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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4981-0.txt b/4981-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e6f812e --- /dev/null +++ b/4981-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7384 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 4981 *** + + + + + MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH: + + IN + + Letters descriptive of a Tour through the North-West, + + IN THE AUTUMN OF 1856. + + WITH + + INFORMATION RELATIVE TO PUBLIC LANDS, + + AND + + A TABLE OF STATISTICS. + + By C. C. ANDREWS, + + COUNSELOR AT LAW; EDITOR OF THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL + OF THE UNITED STATES. + + "From the forests and the prairies, + From the great lakes of the Northland, + From the land of the Ojibways, + From the land of the Dacotahs." + + LONGFELLOW + + SECOND EDITION. + W A S H I N G T O N: + ROBERT FARNHAM + 1857 + _______ + + Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1857, by + + C. C. ANDREWS, + + In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and + for the District of Columbia. + _______ + + PHILADELPHIA: + + STEREOTYPED BY E. B. MEARS. + + PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON. + _______ + + THESE + + "Trivial Fond Records" + + ARE + + RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED + + TO THE + + YOUNG MEN OF MINNESOTA. + _______ + + INTRODUCTION. + _______ + + THE object of publishing these letters can be very briefly stated. + +During the last autumn I made a tour into Minnesota, upwards of a +hundred and thirty miles north-west of St. Paul, to satisfy myself as +to the character and prospects of the territory. All I could learn +from personal observation, and otherwise, concerning its society and +its ample means of greatness, impressed me so favorably as to the +advantages still open to the settler, that I put down in the form of +letters such facts as I thought would be of general interest. Since +their publication-- in the Boston, Post-- a few requests, which I +could not comply with, were made for copies of them all. I was led to +believe, therefore, that if I revised them and added information +relative to unoccupied lands, the method of preemption, and the +business interests of the territory, they would be worthy of +publication in a more permanent form. Conscious that what I have +written is an inadequate description of that splendid domain, I shall +be happy indeed to have contributed, in ever so small a degree, to +advance its growth and welfare. + +Here I desire to acknowledge the aid which has been readily extended +to my undertaking by the Delegate from Minnesota-- Hon. HENRY M. +RICE-- whose faithful and unwearied services-- I will take the liberty +to add-- in behalf of the territory, merit the highest praise. I am +also indebted for valuable information to EARL S. GOODRICH, Esq., +editor of the Daily Pioneer (St. Paul) and Democrat. + +In another place I give a list of the works which I have had occasion +to consult or refer to. + + C. C. ANDREWS. + +Washington, January 1, 1857. + _______ + + LIST OF WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED OR REFERRED TO IN THE + PREPARATION OF THIS WORK. + +Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, by Major Z. M. PIKE vol. +Philadelphia; 1807. + +Travels to the Source of the Missouri River, by Captains LEWIS and +CLARKE. 3 vols. London: 1815. + +Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter's River, Lake Winnepek, &c., +under command of Major STEPHEN H. LONG 2 vols. Philadelphia: 1824. + +British Dominions in North America. By JOSEPH BOUCHETTE, Esq. 3 vols. +London: 1832. + +History of the Colonies of the British Empire. By R. M. MARTIN, Esq. +London; 1843. + +Report on the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi, by J. N. +NICOLLET. Senate Document 237, 2d Session, 26th Congress. Washington: +1843. + +Report, of an Exploration of the Territory of Minnesota, by Brevet +Captain JOHN POPE, Corps Topographical Engineers. Senate Document 42, +1st Session, 31st Congress. Washington: 1850. + +Sketches of Minnesota. By E. S. SEYMOUR. New York: 1850. + +Report on Colonial and Lake Trade, by ISRAEL D. ANDREWS, Consul +General of the United States for the British Provinces. Executive +Document 112, 1st Session, 32d Congress. Washington: 1852. + +History of the Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi River. By +J. G. SHEA. New York: 1852. + +Minnesota and its Resources. By J. WESLEY BOND. New York: 1853. + +Discovery of the Sources of the Mississippi River. By HENRY R. +SCHOOLCRAFT. Philadelphia: 1855. + +Exploration and Surveys for a Railroad Route from the Mississippi +River to the Pacific Ocean, made under the direction of the Secretary +of War in 1853-4, (including Reports of Gov. Stevens and others.) +Washington: 1855. + +The Emigrant's Guide to Minnesota By an Old Resident. 1 vol. St. +Anthony: 1856. + _______ + + CONTENTS. + _______ + + LETTER I. BALTIMORE TO CHICAGO. + +Anecdote of a preacher-- Monopoly of seats in the cars-- Detention in +the night-- Mountain scenery on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad-- +Voting in the cars-- Railroad refreshments-- Political excitement-- +The Virginian and the Fremonters-- A walk in Columbus-- Indianapolis-- +Lafayette-- Michigan City-- Chicago + + LETTER II. CHICAGO TO ST. PAUL. + +Railroads to the Mississippi-- Securing passage on the steamboat-- The +Lady Franklin-- Scenery of the Mississippi-- Hastings-- Growth of +settlements + + LETTER III. CITY OF ST. PAUL. + +First settlement of St. Paul-- Population-- Appearance of the city-- +Fuller House-- Visitors-- Roads-- Minneapolis-- St. Anthony-- +Suspension Bridge + + LETTER IV. THE BAR. + +Character of the Minnesota bar-- Effect of connecting land business +with practice-- Courts-- Recent Legislation of Congress as to the +territorial judiciary-- The code of practice-- Practice in land +cases-- Chances for lawyers in the West-- Charles O'Connor-- Requisite +qualifications of a lawyer-- The power and usefulness of a great +lawyer-- Talfourd's character of Sir William Follett-- Blending law +with politics-- Services of lawyers in deliberative assemblies + + LETTER V. ST. PAUL TO CROW WING IN TWO DAYS. + +Stages-- Roads-- Rum River-- Indian treaty-- Itasca-- Sauk Rapids-- +Watab at midnight-- Lodging under difficulties-- Little Rock River-- +Character of Minnesota streams-- Dinner at Swan River-- Little Falls-- +Fort Ripley-- Arrival at Crow Wing + + LETTER VI. THE TOWN OF CROW WING. + +Scenery-- First Settlement of Crow Wing-- Red Lake Indians-- Mr. +Morrison-- Prospects of the town-- Upper navigation-- Mr. Beaulieu-- +Washington's theory as to Norfolk-- Observations on the growth of +towns + + LETTER VII. CHIPPEWA INDIANS-- HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. + +Description of the Chippewa tribes-- Their habits and customs-- +Mission at Gull Lake-- Progress in farming-- Visit to +Hole-in-the-day-- His enlightened character-- Reflections on Indian +character, and the practicability of their civilization-- Their +education-- Mr. Manypenny's exertions + + LETTER VIII. LUMBERING INTERESTS. + +Lumber as an element of wealth-- Quality of Minnesota lumber-- +Locality of its growth-- The great pineries-- Trespasses on government +land-- How the lumbermen elude the government-- Value of lumber-- +Character of the practical lumberman-- Transportation of lumber on +rafts + + LETTER IX. SHORES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. + +Description of the country around Lake Superior-- Minerals-- Locality +of a commercial city-- New land districts-- Buchanan-- Ojibeway-- +Explorations to the sources of the Mississippi-- Henry R. +Schoolcraft-- M. Nicollet's report-- Resources of the country above +Crow Wing + + LETTER X. VALLEY OF THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH. + +Climate of Minnesota-- The settlement at Pembina-- St. Joseph-- Col. +Smith's expedition-- Red River of the North-- Fur trade-- Red River +Settlement-- The Hudson's Bay Company-- Ex-Gov. Ramsey's +observations-- Dacotah + + LETTER XI. THE TRUE PIONEER. + +Energy of the pioneer-- Frontier life-- Spirit of emigration-- +Advantages to the farmer in moving West-- Advice in regard to making +preemption claims-- Abstract of the preemption law-- Hints to the +settler-- Character and services of the pioneer + + LETTER XII. SPECULATION AND BUSINESS. + +Opportunities to select farms-- Otter Tail Lake-- Advantages of the +actual settler over the speculator-- Policy of new states as to taxing +non-residents-- Opportunities to make money-- Anecdote of Col. +Perkins-- Mercantile business-- Price of money-- Intemperance-- +Education-- The free school + + LETTER XIII. CROW WING TO ST. CLOUD. + +Pleasant drive in the stage-- Scenery-- The past-- Fort Ripley Ferry-- +Delay at the Post Office-- Belle Prairie-- A Catholic priest-- Dinner +at Swan River-- Potatoes-- Arrival at Watab-- St. Cloud + + LETTER XIV. ST. CLOUD-- THE PACIFIC TRAIL. + +Agreeable visit at St. Cloud-- Description of the place-- Causes of +the rapid growth of towns-- Gen. Lowry-- The back country-- Gov. +Stevens's report-- Mr. Lambert's views-- Interesting account of Mr. A. +W. Tinkham's exploration + + LETTER XV. ST. CLOUD TO ST. PAUL. + +Importance of starting early-- Judge Story's theory of early rising-- +Rustic scenery-- Horses and mules-- Surveyors-- Humboldt-- Baked +fish-- Getting off the track-- Burning of hay stacks-- Supper at St. +Anthony-- Arrival at the Fuller House + + LETTER XVI. PROGRESS. + +Rapid growth of the North-West-- Projected railroads-- Territorial +system of the United States-- Inquiry into the cause of Western +progress-- Influence of just laws and institutions-- Lord Bacon's +remark + + THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF DACOTAH. + +Organization of Minnesota as a state-- Suggestions as to its +division-- Views of Captain Pope-- Character and resources of the new +territory to be left adjoining-- Its occupation by the Dacotah +Indians-- Its organization and name + + POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS + + LAND OFFICES AND LAND OFFICERS + + NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA + + TABLE OF DISTANCES + + PRE-EMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES + _______ + + PART I. + + LETTERS ON MINNESOTA. + _______ + + MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH. + _______ + + LETTER I. + + BALTIMORE TO CHICAGO. + +Anecdote of a preacher-- Monopoly of seats in the cars-- Detention in +the night-- Mountain scenery on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad-- +Voting in the cars-- Railroad refreshments-- Political excitement-- +The Virginian and the Fremonters-- A walk in Columbus-- Indianapolis-- +Lafayette-- Michigan City-- Chicago. + +CHICAGO, October, 1856. + +I SIT down at the first place where a pen can be used, to give you +some account of my trip to Minnesota. And if any one should complain +that this is a dull letter, let me retain his good-will by the +assurance that the things I expect to describe in my next will be of +more novelty and interest. And here I am reminded of a good little +anecdote which I am afraid I shall not have a better chance to tell. +An eminent minister of the Gospel was preaching in a new place one +Sunday, and about half through his sermon when two or three +dissatisfied hearers got up to leave, "My friends," said he, "I have +one small favor to ask. As an attempt has been made to prejudice my +reputation in this vicinity, I beg you to be candid enough, if any one +asks how you liked my sermon, to say you didn't stop to hear me +through." + +Stepping into the cars on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad a few +evenings ago-- for I am not going to say anything of my trip further +east-- I saw as great an exhibition of selfishness as one often meets +in travelling. This was in the rear car, the others being all crowded. +The seats were spacious, and had high backs for night travelling. A +gentleman entered the car and proposed to sit in a seat in which was +only one child, but he was informed by a feminine voice in the rear +that the whole seat was taken-- so he advanced to the next seat, which +was occupied by another child, a boy about eight years old-- again the +same voice, confirmed by one of the other sex, informed him in very +decided terms that that also was wholly occupied. The gentleman of +course did not attempt to take a seat with this lady, but advancing +still further, in a seat behind her he saw another child the only +occupant. His success here was no better. The fact was, here was a +family of a husband, wife, and three children occupying five entire +seats. The traveller politely asked if it would not be convenient for +two of the children to sit together. "No," said the lady and her +husband (and they spoke together, though they didn't sit together), +"the children want all the room so as to sleep." The traveller +betrayed no feeling until the husband aforesaid pointed out for him a +seat next to a colored woman who sat alone near the door of the car, +some little distance off. It was quite apparent, and it was the fact, +that this colored woman was the servant of the family; and the +traveller appeared to think that, although as an "original question" +he might not object to the proffered seat, yet it was not civil for a +man to offer him what he would not use himself. The scene closed by +the traveller's taking a seat with another gentleman, I mention this +incident because it is getting to be too common for people to claim +much more room than belongs to them, and because I have seen persons +who are modest and unused to travelling subjected to considerable +annoyance in consequence. Moreover, conductors are oftentimes fishing +so much after popularity, that they wink at misconduct in high life. + +Somewhere about midnight, along the banks of the Potomac, and, if I +remember right, near the town of Hancock, the cars were detained for +three hours. A collision had occurred twelve hours before, causing an +extensive destruction of cars and freight, and heavy fragments of both +lay scattered over the track. Had it not been for the skilful use of a +steam-engine in dragging off the ruins, we must have waited till the +sun was up. Two or three large fires were kindled with the ruins, so +that the scene of the disaster was entirely visible. And the light +shining in the midst of the thick darkness, near the river, with the +crowd of people standing around, was not very romantic, perhaps not +picturesque-- but it was quite novel; and the novelty of the scene +enabled us to bear with greater patience the gloomy delay. + +The mountain scenery in plain sight of the traveller over the +Baltimore and Ohio road is more extensive and protracted, and I think +as beautiful, as on any road in the United States. There are as wild +places seen on the road across Tennessee from Nashville, and as +picturesque scenes on the Pennsylvania Central road-- perhaps the +White Mountains as seen from the Atlantic and St. Lawrence road +present a more sublime view-- but I think on the road I speak of, +there is more gorgeous mountain scenery than on any other. On such +routes one passes through a rude civilization. The settlements are +small and scattered, exhibiting here and there instances of thrift and +contentment, but generally the fields are small and the houses in +proportion. The habits of the people are perhaps more original than +primitive. It was along the route that I saw farmers gathering their +corn on sleds. The cheerful scene is often witnessed of the whole +family-- father, mother, and children-- at work gathering the crops. +These pictures of cottage life in the mountain glens, with the +beautiful variegated foliage of October for groundwork, are objects +which neither weary nor satiate our sight. + +The practice of taking a vote for presidential candidates in the cars +has been run into the ground. By this I mean that it has been carried +to a ridiculous excess. So far I have had occasion to vote several +times. A man may be indifferent as to expressing his vote when out of +his state; but a man's curiosity must have reached a high pitch when +he travels through a train of cars to inquire how the passengers vote. +It is not uncommon, I find, for people to carry out the joke by voting +with their real opponents. Various devices are resorted to to get a +unanimous vote. For example, a man will say, "All who are in favor of +Buchanan take off their boots; all in favor of Fremont keep them on." +Again, when there are several passengers on a stage-coach out west, +and they are passing under the limbs of a tree, or low bridge, as they +are called, it is not unusual far a Fremont man to say, "All in favor +of Fremont bow their heads." + +I have a word to say about refreshments on railroad routes. It is, +perhaps, well known that the price for a meal anywhere on a railroad +in the United States is fifty cents. That is the uniform price. Would +that the meals were as uniform! But alas! a man might as well get a +quid of tobacco with his money, for he seldom gets a quid pro quo. +Once in a couple of days' travel you may perhaps get a wholesome meal, +but as a general thing what you get (when you get out of New England) +isn't worth over a dime. You stop at a place, say for breakfast, after +having rode all night. The conductor calls out, "Twenty minutes for +breakfast." There is a great crowd and a great rush, of course. Well, +the proprietor expects there will be a crowd, and ought to be +prepared. But how is it? Perhaps you are lucky enough to get a seat at +the table. Then your chance to get something to eat is as one to +thirteen: for as there is nothing of any consequence on the table, +your luck depends on your securing the services of a waiter who at the +same time is being called on by about thirteen others as hungry as +yourself. Then suppose you succeed! First comes a cup of black coffee, +strong of water; then a piece of tough fried beef steak, some fried +potatoes, a heavy biscuit-- a little sour (and in fact everything is +sour but the pickles). You get up when you have finished eating-- it +would be a mockery to say when you have satisfied your appetite-- and +at the door stand two muscular men (significantly the proprietor is +aware of the need of such) with bank bills drawn through their +fingers, who are prepared to receive your 50c. It is not unusual to +hear a great deal of indignation expressed by travellers on such +occasions. No man has a right to grumble at the fare which hospitality +sets before him. But when he buys a dinner at a liberal price, in a +country where provisions are abundant, he has a right to expect +something which will sustain life and health. Those individuals who +have the privilege of furnishing meals to railroad travellers probably +find security in the reflection that their patronage does not depend +on the will of their patrons. But the evil can be remedied by the +proprietors and superintendents of the roads, and the public will look +for a reformation in dinners and suppers at their hands. + +I might say that from Benwood, near Wheeling-- where I arrived at +about four in the afternoon, having been nearly twenty-four hours +coming 875 miles-- I passed on to Zanesville to spend the night; +thinking it more convenient, as it surely was, to go to bed at eleven +at night and start the next morning at eight, than to go to bed at +Wheeling at nine, or when I chose, and start again at two in the +morning. The ride that evening was pleasant. The cars were filled with +lusty yeomen, all gabbling politics. There was an overwhelming +majority for Fremont. Under such circumstances it was a virtue for a +Buchanan man to show his colors. There was a solid old Virginian +aboard; and his open and intelligent countenance-- peculiar, it seems +to me, to Virginia-- denoted that he was a good-hearted man. I was +glad to see him defend his side of politics with so much zeal against +the Fremonters. He argued against half a dozen of them with great +spirit and sense. In spite of the fervor of his opponents, however, +they treated him with proper respect and kindness. It was between +eleven and twelve when I arrived at Zanesville. I hastened to the +Stacy House with my friend, J. E B. (a young gentleman on his way to +Iowa, whose acquaintance I regard it as good luck to have made). The +Stacy House could give us lodgings, but not a mouthful of +refreshments. As the next best thing, we descended to a restaurant, +which seemed to be in a very drowsy condition, where we soon got some +oyster and broiled chicken, not however without paying for it an +exorbitant price. I rather think, however, I shall go to the Stacy +House again when next I visit Zanesville, for, on the whole, I have no +fault to find with it. Starting at eight the next morning, we were +four hours making the distance (59 miles) from Zanesville to Columbus. +The road passes through a country of unsurpassed loveliness. Harvest +fields, the most luxuriant, were everywhere in view. At nearly every +stopping-place the boys besieged us with delicious apples and grapes, +too tempting to be resisted. We had an hour to spend at Columbus, +which, after booking our names at the Neil House for dinner-- and +which is a capital house-- we partly spent in a walk about the city. +It is the capital of the state, delightfully situated on the Scioto +river, and has a population in the neighborhood of 20,000. The new +Capitol there is being built on a scale of great magnificence. Though +the heat beat down intensely, and the streets were dusty, we were +"bent on seeing the town." We-- my friend B. and myself-- had walked +nearly half a mile down one of the fashionable streets for dwellings, +when we came to a line which was drawn across the sidewalk in front of +a residence, which, from the appearance, might have belonged to one of +the upper-ten. The line was in charge of two or three little girls, +the eldest of whom was not over twelve. She was a bright-eyed little +miss, and had in her face a good share of that metal which the vulgar +think is indispensable to young lawyers. We came to a gradual pause at +sight of this novel obstruction. "Buchanan, Fillmore, or Fremont?" +said she, in a tone of dogmatical interrogatory. B. was a fervid +Fremonter-- he probably thought she was-- so he exclaimed, "Vermont +for ever!" I awaited the sequel in silence. "Then you may go round," +said the little female politician. "You may go round," and round we +went, not a little amused at such an exhibition of enthusiasm. I +remember very well the excitement during the campaign of 1840; and I +did my share with the New Hampshire boys in getting up decoy cider +barrels to humbug the Whigs as they passed in their barouches to +attend some great convention or hear Daniel Webster. But it seems to +me there is much more political excitement during this campaign than +there was in 1840. Flagstaffs and banners abound in the greatest +profusion in every village. Every farm-house has some token of its +polities spread to the breeze. + +At twenty minutes past one-- less or more-- we left Columbus, and +after travelling 158 miles, via Dayton, we came to Indianapolis, the +great "Railroad City," as it is called, of the west. It was half past +nine when we arrived there. I did not have time to go up to the Bates +House, where I once had the pleasure of stopping, but concluded to get +supper at a hotel near the depot, where there was abundant time to go +through the ceremony of eating. It strikes me that Indianapolis would +be an agreeable place to reside in. There are some cities a man feels +at home in as soon as he gets into them; there are others which make +him homesick; just as one will meet faces which in a moment make a +good impression on him, or which leave a dubious or disagreeable +impression. That city has 16,000 people. Its streets are wide, and its +walks convenient. All things denote enterprise, liberality, and +comfort. It is 210 miles from Indianapolis to this city, via Lafayette +and Michigan City. We ought to have made the time in less than twelve +hours, and, but for protracted detentions at Lafayette and Michigan +City, we would have done so. We reached the latter place at daylight, +and there waited about the depot in dull impatience for the Detroit +and Chicago train. It is the principal lake harbor in Indiana. + +It is about two years since I was last in Chicago; and as I have +walked about its streets my casual observation confirms the universal +account of its growth and prosperity. I have noticed some new and +splendid iron and marble buildings in the course of completion. +Chicago is a great place to find old acquaintances. For its busy +population comprises citizens from every section of the United States, +and from every quarter of the globe. The number of its inhabitants is +now estimated at 100,000. Everybody that can move is active. It is a +city of activity. Human thoughts are all turned towards wealth. All +seem to he contending in the race for riches: some swift and daring on +the open course; some covertly lying low for a by-path. You go along +the streets by jerks: down three feet to the street here; then up four +slippery steps to the sidewalk there. Here a perfect crowd and +commotion-- almost a mob-- because the drawbridge is up. You would +think there was a wonderful celebration coming off at twelve, and that +everybody was hurrying through his work to be in season for it. Last +year 20,000,000 bushels of grain were brought into Chicago. Five years +ago there were not a hundred miles of railroad in the state of +Illinois. Now there are more than two thousand. Illinois has all the +elements of empire. Long may its great metropolis prosper! + + LETTER II. + + CHICAGO TO ST. PAUL. + +Railroads to the Mississippi-- Securing passage on the steamboat-- The +Lady Franklin-- Scenery of the Mississippi-- Hastings-- Growth of +settlements + +ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +HOW short a time it is since a railroad to the Mississippi was thought +a wonder! And now within the state of Illinois four terminate on its +banks. Of course I started on one of these roads from Chicago to get +to Dunleith. I think it is called the Galena and Chicago Union Road. A +good many people have supposed Galena to be situated on the +Mississippi river, and indeed railroad map makers have had it so +located as long as it suited their convenience-- (for they have a +remarkable facility in annihilating distance and in making crooked +ways straight)-- yet the town is some twelve miles from the great +river on a narrow but navigable stream. The extent and importance of +Rockford, Galena, and Dunleith cannot fail to make a strong impression +on the traveller. They are towns of recent growth, and well illustrate +that steam-engine sort of progress peculiar now-a-days in the west. +Approaching Galena we leave the region of level prairie and enter a +mineral country of naked bluffs or knolls, where are seen extensive +operations in the lead mines. The trip from Chicago to Dunleith at the +speed used on most other roads would be performed in six hours, but +ten hours are usually occupied, for what reason I cannot imagine. +However, the train is immense, having on board about six or seven +hundred first class passengers, and two-thirds as many of the second +class. Travelling in the cars out west is not exactly what it is +between Philadelphia and New York, or New York and Boston, in this +respect: that in the West more families are found, in the cars, and +consequently more babies and carpet bags. + +It may not be proper to judge of the health of a community by the +appearance of people who are seen standing about a railroad station; +yet I have often noticed, when travelling through Illinois, that this +class had pale and sickly countenances, showing too clearly the traces +of fever and ague. + +But I wish to speak about leaving the cars at Dunleith and taking the +steamboat for St. Paul. There is a tremendous rush for the boats in +order to secure state-rooms. Agents of different boats approach the +traveller, informing him all about their line of boats, and +depreciating the opposition boats. For instance, an agent, or, if you +please, a runner of a boat called Lucy-- not Long-- made the assertion +on the levee with great zeal and perfect impunity that no other boat +but the said Lucy would leave for St. Paul within twenty-four hours; +when it must have been known to him that another boat on the mail line +would start that same evening, as was actually the fact. But the +activity of the runners was needless; for each boat had more +passengers than it could well accommodate. I myself went aboard the " +Lady Franklin," one of the mail boats, and was accommodated with a +state-room. But what a scene is witnessed for the first two hours +after the passengers begin to come aboard! The cabin is almost filled, +and a dense crowd surrounds the clerk's office, just as the ticket +office of a theatre is crowded on a benefit night. Of course not more +than half can get state-rooms and the rest must sleep on the cabin +floor. Over two hundred cabin passengers came up on the Lady Franklin. +The beds which are made on the floor are tolerably comfortable, as +each boat is supplied with an extra number of single mattresses. The +Lady Franklin is an old boat, and this is said to be its last season.1 +Two years ago it was one of the excursion fleet to St. Paul, and was +then in its prime. But steamboats are short lived. We had three tables +set, and those who couldn't get a seat at the first or second sat at +the third. There was a choice you may believe, for such was the havoc +made with the provisions at the first table that the second and third +were not the most inviting. It was amusing to see gentlemen seat +themselves in range of the plates as soon as they were laid, and an +hour before the table was ready. But the officers were polite-- as is +generally the case on steamboats till you get down to the second +mate-- and in the course of a day or two, when the passengers begin to +be acquainted, the time wears away pleasantly. We were nearly four +days in making the trip. The line of boats of which the Lady Franklin +is one, carries the mail at fifty dollars a trip. During the boating +season I believe the fare varies from seven to ten dollars to St. +Paul.2 This season there have been two lines of boats running to +Minnesota. All of them have made money fast; and next season many more +boats will run. The "Northern Belle" is the best boat this season, and +usually makes the trip up in two days. The advertised time is thirty +hours. + +[1 Three weeks after this trip the Lady Franklin was snagged, and +became a total toss.] + +[2 The following is a table of distances from Galena to St. Paul: + +Dubuque, + +24 + + +Dunleith, + +1 + +25 + +Potosi Landing, + +14 + +39 + +Waupaton, + +10 + +49 + +Buena Vista, + +5 + +54 + +Cassville, + +4 + +58 + +Guttenberg, + +10 + +68 + +Clayton, + +12 + +80 + +Wyalusing, + +5 + +85 + +McGregor's, + +6 + +91 + +Prairie du Chien, + +4 + +95 + +Red House, + +5 + +100 + +Johnson's Landing, + +2 + +102 + +Lafayette, + +30 + +132 + +Columbus, + +2 + +134 + +Lansing, + +1 + +135 + +De Soto, + +6 + +141 + +Victory, + +10 + +151 + +Badaxe City, + +10 + +161 + +Warner's Landing, + +6 + +167 + +Brownsville, + +10 + +177 + +La Crosse, + +12 + +189 + +Dacotah, + +12 + +201 + +Richmond, + +6 + +207 + +Monteville, + +5 + +212 + +Homer, + +10 + +222 + +Winona, + +7 + +229 + +Fountain City, + +12 + +241 + +Mount Vernon, + +14 + +255 + +Minneiska, + +4 + +259 + +Alma, + +15 + +274 + +Wabashaw, + +10 + +284 + +Nelson's Landing, + +3 + +287 + +Reed's Landing, + +2 + +289 + +Foot of Lake Pepin, + +2 + +291 + +North Pepin, + +6 + +297 + +Johnstown, + +2 + +299 + +Lake City, + +5 + +304 + +Central Point, + +2 + +306 + +Florence, + +3 + +309 + +Maiden Rock, + +3 + +312 + +Westerville, + +3 + +315 + +Wacouta, + +12 + +327 + +Red Wing, + +6 + +333 + +Thing's Landing, + +7 + +340 + +Diamond bluff, + +8 + +348 + +Prescott, + +13 + +361 + +Point Douglass, + +1 + +362 + +Hastings, + +3 + +365 + +Grey Cloud, + +12 + +377 + +Pine Bend, + +4 + +381 + +Red Rock, + +8 + +389 + +Kaposia, + +3 + +392 + +St. Paul, + +5 + +397 + +] + +The scenery on the upper Mississippi is reputed to be beautiful. So it +is. Yet all river scenery is generally monotonous. One gets tired of +looking at high rocky ridges quite as quickly as at more tame and +tranquil scenery. The bluffs on either side of the Mississippi, for +most of the way between Dunleith and St. Anthony's Falls, constitute +some of the most beautiful river scenery in the world. It is seldom +that they rise over two hundred feet from the water level, and their +height is quite uniform, so that from a distant point of view their +summit resembles a huge fortification. Nor, as a general thing, do +they present a bold or rocky front. The rise from the river is +gradual. Sometimes they rise to a sharp peak, towards the top of which +crops out in half circles heavy ridges of limestone. The ravines which +seem to divide them into separate elevations, are more thickly wooded, +and appear to have been grooved out by the rolling down of deep +waters. The most attractive feature of these bluffs-- or miniature +mountains, as they might be called-- is their smooth grassy surface, +thinly covered over with shade trees of various kinds. Whoever has +seen a large orchard on a hill side can imagine how the sides of these +bluffs look. At this season of the year the variegated foliage of the +trees gives them a brilliant appearance. It is quite rare to see a +bluff which rises gradually enough to admit of its being a good town +site. Hence it is that settlements on the banks of the river will +never be very numerous. Nature has here interposed against that +civilization which adorns the lower Mississippi. It appears to me that +all the available points for town sites on the river are taken up as +far as the bluffs extend; and some of these will require a great +amount of excavation before they can grow to importance. + +But there are several thrifty and pleasant villages in Minnesota, on +the river, before reaching St. Paul. The first one of importance is +Brownsville, where, for some time, was a United States land office. It +is 168 miles above Dunleith. Winona, 58 miles farther up, is a larger +town. It is said to contain 5000 population. There is a land office +there also. But the town stands on land which, in very high water, +will run too much risk of inundation. Passing by several other +landings and germs of towns, we come to Wacouta, ninety-eight miles +above; which is a successful lumber depot. Six miles further on is Red +Wing, a place which delighted me on account of its cheerful location. +It is growing quite fast, and is the seat of a large Methodist +seminary. But the town of Hastings, thirty-two miles above, eclipses +everything but St. Paul. It is finely located on rising ground, and +the river is there narrow and deep. The boat stopped here an hour, and +I had a good opportunity to look about the place. The town appears to +have considerable trade with the back country. Its streets are laid +out with regularity; its stores and buildings are spacious, durable, +and neat. I heard that over $2000 were asked for several of the +building lots. A little way into the interior of the town I saw men at +work on a stone church; and approaching the spot, I determined to make +some inquiries of a boy who was briskly planing boards. First, I asked +how much the church was going to cost? About $3000, he replied. + +"Are there any other churches in the place?" + +"Yes, up there, where they are building." + +"What denomination is that?" + +"I don't know," he responded. "I only came into the place yesterday." + +I thought he was doing well to begin to build churches so soon after +his arrival. And from his countenance, I have no doubt he will do +well, and become a useful citizen of the state. Hastings has its +democratic press-- the Dakota Journal, edited by J. C. Dow, a talented +young man from New Hampshire. The population of the town is about two +thousand. It is thirty-two miles below St. Paul, on the west side of +the river. There is nothing of especial interest between the two +places. + +The great panorama which time paints is but a species of dissolving +views. It is but as yesterday since the present sites of towns and +cities on the shores just referred to showed only the rude huts of +Indian tribes. To-day, the only vestige left there of the Indian are +his burying-grounds. Hereafter the rudeness of pioneer life shall be +exchanged for a more genial civilization, and the present, then the +past, will be looked back to as trivial by men still yearning for the +future. + + LETTER III. + + CITY OF ST. PAUL. + +First settlement of St. Paul-- Population-- Appearance of the city-- +Fuller House-- Visitors-- Roads-- Minneapolis-- St. Anthony-- +Suspension Bridge. + +FULLER HOUSE, ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +THE circumstance of finding a good spring of water first led to the +settlement of Boston. It would not be unreasonable to suppose that a +similar advantage induced the first settler of St. Paul to locate +here; for I do not suppose its pioneers for a long while dreamed of +its becoming a place even of its present importance. And here let me +mention that St. Paul is not on the west side of the Mississippi, but +on the east. Though it is rather too elevated and rough in its natural +state to have been coveted for a farm, it is yet just such a spot as a +pioneer would like to plant himself upon, that he might stand in his +door and have a broad and beautiful view towards the south and west. +And when the speculator came he saw that it was at the head of +navigation of what be thought was the Upper Mississippi, but which in +reality is only the Middle Mississippi. Then stores were put up, small +and rude, and trade began to increase with settlers and hunters of +furs. Then came the organization of the territory, and the location of +the capital here, so that St. Paul began to thrive still more from the +crumbs which fell from the government table, as also by that flood of +emigration which nothing except the Rocky Mountains has ever stayed +from entering a new territory. And now it has passed its doubtful era. +It has passed from its wooden to its brick age. Before men are certain +of the success of a town, they erect one story pine shops; but when +its success appears certain, they build high blocks of brick or +granite stores. So now it is common to see four and five story brick +or stone buildings going up in St. Paul. + +I believe this city numbers at present about 10,000 population. It is +destined to increase for a few years still more rapidly than it has +heretofore. But that it will be a second Chicago is what I do not +expect. It would certainly seem that the high prices demanded for +building lots must retard the progress of the place; but I am told the +prices have always been as high in proportion to the business and +number of population. $500 and upwards is asked for a decent building +lot in remote parts of the town. + +I have had an agreeable stroll down upon the bluff, south-east from +the city, and near the elegant mansion of Mr. Dayton. The first +engraving of St. Paul was made from a view taken at that point. As I +stood looking at the city, I recalled the picture in Mr. Bond's work, +and contrasted its present with the appearance it had three or four +years ago. What a change! Three or four steamers were lying at the +levee; steam and smoke were shooting forth from the chimneys of +numerous manufactories; a ferry was plying the Mississippi, +transporting teams and people; church steeples and domes and great +warehouses stood in places which were vacant as if but yesterday; busy +streets had been built and peopled; rows of splendid dwellings and +villas, adorned with delightful terraces and gardens, had been +erected. I went out on Sunday morning too, and the view was none the +less pleasant. Business was silent; but the church bells were ringing +out their sweet and solemn melody, and the mellow sunlight of autumn +glittered on the bright roofs and walls in the city. The whole scene +revealed the glorious image of that ever advancing civilization which +springs from well rewarded labor and general intelligence. + +Like all new and growing places in the west, St. Paul has its whiskey +shops, its dusty and dirty streets, its up and down sidewalks, and its +never-ceasing whirl of business. Yet it has its churches, well filled; +its spacious school-houses; its daily newspapers; and well-adorned +mansions. There are many cottages and gardens situated on the most +elevated part of the city, north and west, which would not suffer by a +comparison with those cheerful and elegant residences so numerous for +six to ten miles around Boston. From the parlors of these homes one +may look down upon the city and upon the smooth bosom of the river. In +the streets, too, you see much evidence of opulence and luxury, in the +shape of handsome carriages, which are set out to advantage by a +first-rate quality of horses. + +One element of the success of this city is the public spirit of its +leading business men. They have put their hands deep into their +pockets to improve and advance the place. In all their rivalry there +is an amicable feeling and boundless liberality. They help him that +tries to help himself, and help each other in a way that will help +them all together; and such kind of enterprises produces grand +results. Why, here is a new hotel (the Fuller House) at which I stop, +which is surpassed but by very few hotels in the country. It is a +first-class house, built of brick, five stories high, and of much +architectural beauty. The building itself cost upwards of $100,000, +and its furniture over $30,000. Its proprietor is Mr. Long, who has +already had good success in this sort of business. One can well +imagine the comfort of finding such a house at the end of a long and +tedious journey in a new country. + +It is estimated that 28,000 people have visited and left St. Paul +during the present season. During July and August the travel +diminishes, but as soon as autumn sets in it comes on again in daily +floods. It is really a novel and interesting state of things one finds +on his arrival at the hotel. There are so many people from so many +different places! Then everybody is a stranger to almost everybody, +and therefore quite willing to get acquainted with somebody. Everybody +wants a bit of information on some point. Everybody is going to some +place where he thinks somebody has been or is going, and so a great +many new acquaintances are made without ceremony or delay; and old +acquaintances are revived. I find people who have come from all +sections of the country-- from the east and the west, and from the +south-- not adventurers merely, but men of substance and means, who +seek a healthier climate and a pleasant home. Nor can I here omit to +mention the meeting of my friend, Col. A. J. Whitney, who is one of +the pioneers of Minnesota, and with whom I had two years before +travelled over the western prairies. A. H. Marshall, Esq., of Concord, +N. H., well known as a popular speaker, is also here on a visit. + +But what are the roads leading from St. Paul, and what are the +facilities of travel to places beyond? These are questions which I +suppose some would like to have answered. There is a road to +Stillwater, and a stage, which I believe runs daily. That is the route +now often taken to Lake Superior. This morning three men came in on +that stage from Superior, who have been a week on the journey. The +great highway of the territory extends as far as Crow Wing, 130 miles +north of here. It passes St. Anthony and several important towns on +the eastern bank of the Mississippi. In a day or two I intend to take +a journey as far as Crow Wing, and I can then write with more +knowledge on the subject. + +A very pretty drive out of St. Paul is by the cave. This is an object +worth visiting, and is about two miles out of the city. Three or four +miles beyond are the beautiful falls of Minnehaha, or laughing water. +The drive also takes in Fort Snelling. St. Anthony is on the east side +of the Mississippi; Minneapolis is opposite, on the west side. Both +places are now large and populous. The main street of St. Anthony is +over a mile in length. One of the finest water powers in the Union is +an element of growth to both towns. The lumber which is sawed there is +immense. A company is undertaking to remove the obstructions to +navigation in the river between St. Paul and St. Anthony. $20,000 were +raised for the purpose; one-half by the Steamboat Company, and the +other half by the people of St. Anthony. The suspension bridge which +connects Minneapolis with St. Anthony is familiar to all. It is a fit +type of the enterprise of the people. I forget the exact sum I paid as +toll when I walked across the bridge-- perhaps it was a dime; at any +rate I was struck with the answer given by the young man who took the +toll, in reply to my inquiry as I returned, if my coming back wasn't +included in the toll paid going over? " No," said he, in a very +good-natured way, "we don't know anything about coming back; it's all +go ahead in this country." + + LETTER IV. + + THE BAR. + +Character of the Minnesota bar-- Effect of connecting land business +with practice-- Courts-- Recent legislation of Congress as to the +territorial judiciary-- The code of practice-- Practice in land +cases-- Chances for lawyers in the West-- Charles O'Connor-- Requisite +qualifications of a lawyer-- The power and usefulness of a great +lawyer-- Talfourd's character of Sir William Follett-- Blending law +with politics-- Services of lawyers in deliberative assemblies + +ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +I HAVE not yet been inside of a court of justice, nor seen a case +tried, since I have been in the territory. But it has been my pleasure +to meet one of the judges of the supreme court and several prominent +members of the bar. My impression is, that in point of skill and +professional ability the Minnesota bar is a little above the average +of territorial bars. Here, as in the West generally, the practice is +common for lawyers to mix with their profession considerable +miscellaneous business, such as the buying and selling of land. The +law is too jealous a mistress to permit any divided love, and +therefore it cannot be expected that really good lawyers will be found +in the ranks of general business agents and speculators. In other +words, a broker's office is not a lawyer's office. There are some +lawyers here who have attended strictly to the profession, who are +ornaments of it, and who have met with good success. The idea has been +common, and as fatal as common, that success in legal practice could +be easily attained in the West with a small amount of skill and +learning. It is true that a poor lawyer aided by some good qualities +will sometimes rise to affluence and eminence, though such cases are +exceptions. There are able layers in the West, and, though practice +may be less formal and subtle than in older communities, ability and +skill find their relative advancement and reward, while ignorance and +incapacity have their downward tendency just as they do everywhere +else. The fees for professional services are liberal, being higher +than in the East. Before an attorney can be admitted to practise he +must have an examination by, or under the direction of, one of the +judges of the supreme court. The provisions of the territorial +statutes are quite strict in their tendency to maintain upright +practice. + +An act of the present congress has created a revolution in the courts +of the territory. The organic act, SS 9, provided that the territory +should be divided into three judicial districts; "and a district court +shall be held in each of said districts by one of the justices of the +supreme court, at such times and places as may be prescribed by law." +This meant, I suppose, at such times and places as the territorial +legislature should prescribe. Accordingly, as population increased and +extended, and as counties were established, the territorial +legislature increased the places in each district for holding the +district court. Either on account of the expense or for some other +cause congress has just stepped aside from the doctrine of +non-intervention (ch. 124, sec. 5), and abrogated the territorial +legislation so far as to provide that there shall be but one place in +each of the three districts for holding a district court. The act +applies to all territories. In a territory of five or six hundred +miles in extent it is of course inconvenient to have but three places +for holding courts. The Minnesotians complain that it is an +interference with popular sovereignty. It is possible the legislature +might have gone to an extreme in creating places for holding courts; +and I suppose the judges were kept on the march a good deal of the +time. It also looks as if the remedy by congress was extreme. The +people say it is a coercive measure to drive them into a state +organization. + +The administration of justice is secured by a system which is now +common to all the territories, with the exception of Kansas. The +supreme court consists of the three district judges in full bench. +They hold nisi prius terms in their respective districts, which are +called district courts. The judges have a salary of $2000 each, and +are appointed for a term of four years, subject to removal by the +President. The district courts have chancery jurisdiction in matters +where there is not a plain, adequate, and complete remedy at law. +(Stat. of Min. ch. 94, sec. 1.) There are also probate courts. Each +county has two justices of the peace, who are elected by the people. +And I cannot but remark how much better the practice is to elect or +appoint a few justices of the peace rather than to allow the office to +be degraded by wholesale appointments, as a matter of compliment, +according to the usage too common in some Eastern States. The justices +of the peace have jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount in +question does not exceed $100; and when the amount at issue is over +$20 either party may demand a jury of six men to try the case. But +there would be little demand for juries if all magistrates were as +competent as our enlightened friend Judge Russell. + +Special pleading never flourished much in the West. It was never "a +favorite with the court" out this way; while the regard which the +lawyers have cherished for it has been "distant and respectful." It +has been laid on the shelf about as effectually as bleeding in the +practice of medicine. The science of special pleading, as it is known +in these days-- and that in some of the older states-- exists in a +mitigated form from what it did in the days of Coke and Hale. The +opportunities to amend, and the various barriers against admitting a +multiplicity of pleas, have rendered the system so much more rational +than it once was, that it is doubtful if some of the old English +worthies could now identify it. Once a defendant could plead to an +action of assumpsit just as many defences as he chose; first, he could +deny the whole by pleading the general issue; then he could plead the +statute of limitations, infancy, accord and satisfaction, and a dozen +other pleas, by which the plaintiff would be deprived of any clue to +the real defence. I suppose it was this practice of formal lying which +has given rise to the popular error that a lawyer is in the habit of +lying, or is obliged to lie, in his arguments. Many people do not know +the difference between pleading-- which is a process in writing to +bring the parties to an issue-- and the oral arguments of counsel in +courts. It is ridiculous to suppose that it is easy or profitable for +lawyers to make false statements in their arguments. The opposing +counsel is ready to catch at anything of the kind; and if he misstates +the evidence, the jury are aware of it; while if he states what is not +law, the court generally knows it. So there is no opportunity for +lying even if a lawyer should be so disposed. The practice in civil +actions as provided by the statutes of Minnesota is similar-- if not +actually the same-- to the New York code of practice. There is but one +form of action, called an action of contract. The only pleading on the +part of the plaintiff is, 1st, the complaint; 2d, the reply. On the +part of the defendant, 1st, demurrer; or 2d, the answer. (Stats. ch. +70, sec. 58.) The complaint must contain, 1st, the title of the cause, +specifying the name of the court in which the action is brought and +the names of the parties to the action, plaintiff and defendant; 2d, a +statement of the facts constituting the cause of action in ordinary +and concise language, without repetition, and in such a manner as to +enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended; 3d, +a demand of the relief to which the plaintiff supposes himself +entitled. If the recovery of money be demanded the amount must be +stated. (Ibid. sec. 59.) + +While testifying my approval of this code of practice as a whole, I +cannot resist saying that in many respects it is not so systematic as +the Massachusetts code, which was devised by Messrs. Curtis (now Mr. +Justice), Lord, and Chapman. That code is one of the best in the +world. And if I may be allowed one word more about special pleading, I +would say that there is no branch of law which will better reward +study. Without mentioning the practice in the U. S. courts, which +requires, certainly, a knowledge of special pleading, no one can read +the old English reports and text books with much profit, who is +ignorant of the principles of that science. + +A class of business peculiar to new territories and states arises from +the land laws. A great many pre-emption cases are contested before the +land officers, in which the services of lawyers are required. This +fact will partly explain why there are, generally, so many lawyers +located in the vicinity of a land office. In a community that is newly +settled the title to property must often be in dispute; and however +much averse people may be to going to law, they find it frequently +indispensable, if they wish to have their rights settled on a firm +basis. + +The opinion prevails almost universally in the East that a lawyer can +do best in the West. In some respects he can. If he cannot do a good +deal better, he is not compensated for going. I had the pleasure of a +conversation last summer with one of the most eminent members of the +New York bar (Mr. O'Connor), on this very subject. It was his opinion +that western lawyers begin sooner to enjoy their reputation than the +lawyers in the eastern cities. This is true; and results from there +being less competition in newer communities. "A lawyer among us," said +Mr. O'Connor, "seldom acquires eminence till he begins to turn gray." +Nevertheless, there is no field so great and so certain in the long +run, in which one may become really a great lawyer, as in some of our +large commercial cities, whether of the East or the West. To admit of +the highest professional eminence there must be a large and varied +business; and a lawyer must devote himself almost exclusively to law. +And then, when this great reputation is acquired, what does it amount +to? Something now, but not much hereafter. The great lawyer lives a +life of toil and excitement. Often does it seem to "break on the +fragments of a reviving dream." His nerves are worn by the troubles of +others; for the exercise of the profession, as has been said by a +brilliant lawyer, "involves intimate participation with the interests, +hopes, fears, passions, affections, and vicissitudes of many lives." +And yet merely as a lawyer, he seldom leaves any durable vestige of +his fame behind him-- hardly a fortune. But if his fame is transient +and mortal, there is some equivalent in the pleasure of triumph and +the consciousness of power. There is no man so powerful as the great +lawyer. The wealth and the character of his fellow men often depend +upon him. His clients are sometimes powerful corporations, or cities, +or states. Crowded courts listen to his eloquence year after year; and +no one has greater freedom of speech than he. The orator and +politician may be wafted into a conspicuous place for a brief period, +and fall again when popular favor has cooled; yet the lawyer is rising +still higher, nor can the rise and fall of parties shake him from his +high pedestal; for the tenure of his power is not limited. He is, too, +one of the most serviceable protectors of the liberties of his +country. It was as a lawyer that Otis thundered against writs of +assistance. The fearless zeal of Somers, in defence of the seven +bishops, fanned the torch of liberty at the beginning of the great +English revolution. Erskine and Brougham did more as lawyers to +promote freedom of the press, than as Statesmen. + +I cannot refrain from inserting here Mr. Justice Talfourd's +interesting analysis of the professional abilities of Follett: "It may +be well, while the materials for investigation remain, to inquire into +the causes of success, so brilliant and so fairly attained by powers +which have left so little traces of their progress. Erskine was never +more decidedly at the head of the common law bar than Follett; +compared with Follett he was insignificant in the house of commons; +his career was chequered by vanities and weaknesses from which that of +Follett was free; and yet even if he had not been associated with the +greatest constitutional questions of his time and their triumphant +solution, his fame would live by the mere force and beauty of his +forensic eloquence as long as our language. But no collection of the +speeches of Follett has been made; none will ever be attempted; no +speech he delivered is read, except perchance as part of an +interesting trial, and essential to its story, and then the language +is felt to be poor, the cadences without music, and the composition +vapid and spiritless; although, if studied with a view to the secrets +of forensic success, with a 'learned spirit of human dealing,' in +connexion with the facts developed and the difficulties encountered, +will supply abundant materials for admiration of that unerring skill +which induced the repetition of fortunate topics, the dexterous +suppression of the most stubborn things when capable of oblivion, and +the light evasive touch with which the speaker fulfilled his promise +of not forgetting others which could not be passed over, but which, if +deeply considered, might he fatal. If, however, there was no principle +of duration in his forensic achievements, there can be doubt of the +esteem in which they were held or the eagerness with which they were +sought. His supremacy in the minds of clients was more like the rage +of a passion for a youthful Roscius or an extraordinary preacher, than +the result of deliberate consideration; and yet it prevailed, in +questions not of an evening's amusement, but of penury or riches, +honor or shame. Suitors were content, not only to make large +sacrifices for the assured advantage of his advocacy, but for the bare +chance-- the distant hope-- of having some little part (like that +which Phormio desires to retain in Thais) of his faculties, with the +certainty of preventing their opposition. There was no just ground, in +his case, for the complaint that he received large fees for services +he did not render; for the chances were understood by those who +adventured in his lottery; in which after all there were comparatively +few blanks. His name was 'a tower of strength,' which it was +delightful to know that the adverse faction wanted, and which inspired +confidence even on the back of the brief of his forsaken junior, who +bore the burden and heat of the day for a fifth of the fee which +secured that name. Will posterity ask what were the powers thus +sought, thus prized, thus rewarded, and thus transient? They will be +truly told that he was endowed, in a remarkable degree, with some +moral qualities which smoothed his course and charmed away opposition, +and with some physical advantages which happily set off his +intellectual gifts; that he was blessed with a temper at once gentle +and even; with a gracious manner and a social temperament; that he was +without jealousy of the solid or showy talents of others, and +willingly gave them the amplest meed of praise; that he spoke with all +the grace of modesty, yet with the assurance of perfect mastery over +his subject, his powers, and his audience; and yet they will scarcely +recognise in these excellencies sufficient reasons for his +extraordinary success. To me, the true secret of his peculiar strength +appeared to lie in the possession of two powers which rarely co-exist +in the same mind-- extraordinary subtlety of perception and as +remarkable simplicity of execution. In the first of these faculties-- +in the intuitive power of common sense, which is the finest essence of +experience, whereby it attains 'to something of prophetic strain'-- he +excelled all his contemporaries except Lord Abinger, with whom it was +more liable to be swayed by prejudice or modified by taste, as it was +adorned with happier graces. The perfection of this faculty was +remarkably exemplified in the fleeting visits he often paid to the +trials of causes which he had left to the conduct of his juniors; a +few words, sometimes a glance, sufficed to convey to his mind the +exact position of complicated affairs, and enabled him to decide what +should be done or avoided; and where the interference of any other +moral advocate would have been dangerous, he often rendered good +service, and, which was more extraordinary, never did harm. So his +unrivalled aptitude for legal reasoning, enabled him to deal with +authorities as he dealt with facts; if unprepared for an argument, he +could find its links in the chaos of an index, and make an imposing +show of learning out of a page of Harrison; and with the aid of the +interruptions of the bench, which he could as dexterously provoke as +parry, could find the right clue and conduct a luminous train of +reasoning to a triumphant close. His most elaborate arguments, though +not comparable in essence with those of his chief opponent, Lord +Campbell-- which, in comprehensive outline, exact logic, felicitous +illustration, and harmonious structure, excelled all others I have +heard-- were delivered in tones so nicely adapted to the minds and +ears of the judges, with an earnestness so winning, and a confidence +so contagious, that they made a judgment on his side not only a +necessity, but a pleasure. + +"The other faculty, to which, in combination with his subtlety of +understanding, the excellence of his advocacy may be attributed, is +one more rarely possessed-- and scarcely ever in such association-- +the entire singleness of a mind equally present in every part of a +cause. If the promotion of the interest of the client were an +advocate's highest duty, it would be another name for the exactest +virtue; and inasmuch as that interest is not, like the objects of +zeal, fixed in character, but liable to frequent change, the faculty +of directing the whole power of the understanding to each shifting +aspect of the cause in its minutest shadowings without the guidance of +an inflexible law, is far more wonderful, if far less noble, than a +singleness of devotion to right. It has an integrity of its own, which +bears some affinity to that honesty which Baillie Nichol Jarvie +attributes to his Highland kinsman. Such honesty-- that is, the entire +devotion of all the faculties to the object for which it was retained, +without the lapse of a moment's vanity or indolence, with unlimited +vision and unceasing activity-- was Follett's beyond all other +advocates of our time. To the presentment of truth, or sophism, as the +cause might require, he gave his entire mind with as perfect oblivion +of self as the most heroic sufferer for principle. The faculty which +in Gladstone, the statesman, applied to realities and inspired only by +the desire to discover the truth and to clothe it in language, +assumes, in the minds of superficial observers, the air of casuistry +from the nicety of its distinctions and the earnest desire of the +speaker to present truth in its finest shades-- in Follett, the +advocate, applied indiscriminately to the development of the specious +shows of things as of their essences, wore all the semblance of +sincerity; and, in one sense, deserved it. No fears, no doubts, no +scruples shook him. Of the license which advocacy draws from sympathy +with the feelings of those it represents, he made full use, with +unhesitating power; for his reason, of 'large discourse,' was as +pliable as the affections of the most sensitive nature. Nor was he +diverted from his aim by any figure or fancy: if he neither exalted +his subject by imagination, nor illustrated it by wit, nor softened +its details by pathos, he never made it the subject of vain attempts +at the exhibition of either. He went into the arena, stripped of all +encumbrance, to win, and contended studious only and always of +victory. His presence of mind was not merely the absence of external +distraction, nor the capacity of calling up all energies on an +emergency, but the continued application of them equally to the duty +of each moment. There are few speakers, even of fervid sincerity and +zeal, whose thoughts do not frequently run before or beside the +moment's purpose; whose wits do not sometimes wander on to some other +part of the case than that they are instantly discussing; who do not +anticipate some future effect, or dally with some apprehension of +future peril, while they should consider only the next word or +sentence. This momentary desertion of the exact purpose never occurred +to Follett; he fitted the thought to its place; the word to the +thought; and allowed the action only to take care of itself, as it +always will with an earnest speaker. His, therefore, was rather the +artlessness than the art of advocacy-- its second nature-- justly +appreciated by those to whose interests it was devoted; but not fully +understood even by the spectator of its exertion; dying with the +causes in which it was engaged, and leaving no vestiges except in +their success. Hence the blank which is substituted for the space he +filled in human affairs. The modest assurance, the happy boldness, the +extemporaneous logic, all that 'led but to the grave,' exist, like the +images of departed actors, only in the recollection of those who +witnessed them, till memory shall fade into tradition, and tradition +dwindle down to a name." (Supplement to Vacation Rambles, p. 115.) The +eagerness with which the talents of Sir William Follett were sought, +forcibly illustrates the truth of a remark, made to me in the course +of some friendly advice, by one who may be ranked among the most +brilliant advocates who have adorned the American Bar (now in the +highest office in the nation), that to attain the highest rank in the +legal profession, a lawyer must have such abilities and character as +will "compel" patronage. + +He, however, who enters the profession here or elsewhere merely as a +stepping stone to political preferment, need not expect great success, +even though he may acquire some temporary advancement. The day is past +when lawyers could monopolize every high place in the state. The habit +of public speaking is not now confined to the learned professions. Our +peculiar system of education has trained up a legion of orators and +politicians outside of the bar. Now-a-days a man must have other +qualifications besides the faculty of speech-making to win the prize +in politics. He must be a man of comprehensive ability, and thoroughly +identified with the interests of the people, before he can secure much +popular favor, or else he must be possessed of such shining talents +and character that his fellow men will take a pride in advancing him +to conspicuous and responsible trusts. Let a man have a part or all of +these qualifications, however, and with them the experience and tact +of a lawyer, and he will of course make a more valuable public +servant, especially if he is placed in a deliberative body. The +British cabinets have always relied vastly on the support afforded +them in the house of commons by their attorneys and solicitors +general, whether it consisted in the severe and solemn logic of +Romilly, in the cool and ready arguments of Scarlett, or the acute and +irresistible oratory of Sir William Follett. The education of a +lawyer;-- his experience as a manager; his art of covering up weak +points, his ready and adroit style of speaking;-- all serve to make +him peculiarly valuable to his own party, and dangerous to an +opposition in a deliberative body. But the fact that a man is a lawyer +does not advance him in politics so much as it once did. Fortunate it +is so! For though learning will always have its advantages, yet no +profession ought to have exclusive privileges. Nor need the lawyer +repine that it is so, inasmuch as it is for his benefit, if he desires +success in the profession, to discard the career of politics. The race +is not to the swift, and he can afford to wait for the legitimate +honors of the bar. I will conclude by saying that I regard Minnesota +as a good field for an upright, industrious, and competent lawyer. For +those of an opposite class, I have never yet heard of a very promising +field. + + LETTER V. + + ST. PAUL TO CROW WING IN TWO DAYS. + +Stages-- Roads-- Rum River-- Indian treaty-- Itasca-- Sauk Rapids-- +Watab at midnight-- Lodging under difficulties,-- Little Rock River-- +Character of Minnesota streams-- Dinner at Swan River-- Little Falls-- +Fort Ripley-- Arrival at Crow Wing. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +HERE I am, after two days drive in a stage, at the town of Crow Wing, +one hundred and thirty miles, a little west of north, from St. Paul. I +will defer, however, any remarks on Crow Wing, or the many objects of +interest hereabout, till I have mentioned a few things which I saw +coming up. Between St. Paul and this place is a tri-weekly line of +stages. The coaches are of Concord manufacture, spacious and +comfortable; and the entire equipage is well adapted to the +convenience of travellers. Next season, the enterprising proprietors, +Messrs. Chase and Allen, who carry the mail, intend establishing a +daily line. I left the Fuller House in the stage at about five in the +morning. There was only a convenient number of passengers till we +arrived at St. Anthony, where we breakfasted; but then our load was +more than doubled, and we drove out with nine inside and about seven +outside, with any quantity of baggage. The road is very level and +smooth; and with the exception of encountering a few small stamps +where the track has been diverted for some temporary impediment, and +also excepting a few places where it is exceedingly sandy, it is an +uncommonly superior road. It is on the eastern bank of the +Mississippi, and was laid out very straight. But let me remark that +everybody who travels it seems conscious that it is a government road. +There are several bridges, and they are often driven over at a rapid +rate, much to their damage. When Minnesota shall have a state +government, and her towns or counties become liable for the condition +of the roads, people will doubtless be more economical of the bridges, +even though the traveller be not admonished to walk his horse, or to +"keep to the right," &c. + +Emerging from St. Anthony, the undulating aspect of the country +ceases, and we enter upon an almost unbroken plain. A leading +characteristic of the scenery is the thin forests of oak, commonly +called oak openings. The soil appears to be rich. + +Seven miles from St. Anthony is a tidy settlement called Manomin, near +the mouth of Rice river. But the first place of importance which we +reached is Anoka, a large and handsome village situated on Rum river. +It is twenty-five miles from St. Paul. The river is a large and +beautiful stream and affords good water-power, in the development of +which Anoka appears to thrive. A vast number of pine logs are annually +floated down the river and sawed into lumber at the Anoka mills. The +settlers are principally from Maine. By the treaty of 22d February, +1855, with three bands of the Chippewa Indians, an appropriation of +$5000 was set apart for the construction of a road from the mouth of +Rum river to Mille Lac. The road is half completed. + +We took an early dinner at Itasca, having come thirty-two miles. +Itasca is quite an unassuming place, and not so pretty as its name. +But I shall always cherish a good-will for the spot, inasmuch as I got +a first-rate dinner there. It was all put upon the table before we sat +down, so that each one could help himself; and as it consisted of very +palatable edibles, each one did help himself quite liberally. We +started on soon afterwards, with a new driver and the third set of +horses; but with the disagreeable consciousness that we had still +before us the largest part of the day's journey. In about three hours +we came to Big Lake, or, as it is sometimes called, Humboldt. The lake +is anything but a big lake, being the size of a common New England +pond. But then all such sheets of water are called lakes in this part +of the country. It is a clear body of water, abounding with fine fish, +and has a beautiful shore of pebbles. Several similar sheets of water +are passed on the journey, the shores of which present a naked +appearance. There is neither the trace of a stream leading from or to +them, nor, with few exceptions, even a swamp in their vicinity. + +Sauk Rapids is 44 miles from Itasca, and it was late when we reached +there. But, late as it was, we found a large collection of people at +the post office waiting for the mail. They appeared to have had a +caucus, and were discussing politics with much animation. There is at +Sauk Rapids a local land office. That is of more advantage to a place +than being the county seat. In a short time, however, some of the land +offices will be removed further west for the convenience of settlers. +The village is finely situated on rising ground, and contains some +handsome residences. + +It was midnight when we arrived at Watab, where we were to lodge. The +weather had been delightful during the day, but after nightfall a high +wind rose and filled the air with dust. I descended from the stage-- +for I had rode upon the outside-- with self-satisfied emotions of +having come eighty-two miles since morning. The stage-house was +crowded. It is a two-story building, the rooms of which are small. I +went to bed, I was about to say, without any supper. But that was not +so. I didn't get any supper, it is true, neither did I get a bed; for +they were all occupied. The spare room on the floor was also taken. +The proprietor, however, was accommodating, and gave me a sort of a +lounge in rather a small room where three or four other men, and a +dog, were sleeping on the floor. I fixed the door ajar for +ventilation, and with my overcoat snugly buttoned around me, though it +was not cold, addressed myself to sleep. In the morning I found that +one of the occupants was an ex-alderman from the fifth ward of New +York; and that in the room over me slept no less a personage than +Parker H. French. I say I ascertained these facts in the morning. Mr. +French came to Watab a few weeks ago with a company of mechanics, and +has been rushing the place ahead with great zeal. He appears to make a +good impression on the people of the town. + +A heavy rain had fallen during the night; the stage was but moderately +loaded, and I started out from Watab, after breakfast the next +morning, in bright spirits. Still the road is level, and at a slow +trot the team makes better time than a casual observer is conscious +of. Soon we came to Little Rock River, which is one of the crookedest +streams that was ever known of. We are obliged to cross it twice +within a short space. Twelve miles this side we cross the beautiful +Platte River. It would make this letter much more monotonous than it +is, I fear, were I to name all the rivers we pass. They are very +numerous: and as they increase the delight of the traveller, so are +they also a delight and a convenience to the settler. Like the rivers +of New England, they are clear and rapid, and furnish abundant means +for water-power. The view which we catch of the Mississippi is +frequent, but brief, as the road crosses its curves in the most direct +manner. Much of the best land on either side of the road is in the +hands of speculators, who purchased it at public sale, or afterwards +plastered it over with land warrants. There is evidence of this on the +entire route; for, although we pass populous villages, and a great +many splendid farms, the greater part of the land is still unoccupied. +The soil is dark colored, but in some places quite mealy; everywhere +free from stones, and susceptible of easy cultivation. + +We arrived at Swan River at about one o'clock, where we dined on wild +ducks. That is a village also of considerable importance; but it is +not so large as Little Falls, which is three miles this side. At that +place the Mississippi furnishes a good water power. It has a spacious +and tidy hotel, several stores, mechanics' shops, a saw-mill, &c. At +Belle Prairie we begin to see something of the Chippewas. The +half-breeds have there some good farms, and the school-house and the +church denote the progress of civilization. It was near sunset when we +reached Fort Ripley. The garrison stands on the west bank of the +Mississippi, but the reservation extends several miles on both sides. +The stage crosses the river on the ferry to leave the mail and then +returns. The great flag was still flying from the high staff, and had +an inspiring influence. Like most of our inland military posts, Port +Ripley has no stone fortifications. It is neatly laid out in a square, +and surrounded by a high protective fence. Three or four field-pieces +stand upon the bank of the river fronting it, and at some distance +present a warlike attitude. The rest of the trip, being about five +miles, was over the reservation, on which, till we come to Crow Wing, +are no settlements. Here I gladly alighted from the coach, and found +most comfortable and agreeable entertainment at a house which stands +on the immediate bank of the river. + + LETTER VI. + + THE TOWN OF CROW WING. + +Scenery-- First settlement of Crow Wing-- Red Lake Indians-- Mr. +Morrison-- Prospects of the town-- Upper navigation-- Mr. Beaulieu-- +Washington's theory as to Norfolk-- Observations on the growth of +towns. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +I AM highly gratified with the appearance of this place. Mr. Burke +says-- " In order that we should love our country, our country should +first be lovely," and there is much wisdom in the remark. Nature has +done so much for this locality that one could be contented to live +here on quite a moderate income. The land is somewhat elevated, near +the bank of the Mississippi, affording a pleasant view over upon the +western side, both above and below the two graceful mouths of the Crow +Wing River. Towards the east and north, after a few miles, the view is +intercepted by a higher ridge of land covered with timber; or, by the +banks of the Mississippi itself, as from this point we begin to ascend +it in a northeasterly course. + +Crow Wing was selected as a trading post upwards of twenty years ago. +Mr. McDonnald, who still resides here, was, I believe, the first white +settler. Till within a recent period it was the headquarters of the +Mississippi tribe of Chippewas, and the principal trading depot with +the Chippewas generally. Here they brought their furs, the fruits of +their buffalo and their winter hunts, and their handicraft of beads +and baskets, to exchange for clothing and for food. Thus the place was +located and settled on long before there was a prospect of its +becoming a populous town. Mr. Rice, the delegate in congress, if I +mistake not, once had a branch store here with several men in his +employ. The principal traders at present are Mr. Abbee and Mr. +Beaulieu, who have large and well selected stocks of goods. The +present population of white persons probably numbers a hundred souls. +The place now has a more populous appearance on account of the +presence of a caravan of Red Lake Indians, who have come down about +four hundred miles to trade. They are encamped round about in tents or +birch bark lodges, as it may happen to be. In passing some of them, I +saw the squaws busily at work on the grass outside of the lodge in +manufacturing flag carpets. The former Indian residents are now +removed to their reservation in the fork of the Mississippi and Crow +Wing rivers, where their agency is now established. + +The houses here are very respectable in size, and furnished in +metropolitan style and elegance. The farms are highly productive, and +the grazing for stock unequalled. There is a good ferry at the upper +end of the town, at a point where the river is quite narrow and deep. +You can be taken over with a horse for twenty-five cents; with a +carriage, I suppose, the tariff is higher. + +Perhaps one cause of my favorable impression of Crow Wing is the +excellent and home-like hotel accommodations which I have found. The +proprietor hardly assumes to keep a public-house, and yet provides his +guests with very good entertainment; and I cannot refrain from saying +that there is no public-house this side of St. Paul where the +traveller will be better treated. Mr. Morrison-- for that is the +proprietor's name-- came here fifteen years ago, having first come +into this region in the service of John Jacob Astor. He married one of +the handsomest of the Chippewa maidens, who is now his faithful wife +and housekeeper, and the mother of several interesting and amiable +children. Mr. M. is the postmaster. He has been a member of the +territorial legislature, and his name has been given to a large and +beautiful county. I judge that society has been congenial in the town. +The little church, standing on an eminence, indicates some union of +sentiment at least, and a regard for the higher objects of life. +Spring and summer and autumn must be delightful seasons here, and +bring with them the sweetest tranquillity. Nor are the people shut out +from the world in winter; for then there is travel and intercourse and +traffic. So are there pleasures and recreation peculiar to the season. + +But the serene and quiet age of the settlement is near its close. +Enterprise and speculation, with their bustle and turmoil, have laid +hold of it. The clank of the hammer, the whistle of steamboats, the +rattling of carts, heaps of lumber and of bricks, excavations and +gratings, short corners and rough unshapen walks, will usurp the quiet +and the regularity of the place. Indeed a man ought to make a fortune +to compensate for residing in a town during the first years of its +rapid building. The streets appear, on the map, to be well laid out. A +number of purchasers of lots are preparing to build; and a few new +buildings are already going up. As near as I am able to learn, the +things which conduce to its availability as a business place are +these-- First, it is the beginning of the Upper Mississippi +navigation. From this point steamboats can go from two to three +hundred miles. But they cannot pass below, on account of the +obstructions near Fort Ripley, at Little Falls, and at Sauk Rapids. +This of course is a great element in its future success, as the +country above in the valley of the river is destined to be thickly +settled, and boats will run between this point and the settlements +along the river. It will also be a large lumber market, for the pine +forests begin here and extend along the river banks for hundreds of +miles, while the facility of getting the logs down is unexceptionable. +The territory north of Crow Wing is now open for settlers to a great +distance, the Indian title having been extinguished. Two land +districts have also been established, which will be an inducement for +fresh emigration. There is no other place but this to supply these +settlements; at least none so convenient. A great deal of timber will +also come down the Crow Wing River, which is a large stream, navigable +three months in the year. Arrangements are complete for building a +steamboat the ensuing winter, at this very place, to begin running in +the spring as far up as Ojibeway. Next season there will be a daily +line of stages between this and St. Paul. I understand also that it is +intended next summer to connect Crow Wing with the flourishing town of +Superior by stage. It will require considerable energy to do this +thing; but if it can be done, it will be a great blessing to the +traveller as well as a profit to the town. The journey from St. Paul +to Lake Superior via Crow Wing can then be performed in three days, +while on the usual route it now occupies a week. Such are some of the +favorable circumstances which corroborate the expectation of the +growth of this place. The southern or lower portion of the town is +included within the Fort Ripley reserve, and though several residences +are situated on it, no other buildings can be put up without a license +from the commanding officer; nor can any lots be sold from that +portion until the reserve is cut down. With the upper part of the town +it is different. Mr. C. H. Beaulieu, long a resident of the place, is +the proprietor of that part, and has already, I am informed, made some +extensive sales of lots. He is one of those lucky individuals, who +have sagacity to locate on an available spot, and patience to wait the +opening of a splendid fortune.[1] + +[1 Since this letter was written, Mr. Thomas Cathcart has purchased a +valuable claim opposite Crow Wing at the mouth of the river, which I +should think was an available town site.] + +My observation and experience in regard to town sites have taught me +an important fact: that as much depends on the public spirit, unity of +action, and zeal of the early proprietors, as upon the locality +itself. The one is useless without these helps. General Washington +wrote an able essay to prove the availability of Norfolk, Va., as the +great commercial metropolis of the country. He speculated upon its +being the great market for the West. His imagination pictured out some +such place as New York now is, as its future. The unequalled harbor of +Norfolk, and the resources of the country all around it, extending as +far, almost, as thought could reach, might well have encouraged the +theory of Washington. But munificence and energy and labor have built +up many cities since then, which had not half the natural advantages +of Norfolk, while Norfolk is far behind. A little lack of enterprise, +a little lack of harmony and liberality, may, in the early days of a +town, divert business and improvements from a good location, till in a +short time an unheard-of and inferior place totally eclipses it. +Knowing this to be the case, I have been careful in my previous +letters not to give too much importance to many of the town sites +which have been commended to me along my journey. I do not discover +any of these retarding circumstances about Crow Wing. I must conclude +at this paragraph, however, in order to take a horseback ride to the +Chippewa agency. In my next I intend to say something about the +Indians, pine timber, and the country above here in general. + + LETTER VII. + + CHIPPEWA INDIANS.-- HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. + +Description of the Chippewa tribes-- Their habits and customs-- +Mission at Gull Late-- Progress in farming-- Visit to +Hole-in-the-day-- His enlightened character-- Reflections on Indian +character, and the practicability of their civilization-- Their +education-- Mr. Manypenny's exertions. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +I CONSIDER myself exceedingly fortunate in having had a good +opportunity for observing the condition of the Chippewa Indians. +Sometime ago I saw enough of the Indians in another part of the +country to gratify my curiosity as to their appearance and habits; and +as I have always felt a peculiar interest in their destiny, my present +observations have been with a view to derive information as to the +best means for their improvement. The whole number of Chippewas in +Minnesota is not much over 2200. They are divided into several bands, +each band being located a considerable distance from the other. The +Mississippi band live on their reservation, which begins a few miles +above here across the river, while the Pillagor and Lake +Winnibigoshish bands are some three hundred miles further north. The +agency of the Chippewas is on the reservation referred to, a little +north of the Crow Wing River, and six miles distant from this town. To +come down more to particulars, however, and adopt words which people +here would use, I might say that the agency is on Gull River, a very +clear and pretty stream, which flows from a lake of that name, into +the Crow Wing. I passed the agency yesterday, and two miles beyond, in +order to visit Pug-o-na-ke-shick, or Hole-in-the-day, the principal +and hereditary chief of the Chippewas. Mr. Herriman, the agent, +resides at the agency, in compliance with the regulation of the Indian +bureau, which requires agents to reside among the Indians. I strongly +suspect there are many people who would think it unsafe to travel +alone among the Chippewas. But people who live about here would +ridicule the idea of being afraid of violence or the slightest +molestation from them, unless indeed the fellows were intoxicated. For +my part, a walk on Boston common on a summer morning could not seem +more quiet and safe than a ramble on horseback among the homes of +these Indians. I spoke to a good many. Though naturally reserved and +silent, they return a friendly salutation with a pleasant smile. + +Their old costume is still retained as a general thing. The blanket is +still worn instead of coats. Sometimes the men wear leggins, but often +go with their legs naked. A band is generally worn upon the head with +some ornament upon it. A feather of the war eagle worn in the +head-band of a brave, denotes that he has taken the scalp of an enemy +or performed some rare feat of daring. An Indian does not consider +himself in full dress without his war hatchet or weapons. I meet many +with long-stemmed pipes, which are also regarded as an ornamental part +of dress. They appear pleased to have anything worn about them attract +attention. They are of good size, taller than the Winnebagoes, and of +much lighter complexion than tribes living five hundred miles further +south. Herein the philosopher on the cooking of men is confirmed. +Their hair is black, long, and straight; and some are really +good-looking. There are but few who still paint. Those in mourning +paint their faces black. What I have seen of their houses raises high +hopes of their advancement in civilization. We can now begin to lay +aside the word lodge and say house. Over a year ago, Mr. Herriman +promised every one a good cooking stove who would build himself a +comfortable house. This promise had a good effect, for several houses +were built. But the want of windows and several other conveniences, +which are proper fixtures, gives their dwellings a desolate appearance +to one who looks to a higher standard of comfort. Of course I saw a +few of the men at the store (for there is a store at the agency), +spending their time, as too many white men do in country villages. +Eight miles beyond the agency, on Gull Lake, is a mission. It has been +under the charge of Rev. J. L. Breck, a gentleman of high culture, and +whose enlightened and humane exertions in behalf of the Indians have +received much commendation both from the agent and Gov. Gorman, the +Superintendent. He has been at the mission four years. While he had +the benefit of the school-fund, he had in his school, under his own +roof, 35 pupils; since that was withheld, the number of pupils has +been 22. Mr. Breck will soon remove to Leech Lake, and will be +succeeded by a gentleman who comes well recommended from a theological +institution in Wisconsin. I desired very much to go as far as the +mission, but from Crow Wing and back it would have been thirty miles, +and it was otherwise inconvenient on account of the rain. The Indians +are beginning to farm a little. They begin with gardens. Their support +is chiefly from the annuities paid by the United States, which are +principally received in some sort of dry goods. The goods are +furnished by contract, and the price paid for them is about enough, if +all stories are true. They also derive some support from their fur +hunts and by fishing. Buffaloes are still hunted successfully beyond +the Red River of the North. They bring home the furs, and also the +best parts of the meat. The meat is preserved by being partially +cooked in buffalo fat, cut into small pieces, and sewed up very tight +in the hide of the animal. It is called pemmican, and sells here for +twenty-five cents a pound. It is broken to pieces like pork scraps, +and the Indians regard it as a great luxury. + +From the agency I hastened on to see Hole-in-the-day +(Pug-o-na-ke-shick, his Indian name, means, literally, +Hole-in-the-sky). He is a famous chief, having in his youth +distinguished himself for bold exploits and severe endurance. But what +most entitles him to attention is the very exemplary course he has +pursued in attempting to carry out the wishes of the government in +bringing his race to the habits of civilized life. It was principally +through his influence that a treaty was made between his tribe and the +United States, and after it went into effect he turned his attention +to farming. Previous to the treaty he was supported as chief by the +tribal revenue. He has succeeded well. Over a year ago the receipts of +what he sold from his farm, aside from what his household needed, +amounted to over two hundred dollars. At length, after riding a mile +and a half without passing a habitation, over a fertile prairie, I +came in sight of his house. He lives near a small lake, and north of +him is a large belt of heavy pine timber. He has an excellent farm, +well fenced and well cultivated. His house is in cottage style, and of +considerable length; spacious, neat, and well furnished. Arriving at +the door I dismounted, and inquired of his squaw if he was at home. +She sent her little girl out into the field to call him. There, +indeed, in his cornfield, was he at work. He met me very cordially; +and invited me into a room, where he had an interpretor. We held a +protracted and agreeable conversation on Indian matters. He invited me +to dine with him, and nothing but want of time prevented my accepting +his polite invitation. He was very neatly dressed, and is quite +prepossessing in his appearance. He is younger than I supposed before +seeing him. I judge him to be about thirty-four. He is a man of strong +sense, of great sagacity, and considerable ambition. + +There is no reason why the Indians should not speedily become +civilized. Those who have longest lived amongst them, and who best +understand their character, tell me so. I fully believe it. The Indian +follows his wild habits because he has been educated to do so. The +education of habit, familiar from infancy, and the influence of +tradition, lead him to the hunt, and as much to despise manual labor. +He does what he has been taught to consider as noble and honorable, +and that is what the most enlightened do. Certainly his course of life +is the most severe and exposed; it is not for comfort that he adheres +to his wild habits. He regards it as noble to slay his hereditary foe. +Hence the troubles which occasionally break out between the Chippewas +and the Sioux. To gain the applause of their tribe they will incur +almost any danger, and undergo almost any privation. Thus, we see that +for those objects which their education has taught them to regard as +first and best, they will sacrifice all their comforts. They have +sense enough, and ambition enough, and fortitude enough. To those they +love they are affectionate almost to excess. Only direct their +ambition in the proper way, and they will at once rise. Teach them +that it is noble to produce something useful by their labor, and to +unite with the great family of man to expand arts and to improve the +immortal mind-- teach them that it is noble, that there is more +applause to be gained by it, as well as comfort, and they will change +in a generation. They will then apply themselves to civilization with +Spartan zeal and with Spartan virtues. + +In a communication to the secretary of war by Gen. Cass in 1821, +relative to his expedition to the sources of the Mississippi, he makes +the following interesting extract from the journal of Mr. Doty, a +gentleman who accompanied the expedition:-- "The Indians of the upper +country consider those of the Fond-du-Lac as very stupid and dull, +being but little given to war. They count the Sioux their enemies, but +have heretofore made few war excursions. + +"Having been frequently reprimanded by some of the more vigilant +Indians of the north, and charged with cowardice, and an utter +disregard for the event of the war, thirteen men of this tribe, last +season, determined to retrieve the character of their nation, by +making an excursion against the Sioux. Accordingly, without consulting +the other Indians, they secretly departed and penetrated far into the +Sioux country. Unexpectedly, at night, they came upon a party of the +Sioux, amounting to near one hundred men, and immediately began to +prepare for battle. They encamped a short distance from the Sioux, and +during the night dug holes in the ground into which they might retreat +and fight to the last extremity. They appointed one of their number +(the youngest) to take a station at a distance and witness the +struggle, and instructed him, when they were all slain, to make his +escape to their own land, and relate the circumstances under which +they had fallen. + +"Early in the morning they attacked the Sioux in their camp, who, +immediately sallying out upon them, forced them back to the last place +of retreat they had resolved upon. They fought desperately. More than +twice their own number were killed before they had lost their lives. +Eight of them were tomahawked in the holes to which they had +retreated; the other four fell on the field. The thirteenth returned +home, according to the directions he had received, and related the +foregoing circumstances to his tribe. They mourned their death; but +delighted with the bravery of their friends, unexampled in modern +times, they were happy in their grief. + +"This account I received of the very Indian who was of the party and +had escaped."-- [See Schoolcraft, p. 481.][1] + +[1 Pride is a characteristic trait in Indian character. On a recent +occasion when several bands of the Chippewas were at Washington to +negotiate a treaty with the United States, they had an interview with +their Great Father the President. He received them in the spacious +East Room of the executive mansion, in the presence of a large +collection of gentlemen who had gathered to witness the occasion. Each +chief made a speech to the President, which was interpreted as they +spoke. When it came to the turn of Eshkibogikoj (Flat Mouth) that +venerable chief began with great dignity, saying: "Father! Two great +men have met!" Here he paused to let the sentence be interpreted. His +exordium amused not only the whites but the Indians.] + +In the contest between the Athenians and the Dorians, an oracle had +declared that the side would triumph whose king should fall. Codrus +the Athenian king, to be more sure of sacrificing himself, assumed the +dress of a peasant, and was soon killed; and the event soon spread +dismay among the enemies of Athens. His patriotism was accounted so +great, that the Athenians declared that there was no man worthy to be +his successor, and so abolished the monarchy. I think the history of +the Indians would show instances of heroism as praiseworthy as can be +found in the annals of the ancients. Let it be remembered, too, that +the Spartans knew that an imperishable literature would hand down +their valor to the praise of the world through all the future. But the +Indian looked for the preservation of his exploits only in the songs +and the traditional stories of his tribe. + +I allude to these traits because I think it will be agreed, that +whatever race possesses those elements of character which lead them to +pursue with zeal and courage things they have been taught to regard +most creditable, is capable of being civilized. We now pay the Indian +for his lands in agricultural tools, in muskets and powder, in +blankets and cheap calico-- and in education; but the smallest item is +education. If half the money which the government is liable to pay for +Indian troubles during the last year, could be appropriated to a +proper system of education, we should hear of no more serious Indian +wars. But I have not time to pursue the subject. I will say, however, +that the present commissioner of Indian affairs, Mr. Manypenny, is +doing a very good work in advancing their condition. The press ought +to bestow some attention on the subject. There are nearly 400,000 +Indians within the United States and territories. If the philanthropy +of the age could spare the blacks for a little while, and help +civilize the Indians, it would be better for all parties. Here is an +enterprise for genuine humanity. + + LETTER VIII. + + LUMBERING INTERESTS. + +Lumber as an element of wealth-- Quality of Minnesota lumber-- +Locality of its growth-- The great pineries-- Trespasses on government +land-- How the lumbermen elude the government-- Value of lumber-- +Character of the practical Lumberman-- Transportation of lumber on +rafts. + +CROW WING, October 1856. + +IT seems to have been more difficult for countries which abound in +precious metals to attain to great prosperity than for a rich man to +secure eternal felicity. Witness, for instance, the sluggish growth +and degenerate civilization of the South American states. But timber +is a fundamental element of colonial growth. The mines of Potosi +cannot compare with it in value. An abundance of timber and a +superabundance of it are two very different things. Some of the +Middle, and what were once Western States, were originally covered +with forests. So of the greater part of New England. In Ohio and in +Michigan timber has been an encumbrance; for there was great labor to +be performed by the settler in clearing the land and preparing it for +the plough; and at this day we see in travelling through each of those +states, as well as in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, fields +planted amidst heavy timber trees which have been belted that they may +wither and die. By an abundance of timber I mean an ample supply not +only for domestic but foreign market; and with this understanding of +the word I will repeat what has often been said, and what I suppose is +well known, that Minnesota has an abundance of excellent timber. +Unlike the gorgeous forests in New Hampshire, which behind high cliffs +and mountain fastnesses defy the woodman, the timber of Minnesota +grows in the valleys of her great rivers and upon the banks of their +numerous tributaries. It is thus easily shipped to a distant market; +while the great body of the land, not encumbered with it, but naked, +is ready for the plough and for the seed. Most of the timber which +grows in the region below this point is hard wood, such as elm, maple, +oak, and ash. + +There is considerable scrub oak also thinly scattered over large +portions of fertile prairie. To a casual observer these oaks, from +their stunted appearance, would be taken as evidence of poor soil. But +the soil is not the cause of their scrubby looks. It is the devouring +fires which annually sweep over the plains with brilliant though +terrific aspect, and which are fed by the luxuriant grass grown on +that same soil. If the oaks did not draw uncommon nourishment from the +soil, it must be difficult for them to survive such scorchings. It is +a consoling thought that these fires cease in proportion as the +country is settled up. The rock maple is indigenous to the soil; and +the Indians have long been in the habit of making sugar from its sap. +The timber most used for fences is tamarack. The pineries may be said +to begin at the mouth of the Crow Wing River; though there is a great +supply on the Rum River. For upwards of a hundred miles above here on +the Mississippi-- more or less dense, the pine forests extend. Captain +John Pope, in the interesting report of his expedition to the Red +River of the North, in 1849, says-- " The pineries of the upper +Mississippi are mostly upon its tributaries, and I think are not found +on the west side further south than the parallel of 46 degrees N. +latitude." (The latitude of this place is 46 degrees 16' 50".) "They +alternate, even where most abundant, with much larger tracts of +fertile country." Again he says-- "As might be expected from its +alluvial character, there is no pine timber in the valley of the Red +River, but the oak and elm there attain to a size which I do not think +I have ever seen elsewhere." In another place he remarks that "the +pineries along the Crow Wing River are among the most extensive and +valuable found on the tributaries of the Mississippi." Mr. Schoolcraft +says of this river, "the whole region is noted for its pine timber." +In speaking of the country on the St. Louis River, a few miles from +where it empties into Lake Superior, the same gentleman remarks: "The +growth of the forest is pines, hemlock, spruce, birch, oak, and +maple." I had heard considerable about Minnesota lumber, it is true, +but I was not prepared to see the pine timber so valuable and heavy as +it is above and about here. The trees are of large growth, straight +and smooth. They are not surpassed by + "The tallest pine, + Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast + Of some great admiral." + +Cujus est solum ejus est usque ad caelum-- whose the soil, his to the +sky-- is a maxim in these pine regions of literal importance. There is +something besides utility also to be mentioned in this connection. +With the exception of swamps, which are few and far between, the +timber land has all the beauty of a sylvan grove. The entire absence +of underbrush and decayed logs lends ornament and attraction to the +woods. They are more like the groves around a mansion in their neat +and cheerful appearance; and awaken reflection on the Muses and the +dialogues of philosophers rather than apprehension of wild beasts and +serpents. + +The relative importance of the lumber business would hardly be +estimated by a stranger. It has been carried on for at least six +years; and considerable has found its way as far down as St. Louis. It +will be asked, I imagine, if all this timber land, especially the +pine, has been sold by the government; and if not, how it happens that +men cut it down and sell it? I will answer this. The great region of +pineries has not yet been surveyed, much less sold by the government. +But notwithstanding this, men have cut it in large quantities, sold it +into a greedy market, and made money, if not fortunes in the business. +As a sort of colorable excuse for cutting timber, those employed in +the business often make a preemption claim on land covered with it, +and many people suppose they have the right to cut as much as they +please after the incipient steps towards preemption. But this is not +so. All that a claimant can do in this respect is to cut wood enough +for his fuel, and timber enough for his own building purposes, until +he receives a patent from the government. Of course it is altogether +reasonable and proper that men should be precluded from doing so until +their title in the soil is complete. Because, until a preemption claim +is perfect, or, until the land has been acquired by some legal title, +it is not certain that the claimant will ultimately secure it or pay +any money to the government. But does not the government do anything +to prevent these trespasses? Yes, but all its attempts are baffled. + +For example, last spring a large quantity of splendid lumber was +seized by the United States marshal and sold at public auction. It was +bid off by the lumbermen themselves, who had formed a combination to +prevent its falling into the hands of other purchasers. This +combination had no resistance as I am aware of in the public opinion +of the territory, and the timber was sold to those who had it cut at a +price so far below its value that it didn't pay the expense of the +legal proceedings on the part of the government. This is accounted for +in the fact of the exhaustless quantity of pine timber towards the +north; in the demand for it when sawed; and in the disposition to +protect enterprising men, though technically trespassers, who +penetrate into the forest in the winter at great expense, and whose +standing and credit are some guaranty of their ultimate responsibility +to the government, should they not perfect their titles. The business +of getting out the timber is carried on in the winter, and affords +employment for a large number of athletic young men. The price of +timber, I ascertained of Mr. P. D. Pratt, a dealer at St. Paul, is, +for the best, $30 per M.; for common, $20. + +Most people have seen or been told something of the lumbermen of +Maine. Allowing this to be so, it will not be difficult to comprehend +the condition and character of the lumbermen of Minnesota and the +northwest. But if there is anybody who fancies them to be a set of +laborers, such as build our railroads and dig coal and minerals, he is +greatly mistaken. The difference is in birth and education; between +foreigners and native-born citizens. A difference not in rights and +merits, so much as in habits and character. Born on American soil, +they have attended our common schools, and have the bearing and +independence of sovereigns. None but very vigorous men can endure, or +at least attempt to endure, the exposure of living in the woods all +winter and swinging the axe; though by proper care of themselves, such +exercise is conducive to health and strength. Accordingly we find the +lumberman-- I mean of course the practical lumberman-- to be a +thick-set, muscular young man, with a bright eye and florid cheek; in +short, one whom we would call a double-fisted fellow. He is not one of +your California boys, but more affable and domestic, with a shorter +beard, and not so great a profusion of weapons. His dress is snug and +plain-- the regular pioneer costume of boots over the pants, and a +thick red shirt in lieu of a coat. His capital stock is his health and +his hands. When in employment he is economical and lays up his wages. +When out of employment and in town, his money generally goes freely. +As a class, the lumbermen are intelligent. They are strong talkers, +for they put in a good many of the larger sort of words; and from +their pungent satire and sledge-hammer style of reasoning, are by no +means very facile disputants. They are preeminently jokers. This is as +they appear on their way to the woods. During the season of their +active labor they usually spend the evening, after a day of hard work, +in storytelling or in a game of euchre. Their wages amount to about +two dollars a day, exclusive of board. They have good living in the +woods, the provisions, which are furnished on an ample scale, being +served by male cooks. + +While on the subject of lumber, which may possibly interest some +people who wish to redeem the fortunes they have lately lost in Maine +lumber, I ought not to leave unmentioned the valuable cargoes of it +which are floated down the Mississippi. When coming up in the boat I +was astonished to see such stupendous rafts. Large logs are +transported by being made into rafts. At a landing where the boat +stopped, I on one occasion attempted to estimate the number of logs +comprised in one of these marine novelties, and found it to be about +eight hundred; the logs were large, and were worth from five to six +dollars each. Here then was a raft of timber worth at least $4000. +They are navigated by about a dozen men, with large paddles attached +at either end of the raft, which serve to propel and steer. Often, in +addition to the logs, the rafts are laden with valuable freights of +sawed lumber. Screens are built as a protection against wind, and a +caboose stands somewhere in the centre, or according to western +parlance it might be called a cabin. Sometimes the raft will be +running in a fine current; then only a couple of hands are on the +watch and at the helm. The rest are seen either loitering about +observing the country, or reclining, snugly wrapped up in their +blankets. Some of these rafts must cover as much as two acres. Birnam +Wood coming to Dunsinane was not a much greater phenomenon. + + LETTER IX. + + SHORES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. + +Description of the country around Lake Superior-- Minerals-- Locality +of a commercial city-- New land districts-- Buchanan-- Ojibeway-- +Explorations to the sources of the Mississippi-- Henry R. +Schoolcraft-- M. Nicollet's report-- Resources of the country above +Crow Wing. + +CROW WING, October 7, 1856. + +THERE is one very important section of this territory that I have not +yet alluded to. I mean that part which borders on Lake Superior. This +calls to mind that there is such a place as Superior City. But that is +in Wisconsin, not in Minnesota. From that city (so called, yet city in +earnest it is like to be) to the nearest point in this territory the +distance by water is twelve miles. The St. Louis River is the dividing +line for many miles between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The country round +about this greatest of inland seas is not the most fertile. It is +somewhat bleak, on the northern shore especially, but is nevertheless +fat in minerals. On the banks of the St. Louis River the soil is +described, by the earliest explorers as well as latest visiters, to be +good. The river itself, though it contains a large volume of water, is +not adapted to navigation, on account of its rapids. + +Those who have sailed across Lake Superior to the neighborhood of +Fond-du-Lac appear to have been charmed by the scenery of its +magnificent islands and its rock-bound shores. Most people, I suppose, +have heard of its beautiful cluster of islands called the Twelve +Apostles. One peculiar phenomenon often mentioned is the boisterous +condition of its waters at the shore, which occurs when the lake +itself is perfectly calm. The water is said to foam and dash so +furiously as to make it almost perilous to land in a small boat. This +would seem to be produced by some movement of the waters similar to +the flow of the tide; and perhaps the dashing after all is not much +more tumultuous than is seen on a summer afternoon under the rocks of +Nahant, or along the serene coast at Phillips Beach. + +The resources of that part of the territory bordering on the lake, +however, are sufficient to induce an extensive, if not a rapid, +settlement of the country. The copper mines afford occupation for +thousands of people now. I have known a young man to clear $40 a month +in getting out the ore. But the labor is hard. Somewhere near +Fond-du-Lac is destined to be a great commercial city. Whether it will +be at Superior, which has now got the start of all other places, or +whether it will be at some point within this territory, is more than +can be known at present. But a great town there is to be, sooner or +later; and for this reason, that the distance from Buffalo to +Fond-du-Lac by navigation is about the same as from Buffalo to +Chicago, affording, therefore, as good facilities for water +transportation of merchandise between Fond-du-Lac and the East, as +between Chicago and the East. Moreover, the development of this new +agricultural world will tend to that result. A railroad will then run +from that point directly west, crossing the upper Mississippi as also +the Red River of the North at the head of its navigation, which is at +the mouth of the Sioux Wood River. + +During the last summer, congress established two new land districts in +the upper part of the territory, called the north-eastern and the +north-western. The former includes the country lying on Lake Superior, +and its land office has been located at Buchanan, a new place just +started on the shore of the lake. The land office for the +north-western district has been located at Ojibeway, a town site +situated sixty miles above here, on the Mississippi, near the mouth of +Muddy River. This district includes the head waters of the +Mississippi, and extends west as far as the Red River of the North. +The surveyors have been engaged in either district only a few weeks. I +don't expect there will be any land offered for sale in either +district till spring. While on the subject of land offices, let me +observe that the appointments in them are among the most lucrative +under the patronage of the general government. There is a register and +receiver for each office. They have, each, $500 per annum and fees; +the whole not to exceed $3000. Aside from the official fees, they get +much more for private services. They have more or less evidence to +reduce to writing in nearly every preemption case, for which the +general land office permits them to receive private compensation. It +is rather necessary that the local land officers should be lawyers, as +they have frequent occasion to decide on litigated land claims. + +Many explorations have been made of the region around the head waters +of the Mississippi, the reports of which have conveyed to the world +attractive information of the country, but information which only +approximated to accuracy. In 1806, Lieut. Pike explored the river as +far as Turtle Lake, and returned, thinking, good easy man, full surely +he had discovered the real source of the river, and yet the source of +the river was more than a hundred miles off in another direction. +Lewis and Clarke had ascended the river previously. In 1820, General +Cass, accompanied by Mr. Schoolcraft, explored the river to Cass Lake; +being obliged to stop there on account of the low stage of water which +they heard existed a few days' journey beyond. Again, in 1832, Mr. +Schoolcraft, then superintendent of Indian affairs, made another +expedition, which resulted in his discovery of the true sources of the +river; it being a lake which he named Itasca. It has been said that he +manufactured this beautiful word out of the last syllables of veritas +and the first syllable of caput (the true head). But I have been told +that the word was suggested to his mind by an Indian word signifying +breast. Dr. Johnson says, that a traveller in order to bring back +knowledge should take knowledge with him. That is, that he should have +posted himself up to some extent on the country he visits. I hope it +will not require an affidavit for me to prove that I availed myself of +the suggestion. But I must say I have found great pleasure and profit +in perusing Mr. Schoolcraft's narratives of both his expeditions. +Though he had the encouragement of the government, his undertaking was +surrounded by many obstacles and some dangers. His account of the +whole country is pleasant and instructive to the reader, and shows +that all he saw produced on his mind a favorable impression. The +arduous services of this gentleman as an explorer have been of great +advantage to the country, and his fine literary talents have given his +adventures an historic fame. Not less deserving of applause either +have been his efforts to promote the welfare of the Indians. He now +lives in affluent circumstances at Washington, and, though suffering +under some bodily infirmities, appears (or did when I saw him) to +enjoy life with that serene and rational happiness which springs from +useful employment, and a consciousness that past opportunities have +been improved. + + "For he lives twice who can at once employ + The present well and e'en the past enjoy." + +There have been other explorations of this part of the country at +different times by Messrs. Long, Nicollet, and Pope. M. Nicollet was +accompanied and assisted by Mr. (then Lieutenant) Fremont. The reports +made of these explorations afford information which, if extensively +known among the people, would tend to direct a larger emigration into +the upper part of the territory. They often launch off into +exclamations as to the beautiful surface of the country; while their +account of native fruits and the bracing climate and fertile soil +picture to the imagination all the elements of a home. + +M. Nicollet was a foreign gentleman who possessed superior scientific +knowledge and a rare zeal to prosecute researches. He made an +exploration through the valley of the St. Peter's and the Missouri; +and from thence to the sources of the Mississippi, in the year 1839. +The official report which he made is a valuable document, but +difficult to be obtained. I shall therefore make a few extracts from +it. I should here remark that M. Nicollet died before he had completed +the introduction to his report. "The Mississippi," he says, "holds its +own from its very origin; for it is not necessary to suppose, as has +been done, that Lake Itasca may be supplied with invisible sources, to +justify the character of a remarkable stream, which it assumes at its +issue from this lake. There are five creeks that fall into it, formed +by innumerable streamlets oozing from the clay-beds at the bases of +the hills, that consist of an accumulation of sand, gravel, and clay, +intermixed with erratic fragments; being a more prominent portion of +the great erratic deposit previously described, and which here is +known by the name of 'Hauteurs des Terres'-- heights of land. + +"These elevations are commonly flat at top, varying in height from 85 +to 100 feet above the level of the surrounding waters. They are +covered with thick forests, in which coniferous plants predominate. +South of Itasca Lake, they form a semicircular region with a boggy +bottom, extending to the south-west a distance of several miles; +thence these Hauteurs des Terres ascend to the north-west and north; +and then, stretching to the north-east and east, through the zone +between 47 degrees and 48 degrees of latitude, make the dividing ridge +between the waters that empty into Hudson's Bay and those which +discharge themselves into the Gulf of Mexico. The principal group of +these Hauteurs des Terres is subdivided into several ramifications, +varying in extent, elevation, and course, so as to determine the +hydrographical basins of all the innumerable lakes and rivers that so +peculiarly characterize this region of country. + +"One of these ramifications extends in a southerly direction under the +name of Coteau du Grand Bois; and it is this which separates the +Mississippi streams from those of the Red River of the North. + +"The waters supplied by the north flank of these heights of land-- +still on the south side of Lake Itasca-- give origin to the five +creeks of which I have spoken above. These are the waters which I +consider to be the utmost sources of the Mississippi. Those that flow +from the southern side of the same heights, and empty themselves into +Elbow Lake, are the utmost sources of the Red River of the North; so +that the most remote feeders of Hudson's Bay and the Gulf of Mexico +are closely approximated to each other." + +Of the country above Crow Wing, he makes the following observations, +which are not less interesting than instructive: "Over the whole route +which I traversed after leaving Crow Wing River, the country has a +different aspect from that which the banks of the Mississippi above +the falls present. The forests are denser and more varied; the soil, +which is alternately sandy, gravelly, clayey, and loamy, is, generally +speaking, lighter excepting on the shores of some of the larger lakes. +The uplands are covered with white and yellow pines, spruce and birch; +and the wet lowlands by the American larch and the willow. On the +slopes of sandy hills, the American aspen, the canoe birch (white +birch), with a species of birch of dwarfish growth, the alder, and +wild rose, extend to the very margin of the river. On the borders of +the larger lakes, where the soil is generally better, we find the +sugar maple, the black and bar oaks (also named overcup white oak, but +differing from the white oak), the elm, ash, lime tree, &c. Generally +speaking, however, this woodland does not extend back farther than a +mile from the lakes. The white cedar, the hemlock, spruce, pine, and +fir, are occasionally found; but the red cedar is scarce throughout +this region, and none, perhaps, are to be seen but on islands of those +lakes called by the Indians Red Cedar Lakes. The shrubbery consists +principally of the wild rose, hawthorn, and wild plum; and +raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cranberries are abundant. + +"The aspect of the country is greatly varied by hills, dales, copses, +small prairies, and a great number of lakes; the whole of which I do +not pretend to have laid down on my map. * * * * The lakes to which I +have just alluded are distributed in separate groups, or are arranged +in prolonged chains along the rivers, and not unfrequently attached to +each other by gentle rapids. It has seemed to me that they diminish in +extent on both sides of the Mississippi, as we proceed southwardly, as +far as 43 degrees of north latitude; and this observation extends to +the Arctic region, commencing at Bear's Lake; or Slave Lake, Winnipeg +Lake, &c. It may be further remarked that the basins of these lakes +have a sufficient depth to leave no doubt that they will remain +characteristic features of the country for a long time to come. +Several species of fish abound in them. The white fish (Corregonus +albus) is found in all the deep lakes west of the Mississippi-- and, +indeed, from Lake Erie to the Polar Sea. That which is taken in Leech +Lake is said by amateurs to be more highly flavored than even that of +Lake Superior, and weighs from three to ten pounds.* * * Of all the +Indian nations that I have visited, the Chippewas, inhabiting the +country about the sources of the Mississippi, are decidedly the most +favored. Besides their natural resources (to which I have already +referred) of fish, wild rice, and maple sugar, with the addition of an +abundance of game, the climate is found to be well adapted to the +culture of corn, wheat, barley, oats, and pulse. The potato is of +superior quality to that of the Middle States of the Union. In a +trading point of view, the hunt is very profitable. The bear, the deer +and elk, the wolf, the fox, the wolverine, the fisher raccoon, +muskrat, mink, otter, marten, weasel, and a few remaining beavers, are +the principal articles of this traffic." (pp. 58, 64.) To those who +are desirous of perusing this valuable report, and who have access to +the congressional documents, I would say that it may be found in +Senate Document 237, 2d Session of 26th Congress. + + LETTER X. + + VALLEY OF THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH. + +Climate of Minnesota-- The settlement at Pembina-- St. Joseph-- Col. +Smith's expedition-- Red River of the North-- Fur trade-- Red River +Settlement-- The Hudson's Bay Company-- Ex-Gov. Ramsey's +observations-- Dacotah. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +A CELEBRATED geographer of the first century wrote, "Germany is indeed +habitable, but is uninhabited on account of the cold." I am not so +certain, but some people have a similar idea of the upper portion of +Minnesota. If there are any, however, thus distrustful of its climate, +they probably live out of the territory. I have no means of knowing +what the climate is here in winter, except from hearsay and general +principles. It seems to be an approved theory, that the farther we +approach the west in a northern latitude the milder becomes the +winter. The stage-drivers tell me that the snow does not fall to such +a depth as in the northern part of New England; that the weather is +tolerably uniform; and that the roads are at all times kept open and +much travelled. After all, it is a great way before we come to the +home of the Esquimaux, and the desert of ice where Sir John Franklin +perished. + +I will here subjoin the following extract from a letter addressed to +Gov. Stephens by the Hon. Henry M. Rice, the able delegate from +Minnesota. It is dated 3d June, 1854: + +"Navigation of the Mississippi River closes from the 10th to the 25th +of November, and opens from the 1st to the 10th of April. That of the +Red River of the North closes from the 1st to 16th November, and opens +from 10th to 25th April. I have often travelled in the winter from St. +Paul to Crow Wing, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, with a +single horse and sled, without a track, and have never found the snow +deep enough to impede my progress. I have also gone from Crow Wing, +beyond the head waters of the Mississippi, to the waters of the +Hudson's Bay, on foot and without snow-shoes. I spent one entire +winter travelling through that region, and never found the snow over +eighteen inches deep, and seldom over nine inches. + +"For several years I had trading-posts extending from Lake Superior to +the Red River of the North, from 46 degrees to 49 degrees north +latitude, and never found the snow so deep as to prevent supplies +being transported from one post to another with horses. One winter, +north of Crow Wing, say 47 degrees north latitude, I wintered about +sixty head of horses and cattle without giving them food of any kind +except such as they could procure themselves under the snow. Between +the 45th and 49th degrees north latitude, the snow does not fall so +deep as it does between the 40th and 45th degrees; this is easily +accounted for upon the same principle that in the fall they have +frosts much earlier near the 40th than they do near the 45th degree. I +say this in reference to the country watered by the Mississippi River. +Owing to its altitude the atmosphere is dry beyond belief, which +accounts for the absence of frosts in the fall, and for the small +quantity of snow that falls in a country so far north. Voyageurs +traverse the territory from Lake Superior to the Missouri the entire +winter with horses and sleds, having to make their own roads, and yet +with heavy loads are not detained by snow. Lumbermen in great numbers +winter in the pine regions of Minnesota with their teams, and I have +never heard of their finding the snow too deep to prosecute their +labors. I have known several winters when the snow at no time was over +six inches deep." + +The Hon. H. H. Sibley, ex-delegate from Minnesota, in a letter dated +at Mendota says: "As our country is for the most part composed of +prairie, it is of course much exposed to the action of the winds. It +is, however, a peculiarity of our climate, that calms prevail during +the cold weather of the winter months; consequently, the snow does not +drift to anything like the extent experienced in New England or +northern New York. I have never believed that railroad communication +in this territory would be seriously impeded by the depth or drift of +snow, unless, perhaps, in the extreme northern portion of it." (See +Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad, I., 400.) + +A few facts in regard to the people who live four or five hundred +miles to the north, will best illustrate the nature of the climate and +its adaptedness to agriculture. + +It is common to say that settlements have not extended beyond Crow +Wing. This is only technically true. There is a settlement at Pembina, +where the dividing line between British America and the United States +crosses the Red River of the North. It didn't extend there from our +frontier, sure enough. If it extended from anywhere it must have been +from the north, or along the confines of that mystic region called +Rainy Lake. Pembina is said to have about 600 inhabitants. It is +situated on the Pembina River. It is an Indian-French word meaning +cranberry. Men live there who were born there, and it is in fact an +old settlement. It was founded by British subjects, who thought they +had located on British soil. The greater part of its inhabitants are +half-breeds, who earn a comfortable livelihood in fur hunting and in +farming. It sends two representatives and a councillor to the +territorial legislature. It is 460 miles north-west of St. Paul, and +330 miles distant from this town. Notwithstanding the distance, there +is considerable communication between the places. West of Pembina, +about thirty miles, is a settlement called St. Joseph, situated N. of +a large mythological body of water called Miniwakan, or Devil's Lake; +and is one of the points where Col. Smith's expedition was intending +to stop. This expedition to which I refer, started out from Fort +Snelling in the summer, to explore the country on both sides of the +Red River of the North as far as Pembina, and to report to the war +department the best points for the establishment of a new military +post. It is expected that Col. Smith will return by the first of next +month; and it is probable he will advise the erection of a post at +Pembina. When that is done, if it is done, its effect will be to draw +emigrants from the Red River settlement into Minnesota. + +Now let me say a word about this Red River of the North, for it is +beginning to be a great feature in this upper country. It runs north, +and empties into Lake Winnipeg, which connects with Hudson's Bay by +Nelson River. It is a muddy and sluggish stream, navigable to the +mouth of Sioux Wood River for vessels of three feet draught for four +months in the year. So that the extent of its navigation within the +territory alone (between Pembina and the mouth of Sioux Wood River) is +417 miles. Buffaloes still feed on its western banks. Its tributaries +are numerous and copious, abounding with the choicest kinds of game, +and skirted with a various and beautiful foliage. It cannot be many +years before this magnificent valley shall pour its products into our +markets, and be the theatre of a busy and genial life. + +One of the first things which drew my attention to this river was a +sight of several teams travelling towards this vicinity from a +north-westerly direction. I observed that the complexion of those in +the caravan was a little darker than that of pure white Minnesotians, +and that the carts were a novelty. "Who are those people? and where +are they from?" I inquired of a friend. "They are Red River people, +just arrived-- they have come down to trade." Their carts are made to +be drawn by one animal, either an ox or a horse, and are put together +without the use of a particle of iron. They are excellently adapted to +prairie travelling. How strange it seems! Here are people who have +been from twenty to thirty days on their journey to the nearest +civilized community. This is their nearest market. Their average rate +of travelling is about fifteen miles a day, and they generally secure +game enough on the way for their living. I have had highly interesting +accounts of the Red River settlement since I have been here, both from +Mr. Ross and Mr. Marion, gentlemen recently from there. The settlement +is seventy miles north of Pembina, and lies on both sides of the +river. Its population is estimated at 10,000. It owes its origin and +growth to the enterprise and success of the Hudson's Bay Company. Many +of the settlers came from Scotland, but the most were from Canada. +They speak English and Canadian French. The English style of society +is well kept up, whether we regard the church with its bishop, the +trader with his wine cellar, the scholar with his library, the officer +with his sinecure, or their paper currency. I find they have +everything but a hotel, for I was particular on that point, though not +intending just yet to go there. Probably the arrivals do not justify +such an institution, but their cordial hospitality will make up for +any such lack, from all I hear. They have a judge who gets a good +house to live in, and L1000 sterling a year; but he has nothing of +consequence to do. He was formerly a leading lawyer in Canada. + +The great business of the settlement, of course, is the fur traffic. +An immense amount of buffalo skins is taken in the summer and autumn, +while in the winter smaller but more valuable furs are procured. The +Indians also enlist in the hunts; and it is estimated that upwards of +$200,000 worth of furs are annually taken from our territory and sold +to the Hudson's Bay Company. It is high time indeed that a military +post should be established somewhere on the Red River by our +government. The Hudson's Bay Company is now a powerful monopoly. Not +so magnificent and potent as the East India Company, it is still a +powerful combination, showering opulence on its members, and +reflecting a peculiar feature in the strength and grandeur of the +British empire-- a power, which, to use the eloquent language of +Daniel Webster, "has dotted over the whole surface of the globe with +her possessions and military posts-- whose morning drum-beat, +following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circles the +earth daily with one continuous and unbroken strain of martial music." +The company is growing richer every year, and its jurisdiction and its +lands will soon find an availability never dreamed of by its founders, +unless, as may possibly happen, popular sovereignty steps in to grasp +the fruits of its long apprenticeship. Some time ago I believe the +Canadas sought to annex this broad expanse to their own jurisdiction. +There are about two hundred members in the Hudson's Bay Company. The +charter gives them the power to legislate for the settlement. They +have many persons in their employ in England as well as in British +America. A clerk, after serving the company ten years, with a salary +of about $500 per annum, is considered qualified for membership, with +the right to vote in the deliberations of the company, and one share +in the profits. The profits of a share last year amounted to $10,000! +A factor of the company, after serving ten years, is entitled to +membership with the profits of two shares. The aristocracy of the +settlement consists principally of retired factors and other members +of the company, who possess large fortunes, dine on juicy roast beef, +with old port, ride in their carriages, and enjoy life in a very +comfortable manner. Two of the company's ships sail up into Hudson's +Bay every year to bring merchandise to the settlement and take away +furs. [1] But the greatest portion of the trade is done with +Minnesota. Farming is carried on in the neighborhood of the settlement +with cheerful ease and grand success. I was as much surprised to hear +of the nature of their agriculture as of anything else concerning the +settlement. The same kind of crops are raised as in Pennsylvania or +Maine; and this in a country, be it remembered, five hundred miles and +upwards north of St. Paul. Stock must be easily raised, as it would +appear from the fact that it is driven down here into the territory +and sold at a great profit. Since I have been here, a drove of +fine-looking cattle from that settlement passed to be sold in the +towns below, and a drove of horses is expected this fall. The stock +which comes from there is more hardy than can be got anywhere else, +and therefore is preferred by the Minnesotians. + +[1 "The Hudson's Bay Company allows its servants, while making a +voyage, eight pounds of meat a day, and I am told the allowance is +none too much." (Lieutenant Howison's Report on Oregon, p. 7.)] + +The following extract from Ex-Governor Ramsey's address, recently +delivered before the annual fair at Minneapolis, wherein he gives some +results of his observations of the Red River settlement during his +trip there in 1851, will be read with much interest:-- + +"Re-embarking in our canoes, we continued descending the river for +some fifteen miles further, through the French portion of the +settlement, lining mainly the west or left bank of the river, until we +arrived about the centre of the colony, at the mouth of the +Assinniboin tributary of Red River, where we landed and remained a few +days, viewing the colony and its improvements. I was at that time, and +am even now, when I look back upon it, lost in wonder at the phenomena +which that settlement exhibits to the world, considering its location +in an almost polar region of the North. Imagine a river flowing +sluggishly northward through a flat alluvial plain, and the west side +of it lined continuously for over thirty miles with cultivated farms, +each presenting those appearances of thrift around them which I +mentioned as surrounding the first farms seen by us; but each farm +with a narrow frontage on the river of only twenty-four rods in width, +but extending back for one or two miles, and each of these narrow +farms having their dwellings and the farm out-buildings spread only +along the river front, with lawns sloping to the water's edge, and +shrubbery and vines liberally trained around them, and trees +intermingled-- the whole presenting the appearance of a long suburban +village-- such as you might see near our eastern sea-board, or such as +you find exhibited in pictures of English country villages, with the +resemblance rendered more striking by the spires of several large +churches peeping above the foliage of the trees in the distance, +whitewashed school-houses glistening here and there amidst sunlight +and green; gentlemen's houses of pretentious dimensions and grassy +lawns and elaborate fencing, the seats of retired officers of the +Hudson's Bay Company occasionally interspersed; here an English +bishop's parsonage, with a boarding or high school near by; and over +there a Catholic bishop's massive cathedral, with a convent of Sisters +of Charity attached; whilst the two large stone forts, at which reside +the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, or of the colony once called +Upper Fort Garry, and situated at the mouth of the Assinniboin, and +the other termini the Lower Fort Garry, which is twenty miles farther +down the river, helped to give additional picturesqueness to the +scene. I had almost forgotten to mention what is, after all, the most +prominent and peculiar feature of that singular landscape, singular +from its location-- and that is the numerous wind-mills, nearly twenty +in all, which on every point of land made by the turns and bends in +the river, stretched out their huge sails athwart the horizon, and +seemingly looked defiance at us as invading strangers, that were from +a land where steam or water mills monopolize their avocation of flour +making. One morning as we passed down the principal high road, on our +way to Lower Fort Garry, the wind, after a protracted calm, began to +blow a little; when presto! each mill veered around its sails to catch +the propitious breeze, and as the sails began to revolve, it was +curious to observe the numerous carts that shot out from nearly every +farm-house, and hurried along the road to these mills, to get ground +their grists of spring wheat, with which they were respectively +loaded. + +"Another incident during the same trip that struck us oddly, was +seeing two ladies driving by themselves a fine horse hitched to a +buggy of modern fashion, just as much at home apparently as if they +were driving through the streets of St. Paul, or St. Anthony, or +Minneapolis, instead of upon that remote highway towards the North +Pole; but this was not a whit more novel than to hear the pianoforte, +and played, too, with both taste and skill. While another 'lion' of +those parts that met our view was a topsail schooner lying in the +river at the lower fort, which made occasional trips into Great Lake +Winnepeg of the North, a hundred miles below. + +"I took occasion during my visit to inquire what success the farmers +met with in securing good crops, and the profits of farmers generally. +As to wheat, I learned that the yield of the spring variety was quite +equal in quantity and quality to the crop of that grain on any more +southern farms; that in raising barley they could almost surpass the +world; and the cereals generally, and all the esculent roots, were +easily raised. Indian corn was not planted as a field crop, though it +was grown in their gardens. In a word, the capacity of their land to +produce almost everything plentifully and well, was established; but +for all this, farming did not afford much profit. for want of a +sufficient market; beyond a small demand by the Hudson's Bay Company, +there was no outlet for their superabundance; and to use an Austrian +phase in regard to Hungarians, the Selkirkers are metaphysically +'smothering in their own fat.' To remedy this state of things they +were beginning, when I was there, to turn their attention towards +raising cattle and horses, for which their country is well calculated; +and the first fruits of this new decision given to their farming +energies, we have already experienced in the droves of both which have +recently been driven from thence and sold in this vicinity." + +I think the facts which I have herein hastily set downhill dispel any +apprehension as to the successful cultivation of the soil in the +northern part of the territory. It has a health-giving climate which +before long, I predict, will nourish as patriotic a race of men as +gave immortality to the noble plains of Helvetia. There is one thing I +would mention which seems to auspicate the speedy development of the +valley of the North Red River. Next year Minnesota will probably be +admitted as a state; and a new territory organized out of the broad +region embracing the valley aforesaid and the head waters of the +Mississippi. Or else it will be divided by a line north and south, +including the western valley of that river, and extending as far to +the west as the Missouri River. I understand it will be called +Dacotah, though I at first thought it would be called Pembina. There +is always a rush into new territories, and the proposed new territory +of Dacotah will present sufficient inducements for a large +immigration. When the valley of the North Red River shall be settled, +and splendid harvest fields adorn its banks; when great factories take +the place of wind-mills, and when railroads shall take the place of +Red River carts, then we will have new cause to exclaim, + + "Westward the course of empire takes its way!" + + LETTER XI. + + THE TRUE PIONEER. + +Energy of the pioneer-- Frontier life-- Spirit of emigration-- +Advantages to the farmer in moving West-- Advice in regard to making +preemption claims-- Abstract of the preemption law-- Hints to the +settler-- Character and services of the pioneer. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +I DESIRE in this letter to say something about the pioneer, and life +on the frontier. And by pioneer I mean the true pioneer who comes into +the West to labor and to share the vicissitudes of new settlements; +not the adventurer, who would repine at toil, and gather where he has +not sown. + +As I have looked abroad upon the vast domain of the West beyond the +dim Missouri, or in the immediate valley of the Mississippi, I have +wondered at the contrast presented between the comparatively small +number who penetrate to the frontier, and that great throng of men who +toil hard for a temporary livelihood in the populous towns and cities +of the Union. And I have thought if this latter class were at all +mindful of the opportunities for gain and independence which the new +territories afforded, they would soon abandon-- in a great measure at +least-- their crowded alleys in the city, and aspire to be cultivators +and owners of the soil. Why there has not been a greater emigration +from cities I cannot imagine, unless it is owing to a misapprehension +of Western life. Either it is this, or the pioneer is possessed of a +very superior degree of energy. + +It has been said that the frontier man always keeps on the frontier; +that he continues to emigrate as fast as the country around him +becomes settled. There is a class that do so. Not, however, for the +cause which has been sometimes humorously assigned-- that civilization +was inconvenient to them-- but because good opportunities arise to +dispose of the farms they have already improved; and because a further +emigration secures them cheaper lands. The story of the pioneer who +was disturbed by society, when his nearest neighbor lived fifteen +miles off, even if it be true, fails to give the correct reason for +the migratory life of this class of men. + +It almost always happens that wherever we go somebody else has +preceded us. Accident or enterprise has led some one to surpass us. +Many of the most useful pioneers of this country have been attracted +hither by the accounts given of its advantages by some one of their +friends who had previously located himself here. Ask a man why he +comes, and he says a neighbor of his, or a son, or a brother, has been +in the territory for so many months, and he likes it so well I +concluded to come also. A very respectable gentleman from Maine, a +shipowner and a man of wealth, who came up on the boat with me to St. +Paul, said his son-in-law was in the territory, and he had another son +at home who was bound to come, and if his wife was willing he believed +the whole family would come. Indeed the excellent state of society in +the territory is to be attributed very much to the fact that parents +have followed after their children. + +It is pretty obvious too why men will leave poor farms in New England, +and good farms in Ohio, to try their fortunes here. The farmer in New +England, it may be in New Hampshire, hears that the soil of Minnesota +is rich and free from rocks, that there are other favorable resources, +and a salubrious climate such as he has been accustomed to. He +concludes that it is best to sell out the place he has, and try +ploughing where there are no rocks to obstruct him. The farmer of Ohio +does not expect to find better soil than he leaves; but his +inducements are that he can sell his land at forty or fifty dollars an +acre, and preempt as good in Minnesota for a dollar and a quarter an +acre. This operation leaves him a surplus fund, and he becomes a more +opulent man, with better means to adorn his farm and to educate his +children. + +Those who contemplate coming West to engage in agricultural employment +should leave their families, if families they have, behind till they +have selected a location and erected some kind of a habitation; +provided, however, they have no particular friend whose hospitality +they can avail themselves of till their preliminary arrangements are +effected. It will require three months, I judge, for a man to select a +good claim (a quarter section, being 160 acres), and fence and plough +a part of it and to erect thereon a cabin. There is never a want of +land to preempt in a new country. The settler can always get an +original claim, or buy out the claim of another very cheap, near some +other settlers. The liberal policy of our government in regard to the +disposal of public lands is peculiarly beneficial to the settler. The +latter has the first chance. He can go on to a quarter section which +may be worth fifteen dollars an acre, and preempt it before it is +surveyed, and finally obtain it for $1.25 an acre. Whereas the +speculator must wait till the land is surveyed and advertised for +sale; and then he can get only what has not been preempted, and at a +price which it brings at auction, not less than $1.25 an acre. Then +what land is not sold at public sale is open to private entry at $1.25 +an acre. It is such land that bounty warrants are located on. Thus it +is seen the pioneer has the first choice. Why, I have walked over land +up here that would now bring from ten to twenty dollars an acre if it +was in the market, and which any settler can preempt and get for $1.25 +an acre. I am strongly tempted to turn farmer myself, and go out and +build me a cabin. The speculation would be a good one. But to acquire +a title by preemption I must dwell on the soil, and prove that I have +erected a dwelling and made other improvements. In other words, before +a man (or any head of a family) can get a patent, he must satisfy the +land officers that he is a dweller in good faith on the soil. It is +often the case, indeed, that men get a title by preemption who never +intend to live on their quarter section. But they do it by fraud. They +have a sort of mental reservation, I suppose, when they take the +requisite oaths. In this way many valuable claims are taken up and +held along from month to month, or from year to year, by mock +improvements. A pretender will make just improvements enough to hinder +the actual settler from locating on the claim, or will sell out to him +at a good profit. A good deal of money is made by these fictitious +claimants. It is rather hard to prevent it, too, inasmuch as it is +difficult to disprove that a man intends some time to have a permanent +home, or, in fact, that his claim is not his legal residence, though +his usual abiding place is somewhere else. Nothing could be more +delightful than for a party of young men who desire to farm to come +out together early in the spring, and aid each other in preempting +land in the same neighborhood. The preemptor has to pay about five +dollars in the way of fees before he gets through the entire process +of securing a title. It is a popular error (much like the opinion that +a man cannot swear to what he sees through glass) that improvements of +a certain value, say fifty dollars, are required to be made, or that a +certain number of acres must be cultivated. All that is required, +however, is evidence that the party has built a house fit to live in, +and has in good faith proceeded to cultivate the soil. The law does +not permit a person to preempt 160 acres but once; yet this provision +is often disregarded, possibly from ignorance, I was about to say, but +that cannot be, since the applicant must make oath that he has not +before availed himself of the right of preemption. + +I will insert at this place an abridgment of the preemption act of 4th +September, 1841, which I made two years ago; and which was extensively +published in the new states and territories. I am happy to find, also, +that it has been thought worth copying into one or more works on the +West. + +I. Lands subject to preemption. By sec. 10 of said act it is provided +that the public lands to which the Indian title had been extinguished +at the time of the settlement, and which had also been surveyed prior +thereto, shall be subject to preemption, and purchase at the rate of +one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. And by the act of 22d July, +1854, sec. 12, the preemption of unsurveyed lands is recognised as +legal. Lands of the following description are excepted: such as are +included in any reservation, by any treaty, law, or proclamation of +the President of the United States, or reserved for salines or for +other purposes; lands included within the limits of any incorporated +town, or which have been selected as the site for a city or town; +lands actually settled and occupied for the purposes of trade and not +agriculture; and lands on which are situated any known salines or +mines. + +II. The amount designated is any number of acres not exceeding one +hundred and sixty. + +III. Who may preempt. "Every person being the head of a family, or +widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, and being a +citizen of the United States, or having filed his declaration of +intention to become a citizen, as required by the naturalization +laws." But no person shall be entitled to more than one preemptive +right, and no person who is the proprietor of three hundred and twenty +acres of land in any state or territory of the United States, and no +person who shall quit or abandon his residence on his own land to +reside on the public land in the same state or territory, shall +acquire any right of preemption. + +IV. The method to perfect the right. The preemptor must make a +settlement on the land in person; inhabit and improve the same, and +erect thereon a dwelling. And when the land has been surveyed previous +to settlement the preemptor shall, within thirty days of the date of +the settlement, file with the register of the proper district a +written statement describing the land settled upon, and declaring the +intention of such person to claim the same under the provisions of the +preemption law. And within twelve months of the date of the settlement +such person shall make the requisite proof, affidavit, and payment. +When unsurveyed lands are prompted (act of 1854), notice of the +specific tracts claimed shall be filed with the surveyor general, +within three months after the survey has been made in the field. And +when two or more persons shall have settled on the same quarter +section, the right of preemption shall be in him or her who made the +first settlement; and questions arising between different settlers +shall be decided by the register and receiver of the district within +which the land is situated, subject to an appeal to and revision by +the Secretary of the Interior of the United States. + +And the settler must make oath before the receiver or register that he +or she has never had the benefit of any right of preemption under the +preemption act: that he or she is not the owner of three hundred and +twenty acres of land in any state or territory of the United States, +nor hath he or she settled upon and improved said land to sell the +same on speculation, but in good faith to appropriate it to his or her +own exclusive use or benefit: and that he or she has not directly or +indirectly made any agreement or contract in any way or manner with +any person or persons whatsoever, by which the title which he or she +might acquire from the government of the United States should enure in +whole or in part to the benefit of any person except himself or +herself; and if any person talking such oath shall swear falsely in +the premises, he or she shall be subject to all the pains and +penalties of perjury, and shall forfeit the money which he or she may +have paid for such land, and all right and title to the same; and any +grant or conveyance which he or she may have made, except in the hands +of bona fide purchasers for a valuable consideration, shall be null +and void. + +Proof of the requisite settlement and improvement shall be made by the +preemptor to the satisfaction of the register and receiver, in the +district in which the lands so claimed lie, who shall each be entitled +to receive fifty cents from each applicant for his services rendered. +as aforesaid; and all assignments and transfers of the right hereby +secured prior to the issuing of the patent, shall be null and void. +(See U. S. Stat. at Large, vol. 5, 453-458.) + +But I was on the point of advising the settler what he should bring +with him into a new country and what leave behind. He should not bring +much furniture. It is very expensive and troublesome to have it +transported. Nor will he need much to begin with, or have room for it. +It will cost nearly as much to transport it seventy miles through the +territory as it will to bring it from whence he started within the +limits of the territory. Let him pack up in a small compass the most +precious part of his inanimate household, and leave it ready for an +agent to start it after he shall have found a domicil. This will save +expensive storage. Then let his goods be directed to the care of some +responsible forwarding merchant in a river town nearest to their final +destination, that they may be taken care of and not be left exposed on +the levee when they arrive. St. Paul is now a place of so much +mercantile importance and competition that one may buy provisions, +furniture, or agricultural tools cheaper there than he can himself +bring them from the East. The professional man, however, will do well +to bring his books with him. + +Let us assume now that the settler has got his house up, either a +frame house or of logs, with a part of his farm fenced; and that be +has filed his application for preemption at the land office in the +district in which he resides. Let us suppose further, that he is +passing his first autumn here. His house, if he is a man of limited +means, has but two rooms, and they are both on the basement story. He +has just shelter enough for his stock, but none for his hay, which is +stacked near by. The probability is, that he lives in the vicinity of +some clear stream or copious spring, and has not, therefore, needed to +dig a well. The whole establishment, one would think, who was +accustomed to the Eastern style of living, betrayed downright poverty. + +But let us stop a moment; this is the home of a pioneer. He has been +industrious, and everything about him exhibits forethought. There is a +cornfield all fenced in with tamarack poles. It is paved over with +pumpkins (for pumpkins flourish wonderfully in Minnesota), and +contains twenty acres of ripe corn, which, allowing thirty-five +bushels to an acre, is worth at ninety cents per bushel the sum of +$630. There are three acres of potatoes, of the very best quality, +containing three hundred bushels, which, at fifty cents a bushel, are +worth $150. Here then, off of two crops, he gets $780, and I make a +moderate estimate at that. Next year he will add to this a crop of +oats or wheat. The true pioneer is a model farmer. He lays out his +work two weeks in advance. Every evening finds him further ahead. If +there is a rainy day, he knows what to set himself about. Be lays his +plans in a systematic manner, and carries them into execution with +energy. He is a true pioneer, and therefore he is not an idle man, nor +a loafer, nor a weak addle-headed tippler. Go into his house, and +though you do not see elegance you can yet behold intelligence, and +neatness, and sweet domestic bliss. The life of the pioneer is not +exposed to such hardships and delays as retarded the fortunes of the +settlers in the older states. They had to clear forests; here the land +is ready for the plough. And though "there is society where none +intrude," yet he is not by any means beyond the boundaries of good +neighborhood. In many cases, however, he has left his dearest friends +far away in his native village, where his affections still linger. He +has to endure painful separations, and to forego those many comforts +which spring from frequent meetings under the parental roof, and +frequent converse with the most attractive scones of youth. But to +compensate for these things he can feel that the labor of the pioneer, +aside from its pecuniary advantage to himself, is of service to the +state, and a helpmate to succeeding generations. + + "There are, who, distant from their native soil, + Still for their own and country's glory toil: + While some, fast rooted to their parent spot, + In life are useless, and in death forgot!" + + LETTER XII. + + SPECULATION AND BUSINESS. + +Opportunities to select farms-- Otter Tail Lake-- Advantages of the +actual settler over the speculator-- Policy of new states as to taxing +non-residents-- Opportunities to make money-- Anecdote of Col. +Perkins-- Mercantile business-- Price of money-- Intemperance-- +Education-- The free school. