Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-11-18
Correspondence
BeyOnd the Mississippi.
IowA-BUESA VISTA COUNTY AND ITS NErRoPo
us STORM LAKE.

IONA-BUENA VISTA COUNTY ANU iAs Ahihpfc-
us STORM LAKE
Possibly a short discourse about the
city AMI county in which have pitched
my tent may not be- undressing to some
Of the numerous readers of The NEwsDEAL-
Err. Buens Vista county is one of the third
tier of counties south Of the line which
separates this state from Minnesota, and
there are also but two counties between it
and the Missouri river. Thus it lies in
about the center of what the people here
are pleased TO term the Great North
west,"-the application being local one,
pertaining to this section of the State. and
not 10 the real Great Northwest which
embraces half-a-dozen States aud Terri.
tories. Many of the counties in Iowa
were frs, settled and organized under the
Pierce and Buchanan regime, and derive
their names from the associations the gov
eminent surveyors and land officers had
with tho then recent Mexican war whose
fancy led them TO suggest this as sulta-
BILE method of perpetuating the memory Of
men and places which prominently figured
in that episode, -thus, as specimens, we
have Polk, Taylor, Worth, Ringold. Page,
Croker, Hardin, Cerro Gordo, PaIo Alto
and Bueua Visa. The county is on the
high divide which separatcs-the Missouri
from the Mississippi valley, the exact
peint of highest elevation. being. it Is said,
at Alta, six miles west of this city, where
one can stand at one end ofthe depot and
throw glass Of water on the ground which
ultimately will be liable 20 find its way to
the Mississippi, aud ut the other end he
can in like manner add TO the volume of
the "Bis Muddy" Being thus situated
it cannot otherwise but enjoy climate I'M
usually pure and healthful. 10 the north
crn part it is watercd by the Little Sioux
river, and two considerable streams. the
Coon and Boyer. have their hcadwaters III
the southern part. On these streams there
is found some timber, principally oak Of a
scrubby nature. One may travel perhaps
twenty miles 10 this county and not see .
tree except saplings which have been
planted within few years. The planting
is bravely going on, and last year as showr
by statements submitted before the 60
Board Of Supervisors, there were planted
70 acres of fruit trees, $50 acres Of forcs
trees and about 40 miles of hedge. The
State laws and county government are botl
very liberal to those who have the goot
sense, energy and taste to engage IN tree
culture; for each acre Of trees an abate
ment of $40 10 taxes is allowed, and as i
docs not cost $40 to plant and cultivate
an acre of forest trees the investment is ;
profitable one. lfrrairie fires are KEEP
from the grove there is no trouble aoou
the growth This county has about III,
same characteristics Of soil that this por
ion of the State in general possesses apc
during the eighteen years that have elapsed
since the first settlement was made Their,
has not been total failure of crops. TIL
State census of ] 873 shows the number o
acres improved in Buena Vista to be 81
$50. from which there were raised Ct,
i6l bushels Of wheat, S7.693 of corn
64,6S5 of oats, $500 of barley, beside
other products. In u former communica
ton il was stated that this was the ban
ner county for potato raising in The yiel
per acre. "Spunky Lamoile" with loo,
900 acres of improved land in 1870 onl
raised 81, 900 bushels Of corn and bat Is,
900 bushels of wheat--uide the U. S. Sen
sus report. When Buena Vista shall hav
improved the whole of its 368,000 acre
there is little doubt but that in the pre-
duciion of corn aud wheat it eau equal Tia
entire yield of the State Of Vermont. Thi
need not disparage Vermont, however, fc
a single pound of Green Mountain butte
for solid comfort in eating is worth a do'
on Of that made here!
The oldest settler in the county still
resident. He came here from New Jel
sey, and during all these years has mail
tanned his bachelderhood. voted the Den
ocratic ticket and trapped muskrats for
living. He arrived at about 1856. Til
county was organized 10 1858, and for
few years settlements were quite hume
Gus on the Little Sioux. but the war al
other causes prevented a very rapid il
crease--in fact at one ti;ne there was
decided decrease 10 the population, thcI
being in 1868 only six families remaiDiu
The earlier settlers suffered considerab
) from Indian depredations, the noted Iu
! pa-du-tah and his band at one time ma
/ ing great havoc. Until within year
: two large and massive block-housc bui
of logs was standing near Sioux Rapid