tion and the country of higher elevation are snow-covered frequently for three months of the year. The Wabash, the principal river flowing into the Ohio, having a length of 600 miles, 400 of which are navigable, drains, with its tributaries, more than three-fourths of the surface of the State. The White, Tippecanoe, Eel, Mississinewa Rivers, the most important tributaries of the Wabash, originating in the interior of the State, at an elevation of about 500 feet, have a rapid descent, which is distributed along the course of the streams, thus affording an immense amount of water-power, which can readily be made available for the propulsion of machinery for manufacturing or other purposes. The other principal rivers in the State are the Maumee, Kankakee, St. Joseph, and Whitewater. Most of the principal rivers of Indiana fall into the Ohio, which borders the State on the south from the Miami to the Wabash, a distance, by the river's course, of 380 miles. The coal district of Indiana, lying west of a line running northwardly from the northeast corner of Perry County to Burton County, embraces an area of about 7,000 square miles, or more than one-fifth part of the whole surface. The coals of Indiana are all bituminous, are divided into "dry" and "fat" coal, in consequence of the difference in the quantity of bitumen they contain. The "dry" coal, generally known as the Brazil or block coal, retains its hardness when heated, and, possessing sufficient bitumen in the form of an inflammable gaseous matter, burns until the whole is consumed. This property renders it highly valuable for smelting iron ores. It is generally found in the lower seams of the coal beds, which have a thickness of from three to five feet. On White River the seams are upward of six feet thick, and in some other localities seams of eight feet in thickness have been found. The fat bituminous coking coals swell and run together, and therefore cannot be used for smelting iron ore, but are nevertheless very valuable for steam purposes. This coal is found in great abundance within the limits of the coal district, the seams varying from one to eight feet in thickness. Geological surveys have been made in the counties of Clay, Green, Park, Fountain, Warren, Owen, Vermillion, and Franklin. These counties are very rich in their coal deposits, and accompanying the coal measures valuable deposits of iron are found. Clay County has five furnaces manufacturing bar and other rolled iron. These furnaces have their own collieries, giving employment to a great number of men engaged in mining block coal. The most valuable and extensive iron ore is found associated with the lower coal measures, and in some localities. where the seam of the coal measures thins, the iron exists in large masses from ten to twenty feet in depth, capable of furnishing a supply of ore for a large number of blast furnaces. The only thing required to insure success in this branch of industry is suitable transportation. In consequence of this want of transportation, 90 per cent. of the iron ore used by the furnaces is brought from without the State, mostly from Lake Superior and Missouri, leaving the extensive beds of iron ore but little worked. East of the second principal meridian exists the limestone formation, which furnishes building material in the shape of clay and building stone of a variety of colors, and of great durability. On the Wabash, Flatrock, Sand Creek, Muscatack, the blue limestone of the upper silurian is found from three inches to three feet in thickness, and is admirably suited for building purposes. Other varieties of lime and sandstone occur in different portions of the State, all of which furnish the best of building material. Large shipments are made of this building stone to St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville, &c. In manufacturing facilities Indiana possesses more than ordinary advantages. The central position of the State, with her great minerál wealth of coal, her many natural means for communication, added to her internal improvements, her abundance of water-power, and the fact that iron of the best quality can be produced with block coal at a less cost than it can be made in any other part of the United States, are considerations which must bring about a rapid development of her manufacturing industry. The cotton fields of the South and the wool-growing prairies of the West, situated in close proximity to this State, will soon give it unsurpassed facilities for the manufacture of cotton and woolen fabrics. The railroad system has been rapidly progressing; there are over 2,700 miles of railroad completed, costing more than $124,000,000, and affording the most excellent facilities for a profitable traffic. In addition to this, there are about 200 miles of railroad under construction, and about 1,000 miles have been projected. Indiana has also included within her limits 453 miles of canals, viz, the Wabash and Erie Canal, connecting Evansville with Toledo, 379 miles in length, and the Whitewater Canal, 74 miles long, connecting Cambridge with Lawrenceburg, on the Ohio. Its commercial facilities are of the first order. The Ohio, connecting the State with the Mississippi, enables it to carry on an active trade with New Orleans and the various places on the Mississippi. Lake Michigan gives it a direct navigation with New York. The exports consist chiefly of cattle, hogs, and other live stock, pork, beef, lard, corn, wheat, wool, and iron. The total valuation of real and personal property for the year 1869 is estimated at $937,201,283, currency value; cash value of