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +IT is maintained by the reviewers, I believe, that the duller a writer +is, the more accurate he should be. In the outset of this letter, I +desire to testify my acquiescence in the justice of that dogma, for +if, like neighbor Dogberry, "I were as tedious as a king," I could not +find it in my heart to bestow it all without a measure of utility. + +I shall try to answer some questions which I imagine might be put by +different classes of men who are interested in this part of the west. +My last letter had some hints to the farmer, and I can only add, in +addition, for his benefit, that the most available locations are now a +considerable distance above St. Paul. The valley of the St. Peter's is +pretty much taken up; and so of the valley of the Mississippi for a +distance of fifteen miles on either side to a point a hundred miles +above St. Paul. One of the land officers at Minneapolis informed me +that there were good preemption claims to be had fifteen miles west, +that being as far as the country was thickly settled. One of the +finest regions now unoccupied, that I know of, not to except even the +country on the Crow Wing River, is the land bordering on Otter Tail +Lake. For forty miles all round that lake the land is splendid. More +than a dozen disinterested eye-witnesses have described that region to +me in the most glowing terms. In beauty, in fertility, and in the +various collateral resources which make a farming country desirable, +it is not surpassed. It lies south of the picturesque highlands or +hauteurs des terres, and about midway between the sources of the Crow +Wing and North Red Rivers. From this town the distance to it is sixty +miles. The lake itself is forty miles long and five miles in width. +The water is clear and deep, and abounds with white fish that are +famous for their delicious flavor. The following description, which I +take from Captain Pope's official narrative of his exploration, is a +reliable description of this delightful spot, now fortunately on the +eve of being settled-- " To the west, north-west, and north-east, the +whole country is heavily timbered with oak, elm, ash, maple, birch, +bass, &c., &c. Of these the sugar maple is probably the most valuable, +and in the vicinity of Otter Tail Lake large quantities of maple sugar +are manufactured by the Indians. The wild rice, which exists in these +lakes in the most lavish profusion, constitutes a most necessary +article of food with the Indians, and is gathered in large quantities +in the months of September and October. To the east the banks of the +lake are fringed with heavy oak and elm timber to the width of one +mile. The whole region of country for fifty miles in all directions +around this lake is among the most beautiful and fertile in the world. +The fine scenery of lakes and open groves of oak timber, of winding +streams connecting them, and beautifully rolling country on all sides, +renders this portion of Minnesota the garden spot of the north-west. +It is impossible in a report of this character to describe the feeling +of admiration and astonishment with which we first beheld the charming +country in the vicinity of this lake; and were I to give expression to +my own feelings and opinions in reference to it, I fear they would be +considered the ravings of a visionary or an enthusiast."[1] But let me +say to the speculator that he need not covet any of these broad acres. +There is little chance for him. Before that land can be bought at +public sale or by mere purchasers at private sale, it will, I feel +sure, be entirely occupied by actual settlers. And so it ought to be. +The good of the territory is promoted by that beneficent policy of our +public land laws which gives the actual settler the first and best +chance to acquire a title by preemption. + +[1 To illustrate the rapid progress which is going on constantly, I +would remark that in less than a month after leaving Crow Wing, I +received a letter from there informing me that Messrs. Crittenden, +Cathcart, and others had been to Otter Tail Lake and laid out a town +which they call Otter Tail City. The standing and means of the men +engaged in the enterprise, are a sure guaranty of its success.] + +Speculators have located a great many land warrants in Minnesota. Some +have been located on lakes, some on swamps, some on excellent land. Of +course the owner, who, as a general thing, is a nonresident, leaves +his land idle for something to "turn up" to make it profitable. There +it stands doing no good, but on the contrary is an encumbrance to the +settler, who has to travel over and beyond it without meeting the face +of a neighbor in its vicinity. The policy of new states is to tax +non-resident landholders at a high rate. When the territory becomes a +state, and is obliged to raise a revenue, some of these fellows +outside, who, to use a phrase common up here, have plastered the +country over with land warrants, will have to keep a lookout for the +tax-gatherer. Now I do not mean to discourage moneyed men from +investing in Minnesota lands. I do not wish to raise any bugbears, but +simply to let them know that hoarding up large tracts of land without +making improvements, and leaving it to increase in value by the toil +and energy of the pioneer, is a way of doing things which is not +popular with the actual settler. But there is a great deal of money to +be made by judicious investments in land. Buying large tracts of land +I believe to be the least profitable speculation, unless indeed the +purchaser knows exactly what he is buying, and is on hand at the +public sale to get the benefit of a second choice. I say second +choice, because the preemptor has had the first choice long ago, and +it may be before the land was surveyed. What I would recommend to +speculators is to purchase in some good town sites. Buy in two or +three, and if one or two happen to prove failures, the profits on the +other will enable you to bear the loss. I know of a man who invested +$6000 at St. Paul six years ago. He has sold over $80,000 worth of the +land, and has as much more left. This is but an ordinary instance. The +advantage of buying lots in a town arises from the rapid rise of the +value of the land, the ready market, and withal the moderate prices at +which they can be procured during the early part of its history. + +To such persons as have a desire to come West, and are not inclined to +be farmers, and who have not capital enough to engage in mercantile +business, there is sufficient employment. A new country always opens +avenues of successful business for every industrious man and woman; +more kinds even than I could well enumerate. Every branch of mechanics +needs workmen of all grades; from the boy who planes the rough boards +to the head workman. Teaming affords good employment for young men the +year round. The same may be said of the saw-mills. A great deal of +building is going on constantly; and those who have good trades get +$2.50 per day. I am speaking, of course, of the territory in general. +One of the most profitable kinds of miscellaneous business is +surveying. This art requires the services of large numbers; not only +to survey the public lands, but town sites and the lands of private +individuals. Labor is very high everywhere in the West, whether done +by men, women, or children;-- even the boys, not fourteen years old, +who clean the knives and forks on the steamboats, get $20 a month and +are found. But the best of it all is, that when a man earns a few +dollars he can easily invest it in a piece of land, and double his +money in three months, perhaps in one month. One of the merchant +princes of Boston, the late Col. T. H. Perkins, published a notice in +a Boston paper in 1789, he being then 25, that he would soon embark on +board the ship Astrea for Canton, and that if any one desired to +commit an "adventure" to him, they might be assured of his exertions +for their interests. The practice of sending " adventures" "beyond the +seas" is not so common as it was once; and instead thereof men invest +their funds in western prizes. But let me remark in regard to the fact +I relate, that it shows the true pioneer spirit. Col. Perkins was a +pioneer. His energy led him beyond his counting-room, and he reaped +the reward of his exertions in a great fortune. + +I have now a young man in my mind who came to a town ten miles this +side of St. Paul, six months ago, with $500. He commenced trading, and +has already, by good investments and the profits of his business, +doubled his money. Everything that one can eat or wear brings a high +price, or as high as it does in any part of the West. The number of +visitors and emigrants is so large that the productions of the +territory are utterly inadequate to supply the market. Therefore large +quantities of provisions have to be brought up the river from the +lower towns. At Swan River, 100 miles this side of St. Paul, pork is +worth $85. Knowing that pork constitutes a great part of the +"victuals" up this way, though far from being partial to the article, +I tried it when I dined at Swan River to see if it was good, and found +it to be very excellent. Board for laboring men must be about four +dollars a week. For transient guests at Crow Wing it is one dollar a +day. + +I have heard it said that money is scarce. It is possible. It +certainly commands a high premium; but the reason is that there are +such splendid opportunities to make fortunes by building and buying +and selling city lots. A man intends that the rent of a house or store +shall pay for its construction in three years. The profits of +adventure justify a man in paying high interest. If a man has money +enough to buy a pair of horses and a wagon, he can defy the world. +These are illustrations to show why one is induced to pay interest. I +do not think, however, money is "tight." I never saw people so free +with their money, or appear to have it in so great abundance. + +There is one drawback which this territory has in common with the +greater part of the West, and in fact of the civilized world. It is +not only a drawback, but a nuisance anywhere; I mean drinking or +whiskey shops. The greater proportion of the settlers are temperate +men, I am sure; but in almost every village there are places where the +meanest kind of intoxicating liquor is sold. There are some who sell +liquor to the Indians. But such business is universally considered as +the most degraded that a mean man can be guilty of. It is filthy to +see men staggering about under the influence of bad whiskey, or of any +kind of whiskey. He who sends a young husband to his new cabin home +intoxicated, to mortify and torment his family; or who sells liquor to +the uneducated Indians, that they may fight and murder, must have his +conscience-- if he has any at all-- cased over with sole leather. Mr. +Gough is needed in the West. + +Minnesota is not behind in education. Ever since Governor Slade, of +Vermont, brought some bright young school mistresses up to St. Paul +(in 1849), common school education has been diffusing its precious +influences. The government wisely sets apart two sections of land-- +the 16th and 36th-- in every township for school purposes. A township +is six miles square; and the two sections thus reserved in each +township comprise 1280 acres. Other territories have the same +provision. This affords a very good fund for educational uses, or +rather it is a great aid to the exertions of the people. There are +some nourishing institutions of learning in the territory. But the +greatest institution after all in the country-- the surest protection +of our liberties and our laws-- is the FREE SCHOOL. + + LETTER XIII. + + CROW WING TO ST. CLOUD. + +Pleasant drive in the stage-- Scenery-- The past-- Fort Ripley Ferry-- +Delay at the Post Office-- Belle Prairie-- A Catholic priest-- Dinner +at Swan River-- Potatoes-- Arrival at Watab-- St. Cloud. + +ST. CLOUD, October, 1856. + +YESTERDAY morning at seven I took my departure, on the stage, from +Crow Wing. It was a most delightful morning, the air not damp, but +bracing; and the welcome rays of the sun shed a mellow lustre upon a +scene of "sylvan beauty." The first hour's ride was over a road I had +passed in the dark on my upward journey, and this was the first view I +had of the country immediately below Crow Wing. No settlements were to +be seen, because the regulations of military reservations preclude +their being made except for some purpose connected with the public +interests. A heavy shower the night before had effectually laid the +dust, and we bounded along on the easy coach in high spirits. The view +of the prairie stretching "in airy undulations far away," and of the +eddying current of the Mississippi, there as everywhere deep and +majestic, with its banks skirted with autumn-colored foliage, was +enough to commend the old fashioned system of stages to more general +use. Call it poetry or what you please, yet the man who can +contemplate with indifference the wonderful profusion of nature, +undeveloped by art-- inviting, yet never touched by the plough-- must +lack some one of the senses. Indeed, this picture, so characteristic +of the new lands of the West, seems to call into existence a new +sense. The view takes in a broad expanse which has never produced a +stock of grain; and which has been traversed for ages past by a race +whose greatest and most frequent calamity was hunger. If we turn to +its past there is no object to call back our thoughts. All is +oblivion. There are no ruins to awaken curious images of former life-- +no vestige of humanity-- nothing but the present generation of nature. +And yet there are traces of the past generations of nature to be seen. +The depressions of the soil here and there to be observed, covered +with a thick meadow grass, are unmistakeable indications of lakes +which have now "vanished into thin air." That these gentle hollows +were once filled with water is the more certain from the appearance of +the shores of the present lakes, where the low water mark seems to +have grown lower and lower every year. But if the past is blank, these +scenes are suggestive of happy reflections as to the future. The long +perspective is radiant with busy life and cheerful husbandry. New +forms spring into being. Villages and towns spring up as if by magic, +along whose streets throngs of men are passing. And thus, as "coming +events cast their shadows before," does the mind wander from the real +to the probable. An hour and a half of this sort of revery, and we had +come to the Fort Ripley ferry, over which we were to go for the mail. +That ferry (and I have seen others on the river like it) is a +marvellous invention. It is a flat-boat which is quickly propelled +either way across the river by means of the resistance which it offers +to the current. Its machinery is so simple I will try to describe it. +In the first place a rope is stretched across the river from elevated +objects on either side. Each end of the boat is made fast to this line +by pullies, which can be taken up or let out at the fastenings on the +boat. All that is required to start the boat is to bring the bow, by +means of the pully, to an acute angle with the current. The after part +of the boat presents the principal resistance to the current by +sliding a thick board into the water from the upper side. As the water +strikes against this, the boat is constantly attempting to describe a +circle, which it is of course prevented from doing by the current, and +so keeps on-- for it must move somewhere-- in a direction where the +obstruction is less. It certainly belongs to the science of +hydraulics, for it is not such a boat as can be propelled by steam or +wind. I had occasion recently to cross the Mississippi on a similar +ferry, early in the morning, and before the ferryman was up. The +proprietor of it was with me; yet neither of us knew much of its +practical operation. I soon pulled the head of the boat towards the +current, but left down the resistance board, or whatever it is called, +at the bow as well as at the stern. This, of course, impeded our +progress; but we got over in a few minutes; and I felt so much +interested in this new kind of navigation, that I would have been glad +to try the voyage over again. + +On arriving within the square of the garrison, I expected to find the +mail ready for delivery to the driver; but we had to wait half an +hour. The mail is only weekly, and there was nothing of any +consequence to change. We repaired to the post office, which was in a +remote corner of a store-room, where the postmaster was busy making up +his mail. Some of the officers had come in with documents which they +wished to have mailed. And while we stood waiting, corporals and +privates, servants of other officers brought in letters which +Lieutenant So-and-so "was particularly desirous of having mailed this +morning." The driver was magnanimous enough to submit to me whether we +should wait. We all felt accommodating-- the postmaster I saw was +particularly so-- and we concluded to wait till everything was in, and +perhaps we would have waited for some one to write a letter. I could +not but think it would be a week before another mail day; and still I +could not but think these unnecessary morning hindrances were throwing +a part of our journey into the night hours. Returning again to the +eastern bank of the river by our fine ferry, we soon passed the +spacious residence of Mr. Olmsted, a prominent citizen of the +territory. We made a formal halt at his door to see if there were any +passengers. Mr. Olmsted has a large farm under good cultivation, and +several intelligent young men in his service. In that neighborhood are +some other as handsome farms as I ever saw; but I think they are on +the reservation, and are cultivated under the patronage of the war +department. The winter grain was just up, and its fresh verdure +afforded an agreeable contrast with the many emblems of decaying +nature. It was in the middle of the forenoon that we reached Belle +Prairie, along which are many good farm houses occupied by +half-breeds. There is a church and a school-house. In the cemetery is +a large cross painted black and white, and from its imposing +appearance it cannot fail to make a solemn impression on minds which +revere any tangible object that is consigned sacred. A very +comfortable-looking house was pointed out to me as the residence of a +Catholic priest, who has lived for many years in that section, +spreading among the ignorant a knowledge of Christianity, and +ministering to their wants in the hour of death. And though I am no +Catholic, I could not but regard the superiority of that kind of +preaching-- for visiting the sick, consoling the afflicted, and +rebuking sin by daily admonitions, is the true preaching of the +Gospel-- over the pompous declamation which now too often usurps the +pulpit. + +The dinner was smoking hot on the table when we drove up to the hotel +at Swan River; and so charming a drive in the pure air had given me a +keen appetite. The dinner (and I speak of these matters because they +are quite important to travellers) was in all respects worthy of the +appetite. The great staple article of Minnesota soil appears to be +potatoes, for they were never known to be better anywhere else-- +Eastport not excepted-- and at our table d'hote they were a grand +collateral to the beef and pork. The dessert consisted of nice home +made apple pies served with generosity, and we had tea or milk or +water, as requested, for a beverage. After partaking of a dinner of +this kind, the rest of the day's journey was looked forward to with no +unpleasant emotions. The stage happened to be lightly loaded, and we +rolled along with steady pace, and amidst jovial talk, till we reached +the thriving, but to me not attractive, town of Watab. Three houses +had been put up within the short time since I had stopped there. We +got into Mr. Gilman's tavern at sundown. I was rejoiced to find a +horse and carriage waiting for me, which had been kindly sent by a +friend to bring me to St. Cloud. It is seven miles from Watab to this +town. It was a charming moonlight evening, and I immediately started +on with the faithful youth who had charge of the carriage, to enjoy my +supper and lodging under the roof of my hospitable friend at St. +Cloud. + + LETTER XIV. + + ST. CLOUD.-- THE PACIFIC TRAIL. + +Agreeable visit at St. Cloud-- Description of the place-- Causes of +the rapid growth of towns-- Gen. Lowry-- The back country-- Gov. +Stevens's report-- Mr. Lambert's views-- Interesting account of Mr. A. +W. Tinkham's exploration. + +ST. CLOUD, October, 1856. + +IF I follow the injunction of that most impartial and worthy critic, +Lord Jeffrey, which is, that tourists should describe those things +which make the pleasantest impression on their own minds, I should +begin with an account of the delightful entertainment which genuine +hospitality and courtesy have here favored me with. I passed +Blannerhasset's Island once, and from a view of the scenery, sought +something of that inspiration which, from reading Wirt's glowing +description of it, I thought would be excited; but the reality was far +below my anticipation. If applied to the banks of the Mississippi +River, however, at this place, where the Sauk Rapids terminate, that +charming description would be no more than an adequate picture. The +residence of my friend is a little above the limits of St. Cloud, +midway on the gradual rise from the river to the prairie. It is a neat +white two-story cottage, with a piazza in front. The yard extends to +the water's edge, and in it is a grove of handsome shade trees. Now +that the leaves have fallen, we can sit on the piazza and have a full +view of the river through the branches of the trees. The river is here +very clear and swift, with a hard bottom; and if it were unadorned +with its cheerful foliage-covered banks, the view of it would still +add a charm to a residence. There is a mild tranquillity, blended with +the romance of the scene, admirably calculated to raise in the mind +emotions the most agreeable and serene. For nature is a great +instructor and purifier. As Talfourd says in that charming little +volume of Vacation Rambles, "to commune with nature and grow familiar +with all her aspects, surely softens the manners as much, at the +least, as the study of the liberal arts." + +St. Cloud is favorably located on the west bank of the river, +seventy-five miles above St. Paul. It is just enough elevated to have +good drainage facilities, should it become densely populous. For many +years it was the seat of a trading post among the Winnebagoes. But the +date of its start as a town is not more than six months ago; since +when it has been advancing with unsurpassed thrift, on a scale of +affluence and durability. Its main street is surely a street in other +respects than in the name; for it has on either side several neatly +built three-story blocks of stores, around which the gathering of +teams and of people denotes such an activity of business as to dispel +any idea that the place is got up under false pretences. The St. Cloud +advertisements in the St. Paul daily papers contain the cards of about +forty different firms or individuals, which is a sort of index to the +business of the place. A printing press is already in the town, and a +paper will in a few days be issued. There are now two hotels; one of +which (the Stearns House), it is said, cost $9000. A flourishing +saw-mill was destroyed by fire, and in a few weeks another one was +built in its place. An Episcopal church is being erected. The steamer +"H. M. Rice" runs between here and St. Anthony. It is sometimes said +that this is the head of the Upper Mississippi navigation, but such is +not the case. The Sauk Rapids which terminate here are an obstruction +to continuous navigation between St. Anthony and Crow Wing, but after +you get to the latter place (where the river is twenty feet deep) +there is good navigation for two hundred miles. There are several +roads laid out to intersect at St. Cloud, for the construction of +which, I believe, the government has made some appropriation. Town +lots are sold on reasonable terms to those who intend to make +improvements on them, which is the true policy for any town, but the +general market price ranges from $100 to $1000 a lot. The town is not +in the hands of capitalists, though moneyed men are interested in it. +General Lowry is a large proprietor. He lives at Arcadia, just above +the town limits, and has a farm consisting of three hundred acres of +the most splendid land, which is well stocked with cattle and durably +fenced. A better barn, or a neater farmyard than he has, cannot be +found between Boston and Worcester. And while speaking of barns I +would observe that the old New England custom of having good barns is +better observed in Minnesota than anywhere else in the West. General +Lowry has been engaged in mercantile business. He was formerly a +member of the territorial council, and is a very useful and valuable +citizen of the territory. + +It would not be more surprising to have Eastern people doubt some of +the statements concerning the growth of Western towns, than it was for +the king of Siam to doubt that there was any part of the world where +water changed from liquid to a hard substance. His majesty knew +nothing about ice. Now, there are a good many handsome villages in the +East which hardly support one store. Not that people in such a village +do not consume as much or live in finer style; but the reason is that +they are old settlers who produce very much that they live on, and +who, by great travelling facilities, are able to scatter their trading +custom into some commercial metropolis. Suppose, however, one of your +large villages to be so newly settled that the people have had no +chance to raise anything from their gardens or their fields, and are +obliged to buy all they are to eat and all that is to furnish their +dwellings, or equip their shops, or stock their farms; then you have a +state of things which will support several stores, and a whole +catalogue of trades. It is a state of affairs which corresponds with +every new settlement in the West; or, indeed, which faintly compares +with the demand for everything merchantable, peculiar in such places. +Then again, besides the actual residents in a new place, who have +money enough in their pockets, but nothing in their cellars, there is +generally a large population in the back country of farmers and no +stores. Such people come to a place like this to trade, for fifteen or +twenty miles back, perhaps; and it being a county seat they have other +objects to bring them. At the same time there is an almost constant +flow of settlers through the place into the unoccupied country to find +preemption claims, who, of course, wish to take supplies with them. +The settler takes a day, perhaps, for his visit in town to trade. Time +is precious with him, and he cannot come often. So he buys, perhaps, +fifty or a hundred dollars worth of goods. These are circumstances +which account for activity of business in these river towns, and +which, though they are strikingly apparent here, are not peculiar to +this town. At first, I confess, it was a mystery to me what could +produce such startling and profitable trade in these new towns. + +It was in the immediate vicinity of St. Cloud that Gov. Stevens left +the Mississippi on his exploration, in 1853, of a railroad route to +the Pacific. Several crossings of the river had been previously +examined, and it was found that one of the favorable points for a +railroad bridge over it was here. I might here say that the country +directly west lies in the valley of Sauk River, and from my own +observation I know it to be a good farming country; and I believe the +land is taken up by settlers as far back as twelve miles. It is a +little upwards of a hundred miles in a westerly direction from St. +Cloud to where the expedition first touched the Bois des Sioux (or +Sioux Wood River). Gov. Stevens says in his report-- " The plateau of +the Bois des Sioux will be a great centre of population and +communication. It connects with the valley of the Red River of the +North, navigable four hundred miles for steamers of three or four feet +draught, with forty-five thousand square miles of arable and timber +land; and with the valley of the Minnesota, also navigable at all +seasons when not obstructed by ice, one hundred miles for steamers, +and occasionally a hundred miles further. The head of navigation of +the Red River of the North is within one hundred and ten miles of the +navigable portion of the Mississippi, and is distant only forty miles +from the Minnesota. Eastward from these valleys to the great lakes, +the country on both sides of the Mississippi is rich, and much of it +heavily timbered." + +I will also add another remark which he makes, inasmuch as the +character of the country in this latitude, as far as the Pacific +shore, must have great influence on this locality; and it is this: " +Probably four thousand square miles of tillable land is to be found +immediately on the eastern slopes of (the Rocky Mountains); and at the +bottoms of the different streams, retaining their fertility for some +distance after leaving the mountains, will considerably increase this +amount." Mr. John Lambert, the topographer of the exploration, divides +the country between the Mississippi and Columbia rivers, into three +grand divisions. The first includes the vast prairies between the +Mississippi and the base of the Rocky Mountains. The second is the +mountain division, embracing about five degrees of longitude. The +third division comprises the immense plains of the Columbia. + +Of the first division-- from here to the foot of the Rocky Mountains-- +let me quote what Mr. Lambert in his official report calls a "passing +glance." "Undulating and level prairies, skirted with woods of various +growth, and clothed everywhere with a rich verdure; frequent and rapid +streams, with innumerable small but limpid lakes, frequented by +multitudes of waterfowl, most conspicuous among which appears the +stately swan; these, in ever-recurring succession, make up the +panorama of this extensive district, which may be said to be +everywhere fertile, beautiful, and inviting. The most remarkable +features of this region are the intervals of level prairie, especially +that near the bend of Red River, where the horizon is as unbroken as +that of a calm sea. Nor are other points of resemblance wanting-- the +long grass, which in such places is unusually rank, bending gracefully +to the passing breeze as it sweeps along the plain, gives the idea of +waves (as indeed they are); and the solitary horseman on the horizon +is so indistinctly seen as to complete the picture by the suggestion +of a sail, raising the first feeling of novelty to a character of +wonder and delight. The following outlines of the rolling prairies are +broken only by the small lakes and patches of timber which relieve +them of monotony and enhance their beauty; and though marshes and +sloughs occur, they are of too small extent and too infrequent to +affect the generally attractive character of the country. The +elevation of the rolling prairies is generally so uniform, that even +the summits between streams flowing in opposite directions exhibit no +peculiar features to distinguish them from the ordinary character of +the valley slopes." + +I think I cannot do a better service to the emigrant or settler than +to quote a part of the report made by Mr. A. W. Tinkham, descriptive +of his route from St. Paul to Fort Union. His exploration, under Gov. +Stevens, was made in the summer of 1853; and he has evidently given an +impartial account of the country. I begin with it where he crosses the +Mississippi in the vicinity of St. Cloud. The part quoted embraces the +route for a distance of two hundred and ninety-five miles; the first +seventy miles of which was due west-- the rest of the route being a +little north of west. + +"June 9. Ferried across the Mississippi River, here some six hundred +to eight hundred feet wide-- boating the camp equipage, provisions, +&c., and swimming the animals; through rich and fertile prairies, +variegated with the wooded banks of Sauk River, a short distance on +the left, with the wooded hills on either side, the clustered growth +of elm, poplar, and oak, which the road occasionally touches; +following the 'Red River trail,' we camp at Cold Spring Brook, with +clear, cool water, good grass, and wood. + +"June 10. Cold Spring Brook is a small brook about ten feet across, +flowing through a miry slough, which is very soft and deep, and +previous to the passage of the wagons, had, for about two hundred feet +distance, been bridged in advance by a causeway of round or split logs +of the poplar growth near by; between this and the crossing of Sauk +River are two other bad sloughs, over one of which are laid logs of +poplar, and over the other the wagons were hauled by hand, after first +removing the loads. Sauk River is crossed obliquely with a length of +ford some three hundred feet-- depth of water four-and-a-half to five +feet; goods must be boated or rafted over, the river woods affording +the means of building a raft; camped immediately after crossing; wood, +water, and grass good and abundant. + +"June 11. Over rolling prairies, without wood on the trail, although +generally in sight on the right or left, with occasional small ponds +and several bad sloughs, across which the wagons were hauled over by +hand to Lake Henry-- a handsome, wooded lake; good wood and grass; +water from small pond; not very good. + +"June 13. Passing over rolling prairies to a branch of Crow River, the +channel of which is only some twenty feet wide and four or five feet +deep; but the water makes back into the grass one hundred feet or more +from the channel as early in the season as when crossed by the train. +Goods boated over; wagons by hand and with ropes; no wood on the +stream; several small lakes, not wooded, are on either side of the +trail, with many ducks, geese, and plovers on them: encamp at +Lightning Lake, a small and pretty lake, sufficiently well wooded on +the borders for camping purposes; good water, wood, and grass, and +abounding with fish. + +"June 18. Over rolling prairie with small pools and marshes, to a +swift running stream about twenty feet wide, three feet deep, a branch +of Chippewa River; heavily rolling ground with stony knolls and +granite boulders, to White Bear Lake, a large handsome lake, with +mingled open and woodland. + +"Broken rolling ground to camp, a mile off the Red River trail, and +near a small wooded lake. Two small brooks have to be crossed in the +interval, and being somewhat deep and with abrupt sides, are +troublesome crossings. + +"June 20. Rolling prairie country, with small marshes and ponds to a +tributary of South Branch. Swift running stream, gravelly bottom, +fifteen feet wide, three to four feet deep; with care in selection +good crossing was obtained for the wagons; a wooded lake is a short +distance to the right of trail. + +"Small rivulet, whose banks are marshy and soft. + +"Prairies, with small marshes and ponds to a swift running brook, six +feet wide. + +"Prairie to Pike Lake and camp of St. Grover; a handsome lake of about +a mile in diameter, said to abound in pike; well wooded on its south +border; grass, water, and wood, for camping, abundant and good. + +"Rolling prairie with knolls; several ponds and marshes, with an +intervening brook about six feet wide, and rather difficult of +passage, from the abruptness of its banks, to a small brook, the +outlet of a small and partially wooded lake or pond. + +"Rolling prairie, with grassy, swelling knolls, small ponds and +marshes, to Chippeway River; camp of odometer wagon on edge of river; +water and grass good; no wood. + +"June 24. Crossed Chippeway River, one hundred and twenty-four feet +wide, three to six feet deep; goods boated over, and the animals +swimming; wagon hauled through the water by a rope attached to the +tongue, and with the aid of the mules; camped on Elk Lake, a small and +pretty lake, well wooded, and with luxuriant grass; good water. + +"June 25. Trail passes over prairies with a rich heavy grass (this is +a hundred miles west of the Mississippi River), about eighteen inches +high, winding between wooded lakes to a heavy ravine, with a small and +sluggish rivulet in its bottom; sides steep, and laborious for the +wagon train. + +"Prairie sloping towards the western branch of the Chippeway River; a +stream when crossed, about one hundred and forty feet wide, three or +four feet deep, with a marked current and firm bottom; no wood. + +"Camp on a small lake, fairly wooded, with luxuriant grass, and good +water. + +"June 27. Undulating prairie, rich soil, covered with a heavy growth +of grass, with small ponds and marshes; woods continue in sight a +short distance on the left of Elbow Lake, a well wooded lake, of form +indicated by its name. + +"Rolling prairie, with two bad sloughs, to Rabbit River, which is +crossed with the wagon with but little difficulty, where it issues +from a small lake. It is a small stream, but spreads out from one +hundred to three hundred feet, with marshy borders; camp on the small +lake, with good grass, wood, and water. + +"June 28. Rolling ground, with small ponds and marshes, to a small +brook twelve feet wide; the Bois des Sioux prairie, a smooth, flat +prairie, without knoll or undulation-- an immense plain, apparently +level, covered with a tall, coarse, dark-colored grass, and unrelieved +with the sight of a tree or shrub; firm bottom, but undoubtedly wet in +spring; small brook, when the train made a noon halt. + +"Same smooth prairie as above to Bois des Sioux River, sometimes soft +and miry; camp on river bank; wood and grass good-- river water fair; +many catfish caught in the river. + +"June 29. Cross Bois des Sioux River; seventy feet wide, four to seven +feet deep; muddy bottom; steep and miry banks; goods boated over; +wagons hauled through, light, with ropes; bad crossing, but passable; +smooth flat prairie, as on the east side of Bois des Sioux, +occasionally interrupted with open sloughs to Wild Rice River, and +camp with wood, water, and abundant grass. + +"June 30. Wild Rice River, about forty feet wide and five and a half +feet deep, with muddy and miry bottom and sides, flowing in a +canal-like channel, some twenty feet below prairie level; river +skirted with elm-- bridged from the steep banks, being too miry to +sustain the animals, detaining the train but little more than +half-a-day; small brook without wood, flowing in a broad channel cut +out through the prairie; crossing miry, but made passable for the +wagon by strewing the bottom with mown grass. + +"Firm prairie to camp on edge of above small stream; good grass and +water; no wood; elk killed by hunter. + +"July 1. Smooth prairie extending to Shayenne River; sand knolls, +ponds, and marshes frequent as the river is approached. The marshes +were not miry-- firmer bottom; good wagon road; night encampment on +bank of river; sufficient grass for train; wood abundant; river water +good; many catfish caught in river. + +"July 2. Shayenne River, sixty feet wide, fourteen feet deep; river +had been previously bridged by Red River train, from the poplars and +other trees growing on the river, and this bridge we made use of in +crossing our wagons; camp on the west bank of the river; water, wood, +and grass good. + +"July 4. Prairie undulation, interrupted with marshes, small ponds and +occasional small rivulets, to Maple River, about twenty-five feet +wide, three and a half feet deep, firm bottom, and easily passed by +the wagons; river tolerably well wooded, and the camp on its edge is +furnished with water, wood, and good grass. The rich black soil of the +valley of this stream is noticeable. + +"July 5. To a small stream thirty feet wide, two feet deep, clayey +bottom, easily crossed by the wagons; prairie high, firm, and almost +level for some thirteen miles, becoming more rolling and with small +ponds in the last seven miles of the march; on the edge of some of the +ponds are salt incrustations; camp on the river; water good; grass +good; no wood, and the bois de vache is used for fuel. + +"July 6. Country wet and marshy; not a tree in sight; prairie with low +ridges and knolls, and great number of ponds and marshes; night's camp +by a small pond; no wood, but plenty of bois de vache; grass good. + +"July 7. Approaching the Shayenne; country as yesterday for some half +dozen miles; bordering on the river the ground is broken with deep +coulees and ravines, and to keep away from them the train kept at some +distance from the river, encamping by a small marshy pond; no wood; +plenty of bois de vache; grass good; water tolerable; first buffalo +killed to-day. + +"July 8. Prairie swelling with ridges; descend to the Shayenne, which +flows some one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet below the prairie +by a steep hill; camp in the bottom of the river; wood and water good; +grass rather poor; the bottom of the Shayenne, some half a mile wide, +is often soft and miry, but when crossed by the train firm and dry. + +"July 9. Cross the Shayenne, fifty feet wide, three and a half feet +deep; immediate banks some ten feet high, and requiring some digging +to give passage to the wagons. + +"Prairie with swelling ridges and occasional marshes to camp, to a +slough affording water and grass; no wood; buffalo very abundant. + +"July 10. Prairie swelling into ridges and hills, with a frequency of +marshes, ponds, and sloughs; camp at a pretty lake, near Lake Jessie; +fairly wooded, with water slightly saline; grass scanty, having been +consumed by the buffalo. Prairies covered with buffalo." + +I take this valuable sketch of the natural features of the country +from volume 1 of Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad +(page 353-356); for which I am indebted to the learned Secretary of +War. + + LETTER XV. + + ST. CLOUD TO ST. PAUL. + +Importance of starting early-- Judge Story's theory of early rising-- +Rustic scenery-- Horses and mules-- Surveyors-- Humboldt-- Baked +fish-- Getting off the track-- Burning of hay stacks-- Supper at St. +Anthony-- Arrival at the Fuller House. + +ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +I WAS up by the gray dawn of the morning of yesterday, and after an +early but excellent breakfast, crossed the river from St. Cloud, in +order to meet the stage at Sauk Rapids. As we came up on the main +road, the sight of a freshly made rut, of stage-wheel size, caused +rather a disquieting apprehension that the stage had passed. But my +nerves were soon quieted by the assurance from an early hunter, who +was near by shooting prairie chickens while they were yet on the +roost, that the stage had not yet come. So we kept on to the spacious +store where the post office is kept; where I waited and waited for the +stage to come which was to bring me to St. Paul. It did not arrive +till eight o'clock. I thought if every one who had a part to perform +in starting off the stage from Watab (for it had started out from +there that morning), was obliged to make the entire journey of 80 +miles to St. Paul in the stage, they would prefer to get up a little +earlier rather than have the last part of the trip extended into "the +dead waist and middle of the night." I remarked to the driver, who is +a very clever young man, that the stage which left St. Paul started as +early as five o'clock, and I could not see why it was not as necessary +to start as early in going down, inasmuch as the earlier we started +the less of the night darkness we had to travel in. He perfectly +agreed with me, and attributed his inability to start earlier to the +dilatory arrangements at the hotel. When jogging along at about eleven +at night between St. Anthony and the city, I could not help begrudging +every minute of fair daylight which had been wasted. The theory of +Judge Story, that it don't make much difference when a man gets up in +the morning, provided he is wide awake after he is up, will do very +well, perhaps, except when one is to start on a journey in the stage. + +I took a seat by the driver's side, the weather being clear and mild, +and had an unobstructed and delightful view of every object, and there +seemed to be none but pleasant objects in range of the great highway. +Though there is, between every village, population enough to remind +one constantly that he is in a settled country, the broad extent yet +unoccupied proclaims that there is still room enough. Below Sauk +Rapids a good deal of the land on the road side is in the hands of +speculators. This, it is understood, is on the east side of the +Mississippi. On the west side there are more settlements. But yet +there are many farms, with tidy white cottages; and in some places are +to be seen well-arranged flower-gardens. The most attractive scenery +to me, however, was the ample corn-fields, which, set in a groundwork +of interminable virgin soil, are pictures which best reflect the true +destiny and usefulness of an agricultural region. We met numerous +teams heavily laden with furniture or provisions, destined for the +different settlements above. The teams are principally drawn by two +horses; and, as the road is extremely level and smooth, are capable of +taking on as much freight as under other circumstances could be drawn +by four horses. Mules do not appear to be appreciated up this way so +much as in Missouri or Kentucky. Nor was it unusual to meet light +carriages with a gentleman and lady, who, from the luggage, &c., +aboard, appeared to have been on somewhat of an extensive shopping +expedition. And I might as well say here, if I havn't yet said it, +that the Minnesotians are supplied with uncommonly good horses. I do +not remember to have seen a mean horse in the territory. I suppose, as +considerable pains are taken in raising stock, poor horses are not +raised at all; and it will not pay to import poor ones. A company of +surveyors whom we met excited a curiosity which I was not able to +solve. It looked odd enough to see a dozen men walking by the side or +behind a small one-horse cart; the latter containing some sort of +baggage which was covered over, as it appeared, with camping fixtures. +It was more questionable whether the team belonged to the men than +that the men were connected with the team. The men were mostly young +and very intelligent-looking, dressed with woollen shirts as if for +out door service, and I almost guessed they were surveyors; yet still +thought they were a party of newcomers who had concluded to club +together to make their preemption claim. But surveyors they were. + +The town of Humboldt is the county seat for Sherburne county. It lies +between the Mississippi and Snake rivers. The part of the town which I +saw was a very small part. Mr. Brown's residence, which is +delightfully situated on the shore of a lake, is at once the court +house and the post office, besides being the general emporium and +magnate of Humboldt business and society. Furthermore, it is the place +where the stage changes horses and where passengers on the down trip +stop to dine. It was here we stopped to dine; and as the place had +been a good deal applauded for its table-d'hote, a standard element of +which was said to be baked fish, right out of the big lake, I at least +had formed very luxurious expectations. Mr. Brown was away. We had met +his lively countenance on his way up to a democratic caucus. Perhaps +that accounted for our not having baked fish, for fish we certainly +did not have. The dinner was substantial, however, and yielded to +appetites which had been sharpened by a half day's inhalation of +serene October air. We had all become infused with a spirit of +despatch; and were all ready to start, and did start, in half an hour +from the time we arrived at the house. + +We had not proceeded far after dinner before meeting the Monticello +stage, which runs between the thriving village of that name-- on the +west bank of the Mississippi-- and St. Paul. It carries a daily mail. +There were several passengers aboard. + +One little incident in our afternoon travel I will mention, as it +appeared to afford more pleasure to the rest of the passengers than it +did to me. Where the stage was to stop for fifteen or twenty minutes, +either to change mail or horses, I had invariably walked on a mile, if +I could get as far, for the sake of variety and exercise. So when we +came to the pretty village of Anoka (at the mouth of Rum River), where +the mail was to be changed, I started on foot and alone. But +unfortunately and unconsciously I took the wrong road. I had walked a +mile I think-- for twenty minutes at least had expired since I +started-- and being in the outskirts of the town, in the midst of +farms and gardens, turned up to a garden-fence, on the other side of +which a gentleman of professional-- I rather thought clerical +appearance-- was feeding a cow on pumpkins. I had not seen pumpkins so +abundant since my earliest youth, when I used to do a similar thing. I +rather thought too that the gentleman whom I accosted was a Yankee, +and after talking a few minutes with him, so much did he exceed me in +asking questions, that I felt sure he was one. How thankful I ought to +be that he was one! for otherwise it is probable he would not have +ascertained where, and for what purpose, I was walking. He informed me +I was on the wrong road; that the stage took a road further west, +which was out of sight; and that I had better go on a little further +and then cross the open prairie. Then for the first time did I notice +that the road I had taken was but a street, not half so much worn as +the main road. I followed his friendly advice, and feeling some +despair I hastened on at a swift run, and as I advanced towards where +I thought the right road ought to be, though I could neither see it +nor the stage, "called so loud that all the hollow deep of"-- the +prairies might have resounded. At last, when quite out of breath and +hoarse with loud vociferation, I descried the stage rolling on at a +rapid rate. Then I renewed my calls, and brought it up standing. After +clambering over a few fences, sweating and florid, I got to the stage +and resumed my seat, amidst the pleasant merriment of the passengers. +The driver was kind enough to say that he began to suspect I had taken +the wrong road, and was about to turn round and come after me-- that +he certainly would not have left me behind, &c. I was happy, +nevertheless, that my mistake did not retard the stage. But I do not +intend to abandon the practice of walking on before the stage whenever +it stops to change horses. + +Just in the edge of twilight, and when we were a little way this side +of Coon Creek, where we had changed horses again, we came in sight of +a large fire. It was too much in one spot to be a prairie fire; and as +we drove on the sad apprehension that it was a stack of hay was +confirmed. The flames rose up in wide sheets, and cast a steady glare +upon the landscape. It was a gorgeous yet a dismal sight. It always +seems worse to see grain destroyed by fire than ordinary merchandise. +Several stacks were burning. We saw that the usual precaution against +prairie fires had been taken. These consist in ploughing several +furrows around the stack, or by burning the grass around it to prevent +the flames from reaching it. It was therefore suspected that some +rascal had applied the torch to the hay; though for humanity's sake we +hoped it was not so. The terrible prairie fires, which every autumn +waste the western plains, are frequently started through the gross +carelessness of people who camp out, and leave their fires burning. + +Some of us took supper at St. Anthony. I cannot say much of the hotel +de facto. The table was not as good as I found on the way at other +places above. There is a hotel now being built there out of stone, +which I am confident will exceed anything in the territory, if we +except the Fuller House. It is possible we all felt invigorated and +improved by the supper, for we rode the rest of the way in a very +crowded stage without suffering any exhibition of ill temper to speak +of, and got into St. Paul at last, when it was not far from eleven; +and after seventy-five miles of staging, the luxurious accommodations +of the Fuller House seemed more inviting than ever. + + LETTER XVI. + + PROGRESS. + +Rapid growth of the North-West-- Projected railroads-- Territorial +system of the United States-- Inquiry into the cause of Western +progress-- Influence of just laws and institutions-- Lord Bacon's +remark. + +ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +THE progress which has characterized the settlement of the territory +of Minnesota, presents to the notice of the student of history and +political economy some important facts. The growth of a frontier +community, so orderly, so rapid, and having so much of the +conservative element in it, has rarely been instanced in the annals of +the world. In less time than it takes the government to build a custom +house we see an unsettled territory grown to the size of a respectable +state, in wealth, in population, in power. A territory, too, which ten +years ago seemed to be an incredible distance from the civilized +portions of the country; and which was thought by most people to be in +a latitude that would defeat the energy and the toil of man. Today it +could bring into the field a larger army than Washington took command +of at the beginning of our revolution! + +In 1849, the year of its organization, the population of the territory +was 4780; now it is estimated to be nearly 200,000. In 1852 there were +42 post offices in the territory, now there are 253. The number of +acres of public land sold during the fiscal year ending 30th June, +1852, was 15,258. For the year ending 30th June, 1856, the number of +acres sold was 1,002,130. + +When we contemplate the headlong progress of Western growth in its +innumerable evidences of energy, we admit the truth of what the Roman +poet said-- nil mortalibus ardum est-- that there is nothing too +difficult for man. In the narrative of his exploration to the +Mississippi in 1820, along with General Cass, Mr. Schoolcraft tells us +how Chicago then appeared. "We found," says he, "four or five families +living here." Four or five families was the extent of the population +of Chicago in 1820! In 1836 it had 4853 inhabitants. In 1855 its +population was 85,000. The history of many western towns that have +sprung up within ten years is characterized by much the same sort of +thrift. Unless some terrible scourge shall come to desolate the land, +or unless industry herself shall turn to sloth, a few more years will +present the magnificent spectacle of the entire domain stretching from +this frontier to the Pacific coast, transformed into a region of +culture, "full of life and splendor and joy." + +At present there are no railroads in operation in Minnesota; but those +which are already projected indicate, as well as any statistics, the +progress which is taking place. The Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond-du-Lac +Railroad was commenced some two years ago at Chicago, and over 100 +miles of it are completed. It is to run via Hudson in Wisconsin, +Stillwater, St. Paul, and St. Anthony in Minnesota to the western +boundary of the territory. Recently it has united with the Milwaukee +and La Cross Road, which secures several millions of acres of valuable +land, donated by congress, and which will enable the stockholders to +complete the road to St. Paul and St. Anthony within two years. A road +has been surveyed from the head of Lake Superior via St. Paul to the +southern line of the territory, and will soon be worked. The Milwaukee +and Mississippi Railroad Company will in a few weeks have their road +completed to Prairie du Chien, and are extending it on the east side +of the Mississippi to St. Paul. Another road is being built up the +valley of the Red Cedar River in Iowa to Minneapolis. The Keokuck road +is in operation over fifty miles, and will soon be under contract to +St. Paul. This road is to run via the valley of the Des Moines River, +through the rich coal fields of Iowa, and will supply the upper +Mississippi and Lake Superior region with coal. + +The Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad Company has been organized and +the route selected. This road will soon be commenced. The active men +engaged in the enterprise reside in Green Bay and Stillwater. A +company has been formed and will soon commence a road from Winona to +the western line of the territory. The St. Anthony and St. Paul +Railroad Company will have their line under contract early the coming +season. The Milwaukee and La Cross Company propose continuing their +road west through the valley of Root River, through Minnesota to the +Missouri River. Another company has been formed for building a road +from the head of Lake Superior to the Red River of the North.[1] Such +are some of the railroad enterprises which are under way, and which +will contribute at an early day to develop the opulent resources of +the territory. A railroad through this part of the country to the +Pacific is among the probable events of the present generation. + _______ + +[1 The following highly instructive article on navigation, I take from +The Pioneer and Democrat (St. Paul), of the 20th November: + +"GROWTH OF THE STEAMBOATING BUSINESS-- THE SEASON OF 1856. + +-- About ten years after the first successful attempt at steamboat +navigation on the Ohio River, the first steamboat that ever ascended +the Upper Mississippi River to Fort Snelling, arrived at that post. +This was the 'Virginia,' a stern-wheel boat, which arrived at the Port +in the early part of May, 1823. From 1823 to 1844 there were but few +arrivals each year-- sometimes not more than two or three. The +steamers running on the Upper Mississippi, at that time, were used +altogether to transport supplies for the Indian traders and the troops +stationed at Fort Snelling. Previous to the arrival of the Virginia, +keel boats were used for this purpose, and sixty days' time, from St. +Louis to the Fort, was considered a good trip. + +"By a reference to our files, we are enabled to present, at a glance, +the astonishing increase in steamboating business since 1844. The +first boat to arrive that year, was the Otter, commanded by Captain +Harris. The following table presents the number of arrivals since that +time:-- + +Year + +First Boat + +No. of Arrivals + +River Closed + +1844 + +April 6 + +41 + +Nov. 23 + +1845 + +April 6 + +48 + +Nov. 26 + +1846 + +March 31 + +24 + +Dec. 5 + +1847 + +April 7 + +47 + +Nov. 29 + +1848 + +April 7 + +63 + +Dec. 4 + +1849 + +April 9 + +85 + +Dec. 7 + +1850 + +April 9 + +104 + +Dec. 4 + +1851 + +April 4 + +119 + +Nov. 28 + +1852 + +April 16 + +171 + +Nov. 18 + +1853 + +April 11 + +200 + +Nov. 30 + +1854 + +April 8 + +245 + +Nov. 27 + +1855 + +April 17 + +560 + +Nov. 20 + +1856 + +April 18 + +837 + +Nov. 10 + +"In 1851, three boats went up the Minnesota River, and in 1852, one +boat ran regularly up that stream during the season. In 1853, the +business required an average of one boat per day. In 1854, the +business had largely increased, and in 1855, the arrivals of steamers +from the Minnesota, amounted to 119. + +"The present season, on the Mississippi, has been a very prosperous +one, and the arrivals at St. Paul exhibit a gratifying increase over +any preceding year, notwithstanding the season of navigation has been +two weeks shorter than last season. Owing to the unusually early gorge +in the river at Hastings, upwards of fifty steamers bound for this +port, and heavily laden with merchandise and produce, were compelled +to discharge their cargoes at Hastings and Stillwater. + +"Navigation this season opened on the 18th of April. The Lady Franklin +arrived on the evening of that day from Galena. Previous to her +arrival, there had been eighteen arrivals at our landing from the head +of Lake Pepin, and twelve arrivals at the foot of the lake, from +Galena and Dubuque. + +"During the present season, seventy-eight different steamers have +arrived at our wharf, from the points mentioned in the following +table. This table we draw mainly from the books of the City Marshal, +and by reference to our files. + + FROM ST. LOUIS. + +Boats + +No. of Trips. + +Ben Coursin + + 19 + +A. G. Mason + + 8 + +Metropolitan + + 13 + +Audubon + + 5 + +Golden State + + 8 + +Laclede + + 11 + +Luella + + 8 + +Cheviot + + 1 + +James Lyon + + 7 + +Vienna + + 5 + +New York + + 1 + +Delegate + + 1 + +Mansfield + + 7 + +Forest Rose + + 1 + +Ben Bolt + + 2 + +J. P. Tweed + + 1 + +Fire Canoe + + 2 + +Carrier + + 1 + +Julia Dean + + 1 + +Resolute + + 2 + +Gossamer + + 4 + +Thomas Scott + + 6 + +Gipsey + + 2 + +W. G. Woodside + +1 + +York State + + 5 + +Mattie Wayne + + 4 + +Brazil + + 4 + +Dan Convers + + 1 + +Henrietta + + 4 + +Editor + + 5 + +Minnesota Belle + + 8 + +Rochester + + 2 + +Oakland + + 7 + +Grace Darling + +4 + +Montauk + + 3 + +Fairy Queen + + 1 + +Saint Louis + + 1 + +Americus + + 2 + +Atlanta + + 1 + +Jacob Traber + + 6 + +White Bluffs + + 1 + +Arcola + + 8 + +Conewago + + 10 + +Lucie May + + 8 + +Badger State + +5 + +Sam Young + + 4 + +Violet + + 1 + + +---- + +Total arrivals from St. Louis, + + 212 + + FROM FULTON CITY. + +Falls City + +11 + +Diamond + +1 + +H. T. Yeatman + +11 + +Time and Tide + +5 + + +---- + +Total from Fulton City, + +28 + + FROM GALENA AND DUNLEITH. + +Lady Franklin + +23 + +Galena + +30 + +Alhambra + +21 + +Royal Arch + +6 + +Northern Belle + +28 + +Banjo + +1 + +War Eagle + +17 + +City Belle + +30 + +Golden Era + +29 + +Ocean Wave + +28 + +Granite State + +12 + +Greek Slave + +3 + + + ---- + +Total from Galena and Dunleith, + +228 + + FROM DUBUQUE. + +Excelsior + +23 + +Kate Cassel + +29 + +Clarion + +11 + +Tishimingo + +3 + +Fanny Harris + +28 + +Flora + +29 + +Hamburg + +12 + + + ---- + +Total from Dubuque, + +135 + + FROM MINNESOTA RIVER. + +H. T. Yeatman + +4 + +Globe + +34 + +Clarion + +12 + +Reveille + +40 + +H. S. Allen + +10 + +Time and Tide + +11 + +Wave + +29 + +Equator + +46 + +Minnesota Valley + +20 + +Berlin + +10 + + + ---- + +Total from Minnesota River, + +216 + + RECAPITULATION. + +Number of arrivals from + +St. Louis + +212 + + +Fulton City + +28 + + +Galena and Dunleith + +228 + + +Dubuque + +135 + + +Minnesota River + +216 + + +head of Lake Pepin + +18 + + + ---- + +Whole number of boats, 78. +Whole number of arrivals, 837 + +"It will be seen from the above, that ten more steamers have been +engaged in this trade during the present year than last; while in the +whole number of arrivals the increase has been two hundred and +sixty-seven. + +"The business on the Minnesota has greatly increased this year. This +was to have been expected, considering the great increase in the +population of that flourishing portion of our Territory. + +"A thriving trade has sprung up between the southern counties of +Minnesota, and Galena and Dubuque. During the greater portion of the +summer, the War Eagle and Tishimingo run regularly to Winona. + +"On the Upper Mississippi there are now three steamers, the Gov. +Ramsay, H. M. Rice, and North Star (new). Daring the season these +boats ran between St. Anthony and Sauk Rapids."] + _______ + +It may be well to pause here a moment and inquire into the causes +which contribute so wonderfully to build up empire in our +north-western domain. The territorial system of the United States has +some analogy, it is true, to the colonial system of Great Britain-- +not the colonial system which existed in the days of the stamp act-- +but that which a wiser statesmanship has more recently inaugurated. +The relation between the general government and our territories is +like that of guardian and ward-- the relation of a protector, not that +of a master. Nor can we find in the history of antiquity any such +relationship between colonies and the mother country, whether we +consider the system of Phoenicia, where first was exhibited the +doctrine of non-intervention, or the tribute-paying colonies of +Carthage. That system which was peculiar to Greece, "resting not on +state contrivances and economical theories, but on religious +sympathies and ancestral associations," came as near perhaps in spirit +to ours as any on record. The patronage which the government bestows +on new territories is one of the sources of their growth which ought +not to be overlooked. Instead of making the territory a dependency and +drawing from it a tax, the government pays its political expenses, +builds its roads, and gives it a fair start in the world. + +Another cause of the successful growth of our territories in general, +and of Minnesota in particular, is the ready market which is found in +the limits of the territory for everything which can be raised from a +generous soil or wrought by industrious hands. The farmer has a ready +market for everything that is good to eat or to wear; the artisan is +driven by unceasing demands upon his skill. This arises from extensive +emigration. Another reason, also, for the rapid growth of the +territory, is, that the farmer is not delayed by forests, but finds, +outside of pleasant groves of woodland, a smooth, unencumbered soil, +ready for the plough the first day he arrives. + +But if a salubrious climate, a fertile soil, clear and copious +streams, and other material elements, can be reckoned among its +physical resources, there are other elements of empire connected with +its moral and political welfare which are indispensable. Why is it +that Italy is not great? Why is it the South American republics are +rusting into abject decay? Is it because they have not enough physical +resources, or because their climate is not healthy? Certainly not. It +is because their political institutions are rotten and oppressive; +because ignorance prevents the growth of a wholesome public opinion. +It is the want of the right sort of men and institutions that there is + + "Sloth in the mart and schism within the temple." + +"Let states that aim at greatness," says Lord Bacon, "take heed how +their nobility and gentlemen do multiply too fast; for that maketh the +common subject to be a peasant and base swain, driven out of heart, +and, in effect, but a gentleman's laborer." He who seeks for the true +cause of the greatness and thrift of our northwestern states will find +it not less in the influence of just laws and the education of all +classes of men, than in the existence of productive fields and in the +means of physical wealth. + + "What constitutes a state? + Not high raised battlement, or labored mound, + Thick wall, or moated gate; + Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned; + Not bays and broad armed ports, + Where, laughing at the storm, proud navies ride; + But men, high minded men. + _______ + + PART II. + + TERRITORY OF DACOTAH. + _______ + +"POPULOUS CITIES AND STATES ARE SPRINGING UP, AS IF BY ENCHANTMENT, +FROM THE BOSOM OF OUR WESTERN WILDS."-- The President's Annual Message +for 1856. + _______ + + THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF DACOTAH. + _______ + +Organization of Minnesota as a state-- Suggestions as to its +division-- Views of Captain Pope-- Character and resources of the new +territory to be left adjoining-- Its occupation by the Dacotah +Indians-- Its organization and name. + +THE territory of Minnesota according to its present boundaries +embraces an area of 141,839 square miles exclusive of water;-- a +domain four times as large as the State of Ohio, and twelve times as +large as Holland, when her commerce was unrivalled and her fleets +ruled the sea. Its limits take in three of the largest rivers of North +America; the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Red River of the +North. Though remote from the sea board, ships can go out from its +harbors to the ocean in two if not three different channels. Its +delightful scenery of lakes and water-falls, of prairie and woodland, +are not more alluring to the tourist, than are its invigorating +climate and its verdant fields attractive to the husbandman. It has +been organized seven years; and its resources have become so much +developed, and its population so large, there is a general disposition +among the people to have a state organization, and be admitted into +the Confederacy of the Union.[1] A measure of this kind is not now +premature: on the contrary, it is not for the interest of the general +government any longer to defray the expenses of the territory; and the +adoption of a state organization, throwing the taxes upon the people, +would give rise to a spirit of rivalry and emulation, a watchfulness +as to the system of public expenditures, and a more jealous regard for +the proper development of the physical resources of the state. The +legislature which meets in January (1857), will without doubt take the +subject into consideration, and provide for a convention to frame a +constitution. + +[1 On the 9th of December Mr. Rice, the delegate in congress from +Minnesota, gave notice to the house that he would in a few days +introduce a bill authorizing the people of the territory to hold a +convention for the purpose of forming a state constitution.] + +This being the condition of things, the manner in which the territory +shall be divided-- for no one can expect the new state will embrace +the whole extent of the present territory-- becomes a very interesting +question. Some maintain, I believe, that the territory should be +divided by a line running east and west. That would include in its +limits the country bordering, for some distance, on the Missouri +River; possibly the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. +But it is hardly probable that a line of this description would give +Minnesota any part of Lake Superior. Others maintain that the +territory should be divided by a line running north and south; say, +for instance, along the valley of the Red River of the North. Such a +division would not give Minnesota any of the Missouri River. But it +would have the benefit of the eastern valley of the Red River of the +North; of the entire region surrounding the sources of the +Mississippi; and of the broad expanse which lies on Lake Superior. The +question is highly important, not only to Minnesota, but to the +territory which will be left outside of it; and it should be decided +with a due regard to the interests of both.[1] + +[1 I take pleasure in inserting here a note which I have had the honor +to receive from Captain Pope, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers +I have before had occasion to quote from the able and instructive +report of his exploration of Minnesota. + +WASHINGTON, D. C. Dec. 10, 1856. + +DEAR SIR:-- Your note of the 6th instant is before me; and I will +premise my reply by saying that the suggestions I shall offer to your +inquiries are based upon my knowledge of the condition of the +territory in 1849, which circumstances beyond my acquaintance may have +materially modified since. + +The important points to be secured for the new state to be erected in +the territory of Minnesota, seem to be:-- first a harbor on Lake +Superior, easily accessible from the West; second, the whole course of +the Mississippi to the Iowa line; and, third, the head of navigation +of the Red River of the North. It is unnecessary to point out the +advantages of securing these features to the new state; and to do so +without enclosing too many square miles of territory, I would suggest +the following boundaries, viz.: + +Commencing on the 49th parallel of latitude, where it is intersected +by the Red River of the North, to follow the line of deepest water of +that river to the mouth of the Bois des Sioux (or Sioux Wood) River; +thence up the middle of that stream to the south-west point of Lake +Traverse; thence following a due south line to the northern boundary +of the state of Iowa (43 degrees 30' north latitude); thence along +this boundary line to the Mississippi River; thence up the middle of +the Mississippi River to the mouth of the St. Croix River; thence +along the western boundary line of the state of Wisconsin to its +intersection with the St. Louis River; thence down the middle of that +river to Lake Superior; thence following the coast of the lake to its +intersection with the boundary line between the United States and the +British possessions, and following this boundary to the place of +beginning. + +These boundaries will enclose an area of about 65,000 square miles of +the best agricultural and manufacturing region in the territory, and +will form a state of unrivalled advantages. That portion of the +territory set aside by the boundary line will be of little value for +many years to come. It presents features differing but little from the +region of prairie and table land west of the frontier of Missouri and +Arkansas. From this, of course, are to be excepted the western half of +the valley of the Red River and of the Big Sioux River, which are as +productive as any portion of the territory, which, with the region +enclosed between them, would contain arable land sufficient for +another state of smaller dimensions. + +As you will find stated and fully explained in my report of February, +1850, the valley of the Red River of the North must find an outlet for +its productions towards the south, either through the great lakes or +by the Mississippi River. The necessity, therefore, of connecting the +head of its navigation with a harbor on Lake Superior, and a port on +the Mississippi, is sufficiently apparent. As each of these lines of +railroad will run through the most fertile and desirable portion of +the territory, they will have a value far beyond the mere object of +transporting the products of the Red River valley. + +The construction of these roads-- in fact the mere location of them-- +will secure a population along the routes at once, and will open a +country equal to any in the world. + +As these views have been fully elaborated in my report of 1850, I +refer you to that paper for the detailed information upon which these +views and suggestions are based. + +I am sir, respectfully, your obedient servant; + + JNO. POPE. + C. C. ANDREWS, Esq., + Washington, D. C.] + _______ + +If the division last mentioned-- or one on that plan-- is made, there +will then be left west of the state of Minnesota an extent of country +embracing more than half of the territory as it now is; extending from +latitude 42 degrees 30' to the 49th degree; and embracing six degrees +of longitude-- 97th to 103d-- at its northern extreme. The Missouri +River would constitute nearly the whole of its western boundary. In +the northerly part the Mouse and Pembina Rivers are among its largest +streams; in the middle flows the large and finely wooded Shayenne, +"whose valley possesses a fertile soil and offers many inducements to +its settlement;" while towards the south it would have the Jacques, +the Big Sioux, the Vermillion, and the head waters of the St. Peter's. +In its supply of copious streams, nature seems there to have been +lavish. Of the Big Sioux River, M. Nicollet says, its Indian name +means that it is continuously lined with wood; that its length cannot +be less than three hundred and fifty miles. "It flows through a +beautiful and fertile country; amidst which the Dacotahs, inhabiting +the valleys of the St. Peter's and Missouri, have always kept up +summer establishments on the borders of the adjoining lakes, whilst +they hunted the river banks. Buffalo herds are confidently expected to +be met with here at all seasons of the year." The Jacques (the Indian +name of which is Tchan-sansan) "takes its rise on the plateau of the +Missouri beyond the parallel of 47 degrees north; and after pursuing +nearly a north and south course, empties into the Missouri River below +43 degrees. It is deemed navigable with small hunting canoes for +between five hundred and six hundred miles; but below Otuhuoja, it +will float much larger boats. The shores of the river are generally +tolerably well wooded, though only at intervals. Along those portions +where it widens into lakes, very eligible situations for farms would +be found." The same explorer says, the most important tributary of the +Jacques is the Elm River, which "might not deserve any special mention +as a navigable stream, but is very well worthy of notice on account of +the timber growing on its own banks and those of its forks." He +further observes (Report, p. 46) that "the basin of the river Jacques, +between the two coteaux and in the latitude of Otuhuoja, may be laid +down as having a breadth of eighty miles, sloping gradually down from +an elevation of seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet. These +dimensions, of course, vary in the different parts of the valley; but +what I have said will convey some idea of the immense prairie watered +by the Tchan-sansan, which has been deemed by all travellers to those +distant regions perhaps the most beautiful within the territory of the +United States." + +The middle and northern part comprises an elevated plain, of average +fertility and tolerably wooded. Towards the south it is characterized +by bold undulations. The valley of the Missouri is narrow; and the +bluffs which border upon it are abrupt and high. The country is +adapted to agricultural pursuits, and though inferior as a general +thing to much of Minnesota, affords promise of thrift and properity in +its future. It is blessed with a salubrious climate. Dr. Suckley, who +accompanied the expedition of Gov. Stevens through that part of the +West, as far as Puget Sound, says in his official report: "On +reviewing the whole route, the unequalled and unparalleled good health +of the command during a march of over eighteen hundred miles appears +remarkable; especially when we consider the hardships and exposures +necessarily incident to such a trip. Not a case of ague or fever +occurred. Such a state of health could only be accounted for by the +great salubrity of the countries passed through, and their freedom +from malarious or other endemic disease." + +Governor Stevens has some comprehensive remarks concerning that part +of the country in his report. "The Grand Plateau of the Bois des Sioux +and the Mouse River valley are the two keys of railroad communication +from the Mississippi River westward through the territory of +Minnesota. The Bois des Sioux is a river believed to be navigable for +steamers of light draught, flowing northward from Lake Traverse into +the Red River of the North, and the plateau of the Bois des Sioux may +be considered as extending from south of Lake Traverse to the south +bend of the Red River, and from the Rabbit River, some thirty miles +east of the Bois des Sioux River, to the Dead Colt hillock. This +plateau separates the rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay from those +flowing into the Mississippi River. The Mouse River valley, in the +western portion of Minnesota, is from ten to twenty miles broad; is +separated from the Missouri River by the Coteau du Missouri, some six +hundred feet high, and it is about the same level as the parallel +valley of the Missouri." (Report, ch. 4.) + +M. Nicollet was a scientific or matter of fact man, who preferred to +talk about "erratic blocks" and "cretaceous formations" rather than to +indulge in poetic descriptions. The outline which follows, however, of +the western part of the territory is what he considers "a faint +description of this beautiful country." "The basin of the Upper +Mississippi is separated in a great part of its extent from that of +the Missouri, by an elevated plain; the appearance of which, seen from +the valley of the St. Peter's or that of the Jacques, looming as it +were a distant shore, has suggested for it the name of Coteau des +Prairies. Its more appropriate designation would be that of plateau, +which means something more than is conveyed to the mind by the +expression, a plain. Its northern extremity is in latitude 46 degrees, +extending to 43 degrees; after which it loses its distinctive +elevation above the surrounding plains, and passes into rolling +prairies. Its length is about two hundred miles, and its general +direction N. N. W. and S. S. E. Its northern termination (called Tete +du Couteau in consequence of its peculiar configuration) is not more +than fifteen to twenty miles across; its elevation above the level of +the Big Stone Lake is eight hundred and ninety feet, and above the +ocean one thousand nine hundred and sixteen feet. Starting from this +extremity (that is, the head of the Coteau), the surface of the +plateau is undulating, forming many dividing ridges which separate the +waters flowing into the St. Peter's and the Mississippi from those of +the Missouri. Under the 44th degree of latitude, the breadth of the +Coteau is about forty miles, and its mean elevation is here reduced to +one thousand four hundred and fifty feet above the sea. Within this +space its two slopes are rather abrupt, crowned with verdure, and +scolloped by deep ravines thickly shaded with bushes, forming the beds +of rivulets that water the subjacent plains. + +The Coteau itself is isolated, in the midst of boundless and fertile +prairies, extending to the west, to the north, and into the valley of +the St. Peter's. + +The plain at its northern extremity is a most beautiful tract of land +diversified by hills, dales, woodland, and lakes, the latter abounding +in fish. This region of country is probably the most elevated between +the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. From its summit, proceeding from +its western to its eastern limits, grand views are afforded. At its +eastern border particularly, the prospect is magnificent beyond +description, extending over the immense green turf that forms the +basin of the Red River of the North, the forest-capped summits of the +haugeurs des terres that surround the sources of the Mississippi, the +granitic valley of the Upper St. Peter's, and the depressions in which +are Lake Traverse and the Big Stone Lake. There can be no doubt that +in future times this region will be the summer resort of the wealthy +of the land." (pp. 9, 10.) + +I will pass over what he says of the "vast and magnificent valley of +the Red River of the North," having before given some account of that +region, and merely give his description of the largest lake which lies +in the northern part of the territory: "The greatest extension of +Devil's Lake is at least forty miles,-- but may be more, as we did +not, and could not, ascertain the end of the north-west bay, which I +left undefined on the map. It is bordered by hills that are pretty +well wooded on one side, but furrowed by ravines and coulees, that are +taken advantage of by warlike parties, both for attack and defence +according to circumstances. The lake itself is so filled up with +islands and promontories, that, in travelling along its shores, it is +only occasionally that one gets a glimpse of its expanse. This +description belongs only to its wooded side; for, on the opposite +side, the shores, though still bounded by hills, are destitute of +trees, so as to exhibit an embankment to the east from ten to twelve +miles long, upon an average breadth of three-quarters of a mile. The +average breadth of the lake may be laid down at fifteen miles. Its +waters appear to be the drainings of the surrounding hills. We +discovered no outlets in the whole extent of about three-quarters of +its contour we could explore. At all events, if there be any they do +not empty into the Red River of the North, since the lake is shut up +in that direction, and since we found its true geographical position +to be much more to the north than it is ordinarily laid down upon +maps. A single depression at its lower end would intimate that, in +times of high water, some discharge might possibly take place; but +then it would be into the Shayenne." (p. 50.) + +Such are some of the geographical outlines of the extensive domain +which will be soon organized as a new territory. + +What will it be called? If the practice hitherto followed of applying +to territories the names which they have been called by their +aboriginal inhabitants is still adhered to, this new territory will +have the name of Dacotah. It is the correct or Indian name of those +tribes whom we call the Sioux; the latter being an unmeaning +Indian-French word. Dacotah means "united people," and is the word +which the Indians apply to seven of their bands.[1] These tribes +formerly occupied the country south and south-west of Lake Superior; +from whence they were gradually driven towards the Missouri and the +Rocky Mountains by their powerful and dreaded enemies the Chippewas. +Since which time they have been the acknowledged occupants of the +broad region to which they have impressed a name. Several of the +tribes, however, have crossed the Missouri, between which and the +Rocky Mountains they still linger a barbaric life. We may now hope to +realize the truth of Hiawatha's words:-- + + "After many years of warfare, + Many years of strife and bloodshed, + There is peace between the Ojibways + And the tribe of the Dacotahs." + +[1 The following description of the Dacotahs is based on observations +made in 1823. "The Dacotahs are a large and powerful nation of +Indians, distinct in their manners, language, habits, and opinions, +from the Chippewas, Sauks, Foxes, and Naheawak or Kilisteno, as well +as from all nations of the Algonquin stock. They are likewise unlike +the Pawnees and the Minnetarees or Gros Ventres. They inhabit a large +district of country which may be comprised within the following +limits:-- From Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi, by a curved line +extending east of north and made to include all the eastern +tributaries of the Mississippi, to the first branch of Chippewa River; +the head waters of that stream being claimed by the Chippewa Indians; +thence by a line running west of north to the head of Spirit Lake; +thence by a westerly line to the Riveree de Corbeau; thence up that +river to its head, near Otter Tail Lake; thence by a westerly line to +Red River, and down that river to Pembina; thence by a south-westerly +line to the east bank of the Missouri near the Mandan villages; thence +down the Missouri to a point probably not far from Soldier's River; +thence by a line running east of north to Prairie du Chien. + +This immense extent of country is inhabited by a nation calling +themselves, in their internal relations, the Dacotah, which means the +Allied; but who, in their external relations, style themselves the +Ochente Shakoan, which signifies the nation of seven (council) fires. +This refers to the following division which formerly prevailed among +them, viz.:-- + 1. Mende-Wahkan-toan, or people of the Spirit Lake. + 2. Wahkpa-toan, or people of the leaves. + 3. Sisi-toan, or Miakechakesa. + 4. Yank-toan-an, or Fern leaves + 5. Yank-toan, or descended from the Fern leaves. + 6. Ti-toan, or Braggers. + 7. Wahkpako-toan, or the people that shoot at leaves. + +-- Long's Expedition to Sources of St. Peter's River &c., vol. 1, pp. +376, 378.] + +If it be asked what will be done with these tribes when the country +comes to be settled, I would observe, as I have said, that the present +policy of the government is to procure their settlement on +reservations. This limits them to smaller boundaries; and tends +favorably to their civilization. I might also say here, that the title +which the Indians have to the country they occupy is that of +occupancy. They have the natural right to occupy the land; but the +absolute and sovereign title is in the United States. The Indians can +dispose of their title to no party or power but the United States. +When, however, the government wishes to extinguish their title of +occupancy, it pays them a fair price for their lands according as may +be provided by treaty. The policy of our government towards the +Indians is eminently that of protection and preservation; not of +conquest and extermination. + +Dacotah is the name now applied to the western part of Minnesota, and +I am assured by the best informed men of that section, that such will +be the name of the territory when organized. + _______ + + PART III. + + TABLE OF STATISTICS. + _______ + +I. LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN MINNESOTA. +II. LAND OFFICES, &c. +III. NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA. +IV. TABLE OF DISTANCES. + _______ + + I. + + POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS. + _______ + +I HAVE been furnished, at brief notice, with the following accurate +list of the Post Offices and Postmasters in Minnesota by my very +excellent friend, Mr. JOHN N. OLIVIER, of the Sixth Auditor's Office: + +LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN THE TERRITORY OF MINNESOTA, +PREPARED PROM THE BOOKS OF THE APPOINTMENT OFFICE, POST OFFICE +DEPARTMENT, TO DECEMBER 12, 1856. + +Post Office. + +Postmaster. + +BENTON COUNTY. + +Belle Prairie + +Calvin C. Hicks. + +Big Lake + +Joseph Brown. + +Clear Lake + +F. E. Baldwin. + +Crow Wing + +Allen Morrison. + +Elk River + +John Q. A. Nickerson. + +Itasca + +John C. Bowers. + +Little Falls + +C. H. Churchill. + +Royalton + +Rodolph's D. Kinney. + +Sauk Rapids + +C. B. Vanstest. + +Swan River + +James Warren. + +Watab + +David Gilman. + +BLUE EARTH COUNTY. + +Kasota + +Isaac Allen. + +Mankato + +Parsons K. Johnson. + +Liberty + +Edward Brace. + +Pajutazee + +Andrew Robertson. + +South Bend + +Matthew Thompson. + +Winnebago Agency + +Henry Foster. + +BROWN COUNTY. + +New Ulm + +Anton Kans. + +Sioux Agency + +Asa W. Daniels. + +CARVER COUNTY. + +Carver + +Joseph A. Sargent. + +Chaska + +Timothy D. Smith. + +La Belle + +Isaac Berfield. + +Scandia + +A. Bergquest. + +San Francisco + +James B. Cotton. + +Young America + +R. M. Kennedy. + +CHISAGO COUNTY. + +Amador + +Lorenzo A. Lowden. + +Cedar Creek + +Samuel Wyatt. + +Chippewa + +J. P. Gulding. + +Chisago City + +Henry S. Cluiger. + +Hanley + +John Hanley. + +Rushseby + +George B. Folsom. + +Sunrise City + +George S. Frost. + +Taylor's Falls + +Peter E. Walker. + +Wyoming + +Jordan Egle. + +DAKOTA COUNTY. + +Athens + +Jacob Whittemore. + +Centralia + +H. P. Sweet. + +Empire City + +Ralph P. Hamilton. + +Farmington + +Noredon Amedon. + +Fort Snelling + +Franklin Steele. + +Hampton + +James Archer. + +Hastings + +John F. Marsh. + +Lakeville + +Samuel P. Baker. + +Le Sueur + +Kostum K. Peck. + +Lewiston + +Stephen N. Carey. + +Mendota + +Hypolite Dupues. + +Ninninger + +Louis Loichot. + +Ottowa + +Frank Y. Hoffstott. + +Rosemount + +Andrew Keegan. + +Vermillion + +Leonard Aldrich. + +Waterford + +Warren Atkinson. + +DODGE COUNTY. + +Avon + +Noah F. Berry. + +Ashland + +George Townsend. + +Claremont + +Goerge Hitchcock. + +Concord + +James M. Sumner. + +Montorville + +John H. Shober. + +Wasioga + +Eli. P. Waterman. + +FAIRBAULT COUNTY. + +Blue Earth City + +George B. Kingsley. + +Verona + +Newell Dewey. + +FILLMORE COUNTY. + +Bellville + +Wilson Bell. + +Big Spring + +William Walter. + +Chatfield + +Edwin B. Gere. + +Clarimona + +Wm. F. Strong. + +Deer Creek + +William S. Hill. + +Elkhorn + +Jacob McQuillan. + +Elliota + +John C. Cleghorn. + +Etna + +O. B. Bryant. + +Fairview + +John G. Bouldin. + +Fillmore + +Robert Rea. + +Forestville + +Forest Henry. + +Jordan + +James M. Gilliss. + +Lenora + +Chas. B. Wilford. + +Looking Glass + +Lemuel Jones. + +Newburg + +Gabriel Gabrielson. + +Odessa + +Jacob P. Kennedy. + +Peterson + +Knud Peterson. + +Pilot Mound + +Daniel B. Smith. + +Preston + +L. Preston. + +Riceford + +Wm. D. Vandoren. + +Richland + +Benjn. F. Tillotson. + +Rushford + +Sylvester S. Stebbins. + +Spring Valley + +Condello Wilkins. + +Uxbridge + +Daniel Crowell. + +Waukokee + +John M. West. + +FREEBORN COUNTY. + +Albert Lea + +Lorenzo Murray. + +Geneva + +John Heath. + +St. Nicholas + +Saml. M. Thompson. + +Shell Rock + +Edward P. Skinner. + +GOODHUE COUNTY. + +Burr Oak Springs + +Henry Doyle. + +Cannon River Falls + +George McKenzie. + +Central Point + +Charles W. Hackett. + +Pine Island + +John Chance. + +Poplar Grove + +John Lee. + +Red Wing + +Henry C. Hoffman. + +Spencer + +Hans Mattson. + +Wacouta + +George Post. + +Westervelt + +Evert Westervelt. + +HENNEPIN COUNTY. + +Bloomington + +Reuben B. Gibson. + +Chanhassen + +Henry M. Lyman. + +Dayton + +John Baxter. + +Eden Prairie + +Jonas Staring. + +Elm Creek + +Charles Miles. + +Harmony + +James A. Dunsmore. + +Excelsior + +Charles P. Smith. + +Island City + +William F. Russell. + +Maple Plain + +Irvin Shrewsbury. + +Medicine Lake + +Francis Hagot. + +Minneapolis + +Alfred E. Ames. + +Minnetonka + +Levi W. Eastman. + +Osseo + +Warren Samson. + +Perkinsville + +N. T. Perkins. + +Watertown + +Alexander Moore. + +Wyzata + +W. H. Chapman. + +HOUSTON COUNTY. + +Brownsville + +Charles Brown. + +Caledonia + +Wm. J. McKee. + +Hamilton + +Charles Smith. + +Hackett's Grove + +Emery Hackett. + +Hokah + +Edward Thompson. + +Houston + +Ole Knudson. + +Loretta + +Edmund S. Lore. + +Looneyville + +Daniel Wilson. + +La Crescent + +William Gillett. + +Mooney Creek + +Cyrus B. Sinclair. + +Portland + +Alexr. Batcheller. + +Sheldon + +John Paddock. + +Spring Grove + +Embric Knudson. + +San Jacinto + +George Canon. + +Wiscoy + +Benton Aldrich. + +Yucatan + +T. A. Pope. + +LAKE COUNTY. + +Burlington + +Chas. B. Harbord. + +LA SUEUR COUNTY. + +Elysium + +Silas S. Munday. + +Grandville + +Bartlet Y. Couch. + +Lexington + +Henry Earl. + +Waterville + +Samuel D. Drake. + +McLEOD COUNTY. + +Glencoe + +Surman G. Simmons. + +Hutchinson + +Lewis Harrington. + +MEEKER COUNTY. + +Forest City + +Walter C. Bacon. + +MORRISON COUNTY. + +Little Falls + +Orlando A. Churchill. + +MOWER COUNTY. + +Austin + +Alanson B. Vaughan. + +Frankford + +Lewis Patchin. + +High Forest + +Thos. H. Armstrong. + +Le Roy + +Daniel Caswell. + +NICOLLET COUNTY. + +Eureka + +Edwin Clark. + +Hilo + +William Dupray. + +Saint Peter + +George Hezlep. + +Travers des Sioux + +William Huey. + +OLMSTEAD COUNTY. + +Durango + +Samuel Brink. + +Kalmar + +James A. Blair. + +Oronoco + +Samuel P. Hicks. + +Pleasant Grove + +Samuel Barrows. + +Rochester + +Phineas H. Durfel. + +Salem + +Cyrus Holt. + +Springfield + +Almon H. Smith. + +Waterloo + +Robert S. Latta. + +Zumbro + +Lucy Cobb. + +PEMBINA COUNTY. + +Cap Lake + +David B. Spencer. + +Pembina + +Joseph Rolette. + +Red Lake + +Sela G. Wright. + +Saint Joseph's + +George A. Belcourt. + +PIERCE COUNTY. + +Fort Ridgeley + +Benjn. H. Randall. + +PINE COUNTY. + +Alhambra + +Herman Trott. + +Mille Lac + +Mark Leadbetter. + +RAMSEY COUNTY. + +Anoka + +Arthur Davis. + +Centreville + +Charles Pettin. + +Columbus + +John Klerman. + +Howard's Lake + +John P. Howard. + +Little Canada + +Walter B. Boyd. + +Manomine + +Joseph A. Willis. + +Otter Lake + +Ross Wilkinson. + +Red Rock + +Giles H. Fowler. + +St. Anthony's Falls + +Norton H. Hemiup. + +St. Paul + +Charles S. Cave. + +RICE COUNTY. + +Cannon City + +C. Smith House. + +Faribault + +Alexander Faribault. + +Medford + +Smith Johnson. + +Morristown + +Walter Norris. + +Northfield + +Calvin S. Short. + +Shieldsville + +Joshua Tufts. + +Union Lake + +Henry M. Humphrey. + +Walcott + +Joseph Richardson. + +SAINT LOUIS COUNTY. + +Falls of St. Louis + +Joseph Y. Buckner. + +Oneota + +Edmund F. Ely. + +Twin Lakes + +George W. Perry. + +SCOTT COUNTY. + +Belle Plaine + +Nahum Stone. + +Louisville + +Joseph R. Ashley. + +Mount Pleasant + +John Soules. + +New Dublin + +Dominick McDermott + +Sand Creek + +William Holmes. + +Shak-a-pay + +Reuben M. Wright. + +SIBLEY COUNTY. + +Henderson + +Henry Pochler. + +Prairie Mound + +Morgan Lacey. + +STEARNS COUNTY. + +Clinton + +John H. Linneman. + +Neenah + +Henry B. Johnson. + +Saint Cloud + +Joseph Edelbrook. + +Torah + +Reuben M. Richardson. + +STEELE COUNTY. + +Adamsville + +Hiram Pitcher. + +Aurora + +Charles Adsit. + +Dodge City + +John Coburn. + +Ellwood + +Wilber F. Fiske. + +Josco + +James Hanes. + +Lemond + +Abram Fitzsimmons. + +Owatana + +Samuel B. Smith. + +St. Mary's + +Horatio B. Morrison. + +Swavesey + +Andrew J. Bell. + +Wilton + +David J. Jenkins. + +SUPERIOR COUNTY. + +Beaver Bay + +Robert McLean. + +French River + +F. W. Watrous. + +Grand Marias + +Richard Godfrey. + +Grand Portage + +H. H. McCullough. + +WABASHAW COUNTY. + +Greenville + +Rodman Benchard. + +Independence + +Seth L. McCarty. + +Lake City + +Harvey F. Williamson. + +Mazeppa + +John E. Hyde. + +Minneska + +Nathaniel F. Tifft. + +Minnesota City + +Samuel E. Cotton. + +Mount Vernon + +Stephen M. Burns. + +Reed's Landing + +Fordyce S. Richard. + +Wabashaw + +J. F. Byrne. + +West Newton + +Austin R. Swan. + +WAHNATAH COUNTY. + +Fort Ripley + +Solon W. Manney. + +WASHINGTON COUNTY. + +Cottage Grove + +Stephen F. Douglass. + +Lake Land + +Freeman C. Tyler. + +Marine Mills + +Orange Walker. + +Milton Mills + +Lemuel Bolles. + +Point Douglass + +R. R. Henry. + +Stillwater + +Harley Curtis. + +WINONA COUNTY. + +Dacota + +Nathan Brown. + +Eagle Bluffs + +William W. Bennett. + +Homer + +John A. Torrey. + +New Boston + +William H. Dwight. + +Richmond + +Samuel C. Dick. + +Ridgeway + +Joseph Cooper. + +Saint Charles + +Lewis H. Springer. + +Saratoga + +Thomas P. Dixon. + +Stockton + +William C. Dodge. + +Twin Grove + +Oren Cavath. + +Utica + +John W. Bentley. + +Warren + +Eben B. Jewett. + +Winona + +John W. Downer. + +White Water Falls + +Miles Pease. + +WRIGHT COUNTY. + +Berlin + +Charles W. Lambert + +Buffalo + +Amasa Ackley. + +Clear Water + +Simon Stevens. + +Monticello + +M. Fox. + +Northwood + +A. H. Kelly. + +Rockford + +Joel Florida. + +Silver Creek + +Abram G. Descent. + _______ + + II. + + LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN MINNESOTA. + _______ + + GENERAL LAND OFFICE, + + December 8, 1856. + +SIR: Your two letters of the 6th instant, asking for a list of the +land offices in Minnesota Territory, with the names of the officers +connected therewith,-- also the number of acres sold and the amount of +fees received by such officers, during the fiscal year, ending 30th +June, 1856, have been received. + +In reply, I herewith enclose a statement of the information desired, +save that the amount of fees for the fiscal year cannot be stated. + + Very respectfully, + + THOMAS A. HENDRICKS, + + Commissioner, + +C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. + + LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN MINNESOTA. + +LAND DISTRICTS. + +Name of Register + +Name of Receiver. + +Number of acres sold during the fiscal year ending 30th of June, 1856. + +Amount of purchase-money received therefor. + +Stillwater + +Thos. M. Fullerton + +Wm. Holcomb + +103,141.31 + +128,930.23 + +Sauk Rapids + +Geo. W. Sweet + +Wm. H. Wood + +49,712.44 + +65,355.41 + +Chatfield (late Brownsville) + +John R. Bennet + +Jno. H. McKenny + +238,323.26 + +298,920.90 + +Minneapolis + +Marcus P. Olds + +Roswell P. Russell + +139,188.96 + +186,651.77 + +Winona + +Diedrich Upman + +Lorenzo D. Smith + +264,777.38 + +335,845.66 + +Red Wing + +Wm. P. Phelps + +Chr. Graham + +206,987.32 + +265,173.84 + + + + +1,002,130.67 + +$1,280,867.81 + +Since the 30th June, 1856, the following offices have been established +and officers appointed. + +Buchanan + +Saml. Clark + +John Whipple + +Ojibeway + +Saml. Plumer + +Wm. Sawyer + _______ + + III. + + LIST OF NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA. + +PIONEER AND DEMOCRAT + +St. Paul + +Daily and Weekly + +MINNESOTIAN + +St. Paul + +Daily and Weekly + +TIMES + +St. Paul + +Daily and Weekly + +FINANCIAL ADVERTISER + +St. Paul + +Weekly + +UNION + +Stillwater + +Weekly + +MESSENGER + +Stillwater + +Weekly + +EXPRESS + +St. Anthony + +Weekly + +REPUBLICAN + +St. Anthony + +Weekly + +DEMOCRAT + +Minneapolis + +Weekly + +FRONTIERSMAN + +Sauk Rapids + +Weekly + +NORTHERN HERALD + +Watab + +Weekly + +INDEPENDENT + +Shakopee + +Weekly + +REPUBLICAN + +Shakopee + +Weekly + +DEMOCRAT + +Henderson + +Weekly + +COURIER + +St. Peter + +Weekly + +DAKOTA JOURNAL + +Hastings + +Weekly + +SENTINEL + +Red Wing + +Weekly + +GAZETTE + +Canon Falls + +Weekly + +JOURNAL + +Wabashaw + +Weekly + +ARGUS + +Winona + +Weekly + +REPUBLICAN + +Winona + +Weekly + +SOUTHERN HERALD + +Brownsville + +Weekly + +Carimona + +Weekly + +DEMOCRAT + +Chatfield + +Weekly + +REPUBLICAN + +Chatfield + +Weekly + +RICE COUNTY HERALD + +Faribault + +Weekly + +St. Cloud + +Weekly + +OWATONIA WATCHMAN AND REGISTER + +Owatonia + +Weekly. + _______ + + IV. + + TABLE OF DISTANCES. + _______ + + TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. PAUL. + +MILES + +To St. Anthony + +8 3/4 + +Rice Creek + +7 + +15 3/4 + +St. Francis, or Rum River + +9 + +25 + +Itasca + +7 + +32 + +Elk River + +6 + +38 + +Big Lake + +10 + +48 + +Big Meadow (Sturgis) + +18 + +66 + +St. Cloud (Sauk Rapids) + +10 + +76 + +Watab + +6 + +82 + +Little Rock + +2 + +84 + +Platte River + +12 + +96 + +Swan River + +10 + +106 + +Little Falls + +3 + +109 + +Belle Prairie + +5 + +114 + +Fort Ripley + +10 + +124 + +Crow Wing River + +6 + +130 + +Sandy Lake + +120 + +250 + +Savannah Portage + +15 + +265 + +Across the Portage + +5 + +270 + +Down Savannah River to St. Louis River + +20 + +290 + +Fond-du-Lac + +60 + +350 + +Lake Superior + +22 + +372 + +Crow Wing River + +130 + +Otter Tail Lake + +70 + +200 + +Rice River + +74 + +274 + +Sand Hills River + +70 + +340 + +Grand Fork, Red River + +40 + +380 + +Pembina + +80 + +460 + +Sandy Lake + +250 + +Leech Lake + +150 + +400 + +Red Lake + +80 + +480 + +Pembrina + +150 + +630 + +Stillwater + +18 + +Arcola + +5 + +23 + +Marine Mills + +6 + +29 + +Falls St. Croix + +19 + +48 + +Pokagema + +40 + +88 + +Fond-du-Lac + +75 + +164 + +Red Rock + +6 + + +Point Douglass + +24 + + + Red Wing + +Winona's Rock, Lake Pepin + +30 + +60 + +Wabashaw + +30 + +90 + +Prairie du Chien + +145 + +235 + +Cassville + +29 + +264 + +Peru + +21 + +285 + +Dubuque + +8 + +293 + +Mouth of Fever River + +17 + +310 + +Rock Island + +52 + +362 + +Burlington + +135 + +497 + +Keokuk + +53 + +550 + +St. Louis + +179 + +729 + +Cairo + +172 + +901 + +New Orleans + +1040 + +1941 + +Mendota + +7 + + +Black Dog Village + +4 + + +Sixe's Village + +21 + + +Traverse des Sioux + +50 + + +Little Rock + +45 + + +Lac Qui Parle + +80 + + +Big Stone Lake + +66 + + +Fort Pierce, on Missouri + +240 + + + TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. CLOUD. + +To Minneapolis + +62 + +Superior City, on Brott and Wilson's Road + +120 + +Traverse des Sioux + +70 + +Henderson + +60 + +Fort Ridgley + +100 + +Long Prairie + +40 + +Otter Tail Lake + +60 + +The Salt Springs + +120 + +Fort Ripley + +60 + +Mille Lac City + +60 + +DISTANCES FROM CROW WING. + +To Chippeway Mission + +15 + +Ojibeway + +50 + +Superior City + +80 + +Otter Tail City + +60 + +St. Cloud + +55 + _______ + + PART IV. + + PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES. + _______ + + PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES. + +AT a late moment, and while the volume is in press, I am enabled to +present the following exposition of the Preemption Law, addressed to +the Secretary of the Interior by Mr. Attorney-General Cushing. (See +"Opinions of Attorneys General," vol. 7, 733-743-- in press.) + + PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES. + +Portions of the public lands, to the amount of three hundred and +twenty acres, may be taken up by individuals or preemptioners for city +or town sites. + +The same rules as to proof of occupation apply in the case of +municipal, as of agricultural, preemption. + +The statute assumes that the purposes of a city or town have +preference over those of trade or of agriculture. + + ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE + + July 2, 1856. + +SIR: Your communication of the 20th May, transmitting papers regarding +Superior City (so called) in the State of Wisconsin, submits for +consideration three precise questions of law; two of them presenting +inquiry of the legal relations of locations for town sites on the +public domain, and the third presenting inquiry of another matter, +which, although pertinent to the case, yet is comprehended in a +perfectly distinct class of legal relations. + +I propose, in this communication, to reply only upon the two first +questions. + +The act of Congress of April 24, 1841, entitled "An act to appropriate +the proceeds of the sales of the public lands and to grant preemption +rights," contains, in section 10th, the following provisions: "no +lands reserved for the support of schools, nor lands acquired by +either of the two last treaties with the Miami tribe of Indians in the +State of Indiana, or which may be acquired of the Wyandot tribe of +Indians in the State of Ohio, or other Indian reservation to which the +title has been or may be extinguished by the United States at any time +during the operation of this act; no sections of lands reserved to the +United States alternate to other sections of land granted to any of +the States for the construction of any canal, railroad, or other +public improvement; no sections or fractions of sections included +within the limits of any incorporated town; no portions of the public +lands which have been selected for the site of a city or town; no +parcel of a lot of land actually settled or occupied for the purposes +of trade and not agriculture; and no lands on which are situated any +known salines or mines, shall be liable to entry under or by virtue of +this act." (v Stat. at Large, p. 456.) + +An act passed May 28, 1844, entitled "An act for the relief of +citizens of towns upon the lands of the United States under certain +circumstances," provides as follows: + +"That whenever any portion of the surveyed public lands has been or +shall be settled upon and occupied as a town site, and therefore not +subject to entry under the existing preemption laws, it shall be +lawful, in case such town or place shall be incorporated, for the +corporate authorities thereof, and if not incorporated, for the judges +of the county court for the county in which such town may be situated, +to enter at the proper land office, and at the minimum price, the land +so settled and occupied, in trust for the several use and benefit of +the several occupants thereof, according to their respective +interests; the execution of which trust, as to the disposal of the +lots in said town, and the proceeds of the sales thereof, to be +conducted under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the +legislative authority of the state or territory in which the same is +situated; Provided, that the entry of the land intended by this act be +made prior to the commencement of a public sale of the body of land in +which it is included, and that the entry shall include only such land +as is actually occupied by the town, and be made in conformity to the +legal subdivisions of the public lands authorized by the act of the +twenty-fourth of April, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and +shall not in the whole exceed three hundred and twenty acres; and +Provided also, that the act of the said trustees, not made in +conformity to the rules and regulations herein alluded to, shall be +void and of none effect:" * * * (v Stat. at Large, p. 687.) + +Upon which statutes you present the following questions of +construction: "1st. What is the legal signification to be given to the +words, 'portions of the public lands which have been selected as the +site for a city or town,' which occur in the preemption law of 1841, +and which portions of the public lands are by said act exempted from +its provisions? Do they authorize selections by individuals with a +view to the building thereon of a city or town, or do they contemplate +a selection made by authority of some special law? + +"Do the words in the act of 23d May, 1844, 'and that the entry shall +include only such land as is actually occupied by the town,' restrict +the entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or forty acre +subdivisions, alone, on which houses have been erected as part of said +town, or do they mean, only, that the entry shall not embrace any land +not shown by the survey on the ground, or the plat of the town, to be +occupied thereby, and not to exceed 820 acres, which is to be taken by +legal subdivisions, according to the public survey, and to what +species of 'legal subdivisions' is reference made in said act of +1844?" + +These questions, as thus presented by you, are abstract questions of +law,-- namely, of the construction of statutes. They are distinctly +and clearly stated, so as not to require of me any investigation of +external facts to render them more intelligible. Nor do they require +of me to attempt to make application of them to any actual case, +conflict of right, or controversy either between private individuals +or such individuals and the Government. + +It is true that, accompanying your communication, there is a great +mass of representations, depositions, arguments, and other papers, +which show that the questions propounded by you are not speculative +ones, and that, on the contrary, they bear, in some way, on matters of +interest, public or private, to be decided by the Department. But +those are matters for you, not for me, to determine. You have +requested my opinion of certain points of law, to be used by you, so +far as you see fit, in aid of such your own determination. I am thus +happily relieved of the task of examining and undertaking to analyze +the voluminous documents in the case: more especially as your +questions, while precise and complete in themselves, derive all +needful illustration from the very instructive report in the case of +the present Commissioner of Public Lands and the able brief on the +subject drawn up in your Department. + +I. To return to the questions before me: the first is in substance +whether the words in the act of 1841,-- " portions of the public land +which have been selected as the site for a city or a town,"-- are to +be confined to cases of such selection in virtue of some special +authority, or by some official authority? + +I think not, for the following reasons: + +The statute does not by any words of legal intendment say so. + +The next preceding clause of the act, which speaks of lands "included +within the limits of any incorporated town," implies the contrary, in +making separate provision for a township existing by special or public +authority. + +The next succeeding clause, which speaks of land "actually settled or +occupied for the purposes of trade and not agriculture," leads to the +same conclusion; for why should selection for a town site require +special authority any more than occupation for the purposes of trade? + +The general scope of the act has the same tendency. Its general object +is to regulate, in behalf of individuals, the acquisition of the +public domain by preemption, after voluntary occupation for a certain +period of time, and under other prescribed circumstances. In doing +this, it gives a preference preemption to certain other uses of the +public land, by excluding such land from liability to ordinary +preemption. Among the uses thus privileged, and to which precedence in +preemption is accorded, are, 1. "Sections, or fractions of sections +included within the limits of any incorporated town;" 2. "Portions of +the public land which have been selected for the site of a city or +town;" and, 3. "Land actually settled or occupied for the purposes of +trade, and not agriculture." Now, it is not easy to see any good +reason why, if individuals may thus take voluntarily for the purposes +of agriculture,-- they may not also take for the purposes of a city or +town. The statute assumes that the purposes of a city or town have +preference over those of trade, and still more over those of +agriculture. Yet individuals may take for either of the latter +objects: a fortiori they may take for a city or town. + +Why should it be assumed that individual action in this respect is +prohibited for towns any more than for trade or agriculture? It does +not concern the Government whether two persons preempt one hundred and +sixty acres each for the purposes of agriculture, or for the purpose +of a town, except that the latter object will, incidentally, be more +beneficial to the Government. Nor is there any other consideration of +public policy to induce the Government to endeavor to discourage the +formation of towns. Why, then, object to individuals taking up a given +quantity of land in one case rather than in the other? + +Finally, the act of 1844 definitively construes the act of 1841, and +proves that the "selection" for town sites there spoken of may be +either by public authority or by individuals:-- that the word is for +that reason designedly general, and without qualification, but must be +fixed by occupation. That act supposes public land to be "settled upon +and occupied as a town site," and "therefore" not subject to entry +under the existing preemption laws. This description identifies it +with the land "selected for the site of a city or town," in the +previous act. It limits the quantity so to be selected, that is, +settled or occupied, to three hundred and twenty acres, and otherwise +regulates the selection as hereinafter explained. It then provides how +such town site is to be entered and patented. If the town be +incorporated, then the entry is to be made by its corporate +authorities. If the town be not incorporated, then it may be entered +in the name of the judges of the county court of the county, in which +the projected town lies, "in trust for the several use and benefit of +the several occupants thereof, according to their respective +interests." Here we have express recognition of voluntary selection +and occupancy by individuals, and provision for means by which legal +title in their behalf may be acquired and patented. + +I am aware that by numerous statutes anterior to the act of 1841, +provision is made for the authoritative selection of town sites in +special cases; but such provisions do by no means exclude or +contradict the later enactment of a general provision of law to +comprehend all cases of selections for town sites, whether +authoritative or voluntary. I think the act of 1841, construed in the +light of the complementary act of 1844, as it must be, provides +clearly for both contingencies or conditions of the subject. Among the +anterior acts, however, is one of great importance and significancy +upon this point, more especially as that act received exposition at +the time from the proper departments of the Government. I allude to +the act of June 22d, 1838, entitled "An act to grant preemption rights +to settlers on the public lands." This act, like that of 1841, +contains a provision reserving certain lands from ordinary preemption, +among which are: + +"Any portions of public lands, surveyed or otherwise, which have been +actually selected as sites for cities or towns, lotted into smaller +quantities than eighty acres, and settled upon and occupied for the +purposes of trade, and not of agricultural cultivation and +improvement, or any land specially occupied or reserved for town lots, +or other purposes, by authority of the United States." (v Stat. at +Large, p. 251.) + +Here the "selection" generally, and the "selection" by authority are +each provided for eo nomine. It is obvious that the provision in the +latter case is made for certainty only; since, by the general rules of +statute construction, no ordinary claim of preemption could attach to +reservations made by authority of the United States. The effective +provision in the enactment quoted, must be selections not made by the +authority of the United States. + +In point of fact the provision was construed by the Department to +include all voluntary selections: lands, says the circular of the +General Land Office of July 8, 1838, "which settlers have selected +with a view of building thereon a village or city." + +It seems to me that the same considerations which induced this +construction of the word "selection" in the act of 1838, dictate a +similar construction of the same word in the subsequent act. Besides +which, when a word or words of a statute, which were of uncertain +signification originally, but which have been construed by the proper +authority, are repented in a subsequent statute, that is understood as +being not a repetition merely of the word with the received +construction, but an implied legislative adoption even of such +construction. + +II. The second question is of the construction of the act of 1844, +supplemental to that of 1841; and as the construction of the elder +derives aid from the language of the later one, so does that of the +latter from the former. The question is divisible into sub-questions. + +1. Does the phrase "that the entry (for a town-site) shall include +only such land as is actually occupied by the town," restrict the +entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or forty acre subdivisions +alone, on which houses have been erected as part of said town? + +2. What is the meaning of the phrase in the act "legal subdivisions of +the public lands," in "conformity" with which the entry must be made? + +I put the two acts together and find that they provide for a system of +preemptions for, among other things, agricultural occupation, +commercial or mechanical occupation, and municipal occupation. + +In regard to agricultural occupation, the laws provide that, in +certain cases and conditions, one person may preempt one hundred and +sixty acres, and that in regard to municipal occupation a plurality of +persons may, in certain cases and conditions, preempt three hundred +and twenty acres. In the latter contingency, there is no special +privilege as to quantity, but a disability rather; for two persons +together may preempt three hundred and twenty acres by agricultural +occupation, and afterwards convert the land into a town site, and four +persons together might in the same way secure six hundred and forty +acres, to be converted ultimately into the site of a town; while the +same four persons, selecting land for a town site, can take only three +hundred and twenty acres. In both forms the parties enter at the +minimum price of the public lands. The chief advantage which the +preemptors for municipal purposes enjoy, is, that they have by statute +a preference over agricultural preemptors, the land selected for a +town site being secured by statute against general and ordinary, that +is, agricultural preemption. In all other respects material to the +present inquiry, we may assume, for the argument's sake at least, that +the two classes stand on a footing of equality, as respects either the +convicting interests of third persons, or the rights of the +Government. + +Now, the rights of an agricultural preemptor we understand. He is +entitled, if he shall "make a settlement in person on the public +lands," and "shall inhabit and improve the same, and shall erect a +dwelling thereon," to enter, "by legal subdivisions, any number of +acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a quarter-section of +land, to include the residence of such claimant." (Act of 1841, s. +10.) And of two settlers on "the same quarter-section of land," the +earlier one is to have the preference. (Sec. 11.) + +Now, was it ever imagined that such claimant must personally inhabit +every quarter quarter-section of his claim? That he must have under +cultivation every quarter quarter-section? That he must erect a +dwelling on every quarter quarter-section? And that, if he failed to +do this, any such quarter of his quarter-section might be preempted by +a later occupant? + +There is no pretension that such is the condition of the ordinary +preemptor, and that he is thus held to inhabit, to cultivate, to dwell +on, every quarter quarter-section, under penalty of having it seized +by another preemptor, or entered in course by any public or private +purchaser. He is to provide, according to the regulations of the Land +Office or otherwise, indicia, by which the limits of his claim shall +be known,-- he must perform acts of possession or intended ownership +on the land, as notice to others; and that suffices to secure his +rights under the statute. It is not necessary for him to cultivate +every separate quarter of his quarter-section; it is not necessary for +him even to enclose each; it only needs that in good faith he take +possession, with intention of occupation and settlement, and proceed +in good faith to occupy and settle, in such time and in such manner, +as belong to the nature of agricultural occupation and settlement. + +Why should there be a different rule in regard to occupants for +municipal preemption? The latter is, by the very tenor of the law, the +preferred object. Why should those interested in it be subject to +special disabilities of competing occupancy? I cannot conceive. + +It is obvious that, in municipal settlement, as well as agricultural, +there must be space of time between the commencement and the +consummation of occupation. There will be a moment, when the equitable +right of the agricultural settler is fixed, although he have as yet +done nothing more in the way of inhabiting or improving than to cut a +tree or drive a stake into the earth. And it may be long before he +improves each one of all his quarter quarter-sections. So, in +principle, it is in the case of settlement for a town. We must deal +with such things according to their nature. Towns do not spring into +existence consummate and complete. Nor do they commence with eight +houses, systematically distributed, each in the centre of a forty-acre +lot. And in the case of a town settlement of three hundred and twenty +acres; as well as that of a farm site of one hundred and sixty acres, +all which can be lawfully requisite to communicate to the occupants +the right of preemption to the block of land, including every one of +its quarter quarter-sections,-- is improvement, or indication of the +improvement of the entire block,-- acts of possession or use regarding +it, consonant with the nature of the thing. That, in a farm, will be +the erection of a house and outhouses, cultivation, and use of +pasturage or woodland: in a town, it will be erecting houses or shops, +platting out the land, grading or opening streets, and the like signs +and marks of occupation or special destination. + +The same considerations lead to the conclusion that it would not be +just to confine the proofs of occupation to facts existing at its very +incipiency. The inchoate or equitable right, as against all others, +begins from the beginning of the occupation: the ultimate sufficiency +of that occupation is to be determined in part by subsequent facts, +which consummate the occupation, and also demonstrate its bona fides. +If it were otherwise, there would be an end of all the advantage +expressly given by the statute to priority of occupation. Take the +case of agricultural preemptions for example. A settler enters in good +faith upon a quarter-section for preemption; his entry, at first, +attaches physically to no more than the rood of land on which he is +commencing to construct a habitation. Is that entry confined in effect +to a single quarter quarter? Can other settlers, the next day, enter +upon all the adjoining quarter quarters, and thus limit the first +settler to the single quarter quarter on which his dwelling is +commenced? Is all proof of occupation in his case, when he comes to +prove up his title, to be confined to acts anterior to the date of +conflict? Clearly not. The inchoate title of the first occupant ripens +into a complete one by the series of acts on his part subsequent to +the original occupation. + +In the statement of the case prepared in your office, it is averred +that numerous precedents exist in the Land Office, not only of the +allowance of town preemptions as the voluntary selection of +individuals, but also of the application to such preemption claims of +the ordinary construction of the word "occupation" habitually applied +to agricultural preemption claims. That is to say, it has been the +practice of the Government, not to consider municipal occupation +"circumscribed by the forty-acre subdivisions actually built upon; * * +but that such occupation was (sufficiently) evidenced, either by an +actual survey, upon the ground, of said town into streets, alleys, and +blocks, or the publication of a plat of the same evidencing the +connection therewith of the public surveys, so as to give notice to +others of the extent of the town site:" all this, within the extreme +limits, of course, of the three hundred and twenty acres prescribed by +the statute. + +I think the practice of the Land Office in this respect, as thus +reported, is lawful and proper: it being understood, of course, that +thus the acts of alleged selection, possession, and occupation are +performed in perfect good faith. + +Something is hinted, in the report of the commissioner, as to the +speculation-character of the proposed town settlement,-- and, in the +official brief accompanying your letter, as to the +speculation-character of the proposed agricultural preemption. I +suppose it must be so, if the land in question has peculiar aptitude +for municipal uses. But how is that material? The object, in either +mode of attaining it, is a lawful one. Two persons may lawfully +preempt a certain quantity of land under the general law, and intend a +townsite without saying so; or they may preempt avowedly for a town +site. As between the two courses, both having the same ultimate +destination, it would not seem that there could be any cause of +objection to the more explicit one. + +So much for the first branch of the second question. As to the second +branch of it, the same line of reasoning leads to equally satisfactory +results. + +The municipal preemptor, like the agricultural preemptor, is required +to take his land in conformity with "the legal subdivisions of the +public lands." I apprehend the import of the requirement is the same +in both cases. Neither class of pre-emptors is to break the legal +subdivisions as surveyed. The preemptor of either case may take +fractional sections if he will, but he is in every case to run his +extreme lines with the lines of the surveyed subdivisions. In fine, as +it seems to me, there is nothing of the present case, in so far as +appears by the questions presented, and the official reports and +statement by which they are explained, except a convict of claim to +two or three sectional subdivisions of land between different sets of +preemptors, one set being avowed municipal preemptors, and the other +professed agricultural preemptors, but both sets having in reality the +same ulterior purposes in regard to the use of the land. The +Government has no possible concern in the controversy, except to deal +impartially between the parties according to law. The agricultural +preemptors contend that different rules of right as to the power of +individual or private occupation, and as to the criteria of valid +occupation, apply to them, as against their adversaries. The municipal +preemptors contend that the same rules of equal right, inceptive and +progressive, in these respects, apply to both classes of preemptors. I +think that the latter view of the law is correct, according to its +letter, its spirit; and the settled practice of the Government. + +The investigation of the facts of the case, and the application of the +law to the facts, are, of course, duties of your Department. + +I leave here the first and second questions; and, proposing to reply +at an early day on the third question, + +I have the honor to be, very respectfully, + + C. CUSHING. + +Hon. ROBERT McCLELLAND, + + Secretary of the Interior. + + THE END. + _______ + + ADVERTISEMENT. + +THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE. ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES. +Edited by C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. VOLUME VII. (8 vo.) now ready. +Washington: Published by R. Farnham. + +"In this series the proudest names of American law have found some +appropriate record of their labor and their wisdom. * * No student of +the law can find more valuable reading than in these opinions. We +would urge upon him to turn now and then from the common place reading +of the profession to the great studies which impart, to the law the +dignity of a science. If less immediate in the rewards they bring, +they are the only studies which can win for the legal aspirant the +true glory of a great lawyer."-- Monthly Law Reporter. + +"Mr. Andrews is entitled to the thanks of his professional brethren +for the very satisfactory manner in which he has presented these +opinions."-- American Law Register. + +"On such examination as I have been able to give it (Volume VI.), the +volume seems to me to be full of instruction; the argument most +clearly and fairly conducted; the researches thorough, and the +conclusions, in so far as I can form a judgment, just."-- Rufus +Choate. + +"But we should fail entirely in our object, of calling attention to +this work if we did not particularly commend it to the notice of the +statesman and the general reader. * * These volumes constitute a great +treatise on constitutional law; the work, not of one man, but of a +succession of able men from the age of Washington, who have examined +and revised each other. We regard it, therefore, as one of the most +valuable publications which has embellished our political and legal +literature."-- National Intelligencer. + +A TREATISE ON THE REVENUE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, in one volume, 8 +vo. By C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. (Soon to be published by Little, Brown and +Company. See their list of new Law Books.) + +REFLECTIONS ON THE OPERATION OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. By C. +C. ANDREWS, Esq. Boston: Crosby, Nichols and Company: 1853. + +"The substance of the pamphlet appeared some time since in a monthly +journal, and the author has now revised it and published it in a more +permanent form. His views are sensible, and well deserve attention."-- +Boston Daily Advertiser. + +"This is an earnest and well written essay; designed to remedy what +the writer justly regards an important defect in the present system of +education-namely, the want of a proper degree of moral instruction. +His observations evince an enlightened mind, as well as a +philanthropic spirit; and they deserve to be considerately pondered by +all whom they may concern."-- Puritan Recorder. + +"His practical remarks are of particular value, and show that the +author has devoted much thought to the topic of which he treats."-- +Boston Daily Atlas. + +"We have perused this publication with more than ordinary interest. +The object of the author is to suggest some remedies for the +acknowledged defects in the operation of our system of education. This +object is pursued by a masterly hand, in a lucid and comprehensive +manner."-- Evening Transcript. + +"This contribution to the cause of common school education is highly +creditable to the author, and we have no doubt, if it can be +extensively circulated, will be productive of very beneficial +results."-- Christian Witness. + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 4981 *** diff --git a/4981-h/4981-h.htm b/4981-h/4981-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a7f7002 --- /dev/null +++ b/4981-h/4981-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10991 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<title>The Project Gutenberg EBook of Minnesota and Dacotah, by C.C. Andrews</title> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify; } + +blockquote {font-size:14pt} + +P {font-size:14pt} + +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 4981 ***</div> + +<h1>MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH:</h1> + +<h4>IN</h4> + +<h4>Letters descriptive of a Tour through the North-West,</h4> + +<h4>IN THE AUTUMN OF 1856.</h4> + +<h4>WITH</h4> + +<h4>INFORMATION RELATIVE TO PUBLIC LANDS,</h4> + +<h4>AND</h4> + +<h4>A TABLE OF STATISTICS.</h4> + +<h4>By C. C. ANDREWS,</h4> + +<h4>COUNSELOR AT LAW; EDITOR OF THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE +ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.</h4> + +<blockquote>"From the forests and the prairies,<br> + Â From the great lakes of the Northland,<br> + Â From the land of the Ojibways,<br> + Â From the land of the Dacotahs." + +<p align="Right" class="right">Â LONGFELLOW</p> +</blockquote> + +<p align="Center" class="center">SECOND EDITION.<br> +W A S H I N G T O N:<br> +ROBERT FARNHAM<br> +1857</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h5>Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1857, +by</h5> + +<h5>C. C. ANDREWS,</h5> + +<h5>In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United +States, in and for the District of Columbia.</h5> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h4>PHILADELPHIA:</h4> + +<h4>STEREOTYPED BY E. B. MEARS.</h4> + +<h4>PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h4>THESE</h4> + +<h4>"Trivial Fond Records"</h4> + +<h4>ARE</h4> + +<h4>RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED</h4> + +<h4>TO THE</h4> + +<h4>YOUNG MEN OF MINNESOTA.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>INTRODUCTION.</h3> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="full">Â Â Â THE object of publishing these letters can be +very briefly stated.</p> + +<p>During the last autumn I made a tour into Minnesota, upwards +of a hundred and thirty miles north-west of St. Paul, to satisfy +myself as to the character and prospects of the territory. All I +could learn from personal observation, and otherwise, concerning +its society and its ample means of greatness, impressed me so +favorably as to the advantages still open to the settler, that I +put down in the form of letters such facts as I thought would be +of general interest. Since their publication— in the +<i>Boston, Post</i>— a few requests, which I could not +comply with, were made for copies of them all. I was led to +believe, therefore, that if I revised them and added information +relative to unoccupied lands, the method of preemption, and the +business interests of the territory, they would be worthy of +publication in a more permanent form. Conscious that what I have +written is an inadequate description of that splendid domain, I +shall be happy indeed to have contributed, in ever so small a +degree, to advance its growth and welfare.</p> + +<p>Here I desire to acknowledge the aid which has been readily +extended to my undertaking by the Delegate from Minnesota— +Hon. HENRY M. RICE— whose faithful and unwearied +services— I will take the liberty to add— in behalf of +the territory, merit the highest praise. I am also indebted for +valuable information to EARL S. GOODRICH, Esq., editor of the +<i>Daily Pioneer</i> (St. Paul) <i>and Democrat.</i></p> + +<p>In another place I give a list of the works which I have had +occasion to consult or refer to.</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">C. C. ANDREWS.</p> + +<p>Washington, January 1, 1857.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">LIST OF WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN +CONSULTED OR REFERRED TO IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS WORK.</p> + +<p class="full">Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, by +Major Z. M. PIKE vol. Philadelphia; 1807.</p> + +<p class="full">Travels to the Source of the Missouri River, by +Captains LEWIS and CLARKE. 3 vols. London: 1815.</p> + +<p class="full">Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter's +River, Lake Winnepek, &c., under command of Major STEPHEN H. +LONG 2 vols. Philadelphia: 1824.</p> + +<p class="full">British Dominions in North America. By JOSEPH +BOUCHETTE, Esq. 3 vols. London: 1832.</p> + +<p class="full">History of the Colonies of the British Empire. By +R. M. MARTIN, Esq. London; 1843.</p> + +<p class="full">Report on the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper +Mississippi, by J. N. NICOLLET. Senate Document 237, 2d Session, +26th Congress. Washington: 1843.</p> + +<p class="full">Report, of an Exploration of the Territory of +Minnesota, by Brevet Captain JOHN POPE, Corps Topographical +Engineers. Senate Document 42, 1st Session, 31st Congress. +Washington: 1850.</p> + +<p class="full">Sketches of Minnesota. By E. S. SEYMOUR. New +York: 1850.</p> + +<p class="full">Report on Colonial and Lake Trade, by ISRAEL D. +ANDREWS, Consul General of the United States for the British +Provinces. Executive Document 112, 1st Session, 32d Congress. +Washington: 1852.</p> + +<p class="full">History of the Discovery and Exploration of the +Mississippi River. By J. G. SHEA. New York: 1852.</p> + +<p class="full">Minnesota and its Resources. By J. WESLEY BOND. +New York: 1853.</p> + +<p class="full">Discovery of the Sources of the Mississippi +River. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT. Philadelphia: 1855.</p> + +<p class="full">Exploration and Surveys for a Railroad Route from +the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, made under the +direction of the Secretary of War in 1853-4, (including Reports +of Gov. Stevens and others.) Washington: 1855.</p> + +<p class="full">The Emigrant's Guide to Minnesota By an Old +Resident. 1 vol. St. Anthony: 1856.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">CONTENTS.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER I. BALTIMORE TO +CHICAGO.</p> + +<p class="full">Anecdote of a preacher— Monopoly of seats in +the cars— Detention in the night— Mountain scenery on +the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad— Voting in the cars— +Railroad refreshments— Political excitement— The +Virginian and the Fremonters— A walk in Columbus— +Indianapolis— Lafayette— Michigan City— +Chicago</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER II. CHICAGO TO ST. +PAUL.</p> + +<p class="full">Railroads to the Mississippi— Securing +passage on the steamboat— The Lady Franklin— Scenery of +the Mississippi— Hastings— Growth of settlements</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER III. CITY OF ST. +PAUL.</p> + +<p class="full">First settlement of St. Paul— +Population— Appearance of the city— Fuller House— +Visitors— Roads— Minneapolis— St. Anthony— +Suspension Bridge</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER IV. THE BAR.</p> + +<p class="full">Character of the Minnesota bar— Effect of +connecting land business with practice— Courts— Recent +Legislation of Congress as to the territorial judiciary— The +code of practice— Practice in land cases— Chances for +lawyers in the West— Charles O'Connor— Requisite +qualifications of a lawyer— The power and usefulness of a +great lawyer— Talfourd's character of Sir William +Follett— Blending law with politics— Services of +lawyers in deliberative assemblies</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER V. ST. PAUL TO CROW WING +IN TWO DAYS.</p> + +<p class="full">Stages— Roads— Rum River— Indian +treaty— Itasca— Sauk Rapids— Watab at +midnight— Lodging under difficulties— Little Rock +River— Character of Minnesota streams— Dinner at Swan +River— Little Falls— Fort Ripley— Arrival at Crow +Wing</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER VI. THE TOWN OF CROW +WING.</p> + +<p class="full">Scenery— First Settlement of Crow Wing— +Red Lake Indians— Mr. Morrison— Prospects of the +town— Upper navigation— Mr. Beaulieu— Washington's +theory as to Norfolk— Observations on the growth of +towns</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER VII. CHIPPEWA +INDIANS— HOLE-IN-THE-DAY.</p> + +<p class="full">Description of the Chippewa tribes— Their +habits and customs— Mission at Gull Lake— Progress in +farming— Visit to Hole-in-the-day— His enlightened +character— Reflections on Indian character, and the +practicability of their civilization— Their education— +Mr. Manypenny's exertions</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER VIII. LUMBERING +INTERESTS.</p> + +<p class="full">Lumber as an element of wealth— Quality of +Minnesota lumber— Locality of its growth— The great +pineries— Trespasses on government land— How the +lumbermen elude the government— Value of lumber— +Character of the practical lumberman— Transportation of +lumber on rafts</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER IX. SHORES OF LAKE +SUPERIOR.</p> + +<p class="full">Description of the country around Lake +Superior— Minerals— Locality of a commercial city— +New land districts— Buchanan— Ojibeway— +Explorations to the sources of the Mississippi— Henry R. +Schoolcraft— M. Nicollet's report— Resources of the +country above Crow Wing</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER X. VALLEY OF THE RED +RIVER OF THE NORTH.</p> + +<p class="full">Climate of Minnesota— The settlement at +Pembina— St. Joseph— Col. Smith's expedition— Red +River of the North— Fur trade— Red River +Settlement— The Hudson's Bay Company— Ex-Gov. Ramsey's +observations— Dacotah</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XI. THE TRUE PIONEER.</p> + +<p class="full">Energy of the pioneer— Frontier life— +Spirit of emigration— Advantages to the farmer in moving +West— Advice in regard to making preemption claims— +Abstract of the preemption law— Hints to the settler— +Character and services of the pioneer</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XII. SPECULATION AND +BUSINESS.</p> + +<p class="full">Opportunities to select farms— Otter Tail +Lake— Advantages of the actual settler over the +speculator— Policy of new states as to taxing +non-residents— Opportunities to make money— Anecdote of +Col. Perkins— Mercantile business— Price of money— +Intemperance— Education— The free school</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XIII. CROW WING TO ST. +CLOUD.</p> + +<p class="full">Pleasant drive in the stage— Scenery— +The past— Fort Ripley Ferry— Delay at the Post +Office— Belle Prairie— A Catholic priest— Dinner +at Swan River— Potatoes— Arrival at Watab— St. +Cloud</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XIV. ST. CLOUD— THE +PACIFIC TRAIL.</p> + +<p class="full">Agreeable visit at St. Cloud— Description of +the place— Causes of the rapid growth of towns— Gen. +Lowry— The back country— Gov. Stevens's report— +Mr. Lambert's views— Interesting account of Mr. A. W. +Tinkham's exploration</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XV. ST. CLOUD TO ST. +PAUL.</p> + +<p class="full">Importance of starting early— Judge Story's +theory of early rising— Rustic scenery— Horses and +mules— Surveyors— Humboldt— Baked fish— +Getting off the track— Burning of hay stacks— Supper at +St. Anthony— Arrival at the Fuller House</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XVI. PROGRESS.</p> + +<p class="full">Rapid growth of the North-West— Projected +railroads— Territorial system of the United States— +Inquiry into the cause of Western progress— Influence of +just laws and institutions— Lord Bacon's remark</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF +DACOTAH.</p> + +<p class="full">Organization of Minnesota as a state— +Suggestions as to its division— Views of Captain Pope— +Character and resources of the new territory to be left +adjoining— Its occupation by the Dacotah Indians— Its +organization and name</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LAND OFFICES AND LAND +OFFICERS</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN +MINNESOTA</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">TABLE OF DISTANCES</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">PRE-EMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN +SITES</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">PART I.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTERS ON MINNESOTA.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>LETTER I.</h3> + +<h4>BALTIMORE TO CHICAGO.</h4> + +<p class="full">Anecdote of a preacher— Monopoly of seats in +the cars— Detention in the night— Mountain scenery on +the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad— Voting in the cars— +Railroad refreshments— Political excitement— The +Virginian and the Fremonters— A walk in Columbus— +Indianapolis— Lafayette— Michigan City— +Chicago.</p> + +<p class="full">CHICAGO, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I SIT down at the first place where a pen can be used, to give +you some account of my trip to Minnesota. And if any one should +complain that this is a dull letter, let me retain his good-will +by the assurance that the things I expect to describe in my next +will be of more novelty and interest. And here I am reminded of a +good little anecdote which I am afraid I shall not have a better +chance to tell. An eminent minister of the Gospel was preaching +in a new place one Sunday, and about half through his sermon when +two or three dissatisfied hearers got up to leave, "My friends," +said he, "I have one small favor to ask. As an attempt has been +made to prejudice my reputation in this vicinity, I beg you to be +candid enough, if any one asks how you liked my sermon, to say +you didn't stop to hear me through."</p> + +<p>Stepping into the cars on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad a +few evenings ago— for I am not going to say anything of my +trip further east— I saw as great an exhibition of +selfishness as one often meets in travelling. This was in the +rear car, the others being all crowded. The seats were spacious, +and had high backs for night travelling. A gentleman entered the +car and proposed to sit in a seat in which was only one child, +but he was informed by a feminine voice in the rear that the +whole seat was taken— so he advanced to the next seat, which +was occupied by another child, a boy about eight years old— +again the same voice, confirmed by one of the other sex, informed +him in very decided terms that that also was wholly occupied. The +gentleman of course did not attempt to take a seat with this +lady, but advancing still further, in a seat behind her he saw +another child the only occupant. His success here was no better. +The fact was, here was a family of a husband, wife, and three +children occupying five entire seats. The traveller politely +asked if it would not be convenient for two of the children to +sit together. "No," said the lady and her husband (and they spoke +together, though they didn't sit together), "the children want +all the room so as to sleep." The traveller betrayed no feeling +until the husband aforesaid pointed out for him a seat next to a +colored woman who sat alone near the door of the car, some little +distance off. It was quite apparent, and it was the fact, that +this colored woman was the servant of the family; and the +traveller appeared to think that, although as an "original +question" he might not object to the proffered seat, yet it was +not civil for a man to offer him what he would not use himself. +The scene closed by the traveller's taking a seat with another +gentleman, I mention this incident because it is getting to be +too common for people to claim much more room than belongs to +them, and because I have seen persons who are modest and unused +to travelling subjected to considerable annoyance in consequence. +Moreover, conductors are oftentimes fishing so much after +popularity, that they wink at misconduct in high life.</p> + +<p>Somewhere about midnight, along the banks of the Potomac, and, +if I remember right, near the town of Hancock, the cars were +detained for three hours. A collision had occurred twelve hours +before, causing an extensive destruction of cars and freight, and +heavy fragments of both lay scattered over the track. Had it not +been for the skilful use of a steam-engine in dragging off the +ruins, we must have waited till the sun was up. Two or three +large fires were kindled with the ruins, so that the scene of the +disaster was entirely visible. And the light shining in the midst +of the thick darkness, near the river, with the crowd of people +standing around, was not very romantic, perhaps not +picturesque— but it was quite novel; and the novelty of the +scene enabled us to bear with greater patience the gloomy +delay.</p> + +<p>The mountain scenery in plain sight of the traveller over the +Baltimore and Ohio road is more extensive and protracted, and I +think as beautiful, as on any road in the United States. There +are as wild places seen on the road across Tennessee from +Nashville, and as picturesque scenes on the Pennsylvania Central +road— perhaps the White Mountains as seen from the Atlantic +and St. Lawrence road present a more sublime view— but I +think on the road I speak of, there is more gorgeous mountain +scenery than on any other. On such routes one passes through a +rude civilization. The settlements are small and scattered, +exhibiting here and there instances of thrift and contentment, +but generally the fields are small and the houses in proportion. +The habits of the people are perhaps more original than +primitive. It was along the route that I saw farmers gathering +their corn on sleds. The cheerful scene is often witnessed of the +whole family— father, mother, and children— at work +gathering the crops. These pictures of cottage life in the +mountain glens, with the beautiful variegated foliage of October +for groundwork, are objects which neither weary nor satiate our +sight.</p> + +<p>The practice of taking a vote for presidential candidates in +the cars has been run into the ground. By this I mean that it has +been carried to a ridiculous excess. So far I have had occasion +to vote several times. A man may be indifferent as to expressing +his vote when out of his state; but a man's curiosity must have +reached a high pitch when he travels through a train of cars to +inquire how the passengers vote. It is not uncommon, I find, for +people to carry out the joke by voting with their real opponents. +Various devices are resorted to to get a unanimous vote. For +example, a man will say, "All who are in favor of Buchanan take +off their boots; all in favor of Fremont keep them on." Again, +when there are several passengers on a stage-coach out west, and +they are passing under the limbs of a tree, or low bridge, as +they are called, it is not unusual far a Fremont man to say, "All +in favor of Fremont bow their heads."</p> + +<p>I have a word to say about refreshments on railroad routes. It +is, perhaps, well known that the price for a meal anywhere on a +railroad in the United States is fifty cents. That is the uniform +price. Would that the meals were as uniform! But alas! a man +might as well get a quid of tobacco with his money, for he seldom +gets a <i>quid pro quo</i>. Once in a couple of days' travel you +may perhaps get a wholesome meal, but as a general thing what you +get (when you get out of New England) isn't worth over a dime. +You stop at a place, say for breakfast, after having rode all +night. The conductor calls out, "Twenty minutes for breakfast." +There is a great crowd and a great rush, of course. Well, the +proprietor expects there will be a crowd, and ought to be +prepared. But how is it? Perhaps you are lucky enough to get a +seat at the table. Then your chance to get something to eat is as +one to thirteen: for as there is nothing of any consequence on +the table, your luck depends on your securing the services of a +waiter who at the same time is being called on by about thirteen +others as hungry as yourself. Then suppose you succeed! First +comes a cup of black coffee, strong of water; then a piece of +tough fried beef steak, some fried potatoes, a heavy +biscuit— a little sour (and in fact everything is sour but +the pickles). You get up when you have finished eating— it +would be a mockery to say when you have satisfied your +appetite— and at the door stand two muscular men +(significantly the proprietor is aware of the need of such) with +bank bills drawn through their fingers, who are prepared to +receive your 50c. It is not unusual to hear a great deal of +indignation expressed by travellers on such occasions. No man has +a right to grumble at the fare which hospitality sets before him. +But when he buys a dinner at a liberal price, in a country where +provisions are abundant, he has a right to expect something which +will sustain life and health. Those individuals who have the +privilege of furnishing meals to railroad travellers probably +find security in the reflection that their patronage does not +depend on the will of their patrons. But the evil can be remedied +by the proprietors and superintendents of the roads, and the +public will look for a reformation in dinners and suppers at +their hands.</p> + +<p>I might say that from Benwood, near Wheeling— where I +arrived at about four in the afternoon, having been nearly +twenty-four hours coming 875 miles— I passed on to +Zanesville to spend the night; thinking it more convenient, as it +surely was, to go to bed at eleven at night and start the next +morning at eight, than to go to bed at Wheeling at nine, or when +I chose, and start again at two in the morning. The ride that +evening was pleasant. The cars were filled with lusty yeomen, all +gabbling politics. There was an overwhelming majority for +Fremont. Under such circumstances it was a virtue for a Buchanan +man to show his colors. There was a solid old Virginian aboard; +and his open and intelligent countenance— peculiar, it seems +to me, to Virginia— denoted that he was a good-hearted man. +I was glad to see him defend his side of politics with so much +zeal against the Fremonters. He argued against half a dozen of +them with great spirit and sense. In spite of the fervor of his +opponents, however, they treated him with proper respect and +kindness. It was between eleven and twelve when I arrived at +Zanesville. I hastened to the Stacy House with my friend, J. E B. +(a young gentleman on his way to Iowa, whose acquaintance I +regard it as good luck to have made). The Stacy House could give +us lodgings, but not a mouthful of refreshments. As the next best +thing, we descended to a restaurant, which seemed to be in a very +drowsy condition, where we soon got some oyster and broiled +chicken, not however without paying for it an exorbitant price. I +rather think, however, I shall go to the Stacy House again when +next I visit Zanesville, for, on the whole, I have no fault to +find with it. Starting at eight the next morning, we were four +hours making the distance (59 miles) from Zanesville to Columbus. +The road passes through a country of unsurpassed loveliness. +Harvest fields, the most luxuriant, were everywhere in view. At +nearly every stopping-place the boys besieged us with delicious +apples and grapes, too tempting to be resisted. We had an hour to +spend at Columbus, which, after booking our names at the Neil +House for dinner— and which is a capital house— we +partly spent in a walk about the city. It is the capital of the +state, delightfully situated on the Scioto river, and has a +population in the neighborhood of 20,000. The new Capitol there +is being built on a scale of great magnificence. Though the heat +beat down intensely, and the streets were dusty, we were "bent on +seeing the town." We— my friend B. and myself— had +walked nearly half a mile down one of the fashionable streets for +dwellings, when we came to a line which was drawn across the +sidewalk in front of a residence, which, from the appearance, +might have belonged to one of the upper-ten. The line was in +charge of two or three little girls, the eldest of whom was not +over twelve. She was a bright-eyed little miss, and had in her +face a good share of that metal which the vulgar think is +indispensable to young lawyers. We came to a gradual pause at +sight of this novel obstruction. "Buchanan, Fillmore, or +Fremont?" said she, in a tone of dogmatical interrogatory. B. was +a fervid Fremonter— he probably thought she was— so he +exclaimed, "Vermont for ever!" I awaited the sequel in silence. +"Then you may go round," said the little female politician. "You +may go round," and round we went, not a little amused at such an +exhibition of enthusiasm. I remember very well the excitement +during the campaign of 1840; and I did my share with the New +Hampshire boys in getting up decoy cider barrels to humbug the +Whigs as they passed in their barouches to attend some great +convention or hear Daniel Webster. But it seems to me there is +much more political excitement during this campaign than there +was in 1840. Flagstaffs and banners abound in the greatest +profusion in every village. Every farm-house has some token of +its polities spread to the breeze.</p> + +<p>At twenty minutes past one— less or more— we left +Columbus, and after travelling 158 miles, <i>via</i> Dayton, we +came to Indianapolis, the great "Railroad City," as it is called, +of the west. It was half past nine when we arrived there. I did +not have time to go up to the Bates House, where I once had the +pleasure of stopping, but concluded to get supper at a hotel near +the depot, where there was abundant time to go through the +ceremony of eating. It strikes me that Indianapolis would be an +agreeable place to reside in. There are some cities a man feels +at home in as soon as he gets into them; there are others which +make him homesick; just as one will meet faces which in a moment +make a good impression on him, or which leave a dubious or +disagreeable impression. That city has 16,000 people. Its streets +are wide, and its walks convenient. All things denote enterprise, +liberality, and comfort. It is 210 miles from Indianapolis to +this city, <i>via</i> Lafayette and Michigan City. We ought to +have made the time in less than twelve hours, and, but for +protracted detentions at Lafayette and Michigan City, we would +have done so. We reached the latter place at daylight, and there +waited about the depot in dull impatience for the Detroit and +Chicago train. It is the principal lake harbor in Indiana.</p> + +<p>It is about two years since I was last in Chicago; and as I +have walked about its streets my casual observation confirms the +universal account of its growth and prosperity. I have noticed +some new and splendid iron and marble buildings in the course of +completion. Chicago is a great place to find old acquaintances. +For its busy population comprises citizens from every section of +the United States, and from every quarter of the globe. The +number of its inhabitants is now estimated at 100,000. Everybody +that can move is active. It is a city of activity. Human thoughts +are all turned towards wealth. All seem to he contending in the +race for riches: some swift and daring on the open course; some +covertly lying low for a by-path. You go along the streets by +jerks: down three feet to the street here; then up four slippery +steps to the sidewalk there. Here a perfect crowd and +commotion— almost a mob— because the drawbridge is up. +You would think there was a wonderful celebration coming off at +twelve, and that everybody was hurrying through his work to be in +season for it. Last year 20,000,000 bushels of grain were brought +into Chicago. Five years ago there were not a hundred miles of +railroad in the state of Illinois. Now there are more than two +thousand. Illinois has all the elements of empire. Long may its +great metropolis prosper!</p> + +<h3>LETTER II.</h3> + +<h4>CHICAGO TO ST. PAUL.</h4> + +<p class="full">Railroads to the Mississippi— Securing +passage on the steamboat— The Lady Franklin— Scenery of +the Mississippi— Hastings— Growth of settlements</p> + +<p>ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>HOW short a time it is since a railroad to the Mississippi was +thought a wonder! And now within the state of Illinois four +terminate on its banks. Of course I started on one of these roads +from Chicago to get to Dunleith. I think it is called the Galena +and Chicago Union Road. A good many people have supposed Galena +to be situated on the Mississippi river, and indeed railroad map +makers have had it so located as long as it suited their +convenience— (for they have a remarkable facility in +annihilating distance and in making crooked ways straight)— +yet the town is some twelve miles from the great river on a +narrow but navigable stream. The extent and importance of +Rockford, Galena, and Dunleith cannot fail to make a strong +impression on the traveller. They are towns of recent growth, and +well illustrate that steam-engine sort of progress peculiar +now-a-days in the west. Approaching Galena we leave the region of +level prairie and enter a mineral country of naked bluffs or +knolls, where are seen extensive operations in the lead mines. +The trip from Chicago to Dunleith at the speed used on most other +roads would be performed in six hours, but ten hours are usually +occupied, for what reason I cannot imagine. However, the train is +immense, having on board about six or seven hundred first class +passengers, and two-thirds as many of the second class. +Travelling in the cars out west is not exactly what it is between +Philadelphia and New York, or New York and Boston, in this +respect: that in the West more families are found, in the cars, +and consequently more babies and carpet bags.</p> + +<p>It may not be proper to judge of the health of a community by +the appearance of people who are seen standing about a railroad +station; yet I have often noticed, when travelling through +Illinois, that this class had pale and sickly countenances, +showing too clearly the traces of fever and ague.