The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1857-08-06
From the Amulet.

DAvrNronT, Iowa, July 26th, lss

should not fail the promise, than impose upon
You my dull letters | will, however risk one
more. With this preface (or excuse) will begin
where left Off in my former letter .........t
Dubuque is situated on the west bank of the
Mississippi river opposite Dunlcth, the terminus
of the Chicago and Galcnn railroad The CITY is
chiefly built on a narrow strip of bottom lane. per
haps SO rods wide from the river to the bluff,
which here is rocky and rises nearly perpendicular
about 250 feet The city is two and half miles long,
neatly but,--mostly of brick--contains about
10000 inhabitants, is rapidly improving, and in
my opinion is destined to be the chief city of the
state yet the rocky bluffs will prove an everlast-
ing hindrance to the entire Improvement of the
city plat The Dubuque and Pacific railroad is
progressing, and cars are running to Independence,
a distance Of some 60 or 70 miles Leaving Du.
buque passed through Delaware, Buchanan and
into BlacHhawk County. The land near the river
is Of poor quality, aud is what is here called tim
bered land but you would call it oak openings
After leaving the river and passing four or five
miles OF timbered land, again struck the praries,
the broad prairies Of iowa. had, (and be-
lieye most people of Ohio, who have never been
west have) very imperfect idea of the western
prairics, especially in relation to their extent. /
can give you very imperfect description of them.
In travelling as did, with buggy you would
have good chance for observation and now let
Us take n look and in order to obtain fair view
we will drive into the prairie. We pass along.
over as smooth road as can be imagined, over
rolling ground passing occasionally farm house,
and some fields of as thrifty looking wheat, corn,
oatsanl potatoes as you ever saw. We meet ii
farmer in the road aud enquire of him how far
we have gone, and he tells US 20 miles. Well, we
find we are on about as high piece of ground as
| is to be found. We look around in every direc-
ton, and as far as the eye reach it is one broad
green prairie, but we can see here and there few
. trees in clumps and we know there some farmer
E dwes and those trees are locust or cottonwood,
plante BY the owner of the soil etherfor fenciny
n or shade.
/ On travelling over these prairies although it is
E midsummer and very warm, there is constantly
coolbreeze it is certainly delightful in summer,
but o the winter deliver me from prairie
e winter. .I.. ..rara anIaa
l. The soil is, as general thing, of the first quail
= ty; still have seen some poor prairie uas.Luoi
n Blackhawk County is, | think, the best county
a of land that have seen in Iowa, Raw piarieI
&c land can be bought here for from six to ten dol
: lars an acre to brcallit will require three good
yoke of cattle. | have seen five yoke drawing
rs one pow, and have also seen breaking done by
d one span of horses Farmers generally fence their
l. fields still have hundreds of acres of grain
growing on the open prairie without any fence at
If all. I'''
t,ll i,l- -,fF Ip.st orI
IS rail fence is made OF posts and two rails, the bot
tom rail two feet above the ground and the top
rail tow feet higher Board fence is made in the
same way, two boards SIX inches wide makes the
fence then the wire fence is made by stretching
n, two, and sometimes three wires the size of tele
,r graph wire and fastening to posts from 80 10 40
ID feet apart. Turf fence is made by ping up turf
y and making ditch on the outside of the field
,i The Usage orange is being tried but farmers say
pf it will not answer for fence on the praires.
ie From Independence, pass into Linn, Jones, and
a Cedar counties, to Iowa City, Johnson Co., pissed
~ through Anamosac Mlrion and Cedar Rapids all
thriving towns and here let me say, have seen
to but one finished city since came wcst-they are
r all growing Iowa City is fine place of about 5000
II inhabitants AMI is improving. The country in the
to immediate vicinity Of the city is poor if not the
to poorest have secn in Iowa There is strip Of
h oak barrens IRON two to three miles wide on each
! SIDE of the river, Qowa) Remove the Capital
+. from Iowa City, and think! it would fall behind
I'd some other towns in the interior From Iowa City
ht | went to Upton, seat Of justice Of Cedar County
II 1t is fine county Of land and although recently
A. settled, it contains some Of the best farms have
nd seen in the state Wild land sells at Sc and $40
IN per | would not live in this county from the
us TACT that mob law reigns supreme there being 400
os men q should rather say demons in human form)
IN banded together for the ostensbc object of ad.
By minstering justice to horse thieves and black legs
as in general, and some eight or ten men haYe been
!, hang on suspicion of either stealing horses them
- selves, or harborng horse thieves And here, in a
ne community Boosting OF its civilization, Il gang OF
til worse than murderers numbering only about four
II hundred are permitted to run riot carrying rapne
and murder into every private dwelling, and q1iet
IN ncighborhoodS The civil authnritieseiher through
en- fear or imbeeity, look quietly without making
Dr. Snge effort to stay these hOrd proceedings and
me- God only knows where the the thing will end.--
J., True, Gov. Grimes has written letter to the
- Sheriff of Clinton county directing him to arrest
and bring to justice every man engaged in the muir
J. der of an Oh man by the name of Warren, who
eat was hung by the Cedar county mob withiG the
m limits Of Clinton county Was il not that it would
.eu make my letter o1 long would give you the de
3h ta'IS OF the murder ol Warren as got it from
number OF his neighbor3 who witnessed the out
rage nom beginning TO end. visited Wurrenl
os, house, went with some neighborS to the grow
where he hag his mock trial, saw where the bari
:" stripped from the limb over which the rop,
def was drawn when IN old man 40 years Of age, wa
ge' murdered by gang of lawless demons, and wha
So is worst Of ALL these murderers are at large am
it, will so unwhippsd of Justice,
I Il.