The Iowa patriot. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1839-1839, 1839-06-06

II can DC navlgated by any OF the steam (
Eers now running the upper Mississippi
is uncertain.
The scite o. the location is one Of sur
passing beauty; the most fanciful imagin-
alton can hardly picture to itself SO en-
chanting spot, situated in the midst OF
all that wild natural scenery which can
tend to embellish and render it desirable.
The river first approaches the. town scite
from the N. w. through rocky banks Of
moderate height, covered with thick
grove ofstately trees, and then turns to the
south and flows off between unequal banks
thinly covered with venerable oaks. OPP
posi,e the town scite on the west side of
the river the banks are abrupt and bold
rising from the waters edge 40 or SO feet
above its surface to the level of a smooth
prairie which approaches the bank of the
river at this place, and then sweeps off,
westward in beautiful and ocean like UNI
dulations distance of five miles to Old
mans Creek.
On the East side of the river are two
successive plains of uniform surface: the
first commencing just above high water
mark extends back from the river East
ward to natural bench, running parallel
with the river and rising from ten to
IL feet above its base to another level plain
which extends Eastward about 400 yards
to the second bench, fifteen feetin heighth
above its base, and likewise running par
allel with the river. These two benches
are as smooth and regular as if made by
hand, and appear as if Nature had form
ed them in her playful moments to mock
the efforts of art in her attempts to embel-
fish particular spot by erecting artificial
mounds covered with sod and ornamented
trees.
The elevation Of this second bench is
nearly equal to that of the high prairie on
the west side of the river, which appears
as it strikes the eye at a distance through
the openings among the trees like sea of
waving grass. From the top of the second
bench there is slight inclination of the
surface Eastwardly for near half mile
to the Eastern part Of the section which
is elevated ground overlooking the river
and town scite on one side, and the high
prairie towards Cedar river on the other.
The place is supplied by natural drains
on every side: on the N. w. and w. it is
washed by the beautiful Iowa, while two
bold springs gush from the hills little
beyond the s. e. corner of the sections
and soon form themselves into handsome
brooks and one flowing north and other
westwardly, they enter the Iowa about a
mile and a half apart after watering and
washing the Eastern and southern limits
of the town scite.
From the fountain springs Of these two
brooks the future city of Iowa may at all
times be supplied with pure spring water.
1t would have been difficult for the commits
sioners to have selected spot near which
building materials of the best quality are
to be had in greater abundance. tits in
the lower edge Of big Grove" between
the Cedar and Iowa rivers, which good
judges have pronounced to be the largest
and best body Of timber in the Territory,
extending twenty miles in length from
S. E. to N. w. with average width of
six or seven miles, and Astounding with
all the different species of timber known in
this part Of the Territory. The banks and
bottoms Of the Iowa and English rivers,
and Oldmanis, Rapid and Clark creeks,
are we'll stocked with timber of valua-
bic quality.
I. A good saw mill has been erected and
is now in active operation about 3 miles
from the town scite, and two others are
building from three to FIVE miles distant
Both banks of the river from the up
per part of the town scite for five or six
miles above are stored with inexhaustible
quarries Of stone. The quantity is suf-
ficient for all purposes, and the stone
will be easily procured, but as it respects
the quality, that is quite another matter.
A diversity of opinion seems to prevail
among those who have seen specimens
'of this stone, and | am not certain that
. | am sufficiently skilled in geology to de-
termine which is right. 4#a
One ofthe commissioners, a gentleman
in whose candor and judgment | have the
highest confidence, is native of Ver-
mont, has frequently seen the marble
quarries in that state, and pronounces this
to be a quarry of tolerably pure gray mar
BILE. Several other intelligent gentlemen
who have been on the ground and examined
the specimens concurred with him in
opinion, and so did the other two coma
missioners.
Against the opinions of these gentle
men, however, we have those Of other
gentlemen who have likewise examined
the specimens, and arrived at very oppo-
site conclusions. One gen tleman pro-
nounces it to be nothing more than a
great quarry Of rery pure limestone; anoth-
er pronounces it .fint; another granite;
while a learned doctor from Indiana de-
clared it was nothing but rock stone of ye-