mineral wealth of the country, however, is only begun to be known, but enough has been ascertained to place Arkansas in the first rank of mineral producing districts.

The population of Arkansas in 1850 amounted to 209,639, or one person to 159 acres; and was distributed into the several counties into which the state is divided in the following proportions:

1850.

CLASSES AND SEXES OF POPULATION.

Classes.

Males.

Females.

Total.

White Persons.

85,699.

..76,369..

.162,068

Colored 66 -free....

318.

271.

589

66 -slave...

46,982

Total....

.209,639

PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT OF POPULATION.

..162,068......589......46,982......209,639......112,065..............114.8

The number of dwellings in the state in 1850 was 28,218, and the number of families, 28,371, or in the proportion of 7.3 persons to each dwelling or family, the two being nearly equal. The deaths in 1849-50 amounted to 2,987, indicating a mortality of one in every 69 persons, or 1.45 per cent.

Agriculture employs nearly the whole population, and is devoted chiefly to the production of southern staples. The cereal crops, except, perhaps, that of Indian corn, which averages 8,800,000 bushels, are unusually small; wheat only yielding about 250,000 bushels, and oats about twice that amount, while the crops of rye and barley are scarcely worth mentioning. The cotton crop, to which the greatest attention is given, amounted, in

* In 1810 the population of Arkansas was included in that of Missouri.

sy, but it is now about 35,000,000 pounds; inges 300,000, and has been gradually increastemp and flax, sugar, etc., are grown to a considerable the forest are valued at $260,000 annually, and r and peltry. The state is singularly destitute of gardens are things scarcely known to the people. farms and plantations under cultivation within the 7,712, or 1 to every 12 or 13 of the inhabitants. The of the state are yet to be developed.

es of Arkansas are chiefly confined to the preparation of , or of articles of immediate necessity to the farmer, as and candles, with agricultural implements, etc. Grist and pioy one half the manufacturing capital of the state, which kwever, amount to over a $1,000,000. The number of producshments in the state, producing $500 annually, according to the So, was only 271, but there were a number of smaller ones not Arkansas has no direct commerce, but exports its staples New Orleans. The river trade is large, and employs a considermage of steam and sail craft; and the internal trade of the state huck een increasing at a rapid rate. Arkansas has no banks, or at least any he issue money for circulation; nor has the state made any effort to impove its means of intercommunication, except, perhaps, in the clearing of

envers.

There is no collegiate institution in the state, and there are but few common schools. Toward the establishment of the first, Congress granted 300,000 acres of land, but the state authorities diverted this grant from its original purpose, and distributed it among the counties, in utter defiance to the intention of the grantor. The common schools are supported by the proceeds of the sale of the sixteenth section lands of each township and the revenue arising from leases of salt springs, etc., which form the school fund. These sources, however, are inadequate, and the legislature does little to remedy the deficiency. There are academies and high schools at Little Rock, Fayetteville, Washington, Camden, and some other places, but we have no means of ascertaining their condition or the number of scholars attending them. Perhaps no state in any part of the world is so destitute of the means of education, or so careless of its benefits, as Arkansas. The principal religious denominations are the Methodists and Baptists, and there are also considerable numbers of Catholics.

The constitution was formed in 1836. The Governor is chosen by the people for four years, but cannot hold office more than eight in every twelve years. The Senate can never consist of less than 17, nor more than 33 members, and the House of Representatives of less than 54, nor more than 100 members. Senators are chosen for four years, and Representatives for two years. The General Assembly meets once in two years, at Little Rock. Every white male citizen of the United States, who has resided in the state six months, may vote. The constitution abolishes all lotteries, and forbids the sale of lottery tickets. The Legislature has power to establish one bank, with branches, and one banking institution to promote agricultural interests. It cannot emancipate slaves without the consent of their owners. In respect to trial for crimes and punishment, they are placed on the same footing with the whites; otherwise the provisions respecting slaves are similar to those of Louisiana and the other southern states. Courts of justice are obliged to assign council to indicted slaves.

The Judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, with a Chief Justice and two Associate Justices, and six Circuit Courts. The Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed for eight years, and those of the Circui. Court for four years: the first are chosen by the Legislature, and the latter by the people. Judges of the county courts are chosen by the Justices of the Peace.

