Economic beginnings of the Far West: how we won the land beyond the Mississippi . esources of the regionhe had broached, in the hope that some more fortu-nate adventurer might realize his dream of an Englishcommonwealth on the Pacific coast. From his In-dian informants, Carver inferred that the four greatrivers of the Continent, the Missisippi, the St. Law-rence, the Bourbon (Red River of the North), andthe Oregan, all rose in this central plateau — indeedwithin thirty miles of each other, though the headwaters of the Oregan might be rather farther commercial significance of so vast
Economic beginnings of the Far West: how we won the land beyond the Mississippi . esources of the regionhe had broached, in the hope that some more fortu-nate adventurer might realize his dream of an Englishcommonwealth on the Pacific coast. From his In-dian informants, Carver inferred that the four greatrivers of the Continent, the Missisippi, the St. Law-rence, the Bourbon (Red River of the North), andthe Oregan, all rose in this central plateau — indeedwithin thirty miles of each other, though the headwaters of the Oregan might be rather farther commercial significance of so vast a transporta-tion system he deemed of prime importance to thefuture development of the region. The mineralwealth of the subsidiary territory was no less aus-picious. At the head of Lake Superior was abun-dance of virgin copper which an English companyhad been successfully working when the outbreakof hostilities interrupted all business ventures. The 228 EXPLORERS AND COLONIZERS ore was to be shipped direct to Quebec, and The Winnebagoes told Carver of the mule. Carvers Map of Western North America, 1778. caravans by which the Spaniards conveyed silverfrom their mines on the Rio Colorado to their settle-ments farther south. These Indians, who had ap-parently been driven north by the Spaniards, saidthat in Mexico the trappings of the horses and theirvery shoes were of silver. The Pacific Coast In-dians, who had also been expatriated by the Spanishconquest, have gold so plenty among them thatthey make their most common utensils of it. 3 Car- SEARCH FOR THE WESTERN SEA 229 ver believed that the Shining Mountains may befound to contain more riches in their bowels thanthose of Hindoostan and Malabar. The immediatewealth of the Mississippi region, represented in thefur trade, seemed very great. At Prairie du Chien,an Indian village of some three hundred families, anannual fair or mart was held in the month of May, towhich came traders from the St. Lawrence and fromthe
Size: 1554px × 1608px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectmormons, bookyear1912
