The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-04-01
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RAvENNA, OHIO.
Correspondence of Portage co,Democrat
LETTERS FRom nIINNEsorA.
NO. ".

Ia g 80
ST., Paul, (Minn.) March 18th, 1868.
After silence of considerable length, "Pm
| with you once again. This part Of the world
remains in 8tatu qato, notwithstanding the price
of gold.
We are just now luxuriating in as fine
| Spring weather as is ordinarily furnished to
poor mortals here below. If you have ever
been frozen in with an inviting stage ride of
nearly two hundred miles before you reach
civilization, 4. e. Railroads, you will know how
eagerly the Indications of an early Spring, and
the resumption of navigation are looked for.
Present appearances indicate the opening of
the river early next month, perhaps by the
| first The earliest arrival of steamer at ST.
Paul was on the 25th OF March, and the la. .
est the 5th of May. We shall probably come
IN the early category this season, nofwith-
standing teams still travel on the river,as they
have done during the Winter. . T.
The past Winter has been one of remarka-
BILE mildness. All agree that it was the mild
est Winter ever known in this climate. The
lowest range of the mercury was on the nights
of The I'd and Sd of February, when itndi-
Gated twenty-seven degrees below zero. The
coIdest Gay of the Winter was the I'd of Feb
ruary, which, when it tried its warmest, did
not succeed in bringing the mercury higher
than eight degrees Je1oU zero. never expe-
life. Though I have been out of doors more
than for the past six years, | can safely say
that have not suffered with the cold in the
slightest degree. The air is so dry that if it
were not for the thermometers, no one would
believe the cold was so great. judging from
the accounts had heard, made great ealcu-
latiors upon freezing my nose. and carried a
tape line constantly in my pocket=in order to
measure the exact distance walked while said
nasal organ was changed to a solid lump. In
this expectation was grievously disappoint-
ed and am compelled to sport proboscis that
has uniformly retained the requisite amount
of caloric. Should [ meet with no better
success next season, 1 shall be tempted to fee
the country! la - as @
- The rapidity with which it dries up can be
inferred from the fact that our streets are real
ly dusty Instead of becoming muddy when
the frost leaves the ground, the roads seem
to prefer dust. 1t seems a little singular to
see wagon loaded with ice from two to three
feet thick, kicking up dust,'' as itcomes
from the river. would have no one suppose
from this, that we are entirely deprived of
tbo o1r -
it muddy in spots but not deep and everlast-
ing, as it is in Ohio.
I am sometimes inclined to denominate this
" The City of Invalids." Not that it is com
posed of invalids, but almost every other man
you meet came here originally for his own or
some friends health. Ask hearty, robust
man what brought him here, and ten chances
to one he will tell you how at one time he
was almost a skeleton, and the physicians of
the East had pronounced his case hopeless
consumption. have been frequently aston
ished to learn, that individuals whom YOU
would have supposed from their appearance
had always enjoyed good health had. come
here to save their lives. The great tendency
is to come too late, and many are consequent
" disappointed. A gentleman from Shell.
burne Falls, Mass, came here week before
last, and in six days after his arrival the same
stage line that brought ttheinvalidw was return
ing his corpse to his friends. He was man
of means and position at home, and feeling
10th to change to new State he had delay
ed until his coming fastened his death. He
might have lived some weeks longer in Mass
achusetts, but the fatigue of the journey was
too much, and he died at public hotel, de-
prived of the presence of friends, and the
comforts that are only to be found at home.
I meta gentleman on the street day that l
should not be surprised to hear was in his
grave before this letter reaches it's destination.
Such cases are to be seen often, and there is
more food to be found for sad reflection by
scanning the faces of those you meet. thanin
any other manner: Among the cases that
have come under my observation, was one of
a gentleman from New York City. He came
here last Summer, but was very much pros,
trated by hemouhage of the lungs during
his Journey AT first he improved, and until
Fall his prospect for recovery was favorable.
He then began to fail, was attacked with nen-
ralgia, which settled in one of his eyes, and
in November his physicians here advised him
to go home, but would not guarantee that he
would live to reach there. He accordingly
started, and is now in Connecticut, improving
in health, and will return here when naviga-
l
ton opens. The eye, however, with which
he was suffering when he left, was totally de-
stroyed, which of course relieved him, and
probably aided in his Improvement.
There is a singular coincidence between
this State and Rhode Island In Rhode Is
land Gov. Sprague has been elected to the
United States Senate, and Lieut-G Gov. Arnold
to the House of Representatives They have
both resigned, and the President of the Sem