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and always spoke of the transaction as one that was justified only by a strict necessity.

By that purchase the United States acquired the whole of the vast territory between the Mississippi and the Pacific, from the Spanish territory on the south to the British territory on the north. From the Louisiana purchase, as it was called, Louisiana was the first State carved out, followed by many other States, as Ohio was the first formed from the North-west Territory. Louisiana was admitted as a State in 1812.

Its capital, New Orleans, is said to be the greatest cotton market in the world. Fourteen States pour their produce into that city, by the Ohio, the Missouri, the Mississippi, and their tributaries; and it has otherwise extensive commerce. As an agricultural State, Louisiana has immense resources. Its soil is almost everywhere adapted to cultivation. The bottom-lands especially are of inexhaustible fertility, and vast herds of cattle and sheep are pastured on the natural meadows of the Opelousas prairies. In one of the islands at the mouth of the Mississippi there is an enormous bed of rock-salt.

INDIANA.

This State is bounded north by Lake Michigan and the State of Michigan, east by Ohio, west by Illinois, and south by Kentucky. It contains 33,809 square miles, or 21,637,760 acres.

The governor and lieutenant-governor hold office for four years; the secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, attorney-general, and superintendent of public instruction, hold their office for two years; all are chosen by the people. The senate shall not exceed fifty, nor the house of representatives one hundred members. Senators are elected for the term of four years, and representatives for two years; the sessions of the legislature taking place biennially. The judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts are chosen by the people for six years, and of the Court of Common Pleas for four years.

Indiana was originally a part of the North-west Territory. It was probably first settled about 1700, by French Canadians, who seemed to have adopted the habits of the Indians, and lived mainly by hunting. In 1763 the country was ceded to the English, and the settlers were confirmed in their possessions. In 1788 a dis astrous Indian war broke out, and continued for three years, when the Indians were for a time subdued. It was organized into a territory in 1800, from which in 1805 the Territory of Michigan was set off, and in 1809 the Territory of Illinois, leaving the Territory of Indiana what the State now is. During all this time the Indians

had continued to be troublesome; and in 1811 a war broke out under Tecumseh, but the Indians were beaten, and sued for peace. Wher the war broke out with England, in the next year, the Indians again renewed their hostilities; but were again subdued, and a peace was made with them in 1815, and since that time they have not caused any serious trouble. The State was admitted into the Union in 1816.

The wealth of this State consists in its live-stock and in its agricultural productions. Nearly all of its surface is capable of culti vation, and most of it is very fertile. The census of 1860 showed about four times as many farmers in the State as of farm laborers, showing how very large a proportion of the owners of the land then cultivated it with their own labor. The railroads are very extensive, and are well supported. It has vast coal-fields, of excellent quality. It has many forges and furnaces for iron. It exports much lumber, flour, and some wine.

MISSISSIPPI.

The State of Mississippi is bounded north by Tennessee, east by Alabama, west by Louisiana and Arkansas, and south by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana. It contains 45,156 square miles, or 28,899,840

acres.

The governor must have been a citizen of the United States for twenty years, and a resident of the State for two years; and with the lieutenant-governor is elected for four years. The secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor are elected by the people for four years. The number of representatives shall not be less than one hundred, nor more than one hundred and twenty. The number of senators shall never be less than one-fourth, nor more than one-third of the whole number of representatives, and shall hold office four years. Judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts are appointed by the governor, and hold office, those of the Supreme Court nine years, and those of the Circuit Courts six years. Justices of the peace hold office two years.

This is another of the States discovered and traversed by De Soto and his companions. This was in 1542. Forty years afterwards, La Salle, a French navigator, coming down from Canada, descended the Illinois River to the Mississippi, and took possession of the adjacent territory for the King of France, giving it the name of Louisiana. The French built forts and planted colonies in the territory. The colony did not prosper. Then the Western Company, which had held possession of it, surrendered its charter, and the King of France opened the trade of the territory to all his subjects.

For a while the colony seemed to prosper; but the Chickasaw Indians attacked it with great violence, and for a time with much success. After a while they were subdued or pacified for a time, and during this period the colony grew in population and in wealth. Again, however, the Indians became hostile, to its great detriment. Through all these fluctuations the colony, on the whole, advanced. The territory was a part of the Louisiana purchase already spoken of in the account of the State of Louisiana. It was formed into a territory by Congress in 1798. When Georgia, in 1802, ceded to the United States her lands south of Tennessee, they were attached to the Territory of Mississippi, which then included what are now the States of Alabama and Mississippi. In 1817 a part of the territory was separated, and organized as a territory under the name of Alabama; and later in the same year the rest of the territory was admitted to the Union, as the State of Mississippi.

This State is one of the principal cotton-producing States. It is said, however, that much more of its land is now given to corn and other crops than formerly. Its direct foreign commerce is small, nor has it many manufacturing establishments. The soil is generally of great fertility, and a large part of the State as a cultivable country has no superior. It is said that the statistics of vitality show that the districts of this State which are sufficiently elevated to be dry are among the healthiest regions in the world.

