miles. It is navigable for large vessels to Savannah, 15 miles from the sea, and to Augusta, 250 miles, for steamboats of 150 tons. Beyond this there is boat navigation 150 miles. The Ogeechee has a course of about 200 miles; sloops ascend 40 miles, and large boats to Louisville. The Alatamaha is formed by the junction of the Oconee and Oakmulgee. The tide flows up 25 miles, and large vessels go up to Darien, 12 miles. The Oconee and Oakmulgee, have been ascended to Milledgeville and Macon, in steamboats, but the navigation of these rivers is chiefly carried on in large flat-bottomed boats, on account of the shoals and rapids. The Saint Mary's, which forms, in part, the boundary hetween Georgia and Florida, takes its rise in an extensive swamp, called Okafinokee Swamp, and pursues a winding course to the sea. tide flows up the river 50 miles, and its mouth forms a commodious harbor. The Chattahoochee and Flint rivers, drain nearly all the western part of the state, and by their junction form the Appalachicola, which traverses Florida. The former rises in the Blue Ridge, and has a course of about 450 miles. Steamboats ascend to Columbus, 300 miles, and the produce of the upper counties is brought down stream in boats. Flint River has a course of 300 miles, and is navigable for steamboats to Bainbridge, 50 miles.

The

4. Islands. Georgia is bordered toward the sea by a range of small islands and marshy tracts, intersected by channels and rivulets, which are navigable for small vessels. These islands consist of a rich grey soil, called hummock land. In their natural state, they are covered with forests of live oak, pine and hickory; but under cultivation they produce the best cotton in the world, called Sea-island cotton.

5. Climate. The description which has been given of the climate of South Carolina, is applicable also to Georgia. The northern part is temperate and healthy. The low country, near the swamps, has its sickly season, during the months of July, August and September, when the planters retire to the high pine lands, or to the sea-islands.

6. Soil. The coast within the islands is a salt marsh, beyond which is a narrow belt of good land, similar to the islands. This is succeeded by the Pine Barrens, which are interspersed with swampy tracts. The borders of the rivers are low and marshy, and subject to inundations. These parts are applied to the cultivation of rice. The Pine Barrens extend from 50 to 100 miles from the sea, and are succeeded by a region of sand hills, 30 or 40 miles wide, diversified here and there with a verdant spot, and bounded on the Ñ. by the elevated land, which, farther onward, rises into mountains. Here the soil is various, but generally strong and productive. The greater part of the state is alluvial. Okafinokee Swamp lies in the southern part of this state, extending into Florida. It is a sort of marshy lake, about 180 miles incir cumference, and during wet seasons has the appearance of an inland sea, with many islands. It abounds with alligators, snakes and all sorts of rep

tiles.

7. Curiosity. In the northwestern extremity of the state, near the Tennessee river, is an eminence called Raccoon Mountain. On one of the precipitous sides of this mountain, is a deep cavern, called Nicojack Cave. Its mouth is 50 feet high and 80 feet wide. It has been explored for several miles without coming to the end. The floor is covered with a stream of cool limpid water through its whole extent, and the cavern is accessible only in a canoe. Three miles within, is a

cataract, beyond which voyagers have not penetrated. The roof is a solid limestone rock, smooth and flat, and the cave is remarkably uniform in size throughout.

8. Mineral Productions. Copper and iron ore have been found, and gold is obtained in considerable quantities. During the four years ending with 1833, upwards of 740,000 dollars worth of gold were received at the United States Mint, from Georgia. There are Sulphureous springs in Butts County, called the Indian Springs, much resorted to for their efficacy in rheumatic and cutaneous disorders. The Madison Springs, 25 miles N. W. of Athens, are chalybeate waters.

9. Divisions. Georgia is divided into 90 counties,* and contains a population of 516,823 souls, of which 217,531 are slaves.

10. Canal. The Savannah and Ogeechee Canal extends from the city of Savannah to the river Ogeechee, a distance of 16 miles; it is to be continued to the Alatamaha, 60 miles, with a navigable feeder of 14 miles.

11. Railroad. The Alatamaha and Brunswick railroad is to extend from the lower part of the Alatamaha, near Darien, to Brunswick, 12 miles. At the latter place is one of the best harbors in the state.

