Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-11-25

/
| to meet the Austrian and Russian ar
mics, and under the December sun to
/ fight the battle of AusterlitZ, every
| shot that was fired was voice from
| the Louisiana purchase. When that
battle ended Napoleon was at the
zenith OF his martial glory and Europe
was at his feet. When William Pitt
| heard of the defeat he died of a brok-
en- heart But now, after one hun
dred years, the results of that victory
have passed away. Austerlitz has left
| but little impression upon the world
of today Napoleon's light went out
! like an INTENDED watch fire on the
rock of st. Helena, and France was
| humbled into her narrow limits once
more, but the peaceful results of the
Louisiana treaty still endure.
A Fertils Land.
I'm 1903 France had 27,349 003 in
/ habitants and was the most powerful
country in the world Today the
Louisiana territory contains $4,000, 600
OF the most prosperous, progressive
and happy people that have ever lived.
| In fertility it is equal or superior to
France itself. Longfellow, in Evan
geline,' describes its soil,-'smoothly
the plow-share runs through the soil
as a keel through the water. From
! Winnipeg to Biloxi the same plants
and grasses may be found. and though
| the variation OF climate is great in SO
| wide a range of latitude, the most val
1 liable OF all our cereals will grow in
| the whole region. The same native
animals grazed from Hudson's Bay to
! the Mexican Gulf, but with all its
| wealth OF soil, climate. forests, noun
! tains, lakes and rivers, there is stored
| within its bosom the mineral power
/ for ages yet to come. Last winter a
young Englishman, the superintendent
/ OF the Uruguay railway in South
| America, asked me the question, Do
you realize what tremendous handi-
cap 1t would be upon your progress il
/ every locomotive that pulls a train out
OF New York, Baltimore or Washing
! ton, should be first coaled UP from
the mines of Wales or Australia? That
| is practically the situation in South
America. Imagine our country bereft
of the great motive power which
moves our trains, our steamers, and
our factories; which makes life com
Portable in the rigors of the northern
mid-winter! Without the coal the
days of steam would have come in
vain, and the age of electricity would
have sought other fields. But the
great Louisiana purchase is filled with
the most valuable deposits of coal,
stored by the providence of God within
it's limits, long before Adam found
himself alone in Eden.
/ A Galaxy of Stars.
what wonderful galaxy of stars
was added to our flag: Louisiana, Ar
kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota,
Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota,
| South Dakota, most of Colorado. Mon
tana and Wyoming, and all of Oklaho-
ma and the Indian territory have been
carved out of the land coded in the
memorable treaty. The population in
| 1900 was 100000. Although the
price was deemed something startling,
! for $15,000,00 was a great sum in
4 those days, today the county of Wapel-
| 10, in our state, is assessed for taxa
4 ton on valuation OF $23. 449 $751; and
possibly some of the estimates OF val
ne have been made with becoming
modesty by the owners The real es-
tate alone is over $16,625,365, or more
/ than the original cost OF the whole
Louisiana territory. Iowa was carved
4 out of that empire; we were a part OF
| Louisiana, then of the District OF
Louisiana, next in the territory OF Mis-
souri, Think what narrow escape
/ we had; we might have still been a
! part of Missouri. Then Iowa
| became q part of Michigan, next
of Wisconsin, and finally she was
moulded into her present form by the
| legislative hand.
The Pioneer Days.
"The pioneer days in Iowa are ever
a source of pleasure either in memory
or in history In all that is good Iowa
! affords the best, is the terse way that
! Sid Foster has of putting in a few
words what everybody recognizes to
be true. We all look back with
pleasure upon those days. Even the
\ '.old house that whistled when the
4 wind blew and wept when 1t rained
stands out in our memory with great
er delight than the most sumptuous
of OH modern homes.
"Hamlin Garland has brought up
again the simplicity and honesty OF
A the old times, when he describes the
pioneer farmer. after his long journey
to town or mill He goes hame, puts
up his team feeds the calves, milks
the COW eats his supper. says his pray,
ers. winds up the clock, puts out the
cat and goes to bed
''And then the grand old families Of
the times. AS one OF the pioneer
mothers got on one of the early day
railway trains with her numerous
family. the conductor asked, Is thai
your family or is it picnic?' The
stern matron replied, Sir. this is my
family, aud I would have YOU under
stand that it is no picnic either
The Nations Ancestry.
Every nation looks with reverence
if not with superstition, upon its an
cestors Usually their origin is trac
ed to the gods. But in our own shor
career. we are able to follow our an
cestry into a plain, practical and Goo
fearing origin. The best of the races
of northern Europe. either directly OF
through their descendants in the old
er states have settled here, and from
them have sprung the composite PEG
pie who inhabit Iowa. But as mer
, grow older thew look with increaSine