p 606 .H621 Copy 1 • ^ttttittf * 4> If^i 4®¥41if4€'l ^@ ^^Isl ?) I860. PUBLISHED BY THE STATE. SEND LIST OF NAMES TO GIRART HEWITT, ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, By whom it will be mailed, free of charge, to each name sent himi FIFTH EDITION. I^E.A.3D -A^HSriD CIPlv. MINNESOTA: ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 1869. BEING A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF ITS HISTORY AND PROGRESS, CLIMATE, SOIL, AGRICULTURAL AND MANUFACTURING FACILITIES, COMMERCIAL CAPACITIES, AND SOCIAL STATUS ; ITS LAKES, RIVERS AND RAILROADS; HOMESTEAD AND EXEIVIPTION LAWS ; EMBRACING A CONCISE TREATISE ON ITS CLIMATOLOGY, IN A HYGIENIC AND SANITARY POINT OF VIEW ; ITS UNPARALLELED SALUBRITY, GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVENESS, AS COMPARED WITH THE OLDER STATES ; AND THE ELEMENTS OF ITS FUTURE GREATNESS AND PROSPERITY. irOR ORA.XXJITOXJS CIRCXJL ATI OW, ORDER COPIES TO ANY ADDRESS, FROM ^GIRART HEWITT, ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA. ' 1869. STATEMENT. The pamphlet issued by me January, 1867, was received iu such a way as to call for a similar work for 1868. The flattering endorsements which the nine editions of those years received from the Press, the Legislature, the State Board of Immigration, and the public, seem to warrant an issue for 1869. If the pamphet of 1868 was an improvement upon that of 1867, I trust this will be found a still greater improvement upon its predecessors. The plan for its circulation has proved a success — a copy is sent to each name furnished me whether the person thinks of seeking a new home or not. If the pamphlet falls into the wrong hand at first, it finds its way to the right one at last. A resi- dence here of twelve years and an immense correspondence, embracing every State and Territory in our own and many foreign countries, satisfies me that the facts regarding Minnesota are not known in the world. "While many of the general items of the last editions are preserved in this, it will be found enlarged and improved in [many respects, and brings us down to January, 1869. I have tried to avoid exaggeration, aiming to faithfully and impartially repre- sent the whole State. It is not designed to persuade persons to come here who are doing weH enough where they are, but to give those seeking new homes re- liable information as to this young, attractive and progTCssive State. Upon the important question of health, I have given the able treatise of Dr. T. Williams, and added the opinion of Dr. D. W. Hand, of St Paul. Comino- here over twelve years ago, an invalid, myself a beneficiary of this climate, I have studied this question with interest, and can say that each year has served to confirm me in the opinion that Minnesota is unsurpassed for health. GIRART HEWITT. i. St* Paulj January, 1869. mi:n'nesota.: ITS ADYANTAGES TO SETTLERS GEOGRAPHICAL. The State of Minuesota is one of the youngest in the united sisterhood of States. It was admitted into the Union in iMay, 1858, being the thirty-second State admitted into the Union. It derives its name from two Indian words, " Minne " and " Sotah" " sky-tinted water," in reference to its numerous and beautiful streams and lakes which from their crystal pm-ity reflect the clear, steel- blue skies. The State lies between 43° 30' and 49° north latitude, and 9P and 97° 5' west longitude. It is bounded on the north by the British Posses- ' sions ; on the south by the State of Iowa ; east by Wisconsin and Lake Supe- rior ; and west by Dakota Territory. Its estimated area is 84,000 square miles, or about 54,000,000 acres, thus making it one of the largest States in the Union, being nearly equal to the combined areas of the large and populous States of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and embracing a larger extent of territory than the whole of New England, capable of eventually sustaining a population equal to that of England. Mvantas;eous Geographical Position. — The geographical position of Min- nesota is the most favored on the continent. Its location is central between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Hudson's Bay on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico on the south. It is also midway between the ai-able limits of the con- tinent, where the products of agriculture attain their most perfect development. Generally speaking, the valleys of the Mississippi, St Lawrence and Red River may be said to rise in the form of a huge convex mass, which culminates in the sand dunes or drift hills in the northern part of Minnesota, where those three great rivers take their rise and flow north, south and northeast. Minnesota is thus the actual summit cf the continent, and the pinnacle of the watershed of North America. In reference to this fact, the Hon. Wm. H. Seward, in a speech delivered at St. Paul in 1860, says, " Here spring up almost side by side, so that they may kiss each other, the two great rivers of the continent," the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence, rising' almost within a stone's throw of each other, and running in opposite directions,— the one half way to Europe, the other bearing our commerce to the Gulf of Mexico, gathering the products of the cotton plantations of the South and bringing them to the vast water powers of the Upper Mississippi. The arable area of the vast territory northwest of us — bounded on the north by the line of arctic temperature, and south by the arid sandy plains — is pro- jected through the valley of the Saskatchewan to the Pacific border ; " grimly guarded by the Itasca summit of the Mississippi, 1680 feet high on the east, and the Missouri coteau, 2000 feet high on the west," it forms " the only avenue of coMmiercial communication between the east and west coasts, the only possible route of a Pacific railway, and the only theater now remaining for the formation of new settlements." Lying exactly across the commercial isthmus thus hemmed in, and which is the only outlet of this vast region to the Ea.'^tern and Southern States, Minnesota is the gateway between the eastern and western sides of the continent. " Through this one pass," says Mr. Wheelock, " between the COU' 4 MINNESOTA: tinental deserts of sand and ice, must flow the great exodus now dashing itself in vain against their shores, as the tribes of Asia flowed into Europe through the passes of the Caucasus. Every advancing wave of population lifts higher and higher this gathering flood of American life, which, the moment that it begins to press upon the means of subsistence, must pour all its vast tide through this narrow channel into the inland basins of the Northwest — till the Atlantic and Pacific are united in a living chain of populous States." This commanding physical position of Minnesota gives it the key and control of the outlet of the great mass of the commerce of the immense and produc- tive regions of the western and northwestern portions of the continent — regions as yet almost a wilderness, but whose incalculably large exports and imports, fol- lowing the inexorable laws of commerce, must find their highway through our State, when at no distant day those large and fertile districts north and west of us swarm with the industry of empires, and pour their wealth into our cofi"ers, giving us a significance second to none in the world. Not only that, but, instead of passing by us and going two thousand miles east to trade, the workshops and factories which even now are opening up so rapidly on our wa- ter-powers will supply them and enrich us ; thus making this vast region tributary to us as surely as the West ever has heretofore been tributary to the East. Notic- ingthis fact, in the speech already alluded to, Mr. Seward says, " Here is the place, the central place, where the agriculture of the richest region of North America must pour out its tributes to the whole world. On the east, all along the shore of Lake Superior, and west, stretching in one broad plain, in a belt quite across the continent, is a country where State after State is yet to arise, and where the productions for the support of human society in the old, crowded States must be brought forth." Then follows the remarkable and far-seeing views of this great statesman and politician, that Minnesota is yet to exercise a powerful influence in the political destinies of this continent. " Power is not to reside permanently on the eastern slope of the Alleghany mountains, nor in the seaports. Seaports have always been overrun and controlled by the people of the interior, and the power that shall communicate and express the will of men on this conti- nent is to be located in the Mississippi Valley, and at the sources of the Missis- sippi and St. Lawrence." Mr. Seward only expressps the fact, taught by the whole past history of the whole world, that empire travels westward, when he asserts, " I now believe that the ultimate, last seat of government on this great continent will be found somewhere within a circle or radius not very far from the spot on which I stand, at the head of navigation on the Mississippi River." The future destiny of Minnesota therefore is to be a glorious one, and fortu- nate the descendants of those who may now ob !;ain an interest and foothold within her borders. We will proceed to speak more specially of the true ele- ments of this future greatness and prosperity, as already indicated by the unerring logic of facts and unparalleled growth. HISTORICAL OUTLINE. Minnesota is what was once the " land of the Dakotas," who inhabited it long before their existence was known to white men. Their chief couucil chamber was in Carver's Cave, near where the present capital of the State now stands. The honor of discovering Minnesota is divided between Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest, and DuLuth, a French explorer. Hennepin was sent out in the spring of 1680 to explore the Upper Mississippi in company with two traders ; he was captured by the Indians and carried to the present site of St. Paul. On his return in June, he met DuLuth and a party of explorers. He claims to have discovered the Falls of the Mississippi, and bestowed upon them the name of St. Anthony, in honor of his patron saint. In 1689, Perrot, accompanied by LeSueur and others, took formal possession of the country embracing Minnesota, in the name of France, and established a fort on the west shore of Lake Pepin. Although discovered upwards of two hundred years ago, the settlement of Minnesota did not commence until about twenty years ago, with the exception of a few scattering pioneer hunters, traders ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 5 and missionaries, who took up their abode in it at a mnch Parlier date. During the lapse of two centuries ihe vast northwest, embracing the best lands and climate on the continent, remained a wilderness, while the Atlantic and Western States were being settled. Very vague and erroneous notions prevailed in regard to this region, which was popularly supposed to be too cold and inhos- pitable for agricultural pursuits. But this region reproduces the west and north of Europe, containing the most powerful and enlightened nations on the globe, with the exceptions caused by vertical configuration only, and gives an immense and yet unmeasured capacity for occupation and expansion, containing an area above the 43d parallel, perfectly adapted to the fullest occupation by cultivated nations, not inferior to the whole of the United States east of the Mississippi. This region, extending to the Pacific, and of which Minnesota is the " garden spot," is yet destined to supersede in wealth and agricultural and manufacturing importance the older part of the United States, lying on the Atlantic coast and east of the Mississippi, and to become the seat of empire on the Americim continent. " The parallel in regard to the advancement of American States here may be drawn with the period of the earliest trans-Alpine Roman expansion, when Gaul, Scandinavia, and Britain were regarded as inhospitable regions, fit only for barbarian occupation. The enlightened nations then occupied the latitudes near the Mediterranean, and the richer northern and western countries were unopened and unknown."* In the year 1695, the second post in Minnesota was established by LeSueur ; and in October, 1700, he explored the Minnesota and Blue Earth rivers and established another post on the latter. From this period up to 1746, the history of Minnesota is nothing more than the history of the adventures of LeSueur and the traders among the Indians, and the wars of the latter among themselves, and is full of wild and romantic incidents. At this time France and England were involved in a war which extended to theii* colonies in the Xew World, and the French enlisted many savages of the Upper Mississippi on their side. On the 8th of Septenibfir, 1760, the French delivered up their posts in Canada to the English. By a treaty made at Versailles in 1763, France ceded the territory comprised within the limits of Minnesota and Wisconsin to England. But for a long time the English got no foothold in their newly acquired territory, owing to the greater popularity of the French, many of whom had married Indian wives. But little was known of the country previous to 1766, when Jonathan Carver of Connecticut explored it, and afterwards went to Englan^ and wrote a book of his adventures. Even at this early day, though over a thousand miles intervened between the Falls of St Anthony and any white settlement, the explorer was impressed with the beauty and fertility of the country, and spoke of the commercial facilities its future inhabitants would enjoy via the Mississippi and the northern chain of lakes. Carver's Cave at St. Paul, in which several bands of Indians held an annual grand council— making it the capital of the State a hundred years ago — was named after him. After the peace between the United States and England in 1783, England ceded her claim to the territory south of the British Possessions to the United States. December 20, 1803, the province of Louisiana, embracing that portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi, was ceded to the United States by France, who on the first of the same month had received it from Spain ; the latter objected to the transfer, but withdrew her opposition in 1804. In 1805, Gen. Zebulon M, Pike explored this region of country, and his reports, and those of Long, Fremont, Pope, Marcy, Stansberry, and other military officers exerted a large influence in first attracting attention to Minnesota as a field for settlement. He obtained a grant of land from the Sioux Indians on which Fort Snelling, five miles above St. Paul, was built in 1820. The English traders still lingered in Minnesota after its cession to the United States, and incited by them against the Americans, the Indians became trouble- * " Blodget'8 Climatology of the United States," page 529. b MINNESOTA : some, and during the war of 1812 generally took sides with the English, After the peace of 1815 they acknowledged the authority of the United States, but the Ojibways and Dakotas (or Siouxs) being hereditary enemies continued to war among themselves. In 1812 a small settlement was formed in the Red River country, composed principally of Scotchmen, under the auspices of Lord Selkirk. They were greatly persecuted by the Hudson Bay Company, who claimed the sole right of hunting and trading for furs in the northwest. In 1821, " after years of bloodshed, heart-burnings, fruitless litigation, and vast expense, the strife was concluded by a compromise between the two companies." In 1822, the first mill in Minnesota was erected where Minneapolis now stands. In 1823, the first steamboat that ever ascended the Mississippi above Rock Island, arrived at Fort Snelling, to the great astonishment of the natives. In 1820, Missouri was admitted into the Union as a State, leaving the territory north of it, including Iowa and all of Minnesota west of the river, without any organized government. In 1834, it was attached to Michigan for judicial pur- poses. In 1836, Nicollet an-ived in Minnesota and spent some time in exploring the sources of the Mississippi. In 1837, the pine forests of the valley of the St Croix audits tributaries were ceded to the United States by the Ojibways ; and the same year the Dakotas ceded all their lands east of the Mississippi. These treaties were ratified June 15, 1838. One of the earliest settlers in St. Paul, the present capital of the State, waa named Phalon. Other families from the Red River settlement settling there. Father Gaultier, a Catholic missionary, built a log chapel, "blessed the new basilica," and dedicated it to St. Paul, which thus came to be the namo of the city, which previous to that time had been called " Pig's Eye." In 1848 St. Paul was a small settlement, and contained only 840 inhabitants in 1849. Its present population is 20,108. In 1843, the settlement of Stillwater, on the St. Croix, 18 miles from St. Paul, was commenced. Territorial Organizatimi. — On the 3d of March, 1849, the Territory of Minnesota was organized, its boundaries including the present Territory of Dakota, and St. Paul designated as the capital. April 28th the first newspaper was issued in the new capital. Alexander Ramsey was appointed Governor, and arrived with his family the latter part of May. On the first of June he proclaimed the Territorial government organized. The Territory contained 4,680 inhabitants at this time. After the crgauization of the Ten-itory, immigration flowed in rapidly, and both St. Paul am! country were settled very fast. On the 1st of August, 1849, the first delegate (H. H. Sibley) was elected to Congress, and on the 3d of September the first Legislative Assembly met and created nine counties. In 1850 small steamboats commenced to run on the Minnesota river. In 1851 an important treaty was effected with the Dakotas, by which their title to the west side of the Mississippi and the valley of the Minnesota river was extinguished, and this vast tract open to settlement. At a very early day Minnesota took the subject of common schools in hand, and the first report of a Superintendent of Public Instruction was i:)resented to the third Legislative Assembly, which met in January, 1852. From this time forward immigration flowed into Minnesota at high tide, and the State filled up with unprecedented rapidity. Villages and towns sprang up as if by magic. Land speculation ran high, and during the period of the gi-eatest inflation of prices, the financial crash of 18i7 fell like a thunderbolt. Great distress and stagnation of business was the direct result, and for a year or two the rapid growth of the State was arrested. But the remoter consequences of the crash were permanently beneficial to the State. Towns had sprung up like mushrooms without suflicieut tributary agricultural districts to support them. Rent and living were ruinously high. After the crash, the speculator's occupa- tion was gone ;^the energies of the inhabitants were directed to manufactures ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. • and agriculture — the basis of all true State or National prosperity. Previous to that era, breadstuffs had beeu imported; in 1854 the number of plowed acres in the State was only 15,000 ; in 1860, there were 433,276 ; and in 1866, 1,000,000 ; and in 1867, over 1,200,000 ; 1868, 1,400,000. Minnesota was suddenly developed as one of the finest ^rain growing States in the Union, and in 1865 exported upwards of 8,000,000 bushels of wheat ; in 1866 over 10,000,000 bushels ; and in 1867 the aggregate yield was as much ; and in 1868 over 17,000,000. Admitted into the Union. — The State Constitution was framed by a conventiou elected for that purpose, which assembled at St. Paul in July, 1857, and it was voted upon and adopted the ensuing October. The State was admitted into the Union in May, 1858, the State government organized, and Hon. H. K. Rice and Gen. Jas. Shields elected to the U. S. Senate. In 1861, when the re- bellion broke out, our State promptly responded to all the calls made on her for men and money, though at a greater detriment to her growth and prosperity, perhaps, than that of any other State. Being a new State, she had no surplus population, and her quotas were taken from her grain fields, workshops and pine- ries.. With a population of about 175,000 at the beginning of the war, she fur- nished about '24,000 men to the Union armies. Few States have such a record. The Indian Massacre. — In August, 1862, one of the most fiendish and wide- spread massacres recorded in American history took place upon the western frontier of Minnesota by the Dakota or Sioux Indians. A large military force, commanded by Gen. Sibley, was at once sent out, which soon laid waste the whole Indian country belonging to these tribes, killed " Little Crow," their leader, and utterly ranted and subdued their braves. A large number were captured ; some of them tried and sentenced to death — of these 38 were hung, and the others, with their entire tribes, were, under the order of the General Government, sent clean out of the country to a reservation beyond the Missouri river. Remarkable Progress of the State. — It will thus be seen that Minnesota has had extraordinary obstacles to overcome. The financial panic of 1857, the rebellion of 1861, and Indian war of 1862, have undoubtedly greatly retarded her growth ; yet, notwithstanding those drawbacks, she has grown more rapidly than any State in the Union. Her percentage of increase from 1860 to 1865 was 45j per cent, while tliat of Wisconsin was only 12, Illinois 27, Iowa 11, Michigan 7i. All danger from Indians has long since vanished ; perfect securi- ty reigns, and homes in the most remote parts of the State are as secure as those of New-England. In 1865 the populatiou of the State was 250,000, and at the close of 1868, 460,000. Gov. M arshall in his annual message gives it at 445,030. Government. — The State government is very similar to that of the other Western States. The constitution secures civil and religious rights to all ; a citizen of the United States 21 years of age who has been in the State four months can vote — if of foreign birth he must have resided in the United States one year, and in Minnesota four months, and have declared his intention to become a citi- zen of the United States. Impartial suffrage is now the law of this State. EXEMPTION LAWS OP MINNESOTA. Humane and Just Provisions. — Too much credit cannot be accorded the men of our Legislature for the wise and liberal provisions of our. State Homestead and Exemption Law. When we recall for a moment the statutes of the older States in that barbarous age when an Exemption Law " of one hundred dollars " and " imprisonment for debt " disgraced their law-books, and contemplate the succession of revulsions that we have seen sweeping over the land, prostrating the bnsiness and business men, the energetic, progressive, live men of our country almost in a night, themselves, and those dependent on Ihem, involved in one com- mon ruin, say whether I too much honor those men whose legislation comes up to the spirit of the age in which we live, who have placed upon the statutes of Minnesota a Homestead and Exemption Law more liberal than that of op other State. 