Washington has a brigade of two ten-company regiments and two troops of cavalry; total, eleven hundred and forty-five men. The annual encampment costs twenty-three thousand dollars, raised by a special tax of one fifth of a mill on all property. The body is a promising one, considering its difficulties. West Virginia has two regiments of fifteen companies—seven hundred and twenty-eight men. Her annual encampment costs eight thousand dollars. Each company has an armory, paid for by the State. . At the encampment of 1891 arms were reported in bad order, but soon to be replaced by the latest pattern. Equip- ments were fair, with United States fatigue uniform. Most com- panies had also full dress, but no overcoats. ations were good ; cooking was defective. Guard duty was new to all the men. There had been little setting up and company drill, but improve- ment was seen in both toward the end of the encampment. There was no target practice. Discipline was good. Reviews toward the end of the period were fair. Health was not good; thirty-five per cent attended sick-call from change of water and other com- plaints. The men are only paid when in active, service. The material is good, but instruction is much needed. Wisconsin has four regiments of.foot, of ten, twelve, eleven, and seven companies respectively, with five independent companies, one squadron of cavalry, and one battery; total, twenty-seven hundred and thirty-seven men. The militia expenses are seventy- four thousand dollars annually. There is no general encamp- ment—only regimental. At these the men get one dollar a day, and the officers are paid United States rates. The State pays armory rent. The military duties are fairly done, but drill is THEVVADITIA BY STATES; 655 slow and inaccurate. The companies assemble but one week a year. Target practice is not of the best; paradesare good. The Third United States Infantry in 1891 camped near by, but only friendly intercourse existed between them and the volunteers—no official connection. As an object-lesson the presence of the regu- lars was invaluable. Work was constant for the period of the encampment. Review and inspection were fair. The march past was steady. Some raw recruits in the ranks spoiled the manual. Arms were generally unsatisfactory, but equipments were fair and uniforms good. The men were illy set up, but eager to learn. Officers were intelligent. The policing was, in general, excellent. Discipline was fair, but lack of instruction was apparent. In one battalion better training was observed, and the result made an organization of much higher merit. The cav- alry, under the circumstances, was good; the same may be said of the artillery. The policing of the camp of one organization was poor, owing somewhat to the number of visitors. With more uniform rules the Wisconsin National Guard would be an effect- ive body. Wyoming has a regiment of seven companies, of three hundred and nine men. There is an annual encampment of seven days, but too large a part of the expenses falls on the men. The com- panies are far apart, and have a regimental organization only in name. At the 1891 encampment, at Laramie, the Seventeenth In- fantry joined the National Guard. The men were zealous, but had never had battalion drill before. Drills and parades were naturally full of irregularities. (Guard duty was poor from lack of instruction, but improvement was manifest each day. There was a want of setting up; otherwise a creditable appearance. Arms in some companies were clean, in others dirty; accoutrements were fair. Policing was good. Comradeship with regulars was marked ; the fraternization was complete; the volunteers were eager to learn, the regulars eager to teach. The personnel of the volunteers is fine. There is needed a better armory drill in setting up, guard duty, and skirmishing. Target practice was fair. The reports of the United States inspecting officers for the 1891 encampments were unusually explicit; and the status of the several bodies in that year has therefore been adopted. It may be noted, as a general observation, that these forces are as yet only a promising body of men, by no meansanarmy. How 656 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? to make them into an efficient force ready at any moment for the field, is the problem before us. The fersonnel of the National Guard is of the very highest. It is doubtful whether even Prussia can boast the make-up of our militia, despite the large proportion of her one-year men—i. e., those who have passed the equivalent of our college curriculum. There is less technical and book training, but more independence and self-reliance, in our ranks—the very element sought for to-day in all soldiers. In some of the companies the highest social ele- ment is represented, and throughout the whole force there is nothing left to be desired in the grade of men. It is the universal testimony of the United States inspecting officers that there were very few idlers in the ranks, scarcely any who represented the loafing element. Nine tenths of the men belong to the National Guard at a marked personal sacrifice, and from love of the work. The average age is probably about twenty-five. Relatively speak- ing, the stuff of the rank and file is superior to