Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1857-02-06
agricultural.
For the Waterman and journal.
IOWA.-No. 4.

The word Town in Western, as in Eng
lish parlance, denotes a territory, more or less,
that is plated out into streets, lots, public
squares &c, and legally recorded They
may be considered in two classcs-the one is
some acres of land plated Off as aforesaid,
before there is a cabin on or near it. This is
frequent in the West. A Spectator plats off
a town, gives it a name--of course, some Gu
phonous one, as Hardin City, Bunker Hill
City, &c, then gives away few lots to actual
settlers and offers the remainder for sale
And strange as it may seem, his imaginary
town will generally become real one in a
short time, and all the appurtenancos of a
Aourishing village will soon be there. The
other class are such towns as commence their
growth incidentally from some natural advan-
tages or popularity of location and having be-
come village in fact, are then plated and re-
corded. OF the latter class is Indian Town
Townships are territories that in Iowa are
almost uniformly six miles square, and are de-
signated in all legal business writings by the
numbers used in the survey. They are count
ed in tiers or ranges toward the north and to-
ward the west as "township SO north, range
Is west" Zach township with the exception
of fractional ones contains 80 square miles. or
commencing at the North East Corner and
counting towards the left and then back on
the next tier towards the right--thus count
ing to the right and left till the southeast
corner section is reached and numbered So
This facilitates very much the descriptions OF
deeds-stakes and stones need no description,
but only the section or part of the section is
given, as n. w. Or of sec 8, which means
the northwest quarter Of section three. Roads
are generally laid out on section lines, and by
this method they avoid the evil of cutting up
farms.
The elk, the buffalo and the wolf retreat
from civilization, and are no longer here but
there is an abundance of game left. The deer
are thinned out, but some of them can be seen
in almost any excursion in the timber few
miles from town. They feed contentedly, Sc
long as the passer-by is in a wagon, or is des-
titute of fire arms, but if he approaches with
his rife, they are off Conies.or rabbits, arc
plenty--feoding and hopping about, almost il
your door-yard, and furnish delicate DISH
In Spring and Fall, the sportsman will FIRE.
quently draw wild goose, and occasionally
turkey and every now and then, he will start
partridge or pheasant, as he rambles in Oh,
woodland. But the most common, and per
haps the best game is the prairie chicken. 1
is found alone or in hocks, on the prairie, in
the eornfield' OF even flying about the town
and in Autumn, is fat and delicious. Tn,
quail is the hest Of the small game, and it re-
quires but little skill to catch any quantity o
them with traps and snares. Such is the list
Of the edible game, and If it should not suit
the reader as to variety, it certainly should as
to quantity
There is also variety Of ducks which wor,
omitted in the above list, and probably seyera
other things, which, as the writer is not
sportsman, he viii be unable 20 enumerate. -
Then there Is variety of small birds-th
crow that is oyerywhore--the busy sand Gran
the bald eagle, stately follow, DC. &c-
There are also the gopher, that burrows i
the ground, the woodchuek and the COON
But if the rife is called into frequent use, tn
fishing tackle is none the less So The rive
abounds with iish--some can be caught wit
the hook, but the common resort is had to tn
'gig," or spear, the net and the rife. Las
October. the laborers, while at work ON Tia
dam at this place, caught by hand several bar