280 BURLEY'S UNITED STATES
in I860. The statistics tor 1*7:5 were: Miles of railroad, 1950; cost per
mile, $55,036; total capital account, $94,992,253; receipts, $4,212,844;
receipts per mile, §2441 ; receipts to an inhabitant, $7.53 ; net earnings,
$809,842.
Growth ill Population. — The number of civilized inhabitants in
1849 was 1857; in 1850, »i'i77; in 1860,172,023; in 1870,439,706. Dur-
ingthe decade from 1850 to 1860 the increase was 2~'.)0.72per cent, which is
altoydln r unprecedented. Wisconsin increased 886.2 per cent, between 1840
and 1850, but no other State has ever augmented its population 600 per cent.
in a decade The foreign born numbered 160,697 and the native 279,009,
of whom 126,491 were born in the State, 2350 in Connecticut, 10,979 in
Illinois, 9939 iii Maine, 5731 in Massachusetts, 3742 in Michigan, 39,507
in New York, 12,651 in Ohio, 11,966 in Pennsylvania, 24,048 in Wiscon-
sin. 385 in the Territories.
Public Institutions and Education. — The State Prison at
Stillwater has cells for 300 convicts; 134 were in confinement at the close
of 1874. A Reform School for boys and girls under 16 years of age was
established at St. Paul in 1868, and contained 113 inmates at the last
report. The Hospital for the Insane, at St. Peter, has accommodations
for 450 patients; 4!»7 were treated during 1874, with a daily average of
341. An Asylum for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind lias been in operation at
Faribault since 1863; 104 deaf and dumb and 22 blind persons were
treated during 1*74, at an expense of $30,818. There is a Soldiers' Or-
phans' Home at Winona. The Constitution provides for a general system
of public schools in each township. A permanent fund is derived from
the proceeds of the sale of school lands, which had realized more than two
and a half millions of dollars up to the year 1872. The educational sta-
tistics lor 1873-4 were: School districts, 3137; persons between 5 and 21
years of age, 196,065; teachers, 5206; school-houses, 2571, valued at
$2,090,001. Carleton College, at Northfield, and St. John's College, at
St. Joseph, are thriving institutions. The University of Minnesota had
during the last collegiate year 15 instructors and 2*5 students, of whom
aboul 80 were ladies. Connected with it is the College of Agriculture and
the Mechanic Arts, with a property valued at $357,250. There are 3
normal schools and 2 schools of theology (Evangelical Lutheran and
Roman Catholic). The census reported 1412 libraries, 877 religious or-
ganizations, with 582 edifices, and 95 newspapers, of which fi were daily.
Tic- number of newspapers had increased to 139 in 1875.
Cities and Towns. — St. Paul, the capital, i- situated upon a bluff
on the easl hank of the Mississippi River, l!i>7i> miles above its mouth.
The State Souse, State Arsenal, Opera House and Athenaeum are among
the most prominent buildings. Several lines of Bteamboats ply upon
the river, and there are immense lumber- and flouring-mills. The town
CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER AND GUIDE, 287
was settled in 1840, and in July, 1847, contained two small log stores.
Population in 1870, 20,130. Fifteen periodicals are published here, of
which two issue daily, tri-weekly and weekly editions. Minneapolis (popu-
lation in 1870, 13,066) is situated on both sides of the Mississippi River,
at the Falls of St. Anthony. St. Anthony (population, 5013) was united
with it in 1872, and the consolidated city was estimated to contain 32,000
inhabitants in 1874. Lines of steamboats run up the river to St. Cloud.
There are three railroads, and the wholesale trade is estimated at 15 mil-
lions of dollars annually. There were 18 lumber-mills in 1873, which
employed more than 2000 hands, and 18 flouring-mills, whose products
were valued at five millions of dollars. The State University is located
on a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Minneapolis is also the
seat of a Lutheran theological seminary. The city has 48 churches, 2
daily and 9 weekly newspapers. Winona, the third city of the State, con-
tained 7172 inhabitants in 1870, and 10,743 in 1875. It is situated on the
Mississippi River, 175 miles below St. Paul, and is a large wheat market.