12. Towns. The city of Savannah, on the river of the same name, 15 miles from the ocean, is built on a low, sandy plain, and contains many public buildings. Among these are ten churches, an exchange, academy, theatre, hospital, county buildings, &c. It is regularly laid out, with wide streets and squares, which are ornamented with the China tree. Savannah is the chief commercial town of the state, and most of the imports and exports pass through this port. The entrance of the river is defended by two forts on Tybee Island, which lies at its mouth. Population 7,423.

The city of Augusta, the interior emporium of the state, stands on the Savannah, at the head of steamboat navigation. It is regularly and handsomely built, and contains a city hall, the county buildings, seven churches, a theatre, hospital, arsenal, &c. There is a bridge across the Savannah to Hamburgh, 1,200 feet long. Sixteen large ware-houses

Early

Jones

receive the merchandise, which is deposited here from the interior. Population 6,696.

Milledgeville, the capital, is pleasantly situated on the Oconee, at the head of steamboat navigation, and contains the state-house, county buildings, several churches, &c. Population about 1,800.

Macon is a flourishing town on the Oakmulgee, over which there is a bridge. In 1822, it contained one cabin; in 1830 it had a population of 2,600 inhabitants, and contains the county buildings, several churches and banks, thirteen ware-houses, &c. Its trade is thriving, and there are 25 saw and grist mills in the vicinity.

Columbus is a thriving town at the Falls of the Chattahoochee, 300 miles above its junction with the Flint, and 430 miles from Appalachicola Bay. Steamboats run from here to New Orleans. It stands on elevated ground, and is regularly built. It was laid out in 1828, and in 1830 contained 2,000 inhabitants.

Darien, lies near the mouth of the Alatamaha, and Athens on the Oconee, 90 miles N. W. of Augusta.

13. Agriculture. Georgia, still more than South Carolina, combines the productions of the tropics, with those of more northern latitudes. The cereala or bread grains, are cultivated in one part of the state, while the sugar cane, olive, and orange, rice, indigo and cotton, are raised in another. Tobacco is also raised. Cotton and rice are the staples. The cotton crop of Georgia is 250,000 bales.

14. Commerce. The commerce of this state is chiefly carried on by northern vessels, and consists of the exportation of its agricultural products. The annual value of the exports varies from four to five and a half millions dollars; that of the imports is about $ 400,000.

15. Government. The legislature, styled the General Assembly, consists of two houses, a Senate and House of Representatives, chosen annually by the people. The executive power is vested in a Governor, who is chosen for the term of two years, by the people. Suffrage is virtually universal for whites.

16. Religion. The Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians, are the most numerous sects. There are also Christians, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Friends, Lutherans, and some Jews.

17. Education. The University of Georgia, at Athens, is a flourishing institution. The state has an academic fund of $250,000, the proceeds of which are distributed among the academies, and a free school fund of the same amount. There are 90 incorporated academies, many of which have never gone into operation, and few of them afford opportunities for studying the higher branches of education.

18. Indians. There are about 12,000 Cherokees residing on their own lands, on the borders of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. They live in villages, and have adopted the manners and arts of civilized life. They practise agriculture and the mechanic arts with success, and their country is penetrated by good roads. Many of them can read and write, and some of them are well educated. Schools have been established among them by the missionaries, and the mass of the tribe are Christians. A regular government, on the model of the state governments, has been instituted, consisting of two houses, chosen by popular vote, and an executive elected by the legislature. There is also a printing press, at New Echota, the seat of government, from which a newspaper and several works in the Cherokee language and character,

have been issued. The alphabet was invented a few years since by one of the natives; it is syllabic, and consists of eighty-five characters. Georgia has lately declared the Cherokees subject to her laws.

19. History. Georgia was the last settled of the Atlantic states. The charter, under which the colony was founded, was granted in 1732, by George II, in honor of whom it received its name. Savannah

was settled in the following year, by a body of colonists under the direction of General Oglethorpe. The country was repeatedly invaded by the Spaniards, who were then in possession of Florida. In 1752 the proprietary government was abolished, and Georgia became a royal colony. In its recent advances in wealth and population, it has been surpassed by few states in the Union.

1. Boundaries and Extent. The territory of Florida is bounded N. by Alabama and Georgia; E. by the Atlantic ocean; S. by the Florida stream, which separates it from Cuba, and W. by the Gulf of Mexico, and the river Perdido, which separates it from Alabama. It lies between Lat. 25° and 31° N., and Lon. 80° and 87° 44′ W., and has an area of 55,000 square miles. The southern portion forms a peninsula, 350 miles in length by 150 in breadth, which separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic ocean.

