Front matter (continued 3)

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.

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

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

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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

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Whole number of boats, 78. Whole number of arrivals, 837

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.