DAVENPORT TO DES MOINES.
One Hundred and Forty-fifth Day.
_Farm House_,
NEAR BLUE GRASS, IOWA,
_October 3, 1876_.
Weather cold, but clear and bracing. Mounted _Paul_ at three o'clock P.
M. and halted at the office of _The Democrat_, to say good-bye to
Colonel Russell. On the road I overtook S. N. Garlock, a farmer, who
invited me to spend the night at his house, which I agreed to do and was
made very comfortable. I soon discovered that Mr. Garlock was a native
of the Empire State, but came to Iowa twenty-seven years ago, and was
now the owner of a prosperous farm near the village of Blue Grass. He
spoke of visiting his old home in the East and his intention to proceed
by way of Philadelphia and spend a day or two at the Centennial
Exposition. He said that many Western people were making arrangements to
go to the "Exposition" and at the same time visit their old homes and
the old folks whom they had not seen for many long years.
One Hundred and Forty-sixth Day.
_Iowa House_,
MOSCOW, IOWA,
_October Fourth_.
Moscow is a small agricultural hamlet twenty-nine miles west of
Davenport, with a population of less than three hundred, but increasing
in number as the surrounding region is occupied. On the road here from
Blue Grass I found the weather becoming very cold and was compelled to
dismount several times and walk some heat into my body. The country is
rich in fertility of soil--generally rolling prairie. The villages along
the road are said to be growing very rapidly.
One Hundred an Forty-seventh Day.
_St. James Hotel_,
IOWA CITY, IOWA,
_October Fifth_.
Reached here at six o'clock P. M., fifty-five miles from Davenport.
Weather, most of the day, cold, cloudy and generally disagreeable. I
learn upon inquiry that the land about here for miles is, for the most
part, settled by a thrifty, intelligent and enterprising people, and is
well adapted to all the wants of the agriculturist. The railroad brings
all the produce into market and farmers and manufacturers have their
labors rewarded. The soil is a rich, black loam, and often, I am told,
from five to ten feet in depth.
Had supper and retired to my room to attend to my correspondence.
One hundred and forty-eighth Day.
_St. James Hotel_,
IOWA CITY, IOWA,
_October Sixth_.
The weather continued extremely cold. Babcock completed necessary
arrangements with the proprietor of Ham's Hall for my lecture the
following evening. In the meantime I took a look at the city which was
for many years the State capital. Its most salient feature appeared to
be the State University, in which both sexes continue their education
with commendable zeal, under competent professors. There are also a high
school, a female college, a commercial college and several common
schools. Four or five daily and weekly newspapers keep up the interest
of the people in local affairs and national politics; and four banks
encourage the thrifty to place their spare cash with them at interest.
Woollen and flax manufactures give employment to a considerable number
of young people, and the mills are said to be in a flourishing
condition.
The city has a large internal trade as well as with the several
surrounding villages.
One hundred and forty-ninth Day.
_St. James Hotel_,
IOWA CITY, IOWA,
_October Seventh_.
The former State House is a fine and capacious building and an ornament
to the city. On the removal of the seat of government to Des Moines,
one hundred and twenty miles farther west, the building with its
extensive grounds was granted by the Legislature to the State
University.
I also noted several large places of business here, including dry goods,
groceries and hardware. There are several lumber yards, flouring mills,
plow factories, iron foundries, for manufacturing machinery; also due
proportion to the population.
The newspapers published here are, according to all accounts, ably
conducted and well sustained. The surrounding country is well adapted to
all the wants of the agriculturist and is thickly settled.
In the evening I delivered my promised lecture to a very full
house--Hon. G. B. Edmunds introducing me to the audience. The walls were
covered with flags and a profusion of flowers greeted me on my arrival
on the platform.
One hundred and fiftieth Day.
_Tiffin House_,
TIFFIN, IOWA,
_October Eighth_.
