36 Sioux City Academy of Science and Letters. 



Our party tried, prospecting near Sacramento City. 

 After a time I gave that up and superintended the con- 

 struction of a plank road leading out of Sacramento City. 

 During the spring and summer of 1855 I farmed. In 

 December of the same year I started East again, this 

 time by way of Nicaragua, reaching Ohio in February, 

 1856, I remained at home until fall. 



COMES TO SIOUX CITY. 



During the summer of 1856, while in Lancaster, 

 Pennsylvania, on a visit, I learned that the United States 

 government had made some rich land grants to three 

 railroads! that were going to build across the state of 

 Iowa. Several things turned my attention westward 

 again. First, I had been West twice and got something 

 of the Western spirit. I had an uncle who was loaning 

 money on Wisconsin lands and he talked about the West 

 to me. Then the nomination of Buchanan for president 

 that summer seemed to promise trouble with the South, 

 and finally I thought the land in Iowa would make a 

 good investment. So I made up my mind to go W>st and 

 settle down for good. After a careful study of the maps 

 I chose Sioux City as my destination and started. From 

 Mansfield I came by rail via Chicago to Iowa City.^ 

 Thence I went by stage to Des Moines, where I stopped 

 off a few days. A second stage brought me to Fort Dodge. 

 The hardest part of the journey lay between that point 

 and Sioux City. No regular stage ran between these 

 two places, only a lumber wagon which carried mail. 

 In this I took passage. It took us six days to make the 

 trip. The first night we spent at Twin Lakes, the next 

 at Sac City, and the third at Ida Grove, where I stopped 

 with a friend. Judge [J. H.] Moorehead. The last three 

 nights we spent at Mapleton, Smithland and Sergeant's 

 Bluff respectively. At the latter place I passed the 

 night with Mr. [W. P.] Holman. We finally reached 

 Sioux City on Monday morning, December 1, 1856, dur- 



1. These three railroads grew into the present Rock Island, 

 Chicago and Northwestern, and Illinois Central systems. 



2. This was as far west as the railroad came in Iowa in 1856. 



