Upon the whole, the committee recommend the adoption of the following resolutions:

Resolved, That the line between Georgia and Florida ought to run from the junction of the rivers Chattahoochie and Flint to the point designated as the head of the St. Mary's river by the commissioners appointed under the treaty between the United States and Spain, concluded at San Lorenzo el Real, on the 20th day of October, 1795. Resolved, That an appropriation ought to be made, for the purpose of enabling the President of the United States to complete the running and marking of said line between Georgia and Florida, under the provisions of the act of the 4th May, 1826.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, 4th Feb. 1830.

SIR: I was mistaken in the information which I gave you, verbally, a few days ago, that the Spanish Government had promised Mr. Everett to furnish him with a copy of the journal of the commissioners, Ellicott and Minor, for running the southern and southwestern boundary lines between the United States and the Spanish dominions, upon the application which he had addressed to that Government, by the orders of this department. I find now, that Mr. Everett, by a despatch dated 1st May, 1828, acknowledged the receipt of his instructions upon this subject, and states that he lost no time in addressing an official note to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, at Madrid, requesting a copy of the journal referred to; but that, up to the period of his departure from that capital, no answer was received by him to that note.

I am, with great respect,

Sir, your obedient servant,

JAMES BUCHANAN, Esq.

House of Representatives.

DANIEL BRENT.

FLORIDA BOUNDARY.

Message from the President of the United States, transmitting the information required by a résolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th ultimo, respecting the report of the Commissioners for running the line between the United States and Florida, under the treaty of 1795.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

In pursuance of a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th ultimo, calling for information respecting the report of the commissioners for running and marking the line between the United States and Florida, under the treaty of 1795, I herewith communicate a report from the Secretary of State, containing the desired information.

WASHINGTON, March 15, 1830.

ANDREW JACKSON.

To the PRESIDENT:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, March 15, 1830.

The Secretary of State, to whom has been referred a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 27th February last, requesting the President to inform that House "whether any answer has been received from our Minister in Spain on the subject of the application made to that Government to obtain a copy of the report of the commissioners for running and marking the line between Florida and the United States, under the provisions of the treaty of 1795; and to communicate any information recently received at the Department of State on that subject;" has the honor to state, that it does not appear, from the files of this office, that the application made in May, 1828, by the Minister of the United States at Madrid, in pursuance of instructions from this department, for the document referred to, has been answered by the Spanish Government.

The only information recently received at this office on the subject embraced by the above resolution, is contained in a letter from Albert Gallatin, dated the 18th February, 1830, and in a document accompanying the same, purporting to be a series of "observations to accompany the map of part of the Mississippi river, the southern boundary of the United States, and the coast of Florida," copies of which are, herewith, respectfully submitted.

M. VAN BUREN.

NEW YORK, February 18, 1830. SIR: Mr. White, delegate from Florida, informed me, whilst at Washington, that it appeared, from a correspondence of Mr. Madison with the late Andrew Ellicott, commissioner of the United States for ascertaining the boundary between the said States and the then Spanish provinces of East and West Florida; that the official map and report of the proceedings of the commissioners had been lent by the State to the Treasury Department.

This must have taken place whilst I was Secretary of the Treasury; and, as the map could have been wanted there for no other purpose than as affording the proper basis of the surveys of the public lands in that quarter, an inquiry was instituted at the General Land Office; the result of which, as I am informed, was, that Mr. King, the old and principal draughtsman of the office, had a perfect recollection of the map being deposited there; that Mr. Freeman, principal surveyor of the lands south of Tennessee, had taken a copy of the whole or part of it; that it was not returned to the Department of State; and that, whilst Mr. Tiffin was Commissioner of the Land Office, it was, by his direction, lent to a committee of Congress, which had applied for it, and had not been returned. But there was no recollection of the "report of the proceedings of the commissioners," if distinct from the map: and, when I left Washington, no such document had been found in the Land Office.

