and down the Mississippi are very unhealthy. The cautious will always look to the views and character of the man who would direct them, and will occasionally rely on their own judgments. In the public land-offices, maps of the new lands are kept. Sections of a square mile, and quarter sections of 160 acres, are laid down. The squares entered are marked A. P. meaning advance paid. This advance is half a dollar per acre, or one-fourth of the price. Lands, when first put to sale, are offered by public auction, and are set up at two dollars per acre. If no one offers that price, they are exhibited on the land-office map, and may be sold at that rate at any subsequent time. New settlers, who are sufficiently skilled in the quality of the soil, are in no danger from land-office transactions. Besides the land-offices for the sale of national property, there are agents who sell on account of individuals. I can mention Mr. Embree, of Cincinnati, as a gentleman who does much business in this way, and with much reputation to himself. The land office maps are divided into townships {151} of six miles square.[84] The figure represents a portion of the country laid out in this way. The positions of the townships relatively to the base line, are expressed by the numerals I, II, III, &c. and their positions relatively to the meridian are numbered on both sides of it east and west, as marked on the top and bottom. The parallels marked I, I-II, II-III, III, and so on, are called townships, Nos. I, II, III, &c. north or south according as they lie on the north or south side of the base line. Positions in regard of the meridian are indicated by the numbers 1, 2, 3, &c. at top and bottom, east or west, as they lie on the {152} east or west side of the meridian line, and are called ranges, Nos. 1, 2, 3, &c. For an explanatory example, suppose the designation of the township at the bottom of the right hand column is required. The square in question, is in the parallel numbered V south of the base line, and IV east of the principal meridian. It is therefore called town five south, range four east. [Illustration] The townships are divided into sections of a square mile each, as in town No. 4 north, range No. 3 east. The figure [page 178] is a larger representation of a township, showing how it is divided and numbered. The faint lines represent the divisions of sections into quarters of 160 acres each. At the auctions {153} of public lands, and at subsequent sales, lots of this extent are frequently entered. The sixteenth section of each township is reserved for the support of a school. [Illustration]