A State Normal School and Soldiers' Orphans' Home are located here.
Three newspapers are published, of which one is a daily. Duluth, at the
north-western extremity of Lake Superior, is an important business cen-
tre. It is the terminus of 2 railroad and 6 steamboat lines. There are
several large saw-mills and factories, 12 churches, 2 daily and 3 weekly
newspapers. The harbor, which is protected by a breakwater, will have
a frontage of 20 miles on deep water. The population in 1860 was 71 ; in
1870, 3131 ; in 1875, upwards of 5000. Mankato (population in 1870,
3482, and in 1875 more than 6000) contains 4 newspapers and 11 churches.
Hastings (3458) and Rochester (3953) are prosperous towns.
Government and Laws. — The legislative authority is vested in
a senate of 41 members and a house of representatives of 106 members.
Annual sessions are held, which are limited to 60 days. The governor
(salary $3000) and other executive officers are elected for 2 years. The
supreme court consists of 3 judges (salary $3000 each). There are 9 dis-
trict courts. A court of probate is held in each of the 75 counties. All
judges are elected by the people. A State board of health, a commis-
sioner of railroads and a commissioner of insurance are appointed. On
the 1st of January, 1875, the bonded debt was $480,000; the revenue for
the preceding year was $1,112,812, and the expenditures $1,148,150.
History. — Minnesota, which in the Sioux language signifies "smoky
water," was the name given to the principal river. Father Hennepin vis-
ited the Falls of St. Anthony in 1680. On the 8th of May, 1689, posses-
sion was taken of the country in the name of France. The authority of
the United States was extended over it in 1812. Barracks were erected
at Fort Snelling in 1819. Minnesota Territory was organized March 3,
1849, and on the 11th of May, 1858, Minnesota was admitted into the
288 BURLEY'S UNITED STATES
Union as the thirty-second State. The present Constitution was adopted
Oct. 13, 1857.
MISSISSIPPI.
Situation and Extent. — Mississippi is bounded on the N. by
Tennessee, E. by Alabama, S. by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana and
W. by Louisiana and Arkansas. It is situated between latitudes 30° 13'
and 35° N. and longitudes 11° 7' and 14° 41' "NV. from Washington, or
88° 7' and 91° 41' W. from Greenwich. Its extreme length from north
to south is 331.G5 miles and its breadth from east to west 210 miles. The
area is 47,156 square miles, or 30,179,840 acres.
Physical Features. — Surface. — Along the Gulf of Mexico the
country is low and sandy, with frequent cypress swamps and marshes.
The central part of the State is hilly or undulating and interspersed with
prairies. A belt of level country, covered with forests and designated as
the " flat woods," extends from the northern boundary through the eastern
counties half the length of the State, and terminates in Kemper county.
In the north-east is a carboniferous formation, elevated some 500 or 600
feet above the level of the sea. Bluffs extend along the Mississippi River
as far north as Vicksburg. Above that city the bottom lands stretch to
the Tennessee line, with a width of 50 miles. As far east as the Yazoo
and Tallahatchie Rivers the ground is low and swampy. Nearly 7000
square miles are liable to inundation. The levees were neglected during
the war, and large tracts once cultivated have become the prey of the river.
The waters remain stagnant in the morasses, lagoons and slashes, which
are the retreats of alligators, snakes, lizards and swarms of venomous
insects. Rivers and Harbors. — The Mississippi River forms the western
boundary of the State for more than 500 miles. Its principal affluents are
the Yazoo, 280 yards wide at its mouth, 290 miles long, navigable as far
as the junction of its two branches, the Tallahatchie and Yalabusha,
and draining a basin of 13,850 square miles; the Big Black, 200 miles
long and navigable for 50 miles; the Bayou Pierre and the Homochitto.
The Tennessee River forms the north-eastern boundary for 20 miles. The
Torabigbee rises in this State and is navigable for steamboats to Aberdeen.