</p> + +<p>But I wish to speak about leaving the cars at Dunleith and +taking the steamboat for St. Paul. There is a tremendous rush for +the boats in order to secure state-rooms. Agents of different +boats approach the traveller, informing him all about their line +of boats, and depreciating the opposition boats. For instance, an +agent, or, if you please, a runner of a boat called Lucy— +not Long— made the assertion on the levee with great zeal +and perfect impunity that no other boat but the said Lucy would +leave for St. Paul within twenty-four hours; when it must have +been known to him that another boat on the mail line would start +that same evening, as was actually the fact. But the activity of +the runners was needless; for each boat had more passengers than +it could well accommodate. I myself went aboard the " Lady +Franklin," one of the mail boats, and was accommodated with a +state-room. But what a scene is witnessed for the first two hours +after the passengers begin to come aboard! The cabin is almost +filled, and a dense crowd surrounds the clerk's office, just as +the ticket office of a theatre is crowded on a benefit night. Of +course not more than half can get state-rooms and the rest must +sleep on the cabin floor. Over two hundred cabin passengers came +up on the Lady Franklin. The beds which are made on the floor are +tolerably comfortable, as each boat is supplied with an extra +number of single mattresses. The Lady Franklin is an old boat, +and this is said to be its last season.<sup>1</sup> Two years ago +it was one of the excursion fleet to St. Paul, and was then in +its prime. But steamboats are short lived. We had three tables +set, and those who couldn't get a seat at the first or second sat +at the third. There was a choice you may believe, for such was +the havoc made with the provisions at the first table that the +second and third were not the most inviting. It was amusing to +see gentlemen seat themselves in range of the plates as soon as +they were laid, and an hour before the table was ready. But the +officers were polite— as is generally the case on steamboats +till you get down to the second mate— and in the course of a +day or two, when the passengers begin to be acquainted, the time +wears away pleasantly. We were nearly four days in making the +trip. The line of boats of which the Lady Franklin is one, +carries the mail at fifty dollars a trip. During the boating +season I believe the fare varies from seven to ten dollars to St. +Paul.<sup>2</sup> This season there have been two lines of boats +running to Minnesota. All of them have made money fast; and next +season many more boats will run. The "Northern Belle" is the best +boat this season, and usually makes the trip up in two days. The +advertised time is thirty hours.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 Three weeks after this trip the Lady +Franklin was snagged, and became a total toss.]</p> + +<p class="footnote">[2 The following is a table of distances from +Galena to St. Paul:</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dubuque,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">24</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dunleith,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">25</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Potosi Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">14</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">39</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waupaton,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">49</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Buena Vista,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">54</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cassville,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">58</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Guttenberg,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">68</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clayton,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wyalusing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">85</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">McGregor's,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">91</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Prairie du Chien,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">95</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red House,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">100</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Johnson's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">102</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lafayette,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">132</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Columbus,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">134</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lansing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">135</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">De Soto,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">141</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Victory,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">151</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Badaxe City,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">161</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Warner's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">167</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Brownsville,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">177</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">La Crosse,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">189</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dacotah,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">201</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Richmond,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">207</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Monteville,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">212</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Homer,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">222</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">229</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fountain City,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">241</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mount Vernon,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">14</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">255</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minneiska,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">259</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alma,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">15</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">274</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wabashaw,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">284</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Nelson's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">287</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reed's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">289</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Foot of Lake Pepin,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">291</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">North Pepin,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">297</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Johnstown,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">299</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lake City,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">304</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Central Point,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">306</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Florence,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">309</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Maiden Rock,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">312</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Westerville,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">315</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wacouta,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">327</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Wing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">333</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Thing's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">340</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Diamond bluff,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">8</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">348</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Prescott,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">13</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">361</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Point Douglass,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">362</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hastings,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">365</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grey Cloud,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">377</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pine Bend,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">381</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Rock,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">8</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">389</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kaposia,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">392</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">397</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +] + +<p>The scenery on the upper Mississippi is reputed to be +beautiful. So it is. Yet all river scenery is generally +monotonous. One gets tired of looking at high rocky ridges quite +as quickly as at more tame and tranquil scenery. The bluffs on +either side of the Mississippi, for most of the way between +Dunleith and St. Anthony's Falls, constitute some of the most +beautiful river scenery in the world. It is seldom that they rise +over two hundred feet from the water level, and their height is +quite uniform, so that from a distant point of view their summit +resembles a huge fortification. Nor, as a general thing, do they +present a bold or rocky front. The rise from the river is +gradual. Sometimes they rise to a sharp peak, towards the top of +which crops out in half circles heavy ridges of limestone. The +ravines which seem to divide them into separate elevations, are +more thickly wooded, and appear to have been grooved out by the +rolling down of deep waters. The most attractive feature of these +bluffs— or miniature mountains, as they might be +called— is their smooth grassy surface, thinly covered over +with shade trees of various kinds. Whoever has seen a large +orchard on a hill side can imagine how the sides of these bluffs +look. At this season of the year the variegated foliage of the +trees gives them a brilliant appearance. It is quite rare to see +a bluff which rises gradually enough to admit of its being a good +town site. Hence it is that settlements on the banks of the river +will never be very numerous. Nature has here interposed against +that civilization which adorns the lower Mississippi. It appears +to me that all the available points for town sites on the river +are taken up as far as the bluffs extend; and some of these will +require a great amount of excavation before they can grow to +importance.</p> + +<p>But there are several thrifty and pleasant villages in +Minnesota, on the river, before reaching St. Paul. The first one +of importance is Brownsville, where, for some time, was a United +States land office. It is 168 miles above Dunleith. Winona, 58 +miles farther up, is a larger town. It is said to contain 5000 +population. There is a land office there also. But the town +stands on land which, in very high water, will run too much risk +of inundation. Passing by several other landings and germs of +towns, we come to Wacouta, ninety-eight miles above; which is a +successful lumber depot. Six miles further on is Red Wing, a +place which delighted me on account of its cheerful location. It +is growing quite fast, and is the seat of a large Methodist +seminary. But the town of Hastings, thirty-two miles above, +eclipses everything but St. Paul. It is finely located on rising +ground, and the river is there narrow and deep. The boat stopped +here an hour, and I had a good opportunity to look about the +place. The town appears to have considerable trade with the back +country. Its streets are laid out with regularity; its stores and +buildings are spacious, durable, and neat. I heard that over +$2000 were asked for several of the building lots. A little way +into the interior of the town I saw men at work on a stone +church; and approaching the spot, I determined to make some +inquiries of a boy who was briskly planing boards. First, I asked +how much the church was going to cost? About $3000, he +replied.</p> + +<p>"Are there any other churches in the place?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, up there, where they are building."</p> + +<p>"What denomination is that?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," he responded. "I only came into the place +yesterday."</p> + +<p>I thought he was doing well to begin to build churches so soon +after his arrival. And from his countenance, I have no doubt he +will do well, and become a useful citizen of the state. Hastings +has its democratic press— the Dakota Journal, edited by J. +C. Dow, a talented young man from New Hampshire. The population +of the town is about two thousand. It is thirty-two miles below +St. Paul, on the west side of the river. There is nothing of +especial interest between the two places.</p> + +<p>The great panorama which time paints is but a species of +dissolving views. It is but as yesterday since the present sites +of towns and cities on the shores just referred to showed only +the rude huts of Indian tribes. To-day, the only vestige left +there of the Indian are his burying-grounds. Hereafter the +rudeness of pioneer life shall be exchanged for a more genial +civilization, and the present, then the past, will be looked back +to as trivial by men still yearning for the future.</p> + +<h3>LETTER III.</h3> + +<h4>CITY OF ST. PAUL.</h4> + +<p class="full">First settlement of St. Paul— +Population— Appearance of the city— Fuller House— +Visitors— Roads— Minneapolis— St. Anthony— +Suspension Bridge.</p> + +<p>FULLER HOUSE, ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>THE circumstance of finding a good spring of water first led +to the settlement of Boston. It would not be unreasonable to +suppose that a similar advantage induced the first settler of St. +Paul to locate here; for I do not suppose its pioneers for a long +while dreamed of its becoming a place even of its present +importance. And here let me mention that St. Paul is not on the +west side of the Mississippi, but on the east. Though it is +rather too elevated and rough in its natural state to have been +coveted for a farm, it is yet just such a spot as a pioneer would +like to plant himself upon, that he might stand in his door and +have a broad and beautiful view towards the south and west. And +when the speculator came he saw that it was at the head of +navigation of what be thought was the Upper Mississippi, but +which in reality is only the Middle Mississippi. Then stores were +put up, small and rude, and trade began to increase with settlers +and hunters of furs. Then came the organization of the territory, +and the location of the capital here, so that St. Paul began to +thrive still more from the crumbs which fell from the government +table, as also by that flood of emigration which nothing except +the Rocky Mountains has ever stayed from entering a new +territory. And now it has passed its doubtful era. It has passed +from its wooden to its brick age. Before men are certain of the +success of a town, they erect one story pine shops; but when its +success appears certain, they build high blocks of brick or +granite stores. So now it is common to see four and five story +brick or stone buildings going up in St. Paul.</p> + +<p>I believe this city numbers at present about 10,000 +population. It is destined to increase for a few years still more +rapidly than it has heretofore. But that it will be a second +Chicago is what I do not expect. It would certainly seem that the +high prices demanded for building lots must retard the progress +of the place; but I am told the prices have always been as high +in proportion to the business and number of population. $500 and +upwards is asked for a decent building lot in remote parts of the +town.</p> + +<p>I have had an agreeable stroll down upon the bluff, south-east +from the city, and near the elegant mansion of Mr. Dayton. The +first engraving of St. Paul was made from a view taken at that +point. As I stood looking at the city, I recalled the picture in +Mr. Bond's work, and contrasted its present with the appearance +it had three or four years ago. What a change! Three or four +steamers were lying at the levee; steam and smoke were shooting +forth from the chimneys of numerous manufactories; a ferry was +plying the Mississippi, transporting teams and people; church +steeples and domes and great warehouses stood in places which +were vacant as if but yesterday; busy streets had been built and +peopled; rows of splendid dwellings and villas, adorned with +delightful terraces and gardens, had been erected. I went out on +Sunday morning too, and the view was none the less pleasant. +Business was silent; but the church bells were ringing out their +sweet and solemn melody, and the mellow sunlight of autumn +glittered on the bright roofs and walls in the city. The whole +scene revealed the glorious image of that ever advancing +civilization which springs from well rewarded labor and general +intelligence.</p> + +<p>Like all new and growing places in the west, St. Paul has its +whiskey shops, its dusty and dirty streets, its up and down +sidewalks, and its never-ceasing whirl of business. Yet it has +its churches, well filled; its spacious school-houses; its daily +newspapers; and well-adorned mansions. There are many cottages +and gardens situated on the most elevated part of the city, north +and west, which would not suffer by a comparison with those +cheerful and elegant residences so numerous for six to ten miles +around Boston. From the parlors of these homes one may look down +upon the city and upon the smooth bosom of the river. In the +streets, too, you see much evidence of opulence and luxury, in +the shape of handsome carriages, which are set out to advantage +by a first-rate quality of horses.</p> + +<p>One element of the success of this city is the public spirit +of its leading business men. They have put their hands deep into +their pockets to improve and advance the place. In all their +rivalry there is an amicable feeling and boundless liberality. +They help him that tries to help himself, and help each other in +a way that will help them all together; and such kind of +enterprises produces grand results. Why, here is a new hotel (the +Fuller House) at which I stop, which is surpassed but by very few +hotels in the country. It is a first-class house, built of brick, +five stories high, and of much architectural beauty. The building +itself cost upwards of $100,000, and its furniture over $30,000. +Its proprietor is Mr. Long, who has already had good success in +this sort of business. One can well imagine the comfort of +finding such a house at the end of a long and tedious journey in +a new country.</p> + +<p>It is estimated that 28,000 people have visited and left St. +Paul during the present season. During July and August the travel +diminishes, but as soon as autumn sets in it comes on again in +daily floods. It is really a novel and interesting state of +things one finds on his arrival at the hotel. There are so many +people from so many different places! Then everybody is a +stranger to almost everybody, and therefore quite willing to get +acquainted with somebody. Everybody wants a bit of information on +some point. Everybody is going to some place where he thinks +somebody has been or is going, and so a great many new +acquaintances are made without ceremony or delay; and old +acquaintances are revived. I find people who have come from all +sections of the country— from the east and the west, and +from the south— not adventurers merely, but men of substance +and means, who seek a healthier climate and a pleasant home. Nor +can I here omit to mention the meeting of my friend, Col. A. J. +Whitney, who is one of the pioneers of Minnesota, and with whom I +had two years before travelled over the western prairies. A. H. +Marshall, Esq., of Concord, N. H., well known as a popular +speaker, is also here on a visit.</p> + +<p>But what are the roads leading from St. Paul, and what are the +facilities of travel to places beyond? These are questions which +I suppose some would like to have answered. There is a road to +Stillwater, and a stage, which I believe runs daily. That is the +route now often taken to Lake Superior. This morning three men +came in on that stage from Superior, who have been a week on the +journey. The great highway of the territory extends as far as +Crow Wing, 130 miles north of here. It passes St. Anthony and +several important towns on the eastern bank of the Mississippi. +In a day or two I intend to take a journey as far as Crow Wing, +and I can then write with more knowledge on the subject.</p> + +<p>A very pretty drive out of St. Paul is by the cave. This is an +object worth visiting, and is about two miles out of the city. +Three or four miles beyond are the beautiful falls of Minnehaha, +or laughing water. The drive also takes in Fort Snelling. St. +Anthony is on the east side of the Mississippi; Minneapolis is +opposite, on the west side. Both places are now large and +populous. The main street of St. Anthony is over a mile in +length. One of the finest water powers in the Union is an element +of growth to both towns. The lumber which is sawed there is +immense. A company is undertaking to remove the obstructions to +navigation in the river between St. Paul and St. Anthony. $20,000 +were raised for the purpose; one-half by the Steamboat Company, +and the other half by the people of St. Anthony. The suspension +bridge which connects Minneapolis with St. Anthony is familiar to +all. It is a fit type of the enterprise of the people. I forget +the exact sum I paid as toll when I walked across the +bridge— perhaps it was a dime; at any rate I was struck with +the answer given by the young man who took the toll, in reply to +my inquiry as I returned, if my coming back wasn't included in +the toll paid going over? " No," said he, in a very good-natured +way, "we don't know anything about coming back; <i>it's all go +ahead in this country."</i></p> + +<h3>LETTER IV.</h3> + +<h4>THE BAR.</h4> + +<p class="full">Character of the Minnesota bar— Effect of +connecting land business with practice— Courts— Recent +legislation of Congress as to the territorial judiciary— The +code of practice— Practice in land cases— Chances for +lawyers in the West— Charles O'Connor— Requisite +qualifications of a lawyer— The power and usefulness of a +great lawyer— Talfourd's character of Sir William +Follett— Blending law with politics— Services of +lawyers in deliberative assemblies</p> + +<p>ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I HAVE not yet been inside of a court of justice, nor seen a +case tried, since I have been in the territory. But it has been +my pleasure to meet one of the judges of the supreme court and +several prominent members of the bar. My impression is, that in +point of skill and professional ability the Minnesota bar is a +little above the average of territorial bars. Here, as in the +West generally, the practice is common for lawyers to mix with +their profession considerable miscellaneous business, such as the +buying and selling of land. The law is too jealous a mistress to +permit any divided love, and therefore it cannot be expected that +really good lawyers will be found in the ranks of general +business agents and speculators. In other words, a broker's +office is not a lawyer's office. There are some lawyers here who +have attended strictly to the profession, who are ornaments of +it, and who have met with good success. The idea has been common, +and as fatal as common, that success in legal practice could be +easily attained in the West with a small amount of skill and +learning. It is true that a poor lawyer aided by some good +qualities will sometimes rise to affluence and eminence, though +such cases are exceptions. There are able layers in the West, +and, though practice may be less formal and subtle than in older +communities, ability and skill find their relative advancement +and reward, while ignorance and incapacity have their downward +tendency just as they do everywhere else. The fees for +professional services are liberal, being higher than in the East. +Before an attorney can be admitted to practise he must have an +examination by, or under the direction of, one of the judges of +the supreme court. The provisions of the territorial statutes are +quite strict in their tendency to maintain upright practice.</p> + +<p>An act of the present congress has created a revolution in the +courts of the territory. The organic act, SS 9, provided that the +territory should be divided into three judicial districts; "and a +district court shall be held in each of said districts by one of +the justices of the supreme court, at such times and places <i>as +may be prescribed by law."</i> This meant, I suppose, at such +times and places as the territorial legislature should prescribe. +Accordingly, as population increased and extended, and as +counties were established, the territorial legislature increased +the places in each district for holding the district court. +Either on account of the expense or for some other cause congress +has just stepped aside from the doctrine of non-intervention (ch. +124, sec. 5), and abrogated the territorial legislation so far as +to provide that there shall be but one place in each of the three +districts for holding a district court. The act applies to all +territories. In a territory of five or six hundred miles in +extent it is of course inconvenient to have but three places for +holding courts. The Minnesotians complain that it is an +interference with popular sovereignty. It is possible the +legislature might have gone to an extreme in creating places for +holding courts; and I suppose the judges were kept on the march a +good deal of the time. It also looks as if the remedy by congress +was extreme. The people say it is a coercive measure to drive +them into a state organization.</p> + +<p>The administration of justice is secured by a system which is +now common to all the territories, with the exception of Kansas. +The supreme court consists of the three district judges in full +bench. They hold nisi prius terms in their respective districts, +which are called district courts. The judges have a salary of +$2000 each, and are appointed for a term of four years, subject +to removal by the President. The district courts have chancery +jurisdiction in matters where there is not a plain, adequate, and +complete remedy at law. (Stat. of Min. ch. 94, sec. 1.) There are +also probate courts. Each county has two justices of the peace, +who are elected by the people. And I cannot but remark how much +better the practice is to elect or appoint a few justices of the +peace rather than to allow the office to be degraded by wholesale +appointments, as a matter of compliment, according to the usage +too common in some Eastern States. The justices of the peace have +jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount in question does not +exceed $100; and when the amount at issue is over $20 either +party may demand a jury of six men to try the case. But there +would be little demand for juries if all magistrates were as +competent as our enlightened friend Judge Russell.</p> + +<p>Special pleading never flourished much in the West. It was +never "a favorite with the court" out this way; while the regard +which the lawyers have cherished for it has been "distant and +respectful." It has been laid on the shelf about as effectually +as bleeding in the practice of medicine. The science of special +pleading, as it is known in these days— and that in some of +the older states— exists in a mitigated form from what it +did in the days of Coke and Hale. The opportunities to amend, and +the various barriers against admitting a multiplicity of pleas, +have rendered the system so much more rational than it once was, +that it is doubtful if some of the old English worthies could now +identify it. Once a defendant could plead to an action of +assumpsit just as many defences as he chose; first, he could deny +the whole by pleading the general issue; then he could plead the +statute of limitations, infancy, accord and satisfaction, and a +dozen other pleas, by which the plaintiff would be deprived of +any clue to the real defence. I suppose it was this practice of +formal lying which has given rise to the popular error that a +lawyer is in the habit of lying, or is obliged to lie, in his +arguments. Many people do not know the difference between +<i>pleading</i>— which is a process in writing to bring the +parties to an issue— and the oral arguments of counsel in +courts. It is ridiculous to suppose that it is easy or profitable +for lawyers to make false statements in their arguments. The +opposing counsel is ready to catch at anything of the kind; and +if he misstates the evidence, the jury are aware of it; while if +he states what is not law, the court generally knows it. So there +is no opportunity for lying even if a lawyer should be so +disposed. The practice in civil actions as provided by the +statutes of Minnesota is similar— if not actually the +same— to the New York code of practice. There is but one +form of action, called an action of contract. The only pleading +on the part of the plaintiff is, 1st, the complaint; 2d, the +reply. On the part of the defendant, 1st, demurrer; or 2d, the +answer. (Stats. ch. 70, sec. 58.) The complaint must contain, +1st, the title of the cause, specifying the name of the court in +which the action is brought and the names of the parties to the +action, plaintiff and defendant; 2d, a statement of the facts +constituting the cause of action in ordinary and concise +language, without repetition, and in such a manner as to enable a +person of common understanding to know what is intended; 3d, a +demand of the relief to which the plaintiff supposes himself +entitled. If the recovery of money be demanded the amount must be +stated. (Ibid. sec. 59.)</p> + +<p>While testifying my approval of this code of practice as a +whole, I cannot resist saying that in many respects it is not so +systematic as the Massachusetts code, which was devised by +Messrs. Curtis (now Mr. Justice), Lord, and Chapman. That code is +one of the best in the world. And if I may be allowed one word +more about special pleading, I would say that there is no branch +of law which will better reward study. Without mentioning the +practice in the U. S. courts, which requires, certainly, a +knowledge of special pleading, no one can read the old English +reports and text books with much profit, who is ignorant of the +principles of that science.</p> + +<p>A class of business peculiar to new territories and states +arises from the land laws. A great many pre-emption cases are +contested before the land officers, in which the services of +lawyers are required. This fact will partly explain why there +are, generally, so many lawyers located in the vicinity of a land +office. In a community that is newly settled the title to +property must often be in dispute; and however much averse people +may be to going to law, they find it frequently indispensable, if +they wish to have their rights settled on a firm basis.</p> + +<p>The opinion prevails almost universally in the East that a +lawyer can do best in the West. In some respects he can. If he +cannot do a good deal better, he is not compensated for going. I +had the pleasure of a conversation last summer with one of the +most eminent members of the New York bar (Mr. O'Connor), on this +very subject. It was his opinion that western lawyers begin +sooner to enjoy their reputation than the lawyers in the eastern +cities. This is true; and results from there being less +competition in newer communities. "A lawyer among us," said Mr. +O'Connor, "seldom acquires eminence till he begins to turn gray." +Nevertheless, there is no field so great and so certain in the +long run, in which one may become really a great lawyer, as in +some of our large commercial cities, whether of the East or the +West. To admit of the highest professional eminence there must be +a large and varied business; and a lawyer must devote himself +almost exclusively to law. And then, when this great reputation +is acquired, what does it amount to? Something now, but not much +hereafter. The great lawyer lives a life of toil and excitement. +Often does it seem to "break on the fragments of a reviving +dream." His nerves are worn by the troubles of others; for the +exercise of the profession, as has been said by a brilliant +lawyer, "involves intimate participation with the interests, +hopes, fears, passions, affections, and vicissitudes of many +lives." And yet merely as a lawyer, he seldom leaves any durable +vestige of his fame behind him— hardly a fortune. But if his +fame is transient and mortal, there is some equivalent in the +pleasure of triumph and the consciousness of power. There is no +man so powerful as the great lawyer. The wealth and the character +of his fellow men often depend upon him. His clients are +sometimes powerful corporations, or cities, or states. Crowded +courts listen to his eloquence year after year; and no one has +greater freedom of speech than he. The orator and politician may +be wafted into a conspicuous place for a brief period, and fall +again when popular favor has cooled; yet the lawyer is rising +still higher, nor can the rise and fall of parties shake him from +his high pedestal; for the tenure of his power is not limited. He +is, too, one of the most serviceable protectors of the liberties +of his country. It was as a lawyer that Otis thundered against +writs of assistance. The fearless zeal of Somers, in defence of +the seven bishops, fanned the torch of liberty at the beginning +of the great English revolution. Erskine and Brougham did more as +lawyers to promote freedom of the press, than as Statesmen.</p> + +<p>I cannot refrain from inserting here Mr. Justice Talfourd's +interesting analysis of the professional abilities of Follett: +"It may be well, while the materials for investigation remain, to +inquire into the causes of success, so brilliant and so fairly +attained by powers which have left so little traces of their +progress. Erskine was never more decidedly at the head of the +common law bar than Follett; compared with Follett he was +insignificant in the house of commons; his career was chequered +by vanities and weaknesses from which that of Follett was free; +and yet even if he had not been associated with the greatest +constitutional questions of his time and their triumphant +solution, his fame would live by the mere force and beauty of his +forensic eloquence as long as our language. But no collection of +the speeches of Follett has been made; none will ever be +attempted; no speech he delivered is read, except perchance as +part of an interesting trial, and essential to its story, and +then the language is felt to be poor, the cadences without music, +and the composition vapid and spiritless; although, if studied +with a view to the secrets of forensic success, with a 'learned +spirit of human dealing,' in connexion with the facts developed +and the difficulties encountered, will supply abundant materials +for admiration of that unerring skill which induced the +repetition of fortunate topics, the dexterous suppression of the +most stubborn things when capable of oblivion, and the light +evasive touch with which the speaker fulfilled his promise of not +forgetting others which could not be passed over, but which, if +deeply considered, might he fatal. If, however, there was no +principle of duration in his forensic achievements, there can be +doubt of the esteem in which they were held or the eagerness with +which they were sought. His supremacy in the minds of clients was +more like the rage of a passion for a youthful Roscius or an +extraordinary preacher, than the result of deliberate +consideration; and yet it prevailed, in questions not of an +evening's amusement, but of penury or riches, honor or shame. +Suitors were content, not only to make large sacrifices for the +assured advantage of his advocacy, but for the bare chance— +the distant hope— of having some little part (like that +which Phormio desires to retain in Thais) of his faculties, with +the certainty of preventing their opposition. There was no just +ground, in his case, for the complaint that he received large +fees for services he did not render; for the chances were +understood by those who adventured in his lottery; in which after +all there were comparatively few blanks. His <i>name</i> was 'a +tower of strength,' which it was delightful to know that the +adverse faction wanted, and which inspired confidence even on the +back of the brief of his forsaken junior, who bore the burden and +heat of the day for a fifth of the fee which secured that name. +Will posterity ask what were the powers thus sought, thus prized, +thus rewarded, and thus transient? They will be truly told that +he was endowed, in a remarkable degree, with some moral qualities +which smoothed his course and charmed away opposition, and with +some physical advantages which happily set off his intellectual +gifts; that he was blessed with a temper at once gentle and even; +with a gracious manner and a social temperament; that he was +without jealousy of the solid or showy talents of others, and +willingly gave them the amplest meed of praise; that he spoke +with all the grace of modesty, yet with the assurance of perfect +mastery over his subject, his powers, and his audience; and yet +they will scarcely recognise in these excellencies sufficient +reasons for his extraordinary success. To me, the true secret of +his peculiar strength appeared to lie in the possession of two +powers which rarely co-exist in the same mind— extraordinary +subtlety of perception and as remarkable simplicity of execution. +In the first of these faculties— in the intuitive power of +common sense, which is the finest essence of experience, whereby +it attains 'to something of prophetic strain'— he excelled +all his contemporaries except Lord Abinger, with whom it was more +liable to be swayed by prejudice or modified by taste, as it was +adorned with happier graces. The perfection of this faculty was +remarkably exemplified in the fleeting visits he often paid to +the trials of causes which he had left to the conduct of his +juniors; a few words, sometimes a glance, sufficed to convey to +his mind the exact position of complicated affairs, and enabled +him to decide what should be done or avoided; and where the +interference of any other moral advocate would have been +dangerous, he often rendered good service, and, which was more +extraordinary, never did harm. So his unrivalled aptitude for +legal reasoning, enabled him to deal with authorities as he dealt +with facts; if unprepared for an argument, he could find its +links in the chaos of an index, and make an imposing show of +learning out of a page of Harrison; and with the aid of the +interruptions of the bench, which he could as dexterously provoke +as parry, could find the right clue and conduct a luminous train +of reasoning to a triumphant close. His most elaborate arguments, +though not comparable in essence with those of his chief +opponent, Lord Campbell— which, in comprehensive outline, +exact logic, felicitous illustration, and harmonious structure, +excelled all others I have heard— were delivered in tones so +nicely adapted to the minds and ears of the judges, with an +earnestness so winning, and a confidence so contagious, that they +made a judgment on his side not only a necessity, but a +pleasure.</p> + +<p>"The other faculty, to which, in combination with his subtlety +of understanding, the excellence of his advocacy may be +attributed, is one more rarely possessed— and scarcely ever +in such association— the entire singleness of a mind equally +present in every part of a cause. If the promotion of the +interest of the client were an advocate's highest duty, it would +be another name for the exactest virtue; and inasmuch as that +interest is not, like the objects of zeal, fixed in character, +but liable to frequent change, the faculty of directing the whole +power of the understanding to each shifting aspect of the cause +in its minutest shadowings without the guidance of an inflexible +law, is far more wonderful, if far less noble, than a singleness +of devotion to right. It has an integrity of its own, which bears +some affinity to that honesty which Baillie Nichol Jarvie +attributes to his Highland kinsman. Such honesty— that is, +the entire devotion of all the faculties to the object for which +it was retained, without the lapse of a moment's vanity or +indolence, with unlimited vision and unceasing activity— was +Follett's beyond all other advocates of our time. To the +presentment of truth, or sophism, as the cause might require, he +gave his entire mind with as perfect oblivion of self as the most +heroic sufferer for principle. The faculty which in Gladstone, +the statesman, applied to realities and inspired only by the +desire to discover the truth and to clothe it in language, +assumes, in the minds of superficial observers, the air of +casuistry from the nicety of its distinctions and the earnest +desire of the speaker to present truth in its finest shades— +in Follett, the advocate, applied indiscriminately to the +development of the specious shows of things as of their essences, +wore all the semblance of sincerity; and, in one sense, deserved +it. No fears, no doubts, no scruples shook him. Of the license +which advocacy draws from sympathy with the feelings of those it +represents, he made full use, with unhesitating power; for his +reason, of 'large discourse,' was as pliable as the affections of +the most sensitive nature. Nor was he diverted from his aim by +any figure or fancy: if he neither exalted his subject by +imagination, nor illustrated it by wit, nor softened its details +by pathos, he never made it the subject of vain attempts at the +exhibition of either. He went into the arena, stripped of all +encumbrance, to win, and contended studious only and always of +victory. His <i>presence of mind</i> was not merely the absence +of external distraction, nor the capacity of calling up all +energies on an emergency, but the continued application of them +equally to the duty of each moment. There are few speakers, even +of fervid sincerity and zeal, whose thoughts do not frequently +run before or beside the moment's purpose; whose wits do not +sometimes wander on to some other part of the case than that they +are instantly discussing; who do not anticipate some future +effect, or dally with some apprehension of future peril, while +they should consider only the next word or sentence. This +momentary desertion of the exact purpose never occurred to +Follett; he fitted the thought to its place; the word to the +thought; and allowed the action only to take care of itself, as +it always will with an earnest speaker. His, therefore, was +rather the artlessness than the art of advocacy— its second +nature— justly appreciated by those to whose interests it +was devoted; but not fully understood even by the spectator of +its exertion; dying with the causes in which it was engaged, and +leaving no vestiges except in their success. Hence the blank +which is substituted for the space he filled in human affairs. +The modest assurance, the happy boldness, the extemporaneous +logic, all that 'led but to the grave,' exist, like the images of +departed actors, only in the recollection of those who witnessed +them, till memory shall fade into tradition, and tradition +dwindle down to a name." (Supplement to Vacation Rambles, p. +115.) The eagerness with which the talents of Sir William Follett +were sought, forcibly illustrates the truth of a remark, made to +me in the course of some friendly advice, by one who may be +ranked among the most brilliant advocates who have adorned the +American Bar (now in the highest office in the nation), that to +attain the highest rank in the legal profession, a lawyer must +have such abilities and character as will "compel" patronage.</p> + +<p>He, however, who enters the profession here or elsewhere +merely as a stepping stone to political preferment, need not +expect great success, even though he may acquire some temporary +advancement. The day is past when lawyers could monopolize every +high place in the state. The habit of public speaking is not now +confined to the learned professions. Our peculiar system of +education has trained up a legion of orators and politicians +outside of the bar. Now-a-days a man must have other +qualifications besides the faculty of speech-making to win the +prize in politics. He must be a man of comprehensive ability, and +thoroughly identified with the interests of the people, before he +can secure much popular favor, or else he must be possessed of +such shining talents and character that his fellow men will take +a pride in advancing him to conspicuous and responsible trusts. +Let a man have a part or all of these qualifications, however, +and with them the experience and tact of a lawyer, and he will of +course make a more valuable public servant, especially if he is +placed in a deliberative body. The British cabinets have always +relied vastly on the support afforded them in the house of +commons by their attorneys and solicitors general, whether it +consisted in the severe and solemn logic of Romilly, in the cool +and ready arguments of Scarlett, or the acute and irresistible +oratory of Sir William Follett. The education of a lawyer;— +his experience as a manager; his art of covering up weak points, +his ready and adroit style of speaking;— all serve to make +him peculiarly valuable to his own party, and dangerous to an +opposition in a deliberative body. But the fact that a man is a +lawyer does not advance him in politics so much as it once did. +Fortunate it is so! For though learning will always have its +advantages, yet no profession ought to have exclusive privileges. +Nor need the lawyer repine that it is so, inasmuch as it is for +his benefit, if he desires success in the profession, to discard +the career of politics. The race is not to the swift, and he can +afford to wait for the legitimate honors of the bar. I will +conclude by saying that I regard Minnesota as a good field for an +upright, industrious, and competent lawyer. For those of an +opposite class, I have never yet heard of a very promising +field.</p> + +<h3>LETTER V.</h3> + +<h4>ST. PAUL TO CROW WING IN TWO DAYS.</h4> + +<p class="full">Stages— Roads— Rum River— Indian +treaty— Itasca— Sauk Rapids— Watab at +midnight— Lodging under difficulties,— Little Rock +River— Character of Minnesota streams— Dinner at Swan +River— Little Falls— Fort Ripley— Arrival at Crow +Wing.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>HERE I am, after two days drive in a stage, at the town of +Crow Wing, one hundred and thirty miles, a little west of north, +from St. Paul. I will defer, however, any remarks on Crow Wing, +or the many objects of interest hereabout, till I have mentioned +a few things which I saw coming up. Between St. Paul and this +place is a tri-weekly line of stages. The coaches are of Concord +manufacture, spacious and comfortable; and the entire equipage is +well adapted to the convenience of travellers. Next season, the +enterprising proprietors, Messrs. Chase and Allen, who carry the +mail, intend establishing a daily line. I left the Fuller House +in the stage at about five in the morning. There was only a +convenient number of passengers till we arrived at St. Anthony, +where we breakfasted; but then our load was more than doubled, +and we drove out with nine inside and about seven outside, with +any quantity of baggage. The road is very level and smooth; and +with the exception of encountering a few small stamps where the +track has been diverted for some temporary impediment, and also +excepting a few places where it is exceedingly sandy, it is an +uncommonly superior road. It is on the eastern bank of the +Mississippi, and was laid out very straight. But let me remark +that everybody who travels it seems conscious that it is a +government road. There are several bridges, and they are often +driven over at a rapid rate, much to their damage. When Minnesota +shall have a state government, and her towns or counties become +liable for the condition of the roads, people will doubtless be +more economical of the bridges, even though the traveller be not +admonished to walk his horse, or to "keep to the right," +&c.</p> + +<p>Emerging from St. Anthony, the undulating aspect of the +country ceases, and we enter upon an almost unbroken plain. A +leading characteristic of the scenery is the thin forests of oak, +commonly called oak openings. The soil appears to be rich.</p> + +<p>Seven miles from St. Anthony is a tidy settlement called +Manomin, near the mouth of Rice river. But the first place of +importance which we reached is Anoka, a large and handsome +village situated on Rum river. It is twenty-five miles from St. +Paul. The river is a large and beautiful stream and affords good +water-power, in the development of which Anoka appears to thrive. +A vast number of pine logs are annually floated down the river +and sawed into lumber at the Anoka mills. The settlers are +principally from Maine. By the treaty of 22d February, 1855, with +three bands of the Chippewa Indians, an appropriation of $5000 +was set apart for the construction of a road from the mouth of +Rum river to Mille Lac. The road is half completed.</p> + +<p>We took an early dinner at Itasca, having come thirty-two +miles. Itasca is quite an unassuming place, and not so pretty as +its name. But I shall always cherish a good-will for the spot, +inasmuch as I got a first-rate dinner there. It was all put upon +the table before we sat down, so that each one could help +himself; and as it consisted of very palatable edibles, each one +did help himself quite liberally. We started on soon afterwards, +with a new driver and the third set of horses; but with the +disagreeable consciousness that we had still before us the +largest part of the day's journey. In about three hours we came +to Big Lake, or, as it is sometimes called, Humboldt. The lake is +anything but a big lake, being the size of a common New England +pond. But then all such sheets of water are called lakes in this +part of the country. It is a clear body of water, abounding with +fine fish, and has a beautiful shore of pebbles. Several similar +sheets of water are passed on the journey, the shores of which +present a naked appearance. There is neither the trace of a +stream leading from or to them, nor, with few exceptions, even a +swamp in their vicinity.</p> + +<p>Sauk Rapids is 44 miles from Itasca, and it was late when we +reached there. But, late as it was, we found a large collection +of people at the post office waiting for the mail. They appeared +to have had a caucus, and were discussing politics with much +animation. There is at Sauk Rapids a local land office. That is +of more advantage to a place than being the county seat. In a +short time, however, some of the land offices will be removed +further west for the convenience of settlers. The village is +finely situated on rising ground, and contains some handsome +residences.</p> + +<p>It was midnight when we arrived at Watab, where we were to +lodge. The weather had been delightful during the day, but after +nightfall a high wind rose and filled the air with dust. I +descended from the stage— for I had rode upon the +outside— with self-satisfied emotions of having come +eighty-two miles since morning. The stage-house was crowded. It +is a two-story building, the rooms of which are small. I went to +bed, I was about to say, without any supper. But that was not so. +I didn't get any supper, it is true, neither did I get a bed; for +they were all occupied. The spare room on the floor was also +taken. The proprietor, however, was accommodating, and gave me a +sort of a lounge in rather a small room where three or four other +men, and a dog, were sleeping on the floor. I fixed the door ajar +for ventilation, and with my overcoat snugly buttoned around me, +though it was not cold, addressed myself to sleep. In the morning +I found that one of the occupants was an ex-alderman from the +fifth ward of New York; and that in the room over me slept no +less a personage than Parker H. French. I say I ascertained these +facts in the morning. Mr. French came to Watab a few weeks ago +with a company of mechanics, and has been rushing the place ahead +with great zeal. He appears to make a good impression on the +people of the town.</p> + +<p>A heavy rain had fallen during the night; the stage was but +moderately loaded, and I started out from Watab, after breakfast +the next morning, in bright spirits. Still the road is level, and +at a slow trot the team makes better time than a casual observer +is conscious of. Soon we came to Little Rock River, which is one +of the crookedest streams that was ever known of. We are obliged +to cross it twice within a short space. Twelve miles this side we +cross the beautiful Platte River. It would make this letter much +more monotonous than it is, I fear, were I to name all the rivers +we pass. They are very numerous: and as they increase the delight +of the traveller, so are they also a delight and a convenience to +the settler. Like the rivers of New England, they are clear and +rapid, and furnish abundant means for water-power. The view which +we catch of the Mississippi is frequent, but brief, as the road +crosses its curves in the most direct manner. Much of the best +land on either side of the road is in the hands of speculators, +who purchased it at public sale, or afterwards plastered it over +with land warrants. There is evidence of this on the entire +route; for, although we pass populous villages, and a great many +splendid farms, the greater part of the land is still unoccupied. +The soil is dark colored, but in some places quite mealy; +everywhere free from stones, and susceptible of easy +cultivation.</p> + +<p>We arrived at Swan River at about one o'clock, where we dined +on wild ducks. That is a village also of considerable importance; +but it is not so large as Little Falls, which is three miles this +side. At that place the Mississippi furnishes a good water power. +It has a spacious and tidy hotel, several stores, mechanics' +shops, a saw-mill, &c. At Belle Prairie we begin to see +something of the Chippewas. The half-breeds have there some good +farms, and the school-house and the church denote the progress of +civilization. It was near sunset when we reached Fort Ripley. The +garrison stands on the west bank of the Mississippi, but the +reservation extends several miles on both sides. The stage +crosses the river on the ferry to leave the mail and then +returns. The great flag was still flying from the high staff, and +had an inspiring influence. Like most of our inland military +posts, Port Ripley has no stone fortifications. It is neatly laid +out in a square, and surrounded by a high protective fence. Three +or four field-pieces stand upon the bank of the river fronting +it, and at some distance present a warlike attitude. The rest of +the trip, being about five miles, was over the reservation, on +which, till we come to Crow Wing, are no settlements. Here I +gladly alighted from the coach, and found most comfortable and +agreeable entertainment at a house which stands on the immediate +bank of the river.</p> + +<h3>LETTER VI.</h3> + +<h4>THE TOWN OF CROW WING.</h4> + +<p class="full">Scenery— First settlement of Crow Wing— +Red Lake Indians— Mr. Morrison— Prospects of the +town— Upper navigation— Mr. Beaulieu— Washington's +theory as to Norfolk— Observations on the growth of +towns.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I AM highly gratified with the appearance of this place. Mr. +Burke says— " In order that we should love our country, our +country should first be lovely," and there is much wisdom in the +remark. Nature has done so much for this locality that one could +be contented to live here on quite a moderate income. The land is +somewhat elevated, near the bank of the Mississippi, affording a +pleasant view over upon the western side, both above and below +the two graceful mouths of the Crow Wing River. Towards the east +and north, after a few miles, the view is intercepted by a higher +ridge of land covered with timber; or, by the banks of the +Mississippi itself, as from this point we begin to ascend it in a +northeasterly course.</p> + +<p>Crow Wing was selected as a trading post upwards of twenty +years ago. Mr. McDonnald, who still resides here, was, I believe, +the first white settler. Till within a recent period it was the +headquarters of the Mississippi tribe of Chippewas, and the +principal trading depot with the Chippewas generally. Here they +brought their furs, the fruits of their buffalo and their winter +hunts, and their handicraft of beads and baskets, to exchange for +clothing and for food. Thus the place was located and settled on +long before there was a prospect of its becoming a populous town. +Mr. Rice, the delegate in congress, if I mistake not, once had a +branch store here with several men in his employ. The principal +traders at present are Mr. Abbee and Mr. Beaulieu, who have large +and well selected stocks of goods. The present population of +white persons probably numbers a hundred souls. The place now has +a more populous appearance on account of the presence of a +caravan of Red Lake Indians, who have come down about four +hundred miles to trade. They are encamped round about in tents or +birch bark lodges, as it may happen to be. In passing some of +them, I saw the squaws busily at work on the grass outside of the +lodge in manufacturing flag carpets. The former Indian residents +are now removed to their reservation in the fork of the +Mississippi and Crow Wing rivers, where their agency is now +established.</p> + +<p>The houses here are very respectable in size, and furnished in +metropolitan style and elegance. The farms are highly productive, +and the grazing for stock unequalled. There is a good ferry at +the upper end of the town, at a point where the river is quite +narrow and deep. You can be taken over with a horse for +twenty-five cents; with a carriage, I suppose, the tariff is +higher.</p> + +<p>Perhaps one cause of my favorable impression of Crow Wing is +the excellent and home-like hotel accommodations which I have +found. The proprietor hardly assumes to keep a public-house, and +yet provides his guests with very good entertainment; and I +cannot refrain from saying that there is no public-house this +side of St. Paul where the traveller will be better treated. Mr. +Morrison— for that is the proprietor's name— came here +fifteen years ago, having first come into this region in the +service of John Jacob Astor. He married one of the handsomest of +the Chippewa maidens, who is now his faithful wife and +housekeeper, and the mother of several interesting and amiable +children. Mr. M. is the postmaster. He has been a member of the +territorial legislature, and his name has been given to a large +and beautiful county. I judge that society has been congenial in +the town. The little church, standing on an eminence, indicates +some union of sentiment at least, and a regard for the higher +objects of life. Spring and summer and autumn must be delightful +seasons here, and bring with them the sweetest tranquillity. Nor +are the people shut out from the world in winter; for then there +is travel and intercourse and traffic. So are there pleasures and +recreation peculiar to the season.</p> + +<p>But the serene and quiet age of the settlement is near its +close. Enterprise and speculation, with their bustle and turmoil, +have laid hold of it. The clank of the hammer, the whistle of +steamboats, the rattling of carts, heaps of lumber and of bricks, +excavations and gratings, short corners and rough unshapen walks, +will usurp the quiet and the regularity of the place. Indeed a +man ought to make a fortune to compensate for residing in a town +during the first years of its rapid building. The streets appear, +on the map, to be well laid out. A number of purchasers of lots +are preparing to build; and a few new buildings are already going +up. As near as I am able to learn, the things which conduce to +its availability as a business place are these— First, it is +the beginning of the Upper Mississippi navigation. From this +point steamboats can go from two to three hundred miles. But they +cannot pass below, on account of the obstructions near Fort +Ripley, at Little Falls, and at Sauk Rapids. This of course is a +great element in its future success, as the country above in the +valley of the river is destined to be thickly settled, and boats +will run between this point and the settlements along the river. +It will also be a large lumber market, for the pine forests begin +here and extend along the river banks for hundreds of miles, +while the facility of getting the logs down is unexceptionable. +The territory north of Crow Wing is now open for settlers to a +great distance, the Indian title having been extinguished. Two +land districts have also been established, which will be an +inducement for fresh emigration. There is no other place but this +to supply these settlements; at least none so convenient. A great +deal of timber will also come down the Crow Wing River, which is +a large stream, navigable three months in the year. Arrangements +are complete for building a steamboat the ensuing winter, at this +very place, to begin running in the spring as far up as Ojibeway. +Next season there will be a daily line of stages between this and +St. Paul. I understand also that it is intended next summer to +connect Crow Wing with the flourishing town of Superior by stage. +It will require considerable energy to do this thing; but if it +can be done, it will be a great blessing to the traveller as well +as a profit to the town. The journey from St. Paul to Lake +Superior via Crow Wing can then be performed in three days, while +on the usual route it now occupies a week. Such are some of the +favorable circumstances which corroborate the expectation of the +growth of this place. The southern or lower portion of the town +is included within the Fort Ripley reserve, and though several +residences are situated on it, no other buildings can be put up +without a license from the commanding officer; nor can any lots +be sold from that portion until the reserve is cut down. With the +upper part of the town it is different. Mr. C. H. Beaulieu, long +a resident of the place, is the proprietor of that part, and has +already, I am informed, made some extensive sales of lots. He is +one of those lucky individuals, who have sagacity to locate on an +available spot, and patience to wait the opening of a splendid +fortune.[1]</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 Since this letter was written, Mr. Thomas +Cathcart has purchased a valuable claim opposite Crow Wing at the +mouth of the river, which I should think was an available town +site.]</p> + +<p>My observation and experience in regard to town sites have +taught me an important fact: that as much depends on the public +spirit, unity of action, and zeal of the early proprietors, as +upon the locality itself. The one is useless without these helps. +General Washington wrote an able essay to prove the availability +of Norfolk, Va., as the great commercial metropolis of the +country. He speculated upon its being the great market for the +West. His imagination pictured out some such place as New York +now is, as its future. The unequalled harbor of Norfolk, and the +resources of the country all around it, extending as far, almost, +as thought could reach, might well have encouraged the theory of +Washington. But munificence and energy and labor have built up +many cities since then, which had not half the natural advantages +of Norfolk, while Norfolk is far behind. A little lack of +enterprise, a little lack of harmony and liberality, may, in the +early days of a town, divert business and improvements from a +good location, till in a short time an unheard-of and inferior +place totally eclipses it. Knowing this to be the case, I have +been careful in my previous letters not to give too much +importance to many of the town sites which have been commended to +me along my journey. I do not discover any of these retarding +circumstances about Crow Wing. I must conclude at this paragraph, +however, in order to take a horseback ride to the Chippewa +agency. In my next I intend to say something about the Indians, +pine timber, and the country above here in general.</p> + +<h3>LETTER VII.</h3> + +<h4>CHIPPEWA INDIANS.— HOLE-IN-THE-DAY.</h4> + +<p class="full">Description of the Chippewa tribes— Their +habits and customs— Mission at Gull Late— Progress in +farming— Visit to Hole-in-the-day— His enlightened +character— Reflections on Indian character, and the +practicability of their civilization— Their education— +Mr. Manypenny's exertions.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I CONSIDER myself exceedingly fortunate in having had a good +opportunity for observing the condition of the Chippewa Indians. +Sometime ago I saw enough of the Indians in another part of the +country to gratify my curiosity as to their appearance and +habits; and as I have always felt a peculiar interest in their +destiny, my present observations have been with a view to derive +information as to the best means for their improvement. The whole +number of Chippewas in Minnesota is not much over 2200. They are +divided into several bands, each band being located a +considerable distance from the other. The Mississippi band live +on their reservation, which begins a few miles above here across +the river, while the Pillagor and Lake Winnibigoshish bands are +some three hundred miles further north. The agency of the +Chippewas is on the reservation referred to, a little north of +the Crow Wing River, and six miles distant from this town. To +come down more to particulars, however, and adopt words which +people here would use, I might say that the agency is on Gull +River, a very clear and pretty stream, which flows from a lake of +that name, into the Crow Wing. I passed the agency yesterday, and +two miles beyond, in order to visit Pug-o-na-ke-shick, or +Hole-in-the-day, the principal and hereditary chief of the +Chippewas. Mr. Herriman, the agent, resides at the agency, in +compliance with the regulation of the Indian bureau, which +requires agents to reside among the Indians. I strongly suspect +there are many people who would think it unsafe to travel alone +among the Chippewas. But people who live about here would +ridicule the idea of being afraid of violence or the slightest +molestation from them, unless indeed the fellows were +intoxicated. For my part, a walk on Boston common on a summer +morning could not seem more quiet and safe than a ramble on +horseback among the homes of these Indians. I spoke to a good +many. Though naturally reserved and silent, they return a +friendly salutation with a pleasant smile.</p> + +<p>Their old costume is still retained as a general thing. The +blanket is still worn instead of coats. Sometimes the men wear +leggins, but often go with their legs naked. A band is generally +worn upon the head with some ornament upon it. A feather of the +war eagle worn in the head-band of a brave, denotes that he has +taken the scalp of an enemy or performed some rare feat of +daring. An Indian does not consider himself in full dress without +his war hatchet or weapons. I meet many with long-stemmed pipes, +which are also regarded as an ornamental part of dress. They +appear pleased to have anything worn about them attract +attention. They are of good size, taller than the Winnebagoes, +and of much lighter complexion than tribes living five hundred +miles further south. Herein the philosopher on the cooking of men +is confirmed. Their hair is black, long, and straight; and some +are really good-looking. There are but few who still paint. Those +in mourning paint their faces black. What I have seen of their +houses raises high hopes of their advancement in civilization. We +can now begin to lay aside the word lodge and say house. Over a +year ago, Mr. Herriman promised every one a good cooking stove +who would build himself a comfortable house. This promise had a +good effect, for several houses were built. But the want of +windows and several other conveniences, which are proper +fixtures, gives their dwellings a desolate appearance to one who +looks to a higher standard of comfort. Of course I saw a few of +the men at the store (for there is a store at the agency), +spending their time, as too many white men do in country +villages. Eight miles beyond the agency, on Gull Lake, is a +mission. It has been under the charge of Rev. J. L. Breck, a +gentleman of high culture, and whose enlightened and humane +exertions in behalf of the Indians have received much +commendation both from the agent and Gov. Gorman, the +Superintendent. He has been at the mission four years. While he +had the benefit of the school-fund, he had in his school, under +his own roof, 35 pupils; since that was withheld, the number of +pupils has been 22. Mr. Breck will soon remove to Leech Lake, and +will be succeeded by a gentleman who comes well recommended from +a theological institution in Wisconsin. I desired very much to go +as far as the mission, but from Crow Wing and back it would have +been thirty miles, and it was otherwise inconvenient on account +of the rain. The Indians are beginning to farm a little. They +begin with gardens. Their support is chiefly from the annuities +paid by the United States, which are principally received in some +sort of dry goods. The goods are furnished by contract, and the +price paid for them is about enough, if all stories are true. +They also derive some support from their fur hunts and by +fishing. Buffaloes are still hunted successfully beyond the Red +River of the North. They bring home the furs, and also the best +parts of the meat. The meat is preserved by being partially +cooked in buffalo fat, cut into small pieces, and sewed up very +tight in the hide of the animal. It is called <i>pemmican,</i> +and sells here for twenty-five cents a pound. It is broken to +pieces like pork scraps, and the Indians regard it as a great +luxury.</p> + +<p>From the agency I hastened on to see Hole-in-the-day +(Pug-o-na-ke-shick, his Indian name, means, literally, +<i>Hole-in-the-sky).</i> He is a famous chief, having in his +youth distinguished himself for bold exploits and severe +endurance. But what most entitles him to attention is the very +exemplary course he has pursued in attempting to carry out the +wishes of the government in bringing his race to the habits of +civilized life. It was principally through his influence that a +treaty was made between his tribe and the United States, and +after it went into effect he turned his attention to farming. +Previous to the treaty he was supported as chief by the tribal +revenue. He has succeeded well. Over a year ago the receipts of +what he sold from his farm, aside from what his household needed, +amounted to over two hundred dollars. At length, after riding a +mile and a half without passing a habitation, over a fertile +prairie, I came in sight of his house. He lives near a small +lake, and north of him is a large belt of heavy pine timber. He +has an excellent farm, well fenced and well cultivated. His house +is in cottage style, and of considerable length; spacious, neat, +and well furnished. Arriving at the door I dismounted, and +inquired of his squaw if he was at home. She sent her little girl +out into the field to call him. There, indeed, in his cornfield, +was he at work. He met me very cordially; and invited me into a +room, where he had an interpretor. We held a protracted and +agreeable conversation on Indian matters. He invited me to dine +with him, and nothing but want of time prevented my accepting his +polite invitation. He was very neatly dressed, and is quite +prepossessing in his appearance. He is younger than I supposed +before seeing him. I judge him to be about thirty-four. He is a +man of strong sense, of great sagacity, and considerable +ambition.</p> + +<p>There is no reason why the Indians should not speedily become +civilized. Those who have longest lived amongst them, and who +best understand their character, tell me so. I fully believe it. +The Indian follows his wild habits because he has been educated +to do so. The education of habit, familiar from infancy, and the +influence of tradition, lead him to the hunt, and as much to +despise manual labor. He does what he has been taught to consider +as noble and honorable, and that is what the most enlightened do. +Certainly his course of life is the most severe and exposed; it +is not for comfort that he adheres to his wild habits. He regards +it as noble to slay his hereditary foe. Hence the troubles which +occasionally break out between the Chippewas and the Sioux. To +gain the applause of their tribe they will incur almost any +danger, and undergo almost any privation. Thus, we see that for +those objects which their education has taught them to regard as +first and best, they will sacrifice all their comforts. They have +sense enough, and ambition enough, and fortitude enough. To those +they love they are affectionate almost to excess. Only direct +their ambition in the proper way, and they will at once rise. +Teach them that it is noble to produce something useful by their +labor, and to unite with the great family of man to expand arts +and to improve the immortal mind— teach them that it is +noble, that there is more applause to be gained by it, as well as +comfort, and they will change in a generation. They will then +apply themselves to civilization with Spartan zeal and with +Spartan virtues.</p> + +<p>In a communication to the secretary of war by Gen. Cass in +1821, relative to his expedition to the sources of the +Mississippi, he makes the following interesting extract from the +journal of Mr. Doty, a gentleman who accompanied the +expedition:— "The Indians of the upper country consider +those of the Fond-du-Lac as very stupid and dull, being but +little given to war. They count the Sioux their enemies, but have +heretofore made few war excursions.</p> + +<p>"Having been frequently reprimanded by some of the more +vigilant Indians of the north, and charged with cowardice, and an +utter disregard for the event of the war, thirteen men of this +tribe, last season, determined to retrieve the character of their +nation, by making an excursion against the Sioux. Accordingly, +without consulting the other Indians, they secretly departed and +penetrated far into the Sioux country. Unexpectedly, at night, +they came upon a party of the Sioux, amounting to near one +hundred men, and immediately began to prepare for battle. They +encamped a short distance from the Sioux, and during the night +dug holes in the ground into which they might retreat and fight +to the last extremity. They appointed one of their number (the +youngest) to take a station at a distance and witness the +struggle, and instructed him, when they were all slain, to make +his escape to their own land, and relate the circumstances under +which they had fallen.</p> + +<p>"Early in the morning they attacked the Sioux in their camp, +who, immediately sallying out upon them, forced them back to the +last place of retreat they had resolved upon. They fought +desperately. More than twice their own number were killed before +they had lost their lives. Eight of them were tomahawked in the +holes to which they had retreated; the other four fell on the +field. The thirteenth returned home, according to the directions +he had received, and related the foregoing circumstances to his +tribe. They mourned their death; but delighted with the bravery +of their friends, unexampled in modern times, they were happy in +their grief.</p> + +<p>"This account I received of the very Indian who was of the +party and had escaped."— [See Schoolcraft, p. 481.][1]</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 Pride is a characteristic trait in Indian +character. On a recent occasion when several bands of the +Chippewas were at Washington to negotiate a treaty with the +United States, they had an interview with their Great Father the +President. He received them in the spacious East Room of the +executive mansion, in the presence of a large collection of +gentlemen who had gathered to witness the occasion. Each chief +made a speech to the President, which was interpreted as they +spoke. When it came to the turn of <i>Eshkibogikoj</i> (Flat +Mouth) that venerable chief began with great dignity, saying: +"Father! <i>Two great men have met!</i>" Here he paused to let +the sentence be interpreted. His exordium amused not only the +whites but the Indians.]</p> + +<p>In the contest between the Athenians and the Dorians, an +oracle had declared that the side would triumph whose king should +fall. Codrus the Athenian king, to be more sure of sacrificing +himself, assumed the dress of a peasant, and was soon killed; and +the event soon spread dismay among the enemies of Athens. His +patriotism was accounted so great, that the Athenians declared +that there was no man worthy to be his successor, and so +abolished the monarchy. I think the history of the Indians would +show instances of heroism as praiseworthy as can be found in the +annals of the ancients. Let it be remembered, too, that the +Spartans knew that an imperishable literature would hand down +their valor to the praise of the world through all the future. +But the Indian looked for the preservation of his exploits only +in the songs and the traditional stories of his tribe.</p> + +<p>I allude to these traits because I think it will be agreed, +that whatever race possesses those elements of character which +lead them to pursue with zeal and courage things they have been +taught to regard most creditable, is capable of being civilized. +We now pay the Indian for his lands in agricultural tools, in +muskets and powder, in blankets and cheap calico— and in +education; but the smallest item is education. If half the money +which the government is liable to pay for Indian troubles during +the last year, could be appropriated to a proper system of +education, we should hear of no more serious Indian wars. But I +have not time to pursue the subject. I will say, however, that +the present commissioner of Indian affairs, Mr. Manypenny, is +doing a very good work in advancing their condition. The press +ought to bestow some attention on the subject. There are nearly +400,000 Indians within the United States and territories. If the +philanthropy of the age could spare the blacks for a little +while, and help civilize the Indians, it would be better for all +parties. Here is an enterprise for genuine humanity.</p> + +<h3>LETTER VIII.</h3> + +<h4>LUMBERING INTERESTS.</h4> + +<p class="full">Lumber as an element of wealth— Quality of +Minnesota lumber— Locality of its growth— The great +pineries— Trespasses on government land— How the +lumbermen elude the government— Value of lumber— +Character of the practical Lumberman— Transportation of +lumber on rafts.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October 1856.</p> + +<p>IT seems to have been more difficult for countries which +abound in precious metals to attain to great prosperity than for +a rich man to secure eternal felicity. Witness, for instance, the +sluggish growth and degenerate civilization of the South American +states. But timber is a fundamental element of colonial growth. +The mines of Potosi cannot compare with it in value. An abundance +of timber and a superabundance of it are two very different +things. Some of the Middle, and what were once Western States, +were originally covered with forests. So of the greater part of +New England. In Ohio and in Michigan timber has been an +encumbrance; for there was great labor to be performed by the +settler in clearing the land and preparing it for the plough; and +at this day we see in travelling through each of those states, as +well as in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, fields planted +amidst heavy timber trees which have been belted that they may +wither and die. By an abundance of timber I mean an ample supply +not only for domestic but foreign market; and with this +understanding of the word I will repeat what has often been said, +and what I suppose is well known, that Minnesota has an abundance +of excellent timber. Unlike the gorgeous forests in New +Hampshire, which behind high cliffs and mountain fastnesses defy +the woodman, the timber of Minnesota grows in the valleys of her +great rivers and upon the banks of their numerous tributaries. It +is thus easily shipped to a distant market; while the great body +of the land, not encumbered with it, but naked, is ready for the +plough and for the seed. Most of the timber which grows in the +region below this point is hard wood, such as elm, maple, oak, +and ash.</p> + +<p>There is considerable scrub oak also thinly scattered over +large portions of fertile prairie. To a casual observer these +oaks, from their stunted appearance, would be taken as evidence +of poor soil. But the soil is not the cause of their scrubby +looks. It is the devouring fires which annually sweep over the +plains with brilliant though terrific aspect, and which are fed +by the luxuriant grass grown on that same soil. If the oaks did +not draw uncommon nourishment from the soil, it must be difficult +for them to survive such scorchings. It is a consoling thought +that these fires cease in proportion as the country is settled +up. The rock maple is indigenous to the soil; and the Indians +have long been in the habit of making sugar from its sap. The +timber most used for fences is tamarack. The pineries may be said +to begin at the mouth of the Crow Wing River; though there is a +great supply on the Rum River. For upwards of a hundred miles +above here on the Mississippi— more or less dense, the pine +forests extend. Captain John Pope, in the interesting report of +his expedition to the Red River of the North, in 1849, says— +" The pineries of the upper Mississippi are mostly upon its +tributaries, and I think are not found on the west side further +south than the parallel of 46 degrees N. latitude." (The latitude +of this place is 46 degrees 16' 50".) "They alternate, even where +most abundant, with much larger tracts of fertile country." Again +he says— "As might be expected from its alluvial character, +there is no pine timber in the valley of the Red River, but the +oak and elm there attain to a size which I do not think I have +ever seen elsewhere." In another place he remarks that "the +pineries along the Crow Wing River are among the most extensive +and valuable found on the tributaries of the Mississippi." Mr. +Schoolcraft says of this river, "the whole region is noted for +its pine timber." In speaking of the country on the St. Louis +River, a few miles from where it empties into Lake Superior, the +same gentleman remarks: "The growth of the forest is pines, +hemlock, spruce, birch, oak, and maple." I had heard considerable +about Minnesota lumber, it is true, but I was not prepared to see +the pine timber so valuable and heavy as it is above and about +here. The trees are of large growth, straight and smooth. They +are not surpassed by</p> + +<pre> + "The tallest pine, + Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast + Of some great admiral." +</pre> + +<p><i>Cujus est solum ejus est usque ad caelum</i>— whose +the soil, his to the sky— is a maxim in these pine regions +of literal importance. There is something besides utility also to +be mentioned in this connection. With the exception of swamps, +which are few and far between, the timber land has all the beauty +of a sylvan grove. The entire absence of underbrush and decayed +logs lends ornament and attraction to the woods. They are more +like the groves around a mansion in their neat and cheerful +appearance; and awaken reflection on the Muses and the dialogues +of philosophers rather than apprehension of wild beasts and +serpents.</p> + +<p>The relative importance of the lumber business would hardly be +estimated by a stranger. It has been carried on for at least six +years; and considerable has found its way as far down as St. +Louis. It will be asked, I imagine, if all this timber land, +especially the pine, has been sold by the government; and if not, +how it happens that men cut it down and sell it? I will answer +this. The great region of pineries has not yet been surveyed, +much less sold by the government. But notwithstanding this, men +have cut it in large quantities, sold it into a greedy market, +and made money, if not fortunes in the business. As a sort of +colorable excuse for cutting timber, those employed in the +business often make a preemption claim on land covered with it, +and many people suppose they have the right to cut as much as +they please after the incipient steps towards preemption. But +this is not so. All that a claimant can do in this respect is to +cut wood enough for his fuel, and timber enough for his own +building purposes, until he receives a patent from the +government. Of course it is altogether reasonable and proper that +men should be precluded from doing so until their title in the +soil is complete. Because, until a preemption claim is perfect, +or, until the land has been acquired by some legal title, it is +not certain that the claimant will ultimately secure it or pay +any money to the government. But does not the government do +anything to prevent these trespasses? Yes, but all its attempts +are baffled.</p> + +<p>For example, last spring a large quantity of splendid lumber +was seized by the United States marshal and sold at public +auction. It was bid off by the lumbermen themselves, who had +formed a combination to prevent its falling into the hands of +other purchasers. This combination had no resistance as I am +aware of in the public opinion of the territory, and the timber +was sold to those who had it cut at a price so far below its +value that it didn't pay the expense of the legal proceedings on +the part of the government. This is accounted for in the fact of +the exhaustless quantity of pine timber towards the north; in the +demand for it when sawed; and in the disposition to protect +enterprising men, though technically trespassers, who penetrate +into the forest in the winter at great expense, and whose +standing and credit are some guaranty of their ultimate +responsibility to the government, should they not perfect their +titles. The business of getting out the timber is carried on in +the winter, and affords employment for a large number of athletic +young men. The price of timber, I ascertained of Mr. P. D. Pratt, +a dealer at St. Paul, is, for the best, $30 per M.; for common, +$20.</p> + +<p>Most people have seen or been told something of the lumbermen +of Maine. Allowing this to be so, it will not be difficult to +comprehend the condition and character of the lumbermen of +Minnesota and the northwest. But if there is anybody who fancies +them to be a set of laborers, such as build our railroads and dig +coal and minerals, he is greatly mistaken. The difference is in +birth and education; between foreigners and native-born citizens. +A difference not in rights and merits, so much as in habits and +character. Born on American soil, they have attended our common +schools, and have the bearing and independence of sovereigns. +None but very vigorous men can endure, or at least attempt to +endure, the exposure of living in the woods all winter and +swinging the axe; though by proper care of themselves, such +exercise is conducive to health and strength. Accordingly we find +the lumberman— I mean of course the practical +lumberman— to be a thick-set, muscular young man, with a +bright eye and florid cheek; in short, one whom we would call a +double-fisted fellow. He is not one of your California boys, but +more affable and domestic, with a shorter beard, and not so great +a profusion of weapons. His dress is snug and plain— the +regular pioneer costume of boots over the pants, and a thick red +shirt in lieu of a coat. His capital stock is his health and his +hands. When in employment he is economical and lays up his wages. +When out of employment and in town, his money generally goes +freely. As a class, the lumbermen are intelligent. They are +strong talkers, for they put in a good many of the larger sort of +words; and from their pungent satire and sledge-hammer style of +reasoning, are by no means very facile disputants. They are +preeminently jokers. This is as they appear on their way to the +woods. During the season of their active labor they usually spend +the evening, after a day of hard work, in storytelling or in a +game of euchre. Their wages amount to about two dollars a day, +exclusive of board. They have good living in the woods, the +provisions, which are furnished on an ample scale, being served +by male cooks.</p> + +<p>While on the subject of lumber, which may possibly interest +some people who wish to redeem the fortunes they have lately lost +in Maine lumber, I ought not to leave unmentioned the valuable +cargoes of it which are floated down the Mississippi. When coming +up in the boat I was astonished to see such stupendous rafts. +Large logs are transported by being made into rafts. At a landing +where the boat stopped, I on one occasion attempted to estimate +the number of logs comprised in one of these marine novelties, +and found it to be about eight hundred; the logs were large, and +were worth from five to six dollars each. Here then was a raft of +timber worth at least $4000. They are navigated by about a dozen +men, with large paddles attached at either end of the raft, which +serve to propel and steer. Often, in addition to the logs, the +rafts are laden with valuable freights of sawed lumber. Screens +are built as a protection against wind, and a caboose stands +somewhere in the centre, or according to western parlance it +might be called a cabin. Sometimes the raft will be running in a +fine current; then only a couple of hands are on the watch and at +the helm. The rest are seen either loitering about observing the +country, or reclining, snugly wrapped up in their blankets. Some +of these rafts must cover as much as two acres. Birnam Wood +coming to Dunsinane was not a much greater phenomenon.</p> + +<h3>LETTER IX.</h3> + +<h4>SHORES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.</h4> + +<p class="full">Description of the country around Lake +Superior— Minerals— Locality of a commercial city— +New land districts— Buchanan— Ojibeway— +Explorations to the sources of the Mississippi— Henry R. +Schoolcraft— M. Nicollet's report— Resources of the +country above Crow Wing.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October 7, 1856.</p> + +<p>THERE is one very important section of this territory that I +have not yet alluded to. I mean that part which borders on Lake +Superior. This calls to mind that there is such a place as +Superior City. But that is in Wisconsin, not in Minnesota. From +that city (so called, yet city in earnest it is like to be) to +the nearest point in this territory the distance by water is +twelve miles. The St. Louis River is the dividing line for many +miles between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The country round about +this greatest of inland seas is not the most fertile. It is +somewhat bleak, on the northern shore especially, but is +nevertheless fat in minerals. On the banks of the St. Louis River +the soil is described, by the earliest explorers as well as +latest visiters, to be good. The river itself, though it contains +a large volume of water, is not adapted to navigation, on account +of its rapids.</p> + +<p>Those who have sailed across Lake Superior to the neighborhood +of Fond-du-Lac appear to have been charmed by the scenery of its +magnificent islands and its rock-bound shores. Most people, I +suppose, have heard of its beautiful cluster of islands called +the Twelve Apostles. One peculiar phenomenon often mentioned is +the boisterous condition of its waters at the shore, which occurs +when the lake itself is perfectly calm. The water is said to foam +and dash so furiously as to make it almost perilous to land in a +small boat. This would seem to be produced by some movement of +the waters similar to the flow of the tide; and perhaps the +dashing after all is not much more tumultuous than is seen on a +summer afternoon under the rocks of Nahant, or along the serene +coast at Phillips Beach.</p> + +<p>The resources of that part of the territory bordering on the +lake, however, are sufficient to induce an extensive, if not a +rapid, settlement of the country. The copper mines afford +occupation for thousands of people now. I have known a young man +to clear $40 a month in getting out the ore. But the labor is +hard. Somewhere near Fond-du-Lac is destined to be a great +commercial city. Whether it will be at Superior, which has now +got the start of all other places, or whether it will be at some +point within this territory, is more than can be known at +present. But a great town there is to be, sooner or later; and +for this reason, that the distance from Buffalo to Fond-du-Lac by +navigation is about the same as from Buffalo to Chicago, +affording, therefore, as good facilities for water transportation +of merchandise between Fond-du-Lac and the East, as between +Chicago and the East. Moreover, the development of this new +agricultural world will tend to that result. A railroad will then +run from that point directly west, crossing the upper Mississippi +as also the Red River of the North at the head of its navigation, +which is at the mouth of the Sioux Wood River.</p> + +<p>During the last summer, congress established two new land +districts in the upper part of the territory, called the +north-eastern and the north-western. The former includes the +country lying on Lake Superior, and its land office has been +located at Buchanan, a new place just started on the shore of the +lake. The land office for the north-western district has been +located at Ojibeway, a town site situated sixty miles above here, +on the Mississippi, near the mouth of Muddy River. This district +includes the head waters of the Mississippi, and extends west as +far as the Red River of the North. The surveyors have been +engaged in either district only a few weeks. I don't expect there +will be any land offered for sale in either district till spring. +While on the subject of land offices, let me observe that the +appointments in them are among the most lucrative under the +patronage of the general government. There is a register and +receiver for each office. They have, each, $500 per annum and +fees; the whole not to exceed $3000. Aside from the official +fees, they get much more for private services. They have more or +less evidence to reduce to writing in nearly every preemption +case, for which the general land office permits them to receive +private compensation. It is rather necessary that the local land +officers should be lawyers, as they have frequent occasion to +decide on litigated land claims.</p> + +<p>Many explorations have been made of the region around the head +waters of the Mississippi, the reports of which have conveyed to +the world attractive information of the country, but information +which only approximated to accuracy. In 1806, Lieut. Pike +explored the river as far as Turtle Lake, and returned, thinking, +good easy man, full surely he had discovered the real source of +the river, and yet the source of the river was more than a +hundred miles off in another direction. Lewis and Clarke had +ascended the river previously. In 1820, General Cass, accompanied +by Mr. Schoolcraft, explored the river to Cass Lake; being +obliged to stop there on account of the low stage of water which +they heard existed a few days' journey beyond. Again, in 1832, +Mr. Schoolcraft, then superintendent of Indian affairs, made +another expedition, which resulted in his discovery of the true +sources of the river; it being a lake which he named +<i>Itasca.</i> It has been said that he manufactured this +beautiful word out of the last syllables of <i>veritas</i> and +the first syllable of <i>caput</i> (the true head). But I have +been told that the word was suggested to his mind by an Indian +word signifying breast. Dr. Johnson says, that a traveller in +order to bring back knowledge should take knowledge with him. +That is, that he should have posted himself up to some extent on +the country he visits. I hope it will not require an affidavit +for me to prove that I availed myself of the suggestion. But I +must say I have found great pleasure and profit in perusing Mr. +Schoolcraft's narratives of both his expeditions. Though he had +the encouragement of the government, his undertaking was +surrounded by many obstacles and some dangers. His account of the +whole country is pleasant and instructive to the reader, and +shows that all he saw produced on his mind a favorable +impression. The arduous services of this gentleman as an explorer +have been of great advantage to the country, and his fine +literary talents have given his adventures an historic fame. Not +less deserving of applause either have been his efforts to +promote the welfare of the Indians. He now lives in affluent +circumstances at Washington, and, though suffering under some +bodily infirmities, appears (or did when I saw him) to enjoy life +with that serene and rational happiness which springs from useful +employment, and a consciousness that past opportunities have been +improved.</p> + +<blockquote>"For he lives twice who can at once employ<br> + Â The present well and e'en the past enjoy."</blockquote> + +<p>There have been other explorations of this part of the country +at different times by Messrs. Long, Nicollet, and Pope. M. +Nicollet was accompanied and assisted by Mr. (then Lieutenant) +Fremont. The reports made of these explorations afford +information which, if extensively known among the people, would +tend to direct a larger emigration into the upper part of the +territory. They often launch off into exclamations as to the +beautiful surface of the country; while their account of native +fruits and the bracing climate and fertile soil picture to the +imagination all the elements of a home.</p> + +<p>M. Nicollet was a foreign gentleman who possessed superior +scientific knowledge and a rare zeal to prosecute researches. He +made an exploration through the valley of the St. Peter's and the +Missouri; and from thence to the sources of the Mississippi, in +the year 1839. The official report which he made is a valuable +document, but difficult to be obtained. I shall therefore make a +few extracts from it. I should here remark that M. Nicollet died +before he had completed the introduction to his report. "The +Mississippi," he says, "holds its own from its very origin; for +it is not necessary to suppose, as has been done, that Lake +Itasca may be supplied with invisible sources, to justify the +character of a remarkable stream, which it assumes at its issue +from this lake. There are five creeks that fall into it, formed +by innumerable streamlets oozing from the clay-beds at the bases +of the hills, that consist of an accumulation of sand, gravel, +and clay, intermixed with erratic fragments; being a more +prominent portion of the great erratic deposit previously +described, and which here is known by the name of <i>'Hauteurs +des Terres'</i>— heights of land.</p> + +<p>"These elevations are commonly flat at top, varying in height +from 85 to 100 feet above the level of the surrounding waters. +They are covered with thick forests, in which coniferous plants +predominate. South of Itasca Lake, they form a semicircular +region with a boggy bottom, extending to the south-west a +distance of several miles; thence these <i>Hauteurs des +Terres</i> ascend to the north-west and north; and then, +stretching to the north-east and east, through the zone between +47 degrees and 48 degrees of latitude, make the dividing ridge +between the waters that empty into Hudson's Bay and those which +discharge themselves into the Gulf of Mexico. The principal group +of these <i>Hauteurs des Terres</i> is subdivided into several +ramifications, varying in extent, elevation, and course, so as to +determine the hydrographical basins of all the innumerable lakes +and rivers that so peculiarly characterize this region of +country.</p> + +<p>"One of these ramifications extends in a southerly direction +under the name of <i>Coteau du Grand Bois;</i> and it is this +which separates the Mississippi streams from those of the Red +River of the North.</p> + +<p>"The waters supplied by the north flank of these heights of +land— still on the south side of Lake Itasca— give +origin to the five creeks of which I have spoken above. These are +the waters which I consider to be the utmost sources of the +Mississippi. Those that flow from the southern side of the same +heights, and empty themselves into Elbow Lake, are the utmost +sources of the Red River of the North; so that the most remote +feeders of Hudson's Bay and the Gulf of Mexico are closely +approximated to each other."</p> + +<p>Of the country above Crow Wing, he makes the following +observations, which are not less interesting than instructive: +"Over the whole route which I traversed after leaving Crow Wing +River, the country has a different aspect from that which the +banks of the Mississippi above the falls present. The forests are +denser and more varied; the soil, which is alternately sandy, +gravelly, clayey, and loamy, is, generally speaking, lighter +excepting on the shores of some of the larger lakes. The uplands +are covered with white and yellow pines, spruce and birch; and +the wet lowlands by the American larch and the willow. On the +slopes of sandy hills, the American aspen, the canoe birch (white +birch), with a species of birch of dwarfish growth, the alder, +and wild rose, extend to the very margin of the river. On the +borders of the larger lakes, where the soil is generally better, +we find the sugar maple, the black and bar oaks (also named +overcup white oak, but differing from the white oak), the elm, +ash, lime tree, &c. Generally speaking, however, this +woodland does not extend back farther than a mile from the lakes. +The white cedar, the hemlock, spruce, pine, and fir, are +occasionally found; but the red cedar is scarce throughout this +region, and none, perhaps, are to be seen but on islands of those +lakes called by the Indians Red Cedar Lakes. The shrubbery +consists principally of the wild rose, hawthorn, and wild plum; +and raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cranberries are +abundant.</p> + +<p>"The aspect of the country is greatly varied by hills, dales, +copses, small prairies, and a great number of lakes; the whole of +which I do not pretend to have laid down on my map. * * * * The +lakes to which I have just alluded are distributed in separate +groups, or are arranged in prolonged chains along the rivers, and +not unfrequently attached to each other by gentle rapids. It has +seemed to me that they diminish in extent on both sides of the +Mississippi, as we proceed southwardly, as far as 43 degrees of +north latitude; and this observation extends to the Arctic +region, commencing at Bear's Lake; or Slave Lake, Winnipeg Lake, +&c. It may be further remarked that the basins of these lakes +have a sufficient depth to leave no doubt that they will remain +characteristic features of the country for a long time to come. +Several species of fish abound in them. The white fish +<i>(Corregonus albus)</i> is found in all the deep lakes west of +the Mississippi— and, indeed, from Lake Erie to the Polar +Sea. That which is taken in Leech Lake is said by amateurs to be +more highly flavored than even that of Lake Superior, and weighs +from three to ten pounds.* * * Of all the Indian nations that I +have visited, the Chippewas, inhabiting the country about the +sources of the Mississippi, are decidedly the most favored. +Besides their natural resources (to which I have already +referred) of fish, wild rice, and maple sugar, with the addition +of an abundance of game, the climate is found to be well adapted +to the culture of corn, wheat, barley, oats, and pulse. The +potato is of superior quality to that of the Middle States of the +Union. In a trading point of view, the hunt is very profitable. +The bear, the deer and elk, the wolf, the fox, the wolverine, the +fisher raccoon, muskrat, mink, otter, marten, weasel, and a few +remaining beavers, are the principal articles of this traffic." +(pp. 58, 64.) To those who are desirous of perusing this valuable +report, and who have access to the congressional documents, I +would say that it may be found in Senate Document 237, 2d Session +of 26th Congress.</p> + +<h3>LETTER X.</h3> + +<h4>VALLEY OF THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH.</h4> + +<p class="full">Climate of Minnesota— The settlement at +Pembina— St. Joseph— Col. Smith's expedition— Red +River of the North— Fur trade— Red River +Settlement— The Hudson's Bay Company— Ex-Gov. Ramsey's +observations— Dacotah.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>A CELEBRATED geographer of the first century wrote, "Germany +is indeed habitable, but is uninhabited on account of the cold." +I am not so certain, but some people have a similar idea of the +upper portion of Minnesota. If there are any, however, thus +distrustful of its climate, they probably live out of the +territory. I have no means of knowing what the climate is here in +winter, except from hearsay and general principles. It seems to +be an approved theory, that the farther we approach the west in a +northern latitude the milder becomes the winter. The +stage-drivers tell me that the snow does not fall to such a depth +as in the northern part of New England; that the weather is +tolerably uniform; and that the roads are at all times kept open +and much travelled. After all, it is a great way before we come +to the home of the Esquimaux, and the desert of ice where Sir +John Franklin perished.</p> + +<p>I will here subjoin the following extract from a letter +addressed to Gov. Stephens by the Hon. Henry M. Rice, the able +delegate from Minnesota. It is dated 3d June, 1854:</p> + +<p>"Navigation of the Mississippi River closes from the 10th to +the 25th of November, and opens from the 1st to the 10th of +April. That of the Red River of the North closes from the 1st to +16th November, and opens from 10th to 25th April. I have often +travelled in the winter from St. Paul to Crow Wing, a distance of +one hundred and fifty miles, with a single horse and sled, +without a track, and have never found the snow deep enough to +impede my progress. I have also gone from Crow Wing, beyond the +head waters of the Mississippi, to the waters of the Hudson's +Bay, on foot and without snow-shoes. I spent one entire winter +travelling through that region, and never found the snow over +eighteen inches deep, and seldom over nine inches.</p> + +<p>"For several years I had trading-posts extending from Lake +Superior to the Red River of the North, from 46 degrees to 49 +degrees north latitude, and never found the snow so deep as to +prevent supplies being transported from one post to another with +horses. One winter, north of Crow Wing, say 47 degrees north +latitude, I wintered about sixty head of horses and cattle +without giving them food of any kind except such as they could +procure themselves under the snow. Between the 45th and 49th +degrees north latitude, the snow does not fall so deep as it does +between the 40th and 45th degrees; this is easily accounted for +upon the same principle that in the fall they have frosts much +earlier near the 40th than they do near the 45th degree. I say +this in reference to the country watered by the Mississippi +River. Owing to its altitude the atmosphere is dry beyond belief, +which accounts for the absence of frosts in the fall, and for the +small quantity of snow that falls in a country so far north. +Voyageurs traverse the territory from Lake Superior to the +Missouri the entire winter with horses and sleds, having to make +their own roads, and yet with heavy loads are not detained by +snow. Lumbermen in great numbers winter in the pine regions of +Minnesota with their teams, and I have never heard of their +finding the snow too deep to prosecute their labors. I have known +several winters when the snow at no time was over six inches +deep."</p> + +<p>The Hon. H. H. Sibley, ex-delegate from Minnesota, in a letter +dated at Mendota says: "As our country is for the most part +composed of prairie, it is of course much exposed to the action +of the winds. It is, however, a peculiarity of our climate, that +calms prevail during the cold weather of the winter months; +consequently, the snow does not drift to anything like the extent +experienced in New England or northern New York. I have never +believed that railroad communication in this territory would be +seriously impeded by the depth or drift of snow, unless, perhaps, +in the extreme northern portion of it." (See Explorations and +Surveys for the Pacific Railroad, I., 400.)</p> + +<p>A few facts in regard to the people who live four or five +hundred miles to the north, will best illustrate the nature of +the climate and its adaptedness to agriculture.</p> + +<p>It is common to say that settlements have not extended beyond +Crow Wing. This is only technically true. There is a settlement +at Pembina, where the dividing line between British America and +the United States crosses the Red River of the North. It didn't +<i>extend</i> there from our frontier, sure enough. If it +extended from anywhere it must have been from the north, or along +the confines of that mystic region called Rainy Lake. Pembina is +said to have about 600 inhabitants. It is situated on the Pembina +River. It is an Indian-French word meaning cranberry. Men live +there who were born there, and it is in fact an old settlement. +It was founded by British subjects, who thought they had located +on British soil. The greater part of its inhabitants are +half-breeds, who earn a comfortable livelihood in fur hunting and +in farming. It sends two representatives and a councillor to the +territorial legislature. It is 460 miles north-west of St. Paul, +and 330 miles distant from this town. Notwithstanding the +distance, there is considerable communication between the places. +West of Pembina, about thirty miles, is a settlement called St. +Joseph, situated N. of a large mythological body of water called +Miniwakan, or Devil's Lake; and is one of the points where Col. +Smith's expedition was intending to stop. This expedition to +which I refer, started out from Fort Snelling in the summer, to +explore the country on both sides of the Red River of the North +as far as Pembina, and to report to the war department the best +points for the establishment of a new military post. It is +expected that Col. Smith will return by the first of next month; +and it is probable he will advise the erection of a post at +Pembina. When that is done, if it is done, its effect will be to +draw emigrants from the Red River settlement into Minnesota.</p> + +<p>Now let me say a word about this Red River of the North, for +it is beginning to be a great feature in this upper country. It +runs north, and empties into Lake Winnipeg, which connects with +Hudson's Bay by Nelson River. It is a muddy and sluggish stream, +navigable to the mouth of Sioux Wood River for vessels of three +feet draught for four months in the year. So that the extent of +its navigation within the territory alone (between Pembina and +the mouth of Sioux Wood River) is 417 miles. Buffaloes still feed +on its western banks. Its tributaries are numerous and copious, +abounding with the choicest kinds of game, and skirted with a +various and beautiful foliage. It cannot be many years before +this magnificent valley shall pour its products into our markets, +and be the theatre of a busy and genial life.</p> + +<p>One of the first things which drew my attention to this river +was a sight of several teams travelling towards this vicinity +from a north-westerly direction. I observed that the complexion +of those in the caravan was a little darker than that of pure +white Minnesotians, and that the carts were a novelty. "Who are +those people? and where are they from?" I inquired of a friend. +"They are Red River people, just arrived— they have come +down to trade." Their carts are made to be drawn by one animal, +either an ox or a horse, and are put together without the use of +a particle of iron. They are excellently adapted to prairie +travelling. How strange it seems! Here are people who have been +from twenty to thirty days on their journey to the nearest +civilized community. This is their nearest market. Their average +rate of travelling is about fifteen miles a day, and they +generally secure game enough on the way for their living. I have +had highly interesting accounts of the Red River settlement since +I have been here, both from Mr. Ross and Mr. Marion, gentlemen +recently from there. The settlement is seventy miles north of +Pembina, and lies on both sides of the river. Its population is +estimated at 10,000. It owes its origin and growth to the +enterprise and success of the Hudson's Bay Company. Many of the +settlers came from Scotland, but the most were from Canada. They +speak English and Canadian French. The English style of society +is well kept up, whether we regard the church with its bishop, +the trader with his wine cellar, the scholar with his library, +the officer with his sinecure, or their paper currency. I find +they have everything but a hotel, for I was particular on that +point, though not intending just yet to go there. Probably the +arrivals do not justify such an institution, but their cordial +hospitality will make up for any such lack, from all I hear. They +have a judge who gets a good house to live in, and L1000 sterling +a year; but he has nothing of consequence to do. He was formerly +a leading lawyer in Canada.</p> + +<p>The great business of the settlement, of course, is the fur +traffic. An immense amount of buffalo skins is taken in the +summer and autumn, while in the winter smaller but more valuable +furs are procured. The Indians also enlist in the hunts; and it +is estimated that upwards of $200,000 worth of furs are annually +taken from our territory and sold to the Hudson's Bay Company. It +is high time indeed that a military post should be established +somewhere on the Red River by our government. The Hudson's Bay +Company is now a powerful monopoly. Not so magnificent and potent +as the East India Company, it is still a powerful combination, +showering opulence on its members, and reflecting a peculiar +feature in the strength and grandeur of the British empire— +a power, which, to use the eloquent language of Daniel Webster, +"has dotted over the whole surface of the globe with her +possessions and military posts— whose morning drum-beat, +following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circles +the earth daily with one continuous and unbroken strain of +martial music." The company is growing richer every year, and its +jurisdiction and its lands will soon find an availability never +dreamed of by its founders, unless, as may possibly happen, +popular sovereignty steps in to grasp the fruits of its long +apprenticeship. Some time ago I believe the Canadas sought to +annex this broad expanse to their own jurisdiction. There are +about two hundred members in the Hudson's Bay Company. The +charter gives them the power to legislate for the settlement. +They have many persons in their employ in England as well as in +British America. A clerk, after serving the company ten years, +with a salary of about $500 per annum, is considered qualified +for membership, with the right to vote in the deliberations of +the company, and one share in the profits. The profits of a share +last year amounted to $10,000! A factor of the company, after +serving ten years, is entitled to membership with the profits of +two shares. The aristocracy of the settlement consists +principally of retired factors and other members of the company, +who possess large fortunes, dine on juicy roast beef, with old +port, ride in their carriages, and enjoy life in a very +comfortable manner. Two of the company's ships sail up into +Hudson's Bay every year to bring merchandise to the settlement +and take away furs. [1] But the greatest portion of the trade is +done with Minnesota. Farming is carried on in the neighborhood of +the settlement with cheerful ease and grand success. I was as +much surprised to hear of the nature of their agriculture as of +anything else concerning the settlement. The same kind of crops +are raised as in Pennsylvania or Maine; and this in a country, be +it remembered, five hundred miles and upwards north of St. Paul. +Stock must be easily raised, as it would appear from the fact +that it is driven down here into the territory and sold at a +great profit. Since I have been here, a drove of fine-looking +cattle from that settlement passed to be sold in the towns below, +and a drove of horses is expected this fall. The stock which +comes from there is more hardy than can be got anywhere else, and +therefore is preferred by the Minnesotians.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 "The Hudson's Bay Company allows its +servants, while making a voyage, eight pounds of meat a day, and +I am told the allowance is none too much." (Lieutenant Howison's +Report on Oregon, p. 7.)]</p> + +<p>The following extract from Ex-Governor Ramsey's address, +recently delivered before the annual fair at Minneapolis, wherein +he gives some results of his observations of the Red River +settlement during his trip there in 1851, will be read with much +interest:—</p> + +<p>"Re-embarking in our canoes, we continued descending the river +for some fifteen miles further, through the French portion of the +settlement, lining mainly the west or left bank of the river, +until we arrived about the centre of the colony, at the mouth of +the Assinniboin tributary of Red River, where we landed and +remained a few days, viewing the colony and its improvements. I +was at that time, and am even now, when I look back upon it, lost +in wonder at the phenomena which that settlement exhibits to the +world, considering its location in an almost polar region of the +North. Imagine a river flowing sluggishly northward through a +flat alluvial plain, and the west side of it lined continuously +for over thirty miles with cultivated farms, each presenting +those appearances of thrift around them which I mentioned as +surrounding the first farms seen by us; but each farm with a +narrow frontage on the river of only twenty-four rods in width, +but extending back for one or two miles, and each of these narrow +farms having their dwellings and the farm out-buildings spread +only along the river front, with lawns sloping to the water's +edge, and shrubbery and vines liberally trained around them, and +trees intermingled— the whole presenting the appearance of a +long suburban village— such as you might see near our +eastern sea-board, or such as you find exhibited in pictures of +English country villages, with the resemblance rendered more +striking by the spires of several large churches peeping above +the foliage of the trees in the distance, whitewashed +school-houses glistening here and there amidst sunlight and +green; gentlemen's houses of pretentious dimensions and grassy +lawns and elaborate fencing, the seats of retired officers of the +Hudson's Bay Company occasionally interspersed; here an English +bishop's parsonage, with a boarding or high school near by; and +over there a Catholic bishop's massive cathedral, with a convent +of Sisters of Charity attached; whilst the two large stone forts, +at which reside the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, or of +the colony once called Upper Fort Garry, and situated at the +mouth of the Assinniboin, and the other termini the Lower Fort +Garry, which is twenty miles farther down the river, helped to +give additional picturesqueness to the scene. I had almost +forgotten to mention what is, after all, the most prominent and +peculiar feature of that singular landscape, singular from its +location— and that is the numerous wind-mills, nearly twenty +in all, which on every point of land made by the turns and bends +in the river, stretched out their huge sails athwart the horizon, +and seemingly looked defiance at us as invading strangers, that +were from a land where steam or water mills monopolize their +avocation of flour making. One morning as we passed down the +principal high road, on our way to Lower Fort Garry, the wind, +after a protracted calm, began to blow a little; when presto! +each mill veered around its sails to catch the propitious breeze, +and as the sails began to revolve, it was curious to observe the +numerous carts that shot out from nearly every farm-house, and +hurried along the road to these mills, to get ground their grists +of spring wheat, with which they were respectively loaded.</p> + +<p>"Another incident during the same trip that struck us oddly, +was seeing two ladies driving by themselves a fine horse hitched +to a buggy of modern fashion, just as much at home apparently as +if they were driving through the streets of St. Paul, or St. +Anthony, or Minneapolis, instead of upon that remote highway +towards the North Pole; but this was not a whit more novel than +to hear the pianoforte, and played, too, with both taste and +skill. While another 'lion' of those parts that met our view was +a topsail schooner lying in the river at the lower fort, which +made occasional trips into Great Lake Winnepeg of the North, a +hundred miles below.</p> + +<p>"I took occasion during my visit to inquire what success the +farmers met with in securing good crops, and the profits of +farmers generally. As to wheat, I learned that the yield of the +spring variety was quite equal in quantity and quality to the +crop of that grain on any more southern farms; that in raising +barley they could almost surpass the world; and the cereals +generally, and all the esculent roots, were easily raised. Indian +corn was not planted as a field crop, though it was grown in +their gardens. In a word, the capacity of their land to produce +almost everything plentifully and well, was established; but for +all this, farming did not afford much profit. for want of a +sufficient market; beyond a small demand by the Hudson's Bay +Company, there was no outlet for their superabundance; and to use +an Austrian phase in regard to Hungarians, the Selkirkers are +metaphysically 'smothering in their own fat.' To remedy this +state of things they were beginning, when I was there, to turn +their attention towards raising cattle and horses, for which +their country is well calculated; and the first fruits of this +new decision given to their farming energies, we have already +experienced in the droves of both which have recently been driven +from thence and sold in this vicinity."</p> + +<p>I think the facts which I have herein hastily set downhill +dispel any apprehension as to the successful cultivation of the +soil in the northern part of the territory. It has a +health-giving climate which before long, I predict, will nourish +as patriotic a race of men as gave immortality to the noble +plains of Helvetia. There is one thing I would mention which +seems to auspicate the speedy development of the valley of the +North Red River. Next year Minnesota will probably be admitted as +a state; and a new territory organized out of the broad region +embracing the valley aforesaid and the head waters of the +Mississippi. Or else it will be divided by a line north and +south, including the western valley of that river, and extending +as far to the west as the Missouri River. I understand it will be +called Dacotah, though I at first thought it would be called +Pembina. There is always a rush into new territories, and the +proposed new territory of Dacotah will present sufficient +inducements for a large immigration. When the valley of the North +Red River shall be settled, and splendid harvest fields adorn its +banks; when great factories take the place of wind-mills, and +when railroads shall take the place of Red River carts, then we +will have new cause to exclaim,</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">"Westward the course of empire +takes its way!"</p> + +<h3>LETTER XI.</h3> + +<h4>THE TRUE PIONEER.</h4> + +<p class="full">Energy of the pioneer— Frontier life— +Spirit of emigration— Advantages to the farmer in moving +West— Advice in regard to making preemption claims— +Abstract of the preemption law— Hints to the settler— +Character and services of the pioneer.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I DESIRE in this letter to say something about the pioneer, +and life on the frontier. And by pioneer I mean the true pioneer +who comes into the West to labor and to share the vicissitudes of +new settlements; not the adventurer, who would repine at toil, +and gather where he has not sown.</p> + +<p>As I have looked abroad upon the vast domain of the West +beyond the dim Missouri, or in the immediate valley of the +Mississippi, I have wondered at the contrast presented between +the comparatively small number who penetrate to the frontier, and +that great throng of men who toil hard for a temporary livelihood +in the populous towns and cities of the Union. And I have thought +if this latter class were at all mindful of the opportunities for +gain and independence which the new territories afforded, they +would soon abandon— in a great measure at least— their +crowded alleys in the city, and aspire to be cultivators and +owners of the soil. Why there has not been a greater emigration +from cities I cannot imagine, unless it is owing to a +misapprehension of Western life. Either it is this, or the +pioneer is possessed of a very superior degree of energy.</p> + +<p>It has been said that the frontier man always keeps on the +frontier; that he continues to emigrate as fast as the country +around him becomes settled. There is a class that do so. Not, +however, for the cause which has been sometimes humorously +assigned— that civilization was inconvenient to them— +but because good opportunities arise to dispose of the farms they +have already improved; and because a further emigration secures +them cheaper lands. The story of the pioneer who was disturbed by +society, when his nearest neighbor lived fifteen miles off, even +if it be true, fails to give the correct reason for the migratory +life of this class of men.</p> + +<p>It almost always happens that wherever we go somebody else has +preceded us. Accident or enterprise has led some one to surpass +us. Many of the most useful pioneers of this country have been +attracted hither by the accounts given of its advantages by some +one of their friends who had previously located himself here. Ask +a man why he comes, and he says a neighbor of his, or a son, or a +brother, has been in the territory for so many months, and he +likes it so well I concluded to come also. A very respectable +gentleman from Maine, a shipowner and a man of wealth, who came +up on the boat with me to St. Paul, said his son-in-law was in +the territory, and he had another son at home who was bound to +come, and if his wife was willing he believed the whole family +would come. Indeed the excellent state of society in the +territory is to be attributed very much to the fact that parents +have followed after their children.</p> + +<p>It is pretty obvious too why men will leave poor farms in New +England, and good farms in Ohio, to try their fortunes here. The +farmer in New England, it may be in New Hampshire, hears that the +soil of Minnesota is rich and free from rocks, that there are +other favorable resources, and a salubrious climate such as he +has been accustomed to. He concludes that it is best to sell out +the place he has, and try ploughing where there are no rocks to +obstruct him. The farmer of Ohio does not expect to find better +soil than he leaves; but his inducements are that he can sell his +land at forty or fifty dollars an acre, and preempt as good in +Minnesota for a dollar and a quarter an acre. This operation +leaves him a surplus fund, and he becomes a more opulent man, +with better means to adorn his farm and to educate his +children.</p> + +<p>Those who contemplate coming West to engage in agricultural +employment should leave their families, if families they have, +behind till they have selected a location and erected some kind +of a habitation; provided, however, they have no particular +friend whose hospitality they can avail themselves of till their +preliminary arrangements are effected. It will require three +months, I judge, for a man to select a good claim (a quarter +section, being 160 acres), and fence and plough a part of it and +to erect thereon a cabin. There is never a want of land to +preempt in a new country. The settler can always get an original +claim, or buy out the claim of another very cheap, near some +other settlers. The liberal policy of our government in regard to +the disposal of public lands is peculiarly beneficial to the +settler. The latter has the first chance. He can go on to a +quarter section which may be worth fifteen dollars an acre, and +preempt it before it is surveyed, and finally obtain it for $1.25 +an acre. Whereas the speculator must wait till the land is +surveyed and advertised for sale; and then he can get only what +has not been preempted, and at a price which it brings at +auction, not less than $1.25 an acre. Then what land is not sold +at public sale is open to private entry at $1.25 an acre. It is +such land that bounty warrants are located on. Thus it is seen +the pioneer has the first choice. Why, I have walked over land up +here that would now bring from ten to twenty dollars an acre if +it was in the market, and which any settler can preempt and get +for $1.25 an acre. I am strongly tempted to turn farmer myself, +and go out and build me a cabin. The speculation would be a good +one. But to acquire a title by preemption I must dwell on the +soil, and prove that I have erected a dwelling and made other +improvements. In other words, before a man (or any head of a +family) can get a patent, he must satisfy the land officers that +he is a dweller in good faith on the soil. It is often the case, +indeed, that men get a title by preemption who never intend to +live on their quarter section. But they do it by fraud. They have +a sort of mental reservation, I suppose, when they take the +requisite oaths. In this way many valuable claims are taken up +and held along from month to month, or from year to year, by mock +improvements. A pretender will make just improvements enough to +hinder the actual settler from locating on the claim, or will +sell out to him at a good profit. A good deal of money is made by +these fictitious claimants. It is rather hard to prevent it, too, +inasmuch as it is difficult to disprove that a man intends some +time to have a permanent home, or, in fact, that his claim is not +his legal residence, though his usual abiding place is somewhere +else. Nothing could be more delightful than for a party of young +men who desire to farm to come out together early in the spring, +and aid each other in preempting land in the same neighborhood. +The preemptor has to pay about five dollars in the way of fees +before he gets through the entire process of securing a title. It +is a popular error (much like the opinion that a man cannot swear +to what he sees through glass) that improvements of a certain +value, say fifty dollars, are required to be made, or that a +certain number of acres must be cultivated. All that is required, +however, is evidence that the party has built a house fit to live +in, and has in good faith proceeded to cultivate the soil. The +law does not permit a person to preempt 160 acres but once; yet +this provision is often disregarded, possibly from ignorance, I +was about to say, but that cannot be, since the applicant must +make oath that he has not before availed himself of the right of +preemption.</p> + +<p>I will insert at this place an abridgment of the preemption +act of 4th September, 1841, which I made two years ago; and which +was extensively published in the new states and territories. I am +happy to find, also, that it has been thought worth copying into +one or more works on the West.</p> + +<p>I. <i>Lands subject to preemption.</i> By sec. 10 of said act +it is provided that the public lands to which the Indian title +had been extinguished at the time of the settlement, and which +had also been <i>surveyed</i> prior thereto, shall be subject to +preemption, and purchase at the rate of one dollar and +twenty-five cents per acre. And by the act of 22d July, 1854, +sec. 12, the preemption of <i>unsurveyed</i> lands is recognised +as legal. Lands of the following description are excepted: such +as are included in any reservation, by any treaty, law, or +proclamation of the President of the United States, or reserved +for salines or for other purposes; lands included within the +limits of any incorporated town, or which have been selected as +the site for a city or town; lands actually settled and occupied +for the purposes of trade and not agriculture; and lands on which +are situated any known salines or mines.</p> + +<p>II. <i>The amount</i> designated is any number of acres not +exceeding one hundred and sixty.</p> + +<p>III. <i>Who may preempt.</i> "Every person being the head of a +family, or widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, +and being a citizen of the United States, or having filed his +declaration of intention to become a citizen, as required by the +naturalization laws." But no person shall be entitled to more +than one preemptive right, and no person who is the proprietor of +three hundred and twenty acres of land in any state or territory +of the United States, and no person who shall quit or abandon his +residence on his own land to reside on the public land in the +same state or territory, shall acquire any right of +preemption.</p> + +<p>IV. <i>The method to perfect the right.</i> The preemptor must +make a settlement on the land in person; inhabit and improve the +same, and erect thereon a dwelling. And when the land has been +surveyed previous to settlement the preemptor shall, within +thirty days of the date of the settlement, file with the register +of the proper district a written statement describing the land +settled upon, and declaring the intention of such person to claim +the same under the provisions of the preemption law. And within +twelve months of the date of the settlement such person shall +make the requisite proof, affidavit, and payment. When unsurveyed +lands are prompted (act of 1854), notice of the specific tracts +claimed shall be filed with the surveyor general, within three +months after the survey has been made in the field. And when two +or more persons shall have settled on the same quarter section, +the right of preemption shall be in him or her who made the first +settlement; and questions arising between different settlers +shall be decided by the register and receiver of the district +within which the land is situated, subject to an appeal to and +revision by the Secretary of the Interior of the United +States.</p> + +<p>And the settler must make oath before the receiver or register +that he or she has never had the benefit of any right of +preemption under the preemption act: that he or she is not the +owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in any state or +territory of the United States, nor hath he or she settled upon +and improved said land to sell the same on speculation, but in +good faith to appropriate it to his or her own exclusive use or +benefit: and that he or she has not directly or indirectly made +any agreement or contract in any way or manner with any person or +persons whatsoever, by which the title which he or she might +acquire from the government of the United States should enure in +whole or in part to the benefit of any person except himself or +herself; and if any person talking such oath shall swear falsely +in the premises, he or she shall be subject to all the pains and +penalties of perjury, and shall forfeit the money which he or she +may have paid for such land, and all right and title to the same; +and any grant or conveyance which he or she may have made, except +in the hands of bona fide purchasers for a valuable +consideration, shall be null and void.</p> + +<p>Proof of the requisite settlement and improvement shall be +made by the preemptor to the satisfaction of the register and +receiver, in the district in which the lands so claimed lie, who +shall each be entitled to receive fifty cents from each applicant +for his services rendered. as aforesaid; and all assignments and +transfers of the right hereby secured prior to the issuing of the +patent, shall be null and void. (See U. S. Stat. at Large, vol. +5, 453-458.)</p> + +<p>But I was on the point of advising the settler what he should +bring with him into a new country and what leave behind. He +should not bring much furniture. It is very expensive and +troublesome to have it transported. Nor will he need much to +begin with, or have room for it. It will cost nearly as much to +transport it seventy miles through the territory as it will to +bring it from whence he started within the limits of the +territory. Let him pack up in a small compass the most precious +part of his inanimate household, and leave it ready for an agent +to start it after he shall have found a domicil. This will save +expensive storage. Then let his goods be directed to the care of +some responsible forwarding merchant in a river town nearest to +their final destination, that they may be taken care of and not +be left exposed on the levee when they arrive. St. Paul is now a +place of so much mercantile importance and competition that one +may buy provisions, furniture, or agricultural tools cheaper +there than he can himself bring them from the East. The +professional man, however, will do well to bring his books with +him.</p> + +<p>Let us assume now that the settler has got his house up, +either a frame house or of logs, with a part of his farm fenced; +and that be has filed his application for preemption at the land +office in the district in which he resides. Let us suppose +further, that he is passing his first autumn here. His house, if +he is a man of limited means, has but two rooms, and they are +both on the basement story. He has just shelter enough for his +stock, but none for his hay, which is stacked near by. The +probability is, that he lives in the vicinity of some clear +stream or copious spring, and has not, therefore, needed to dig a +well. The whole establishment, one would think, who was +accustomed to the Eastern style of living, betrayed downright +poverty.</p> + +<p>But let us stop a moment; this is the home of a pioneer. He +has been industrious, and everything about him exhibits +forethought. There is a cornfield all fenced in with tamarack +poles. It is paved over with pumpkins (for pumpkins flourish +wonderfully in Minnesota), and contains twenty acres of ripe +corn, which, allowing thirty-five bushels to an acre, is worth at +ninety cents per bushel the sum of $630. There are three acres of +potatoes, of the very best quality, containing three hundred +bushels, which, at fifty cents a bushel, are worth $150. Here +then, off of two crops, he gets $780, and I make a moderate +estimate at that. Next year he will add to this a crop of oats or +wheat. The true pioneer is a model farmer. He lays out his work +two weeks in advance. Every evening finds him further ahead. If +there is a rainy day, he knows what to set himself about. Be lays +his plans in a systematic manner, and carries them into execution +with energy. He is a true pioneer, and therefore he is not an +idle man, nor a loafer, nor a weak addle-headed tippler. Go into +his house, and though you do not see elegance you can yet behold +intelligence, and neatness, and sweet domestic bliss. The life of +the pioneer is not exposed to such hardships and delays as +retarded the fortunes of the settlers in the older states. They +had to clear forests; here the land is ready for the plough. And +though "there is society where none intrude," yet he is not by +any means beyond the boundaries of good neighborhood. In many +cases, however, he has left his dearest friends far away in his +native village, where his affections still linger. He has to +endure painful separations, and to forego those many comforts +which spring from frequent meetings under the parental roof, and +frequent converse with the most attractive scones of youth. But +to compensate for these things he can feel that the labor of the +pioneer, aside from its pecuniary advantage to himself, is of +service to the state, and a helpmate to succeeding +generations.</p> + +<blockquote>"There are, who, distant from their native soil,<br> + Â Still for their own and country's glory toil:<br> + Â While some, fast rooted to their parent spot,<br> + Â In life are useless, and in death forgot!"</blockquote> + +<h3>LETTER XII.</h3> + +<h4>SPECULATION AND BUSINESS.</h4> + +<p class="full">Opportunities to select farms— Otter Tail +Lake— Advantages of the actual settler over the +speculator— Policy of new states as to taxing +non-residents— Opportunities to make money— Anecdote of +Col. Perkins— Mercantile business— Price of money— +Intemperance— Education— The free school.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>IT is maintained by the reviewers, I believe, that the duller +a writer is, the more accurate he should be. In the outset of +this letter, I desire to testify my acquiescence in the justice +of that dogma, for if, like neighbor Dogberry, "I were as tedious +as a king," I could not find it in my heart to bestow it all +without a measure of utility.</p> + +<p>I shall try to answer some questions which I imagine might be +put by different classes of men who are interested in this part +of the west. My last letter had some hints to the farmer, and I +can only add, in addition, for his benefit, that the most +available locations are now a considerable distance above St. +Paul. The valley of the St. Peter's is pretty much taken up; and +so of the valley of the Mississippi for a distance of fifteen +miles on either side to a point a hundred miles above St. Paul. +One of the land officers at Minneapolis informed me that there +were good preemption claims to be had fifteen miles west, that +being as far as the country was thickly settled. One of the +finest regions now unoccupied, that I know of, not to except even +the country on the Crow Wing River, is the land bordering on +Otter Tail Lake. For forty miles all round that lake the land is +splendid. More than a dozen disinterested eye-witnesses have +described that region to me in the most glowing terms. In beauty, +in fertility, and in the various collateral resources which make +a farming country desirable, it is not surpassed. It lies south +of the picturesque highlands or <i>hauteurs des terres,</i> and +about midway between the sources of the Crow Wing and North Red +Rivers. From this town the distance to it is sixty miles. The +lake itself is forty miles long and five miles in width. The +water is clear and deep, and abounds with white fish that are +famous for their delicious flavor. The following description, +which I take from Captain Pope's official narrative of his +exploration, is a reliable description of this delightful spot, +now fortunately on the eve of being settled— " To the west, +north-west, and north-east, the whole country is heavily timbered +with oak, elm, ash, maple, birch, bass, &c., &c. Of these +the sugar maple is probably the most valuable, and in the +vicinity of Otter Tail Lake large quantities of maple sugar are +manufactured by the Indians. The wild rice, which exists in these +lakes in the most lavish profusion, constitutes a most necessary +article of food with the Indians, and is gathered in large +quantities in the months of September and October. To the east +the banks of the lake are fringed with heavy oak and elm timber +to the width of one mile. The whole region of country for fifty +miles in all directions around this lake is among the most +beautiful and fertile in the world. The fine scenery of lakes and +open groves of oak timber, of winding streams connecting them, +and beautifully rolling country on all sides, renders this +portion of Minnesota the garden spot of the north-west. It is +impossible in a report of this character to describe the feeling +of admiration and astonishment with which we first beheld the +charming country in the vicinity of this lake; and were I to give +expression to my own feelings and opinions in reference to it, I +fear they would be considered the ravings of a visionary or an +enthusiast."[1] But let me say to the speculator that he need not +covet any of these broad acres. There is little chance for him. +Before that land can be bought at public sale or by mere +purchasers at private sale, it will, I feel sure, be entirely +occupied by actual settlers. And so it ought to be. The good of +the territory is promoted by that beneficent policy of our public +land laws which gives the actual settler the first and best +chance to acquire a title by preemption.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 To illustrate the rapid progress which is +going on constantly, I would remark that in less than a month +after leaving Crow Wing, I received a letter from there informing +me that Messrs. Crittenden, Cathcart, and others had been to +Otter Tail Lake and laid out a town which they call Otter Tail +City. The standing and means of the men engaged in the +enterprise, are a sure guaranty of its success.]</p> + +<p>Speculators have located a great many land warrants in +Minnesota. Some have been located on lakes, some on swamps, some +on excellent land. Of course the owner, who, as a general thing, +is a nonresident, leaves his land idle for something to "turn up" +to make it profitable. There it stands doing no good, but on the +contrary is an encumbrance to the settler, who has to travel over +and beyond it without meeting the face of a neighbor in its +vicinity. The policy of new states is to tax non-resident +landholders at a high rate. When the territory becomes a state, +and is obliged to raise a revenue, some of these fellows outside, +who, to use a phrase common up here, have plastered the country +over with land warrants, will have to keep a lookout for the +tax-gatherer. Now I do not mean to discourage moneyed men from +investing in Minnesota lands. I do not wish to raise any +bugbears, but simply to let them know that hoarding up large +tracts of land without making improvements, and leaving it to +increase in value by the toil and energy of the pioneer, is a way +of doing things which is not popular with the actual settler. But +there is a great deal of money to be made by judicious +investments in land. Buying large tracts of land I believe to be +the least profitable speculation, unless indeed the purchaser +knows exactly what he is buying, and is on hand at the public +sale to get the benefit of a second choice. I say second choice, +because the preemptor has had the first choice long ago, and it +may be before the land was surveyed. What I would recommend to +speculators is to purchase in some good town sites. Buy in two or +three, and if one or two happen to prove failures, the profits on +the other will enable you to bear the loss. I know of a man who +invested $6000 at St. Paul six years ago. He has sold over +$80,000 worth of the land, and has as much more left. This is but +an ordinary instance. The advantage of buying lots in a town +arises from the rapid rise of the value of the land, the ready +market, and withal the moderate prices at which they can be +procured during the early part of its history.</p> + +<p>To such persons as have a desire to come West, and are not +inclined to be farmers, and who have not capital enough to engage +in mercantile business, there is sufficient employment. A new +country always opens avenues of successful business for every +industrious man and woman; more kinds even than I could well +enumerate. Every branch of mechanics needs workmen of all grades; +from the boy who planes the rough boards to the head workman. +Teaming affords good employment for young men the year round. The +same may be said of the saw-mills. A great deal of building is +going on constantly; and those who have good trades get $2.50 per +day. I am speaking, of course, of the territory in general. One +of the most profitable kinds of miscellaneous business is +surveying. This art requires the services of large numbers; not +only to survey the public lands, but town sites and the lands of +private individuals. Labor is very high everywhere in the West, +whether done by men, women, or children;— even the boys, not +fourteen years old, who clean the knives and forks on the +steamboats, get $20 a month and <i>are found</i>. But the best of +it all is, that when a man earns a few dollars he can easily +invest it in a piece of land, and double his money in three +months, perhaps in one month. One of the merchant princes of +Boston, the late Col. T. H. Perkins, published a notice in a +Boston paper in 1789, he being then 25, that he would soon embark +on board the ship Astrea for Canton, and that if any one desired +to commit an "adventure" to him, they might be assured of his +exertions for their interests. The practice of sending " +adventures" "beyond the seas" is not so common as it was once; +and instead thereof men invest their funds in western prizes. But +let me remark in regard to the fact I relate, that it shows the +true pioneer spirit. Col. Perkins was a pioneer. His energy led +him beyond his counting-room, and he reaped the reward of his +exertions in a great fortune.</p> + +<p>I have now a young man in my mind who came to a town ten miles +this side of St. Paul, six months ago, with $500. He commenced +trading, and has already, by good investments and the profits of +his business, doubled his money. Everything that one can eat or +wear brings a high price, or as high as it does in any part of +the West. The number of visitors and emigrants is so large that +the productions of the territory are utterly inadequate to supply +the market. Therefore large quantities of provisions have to be +brought up the river from the lower towns. At Swan River, 100 +miles this side of St. Paul, pork is worth $85. Knowing that pork +constitutes a great part of the "victuals" up this way, though +far from being partial to the article, I tried it when I dined at +Swan River to see if it was good, and found it to be very +excellent. Board for laboring men must be about four dollars a +week. For transient guests at Crow Wing it is one dollar a +day.</p> + +<p>I have heard it said that money is scarce. It is possible. It +certainly commands a high premium; but the reason is that there +are such splendid opportunities to make fortunes by building and +buying and selling city lots. A man intends that the rent of a +house or store shall pay for its construction in three years. The +profits of adventure justify a man in paying high interest. If a +man has money enough to buy a pair of horses and a wagon, he can +defy the world. These are illustrations to show why one is +induced to pay interest. I do not think, however, money is +"tight." I never saw people so free with their money, or appear +to have it in so great abundance.</p> + +<p>There is one drawback which this territory has in common with +the greater part of the West, and in fact of the civilized world. +It is not only a drawback, but a nuisance anywhere; I mean +drinking or whiskey shops. The greater proportion of the settlers +are temperate men, I am sure; but in almost every village there +are places where the meanest kind of intoxicating liquor is sold. +There are some who sell liquor to the Indians. But such business +is universally considered as the most degraded that a mean man +can be guilty of. It is filthy to see men staggering about under +the influence of bad whiskey, or of any kind of whiskey. He who +sends a young husband to his new cabin home intoxicated, to +mortify and torment his family; or who sells liquor to the +uneducated Indians, that they may fight and murder, must have his +conscience— if he has any at all— cased over with sole +leather. Mr. Gough is needed in the West.</p> + +<p>Minnesota is not behind in education. Ever since Governor +Slade, of Vermont, brought some bright young school mistresses up +to St. Paul (in 1849), common school education has been diffusing +its precious influences. The government wisely sets apart two +sections of land— the 16th and 36th— in every township +for school purposes. A township is six miles square; and the two +sections thus reserved in each township comprise 1280 acres. +Other territories have the same provision. This affords a very +good fund for educational uses, or rather it is a great aid to +the exertions of the people. There are some nourishing +institutions of learning in the territory. But the greatest +institution after all in the country— the surest protection +of our liberties and our laws— is the FREE SCHOOL.</p> + +<h3>LETTER XIII.</h3> + +<h4>CROW WING TO ST. CLOUD.</h4> + +<p class="full">Pleasant drive in the stage— Scenery— +The past— Fort Ripley Ferry— Delay at the Post +Office— Belle Prairie— A Catholic priest— Dinner +at Swan River— Potatoes— Arrival at Watab— St. +Cloud.</p> + +<p>ST. CLOUD, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>YESTERDAY morning at seven I took my departure, on the stage, +from Crow Wing. It was a most delightful morning, the air not +damp, but bracing; and the welcome rays of the sun shed a mellow +lustre upon a scene of "sylvan beauty." The first hour's ride was +over a road I had passed in the dark on my upward journey, and +this was the first view I had of the country immediately below +Crow Wing. No settlements were to be seen, because the +regulations of military reservations preclude their being made +except for some purpose connected with the public interests. A +heavy shower the night before had effectually laid the dust, and +we bounded along on the easy coach in high spirits. The view of +the prairie stretching "in airy undulations far away," and of the +eddying current of the Mississippi, there as everywhere deep and +majestic, with its banks skirted with autumn-colored foliage, was +enough to commend the old fashioned system of stages to more +general use. Call it poetry or what you please, yet the man who +can contemplate with indifference the wonderful profusion of +nature, undeveloped by art— inviting, yet never touched by +the plough— must lack some one of the senses. Indeed, this +picture, so characteristic of the new lands of the West, seems to +call into existence a new sense. The view takes in a broad +expanse which has never produced a stock of grain; and which has +been traversed for ages past by a race whose greatest and most +frequent calamity was hunger. If we turn to its past there is no +object to call back our thoughts. All is oblivion. There are no +ruins to awaken curious images of former life— no vestige of +humanity— nothing but the present generation of nature. And +yet there are traces of the past generations of nature to be +seen. The depressions of the soil here and there to be observed, +covered with a thick meadow grass, are unmistakeable indications +of lakes which have now "vanished into thin air." That these +gentle hollows were once filled with water is the more certain +from the appearance of the shores of the present lakes, where the +low water mark seems to have grown lower and lower every year. +But if the past is blank, these scenes are suggestive of happy +reflections as to the future. The long perspective is radiant +with busy life and cheerful husbandry. New forms spring into +being. Villages and towns spring up as if by magic, along whose +streets throngs of men are passing. And thus, as "coming events +cast their shadows before," does the mind wander from the real to +the probable. An hour and a half of this sort of revery, and we +had come to the Fort Ripley ferry, over which we were to go for +the mail. That ferry (and I have seen others on the river like +it) is a marvellous invention. It is a flat-boat which is quickly +propelled either way across the river by means of the resistance +which it offers to the current. Its machinery is so simple I will +try to describe it. In the first place a rope is stretched across +the river from elevated objects on either side. Each end of the +boat is made fast to this line by pullies, which can be taken up +or let out at the fastenings on the boat. All that is required to +start the boat is to bring the bow, by means of the pully, to an +acute angle with the current. The after part of the boat presents +the principal resistance to the current by sliding a thick board +into the water from the upper side. As the water strikes against +this, the boat is constantly attempting to describe a circle, +which it is of course prevented from doing by the current, and so +keeps on— for it must move somewhere— in a direction +where the obstruction is less. It certainly belongs to the +science of hydraulics, for it is not such a boat as can be +propelled by steam or wind. I had occasion recently to cross the +Mississippi on a similar ferry, early in the morning, and before +the ferryman was up. The proprietor of it was with me; yet +neither of us knew much of its practical operation. I soon pulled +the head of the boat towards the current, but left down the +resistance board, or whatever it is called, at the bow as well as +at the stern. This, of course, impeded our progress; but we got +over in a few minutes; and I felt so much interested in this new +kind of navigation, that I would have been glad to try the voyage +over again.</p> + +<p>On arriving within the square of the garrison, I expected to +find the mail ready for delivery to the driver; but we had to +wait half an hour. The mail is only weekly, and there was nothing +of any consequence to change. We repaired to the post office, +which was in a remote corner of a store-room, where the +postmaster was busy making up his mail. Some of the officers had +come in with documents which they wished to have mailed. And +while we stood waiting, corporals and privates, servants of other +officers brought in letters which Lieutenant So-and-so "was +particularly desirous of having mailed this morning." The driver +was magnanimous enough to submit to me whether we should wait. We +all felt accommodating— the postmaster I saw was +particularly so— and we concluded to wait till everything +was in, and perhaps we would have waited for some one to write a +letter. I could not but think it would be a week before another +mail day; and still I could not but think these unnecessary +morning hindrances were throwing a part of our journey into the +night hours. Returning again to the eastern bank of the river by +our fine ferry, we soon passed the spacious residence of Mr. +Olmsted, a prominent citizen of the territory. We made a formal +halt at his door to see if there were any passengers. Mr. Olmsted +has a large farm under good cultivation, and several intelligent +young men in his service. In that neighborhood are some other as +handsome farms as I ever saw; but I think they are on the +reservation, and are cultivated under the patronage of the war +department. The winter grain was just up, and its fresh verdure +afforded an agreeable contrast with the many emblems of decaying +nature. It was in the middle of the forenoon that we reached +Belle Prairie, along which are many good farm houses occupied by +half-breeds. There is a church and a school-house. In the +cemetery is a large cross painted black and white, and from its +imposing appearance it cannot fail to make a solemn impression on +minds which revere any tangible object that is consigned sacred. +A very comfortable-looking house was pointed out to me as the +residence of a Catholic priest, who has lived for many years in +that section, spreading among the ignorant a knowledge of +Christianity, and ministering to their wants in the hour of +death. And though I am no Catholic, I could not but regard the +superiority of that kind of preaching— for visiting the +sick, consoling the afflicted, and rebuking sin by daily +admonitions, is the true preaching of the Gospel— over the +pompous declamation which now too often usurps the pulpit.</p> + +<p>The dinner was smoking hot on the table when we drove up to +the hotel at Swan River; and so charming a drive in the pure air +had given me a keen appetite. The dinner (and I speak of these +matters because they are quite important to travellers) was in +all respects worthy of the appetite. The great staple article of +Minnesota soil appears to be potatoes, for they were never known +to be better anywhere else— Eastport not excepted— and +at our table d'hote they were a grand collateral to the beef and +pork. The dessert consisted of nice home made apple pies served +with generosity, and we had tea or milk or water, as requested, +for a beverage. After partaking of a dinner of this kind, the +rest of the day's journey was looked forward to with no +unpleasant emotions. The stage happened to be lightly loaded, and +we rolled along with steady pace, and amidst jovial talk, till we +reached the thriving, but to me not attractive, town of Watab. +Three houses had been put up within the short time since I had +stopped there. We got into Mr. Gilman's tavern at sundown. I was +rejoiced to find a horse and carriage waiting for me, which had +been kindly sent by a friend to bring me to St. Cloud. It is +seven miles from Watab to this town. It was a charming moonlight +evening, and I immediately started on with the faithful youth who +had charge of the carriage, to enjoy my supper and lodging under +the roof of my hospitable friend at St. Cloud.