The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-04 00:00:00

(From the Tomahawk.)

DRAMATIC AND MILITART.—The new gun-metal for
English pieces. German silver. Eh ! Mr. Tom Robertson ?
A curious rumour prevails in the City that Mr. E. W.
Edwards, of Overend and Gurney fame, is the original of
that whimsical character in Offenbach's " Orphee," John
Styx, the being who drowned his care in draughts of
Lethe. The regal salary which Mr. Edwards received
for doing comparatively nothing seems to give an air of
tredibility to the rumour.

B11171S11:EMIGR,A710N TO AiIIERIC,

MINNESOTA.
(From the Anglo-American Times.)

This State derives its name from the Dacotah
words Minne-sotah, meaning sky-tinted water, in
reference to its numerous and beautiful streams
and lakes, which, from their crystal purity, re-
flect the clear blue skies. The area given of
Minnesota is about 83.531 square miles, with a
population now estimated at 420,000, being an in-
crease of 70 per cent. on the State census of 1865,
at which rate, if maintained till next year when the
census of the Republic is taken, it will be 600,000.
Bacon in his Handbook estimates the Indians at
25,000, but they are now probably under that num-
ber, as the Sioux were driven into Dacotah in
1862, the Chippewas alone remaining in the State.
Hole-in-the-Day, a brave, intelligent chief of this
tribe,was making money at Crow Wing in farming
and industrial pursuits, and was thought to be as
respectable in every way as his neighbours, till he
died the other day leaving a vast sum to his wife.
From au unpublished manuscript we learn that from
Superior City at the head of the lake of that name,
across the State, and from White Bear Lake to Otter
Tail, there is no more danger from Indians than in
the Strand. Minnesota is the most western of
the most northern tier of the States. Beyond
it, to the setting sun, lies the Territory of Dacotah,
bounding it from north to south on the west. Next
to Dacotah is Montana, and between that, and the
Pacific State of Oregon and Territory of Washing-
ton, lies Idaho. The greater half of its eastern
boundary borders on Wisconsin; the lesser on Lake
Superior, while all along the north runs the Hud-
son Bay Territory. It may be thought that the
climate of a State so fa r north must be cold, and liable
to great extremes. The 45th parallel of north lati-
tude runs right through its centre, passing over
the best and most fertile parts of Canada West,
touching the north of New York State, Vermont,
New Hampshire, and along the centre of Maine.
As the Atlantic is neared the cold becomes more
intense, and the gigantic lakes bordering on
the States of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minne-

sota, temper the climate, which is marked by
distinct peen' iarities ; with the winter of Canada
and New England, but without their heavy falls
DrusAWltrie, 90? WilitAr nfa"Cate'l'as" Licata it&M;
and has added so much to its salubrity, as well as
to the brilliancy imparted to every landscape. The
moisture in winter is frozen out of the atmosphere,
and lies on the soil in snow from December until
the end of March. During this time rain seldom
falls, while the snow is not sufficiently deep seriously
impede travel. In the spring there is a rapid
thaw, but all the water --the lakes and rivers
—remain as clear as glass. The settlers as-
sert the climate to be the healthiest in the
world, and eminently suited for consumptive people,
and the leading life assurance companies authorize
their agents to take risks which would not else-
where be touched. The surface is undulating with
great peculiarity being
tenudnilveerrosuistyCoryfstlaaln-dlis:ealPeakesi,tBmany of them pic-
turesquely
Much placed,
of h
waterfalls, and high
bluffs.
a rolling prairie of rich
ed,
tseplaarnkdli 118 g
soil, and the State may be said to be equally di-
vided between oak openings and prairies; stately fo-
rests line the banks of the rivers, and there are few
countries where wools and open untimbered plains
are so happily distributed. The prevailing soil is a
dark calcareous loam, composed for the most part
of decayed vegetable matter or leaf mould, averag-
ing in depth six feet, and resting upon fine sand
cenetryhainsfrom anything More attractive from its
anddiversified
.
character The particu-
larlyscenery
grand and marked. This is perhaps attribut-
able to the extraordinary clearness of atmosphere
which imparts its brilliancy to all surrounding na-.
ture. The rivers become a deep blue, the water-
falls sparkle, and the numerous lakes reflect the
bright sky like mirrors cast over the surface. Sun-
sets are gorgeous, the stars glitter, and the nights
are as beautiful as the days are delightful, for there
is a joyousness in such a climate which those only
can appreciate who come under its influence. Three-
fourths of the soil is suited for agriculture, but the
best farm lands are in the southern portion, com-
prising about one-half of the State. Above the Falls
of St. Anthony the country gets wet. Minnesota
is the birth-place of the Mississippi, and the head
waters of Lake Superior also lave the shore of this
State, almost the largest lake and the largest river
in the world. It is the proximity of these two of
nature's greatest channels of communication which
enables the citizens to predict with such confidence
a prosperous future. Nor can those who glance at
the map be surprised at this anticipation. Centre-
ing in a rich country, blessed with a climate as en-
joyable as healthy, commence the two great water

courses of the Coliinent. From Duluth at the head

of Lake Superior the navigation extends for thou-
sands of miles through lakes, through the St. Law-
rence, through canals, embracing a vast extent of
civilized, settled, fertile country both of the British
Dominion and of the United States. From Duluth
to St. Paul, the capital of the State and the head
of the steam navigation on the Mississippi River,
the distance is but 150 miles: Then commences a
communication, if more intricate and wanting in
breadth of lake, yet more stupendous still. The
main feature of the Continent is the valley of the

111i,sissippi, ►which embraces the State we are now

discussing. Our readers know that at least 23,000

miles of navigation is opened by this river and its
branche.3, and the starting-point is from St. Paul. It
was this fact which made Mr. Seward, the Secretary
of State, exclaim in one of his most ulobrated

speeches, "Here spring up side by side the tw3
great rivers of the Continent, the Mississippi and
St. Lawrence, ahno3t within a stone's throw of

each other, and running in opposite directions—the
one half way to Europe, the other gathering the
produce of the cotton plantations to the Gulf of
Mexico, or to the vast water power of the
Upper Mississippi. Here is the place (allud-
ing to this district), the central place, where
the agriculture ci 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 across the Continent, is a country where