Left Des Moines with pleasant thoughts of the cordial reception I had met with, and pursuing my way westward over the prairies, reached this village in the evening after a twenty-five miles' ride over a section of the country strikingly beautiful. The soil of the prairie, I am everywhere informed, is almost invariably of the most productive character. No other State, in short, has finer facilities for growing all the cereals of the temperate zone than Iowa. Adel is the county-seat of Dallas County, situated on the Raccoon River--generally called the "Coon." At the period of my visit the village had a population of less than one thousand, and although agriculture is the leading industry, considerable attention is given to manufacturing. The prairie land in the vicinity was, as yet, sparsely settled, but every inducement was offered settlers to establish themselves here. I noticed some broken fields, and blue smoke curling up from farm houses in the distance; and after eighteen miles of enjoyable exercise in the pure prairie atmosphere, reached this small village, where I concluded to halt for the night. One Hundred and Fifty-eight Day. _Private House_, DALE CITY, IOWA, _October Sixteenth_. Weather warmer, pleasant and more invigorating than during the past few days. Left Adel at eight o'clock A. M., and passed through Redfield at eleven, still on the great prairie which appears to have no limit. From the hill-tops the valleys wear the aspect of cultivated meadows and rich pastures; and on the level spreads the wild prairie, decked with flowers, its long waves stretching away till sky and prairie mingle in the distance. Twenty years ago the red men chased the elk and buffalo where now are prairie farms and prairie homes. As I advance, I meet occasionally with trees skirting the streams that find their way to the rivers that intersect this beautiful State. [Illustration: A NIGHT AMONG COYOTES.] Had dinner at a prairie farm house and talked politics with the farmer, whom I found was an enthusiastic admirer of Peter Cooper. He did not expect his political favorite would be elected, but as a matter of principle would vote for him. I told him if he called himself a Republican, he should cast his vote for Governor Hayes, but my advice probably had little effect upon him. Reached Dale City about one o'clock. It was a small village in Lyon County, with about two hundred inhabitants. One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Day. _A Night with Coyotes_, BETWEEN DALE CITY AND ANITA, IOWA, _October Seventeenth_.