for many years yielded vast quantities of lead. The coal fields cover an area of 44,000 square miles. There are salt springs in Gallatin, Jackson and Vermillion counties; and medicinal springs, chiefly sulphur and chalybeate, have been found in several places. Excellent building stone for heavy masonry, are quarried at Joliet, La Mont, Quincy, and other places.

Illinois possesses pre-eminent facilities for water transportation, the Mississippi river forming the entire western boundary, and the Ohio the entire southern, while Lake Michigan bounds it on the northeast 60 miles. The Illinois river is navigable for steamboats 286 miles. Rock river, though having obstructions near its mouth, has in times of high water been navigated for a considerable distance. Kaskaskia, Sangamon and Spoon rivers have also been navigated by steamboat, but the construction of railroads has in a great measure superseded the necessity of this means of transportation. Among the rivers are the upper portion of the Wabash, which receives from this State the waters of the Vermillion, Embarras and Little Wabash. The principal tributaries, or sources, of the Illinois river are Kaskaskia, Des Plaines and Fox rivers. Lake Peoria is an expansion of the Illinois river, near the middle of the State. Lake Pishtoka, in the northeast part, is a lake of some importance.

Illinois, extending through five degrees of latitude, presents considerable variety of climate. Peaches and some other fruits, which do not succeed so well in the northern part, rarely fail to yield abundantly in the southern part. The State has immense agricultural capabilities, unsurpassed, indeed, by any other State in the Union, unless it may be the younger State of Iowa. Among its agricultural staples are Indian corn, wheat, oats, rye, potatoes, butter and cheese. Stock raising on the prairies of Illinois has, for many years, been carried on extensively. All the fruits and vegetables common to the latitudes in which it is situated are successfully and abundantly produced.

Timber is plentiful, but not very equally diffused. The bottom lands are supplied with fine growths of black and white walnut, ash, hackberry, elm, sugar maple, honey locust, sycamore, cottonwood, hickory, and several species of oak. Some of these also grow on the uplands, and in addition white oak, and other valuable kinds of timber. White and yellow poplar flourish in the southern part, and cypress on the Ohio bottom lands."

As we have seen, Illinois did not become a member of the Federal Union until 1818, yet settlements were made within its limits about the same time that William Penn colonized Pennsylvania, in the latter part of the seventeenth century. These settlements, like other French colonies, failed to increase very rapidly, and it was not until after the close of the Revolution, that extensive colonization commenced.

Springfield, the capital of Illinois, was laid out in 1822. It is situated three miles south of the Sangamon river, in Sangamon county, and is surrounded by rich and extensive prairies, which have been transformed into splendid farms. Large quantities of bituminous coal are mined in this vicinity. This city will ever be memorable as the home of Abraham Lincoln, and as the place where his remains are entombed. In 1840 it had a population of 2,579; in 1850 it had 4,533; in 1860 it had 7,002; and in 1870 it had 17,364. Since the last date the population has increased rapidly. A new and magnificent State capitol has been erected, and Springfield may now be regarded as one of the flourishing cities of Illinois.

Chicago, on the site of old Fort Dearborn, is now the largest interior city of the United States. It stands on the shore of Lake Michigan, with the

Chicago river flowing through it. As the great commercial emporium of the Northwest, a special account of this city will be given elsewhere. Among other large and thriving cities are Peoria, Quincy, Galena, Belleville, Alton, Rockford, Bloomington, Ottawa, Aurora, Lincoln, Rock Island, Galesburg, Joliet and Jacksonville.

The internal improvements of Illinois are on a grand scale. The railroads traverse almost every county, connecting her towns and cities with her great commercial city on the lake, and with the markets of the East. Besides these, she has her great canal, from Chicago to Peru, uniting the waters of Lake Michigan with the Mississippi river. This canal is 100 miles long.

A few striking features of the natural scenery of this State may be mentioned. Along the Mississippi are bold and picturesque bluffs, rising from one to three hundred feet. "Starved Rock" and "Lover's Leap" are eminences on Illinois river, the former being a perpendicular mass of limestone, eight miles below Ottawa, and rising 150 feet above the river. It is so called from an incident in Indian warfare. A band of Illinois Indians took refuge on this eminence from the Pottawattamies, but being surrounded by the latter, they all died, it is said not of starvation, but of thirst. Nearly opposite "Lover's Leap" is "Buffalo Rock," 100 feet high. Here the Indians formerly drove the buffalo, and with shouts caused them to crowd each other over the precipice. On the banks of the Ohio, in Hardin county, is "Cave in the Rock," the entrance to which is but little above the water. The cave ascends gradually from the entrance to the extreme limit, back 180 feet. In 1797 it was the rendezvous of a band of robbers, who sallied forth to rob boatmen and emigrants. Other outlaws have since made it their abode. The following table shows the population of Illinois at the close of each decade, from 1800 to 1870.

