o imitate.

How far, indeed, these mighty contrivances of the
all-bounteous Creator, for the promotion and developement of
industry, outstrip all human imitation, the occurrences of the
passing hour furnish the most satisfactory and conclusive
evidence. The vast tide of emigration which is incessantly
rolling along the banks of the Mississippi, and of its tributary
streams, and the numberless cities, towns, and settlements, that
have sprung up as if it were by the agency of magic, in what but
a few years back was one boundless and uninterrupted wilderness,
speak a language not to be mistaken by the most ignorant or
prejudiced. The western territory, which though a province but of
yesterday, soon promises to rival the richest and most powerful
members of the American union, affords an instance of rapid
colonization, of which, the history of the world cannot produce a
parallel, and offers an incontestable proof of the natural
superiority which countries, whose rivers run in a northern or
southern course, possess over all others.

But this fact is not merely established by the experience of
the present day, it is equally authenticated by the testimony of
past ages. What was the reason why Egypt was for so many
centuries the seat of affluence and power, but the Nile? that
India is still rich and populous, but the Indus and Ganges? These
countries, indeed, are no longer the great and powerful empires
they were, although the natural advantages of their situations
are still unchanged. But what mighty ravages will not a
blood-thirsty and overwhelming despotism effect? What health and
vigor can belong to that body politic which is forced to inhale
the nauseous effluvia of tyranny? Prosperity is a plant that can
only flourish in an atmosphere fauned by the wholesome breath of
freedom. The highest fertility of soil, the greatest benignity of
climate, the most commanding superiority of position, will
otherwise be unavailing. Freedom may in the end convert the most
barren and inhospitable waste into a paradise; but the inevitable
result of tyranny is desolation.

The probable course of this newly discovered river, being thus
in every respect so decidedly favourable for the foundation of a
rich and powerful community, there can be little doubt that the
government of this country will immediately avail itself of the
advantages which it presents, and establish a settlement at its
mouth. What a sublime spectacle will it then be fo