farms, $535,068,262; annual productions, $164,869,460. In the number of live stock raised, the State is one of the first in the Union. The total number of live stock for 1868 was 5,732,746, representing a value of $64,147,227. The common school system of the State has greatly improved in the last few years, and has been steadily growing both in popularity and power. In consequence of the increase of the school fund, and a wise distribution of the income, much has been done to advance the general standard of knowledge. Indianapolis, the capital of the State, situated near its geographical center, has a population of over 50,000. It is quite a prominent railroad center, no less than seven railroads connecting it with the principal points in the United States. New Albany, Evansville, Jeffersonville, Madison, Lawrenceburg, the most prominent commercial cities on the Óhio, have populations varying from ten to twenty thousand. Terre Haute, Richmond, Cambridge, Columbus, Covington, Fort Wayne, La Fayette, some of the principal interior towns, are nearly all situated on lines of railroads and have a large trade with the surrounding country. The public land is mostly appropriated, and there remain but few tracts undisposed of. The only land office within the State for the entry of public lands is located at Indianapolis. ILLINOIS. One of the most populous as well as one of the most important agricultural and commercial States of the Union, embraces within its boundaries 55,410 square miles, or 55,462,400 acres. The decennial census of 1870 exhibits a population in this State of 2,567,032, which is only exceeded by that of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, being an increase of 855,081, or 50 per cent. during the last decade. The State contains more arable land than all New England, and has a greater surface than Denmark, Switzerland, and Belgium combined. No portion of the surface of Illinois attains a high altitude, the mean elevation being about 500 feet above the sea. The term applied to Illinois, the "Prairie State," indicates the general expression of the scenery and character of the soil. The face of the country is for the most part gently undulating, with but slight depressions, and no sharply defined drains except in the immediate vicinity of the main water-courses. Owing to the structure of the subsoil, comparatively little of the rain-fall is absorbed. Below the 18 or 24 inches of sandy loam and vegetable mould, which is remarkably tractable, constituting the soil proper, lies an almost impervious clay. This clay, when exposed, yields readily to the action of frost, and is rapidly worn away by running water, even with a very gentle fall. A thorough system of surface drainage is thus established, enhancing the value of the lands for agricultural purposes. There are numerous lakes and rivers within the boundaries of the State, some of which are bordered with fertile fields of beautiful grasses and flowers and attractive habitations forming exceedingly enchanting landscapes. The work of development of the resources of Illinois has progressed with almost unparalleled rapidity. In 1839 the aggregate assessed valnation of real and personal property amounted to $58,889,525; in 1859, to $366,702,043; and in 1869 had increased to $489,004,775. There was under cultivation in the State in 1859, an area of 7,364,626 acres, and in 1868, 9,407,488 acres. In the Western and Northwestern States a large increase of population is shown, but Illinois outstrips any of the others. The census returns show that Chicago, Washington, and Cleveland are the only three cities that have doubled their population during the last decade. Chicago has a population of 297,000, being 43,000 greater than Boston; while in the year 1860 Boston had a population of 177,000, and Chicago numbered but 109,000, the former then containing 68,000 more inhabitants than the latter city. By the following figures, received from reliable sources, is exhibited what the farmers of the great Northwest are producing from the soil: 324,524 cattle, estimated average weight, 1,075 pounds 1,786,675 hogs, actual weight... 270,875 sheep, estimated average weight, 75 pounds.. Pounds. 812, 415, 000 1, 422, 205, 288 462, 383, 648 76, 577, 816 72, 538, 512 11, 919, 219 418, 510, 600 3,276, 550, 083 348, 863, 300 398, 711, 894 20, 315, 625 767, 890, 819 Total value of cereals, flour and wool.... Aggregate value...... $73,840, 920 55, 826, 686 129, 667, 606 The above figures only exhibit the amount and value of agricultural industries received at the Chicago market alone, for one year. Chicago is one of the great live-stock markets of the West. The Union Stock Yard Company alone has 345 acres covered with pens, with a capacity for the accommodation of 25,000 head of cattle, 100,000 hogs, and 50,000 sheep. The yards and buildings are constructed on the most approved plan. Perfect sanitary regulations exist, there being a total underdrainage of 35 miles. There are 2,000 stock pens for cattle, and 1,000 covered pens for hogs and sheep, with 10 miles of streets and alleys. The yards connect by special tracks with all railroads centering in Chicago, offering the readiest accommodation for the receiving and shp ment of stock. Wool-growing forms an important branch of industry in Illinois. Some breeds of sheep, like the Southdown, thrive best on dry uplands, producing abundant and nutritious, but not rank, vegetation. Others, like the Lincolns and Leicesters, prefer moist, rich, alluvial valleys, where the grasses are abundant rather than delicate. The Merino requires dryness of soil and will