The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1855-03-31

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INDIAN NOTWITHSTANDING PRAIRIE
...WESTERN RIVERS, &c.
! C@-..G~nAn rec ct the Gr's,'mian
CnUAGo. ILL.,, March. 1855
The Indian Mounds Of the West. Won
doubtless know. have ALWAYS been subjects of
much inquiry and speculation among anti
quarians Some of these I have recently
had an opportunity e visiting, and have been
on one or two. At Vinccnncs. on thu east
bank Of the Wabash. are three. situated with
in miles distance of each other. and rising
directly from the level prairie. One of them
has recently been opened. and in the centre
were found human bones lying on charcoal.
whence many have adopted the theory that
the body was burned on funeral ryre, az
cor,linc to the custom Of the ancients. and
that over this the mound was subsequently
raised That these works ere artificial must
be granted, and their great antiquity is a.
tested by the appearance Of the bones with
in, as we'll as the trees on their sides. some Of
which are very aged. a very large mound
lies on the west bank Of the Mississippi. at
st. Louis, whence VIC often hear the appelIa-
ton "Mound City; but this will soon be lev
el'ed. and the earth appropriated for improv-
inc the streets around it,
! have just crossed the "Grand Prsiric" Of
Illinois, and can now see why it should with
propricty receive that name. From this place
~ Alton on tho Mississippi. hills are thing
unknown and I suppose nearly all the State
presents the same appearance, the only rising
land consisting Of the gentle rolling Of the
prairie. Railway bnildns here il very diff
frrcnt thing from Railway buildins in Yer
mont and a. they generally run in air lines.
much labor, time and distance arc saved
The prairics are being settled very fast, tho
chiefly by foreign population, and the vas:
number Of immigrants daily pouring in here
from the East must exert a powerful innu-
cncc on the future dcstinics Of the country
For tue past year understand that this city
has been ruled by the Irish, though in the
late election Of city officers, the Americans
have carried the day, cause Of no little re-
ioicing among themselves
The prairie settlers here call themselves
"Suckcrs," though have been unable To
learn what the peculiar sicniG OF the
word is-but as their ncishbors on the Eas,
are "IIoosiers." and on the West Nut Crack
crs," they think they also must have name
Generally. ] suppose great ignorance pre-
walls among them, and have heard il stated
, that many men who own hundreds of acres,
and possess swine and cattle innumcrablc,
can neither read nor write. have also
heard it affirmed tina! ignorant Irishmen are
usually employed in the capacity &C school.
teachers, but cannot state this as fact Their
great end and aim probably being to to in
crease in worldly goods. they consider eluca-
ton and the social advantages we enjoy in
New England of minor Importance
a traveller in this country cannot fail to
notice TIE immense number Of foreign emf
grants journcyinS westward class Of pco-
pie of which we know comparatively nothing
in New England. They compose by far the
greatest number of Western travellers. tho
in coming East we see very perccptibIc d.
, minution in their numbers. Going from this
place to st. Louis, the cars seemed filled with
them in returning there were comparatively
very few a fact, however, that occasioncd
inc not the least regret.
The Mississippi is now clear Of ice, and
navigation is again resumed; the first New
Orleans boat reached St. Louis nearly week
since. was surprisc,l to see what a differ
! ence there was in the water ofthat river. AL
though St. Louis is over twenty miles below
the mouth of the Missouri, yet even there,
the line Of Missouri water can be distinctly
traced. and as We ascend the river it becomes
more turbid on the West side. until opposite
the mouth, where it resembles a stream of
mud flowing into clear rivulet. The Mis-
souri, has this Spring worked new channel
through the embankment, thus forming a
Delta like the mouths Of other large rivers.
AT present, all the boats run in the new chan
mel. hmade its way slowly at first through
the woods, but gradually increasing in size &
velocity. it finally rushed along, carrying
everything before it, as did the RUNAWAY
Pond in Vermont. Of which We uset, to read
in Peter Farley literature. The banks of
these rivers are continually changing, and
the streams themselves becoming more and
more tOrtuous, for which reason a mole or
bank has been built at ST. Louis, on the Fast
side Of the river. to throw the current on the
city shore. ut that place. the Missis.ippi is
abou. a nile in width. i, being one of the
mos, favorable spot, ior trade and commerce