</p> + +<h3>LETTER XIV.</h3> + +<h4>ST. CLOUD.— THE PACIFIC TRAIL.</h4> + +<p class="full">Agreeable visit at St. Cloud— Description of +the place— Causes of the rapid growth of towns— Gen. +Lowry— The back country— Gov. Stevens's report— +Mr. Lambert's views— Interesting account of Mr. A. W. +Tinkham's exploration.</p> + +<p>ST. CLOUD, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>IF I follow the injunction of that most impartial and worthy +critic, Lord Jeffrey, which is, that tourists should describe +those things which make the pleasantest impression on their own +minds, I should begin with an account of the delightful +entertainment which genuine hospitality and courtesy have here +favored me with. I passed Blannerhasset's Island once, and from a +view of the scenery, sought something of that inspiration which, +from reading Wirt's glowing description of it, I thought would be +excited; but the reality was far below my anticipation. If +applied to the banks of the Mississippi River, however, at this +place, where the Sauk Rapids terminate, that charming description +would be no more than an adequate picture. The residence of my +friend is a little above the limits of St. Cloud, midway on the +gradual rise from the river to the prairie. It is a neat white +two-story cottage, with a piazza in front. The yard extends to +the water's edge, and in it is a grove of handsome shade trees. +Now that the leaves have fallen, we can sit on the piazza and +have a full view of the river through the branches of the trees. +The river is here very clear and swift, with a hard bottom; and +if it were unadorned with its cheerful foliage-covered banks, the +view of it would still add a charm to a residence. There is a +mild tranquillity, blended with the romance of the scene, +admirably calculated to raise in the mind emotions the most +agreeable and serene. For nature is a great instructor and +purifier. As Talfourd says in that charming little volume of +Vacation Rambles, "to commune with nature and grow familiar with +all her aspects, surely softens the manners as much, at the +least, as the study of the liberal arts."</p> + +<p>St. Cloud is favorably located on the west bank of the river, +seventy-five miles above St. Paul. It is just enough elevated to +have good drainage facilities, should it become densely populous. +For many years it was the seat of a trading post among the +Winnebagoes. But the date of its start as a town is not more than +six months ago; since when it has been advancing with unsurpassed +thrift, on a scale of affluence and durability. Its main street +is surely a street in other respects than in the name; for it has +on either side several neatly built three-story blocks of stores, +around which the gathering of teams and of people denotes such an +activity of business as to dispel any idea that the place is got +up under false pretences. The St. Cloud advertisements in the St. +Paul daily papers contain the cards of about forty different +firms or individuals, which is a sort of index to the business of +the place. A printing press is already in the town, and a paper +will in a few days be issued. There are now two hotels; one of +which (the Stearns House), it is said, cost $9000. A flourishing +saw-mill was destroyed by fire, and in a few weeks another one +was built in its place. An Episcopal church is being erected. The +steamer "H. M. Rice" runs between here and St. Anthony. It is +sometimes said that this is the head of the Upper Mississippi +navigation, but such is not the case. The Sauk Rapids which +terminate here are an obstruction to continuous navigation +between St. Anthony and Crow Wing, but after you get to the +latter place (where the river is twenty feet deep) there is good +navigation for two hundred miles. There are several roads laid +out to intersect at St. Cloud, for the construction of which, I +believe, the government has made some appropriation. Town lots +are sold on reasonable terms to those who intend to make +improvements on them, which is the true policy for any town, but +the general market price ranges from $100 to $1000 a lot. The +town is not in the hands of capitalists, though moneyed men are +interested in it. General Lowry is a large proprietor. He lives +at Arcadia, just above the town limits, and has a farm consisting +of three hundred acres of the most splendid land, which is well +stocked with cattle and durably fenced. A better barn, or a +neater farmyard than he has, cannot be found between Boston and +Worcester. And while speaking of barns I would observe that the +old New England custom of having good barns is better observed in +Minnesota than anywhere else in the West. General Lowry has been +engaged in mercantile business. He was formerly a member of the +territorial council, and is a very useful and valuable citizen of +the territory.</p> + +<p>It would not be more surprising to have Eastern people doubt +some of the statements concerning the growth of Western towns, +than it was for the king of Siam to doubt that there was any part +of the world where water changed from liquid to a hard substance. +His majesty knew nothing about ice. Now, there are a good many +handsome villages in the East which hardly support one store. Not +that people in such a village do not consume as much or live in +finer style; but the reason is that they are old settlers who +produce very much that they live on, and who, by great travelling +facilities, are able to scatter their trading custom into some +commercial metropolis. Suppose, however, one of your large +villages to be so newly settled that the people have had no +chance to raise anything from their gardens or their fields, and +are obliged to buy all they are to eat and all that is to furnish +their dwellings, or equip their shops, or stock their farms; then +you have a state of things which will support several stores, and +a whole catalogue of trades. It is a state of affairs which +corresponds with every new settlement in the West; or, indeed, +which faintly compares with the demand for everything +merchantable, peculiar in such places. Then again, besides the +actual residents in a new place, who have money enough in their +pockets, but nothing in their cellars, there is generally a large +population in the back country of farmers and no stores. Such +people come to a place like this to trade, for fifteen or twenty +miles back, perhaps; and it being a county seat they have other +objects to bring them. At the same time there is an almost +constant flow of settlers through the place into the unoccupied +country to find preemption claims, who, of course, wish to take +supplies with them. The settler takes a day, perhaps, for his +visit in town to trade. Time is precious with him, and he cannot +come often. So he buys, perhaps, fifty or a hundred dollars worth +of goods. These are circumstances which account for activity of +business in these river towns, and which, though they are +strikingly apparent here, are not peculiar to this town. At +first, I confess, it was a mystery to me what could produce such +startling and profitable trade in these new towns.</p> + +<p>It was in the immediate vicinity of St. Cloud that Gov. +Stevens left the Mississippi on his exploration, in 1853, of a +railroad route to the Pacific. Several crossings of the river had +been previously examined, and it was found that one of the +favorable points for a railroad bridge over it was here. I might +here say that the country directly west lies in the valley of +Sauk River, and from my own observation I know it to be a good +farming country; and I believe the land is taken up by settlers +as far back as twelve miles. It is a little upwards of a hundred +miles in a westerly direction from St. Cloud to where the +expedition first touched the Bois des Sioux (or Sioux Wood +River). Gov. Stevens says in his report— " The plateau of +the Bois des Sioux will be a great centre of population and +communication. It connects with the valley of the Red River of +the North, navigable four hundred miles for steamers of three or +four feet draught, with forty-five thousand square miles of +arable and timber land; and with the valley of the Minnesota, +also navigable at all seasons when not obstructed by ice, one +hundred miles for steamers, and occasionally a hundred miles +further. The head of navigation of the Red River of the North is +within one hundred and ten miles of the navigable portion of the +Mississippi, and is distant only forty miles from the Minnesota. +Eastward from these valleys to the great lakes, the country on +both sides of the Mississippi is rich, and much of it heavily +timbered."</p> + +<p>I will also add another remark which he makes, inasmuch as the +character of the country in this latitude, as far as the Pacific +shore, must have great influence on this locality; and it is +this: " Probably four thousand square miles of tillable land is +to be found immediately on the eastern slopes of (the Rocky +Mountains); and at the bottoms of the different streams, +retaining their fertility for some distance after leaving the +mountains, will considerably increase this amount." Mr. John +Lambert, the topographer of the exploration, divides the country +between the Mississippi and Columbia rivers, into three grand +divisions. The first includes the vast prairies between the +Mississippi and the base of the Rocky Mountains. The second is +the mountain division, embracing about five degrees of longitude. +The third division comprises the immense plains of the +Columbia.</p> + +<p>Of the first division— from here to the foot of the Rocky +Mountains— let me quote what Mr. Lambert in his official +report calls a "passing glance." "Undulating and level prairies, +skirted with woods of various growth, and clothed everywhere with +a rich verdure; frequent and rapid streams, with innumerable +small but limpid lakes, frequented by multitudes of waterfowl, +most conspicuous among which appears the stately swan; these, in +ever-recurring succession, make up the panorama of this extensive +district, which may be said to be everywhere fertile, beautiful, +and inviting. The most remarkable features of this region are the +intervals of level prairie, especially that near the bend of Red +River, where the horizon is as unbroken as that of a calm sea. +Nor are other points of resemblance wanting— the long grass, +which in such places is unusually rank, bending gracefully to the +passing breeze as it sweeps along the plain, gives the idea of +waves (as indeed they are); and the solitary horseman on the +horizon is so indistinctly seen as to complete the picture by the +suggestion of a sail, raising the first feeling of novelty to a +character of wonder and delight. The following outlines of the +rolling prairies are broken only by the small lakes and patches +of timber which relieve them of monotony and enhance their +beauty; and though marshes and sloughs occur, they are of too +small extent and too infrequent to affect the generally +attractive character of the country. The elevation of the rolling +prairies is generally so uniform, that even the summits between +streams flowing in opposite directions exhibit no peculiar +features to distinguish them from the ordinary character of the +valley slopes."</p> + +<p>I think I cannot do a better service to the emigrant or +settler than to quote a part of the report made by Mr. A. W. +Tinkham, descriptive of his route from St. Paul to Fort Union. +His exploration, under Gov. Stevens, was made in the summer of +1853; and he has evidently given an impartial account of the +country. I begin with it where he crosses the Mississippi in the +vicinity of St. Cloud. The part quoted embraces the route for a +distance of two hundred and ninety-five miles; the first seventy +miles of which was due west— the rest of the route being a +little north of west.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 9. Ferried across the Mississippi River, here +some six hundred to eight hundred feet wide— boating the +camp equipage, provisions, &c., and swimming the animals; +through rich and fertile prairies, variegated with the wooded +banks of Sauk River, a short distance on the left, with the +wooded hills on either side, the clustered growth of elm, poplar, +and oak, which the road occasionally touches; following the 'Red +River trail,' we camp at Cold Spring Brook, with clear, cool +water, good grass, and wood.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 10. Cold Spring Brook is a small brook about ten +feet across, flowing through a miry slough, which is very soft +and deep, and previous to the passage of the wagons, had, for +about two hundred feet distance, been bridged in advance by a +causeway of round or split logs of the poplar growth near by; +between this and the crossing of Sauk River are two other bad +sloughs, over one of which are laid logs of poplar, and over the +other the wagons were hauled by hand, after first removing the +loads. Sauk River is crossed obliquely with a length of ford some +three hundred feet— depth of water four-and-a-half to five +feet; goods must be boated or rafted over, the river woods +affording the means of building a raft; camped immediately after +crossing; wood, water, and grass good and abundant.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 11. Over rolling prairies, without wood on the +trail, although generally in sight on the right or left, with +occasional small ponds and several bad sloughs, across which the +wagons were hauled over by hand to Lake Henry— a handsome, +wooded lake; good wood and grass; water from small pond; not very +good.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 13. Passing over rolling prairies to a branch of +Crow River, the channel of which is only some twenty feet wide +and four or five feet deep; but the water makes back into the +grass one hundred feet or more from the channel as early in the +season as when crossed by the train. Goods boated over; wagons by +hand and with ropes; no wood on the stream; several small lakes, +not wooded, are on either side of the trail, with many ducks, +geese, and plovers on them: encamp at Lightning Lake, a small and +pretty lake, sufficiently well wooded on the borders for camping +purposes; good water, wood, and grass, and abounding with +fish.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 18. Over rolling prairie with small pools and +marshes, to a swift running stream about twenty feet wide, three +feet deep, a branch of Chippewa River; heavily rolling ground +with stony knolls and granite boulders, to White Bear Lake, a +large handsome lake, with mingled open and woodland.</p> + +<p>"Broken rolling ground to camp, a mile off the Red River +trail, and near a small wooded lake. Two small brooks have to be +crossed in the interval, and being somewhat deep and with abrupt +sides, are troublesome crossings.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 20. Rolling prairie country, with small marshes +and ponds to a tributary of South Branch. Swift running stream, +gravelly bottom, fifteen feet wide, three to four feet deep; with +care in selection good crossing was obtained for the wagons; a +wooded lake is a short distance to the right of trail.</p> + +<p>"Small rivulet, whose banks are marshy and soft.</p> + +<p>"Prairies, with small marshes and ponds to a swift running +brook, six feet wide.</p> + +<p>"Prairie to Pike Lake and camp of St. Grover; a handsome lake +of about a mile in diameter, said to abound in pike; well wooded +on its south border; grass, water, and wood, for camping, +abundant and good.</p> + +<p>"Rolling prairie with knolls; several ponds and marshes, with +an intervening brook about six feet wide, and rather difficult of +passage, from the abruptness of its banks, to a small brook, the +outlet of a small and partially wooded lake or pond.</p> + +<p>"Rolling prairie, with grassy, swelling knolls, small ponds +and marshes, to Chippeway River; camp of odometer wagon on edge +of river; water and grass good; no wood.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 24. Crossed Chippeway River, one hundred and +twenty-four feet wide, three to six feet deep; goods boated over, +and the animals swimming; wagon hauled through the water by a +rope attached to the tongue, and with the aid of the mules; +camped on Elk Lake, a small and pretty lake, well wooded, and +with luxuriant grass; good water.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 25. Trail passes over prairies with a rich heavy +grass (this is a hundred miles west of the Mississippi River), +about eighteen inches high, winding between wooded lakes to a +heavy ravine, with a small and sluggish rivulet in its bottom; +sides steep, and laborious for the wagon train.</p> + +<p>"Prairie sloping towards the western branch of the Chippeway +River; a stream when crossed, about one hundred and forty feet +wide, three or four feet deep, with a marked current and firm +bottom; no wood.</p> + +<p>"Camp on a small lake, fairly wooded, with luxuriant grass, +and good water.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 27. Undulating prairie, rich soil, covered with a +heavy growth of grass, with small ponds and marshes; woods +continue in sight a short distance on the left of Elbow Lake, a +well wooded lake, of form indicated by its name.</p> + +<p>"Rolling prairie, with two bad sloughs, to Rabbit River, which +is crossed with the wagon with but little difficulty, where it +issues from a small lake. It is a small stream, but spreads out +from one hundred to three hundred feet, with marshy borders; camp +on the small lake, with good grass, wood, and water.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 28. Rolling ground, with small ponds and marshes, +to a small brook twelve feet wide; the Bois des Sioux prairie, a +smooth, flat prairie, without knoll or undulation— an +immense plain, apparently level, covered with a tall, coarse, +dark-colored grass, and unrelieved with the sight of a tree or +shrub; firm bottom, but undoubtedly wet in spring; small brook, +when the train made a noon halt.</p> + +<p>"Same smooth prairie as above to Bois des Sioux River, +sometimes soft and miry; camp on river bank; wood and grass +good— river water fair; many catfish caught in the +river.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 29. Cross Bois des Sioux River; seventy feet +wide, four to seven feet deep; muddy bottom; steep and miry +banks; goods boated over; wagons hauled through, light, with +ropes; bad crossing, but passable; smooth flat prairie, as on the +east side of Bois des Sioux, occasionally interrupted with open +sloughs to Wild Rice River, and camp with wood, water, and +abundant grass.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 30. Wild Rice River, about forty feet wide and +five and a half feet deep, with muddy and miry bottom and sides, +flowing in a canal-like channel, some twenty feet below prairie +level; river skirted with elm— bridged from the steep banks, +being too miry to sustain the animals, detaining the train but +little more than half-a-day; small brook without wood, flowing in +a broad channel cut out through the prairie; crossing miry, but +made passable for the wagon by strewing the bottom with mown +grass.</p> + +<p>"Firm prairie to camp on edge of above small stream; good +grass and water; no wood; elk killed by hunter.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 1. Smooth prairie extending to Shayenne River; +sand knolls, ponds, and marshes frequent as the river is +approached. The marshes were not miry— firmer bottom; good +wagon road; night encampment on bank of river; sufficient grass +for train; wood abundant; river water good; many catfish caught +in river.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 2. Shayenne River, sixty feet wide, fourteen feet +deep; river had been previously bridged by Red River train, from +the poplars and other trees growing on the river, and this bridge +we made use of in crossing our wagons; camp on the west bank of +the river; water, wood, and grass good.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 4. Prairie undulation, interrupted with marshes, +small ponds and occasional small rivulets, to Maple River, about +twenty-five feet wide, three and a half feet deep, firm bottom, +and easily passed by the wagons; river tolerably well wooded, and +the camp on its edge is furnished with water, wood, and good +grass. The rich black soil of the valley of this stream is +noticeable.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 5. To a small stream thirty feet wide, two feet +deep, clayey bottom, easily crossed by the wagons; prairie high, +firm, and almost level for some thirteen miles, becoming more +rolling and with small ponds in the last seven miles of the +march; on the edge of some of the ponds are salt incrustations; +camp on the river; water good; grass good; no wood, and the bois +de vache is used for fuel.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 6. Country wet and marshy; not a tree in sight; +prairie with low ridges and knolls, and great number of ponds and +marshes; night's camp by a small pond; no wood, but plenty of +bois de vache; grass good.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 7. Approaching the Shayenne; country as yesterday +for some half dozen miles; bordering on the river the ground is +broken with deep coulees and ravines, and to keep away from them +the train kept at some distance from the river, encamping by a +small marshy pond; no wood; plenty of bois de vache; grass good; +water tolerable; first buffalo killed to-day.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 8. Prairie swelling with ridges; descend to the +Shayenne, which flows some one hundred and fifty to two hundred +feet below the prairie by a steep hill; camp in the bottom of the +river; wood and water good; grass rather poor; the bottom of the +Shayenne, some half a mile wide, is often soft and miry, but when +crossed by the train firm and dry.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 9. Cross the Shayenne, fifty feet wide, three and +a half feet deep; immediate banks some ten feet high, and +requiring some digging to give passage to the wagons.</p> + +<p>"Prairie with swelling ridges and occasional marshes to camp, +to a slough affording water and grass; no wood; buffalo very +abundant.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 10. Prairie swelling into ridges and hills, with +a frequency of marshes, ponds, and sloughs; camp at a pretty +lake, near Lake Jessie; fairly wooded, with water slightly +saline; grass scanty, having been consumed by the buffalo. +Prairies covered with buffalo."</p> + +<p>I take this valuable sketch of the natural features of the +country from volume 1 of Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific +Railroad (page 353-356); for which I am indebted to the learned +Secretary of War.</p> + +<h3>LETTER XV.</h3> + +<h4>ST. CLOUD TO ST. PAUL.</h4> + +<p class="full">Importance of starting early— Judge Story's +theory of early rising— Rustic scenery— Horses and +mules— Surveyors— Humboldt— Baked fish— +Getting off the track— Burning of hay stacks— Supper at +St. Anthony— Arrival at the Fuller House.</p> + +<p>ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I WAS up by the gray dawn of the morning of yesterday, and +after an early but excellent breakfast, crossed the river from +St. Cloud, in order to meet the stage at Sauk Rapids. As we came +up on the main road, the sight of a freshly made rut, of +stage-wheel size, caused rather a disquieting apprehension that +the stage had passed. But my nerves were soon quieted by the +assurance from an early hunter, who was near by shooting prairie +chickens while they were yet on the roost, that the stage had not +yet come. So we kept on to the spacious store where the post +office is kept; where I waited and waited for the stage to come +which was to bring me to St. Paul. It did not arrive till eight +o'clock. I thought if every one who had a part to perform in +starting off the stage from Watab (for it had started out from +there that morning), was obliged to make the entire journey of 80 +miles to St. Paul in the stage, they would prefer to get up a +little earlier rather than have the last part of the trip +extended into "the dead waist and middle of the night." I +remarked to the driver, who is a very clever young man, that the +stage which left St. Paul started as early as five o'clock, and I +could not see why it was not as necessary to start as early in +going down, inasmuch as the earlier we started the less of the +night darkness we had to travel in. He perfectly agreed with me, +and attributed his inability to start earlier to the dilatory +arrangements at the hotel. When jogging along at about eleven at +night between St. Anthony and the city, I could not help +begrudging every minute of fair daylight which had been wasted. +The theory of Judge Story, that it don't make much difference +when a man gets up in the morning, provided he is wide awake +after he is up, will do very well, perhaps, except when one is to +start on a journey in the stage.</p> + +<p>I took a seat by the driver's side, the weather being clear +and mild, and had an unobstructed and delightful view of every +object, and there seemed to be none but pleasant objects in range +of the great highway. Though there is, between every village, +population enough to remind one constantly that he is in a +settled country, the broad extent yet unoccupied proclaims that +there is still room enough. Below Sauk Rapids a good deal of the +land on the road side is in the hands of speculators. This, it is +understood, is on the east side of the Mississippi. On the west +side there are more settlements. But yet there are many farms, +with tidy white cottages; and in some places are to be seen +well-arranged flower-gardens. The most attractive scenery to me, +however, was the ample corn-fields, which, set in a groundwork of +interminable virgin soil, are pictures which best reflect the +true destiny and usefulness of an agricultural region. We met +numerous teams heavily laden with furniture or provisions, +destined for the different settlements above. The teams are +principally drawn by two horses; and, as the road is extremely +level and smooth, are capable of taking on as much freight as +under other circumstances could be drawn by four horses. Mules do +not appear to be appreciated up this way so much as in Missouri +or Kentucky. Nor was it unusual to meet light carriages with a +gentleman and lady, who, from the luggage, &c., aboard, +appeared to have been on somewhat of an extensive shopping +expedition. And I might as well say here, if I havn't yet said +it, that the Minnesotians are supplied with uncommonly good +horses. I do not remember to have seen a mean horse in the +territory. I suppose, as considerable pains are taken in raising +stock, poor horses are not raised at all; and it will not pay to +import poor ones. A company of surveyors whom we met excited a +curiosity which I was not able to solve. It looked odd enough to +see a dozen men walking by the side or behind a small one-horse +cart; the latter containing some sort of baggage which was +covered over, as it appeared, with camping fixtures. It was more +questionable whether the team belonged to the men than that the +men were connected with the team. The men were mostly young and +very intelligent-looking, dressed with woollen shirts as if for +out door service, and I almost guessed they were surveyors; yet +still thought they were a party of newcomers who had concluded to +club together to make their preemption claim. But surveyors they +were.</p> + +<p>The town of Humboldt is the county seat for Sherburne county. +It lies between the Mississippi and Snake rivers. The part of the +town which I saw was a very small part. Mr. Brown's residence, +which is delightfully situated on the shore of a lake, is at once +the court house and the post office, besides being the general +emporium and magnate of Humboldt business and society. +Furthermore, it is the place where the stage changes horses and +where passengers on the down trip stop to dine. It was here we +stopped to dine; and as the place had been a good deal applauded +for its table-d'hote, a standard element of which was said to be +baked fish, right out of the big lake, I at least had formed very +luxurious expectations. Mr. Brown was away. We had met his lively +countenance on his way up to a democratic caucus. Perhaps that +accounted for our not having baked fish, for fish we certainly +did not have. The dinner was substantial, however, and yielded to +appetites which had been sharpened by a half day's inhalation of +serene October air. We had all become infused with a spirit of +despatch; and were all ready to start, and did start, in half an +hour from the time we arrived at the house.</p> + +<p>We had not proceeded far after dinner before meeting the +Monticello stage, which runs between the thriving village of that +name— on the west bank of the Mississippi— and St. +Paul. It carries a daily mail. There were several passengers +aboard.</p> + +<p>One little incident in our afternoon travel I will mention, as +it appeared to afford more pleasure to the rest of the passengers +than it did to me. Where the stage was to stop for fifteen or +twenty minutes, either to change mail or horses, I had invariably +walked on a mile, if I could get as far, for the sake of variety +and exercise. So when we came to the pretty village of Anoka (at +the mouth of Rum River), where the mail was to be changed, I +started on foot and alone. But unfortunately and unconsciously I +took the wrong road. I had walked a mile I think— for twenty +minutes at least had expired since I started— and being in +the outskirts of the town, in the midst of farms and gardens, +turned up to a garden-fence, on the other side of which a +gentleman of professional— I rather thought clerical +appearance— was feeding a cow on pumpkins. I had not seen +pumpkins so abundant since my earliest youth, when I used to do a +similar thing. I rather thought too that the gentleman whom I +accosted was a Yankee, and after talking a few minutes with him, +so much did he exceed me in asking questions, that I felt sure he +was one. How thankful I ought to be that he was one! for +otherwise it is probable he would not have ascertained where, and +for what purpose, I was walking. He informed me I was on the +wrong road; that the stage took a road further west, which was +out of sight; and that I had better go on a little further and +then cross the open prairie. Then for the first time did I notice +that the road I had taken was but a street, not half so much worn +as the main road. I followed his friendly advice, and feeling +some despair I hastened on at a swift run, and as I advanced +towards where I thought the right road ought to be, though I +could neither see it nor the stage, "called so loud that all the +hollow deep of"— the prairies might have resounded. At last, +when quite out of breath and hoarse with loud vociferation, I +descried the stage rolling on at a rapid rate. Then I renewed my +calls, and brought it up standing. After clambering over a few +fences, sweating and florid, I got to the stage and resumed my +seat, amidst the pleasant merriment of the passengers. The driver +was kind enough to say that he began to suspect I had taken the +wrong road, and was about to turn round and come after me— +that he certainly would not have left me behind, &c. I was +happy, nevertheless, that my mistake did not retard the stage. +But I do not intend to abandon the practice of walking on before +the stage whenever it stops to change horses.</p> + +<p>Just in the edge of twilight, and when we were a little way +this side of Coon Creek, where we had changed horses again, we +came in sight of a large fire. It was too much in one spot to be +a prairie fire; and as we drove on the sad apprehension that it +was a stack of hay was confirmed. The flames rose up in wide +sheets, and cast a steady glare upon the landscape. It was a +gorgeous yet a dismal sight. It always seems worse to see grain +destroyed by fire than ordinary merchandise. Several stacks were +burning. We saw that the usual precaution against prairie fires +had been taken. These consist in ploughing several furrows around +the stack, or by burning the grass around it to prevent the +flames from reaching it. It was therefore suspected that some +rascal had applied the torch to the hay; though for humanity's +sake we hoped it was not so. The terrible prairie fires, which +every autumn waste the western plains, are frequently started +through the gross carelessness of people who camp out, and leave +their fires burning.</p> + +<p>Some of us took supper at St. Anthony. I cannot say much of +the hotel <i>de facto</i>. The table was not as good as I found +on the way at other places above. There is a hotel now being +built there out of stone, which I am confident will exceed +anything in the territory, if we except the Fuller House. It is +possible we all felt invigorated and improved by the supper, for +we rode the rest of the way in a very crowded stage without +suffering any exhibition of ill temper to speak of, and got into +St. Paul at last, when it was not far from eleven; and after +seventy-five miles of staging, the luxurious accommodations of +the Fuller House seemed more inviting than ever.</p> + +<h3>LETTER XVI.</h3> + +<h4>PROGRESS.</h4> + +<p class="full">Rapid growth of the North-West— Projected +railroads— Territorial system of the United States— +Inquiry into the cause of Western progress— Influence of +just laws and institutions— Lord Bacon's remark.</p> + +<p>ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>THE progress which has characterized the settlement of the +territory of Minnesota, presents to the notice of the student of +history and political economy some important facts. The growth of +a frontier community, so orderly, so rapid, and having so much of +the conservative element in it, has rarely been instanced in the +annals of the world. In less time than it takes the government to +build a custom house we see an unsettled territory grown to the +size of a respectable state, in wealth, in population, in power. +A territory, too, which ten years ago seemed to be an incredible +distance from the civilized portions of the country; and which +was thought by most people to be in a latitude that would defeat +the energy and the toil of man. Today it could bring into the +field a larger army than Washington took command of at the +beginning of our revolution!</p> + +<p>In 1849, the year of its organization, the population of the +territory was 4780; now it is estimated to be nearly 200,000. In +1852 there were 42 post offices in the territory, now there are +253. The number of acres of public land sold during the fiscal +year ending 30th June, 1852, was 15,258. For the year ending 30th +June, 1856, the number of acres sold was 1,002,130.</p> + +<p>When we contemplate the headlong progress of Western growth in +its innumerable evidences of energy, we admit the truth of what +the Roman poet said— <i>nil mortalibus ardum est</i>— +that there is nothing too difficult for man. In the narrative of +his exploration to the Mississippi in 1820, along with General +Cass, Mr. Schoolcraft tells us how Chicago then appeared. "We +found," says he, <i>"four or five families living here."</i> Four +or five families was the extent of the population of Chicago in +1820! In 1836 it had 4853 inhabitants. In 1855 its population was +85,000. The history of many western towns that have sprung up +within ten years is characterized by much the same sort of +thrift. Unless some terrible scourge shall come to desolate the +land, or unless industry herself shall turn to sloth, a few more +years will present the magnificent spectacle of the entire domain +stretching from this frontier to the Pacific coast, transformed +into a region of culture, "full of life and splendor and +joy."</p> + +<p>At present there are no railroads in operation in Minnesota; +but those which are already projected indicate, as well as any +statistics, the progress which is taking place. The Chicago, St. +Paul, and Fond-du-Lac Railroad was commenced some two years ago +at Chicago, and over 100 miles of it are completed. It is to run +<i>via</i> Hudson in Wisconsin, Stillwater, St. Paul, and St. +Anthony in Minnesota to the western boundary of the territory. +Recently it has united with the Milwaukee and La Cross Road, +which secures several millions of acres of valuable land, donated +by congress, and which will enable the stockholders to complete +the road to St. Paul and St. Anthony within two years. A road has +been surveyed from the head of Lake Superior <i>via</i> St. Paul +to the southern line of the territory, and will soon be worked. +The Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad Company will in a few +weeks have their road completed to Prairie du Chien, and are +extending it on the east side of the Mississippi to St. Paul. +Another road is being built up the valley of the Red Cedar River +in Iowa to Minneapolis. The Keokuck road is in operation over +fifty miles, and will soon be under contract to St. Paul. This +road is to run <i>via</i> the valley of the Des Moines River, +through the rich coal fields of Iowa, and will supply the upper +Mississippi and Lake Superior region with coal.</p> + +<p>The Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad Company has been +organized and the route selected. This road will soon be +commenced. The active men engaged in the enterprise reside in +Green Bay and Stillwater. A company has been formed and will soon +commence a road from Winona to the western line of the territory. +The St. Anthony and St. Paul Railroad Company will have their +line under contract early the coming season. The Milwaukee and La +Cross Company propose continuing their road west through the +valley of Root River, through Minnesota to the Missouri River. +Another company has been formed for building a road from the head +of Lake Superior to the Red River of the North.[1] Such are some +of the railroad enterprises which are under way, and which will +contribute at an early day to develop the opulent resources of +the territory. A railroad through this part of the country to the +Pacific is among the probable events of the present +generation.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="footnote">[1 The following highly instructive article +on navigation, I take from The <i>Pioneer and Democrat</i> (St. +Paul), of the 20th November:</p> + +<p class="footnote">"GROWTH OF THE STEAMBOATING BUSINESS— +THE SEASON OF 1856.</p> + +<p class="footnote">— About ten years after the first +successful attempt at steamboat navigation on the Ohio River, the +first steamboat that ever ascended the Upper Mississippi River to +Fort Snelling, arrived at that post. This was the 'Virginia,' a +stern-wheel boat, which arrived at the Port in the early part of +May, 1823. From 1823 to 1844 there were but few arrivals each +year— sometimes not more than two or three. The steamers +running on the Upper Mississippi, at that time, were used +altogether to transport supplies for the Indian traders and the +troops stationed at Fort Snelling. Previous to the arrival of the +Virginia, keel boats were used for this purpose, and sixty days' +time, from St. Louis to the Fort, was considered a good trip.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"By a reference to our files, we are enabled +to present, at a glance, the astonishing increase in steamboating +business since 1844. The first boat to arrive that year, was the +Otter, commanded by Captain Harris. The following table presents +the number of arrivals since that time:—</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>Year</i></p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>First Boat</i></p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>No. of Arrivals</i></p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>River Closed</i></p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1844</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">41</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1845</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">48</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 26</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1846</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">March 31</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">24</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Dec. 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1847</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">47</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1848</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">63</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Dec. 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1849</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 9</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">85</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Dec. 7</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1850</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 9</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">104</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Dec. 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1851</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">119</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1852</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 16</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">171</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 18</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1853</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 11</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">200</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 30</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1854</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 8</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">245</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 27</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1855</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 17</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">560</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 20</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1856</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 18</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">837</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 10</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p class="footnote">"In 1851, three boats went up the Minnesota +River, and in 1852, one boat ran regularly up that stream during +the season. In 1853, the business required an average of one boat +per day. In 1854, the business had largely increased, and in +1855, the arrivals of steamers from the Minnesota, amounted to +119.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"The present season, on the Mississippi, has +been a very prosperous one, and the arrivals at St. Paul exhibit +a gratifying increase over any preceding year, notwithstanding +the season of navigation has been two weeks shorter than last +season. Owing to the unusually early gorge in the river at +Hastings, upwards of fifty steamers bound for this port, and +heavily laden with merchandise and produce, were compelled to +discharge their cargoes at Hastings and Stillwater.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"Navigation this season opened on the 18th of +April. The Lady Franklin arrived on the evening of that day from +Galena. Previous to her arrival, there had been eighteen arrivals +at our landing from the head of Lake Pepin, and twelve arrivals +at the foot of the lake, from Galena and Dubuque.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"During the present season, seventy-eight +different steamers have arrived at our wharf, from the points +mentioned in the following table. This table we draw mainly from +the books of the City Marshal, and by reference to our files.</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" align="center"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM ST. LOUIS.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>Boats</i></p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote"><i>No. of Trips.</i></p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ben Coursin</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 19</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">A. G. Mason</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Metropolitan</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 13</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Audubon</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Golden State</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Laclede</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Luella</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cheviot</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James Lyon</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 7</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Vienna</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New York</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Delegate</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mansfield</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 7</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Forest Rose</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ben Bolt</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">J. P. Tweed</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fire Canoe</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Carrier</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Julia Dean</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Resolute</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Gossamer</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Thomas Scott</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 6</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Gipsey</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">W. G. Woodside</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">York State</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mattie Wayne</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Brazil</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dan Convers</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henrietta</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Editor</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnesota Belle</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rochester</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Oakland</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 7</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grace Darling</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Montauk</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 3</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fairy Queen</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Louis</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Americus</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Atlanta</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jacob Traber</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 6</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">White Bluffs</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Arcola</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Conewago</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 10</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lucie May</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Badger State</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sam Young</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Violet</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td>Â </td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total arrivals from St. Louis,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 212</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM FULTON CITY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Falls City</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Diamond</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. T. Yeatman</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Time and Tide</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td>Â </td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total from Fulton City,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM GALENA AND DUNLEITH.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lady Franklin</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Galena</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alhambra</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">21</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Royal Arch</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Northern Belle</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Banjo</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">War Eagle</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">17</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">City Belle</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Golden Era</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ocean Wave</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Granite State</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Greek Slave</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total from Galena and Dunleith,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">228</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM DUBUQUE.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Excelsior</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kate Cassel</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clarion</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Tishimingo</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fanny Harris</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Flora</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hamburg</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total from Dubuque,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">135</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM MINNESOTA RIVER.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. T. Yeatman</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Globe</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">34</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clarion</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reveille</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">40</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. S. Allen</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Time and Tide</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wave</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Equator</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">46</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnesota Valley</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">20</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Berlin</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total from Minnesota River,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">216</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="leftnote">RECAPITULATION.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Number of arrivals from</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Louis</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">212</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fulton City</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Galena and Dunleith</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">228</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dubuque</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">135</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnesota River</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">216</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">head of Lake Pepin</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">18</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="rightnote">Whole number of boats, 78.<br> +Whole number of arrivals, 837</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p class="footnote">"It will be seen from the above, that ten +more steamers have been engaged in this trade during the present +year than last; while in the whole number of arrivals the +increase has been two <i>hundred and sixty-seven.</i></p> + +<p class="footnote">"The business on the Minnesota has greatly +increased this year. This was to have been expected, considering +the great increase in the population of that flourishing portion +of our Territory.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"A thriving trade has sprung up between the +southern counties of Minnesota, and Galena and Dubuque. During +the greater portion of the summer, the War Eagle and Tishimingo +run regularly to Winona.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"On the Upper Mississippi there are now three +steamers, the Gov. Ramsay, H. M. Rice, and North Star (new). +Daring the season these boats ran between St. Anthony and Sauk +Rapids."]</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p>It may be well to pause here a moment and inquire into the +causes which contribute so wonderfully to build up empire in our +north-western domain. The territorial system of the United States +has some analogy, it is true, to the colonial system of Great +Britain— not the colonial system which existed in the days +of the stamp act— but that which a wiser statesmanship has +more recently inaugurated. The relation between the general +government and our territories is like that of guardian and +ward— the relation of a protector, not that of a master. Nor +can we find in the history of antiquity any such relationship +between colonies and the mother country, whether we consider the +system of Phoenicia, where first was exhibited the doctrine of +non-intervention, or the tribute-paying colonies of Carthage. +That system which was peculiar to Greece, "resting not on state +contrivances and economical theories, but on religious sympathies +and ancestral associations," came as near perhaps in spirit to +ours as any on record. The patronage which the government bestows +on new territories is one of the sources of their growth which +ought not to be overlooked. Instead of making the territory a +dependency and drawing from it a tax, the government pays its +political expenses, builds its roads, and gives it a fair start +in the world.</p> + +<p>Another cause of the successful growth of our territories in +general, and of Minnesota in particular, is the ready market +which is found in the limits of the territory for everything +which can be raised from a generous soil or wrought by +industrious hands. The farmer has a ready market for everything +that is good to eat or to wear; the artisan is driven by +unceasing demands upon his skill. This arises from extensive +emigration. Another reason, also, for the rapid growth of the +territory, is, that the farmer is not delayed by forests, but +finds, outside of pleasant groves of woodland, a smooth, +unencumbered soil, ready for the plough the first day he +arrives.</p> + +<p>But if a salubrious climate, a fertile soil, clear and copious +streams, and other material elements, can be reckoned among its +physical resources, there are other elements of empire connected +with its moral and political welfare which are indispensable. Why +is it that Italy is not great? Why is it the South American +republics are rusting into abject decay? Is it because they have +not enough physical resources, or because their climate is not +healthy? Certainly not. It is because their political +institutions are rotten and oppressive; because ignorance +prevents the growth of a wholesome public opinion. It is the want +of the right sort of men and institutions that there is</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">"Sloth in the mart and schism +within the temple."</p> + +<p>"Let states that aim at greatness," says Lord Bacon, "take +heed how their nobility and gentlemen do multiply too fast; for +that maketh the common subject to be a peasant and base swain, +driven out of heart, and, in effect, but a gentleman's laborer." +He who seeks for the true cause of the greatness and thrift of +our northwestern states will find it not less in the influence of +just laws and the education of all classes of men, than in the +existence of productive fields and in the means of physical +wealth.</p> + +<blockquote>Â Â "What constitutes a state?<br> + Not high raised battlement, or labored mound,<br> + Â Â Â Thick wall, or moated gate;<br> + Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned;<br> + Â Â Â Not bays and broad armed ports,<br> + Where, laughing at the storm, proud navies ride;<br> + Â Â Â But men, high minded men.</blockquote> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>PART II.</h3> + +<h4>TERRITORY OF DACOTAH.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="full">"POPULOUS CITIES AND STATES ARE SPRINGING UP, AS +IF BY ENCHANTMENT, FROM THE BOSOM OF OUR WESTERN WILDS."— +<i>The President's Annual Message for</i> 1856.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF +DACOTAH.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="full">Organization of Minnesota as a state— +Suggestions as to its division— Views of Captain Pope— +Character and resources of the new territory to be left +adjoining— Its occupation by the Dacotah Indians— Its +organization and name.</p> + +<p>THE territory of Minnesota according to its present boundaries +embraces an area of 141,839 square miles exclusive of +water;— a domain four times as large as the State of Ohio, +and twelve times as large as Holland, when her commerce was +unrivalled and her fleets ruled the sea. Its limits take in three +of the largest rivers of North America; the Mississippi, the +Missouri, and the Red River of the North. Though remote from the +sea board, ships can go out from its harbors to the ocean in two +if not three different channels. Its delightful scenery of lakes +and water-falls, of prairie and woodland, are not more alluring +to the tourist, than are its invigorating climate and its verdant +fields attractive to the husbandman. It has been organized seven +years; and its resources have become so much developed, and its +population so large, there is a general disposition among the +people to have a state organization, and be admitted into the +Confederacy of the Union.[1] A measure of this kind is not now +premature: on the contrary, it is not for the interest of the +general government any longer to defray the expenses of the +territory; and the adoption of a state organization, throwing the +taxes upon the people, would give rise to a spirit of rivalry and +emulation, a watchfulness as to the system of public +expenditures, and a more jealous regard for the proper +development of the physical resources of the state. The +legislature which meets in January (1857), will without doubt +take the subject into consideration, and provide for a convention +to frame a constitution.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 On the 9th of December Mr. Rice, the +delegate in congress from Minnesota, gave notice to the house +that he would in a few days introduce a bill authorizing the +people of the territory to hold a convention for the purpose of +forming a state constitution.]</p> + +<p>This being the condition of things, the manner in which the +territory shall be divided— for no one can expect the new +state will embrace the whole extent of the present +territory— becomes a very interesting question. Some +maintain, I believe, that the territory should be divided by a +line running east and west. That would include in its limits the +country bordering, for some distance, on the Missouri River; +possibly the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. +But it is hardly probable that a line of this description would +give Minnesota any part of Lake Superior. Others maintain that +the territory should be divided by a line running north and +south; say, for instance, along the valley of the Red River of +the North. Such a division would not give Minnesota any of the +Missouri River. But it would have the benefit of the eastern +valley of the Red River of the North; of the entire region +surrounding the sources of the Mississippi; and of the broad +expanse which lies on Lake Superior. The question is highly +important, not only to Minnesota, but to the territory which will +be left outside of it; and it should be decided with a due regard +to the interests of both.[1]</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 I take pleasure in inserting here a note +which I have had the honor to receive from Captain Pope, of the +Corps of Topographical Engineers I have before had occasion to +quote from the able and instructive report of his exploration of +Minnesota.</p> + +<p class="full">WASHINGTON, D. C. Dec. 10, 1856.</p> + +<p>DEAR SIR:— Your note of the 6th instant is before me; and +I will premise my reply by saying that the suggestions I shall +offer to your inquiries are based upon my knowledge of the +condition of the territory in 1849, which circumstances beyond my +acquaintance may have materially modified since.</p> + +<p>The important points to be secured for the new state to be +erected in the territory of Minnesota, seem to be:— first a +harbor on Lake Superior, easily accessible from the West; second, +the whole course of the Mississippi to the Iowa line; and, third, +the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. It is +unnecessary to point out the advantages of securing these +features to the new state; and to do so without enclosing too +many square miles of territory, I would suggest the following +boundaries, viz.:</p> + +<p>Commencing on the 49th parallel of latitude, where it is +intersected by the Red River of the North, to follow the line of +deepest water of that river to the mouth of the Bois des Sioux +(or Sioux Wood) River; thence up the middle of that stream to the +south-west point of Lake Traverse; thence following a due south +line to the northern boundary of the state of Iowa (43 degrees +30' north latitude); thence along this boundary line to the +Mississippi River; thence up the middle of the Mississippi River +to the mouth of the St. Croix River; thence along the western +boundary line of the state of Wisconsin to its intersection with +the St. Louis River; thence down the middle of that river to Lake +Superior; thence following the coast of the lake to its +intersection with the boundary line between the United States and +the British possessions, and following this boundary to the place +of beginning.</p> + +<p>These boundaries will enclose an area of about 65,000 square +miles of the best agricultural and manufacturing region in the +territory, and will form a state of unrivalled advantages. That +portion of the territory set aside by the boundary line will be +of little value for many years to come. It presents features +differing but little from the region of prairie and table land +west of the frontier of Missouri and Arkansas. From this, of +course, are to be excepted the western half of the valley of the +Red River and of the Big Sioux River, which are as productive as +any portion of the territory, which, with the region enclosed +between them, would contain arable land sufficient for another +state of smaller dimensions.</p> + +<p>As you will find stated and fully explained in my report of +February, 1850, the valley of the Red River of the North must +find an outlet for its productions towards the south, either +through the great lakes or by the Mississippi River. The +necessity, therefore, of connecting the head of its navigation +with a harbor on Lake Superior, and a port on the Mississippi, is +sufficiently apparent. As each of these lines of railroad will +run through the most fertile and desirable portion of the +territory, they will have a value far beyond the mere object of +transporting the products of the Red River valley.</p> + +<p>The construction of these roads— in fact the mere +location of them— will secure a population along the routes +at once, and will open a country equal to any in the world.</p> + +<p>As these views have been fully elaborated in my report of +1850, I refer you to that paper for the detailed information upon +which these views and suggestions are based.</p> + +<p>I am sir, respectfully, your obedient servant;</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">JNO. POPE.<br> +C. C. ANDREWS, Esq.,<br> +Washington, D. C.]</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p>If the division last mentioned— or one on that plan— +is made, there will then be left west of the state of Minnesota +an extent of country embracing more than half of the territory as +it now is; extending from latitude 42 degrees 30' to the 49th +degree; and embracing six degrees of longitude— 97th to +103d— at its northern extreme. The Missouri River would +constitute nearly the whole of its western boundary. In the +northerly part the Mouse and Pembina Rivers are among its largest +streams; in the middle flows the large and finely wooded +Shayenne, "whose valley possesses a fertile soil and offers many +inducements to its settlement;" while towards the south it would +have the Jacques, the Big Sioux, the Vermillion, and the head +waters of the St. Peter's. In its supply of copious streams, +nature seems there to have been lavish. Of the Big Sioux River, +M. Nicollet says, its Indian name means that it is continuously +lined with wood; that its length cannot be less than three +hundred and fifty miles. "It flows through a beautiful and +fertile country; amidst which the Dacotahs, inhabiting the +valleys of the St. Peter's and Missouri, have always kept up +summer establishments on the borders of the adjoining lakes, +whilst they hunted the river banks. Buffalo herds are confidently +expected to be met with here at all seasons of the year." The +Jacques (the Indian name of which is <i>Tchan-sansan</i>) "takes +its rise on the plateau of the Missouri beyond the parallel of 47 +degrees north; and after pursuing nearly a north and south +course, empties into the Missouri River below 43 degrees. It is +deemed navigable with small hunting canoes for between five +hundred and six hundred miles; but below <i>Otuhuoja</i>, it will +float much larger boats. The shores of the river are generally +tolerably well wooded, though only at intervals. Along those +portions where it widens into lakes, very eligible situations for +farms would be found." The same explorer says, the most important +tributary of the Jacques is the Elm River, which "might not +deserve any special mention as a navigable stream, but is very +well worthy of notice on account of the timber growing on its own +banks and those of its forks." He further observes (Report, p. +46) that "the basin of the river Jacques, between the two coteaux +and in the latitude of <i>Otuhuoja</i>, may be laid down as +having a breadth of eighty miles, sloping gradually down from an +elevation of seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet. These +dimensions, of course, vary in the different parts of the valley; +but what I have said will convey some idea of the immense prairie +watered by the <i>Tchan-sansan</i>, which has been deemed by all +travellers to those distant regions perhaps the most beautiful +within the territory of the United States."</p> + +<p>The middle and northern part comprises an elevated plain, of +average fertility and tolerably wooded. Towards the south it is +characterized by bold undulations. The valley of the Missouri is +narrow; and the bluffs which border upon it are abrupt and high. +The country is adapted to agricultural pursuits, and though +inferior as a general thing to much of Minnesota, affords promise +of thrift and properity in its future. It is blessed with a +salubrious climate. Dr. Suckley, who accompanied the expedition +of Gov. Stevens through that part of the West, as far as Puget +Sound, says in his official report: "On reviewing the whole +route, the unequalled and unparalleled good health of the command +during a march of over eighteen hundred miles appears remarkable; +especially when we consider the hardships and exposures +necessarily incident to such a trip. Not a case of ague or fever +occurred. Such a state of health could only be accounted for by +the great salubrity of the countries passed through, and their +freedom from malarious or other endemic disease."</p> + +<p>Governor Stevens has some comprehensive remarks concerning +that part of the country in his report. "The Grand Plateau of the +Bois des Sioux and the Mouse River valley are the two keys of +railroad communication from the Mississippi River westward +through the territory of Minnesota. The Bois des Sioux is a river +believed to be navigable for steamers of light draught, flowing +northward from Lake Traverse into the Red River of the North, and +the plateau of the Bois des Sioux may be considered as extending +from south of Lake Traverse to the south bend of the Red River, +and from the Rabbit River, some thirty miles east of the Bois des +Sioux River, to the Dead Colt hillock. This plateau separates the +rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay from those flowing into the +Mississippi River. The Mouse River valley, in the western portion +of Minnesota, is from ten to twenty miles broad; is separated +from the Missouri River by the Coteau du Missouri, some six +hundred feet high, and it is about the same level as the parallel +valley of the Missouri." (Report, ch. 4.)</p> + +<p>M. Nicollet was a scientific or matter of fact man, who +preferred to talk about "erratic blocks" and "cretaceous +formations" rather than to indulge in poetic descriptions. The +outline which follows, however, of the western part of the +territory is what he considers "a faint description of this +beautiful country." "The basin of the Upper Mississippi is +separated in a great part of its extent from that of the +Missouri, by an elevated plain; the appearance of which, seen +from the valley of the St. Peter's or that of the Jacques, +looming as it were a distant shore, has suggested for it the name +of <i>Coteau des Prairies</i>. Its more appropriate designation +would be that of <i>plateau</i>, which means something more than +is conveyed to the mind by the expression, a <i>plain</i>. Its +northern extremity is in latitude 46 degrees, extending to 43 +degrees; after which it loses its distinctive elevation above the +surrounding plains, and passes into rolling prairies. Its length +is about two hundred miles, and its general direction N. N. W. +and S. S. E. Its northern termination (called <i>Tete du +Couteau</i> in consequence of its peculiar configuration) is not +more than fifteen to twenty miles across; its elevation above the +level of the Big Stone Lake is eight hundred and ninety feet, and +above the ocean one thousand nine hundred and sixteen feet. +Starting from this extremity (that is, the head of the Coteau), +the surface of the plateau is undulating, forming many dividing +ridges which separate the waters flowing into the St. Peter's and +the Mississippi from those of the Missouri. Under the 44th degree +of latitude, the breadth of the Coteau is about forty miles, and +its mean elevation is here reduced to one thousand four hundred +and fifty feet above the sea. Within this space its two slopes +are rather abrupt, crowned with verdure, and scolloped by deep +ravines thickly shaded with bushes, forming the beds of rivulets +that water the subjacent plains.</p> + +<p>The Coteau itself is isolated, in the midst of boundless and +fertile prairies, extending to the west, to the north, and into +the valley of the St. Peter's.</p> + +<p>The plain at its northern extremity is a most beautiful tract +of land diversified by hills, dales, woodland, and lakes, the +latter abounding in fish. This region of country is probably the +most elevated between the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. From +its summit, proceeding from its western to its eastern limits, +grand views are afforded. At its eastern border particularly, the +prospect is magnificent beyond description, extending over the +immense green turf that forms the basin of the Red River of the +North, the forest-capped summits of the <i>haugeurs des +terres</i> that surround the sources of the Mississippi, the +granitic valley of the Upper St. Peter's, and the depressions in +which are Lake Traverse and the Big Stone Lake. There can be no +doubt that in future times this region will be the summer resort +of the wealthy of the land." (pp. 9, 10.)</p> + +<p>I will pass over what he says of the "vast and magnificent +valley of the Red River of the North," having before given some +account of that region, and merely give his description of the +largest lake which lies in the northern part of the territory: +"The greatest extension of Devil's Lake is at least forty +miles,— but may be more, as we did not, and could not, +ascertain the end of the north-west bay, which I left undefined +on the map. It is bordered by hills that are pretty well wooded +on one side, but furrowed by ravines and coulees, that are taken +advantage of by warlike parties, both for attack and defence +according to circumstances. The lake itself is so filled up with +islands and promontories, that, in travelling along its shores, +it is only occasionally that one gets a glimpse of its expanse. +This description belongs only to its wooded side; for, on the +opposite side, the shores, though still bounded by hills, are +destitute of trees, so as to exhibit an embankment to the east +from ten to twelve miles long, upon an average breadth of +three-quarters of a mile. The average breadth of the lake may be +laid down at fifteen miles. Its waters appear to be the drainings +of the surrounding hills. We discovered no outlets in the whole +extent of about three-quarters of its contour we could explore. +At all events, if there be any they do not empty into the Red +River of the North, since the lake is shut up in that direction, +and since we found its true geographical position to be much more +to the north than it is ordinarily laid down upon maps. A single +depression at its lower end would intimate that, in times of high +water, some discharge might possibly take place; but then it +would be into the <i>Shayenne</i>." (p. 50.)</p> + +<p>Such are some of the geographical outlines of the extensive +domain which will be soon organized as a new territory.</p> + +<p>What will it be called? If the practice hitherto followed of +applying to territories the names which they have been called by +their aboriginal inhabitants is still adhered to, this new +territory will have the name of Dacotah. It is the correct or +Indian name of those tribes whom we call the Sioux; the latter +being an unmeaning Indian-French word. Dacotah means "united +people," and is the word which the Indians apply to seven of +their bands.[1] These tribes formerly occupied the country south +and south-west of Lake Superior; from whence they were gradually +driven towards the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains by their +powerful and dreaded enemies the Chippewas. Since which time they +have been the acknowledged occupants of the broad region to which +they have impressed a name. Several of the tribes, however, have +crossed the Missouri, between which and the Rocky Mountains they +still linger a barbaric life. We may now hope to realize the +truth of Hiawatha's words:—</p> + +<blockquote>"After many years of warfare,<br> + Â Many years of strife and bloodshed,<br> + Â There is peace between the Ojibways<br> + Â And the tribe of the Dacotahs."</blockquote> + +<p class="footnote">[1 The following description of the Dacotahs +is based on observations made in 1823. "The Dacotahs are a large +and powerful nation of Indians, distinct in their manners, +language, habits, and opinions, from the Chippewas, Sauks, Foxes, +and Naheawak or Kilisteno, as well as from all nations of the +Algonquin stock. They are likewise unlike the Pawnees and the +Minnetarees or Gros Ventres. They inhabit a large district of +country which may be comprised within the following limits:— +From Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi, by a curved line +extending east of north and made to include all the eastern +tributaries of the Mississippi, to the first branch of Chippewa +River; the head waters of that stream being claimed by the +Chippewa Indians; thence by a line running west of north to the +head of Spirit Lake; thence by a westerly line to the Riveree de +Corbeau; thence up that river to its head, near Otter Tail Lake; +thence by a westerly line to Red River, and down that river to +Pembina; thence by a south-westerly line to the east bank of the +Missouri near the Mandan villages; thence down the Missouri to a +point probably not far from Soldier's River; thence by a line +running east of north to Prairie du Chien.</p> + +<p class="footnote">This immense extent of country is inhabited +by a nation calling themselves, in their internal relations, the +Dacotah, which means the Allied; but who, in their external +relations, style themselves the Ochente Shakoan, which signifies +the nation of seven (council) fires. This refers to the following +division which formerly prevailed among them, viz.:—<br> +Â Â 1. Mende-Wahkan-toan, or people of the Spirit Lake.<br> +Â Â 2. Wahkpa-toan, or people of the leaves.<br> +Â Â 3. Sisi-toan, or Miakechakesa.<br> +Â Â 4. Yank-toan-an, or Fern leaves<br> +Â Â 5. Yank-toan, or descended from the Fern leaves.<br> +Â Â 6. Ti-toan, or Braggers.<br> +Â Â 7. Wahkpako-toan, or the people that shoot at leaves.</p> + +<p class="footnote">— Long's <i>Expedition to Sources of St. +Peter's River &c</i>., vol. 1, pp. 376, 378.]</p> + +<p>If it be asked what will be done with these tribes when the +country comes to be settled, I would observe, as I have said, +that the present policy of the government is to procure their +settlement on reservations. This limits them to smaller +boundaries; and tends favorably to their civilization. I might +also say here, that the title which the Indians have to the +country they occupy is that of occupancy. They have the natural +right to occupy the land; but the absolute and sovereign title is +in the United States. The Indians can dispose of their title to +no party or power but the United States. When, however, the +government wishes to extinguish their title of occupancy, it pays +them a fair price for their lands according as may be provided by +treaty. The policy of our government towards the Indians is +eminently that of protection and preservation; not of conquest +and extermination.</p> + +<p>Dacotah is the name now applied to the western part of +Minnesota, and I am assured by the best informed men of that +section, that such will be the name of the territory when +organized.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>PART III.</h3> + +<h4>TABLE OF STATISTICS.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="left">I. LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN +MINNESOTA.<br> +II. LAND OFFICES, &c.<br> +III. NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA.<br> +IV. TABLE OF DISTANCES.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">I.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">POST OFFICES AND +POSTMASTERS.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="full">I HAVE been furnished, at brief notice, with the +following accurate list of the Post Offices and Postmasters in +Minnesota by my very excellent friend, Mr. JOHN N. OLIVIER, of +the Sixth Auditor's Office:</p> + +<p class="full">LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN THE +TERRITORY OF MINNESOTA, PREPARED PROM THE BOOKS OF THE +APPOINTMENT OFFICE, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, TO DECEMBER 12, +1856.</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>Post Office.</i></p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>Postmaster.</i></p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">BENTON COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Belle Prairie</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Calvin C. Hicks.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Brown.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clear Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">F. E. Baldwin.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Crow Wing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Allen Morrison.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elk River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Q. A. Nickerson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Itasca</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John C. Bowers.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">C. H. Churchill.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Royalton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rodolph's D. Kinney.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sauk Rapids</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">C. B. Vanstest.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Swan River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James Warren.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Watab</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">David Gilman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">BLUE EARTH COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kasota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Isaac Allen.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mankato</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Parsons K. Johnson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Liberty</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edward Brace.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pajutazee</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Andrew Robertson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">South Bend</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Matthew Thompson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winnebago Agency</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry Foster.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">BROWN COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New Ulm</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Anton Kans.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sioux Agency</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Asa W. Daniels.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">CARVER COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Carver</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph A. Sargent.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chaska</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Timothy D. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">La Belle</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Isaac Berfield.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Scandia</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">A. Bergquest.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">San Francisco</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James B. Cotton.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Young America</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">R. M. Kennedy.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">CHISAGO COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Amador</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lorenzo A. Lowden.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cedar Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel Wyatt.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chippewa</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">J. P. Gulding.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chisago City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry S. Cluiger.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hanley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Hanley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rushseby</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George B. Folsom.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sunrise City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George S. Frost.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Taylor's Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Peter E. Walker.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wyoming</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jordan Egle.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">DAKOTA COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Athens</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jacob Whittemore.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Centralia</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. P. Sweet.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Empire City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ralph P. Hamilton.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Farmington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Noredon Amedon.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Snelling</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Franklin Steele.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hampton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James Archer.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hastings</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John F. Marsh.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lakeville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel P. Baker.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Le Sueur</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kostum K. Peck.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lewiston</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stephen N. Carey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mendota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hypolite Dupues.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ninninger</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Louis Loichot.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ottowa</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Frank Y. Hoffstott.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rosemount</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Andrew Keegan.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Vermillion</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Leonard Aldrich.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waterford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Warren Atkinson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">DODGE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Avon</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Noah F. Berry.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ashland</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George Townsend.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Claremont</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Goerge Hitchcock.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Concord</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James M. Sumner.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Montorville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John H. Shober.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wasioga</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eli. P. Waterman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">FAIRBAULT COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Blue Earth City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George B. Kingsley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Verona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Newell Dewey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">FILLMORE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Bellville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wilson Bell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Spring</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Walter.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chatfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edwin B. Gere.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clarimona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wm. F. Strong.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Deer Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William S. Hill.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elkhorn</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jacob McQuillan.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elliota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John C. Cleghorn.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Etna</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">O. B. Bryant.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fairview</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John G. Bouldin.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fillmore</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Robert Rea.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Forestville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Forest Henry.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jordan</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James M. Gilliss.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lenora</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chas. B. Wilford.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Looking Glass</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lemuel Jones.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Newburg</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Gabriel Gabrielson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Odessa</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jacob P. Kennedy.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Peterson</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Knud Peterson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pilot Mound</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daniel B. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Preston</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">L. Preston.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Riceford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wm. D. Vandoren.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Richland</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Benjn. F. Tillotson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rushford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sylvester S. Stebbins.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Spring Valley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Condello Wilkins.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Uxbridge</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daniel Crowell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waukokee</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John M. West.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">FREEBORN COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Albert Lea</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lorenzo Murray.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Geneva</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Heath.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Nicholas</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saml. M. Thompson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shell Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edward P. Skinner.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">GOODHUE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Burr Oak Springs</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry Doyle.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cannon River Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George McKenzie.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Central Point</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles W. Hackett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pine Island</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Chance.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Poplar Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Lee.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Wing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry C. Hoffman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Spencer</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hans Mattson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wacouta</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George Post.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Westervelt</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Evert Westervelt.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">HENNEPIN COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Bloomington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reuben B. Gibson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chanhassen</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry M. Lyman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dayton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Baxter.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eden Prairie</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jonas Staring.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elm Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Miles.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Harmony</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James A. Dunsmore.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Excelsior</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles P. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Island City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William F. Russell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Maple Plain</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Irvin Shrewsbury.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Medicine Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Francis Hagot.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minneapolis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alfred E. Ames.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnetonka</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Levi W. Eastman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Osseo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Warren Samson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Perkinsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">N. T. Perkins.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Watertown</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alexander Moore.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wyzata</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">W. H. Chapman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">HOUSTON COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Brownsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Brown.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Caledonia</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wm. J. McKee.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hamilton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hackett's Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Emery Hackett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hokah</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edward Thompson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Houston</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ole Knudson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Loretta</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edmund S. Lore.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Looneyville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daniel Wilson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">La Crescent</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Gillett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mooney Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cyrus B. Sinclair.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Portland</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alexr. Batcheller.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sheldon</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Paddock.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Spring Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Embric Knudson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">San Jacinto</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George Canon.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wiscoy</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Benton Aldrich.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Yucatan</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">T. A. Pope.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">LAKE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Burlington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chas. B. Harbord.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">LA SUEUR COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elysium</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Silas S. Munday.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grandville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Bartlet Y. Couch.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lexington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry Earl.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waterville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel D. Drake.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">McLEOD COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Glencoe</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Surman G. Simmons.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hutchinson</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lewis Harrington.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">MEEKER COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Forest City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Walter C. Bacon.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">MORRISON COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Orlando A. Churchill.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">MOWER COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Austin</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alanson B. Vaughan.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Frankford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lewis Patchin.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">High Forest</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Thos. H. Armstrong.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Le Roy</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daniel Caswell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">NICOLLET COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eureka</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edwin Clark.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hilo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Dupray.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Peter</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George Hezlep.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Travers des Sioux</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Huey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">OLMSTEAD COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Durango</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel Brink.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kalmar</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James A. Blair.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Oronoco</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel P. Hicks.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pleasant Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel Barrows.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rochester</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Phineas H. Durfel.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Salem</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cyrus Holt.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Springfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Almon H. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waterloo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Robert S. Latta.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Zumbro</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lucy Cobb.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">PEMBINA COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cap Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">David B. Spencer.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pembina</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Rolette.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sela G. Wright.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Joseph's</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George A. Belcourt.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">PIERCE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ridgeley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Benjn. H. Randall.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">PINE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alhambra</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Herman Trott.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mille Lac</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mark Leadbetter.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">RAMSEY COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Anoka</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Arthur Davis.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Centreville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Pettin.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Columbus</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Klerman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Howard's Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John P. Howard.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Canada</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Walter B. Boyd.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Manomine</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph A. Willis.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Otter Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ross Wilkinson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Giles H. Fowler.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Anthony's Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Norton H. Hemiup.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles S. Cave.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">RICE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cannon City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">C. Smith House.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Faribault</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alexander Faribault.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Medford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Smith Johnson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Morristown</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Walter Norris.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Northfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Calvin S. Short.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shieldsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joshua Tufts.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Union Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry M. Humphrey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Walcott</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Richardson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">SAINT LOUIS COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Falls of St. Louis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Y. Buckner.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Oneota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edmund F. Ely.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Twin Lakes</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George W. Perry.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">SCOTT COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Belle Plaine</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Nahum Stone.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Louisville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph R. Ashley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mount Pleasant</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Soules.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New Dublin</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dominick McDermott</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sand Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Holmes.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shak-a-pay</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reuben M. Wright.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">SIBLEY COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henderson</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry Pochler.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Prairie Mound</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Morgan Lacey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">STEARNS COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clinton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John H. Linneman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Neenah</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry B. Johnson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Cloud</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Edelbrook.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Torah</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reuben M. Richardson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">STEELE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Adamsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hiram Pitcher.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Aurora</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Adsit.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dodge City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Coburn.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ellwood</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wilber F. Fiske.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Josco</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James Hanes.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lemond</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Abram Fitzsimmons.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Owatana</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel B. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Mary's</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Horatio B. Morrison.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Swavesey</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Andrew J. Bell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wilton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">David J. Jenkins.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">SUPERIOR COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Beaver Bay</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Robert McLean.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">French River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">F. W. Watrous.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grand Marias</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Richard Godfrey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grand Portage</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. H. McCullough.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WABASHAW COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Greenville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rodman Benchard.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Independence</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Seth L. McCarty.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lake City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Harvey F. Williamson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mazeppa</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John E. Hyde.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minneska</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Nathaniel F. Tifft.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnesota City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel E. Cotton.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mount Vernon</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stephen M. Burns.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reed's Landing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fordyce S. Richard.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wabashaw</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">J. F. Byrne.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">West Newton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Austin R. Swan.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WAHNATAH COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ripley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Solon W. Manney.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WASHINGTON COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cottage Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stephen F. Douglass.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lake Land</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Freeman C. Tyler.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Marine Mills</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Orange Walker.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Milton Mills</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lemuel Bolles.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Point Douglass</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">R. R. Henry.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Harley Curtis.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WINONA COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dacota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Nathan Brown.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eagle Bluffs</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William W. Bennett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Homer</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John A. Torrey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New Boston</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William H. Dwight.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Richmond</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel C. Dick.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ridgeway</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Cooper.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Charles</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lewis H. Springer.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saratoga</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Thomas P. Dixon.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stockton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William C. Dodge.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Twin Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Oren Cavath.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Utica</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John W. Bentley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Warren</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eben B. Jewett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John W. Downer.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">White Water Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Miles Pease.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WRIGHT COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Berlin</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles W. Lambert</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Buffalo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Amasa Ackley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clear Water</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Simon Stevens.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Monticello</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">M. Fox.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Northwood</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">A. H. Kelly.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rockford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joel Florida.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Silver Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Abram G. Descent.</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">II.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND +OFFICERS IN MINNESOTA.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="right" class="right">GENERAL LAND OFFICE,</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">December 8, 1856.</p> + +<p>SIR: Your two letters of the 6th instant, asking for a list of +the land offices in Minnesota Territory, with the names of the +officers connected therewith,— also the number of acres sold +and the amount of fees received by such officers, during the +fiscal year, ending 30th June, 1856, have been received.</p> + +<p>In reply, I herewith enclose a statement of the information +desired, save that the amount of fees for the fiscal year cannot +be stated.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">Very respectfully,</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">THOMAS A. HENDRICKS,</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">Commissioner,</p> + +<p>C. C. ANDREWS, Esq.</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="5"> +<p class="centernote">LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN +MINNESOTA.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">LAND DISTRICTS.</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Name of Register</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Name of Receiver.</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Number of acres sold during the fiscal year +ending 30th of June, 1856.</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Amount of purchase-money received +therefor.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Thos. M. Fullerton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Wm. Holcomb</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">103,141.31</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">128,930.23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Sauk Rapids</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Geo. W. Sweet</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Wm. H. Wood</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">49,712.44</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">65,355.41</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Chatfield (late Brownsville)</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">John R. Bennet</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Jno. H. McKenny</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">238,323.26</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">298,920.90</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Minneapolis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Marcus P. Olds</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Roswell P. Russell</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">139,188.96</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">186,651.77</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Winona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Diedrich Upman</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Lorenzo D. Smith</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">264,777.38</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">335,845.66</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Red Wing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Wm. P. Phelps</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Chr. Graham</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">206,987.32</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">265,173.84</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">1,002,130.67</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">$1,280,867.81</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="leftnote">Since the 30th June, 1856, the following +offices have been established and officers appointed.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Buchanan</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saml. Clark</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Whipple</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ojibeway</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saml. Plumer</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wm. Sawyer</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">III.</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="leftnote">LIST OF NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN +MINNESOTA.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">PIONEER AND DEMOCRAT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daily and Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">MINNESOTIAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daily and Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">TIMES</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daily and Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">FINANCIAL ADVERTISER</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">UNION</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">MESSENGER</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">EXPRESS</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Anthony</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">REPUBLICAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Anthony</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">DEMOCRAT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minneapolis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">FRONTIERSMAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sauk Rapids</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">NORTHERN HERALD</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Watab</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">INDEPENDENT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shakopee</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">REPUBLICAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shakopee</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">DEMOCRAT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henderson</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">COURIER</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Peter</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">DAKOTA JOURNAL</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hastings</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">SENTINEL</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Wing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">GAZETTE</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Canon Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">JOURNAL</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wabashaw</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">ARGUS</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">REPUBLICAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td rowspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">SOUTHERN HERALD</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Brownsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Carimona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">DEMOCRAT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chatfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">REPUBLICAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chatfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td rowspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">RICE COUNTY HERALD</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Faribault</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Cloud</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">OWATONIA WATCHMAN AND REGISTER</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Owatonia</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly.</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">IV.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">TABLE OF DISTANCES.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="centernote">TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. PAUL.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td></td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">MILES</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">To St. Anthony</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">8 3/4</p> +</td> +<td>Â </td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rice Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">15 3/4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Francis, or Rum River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">9</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">25</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Itasca</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">32</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elk River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">38</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">48</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Meadow (Sturgis)</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">18</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">66</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Cloud (Sauk Rapids)</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">76</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Watab</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">82</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">84</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Platte River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">96</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Swan River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">106</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">109</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Belle Prairie</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">114</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ripley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">124</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Crow Wing River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">130</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sandy Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">120</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">250</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Savannah Portage</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">15</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">265</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Across the Portage</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">270</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Down Savannah River to St. Louis River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">20</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">290</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fond-du-Lac</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">350</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lake Superior</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">22</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">372</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Crow Wing River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">130</p> +</td> +<td></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Otter Tail Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">70</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">200</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rice River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">74</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">274</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sand Hills River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">70</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">340</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grand Fork, Red River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">40</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">380</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pembina</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">460</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sandy Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">250</p> +</td> +<td></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Leech Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">150</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">400</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">480</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pembrina</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">150</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">630</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">18</p> +</td> +<td></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Arcola</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Marine Mills</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Falls St. Croix</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">19</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">48</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pokagema</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">40</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">88</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fond-du-Lac</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">75</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">164</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Point Douglass</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">24</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Wing</p> +</td> +<td></td> +<td></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona's Rock, Lake Pepin</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wabashaw</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">90</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Prairie du Chien</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">145</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">235</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cassville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">264</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Peru</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">21</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">285</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dubuque</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">8</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">293</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mouth of Fever River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">17</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">310</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rock Island</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">52</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">362</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Burlington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">135</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">497</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Keokuk</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">53</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">550</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Louis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">179</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">729</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cairo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">172</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">901</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New Orleans</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1040</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1941</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mendota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Black Dog Village</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sixe's Village</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">21</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Traverse des Sioux</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">50</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">45</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lac Qui Parle</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Stone Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">66</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Pierce, on Missouri</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">240</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="centernote">TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. CLOUD.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">To Minneapolis</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">62</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Superior City, on Brott and Wilson's Road</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">120</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Traverse des Sioux</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">70</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henderson</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ridgley</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">100</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Long Prairie</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">40</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Otter Tail Lake</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">The Salt Springs</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">120</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ripley</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mille Lac City</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="centernote">DISTANCES FROM CROW WING.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">To Chippeway Mission</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">15</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ojibeway</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">50</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Superior City</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Otter Tail City</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Cloud</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">55</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>PART IV.</h3> + +<h4>PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN +SITES.</p> + +<p>AT a late moment, and while the volume is in press, I am +enabled to present the following exposition of the Preemption +Law, addressed to the Secretary of the Interior by Mr. +Attorney-General Cushing. (See "Opinions of Attorneys General," +vol. 7, 733-743— in press.)</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN +SITES.</p> + +<p>Portions of the public lands, to the amount of three hundred +and twenty acres, may be taken up by individuals or preemptioners +for city or town sites.</p> + +<p>The same rules as to proof of occupation apply in the case of +municipal, as of agricultural, preemption.</p> + +<p>The statute assumes that the purposes of a city or town have +preference over those of trade or of agriculture.</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE</p> + +<p align="right" class="right"><i>July 2,</i> 1856.</p> + +<p>SIR: Your communication of the 20th May, transmitting papers +regarding Superior City (so called) in the State of Wisconsin, +submits for consideration three precise questions of law; two of +them presenting inquiry of the legal relations of locations for +town sites on the public domain, and the third presenting inquiry +of another matter, which, although pertinent to the case, yet is +comprehended in a perfectly distinct class of legal +relations.</p> + +<p>I propose, in this communication, to reply only upon the two +first questions.</p> + +<p>The act of Congress of April 24, 1841, entitled "An act to +appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands and to +grant preemption rights," contains, in section 10th, the +following provisions: "no lands reserved for the support of +schools, nor lands acquired by either of the two last treaties +with the Miami tribe of Indians in the State of Indiana, or which +may be acquired of the Wyandot tribe of Indians in the State of +Ohio, or other Indian reservation to which the title has been or +may be extinguished by the United States at any time during the +operation of this act; no sections of lands reserved to the +United States alternate to other sections of land granted to any +of the States for the construction of any canal, railroad, or +other public improvement; no sections or fractions of sections +included within the limits of any incorporated town; no portions +of the public lands which have been selected for the site of a +city or town; no parcel of a lot of land actually settled or +occupied for the purposes of trade and not agriculture; and no +lands on which are situated any known salines or mines, shall be +liable to entry under or by virtue of this act." (v Stat. at +Large, p. 456.)</p> + +<p>An act passed May 28, 1844, entitled "An act for the relief of +citizens of towns upon the lands of the United States under +certain circumstances," provides as follows:</p> + +<p>"That whenever any portion of the surveyed public lands has +been or shall be settled upon and occupied as a town site, and +therefore not subject to entry under the existing preemption +laws, it shall be lawful, in case such town or place shall be +incorporated, for the corporate authorities thereof, and if not +incorporated, for the judges of the county court for the county +in which such town may be situated, to enter at the proper land +office, and at the minimum price, the land so settled and +occupied, in trust for the several use and benefit of the several +occupants thereof, according to their respective interests; the +execution of which trust, as to the disposal of the lots in said +town, and the proceeds of the sales thereof, to be conducted +under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the +legislative authority of the state or territory in which the same +is situated; <i>Provided,</i> that the entry of the land intended +by this act be made prior to the commencement of a public sale of +the body of land in which it is included, and that the entry +shall include only such land as is actually occupied by the town, +and be made in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public +lands authorized by the act of the twenty-fourth of April, one +thousand eight hundred and twenty, and shall not in the whole +exceed three hundred and twenty acres; and <i>Provided</i> also, +that the act of the said trustees, not made in conformity to the +rules and regulations herein alluded to, shall be void and of +none effect:" * * * (v Stat. at Large, p. 687.)</p> + +<p>Upon which statutes you present the following questions of +construction: "1st. What is the legal signification to be given +to the words, 'portions of the public lands which have been +selected as the site for a city or town,' which occur in the +preemption law of 1841, and which portions of the public lands +are by said act exempted from its provisions? Do they authorize +selections by individuals with a view to the building thereon of +a city or town, or do they contemplate a selection made by +authority of some special law?</p> + +<p>"Do the words in the act of 23d May, 1844, 'and that the entry +shall include only such land as is actually occupied by the +town,' restrict the entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or +forty acre subdivisions, alone, on which houses have been erected +as part of said town, or do they mean, only, that the entry shall +not embrace any land not shown <i>by</i> the survey on the +ground, or the plat of the town, to be occupied thereby, and not +to exceed 820 acres, which is to be taken by legal subdivisions, +according to the public survey, and to what species of 'legal +subdivisions' is reference made in said act of 1844?"</p> + +<p>These questions, as thus presented by you, are abstract +questions of law,— namely, of the construction of statutes. +They are distinctly and clearly stated, so as not to require of +me any investigation of external facts to render them more +intelligible. Nor do they require of me to attempt to make +application of them to any actual case, conflict of right, or +controversy either between private individuals or such +individuals and the Government.</p> + +<p>It is true that, accompanying your communication, there is a +great mass of representations, depositions, arguments, and other +papers, which show that the questions propounded by you are not +speculative ones, and that, on the contrary, they bear, in some +way, on matters of interest, public or private, to be decided by +the Department. But those are matters for you, not for me, to +determine. You have requested my opinion of certain points of +law, to be used by you, so far as you see fit, in aid of such +your own determination. I am thus happily relieved of the task of +examining and undertaking to analyze the voluminous documents in +the case: more especially as your questions, while precise and +complete in themselves, derive all needful illustration from the +very instructive report in the case of the present Commissioner +of Public Lands and the able brief on the subject drawn up in +your Department.</p> + +<p>I. To return to the questions before me: the first is in +substance whether the words in the act of 1841,— " portions +of the public land which have been selected as the site for a +city or a town,"— are to be confined to cases of such +selection in virtue of some special authority, or by some +official authority?</p> + +<p>I think not, for the following reasons:</p> + +<p>The statute does not by any words of legal intendment say +so.</p> + +<p>The next preceding clause of the act, which speaks of lands +"included within the limits of any incorporated town," implies +the contrary, in making separate provision for a township +existing by special or public authority.</p> + +<p>The next succeeding clause, which speaks of land "actually +settled or occupied for the purposes of trade and not +agriculture," leads to the same conclusion; for why should +selection for a town site require special authority any more than +occupation for the purposes of trade?</p> + +<p>The general scope of the act has the same tendency. Its +general object is to regulate, in behalf of individuals, the +acquisition of the public domain by preemption, after voluntary +occupation for a certain period of time, and under other +prescribed circumstances. In doing this, it gives a preference +preemption to certain other uses of the public land, by excluding +such land from liability to ordinary preemption. Among the uses +thus privileged, and to which precedence in preemption is +accorded, are, 1. "Sections, or fractions of sections included +within the limits of any incorporated town;" 2. "Portions of the +public land which have been selected for the site of a city or +town;" and, 3. "Land actually settled or occupied for the +purposes of trade, and not agriculture." Now, it is not easy to +see any good reason why, if individuals may thus take voluntarily +for the purposes of agriculture,— they may not also take for +the purposes of a city or town. The statute assumes that the +purposes of a city or town have preference over those of trade, +and still more over those of agriculture. Yet individuals may +take for either of the latter objects: <i>a fortiori</i> they may +take for a city or town.</p> + +<p>Why should it be assumed that individual action in this +respect is prohibited for towns any more than for trade or +agriculture? It does not concern the Government whether two +persons preempt one hundred and sixty acres each for the purposes +of agriculture, or for the purpose of a town, except that the +latter object will, incidentally, be more beneficial to the +Government. Nor is there any other consideration of public policy +to induce the Government to endeavor to discourage the formation +of towns. Why, then, object to individuals taking up a given +quantity of land in one case rather than in the other?</p> + +<p>Finally, the act of 1844 definitively construes the act of +1841, and proves that the "selection" for town sites there spoken +of may be either by public authority or by individuals:— +that the word is for that reason designedly general, and without +qualification, but must be fixed by occupation. That act supposes +public land to be "settled upon and occupied as a town site," and +"therefore" not subject to entry under the existing preemption +laws. This description identifies it with the land "selected for +the site of <i>a city</i> or town," in the previous act. It +limits the quantity so to be selected, that is, settled or +occupied, to three hundred and twenty acres, and otherwise +regulates the selection as hereinafter explained. It then +provides how such town site is to be entered and patented. If the +town be incorporated, then the <i>entry</i> is to be made by its +corporate authorities. If the town be not incorporated, then it +may be entered in the name of the judges of the county court of +the county, in which the projected town lies, "in trust for the +several use and benefit of the several occupants thereof, +according to their respective interests." Here we have express +recognition of voluntary selection and occupancy by individuals, +and provision for means by which legal title in their behalf may +be acquired and patented.</p> + +<p>I am aware that by numerous statutes anterior to the act of +1841, provision is made for the <i>authoritative</i> selection of +town sites in special cases; but such provisions do by no means +exclude or contradict the later enactment of a general provision +of law to comprehend all cases of selections for town sites, +whether authoritative or voluntary. I think the act of 1841, +construed in the light of the complementary act of 1844, as it +must be, provides clearly for both contingencies or conditions of +the subject. Among the anterior acts, however, is one of great +importance and significancy upon this point, more especially as +that act received exposition at the time from the proper +departments of the Government. I allude to the act of June 22d, +1838, entitled "An act to grant preemption rights to settlers on +the public lands." This act, like that of 1841, contains a +provision reserving certain lands from ordinary preemption, among +which are:</p> + +<p>"Any portions of public lands, surveyed or otherwise, which +have been actually selected as sites for cities or towns, lotted +into smaller quantities than eighty acres, and settled upon and +occupied for the purposes of trade, and not of agricultural +cultivation and improvement, or any land specially occupied or +reserved for town lots, or other purposes, by authority of the +United States." (v Stat. at Large, p. 251.)</p> + +<p>Here the "selection" generally, and the "selection" by +authority are each provided for <i>eo nomine.</i> It is obvious +that the provision in the latter case is made for certainty only; +since, by the general rules of statute construction, no ordinary +claim of preemption could attach to reservations made by +authority of the United States. The effective provision in the +enactment quoted, must be selections not made by the authority of +the United States.</p> + +<p>In point of fact the provision was construed by the Department +to include all voluntary selections: lands, says the circular of +the General Land Office of July 8, 1838, "which settlers have +selected with a view of building thereon a village or city."</p> + +<p>It seems to me that the same considerations which induced this +construction of the word "selection" in the act of 1838, dictate +a similar construction of the same word in the subsequent act. +Besides which, when a word or words of a statute, which were of +uncertain signification originally, but which have been construed +by the proper authority, are repented in a subsequent statute, +that is understood as being not a repetition merely of the word +with the received construction, but an implied legislative +adoption even of such construction.</p> + +<p>II. The second question is of the construction of the act of +1844, supplemental to that of 1841; and as the construction of +the elder derives aid from the language of the later one, so does +that of the latter from the former. The question is divisible +into sub-questions.</p> + +<p>1. Does the phrase "that the entry (for a town-site) shall +include only such land as is actually occupied by the town," +restrict the entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or forty +acre subdivisions alone, on which houses have been erected as +part of said town?</p> + +<p>2. What is the meaning of the phrase in the act "legal +subdivisions of the public lands," in "conformity" with which the +entry must be made?</p> + +<p>I put the two acts together and find that they provide for a +system of preemptions for, among other things, agricultural +occupation, commercial or mechanical occupation, and municipal +occupation.</p> + +<p>In regard to agricultural occupation, the laws provide that, +in certain cases and conditions, one person may preempt one +hundred and sixty acres, and that in regard to municipal +occupation a plurality of persons may, in certain cases and +conditions, preempt three hundred and twenty acres. In the latter +contingency, there is no special privilege as to quantity, but a +disability rather; for two persons together may preempt three +hundred and twenty acres by agricultural occupation, and +afterwards convert the land into a town site, and four persons +together might in the same way secure six hundred and forty +acres, to be converted ultimately into the site of a town; while +the same four persons, selecting land for a town site, can take +only three hundred and twenty acres. In both forms the parties +enter at the minimum price of the public lands. The chief +advantage which the preemptors for municipal purposes enjoy, is, +that they have by statute a preference over agricultural +preemptors, the land selected for a town site being secured by +statute against general and ordinary, that is, agricultural +preemption. In all other respects material to the present +inquiry, we may assume, for the argument's sake at least, that +the two classes stand on a footing of equality, as respects +either the convicting interests of third persons, or the rights +of the Government.</p> + +<p>Now, the rights of an agricultural preemptor we understand. He +is entitled, if he shall "make a settlement in person on the +public lands," and "shall inhabit and improve the same, and shall +erect a dwelling thereon," to enter, "by legal subdivisions, any +number of acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a +quarter-section of land, to include the residence of such +claimant." (Act of 1841, s. 10.) And of two settlers on "the same +quarter-section of land," the earlier one is to have the +preference. (Sec. 11.)</p> + +<p>Now, was it ever imagined that such claimant must personally +inhabit every quarter quarter-section of his claim? That he must +have under cultivation every quarter quarter-section? That he +must erect a dwelling on every quarter quarter-section? And that, +if he failed to do this, any such quarter of his quarter-section +might be preempted by a later occupant?</p> + +<p>There is no pretension that such is the condition of the +ordinary preemptor, and that he is thus held to inhabit, to +cultivate, to dwell on, every quarter quarter-section, under +penalty of having it seized by another preemptor, or entered in +course by any public or private purchaser. He is to provide, +according to the regulations of the Land Office or otherwise, +indicia, by which the limits of his claim shall be known,— +he must perform acts of possession or intended ownership on the +land, as notice to others; and that suffices to secure his rights +under the statute. It is not necessary for him to cultivate every +separate quarter of his quarter-section; it is not necessary for +him even to enclose each; it only needs that in good faith he +take possession, with intention of occupation and settlement, and +proceed in good faith to occupy and settle, in such time and in +such manner, as belong to the nature of agricultural occupation +and settlement.</p> + +<p>Why should there be a different rule in regard to occupants +for municipal preemption? The latter is, by the very tenor of the +law, the preferred object. Why should those interested in it be +subject to special disabilities of competing occupancy? I cannot +conceive.</p> + +<p>It is obvious that, in municipal settlement, as well as +agricultural, there must be space of time between the +commencement and the consummation of occupation. There will be a +moment, when the equitable right of the agricultural settler is +fixed, although he have as yet done nothing more in the way of +inhabiting or improving than to cut a tree or drive a stake into +the earth. And it may be long before he improves each one of all +his quarter quarter-sections. So, in principle, it is in the case +of settlement for a town. We must deal with such things according +to their nature. Towns do not spring into existence consummate +and complete. Nor do they commence with eight houses, +systematically distributed, each in the centre of a forty-acre +lot. And in the case of a town settlement of three hundred and +twenty acres; as well as that of a farm site of one hundred and +sixty acres, all which can be lawfully requisite to communicate +to the occupants the right of preemption to the block of land, +including every one of its quarter quarter-sections,— is +improvement, or indication of the improvement of the entire +block,— acts of possession or use regarding it, consonant +with the nature of the thing. That, in a farm, will be the +erection of a house and outhouses, cultivation, and use of +pasturage or woodland: in a town, it will be erecting houses or +shops, platting out the land, grading or opening streets, and the +like signs and marks of occupation or special destination.</p> + +<p>The same considerations lead to the conclusion that it would +not be just to confine the proofs of occupation to facts existing +at its very incipiency. The inchoate or equitable right, as +against all others, begins from the beginning of the occupation: +the ultimate sufficiency of that occupation is to be determined +in part by subsequent facts, which consummate the occupation, and +also demonstrate its <i>bona fides.</i> If it were otherwise, +there would be an end of all the advantage expressly given by the +statute to priority of occupation. Take the case of agricultural +preemptions for example. A settler enters in good faith upon a +quarter-section for preemption; his entry, at first, attaches +physically to no more than the rood of land on which he is +commencing to construct a habitation. Is that entry confined in +effect to a single <i>quarter</i> quarter? Can other settlers, +the next day, enter upon all the adjoining quarter quarters, and +thus limit the first settler to the single quarter quarter on +which his dwelling is commenced? Is all proof of occupation in +his case, when he comes to prove up his title, to be confined to +acts anterior to the date of conflict? Clearly not. The inchoate +title of the first occupant ripens into a complete one by the +series of acts on his part subsequent to the original +occupation.</p> + +<p>In the statement of the case prepared in your office, it is +averred that numerous precedents exist in the Land Office, not +only of the allowance of town preemptions as the voluntary +selection of individuals, but also of the application to such +preemption claims of the ordinary construction of the word +"occupation" habitually applied to agricultural preemption +claims. That is to say, it has been the practice of the +Government, not to consider municipal occupation "circumscribed +by the forty-acre subdivisions actually built upon; * * but that +such occupation was (sufficiently) evidenced, either by an actual +survey, upon the ground, of said town into streets, alleys, and +blocks, or the publication of a plat of the same evidencing the +connection therewith of the public surveys, so as to give notice +to others of the extent of the town site:" all this, within the +extreme limits, of course, of the three hundred and twenty acres +prescribed by the statute.</p> + +<p>I think the practice of the Land Office in this respect, as +thus reported, is lawful and proper: it being understood, of +course, that thus the acts of alleged selection, possession, and +occupation are performed in perfect good faith.</p> + +<p>Something is hinted, in the report of the commissioner, as to +the speculation-character of the proposed town settlement,— +and, in the official brief accompanying your letter, as to the +speculation-character of the proposed agricultural preemption. I +suppose it must be so, if the land in question has peculiar +aptitude for municipal uses. But how is that material? The +object, in either mode of attaining it, is a lawful one. Two +persons may lawfully preempt a certain quantity of land under the +general law, and <i>intend</i> a townsite without saying so; or +they may preempt <i>avowedly</i> for a town site. As between the +two courses, both having the same ultimate destination, it would +not seem that there could be any cause of objection to the more +explicit one.</p> + +<p>So much for the first branch of the second question. As to the +second branch of it, the same line of reasoning leads to equally +satisfactory results.</p> + +<p>The municipal preemptor, like the agricultural preemptor, is +required to take his land in conformity with "the legal +subdivisions of the public lands." I apprehend the import of the +requirement is the same in both cases. Neither class of +pre-emptors is to break the legal subdivisions as surveyed. The +preemptor of either case may take fractional sections if he will, +but he is in every case to run his extreme lines with the lines +of the surveyed subdivisions. In fine, as it seems to me, there +is nothing of the present case, in so far as appears by the +questions presented, and the official reports and statement by +which they are explained, except a convict of claim to two or +three sectional subdivisions of land between different sets of +preemptors, one set being avowed municipal preemptors, and the +other professed agricultural preemptors, but both sets having in +reality the same ulterior purposes in regard to the use of the +land. The Government has no possible concern in the controversy, +except to deal impartially between the parties according to law. +The agricultural preemptors contend that different rules of right +as to the power of individual or private occupation, and as to +the <i>criteria</i> of valid occupation, apply to them, as +against their adversaries. The municipal preemptors contend that +the same rules of equal right, inceptive and progressive, in +these respects, apply to both classes of preemptors. I think that +the latter view of the law is correct, according to its letter, +its spirit; and the settled practice of the Government.</p> + +<p>The investigation of the facts of the case, and the +application of the law to the facts, are, of course, duties of +your Department.</p> + +<p>I leave here the first and second questions; and, proposing to +reply at an early day on the third question,</p> + +<p>I have the honor to be, very respectfully,</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">C. CUSHING.</p> + +<p>Hon. ROBERT McCLELLAND,</p> + +<p align="center" class="center"><i>Secretary of</i> the +<i>Interior.</i></p> + +<p align="center" class="center">THE END.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>ADVERTISEMENT.</h3> + +<p class="full">THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE. ATTORNEYS GENERAL +OF THE UNITED STATES. Edited by C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. VOLUME VII. +(8 vo.) now ready. Washington: Published by R. Farnham.</p> + +<p>"In this series the proudest names of American law have found +some appropriate record of their labor and their wisdom. * * No +student of the law can find more valuable reading than in these +opinions. We would urge upon him to turn now and then from the +common place reading of the profession to the great studies which +impart, to the law the dignity of a science. If less immediate in +the rewards they bring, they are the only studies which can win +for the legal aspirant the true glory of a great lawyer."— +<i>Monthly Law Reporter</i>.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Andrews is entitled to the thanks of his professional +brethren for the very satisfactory manner in which he has +presented these opinions."— American Law +<i>Register.</i></p> + +<p>"On such examination as I have been able to give it (Volume +VI.), the volume seems to me to be full of instruction; the +argument most clearly and fairly conducted; the researches +thorough, and the conclusions, in so far as I can form a +judgment, just."— <i>Rufus Choate.</i></p> + +<p>"But we should fail entirely in our object, of calling +attention to this work if we did not particularly commend it to +the notice of the statesman and the general reader. * * These +volumes constitute a great treatise on constitutional law; the +work, not of one man, but of a succession of able men from the +age of Washington, who have examined and revised each other. We +regard it, therefore, as one of the most valuable publications +which has embellished our political and legal literature."— +<i>National Intelligencer.</i></p> + +<p class="full">A TREATISE ON THE REVENUE LAWS OF THE UNITED +STATES, in one volume, 8 vo. By C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. (Soon to be +published by Little, Brown and Company. See their list of new Law +Books.)</p> + +<p class="full">REFLECTIONS ON THE OPERATION OF THE PRESENT +SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. By C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. Boston: Crosby, +Nichols and Company: 1853.</p> + +<p>"The substance of the pamphlet appeared some time since in a +monthly journal, and the author has now revised it and published +it in a more permanent form. His views are sensible, and well +deserve attention."— <i>Boston</i> <i>Daily +Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>"This is an earnest and well written essay; designed to remedy +what the writer justly regards an important defect in the present +system of education-namely, the want of a proper degree of moral +instruction. His observations evince an enlightened mind, as well +as a philanthropic spirit; and they deserve to be considerately +pondered by all whom they may concern."— <i>Puritan +Recorder.</i></p> + +<p>"His practical remarks are of particular value, and show that +the author has devoted much thought to the topic of which he +treats."— <i>Boston Daily Atlas.</i></p> + +<p>"We have perused this publication with more than ordinary +interest. The object of the author is to suggest some remedies +for the acknowledged defects in the operation of our system of +education. This object is pursued by a masterly hand, in a lucid +and comprehensive manner."— <i>Evening Transcript.</i></p> + +<p>"This contribution to the cause of common school education is +highly creditable to the author, and we have no doubt, if it can +be extensively circulated, will be productive of very beneficial +results."— <i>Christian Witness.