8 MINNESOTA : I quote from the statutes of 1866, page 498 : " ITiat a homestead consisting of any quantity of land not exceeding eighty acres and the dwelling house thereon and its appurtenances, to be selected by the owner thereof, and not included in any incorporated town, city or village, or instead thereof, at the option of the owner, a quantity of land not exceeding in amount one lot, being within an incorporated town, city or village, and the dwelling house thereon and its appurtenances, owned and occupied by any resident of this State, shall not be subject to attachment, levy or sale, upon any execu- tion or any other process issuing out of any court within this State." Thus it will be seen that we have no limitation as to the value of the farm or residence thus secured to the family. It may be worth one thousand or ten thousand dollars. Whatever it is, it remains the shelter, the castle, the home of the family, to cluster around its hearthstone in the hour of gloom and disaster, as securely as they were wont to do in the sunshine of prosperity. While there may be those who prefer an exemption by value rather than area, and urge that one so liberal as ours can be taken advantage of by knaves, it must be remembered that no general law can be framed for the protection of the helpless and unfortunate, that will not be sometimes taken advantage of by others. We think it may be safely asserted that an exemption law such as ours, is found a blessing to thousands of worthy men, women and children for every one unworthily shielded by its provisions. Personal Property Exempted. — In addition to the home, there is also ex- empted a proportionately liberal amount of personal property, consisting of household furniture, library, horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, wagons, farming utensils, provisions, fuel, grain, &c., &c., and all the tools and instruments of%ny mechan- ic, and four hundred dollars' worth of stock in trade ; also the library and im- plements of any professional man. See State laws, page 489. UNITED STATES HOMESTEAD LAW. Large numbers are availing themselves of the liberal Homestead Law passed by Congress, and now in force. Minnesota possesses the only domain attractive to this class of settlers — having nearly forty million acres of public land yet open to entry and settlement. This law provides that each settler, in five years' occupation, becomes the owner of " 160 acres by paying the sum of ten dollars and the fees of the laud officer, provided he be a citizen of the United States or has declared his intention to become such;" and it further provides that " »o land acquired under the provisions of this act shall in any event become liable to the satisfaction of any debts contracted prior to the issuance of the patent therefbr," In view of the immense quantity of "broad acres " thus offered with- out cost, situated as they are all over this new State, in districts well watered and timbered, where the mails and express are now extended, and railroads and telegraphs rapidly pushing their way, it is not surprising that thousands are coming into Minnesota annually to secure good farms for themselves and their families — farms that will, in a few short years, be in the midst of cultivated neighborhoods, with churches and school-houses arising at every hand, amid all the surroundings of civilization and progress. LAXD OEEICES. The land offices for the several land districts of Minnesota are located at the following places : — St. Peter, Nicollet County ; (Jreenleaf, Meeker County ; Winnebago City, Fariba'ult County ; St. Cloud, Stearns County ; Taylor's Falls, Chisago County ; Duluth, St. Louis County ; Alexandria, Douglass County. Persons desiring information as to Government Lands can address the •' Regis- ter and Receiver " at the above Laud Offices. DEMAJO) FOR LABOR EST THE WEST. It is said a young man recently wrote Mr. Greeley of the "Tribune," to obtain a situa- tion, and he replied that " New York ia just entering upon the interesting process of Starving out 200,000 people whom war and its consequences has driven liither. It is impossible to employ more until these are gone," ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 9 The journals of Eastern cities are annually filled with complaints that there is a surplus of laborers and operatives in the East seeking work ; that the com- petition for employment is often such that workmen are willino; to accept wages far below what is just to them and their families ; that the oEQces of European Consuls are beset with foreigners who have exhausted their means seeking em- ployment in the crowded Eastern cities. This does not and will not in a hundred years apply to the great West. Labor of all kinds, especially farm labor, must of necessity continue in demand here. Indeed one can scarcely imagine a con- dition of things in the West that will make it otherwise. Laborers and working men in almost every branch of industry are generally in scant supply and great demand throughout the West. Those lingering around the crowded seaports of the East with no hope beyond a mere subsistence, their families growing up ia poverty and vice, having no chance with others in the world, should turn their attention to the great West, where a free homestead, rich lauds, education for their children, and a healthy climate invites them. Our pineries alone, give em- ployment to over 3,000 men, to say nothing of other branches of the lumber interest, and our numerous railroads now under construction. WESTERN PEOPLE. The citizens of a young State, with " room and verge enough," are naturally anxious to grow in numbers. All are interested in this ; hence a welcome hand is extended to all who come, and laws are passed, as I have elsewhere said, se- curing them liberal terms of citizenship. Indeed, the word liberal applies to Minnesota and her people with more propriety than any I have ever known. I say this because it is true, and not in disparagement of others. It is owing, in some measure, to the fact that the men who take up their march with the star of empire on its westward way, are either the bold, live men of the older States, or their hearts and minds expand as they traverse the broad prairies of the fresh and glorious West. To another cause, can we, to some extent, ascribe much that is liberal and agreeable in the West, and different from the older States. Here we have every nation and people represented ; they come from the North and the South, the East and the VVest. People of the old world meet here, mingle and marry with the people of the new. The result is an improvement ; a stock is raised mentally and physically more vigorous than ia older localities, where they have married and intermarried until " every one is cousin ; " deteri- oration the consequence, narrow and intolerant sentiments the rule. The differ- ence in these respects is observed by all who have lived long in the West, and then returned to the old localities whence they came. Hence it is that few who have ever lived in the West, are content to again reside in the East PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 0¥ THE STATE. Physical Districts. — The physical characteristics of a country exert an im- portant influence on its inhabitants. "Grand scenery, leaping waters, and a bracing atmosphere," — says Xeill in his History of Minnesota, — " produce men of different cast from those who dwell where the land is on a dead level, and where the streams are all sluggards. We associate heroes like Tell and Bruce with the mountains of Switzerland and the highlands of Scotland." Although Minnesota is not a mountainous country by any means, its general elevation gives it all the advantages of one, without its objectionable features. Being equi- distant from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, situated on an elevated plateau, and with a system of lakes and rivers ample for an empire, it has a peculiar climate of its own, possessed by no other State. The general surface of the greater part of the State is even and undulating, and pleasantly diversified with rolling prairies, vast belts of timber, oak openings, numerous lakes and streams, with their accompanying meadows, waterfalls, wood- ed ravines and lofty bluffs, which impart variety, grandeur and picturesque beauty to ite scenery. The State may be divided into three principal districts. In the northern and western part of the State an exception to its general evenness of surface occurs 10 MINNESOTA : in an elevated district which may be termed the highlands of Minnesota. This district, resting on primary rocks, is of comparatively small extent — 1(),000 square miles — and covered with a dense growth of pine, fir, spruce, &c.; it has au elevation of about 450 feet above the general level of the country, and is covered with hills of diluvial sand and drift, from 85 to 100 feet in height, among which the three great rivers of the American Continent — the Mississippi, St Lawrence, and Red Eiver — take their rise. The temperature of this district is from 5 to 8 degrees lower than that of the rest of the State ; although pos- sessing some good land, its principle value consists in its immense forests and its rich mineral deposits of copper, iron and the precious metals. The valley of the Red River forms another district larger than the highlands, containing 18,000 square miles, with a deep, black soil composed of alluvial mould, and rich in organic deposits. This district produces the heaviest crops of grain, especially wheat, of any section in the United States. It has a sub- soil of clay, is but sparsely timbered, with but few rivers or lakes, and is not therefore so well drained as other parts of the State. The Mississippi valley comprises the third district; it contains about 50,000 square miles, or about three-fifths of the whole State. It is the " garden spot " of the Northwest, and comprises one of the finest agricultural districts in the world. Its general characteristics are those of a rolling prairie region, resting on secondary rocks ; it is unusually well drained, both Ijy the nature of the soil, which is a warm, dark calcareous and sandy loam, and the innumerable lakes and streams which cover its surface with a perfect network. It is dotted by numer- ous and extensive groves and belts of timber. These main districts are also subdivided into smaller ones by the valleys of the numerous streams which in- tersect them; but space does not admit of a detailed description. Rivers and Streams. — The Mississippi river, 2,400 miles long, which drains a larger region of country than any stream on the globe, with the exception of the Amazon, rises in Lake Itasca, in the northern part of Minnesota, and flows southeasterly through the State 797 miles, 134 of which forms its eastern boun- dary. It is navigable for large boats to St Paul, and above the Falls of St. Anthony for smaller boats for about 150 miles farther. The season of navigation is generally about eight months— sometimes a mouth longer ontside of Lake Pepin. In 1868 steamboats run here ten of the twelve months; and the fourth annual steamboat excursion from St Paul on the Mississippi, took place on the first of December, and the river closed on the 10th. The principal towns and cities'on the Mississippi in Minnesota, are, Winona, Wabashaw, Lake City, Red Wing, Hastings, St Paul, Minneapolis, St Anthony, Anoka, Dayton, Monticello, St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Little Falls, Watab. 77ie Minnesota River, the source of which is among the Coteau des Prairies, in Dacotah Territory, flows from Big Stone Lake, on the western boundary of the State, a distance of nearly 500 miles, through the heart of the southwestern part of the State, and empties into the Mississippi at Fort Snelliug, 5 miles above St. Paul. It is navigable as high up as the Yellow Medicine, 238 miles above its mouth, during good stages of water. Its principal places are Shakopee, Chaska, Carver, Belle Plaine, Henderson, LeSneur, Traverse des Sioux, St. Peter, Man- kato. New Ulm and Redwood. The St. Croix River, rising in Wisconsin, near Lake Superior, forms about 130 miles of the eastern boundary of the State. It empties into the Mississippi nearly opposite Hastings, and is navigable to Taylor's Falls, about 50 miles. It penetrates the pineries and furnishes immmse water power along its course. The principal places on it are Stllwater and Taylor's Falls. Tlie Red River, lites in Luke Traverse, and flows northward, forming the western boundary of the State from Big Stone Lake to the British Possessions, a distance of 380 miles. It is navigable from Breckenridge, at the mouth of the Bois de Sioux River to Hudson's Bay ; the Saskatchewan, a tributary of the Red River, is also said to be a navigable stream, thus promising an active com- mercial trade from this vast region when it shall have become settled up, via the St. Paul and Pacific railroad, which connects the navigable' waters of the Red River with those of the Mississippi. ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 1 1 Cannon River, dividing Dakota and Goodhue counties, it is said can be made a navigable stream by slack-water improvements, for which purpose a company with a capital of $50,000 has lieeu formed. Among the more important of the numerous small streams are Rum River, valuable for lumbering ; Vermilion River, furnishing extensive water power and possessing some of the finest casades in the United States ; the Crow, Blue Earth, Root, Sauk, Le Sueur, Ziimbro, Cottonwood, Long Prairie, Red Wood, Waraju, Pejula Ziza, Mauja VVakan, Buffalo, Wild Rice, Plum, Sand Hill, Clear Water, Red Lake, Thief, Black, Red Cedar, and Des Moines rivers ; the St. Louis Rivi?r, a large stream flowing into Lake Superior, navigable for twenty- one miles from its lake outlet, and furnishing a water-power at its falls said to be equal to that of the falls of the Mississippi at St. Anthony, and many others, besides all the innumerable hosts of first and secondary tributaries to all the larger streams. The sources of most of these streams being high, their descent is considerable, furnishing the finest system of water-powers of every grade in the world. Many of the brooks, with deep cut channels, are full of trout, leap and dance merrily over the prairies, often taking sudden leaps, forming beautiful and romantic cascades. One of these, on the outlet of Lake Minnetonka, has been immortalized by Longfellow, in Hiawatha : " Here the Falls of lirinne-ha-ha F'.asli and gleam among the cak trees. Laugh and leap into the vallej ," Lakes. — Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water on the globe, forms a portion of the eastern boundary of Minnesota, giving it 167 miles of lake coast, with one of the best natural harbors and breakwaters, atDuLuth, Minne- sota, to be found on any coast. When the Superior and Mississippi railroad is completed, connecting the commercial centres of the State with Lake Superior, a large lake commerce will spring into existence. Besides, the whole surface of the State is literally begemmed with innnumera- ble lakes, estimated by Schoolcraft at 10,000 They are of all sizes, from 500 yards in diameter to 10 miles. Their picturesque beauty and loveliness, with their pebbly bottoms, transparent waters, wooded shores and sylvan associations, must be seen to be fully appreciated. They all abound in fish, black and rock bass, pickerel, pike, perch, cat, sunfish, &c., of superior quality and flavor ; and in the spring and fall they are the haunts of innumerable duck, geese, and other wild fowl. In some places they are solitary, at others found in groups or chains. Many are without outlets, others give rise to meandering and meadow-bordered brooks. These lakes act as reservoirs for water, penetrating the soil and by their exhalations giving rise to summer showers during dry weather. Prof. Maury says of Minnesota, that although far from the sea, " it may be considered the best watered State in the Union, and it doubtless owes its abundance of summer rains measurably to this lake system." Forests. — Among those unacquainted with the State, Minnesota is apt to be regarded as a prairie country, destitute of timber. On the contrary, there is no Western State better supplied with forests. In the northren part of the State is an immense forest region estimated to cover upwards of 21,000 square miles, constituting one of the great sources of health and industry of the State. The prevailing wood of this region is pine, with a considerable proportion of ash, birch, maple, elm, poplar, &c. West of the^Mississippi, lying between it and the Minnesota, and extending south of that stream, is the Big Woods, about 100 miles iu length and 40 miles wide. This district is full of lakes, and broken by small openings. The prevailing woods are oak, maple, elm, ash, basswood, butternut, black walnut and hickory. Be- sides these two large forests, nearly all the streams are fringed with woodland, and dense forests of considerable extent cover the valleys. The extensive bot- toms of the Mississippi, Minnesota and Blue Earth are covered with a heavy growth of white and black walnut, maple, boxwood, hickory, linden and cotton 12 MESTNESOTA : wood. The valleys of the Zumbro and Root rivers support large tracts of forest growth. They are found more or less in Wabshaw, Dodge, Steele, Fillmore, Mower, Freeborn and Olmsted and contiguous counties. But the oak openings, distributed in groves and large parks through the up- lands along the margins of the numerous streams, form a large resource of the prairie population for domestic and mechanical jxirposes. Towards the western boundary of the State the timber becomes more scanty, and it assumes more the character of a vast prairie region, dotted here and there with groves and belts of timber, fringing the Red River and the minor streams. The choice timbered lands and oak openings will be first selected by the settler, and the treeless prai- ries of the western frontier will be covered with timber in a few years, as soon as the annual scourge of the prairie fire is checked. Wherever these fires are arrested the land is soon covered by a dense growth of timber. THE PINERIES AXD LUMBERIXG DfTEREST. The vast pine forests cover the northern part of the State, extending from Lake Superior to the outlet of Red Lake, and extending as far south as latitude 46° in Anoka county. The principal pineries where lumber is obtained are sit- uated upon the headwaters of the Upper Mississippi, and those of the St. Croix, Kettle, Snake, Rum, Crow Wing and Otter Tail