that of the officers, who are not proportionately more intelligent, nor in their sphere so well educated or trained. The men are usually their equals in intelligence; they assimilate their training and simple lessons quickly. The officers have so much more to learn that they do not reach, for their position, so high a grade of efficiency. There are in some States too frequent changes in the personnel by shifting of residence. This is to a certain extent unavoidable under State government of the militia. Should the United States be given a general supervision of the National Guard, the man who left one company could be provided with a transfer to the company nearest his new domicile. At times, owing to these changes, there are so many new recruits in the ranks of some companies that instruction falls far short of its proper usefulness. The strength of a chain is the strength of its weakest link; so with a company. It is to be much regretted that in some States a considerable part of the expense of a military company falls on its members, owing to the inability or unwillingness of the.State Legislatures to appropriate sufficient moneys. This is onerous, and ought not to prevail. To make an efficient national reserve, all the expenses incident to thorough instruction and discipline, as well as cloth- ing, arming, and equipping, should fall on the public. Ina few States the men attend encampments at very marked personal loss, forfeiting their own wages at whatever their business, being com- pelled Me employers to find a substitute before being permitted to ‘pren3 }ys1u Iu pue fe da “ UNIFORM AND DISCIPLINE. 657 leave, and receiving no compensation from the State. In more States the employers look favorably at the matter, and freely give leave of absence from their work to all militiamen. In other States the employers take small interest in the militia, and are noncom- mittal in the premises—not wanting, meanwhile, to have their business suffer by the absence of their workmen. Again, the whole cost of the uniform falls on the men in some States, or the cloth is issued to them and they have to pay for making it up, which is the bulk of the cost. It must take a keen relish of mili- tary affairs, or else a strong. sense of patriotism or duty, to enlist in the militia under these circumstances. Moreover, some of the very best men are held back from enlistment because of the at- tendant expense—a matter much more to be regretted. So long as the volunteers are solely under State control such things are unavoidable. The question of uniform is much debated. Many of the old historical organizations oppose any change in their inherited dress and trimmings. It is believed by others that, in order to retain the interest of the public, it is essential to have a gaudy uniform; that, as the militia encampments are the only things which catch the public eye, the useful should be sacrificed to the showy in order to win public approval. It is no doubt true that, in this country, appeals have to be made in this manner to the public purse. But the uniforming of the troops should be alike in every State at the annual encampments; and while there is no objection in local parades to any distinctive uniform or trimmings, when the troops come together in a body for the instruction which can be given but once a year, they should all wear the same dress. And there is nothing, on the whole, so useful, serviceable, and appropriate as the United States fatigue dress. More than one uniform is unnecessary, and should not be taken to camps of in- struction. This factis practically appreciated, and within a year or two there will be few organizations in the country which will not wear to the annual encampments the fatigue dress of the United States Army. So far as regards discipline, the main factor—willingness to learn—is apparent. Zeal, readiness to receive instruction, desire to excel, are clearly manifested. But the universal laxness in the simple matter of salutes, reported by all the inspecting officers, shows that the habit of the soldier has yet to be acquired. Salut- ing one’s superior is not discipline; but it is a common manifes- tation of it, and military courtesy lies at the root of obedience. 42 658 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? Such discipline as is to be found among troops hardened by the dangers and exposures of the field is not to be expected in militia in times of peace; but such discipline as can be enforced in an annual encampment is essential. It is thought by some inspectors that the volunteer militia can never be brought to a habit of salut- ing; that it is not essential—scarcely desirable. But in the very Beet volunteer organizations military courtesy is cultivated to as high a degree as in thesregular army. The men take as much pride in a soldierly salute as in being well set up. While we know that a mere salute, as a salute, is not material, we also know that the salute, as a manifestation of discipline, may be of the highest importance. It is noticed in many encampments that the men do not answer sharply to roll-call, but saunter in in a larking way savoring little of the soldier. Not that there is any antagonism to the restraints of discipline. On the contrary, the men show every disposition