Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1882-05-12

A Letter full OF Wit and InfOr-
nation.
The Country, Scenery. Soil. Boulders,
AlkaIi, Water, Timber, etc.
Editorial Correspondence.
MILLER, d. T., May Sth. 1852
The place from where | write to-
day, is forty miles west of Huron
and 403 miles west of Winona, on
the line of the Chicago & North
western r. r. This town would
doubtless be the county seat of Hand
county, if counties in this portion
of the country were in the habit of
having county seats, but few ofthem
yet are INDUCING in such luxury;
so that where | am now there is no
county or township government, no
officers of any kind, no taxes and
nothing to tax.
The country throughout Southern
Dakota as far as | have seen is broad
prairie, rich and beautiful, with the
exceptions to be hereafter particular
ly noted. This county as yet has
but little surveyed land in it, but
the surveys are being made as fast
as possible. The settlers do not
wait for the surveys to be made but
push right along and take their
claims.
BELTS OF LAND.
For the first ten miles as you enter
the State on the Chicago & North
western R. R., the most beautiful
country opens out that it is possible
for even the imagination to depict;
the landscape view is not only
charming, but the soil is black, rich
and deep. This land is now all
principally taken by settlers.
In contrast with this beautiful
belt, comes another, that in conse-
quence Of lis low, laky and boggy
nature, the railroad company were
forced to change their track from
going across it, and construct it
around on the south side, for fear
their engines would commit suicide,
or account of the humiliation they
were subjected to by being gazed at
by bull-frogs, swapping turtles and
mud hens.
There are only about fifty thous-
and acres of this wild duck roost,
and if the future develops a method
Of draining it, it will become the
richest land in Dakota, and then the
toads and water snakes viii come
forward to claim the title as discov-
erers.
About Brookings, in Brookings
county, is a very fine country,
though much interrupted by swamps
and useless lakes, as is also Kings
bury county, which joins it on the
west. The lakes partially dry up
and many Of the swamps entirely
in summer. Many large tracts Of
land can be obtained without being
materially affected by these spots oil
swails and basins, but the facilities
for draining are insuperable, and a
wet season would be fatal to large
tracts of otherwise useful land.
In Kingsbury county, in addition
to the low land the upper land is
impregnated with large, round, flint
boulders, that are SO hard yon could
stir up adamant with one o
them like you would pudding with
a ladle. Of course the low lands are
not all the lands. neither do The
boulders cover all the uplands, but
both exist in large quantities and
the soil that is not infected with
either is black, loamy, Of sand,
nature. and rich, resting upon .
gravel suhsoil. This is the genera
nature, with many very favorable
exceptions in the nature of ella,
| subsoils.
Beadle county, next west of Kings
bury, IS similar in all respects, ex
cept that the James river and 1T
tributaries furnish very good facili
ties for draining, the boulders being
fully as large and as hard, and they
vary in size from the diminutivt
to the imponderable.
Hand county, from where | now
write, is next west of Beadle, is or
higher ground. not so much low
land, not SO many nor such large
boulders, light gray clay sui s'il
black loan, from two to fourteen
inches deep. The county contains
forty townships, the Northwestern
railroad running east and west two
miles south of the center, the town
of Miller being on the north side ol
the railroad track, and consequently
near the geographical center Of the