Table Of Contenty ??i<
m
A NEW
GAZETTEER,
OR
GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY,
OP
NORTH AMERICA AND THE WEST INDIES,
CONTAINING
I. A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF NORTH AMERICA. II. AGENERALDESCRIPTION OP
THE UNITED STATES; THE DECLARATION OP INDEPENDENCEAND CONSTITU
TIONOFTHEUNITED STATES. III. ADESCRIPTION OFALL THESTATES,
COUNTIES, CITIES, TOWNS, VILLAGES, FORTS, SEAS, HARBORS,
CAPES,RIVERS,LAKES,CANALS,RAIL-ROADS,MOUNTAINS,&c.
CONNECTED WITH NORTH AMERICA;
WITHTHOEFERXETMEANRTK,ABBOLUENDPALRAICEESSAFNRDOMNAETAUCRHAOLTPHREORDUACNTDIOONFSEOAFCHEAFCRHOMSTTAHTEEC;ITTHYEOFBEWAARSIHNIGNGATNODN,DISTANCE
WITHTHEPOPULATIONACCORDINGTOTHECENSUSOF1830.
CONTAINING
LIKEWISE MANY TABLES RELATING TO THECOMMERCE, POPULATION, REVENUE,
DEBT, AND VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS OFTHEUNITED STATES.
COMPILEDFROMTHEMOST RECENTANDAUTHENTICSOURCES
BY BISHOP DAVENPORT.
Baltimore:
PUBLISHED BY GEORGE MDOWELL & SON.
1833.
Entered according to the act of congress, in the year 1832, by George
M & M
Dowell George H. Dowell, in the clerks office of the district courtof
Maryland.
STEREOTYPED BY J. HOWE.
NORTH AMERICA.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
NORTH AMERICA extends from the Isthmus of Darien, N. lat. 8
Extent
to the utmost known regions of the north, and spreads from Beh-
rings Straits to those ofBellisle, or rather, to embraceGreenland. Its breadth
is veryirregular, not exceeding 15 or 20 miles nearPanama; whilst fromBeh-
rings Straits to the Straits of Bellisle, it extends to adistance of 3,300 geo
graphical, or 3,800 English miles, bearing N. 76 W. From the Straits of
Bellisle to the isthmus ofDarien, is 4,500 geographical, equal to 5212 English
miles.
NorthAmericaistravmeirsedbytwogreatchains,andseveralminor _Mountains.
ranges of mountains. The Appalachiian or Alleghany mountains,
extend through theUnitedStates from NE.toSW. from the stateofNewYork
to Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, with a mean width of about 50 miles.
Several detached ranges or groups rise NE. off the Hudson, and SE. off the
St. Lawrence. The Masserne, orOzark mountains, extend from the centreof
the state ofMissouri towards Texas, in a direction nearly parallel to the Appa
lachian chain. The length oftheAppalachian is about 900 miles, withamean
elevation of from 1,200 to 2,000 feet. The extent of the Masserne chain, is
not very accurately known, but must exceed 600 miles; its mean height can
not, in the present state of geographical knowledge, be estimated with any ap
proximate degreeofaccuracy. The great spineofNorth America, is theChip-
pewan, Rocky, or as it is termed in Mexico, that of Anahuac. This immense
chain reaches from the peninsula of Tehuantepec, N. lat. 16, to the Frozen
Ocean at N. lat. 68, or through upwards of50 degrees of latitude; encircling
nearly one-seventh part ofthe globe. In neither theAppalachian, or Masserne
chains, nor in any of their neighboring groups, have any active or extinct vol
canoes been discovered; but in the southern part ofthe great central chain, an
immense rangeofvolcanoes or volcanic summits rise to from 10,000 to 17,700
feet. It is generally supposed that the mountains ofthe isthmus ofDarien,are
cthoanttitnhueatfioornmseorfartehedicshtaiinnctoafnAdnuanhcuoannce;ctbeudtwtihtehrethieslsatttreorn.g Arenasaomnelteossberliaenvgee,
skirts along the Pacific Ocean, which, from the defective surveys yet taken,
cannot be very distinctly delineated. That part of North America west ofthe
Chippewan mountains, and north ofColorado river, except the central parts of
the valley of Columbia, remains either imperfectly or entirely unknown.