</i></p> + +<hr> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 4981 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d0869a1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #4981 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4981) diff --git a/old/4980-0.txt b/old/4980-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..05deb5e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/4980-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7773 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Minnesota and Dacotah, by C.C. Andrews + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + +Title: Minnesota and Dacotah + +Author: C.C. Andrews + +Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4981] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH *** + + + + +Produced by Jim Weiler, xooqi.com + + + + + MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH: + + IN + + Letters descriptive of a Tour through the North-West, + + IN THE AUTUMN OF 1856. + + WITH + + INFORMATION RELATIVE TO PUBLIC LANDS, + + AND + + A TABLE OF STATISTICS. + + By C. C. ANDREWS, + + COUNSELOR AT LAW; EDITOR OF THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL + OF THE UNITED STATES. + + "From the forests and the prairies, + From the great lakes of the Northland, + From the land of the Ojibways, + From the land of the Dacotahs." + + LONGFELLOW + + SECOND EDITION. + W A S H I N G T O N: + ROBERT FARNHAM + 1857 + _______ + + Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1857, by + + C. C. ANDREWS, + + In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and + for the District of Columbia. + _______ + + PHILADELPHIA: + + STEREOTYPED BY E. B. MEARS. + + PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON. + _______ + + THESE + + "Trivial Fond Records" + + ARE + + RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED + + TO THE + + YOUNG MEN OF MINNESOTA. + _______ + + INTRODUCTION. + _______ + + THE object of publishing these letters can be very briefly stated. + +During the last autumn I made a tour into Minnesota, upwards of a +hundred and thirty miles north-west of St. Paul, to satisfy myself as +to the character and prospects of the territory. All I could learn +from personal observation, and otherwise, concerning its society and +its ample means of greatness, impressed me so favorably as to the +advantages still open to the settler, that I put down in the form of +letters such facts as I thought would be of general interest. Since +their publication-- in the Boston, Post-- a few requests, which I +could not comply with, were made for copies of them all. I was led to +believe, therefore, that if I revised them and added information +relative to unoccupied lands, the method of preemption, and the +business interests of the territory, they would be worthy of +publication in a more permanent form. Conscious that what I have +written is an inadequate description of that splendid domain, I shall +be happy indeed to have contributed, in ever so small a degree, to +advance its growth and welfare. + +Here I desire to acknowledge the aid which has been readily extended +to my undertaking by the Delegate from Minnesota-- Hon. HENRY M. +RICE-- whose faithful and unwearied services-- I will take the liberty +to add-- in behalf of the territory, merit the highest praise. I am +also indebted for valuable information to EARL S. GOODRICH, Esq., +editor of the Daily Pioneer (St. Paul) and Democrat. + +In another place I give a list of the works which I have had occasion +to consult or refer to. + + C. C. ANDREWS. + +Washington, January 1, 1857. + _______ + + LIST OF WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED OR REFERRED TO IN THE + PREPARATION OF THIS WORK. + +Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, by Major Z. M. PIKE vol. +Philadelphia; 1807. + +Travels to the Source of the Missouri River, by Captains LEWIS and +CLARKE. 3 vols. London: 1815. + +Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter's River, Lake Winnepek, &c., +under command of Major STEPHEN H. LONG 2 vols. Philadelphia: 1824. + +British Dominions in North America. By JOSEPH BOUCHETTE, Esq. 3 vols. +London: 1832. + +History of the Colonies of the British Empire. By R. M. MARTIN, Esq. +London; 1843. + +Report on the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi, by J. N. +NICOLLET. Senate Document 237, 2d Session, 26th Congress. Washington: +1843. + +Report, of an Exploration of the Territory of Minnesota, by Brevet +Captain JOHN POPE, Corps Topographical Engineers. Senate Document 42, +1st Session, 31st Congress. Washington: 1850. + +Sketches of Minnesota. By E. S. SEYMOUR. New York: 1850. + +Report on Colonial and Lake Trade, by ISRAEL D. ANDREWS, Consul +General of the United States for the British Provinces. Executive +Document 112, 1st Session, 32d Congress. Washington: 1852. + +History of the Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi River. By +J. G. SHEA. New York: 1852. + +Minnesota and its Resources. By J. WESLEY BOND. New York: 1853. + +Discovery of the Sources of the Mississippi River. By HENRY R. +SCHOOLCRAFT. Philadelphia: 1855. + +Exploration and Surveys for a Railroad Route from the Mississippi +River to the Pacific Ocean, made under the direction of the Secretary +of War in 1853-4, (including Reports of Gov. Stevens and others.) +Washington: 1855. + +The Emigrant's Guide to Minnesota By an Old Resident. 1 vol. St. +Anthony: 1856. + _______ + + CONTENTS. + _______ + + LETTER I. BALTIMORE TO CHICAGO. + +Anecdote of a preacher-- Monopoly of seats in the cars-- Detention in +the night-- Mountain scenery on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad-- +Voting in the cars-- Railroad refreshments-- Political excitement-- +The Virginian and the Fremonters-- A walk in Columbus-- Indianapolis-- +Lafayette-- Michigan City-- Chicago + + LETTER II. CHICAGO TO ST. PAUL. + +Railroads to the Mississippi-- Securing passage on the steamboat-- The +Lady Franklin-- Scenery of the Mississippi-- Hastings-- Growth of +settlements + + LETTER III. CITY OF ST. PAUL. + +First settlement of St. Paul-- Population-- Appearance of the city-- +Fuller House-- Visitors-- Roads-- Minneapolis-- St. Anthony-- +Suspension Bridge + + LETTER IV. THE BAR. + +Character of the Minnesota bar-- Effect of connecting land business +with practice-- Courts-- Recent Legislation of Congress as to the +territorial judiciary-- The code of practice-- Practice in land +cases-- Chances for lawyers in the West-- Charles O'Connor-- Requisite +qualifications of a lawyer-- The power and usefulness of a great +lawyer-- Talfourd's character of Sir William Follett-- Blending law +with politics-- Services of lawyers in deliberative assemblies + + LETTER V. ST. PAUL TO CROW WING IN TWO DAYS. + +Stages-- Roads-- Rum River-- Indian treaty-- Itasca-- Sauk Rapids-- +Watab at midnight-- Lodging under difficulties-- Little Rock River-- +Character of Minnesota streams-- Dinner at Swan River-- Little Falls-- +Fort Ripley-- Arrival at Crow Wing + + LETTER VI. THE TOWN OF CROW WING. + +Scenery-- First Settlement of Crow Wing-- Red Lake Indians-- Mr. +Morrison-- Prospects of the town-- Upper navigation-- Mr. Beaulieu-- +Washington's theory as to Norfolk-- Observations on the growth of +towns + + LETTER VII. CHIPPEWA INDIANS-- HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. + +Description of the Chippewa tribes-- Their habits and customs-- +Mission at Gull Lake-- Progress in farming-- Visit to +Hole-in-the-day-- His enlightened character-- Reflections on Indian +character, and the practicability of their civilization-- Their +education-- Mr. Manypenny's exertions + + LETTER VIII. LUMBERING INTERESTS. + +Lumber as an element of wealth-- Quality of Minnesota lumber-- +Locality of its growth-- The great pineries-- Trespasses on government +land-- How the lumbermen elude the government-- Value of lumber-- +Character of the practical lumberman-- Transportation of lumber on +rafts + + LETTER IX. SHORES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. + +Description of the country around Lake Superior-- Minerals-- Locality +of a commercial city-- New land districts-- Buchanan-- Ojibeway-- +Explorations to the sources of the Mississippi-- Henry R. +Schoolcraft-- M. Nicollet's report-- Resources of the country above +Crow Wing + + LETTER X. VALLEY OF THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH. + +Climate of Minnesota-- The settlement at Pembina-- St. Joseph-- Col. +Smith's expedition-- Red River of the North-- Fur trade-- Red River +Settlement-- The Hudson's Bay Company-- Ex-Gov. Ramsey's +observations-- Dacotah + + LETTER XI. THE TRUE PIONEER. + +Energy of the pioneer-- Frontier life-- Spirit of emigration-- +Advantages to the farmer in moving West-- Advice in regard to making +preemption claims-- Abstract of the preemption law-- Hints to the +settler-- Character and services of the pioneer + + LETTER XII. SPECULATION AND BUSINESS. + +Opportunities to select farms-- Otter Tail Lake-- Advantages of the +actual settler over the speculator-- Policy of new states as to taxing +non-residents-- Opportunities to make money-- Anecdote of Col. +Perkins-- Mercantile business-- Price of money-- Intemperance-- +Education-- The free school + + LETTER XIII. CROW WING TO ST. CLOUD. + +Pleasant drive in the stage-- Scenery-- The past-- Fort Ripley Ferry-- +Delay at the Post Office-- Belle Prairie-- A Catholic priest-- Dinner +at Swan River-- Potatoes-- Arrival at Watab-- St. Cloud + + LETTER XIV. ST. CLOUD-- THE PACIFIC TRAIL. + +Agreeable visit at St. Cloud-- Description of the place-- Causes of +the rapid growth of towns-- Gen. Lowry-- The back country-- Gov. +Stevens's report-- Mr. Lambert's views-- Interesting account of Mr. A. +W. Tinkham's exploration + + LETTER XV. ST. CLOUD TO ST. PAUL. + +Importance of starting early-- Judge Story's theory of early rising-- +Rustic scenery-- Horses and mules-- Surveyors-- Humboldt-- Baked +fish-- Getting off the track-- Burning of hay stacks-- Supper at St. +Anthony-- Arrival at the Fuller House + + LETTER XVI. PROGRESS. + +Rapid growth of the North-West-- Projected railroads-- Territorial +system of the United States-- Inquiry into the cause of Western +progress-- Influence of just laws and institutions-- Lord Bacon's +remark + + THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF DACOTAH. + +Organization of Minnesota as a state-- Suggestions as to its +division-- Views of Captain Pope-- Character and resources of the new +territory to be left adjoining-- Its occupation by the Dacotah +Indians-- Its organization and name + + POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS + + LAND OFFICES AND LAND OFFICERS + + NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA + + TABLE OF DISTANCES + + PRE-EMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES + _______ + + PART I. + + LETTERS ON MINNESOTA. + _______ + + MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH. + _______ + + LETTER I. + + BALTIMORE TO CHICAGO. + +Anecdote of a preacher-- Monopoly of seats in the cars-- Detention in +the night-- Mountain scenery on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad-- +Voting in the cars-- Railroad refreshments-- Political excitement-- +The Virginian and the Fremonters-- A walk in Columbus-- Indianapolis-- +Lafayette-- Michigan City-- Chicago. + +CHICAGO, October, 1856. + +I SIT down at the first place where a pen can be used, to give you +some account of my trip to Minnesota. And if any one should complain +that this is a dull letter, let me retain his good-will by the +assurance that the things I expect to describe in my next will be of +more novelty and interest. And here I am reminded of a good little +anecdote which I am afraid I shall not have a better chance to tell. +An eminent minister of the Gospel was preaching in a new place one +Sunday, and about half through his sermon when two or three +dissatisfied hearers got up to leave, "My friends," said he, "I have +one small favor to ask. As an attempt has been made to prejudice my +reputation in this vicinity, I beg you to be candid enough, if any one +asks how you liked my sermon, to say you didn't stop to hear me +through." + +Stepping into the cars on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad a few +evenings ago-- for I am not going to say anything of my trip further +east-- I saw as great an exhibition of selfishness as one often meets +in travelling. This was in the rear car, the others being all crowded. +The seats were spacious, and had high backs for night travelling. A +gentleman entered the car and proposed to sit in a seat in which was +only one child, but he was informed by a feminine voice in the rear +that the whole seat was taken-- so he advanced to the next seat, which +was occupied by another child, a boy about eight years old-- again the +same voice, confirmed by one of the other sex, informed him in very +decided terms that that also was wholly occupied. The gentleman of +course did not attempt to take a seat with this lady, but advancing +still further, in a seat behind her he saw another child the only +occupant. His success here was no better. The fact was, here was a +family of a husband, wife, and three children occupying five entire +seats. The traveller politely asked if it would not be convenient for +two of the children to sit together. "No," said the lady and her +husband (and they spoke together, though they didn't sit together), +"the children want all the room so as to sleep." The traveller +betrayed no feeling until the husband aforesaid pointed out for him a +seat next to a colored woman who sat alone near the door of the car, +some little distance off. It was quite apparent, and it was the fact, +that this colored woman was the servant of the family; and the +traveller appeared to think that, although as an "original question" +he might not object to the proffered seat, yet it was not civil for a +man to offer him what he would not use himself. The scene closed by +the traveller's taking a seat with another gentleman, I mention this +incident because it is getting to be too common for people to claim +much more room than belongs to them, and because I have seen persons +who are modest and unused to travelling subjected to considerable +annoyance in consequence. Moreover, conductors are oftentimes fishing +so much after popularity, that they wink at misconduct in high life. + +Somewhere about midnight, along the banks of the Potomac, and, if I +remember right, near the town of Hancock, the cars were detained for +three hours. A collision had occurred twelve hours before, causing an +extensive destruction of cars and freight, and heavy fragments of both +lay scattered over the track. Had it not been for the skilful use of a +steam-engine in dragging off the ruins, we must have waited till the +sun was up. Two or three large fires were kindled with the ruins, so +that the scene of the disaster was entirely visible. And the light +shining in the midst of the thick darkness, near the river, with the +crowd of people standing around, was not very romantic, perhaps not +picturesque-- but it was quite novel; and the novelty of the scene +enabled us to bear with greater patience the gloomy delay. + +The mountain scenery in plain sight of the traveller over the +Baltimore and Ohio road is more extensive and protracted, and I think +as beautiful, as on any road in the United States. There are as wild +places seen on the road across Tennessee from Nashville, and as +picturesque scenes on the Pennsylvania Central road-- perhaps the +White Mountains as seen from the Atlantic and St. Lawrence road +present a more sublime view-- but I think on the road I speak of, +there is more gorgeous mountain scenery than on any other. On such +routes one passes through a rude civilization. The settlements are +small and scattered, exhibiting here and there instances of thrift and +contentment, but generally the fields are small and the houses in +proportion. The habits of the people are perhaps more original than +primitive. It was along the route that I saw farmers gathering their +corn on sleds. The cheerful scene is often witnessed of the whole +family-- father, mother, and children-- at work gathering the crops. +These pictures of cottage life in the mountain glens, with the +beautiful variegated foliage of October for groundwork, are objects +which neither weary nor satiate our sight. + +The practice of taking a vote for presidential candidates in the cars +has been run into the ground. By this I mean that it has been carried +to a ridiculous excess. So far I have had occasion to vote several +times. A man may be indifferent as to expressing his vote when out of +his state; but a man's curiosity must have reached a high pitch when +he travels through a train of cars to inquire how the passengers vote. +It is not uncommon, I find, for people to carry out the joke by voting +with their real opponents. Various devices are resorted to to get a +unanimous vote. For example, a man will say, "All who are in favor of +Buchanan take off their boots; all in favor of Fremont keep them on." +Again, when there are several passengers on a stage-coach out west, +and they are passing under the limbs of a tree, or low bridge, as they +are called, it is not unusual far a Fremont man to say, "All in favor +of Fremont bow their heads." + +I have a word to say about refreshments on railroad routes. It is, +perhaps, well known that the price for a meal anywhere on a railroad +in the United States is fifty cents. That is the uniform price. Would +that the meals were as uniform! But alas! a man might as well get a +quid of tobacco with his money, for he seldom gets a quid pro quo. +Once in a couple of days' travel you may perhaps get a wholesome meal, +but as a general thing what you get (when you get out of New England) +isn't worth over a dime. You stop at a place, say for breakfast, after +having rode all night. The conductor calls out, "Twenty minutes for +breakfast." There is a great crowd and a great rush, of course. Well, +the proprietor expects there will be a crowd, and ought to be +prepared. But how is it? Perhaps you are lucky enough to get a seat at +the table. Then your chance to get something to eat is as one to +thirteen: for as there is nothing of any consequence on the table, +your luck depends on your securing the services of a waiter who at the +same time is being called on by about thirteen others as hungry as +yourself. Then suppose you succeed! First comes a cup of black coffee, +strong of water; then a piece of tough fried beef steak, some fried +potatoes, a heavy biscuit-- a little sour (and in fact everything is +sour but the pickles). You get up when you have finished eating-- it +would be a mockery to say when you have satisfied your appetite-- and +at the door stand two muscular men (significantly the proprietor is +aware of the need of such) with bank bills drawn through their +fingers, who are prepared to receive your 50c. It is not unusual to +hear a great deal of indignation expressed by travellers on such +occasions. No man has a right to grumble at the fare which hospitality +sets before him. But when he buys a dinner at a liberal price, in a +country where provisions are abundant, he has a right to expect +something which will sustain life and health. Those individuals who +have the privilege of furnishing meals to railroad travellers probably +find security in the reflection that their patronage does not depend +on the will of their patrons. But the evil can be remedied by the +proprietors and superintendents of the roads, and the public will look +for a reformation in dinners and suppers at their hands. + +I might say that from Benwood, near Wheeling-- where I arrived at +about four in the afternoon, having been nearly twenty-four hours +coming 875 miles-- I passed on to Zanesville to spend the night; +thinking it more convenient, as it surely was, to go to bed at eleven +at night and start the next morning at eight, than to go to bed at +Wheeling at nine, or when I chose, and start again at two in the +morning. The ride that evening was pleasant. The cars were filled with +lusty yeomen, all gabbling politics. There was an overwhelming +majority for Fremont. Under such circumstances it was a virtue for a +Buchanan man to show his colors. There was a solid old Virginian +aboard; and his open and intelligent countenance-- peculiar, it seems +to me, to Virginia-- denoted that he was a good-hearted man. I was +glad to see him defend his side of politics with so much zeal against +the Fremonters. He argued against half a dozen of them with great +spirit and sense. In spite of the fervor of his opponents, however, +they treated him with proper respect and kindness. It was between +eleven and twelve when I arrived at Zanesville. I hastened to the +Stacy House with my friend, J. E B. (a young gentleman on his way to +Iowa, whose acquaintance I regard it as good luck to have made). The +Stacy House could give us lodgings, but not a mouthful of +refreshments. As the next best thing, we descended to a restaurant, +which seemed to be in a very drowsy condition, where we soon got some +oyster and broiled chicken, not however without paying for it an +exorbitant price. I rather think, however, I shall go to the Stacy +House again when next I visit Zanesville, for, on the whole, I have no +fault to find with it. Starting at eight the next morning, we were +four hours making the distance (59 miles) from Zanesville to Columbus. +The road passes through a country of unsurpassed loveliness. Harvest +fields, the most luxuriant, were everywhere in view. At nearly every +stopping-place the boys besieged us with delicious apples and grapes, +too tempting to be resisted. We had an hour to spend at Columbus, +which, after booking our names at the Neil House for dinner-- and +which is a capital house-- we partly spent in a walk about the city. +It is the capital of the state, delightfully situated on the Scioto +river, and has a population in the neighborhood of 20,000. The new +Capitol there is being built on a scale of great magnificence. Though +the heat beat down intensely, and the streets were dusty, we were +"bent on seeing the town." We-- my friend B. and myself-- had walked +nearly half a mile down one of the fashionable streets for dwellings, +when we came to a line which was drawn across the sidewalk in front of +a residence, which, from the appearance, might have belonged to one of +the upper-ten. The line was in charge of two or three little girls, +the eldest of whom was not over twelve. She was a bright-eyed little +miss, and had in her face a good share of that metal which the vulgar +think is indispensable to young lawyers. We came to a gradual pause at +sight of this novel obstruction. "Buchanan, Fillmore, or Fremont?" +said she, in a tone of dogmatical interrogatory. B. was a fervid +Fremonter-- he probably thought she was-- so he exclaimed, "Vermont +for ever!" I awaited the sequel in silence. "Then you may go round," +said the little female politician. "You may go round," and round we +went, not a little amused at such an exhibition of enthusiasm. I +remember very well the excitement during the campaign of 1840; and I +did my share with the New Hampshire boys in getting up decoy cider +barrels to humbug the Whigs as they passed in their barouches to +attend some great convention or hear Daniel Webster. But it seems to +me there is much more political excitement during this campaign than +there was in 1840. Flagstaffs and banners abound in the greatest +profusion in every village. Every farm-house has some token of its +polities spread to the breeze. + +At twenty minutes past one-- less or more-- we left Columbus, and +after travelling 158 miles, via Dayton, we came to Indianapolis, the +great "Railroad City," as it is called, of the west. It was half past +nine when we arrived there. I did not have time to go up to the Bates +House, where I once had the pleasure of stopping, but concluded to get +supper at a hotel near the depot, where there was abundant time to go +through the ceremony of eating. It strikes me that Indianapolis would +be an agreeable place to reside in. There are some cities a man feels +at home in as soon as he gets into them; there are others which make +him homesick; just as one will meet faces which in a moment make a +good impression on him, or which leave a dubious or disagreeable +impression. That city has 16,000 people. Its streets are wide, and its +walks convenient. All things denote enterprise, liberality, and +comfort. It is 210 miles from Indianapolis to this city, via Lafayette +and Michigan City. We ought to have made the time in less than twelve +hours, and, but for protracted detentions at Lafayette and Michigan +City, we would have done so. We reached the latter place at daylight, +and there waited about the depot in dull impatience for the Detroit +and Chicago train. It is the principal lake harbor in Indiana. + +It is about two years since I was last in Chicago; and as I have +walked about its streets my casual observation confirms the universal +account of its growth and prosperity. I have noticed some new and +splendid iron and marble buildings in the course of completion. +Chicago is a great place to find old acquaintances. For its busy +population comprises citizens from every section of the United States, +and from every quarter of the globe. The number of its inhabitants is +now estimated at 100,000. Everybody that can move is active. It is a +city of activity. Human thoughts are all turned towards wealth. All +seem to he contending in the race for riches: some swift and daring on +the open course; some covertly lying low for a by-path. You go along +the streets by jerks: down three feet to the street here; then up four +slippery steps to the sidewalk there. Here a perfect crowd and +commotion-- almost a mob-- because the drawbridge is up. You would +think there was a wonderful celebration coming off at twelve, and that +everybody was hurrying through his work to be in season for it. Last +year 20,000,000 bushels of grain were brought into Chicago. Five years +ago there were not a hundred miles of railroad in the state of +Illinois. Now there are more than two thousand. Illinois has all the +elements of empire. Long may its great metropolis prosper! + + LETTER II. + + CHICAGO TO ST. PAUL. + +Railroads to the Mississippi-- Securing passage on the steamboat-- The +Lady Franklin-- Scenery of the Mississippi-- Hastings-- Growth of +settlements + +ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +HOW short a time it is since a railroad to the Mississippi was thought +a wonder! And now within the state of Illinois four terminate on its +banks. Of course I started on one of these roads from Chicago to get +to Dunleith. I think it is called the Galena and Chicago Union Road. A +good many people have supposed Galena to be situated on the +Mississippi river, and indeed railroad map makers have had it so +located as long as it suited their convenience-- (for they have a +remarkable facility in annihilating distance and in making crooked +ways straight)-- yet the town is some twelve miles from the great +river on a narrow but navigable stream. The extent and importance of +Rockford, Galena, and Dunleith cannot fail to make a strong impression +on the traveller. They are towns of recent growth, and well illustrate +that steam-engine sort of progress peculiar now-a-days in the west. +Approaching Galena we leave the region of level prairie and enter a +mineral country of naked bluffs or knolls, where are seen extensive +operations in the lead mines. The trip from Chicago to Dunleith at the +speed used on most other roads would be performed in six hours, but +ten hours are usually occupied, for what reason I cannot imagine. +However, the train is immense, having on board about six or seven +hundred first class passengers, and two-thirds as many of the second +class. Travelling in the cars out west is not exactly what it is +between Philadelphia and New York, or New York and Boston, in this +respect: that in the West more families are found, in the cars, and +consequently more babies and carpet bags. + +It may not be proper to judge of the health of a community by the +appearance of people who are seen standing about a railroad station; +yet I have often noticed, when travelling through Illinois, that this +class had pale and sickly countenances, showing too clearly the traces +of fever and ague. + +But I wish to speak about leaving the cars at Dunleith and taking the +steamboat for St. Paul. There is a tremendous rush for the boats in +order to secure state-rooms. Agents of different boats approach the +traveller, informing him all about their line of boats, and +depreciating the opposition boats. For instance, an agent, or, if you +please, a runner of a boat called Lucy-- not Long-- made the assertion +on the levee with great zeal and perfect impunity that no other boat +but the said Lucy would leave for St. Paul within twenty-four hours; +when it must have been known to him that another boat on the mail line +would start that same evening, as was actually the fact. But the +activity of the runners was needless; for each boat had more +passengers than it could well accommodate. I myself went aboard the " +Lady Franklin," one of the mail boats, and was accommodated with a +state-room. But what a scene is witnessed for the first two hours +after the passengers begin to come aboard! The cabin is almost filled, +and a dense crowd surrounds the clerk's office, just as the ticket +office of a theatre is crowded on a benefit night. Of course not more +than half can get state-rooms and the rest must sleep on the cabin +floor. Over two hundred cabin passengers came up on the Lady Franklin. +The beds which are made on the floor are tolerably comfortable, as +each boat is supplied with an extra number of single mattresses. The +Lady Franklin is an old boat, and this is said to be its last season.1 +Two years ago it was one of the excursion fleet to St. Paul, and was +then in its prime. But steamboats are short lived. We had three tables +set, and those who couldn't get a seat at the first or second sat at +the third. There was a choice you may believe, for such was the havoc +made with the provisions at the first table that the second and third +were not the most inviting. It was amusing to see gentlemen seat +themselves in range of the plates as soon as they were laid, and an +hour before the table was ready. But the officers were polite-- as is +generally the case on steamboats till you get down to the second +mate-- and in the course of a day or two, when the passengers begin to +be acquainted, the time wears away pleasantly. We were nearly four +days in making the trip. The line of boats of which the Lady Franklin +is one, carries the mail at fifty dollars a trip. During the boating +season I believe the fare varies from seven to ten dollars to St. +Paul.2 This season there have been two lines of boats running to +Minnesota. All of them have made money fast; and next season many more +boats will run. The "Northern Belle" is the best boat this season, and +usually makes the trip up in two days. The advertised time is thirty +hours. + +[1 Three weeks after this trip the Lady Franklin was snagged, and +became a total toss.] + +[2 The following is a table of distances from Galena to St. Paul: + +Dubuque, + +24 + + +Dunleith, + +1 + +25 + +Potosi Landing, + +14 + +39 + +Waupaton, + +10 + +49 + +Buena Vista, + +5 + +54 + +Cassville, + +4 + +58 + +Guttenberg, + +10 + +68 + +Clayton, + +12 + +80 + +Wyalusing, + +5 + +85 + +McGregor's, + +6 + +91 + +Prairie du Chien, + +4 + +95 + +Red House, + +5 + +100 + +Johnson's Landing, + +2 + +102 + +Lafayette, + +30 + +132 + +Columbus, + +2 + +134 + +Lansing, + +1 + +135 + +De Soto, + +6 + +141 + +Victory, + +10 + +151 + +Badaxe City, + +10 + +161 + +Warner's Landing, + +6 + +167 + +Brownsville, + +10 + +177 + +La Crosse, + +12 + +189 + +Dacotah, + +12 + +201 + +Richmond, + +6 + +207 + +Monteville, + +5 + +212 + +Homer, + +10 + +222 + +Winona, + +7 + +229 + +Fountain City, + +12 + +241 + +Mount Vernon, + +14 + +255 + +Minneiska, + +4 + +259 + +Alma, + +15 + +274 + +Wabashaw, + +10 + +284 + +Nelson's Landing, + +3 + +287 + +Reed's Landing, + +2 + +289 + +Foot of Lake Pepin, + +2 + +291 + +North Pepin, + +6 + +297 + +Johnstown, + +2 + +299 + +Lake City, + +5 + +304 + +Central Point, + +2 + +306 + +Florence, + +3 + +309 + +Maiden Rock, + +3 + +312 + +Westerville, + +3 + +315 + +Wacouta, + +12 + +327 + +Red Wing, + +6 + +333 + +Thing's Landing, + +7 + +340 + +Diamond bluff, + +8 + +348 + +Prescott, + +13 + +361 + +Point Douglass, + +1 + +362 + +Hastings, + +3 + +365 + +Grey Cloud, + +12 + +377 + +Pine Bend, + +4 + +381 + +Red Rock, + +8 + +389 + +Kaposia, + +3 + +392 + +St. Paul, + +5 + +397 + +] + +The scenery on the upper Mississippi is reputed to be beautiful. So it +is. Yet all river scenery is generally monotonous. One gets tired of +looking at high rocky ridges quite as quickly as at more tame and +tranquil scenery. The bluffs on either side of the Mississippi, for +most of the way between Dunleith and St. Anthony's Falls, constitute +some of the most beautiful river scenery in the world. It is seldom +that they rise over two hundred feet from the water level, and their +height is quite uniform, so that from a distant point of view their +summit resembles a huge fortification. Nor, as a general thing, do +they present a bold or rocky front. The rise from the river is +gradual. Sometimes they rise to a sharp peak, towards the top of which +crops out in half circles heavy ridges of limestone. The ravines which +seem to divide them into separate elevations, are more thickly wooded, +and appear to have been grooved out by the rolling down of deep +waters. The most attractive feature of these bluffs-- or miniature +mountains, as they might be called-- is their smooth grassy surface, +thinly covered over with shade trees of various kinds. Whoever has +seen a large orchard on a hill side can imagine how the sides of these +bluffs look. At this season of the year the variegated foliage of the +trees gives them a brilliant appearance. It is quite rare to see a +bluff which rises gradually enough to admit of its being a good town +site. Hence it is that settlements on the banks of the river will +never be very numerous. Nature has here interposed against that +civilization which adorns the lower Mississippi. It appears to me that +all the available points for town sites on the river are taken up as +far as the bluffs extend; and some of these will require a great +amount of excavation before they can grow to importance. + +But there are several thrifty and pleasant villages in Minnesota, on +the river, before reaching St. Paul. The first one of importance is +Brownsville, where, for some time, was a United States land office. It +is 168 miles above Dunleith. Winona, 58 miles farther up, is a larger +town. It is said to contain 5000 population. There is a land office +there also. But the town stands on land which, in very high water, +will run too much risk of inundation. Passing by several other +landings and germs of towns, we come to Wacouta, ninety-eight miles +above; which is a successful lumber depot. Six miles further on is Red +Wing, a place which delighted me on account of its cheerful location. +It is growing quite fast, and is the seat of a large Methodist +seminary. But the town of Hastings, thirty-two miles above, eclipses +everything but St. Paul. It is finely located on rising ground, and +the river is there narrow and deep. The boat stopped here an hour, and +I had a good opportunity to look about the place. The town appears to +have considerable trade with the back country. Its streets are laid +out with regularity; its stores and buildings are spacious, durable, +and neat. I heard that over $2000 were asked for several of the +building lots. A little way into the interior of the town I saw men at +work on a stone church; and approaching the spot, I determined to make +some inquiries of a boy who was briskly planing boards. First, I asked +how much the church was going to cost? About $3000, he replied. + +"Are there any other churches in the place?" + +"Yes, up there, where they are building." + +"What denomination is that?" + +"I don't know," he responded. "I only came into the place yesterday." + +I thought he was doing well to begin to build churches so soon after +his arrival. And from his countenance, I have no doubt he will do +well, and become a useful citizen of the state. Hastings has its +democratic press-- the Dakota Journal, edited by J. C. Dow, a talented +young man from New Hampshire. The population of the town is about two +thousand. It is thirty-two miles below St. Paul, on the west side of +the river. There is nothing of especial interest between the two +places. + +The great panorama which time paints is but a species of dissolving +views. It is but as yesterday since the present sites of towns and +cities on the shores just referred to showed only the rude huts of +Indian tribes. To-day, the only vestige left there of the Indian are +his burying-grounds. Hereafter the rudeness of pioneer life shall be +exchanged for a more genial civilization, and the present, then the +past, will be looked back to as trivial by men still yearning for the +future. + + LETTER III. + + CITY OF ST. PAUL. + +First settlement of St. Paul-- Population-- Appearance of the city-- +Fuller House-- Visitors-- Roads-- Minneapolis-- St. Anthony-- +Suspension Bridge. + +FULLER HOUSE, ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +THE circumstance of finding a good spring of water first led to the +settlement of Boston. It would not be unreasonable to suppose that a +similar advantage induced the first settler of St. Paul to locate +here; for I do not suppose its pioneers for a long while dreamed of +its becoming a place even of its present importance. And here let me +mention that St. Paul is not on the west side of the Mississippi, but +on the east. Though it is rather too elevated and rough in its natural +state to have been coveted for a farm, it is yet just such a spot as a +pioneer would like to plant himself upon, that he might stand in his +door and have a broad and beautiful view towards the south and west. +And when the speculator came he saw that it was at the head of +navigation of what be thought was the Upper Mississippi, but which in +reality is only the Middle Mississippi. Then stores were put up, small +and rude, and trade began to increase with settlers and hunters of +furs. Then came the organization of the territory, and the location of +the capital here, so that St. Paul began to thrive still more from the +crumbs which fell from the government table, as also by that flood of +emigration which nothing except the Rocky Mountains has ever stayed +from entering a new territory. And now it has passed its doubtful era. +It has passed from its wooden to its brick age. Before men are certain +of the success of a town, they erect one story pine shops; but when +its success appears certain, they build high blocks of brick or +granite stores. So now it is common to see four and five story brick +or stone buildings going up in St. Paul. + +I believe this city numbers at present about 10,000 population. It is +destined to increase for a few years still more rapidly than it has +heretofore. But that it will be a second Chicago is what I do not +expect. It would certainly seem that the high prices demanded for +building lots must retard the progress of the place; but I am told the +prices have always been as high in proportion to the business and +number of population. $500 and upwards is asked for a decent building +lot in remote parts of the town. + +I have had an agreeable stroll down upon the bluff, south-east from +the city, and near the elegant mansion of Mr. Dayton. The first +engraving of St. Paul was made from a view taken at that point. As I +stood looking at the city, I recalled the picture in Mr. Bond's work, +and contrasted its present with the appearance it had three or four +years ago. What a change! Three or four steamers were lying at the +levee; steam and smoke were shooting forth from the chimneys of +numerous manufactories; a ferry was plying the Mississippi, +transporting teams and people; church steeples and domes and great +warehouses stood in places which were vacant as if but yesterday; busy +streets had been built and peopled; rows of splendid dwellings and +villas, adorned with delightful terraces and gardens, had been +erected. I went out on Sunday morning too, and the view was none the +less pleasant. Business was silent; but the church bells were ringing +out their sweet and solemn melody, and the mellow sunlight of autumn +glittered on the bright roofs and walls in the city. The whole scene +revealed the glorious image of that ever advancing civilization which +springs from well rewarded labor and general intelligence. + +Like all new and growing places in the west, St. Paul has its whiskey +shops, its dusty and dirty streets, its up and down sidewalks, and its +never-ceasing whirl of business. Yet it has its churches, well filled; +its spacious school-houses; its daily newspapers; and well-adorned +mansions. There are many cottages and gardens situated on the most +elevated part of the city, north and west, which would not suffer by a +comparison with those cheerful and elegant residences so numerous for +six to ten miles around Boston. From the parlors of these homes one +may look down upon the city and upon the smooth bosom of the river. In +the streets, too, you see much evidence of opulence and luxury, in the +shape of handsome carriages, which are set out to advantage by a +first-rate quality of horses. + +One element of the success of this city is the public spirit of its +leading business men. They have put their hands deep into their +pockets to improve and advance the place. In all their rivalry there +is an amicable feeling and boundless liberality. They help him that +tries to help himself, and help each other in a way that will help +them all together; and such kind of enterprises produces grand +results. Why, here is a new hotel (the Fuller House) at which I stop, +which is surpassed but by very few hotels in the country. It is a +first-class house, built of brick, five stories high, and of much +architectural beauty. The building itself cost upwards of $100,000, +and its furniture over $30,000. Its proprietor is Mr. Long, who has +already had good success in this sort of business. One can well +imagine the comfort of finding such a house at the end of a long and +tedious journey in a new country. + +It is estimated that 28,000 people have visited and left St. Paul +during the present season. During July and August the travel +diminishes, but as soon as autumn sets in it comes on again in daily +floods. It is really a novel and interesting state of things one finds +on his arrival at the hotel. There are so many people from so many +different places! Then everybody is a stranger to almost everybody, +and therefore quite willing to get acquainted with somebody. Everybody +wants a bit of information on some point. Everybody is going to some +place where he thinks somebody has been or is going, and so a great +many new acquaintances are made without ceremony or delay; and old +acquaintances are revived. I find people who have come from all +sections of the country-- from the east and the west, and from the +south-- not adventurers merely, but men of substance and means, who +seek a healthier climate and a pleasant home. Nor can I here omit to +mention the meeting of my friend, Col. A. J. Whitney, who is one of +the pioneers of Minnesota, and with whom I had two years before +travelled over the western prairies. A. H. Marshall, Esq., of Concord, +N. H., well known as a popular speaker, is also here on a visit. + +But what are the roads leading from St. Paul, and what are the +facilities of travel to places beyond? These are questions which I +suppose some would like to have answered. There is a road to +Stillwater, and a stage, which I believe runs daily. That is the route +now often taken to Lake Superior. This morning three men came in on +that stage from Superior, who have been a week on the journey. The +great highway of the territory extends as far as Crow Wing, 130 miles +north of here. It passes St. Anthony and several important towns on +the eastern bank of the Mississippi. In a day or two I intend to take +a journey as far as Crow Wing, and I can then write with more +knowledge on the subject. + +A very pretty drive out of St. Paul is by the cave. This is an object +worth visiting, and is about two miles out of the city. Three or four +miles beyond are the beautiful falls of Minnehaha, or laughing water. +The drive also takes in Fort Snelling. St. Anthony is on the east side +of the Mississippi; Minneapolis is opposite, on the west side. Both +places are now large and populous. The main street of St. Anthony is +over a mile in length. One of the finest water powers in the Union is +an element of growth to both towns. The lumber which is sawed there is +immense. A company is undertaking to remove the obstructions to +navigation in the river between St. Paul and St. Anthony. $20,000 were +raised for the purpose; one-half by the Steamboat Company, and the +other half by the people of St. Anthony. The suspension bridge which +connects Minneapolis with St. Anthony is familiar to all. It is a fit +type of the enterprise of the people. I forget the exact sum I paid as +toll when I walked across the bridge-- perhaps it was a dime; at any +rate I was struck with the answer given by the young man who took the +toll, in reply to my inquiry as I returned, if my coming back wasn't +included in the toll paid going over? " No," said he, in a very +good-natured way, "we don't know anything about coming back; it's all +go ahead in this country." + + LETTER IV. + + THE BAR. + +Character of the Minnesota bar-- Effect of connecting land business +with practice-- Courts-- Recent legislation of Congress as to the +territorial judiciary-- The code of practice-- Practice in land +cases-- Chances for lawyers in the West-- Charles O'Connor-- Requisite +qualifications of a lawyer-- The power and usefulness of a great +lawyer-- Talfourd's character of Sir William Follett-- Blending law +with politics-- Services of lawyers in deliberative assemblies + +ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +I HAVE not yet been inside of a court of justice, nor seen a case +tried, since I have been in the territory. But it has been my pleasure +to meet one of the judges of the supreme court and several prominent +members of the bar. My impression is, that in point of skill and +professional ability the Minnesota bar is a little above the average +of territorial bars. Here, as in the West generally, the practice is +common for lawyers to mix with their profession considerable +miscellaneous business, such as the buying and selling of land. The +law is too jealous a mistress to permit any divided love, and +therefore it cannot be expected that really good lawyers will be found +in the ranks of general business agents and speculators. In other +words, a broker's office is not a lawyer's office. There are some +lawyers here who have attended strictly to the profession, who are +ornaments of it, and who have met with good success. The idea has been +common, and as fatal as common, that success in legal practice could +be easily attained in the West with a small amount of skill and +learning. It is true that a poor lawyer aided by some good qualities +will sometimes rise to affluence and eminence, though such cases are +exceptions. There are able layers in the West, and, though practice +may be less formal and subtle than in older communities, ability and +skill find their relative advancement and reward, while ignorance and +incapacity have their downward tendency just as they do everywhere +else. The fees for professional services are liberal, being higher +than in the East. Before an attorney can be admitted to practise he +must have an examination by, or under the direction of, one of the +judges of the supreme court. The provisions of the territorial +statutes are quite strict in their tendency to maintain upright +practice. + +An act of the present congress has created a revolution in the courts +of the territory. The organic act, SS 9, provided that the territory +should be divided into three judicial districts; "and a district court +shall be held in each of said districts by one of the justices of the +supreme court, at such times and places as may be prescribed by law." +This meant, I suppose, at such times and places as the territorial +legislature should prescribe. Accordingly, as population increased and +extended, and as counties were established, the territorial +legislature increased the places in each district for holding the +district court. Either on account of the expense or for some other +cause congress has just stepped aside from the doctrine of +non-intervention (ch. 124, sec. 5), and abrogated the territorial +legislation so far as to provide that there shall be but one place in +each of the three districts for holding a district court. The act +applies to all territories. In a territory of five or six hundred +miles in extent it is of course inconvenient to have but three places +for holding courts. The Minnesotians complain that it is an +interference with popular sovereignty. It is possible the legislature +might have gone to an extreme in creating places for holding courts; +and I suppose the judges were kept on the march a good deal of the +time. It also looks as if the remedy by congress was extreme. The +people say it is a coercive measure to drive them into a state +organization. + +The administration of justice is secured by a system which is now +common to all the territories, with the exception of Kansas. The +supreme court consists of the three district judges in full bench. +They hold nisi prius terms in their respective districts, which are +called district courts. The judges have a salary of $2000 each, and +are appointed for a term of four years, subject to removal by the +President. The district courts have chancery jurisdiction in matters +where there is not a plain, adequate, and complete remedy at law. +(Stat. of Min. ch. 94, sec. 1.) There are also probate courts. Each +county has two justices of the peace, who are elected by the people. +And I cannot but remark how much better the practice is to elect or +appoint a few justices of the peace rather than to allow the office to +be degraded by wholesale appointments, as a matter of compliment, +according to the usage too common in some Eastern States. The justices +of the peace have jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount in +question does not exceed $100; and when the amount at issue is over +$20 either party may demand a jury of six men to try the case. But +there would be little demand for juries if all magistrates were as +competent as our enlightened friend Judge Russell. + +Special pleading never flourished much in the West. It was never "a +favorite with the court" out this way; while the regard which the +lawyers have cherished for it has been "distant and respectful." It +has been laid on the shelf about as effectually as bleeding in the +practice of medicine. The science of special pleading, as it is known +in these days-- and that in some of the older states-- exists in a +mitigated form from what it did in the days of Coke and Hale. The +opportunities to amend, and the various barriers against admitting a +multiplicity of pleas, have rendered the system so much more rational +than it once was, that it is doubtful if some of the old English +worthies could now identify it. Once a defendant could plead to an +action of assumpsit just as many defences as he chose; first, he could +deny the whole by pleading the general issue; then he could plead the +statute of limitations, infancy, accord and satisfaction, and a dozen +other pleas, by which the plaintiff would be deprived of any clue to +the real defence. I suppose it was this practice of formal lying which +has given rise to the popular error that a lawyer is in the habit of +lying, or is obliged to lie, in his arguments. Many people do not know +the difference between pleading-- which is a process in writing to +bring the parties to an issue-- and the oral arguments of counsel in +courts. It is ridiculous to suppose that it is easy or profitable for +lawyers to make false statements in their arguments. The opposing +counsel is ready to catch at anything of the kind; and if he misstates +the evidence, the jury are aware of it; while if he states what is not +law, the court generally knows it. So there is no opportunity for +lying even if a lawyer should be so disposed. The practice in civil +actions as provided by the statutes of Minnesota is similar-- if not +actually the same-- to the New York code of practice. There is but one +form of action, called an action of contract. The only pleading on the +part of the plaintiff is, 1st, the complaint; 2d, the reply. On the +part of the defendant, 1st, demurrer; or 2d, the answer. (Stats. ch. +70, sec. 58.) The complaint must contain, 1st, the title of the cause, +specifying the name of the court in which the action is brought and +the names of the parties to the action, plaintiff and defendant; 2d, a +statement of the facts constituting the cause of action in ordinary +and concise language, without repetition, and in such a manner as to +enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended; 3d, +a demand of the relief to which the plaintiff supposes himself +entitled. If the recovery of money be demanded the amount must be +stated. (Ibid. sec. 59.) + +While testifying my approval of this code of practice as a whole, I +cannot resist saying that in many respects it is not so systematic as +the Massachusetts code, which was devised by Messrs. Curtis (now Mr. +Justice), Lord, and Chapman. That code is one of the best in the +world. And if I may be allowed one word more about special pleading, I +would say that there is no branch of law which will better reward +study. Without mentioning the practice in the U. S. courts, which +requires, certainly, a knowledge of special pleading, no one can read +the old English reports and text books with much profit, who is +ignorant of the principles of that science. + +A class of business peculiar to new territories and states arises from +the land laws. A great many pre-emption cases are contested before the +land officers, in which the services of lawyers are required. This +fact will partly explain why there are, generally, so many lawyers +located in the vicinity of a land office. In a community that is newly +settled the title to property must often be in dispute; and however +much averse people may be to going to law, they find it frequently +indispensable, if they wish to have their rights settled on a firm +basis. + +The opinion prevails almost universally in the East that a lawyer can +do best in the West. In some respects he can. If he cannot do a good +deal better, he is not compensated for going. I had the pleasure of a +conversation last summer with one of the most eminent members of the +New York bar (Mr. O'Connor), on this very subject. It was his opinion +that western lawyers begin sooner to enjoy their reputation than the +lawyers in the eastern cities. This is true; and results from there +being less competition in newer communities. "A lawyer among us," said +Mr. O'Connor, "seldom acquires eminence till he begins to turn gray." +Nevertheless, there is no field so great and so certain in the long +run, in which one may become really a great lawyer, as in some of our +large commercial cities, whether of the East or the West. To admit of +the highest professional eminence there must be a large and varied +business; and a lawyer must devote himself almost exclusively to law. +And then, when this great reputation is acquired, what does it amount +to? Something now, but not much hereafter. The great lawyer lives a +life of toil and excitement. Often does it seem to "break on the +fragments of a reviving dream." His nerves are worn by the troubles of +others; for the exercise of the profession, as has been said by a +brilliant lawyer, "involves intimate participation with the interests, +hopes, fears, passions, affections, and vicissitudes of many lives." +And yet merely as a lawyer, he seldom leaves any durable vestige of +his fame behind him-- hardly a fortune. But if his fame is transient +and mortal, there is some equivalent in the pleasure of triumph and +the consciousness of power. There is no man so powerful as the great +lawyer. The wealth and the character of his fellow men often depend +upon him. His clients are sometimes powerful corporations, or cities, +or states. Crowded courts listen to his eloquence year after year; and +no one has greater freedom of speech than he. The orator and +politician may be wafted into a conspicuous place for a brief period, +and fall again when popular favor has cooled; yet the lawyer is rising +still higher, nor can the rise and fall of parties shake him from his +high pedestal; for the tenure of his power is not limited. He is, too, +one of the most serviceable protectors of the liberties of his +country. It was as a lawyer that Otis thundered against writs of +assistance. The fearless zeal of Somers, in defence of the seven +bishops, fanned the torch of liberty at the beginning of the great +English revolution. Erskine and Brougham did more as lawyers to +promote freedom of the press, than as Statesmen. + +I cannot refrain from inserting here Mr. Justice Talfourd's +interesting analysis of the professional abilities of Follett: "It may +be well, while the materials for investigation remain, to inquire into +the causes of success, so brilliant and so fairly attained by powers +which have left so little traces of their progress. Erskine was never +more decidedly at the head of the common law bar than Follett; +compared with Follett he was insignificant in the house of commons; +his career was chequered by vanities and weaknesses from which that of +Follett was free; and yet even if he had not been associated with the +greatest constitutional questions of his time and their triumphant +solution, his fame would live by the mere force and beauty of his +forensic eloquence as long as our language. But no collection of the +speeches of Follett has been made; none will ever be attempted; no +speech he delivered is read, except perchance as part of an +interesting trial, and essential to its story, and then the language +is felt to be poor, the cadences without music, and the composition +vapid and spiritless; although, if studied with a view to the secrets +of forensic success, with a 'learned spirit of human dealing,' in +connexion with the facts developed and the difficulties encountered, +will supply abundant materials for admiration of that unerring skill +which induced the repetition of fortunate topics, the dexterous +suppression of the most stubborn things when capable of oblivion, and +the light evasive touch with which the speaker fulfilled his promise +of not forgetting others which could not be passed over, but which, if +deeply considered, might he fatal. If, however, there was no principle +of duration in his forensic achievements, there can be doubt of the +esteem in which they were held or the eagerness with which they were +sought. His supremacy in the minds of clients was more like the rage +of a passion for a youthful Roscius or an extraordinary preacher, than +the result of deliberate consideration; and yet it prevailed, in +questions not of an evening's amusement, but of penury or riches, +honor or shame. Suitors were content, not only to make large +sacrifices for the assured advantage of his advocacy, but for the bare +chance-- the distant hope-- of having some little part (like that +which Phormio desires to retain in Thais) of his faculties, with the +certainty of preventing their opposition. There was no just ground, in +his case, for the complaint that he received large fees for services +he did not render; for the chances were understood by those who +adventured in his lottery; in which after all there were comparatively +few blanks. His name was 'a tower of strength,' which it was +delightful to know that the adverse faction wanted, and which inspired +confidence even on the back of the brief of his forsaken junior, who +bore the burden and heat of the day for a fifth of the fee which +secured that name. Will posterity ask what were the powers thus +sought, thus prized, thus rewarded, and thus transient? They will be +truly told that he was endowed, in a remarkable degree, with some +moral qualities which smoothed his course and charmed away opposition, +and with some physical advantages which happily set off his +intellectual gifts; that he was blessed with a temper at once gentle +and even; with a gracious manner and a social temperament; that he was +without jealousy of the solid or showy talents of others, and +willingly gave them the amplest meed of praise; that he spoke with all +the grace of modesty, yet with the assurance of perfect mastery over +his subject, his powers, and his audience; and yet they will scarcely +recognise in these excellencies sufficient reasons for his +extraordinary success. To me, the true secret of his peculiar strength +appeared to lie in the possession of two powers which rarely co-exist +in the same mind-- extraordinary subtlety of perception and as +remarkable simplicity of execution. In the first of these faculties-- +in the intuitive power of common sense, which is the finest essence of +experience, whereby it attains 'to something of prophetic strain'-- he +excelled all his contemporaries except Lord Abinger, with whom it was +more liable to be swayed by prejudice or modified by taste, as it was +adorned with happier graces. The perfection of this faculty was +remarkably exemplified in the fleeting visits he often paid to the +trials of causes which he had left to the conduct of his juniors; a +few words, sometimes a glance, sufficed to convey to his mind the +exact position of complicated affairs, and enabled him to decide what +should be done or avoided; and where the interference of any other +moral advocate would have been dangerous, he often rendered good +service, and, which was more extraordinary, never did harm. So his +unrivalled aptitude for legal reasoning, enabled him to deal with +authorities as he dealt with facts; if unprepared for an argument, he +could find its links in the chaos of an index, and make an imposing +show of learning out of a page of Harrison; and with the aid of the +interruptions of the bench, which he could as dexterously provoke as +parry, could find the right clue and conduct a luminous train of +reasoning to a triumphant close. His most elaborate arguments, though +not comparable in essence with those of his chief opponent, Lord +Campbell-- which, in comprehensive outline, exact logic, felicitous +illustration, and harmonious structure, excelled all others I have +heard-- were delivered in tones so nicely adapted to the minds and +ears of the judges, with an earnestness so winning, and a confidence +so contagious, that they made a judgment on his side not only a +necessity, but a pleasure. + +"The other faculty, to which, in combination with his subtlety of +understanding, the excellence of his advocacy may be attributed, is +one more rarely possessed-- and scarcely ever in such association-- +the entire singleness of a mind equally present in every part of a +cause. If the promotion of the interest of the client were an +advocate's highest duty, it would be another name for the exactest +virtue; and inasmuch as that interest is not, like the objects of +zeal, fixed in character, but liable to frequent change, the faculty +of directing the whole power of the understanding to each shifting +aspect of the cause in its minutest shadowings without the guidance of +an inflexible law, is far more wonderful, if far less noble, than a +singleness of devotion to right. It has an integrity of its own, which +bears some affinity to that honesty which Baillie Nichol Jarvie +attributes to his Highland kinsman. Such honesty-- that is, the entire +devotion of all the faculties to the object for which it was retained, +without the lapse of a moment's vanity or indolence, with unlimited +vision and unceasing activity-- was Follett's beyond all other +advocates of our time. To the presentment of truth, or sophism, as the +cause might require, he gave his entire mind with as perfect oblivion +of self as the most heroic sufferer for principle. The faculty which +in Gladstone, the statesman, applied to realities and inspired only by +the desire to discover the truth and to clothe it in language, +assumes, in the minds of superficial observers, the air of casuistry +from the nicety of its distinctions and the earnest desire of the +speaker to present truth in its finest shades-- in Follett, the +advocate, applied indiscriminately to the development of the specious +shows of things as of their essences, wore all the semblance of +sincerity; and, in one sense, deserved it. No fears, no doubts, no +scruples shook him. Of the license which advocacy draws from sympathy +with the feelings of those it represents, he made full use, with +unhesitating power; for his reason, of 'large discourse,' was as +pliable as the affections of the most sensitive nature. Nor was he +diverted from his aim by any figure or fancy: if he neither exalted +his subject by imagination, nor illustrated it by wit, nor softened +its details by pathos, he never made it the subject of vain attempts +at the exhibition of either. He went into the arena, stripped of all +encumbrance, to win, and contended studious only and always of +victory. His presence of mind was not merely the absence of external +distraction, nor the capacity of calling up all energies on an +emergency, but the continued application of them equally to the duty +of each moment. There are few speakers, even of fervid sincerity and +zeal, whose thoughts do not frequently run before or beside the +moment's purpose; whose wits do not sometimes wander on to some other +part of the case than that they are instantly discussing; who do not +anticipate some future effect, or dally with some apprehension of +future peril, while they should consider only the next word or +sentence. This momentary desertion of the exact purpose never occurred +to Follett; he fitted the thought to its place; the word to the +thought; and allowed the action only to take care of itself, as it +always will with an earnest speaker. His, therefore, was rather the +artlessness than the art of advocacy-- its second nature-- justly +appreciated by those to whose interests it was devoted; but not fully +understood even by the spectator of its exertion; dying with the +causes in which it was engaged, and leaving no vestiges except in +their success. Hence the blank which is substituted for the space he +filled in human affairs. The modest assurance, the happy boldness, the +extemporaneous logic, all that 'led but to the grave,' exist, like the +images of departed actors, only in the recollection of those who +witnessed them, till memory shall fade into tradition, and tradition +dwindle down to a name." (Supplement to Vacation Rambles, p. 115.) The +eagerness with which the talents of Sir William Follett were sought, +forcibly illustrates the truth of a remark, made to me in the course +of some friendly advice, by one who may be ranked among the most +brilliant advocates who have adorned the American Bar (now in the +highest office in the nation), that to attain the highest rank in the +legal profession, a lawyer must have such abilities and character as +will "compel" patronage. + +He, however, who enters the profession here or elsewhere merely as a +stepping stone to political preferment, need not expect great success, +even though he may acquire some temporary advancement. The day is past +when lawyers could monopolize every high place in the state. The habit +of public speaking is not now confined to the learned professions. Our +peculiar system of education has trained up a legion of orators and +politicians outside of the bar. Now-a-days a man must have other +qualifications besides the faculty of speech-making to win the prize +in politics. He must be a man of comprehensive ability, and thoroughly +identified with the interests of the people, before he can secure much +popular favor, or else he must be possessed of such shining talents +and character that his fellow men will take a pride in advancing him +to conspicuous and responsible trusts. Let a man have a part or all of +these qualifications, however, and with them the experience and tact +of a lawyer, and he will of course make a more valuable public +servant, especially if he is placed in a deliberative body. The +British cabinets have always relied vastly on the support afforded +them in the house of commons by their attorneys and solicitors +general, whether it consisted in the severe and solemn logic of +Romilly, in the cool and ready arguments of Scarlett, or the acute and +irresistible oratory of Sir William Follett. The education of a +lawyer;-- his experience as a manager; his art of covering up weak +points, his ready and adroit style of speaking;-- all serve to make +him peculiarly valuable to his own party, and dangerous to an +opposition in a deliberative body. But the fact that a man is a lawyer +does not advance him in politics so much as it once did. Fortunate it +is so! For though learning will always have its advantages, yet no +profession ought to have exclusive privileges. Nor need the lawyer +repine that it is so, inasmuch as it is for his benefit, if he desires +success in the profession, to discard the career of politics. The race +is not to the swift, and he can afford to wait for the legitimate +honors of the bar. I will conclude by saying that I regard Minnesota +as a good field for an upright, industrious, and competent lawyer. For +those of an opposite class, I have never yet heard of a very promising +field. + + LETTER V. + + ST. PAUL TO CROW WING IN TWO DAYS. + +Stages-- Roads-- Rum River-- Indian treaty-- Itasca-- Sauk Rapids-- +Watab at midnight-- Lodging under difficulties,-- Little Rock River-- +Character of Minnesota streams-- Dinner at Swan River-- Little Falls-- +Fort Ripley-- Arrival at Crow Wing. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +HERE I am, after two days drive in a stage, at the town of Crow Wing, +one hundred and thirty miles, a little west of north, from St. Paul. I +will defer, however, any remarks on Crow Wing, or the many objects of +interest hereabout, till I have mentioned a few things which I saw +coming up. Between St. Paul and this place is a tri-weekly line of +stages. The coaches are of Concord manufacture, spacious and +comfortable; and the entire equipage is well adapted to the +convenience of travellers. Next season, the enterprising proprietors, +Messrs. Chase and Allen, who carry the mail, intend establishing a +daily line. I left the Fuller House in the stage at about five in the +morning. There was only a convenient number of passengers till we +arrived at St. Anthony, where we breakfasted; but then our load was +more than doubled, and we drove out with nine inside and about seven +outside, with any quantity of baggage. The road is very level and +smooth; and with the exception of encountering a few small stamps +where the track has been diverted for some temporary impediment, and +also excepting a few places where it is exceedingly sandy, it is an +uncommonly superior road. It is on the eastern bank of the +Mississippi, and was laid out very straight. But let me remark that +everybody who travels it seems conscious that it is a government road. +There are several bridges, and they are often driven over at a rapid +rate, much to their damage. When Minnesota shall have a state +government, and her towns or counties become liable for the condition +of the roads, people will doubtless be more economical of the bridges, +even though the traveller be not admonished to walk his horse, or to +"keep to the right," &c. + +Emerging from St. Anthony, the undulating aspect of the country +ceases, and we enter upon an almost unbroken plain. A leading +characteristic of the scenery is the thin forests of oak, commonly +called oak openings. The soil appears to be rich. + +Seven miles from St. Anthony is a tidy settlement called Manomin, near +the mouth of Rice river. But the first place of importance which we +reached is Anoka, a large and handsome village situated on Rum river. +It is twenty-five miles from St. Paul. The river is a large and +beautiful stream and affords good water-power, in the development of +which Anoka appears to thrive. A vast number of pine logs are annually +floated down the river and sawed into lumber at the Anoka mills. The +settlers are principally from Maine. By the treaty of 22d February, +1855, with three bands of the Chippewa Indians, an appropriation of +$5000 was set apart for the construction of a road from the mouth of +Rum river to Mille Lac. The road is half completed. + +We took an early dinner at Itasca, having come thirty-two miles. +Itasca is quite an unassuming place, and not so pretty as its name. +But I shall always cherish a good-will for the spot, inasmuch as I got +a first-rate dinner there. It was all put upon the table before we sat +down, so that each one could help himself; and as it consisted of very +palatable edibles, each one did help himself quite liberally. We +started on soon afterwards, with a new driver and the third set of +horses; but with the disagreeable consciousness that we had still +before us the largest part of the day's journey. In about three hours +we came to Big Lake, or, as it is sometimes called, Humboldt. The lake +is anything but a big lake, being the size of a common New England +pond. But then all such sheets of water are called lakes in this part +of the country. It is a clear body of water, abounding with fine fish, +and has a beautiful shore of pebbles. Several similar sheets of water +are passed on the journey, the shores of which present a naked +appearance. There is neither the trace of a stream leading from or to +them, nor, with few exceptions, even a swamp in their vicinity. + +Sauk Rapids is 44 miles from Itasca, and it was late when we reached +there. But, late as it was, we found a large collection of people at +the post office waiting for the mail. They appeared to have had a +caucus, and were discussing politics with much animation. There is at +Sauk Rapids a local land office. That is of more advantage to a place +than being the county seat. In a short time, however, some of the land +offices will be removed further west for the convenience of settlers. +The village is finely situated on rising ground, and contains some +handsome residences. + +It was midnight when we arrived at Watab, where we were to lodge. The +weather had been delightful during the day, but after nightfall a high +wind rose and filled the air with dust. I descended from the stage-- +for I had rode upon the outside-- with self-satisfied emotions of +having come eighty-two miles since morning. The stage-house was +crowded. It is a two-story building, the rooms of which are small. I +went to bed, I was about to say, without any supper. But that was not +so. I didn't get any supper, it is true, neither did I get a bed; for +they were all occupied. The spare room on the floor was also taken. +The proprietor, however, was accommodating, and gave me a sort of a +lounge in rather a small room where three or four other men, and a +dog, were sleeping on the floor. I fixed the door ajar for +ventilation, and with my overcoat snugly buttoned around me, though it +was not cold, addressed myself to sleep. In the morning I found that +one of the occupants was an ex-alderman from the fifth ward of New +York; and that in the room over me slept no less a personage than +Parker H. French. I say I ascertained these facts in the morning. Mr. +French came to Watab a few weeks ago with a company of mechanics, and +has been rushing the place ahead with great zeal. He appears to make a +good impression on the people of the town. + +A heavy rain had fallen during the night; the stage was but moderately +loaded, and I started out from Watab, after breakfast the next +morning, in bright spirits. Still the road is level, and at a slow +trot the team makes better time than a casual observer is conscious +of. Soon we came to Little Rock River, which is one of the crookedest +streams that was ever known of. We are obliged to cross it twice +within a short space. Twelve miles this side we cross the beautiful +Platte River. It would make this letter much more monotonous than it +is, I fear, were I to name all the rivers we pass. They are very +numerous: and as they increase the delight of the traveller, so are +they also a delight and a convenience to the settler. Like the rivers +of New England, they are clear and rapid, and furnish abundant means +for water-power. The view which we catch of the Mississippi is +frequent, but brief, as the road crosses its curves in the most direct +manner. Much of the best land on either side of the road is in the +hands of speculators, who purchased it at public sale, or afterwards +plastered it over with land warrants. There is evidence of this on the +entire route; for, although we pass populous villages, and a great +many splendid farms, the greater part of the land is still unoccupied. +The soil is dark colored, but in some places quite mealy; everywhere +free from stones, and susceptible of easy cultivation. + +We arrived at Swan River at about one o'clock, where we dined on wild +ducks. That is a village also of considerable importance; but it is +not so large as Little Falls, which is three miles this side. At that +place the Mississippi furnishes a good water power. It has a spacious +and tidy hotel, several stores, mechanics' shops, a saw-mill, &c. At +Belle Prairie we begin to see something of the Chippewas. The +half-breeds have there some good farms, and the school-house and the +church denote the progress of civilization. It was near sunset when we +reached Fort Ripley. The garrison stands on the west bank of the +Mississippi, but the reservation extends several miles on both sides. +The stage crosses the river on the ferry to leave the mail and then +returns. The great flag was still flying from the high staff, and had +an inspiring influence. Like most of our inland military posts, Port +Ripley has no stone fortifications. It is neatly laid out in a square, +and surrounded by a high protective fence. Three or four field-pieces +stand upon the bank of the river fronting it, and at some distance +present a warlike attitude. The rest of the trip, being about five +miles, was over the reservation, on which, till we come to Crow Wing, +are no settlements. Here I gladly alighted from the coach, and found +most comfortable and agreeable entertainment at a house which stands +on the immediate bank of the river. + + LETTER VI. + + THE TOWN OF CROW WING. + +Scenery-- First settlement of Crow Wing-- Red Lake Indians-- Mr. +Morrison-- Prospects of the town-- Upper navigation-- Mr. Beaulieu-- +Washington's theory as to Norfolk-- Observations on the growth of +towns. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +I AM highly gratified with the appearance of this place. Mr. Burke +says-- " In order that we should love our country, our country should +first be lovely," and there is much wisdom in the remark. Nature has +done so much for this locality that one could be contented to live +here on quite a moderate income. The land is somewhat elevated, near +the bank of the Mississippi, affording a pleasant view over upon the +western side, both above and below the two graceful mouths of the Crow +Wing River. Towards the east and north, after a few miles, the view is +intercepted by a higher ridge of land covered with timber; or, by the +banks of the Mississippi itself, as from this point we begin to ascend +it in a northeasterly course. + +Crow Wing was selected as a trading post upwards of twenty years ago. +Mr. McDonnald, who still resides here, was, I believe, the first white +settler. Till within a recent period it was the headquarters of the +Mississippi tribe of Chippewas, and the principal trading depot with +the Chippewas generally. Here they brought their furs, the fruits of +their buffalo and their winter hunts, and their handicraft of beads +and baskets, to exchange for clothing and for food. Thus the place was +located and settled on long before there was a prospect of its +becoming a populous town. Mr. Rice, the delegate in congress, if I +mistake not, once had a branch store here with several men in his +employ. The principal traders at present are Mr. Abbee and Mr. +Beaulieu, who have large and well selected stocks of goods. The +present population of white persons probably numbers a hundred souls. +The place now has a more populous appearance on account of the +presence of a caravan of Red Lake Indians, who have come down about +four hundred miles to trade. They are encamped round about in tents or +birch bark lodges, as it may happen to be. In passing some of them, I +saw the squaws busily at work on the grass outside of the lodge in +manufacturing flag carpets. The former Indian residents are now +removed to their reservation in the fork of the Mississippi and Crow +Wing rivers, where their agency is now established. + +The houses here are very respectable in size, and furnished in +metropolitan style and elegance. The farms are highly productive, and +the grazing for stock unequalled. There is a good ferry at the upper +end of the town, at a point where the river is quite narrow and deep. +You can be taken over with a horse for twenty-five cents; with a +carriage, I suppose, the tariff is higher. + +Perhaps one cause of my favorable impression of Crow Wing is the +excellent and home-like hotel accommodations which I have found. The +proprietor hardly assumes to keep a public-house, and yet provides his +guests with very good entertainment; and I cannot refrain from saying +that there is no public-house this side of St. Paul where the +traveller will be better treated. Mr. Morrison-- for that is the +proprietor's name-- came here fifteen years ago, having first come +into this region in the service of John Jacob Astor. He married one of +the handsomest of the Chippewa maidens, who is now his faithful wife +and housekeeper, and the mother of several interesting and amiable +children. Mr. M. is the postmaster. He has been a member of the +territorial legislature, and his name has been given to a large and +beautiful county. I judge that society has been congenial in the town. +The little church, standing on an eminence, indicates some union of +sentiment at least, and a regard for the higher objects of life. +Spring and summer and autumn must be delightful seasons here, and +bring with them the sweetest tranquillity. Nor are the people shut out +from the world in winter; for then there is travel and intercourse and +traffic. So are there pleasures and recreation peculiar to the season. + +But the serene and quiet age of the settlement is near its close. +Enterprise and speculation, with their bustle and turmoil, have laid +hold of it. The clank of the hammer, the whistle of steamboats, the +rattling of carts, heaps of lumber and of bricks, excavations and +gratings, short corners and rough unshapen walks, will usurp the quiet +and the regularity of the place. Indeed a man ought to make a fortune +to compensate for residing in a town during the first years of its +rapid building. The streets appear, on the map, to be well laid out. A +number of purchasers of lots are preparing to build; and a few new +buildings are already going up. As near as I am able to learn, the +things which conduce to its availability as a business place are +these-- First, it is the beginning of the Upper Mississippi +navigation. From this point steamboats can go from two to three +hundred miles. But they cannot pass below, on account of the +obstructions near Fort Ripley, at Little Falls, and at Sauk Rapids. +This of course is a great element in its future success, as the +country above in the valley of the river is destined to be thickly +settled, and boats will run between this point and the settlements +along the river. It will also be a large lumber market, for the pine +forests begin here and extend along the river banks for hundreds of +miles, while the facility of getting the logs down is unexceptionable. +The territory north of Crow Wing is now open for settlers to a great +distance, the Indian title having been extinguished. Two land +districts have also been established, which will be an inducement for +fresh emigration. There is no other place but this to supply these +settlements; at least none so convenient. A great deal of timber will +also come down the Crow Wing River, which is a large stream, navigable +three months in the year. Arrangements are complete for building a +steamboat the ensuing winter, at this very place, to begin running in +the spring as far up as Ojibeway. Next season there will be a daily +line of stages between this and St. Paul. I understand also that it is +intended next summer to connect Crow Wing with the flourishing town of +Superior by stage. It will require considerable energy to do this +thing; but if it can be done, it will be a great blessing to the +traveller as well as a profit to the town. The journey from St. Paul +to Lake Superior via Crow Wing can then be performed in three days, +while on the usual route it now occupies a week. Such are some of the +favorable circumstances which corroborate the expectation of the +growth of this place. The southern or lower portion of the town is +included within the Fort Ripley reserve, and though several residences +are situated on it, no other buildings can be put up without a license +from the commanding officer; nor can any lots be sold from that +portion until the reserve is cut down. With the upper part of the town +it is different. Mr. C. H. Beaulieu, long a resident of the place, is +the proprietor of that part, and has already, I am informed, made some +extensive sales of lots. He is one of those lucky individuals, who +have sagacity to locate on an available spot, and patience to wait the +opening of a splendid fortune.[1] + +[1 Since this letter was written, Mr. Thomas Cathcart has purchased a +valuable claim opposite Crow Wing at the mouth of the river, which I +should think was an available town site.] + +My observation and experience in regard to town sites have taught me +an important fact: that as much depends on the public spirit, unity of +action, and zeal of the early proprietors, as upon the locality +itself. The one is useless without these helps. General Washington +wrote an able essay to prove the availability of Norfolk, Va., as the +great commercial metropolis of the country. He speculated upon its +being the great market for the West. His imagination pictured out some +such place as New York now is, as its future. The unequalled harbor of +Norfolk, and the resources of the country all around it, extending as +far, almost, as thought could reach, might well have encouraged the +theory of Washington. But munificence and energy and labor have built +up many cities since then, which had not half the natural advantages +of Norfolk, while Norfolk is far behind. A little lack of enterprise, +a little lack of harmony and liberality, may, in the early days of a +town, divert business and improvements from a good location, till in a +short time an unheard-of and inferior place totally eclipses it. +Knowing this to be the case, I have been careful in my previous +letters not to give too much importance to many of the town sites +which have been commended to me along my journey. I do not discover +any of these retarding circumstances about Crow Wing. I must conclude +at this paragraph, however, in order to take a horseback ride to the +Chippewa agency. In my next I intend to say something about the +Indians, pine timber, and the country above here in general. + + LETTER VII. + + CHIPPEWA INDIANS.-- HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. + +Description of the Chippewa tribes-- Their habits and customs-- +Mission at Gull Late-- Progress in farming-- Visit to +Hole-in-the-day-- His enlightened character-- Reflections on Indian +character, and the practicability of their civilization-- Their +education-- Mr. Manypenny's exertions. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +I CONSIDER myself exceedingly fortunate in having had a good +opportunity for observing the condition of the Chippewa Indians. +Sometime ago I saw enough of the Indians in another part of the +country to gratify my curiosity as to their appearance and habits; and +as I have always felt a peculiar interest in their destiny, my present +observations have been with a view to derive information as to the +best means for their improvement. The whole number of Chippewas in +Minnesota is not much over 2200. They are divided into several bands, +each band being located a considerable distance from the other. The +Mississippi band live on their reservation, which begins a few miles +above here across the river, while the Pillagor and Lake +Winnibigoshish bands are some three hundred miles further north. The +agency of the Chippewas is on the reservation referred to, a little +north of the Crow Wing River, and six miles distant from this town. To +come down more to particulars, however, and adopt words which people +here would use, I might say that the agency is on Gull River, a very +clear and pretty stream, which flows from a lake of that name, into +the Crow Wing. I passed the agency yesterday, and two miles beyond, in +order to visit Pug-o-na-ke-shick, or Hole-in-the-day, the principal +and hereditary chief of the Chippewas. Mr. Herriman, the agent, +resides at the agency, in compliance with the regulation of the Indian +bureau, which requires agents to reside among the Indians. I strongly +suspect there are many people who would think it unsafe to travel +alone among the Chippewas. But people who live about here would +ridicule the idea of being afraid of violence or the slightest +molestation from them, unless indeed the fellows were intoxicated. For +my part, a walk on Boston common on a summer morning could not seem +more quiet and safe than a ramble on horseback among the homes of +these Indians. I spoke to a good many. Though naturally reserved and +silent, they return a friendly salutation with a pleasant smile. + +Their old costume is still retained as a general thing. The blanket is +still worn instead of coats. Sometimes the men wear leggins, but often +go with their legs naked. A band is generally worn upon the head with +some ornament upon it. A feather of the war eagle worn in the +head-band of a brave, denotes that he has taken the scalp of an enemy +or performed some rare feat of daring. An Indian does not consider +himself in full dress without his war hatchet or weapons. I meet many +with long-stemmed pipes, which are also regarded as an ornamental part +of dress. They appear pleased to have anything worn about them attract +attention. They are of good size, taller than the Winnebagoes, and of +much lighter complexion than tribes living five hundred miles further +south. Herein the philosopher on the cooking of men is confirmed. +Their hair is black, long, and straight; and some are really +good-looking. There are but few who still paint. Those in mourning +paint their faces black. What I have seen of their houses raises high +hopes of their advancement in civilization. We can now begin to lay +aside the word lodge and say house. Over a year ago, Mr. Herriman +promised every one a good cooking stove who would build himself a +comfortable house. This promise had a good effect, for several houses +were built. But the want of windows and several other conveniences, +which are proper fixtures, gives their dwellings a desolate appearance +to one who looks to a higher standard of comfort. Of course I saw a +few of the men at the store (for there is a store at the agency), +spending their time, as too many white men do in country villages. +Eight miles beyond the agency, on Gull Lake, is a mission. It has been +under the charge of Rev. J. L. Breck, a gentleman of high culture, and +whose enlightened and humane exertions in behalf of the Indians have +received much commendation both from the agent and Gov. Gorman, the +Superintendent. He has been at the mission four years. While he had +the benefit of the school-fund, he had in his school, under his own +roof, 35 pupils; since that was withheld, the number of pupils has +been 22. Mr. Breck will soon remove to Leech Lake, and will be +succeeded by a gentleman who comes well recommended from a theological +institution in Wisconsin. I desired very much to go as far as the +mission, but from Crow Wing and back it would have been thirty miles, +and it was otherwise inconvenient on account of the rain. The Indians +are beginning to farm a little. They begin with gardens. Their support +is chiefly from the annuities paid by the United States, which are +principally received in some sort of dry goods. The goods are +furnished by contract, and the price paid for them is about enough, if +all stories are true. They also derive some support from their fur +hunts and by fishing. Buffaloes are still hunted successfully beyond +the Red River of the North. They bring home the furs, and also the +best parts of the meat. The meat is preserved by being partially +cooked in buffalo fat, cut into small pieces, and sewed up very tight +in the hide of the animal. It is called pemmican, and sells here for +twenty-five cents a pound. It is broken to pieces like pork scraps, +and the Indians regard it as a great luxury. + +From the agency I hastened on to see Hole-in-the-day +(Pug-o-na-ke-shick, his Indian name, means, literally, +Hole-in-the-sky). He is a famous chief, having in his youth +distinguished himself for bold exploits and severe endurance. But what +most entitles him to attention is the very exemplary course he has +pursued in attempting to carry out the wishes of the government in +bringing his race to the habits of civilized life. It was principally +through his influence that a treaty was made between his tribe and the +United States, and after it went into effect he turned his attention +to farming. Previous to the treaty he was supported as chief by the +tribal revenue. He has succeeded well. Over a year ago the receipts of +what he sold from his farm, aside from what his household needed, +amounted to over two hundred dollars. At length, after riding a mile +and a half without passing a habitation, over a fertile prairie, I +came in sight of his house. He lives near a small lake, and north of +him is a large belt of heavy pine timber. He has an excellent farm, +well fenced and well cultivated. His house is in cottage style, and of +considerable length; spacious, neat, and well furnished. Arriving at +the door I dismounted, and inquired of his squaw if he was at home. +She sent her little girl out into the field to call him. There, +indeed, in his cornfield, was he at work. He met me very cordially; +and invited me into a room, where he had an interpretor. We held a +protracted and agreeable conversation on Indian matters. He invited me +to dine with him, and nothing but want of time prevented my accepting +his polite invitation. He was very neatly dressed, and is quite +prepossessing in his appearance. He is younger than I supposed before +seeing him. I judge him to be about thirty-four. He is a man of strong +sense, of great sagacity, and considerable ambition. + +There is no reason why the Indians should not speedily become +civilized. Those who have longest lived amongst them, and who best +understand their character, tell me so. I fully believe it. The Indian +follows his wild habits because he has been educated to do so. The +education of habit, familiar from infancy, and the influence of +tradition, lead him to the hunt, and as much to despise manual labor. +He does what he has been taught to consider as noble and honorable, +and that is what the most enlightened do. Certainly his course of life +is the most severe and exposed; it is not for comfort that he adheres +to his wild habits. He regards it as noble to slay his hereditary foe. +Hence the troubles which occasionally break out between the Chippewas +and the Sioux. To gain the applause of their tribe they will incur +almost any danger, and undergo almost any privation. Thus, we see that +for those objects which their education has taught them to regard as +first and best, they will sacrifice all their comforts. They have +sense enough, and ambition enough, and fortitude enough. To those they +love they are affectionate almost to excess. Only direct their +ambition in the proper way, and they will at once rise. Teach them +that it is noble to produce something useful by their labor, and to +unite with the great family of man to expand arts and to improve the +immortal mind-- teach them that it is noble, that there is more +applause to be gained by it, as well as comfort, and they will change +in a generation. They will then apply themselves to civilization with +Spartan zeal and with Spartan virtues. + +In a communication to the secretary of war by Gen. Cass in 1821, +relative to his expedition to the sources of the Mississippi, he makes +the following interesting extract from the journal of Mr. Doty, a +gentleman who accompanied the expedition:-- "The Indians of the upper +country consider those of the Fond-du-Lac as very stupid and dull, +being but little given to war. They count the Sioux their enemies, but +have heretofore made few war excursions. + +"Having been frequently reprimanded by some of the more vigilant +Indians of the north, and charged with cowardice, and an utter +disregard for the event of the war, thirteen men of this tribe, last +season, determined to retrieve the character of their nation, by +making an excursion against the Sioux. Accordingly, without consulting +the other Indians, they secretly departed and penetrated far into the +Sioux country. Unexpectedly, at night, they came upon a party of the +Sioux, amounting to near one hundred men, and immediately began to +prepare for battle. They encamped a short distance from the Sioux, and +during the night dug holes in the ground into which they might retreat +and fight to the last extremity. They appointed one of their number +(the youngest) to take a station at a distance and witness the +struggle, and instructed him, when they were all slain, to make his +escape to their own land, and relate the circumstances under which +they had fallen. + +"Early in the morning they attacked the Sioux in their camp, who, +immediately sallying out upon them, forced them back to the last place +of retreat they had resolved upon. They fought desperately. More than +twice their own number were killed before they had lost their lives. +Eight of them were tomahawked in the holes to which they had +retreated; the other four fell on the field. The thirteenth returned +home, according to the directions he had received, and related the +foregoing circumstances to his tribe. They mourned their death; but +delighted with the bravery of their friends, unexampled in modern +times, they were happy in their grief. + +"This account I received of the very Indian who was of the party and +had escaped."-- [See Schoolcraft, p. 481.][1] + +[1 Pride is a characteristic trait in Indian character. On a recent +occasion when several bands of the Chippewas were at Washington to +negotiate a treaty with the United States, they had an interview with +their Great Father the President. He received them in the spacious +East Room of the executive mansion, in the presence of a large +collection of gentlemen who had gathered to witness the occasion. Each +chief made a speech to the President, which was interpreted as they +spoke. When it came to the turn of Eshkibogikoj (Flat Mouth) that +venerable chief began with great dignity, saying: "Father! Two great +men have met!" Here he paused to let the sentence be interpreted. His +exordium amused not only the whites but the Indians.] + +In the contest between the Athenians and the Dorians, an oracle had +declared that the side would triumph whose king should fall. Codrus +the Athenian king, to be more sure of sacrificing himself, assumed the +dress of a peasant, and was soon killed; and the event soon spread +dismay among the enemies of Athens. His patriotism was accounted so +great, that the Athenians declared that there was no man worthy to be +his successor, and so abolished the monarchy. I think the history of +the Indians would show instances of heroism as praiseworthy as can be +found in the annals of the ancients. Let it be remembered, too, that +the Spartans knew that an imperishable literature would hand down +their valor to the praise of the world through all the future. But the +Indian looked for the preservation of his exploits only in the songs +and the traditional stories of his tribe. + +I allude to these traits because I think it will be agreed, that +whatever race possesses those elements of character which lead them to +pursue with zeal and courage things they have been taught to regard +most creditable, is capable of being civilized. We now pay the Indian +for his lands in agricultural tools, in muskets and powder, in +blankets and cheap calico-- and in education; but the smallest item is +education. If half the money which the government is liable to pay for +Indian troubles during the last year, could be appropriated to a +proper system of education, we should hear of no more serious Indian +wars. But I have not time to pursue the subject. I will say, however, +that the present commissioner of Indian affairs, Mr. Manypenny, is +doing a very good work in advancing their condition. The press ought +to bestow some attention on the subject. There are nearly 400,000 +Indians within the United States and territories. If the philanthropy +of the age could spare the blacks for a little while, and help +civilize the Indians, it would be better for all parties. Here is an +enterprise for genuine humanity. + + LETTER VIII. + + LUMBERING INTERESTS. + +Lumber as an element of wealth-- Quality of Minnesota lumber-- +Locality of its growth-- The great pineries-- Trespasses on government +land-- How the lumbermen elude the government-- Value of lumber-- +Character of the practical Lumberman-- Transportation of lumber on +rafts. + +CROW WING, October 1856. + +IT seems to have been more difficult for countries which abound in +precious metals to attain to great prosperity than for a rich man to +secure eternal felicity. Witness, for instance, the sluggish growth +and degenerate civilization of the South American states. But timber +is a fundamental element of colonial growth. The mines of Potosi +cannot compare with it in value. An abundance of timber and a +superabundance of it are two very different things. Some of the +Middle, and what were once Western States, were originally covered +with forests. So of the greater part of New England. In Ohio and in +Michigan timber has been an encumbrance; for there was great labor to +be performed by the settler in clearing the land and preparing it for +the plough; and at this day we see in travelling through each of those +states, as well as in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, fields +planted amidst heavy timber trees which have been belted that they may +wither and die. By an abundance of timber I mean an ample supply not +only for domestic but foreign market; and with this understanding of +the word I will repeat what has often been said, and what I suppose is +well known, that Minnesota has an abundance of excellent timber. +Unlike the gorgeous forests in New Hampshire, which behind high cliffs +and mountain fastnesses defy the woodman, the timber of Minnesota +grows in the valleys of her great rivers and upon the banks of their +numerous tributaries. It is thus easily shipped to a distant market; +while the great body of the land, not encumbered with it, but naked, +is ready for the plough and for the seed. Most of the timber which +grows in the region below this point is hard wood, such as elm, maple, +oak, and ash. + +There is considerable scrub oak also thinly scattered over large +portions of fertile prairie. To a casual observer these oaks, from +their stunted appearance, would be taken as evidence of poor soil. But +the soil is not the cause of their scrubby looks. It is the devouring +fires which annually sweep over the plains with brilliant though +terrific aspect, and which are fed by the luxuriant grass grown on +that same soil. If the oaks did not draw uncommon nourishment from the +soil, it must be difficult for them to survive such scorchings. It is +a consoling thought that these fires cease in proportion as the +country is settled up. The rock maple is indigenous to the soil; and +the Indians have long been in the habit of making sugar from its sap. +The timber most used for fences is tamarack. The pineries may be said +to begin at the mouth of the Crow Wing River; though there is a great +supply on the Rum River. For upwards of a hundred miles above here on +the Mississippi-- more or less dense, the pine forests extend. Captain +John Pope, in the interesting report of his expedition to the Red +River of the North, in 1849, says-- " The pineries of the upper +Mississippi are mostly upon its tributaries, and I think are not found +on the west side further south than the parallel of 46 degrees N. +latitude." (The latitude of this place is 46 degrees 16' 50".) "They +alternate, even where most abundant, with much larger tracts of +fertile country." Again he says-- "As might be expected from its +alluvial character, there is no pine timber in the valley of the Red +River, but the oak and elm there attain to a size which I do not think +I have ever seen elsewhere." In another place he remarks that "the +pineries along the Crow Wing River are among the most extensive and +valuable found on the tributaries of the Mississippi." Mr. Schoolcraft +says of this river, "the whole region is noted for its pine timber." +In speaking of the country on the St. Louis River, a few miles from +where it empties into Lake Superior, the same gentleman remarks: "The +growth of the forest is pines, hemlock, spruce, birch, oak, and +maple." I had heard considerable about Minnesota lumber, it is true, +but I was not prepared to see the pine timber so valuable and heavy as +it is above and about here. The trees are of large growth, straight +and smooth. They are not surpassed by + "The tallest pine, + Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast + Of some great admiral." + +Cujus est solum ejus est usque ad caelum-- whose the soil, his to the +sky-- is a maxim in these pine regions of literal importance. There is +something besides utility also to be mentioned in this connection. +With the exception of swamps, which are few and far between, the +timber land has all the beauty of a sylvan grove. The entire absence +of underbrush and decayed logs lends ornament and attraction to the +woods. They are more like the groves around a mansion in their neat +and cheerful appearance; and awaken reflection on the Muses and the +dialogues of philosophers rather than apprehension of wild beasts and +serpents. + +The relative importance of the lumber business would hardly be +estimated by a stranger. It has been carried on for at least six +years; and considerable has found its way as far down as St. Louis. It +will be asked, I imagine, if all this timber land, especially the +pine, has been sold by the government; and if not, how it happens that +men cut it down and sell it? I will answer this. The great region of +pineries has not yet been surveyed, much less sold by the government. +But notwithstanding this, men have cut it in large quantities, sold it +into a greedy market, and made money, if not fortunes in the business. +As a sort of colorable excuse for cutting timber, those employed in +the business often make a preemption claim on land covered with it, +and many people suppose they have the right to cut as much as they +please after the incipient steps towards preemption. But this is not +so. All that a claimant can do in this respect is to cut wood enough +for his fuel, and timber enough for his own building purposes, until +he receives a patent from the government. Of course it is altogether +reasonable and proper that men should be precluded from doing so until +their title in the soil is complete. Because, until a preemption claim +is perfect, or, until the land has been acquired by some legal title, +it is not certain that the claimant will ultimately secure it or pay +any money to the government. But does not the government do anything +to prevent these trespasses? Yes, but all its attempts are baffled. + +For example, last spring a large quantity of splendid lumber was +seized by the United States marshal and sold at public auction. It was +bid off by the lumbermen themselves, who had formed a combination to +prevent its falling into the hands of other purchasers. This +combination had no resistance as I am aware of in the public opinion +of the territory, and the timber was sold to those who had it cut at a +price so far below its value that it didn't pay the expense of the +legal proceedings on the part of the government. This is accounted for +in the fact of the exhaustless quantity of pine timber towards the +north; in the demand for it when sawed; and in the disposition to +protect enterprising men, though technically trespassers, who +penetrate into the forest in the winter at great expense, and whose +standing and credit are some guaranty of their ultimate responsibility +to the government, should they not perfect their titles. The business +of getting out the timber is carried on in the winter, and affords +employment for a large number of athletic young men. The price of +timber, I ascertained of Mr. P. D. Pratt, a dealer at St. Paul, is, +for the best, $30 per M.; for common, $20. + +Most people have seen or been told something of the lumbermen of +Maine. Allowing this to be so, it will not be difficult to comprehend +the condition and character of the lumbermen of Minnesota and the +northwest. But if there is anybody who fancies them to be a set of +laborers, such as build our railroads and dig coal and minerals, he is +greatly mistaken. The difference is in birth and education; between +foreigners and native-born citizens. A difference not in rights and +merits, so much as in habits and character. Born on American soil, +they have attended our common schools, and have the bearing and +independence of sovereigns. None but very vigorous men can endure, or +at least attempt to endure, the exposure of living in the woods all +winter and swinging the axe; though by proper care of themselves, such +exercise is conducive to health and strength. Accordingly we find the +lumberman-- I mean of course the practical lumberman-- to be a +thick-set, muscular young man, with a bright eye and florid cheek; in +short, one whom we would call a double-fisted fellow. He is not one of +your California boys, but more affable and domestic, with a shorter +beard, and not so great a profusion of weapons. His dress is snug and +plain-- the regular pioneer costume of boots over the pants, and a +thick red shirt in lieu of a coat. His capital stock is his health and +his hands. When in employment he is economical and lays up his wages. +When out of employment and in town, his money generally goes freely. +As a class, the lumbermen are intelligent. They are strong talkers, +for they put in a good many of the larger sort of words; and from +their pungent satire and sledge-hammer style of reasoning, are by no +means very facile disputants. They are preeminently jokers. This is as +they appear on their way to the woods. During the season of their +active labor they usually spend the evening, after a day of hard work, +in storytelling or in a game of euchre. Their wages amount to about +two dollars a day, exclusive of board. They have good living in the +woods, the provisions, which are furnished on an ample scale, being +served by male cooks. + +While on the subject of lumber, which may possibly interest some +people who wish to redeem the fortunes they have lately lost in Maine +lumber, I ought not to leave unmentioned the valuable cargoes of it +which are floated down the Mississippi. When coming up in the boat I +was astonished to see such stupendous rafts. Large logs are +transported by being made into rafts. At a landing where the boat +stopped, I on one occasion attempted to estimate the number of logs +comprised in one of these marine novelties, and found it to be about +eight hundred; the logs were large, and were worth from five to six +dollars each. Here then was a raft of timber worth at least $4000. +They are navigated by about a dozen men, with large paddles attached +at either end of the raft, which serve to propel and steer. Often, in +addition to the logs, the rafts are laden with valuable freights of +sawed lumber. Screens are built as a protection against wind, and a +caboose stands somewhere in the centre, or according to western +parlance it might be called a cabin. Sometimes the raft will be +running in a fine current; then only a couple of hands are on the +watch and at the helm. The rest are seen either loitering about +observing the country, or reclining, snugly wrapped up in their +blankets. Some of these rafts must cover as much as two acres. Birnam +Wood coming to Dunsinane was not a much greater phenomenon. + + LETTER IX. + + SHORES OF LAKE SUPERIOR. + +Description of the country around Lake Superior-- Minerals-- Locality +of a commercial city-- New land districts-- Buchanan-- Ojibeway-- +Explorations to the sources of the Mississippi-- Henry R. +Schoolcraft-- M. Nicollet's report-- Resources of the country above +Crow Wing. + +CROW WING, October 7, 1856. + +THERE is one very important section of this territory that I have not +yet alluded to. I mean that part which borders on Lake Superior. This +calls to mind that there is such a place as Superior City. But that is +in Wisconsin, not in Minnesota. From that city (so called, yet city in +earnest it is like to be) to the nearest point in this territory the +distance by water is twelve miles. The St. Louis River is the dividing +line for many miles between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The country round +about this greatest of inland seas is not the most fertile. It is +somewhat bleak, on the northern shore especially, but is nevertheless +fat in minerals. On the banks of the St. Louis River the soil is +described, by the earliest explorers as well as latest visiters, to be +good. The river itself, though it contains a large volume of water, is +not adapted to navigation, on account of its rapids. + +Those who have sailed across Lake Superior to the neighborhood of +Fond-du-Lac appear to have been charmed by the scenery of its +magnificent islands and its rock-bound shores. Most people, I suppose, +have heard of its beautiful cluster of islands called the Twelve +Apostles. One peculiar phenomenon often mentioned is the boisterous +condition of its waters at the shore, which occurs when the lake +itself is perfectly calm. The water is said to foam and dash so +furiously as to make it almost perilous to land in a small boat. This +would seem to be produced by some movement of the waters similar to +the flow of the tide; and perhaps the dashing after all is not much +more tumultuous than is seen on a summer afternoon under the rocks of +Nahant, or along the serene coast at Phillips Beach. + +The resources of that part of the territory bordering on the lake, +however, are sufficient to induce an extensive, if not a rapid, +settlement of the country. The copper mines afford occupation for +thousands of people now. I have known a young man to clear $40 a month +in getting out the ore. But the labor is hard. Somewhere near +Fond-du-Lac is destined to be a great commercial city. Whether it will +be at Superior, which has now got the start of all other places, or +whether it will be at some point within this territory, is more than +can be known at present. But a great town there is to be, sooner or +later; and for this reason, that the distance from Buffalo to +Fond-du-Lac by navigation is about the same as from Buffalo to +Chicago, affording, therefore, as good facilities for water +transportation of merchandise between Fond-du-Lac and the East, as +between Chicago and the East. Moreover, the development of this new +agricultural world will tend to that result. A railroad will then run +from that point directly west, crossing the upper Mississippi as also +the Red River of the North at the head of its navigation, which is at +the mouth of the Sioux Wood River. + +During the last summer, congress established two new land districts in +the upper part of the territory, called the north-eastern and the +north-western. The former includes the country lying on Lake Superior, +and its land office has been located at Buchanan, a new place just +started on the shore of the lake. The land office for the +north-western district has been located at Ojibeway, a town site +situated sixty miles above here, on the Mississippi, near the mouth of +Muddy River. This district includes the head waters of the +Mississippi, and extends west as far as the Red River of the North. +The surveyors have been engaged in either district only a few weeks. I +don't expect there will be any land offered for sale in either +district till spring. While on the subject of land offices, let me +observe that the appointments in them are among the most lucrative +under the patronage of the general government. There is a register and +receiver for each office. They have, each, $500 per annum and fees; +the whole not to exceed $3000. Aside from the official fees, they get +much more for private services. They have more or less evidence to +reduce to writing in nearly every preemption case, for which the +general land office permits them to receive private compensation. It +is rather necessary that the local land officers should be lawyers, as +they have frequent occasion to decide on litigated land claims. + +Many explorations have been made of the region around the head waters +of the Mississippi, the reports of which have conveyed to the world +attractive information of the country, but information which only +approximated to accuracy. In 1806, Lieut. Pike explored the river as +far as Turtle Lake, and returned, thinking, good easy man, full surely +he had discovered the real source of the river, and yet the source of +the river was more than a hundred miles off in another direction. +Lewis and Clarke had ascended the river previously. In 1820, General +Cass, accompanied by Mr. Schoolcraft, explored the river to Cass Lake; +being obliged to stop there on account of the low stage of water which +they heard existed a few days' journey beyond. Again, in 1832, Mr. +Schoolcraft, then superintendent of Indian affairs, made another +expedition, which resulted in his discovery of the true sources of the +river; it being a lake which he named Itasca. It has been said that he +manufactured this beautiful word out of the last syllables of veritas +and the first syllable of caput (the true head). But I have been told +that the word was suggested to his mind by an Indian word signifying +breast. Dr. Johnson says, that a traveller in order to bring back +knowledge should take knowledge with him. That is, that he should have +posted himself up to some extent on the country he visits. I hope it +will not require an affidavit for me to prove that I availed myself of +the suggestion. But I must say I have found great pleasure and profit +in perusing Mr. Schoolcraft's narratives of both his expeditions. +Though he had the encouragement of the government, his undertaking was +surrounded by many obstacles and some dangers. His account of the +whole country is pleasant and instructive to the reader, and shows +that all he saw produced on his mind a favorable impression. The +arduous services of this gentleman as an explorer have been of great +advantage to the country, and his fine literary talents have given his +adventures an historic fame. Not less deserving of applause either +have been his efforts to promote the welfare of the Indians. He now +lives in affluent circumstances at Washington, and, though suffering +under some bodily infirmities, appears (or did when I saw him) to +enjoy life with that serene and rational happiness which springs from +useful employment, and a consciousness that past opportunities have +been improved. + + "For he lives twice who can at once employ + The present well and e'en the past enjoy." + +There have been other explorations of this part of the country at +different times by Messrs. Long, Nicollet, and Pope. M. Nicollet was +accompanied and assisted by Mr. (then Lieutenant) Fremont. The reports +made of these explorations afford information which, if extensively +known among the people, would tend to direct a larger emigration into +the upper part of the territory. They often launch off into +exclamations as to the beautiful surface of the country; while their +account of native fruits and the bracing climate and fertile soil +picture to the imagination all the elements of a home. + +M. Nicollet was a foreign gentleman who possessed superior scientific +knowledge and a rare zeal to prosecute researches. He made an +exploration through the valley of the St. Peter's and the Missouri; +and from thence to the sources of the Mississippi, in the year 1839. +The official report which he made is a valuable document, but +difficult to be obtained. I shall therefore make a few extracts from +it. I should here remark that M. Nicollet died before he had completed +the introduction to his report. "The Mississippi," he says, "holds its +own from its very origin; for it is not necessary to suppose, as has +been done, that Lake Itasca may be supplied with invisible sources, to +justify the character of a remarkable stream, which it assumes at its +issue from this lake. There are five creeks that fall into it, formed +by innumerable streamlets oozing from the clay-beds at the bases of +the hills, that consist of an accumulation of sand, gravel, and clay, +intermixed with erratic fragments; being a more prominent portion of +the great erratic deposit previously described, and which here is +known by the name of 'Hauteurs des Terres'-- heights of land. + +"These elevations are commonly flat at top, varying in height from 85 +to 100 feet above the level of the surrounding waters. They are +covered with thick forests, in which coniferous plants predominate. +South of Itasca Lake, they form a semicircular region with a boggy +bottom, extending to the south-west a distance of several miles; +thence these Hauteurs des Terres ascend to the north-west and north; +and then, stretching to the north-east and east, through the zone +between 47 degrees and 48 degrees of latitude, make the dividing ridge +between the waters that empty into Hudson's Bay and those which +discharge themselves into the Gulf of Mexico. The principal group of +these Hauteurs des Terres is subdivided into several ramifications, +varying in extent, elevation, and course, so as to determine the +hydrographical basins of all the innumerable lakes and rivers that so +peculiarly characterize this region of country. + +"One of these ramifications extends in a southerly direction under the +name of Coteau du Grand Bois; and it is this which separates the +Mississippi streams from those of the Red River of the North. + +"The waters supplied by the north flank of these heights of land-- +still on the south side of Lake Itasca-- give origin to the five +creeks of which I have spoken above. These are the waters which I +consider to be the utmost sources of the Mississippi. Those that flow +from the southern side of the same heights, and empty themselves into +Elbow Lake, are the utmost sources of the Red River of the North; so +that the most remote feeders of Hudson's Bay and the Gulf of Mexico +are closely approximated to each other." + +Of the country above Crow Wing, he makes the following observations, +which are not less interesting than instructive: "Over the whole route +which I traversed after leaving Crow Wing River, the country has a +different aspect from that which the banks of the Mississippi above +the falls present. The forests are denser and more varied; the soil, +which is alternately sandy, gravelly, clayey, and loamy, is, generally +speaking, lighter excepting on the shores of some of the larger lakes. +The uplands are covered with white and yellow pines, spruce and birch; +and the wet lowlands by the American larch and the willow. On the +slopes of sandy hills, the American aspen, the canoe birch (white +birch), with a species of birch of dwarfish growth, the alder, and +wild rose, extend to the very margin of the river. On the borders of +the larger lakes, where the soil is generally better, we find the +sugar maple, the black and bar oaks (also named overcup white oak, but +differing from the white oak), the elm, ash, lime tree, &c. Generally +speaking, however, this woodland does not extend back farther than a +mile from the lakes. The white cedar, the hemlock, spruce, pine, and +fir, are occasionally found; but the red cedar is scarce throughout +this region, and none, perhaps, are to be seen but on islands of those +lakes called by the Indians Red Cedar Lakes. The shrubbery consists +principally of the wild rose, hawthorn, and wild plum; and +raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cranberries are abundant. + +"The aspect of the country is greatly varied by hills, dales, copses, +small prairies, and a great number of lakes; the whole of which I do +not pretend to have laid down on my map. * * * * The lakes to which I +have just alluded are distributed in separate groups, or are arranged +in prolonged chains along the rivers, and not unfrequently attached to +each other by gentle rapids. It has seemed to me that they diminish in +extent on both sides of the Mississippi, as we proceed southwardly, as +far as 43 degrees of north latitude; and this observation extends to +the Arctic region, commencing at Bear's Lake; or Slave Lake, Winnipeg +Lake, &c. It may be further remarked that the basins of these lakes +have a sufficient depth to leave no doubt that they will remain +characteristic features of the country for a long time to come. +Several species of fish abound in them. The white fish (Corregonus +albus) is found in all the deep lakes west of the Mississippi-- and, +indeed, from Lake Erie to the Polar Sea. That which is taken in Leech +Lake is said by amateurs to be more highly flavored than even that of +Lake Superior, and weighs from three to ten pounds.* * * Of all the +Indian nations that I have visited, the Chippewas, inhabiting the +country about the sources of the Mississippi, are decidedly the most +favored. Besides their natural resources (to which I have already +referred) of fish, wild rice, and maple sugar, with the addition of an +abundance of game, the climate is found to be well adapted to the +culture of corn, wheat, barley, oats, and pulse. The potato is of +superior quality to that of the Middle States of the Union. In a +trading point of view, the hunt is very profitable. The bear, the deer +and elk, the wolf, the fox, the wolverine, the fisher raccoon, +muskrat, mink, otter, marten, weasel, and a few remaining beavers, are +the principal articles of this traffic." (pp. 58, 64.) To those who +are desirous of perusing this valuable report, and who have access to +the congressional documents, I would say that it may be found in +Senate Document 237, 2d Session of 26th Congress. + + LETTER X. + + VALLEY OF THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH. + +Climate of Minnesota-- The settlement at Pembina-- St. Joseph-- Col. +Smith's expedition-- Red River of the North-- Fur trade-- Red River +Settlement-- The Hudson's Bay Company-- Ex-Gov. Ramsey's +observations-- Dacotah. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +A CELEBRATED geographer of the first century wrote, "Germany is indeed +habitable, but is uninhabited on account of the cold." I am not so +certain, but some people have a similar idea of the upper portion of +Minnesota. If there are any, however, thus distrustful of its climate, +they probably live out of the territory. I have no means of knowing +what the climate is here in winter, except from hearsay and general +principles. It seems to be an approved theory, that the farther we +approach the west in a northern latitude the milder becomes the +winter. The stage-drivers tell me that the snow does not fall to such +a depth as in the northern part of New England; that the weather is +tolerably uniform; and that the roads are at all times kept open and +much travelled. After all, it is a great way before we come to the +home of the Esquimaux, and the desert of ice where Sir John Franklin +perished. + +I will here subjoin the following extract from a letter addressed to +Gov. Stephens by the Hon. Henry M. Rice, the able delegate from +Minnesota. It is dated 3d June, 1854: + +"Navigation of the Mississippi River closes from the 10th to the 25th +of November, and opens from the 1st to the 10th of April. That of the +Red River of the North closes from the 1st to 16th November, and opens +from 10th to 25th April. I have often travelled in the winter from St. +Paul to Crow Wing, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, with a +single horse and sled, without a track, and have never found the snow +deep enough to impede my progress. I have also gone from Crow Wing, +beyond the head waters of the Mississippi, to the waters of the +Hudson's Bay, on foot and without snow-shoes. I spent one entire +winter travelling through that region, and never found the snow over +eighteen inches deep, and seldom over nine inches. + +"For several years I had trading-posts extending from Lake Superior to +the Red River of the North, from 46 degrees to 49 degrees north +latitude, and never found the snow so deep as to prevent supplies +being transported from one post to another with horses. One winter, +north of Crow Wing, say 47 degrees north latitude, I wintered about +sixty head of horses and cattle without giving them food of any kind +except such as they could procure themselves under the snow. Between +the 45th and 49th degrees north latitude, the snow does not fall so +deep as it does between the 40th and 45th degrees; this is easily +accounted for upon the same principle that in the fall they have +frosts much earlier near the 40th than they do near the 45th degree. I +say this in reference to the country watered by the Mississippi River. +Owing to its altitude the atmosphere is dry beyond belief, which +accounts for the absence of frosts in the fall, and for the small +quantity of snow that falls in a country so far north. Voyageurs +traverse the territory from Lake Superior to the Missouri the entire +winter with horses and sleds, having to make their own roads, and yet +with heavy loads are not detained by snow. Lumbermen in great numbers +winter in the pine regions of Minnesota with their teams, and I have +never heard of their finding the snow too deep to prosecute their +labors. I have known several winters when the snow at no time was over +six inches deep." + +The Hon. H. H. Sibley, ex-delegate from Minnesota, in a letter dated +at Mendota says: "As our country is for the most part composed of +prairie, it is of course much exposed to the action of the winds. It +is, however, a peculiarity of our climate, that calms prevail during +the cold weather of the winter months; consequently, the snow does not +drift to anything like the extent experienced in New England or +northern New York. I have never believed that railroad communication +in this territory would be seriously impeded by the depth or drift of +snow, unless, perhaps, in the extreme northern portion of it." (See +Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad, I., 400.) + +A few facts in regard to the people who live four or five hundred +miles to the north, will best illustrate the nature of the climate and +its adaptedness to agriculture. + +It is common to say that settlements have not extended beyond Crow +Wing. This is only technically true. There is a settlement at Pembina, +where the dividing line between British America and the United States +crosses the Red River of the North. It didn't extend there from our +frontier, sure enough. If it extended from anywhere it must have been +from the north, or along the confines of that mystic region called +Rainy Lake. Pembina is said to have about 600 inhabitants. It is +situated on the Pembina River. It is an Indian-French word meaning +cranberry. Men live there who were born there, and it is in fact an +old settlement. It was founded by British subjects, who thought they +had located on British soil. The greater part of its inhabitants are +half-breeds, who earn a comfortable livelihood in fur hunting and in +farming. It sends two representatives and a councillor to the +territorial legislature. It is 460 miles north-west of St. Paul, and +330 miles distant from this town. Notwithstanding the distance, there +is considerable communication between the places. West of Pembina, +about thirty miles, is a settlement called St. Joseph, situated N. of +a large mythological body of water called Miniwakan, or Devil's Lake; +and is one of the points where Col. Smith's expedition was intending +to stop. This expedition to which I refer, started out from Fort +Snelling in the summer, to explore the country on both sides of the +Red River of the North as far as Pembina, and to report to the war +department the best points for the establishment of a new military +post. It is expected that Col. Smith will return by the first of next +month; and it is probable he will advise the erection of a post at +Pembina. When that is done, if it is done, its effect will be to draw +emigrants from the Red River settlement into Minnesota. + +Now let me say a word about this Red River of the North, for it is +beginning to be a great feature in this upper country. It runs north, +and empties into Lake Winnipeg, which connects with Hudson's Bay by +Nelson River. It is a muddy and sluggish stream, navigable to the +mouth of Sioux Wood River for vessels of three feet draught for four +months in the year. So that the extent of its navigation within the +territory alone (between Pembina and the mouth of Sioux Wood River) is +417 miles. Buffaloes still feed on its western banks. Its tributaries +are numerous and copious, abounding with the choicest kinds of game, +and skirted with a various and beautiful foliage. It cannot be many +years before this magnificent valley shall pour its products into our +markets, and be the theatre of a busy and genial life. + +One of the first things which drew my attention to this river was a +sight of several teams travelling towards this vicinity from a +north-westerly direction. I observed that the complexion of those in +the caravan was a little darker than that of pure white Minnesotians, +and that the carts were a novelty. "Who are those people? and where +are they from?" I inquired of a friend. "They are Red River people, +just arrived-- they have come down to trade." Their carts are made to +be drawn by one animal, either an ox or a horse, and are put together +without the use of a particle of iron. They are excellently adapted to +prairie travelling. How strange it seems! Here are people who have +been from twenty to thirty days on their journey to the nearest +civilized community. This is their nearest market. Their average rate +of travelling is about fifteen miles a day, and they generally secure +game enough on the way for their living. I have had highly interesting +accounts of the Red River settlement since I have been here, both from +Mr. Ross and Mr. Marion, gentlemen recently from there. The settlement +is seventy miles north of Pembina, and lies on both sides of the +river. Its population is estimated at 10,000. It owes its origin and +growth to the enterprise and success of the Hudson's Bay Company. Many +of the settlers came from Scotland, but the most were from Canada. +They speak English and Canadian French. The English style of society +is well kept up, whether we regard the church with its bishop, the +trader with his wine cellar, the scholar with his library, the officer +with his sinecure, or their paper currency. I find they have +everything but a hotel, for I was particular on that point, though not +intending just yet to go there. Probably the arrivals do not justify +such an institution, but their cordial hospitality will make up for +any such lack, from all I hear. They have a judge who gets a good +house to live in, and L1000 sterling a year; but he has nothing of +consequence to do. He was formerly a leading lawyer in Canada. + +The great business of the settlement, of course, is the fur traffic. +An immense amount of buffalo skins is taken in the summer and autumn, +while in the winter smaller but more valuable furs are procured. The +Indians also enlist in the hunts; and it is estimated that upwards of +$200,000 worth of furs are annually taken from our territory and sold +to the Hudson's Bay Company. It is high time indeed that a military +post should be established somewhere on the Red River by our +government. The Hudson's Bay Company is now a powerful monopoly. Not +so magnificent and potent as the East India Company, it is still a +powerful combination, showering opulence on its members, and +reflecting a peculiar feature in the strength and grandeur of the +British empire-- a power, which, to use the eloquent language of +Daniel Webster, "has dotted over the whole surface of the globe with +her possessions and military posts-- whose morning drum-beat, +following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circles the +earth daily with one continuous and unbroken strain of martial music." +The company is growing richer every year, and its jurisdiction and its +lands will soon find an availability never dreamed of by its founders, +unless, as may possibly happen, popular sovereignty steps in to grasp +the fruits of its long apprenticeship. Some time ago I believe the +Canadas sought to annex this broad expanse to their own jurisdiction. +There are about two hundred members in the Hudson's Bay Company. The +charter gives them the power to legislate for the settlement. They +have many persons in their employ in England as well as in British +America. A clerk, after serving the company ten years, with a salary +of about $500 per annum, is considered qualified for membership, with +the right to vote in the deliberations of the company, and one share +in the profits. The profits of a share last year amounted to $10,000! +A factor of the company, after serving ten years, is entitled to +membership with the profits of two shares. The aristocracy of the +settlement consists principally of retired factors and other members +of the company, who possess large fortunes, dine on juicy roast beef, +with old port, ride in their carriages, and enjoy life in a very +comfortable manner. Two of the company's ships sail up into Hudson's +Bay every year to bring merchandise to the settlement and take away +furs. [1] But the greatest portion of the trade is done with +Minnesota. Farming is carried on in the neighborhood of the settlement +with cheerful ease and grand success. I was as much surprised to hear +of the nature of their agriculture as of anything else concerning the +settlement. The same kind of crops are raised as in Pennsylvania or +Maine; and this in a country, be it remembered, five hundred miles and +upwards north of St. Paul. Stock must be easily raised, as it would +appear from the fact that it is driven down here into the territory +and sold at a great profit. Since I have been here, a drove of +fine-looking cattle from that settlement passed to be sold in the +towns below, and a drove of horses is expected this fall. The stock +which comes from there is more hardy than can be got anywhere else, +and therefore is preferred by the Minnesotians. + +[1 "The Hudson's Bay Company allows its servants, while making a +voyage, eight pounds of meat a day, and I am told the allowance is +none too much." (Lieutenant Howison's Report on Oregon, p. 7.)] + +The following extract from Ex-Governor Ramsey's address, recently +delivered before the annual fair at Minneapolis, wherein he gives some +results of his observations of the Red River settlement during his +trip there in 1851, will be read with much interest:-- + +"Re-embarking in our canoes, we continued descending the river for +some fifteen miles further, through the French portion of the +settlement, lining mainly the west or left bank of the river, until we +arrived about the centre of the colony, at the mouth of the +Assinniboin tributary of Red River, where we landed and remained a few +days, viewing the colony and its improvements. I was at that time, and +am even now, when I look back upon it, lost in wonder at the phenomena +which that settlement exhibits to the world, considering its location +in an almost polar region of the North. Imagine a river flowing +sluggishly northward through a flat alluvial plain, and the west side +of it lined continuously for over thirty miles with cultivated farms, +each presenting those appearances of thrift around them which I +mentioned as surrounding the first farms seen by us; but each farm +with a narrow frontage on the river of only twenty-four rods in width, +but extending back for one or two miles, and each of these narrow +farms having their dwellings and the farm out-buildings spread only +along the river front, with lawns sloping to the water's edge, and +shrubbery and vines liberally trained around them, and trees +intermingled-- the whole presenting the appearance of a long suburban +village-- such as you might see near our eastern sea-board, or such as +you find exhibited in pictures of English country villages, with the +resemblance rendered more striking by the spires of several large +churches peeping above the foliage of the trees in the distance, +whitewashed school-houses glistening here and there amidst sunlight +and green; gentlemen's houses of pretentious dimensions and grassy +lawns and elaborate fencing, the seats of retired officers of the +Hudson's Bay Company occasionally interspersed; here an English +bishop's parsonage, with a boarding or high school near by; and over +there a Catholic bishop's massive cathedral, with a convent of Sisters +of Charity attached; whilst the two large stone forts, at which reside +the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, or of the colony once called +Upper Fort Garry, and situated at the mouth of the Assinniboin, and +the other termini the Lower Fort Garry, which is twenty miles farther +down the river, helped to give additional picturesqueness to the +scene. I had almost forgotten to mention what is, after all, the most +prominent and peculiar feature of that singular landscape, singular +from its location-- and that is the numerous wind-mills, nearly twenty +in all, which on every point of land made by the turns and bends in +the river, stretched out their huge sails athwart the horizon, and +seemingly looked defiance at us as invading strangers, that were from +a land where steam or water mills monopolize their avocation of flour +making. One morning as we passed down the principal high road, on our +way to Lower Fort Garry, the wind, after a protracted calm, began to +blow a little; when presto! each mill veered around its sails to catch +the propitious breeze, and as the sails began to revolve, it was +curious to observe the numerous carts that shot out from nearly every +farm-house, and hurried along the road to these mills, to get ground +their grists of spring wheat, with which they were respectively +loaded. + +"Another incident during the same trip that struck us oddly, was +seeing two ladies driving by themselves a fine horse hitched to a +buggy of modern fashion, just as much at home apparently as if they +were driving through the streets of St. Paul, or St. Anthony, or +Minneapolis, instead of upon that remote highway towards the North +Pole; but this was not a whit more novel than to hear the pianoforte, +and played, too, with both taste and skill. While another 'lion' of +those parts that met our view was a topsail schooner lying in the +river at the lower fort, which made occasional trips into Great Lake +Winnepeg of the North, a hundred miles below. + +"I took occasion during my visit to inquire what success the farmers +met with in securing good crops, and the profits of farmers generally. +As to wheat, I learned that the yield of the spring variety was quite +equal in quantity and quality to the crop of that grain on any more +southern farms; that in raising barley they could almost surpass the +world; and the cereals generally, and all the esculent roots, were +easily raised. Indian corn was not planted as a field crop, though it +was grown in their gardens. In a word, the capacity of their land to +produce almost everything plentifully and well, was established; but +for all this, farming did not afford much profit. for want of a +sufficient market; beyond a small demand by the Hudson's Bay Company, +there was no outlet for their superabundance; and to use an Austrian +phase in regard to Hungarians, the Selkirkers are metaphysically +'smothering in their own fat.' To remedy this state of things they +were beginning, when I was there, to turn their attention towards +raising cattle and horses, for which their country is well calculated; +and the first fruits of this new decision given to their farming +energies, we have already experienced in the droves of both which have +recently been driven from thence and sold in this vicinity." + +I think the facts which I have herein hastily set downhill dispel any +apprehension as to the successful cultivation of the soil in the +northern part of the territory. It has a health-giving climate which +before long, I predict, will nourish as patriotic a race of men as +gave immortality to the noble plains of Helvetia. There is one thing I +would mention which seems to auspicate the speedy development of the +valley of the North Red River. Next year Minnesota will probably be +admitted as a state; and a new territory organized out of the broad +region embracing the valley aforesaid and the head waters of the +Mississippi. Or else it will be divided by a line north and south, +including the western valley of that river, and extending as far to +the west as the Missouri River. I understand it will be called +Dacotah, though I at first thought it would be called Pembina. There +is always a rush into new territories, and the proposed new territory +of Dacotah will present sufficient inducements for a large +immigration. When the valley of the North Red River shall be settled, +and splendid harvest fields adorn its banks; when great factories take +the place of wind-mills, and when railroads shall take the place of +Red River carts, then we will have new cause to exclaim, + + "Westward the course of empire takes its way!" + + LETTER XI. + + THE TRUE PIONEER. + +Energy of the pioneer-- Frontier life-- Spirit of emigration-- +Advantages to the farmer in moving West-- Advice in regard to making +preemption claims-- Abstract of the preemption law-- Hints to the +settler-- Character and services of the pioneer. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +I DESIRE in this letter to say something about the pioneer, and life +on the frontier. And by pioneer I mean the true pioneer who comes into +the West to labor and to share the vicissitudes of new settlements; +not the adventurer, who would repine at toil, and gather where he has +not sown. + +As I have looked abroad upon the vast domain of the West beyond the +dim Missouri, or in the immediate valley of the Mississippi, I have +wondered at the contrast presented between the comparatively small +number who penetrate to the frontier, and that great throng of men who +toil hard for a temporary livelihood in the populous towns and cities +of the Union. And I have thought if this latter class were at all +mindful of the opportunities for gain and independence which the new +territories afforded, they would soon abandon-- in a great measure at +least-- their crowded alleys in the city, and aspire to be cultivators +and owners of the soil. Why there has not been a greater emigration +from cities I cannot imagine, unless it is owing to a misapprehension +of Western life. Either it is this, or the pioneer is possessed of a +very superior degree of energy. + +It has been said that the frontier man always keeps on the frontier; +that he continues to emigrate as fast as the country around him +becomes settled. There is a class that do so. Not, however, for the +cause which has been sometimes humorously assigned-- that civilization +was inconvenient to them-- but because good opportunities arise to +dispose of the farms they have already improved; and because a further +emigration secures them cheaper lands. The story of the pioneer who +was disturbed by society, when his nearest neighbor lived fifteen +miles off, even if it be true, fails to give the correct reason for +the migratory life of this class of men. + +It almost always happens that wherever we go somebody else has +preceded us. Accident or enterprise has led some one to surpass us. +Many of the most useful pioneers of this country have been attracted +hither by the accounts given of its advantages by some one of their +friends who had previously located himself here. Ask a man why he +comes, and he says a neighbor of his, or a son, or a brother, has been +in the territory for so many months, and he likes it so well I +concluded to come also. A very respectable gentleman from Maine, a +shipowner and a man of wealth, who came up on the boat with me to St. +Paul, said his son-in-law was in the territory, and he had another son +at home who was bound to come, and if his wife was willing he believed +the whole family would come. Indeed the excellent state of society in +the territory is to be attributed very much to the fact that parents +have followed after their children. + +It is pretty obvious too why men will leave poor farms in New England, +and good farms in Ohio, to try their fortunes here. The farmer in New +England, it may be in New Hampshire, hears that the soil of Minnesota +is rich and free from rocks, that there are other favorable resources, +and a salubrious climate such as he has been accustomed to. He +concludes that it is best to sell out the place he has, and try +ploughing where there are no rocks to obstruct him. The farmer of Ohio +does not expect to find better soil than he leaves; but his +inducements are that he can sell his land at forty or fifty dollars an +acre, and preempt as good in Minnesota for a dollar and a quarter an +acre. This operation leaves him a surplus fund, and he becomes a more +opulent man, with better means to adorn his farm and to educate his +children. + +Those who contemplate coming West to engage in agricultural employment +should leave their families, if families they have, behind till they +have selected a location and erected some kind of a habitation; +provided, however, they have no particular friend whose hospitality +they can avail themselves of till their preliminary arrangements are +effected. It will require three months, I judge, for a man to select a +good claim (a quarter section, being 160 acres), and fence and plough +a part of it and to erect thereon a cabin. There is never a want of +land to preempt in a new country. The settler can always get an +original claim, or buy out the claim of another very cheap, near some +other settlers. The liberal policy of our government in regard to the +disposal of public lands is peculiarly beneficial to the settler. The +latter has the first chance. He can go on to a quarter section which +may be worth fifteen dollars an acre, and preempt it before it is +surveyed, and finally obtain it for $1.25 an acre. Whereas the +speculator must wait till the land is surveyed and advertised for +sale; and then he can get only what has not been preempted, and at a +price which it brings at auction, not less than $1.25 an acre. Then +what land is not sold at public sale is open to private entry at $1.25 +an acre. It is such land that bounty warrants are located on. Thus it +is seen the pioneer has the first choice. Why, I have walked over land +up here that would now bring from ten to twenty dollars an acre if it +was in the market, and which any settler can preempt and get for $1.25 +an acre. I am strongly tempted to turn farmer myself, and go out and +build me a cabin. The speculation would be a good one. But to acquire +a title by preemption I must dwell on the soil, and prove that I have +erected a dwelling and made other improvements. In other words, before +a man (or any head of a family) can get a patent, he must satisfy the +land officers that he is a dweller in good faith on the soil. It is +often the case, indeed, that men get a title by preemption who never +intend to live on their quarter section. But they do it by fraud. They +have a sort of mental reservation, I suppose, when they take the +requisite oaths. In this way many valuable claims are taken up and +held along from month to month, or from year to year, by mock +improvements. A pretender will make just improvements enough to hinder +the actual settler from locating on the claim, or will sell out to him +at a good profit. A good deal of money is made by these fictitious +claimants. It is rather hard to prevent it, too, inasmuch as it is +difficult to disprove that a man intends some time to have a permanent +home, or, in fact, that his claim is not his legal residence, though +his usual abiding place is somewhere else. Nothing could be more +delightful than for a party of young men who desire to farm to come +out together early in the spring, and aid each other in preempting +land in the same neighborhood. The preemptor has to pay about five +dollars in the way of fees before he gets through the entire process +of securing a title. It is a popular error (much like the opinion that +a man cannot swear to what he sees through glass) that improvements of +a certain value, say fifty dollars, are required to be made, or that a +certain number of acres must be cultivated. All that is required, +however, is evidence that the party has built a house fit to live in, +and has in good faith proceeded to cultivate the soil. The law does +not permit a person to preempt 160 acres but once; yet this provision +is often disregarded, possibly from ignorance, I was about to say, but +that cannot be, since the applicant must make oath that he has not +before availed himself of the right of preemption. + +I will insert at this place an abridgment of the preemption act of 4th +September, 1841, which I made two years ago; and which was extensively +published in the new states and territories. I am happy to find, also, +that it has been thought worth copying into one or more works on the +West. + +I. Lands subject to preemption. By sec. 10 of said act it is provided +that the public lands to which the Indian title had been extinguished +at the time of the settlement, and which had also been surveyed prior +thereto, shall be subject to preemption, and purchase at the rate of +one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. And by the act of 22d July, +1854, sec. 12, the preemption of unsurveyed lands is recognised as +legal. Lands of the following description are excepted: such as are +included in any reservation, by any treaty, law, or proclamation of +the President of the United States, or reserved for salines or for +other purposes; lands included within the limits of any incorporated +town, or which have been selected as the site for a city or town; +lands actually settled and occupied for the purposes of trade and not +agriculture; and lands on which are situated any known salines or +mines. + +II. The amount designated is any number of acres not exceeding one +hundred and sixty. + +III. Who may preempt. "Every person being the head of a family, or +widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, and being a +citizen of the United States, or having filed his declaration of +intention to become a citizen, as required by the naturalization +laws." But no person shall be entitled to more than one preemptive +right, and no person who is the proprietor of three hundred and twenty +acres of land in any state or territory of the United States, and no +person who shall quit or abandon his residence on his own land to +reside on the public land in the same state or territory, shall +acquire any right of preemption. + +IV. The method to perfect the right. The preemptor must make a +settlement on the land in person; inhabit and improve the same, and +erect thereon a dwelling. And when the land has been surveyed previous +to settlement the preemptor shall, within thirty days of the date of +the settlement, file with the register of the proper district a +written statement describing the land settled upon, and declaring the +intention of such person to claim the same under the provisions of the +preemption law. And within twelve months of the date of the settlement +such person shall make the requisite proof, affidavit, and payment. +When unsurveyed lands are prompted (act of 1854), notice of the +specific tracts claimed shall be filed with the surveyor general, +within three months after the survey has been made in the field. And +when two or more persons shall have settled on the same quarter +section, the right of preemption shall be in him or her who made the +first settlement; and questions arising between different settlers +shall be decided by the register and receiver of the district within +which the land is situated, subject to an appeal to and revision by +the Secretary of the Interior of the United States. + +And the settler must make oath before the receiver or register that he +or she has never had the benefit of any right of preemption under the +preemption act: that he or she is not the owner of three hundred and +twenty acres of land in any state or territory of the United States, +nor hath he or she settled upon and improved said land to sell the +same on speculation, but in good faith to appropriate it to his or her +own exclusive use or benefit: and that he or she has not directly or +indirectly made any agreement or contract in any way or manner with +any person or persons whatsoever, by which the title which he or she +might acquire from the government of the United States should enure in +whole or in part to the benefit of any person except himself or +herself; and if any person talking such oath shall swear falsely in +the premises, he or she shall be subject to all the pains and +penalties of perjury, and shall forfeit the money which he or she may +have paid for such land, and all right and title to the same; and any +grant or conveyance which he or she may have made, except in the hands +of bona fide purchasers for a valuable consideration, shall be null +and void. + +Proof of the requisite settlement and improvement shall be made by the +preemptor to the satisfaction of the register and receiver, in the +district in which the lands so claimed lie, who shall each be entitled +to receive fifty cents from each applicant for his services rendered. +as aforesaid; and all assignments and transfers of the right hereby +secured prior to the issuing of the patent, shall be null and void. +(See U. S. Stat. at Large, vol. 5, 453-458.) + +But I was on the point of advising the settler what he should bring +with him into a new country and what leave behind. He should not bring +much furniture. It is very expensive and troublesome to have it +transported. Nor will he need much to begin with, or have room for it. +It will cost nearly as much to transport it seventy miles through the +territory as it will to bring it from whence he started within the +limits of the territory. Let him pack up in a small compass the most +precious part of his inanimate household, and leave it ready for an +agent to start it after he shall have found a domicil. This will save +expensive storage. Then let his goods be directed to the care of some +responsible forwarding merchant in a river town nearest to their final +destination, that they may be taken care of and not be left exposed on +the levee when they arrive. St. Paul is now a place of so much +mercantile importance and competition that one may buy provisions, +furniture, or agricultural tools cheaper there than he can himself +bring them from the East. The professional man, however, will do well +to bring his books with him. + +Let us assume now that the settler has got his house up, either a +frame house or of logs, with a part of his farm fenced; and that be +has filed his application for preemption at the land office in the +district in which he resides. Let us suppose further, that he is +passing his first autumn here. His house, if he is a man of limited +means, has but two rooms, and they are both on the basement story. He +has just shelter enough for his stock, but none for his hay, which is +stacked near by. The probability is, that he lives in the vicinity of +some clear stream or copious spring, and has not, therefore, needed to +dig a well. The whole establishment, one would think, who was +accustomed to the Eastern style of living, betrayed downright poverty. + +But let us stop a moment; this is the home of a pioneer. He has been +industrious, and everything about him exhibits forethought. There is a +cornfield all fenced in with tamarack poles. It is paved over with +pumpkins (for pumpkins flourish wonderfully in Minnesota), and +contains twenty acres of ripe corn, which, allowing thirty-five +bushels to an acre, is worth at ninety cents per bushel the sum of +$630. There are three acres of potatoes, of the very best quality, +containing three hundred bushels, which, at fifty cents a bushel, are +worth $150. Here then, off of two crops, he gets $780, and I make a +moderate estimate at that. Next year he will add to this a crop of +oats or wheat. The true pioneer is a model farmer. He lays out his +work two weeks in advance. Every evening finds him further ahead. If +there is a rainy day, he knows what to set himself about. Be lays his +plans in a systematic manner, and carries them into execution with +energy. He is a true pioneer, and therefore he is not an idle man, nor +a loafer, nor a weak addle-headed tippler. Go into his house, and +though you do not see elegance you can yet behold intelligence, and +neatness, and sweet domestic bliss. The life of the pioneer is not +exposed to such hardships and delays as retarded the fortunes of the +settlers in the older states. They had to clear forests; here the land +is ready for the plough. And though "there is society where none +intrude," yet he is not by any means beyond the boundaries of good +neighborhood. In many cases, however, he has left his dearest friends +far away in his native village, where his affections still linger. He +has to endure painful separations, and to forego those many comforts +which spring from frequent meetings under the parental roof, and +frequent converse with the most attractive scones of youth. But to +compensate for these things he can feel that the labor of the pioneer, +aside from its pecuniary advantage to himself, is of service to the +state, and a helpmate to succeeding generations. + + "There are, who, distant from their native soil, + Still for their own and country's glory toil: + While some, fast rooted to their parent spot, + In life are useless, and in death forgot!" + + LETTER XII. + + SPECULATION AND BUSINESS. + +Opportunities to select farms-- Otter Tail Lake-- Advantages of the +actual settler over the speculator-- Policy of new states as to taxing +non-residents-- Opportunities to make money-- Anecdote of Col. +Perkins-- Mercantile business-- Price of money-- Intemperance-- +Education-- The free school. + +CROW WING, October, 1856. + +IT is maintained by the reviewers, I believe, that the duller a writer +is, the more accurate he should be. In the outset of this letter, I +desire to testify my acquiescence in the justice of that dogma, for +if, like neighbor Dogberry, "I were as tedious as a king," I could not +find it in my heart to bestow it all without a measure of utility. + +I shall try to answer some questions which I imagine might be put by +different classes of men who are interested in this part of the west. +My last letter had some hints to the farmer, and I can only add, in +addition, for his benefit, that the most available locations are now a +considerable distance above St. Paul. The valley of the St. Peter's is +pretty much taken up; and so of the valley of the Mississippi for a +distance of fifteen miles on either side to a point a hundred miles +above St. Paul. One of the land officers at Minneapolis informed me +that there were good preemption claims to be had fifteen miles west, +that being as far as the country was thickly settled. One of the +finest regions now unoccupied, that I know of, not to except even the +country on the Crow Wing River, is the land bordering on Otter Tail +Lake. For forty miles all round that lake the land is splendid. More +than a dozen disinterested eye-witnesses have described that region to +me in the most glowing terms. In beauty, in fertility, and in the +various collateral resources which make a farming country desirable, +it is not surpassed. It lies south of the picturesque highlands or +hauteurs des terres, and about midway between the sources of the Crow +Wing and North Red Rivers. From this town the distance to it is sixty +miles. The lake itself is forty miles long and five miles in width. +The water is clear and deep, and abounds with white fish that are +famous for their delicious flavor. The following description, which I +take from Captain Pope's official narrative of his exploration, is a +reliable description of this delightful spot, now fortunately on the +eve of being settled-- " To the west, north-west, and north-east, the +whole country is heavily timbered with oak, elm, ash, maple, birch, +bass, &c., &c. Of these the sugar maple is probably the most valuable, +and in the vicinity of Otter Tail Lake large quantities of maple sugar +are manufactured by the Indians. The wild rice, which exists in these +lakes in the most lavish profusion, constitutes a most necessary +article of food with the Indians, and is gathered in large quantities +in the months of September and October. To the east the banks of the +lake are fringed with heavy oak and elm timber to the width of one +mile. The whole region of country for fifty miles in all directions +around this lake is among the most beautiful and fertile in the world. +The fine scenery of lakes and open groves of oak timber, of winding +streams connecting them, and beautifully rolling country on all sides, +renders this portion of Minnesota the garden spot of the north-west. +It is impossible in a report of this character to describe the feeling +of admiration and astonishment with which we first beheld the charming +country in the vicinity of this lake; and were I to give expression to +my own feelings and opinions in reference to it, I fear they would be +considered the ravings of a visionary or an enthusiast."