The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1854-07-01
Letter from Col. Fulles;!

the editors who accompanied the late 'cxcur-
sion we copy from late number of that pa
per. Col, FULLER is a very agreeable writer,
and this letter will be found, by our readers,
highly interesting:
ST. PAUL, MINI. TERE., June S, 1854.
after stenming the four-knot current of the
tortuous River for five hundred miles, the bows
Of our gay fleet rested upon the bank of the
town OF st. Paul; about 9 o'clock this ntorr- 4
'pS. Nearly all day yesterday the rain rained
constantly but the weather to-day is bright
and cool and the atmosphere of these upper
regions is delightfully."- elastic and irvigorating.
The slope up the River to this print is twelve
hundred feet above the Gulf Of Mexico. The
site of the town is somewhat elevated, and the
new buildings wear a welcome look in the
smiles Of the morning sun. The approach to
st. Paul is the finest we have seen on the Riv-
er Unfortunately, we are 4 little too early
Tor the preparations that have been made Tor
our reception, the arrival not having been eX-
pccted before tomorrow morning, when all the
carriage conveyanccs in the neighborhood were
to have been in readiness to take the party to
the Falls; and grand ball was to have come
OF in the evening. The Ntizens express much
chagrin at the disappointment.
AS soon as the landing panks touched the
shore everybody was rushing for a vehicle it
being understood that we must leave at three
O'Clock in the afternoon, aftl ST. Anthony is
nine miles distant. All the stages, wagons
and carts were Instantly filed, and the most
cAorbtant saITtS were paid for anything in the
shape of e horse Two Of our party paid SO
each for saddle horse while Others offered
TO purchase horses and carriages in the morn
ing, at fair price, and to sell them at a libc-
val discount in the afternoon In the midst of
all this scramble l had the good fortune to
meet couple Ofmy fair name-relatives with
sumptuous carriage and splendid pair of
horses, who took us in, and drove us around
not only more comfortably, but more rapidly
than any Of the rest of the party. lAs these
ladies have been six weeks ir st. Paul. long
enough to be considered as old Inhabitants
and to become weA posted up in regard to all
its lcrA wonders and beauties, we mad the adj
vantage of seeing st. Anthony and Minnc-ha-
ha under the most favorable and agreeable cir
cun,stanccs. The elder OF the two sisters is a
poetess, but little known to fame, yet destined
to write her name on high and enduring tab
let in the temple of the American Muses. Her
Younger sister. who looks more like an Indian
princess than New England maiden, Or
:. Like youthful hcrness,
was the best of all guides to introduce us to
the Minnc-ha-ha, (maiden's laugh and our hap
Nv party will not soon forget the merry music
Of the Minnesota blackbrd,' who warbled
in our delighted ears her contagious cnthuSi-
asm during the memorable drive of twenty
miles.
The Falls of st. Anthony shall not here
attempt to describe. They are but minia-
bno Il h,,f Il
eur, and lacking the indescribable fascination
Of Minne-ha ha The latter is probably the
most picturesquey perfect waterfall in the
world. But must let this picture also hang
awhile in memory before attempting to commit
it to pepper. 1t is
A thing of beauty,
And joy forever.
The crossing, just above the Falls Of st. An
thony, upon little rope ferry, consider i'll
minenflv perilnnS The current is very strong,
and Of loose logs are constantly floating
down; wiaa- a momentum not easily resisted
At the moment of our passage, with two car
riages crowded upon the tottish little ferry,
we encountered this danger, and the lives of
the passengers all hung upon single rope
Had it given away, land these ropes have
sometimes parted at other points in the river,)
we should all have been hurried over the Falls,
and dashed upon the rocks and logs below
Travellers should bcwary Of these perilous pas
saSes.
After visiting Fort Smelling, situated on Il
bold bluff. on the opposite side of the River,
and about seven miles above st. Paul, we re-
turned to dine on board the boats. A little
before sunset the fleet Of steamers took their
guests, ard hundreds of the citizens of st. Paul.
up to the FORT, and then the party returned to
nrepare for the ball and reception at the State
House. OF the speeches made On the occa-
sion / have nothing now to say; but if find
time. and taole, during our homeward trip.
will enleavor, in noticing the wavsi1e Incl
dents of the excursion. to touch upon the speech
making business, which has been a prominent
feature of the occasion. 1t is astonishing how
charmed many persons seem to be with the
sSrr.f OF their own voices, especially when all
their words, whether heard or not, are noisy
responded to 10y the cheers of the dear people
For one, ] am quite tired, not to say disgust
ed, at these constantly repeated addresses to
oar befattered fccw, citizens"
The ball vas :srcgular squeeze and as we
had all been warned to be on board at l l =.
NJ the dancing was about ms hurried and sat
isfactory as a running dinner at railroad sta
ton. There were many distinguished persons
Oh the floor, including strangers are citizens );
but the crowd was too thick for the display of
he graccs, or the exhibition of the digntares.
1t is said the town had appropriated 81 800
for the social entertainment Of the party but
the arrival of the boats day sooner than cX-
pectea, threw all the hospitable arrangements
of the citizens into confusion. But, taking
these facts characterization we must say that
everything has been done both by the author
itics and individuals, to make our brief visit
as pleasant as possible. Evossbody is delight
ed with the appearance and the location of the
town; and there is no risk to capitalists who
base their land operations in this vicinity on
the calculation that st. Partis destined to be-