rivers. The logs are cut in the dead of winter, and when the ground is covered with snow are conveyed to the streams, down which they are floated in the spring when the snow and ice melts. These pine forests being almost inexhaustible, constitute a va?t source of wealth for generations to come. They give employment to a large number of lumber- men, who constitute a hardy class of industry as distinct as that of railroad or steamboatmen. The lumber trade of Minnesota is constantly increasing, and the Lake Superior and Mississippi River Railroad, running as it will through an immense lumber district, will greatly add to it. The amount of logs and lumber cut and manufactured at the Falls of Saint Anthonv, and the St. Croix, in the year 1868, reaches nearly 400,000,000 feet I MIN^ERAL RESOURCES. Coffer and Iron. — The mineral deposits of Minnesota are another important source of wealth. In the northern part of the State copper and iron ore of superior quality are found. The copper mines are situated on the northern shore of Lake Superior, and are rich and extensive. Very pure specimens of copper ore have also been obtained from Stuart and Knife rivers. Thick deposits of iron ore are found on Portage and Pigeon rivers, said to be equal in tenacity and malleability to the best Swedish and Russia iron. Coal — Deposits of coal have been discovered on the Big Cottonwood river, a tributary of the Minnesota, and indications of it have been observed in other localities. On the Cottonwood veins some geologists are confident that rich beds will yet be developed. The Precious Metals. — " A geological survey, made under the auspices of the i^tate in the summer of 1865, developed the existence of the precious metals on the shores of Vermilion Lake, 80 miles north of the head of Lake Superior. Scientific analysis attested the presence of gold and silver, in the quartz surface rock, in sufficient quantities to warrant the employment of labor and capital in their extraction, for which object a number of joint stock companies have been formed and a considerable number of enterprising persons provided with neces- sary appliances for mining, have repaired to that place in search of gold. There is good reason to believe the search will be successful." — H. C. Rogers, Sec- retary of State But the richest mines of wealth belonging to any State is a productive soil, and in this Minnesota is unequalled. There is a mine of gold on every farm of 160 acres, and it requires no capital to work it except industry. Granite. — A fine bed of granite, equal to the best Quincy granite for building ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 13 purposes, crpps out at Sauk Rapids. A quarry is opened there now, and the granite brought to St. Paul, where it is used in the construction of the U. S. Custom House, and is also used in some fine edifices ia Minneapolis, St. Cloud and other cities of the State. Limestone of fine quality for building purposes is found in many portions of the State, (in fact nearly all over it,) and affords ample material lor the manufac- ture of lime. Sandstone exists at Fort Suelling, Mendota, and other points in inexhaustible quantities. A fine white sand for the manufacture of flint glass abounds near St. Paul, St. x\.nthony and Minneapolis said to be equal to any in the world. An extensive quarry of slate stone is found on the Saint Louis River, and probably exists at other points, A kind of blue clay, underlying the soil in a large part of the State makes brick of a good quality. White marl occurs in large beds at Minneapolis, St. Anthony and other places ; it is used for pottery manufacturing, and also makes a h-ard durable brick similar to the famous " Milwaukee brick," and Chaska, on the Minnesota River, also produces a brick said to surpass that of Milwaukee. In Wabashaw county a bed of the finest porcelain clay has been found. Salt Springs. — Numerous very pure salt springs, yielding upwards of a bushel of salt to every twenty-four gallons of water, abound in the Red River valley The northwest, which consumes vast quantities of salt for pork and beef packing, and other purposes, will eventually be supplied from this source. The value of this source of wealth may be estimated from the fact that two million bushels are annually imported into Chicago alone, from Xew York and Penn- sylvania. Tripoli. — An inexhaustible bed of the purest Tripoli, requiring, according to Prof. Shepard, no prpparation to be fit at once for use and commerce, has been discovered near Stillwater. It is twenty feet thick and at least a half mile long. MINNESOTA AS A STOCK-GROWIXG STATE. For raising cattle and horses, Minnesota is fully equal to Illinois ; and for sheep growing it is far superior. According to established laws of nature cold climates require a large quantity and finer quality of wool or fur than warm ones, hence the fur and wool bearing animals are found in perfection only in northern regions. The thick coat of the sheep especially identifies it with a cold countiy ; the excessive heat to which their wool subjects them in a warm climate generates disease. The fieece of Minnesota sheep is remarkably fine and heavy, and they are not subject to the rot and other diseases so disastrous to sheep in warm and moist localities. It is asserted by stock growers that sheep brought here M'hile suSering with the rot speedily become healthy, and the same has been said of horses with heaves and shortness of breath. The sleek and velvety appearance of horses here in summer time gives them the appear- ance of highly kept stallions. The cattle raised here are also remarkably healthy, the unanimous testimony of butchers being that they seldom meet with a diseased liver. Our fine, rich upland meadows afford excellent facilities for grazing purposes; and hay in abundance for keeping stock during the winter may be had for the reaping. The characteristic perfection and nutritious qualities of the grasses in this -State enables the farmer to keep his horses and cattle fat on it all winter •without grain. The valleys and margins of the numerous streams and lakes, found on ahr.ost every farm, furnish an abundance of a coirser grass than that obtained from the ujjland meadows ; this is generally fed to cattle, which are very fond of it both in its green and cured state. Although the M'iuters in Minnesota are apparently longer, the actual number of days during which stock has to be fed here is uo more than in Ohio and Southern Illinois. Hogs also do extremely well here, and the abundance and certainty of the grain crop enables farmers to raise them as cheaply as elsewhere. All stock requires shelter during the winter in this climate, but the necessity is 14 MINNESOTA ! no greater than in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. The washing, cHilling and debil- itating winter rains of those States are far more injurious to out stock than our severest cold. All the shelter which stock requires here is that readily furnished by the immense straw piles which accumulate from the threshing of the annual grain crop. A frame-work of rails or poles is made, and the straw thrown over it, leaving the south side 'open. Under this cattle stand, and feed on the straw, in perfect security from the inclemencies of the severest winter. SOCIAL STATUS. The condition of society in all newly settled countries is a subject of interest to the settler. As a general thing the social status, in point of educa- tion, morals and refinement, is inferior to that of the older States. But in Min- nesota, although outside the capital and its other principal cities we do not boast much artijicial refinement, the morals of the community, as shown by our crim- inal statistics, are at least equal to those of the model States of New-England, The society throughout the State is good ; no prim a«d retired New-England village could outvie our young and thriving cities with their cleanly, decorous and whitewashed appearance. The population iscomposed mainly of American, Irish and Germans, but almost every nationality is represented. Most of the settlers are plain, honest, industrious farmers, attracted to our State by the salu- brity of its climate, and the productiveness and cheapness of its lands. A large proportion of the population is made up of the best classes from the older States, North and South, who have come to reap the advantages of our fine climate, or to invest their means in property in our fine agricultural districts and in our rap- idly gTOwing towns, where immense fortunes have been realized by their rapid and solid growth. We rarely see here any of that ruffianism and lawlessness which in most new States renders them unpleasant as a permanent residence. It would be as diffi- cult to find a township without its " meeting house " and school house as in Ohio or Pennsylvania. The various religious denominations are proportioned among the population in about the same ratio as in the older States. The following table, from the Bureau of Statistics, exhibits the ratio of crime in several States as compared with Minnesota : State. No. of Indictments. No. of ConvictioDB. Ratio of Convictions. Ohio, - - 3,571 1,234 1 in 1,950 Massachusetts, - 4,248 1,295 1 in 841 New-York, - 1,842 1 in 1,900 Minnesota, - - 122 44 1 in 3,854 " The comparison is remarkably favorable to Minnesota, but might have been expected in a population chiefly agricultui-al." EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS. Minnesota took the subject of education in hand at an early stage of her set- tlement, and she may now justly boast of possessing the most nmnificeut endow- ment for educational purposes of any State in the Union. Two sections of land, 1,280 acres, in every township, are set apart for sale or lease in aid of common schools, amounting in all to three million acres. In the Message of Governor Marshall to the Legislature of Minnesota, January 7th, 1869, upon this subject, he says : "The sales of school lands during the year 1868 have been 76,910 acres, pro- ducing $464,840.61, which sum added to the former accumulations of the per- manent school fund, makes the magnificent fund of two millions seventy-seven thousand, eighty-two dollars!" The State Land Commissioner estimates that the land granted to the State for school purposes will amount to three million acres when the Government Surveys are completed. But little more than one tenth of the whole have been sold — making allowance for inferior lands there will ulti- matly be derired from these lauds the grand sum of sixteen million dollars for ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 15 the perpetual use of common schools. What an inheritance for the children of Minnesota !" From the able report of the Hon. M. H. Daonell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1 take the following facts : Whole number of school districts in the State in 1868, was 2,353 ; whole num- ber of children in the State by the returns for 1868, 129,103, an increase for the year of 14,682 over 1867; whole number of teachers in 1868, 3,276; value of school houses in the State in 1868, 1,091,559.42. His report says Minnesota has a larger number of school houses than any other State in the Union of the same population and taxaljle property. Her total expenditures for school pur- poses during the last two years exceed $1,500,000, and her school houses have already cost over one million dollars ! These facts constitute a record of which our young State may well be proud. STATE UNIVEKSITY. This institution is located in the city of St. Anthony and now in successful operation. A land grant of 46,080 acres was made for the endownmeut of a State University and a magnificent college edifice erected. In addition to the above land grant, in March, 1868, by an act of our State Legislature the Agri- cultural (Jollege Lauds granted by the general government were given to the University of Minnesota, being 120,000 acres. The First State Normal School is located at Winona and in successful opera- tion, training teachers for our common schools. The number in attendance the past year 122. The school buildings are large, elegant and a credit to the State. The Second State Normal School is located at Mankato, and has but recently been opened. The Third State Normal School is located at St. Cloud, and will, in a short time, enter upon its career of u.sef Iness. Private enterprise has also established many private schools, classical Acada- mies and Seminaries in different portions of the State, thus affording educational facilities surpassing many of the older States. CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. Minnesota, although as yet too young to have a system of the noble public charities perfected, her wants in this line are provided for as soon as felt. An Asylum for the deaf, dumb and blind is in operation at Faribault ; ample land grants have been made for the erection of an lusaue Asylum, as well as for the "support and education of the orphans of soldiers who fell in the late war. The Insane Asylum has been located at St. Peter, and is now in practical operation, and contains about 100 patients at this time. A State Reform School has been located near St Paul, and is now in opf ration. There are two Orphan Asylums in St. Paul, one under the auspices of the Protestants, tlie other of the Cath- olics. BAXKS. The State has sixteen National Banks, with an aggregate paid up capital of nearly two millions, located as follows : St. Paul, 3, Capital. $900,000 Minneapolis, 3, " 200,000 Winona, 2, " 100,000 Hastings, 2, " 200,000 Red Wing, 1, " 50,000 ■ Rochester, 1, " 60,0u0 Shakopee, 1, " 50,000 Austin, 1, " 60,000 StillwatiM-, 1, " 50,000 Faribault, 1, " 50.000 Mankato. 1, " 50,000 16 MINNESOTA: These, with numerous private banks located at the principal manufacturing and commercial centres, afford ample conveniences for the transaction of busi- ness. More banking capital, however, is needed to facilitate the rapidly increas- ing business of the State, and more than double the present amount would find active, safe and profitable employment RIVER TRADE — STEAMBOATS AJND BARGES. The steamboat business of Minnesota is as yet confined to the Mississippi, the Minnesota and the St. Croix rivers. On the Mississippi the business is principally done by the following lines of boats, although a large number of independent or " wild " boats, as they are called, engage in our trade : The North Western Union Packet Company, [white collar line,] being a union of the " Davidson Line " and the Minnesota Packet Comjjany, has within a few years grown to a large and influential company, starting, it is said with a " Line " consisting of one boat, they now own fourteen first cla<«s packets, nineteen stern wheel steamers together with one hundred and thirty-one barges, and employ over 2,300 men. The capital stock of this company is $1,500,000. Their boats ply between St. Louis and St. Paul, and LaCrosse and St. Paul ; two boats leav- ing St. Paul daily, connecting with the 111. Central R.R. at Dubuque, Milwau- kee R.R. at Prairie du Chien and LaCrosse, and also a daily Line from St. Louis to St. Paul. This line also has boats on the St. Croix, one boat daily to Tayl- or's Falls, and on the Minnesota a daily packet besides several freighters. They have recently purchased the St. Louis and Quincy Packet Co's Boats. The Northern Line boats ply between St. Louis and St. Paul, but I have not been able to obtain the facts as to this Line. The, Collector of Customrs at the Port of St Paul, gives the aggregate ton- nage of that port for 1868, at 16,430.27 tons, which falls far short of the actual amount, because of a large number of the boats being registered at Du- buque and Galena. Were the boats and barges plying to the Port of St. Paul all registered there, the tonnage would double the amount given above. An association of capitalists have recently projected an enterprise of great moment to the Northern portion of the State. It is that of steamboat navi- gation from the Falls of Saint Anthony to St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids, also from Sauk Rapids to the Falls of Pokegama. These, if successful, will greatly aid in the development of an immense extent of valuable country. The localities that will be more immediately benefited are St Anthony, Minneapolis, Auoka, Day- ton, Otsego, Mouticello, Clear Water, Elk River, St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Little Falls, Sauk Centre, Alexandria, &c. THE RAILROAD SYSTEM OF MLNNTESOTA. In 1857, Congress made a land grant of four and a half million acres to Min- nesota for railroad purposes. In 1864, an additional grant was made. These acts grant ten sections, or 6,4U0 acres of land for each mile of road to be built under it and projected the great lines which were intended to benefit all parts of the State, and provide for its increasing demands. These lines are as follows : STILLWATER AND ST. PAUL R. R. CO. 1st. — A line from Stillwater to St. Paul, 18 miles in length. It has been located, and the franchises of the company and its laud grant are in the hands of the business men of Stillwater, who are directly interested in the early comple- tion of the road. When finished it will bring to St. I'aul the heavy lumber trade of the St Croix Yalley, and will materially assist in the development of a rich agricultural region. THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE ST. PAUL AND PACIFIC R. R. CO. 2d. —From St. Paul, via St. Anthony and Minneapolis, to a point on the western boundary of the State, near or at Big Stone Lake, with a branch from ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 17 : St Aothony to Watab. The main liue, I'rom St. Paul to the western boundary of the State, is 200 milet- in length. It has been located the whole distance ; forty miles of the road is iu operation, it is graded and ready for the ii-on', and the company expect to complete it to the ctutre of Meeker County,' through the "Big Woods," a distance of 70 miles from St. Paul, by the first of June, 18C9, and to complete ninety additional miles by the first of January, 1870. An expensive bridge over the Mississippi, just above" the Falls of SL Anthonyl has been completed and is now iu constant use. The branch line from St. Anthony up the valloy of the Mississippi, is com- pleted to Sauk Piapids, a distance of 65 miles, and is now in operation. The remaining section of the branch line will be finished as soon as the business of the country will justify. TIIE ST. PAUL AND PACIFIC R. K. CO. .„ 3d. — A line from AVatal), where it connects with the First Division of the St Paul and Pacific Eail Iload, via Crow Wing, to Pembina, on the great Red Eiver of the North, about 320 tidies in length, with a branch from some point between St Cloud and Crow Wing to Lake Superior, a distance of 120 miles. The line from Watab to Crow "\\'ing has been located, but is not yet in course of cou;:truction. Operations have not commenced on the Lake Superior branch. ST. PAUL AND SIOUX CITY, [lATE MINKESOTA VALLETT R. R.] 4th.— A line from St. Paul, up the valley of the Minnesota, to Mankato, thence iu a southwesterly direction to the Iowa State line ; there to meet a road from Sioux City, Iowa, to the Minnesota Stale line. The distance iiom St. Paul to Iowa State line is 170 miles ; from thence to Sioux City 70 miles. The road is completed and in operation from St Paul to Mankato, 86 miles, and work on the line is in progress toward Sioux City. The distance from Mankato to Sioux City is 170 miict, to which point the Sioux City and Pacific road is now completed. THE MILWAUKEE AXD ST. PAUL RAILWAY CO. 6th. — A line from St Paul and Minneapolis (junction at Mendota) via Fari- bault and Owatonna, to the north line of the State of Iowa. This line runs almost due north and south ; it intersects the Winona and St Peter Rail Road at Owatonna; is about 110 niiles long, and connects with the Iowa Divisionof the same cumpimy, which is comiilote to McGregor, on the Mississippi, opposite Prairie du Chien. This Railway furnishes the only all rail continuous route from Milu-avkee and Chicago to St. Patd and MinntupoUs, connecting at Mendota with St. Paul and Sivux City Railroad for Si. Peter, Mankato and all points on the Minne- sota River; and at St.Paula.nd MinniapoUs yviih the St. Paul and Pacific Rail- road for St. Cloud Liud all points in the northwest, being the direct route to the valley of the great " Red River of the JS'orth." Arrangements have been made and now begun for bridging the Mississippi at St. Paul and running into that city at a convenient point for the accommodation of both passenger and freight traflic. The city of Miuneaj)olis has also granted the right of way for this road to unite tracks with tlie main line of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad within its limits. When these important additions are made, the facilities for the tranhuction of business and interchange of traUic between the different Railways of the State will be as perfect as those of any of the older States, and will tend greatly to increase the usefulness of these lines to the public. LAKE SUPERIOR AND MISSISSIPPI R. R. CO. 6th. — A line fiom St Paul, which is the head of navigation on the Mississippi river, to *he head of Lake Supeiior in Minne.'