succeed on scantier feed better than any of the others. All of these varieties of soil may be found in large tracts in Illinois, and consequently it is well adapted to the prosecution of woolgrowing. There were shipped from Chicago in 1868, 10,906,202 pounds of wool. There are 410 vessels of all classes owned in Chicago, with a carrying capacity of 73,637 tons, sufficient to supply the demands for transportation of an increasing production in the State. Among the important events which occurred during the early settlement of Illinois, even as early as 1812, when Illinois was yet a Territory, was the introduction of steamboats upon the Mississippi and its branches, which established a new era in navigation throughout the Western Territories. The ordinary passage of a flat-bottomed or keel boat from Pittsburg to New Orleans was 75 days. By the introduction of steamers at that early day the same passage was made in 10 days. The displacement of the old flat-bottomed boats was followed by the construction of several hundred steamboats to be placed on Lake Michigan, the Upper Mississippi, the Missouri, and Illinois Rivers, and the flat-bottomed boat, as a mode of navigation, was enumerated among the things of the past. The introduction of railroads has effected a wonderful change in the prosperity and wealth of Illinois, as well as the other Western States, and all along the lines of the thousands of miles of railway there have sprung up thriving cities and villages, as if by magic. Farms have been cultivated, and prosperity and thrift have succeeded to the comparative wilderness of former years. The demands of an increasing and industrious population have brought into requisition over 3,500 miles of completed railroads in this State, second only to that of Pennsylvania, with more in process of construction. The lumber business of the State is assuming gigantic proportions, keeping pace with the rapid development of other industries of the Northwest. The receipts at Chicago for 1868 were, of lumber, 882,661,070 feet; shingles, 447,039,275; lath, 146,846,280. Illinois, like Ohio and Indiana, has nearly ceased to contain public lands, the title to the domain having almost entirely passed from the Government to individuals, and now but a few scattered parcels remain undisposed of. It is estimated that the annual amount of manufactures in the great commercial center, Chicago, aggregates over $40,000,000, embracing articles of great variety and such as find a ready market at home. In the manufacture of agricultural implements Chicago holds a prominent position, and during a recent period large establishments for the working of iron and other metals have been put into operation. There have not yet, however, been any factories established for the production of woolen fabrics. The immense amount of business transacted at the banks in this metropolis is exhibited by the reports of the clearing house for the year 1869, which show a total amount of clearings of $731,444,111, a very large increase over the preceding year. Mills for converting wheat into flour and corn into meal undoubtedly constitute the largest manufacturing interest in the State, giving employment directly and indirectly to thousands of persons, as millwrights, millers, engineers, laborers, and bag and barrel makers. Outside of the immense establishments connected with agriculture the general manufacturing interests of the State are rapidly increasing and in most instances are in a flourishing condition. In 1867, seventy-one manufacturing companies of various descriptions were incorporated by the Illinois legislature. The immense coal fields of the State, accessible to navigable rivers and to the lines of railroad, will furnish the motive power of an extensive manufacturing system. The marvelous growth of population in Illinois has been exceeded only by the advance of the State in agricultural development and manufacturing industry; from her geographical position in the American Continent she must become the center of a commerce the extent and value of which are beyond estimation. MICHIGAN is one of the five States formed out of the magnificent country northwest of the Ohio River, which was territorially organized by the celebrated ordinance of 1787. Its organization as a separate political division was accomplished by the act of Congress approved January 11, 1805, and it was admitted to the Union as a State by statute of June 15, 1836. Lying in latitude 41° 40'-48° 20' north, and longitude 82° 25′-90° 34′ west, the boundary on the north is Lake Superior and St. Mary's River; on the east are Lake Huron, the river and Lake St. Clair, Detroit River, and Lake Erie; on the south, the States of Ohio and Indiana; and west, Lake Michigan and Wisconsin. The area of Michigan is 56,451 square miles, or 36,128,640 acres, divided into sixtythree counties. The capital is Lansing; the chief towns, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Adrian, East Saginaw, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Marshall, Port Huron, Monroe, and Ypsilanti. The State is divided by Lakes Michigan and Huron into two irregular peninsulas. The upper, a region of mountains and forests, covering about one-third of the State, lies between the northern portions of Lakes Michigan, Huron, and Superior, while the lower peninsula is nearly inclosed in a vast horseshoe bend of Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie, and the connecting straits and rivers. In the upper peninsula are the Porcupine Mountains, rising to a height of 2,000 feet, with plains and forests. The lower is a level, |