ILLINOIS.

This State is bounded north by Wisconsin and Lake Michigan, east by Indiana, south-east by Kentucky, south and south-west by Missouri, and west by Missouri and Iowa. It contains 55,405 square miles, or 35,459,200 acres.

The governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, and auditor are elected by the people for four years; the treasurer and superintendent of public schools for two years. The senate consists of twenty-five members, who are chosen for four years, half of whom are elected biennially. The house of representatives consists of seventy-five members, until the population of the State amounts to one million, when five members may be added, and five additional members for every five hundred thousand inhabitants thereafter, until the whole number of representatives amounts to one hundred, after which the number shall neither be increased nor diminished. The judges are elected by the people; those of the Supreme Court for nine years, and those of the Circuit Courts for six years, and the county judges for four years.

This territory was first settled by the French, after La Salle and

his companions had discovered it. This was in 1680. Some twenty years afterwards the settlement was described by French writers as in a flourishing condition. Most of the early settlers adopted the mode of life of the Indians about them, and became almost as savage as they were. The colonies of France and England in North America, as they extended, came nearer together, and disputes arose almost inevitably about boundaries which there were so few means of defining with any accuracy. These disputes helped to produce the war between those two nations, which was ended, in fact, by the victory of Wolfe on the plains near Quebec; and in 1763 the dominion of the French ceased over every part of the territory east of the Mississippi. Twenty years afterwards, the peace of 1773 closed the American Revolution, and transferred this territory to the United States; and it was included in the North-west Territory by the ordnance creating that territory in 1787. In 1818 Illinois was admitted as a State into the Union.

This State is, in its soil and situation, peculiarly favorable to agriculture, which has been pursued most successfully. Indeed, it surpasses all the other States in the production of the cereals. Its lead-mines are among the most valuable in the world. Its coalfields extend over nearly four-fifths of the whole State. Salt is found in its southern counties; and gold, silver, and copper are obtained, but not in large quantities. Its largest city Chicago, on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Chicago River, has the only good harbor on the south-western side of the lake. An extensive system of railroads bring to it the productions not only of its own great State, but, through that State, of others lying further west. This, added to its lake commerce, has caused it to grow with an almost unexampled rapidity. It was destroyed in great part by the fire of 1872. Its rapid recovery has manifested both its energy and its resources.

ALABAMA.

This State is bounded on the north by Tennessee, on the east by Georgia and Florida, on the south by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and on the west by Mississippi. It contains 50,722 square miles, or 32,462,080 acres.

The governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, and attorneygeneral are chosen by the people, by a plurality vote, for two years. The senate must consist of not more than thirty-three persons, and hold office for four years; one-half are elected every two years. Senators are elected from districts, arranged according to population, each district returning one senator. The house of rep

resentatives, of which each county must have at least one member, must not exceed in the whole one hundred members, and they are apportioned according to population. The representatives are elected for two years, and senators for four years; and the last must be twenty-seven years of age. The judges are elected by the people, each being elected for one of the circuits into which the State is divided for that purpose, and after his election must reside in that circuit. The judges of the several courts of this State hold their offices for the term of six

years.

The territory of this State was originally a part of Georgia, and in 1798 was included in the Territory of Mississippi. Florida reached at that time, and until 1812, to the French possessions in Louisiana. In that year, when the war with Great Britain broke out, so much of Florida as lay between the Perdido and Pearl Rivers was occupied by the troops of the United States, and was afterwards annexed to the Territory of Mississippi. A bloody war with the Creek Indians broke out in 1813, and continued for nearly two years, until the Creeks were effectually subdued in a series of battles, in which they lost large numbers. A treaty of peace was made with them, by which they surrendered three-quarters of their territory, which was rapidly settled. After the western portion was admitted as the State of Mississippi, in 1817, the eastern portion remained as the Territory of Alabama, until 1819, when it was admitted as a State.

The low river-bottoms of the State, and some parts of the highlands in the north, are hardly cultivable; but much the greater part of the State is excellent and fertile land, and healthy. It has a few manufactures, which are now said to be increasing. Its commerce, through the city of Mobile, is, or certainly was, quite extensive. This city was originally founded by the French, and for many years was the capital of the colony of Louisiana. It is, however, to its very extensive and successful agriculture, and especially to its production of cotton, that this State owes its prosperity.

MAINE.

This State is bounded north and north-west by Canada, east by New Brunswick, south and south-east by the Atlantic, and west by New Hampshire. It contains 35,000 square miles, or 22,430,000

acres.

The governor is chosen by the people annually; there is no lieutenant-governor. A council of seven persons, and all other State officers, are chosen by the senate and house of representatives in joint convention. The house of representatives shall consist of not less than one hundred nor more than two hundred

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