-ota, with authority to connect with a branch to Superior City, ^^'isconsin. The distance to the navigable waters of Lake Supeiior is lo3 miles ; to the head of Lake Superior, 160 milee This liue is controlled by the Lake Soi)erior and Mississippi U. R. Co. It i^ 3 18 MINlSrESOTA : completed to Wyoming', 30 miles from St. Paul, and will be pushed to completion the entire distance within two years. This road has also a grant of seven sec- tions to the mile of State lauds in addition to those named. THE HASTINGS AND DAKOTA R. R. CO. 7th. — A line from Hastings, through the counties of Dakota, Scott, Carver, and McLeod, to the foot of Big Stoue Lake. This road is finished to Fanniugton, where it intersects the Milwaukee and St. Paul Road, a distance of 22 miles. It is an east and west line across the State, and work progressing. THE WINONA AND ST. PETER R. R. CO. 8th. — Aline from Winona, via St. Peter, to the western boundary of the State. This line extends east and west across the entire State. It is completed to Waseca, 105 miles west of Winona, and will be finished to the Minnesota River, 140 miles, by the close of 1869. When completed, the line will be 250 miles lopg. It intersects the Milwaukee and St. Paul E^ailway at Owatonna, and has recently been purchased by the Xorth Western R. R. Co., which insures its rapid completion. Within three or four mouths the eastern connection of this road with the iVIilwaukee and St. Paul road will be in operation, thus forming- another all rail route from the East to the interior of Minnesota. THE SOUTHERN MINNESOTA R. R. CO. 9th. — A line from La Crescent up the valley of the Root River, through the counties of Houston, Fillmore, Mower, Freeborn, Faribault, Martin, Jackson, Noble, aud Rock, to the western boundary of the SJtate This Hue is controlled by the Southern Minnesota R. R. Co., is completed to Lanesboro, Fillmore county, 50 miles west of the Mississippi river, aud will be pushed forward vigorously to its terminus at the Great Bend of the Missouri. This company propose to construct the road this season from Austin or Lansing, on the Milwaukee aud St, Paul road to Albert Lea, in Freeborn county, thence to Blue Earth City, Fairmont and Jackson. It crosses the entire State, from east to west, through the southern tier of counties, aud is upwards of 250 miles long. THE NORTHERN PACIFIC R. R. CO. 10th. — During the past year several corps of engineers have been engaged in locating the line of this road across the State of Minnesota. Two lines have been run: one commeuciug at Bayfield, on Lake Superior, passing about lu miles south of Superior City, aud thence via St Cioud, up the valley of Sauk River to Breckenridge, on the Red River of t;.e Xorth. The other, corameucing at Superior City, passes almost due west, crossing the Miss- issippi 10 or 12 miles above Crow Wing, aud thence to Breckeuridge, on Red River. It is not yet known which line will be adopted; but either will cross the State from east to west, and will add immensely to the development of Northern Min- nesota. All the roads named have been endowed by Congress with land grants of ten sections or 6,400 acres pev mile, with the exception of the Northern Pacific which has a grant of twenty sections or 12,800 acres per mile. THE CHICAGO AND ST. PAUL RAILWAY CO. 11th. — In additiou to the lines named above, the St. Paul and Chicago Rail- way Company has been authorized to construct a road along the Mississippi River from St. Paul to the southern boundary of the State, and has been endowed with a valuable grant of State lauds, amounting to fourteen sections or nearly 10,000 acres of land per mile. The liro has been surveyed as far as Winona, a distance of 100 miles, aud partly graded. ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 19 It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this system of railroads to the present and future population of the State. The construction of these lines now in active progress gives omploymeiit to vast numbors of men, and gives as- surance that every part of the State in the near future will enjoy the benefits of a cheap and speedy traus])Ortation of passengers and products to and fro. And when completed, the system will give to the whole State every advantage, so far as markets are concerned, which now belonss to the favored State of Illinois. Those lines, covering over 2,000 miles wholly within tlie limits of the State, are rapidly opening up some of the best lands in the world, by bringing them' within easy reach of good markets. The different railroad companies are pur- suing a liberal policy towards immigrants offering them inducements as to price and time of payments, seeing that their own prosperity is identical with that of the State. St. Paul may be said to form the heart or centre of this net-woik of the " arteries of trade." The great facility which Minnesota possesses of sending her produce to mar- ket is not the least of her many advantages. The richest lands and the finest climate in the world are useless in a commercial point of view if not connected with the great trading emporiums by wide and accessible channels of trade. The broad bosom of the Mississippi sweeps our commerce to the Gulf of Mexico, and brings back the cotton of the South to be manufactured by our numberless water-powers ; our railroads open another channel to the Atlantic coast ; while by way of lake navigation, via Lake Superior and the great Pacific Railroad, con- necting us with both the Atlantic and Pacific, afford ample and unequalled com- mercial facilities. Navigation on Lake Superior opens the last of April and closes about the 1st of December. In previous years projiellers have left Buffalo as late aa the 10th of December, in 1861 as late as the 21st. "The navigation of Lake Superior, contrary to the general opinion, is much safer than that of the lower lakes. Its waters, being deeper, make easier seas, and it is navigable as many days in the year as any of them. * * * * It has been predicted by thinking men, who understand the subject, that when steam communication shall have been effected across the continent from the Pacific to the Atlantic, a change must take place in the courses of the commerce between the East and the West. When you can lay down in London and Hamburg cargoes of tea, silks, &c., from China, within fifty to sixty days after their ship- ment from there, then the old courses of trade by the way of the Cape of Good Hope will have to be abandoned — then the commercial sceptre will depart from England and pass into our keeping. This all seems as sure as anything in the future can be." — Report of the Buffalo Board of Trade, for 1866. PROJECTED KAIL ROADS. In addition to the ten Land Grant Roads already mentioned, nearly all of which are progressing rapidly, there are the following eleven roads projected, some of which will be commenced this year. 1st. — The Owatorna and State Line R. R. Co. propose to construct a road from Owatonna via Albert Lea to the south line of the State, there to connect with a road now in progress northward through Iowa. Large local aid has been secured. 2cl. — A road from Lanesboro, Fillmore county, via Chatfield to Rochester, Zumbrota and Cannon Falls to Saint Paul, passing through the counties of Olmsted, Wabashaw, Goodhue and Dakota. 3(1. A road from the Mississippi river, starting at the city of Red Wing thence via Cannon Falls and Faribault to Blue Earth City. 4tli — A road from Wabashaw at foot of Lake Pepin, on the Mississippi river, via Plaiuview, Rochester and Lansing to Omaha, with a branch via Faribault to St. Peter. 6th. — A road from Minneapolis up the west side of the Mississippi river 20 MINNESOTA: via Dayton, Monticello and Clear Water to St Cloud, thence up Sauk Valley, via Sauk Centre to Alexandria, Douglas county. 6th. — A road from White Bear Lake, on the Mississippi river and Lake Superior road via St Anthony and Minneapolis to fchakopee, Scott county, thence up the west side of the Slinnesota river, via Cha.ska, Carver and Hen- derson to St. Peter. 7th. — An " Air and Hour Line Koad" from St Paul to Minneapolis and Saint Anthony, distance from the city limits of St Paul to the city hmits of those cities five miles. 8th. — A road from Mankato via Blue Earth City, to the Iowa line, theuce to connect with the Keokuk and Fort Des Moines R. R. , ■ 9th. — A road from Taylor's Falls, on the St Crois, to connect with the Mis- sissippi river and Lake Superior R. R. 10th. — A road from St. Cloud to Mankato, passing through Stearns, Meeker, Wright, McLeod, Sibley and Isicolet counties. 11. — Railroad from Mankato, via Albert Lea, to intersect a rotd from Iowa, up the valley of Turkey river. MAXUFACTURDvG FACILITIES. Our State has, during the year 1868, made considerable progress in manufac- turies of various kinds. Want of space prevents a detail. In nearly every section of the State there has been a gratifying improvement in this respect, more so than during any previous. year of our history. "Apart from social causes and the general influence of the stimulating anf' exacting climates of the North, in developing the forms of skilled industry, it is owing chiefly to two physical circumstances that Xew-Eugland has attained her present eminence in manufactures, in spite of her deflciency in the useful minerals and the raw material employed in the arts. These are, first, her abundant water power ; and, second, her favorable commercial position which has enabled her to obtain ready supplies of raw material from abroad and to^distribute the product through a wide range of dependent markets. These circumstances alone among the physical conditions Oi manufacturing power, have raised the little State of Massachusetts, without internal resources of raw material, without coal or iron, to the first rank among American States in the manufacture especially of textile fabrics. And these purely physical conditions of industrial developement exist in Minnesota in a greater de^Tee than in New-England, and in addition she possesses to a large extent essential elements of raw material of which New-England is destitute. "1. Minnesota possesses a more ample and effective water power than New- England. The falls and lapids of St Anthony alone, with a total descent of 64 feet affords an available hydraulic capacity, according to an experienced and competent engineer, of 120,000 horse power. This is considerably gTeater than the whole motive power — steam and water— employed in textile manufactures in England in 1850, and nearly «even times as great as the water power so employed. " That is to say, the available power created by this magnificent watirfail, is more than sufBcient to drive all the 25,000,000 spindles and 4,000 mills oi' England and Scotland combined. The eutii-e machinery of the English Manchester and the American Lowell, if they could be transplanted here, would scarcely press upon its immense hydrauhc capabilities. But as compared with those gi^eat industrial centres, the Falls of St Anthony possess one decisive advantage, which is to a great extent illustrative of the functions of the State as a commercial and manufacturing emporium, this splendid cataract forais the terminus of continuous navigation on the Mississippi ; and the same waters which lavish on the broken ledges of limestone a strength almost sufficient to weave the garments of the ■world, may gather the products of its mills almost at their very doors and distribute them to every part of the great valley of the Mississippi. There are now at the Falls of St. Anthony thirteen grist mills, fourteen saw mills, two woolen mills, two paj>er mills, one oil mill. These, with minor establishments there, produced in 1867, $4,669,358 worth of manufactured articles, and in 1868 nearly §6,000,000, with a ciipital employed m manufac- turing industry of $2,894,360. ITS Ar>VA2fTAGE> TO SETTLEn«<. 21 " The St Croix Falls, which are ouly secoud to St. Authony Falls in hydraulic power, are similarly, though somewhat less advantageously situated at the head of navigation upon a tributary ot the Mississippi. Except the iMinnesota, nearly every ti'ibutary of the Mississippi, in its rapid and broken descent to the main stream, aflords valuable mill sites. The Mississippi itself in its descent from its Itasca summit to Fort Suelling, in which it falls 836 feet, or over 16 inches per mile, is characterized by long steps of slack water, broken at long intervals by abrupt transitions in the character of the rocks which forms its bed, and forming a fine series of falls and rapids available for hydraulic works. Pokegoma Falls, Little Falls, Sauk Rapids, and St. Anthony Falls, ai-e the chief of these. But the Elk, Rum, St. Croix, and numberless smaller streams on the east slope of the Mississispi, the Sauk, Crow, Yermillion, Cannon, Zumbro, Miuneiska, Root, and their branches, nearly all the tributaries of the Minnesota, and a multitude of streams besides, in their abrupt descent over broken beds of limestone or sand- stone, through long and winding valleys or ravines, with a fall of from three to eight feet per mile, afford an unlimited abundance of available water power to nearly every county in the State. This diffusion of hydraidic power thronghoat the whole State, is a feature whose value as an element of developement, can scarcely be over estimated, as it gives to every neighborhood the means of manufacturing its own flour and lumber, and affords the basis of all those numerous local manufactures which enter into the industrial economy of every Qorthern community. "2. Passing to the secoud point of comparison with Xew-Englaud, already incidentally touched upon, the commercial position of Minnesota upon the termini of the three great water lines of the continent, not only gives it an immensely wider capacity of interior trade, but a tar easier access to the sources of supply of raw material. A regi^ six times as large as all New-England, as yet undeveloped, but already starting on the swift career of Western growth, and capable of supporting many millipus of population, is directly dependent upon Minnesota for all the maaafactured commodities it may consume. Its position relative to these Xortbwesteru valleys, invests its manufacturing capabilities with an importance greater than those of any other of the interior districts of the con- tinent. For the future maoufacture of cotton and woolen fabrics, it has decided advantages of position over Xew-Eugland. The Mississippi river brings it into intimate relations with the sources of the cotton supply, and it lies in the midst of the great wool zone of the continent." — /. .i. ffheelock. The'falls of the St. Louis river, at the point where the Lake Superior and Mississippi R. R. reaches the navagable waters of Lake Superior, said to furnish a manufacturing power equal lo that of the falls of the Mississippi river at St. Anthony, must not be omitted from the above list. Minnesota is evidently destined to become one of the greatest manufacturing States in the world, and already manufactories are springing up everywhere. There were five hundred and eleven establishments in 1860, with an aggi-egate capital of two and a half millions, producing annually four and a half million dollars worth of manufactures. The present number of establishments is esti- mated at 1,200, with a capital of twelve millions. Minnesota has the further advantage of possessing the raw material for a large class of manufactures,— copper, iron, wool, lumber, salt springs, sand for flint glas4 &c., as already referred to, also coal and peat. AGRICULTURAL CAPACITY — THE SOIL AXD ITS PRODUCTS. Xot only are the manufacturing facilities of Minnesota equal to any in the world, but its agricultural capacities are unsurpassed by the finest agricultural districts of the old States. This combination of agriculture and manufacture i3 something very unusual ; generally where one feature is present, the other is ab- sent ; but here, both features exi-;t with all their advantages. Persona residing 22 MINNESOTA : in the Middle and Western States too often regai-d Minnesota as an inhospita- ble region, too cold for agricutnral pursuits. But such will learn with surprise that few of the most productive districts in the world can compete with Minnesota. Soils. — "The prevailing soil of Minnesota is a dark, calcareous, sandy loam, containing a various intermixture of clay, abounding in mineral salts and in or- ganic ingredients, derived from the accumulation of decomposed vegetable mat- ter for long ages of growth and decay. The sand of which silica is the base, forms a large, proportion of this, as of all good soils. It plays an important part in the economy of growth, and is an essential constituent in the organism of all cereals. About sixty-seven per cent of the ash of the stems of wheat, corn, rye, barley, oats and sugar-cane, is pure silica, or flint. It is this which gives the glazed coating to the plants, and gives strength to the stalk. "The superiority of sand in giving a high temjierature to the soil, is a great advantage in a climate in which the limited period of vegetation requu-es the highest measures of heat." This species of soil, on account of its penetrability to a great distance, by the roots of plants, enables them to gather nutriment at a greater distance from the stalk. It is porous, and permits free respiration of the soil, — as important to plants as animals. Owing to capilary attraction, it easily imbibes moisture from the air, and retains it a long time, enabling it to support vegetation during drouths, that in less favored localities prove disastrous to crops. The same quality prevents it from becoming supersaturated with water during wet seasons, on account of the facility with which it drains. There is also this further advantage of sandy soils, that the roads are smooth and hard, easily made and kept in order, and are free from mire and mud, thus facilitating travel, hauling, &c., as well as farm labor generally. "Another imjiortant feature of the soil of Minnesota is, that its earthy mate- rials are minutely pulverized, and the soil is everywhere light, mellow and spongy, existing naturally in the condition reached in soils less favorably con- stituted, by expensive under- drainage. With, these uniform characteristics, the soils of Minnesota are of different grades of fertility, according to local situa- tions, or the character of the underlying rocks from which their elements have been derived. Distributed according to geological situations, the soils of the agricultural district of Minnesota may be divided into limestone soils, diift soils, clay soils, and trap soils." Products of the Soil. — The following table shows the staple agricultural pro- ducts of Minnesota, and about the average yield per acre : — Crops, Av. No. bushels per acre. Crops. Av. No. bushels per acre. Wheat, .... 20.05 Sweet potatoes, - - - 100.00 Rye, .... 21.56 Beans, - - - - 15.00 Barley, .... 33.23 Hemp lint, (pounds,) - - 1,140.00 Oats, .... 42.39 Flax lint, " - 750.00 Buckwheat, - - - 20.00 Sorghum, (gallons syrup) 100.00 Corn, .... 35.67 Hay, (tons) - - - 2.12 Potatoes, .... 