to respond to all that will reflect credit on their command; but the habit is not enforced by enough practice to produce the promptness which is characteristic of the true soldier. Prompt- ness at roll-call is one of the most essential things. It means promptness in other duties. Again, on going through the militia camps one is struck by the immense amount of baggage brought by the men. Far from carrying all that he needs in his knapsack, each man has a valise or handbag, and many bring trunks. This is an absurdity to which there should be put a speedy end. As the encampment lasts generally but a week, a single change of underclothing is all any man can need. Should it last a month, the men should none the less be held to no greater amount of baggage than the regu- lars. To learn to dispense with home luxuries and comforts is one of the earliest lessons of discipline. _ | The main defect so far of all the volunteer militia is that too much time is devoted to those things which make for show, and too little to the solid and more essential. The setting up of the men is by no means carefully looked to. It is rare that the militia- man has the soldierly appearance of the regular. He is apt to keep the independent swing, often the slouch, of the country-bred citizen. It is universally acknowledged that, next to the bearing and manners of the cultured man of the world, the bearing and manners of the old soldier are the best. TI have often been struck by the exceptionally good manners of some man who in other respects had nothing distinctive in education or social position ; DRILL AND MANCEUVRES. 659 and an inquiry has traced his bearing to a term of enlistment in some regular army. This habit of courteous and soldierly be- havior is to be cultivated. No perfection can be had in drill or manceuvres without a thorough setting up, which is the basis of a good carriage. This is armory work, and needs the careful atten- tion of the officers of the National Guard. That the volunteers are not averse to these things is clearly demonstrated by the admiration they show for the way things are done in the regular camps, when these are near their own. “I wish they would make us do things that way!” is a not infre- quent remark by a volunteer who admires the orderly, quiet, and soldierly aspect of a camp of regulars. In the manual of arms a few militia companies are as expert as or occasionally more expert than is common in the regular army. In guard mounting, the parade part of the ceremony 1s well understood and carefully executed; but the duties of the suard or the work of a sentinel are taught very superficially, if at all. Yet guard duty lies at the root of the safety of an army. Sentinels, as a rule in the annual encampments, show that they know nothing whatever of the purpose of their work; have no conception of what to doon post. The guard details are not large enough to give every mana turn at sentry-go; few learn anything, for the officers themselves have exceedingly limited ideas on this most important subject. Guard-duty manuals should be in the hands of all militia officers, and should be carefully studied. The rudiments of sentry duty can be readily taught in the armory. The instruction would be a relief to the dull uniformity of manual and company movements, and the men would enjoy learning a new thing, and a thing, moreover, which has so great importance in actual warfare. In drill, those manceuvres which are of utility in dress parade or reviews, such as forming column from line, marching past in column and reforming line, are carefully practiced, and are often skillfully conducted ; but the more important skirmish drill, to-day the foundation of all fighting manoeuvres, is not taught at all. This is a serious defect, but one easily remedied with some pains- taking. Heavy skirmish drill is the basis of the fighting of the next war. It should become part of the militia drill. Men must learn to depend on their own individuality. The old touch of elbows is a thing of the past. In the limited space allowed by the armory it may be more difficult to teach this essential art; but in camp 660 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? less time should be given to parades—even if the public does crowd about to admire—and more to the skirmish drill. The pub- lic will soon learn to appreciate the latter. One item can not be overlooked. The basis of all instruction is time. The term of five or six days during which the troops are usually encamped is utterly insufficient; ten days scarcely suffices for the most superficial training. To be in camp over one Sunday would not be without its advantages. Sunday-morning inspection is a ceremony of no little utility. So long as the entire control and expense fall on the several States more time can not well be expected; but the prevailing short period of assembling troops will never make a good national reserve out of our present volunteer militia, however promising the material. Nor can such drill as is most efficacious be insisted on until the United States shall have a voice in controlling the militia. The company drill, and often the battalion drill, of the National Guard is good. In some States it is all that can be desired, in others only fair. But as