Pearl River, which forms a part of the boundary between Mississippi and
I. 'uisiana, empties into Lake Borgne; it is 250 miles in length, and small
boats navigate il for 100 miles, but the channel is much obstructed by sand-
bars and drift-wood. The Pascagoula, which flows into the Gulf of Mex-
ico, has a broad bay at its mouth, in which the depth of water is only four
feci. Every pari of the State is well watered, and the river system affords
more than 2000 miles of steamboat navigation. The coast-line on the Gulf
of Mexico is 90 miles in length. None of the harbors are deep enough for
ihe admission of large vessels. A chain of low islands extends beyond
CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER AND GUIDE. 289
Mississippi Sound about 10 miles from the main land. Forests. — In the
south-east are extensive and dense groves of pine, principally of the long-
leaved variety. Live-oak and red cedar, for ship-building, are abundant;
the live-oak does not flourish above the 31st parallel of latitude. Cypress
grows in swamps which are submerged for half the year and furnishes the
most durable timber. Among other trees are the ash, basswood, bay,
beech, cherry, chestnut, cottonwood, elm, gum, holly, hickory, locust, mul-
berry, magnolia, poplar, plum, sassafras and black-walnut. Fig and peach
trees are abundant and prolific.
Soil and Climate. — Along the gulf the soil is sandy. Above the
31st parallel the swamps bordering the Pearl and Pascagoula Rivers are
very rich. The cane grows to a height of from 20 to 40 feet. When the
floods recede, they leave behind, in the bottom lands, " a sediment as fine
and fertilizing as the Nile mud." In the Yazoo swamps the alluvial de-
posit is sometimes 35 feet thick. Along the Mississippi River there are 4£
million acres of alluvial land of inexhaustible fertility, producing from 60
to 80 bushels of corn and from 1 J to 2 bales of cotton to the acre. Around
the Tombigbee River are prairies with a rich, black, adhesive loam. In
the north-east is a poor sandy soil which washes off from the hills. Mis-
sissippi stretches through five degrees of latitude and from the low shores
of the gulf to the elevated lands of the north, exhibiting a great variety
of climate. Near the gulf is a semi-tropical region, where the extreme
heat of summer is tempered by the sea-breeze. Malarial fevers are quite
prevalent in autumn. Cattle are not housed, but pick up their living out
of doors all winter. Farmers plough in February, plant corn in March
and harvest winter wheat in May. The isothermal lines which cross the
State are : Spring, 65°-70° ; summer, 80°-82° ; autumn, 65°-70° ; winter,
45°-55° ; annual mean, 60°-70°. For the year ending Sept. 30, 1874, the
mean temperature at Vicksburg was 66.5° and the maximum 96.5°. The
mercury rose to or above 90° upon 10 days in May, 27 in June, 18 in
July, 29 in August and 10 in September; total, 94 days. The rainfall
was 65.24 inches.
Agricultural Productions. — Mississippi is almost exclusively
an agricultural State. Of the 318,850 persons engaged in all occupations,
259,199 were employed in agriculture. It ranked first in the production
of cotton at the last census (564,938 bales), sixth in rice (374,627 pounds)
and fifth in sweet potatoes (1,743,432 bushels). The value of the Indian
corn, wheat, rye, oats, potato, tobacco and hay crops of 1873 was $17,-
064,320. At the beginning of 1874 there were in the State 88,300 horses,
99,100 mules (only Tennessee and Alabama had more), 329,800 oxen and
other cattle, 180,100 milch cows, 819,100 hogs, 153,600 sheep. The num-
ber of farms in 1870 was 68,023, averaging 193 acres each and including
13,121,113 acres, of which 4,209,146 acres were improved; value of farms,
19
290 buhley's united states
$$1,716,576; of farm implements, $4,456,033; of live-stock, $29,940,238;
of farm productions, including betterments and additions to stock, $73,-
137,953. -Mail beds, which arc sometimes 100 feet thick, underlie 2000
square miles. There are also immense deposits of porcelain clay, silica for
the finesl glassware and valuable building-stones.
