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If its eastern boundary is to be the Mississippi, by casting your eye upon the map north of St. Peters, you will see a large bend of the river to the west, which through one of the finest agricultural & mineral countries of this region west of what I suppose will be the capital of Tery. - St. Peters. And the white settlement which may & will be formed there in a few years, nearer to St. Peters than to Lake Superior, will, of course seek an outlet for trade by way of the River to St. Peters. This will bring them in contact with the Indians; & as such contact, at first, has invariably viciated rather than improved the morals & habits of the natives, the same may be expected in this case and so far as this influence goes, it will thwart the benevolent purposes of the Govt. in the premises. The Indians are accustomed to traversing the river & water courses, & it will be an age before they can be changed in this habit, if ever. And if they occupy one side of the River & the whites the other, contact will be inevitable. Besides, if the Indian is left in full possession of the river, upon which he has glided from childhood with the native freedom of the ducks & geese which breed upon them, he will be more likely to be content with the proposed change in his social & civil relation. But if the proposed inland line should be adopted, including a neutral district each side of it over which niether white or red should pass, without permission, all those difficulties wold be obviated. In fixing the southern boundary of the Tery. the claims of Iowa, in regard to its state limits, must be considered, and to fix this advantageously to all concerned, the localities of the country should be considered. If Iowa should extend as far north as the 44 deg. N. Lat. the cressent bend of the St Peters River, at which point it is proposed, (as I am informed) to settle the Winnebagoes, will be but a few miles from the Iowa line, and as part of the tributaries of the St. Peters, from the south, will come from within the State of Iowa, the Indians may assend them beyond their limits, or the whites may decend them for the purposes