Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1854-05-22
rrs- fsoufe sOsguIifOrnfa=T CONN.,
Gil Bluffs.

1
Council Bluff, Iowa, May |, "a.
40. Editor--I do not expect 70 give the In
Icidents and details Of a journey across ths
State of Iowa. They are too much the mat
tiers of everyday life, and would not interes7
lyourreaders. / viii, however, IN few words
notice some Of the peculiarities OF theregion,
living on the most northern route through To-
wa to Council Bluffs.
Thirty-two miles west Of Clayton, we sud,
denly lose all the peculiarities OF the Lead re-
eion. The ridges rise with an elevation of on
Iy, one or two feet to the hundred. The ravines
| are broa and flat at the bottom without any
concentrated channel, sometimes for several
miles. These are necessarily wet in the spring
Of the year, and any great amount Of leaning
across them while they are thus wet renders
them muddy. They soon dry, however, and
then in common with the whole prairie make
the most beautiful roads that j ever saw. 4
/ must conclude, however, that the soil OF thets
lreoion is quite inferior to he average OF that
of most OF the western states. 1t contains
Egreat amount Of small pebbles and gravel:
which in some places approaches IN qganfy
and fineness to that of coarse sand These
are mingled in soil Of tough, yellow clay and
covered with slight coating of vegetable
mould There is scattered over thesuriace OF
this region an endless quantity Of what are
termed the 'slost rock, - many OF which when
seen at distance on these wide prairles are
mistaken for houses, wagons, &c.--so great
are their dimensions. The mindi is lost in con
templating the vastness Of those currents that
must have swept over this region to have carr
ried such pebbles hundreds OF miles from their
place of eruption, and scatter them broadcast
| over such an extensive region.
| AS we approach. the Iowa River, we find
the crop Of the Des Nome Coal Stratum.
We now see less of the Sslost rock" and the
prairie gradually becomes more and more un-
| dulating We here obtain the first water that
lis passngly fair since leaving the lead basin /;
1.-The water the most of the way through Iowa
YOU would suppose to contain a solution of So
| da, mud, and milk. After we have passed the
watershed that divides the Yates OF the Mis-
souri, from those Of the mississippi, we notice
a gradual dip of the rock, an increase in the
number of springs, an improvement IN the qua
| lily Of the water, and we no longer hnd any of
the slost rocIs'' In the bluff of the llissou>
iii at this place there is no such thing as rock,
or even pebble visible The bluffs are about
half as high as those Of the Mississippi. [
consider this the most inviting portion of To-
/ wa Nineteen-twentieths Of tie distance OF
four hundred miles from Clayton to Council
Bluffs is through timberless prairie, there be-
| ing only an occasional small grove. WeWere
three weeks and one day in coming through.
| We have heard nothing Of the Lancaster boys.
| We left company from P,atteyllle at Fort
| Des Moines. There was one or two Germans
among the company that were unwen.
We expect to leave here tomorrow. The
prospect seems to forbode trouble with the
| Indians. There was squaw shot on the
bank oil the river three nights ago while steal
ing from an emigrant wagon. The next day
the Indians retaliated by shooting white man.
The company concerned avenged themselves
again in turn by pursuing the Indians with a
band of forty men and killing two Indians and
lwounding third.
The emigration will, think, average much
less than it did last year.
While writing | am informed that conpa-
ny OF emlSrants that crossed the river yester-
Gay had their cattle stdien last night. and that
they found tins morning that the Indians had
butchered them. They then pursued the In
danss and shot all that they came to. until thew
had killed eight. There is, | think, strong
probability of the above being correct. It IS
the most authentic statement that can be had
in this village. The whites concerned in these
affairs are, believe all from Wisconsin,
There is hardly a sensible man that speaks Of
these difficulties without condemning the
whole from the beginning, as being rash, IN
discreet and murderously unjust on the part 81
the whites concerned sBuL Pam unable to OBJ
| tain enough Of the details n warrant one IL
in forming an opinion or 2haking comments
sYourssEc.,
xrp SsTEPHEN BARTON.