The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1854-06-19
What the ExcursiOnists Say Of Us.


than by copying from our Eastern exchanges
extracts from the letters written by their edi-
tors who accompanied the late excursion. We
commence this morning with part of an article
from the Chicago Tribune, of the 18th inst:
According to the promise of the preceding
evening. the morning of the 9Th, Thursday,
,lawned upon US in unclouded beauty and love
liness bathing the shores in seas of liquid light,
sparkling upon the waters in CLEANS of molten
fire, and chasing away the morning msts which
hung like snowy curtains along the bases OF
the cliffs.
Our fleet came in sight of the city of Saint
Paul about eight o'clock in the morning. The
display of the fleet in the river around the point
below the city, is represented by those who
witnessed it from the shore, as being grand be-
vond precedent. The five boats were so ar
ranged that they approached in as much order
as though they were an armed squadron taking
their position in line of battle. The full
bands of music on board struck up lively airs
as we approached the landing. This, with the
rays of bright June sun, which broke forth
in all its glory after three days storm; the an
imaton of the company on board the boats,
and the enthusiasm of the assembled hundreds
on shore and on the decks of the Admlrol, then
lying at the landing, produced a scene of ex-
scitement which SIT. Paul had never before wit
messed, and perhaps will not again Tor many
years.
The view of the city, approaching from the
river, is certainly very imposing, and could be
made, as no doubt it will be, very Beautiful
The city stands on two lodges or bluffs, the
lowest of which is sixty-fve feet above high
water mark There is ample space between
the bases of these cliffs and the water, TOR an
admirable levee for the reception and discharge
of river freight. There arc several warehouses
for storage and commission upon the lcvee, al
though the principal business of the place ap
pears to be- done up in the centre of the city.
If we are to believe the representations of the
business men of the place, the business done
4 here is very extensive. We attempted to OBJ
t tain some statistics in relation to the amount
of commerce done here, both in the Misslssip-
ri and interior trades, but although we went
over the entire city in our search, we were un-
/, able to obtain the desired information. We
. were impressed with the fact, which speaks
well for the amount of trade done here, that
+ the business is well systematzed, and that eacl
merchant confines himself to one particular
branch of trade. Thus we saw exclusive hard
ware, queensware, dry goods, hat and cap
boot and shoe stores, &C., whereas our expert
u encc of newly settled places has always led u
n to expect to find everything which the heart O
:. and in the boxes of a single establishment
- All of the merchants with whom we CONVERSE
e, expressed themselves in manner y h con
u WINGED us that they were doing The
said that these was large business doing, bu
more could be done, and that, many as wer
the establishments of every kind here, Their
was still room for more.
In Property in the city is held at a pretty hig
lr figure, aud farming land near the city is value
L. at prices which would alarm even Chicag
- Real Estate Dealer. Thus, on our visit to ;
W Anthony Of which more anon, we were show
On a farm some six miles from the city, which W
of were told was worth $50 per acre. We di
% not think that the rents in the city were at a
n exorbitant, although our views upon this sui
~ iect are no doubt considerably enlarged by OF
OF own experience in Chicago. For the bcs
is business stand in the city, two story fran
o. store, upon the corner of the main street an
or an avenue running towards the river, only 500
u per annum was paid. The next building
this one, rented at S40O; the one below tn;
at either $500 or $3.50.
|e st. Paul covers an immense space OF groun
US and may, in its present condition, be termed
SIS second city of magnificent distances. The u
some three miles from the steamboat landiu
o. up the river, and some half mile back. III
principal street of the city is the first one upC
the top of the bluff, and is toerably well bui
wv up. The private residences of the citizel
he are, in the great majority of instances, vel
rs neat and tasteful edifices, surrounded 10y bca
-, tiful and highly cultivated grounds, and en-
To- powered in lovely groves of native forest tree
,rf The residences of Ex-Governor Ramsey, al
-, of His present EXcellency, Willis a. Gorma
III are both very handsome places.
This city is in latitude "A deg. % min.
Sec, longitude SO deg. 4. min. "a sec, is a pc
We of entry, the county seat of Ramsey count
and, also, the seat of the government of Il
Territory. 1t is 2O7O above the mouth of Il
ay Mississippi, and is elevated nearly 500 fe
r. above the gulf of Mexico. Its site is ma
nifcent and we have never seen spot bett
adapted by Nature for snowy and delight
display of architecture and gardening than Il
natural terrace of hills upon which it stant
roe 1t is, commercially speaking, the key to all t
% vast regions north of it, and, by the MINES
"a ia River, to the immense valley drained
.. that important tributary to the Mississippi
ISIS From the lower landing of the city, we asce
md a bench some seventy-fve feet above the riv'
l.; and came upon the site of the lower tow
N Retiring from this, about hall mile northor
on, across plain which appears to have on
:, been the bosom of lake, we ascend a thi
~ bluff, nearly 200 feet high, and some 300 ft
n,es above the Mississippi. This ascent is wood'
dy' and so is the region beyond for perhaps TIVE
3D. ty miles. From this point we can ovcrlo
c. St. Paul and extending the vision down
lew river some twenty miles, we take in our visi
the a wide stretch of the late Sioux lands a
blush hills, far away up the Minnesota in
West The country is spotted all over,
on distances of one to three miles, with brig
TIL and cool little lakes, that abound in excelll
sses fish. The scene over the bluff towards