Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1855-06-19
TUESDAY, JUNE l9, 1855.
MINNESOTA.

Times, n dissertation upon the hospitality extend
ed to strangers BY the wde-awake citizens of Min
nesota, and admripg the enthusiasm with which
our whilom compatriot, Newson, entered upor
the defence of his adopted residence against the
compainings Of some sucked-in traveller, oul
thoughts naturally turned back to Just year ago
when, landing with large party of pleasure
seekers upon the levee of the Apostolic Town, We
received our first experience of its treatment OF
invited guests.
twas a glorious sight which greeted US. in our
little feet, after following for hundreds of miles
the winding course of the beautiful Upper Missis-
sippi-from where the rich prairie lands OF ll-
nois and Iowa spread out towards the East and
West in an unlimited fertility, up through its
high lands, where the wooded bluffs descended
prccipitouslv to the river bank, their summit
crowned with DARK boulders, looking like some
old Castles left to ruin by nations long lost to
hstory-bctween islands luxuriant with vegeta-
ton from the waters edge-through the broad
lake Pepin, which expands the father of waters
into an inland sea-past villages just hewn out of
the primeval forest, cab.n hid far away from 9TH
er cabin under the shadow of great rocks, and
wigwams with their dusky inhabitants gazing
wonderingly ut the steamers which bore the white
invaders Of their hunting grounds, and revolving
perhaps. in their minds the history of wrongs and
impositions which had accompanied their retreat
from the shores of the Atlantic-past all these,
until looking down the river from its bold location
the good town of St. Paul, the capitol of the last
new Territory OF the United States, flor the Kan
inquity had not been consummated,) stood
fore US, the extreme point of Westward
Journeying. 1t was n gooIly town to look at, and
rumors of hoSpitahlc intent which had come down
with the current of the Mississippi, prepared us
all for nau-ht but pleasure We were to revel in
that Western hospitality. cf which her etofore the
Eastern hospitality which had every where attend
cd Us, had only allowed us to note the outward
seeming. And we did. To welcome us on the
Il
driver ST upon, had been drawn up in hurried
array, while way up on the bluff, beyond speaking
distance, the good people had assembled to take
accommodating glance ut their guests.
With an abiding confidence in their hospitablc
intent, the aforesaid vehicles were speedily filed
and the grain carts and brick wagons of ST. Paul
bore that dav precious freight of eastern intel
lect, eastern wealth and eastern beauty. 1t was
charming, that long drive over newly made prairie
roads, through the busy town, and out among
the groves of Minnesota trees past the newly open
cd farms, where patient oxen were blowing up
soil which had not been disturbed since history
began to record the lives of nations, up to the
Falls which stop the navi cation of the Mississippi.
and which remembered as being, in our school
boy days. the only certainty amid the obscurity
OF re. ion consecrated to unpronouncesble lndi-
an names. Back again by the beautiful case 4.
OF Mime ha ha and the pretty lakelets spread
like mirrors to reflect the charming landscapc and
bluc skv,-back again to the metropolis whose
inhai itantS treating Us to all this cratitca-
ton. 1t co;ld not fail of being beautiful. and
hard seats, spring css wagons, and crowded >ta~es
were hing, for they were the generous offer ny
OF tie all of our entertainers. But stop! OR
hosts have not vet done with Us. What is this
Thirty dollars FOR that stage, twenty dollars for
these two horses, twenty-eiaht dollars for the
brick cart, and twenty-five dollars for the grain
wagon, with a dollar extra for the use Of tn.
chairs in il. Oh. all right. We were Il little
m s;aAen in the item of hospitality, that's all
We nd no business t. rely uron rumors and in
contircntly take possession Of Il CITY without
stopping - shake hands wiki its owners and see
what they thought about it. 1t was wrong TO sup. |
pose eaca man who stood upon tn, levee with i; |
whip in his hand, had come down to drive five Or |
Fifteen persons ten miles, merely to show that the
people OF ST. Paul were hoSl itab people. The !
little piper programmes whch had been scattered |
over the boats did not me- So though they said !
so, and we, shrewI Yankees rs we were, ought
to have been >m TT enough to make our bargains |
with oar western JehuS b fore we gave III IN a |
chance Of charging six or eight dollars an hour |
for showing US the roId they usually drove over |
mt three dollars d1y. 1t is all fair. ST. Paul |
Is Il hospitablc place, rs the Times saws. ana we |
found 1t cat afterwards ut the grand ball at the |
Gov ernment lIousc, though for an hour or two |
there were confirmed suspicious to the contrary. |
CT We copy the above from the New Haven, |
who visited our city on the occasion of the great
Rock Island Railroad Celebration, about one year
ago. We have two objects in transferring the
article to our columns; first, to show in what IA
vor we were held by that 'precious freight of
eastern intellect, eastern wealth and eastern beau
ty," alluded to by our frien1 previous to the cele
bration, and scconl, to correct the erroneous i'm
preston which has gained publicity, that our Cit
izens are Liberal and inhosptabc. This is not
the only article of a like character which has ap-
peared in the Eastern prints, and this is not the
only time we have endcavored to wash from the
eyes of our guests the scales which shut out the
light OF TRUTH ard cause them, unintentionally to
place US in false position before the world. We
think simple statement of the facts will induce
our quondam friend to materially modify his opn-
ion of our citizens and to enable him and others
to speak more literally of those whom they now
esteem little better than heathcns or savages But
what arc the facts?
Soon after the idea was conceived bv Mr.. Farm |
ham an others, of celebrating the opening of the
Rock Island Railroad, by grand excursion, Col. |
Mix, IA gentleman in every sense of the word |
visited our city, for the purpose of acquainting
our citizens of the route of the boats the number
of the guests and the time when they would ar
rive. a meeting of the citizens was immediately
called, and a committee appointed to take the
matter in hand, and owing to the great number
of persons which were expected, all the carriages
both private and public. far and near were engag>
el, and ordered to be on the ground at the time
designated by Col. Mix for the arrival of the boats.
Preparations were also made for reception speech-
es and Ball in the evening, at the Capitol, and
thus, the Committee, having discharged their du-
ties, in common with our ctiz, ems, resumed their
various avocations. hoping and believing that our
guests would be so received and treated in such
n manner as to convince them, that though situat-
cd many miles from the Injuries and refnements
of life, the citizens of Minnesota were by no means
of those civilities which should charac-
terize an intelligent, liberal and enterprizng peo-
pie. Well, what happened? The boats were to
arrive on Saturday, the 10Th of June. and were
to remain over Sunday. This was positire-Sat-
urday was the day, consequently arrangements
were made by the Committee to have the carriages
at the Levee on that morning. Our friend can
Judge OF our surprise, when on the morning of
Thursday, two DAYS in advance of the time set