The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1868-06-11
Correspondence Of the Fews.
letter from Iowa.

Mount RLeGSG1t - HtgbLG1ldeTS IN
Io0a-Of to Missouri, &c. &c.
PRAIRIE GROVE, Iowa, May q, '68.
J. L. BoARDMAN, ESQ 81 will try
this morning to fulfill my promise to.
you and to numerous others, by writ
ing a short sketch of our trip thus far.
We left Ohio on the morning of the
18th inst. Passing through Cincinnati,
Lawrenceburg, indianapolis, and La
Fayette, arrived at Chicago at 9 O'Clock,
five minutes too late to take the train
for Rock Island. The country, after
passing Lafayette, was mostly level,
and great portion of it covered with
water. There were quite a number of
SOutherners on the train on their way
to the Chicago Convention. South
Carolina, Georgia and Texas were rep
resented in one car. They are good,
true and loyal. They were all Grant
men. One COpperhead commenced a
conversation with them, but soon
found he had "drawn the elephant"
and prepared himself for a comfortable
snOoze. We left Chicago at 9 A. NJ.
for Rock Island, where arrived about 6
P. NJ, and crossed the Mississippi on
the bridge. There has been 6 vast
amount Of rain, and the country
through Illinois, in some places, is
covered with water for miles. The
bridge across the Mississippi between
ROak Island and Davenport, has been
partially destroyed by wind and wa
ter, but it is nowrebuilt and the cars
are crossing on it.
At Davenport we were attached to
a heavy freight train which went very
slow, but it being dark we could not
have a view of the country around.
We got to Brooklyn at 2 A. M. where
we chartered an open express wagon
and went across the prairie to Monte
yuma, the capital of Poweshiek Co.,
IA miles south. The prairie is rolling,
or rather hilIy, but the soil is very
good-equal, L think, to the Clear Creek
bottoms. Montezuma is a pleasant
town, containing a brick Court House,
from tho IOroO OF r,,b;oE no,Ao1 H.
flag Of our Union, in honor of the
Chicago nominations. There are also
two are three Churches, one large
School House Of six rooms, and per-
haps one thousand inhabitants.
Farther south six miles is Forest
Home, a small place, situated in the
timber and near the Coal banks. The
country around is mostly rolling and
cut up with sloughs. The soil is very
good.
South Of Montezuma, for a few
miles, the country is hiIly and poor.
We went to Sabbath School and to
M. E. Church at Forest Home on
Sunday, where we found crowded
house. The children are doing we'll
at the school, but are deficient in read
ing and singing, at least a majority of
them. On Monday we went in an
open express wagon across the country
some eighteen miles to OskaIoosa, the
metropolis of Mahaska country. The
country is quite hilly along this road,
but there is some beautiful land.
The country thus far has been COM
paratively new and is not in very high !
state of cultivation. The houses are
generally small. No barns. The
stables are generally posts in the
ground, some six feet high, weather.
boarded on three sides and shiagled
with straw or prairie grass. Corn
cribs not 'shIngled" at all, but full of
Corn, worth 40 cts. per bushel. |
Wheat looks extremely well. The
farmers are in the midst of planting
Corn. The Spring has been wet, but
it rained one week in Ohio after it |
quit here. The waters have been un-
usually high, and have done consider
able damage. Vegetation is looking
well. OskaIOosa is a beautiful town, of
some six thousand inhabitants. 1t
contains eleven Churches. The Friends
have very large one, in which they
hold the Iowa Yearly Meeting. On
last Monday it was submitted to vote
of the people whether the sale of Beer
should be allowed inside the corpora
tion. A man came up from Daven-
port to speak against temperance, but
all to no avail. Beer was voted out
of the city by 85 majority.
Limestone and Coal are in album
dance. The Desmoines Valley Railroad
runs within two miles of the city, and
the Iowa Central through it. We
took the train there for Mount Pleas
ant. Soon after starting, while going
around a curve in a brush prairie, the
were whistled down, then COM
a succession of short, quick
whistles, warning something to get off
the track. The train had come very
near to q stand-still, when there was
of Jar, and it stopped.
On looking from the window I saw
horse running across the prairie, but
he was the only one left to tell the
tale. Four Of his companions lay on
a little bridge, all dead, but no person