ne florid
complexions, regular features and good teeth. The landlord and his sons
were very civil, as indeed were all the company there assembled.

A great many respectable English yeomen have at different periods settled
in Illinois, which has contributed not a little to improve the state of
society; for the inhabitants of these prairies, generally speaking, are
much more agreeable than those of most other parts of the western country.

When the night was tolerably far advanced, the decks were cleared, and
three feather beds were placed _seriatem_ on the floor, on which a general
scramble took place for berths--we wrapped ourselves in our cloaks, and
lay seventeen in a bed until morning, when we arose, and went out to "have
a wash." The practice at all inns and boarding-houses throughout the
western country, excepting at those in the more considerable towns, is to
perform ablutions gregariously, under one of the porches, either before or
behind the house--thus attendance is avoided, and the interior is kept
free from all manner of pollutions.

An abundance of good stone-coal is found all through this state, of which
I saw several specimens. Were it not for this circumstance, the difficulty
of procuring wood for fuel and fencing, would more than counterbalance the
advantages, in other respects, presented to settlers on the prairies.

The average crops of Indian corn are about fifty bushels per acre, which
when planted, they seldom plough or hoe more than once. In the bottom
lands of Indiana and Ohio, from seventy to eighty bushels per acre is
commonly produced, but with twice the quantity of labour and attention,
independent of the trouble of clearing. There are two denominations of
prairie: the upland, and the river or bottom prairie; the latter is more
fertile than the former, having a greater body of alluvion, yet there are
many of the upland prairies extremely rich, particularly those in the
neighbourhood of the Wabash. The depth of the vegetable soil on some of
those plains, has been found frequently to be from eighteen to twenty
feet, but the ordinary depth is more commonly under five. The upland
prairies are much more extensive than the river prairies, and are
invariably free from intermittent fever--an exemption, which to emigrants
must be of the utmost importance.

Previous to our leaving Elliott's inn, we witnessed a chase of two wolves,
which had the boldness to come to the sheep-pens close to the house.