[1] But let me +say to the speculator that he need not covet any of these broad acres. +There is little chance for him. Before that land can be bought at +public sale or by mere purchasers at private sale, it will, I feel +sure, be entirely occupied by actual settlers. And so it ought to be. +The good of the territory is promoted by that beneficent policy of our +public land laws which gives the actual settler the first and best +chance to acquire a title by preemption. + +[1 To illustrate the rapid progress which is going on constantly, I +would remark that in less than a month after leaving Crow Wing, I +received a letter from there informing me that Messrs. Crittenden, +Cathcart, and others had been to Otter Tail Lake and laid out a town +which they call Otter Tail City. The standing and means of the men +engaged in the enterprise, are a sure guaranty of its success.] + +Speculators have located a great many land warrants in Minnesota. Some +have been located on lakes, some on swamps, some on excellent land. Of +course the owner, who, as a general thing, is a nonresident, leaves +his land idle for something to "turn up" to make it profitable. There +it stands doing no good, but on the contrary is an encumbrance to the +settler, who has to travel over and beyond it without meeting the face +of a neighbor in its vicinity. The policy of new states is to tax +non-resident landholders at a high rate. When the territory becomes a +state, and is obliged to raise a revenue, some of these fellows +outside, who, to use a phrase common up here, have plastered the +country over with land warrants, will have to keep a lookout for the +tax-gatherer. Now I do not mean to discourage moneyed men from +investing in Minnesota lands. I do not wish to raise any bugbears, but +simply to let them know that hoarding up large tracts of land without +making improvements, and leaving it to increase in value by the toil +and energy of the pioneer, is a way of doing things which is not +popular with the actual settler. But there is a great deal of money to +be made by judicious investments in land. Buying large tracts of land +I believe to be the least profitable speculation, unless indeed the +purchaser knows exactly what he is buying, and is on hand at the +public sale to get the benefit of a second choice. I say second +choice, because the preemptor has had the first choice long ago, and +it may be before the land was surveyed. What I would recommend to +speculators is to purchase in some good town sites. Buy in two or +three, and if one or two happen to prove failures, the profits on the +other will enable you to bear the loss. I know of a man who invested +$6000 at St. Paul six years ago. He has sold over $80,000 worth of the +land, and has as much more left. This is but an ordinary instance. The +advantage of buying lots in a town arises from the rapid rise of the +value of the land, the ready market, and withal the moderate prices at +which they can be procured during the early part of its history. + +To such persons as have a desire to come West, and are not inclined to +be farmers, and who have not capital enough to engage in mercantile +business, there is sufficient employment. A new country always opens +avenues of successful business for every industrious man and woman; +more kinds even than I could well enumerate. Every branch of mechanics +needs workmen of all grades; from the boy who planes the rough boards +to the head workman. Teaming affords good employment for young men the +year round. The same may be said of the saw-mills. A great deal of +building is going on constantly; and those who have good trades get +$2.50 per day. I am speaking, of course, of the territory in general. +One of the most profitable kinds of miscellaneous business is +surveying. This art requires the services of large numbers; not only +to survey the public lands, but town sites and the lands of private +individuals. Labor is very high everywhere in the West, whether done +by men, women, or children;-- even the boys, not fourteen years old, +who clean the knives and forks on the steamboats, get $20 a month and +are found. But the best of it all is, that when a man earns a few +dollars he can easily invest it in a piece of land, and double his +money in three months, perhaps in one month. One of the merchant +princes of Boston, the late Col. T. H. Perkins, published a notice in +a Boston paper in 1789, he being then 25, that he would soon embark on +board the ship Astrea for Canton, and that if any one desired to +commit an "adventure" to him, they might be assured of his exertions +for their interests. The practice of sending " adventures" "beyond the +seas" is not so common as it was once; and instead thereof men invest +their funds in western prizes. But let me remark in regard to the fact +I relate, that it shows the true pioneer spirit. Col. Perkins was a +pioneer. His energy led him beyond his counting-room, and he reaped +the reward of his exertions in a great fortune. + +I have now a young man in my mind who came to a town ten miles this +side of St. Paul, six months ago, with $500. He commenced trading, and +has already, by good investments and the profits of his business, +doubled his money. Everything that one can eat or wear brings a high +price, or as high as it does in any part of the West. The number of +visitors and emigrants is so large that the productions of the +territory are utterly inadequate to supply the market. Therefore large +quantities of provisions have to be brought up the river from the +lower towns. At Swan River, 100 miles this side of St. Paul, pork is +worth $85. Knowing that pork constitutes a great part of the +"victuals" up this way, though far from being partial to the article, +I tried it when I dined at Swan River to see if it was good, and found +it to be very excellent. Board for laboring men must be about four +dollars a week. For transient guests at Crow Wing it is one dollar a +day. + +I have heard it said that money is scarce. It is possible. It +certainly commands a high premium; but the reason is that there are +such splendid opportunities to make fortunes by building and buying +and selling city lots. A man intends that the rent of a house or store +shall pay for its construction in three years. The profits of +adventure justify a man in paying high interest. If a man has money +enough to buy a pair of horses and a wagon, he can defy the world. +These are illustrations to show why one is induced to pay interest. I +do not think, however, money is "tight." I never saw people so free +with their money, or appear to have it in so great abundance. + +There is one drawback which this territory has in common with the +greater part of the West, and in fact of the civilized world. It is +not only a drawback, but a nuisance anywhere; I mean drinking or +whiskey shops. The greater proportion of the settlers are temperate +men, I am sure; but in almost every village there are places where the +meanest kind of intoxicating liquor is sold. There are some who sell +liquor to the Indians. But such business is universally considered as +the most degraded that a mean man can be guilty of. It is filthy to +see men staggering about under the influence of bad whiskey, or of any +kind of whiskey. He who sends a young husband to his new cabin home +intoxicated, to mortify and torment his family; or who sells liquor to +the uneducated Indians, that they may fight and murder, must have his +conscience-- if he has any at all-- cased over with sole leather. Mr. +Gough is needed in the West. + +Minnesota is not behind in education. Ever since Governor Slade, of +Vermont, brought some bright young school mistresses up to St. Paul +(in 1849), common school education has been diffusing its precious +influences. The government wisely sets apart two sections of land-- +the 16th and 36th-- in every township for school purposes. A township +is six miles square; and the two sections thus reserved in each +township comprise 1280 acres. Other territories have the same +provision. This affords a very good fund for educational uses, or +rather it is a great aid to the exertions of the people. There are +some nourishing institutions of learning in the territory. But the +greatest institution after all in the country-- the surest protection +of our liberties and our laws-- is the FREE SCHOOL. + + LETTER XIII. + + CROW WING TO ST. CLOUD. + +Pleasant drive in the stage-- Scenery-- The past-- Fort Ripley Ferry-- +Delay at the Post Office-- Belle Prairie-- A Catholic priest-- Dinner +at Swan River-- Potatoes-- Arrival at Watab-- St. Cloud. + +ST. CLOUD, October, 1856. + +YESTERDAY morning at seven I took my departure, on the stage, from +Crow Wing. It was a most delightful morning, the air not damp, but +bracing; and the welcome rays of the sun shed a mellow lustre upon a +scene of "sylvan beauty." The first hour's ride was over a road I had +passed in the dark on my upward journey, and this was the first view I +had of the country immediately below Crow Wing. No settlements were to +be seen, because the regulations of military reservations preclude +their being made except for some purpose connected with the public +interests. A heavy shower the night before had effectually laid the +dust, and we bounded along on the easy coach in high spirits. The view +of the prairie stretching "in airy undulations far away," and of the +eddying current of the Mississippi, there as everywhere deep and +majestic, with its banks skirted with autumn-colored foliage, was +enough to commend the old fashioned system of stages to more general +use. Call it poetry or what you please, yet the man who can +contemplate with indifference the wonderful profusion of nature, +undeveloped by art-- inviting, yet never touched by the plough-- must +lack some one of the senses. Indeed, this picture, so characteristic +of the new lands of the West, seems to call into existence a new +sense. The view takes in a broad expanse which has never produced a +stock of grain; and which has been traversed for ages past by a race +whose greatest and most frequent calamity was hunger. If we turn to +its past there is no object to call back our thoughts. All is +oblivion. There are no ruins to awaken curious images of former life-- +no vestige of humanity-- nothing but the present generation of nature. +And yet there are traces of the past generations of nature to be seen. +The depressions of the soil here and there to be observed, covered +with a thick meadow grass, are unmistakeable indications of lakes +which have now "vanished into thin air." That these gentle hollows +were once filled with water is the more certain from the appearance of +the shores of the present lakes, where the low water mark seems to +have grown lower and lower every year. But if the past is blank, these +scenes are suggestive of happy reflections as to the future. The long +perspective is radiant with busy life and cheerful husbandry. New +forms spring into being. Villages and towns spring up as if by magic, +along whose streets throngs of men are passing. And thus, as "coming +events cast their shadows before," does the mind wander from the real +to the probable. An hour and a half of this sort of revery, and we had +come to the Fort Ripley ferry, over which we were to go for the mail. +That ferry (and I have seen others on the river like it) is a +marvellous invention. It is a flat-boat which is quickly propelled +either way across the river by means of the resistance which it offers +to the current. Its machinery is so simple I will try to describe it. +In the first place a rope is stretched across the river from elevated +objects on either side. Each end of the boat is made fast to this line +by pullies, which can be taken up or let out at the fastenings on the +boat. All that is required to start the boat is to bring the bow, by +means of the pully, to an acute angle with the current. The after part +of the boat presents the principal resistance to the current by +sliding a thick board into the water from the upper side. As the water +strikes against this, the boat is constantly attempting to describe a +circle, which it is of course prevented from doing by the current, and +so keeps on-- for it must move somewhere-- in a direction where the +obstruction is less. It certainly belongs to the science of +hydraulics, for it is not such a boat as can be propelled by steam or +wind. I had occasion recently to cross the Mississippi on a similar +ferry, early in the morning, and before the ferryman was up. The +proprietor of it was with me; yet neither of us knew much of its +practical operation. I soon pulled the head of the boat towards the +current, but left down the resistance board, or whatever it is called, +at the bow as well as at the stern. This, of course, impeded our +progress; but we got over in a few minutes; and I felt so much +interested in this new kind of navigation, that I would have been glad +to try the voyage over again. + +On arriving within the square of the garrison, I expected to find the +mail ready for delivery to the driver; but we had to wait half an +hour. The mail is only weekly, and there was nothing of any +consequence to change. We repaired to the post office, which was in a +remote corner of a store-room, where the postmaster was busy making up +his mail. Some of the officers had come in with documents which they +wished to have mailed. And while we stood waiting, corporals and +privates, servants of other officers brought in letters which +Lieutenant So-and-so "was particularly desirous of having mailed this +morning." The driver was magnanimous enough to submit to me whether we +should wait. We all felt accommodating-- the postmaster I saw was +particularly so-- and we concluded to wait till everything was in, and +perhaps we would have waited for some one to write a letter. I could +not but think it would be a week before another mail day; and still I +could not but think these unnecessary morning hindrances were throwing +a part of our journey into the night hours. Returning again to the +eastern bank of the river by our fine ferry, we soon passed the +spacious residence of Mr. Olmsted, a prominent citizen of the +territory. We made a formal halt at his door to see if there were any +passengers. Mr. Olmsted has a large farm under good cultivation, and +several intelligent young men in his service. In that neighborhood are +some other as handsome farms as I ever saw; but I think they are on +the reservation, and are cultivated under the patronage of the war +department. The winter grain was just up, and its fresh verdure +afforded an agreeable contrast with the many emblems of decaying +nature. It was in the middle of the forenoon that we reached Belle +Prairie, along which are many good farm houses occupied by +half-breeds. There is a church and a school-house. In the cemetery is +a large cross painted black and white, and from its imposing +appearance it cannot fail to make a solemn impression on minds which +revere any tangible object that is consigned sacred. A very +comfortable-looking house was pointed out to me as the residence of a +Catholic priest, who has lived for many years in that section, +spreading among the ignorant a knowledge of Christianity, and +ministering to their wants in the hour of death. And though I am no +Catholic, I could not but regard the superiority of that kind of +preaching-- for visiting the sick, consoling the afflicted, and +rebuking sin by daily admonitions, is the true preaching of the +Gospel-- over the pompous declamation which now too often usurps the +pulpit. + +The dinner was smoking hot on the table when we drove up to the hotel +at Swan River; and so charming a drive in the pure air had given me a +keen appetite. The dinner (and I speak of these matters because they +are quite important to travellers) was in all respects worthy of the +appetite. The great staple article of Minnesota soil appears to be +potatoes, for they were never known to be better anywhere else-- +Eastport not excepted-- and at our table d'hote they were a grand +collateral to the beef and pork. The dessert consisted of nice home +made apple pies served with generosity, and we had tea or milk or +water, as requested, for a beverage. After partaking of a dinner of +this kind, the rest of the day's journey was looked forward to with no +unpleasant emotions. The stage happened to be lightly loaded, and we +rolled along with steady pace, and amidst jovial talk, till we reached +the thriving, but to me not attractive, town of Watab. Three houses +had been put up within the short time since I had stopped there. We +got into Mr. Gilman's tavern at sundown. I was rejoiced to find a +horse and carriage waiting for me, which had been kindly sent by a +friend to bring me to St. Cloud. It is seven miles from Watab to this +town. It was a charming moonlight evening, and I immediately started +on with the faithful youth who had charge of the carriage, to enjoy my +supper and lodging under the roof of my hospitable friend at St. +Cloud. + + LETTER XIV. + + ST. CLOUD.-- THE PACIFIC TRAIL. + +Agreeable visit at St. Cloud-- Description of the place-- Causes of +the rapid growth of towns-- Gen. Lowry-- The back country-- Gov. +Stevens's report-- Mr. Lambert's views-- Interesting account of Mr. A. +W. Tinkham's exploration. + +ST. CLOUD, October, 1856. + +IF I follow the injunction of that most impartial and worthy critic, +Lord Jeffrey, which is, that tourists should describe those things +which make the pleasantest impression on their own minds, I should +begin with an account of the delightful entertainment which genuine +hospitality and courtesy have here favored me with. I passed +Blannerhasset's Island once, and from a view of the scenery, sought +something of that inspiration which, from reading Wirt's glowing +description of it, I thought would be excited; but the reality was far +below my anticipation. If applied to the banks of the Mississippi +River, however, at this place, where the Sauk Rapids terminate, that +charming description would be no more than an adequate picture. The +residence of my friend is a little above the limits of St. Cloud, +midway on the gradual rise from the river to the prairie. It is a neat +white two-story cottage, with a piazza in front. The yard extends to +the water's edge, and in it is a grove of handsome shade trees. Now +that the leaves have fallen, we can sit on the piazza and have a full +view of the river through the branches of the trees. The river is here +very clear and swift, with a hard bottom; and if it were unadorned +with its cheerful foliage-covered banks, the view of it would still +add a charm to a residence. There is a mild tranquillity, blended with +the romance of the scene, admirably calculated to raise in the mind +emotions the most agreeable and serene. For nature is a great +instructor and purifier. As Talfourd says in that charming little +volume of Vacation Rambles, "to commune with nature and grow familiar +with all her aspects, surely softens the manners as much, at the +least, as the study of the liberal arts." + +St. Cloud is favorably located on the west bank of the river, +seventy-five miles above St. Paul. It is just enough elevated to have +good drainage facilities, should it become densely populous. For many +years it was the seat of a trading post among the Winnebagoes. But the +date of its start as a town is not more than six months ago; since +when it has been advancing with unsurpassed thrift, on a scale of +affluence and durability. Its main street is surely a street in other +respects than in the name; for it has on either side several neatly +built three-story blocks of stores, around which the gathering of +teams and of people denotes such an activity of business as to dispel +any idea that the place is got up under false pretences. The St. Cloud +advertisements in the St. Paul daily papers contain the cards of about +forty different firms or individuals, which is a sort of index to the +business of the place. A printing press is already in the town, and a +paper will in a few days be issued. There are now two hotels; one of +which (the Stearns House), it is said, cost $9000. A flourishing +saw-mill was destroyed by fire, and in a few weeks another one was +built in its place. An Episcopal church is being erected. The steamer +"H. M. Rice" runs between here and St. Anthony. It is sometimes said +that this is the head of the Upper Mississippi navigation, but such is +not the case. The Sauk Rapids which terminate here are an obstruction +to continuous navigation between St. Anthony and Crow Wing, but after +you get to the latter place (where the river is twenty feet deep) +there is good navigation for two hundred miles. There are several +roads laid out to intersect at St. Cloud, for the construction of +which, I believe, the government has made some appropriation. Town +lots are sold on reasonable terms to those who intend to make +improvements on them, which is the true policy for any town, but the +general market price ranges from $100 to $1000 a lot. The town is not +in the hands of capitalists, though moneyed men are interested in it. +General Lowry is a large proprietor. He lives at Arcadia, just above +the town limits, and has a farm consisting of three hundred acres of +the most splendid land, which is well stocked with cattle and durably +fenced. A better barn, or a neater farmyard than he has, cannot be +found between Boston and Worcester. And while speaking of barns I +would observe that the old New England custom of having good barns is +better observed in Minnesota than anywhere else in the West. General +Lowry has been engaged in mercantile business. He was formerly a +member of the territorial council, and is a very useful and valuable +citizen of the territory. + +It would not be more surprising to have Eastern people doubt some of +the statements concerning the growth of Western towns, than it was for +the king of Siam to doubt that there was any part of the world where +water changed from liquid to a hard substance. His majesty knew +nothing about ice. Now, there are a good many handsome villages in the +East which hardly support one store. Not that people in such a village +do not consume as much or live in finer style; but the reason is that +they are old settlers who produce very much that they live on, and +who, by great travelling facilities, are able to scatter their trading +custom into some commercial metropolis. Suppose, however, one of your +large villages to be so newly settled that the people have had no +chance to raise anything from their gardens or their fields, and are +obliged to buy all they are to eat and all that is to furnish their +dwellings, or equip their shops, or stock their farms; then you have a +state of things which will support several stores, and a whole +catalogue of trades. It is a state of affairs which corresponds with +every new settlement in the West; or, indeed, which faintly compares +with the demand for everything merchantable, peculiar in such places. +Then again, besides the actual residents in a new place, who have +money enough in their pockets, but nothing in their cellars, there is +generally a large population in the back country of farmers and no +stores. Such people come to a place like this to trade, for fifteen or +twenty miles back, perhaps; and it being a county seat they have other +objects to bring them. At the same time there is an almost constant +flow of settlers through the place into the unoccupied country to find +preemption claims, who, of course, wish to take supplies with them. +The settler takes a day, perhaps, for his visit in town to trade. Time +is precious with him, and he cannot come often. So he buys, perhaps, +fifty or a hundred dollars worth of goods. These are circumstances +which account for activity of business in these river towns, and +which, though they are strikingly apparent here, are not peculiar to +this town. At first, I confess, it was a mystery to me what could +produce such startling and profitable trade in these new towns. + +It was in the immediate vicinity of St. Cloud that Gov. Stevens left +the Mississippi on his exploration, in 1853, of a railroad route to +the Pacific. Several crossings of the river had been previously +examined, and it was found that one of the favorable points for a +railroad bridge over it was here. I might here say that the country +directly west lies in the valley of Sauk River, and from my own +observation I know it to be a good farming country; and I believe the +land is taken up by settlers as far back as twelve miles. It is a +little upwards of a hundred miles in a westerly direction from St. +Cloud to where the expedition first touched the Bois des Sioux (or +Sioux Wood River). Gov. Stevens says in his report-- " The plateau of +the Bois des Sioux will be a great centre of population and +communication. It connects with the valley of the Red River of the +North, navigable four hundred miles for steamers of three or four feet +draught, with forty-five thousand square miles of arable and timber +land; and with the valley of the Minnesota, also navigable at all +seasons when not obstructed by ice, one hundred miles for steamers, +and occasionally a hundred miles further. The head of navigation of +the Red River of the North is within one hundred and ten miles of the +navigable portion of the Mississippi, and is distant only forty miles +from the Minnesota. Eastward from these valleys to the great lakes, +the country on both sides of the Mississippi is rich, and much of it +heavily timbered." + +I will also add another remark which he makes, inasmuch as the +character of the country in this latitude, as far as the Pacific +shore, must have great influence on this locality; and it is this: " +Probably four thousand square miles of tillable land is to be found +immediately on the eastern slopes of (the Rocky Mountains); and at the +bottoms of the different streams, retaining their fertility for some +distance after leaving the mountains, will considerably increase this +amount." Mr. John Lambert, the topographer of the exploration, divides +the country between the Mississippi and Columbia rivers, into three +grand divisions. The first includes the vast prairies between the +Mississippi and the base of the Rocky Mountains. The second is the +mountain division, embracing about five degrees of longitude. The +third division comprises the immense plains of the Columbia. + +Of the first division-- from here to the foot of the Rocky Mountains-- +let me quote what Mr. Lambert in his official report calls a "passing +glance." "Undulating and level prairies, skirted with woods of various +growth, and clothed everywhere with a rich verdure; frequent and rapid +streams, with innumerable small but limpid lakes, frequented by +multitudes of waterfowl, most conspicuous among which appears the +stately swan; these, in ever-recurring succession, make up the +panorama of this extensive district, which may be said to be +everywhere fertile, beautiful, and inviting. The most remarkable +features of this region are the intervals of level prairie, especially +that near the bend of Red River, where the horizon is as unbroken as +that of a calm sea. Nor are other points of resemblance wanting-- the +long grass, which in such places is unusually rank, bending gracefully +to the passing breeze as it sweeps along the plain, gives the idea of +waves (as indeed they are); and the solitary horseman on the horizon +is so indistinctly seen as to complete the picture by the suggestion +of a sail, raising the first feeling of novelty to a character of +wonder and delight. The following outlines of the rolling prairies are +broken only by the small lakes and patches of timber which relieve +them of monotony and enhance their beauty; and though marshes and +sloughs occur, they are of too small extent and too infrequent to +affect the generally attractive character of the country. The +elevation of the rolling prairies is generally so uniform, that even +the summits between streams flowing in opposite directions exhibit no +peculiar features to distinguish them from the ordinary character of +the valley slopes." + +I think I cannot do a better service to the emigrant or settler than +to quote a part of the report made by Mr. A. W. Tinkham, descriptive +of his route from St. Paul to Fort Union. His exploration, under Gov. +Stevens, was made in the summer of 1853; and he has evidently given an +impartial account of the country. I begin with it where he crosses the +Mississippi in the vicinity of St. Cloud. The part quoted embraces the +route for a distance of two hundred and ninety-five miles; the first +seventy miles of which was due west-- the rest of the route being a +little north of west. + +"June 9. Ferried across the Mississippi River, here some six hundred +to eight hundred feet wide-- boating the camp equipage, provisions, +&c., and swimming the animals; through rich and fertile prairies, +variegated with the wooded banks of Sauk River, a short distance on +the left, with the wooded hills on either side, the clustered growth +of elm, poplar, and oak, which the road occasionally touches; +following the 'Red River trail,' we camp at Cold Spring Brook, with +clear, cool water, good grass, and wood. + +"June 10. Cold Spring Brook is a small brook about ten feet across, +flowing through a miry slough, which is very soft and deep, and +previous to the passage of the wagons, had, for about two hundred feet +distance, been bridged in advance by a causeway of round or split logs +of the poplar growth near by; between this and the crossing of Sauk +River are two other bad sloughs, over one of which are laid logs of +poplar, and over the other the wagons were hauled by hand, after first +removing the loads. Sauk River is crossed obliquely with a length of +ford some three hundred feet-- depth of water four-and-a-half to five +feet; goods must be boated or rafted over, the river woods affording +the means of building a raft; camped immediately after crossing; wood, +water, and grass good and abundant. + +"June 11. Over rolling prairies, without wood on the trail, although +generally in sight on the right or left, with occasional small ponds +and several bad sloughs, across which the wagons were hauled over by +hand to Lake Henry-- a handsome, wooded lake; good wood and grass; +water from small pond; not very good. + +"June 13. Passing over rolling prairies to a branch of Crow River, the +channel of which is only some twenty feet wide and four or five feet +deep; but the water makes back into the grass one hundred feet or more +from the channel as early in the season as when crossed by the train. +Goods boated over; wagons by hand and with ropes; no wood on the +stream; several small lakes, not wooded, are on either side of the +trail, with many ducks, geese, and plovers on them: encamp at +Lightning Lake, a small and pretty lake, sufficiently well wooded on +the borders for camping purposes; good water, wood, and grass, and +abounding with fish. + +"June 18. Over rolling prairie with small pools and marshes, to a +swift running stream about twenty feet wide, three feet deep, a branch +of Chippewa River; heavily rolling ground with stony knolls and +granite boulders, to White Bear Lake, a large handsome lake, with +mingled open and woodland. + +"Broken rolling ground to camp, a mile off the Red River trail, and +near a small wooded lake. Two small brooks have to be crossed in the +interval, and being somewhat deep and with abrupt sides, are +troublesome crossings. + +"June 20. Rolling prairie country, with small marshes and ponds to a +tributary of South Branch. Swift running stream, gravelly bottom, +fifteen feet wide, three to four feet deep; with care in selection +good crossing was obtained for the wagons; a wooded lake is a short +distance to the right of trail. + +"Small rivulet, whose banks are marshy and soft. + +"Prairies, with small marshes and ponds to a swift running brook, six +feet wide. + +"Prairie to Pike Lake and camp of St. Grover; a handsome lake of about +a mile in diameter, said to abound in pike; well wooded on its south +border; grass, water, and wood, for camping, abundant and good. + +"Rolling prairie with knolls; several ponds and marshes, with an +intervening brook about six feet wide, and rather difficult of +passage, from the abruptness of its banks, to a small brook, the +outlet of a small and partially wooded lake or pond. + +"Rolling prairie, with grassy, swelling knolls, small ponds and +marshes, to Chippeway River; camp of odometer wagon on edge of river; +water and grass good; no wood. + +"June 24. Crossed Chippeway River, one hundred and twenty-four feet +wide, three to six feet deep; goods boated over, and the animals +swimming; wagon hauled through the water by a rope attached to the +tongue, and with the aid of the mules; camped on Elk Lake, a small and +pretty lake, well wooded, and with luxuriant grass; good water. + +"June 25. Trail passes over prairies with a rich heavy grass (this is +a hundred miles west of the Mississippi River), about eighteen inches +high, winding between wooded lakes to a heavy ravine, with a small and +sluggish rivulet in its bottom; sides steep, and laborious for the +wagon train. + +"Prairie sloping towards the western branch of the Chippeway River; a +stream when crossed, about one hundred and forty feet wide, three or +four feet deep, with a marked current and firm bottom; no wood. + +"Camp on a small lake, fairly wooded, with luxuriant grass, and good +water. + +"June 27. Undulating prairie, rich soil, covered with a heavy growth +of grass, with small ponds and marshes; woods continue in sight a +short distance on the left of Elbow Lake, a well wooded lake, of form +indicated by its name. + +"Rolling prairie, with two bad sloughs, to Rabbit River, which is +crossed with the wagon with but little difficulty, where it issues +from a small lake. It is a small stream, but spreads out from one +hundred to three hundred feet, with marshy borders; camp on the small +lake, with good grass, wood, and water. + +"June 28. Rolling ground, with small ponds and marshes, to a small +brook twelve feet wide; the Bois des Sioux prairie, a smooth, flat +prairie, without knoll or undulation-- an immense plain, apparently +level, covered with a tall, coarse, dark-colored grass, and unrelieved +with the sight of a tree or shrub; firm bottom, but undoubtedly wet in +spring; small brook, when the train made a noon halt. + +"Same smooth prairie as above to Bois des Sioux River, sometimes soft +and miry; camp on river bank; wood and grass good-- river water fair; +many catfish caught in the river. + +"June 29. Cross Bois des Sioux River; seventy feet wide, four to seven +feet deep; muddy bottom; steep and miry banks; goods boated over; +wagons hauled through, light, with ropes; bad crossing, but passable; +smooth flat prairie, as on the east side of Bois des Sioux, +occasionally interrupted with open sloughs to Wild Rice River, and +camp with wood, water, and abundant grass. + +"June 30. Wild Rice River, about forty feet wide and five and a half +feet deep, with muddy and miry bottom and sides, flowing in a +canal-like channel, some twenty feet below prairie level; river +skirted with elm-- bridged from the steep banks, being too miry to +sustain the animals, detaining the train but little more than +half-a-day; small brook without wood, flowing in a broad channel cut +out through the prairie; crossing miry, but made passable for the +wagon by strewing the bottom with mown grass. + +"Firm prairie to camp on edge of above small stream; good grass and +water; no wood; elk killed by hunter. + +"July 1. Smooth prairie extending to Shayenne River; sand knolls, +ponds, and marshes frequent as the river is approached. The marshes +were not miry-- firmer bottom; good wagon road; night encampment on +bank of river; sufficient grass for train; wood abundant; river water +good; many catfish caught in river. + +"July 2. Shayenne River, sixty feet wide, fourteen feet deep; river +had been previously bridged by Red River train, from the poplars and +other trees growing on the river, and this bridge we made use of in +crossing our wagons; camp on the west bank of the river; water, wood, +and grass good. + +"July 4. Prairie undulation, interrupted with marshes, small ponds and +occasional small rivulets, to Maple River, about twenty-five feet +wide, three and a half feet deep, firm bottom, and easily passed by +the wagons; river tolerably well wooded, and the camp on its edge is +furnished with water, wood, and good grass. The rich black soil of the +valley of this stream is noticeable. + +"July 5. To a small stream thirty feet wide, two feet deep, clayey +bottom, easily crossed by the wagons; prairie high, firm, and almost +level for some thirteen miles, becoming more rolling and with small +ponds in the last seven miles of the march; on the edge of some of the +ponds are salt incrustations; camp on the river; water good; grass +good; no wood, and the bois de vache is used for fuel. + +"July 6. Country wet and marshy; not a tree in sight; prairie with low +ridges and knolls, and great number of ponds and marshes; night's camp +by a small pond; no wood, but plenty of bois de vache; grass good. + +"July 7. Approaching the Shayenne; country as yesterday for some half +dozen miles; bordering on the river the ground is broken with deep +coulees and ravines, and to keep away from them the train kept at some +distance from the river, encamping by a small marshy pond; no wood; +plenty of bois de vache; grass good; water tolerable; first buffalo +killed to-day. + +"July 8. Prairie swelling with ridges; descend to the Shayenne, which +flows some one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet below the prairie +by a steep hill; camp in the bottom of the river; wood and water good; +grass rather poor; the bottom of the Shayenne, some half a mile wide, +is often soft and miry, but when crossed by the train firm and dry. + +"July 9. Cross the Shayenne, fifty feet wide, three and a half feet +deep; immediate banks some ten feet high, and requiring some digging +to give passage to the wagons. + +"Prairie with swelling ridges and occasional marshes to camp, to a +slough affording water and grass; no wood; buffalo very abundant. + +"July 10. Prairie swelling into ridges and hills, with a frequency of +marshes, ponds, and sloughs; camp at a pretty lake, near Lake Jessie; +fairly wooded, with water slightly saline; grass scanty, having been +consumed by the buffalo. Prairies covered with buffalo." + +I take this valuable sketch of the natural features of the country +from volume 1 of Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad +(page 353-356); for which I am indebted to the learned Secretary of +War. + + LETTER XV. + + ST. CLOUD TO ST. PAUL. + +Importance of starting early-- Judge Story's theory of early rising-- +Rustic scenery-- Horses and mules-- Surveyors-- Humboldt-- Baked +fish-- Getting off the track-- Burning of hay stacks-- Supper at St. +Anthony-- Arrival at the Fuller House. + +ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +I WAS up by the gray dawn of the morning of yesterday, and after an +early but excellent breakfast, crossed the river from St. Cloud, in +order to meet the stage at Sauk Rapids. As we came up on the main +road, the sight of a freshly made rut, of stage-wheel size, caused +rather a disquieting apprehension that the stage had passed. But my +nerves were soon quieted by the assurance from an early hunter, who +was near by shooting prairie chickens while they were yet on the +roost, that the stage had not yet come. So we kept on to the spacious +store where the post office is kept; where I waited and waited for the +stage to come which was to bring me to St. Paul. It did not arrive +till eight o'clock. I thought if every one who had a part to perform +in starting off the stage from Watab (for it had started out from +there that morning), was obliged to make the entire journey of 80 +miles to St. Paul in the stage, they would prefer to get up a little +earlier rather than have the last part of the trip extended into "the +dead waist and middle of the night." I remarked to the driver, who is +a very clever young man, that the stage which left St. Paul started as +early as five o'clock, and I could not see why it was not as necessary +to start as early in going down, inasmuch as the earlier we started +the less of the night darkness we had to travel in. He perfectly +agreed with me, and attributed his inability to start earlier to the +dilatory arrangements at the hotel. When jogging along at about eleven +at night between St. Anthony and the city, I could not help begrudging +every minute of fair daylight which had been wasted. The theory of +Judge Story, that it don't make much difference when a man gets up in +the morning, provided he is wide awake after he is up, will do very +well, perhaps, except when one is to start on a journey in the stage. + +I took a seat by the driver's side, the weather being clear and mild, +and had an unobstructed and delightful view of every object, and there +seemed to be none but pleasant objects in range of the great highway. +Though there is, between every village, population enough to remind +one constantly that he is in a settled country, the broad extent yet +unoccupied proclaims that there is still room enough. Below Sauk +Rapids a good deal of the land on the road side is in the hands of +speculators. This, it is understood, is on the east side of the +Mississippi. On the west side there are more settlements. But yet +there are many farms, with tidy white cottages; and in some places are +to be seen well-arranged flower-gardens. The most attractive scenery +to me, however, was the ample corn-fields, which, set in a groundwork +of interminable virgin soil, are pictures which best reflect the true +destiny and usefulness of an agricultural region. We met numerous +teams heavily laden with furniture or provisions, destined for the +different settlements above. The teams are principally drawn by two +horses; and, as the road is extremely level and smooth, are capable of +taking on as much freight as under other circumstances could be drawn +by four horses. Mules do not appear to be appreciated up this way so +much as in Missouri or Kentucky. Nor was it unusual to meet light +carriages with a gentleman and lady, who, from the luggage, &c., +aboard, appeared to have been on somewhat of an extensive shopping +expedition. And I might as well say here, if I havn't yet said it, +that the Minnesotians are supplied with uncommonly good horses. I do +not remember to have seen a mean horse in the territory. I suppose, as +considerable pains are taken in raising stock, poor horses are not +raised at all; and it will not pay to import poor ones. A company of +surveyors whom we met excited a curiosity which I was not able to +solve. It looked odd enough to see a dozen men walking by the side or +behind a small one-horse cart; the latter containing some sort of +baggage which was covered over, as it appeared, with camping fixtures. +It was more questionable whether the team belonged to the men than +that the men were connected with the team. The men were mostly young +and very intelligent-looking, dressed with woollen shirts as if for +out door service, and I almost guessed they were surveyors; yet still +thought they were a party of newcomers who had concluded to club +together to make their preemption claim. But surveyors they were. + +The town of Humboldt is the county seat for Sherburne county. It lies +between the Mississippi and Snake rivers. The part of the town which I +saw was a very small part. Mr. Brown's residence, which is +delightfully situated on the shore of a lake, is at once the court +house and the post office, besides being the general emporium and +magnate of Humboldt business and society. Furthermore, it is the place +where the stage changes horses and where passengers on the down trip +stop to dine. It was here we stopped to dine; and as the place had +been a good deal applauded for its table-d'hote, a standard element of +which was said to be baked fish, right out of the big lake, I at least +had formed very luxurious expectations. Mr. Brown was away. We had met +his lively countenance on his way up to a democratic caucus. Perhaps +that accounted for our not having baked fish, for fish we certainly +did not have. The dinner was substantial, however, and yielded to +appetites which had been sharpened by a half day's inhalation of +serene October air. We had all become infused with a spirit of +despatch; and were all ready to start, and did start, in half an hour +from the time we arrived at the house. + +We had not proceeded far after dinner before meeting the Monticello +stage, which runs between the thriving village of that name-- on the +west bank of the Mississippi-- and St. Paul. It carries a daily mail. +There were several passengers aboard. + +One little incident in our afternoon travel I will mention, as it +appeared to afford more pleasure to the rest of the passengers than it +did to me. Where the stage was to stop for fifteen or twenty minutes, +either to change mail or horses, I had invariably walked on a mile, if +I could get as far, for the sake of variety and exercise. So when we +came to the pretty village of Anoka (at the mouth of Rum River), where +the mail was to be changed, I started on foot and alone. But +unfortunately and unconsciously I took the wrong road. I had walked a +mile I think-- for twenty minutes at least had expired since I +started-- and being in the outskirts of the town, in the midst of +farms and gardens, turned up to a garden-fence, on the other side of +which a gentleman of professional-- I rather thought clerical +appearance-- was feeding a cow on pumpkins. I had not seen pumpkins so +abundant since my earliest youth, when I used to do a similar thing. I +rather thought too that the gentleman whom I accosted was a Yankee, +and after talking a few minutes with him, so much did he exceed me in +asking questions, that I felt sure he was one. How thankful I ought to +be that he was one! for otherwise it is probable he would not have +ascertained where, and for what purpose, I was walking. He informed me +I was on the wrong road; that the stage took a road further west, +which was out of sight; and that I had better go on a little further +and then cross the open prairie. Then for the first time did I notice +that the road I had taken was but a street, not half so much worn as +the main road. I followed his friendly advice, and feeling some +despair I hastened on at a swift run, and as I advanced towards where +I thought the right road ought to be, though I could neither see it +nor the stage, "called so loud that all the hollow deep of"-- the +prairies might have resounded. At last, when quite out of breath and +hoarse with loud vociferation, I descried the stage rolling on at a +rapid rate. Then I renewed my calls, and brought it up standing. After +clambering over a few fences, sweating and florid, I got to the stage +and resumed my seat, amidst the pleasant merriment of the passengers. +The driver was kind enough to say that he began to suspect I had taken +the wrong road, and was about to turn round and come after me-- that +he certainly would not have left me behind, &c. I was happy, +nevertheless, that my mistake did not retard the stage. But I do not +intend to abandon the practice of walking on before the stage whenever +it stops to change horses. + +Just in the edge of twilight, and when we were a little way this side +of Coon Creek, where we had changed horses again, we came in sight of +a large fire. It was too much in one spot to be a prairie fire; and as +we drove on the sad apprehension that it was a stack of hay was +confirmed. The flames rose up in wide sheets, and cast a steady glare +upon the landscape. It was a gorgeous yet a dismal sight. It always +seems worse to see grain destroyed by fire than ordinary merchandise. +Several stacks were burning. We saw that the usual precaution against +prairie fires had been taken. These consist in ploughing several +furrows around the stack, or by burning the grass around it to prevent +the flames from reaching it. It was therefore suspected that some +rascal had applied the torch to the hay; though for humanity's sake we +hoped it was not so. The terrible prairie fires, which every autumn +waste the western plains, are frequently started through the gross +carelessness of people who camp out, and leave their fires burning. + +Some of us took supper at St. Anthony. I cannot say much of the hotel +de facto. The table was not as good as I found on the way at other +places above. There is a hotel now being built there out of stone, +which I am confident will exceed anything in the territory, if we +except the Fuller House. It is possible we all felt invigorated and +improved by the supper, for we rode the rest of the way in a very +crowded stage without suffering any exhibition of ill temper to speak +of, and got into St. Paul at last, when it was not far from eleven; +and after seventy-five miles of staging, the luxurious accommodations +of the Fuller House seemed more inviting than ever. + + LETTER XVI. + + PROGRESS. + +Rapid growth of the North-West-- Projected railroads-- Territorial +system of the United States-- Inquiry into the cause of Western +progress-- Influence of just laws and institutions-- Lord Bacon's +remark. + +ST. PAUL, October, 1856. + +THE progress which has characterized the settlement of the territory +of Minnesota, presents to the notice of the student of history and +political economy some important facts. The growth of a frontier +community, so orderly, so rapid, and having so much of the +conservative element in it, has rarely been instanced in the annals of +the world. In less time than it takes the government to build a custom +house we see an unsettled territory grown to the size of a respectable +state, in wealth, in population, in power. A territory, too, which ten +years ago seemed to be an incredible distance from the civilized +portions of the country; and which was thought by most people to be in +a latitude that would defeat the energy and the toil of man. Today it +could bring into the field a larger army than Washington took command +of at the beginning of our revolution! + +In 1849, the year of its organization, the population of the territory +was 4780; now it is estimated to be nearly 200,000. In 1852 there were +42 post offices in the territory, now there are 253. The number of +acres of public land sold during the fiscal year ending 30th June, +1852, was 15,258. For the year ending 30th June, 1856, the number of +acres sold was 1,002,130. + +When we contemplate the headlong progress of Western growth in its +innumerable evidences of energy, we admit the truth of what the Roman +poet said-- nil mortalibus ardum est-- that there is nothing too +difficult for man. In the narrative of his exploration to the +Mississippi in 1820, along with General Cass, Mr. Schoolcraft tells us +how Chicago then appeared. "We found," says he, "four or five families +living here." Four or five families was the extent of the population +of Chicago in 1820! In 1836 it had 4853 inhabitants. In 1855 its +population was 85,000. The history of many western towns that have +sprung up within ten years is characterized by much the same sort of +thrift. Unless some terrible scourge shall come to desolate the land, +or unless industry herself shall turn to sloth, a few more years will +present the magnificent spectacle of the entire domain stretching from +this frontier to the Pacific coast, transformed into a region of +culture, "full of life and splendor and joy." + +At present there are no railroads in operation in Minnesota; but those +which are already projected indicate, as well as any statistics, the +progress which is taking place. The Chicago, St. Paul, and Fond-du-Lac +Railroad was commenced some two years ago at Chicago, and over 100 +miles of it are completed. It is to run via Hudson in Wisconsin, +Stillwater, St. Paul, and St. Anthony in Minnesota to the western +boundary of the territory. Recently it has united with the Milwaukee +and La Cross Road, which secures several millions of acres of valuable +land, donated by congress, and which will enable the stockholders to +complete the road to St. Paul and St. Anthony within two years. A road +has been surveyed from the head of Lake Superior via St. Paul to the +southern line of the territory, and will soon be worked. The Milwaukee +and Mississippi Railroad Company will in a few weeks have their road +completed to Prairie du Chien, and are extending it on the east side +of the Mississippi to St. Paul. Another road is being built up the +valley of the Red Cedar River in Iowa to Minneapolis. The Keokuck road +is in operation over fifty miles, and will soon be under contract to +St. Paul. This road is to run via the valley of the Des Moines River, +through the rich coal fields of Iowa, and will supply the upper +Mississippi and Lake Superior region with coal. + +The Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad Company has been organized and +the route selected. This road will soon be commenced. The active men +engaged in the enterprise reside in Green Bay and Stillwater. A +company has been formed and will soon commence a road from Winona to +the western line of the territory. The St. Anthony and St. Paul +Railroad Company will have their line under contract early the coming +season. The Milwaukee and La Cross Company propose continuing their +road west through the valley of Root River, through Minnesota to the +Missouri River. Another company has been formed for building a road +from the head of Lake Superior to the Red River of the North.[1] Such +are some of the railroad enterprises which are under way, and which +will contribute at an early day to develop the opulent resources of +the territory. A railroad through this part of the country to the +Pacific is among the probable events of the present generation. + _______ + +[1 The following highly instructive article on navigation, I take from +The Pioneer and Democrat (St. Paul), of the 20th November: + +"GROWTH OF THE STEAMBOATING BUSINESS-- THE SEASON OF 1856. + +-- About ten years after the first successful attempt at steamboat +navigation on the Ohio River, the first steamboat that ever ascended +the Upper Mississippi River to Fort Snelling, arrived at that post. +This was the 'Virginia,' a stern-wheel boat, which arrived at the Port +in the early part of May, 1823. From 1823 to 1844 there were but few +arrivals each year-- sometimes not more than two or three. The +steamers running on the Upper Mississippi, at that time, were used +altogether to transport supplies for the Indian traders and the troops +stationed at Fort Snelling. Previous to the arrival of the Virginia, +keel boats were used for this purpose, and sixty days' time, from St. +Louis to the Fort, was considered a good trip. + +"By a reference to our files, we are enabled to present, at a glance, +the astonishing increase in steamboating business since 1844. The +first boat to arrive that year, was the Otter, commanded by Captain +Harris. The following table presents the number of arrivals since that +time:-- + +Year + +First Boat + +No. of Arrivals + +River Closed + +1844 + +April 6 + +41 + +Nov. 23 + +1845 + +April 6 + +48 + +Nov. 26 + +1846 + +March 31 + +24 + +Dec. 5 + +1847 + +April 7 + +47 + +Nov. 29 + +1848 + +April 7 + +63 + +Dec. 4 + +1849 + +April 9 + +85 + +Dec. 7 + +1850 + +April 9 + +104 + +Dec. 4 + +1851 + +April 4 + +119 + +Nov. 28 + +1852 + +April 16 + +171 + +Nov. 18 + +1853 + +April 11 + +200 + +Nov. 30 + +1854 + +April 8 + +245 + +Nov. 27 + +1855 + +April 17 + +560 + +Nov. 20 + +1856 + +April 18 + +837 + +Nov. 10 + +"In 1851, three boats went up the Minnesota River, and in 1852, one +boat ran regularly up that stream during the season. In 1853, the +business required an average of one boat per day. In 1854, the +business had largely increased, and in 1855, the arrivals of steamers +from the Minnesota, amounted to 119. + +"The present season, on the Mississippi, has been a very prosperous +one, and the arrivals at St. Paul exhibit a gratifying increase over +any preceding year, notwithstanding the season of navigation has been +two weeks shorter than last season. Owing to the unusually early gorge +in the river at Hastings, upwards of fifty steamers bound for this +port, and heavily laden with merchandise and produce, were compelled +to discharge their cargoes at Hastings and Stillwater. + +"Navigation this season opened on the 18th of April. The Lady Franklin +arrived on the evening of that day from Galena. Previous to her +arrival, there had been eighteen arrivals at our landing from the head +of Lake Pepin, and twelve arrivals at the foot of the lake, from +Galena and Dubuque. + +"During the present season, seventy-eight different steamers have +arrived at our wharf, from the points mentioned in the following +table. This table we draw mainly from the books of the City Marshal, +and by reference to our files. + + FROM ST. LOUIS. + +Boats + +No. of Trips. + +Ben Coursin + + 19 + +A. G. Mason + + 8 + +Metropolitan + + 13 + +Audubon + + 5 + +Golden State + + 8 + +Laclede + + 11 + +Luella + + 8 + +Cheviot + + 1 + +James Lyon + + 7 + +Vienna + + 5 + +New York + + 1 + +Delegate + + 1 + +Mansfield + + 7 + +Forest Rose + + 1 + +Ben Bolt + + 2 + +J. P. Tweed + + 1 + +Fire Canoe + + 2 + +Carrier + + 1 + +Julia Dean + + 1 + +Resolute + + 2 + +Gossamer + + 4 + +Thomas Scott + + 6 + +Gipsey + + 2 + +W. G. Woodside + +1 + +York State + + 5 + +Mattie Wayne + + 4 + +Brazil + + 4 + +Dan Convers + + 1 + +Henrietta + + 4 + +Editor + + 5 + +Minnesota Belle + + 8 + +Rochester + + 2 + +Oakland + + 7 + +Grace Darling + +4 + +Montauk + + 3 + +Fairy Queen + + 1 + +Saint Louis + + 1 + +Americus + + 2 + +Atlanta + + 1 + +Jacob Traber + + 6 + +White Bluffs + + 1 + +Arcola + + 8 + +Conewago + + 10 + +Lucie May + + 8 + +Badger State + +5 + +Sam Young + + 4 + +Violet + + 1 + + +---- + +Total arrivals from St. Louis, + + 212 + + FROM FULTON CITY. + +Falls City + +11 + +Diamond + +1 + +H. T. Yeatman + +11 + +Time and Tide + +5 + + +---- + +Total from Fulton City, + +28 + + FROM GALENA AND DUNLEITH. + +Lady Franklin + +23 + +Galena + +30 + +Alhambra + +21 + +Royal Arch + +6 + +Northern Belle + +28 + +Banjo + +1 + +War Eagle + +17 + +City Belle + +30 + +Golden Era + +29 + +Ocean Wave + +28 + +Granite State + +12 + +Greek Slave + +3 + + + ---- + +Total from Galena and Dunleith, + +228 + + FROM DUBUQUE. + +Excelsior + +23 + +Kate Cassel + +29 + +Clarion + +11 + +Tishimingo + +3 + +Fanny Harris + +28 + +Flora + +29 + +Hamburg + +12 + + + ---- + +Total from Dubuque, + +135 + + FROM MINNESOTA RIVER. + +H. T. Yeatman + +4 + +Globe + +34 + +Clarion + +12 + +Reveille + +40 + +H. S. Allen + +10 + +Time and Tide + +11 + +Wave + +29 + +Equator + +46 + +Minnesota Valley + +20 + +Berlin + +10 + + + ---- + +Total from Minnesota River, + +216 + + RECAPITULATION. + +Number of arrivals from + +St. Louis + +212 + + +Fulton City + +28 + + +Galena and Dunleith + +228 + + +Dubuque + +135 + + +Minnesota River + +216 + + +head of Lake Pepin + +18 + + + ---- + +Whole number of boats, 78. +Whole number of arrivals, 837 + +"It will be seen from the above, that ten more steamers have been +engaged in this trade during the present year than last; while in the +whole number of arrivals the increase has been two hundred and +sixty-seven. + +"The business on the Minnesota has greatly increased this year. This +was to have been expected, considering the great increase in the +population of that flourishing portion of our Territory. + +"A thriving trade has sprung up between the southern counties of +Minnesota, and Galena and Dubuque. During the greater portion of the +summer, the War Eagle and Tishimingo run regularly to Winona. + +"On the Upper Mississippi there are now three steamers, the Gov. +Ramsay, H. M. Rice, and North Star (new). Daring the season these +boats ran between St. Anthony and Sauk Rapids."] + _______ + +It may be well to pause here a moment and inquire into the causes +which contribute so wonderfully to build up empire in our +north-western domain. The territorial system of the United States has +some analogy, it is true, to the colonial system of Great Britain-- +not the colonial system which existed in the days of the stamp act-- +but that which a wiser statesmanship has more recently inaugurated. +The relation between the general government and our territories is +like that of guardian and ward-- the relation of a protector, not that +of a master. Nor can we find in the history of antiquity any such +relationship between colonies and the mother country, whether we +consider the system of Phoenicia, where first was exhibited the +doctrine of non-intervention, or the tribute-paying colonies of +Carthage. That system which was peculiar to Greece, "resting not on +state contrivances and economical theories, but on religious +sympathies and ancestral associations," came as near perhaps in spirit +to ours as any on record. The patronage which the government bestows +on new territories is one of the sources of their growth which ought +not to be overlooked. Instead of making the territory a dependency and +drawing from it a tax, the government pays its political expenses, +builds its roads, and gives it a fair start in the world. + +Another cause of the successful growth of our territories in general, +and of Minnesota in particular, is the ready market which is found in +the limits of the territory for everything which can be raised from a +generous soil or wrought by industrious hands. The farmer has a ready +market for everything that is good to eat or to wear; the artisan is +driven by unceasing demands upon his skill. This arises from extensive +emigration. Another reason, also, for the rapid growth of the +territory, is, that the farmer is not delayed by forests, but finds, +outside of pleasant groves of woodland, a smooth, unencumbered soil, +ready for the plough the first day he arrives. + +But if a salubrious climate, a fertile soil, clear and copious +streams, and other material elements, can be reckoned among its +physical resources, there are other elements of empire connected with +its moral and political welfare which are indispensable. Why is it +that Italy is not great? Why is it the South American republics are +rusting into abject decay? Is it because they have not enough physical +resources, or because their climate is not healthy? Certainly not. It +is because their political institutions are rotten and oppressive; +because ignorance prevents the growth of a wholesome public opinion. +It is the want of the right sort of men and institutions that there is + + "Sloth in the mart and schism within the temple." + +"Let states that aim at greatness," says Lord Bacon, "take heed how +their nobility and gentlemen do multiply too fast; for that maketh the +common subject to be a peasant and base swain, driven out of heart, +and, in effect, but a gentleman's laborer." He who seeks for the true +cause of the greatness and thrift of our northwestern states will find +it not less in the influence of just laws and the education of all +classes of men, than in the existence of productive fields and in the +means of physical wealth. + + "What constitutes a state? + Not high raised battlement, or labored mound, + Thick wall, or moated gate; + Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned; + Not bays and broad armed ports, + Where, laughing at the storm, proud navies ride; + But men, high minded men. + _______ + + PART II. + + TERRITORY OF DACOTAH. + _______ + +"POPULOUS CITIES AND STATES ARE SPRINGING UP, AS IF BY ENCHANTMENT, +FROM THE BOSOM OF OUR WESTERN WILDS."-- The President's Annual Message +for 1856. + _______ + + THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF DACOTAH. + _______ + +Organization of Minnesota as a state-- Suggestions as to its +division-- Views of Captain Pope-- Character and resources of the new +territory to be left adjoining-- Its occupation by the Dacotah +Indians-- Its organization and name. + +THE territory of Minnesota according to its present boundaries +embraces an area of 141,839 square miles exclusive of water;-- a +domain four times as large as the State of Ohio, and twelve times as +large as Holland, when her commerce was unrivalled and her fleets +ruled the sea. Its limits take in three of the largest rivers of North +America; the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Red River of the +North. Though remote from the sea board, ships can go out from its +harbors to the ocean in two if not three different channels. Its +delightful scenery of lakes and water-falls, of prairie and woodland, +are not more alluring to the tourist, than are its invigorating +climate and its verdant fields attractive to the husbandman. It has +been organized seven years; and its resources have become so much +developed, and its population so large, there is a general disposition +among the people to have a state organization, and be admitted into +the Confederacy of the Union.[1] A measure of this kind is not now +premature: on the contrary, it is not for the interest of the general +government any longer to defray the expenses of the territory; and the +adoption of a state organization, throwing the taxes upon the people, +would give rise to a spirit of rivalry and emulation, a watchfulness +as to the system of public expenditures, and a more jealous regard for +the proper development of the physical resources of the state. The +legislature which meets in January (1857), will without doubt take the +subject into consideration, and provide for a convention to frame a +constitution. + +[1 On the 9th of December Mr. Rice, the delegate in congress from +Minnesota, gave notice to the house that he would in a few days +introduce a bill authorizing the people of the territory to hold a +convention for the purpose of forming a state constitution.] + +This being the condition of things, the manner in which the territory +shall be divided-- for no one can expect the new state will embrace +the whole extent of the present territory-- becomes a very interesting +question. Some maintain, I believe, that the territory should be +divided by a line running east and west. That would include in its +limits the country bordering, for some distance, on the Missouri +River; possibly the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. +But it is hardly probable that a line of this description would give +Minnesota any part of Lake Superior. Others maintain that the +territory should be divided by a line running north and south; say, +for instance, along the valley of the Red River of the North. Such a +division would not give Minnesota any of the Missouri River. But it +would have the benefit of the eastern valley of the Red River of the +North; of the entire region surrounding the sources of the +Mississippi; and of the broad expanse which lies on Lake Superior. The +question is highly important, not only to Minnesota, but to the +territory which will be left outside of it; and it should be decided +with a due regard to the interests of both.[1] + +[1 I take pleasure in inserting here a note which I have had the honor +to receive from Captain Pope, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers +I have before had occasion to quote from the able and instructive +report of his exploration of Minnesota. + +WASHINGTON, D. C. Dec. 10, 1856. + +DEAR SIR:-- Your note of the 6th instant is before me; and I will +premise my reply by saying that the suggestions I shall offer to your +inquiries are based upon my knowledge of the condition of the +territory in 1849, which circumstances beyond my acquaintance may have +materially modified since. + +The important points to be secured for the new state to be erected in +the territory of Minnesota, seem to be:-- first a harbor on Lake +Superior, easily accessible from the West; second, the whole course of +the Mississippi to the Iowa line; and, third, the head of navigation +of the Red River of the North. It is unnecessary to point out the +advantages of securing these features to the new state; and to do so +without enclosing too many square miles of territory, I would suggest +the following boundaries, viz.: + +Commencing on the 49th parallel of latitude, where it is intersected +by the Red River of the North, to follow the line of deepest water of +that river to the mouth of the Bois des Sioux (or Sioux Wood) River; +thence up the middle of that stream to the south-west point of Lake +Traverse; thence following a due south line to the northern boundary +of the state of Iowa (43 degrees 30' north latitude); thence along +this boundary line to the Mississippi River; thence up the middle of +the Mississippi River to the mouth of the St. Croix River; thence +along the western boundary line of the state of Wisconsin to its +intersection with the St. Louis River; thence down the middle of that +river to Lake Superior; thence following the coast of the lake to its +intersection with the boundary line between the United States and the +British possessions, and following this boundary to the place of +beginning. + +These boundaries will enclose an area of about 65,000 square miles of +the best agricultural and manufacturing region in the territory, and +will form a state of unrivalled advantages. That portion of the +territory set aside by the boundary line will be of little value for +many years to come. It presents features differing but little from the +region of prairie and table land west of the frontier of Missouri and +Arkansas. From this, of course, are to be excepted the western half of +the valley of the Red River and of the Big Sioux River, which are as +productive as any portion of the territory, which, with the region +enclosed between them, would contain arable land sufficient for +another state of smaller dimensions. + +As you will find stated and fully explained in my report of February, +1850, the valley of the Red River of the North must find an outlet for +its productions towards the south, either through the great lakes or +by the Mississippi River. The necessity, therefore, of connecting the +head of its navigation with a harbor on Lake Superior, and a port on +the Mississippi, is sufficiently apparent. As each of these lines of +railroad will run through the most fertile and desirable portion of +the territory, they will have a value far beyond the mere object of +transporting the products of the Red River valley. + +The construction of these roads-- in fact the mere location of them-- +will secure a population along the routes at once, and will open a +country equal to any in the world. + +As these views have been fully elaborated in my report of 1850, I +refer you to that paper for the detailed information upon which these +views and suggestions are based. + +I am sir, respectfully, your obedient servant; + + JNO. POPE. + C. C. ANDREWS, Esq., + Washington, D. C.] + _______ + +If the division last mentioned-- or one on that plan-- is made, there +will then be left west of the state of Minnesota an extent of country +embracing more than half of the territory as it now is; extending from +latitude 42 degrees 30' to the 49th degree; and embracing six degrees +of longitude-- 97th to 103d-- at its northern extreme. The Missouri +River would constitute nearly the whole of its western boundary. In +the northerly part the Mouse and Pembina Rivers are among its largest +streams; in the middle flows the large and finely wooded Shayenne, +"whose valley possesses a fertile soil and offers many inducements to +its settlement;" while towards the south it would have the Jacques, +the Big Sioux, the Vermillion, and the head waters of the St. Peter's. +In its supply of copious streams, nature seems there to have been +lavish. Of the Big Sioux River, M. Nicollet says, its Indian name +means that it is continuously lined with wood; that its length cannot +be less than three hundred and fifty miles. "It flows through a +beautiful and fertile country; amidst which the Dacotahs, inhabiting +the valleys of the St. Peter's and Missouri, have always kept up +summer establishments on the borders of the adjoining lakes, whilst +they hunted the river banks. Buffalo herds are confidently expected to +be met with here at all seasons of the year." The Jacques (the Indian +name of which is Tchan-sansan) "takes its rise on the plateau of the +Missouri beyond the parallel of 47 degrees north; and after pursuing +nearly a north and south course, empties into the Missouri River below +43 degrees. It is deemed navigable with small hunting canoes for +between five hundred and six hundred miles; but below Otuhuoja, it +will float much larger boats. The shores of the river are generally +tolerably well wooded, though only at intervals. Along those portions +where it widens into lakes, very eligible situations for farms would +be found." The same explorer says, the most important tributary of the +Jacques is the Elm River, which "might not deserve any special mention +as a navigable stream, but is very well worthy of notice on account of +the timber growing on its own banks and those of its forks." He +further observes (Report, p. 46) that "the basin of the river Jacques, +between the two coteaux and in the latitude of Otuhuoja, may be laid +down as having a breadth of eighty miles, sloping gradually down from +an elevation of seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet. These +dimensions, of course, vary in the different parts of the valley; but +what I have said will convey some idea of the immense prairie watered +by the Tchan-sansan, which has been deemed by all travellers to those +distant regions perhaps the most beautiful within the territory of the +United States." + +The middle and northern part comprises an elevated plain, of average +fertility and tolerably wooded. Towards the south it is characterized +by bold undulations. The valley of the Missouri is narrow; and the +bluffs which border upon it are abrupt and high. The country is +adapted to agricultural pursuits, and though inferior as a general +thing to much of Minnesota, affords promise of thrift and properity in +its future. It is blessed with a salubrious climate. Dr. Suckley, who +accompanied the expedition of Gov. Stevens through that part of the +West, as far as Puget Sound, says in his official report: "On +reviewing the whole route, the unequalled and unparalleled good health +of the command during a march of over eighteen hundred miles appears +remarkable; especially when we consider the hardships and exposures +necessarily incident to such a trip. Not a case of ague or fever +occurred. Such a state of health could only be accounted for by the +great salubrity of the countries passed through, and their freedom +from malarious or other endemic disease." + +Governor Stevens has some comprehensive remarks concerning that part +of the country in his report. "The Grand Plateau of the Bois des Sioux +and the Mouse River valley are the two keys of railroad communication +from the Mississippi River westward through the territory of +Minnesota. The Bois des Sioux is a river believed to be navigable for +steamers of light draught, flowing northward from Lake Traverse into +the Red River of the North, and the plateau of the Bois des Sioux may +be considered as extending from south of Lake Traverse to the south +bend of the Red River, and from the Rabbit River, some thirty miles +east of the Bois des Sioux River, to the Dead Colt hillock. This +plateau separates the rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay from those +flowing into the Mississippi River. The Mouse River valley, in the +western portion of Minnesota, is from ten to twenty miles broad; is +separated from the Missouri River by the Coteau du Missouri, some six +hundred feet high, and it is about the same level as the parallel +valley of the Missouri." (Report, ch. 4.) + +M. Nicollet was a scientific or matter of fact man, who preferred to +talk about "erratic blocks" and "cretaceous formations" rather than to +indulge in poetic descriptions. The outline which follows, however, of +the western part of the territory is what he considers "a faint +description of this beautiful country." "The basin of the Upper +Mississippi is separated in a great part of its extent from that of +the Missouri, by an elevated plain; the appearance of which, seen from +the valley of the St. Peter's or that of the Jacques, looming as it +were a distant shore, has suggested for it the name of Coteau des +Prairies. Its more appropriate designation would be that of plateau, +which means something more than is conveyed to the mind by the +expression, a plain. Its northern extremity is in latitude 46 degrees, +extending to 43 degrees; after which it loses its distinctive +elevation above the surrounding plains, and passes into rolling +prairies. Its length is about two hundred miles, and its general +direction N. N. W. and S. S. E. Its northern termination (called Tete +du Couteau in consequence of its peculiar configuration) is not more +than fifteen to twenty miles across; its elevation above the level of +the Big Stone Lake is eight hundred and ninety feet, and above the +ocean one thousand nine hundred and sixteen feet. Starting from this +extremity (that is, the head of the Coteau), the surface of the +plateau is undulating, forming many dividing ridges which separate the +waters flowing into the St. Peter's and the Mississippi from those of +the Missouri. Under the 44th degree of latitude, the breadth of the +Coteau is about forty miles, and its mean elevation is here reduced to +one thousand four hundred and fifty feet above the sea. Within this +space its two slopes are rather abrupt, crowned with verdure, and +scolloped by deep ravines thickly shaded with bushes, forming the beds +of rivulets that water the subjacent plains. + +The Coteau itself is isolated, in the midst of boundless and fertile +prairies, extending to the west, to the north, and into the valley of +the St. Peter's. + +The plain at its northern extremity is a most beautiful tract of land +diversified by hills, dales, woodland, and lakes, the latter abounding +in fish. This region of country is probably the most elevated between +the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. From its summit, proceeding from +its western to its eastern limits, grand views are afforded. At its +eastern border particularly, the prospect is magnificent beyond +description, extending over the immense green turf that forms the +basin of the Red River of the North, the forest-capped summits of the +haugeurs des terres that surround the sources of the Mississippi, the +granitic valley of the Upper St. Peter's, and the depressions in which +are Lake Traverse and the Big Stone Lake. There can be no doubt that +in future times this region will be the summer resort of the wealthy +of the land." (pp. 9, 10.) + +I will pass over what he says of the "vast and magnificent valley of +the Red River of the North," having before given some account of that +region, and merely give his description of the largest lake which lies +in the northern part of the territory: "The greatest extension of +Devil's Lake is at least forty miles,-- but may be more, as we did +not, and could not, ascertain the end of the north-west bay, which I +left undefined on the map. It is bordered by hills that are pretty +well wooded on one side, but furrowed by ravines and coulees, that are +taken advantage of by warlike parties, both for attack and defence +according to circumstances. The lake itself is so filled up with +islands and promontories, that, in travelling along its shores, it is +only occasionally that one gets a glimpse of its expanse. This +description belongs only to its wooded side; for, on the opposite +side, the shores, though still bounded by hills, are destitute of +trees, so as to exhibit an embankment to the east from ten to twelve +miles long, upon an average breadth of three-quarters of a mile. The +average breadth of the lake may be laid down at fifteen miles. Its +waters appear to be the drainings of the surrounding hills. We +discovered no outlets in the whole extent of about three-quarters of +its contour we could explore. At all events, if there be any they do +not empty into the Red River of the North, since the lake is shut up +in that direction, and since we found its true geographical position +to be much more to the north than it is ordinarily laid down upon +maps. A single depression at its lower end would intimate that, in +times of high water, some discharge might possibly take place; but +then it would be into the Shayenne." (p. 50.) + +Such are some of the geographical outlines of the extensive domain +which will be soon organized as a new territory. + +What will it be called? If the practice hitherto followed of applying +to territories the names which they have been called by their +aboriginal inhabitants is still adhered to, this new territory will +have the name of Dacotah. It is the correct or Indian name of those +tribes whom we call the Sioux; the latter being an unmeaning +Indian-French word. Dacotah means "united people," and is the word +which the Indians apply to seven of their bands.[1] These tribes +formerly occupied the country south and south-west of Lake Superior; +from whence they were gradually driven towards the Missouri and the +Rocky Mountains by their powerful and dreaded enemies the Chippewas. +Since which time they have been the acknowledged occupants of the +broad region to which they have impressed a name. Several of the +tribes, however, have crossed the Missouri, between which and the +Rocky Mountains they still linger a barbaric life. We may now hope to +realize the truth of Hiawatha's words:-- + + "After many years of warfare, + Many years of strife and bloodshed, + There is peace between the Ojibways + And the tribe of the Dacotahs." + +[1 The following description of the Dacotahs is based on observations +made in 1823. "The Dacotahs are a large and powerful nation of +Indians, distinct in their manners, language, habits, and opinions, +from the Chippewas, Sauks, Foxes, and Naheawak or Kilisteno, as well +as from all nations of the Algonquin stock. They are likewise unlike +the Pawnees and the Minnetarees or Gros Ventres. They inhabit a large +district of country which may be comprised within the following +limits:-- From Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi, by a curved line +extending east of north and made to include all the eastern +tributaries of the Mississippi, to the first branch of Chippewa River; +the head waters of that stream being claimed by the Chippewa Indians; +thence by a line running west of north to the head of Spirit Lake; +thence by a westerly line to the Riveree de Corbeau; thence up that +river to its head, near Otter Tail Lake; thence by a westerly line to +Red River, and down that river to Pembina; thence by a south-westerly +line to the east bank of the Missouri near the Mandan villages; thence +down the Missouri to a point probably not far from Soldier's River; +thence by a line running east of north to Prairie du Chien. + +This immense extent of country is inhabited by a nation calling +themselves, in their internal relations, the Dacotah, which means the +Allied; but who, in their external relations, style themselves the +Ochente Shakoan, which signifies the nation of seven (council) fires. +This refers to the following division which formerly prevailed among +them, viz.:-- + 1. Mende-Wahkan-toan, or people of the Spirit Lake. + 2. Wahkpa-toan, or people of the leaves. + 3. Sisi-toan, or Miakechakesa. + 4. Yank-toan-an, or Fern leaves + 5. Yank-toan, or descended from the Fern leaves. + 6. Ti-toan, or Braggers. + 7. Wahkpako-toan, or the people that shoot at leaves. + +-- Long's Expedition to Sources of St. Peter's River &c., vol. 1, pp. +376, 378.] + +If it be asked what will be done with these tribes when the country +comes to be settled, I would observe, as I have said, that the present +policy of the government is to procure their settlement on +reservations. This limits them to smaller boundaries; and tends +favorably to their civilization. I might also say here, that the title +which the Indians have to the country they occupy is that of +occupancy. They have the natural right to occupy the land; but the +absolute and sovereign title is in the United States. The Indians can +dispose of their title to no party or power but the United States. +When, however, the government wishes to extinguish their title of +occupancy, it pays them a fair price for their lands according as may +be provided by treaty. The policy of our government towards the +Indians is eminently that of protection and preservation; not of +conquest and extermination. + +Dacotah is the name now applied to the western part of Minnesota, and +I am assured by the best informed men of that section, that such will +be the name of the territory when organized. + _______ + + PART III. + + TABLE OF STATISTICS. + _______ + +I. LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN MINNESOTA. +II. LAND OFFICES, &c. +III. NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA. +IV. TABLE OF DISTANCES. + _______ + + I. + + POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS. + _______ + +I HAVE been furnished, at brief notice, with the following accurate +list of the Post Offices and Postmasters in Minnesota by my very +excellent friend, Mr. JOHN N. OLIVIER, of the Sixth Auditor's Office: + +LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN THE TERRITORY OF MINNESOTA, +PREPARED PROM THE BOOKS OF THE APPOINTMENT OFFICE, POST OFFICE +DEPARTMENT, TO DECEMBER 12, 1856. + +Post Office. + +Postmaster. + +BENTON COUNTY. + +Belle Prairie + +Calvin C. Hicks. + +Big Lake + +Joseph Brown. + +Clear Lake + +F. E. Baldwin. + +Crow Wing + +Allen Morrison. + +Elk River + +John Q. A. Nickerson. + +Itasca + +John C. Bowers. + +Little Falls + +C. H. Churchill. + +Royalton + +Rodolph's D. Kinney. + +Sauk Rapids + +C. B. Vanstest. + +Swan River + +James Warren. + +Watab + +David Gilman. + +BLUE EARTH COUNTY. + +Kasota + +Isaac Allen. + +Mankato + +Parsons K. Johnson. + +Liberty + +Edward Brace. + +Pajutazee + +Andrew Robertson. + +South Bend + +Matthew Thompson. + +Winnebago Agency + +Henry Foster. + +BROWN COUNTY. + +New Ulm + +Anton Kans. + +Sioux Agency + +Asa W. Daniels. + +CARVER COUNTY. + +Carver + +Joseph A. Sargent. + +Chaska + +Timothy D. Smith. + +La Belle + +Isaac Berfield. + +Scandia + +A. Bergquest. + +San Francisco + +James B. Cotton. + +Young America + +R. M. Kennedy. + +CHISAGO COUNTY. + +Amador + +Lorenzo A. Lowden. + +Cedar Creek + +Samuel Wyatt. + +Chippewa + +J. P. Gulding. + +Chisago City + +Henry S. Cluiger. + +Hanley + +John Hanley. + +Rushseby + +George B. Folsom. + +Sunrise City + +George S. Frost. + +Taylor's Falls + +Peter E. Walker. + +Wyoming + +Jordan Egle. + +DAKOTA COUNTY. + +Athens + +Jacob Whittemore. + +Centralia + +H. P. Sweet. + +Empire City + +Ralph P. Hamilton. + +Farmington + +Noredon Amedon. + +Fort Snelling + +Franklin Steele. + +Hampton + +James Archer. + +Hastings + +John F. Marsh. + +Lakeville + +Samuel P. Baker. + +Le Sueur + +Kostum K. Peck. + +Lewiston + +Stephen N. Carey. + +Mendota + +Hypolite Dupues. + +Ninninger + +Louis Loichot. + +Ottowa + +Frank Y. Hoffstott. + +Rosemount + +Andrew Keegan. + +Vermillion + +Leonard Aldrich. + +Waterford + +Warren Atkinson. + +DODGE COUNTY. + +Avon + +Noah F. Berry. + +Ashland + +George Townsend. + +Claremont + +Goerge Hitchcock. + +Concord + +James M. Sumner. + +Montorville + +John H. Shober. + +Wasioga + +Eli. P. Waterman. + +FAIRBAULT COUNTY. + +Blue Earth City + +George B. Kingsley. + +Verona + +Newell Dewey. + +FILLMORE COUNTY. + +Bellville + +Wilson Bell. + +Big Spring + +William Walter. + +Chatfield + +Edwin B. Gere. + +Clarimona + +Wm. F. Strong. + +Deer Creek + +William S. Hill. + +Elkhorn + +Jacob McQuillan. + +Elliota + +John C. Cleghorn. + +Etna + +O. B. Bryant. + +Fairview + +John G. Bouldin. + +Fillmore + +Robert Rea. + +Forestville + +Forest Henry. + +Jordan + +James M. Gilliss. + +Lenora + +Chas. B. Wilford. + +Looking Glass + +Lemuel Jones. + +Newburg + +Gabriel Gabrielson. + +Odessa + +Jacob P. Kennedy. + +Peterson + +Knud Peterson. + +Pilot Mound + +Daniel B. Smith. + +Preston + +L. Preston. + +Riceford + +Wm. D. Vandoren. + +Richland + +Benjn. F. Tillotson. + +Rushford + +Sylvester S. Stebbins. + +Spring Valley + +Condello Wilkins. + +Uxbridge + +Daniel Crowell. + +Waukokee + +John M. West. + +FREEBORN COUNTY. + +Albert Lea + +Lorenzo Murray. + +Geneva + +John Heath. + +St. Nicholas + +Saml. M. Thompson. + +Shell Rock + +Edward P. Skinner. + +GOODHUE COUNTY. + +Burr Oak Springs + +Henry Doyle. + +Cannon River Falls + +George McKenzie. + +Central Point + +Charles W. Hackett. + +Pine Island + +John Chance. + +Poplar Grove + +John Lee. + +Red Wing + +Henry C. Hoffman. + +Spencer + +Hans Mattson. + +Wacouta + +George Post. + +Westervelt + +Evert Westervelt. + +HENNEPIN COUNTY. + +Bloomington + +Reuben B. Gibson. + +Chanhassen + +Henry M. Lyman. + +Dayton + +John Baxter. + +Eden Prairie + +Jonas Staring. + +Elm Creek + +Charles Miles. + +Harmony + +James A. Dunsmore. + +Excelsior + +Charles P. Smith. + +Island City + +William F. Russell. + +Maple Plain + +Irvin Shrewsbury. + +Medicine Lake + +Francis Hagot. + +Minneapolis + +Alfred E. Ames. + +Minnetonka + +Levi W. Eastman. + +Osseo + +Warren Samson. + +Perkinsville + +N. T. Perkins. + +Watertown + +Alexander Moore. + +Wyzata + +W. H. Chapman. + +HOUSTON COUNTY. + +Brownsville + +Charles Brown. + +Caledonia + +Wm. J. McKee. + +Hamilton + +Charles Smith. + +Hackett's Grove + +Emery Hackett. + +Hokah + +Edward Thompson. + +Houston + +Ole Knudson. + +Loretta + +Edmund S. Lore. + +Looneyville + +Daniel Wilson. + +La Crescent + +William Gillett. + +Mooney Creek + +Cyrus B. Sinclair. + +Portland + +Alexr. Batcheller. + +Sheldon + +John Paddock. + +Spring Grove + +Embric Knudson. + +San Jacinto + +George Canon. + +Wiscoy + +Benton Aldrich. + +Yucatan + +T. A. Pope. + +LAKE COUNTY. + +Burlington + +Chas. B. Harbord. + +LA SUEUR COUNTY. + +Elysium + +Silas S. Munday. + +Grandville + +Bartlet Y. Couch. + +Lexington + +Henry Earl. + +Waterville + +Samuel D. Drake. + +McLEOD COUNTY. + +Glencoe + +Surman G. Simmons. + +Hutchinson + +Lewis Harrington. + +MEEKER COUNTY. + +Forest City + +Walter C. Bacon. + +MORRISON COUNTY. + +Little Falls + +Orlando A. Churchill. + +MOWER COUNTY. + +Austin + +Alanson B. Vaughan. + +Frankford + +Lewis Patchin. + +High Forest + +Thos. H. Armstrong. + +Le Roy + +Daniel Caswell. + +NICOLLET COUNTY. + +Eureka + +Edwin Clark. + +Hilo + +William Dupray. + +Saint Peter + +George Hezlep. + +Travers des Sioux + +William Huey. + +OLMSTEAD COUNTY. + +Durango + +Samuel Brink. + +Kalmar + +James A. Blair. + +Oronoco + +Samuel P. Hicks. + +Pleasant Grove + +Samuel Barrows. + +Rochester + +Phineas H. Durfel. + +Salem + +Cyrus Holt. + +Springfield + +Almon H. Smith. + +Waterloo + +Robert S. Latta. + +Zumbro + +Lucy Cobb. + +PEMBINA COUNTY. + +Cap Lake + +David B. Spencer. + +Pembina + +Joseph Rolette. + +Red Lake + +Sela G. Wright. + +Saint Joseph's + +George A. Belcourt. + +PIERCE COUNTY. + +Fort Ridgeley + +Benjn. H. Randall. + +PINE COUNTY. + +Alhambra + +Herman Trott. + +Mille Lac + +Mark Leadbetter. + +RAMSEY COUNTY. + +Anoka + +Arthur Davis. + +Centreville + +Charles Pettin. + +Columbus + +John Klerman. + +Howard's Lake + +John P. Howard. + +Little Canada + +Walter B. Boyd. + +Manomine + +Joseph A. Willis. + +Otter Lake + +Ross Wilkinson. + +Red Rock + +Giles H. Fowler. + +St. Anthony's Falls + +Norton H. Hemiup. + +St. Paul + +Charles S. Cave. + +RICE COUNTY. + +Cannon City + +C. Smith House. + +Faribault + +Alexander Faribault. + +Medford + +Smith Johnson. + +Morristown + +Walter Norris. + +Northfield + +Calvin S. Short. + +Shieldsville + +Joshua Tufts. + +Union Lake + +Henry M. Humphrey. + +Walcott + +Joseph Richardson. + +SAINT LOUIS COUNTY. + +Falls of St. Louis + +Joseph Y. Buckner. + +Oneota + +Edmund F. Ely. + +Twin Lakes + +George W. Perry. + +SCOTT COUNTY. + +Belle Plaine + +Nahum Stone. + +Louisville + +Joseph R. Ashley. + +Mount Pleasant + +John Soules. + +New Dublin + +Dominick McDermott + +Sand Creek + +William Holmes. + +Shak-a-pay + +Reuben M. Wright. + +SIBLEY COUNTY. + +Henderson + +Henry Pochler. + +Prairie Mound + +Morgan Lacey. + +STEARNS COUNTY. + +Clinton + +John H. Linneman. + +Neenah + +Henry B. Johnson. + +Saint Cloud + +Joseph Edelbrook. + +Torah + +Reuben M. Richardson. + +STEELE COUNTY. + +Adamsville + +Hiram Pitcher. + +Aurora + +Charles Adsit. + +Dodge City + +John Coburn. + +Ellwood + +Wilber F. Fiske. + +Josco + +James Hanes. + +Lemond + +Abram Fitzsimmons. + +Owatana + +Samuel B. Smith. + +St. Mary's + +Horatio B. Morrison. + +Swavesey + +Andrew J. Bell. + +Wilton + +David J. Jenkins. + +SUPERIOR COUNTY. + +Beaver Bay + +Robert McLean. + +French River + +F. W. Watrous. + +Grand Marias + +Richard Godfrey. + +Grand Portage + +H. H. McCullough. + +WABASHAW COUNTY. + +Greenville + +Rodman Benchard. + +Independence + +Seth L. McCarty. + +Lake City + +Harvey F. Williamson. + +Mazeppa + +John E. Hyde. + +Minneska + +Nathaniel F. Tifft. + +Minnesota City + +Samuel E. Cotton. + +Mount Vernon + +Stephen M. Burns. + +Reed's Landing + +Fordyce S. Richard. + +Wabashaw + +J. F. Byrne. + +West Newton + +Austin R. Swan. + +WAHNATAH COUNTY. + +Fort Ripley + +Solon W. Manney. + +WASHINGTON COUNTY. + +Cottage Grove + +Stephen F. Douglass. + +Lake Land + +Freeman C. Tyler. + +Marine Mills + +Orange Walker. + +Milton Mills + +Lemuel Bolles. + +Point Douglass + +R. R. Henry. + +Stillwater + +Harley Curtis. + +WINONA COUNTY. + +Dacota + +Nathan Brown. + +Eagle Bluffs + +William W. Bennett. + +Homer + +John A. Torrey. + +New Boston + +William H. Dwight. + +Richmond + +Samuel C. Dick. + +Ridgeway + +Joseph Cooper. + +Saint Charles + +Lewis H. Springer. + +Saratoga + +Thomas P. Dixon. + +Stockton + +William C. Dodge. + +Twin Grove + +Oren Cavath. + +Utica + +John W. Bentley. + +Warren + +Eben B. Jewett. + +Winona + +John W. Downer. + +White Water Falls + +Miles Pease. + +WRIGHT COUNTY. + +Berlin + +Charles W. Lambert + +Buffalo + +Amasa Ackley. + +Clear Water + +Simon Stevens. + +Monticello + +M. Fox. + +Northwood + +A. H. Kelly. + +Rockford + +Joel Florida. + +Silver Creek + +Abram G. Descent. + _______ + + II. + + LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN MINNESOTA. + _______ + + GENERAL LAND OFFICE, + + December 8, 1856. + +SIR: Your two letters of the 6th instant, asking for a list of the +land offices in Minnesota Territory, with the names of the officers +connected therewith,-- also the number of acres sold and the amount of +fees received by such officers, during the fiscal year, ending 30th +June, 1856, have been received. + +In reply, I herewith enclose a statement of the information desired, +save that the amount of fees for the fiscal year cannot be stated. + + Very respectfully, + + THOMAS A. HENDRICKS, + + Commissioner, + +C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. + + LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN MINNESOTA. + +LAND DISTRICTS. + +Name of Register + +Name of Receiver. + +Number of acres sold during the fiscal year ending 30th of June, 1856. + +Amount of purchase-money received therefor. + +Stillwater + +Thos. M. Fullerton + +Wm. Holcomb + +103,141.31 + +128,930.23 + +Sauk Rapids + +Geo. W. Sweet + +Wm. H. Wood + +49,712.44 + +65,355.41 + +Chatfield (late Brownsville) + +John R. Bennet + +Jno. H. McKenny + +238,323.26 + +298,920.90 + +Minneapolis + +Marcus P. Olds + +Roswell P. Russell + +139,188.96 + +186,651.77 + +Winona + +Diedrich Upman + +Lorenzo D. Smith + +264,777.38 + +335,845.66 + +Red Wing + +Wm. P. Phelps + +Chr. Graham + +206,987.32 + +265,173.84 + + + + +1,002,130.67 + +$1,280,867.81 + +Since the 30th June, 1856, the following offices have been established +and officers appointed. + +Buchanan + +Saml. Clark + +John Whipple + +Ojibeway + +Saml. Plumer + +Wm. Sawyer + _______ + + III. + + LIST OF NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA. + +PIONEER AND DEMOCRAT + +St. Paul + +Daily and Weekly + +MINNESOTIAN + +St. Paul + +Daily and Weekly + +TIMES + +St. Paul + +Daily and Weekly + +FINANCIAL ADVERTISER + +St. Paul + +Weekly + +UNION + +Stillwater + +Weekly + +MESSENGER + +Stillwater + +Weekly + +EXPRESS + +St. Anthony + +Weekly + +REPUBLICAN + +St. Anthony + +Weekly + +DEMOCRAT + +Minneapolis + +Weekly + +FRONTIERSMAN + +Sauk Rapids + +Weekly + +NORTHERN HERALD + +Watab + +Weekly + +INDEPENDENT + +Shakopee + +Weekly + +REPUBLICAN + +Shakopee + +Weekly + +DEMOCRAT + +Henderson + +Weekly + +COURIER + +St. Peter + +Weekly + +DAKOTA JOURNAL + +Hastings + +Weekly + +SENTINEL + +Red Wing + +Weekly + +GAZETTE + +Canon Falls + +Weekly + +JOURNAL + +Wabashaw + +Weekly + +ARGUS + +Winona + +Weekly + +REPUBLICAN + +Winona + +Weekly + +SOUTHERN HERALD + +Brownsville + +Weekly + +Carimona + +Weekly + +DEMOCRAT + +Chatfield + +Weekly + +REPUBLICAN + +Chatfield + +Weekly + +RICE COUNTY HERALD + +Faribault + +Weekly + +St. Cloud + +Weekly + +OWATONIA WATCHMAN AND REGISTER + +Owatonia + +Weekly. + _______ + + IV. + + TABLE OF DISTANCES. + _______ + + TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. PAUL. + +MILES + +To St. Anthony + +8 3/4 + +Rice Creek + +7 + +15 3/4 + +St. Francis, or Rum River + +9 + +25 + +Itasca + +7 + +32 + +Elk River + +6 + +38 + +Big Lake + +10 + +48 + +Big Meadow (Sturgis) + +18 + +66 + +St. Cloud (Sauk Rapids) + +10 + +76 + +Watab + +6 + +82 + +Little Rock + +2 + +84 + +Platte River + +12 + +96 + +Swan River + +10 + +106 + +Little Falls + +3 + +109 + +Belle Prairie + +5 + +114 + +Fort Ripley + +10 + +124 + +Crow Wing River + +6 + +130 + +Sandy Lake + +120 + +250 + +Savannah Portage + +15 + +265 + +Across the Portage + +5 + +270 + +Down Savannah River to St. Louis River + +20 + +290 + +Fond-du-Lac + +60 + +350 + +Lake Superior + +22 + +372 + +Crow Wing River + +130 + +Otter Tail Lake + +70 + +200 + +Rice River + +74 + +274 + +Sand Hills River + +70 + +340 + +Grand Fork, Red River + +40 + +380 + +Pembina + +80 + +460 + +Sandy Lake + +250 + +Leech Lake + +150 + +400 + +Red Lake + +80 + +480 + +Pembrina + +150 + +630 + +Stillwater + +18 + +Arcola + +5 + +23 + +Marine Mills + +6 + +29 + +Falls St. Croix + +19 + +48 + +Pokagema + +40 + +88 + +Fond-du-Lac + +75 + +164 + +Red Rock + +6 + + +Point Douglass + +24 + + + Red Wing + +Winona's Rock, Lake Pepin + +30 + +60 + +Wabashaw + +30 + +90 + +Prairie du Chien + +145 + +235 + +Cassville + +29 + +264 + +Peru + +21 + +285 + +Dubuque + +8 + +293 + +Mouth of Fever River + +17 + +310 + +Rock Island + +52 + +362 + +Burlington + +135 + +497 + +Keokuk + +53 + +550 + +St. Louis + +179 + +729 + +Cairo + +172 + +901 + +New Orleans + +1040 + +1941 + +Mendota + +7 + + +Black Dog Village + +4 + + +Sixe's Village + +21 + + +Traverse des Sioux + +50 + + +Little Rock + +45 + + +Lac Qui Parle + +80 + + +Big Stone Lake + +66 + + +Fort Pierce, on Missouri + +240 + + + TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. CLOUD. + +To Minneapolis + +62 + +Superior City, on Brott and Wilson's Road + +120 + +Traverse des Sioux + +70 + +Henderson + +60 + +Fort Ridgley + +100 + +Long Prairie + +40 + +Otter Tail Lake + +60 + +The Salt Springs + +120 + +Fort Ripley + +60 + +Mille Lac City + +60 + +DISTANCES FROM CROW WING. + +To Chippeway Mission + +15 + +Ojibeway + +50 + +Superior City + +80 + +Otter Tail City + +60 + +St. Cloud + +55 + _______ + + PART IV. + + PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES. + _______ + + PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES. + +AT a late moment, and while the volume is in press, I am enabled to +present the following exposition of the Preemption Law, addressed to +the Secretary of the Interior by Mr. Attorney-General Cushing. (See +"Opinions of Attorneys General," vol. 7, 733-743-- in press.) + + PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES. + +Portions of the public lands, to the amount of three hundred and +twenty acres, may be taken up by individuals or preemptioners for city +or town sites. + +The same rules as to proof of occupation apply in the case of +municipal, as of agricultural, preemption. + +The statute assumes that the purposes of a city or town have +preference over those of trade or of agriculture. + + ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE + + July 2, 1856. + +SIR: Your communication of the 20th May, transmitting papers regarding +Superior City (so called) in the State of Wisconsin, submits for +consideration three precise questions of law; two of them presenting +inquiry of the legal relations of locations for town sites on the +public domain, and the third presenting inquiry of another matter, +which, although pertinent to the case, yet is comprehended in a +perfectly distinct class of legal relations. + +I propose, in this communication, to reply only upon the two first +questions. + +The act of Congress of April 24, 1841, entitled "An act to appropriate +the proceeds of the sales of the public lands and to grant preemption +rights," contains, in section 10th, the following provisions: "no +lands reserved for the support of schools, nor lands acquired by +either of the two last treaties with the Miami tribe of Indians in the +State of Indiana, or which may be acquired of the Wyandot tribe of +Indians in the State of Ohio, or other Indian reservation to which the +title has been or may be extinguished by the United States at any time +during the operation of this act; no sections of lands reserved to the +United States alternate to other sections of land granted to any of +the States for the construction of any canal, railroad, or other +public improvement; no sections or fractions of sections included +within the limits of any incorporated town; no portions of the public +lands which have been selected for the site of a city or town; no +parcel of a lot of land actually settled or occupied for the purposes +of trade and not agriculture; and no lands on which are situated any +known salines or mines, shall be liable to entry under or by virtue of +this act." (v Stat. at Large, p. 456.) + +An act passed May 28, 1844, entitled "An act for the relief of +citizens of towns upon the lands of the United States under certain +circumstances," provides as follows: + +"That whenever any portion of the surveyed public lands has been or +shall be settled upon and occupied as a town site, and therefore not +subject to entry under the existing preemption laws, it shall be +lawful, in case such town or place shall be incorporated, for the +corporate authorities thereof, and if not incorporated, for the judges +of the county court for the county in which such town may be situated, +to enter at the proper land office, and at the minimum price, the land +so settled and occupied, in trust for the several use and benefit of +the several occupants thereof, according to their respective +interests; the execution of which trust, as to the disposal of the +lots in said town, and the proceeds of the sales thereof, to be +conducted under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the +legislative authority of the state or territory in which the same is +situated; Provided, that the entry of the land intended by this act be +made prior to the commencement of a public sale of the body of land in +which it is included, and that the entry shall include only such land +as is actually occupied by the town, and be made in conformity to the +legal subdivisions of the public lands authorized by the act of the +twenty-fourth of April, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and +shall not in the whole exceed three hundred and twenty acres; and +Provided also, that the act of the said trustees, not made in +conformity to the rules and regulations herein alluded to, shall be +void and of none effect:" * * * (v Stat. at Large, p. 687.) + +Upon which statutes you present the following questions of +construction: "1st. What is the legal signification to be given to the +words, 'portions of the public lands which have been selected as the +site for a city or town,' which occur in the preemption law of 1841, +and which portions of the public lands are by said act exempted from +its provisions? Do they authorize selections by individuals with a +view to the building thereon of a city or town, or do they contemplate +a selection made by authority of some special law? + +"Do the words in the act of 23d May, 1844, 'and that the entry shall +include only such land as is actually occupied by the town,' restrict +the entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or forty acre +subdivisions, alone, on which houses have been erected as part of said +town, or do they mean, only, that the entry shall not embrace any land +not shown by the survey on the ground, or the plat of the town, to be +occupied thereby, and not to exceed 820 acres, which is to be taken by +legal subdivisions, according to the public survey, and to what +species of 'legal subdivisions' is reference made in said act of +1844?" + +These questions, as thus presented by you, are abstract questions of +law,-- namely, of the construction of statutes. They are distinctly +and clearly stated, so as not to require of me any investigation of +external facts to render them more intelligible. Nor do they require +of me to attempt to make application of them to any actual case, +conflict of right, or controversy either between private individuals +or such individuals and the Government. + +It is true that, accompanying your communication, there is a great +mass of representations, depositions, arguments, and other papers, +which show that the questions propounded by you are not speculative +ones, and that, on the contrary, they bear, in some way, on matters of +interest, public or private, to be decided by the Department. But +those are matters for you, not for me, to determine. You have +requested my opinion of certain points of law, to be used by you, so +far as you see fit, in aid of such your own determination. I am thus +happily relieved of the task of examining and undertaking to analyze +the voluminous documents in the case: more especially as your +questions, while precise and complete in themselves, derive all +needful illustration from the very instructive report in the case of +the present Commissioner of Public Lands and the able brief on the +subject drawn up in your Department. + +I. To return to the questions before me: the first is in substance +whether the words in the act of 1841,-- " portions of the public land +which have been selected as the site for a city or a town,"-- are to +be confined to cases of such selection in virtue of some special +authority, or by some official authority? + +I think not, for the following reasons: + +The statute does not by any words of legal intendment say so. + +The next preceding clause of the act, which speaks of lands "included +within the limits of any incorporated town," implies the contrary, in +making separate provision for a township existing by special or public +authority. + +The next succeeding clause, which speaks of land "actually settled or +occupied for the purposes of trade and not agriculture," leads to the +same conclusion; for why should selection for a town site require +special authority any more than occupation for the purposes of trade? + +The general scope of the act has the same tendency. Its general object +is to regulate, in behalf of individuals, the acquisition of the +public domain by preemption, after voluntary occupation for a certain +period of time, and under other prescribed circumstances. In doing +this, it gives a preference preemption to certain other uses of the +public land, by excluding such land from liability to ordinary +preemption. Among the uses thus privileged, and to which precedence in +preemption is accorded, are, 1. "Sections, or fractions of sections +included within the limits of any incorporated town;" 2. "Portions of +the public land which have been selected for the site of a city or +town;" and, 3. "Land actually settled or occupied for the purposes of +trade, and not agriculture." Now, it is not easy to see any good +reason why, if individuals may thus take voluntarily for the purposes +of agriculture,-- they may not also take for the purposes of a city or +town. The statute assumes that the purposes of a city or town have +preference over those of trade, and still more over those of +agriculture. Yet individuals may take for either of the latter +objects: a fortiori they may take for a city or town. + +Why should it be assumed that individual action in this respect is +prohibited for towns any more than for trade or agriculture? It does +not concern the Government whether two persons preempt one hundred and +sixty acres each for the purposes of agriculture, or for the purpose +of a town, except that the latter object will, incidentally, be more +beneficial to the Government. Nor is there any other consideration of +public policy to induce the Government to endeavor to discourage the +formation of towns. Why, then, object to individuals taking up a given +quantity of land in one case rather than in the other? + +Finally, the act of 1844 definitively construes the act of 1841, and +proves that the "selection" for town sites there spoken of may be +either by public authority or by individuals:-- that the word is for +that reason designedly general, and without qualification, but must be +fixed by occupation. That act supposes public land to be "settled upon +and occupied as a town site," and "therefore" not subject to entry +under the existing preemption laws. This description identifies it +with the land "selected for the site of a city or town," in the +previous act. It limits the quantity so to be selected, that is, +settled or occupied, to three hundred and twenty acres, and otherwise +regulates the selection as hereinafter explained. It then provides how +such town site is to be entered and patented. If the town be +incorporated, then the entry is to be made by its corporate +authorities. If the town be not incorporated, then it may be entered +in the name of the judges of the county court of the county, in which +the projected town lies, "in trust for the several use and benefit of +the several occupants thereof, according to their respective +interests." Here we have express recognition of voluntary selection +and occupancy by individuals, and provision for means by which legal +title in their behalf may be acquired and patented. + +I am aware that by numerous statutes anterior to the act of 1841, +provision is made for the authoritative selection of town sites in +special cases; but such provisions do by no means exclude or +contradict the later enactment of a general provision of law to +comprehend all cases of selections for town sites, whether +authoritative or voluntary. I think the act of 1841, construed in the +light of the complementary act of 1844, as it must be, provides +clearly for both contingencies or conditions of the subject. Among the +anterior acts, however, is one of great importance and significancy +upon this point, more especially as that act received exposition at +the time from the proper departments of the Government. I allude to +the act of June 22d, 1838, entitled "An act to grant preemption rights +to settlers on the public lands." This act, like that of 1841, +contains a provision reserving certain lands from ordinary preemption, +among which are: + +"Any portions of public lands, surveyed or otherwise, which have been +actually selected as sites for cities or towns, lotted into smaller +quantities than eighty acres, and settled upon and occupied for the +purposes of trade, and not of agricultural cultivation and +improvement, or any land specially occupied or reserved for town lots, +or other purposes, by authority of the United States." (v Stat. at +Large, p. 251.) + +Here the "selection" generally, and the "selection" by authority are +each provided for eo nomine. It is obvious that the provision in the +latter case is made for certainty only; since, by the general rules of +statute construction, no ordinary claim of preemption could attach to +reservations made by authority of the United States. The effective +provision in the enactment quoted, must be selections not made by the +authority of the United States. + +In point of fact the provision was construed by the Department to +include all voluntary selections: lands, says the circular of the +General Land Office of July 8, 1838, "which settlers have selected +with a view of building thereon a village or city." + +It seems to me that the same considerations which induced this +construction of the word "selection" in the act of 1838, dictate a +similar construction of the same word in the subsequent act. Besides +which, when a word or words of a statute, which were of uncertain +signification originally, but which have been construed by the proper +authority, are repented in a subsequent statute, that is understood as +being not a repetition merely of the word with the received +construction, but an implied legislative adoption even of such +construction. + +II. The second question is of the construction of the act of 1844, +supplemental to that of 1841; and as the construction of the elder +derives aid from the language of the later one, so does that of the +latter from the former. The question is divisible into sub-questions. + +1. Does the phrase "that the entry (for a town-site) shall include +only such land as is actually occupied by the town," restrict the +entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or forty acre subdivisions +alone, on which houses have been erected as part of said town? + +2. What is the meaning of the phrase in the act "legal subdivisions of +the public lands," in "conformity" with which the entry must be made? + +I put the two acts together and find that they provide for a system of +preemptions for, among other things, agricultural occupation, +commercial or mechanical occupation, and municipal occupation. + +In regard to agricultural occupation, the laws provide that, in +certain cases and conditions, one person may preempt one hundred and +sixty acres, and that in regard to municipal occupation a plurality of +persons may, in certain cases and conditions, preempt three hundred +and twenty acres. In the latter contingency, there is no special +privilege as to quantity, but a disability rather; for two persons +together may preempt three hundred and twenty acres by agricultural +occupation, and afterwards convert the land into a town site, and four +persons together might in the same way secure six hundred and forty +acres, to be converted ultimately into the site of a town; while the +same four persons, selecting land for a town site, can take only three +hundred and twenty acres. In both forms the parties enter at the +minimum price of the public lands. The chief advantage which the +preemptors for municipal purposes enjoy, is, that they have by statute +a preference over agricultural preemptors, the land selected for a +town site being secured by statute against general and ordinary, that +is, agricultural preemption. In all other respects material to the +present inquiry, we may assume, for the argument's sake at least, that +the two classes stand on a footing of equality, as respects either the +convicting interests of third persons, or the rights of the +Government. + +Now, the rights of an agricultural preemptor we understand. He is +entitled, if he shall "make a settlement in person on the public +lands," and "shall inhabit and improve the same, and shall erect a +dwelling thereon," to enter, "by legal subdivisions, any number of +acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a quarter-section of +land, to include the residence of such claimant." (Act of 1841, s. +10.) And of two settlers on "the same quarter-section of land," the +earlier one is to have the preference. (Sec. 11.) + +Now, was it ever imagined that such claimant must personally inhabit +every quarter quarter-section of his claim? That he must have under +cultivation every quarter quarter-section? That he must erect a +dwelling on every quarter quarter-section? And that, if he failed to +do this, any such quarter of his quarter-section might be preempted by +a later occupant? + +There is no pretension that such is the condition of the ordinary +preemptor, and that he is thus held to inhabit, to cultivate, to dwell +on, every quarter quarter-section, under penalty of having it seized +by another preemptor, or entered in course by any public or private +purchaser. He is to provide, according to the regulations of the Land +Office or otherwise, indicia, by which the limits of his claim shall +be known,-- he must perform acts of possession or intended ownership +on the land, as notice to others; and that suffices to secure his +rights under the statute. It is not necessary for him to cultivate +every separate quarter of his quarter-section; it is not necessary for +him even to enclose each; it only needs that in good faith he take +possession, with intention of occupation and settlement, and proceed +in good faith to occupy and settle, in such time and in such manner, +as belong to the nature of agricultural occupation and settlement. + +Why should there be a different rule in regard to occupants for +municipal preemption? The latter is, by the very tenor of the law, the +preferred object. Why should those interested in it be subject to +special disabilities of competing occupancy? I cannot conceive. + +It is obvious that, in municipal settlement, as well as agricultural, +there must be space of time between the commencement and the +consummation of occupation. There will be a moment, when the equitable +right of the agricultural settler is fixed, although he have as yet +done nothing more in the way of inhabiting or improving than to cut a +tree or drive a stake into the earth. And it may be long before he +improves each one of all his quarter quarter-sections. So, in +principle, it is in the case of settlement for a town. We must deal +with such things according to their nature. Towns do not spring into +existence consummate and complete. Nor do they commence with eight +houses, systematically distributed, each in the centre of a forty-acre +lot. And in the case of a town settlement of three hundred and twenty +acres; as well as that of a farm site of one hundred and sixty acres, +all which can be lawfully requisite to communicate to the occupants +the right of preemption to the block of land, including every one of +its quarter quarter-sections,-- is improvement, or indication of the +improvement of the entire block,-- acts of possession or use regarding +it, consonant with the nature of the thing. That, in a farm, will be +the erection of a house and outhouses, cultivation, and use of +pasturage or woodland: in a town, it will be erecting houses or shops, +platting out the land, grading or opening streets, and the like signs +and marks of occupation or special destination. + +The same considerations lead to the conclusion that it would not be +just to confine the proofs of occupation to facts existing at its very +incipiency. The inchoate or equitable right, as against all others, +begins from the beginning of the occupation: the ultimate sufficiency +of that occupation is to be determined in part by subsequent facts, +which consummate the occupation, and also demonstrate its bona fides. +If it were otherwise, there would be an end of all the advantage +expressly given by the statute to priority of occupation. Take the +case of agricultural preemptions for example. A settler enters in good +faith upon a quarter-section for preemption; his entry, at first, +attaches physically to no more than the rood of land on which he is +commencing to construct a habitation. Is that entry confined in effect +to a single quarter quarter? Can other settlers, the next day, enter +upon all the adjoining quarter quarters, and thus limit the first +settler to the single quarter quarter on which his dwelling is +commenced? Is all proof of occupation in his case, when he comes to +prove up his title, to be confined to acts anterior to the date of +conflict? Clearly not. The inchoate title of the first occupant ripens +into a complete one by the series of acts on his part subsequent to +the original occupation. + +In the statement of the case prepared in your office, it is averred +that numerous precedents exist in the Land Office, not only of the +allowance of town preemptions as the voluntary selection of +individuals, but also of the application to such preemption claims of +the ordinary construction of the word "occupation" habitually applied +to agricultural preemption claims. That is to say, it has been the +practice of the Government, not to consider municipal occupation +"circumscribed by the forty-acre subdivisions actually built upon; * * +but that such occupation was (sufficiently) evidenced, either by an +actual survey, upon the ground, of said town into streets, alleys, and +blocks, or the publication of a plat of the same evidencing the +connection therewith of the public surveys, so as to give notice to +others of the extent of the town site:" all this, within the extreme +limits, of course, of the three hundred and twenty acres prescribed by +the statute. + +I think the practice of the Land Office in this respect, as thus +reported, is lawful and proper: it being understood, of course, that +thus the acts of alleged selection, possession, and occupation are +performed in perfect good faith. + +Something is hinted, in the report of the commissioner, as to the +speculation-character of the proposed town settlement,-- and, in the +official brief accompanying your letter, as to the +speculation-character of the proposed agricultural preemption. I +suppose it must be so, if the land in question has peculiar aptitude +for municipal uses. But how is that material? The object, in either +mode of attaining it, is a lawful one. Two persons may lawfully +preempt a certain quantity of land under the general law, and intend a +townsite without saying so; or they may preempt avowedly for a town +site. As between the two courses, both having the same ultimate +destination, it would not seem that there could be any cause of +objection to the more explicit one. + +So much for the first branch of the second question. As to the second +branch of it, the same line of reasoning leads to equally satisfactory +results. + +The municipal preemptor, like the agricultural preemptor, is required +to take his land in conformity with "the legal subdivisions of the +public lands." I apprehend the import of the requirement is the same +in both cases. Neither class of pre-emptors is to break the legal +subdivisions as surveyed. The preemptor of either case may take +fractional sections if he will, but he is in every case to run his +extreme lines with the lines of the surveyed subdivisions. In fine, as +it seems to me, there is nothing of the present case, in so far as +appears by the questions presented, and the official reports and +statement by which they are explained, except a convict of claim to +two or three sectional subdivisions of land between different sets of +preemptors, one set being avowed municipal preemptors, and the other +professed agricultural preemptors, but both sets having in reality the +same ulterior purposes in regard to the use of the land. The +Government has no possible concern in the controversy, except to deal +impartially between the parties according to law. The agricultural +preemptors contend that different rules of right as to the power of +individual or private occupation, and as to the criteria of valid +occupation, apply to them, as against their adversaries. The municipal +preemptors contend that the same rules of equal right, inceptive and +progressive, in these respects, apply to both classes of preemptors. I +think that the latter view of the law is correct, according to its +letter, its spirit; and the settled practice of the Government. + +The investigation of the facts of the case, and the application of the +law to the facts, are, of course, duties of your Department. + +I leave here the first and second questions; and, proposing to reply +at an early day on the third question, + +I have the honor to be, very respectfully, + + C. CUSHING. + +Hon. ROBERT McCLELLAND, + + Secretary of the Interior. + + THE END. + _______ + + ADVERTISEMENT. + +THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE. ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES. +Edited by C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. VOLUME VII. (8 vo.) now ready. +Washington: Published by R. Farnham. + +"In this series the proudest names of American law have found some +appropriate record of their labor and their wisdom. * * No student of +the law can find more valuable reading than in these opinions. We +would urge upon him to turn now and then from the common place reading +of the profession to the great studies which impart, to the law the +dignity of a science. If less immediate in the rewards they bring, +they are the only studies which can win for the legal aspirant the +true glory of a great lawyer."-- Monthly Law Reporter. + +"Mr. Andrews is entitled to the thanks of his professional brethren +for the very satisfactory manner in which he has presented these +opinions."-- American Law Register. + +"On such examination as I have been able to give it (Volume VI.), the +volume seems to me to be full of instruction; the argument most +clearly and fairly conducted; the researches thorough, and the +conclusions, in so far as I can form a judgment, just."-- Rufus +Choate. + +"But we should fail entirely in our object, of calling attention to +this work if we did not particularly commend it to the notice of the +statesman and the general reader. * * These volumes constitute a great +treatise on constitutional law; the work, not of one man, but of a +succession of able men from the age of Washington, who have examined +and revised each other. We regard it, therefore, as one of the most +valuable publications which has embellished our political and legal +literature."-- National Intelligencer. + +A TREATISE ON THE REVENUE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, in one volume, 8 +vo. By C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. (Soon to be published by Little, Brown and +Company. See their list of new Law Books.) + +REFLECTIONS ON THE OPERATION OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. By C. +C. ANDREWS, Esq. Boston: Crosby, Nichols and Company: 1853. + +"The substance of the pamphlet appeared some time since in a monthly +journal, and the author has now revised it and published it in a more +permanent form. His views are sensible, and well deserve attention."-- +Boston Daily Advertiser. + +"This is an earnest and well written essay; designed to remedy what +the writer justly regards an important defect in the present system of +education-namely, the want of a proper degree of moral instruction. +His observations evince an enlightened mind, as well as a +philanthropic spirit; and they deserve to be considerately pondered by +all whom they may concern."-- Puritan Recorder. + +"His practical remarks are of particular value, and show that the +author has devoted much thought to the topic of which he treats."-- +Boston Daily Atlas. + +"We have perused this publication with more than ordinary interest. +The object of the author is to suggest some remedies for the +acknowledged defects in the operation of our system of education. 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Andrews</title> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify; } + +blockquote {font-size:14pt} + +P {font-size:14pt} + +</style> +</head> +<body> + +<pre> +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Minnesota and Dacotah, by C.C. Andrews + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most +other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of +the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have +to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. + +Title: Minnesota and Dacotah + +Author: C.C. Andrews + +Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4981] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH *** + + + + +Produced by Jim Weiler, xooqi.com + + + + + + +</pre> + +<h1>MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH:</h1> + +<h4>IN</h4> + +<h4>Letters descriptive of a Tour through the North-West,</h4> + +<h4>IN THE AUTUMN OF 1856.</h4> + +<h4>WITH</h4> + +<h4>INFORMATION RELATIVE TO PUBLIC LANDS,</h4> + +<h4>AND</h4> + +<h4>A TABLE OF STATISTICS.</h4> + +<h4>By C. C. ANDREWS,</h4> + +<h4>COUNSELOR AT LAW; EDITOR OF THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE +ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.</h4> + +<blockquote>"From the forests and the prairies,<br> + Â From the great lakes of the Northland,<br> + Â From the land of the Ojibways,<br> + Â From the land of the Dacotahs." + +<p align="Right" class="right">Â LONGFELLOW</p> +</blockquote> + +<p align="Center" class="center">SECOND EDITION.<br> +W A S H I N G T O N:<br> +ROBERT FARNHAM<br> +1857</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h5>Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1857, +by</h5> + +<h5>C. C. ANDREWS,</h5> + +<h5>In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United +States, in and for the District of Columbia.</h5> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h4>PHILADELPHIA:</h4> + +<h4>STEREOTYPED BY E. B. MEARS.</h4> + +<h4>PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h4>THESE</h4> + +<h4>"Trivial Fond Records"</h4> + +<h4>ARE</h4> + +<h4>RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED</h4> + +<h4>TO THE</h4> + +<h4>YOUNG MEN OF MINNESOTA.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>INTRODUCTION.</h3> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="full">Â Â Â THE object of publishing these letters can be +very briefly stated.</p> + +<p>During the last autumn I made a tour into Minnesota, upwards +of a hundred and thirty miles north-west of St. Paul, to satisfy +myself as to the character and prospects of the territory. All I +could learn from personal observation, and otherwise, concerning +its society and its ample means of greatness, impressed me so +favorably as to the advantages still open to the settler, that I +put down in the form of letters such facts as I thought would be +of general interest. Since their publication— in the +<i>Boston, Post</i>— a few requests, which I could not +comply with, were made for copies of them all. I was led to +believe, therefore, that if I revised them and added information +relative to unoccupied lands, the method of preemption, and the +business interests of the territory, they would be worthy of +publication in a more permanent form. Conscious that what I have +written is an inadequate description of that splendid domain, I +shall be happy indeed to have contributed, in ever so small a +degree, to advance its growth and welfare.</p> + +<p>Here I desire to acknowledge the aid which has been readily +extended to my undertaking by the Delegate from Minnesota— +Hon. HENRY M. RICE— whose faithful and unwearied +services— I will take the liberty to add— in behalf of +the territory, merit the highest praise. I am also indebted for +valuable information to EARL S. GOODRICH, Esq., editor of the +<i>Daily Pioneer</i> (St. Paul) <i>and Democrat.</i></p> + +<p>In another place I give a list of the works which I have had +occasion to consult or refer to.</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">C. C. ANDREWS.</p> + +<p>Washington, January 1, 1857.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">LIST OF WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN +CONSULTED OR REFERRED TO IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS WORK.</p> + +<p class="full">Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, by +Major Z. M. PIKE vol. Philadelphia; 1807.</p> + +<p class="full">Travels to the Source of the Missouri River, by +Captains LEWIS and CLARKE. 3 vols. London: 1815.</p> + +<p class="full">Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter's +River, Lake Winnepek, &c., under command of Major STEPHEN H. +LONG 2 vols. Philadelphia: 1824.</p> + +<p class="full">British Dominions in North America. By JOSEPH +BOUCHETTE, Esq. 3 vols. London: 1832.</p> + +<p class="full">History of the Colonies of the British Empire. By +R. M. MARTIN, Esq. London; 1843.</p> + +<p class="full">Report on the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper +Mississippi, by J. N. NICOLLET. Senate Document 237, 2d Session, +26th Congress. Washington: 1843.</p> + +<p class="full">Report, of an Exploration of the Territory of +Minnesota, by Brevet Captain JOHN POPE, Corps Topographical +Engineers. Senate Document 42, 1st Session, 31st Congress. +Washington: 1850.</p> + +<p class="full">Sketches of Minnesota. By E. S. SEYMOUR. New +York: 1850.</p> + +<p class="full">Report on Colonial and Lake Trade, by ISRAEL D. +ANDREWS, Consul General of the United States for the British +Provinces. Executive Document 112, 1st Session, 32d Congress. +Washington: 1852.</p> + +<p class="full">History of the Discovery and Exploration of the +Mississippi River. By J. G. SHEA. New York: 1852.</p> + +<p class="full">Minnesota and its Resources. By J. WESLEY BOND. +New York: 1853.</p> + +<p class="full">Discovery of the Sources of the Mississippi +River. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT. Philadelphia: 1855.</p> + +<p class="full">Exploration and Surveys for a Railroad Route from +the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, made under the +direction of the Secretary of War in 1853-4, (including Reports +of Gov. Stevens and others.) Washington: 1855.</p> + +<p class="full">The Emigrant's Guide to Minnesota By an Old +Resident. 1 vol. St. Anthony: 1856.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">CONTENTS.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER I. BALTIMORE TO +CHICAGO.</p> + +<p class="full">Anecdote of a preacher— Monopoly of seats in +the cars— Detention in the night— Mountain scenery on +the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad— Voting in the cars— +Railroad refreshments— Political excitement— The +Virginian and the Fremonters— A walk in Columbus— +Indianapolis— Lafayette— Michigan City— +Chicago</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER II. CHICAGO TO ST. +PAUL.</p> + +<p class="full">Railroads to the Mississippi— Securing +passage on the steamboat— The Lady Franklin— Scenery of +the Mississippi— Hastings— Growth of settlements</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER III. CITY OF ST. +PAUL.</p> + +<p class="full">First settlement of St. Paul— +Population— Appearance of the city— Fuller House— +Visitors— Roads— Minneapolis— St. Anthony— +Suspension Bridge</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER IV. THE BAR.</p> + +<p class="full">Character of the Minnesota bar— Effect of +connecting land business with practice— Courts— Recent +Legislation of Congress as to the territorial judiciary— The +code of practice— Practice in land cases— Chances for +lawyers in the West— Charles O'Connor— Requisite +qualifications of a lawyer— The power and usefulness of a +great lawyer— Talfourd's character of Sir William +Follett— Blending law with politics— Services of +lawyers in deliberative assemblies</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER V. ST. PAUL TO CROW WING +IN TWO DAYS.</p> + +<p class="full">Stages— Roads— Rum River— Indian +treaty— Itasca— Sauk Rapids— Watab at +midnight— Lodging under difficulties— Little Rock +River— Character of Minnesota streams— Dinner at Swan +River— Little Falls— Fort Ripley— Arrival at Crow +Wing</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER VI. THE TOWN OF CROW +WING.</p> + +<p class="full">Scenery— First Settlement of Crow Wing— +Red Lake Indians— Mr. Morrison— Prospects of the +town— Upper navigation— Mr. Beaulieu— Washington's +theory as to Norfolk— Observations on the growth of +towns</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER VII. CHIPPEWA +INDIANS— HOLE-IN-THE-DAY.</p> + +<p class="full">Description of the Chippewa tribes— Their +habits and customs— Mission at Gull Lake— Progress in +farming— Visit to Hole-in-the-day— His enlightened +character— Reflections on Indian character, and the +practicability of their civilization— Their education— +Mr. Manypenny's exertions</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER VIII. LUMBERING +INTERESTS.</p> + +<p class="full">Lumber as an element of wealth— Quality of +Minnesota lumber— Locality of its growth— The great +pineries— Trespasses on government land— How the +lumbermen elude the government— Value of lumber— +Character of the practical lumberman— Transportation of +lumber on rafts</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER IX. SHORES OF LAKE +SUPERIOR.</p> + +<p class="full">Description of the country around Lake +Superior— Minerals— Locality of a commercial city— +New land districts— Buchanan— Ojibeway— +Explorations to the sources of the Mississippi— Henry R. +Schoolcraft— M. Nicollet's report— Resources of the +country above Crow Wing</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER X. VALLEY OF THE RED +RIVER OF THE NORTH.</p> + +<p class="full">Climate of Minnesota— The settlement at +Pembina— St. Joseph— Col. Smith's expedition— Red +River of the North— Fur trade— Red River +Settlement— The Hudson's Bay Company— Ex-Gov. Ramsey's +observations— Dacotah</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XI. THE TRUE PIONEER.</p> + +<p class="full">Energy of the pioneer— Frontier life— +Spirit of emigration— Advantages to the farmer in moving +West— Advice in regard to making preemption claims— +Abstract of the preemption law— Hints to the settler— +Character and services of the pioneer</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XII. SPECULATION AND +BUSINESS.</p> + +<p class="full">Opportunities to select farms— Otter Tail +Lake— Advantages of the actual settler over the +speculator— Policy of new states as to taxing +non-residents— Opportunities to make money— Anecdote of +Col. Perkins— Mercantile business— Price of money— +Intemperance— Education— The free school</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XIII. CROW WING TO ST. +CLOUD.</p> + +<p class="full">Pleasant drive in the stage— Scenery— +The past— Fort Ripley Ferry— Delay at the Post +Office— Belle Prairie— A Catholic priest— Dinner +at Swan River— Potatoes— Arrival at Watab— St. +Cloud</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XIV. ST. CLOUD— THE +PACIFIC TRAIL.</p> + +<p class="full">Agreeable visit at St. Cloud— Description of +the place— Causes of the rapid growth of towns— Gen. +Lowry— The back country— Gov. Stevens's report— +Mr. Lambert's views— Interesting account of Mr. A. W. +Tinkham's exploration</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XV. ST. CLOUD TO ST. +PAUL.</p> + +<p class="full">Importance of starting early— Judge Story's +theory of early rising— Rustic scenery— Horses and +mules— Surveyors— Humboldt— Baked fish— +Getting off the track— Burning of hay stacks— Supper at +St. Anthony— Arrival at the Fuller House</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTER XVI. PROGRESS.</p> + +<p class="full">Rapid growth of the North-West— Projected +railroads— Territorial system of the United States— +Inquiry into the cause of Western progress— Influence of +just laws and institutions— Lord Bacon's remark</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF +DACOTAH.</p> + +<p class="full">Organization of Minnesota as a state— +Suggestions as to its division— Views of Captain Pope— +Character and resources of the new territory to be left +adjoining— Its occupation by the Dacotah Indians— Its +organization and name</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LAND OFFICES AND LAND +OFFICERS</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN +MINNESOTA</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">TABLE OF DISTANCES</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">PRE-EMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN +SITES</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">PART I.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LETTERS ON MINNESOTA.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>LETTER I.</h3> + +<h4>BALTIMORE TO CHICAGO.</h4> + +<p class="full">Anecdote of a preacher— Monopoly of seats in +the cars— Detention in the night— Mountain scenery on +the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad— Voting in the cars— +Railroad refreshments— Political excitement— The +Virginian and the Fremonters— A walk in Columbus— +Indianapolis— Lafayette— Michigan City— +Chicago.</p> + +<p class="full">CHICAGO, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I SIT down at the first place where a pen can be used, to give +you some account of my trip to Minnesota. And if any one should +complain that this is a dull letter, let me retain his good-will +by the assurance that the things I expect to describe in my next +will be of more novelty and interest. And here I am reminded of a +good little anecdote which I am afraid I shall not have a better +chance to tell. An eminent minister of the Gospel was preaching +in a new place one Sunday, and about half through his sermon when +two or three dissatisfied hearers got up to leave, "My friends," +said he, "I have one small favor to ask. As an attempt has been +made to prejudice my reputation in this vicinity, I beg you to be +candid enough, if any one asks how you liked my sermon, to say +you didn't stop to hear me through."</p> + +<p>Stepping into the cars on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad a +few evenings ago— for I am not going to say anything of my +trip further east— I saw as great an exhibition of +selfishness as one often meets in travelling. This was in the +rear car, the others being all crowded. The seats were spacious, +and had high backs for night travelling. A gentleman entered the +car and proposed to sit in a seat in which was only one child, +but he was informed by a feminine voice in the rear that the +whole seat was taken— so he advanced to the next seat, which +was occupied by another child, a boy about eight years old— +again the same voice, confirmed by one of the other sex, informed +him in very decided terms that that also was wholly occupied. The +gentleman of course did not attempt to take a seat with this +lady, but advancing still further, in a seat behind her he saw +another child the only occupant. His success here was no better. +The fact was, here was a family of a husband, wife, and three +children occupying five entire seats. The traveller politely +asked if it would not be convenient for two of the children to +sit together. "No," said the lady and her husband (and they spoke +together, though they didn't sit together), "the children want +all the room so as to sleep." The traveller betrayed no feeling +until the husband aforesaid pointed out for him a seat next to a +colored woman who sat alone near the door of the car, some little +distance off. It was quite apparent, and it was the fact, that +this colored woman was the servant of the family; and the +traveller appeared to think that, although as an "original +question" he might not object to the proffered seat, yet it was +not civil for a man to offer him what he would not use himself. +The scene closed by the traveller's taking a seat with another +gentleman, I mention this incident because it is getting to be +too common for people to claim much more room than belongs to +them, and because I have seen persons who are modest and unused +to travelling subjected to considerable annoyance in consequence. +Moreover, conductors are oftentimes fishing so much after +popularity, that they wink at misconduct in high life.</p> + +<p>Somewhere about midnight, along the banks of the Potomac, and, +if I remember right, near the town of Hancock, the cars were +detained for three hours. A collision had occurred twelve hours +before, causing an extensive destruction of cars and freight, and +heavy fragments of both lay scattered over the track. Had it not +been for the skilful use of a steam-engine in dragging off the +ruins, we must have waited till the sun was up. Two or three +large fires were kindled with the ruins, so that the scene of the +disaster was entirely visible. And the light shining in the midst +of the thick darkness, near the river, with the crowd of people +standing around, was not very romantic, perhaps not +picturesque— but it was quite novel; and the novelty of the +scene enabled us to bear with greater patience the gloomy +delay.</p> + +<p>The mountain scenery in plain sight of the traveller over the +Baltimore and Ohio road is more extensive and protracted, and I +think as beautiful, as on any road in the United States. There +are as wild places seen on the road across Tennessee from +Nashville, and as picturesque scenes on the Pennsylvania Central +road— perhaps the White Mountains as seen from the Atlantic +and St. Lawrence road present a more sublime view— but I +think on the road I speak of, there is more gorgeous mountain +scenery than on any other. On such routes one passes through a +rude civilization. The settlements are small and scattered, +exhibiting here and there instances of thrift and contentment, +but generally the fields are small and the houses in proportion. +The habits of the people are perhaps more original than +primitive. It was along the route that I saw farmers gathering +their corn on sleds. The cheerful scene is often witnessed of the +whole family— father, mother, and children— at work +gathering the crops. These pictures of cottage life in the +mountain glens, with the beautiful variegated foliage of October +for groundwork, are objects which neither weary nor satiate our +sight.</p> + +<p>The practice of taking a vote for presidential candidates in +the cars has been run into the ground. By this I mean that it has +been carried to a ridiculous excess. So far I have had occasion +to vote several times. A man may be indifferent as to expressing +his vote when out of his state; but a man's curiosity must have +reached a high pitch when he travels through a train of cars to +inquire how the passengers vote. It is not uncommon, I find, for +people to carry out the joke by voting with their real opponents. +Various devices are resorted to to get a unanimous vote. For +example, a man will say, "All who are in favor of Buchanan take +off their boots; all in favor of Fremont keep them on." Again, +when there are several passengers on a stage-coach out west, and +they are passing under the limbs of a tree, or low bridge, as +they are called, it is not unusual far a Fremont man to say, "All +in favor of Fremont bow their heads."</p> + +<p>I have a word to say about refreshments on railroad routes. It +is, perhaps, well known that the price for a meal anywhere on a +railroad in the United States is fifty cents. That is the uniform +price. Would that the meals were as uniform! But alas! a man +might as well get a quid of tobacco with his money, for he seldom +gets a <i>quid pro quo</i>. Once in a couple of days' travel you +may perhaps get a wholesome meal, but as a general thing what you +get (when you get out of New England) isn't worth over a dime. +You stop at a place, say for breakfast, after having rode all +night. The conductor calls out, "Twenty minutes for breakfast." +There is a great crowd and a great rush, of course. Well, the +proprietor expects there will be a crowd, and ought to be +prepared. But how is it? Perhaps you are lucky enough to get a +seat at the table. Then your chance to get something to eat is as +one to thirteen: for as there is nothing of any consequence on +the table, your luck depends on your securing the services of a +waiter who at the same time is being called on by about thirteen +others as hungry as yourself. Then suppose you succeed! First +comes a cup of black coffee, strong of water; then a piece of +tough fried beef steak, some fried potatoes, a heavy +biscuit— a little sour (and in fact everything is sour but +the pickles). You get up when you have finished eating— it +would be a mockery to say when you have satisfied your +appetite— and at the door stand two muscular men +(significantly the proprietor is aware of the need of such) with +bank bills drawn through their fingers, who are prepared to +receive your 50c. It is not unusual to hear a great deal of +indignation expressed by travellers on such occasions. No man has +a right to grumble at the fare which hospitality sets before him. +But when he buys a dinner at a liberal price, in a country where +provisions are abundant, he has a right to expect something which +will sustain life and health. Those individuals who have the +privilege of furnishing meals to railroad travellers probably +find security in the reflection that their patronage does not +depend on the will of their patrons. But the evil can be remedied +by the proprietors and superintendents of the roads, and the +public will look for a reformation in dinners and suppers at +their hands.</p> + +<p>I might say that from Benwood, near Wheeling— where I +arrived at about four in the afternoon, having been nearly +twenty-four hours coming 875 miles— I passed on to +Zanesville to spend the night; thinking it more convenient, as it +surely was, to go to bed at eleven at night and start the next +morning at eight, than to go to bed at Wheeling at nine, or when +I chose, and start again at two in the morning. The ride that +evening was pleasant. The cars were filled with lusty yeomen, all +gabbling politics. There was an overwhelming majority for +Fremont. Under such circumstances it was a virtue for a Buchanan +man to show his colors. There was a solid old Virginian aboard; +and his open and intelligent countenance— peculiar, it seems +to me, to Virginia— denoted that he was a good-hearted man. +I was glad to see him defend his side of politics with so much +zeal against the Fremonters. He argued against half a dozen of +them with great spirit and sense. In spite of the fervor of his +opponents, however, they treated him with proper respect and +kindness. It was between eleven and twelve when I arrived at +Zanesville. I hastened to the Stacy House with my friend, J. E B. +(a young gentleman on his way to Iowa, whose acquaintance I +regard it as good luck to have made). The Stacy House could give +us lodgings, but not a mouthful of refreshments. As the next best +thing, we descended to a restaurant, which seemed to be in a very +drowsy condition, where we soon got some oyster and broiled +chicken, not however without paying for it an exorbitant price. I +rather think, however, I shall go to the Stacy House again when +next I visit Zanesville, for, on the whole, I have no fault to +find with it. Starting at eight the next morning, we were four +hours making the distance (59 miles) from Zanesville to Columbus. +The road passes through a country of unsurpassed loveliness. +Harvest fields, the most luxuriant, were everywhere in view. At +nearly every stopping-place the boys besieged us with delicious +apples and grapes, too tempting to be resisted. We had an hour to +spend at Columbus, which, after booking our names at the Neil +House for dinner— and which is a capital house— we +partly spent in a walk about the city. It is the capital of the +state, delightfully situated on the Scioto river, and has a +population in the neighborhood of 20,000. The new Capitol there +is being built on a scale of great magnificence. Though the heat +beat down intensely, and the streets were dusty, we were "bent on +seeing the town." We— my friend B. and myself— had +walked nearly half a mile down one of the fashionable streets for +dwellings, when we came to a line which was drawn across the +sidewalk in front of a residence, which, from the appearance, +might have belonged to one of the upper-ten. The line was in +charge of two or three little girls, the eldest of whom was not +over twelve. She was a bright-eyed little miss, and had in her +face a good share of that metal which the vulgar think is +indispensable to young lawyers. We came to a gradual pause at +sight of this novel obstruction. "Buchanan, Fillmore, or +Fremont?" said she, in a tone of dogmatical interrogatory. B. was +a fervid Fremonter— he probably thought she was— so he +exclaimed, "Vermont for ever!" I awaited the sequel in silence. +"Then you may go round," said the little female politician. "You +may go round," and round we went, not a little amused at such an +exhibition of enthusiasm. I remember very well the excitement +during the campaign of 1840; and I did my share with the New +Hampshire boys in getting up decoy cider barrels to humbug the +Whigs as they passed in their barouches to attend some great +convention or hear Daniel Webster. But it seems to me there is +much more political excitement during this campaign than there +was in 1840. Flagstaffs and banners abound in the greatest +profusion in every village. Every farm-house has some token of +its polities spread to the breeze.</p> + +<p>At twenty minutes past one— less or more— we left +Columbus, and after travelling 158 miles, <i>via</i> Dayton, we +came to Indianapolis, the great "Railroad City," as it is called, +of the west. It was half past nine when we arrived there. I did +not have time to go up to the Bates House, where I once had the +pleasure of stopping, but concluded to get supper at a hotel near +the depot, where there was abundant time to go through the +ceremony of eating. It strikes me that Indianapolis would be an +agreeable place to reside in. There are some cities a man feels +at home in as soon as he gets into them; there are others which +make him homesick; just as one will meet faces which in a moment +make a good impression on him, or which leave a dubious or +disagreeable impression. That city has 16,000 people. Its streets +are wide, and its walks convenient. All things denote enterprise, +liberality, and comfort. It is 210 miles from Indianapolis to +this city, <i>via</i> Lafayette and Michigan City. We ought to +have made the time in less than twelve hours, and, but for +protracted detentions at Lafayette and Michigan City, we would +have done so. We reached the latter place at daylight, and there +waited about the depot in dull impatience for the Detroit and +Chicago train. It is the principal lake harbor in Indiana.</p> + +<p>It is about two years since I was last in Chicago; and as I +have walked about its streets my casual observation confirms the +universal account of its growth and prosperity. I have noticed +some new and splendid iron and marble buildings in the course of +completion. Chicago is a great place to find old acquaintances. +For its busy population comprises citizens from every section of +the United States, and from every quarter of the globe. The +number of its inhabitants is now estimated at 100,000. Everybody +that can move is active. It is a city of activity. Human thoughts +are all turned towards wealth. All seem to he contending in the +race for riches: some swift and daring on the open course; some +covertly lying low for a by-path. You go along the streets by +jerks: down three feet to the street here; then up four slippery +steps to the sidewalk there. Here a perfect crowd and +commotion— almost a mob— because the drawbridge is up. +You would think there was a wonderful celebration coming off at +twelve, and that everybody was hurrying through his work to be in +season for it. Last year 20,000,000 bushels of grain were brought +into Chicago. Five years ago there were not a hundred miles of +railroad in the state of Illinois. Now there are more than two +thousand. Illinois has all the elements of empire. Long may its +great metropolis prosper!</p> + +<h3>LETTER II.</h3> + +<h4>CHICAGO TO ST. PAUL.</h4> + +<p class="full">Railroads to the Mississippi— Securing +passage on the steamboat— The Lady Franklin— Scenery of +the Mississippi— Hastings— Growth of settlements</p> + +<p>ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>HOW short a time it is since a railroad to the Mississippi was +thought a wonder! And now within the state of Illinois four +terminate on its banks. Of course I started on one of these roads +from Chicago to get to Dunleith. I think it is called the Galena +and Chicago Union Road. A good many people have supposed Galena +to be situated on the Mississippi river, and indeed railroad map +makers have had it so located as long as it suited their +convenience— (for they have a remarkable facility in +annihilating distance and in making crooked ways straight)— +yet the town is some twelve miles from the great river on a +narrow but navigable stream. The extent and importance of +Rockford, Galena, and Dunleith cannot fail to make a strong +impression on the traveller. They are towns of recent growth, and +well illustrate that steam-engine sort of progress peculiar +now-a-days in the west. Approaching Galena we leave the region of +level prairie and enter a mineral country of naked bluffs or +knolls, where are seen extensive operations in the lead mines. +The trip from Chicago to Dunleith at the speed used on most other +roads would be performed in six hours, but ten hours are usually +occupied, for what reason I cannot imagine. However, the train is +immense, having on board about six or seven hundred first class +passengers, and two-thirds as many of the second class. +Travelling in the cars out west is not exactly what it is between +Philadelphia and New York, or New York and Boston, in this +respect: that in the West more families are found, in the cars, +and consequently more babies and carpet bags.</p> + +<p>It may not be proper to judge of the health of a community by +the appearance of people who are seen standing about a railroad +station; yet I have often noticed, when travelling through +Illinois, that this class had pale and sickly countenances, +showing too clearly the traces of fever and ague.</p> + +<p>But I wish to speak about leaving the cars at Dunleith and +taking the steamboat for St. Paul. There is a tremendous rush for +the boats in order to secure state-rooms. Agents of different +boats approach the traveller, informing him all about their line +of boats, and depreciating the opposition boats. For instance, an +agent, or, if you please, a runner of a boat called Lucy— +not Long— made the assertion on the levee with great zeal +and perfect impunity that no other boat but the said Lucy would +leave for St. Paul within twenty-four hours; when it must have +been known to him that another boat on the mail line would start +that same evening, as was actually the fact. But the activity of +the runners was needless; for each boat had more passengers than +it could well accommodate. I myself went aboard the " Lady +Franklin," one of the mail boats, and was accommodated with a +state-room. But what a scene is witnessed for the first two hours +after the passengers begin to come aboard! The cabin is almost +filled, and a dense crowd surrounds the clerk's office, just as +the ticket office of a theatre is crowded on a benefit night. Of +course not more than half can get state-rooms and the rest must +sleep on the cabin floor. Over two hundred cabin passengers came +up on the Lady Franklin. The beds which are made on the floor are +tolerably comfortable, as each boat is supplied with an extra +number of single mattresses. The Lady Franklin is an old boat, +and this is said to be its last season.