St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1858-12-23
SAINT CLOUD.

junction OF land travel between these two great
arteries OF trade. 1t is at the present head Of
steam navigation on tho Mississippi. Boats
run regularly, during the Spring and early
Summer months, from St. Anthony to this
place.
The map gives its position correctly with
reference to all the most important points i'll
the territory, but the peculiar beauty of its
location, and fertility Of the surrounding coun-
try cannot be transcribed. Within fifteen
miles of St. Cloud, on opposite sides of the
river, and at different points Of the compass
are eight lakes, varying in size from nli!o to
miles IN circumference, all, save one, beau
ti1ul exceedingly, three CT them at least, deep
enough to l!oat a man ot-War. Wooded banks,
clean pcbbly shores plcntifully mixed with
comedian; and waters ahundaniy supplied
with fish.
When Gov. Stevens made his survey OF a
northern railroad route to the pacific in '53,
lie campeI ION the western side Of the Mis-
s;ssippi, below Sank Rapids" The place was
namelcss--the present site Of St. Cloud but it
is here his route leaves leriyer. In the sum-
mer Of IS Il claim cabin was built on the spot
where VIC now write, u good saw mill, the
frame Of a large Hotel and eight other dwell
ings we're put up that summer. This last fall
there we're three hundred and thirty two votes
pol!cd in the precinct. Not the votes Of Indi-
ans II alt Breeds, for there are none here.
a majority Of the inhabitants Of the county
are hardy Germans, with sturdy wives and
children, cultivating the soil and working at
mechanical employments.
The subsoil is sand and although the soil is
from or c to three feet deep, a rcl black loan
supporting rank vegetation, the drainage is
SO perfect and the air SO pure, that breathing
is perpetual pleasure. AS yet, physi-
clans have discovered no diseases peculiar to
the climate, no Indigenous complaint except
the ':Niinncsota Appetite" which requires one
fourth moro treatment than a modest Pennsyl-
vanil or Ohio attack Of d corresponding dis
ease.
Any body who wants to drink whislzey in
peace had better not come here, for the treaty
by which the land was acquired from the Sioux,
torbids it's Introduction; and the Legislature
has passed a law enforcing tina: provision; but
people of moderate means and industrious hab-
its who have children to educate, will find few
places where the opportunity for correct moral
training, healthy development Of muscle, and
the means Of pccuniary independence arc bet
ter combined.
There are immense tracts Of pine lying above,
from which the mills at ST. Paul, St. Anthony
and the Minnesota Valley are supplied. These
employ a large and cvcr-incrcasing force Of
men, horses and oxen, who arc to be supplied
with provisions clothing and feed. The soil is
waiting for an opportunity to produce unlimit-
ed quantities of food, without troubling the far
me1 crushing clods; while the Mississippi from
St. Paul to Little Falls can afford to turn a. mill
at almost any point and has water power
enough to do the manufacturing for Cont
nent.
Our natural meadows produce grass from
four six feet high, and tile beef killed off cur
prairics is quite equal to any stall fed We have
ever eaten. Cur ven;son is fine at ten cents
per pound, rabbits, prairie hens, cartridges,
ducks, &C.. plenty. Thousands OF bushels OF
acorns Tor the hogs that are not here to eat
them. Fuel Tor the labor Of cutting and haul
ing off tic ground; and there l.; no likelihood
; OF the supply running o,.t soon, the dig
. Woods' extend troll this place some twenty
miles or more, down this side Of tic river, and
from eight to twelve miles back. Our prlir;es
arc all dotted with strips Of wood land, ''Oak
; Openings' which just look Ike old orchards,
dense Tickets Of plum trees bearing delicious
fruit, grape vines, doing likewise, thousands CT
acres OF hazel bushes and strawberry vines: Ell
gagged in the same business; while some hun
. drcd acres arc iii the cranberry trade and turn
out an article which for quantity and quality
cannot be excelled. The blackberrics, red raso-
|
woods; and seldom disappoirt the most san
guine expectations OF their customers. There
is still land ten or fifteen miles back which set
tiers can get, at government price, by building
q cabin and living on it until it comes into
market. Actual settlers eau buy lots here at
+ from orc to five hundred dollars, and specul:-
tors can have the same lots at from five to ff-
teen hundred.
In some Of the river towns back, places that
will be pleasant villages, lots can be had gratis
, by those who will build and live on them
{ This, in places where house can be built for
fifty dollars, that would be palace compared
to the dens rented in largo cities for and 5
) dollars per month, while tie lot, with only the
aid Of grubbing hoe and q few days labor,
would bring vegetables to feed u family, and
) every township has eco acres appropriated to
the support OF schools.
| Seventy thousand acres arc appropriated to
a State university. \ fine building has already
been erected for the use Of that institution. II
t is situated at St. anthony, built Of stone Al,
no State in the Union has a better foundation
for good system Of popular education. No
other prairie State is so well timbered as Min
nesota and no State more abundantly supplied
with clear water. In the. country surrounding
St. Cloud and as far North and West as we have
| any reliable account, settlers find no difficulty
in locating land on running stream or trans
parent lake with plenty of timber at hand for
building, fencing and fuel, and as the land on
the West side Of the Upper Mississippi is only
open to presumption, there is little opportunity
for spectators, and settlers have assurance of
neighbors and that rapid increase in the value
of their lands and in social advantages which
arise from the system Of land i'll limited guam
titles to actual settlers.
The country around St. Cloud, west Of the
Mississippi was purchased Of the Indians in a
treaty made with them by Hon. Alexander
Ramsey and Luke Lea in 1852 and ratified by
the senate the same year. The Sioux had
owned the land from 1927 but had not occupied
it., and it was used as a hunting ground by the
Winncbagocs whose land reached within four
miles north Of st. Cloud. Their country was
ceded to the United States by treaty began