Manufactures* — Very little attention has been given to manufac-
tures. The Federal census reported 1731 establishments; hands employed,
594 1 : value of products, $8,154,758. Among the leading articles were:
Lumber, $2,229,017; grist-mill products, 82,053,567; carriages and wa -
ons, $268,031; cotton goods, $234,445; machinery, 8223,130; woollen
»ds, $122,973.
Commerce and Navigation. — The foreign trade is carried on
largely through New Orleans and Mobile, cotton and lumber being the
chief articles of export. Shieldsborough, the port of entry for the Pearl
River district, had a foreign commerce, during the year ending June 30,
1874, amounting to $233,406, of which $219,214 was the value of domes-
tic exports, mostly lumber, boards and shingles; vessels entered in the
foreign trade, 93; vessels cleared, 94; in the coastwise trade, cleared, 96;
entered, 68. The number of vessels belonging in the State was 117.
Vicksburg and Natchez are also ports of entry.
Railroads. — Twenty-six miles of railroad were in operation in 1844.
The report for 1873 returned 990 miles of railroad ; cost per mile, $36,322 :
total capital account, $42,424,194; receipts, $5,424,326; receipts per mile,
$4644; receipts to an inhabitant, $6.34; net earnings, $1,93^,050. In
1874, 1038:1 miles were in operation.
Public Institutions and Education. — The Penitentiary con-
tains 200 cells, which is an insufficient number; there were 320 convicts in
1*74. The institutions for the deaf and dumb and for the blind are de-
signed to be training-schools rather than asylums. The Asylum for the
Insane has upward of 300 inmates. All of the above institutions are
located at Jackson. Free public schools are required by the Constitution
for all between the ages of 5 and 21 years. Six colleges are reported —
viz., Jefferson, Madison, Mississippi, Pass Christian, Tougaloo University
and the University of Mississippi. There are also 6 colleges for young
ladies, 2 normal schools, 1 school of law and 2 schools of science. The
plan of tin- University of Mississippi includes a preparatory department
and three general departments — viz., scientific, literary and professional.
The College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, connected with it,
received part of the Congressional land grant. The Agricultural and
Meehanical College, al Rodney, has a property valued at si:}(;,055. Ac-
cording to the census of 1870, Mississippi contained 2788 libraries and
1829 religious organizations, with 1800 edifices. In 1875, 104 newspapers
and pt riodieala were published.
CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER AND GUIDE. 291
Population. — The number of inhabitants in 1800 was 8850 (slaves,
3489); 1810,40,352 (slaves, 17,088); 1820, 75,448 (slaves-, 32,814) ; 1830,
136,621 (slaves, 65,659); 1840, 375,651 (slaves, 195,211); 1850, 606,526
(slaves, 309,878); 1860, 791,305 (slaves, 486,631); 1870, 827,922 (free
colored, 444,201). The ratio of increase between 1800 and 1810 was
355.95 per cent.; between 1860 and 1870, 4.63 per cent. Mississippi
ranked 18th in total population and 4th in the number of colored inhabit-
ants. The foreign born numbered 11,191 and the native born 816,731, of
whom 564,142 had their birthplace in the State, 59,520 in Alabama, 28,260
in Georgia, 9417 in Louisiana, 27,911 in North Carolina, 35,956 in South
Carolina, 33,551 in Virginia ; 252,589 native Mississippians were residing
in other parts of the Union. The density of population was 17.56 to a
square mile.
Cities and Towns. — Jackson, the capital, is situated on the west
bank of the Pearl River. It is the seat of the four public institutions
before mentioned. The State-House is a fine building, which cost more
than $600,000 ; there is a State library containing 15,000 volumes. Rail-
roads extend to the north, south, east and west, dividing the State into four
parts. The city has 10 churches and 4 weekly papers. Population, 4234.
