New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-04-18

Of ths muck are spt TO be found IN bellows sloughs
which without draining are unavailable. These
sougbs are pspsble buisar ces, especially .. this ses
SOD, when il il dangerous 10 drive team into one OF
them, yet often difficult to avoid them. Perhaps
the region immediately surrounding Chicago is
an unfssorable specimen even OF vet prairie,
but the proportion of the prairie lants which
must await draining before they can be probably
cutvs'ed cannot fail sbort of one fourth, .ni may
go much higher. Then the irfrequency OF Strings
and brooke the deficiency Of water 20 YER tho great
teams required to brock up prairie properly, and tie
besvy cost Of travelling miles for every f-ncersl OF
ssk Of fuel, seriou. dra~b,cks to prairie se.1e
Dent The pioneer who can fs.ten upon quarter
section half prairie and hsb tnber, especially II be
build bis cot 10 the southern edge Of the wood,
and have bis prairie lying soaberly before him, ia
happy man; but between locating in heavy timber
Ike thst Of Nor hem Ohio or Western Nes-York,
where every foot Of hine hn to be Tough: for and
on . rich, smooth pr,irie three miles from imber
sboud decidedly prefer the f,rner Be,resn clearing
of timber, and growing or importing II, deem the
former by fer the more feasible.
But the Railroads wherevith Illinois has of late
been ard is stll being checkered, have alresiy
wrought great shsnee 10 this respect and are des-
tired 10 settle the prsiries far more rapidly add
speedily than their Inost sanguins admirers could
have anticipated ten years ego. Wnen saw, sevea
years o. o. settlers Of interior equities taking out
from Chicago load bfer load Of boards .here with 10
fence their large Enclosures. taking 10 loads Of grain
a. erlling them FIR hardly more than would osd
them back again with boards, could not but coz
slider this a Glow way to procure fenc ig. But now
there are lew spots 10 Northern illinois 80 fer a.
twenty miles from Railroad, and very soon ali pirz
Of the State sl be within ten niles OF either steam
boat canal or raj wsy coz nupicatisn. And wher-
ever he cars stop, there timber, lime, brick &c,
speedily begin to be unlos5ed; there housee sprng
up, children borp and cultivation begins to est
into The crcumjac prairie sha be disappointed
if Illinois does not double her population between
1850 and LEGO
As to the growth Of Wood 1t is very generally esti-
ma ed to equal the annual consumption. Bat II ought
10 do more, ouch more than this. True, there lie as
much wood in The State is nee led, but not where
it is needed. Belts Of timber skirt nearly every
stresm, but there ave thousa Of .quMe miles Of
choice prairie at les,t five miles from the nearest
grove or "opeBipg." Every landowner. every
speculator, ought realize the moral obligation rest-
il 2 on him to plant timber. II the owner Of each
prsirie nsres-section distant more 'h4H one mile
from the the nearest timber were required by Law to
year. and keep the fire out Of said timber by powiug
wide belt all around It, the total value of the lands
of IIois would be enhanced at least fourth With
in ten years. Let the setd sown be part Locust or
come other quick growing wood the residue Hickory,
Sugar Maple, White Pine, Chestnut, Cherry, Black
Walnut, &c. and coon Illinois, from being the very
worst, would room become decidedly the best tim
bered State in the Union.
! think the Railroads already constructed or COM
meDct have t)eat doubled the value of1e wildlsuds
of Illinois Millions OF ~bich bat for there, would
not have been inhsbitable for liteas will now be
promptly settled and improved. And all the CON-
pleed roads running westward, or nearly westward,
from Chicago, loos as if hey were making money, I"
Is the Northern Ibdi,ns on the east; even the Chi
cseo and Mississippi RUS ont fair, though smlle-,
trains while the Illinois Central as yet doing poor
ly. 1t runs mainly through prairie as yet thaly or
not at all settled And it does not to point in
The direction Of the main current Of travel; that 10
from ess, to west while the Central runs from souh
to north nor'h west with branch, nearly as long a.
the bubk leading TO Chicas in the north east have
hitherto supposed that this Comp any drove sshArpb4r-
gain with The State; now I suspect that the State
hss the bert of it. To her, the Road is worth al it
cost; trust it will yet be worth even more to the
stockt olders-but not yet. There are too fsT con
side rsble villages along s track, and too many miles
Of houfeless prairie either side Of it. This prairie
will yet DO iettled ard lhifty, waving 9Th cc.c and
dotted with cattle but, me sntine, the stock will dioop
and divide LIS be scarce If the Company hsi been
obliged by lite charter to put is lands all up at public
auction within years from the completion OF their
work. and sell zach lot quarhrsection without re-
serve TO the hest bidder, with the mex ,rab!e con-
dtion that none should be sold but to actual set
tier and not than section 10 all to any one, the
road would have paid and p,d better than IL
now will am not sure that the land would not
even ht We sold his her. for the assurance ihs. all OF
was to pass forthwith into the hands OF cultvators
would have greatly ephspcedits real value AZ things
are .utpect the extreme North. vest section Of toe
road reaching from Free3 port to Gaiena and Ouo'eh,
ard taking the Chicago travel at Fresport from the
Chicago and Galens Road, Is the most productive
portion Of the entire work. But only let population
be a acted it's vicnage and the great fertility Of
the SOIL with the universal demand for pine lumber
from the North and coal from the South, will create
an immense Freigbtiug business, while heavy crops
Of corp .prng wheat, &C., and great droves OF cat
tle will yield liberal returns for the benehcent enter
prize which has quickly girdled the praires with
non.
The mort beautiful aud a.tr ,c lands in Illinois,
to my eye tnose bordering her rivers. especially
the Illinois and It's tributaries Sheltered from the
fesce prairie winds by the asas we'll 40 the timber
wherewih they abound, and generally we'll ~atered
o. we'll o. fertile the bottoms ere ia every viev most
inviting TO settlers. Ottaws, ct The junction of the
Fox wnh Tie Illinois, il in the midst Of pleasant rs.
Rion; La Sale. fifteen mes belox, at the south end
cfibe Illinois Canal, lie sarounded by Coal Lime,