St. Paul weekly Minnesotian. (St. Paul) 1860-1861, 1860-11-09
COMMUNICATIONS.
From Our travelling Correspondent


TO the Editor Of the MnEesoiian:
| am painfully in want of a metaphor.
You will recollect that described the way
The grain was pouring into some of the up
river towns under the impressive figure o.
a " cataract which was designed to rep
resent not the recent fall" in prices, but
very large quantity of farinaceous psbu-
lum rushing with very great velocity into
marke, like that bedevilled pork which,
aloretime, ran violently down steep
place INTO the sea ;" thus shown, evena
that early period, the tendency Of provis-
ions to take the form OF cascades. But If the
cereal iuundation at Hastings be n cataract,
what shall be said of Winona?- bigger
cataract, say you? and how much bigger
How much, indeed
Everything comes at last to statistics,
you perceive. 81. Crispin measures the
Princes foot, and the nineteenth century
demands the inches Of the royal instep.
We feast him, and count the cost tell
you Of rivers of milk and honey, and you
ask how much And SO must tumble my
golden torrents over the beetlng bluffs in
tabular columns of quantities, and mete
me out in bushels the metrical flow Of the
tide that goes out to Gil the veins and throb
in the hearts of millions. But ! am not
yet prepared to reduce my metaphors to
dry measure. Receipts and shipments and
all that can't give you exactly. But can
tell you what they say. They say then at
Hastings that they receive from 1000 to
5000 bushels per day; at Red Wing from
1000 to 1000; at Lake City and Wabashaw
don't know what; at Winona between
5000 and 5000 per day. am inclined to
think Imagination fills some of these bush
els, and that some of the figures are figures
of speech. To bring 1000 or 5000 bushels
| of wheat to Winona-which is probably
about the fact-requres 100 or l25 teams,
carrying 40 bushels each. When these
loo loads are converted into cash, the
empty wagons usually collect on the prin.
| cipal business street, which is lined with
well filed shops, and which, toward the
close Of fine afternoon, often exhibits for
the space Of two squares a scene Of
vehicular compression equal to Broad
way, hundred or more needy farmers
arriving daily with an aggregate of
about $4,000 in their collection pockets
make pretty good customers-and if as
"they say" Winona will ship from this
vars crop some 100000 bushels of all
rams, worth say ST. 200, 000-a large pro.
portion Of this sum in the course of G
year, We may expect, will find its way to
Winona again. SO, think you will agree
with rue that there is u good basis for bust
ness here. The counties of Winona, Fill
more, Olmsted, Steele, Mower and Free
born, having total area of 4O32 square
miles from the geographical cornucopa
which ernpties its riches into Winona Up
on this solid base of back country, there
is rapidly growing up here, one OF the
chsf commercial cities in the State. The
completion CT the Transit Railroad will
give its prosperity firm ard broad root
ny in Southern Minnesota. The existing
tendencies of our domestic commerce
point, ! thing, distinctly to the develope-
ment within ten years Of three and per-
haps ionr comparatively great cities in this
State, in which will be concentrated it's
principal commercial capital. One Of these
will be Winona-if she does not throw
away her trump cards. am talking Of
the decade jus before US. Beyond that |
will not speculate.
When David Oimsted and others, six
years ago think, came down here from
ST. Paul to lay out a town on the thresh-
hold Of the interminal'le western wilder
ness. David knew what he was about,
and time is but filling out the sketch which
his lorethought then drafted. The numer-
our friends of Mr.. Olmsted, amoug.'the ear
ly settlers Of st. Paul, will feel solcitous
to know where and how he is. Ii is sad
thing to say that he has gone TO his home
in Vermont, to die, and that the progress
of his disease has left no hope of his re-
covcry. But although so feeble as to be
confined to his bed, he still writes with
firm and hexile hand, and 81 the genial
mood of a healthy soul, to his old friends
OF Winona, telling over again the dreams Of
life, as he goes to a dreamless sleep.
In its social aspects Winona captivates
my fancy. Did it ever occur to you that
the marked individuality which We ascribe
to some cities is but the grouping Of indi-
yidual attributes around some central
and commanding character, which be i.
comes its ideal and its inspiration!
have not time nor space to cite instances,
but it is true the world over. A half
dozen young men here ut Winona, enthu.
| siastic, ardent, whole-souled fellows, gave
their own character to the young town at
| its birth, and as new elements have come
| in, they have become ass.milsted to the
prevailing type. The Winonian is, in fact,
q new distinct species, and any Winonian
represents, only in a greater or less de-
gree Of efficiency, ali the rest. All the
hopes, wishes, plans, purposes and opin-
ions Of the individual Winonian are suhor--
iinate to and merged in the common aspi-
rations and ideas Of the specific Winonian.
He believes in the Bible mildly--in the
Five Million Loan solemnly-in the Trans
! it enthusiastically YIN the Cut Off frater-
nally----in Southern Minnesota serenely-
and in Winona, which comprehends all
these institutions passionate!y and abso-
lusly, first and last, DOW and forever,
Amen! To the iast six articles of this
creed the Winonian cCnsecrates his life
lie does not wish, indeed, to revive the
Loan Law, but he regards it as a sacred
tradition to be remembered with rever-
ence, like the ark Of the covenant under
the rev dispensation. There is. something
| positively religious in his faith in all Rail-
roads except the Root River which he con.
siders too crooked for safety. He carries
the profile of the Transit in his bosom as
| tho lover tho ;p,au, IS HE ,l.ot IL