Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1851-08-15
Forthe kenosha Telegraph.
TOUR IN MINNESOTA---ST. ANTHONY

| Forthe kenosha Telegraph.
TOUR IN MINNESOTA---ST. ANTHONY
Mr.. Editor :-The falls of st. Anthony -
! What's in a name? Enough in this one to send
our school boy thoughts rushing back to our
school boy days, when with map before US, we
were accustomed to gaze with deep interest at
the location of this plunge of the Mississippi
Then this natural curiosity was far beyond the
ne plus ultra of civilization, and all was silence
around the cataract. Now the onward wave of
emigration has reached it, and already an embryo
| city Is seen near the waterfall Then the set
| fieInent OF The country around, st. Anthony by
the present generation, was an unsolved problem,
which time only could work out; and the idea
never tlickercd in our imagination, that IRE should
ever visit these hyperborean regions Now, we
| find that this wave of emigration has impeIle led
US half way across continent; that we have
reached the far famed ST. Anthony, and that our
| proposal to your readers requires brief descrip-
| ton.
The village and falls of St. Anthony. are 8
miles above st. Paul by land, and l6 by water.
Those who visit Minnesota for sight seeing. of
course go to St. Anthony and as boats seldom
ascend the river above Fort Smelling, the road
from st. Paul TO st. Anthony is we'll beaten
| and conveying passengers between the two pla-
ces-whlle the boat is absent for few hours on
its trip to Fort SnelIing-is lucrative bust
ness.
An Island about $50 yards wide, divides the
river at the fall into two channels. The eastern
channel which is about 22O wards wide. has
been damned thus throwing most of the water in
to the western. A foot bridge extends from the
eastern shore to the island from whence fine
view Is had OF the imense sheet of water $50
yards wide falling over the precipice and dash
ing on the rocks below The imopstv of tho
colin nof,.
ed into the abyss, more striking than the dis
lance which it falls Considered in the latter
respect it is but a triae when compared with Nj
agara-the fall at St. Anthony being ONLY about
! 20 feet. The bed of the river here is limestone
OVERLAPPING sanG stone. The sand stone rradu.
ally becoming dlsntcgratei and washed away
from lis superintendent stratum, has cause.-the
! limestone to break off and tumble into the foam
ing current below; thus giving the waterfall an
! irregular outline, and the whole scene wild and
! rocky app arancc. From the geological struc-
ture Of the bed Of the river in this region it is
presumed that the falls were originally much
farther down perhaps at Fort SaeIling-and that
they are now gradually rccediug No stream
For some distance above AMI below the cataract,
the river rolls rapidly, and with foamng fury
over its rocky bed. This OF course Interrupts
navigation, and although in high water, boats
| sometimes ascend to within short distance of
the village, yet they usually turn about at Fort
Smelling; and the citizens of st. Anthony are
dependent upon land carriage from St. Paul for
their products from below. Above the falls a
small steamer, the "Gov. Ramsey" has been
placed on the river which performs its regular
trips between st. Anthony and Sank Rapids,
some 80 miles farther up
The water power at ST. Anthony is too yaua-
bic not to be improved, and it would b, strange
II there We're not a village there. Thn spot has
| been viewed with CoVrtouS eve for a long Pc
Rod of time, as the site OF future village or
city, aud feveri-h anxiety has been felt to get
possession of it. Several years ago it was pur-
chased, or pretended to b. purchased by an ndi-
yiduaI of the Indians, divided into lots and sold
and certificate ofowncrship issued These GER
ufcatcs were specnlaied in, and more than
man has paid dearly for the whistle Some
wears since ono of these certificates was commit
ted To US in trust for an association a an cstma-
ted value Of S75. We considered i: almost
worthless at the time, and have since learned
more certainly, that it would by no means secure
ono of those now valuable village lots. The
diihc uy was, that the original purchaser, of the
Indians was an irdiridjtQI while the United
States Government reserves to itself the cxclu-
slvc right of making such purchases. The TO
ttn4te individuals were those who made claims
early and purchased after the Indian title had
been cNtlngni>hcd.
| In 1913 there were 5 dwellings, mostly cab
/ ms, and ; mechanic shops at St Anthony. Now
/ the village extends more than mile along the
/ rtvc-, and has population of about 900. Like
81. Paul, 1t is situated on two pats of table land;
! ono rising several feet above the other. but (the
! hghc>D in The rear, instead of both being on the
/ river bank as Al st. Paul
y Newspaper has recently been established at
I