THE CULTIVATOR. 
93 
have so many individuals to notice, I cannot of course, spend 
too much time individualising stock and improvements. 
On Saturday, I intended to have gone on my way rejoicing, 
but who ever escaped from the Major with only a one night vi¬ 
sit, (he studied hospitality in a southern latitude,) and that, 
connected with a slight indisposition, brought on by the strong 
lime water of Juliet, not only kept me over Saturday, but there 
also I took a Sabbath’s quiet rest. 
On Saturday afternoon, the Major drove me up to Oswego, 
2£ and Aurora, 7 miles, two flourishing villages on Fox river, 
at both of which the river,as well as at numerous other places, 
affords the best of water power, and at the latter is one of the 
best finished flour mills of 4 run of stone in the State. 
Here we visited a picket fence making machine. The pickets 
are sawed by a circular saw, out of boards, and then passed 
through a set of cutters that round and sharpen them, and are 
put in girts also bored by a machine, and these lengths are set 
up crooked like worm fence, without posts, being held at the 
corners by one of the pickets passing through each girt, and as 
it is sold at 75 cents a rod, will answer well to fence prairie, 
where rails cannot be had for a less cost But as it takes 14 
rails to make a rod of as good fence, it is easy to calculate 
which kind of fence will be the cheapest. At present, while we 
cultivate so poorly, and do not average 10 bushels of wheat to 
the acre through a series of years, we cannot afford to pay 75 
cents a rod for fencing, besides the cost of hauling and putting 
up, and then as most of us do, carelessly risk its being burnt by 
the annual fires that destroy thousands after thousands of rails 
every year. 
Many of your Orange county readers will be interested to 
hear that I visited an old resident of that county, by the name 
of Townsend, who with several of his children, live in the same 
grove with Major Davis, and own about 3,000 acres of fine land. 
From Mr. Townsend I first learned tha r . fowl meadow grass, 
which is one of the most valuable kinds that I am acquainted 
with for wet prairie, is indigenous to the country. By conver¬ 
sation with the old gentleman, I also became satisfied of what 
I had long believed, that what we call “blue gTass,” is a dif¬ 
ferent article from what is known at the east by the same name. 
The eastern blue grass he thinks much the best. Neither of the 
kinds are profitable to cultivate for hay, but for fall and winter 
feed, particularly for sheep, exceedingly valuable. 
I ought to have mentioned before, for the benefit of others who 
are beginning to make sheep farms, the manner which Major 
Davis constructs “cheap sheds”—two rows of posts about 15 
feet apart are set up to sustain poles laid up in the same form 
of a log cabin roof, and small poles or brush laid on to sustain 
a covering of hay or straw, and the back side is completely fill¬ 
ed with rails set up slanting and also covered, which not only 
makes a nearly tight roof, but a complete wind breaker, that 
will pay the cost in one winter. He fodders his sheep without 
racks. His method is this. The ground being well covered 
with straw, the sheep are driven into another yard, whilst the 
wagon, loaded with hay. is driven in the empty yard, and the 
hay laid in rows. The sheep being now let in, commence ta¬ 
king their places without running over the hay or wasting more 
than when it is fed in racks or boxes, and none gets in the wool. 
I believe it promotes the health of sheep to allow them every 
pleasant day to have a range in the bushes. I have no doubt 
but that many who have driven sheep to this country during 
the last summer, will find it a bad speculation before spring. Tt 
was the worst of seasons to drive, and drove sheep never get 
through the first winter without great care and some loss at 
best; while there are tens of thousands brought here without 
any kind of forethought of preparation for shelter or comfort, 
except what they may gather from a poor supply of prairie hay 
and such shelter as they can find under a rail fence, or upon 
the open wild waste. Such conduct is reprehensible, as not on¬ 
ly cruel, but as a wicked waste of the lives ot such valuable an¬ 
imals. This is a good sheep country I shall insist, until con¬ 
vinced by proof to the contrary; but they cannot live upon prai¬ 
rie wind, and sleep in knee deep prairie mud. 
On Monday, I passed on my way down Fox river, crossing at 
a yery poor county town of a very good county, on a very good 
bridge, but one that is only good in very coldweather, as I wit¬ 
nessed higher up the same stream last week, as it failed on a 
warm day, and let a pair of horses and wagon through; but by 
which I had an opportunity of witnessing the operation of get¬ 
ting a horse out of a hole in the ice, by drawing a rope tight 
round his neck until he chokes and floats to the top of the wa¬ 
ter. I stopped this night with an old farmer from Lycoming 
eounty, Pennsylvania, who had sold a comfortable “ old home¬ 
stead,” and in his old age sought a “new home in the west;” 
and what do you think he has found ? a fac simile of his moun¬ 
tain streams and clear springs, and tall trees and useful rocks? 
Oh no : he has got none of them. But he has bought 400 acres 
of land—rich land—200 of prairie, and 200 that is neither timber 
or prairie, plow land or meadow, but covered with a growth of 
small oaks, fit only for fire wood, while his rails must be haul¬ 
ed from 3 to 6 miles, and cost $2,50 or $3 a hundred. 
The whole tract cost $3 an acre. 50 acres under improvement 
with poor buildings, destitute of water, and several attempts to 
get good well water, have failed at 70 feet deep. And for such 
a home as this, the “ old homestead” was parted with. I men¬ 
tion this circumstance, to show that emigrants do not always 
better their situation, when they leave substantial comfort in 
the east to pursue a vision of acquiring numberless acres of 
wild land in the west, however rich the soil of those acres may 
be. 
