Page:A Topographical Description of the State of Ohio, Indiana Territory, and Louisiana.djvu/62

54 the Ohio, west by the Mississippi, and north by the line between the United States and Canada, which makes the extent of this Territory considerably greater than the State of Ohio.

The general face of the country approaches to a level, but some parts of it are hilly. It has a number of large, navigable rivers meandering through it to the Ohio and Mississippi, and many smaller streams, some of which run into the lakes.

The Wabash is a large river, rising near the head waters of the river St. Joseph, and the Miami at the lakes, and running in a southwesterly direction empties into the Ohio,about four hundred and seventy miles below the Great Miami river. It is four hundred yards wide at the mouth, and navigable for keel boats, about four hundred miles, to Ouiatan, an ancient French village; and from this village, with small craft, to a portage on a south branch, which forms a communication with the Miami that runs into Lake Erie. This portage is eight miles, and comes to the Miami near Fort Wayne.

From a north branch, by a short portage, a communication is made with the river Saint Joseph, running into Lake Michigan. The Wabash is replenished with numerous tributary streams, and has generally, a gentle current above Saint Vincennes. Below are several rapids. Those which principally obstruct the navigation are between Saint Vincennes and White river, called