Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1871-02-10
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For Bellows Falls Times.
Illinois Correspondence.
BY REV. n. PIERCE,

BY REV. n. PIERCE.
The State at Large-The Capitalize Old
and New State Houses oln-His Mem
ory-His Home-uis Tomb-His Wife and
Tad -ThePoIitical Parties ofthe State-The
Legislature-Th Governor Legislation
Present Important Issues-State Debt nit
ed States Senator-Dick Yates-A Personal
Matter OF Two.
Mr.. EDITOR AND READERs-My Dear
Friends 1T is in my heart to spend an
hour or two in social chat with those
love among the mountains of Vermont.
No one knows the charms OF those old
bills, till distance broad separates him
and them. l find myself tending with
the "Star Of Empire" westward. My
home in the quiet Coldwater' city, has
been exchanged for home at the Capt.
al of the Carrie State of the West. /
am now Sucker" instead of "Wol-
verine." Whether this is an improve
ment or not, judge ye. The
STATE OF ILLlNOlS
is large and rapidly growing State
We have 81, ,405 square miles of the
richest soil between the Atlantic and Pa
ci6c Oceans. An area, you will see,
therefore, 5000 square miles larger than
New York, and more than a thousand
square miles more than all New Eng
land, if we except New Hampshire,
which is so awful rocky and barren as to
be of little account. True, she has few
good people but they will gradually
come West (?)
The soil of Illinois is the most remark
able land there is above water anywhere.
| suspect that s;milarsoil might be found
at the bottom of any of the great lakes,
1t is oily, black, rich, fertile, wonder
fully so, and like beggaron the streets
of New York, will never leave you on a
wet day. The surface of the country is
in the main a broad. fiat, monotonous
prairie, now and then little broken as
most of you know. The people are more
mixed than an eastern man expects to
find. They are more MIXED in the SOUTH
ern part of the. State than elsewhere
All natioualities, and all stages of ad-
vancement, and all states in the Union
are here. Quite sprinkling Of corn
crackers" from Kentucky-some ref
ugees of "blessed memory" % are here.
Peace be to their ashes" quicker
the better after they have repented. The
CAPITAL OF THE STATE.
The city of Springfield isquite -four
ishing town of about 10000 inhabitants.
The county seat of SaDgamon County
and situated on ariver of thesame name.
1t being the seat of government for the
state, naturally has political Importance,
and naturally attracts many.of that class
of persons to it. This makes excitement
but not of the most desirable kind al
ways. There are also many shelvedpol-
iticians naturally congregated at a cap
ital town, who are like "Mr. Micawber,
waiting for something to turn up
These are a class of persons very desira-
BILE, especially if you want given
amount of growing done. But the class
of this sort of men in our capital are of
the better kind. Mr.. Cullom, who has
won notoriety So an advocate for re-
form among the MormaDs, is a gentle.
man on the street every day. He was
defeated at the last election but he is not
spoiled.
will simply say of our city it is very
fine for a young, rising Western town.
It is laid out in the form of square
and contains just four miles with grand
promenade boulevard quite around the
outer limits. This will become popular
drive. We have many features Of in-
tsrest, among them watch factory, which