CHAPTER II

PHYSICAL FEATURES

GEOGRAPHY

THE counties of Iowa lie in very regular tiers, running east and west, and in tiers less regular (especially in the southern half of the State) running north and south. Buchanan is in the fourth tier north of the Minnesota line, an din the fifth north of the Missouri line. It is the third county west of the Mississippi River, and the tenth east of the Missouri. Its central point, (which is a few miles east of its capital, the city of Independence,) lies very nearly in latitude forty-two and a half degrees north, and longitude fourteen degrees and fifty minutes west from Washington. It is a little over sixty miles due west of the city of Dubuque, and in an extension of the line which divides Illinois and Wisconsin. Its latitude is about the same as that of Beloit, Wisconsin; Allegan, in the State of Michigan; Chatham, Canada West; Albany, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Leon, in Spain; Perpignan, in France; Porta, in the Island of Corsica; Civita Vecchia, Italy; Sophia, in European Turkey; Tchontori, (a little north of the latitude of Pekin) China; Chickadado, Japan, and Jacksonville, Oregon.

This "girdle" (which we have beaten Puck in putting "round about the earth" in something less than "forty minutes," and in which Independence, though one of the least, is by no means the least glittering gem) fairly marks the golden mean between the too freezing north and the too burning south. Of the five million-peopled cities of the world, the two largest, London and Paris, are north of this line, and the other three, Pekin, Canton and New York, are south of it. And, among the remaining great cities of the Northern Hemisphere, Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg and Liverpool are on the north and Calcutta, Constantinople, Chicago and San Francisco are on the south of the same line. It would seem therefore, that the human race, whose instinct in such a matter may be regarded as infallible, have come to the conclusion that the line passing through Independence and the centre of Buchanan county, is a very good one to cluster about; and that, consequently, they have determined to fight out the great battle of life as near as possible to this fortunate line. We know of no one that desires to emigrate from this fair and fertile county; but if there is such a one, and he is determined to gratify that preposterous desire, we advise him to steer his course due west or east, if he expects to be in luck.

As to its immediate neighbors, Buchanan is surrounded by a beautiful septer of sister counties, as follows: Bremer (named for the genial and talented Frederika) on the northwest; Fayette, on the north; Clayton, on the northeast; Delaware, on the east; Linn and Benton, on the south; and Black Hawk, on the west. Such a county, thus surrounded, may truly, if not quite originally, be called "a beautiful gem in a beautiful setting."

A BIRD'S EYE VIEW

of the territory, now comprising Buchanan county, must have been a rare sight, during the season of vegetation, even before the advent of its civilized inhabitants. Its numerous streams revealed by the silver sheen of their serpentine currents, by the white lines of sand drift, or the beetling bluffs along their margins, and still more by the wide belts of luxuriant timber by which they were for the most part bordered; its limitless prairies, mostly undulating, but sometimes stretching away in a broad and level expanse, covered with grass and flowers, gleaming in sunlight or flecked with shadow, and dotted here and there with herds of buffaloes, grazing upon the slopes or, perhaps, stampeding before pursuing wolves or Indian hunters—all this afforded a picture which, if there had been an artist's eye to behold it, would have filled his soul with delight.

But civilization came, and a change has passed over the scene, as if produced by the waving of an enchanter's wand, or the utterance of a magical incantation. The main outlines of surface and stream and forest belt continue, though the latter has been broken up in many places to make room for human dwellings or cultivated fields. Much of the original forest, too, has been removed for fuel or building material; but on a large portion of the space thus cleared a second growth has been

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allowed to spring up, which has become as beautiful and luxuriant as the first; and this, together with the almost numberless groves and orchards that have been planted, probably makes the present number of trees in the county more than twice as great as when it first began to be settled.

The multiplication of cultivated groves is, indeed, one of the principal characteristics in the settlement of a prairie country; but, from a bird's eye view, there are others which have, perhaps, even a more marked effect upon the landscape. Such are the breaking up of the soil, the enclosing of fields and their cultivation in various kinds of grain, the multiplication of flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, the erection of dwellings, school-houses, churches, bridges, and other architectural structures, and the grouping of these together in hamlets, villages and towns. All these have so changed the face of the country now composing Buchanan county, that the "century-living crow" which may have flown over it fifty years ago, on one of his migratory flights, would hardly recognize it were he now, for the first time since that not very remote day, to fly over it once more. The historical account of these changes will be given in its appropriate place farther on; but we desire to present here, a little more in detail, a picture of the present features of the country, both natural and artificial, as seen from above. Word-painting is not our forte, but if the reader will accompany us in an imaginary balloon ascension, we will see what we can see.

