Weekly Minnesotian and times., 1859-12-17
influence of the Climate Of Minnesota


IDS was the Supect ol very aDie anu interesting
lecture delivered 10y Col. ID. A. Robertson, before
the Mercantile Library Association on Monday eve
ming. The inclemency of the weather on that evening
prevented the assembling OF very large audience,
but those who were present could not have been
more pleasantly entertained. We regret that are
readers will thank us for the following synopsis:
The lecturer commenced by saying that when he
accepted the invitation to deliver the opening lecture
before the Association, he supposed he could, SO far
as his feeble abilities would allow, do the subject tol
cradle justice in single hour but upon applying
his thoughts to paper he discovered the warmth and
fertility OF the theme to be sucl that his manuscript
grew like blades OF corn in n Minnesota summer
day. increasing aud expanding its leaves-until he
had before him an apt illustration of the luxuriant
growth of all our products,-a crop of lectures,
containing the wnnowed grains of various research,
into the relations Of mankind with climate.
The first thought presented on approaching the
subject of the evenings lecture was, that all lite
vegetable and animal. is in adaptation or correspon
dence, with local climate and that man sympathlzes
with man. and with all surrounding relations, but
more especially with the conditions of temperature
in which he breathes and hath his being.
II is climate more than any other natural cause,
which dverses the characteristics OF nations States,
and communities OF our race.
We. therefore, the people in this new land, become
interested in the enquiry-What is the necessary in
huence of the climate of Minnesota on man and
woman? This question was answered by showing
that the distinguishing influence Of climate is to
develope in IA remarkable and unparalleled degree,
all their faculties. and therefore to produce power
ful people. BY encOuntering the extreme heat OF
summer. and excessive winter cold, and mastering
all the vcissitudeS of climate man OF intellec-
tual race learns feel his strength and therefore he
becomes courageous.
The consciousness that he can labor in Il heat of
lOOa Fahrenheit, without willing and the expert
ence that he can enjoy himself with the mercury
800 Or 400 below zero, makes him brave. The ther-
mometer. thought the speaker, great invention
for this country we would not know how warm or
how cold it gets to be here were it not for this in
strument But when full grown man finds himself
shiverng, as in an ague fit, with the mercury only
little below the freezing point, Or drops, like sick
chicken, in a summer heat of 80 > he cannot form
a very high estimate Of the strength of his manhood
but is disposed to give up and acknowledge his
weakness.
With what pride our Minnesota people brave the
summer heat, and the winter cold In the early
pioneer days it was customary for them to sleep out
in the open air. night after night in the coolest win
ter weather, and return home after a camping voy-
age Of weeks, as tat and rugged as bears. No won.
der the old settlers of such ndomitabe will
energy and power. Such life of exposure to win
ter, in the States they come frOm would have pre-
vented there ever having chance to pioneer in Min
neso.a. 1t is the power which the climate, by its
invigoration bestows on man, to meet and triumph
over all its forces-tlat exerts the most beneficial
influence upon his character. Unyielding courage
in ali things, thereby becomes in time, the normal
action Of his muscles, nerves and brain.
Cowardice is the audible and visible expression ol
any conscious weakness. 1t may be physical, it may
be moral, it may be mental, it may be any combina-
ton of these for courage is the only evidence of any
virtue Courage of any kind can never be counter
feited The hollow, dull or brazen jingle of the
base coin can never be mistaken for the full sonor
Gus ring of the genuine metal All and each of us
naturally exercise our powers in accord with the
climate and physical pecularities of the land live
in To battle with rude and i'll requited nature
makes men rude, for such battle irrtates, disgusts
and develops chiefly the animal and destroying pow
ers. Tn. pioneers of other lands begin to rise
in the scale of humanity only after they have drained
opposing swamps, and cleared resisting forests, the
chief obstacles in their pathway to progress. 1t is
then they begin to cultivate their faculties generally
and to become adorned withtthe higher graces and
Accomplishments of civilization.
But here in Minnesota we have no rugged ant
savage nature opposing obstacles to high human cul
tivation. Nature here is so beautiful to the eye
civilized man, and so genial in her relations with him
that our pioneers are not necessarily subjected to
single degrading influence, but may enter at once
upon successful career of advanced improvement
This then is the great and incompatible merit of ou
climate, for race that it cultivates all their fac
ulties soon making each one Of them developed
power. The consciousness Of po,cer assured by tht
exercise of faculties, whether physical, moral Oh
intellectual, is the only real human enjoyment The
wreck of the mind the greatest of calamtes is only
the loss of power to command its operations The
possession of po,rer is necessary to save men from
moral RUIN. The measure of his dignity is gradual
ed by the scale of his powers First of command
over himself, and next over his fellows.
Our climate above all others, is fitted to train our
people in self command, therefore, we need not re
gret the want of opportunity to rule over simple
faithful laborious slave population like that Of our
Southern States; for ours far more enobling is the
power of government all the forces of our Or
ganizaon, the exercise of which our climate not only
favors but compels
No region in the temperate ATTITUDES s subject to
such great extremes Of temperature tfat Of Min:
nesota-where the mercury rises higher in suramer,
and sinks lower in winter tfan in Any other region
of the same latitude This fact, 'wAah. On It's FIRST
announcement, may be mistaken for an objection to
the influence OF our climate on man, becomes, (when
we learn the conditions of these extremes of heat
and cod) its greatest characteristic merit. If our
extremes of temperature, as explained by diagrams,
described the sharp anguarities of New England
or New York climate, we could easily determine
the difference between those climates and ours by a
simple comparison of the moisture of atmospheres
and means of temperatures. But such comparison
between. New England for example, and Minnesota,
would convey nothing, approaching correct infor-
nation. Our changes of temperature for day and
night, and seasons, would be described by diagrams
of waving lines running through the whole thermal
gamut of all climates, inhabtable by race, from
the tropics almost to the polar circle. Diagrams of
the tpmnprafurn of Naw Eprlond op1 thu ,,;lJo