St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1859-01-20
SAINT CLOUD.

II SS9-kA--ll-N IL tN-i.LNy,kysD. II
st. Cloud is the point at which the Red Riy
er trains cross the Mississippi on their way t,
St. Paul, which proves it to be the natura
junction OF land travel between these two grea
arteries of trade. It is at theprcsenthead
steam navigation on the Mississippi. Boat
run regularly, during the Spring and early
Summer months, from st. Anthony to TIL!
Eplace. g. 5. $500 :. 5,.5.7s
The map gives its position correctly witt
reference to all the most important points il
the territory, but the peculiar beauty Of iii
location, and fertility Of the surrounding coun
try cannot. be transcribed Within tiftee1
miles Of St. Cloud, on opposite sides IF tn,
river, and at different points of the compass
are eight lakes, varying in size from mile t
! 5 miles in circumference, all, save one, beau.
tiful, exceedingly, three Of them at least, deer
enough to float aiman- of-war. Wooded banks
clean pebbly shores plentifully, mixed with
cornelian; and waters abundantly supplied
1 with fish. Z. Z ksss f. a. d .S.|< ~
4 When Gov. Stevens made his survey of a
northern railroad route to the pacific, in So
he camped con the western side of the Mis-
sissippi, below Sank Rapids The place was
namelcss--fhe present site ofSt. Cloud ), but il
is here his route leaves theriyer. In thesum-
me, Of IS e claim cabin was built on the spot
where we now write, a good saw mill, the
frame Of a large Hotel and eight other dwell
iings were put up that summer. This last fall
there were three hundred and thirty-two votes
polled in the precinct. Not the votes of Indi-
ans or Half 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. < i
The subsoil is sand and although the soil is
from one to three feet deep, a rich black loan
supporting n rank vegetation, the drainage is
SO perfect and the air so pure, that breathing
is perpetual pleasure. AS yet, our physi-
clans have discovered no diseases peculiar to
the climate, no Indigenous complaint except
the minnesota Appetite" which requires one
4 fourth more treatment than a modest pennsyl
vania or Ohio attack of corresponding dis
case. ".' RI ~ a-'...2etE .s,At
Any body who wants to drink whiskey in
peace had better not come here, for the treaty
by which the land was acquired from the Sioux,
forblds its introduction; and the Legislature
has passed law enforcing that 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 pecuniary independence are bet
ter combined. H.. '@'I"3 ~"
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 large and ever-increasing force of
men, horses and oxen, who are 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
mer crushing clods; while the Mississippi from
St. Paul to Little Falls can afford to turn mill
at almost any point and has water power
enough to do the manufacturing for Cont
nent. ~ <-'~ y, .<-rS -, - "' ~
| Our natural meadows produce grass from,
four to six feet high, and the beef killed off our
prairies is quite equal to any stall fed we have
ever eaten. Our venison is fine at ten cents
per pound, rabbits, prairie hens, cartridges,
ducks, &C., plenty. Thousands of bushels OF
acorns for the hogs that are not here to eat
them. Fuel for the labor Of cutting and haul
ing off the ground; and there is no likelihood
OF the supply running out soon, as the "Big
| Woods" extend from this place some twenty
miles or more, down this side of the river, and
from eight to twelve miles back. Our prairjes
are all dotted with strips of wood land, soak
Openings which just look like old orchards,
dense thickets Of plum trees bearing delicious
fruit, grape vines, doing likewise, thousands OF
acres Of hazel bushes and strawberry vines, en-
gagged in the same business; while some hun
dred acres are in the cranberry trade and turn
out an articles, which for. quantity and quality
cannot be exceled. The blackberries, red rasp-
berries and hops tack up their shingles in the
woods; and seldom disappoint the most SAN
guine expectations of their customers. There
ofS1 III,
tiers can get, at government price, by building
a cabin and living on it until it comes into
market. Actual settlers can buy lots here at
from one to five hundred dollars, and specula-
tors can have the same lots at from FIVE to fif-
teen hundred. ., d = 4 : : s. -
| In some of the river town oack, places that
will be pleasant villages, lots can be had gratis
by those who will build md live on them
This, in places where Use can be built for
fifty dollars, that would be "a palace compared
to the dens rented in large cities for and
dollars per month, while the lot, with only the
aid Of grubbing hoe and a few days labor,
would bring vegetables to, feed a family, and
every township has 900 acres appropriated to
the support Of schools. E5@.1<zsf ~
Seventy thousand acres are appropriated. to
a State university. A fine building has already
| been erected for the use Of that institution. 1t
is situated at St: Anthony, built Of stone on an
eminence commanding view Of the falls, and
no State in the Union has better foundation
for good system Of popular education. No
other prairie State is SO we'll timbered as Min
nesota and no State more abundantly supplied
| with clear water In the country surrounding
St. Cloud and rs far North and West as ne have
any reliable account, settlers find no difficulty
in locating land on a 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 NIississipiEis 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 in limited guam
I titles to actual settlers. 5r7tu
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