The city is built on a bluff 70 or 80 feet above the level of the river. The sides of this bluff have been gradually graded until they now form a succession of terraces, upon which the greater part of the business portion is located. Considering the difficulties to be overcome, the city is regularly laid out, and is well built. Limestone of an excellent quality is abundant in the vicinity, and has been largely used in building, thus giving to the place an appearance of elegance and solidity. The streets are wide, well paved, and shaded with trees.

The principal buildings are the State House, built of brick, 143 by 50 feet; the State Arsenal; the New Opera House; and the Athenæum.

The city contains 21 or 22 churches, several public and private schools and colleges, 1 or 2 public libraries, and 4 or 5 newspaper offices. It is lighted with gas, and is supplied with water. It is governed by a Mayor and Common Council. In 1870 the population was 20,031.

St. Paul is connected with Chicago and Milwaukee by railway, and also with Duluth at the head of Lake Superior. A line is also in progress north-westward, which is to connect with the Northern

Pacific Railway. The city lies at the head of steamboat navigation on the Mississippi. About 50 steamers ply between St. Paul and Dubuque, La Crosse, and St. Louis. The aggregate tonnage of St. Paul for 1867 was 13,308 tons. There are a number of steam sawmills and flour-mills in the vicinity.

St. Paul is growing very rapidly in population and importance. It was visited as early as 1680 by Father Hennepin. The first actual settlement, however, was made in 1838 by Parraut, a Canadian. Father Gaultier, a Chatholic missionary, built a log chapel on the edge of the bluff, which he called St. Paul's. This became the name of the settlement. Upon the organization of the Territory of Minnesota in 1849 St. Paul became the capital. It was incorporated as a town in the same year, and as a city in 1854.

MINNEAPOLIS,

In Hennepin county, is a flourishing city. It is situated on the right or west bank of the Mississippi, opposite the town of St. Anthony, and at the Falls of St. Anthony, 7 or 8 miles northwest of St. Paul. It contains the county buildings, about 10 churches, several schools, 4 hotels, and a newspaper office. It is united with the town of St. Anthony by 2 bridges. It contains also several founderies, woollen mills, machine shops, and saw-mills. The latter, it is stated, saw about 70,000,000 feet of lumber annually. The river here affords immerse water-power. It is stated that the product of the mills at the Falls of St. Anthony in 1867 was valued at $4,669,358. In 1870 the population of Minneapolis was 13,066.

It is rapidly increasing. It is connected by railway with St. Paul.

WINONA,

In the county of the same name, is situated on the right or southwestern bank of the Mississippi, 105 miles by land below St. Paul. It contains the county buildings, about 12 churches, several schools, one of which is a Normal School, and 2 newspaper offices. It is the principal market of a rich and flourishing agricultural country, and is noted for its heavy shipments of grain, being the principal wheat market of the State. It possesses also a considerable trade in lumber. Timber and limestone abound in the county. It is connected by railway with St. Paul, Milwaukee, and Chicago, and has steamboat communication with the towns on the Mississippi. It was first settled in 1851, and in 1857 was chartered as a city. In 1870 the population was 7192.

THE State of Iowa is situated between 40° 30′ and 43° 30' N. latitude, and between 90° and 97° W. longitude. It is bounded on the north by Minnesota, on the east by Wisconsin and Illinois, from which it is separated by the Mississippi River, on the south by Missouri, and on the west by Nebraska and Dakota Territory.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The surface of the State is generally a fine rolling prairie. The highest land in the State, Table Mound, is not over 500 feet high. In the northwest there is a rugged region called the "Coteau des Prairies."

The Mississippi River forms the eastern boundary of the State, and receives the waters of the Des Moines (beginning on the south), Skunk, Iowa, Wapsipinicon, Makoqueta, and Upper Iowa. Davenport, Burlington, and Dubuque are the principal towns on the Mississippi. The Des Moines River is the principal stream lying within the State. It rises in the extreme southern part of Minnesota, and flows southeast across Iowa into the Mississippi, at Keokuk, dividing the State almost exactly in half. It is about 450 miles long, and at high water is navigable for light draught steamers for 250 miles. It flows through an undulating country abounding in rich prairies. The Iowa River rises in the northern part of the State, in Hancock county, and flows southeast into the Mississippi. It is about 300 miles long, and is navigable to Iowa city, 80 miles, at high water. Its principal branch is the Red Cedar River, which rises in the southern part of

Minnesota, and flows southeast into it about 25 or 30 miles from its mouth. It is about 300 miles long, and is a fine mill stream. The Missouri River forms the western boundary from Sioux City to the Missouri line, and receives the waters of the Big and Little Sioux and several smaller streams. The principal towns on the Missouri are Sioux City and Council Bluffs. A number of the tributaries of the Missouri rise in the southern counties, and flow southward into the State of Missouri.

Several small lakes lie in the Northern counties, the principal of which is Spirit Lake, in Dickinson county.

MINERALS.

The coal beds of this State are immense, and are said to underlie an area of 20,000 square miles. In some places they are more than 100 feet thick, and as they lie near the surface can be worked at a slight expense. "The lead mines of the northeast, of which Dubuque is the centre, are continuous of those in Wisconsin, and are being extensively and profitably worked. Zinc occurs in the fissures along with the lead, and copper is also found in this region and along the Cedar River. Iron ore exists in considerable quantities, but is not much worked. Many portions of the State are underlaid with limestone, and building stone of several varieties exists, the Annamosa quarries, of Jones county, ranking among the best in the State. Gypsum also appears in limited quantities, and peat abounds in a number of counties, one bed in Sac county containing over 300 acres, from 3 to 9 feet in thickness."

CLIMATE.

The climate is milder than that of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The "Hand-Book of Iowa" thus speaks of it: "Our spring usually commences in March, and by the middle of April the prairies are green, with mild, beautiful weather. In May, all the face of nature is covered with flowers, and the foliage of the prairies bends before the breeze like the waves of an enchanted lake, whilst the whole atmosphere is scented with the breath of flowers. At all seasons of the year, a gentle breeze is fanning the prairies, and a day is never so sultry but that a cooling breath comes to moderate the melting temperature. The evening twilights are beautiful, in most seasons of the year, continuing nearly two hours after sunset. Ten months in the year our roads are hard, smooth and dry. In autumn, the weather, with little exception, is usually pleasant and fine until near December. Winter brings us