Vicksburg (population, 12,443), on the east bank of the Mississippi River,
395 miles above New Orleans, has a very extensive river trade. The busi-
ness, as at Natchez, is conducted "under the hill," and the bluffs are cov-
ered with handsome residences. There is a fine Court-House Four period-
icals are published, two of them daily. Natchez (population, 9057) is
situated upon the Mississippi River, 279 miles above New Orleans. Among
the principal buildings are the Court-House, Masonic Temple and Roman
Catholic Cathedral. Several lines of steamboats are employed in the ship-
ment of cotton. The river has a depth of 118 feet at the docks. The
city was incorporated in 1803. It contains 8 churches and 3 newspapers,
one of them published every morning. Columbus (4812), on the Tombig-
bee River, receives large quantities of cotton for shipment through Mobile.
The other principal towns are Meridian (2709), Holly Springs (2406),
Canton (1963), Grenada (1887).
Government and Laws. — The legislature, which meets annually,
consists of 37 senators, elected for 4 years, and 115 representatives, elected
for 2 years. The executive officers are chosen for a term of 4 years. The
supreme court consists of 3 judges, appointed by the governor and con-
firmed by the senate, who' hold office for 9 years. A circuit court, presided
over by a single judge, is held in each of the 15 judicial circuits. Chan-
cery courts are held at least 4 times a year in every one of the 73 counties.
No one who denies the existence of a Supreme Being can hold office. The
value of the real and personal property in 1860 was $607,324,911, in 1870,
292 BURLEY'S UNITED STATES
$209,197,345, a diminution which shows how disastrous were the effects of
the civil war.
History. — De Soto visited this region in 1540 [see Alabama]. In
1682 La Salle took possession of it in the name of the king of France, and
called it Louisiana. In 1699 a fort was erected on the bay of Biloxi.
The Choctaws, Chickasaws, Natchez and other Indians were bitterly hos-
tile, and committed great depredations upon the settlers. Natchez was first
settled in 1716. On the 29th of November, 1729, the Natchez Indians
made an attack upon the town and massacred 200 of the French colonists.
Mississippi Territory was organized April 7, 1798. It comprised also the
present State of Alabama north of the 31st parallel. The region south
of that parallel, between the Pearl and Perdido Rivers, which had been
claimed by Spain, was taken possession of by the United States in 1811, as
a part of the Louisiana purchase, and added to the territory of Mississippi.
On the 10th of December, 1817, Mississippi was admitted into the Union
as the twentieth State. An ordinance of secession was passed Jan. 9, 1861,
and the Constitution of the Confederate States was ratified March 30.
Biloxi was captured by the Federal forces Dec. 31, 1861. Several battles
were fought in 1862, among which were the battle of Iuka, Sept. 19th, and
the battle of Corinth, Oct. 3d and 4th. Vicksburg, after a long siege, was
captured by the Federal troops, July 4, 1863. On the 22d of August,
I860, the ordinance of secession was repealed. The 14th and loth Amend-
ments were ratified in January, 1870; Congress passed an act of readmis-
sion Feb. 23, 1870, and the civil authorities assumed control on the 10th
of March.
MISSOURI.
Situation and Extent. — Missouri is bounded on the N. by Iowa,
E. by Illinois and Kentucky, S. by Arkansas and W. by the Indian Ter-
ritory, Kansas and Nebraska. It is situated between latitudes 36° 30' and
40° 30' N. and longitudes 12° 2' and 18° 42' W. from Washington, or 89° 2'
and 95 42' W. from Greenwich. The extent from north to south is 280
miles: from east to west, 208 miles along the northern border and 312
miles along the southern. It is larger than any State east of the Missis-
sippi, covering an ana of 65,350 square miles, or 41,824,000 acre.-.
Physical Features. — Surface. — Along the Mississippi River are
bluffs, sometimes reaching a height of 350 feet. The eastern section of the
State is broken by irregular ridges and its streams have a rapid descent.
