The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1852-07-28


County on "Wednesday, and, whilst oul, We
made detour fro m the mil tary read, and tra-
versed goodly portion of the interior, beth of
Dubuque and Jones Counties, lying in that.di-
rcclon.
Nothing exceed the appearance Of Nor
thern Iowa Just at this season of the year. To
the stranger it may be partially conceived,
when he is informed that the whole country,
between this and Cascade, exhibits an unbro-
ken surface, of the most richly clad and bcauti
fully undulating lands that the eye could wish TO
dwell upon. With horse and snlky, we might
have left the road for any given point, in any
direction, across the prairies, and have reached
it without any obstruction, other than that i'm
posed by the high and waving grass, and the
countless myriads of flowers that compose The
rich carpeting of nature, in the wild and lovely
West.
The thought of how ignorant most persons
are, of the real and attractive charms which
Northern Iowa hold out as well to the lovers
of the beautiful in nature, and the highest en-
l. ,yments of agricultural life, as tn the restless
/ III cHtti plist, anu luC NCCH, III PuiouI W.
pecuniary aggrandizements, often crossed our
mind as we rapturously surveyed The magni6-
cence o. the landscape, that every where lay
stretched out for far and near, before and around
Us.
WHAT a sad and mistaken notion of our
/ prairies is formed by most persons abroad
] The word "prairie' with eastern people is
never understood or thought of, as conveying
any other meaning, than that of an extended
| plain boundless waste, Of low and marshy
lands rich to super abundance, but pregnant
! with every form of disease, aud fit dwelling
places only for the acclmated savage, or those
who are unable to appreciate the enjoyments Of
wealth, or who know not the value of the ordi-
nary comforts Of life here can be no more
mistaken notion. Prairie by means implies,
necessarify, low or marshy grounds The
term is used to signify land without timber;
hundreds Of acres of which may be seen IN one
body, with not single twig Of any kind, to
disturb the monotony of the surface, and yet
out of these hundreds of acres, there may not
be one which would come under the above al
luded TO, erroniously conceived notion of prai-
ries We, ourselves, were never forcbly
impressed with the eggregiousness of this very
common error, as during the trip spoken of.
The whole country traversed by us might al
most be said to be one vast unbroken prairie,
and vet, not twenty acres could any where be
selected that could be called dead level, such
as the low grounds or flats along the banks of
rivers. 1t presents rolling surface all tn;
time, like the waves of the sea, without, OF
course, their regularity. There is no abruptness,
no sudden banks or broken elevations, which
must be rounded to be surmounted. The whole.
as we have already said, is beautifully undu!a.-
ing, and yet it does not present that gentle un-
dulation which the reader abroad might attach
to the undulating surface Of the praries, bat III
the boldness of elevations and declines ranging
: from fifty to hundred feet and more, but, be
the rise and fall what they may, they are always
gradually attained.
Such is meager description, of the country
from within eight miles of Dubuque, to and
around Cascade, which, to our way OF think,
ing is surpassed in true moral and agricultural
worth and beauty, by none other in the world
If any thing can lend to the native charms Of
, country, which is here and there dotted with
commanding and luxuriant groves of the fines
timber, as well and elegantly defined as it ar
ranged by the suggestions OF the most jealous
rules of art, it is the presence of the ripenlns
2 crops, as they bend to the breeze, and retlec
, back the genial and inviting warmth of the sun
c invigorating ray.
The farmer never was in higher spirits will
the return for his labor. The wheat and oa
fields present an abundant yield land the cradl
is swung with hearty good will, and all hand
are buoyant with satisfaction. The corn GRO
d never looked better than now, but, of course
y much depends on the character Of the fall, a
to its success or failure. We have never see
' men more pleased with themselves and thei
!. FARMS than the sturdy husbandmen OF Dubuqu
!, and Jones' Success attend them, and may tn
v sun of prosperity never shine less Brilliant
:, upon their labors than now.