Mounted _Paul_ in front of the Saint James to continue my journey and
felt the need of an overcoat. Drew rein at Tiffin, a few miles from Iowa
City. Of Tiffin little more can be said than that it has a rustic
population of about fifty souls. The accommodations at the Tiffin House
I must leave to conjecture, as any description would fall short of the
reality. The only guests were a Methodist parson, two farmers on an
expedition in quest of apples, and an overland tourist. The nabob of the
village came into the public room in the course of the evening--a farmer
and former State senator. This "Hon." gentleman engrossed our attention
for about three hours by a long-winded description of the varieties of
the "genus hog"--how to breed, how to feed and fatten, and how to drive
him to market; all of which would probably have been edifying and
elevating to the average Tiffinite, but it made me and the parson drowsy
and I retired to dream of hogs and fat bacon until awakened by the
daylight.
One hundred and fifty-first Day.
_Grand Pacific Hotel_,
MARENGO, IOWA,
_October Ninth_.
In my journey from Tiffin I found it necessary to dismount several times
and walk in order to drive away the sensation of cold. Reached Marengo
in the evening and registered at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Winter seemed
to be approaching with rapid strides at this time and I was warned that
it was necessary to lose as little time as possible at the different
resting-points.
[Illustration: AN IOWA VILLAGE.]
Marengo is eighty-five miles from Davenport. There is a good bridge
crossing the Iowa River here, which adds much to the facilities for
doing business. A thriving community of farmers occupy the surrounding
land. Among the most important villages and towns in this and adjoining
counties, are Newton, Grinnell, Montezuma and Millersburg, all growing
in size and importance. Marengo is the county-seat of Iowa County,
and contains a population of nearly two thousand.
The State of Iowa, taken as a whole, is one of the most fertile in the
United States. The native prairies are fields almost ready-made for the
farmers' hands; their rich black soil returning him reward for his labor
a hundred fold.
One hundred and fifty-second Day.
_Skinner House_,
BROOKLYN, IOWA,
_October Tenth_.
My ride to-day from Marengo has been over fine prairie land with
occasionally a farm in the distance like an oasis in the desert.
Brooklyn is one hundred miles from Davenport and, as some evidence of
its prosperous condition, has four hotels. I was fortunate in selecting
the Skinner House, the proprietor of which knows how to make his guests
comfortable. _Paul_ also seemed happy to-night when I shut him in a clean
and well-appointed stable with his supper.
Brooklyn is a village of over twelve hundred inhabitants, and wears the
impress of success. There are several grain elevators, foundries, flour
mills and business houses of all kinds; also graded schools, banks, and
daily and weekly papers. The streets are clean and well paved, which is
more than can be said for its Eastern namesake. The surrounding farms
are large and well cultivated, and the country presents a most
attractive appearance.
One hundred and fifty-third Day.
_Moore House_,
KELLOGG, IOWA,
_October Eleventh_.
In front of the Skinner House, _Paul_ caused me some little anxiety by
dashing up the street from the front where I had left him with loose
rein for a moment while settling my bill. Coming back he gave me to
understand, by a toss of his head, that he only wanted to shake a little
dust from his feet. I was soon mounted and off at a gallop, covering
thirty miles, when I stopped at a farm house for dinner.
On reaching the outskirts of Grinnell, I hailed a party of boys who were
"playing _ball_." One bright little fellow gave me the time, two
o'clock, and the distance to Kellogg. I then pushed on without stopping
at Grinnell. Amused myself with some little boys in front of a country
school house who were "playing _horse_." I inquired of the youngest if
he went to school, and his brother answered for him in the affirmative.
I then asked, "What does he learn?" "He don't learn nothin'," answered
the youth. "Then why do you take him to school?" I inquired. "So, when
the boys go out, he can 'play _horse_' with us."
Have seen some of the finest scenery and grandest farms to-day that I
have encountered along my journey. The day has been unusually bright and
pleasant, and the country looks lovely in the extreme. Reached Kellogg
to-night, half an hour after dark. Caught a young snipe about a mile
from the village and offered it to a young girl if she could name its
species. She could not, and a boy claimed the prize.
Amused some of the guests in the evening with incidents of my journey,
and they, in turn, gave me some useful information about the Far West,
North Platte, Green River, and Humboldt Valley.
