The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1874-09-10
MAHASKA COUNTY.

! A BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF ITS PAST,
PRESENT AND FUTURE; WITH A PARTIAL
| DESCRIPTION OF ITS VAST RESOURCES
| AGRICULTURAL, MINERAL AND OTHERWISE;
BY THE EDITOR OF THE OsKALoOsA HER
| AID, WHO HAS BEEN A RESIDENT OF THE
COUNTY FOR TwENTY-sEvEN YEARS.
History, Webster says, is san account
''of that which is known to have occurred;
"a record of the past; narrative of
''events; true story, in distinction from
"a romance; statement of the progress
''of nation or an institution with philo-
''osophical inquiries respecting effects and
"causes" This is just what we propose
| to give so far as relates to narrative of
one of the best counties in Iowa. Our
little sketch will touch lightly on the past,
draw principally on the present and, spec
ulate somewhat on the future; for these
are what we must deal with in our every
day life as citizens of the great common
| wealth. We shall deal strictly in facts;
shall not attempt to cover defects that
may exist in our county, by highfown SEN
tences, but shall tell straightforward
story as seen by us in twenty-seven
years residence in the county We have
great country; it is yet in its infancy;
is undeveloped, and to more than one-half
| of the citizens of the States farther east,
almost unknown. Eastern people know
there is an Iowa; know it is a good State;
has high name, but so far as particular
izing is concerned, they are sadly ignorant
of it. We hope this may be read by
thousands in other States, and in view of
this shall give few brief notes about our
State; what it was and what it is, that
the stranger reader may the better locate
our county:
The name is Indian, and is said by ma
ny to have been the name of an Indian
maiden, but this is not true The State
received its name in this wise: Many
moons since tribe of Indians were driv-
en- from the great lakes westward, and
crossing the Father of Waters in search
of new hunting grounds, were so struck
with the beauties of our State, that their
universal exclamation was "E-o-wAH,"-
beautiful" and Immediately chose it for
their home. English pronunciation easily
| made it sound "IOwA," and the tribe of
Indians received the name of Ioways in
| English, though in their native dialect they
went by some outlandish jawbreaker that
how Not
Previous to 1863, as part of Louisiana,
this State belonged to France. 1t was
then ceded to Spain Thirty-seven years
it remained under the rule of that king
dom, if rule it could be called, for it existed
only in name, and then France again be-
came the owner, but three years after ceded
it to the United States-April 30, 1903. |
1t was buffeted about, first in the Terri
tory of Louisiana next in the Territory
of Missouri" then part of the Territory
Of Michigan" next part of the Territory
of Wisconsin" and eventually with Min
nesota it was formed into the Territory of
Iowa." June II, 1888. Finally, "a knock
was heard at the doors of Congress, and
feeble voice from hereaway demanded
admission as State" December %,
lS46 it was admitted into the Union as a
State, at which time it had population of
97,588 That was twenty eight years ago.
Please bear that in mind Now it has
100000 as good citizens as ever swung
an AK or held plow Iowas eastern
boundary is the Mississippi river, while
the turbid Missouri, four hundred miles
away, marks its western border; it extends
from 43 degrees 80 minutes on the north,
to 40 degrees 81 minutes on the south, a
distance of about 200 miles The rivers
form two great routes for cheap freights,
and mighty outlets for the products of
this Valley of Eden. Although the iron
rail is fast taking the place of the slower
mode of river navigation, we can but re
member thankfully the great arteries that
supplied us in our day of need, and are
to-day sure protection against the grasp
ing hands of monied monopolies, and we
again thankfully remember that during
over three-fourths of the year these great
arteries afford competition in freight with
the faster mode of travel by rail The
State is we'll watered, the principal rivers
being the Des Moines, Skunk, Iowa, Tur-
key, Cedar and others. The whole surface
is well supplied with running streams of
various sizes, fed by springs In the
northern part of the State are many lakes
where sportsmen can find the rarest sport
both winter and summer, fishing and hunt
ing.
Iowa is about three-fourths prairie, and
| right here we want to say word to disa-
ubse the minds of our eastern readers
who have never seen prairie, and who
imagine it is great fat plain ON which
grows only coarse sand grass that it can
not be drained, and of poor soil; and who
think we must skirt the streams to farm.
A prairie in Iowa, and especially in Ma
haska county, dear reader, is beautiful
undulating roll of ground, which reminds
one of the waves of the sea, sufficiently
rolling to carry off the water, and just the
proper slope for nice field. These are
skirted or divided at short distances by
streams Of living water, along which may
be found timber sufficient for all pur-
| pOScS. LAS w tllc sui. tuc uclu 10 CucIc,
already cleared no grubbing, no brush
cutting, no stump pulling, no ten years
slavery generally; but the first year you
break, put in your crop, and fence after
wards if you desire, and that fall you
gather crop that will average well with
almost any eastern or middle State The
second year you have the ground in splen-
did condition, and from that on, with less
work and one half the manuring, You can
reap double the crop the played-out soil
of the States east will yield. This is not
exaggeration. A man may buy in March
piece of wild prairie and in the fall he
can gather good crop therefrom. But
this cannot be done without work. We
have splendid soil, from one to five feet
deep, but we have never yet seen piece
yield crop without it was worked. The
surface of the State. gradually rises from
the southeast to the northwest, and is a
succession Of "gentle elevations and de-
i9nressions without abrupt elevations ex-