Mr. Ellicott had given me, at the time when published, a printed copy of his "astronomical and thermometrical observations on the boundary line," with some corrections in his hand writing. They were published at Philadelphia, for T. Dobson, 1801, are also inserted

in the 5th volume of the transactions of the American Philosophical Society, and are, I presume, well known to you, and to Mr. White. But I had some recollection of another manuscript by Mr. Ellicott, on the same subject, being in my possession, and made lately a search, hoping it might prove the lost report. I have found, and have the honor to enclose the said manuscript, which proves to be, as stated by himself," Mr. Ellicott's observations to accompany the map," &c. I had (from the endorsement "for Mr. Gallatin," and having forgotten how it came in my possession) believed that it was my private property, and had been given to me, with his printed work, by Mr. Ellicott; which will account for its having remained so long in my library. But the designation "to accompany the map," leaves no doubt on my mind that it was originally transmitted with the map to the Department of State, by Mr. Ellicott, and sent, also, afterwards, with the map, when this was lent to the Treasury. The words "for Mr. Gallatin were probably written, on sending it back to me, by some person (perhaps Mr. Randolph) to whom I had lent it.

If I understand the question, on which a doubt has lately arisen, between the State of Georgia and the United States, this manuscript contains but little that can elucidate it. Yet what is stated (page 20) concerning the true St. Mary's, "which is formed by the water draining out of the Okefenoke swamp, corroborates Mr. Ellicott's statements in his printed "astronomical and thermometrical observations," above alluded to.

It appears from these, that the commissioners surveved the boundary line along the 31st parallel of latitude, from the Mississippi to the Chattahoochie river, and down this river to the mouth of Flint river, which last point they ascertained to be in 30° 42′ 42′′ north latitude, and 5 hours 39′ 33′′ in time west longitude from Greenwich; that they did not survey the line from the mouth of Flint river, to the source of the St. Mary's; that they proceeded to the mouth of the last mentioned river, ascended it as high as it was navigable for canoes, where they established an observatory, (A) the latitude of which they ascertained to be in 30° 21′ 39′′, and set there a hewn post, surrounded by a large mound of earth; that they ran thence a traverse to a point (4,403.2 perches north, and 886.4 perches west from the point A,) where another post was set up, surrounded by another mound of earth, (B) thrown up on the margin of the Ökefenoke swamp, and as near to it as any permanent mark could be placed, on account of the water; that the river St. Mary's is formed by the water draining out of the said swamp; and that, as no specific point could be fixed in the swamp, as the source of the river," it was therefore agreed that the termination of the line, supposed to be drawn north 45° east 640 perches from the mound B, should be taken as a point to, or near which a line should be drawn from the mouth of Flint river; which line, when drawn, should be final, and considered as the permanent boundary between the United States and his Catholic Majesty, &c."

I have inserted the preceding paragraph, to save you the trouble of referring to the several parts there quoted of the printed observations. There can thence be no doubt as to the fact, that a certain spot was agreed to, in pursuance of the treaty by the joint commissioners, as the source of the St. Mary's. But it is probable that the

43064-S. Doc. 467, 60-1--10

authentic evidence of that fact is lost; that the map was burnt in the Capitol in September, [August,] 1814; and that this map, certified by the commissioners, was in fact, the only official report of their joint proceedings made to the Department of State. Under those circumstances, the manuscript observations of Mr. Ellicott may be of some use not only as corroborating the fact, that the river which issues from the Okefenoke swamp, was agreed on by the commissioners as being the true St. Mary, but also as a document transmitted by Mr. Ellicott to the Department of State, with the map, and referring to it. It also mentions a branch coming from the west, between the encampment A, and the point B, which branch, therefore, is not the true St. Mary's of the commissioners; and it designates the situation of the Okefenoke swamp, by stating that the river St. Juans, which falls into the Gulf of Mexico, has also its source in that swamp.

