Weekly miners' express. (DuBuque, Iowa) 184?-1849, 1847-09-15

OF IONS OF @COai DIET aHnu m. AL concentrated
here, for export downthc river! The thought
may be premature, but time may consum-
mate it. Eddyville occupies the former site
of a large Indian village. and although but
seven years nave elapsed, not vestige of
| i. now remains. The town was laid off by
y. P. Eddy, Esq. formerly an Indian ira
der, but now merchant of st. Louis. The
present proprietor is Dr. Ross who resides
in the town. Eddvville contains FIVE stores
two hotels, two blacksmith shops. several
mechanical shops, an.excellent school, one
lawyer, two doctors. and between thirty
and forty houses, besides several inprogress
Of erection 1t is also post town, and or
the main road to the Raccoon Forks of.the
Des Moines. Taking this county altogeth
1 err, it may be regarded as one of the best in
the State; md although only adyerted t
1.-THE settlements along the river, there are
still many other heavy settlements scatter
ed over the county, particularly inthe vici
nifty Of the main road lending from Fairfield
Ito Eddyville.
f. .Aahaska County, lying Immediately south
4 of Wappellc, may be enumerated MS one oil
the best counties ofthe ~ Purchase, It is
moderately undulating, has good soil, bul
a preponderance ofprairie, thougha snfi
cheney Of timber for fencing purposes The
timber consists OF elm, hickory, oak. and
{ black walnut. 1t is watered BY the Des
Moinns, which runs through the southwest
ern part oftlle county, and on the northern
by the Skunk and its tributaries, as also by
several inferior streams, amongst which may
be enumerated Cedar, which enpties into
Skunk, and is a toieraaly good mill stream
Much e-ki-e nok, a good mill stream the
greater par. Of the year; and Rice, Spring,
and Thu der Creeks. There are several
mills in operation upon these streams at the
present time, viz Com stock 8 on Skunk, e
Benedict's, saw mill on Muchek enoh -
Mr.. Duncan has an excellent carding ma
chine, and Mr.. Dusenbury a saw mill upon
the last named stream. Good springs are
scarce in this county but excellent water
may be obtained by digging for it, Mt an sav-
erage depth Of 30 feet A good idea as to
the value ofthis county may be inferred from
the fact, that large port ion oft was claim
/, ed APP within "a hours after permission to
OCCUPY it was granted.
| Oskdloosa is the county seat, situated
near the geographical centre and upon what
lis called the Narrows. 1t is SO called, from
tthe fact Of its being situated between the
{ Des Moines and Skunk river, and its proxi-
NIFTY to the timber Of these rivers on either
/ side, which gives it the appearance of being
! located on a narrow neck of land. Although
| tits only four years since the first house was
built in Oskaloosa, it now contains some 81,
! or 70 good buildings. "a court house two ho-
! tells, four stores, two groceries, aud several
mechanical shops. In the vicinity of the
town, there are some well cultivated farms.
tmuch better than one would suppose, con-
sidering that only four years have elapsed
since the first settlem ents were made. 1t
/ is called one hundred miles from Madison
TO Oskaloosa. via the s.Dvide,'' or more
properly the Dividing Ridge between
the Des Moines and Skunk, which begins
at Churchville. near the mouth Of the Des
Moines. and continues on to Council! Bluff
I! This is the road usually travelled by the
Mormons on their way 20 California, and is
Synonymous in, the Purchase with sthe
Mormon trace. Ofthese people more anon.
Marion County, is situated Immediately
west OF Mahaska, and islooked upon as in.
ferIor to none in the ..Purchase. 1t was
organized on the LIST Of September, 1915;
lslnce when, it has rapidly increased in pop
ulatlon II is welwooded county nume-
rous groves OF timber. occurring ut conven-
lent distances for agricultural purposes
he soil tor the mos: part is good, ndcapa-
bic reproducing excellent crops of wheat,
corn, and all the productions Of a northern
latitude. The face Of the country is broken,
and in places even hIly, though consdera-
BILE tracts of level land intervene upon what
are termed the Divides A remarkable
feature of this county will be found in the
banks of all the streams that meander thro'
1t. they are generally SO steep and abrupt,
that but few points can be found that are
suitable for .tords; and hence It is no easy
matter at the present time totravel} through
tue country, except upon; the public roads.
BltumIDous coal Of an excellent quality lis
found in almost all of these banks, as also
large quantities of sui phur, and iron ore.
am unable to decide whether there are any
other kinds Of minerals: but from the contor-
nation Of the surface, lam incllnedsto think
there are. 1t is very certain that one of our
company found small piece of .tloat miner
al, though we could discover but the one
piece. There are many very excellent stone
quarries to be met with, and in some places
a kind Of fat stone, admirably calculated
for aotet stones, on account of its seftness and
fine grit.
Several good streams meandrr through
soS SouhIy - uC tHCS5 NlOlllSS SglVCT runs
through the county ina southeast direction,
and receives as tributaries Cedar, English,
White Breast, Honey, and Walnut Creeks.
White Breast and Cedar have many branch
es, and some of considerable size. The two
latter streams sfford many valuable mill
sites, though at the present time Aug. I'd,
slS47 the water is very low. Like almost
every other part Of our State. the best tim
Der will be found along the margin ofrivers.
About eight miles from Knoxyilie, and bor-
derng upon White Breast. iis'a very fine
body Of timber, known US tllsRich Woods:
It is about II miles in extent, and three ID
breadth, and consists Of oak, wl,te-oak, red
oak, burr oak, linn, black walnut, bnck-eye,
maple, and sugar tree The north fork Of
White Breast runs through the Rich Woods
in N. 3. direction. There are several
good farms already made Here, and many
more desirable locations to sbs yet had.
Kno1viiie, the county seatof Marion. is
pleasantly located upon high prairie, and
is about IL miles from the geog raptical CEN
tire otthe county. lt5contains seyeralhous.
Il