The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-11-18
CANNON FALLS, GooDHUE COUNTY, !
November 7, 1859.

November Z, 1859.
Correspondence Of the Pioneer and Democrat
Last week the steamer Grey Eagle bore
your correspondent from st. Paul to Has
tings. Certainly we flew down the old
river until we reached that unasthetically
named place, "Pig's Eye" where the
Eagle" merely walked daintily along
among the sand bars. (which appear to
thrive in that locality and, consequently, we
did not come into Hastings till quite late in
the afternoon. A gorgeous day it was for
river travel i; the Indian Summer glowed
along the shore, and purpled the gray bluffs,
until the very water cleaned royalty with
purple and gold, and the long reaches of the
river tapered off in dreamy mistiness,
making series of quiet lakes of the river.
Well, we landed at Hastings amid gigan.
tic piles of wheat sacks. There was wheat
everywhere wheat on the levee wagon
loads of wheat pouring down to the levee
wheat in the streets wheat on the side
walks; warehouses of wheat men talking
of wheat and, verify, wheat was the one
idea of Hastings the afternoon we arrived
there. To come down to facts, there were
ten thousand bushels of the article awaiting
shipment on the levee. How much was
piled up in those dingy warehouses, we
tremble to say but we came to the conclu-
sion that Hastings would not starve during
the coming winter. The farmers are GER
tainly favored class. We do not see why
from fifty to sixty cents does not pay them
pretty we'll. The Burnet House we dis
covered to be fourishing under the robust
and kindly superintendent of the ALLIsoNs.
Inasmuch as there was nothing very
soul-stirring to behold in that worthy viii
lage, and as they are all insane on the SUBJ
ject of wheat, we retired rather early and
dreamed all night that millions of sacks of
wheat were crushing our frail body to atoms
The next day we walked over the purple
misted prairie to this place. A splendid
morning it we for pedestrian, and mag
nifcent was the perfect solitude of that long
stretch of treeless land.
We are not sure that the good people
here are right in spelling Cannon Falls with
two MS. 1t seems to US the word is Canon,
meaning deep ravine. Most people as
sumo the appellation to refer to the boom.
ing of the falls above the town, but as this
is rather far fetched, we think it is but right
to grant to the common sense of the early
explorers the real name to be Canon, and
the meaning to be as above stated, which
would certainly be apropcs in speaking of
this stream, which foams along generally
deep down over rocky bed, between great
frowning bluffs of solid rock.
The night we arrived here it was our
privilege to witness one of the grandest
sights of the Western country. We stood
on high bluff, overlooking the town, and
saw prairie fire in all its madness and de
structiveness. From out of the West,
above the dim horizon, the great red flames
came surgiDg in long, quivering waves, ex-
tending four or five miles over the prairie.
AS they came roaring EDWARDS, the scene
was perfectly magnificent. The whole
heavens were red as blood !; the flames rose
fifteen or twenty feet in the air and seemed
to threaten destruction to everything before
them. Some farms which lay in their way
very narrowly escaped by having burrows
ploughed around. Several wheat stacks
were swallowed up, and one man only saved
his dwelling house by six feet. Men
worked like Trojans all the night, fighting
the fire. About quarter of a mile on the
other side of the river, the flames wheeled
around with sudden change of the wind,
and went tearing down the river eastward
A lofty, abrupt rocky bluff, which seemed
to bar their way eAectually, was scaled in
two or three seconds, and the fire poured
down the slope on the other side, in several
distinct streams, looking exactly like liquid
red hot lava pouring down some rocky
mountain. The next morning this fiery
food had left great blackened waste as
far as the eye could reach.
The beauties Of this vicinity are enough
to melt the most woodeny nature in the
world, and to any one with particle Of ap-
probation of the beautiful in nature within
them, a visit would be an enjoyable one.
1t is rather quiet here; the most active
part of the village is near the grist mill of
R. G. KNOX & Go. This is very capital
mill, and certainly does "a thriving business.
We were informed that wheat is brought
from Red Wing, Hastings and Mortified
to be ground here-a potent proof of the
popularity of the institution. 1t has four
run of stone, and turns out most splendid
article of flour.
Corn was considerably injured by the
frost down here buckwheat, ditto, but the
other grains have put to blush all former
years, averaging Is bushels to the acre.