Ten miles north of Ottawa, is “ Indian creek,” now occupied 
by a flourishing settlement, where, in 1832, the few inhabitants 
then there were the victims of the “ Black Hawk war.” Here 
is a body of good timber, which is the nearest timber to tha 
town. The space between this settlement and Ottawa, being 
unoccupied prairie. Four miles above Ottawa, there is about 
20 feet fall over a rocky bed of the Fox river, partially occupied 
by a saw-mill and flouring mill of five run of stones, and a 
woolen manufactory of 4 satinet, and three broad looms, &c. 
As such manufacturing establishments are as yet so rare, al¬ 
though so much needed, I like to note all that come in my way. 
Here too, appears to be the northern boundary of the great coal 
field of Illinois. The abundance of coal that exists in the Illi¬ 
nois river valley is of immense importance, and more so on 
account of the scarcity of wood—coal at Ottawa is worth about 
5c. a bushel, but it is not of first rate quality, being dug near 
the surface of the ground in the river bottom. By the'’bye, I 
wish you to notice that this phrase “ river bottom,” does net 
mean the bottom of the river, but what Eastern readers under¬ 
stand as “interval.” 
Ottawa is situated on the Illinois at the mouth of Fox river, 
and head of steam navigation in high water, and having been 
settled and built up during the canal fever, also contains many 
“hangers on,” and from present appearances in the legisla¬ 
ture, they are destined to hang on some time longer, before the 
canal is completed. And I would also here caution many of 
your down east readers, who have purchased land along the 
line of this canal at high prices under the expectancy of its 
early completion, th it they are also “hanging on” to a very 
brittle prospect—and for my own part, until I see some vigor¬ 
ous measures taken to complete this important work, which 
when done will relieve the state from one portion of her debt, 
I shall believe that she does not intend ever to pay any part of 
it. There is a Court House at Ottawa, built when the whole 
country were building castles on credit, at an expense of $36,- 
(000. As an evidence of very uncommon taste in this treeless 
country, I notice the yard set with shade trees. As usual in 
all western towns, where land was so dear and scarce, the 
streets are narrow and lots small. Even the principal hotel, 
to save room upon the surface of such valuable lots, has its 
dining room below. I attended a thinly attended scientific lec¬ 
ture at a neglected looking Mechanic’s hall; at which 1 did not 
wonder, as all interest and conversation seems to be centered 
upon “ canal! canal! canal!” 
On the 8th of Jan. I ferried the Illinois in a most violent 
snow storm, and amid floating ice, being impelled to do so by 
the prospect that in an hour more all chance of crossing would 
be at an end, except upon the ice, which in several instances 
had already caused the loss of several teams this winter; and 
of the two dangers I chose the least and got safe over. But 
not so at an unbridged creek, three miles along ihe river road, 
where the ice gave way ana gave me an upset into the water, 
mud and ice. That such a creek on such a road so near such a 
town, should remain for years unbridged is not singular, for 
who ever knew little works attended to where great ones, like 
this great canal, absorbed all minds. But for my consolation 
for my misfortune, I was assured that hundreds had met with 
worse ones at the same place. The great neglect of roads that 
manifests itself throughout this country, goes far towards crea¬ 
ting a prejudice with strangers against any new country they 
are passing through 
I spent the night with a very intelligent farmer by the name 
of Baldwin, at “Farm ridge” on the Vermillion. Here is a 
(settlement cf Connecticut farmers, who have brought abun¬ 
dance of enterprise and industry with them, as is manifest by 
the appearance of good houses, barns and orchards. The only 
thing lacking to make this lovely land very desirable, is timber 
which is here, as everywhere, too scarce. The Vermillion, 
[however affords excellent mill sites, and abounds in coal of 
good quality. The coal is in three beds, the lower one in the 
bed of the stream. The banks are high bluffs of clay, coal and 
limestone. Vermillionville is one of those many towns in the 
west where people have learned by sad experience that they can¬ 
not live upon a little “7 by 9” town lot. Though many have 
moved out, there are some enterprising citizens left, one of 
whom is the new postmaster, Dr. Bullock. 
The nature of the soil along the Vermillion, is from 1 to 3 ft. 
black loam, then several feet clay, then send, in which is found 
water. Natural curiosities in such a country are scarce, but 
near the mouth of the Vermillion are two—one, the “Deer- 
park,” is a chasm in the rocks several hundred feet deep, a few 
rods in width and half a mile long, having an opening next the 
stream, into which deer used to wander after a “ salt lick,” 
and fall an easy prey to the Indians. The other is the celebra¬ 
ted “ starved rock” on the Illinois, noted in history as the spot 
where a small tribe of Indians were driven by another tribe and 
besieged till starvation alone conquered the bravest of the red 
braves. From the Vermillion I passed over a dozen miles of 
beautiful country to Granville, a fine little town in Putnam co. 
beautified by a handsome church and a very excellent school. 
Spent the night with a Mr Ware from Massachusetts, who with 
his brother have set their neighbors an example in farming and 
improved stock worthy of imitation. 
During this day’s ride I passed a “long ditch” in the woods at 
Cedar point, which I was informed, was “ the great Central Rail 
Road of Illinois,” that was to lead from Galena, crossing the 
Illinois at the termination of the canal at Peru, to the great ci¬ 
ty of Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio. Six miles southeast of 
Granville, is “Mt. Palatine,” a Baptist settlement and school, 
four miles out upon the wide prairie, solitary and alone, so far 
as regards timber. 
Near Magnolia, which is a flourishing new town, 8 miles 
from the Illinois river, in which for the want of water power, 
steam is used, I spent a night with a Mr. Patterson from Pa.; 
and from his English shepherd, I learnt that he esteems bra^ 
