124 
THE CULTIVATOR 
NOTES OF TRAVEL IN THE WEST—No. II. 
BY SOLON ROBINSON. 
My Dear Reapers —The violent snow storm that drove us into 
quarters last night, like violence ot : all kinds, soon spent itself, and 
4 Avhig given place to a clear cold day, seat yourselves by my side, 
and we will roil away to the south, and notwithstanding that the 
wind is “ dead ahead,” and blowing a fine fresh breeze, we shall 
beat up against it with ease, though not with so much comfort as 
you might desire. The first dozen miles, you may observe, after 
leaving the grove of fine timber on our right, is too level and “ wet- 
tish” to be desirable. But here we come to the beautiful village of 
Tremont, (the county seat of Tazewell,) with its handsome court¬ 
house and church; but what interests us more, is to’ see that the 
sons of New-Eng) and, who settled and still flourish here, so far de¬ 
parted from the fashion of this country, that they have given wide 
streets and large 'trailding lots, many of the occupants of which have 
still farther departed from-fashion, as we can plainly see by the mul¬ 
titude of shade rjj d fruit trees that surround and beautify their dwell¬ 
ings. We will not call, though tempting signs hang out. for we are 
told that notwi .h'hanf.ing the beauty of the place, old King Alcohol, 
here holds undvj'ut'd sway. If this, “ an o'er true tale” should be, 
I hope the Tr'ijuoat'jaians will rouse themselves to break the ty¬ 
rant’s rule. 
In the vr.il ey of 9 stream called Mackinaw, that winds through 
broken srjidy kd's of stunted timber growth, we witness the first 
marks of that flood that desolated thousands of western acres. 
The little cabiu m alone standing; all else is swept away. As we 
rise again upon the 25 mile wide prairie, which our road lies across, 
we sec fiV r J miles ahead, a most enormous frame house, which was 
built, (all bat putting together,) in Rhode Island, and now stands a 
monuinani of a bad speculation, towering its three or four stories 
far above the half dozen little tenements below, that rise from the 
town of Delavan, a name that sounds familiar in the ears of all teeto¬ 
talers. 
Thn town was projected for a “ colonywhether it was a part 
of th', project that the colonists should live without wood, I am not 
mfo.r.ed, but certes there is but little in sight, and that little far 
awe / to the west, while eastward lies untold miles of prairie, and 
son Award along our road a long 12 miles will bring us to an only 
hoo .e, with just about timber enough to fill an old fashion New-Eng- 
la r .d fire-place, but for eight miles more, there is no one to claim a 
share of this poor pittance of fuel or interfere with this ocean of 
prairie. To day we cross several creeks that would be good mill- 
streams, but unfortunately there is neither fall or good banks. The 
bridges are dilapidated by the high water and natural quick decay 
of timber in a damp climate, and the roads such as nature made 
them, with but little labor from this non-road-working community. 
The night we’ll spend at what is somewhat rare, a comfortable 
country inn, at a small specimen of a village called Middletown, so 
called perhaps because like many others, it is in the middle of a mid¬ 
dling sized prairie, 20 miles north of Springfield, the capitol of the 
Sucker State. From whatever cause this name for the State origi¬ 
nated, I doubt not that many who have been “ suck’d in” by the 
private speculations of individuals, as well as by the wild projects 
of internal improvement that have suck’d in so many millions of 
dollars, will think the name an appropriate one. 
Indications of a change of soil are visible to day. The timber is 
such as is commonly found on the alluvial bottom lands of the west. 
Maple, elm, black-walnut, ash and buckeye, interspersed with oak, 
the prevailing timber further north. And a still greater indication 
shows by the absence of barns and other “ yankee fixings,” that 
show the yankee thrift of character, that a population of corn-grow- 
ing, hog-feeding, corn-bread and bacon-eating southerners are in the 
majority in this latitude. Our eastern built carriage, with two 
wheels in the rut upon one side, while the other two are jolting up¬ 
on a rough ridge, tells us that we are in a country of “ wide track 
wagons,” driven with the “ single line” as we see, by a teamster 
seated upon one of the horses. And why should it be different ? 