*The above aggregate for 1860 includes 32 enumerated as Indians, and the same number enumerated as Indians in 1870.

MICHIGAN.

Michigan was formed out of a part of the territory ceded to the United States by the State of Virginia. It was detached from Indiana Territory, and become a separate Territorial government under an act of Congress approved January 11, 1805. It remained for more than thirty years under a territorial form of government, but embraced a vast region not now included in the State. During this time there was considerable legislation in regard to its boundaries, the most important of which was the adjustment of the boundary line between Michigan and the State of Ohio, in 1836. In January, 1833, a memorial of the Legislative Council of the Territory was presented in Congress, praying for admission into the Union as a State. The prayer of the memorial was not granted at that time, partly on account

of the disputed boundary question. Finally, on the 15th of June, 1836, an act was passed "to establish the northern boundary of the State of Ohio, and to provide for the admission of the State of Michigan into the Union, upon conditions therein expressed." One of the conditions was, that if a convention of delegates elected by the people of Michigan for the purpose of giving their assent to the boundaries, as declared and established by the act of June 15th, 1836, should first give their assent, then Michigan was to be declared one of the States of the Union. This condition having been complied with, Congress, on the 26th of January, 1837, passed an act declaring Michigan one of the United States, and admitting it into the Union upon an equal footing with the original States.

Michigan occupies two peninsulas, the southern one lying between Lakes Erie, St. Clair and Huron on the east, and Lake Michigan on the west; and the northern one between Lakes Michigan and Huron on the south, and Lake Superior on the north. The northern peninsula is about 320 miles in extreme length, from southeast to northwest, and 130 miles in its greatest width. The southern peninsula is about 283 iniles from north to south, and 210 from east to west in its greatest width. The joint area of the two peninsulas is 56,243 square miles, or 35,595,520 acres. The northern peninsula einbraces about two-fifths of the total area.

The southern peninsula is generally an undulating plain, with a few slight elevations. The shores of Lake Huron are often characterized by steep bluffs, while those of Lake Michigan are coasted by shifting sand-hills, rising from one hundred to two hundred feet in height. In the southern part of this peninsula are large districts covered with thinly scattered trees, called "oak openings."

The northern peninsula is in striking contrast with the southern, both as to soil and surface. It is rugged, with streams abounding in water-falls. The Wisconsin, or Porcupine Mountains, form the water-shed between Lakes Michigan and Superior, and attain an elevation of 2,000 feet in the northwestern portion of the peninsula. The shores of Lake Superior are composed of sandstone rock, which in places is worn by the winds and waves into many strange and fanciful shapes, resembling the ruins of castles, and forming the celebrated "Pictured Rocks." The northern peninsula of Michigan possesses probably the richest copper mines in the world, occupying a belt one hundred and twenty miles in length by from two to six miles in width. It is rich in minerals, but rigorous in climate and sterile in soil. Coal is plentiful at Corunna, one hundred miles from Detroit.

The State is so surrounded and intersected by lakes as to fairly entitle it to the soubriquet of "The Lake State." There are a number of small lakes in the interior of the State, which add to the general variety of scenery, but are not important to navigation. The Straits of Mackinaw (formerly written Michilimackinac) divide the southern from the northern peninsula, and connect the waters of Lakes Michigan and Huron by a navigable channel. There are a number of small rivers, the most important in the southern peninsula being St. Joseph's, Kalamazoo, Grand, Muskegon and Manistee, all emptying into Lake Michigan; and Au Sable and Siganaw, flowing into Lake Huron, and the Huron and Raisin discharging their waters into Lake Erie. The principal rivers of the northern peninsula are the Menomonee, Montreal and Ontonagon. The shores around the lakes are indented by numerous bays. Several small islands belong to Michigan, the most important of which is Isle Royale, noted for its copper mines.

The climate of Michigan is generally rigorous, except in proximity to the lakes, where the fruits of the temperate zone succeed admirably. The northern peninsula is favorable for winter wheat, but Indian corn does not succeed well. In the southern peninsula, Indian corn is produced abundantly, as well as the winter grains. This part of the State is pre-eminently agricultural.

Portions of the northern peninsula are heavily timbered with white pine, spruce, hemlock, birch, aspen, maple, ash and elm, and vast quantities of lumber are manufactured at the fine mill-sites afforded by the rapid streams. Timber is plentiful also in the southern peninsula, and consists chiefly of several species of oak, hickory, ash, basswood, maple, elm, linden, locust, dogwood, poplar, beech, sycamore, cottonwood, black and white walnut, cherry, pine, tamarack, cypress, cedar and chestnut.

ors.