In the south-east are "the submerged lands of Missouri,*' which are low,
marshy and covered with a rank growth of vegetation. These lands oc-
cupy the greater part of 9 counties and embrace 1,856,120 acres. The
at earthquake of 1811, which formed Reel Foot Lake, in Kentucky,
also submerged a large tract on the opposite side of the Mississippi River,
in Missouri. In the south-west is a prairie region broken by many knobs,
CENTENNIAL GAZETTEER AND GUIDE. 293
or mounds, with steep sides and flat tops. The Ozark chain, which consti-
tutes the water-shed between the Missouri and the Mississippi, "has no
peaks which deserve the name of mountains." North of the Missouri the
face of the country is somewhat rolling and broken. Forests. — Along most
of the streams there is a heavy growth of timber, and some of the trees
reach an immense size. A sycamore measured 43 feet in circumference, a
tupelo 30 feet in circumference and 120 feet in height, a cypress 29 feet in
circumference and 125 feet in height. From an extensive catalogue of the
trees and shrubs in Missouri we select a few of the most common — viz.,
ash, basswood, birch, buttonwood, cedar, cherry, cottonwood, elm, gum,
hackberry, hickory, locust, maple, mulberry, cypress, oak, pawpaw, per-
simmon, pine, red plum, prickly ash, sycamore, walnut, willow, etc. There
is a great variety of animals and birds, among which are the elk, deer,
bear, wolf, raccoon, opossum, rabbit, gray and fox squirrel, wild turkey,
grouse, cluck, snipe, partridge, plover, pheasant, gray and bald eagle, raven,
crow, buzzard, magpie, paroquet and mocking-bird. Rivers. — The Missis-
sippi River constitutes the eastern boundary for 470 miles, and the Missouri
the western boundary for 250 miles. The latter river enters the State at
Kansas City and runs in a southerly and easterly direction for 450 miles,
dividing Missouri into two nearly equal parts. Its largest tributary is the
Osage, rising in Kansas, which is 400 yards wide and navigable for small
steamers 200 miles above its mouth. The Des Moines River constitutes a
part of the north-eastern boundary for 30 miles, separating Missouri from
Iowa. The river St. Francois runs between Arkansas and Missouri for 60
miles. Navigation is possible at high water on the White, Black, Current,
Gasconade, Grand and Chariton Rivers. Among the smaller streams,
which are numerous, clear and well stocked with fish, are the Big Tarkeo,
Nodaway, Little Platte, Salt, Fabius, Piney, Castor and Whitewater.
Soil and Climate. — Along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers
there are "two millions of acres of the most productive land in the world,
based upon the alluvial strata of sand, clay, marl and humus," says the
State geologist. Next to these are one million acres of savannas, or bot-
tom prairies. The alluvium is a light, siliceous soil, porous, rich and deep,
and specially adapted to the growth of corn and hemp. A light deep soil,
of a brownish ash color, called "hemp soil," is characteristic of the bluff
region. Sometimes a predominance of clay makes it inferior, and it is
called " hickory" or "mulatto" soil ; but it is well adapted for corn, wheat,
oats and tobacco. Some of the high prairies and timber ridges in the
north-east have a thin sandy soil. Observations, continued for 25 years,
at St. Louis, show a mean annual temperature of 55.4 degrees. The lowest
monthly mean was 19.3°, in January, and the highest 83.5°, in July. For
the year ending Sept. 30, 1874, the mean at St. Louis was 56.1°. The
maximum temperature was 101°, and the minimum 1 degree below zero.
294 B URLE Y 'S UNITED ST A TES
Upon the isothermal charts the lines crossing Missouri are: Spring,
55°-60°; summer, 75°-77°; autumn, 52°-55°; winter, 45°-55°; annual
mean, 55°-60°.
Agricultural Productions. — Missouri is a great agricultural
State. According to the census of 1870, it ranked next to Texas and Illi-
nois in cattle, next to Illinois in swine, next to California in wine, fourth
in corn and sixth in tobacco. There were 92,752 farms (averaging 215
acres each), which contained 21,707,220 acres; 9,130,615 acres were im-