Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-06-20
North and West.

/
Ed. Register-With your permission
I will write few articles in regard t.
the general description of the nortl
and west, and should you find then
worthy of your recognition insert then
in the columns of your M ost worth.
paper.
Tuesday, June 4th, I left ST. Louis
on the 1 O'Clock train for Chicago, vi,
| Springfield, Bloomington, etc. neet
not discrlbe the country much in tina
distance as doubtless many of the
readers have travelled it more thar
once. Suffice it to say that from st
Louis to Springfield is rolling priarie
dotted here and there with clumps o.
trees and along the streams tbickefs o.
alder and hazel. Alton is very pretty
little city on the eastern bank of The
Mississippi. Accross the river are high
bluffs of saad stone which give very
picturesque appearance to the scenery.
To see the amount of potatoes raised
in Illinois alone one would not wonder
at all at their being so cheap. Miles
and miles were passed with nothing in
view but that crop. Occasionally a
broad strip of wheat and now and then
field of corn. Everything seemed
very forward and doing we'll. Spring
field is very pretty place. We could
see it only by the electric lights on the
dome of the capital building which
were almost equal to the sun as far as
illuminating power. AT Bloomington
our car was laid over for the $50 train
so We had an opportunity to see the
city, having arrived at 1880. Bloom-
ington is much prettier than Spring
field for the reason all the streets are
lined on either side with elms and
NAPLES, giving the city beautiful ap-
pearance under the luminous rays of
the electric lights. The next place of
Importance was Joliet, some 50 miles
from Chicago. The city is built on a
series of hills sloping to the east, and
at the foot of this incline is the great
steel works. a canal connecting them
with Chicago. through which most Of
the iron, coal, ETC., is brought with the
companies own boats, barges, etc.
One mile horth Of the city is the pen
itentiary, built of brick and surrounded
by high stone wall.
From Joliet to Chicago we cross sew
eral streams of no small caliber and
follow alongside some beautiful little
lakes. Arriving at Chicago at 7:45 A.
NJ. and not leaving until 4 P. NJ. We
spent the day in visiting the parks and
places of most Importance. Those 60
ing to that city and wishing to see Lake
Michigan, and, at the same time, the
most beautiful park in the city, will do
well to take the cable line OF 5th Ave
nue., north, which passes through the
long tunnel, under the canal and along
the west side of Lincoln Park, which
borders on Lake Michigan its entire
length and from sumit hill in the park
one can see the entire park with lake
as far as the eye can see, dotted here
and there with steamers and sailing
ships laden with freight tor the North
and East.
AT 4 p. NJ. we took the Wisconsin
Central for st. Paul. The northern
portion of Illinois is far more noun
famous than the south and west, with
lakes quite frequent and streams of
considerable size. Most important
were Grays Lake and Lake View, (2)
of W hich cover some 10000 acres each.
AT 4:2O we passed the Chipawa Falls,
a beautiful sight, but, indeed, rough.
The principal industry at this place is
aw-miiling. The river was full of logs
Glenwood, town 40 miles distant,
is quite pretty, built on the bank Of a
large stream. Very little farming
seems to be done in that section, prin-
cipally shingle factories. In the yards
of one company were terraced pyra-
mids of shingles in their rough state in
piles so, 10 and 100 feet high, aud 200
and 800 feet across at the base. I'M
mense piles there to dry. From this
place to St. Paul is far from being q
farming communlty-onlya few farms
to be seen; most in scrub oak and
thickets of ash and willow. Where
there was corn or wheat it was just
coming up.
New Richmond is in the western
part of Wisconsin with large farming
country, for miles and miles nothing
but wheat, corn and oats. In the
wood along tie roadside were all kinds
OF flowers in bloom and ferns so rank
they attained the height of or 6 feet.
Minnesota is situated in high
northern latitude 1900 feet above the
sea, and has peculiar dry and salu-
brious air. The most ruggedportions OF
the state are about Lake Superior, Mis-
sissippi River and the high lands
which divide the river sources. The
soil is very fertile and the increase OF
agricultural products has kept pace
with the development of railways, etc
The climate possesses those character
istics which are peculiar to northern
belts in the temperate zone. The range
of the thermometer is said to be as low
as so degrees in the winter and as high
as 100 degrees in the summer.
ST. Paul (the capital of the state) is
picturesquely situated ut the head ol
steamboat navigation on the Missis'