Arkansas has a debt of $3,617,227, of which $2,769,336 belongs to the absolute, and $848,891 to the contingent debt. The annual interest on the absolute debt is $164,660. The ordinary expenses of the government, exclusive of interest, amounted, in 1848, to $31,974.

LITTLE ROCK, the capital, stands on a high bluff on the south bank of the Arkansas river, and at the head of steamboat navigation. Lat. 34° 40′ N., and long. 92° 12′ W. It is regularly laid out, and contains the state-house, court-house, United States' arsenal and land office, the state penitentiary, with a number of churches, two banks, a theatre, an academy, and other public buildings. The population is 4,138. Helena, Columbia, Osceola, Marion, Napoleon, &c., are considerable villages on the Mississippi; Belleville, Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Dardanelles, Van Buren, &c., on the Arkansas; Fulton, Lewisville, Laynesville, &c., on the Red River; &c. These contain from 300 to 1,200 inhabitants, and are all favorably situated for commerce. There are also a number of populous villages in the interior of the country. The Red River district, especially, has much improved and increased in population.

Arkansas was a part of the Louisiana purchase. Previous to 1819, it was attached to the Missouri territory, but in that year was formed into a separate territorial government. In 1836, it formed a constitution, and was admitted into the Union as an independent state.

THE STATE OF TEXAS.

TEXAS, formerly a province of Mexico, and more recently an independent republic, is situated between latitudes 26° and 36° 30 north, and longitudes 93° 20′ and 107° west from Greenwich or 16° 19′ and 29° 59′ from Washington. It is bounded on the north by New Mexico, the Indian Territory, from which it is separated by the Red River, and the state of Arkansas; east by Arkansas and Louisiana, from the latter of which the Sabine River chiefly divides it; south by the Gulf of Mexico, and west by the northern states of Mexico, and New Mexico. The boundary established by Congress in 1850 runs from the Red River northward, on the 100th meridian to 36° 30' N. lat., thence along that parallel to the 103d meridian, thence south on that line to 32° N. lat., and on that to the Rio Grande, and down that River to the Gulf of Mexico. The extent of the state east and west is 600 miles, and north and south 400 miles, with a superficial area of 237,321 square miles, or 151,885,440 acres.

The country presents a surface varying from the low plains which border the Gulf of Mexico, to the rolling and hilly regions of the centre and north. In the north-west there are hills of considerable elevation. The flat maritime region extends inland from 20 to 80 miles, being narrowest near the

kit mo river, and widest near the Brazos. It is furrowed by deep man uni the streams which course through these, are of considerable vol

Case forests border their margins for a great distance back, but the a tavernag country is mostly open prairie. The forests do not extend quite BeThe cast, but terminate at a distance of about five miles from it. woud this level region the surface gradually becomes undulating, and preseres a succession of broad swelling knolls and wide shallow valleys. The postes and woodlands in this region alternate in the most picturesque maner; the prairies are generally of small extent and interspersed with groves, or islets in the grassy lake;" and the forest trees here attain a larger growth than those of the level country, and the forests are more widely dif Red over the surface. The whole region is irrigated by frequent springs and streams of the purest water. The width of this zone varies from 30 to 50 miles. A hilly region succeeds, and although much less fertile than that below, it abounds in the grandest scenery, and is watered by innumerable beautiful streams flowing over pebbly beds and forming cascades that would atford excellent mill sites. Few of these hills exceed in elevation 500 feet; their summits are generally flat and tufted with dense thickets of cedar. Beyond this is another undulating region which terminates on the Red river. This section is about 100 miles broad on the meridian of Austin, gradually widening to the east and narrowing to the west, and encloses the Saline lake of the Brazos. It is bounded north-west by ranges of mountains which extend across the north-western portion of Texas, and which furnish the sources of the Red river, the Brazos, the Colorado, and other streams on the east, and the Rio Puecro and other tributaries of the Rio Grande on the west. Many of these mountains are of considerable height, and some are snowcapped throughout the greater portion of the year.

