On the 5th the wind blew from the south-east, and with the aid of sails, we were enabled to ascend the river with considerable rapidity. As we were proceeding briskly forward, our boat struck upon one of those concealed trunks of trees so frequent in the Mississippi, and soon afterwards we discovered that a leak had occurred, which made it necessary for us to lie by. By the constant use of the pumps during the remainder of the day, and the following night, we were able to prevent the water from gaining further upon us; and the next day, having discovered the leak, we raised the stern of the boat, by means of a pair of shears, and succeeded in repairing the injury. On the beach, opposite the place where we lay by for these repairs, was a large flock of pelicans, which remained in sight for several hours. We had met with some wild geese; and a swan, which we saw was unable to fly, having at that time cast its feathers. The yellow-breasted chat, chuck-wills-widow, the falco haliatus, the kingfisher, bank swallow, and numerous other birds, occurred. At the mouth of the Kaskaskia river, on the east side of the Mississippi, commences the celebrated valley called the American Bottom, extending along {47} the eastern bank of the river last mentioned to the Piasa hills, four miles above the mouth of the Missouri. It is several miles in width, and has a soil of astonishing fertility, consisting of comparatively recent depositions from the river. It has all the disadvantages usually attending tracts of recent river alluvion, the most valuable parts of it being liable to be swept away by the current of the Mississippi, and its surface descending from the brink of the river to the stagnant pools and lagoons, at the outskirts of the valley. But the inexhaustible fertility of its soil makes amends for the insalubrity of the air, and the inconveniences of a flat and marshy situation; and this valley is undoubtedly destined to become one of the most populous parts of America. We were formerly shown here a field that had been cultivated, without manure, one hundred years in succession, and which, when we saw it (in August, 1819) was covered with a very luxuriant growth of corn. The town of Kaskaskia, the villages of Prairie de Roches, Kahokia, Prairie du Pont, Harrisonville, and Fort Chartres, are situate in this tract. Some of them are in a flourishing condition. Fort Chartres, which was built by the French government, at the expense of one million and a half of dollars, stood near the bank of the river, about twenty miles from Kaskaskia. Not long after they were erected, a part of the works were undermined by the washing of the river; since which time the whole has been suffered to remain in ruins, which are now one-fourth of a mile distant from the river.[068]