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woods there is a gentle descent, which admits the free escape of the waters. In high floods some parts of the meadow are covered by the waters of the Atchafalaya, which, in 1811, reached within a mile of the Teche, and did great injury to the crops. The waters subside during summer, and leave the surface almost dry in autumn and winter. At the efflux of the Lower Teche are two pieces of meadow land, the one named Courtableau, the other Prairie du Petit Bois, which apparently were once connected with that of the Grand Chevreuil. All the meadow land bordering on the Teche is elevated above the highest rise of the waters, and the soil, consisting of a rich loam, is well adapted to the culture of cotton, tobacco, rice, Indian corn; and, in the lower parts, to that of the sugar-cane. The Opelousas country, which lies north-west of the Atakapas, presents a great variety of soil and productions. The most valuable part is the alluvial tract towards the north-eastern extremity. The north-western parts are covered with pine. Mr Mericult is the proprietor of 5000 acres on the river Teche, all arable, which he values at from fifteen to sixteen dollars per acre. The Opelousas meadow land which runs in a south-westerly direction towards the sea, where it terminates in a marsh, covers one-third of this district, being seventy miles long, twenty-five broad, and containing more than 1,120,000 acres. The soil resembles that of the adjacent woods, and is adapted to the growth of cotton, indigo, and tobacco. The most fertile parts are along the waters of the Vermillion. Below the thirtieth parallel of latitude, except on the Teche, it sinks

under the level of the tide along the coast from the Pearl to the Sabine river, where the surface is so marshy, that the coast cannot be approached except in three or four places to the west of the Atchafalaya channel.

A chain of small hills, with an elevation of from twenty to thirty feet, extends from New Iberia, in latitude 30° 3', beyond the Vermillion river, across the Prairie of Opelousas. The country which environs this immense tract of meadow land is, in many parts, well wooded, producing oak, cypress, black walnut, poplar, elm, maple, laurel, magnolia, honey locust, lindon, catalpa, sassafras, dog-wood, iron-wood, and çandleberry myrtle. Along the Sabine river, (which forms the western boundary of the state,) to the distance of twelve miles from its mouth, the borders consist of marshy meadow ground, which is but little elevated above the common height of the water. Twenty miles higher up, the surface rises gradually into high meadow land, as far as a creek, in latitude 30° north, where the woods commence, consisting chiefly of pine, and extending from the Prairie of Opelousas to Red river. Above the mouth of the Wau-ca-hatcha, a chain of hills separates the Sabine from the Red river. The thin soil of this ridge is of a yellow ochreous colour, and is covered with pine, oak, and beech, thinly interspersed with ash, hickery, and dog-wood. In spring and summer it produces a luxuriant herbage. The country watered by Red river is extremely fertile; but its branches, communicating with numerous lakes and streams, are subject, in many places, to annual inundation. The whole country, from its junction with

the Mississippi to the Avoyelles, (a distance of sixty miles,) is intersected by channels, which, receiving the surplus of the waters of both rivers, inundate the whole surface, to the depth of several feet, from the month of February to June, during which period boats may navigate in every direction, except where their passage is intercepted by trees. Between the Avoyelles and the rapids, (a distance of forty miles,) most of the country, on each side, is inundated during the wet season. From the rapids to Natchitoches, (110 miles,) the borders of the river, from 800 to 400 yards in breadth, are elevated above the highest swell, and are remarkably fertile. Beyond this margin are swamps and lakes, from one to two miles in breadth, which extend to the high lands. Between Red river and the Opelousas country, there is a tract of land, of about forty miles square, watered by the Bayou Robert and Bayou aux Boeufs, which is of an excellent quality, well wooded and watered, and favourable to health. Near the borders of Lake Bistineau the land rises into hills, from 100 to 200 feet of elevation, covered with trees, of which the principal are pine and oak. The valley of the Washita, 350 miles in length, and from seventy to eighty in breadth, contains a surface of more than 25,000 square miles, or 16,000,000 of acres, of rich arable land, of which the finest portion lies on the Bayous Siard, Barthelemi, and the Washita. On the banks of this last stream, below the mouth of Bœuf river,

* The word Bayou is originally Spanish, and signifies a small bay; but in Louisiana it is used to signify a creek, or small river. VOL. II. I i

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the surface is elevated forty or fifty feet above the waters, to some distance, after which it sinks into the overflown lands of the Tensaw river, forming an isolated hill, five miles in width, known by the name of Sicily Island. The soil is a black loam, extremely fertile, and in some parts bordered with pine. On the margin of the Maçon and Tensaw rivers, there are considerable tracts of land, sufficiently elevated to admit of culture. The banks of Black river are very fertile, but the margin, which is susceptible of cultivation, is but narrow, and is in several parts liable to be flooded. The Peninsula, formed by Black and Red rivers, is intersected by numerous water courses, which are full during the swell of the Mississippi. The soil, though covered with a thick forest, is said to be fertile. It is calculated, that nearly one-fifth of the surface of this state consists of water, morasses, and tracts of sandy soil, called Pine Barrens.

Climate. The climate of this country varies in different parts. From the sea to Point Coupée it seldom snows, nor does it ever freeze, except in the months of December and January, and when the wind is from the north or north-west. It appears to be well ascertained, that there is here less heat and more moisture than in similar latitudes on the eastern continent, and the climate is generally very mild. In winter the thermometer seldom falls more than two degrees below the freezing point. At Natchez, the greatest degree of cold, observed by Mr Ellicot, was 17°. In the month of December 1800, it sunk to 12° near New Orleans, and snow fell for the first time during

twenty years. In January 1811 the thermometer varied from 78° to 10° below the freezing point, in the course of some days, and the river Mississippi was completely frozen over; but this is cited as a remarkable phenomenon. In winter the thermometer fluctuates between 45° and 56°. Near the hot springs, on the Washita river, in latitude 34° 31′, Messrs Hunter and Dunbar saw the mercury sink to 9°, on the 30th December 1804, and to 16°, on the 2d of January following. The difference of temperature between the river and air was as follows: 11th January, temperature of the air, 11°, of the river, 39°. 12th January, of the air, 20°, of the river 40°. This difference of temperature created a thick vapour over the surface of the water. At Natchitoches, situated in latitude 31° 36', and 93° 20′ of west longitude from London, snow seldom falls; but a slight frost sometimes takes place in the months of April and September, which does great injury to the cotton and tender plants. In Feliciana, formerly West Florida, the winter commences in the last days of November, and there is often frost in the evenings and mornings, the thermometer ranging between 65° and 70°. During the summer months it often rises above 90°, and sometimes as high as 96°. The heat throughout the state seldom, however, exceeds 90°, and the mean temperature of summer has been calculated at 25° of Reaumur's scale. In the parallel of 31°, the mean temperature of spring water is 65°, while in Pennsylvania it is

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