The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1860-12-29


or MoyOxA Co, IOWA.
ron me Csc OF ENIGKANrs-
Mr. EDrros I'm presenting description
Of Monens County for the nss Of those con-
semplasine . removal to the Missouri Slope
Of Isvs, l shall not deal in those darling
.elittsring gsneraiisies," those vague
meaningless, h,gh-sounding phrases 50 often
considered appropriate in setting forth the
attractions Of . new home. bus which VII
apply equally wellto most any place outside
Of the Polar circles. On the contrary.
shall eonfDs myself to simple, particular
concise statement Of facts, only adding suen
observations and opinions Of my own As may
seem essential to . complete understanding
Of the matter; 10 short, just such . prses'.
cal account q practical man needs to aid
him in performing one Of the most practical
Of duties like settling in new country.
We often hear the remark that "Posision
10 everything" Has Mouona County good
po,i,ion The facts viii prove that it has
First. Ii is situated on the Missouri River,
having . direct water communication VIII
al "the rest of mankind" large portion Of
the year. Secondly, Its position will gave
il railroad communication with the whole
length of the Missouri Valley, in the course
of time. The Railroad is now being graded
which will connect St. Joe. With Council
Bluffs, and the Road will be extended uE
through Monona as soon as the need OF thu
Valley demands it. Thirdly, Monona is sh'
terminus Of one of the great through hne'
Of travel across Iowa. Po.tawattamie
Msnona and Woodbury., are the three ter
mini. and must contain the three large cite.
of the Slope. The Cedar Rapids r. r. Co
are under contract to build their road through
to the Missouri in Monona Co., within hvt
years, and they seem to be beth able aad
willing to do it, thus giving US direct com
munication with Chicago and the East. This
K. R. Co. have already ninety miles ofroad
in running order. The centre of Monona
il about As miles from Sioux City and 10
miles from Council Bluffs. Fourthy, Let
the reader observe that to the West and
Northwest of US stretches a vast extent OF
country which is now attracting the atten-
ton Of emigrants. Dacotah and Nebraska
Territories and the Rocky Mountain Gold
Region will receive thousands of persons
annually for many years to cone. 1t will
be a long time before they can supply them
selves with produce, and the Gold Region
never will. They must depnd upon the
Missouri Valley farmers. Produce has
never been low in Monoua, much Of the
time very high, and under the circumstan-
ces it seems impossible thut prices should
fail to be excellent for mary years to come
This year they are drss.rste. So much fol-
position.
Little need be said about climate. Nc
western man will doubt that our climate is
good enough for anybody; certainly not te
be excellei at this latitude on the continent
As for New Englanders, they can be assured
that the last thing they would be likely te
end fault with is the climate.
Our prairie is different from the usual
rolling or fat prairie of the West. The
county is completely cut up by valIics, SO
that the bottom, SLOPE and ridge, alternate
across it. Commencing at the Missouri, or
the west side of the county, there is first q
heavy growth of cottonwood timber varying
in width from one to four miles. Large
rush-beds supply cattle with feed the yea,
round, and hogs fat themselves, thus making
the cost Of raising stock very small. There
are some ponds or bayous, and wild grapes,
hogs, wolves and raspberries. Emerging
from the timber, we soon rise to the top OF
tho Ashton Ridge. This is an excellen,
strip of land, narrow, but running nearly
the whole length of the county. Settlers
are scattered the length of it, and the pres
ens county seat, Onawa, is located upon it.
IL miles from the south line of the county
and about four from the Missouri. Con.
sidsripg the "hard times" Onawa ha:
fourished wonderfully. 1t has large hotel
four or FIVE stores, fne large court house.
and a new brick scool-house, which supports
the luxury of bell. The private residence.
are tasteful, and the Who'll. appearance Of
the town renders it creditable affair to its
projectors. Onawa boasts of q printing
Office, from which issues weekly the Monono
Gordon. Two miles from town is a steam
saw mill. There is timber enough in the
vicinity to supply the county with cheap
lumber for q generation. In addition,
venture the opinion that no village in the U
s. of its size can display so many babies as
Onawa. The soil is inexhaustibly fertile
Leaving the Ashton Ridge, We pass over
about five miles Of bottom land, very nice
to look upon in dry weather very disagrsea-
bic in vet. Thorough drainage would rem
der much Of this land tillable, but for sew
ersl years it will present no attractions to
immigrants. Then We approach the Little
Sioux River which runs through the county
in a southerly direction, keeping near the
bluFs. The finest kind of farming land can
BE- found on and near the Little Sioux, high
bottom and slope, some Of the latter being
truly splendid. Considerable hard wood
timber grows on the Sioux and in the bluffs.
There 10 saw and grist mill on the Sioux,
and the proprietor is erecting Touring mill.
There are about thirty farms opened on the
Sioux. The next valley We come to is the
Maple. 1t runs q southeast course, meet
ing the Missouri bottom near the centre Of
thu county. The narrow space between the
S,o,v and Mania valIies il ocrun;ed hv HIGH