The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1858-02-20

of land yet remaining in the hands OF the
United States Government within their lin
its, and convinced from their own experience
of the many advantages offered by this Sec
ton to the Industrious and energetic emf
grant, have resolved through their Leglsla-
ture, to set forth in plain manner such facts
as might influence the Eastern citizen con-
templating emigration, to make his home
within the borders of this State. They VII
seek in the following statement to rather sink
below, than rise above the strict truth, and
desire to occupy the position OF great com
munity, throwing open its doors to the emil
grafton of the world, rather than that OF q
combination to effect, by Misrepresentation,
any advantage to themselves. They hope
that the source from which the following
statements emanate, will prove the best
voucher for their accuracy and sincerity.
1t must not be supposed that the State OF
Minnesota comprises one solid body OF popu-
lation and that the emigrant who seeks the
advantages of Lew region will have to find
them in the wilds of Nebraska, Dakota, or
elsewhere. 1t may be truly said, that the
present population of the State of Minnesota
is confined principally to the main rivers,
with the exception of the peninsula included
between the Mississippi River and the Min
nesota River, running south to the Iowa line !;
and the southern part of peninsula between
the St. Croix and Mississippi, although, as
will appear by the following Statistics both
these regions still contain considerable guam
titles of un-preempted lands. But west OF
fIo; e a.
er towards the James River on the south,
or the Red River on the north, stretches an
almost unlimited quantity of Government
lands yet undisturbed by emigration. We
here give the statements received from the
different Land Offices of the State, showing
TIE amount of land in each District and the
amount of the same un-pre-empted upon the
18th February, 1868.
Here will follow the statistics which can
be obtained from the Receivers of the Land
Offices.
These statistics demonstrate that there are
still as many and as great opportunities for
immigration within the limits of this State, as
in any other part of the great West. Let US
go step farther and inquire into the pecul-
lar merits of these, as yet, unsettled regions.
We must premise however with one re-
mark, the importance of which cannot be
over-rated. The fact is rapidly attract
ing the attention of the leading minds of the
country, that emigration is approaching to-
ward its geographical limits on this side of
the Rocky Mountains. The character of the
country bordering upon the Mississippi Riv-
err is entirely different from that constituting
the great interior region between the
Mississippi and the Rocky Mountain range
This difference consists iu the availability of
the immediate Mississippi valley for agricul-
tural purposes and the almost absolute i'm
possibility of the interior region ever sus-
tanning large agricultural population
These conclusions are based upon such testi-
mony as the following:
Our first quotation is from Levi Blodget's
work on the Climatology of the United
States. He says, p. l55:
Most of the prairies (near the Mississippi East or
West) rs humid the interior valleys of Virginia
at all times, and the greater proportion may be much
more so in extreme The Chronological dstin-
ton they have rather in regard to the sweep and sud
denness of the changes which occur, and perhaps
participation, at times, in the aridity of the desert
plains where they border them All the plains are
praires in of the word however, but the
is here used to distinguish the well erased, rich and
cutvatabe plains where the absence of forests appears
to be d ue to accidental causes only.
Captain Beckwith, in the Central Pacific
Railroad Report 1855, p. 80, says:
In these plains, in all those West from Bents Fort
on the Arkansas to the basn and in few instances in
the mountains also, the soil less impregnaed
with alka which is very destructive vegetation and
salt is often seen eervescing upon the surface And
the amount whichis annually carried off by lixivaton
and drainage from the very limited amount of snow
and rain which is precpted upon this extensive district
in proportion to its area and from the very great
quality in their distribution over as the great body of
the rain and snow falls the higher peaks and
geS, and is carried down to the main stream through
deep canyons and chasms leaving the plains parched
and dry-s constantly renewed from the decomposition
of sedimentary rocks, it is impossible to say when the
supply will be exhausted And if the progress of science
should develop the means of neurazing their injurious
effects, material change of climate providing for
greatly increased quantity Of AQUEOUS vapor would be
required to bring any considerable extent of this arid
territory under cultivation.
We might quote additional authorities to
the same purpose were it necessary. We
will, however, only refer to the predominant
heritage OF these regions, as indicated by the
continuous presence of the artemisa or wild
sage, and the cactus" the characteristic
vegetation" as Blodget calls them, "of the
most arid regions" to evidence the truth of
the position we have taken. We refer to
this matter because if the conclusions we
have drawn are correct, the absence of any
fit region for agricultural settlement in the
nesOta must immensely add to the value of
the eight millions of unpre-empted and high
ly fertile lands yet remaining within our bor-
ders. 1t is the we'll Recognized rule of polit-
cal science. that an overplus of supply de-
crease prices, and the reverse holds true );
hence if the limits of emigration are to be
dra m along the line of the Missouri river,
the Importance of the State of Minnesota
and States similarly situated, must increase at
once, while at the same time, an urgent argu-
ment is offered to the emigrant not to delay
until the opportunities now presented him
have passed away. The history of the Great
West has demonstrated how short period
Of time is necessary to remove eight million
acres of land from the hands of the General
Government to those of private individuals
At the same time, to do away with any sup
position that the State of Minnesota is at all
akin to the characteristics of the interior re-
gion we have been describing we refer our
1t is a well known fact that the "great
plains" are utterly destitute of woods or for
ests-as much so as the steppes of Russia or
the deserts of Arabia. In Minnesota, on
the contrary, we find the supply of timber
one of the marked features of the country
To the North of St. Paul lie whole counties
of pine lands. The mills of the Territory
are already supplying a great part of the
down river with lumber. The following sta
tistics show the amount of pine lumber turn
ed out from the mills on the St. Croix and
the upper Mississippi during the years 1856
and 1851:
Here might follow statements obtained
from the proprietors of saw mills at Stilwa-
ter, St. Anthony, Taylor's Falls, &C., upon
this point.]
We would also quote the following from
the report of D. G. Sheppard, Chief Engi-
neer of the Minnesota and Pacific Railroad ::
"To the westward of this lne' ten miles westward
from the Mississippi west of St. Paul and ST. Anthony
fhp Rio for ton h,pdr a