IN giving this little book to the citizens of Marshall County, it may be well to say it was written under many embarrassing circumstances, and not with the intention of making any elaborate literary effort. We have only tried to show the great advance made in the wealth and prosperity of this section of Iowa — the rightful heritage of the toilers amid the rocks and sterile soil of the East; therefore, we ask the kindly consideration of the critic. We commenced it as a pamphlet work, but many wishing it in a more permanent form, we have finally issued it to our readers in a manner better suited to their tastes.