Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-07-06

from following their example.
One o'clock found our party en- board
the special train provided for US by the
Chicago and Rock Island road
4 sudden thunder shower had cleared
the air and settled the dust, rendering
our afternoon ride more agreeable than
otherwise would have been the case.
The country east of Council Bluffs pos
sesSes every natural resource. necessa-
ry to make it great agricultural dis
trict, except sufficient supply of tim
Der. This lack Las kept large part o:
western Iowa an uninkabitcd tract un-
til the present time, but az the land can
be bought at low rate-from 81 to
$40 an acre-and as coal is cheap and
abundant, it cannot be otherwise than
that this section of the country will
soon become thickly settled. The great
agrlcaItu al resources Of those portions
IF the State through which we passed
were theme Of common remark, and
could not escape the attention of the
most careless observer. The fertile
prairIes, which are the prevailing fea-
ure in Iowa, are usually much better
supplied with water than is the case
in Illinois and Wisconsin. The want
Of timber which has proved a serious
drawback to the settlement of the State
is, however, by no means an irremedi
able evil, and cannot long prevent our
sister commonwealth from assuming
that high rank which her natural ad-
vantages have designed for her. In
the slow times of past centuries, less
resources and fewer opportunities
have raised up empires - what
promise of greatness and prosperity
then does not the future hold for Iowa?
Our swift train brought us to Des
Moines, the beautiful capital Of the
State, at seven O'Clock in the evening
We were met at the station by Gov.
Merrill, the Mayor Of the city, and sew
eral hundred citizens, who received us
with words of hearty welcome. The
Preparations for our reception had
been complete and systematic, and our
whole party were well cared for In
the evening, the citizens met THEN
guests in a social gathering at the
Savery House, and though The nj ght
was eppress,vely warm, the music and
the dance continued till three clock
in the morning. Carriages were pro-
vided for those Of our number who
chose the next day to drive about the
city, and those who availed themselves
Of the privilege speak in strong terms
of the beauty Of the location, and the
evidences of thrift and prosperity
which abound. Visiting the Des
Moines Register Office we found the
most complete and extensive newspa
per establishments in the west, outside
IF St. Louis and Chicago.
1t was with regret that we took leave
of the hospital and public spirited peo-
pie of Des Mo:nes, but at eleven
clock our train was ready and we
were oblige! to say our adieus. Our
ride to Davenport. distant one hundred
and eighty miles, passed without Incl
dent worthy of record. Fifty-four
miles west of the latter named place
we passed the staid old town of Iowa
City, the former capital OF the state
it is we'll built and attractive locking
place. The only unpleasant episode of
the week was our experience at Daven-
port, Through the greed of the land
lord of the Burtis House, who greatly
magnifed the capacity of his instltu-
ton, nearly 200 of our party became
his unhappy guests. This landlord is
an independent, old fellow who rever-
ses all the rules which usually govern
we'll regulated hotels. The sticky
plates and stale fodder which we en-,
countered at the supper table struck
US as being Of a nature rather calcula
ted to offend the tastes CT fastidi,
Gus guests, but upon retiring to our
sleeping apartments We found that the
house could boast numberless perma
nent boa,ders Who scanned we'll satisfied
with the situation. They were bloody
minded fellows, too, and proceeded at
once to pick quarrels with our excur-
sionists which lasted all night. At
the first dawn Of day we fed from our
rooms in sheer desperation, bearing off
innumerable scars from the ignoble
contest. Happy were those who bad
been obliged 10 sleep upon the knotty
floors of the hall and Office. But ii
any one stopping at this house should
have his suspicious aroused in regard
to its being first class hotel, his
doubls will vanish when lie comes 10
pay his bilI-lhat little transact on vii
c ear lis mind upon the subject for all
time to come.
Some OF the English papers of the
city showed the poverty OF their re-