Chapter Summary

North America divided into two vast regions, one inclining towards the
Pole, the other towards the Equator--Valley of the Mississippi--Traces
of the Revolutions of the Globe--Shore of the Atlantic Ocean where the
English Colonies were founded--Difference in the appearance of North
and of South America at the time of their Discovery--Forests of
North America--Prairies--Wandering Tribes of Natives--Their outward
appearance, manners, and language--Traces of an unknown people.

Exterior Form Of North America


North America presents in its external form certain general features
which it is easy to discriminate at the first glance. A sort of
methodical order seems to have regulated the separation of land and
water, mountains and valleys. A simple, but grand, arrangement is
discoverable amidst the confusion of objects and the prodigious variety
of scenes. This continent is divided, almost equally, into two vast
regions, one of which is bounded on the north by the Arctic Pole, and
by the two great oceans on the east and west. It stretches towards the
south, forming a triangle whose irregular sides meet at length below
the great lakes of Canada. The second region begins where the other
terminates, and includes all the remainder of the continent. The one
slopes gently towards the Pole, the other towards the Equator.

The territory comprehended in the first region descends towards the
north with so imperceptible a slope that it may almost be said to form
a level plain. Within the bounds of this immense tract of country there