Here we are, then, directly over the central point of the county, at an altitude of two or three thousand feet; from which the entire surface of its sixteen townships lies clearly revealed to our vision, which has been sharpened up for this special occasion. The point over which our aerial car is suspended, is near the corners of the four townships—Washington, Byron, Liberty and Sumner, and would have been exactly the point where those four townships would have touched each other, had it not been for the "correction line" and the recent enlargement of Washington, made for the sake of allowing the ambitious city of Independence to expand without crossing a township line.

If the reader is as simple-minded as the writer, it has seemed to him that we ought to be able to discern, from our present lookout, those boundary lines and colors which are so striking upon maps, and become so identified with all our notions of geography. The lines do, indeed, exist, and are sufficiently visible to the imagination; but we now perceive, more clearly than ever before, that, like the equator, tropics, parallels and meridians, they are only "imaginary."

It is an interesting coincidence that, from our lofty altitude, we are looking directly down upon two objects which stand as the principal symbols of American civilization, and of the moral improvement and elevation of our people. These two objects are a church and a school-house. The former is the Bethel Presbyterian church, situated on the main road, about three miles east of Independence, in the southwest corner of Byron township; and the latter, located upon adjoining ground, is one of the district school buildings with which, as we can see at a glance, the whole surface of the county is dotted over,there being seven or eight, on an average, in every township. The location of these two structures in such close proximity, at the very centre of the county, is not only symbolical of the general intelligence and virtue of the people; but it also seems to imply that religion and learning are here regarded as the central influences to which all other beneficent influences are subsidiary, and upon which the people are chiefly to rely for securing their highest prosperity and happiness.

But we came here, not so much to moralize about the people of Buchanan, as to study and enjoy the physical features of their county. In furtherance of this design let us direct our attention for a few minutes to

THE PRINCIPAL STREAMS

by which, paradoxical as it may sound, the county is both drained and watered. Drainage is here, of course, the principal object of the streams; for imported as are numerous living watercourses in a stock growing region, still, in a territory like this, where the average annual of rain-fall is forty inches, if there were not a sufficient slope, and a sufficient number of stream-valleys to afford timely escape for the surplus water, the whole surface of the county would be one continuous marsh, breeding pestilence for the destruction of men, rather than furnishing arable fields for their support. As it is, there are very few marshes in the county; and the most, if not all of these can be artificially drained, and doubtless will be as soon as land becomes sufficiently valuable (as it will some day), to insure a compensation for the necessary expense; while on the other hand, there are probably still fewer places which, except in very unusual seasons, are ever seriously afflicted by drouth.

The general trend of the land in Buchanan county, like that of the State at large, is from the northwest to the southeast. Its principal valley, that of the Wapsipinicon river, stretches directly through its centre, in the direction stated, receiving and carrying off all its waters, with the following exceptions: Those of Jefferson and Westburg, and of a part of Perry, Sumner and Horner, in the southwest corner of the county, flow into the Cedar; while those of a part of Madison and Fremont, in the northeast corner, make their way into the Maquoketa.

The most conspicuous object below us (for we hope the reader will not forget, even if the writer should, that we are "up in a balloon")—is, of course, the "Wapsie" with its magnificent belt of timber, the largest originally unbroken forest of which lies a little southeast of us, in Liberty township. If we let our eye follow up the meandering course of the river till we come to the little town of Littleton, in the northern part of Perry township, we find at that point the principal fork made by the river in this county. The river approaches the village from the west, having entered the county at the northwest corner of Perry township; while the stream with which it forks (very respectable in size and named the Little Wapsie) flows down from the north, having come

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in from the county of Fayette, about a mile and a half east of the northwest corner of Fairbank, and passes completely through that township in a southerly direction. We are not certain but that the Wapsipinicon might justly lay claim to the title, "Father of waters," since we know of at least two Little Wapsies—there being, besides the one here mentioned, another formed very much in the same way in Howard and Chickasaw counties. Our Little Wapsie receives several small streams after entering the county—the largest, being on its western side and named Buck creek, entering Fairbank township in section seven, and emptying into Little Wapsie in thirty-two of the same township.