a rule it can be much commended, except that it makes for show rather than for service. In the guard duty and skirmish.drill all the volunteers are deficient. This is not astonishing, but it should be corrected. Arms and accoutrements appear to be not well cared for. It would be worth while to have good armorers in all the armories, as there already are in some; but, after all, the care of his arms and accoutrements must eventually, and properly should, fall on the man himself. He should learn from the armorer how to use, clean, and preserve his piece, and should then be held respon- sible for it, though it remains in the armory racks. The grades of care shown in the matter of arms are as various as the grades of intelligence and energy in the officers. This is true of all troops, regular and volunteer. T-he condition of the company will reflect the intelligence and ambition of the captain. Target practice is everywhere coming much into vogue, and in some localities great strides have been made init. The per- centage of men who are marksmen and sharpshooters constantly grows. This is work in the right direction and will continue to be fostered. Years ago it was on the frontier that the school of the rifleman was to be found. To-day the good marksman exists . where target ranges are most common. In some States target- shooting is held to be as important as the annual encampment. Patrol duty and scouting are rarely taught, but can be advan- tageously made part of the instruction of the encampments. Mob MARCHES AND ENCAMPMENTS. 661 EEE IIEENEIEEEEIEIESSEEEEEE eed drill and the details of street attack have in a few instances been introduced. The attack and defense of a camp, the establishing and defense of a picket line, are subjects of instruction which are of the greatest importance, but which are all but unknown in the militia. If armory drill is utilized not wholly to give men a per- fect manual, but to teach them the principles of guard duty and skirmishing, there will then be time at the annual encampment to give instruction in the minor operations of war, and to undertake manceuvres which simulate actual war. This is what is most essentially needed. Practice marches with full kit should be a part of each encamp- ment, but are wont to be found in few. The parade or picnic idea still prevails. Encampments take place where the matter is ex évidence, and those things are done which attract favorable com- ment. Perhaps this is a necessary means of gaining popular sup- port; but it were far better to have the encampments consist solely of work rather than largely of show or play. The system of prize drills, which in many places create jealous competition and foster heartburnings, is far from wise. The company whose manual or whose wheeling is most perfect may be the least use- ful. Ifa company should perfect itself in guard duty or skirmish- ing and lack somewhat of the c/ick-clack of the manual, it would still be far superior to a company whose knowledge was confined to the automatic movements of their pieces, however accurate. Very few- troops in campaign retain their manual steadiness; but they daily grow stronger in usefulness for war. The farther from the crowd of onlookers an encampment can be the better, so far as instructing the men goes. Other means of making the National Guard a popular institution should prevail rather than prize drills and dress parades. It would not take long to show the public wherein resided the soldier’s greatest value, or lead to its due appreciation. The policing of the camps, which are generally large and well- selected grounds owned by the States, is wont to be good. In the South they are sometimes policed by teams of hired negroes; but the facilities are such that the troops do not learn what would enable them to police a camp pitched in time of war in any less advantageous locality. Perhaps this is among the things which can only be learned by actual campaigning. But it would be well if the troops had time to set up and police the camp themselves. The same observation may be made with regard to the rationing of the men. Either the company officers or regimental quarter- 662 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? EE Eee master, or some other official now makes arrangements to mess the men ex bloc. This of course gives the National Guardsman no idea whatever of what he would have to do in order to cook his own rations in time of war. It may be impracticable to give this training, but some approach to it could be tried. The rationing of the men is usually done by contract, on a more or less large scale. It would be well, perhaps, if each company could do its own cooking, so as to let the men see this side of camp life, in- stead of having everything made too easy for them. In some camps the food is too rich and varied. The United States ration alone would be better and healthier. The necessity of a national reserve for use in time of public danger can scarcely be disputed. If danger comes, it will be sud- den and will need to be suddenly met. That it is not wise to have: a large standing army is the undoubted sentiment of the American citizen, and this sentiment is to be respected. We have in our National Guard a well-prepared clay which we may without