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Ocean to Ocean on Horseback: Being the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Especial Reference to the Early History and Development of Cities and Towns Along the Route; and Regions Traversed Beyond the Mississippi; Together with Incidents, Anecdotes and Adventures of the JourneyGlazier, Willard W.

History

Ocean to Ocean on Horseback: Being the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Especial Reference to the Early History and Development of Cities and Towns Along the Route; and Regions Traversed Beyond the Mississippi; Together with Incidents, Anecdotes and Adventures of the Journey

Name: Ocean to Ocean on Horseback: Being the Story of a Tour in the Saddle from the Atlantic to the Pacific; with Especial Reference to the Early History and Development of Cities and Towns Along the Route; and Regions Traversed Beyond the Mississippi; Together with Incidents, Anecdotes and Adventures of the Journey
Author: Glazier, Willard W.

Glazier, Willard W.

United States -- Description and travel

Mounted _Paul_ in front of the Saint James to continue my journey and
felt the need of an overcoat. Drew rein at Tiffin, a few miles from Iowa
City. Of Tiffin little more can be said than that it has a rustic
population of about fifty souls. The accommodations at the Tiffin House
I must leave to conjecture, as any description would fall short of the
reality. The only guests were a Methodist parson, two farmers on an
expedition in quest of apples, and an overland tourist. The nabob of the
village came into the public room in the course of the evening--a farmer
and former State senator. This "Hon." gentleman engrossed our attention
for about three hours by a long-winded description of the varieties of
the "genus hog"--how to breed, how to feed and fatten, and how to drive
him to market; all of which would probably have been edifying and
elevating to the average Tiffinite, but it made me and the parson drowsy
and I retired to dream of hogs and fat bacon until awakened by the
daylight.


One hundred and fifty-first Day.

                                               _Grand Pacific Hotel_,
                                                   MARENGO, IOWA,
                                                  _October Ninth_.

In my journey from Tiffin I found it necessary to dismount several times
and walk in order to drive away the sensation of cold. Reached Marengo
in the evening and registered at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Winter seemed
to be approaching with rapid strides at this time and I was warned that
it was necessary to lose as little time as possible at the different
resting-points.

[Illustration: AN IOWA VILLAGE.]

Marengo is eighty-five miles from Davenport. There is a good bridge
crossing the Iowa River here, which adds much to the facilities for
doing business. A thriving community of farmers occupy the surrounding
land. Among the most important villages and towns in this and adjoining
counties, are Newton, Grinnell, Montezuma and Millersburg, all growing
in size and importance. Marengo is the county-seat of Iowa County,
and contains a population of nearly two thousand.

The State of Iowa, taken as a whole, is one of the most fertile in the
United States. The native prairies are fields almost ready-made for the
farmers' hands; their rich black soil returning him reward for his labor
a hundred fold.


One hundred and fifty-second Day.

                                                     _Skinner House_,
                                                      BROOKLYN, IOWA,
                                                      _October Tenth_.

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