Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1820-12-05
THE ARKANsAw TERRITORY.

y
/ have been sick almost ever since re
ceiyed your letter; aud this Is the frs
day have felt able TO write; am nov
very weak. The sickness here Is feve
and ague; slow bilious fever, &c. VERY
few deaths occur by disc ases-but peopi'
remain weak aud Git for nothing loo,
time. My brother is apparently better il
health lhan he has been for Two years.
suppose ii would be agreeable TO yo'
to receive some description OF this IN
known country. II is situated betwix
$50 and 800 30' N. lat. and extends From
the Mississippi to the western boundary
of the possession Of the United States
1t is very large extent OF country, thin
ly settled. In the village of Arkansaw
there are seventeen houses, dwellings,
and this is perhaps, as large village as
any in tie territory. From this, on the
mail route, we have TO travel withoat a
house or shelter three days, TO get to q
settlement, across a prairie. In crossing
this, water is a scarce article. In fact,
there is great want of water all over
this country, with very few exceptions.
The 4rkansaw is fine navigable river
for more than thousand miles, at mid.
die stage of water, and affords as rich
land on both sides, as there is IN the
world. In fact, on all the rivers is 10 be
found land abundantly rich and fertile
and uniformly 10 be found. Back from
the water streams the land is quite indif-
ferent, you may say poor, till you go
west two or three hundred miles, then il
is very good. The country is very flat
and level from the Mississippi west ios
$50 miles, then il becomes billy and bro
ken, and rocky on all the hills. OF ami
mails in this country, both winged and
quadruped, we have no want. There is
almost every species of the bird and fowl
10 great sbundance-wild geese aud swans.
turkies, quails, rabbits, racoons. bear,
wolf, catamoum, wild cat, beaver, otter,
deer, elk, and bnffaloe-the buntsmau has
fal! scope.
As to minerals, we have plenty Of iron,
lead, coal, salt, &c.
The country is the best for raising
stock of every kind have ever seen. A
man may raise and keep, summer and
winter, any number be pleases. They
grow large and handsome.
Cotton and corn are the staple articles.
The land well tended will average about
1000 in the seed, to the acre corn from
so to 90 bushels. The crop is good this
year-but the birds destroy vast quanti-
ties OF the corn.
/ have spent more than two months on
a visit TO the Cherokees and Usage H.
dams this summer. The most of The rest
of the time i have been sick. The OBJ
ject of my visi, to the Indian villages was
to settle difficulty betwixt them. l went
on to the Cherokees, (25O miles and
held council with them. They agreed
to send four Of their chiefs with me to
the Osages, about $50 miles further.
The settlement Of the Cherokees is scat
tered for long extent on the river, and
appears not much different from those OF
the white people. They are considera-
bly, advanced towards civilization, and
are very decent 10 their department.
They inhabit lovely, rich part OF the
country. The Usage village is built as
compacily as Boston, in the centre OF a
vast prairie. We rode 40 miles into it,
before We came TO the town. All the
warriors. chiefs, and young men met us
two miles from the town on horseback,
mounted on good horses and as fine as
they had feathers or any thing else to
make them. They protested much friend
ship. got them to suspend their hostil
tiles. The Usage town consisted OF las
dwellings, with from 10 to Is in each
house. The average height Of the men
is more than six feet. They are entirely
in state OF nature. Very few white peo-
pie have ever been among them. They
know nothing of the use Of money, nor
do they USE any ardent spirits.
I pitched my tent about half mile
from the town, and stayed days. They
made dances and plays every night TO
amuse me. These Indians have native
religion of their own, and are the only
tribe l ever knew, that had. AT day
break every morning, ! could hear them
at praying, and crying for an hour. They
appeared to be as devout 10 their way as
aDy class Of people. They made me a
present Of eight horses, wheu left them.
got there two horned frogs--they are
a curiosity. kept one Of them alive ~
days--it then laid % eggs as large and
about the shape and appearance Of large
white bean, and died. have them all
safely preserved in spirits. ! obtained
the skin of the young mild hog !; this is a
curiosity--likewise The skin of the badger
procured, also, some salt that came from
the salt Prairie, which is covered, fol
many miles, from four to six inches deco
with pure, white, crystalized salt. A.
men agree, both white and Indian, whe
have heen there that thew ran cat anf