, 1859-02-24
The Farm and G9Tten.
A Trim to Iowa...N0s /.

g1nc-r;ss N2rthtr1. I;mits Of Coa-Oltatea
ID yo1le Coal Basin -Cpal Wet Of La
Sr1L-l ffne Farming Country EmlgTd"ss
to ths goid Field& &-Holins Wate Roper r,o
Pzo1o Shop Of Dters d Co-t1oso: Of lsas
ond 1859 = cast Steel Ploso'-Anatre9nn, ns,t oa.s
SktLHo.0 P,ops ara "'ad%-A fa''e'"
School,
m those who have never passed oscr the Rock
island Railroad to Rock Island and Iowa City Ne
may present some items that will serve 10
or nerhaps induce trip over this valuable aoa
interesting portion Of cur country. IN leaving
the city We pass over the clay ridge that forms
the barrier to the pasage Of the water Of INC
Lake southwarl; but we soon pass tho bag
deem cut through this clay bank, and which, be-
FIRE the deepening Of the st. Clair River ut Fort
Gra1iot. the water Of the Lake flowed towards the
tropics. 1t then descended. II descent it may he
called, to the Valley Of the Des Planes over whose
limestone bed tie Upper Lakes poured their or5s"
tai tide, now forming dry bed Of q river or seEv-
iuc to drain small extent Of country. This
Niagara gzoupe Of limestone reaching from the
mouth of the "Sag" to near Morris, Is Of immense
value to the country and in lis PREPARATION for mar
ket gives employment to some Thousands Of hands'
At Joliet, the new State prison is beginning to
show its massive outlines, aud within which the
stone hammer is to be the moralizer, and these
blocks Of magnetism lime, the subject to remind
Its inmates Of days Of innocence. / ieW miles
above Mor1ia, the KQnkakee unites with the Des
PLANES under the name of the Illinois and here
too Is the northern limit Of coal, and but few
miles further south 1t is worked to advantage for
local use. But the veins are yet too shallow and
too near the surface, to come in competition with
tLoso further West. Most Of tlesc mines have
| but few feet Of clay over the coal which IL
obtained by "s.ripping:" We are NOW in the Val
lev of the Illinois, the Illinois and Michigan Cana
between rs aud the riyer, with the low bluffs Of
the river to OUT right. As we proceed the cut
cropping rock is sandstone fmilistoae gritty
Ottawa il place of considerable Importance in
| manufacturing, as the water-power from the caoal
| is abundant and cheap, Jet scarcely Less cheap
tl,ao coal for motive power. as is evinced by the
numerous steam chimneys that We observed.
4rons these in full view Of the road is Riggs
reaper factory with lis sxtensitc aa.ling. The
starch factory s near the river, the top Of Which
! Il inst seen from The road. The bluffs here are
muvi t::eeaer after passing tue mouth OF the Fox
River. The sanl rock etf., 2cl is cut into deep
rayines by the water from the hills.
| Near Utica We have a view Of tEtarvad Rock''
which ls so well known in our bolder history. ne
soon after pass through "splt Rock" which was
tunueled for the road and is the only railroad
ta1uel in the State. The Lasaile coal basin il
now spread o4t before US, 50 rich in ccal that it
may we'll be called tue wood house CT The 2otth.
Until we pass Ottawa, most Of the coal Is OBJ
tanned by s'stripplng" and is highly charged with
| sulphur, bnt here the coal Is found deep In the
bowels Of the earth, and hundreds Vi feet peiow
the bed Of the river while the river itself is cut
into the plain nearly two hundred feet, thug show.
ing 1his to haye teeu deep bs,sin Or huge pocket
in the sea, when these vast deposits first eonuen
ced to settle in its eddy. The slatt Of the North
ern Illinois Coal and Iron Company is 800 feel
ceer, from the bottom Of which comes IN excl:
ent quality Of ceaL At he depth Of six feet, enc
under the blue shale, there is thin layer of coal
SIX inches thick. The shaft is sunk through sba'e
limestone, fine clay sandstone aud black slate III
five feet thick, but not Of so good q quality
as tnc lover seams This seam is not workeG
ut present. After sinkla q fftY-four feet furthe,
through fire clay, lime stone, shale, sandstone
and black slate, a six feet bed Of coal il reached
which is being worked on a large scale. Agai1
we 20 down through layers Of limestone, shsle
sandstone, black slate and q roof Of soapstone
one hundred and 1fty.eight teet further, 10 tht
lower bed, which is four feet thick, making the
total depth of coal fifteen feet, with per pendic
ulsr shaft nearly twenty i've rods in length
This will give the reader some idaa Of where thu
coal comes from, Of which over 400 tons vert
week in January. The mind is almost appalled,
in trying to sum up the years in which thess
vast accretionB have been formed Epce the
frank vegetation" Of the olden tins trst be
gun to form the carboniferous deposits in it
OCEAN eddies This vast deposit Of coal maJ
we'll be calicd mine Of wealth that will at nj
distant day make Chicago aud the valley Of ths
Illinois second Pittsburgh. It will form .
