St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1865-04-27

1O-'OorrOW the remains will lie in
state, and the next day they will go uu-
der escort to Illinois by way Of Balti-
more, Harrisburg, Pittsturg and Chi
cago, to Springfield, and thus will end
the funeral of ABRAHAM LINCOLN. =,
= :. f7------------- 4..----- ----.----- -:
:. 4.,,. = ABOUT MINNESOTA. $3.50
Fro" ''hinnesota, asa Home for Emigrant..''
LAKES. '''' ''.' t,'.'... .
{ The number. beauty. and pictur..
esqueness Of its lakes, form a marked
feature in the scenery Of Minnesota
These lovely little sheets Of water are
found dot'ing it's surface in neatly ev-
cry section Of the State sparkling on
the open. prairie, hidden in the depths
of its primal forests, and gl,stenipg ike
gems Of beauty among the ragged hills
!of its Northeastern section, They are
from one to thirty miles in diameter.
Some Of them are of a, circular form,
others Of an exceedingly irregular out
lines. The water of these lakes is re-
markably K clear and pure, resting upon,
a basin OF quartose sand aud pebbles,
among which the jasper, agate and cor
neIian sprear conspicuous These
lakes are sometimes found isolated.
having no outlet; others are the mani
fest reservoirs, whence issue the mighty.
rivers Of the continent; and again 9th
ers, connected by channels, form sys-
TENS extending through long reaches
Of country; and yet again others, con-
nected BY riyalets into groups during g
the wet season, are isolated in a, dry
time, the intervening valleys being con-
verted into meadows, cranberry marsh
es, and swamps. Some of these lakes
are surrounded by hard, gravelly
shores, Others encircled by an embank-
mcnt several feet high !; around some
the greensward touches the waters
brim others are frinsed with wild
rice and various aquatic plants of rare
beauty. These lakes abound with a
great variety Of fish of superior favor
and quality; and in spricg and autumn
they are the resort of immense num-
bers Of Wild geese, ducks, and other
waterfowl. '
Lieutenant Maury (now a traitor to
bis country says, ave see, with those
beautiful sheets of water, nature has
done for the Upper Mississippi what
Ellet proposed should be done by the
Government for the Ohio, and what
Napoleon III is doing for France. Ev-
cry one Of these thousand lakes is
reservoir for the rains in the wet sea-
son, which it reserves to fill up the riv-
er in the dry-at least this is one of
their Offices, for they have many"
''Minnesota is far from the sea, but it
is be-. ter watercd country than either
Kansas or Nebraska. Indeed it may
be considered tie best watered State
in the Union and it doubtless owes
its abundance of summer. rains meas
urably to the lake system" "
- FORESTS.
North Of latitude -46o and westward
to the outlet Of. Red Lake, stretches an
immense: forest, including the hilly
country of the Superior Slope enclos-
ing the headwatcrs of the Mississippi
aud its fprincipal eastern tributaries,
embracing an area of $1,000 square
miles. The principal wood of this re-
gion is pine, iuterspersed with ash,
elm, aspen, maple, and birch. The rich
valleys Of the extreme northern tribu-
taries Of the Mississippi support
heavy growth Of the various kinds Of
hard wood. The rivers flowing into
Lake Superior are fringed with hem
lock, fir, cedar, spruce, and birch
This forest on the South, from the
Saint Croix to Grow Wing, is bordered
by a narrow belt Of cedar and tamarac
swamps, intermingled With pine, spruce,
and some hard woods. Below this, on
the east side Of the Mississippi, the
prairies support growth Of small oak,
thinly distributed, which are desisDa-
ted coax openings" A similar growth
of timber IS found on the prairies on
the west side Of the Mississippi.
West OF the Mississippi. this great
pine forest extends to the valley Gftho
Crow Wing, where it teruinat1 ina
dense border Of hard wood, j, which
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