St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1860-04-05
I q w n S.
s. -AfNT CLoU =.

S' Cloud is the point 1t which the Ecu Riv.
cr trains cross the Mississippi On their way to
81. Paul, which proves it to be the natural
junction Of land travel between these two great
arteries Of trade. 1t is At the present head Of
steam navigation on the Mississippi. Boats
r'n regularly. during the Spring and early
Summer months, frou. 81 Anthony to this
place.
The uAp gives its position correctly with
the Territory. but the peculiar beaCty Of ns
location, ana fertility CT the Surrounding coun-
try can not be transcribed. Within fifteen
mile Of St. Cloud, on opposite sides OF 'hs
rive-, and at different points OF the compass
n1e eight lakes varying III size from l mile to
3 miles in circumference, all save one, beaa-
tfl. exceedingly, three OF Thorn At least deep
enough to float man -of-war. Wooded banks,
Siean pebbly shores plenti:nlly mixed with
soraclan ; and waters abundantly supplied
til Dish.
When Gsv. Stevens mado his survey Of a
northern railroad route to the Pacific IN %,
10 can.ped ''on the western side Of the MIS-
sissippi below Sank Rapijs.' The place was
uamrlcss-,he present Site Of st. Cloud; but it
is here his route leaves tho river. III the sum-
n,er Of So q claim cabin was built on the spot
where We now write, = good saw mill, the
frame Of q large Hotel and eight ot or dwell
iags wore pat up that summer. This last fall
,hers were three hundred and thirty-two votes
y >llei in the prccinct. Not the votes Of lndi-
ans or Half Breeds, for there are none here
4 majority CT the inhabitants OF tae country
arc hardy Germans, with sturdy wives aud
children ca!tivaiing the soil end working at
mechanical enp!oynonts.
The s,,',so;l is sandy and although the sol! IL
:rem one to three feet .,eep, rich black loan
MI nfi drainage
:. perfect and the mir SO pure t}ia: breathing
is perpetual pleasure. As yet, our physl-
e;ons have discovered no diseases peculiar to
The climate, no indcg :nious complaint except
the "Ninnesot. Appetite which requires one
fourth mora treatment than d modest PenRsyl-
vania or Ohio attack Of q corresponding dis
ease.
ANY body who wants 10 drink wGlskcy III
peace had better not come here, Tor the treaty
hy which the lard was acquired from the Sioux
forbds it's introduction; and the Legislature
has passed Law enforcing that provisions; but
people Of moderate means and industrious hao-
WHO havs children to educate, will 6nd few
places where the opportunity for correct moral
training. healshs development Of muscle, and
tAs means Of pccuniary independence arc bet
ter combined
There areinmense tracts Of pine lying above,
from which the mills at St. Paul, St. Anthony,
and the Minnesota Valley are supplied. These
employ largo and ever-incrcasing force OF
men, horses sud oxen, who arc to be supplied
with provisions, clothing and feed The soil il
waiting for an opportunity to produce unliR,l-
ted quantities Of food, without troubling the
farmer crushing clods: while the Mississippi
from St. Paul to Little Falls can afford to turn
mill at almost any point and has water pow
Or enough to do the manufacturing for Con-
tnent
Our natural meadows produce grass from
four to six feet high, and the beefkilled off our
praires is quite equal to any stall fed we ave
ever eaton Our venison is enc at ten cents
per pound, rabbits, prairie hens, partridges,
dncks, &c., plenty. Thousands Of bushels OF
tcnrns for the hogs that are not here to eat
them. Pucl for the labor Of cutting and haul
Of the supply running out soon. as the "Dlg
Woods" extend from this place some twenty
miles or more, down this side ofthe river and
from eight TO twelve miles back Our prairics
are al dotted with strips Of wood land, ''Oak
Openings which Just look like old orchards,
dense thiekets Of plum trees bearing delicious
fruit, grape vi2es, doing likewise, thousands of
acres Of hazel bushes and strawberry vines en-.
gagged in the Same business; while some hun
dred acres are in tie cranberry trade and turn
out an article, which for quantity and quality
eonnot be excellcd. The blackberries red rasp-
berries and hops tack up their shingles in the
woods and seldom dissappoint the most san
gaine expectations of their customers. There
is still land ten or fifteen miles back which set
,lvrs car get, at government price, by building
cabin and living on it until it comes into
market. Actual settlers can buy lots here at
from one to FIVE hundred dollars, and speculs-
tors can have the same lots at from Eve to fif-
cen hundred
In some Of tho river towns back, places that
will he pleasant villages, lots can be had gratis
BY those who will build and live on them
This, in p!ac IS where a house can be built for
fifty dollars, that would be q palace compared
70 tho den. rented in large cities for and S
dollars per month, while the lot, will" only the
aid Of q erubbing hoe and 9 few days labor,
would bring vegetables to fecd faiaily, and
every township has 600 acres appropriated to
the support Of schools.
Seventy thousand acres are appropriated to
State University. \ fine building has already
been erected for the use of that institution. 1t
situated st. Anthony, built of stone on an
eminencs commanding view Of tho falls, and
no State in the Union has q better foundation
for good system Of popular education. No
ether prairie State is 80 we'll tisnbered rs Min
nesota and no State more abundantly supplied
with clear water. In the country surrounding
~. Cloud and as farNorth and West as We have
any reliable account, settlers find no difficulty
in locating land on q running stream or trans, ,
parcnt lake with plenty Of timber at hand for
building, fencing and fuel, and as the land on
tho West side Of the Upper Mississippi is only
open to prc-emption, there is little opportunity
for spectators, and settlers have assurance Of
reighbors, and that rapid increase in the value
eftheir lands and in social advantages which
arise from the system Of land in limited guam
titles to actual settlers.
Mississippi was purchased Of the Indians in a
treaty made With them by the Hon. Alexander
Ramsey aud Luke Lea in 1852 and ratified by
the senate tho same year. The Sioux had
owned the land from 1927 but had not occupied
it, and it was used As hunting ground by the
Winnebagoes whose land reached within four