Did not their father’s so drive before them !! 
In the bluff of the Sangamon river, (5 miles from Springfield,) 
which is here a good mill stream, and so used, where it has been dug 
out to form a road to a fine new bridge, we see the rock in every 
state of formation, between soft clay and hard limestone. From the 
river to near the town, the road lies over a tract of very poor sandy 
hills, full of gulleys and covered with brush, that probably never 
will again be worth as much money as it was valued at a few years 
ago, when Springfield was “ going to be” a London or Pekin, in 
the eyes of men, that in counting dollars, discarded all figures be¬ 
low millions. 
Now, on this 12th day of January, 1845, at Springfield, the capital 
of the State of Illinois, it is a mild sunny day, more like May than 
midwinter, and a drouth prevailing like midsummer. In fact, it was 
so dry last fall, that not half the seed sown grew, and many of the 
wheat fields look as bare as naked fallow. Whether it will grow in 
spring, is yet to be proven. My opinion is, that it would be good 
policy to sow it now with a seeding of spring wheat. Many of the 
corn-fields that I have passed, bear ready evidence of the prevailing 
rains of the spring and early part of summer. In some of the fields, 
on flat prairie, the crop was not worth gathering, while in others of 
drier soil or more rolling land, the,crop was a good one for this 
country of untold richness of soil, say 30 bushels to the acre ; and 
even that in many instances we see still in the field, for such is west¬ 
ern farming. 
Now curiosity may perhaps inquire for a description of this capi¬ 
tol. If! give one. it must be of briefer space than the scattering 
town of 3 or 4.000 inhabitants, who mostly occupy poor buildings, 
upon small, dirty, treeless, grassless, gardenless lots, upon long unpa¬ 
ved level streets, which are never very muddy, unless more than 
knee deep; which it is not improbable they should be, as the town 
is upon a wide plain of soft loamy soil, with no outlet for accumula¬ 
ting water, unless sent off “ by the rail-road,” which is so thorough¬ 
ly out of repair at this time, that that would prove a poor sewer, ex¬ 
cept of the people’s pockets. 
This rail-road, from hence to Meradosia (65 miles) on the Illinois 
river, is another of the links of that endless chain that was to bind 
the State in love together, but has bound them in debt forever. It is 
already so dilapidated that mules have been substituted for locomo¬ 
tives, and as it fails to pay expenses, it must shortly go out of use for 
want of repair. 
Another monument of by-gone Illinois riches, is the unfinished ill 
constructed State-house, built of cut stone, of a hard sandy limestone 
quality, at an expense of a quarter of a million of dollars. It is SO by 
120 feet, of two extremely high stories above the basement, (which 
is useless on account of dampness ;) and contains a hall for the 120 
members that represent the 99 counties of the State, a Senate 
of 41 members, and a Supreme Court of 9 judges, which by some 
is thought to be supremely ridiculous; a very large library room 
with very few books, except Illinois lows, and office rooms for Sec¬ 
retary and Treasurer of an empty treasury, but is almost totally 
lacking in what is most wanted, rooms for committees. The mass 
es of stone and half finished columns that lie around, the unhung 
doors and unplastered rooms, show that the work was suddenly 
checked at a point that shows the whole work was done upon “ bor¬ 
rowed capital.” 
