The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1857-10-09
Tho Great La:ie Basin.

Tho Great Lake Basin.
a gentleman of Chicago. writing to the
FcrihalI; Herald, thu; ~p"A!;, Of tn" cx.
tent an! resources ui the great Lake Hnsin
Of North America
Much has been said and wr;Hct Ct the
great Mississippi vallry-"f the imcxhausti'
Sic fertility of il soil --"f It's twenty thou
saud miles Of incrua nariSaton'-of lis
teca,ing millions OF. population i'll tho near
futurc--a population which is said will
sway for good or for i'll, the political dcs
tines Of tic world even. Much oflbis as
beeat said justly. .Mighty is it in capaLii-
ties 9ndrcsoarets, mighty in position, and
. mighty are the probabilities and prospects
bfFhc fu!uref lut mighticr is the future of
The Lqko Basin, and the country wcstwarls
which must iiaeyi;akly .be tributary TO it.
The great ,chEin Of lakes, including
Like NiJGhfpss, Rainy Lake, Lake Of the
Woods, SnpIgipf. Huron, Michigan, ST.
Clair, Oitafio,. .and tlie;r Gonncc.ing rivers
tho 81. AlaTTvss; ST Gl;tir,; Detroit, Niagara,
and ST. Lawrence, constitute ,aaliuc of in
teftial' sea. cos, of raore .tlian lthirty thou!
sand miles, f&e'iaEesip all fiie bays, inets
and inJentiohssif that coast, or more tllap,
forty thousand miles, if wc include in that
Lasih. .vhere tlny naturally. belong, the Gdif
ofSt. LAWRENCE, Davis Straits and Haffins
and Hulson's BAYS. What strctch Of
sea coasts WHO can. grasp its magnitude
+-wlio can csti,thsate its cominekch,l impor
.fancc.! sWho caIcdaWits illiihitatle flu
as. lie q sslss;salafftF$$ 5aazIog both the
Z. tirv,, aid IL does
not amount to ;onc-half.hc extcnt Of that OF
the great Lake Basin Of North America
Tributary TO this is the Whole Of the head
waters Of tic Missouri and Mississippi riv-
<erss, and tlie whole territory westward to
the Rocky IQuhtains, ar'l us far south as
the, southern Boundary of Kansas. =
Lools.a sollps. Of tie resources Of this i'm
mcnsc Basin. On .b6ilsttc northern and
southern shores Of Lake Superior, there are
ipe&haustible mines or"coppcr and iron.
We're the trap range Of mountains from
Copper 1rafGor Montreal rivers, one
lhndrel and thirtysfvc miles thoroughly
explored uierc would Lc found good
:, working ysin Of copper. at an average of
every .IaMmilee. In many Of the Veins.
there ssaslarge an:onrr, Of silver mingled
with the coifyer, aud should chgmistry, in
its onward progress, develop some cheap
'liSthoA VI - l'CktttHe tIc lNo luct'liS, WucTc
they arc united in tLs native Gre, there
would be an. immense revenue de,ivaLlc
from The precious metal Of that region.
s;a7sAt q little distancesoutl, Of Kenemaw
Bay commences a,be1 of the very finest
: kind ofinagnetc iron ore, over thirty
square miles and Of unknown depth.
= .Obor near the banks. Of the Sorwanr
=riser, somewhere between the Lakes Supe-
rior aud Huron on tho Canada side, are
.ainexhaustiblc quarries of the purcst white
marble, as yet unwrought, will be source
Of immense wealth.
The renowned Mississ ippi valley is said
to have navigablc rivers to the extent of
10000 miles, but more than four-fiiths Of
it"is for Very small craft, and very. light
tonnage. Du: the lake and river navisa-
tion Of this great Basin is sufficient for the
very largest class vessels with the exgep-
.tione otthe connecting links Of tho Wei
lltnd and tic Saull St.sNIaric canals When
the great Pacific railroad shall he COM
plctcd however, and this Lake Basin be con-
nected by that road with the. trade Of the
E"st Indios, who'll great ovctHt will ccr,nin-
j., beIaccomplislfcd within the, next ten
years, and thcn will bothAhe 'Weland ands
.1hsSadlt 81. Marie canals lie. enlarged to
the eapaehyaof the largest ocean craft, and
then will tho waters Of this great chain of
4 lakes and rivers be ploughcd with tn c
largest ocenn steamers, propelers and sail
crafts direct from Europe.
1E