The autumns of Iowa are somewhat peculiar in their 

 beauty and serenity. The oppressive summer heat is 

 over by the last of August, and from that time until the 

 middle of November, the mellow softness of the climate, 

 the beauty and grandeur of the foliage, the dry and 

 natural roads that cross our prairies, the balmy fragrance 

 of the atmosphere, the serene sky, all combined, present 

 to the eye of the traveller a picture calculated to excite 

 emotions of wonder and delight. 



— Newitall: Sketches of Iowa, 1841 