The next that we come to is a fine, large stream flowing from the north through Hazletown and Washington townships, and joining the river in section nineteen of the latter. This is Otter creek, one of the most beautiful streams in the county, and more copiously wooded than any other, except father Wapsie himself. As our eyes wander up, through its charming valley, they discover four branches emptying into it, all unnamed on the map. Three of these are quite small, flowing from the east and joining the creek in Hazleton township. The other is larger, rising on the west side of the creek, a little north of the county line, flowing almost due south through the western part of Hazleton (the most of the way parallel with the creek) and emptying into it in section six of Washington.

Resuming our survey down the river we come to two small streams which enter it about a mile apart, the first in section twenty-eight, and the second in section thirty-four of Washington township, a little above Independence. Neither is named on the map, but the one nearest the city is called (so we are informed) Harter creek. They both rise in the northern part of Washington, and flow nearly south.

Next passing down the rapids through Independence, we come to the mouth of Malone creek, just below the city, in section three of what was at first Sumner township, but is now a part of Washington. It also rise in Washington (in the northeast corner) and flows in a southwesterly direction. Two little streams, so small that we can hardly discern them even with our sharpened bird's-eye vision, rise almost directly below us—the first in section thirty-one of Byron, and the second in section one of the addition to Washington. They are each about two miles in length, flow southwest and empty into the Wapsie, in section ten of Sumner.

Still passing on down the river, we see no entering stream worthy of note till, about seven or eight miles below those last mentioned, we come to the mouth of Pine creek, not more than two miles above Quasqueton, in section twenty-eight, Liberty township. This is a fine stream flowing from the north like nearly all those which empty into the Wapsie. It rises nearly in the centre of Buffalo township, and flows south through Byron and Liberty. It receives many small tributaries, mostly through its left bank, like the Wapsie and all the other streams in the county. It is about fourteen miles in length—its lower half being well timbered, but the upper half flowing through an open prairie region. "Pilot Grove" which we see gleaming through the hazy autumn atmosphere, seven or eight miles away to the north, is about two miles from the source of this stream. Although less than a quarter of a mile in diameter (on an average) this grove is a very striking object, from the fact that there is no timber within about five miles of it in any direction.

But a few rods from the mouth of Pine creek is that of Hallstand's run, which has for an "occasional contributor" Dry creek; and about a quarter of a mile from the mouth of this run is that of Nash creek, in section twenty-seven in Liberty township. Each of these streams is about five miles in length, rising in the southern part of Byron and running nearly south. From the mouth of Nash creek, which is about half a mile above Quasqueton, to the point where the Wapsie leaves the county, we can count by close inspection eight tributaries to that river—all but two on its left (that is its eastern bank. None of these creeks are named on any map that we have seen. The larger of the two on the right bank is the largest entering the river on that side in its whole course through the county. Yet it is only about four miles in length, rising in the northwestern part of Cono, and joining the river in section fourteen of that township. The largest and the last of these lower tributaries, on the other side, is about eight miles in length, rising in the southern part of Middlefield, flowing nearly south through the centre of Newton nearly to the county line, then turning abruptly to the west and entering the river in section thirty-one of the last mentioned township.

But the largest tributary to the Wapsie (though it does not enter the river with the limits of the county) remains yet to be noticed. If the reader (still up in the balloon, remember) will cast his eye toward the east, beyond Pine creek (as far east of that creek as we are west of it, that is about three miles), he will observe a stream flowing in a very straight course about south southeast, parallel with Pine creek and the Wapsie, and bordered by a very narrow belt of timber. That steam is Buffalo creek, the longest branch of our Father of Waters, and, with the exception of the river, the longest stretch of water in Buchanan county. It rises in the southern part of Fayette county, flows in the direction indicated above, entering out county in section three of Buffalo township, and continuing till, at about twelve miles from its source

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it reaches the northwest corner of section thirty-one in Madison township. There it turns abruptly to the west, making nearly a right angle, and continuing in that course for about two miles, when it receives a branch which has flowed parallel with it almost from its beginning. Then it makes another sudden turn to the south southeast again, taking the line of the branch, which it holds with very little variation till it unites with the Wapsie in Jones county.