20b. 00 The above table has been compiled with some care from various sources, and gives only the average yield of the crops mentioned, and may be taken as a fair sample of the average for the State at large, one year with another. It must be understood, however, that on the prevailing soil of Minnesota, with manuring and careful cultivation, the actual yield is often nearly double the above figures. Potatoes, for instance, set down at 208, on good soil, and ordinary culti- vation, will easily yield 300 bushels per acre ; wheat 35, corn 40, and other crops in proportion. In 1865, from 400,000 acres of wheat in Minnesota there was hai'vested the enormous crop of 10,000,000 bushels, being an average yield of 25 bushels to the acre. The crop of 1868 has been estimated by Mr. Pusey, Assistant Secretary of State, at 16,125,875 bushels, from very imperfect data, and I feel certain his desire to be safe made his estimate one million too low. Wlieat is one of the chief staples of agriculture in Minnesota, and is compara- ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 23 lively exempt from the dangers to which it is exposed in other States, — drouth, rust, tmut, insects, &c. The averag-e per rentage of the tilled area of the State in wheat is over 53 per cent, nearly double that of Ohio, which is 33, or Illinois, which is 28, from the fact that iu those States the uncertainty of the crop, from the above causes, renders it unsafe to venture so large a proportion of the crop upon so precarious a product. In Minnesota the whest crop is regarded as a sure and safe one, and rarely fails of a fine yield. The farmer sows with an as- surance of reaping a good return, which he could feel in no other State, except perhaps Wisconsin and Northwestern Michigan, which belong to the same great wheat belt as Minnesota. COMPARISON WITH OTHER STATES. The wheat crop of Minnesota is not only more certain than that of Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and other great wheat growing States, but the yield is greater than the best of them. The average wheat-yield of Minnesota has been put down at 20 bushels to the acre : in some counties, the yield was 25. The aver- age wheat-yield of the rich prairies of Illinois, owing to uncertainty of the crop perhaps, was stated as not over 8 bushels per acre, by Abraham Lincoln, in an address before the Wisconsin State Fair of 1859. The average yield of Iowa is not over 12 bushels ; that of Ohio and Pennsylvania will not exceed 10. The average yield of Iowa in 1859, was 4 bushels ; that of Minnesota for the same year was 19. In 1850, the four States producing the largest average yield, were Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida ; this did not exceed 15 bushels, while the other States averaged only from 5 to 12. The largest known yield of other States, as compared with the average of Minnesota, is as follows : Tear. Bush, per acre. Tear. Bush, peracre. Minnesota, - - - 1860 22 Michigan, - - - 1848 19 Ohio, 1850 17.3 Massachusetts, - - 1849 16 In the face of these facts, we need have no hesitancy in pronouncing Minne- sota the banner wheat State of the Union. Spring wheat is principally sown but winter wheat does equally well, I believe. Co7ii. — Many newspapers in States south of us have asserted that Minnesota is too cold for corn. But this is not so ; though not so much of a staple pro- duct as wheat, corn grows well in Minnesota^ and the yield compares favorably with that of the best corn States. When stock, especially hogs, are raised to a greater extent than at present in the State, the corn crop must eventually become an important one to our farmers. The average corn yield of Minnesota in 1859, a bad year, was 26 bushels ; I860, 35| ; 1865. 43 J ; the average may be set down at 35 bushels per acre ; that of Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky at 20 ; that of Iowa, just south of us, 23. The average yield in 1859, was 26 bushels, 11 per cent, higher than that of Iowa for the same year. In 18G0 our average, as shown by the census record, was greater than any Middle or Northwestern State except Ohio, and the yield of 1868 will be found equally satisfactory. "This strikingly confirms the law already noticed, that the cultivated plants yield their greatest products near the northernmost limits of their respective growth." Oats. — The superiority of our climate and soil in the production of the cereals is nowhere more strikingly manifested than in the inferior classes of these grains." In 1859, the average yield of this crop was 33 bushels to the acre ; in 1860, it was 42 ; iu 1865, the yield was 51 J bushels. I have no means of comparing these results with the yield of other States, but doubt not but that the comparison would be a favorable as that of wheat and corn. Rye, Barley and Bvcktvheat, like the other small grains, do exceedingly well in Minnesota. Mr. AVheelock in the valuable Report referred to, says : "The climatic influences which give the wheat of Minnesota its recognized superiority of grain, are especially marked in the quality of our barley. This is beginning to be so generally recognized, that it is already exported in consider- 24 MINNESOTA : able quantities to supply breweries in the MiJUe States." The average yield per acre of these grains for three years were as follows : 1859. 1S60. 1S62. 1S66. Rye, .... 19.4 21.56 24.00 Barley, .... 29.1 33.23 34.00 37.50 Buckwheat, ... 6.5 1.1.73 26.0G Potatoes. — "The superior flavor and the rich farinaceous quality of the pota- toes of Minnesota, afford an apt illustration of the principle maintained by I'r. Forry, that the cultivated plants come to perfection only near the nothern limits of their growth. In the south, the potatoe, in common with other tuberous and bulbous plants, with beets, turnips, and other garden roots, is scarcely fit for human food. 'A forcing sun,' says Dr. Forry, ' brings the potatoe to fructifica- tion before the roots have had time to attain their proper size, or ripen into the qualities proper for nourishment.' Minnesota, at the west, reproduces the best northern samples of this delicious esculent, in characteri.stic perfection. From their farina and flavor, the potatoes of \Hunesota are already held in considerable esteem as a table delicacy in the States below us, and a market is rapidly grow- ing up for them throughout the States of the Mississippi Valley, as is indicated by inereasiiag exports." — J. A. ffheelock. Sorghum. — But little attention has been paid to this crop in Minnesota. It is evidently adapted to a warmer climate, but planted early, on our rich soil, it will gi'ow and produce equal to any place in the world. The average yield from very imperfect returns, has been set at down 72^ gallons ; but "some instances are reported where a product of 200 and even 300 gallons has been obtained from one acre," says Mr. Wheelock : and there is no doubt but that the average yield maybe safely estimated at from 100 to 150 gallons per acre. Maple Sugar. — The sugar maple is found plentifully in the timbered part of the State. A product of 370,947 pounds of maple sugar, wits reported for 1860. Hay. — Timothy and clover flourish in Minnesota ; in fact, white clover, red top, and blue grass seem indigenous to the soil, and speedily cover any land pastured much. The tame grasses are but little cultivated on this account ; the luxuriant growth of the native grasses, which cover the "immense surface of natural meadow laud formed by the alluvial bottoms of the intricate network of streams which every where intersect the country," and which "are as rich and nutricious in this latitude as the best exotic varieties," render cultivation unne- cessary. The average yield of these grasses is 2.12 tons per acre, 60 per cent, greater than that of the great hay State of Ohio, which, according to the Com- missioner of Statistics of that State, is 1^ tons per acre. The lint plants. Flax, Hemp, ^-c, as they come to perfection only in a cool elimate, do extremely well in Minnesota. Their bark, in southern climates, is harsh and brittle, because the plant is forced into maturity so rapidly that the lint does not acquire either consistency or tenacity. Minnesota is equal for flax and hemp growth to Northern Europe. Onions, Turnips, Parsnips, Carrots, Beets, and nearly all bulbous plants, do equally as well as the potatoe. Sweet Potatoes. — Our loamy, warm sandy soil is just the thing for it, but our seasons are rather short ; planted early however, it yields a good crop. Turnips, Rutabagoes, and Beets often attain a great size. 7^e Salad Plants. — Cabbages, lettuces, endive, celery, spinach — plants whose leaves only are eaten — are not only more tender here than in warm climates, where the relaxing sun lays open their very buds, and renders their leaves thin and tough, but are more nutricious, because their growth is slow and their juices well digested. Melons, although they come in rather late, instead of throwing too much of their gi'owth into the vine, as they do south, attain a large size, and a rich sac- chai'ine and aromatic flavor. This is especially true of the cantelope melon, which in wai-mer climates has its sides baked or rots before it is fully matured. Pumpkins, Squash, ^c, on the same principle, fully mature, and grow very ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 25 fiue aud large. The Hubbard vai-iety requires early planting, say first of May. Beans, Peas, <^'C., of every variety, are fine and prolific. Rhubarb, or Fie Plant, flourishes without cul'tivatiou. The Hop Culture does not pay at present prices. Perhaps in no State iu the Union does the soil so surely aud amply reward la- bor, or yield larger products for the amount of labor bestowed on it. It is easily cleared of weeds, and ouce clean, its warm forcing nature enables the crop to speedily outstrip all noxious growths. Two good thorough workings usually in- sures a good growth of almost any cultivated crop. BEES — A CORPwECTIOX. In my pamphlet issued January, 1867, the Bee business was spoken of as pay- ing well in Minnesota. That year did not sustaiu the statement, and iu the 1868 issue, Bees were omitted. Now, in January, 1S69, all testify to the payiug results of the Bee business last year, aud if not pressed for room I would re- store the 1667 article. FRUITS. The year 1863 has more than confirmed all that has heretofore been stated in this pamphlet as to fruit growing. With the progress now making here in grape culture, Minnesota will soon do her share toward producing the pure wines that are to drive from us the mixed and poisonous driuks now in use. Apples, ^c. — An impression seems to prevail abroad that we cannot raise fruit in Minnesota, — "an extraordinary inference," says Wheelock, ''when we consider that many forms of wild fruit are indigenous to the country." Our cli- mate is evidently not so well adapted to fruit-raisingasthat of some other States south of us. Still, sufficient of most kinds may be raised to supply the home demand. It has been demonstrated that many varieties of apples do vvell here, aud there are now several bearing orchards in the vicinity of Minneapolis, Wi- nona, St. Paul, Red Wing, Owatona, Rochester, Mankato, aud other portions of the State. The specimens of Minnesota apples at the State fair of 1866, were equal in size and flavor to the same varieties elsewhere produced. It is not the severity of the winter that kills the tree, but the alternate thawing and freezing of the south side of the tree in the spring, which is avoided by mulching, and protecting the stem of the ti-ee when voung, by a wrapping of straw. The State being new, time sufficient for planting aud acclimating orchards, has not elapsed; but there is u» longer any doubt of our ability to raise fiue apple orchards. Dwarf cherry and peach trees, which are easily protected in winter, do well, but the larger varieties are too tender. However, cherries may yet succeed, as the wild variety is a native of the soil. Apples grow well in Wisconsin, right along side of us ; in Canada and New-England, north of us. The inference is clear that by procuring our trees north of us, (not south, as has heretofore been the practice) or planting the seeds and thus acclimating them, or by gntftvig on to the stock of the Siberian crab, which is remarkably healthy and hardy, and flour- ishes here through the coldest winters without protenion, we may raise all the apples we wish. There are several flourishing nurseries near Winona, Red Wing, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Austin, Rochester, Faribault, Mankato, and other portions of tlie State. The exhibition at the Stixte Fair, Ist October, 1868, was a gratifying surprise. Crab Apples. — The wild crab apple tree is indigenous to the soil, improves much by cultivation, aud furnishes an excellent stock for grafting, but inferior to the Siberian Crab, which is equally hai'dy, and furnishes an excellent apple for preserving. Some varieties approach a hen's (^<^g in size, and are quite palatable. Slraivberries. — Every variety of this excellent fruit does well here, attaining a size and flavor unsurpassed. Wild ones fill the woods and prpiries every year. Grapes. — The different varieties succeed well here, aud several varieties of the wild grape vine grow luxuriantly all over the State. The cultivated varieties, while young, require to be laid down in the fdl, and protected by a light cover- ing of straw. The nature of our climate aud soil would seem to designate Min- •26 • jirNNESOTA : nesota as a great grape-growing State. The juices of the grape, says Dr. Fer- ry, are best matured for M-ine near the northern limit of their growth. On the Ehine, in Hungary, the sides of the Alps, and other elevated or northern situa- tions, the vine is strongest, richest, and most esteemed. The grapes of Frarce are more delicious for the table than those of Spain or Madeira, south of it. The excess of heat and moisture in the States south and east of us, blights the grape to such an extent that its culture has been abandoned. The vice, however, whether wild or cultivated, grows there luxuriantly. The vinous fer- mentation, as well as the pressing and distillation of the juice, can also be best conducted ila a climate comparatively cool. Truman M. Smith, Esq., of the " St. Paul Gardens and Nursery," ha.s suc- ceeded well in a large variety of fruit. He writes me: — "Grapes have always done well with me. I have not in any year failed to have my grapes thoroughly ripe before frost; and in 1867, the coldest one on record, I ripened twenty-seven varieties, and have now, on this 20th of January, ' Delawares ' in good condition, by hanging them up in a cool, dry cellar." Gooseberries, Currants, and ^as|>ifr/-«>s, are cultivated extensively through- out the State, unsurpassed in flavor, size, and productiveness. They also grow wild, in common with blueberries, whortleberries, and both mai-sh and upright cranberries. Wildfhnns, of a great many different varieties, some of them very large and fine, approximating the peach for domestic purposes, abound in the neighbor- hood of streams, lakes, and moist localities. They improve so much by being transplanted and cultivated as to equal any of the tame vai'ieties. Wild chet > ies ai-e also plenty. From this list it is apparent that Miunesotiaus are not likely to suffer fo the want of fruit. And it may be remarked of all fruits generally grown m Minue- sota, that, owing to the principle announced by Dr. Forry, they attain a perfec- tion found only at the northernmost limit of their growth. The pulp is delicate, saccharine, and of a rich flavor, while they are free from the larvee, gum, knots, atd acerbity of fruit grown further south. The dryness of the atmosphere, as well as the inherent perfection of the fruit, enables us to preserve it for a much longer time than can be done in warmer localities. Apples keep much better than in St. Louis or Cincinnati. THE GEOWIXG SEASON UN" MINNESOTA. In Minnesota, during the growing season, we find all those conditions most favorable to agriculture present in a marked degi-ee. Its mean spring tempera- ture is 45.6 degrees, which is the same as that of Central Wisconsin, Northern lUiuois, IS orthern Ohio, Central and Southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 2i degrees south of it. Its summer temperature is 70.6 degrees, corresponding with that of Middle Illinois and Ohio, Southern Pennsylvania, Long Island and New Jersey, 5 degrees south of it The season of vegetation in Minnesota, in common with that of the upper belt of the temperate zone, is embraced between the first of April and the first of October. Some idea of the average temperature of this period may be obtained, by comparing it with the same period in other localities, whose agricultural capa- cities are well known : St. Paul, Minn. Marietta, 0., Chicago, 111., Boston, Mass., It will be observed that the temperature of the growing mouths in the above places is so nearly the same, that the difference can be scarcely appreciable * *"Minnesota, ficm its high ncrtheni positun, has always had to maintain a certain struggle for a just 11] prcciaticn against the ignorant pifcoccei^tioES of tht majority of ptcple of our days, who were educated in the Dcticn that latitude governs climate. It is Oiflicult to make the New H<.mp. shire farmer comipiehend that St. Anthony Falls, in the latitude of Hanover, has the sun.mer climate of Philadelphia— or that wheat, which will scarcely grow in nortbern New England, thrivee on the April. May. June. July. August. Sept. 46.3 69.0 68.4 73.4 70.1 58.9 52.3 61.4 69.6 73.5 70.7 63.6 46.0 56.3 62.7 70.7 68.5 60.1 45.57 57.04 65.57 71.08 69.10 62.78 ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 27 "Tlie April of Minnesota is ntill the April of England, but her May corresponds in temperature with tlie English June." The sprint^ temperature of Ohio, it will be noticed, is greater than that of Minnesota, while its summer temperature is less. The coolness of the Minnesota spring, and the rapid increase in temp'^'rature as summer approaches, is claimed as a great advantage, and on this fact the prelection of its grains and other agri- cultural products in a gieat measure depends. The fact anounced by Dr. Forrey, "that the cultivated plants yiekl the greatest pri>ducts near the northernmost limits at which they will grow," is explained on the principle that the cool spring restrains the growth of the trunk and foliage of the plant, and throws the full development into the ripening period. "The very warm southern spring devel- ops the juices of the plant too rapidly. They run into the stalk, blade, and leaf, to the neglect of the .-^eed, and dry away before the fructification becomes complete. Our cooler springs reverse this process, restrain the undue luxuriance of the stem and leaf, and concentrate the juices in the development of the fruit and seed." The cereals all attain their most perfect development in northern climates. Potatoes and other cultivated roots follow the same law The perfection and strength of the grasses in cool and northern regions, and their power of keeping horses and cattle fat without grain, is proverbial. Although the grasses attain sufficient size south, they are forced to a rapid fructification before they have time to elaborate their juices, and consequently contain but a small proportion of nutriment. These facts depend upon the same general law. At the same time, the products of grain, flour, &c., are manufactured to better advantage in a cold climate, as they are preserved from sourness, mustiness, &c., a longer time.* Period of Exemption from Frost. — The period of total etemption from frost in Minnesota, varies from four to five and a half months, which allows ample time for the perfection of all the annual crops. The frost is general- ly entirely out of the ground, which is then ready for planting, the last of April and first of May. The first fall of frost takes place with great regularity about the middle of Septemlier, though sometimes delayed till the middle of October. Minnesota is not exposed to late and early frosts more than the Middle and West- ern States. The peculiar dryness of the air also enables vegetation to resist light frosts, which in other localities would prove disastrous. This fact is exem- plified by the frost of June 4th, 1859, which Wiis general nearly all over the United States. In Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, it was universally destructive ; ice formed one-third inch thick in Ohio ; but in Minnesota no damage whatever was done to field crops. On account of this dryness, the temperature may fall considerably below the freezing point at times, without producing frost The dryness of the atmosphere, notwithstanding the abundance of the summer rains, is also very im])ortant on account of the protection it gives wheat and oats from rust, smut, and insects, which often seriously injure the wheat fields of moister climates. Advantageous Distribution of Rain. — The mean annual fall of rain in Min- nesota, as set down in Blodget's hyetal charts, is twenty-five inches. It is a remarkable fact that the greater part of this moisture is deposited during the six growing mouths, when it is most needed, instead of being wasted in delug- ing the laud and making winter disagreeable, as in Xew England and the West- ern and Middle States. The following, from the report of the Commissioner of 60th parallel, a thousand miles north of St. Paul. One of the most curious consequences of this ab- rupt northero deflection of the isothermal lines around the head of the great lake basins, is that St. Paul, in latitude 4.t, is very considerably warmer during the whole six months of the growing season, than Chicago, in latitude 42. "It is not a little amusing, upon this showing, to read in the official report of the Illinois Central Company, and in the Cliicago Democrat, that "every spring brings down the frostbitten and chilled Inhabitants of Minnesota, to the mild and genial clime of Illinois." — Report of Commissioner of Statistics. ■"♦See an article on the "Acclimating Principle of Plants," In the American Journal of Geology, by Sr. Forry. Minn. Uls. Pa, Mass. 19.55 26.30 20.94 23.1,5 5.88 15,50 21.40 23.81 11.00 13.20 11.93 10.71 1.92 7.10 10.76 11.85 28 jnxNESOTA : Statistics, shows the contrast between Minnesota and the above .States, in this respect : The six warm and growina: months, The six cold and non-producing months. The three summer months. The three winter mouths, "Now, all the points here brought into comparison have a greater rain fall ia the whole growing season than Minnesota ; but the summer fall is nearly the same, their superfluous spring and autumn rains, which are unnecessary and evea injurious to vegetation, making up the difference in the whole quantity for the warm months." The excessive autumnal rains in the above States are often very destnictive to harvests. " The Minnesota farmer reaps as he sows, in the full confidence that no untimely tempest will defraud him of the fruits of his labors. In these wet climates, in the reeking summer air, agriculture is a perpetual vigil against co".:- cealed enemies." CHEAPXESS OP OPEXrXG FARMS. It is a fact worthy of note, that in all places whose growth is unsubstantial, the price of laud is disproportionately high, while its products are low. But in Minnesota, real estate is low, land is extremely cheap, (owing to the large surplus yet unoccupied,) while its products command the first prices. Oats, corn, potatoes, and in fact nearly all that the farmer raises, find a ready market for cash at home. A curious illustration of the practical working of this principle is that lauds purchased at ten dollars per acre are paid for out of the proceeds of the first crop. Take this instance : A gentleman having a farm for sale, offered it, with improvements, for $9 per acre. Failing to sell, he leased it, receiving one-third of the crop. His third netted him more than he would have realized from the sale of the land. Many such instances could be given. This illustrates what bargains may be secured where lauds are cheap and the products of the soil high. It is but fair to state that the price of wheat this 2oth Janu- ary, 1869, will not produce such results. A man with a small, but high priced farm in the old States can dispose of it for sufBcient to set himself up well in Minnesota, and procure a farm for each of his children besides ; and these farms in a few years will be as valuable as the one in the old State is now. The fortunes made by farmers here within a few years, would scarcely be credited in the older States. STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. This efiBcient organization has contributed largely to the advancement of every thing pertaining to farming, stock raising and the other varied interests of our young State. The annual State Fair each year increases in extent of the exibitions — the numbers in attendance, and the disposition manifested on the part of our people to not be behind any body or any State in this respect. Gen. Alexander Chambers of Owatouna, Ls President, and Hon. Charles H. Clark of JMianeapolis, Secretary. THE CLIMATE OF MTXJ^SOTA.