from western Illinois and southeast Iowa. Those
18000 soon would be joined principally in southwest
Iowa by 3000 to 5000 Mormons from other parts of
the U.S. and Canada and by more than 9000 from
western Europe and the British Isles. The later
came by contract ships to New Orleans and then up
the Mississippi-Missouri by steamboat.

     There was, of course, not sufficient wood, water
and grazing land in any one location to supply
 those 30,000 Mormon pioneers. So they built about
55 towns scattered through southwest Iowa and