This apparent turning aside from their own valley to make a sudden debouche into that of one of their branches is a frequent and singular freak of streams, both small and great. There are no less than three other examples of it in this county. The Little Wapsie does it when it receives its Buck creek branch. Otter creek does it when it receives that branch, unnamed on the map, which has flowed parallel with it for six or seven miles. And Father Wapsie himself does it, when he unites with Pine creek. In the case of the first three pairs of streams mentioned above, there is the singular additional coincidence that the parallel streams, in each case, are just about two miles apart.

Almost numberless examples of the above mentioned freak of watercourses might be given if we chose to go out of the county; and we will do so just to mention those of a single river—which we can do without lowering our balloon. We refer to the Missouri, which performs this freak at least five times: first, when it receives the White river; second, when it receives the Niobrara; third, when it receives the James; fourth, when it receives the Big Sioux; and last, but not least, when it receives the Mississippi—for everybody knows that it is the Missouri that receives the Mississippi, and not the Mississippi that receives the Missouri. To call the united streams the Mississippi was the most stupid of geographical misnomers—was, indeed like setting the tail to wagging the dog, instead of letting the dog wag his own tail.

In regard to the scientific explanation of these singular fluvial performances, we will state simply that they are attributed by the learned to the action of the ice during what is termed, in geology, the "glacial period." But their explanations, though plausible in certain cases, are beset with difficulties.

To return (as the French say) "to our sheep"—that is, to the streams of Buchanan county. If the reader will turn his eye to the northeast, some five or six miles beyond the abrupt bend in Buffalo creek, he will perceive a large, isolated grove of native timber, with a stream of considerable size passing through it to the southeast. This stream is the south branch of Maquoketa river. It rises in the southern part of Fayette county, and the part of it belonging there (being about six miles in length) is called Prairie creek. Why this is thus we are not informed. Suffice it to say that this is the unmistakable Maquoketa, which passes through Manchester, in the adjoining county of Delaware; and there, at the distance of twenty or twenty-five miles from its mouth, proves to be an industrious and serviceable mill stream. Its length in this county is about six miles, passing through the northeast corner of Madison, the northeast township, entering in section five and going out in section twenty-four.

South of the stream last described, and nearly east of us, we perceive another and much smaller one, flowing in the same general direction, through prairies and fields entirely destitute of native timber. It rises in section four of Fremont township, flows some nine miles in a sort of circuitous course, and passes out through section thirty-six of the same township into Delaware county. It is there called Coffin's Grove creek, from the name of an isolated body of timber through which it passes; but whether or not it has that name in this county, the mapmaker has not informed me.

If now we turn our eyes to the west and southwest, beyond the watershed of the Wapsipinicon, we shall see several small streams flowing in a southwesterly direction, and also get a glimpse of the Cedar river, which just touches this county at its southwest corner, the same being the corner of Jefferson township. Of these small streams, the two that we see directly west are a couple of small branches that unite to form Spring creek,which lies wholly beyond our county, in Black Hawk. The farthest of these small branches barely touches Perry township. The other rises in section twenty of Perry, flows south into Westburgh, and out at section seven of the latter.

Passing south, the next that we come to is Little Spring creek, a branch of the former, rising in sixteen, Westburgh, flowing southwest and leaving the county at six, Jefferson. Then comes a small stream unnamed, rising in eight, Jefferson, and passing out at thirty-one of the same. Turning east we come to Lime creek, which rises in fourteen, Westburgh, flows south (with a slight circuit to the east and then to the west) and passes through Jefferson, leaving it at section thirty-three. Next and last we come to Bear creek, which rises in seventeen of the adjoining township of Sumner, makes a circuit quite similar to the former, passes through a part of Homer, enters Jefferson at twenty-five, and leaves it at thirty-six.

Thus ends our survey of Buchanan waters. The bird's eye view would be improved with a lake or two, but they are not needed for any other esthetic purposes. We fear the reader will think we are staying up in the air a long time; but we are not yet quite ready to come down.

Fluvial Nomenclature

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