- UNPARALLELED HEALTHFULNESS — EXEMPTION FROM PULMONARY AND MALARIOUS DISEASES— ^CAUSES OF ITS SALUBRITY — DRYNESS AND PURITY OP THE AIR — TEMPERATURE AS COMPARED WITH OTHER STATES — AS A RESORT FOR INVALIDS, AC, &C. The assertion that the climate of Minnesota is one of the healthiest in the world, may be broadly and confidently made. It is sustained by the almost unanimous testimony of the thow-auds of invalids who have sought its pure and bracing air, and recovered from consumption and other diseases ai'ter they had been ITS ADVAJfTAGES TO SETTLERS. 29 given up as hopeless by their home physicians ; it is sustained by the experience of its inhabitants for twenty years ; and it is sustained by the published statis- tics of mortality in the dillerent States. The eminent Dr. Horace Biishnell, of Hartford, Conn., after spending a year in Cuba and another in California, with- out any permanent benefit, spent a year in Minnesota, and recovered. After returning East and submitting tu a rigid examination, his physicians said : " Von have had a difficulty in the right lung, but it is healed." In a published letter he says :— "I have kuowTi of veiy remarkable cases of recovery there which had eeemed to be hopeless. One, of a gentleman who was carried ashore on a litter, and became a hearty, robust man. Another who told me he had even coughed up bits of his lung of the size of a walnut, was then, seven or eight months after, a perfectly sound-looking, well-set man, with no cough at all. I fell in with somebody every few days who had come there and been restored ; and with multitudes of othei-s whose disease has been arrested, so as to allow the prose- cution of business, and whose lease of life, as they had no doubt, was much lengthened by their migration to that region of the country." Many of our most prominent business men, whom no one would now take for invalids, belong to the above class. Almost any one who has resided here for any length of time can refer to numbers, now enjoying ordinary health, who on first coming here were considered hopelessly gone with consumption, or other chronic disease. It is believed consumption is never generated hin-e, which is a Btrong proof that the climate is a favorable one for those afhicted with the disease. Minnesota is entirely exempt from malaria, and consequently the numerous diseases known to arise from it, such as chiUs and fever, autumnal fevers, ague cate or enlarged spleen, enlargement of the liver, ersons ; the last column shows the number, iu each State, out of which one person has died : 30 MTNTSTESOTA Popula- tion. Deaths. S> (U Popula- tion. Deaths. a . a bc si CM o T5 CM c Alabama, 964,201 12,760 1.32 Missouri, 1,182,012 17,557 1.48 67 Arkansas, 435,450 8,860 2.03 49 New Hampshire, 326,073 4,469 1.37 72 California, 379,994 3,705 .97 102 : New Jersey, 672,035 7,525 1.11 89 Connecticut, 400, 147 6,13S 1.33 74; New York, - 3,880,735 46,881 1.20 82 Delaware, 112,216 1,346 1. 11 90 North Carolina, 992,622 12,607 1.27 78 Florida, 144,435 1,769 1.25 79 i Ohio, 2,8.39,511 24,724 1.05 94 Georgia, - 1,057,286 12,807 1.21 82 j Oregon, - 52,465 251 .47 209 Illinois, 1,711,951 19,263 1.12 88 1 Pennsylvania, - 2,906,115 30,214 1.03 96 Iowa, 674,913 7,260 1.C7 93; Rhode Island, 174,620 2,479 1.41 70 Indiana, 1,350,438 15,205 1.12 88: South Carolina, 708,708 9,745 1.3S 72 Kansas, - 107,806 1,443 1.34 74 Tennessee, 1,109,801 15,176 1.36 73 Kentucky, - 1,155,634 16,467 1.44 70' Texas, - 604,215 9,369 1 55 64 Louisiana, 708,002 12,329 1.74 57' Vermont, - 815,098 3,355 1.06 93 Maine, - 628,379 7,6U 1.21 82, Virginia, 1,596,318 22,474 1 40 71 Maryland, 087,049 7,370 1.07 93 Wisconsin, 775,831 7,129 .92 108 Massachusetts, 1,231,063 21,304 1.73 57 Dist. of Columbia, 75,080 1,275 1.69 58 JMichigan, 749,113 7,399' 98 101 Nebraska, - 28,841 381 1..32 75 Minnesota, - 172,123 1,109: 64 155 New Mexico, 93,516 1,305 1.39 71 Mississippi, 791,305 12,214,1.54 64; Utah, 40,273 374 .92 107 It will be observed that Minnesota has the smallest mortality of any State in the Union, except Oregon. Oregon, though a very healthy clime, is not a resort for invalids. Lying on the Pacific coast, its climate, like that of New England, is too humid to attract invalids. On the contrary, iVlinuesota is a great resort for consumptive invalids, and those laboring under various chronic diseases. Of course, some come too late, and die here — pi'ob ably living a year or so longer than they would at home. This swells our mortality list, and taking it out, Minnesota would hold a higher place than even Oregon. Many letters are received asking what portion of the State is best for invalids. My uniform answer is that there is no difference. Persons seek all parts of the State for health, and I have never heard our people claim any advantage for one part over another. The burial record for the city of St. Paul are required by law to be kept with much care. There were in the year 1868, according to the report of Dr. Mattocks, health officer, 243 deaths, 8 accidental, 15 still born, total 266, in a population of over 20,000. Any other city oi- town of the State would show as well if records were kept. The St. Paul Pioneer, on this sub- ject said : — •' When we consider that our city is a hospital for invalids, even these figures rob it of its real meed of praise. A very large proportion of the per- sons dying in this city are strangers, who have come here sick and almost dying, to receive the benefits of our salubrious climate, but only to linger a few months and then cease the struggle. The city is constantly filled with them in all stages of disease. Excluding these (and they should be excluded) from our table of mortality, and counting only the deaths in our regular residents, would reduce the deaths to h ss than 1 per cent, of the populatioa." CAUSES OF TPIE HEALTHEULN^ESS OE MENT^SOTA. However interesting it might be to go into a scientific exposition of the causes and theories of the exemption of Minnesota from many of the diseases which annually carry off thousands in the older States of America and Europe, space will not permit, and I must confirne myself to such facts as are already es- tablished beyond cavil or dispute. Absence of Malaria. — A large proportion of the diseases which afilict man- kind have their origin in the poisonous and unhealthy emanations which arise from the earth. These emanations embody a subtle principle termed malaria, which is constantly rising, like an imperceptible gas, poisoning the air, and gen- erating disease, chills and fever, difierent kinds of fever, pneumonia, diarrhea, dysentery, debility, biliousness, diseases of the liver, spleen, kidneys, &c. The low temperature of our winters, continniug as they do for four months, effectually ITS ADYANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 31 destroys any malaria that might lurk in the soil, ready to spring forth in warm weather. • "VVe are thus entirely free from malaria, aurl the far:t is well established that chills and fever, and diseases generally, of a malarious origin, are entirely un- known in Minnesota, and those who come here suffering these ailments speedily recover. Perturbation of the Air. — The atmosphere, like large bodies of water, re- quires perturbation to preserve its purity ; otherwise it becomes heavy and stagnant, loaded with impurities and unhealthy, depressing the spirits by its mo- notony, and inducing a tor])id condition of the whole system. The waters of the ocean, and of large lakes, are kept pure by the agitation of the winds and tides. All healthy countries are windy, but all windy countries are not healthy. "Winds blowing fur many days in succession from one quarter, become pregnant with moisture and other impurities. The winds iu Minnesota are not persistent and severe, but constitute rather a lively agitation of the air, which constantly changes it, carrying off noxious vapors and effluvia, conducing to its clearness and purity, and imparting to it those qualities which give tone to the system and invigorate the nutritive functions. The prevailing direction of our winds is from the south, according to obser- vations, extending over twelve years, recorded iu the U. S. Army meteorologi- cal register. "This fact,'' says Mr. Wheelock, " goes far toward accounting for the exceptional warmth of the spring and summer months in Minnesota, and serves to show that the direction of currents of air exerts an influence only less than the position in latitude iu forming the measure of heat and cold." Our winds, instead of passing over the ocean, lad^^u, like those dreaded "east winds" of New England and the Atlantic coast generally, with saline moisture, come to us only after traversing half a continent of land, pure and invigorating. A comparison of the mean force of the wind for ten years, at different places, gives the following result : Fort Suelling, Minnesota, 1.87 ; New London, Con- necticut, 2.G7 ; New York city, 2.96 ; Eastport. Maine, 2.63 ; Poitsmouth, N. H., 2.50; Pittsburg. Pennsylvania. 2.20; Detroit, Michigan, 2.26; Foil Atkinson, Iowa, 2.48 ; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 2.09. We thus perceive that the menu force of the wind in Minnesota is less than at either of the other places, representing, as they do, all sections of the Union except the Soutli, and con- firms the statement previously made, that our winds are lively agitations of the air, rather than strong, continuous currents. As a consequence, the snows drift less than in the East, and usually lie without material disturbance. The following table, from the report of the Commissioner of Statistics, gives a synopsis of the climate of Minnesota for the whole year, from which it will be seen that a more perfect hanuony between the three great fundamental condi- tions of climate than is here di^iplayed, could be found no where on earth : i-> S^ « < *^ >^ ■-J < OQ O Z p Mean Temp'ture— dega. 13. T 17.6 31.4 46.3 50.0 RS.4 73.4 70.1 ■)S.9 47.1 81.7 16.9 Rain — inches, - • - O.T 0.5 1.3 2.1 3 2 3.6 4.1 3.2 3.3 1.4 1.3 0.7 Prevailing Winds- N.E. N.W. N.W. N.W. S.E. S.E. S.E. S.E. S.E. N. N.E. Courses, . . - . to to to to to to to to to 8 to to N W. s.w. S.W. S.w. S.W. S.w. S.W. S.W. S.W. N.W. N.W.. Dryness of the Air. — Another great cause of the salubrity of our climate is the marked dryness of the air. Moisture is a powerful agent in generating dis- ease. It is the main vehicle of malaria and other atmospheric poisons. They cling to it, or it holds them in solution. It is through the watery vapor of the atmosijhore that most morbific agents reach the human body. While an atmos- phere which is too dry, like that of arid plains and sandy deserts, is unhealthy, engendering over-action, fever, and debility, tliat which contains an excess of moisture is still more so. A humid climate rapidly abstracts the natural warmth of the body, and lowers the vitality of the system, producing feeble action and poor nutrition as a consequence, thus rendering the system open to attacks of inflammations, colds, coughs and consumptiou, as well as neuralgic and rhuematic 32 MINNESOTA : affeetioDS. Cold, however intense, is not so perceptible if the air is dry. For example : wet one hand ; hold it and the dry one in tHe cold for a few%inutes. A damp air penetrates and chills, drives the blood iuvrards, and shrinks and wrinkles up the skin. A cold, dry air, like ours, is tonic, exhilarating, and strengthening. It has not the feverish heat of the desert, nor yet the humid chilliness of the coast. This dryness further conduces to its furity. It is pure air, such as God intended to be breathed, oxygenating a;Kl purifyinc' the blood, and exerting a tonic influence on the whole organism. It is free from the thou- sand and one impurities held in suspension by the excess of moisture pi'evalent in the wet climates of southern and western States, and in Xew England. It is full of electricity, and rich in the life-giving principle termed ozone, never found in impure air. Temperature of Mixxesota — Compared with other States — Errors repeci- ins: our Winters — Secret of the Salitb)ity of our Climate. — The popular im- pression that the further north you go the colder it getfi, is an erroneous one. The rule is open to many exceptions. The configuration of the earth is such; that owing to mountain ranges, vast sandy plain.?, large inland bodies of water. kc, the isothermal, or heat lines, are deflected several degrees north or south, thus giving places a thousand miles apart the same temperature. Thus places in the same latitude of the Saskatchewan river, (latitude ,51° X.) enjoy the same annual mean temperature as places in the latitade of Fort Union (latitude oT^ X.) a thousand miles south of it. Minnesota, owing to the large lakes east and north of it, and the vast arid plains, extending from latitude 35^ to latitude 47^ west of it, enjoys a mean spring temperature of 4.5°, warmer than Chicago 2^° south of it, and equal to Southern Michigan, Central New York, and Massa- chusetts ; a summer mean of 7U°, equal to Central Xew York, Central 'Wisconsiu, Xortheru Peuniylvauia, and Xorthern Ohio, four degrees south of us ; an autum- nal mean of 45-, equal to Xew Hampshire, Central ^Tisconsinand Central Mich- igan, 2i° south of us ; a winter mean of 16°, similai' to Xorthern Wi.sconsiii. Xothern Michigan, Central Vermont and Xew Hamp.shire, on the same line of latitude, but nearer the ocean ; while its climate, for the entire year, being a mean of 45°, is similar to that of Central Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Central New Y'ork, two degrees south of it. We thus have an annual range of temperature from the summer of Southern Ohio to the M'inter of Montreal. Referring to the above contrasts of climate, Mr. J. Di.sturnell, in a paper read before the American Geogi-aphical and Statistical Society of Xew York, says ; '•This remaikable fact can only be accounted for on the presumption that >lin- nesota receives its favorable climatic infieuce as regards health and growth of ve^j'etation, from secret laws of nature, yet to be discovered." But the veil which covers these natural laws is easily drawn aside. The luxu- riant growth of her vegetation, large yields ef cereals, &c., a^; we have seen, are accounted for by her warm, rich soil, forcing summer sun and timely rains, while the secret of the salubrity of her climate is foimd in the dryness and consequent ■purity of our atmosphere, combined with all the advantages of a rugged, delight- ful land, charming seasons, lovely and magnificent scenery. That the dryness of our air is real, we have many evidences. Meat hung up even in moderately wai*m weather, dries up before it spoils. Wagons, barrels, ^-c, if left idle a short time, drop to pieces. The hygrometer, an instrument for determining the moisture in the air, shows our air to be very dry, generally. The hyetal, or rain charts, in Blodget's "Climatology of the United States," shows the remarkable fact that Minnesota is the dryest State in the Union, and at the same time the best watered, on account of its many lakes and streams, and free from drouths. Lying, as it does, between a vast ai-id belt on its west sid*' extending through twenty-five degrees, and a large humid belt of equal length on its emx side, it enjoys a happy medium. The mean annual deposit of moisture ii' Min- nesota is 25 inches : Wisconsin 30 to 40 ; Iowa 25 to 42 ; Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, 42 to 48 ; Kentucky, Tennessee, 5(J ; Cannada, 34 to 36 ; Xew England and Xew York, 32 to 45 ; Pennsylvania, 36 ; Arkansas, LouLsiaoa, Alabama, and Mississippi, 55 to 63 ; Deiawai-e, Maryland, and Virginia, 40 to 42. ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 33 Errors respecting our Winters. — No region which at present engages the public niiud, as a field for settlement, hat been so grossly misrepresented, in regard to jjeculiarities of climate, as MiuHesota. Fabulous accounts of its arctic temperature, piercing winds, and accompanying snows of enormous depth, eral)elisb the columns of the Eastern pre:!is. — JYeill's History of Minnesota. We have seen that such impr-ssious are erroneous — that our climate com- pares favorably in all respects with that of many other densely populated States. Disinterested authorities, that cannot be questioned, have set this matter at rest long since, and it only remains to enlighten the public respecting the truth. However repugnant to popular prejudice it may seem, our winter fall of snow and rain is only one fifth that of New York and Mew England ; the average de- posit of moisture in those places for the winter being ten inches — that of Minne- sota two inches. — See Blodgefs Climatology, <^c., page 342. 