BY EDWARD DOUBLE DAY. 271 



From Peru we took the stage to Chicago, a distance of 

 about a hundred miles, mostly over prairies. Our first stopping 

 place was Ottawa; and here the true Yankee spirit begins to 

 appear, a spirit that I greatly admire. After lodging at a town 

 on the road, where there are ranges of solid stone stores and 

 dwellings rising up, we proceeded, ria Plainfield, to Chicago. 

 Plainfield is a nice neat place, with school-house and churches 

 — quite Yankee : near to it is a fine prairie, abounding with 

 prairie-hens, (ruffed grouse, Tetrao cupido of Wilson,) geese, 

 &c. We also saw some tall sand-hill cranes,'' immense fellows. 



A young man who travelled with us from Ottawa was full 

 of information as to sporting in the West — w^olf hunting, fox- 

 hunting, grouse-shooting, duck-shooting, fishing, &c. I longed 

 to stay a few days at the nice neat little inn at Plainfield, and 

 have a ramble over the prairie. The grey foxes (Canis Virgi- 

 nianus of Dr. Richardson) of the prairies, when hunted, climb 

 the trees : — think of treeing a fox instead of earthing him ! 

 I fancy the neighbourhood of Plainfield is the best part 

 of Illinois State, unless it be the neighbourhood of Rock 

 River, which I have not seen. The district, which Stuart 

 praises so much, is less healthy. We had to ford several 

 rivers between Ottawa and Chicago, but only one so deep as 

 to have the water in the coach. As you approach Chicago, 

 the prairie becomes a swamp. For many miles round Chicago 

 there is no land that can be cultivated, except at a very heavy 

 expense, more than could possibly be repaid: although the 

 weather was dry, we sometimes sank into the soil up to the 

 axles of the wheels. The musk-rats'' had made their nests 

 right in the road, or rather track, for there was no road. I 

 was right glad to reach Chicago, for travelling over these 

 prairies gets very tedious. 



Chicago is a considerable place, but as yet contains very few 

 fine buildings. It has few of those noble ranges of stores, 

 with their brick fronts and granite pillars, which you see in 

 some of the rising towns ; but these, of course, will come in 

 time. Situated as this town is, at the most southern point of 

 Lake Michigan, and connected, as it will soon be, with the 

 Mississippi, it must rise to be a very important place. 



* Grus Americana, Bonn, we believe: there appears to be but tliis one species 

 of large crane in America. — Ed. 



' Or Musk-squash — Fiber Zibethicus, Cnv. — En. 



