Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. II.djvu/354

Rh the eastern states to be able to imagine how it is in the west.

I am now at an hotel, but shall remove, either tomorrow or the day after, to the house of Senator A., a little way out of the city.

I came here yesterday with my friends from Connecticut. The journey across the Iowa prairie in a half-covered wagon was very pleasant. The weather was as warm as a summer's day, and the sun shone above a fertile, billowy plain, which extended far, far into the distance. Three-fourths of the land of Iowa are said to be of this billowy-prairie land. The country did not appear to be cultivated, but looked extremely beautiful and home-like; one immense pasture-meadow. The scenery of the Mississippi is of a bright, cheerful character.

In the afternoon we reached the little town of Keokuk, on a high bank by the river. We ate a good dinner at a good inn; tea was served for soup, which is a general practice at dinners in the western inns. It was not till late in the evening that the vessel came by which we were to continue our journey, and in the meantime I set off alone on an expedition of discovery. I left behind me the young city of the Mississippi, which has a good situation, and followed a path which led up the hill along the river-side. The sun was descending, and clouds of a pale crimson tint covered the western heavens. The air was mild and calm, the whole scene expansive, bright, and calm, an idyllian landscape on a large scale.

Small houses, at short distances from each other, studded this hill by the river-side; they were neatly built; of wood, of good proportions, and with that appropriateness and cleverness which distinguishes the work of the Americans. They were each one like the other, and seemed to be the habitations of work-people. Most of the doors stood open, probably to admit the mild evening air. I availed myself of this circumstance to gain a sight