'I'he great bulk of our water falls during the six growing months, in the form of refreshing showers, which cool the air and encourage vegetation, leaving our winters dry, crisp, and bracing — much easier to endure than the same amount of cold m a damp climate. MINNESOTA AS A KESORT FOR INVALIDS. Ever since consumption has been known, a change of climate has been re- commended by physiciaus as a means of arresting a disease which medicine can- not cure. Until within the past few years, it has been customary to send con- sumptives to southern latitudes. But medical opinion, influenced no doubt, by the poor success attending this plan, has undergone a change, and as usual, gone from one extreme to another. Climates of a mild, equable temperature are no longer sought ; patients are now sent almo-t invariably to dry, cool, northern climates, where the air is subject to considerable perturbation. There are many places which are, or have once been celebrated resorts for con- sumptive invalids — Maderia, Ventnor, Torquay, Cuba, Florida, Algiers, Upper Egypt, &c. Many of these are now known to be positively injurious to this class of patients, and have been abandoned. Among them all. there are very few, even if harmless, that possesses any advantage. So unsatisfactory has been the result of change of climate that many eminent physicians no longer advise their patients to try it, beliving that they stand about as good a chance to recover at home. The fact that the disease is quite common in all of these places of refuge, leads us to the conclusion that the benefit derived from them in such cases, if any. is due to the mere change of climaie rather than to any special influence arising from the localities themselves,* The supposition that a warm climate, or even a cold one possessing an equable temperatve, free from sudden changes, is required by consumptives, is evidently an erroneous one. Dr. Law- son, the author of one of the ablest works on this disease which has ever been published in any language, says : "In order to promote health, the atmosphere should be subject to some degree of perturbation, aiid even rapid changes, pro- vided those variations are not great or extreme. The steppe of Kirghis, where consumption is almost unknown, is remarkable for its rapid changes, and even severe winds." Again : "In these early stages of phthisis, patients are already beginning to feel the depressing efl'ects of disease, and therefore, require all those influences, hygienic and medicinal, which impart toue to the system, and thereby invigorate the nutritive functions. It cannot be presumed, however, that a mild and equable atmosphere will produce this result ; on the contary, the very mo- notony of the atmosphere must lead to depression, and thereby increase the de- bility." Of warm climateautiful beyond description. Frof Maury, author of the "Physical Geo- graphy of the Sea," says : "At the small hours of night, at dewy eve and early morn, 1 have looked out with wonder, love and admiration, upon the steel blue sky of Minnesota, set with diamonds and sparkling with brilliants of purest ray. Herschell has said, that in Europe, the astronomer might consider himself highly favored, if by watcliing the skies for one year, he shall, during that period, find, all told, one hundred hours suitable for satisfactory observation. A telescope mounted here, in this atmosphere, under the skies of Minnesota, would have its powers increased many times over what they would be, under canopied less brilliant and lovely," and many hundred such hours could be found here within that period. The State is encircled by lakes and rivers, like the garden of Eden, as pic- tured by the imagination. In fact, the numerous streams and lakas of Minneso- ta, form one of its characteristic charms, and when it was the habitation of the Indians, they showed their appreciation of them by erecting their rude lodges on their shady, pebbly shores. The larger lakes, with Oiitlets, are from one to thir- ty miles in diameter. The smaller class, however, ait, much more numerous, and "generally distinguished, also, for their clear, white, sandy shores, set in gentle, grassy slopes, or rimmed with walls of rock, their pebbly beaches sparkling with cornelians and agates, while the oak grove or the denser 'nood, which skirts its ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 37 margin,fcompletes the graceful and picturesque outline." Prof. Maury says : "There is in this territory a greater uumb(;r of these lovely sheets of laughing water, than in all the country besides. They give variety and beauty to the landscape ; tliey soft«n the air, and lend all their thousand charms and attrac- tions to make this goodly land a lovely place of residence. We see that, with these beautiful sheets of water, nature has done for the upper Mississippi what EUett proposes should be done by the government for the Ohio, and what Na- poleon 111 is doing for the rivers of France." These lakes all abound in fish, superior in flavor and quality to those of the sluggish streams of the Western States. Many leaping brooks, fed by springs, are pure and cold as mountains streams, and abound in speckled trout. To the disciples of Izak Walton, Minnesota is a perfect paradise. To one fond of the sport, nothing could be more delightful than to drive out to one of these lovely sheets of water, spending the heat of the day on their shady shores, and the morning and evening in a small boat, with rod and tackle. In the spring and fall these lakes are all covered with ducks and other water fowl, affording rare amusement for the sportsman. So the tourist who seeks respite from hot pavements, brick walls, and sultry cities, relaxation of mind from the cares of business, recreation and recuperation, could take up his abode in no more favored spot. Unlike the cramped quarters, artificial enjoyments and tiresome excitement of fashionable places of resort, like Saratoga or Newport, where the heat, dust, and annoyance of city life, is found, without any of its comforts, here the broad fields of primitive nature opens wide to view, and invites him to invade her precincts, invigorating body and mind From the first of May until the first of August, fishing is the principal sport. Sometimes wild pigeons, which often breed in our woods, may be shot in great numbers in June. After the first of August till frost, fowling commences, and the gun and dog take the place of hook and tackle. The first of August ia Minnesota is what the first of September is in England, when the game law per- mits the shooting of prairie chickens, pheasants gTouse, &c., which abound eve rywhere. The larger game, such as deer, elk, and occasionally a bear or buffalo, come in with cold weather, and continue till spring. In the fall and spring, duck and geese are found plentifully in every little lake. Not only to the mere sportsman does Minnesota offer superior attractions, but to the tourist generally, and all who would seek rest, natural repose, and quiet enjoyment, in a cool, bracing and healthful climate, surrounded by all the pleasant associations of nature, "unmarred by the rude hand of art" Railroads and stage coaches may be taken, and the remotest parts of the State reached by easy or rapid stages, as may be preferred. GENERAL INFORMATION. ANSWERS TO A FEW OP THE THOUSAND QUESTIONS ASKED ME Wn.L BE FOUND IN THB FOLLOWING COMBINATION OP DISJOINTED ITEMS. Persons with families should not come here entirely destitute to brave the trials and privations of pioneer life. Men with means at their command possess, of course, here as elsewhere, great advantages. There is, perhaps, no question that money can, on an average, be handled to better advantage in a new and thriving Western country, than in the old settlements of the East, and Europe, There are opened here a thousand avenues into which capital can be profitably turned, and as it promotes the growth and development of the State, it adds each day to the security of the in- vestment. Those familiar with the commercial, manufacturing and financial affairs of Minnesota, assure me that there has not been a time since the flush period of 1867, when half the field for safe and profitable investments of capital was occupied. Until the last year this want baa been a source of great incon- venience and delay to the enterprise of the State ; but now that we have entered npou a career of solid progress, and our population rapidly increasing, we fiiul 38 MINNESOTA : capitalists seeking in\estmeots here for their money, and giving new life and vigor to many useful enterprises that else would have lingered and languished. Our reputation as a healthy country brings many invalids here, who come to regain their health, and do not wish to settle down permanently, or engage in business until they have tested the climate. They do not want to be idle, or desire to make expenses while here, and therefore many seek positions as teach- ers, clerks, &c. The consequence is here, as indeed everywhere, these positi6u3 are always crowded. Many young men in good health come expecting employ- ment of this character, and are disappointed. They then wish themselves back or wish they had learned a good trade, or understood and inclined to farm life. They see around them here,men prosperous and contented on farms ; some mak- ing fortunes, and but little exposed to the vicissitudes attending many other pur- suits ; while our merchants and professional men do reasonably well, it is an un- deniable fact that our farmers are more uniformly successful than any other class. Indeed, the portion of farm work now done by machinery, leaves but little that is ii'ksome or forbidding in the life of a farmer So different is the business now from what it used to be, and so light is the work of a farmer here, as compared with the East, that it is not surprising so many are disposed to engage in the business. A vocation at once so honorable and independent will each year commend itself more and more to sensible men,i and instead of rearing their sons to the rmcertainties of the professions and mercantile life, they will devote them to work that is blessed, because it makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before — bringing wealth out of the earth, enriching and ennobling themselves, and adding to the material wealth of the country. TIME TO COME — WAT TO GET HERE' — PRICE OF LAND SEASON FOR OPENING FARMS — COST OF SAME PRICE, OF LUMBER — MECHANICS' WAGES FARM HEUP HOTELS COST OF LIVING — PRICE OF STOCK, &C., «&C. Invalids come at all seasons, and this is, perhaps, right ; yet the months of March and April generally furnish more disagreeable weather than the other tea months of the year. Those who intend to take farms that are opened and in use, should be here in time to do fall plowing, which is done in the months of October and November. Those who intend to open farms should be here in the spring, so as to have their breaking done before the first of August. Ground broken after that time had far better not have been touched. Crops are put in from the first of April to the 10th of June, and gathered in the months of August and September. Government laud can be had with land warrants or money, at from $1.00 to $1.25 per acre, and in portions of the State at $2.50. Good wild land can be had from second hands at from $1.00 to $15.00 per acre, according to the dis- tance from good trading towns, steamboat landings, and railroads. Tne differ- ent Land Grant Railroads own immense quantities, located in odd sections, along the Line of their roads, and sell at from $2.00 to $8.00 per acre, on long time and at reasonable rates of interest. The prices of good farms mu.:!t be estimated by the reader from these figures, and the prices of materials and labor herewith furnished. It should be understood that free homesteads under the act of Con- gress are not found within sight of cities, affording good land, hay, wood and water, but must be looked for in the more remote and less thickly settled districts. In giving the following estimates, some allowance should be made for the fact that prices have not yet entirely receded from those of war times, Ijnt are getting down gradually to a reasonable figure. The way to get to Minnesota and ithrough the State will be found at the end of this pamphlet on the pages devot- ed to " Railroads. Steamboats and Stages." All our railroads are now in the hands of active men, who are pushing them forward as rapidly as possible. Those preferring to travel by river can have first-class side-wheel steamers, daily, firom any point on the Mississippi River from St. Louis to St. Paul, and regu- larly to Stillwater and Taylor's Falls. Fare from St. Louis to St Paul fourteen to twenty dollars ; from Milwaukee about $16 ; Chicago about $20. Having given the prices of land, I will give estimates for putting it to use. ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 8^ To break prairie land costs from $2.50 to $4.00 per acre ; timber land of course much higher. Lumber costd from S 14.00 to ^17.00 per thousand feet for fencing, according to the distance from the mills. Posts are made of cedar, tamrack, oak, pine and locust. Machinery does a large part of the farm work. We have gaug-plows, seed sowers, cultivators, reaj^ers and harvesters, mowers, threshers by horse power and steam. Men engage exclusively in these branches — have their own machinery, and going from farm to farm, gathering a man's crop and putting it in market in a few days. Hired men are procured with but little trouble for farm work, and at prices ranging from Sl6 to $30 per month ; hired girls at from $7 to $10. The expense of building houses must bg gathered by the reader from the price of lumber and mechanics' wages. Lumber for dwell- ings costs from $15 to $22 per thousand, and carpenters get from $2.00 to $3.50 per day ; brick and stone masons from $2.00 to $4.00 per day. Large barns are not required — or, at least, are seldom found. When the threshing is done in the fall, the straw is thrown upon the timbers constructed with " crotch and rider," which affords a wanu and secure shelter for stock in all weather. Farm liorses here are worth from ^80 to $180 ; cows from $30 to $45. Abundance of good hay grows wild on our marshes and meadows, is considered equal to the Kentucky blue grass, and by many superior to clover and timothy. The ex- pense of living here can be estimated by the prices charged for board at hotels and private boarding houses. The prices range from $1.00 to $3.00 per day at hotels, and from $1.00 to $2.00 at private boarding houses. These are the prices in the larger cities of the State, but good accommodations are procured in thrifty towns, and on the shores of attractive lakes, at more moderate prices. The quality of the fm-e and the charges are to some extent under the control of the travelling public. Where a man feeds low and charges high, it should be your pleasure, as it certainly is you duty, to exercise the " traveller's privilege," and speak out ; — let the fact be known as you pass around. It is the only cor- rective of this abuse — the only protection against the most disagreeable imposi- tion known among men. Th*^ public pay their money and take their choice. If they commend what is commendable, and censure the opposite, exercising a cheerful discrimination, it will work a cure. The man who can keep a hotel knows that an appeal to the stomach and the pocket never failed in a verdict I I am the more particular on this point, because of the great interests of the State in this matter. The man who first visits a place in bad weather, gets to a mean hotel, is badly fed and overcharged, will carry the disagreeable impressions of that place to his dying day. TLUSH TIMES IX MINNESOTA. In contrasting the Minnesota of 1869 with the past, it may not be unprofit- able to recur for a moment to the " flush times" of 1857. The wonderful specu- lative fevei' that then pervaded the West found its culmination in Min- nesota. Young, attractive, with domain enough for an empire, it was not strange that thousands came here from the older States, and other countries, in search of fame and fortune. In the multitudes who came here in those excited and ex- citing times, were many of the best men of the localities from which they came, and, on an average, perhaps as good a class of people as ever flocked to a new country. There however seemed this difference between the tide that poured into Min- nesota, and that which drifted to the gold fields of the Pacific coast: While the latter, as a rule, expected to get wealth even if they had to dig for it, the former seemed to think they could readily obtain it here, and without any special wear and tear of umscle. The result was, a population made up miiinly of specula- tors ; — nobody to work, nobody to develope the resources of the Territory ; all these rich, broad acres — all these immense watt^r-powers — all our great wildemeas of lumber, as undisturbed as when the Indians controlled them. Cities and towns built, with no productive country or agricultural community around to support them, filled with men who came hero, soute with money and some with- 40 MINNESOTA. out, but all engaged in the all-absorbing whirl of wild speculation, dealing in corner lots and sections of moonshine, with money at from three to ten per cent a month— raising nothing from the earth — living upon the flour and meat, and even vegetables, brought up the river oq the boats that carried them here ! Such was the condition of Minnesota when overtaken by the memorable finan- cial crash of 1857. The reader need not be told that the shrinkage of values was — terrific ! There are certain dangerous diseases that attack in childhood, from which, if the patient recovers, he can safely claim immunity henceforth. Ours was of that sort, and so well defined as to not mistake its type. From that time we date our jise liiid solid growth, and while to-day we look back with amazement upon those times, we recall men of that period to whom we are indebted for much of our riresent prosperity. MINNESOTA IN 1869. The limits of this pamphlet have not aflForded room for a detail of the difficul- ties and trials attending the early career of this State — were they recounted here in view of our present status, it would seem that we have iudeed, like the fabled spectre ship, " sailed the faster in the very teeth of the wind." Although the price to which our great staple, wheat, fell about the close of our immense harvest, reduced our receipts greatly, yet all things considered, the year 1868 was in the aggregate the best Minnesota has ever known. More men have taken to the plough ; there have been more acres of land broken ; more grain produced ; more minerals developed ; more lumber made ; more houses built ; more manufactories started ; more raih-oads constructed ; more boats employed ; more freight earned ; more people added to the State, than in any year of its history. This has not been done under any sudden influence of flush times and wild speculative mania, such as all new western States must have, but the result of causes naturally producing these results — and that through a year not generally regarded as a prosperous one, or in any respect calculated to give unusual stim- ulus to progress. We have now entered upon 1869 with a prospect for the future which the most favored periods of the past bear no comparison. Minnesotiaus all seem full of confidense in the future of this State, and there are abundant reasons for the faith that is in them. Every city, town and district shows life and progress Our farmers — that strong arm of our destiny — all cheerful and thrifty, with their numbers rapidly increasing ; our manufactories multiplying ; our railroads on a sound basis, and stretching to every portion of the State ; immigration greatly on the increase ; eastern capita] seeking investments in our mi 1st ; our reputa- tion established as a Sanitarium for the world ! WINTER IN MINNESOTA. There is a popular opinion abroad that Minnesota is a delightful country to " summer in," but our winters are not so attractive. Now, of those who have tried summer and winter here, it is a question which season the majority prefer. I spent a large part of my life in Alabama, am familiar with the winters of the South, New Orleans, &c., and am free to say that for real enjoyment I would not exchange wmter in Minnesota for any I'ountry I ever saw. The season for using our rivers for boating ends about the last of November, and it is the custom to wind up with the Annual December Steamboat Excursion at St. Pai^l, which takes place the first day of December. Last month witnessed the foui th con- secutive annual observance of this delightful custom. The river closes soon after and is then devoted to other uses. Skating Kinks, Trotting Parks, &c., are regularly laid out on the ice, to which old and young, grave and gay, repair daily and nightly to sleigh ride, skate, dance, masquerade, &c. It is the season of the year, by general consent, given up to enjoyment and every one seems re- solved to have his share. Those who have never seen the graceful movements of a hundred ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, together on skates have miss- ed a sight worth seeing. ITS ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 41 But the young folks have a broader and more varied field than our lakes and rivers afford. On every hill side, from early day nutil late night, are scores and hundreds of boys and girls with sleds, cutters, &c., coasting down with a velocity that seems frightful. The joyous shouts and laughter of these merry groups aa they ring cheerily out in the clear, crisp air tell of true enjoyment. Strangers are struck with wonder and delight at the extent to which these enjoyments are carried here. I have seen them stoj) for hours to look at the coaster?, while their eyes seemed to say, " I wish 1 were a boy again !" A little six year older came in the other day from the hill side, with cheeks all aglow, and exclaimed, " Pa, what do the poor little boys in the South do where they have no snow ?" Where, in all the world, is there so much to make childhood happy as here in Minnesota ? We rejoice at this, for is it not our duty to throw as much sunshine into their young hearts as possible, that it may linger there to light and cheer mid the gloom and trials of after years ! We are now at the first of February, 1869, and have not had over six or eight inches snow on the ground at one time this winter, yet we have had sleigh- ing since the 6th of December and during all this time the weather has been clear, calm, bright and pleasant, men every where working out of doors building houses, bridges, railroads, «&c., [except brick or stone walls,] and strangers from the East and South spending the winter here will testify thai they never before experienced such delightful weather as they find in Minnesota ! STATE OFFICERS. WILLIAM R. MARSH ALU Governor. THOMAS H. ARMSTRONG, - Lieutenant Governor. HEXRY C. ROGERS, - Secretary of State. CHARLES M< ILRATH, Auditor. EMIL MUNCH, - Treasurer, F. R. E. CORNELL, - - 4.ttorney ■General. A COMPLETE LIST OP MINNESOTA NEWSPAPERS. WBERE PDBLISHED. WHERE PUBLISHED. Freeborn County SUndard, Albert Lea. Journal, Owatonna. Alexandria Post, Alexandria. Republican, Preston. Union, Anoka. Palladium, Pine Island. Press, Goodhue County Republlcan,SRed Wing. Mower County Register , Austin. Argus, Transcript, " Araerika, Rochester. Democrat, «< Post, " Free Press, Brownsville. Nordish VoLkblad, It South West, Bine Earth City Federal Union, " Journal, Caledonia. Southern Minnesotian, Ruehford. Democrat, Chatfield. Argus, Shakopee . Valley Herald, Chaska. Spy, ** Central Republican, Faribault. Republican, Stillwater. Democrat, " Herald, Sauk Centre. AUas, Fairmount. Journal, St. Cloud. Telegraph, Farmington. Times, " Meeker County News, Forest City. Press, daily, St. Paul. Herald, Garden City. Pioneer, dally, '* Union, Hastings. Dispatch, daily, ** Gazette, " StaatR Zeitung, " Republican, Easson. Volkfiblatt, ** Herald, Lanesboro. Minnesota Monthly, " Leader, Lake City. N. W. Chronicle, '* Courier, Le Sueur. School Visitor, " Record, Mankato. Wanderer, " Union, Tribune, 8t. Peter. Express, Mantorville. Advertiser, " Minnesota Teacher, Herald, St. Charles. Tribune, daily. Independent, Minneapolis, Sentinel, Reporter, Sauk Rapids. Taylor's FallB. Farmers Union, II Herald, Wabaehaw. Minnesota Pupil, NordishFolkblad, It News, Free Homestead, Waseca. Winnbago Cety Poet, NewUlm. Republican, daily, Folkrenne, Winona. Enterprise, Northfield. " WINONA & ST. PETER RAILROAD 1839- OOMF^IV^". ISeS. GREAT INDUCEIVIENTS TO SETTLERS. dOfllO ACRES of SUPERIOR MWM LAPS FOR SALE The Winona & St. Peter Railroad extends from Winona, on the Mississippi River, westerly, via St. Peter, across the fertile Valley of the Minnesota River, and through the great TVheat-FrodMcing District of I!Iiiiiiesota, To the western boundary of the State. The Railroad, now in operation for a distance of 105 miles from Winona, will be extended to the Minnesota River during the present year, and with an Eastern connection, which will be in operation early the pres- ent season, will form a part of the great through route from the East to the Northwest. The Lands offered for sale by this Company are within twenty miles on each side of the road, a large portion of which being located in the most densely populated district of the State, have all the advantages of the older States in regard to markets, schools, churches, &c., &c. SPECIAL IVOXICE. 