Weekly Minnesotian and times. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1859-1860, 1860-03-10
One OF she Pioneers.

Tom Holmes Of the tar west---no town or
State III particuiar-ls 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 towards the setting sun, and still
westward the course Of his empire takes it's
wav. When the writer saw Thomas IL
Shakopoe. Minnesota in the fail Of 1854 he
had never seen 4 railroad car or a telegraph
Wir- IL uiS lite. He has since paid visit 70
Chicago, ely which he laid out and pre-
empted when there was nobody IN Chicago
except Tom Holmes and the Fever and Aguc
and he describes lis first ride in q railroad
car, from the Mississippi across Illinois, two
years ago, as hsvin., heer a fearful experience
Tom says that the tarnal thing skittcred
along So fast that he was ssee.c3' and he
didn't care to deny It. Ho sat with hi3 legs
drawn up under the seat, and his trepidatiou
vas 50 apparent that he attracted the attcn-
ton OF all the passengers in the car. Tom
saws ne had rather met three hundred In
ilaus iuli of whi,key than ride n one ot
them swift sliding concerns
Tom was The original settler Of Chicago,
where he pre-empted a tract Of land ar5 aid
out townau easy thing 70 do IN fbe West.
He then laid out GAINESVILLE, Wisconsin, aud
lie With two or three diners, laid out the cit,
Of Milwaukee. The rapa growth. and pres
ent size and importance oi these places attest
the Judgment Of this pioneer N locating towns
After al these towns hgd been started, Tom
went up into the colntry 81 the Wmnc'iago
Indians on = trading tour, for he mas been a
veteran Indian trader. He had not seen his
pgOpcTty IN Chicago for SIX Years, when ono
n y 81
where he vas stopping, an entered into con.
geroaton With him. The stranger was well
dressed, wearing br0adco,h, and "JijC|
shirt, rs Tom is won't 20 call that garment.
VIXEN It Is oomposed G. white cotton or liner
material. The gentleman asked Tom If he
was not the owner u some land OF Chicago.
and what he would take ior it? Ton diin't
exactly know What would the gentleman
give? The gentleman was about to build
some mills at that point, and as il happened
that Toms land lay right on the spot where
he would ike to build, he was disposed to Of.
fer him more than the real value Of the pro.
! p ty--he would give him six thousand dol.
Tom prickad up his ears and set W {. vio.
lent thinking. If the stranger had offered
; three thousand dollars he would hsv snapped
~ ~ ihibitH'tst.y' Otit 30 tAI& dti oIiSI leu
hun to suspect that there had been something
going on down there in Chicago that he was
not aware OF to raise the price oi mud. Tom
therefore hesitated, told the stranger he hadn't
seen the property for six years guessed he'd
g down and take 4 look tit Stranger said
ne had but little TINE TO wait--must start for
home that same afternoon, and would give
Tom one hoar to make up his mind. The pl-
oneer "chawed iobacker an hour, and told
the stranger, WHO wore a a Billed shirt" that
! 40 might nave the land for ten Thousand dol
lars. Stranger dreH his pocket book with
amazing aacrity ard paid the amount. Tom
afterwards ascertalned that the land even at
| that time was worth one hundred thousand
dollars, aud he had been picked up as a
| flat"
Tom Holmes assisted in laying out and de-
veloping the iiourishing town Of Shakopec. on
the Minnesota river about thirty miles from
ST. Pail, out civilization begins to bore him,
and he is now purchasing cattle and an outfit
| f0r a great stock farm at Buffalo City three
7. hundred miles northwest Of ST.. Paul. Such
pioneers as Holmes are the men who open up
new regions 10 the productive industry Of the
world Boston Herald.