156 PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 



Professor Macbride in describing this lake used the following language: 

 "Little Wall lake, south of Cairo lake three or four miles, is a picturesque 

 little pond, half a mile wide and a mile or more long, nearly surrounded 

 by steep, wall-like hills. Had it depth Little Wall lake would be the at- 

 traction of the landscape, but its shallowness makes it simply a great marsh 

 filled from side to side with aquatic plants. The margins are dark with 

 sedges. In the middle the oat-tail lifts its blades undisturbed while over 

 the deeper waters the pond lillies spread their broad leaves like inverted 

 shields and star the surface with flowers. Innumerable birds fill the air 

 with strident, unmusical sounds; ducks steer their miniature fleets about; 

 mud hens wade among the calamus roots; blackbirds cry as if life de- 

 pended upon unceasing noise ; the tern hovers above the more open waters 

 or sit upon the sand as if by sea; the bittern sits among the reeds, bill 

 straight up, more like an inverted stake than any stake-driver; and over 

 all, in the evening, clouds of insects mosquitoes make gray the air on 

 every side. For the rest, boulders now are few; occasionally a big one 

 lies on the shore tumbled down by the undermining of the waves, here 

 and there sufficient when the lake is full, to beat against the steeper 

 shores. In the earlier morning the mists from the waters screen from 

 the traveler the beautiful grain covered hills that slope down on every 

 side and the lake lies in primitive wildness, an isolated reminder of the 

 wierd marshy topography that so recently characterized not these coun- 

 ties only, but all northwestern Iowa, the land of a thousand lakes. "- 

 (Iowa Geological Survey, Vol. X, pp. 117-8.) 



A report made about eight years later by the Iowa Highway Commis- 

 sion, while more technical, is in the same tone and gives a similar im- 

 pression regarding the value of the lake. This report says: 



"Little Wall iake is situated in sections 9, 10, 15 and 16 of township 86 

 north, range 24 west. It is most easily reached by driving three miles 

 south of Jewell Junction. The highway leads directly to the lake and 

 skirts its western shore. Webster City is twenty-two miles to the north- 

 west, Iowa Falls thirty-four miles to the northeast. The nearest lake is 

 Big Wall Lake in Wright county, which is twenty-three miles due north. 



"This lake is not prepossessing on first sight, due largely to the fact 

 that a large part of the surface is grown up to rushes. The banks, how- 

 ever, are good and on the east side considerable natural timber is found. 

 In several places around the shores typical walls pushed up by the ice are 

 to be seen. These seem to show that at some time in the past the water 

 level was considerably above where it is at present. Scarcely any low 

 land which cannot be drained is to be found near the lake. 



"The water varies in depth from three feet in the northwest part of the 

 lake to six feet in the southeastern part. 



"The area now is 230 acres. The area enclosed by the meander is 273 

 acres. The water shed is very small. 



"At the present time the lake is more of a hunting resort than any- 

 thing else. A hunting lodge is maintained on the west side, and several 

 boats are to be seen along the lake shores. It is reported that fair 

 strings of bullheads are taken from its waters. 



