The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1875-07-15
THE OLD THIRTEEN STATES.

Although the Spanish and Mexi-
can cessions comprise towns which far
antedate the earliest settlements with
in the original thirteen States, it is to
the latter that we must first turn in
any attempt to broadly grasp the
history of population within the Uni
ted States. But we shall fail to reach
the full significance of the situation if
we only give to ourselves, as reasons
for treating this portion Of territory
first in order, its present population,
exceeding that of any other section,
its earlier political development, or
its more conspicuous figure in Ameri-
can history. 1t is not more, but rath-
er less, on account of these than on
account Of the actual contributions
which this section has made to the
population of each one in turn of the
other geographical divisions of the
United States, early or recent, that
the writer on population must turn
first to Jamestown and Plymouth, or
he will read his theme backward. St.
Augustine Q565) and Santa Fe
| (1582) were, indeed, planted before
English Cavalier or English Puritan
sought the more northern lands for
settlement but St. Augustine and
Santa Fe were a barren stock, and
the populations that to-day occupy
the regions in which these were plant
ed in the sixteenth century have
poured forth from States founded in
penury and neglect long afterward.
When the great province of Loulsi-
ana came to us, in 1903, more than
three centuries after the discovery of
the mainland of America, it contain
ed, from the delta of the Mississippi
to Puget Sound, scarcely twenty
thousand white inhabitants. That
this vast territory now contains more
than FIVE millions of inhabitants, who
will by 1880 be eight millions or ten,
is not due to the robustness of the
stock which Jefferson annexed with
the soil, or mainly to direct immigra-
ton. In like manner, when we re-
ceived Florida from Spain by the treaty
Of 1919, not consummated, however,
until 1921, the white population was
but twelve or fifteen thousand, so
slight had been the fecunditY of the
Spanish settlements. And when, in
1892, Congress directed the Postmas-
ter-general to make provision for a
post-route from St. Augustine to Pen
sacola, that officer was obliged to re-
port the next year as follows:
"Diligent inquiry has been made,
and it does not appear that there is a
road between these places on the route
desi gnated on which the mail can be
conveyed. There are Indian paths
which pass through different Indian
settlements, but none, It is understood,
that extend for any considerable dis
tance in the proper direction"
!. And so late as 1850, the first date
for which we have the statistics Of ma
tivity in the United States, it was
found that of the free inhabitants of
Florida more had been born in the
original thirteen States than in Flori-
da itself, while less than six per cent.
of the free inhabitants were of foreign
birth. The Texan annexation, again,
now contains about $4,000 souls ;
but when Texas revolted from Mex
leo, it contained probably not more
than 10000, of whom by far the great
er part had come, IN anticipation of
manifest destiny" from the States.
In 1840, Of the free inhabitants
scarcely more than one-third, includ-
ing, of course, an undue proportion of
children, were natives of Texas.
In the same way the first Mexican
cession, when taken possession Of by
the United States, embraced but a
small white population. Of this tract
it is true that, in the furious excite.
ment caused by the discovery of gold
at Suffers Mill IN 1848, it was settled
more largely than any other had been
by direct immigration. Yet of the
first eighty thousand eager gold-hun.
ters who pressed into the valleys Of
California, more than three-fourths
we're born in the East, of whom one
half, as nearly as might be, were ma.
tives Of the original thirteen States,
while probably not less than two
thirds Of the remainder would be
found to be cisappalachian in their
origin, could we 60 but thirty years
further back.-Francis A. Walker, IN
Harper's Magazine for Aug,lst.
| IMMENSELY OF NATIONAL DEBTS
The immensity of the national debts
is exhibited by Black,ooods Magazine,