St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-07-18
looking finely, and We passed some splen-
did fields of corn. A great deal of oats
has been planted, which is doing WE'LL

There is good amount of barley in a
Aourishiny condition. The wheat needs
no special mention. The farmers say they
have had slight showers at the proper
time all during the season, and they could
not desire their crops to look better
Some of the garden vegetables have been
killed by bugs. This is the only CON-
[plaint l hear, except the all-prevailing one
"Where are We to get help to harvest our
crops?" Still the question is, Where p
In fact, unless we receive large importa-
tion or emigration of farm hands, great
portion of the grain must go to loss. 1t
will be an utter i'upossibility for the people
here to harvest, unassisted, their immense
crops. They have continued breaking
and sowing more lard year after year, un-
til they have now more than they arc able
to control. I met our friend S. NJ Bruce,
of Sauk Center, going down to St. Cloud.
In company with him were the teams 60
ing to St. Paul to try to procure reaper
use up here, without which they will
be almost powcrless These same persons
| intend bringing up their families from
Minneapolis, and settle in this REGION
They have sowcd seventy five acres Of
land.
1t is almost incredible the change since
I was through this country three years
ago. At the point where we then cmer-
ged from the St. 10 woods, and walked
th,ce miles for supper and provisions, there
is now field of eighty acres of grain,
with good house. All along the road,
where there was then nothing but unbro-
ken prairie, there are now comfortable
houses on almost every quarter section,
large fields fenced IN, filed with waving
grain, stock in abundance, and everything
prosperous and home]ike
I am writing this in the midst Of
smoke thick enough to slice and pickle
away and still slaps at mosquitoes on my
face and hands, come oftener than pune
tuation marks. There are, also, some half
dozen persons around talking, asking
questions and interruptiug, and l fear the
letter will SAVIOR of the general MIXTURE
Still I have to- make the best Of it can,
thankful for the opportunity. Recurring
to mosquitoes, they have not been nearly
SO bad as we had anticipated. 1t is only
about supper time and for an hour or 50
after, that they are troublesome, but then
they do bite. 1t is at this time am wri-
ting After ten o'clock they are not
troublesome, and we have capital sleeping.
| SAuK CENTRE, July II.
! We arrived at this place at IL o'clock
\. NJ, and l have remained behind the
team to add this note to my already too
long letter, and mail it. The crops still
continue to improve as we approach this
place. The appearance of the country is
most magnifcent-far beyond the descrlp'
ton of an inexperienced pen, even had l
space to write more. There is no doubt
but that in ten years there will be -four
ishing town in this region, and that town
will doubtless be Sauk Centre. 1t is so
situated and surrounded as to render this
result in every way probable. There are
two schools between Melrose and this
place, distance of nine miles, and as we
passed one, a number of intelligent-look'
) ing, neatly dressed children were playing
before the door,an the other was we'll
filed with scholars. There are many neat
: and really fine appearing houses on the
road we passed over this morning. That
S of Mr.. Bruce, is, from its situation specl
ally attractive He has neat garden sur
: rounded by a picket fence, with green
i gates, and is laid off in tasteful style Il
}, is not often in the older country settle
S ments one would see more comfortable
r and neatly-appearing residence. Wepass
S ed one field to-day fenced in containing
r four hundred acres! A short distance
t from here we met Mr.. and Mrs. Sam
:, Cowdry, of Alexandra, on their way tt
St. Cloud. But it is time to stop writing
l.. both in Difference to the patience of youl
n readers, and to the demands Of my diges
: tive organs, which are very loudly sugges