North America has five great systems of rivers; thatof the At
lanticOcean; thatoftheGulfofMexico; that oftheFrozenOcean;
that of Hudsons Bay; and that ofthe PacificOcean. In the Atlantic system,
the principal rivers are, St. Johns of Florida, Altamaha, Savannah, Santee,
Pedee,CapeFear, Roanoke,James,Potomac, Susquehanna,Delaware,Hudson,
Connecticut, Kenebec, Penobscot, St. Johns of New Brunswick, and St. Law
rence. In the system ofHudsons Bay are included, besides many streams of
lessernote,RMuperts,Albany, Severn,andSashasshawinrivers. IntotheNorth
ern Ocean, Kenzies river is the only stream of considerable magnitude yet
known, to enter from the continent of North America. The rivers ofthecen-
tral valley ofNorth America, are discharged into the GulfofMexico, amongst
which the Mississippi presents its overwhelming flood; but besides that vast
river, the Appalachicola, Mobile, Colorado of the Gulf of Mexico, Rio Grande
del Norte, and several others, are streams of great magnitude. The Santiago,
Hiaqui, the Colorado of the gulf of California, and the Columbia, are the only
*?
S.JB
6* GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF
extensive rivers, the courses of which are correctly known, which enter th
Pacific Ocean from the continent of North America.
Divsions NorthAmericacomprisesthreegreatdivisions; 1st,BritishAmer
ica, in the north; 2d, the United States, in the middle; and 3d
Mexico and Guatimala, or Central America, in the south: in addition to these.
Greenland, in the north-east, belongs to Denmark; and there are Russian pos
sessions in the north-west.
The most important islands are Newfoundland, Cape Breton, St.
Johns, Rhode Island, Long Island, and the Bermudas, on the east
ern coast; Queen Charlottes Island, Quadra and Vancouvers Island, King
Georges Island, and the Fox Islands, on the western coast.
Bays,Gulfs, The five largest Bays, or Gulfs, are Baffins and Hudsons bays;
andLakes. an(j the gulfs ofSt.Lawrence, Mexico, andCalifornia. TheLakes
ofNorthAmerica are the largest collectionsoffreshwater in theworld. Some
ofthe principal ones are lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario,Win-
nipeg, Athapescow, Slave Lake, and Great Bear Lake. The largest of these
great lakes is lake Superior, which is 490 miles in length, and is as much af
fected by storms as the ocean. It is remarkable for the transparency of its
waters, and abounds in fish. The Pictured Rocks, on the south side of lake
Superior, are a range of precipitous cliffs, rising to the height of 300 feet, and
are regarded a^s a great curiosity.
e mnakitants may be divided into three classes Whites, Ne
inhabitants groes, and Indians. The whites are descendants of Europeans,
who have migrated to America since its discovery. The negroes are mostly
held in slavery, and are descendants of Africans forced from their native
country.
The Indians are the aborigines of the country, and generally
savage. They are of a copper complexion, fierce aspect, tall,
straight, athletic, and capable of enduring great fatigue. They are hospitable
and generous, faithful in their friendship, but implacable in their resentments.
Their common occupations are hunting, fishing, and war. At the time of the
discovery of America, the natives, in some parts, particularly in Mexico and
Peru, were considerably advanced in civilization. For the most part,theycon
tinue a distinct people, and retain their savage customs; but in some instances
they have mingled with the white population. In NorthAmerica, they possess
almost all thecountr^?except thesouthernandeastern parts; that is,the north
ern part of Mexico, most of the territory of the United States which lies west
ofthe Mississippi, and nearly all the vast regions which lie north ofthe United
States territory, and west of the St. Lawrence.
Customs The following account is mostly taken from the AmericanEncy-
and Dispo- clopedia: ~When the Europeans first arrived in America, they
N*American6 found the Indians quite naked, except those parts which even the
Indians. m0st uncultivated people usuallyconceal. Sincethattime,however,
theygenerallyuseacoarseblanket, whichtheybuyoftheneighboringplanters.
Their huts, or cabins, are made of stakes of wood driven into
uts,tc. ^e ground, and covered with branches oftrees or reeds. They lie
on the floor, either on mats or the skins of wild beasts. Their dishes are of
toifmfbleirnt.; buAt tkheetitrlesapnoodnas laarregemapdleateofcotnhsetistkuutlelsalomfoswtiltdheoxwehno,leanudtetnhseiilrskonfivtehse
family. Cartwrightassures us, that in Labrador, he met with a family of na
tives who were living in acavern hollowed out of the snow. This extraordi
nary habitation was seven feet high,ten or twelve in diameter,and was shaped
like an oven, A large piece of ice served as a door. A lamp lighted the in-
side, in which the inhabitants were lying on skins. At a short distance was a
kitchen, likewise constructed of snow. They describe a circle on the frozen
enow, and cutting it into segments with their knives,build it up with great reg-
