Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-12-28

EsssoS Ratlstld Herald, From the nu
merous enquiries daily received by mail
from old friends in your county, relative
10 the climate, soil, productiyeness and
general resources OF this State, | have
thought few lines in Alation to these
queries might not he embarrassing TO
the general reader.
Victor is q small town on the Missis-
sippi and Missouri r.. r., 90 miles from
Davenport, and $50 miles due west from
Chicago is so miles east of Des Moines,
and 240 miles east of Council Bluff, on
the Missouri river. The railroad is in
operation 3S miles west of this point,
to a station called Kellogg. Three years
ago there was but one dwelling in Vic.
tor; 1t has now upwards OF forty sub
stantial dwelling houses, five stores,
we'll supplied with all the necessary ar
ticles for country trade, one tavern,
one large grain warehouse put up this
season and now nearly completed, and
one of the largest elevators in the State.
This building is 25 by rs feet on the
ground, and is l61 feet from the bottom
sill to the ridge. 1t viii cost about
$4,000 capacity for storing 10000
bushels Of grain; and with one horse
and three hands can load a car every
half honr or handle and ship 1000 bush
els of grain every ten hours. This build
ing has been erected and is to be run by
W. l.. Hunt, formerly Of Westhayen, and
whose parents now reside there. His
mercantile sales now amount to the
handsome sum Of $45,0 900 year. and yet
many OF your readers will remember
him ten years ago as driving a peddler's
cart among the barren hills and fertile
valleys OF Lake Champlain and it's sur
roundings.
To give your readers some idea of the
shipping business done at this place in
1854, and thus far in 1865, l have OBJ
tanned the following figures from the
freight agent In 1854 there were
shipped $4,000 bushels of wheat; 10000
pounds of dressed hogs 5000 live hogs,
and 5000 head of beef cattle. In 1865,
although the season for shipping dressed
hogs has just opened. there has been
shipped $4,000 bushels Of wheat, 10000
pounds of dressed hogs, 5000 live hogs,
and 10000 head of beef cattle. This,
you will perceive, makes no note of the
large quantities of barley, oats, butter,
eggs, lard, tallow, hides, &C., daily
shipped at this point; and when you
consider that at Marengo, IL miles east,
and at Brooklyn, miles west of US, are
other points doing perhaps an equal
amount OF shipping, it will give your
readers some idea of the almost unlimi-
ted productiveness of the soil. This
railroad traverses, and is destined to aid
in developing the resources of the very
garden Of Iowa. The table lands ON
either side of Bear creek are inexhausti-
BILE in fertility; while the gently rolling
bluffs that make back from its sparkling
and pure waters, at once arrest the at
tention of the throng of immigrants
who are seeking homes in the West, as
the most desirable locations for residen-
ces and the production of small grains.
Lands that were bought year ago here
for $3.50 per acre, cannot now be pur-
chased for less than from $16 to 500 per
acre. No year since Iowa became a
member of the Union, has the influx OF
immigration been so large as in 1855. A
recent letter from Iowa Falls, on the line
of the Dubuque and Sioux City railroad,
informs me that the number of settlers
in the vicinity Of Iowa Falls the past
year has been greater than for five years
previous, and the same may be said Of
almost all parts of the State. One must
travel in Iowa this year to have any
idea Of the amount of immigration il
has received within the last six months
and the efec. IL has had on the price o.
lands and business generally"
In regard to the class of settlers il
this vicinity, the larger portion Of then
are from Ohio and Pennsylvania, though
almost every state in the Union is rep
resented among US. The Green Noun
tain state is largely and creditably rep
resented from Castleton, Poultney, West
haven, Shoreham, &c AS a whole, tn,
population are intellient, moral, indus
trious, enterprising, and abundant.
prosperous. Scarcely grumbler to b.
found. Prices of produce have beer
largely remunerative. Wheat 81 pc
bushel, oats 20 cents, corn 80 cents, bar
ley 80 cents, pork, live weight, 0 to 10 l.
cents, dressed hogs Is to Is cents, bee
cattle, live weight, from to IL cents
beef by the quarter to s cents, cut Il
small pieces to Is cents per pound
butter IL IL to 40 cents-55 now; egg
10 to 20 cents per dozen.
have noticed with peculiar pleasur
the interesting local items in the HBE
AID from time to time, relative to Ia
grass, large potatoes, big ears of corr