great expense mold into a thoroughly national force of the people, and which may act by the people for the people. In what way shall we to the greatest advantage utilize this body? That it must be done by the General Government is impera- tive. Not that the forces shall be removed from the control of the States, except when called into the service of the United States. This is not permitted by the Constitution. But under the control of the several States this force can be nationalized and subjected to longer and better discipline than it now re- ceives. Congress has by the Constitution two powers—“to raise and support armies,” and “ to provide for organizing, arming, and dis- ciplining the militia.” To act under the first power is but to in- crease the permanent establishment—an undesirable and expensive matter. Under the latter provision Congress may utilize what is already a nucleus, and, being created by the States and composed, as a rule, of the best elements, will make a force distinctly more in accordance with our American ideas, and more apt to win the approval and support of the people than a large regular army ever can. Weaknesses have been pointed out in the material of which the volunteer militia is now composed—such as the migratory nature of our people, which fact would constantly be withdraw- ing from the ranks of a national reserve individuals who trans- ferred their domicile to a new place. But this, as already shown, NECBSSIDY OF) DISCIPLINE, 663 SS eee would affect only a small percentage of the men enrolled, and could be met by fresh enrollment of the migrating individual in his new domicile. Were the objections which might be urged many fold greater than they are, the fact that the National Guard now numbers in its ranks the best young men of each community is a prevailing reason for building on it as a foundation rather than to seek a fresh means of raising men. Whatever advantage there might be in a more centralized force, the certainty of its not meeting popular approval condemns it. The material is unquestionably of the best. The question is how to instruct and discipline the material so that it may reach a condition of greater availability for active duties. To-day the force is not available, owing to lack of training and of soldierly habits, and the want of homogeneity in the whole body. No amount of zeal will replace training. A part at least of the disci- pline of the regular soldier must be bred upon the patriotism of the citizen. Soldierly ambition the National Guard has in abun- dance, but it has not yet acquired soldierly habit. Every one familiar with military efficiency knows that the value of a regular force resides in each man’s having done certain things until they have become second nature, and he instinctively does these things. However excellent some of the companies or regiments of the National Guard may be, it is plain that they have not yet acquired that habit of obedience which is the soldier’s greatest virtue, which makes it all but impossible for him to do otherwise than he is ordered to do or than he is used to doing. This habit in no wise conflicts with the soldier's intelligent initiative, so keenly sought to-day. The two march hand in hand. It will be readily acknowledged that the best results can not be accomplished unless the active militia be, to a given extent, taken from the several States and put under the authority of the United States—or at least unless a right of general control be yielded to the United States by the States. Uniformity can not otherwise be obtained, nor that impress made upon the force which will produce the homogeneousness essential to the best conditions for war. But the United States can not assume sole control. The President has the right to call the militia into the service of the United States only “to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.” The pro- vision for “organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia ” does not permit the General Government to assume control of the Na- tional Guard, or to treat it as a part of the regular establishment. 664 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? ee This is, in fact, just what is not to be desired. What induces the very best element to enlist in the National Guard is the fact that it is a State institution. State pride is strong, and this is one of the strongest manifestations of it. But so long as the National Guard can remain a State corps, all its members would be glad of such United States control as should make it perfect as a military body. This has been clearly shown by the system of inspection of the past few years. Americans do not lack the military instinct. At the Paris Exposition of 1878 a company of marines was sent over to act as guard for the United States department. The men had been specially selected for their good behavior and soldierly bearing. They wore the simple fatigue dress, but were by far the best looking detail on duty. “Have you seen the American soldiers?” Was in every one’s mouth. Our countrymen showed commend- able pride in these men. When a military duty is well done it does not always fail of commendation among us. It is probable that if the United States would assume certain portions of the expense