The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-07-14


A correspondent OF the Cleveland Plain.
dealer, who has latel, travelled through the
interior of Iowa. happily sketches the beauty
and riches of the prairies in the following par.
agraphs:
Burlington is now the opening wedge for the
Stare of Iowa; the work has just begun that
will ultimately endsin radiation of iron rail-
ways into the far off plains OF rich aud fruitful
Iowa railways interminable, and from her
will spr ing forth the road that will penetrate
Kanskas and Nebraska. ultimately ending on
the Pacific. Already the railroad to Mt. Pleas
ant, the garden of the State, is fully graded
The iron will soon be laid. and the road can
not fail to do driving business
The number OF people penetrating Iowa,
prospecting, is astonishing. Stages are made
quate to the travel ; private cenveyances are
brought into use throughout the whole length
of the State, and some are seen footing it with
their packs across their shoulders These are
moneyed men, after land, to speculate on the
sharks of the country. There are some honor
able exceptions, however.
The crops of Iowa were never better. All
the inhabitants with whom have cOnversed tell
the same story, and il you can Judge from ap-
pcarances. there will be an astonishing yield.
Wheat and corn is a picture worthy the pencil
of the Great Artist.
The price of lands is high. Out of curiosity
asked a farmer. a few miles out Of Burling-
ton whose farm joins that of the Hon. Chas.
Mason, of the United States Patent Office. what
be would take for farm. He replied two
hundred and fifty dollars per acre. AS high as
the price seems. believe that money could be
made at it, and cannot be done anywhere in
Ohio. The price, OF course is high, but 1 am
told that good improved farms can be bought
between Burlington and Mt. Pleasant, not ten
miles distant from Burlington, at from ten to
twenty dollars per acre.
So beautiful do these rich, rolling prairies
appear to stranger, l cannot refrain from
giving you the apt expression made by Lady
rom the East. who was going to Dixon with
my friend Mckinney, of this county. The Ia
dy had repeatedly seemed enchanted with the
beautiful scenery around, and at one descend
ing slope of the b DAD prairie, she begged of
Nc to stop and let her roll down the bill, " SO
enchanting did it appear.
| A gentleman just returned from circutous
| trip, through Iowa gave me an linking OF the
sharking in public lands of Iowa. Spectators
crowd the land Office and if they see some per
son come in who appears to have been out look
| ing, one of the company hangs to his side, and
finds out the facts, perhaps tells him that he
himself has just been out looking. and found
| fine lands UP here, or out there; he then finds
out where the other person had looked and
| what his opinion of the land is; they some
times let out their intention what sections or
quarter sections they have made up thir minds
| to t Ike. In the meantime. the shark in Com
paDy steps up and enters the very piece, and
by management they fitch out of The man q
hundred or two dollars to relinqush his claim.
and a hundred other methods are adopted to
cheat. Perhaps they are taking from shark
as WELL for it is in some cases dog eat dog
game.
| These great iron ways are making the rich
lands of Iowa and Illinois more valuable than
the less fruitful of Ohio. Pennsylvania and
New York Their great productions, and,
now, the ready facility for transporting their
produce to market. raises their value clear
above the lands of the East. Why is not the
land of Illinois more valuable than that Of
NV York? 1t will produce as much grain.
will never in one lifetime wear out, as there
are farms here that have produced corn TWEEN
ty years consecutively and the present crop is
as good as any OF its predecessors Your
guano finds no market out here, and manures
are matters of no interest to the farmer of the
| Prairies. You may as we'll leave your long
assertions Oh compost out OfyOur agricultural
works. They don't read them
| a turrow "a MI lie long and as straight as a
string is common. Sod corn is being put in
the ground now in great quantities. This is a
breaking the virgin soil. One man sows a
slight cast of corn over the plack prairies. aud
anol her plows it under tie ereehsod. Enough
will Spying up and come 10 maturity to pay
he labor of fencing. This is the common pro-
cess of first breakingnp the new. soil To a
plow-boy from the New England hills. these
straight long burrows won d make him cry out
for very joy. and if be had the soul and sent
ment of the Eastern lady have just spoken Of
he would want to lay down and roll across
one.
One prophetic remark. and have done for
the present. The States of Illinois and Iowa
will, within the coming five years, increase
more rapidly than any others in the Union
Mark that