their surplus provisions. The timber of this county consists of the various kinds found in many other counties, with the addi

tion of pine.

FARMINGTON, the seat of justice of St. François county, is a prosperous little inland town, and the public buildings are good. There are in Farmington four or five mercantile houses. The nearest landing on the Mississippi is at Ste. Genevieve, a distance of about thirty miles.

STE. GENEVIEVE COUNTY boundaries "begin in the Mississippi river opposite the mouth of St. Laurent Creek; thence in a direct line to the point of intersection of the principal forks of Saline Creek; thence in a direct line to the southwest corner of section one, township thirty-four north, range eight east ; thence in a direct line to the northwest corner of section thirtysix, in range five east, township thirty-seven north; thence on a direct line to the southeast corner of section twenty-three, township thirty-eight north, range six east; thence on a direct line towards the southeast corner of township thirty-nine north, range five east, so far as to intersect the northern or principal fork of Isle au Bois Creek; thence down the same to the Mississippi to the place of beginning."

Ste. Genevieve is so well described in the communication of Mr. Valle, that it is given entire, forming the principal description of the county; it is very justly remarked by Mr. Valle, that this part of the state has been overlooked. It is with the county of Ste. Genevieve, as well as the whole tier of counties situate upon the Mississippi, a peculiar advantage to have one side of their territory washed with a great river, on which steamers of various sizes, from the smallest up to those carrying seven or eight hundred tons, are seen moving, and stemming the current, or gliding with it at all times of the day and night. It must afford peculiar pleasure, enjoyed alike by the agriculturist, the miner, and the merchant, while standing on the shore, to observe a vessel thus contributing as an agent in his service, while she "walks the water like a thing of life."

The astonishment that was extorted from the Knickerbocker, on the banks of the Hudson river, when Fulton's first experi

ment presented a steamer descending that river, has ceased to be awakened in the minds of those who dwell on the western rivers. But the exclamation of wonder uttered by the honest Dutchman is easily accounted for, when he ran in wild alarm to his habitation, and exclaimed to his wife, " Anglesy, mine vrouw ! what have the Yankees been about? there goes a saw-mill down the river, sawing boards as she goes to market mit 'em!" The perpendicular cylinder, with the ascending and descending piston and lever-beam, had deluded the observer. The streams that water the county of Ste. Genevieve are Isle au Bois Creek, forming something like a natural boundary on the north of the county; Establishment river, farther south; River au Vase, that falls into the Mississippi on the southwestern corner; and Saline Creek, still nearer this corner of the county. These streams both flow into the Mississippi.

STE. GENEVIEVE, the seat of justice of the county, is a very ancient town, and one containing an intelligent and enterprising population. A considerable portion of these consist of the French inhabitants and their descendants, who were among the first settlers of Upper Louisiana. Annexed to Ste. Genevieve was a common field, situated in front of the town, in the river-bottom, containing originally four thousand acres ; but the river has reclaimed a larger part and parcel of the alluvial field, by virtue of having previously transported the material of which it was composed from the mountain regions above. There is a Catholic church at Ste. Genevieve.

"VOLNEY was formerly the Ste. Genevieve landing. It lies immediately on the bank of the Mississippi, a mile from the old town of Ste. Genevieve, being the finest situation for a town from the mouth of the Ohio to St. Louis. The bluffs, rising gradually from the river, form an extensive amphitheatre, with a good landing for the largest boats at low water.

"The country is rolling and broken, the bottoms rich, and the uplands of second quality. There are interspersed some rich valleys through the broken country. The growth of the bottoms and valleys is ash, maple, walnut, sycamore, cotton, and hackberry, and that of the uplands hickory and oak.

"The produce is principally corn, wheat, oats, and tobacco, The climate is healthy. The greatest resources of this section of country are its minerals, which are found in great abundance; copper, lead, iron, salt, and zinc, and several other minerals unknown.

"The copper ore is found on lands reserved by the government as mineral lands, of which a great portion of this county, of Madi son, and St. François consists. I received ten thousand pounds of red copper, which I sold in New-York, and have been informed that it was of an excellent quality. The copper ore is abundant, and yields a good per cent.; the lands reserved by the government will come into market in September, 1836.

"Lead ore is found from five to eighty miles back of this place, and our lead-mines are pronounced by English and German miners richer, easier worked, and at less expense, than the famed mines of Galena. I ship annually from this place three million pounds of lead. The mining operations in the last two years have increased fifty per cent.; and when the reserved lands come into market, the quantity of lead made will be double the present amount.

