The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1850-08-01
OBJECT IN EXPLORING.

gregated here within the year and q
half last past. from every quarter, drawn
to this town by conviction now ripen'
ing into absolute certainty, that here is
destined shortly to be the emporium o
the trade Of all that portion of the TEN,
perate zone lying north of it, and ex.
tending from the shores of the great
lakes to the banks of the Upper Missis-
sippi; embracing a larger area of trade
without rival, and that, too, in the ye-
~ heart of continent. than any other
town perhaps in the world; situated il
the centre of the temperate zone and al
the extreme northern point Of steady
steam navigation by the class of boats
profitably employed in the trade above
Saint Louis, have deemed no sacrifice
Of time or OF money too great, to explore
the interior Of Minnesota. While the
enterprise of Saint Anthony, has opened
navigation by steam the present season
to Sank Rapids, on the Upper Missis-
sippi, and demonstrated the practicable
ty of running small steamboats, up that
river to the falls Of Pokagomon, dis
tance of 600 miles above us, Saint Paul
has explored the other branch Of the
river above us, the Minnesota, (hereto-
fore more often called the Saint Peter,
q name which it will probably now cease
to be known by, for distance of 800
miles; for the first time startling with
the noise Of the steam pipe, the most
glorious wilderness that ever smiled I'M
the hand of the Creator.
We have deemed the exploration OF
the Minnesota river, an object of prima-
nv importance on several accounts. AS
citizens Of Saint Paul, lying but 5 or 6
miles below the junction of the Minneso-
ia and Mississippi rivers, the natural and
inevitable point of transhipment from
the larger steamboats, running below,
20 the smaller boats of different con-
struction, adapted to the navigation of
the rivers above US, We wished to know
and that the world should know, that the
navigable waters above us, tributary to
our trade, irrigate an extent of land as
great and at least as fertile as the whole
length Of the Mississippi from St. Louis
to St. Paul. All this has been demon
strated
Again, it will be remembered that the
whole of the west bank Of the MISSISSIPPI
pi river from the Iowa line to the north
ern boundary of Minnesota, is Indian
territory; and that the whole country
watered by the Minnesota, belongs to
the Sioux Indians-that it is portion of
the continent hitherto almost UNEMPLOYED
and unknown--and that Government has
now appointed commissioners to treat
for its purchase. A better knowledge
of its situation, resources, and true
value, seemed indispensl bic to enable
the Commissioners and the Senate of
the United States to estimate properly
what might be fair and just equivalent
G. q l. l. IL
The first exploration was made 3 or
four weeks since, by the Anthony Wayne;
which boat went up TO the head of the
Rapids, a distance Of about 65 miles by
the river and then returned. Shortly
after. the Nominee went up still higher,
left her single upon the bank and re-
turned The Anthony Wayne On her
return from below, was again chartered
by our people, and reached a point
within about l5 miles of the Blue Earth
River; where she planted her single
upon the shore, announcing herself as
the first steamboat in those waters, and
then returned. In the mean time ar
rangements we're made with the steam
boat Yankee, Capt. Harris, to come
prepared with fuel and provisions, to
take party as far as possible up the
river. 1t is ofthis voyage of the steam
boat Yankee far above the Blue Earth
river, that We are now writing. The
aggregate cost in cash actually paid by
Saint Paul, in these four expeditions up
the Minnesota river, much exceeds
$4,000.
ALL ABOARD!
The steamboat Yankee, of Galena,
was ready on Monday Morning, the 22d
instant, for the Saint Paul exploring
party. The names Of her officers are
as follows: Capt nj. K. Harris; Clerk,
G. w. Girdon; Pilot, J. S. Armstrong;