<sup>1</sup> Two years ago +it was one of the excursion fleet to St. Paul, and was then in +its prime. But steamboats are short lived. We had three tables +set, and those who couldn't get a seat at the first or second sat +at the third. There was a choice you may believe, for such was +the havoc made with the provisions at the first table that the +second and third were not the most inviting. It was amusing to +see gentlemen seat themselves in range of the plates as soon as +they were laid, and an hour before the table was ready. But the +officers were polite— as is generally the case on steamboats +till you get down to the second mate— and in the course of a +day or two, when the passengers begin to be acquainted, the time +wears away pleasantly. We were nearly four days in making the +trip. The line of boats of which the Lady Franklin is one, +carries the mail at fifty dollars a trip. During the boating +season I believe the fare varies from seven to ten dollars to St. +Paul.<sup>2</sup> This season there have been two lines of boats +running to Minnesota. All of them have made money fast; and next +season many more boats will run. The "Northern Belle" is the best +boat this season, and usually makes the trip up in two days. The +advertised time is thirty hours.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 Three weeks after this trip the Lady +Franklin was snagged, and became a total toss.]</p> + +<p class="footnote">[2 The following is a table of distances from +Galena to St. Paul:</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dubuque,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">24</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dunleith,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">25</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Potosi Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">14</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">39</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waupaton,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">49</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Buena Vista,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">54</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cassville,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">58</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Guttenberg,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">68</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clayton,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wyalusing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">85</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">McGregor's,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">91</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Prairie du Chien,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">95</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red House,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">100</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Johnson's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">102</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lafayette,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">132</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Columbus,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">134</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lansing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">135</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">De Soto,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">141</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Victory,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">151</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Badaxe City,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">161</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Warner's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">167</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Brownsville,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">177</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">La Crosse,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">189</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dacotah,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">201</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Richmond,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">207</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Monteville,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">212</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Homer,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">222</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">229</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fountain City,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">241</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mount Vernon,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">14</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">255</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minneiska,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">259</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alma,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">15</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">274</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wabashaw,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">284</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Nelson's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">287</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reed's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">289</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Foot of Lake Pepin,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">291</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">North Pepin,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">297</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Johnstown,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">299</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lake City,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">304</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Central Point,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">306</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Florence,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">309</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Maiden Rock,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">312</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Westerville,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">315</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wacouta,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">327</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Wing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">333</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Thing's Landing,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">340</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Diamond bluff,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">8</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">348</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Prescott,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">13</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">361</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Point Douglass,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">362</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hastings,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">365</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grey Cloud,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">377</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pine Bend,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">381</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Rock,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">8</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">389</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kaposia,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">392</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul,</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">397</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +] + +<p>The scenery on the upper Mississippi is reputed to be +beautiful. So it is. Yet all river scenery is generally +monotonous. One gets tired of looking at high rocky ridges quite +as quickly as at more tame and tranquil scenery. The bluffs on +either side of the Mississippi, for most of the way between +Dunleith and St. Anthony's Falls, constitute some of the most +beautiful river scenery in the world. It is seldom that they rise +over two hundred feet from the water level, and their height is +quite uniform, so that from a distant point of view their summit +resembles a huge fortification. Nor, as a general thing, do they +present a bold or rocky front. The rise from the river is +gradual. Sometimes they rise to a sharp peak, towards the top of +which crops out in half circles heavy ridges of limestone. The +ravines which seem to divide them into separate elevations, are +more thickly wooded, and appear to have been grooved out by the +rolling down of deep waters. The most attractive feature of these +bluffs— or miniature mountains, as they might be +called— is their smooth grassy surface, thinly covered over +with shade trees of various kinds. Whoever has seen a large +orchard on a hill side can imagine how the sides of these bluffs +look. At this season of the year the variegated foliage of the +trees gives them a brilliant appearance. It is quite rare to see +a bluff which rises gradually enough to admit of its being a good +town site. Hence it is that settlements on the banks of the river +will never be very numerous. Nature has here interposed against +that civilization which adorns the lower Mississippi. It appears +to me that all the available points for town sites on the river +are taken up as far as the bluffs extend; and some of these will +require a great amount of excavation before they can grow to +importance.</p> + +<p>But there are several thrifty and pleasant villages in +Minnesota, on the river, before reaching St. Paul. The first one +of importance is Brownsville, where, for some time, was a United +States land office. It is 168 miles above Dunleith. Winona, 58 +miles farther up, is a larger town. It is said to contain 5000 +population. There is a land office there also. But the town +stands on land which, in very high water, will run too much risk +of inundation. Passing by several other landings and germs of +towns, we come to Wacouta, ninety-eight miles above; which is a +successful lumber depot. Six miles further on is Red Wing, a +place which delighted me on account of its cheerful location. It +is growing quite fast, and is the seat of a large Methodist +seminary. But the town of Hastings, thirty-two miles above, +eclipses everything but St. Paul. It is finely located on rising +ground, and the river is there narrow and deep. The boat stopped +here an hour, and I had a good opportunity to look about the +place. The town appears to have considerable trade with the back +country. Its streets are laid out with regularity; its stores and +buildings are spacious, durable, and neat. I heard that over +$2000 were asked for several of the building lots. A little way +into the interior of the town I saw men at work on a stone +church; and approaching the spot, I determined to make some +inquiries of a boy who was briskly planing boards. First, I asked +how much the church was going to cost? About $3000, he +replied.</p> + +<p>"Are there any other churches in the place?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, up there, where they are building."</p> + +<p>"What denomination is that?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know," he responded. "I only came into the place +yesterday."</p> + +<p>I thought he was doing well to begin to build churches so soon +after his arrival. And from his countenance, I have no doubt he +will do well, and become a useful citizen of the state. Hastings +has its democratic press— the Dakota Journal, edited by J. +C. Dow, a talented young man from New Hampshire. The population +of the town is about two thousand. It is thirty-two miles below +St. Paul, on the west side of the river. There is nothing of +especial interest between the two places.</p> + +<p>The great panorama which time paints is but a species of +dissolving views. It is but as yesterday since the present sites +of towns and cities on the shores just referred to showed only +the rude huts of Indian tribes. To-day, the only vestige left +there of the Indian are his burying-grounds. Hereafter the +rudeness of pioneer life shall be exchanged for a more genial +civilization, and the present, then the past, will be looked back +to as trivial by men still yearning for the future.</p> + +<h3>LETTER III.</h3> + +<h4>CITY OF ST. PAUL.</h4> + +<p class="full">First settlement of St. Paul— +Population— Appearance of the city— Fuller House— +Visitors— Roads— Minneapolis— St. Anthony— +Suspension Bridge.</p> + +<p>FULLER HOUSE, ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>THE circumstance of finding a good spring of water first led +to the settlement of Boston. It would not be unreasonable to +suppose that a similar advantage induced the first settler of St. +Paul to locate here; for I do not suppose its pioneers for a long +while dreamed of its becoming a place even of its present +importance. And here let me mention that St. Paul is not on the +west side of the Mississippi, but on the east. Though it is +rather too elevated and rough in its natural state to have been +coveted for a farm, it is yet just such a spot as a pioneer would +like to plant himself upon, that he might stand in his door and +have a broad and beautiful view towards the south and west. And +when the speculator came he saw that it was at the head of +navigation of what be thought was the Upper Mississippi, but +which in reality is only the Middle Mississippi. Then stores were +put up, small and rude, and trade began to increase with settlers +and hunters of furs. Then came the organization of the territory, +and the location of the capital here, so that St. Paul began to +thrive still more from the crumbs which fell from the government +table, as also by that flood of emigration which nothing except +the Rocky Mountains has ever stayed from entering a new +territory. And now it has passed its doubtful era. It has passed +from its wooden to its brick age. Before men are certain of the +success of a town, they erect one story pine shops; but when its +success appears certain, they build high blocks of brick or +granite stores. So now it is common to see four and five story +brick or stone buildings going up in St. Paul.</p> + +<p>I believe this city numbers at present about 10,000 +population. It is destined to increase for a few years still more +rapidly than it has heretofore. But that it will be a second +Chicago is what I do not expect. It would certainly seem that the +high prices demanded for building lots must retard the progress +of the place; but I am told the prices have always been as high +in proportion to the business and number of population. $500 and +upwards is asked for a decent building lot in remote parts of the +town.</p> + +<p>I have had an agreeable stroll down upon the bluff, south-east +from the city, and near the elegant mansion of Mr. Dayton. The +first engraving of St. Paul was made from a view taken at that +point. As I stood looking at the city, I recalled the picture in +Mr. Bond's work, and contrasted its present with the appearance +it had three or four years ago. What a change! Three or four +steamers were lying at the levee; steam and smoke were shooting +forth from the chimneys of numerous manufactories; a ferry was +plying the Mississippi, transporting teams and people; church +steeples and domes and great warehouses stood in places which +were vacant as if but yesterday; busy streets had been built and +peopled; rows of splendid dwellings and villas, adorned with +delightful terraces and gardens, had been erected. I went out on +Sunday morning too, and the view was none the less pleasant. +Business was silent; but the church bells were ringing out their +sweet and solemn melody, and the mellow sunlight of autumn +glittered on the bright roofs and walls in the city. The whole +scene revealed the glorious image of that ever advancing +civilization which springs from well rewarded labor and general +intelligence.</p> + +<p>Like all new and growing places in the west, St. Paul has its +whiskey shops, its dusty and dirty streets, its up and down +sidewalks, and its never-ceasing whirl of business. Yet it has +its churches, well filled; its spacious school-houses; its daily +newspapers; and well-adorned mansions. There are many cottages +and gardens situated on the most elevated part of the city, north +and west, which would not suffer by a comparison with those +cheerful and elegant residences so numerous for six to ten miles +around Boston. From the parlors of these homes one may look down +upon the city and upon the smooth bosom of the river. In the +streets, too, you see much evidence of opulence and luxury, in +the shape of handsome carriages, which are set out to advantage +by a first-rate quality of horses.</p> + +<p>One element of the success of this city is the public spirit +of its leading business men. They have put their hands deep into +their pockets to improve and advance the place. In all their +rivalry there is an amicable feeling and boundless liberality. +They help him that tries to help himself, and help each other in +a way that will help them all together; and such kind of +enterprises produces grand results. Why, here is a new hotel (the +Fuller House) at which I stop, which is surpassed but by very few +hotels in the country. It is a first-class house, built of brick, +five stories high, and of much architectural beauty. The building +itself cost upwards of $100,000, and its furniture over $30,000. +Its proprietor is Mr. Long, who has already had good success in +this sort of business. One can well imagine the comfort of +finding such a house at the end of a long and tedious journey in +a new country.</p> + +<p>It is estimated that 28,000 people have visited and left St. +Paul during the present season. During July and August the travel +diminishes, but as soon as autumn sets in it comes on again in +daily floods. It is really a novel and interesting state of +things one finds on his arrival at the hotel. There are so many +people from so many different places! Then everybody is a +stranger to almost everybody, and therefore quite willing to get +acquainted with somebody. Everybody wants a bit of information on +some point. Everybody is going to some place where he thinks +somebody has been or is going, and so a great many new +acquaintances are made without ceremony or delay; and old +acquaintances are revived. I find people who have come from all +sections of the country— from the east and the west, and +from the south— not adventurers merely, but men of substance +and means, who seek a healthier climate and a pleasant home. Nor +can I here omit to mention the meeting of my friend, Col. A. J. +Whitney, who is one of the pioneers of Minnesota, and with whom I +had two years before travelled over the western prairies. A. H. +Marshall, Esq., of Concord, N. H., well known as a popular +speaker, is also here on a visit.</p> + +<p>But what are the roads leading from St. Paul, and what are the +facilities of travel to places beyond? These are questions which +I suppose some would like to have answered. There is a road to +Stillwater, and a stage, which I believe runs daily. That is the +route now often taken to Lake Superior. This morning three men +came in on that stage from Superior, who have been a week on the +journey. The great highway of the territory extends as far as +Crow Wing, 130 miles north of here. It passes St. Anthony and +several important towns on the eastern bank of the Mississippi. +In a day or two I intend to take a journey as far as Crow Wing, +and I can then write with more knowledge on the subject.</p> + +<p>A very pretty drive out of St. Paul is by the cave. This is an +object worth visiting, and is about two miles out of the city. +Three or four miles beyond are the beautiful falls of Minnehaha, +or laughing water. The drive also takes in Fort Snelling. St. +Anthony is on the east side of the Mississippi; Minneapolis is +opposite, on the west side. Both places are now large and +populous. The main street of St. Anthony is over a mile in +length. One of the finest water powers in the Union is an element +of growth to both towns. The lumber which is sawed there is +immense. A company is undertaking to remove the obstructions to +navigation in the river between St. Paul and St. Anthony. $20,000 +were raised for the purpose; one-half by the Steamboat Company, +and the other half by the people of St. Anthony. The suspension +bridge which connects Minneapolis with St. Anthony is familiar to +all. It is a fit type of the enterprise of the people. I forget +the exact sum I paid as toll when I walked across the +bridge— perhaps it was a dime; at any rate I was struck with +the answer given by the young man who took the toll, in reply to +my inquiry as I returned, if my coming back wasn't included in +the toll paid going over? " No," said he, in a very good-natured +way, "we don't know anything about coming back; <i>it's all go +ahead in this country."</i></p> + +<h3>LETTER IV.</h3> + +<h4>THE BAR.</h4> + +<p class="full">Character of the Minnesota bar— Effect of +connecting land business with practice— Courts— Recent +legislation of Congress as to the territorial judiciary— The +code of practice— Practice in land cases— Chances for +lawyers in the West— Charles O'Connor— Requisite +qualifications of a lawyer— The power and usefulness of a +great lawyer— Talfourd's character of Sir William +Follett— Blending law with politics— Services of +lawyers in deliberative assemblies</p> + +<p>ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I HAVE not yet been inside of a court of justice, nor seen a +case tried, since I have been in the territory. But it has been +my pleasure to meet one of the judges of the supreme court and +several prominent members of the bar. My impression is, that in +point of skill and professional ability the Minnesota bar is a +little above the average of territorial bars. Here, as in the +West generally, the practice is common for lawyers to mix with +their profession considerable miscellaneous business, such as the +buying and selling of land. The law is too jealous a mistress to +permit any divided love, and therefore it cannot be expected that +really good lawyers will be found in the ranks of general +business agents and speculators. In other words, a broker's +office is not a lawyer's office. There are some lawyers here who +have attended strictly to the profession, who are ornaments of +it, and who have met with good success. The idea has been common, +and as fatal as common, that success in legal practice could be +easily attained in the West with a small amount of skill and +learning. It is true that a poor lawyer aided by some good +qualities will sometimes rise to affluence and eminence, though +such cases are exceptions. There are able layers in the West, +and, though practice may be less formal and subtle than in older +communities, ability and skill find their relative advancement +and reward, while ignorance and incapacity have their downward +tendency just as they do everywhere else. The fees for +professional services are liberal, being higher than in the East. +Before an attorney can be admitted to practise he must have an +examination by, or under the direction of, one of the judges of +the supreme court. The provisions of the territorial statutes are +quite strict in their tendency to maintain upright practice.</p> + +<p>An act of the present congress has created a revolution in the +courts of the territory. The organic act, SS 9, provided that the +territory should be divided into three judicial districts; "and a +district court shall be held in each of said districts by one of +the justices of the supreme court, at such times and places <i>as +may be prescribed by law."</i> This meant, I suppose, at such +times and places as the territorial legislature should prescribe. +Accordingly, as population increased and extended, and as +counties were established, the territorial legislature increased +the places in each district for holding the district court. +Either on account of the expense or for some other cause congress +has just stepped aside from the doctrine of non-intervention (ch. +124, sec. 5), and abrogated the territorial legislation so far as +to provide that there shall be but one place in each of the three +districts for holding a district court. The act applies to all +territories. In a territory of five or six hundred miles in +extent it is of course inconvenient to have but three places for +holding courts. The Minnesotians complain that it is an +interference with popular sovereignty. It is possible the +legislature might have gone to an extreme in creating places for +holding courts; and I suppose the judges were kept on the march a +good deal of the time. It also looks as if the remedy by congress +was extreme. The people say it is a coercive measure to drive +them into a state organization.</p> + +<p>The administration of justice is secured by a system which is +now common to all the territories, with the exception of Kansas. +The supreme court consists of the three district judges in full +bench. They hold nisi prius terms in their respective districts, +which are called district courts. The judges have a salary of +$2000 each, and are appointed for a term of four years, subject +to removal by the President. The district courts have chancery +jurisdiction in matters where there is not a plain, adequate, and +complete remedy at law. (Stat. of Min. ch. 94, sec. 1.) There are +also probate courts. Each county has two justices of the peace, +who are elected by the people. And I cannot but remark how much +better the practice is to elect or appoint a few justices of the +peace rather than to allow the office to be degraded by wholesale +appointments, as a matter of compliment, according to the usage +too common in some Eastern States. The justices of the peace have +jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount in question does not +exceed $100; and when the amount at issue is over $20 either +party may demand a jury of six men to try the case. But there +would be little demand for juries if all magistrates were as +competent as our enlightened friend Judge Russell.</p> + +<p>Special pleading never flourished much in the West. It was +never "a favorite with the court" out this way; while the regard +which the lawyers have cherished for it has been "distant and +respectful." It has been laid on the shelf about as effectually +as bleeding in the practice of medicine. The science of special +pleading, as it is known in these days— and that in some of +the older states— exists in a mitigated form from what it +did in the days of Coke and Hale. The opportunities to amend, and +the various barriers against admitting a multiplicity of pleas, +have rendered the system so much more rational than it once was, +that it is doubtful if some of the old English worthies could now +identify it. Once a defendant could plead to an action of +assumpsit just as many defences as he chose; first, he could deny +the whole by pleading the general issue; then he could plead the +statute of limitations, infancy, accord and satisfaction, and a +dozen other pleas, by which the plaintiff would be deprived of +any clue to the real defence. I suppose it was this practice of +formal lying which has given rise to the popular error that a +lawyer is in the habit of lying, or is obliged to lie, in his +arguments. Many people do not know the difference between +<i>pleading</i>— which is a process in writing to bring the +parties to an issue— and the oral arguments of counsel in +courts. It is ridiculous to suppose that it is easy or profitable +for lawyers to make false statements in their arguments. The +opposing counsel is ready to catch at anything of the kind; and +if he misstates the evidence, the jury are aware of it; while if +he states what is not law, the court generally knows it. So there +is no opportunity for lying even if a lawyer should be so +disposed. The practice in civil actions as provided by the +statutes of Minnesota is similar— if not actually the +same— to the New York code of practice. There is but one +form of action, called an action of contract. The only pleading +on the part of the plaintiff is, 1st, the complaint; 2d, the +reply. On the part of the defendant, 1st, demurrer; or 2d, the +answer. (Stats. ch. 70, sec. 58.) The complaint must contain, +1st, the title of the cause, specifying the name of the court in +which the action is brought and the names of the parties to the +action, plaintiff and defendant; 2d, a statement of the facts +constituting the cause of action in ordinary and concise +language, without repetition, and in such a manner as to enable a +person of common understanding to know what is intended; 3d, a +demand of the relief to which the plaintiff supposes himself +entitled. If the recovery of money be demanded the amount must be +stated. (Ibid. sec. 59.)</p> + +<p>While testifying my approval of this code of practice as a +whole, I cannot resist saying that in many respects it is not so +systematic as the Massachusetts code, which was devised by +Messrs. Curtis (now Mr. Justice), Lord, and Chapman. That code is +one of the best in the world. And if I may be allowed one word +more about special pleading, I would say that there is no branch +of law which will better reward study. Without mentioning the +practice in the U. S. courts, which requires, certainly, a +knowledge of special pleading, no one can read the old English +reports and text books with much profit, who is ignorant of the +principles of that science.</p> + +<p>A class of business peculiar to new territories and states +arises from the land laws. A great many pre-emption cases are +contested before the land officers, in which the services of +lawyers are required. This fact will partly explain why there +are, generally, so many lawyers located in the vicinity of a land +office. In a community that is newly settled the title to +property must often be in dispute; and however much averse people +may be to going to law, they find it frequently indispensable, if +they wish to have their rights settled on a firm basis.</p> + +<p>The opinion prevails almost universally in the East that a +lawyer can do best in the West. In some respects he can. If he +cannot do a good deal better, he is not compensated for going. I +had the pleasure of a conversation last summer with one of the +most eminent members of the New York bar (Mr. O'Connor), on this +very subject. It was his opinion that western lawyers begin +sooner to enjoy their reputation than the lawyers in the eastern +cities. This is true; and results from there being less +competition in newer communities. "A lawyer among us," said Mr. +O'Connor, "seldom acquires eminence till he begins to turn gray." +Nevertheless, there is no field so great and so certain in the +long run, in which one may become really a great lawyer, as in +some of our large commercial cities, whether of the East or the +West. To admit of the highest professional eminence there must be +a large and varied business; and a lawyer must devote himself +almost exclusively to law. And then, when this great reputation +is acquired, what does it amount to? Something now, but not much +hereafter. The great lawyer lives a life of toil and excitement. +Often does it seem to "break on the fragments of a reviving +dream." His nerves are worn by the troubles of others; for the +exercise of the profession, as has been said by a brilliant +lawyer, "involves intimate participation with the interests, +hopes, fears, passions, affections, and vicissitudes of many +lives." And yet merely as a lawyer, he seldom leaves any durable +vestige of his fame behind him— hardly a fortune. But if his +fame is transient and mortal, there is some equivalent in the +pleasure of triumph and the consciousness of power. There is no +man so powerful as the great lawyer. The wealth and the character +of his fellow men often depend upon him. His clients are +sometimes powerful corporations, or cities, or states. Crowded +courts listen to his eloquence year after year; and no one has +greater freedom of speech than he. The orator and politician may +be wafted into a conspicuous place for a brief period, and fall +again when popular favor has cooled; yet the lawyer is rising +still higher, nor can the rise and fall of parties shake him from +his high pedestal; for the tenure of his power is not limited. He +is, too, one of the most serviceable protectors of the liberties +of his country. It was as a lawyer that Otis thundered against +writs of assistance. The fearless zeal of Somers, in defence of +the seven bishops, fanned the torch of liberty at the beginning +of the great English revolution. Erskine and Brougham did more as +lawyers to promote freedom of the press, than as Statesmen.</p> + +<p>I cannot refrain from inserting here Mr. Justice Talfourd's +interesting analysis of the professional abilities of Follett: +"It may be well, while the materials for investigation remain, to +inquire into the causes of success, so brilliant and so fairly +attained by powers which have left so little traces of their +progress. Erskine was never more decidedly at the head of the +common law bar than Follett; compared with Follett he was +insignificant in the house of commons; his career was chequered +by vanities and weaknesses from which that of Follett was free; +and yet even if he had not been associated with the greatest +constitutional questions of his time and their triumphant +solution, his fame would live by the mere force and beauty of his +forensic eloquence as long as our language. But no collection of +the speeches of Follett has been made; none will ever be +attempted; no speech he delivered is read, except perchance as +part of an interesting trial, and essential to its story, and +then the language is felt to be poor, the cadences without music, +and the composition vapid and spiritless; although, if studied +with a view to the secrets of forensic success, with a 'learned +spirit of human dealing,' in connexion with the facts developed +and the difficulties encountered, will supply abundant materials +for admiration of that unerring skill which induced the +repetition of fortunate topics, the dexterous suppression of the +most stubborn things when capable of oblivion, and the light +evasive touch with which the speaker fulfilled his promise of not +forgetting others which could not be passed over, but which, if +deeply considered, might he fatal. If, however, there was no +principle of duration in his forensic achievements, there can be +doubt of the esteem in which they were held or the eagerness with +which they were sought. His supremacy in the minds of clients was +more like the rage of a passion for a youthful Roscius or an +extraordinary preacher, than the result of deliberate +consideration; and yet it prevailed, in questions not of an +evening's amusement, but of penury or riches, honor or shame. +Suitors were content, not only to make large sacrifices for the +assured advantage of his advocacy, but for the bare chance— +the distant hope— of having some little part (like that +which Phormio desires to retain in Thais) of his faculties, with +the certainty of preventing their opposition. There was no just +ground, in his case, for the complaint that he received large +fees for services he did not render; for the chances were +understood by those who adventured in his lottery; in which after +all there were comparatively few blanks. His <i>name</i> was 'a +tower of strength,' which it was delightful to know that the +adverse faction wanted, and which inspired confidence even on the +back of the brief of his forsaken junior, who bore the burden and +heat of the day for a fifth of the fee which secured that name. +Will posterity ask what were the powers thus sought, thus prized, +thus rewarded, and thus transient? They will be truly told that +he was endowed, in a remarkable degree, with some moral qualities +which smoothed his course and charmed away opposition, and with +some physical advantages which happily set off his intellectual +gifts; that he was blessed with a temper at once gentle and even; +with a gracious manner and a social temperament; that he was +without jealousy of the solid or showy talents of others, and +willingly gave them the amplest meed of praise; that he spoke +with all the grace of modesty, yet with the assurance of perfect +mastery over his subject, his powers, and his audience; and yet +they will scarcely recognise in these excellencies sufficient +reasons for his extraordinary success. To me, the true secret of +his peculiar strength appeared to lie in the possession of two +powers which rarely co-exist in the same mind— extraordinary +subtlety of perception and as remarkable simplicity of execution. +In the first of these faculties— in the intuitive power of +common sense, which is the finest essence of experience, whereby +it attains 'to something of prophetic strain'— he excelled +all his contemporaries except Lord Abinger, with whom it was more +liable to be swayed by prejudice or modified by taste, as it was +adorned with happier graces. The perfection of this faculty was +remarkably exemplified in the fleeting visits he often paid to +the trials of causes which he had left to the conduct of his +juniors; a few words, sometimes a glance, sufficed to convey to +his mind the exact position of complicated affairs, and enabled +him to decide what should be done or avoided; and where the +interference of any other moral advocate would have been +dangerous, he often rendered good service, and, which was more +extraordinary, never did harm. So his unrivalled aptitude for +legal reasoning, enabled him to deal with authorities as he dealt +with facts; if unprepared for an argument, he could find its +links in the chaos of an index, and make an imposing show of +learning out of a page of Harrison; and with the aid of the +interruptions of the bench, which he could as dexterously provoke +as parry, could find the right clue and conduct a luminous train +of reasoning to a triumphant close. His most elaborate arguments, +though not comparable in essence with those of his chief +opponent, Lord Campbell— which, in comprehensive outline, +exact logic, felicitous illustration, and harmonious structure, +excelled all others I have heard— were delivered in tones so +nicely adapted to the minds and ears of the judges, with an +earnestness so winning, and a confidence so contagious, that they +made a judgment on his side not only a necessity, but a +pleasure.</p> + +<p>"The other faculty, to which, in combination with his subtlety +of understanding, the excellence of his advocacy may be +attributed, is one more rarely possessed— and scarcely ever +in such association— the entire singleness of a mind equally +present in every part of a cause. If the promotion of the +interest of the client were an advocate's highest duty, it would +be another name for the exactest virtue; and inasmuch as that +interest is not, like the objects of zeal, fixed in character, +but liable to frequent change, the faculty of directing the whole +power of the understanding to each shifting aspect of the cause +in its minutest shadowings without the guidance of an inflexible +law, is far more wonderful, if far less noble, than a singleness +of devotion to right. It has an integrity of its own, which bears +some affinity to that honesty which Baillie Nichol Jarvie +attributes to his Highland kinsman. Such honesty— that is, +the entire devotion of all the faculties to the object for which +it was retained, without the lapse of a moment's vanity or +indolence, with unlimited vision and unceasing activity— was +Follett's beyond all other advocates of our time. To the +presentment of truth, or sophism, as the cause might require, he +gave his entire mind with as perfect oblivion of self as the most +heroic sufferer for principle. The faculty which in Gladstone, +the statesman, applied to realities and inspired only by the +desire to discover the truth and to clothe it in language, +assumes, in the minds of superficial observers, the air of +casuistry from the nicety of its distinctions and the earnest +desire of the speaker to present truth in its finest shades— +in Follett, the advocate, applied indiscriminately to the +development of the specious shows of things as of their essences, +wore all the semblance of sincerity; and, in one sense, deserved +it. No fears, no doubts, no scruples shook him. Of the license +which advocacy draws from sympathy with the feelings of those it +represents, he made full use, with unhesitating power; for his +reason, of 'large discourse,' was as pliable as the affections of +the most sensitive nature. Nor was he diverted from his aim by +any figure or fancy: if he neither exalted his subject by +imagination, nor illustrated it by wit, nor softened its details +by pathos, he never made it the subject of vain attempts at the +exhibition of either. He went into the arena, stripped of all +encumbrance, to win, and contended studious only and always of +victory. His <i>presence of mind</i> was not merely the absence +of external distraction, nor the capacity of calling up all +energies on an emergency, but the continued application of them +equally to the duty of each moment. There are few speakers, even +of fervid sincerity and zeal, whose thoughts do not frequently +run before or beside the moment's purpose; whose wits do not +sometimes wander on to some other part of the case than that they +are instantly discussing; who do not anticipate some future +effect, or dally with some apprehension of future peril, while +they should consider only the next word or sentence. This +momentary desertion of the exact purpose never occurred to +Follett; he fitted the thought to its place; the word to the +thought; and allowed the action only to take care of itself, as +it always will with an earnest speaker. His, therefore, was +rather the artlessness than the art of advocacy— its second +nature— justly appreciated by those to whose interests it +was devoted; but not fully understood even by the spectator of +its exertion; dying with the causes in which it was engaged, and +leaving no vestiges except in their success. Hence the blank +which is substituted for the space he filled in human affairs. +The modest assurance, the happy boldness, the extemporaneous +logic, all that 'led but to the grave,' exist, like the images of +departed actors, only in the recollection of those who witnessed +them, till memory shall fade into tradition, and tradition +dwindle down to a name." (Supplement to Vacation Rambles, p. +115.) The eagerness with which the talents of Sir William Follett +were sought, forcibly illustrates the truth of a remark, made to +me in the course of some friendly advice, by one who may be +ranked among the most brilliant advocates who have adorned the +American Bar (now in the highest office in the nation), that to +attain the highest rank in the legal profession, a lawyer must +have such abilities and character as will "compel" patronage.</p> + +<p>He, however, who enters the profession here or elsewhere +merely as a stepping stone to political preferment, need not +expect great success, even though he may acquire some temporary +advancement. The day is past when lawyers could monopolize every +high place in the state. The habit of public speaking is not now +confined to the learned professions. Our peculiar system of +education has trained up a legion of orators and politicians +outside of the bar. Now-a-days a man must have other +qualifications besides the faculty of speech-making to win the +prize in politics. He must be a man of comprehensive ability, and +thoroughly identified with the interests of the people, before he +can secure much popular favor, or else he must be possessed of +such shining talents and character that his fellow men will take +a pride in advancing him to conspicuous and responsible trusts. +Let a man have a part or all of these qualifications, however, +and with them the experience and tact of a lawyer, and he will of +course make a more valuable public servant, especially if he is +placed in a deliberative body. The British cabinets have always +relied vastly on the support afforded them in the house of +commons by their attorneys and solicitors general, whether it +consisted in the severe and solemn logic of Romilly, in the cool +and ready arguments of Scarlett, or the acute and irresistible +oratory of Sir William Follett. The education of a lawyer;— +his experience as a manager; his art of covering up weak points, +his ready and adroit style of speaking;— all serve to make +him peculiarly valuable to his own party, and dangerous to an +opposition in a deliberative body. But the fact that a man is a +lawyer does not advance him in politics so much as it once did. +Fortunate it is so! For though learning will always have its +advantages, yet no profession ought to have exclusive privileges. +Nor need the lawyer repine that it is so, inasmuch as it is for +his benefit, if he desires success in the profession, to discard +the career of politics. The race is not to the swift, and he can +afford to wait for the legitimate honors of the bar. I will +conclude by saying that I regard Minnesota as a good field for an +upright, industrious, and competent lawyer. For those of an +opposite class, I have never yet heard of a very promising +field.</p> + +<h3>LETTER V.</h3> + +<h4>ST. PAUL TO CROW WING IN TWO DAYS.</h4> + +<p class="full">Stages— Roads— Rum River— Indian +treaty— Itasca— Sauk Rapids— Watab at +midnight— Lodging under difficulties,— Little Rock +River— Character of Minnesota streams— Dinner at Swan +River— Little Falls— Fort Ripley— Arrival at Crow +Wing.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>HERE I am, after two days drive in a stage, at the town of +Crow Wing, one hundred and thirty miles, a little west of north, +from St. Paul. I will defer, however, any remarks on Crow Wing, +or the many objects of interest hereabout, till I have mentioned +a few things which I saw coming up. Between St. Paul and this +place is a tri-weekly line of stages. The coaches are of Concord +manufacture, spacious and comfortable; and the entire equipage is +well adapted to the convenience of travellers. Next season, the +enterprising proprietors, Messrs. Chase and Allen, who carry the +mail, intend establishing a daily line. I left the Fuller House +in the stage at about five in the morning. There was only a +convenient number of passengers till we arrived at St. Anthony, +where we breakfasted; but then our load was more than doubled, +and we drove out with nine inside and about seven outside, with +any quantity of baggage. The road is very level and smooth; and +with the exception of encountering a few small stamps where the +track has been diverted for some temporary impediment, and also +excepting a few places where it is exceedingly sandy, it is an +uncommonly superior road. It is on the eastern bank of the +Mississippi, and was laid out very straight. But let me remark +that everybody who travels it seems conscious that it is a +government road. There are several bridges, and they are often +driven over at a rapid rate, much to their damage. When Minnesota +shall have a state government, and her towns or counties become +liable for the condition of the roads, people will doubtless be +more economical of the bridges, even though the traveller be not +admonished to walk his horse, or to "keep to the right," +&c.</p> + +<p>Emerging from St. Anthony, the undulating aspect of the +country ceases, and we enter upon an almost unbroken plain. A +leading characteristic of the scenery is the thin forests of oak, +commonly called oak openings. The soil appears to be rich.</p> + +<p>Seven miles from St. Anthony is a tidy settlement called +Manomin, near the mouth of Rice river. But the first place of +importance which we reached is Anoka, a large and handsome +village situated on Rum river. It is twenty-five miles from St. +Paul. The river is a large and beautiful stream and affords good +water-power, in the development of which Anoka appears to thrive. +A vast number of pine logs are annually floated down the river +and sawed into lumber at the Anoka mills. The settlers are +principally from Maine. By the treaty of 22d February, 1855, with +three bands of the Chippewa Indians, an appropriation of $5000 +was set apart for the construction of a road from the mouth of +Rum river to Mille Lac. The road is half completed.</p> + +<p>We took an early dinner at Itasca, having come thirty-two +miles. Itasca is quite an unassuming place, and not so pretty as +its name. But I shall always cherish a good-will for the spot, +inasmuch as I got a first-rate dinner there. It was all put upon +the table before we sat down, so that each one could help +himself; and as it consisted of very palatable edibles, each one +did help himself quite liberally. We started on soon afterwards, +with a new driver and the third set of horses; but with the +disagreeable consciousness that we had still before us the +largest part of the day's journey. In about three hours we came +to Big Lake, or, as it is sometimes called, Humboldt. The lake is +anything but a big lake, being the size of a common New England +pond. But then all such sheets of water are called lakes in this +part of the country. It is a clear body of water, abounding with +fine fish, and has a beautiful shore of pebbles. Several similar +sheets of water are passed on the journey, the shores of which +present a naked appearance. There is neither the trace of a +stream leading from or to them, nor, with few exceptions, even a +swamp in their vicinity.</p> + +<p>Sauk Rapids is 44 miles from Itasca, and it was late when we +reached there. But, late as it was, we found a large collection +of people at the post office waiting for the mail. They appeared +to have had a caucus, and were discussing politics with much +animation. There is at Sauk Rapids a local land office. That is +of more advantage to a place than being the county seat. In a +short time, however, some of the land offices will be removed +further west for the convenience of settlers. The village is +finely situated on rising ground, and contains some handsome +residences.</p> + +<p>It was midnight when we arrived at Watab, where we were to +lodge. The weather had been delightful during the day, but after +nightfall a high wind rose and filled the air with dust. I +descended from the stage— for I had rode upon the +outside— with self-satisfied emotions of having come +eighty-two miles since morning. The stage-house was crowded. It +is a two-story building, the rooms of which are small. I went to +bed, I was about to say, without any supper. But that was not so. +I didn't get any supper, it is true, neither did I get a bed; for +they were all occupied. The spare room on the floor was also +taken. The proprietor, however, was accommodating, and gave me a +sort of a lounge in rather a small room where three or four other +men, and a dog, were sleeping on the floor. I fixed the door ajar +for ventilation, and with my overcoat snugly buttoned around me, +though it was not cold, addressed myself to sleep. In the morning +I found that one of the occupants was an ex-alderman from the +fifth ward of New York; and that in the room over me slept no +less a personage than Parker H. French. I say I ascertained these +facts in the morning. Mr. French came to Watab a few weeks ago +with a company of mechanics, and has been rushing the place ahead +with great zeal. He appears to make a good impression on the +people of the town.</p> + +<p>A heavy rain had fallen during the night; the stage was but +moderately loaded, and I started out from Watab, after breakfast +the next morning, in bright spirits. Still the road is level, and +at a slow trot the team makes better time than a casual observer +is conscious of. Soon we came to Little Rock River, which is one +of the crookedest streams that was ever known of. We are obliged +to cross it twice within a short space. Twelve miles this side we +cross the beautiful Platte River. It would make this letter much +more monotonous than it is, I fear, were I to name all the rivers +we pass. They are very numerous: and as they increase the delight +of the traveller, so are they also a delight and a convenience to +the settler. Like the rivers of New England, they are clear and +rapid, and furnish abundant means for water-power. The view which +we catch of the Mississippi is frequent, but brief, as the road +crosses its curves in the most direct manner. Much of the best +land on either side of the road is in the hands of speculators, +who purchased it at public sale, or afterwards plastered it over +with land warrants. There is evidence of this on the entire +route; for, although we pass populous villages, and a great many +splendid farms, the greater part of the land is still unoccupied. +The soil is dark colored, but in some places quite mealy; +everywhere free from stones, and susceptible of easy +cultivation.</p> + +<p>We arrived at Swan River at about one o'clock, where we dined +on wild ducks. That is a village also of considerable importance; +but it is not so large as Little Falls, which is three miles this +side. At that place the Mississippi furnishes a good water power. +It has a spacious and tidy hotel, several stores, mechanics' +shops, a saw-mill, &c. At Belle Prairie we begin to see +something of the Chippewas. The half-breeds have there some good +farms, and the school-house and the church denote the progress of +civilization. It was near sunset when we reached Fort Ripley. The +garrison stands on the west bank of the Mississippi, but the +reservation extends several miles on both sides. The stage +crosses the river on the ferry to leave the mail and then +returns. The great flag was still flying from the high staff, and +had an inspiring influence. Like most of our inland military +posts, Port Ripley has no stone fortifications. It is neatly laid +out in a square, and surrounded by a high protective fence. Three +or four field-pieces stand upon the bank of the river fronting +it, and at some distance present a warlike attitude. The rest of +the trip, being about five miles, was over the reservation, on +which, till we come to Crow Wing, are no settlements. Here I +gladly alighted from the coach, and found most comfortable and +agreeable entertainment at a house which stands on the immediate +bank of the river.</p> + +<h3>LETTER VI.</h3> + +<h4>THE TOWN OF CROW WING.</h4> + +<p class="full">Scenery— First settlement of Crow Wing— +Red Lake Indians— Mr. Morrison— Prospects of the +town— Upper navigation— Mr. Beaulieu— Washington's +theory as to Norfolk— Observations on the growth of +towns.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I AM highly gratified with the appearance of this place. Mr. +Burke says— " In order that we should love our country, our +country should first be lovely," and there is much wisdom in the +remark. Nature has done so much for this locality that one could +be contented to live here on quite a moderate income. The land is +somewhat elevated, near the bank of the Mississippi, affording a +pleasant view over upon the western side, both above and below +the two graceful mouths of the Crow Wing River. Towards the east +and north, after a few miles, the view is intercepted by a higher +ridge of land covered with timber; or, by the banks of the +Mississippi itself, as from this point we begin to ascend it in a +northeasterly course.</p> + +<p>Crow Wing was selected as a trading post upwards of twenty +years ago. Mr. McDonnald, who still resides here, was, I believe, +the first white settler. Till within a recent period it was the +headquarters of the Mississippi tribe of Chippewas, and the +principal trading depot with the Chippewas generally. Here they +brought their furs, the fruits of their buffalo and their winter +hunts, and their handicraft of beads and baskets, to exchange for +clothing and for food. Thus the place was located and settled on +long before there was a prospect of its becoming a populous town. +Mr. Rice, the delegate in congress, if I mistake not, once had a +branch store here with several men in his employ. The principal +traders at present are Mr. Abbee and Mr. Beaulieu, who have large +and well selected stocks of goods. The present population of +white persons probably numbers a hundred souls. The place now has +a more populous appearance on account of the presence of a +caravan of Red Lake Indians, who have come down about four +hundred miles to trade. They are encamped round about in tents or +birch bark lodges, as it may happen to be. In passing some of +them, I saw the squaws busily at work on the grass outside of the +lodge in manufacturing flag carpets. The former Indian residents +are now removed to their reservation in the fork of the +Mississippi and Crow Wing rivers, where their agency is now +established.</p> + +<p>The houses here are very respectable in size, and furnished in +metropolitan style and elegance. The farms are highly productive, +and the grazing for stock unequalled. There is a good ferry at +the upper end of the town, at a point where the river is quite +narrow and deep. You can be taken over with a horse for +twenty-five cents; with a carriage, I suppose, the tariff is +higher.</p> + +<p>Perhaps one cause of my favorable impression of Crow Wing is +the excellent and home-like hotel accommodations which I have +found. The proprietor hardly assumes to keep a public-house, and +yet provides his guests with very good entertainment; and I +cannot refrain from saying that there is no public-house this +side of St. Paul where the traveller will be better treated. Mr. +Morrison— for that is the proprietor's name— came here +fifteen years ago, having first come into this region in the +service of John Jacob Astor. He married one of the handsomest of +the Chippewa maidens, who is now his faithful wife and +housekeeper, and the mother of several interesting and amiable +children. Mr. M. is the postmaster. He has been a member of the +territorial legislature, and his name has been given to a large +and beautiful county. I judge that society has been congenial in +the town. The little church, standing on an eminence, indicates +some union of sentiment at least, and a regard for the higher +objects of life. Spring and summer and autumn must be delightful +seasons here, and bring with them the sweetest tranquillity. Nor +are the people shut out from the world in winter; for then there +is travel and intercourse and traffic. So are there pleasures and +recreation peculiar to the season.</p> + +<p>But the serene and quiet age of the settlement is near its +close. Enterprise and speculation, with their bustle and turmoil, +have laid hold of it. The clank of the hammer, the whistle of +steamboats, the rattling of carts, heaps of lumber and of bricks, +excavations and gratings, short corners and rough unshapen walks, +will usurp the quiet and the regularity of the place. Indeed a +man ought to make a fortune to compensate for residing in a town +during the first years of its rapid building. The streets appear, +on the map, to be well laid out. A number of purchasers of lots +are preparing to build; and a few new buildings are already going +up. As near as I am able to learn, the things which conduce to +its availability as a business place are these— First, it is +the beginning of the Upper Mississippi navigation. From this +point steamboats can go from two to three hundred miles. But they +cannot pass below, on account of the obstructions near Fort +Ripley, at Little Falls, and at Sauk Rapids. This of course is a +great element in its future success, as the country above in the +valley of the river is destined to be thickly settled, and boats +will run between this point and the settlements along the river. +It will also be a large lumber market, for the pine forests begin +here and extend along the river banks for hundreds of miles, +while the facility of getting the logs down is unexceptionable. +The territory north of Crow Wing is now open for settlers to a +great distance, the Indian title having been extinguished. Two +land districts have also been established, which will be an +inducement for fresh emigration. There is no other place but this +to supply these settlements; at least none so convenient. A great +deal of timber will also come down the Crow Wing River, which is +a large stream, navigable three months in the year. Arrangements +are complete for building a steamboat the ensuing winter, at this +very place, to begin running in the spring as far up as Ojibeway. +Next season there will be a daily line of stages between this and +St. Paul. I understand also that it is intended next summer to +connect Crow Wing with the flourishing town of Superior by stage. +It will require considerable energy to do this thing; but if it +can be done, it will be a great blessing to the traveller as well +as a profit to the town. The journey from St. Paul to Lake +Superior via Crow Wing can then be performed in three days, while +on the usual route it now occupies a week. Such are some of the +favorable circumstances which corroborate the expectation of the +growth of this place. The southern or lower portion of the town +is included within the Fort Ripley reserve, and though several +residences are situated on it, no other buildings can be put up +without a license from the commanding officer; nor can any lots +be sold from that portion until the reserve is cut down. With the +upper part of the town it is different. Mr. C. H. Beaulieu, long +a resident of the place, is the proprietor of that part, and has +already, I am informed, made some extensive sales of lots. He is +one of those lucky individuals, who have sagacity to locate on an +available spot, and patience to wait the opening of a splendid +fortune.[1]</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 Since this letter was written, Mr. Thomas +Cathcart has purchased a valuable claim opposite Crow Wing at the +mouth of the river, which I should think was an available town +site.]</p> + +<p>My observation and experience in regard to town sites have +taught me an important fact: that as much depends on the public +spirit, unity of action, and zeal of the early proprietors, as +upon the locality itself. The one is useless without these helps. +General Washington wrote an able essay to prove the availability +of Norfolk, Va., as the great commercial metropolis of the +country. He speculated upon its being the great market for the +West. His imagination pictured out some such place as New York +now is, as its future. The unequalled harbor of Norfolk, and the +resources of the country all around it, extending as far, almost, +as thought could reach, might well have encouraged the theory of +Washington. But munificence and energy and labor have built up +many cities since then, which had not half the natural advantages +of Norfolk, while Norfolk is far behind. A little lack of +enterprise, a little lack of harmony and liberality, may, in the +early days of a town, divert business and improvements from a +good location, till in a short time an unheard-of and inferior +place totally eclipses it. Knowing this to be the case, I have +been careful in my previous letters not to give too much +importance to many of the town sites which have been commended to +me along my journey. I do not discover any of these retarding +circumstances about Crow Wing. I must conclude at this paragraph, +however, in order to take a horseback ride to the Chippewa +agency. In my next I intend to say something about the Indians, +pine timber, and the country above here in general.</p> + +<h3>LETTER VII.</h3> + +<h4>CHIPPEWA INDIANS.— HOLE-IN-THE-DAY.</h4> + +<p class="full">Description of the Chippewa tribes— Their +habits and customs— Mission at Gull Late— Progress in +farming— Visit to Hole-in-the-day— His enlightened +character— Reflections on Indian character, and the +practicability of their civilization— Their education— +Mr. Manypenny's exertions.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I CONSIDER myself exceedingly fortunate in having had a good +opportunity for observing the condition of the Chippewa Indians. +Sometime ago I saw enough of the Indians in another part of the +country to gratify my curiosity as to their appearance and +habits; and as I have always felt a peculiar interest in their +destiny, my present observations have been with a view to derive +information as to the best means for their improvement. The whole +number of Chippewas in Minnesota is not much over 2200. They are +divided into several bands, each band being located a +considerable distance from the other. The Mississippi band live +on their reservation, which begins a few miles above here across +the river, while the Pillagor and Lake Winnibigoshish bands are +some three hundred miles further north. The agency of the +Chippewas is on the reservation referred to, a little north of +the Crow Wing River, and six miles distant from this town. To +come down more to particulars, however, and adopt words which +people here would use, I might say that the agency is on Gull +River, a very clear and pretty stream, which flows from a lake of +that name, into the Crow Wing. I passed the agency yesterday, and +two miles beyond, in order to visit Pug-o-na-ke-shick, or +Hole-in-the-day, the principal and hereditary chief of the +Chippewas. Mr. Herriman, the agent, resides at the agency, in +compliance with the regulation of the Indian bureau, which +requires agents to reside among the Indians. I strongly suspect +there are many people who would think it unsafe to travel alone +among the Chippewas. But people who live about here would +ridicule the idea of being afraid of violence or the slightest +molestation from them, unless indeed the fellows were +intoxicated. For my part, a walk on Boston common on a summer +morning could not seem more quiet and safe than a ramble on +horseback among the homes of these Indians. I spoke to a good +many. Though naturally reserved and silent, they return a +friendly salutation with a pleasant smile.</p> + +<p>Their old costume is still retained as a general thing. The +blanket is still worn instead of coats. Sometimes the men wear +leggins, but often go with their legs naked. A band is generally +worn upon the head with some ornament upon it. A feather of the +war eagle worn in the head-band of a brave, denotes that he has +taken the scalp of an enemy or performed some rare feat of +daring. An Indian does not consider himself in full dress without +his war hatchet or weapons. I meet many with long-stemmed pipes, +which are also regarded as an ornamental part of dress. They +appear pleased to have anything worn about them attract +attention. They are of good size, taller than the Winnebagoes, +and of much lighter complexion than tribes living five hundred +miles further south. Herein the philosopher on the cooking of men +is confirmed. Their hair is black, long, and straight; and some +are really good-looking. There are but few who still paint. Those +in mourning paint their faces black. What I have seen of their +houses raises high hopes of their advancement in civilization. We +can now begin to lay aside the word lodge and say house. Over a +year ago, Mr. Herriman promised every one a good cooking stove +who would build himself a comfortable house. This promise had a +good effect, for several houses were built. But the want of +windows and several other conveniences, which are proper +fixtures, gives their dwellings a desolate appearance to one who +looks to a higher standard of comfort. Of course I saw a few of +the men at the store (for there is a store at the agency), +spending their time, as too many white men do in country +villages. Eight miles beyond the agency, on Gull Lake, is a +mission. It has been under the charge of Rev. J. L. Breck, a +gentleman of high culture, and whose enlightened and humane +exertions in behalf of the Indians have received much +commendation both from the agent and Gov. Gorman, the +Superintendent. He has been at the mission four years. While he +had the benefit of the school-fund, he had in his school, under +his own roof, 35 pupils; since that was withheld, the number of +pupils has been 22. Mr. Breck will soon remove to Leech Lake, and +will be succeeded by a gentleman who comes well recommended from +a theological institution in Wisconsin. I desired very much to go +as far as the mission, but from Crow Wing and back it would have +been thirty miles, and it was otherwise inconvenient on account +of the rain. The Indians are beginning to farm a little. They +begin with gardens. Their support is chiefly from the annuities +paid by the United States, which are principally received in some +sort of dry goods. The goods are furnished by contract, and the +price paid for them is about enough, if all stories are true. +They also derive some support from their fur hunts and by +fishing. Buffaloes are still hunted successfully beyond the Red +River of the North. They bring home the furs, and also the best +parts of the meat. The meat is preserved by being partially +cooked in buffalo fat, cut into small pieces, and sewed up very +tight in the hide of the animal. It is called <i>pemmican,</i> +and sells here for twenty-five cents a pound. It is broken to +pieces like pork scraps, and the Indians regard it as a great +luxury.</p> + +<p>From the agency I hastened on to see Hole-in-the-day +(Pug-o-na-ke-shick, his Indian name, means, literally, +<i>Hole-in-the-sky).</i> He is a famous chief, having in his +youth distinguished himself for bold exploits and severe +endurance. But what most entitles him to attention is the very +exemplary course he has pursued in attempting to carry out the +wishes of the government in bringing his race to the habits of +civilized life. It was principally through his influence that a +treaty was made between his tribe and the United States, and +after it went into effect he turned his attention to farming. +Previous to the treaty he was supported as chief by the tribal +revenue. He has succeeded well. Over a year ago the receipts of +what he sold from his farm, aside from what his household needed, +amounted to over two hundred dollars. At length, after riding a +mile and a half without passing a habitation, over a fertile +prairie, I came in sight of his house. He lives near a small +lake, and north of him is a large belt of heavy pine timber. He +has an excellent farm, well fenced and well cultivated. His house +is in cottage style, and of considerable length; spacious, neat, +and well furnished. Arriving at the door I dismounted, and +inquired of his squaw if he was at home. She sent her little girl +out into the field to call him. There, indeed, in his cornfield, +was he at work. He met me very cordially; and invited me into a +room, where he had an interpretor. We held a protracted and +agreeable conversation on Indian matters. He invited me to dine +with him, and nothing but want of time prevented my accepting his +polite invitation. He was very neatly dressed, and is quite +prepossessing in his appearance. He is younger than I supposed +before seeing him. I judge him to be about thirty-four. He is a +man of strong sense, of great sagacity, and considerable +ambition.</p> + +<p>There is no reason why the Indians should not speedily become +civilized. Those who have longest lived amongst them, and who +best understand their character, tell me so. I fully believe it. +The Indian follows his wild habits because he has been educated +to do so. The education of habit, familiar from infancy, and the +influence of tradition, lead him to the hunt, and as much to +despise manual labor. He does what he has been taught to consider +as noble and honorable, and that is what the most enlightened do. +Certainly his course of life is the most severe and exposed; it +is not for comfort that he adheres to his wild habits. He regards +it as noble to slay his hereditary foe. Hence the troubles which +occasionally break out between the Chippewas and the Sioux. To +gain the applause of their tribe they will incur almost any +danger, and undergo almost any privation. Thus, we see that for +those objects which their education has taught them to regard as +first and best, they will sacrifice all their comforts. They have +sense enough, and ambition enough, and fortitude enough. To those +they love they are affectionate almost to excess. Only direct +their ambition in the proper way, and they will at once rise. +Teach them that it is noble to produce something useful by their +labor, and to unite with the great family of man to expand arts +and to improve the immortal mind— teach them that it is +noble, that there is more applause to be gained by it, as well as +comfort, and they will change in a generation. They will then +apply themselves to civilization with Spartan zeal and with +Spartan virtues.</p> + +<p>In a communication to the secretary of war by Gen. Cass in +1821, relative to his expedition to the sources of the +Mississippi, he makes the following interesting extract from the +journal of Mr. Doty, a gentleman who accompanied the +expedition:— "The Indians of the upper country consider +those of the Fond-du-Lac as very stupid and dull, being but +little given to war. They count the Sioux their enemies, but have +heretofore made few war excursions.</p> + +<p>"Having been frequently reprimanded by some of the more +vigilant Indians of the north, and charged with cowardice, and an +utter disregard for the event of the war, thirteen men of this +tribe, last season, determined to retrieve the character of their +nation, by making an excursion against the Sioux. Accordingly, +without consulting the other Indians, they secretly departed and +penetrated far into the Sioux country. Unexpectedly, at night, +they came upon a party of the Sioux, amounting to near one +hundred men, and immediately began to prepare for battle. They +encamped a short distance from the Sioux, and during the night +dug holes in the ground into which they might retreat and fight +to the last extremity. They appointed one of their number (the +youngest) to take a station at a distance and witness the +struggle, and instructed him, when they were all slain, to make +his escape to their own land, and relate the circumstances under +which they had fallen.</p> + +<p>"Early in the morning they attacked the Sioux in their camp, +who, immediately sallying out upon them, forced them back to the +last place of retreat they had resolved upon. They fought +desperately. More than twice their own number were killed before +they had lost their lives. Eight of them were tomahawked in the +holes to which they had retreated; the other four fell on the +field. The thirteenth returned home, according to the directions +he had received, and related the foregoing circumstances to his +tribe. They mourned their death; but delighted with the bravery +of their friends, unexampled in modern times, they were happy in +their grief.</p> + +<p>"This account I received of the very Indian who was of the +party and had escaped."— [See Schoolcraft, p. 481.][1]</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 Pride is a characteristic trait in Indian +character. On a recent occasion when several bands of the +Chippewas were at Washington to negotiate a treaty with the +United States, they had an interview with their Great Father the +President. He received them in the spacious East Room of the +executive mansion, in the presence of a large collection of +gentlemen who had gathered to witness the occasion. Each chief +made a speech to the President, which was interpreted as they +spoke. When it came to the turn of <i>Eshkibogikoj</i> (Flat +Mouth) that venerable chief began with great dignity, saying: +"Father! <i>Two great men have met!</i>" Here he paused to let +the sentence be interpreted. His exordium amused not only the +whites but the Indians.]</p> + +<p>In the contest between the Athenians and the Dorians, an +oracle had declared that the side would triumph whose king should +fall. Codrus the Athenian king, to be more sure of sacrificing +himself, assumed the dress of a peasant, and was soon killed; and +the event soon spread dismay among the enemies of Athens. His +patriotism was accounted so great, that the Athenians declared +that there was no man worthy to be his successor, and so +abolished the monarchy. I think the history of the Indians would +show instances of heroism as praiseworthy as can be found in the +annals of the ancients. Let it be remembered, too, that the +Spartans knew that an imperishable literature would hand down +their valor to the praise of the world through all the future. +But the Indian looked for the preservation of his exploits only +in the songs and the traditional stories of his tribe.</p> + +<p>I allude to these traits because I think it will be agreed, +that whatever race possesses those elements of character which +lead them to pursue with zeal and courage things they have been +taught to regard most creditable, is capable of being civilized. +We now pay the Indian for his lands in agricultural tools, in +muskets and powder, in blankets and cheap calico— and in +education; but the smallest item is education. If half the money +which the government is liable to pay for Indian troubles during +the last year, could be appropriated to a proper system of +education, we should hear of no more serious Indian wars. But I +have not time to pursue the subject. I will say, however, that +the present commissioner of Indian affairs, Mr. Manypenny, is +doing a very good work in advancing their condition. The press +ought to bestow some attention on the subject. There are nearly +400,000 Indians within the United States and territories. If the +philanthropy of the age could spare the blacks for a little +while, and help civilize the Indians, it would be better for all +parties. Here is an enterprise for genuine humanity.</p> + +<h3>LETTER VIII.</h3> + +<h4>LUMBERING INTERESTS.</h4> + +<p class="full">Lumber as an element of wealth— Quality of +Minnesota lumber— Locality of its growth— The great +pineries— Trespasses on government land— How the +lumbermen elude the government— Value of lumber— +Character of the practical Lumberman— Transportation of +lumber on rafts.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October 1856.</p> + +<p>IT seems to have been more difficult for countries which +abound in precious metals to attain to great prosperity than for +a rich man to secure eternal felicity. Witness, for instance, the +sluggish growth and degenerate civilization of the South American +states. But timber is a fundamental element of colonial growth. +The mines of Potosi cannot compare with it in value. An abundance +of timber and a superabundance of it are two very different +things. Some of the Middle, and what were once Western States, +were originally covered with forests. So of the greater part of +New England. In Ohio and in Michigan timber has been an +encumbrance; for there was great labor to be performed by the +settler in clearing the land and preparing it for the plough; and +at this day we see in travelling through each of those states, as +well as in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, fields planted +amidst heavy timber trees which have been belted that they may +wither and die. By an abundance of timber I mean an ample supply +not only for domestic but foreign market; and with this +understanding of the word I will repeat what has often been said, +and what I suppose is well known, that Minnesota has an abundance +of excellent timber. Unlike the gorgeous forests in New +Hampshire, which behind high cliffs and mountain fastnesses defy +the woodman, the timber of Minnesota grows in the valleys of her +great rivers and upon the banks of their numerous tributaries. It +is thus easily shipped to a distant market; while the great body +of the land, not encumbered with it, but naked, is ready for the +plough and for the seed. Most of the timber which grows in the +region below this point is hard wood, such as elm, maple, oak, +and ash.</p> + +<p>There is considerable scrub oak also thinly scattered over +large portions of fertile prairie. To a casual observer these +oaks, from their stunted appearance, would be taken as evidence +of poor soil. But the soil is not the cause of their scrubby +looks. It is the devouring fires which annually sweep over the +plains with brilliant though terrific aspect, and which are fed +by the luxuriant grass grown on that same soil. If the oaks did +not draw uncommon nourishment from the soil, it must be difficult +for them to survive such scorchings. It is a consoling thought +that these fires cease in proportion as the country is settled +up. The rock maple is indigenous to the soil; and the Indians +have long been in the habit of making sugar from its sap. The +timber most used for fences is tamarack. The pineries may be said +to begin at the mouth of the Crow Wing River; though there is a +great supply on the Rum River. For upwards of a hundred miles +above here on the Mississippi— more or less dense, the pine +forests extend. Captain John Pope, in the interesting report of +his expedition to the Red River of the North, in 1849, says— +" The pineries of the upper Mississippi are mostly upon its +tributaries, and I think are not found on the west side further +south than the parallel of 46 degrees N. latitude." (The latitude +of this place is 46 degrees 16' 50".) "They alternate, even where +most abundant, with much larger tracts of fertile country." Again +he says— "As might be expected from its alluvial character, +there is no pine timber in the valley of the Red River, but the +oak and elm there attain to a size which I do not think I have +ever seen elsewhere." In another place he remarks that "the +pineries along the Crow Wing River are among the most extensive +and valuable found on the tributaries of the Mississippi." Mr. +Schoolcraft says of this river, "the whole region is noted for +its pine timber." In speaking of the country on the St. Louis +River, a few miles from where it empties into Lake Superior, the +same gentleman remarks: "The growth of the forest is pines, +hemlock, spruce, birch, oak, and maple." I had heard considerable +about Minnesota lumber, it is true, but I was not prepared to see +the pine timber so valuable and heavy as it is above and about +here. The trees are of large growth, straight and smooth. They +are not surpassed by</p> + +<pre> + "The tallest pine, + Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast + Of some great admiral." +</pre> + +<p><i>Cujus est solum ejus est usque ad caelum</i>— whose +the soil, his to the sky— is a maxim in these pine regions +of literal importance. There is something besides utility also to +be mentioned in this connection. With the exception of swamps, +which are few and far between, the timber land has all the beauty +of a sylvan grove. The entire absence of underbrush and decayed +logs lends ornament and attraction to the woods. They are more +like the groves around a mansion in their neat and cheerful +appearance; and awaken reflection on the Muses and the dialogues +of philosophers rather than apprehension of wild beasts and +serpents.</p> + +<p>The relative importance of the lumber business would hardly be +estimated by a stranger. It has been carried on for at least six +years; and considerable has found its way as far down as St. +Louis. It will be asked, I imagine, if all this timber land, +especially the pine, has been sold by the government; and if not, +how it happens that men cut it down and sell it? I will answer +this. The great region of pineries has not yet been surveyed, +much less sold by the government. But notwithstanding this, men +have cut it in large quantities, sold it into a greedy market, +and made money, if not fortunes in the business. As a sort of +colorable excuse for cutting timber, those employed in the +business often make a preemption claim on land covered with it, +and many people suppose they have the right to cut as much as +they please after the incipient steps towards preemption. But +this is not so. All that a claimant can do in this respect is to +cut wood enough for his fuel, and timber enough for his own +building purposes, until he receives a patent from the +government. Of course it is altogether reasonable and proper that +men should be precluded from doing so until their title in the +soil is complete. Because, until a preemption claim is perfect, +or, until the land has been acquired by some legal title, it is +not certain that the claimant will ultimately secure it or pay +any money to the government. But does not the government do +anything to prevent these trespasses? Yes, but all its attempts +are baffled.</p> + +<p>For example, last spring a large quantity of splendid lumber +was seized by the United States marshal and sold at public +auction. It was bid off by the lumbermen themselves, who had +formed a combination to prevent its falling into the hands of +other purchasers. This combination had no resistance as I am +aware of in the public opinion of the territory, and the timber +was sold to those who had it cut at a price so far below its +value that it didn't pay the expense of the legal proceedings on +the part of the government. This is accounted for in the fact of +the exhaustless quantity of pine timber towards the north; in the +demand for it when sawed; and in the disposition to protect +enterprising men, though technically trespassers, who penetrate +into the forest in the winter at great expense, and whose +standing and credit are some guaranty of their ultimate +responsibility to the government, should they not perfect their +titles. The business of getting out the timber is carried on in +the winter, and affords employment for a large number of athletic +young men. The price of timber, I ascertained of Mr. P. D. Pratt, +a dealer at St. Paul, is, for the best, $30 per M.; for common, +$20.</p> + +<p>Most people have seen or been told something of the lumbermen +of Maine. Allowing this to be so, it will not be difficult to +comprehend the condition and character of the lumbermen of +Minnesota and the northwest. But if there is anybody who fancies +them to be a set of laborers, such as build our railroads and dig +coal and minerals, he is greatly mistaken. The difference is in +birth and education; between foreigners and native-born citizens. +A difference not in rights and merits, so much as in habits and +character. Born on American soil, they have attended our common +schools, and have the bearing and independence of sovereigns. +None but very vigorous men can endure, or at least attempt to +endure, the exposure of living in the woods all winter and +swinging the axe; though by proper care of themselves, such +exercise is conducive to health and strength. Accordingly we find +the lumberman— I mean of course the practical +lumberman— to be a thick-set, muscular young man, with a +bright eye and florid cheek; in short, one whom we would call a +double-fisted fellow. He is not one of your California boys, but +more affable and domestic, with a shorter beard, and not so great +a profusion of weapons. His dress is snug and plain— the +regular pioneer costume of boots over the pants, and a thick red +shirt in lieu of a coat. His capital stock is his health and his +hands. When in employment he is economical and lays up his wages. +When out of employment and in town, his money generally goes +freely. As a class, the lumbermen are intelligent. They are +strong talkers, for they put in a good many of the larger sort of +words; and from their pungent satire and sledge-hammer style of +reasoning, are by no means very facile disputants. They are +preeminently jokers. This is as they appear on their way to the +woods. During the season of their active labor they usually spend +the evening, after a day of hard work, in storytelling or in a +game of euchre. Their wages amount to about two dollars a day, +exclusive of board. They have good living in the woods, the +provisions, which are furnished on an ample scale, being served +by male cooks.</p> + +<p>While on the subject of lumber, which may possibly interest +some people who wish to redeem the fortunes they have lately lost +in Maine lumber, I ought not to leave unmentioned the valuable +cargoes of it which are floated down the Mississippi. When coming +up in the boat I was astonished to see such stupendous rafts. +Large logs are transported by being made into rafts. At a landing +where the boat stopped, I on one occasion attempted to estimate +the number of logs comprised in one of these marine novelties, +and found it to be about eight hundred; the logs were large, and +were worth from five to six dollars each. Here then was a raft of +timber worth at least $4000. They are navigated by about a dozen +men, with large paddles attached at either end of the raft, which +serve to propel and steer. Often, in addition to the logs, the +rafts are laden with valuable freights of sawed lumber. Screens +are built as a protection against wind, and a caboose stands +somewhere in the centre, or according to western parlance it +might be called a cabin. Sometimes the raft will be running in a +fine current; then only a couple of hands are on the watch and at +the helm. The rest are seen either loitering about observing the +country, or reclining, snugly wrapped up in their blankets. Some +of these rafts must cover as much as two acres. Birnam Wood +coming to Dunsinane was not a much greater phenomenon.</p> + +<h3>LETTER IX.</h3> + +<h4>SHORES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.</h4> + +<p class="full">Description of the country around Lake +Superior— Minerals— Locality of a commercial city— +New land districts— Buchanan— Ojibeway— +Explorations to the sources of the Mississippi— Henry R. +Schoolcraft— M. Nicollet's report— Resources of the +country above Crow Wing.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October 7, 1856.</p> + +<p>THERE is one very important section of this territory that I +have not yet alluded to. I mean that part which borders on Lake +Superior. This calls to mind that there is such a place as +Superior City. But that is in Wisconsin, not in Minnesota. From +that city (so called, yet city in earnest it is like to be) to +the nearest point in this territory the distance by water is +twelve miles. The St. Louis River is the dividing line for many +miles between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The country round about +this greatest of inland seas is not the most fertile. It is +somewhat bleak, on the northern shore especially, but is +nevertheless fat in minerals. On the banks of the St. Louis River +the soil is described, by the earliest explorers as well as +latest visiters, to be good. The river itself, though it contains +a large volume of water, is not adapted to navigation, on account +of its rapids.</p> + +<p>Those who have sailed across Lake Superior to the neighborhood +of Fond-du-Lac appear to have been charmed by the scenery of its +magnificent islands and its rock-bound shores. Most people, I +suppose, have heard of its beautiful cluster of islands called +the Twelve Apostles. One peculiar phenomenon often mentioned is +the boisterous condition of its waters at the shore, which occurs +when the lake itself is perfectly calm. The water is said to foam +and dash so furiously as to make it almost perilous to land in a +small boat. This would seem to be produced by some movement of +the waters similar to the flow of the tide; and perhaps the +dashing after all is not much more tumultuous than is seen on a +summer afternoon under the rocks of Nahant, or along the serene +coast at Phillips Beach.</p> + +<p>The resources of that part of the territory bordering on the +lake, however, are sufficient to induce an extensive, if not a +rapid, settlement of the country. The copper mines afford +occupation for thousands of people now. I have known a young man +to clear $40 a month in getting out the ore. But the labor is +hard. Somewhere near Fond-du-Lac is destined to be a great +commercial city. Whether it will be at Superior, which has now +got the start of all other places, or whether it will be at some +point within this territory, is more than can be known at +present. But a great town there is to be, sooner or later; and +for this reason, that the distance from Buffalo to Fond-du-Lac by +navigation is about the same as from Buffalo to Chicago, +affording, therefore, as good facilities for water transportation +of merchandise between Fond-du-Lac and the East, as between +Chicago and the East. Moreover, the development of this new +agricultural world will tend to that result. A railroad will then +run from that point directly west, crossing the upper Mississippi +as also the Red River of the North at the head of its navigation, +which is at the mouth of the Sioux Wood River.</p> + +<p>During the last summer, congress established two new land +districts in the upper part of the territory, called the +north-eastern and the north-western. The former includes the +country lying on Lake Superior, and its land office has been +located at Buchanan, a new place just started on the shore of the +lake. The land office for the north-western district has been +located at Ojibeway, a town site situated sixty miles above here, +on the Mississippi, near the mouth of Muddy River. This district +includes the head waters of the Mississippi, and extends west as +far as the Red River of the North. The surveyors have been +engaged in either district only a few weeks. I don't expect there +will be any land offered for sale in either district till spring. +While on the subject of land offices, let me observe that the +appointments in them are among the most lucrative under the +patronage of the general government. There is a register and +receiver for each office. They have, each, $500 per annum and +fees; the whole not to exceed $3000. Aside from the official +fees, they get much more for private services. They have more or +less evidence to reduce to writing in nearly every preemption +case, for which the general land office permits them to receive +private compensation. It is rather necessary that the local land +officers should be lawyers, as they have frequent occasion to +decide on litigated land claims.</p> + +<p>Many explorations have been made of the region around the head +waters of the Mississippi, the reports of which have conveyed to +the world attractive information of the country, but information +which only approximated to accuracy. In 1806, Lieut. Pike +explored the river as far as Turtle Lake, and returned, thinking, +good easy man, full surely he had discovered the real source of +the river, and yet the source of the river was more than a +hundred miles off in another direction. Lewis and Clarke had +ascended the river previously. In 1820, General Cass, accompanied +by Mr. Schoolcraft, explored the river to Cass Lake; being +obliged to stop there on account of the low stage of water which +they heard existed a few days' journey beyond. Again, in 1832, +Mr. Schoolcraft, then superintendent of Indian affairs, made +another expedition, which resulted in his discovery of the true +sources of the river; it being a lake which he named +<i>Itasca.</i> It has been said that he manufactured this +beautiful word out of the last syllables of <i>veritas</i> and +the first syllable of <i>caput</i> (the true head). But I have +been told that the word was suggested to his mind by an Indian +word signifying breast. Dr. Johnson says, that a traveller in +order to bring back knowledge should take knowledge with him. +That is, that he should have posted himself up to some extent on +the country he visits. I hope it will not require an affidavit +for me to prove that I availed myself of the suggestion. But I +must say I have found great pleasure and profit in perusing Mr. +Schoolcraft's narratives of both his expeditions. Though he had +the encouragement of the government, his undertaking was +surrounded by many obstacles and some dangers. His account of the +whole country is pleasant and instructive to the reader, and +shows that all he saw produced on his mind a favorable +impression. The arduous services of this gentleman as an explorer +have been of great advantage to the country, and his fine +literary talents have given his adventures an historic fame. Not +less deserving of applause either have been his efforts to +promote the welfare of the Indians. He now lives in affluent +circumstances at Washington, and, though suffering under some +bodily infirmities, appears (or did when I saw him) to enjoy life +with that serene and rational happiness which springs from useful +employment, and a consciousness that past opportunities have been +improved.</p> + +<blockquote>"For he lives twice who can at once employ<br> + Â The present well and e'en the past enjoy."</blockquote> + +<p>There have been other explorations of this part of the country +at different times by Messrs. Long, Nicollet, and Pope. M. +Nicollet was accompanied and assisted by Mr. (then Lieutenant) +Fremont. The reports made of these explorations afford +information which, if extensively known among the people, would +tend to direct a larger emigration into the upper part of the +territory. They often launch off into exclamations as to the +beautiful surface of the country; while their account of native +fruits and the bracing climate and fertile soil picture to the +imagination all the elements of a home.</p> + +<p>M. Nicollet was a foreign gentleman who possessed superior +scientific knowledge and a rare zeal to prosecute researches. He +made an exploration through the valley of the St. Peter's and the +Missouri; and from thence to the sources of the Mississippi, in +the year 1839. The official report which he made is a valuable +document, but difficult to be obtained. I shall therefore make a +few extracts from it. I should here remark that M. Nicollet died +before he had completed the introduction to his report. "The +Mississippi," he says, "holds its own from its very origin; for +it is not necessary to suppose, as has been done, that Lake +Itasca may be supplied with invisible sources, to justify the +character of a remarkable stream, which it assumes at its issue +from this lake. There are five creeks that fall into it, formed +by innumerable streamlets oozing from the clay-beds at the bases +of the hills, that consist of an accumulation of sand, gravel, +and clay, intermixed with erratic fragments; being a more +prominent portion of the great erratic deposit previously +described, and which here is known by the name of <i>'Hauteurs +des Terres'</i>— heights of land.</p> + +<p>"These elevations are commonly flat at top, varying in height +from 85 to 100 feet above the level of the surrounding waters. +They are covered with thick forests, in which coniferous plants +predominate. South of Itasca Lake, they form a semicircular +region with a boggy bottom, extending to the south-west a +distance of several miles; thence these <i>Hauteurs des +Terres</i> ascend to the north-west and north; and then, +stretching to the north-east and east, through the zone between +47 degrees and 48 degrees of latitude, make the dividing ridge +between the waters that empty into Hudson's Bay and those which +discharge themselves into the Gulf of Mexico. The principal group +of these <i>Hauteurs des Terres</i> is subdivided into several +ramifications, varying in extent, elevation, and course, so as to +determine the hydrographical basins of all the innumerable lakes +and rivers that so peculiarly characterize this region of +country.</p> + +<p>"One of these ramifications extends in a southerly direction +under the name of <i>Coteau du Grand Bois;</i> and it is this +which separates the Mississippi streams from those of the Red +River of the North.</p> + +<p>"The waters supplied by the north flank of these heights of +land— still on the south side of Lake Itasca— give +origin to the five creeks of which I have spoken above. These are +the waters which I consider to be the utmost sources of the +Mississippi. Those that flow from the southern side of the same +heights, and empty themselves into Elbow Lake, are the utmost +sources of the Red River of the North; so that the most remote +feeders of Hudson's Bay and the Gulf of Mexico are closely +approximated to each other."</p> + +<p>Of the country above Crow Wing, he makes the following +observations, which are not less interesting than instructive: +"Over the whole route which I traversed after leaving Crow Wing +River, the country has a different aspect from that which the +banks of the Mississippi above the falls present. The forests are +denser and more varied; the soil, which is alternately sandy, +gravelly, clayey, and loamy, is, generally speaking, lighter +excepting on the shores of some of the larger lakes. The uplands +are covered with white and yellow pines, spruce and birch; and +the wet lowlands by the American larch and the willow. On the +slopes of sandy hills, the American aspen, the canoe birch (white +birch), with a species of birch of dwarfish growth, the alder, +and wild rose, extend to the very margin of the river. On the +borders of the larger lakes, where the soil is generally better, +we find the sugar maple, the black and bar oaks (also named +overcup white oak, but differing from the white oak), the elm, +ash, lime tree, &c. Generally speaking, however, this +woodland does not extend back farther than a mile from the lakes. +The white cedar, the hemlock, spruce, pine, and fir, are +occasionally found; but the red cedar is scarce throughout this +region, and none, perhaps, are to be seen but on islands of those +lakes called by the Indians Red Cedar Lakes. The shrubbery +consists principally of the wild rose, hawthorn, and wild plum; +and raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and cranberries are +abundant.</p> + +<p>"The aspect of the country is greatly varied by hills, dales, +copses, small prairies, and a great number of lakes; the whole of +which I do not pretend to have laid down on my map. * * * * The +lakes to which I have just alluded are distributed in separate +groups, or are arranged in prolonged chains along the rivers, and +not unfrequently attached to each other by gentle rapids. It has +seemed to me that they diminish in extent on both sides of the +Mississippi, as we proceed southwardly, as far as 43 degrees of +north latitude; and this observation extends to the Arctic +region, commencing at Bear's Lake; or Slave Lake, Winnipeg Lake, +&c. It may be further remarked that the basins of these lakes +have a sufficient depth to leave no doubt that they will remain +characteristic features of the country for a long time to come. +Several species of fish abound in them. The white fish +<i>(Corregonus albus)</i> is found in all the deep lakes west of +the Mississippi— and, indeed, from Lake Erie to the Polar +Sea. That which is taken in Leech Lake is said by amateurs to be +more highly flavored than even that of Lake Superior, and weighs +from three to ten pounds.* * * Of all the Indian nations that I +have visited, the Chippewas, inhabiting the country about the +sources of the Mississippi, are decidedly the most favored. +Besides their natural resources (to which I have already +referred) of fish, wild rice, and maple sugar, with the addition +of an abundance of game, the climate is found to be well adapted +to the culture of corn, wheat, barley, oats, and pulse. The +potato is of superior quality to that of the Middle States of the +Union. In a trading point of view, the hunt is very profitable. +The bear, the deer and elk, the wolf, the fox, the wolverine, the +fisher raccoon, muskrat, mink, otter, marten, weasel, and a few +remaining beavers, are the principal articles of this traffic." +(pp. 58, 64.) To those who are desirous of perusing this valuable +report, and who have access to the congressional documents, I +would say that it may be found in Senate Document 237, 2d Session +of 26th Congress.</p> + +<h3>LETTER X.</h3> + +<h4>VALLEY OF THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH.</h4> + +<p class="full">Climate of Minnesota— The settlement at +Pembina— St. Joseph— Col. Smith's expedition— Red +River of the North— Fur trade— Red River +Settlement— The Hudson's Bay Company— Ex-Gov. Ramsey's +observations— Dacotah.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>A CELEBRATED geographer of the first century wrote, "Germany +is indeed habitable, but is uninhabited on account of the cold." +I am not so certain, but some people have a similar idea of the +upper portion of Minnesota. If there are any, however, thus +distrustful of its climate, they probably live out of the +territory. I have no means of knowing what the climate is here in +winter, except from hearsay and general principles. It seems to +be an approved theory, that the farther we approach the west in a +northern latitude the milder becomes the winter. The +stage-drivers tell me that the snow does not fall to such a depth +as in the northern part of New England; that the weather is +tolerably uniform; and that the roads are at all times kept open +and much travelled. After all, it is a great way before we come +to the home of the Esquimaux, and the desert of ice where Sir +John Franklin perished.</p> + +<p>I will here subjoin the following extract from a letter +addressed to Gov. Stephens by the Hon. Henry M. Rice, the able +delegate from Minnesota. It is dated 3d June, 1854:</p> + +<p>"Navigation of the Mississippi River closes from the 10th to +the 25th of November, and opens from the 1st to the 10th of +April. That of the Red River of the North closes from the 1st to +16th November, and opens from 10th to 25th April. I have often +travelled in the winter from St. Paul to Crow Wing, a distance of +one hundred and fifty miles, with a single horse and sled, +without a track, and have never found the snow deep enough to +impede my progress. I have also gone from Crow Wing, beyond the +head waters of the Mississippi, to the waters of the Hudson's +Bay, on foot and without snow-shoes. I spent one entire winter +travelling through that region, and never found the snow over +eighteen inches deep, and seldom over nine inches.</p> + +<p>"For several years I had trading-posts extending from Lake +Superior to the Red River of the North, from 46 degrees to 49 +degrees north latitude, and never found the snow so deep as to +prevent supplies being transported from one post to another with +horses. One winter, north of Crow Wing, say 47 degrees north +latitude, I wintered about sixty head of horses and cattle +without giving them food of any kind except such as they could +procure themselves under the snow. Between the 45th and 49th +degrees north latitude, the snow does not fall so deep as it does +between the 40th and 45th degrees; this is easily accounted for +upon the same principle that in the fall they have frosts much +earlier near the 40th than they do near the 45th degree. I say +this in reference to the country watered by the Mississippi +River. Owing to its altitude the atmosphere is dry beyond belief, +which accounts for the absence of frosts in the fall, and for the +small quantity of snow that falls in a country so far north. +Voyageurs traverse the territory from Lake Superior to the +Missouri the entire winter with horses and sleds, having to make +their own roads, and yet with heavy loads are not detained by +snow. Lumbermen in great numbers winter in the pine regions of +Minnesota with their teams, and I have never heard of their +finding the snow too deep to prosecute their labors. I have known +several winters when the snow at no time was over six inches +deep."</p> + +<p>The Hon. H. H. Sibley, ex-delegate from Minnesota, in a letter +dated at Mendota says: "As our country is for the most part +composed of prairie, it is of course much exposed to the action +of the winds. It is, however, a peculiarity of our climate, that +calms prevail during the cold weather of the winter months; +consequently, the snow does not drift to anything like the extent +experienced in New England or northern New York. I have never +believed that railroad communication in this territory would be +seriously impeded by the depth or drift of snow, unless, perhaps, +in the extreme northern portion of it." (See Explorations and +Surveys for the Pacific Railroad, I., 400.)</p> + +<p>A few facts in regard to the people who live four or five +hundred miles to the north, will best illustrate the nature of +the climate and its adaptedness to agriculture.</p> + +<p>It is common to say that settlements have not extended beyond +Crow Wing. This is only technically true. There is a settlement +at Pembina, where the dividing line between British America and +the United States crosses the Red River of the North. It didn't +<i>extend</i> there from our frontier, sure enough. If it +extended from anywhere it must have been from the north, or along +the confines of that mystic region called Rainy Lake. Pembina is +said to have about 600 inhabitants. It is situated on the Pembina +River. It is an Indian-French word meaning cranberry. Men live +there who were born there, and it is in fact an old settlement. +It was founded by British subjects, who thought they had located +on British soil. The greater part of its inhabitants are +half-breeds, who earn a comfortable livelihood in fur hunting and +in farming. It sends two representatives and a councillor to the +territorial legislature. It is 460 miles north-west of St. Paul, +and 330 miles distant from this town. Notwithstanding the +distance, there is considerable communication between the places. +West of Pembina, about thirty miles, is a settlement called St. +Joseph, situated N. of a large mythological body of water called +Miniwakan, or Devil's Lake; and is one of the points where Col. +Smith's expedition was intending to stop. This expedition to +which I refer, started out from Fort Snelling in the summer, to +explore the country on both sides of the Red River of the North +as far as Pembina, and to report to the war department the best +points for the establishment of a new military post. It is +expected that Col. Smith will return by the first of next month; +and it is probable he will advise the erection of a post at +Pembina. When that is done, if it is done, its effect will be to +draw emigrants from the Red River settlement into Minnesota.</p> + +<p>Now let me say a word about this Red River of the North, for +it is beginning to be a great feature in this upper country. It +runs north, and empties into Lake Winnipeg, which connects with +Hudson's Bay by Nelson River. It is a muddy and sluggish stream, +navigable to the mouth of Sioux Wood River for vessels of three +feet draught for four months in the year. So that the extent of +its navigation within the territory alone (between Pembina and +the mouth of Sioux Wood River) is 417 miles. Buffaloes still feed +on its western banks. Its tributaries are numerous and copious, +abounding with the choicest kinds of game, and skirted with a +various and beautiful foliage. It cannot be many years before +this magnificent valley shall pour its products into our markets, +and be the theatre of a busy and genial life.</p> + +<p>One of the first things which drew my attention to this river +was a sight of several teams travelling towards this vicinity +from a north-westerly direction. I observed that the complexion +of those in the caravan was a little darker than that of pure +white Minnesotians, and that the carts were a novelty. "Who are +those people? and where are they from?" I inquired of a friend. +"They are Red River people, just arrived— they have come +down to trade." Their carts are made to be drawn by one animal, +either an ox or a horse, and are put together without the use of +a particle of iron. They are excellently adapted to prairie +travelling. How strange it seems! Here are people who have been +from twenty to thirty days on their journey to the nearest +civilized community. This is their nearest market. Their average +rate of travelling is about fifteen miles a day, and they +generally secure game enough on the way for their living. I have +had highly interesting accounts of the Red River settlement since +I have been here, both from Mr. Ross and Mr. Marion, gentlemen +recently from there. The settlement is seventy miles north of +Pembina, and lies on both sides of the river. Its population is +estimated at 10,000. It owes its origin and growth to the +enterprise and success of the Hudson's Bay Company. Many of the +settlers came from Scotland, but the most were from Canada. They +speak English and Canadian French. The English style of society +is well kept up, whether we regard the church with its bishop, +the trader with his wine cellar, the scholar with his library, +the officer with his sinecure, or their paper currency. I find +they have everything but a hotel, for I was particular on that +point, though not intending just yet to go there. Probably the +arrivals do not justify such an institution, but their cordial +hospitality will make up for any such lack, from all I hear. They +have a judge who gets a good house to live in, and L1000 sterling +a year; but he has nothing of consequence to do. He was formerly +a leading lawyer in Canada.</p> + +<p>The great business of the settlement, of course, is the fur +traffic. An immense amount of buffalo skins is taken in the +summer and autumn, while in the winter smaller but more valuable +furs are procured. The Indians also enlist in the hunts; and it +is estimated that upwards of $200,000 worth of furs are annually +taken from our territory and sold to the Hudson's Bay Company. It +is high time indeed that a military post should be established +somewhere on the Red River by our government. The Hudson's Bay +Company is now a powerful monopoly. Not so magnificent and potent +as the East India Company, it is still a powerful combination, +showering opulence on its members, and reflecting a peculiar +feature in the strength and grandeur of the British empire— +a power, which, to use the eloquent language of Daniel Webster, +"has dotted over the whole surface of the globe with her +possessions and military posts— whose morning drum-beat, +following the sun, and keeping company with the hours, circles +the earth daily with one continuous and unbroken strain of +martial music." The company is growing richer every year, and its +jurisdiction and its lands will soon find an availability never +dreamed of by its founders, unless, as may possibly happen, +popular sovereignty steps in to grasp the fruits of its long +apprenticeship. Some time ago I believe the Canadas sought to +annex this broad expanse to their own jurisdiction. There are +about two hundred members in the Hudson's Bay Company. The +charter gives them the power to legislate for the settlement. +They have many persons in their employ in England as well as in +British America. A clerk, after serving the company ten years, +with a salary of about $500 per annum, is considered qualified +for membership, with the right to vote in the deliberations of +the company, and one share in the profits. The profits of a share +last year amounted to $10,000! A factor of the company, after +serving ten years, is entitled to membership with the profits of +two shares. The aristocracy of the settlement consists +principally of retired factors and other members of the company, +who possess large fortunes, dine on juicy roast beef, with old +port, ride in their carriages, and enjoy life in a very +comfortable manner. Two of the company's ships sail up into +Hudson's Bay every year to bring merchandise to the settlement +and take away furs. [1] But the greatest portion of the trade is +done with Minnesota. Farming is carried on in the neighborhood of +the settlement with cheerful ease and grand success. I was as +much surprised to hear of the nature of their agriculture as of +anything else concerning the settlement. The same kind of crops +are raised as in Pennsylvania or Maine; and this in a country, be +it remembered, five hundred miles and upwards north of St. Paul. +Stock must be easily raised, as it would appear from the fact +that it is driven down here into the territory and sold at a +great profit. Since I have been here, a drove of fine-looking +cattle from that settlement passed to be sold in the towns below, +and a drove of horses is expected this fall. The stock which +comes from there is more hardy than can be got anywhere else, and +therefore is preferred by the Minnesotians.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 "The Hudson's Bay Company allows its +servants, while making a voyage, eight pounds of meat a day, and +I am told the allowance is none too much." (Lieutenant Howison's +Report on Oregon, p. 7.)]</p> + +<p>The following extract from Ex-Governor Ramsey's address, +recently delivered before the annual fair at Minneapolis, wherein +he gives some results of his observations of the Red River +settlement during his trip there in 1851, will be read with much +interest:—</p> + +<p>"Re-embarking in our canoes, we continued descending the river +for some fifteen miles further, through the French portion of the +settlement, lining mainly the west or left bank of the river, +until we arrived about the centre of the colony, at the mouth of +the Assinniboin tributary of Red River, where we landed and +remained a few days, viewing the colony and its improvements. I +was at that time, and am even now, when I look back upon it, lost +in wonder at the phenomena which that settlement exhibits to the +world, considering its location in an almost polar region of the +North. Imagine a river flowing sluggishly northward through a +flat alluvial plain, and the west side of it lined continuously +for over thirty miles with cultivated farms, each presenting +those appearances of thrift around them which I mentioned as +surrounding the first farms seen by us; but each farm with a +narrow frontage on the river of only twenty-four rods in width, +but extending back for one or two miles, and each of these narrow +farms having their dwellings and the farm out-buildings spread +only along the river front, with lawns sloping to the water's +edge, and shrubbery and vines liberally trained around them, and +trees intermingled— the whole presenting the appearance of a +long suburban village— such as you might see near our +eastern sea-board, or such as you find exhibited in pictures of +English country villages, with the resemblance rendered more +striking by the spires of several large churches peeping above +the foliage of the trees in the distance, whitewashed +school-houses glistening here and there amidst sunlight and +green; gentlemen's houses of pretentious dimensions and grassy +lawns and elaborate fencing, the seats of retired officers of the +Hudson's Bay Company occasionally interspersed; here an English +bishop's parsonage, with a boarding or high school near by; and +over there a Catholic bishop's massive cathedral, with a convent +of Sisters of Charity attached; whilst the two large stone forts, +at which reside the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, or of +the colony once called Upper Fort Garry, and situated at the +mouth of the Assinniboin, and the other termini the Lower Fort +Garry, which is twenty miles farther down the river, helped to +give additional picturesqueness to the scene. I had almost +forgotten to mention what is, after all, the most prominent and +peculiar feature of that singular landscape, singular from its +location— and that is the numerous wind-mills, nearly twenty +in all, which on every point of land made by the turns and bends +in the river, stretched out their huge sails athwart the horizon, +and seemingly looked defiance at us as invading strangers, that +were from a land where steam or water mills monopolize their +avocation of flour making. One morning as we passed down the +principal high road, on our way to Lower Fort Garry, the wind, +after a protracted calm, began to blow a little; when presto! +each mill veered around its sails to catch the propitious breeze, +and as the sails began to revolve, it was curious to observe the +numerous carts that shot out from nearly every farm-house, and +hurried along the road to these mills, to get ground their grists +of spring wheat, with which they were respectively loaded.</p> + +<p>"Another incident during the same trip that struck us oddly, +was seeing two ladies driving by themselves a fine horse hitched +to a buggy of modern fashion, just as much at home apparently as +if they were driving through the streets of St. Paul, or St. +Anthony, or Minneapolis, instead of upon that remote highway +towards the North Pole; but this was not a whit more novel than +to hear the pianoforte, and played, too, with both taste and +skill. While another 'lion' of those parts that met our view was +a topsail schooner lying in the river at the lower fort, which +made occasional trips into Great Lake Winnepeg of the North, a +hundred miles below.</p> + +<p>"I took occasion during my visit to inquire what success the +farmers met with in securing good crops, and the profits of +farmers generally. As to wheat, I learned that the yield of the +spring variety was quite equal in quantity and quality to the +crop of that grain on any more southern farms; that in raising +barley they could almost surpass the world; and the cereals +generally, and all the esculent roots, were easily raised. Indian +corn was not planted as a field crop, though it was grown in +their gardens. In a word, the capacity of their land to produce +almost everything plentifully and well, was established; but for +all this, farming did not afford much profit. for want of a +sufficient market; beyond a small demand by the Hudson's Bay +Company, there was no outlet for their superabundance; and to use +an Austrian phase in regard to Hungarians, the Selkirkers are +metaphysically 'smothering in their own fat.' To remedy this +state of things they were beginning, when I was there, to turn +their attention towards raising cattle and horses, for which +their country is well calculated; and the first fruits of this +new decision given to their farming energies, we have already +experienced in the droves of both which have recently been driven +from thence and sold in this vicinity."</p> + +<p>I think the facts which I have herein hastily set downhill +dispel any apprehension as to the successful cultivation of the +soil in the northern part of the territory. It has a +health-giving climate which before long, I predict, will nourish +as patriotic a race of men as gave immortality to the noble +plains of Helvetia. There is one thing I would mention which +seems to auspicate the speedy development of the valley of the +North Red River. Next year Minnesota will probably be admitted as +a state; and a new territory organized out of the broad region +embracing the valley aforesaid and the head waters of the +Mississippi. Or else it will be divided by a line north and +south, including the western valley of that river, and extending +as far to the west as the Missouri River. I understand it will be +called Dacotah, though I at first thought it would be called +Pembina. There is always a rush into new territories, and the +proposed new territory of Dacotah will present sufficient +inducements for a large immigration. When the valley of the North +Red River shall be settled, and splendid harvest fields adorn its +banks; when great factories take the place of wind-mills, and +when railroads shall take the place of Red River carts, then we +will have new cause to exclaim,</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">"Westward the course of empire +takes its way!"</p> + +<h3>LETTER XI.</h3> + +<h4>THE TRUE PIONEER.</h4> + +<p class="full">Energy of the pioneer— Frontier life— +Spirit of emigration— Advantages to the farmer in moving +West— Advice in regard to making preemption claims— +Abstract of the preemption law— Hints to the settler— +Character and services of the pioneer.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I DESIRE in this letter to say something about the pioneer, +and life on the frontier. And by pioneer I mean the true pioneer +who comes into the West to labor and to share the vicissitudes of +new settlements; not the adventurer, who would repine at toil, +and gather where he has not sown.</p> + +<p>As I have looked abroad upon the vast domain of the West +beyond the dim Missouri, or in the immediate valley of the +Mississippi, I have wondered at the contrast presented between +the comparatively small number who penetrate to the frontier, and +that great throng of men who toil hard for a temporary livelihood +in the populous towns and cities of the Union. And I have thought +if this latter class were at all mindful of the opportunities for +gain and independence which the new territories afforded, they +would soon abandon— in a great measure at least— their +crowded alleys in the city, and aspire to be cultivators and +owners of the soil. Why there has not been a greater emigration +from cities I cannot imagine, unless it is owing to a +misapprehension of Western life. Either it is this, or the +pioneer is possessed of a very superior degree of energy.</p> + +<p>It has been said that the frontier man always keeps on the +frontier; that he continues to emigrate as fast as the country +around him becomes settled. There is a class that do so. Not, +however, for the cause which has been sometimes humorously +assigned— that civilization was inconvenient to them— +but because good opportunities arise to dispose of the farms they +have already improved; and because a further emigration secures +them cheaper lands. The story of the pioneer who was disturbed by +society, when his nearest neighbor lived fifteen miles off, even +if it be true, fails to give the correct reason for the migratory +life of this class of men.</p> + +<p>It almost always happens that wherever we go somebody else has +preceded us. Accident or enterprise has led some one to surpass +us. Many of the most useful pioneers of this country have been +attracted hither by the accounts given of its advantages by some +one of their friends who had previously located himself here. Ask +a man why he comes, and he says a neighbor of his, or a son, or a +brother, has been in the territory for so many months, and he +likes it so well I concluded to come also. A very respectable +gentleman from Maine, a shipowner and a man of wealth, who came +up on the boat with me to St. Paul, said his son-in-law was in +the territory, and he had another son at home who was bound to +come, and if his wife was willing he believed the whole family +would come. Indeed the excellent state of society in the +territory is to be attributed very much to the fact that parents +have followed after their children.</p> + +<p>It is pretty obvious too why men will leave poor farms in New +England, and good farms in Ohio, to try their fortunes here. The +farmer in New England, it may be in New Hampshire, hears that the +soil of Minnesota is rich and free from rocks, that there are +other favorable resources, and a salubrious climate such as he +has been accustomed to. He concludes that it is best to sell out +the place he has, and try ploughing where there are no rocks to +obstruct him. The farmer of Ohio does not expect to find better +soil than he leaves; but his inducements are that he can sell his +land at forty or fifty dollars an acre, and preempt as good in +Minnesota for a dollar and a quarter an acre. This operation +leaves him a surplus fund, and he becomes a more opulent man, +with better means to adorn his farm and to educate his +children.</p> + +<p>Those who contemplate coming West to engage in agricultural +employment should leave their families, if families they have, +behind till they have selected a location and erected some kind +of a habitation; provided, however, they have no particular +friend whose hospitality they can avail themselves of till their +preliminary arrangements are effected. It will require three +months, I judge, for a man to select a good claim (a quarter +section, being 160 acres), and fence and plough a part of it and +to erect thereon a cabin. There is never a want of land to +preempt in a new country. The settler can always get an original +claim, or buy out the claim of another very cheap, near some +other settlers. The liberal policy of our government in regard to +the disposal of public lands is peculiarly beneficial to the +settler. The latter has the first chance. He can go on to a +quarter section which may be worth fifteen dollars an acre, and +preempt it before it is surveyed, and finally obtain it for $1.25 +an acre. Whereas the speculator must wait till the land is +surveyed and advertised for sale; and then he can get only what +has not been preempted, and at a price which it brings at +auction, not less than $1.25 an acre. Then what land is not sold +at public sale is open to private entry at $1.25 an acre. It is +such land that bounty warrants are located on. Thus it is seen +the pioneer has the first choice. Why, I have walked over land up +here that would now bring from ten to twenty dollars an acre if +it was in the market, and which any settler can preempt and get +for $1.25 an acre. I am strongly tempted to turn farmer myself, +and go out and build me a cabin. The speculation would be a good +one. But to acquire a title by preemption I must dwell on the +soil, and prove that I have erected a dwelling and made other +improvements. In other words, before a man (or any head of a +family) can get a patent, he must satisfy the land officers that +he is a dweller in good faith on the soil. It is often the case, +indeed, that men get a title by preemption who never intend to +live on their quarter section. But they do it by fraud. They have +a sort of mental reservation, I suppose, when they take the +requisite oaths. In this way many valuable claims are taken up +and held along from month to month, or from year to year, by mock +improvements. A pretender will make just improvements enough to +hinder the actual settler from locating on the claim, or will +sell out to him at a good profit. A good deal of money is made by +these fictitious claimants. It is rather hard to prevent it, too, +inasmuch as it is difficult to disprove that a man intends some +time to have a permanent home, or, in fact, that his claim is not +his legal residence, though his usual abiding place is somewhere +else. Nothing could be more delightful than for a party of young +men who desire to farm to come out together early in the spring, +and aid each other in preempting land in the same neighborhood. +The preemptor has to pay about five dollars in the way of fees +before he gets through the entire process of securing a title. It +is a popular error (much like the opinion that a man cannot swear +to what he sees through glass) that improvements of a certain +value, say fifty dollars, are required to be made, or that a +certain number of acres must be cultivated. All that is required, +however, is evidence that the party has built a house fit to live +in, and has in good faith proceeded to cultivate the soil. The +law does not permit a person to preempt 160 acres but once; yet +this provision is often disregarded, possibly from ignorance, I +was about to say, but that cannot be, since the applicant must +make oath that he has not before availed himself of the right of +preemption.</p> + +<p>I will insert at this place an abridgment of the preemption +act of 4th September, 1841, which I made two years ago; and which +was extensively published in the new states and territories. I am +happy to find, also, that it has been thought worth copying into +one or more works on the West.</p> + +<p>I. <i>Lands subject to preemption.</i> By sec. 10 of said act +it is provided that the public lands to which the Indian title +had been extinguished at the time of the settlement, and which +had also been <i>surveyed</i> prior thereto, shall be subject to +preemption, and purchase at the rate of one dollar and +twenty-five cents per acre. And by the act of 22d July, 1854, +sec. 12, the preemption of <i>unsurveyed</i> lands is recognised +as legal. Lands of the following description are excepted: such +as are included in any reservation, by any treaty, law, or +proclamation of the President of the United States, or reserved +for salines or for other purposes; lands included within the +limits of any incorporated town, or which have been selected as +the site for a city or town; lands actually settled and occupied +for the purposes of trade and not agriculture; and lands on which +are situated any known salines or mines.</p> + +<p>II. <i>The amount</i> designated is any number of acres not +exceeding one hundred and sixty.</p> + +<p>III. <i>Who may preempt.</i> "Every person being the head of a +family, or widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, +and being a citizen of the United States, or having filed his +declaration of intention to become a citizen, as required by the +naturalization laws." But no person shall be entitled to more +than one preemptive right, and no person who is the proprietor of +three hundred and twenty acres of land in any state or territory +of the United States, and no person who shall quit or abandon his +residence on his own land to reside on the public land in the +same state or territory, shall acquire any right of +preemption.</p> + +<p>IV. <i>The method to perfect the right.</i> The preemptor must +make a settlement on the land in person; inhabit and improve the +same, and erect thereon a dwelling. And when the land has been +surveyed previous to settlement the preemptor shall, within +thirty days of the date of the settlement, file with the register +of the proper district a written statement describing the land +settled upon, and declaring the intention of such person to claim +the same under the provisions of the preemption law. And within +twelve months of the date of the settlement such person shall +make the requisite proof, affidavit, and payment. When unsurveyed +lands are prompted (act of 1854), notice of the specific tracts +claimed shall be filed with the surveyor general, within three +months after the survey has been made in the field. And when two +or more persons shall have settled on the same quarter section, +the right of preemption shall be in him or her who made the first +settlement; and questions arising between different settlers +shall be decided by the register and receiver of the district +within which the land is situated, subject to an appeal to and +revision by the Secretary of the Interior of the United +States.</p> + +<p>And the settler must make oath before the receiver or register +that he or she has never had the benefit of any right of +preemption under the preemption act: that he or she is not the +owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in any state or +territory of the United States, nor hath he or she settled upon +and improved said land to sell the same on speculation, but in +good faith to appropriate it to his or her own exclusive use or +benefit: and that he or she has not directly or indirectly made +any agreement or contract in any way or manner with any person or +persons whatsoever, by which the title which he or she might +acquire from the government of the United States should enure in +whole or in part to the benefit of any person except himself or +herself; and if any person talking such oath shall swear falsely +in the premises, he or she shall be subject to all the pains and +penalties of perjury, and shall forfeit the money which he or she +may have paid for such land, and all right and title to the same; +and any grant or conveyance which he or she may have made, except +in the hands of bona fide purchasers for a valuable +consideration, shall be null and void.</p> + +<p>Proof of the requisite settlement and improvement shall be +made by the preemptor to the satisfaction of the register and +receiver, in the district in which the lands so claimed lie, who +shall each be entitled to receive fifty cents from each applicant +for his services rendered. as aforesaid; and all assignments and +transfers of the right hereby secured prior to the issuing of the +patent, shall be null and void. (See U. S. Stat. at Large, vol. +5, 453-458.)</p> + +<p>But I was on the point of advising the settler what he should +bring with him into a new country and what leave behind. He +should not bring much furniture. It is very expensive and +troublesome to have it transported. Nor will he need much to +begin with, or have room for it. It will cost nearly as much to +transport it seventy miles through the territory as it will to +bring it from whence he started within the limits of the +territory. Let him pack up in a small compass the most precious +part of his inanimate household, and leave it ready for an agent +to start it after he shall have found a domicil. This will save +expensive storage. Then let his goods be directed to the care of +some responsible forwarding merchant in a river town nearest to +their final destination, that they may be taken care of and not +be left exposed on the levee when they arrive. St. Paul is now a +place of so much mercantile importance and competition that one +may buy provisions, furniture, or agricultural tools cheaper +there than he can himself bring them from the East. The +professional man, however, will do well to bring his books with +him.</p> + +<p>Let us assume now that the settler has got his house up, +either a frame house or of logs, with a part of his farm fenced; +and that be has filed his application for preemption at the land +office in the district in which he resides. Let us suppose +further, that he is passing his first autumn here. His house, if +he is a man of limited means, has but two rooms, and they are +both on the basement story. He has just shelter enough for his +stock, but none for his hay, which is stacked near by. The +probability is, that he lives in the vicinity of some clear +stream or copious spring, and has not, therefore, needed to dig a +well. The whole establishment, one would think, who was +accustomed to the Eastern style of living, betrayed downright +poverty.</p> + +<p>But let us stop a moment; this is the home of a pioneer. He +has been industrious, and everything about him exhibits +forethought. There is a cornfield all fenced in with tamarack +poles. It is paved over with pumpkins (for pumpkins flourish +wonderfully in Minnesota), and contains twenty acres of ripe +corn, which, allowing thirty-five bushels to an acre, is worth at +ninety cents per bushel the sum of $630. There are three acres of +potatoes, of the very best quality, containing three hundred +bushels, which, at fifty cents a bushel, are worth $150. Here +then, off of two crops, he gets $780, and I make a moderate +estimate at that. Next year he will add to this a crop of oats or +wheat. The true pioneer is a model farmer. He lays out his work +two weeks in advance. Every evening finds him further ahead. If +there is a rainy day, he knows what to set himself about. Be lays +his plans in a systematic manner, and carries them into execution +with energy. He is a true pioneer, and therefore he is not an +idle man, nor a loafer, nor a weak addle-headed tippler. Go into +his house, and though you do not see elegance you can yet behold +intelligence, and neatness, and sweet domestic bliss. The life of +the pioneer is not exposed to such hardships and delays as +retarded the fortunes of the settlers in the older states. They +had to clear forests; here the land is ready for the plough. And +though "there is society where none intrude," yet he is not by +any means beyond the boundaries of good neighborhood. In many +cases, however, he has left his dearest friends far away in his +native village, where his affections still linger. He has to +endure painful separations, and to forego those many comforts +which spring from frequent meetings under the parental roof, and +frequent converse with the most attractive scones of youth. But +to compensate for these things he can feel that the labor of the +pioneer, aside from its pecuniary advantage to himself, is of +service to the state, and a helpmate to succeeding +generations.</p> + +<blockquote>"There are, who, distant from their native soil,<br> + Â Still for their own and country's glory toil:<br> + Â While some, fast rooted to their parent spot,<br> + Â In life are useless, and in death forgot!"</blockquote> + +<h3>LETTER XII.</h3> + +<h4>SPECULATION AND BUSINESS.</h4> + +<p class="full">Opportunities to select farms— Otter Tail +Lake— Advantages of the actual settler over the +speculator— Policy of new states as to taxing +non-residents— Opportunities to make money— Anecdote of +Col. Perkins— Mercantile business— Price of money— +Intemperance— Education— The free school.</p> + +<p>CROW WING, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>IT is maintained by the reviewers, I believe, that the duller +a writer is, the more accurate he should be. In the outset of +this letter, I desire to testify my acquiescence in the justice +of that dogma, for if, like neighbor Dogberry, "I were as tedious +as a king," I could not find it in my heart to bestow it all +without a measure of utility.</p> + +<p>I shall try to answer some questions which I imagine might be +put by different classes of men who are interested in this part +of the west. My last letter had some hints to the farmer, and I +can only add, in addition, for his benefit, that the most +available locations are now a considerable distance above St. +Paul. The valley of the St. Peter's is pretty much taken up; and +so of the valley of the Mississippi for a distance of fifteen +miles on either side to a point a hundred miles above St. Paul. +One of the land officers at Minneapolis informed me that there +were good preemption claims to be had fifteen miles west, that +being as far as the country was thickly settled. One of the +finest regions now unoccupied, that I know of, not to except even +the country on the Crow Wing River, is the land bordering on +Otter Tail Lake. For forty miles all round that lake the land is +splendid. More than a dozen disinterested eye-witnesses have +described that region to me in the most glowing terms. In beauty, +in fertility, and in the various collateral resources which make +a farming country desirable, it is not surpassed. It lies south +of the picturesque highlands or <i>hauteurs des terres,</i> and +about midway between the sources of the Crow Wing and North Red +Rivers. From this town the distance to it is sixty miles. The +lake itself is forty miles long and five miles in width. The +water is clear and deep, and abounds with white fish that are +famous for their delicious flavor. The following description, +which I take from Captain Pope's official narrative of his +exploration, is a reliable description of this delightful spot, +now fortunately on the eve of being settled— " To the west, +north-west, and north-east, the whole country is heavily timbered +with oak, elm, ash, maple, birch, bass, &c., &c. Of these +the sugar maple is probably the most valuable, and in the +vicinity of Otter Tail Lake large quantities of maple sugar are +manufactured by the Indians. The wild rice, which exists in these +lakes in the most lavish profusion, constitutes a most necessary +article of food with the Indians, and is gathered in large +quantities in the months of September and October. To the east +the banks of the lake are fringed with heavy oak and elm timber +to the width of one mile. The whole region of country for fifty +miles in all directions around this lake is among the most +beautiful and fertile in the world. The fine scenery of lakes and +open groves of oak timber, of winding streams connecting them, +and beautifully rolling country on all sides, renders this +portion of Minnesota the garden spot of the north-west. It is +impossible in a report of this character to describe the feeling +of admiration and astonishment with which we first beheld the +charming country in the vicinity of this lake; and were I to give +expression to my own feelings and opinions in reference to it, I +fear they would be considered the ravings of a visionary or an +enthusiast."[1] But let me say to the speculator that he need not +covet any of these broad acres. There is little chance for him. +Before that land can be bought at public sale or by mere +purchasers at private sale, it will, I feel sure, be entirely +occupied by actual settlers. And so it ought to be. The good of +the territory is promoted by that beneficent policy of our public +land laws which gives the actual settler the first and best +chance to acquire a title by preemption.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 To illustrate the rapid progress which is +going on constantly, I would remark that in less than a month +after leaving Crow Wing, I received a letter from there informing +me that Messrs. Crittenden, Cathcart, and others had been to +Otter Tail Lake and laid out a town which they call Otter Tail +City. The standing and means of the men engaged in the +enterprise, are a sure guaranty of its success.]</p> + +<p>Speculators have located a great many land warrants in +Minnesota. Some have been located on lakes, some on swamps, some +on excellent land. Of course the owner, who, as a general thing, +is a nonresident, leaves his land idle for something to "turn up" +to make it profitable. There it stands doing no good, but on the +contrary is an encumbrance to the settler, who has to travel over +and beyond it without meeting the face of a neighbor in its +vicinity. The policy of new states is to tax non-resident +landholders at a high rate. When the territory becomes a state, +and is obliged to raise a revenue, some of these fellows outside, +who, to use a phrase common up here, have plastered the country +over with land warrants, will have to keep a lookout for the +tax-gatherer. Now I do not mean to discourage moneyed men from +investing in Minnesota lands. I do not wish to raise any +bugbears, but simply to let them know that hoarding up large +tracts of land without making improvements, and leaving it to +increase in value by the toil and energy of the pioneer, is a way +of doing things which is not popular with the actual settler. But +there is a great deal of money to be made by judicious +investments in land. Buying large tracts of land I believe to be +the least profitable speculation, unless indeed the purchaser +knows exactly what he is buying, and is on hand at the public +sale to get the benefit of a second choice. I say second choice, +because the preemptor has had the first choice long ago, and it +may be before the land was surveyed. What I would recommend to +speculators is to purchase in some good town sites. Buy in two or +three, and if one or two happen to prove failures, the profits on +the other will enable you to bear the loss. I know of a man who +invested $6000 at St. Paul six years ago. He has sold over +$80,000 worth of the land, and has as much more left. This is but +an ordinary instance. The advantage of buying lots in a town +arises from the rapid rise of the value of the land, the ready +market, and withal the moderate prices at which they can be +procured during the early part of its history.</p> + +<p>To such persons as have a desire to come West, and are not +inclined to be farmers, and who have not capital enough to engage +in mercantile business, there is sufficient employment. A new +country always opens avenues of successful business for every +industrious man and woman; more kinds even than I could well +enumerate. Every branch of mechanics needs workmen of all grades; +from the boy who planes the rough boards to the head workman. +Teaming affords good employment for young men the year round. The +same may be said of the saw-mills. A great deal of building is +going on constantly; and those who have good trades get $2.50 per +day. I am speaking, of course, of the territory in general. One +of the most profitable kinds of miscellaneous business is +surveying. This art requires the services of large numbers; not +only to survey the public lands, but town sites and the lands of +private individuals. Labor is very high everywhere in the West, +whether done by men, women, or children;— even the boys, not +fourteen years old, who clean the knives and forks on the +steamboats, get $20 a month and <i>are found</i>. But the best of +it all is, that when a man earns a few dollars he can easily +invest it in a piece of land, and double his money in three +months, perhaps in one month. One of the merchant princes of +Boston, the late Col. T. H. Perkins, published a notice in a +Boston paper in 1789, he being then 25, that he would soon embark +on board the ship Astrea for Canton, and that if any one desired +to commit an "adventure" to him, they might be assured of his +exertions for their interests. The practice of sending " +adventures" "beyond the seas" is not so common as it was once; +and instead thereof men invest their funds in western prizes. But +let me remark in regard to the fact I relate, that it shows the +true pioneer spirit. Col. Perkins was a pioneer. His energy led +him beyond his counting-room, and he reaped the reward of his +exertions in a great fortune.</p> + +<p>I have now a young man in my mind who came to a town ten miles +this side of St. Paul, six months ago, with $500. He commenced +trading, and has already, by good investments and the profits of +his business, doubled his money. Everything that one can eat or +wear brings a high price, or as high as it does in any part of +the West. The number of visitors and emigrants is so large that +the productions of the territory are utterly inadequate to supply +the market. Therefore large quantities of provisions have to be +brought up the river from the lower towns. At Swan River, 100 +miles this side of St. Paul, pork is worth $85. Knowing that pork +constitutes a great part of the "victuals" up this way, though +far from being partial to the article, I tried it when I dined at +Swan River to see if it was good, and found it to be very +excellent. Board for laboring men must be about four dollars a +week. For transient guests at Crow Wing it is one dollar a +day.</p> + +<p>I have heard it said that money is scarce. It is possible. It +certainly commands a high premium; but the reason is that there +are such splendid opportunities to make fortunes by building and +buying and selling city lots. A man intends that the rent of a +house or store shall pay for its construction in three years. The +profits of adventure justify a man in paying high interest. If a +man has money enough to buy a pair of horses and a wagon, he can +defy the world. These are illustrations to show why one is +induced to pay interest. I do not think, however, money is +"tight." I never saw people so free with their money, or appear +to have it in so great abundance.</p> + +<p>There is one drawback which this territory has in common with +the greater part of the West, and in fact of the civilized world. +It is not only a drawback, but a nuisance anywhere; I mean +drinking or whiskey shops. The greater proportion of the settlers +are temperate men, I am sure; but in almost every village there +are places where the meanest kind of intoxicating liquor is sold. +There are some who sell liquor to the Indians. But such business +is universally considered as the most degraded that a mean man +can be guilty of. It is filthy to see men staggering about under +the influence of bad whiskey, or of any kind of whiskey. He who +sends a young husband to his new cabin home intoxicated, to +mortify and torment his family; or who sells liquor to the +uneducated Indians, that they may fight and murder, must have his +conscience— if he has any at all— cased over with sole +leather. Mr. Gough is needed in the West.</p> + +<p>Minnesota is not behind in education. Ever since Governor +Slade, of Vermont, brought some bright young school mistresses up +to St. Paul (in 1849), common school education has been diffusing +its precious influences. The government wisely sets apart two +sections of land— the 16th and 36th— in every township +for school purposes. A township is six miles square; and the two +sections thus reserved in each township comprise 1280 acres. +Other territories have the same provision. This affords a very +good fund for educational uses, or rather it is a great aid to +the exertions of the people. There are some nourishing +institutions of learning in the territory. But the greatest +institution after all in the country— the surest protection +of our liberties and our laws— is the FREE SCHOOL.</p> + +<h3>LETTER XIII.</h3> + +<h4>CROW WING TO ST. CLOUD.</h4> + +<p class="full">Pleasant drive in the stage— Scenery— +The past— Fort Ripley Ferry— Delay at the Post +Office— Belle Prairie— A Catholic priest— Dinner +at Swan River— Potatoes— Arrival at Watab— St. +Cloud.</p> + +<p>ST. CLOUD, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>YESTERDAY morning at seven I took my departure, on the stage, +from Crow Wing. It was a most delightful morning, the air not +damp, but bracing; and the welcome rays of the sun shed a mellow +lustre upon a scene of "sylvan beauty." The first hour's ride was +over a road I had passed in the dark on my upward journey, and +this was the first view I had of the country immediately below +Crow Wing. No settlements were to be seen, because the +regulations of military reservations preclude their being made +except for some purpose connected with the public interests. A +heavy shower the night before had effectually laid the dust, and +we bounded along on the easy coach in high spirits. The view of +the prairie stretching "in airy undulations far away," and of the +eddying current of the Mississippi, there as everywhere deep and +majestic, with its banks skirted with autumn-colored foliage, was +enough to commend the old fashioned system of stages to more +general use. Call it poetry or what you please, yet the man who +can contemplate with indifference the wonderful profusion of +nature, undeveloped by art— inviting, yet never touched by +the plough— must lack some one of the senses. Indeed, this +picture, so characteristic of the new lands of the West, seems to +call into existence a new sense. The view takes in a broad +expanse which has never produced a stock of grain; and which has +been traversed for ages past by a race whose greatest and most +frequent calamity was hunger. If we turn to its past there is no +object to call back our thoughts. All is oblivion. There are no +ruins to awaken curious images of former life— no vestige of +humanity— nothing but the present generation of nature. And +yet there are traces of the past generations of nature to be +seen. The depressions of the soil here and there to be observed, +covered with a thick meadow grass, are unmistakeable indications +of lakes which have now "vanished into thin air." That these +gentle hollows were once filled with water is the more certain +from the appearance of the shores of the present lakes, where the +low water mark seems to have grown lower and lower every year. +But if the past is blank, these scenes are suggestive of happy +reflections as to the future. The long perspective is radiant +with busy life and cheerful husbandry. New forms spring into +being. Villages and towns spring up as if by magic, along whose +streets throngs of men are passing. And thus, as "coming events +cast their shadows before," does the mind wander from the real to +the probable. An hour and a half of this sort of revery, and we +had come to the Fort Ripley ferry, over which we were to go for +the mail. That ferry (and I have seen others on the river like +it) is a marvellous invention. It is a flat-boat which is quickly +propelled either way across the river by means of the resistance +which it offers to the current. Its machinery is so simple I will +try to describe it. In the first place a rope is stretched across +the river from elevated objects on either side. Each end of the +boat is made fast to this line by pullies, which can be taken up +or let out at the fastenings on the boat. All that is required to +start the boat is to bring the bow, by means of the pully, to an +acute angle with the current. The after part of the boat presents +the principal resistance to the current by sliding a thick board +into the water from the upper side. As the water strikes against +this, the boat is constantly attempting to describe a circle, +which it is of course prevented from doing by the current, and so +keeps on— for it must move somewhere— in a direction +where the obstruction is less. It certainly belongs to the +science of hydraulics, for it is not such a boat as can be +propelled by steam or wind. I had occasion recently to cross the +Mississippi on a similar ferry, early in the morning, and before +the ferryman was up. The proprietor of it was with me; yet +neither of us knew much of its practical operation. I soon pulled +the head of the boat towards the current, but left down the +resistance board, or whatever it is called, at the bow as well as +at the stern. This, of course, impeded our progress; but we got +over in a few minutes; and I felt so much interested in this new +kind of navigation, that I would have been glad to try the voyage +over again.</p> + +<p>On arriving within the square of the garrison, I expected to +find the mail ready for delivery to the driver; but we had to +wait half an hour. The mail is only weekly, and there was nothing +of any consequence to change. We repaired to the post office, +which was in a remote corner of a store-room, where the +postmaster was busy making up his mail. Some of the officers had +come in with documents which they wished to have mailed. And +while we stood waiting, corporals and privates, servants of other +officers brought in letters which Lieutenant So-and-so "was +particularly desirous of having mailed this morning." The driver +was magnanimous enough to submit to me whether we should wait. We +all felt accommodating— the postmaster I saw was +particularly so— and we concluded to wait till everything +was in, and perhaps we would have waited for some one to write a +letter. I could not but think it would be a week before another +mail day; and still I could not but think these unnecessary +morning hindrances were throwing a part of our journey into the +night hours. Returning again to the eastern bank of the river by +our fine ferry, we soon passed the spacious residence of Mr. +Olmsted, a prominent citizen of the territory. We made a formal +halt at his door to see if there were any passengers. Mr. Olmsted +has a large farm under good cultivation, and several intelligent +young men in his service. In that neighborhood are some other as +handsome farms as I ever saw; but I think they are on the +reservation, and are cultivated under the patronage of the war +department. The winter grain was just up, and its fresh verdure +afforded an agreeable contrast with the many emblems of decaying +nature. It was in the middle of the forenoon that we reached +Belle Prairie, along which are many good farm houses occupied by +half-breeds. There is a church and a school-house. In the +cemetery is a large cross painted black and white, and from its +imposing appearance it cannot fail to make a solemn impression on +minds which revere any tangible object that is consigned sacred. +A very comfortable-looking house was pointed out to me as the +residence of a Catholic priest, who has lived for many years in +that section, spreading among the ignorant a knowledge of +Christianity, and ministering to their wants in the hour of +death. And though I am no Catholic, I could not but regard the +superiority of that kind of preaching— for visiting the +sick, consoling the afflicted, and rebuking sin by daily +admonitions, is the true preaching of the Gospel— over the +pompous declamation which now too often usurps the pulpit.</p> + +<p>The dinner was smoking hot on the table when we drove up to +the hotel at Swan River; and so charming a drive in the pure air +had given me a keen appetite. The dinner (and I speak of these +matters because they are quite important to travellers) was in +all respects worthy of the appetite. The great staple article of +Minnesota soil appears to be potatoes, for they were never known +to be better anywhere else— Eastport not excepted— and +at our table d'hote they were a grand collateral to the beef and +pork. The dessert consisted of nice home made apple pies served +with generosity, and we had tea or milk or water, as requested, +for a beverage. After partaking of a dinner of this kind, the +rest of the day's journey was looked forward to with no +unpleasant emotions. The stage happened to be lightly loaded, and +we rolled along with steady pace, and amidst jovial talk, till we +reached the thriving, but to me not attractive, town of Watab. +Three houses had been put up within the short time since I had +stopped there. We got into Mr. Gilman's tavern at sundown. I was +rejoiced to find a horse and carriage waiting for me, which had +been kindly sent by a friend to bring me to St. Cloud. It is +seven miles from Watab to this town. It was a charming moonlight +evening, and I immediately started on with the faithful youth who +had charge of the carriage, to enjoy my supper and lodging under +the roof of my hospitable friend at St. Cloud.</p> + +<h3>LETTER XIV.</h3> + +<h4>ST. CLOUD.— THE PACIFIC TRAIL.</h4> + +<p class="full">Agreeable visit at St. Cloud— Description of +the place— Causes of the rapid growth of towns— Gen. +Lowry— The back country— Gov. Stevens's report— +Mr. Lambert's views— Interesting account of Mr. A. W. +Tinkham's exploration.