New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-04-09
One of the Pioneers.

Tom Holmes, Of the Far West-no town or State
in particulars one of the pioneers. Decidedly, he
is one of them. Tom has faced more wild lands.
fever and ague, and Indians, than almost any man
now on the borders of civilization toward the SET
ting sun, and still westward the course Of his en-
pire takes its way, When the writer saw Thomas
In Shakopee, Minnesota, in the fall Of 1884, he had
never seen railroad car or telegraph wire in his
life. He has since paid visit to Chicago, . city
which he had laid out and e-empted when there
was nobody in Chicago except Tom Holmes and
in railroad car, from Mississippi across Illinois,
two years ago. as having been afearfnl experience.
Tom says that the tarnal thing skittered along 80
fast that he was skeered,n and he didn't care 10
DENY it. He sat with his legs drawn up under the
/ seat and his trepidation was so apparent that he
attracted the attention of all the passengers in the
/ car. Tom says he had rather met three hundred
Indians full Of whiskey, than ride IN one Of them
| swift sliding concerns
Tom was the original settler Of Chicago, where
he preempted tract of land, and laid out town
easy thing to do in the West. He then laid out
/ GAINESVILLE, Wisconsin, and he, with two or three
others, laid out the city of Milwaukee. The rapid
! growth and present size and importance Of tnese
places attest the judgment Of this pioneer IN iocat
| ing towns After all these towns had been started,
| Tom went up into the country Of the Winnebago
Indians on trading tour, for he has been veteran
| Indian trader. He had not seen his property in
| Chicago for six years, when one day gentleman
arrived at the tradng-post where he was stopping,
and entered into Conversation with him. The
stranger was well-dressed, wearing broadcloth and
/" billed shirt, as Tom is wont TO call that gar
ment when it is composed Of white cotton or liner
material. The gentleman asked Tom if he was MOI
the owner Of some land at Chicago, and what hs
would take for its Tom didn't exactly know
/ What would the gentleman give The gentleman
/ was about to build some mills at that point, and
as it happened that Toms land lay right on Thy
spot where he would like to build, he was disposed
to offer him more than the real value Of the prop
i ertY-he would give him 5000.
4 Tom pricked up his ears and set up e yelen
a thinking. II the stranger had offered three thou
sand dollars he would have snapped at It immeai.
Il ately. But SO large an offer led him GO suspect
that there had been something going on down tasIe
in Chicago that he was not aware OF 70 Faise els
price of mud Tom therefore hesaIed, az s eoaa i
81 the stranger he hadn't seen the properly ior slA
! vears-paessed he'd 60 down ana !ahd iooA %
. | Il. Stranger said he had but little nme y walt.
E m,lst start for home that same aiterheon, aha
would give Tom one hour to make w hls Minu: 4 .
ar ssnbawed tobaeker an hour. and told
1ha dne p,ranger who wore billed shirt y that he
a;,hf have the land for ten thousand dollars.
S,rsanoer drew out his pocket book with amazing
/, aIacrify and paid the amount. Tom afterWard as
certaired that the land even at that time was
worth one hundred thousand dollars, and he had
4 been picked up as a ..fat.n
4 Tom Holmes assisted in laying out and develop
| ing the flonrishng town of Shakopee, on the Min
nesota river about thirty miles from ST. Paul, ba
civilization begins to bore him, and he is now pnr
chasing cattle and an outfit for great stock farm
4 at Buffalo City, three hundred miles northwest
/ St. Paul. Such pioneers rs Holmes are the alel
who open new regions to the productive industr,
i of the world.