INDIANA (ante), was a part of the territory claimed by the French previous to the cession of Canada to England in 1763: As early as 1702 emigrants from Canada made settlements at Vincennes, Corydon, and other places. They amalgamated with the Indians so far at least as to adopt many of their customs and habits. „Soon after the country was transferred to the United States there were troubles with the Indian tribes, which caused great distress among the settlers at Vincennes. These troubles continued for several years, but a temporary peace was conquered by gen. Wayne. In May, 1800, Ohio was erected into a separate territory, while all the region w. and n. was included in the territory of Indiana, organized two months later, with William Henry Harrison as governor: Michigan and Illinois were subsequently organized, reducing Indiana to its present limits. After this the Indians again became troublesome, and the growth of the white settlements was impeded. The census of 1810, however, showed a popula tion of 24,520. The national government, in 1811, determined to subdue the savages, and gov. Harrison was placed in command of a force of regulars and militia for that purpose. Tecumseh, a chief of the Shawnees, "was the Indian leader—a man of unbounded influence with his people. Gen. Harrison marched to Tippecanoe on the Wabash, Nov. 16, 1811, and on the following day there was a desperate battle, in which the Indians were defeated, and not iong afterwards they sued for peace. When the war with England broke out they rallieeagain, but were speedily conquered and never more troubled the settlers. Dec. 11, 1816, Indiana was admitted to the union, after which the growth of the state in population and wealth was very rapid. Its growth was still further accelerated a few years later by the construction of the national road and the Erie canal, which furnished new outlets for,,the produce of the west, and greatly diminished the terrors of the journey thither for emigrants from the east. In the ten years ending in 1830, 3,558,221 acres of the public lands were sold in Indiana, mostly to actual settlers. The population in the same time had increased to 343,031. Soon after this the state entered upon several great works of public improvement, by which it incurred a debt of more than $14,000,000, under which it sank into temporary bank ruptcy in the financial revulsion of 1837. Notwithstanding this the population of the state doubled in the decade 1830-40 and 0,122,688.acres of public land were sold. It was not until 1846 that the state succeeded in making provision to meet the annual interest upon its debt. This brought prosperity; and since then its growth has been very rapid.
Indiana has no mountains, and fully two-thirds of its surface is level or undulating. The highest elevation is 540 ft. above the level of the Ohio at the mouth of the Wabash. The hills bordering the rivers inclose wooded bottom lands of the richest quality. Many of the hills on the Ohio are as high as the highest interior elevations. At the points where they are broken by tributary streams the scenery is quite picturesque. The table-lands of the interior are either vast level prairies, interspersed with groves of oak, ash, and other trees; or undulatory, with occasional hills rising from 100 ft. to 300 feet. Near the Ohio river some of the land .is hilly or sterile, but mostly it is very productive. The principal river valleys are exceedingly fertile. The largest of these n. of the Ohio is that of the Wabash, containing 12,000 sq. miles. The next in size is that of White river, containing 9,000 sq. miles. The valley of the Maumee, in the n.e. part of
the state, embraces an area of 2,000 sq. miles. Near lake Michigan on the n. the surface is broken into sand-hills, covered with stunted oaks anal pines, but the land a few mileS back from the shore is of a very fine quality. The principal streams which flow into the Ohio from Indiana are the Laughery, Indian, Kentucky, Silver, Indian Blue, Big Pigeon, and Little Pigeon, none of which are navigable. The Whitewater, in the e. part of the state, joins the Miami 6 m. above the point where the latter flows into the Ohio. The Wabash rises in Ohio, flows though the state for a distance of more than 500 m-, and empties into the Ohio. It has been navigated about 300 m. from its mouth. Tributary to it are Salornonie, Mis sissincwa, Wildcat, Sugar or Rock, Raccoon, Patoka, Vermilion, Eel, Little,. and rivers, the latter having its source near the Ohio line. The Maumee is formed in Allen co., in the n.e. section of the state, by the junction of the St. Mary's from the s, and the St. Joseph's from the n., and flows in a n.e. direction through Ohio to lake Erie. The Kankakee, one of the constituents of the Illinois, flows a distance of 100 m. through the n.w. portion of the state. There is also another St. Joseph's in the n.w. part of the state, which rises in Michigan and returns to that state. Lakes and ponds are numerous in the state, most of them n. of the Wabash. Some of them have no outlets; their waters are clear and their shores and bottoms sandy. Beaver lake, near the Illinois line, which once covered an area of 10,000 acres, has mostly beta drained off. Bituminous coal of three distinct varieties is found in the state in great abundance. The measures cover an area of nearly 6,500 sq.m. in the s.w, part of the state, extending from Warren co. on the a. to the Ohio river on the a., a distance of 150 miles. The total depth of the measures is from 600 to 800 ft., and they present from 12 to 14 distinct seams, the latter rand ranging from 1 ft. to 11 ft. in thickness. The celebrated block coal, which is used in its mw state for making pig-iron and is peculiarly suited to metallurgical purposes, is found in the s. zone of the coal measures. It is taken out of the mines in blocks weighing a ton or more. In Davicss co. there is a seam of superior cannel coal. Peat exists also in the n. part of the state; also bog-iron ore, suitable for mixing with the purer ores of Missouri. Quarries of building stone are estimated to cover an area of more than 200 sq. miles. The stone is of great variety in color and grade and of enduring strength. The product of the quarries in 1879 amounted to $500,000. Fire-clays exist also in great abundance_ Salt springs are found on the e. border of the coal formation. In Crawford co., in the s. part of the state, is Wyandotte cave, which is only a less interesting phenomenon than the Mammoth cave of Kentucky. The climate of Indiana is marked by extremes and sudden changes. The winds in winter, sweeping over wide spaces without obstruction, are cold and piercing, but they temper the heats of summer. The mean temperature of the year is 52°, of the winter 31°, of spring 51°, of summer 76°, of autumn 55°. Only a small proportion of the land is unavailable for cultivation; one-third of the state is in forest, and oue-eighth in prairie. The best lands are the bottoms on the Wabash, White, and Whitewater rivers. Among the' forest trees are the oak, beech, sugar-maple, hickory, ash, black walnut, poplar, and sycamore.