Alexandria advertiser and commercial intelligencer. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1800-1803, 1802-10-05

- JS4PSN 'iuot TX NfSla SoAtOA N'to
whole hands it may come, will give
it j place In tkeir paPers,tc.
DEAR SIR,
81 have ZONE time Gnce promifed to
give you a delcription Of this place, efpe,
tially the agricultural and commercial
advantages attending II; as you are an
intimate friend of mine, | hal fix candor
as my guide in this letter.
"V,ncennes is the capital Of the Terri
tory il is here the feat OF government is
axed !; it aands on the banks of Wabalh,
in tat. $50 NJ. The Gtuationlof the fnwn
is delightful. The bank on which,, iands
is high and dry !; the wa.er in town is
excellent; it is found about IS feet be-
low the (ufface We pats through @leveral
different aratas of iand before we ind
water we then come TO ftrata of whlre
gravel, through which the water fyws 4;
il tAere appears in abundance /; II is cool,
pellucid and falutary.
Vincennes is environed by delight
full prairie of four miles in !tngth, and will
average one in breadth great part OF
it is cultivated by the inhabitants OF the
town, and the rrit is a handlome meadow
formed by nature ; and producing ahun-
dance of excellent grais, VII ch when cured
in the proper ie4fon, is nearly eqaal 70
your hay made cut of tamc grafs. Not.
withdrawing the land in this %prairie has
been under cultivation for near fit years,
it yet produc upon an average 80 bulhels
of corn ard I s of wheat to taa acre, and
that upoa a moderate cultivation !; but ii
highly cultivated il will produce eishty OF
the former and twenty FIVE OF he latter.
| Tht foil in this prahI i, Of blackiih hue,
| mixed with fand which renders II warm,
looic and congeniai to me mott rapid aud
,ux,s.o1s vegetation, Of every kind whilh
is mmon to the United STATES, from the
dutricf OF Maine TO Georgia. The Wa
b4fh, which rolls its sen!ia current palt the
sow,, and walhes the verge Of the prairie
tqr lis ~hgle leugtl, is we'll seplenilhed
With a variety OF fine hh. This river is
.ay,sahl5 aimoit al she year as high as
this p &C; and a good part Of the year il
| IS paH ,fl7 almoa 10 its LuIce. The cur
rent IS gentle /; no rapids TO obltrutt its
navigation. Commerce centres here; the
merchants bring their goods from Canada
| dawn the WabaGn, from Orleans up the
Miliaipp!, and from the eaiteln ltA,es
! down the Ohio and op the WAoafh. This
water tranfPortat n MAKES it not only
| more convenient Tor merchants & families
who with to CON htre, but il is conGder
ably cheaper than land carriage; there is
White river whlcl IS pauaole for crafts OF
coniierable burther. 1t rolls through a
hne fertile country /; It's banks are clothed
with 4 heavy growth of wood of diferent
kinds, generally walnu, alh, blackberry
and lugar maple. The under growth is
rich and luxufient. This river empties
into the Waoalh about 80 miles below
V ncennes. There dre abundance of fine
nh in il of various kinds.
AS to the quality of the lands here
as far as>I am acqlainted, there can be
none better, not even the fertile bottoms
Of the Nile, or the exuberance Of India
can furpafs the productions OF this place.
The foil is rich, bla K and mix d with a
proWn fand, and from eight to fifteen in
chss deep. Is is eafy cultivated, becaufe
he fand prevents the violent rains ON
baking it. Core, wheat, rye, oat>, and
all kinds Of finals grain is p@oaueed i as
great quantities to The acre at this place,
as any where On the continent. Cotton,
hemp, tobacco, sc. grows here ualur-
paIed in point of perfection, in any OF
the Southern tates; nay every vegetable
which is necefary for the faiten'nee .
man will grow here. The farmer vii,