W. W. Phelps

“ Unlike the martial-like wildernesses of the timbered States, except upon rivers and water courses, which are striped and specked with a rather small than sturdy growth of trees, as far as the eye can glance, swell peeps over swell, and prairie lies beyond prairie, till the spectator can almost imagine himself in the midst of an ocean of meadows. ”

“ O that the whole empire of God might shout—NONE!—But, it will not be so, for satan spreads himself and copes with thousands that must welter in woe unutterable, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. ”

“ Here the poor have to labor to procure a living, and so they do any where else. Here the saints suffer trials and tribulations while the wicked enjoy the world and rejoice, and so it has been since Cain built a city for the ungodly to revel in.
But it is all right, and I thank God that it is so. The wicked enjoy this world and the saints the next. They, exercise their agency, and the saints theirs, are left to choose for themselves, and blessed be God that it is so, for it saves heaven from torment, and righteousness from blemishes. ”

“ Now with all the country has, and all it has not, without witty inventions, let us reflect, that God has made and prepared it for the use of his people, like all the rest of the world, with good and bad to try them. ”

“ The lacks that seem most prominent will soon sink with the fading glories of perishable things; and then the banks of long continuance will be thrown down, and the rough places made smooth; yea, the glory of Leba-non will come upon the land of the Lord, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together to beautify the place of his sanctuary, and make the place of his feet glorious. ”

“ But suffice it to be, that, with all the lacks and inconveniences, now extant, grain is raised so easy, that a man may live as well on three day's work in a week, here, as on six in some other distant places. It is not uncommon for wheat, when ripe, to be let to cut and thresh at the half. Corn at 20 cents per bushel, and wheat at 40, are, however the lowest selling prices latterly; and I conclude, that from the great quantity of corn and wheat, or flour, necessary to supply the garrison, it will never be lower. ”

“ The climate is mild and delightful nearly three quarters of the year; and, being situated about an equal distance from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as from the Allegheny and Rocky mountains, in near 39 degrees of north latitude, and between 16 and 17 degrees of west longitude, it certainly affords the pleasing hope of becoming as good a spot as there will be on the globe, when the wolf shall lie down with the lamb. ”

“ With that they may glide along amid the tornadoes of persecution, and among the wrecks of departing things, "faithful friends and fearless foes," till "the cities are wasted without inhabitant and the houses without man:" yea, they may live in mansions of perfection, holily, when the epitaph of this world's vanity, may be written in its ashes! ”

“ The face of the country is somewhat rolling, though not hilly, and, owing to the great deapth [depth] of soil, the branches, or brooks, are worked out and present ugly ravines from ten to fifty feet deep; one of the great causes why the Missouri is ever rily. Every rain starts the mud. ”

“ The wild game is an important link to the living of many in the west. In the inhabited sections, however, it grows "less plenty;" and where the hunter could once drop the huge buffalo, the surly bear, the stately elk, the sly beaver, and the proud swan, he can now find difficulty in bringing down the deer, the wolf, the fox, the turkey, the goose, the brandt, the duck, &c. ”

“ These counties, in general have a tolerable rich soil, composed of clay, fine sand, and black mold, especially upon the prairies. The cultivated produce consists chiefly of small quantities of wheat, large quantities of corn, some oats, hemp, cattle, horses, a few sheep, hogs, in score, and a variety of vegetables, but not to any extent.—Sweet potatoes, cotton, tobacco, and perhaps other plants, grow, in fair seasons, very well. ”

“ The ague and fever; the chill fever, a kind of cold plague, and other diseases, prey upon emigrants till they are thoroughly seasoned to the climate. Here death puts an end to life, and so it does all over the globe. ”

“ It is a great advantage to have land already cleared to your hands, as the prairies are; and there is no small disadvantage to lack timber for fencing, fuel, and buildings. Notwithstanding there are many good springs of water, yet there is a want upon the prairies in some places: and, generally, water privileges for grist and saw mills, and carding machines and clothier's works are scarce. That patriotism, which results in good roads and bridges, labor-saving machines, and excellent mills, is yet dormant. ”

“ The coldest weather comes in December and January, with, hardly ever two day's sleighing: so that sleighs and bells are among the unmentionables of this great center of North America.—February is not unfrequently a mild month, and March so much so, that potatoes planted the latter part of it, are sometimes digable the last of May. ”

“ It costs one fourth or one fifth of our grain to grind it.—Run-round horse mills, or those on the inclined plane order, for horses and oxen, are all the dependence at present. There is a small steam saw and grist mill, of about ten horse power engine, in Clay ”