The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1852-06-24
tor the Gazette.)
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..


AlR. EDITOR: Having recently been on
a shor, vis, to Burlington, in this State,
thought il might please some ofyour read
ers to hear how this city is now prospering,
and ~ha, she ha, been doing for herself
within The las, fifteen years. Her progress
ia this period Of time, am the better pre-.
pared 10 appreciate from the fact tina, was
resident of that vicinity from the spring
# 1887, 70 the fall OF 1888, and was well
acquainted with the country lying contig
Ious within the circui, Of eight or ten
miles.
Fifteen years will sometimes tell mar
vellous story Of change even upon dense
ly populated region; bn, when we come r.
transfer the history of mutation to a new
country, Of inexhaus,ible fertility of soil,
aud possessed Of all the natural elements Of
greatness, We not unirequently witness
results which startla and amaze us-the
more SO il we are not indoc,rinatod by ey-
petience into the science of change; and
when we apply this observation TO Burling
ton, no city Of the same size, think, will
be found to have altered in appearance
more than she in the same time, and none
perhaps, will suffer less than she by being
brought 10 contrast with their cotemporarS
aud more privileged sister towns of the
Great West.
Fifteen years ago! What was Bur!ing.
ton then? Curiosity puzzles herself in
vain, to discover, from anything that re-
mains, single lineament of her former
features. Almost every ves,ige Of the
original has faded away. Houses thai
used to he in the woods, far removed from
the noise Of the town, have been overtaken
by the march Of improvement, and are now
rs deep in The bosom OF the city. In the
shadowy recesses Of the forest land, where.
remote from the habla,ions Of men, mur
INJURED
ga thousand nameless rills that summed the light,
Stealing soft music on the ear of night"
There Art has rudely laid her innovating
hand, and Nature has been disman,led al
her gorgeous apparel, TO give place to a
leeming population; so tla. from village
numbering but few hundred inhabita nts,
Burlington has risen 10 the rank Of pros
porous city, whose population now exceeds
six thousand souls!
By means Of plank roads, she is extend.
ing the facilities Of trade around her il
every direction. Abou, forty miles Of
plank road are already completed; but this
is scarcely 1.-THE of what she has unde,
contract. One Of these roads is to com,
municate with the interior of Henry, and
The other with tina, of Louisa county. She
is also aiding in the construction Of sno,h-
er plank road Oh the opposite side Of The
river, which, crossing the bottom, will ex
tend as for as The town Of Warren--siA
miles from Burlington-and how much
farther, cannot say-for,y miles, perhaps.
This latter will open TO her one Of the
finest and most desirable avenues Of trade
which it is in her power TO command.
Meanwhile she is to certain extent,
developing her manufacturing resources
though these are By no means in proper.
ton TO her other improvements. She has
two lour factories, one or two saw.mills.
and one or more soap and candle, factories
That the morals of the place are well
cared for, is amply atiested by seven OF
eight neat and beautiful houses Of worship
erected at an average cost Of about seven
thousand dollars each Besides these, she
has several neat and substantial public
school.houses. They have no courthouse
in the place; and though they have a Jail
The only purpose it serves just now is thai
Of Lunatic Asylum, three crazy person.
being in confinement there, two of whom
| was told, owe their insanity TO intemper
ance. There arc four weekly journal.
printed in the place, beside which. one o'
the Offices, (tho Te!fgraph0 issues daily
and a tri-weekly, and another, (the Hank
eye) tri-weekly..
The county poorhouse, situate five mile
from Burlington, is said to be crowded will
inmates, ,hree.fourlhs Of whom, was told
have been driven lhilher, either directl.
or indirectly, by intemperance. Very fey
Of them are American born, What CON