St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-01-10
G MS,
8 -A,INT5CLoUe@D.

W. l auI, WHICH proves IL 10 pc the uatur8l
'unetion Of land travel between these two great
arteries of trade. It is at the present head 81
steam navigation on the Mississippi. Boats
run regularly, during thu Spring and early
Summer months, from St Anthony to this
place. -" r.. - :
The map gives its position correctly with
reference to all the most important points in
the Territory, but the peculiar beauty Of its
location, and fertility of the surrounding coun-
'ry can not be transcribed. Within fifteen
mile Of St. Cloud, on opposite sides of the
rAyer, and ut different points Of the compass
are eight lakes varying in size from l mile to
o miles in circumference, oil, save one, beau
it'll, exceedingly, three OF them at least, deep
enough to float man-of-war Wooded banks,
clean pebbly shores plentifully mixed with
cornelian; and waters abundantly supplied
:th fish,
When Gov. Stevens made his survey of a
northern railroad route to the Pacific in '53,
he camped con the western side Of tie Mis-.
sissippi below Sank Rapids" The place was
nameless-the present site Of st. Cloud; but it
is here his route leaves the river. In the sum
mer of '55 claim cabin was built on the spot
frame Of a large Hotel and eight other dwell
ings were put up that summer. This last fall
there were three hundred and thirty-two votes
polled in the precinct. Not the votes of Indi-
! ans or Half Breeds, for there are none here
4 majority Of the inhabitants Of tho country
are hardy Germans, with sturdy wives aud
children cultivating the soil and working at
mechanical employments.
The subsoil is sandy and although the soil is
from one to three feet deep, rich black loam
supporting rank vegetation, the drainage is
so perfect and the air 50 pure that breathing
| is perpetual pleasure. As yet, our physi-
~ 1SO~ "a
the climate no indeg .nious complaint except
! the minnesota Appetite" which requires one
fourth more treatment than a modest Pennsyl-
vania or Ohio attack Of a corresponding dis
! ease
! ANY body who wants to drink whiskey in
peace had better not come here, for the treaty
| by which the land was acquired from the Sioux
forbids its introduction; and the Legislature
has passed a law enforcing that provision; but
people of moderate means and industrious hab-
who have children to educate, will find few
places where the opportunity for correct moral
training, healthy development of muscle, and
the means Of pecuniary independence are bet
| ter combined. >-
\ There are immense tracts of pine lying above,
| from which the mills at St. Paul, St. Anthony,
and the Minnesota Valley are supplied. These
employ large and ever-increasing force of
men, horses snd oxen, who are to be supplied
with provisions, clothing and feed. The soil is
waiting for an opportunity to produce unlini-
ted quantities of food, without troubling the
farmer crushing clods; while the Mississippi
rom St. Paul to Little Falls can afford to turn
mill at almost any point and has water pow
err enough to do the manufacturing for Con-
inent
Our natural meadows produce a grass from
four to six feet high, and the beefkilled off our
prairies is quite equal to any stall fed we ave
ever eaten Our venison is fine at ten cents
per pound, rabbits, prairie hens, cartridges,
dncks, &C., plenty. Thousands OF bushels of
| ,oorns for the hogs that are not here to eat
them. Fuel for the labor Of cutting and haul
ing off the ground; and there is no likelihood
Of the supply running out soon as the "Big
Woods" extend from this place some twenty
from eight to twelve miles back Our prairics
are all dotted with strips of wood land, coax
Openings which just look like old orchards,
dense thickets of plum trees bearing delicious
fruit, grape vines, doing likewise, thousands Of
acres Of hazel bushes and strawberry vines, en
gagged in the same business; while some hun
dved acres in the cranberry trade and turn
out an article, which for quantity and quality
connot be excelled. The blackberries red rasp-
berries and hops tack up their shingles in the
woods and seldom dissappoint the most san
guine expectations Of their customers. There
is still land ten or fifteen miles back which set
tiers can 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 FIVE to if
cen hundred - ~
In some of the river towns back, places that
will be pleasant villages lots can be had gratis
by those who will build and live on them
This, in places where house can be built for
fifty dollars, that would be o palace compared
to the dens rented in large cities for 4 and 5
dollars per month, while the lot, with only the
aid of a grubbing hoe and i few days labor,
would bring vegetables to feed family, and
every township has 900 acres Appropriated to
the support Of schools { H., a: II
Seventy Thousand acres are appropriated to
State University. A fine building has already
been erected for the use of that institution. It
9 situated St. Anthony, built of stone an
eminence commanding view of the falls, and
no State in the Union has q better foundation
for good system Of popular education. No
other prairie State is 50 we'll timbered as Min |
nesota and no State more abundantly supplied
with clear water. In the country surrounding
St. Cloud and as far North and West as we have
any reliable account, settlers find no dificults
in locating land on a running stream or trany-
F'arcnt lake with plenty OF tlmOer at mana Tor
building, fencing and fuel, and the land on
the West side of the Upper Mississippi is only
open TO -emption, there is little opportunity
for spectators, and settlers have assurance Of
Deighbors and that rapid increase in the value
Of their lands and in social advantages which
arise from the system of land in limited guam
titles to actual settlers. .''
The country around 81. Cloud, west of the
Mississippi was purchased of the lndians in r q
treaty made with them by the Hon. Alexander
Ramsey and Luke Lea in 1852 and ratified by
the senate the 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
miles north Of St. Cloud. Their country was
II