Of the members of the house I shall say nothing, except to beg 
you as you look upon and listen to them, not to consider them as a 
body, although large, a fair sample of the moral worth and intelli¬ 
gence of the inhabitants of the State. The appearance of the Sena¬ 
torial body is highly respectable, and is presided over by one of the 
best presiding officers I ever saw; Col. Mattison, a Senator from 
Juliet, whose woolen factory I mentioned, I met with here, and owe 
to him my warmest thanks for every effort in his power extended 
cordially to me to further the object of my mission. I also was trea¬ 
ted with great respect by many other Senators and representatives, 
who seemed fully to appreciate the benefits that would accrue to the 
agricultural community, if they could be induced to read good agri¬ 
cultural papers, and to talk, think and act upon the business of their 
every day life. I spent three days amid this congregated wisdom of 
Illinois, from which I hope some good may arise; and should have 
held a public meeting to talk to the few farmers in the Legislature, 
but I found that self-interest, party tactics, and Mormonism, so com¬ 
pletely absorbed every other interest, that such plain common sense 
matter as improvement in agricultural pursuits, had no possible 
chance in such an excited community. Our friend Wright of the 
Prairie Farmer, was also at Springfield, engaged in a noble effort to 
get an improvement in the present very defective common school 
law of Illinois. An uphill business—reminds me something about 
casting pearls before a certain kind of animals. 
There are a few good buildings, in the “ city,” one of which is the 
defunct State bank, built of the same material as the State house, 
from a quarry about 8 miles distant—ralso a stone church. There is 
a large plow manufactory here, which makes about 2,000 a year, 
with wrought iron mould-boards, which are not equal however to 
those made wholly of steel at Chicago. There are two furnaces for 
small castings, that use iron from Tennessee, and coal to melt it with 
from Philadelphia; the coal of Illinois, which is abundant within a 
few miles, not being fit for that purpose. 
This is an old and rich country, with good soil and timber, yet 
there is a great deal of uncultivated land. There are some orchards, 
but as the country has not been settled more than 20 or 25 years, 
people must be excused for not having fruit, as it takes a great ma¬ 
ny years to get that, when there are no trees set out. 
As an evidence of the rapid growth of timber, I was told of one 
80 acre lot that "was cut off nine years ago, and will now afford fif¬ 
teen cords to the acre, mostly oak. This kind of wood is worth 
about $ 1,25 a cord in Springfield. Wheat here, as well as all along 
the road from Ottawa, is worth about 50 cts., corn 20 cts., oats 15 
cts. And every where through this part of the State, there is one 
universal cry of no money, and very poor crops for two years past, 
which I can readily believe, and will also add that they will be so 
for two years to come; for no system of farming like that almost 
universally followed here, will ever afford the farmer good crops. 
Although he may raise a great many bushels of corn, and keep a 
great many poor hogs, horses and cattle to eat it till up in the win¬ 
ter, which they must do for lack of any other kind of feed, he will 
still cry “ no money and still go on in the same way, for he wiH 
not inform himself of a better system. His rotation of crops is corn, 
weeds, hogs, mud and corn. His reading, if indeed he happen to be 
one who reads at all, consisls of a very brief insight of one book, 
and one well con’d paper of the one party in whom he places all 
faith. In such a community, better informed men are out of place, 
and all their innovations looked upon with jealousy, and their better 
success from better management, with envy. 
On the morning of Jan. 16th, I intended to leave Springfield, but 
was detained by a thunder shower till evening, when I drove out on 
the St. Louis road over wet, uncultivated prairie, 5 miles to Lick 
creek timber,” an excellent body of good land, good farms and fine 
timber. . 
Notwithstanding this is an old county, that is old for this young 
country, there is an abundance of uncultivated land, and that too 
within gun shot of the capital. On most of the creeks and ravines, 
coal is found in abundance. The streams through this part of the 
State are sunk in deep hollows, and run between high, steep, mud¬ 
dy banks. , . 
At a poor deserted looking village called Auburn. 1 met with a 
rare sight—an actual live nursery of well assorted fruit trees, culti¬ 
vated by the Rev. Wm C. Greenleaf, a very worthy Presbyterian 
minister, whose talents not being appreciated sufficiently to support 
his declining years, has turned his well cultivated mind 1o the culti¬ 
vation of trees, and for which he finds more persons willing to pay, 
than he does for preaching, which they prefer to have of a cheaper 
