Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-03-18
Sc CLoUD MnsEs-TA TEREu ~
February 70 l85I.

AE-L4e1-Gcf N1csAiUE 4EfltA4htiVL wan ~
this TeIr:tery, and tie prosPecs for profitable IL
vestment Of capital here. In reply to such q1es
tlons as have been frcqusndy asked me- give tie
following hastily written, spain, uDVarnisbed' &C.
count Of Minnesota, snd the advantages held out
By tbs Territory to the enigrant and these wish
ing to invest capital ia the lNcrth West.
Minnesota was organised into Territory, 81 an
act Of Congress, approved March 8, 1s49. At that
time the number Of inhabitants did not reach a5e
thousand. From The fsctthlt it vas still the home
Of the Bed man and the wild BEST Of the forest,
/ and wss 60 removed from The frontiers Of Iowa
and Wisconsin, and the climate thought TO be too
severe for profitable agriculture, emigration was
not turned to it for some years. The settlement
of Minnesota may then be said to have conmea-
eed within the last three or four years. 10 this
short time the number Of inhsbitsis has increased
from I've thousand to two hundred thousand
! This almost incredible increase Of population he's
been produced By the natural advantages bald out
BY Minnesota to tie em,grant and speaks more
than language for the produotivensss Of its soil,
the healthulness of its climate, the many adVsn-
tsges offered to the manufacturer, and all that man
would seek in q new home.
St Paul, the capital of the Territory, is situated
on the E st bank Of the Mississippi river, eight
! niles below the falls Of St. Anthony. Sevea
years ego the wigwsm of the Indian occupied the
spot where this young city Ct twelve thousand in
hsbitsnts now stands.
That portion Of Minnesota south Of st. Paul. is
known ss the Lower Mississippi, and has been the
only portion of the territory to which emigration
has been turned until the last season. This por.
ton, therefore, contains the great body of the n-
babitsnts consequently the prices of land have ad.
vaDced much beyond Government figures, and Of
course dos not open the same field to the poor
emigrsns that it did. That portion of the Terri.
tory above st. Paul, is known as the Upper his
sissippi, and has only been known to emigration
for the last year. Previous to that time it was the
home o! the Indian, and as there were numberless
acres in the SJuthern portion of the Territory,
which eould be bad by the actual settler ct Gov
eminent price, exploration had not developed the
rich resources of the Upper Mississippi. OF this
portion and St Cloud it is my purpose to speak.
s.. Cloud is situsted on the West bank Of the
Mississippi river, sixty miles above St. Paul, and
| 81 L449 ASOb VI GaNh 4hh ptNas ~ - lue l6au OF
steam navigation above the falls Of St. Anthony;
is the county seat of Stearns county; has Tprune
into ezistence as ifby magic, during the past sum-
ner, and s destined to be the largest city in the
North West. Situated at the mouth Of Sank ri
YER, St Cloud must become the furnishing depot
for the vast territory OF rich lands known as the
Sank river valley. SEuk river takes its rise one
hundred and City miles to the West, and winds its
way Easlerly through country of unsurpassed
loveliDess and fertility to the Mississippi, iato
which il emptiss st this point. The country known
as the Sank river valley Offers to the farmer uuri-
vailed advantages. Il reaches some thirty nj es
beyond the be, of the river, and merges into the
Red river valley, Cof which shall speak present.
ly) making oue hundred miles in length by forty
to one hundred in width. It is succession Of Iob
praries from ten to thirty miles long and from Eve
to twenty in width
These prsires are separated by belts of wood
lands frow Que to ten miles 10 width. Through
these wood lands aad also the prsires run in every
direction streams of pure and coolest water whose
banks are fEinged with the finest timber. TIE
praires are level, with here and there gentle IN
dulstiOns, and dotted all over with most beautiful
lskes Of bright sparkling water, abound Dg to ex-
cess with fish Of every description, oFsriDg TO
the disciples Of Walton sport until weary. These
lakes are from half to ten miles lopg, and from
quarter to three miles wide, skirted by groves Of
timber of every variety. In these groves are
found fine quarries Of building granite snd lime
stone. This, together with the splendid meadow
lands, found along the margin Of Tie streams aud
| lakes, make up the face Of the country. Tie sol
is a rich dark loan, from two toGTe feet deep, and
| 50 light and easy Of cultivation that in walking
over the fields in the fall you sink from two to
/ four inches lis production of every variety of
grain is almost Incredible and FOR potatoes turnps
rua bsgs and every variety of esculent rocts, is
/ unsurpassed. Seventy-fve bushels of oats, forty
/ Of wheat, seventy Of corn, five hundred Ct Eu.a-
bags, three hundred and Efty potatoes and sven
hundred Of turnps, are the average yied per acre
Of these lands. The easy mode Of cultivation of
these CT ps is something Of curiosity. But as it
! is not my purpose to speak 10 detail Of tie mode
! Of agriculture will merely state that 3. g. Fill
/ more, Esq, living about q mile from this place,
hired a couple Of boys last spring to follow bis
breaking ploughs, making one lick with an axe 10
the cod and dropping into the cut several grains of
era, covering by merely stepping the foot Il e.
on, and without further seeing the crop until fall,
gathered thsrefrom s,VeDty bushels cf corn per
acre Such is only fair sample of the productive
meas Of this portion Of Minnesota, And such is
this Sank river valley to which st. Cloud must be-
come toe furnishing depot from Its sua in IS the
natural outlet.
This valley is rapidly settling. Ols yea7 ago
there were not Eve hundred inhabitants in tlil
county; now thsre are oTes six thousand. 90
year ego lhsre were only a few sbantie5 on this
side tbs river as far North SIS THE now the settle
meuts extend up Sank river forty miles. Ole yea
ago st. Cloud contained two log huts, now & u.
ishlng village Of six hundred Inhabitants with
GEe steam MILL two hre hotels, large store houses .
mechanics shops of every Description forwerdins
houses and colleges of every style and taste, in-
wife inspection. O0e year ago lands that could be
had By "squstting upon, are now selling q from
three to ssventy-hys dollars per se,e. Such is one
year in tue Northwest. These things seem strange
to the indOIsnt SoutherDer, who, sitting cosiy IN
cor the rich foliage Of his own sunny land, wsi.s
or nature to feed and cothe him. But through
tie fr,ry energy CT the Northern the wilderness
ia soOr cOnveFtad infn EniiinO Uardsns and bov,