St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1859-04-07


[ 5-A.-E::lssQ.- II & LOUD.
! St. Clouds is the point at whichfthe Red Riv-
CT trains cross tho Mississippi on their way to
St. Paul, which proves it Is i be the natural
junction 81: land tray el bet kts43To great
arteries Of trade. Il is; at the PfeseAt head Of
steam navigation on. &lhe Mississippi Boats
run regularly during the Spring and early
Summer month";, frems ST. tlony 10 this
place. g. -. ] 49, ~ Il
lreferencsto all the most important points in
the territory, but Thea peculiar beauty Of its
location, and fertility the surro anding couu
try cannot DC transcribed. ~ Within shh1tte,i
miles Of So Cloud, on opposite sides of TIE
river, and ut different points Of the compass
are eight lales Var ingl Sac from 1 mile to
s. miles in circumference; all. save one, beau
tiful exceedingly, three o. at least, deep
enough TO float man -of-war. Wooded banks,
clean pcbb1y shores plentifully mixed with
cornelian; and waters abundan1ly supplied
With fish. ~. <.+ u-, =,
When GOV. Stevens 81 made, his survey, Of, a,
porth railroad. route TO- the pacific, in IS,
nc, campcd son the, western side of Tie Mis-:
! sissippi, below Sapl Rapids, 80 The place was
hameless-the present site Of St, Cloud but il
is here his route leaves the river. In thcsum-
mer Of 'o5 - claim cabin was built on the spot
where we now write, a good saw MILL the
frame; Of q large Hotel and eight other dwell
:ings were put up that summer. This last fall
there were three hundred and thirt y two votes
polled in the precinct. Net: the votes Of Indi-
ans CT 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. '1g~7.:.:s - - J
The subsoil is sand; and although the soil is
from one to three feet deep, rich black loan
supporting rank vcgetat on, the drainage is
so perfect and the air 50 pure, hat breathing
clans have discovered no diseases peculiar to
the climate, no Indigenous complaint except
the minnesota Appetite which requires one
fourth more treatment than a modest Pcnnsyl-
vania or Ohio attack of a corresponding dis
case.
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,
forbids its introduction; and ftho Legislature
has passed a 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 iorcogrcct moral
training. healthy development Of muscle. ad
the means Of pecuniary independence are bet
ter combined. -. =,
1 There are immense tracts Of pine lying ahove,
from which the mills at St. Paul, St. Anthony
and the Minnesota Valley are supplied. These
employ large and evcr-;ncreasing force Of
men, horses and oxen, who s-arer 70 be supplied
with provisions clothing and feed: The soil is
waiting fo1an opportunity to- produce u1liiinit-
ed quantities Of food, without troubling The far
mer crushing clods; while the Mississippi from
St. Paul to Little Falls, canafford to turn a mill
at almost any point and has water power
enough to do the manufacturing for Cont
I nent.
+. Our natural meadows produce grass from
four to six feet high, and the beef killed off ouc
prsirics is qafitcsequal to any staff Ted weshave
ever eaten. Our venison is fine at ten cents
per: pound, rabbits, prairie hens,; partridges,
ducks, &c, plenty Thousands of bushels OF
acorns for the hogs that are not here to eat
tl,em' 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 pr more, down this side Of the river, and
from eight to twelve miles: back. Our prairjcs
are all dotted with strips Of wood land, soak
i
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
| ared acres ere in the cranberry trade and turn
out an article, which for quantity and quality
cannot be excelled. Tire lackberries; red rasp-
berries and hops tack. up their shingles in the
woods; and seldom disappoint' the most san
guine expectations Of their customers. There
is still land ten or fifteen miles back which set
tiers can get, ut government price, by building
u cabin and living on it until itcornes into
market. ~ Actual settlers car buy lots here ut
from one to FIVE hundred dollars, and specula-i
tors can have the! same lots at from five to iii
teen hundred. ~ !}o@
In some Of the river town ck;places that
will be pleasant villages, lots can be had gratis
by those who will build and live on them.-
| This, in places where a house can be built for
fifty dollars, that would be a palace compared
to the dens rented in large cities for 4 and s.
dollars per month, while the. lot, with only the
taid Of o grubbing hoe and few days labor,
would bring vegetables to feed q family, and
every township has 600 acres appropriated to,
the support OF schools. asss s<s@3 G3 s4sfi4
Seventy thousand acres are appropriated to
q 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 on
eminence commanding view of the falls, and
no State in the Union has a 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 as far No.th and Wet az We have
any reliable account, settlers find no Of! cu:y
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 aWest:side of the Upper Mississippi is only
open to prescriptions, there is little opportunity
for speculate and settlers hove assurance Of