The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1876-04-21
Letter From the West.

HARLAN, Shelby Co., Iowa, March 4, 1876.
MIR. EDIToR: A few lines from this part Of
the country may be interesting to your many
readers. Shelby county, Iowa, where | reside,
is situated on the Missouri Slope in the fourth
tier from the southern boundary line of the
river. 1t is twenty.four miles square and con-
tans about five hundred and seventy six square
miles.
PHYSICAL FEATURES AMP RESOURCES.
The general surface Is rolling, with deeply cX-
cayated valleys along the larger streams, while
in some portions of the county il is quite rough
ana broken with steep prccipitsus hills and
deeply cut valleys Like in many other por.
lions of the Missouri Slope, the universally
conceived idea of prairie is not wholly realiz-
ed here. If the Imagination of the reader will
enable him TO conceive what tract of land
would be that had been in liquid state, and
had been SO violently agitatcd that high waves
ran from cast to west and these had suddenly
received transverse motion and solidted
while the breakers were dashrg in pondcrous
masses towards the skies, he will have tOler-
ably correct idea of the apl carance Of large
portion of the prairie in the northwestern por.
lion of this county. Although rough this is a
very valuable agricultural section, as the hill
sides have an excellent soil, and are peculiarly
adapted to the cultivation Of fruit of all kinds,
and Is considered by many as decided advan.
tage rather than detriment TO the prosperity
of Shelby county. The bottom lands usually
slope towards the streams, and along the West
Nishnabotany, which is one of the finest and
most beautiful valleys in the State, average
more than one mile in width and are lined by
narrow belts or clumps of timber. Not only
this but all the valleys of the county, possess a
soil unsurpassed for fertility, which like most
other portions Of the county Is composed of q
fine material known as the bluff deposit. The
soil of the whole northwestern slope differs
from that of the central and eastern portion of
~ n net heavy
and under stratum Of clay. This popularity is
noticeable in Shelby county, where, after heavy
showers or q series of rain storms, blowing
may be Immediately resumed because the wa.
ter which falls is soon absorbed by the earth,
and sinks rapidly away on account of the alb
sence of clay to stop or impede its progress
The soil here is rich silcious loan, we'll adapted
to the production of the usual western crops
with the single exception OF the tame grasses
Corn, for which there is no better or more IA
vorable soil than is found In these valleys, Is
probably the staple, while wheat, oats and 9th.
er kinds of grain, as we'll as the different wild
grasses and vegetables grow to great perfection,
The county throughout is well watered by the
West Nishnabotany River, which flows south.
ward nearly through the middle of the county,
receiving from the east the waters of the Middle
NshnabotaDy, Whilted's and Indian Creeks
while the western part of the county is drained
by the atiluents of the Missouri and Boyer rivers,
the most important of which are Silver, Mos
quito, Pigeon and Picaypne creeks. Mills
creek is a small creek in the northwest which
flows into the Boyer in Harrison county and on
which is Garland's Grove, fine body Of native
timber embracing nearly one thousand acrcs.-
Besides this there are several fine groves bor-
dering some of the other streams, which en-
brace the varieties commonly found throughout
this section of the State, such as burr and red
oak, white and red elm, butternut, blackberry,
black walnut, ash, linn and ironWood, while
there is often found heavy growth of sumach,