New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-09-08
A TRIP To THE PRAIRIES THIS SUMNER.

LETTER IiiA sabbath Il Recaioid ~. ~. ~, -.
cod.r.. between the Red Man csa1-s
RACE aa .,on.n Ps. Roes Prsns scarcity
Of Water ksT, Ieaee. Is .a5 I, ,s5 ' e,s, Of ny
Asrsa,s.e Tasi and West for successful see Hatssnd
Wet he River Country d.scrb-d Il. Raral aid 9aei
,sersd Grove b. Tv GIT. n tie Coua-
Ia Rsaetoa-.. Lake. Geneva and Como sut-rof Alt'
Tis, Rls,e ron Ro|ie.,er Wsron.is % MlTau.
ho'",h ~ ~, 49, I,e-T,i esr Ra mlssukees
Is and Business Prospects Deset % - an IAn
% Kaua1oo agsa...Aruva a. Buffalo aad TIP % Nsssra
5T ,t5 Sra, of ,s Hsro .o n sas Mad Of he Mt a
Better thus oatst. FTcur on ~ lie Nhnpoct Ter
GUIDE wosser. Of Nagrs.A Noon'sh, Stroll n. iisat
Tie stor Of Francs ABBOT a La-t -. oi ne rsl n a.
Lusre' Of travelling on ih- kal.S'e'n OF fl e'ei DOT
Good BY 20 ail
We passed the Sabbath at Rockford, and the
next morring-a bright and bracng one as ever
shone-directedo our course up the east bank OF the
Rock River. The road wound through openings
and along the river banks for n short distance,
when W e left the stream to the West, and entered
upon the Big BOttOmg'-a dry, hut exceeding lev
Ell Prairie OF great extent Here we encountered
great numbers Of the Prsnehen, or pinnaied grouse
(Tora0 olDido,) plover curlcw, &C Think soJCnrner
among the little fenceencosed and game stripped helds
of the East OF driving at smashing rot hither ana
yon a carpeted plain miles IN extent-choosins
your direction freely rs the bird IN Inc ar CHOOSES
Lis-crscking away at iO f0cts OF birds. such as you
have rarely before in your life had a sight Of, even
singly
ford and travelling six miles farther over the Bcloi
Prairie We reached the village OF BelOt u Is IN WIS
consn but lis suburbs extend to the line of Illinois. IL
beautifully situated the banks Of the Rock and con
ains about 1900 inhabitants Making some inquiries
about the place its patriarch, s earliest resident
yet remsinng-a gentlemanly young man OF mufyhre
years 0ld-arose and offered to snow me about the
town The village Is well laid out, and contains many
% ell buildings mostly
which ia quarried on the banks OF the river but part
Of tnem are composed of cObbesones or rounded pep
bles dug out OF the surrounding bluffs Three Churches
are built Of the limestone, two Of them neatookng
structures On bluff covered with oak and hickory,
which rises perhaps fifty or sixty feet above the ryer
banks and Just out Of the village, stands the ne" helO
College II has not yet gone into operation, but Is
understand well endowed. and viii soon start under
the best auspices. Mr.. Williams Of Connecticut q
wish ! knew his giren name for such men should be
passed round gave $4,000 toward founding TINS IN
stituton Never was there finer location for Col
lege The country s healthy, and as fertile and 0eauu
ful az any in the whole West The Rock River is one
of the finest of the thousand streams which pour their
waters into the mighty Mississippi pretter, cleaner,
hritier village than Belot cannot be found IN Inc
United States And finally College here Is 80 situated
as to equally accommodate two States, at no distant
day b be among the most densely populated ana
wealthy of our Conederacy. When my guide %. z
Bcknull ESQ first TO the site OF BclO ten years
snce-he boy from the hills of Northern Vermont,
seeking his fortune that site lovely but unen-
anted wilderness Untenanied by the white man,
mean for the Indian hunter rOved over H. AS STOOD
looking Church and College, and tasteful residences
and fashionable blocks of stores, II seemed strange
oh how strange to think that TINS, but as yesterday
was the debatable land between the Indian ana eau
casan racesthat here 20 lately resounded the whoOp
Of savage border warfare The trails OF Black Hawks
army are yet visible about Belot They fading rap
idly away but rapidly than those fierce clans
whose feet wore them on the Prairie One more strug
Gle of there may and probably will be, IN oregon,
but this side of the Rocky Mountains Black Hawk ana
a Tho, ako dc
terrnined effort to save Indian Nationality by rolling
back the tide OF Civilization As well might the reed
attempt TO roll back the avalanche
Boloit contains two good Touring and some other
mills and mill privileges in abundance branch
railroad from here will strike the Chicago and Galena
road Rockford adding greatly to the commercial adj
vantages of the town and the market facilities oil the
surrounding country. Beoit Is not probably destined
TO become a great city but 1t will be large and pros
porous town, and for beauty, heellhiuness, society
educational advantages, and everything calculated TO
make a residence truly desirable II viii be equaled by
very few villages and eXceled by none west OF Lake
Michigan
In Bcloit and its vicinity decidedly new fence
and building material brought into requisitOn. The
material is grare OF medium coarseness and sand with
the addition OF sufficient lime 10 convert the mass into
mortar; and this in the state OF mortar Is poured be
tween boards confined to form mould Tor the as
cendng wall Its cheap building material for houses
and it was the prevailing impression that VIII be
durable. doubtit.
