The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1872-01-06
FROM IOWA.

A1'''"'S 'Tee misunderstanding from Ottawa
thursday morning, arrived here SATURDAY. ev..
nihs' stopping over night at Fl. Dodge. and six
hours at lie Mars, Plymouth county. leaving
Chicago at o'clock p NJ, did not see anvth,v,
until after leaving Dubuque. Theuce TO loo.
Falls, we see a fine looking prairie country ;,,.
proved with good houses fences. &C., although
there is good amount of unimproved land bs.
tween these points. From Iowa Falls TO r.
Dodge there was great many little towns. al,
presenting business.like appearance. but Il
looked as if there was no improved lands worth
speaking off; but the occasional corn.ield. living
near the rail road. judging from corn stalks,
looked as II it was not for a want of rchuess in
the SOIL that those lands were not occupied and
improved.
TT Dodge it is claimed has a population Of
from 1000 20 5000. In point of business i, is a
city compared with Ottawa; it has as manv
stores, and much larger, they are about as deep,
and almost twice as wide, and as full az they
can be with goods. In fact, doing wholesale
trade with smaller towns east almost TO On.
buque, west to Sioux City, and north, we don't
know how far; anI for future it certainly has
advantages that cannot easily be taken avay:-
1s:. The coal fields insxhau.,ble, veins of
coal are D to II feet thick, fair quality, not 40
good as Vermilion coal OF La Sale county, and
We would say here that without the coal az that
place, or some other place, the whole northwest
of Iowa would be failure. A railroad conduc.
tor tells that the Illinois Central Railroad is
distributing over ten times the amount of coal
that it did last winter from Fort Dodge and
that people west of there have actually suffered
for want OF IL in consequence OF Inability to sup.
ply the demand, both by coal companies and
railroads to transport the same. 2G 1t has the
advantage of railroad center
From Fort Dodge to lie Mars is nice land
prairie country-no settlement except at rail-
road stations. 1t does not seem possible that SO
many hundred thousand acres of good prairie
land could be at this time without an &C.
tual settler, but it is owing to the fact that no
railroad or other outlet has been to it, We should
say il is likely to remain open for long time
yet as the railroad company own almost every
other section for miles on both sides Of the road
from Fort Dodge to Sioux City, and are holding
their lands at from s. to SIS per acre. Whereas
settlers homesteaders, and nonresident specula.
tors can be bought for half the amount asked by
railroad companies; and in fact. we are we'll
advised that there is considerable land vet owned
by the government in Sioux City land district.
From ~ article in the Sioux City jopr,.l we
see Q statement that 43l ,46S acres of government
land has been taken by actual settlers during
Il, Al
1871, q homestead entries and 81 prescriptions,
embracing 1907 acres. were taken.
To people in Central Illinois it seems as il the
north part Of Iowa was bounded on the south
by Alaska and the Arctic Islands. But If you
can imagine open prairie from Ottawa to
Centralia, or other distant points, without a
house, tree or fence on it, and that you have to
make that distance with team for yoar coal,
-four and other necessaries, once in while, in
order to live and hold your homestead, in a
climate that is more likely TO sudden changes
than that part of Illinois, it would not 5e very
surprising to hear OF an occasional death by
freezing When at Chicago, last Thursday, in
reading the Journal dispatches Of 90 degrees be.
low zero, and snow 10 to IS fee. Deep we were
disposed TO retreat in good order and start an.
other day. But We found very little snow this
side of Waterloo but enough to make fair sleigh.
ing. Yesterday was a beautiful day, mercury
degrees below zero, to-day about Zero 1t would
be too much to tell you about vegetables, crops,
&c, and how and by what tribes raised Butwe
stopped at Hotel de Hubbard and had for din.
ner, steak, chicken, pota.oe, cabbage, turnips
squash, green peas peaches, raisens, nuts, fruit
cake, plumb cake. pound cake, (bellyache after)
tea, coffee and cold water, served by accommo-
dating walters, &c.
Attended church twice, in the morning at the
Baptis. church, there met Mr.. Z. E. Lewis and
family and sister, all looking mighty hearty and
faces familiar.
Mr.. Lewis, formerly from Ottawa, now at this
place permanently located and doing large bus.
mess in law and real estate, United States Com
missioner, &c.
When we get to Yankton, d. T., and Fort
Benton, will write again. GEoRGE.
"How TO GO WEsr."-Forty years ago Hi.
= A.