Tippecanoe, as laid down by Tanner. is the ex treme northern source of the Wabasii, rising at north lat. 41° 30', and 9° W. from W. C., and in terlocking sources with those of Kankakee branch of Illinois river, and with those of Elkhart or the southern branch of St. Joseph's river of lake Mi chigan. Flowing by comparative courses 80 miles, first to the S.W. and thence south, falls into Wa bash in the northern part of Tippecanoe county, after having traversed that of Carroll. The entire valley of Tippecanoe is in the state of Indiana.
Eel river is the last confluent of the 'Wabash from the right. This stream rises about thirty miles to the northward from Fort Wayne, inter locking sources with the St. Joseph's river of Mi chigan, and with those of St. Joseph's of Maumee; flowing to the southwest by west eighty miles com parative course, joins the Wabash in Cass county.
The whole left inclined plane of Wabash sweeps a curve, concave side towards the main channel, and in length three hundred and thirty miles. The mean breadth about thirty-five miles, and area eleven thousand five hundred and fifty square miles.
Wabash proper rises on the great plateau or table land, from which flow to the northwestward St. Joseph's river of lake Michigan; to the north eastward Maumee into lake. Erie; Miamee south ward into Ohio, and from which flow westward the confluents of Wabash. The rivers of this com paratively elevated but level region present some remarkable phenomena. The inain confluents of the 'Maumee, the St. Joseph's rising in and St. Mary's in the state of Ohio, flow each for a comparative distance of seventy miles in complete accordance with the confluents of Wabash; but uniting at Fort Wayne inflect upon themselves, if the expression can be admitted, and in place of pursuing what is apparently their natural direction to S.W. down the channel of the Wabash, the waters turn to N.E. from the Maumee in Allen Indiana, thence entering the state of Ohio, separating Williams from Paulding, and traversing Henry and Wood counties, enter lake Erie in Monroe county of Michigan, after a comparative course of a fraction above 100 miles.
This central plain with slight swells is in general so near a dead level as to admit but slight current in the streams. What is laid down by Tanner as the main source of Wabash, is a stream rising in Mercer and Darke counties, Ohio, and flowing thence N.W. by W. enters Indiana, and, after a comparative course • of 60 miles, Little River from the northwest, and from the highest part of the central table land in Allen county of Indiana. The sources of' the latter so nearly approach the junction of St. Mary's and St. Joseph's, or head of
Maumee, as to leave at times of high water only a portage of five miles between the navigable channels. It is by this route that nature itself seems to have pointed out a channel of intercommunication be tween the Ohio river and lake Erie along the Wabash and Maumee rivers.
Already a navigable stream below the influx of Little river, the Wabash inflects to a course of a little S. of W. 50 miles, receiving in that distance from the south the Salamania and Mississinaway, and Eel river from N.W. With the influx of Eel river the channel of Wabash curves to S.W. and continuing that direction by comparative course 70 miles, and receiving at 30 miles below the influx of Eel river the Tippecanoe, the main channel again deflects to the left, and assumes a course but very little W. of S. At the last mentioned hend, agree able to Tanner's United States, the main channel of Wabash is only about ten miles eastward from the boundary between Illinois and Indiana, but continues within the latter about sixty miles, sepa rating Parke and Fountain from Vermilion, and entering Vigo county. At Terre Haute (High land) the seat of justice for Vigo, the Wabash as sumes a general course of a little E. of S.S.W., and ten miles below Terre Haute becomes, and so continues to its mouth, a boundary between Indiana and Illinois. The comparative distance is about one hundred and twenty miles, in which the Wa bash channel constitutes the demarcation between the two contiguous states, and in this part of its course the stream is augmented by the Embanas and Little Wabash from the right, and White river from the left.
White river is the most considerable branch of Wabash, draining the large space between the main stream above their confluence, the Miami valley, and that part of Ohio valley between the mouths of Miami and Wabash. The valley of White river, comprising an area of eleven thousand square miles, is drained by innumerable smaller streams, which, first uniting in two main branches, and %yhich again by their union form White river. White river or the northern branch, has its extreme source in Randolph county, Indiana, but very near the western border of Darke county, Ohio. Flowing thence westward by comparative courses seventy miles, over Randolph, Delaware, Madison and into Hamilton county. Inflecting to S.W. and traversing Hamilton, Marion, Johnson, Morgan, Owen and Greene, and thence separating Daviess from Knox county, joins the East Fork, after an entire comparative course of upwards of two hundred miles.