sinking fund that must make this road one O
tho best, if not the very best paying road in ths
State.
The aueisnt currents Of this ouce vast inland
BY tho deposis Of granite boulders dropped il
ita pathway, and which could have come iron
60 c;her source So Of the drift copper. masset
of Euich, identical With that from the copper
regions, are found in the loose drift soil of hi.
basin. While there is 10 copper bearing rock ia
gets in no otber way. Long after the upheaval
Of the land, the waters of the North poured
their vast volume through this outlet, until the
deepening Of the eastern channel sunk the larel
Of LIKE Michigan some forty feet, when it was
turned east. But the channel Of commerce il
to maintain steady doT between this basin
and the shores Of Lake Superior. Thes two
| great needs Of civilization, coal and iron. must
commingle. and will build up vast workshops
| hlong It's current The next twenty years will
effect wonderful changes, and the atmosphere Of
| Chicago will be clothed With tie smoke of q
thousand forges, and the music OF her ms-
| chiuery shall answer to the whiatle OF the in.
coming trains laden with the rich products of
the Orient. The bed Of the river is about l50
feet below the level of the lake at Chicago.
The Illinois Central R,ilroad crosses at this
point on wooden bridge some eighty feet
above the river. This road will distribute these
Goals to the north part of the State, Wisconsin
aud Minnesota. Lead IRON Gatena Is being sent
here for smelling. and the reduction Of zinc
from the ''dry bone ore" At Perm the manu-
facsure Of Kerosene oil is already begun, the
lower ve;ns ct coal being rich in oil.
In passing a1oug lhe river but little can be
seen Of the country until, leariug the Peoria
Junction, We come ont on the rolling prairie Of
Bureau county. Coal abounds along the line Of
road to the Mississippi river at Moline The
Sheffield and Henry county miues arc the most
important, and Goals from these .sre sent both
to Chicago and lows city. The Henry county
coal mines are now beingfextensivalY worked,
and large quantities Of coil are rent to Rock
Island, Davenport, Muscatine, and other parts
Of Iowa The country Is rich and rolling, ret
thousands pass over it, seekia9 homes on less
desirable soil and ont Of the reach of Market
1t appears to us that If they would Bit down
and apply few simple rules of arithmetic they
would stop mud make their home, not beyond
the line Of travel, but here in lts very channel,
where the land is rich, the climate healthy, fuel
ia abundance, wood sufficient, With ready
market ut the door. But mans love of land,
his alteration OF broad acres, to lord it over " ali
he surTeys," often carries him be5oud the resch
Of tuo7c comforts that make home happy. Tne
socisl nelghborhood, the school house and the
church are ell passed By for the sake Of ten
shilling land, that may ia coming time make biz
children rich, rich in land but poor in its enjoy
meat These thoughts continued to iptrude
themselves on our mind ~ VIC cast glance at
the uncuitivstet prairie and then TO group of
passengers bound for the Kansas gold fields.
They we're not gold hunters but seeking homes
in that tar distant country, men, women and
children, all appeared to enjoy themselves with
condition By gong where land is cheap. At
Io~a City they must purchase teams and wag.
onB, aud then for long tedious march orer the
plains, until they settle down in some secluded
valley under the brow ot the Rocky Mountains,
where th5y must soon seouatom Themselves 10
half civilized life.
WATER-PowER At MOLINE.
The eimpression is very general that in this State
We have valuable Wator. power, but this erone.
Gus idca is being fast dispe!led Toe Fox river is
one series Of rapids from the State line to its
mouth, where it pours its accumulated power
into the Gaua1 basin ut Ottawa. The Rock river
hS n NJ