Northern Michigan abounds in picturesque scenery, among which may be mentioned the "Pictured Rocks," composed of sandstone of various colThey extend for about twelve miles, and rise 300 feet above the water. Sometimes cascades shoot over the precipice, so that vessels can sail between them and the natural wall of the rock. This portion of the State every season attracts large numbers of excursionists and pleasure-seekers, on account of its charming and interesting scenery.

The State is named for the lake which forms a part of its boundary, and signifies in the Indian language, "Great Water." The first white settlements were by the French, near Detroit and at Mackinaw, in the latter half of the seventeenth century; but these colonies did not progress rapidly. This territory, with other French possessions in North America, came into possession of Great Britain at the peace of 1763. It remained under the dominion of Great Britain until the American Revolution, when it became the possession of the United States. The British, however, did not surrender Detroit until 1796. This region was chiefly the scene of the exploits of the celebrated chief Pontiac, after the expulsion of the French. During the war of 1812, Michigan became the theater of several of the battles and many of the incidents connected with that war. At Frenchtown, in this State, January 22, 1813, occurred a cruel massacre by the savages of a party of American prisoners of war. Gen. Harrison soon after drove the enemy out of the Territory, and removed the seat of war into Canada, where he fought and gained the battle of the Thames.

Lansing, the capital of Michigan, is situated on Grand river, in Ingham county one hundred and ten miles northwest of Detroit. It was selected for the seat of government in 1847, at which time it was surrounded by an almost unbroken wilderness. The river here affords excellent water power. A new and handsome State capitol has just been completed.

Detroit, situated on the river from which it takes its name, eighteen miles from the head of Lake Erie, is the largest city in the State. It was the capital until the removal of the seat of government to Lansing, in 1850. Historically it is one of the most interesting cities in the West. The French had here a military post as early as 1670. Three Indian tribes, the IIurons, Pottawattamies and Ottawas, had their villages in the vicinity. With other French possessions, it passed into the hands of the British at the peace of 1763, and twenty years later it came under the jurisdiction of the United States, although, as stated above, it was not surrendered until 1796. June 11th, 1805, it was almost totally destroyed by fire. Gen. Wm. Iull, first governor of the Territory of Michigan, then projected the city on a new

plan. On the 18th of August, 1812, this same Gen. Hull surrendered it into the hands of the British, but the latter evacuated it September 29th of the same year. In 1870 the population was 79,577, and since then has rapidly increased.

Among the other important towns and cities in the State, are Grand Rapids, Adrian, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, Jackson and Monroe.

The following table shows the population of Michigan at the close of each decade, from 1800 to 1870:

The above aggregate for 1860 includes 6,172 enumerated as Indians, and the aggregate for 1870 includes 4,926 enumerated as Indians.

WISCONSIN.

Wisconsin was formed out of a portion of the Territory of Michigan, but was originally a part of the Northwestern Territory ceded by the State of Virginia to the United States. On the 12th of December, 1832, a resolution passed the house of representatives directing, a committee to inquire into the expediency of creating a Territorial government for Wisconsin out of a part of Michigan. On the 20th of April, 1836, an act was passed and approved establishing a Territorial government. On the 20th of June, 1838, an act was passed and approved to divide the Territory of Wisconsin, and to establish the Territorial government of Iowa. June 12, 1838, an act was passed designating the boundary line between the State of Michigan and the Territory of Wisconsin. On the 6th of August, 1846, an act was passed and approved to enable the people to form a constitution and State government. On the 21st of January, 1847, the people adopted a constitution, and on the 3d of March of the same year an act of Congress was passed and approved for the admission of the State into the Union. By act of May 29, 1848, the State was declared admitted into the Union, to be entitled to three representatives in Congress after March 3, 1849.

The extreme length of Wisconsin from north to south is about 285 miles, and its greatest breadth from east to west is about 255 miles. It includes an area of about 53.924 square miles, or 34,511,360 acres. It is generally of an elevated rolling surface, with a large proportion of prairie. There are no mountains, properly so called, though the descent toward Lake Superior is quite abrupt, and the rivers full of rapids and falls, which afford valuable mill-sites. The great lakes, Superior and Michigan, lave the northern and eastern borders, besides which there are a number of smaller lakes, the most important of which is Lake Winnebago, southeast of the middle of the State. It is 28 miles long and 10 miles wide, and communicates with Green Bay through the Fox or Neenah river. In the northwestern part are numerous small lakes, with clear water, gravelly or rocky bottoms, and bold picturesque