MAPS
| Linn County | [1] |
| Showing Black Hawk Purchase | [184] |
| Showing Des Moines County Subdivided | [185] |
| After the Sac and Fox Cessions of 1837 | [190] |
| Late Division of Black Hawk Purchase | [191] |
| Showing the two Cessions as at Present Divided | [197] |
| Reproduction of the First Map of Cedar Rapids (part 1) | [316] |
| Reproduction of the First Map of Cedar Rapids (part 2) | [316] |
[CHAPTER I]
The Birth of Iowa
Iowa is known as a prairie state. Prairie is a French word and signifies meadow. It was the name first applied to the great treeless plains of North America by the French missionaries who were the first white men to explore these regions.
As yet scientists have not been able to explain the origin of the prairies. Different theories have been advanced, but the interesting problem is without satisfactory and conclusive solution.