2. Rivers. The St. John's rises in the centre of the peninsula, and flows northwest, nearly parallel to the Atlantic, presenting more the appearance of a sound than a river. Its sources are in an extensive marsh very little above the level of the ocean, and as its course is nearly 300 miles its current must be sluggish. It is navigable about two thirds of its course for vessels of six feet draft. The Appalachicola, formed by the junction of the Flint and Chattahoochee, flows south into the Gulf of Mexico, after a course of 100 miles, through the whole of which it is navigable for sea vessels. All the rivers of this region have, sand bars at their mouths. The other principal rivers are the Escambia and the Suwanee.

3. Islands. The shore is lined with small low islands, separated from each other, and from the main land by narrow and shallow inlets and channels. Amelia Island, and Anastatia, on the Atlantic coast, are low, sandy strips about fifteen miles in length, by one in breadth. To the southwest is a chain of islets called Keys, (from the Spanish cayo, a rocky islet,) among which is Key West, or Thompson's Island, 20 leagues from the shore. It contains a military port of the United States, and has considerable trade. The Tortugas are a cluster of Keys on the extreme west of this chain.

4. Harbors and Shores. The sea along both shores is for the most part shallow, but presents some good harbors and fine bays. On the Atlantic coast there are harbors at the mouths of St. Mary's and St. John's Rivers, and at St. Augustine. On the western side are Appalachicola, Appalachee, and Pensacola Bays. Surveys have been made for the purpose of ascertaining the practicability of constructing a Canal across the peninsula, which show the level of the waters of the gulf to be above that of the ocean,

5. Climate. There is little diversity of climate in Florida, although

the northern belt, bordering on Alabama and Georgia, is less decidedly tropical in its character than the peninsular portion. Water nevor freezes, and even in the winter months, or rainy season, the heat of the sun is oppressive. Except in the vicinity of marshy tracts, the air is in general pure and healthy, though in some parts humid.

6. Soil. The soil may be described in general as poor, but there are many favorable exceptions. There is much swampy and marshy land, but the pine barrens constitute a great part of the country. The hummock land, so called, because it rises in small mounds among the pines, has a good soil.

7. Vegetable Productions. The warmth and humidity of the climate compensate for the poverty of the soil, and give to Florida a vegetation of great variety and luxuriance; its forest trees rise to a great height, and its flowering shrubs are remarkable for their brilliancy. The northern and central parts are covered with a dense forest, in which pine prevails; but the palms, cedar, chestnut, and live oak attain an extraordinary size. The magnolia, so much admired for its beauty, the cypress, the pawpaw, with its green foliage and rich-looking fruit, the shady dogwood, the titi, with its beautiful blossoms, &c., are found here. The low savannas are covered with wild grass and flowers of prodigious growth, and the cane in the swamps is of great height and thickness.

8. Face of the Country. The country in general is flat, but in some districts is undulating and in some places hilly. The elevation of the ridges or table-land, between the rivers, does not exceed from 200 to 250 feet.

9. Divisions. By the Spaniards, Florida was divided into East and West Florida, separated by the river Appalachicola. These names are retained in common use, though the political division has ceased to exist. The territory is now divided into seventeen counties,* with a population in 1830, of 34,730, including 15,500 slaves.

10. Towns. The largest is St. Augustine. It stands on the Atlantic coast; the town is regularly built, but the streets are very narrow. The houses are built of a soft stone, formed by a concretion of shells. They are generally two stories high, with thick plastered walls, and have balconies and piazzas. Connected with most of them are beautiful gardens. The town is surrounded by a ditch, and fortified by bastions, and the castle of St. Mark. The soil, in the neighborhood of St. Augustine, is sandy, yet the country is beautiful, producing orange, lemon and date trees. The bar, at the entrance of the harbor, has but nine feet of water at low tide, but the channel within has from 18 to 20 feet. Population about 4,000.

Pensacola is the chief town in West Florida. It stands at the bottom of a large bay, and occupies a gentle acclivity. The soil here is sandy, but the situation is salubrious, and the place is rather thriving. The bay affords a very safe and capacious harbor, and the government of the United States have made it a naval station. Small vessels only can come up to the town. Population about 3,000.