Proceeding northward from Beoit, we in short
time struck the monarch of the Wisconsin plans-Rock
Prairie We Travelled thirty miles over II, sometimes
almost of sight of trces-and large portions OF II yet
uncxplOrcd by still stretched away green ana mower
spangled in the distance Here, too, we saw much
pane. and spent merry hour in pursuit OF H. Inc
face of this prairie differs from any we had previously
passed over. On the road to Janesyhle we crossed
several deep continuous, narrow valleys, with banks
so steep that ascent aud descent 20 loaded teams il
matter Of difficulty, ihough-an odd sight on the
praires where psthmaters and road repairs are oOso
ictc dcas-the brow of each bank has been cut away
Will fbe f1n md -fccpness
These rayines valleys bear strong rescmD ancc 10
the beds OF rivers though no water now flows IN i.em
excepting, in two cases, diminuve rlvuets-al
ready before the close OF May entrey urea up Oh
the summit OF these banks and AT frequent intervals
over many parts OF the whole prairie the sou Is hed
with pebbles, the largest the size OF mans hst-so
denscly packed in spots that pow would be forced
among them with great difficulty. This is very unu
sua feature on the Western Prairies. On hve hundred
acres of plowed land II would frequently be dcut 10
find pebble large enough to throw at a bird
have already alluded 20 the great depth i IS neces
sary to dig to obtain this prairie-irom - TO
100 feet Here first good specimens OF the ear N
fences which are coming INTO use ana "meh "l; ~
my opinion be the only ultimate resort on the tTeeess
Western plains This fence rises three feet above The
level of the prairie is from twenty inches 10 TWO leet
wide on the top and four feet wide on the b0ttom-tc
the bottom which Is on a level with the surrounding
surface On each side is ditch three feet wide az the
surface and about feet deep lis inner slope cor
responding with that Of the fence These bitches iur
nh earth for the fence sod for the sides OF lwthoui
which il would not stand at al and they OF course
render il more efeciua barrier The price paid for
building this fence is twOand sXpcnce rod ana the
average experienced hands will put up four rods per
diem. When well done. il is good looking, ana,
think will prove permanent fence sufficient for horses
cattle and swine As stotp fence, II will not THINK
prove adequate saw sheep in one or two instances
over it, and several farmers, who had on
their farms informed me il altogether insufficient
to conhne sheep Many of the farmers on the praries
are talking much about pre fences II the first place
II will be Difficult, to get posts anything alike generally
excepting the common oak of the country, which Is
rather perishabe timber IL is conceded by every emf
grant from the East, that it falls far short in durability
whether in the ground OF it, OF New England OF
the best NewYork oak. The top wire OF the fence |
would have to be al least No 5 and those below not
less than No. TO- Putting these close enough together
10 turn swine viii require large amount OF wire
aud make an expensive fence. Quick growing and sui
hcieny hardy hedge plants might be resorted to- but
the difficulty Is that hedge would for some years re
oure an outside-and where the land pastured an
inside fence for is protection. And il is difficult 10
get suitable plants which will resist the nten
sity of the Western Winters The English hawthorn |
ana all the ordinary foreign hedge plants entirely fail
IL do this
The earth fence answers for al animals but sheep |
do not esteem this fa'di objection, for although mil
lions of pounds of wool will always be, and should be
grown in the prairie regions, IL my deliberate opinion
that NNGa