of maintaining the active militia, the States would yield up so much of their control as would suffice to accom- plish the end sought. It is not desirable that the National Guard shall be made too much of a national force; it is better that it should remain a distinct State organization. The fact that it is provided by the Constitution that the officers shall be commis- sioned by the Governors of the several States, would of itself re- tain the home flavor. The readiest way to secure such a transfer as is desired of the militia organizations from the States to the national Government would be to offer inducements to the National Guard to enroll itself as a national reserve, which inducements should be coupled with the obligation to undertake such additional drill and work as shall make-the enrolled bodies more efficient. The inducement must be pecuniary, a thoroughly liberal per diem for the time spent in armory work.and in camp of instruction; the obligation that of giving up a certain number of evenings a month to drill and schooling, and of attending camp of instruction at least one full month in each year. It may be set down as settled that less than a month, plus the evening drills, will not suffice to make a force which can be considered fit for its work. Even this much will suffice only with the most intelligent element. The present staff corps of the regular army can without diff. culty, by additional clerical aid, attend to the wants of the na- A NATIONAL RESERVE. 665 tional reserve. Abroad, no greater staff corps control hundreds of thousands of men; and our American genius for administration forbids the necessity of a largely increased force. Special staff corps for the national reserve are not essential. In fact, it is better to have our present regular army become interwoven in interests and duties with a national reserve; for, in case of war, they must work in unison, and it is better to have already made acquaintance. Each State now has certain staff officers, who can be utilized, and any additional officers necessary had better be commissioned by the State, though paid from the national Treas- ury, and responsible to the War Department at Washington. There would have to be a certain number of instructors and inspecting officers for the national reserve. The latter could readily be detailed, as they now are, from the regulars; the for- mer would have to be appointed in sufficient numbers, and would be of no utility unless men of ability and regular training. Here is a field for retired officers of the army. The inspectors would perform their duties mainly at the annual encampment, but could make tours at regular intervals through the armories and report thereon to the Inspector General at Washington. There would be no difficulty in detailing fifty such inspectors from the present regular forces. The instructors would have to be more numerous, and would be constantly at work, going from armory to armory in their re- spective States, lecturing to officers and men, showing the com- pany officers how to perfect the training of their men, over- seeing the training of the noncommissioned officers, and generally watching the effect of the instruction they themselves impart and that of the State officers. There are unquestionably many organizations in the active militia of the several States which would be glad at once to enroll themselves as a body in a national reserve. There are certain seasons of the year when nearly all the enlisted men could give a month to serious military work, if properly paid for it. Unless a man could do this he would be unavailable. Once well started, such enrollment would be a matter of pride, and would be eagerly embraced. Such members as could not give so much time would be dropped, and others would take their places. There is no doubt that at least as large a force as is now carried on the State muster rolls as active militia could be enrolled in the national ‘reserve. It could probably be doubled if desired. The main thing would be the inducement, and this could be 666 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? made liberal. A per diem of two dollars a day to each enlisted man, a higher rate to corporals and sergeants, and the equivalent of the United States Army officers’ pay to each officer in a month’s encampment, would amount to but six million dollars a year, and of this amount the States are now paying a large part. To add to this fifty cents for every attendance at a three hours’ weekly drill or lesson, to be given in the evening, say forty in the year, would be two million doliars more. Without a liberal per diem the national reserve could not be made either attractive or popu- lar, or, in other words, successful. It has been claimed by some that to pay the National Guard more than a pittance would be apt to invite the loafer class to enlist; but this is not probable. Some States now pay their National Guard as much, and they are the very States which have the best material in the ranks; and steady work would soon eliminate the loafers. The organization should be made similar everywhere. The infantry should be in battalions of four companies each, three to the regiment, suitably officered. The brigades and divisions should be put on a regular