150,000 ACRES OF THESE LANDS,,^ In the Counties of Nicollet, Sibley, Redwood, and Cottonwood, ' Are no^^v being brouglit iiito Miarket, And to which the attention of those seeking homes In the West Is especially invited. The district of country in which these Lands are situated, for Agricultural purposes or Stock Raising, cannot be excelled in the North- west. The Railroad Company will sell a portion of these Lauds, in Tracts not exceeding 160 Acres each, at Five Dollars per Acre, on the following liberal terms, 'viz : Parties purchasing to Pay Interest on Purchase 3Ioney, for first Three Years, at tlie rate of Seven per cent, per Annum ; and principal, with Interest at same rate, payable in Four Annual Payments thereafter. No Lands will be sold to any but ac:ual settlers, for occupancy. Any desired information, together with pamphlets relating to the lands, climate and production of the State, will be furnished on application being made to H. W. LAIUBERTON, Land Commissioner, Winona & St. Peter R. R» WINONA, MINN. 1800. 1800. Lake Superior and Mississippi RAILROAD. The line of this road is from St. Paul, the head of uavigation on the Missis- sippi river, to the head of Lake Superior, a distance of 140 miles. It connects at St. Paul, with each of the long lines of railroad traversing the vast and fer- tile regions of Minnesota, in all directions, and converging at St. Paul. It connects the commerce and business of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, the California Central Kailroad, and the Northern Pacific Railroad, with Lake Superior and the commercial system of the great lalies, and makes the outlet or commercial track to Uie lakes, over which must pass the commerce of a region of country, second to none on the American continent in capacity for production. The land grant made by the government of the United States and by the State of Minnesota, in aid of the construction of this road, is the largest in quantity and most valuable in kind ever made in aid of any railway in either of the American States. This grant amounts to seventeen square miles or sections [10,880 acres] of land for each mile of the road, and in the acrgregate to ONE MILLION SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO THOUSAND ACRES OF LAND. These lauds are for the most part well timbered with pine, butternut, white oak, sugar maple and other valuable timber, and are perhaps better adapted to the raising of stock, winter wheat, corn, oats, and most kinds of agricultural pro- ductti, than any equal quantity of land in the Northwest. These lauds are well watered with running streams and innumerable lakes, and within the^limits of the land belonging to the Company, there is an abun- dance of water-power for manufacturing purposes. A glanfce at the map, and an intelligent comprehension of the course of trade, and way to the markets of the Eastern cities and to Europe, for the products of this section of the Northwest, will at once satisfy any one who examines the question, that the lands of this Company, by reason of the low freights at which their products reach market, have a value — independent of that which arises from their superior (juality — which can hardly be over-estimated. Twenty cents saved in sending a bushel of wheat to market, adds four dollars to the yearly product of an acre of wheat land, and what is true of this will apply to all other articles of farm produce transported to market, and demonstrates that the value of lands depends largely ou the price at ..which their products can be carried to market. THE LANDS OF THIS COMPANY ARE NOW OFFERED TO IMIVIIGRANTS AND SETTLERS At the most favorable rates, as to time and terms of paj-ment W. L. BANNING, President, Saint Paul, M nnesoia. 1869. 1869. lllWAlill Al mm PAUL RAILWAY, EMBRACINa THE PRINCIPAL RAILWAY LINES IN WISCONSIN, MINNESOTA, AND NORTHERN IOWA, Yiz: Milwaukee to St. Paul and Minneapolis, 408 Miles. Milwaukee to La Crosse, 196 " Milw^ii.kee to Portage City, 95 " Milton to Monroe, 42 " Watertown to Sun Prairie, ... 26 " Horicon to Berlin and Winneconne 58 " Total,.... 825 " Alex. Mitchell, President. Russell Sage, Vice President. S. S. Merrill, General Manager. J. P. Whaling, Auditor. A. Gary, Sec. and Treas. 0. R. Britt, Gen. Freight Agent. A. V. H. Carpenter, Gen. Pass. Agent, Milwau- kee, Wis. J. W. Prince, Gen. Eastern Agent, No. 2 Astor House. New York. TWO THROUGH EXPRESS TRAINS FROM MILWAUKEE to MINNEAPOLIS and SAINT PAUL, Daily [except' Sundays.] MAGNIFICENT PALACE CARS ON DAY TRAINS. Splendid new Sleeping Cars on Night Trains, with a full nighfs rest via Milwaukee. PUBCHASE TICKETS VIA '^MILWAUKEE." This is the only All Rail Route to Minneapolis and Saint Paul. ^S^ Note. — Passengers via Mihvaukee have ample time for meals at Fox^s new Depot Hotel at that place — the best Railway Eating-House in the country. The Dovsman House at Prairie du Chien afibrds ample facilities for accom- modation of travelers, and in the best style. Baggage Checked Through only by this Route, and via Milwaukee alone. Jt^^ The '^ame advantages apply to passengers going East from Minnesota, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin, by this route. ^^^ Passengers for any point in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Northern Iowa, by purchasing Tickets via Milwaukee secure the following advantages, viz : the most direct route, and the only one by which connections are sure : No Night changes of cars : Clean Coaches, with ample accommodations, are always provided at Milwaukee. Pahiee Sleeping Cars are attached to night trains from Milwaukee alone, which insures a full night's rest — facilities not attainable by any other route. This is the only route by which baggage ia checked through to St. Paul, Minneapolis, or Owatouna. Special Notice ! — Passengers destined for any phice in Wisconsin, Minne- sota, or Northern Iowa, either on or off' the Lines of this Company, who can not procure through tickets to destination should purchase their tickets to Mil- waukee, as this is the great distributing point for these States, and by so doing they avoid the liability of getting out of their direct way. ^^^ Durir-T the Spring, Summer and Fall, emigrants for St Paul, Minne- apolis and imermediate points, via Prairie du Chien, will go through from M ILWAUKEE vnthout change of cars. TSE FI»I4T ]>IVIl!iIO]!V OF THK St. Paul & Pacific R. R. Company. 1869. LAND DEPARTMENT. 1869. FARMS AND HOMES IN MINNESOTA. THIS COMPANY NOW OFFERS FOR SALE S»00,000 .A.CJRES OF LAIVD, Located along their two Railroad Lines, viz., fi-om St. Paul, via St. Anthony, Anoka, St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids to Watal) ; and from St. Anthony via Minneapolis, Wa5'zetta, Crow River, "VVavcrly and Forest City to the western boundary of the State. FOR ORAIM ORO^Ti:^€}, The lauds in the counties of Hennepin, Wright, Stearns, Benton and Meeker, present unsurpassed advantages. Farmers from the Eastern States are selecting these lands in preference over all others for the pur- pose of raising wheat, the great staple article of Western commerce. These counties also contain an abundance of fine hardwood timber, which is in great demand for various purposes, and finds a ready market along the railroads, and pays not only for the clearing of the land, but for the land itself. FOR STOCWL RAXNI]VO, The counties of Anoka, Isanti and Sherburne, are particularly well adapt- ed. The soil is a rich, sandy loam, partly prairie, brush and light timber, somewhat rolling, with innumerable fresh water lakes, and traversed by fine running streams, which are bordered by an abundance of good meadow lands, affording an unlimited supply of grass and hay. They are easy ot access to the mines on Lake Superior, and the great Pineries of the north- ern part of the State, which affords the best and principal markets for cattle in the country. In couuection with Stock Raising, it is necessary to call attention to the fact that the Dairy Basinrss is as yet in its infancy, ■which is shown by the high prices of butter and cheese, and the large importations of those articles every season from the Eastern States. lf% OOIi RAISFAO Is also becoming very profitable in Minnesota, and, besides the lands in the counties of Anoka, Isanti and Sherburne, described above, the prairie lands in the counties of Meeker, Kandiyohi and Monongalia, are particu- larly sought after for that purpose. TERMS OF PAYMENT : These lands are offered in tracts of 40, 80, and 160 acres and upwards, at prices varying from $5 to flO per acre, (with some few tracts at higher figures) rated according to the quality and nearness to the Railroad. They are sold for cash or on long credit (ten years if desired) with 7 per cent, annual interest, thus enabling persons of small means to acquire, on easy terms, a home in a healthy and productive region. Those who have already settled along the lines of these railroads have found their lands increase in value at the rate of fifty per cent, per animm. These lands liave been reserved from sale since 1857; they are in the midst of considerable settlements, and convenient to churches, schools and established roads and markets. For further information apply to GEORGE L. BECKER, Land Commissioner, St. Paul, Minn. HERMANN TROTT, Secretary. 1S69- THE isea. I (LATE MINNESOTA VALLEY) BAIL ROAD COMPANY. From ST. PAUL, via MANKATO, to SIOUX CITY. Completed to MANKATO, 86 Miles. A Land Grant of 1,200,000 Acres. Tlie Company now offer for Sale aiid Seitiement, 5^nnnn AP^TT^ ^^ their Lands, comprising some of OU,UUU ilUliiliO the very finest and most productive farming land in the West, at prices from $5 to $10 per acre. These lands were odd sections, withdrawn from sale in 1857, the even sections being mostly sold to actual settlers. The country is conse- quently well settled and improved, with roads, school houses, churches, and numerous towns and villages. The lands consist of both timber and prairie, with rich soil and finely watered, with a climate superior to that of anj^ of the Western States. The lands now ofTered are situate in the counties of Dakota, Henne- pin, Carver, Scott, Sibley, LeSueur, McLeod, Nicollet, Blue Earth, Brown, Watonwan, Martin and Cottonwood. GENERAL TERMS OF SALE: One-tenth cash, balance in five annual payments, with interest at. the rate of seven per cent, per annum, or a discount of ten per cent, on nine-tenths of purchase money for cash sales. All applications for the purchase of lands, or any information re- garding them may be addressed to the " LAND DEPARTMENT." St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad Company, EU. Paul. OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY: E. F. Drake, President, I G. A. Hamilton, Secretory y J. L. Mekriam, Vice PresH. \ H. THOMPSO^', Treasurer. Saint P/>rL, Minnesota. Minnesota Stage Company. ISOO. «-« 1S09. This Compauy run stages in connection with all the Rail- roads and over the principal thoroughfares in the State. FROM WASECA, Terminus of the Winona and St. Peter Railroad, to Wilton, Winnebago Agency, Maukato, New Ulm, and Redwood Falls. FROM MANKATO, Terminus of the Saint Paul and Sioux City Railroad, to Garden City, Winnebago City, and Blue Earth City. FROM SAIIS'T PETER To Xew Ulm and Fort Ridgely. FROM SAINT CLOUD, Terminus of the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad, to Saint Jo, Cold Spring, Sauk Centre, Alexandria, and Fort Aber- crombie. Also, to Little Falls, Fort Ripley, and Crow Wing. FROM LANESBORO, Terminus of the Southern Minnesota Railroad, to Preston, SpriiJiT Valley, and Austin. FROM WINONA, To Fountatii City, Wis., Warn uidee Valley, Gilmauton, and Eau Claire. FROM WYOMING Terminus of c Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad, to Sunrise, Che v.-atana, and Superior. FROM SAINT PAUL To Stillwater, Marine and Taylor's Falls. Also, to Hudson, Wis. BLAKELEY &. CARPENTER, St. Paul, 1869. Pi'ojniefors. 1869. THE 1869. North-Western Union Packet Co. OR WHITE COLLAK LINE. The splendid steamers of this Company will run daring the season of navigation, between St. Paul and St. Louis, forming a daily line, and making close connections at St. Louis with the Mississippi and New Orleans Packet Campanies. DuNXiEiTH, with trains of Illinois Central R. R. Dubuque, " Dubuque & Sioux City R. R Pr. du Chien & ^^ ( Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien & McGregor, ( McGregor W. Railways. LaCrosse, " Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway. Winona, " Winona & St. Peter Railway. C St. Paul & Pacific Railroad. St. Paul, " ) St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad. ^ St. Paul & Milwaukee Railroad. These steamers are unsurpassed by any on the Upper Mis- sissippi, for speed, safety ayid comfort. They are elegantly fitted for the accommodation of passengers, and are commanded by experienced Captains. The traveler or tourist on this route sees the many young cities and villages that have grown up, as if by magic, along the shores of the Mississippi river, from St. Louis to St. Paul, in the States of Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, & Min- nesota. Among which, in Minnesota, are La Crescent, Winona, Wabashaw, Lake City, Red Wing, Prescott, Hastings, &c. He also passes through Lake Pepin, a beautiful sheet of water, thirty miles in length, embellished on either side with grand and interesting scenery. Indeed, all along the river are found spectacles of a very romantic and picturesque character, un- equalled in the new world, if indeed in the old. The art- embellished shores of the Hudson do not compare with the grand, wild, natural scenery, with which nature has festooned the shores ol the Father of Waters in Minnesota ; and culti- vated travelers from abroad have again and again asserted, that there is nothing in the old world to equal it — not even in Italy, Switzerland, or the Rhine, — mid the vine-clad hills of old France ! Passengers can purchase through tickets to all principal points East and South, at the ofiices of the Company. West- ward bound passengers can also procure tickets over this route, at all Eastern Railroad ofiices. W. F. DAVIDSON, President. St. Paul, Minnesota — Office cor. Third and Jackson Sts. THE SAINT PAUL PIONEER. THE OLDEST AND BEST NEWSPAPER IN THE STATE, A DEMOCRATIC DAILY, TRI-WEEKLY, & WEEKLY JOURNAL. As an advertising medium the SAINT PAUL PIONEER is unsurpassed by any Paper in the Northwest. Daily, one year, SlO.OO Tri-Weekly, one year, *0.00 Weekly, one year, *2.00 " six mo's, 5.00 " six mos, 3.00 " six mo's, 1. 00 Address, PIONEER PRINTING CO., St. Paul, Minnesota. THE SAINT PAUL PRESS. DAILY, TRi-WEEKLY AND WEEKLY. THE LEADING REPUBLICAN PAPER OF THE STATE. Advertisers are assured tliat its Total Circulation is Three-Fold that of any other Paper published in Minnesota. Especial attention paid to Statistics of the Development and Growth of the State. DAILY, one year, - $10.00 Three months, - $2.50 TRI-WEEKLY, one year. 6.00 " - 1..50 The "Weekly Press" is the Largest Paper published west of Chicago— $2,00 per year. Address, PRESS PRINTING CO., St, Paul, Minn. THE SAINT PAUL OISPATCS A. Republican Newspaper. PUBLLSHED DAILY, TRI-WEEKLY AND WEEKLY. DAILY, per month, 70 cts. ; per quarter, S2.00; per year, $8.00. TRIWEEKLY, per year, $1.00. WEEKuY, pjr year, $I.-5'i. Clubs of five or over, to one address, per year, $'..00. RAMALEY, HALL & CO. ALSO STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS AND BOOKBINDERS, Minnesota street, between Third and Fourtli, St. Paul, Minn. THE MINNESOTA MONTHLY: A NOBTHWESTERX MAGAZIXE, Edited bylD. A. ROBERTSON, of St. Paul. Contains not less than thirty-two pages of solid readinar niatt-^r, prinu-J on fine book paper, stitched and cut, with neat paper cover, at $2 per annum, This publication is devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, Domestic Economy, Mechanical and Manufacturing 1,-idustry, and the Resources, Settlement, Development, Hygiene, Climatology, and Statistics of Minnesota and thi;' Northwest, wilh various scientitic, local, and general knowledge, for all classes of readers. Address, " MINNESOTA MONTHLY," St. Paul, Mipn. The Advertising Department is in charge of J. B. Bell, Newspaper Adver- tising Agent, St. Paul, Minnesota. THE NORTH-WESTERN CHRONICLE. THE O^fL'iL' REPRESENTATIVE CATHOLIC JOURNAL IN THE NORTHWEST. Published with the appioval of Rt. Rt-v. Bishoji of 8t. Paul. By JOHN C. DEVEREUX. Catholic Block. Third Street. St. Paul. Minx. ST. P.VLX PRESS PBLNT. 1869. TiiE SOUTHERN MIN] 016 096 660 9 RAIL ROAD COMPANY T. B. STODDARD, - - - - President. CLARK W, THOMPSON, - General Manager. LUKE MILLER, .... Treasurer. C. G. WYCKOFF, - - - Secretary. M. CONANT, - - - Land Commissioner. This road starts at LaCresceut, on Mississippi River, and is now completed to Lanesboro, Fillmore County, fifty miles, and work on it will be pushed forward vigorously towards its terminus, at Great Bend, of the Missouri River. Being a Land Grand Road, this Company is endowed with a wealth of land not surpassed by any Road in the State. Passing, as it does, through the wealthy and populous counties of Houston, Fillmore, Mower, Freeborn, Faribault, Martin, and Brown, it traverses the rich valley of Root river, thence through a region of unsurpassed fertility, to the western line of the State, and Great Bend of the Missouri. The Company now ofler for sale 150,000 ACRES OF LAND AT FROM i$3 to ^S per ^SLcr-e, UPON LONG TIME, AT REASONABLE INTEREST. Much of this land is of excellent quality, — some prairie and seme well wooded — all of it in the southern part of the State, a region traversed by never-failing streams of pure water, — in the midst of settled neighborhoods and districts, rapidly filling up with an active and intelligent population. The fine water power of Root river is being developed, and will add greatl}' to the wealth, population, and importance of this portion of the State.