bank of the Tippecanoe river. The north and east portions of the county were originally covered with a dense and valuable forest. The soil is generally very rich and fertile, and well adapted to the growth of wheat and corn, and other grains. The county is well watered by the Tippecanoe river, and by Mill, Mud, Owl and Chipwamunc creeks.

Rochester, the county seat, is located near the centre of the county, in direct railroad communication with Indianapolis and Chicago. It is a thriving town of about two thousand five hundred inhabitants. It possesses fair public improvements, good schools and churches, and shows the effects of a liberal spirit and enterprise on the part of its citizens. About two miles east of Rochester is located the famed "Lake Manitou," or "Devil's Lake." It covers an area of about thirteen hundred acres, and is about two and one half miles long. Many tales are told by some of the most substantial and reliable citizens, of an immense fish, or "devil-like" monster being seen at various times, in the night, and at a spot in the lake where bottom has never been found, although many efforts to reach it have been made. A legend has been handed down through several generations, by the Indians, to the effect that a party of their people, encamping on the east side of the lake, were surprised during the night by this monster, and after a desperate encounter, were all destroyed and dragged into the lake. Ever after this event, no Indian could be persuaded to go onto the lake. A fine mill stream flows from this lake-being fed by springs-which affords power for several large flouring mills in the town of Rochester. The county has made considerable advance in the several industries.

GIBSON COUNTY.

THIS County was named in honor of General John Gibson, secretary of the territory from 1801 to 1816, and repeatedly acting governor in the absence of Governor Harrison. The surface of the county is pleasantly undulating. A considerable portion of the soil is river bottoms on the Wabash, Patoka and White rivers. The balance was originally heavily

timbered with walnut, beech, hickory, ash, oak, etc. The soil is generally loam and sand, and very productive in corn, wheat and oats.

Princeton is the county seat. It is a thriving town, containing between two and three thousand inhabitants, located on the Crawfordsville and Evansville railroad, affording communication to the northern cities, and southern ports, via Ohio and Mississippi railroad. It has excellent school facilities, fine churches, and good public improvements. The citizens are enterprising, and take a just pride in the growth of their city.

GRANT COUNTY.

THIS County was named in honor of Captain Samuel Grant and Moses Grant, who were killed in 1789, in a battle with the Indians, near the creek since called by their name, in the northeast part of Switzerland county. The surface of the county is quite level, except a strip along the Mississinewa river, where it is decidely rolling. It was originally heavily timbered. The soil, without exception, is rich, and well adapted to the cultivation of grain, grass, fruit, etc. The farmers of the county are all blessed with abundant harvests; they are growing wealthy and independent.

Marion, a town of two thousand five hundred inhabitants, is the county seat, and a thrifty place. It has excellent railroad facilities, good schools, and, being surrounded with a fertile region of country, is destined to have a continuous growth. Jonesboro is another thriving town in this county.

HAMILTON COUNTY.

THIS county bears the name of Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the United States treasury, under Washington. The surface of the county is level in some parts, and gently undulating in others, and the soil, without any exception, is excellent, being well adapted to either corn, grain, or grass. There are, along White river, some dry, rich prairies, and, at the heads of Cicero and Stoney creeks, some wet ones, but they are quite small. The balance of the county was

proportion of oak, This is one of the

originally heavily timbered, with a good poplar, walnut, sugar, hickory, and beech. finest farming counties in Indiana, and most of the farmers have become wealthy.

Noblesville is the county seat. It is located in the centre of the county, and is a thriving town, with a population of about two thousand. It has good railroad facilities, good schools, and its public improvements will compare favorably with other towns of equal population. There are quite a large number of Friends in Hamilton county. They have done much to develop the resources of that section.

HANCOCK COUNTY.

HANCOCK County bears the name of John Hancock, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. The surface of the county is level, except in the vicinity of the water courses, where it is undulating. The county was originally heavily timbered. The soil is rich, and the only impediment to agriculture, was the wetness of some sections. This difficulty is being obviated by a system of drainage. Corn and wheat growing are the staple industries of the county, as also is the raising of horses, hogs, and cattle.