basis. The bulk of the national re- serve would be infantry. It is questionable whether cavalry and light artillery can be made effective under militia organiza- tion; the question of horses is too serious. Unless horses are kept solely for this purpose they can not be trained to a high — enough degree. Both these arms are better left to the regular forces. There might, however, be to advantage a battery of Gat- ling guns in each brigade. The maritime States might enroll part of their quota in heavy artillery companies. This would be especially useful when our projected system of coast defenses takes on a definite form. Under the Constitution the officers of the national reserve would have to be commissioned by the Governors of the States. But they could be subjected to examinations which would pre- vent any but competent men from remaining in command. A board of part regular and part State officers could be constituted, which would gradually strike all but suitable officers from the rolls. The subject of examination would relate strictly to their capacity to drill, discipline, and command the men under their charge. The period of enlistment should be five years; the age from eighteen to thirty. The oath of enlistment, in addition to the State requirement, would be to bear allegiance to the United States and to answer its call for active duty. ‘UISUODSIAA ‘BONA ‘uoIpenbs ss1oFY WS] “ A NATIONAL ‘RESERVE. 667 = In many States attendance at stated armory drills, which occur several times a month, is enforced by a system of fines, collectable by process. This appears to be the simplest manner of exerting an authority over National Guardsmen, and could be continued to advantage. A given number of drills, lessons to noncommis. sioned officers, and lectures to officers should be provided and rigidly carried out. Nothing short of absolute inhibition of sky. larking, so prominent among militiamen, will do. As to arms, accoutrements, camp and garrison equipage, etc., the reserve should be made so far as possible to conform to the regular forces. It might take some years to perfect the change, but the active militia is now so nearly armed and equipped ac- cording to United States regulations that the rest can be readily completed. It is merely a question of expense, and not a great one at that. Just where the line of demarcation between State expense and the United States disbursements should be drawn it might .be dificult to say, as some States are very generous to their active militia, and some do nothing for it. But those States which now provide amply for the National Guard would continue to do so on the same basis, and the premium on enrolling in the national reserve would soon tempt organizations in the backward States to emulate the others in adding to the quota of the country’s Landwehr. The United States now distributes four hundred thousand dol- lars a year among the States in armsand material. If, in addition to this sum, it should suitably pay the men for the month in camp, for each attendance at armory drill or lessons, the burden would be equitably divided. All the States would unquestionably do the rest, especially if the donation of stores and arms and the pay- ment of its portion of the national reserve were made dependent upon such action. The country can better afford a liberal scale of compensation to the national reserve than to have a national reserve of no par- ticular value. Men who do not attend should be fined, or dis- missed for constant nonattendance. Men who make no progress or who do not seek to learn should be similarly got rid of. The matter must be on a basis as serious as the work of the regulars, and with one evening lesson a week and thirty days in camp the exceptionally intelligent material which could be got together— which is now together—could be brought to such a degree of eff- ciency as to be available at any moment. 668 MILITARY RESOURCES—HOW SHALL WE UTILIZE THEM? The rationing of the national reserve in its encampment would best be done by a commutation, say forty cents a day to each organization for each man present, to be paid to its commis- sary. Any saving could be made a company fund, of which the several companies would be proud. It could be used for armory improvements and many military luxuries, which would heighten the value of the company in the eyes of its members. | The State encampments need not be interfered with, but a national reserve would afford opportunity for larger encamp- ments, speedy mobilizations, and manceuvres. The United States is readily divisible into ten military districts, with from seven thousand to thirteen thousand troops in each, of which the smaller groups are those most likely to increase in numbers, viz. : Strength of national reserve about I. New. England States. ...'...2 se cee «6 oe + aloe ee eee 12,800 men, BIN Gay FYOYK J. <. slaes cs nk eeiisesl el oe oie se eee 13,500. * 3. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware... ...<).¢.ioseus See 13,200 an 4. Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina ye thie mea eso. eee Pres OL oh “233800 44 5. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi................. 10,300 “ 6. West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan.... 11,300 “ 7