On reflection, I also enclose my copy of the printed observations, which is of no use to me, and which is not, perhaps, in the collection of books of the department. But it must be observed, that the plates referred to in the text, are, all but one, wanting in that copy. It is probable that they were inserted in the 5th volume of the transactions of the American Philosophical Society; and one of them, (plate 8) mentioned page 139, and purporting to show the traverse from the point A to point B, would greatly assist in finding, on the ground, the true position of those points, and therefore of the source of the St. Mary's, as agreed on by the commissioners.

I write to Mr. White, letting him know that I have transmitted Mr. Ellicott's manuscript observations to you, and referring him to this letter for further information.

I have the honor to be,

Very respectfully, sir,

Your most obedient servant,

ALBERT GALLATIN.

The Hon. M. VAN BUREN, Secretary of State.

The following observations, to accompany the map of part of the Mississippi river, the southern boundary of the United States, and the coast of West Florida, being hastily thrown together from my notes, are only intended to convey a general idea of the country to which they refer.

ANDREW ELLICOTT.

OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

To say anything new respecting this river, whose magnitude and importance have, many years ago, employed the pens of some of the historians, philosophers, and geographers of most nations in Europe, as well as in our own country, is not to be expected from me. In following such characters, I shall proceed with diffidence, and confine myself to that part of this celebrated river, which I had an opportunity of examining myself, and which lies between the mouth of the Ohio, and the southern boundary of the United States.

The confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, is in 37° 0′ 23′ north latitude, and about 5h. 55' 23' west from the royal observatory at Greenwich. I am well aware that this longitude is considerably less than has generally been assigned to this important geographical point; and have not adopted the alteration without some hesitation, and should still have been more cautious if I could have found any other authority in favor of the former position, than charts unaccompanied by any observations. The observations from which I have deduced both the latitude and longitude, were made under unfavorable circumstances; the weather was intensely cold, and we had not sufficient covering for ourselves and instruments; but, upon repeatedly examining them, I am not sensible of their being liable to any material objection.

Those who are descending the Ohio and Mississippi, and have been pleased with the prospect of large rivers rushing together among hills and mountains, will anticipate the pleasure of viewing the conflux of those gigantic waters. But their expectations will not be realised the prospect is neither grand nor romantic; here are no hills to variegate the scene; nor mountains from whose summits the meandering of the rivers may be traced; nor chasms through which they have forced their way. The prospect is no more than the meeting of waters of the same width, along the sounds on our low southern coast. These great rivers, after draining a vast extent of mountainous and hilly country, join their waters in the swamp, through which the Mississippi passes into the Gulf of Mexico. This swamp extends from the high lands in the United States, to the high lands in Louisiana, and, through various parts of it, the river has, at different periods, had its course. From the best information I could obtain, the swamp is from 36 to 45 miles wide from the boundary many miles up, and much the greater part of it lies on the west side of the present bed of the river. From the mouth of the Ohio to the southern boundary of the United States, the Mississippi touches but two or three places on the west side that are not annually inundated, and even those are for a time insulated, but, on the east side, it washes the high land in eleven places.

The swamp appears to be composed of the mud and sand carried by Mad river into the Missouri, and by the Missouri into the Mississippi, to which may be added the washing of the country drained by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, with their numerous branches, which furnish a fresh stratum every inundation. This stratum is deposited upon a stratum of leaves and other dead vegetables, which had fallen the preceding autumn. These strata may be readily examined in many parts of the swamp, and the banks of the river. The depths of the deposited strata differ considerably, and principally depend upon the duration of the different inundations. In 1797 the inundation was complete by the last of February, and the river was not entirely within its banks till about the beginning of September; but, in 1798, the inundation was not complete till after the middle of May, and the river was generally within its banks by the first of August. The mean perpendicular height to which the river rises above the low water mark at the town of Natchez, is 55 feet.

In descending the river, you meet with but little variety; a few of the bends and islands will give you a sample of the whole. If