The rivers of Texas, following the general slope, traverse the country in a southerly direction. Few countries of the world are better provided with water communication, but in none of the rivers is steam navigation practicable for more than from 100 to 200 miles. The clearing of some, however, may open a passage further up. The principal, beginning at the east, are the Sabine, which separates Texas from Louisiana and the Neches, both emptying into Sabine Lake which is reached from the sea by a narrow inJet; the Trinidad, a large and long stream, the San Jacinto, famous for the decisive battle fought on its banks, and Buffalo Bayou, on which stands Houston and Harrisburg, all emptying into Galveston Bay; the Brazos, which with numerous tributaries, waters so large a surface and empties directly in the sea; the Colorado, a splendid stream which flows into the eastern portion of Matagorda Bay; the Guadaloupe and San Antonio, which unite near their entrance into Espiritu Santo Bay; the Neuces, formerly consid ered as the western limit of the republic, and the Rio Grande, a large navigable stream, the present western limit of the state. The Red river winds along the northern frontier and forms the great outlet for the produce of Upper Texas. Long, narrow sand islands line the Gulf coast, and form within them lagoons and bays of great extent. Galveston Bay is by far the most important of these bodies of water; it is about 35 miles long, north and south, and from 12 to 18 miles broad, with an average depth of nine feet, but in the channel there is water sufficient for vessels of large tonnage; its entrance, however, is obstructed. The Bay of Matagorda is also an extensive water sheet, and has many fine streams debouching into it. The bays named Espiritu Santo, Aransa, etc., are of less extent, but in process of time must become of great importance to the commerce of the state.

Nearly the whole coast admits of inland navigation, being protected by the before-mentioned sand islands.

The geological structure of the country has been little examined. In the north-west many of the primitive and oldest sedimentary rocks are found, but the general character of the formations would indicate that the middle and plain regions are of diluvial origin. Along the coast a series of superficial accumulations extend inland for 100 to 150 miles, and these consist of calcareous, arenaceous, and argillaceous substances generally intimately blended, but sometimes one or the other may preponderate, and the thickness of the beds becomes gradually less on approaching the higher portions of the undulating region. Fossil bones, skulls of various species, etc., are found throughout this region. These accumulations rest upon a coarse sandstone, and in some of the ravines worn by the rivers a marly or rotten limestone is found beneath the sandstone. In the higher portions of the undulating region the sandstone crops out, and is frequently seen in long irregular ridges, resembling a rocky beach. This sandstone varies infinitely in texture; in some places it is composed of coarse sand and comminuted shells, and incloses round silicious pebbles, and in others it is quite fine grained and resembles freestone. Beyond the undulating region the secondary rocks begin to appear in horizontal strata, forming hills with flat summits 400 or 500 feet high. These strata consist chiefly of limestone, containing organic fossils and nodular masses of iron pyrites.

The sections of the state which by their geological features indicate that they contain valuable minerals, have been little explored. The mountains traversing the north-west are probably connected with the ranges of Chihuahua and New Mexico which contain valuable mines of gold and silver. Sulphuret of lead has been found on the San Saba, and tradition says that the Spaniards formerly worked a silver mine near this stream. Copper is found on the Brazos, and beds of coal exist in several places. The hilly and undulating counties contain immense deposits of iron ore and valuable quarries of freestone and limestone. Beds of lignite, and saline and sulphur springs occur in these sections-also gypsum. The level region affords hardly any minerals worthy of notice-indeed throughout its whole extent scarce a stone can be found. The islands lying off the coast contain vast pans of natural salt evaporated from the waters of the Gulf which the tides throw up and leave to the influence of the sun. On Padre Island the salt is several inches thick in these reservoirs, and many tons weight are thus formed every summer.

The composition of the soils of Texas is as various as the extent of surface over which it is spread. In the level and undulating sections it consists of a rich deep calcareous loam, in which sandy and clayey particles are combined with a carbonaceous vegetable mould. On several of the rivers iron oxides mingle in the soil, and this is especially the case near the Red River, the Brazos, and Colorado, which are deeply tinged with this ferruginous formation. These soils are extremely fertile, but there seems to be a preference in this regard to the soils of the undulating regions. The soils of the hilly regions differ widely; in the valleys the alluvial accumulations are very deep, but the hills have generally a very light thin soil, consisting of a layer of vegetable mould only a few inches deep, resting on the limestone. As a whole, Texas in its conformation and character of soils resembles much the fertile regions of northern Italy. It has been called the Garden of America, and certainly it may be admitted that if its soils and climates are equalled by any other, they are surpassed by none in the world.