The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1855-06-30
For the Pioneer.
Notes Of Travel up the Minnesota valley
continucd--FrOm Kasota, seventy miles
from saint Paul. -c 20

from saint Paul. ~ a -
JUNE %. Left Kasota % minutes of
A. NJ. Reached Mankato IA to 8. Distance
miles, having travelled as usual with our fine
| horses at nimble rate Who does not know
that Rodney Parker keeps always as fine
set OF horses as any other man in Minnesota,
and as for good management of them, no one
can excel him. The only objection in his driv-
ing, however, is the tangent,eal manner in
which he likes to turn corners and thread de-
files. His noachdldnce on such occasion. cant
be beat. The country between Kasota and
Mankato, prairie, and well besprinkled with
rocks, many of which crop out of the surface
in huge prismatic masses, for all the world
looking very much in the distance like the low
brownish coored adobe mud brick buildings,
which l have seen in New Mexico It is
doubtless, on account Of the proximity of these
rocks (limestone) that the soil in this region
is so much better than you find it farther down
the river. This limestone makes superb
white lime, as the specimen showed me by
Babcock, some of his own burning, attests.-
We were surprised to find the country along
the river as high up as this, so thickly settled
Why, it is more so than down towards Shake
pee, and as for herds of cattle and horses, we
saw nothing below so pastoral But this is not
to be wondered at when the richness of the
soil, the fine pasturage it Affords and the we'll
watered condition of the country are regarded
| Mankato. 70 miles from ST. Paul, is quite q
place-much larger than l had supposed. l
counted 20 houses. several of them we'll clap
boarded.\ The hotel, kept by Mr. Shaubert, is
quite spacious frame building, and when per-
tectly finished in its interior, will accommodate
e. large number of persons. II is now open to
travellers. The city is directly on the Mime
sofa, and unlike the other towns we have pass
ed through on the river, its site is rather low.
The Mankato river or Blue Earth as it is
more generally termed, puts into the Mime
sofa not at the town, but q mile and half
above. The country back of Mankato is rep
resented as eng of the choicest kind Genl
Fletcher informed us he had been 80 miles up
the Blue Earth and Maple rivers, and rich
er country than that which he found on these
streams, he had no where else seen in the Ter
r;tory. 1t is principally prairie with timber
on the tributaries. The General showed US a
map GU which he had marked the Reservation
intended for the Winnebagoes. 1t is u rect
angle, lying directly south from Mankato, 3
miles, and measures l3 miles south by 25 east.
1t is in the Reserve, on the LIE Seur IL
miles from Mankato, that Van Brunt has
his saw mill. The Winnebagocs were encamp-
ed about the town, but the General expects to
get them into their Reservation to-day
visited the Blue Earth at the crossing of
the Big Sioux and Mendoza road, with the
view of determining the kind OF bridge struc-
ture which will be required at that point.
Find its banks and bottoms of Il fine sand and
marshy character, and of rather quick ma
ture. Think, however, that bridge of less
expensive character than l had anticipated,
will suffice. One of u simple trestle kind,
standing upon and secured to piles, cut off be-
low the waters surface, will doubtless answer
Its length will be about one hundred and
ninety feet. Mr. Sherbert informs me that
since spring there has not been day when
there were not from one to fourteen set
tiers wagons encamped on the bottom near
the town. Three large droves of cattle had
passed through from Iowa, on their way down
the river. There are two other towns above
Mankato on the Minnesota-South Bend, IL
miles; and Eureka, 8 miles distant, but we did
not visit them. At Eureka there is saw-mill
AT Kasota l met Mr.. Crehore, the Engineer
in the immediate charge of the construction of
the Big Sioux and Mendoza road He has
just come through from Farribault, and says
that on an average he found a camp of emf
grants dotting every mile of the way In his
opinion the prairie soil beyond the woods is
better than that along the Minnesota Capt.
Dodd, the contractor OH the Mankato division
Of the Big Sioux road, informs me that when
his party are working on the Big Woods near
Kasota, they find the soil rich nearly loan
of three and four feet thick, superposed on
clay. If this is the character of the soil of the
Big Woods country generally, and am in
clined to think it is who can estimate its value
to Minnesota, and particularly to the valley of
the Minnesota and Saint Paul. The Capt.
has upwards of 100 men on the Road, and is
pushing his work bravely along.
Early in the afternoon we were at Risedorfs,
in lie Sueur, on our return, where we put up
for the night. House full Of wayfarers.
J. II. S.