Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1819-01-26
than the heartfelt performance of public
worship. GrsBoRNE.
From the St. Louis Enquirer.

From the St. Louis Enquirer.
Communication NTH the Lakes. - Messrs.
Graham and Phillips, the commissioners
on the part of the United States, and Mr..
Sullivan, surveyor, have set out 10 lake
Michigan, to mark the boundary lines of
the lands ceded to the United States by
the Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottowattimie
Indians in the summer Of the year 1916.
They will run line from the southern
extremity Of this lake to the Mississippi.
The Indians have ceded to the United
States what lies to the south Of this line.
The commissioners will run two other
lines from the south western part Of lake
Michigan, to the Illinois river. The lines
will be parallel to each other and twenty
miles apart. They will begin in the shore
of the lake, at points ten miles north aud
south of Chicago, and will embrace the
little rivers Chicago and Plein, and the
carrying place between them, which forms
the channel Of communication between
lake Michigan and the Illinois river. The
Indians have coded to tile United States,
this important pass, with ten miles of their
country on each side of it, and it is the
business of the commissioners to mark out
the limits of the grant, that the American
government may reduce it TO possession.
The communication between the lake
and the Illinois, is point which will fix
tthe attention of the merchant and the
statesman. They will see it the gate
which is TO open the northern seas into
the valley of the Mississippi, and which
is to connect New ork and New Orleans
Iby water line which the combined ma
vies of the world cannot cut off Never
did the work of nature require SO little
from the hand of art, to complete SO great
design.
The lakes Superior, Huron, Erie and
Ontario, lie from west TO east, in the di.
rection Of the st. Lawrence, manilestly
seeking their outlet, through the valley Of
that river. But the Michigan departs
from that direction.-She lays from north
to south. United to the other lakes by a
strait, she stretches the body of her water
down toward the head Of the Illinois river,
as if tending to discharge herself through
THAT channel into the Mississippi. Aud
| no hills or mountains intervene to prevent
the conjunction. On the contrary, the
Eground between is favored with ponds il
|ly to the lake and partly TO the river. Tht
Chicago and the Plein are the drains from
these ponds. They have neither falls MOI
shoals-they have not the character o
streams, but of canals. The water hard
ly moves in their deep and narrow chan
nels. The Illinois itself is more canal
than river, having hardly current
enough to bend lofty grass which grows
in its bed. The French of Canada and
| Of the Mississippi, have communicated
through this channel since the settlement
of the countries. 10 high water boats Of
ten or dozen tons, pass without obstruc-
ton. In the dry seasons, they are I'M
loaded, placed on vehicles, and drawn by
oxen over a portage of IA few miles, and
launched into the river or lake, as the
course Of the voyage may require. Hun
dreds, nay thousands of boats, have been
at St. Louis, which bad made similar
passage.
1t may be hoped that the government
will not limit itself to the barren work OF
marking the lines about this portage.
While the state Of New. York, opens a
canal of three hundred miles, the federal
government should not be appalled, at un-
dertaking one Of three hundred rods. II
might be dug in the time that long wind
ed member Of congress, would make q
speech against its constitutionality.