One hundred and fifty-fourth Day.
_Pacific Hotel_,
COLFAX, IOWA,
_October Twelfth_.
Arrived at Colfax in the evening after a glorious ride over the prairie.
The grain on the farms waved in the breeze as the fields were passed and
numerous streams crossed finding their way to the rivers that intersect
the State. This prairie is not entirely devoid of timber, for groves dot
the extended landscape like islands in a green sea; while from the
higher grounds I viewed the prairie decked with wild hay and autumn
flowers.
--"Broad on either hand
The golden wheat-fields glimmered in the sun,
And the tall maize its yellow tassels spun."
The prairie here is from twenty to forty miles in width. A variety of
minerals are found and mined to a limited extent. Time will work many
changes. A quarter of a century hence, Colfax will probably be known as
an important mining town with large and varied interests. Its growth
will be gladly noted by many who have faith in its future.
One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Day.
_Jones House_,
DES MOINES, IOWA,
_October Thirteenth_.
Mounted _Paul_ at eight o'clock and rode twenty miles, which brought me
to Des Moines. Most of the journey was over prairie land; the sun shone
brightly and afforded me an agreeable warmth as _Paul_ stepped out
bravely--cheered, possibly by the prospect of entering a large city and
resting for a day or two. We know nothing of a horse's prevision. The
country along my route is rich in fertility of soil, but its resources
are not yet fully developed. I am told that but little snow falls on
this prairie, the winter being made up of cool, sunshiny days, and
clear, frosty nights. There is nothing, I think, to hinder this part of
Iowa from being one of the most healthy portions of the United States.
One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Day.
_Jones House_,
DES MOINES, IOWA,
_October Fourteenth_.
I have not seen a brighter or more stirring city in my line of march
than Des Moines, the capital of the State of Iowa. Under the escort of
Professor E. T. Bowen, city editor of _The Leader_, and two other well
informed gentlemen, I visited the Iowa State Perpetual Exposition and
was introduced to the secretary, who courteously showed me over the
buildings.
The city stands at the mouth of the Raccoon River, is three hundred and
fifty-eight miles west of Chicago and one hundred and forty-two east of
Omaha. Its shape is quadrilateral--four miles long by two miles wide.
The Des Moines River flows through its centre, dividing the East from
the West Side. The city stands on a declivity, its highest part
extending to about one hundred and sixty feet. The Post Office, Court
House and city offices, the principal depots and hotels, and the greater
portion of the business houses, are situated on a plateau about a mile
long and half a mile wide, rising about fifteen feet above high water;
and on the higher ground beyond are some of the handsomest and largest
private residences.
On the East Side is another business locality. Capitol Square contains
ten acres on an elevated site commanding a fine view. The State House
was erected at a cost of nearly $3,000,000. The Public Library contains
some 30,000 volumes. There are over twenty churches of all denominations
in the city. The Post Office and Court House buildings are of marble and
cost $250,000. There is also a State Arsenal, a large County Court House
and many public improvements found only in first-class modern cities.
Two daily and upwards of a dozen weekly papers are published here. In
the vicinity are mines of excellent coal and a number of manufactories
of various kinds are in operation.
Before leaving the Jones House it is but just that I should say that I
was not more courteously treated during my journey than by Messrs.
George W. Jones and Son. Professor Bowen and Captain Conrad with many
others saw me off.
The next day a copy of the Des Moines _Leader_ reached me, in which the
following notice appeared. I insert it here as one of many pleasant
references to my journey.
"Captain Willard Glazier, the horseback traveller across the
Continent, took in the Exposition on Saturday evening with intense
gratification. He says he has seen no place on his route from Boston
more promising than Des Moines. Among the calls he received at the
Jones House was one from Captain Conrad, a prominent attorney from
Missouri and now settled in his profession in this city, who was a
fellow-captive with Captain Glazier in Libby Prison during the
Rebellion. The Captain continued his journey westward yesterday with
the best wishes of the friends he has made during his short stay
here."
[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO MILL.]