Westward from Lake Michigan all the railroads are laid across the
prairie land _en route_ to various cities on the Mississippi River,
several of them having St. Paul and Minneapolis for their objective
points, although some go by quite roundabout ways. The great "Father
of Waters" comes from Northern Minnesota, flows over the Falls of St.
Anthony at Minneapolis, and is a river of much scenic attractiveness
down to Dubuque and Rock Island, its width being usually about three
thousand feet, excepting at the bends, which are wider, the
picturesque bluffs enclosing the valley sometimes rising six hundred
feet high. The railways leading to it traverse the monotonous level of
prairie in Illinois and Wisconsin, excepting where a stream may make a
gorge, and the face of the country is everywhere almost the same. The
Moline Rapids in the Mississippi above Rock Island afford good
water-power, and here the Government, owning the island, has
established a large arsenal, which is the base for all the western
army supplies. The admirable location has made cities on either bank,
Rock Island in Illinois and Davenport in Iowa, both being commercial
and manufacturing centres, and the latter city having the larger
population. The Mississippi flows through a rather wide valley, with
pleasant shores, having villas dotted on their slopes. The Moline
Rapids, which are said to have a water-power rivalling the aggregate
of all the cataracts in New England, descend twenty-two feet in a
distance of fourteen miles. Above them, the river flows between
Illinois and Iowa, and various flourishing towns are passed, the
largest being Dubuque, with fifty thousand people, the chief
industrial city of Iowa, and a centre of the lead and zinc manufacture
of the Galena district. This was the first settlement made by white
men in Iowa, the city being named for Julien Dubuque, a French trader,
who came in 1788 with a small party to work the lead-mines. Iowa is
known as the "Hawkeye State," and its name is of Dakotan Indian
derivation, meaning "drowsy," which, however, is hardly the proper
basis for naming such a wide-awake Commonwealth. Opposite Dubuque is
the northern boundary of Illinois, and above, the Mississippi
separates Iowa from Wisconsin.
The Mississippi bordering bluffs now rise much higher and become more
picturesque, Eagle Point, near Dubuque, being elevated three hundred
feet. Prairie du Chien, just above the mouth of Wisconsin River, was
one of the earliest French military posts. This region was the scene
of the "Black Hawk War," that chief of the Sacs battling to get back
certain lands which in 1832 had been ceded by the Sac and Fox Indians
to the United States. He was finally defeated back of the western
river shore, the boundary between Iowa and Minnesota being nearby.
Minnesota is the "North Star State," and its Indian name, taken from
the river, flowing into the Mississippi above St. Paul, means the
"cloudy water." The river scenery becomes more and more picturesque as
the Mississippi is ascended, the bluffs rising to higher elevations.
La Crosse is a great lumber manufacturing town, drawing its timber
from both Minnesota and Wisconsin. Above, where islands dot the
channel, is perhaps the most beautiful section of the river.
Trempealeau Island, five hundred feet high, commands a magnificent
view, and the Black River flows in through a splendid gorge. Winona is
a prominent grain-shipping town, and at Wabasha the river expands into
the beautiful Lake Pepin, thirty miles long and from three to five
miles wide, with attractive shores and many popular resorts. Over the
lake rise the bold round headland of Point No Point on one side and
the Maiden Rock on the other. St. Croix River flows in above on the
eastern bank, making an enlargement known as St. Croix Lake, and the
upper Mississippi is now wholly within Minnesota, having here at the
head of navigation the famous "Twin Cities" of St. Paul and
Minneapolis.