Greenfield is the county seat, and is a prosperous town, of nearly two thousand inhabitants. It is located on the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis railroad, twenty-one miles east of the capital. The town has good schools, is rapidly increasing in wealth and population, and is cultivating a spirit of public improvements.. The county, generally speaking, has made good progress.

HARRISON COUNTY.

THIS County was named for our own General William Henry Harrison. The surface of the county and character of the soil are diversified. "The chain of knobs on the east, the river hills, and many places along Indian creek and Blue river, present as fine scenery as can be found in any part of the State. The bottoms, valleys, and a portion of the upland are

fertile, and were originally well timbered, but some of the barrens have many sink-holes,' in which are frequently entrances to immense caverns, and in many places the soil is very thin. Six miles west of Corydon is Wilson's spring, sixty feet in diameter, and, though it has been sounded over four hundred feet, no bottom has been found. It rises from a solid rock, in a level spot of land, and it affords a sufficient amount of water to turn a valuable flour mill. Pitman's cave, in the same neighborhood, has been explored about two and a half miles, and is frequently visited. The descent to this cave is about twenty feet perpendicular; it then extends off horizontally." Harrison county is one of the oldest in the State, and Corydon, the county seat, is one of the oldest towns in Indiana. It was the capital of the State for several years, or until the capital was permanently located at Indianapolis. Around it centre some of the earliest territorial legislation. It was at Corydon where the constitution convention of 1816 was held, when the first State constitution was framed.

Corydon, the county seat, is a town of over one thousand. It has grown but little during the last twenty years. However, its growth has been substantial, and its improvements permanent.

JASPER COUNTY.

THIS County bears the name of Sergeant Jasper, of Carolina, who died in defense of his country in the war of the revolution. The surface of the county is generally level, consisting mostly of dry and wet prairies, interspersed with small groves of timber, usually known as oak openings. A large portion of the soil is very fertile, and well adapted to the production of wheat, oats, corn, grass, etc. It is a very fine grazing county, and horses, cattle, and sheep are raised with considerable profit.

Rensselaer, the county seat, is a living town, with good public improvements. Remington is another enterprising town in Jasper county.

JEFFERSON COUNTY.

THIS County was named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the

third president of the United States. It presents a great variety of soil and surface. "The bottoms on the Ohio, and along the principal creeks, are a rich loam, mixed with sand, and the lofty and steep hills near them have also a rich soil. On the table lands, back of the hills, there is more clay; and still further in the interior a considerable portion of the land is nearly level, covered mostly with beech timber- unfit for corn or grain, and suitable only for grass. About one-half of the county is of this character."

Madison, the county seat of Jefferson county, is located on the Ohio, and at the terminus of the Madison division of the Jeffersonville, Madison, and Indianapolis railroad. It ranks among the most important river cities, having a population of over thirteen thousand, and immense manufacturing and commercial interests. The public improvements are good, its educational facilities excellent. The growth of Madison has not been rapid, but it has been substantial.

JENNINGS COUNTY.

THIS County bears the name of Jonathan Jennings, the first governor of the State of Indiana. Near the streams the surface of the county is hilly and broken, and moderately fertile, except in the beech flats, at the head of the streams, where it is only fit for grass. There is an abundance of excellent timber in the county, of which large quantities are exported. There are also good quarries of lime stone, from which the interior of the State is largely supplied.

Vernon, a thriving town in the center of the county, is the seat of justice of Jennings county, but North Vernon, in Center township, is the largest town, having a population of over two thousand, good public improvements, excellent school facilities, and increasing commercial interests. The county is a good one, farming is profitable, and the farmers are prosperous. It is traversed by three railroads.

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY.

THIS County bears the name of the Polish soldier and patriot who served in the American army in the war of the revolu