Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1857-02-28


e.t=.e .i..f. pond TIC 'i De" i4tbon
Western Illinois EoWa
Davenport, Iowa, Jan 81, 1851.
stau,i fer the second tune On tbs bank
It the mighty Mississipll, now heavily
mnuaced hy ice, across which. loadedwag
5ts are constantly passing AMI which an
army OF one hundred thousand men mi :, ht
cross ~ fearless security. The weather
mar been gto .ualiy nJderatIug tor il.
week, dutI It i, to-day quite spring Ike,
aai rlvuicts OF liquid mud are Drawing
,ipaft etery street. that leads 10 the river,
an. i0tmiug pools apd sheet, of turbid
waters above it- 'ucky like covering
.last above the lrnclpa! crossing from
Rock Island he town. q company Is Ia
KING out plocRs ~ zee / generous thick.
hess i1l next summers use, and there
are other indicauons hat The severe cold
~ the last month has been teit here al,o
From the l.iiuoIs bluffs, some three or
four miles distant, men are bringing in
Nason.l0ais Of coal, dug from Their
farms- TOR the late "coli snap has
made tue. scarce ADD dear here as al
III lst eseiyw hero else. iha white vayor
from uodrel; steam boiler. rises on
either si1e vi tho river, and ia the mui-
.ltude oi new buiiJIGgs, - compared
.,h thD-a which have seen five yeare Or
IS > ni the stir { prosperous busu es-
on every sic, there is ample evidence
tina ]. : eat aud L ar hing community
. soon - cover most of Tue area within
ny present range Of vision. Lex me tr7
81 70 Lescrih" i. q, 10 answer the uatu
Ia. inquiries Vt ,Hterpri-,ns, energetic
Eastern mechanic, ltorers, merchant.
al ctaeis wbo may be concentrating
emigration To The West.
lock l-lant iTrop y Is something less
than :, miles long and perhaps hundred
g3..s wide, dividing tho Mississippi mt
two rapid ani unequal streams, of which
by Tar the large passed It one tue wes,
l he island was once military post. and
is stlil mainly Government property,
'housh some one has eng ineerei ,hroug h
Congress u bill hereby come sixty acres
OF tue upper end has been handed over
20 ap Individual or shallow pretense
OF pre- emption. These acres are v ORTIZ
ut least thousand dollars each, as .hey
cot mand the immense water-p power
ated by dauInlng that arm OF the river
which runs between the island and tie
iilanols shore. The residue of the island
ought tolthwith 10 bs sold in lots BIT
auction 10 the highest bidder, so o.
speedily to be covered by thrifty pop
uiail0u Ut manufacturers and artisans:
but, though IT has repeatedly been ad
vcrslsed, |, still remains unsold-the sale
being regularly countermanded at the
last moment by an order from Washing
ton; and presume some one will sson
worry through Congress bill giving
nim pre- emp,ion TO the best Of it for a
-Lousandth part of its value. The IRE.
onp;ei or north-ea quarter OF the il.
land is already studded by great cav.
mills and by the dwellings of those EN-.
ployed IN them.
Directly opposite, or east Of tho upper
end OF the island, on the Illinois bank,
IS Moline, an sctive manufacturing vii.
sage of some two or three q onsand in,
tabitant-, while a grand Railroad Bridge
the first bridge which ever spanned the
Mississippi. connects Illinois with Iowa
ACROSS the lower eni Of the island, and
is daily traversed by trains connecting
the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
(,hrough central Iowa) with the Chicago
and Rock Island, which runs hence cas-,
by north to the great Railroad focus at
the head of lake Mchigan.-Bu., ln ad.
jition to these, new Railroad IS ncsrly
graded south eastwsrdly from Rock L.
land to Peoria, some fifty miles distant,
pie'o.ng rich and vast coal bed soroe
ten or twelve miles from this point.
Directly below the Railroad Bridge are
the Important cities Of Rock Island On
the Illinois. and Davenport on the Iowa
eide OF the Mississippi, whereof the tor.
mer claims some ten or twelve and The
latter no less than fifteen thousand in.
hsbitants. The latter 10 relatively new.
though Rock leland 10 hardly q dozen
years old. The whole region vac oocu-
pied by lndi.ns, ana was tho theatre Of
the famous Black Hawk war, less than
twenty five years ago. And no past
growth OF these youos aspirants csa have
eqnalled that which Lies directly before
them.
Tho current language Of The psopis Of
these cities-as least Of como Of chem
implies o jealous r,bssry which 10 simply
absurd. They, with Moline and che CITY
OF wheels, which IL soon TO cover the 10.
land, and perhaps al other esltlsmaas
oil the Iowa eide sbcSs whst 10 nov d.
senpost, Will form virtually one CITY
within twenty yeass. And even ncw .
mans arms might "a nationally BE- jeal
" ~ has legs. Dsseopsrt l. better 10
, ted for trsSe thaa Rock Island. blse
~ oa1ee Ii tAis quarter lcots eGsiVSSd