"The iron ore is the most abundant of our minerals. The celebrated Iron Mountain is thirty-five miles distant from this place, and a road could be made to it without crossing a single water-course. Coal is found in the bluffs of Illinois, and could be crossed over and the ore smelted at little expense.

"The first French settlers made salt four miles from this place in considerable quantities; but the article being imported from the Ohio and New Orleans at a lower price, it has long since been abandoned, though the water is said to be strong and good for the manufacture of salt. Those salines were worked by the Indians before the French settled the country, and remains of their kettles strew the ground to the present day.

"There are quantities of beautiful white and variegated marble twelve miles back of this place, said to be nearly as handsome as the Italian marble. The quarry has been opened, but not worked. The ridge in which it is found is upwards of a mile in length, and is supposed to contain a solid bed. There is a beau

tiful building-rock of a grayish white, which, when taken from the quarry, can be cut with an axe; but, if exposed to the air, becomes as hard as the common limestone. A house has recently been built with it at this place, and is much admired by all travellers who have seen it. The bluff on which the town is situated is very similar to the one on which St. Louis stands, and the rock is used for building. There are immense caves of white sand resembling snow within four miles of this place, of which large quantities are sent to Pittsburg, and used in the manufacture of flint-glass, &c., and also on board of steamboats to grind and polish their engines, and for other purposes.

"Our streams are fed by springs, and, running through a broken country, afford mill-sites and water-power for manufactures.

"If I have given you any information which may prove of ser vice to you, my object has been the public good, and also to bring into notice this part of the state, which has been neglected and overlooked. You will please correct the above, and mould it to your own ideas.

"Respectfully, your ob't servant,

"A. VALLE."

ST. LOUIS COUNTY is bounded on the north by the Missouri river, which is the division line between it and St. Charles county; on the east by the Mississippi river; the Merrimac river forms a natural boundary of this county along nearly all the southern side of it; and on the west it is bounded by Franklin county. The area of St. Louis county being about 500 square miles, it is twenty per cent. greater than the minimum extent prescribed in the constitution.

St. Louis is one of the best farming counties in the state, containing a large proportion of first-rate land. A part of this consists of the alluvial lands, extending from St. Louis along the margin of the Mississippi to the mouth of Missouri, thence up that river to Belle Fountain. The valley of Florisant is as rich and as productive as any portion of the earth, and now in a high state of cultivation. The valley of Riviere des Peres, west and southwest of St. Louis, is likewise exceedingly rich; and

the undulating tracts throughout the county are good farming lands. Dr. Beck, in his Gazetteer published in 1823, describes the uplands of the county as "generally prairie ;" but almost all of that tract of country thus described is now covered with a young growth of fine thrifty timber; and it would be difficult to find an acre of prairie in the county. There are some tracts of barrens where the timber is sparse. This important change is happily going forward in Missouri wherever the fires are kept out of the prairies.

The first settlements in this county were made at St. Louis, in 1764, by a company of French merchants, who fixed on this location as a suitable position for trade and intercourse with the Indians residing on the Missouri and Mississippi, and on their great tributaries above.

St. Louis county is watered by Rivière des Pères, Gravois, and Bonhomme Creeks, and an infinite number of clear bold springs, that gush forth as if just released from confinement by the rod of Aaron. There was originally much timber in this county suitable for building purposes; and considerable tracts yet remain covered with fencing-stuff. Iron ore has been found in the western part of the county; and lead has likewise been discovered. The stone coal banks are inexhaustible, and the quality excellent. The small towns of St. Louis county are less flourishing than those of almost any other county, the business transactions being generally confined to the city.

ST. FERDINAND (or Florisant) is a post-town, containing a Catholic church and a school for the instruction of young ladies, tastefully and beneficially managed by nuns, whose peculiar fitness for the pursuits to which they have devoted themselves has secured to their institution well-deserved celebrity.

MANCHESTER, situate towards the west side of the county, is a small pleasant village, and is a post-town. It is on the main road to Jefferson city, the seat of government.

CARONDELET (or Vide Poche) is an ancient French village, situate six miles below St. Louis, on the right bank of the Mississippi. This place was settled a little later than St. Louis, and a considerable tract of land in its vicinity was appropriated