</p> + +<p>ST. CLOUD, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>IF I follow the injunction of that most impartial and worthy +critic, Lord Jeffrey, which is, that tourists should describe +those things which make the pleasantest impression on their own +minds, I should begin with an account of the delightful +entertainment which genuine hospitality and courtesy have here +favored me with. I passed Blannerhasset's Island once, and from a +view of the scenery, sought something of that inspiration which, +from reading Wirt's glowing description of it, I thought would be +excited; but the reality was far below my anticipation. If +applied to the banks of the Mississippi River, however, at this +place, where the Sauk Rapids terminate, that charming description +would be no more than an adequate picture. The residence of my +friend is a little above the limits of St. Cloud, midway on the +gradual rise from the river to the prairie. It is a neat white +two-story cottage, with a piazza in front. The yard extends to +the water's edge, and in it is a grove of handsome shade trees. +Now that the leaves have fallen, we can sit on the piazza and +have a full view of the river through the branches of the trees. +The river is here very clear and swift, with a hard bottom; and +if it were unadorned with its cheerful foliage-covered banks, the +view of it would still add a charm to a residence. There is a +mild tranquillity, blended with the romance of the scene, +admirably calculated to raise in the mind emotions the most +agreeable and serene. For nature is a great instructor and +purifier. As Talfourd says in that charming little volume of +Vacation Rambles, "to commune with nature and grow familiar with +all her aspects, surely softens the manners as much, at the +least, as the study of the liberal arts."</p> + +<p>St. Cloud is favorably located on the west bank of the river, +seventy-five miles above St. Paul. It is just enough elevated to +have good drainage facilities, should it become densely populous. +For many years it was the seat of a trading post among the +Winnebagoes. But the date of its start as a town is not more than +six months ago; since when it has been advancing with unsurpassed +thrift, on a scale of affluence and durability. Its main street +is surely a street in other respects than in the name; for it has +on either side several neatly built three-story blocks of stores, +around which the gathering of teams and of people denotes such an +activity of business as to dispel any idea that the place is got +up under false pretences. The St. Cloud advertisements in the St. +Paul daily papers contain the cards of about forty different +firms or individuals, which is a sort of index to the business of +the place. A printing press is already in the town, and a paper +will in a few days be issued. There are now two hotels; one of +which (the Stearns House), it is said, cost $9000. A flourishing +saw-mill was destroyed by fire, and in a few weeks another one +was built in its place. An Episcopal church is being erected. The +steamer "H. M. Rice" runs between here and St. Anthony. It is +sometimes said that this is the head of the Upper Mississippi +navigation, but such is not the case. The Sauk Rapids which +terminate here are an obstruction to continuous navigation +between St. Anthony and Crow Wing, but after you get to the +latter place (where the river is twenty feet deep) there is good +navigation for two hundred miles. There are several roads laid +out to intersect at St. Cloud, for the construction of which, I +believe, the government has made some appropriation. Town lots +are sold on reasonable terms to those who intend to make +improvements on them, which is the true policy for any town, but +the general market price ranges from $100 to $1000 a lot. The +town is not in the hands of capitalists, though moneyed men are +interested in it. General Lowry is a large proprietor. He lives +at Arcadia, just above the town limits, and has a farm consisting +of three hundred acres of the most splendid land, which is well +stocked with cattle and durably fenced. A better barn, or a +neater farmyard than he has, cannot be found between Boston and +Worcester. And while speaking of barns I would observe that the +old New England custom of having good barns is better observed in +Minnesota than anywhere else in the West. General Lowry has been +engaged in mercantile business. He was formerly a member of the +territorial council, and is a very useful and valuable citizen of +the territory.</p> + +<p>It would not be more surprising to have Eastern people doubt +some of the statements concerning the growth of Western towns, +than it was for the king of Siam to doubt that there was any part +of the world where water changed from liquid to a hard substance. +His majesty knew nothing about ice. Now, there are a good many +handsome villages in the East which hardly support one store. Not +that people in such a village do not consume as much or live in +finer style; but the reason is that they are old settlers who +produce very much that they live on, and who, by great travelling +facilities, are able to scatter their trading custom into some +commercial metropolis. Suppose, however, one of your large +villages to be so newly settled that the people have had no +chance to raise anything from their gardens or their fields, and +are obliged to buy all they are to eat and all that is to furnish +their dwellings, or equip their shops, or stock their farms; then +you have a state of things which will support several stores, and +a whole catalogue of trades. It is a state of affairs which +corresponds with every new settlement in the West; or, indeed, +which faintly compares with the demand for everything +merchantable, peculiar in such places. Then again, besides the +actual residents in a new place, who have money enough in their +pockets, but nothing in their cellars, there is generally a large +population in the back country of farmers and no stores. Such +people come to a place like this to trade, for fifteen or twenty +miles back, perhaps; and it being a county seat they have other +objects to bring them. At the same time there is an almost +constant flow of settlers through the place into the unoccupied +country to find preemption claims, who, of course, wish to take +supplies with them. The settler takes a day, perhaps, for his +visit in town to trade. Time is precious with him, and he cannot +come often. So he buys, perhaps, fifty or a hundred dollars worth +of goods. These are circumstances which account for activity of +business in these river towns, and which, though they are +strikingly apparent here, are not peculiar to this town. At +first, I confess, it was a mystery to me what could produce such +startling and profitable trade in these new towns.</p> + +<p>It was in the immediate vicinity of St. Cloud that Gov. +Stevens left the Mississippi on his exploration, in 1853, of a +railroad route to the Pacific. Several crossings of the river had +been previously examined, and it was found that one of the +favorable points for a railroad bridge over it was here. I might +here say that the country directly west lies in the valley of +Sauk River, and from my own observation I know it to be a good +farming country; and I believe the land is taken up by settlers +as far back as twelve miles. It is a little upwards of a hundred +miles in a westerly direction from St. Cloud to where the +expedition first touched the Bois des Sioux (or Sioux Wood +River). Gov. Stevens says in his report— " The plateau of +the Bois des Sioux will be a great centre of population and +communication. It connects with the valley of the Red River of +the North, navigable four hundred miles for steamers of three or +four feet draught, with forty-five thousand square miles of +arable and timber land; and with the valley of the Minnesota, +also navigable at all seasons when not obstructed by ice, one +hundred miles for steamers, and occasionally a hundred miles +further. The head of navigation of the Red River of the North is +within one hundred and ten miles of the navigable portion of the +Mississippi, and is distant only forty miles from the Minnesota. +Eastward from these valleys to the great lakes, the country on +both sides of the Mississippi is rich, and much of it heavily +timbered."</p> + +<p>I will also add another remark which he makes, inasmuch as the +character of the country in this latitude, as far as the Pacific +shore, must have great influence on this locality; and it is +this: " Probably four thousand square miles of tillable land is +to be found immediately on the eastern slopes of (the Rocky +Mountains); and at the bottoms of the different streams, +retaining their fertility for some distance after leaving the +mountains, will considerably increase this amount." Mr. John +Lambert, the topographer of the exploration, divides the country +between the Mississippi and Columbia rivers, into three grand +divisions. The first includes the vast prairies between the +Mississippi and the base of the Rocky Mountains. The second is +the mountain division, embracing about five degrees of longitude. +The third division comprises the immense plains of the +Columbia.</p> + +<p>Of the first division— from here to the foot of the Rocky +Mountains— let me quote what Mr. Lambert in his official +report calls a "passing glance." "Undulating and level prairies, +skirted with woods of various growth, and clothed everywhere with +a rich verdure; frequent and rapid streams, with innumerable +small but limpid lakes, frequented by multitudes of waterfowl, +most conspicuous among which appears the stately swan; these, in +ever-recurring succession, make up the panorama of this extensive +district, which may be said to be everywhere fertile, beautiful, +and inviting. The most remarkable features of this region are the +intervals of level prairie, especially that near the bend of Red +River, where the horizon is as unbroken as that of a calm sea. +Nor are other points of resemblance wanting— the long grass, +which in such places is unusually rank, bending gracefully to the +passing breeze as it sweeps along the plain, gives the idea of +waves (as indeed they are); and the solitary horseman on the +horizon is so indistinctly seen as to complete the picture by the +suggestion of a sail, raising the first feeling of novelty to a +character of wonder and delight. The following outlines of the +rolling prairies are broken only by the small lakes and patches +of timber which relieve them of monotony and enhance their +beauty; and though marshes and sloughs occur, they are of too +small extent and too infrequent to affect the generally +attractive character of the country. The elevation of the rolling +prairies is generally so uniform, that even the summits between +streams flowing in opposite directions exhibit no peculiar +features to distinguish them from the ordinary character of the +valley slopes."</p> + +<p>I think I cannot do a better service to the emigrant or +settler than to quote a part of the report made by Mr. A. W. +Tinkham, descriptive of his route from St. Paul to Fort Union. +His exploration, under Gov. Stevens, was made in the summer of +1853; and he has evidently given an impartial account of the +country. I begin with it where he crosses the Mississippi in the +vicinity of St. Cloud. The part quoted embraces the route for a +distance of two hundred and ninety-five miles; the first seventy +miles of which was due west— the rest of the route being a +little north of west.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 9. Ferried across the Mississippi River, here +some six hundred to eight hundred feet wide— boating the +camp equipage, provisions, &c., and swimming the animals; +through rich and fertile prairies, variegated with the wooded +banks of Sauk River, a short distance on the left, with the +wooded hills on either side, the clustered growth of elm, poplar, +and oak, which the road occasionally touches; following the 'Red +River trail,' we camp at Cold Spring Brook, with clear, cool +water, good grass, and wood.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 10. Cold Spring Brook is a small brook about ten +feet across, flowing through a miry slough, which is very soft +and deep, and previous to the passage of the wagons, had, for +about two hundred feet distance, been bridged in advance by a +causeway of round or split logs of the poplar growth near by; +between this and the crossing of Sauk River are two other bad +sloughs, over one of which are laid logs of poplar, and over the +other the wagons were hauled by hand, after first removing the +loads. Sauk River is crossed obliquely with a length of ford some +three hundred feet— depth of water four-and-a-half to five +feet; goods must be boated or rafted over, the river woods +affording the means of building a raft; camped immediately after +crossing; wood, water, and grass good and abundant.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 11. Over rolling prairies, without wood on the +trail, although generally in sight on the right or left, with +occasional small ponds and several bad sloughs, across which the +wagons were hauled over by hand to Lake Henry— a handsome, +wooded lake; good wood and grass; water from small pond; not very +good.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 13. Passing over rolling prairies to a branch of +Crow River, the channel of which is only some twenty feet wide +and four or five feet deep; but the water makes back into the +grass one hundred feet or more from the channel as early in the +season as when crossed by the train. Goods boated over; wagons by +hand and with ropes; no wood on the stream; several small lakes, +not wooded, are on either side of the trail, with many ducks, +geese, and plovers on them: encamp at Lightning Lake, a small and +pretty lake, sufficiently well wooded on the borders for camping +purposes; good water, wood, and grass, and abounding with +fish.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 18. Over rolling prairie with small pools and +marshes, to a swift running stream about twenty feet wide, three +feet deep, a branch of Chippewa River; heavily rolling ground +with stony knolls and granite boulders, to White Bear Lake, a +large handsome lake, with mingled open and woodland.</p> + +<p>"Broken rolling ground to camp, a mile off the Red River +trail, and near a small wooded lake. Two small brooks have to be +crossed in the interval, and being somewhat deep and with abrupt +sides, are troublesome crossings.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 20. Rolling prairie country, with small marshes +and ponds to a tributary of South Branch. Swift running stream, +gravelly bottom, fifteen feet wide, three to four feet deep; with +care in selection good crossing was obtained for the wagons; a +wooded lake is a short distance to the right of trail.</p> + +<p>"Small rivulet, whose banks are marshy and soft.</p> + +<p>"Prairies, with small marshes and ponds to a swift running +brook, six feet wide.</p> + +<p>"Prairie to Pike Lake and camp of St. Grover; a handsome lake +of about a mile in diameter, said to abound in pike; well wooded +on its south border; grass, water, and wood, for camping, +abundant and good.</p> + +<p>"Rolling prairie with knolls; several ponds and marshes, with +an intervening brook about six feet wide, and rather difficult of +passage, from the abruptness of its banks, to a small brook, the +outlet of a small and partially wooded lake or pond.</p> + +<p>"Rolling prairie, with grassy, swelling knolls, small ponds +and marshes, to Chippeway River; camp of odometer wagon on edge +of river; water and grass good; no wood.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 24. Crossed Chippeway River, one hundred and +twenty-four feet wide, three to six feet deep; goods boated over, +and the animals swimming; wagon hauled through the water by a +rope attached to the tongue, and with the aid of the mules; +camped on Elk Lake, a small and pretty lake, well wooded, and +with luxuriant grass; good water.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 25. Trail passes over prairies with a rich heavy +grass (this is a hundred miles west of the Mississippi River), +about eighteen inches high, winding between wooded lakes to a +heavy ravine, with a small and sluggish rivulet in its bottom; +sides steep, and laborious for the wagon train.</p> + +<p>"Prairie sloping towards the western branch of the Chippeway +River; a stream when crossed, about one hundred and forty feet +wide, three or four feet deep, with a marked current and firm +bottom; no wood.</p> + +<p>"Camp on a small lake, fairly wooded, with luxuriant grass, +and good water.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 27. Undulating prairie, rich soil, covered with a +heavy growth of grass, with small ponds and marshes; woods +continue in sight a short distance on the left of Elbow Lake, a +well wooded lake, of form indicated by its name.</p> + +<p>"Rolling prairie, with two bad sloughs, to Rabbit River, which +is crossed with the wagon with but little difficulty, where it +issues from a small lake. It is a small stream, but spreads out +from one hundred to three hundred feet, with marshy borders; camp +on the small lake, with good grass, wood, and water.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 28. Rolling ground, with small ponds and marshes, +to a small brook twelve feet wide; the Bois des Sioux prairie, a +smooth, flat prairie, without knoll or undulation— an +immense plain, apparently level, covered with a tall, coarse, +dark-colored grass, and unrelieved with the sight of a tree or +shrub; firm bottom, but undoubtedly wet in spring; small brook, +when the train made a noon halt.</p> + +<p>"Same smooth prairie as above to Bois des Sioux River, +sometimes soft and miry; camp on river bank; wood and grass +good— river water fair; many catfish caught in the +river.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 29. Cross Bois des Sioux River; seventy feet +wide, four to seven feet deep; muddy bottom; steep and miry +banks; goods boated over; wagons hauled through, light, with +ropes; bad crossing, but passable; smooth flat prairie, as on the +east side of Bois des Sioux, occasionally interrupted with open +sloughs to Wild Rice River, and camp with wood, water, and +abundant grass.</p> + +<p><i>"June</i> 30. Wild Rice River, about forty feet wide and +five and a half feet deep, with muddy and miry bottom and sides, +flowing in a canal-like channel, some twenty feet below prairie +level; river skirted with elm— bridged from the steep banks, +being too miry to sustain the animals, detaining the train but +little more than half-a-day; small brook without wood, flowing in +a broad channel cut out through the prairie; crossing miry, but +made passable for the wagon by strewing the bottom with mown +grass.</p> + +<p>"Firm prairie to camp on edge of above small stream; good +grass and water; no wood; elk killed by hunter.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 1. Smooth prairie extending to Shayenne River; +sand knolls, ponds, and marshes frequent as the river is +approached. The marshes were not miry— firmer bottom; good +wagon road; night encampment on bank of river; sufficient grass +for train; wood abundant; river water good; many catfish caught +in river.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 2. Shayenne River, sixty feet wide, fourteen feet +deep; river had been previously bridged by Red River train, from +the poplars and other trees growing on the river, and this bridge +we made use of in crossing our wagons; camp on the west bank of +the river; water, wood, and grass good.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 4. Prairie undulation, interrupted with marshes, +small ponds and occasional small rivulets, to Maple River, about +twenty-five feet wide, three and a half feet deep, firm bottom, +and easily passed by the wagons; river tolerably well wooded, and +the camp on its edge is furnished with water, wood, and good +grass. The rich black soil of the valley of this stream is +noticeable.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 5. To a small stream thirty feet wide, two feet +deep, clayey bottom, easily crossed by the wagons; prairie high, +firm, and almost level for some thirteen miles, becoming more +rolling and with small ponds in the last seven miles of the +march; on the edge of some of the ponds are salt incrustations; +camp on the river; water good; grass good; no wood, and the bois +de vache is used for fuel.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 6. Country wet and marshy; not a tree in sight; +prairie with low ridges and knolls, and great number of ponds and +marshes; night's camp by a small pond; no wood, but plenty of +bois de vache; grass good.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 7. Approaching the Shayenne; country as yesterday +for some half dozen miles; bordering on the river the ground is +broken with deep coulees and ravines, and to keep away from them +the train kept at some distance from the river, encamping by a +small marshy pond; no wood; plenty of bois de vache; grass good; +water tolerable; first buffalo killed to-day.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 8. Prairie swelling with ridges; descend to the +Shayenne, which flows some one hundred and fifty to two hundred +feet below the prairie by a steep hill; camp in the bottom of the +river; wood and water good; grass rather poor; the bottom of the +Shayenne, some half a mile wide, is often soft and miry, but when +crossed by the train firm and dry.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 9. Cross the Shayenne, fifty feet wide, three and +a half feet deep; immediate banks some ten feet high, and +requiring some digging to give passage to the wagons.</p> + +<p>"Prairie with swelling ridges and occasional marshes to camp, +to a slough affording water and grass; no wood; buffalo very +abundant.</p> + +<p><i>"July</i> 10. Prairie swelling into ridges and hills, with +a frequency of marshes, ponds, and sloughs; camp at a pretty +lake, near Lake Jessie; fairly wooded, with water slightly +saline; grass scanty, having been consumed by the buffalo. +Prairies covered with buffalo."</p> + +<p>I take this valuable sketch of the natural features of the +country from volume 1 of Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific +Railroad (page 353-356); for which I am indebted to the learned +Secretary of War.</p> + +<h3>LETTER XV.</h3> + +<h4>ST. CLOUD TO ST. PAUL.</h4> + +<p class="full">Importance of starting early— Judge Story's +theory of early rising— Rustic scenery— Horses and +mules— Surveyors— Humboldt— Baked fish— +Getting off the track— Burning of hay stacks— Supper at +St. Anthony— Arrival at the Fuller House.</p> + +<p>ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>I WAS up by the gray dawn of the morning of yesterday, and +after an early but excellent breakfast, crossed the river from +St. Cloud, in order to meet the stage at Sauk Rapids. As we came +up on the main road, the sight of a freshly made rut, of +stage-wheel size, caused rather a disquieting apprehension that +the stage had passed. But my nerves were soon quieted by the +assurance from an early hunter, who was near by shooting prairie +chickens while they were yet on the roost, that the stage had not +yet come. So we kept on to the spacious store where the post +office is kept; where I waited and waited for the stage to come +which was to bring me to St. Paul. It did not arrive till eight +o'clock. I thought if every one who had a part to perform in +starting off the stage from Watab (for it had started out from +there that morning), was obliged to make the entire journey of 80 +miles to St. Paul in the stage, they would prefer to get up a +little earlier rather than have the last part of the trip +extended into "the dead waist and middle of the night." I +remarked to the driver, who is a very clever young man, that the +stage which left St. Paul started as early as five o'clock, and I +could not see why it was not as necessary to start as early in +going down, inasmuch as the earlier we started the less of the +night darkness we had to travel in. He perfectly agreed with me, +and attributed his inability to start earlier to the dilatory +arrangements at the hotel. When jogging along at about eleven at +night between St. Anthony and the city, I could not help +begrudging every minute of fair daylight which had been wasted. +The theory of Judge Story, that it don't make much difference +when a man gets up in the morning, provided he is wide awake +after he is up, will do very well, perhaps, except when one is to +start on a journey in the stage.</p> + +<p>I took a seat by the driver's side, the weather being clear +and mild, and had an unobstructed and delightful view of every +object, and there seemed to be none but pleasant objects in range +of the great highway. Though there is, between every village, +population enough to remind one constantly that he is in a +settled country, the broad extent yet unoccupied proclaims that +there is still room enough. Below Sauk Rapids a good deal of the +land on the road side is in the hands of speculators. This, it is +understood, is on the east side of the Mississippi. On the west +side there are more settlements. But yet there are many farms, +with tidy white cottages; and in some places are to be seen +well-arranged flower-gardens. The most attractive scenery to me, +however, was the ample corn-fields, which, set in a groundwork of +interminable virgin soil, are pictures which best reflect the +true destiny and usefulness of an agricultural region. We met +numerous teams heavily laden with furniture or provisions, +destined for the different settlements above. The teams are +principally drawn by two horses; and, as the road is extremely +level and smooth, are capable of taking on as much freight as +under other circumstances could be drawn by four horses. Mules do +not appear to be appreciated up this way so much as in Missouri +or Kentucky. Nor was it unusual to meet light carriages with a +gentleman and lady, who, from the luggage, &c., aboard, +appeared to have been on somewhat of an extensive shopping +expedition. And I might as well say here, if I havn't yet said +it, that the Minnesotians are supplied with uncommonly good +horses. I do not remember to have seen a mean horse in the +territory. I suppose, as considerable pains are taken in raising +stock, poor horses are not raised at all; and it will not pay to +import poor ones. A company of surveyors whom we met excited a +curiosity which I was not able to solve. It looked odd enough to +see a dozen men walking by the side or behind a small one-horse +cart; the latter containing some sort of baggage which was +covered over, as it appeared, with camping fixtures. It was more +questionable whether the team belonged to the men than that the +men were connected with the team. The men were mostly young and +very intelligent-looking, dressed with woollen shirts as if for +out door service, and I almost guessed they were surveyors; yet +still thought they were a party of newcomers who had concluded to +club together to make their preemption claim. But surveyors they +were.</p> + +<p>The town of Humboldt is the county seat for Sherburne county. +It lies between the Mississippi and Snake rivers. The part of the +town which I saw was a very small part. Mr. Brown's residence, +which is delightfully situated on the shore of a lake, is at once +the court house and the post office, besides being the general +emporium and magnate of Humboldt business and society. +Furthermore, it is the place where the stage changes horses and +where passengers on the down trip stop to dine. It was here we +stopped to dine; and as the place had been a good deal applauded +for its table-d'hote, a standard element of which was said to be +baked fish, right out of the big lake, I at least had formed very +luxurious expectations. Mr. Brown was away. We had met his lively +countenance on his way up to a democratic caucus. Perhaps that +accounted for our not having baked fish, for fish we certainly +did not have. The dinner was substantial, however, and yielded to +appetites which had been sharpened by a half day's inhalation of +serene October air. We had all become infused with a spirit of +despatch; and were all ready to start, and did start, in half an +hour from the time we arrived at the house.</p> + +<p>We had not proceeded far after dinner before meeting the +Monticello stage, which runs between the thriving village of that +name— on the west bank of the Mississippi— and St. +Paul. It carries a daily mail. There were several passengers +aboard.</p> + +<p>One little incident in our afternoon travel I will mention, as +it appeared to afford more pleasure to the rest of the passengers +than it did to me. Where the stage was to stop for fifteen or +twenty minutes, either to change mail or horses, I had invariably +walked on a mile, if I could get as far, for the sake of variety +and exercise. So when we came to the pretty village of Anoka (at +the mouth of Rum River), where the mail was to be changed, I +started on foot and alone. But unfortunately and unconsciously I +took the wrong road. I had walked a mile I think— for twenty +minutes at least had expired since I started— and being in +the outskirts of the town, in the midst of farms and gardens, +turned up to a garden-fence, on the other side of which a +gentleman of professional— I rather thought clerical +appearance— was feeding a cow on pumpkins. I had not seen +pumpkins so abundant since my earliest youth, when I used to do a +similar thing. I rather thought too that the gentleman whom I +accosted was a Yankee, and after talking a few minutes with him, +so much did he exceed me in asking questions, that I felt sure he +was one. How thankful I ought to be that he was one! for +otherwise it is probable he would not have ascertained where, and +for what purpose, I was walking. He informed me I was on the +wrong road; that the stage took a road further west, which was +out of sight; and that I had better go on a little further and +then cross the open prairie. Then for the first time did I notice +that the road I had taken was but a street, not half so much worn +as the main road. I followed his friendly advice, and feeling +some despair I hastened on at a swift run, and as I advanced +towards where I thought the right road ought to be, though I +could neither see it nor the stage, "called so loud that all the +hollow deep of"— the prairies might have resounded. At last, +when quite out of breath and hoarse with loud vociferation, I +descried the stage rolling on at a rapid rate. Then I renewed my +calls, and brought it up standing. After clambering over a few +fences, sweating and florid, I got to the stage and resumed my +seat, amidst the pleasant merriment of the passengers. The driver +was kind enough to say that he began to suspect I had taken the +wrong road, and was about to turn round and come after me— +that he certainly would not have left me behind, &c. I was +happy, nevertheless, that my mistake did not retard the stage. +But I do not intend to abandon the practice of walking on before +the stage whenever it stops to change horses.</p> + +<p>Just in the edge of twilight, and when we were a little way +this side of Coon Creek, where we had changed horses again, we +came in sight of a large fire. It was too much in one spot to be +a prairie fire; and as we drove on the sad apprehension that it +was a stack of hay was confirmed. The flames rose up in wide +sheets, and cast a steady glare upon the landscape. It was a +gorgeous yet a dismal sight. It always seems worse to see grain +destroyed by fire than ordinary merchandise. Several stacks were +burning. We saw that the usual precaution against prairie fires +had been taken. These consist in ploughing several furrows around +the stack, or by burning the grass around it to prevent the +flames from reaching it. It was therefore suspected that some +rascal had applied the torch to the hay; though for humanity's +sake we hoped it was not so. The terrible prairie fires, which +every autumn waste the western plains, are frequently started +through the gross carelessness of people who camp out, and leave +their fires burning.</p> + +<p>Some of us took supper at St. Anthony. I cannot say much of +the hotel <i>de facto</i>. The table was not as good as I found +on the way at other places above. There is a hotel now being +built there out of stone, which I am confident will exceed +anything in the territory, if we except the Fuller House. It is +possible we all felt invigorated and improved by the supper, for +we rode the rest of the way in a very crowded stage without +suffering any exhibition of ill temper to speak of, and got into +St. Paul at last, when it was not far from eleven; and after +seventy-five miles of staging, the luxurious accommodations of +the Fuller House seemed more inviting than ever.</p> + +<h3>LETTER XVI.</h3> + +<h4>PROGRESS.</h4> + +<p class="full">Rapid growth of the North-West— Projected +railroads— Territorial system of the United States— +Inquiry into the cause of Western progress— Influence of +just laws and institutions— Lord Bacon's remark.</p> + +<p>ST. PAUL, October, 1856.</p> + +<p>THE progress which has characterized the settlement of the +territory of Minnesota, presents to the notice of the student of +history and political economy some important facts. The growth of +a frontier community, so orderly, so rapid, and having so much of +the conservative element in it, has rarely been instanced in the +annals of the world. In less time than it takes the government to +build a custom house we see an unsettled territory grown to the +size of a respectable state, in wealth, in population, in power. +A territory, too, which ten years ago seemed to be an incredible +distance from the civilized portions of the country; and which +was thought by most people to be in a latitude that would defeat +the energy and the toil of man. Today it could bring into the +field a larger army than Washington took command of at the +beginning of our revolution!</p> + +<p>In 1849, the year of its organization, the population of the +territory was 4780; now it is estimated to be nearly 200,000. In +1852 there were 42 post offices in the territory, now there are +253. The number of acres of public land sold during the fiscal +year ending 30th June, 1852, was 15,258. For the year ending 30th +June, 1856, the number of acres sold was 1,002,130.</p> + +<p>When we contemplate the headlong progress of Western growth in +its innumerable evidences of energy, we admit the truth of what +the Roman poet said— <i>nil mortalibus ardum est</i>— +that there is nothing too difficult for man. In the narrative of +his exploration to the Mississippi in 1820, along with General +Cass, Mr. Schoolcraft tells us how Chicago then appeared. "We +found," says he, <i>"four or five families living here."</i> Four +or five families was the extent of the population of Chicago in +1820! In 1836 it had 4853 inhabitants. In 1855 its population was +85,000. The history of many western towns that have sprung up +within ten years is characterized by much the same sort of +thrift. Unless some terrible scourge shall come to desolate the +land, or unless industry herself shall turn to sloth, a few more +years will present the magnificent spectacle of the entire domain +stretching from this frontier to the Pacific coast, transformed +into a region of culture, "full of life and splendor and +joy."</p> + +<p>At present there are no railroads in operation in Minnesota; +but those which are already projected indicate, as well as any +statistics, the progress which is taking place. The Chicago, St. +Paul, and Fond-du-Lac Railroad was commenced some two years ago +at Chicago, and over 100 miles of it are completed. It is to run +<i>via</i> Hudson in Wisconsin, Stillwater, St. Paul, and St. +Anthony in Minnesota to the western boundary of the territory. +Recently it has united with the Milwaukee and La Cross Road, +which secures several millions of acres of valuable land, donated +by congress, and which will enable the stockholders to complete +the road to St. Paul and St. Anthony within two years. A road has +been surveyed from the head of Lake Superior <i>via</i> St. Paul +to the southern line of the territory, and will soon be worked. +The Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad Company will in a few +weeks have their road completed to Prairie du Chien, and are +extending it on the east side of the Mississippi to St. Paul. +Another road is being built up the valley of the Red Cedar River +in Iowa to Minneapolis. The Keokuck road is in operation over +fifty miles, and will soon be under contract to St. Paul. This +road is to run <i>via</i> the valley of the Des Moines River, +through the rich coal fields of Iowa, and will supply the upper +Mississippi and Lake Superior region with coal.</p> + +<p>The Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad Company has been +organized and the route selected. This road will soon be +commenced. The active men engaged in the enterprise reside in +Green Bay and Stillwater. A company has been formed and will soon +commence a road from Winona to the western line of the territory. +The St. Anthony and St. Paul Railroad Company will have their +line under contract early the coming season. The Milwaukee and La +Cross Company propose continuing their road west through the +valley of Root River, through Minnesota to the Missouri River. +Another company has been formed for building a road from the head +of Lake Superior to the Red River of the North.[1] Such are some +of the railroad enterprises which are under way, and which will +contribute at an early day to develop the opulent resources of +the territory. A railroad through this part of the country to the +Pacific is among the probable events of the present +generation.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="footnote">[1 The following highly instructive article +on navigation, I take from The <i>Pioneer and Democrat</i> (St. +Paul), of the 20th November:</p> + +<p class="footnote">"GROWTH OF THE STEAMBOATING BUSINESS— +THE SEASON OF 1856.</p> + +<p class="footnote">— About ten years after the first +successful attempt at steamboat navigation on the Ohio River, the +first steamboat that ever ascended the Upper Mississippi River to +Fort Snelling, arrived at that post. This was the 'Virginia,' a +stern-wheel boat, which arrived at the Port in the early part of +May, 1823. From 1823 to 1844 there were but few arrivals each +year— sometimes not more than two or three. The steamers +running on the Upper Mississippi, at that time, were used +altogether to transport supplies for the Indian traders and the +troops stationed at Fort Snelling. Previous to the arrival of the +Virginia, keel boats were used for this purpose, and sixty days' +time, from St. Louis to the Fort, was considered a good trip.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"By a reference to our files, we are enabled +to present, at a glance, the astonishing increase in steamboating +business since 1844. The first boat to arrive that year, was the +Otter, commanded by Captain Harris. The following table presents +the number of arrivals since that time:—</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>Year</i></p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>First Boat</i></p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>No. of Arrivals</i></p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>River Closed</i></p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1844</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">41</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1845</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">48</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 26</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1846</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">March 31</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">24</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Dec. 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1847</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">47</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1848</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">63</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Dec. 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1849</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 9</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">85</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Dec. 7</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1850</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 9</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">104</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Dec. 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1851</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">119</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1852</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 16</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">171</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 18</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1853</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 11</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">200</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 30</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1854</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 8</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">245</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 27</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1855</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 17</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">560</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 20</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">1856</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">April 18</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">837</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Nov. 10</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p class="footnote">"In 1851, three boats went up the Minnesota +River, and in 1852, one boat ran regularly up that stream during +the season. In 1853, the business required an average of one boat +per day. In 1854, the business had largely increased, and in +1855, the arrivals of steamers from the Minnesota, amounted to +119.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"The present season, on the Mississippi, has +been a very prosperous one, and the arrivals at St. Paul exhibit +a gratifying increase over any preceding year, notwithstanding +the season of navigation has been two weeks shorter than last +season. Owing to the unusually early gorge in the river at +Hastings, upwards of fifty steamers bound for this port, and +heavily laden with merchandise and produce, were compelled to +discharge their cargoes at Hastings and Stillwater.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"Navigation this season opened on the 18th of +April. The Lady Franklin arrived on the evening of that day from +Galena. Previous to her arrival, there had been eighteen arrivals +at our landing from the head of Lake Pepin, and twelve arrivals +at the foot of the lake, from Galena and Dubuque.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"During the present season, seventy-eight +different steamers have arrived at our wharf, from the points +mentioned in the following table. This table we draw mainly from +the books of the City Marshal, and by reference to our files.</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2" align="center"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM ST. LOUIS.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>Boats</i></p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote"><i>No. of Trips.</i></p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ben Coursin</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 19</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">A. G. Mason</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Metropolitan</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 13</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Audubon</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Golden State</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Laclede</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Luella</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cheviot</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James Lyon</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 7</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Vienna</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New York</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Delegate</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mansfield</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 7</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Forest Rose</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ben Bolt</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">J. P. Tweed</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fire Canoe</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Carrier</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Julia Dean</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Resolute</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Gossamer</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Thomas Scott</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 6</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Gipsey</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">W. G. Woodside</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">York State</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mattie Wayne</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Brazil</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dan Convers</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henrietta</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Editor</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnesota Belle</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rochester</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Oakland</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 7</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grace Darling</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Montauk</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 3</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fairy Queen</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Louis</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Americus</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 2</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Atlanta</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jacob Traber</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 6</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">White Bluffs</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Arcola</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Conewago</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 10</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lucie May</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 8</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Badger State</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sam Young</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Violet</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â Â 1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td>Â </td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total arrivals from St. Louis,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">Â 212</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM FULTON CITY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Falls City</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Diamond</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. T. Yeatman</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Time and Tide</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td>Â </td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total from Fulton City,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM GALENA AND DUNLEITH.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lady Franklin</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Galena</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alhambra</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">21</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Royal Arch</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Northern Belle</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Banjo</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">1</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">War Eagle</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">17</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">City Belle</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Golden Era</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ocean Wave</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Granite State</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Greek Slave</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total from Galena and Dunleith,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">228</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM DUBUQUE.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Excelsior</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kate Cassel</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clarion</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Tishimingo</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fanny Harris</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Flora</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hamburg</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total from Dubuque,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">135</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">FROM MINNESOTA RIVER.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. T. Yeatman</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Globe</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">34</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clarion</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reveille</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">40</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. S. Allen</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Time and Tide</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">11</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wave</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Equator</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">46</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnesota Valley</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">20</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Berlin</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Total from Minnesota River,</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">216</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="leftnote">RECAPITULATION.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Number of arrivals from</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Louis</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">212</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fulton City</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">28</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Galena and Dunleith</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">228</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dubuque</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">135</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnesota River</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">216</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">head of Lake Pepin</p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">18</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">Â </p> +</td> +<td align="right"> +<p class="rightnote">----</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="rightnote">Whole number of boats, 78.<br> +Whole number of arrivals, 837</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p class="footnote">"It will be seen from the above, that ten +more steamers have been engaged in this trade during the present +year than last; while in the whole number of arrivals the +increase has been two <i>hundred and sixty-seven.</i></p> + +<p class="footnote">"The business on the Minnesota has greatly +increased this year. This was to have been expected, considering +the great increase in the population of that flourishing portion +of our Territory.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"A thriving trade has sprung up between the +southern counties of Minnesota, and Galena and Dubuque. During +the greater portion of the summer, the War Eagle and Tishimingo +run regularly to Winona.</p> + +<p class="footnote">"On the Upper Mississippi there are now three +steamers, the Gov. Ramsay, H. M. Rice, and North Star (new). +Daring the season these boats ran between St. Anthony and Sauk +Rapids."]</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p>It may be well to pause here a moment and inquire into the +causes which contribute so wonderfully to build up empire in our +north-western domain. The territorial system of the United States +has some analogy, it is true, to the colonial system of Great +Britain— not the colonial system which existed in the days +of the stamp act— but that which a wiser statesmanship has +more recently inaugurated. The relation between the general +government and our territories is like that of guardian and +ward— the relation of a protector, not that of a master. Nor +can we find in the history of antiquity any such relationship +between colonies and the mother country, whether we consider the +system of Phoenicia, where first was exhibited the doctrine of +non-intervention, or the tribute-paying colonies of Carthage. +That system which was peculiar to Greece, "resting not on state +contrivances and economical theories, but on religious sympathies +and ancestral associations," came as near perhaps in spirit to +ours as any on record. The patronage which the government bestows +on new territories is one of the sources of their growth which +ought not to be overlooked. Instead of making the territory a +dependency and drawing from it a tax, the government pays its +political expenses, builds its roads, and gives it a fair start +in the world.</p> + +<p>Another cause of the successful growth of our territories in +general, and of Minnesota in particular, is the ready market +which is found in the limits of the territory for everything +which can be raised from a generous soil or wrought by +industrious hands. The farmer has a ready market for everything +that is good to eat or to wear; the artisan is driven by +unceasing demands upon his skill. This arises from extensive +emigration. Another reason, also, for the rapid growth of the +territory, is, that the farmer is not delayed by forests, but +finds, outside of pleasant groves of woodland, a smooth, +unencumbered soil, ready for the plough the first day he +arrives.</p> + +<p>But if a salubrious climate, a fertile soil, clear and copious +streams, and other material elements, can be reckoned among its +physical resources, there are other elements of empire connected +with its moral and political welfare which are indispensable. Why +is it that Italy is not great? Why is it the South American +republics are rusting into abject decay? Is it because they have +not enough physical resources, or because their climate is not +healthy? Certainly not. It is because their political +institutions are rotten and oppressive; because ignorance +prevents the growth of a wholesome public opinion. It is the want +of the right sort of men and institutions that there is</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">"Sloth in the mart and schism +within the temple."</p> + +<p>"Let states that aim at greatness," says Lord Bacon, "take +heed how their nobility and gentlemen do multiply too fast; for +that maketh the common subject to be a peasant and base swain, +driven out of heart, and, in effect, but a gentleman's laborer." +He who seeks for the true cause of the greatness and thrift of +our northwestern states will find it not less in the influence of +just laws and the education of all classes of men, than in the +existence of productive fields and in the means of physical +wealth.</p> + +<blockquote>Â Â "What constitutes a state?<br> + Not high raised battlement, or labored mound,<br> + Â Â Â Thick wall, or moated gate;<br> + Not cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned;<br> + Â Â Â Not bays and broad armed ports,<br> + Where, laughing at the storm, proud navies ride;<br> + Â Â Â But men, high minded men.</blockquote> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>PART II.</h3> + +<h4>TERRITORY OF DACOTAH.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="full">"POPULOUS CITIES AND STATES ARE SPRINGING UP, AS +IF BY ENCHANTMENT, FROM THE BOSOM OF OUR WESTERN WILDS."— +<i>The President's Annual Message for</i> 1856.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF +DACOTAH.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="full">Organization of Minnesota as a state— +Suggestions as to its division— Views of Captain Pope— +Character and resources of the new territory to be left +adjoining— Its occupation by the Dacotah Indians— Its +organization and name.</p> + +<p>THE territory of Minnesota according to its present boundaries +embraces an area of 141,839 square miles exclusive of +water;— a domain four times as large as the State of Ohio, +and twelve times as large as Holland, when her commerce was +unrivalled and her fleets ruled the sea. Its limits take in three +of the largest rivers of North America; the Mississippi, the +Missouri, and the Red River of the North. Though remote from the +sea board, ships can go out from its harbors to the ocean in two +if not three different channels. Its delightful scenery of lakes +and water-falls, of prairie and woodland, are not more alluring +to the tourist, than are its invigorating climate and its verdant +fields attractive to the husbandman. It has been organized seven +years; and its resources have become so much developed, and its +population so large, there is a general disposition among the +people to have a state organization, and be admitted into the +Confederacy of the Union.[1] A measure of this kind is not now +premature: on the contrary, it is not for the interest of the +general government any longer to defray the expenses of the +territory; and the adoption of a state organization, throwing the +taxes upon the people, would give rise to a spirit of rivalry and +emulation, a watchfulness as to the system of public +expenditures, and a more jealous regard for the proper +development of the physical resources of the state. The +legislature which meets in January (1857), will without doubt +take the subject into consideration, and provide for a convention +to frame a constitution.</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 On the 9th of December Mr. Rice, the +delegate in congress from Minnesota, gave notice to the house +that he would in a few days introduce a bill authorizing the +people of the territory to hold a convention for the purpose of +forming a state constitution.]</p> + +<p>This being the condition of things, the manner in which the +territory shall be divided— for no one can expect the new +state will embrace the whole extent of the present +territory— becomes a very interesting question. Some +maintain, I believe, that the territory should be divided by a +line running east and west. That would include in its limits the +country bordering, for some distance, on the Missouri River; +possibly the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. +But it is hardly probable that a line of this description would +give Minnesota any part of Lake Superior. Others maintain that +the territory should be divided by a line running north and +south; say, for instance, along the valley of the Red River of +the North. Such a division would not give Minnesota any of the +Missouri River. But it would have the benefit of the eastern +valley of the Red River of the North; of the entire region +surrounding the sources of the Mississippi; and of the broad +expanse which lies on Lake Superior. The question is highly +important, not only to Minnesota, but to the territory which will +be left outside of it; and it should be decided with a due regard +to the interests of both.[1]</p> + +<p class="footnote">[1 I take pleasure in inserting here a note +which I have had the honor to receive from Captain Pope, of the +Corps of Topographical Engineers I have before had occasion to +quote from the able and instructive report of his exploration of +Minnesota.</p> + +<p class="full">WASHINGTON, D. C. Dec. 10, 1856.</p> + +<p>DEAR SIR:— Your note of the 6th instant is before me; and +I will premise my reply by saying that the suggestions I shall +offer to your inquiries are based upon my knowledge of the +condition of the territory in 1849, which circumstances beyond my +acquaintance may have materially modified since.</p> + +<p>The important points to be secured for the new state to be +erected in the territory of Minnesota, seem to be:— first a +harbor on Lake Superior, easily accessible from the West; second, +the whole course of the Mississippi to the Iowa line; and, third, +the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. It is +unnecessary to point out the advantages of securing these +features to the new state; and to do so without enclosing too +many square miles of territory, I would suggest the following +boundaries, viz.:</p> + +<p>Commencing on the 49th parallel of latitude, where it is +intersected by the Red River of the North, to follow the line of +deepest water of that river to the mouth of the Bois des Sioux +(or Sioux Wood) River; thence up the middle of that stream to the +south-west point of Lake Traverse; thence following a due south +line to the northern boundary of the state of Iowa (43 degrees +30' north latitude); thence along this boundary line to the +Mississippi River; thence up the middle of the Mississippi River +to the mouth of the St. Croix River; thence along the western +boundary line of the state of Wisconsin to its intersection with +the St. Louis River; thence down the middle of that river to Lake +Superior; thence following the coast of the lake to its +intersection with the boundary line between the United States and +the British possessions, and following this boundary to the place +of beginning.</p> + +<p>These boundaries will enclose an area of about 65,000 square +miles of the best agricultural and manufacturing region in the +territory, and will form a state of unrivalled advantages. That +portion of the territory set aside by the boundary line will be +of little value for many years to come. It presents features +differing but little from the region of prairie and table land +west of the frontier of Missouri and Arkansas. From this, of +course, are to be excepted the western half of the valley of the +Red River and of the Big Sioux River, which are as productive as +any portion of the territory, which, with the region enclosed +between them, would contain arable land sufficient for another +state of smaller dimensions.</p> + +<p>As you will find stated and fully explained in my report of +February, 1850, the valley of the Red River of the North must +find an outlet for its productions towards the south, either +through the great lakes or by the Mississippi River. The +necessity, therefore, of connecting the head of its navigation +with a harbor on Lake Superior, and a port on the Mississippi, is +sufficiently apparent. As each of these lines of railroad will +run through the most fertile and desirable portion of the +territory, they will have a value far beyond the mere object of +transporting the products of the Red River valley.</p> + +<p>The construction of these roads— in fact the mere +location of them— will secure a population along the routes +at once, and will open a country equal to any in the world.</p> + +<p>As these views have been fully elaborated in my report of +1850, I refer you to that paper for the detailed information upon +which these views and suggestions are based.</p> + +<p>I am sir, respectfully, your obedient servant;</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">JNO. POPE.<br> +C. C. ANDREWS, Esq.,<br> +Washington, D. C.]</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p>If the division last mentioned— or one on that plan— +is made, there will then be left west of the state of Minnesota +an extent of country embracing more than half of the territory as +it now is; extending from latitude 42 degrees 30' to the 49th +degree; and embracing six degrees of longitude— 97th to +103d— at its northern extreme. The Missouri River would +constitute nearly the whole of its western boundary. In the +northerly part the Mouse and Pembina Rivers are among its largest +streams; in the middle flows the large and finely wooded +Shayenne, "whose valley possesses a fertile soil and offers many +inducements to its settlement;" while towards the south it would +have the Jacques, the Big Sioux, the Vermillion, and the head +waters of the St. Peter's. In its supply of copious streams, +nature seems there to have been lavish. Of the Big Sioux River, +M. Nicollet says, its Indian name means that it is continuously +lined with wood; that its length cannot be less than three +hundred and fifty miles. "It flows through a beautiful and +fertile country; amidst which the Dacotahs, inhabiting the +valleys of the St. Peter's and Missouri, have always kept up +summer establishments on the borders of the adjoining lakes, +whilst they hunted the river banks. Buffalo herds are confidently +expected to be met with here at all seasons of the year." The +Jacques (the Indian name of which is <i>Tchan-sansan</i>) "takes +its rise on the plateau of the Missouri beyond the parallel of 47 +degrees north; and after pursuing nearly a north and south +course, empties into the Missouri River below 43 degrees. It is +deemed navigable with small hunting canoes for between five +hundred and six hundred miles; but below <i>Otuhuoja</i>, it will +float much larger boats. The shores of the river are generally +tolerably well wooded, though only at intervals. Along those +portions where it widens into lakes, very eligible situations for +farms would be found." The same explorer says, the most important +tributary of the Jacques is the Elm River, which "might not +deserve any special mention as a navigable stream, but is very +well worthy of notice on account of the timber growing on its own +banks and those of its forks." He further observes (Report, p. +46) that "the basin of the river Jacques, between the two coteaux +and in the latitude of <i>Otuhuoja</i>, may be laid down as +having a breadth of eighty miles, sloping gradually down from an +elevation of seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet. These +dimensions, of course, vary in the different parts of the valley; +but what I have said will convey some idea of the immense prairie +watered by the <i>Tchan-sansan</i>, which has been deemed by all +travellers to those distant regions perhaps the most beautiful +within the territory of the United States."</p> + +<p>The middle and northern part comprises an elevated plain, of +average fertility and tolerably wooded. Towards the south it is +characterized by bold undulations. The valley of the Missouri is +narrow; and the bluffs which border upon it are abrupt and high. +The country is adapted to agricultural pursuits, and though +inferior as a general thing to much of Minnesota, affords promise +of thrift and properity in its future. It is blessed with a +salubrious climate. Dr. Suckley, who accompanied the expedition +of Gov. Stevens through that part of the West, as far as Puget +Sound, says in his official report: "On reviewing the whole +route, the unequalled and unparalleled good health of the command +during a march of over eighteen hundred miles appears remarkable; +especially when we consider the hardships and exposures +necessarily incident to such a trip. Not a case of ague or fever +occurred. Such a state of health could only be accounted for by +the great salubrity of the countries passed through, and their +freedom from malarious or other endemic disease."</p> + +<p>Governor Stevens has some comprehensive remarks concerning +that part of the country in his report. "The Grand Plateau of the +Bois des Sioux and the Mouse River valley are the two keys of +railroad communication from the Mississippi River westward +through the territory of Minnesota. The Bois des Sioux is a river +believed to be navigable for steamers of light draught, flowing +northward from Lake Traverse into the Red River of the North, and +the plateau of the Bois des Sioux may be considered as extending +from south of Lake Traverse to the south bend of the Red River, +and from the Rabbit River, some thirty miles east of the Bois des +Sioux River, to the Dead Colt hillock. This plateau separates the +rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay from those flowing into the +Mississippi River. The Mouse River valley, in the western portion +of Minnesota, is from ten to twenty miles broad; is separated +from the Missouri River by the Coteau du Missouri, some six +hundred feet high, and it is about the same level as the parallel +valley of the Missouri." (Report, ch. 4.)</p> + +<p>M. Nicollet was a scientific or matter of fact man, who +preferred to talk about "erratic blocks" and "cretaceous +formations" rather than to indulge in poetic descriptions. The +outline which follows, however, of the western part of the +territory is what he considers "a faint description of this +beautiful country." "The basin of the Upper Mississippi is +separated in a great part of its extent from that of the +Missouri, by an elevated plain; the appearance of which, seen +from the valley of the St. Peter's or that of the Jacques, +looming as it were a distant shore, has suggested for it the name +of <i>Coteau des Prairies</i>. Its more appropriate designation +would be that of <i>plateau</i>, which means something more than +is conveyed to the mind by the expression, a <i>plain</i>. Its +northern extremity is in latitude 46 degrees, extending to 43 +degrees; after which it loses its distinctive elevation above the +surrounding plains, and passes into rolling prairies. Its length +is about two hundred miles, and its general direction N. N. W. +and S. S. E. Its northern termination (called <i>Tete du +Couteau</i> in consequence of its peculiar configuration) is not +more than fifteen to twenty miles across; its elevation above the +level of the Big Stone Lake is eight hundred and ninety feet, and +above the ocean one thousand nine hundred and sixteen feet. +Starting from this extremity (that is, the head of the Coteau), +the surface of the plateau is undulating, forming many dividing +ridges which separate the waters flowing into the St. Peter's and +the Mississippi from those of the Missouri. Under the 44th degree +of latitude, the breadth of the Coteau is about forty miles, and +its mean elevation is here reduced to one thousand four hundred +and fifty feet above the sea. Within this space its two slopes +are rather abrupt, crowned with verdure, and scolloped by deep +ravines thickly shaded with bushes, forming the beds of rivulets +that water the subjacent plains.</p> + +<p>The Coteau itself is isolated, in the midst of boundless and +fertile prairies, extending to the west, to the north, and into +the valley of the St. Peter's.</p> + +<p>The plain at its northern extremity is a most beautiful tract +of land diversified by hills, dales, woodland, and lakes, the +latter abounding in fish. This region of country is probably the +most elevated between the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. From +its summit, proceeding from its western to its eastern limits, +grand views are afforded. At its eastern border particularly, the +prospect is magnificent beyond description, extending over the +immense green turf that forms the basin of the Red River of the +North, the forest-capped summits of the <i>haugeurs des +terres</i> that surround the sources of the Mississippi, the +granitic valley of the Upper St. Peter's, and the depressions in +which are Lake Traverse and the Big Stone Lake. There can be no +doubt that in future times this region will be the summer resort +of the wealthy of the land." (pp. 9, 10.)</p> + +<p>I will pass over what he says of the "vast and magnificent +valley of the Red River of the North," having before given some +account of that region, and merely give his description of the +largest lake which lies in the northern part of the territory: +"The greatest extension of Devil's Lake is at least forty +miles,— but may be more, as we did not, and could not, +ascertain the end of the north-west bay, which I left undefined +on the map. It is bordered by hills that are pretty well wooded +on one side, but furrowed by ravines and coulees, that are taken +advantage of by warlike parties, both for attack and defence +according to circumstances. The lake itself is so filled up with +islands and promontories, that, in travelling along its shores, +it is only occasionally that one gets a glimpse of its expanse. +This description belongs only to its wooded side; for, on the +opposite side, the shores, though still bounded by hills, are +destitute of trees, so as to exhibit an embankment to the east +from ten to twelve miles long, upon an average breadth of +three-quarters of a mile. The average breadth of the lake may be +laid down at fifteen miles. Its waters appear to be the drainings +of the surrounding hills. We discovered no outlets in the whole +extent of about three-quarters of its contour we could explore. +At all events, if there be any they do not empty into the Red +River of the North, since the lake is shut up in that direction, +and since we found its true geographical position to be much more +to the north than it is ordinarily laid down upon maps. A single +depression at its lower end would intimate that, in times of high +water, some discharge might possibly take place; but then it +would be into the <i>Shayenne</i>." (p. 50.)</p> + +<p>Such are some of the geographical outlines of the extensive +domain which will be soon organized as a new territory.</p> + +<p>What will it be called? If the practice hitherto followed of +applying to territories the names which they have been called by +their aboriginal inhabitants is still adhered to, this new +territory will have the name of Dacotah. It is the correct or +Indian name of those tribes whom we call the Sioux; the latter +being an unmeaning Indian-French word. Dacotah means "united +people," and is the word which the Indians apply to seven of +their bands.[1] These tribes formerly occupied the country south +and south-west of Lake Superior; from whence they were gradually +driven towards the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains by their +powerful and dreaded enemies the Chippewas. Since which time they +have been the acknowledged occupants of the broad region to which +they have impressed a name. Several of the tribes, however, have +crossed the Missouri, between which and the Rocky Mountains they +still linger a barbaric life. We may now hope to realize the +truth of Hiawatha's words:—</p> + +<blockquote>"After many years of warfare,<br> + Â Many years of strife and bloodshed,<br> + Â There is peace between the Ojibways<br> + Â And the tribe of the Dacotahs."</blockquote> + +<p class="footnote">[1 The following description of the Dacotahs +is based on observations made in 1823. "The Dacotahs are a large +and powerful nation of Indians, distinct in their manners, +language, habits, and opinions, from the Chippewas, Sauks, Foxes, +and Naheawak or Kilisteno, as well as from all nations of the +Algonquin stock. They are likewise unlike the Pawnees and the +Minnetarees or Gros Ventres. They inhabit a large district of +country which may be comprised within the following limits:— +From Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi, by a curved line +extending east of north and made to include all the eastern +tributaries of the Mississippi, to the first branch of Chippewa +River; the head waters of that stream being claimed by the +Chippewa Indians; thence by a line running west of north to the +head of Spirit Lake; thence by a westerly line to the Riveree de +Corbeau; thence up that river to its head, near Otter Tail Lake; +thence by a westerly line to Red River, and down that river to +Pembina; thence by a south-westerly line to the east bank of the +Missouri near the Mandan villages; thence down the Missouri to a +point probably not far from Soldier's River; thence by a line +running east of north to Prairie du Chien.</p> + +<p class="footnote">This immense extent of country is inhabited +by a nation calling themselves, in their internal relations, the +Dacotah, which means the Allied; but who, in their external +relations, style themselves the Ochente Shakoan, which signifies +the nation of seven (council) fires. This refers to the following +division which formerly prevailed among them, viz.:—<br> +Â Â 1. Mende-Wahkan-toan, or people of the Spirit Lake.<br> +Â Â 2. Wahkpa-toan, or people of the leaves.<br> +Â Â 3. Sisi-toan, or Miakechakesa.<br> +Â Â 4. Yank-toan-an, or Fern leaves<br> +Â Â 5. Yank-toan, or descended from the Fern leaves.<br> +Â Â 6. Ti-toan, or Braggers.<br> +Â Â 7. Wahkpako-toan, or the people that shoot at leaves.</p> + +<p class="footnote">— Long's <i>Expedition to Sources of St. +Peter's River &c</i>., vol. 1, pp. 376, 378.]</p> + +<p>If it be asked what will be done with these tribes when the +country comes to be settled, I would observe, as I have said, +that the present policy of the government is to procure their +settlement on reservations. This limits them to smaller +boundaries; and tends favorably to their civilization. I might +also say here, that the title which the Indians have to the +country they occupy is that of occupancy. They have the natural +right to occupy the land; but the absolute and sovereign title is +in the United States. The Indians can dispose of their title to +no party or power but the United States. When, however, the +government wishes to extinguish their title of occupancy, it pays +them a fair price for their lands according as may be provided by +treaty. The policy of our government towards the Indians is +eminently that of protection and preservation; not of conquest +and extermination.</p> + +<p>Dacotah is the name now applied to the western part of +Minnesota, and I am assured by the best informed men of that +section, that such will be the name of the territory when +organized.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>PART III.</h3> + +<h4>TABLE OF STATISTICS.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="left">I. LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN +MINNESOTA.<br> +II. LAND OFFICES, &c.<br> +III. NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN MINNESOTA.<br> +IV. TABLE OF DISTANCES.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">I.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">POST OFFICES AND +POSTMASTERS.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p class="full">I HAVE been furnished, at brief notice, with the +following accurate list of the Post Offices and Postmasters in +Minnesota by my very excellent friend, Mr. JOHN N. OLIVIER, of +the Sixth Auditor's Office:</p> + +<p class="full">LIST OF POST OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS IN THE +TERRITORY OF MINNESOTA, PREPARED PROM THE BOOKS OF THE +APPOINTMENT OFFICE, POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, TO DECEMBER 12, +1856.</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>Post Office.</i></p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote"><i>Postmaster.</i></p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">BENTON COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Belle Prairie</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Calvin C. Hicks.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Brown.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clear Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">F. E. Baldwin.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Crow Wing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Allen Morrison.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elk River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Q. A. Nickerson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Itasca</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John C. Bowers.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">C. H. Churchill.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Royalton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rodolph's D. Kinney.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sauk Rapids</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">C. B. Vanstest.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Swan River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James Warren.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Watab</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">David Gilman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">BLUE EARTH COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kasota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Isaac Allen.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mankato</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Parsons K. Johnson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Liberty</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edward Brace.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pajutazee</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Andrew Robertson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">South Bend</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Matthew Thompson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winnebago Agency</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry Foster.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">BROWN COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New Ulm</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Anton Kans.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sioux Agency</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Asa W. Daniels.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">CARVER COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Carver</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph A. Sargent.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chaska</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Timothy D. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">La Belle</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Isaac Berfield.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Scandia</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">A. Bergquest.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">San Francisco</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James B. Cotton.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Young America</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">R. M. Kennedy.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">CHISAGO COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Amador</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lorenzo A. Lowden.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cedar Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel Wyatt.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chippewa</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">J. P. Gulding.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chisago City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry S. Cluiger.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hanley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Hanley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rushseby</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George B. Folsom.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sunrise City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George S. Frost.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Taylor's Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Peter E. Walker.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wyoming</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jordan Egle.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">DAKOTA COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Athens</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jacob Whittemore.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Centralia</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. P. Sweet.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Empire City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ralph P. Hamilton.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Farmington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Noredon Amedon.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Snelling</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Franklin Steele.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hampton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James Archer.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hastings</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John F. Marsh.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lakeville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel P. Baker.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Le Sueur</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kostum K. Peck.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lewiston</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stephen N. Carey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mendota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hypolite Dupues.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ninninger</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Louis Loichot.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ottowa</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Frank Y. Hoffstott.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rosemount</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Andrew Keegan.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Vermillion</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Leonard Aldrich.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waterford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Warren Atkinson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">DODGE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Avon</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Noah F. Berry.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ashland</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George Townsend.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Claremont</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Goerge Hitchcock.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Concord</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James M. Sumner.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Montorville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John H. Shober.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wasioga</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eli. P. Waterman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">FAIRBAULT COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Blue Earth City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George B. Kingsley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Verona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Newell Dewey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">FILLMORE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Bellville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wilson Bell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Spring</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Walter.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chatfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edwin B. Gere.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clarimona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wm. F. Strong.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Deer Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William S. Hill.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elkhorn</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jacob McQuillan.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elliota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John C. Cleghorn.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Etna</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">O. B. Bryant.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fairview</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John G. Bouldin.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fillmore</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Robert Rea.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Forestville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Forest Henry.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jordan</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James M. Gilliss.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lenora</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chas. B. Wilford.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Looking Glass</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lemuel Jones.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Newburg</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Gabriel Gabrielson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Odessa</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jacob P. Kennedy.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Peterson</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Knud Peterson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pilot Mound</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daniel B. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Preston</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">L. Preston.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Riceford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wm. D. Vandoren.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Richland</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Benjn. F. Tillotson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rushford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sylvester S. Stebbins.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Spring Valley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Condello Wilkins.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Uxbridge</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daniel Crowell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waukokee</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John M. West.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">FREEBORN COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Albert Lea</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lorenzo Murray.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Geneva</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Heath.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Nicholas</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saml. M. Thompson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shell Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edward P. Skinner.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">GOODHUE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Burr Oak Springs</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry Doyle.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cannon River Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George McKenzie.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Central Point</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles W. Hackett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pine Island</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Chance.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Poplar Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Lee.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Wing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry C. Hoffman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Spencer</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hans Mattson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wacouta</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George Post.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Westervelt</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Evert Westervelt.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">HENNEPIN COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Bloomington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reuben B. Gibson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chanhassen</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry M. Lyman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dayton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Baxter.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eden Prairie</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Jonas Staring.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elm Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Miles.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Harmony</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James A. Dunsmore.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Excelsior</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles P. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Island City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William F. Russell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Maple Plain</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Irvin Shrewsbury.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Medicine Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Francis Hagot.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minneapolis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alfred E. Ames.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnetonka</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Levi W. Eastman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Osseo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Warren Samson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Perkinsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">N. T. Perkins.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Watertown</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alexander Moore.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wyzata</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">W. H. Chapman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">HOUSTON COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Brownsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Brown.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Caledonia</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wm. J. McKee.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hamilton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hackett's Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Emery Hackett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hokah</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edward Thompson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Houston</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ole Knudson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Loretta</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edmund S. Lore.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Looneyville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daniel Wilson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">La Crescent</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Gillett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mooney Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cyrus B. Sinclair.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Portland</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alexr. Batcheller.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sheldon</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Paddock.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Spring Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Embric Knudson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">San Jacinto</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George Canon.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wiscoy</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Benton Aldrich.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Yucatan</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">T. A. Pope.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">LAKE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Burlington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chas. B. Harbord.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">LA SUEUR COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elysium</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Silas S. Munday.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grandville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Bartlet Y. Couch.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lexington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry Earl.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waterville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel D. Drake.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">McLEOD COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Glencoe</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Surman G. Simmons.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hutchinson</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lewis Harrington.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">MEEKER COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Forest City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Walter C. Bacon.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">MORRISON COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Orlando A. Churchill.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">MOWER COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Austin</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alanson B. Vaughan.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Frankford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lewis Patchin.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">High Forest</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Thos. H. Armstrong.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Le Roy</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daniel Caswell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">NICOLLET COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eureka</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edwin Clark.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hilo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Dupray.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Peter</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George Hezlep.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Travers des Sioux</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Huey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">OLMSTEAD COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Durango</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel Brink.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Kalmar</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James A. Blair.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Oronoco</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel P. Hicks.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pleasant Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel Barrows.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rochester</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Phineas H. Durfel.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Salem</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cyrus Holt.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Springfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Almon H. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Waterloo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Robert S. Latta.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Zumbro</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lucy Cobb.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">PEMBINA COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cap Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">David B. Spencer.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pembina</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Rolette.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sela G. Wright.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Joseph's</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George A. Belcourt.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">PIERCE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ridgeley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Benjn. H. Randall.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">PINE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alhambra</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Herman Trott.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mille Lac</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mark Leadbetter.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">RAMSEY COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Anoka</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Arthur Davis.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Centreville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Pettin.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Columbus</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Klerman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Howard's Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John P. Howard.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Canada</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Walter B. Boyd.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Manomine</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph A. Willis.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Otter Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ross Wilkinson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Giles H. Fowler.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Anthony's Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Norton H. Hemiup.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles S. Cave.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">RICE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cannon City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">C. Smith House.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Faribault</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Alexander Faribault.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Medford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Smith Johnson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Morristown</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Walter Norris.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Northfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Calvin S. Short.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shieldsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joshua Tufts.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Union Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry M. Humphrey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Walcott</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Richardson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">SAINT LOUIS COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Falls of St. Louis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Y. Buckner.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Oneota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Edmund F. Ely.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Twin Lakes</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">George W. Perry.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">SCOTT COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Belle Plaine</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Nahum Stone.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Louisville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph R. Ashley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mount Pleasant</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Soules.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New Dublin</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dominick McDermott</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sand Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William Holmes.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shak-a-pay</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reuben M. Wright.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">SIBLEY COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henderson</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry Pochler.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Prairie Mound</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Morgan Lacey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">STEARNS COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clinton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John H. Linneman.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Neenah</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henry B. Johnson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Cloud</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Edelbrook.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Torah</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reuben M. Richardson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">STEELE COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Adamsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hiram Pitcher.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Aurora</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles Adsit.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dodge City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Coburn.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ellwood</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wilber F. Fiske.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Josco</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">James Hanes.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lemond</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Abram Fitzsimmons.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Owatana</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel B. Smith.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Mary's</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Horatio B. Morrison.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Swavesey</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Andrew J. Bell.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wilton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">David J. Jenkins.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">SUPERIOR COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Beaver Bay</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Robert McLean.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">French River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">F. W. Watrous.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grand Marias</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Richard Godfrey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grand Portage</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">H. H. McCullough.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WABASHAW COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Greenville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rodman Benchard.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Independence</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Seth L. McCarty.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lake City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Harvey F. Williamson.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mazeppa</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John E. Hyde.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minneska</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Nathaniel F. Tifft.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minnesota City</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel E. Cotton.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mount Vernon</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stephen M. Burns.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Reed's Landing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fordyce S. Richard.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wabashaw</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">J. F. Byrne.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">West Newton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Austin R. Swan.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WAHNATAH COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ripley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Solon W. Manney.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WASHINGTON COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cottage Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stephen F. Douglass.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lake Land</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Freeman C. Tyler.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Marine Mills</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Orange Walker.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Milton Mills</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lemuel Bolles.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Point Douglass</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">R. R. Henry.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Harley Curtis.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WINONA COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dacota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Nathan Brown.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eagle Bluffs</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William W. Bennett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Homer</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John A. Torrey.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New Boston</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William H. Dwight.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Richmond</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Samuel C. Dick.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ridgeway</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joseph Cooper.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saint Charles</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lewis H. Springer.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saratoga</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Thomas P. Dixon.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stockton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">William C. Dodge.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Twin Grove</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Oren Cavath.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Utica</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John W. Bentley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Warren</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Eben B. Jewett.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John W. Downer.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">White Water Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Miles Pease.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">WRIGHT COUNTY.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Berlin</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Charles W. Lambert</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Buffalo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Amasa Ackley.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Clear Water</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Simon Stevens.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Monticello</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">M. Fox.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Northwood</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">A. H. Kelly.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rockford</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Joel Florida.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Silver Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Abram G. Descent.</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">II.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND +OFFICERS IN MINNESOTA.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="right" class="right">GENERAL LAND OFFICE,</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">December 8, 1856.</p> + +<p>SIR: Your two letters of the 6th instant, asking for a list of +the land offices in Minnesota Territory, with the names of the +officers connected therewith,— also the number of acres sold +and the amount of fees received by such officers, during the +fiscal year, ending 30th June, 1856, have been received.</p> + +<p>In reply, I herewith enclose a statement of the information +desired, save that the amount of fees for the fiscal year cannot +be stated.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">Very respectfully,</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">THOMAS A. HENDRICKS,</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">Commissioner,</p> + +<p>C. C. ANDREWS, Esq.</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="5"> +<p class="centernote">LIST OF LAND OFFICES AND OFFICERS IN +MINNESOTA.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">LAND DISTRICTS.</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Name of Register</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Name of Receiver.</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Number of acres sold during the fiscal year +ending 30th of June, 1856.</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Amount of purchase-money received +therefor.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Thos. M. Fullerton</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Wm. Holcomb</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">103,141.31</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">128,930.23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Sauk Rapids</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Geo. W. Sweet</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Wm. H. Wood</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">49,712.44</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">65,355.41</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Chatfield (late Brownsville)</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">John R. Bennet</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Jno. H. McKenny</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">238,323.26</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">298,920.90</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Minneapolis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Marcus P. Olds</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Roswell P. Russell</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">139,188.96</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">186,651.77</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Winona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Diedrich Upman</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Lorenzo D. Smith</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">264,777.38</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">335,845.66</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Red Wing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Wm. P. Phelps</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Chr. Graham</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">206,987.32</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">265,173.84</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">Â </p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">1,002,130.67</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="miniscule">$1,280,867.81</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="leftnote">Since the 30th June, 1856, the following +offices have been established and officers appointed.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Buchanan</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saml. Clark</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">John Whipple</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ojibeway</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Saml. Plumer</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wm. Sawyer</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">III.</p> + +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="leftnote">LIST OF NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN +MINNESOTA.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">PIONEER AND DEMOCRAT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daily and Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">MINNESOTIAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daily and Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">TIMES</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Daily and Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">FINANCIAL ADVERTISER</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Paul</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">UNION</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">MESSENGER</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">EXPRESS</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Anthony</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">REPUBLICAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Anthony</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">DEMOCRAT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Minneapolis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">FRONTIERSMAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sauk Rapids</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">NORTHERN HERALD</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Watab</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">INDEPENDENT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shakopee</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">REPUBLICAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Shakopee</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">DEMOCRAT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henderson</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">COURIER</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Peter</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">DAKOTA JOURNAL</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Hastings</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">SENTINEL</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Wing</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">GAZETTE</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Canon Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">JOURNAL</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wabashaw</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">ARGUS</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">REPUBLICAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td rowspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">SOUTHERN HERALD</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Brownsville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Carimona</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">DEMOCRAT</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chatfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">REPUBLICAN</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Chatfield</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td rowspan="2"> +<p class="leftnote">RICE COUNTY HERALD</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Faribault</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Cloud</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">OWATONIA WATCHMAN AND REGISTER</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Owatonia</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Weekly.</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">IV.</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">TABLE OF DISTANCES.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<div align="center"> +<table summary="Andrews" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing= +"0"> +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="centernote">TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. PAUL.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td></td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="centernote">MILES</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">To St. Anthony</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">8 3/4</p> +</td> +<td>Â </td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rice Creek</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">15 3/4</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Francis, or Rum River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">9</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">25</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Itasca</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">32</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Elk River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">38</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">48</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Meadow (Sturgis)</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">18</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">66</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Cloud (Sauk Rapids)</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">76</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Watab</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">82</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">2</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">84</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Platte River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">12</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">96</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Swan River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">106</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Falls</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">3</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">109</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Belle Prairie</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">114</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ripley</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">10</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">124</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Crow Wing River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">130</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sandy Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">120</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">250</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Savannah Portage</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">15</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">265</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Across the Portage</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">270</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Down Savannah River to St. Louis River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">20</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">290</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fond-du-Lac</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">350</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lake Superior</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">22</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">372</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Crow Wing River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">130</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Otter Tail Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">70</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">200</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rice River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">74</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">274</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sand Hills River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">70</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">340</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Grand Fork, Red River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">40</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">380</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pembina</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">460</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sandy Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">250</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Leech Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">150</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">400</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">480</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pembrina</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">150</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">630</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Stillwater</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">18</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Arcola</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">5</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">23</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Marine Mills</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Falls St. Croix</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">19</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">48</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Pokagema</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">40</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">88</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fond-du-Lac</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">75</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">164</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">6</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Point Douglass</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">24</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Red Wing</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Winona's Rock, Lake Pepin</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Wabashaw</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">30</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">90</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Prairie du Chien</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">145</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">235</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cassville</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">29</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">264</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Peru</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">21</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">285</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Dubuque</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">8</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">293</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mouth of Fever River</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">17</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">310</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Rock Island</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">52</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">362</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Burlington</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">135</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">497</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Keokuk</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">53</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">550</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Louis</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">179</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">729</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Cairo</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">172</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">901</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">New Orleans</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1040</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">1941</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mendota</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">7</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Black Dog Village</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">4</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Sixe's Village</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">21</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Traverse des Sioux</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">50</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Little Rock</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">45</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Lac Qui Parle</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Big Stone Lake</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">66</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Pierce, on Missouri</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">240</p> +</td> +<td> +<p class="rightnote">Â </p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="centernote">TABLE OF DISTANCES FROM ST. CLOUD.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">To Minneapolis</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">62</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Superior City, on Brott and Wilson's Road</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">120</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Traverse des Sioux</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">70</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Henderson</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ridgley</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">100</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Long Prairie</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">40</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Otter Tail Lake</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">The Salt Springs</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">120</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Fort Ripley</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Mille Lac City</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td colspan="3"> +<p class="centernote">DISTANCES FROM CROW WING.</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">To Chippeway Mission</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">15</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Ojibeway</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">50</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Superior City</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">80</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">Otter Tail City</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">60</p> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> +<p class="leftnote">St. Cloud</p> +</td> +<td colspan="2"> +<p class="rightnote">55</p> +</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>PART IV.</h3> + +<h4>PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN SITES.</h4> + +<hr width="10%"> +<p align="center" class="center">PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN +SITES.</p> + +<p>AT a late moment, and while the volume is in press, I am +enabled to present the following exposition of the Preemption +Law, addressed to the Secretary of the Interior by Mr. +Attorney-General Cushing. (See "Opinions of Attorneys General," +vol. 7, 733-743— in press.)</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">PREEMPTION FOR CITY OR TOWN +SITES.</p> + +<p>Portions of the public lands, to the amount of three hundred +and twenty acres, may be taken up by individuals or preemptioners +for city or town sites.</p> + +<p>The same rules as to proof of occupation apply in the case of +municipal, as of agricultural, preemption.</p> + +<p>The statute assumes that the purposes of a city or town have +preference over those of trade or of agriculture.</p> + +<p align="right" class="right">ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE</p> + +<p align="right" class="right"><i>July 2,</i> 1856.</p> + +<p>SIR: Your communication of the 20th May, transmitting papers +regarding Superior City (so called) in the State of Wisconsin, +submits for consideration three precise questions of law; two of +them presenting inquiry of the legal relations of locations for +town sites on the public domain, and the third presenting inquiry +of another matter, which, although pertinent to the case, yet is +comprehended in a perfectly distinct class of legal +relations.</p> + +<p>I propose, in this communication, to reply only upon the two +first questions.</p> + +<p>The act of Congress of April 24, 1841, entitled "An act to +appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands and to +grant preemption rights," contains, in section 10th, the +following provisions: "no lands reserved for the support of +schools, nor lands acquired by either of the two last treaties +with the Miami tribe of Indians in the State of Indiana, or which +may be acquired of the Wyandot tribe of Indians in the State of +Ohio, or other Indian reservation to which the title has been or +may be extinguished by the United States at any time during the +operation of this act; no sections of lands reserved to the +United States alternate to other sections of land granted to any +of the States for the construction of any canal, railroad, or +other public improvement; no sections or fractions of sections +included within the limits of any incorporated town; no portions +of the public lands which have been selected for the site of a +city or town; no parcel of a lot of land actually settled or +occupied for the purposes of trade and not agriculture; and no +lands on which are situated any known salines or mines, shall be +liable to entry under or by virtue of this act." (v Stat. at +Large, p. 456.)</p> + +<p>An act passed May 28, 1844, entitled "An act for the relief of +citizens of towns upon the lands of the United States under +certain circumstances," provides as follows:</p> + +<p>"That whenever any portion of the surveyed public lands has +been or shall be settled upon and occupied as a town site, and +therefore not subject to entry under the existing preemption +laws, it shall be lawful, in case such town or place shall be +incorporated, for the corporate authorities thereof, and if not +incorporated, for the judges of the county court for the county +in which such town may be situated, to enter at the proper land +office, and at the minimum price, the land so settled and +occupied, in trust for the several use and benefit of the several +occupants thereof, according to their respective interests; the +execution of which trust, as to the disposal of the lots in said +town, and the proceeds of the sales thereof, to be conducted +under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the +legislative authority of the state or territory in which the same +is situated; <i>Provided,</i> that the entry of the land intended +by this act be made prior to the commencement of a public sale of +the body of land in which it is included, and that the entry +shall include only such land as is actually occupied by the town, +and be made in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public +lands authorized by the act of the twenty-fourth of April, one +thousand eight hundred and twenty, and shall not in the whole +exceed three hundred and twenty acres; and <i>Provided</i> also, +that the act of the said trustees, not made in conformity to the +rules and regulations herein alluded to, shall be void and of +none effect:" * * * (v Stat. at Large, p. 687.)</p> + +<p>Upon which statutes you present the following questions of +construction: "1st. What is the legal signification to be given +to the words, 'portions of the public lands which have been +selected as the site for a city or town,' which occur in the +preemption law of 1841, and which portions of the public lands +are by said act exempted from its provisions? Do they authorize +selections by individuals with a view to the building thereon of +a city or town, or do they contemplate a selection made by +authority of some special law?</p> + +<p>"Do the words in the act of 23d May, 1844, 'and that the entry +shall include only such land as is actually occupied by the +town,' restrict the entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or +forty acre subdivisions, alone, on which houses have been erected +as part of said town, or do they mean, only, that the entry shall +not embrace any land not shown <i>by</i> the survey on the +ground, or the plat of the town, to be occupied thereby, and not +to exceed 820 acres, which is to be taken by legal subdivisions, +according to the public survey, and to what species of 'legal +subdivisions' is reference made in said act of 1844?"</p> + +<p>These questions, as thus presented by you, are abstract +questions of law,— namely, of the construction of statutes. +They are distinctly and clearly stated, so as not to require of +me any investigation of external facts to render them more +intelligible. Nor do they require of me to attempt to make +application of them to any actual case, conflict of right, or +controversy either between private individuals or such +individuals and the Government.</p> + +<p>It is true that, accompanying your communication, there is a +great mass of representations, depositions, arguments, and other +papers, which show that the questions propounded by you are not +speculative ones, and that, on the contrary, they bear, in some +way, on matters of interest, public or private, to be decided by +the Department. But those are matters for you, not for me, to +determine. You have requested my opinion of certain points of +law, to be used by you, so far as you see fit, in aid of such +your own determination. I am thus happily relieved of the task of +examining and undertaking to analyze the voluminous documents in +the case: more especially as your questions, while precise and +complete in themselves, derive all needful illustration from the +very instructive report in the case of the present Commissioner +of Public Lands and the able brief on the subject drawn up in +your Department.</p> + +<p>I. To return to the questions before me: the first is in +substance whether the words in the act of 1841,— " portions +of the public land which have been selected as the site for a +city or a town,"— are to be confined to cases of such +selection in virtue of some special authority, or by some +official authority?</p> + +<p>I think not, for the following reasons:</p> + +<p>The statute does not by any words of legal intendment say +so.</p> + +<p>The next preceding clause of the act, which speaks of lands +"included within the limits of any incorporated town," implies +the contrary, in making separate provision for a township +existing by special or public authority.</p> + +<p>The next succeeding clause, which speaks of land "actually +settled or occupied for the purposes of trade and not +agriculture," leads to the same conclusion; for why should +selection for a town site require special authority any more than +occupation for the purposes of trade?</p> + +<p>The general scope of the act has the same tendency. Its +general object is to regulate, in behalf of individuals, the +acquisition of the public domain by preemption, after voluntary +occupation for a certain period of time, and under other +prescribed circumstances. In doing this, it gives a preference +preemption to certain other uses of the public land, by excluding +such land from liability to ordinary preemption. Among the uses +thus privileged, and to which precedence in preemption is +accorded, are, 1. "Sections, or fractions of sections included +within the limits of any incorporated town;" 2. "Portions of the +public land which have been selected for the site of a city or +town;" and, 3. "Land actually settled or occupied for the +purposes of trade, and not agriculture." Now, it is not easy to +see any good reason why, if individuals may thus take voluntarily +for the purposes of agriculture,— they may not also take for +the purposes of a city or town. The statute assumes that the +purposes of a city or town have preference over those of trade, +and still more over those of agriculture. Yet individuals may +take for either of the latter objects: <i>a fortiori</i> they may +take for a city or town.</p> + +<p>Why should it be assumed that individual action in this +respect is prohibited for towns any more than for trade or +agriculture? It does not concern the Government whether two +persons preempt one hundred and sixty acres each for the purposes +of agriculture, or for the purpose of a town, except that the +latter object will, incidentally, be more beneficial to the +Government. Nor is there any other consideration of public policy +to induce the Government to endeavor to discourage the formation +of towns. Why, then, object to individuals taking up a given +quantity of land in one case rather than in the other?</p> + +<p>Finally, the act of 1844 definitively construes the act of +1841, and proves that the "selection" for town sites there spoken +of may be either by public authority or by individuals:— +that the word is for that reason designedly general, and without +qualification, but must be fixed by occupation. That act supposes +public land to be "settled upon and occupied as a town site," and +"therefore" not subject to entry under the existing preemption +laws. This description identifies it with the land "selected for +the site of <i>a city</i> or town," in the previous act. It +limits the quantity so to be selected, that is, settled or +occupied, to three hundred and twenty acres, and otherwise +regulates the selection as hereinafter explained. It then +provides how such town site is to be entered and patented. If the +town be incorporated, then the <i>entry</i> is to be made by its +corporate authorities. If the town be not incorporated, then it +may be entered in the name of the judges of the county court of +the county, in which the projected town lies, "in trust for the +several use and benefit of the several occupants thereof, +according to their respective interests." Here we have express +recognition of voluntary selection and occupancy by individuals, +and provision for means by which legal title in their behalf may +be acquired and patented.</p> + +<p>I am aware that by numerous statutes anterior to the act of +1841, provision is made for the <i>authoritative</i> selection of +town sites in special cases; but such provisions do by no means +exclude or contradict the later enactment of a general provision +of law to comprehend all cases of selections for town sites, +whether authoritative or voluntary. I think the act of 1841, +construed in the light of the complementary act of 1844, as it +must be, provides clearly for both contingencies or conditions of +the subject. Among the anterior acts, however, is one of great +importance and significancy upon this point, more especially as +that act received exposition at the time from the proper +departments of the Government. I allude to the act of June 22d, +1838, entitled "An act to grant preemption rights to settlers on +the public lands." This act, like that of 1841, contains a +provision reserving certain lands from ordinary preemption, among +which are:</p> + +<p>"Any portions of public lands, surveyed or otherwise, which +have been actually selected as sites for cities or towns, lotted +into smaller quantities than eighty acres, and settled upon and +occupied for the purposes of trade, and not of agricultural +cultivation and improvement, or any land specially occupied or +reserved for town lots, or other purposes, by authority of the +United States." (v Stat. at Large, p. 251.)</p> + +<p>Here the "selection" generally, and the "selection" by +authority are each provided for <i>eo nomine.</i> It is obvious +that the provision in the latter case is made for certainty only; +since, by the general rules of statute construction, no ordinary +claim of preemption could attach to reservations made by +authority of the United States. The effective provision in the +enactment quoted, must be selections not made by the authority of +the United States.</p> + +<p>In point of fact the provision was construed by the Department +to include all voluntary selections: lands, says the circular of +the General Land Office of July 8, 1838, "which settlers have +selected with a view of building thereon a village or city."</p> + +<p>It seems to me that the same considerations which induced this +construction of the word "selection" in the act of 1838, dictate +a similar construction of the same word in the subsequent act. +Besides which, when a word or words of a statute, which were of +uncertain signification originally, but which have been construed +by the proper authority, are repented in a subsequent statute, +that is understood as being not a repetition merely of the word +with the received construction, but an implied legislative +adoption even of such construction.</p> + +<p>II. The second question is of the construction of the act of +1844, supplemental to that of 1841; and as the construction of +the elder derives aid from the language of the later one, so does +that of the latter from the former. The question is divisible +into sub-questions.</p> + +<p>1. Does the phrase "that the entry (for a town-site) shall +include only such land as is actually occupied by the town," +restrict the entry to those quarter quarter-sections, or forty +acre subdivisions alone, on which houses have been erected as +part of said town?</p> + +<p>2. What is the meaning of the phrase in the act "legal +subdivisions of the public lands," in "conformity" with which the +entry must be made?</p> + +<p>I put the two acts together and find that they provide for a +system of preemptions for, among other things, agricultural +occupation, commercial or mechanical occupation, and municipal +occupation.</p> + +<p>In regard to agricultural occupation, the laws provide that, +in certain cases and conditions, one person may preempt one +hundred and sixty acres, and that in regard to municipal +occupation a plurality of persons may, in certain cases and +conditions, preempt three hundred and twenty acres. In the latter +contingency, there is no special privilege as to quantity, but a +disability rather; for two persons together may preempt three +hundred and twenty acres by agricultural occupation, and +afterwards convert the land into a town site, and four persons +together might in the same way secure six hundred and forty +acres, to be converted ultimately into the site of a town; while +the same four persons, selecting land for a town site, can take +only three hundred and twenty acres. In both forms the parties +enter at the minimum price of the public lands. The chief +advantage which the preemptors for municipal purposes enjoy, is, +that they have by statute a preference over agricultural +preemptors, the land selected for a town site being secured by +statute against general and ordinary, that is, agricultural +preemption. In all other respects material to the present +inquiry, we may assume, for the argument's sake at least, that +the two classes stand on a footing of equality, as respects +either the convicting interests of third persons, or the rights +of the Government.</p> + +<p>Now, the rights of an agricultural preemptor we understand. He +is entitled, if he shall "make a settlement in person on the +public lands," and "shall inhabit and improve the same, and shall +erect a dwelling thereon," to enter, "by legal subdivisions, any +number of acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a +quarter-section of land, to include the residence of such +claimant." (Act of 1841, s. 10.) And of two settlers on "the same +quarter-section of land," the earlier one is to have the +preference. (Sec. 11.)</p> + +<p>Now, was it ever imagined that such claimant must personally +inhabit every quarter quarter-section of his claim? That he must +have under cultivation every quarter quarter-section? That he +must erect a dwelling on every quarter quarter-section? And that, +if he failed to do this, any such quarter of his quarter-section +might be preempted by a later occupant?</p> + +<p>There is no pretension that such is the condition of the +ordinary preemptor, and that he is thus held to inhabit, to +cultivate, to dwell on, every quarter quarter-section, under +penalty of having it seized by another preemptor, or entered in +course by any public or private purchaser. He is to provide, +according to the regulations of the Land Office or otherwise, +indicia, by which the limits of his claim shall be known,— +he must perform acts of possession or intended ownership on the +land, as notice to others; and that suffices to secure his rights +under the statute. It is not necessary for him to cultivate every +separate quarter of his quarter-section; it is not necessary for +him even to enclose each; it only needs that in good faith he +take possession, with intention of occupation and settlement, and +proceed in good faith to occupy and settle, in such time and in +such manner, as belong to the nature of agricultural occupation +and settlement.</p> + +<p>Why should there be a different rule in regard to occupants +for municipal preemption? The latter is, by the very tenor of the +law, the preferred object. Why should those interested in it be +subject to special disabilities of competing occupancy? I cannot +conceive.</p> + +<p>It is obvious that, in municipal settlement, as well as +agricultural, there must be space of time between the +commencement and the consummation of occupation. There will be a +moment, when the equitable right of the agricultural settler is +fixed, although he have as yet done nothing more in the way of +inhabiting or improving than to cut a tree or drive a stake into +the earth. And it may be long before he improves each one of all +his quarter quarter-sections. So, in principle, it is in the case +of settlement for a town. We must deal with such things according +to their nature. Towns do not spring into existence consummate +and complete. Nor do they commence with eight houses, +systematically distributed, each in the centre of a forty-acre +lot. And in the case of a town settlement of three hundred and +twenty acres; as well as that of a farm site of one hundred and +sixty acres, all which can be lawfully requisite to communicate +to the occupants the right of preemption to the block of land, +including every one of its quarter quarter-sections,— is +improvement, or indication of the improvement of the entire +block,— acts of possession or use regarding it, consonant +with the nature of the thing. That, in a farm, will be the +erection of a house and outhouses, cultivation, and use of +pasturage or woodland: in a town, it will be erecting houses or +shops, platting out the land, grading or opening streets, and the +like signs and marks of occupation or special destination.</p> + +<p>The same considerations lead to the conclusion that it would +not be just to confine the proofs of occupation to facts existing +at its very incipiency. The inchoate or equitable right, as +against all others, begins from the beginning of the occupation: +the ultimate sufficiency of that occupation is to be determined +in part by subsequent facts, which consummate the occupation, and +also demonstrate its <i>bona fides.</i> If it were otherwise, +there would be an end of all the advantage expressly given by the +statute to priority of occupation. Take the case of agricultural +preemptions for example. A settler enters in good faith upon a +quarter-section for preemption; his entry, at first, attaches +physically to no more than the rood of land on which he is +commencing to construct a habitation. Is that entry confined in +effect to a single <i>quarter</i> quarter? Can other settlers, +the next day, enter upon all the adjoining quarter quarters, and +thus limit the first settler to the single quarter quarter on +which his dwelling is commenced? Is all proof of occupation in +his case, when he comes to prove up his title, to be confined to +acts anterior to the date of conflict? Clearly not. The inchoate +title of the first occupant ripens into a complete one by the +series of acts on his part subsequent to the original +occupation.</p> + +<p>In the statement of the case prepared in your office, it is +averred that numerous precedents exist in the Land Office, not +only of the allowance of town preemptions as the voluntary +selection of individuals, but also of the application to such +preemption claims of the ordinary construction of the word +"occupation" habitually applied to agricultural preemption +claims. That is to say, it has been the practice of the +Government, not to consider municipal occupation "circumscribed +by the forty-acre subdivisions actually built upon; * * but that +such occupation was (sufficiently) evidenced, either by an actual +survey, upon the ground, of said town into streets, alleys, and +blocks, or the publication of a plat of the same evidencing the +connection therewith of the public surveys, so as to give notice +to others of the extent of the town site:" all this, within the +extreme limits, of course, of the three hundred and twenty acres +prescribed by the statute.</p> + +<p>I think the practice of the Land Office in this respect, as +thus reported, is lawful and proper: it being understood, of +course, that thus the acts of alleged selection, possession, and +occupation are performed in perfect good faith.</p> + +<p>Something is hinted, in the report of the commissioner, as to +the speculation-character of the proposed town settlement,— +and, in the official brief accompanying your letter, as to the +speculation-character of the proposed agricultural preemption. I +suppose it must be so, if the land in question has peculiar +aptitude for municipal uses. But how is that material? The +object, in either mode of attaining it, is a lawful one. Two +persons may lawfully preempt a certain quantity of land under the +general law, and <i>intend</i> a townsite without saying so; or +they may preempt <i>avowedly</i> for a town site. As between the +two courses, both having the same ultimate destination, it would +not seem that there could be any cause of objection to the more +explicit one.</p> + +<p>So much for the first branch of the second question. As to the +second branch of it, the same line of reasoning leads to equally +satisfactory results.</p> + +<p>The municipal preemptor, like the agricultural preemptor, is +required to take his land in conformity with "the legal +subdivisions of the public lands." I apprehend the import of the +requirement is the same in both cases. Neither class of +pre-emptors is to break the legal subdivisions as surveyed. The +preemptor of either case may take fractional sections if he will, +but he is in every case to run his extreme lines with the lines +of the surveyed subdivisions. In fine, as it seems to me, there +is nothing of the present case, in so far as appears by the +questions presented, and the official reports and statement by +which they are explained, except a convict of claim to two or +three sectional subdivisions of land between different sets of +preemptors, one set being avowed municipal preemptors, and the +other professed agricultural preemptors, but both sets having in +reality the same ulterior purposes in regard to the use of the +land. The Government has no possible concern in the controversy, +except to deal impartially between the parties according to law. +The agricultural preemptors contend that different rules of right +as to the power of individual or private occupation, and as to +the <i>criteria</i> of valid occupation, apply to them, as +against their adversaries. The municipal preemptors contend that +the same rules of equal right, inceptive and progressive, in +these respects, apply to both classes of preemptors. I think that +the latter view of the law is correct, according to its letter, +its spirit; and the settled practice of the Government.</p> + +<p>The investigation of the facts of the case, and the +application of the law to the facts, are, of course, duties of +your Department.</p> + +<p>I leave here the first and second questions; and, proposing to +reply at an early day on the third question,</p> + +<p>I have the honor to be, very respectfully,</p> + +<p align="center" class="center">C. CUSHING.</p> + +<p>Hon. ROBERT McCLELLAND,</p> + +<p align="center" class="center"><i>Secretary of</i> the +<i>Interior.</i></p> + +<p align="center" class="center">THE END.</p> + +<hr width="10%"> +<h3>ADVERTISEMENT.</h3> + +<p class="full">THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE. ATTORNEYS GENERAL +OF THE UNITED STATES. Edited by C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. VOLUME VII. +(8 vo.) now ready. Washington: Published by R. Farnham.</p> + +<p>"In this series the proudest names of American law have found +some appropriate record of their labor and their wisdom. * * No +student of the law can find more valuable reading than in these +opinions. We would urge upon him to turn now and then from the +common place reading of the profession to the great studies which +impart, to the law the dignity of a science. If less immediate in +the rewards they bring, they are the only studies which can win +for the legal aspirant the true glory of a great lawyer."— +<i>Monthly Law Reporter</i>.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Andrews is entitled to the thanks of his professional +brethren for the very satisfactory manner in which he has +presented these opinions."— American Law +<i>Register.</i></p> + +<p>"On such examination as I have been able to give it (Volume +VI.), the volume seems to me to be full of instruction; the +argument most clearly and fairly conducted; the researches +thorough, and the conclusions, in so far as I can form a +judgment, just."— <i>Rufus Choate.</i></p> + +<p>"But we should fail entirely in our object, of calling +attention to this work if we did not particularly commend it to +the notice of the statesman and the general reader. * * These +volumes constitute a great treatise on constitutional law; the +work, not of one man, but of a succession of able men from the +age of Washington, who have examined and revised each other. We +regard it, therefore, as one of the most valuable publications +which has embellished our political and legal literature."— +<i>National Intelligencer.</i></p> + +<p class="full">A TREATISE ON THE REVENUE LAWS OF THE UNITED +STATES, in one volume, 8 vo. By C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. (Soon to be +published by Little, Brown and Company. See their list of new Law +Books.)</p> + +<p class="full">REFLECTIONS ON THE OPERATION OF THE PRESENT +SYSTEM OF EDUCATION. By C. C. ANDREWS, Esq. Boston: Crosby, +Nichols and Company: 1853.</p> + +<p>"The substance of the pamphlet appeared some time since in a +monthly journal, and the author has now revised it and published +it in a more permanent form. His views are sensible, and well +deserve attention."— <i>Boston</i> <i>Daily +Advertiser.</i></p> + +<p>"This is an earnest and well written essay; designed to remedy +what the writer justly regards an important defect in the present +system of education-namely, the want of a proper degree of moral +instruction. His observations evince an enlightened mind, as well +as a philanthropic spirit; and they deserve to be considerately +pondered by all whom they may concern."— <i>Puritan +Recorder.</i></p> + +<p>"His practical remarks are of particular value, and show that +the author has devoted much thought to the topic of which he +treats."— <i>Boston Daily Atlas.</i></p> + +<p>"We have perused this publication with more than ordinary +interest. The object of the author is to suggest some remedies +for the acknowledged defects in the operation of our system of +education. This object is pursued by a masterly hand, in a lucid +and comprehensive manner."— <i>Evening Transcript.</i></p> + +<p>"This contribution to the cause of common school education is +highly creditable to the author, and we have no doubt, if it can +be extensively circulated, will be productive of very beneficial +results."— <i>Christian Witness.</i></p> + +<hr> + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Minnesota and Dacotah, by C.C. 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