Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-07-06

Of Iowa came from the east and Eng
land and they were very industrious
people. They built up the country very
rapidly.
In 1888 Iowa was organized as a ter
ritory and on December %, 1s46 it was
admitted to the union as q state.
The census of 1910 showed that Iowa
had population Of 2224,771.
The states that border Iowa are Min
nesota, Wisconsin. Illinois, Missouri.
Nebraska and South Dakota Rivers
that border are the Missouri and Mis-
sissippi.
Many millions Of bushels Of corn are
exported each year. and wheat also.
Iowa Is noted for the raising Of draft
horses are annually exported.
Iowa has great many wild animals,
but not as many as in former years
Some of them are raccoon. wood chuck.
mink, otter, muskrat, gopher, squirrel,
rabbit, opossum and coon. Wild game
birds are few in kind. Ducks and geese
are quite numerous in certain times Of
the year. During the nesting season
there are nearly 200 species of birds In
the state. In recent years there was a
great many trout, but there are few
now. although the rivers are stocked
with fish Of many kinds The United
States government has established q
fish hatchery at Manchester, Iowa,
which cost nearly $4,000. Several hun
dred thousand fish are raised here each
year.
Iowa is great agricultural state,
large crops of corn, wheat, oats. bar
ley, rye, potatoes and hay being raised.
At one time wheat was called the lead
ing crop Of the state, but more corn is
now raised than any other grain.
Stock raising Is one of the leading
OCCUPATIONS of Iowa.
The manufacturers are somewhat
limited on account Of the attention
given to agriculture. Some important
manufactures are meat packing, cheese,
butter, flour, cars, lumber, carriages,
wagons, tile, pottery and brick.
Iowa is more than 1000 miles away
from the ocean, but coffee, tea and
the Mississippi. There are also six
trunk line railways across the state
from east to west.
Some important cities are Dubuque,
Sioux City, Burlington and Des Moines.
Dubuque, county seat of Dubuque
county, is situated on the Mississippi
river. A great many things are manu-
features are malt liquor, clothing, ma
chinery and meat packing.
Sioux City, the county seat of Wood
bury county, is the largest city in the
northwestern part of the state. Sioux
City has excellent public schools.
Burlington. the county seat Of Des
Motnes county, is fine city on the
banks of the Mississippi. 1t is noted for
its schools and beautiful homes.
Des Moines population, 1900, 62,139),
is the capital of the state and the
county seat of Polk county. The state,
house cost nearly $3,OO0,OOO, one Of the
finest structures of it's kind in the
union.
Quite few minerals are mined in
Iowa. Some of them are COAL clay, zinc,
and lead. More coal is mined than any
thing else. Many streams furnish good
water power for manufacturing.
The Des Moines river is the largest
river in Iowa. 1t flows through the CEN
trail part of the state for a distance OF
about 300 miles. None Of the interior
rivers of the state are navigable.
Iowa has a cool, temperate climate.
Sometimes the thermometer rises to
100 degrees in July and August, and in
the dead of winter 40 degrees below
zero is reached in the northern part OF
the state. The rainfall is abundant The
annual average being about forty
inches. The weather is very hot in
Iowa now and rainfall is not very
heavy at present.
This will close my composition on
Iowa.
Lour Junior friend,
May Schmitz, age IA.
Eddyville, Iowa, r. F. D. No. 3.