s, there are no
mountains. Some portions are level, a large part is gently undulating,
or what in the west is called "rolling," and the remainder is made up of
abrupt hills, flint and limestone ridges, bluffs, and ravines.

5. It is divided into two great portions, the UPPER, and
LOWER VALLEY, according to its general features, climate,
staple productions, and habits of its population. The parallel of
latitude that cuts the mouth of the Ohio river, will designate these
portions with sufficient accuracy.

North of this line the seasons are regularly divided into spring,
summer, autumn, and winter. In the winter there is usually more or less
snow, ice forms and frequently blocks up the rivers, navigation is
obstructed, and cotton is not produced in sufficient quantity or quality
to make it a staple for exportation. It is the region of furs, minerals,
tobacco, hemp, live stock, and every description of grain and fruit that
grows in New England. Its white population are mostly accustomed to
labor.

South of this line, cotton, tobacco, indigo, and sugar are staples. It
has little winter, snow seldom covers the earth, ice never obstructs the
rivers, and most of the labor is done by slaves.

_Rivers._ The rivers are, the Mississippi and its tributaries, or more
correctly, the Missouri and its tributaries. If we except the Amazon, no
river can compare with this for length of its course, the number and
extent of its tributaries, the vast country they drain, and their
capabilities for navigation. Its tributaries generally issue either from
the eastern or western mountains, and flow over this immense region,
diffusing not only fertility to the soil, but affording facilities for
commerce a great part of the year.

The Missouri is unquestionably the main stream, for it is not only
longer and discharges a larger volume of water than the Mississippi
above its mouth, but it has branches, which, for the extent of country
they drain, their length, and the volume of water they discharge, far
exceed the upper Mississippi.

The characteristics of these two rivers are each distinctly marked. The
Missouri is turbid, violent in its motions, changing its currents; its
navigation is interrupted or made difficult by snags, sawyers and
planters, and it has many islands and sand-bars. Such is the character
of the Mississippi below the mouth of the Missouri. But above its mouth,
its waters are clear, its current gentle, while it is comparativ