The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1868-05-16
From the ST. Louis Home Journal
LEONORA BROWN.
A TRUE sToRY OF A HEROIC GIRL
DY MYRON COLONEy.

On the border of Green Lake, in
Minnesota, there lived sturd y white
haired frontiersman named Walter
Brown. He wa. one of those adventu
rous spirits ever to be found in the van
of advancing civilization, always court
ing the free, wild air of the prairie, and
rejoicing in the profound depths of UNI
inhab. ted forests.
Born in northern New York, in log
hut ON the great John Brown Tract y
of timber, b. was brought up a child of
the forest and tho lake Early he learn
ed the use OF the rifle and the paddle,
and no redskin that ever sighted a gun
or propelled canoe could equal Walter
Brown in either. His father SOL! his
interest in the "Brown Tract aud
moved to M;r'' gan, wl'' Walter was
a youth ot r-.!,' 81, 'i'"v settled on
the shores ot like M.tt,i. II, near St.
Joseph, and Walters father followed the
profession of hunter and trapper, in
which Walter assisted. After time
the father died, and Walter was left
alone with his mother. A small bit OF
land was titled each year, sufficient to
produce corn enough for bread, and
what few vegetables their wants required.
Walter had good success in trapping
and hunting, and always received the
best price going Tor his skins, as he
handled them in a careful and expert
enced way.
Presently the mother died, and Wal
ter was left alone. He was large,
powerful young man Of twenty five,
good, and noble looking, and much liked
by everybody. A few months after his
mothers death, he married fine girl,
daughter of one of the settlers, and, in
less than three weeks thereafter, sold
out his claim. and moved away up into
Northwestern Wisconsin, at the head Of
the St. Croix River. Here he lived for
several years, trapping large quantit es
of minks, martins, otters, foxes, wolves,
badgers, muskrats, raccoons, &c, and
killing abundance of dee,, Fix, bear and
small game. He had built for himself a
large, comfortable log dwelling with nu-
merous outbuildings. He had selected
the southern edge of strip OF timber
for his building site, the prairie rolling
away to the southwark, and the thunders
Of the St. Croix Falls, mingled with the
hymns of the primeval pines, came
sweeping up to his cabin through the
timber Oh the north. .a-
In this wild, secluded place, Waller
Brown passed many happy years, living
in perfect amity with the Winnebagoes,
Dakotas and Ojibways by hom be was
surrounded. The nearest settlement to
him at that time was Fort Prairie du
Chen, around which point qui mum.
Der, of settlers upon the Government
land had gathered. Prairie du Chen
was over two hundred miles below, on
the right bank Of the Mississippi river.
Ifmy readers will take their smap and
find it, then follow with their eye the
line OF the Mississippi up past La Crosse,
mp through Lske Pepin TO Prescott, it
will be seen that at this point the St.
Cr.ix river--or Lake ST. Croix, as it is
sometimes called-deboucAes into the
Mississippi. Now follow the line of the
St. Croix along up past Hudsdh and
past Saltwater, to point called Tay-
lor's Falls, and you have the location
where Walter Brown built his cabin,
only he built it on the Wisconsin side,
while the town of Taylor's Falls is up
on the Minnesota side. Taylor's Falls
is now large, thriving town, bnt when
Waiter Brown settled upon the opposite
side of the river, its site was covered by
. dense pine forest. Below the falls,
where the town Of Saltwater now stands,
there was nothing but trading post
and thus it was. throughout all the