The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1870-01-20

railroad Company, at once put on
the line of the road an immense
force, and carried the work forward
with such expedition than on the
sixth day Of June, 1869, in q little
over one half the time allowed the
company, the railroad was completed
and running into the city of Council
Bluffs, and on the .31st of December
| issued certificate Of the compile
ton Of the road.
The Burlington and Missouri River
Railroad Company, the only one Of
the original granteess now in exis-
tenoe, has exhibited similar activity.
On the 9th day of February, 1868, I
issued a. certificate announcing the
completion of ninety.hve miles Of
this road, as follows section of
thirteen miles from Batavia, in jeff.
crson county to Ottumwa, In Wapel-
10 CO., completed on the 18th of A1g.,
1859; one of twenty.six miles to
Abba, in Monroe County, on the first
OF November 1865 one of twenty
one miles to point in Lucas county
about nine miles cast of Charlton, on
the 10Th of April, 1867 one Of nine
miles to Charlton, on the first of
July, 1867 one of Is miles to Wood.
burn Station, in Clarke county, on
the 23d of December 1867 and one
OF ten miles to Osceola, on the. goth
of January, 1868. Since that time
work has continued until q short
time since, when the road was COM
pleted through to the Missouri river.
Tho last General Assembly re-
sumed thegrant held by the Dubuque
and Sioux City Railroad Company,
and subsequently regranted it TO the
Iowa Falls and Sioux City Railroad
Company, (except forty thousand
acres reserved for the building of a
road from Dubuque to Bellevue and
Sabula,) on certain conditions as to
line of road, progress and completion
of the work, and subsection to such
rules, regulations, and rates of tariff
as might be enacted by the General
Assembly. The grant was not accep
ted within the period prescribed by
the act, (thirty days,) and nothing
was done toward the prosecution Of
the work during the remainder of
that year. Early in 1869, the COM
pany made application to the Census
Board for a renewal of the grant
That Board, after full examination
of the papers accompanying such
application, and finding that the
company gave satisfactory assurances
of determination to comply with
the requirements of the act, resolved
to confer the grant on such company
in accordance with the provisions Of
section Z, chapter 1874, Acts of the
Twelfth General Assembly. As a
result of this action, the road was
finished to Fort Dodge in July last,
and is now in running order, both
westward from that town and cast
ward from Sioux City, lacking only
about fifty miles of full completion
and we have assurances that before
next July this gap will be filled, and
another railroad completed between
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
| At the last session of the General
Assembly, the State resumed the
grant made to the McGregor Wes-
tern Railway Company, to aid in
building railroad on or near the
43rd parallel, from McGregor to the
west line of O'Brien county, and re.
granted il to the McGregor and Sioux
City Railway Company, on condi-
| lions similar in character to those
imposed on the Iowa Falls and Sioux
City Railroad Company with the ad.
dlttOnnl stipulation that such com m.
ny should obtain from the McGregor
Western Railway Co., complete
release Of all it's claims to any Of the
lands originally granted to the latter.
Sixty days time was allowed for the
acceptance of this proposition. Be-
fore the expiration of thai period an
instrument, purporting to be an &C.
ceptance of the grant and it's terms,
was filed in the Office. of the Secre-
tary of State. Vigorous work was
at once commenced on the construc-
: ton of the road, and within the time
limited, il was finished to Chicka.
saw and now the cars are running
to Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo county.
anticipating by almost two years the
requirements of the law. Further
more, l am advised that the road is
under contract as far as Algona, in
Kossuth county, and will be built to
that point by July l, 1870; and
have assurances that the road will be
finished during the present year. 1t
is hoped that when this company
shall have completed it's road, it will
| find it to it's interest to extend it's
line across the Big Sioux to the
Missouri River.
In accordance with the require
ments Of chap. 81, acts of last session
resuming the lands granted by act of
Congress to the State for the con-
struction of railroad up and along
the valley of the Des Moines river,
the Des Moines Valley Railroad Co.,
deposited with the Treasurer of the
State the sum necessary to settle GER
tain claims arising out Of the Des
Moines River improvement. Con-
sequently, in compliance with law, l
have patented to the company 362,-
997.68 acres of land granted for this
improvement.
| The extension of the line of this
road has been urged forward with
vigor, and it Is now IN running order
to point some twenty-five miles
north of the Cedar Rapids and Mis-
souri, road, and about seventy-five
from the terminus of the road at the
time Of the session OF the last Gener-
oil Assembly. The act of that session
required only the grading of sixty
five miles; the company have, as we
have seen, not merely graded, but
built this amount of road and ten
miles more. The company, howev-
er, has failed to file an acceptance of
the act above mentioned, as required
by section three thereof.
The Council Bluffs and St. Joseph,
and the Sioux City and Pacific rail
roads have also been completed with
in the past two years. The Burling-
ton, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota rail-
road has been built from the first
named city 70 a point within short