Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-07-01
Gbe frteman.
MONTPELIER, VT:
WEDNESDAY, JULY l, 1868,
From the West.

NGxNEAPoLIs Mn, June Is, 1868.
FRIEND WILLARD So many write from
The West" that | hesitate to forward my
note Passing much that is of marked in
terest, we come to Minneapolis, Min. Fif-
teen years since it was Indian reservation.
and no white man allowed to settle on it..
Now it Is a city Of q 600 inhabitants COM
bining an amount Of New England intelli-
gence and euterprize, not excclled by any
citv of the same size. The system of
graded schools is a. well perfected as in
any New England city. Her churches are
numerous with officiating clergymen of abil-
ity and piety.
The water power Of the city is unequaled
IN the world The falls in the Mississippi
are seventv-iive feet. The dam is across the
river above the falls, and the water, by
canals on each side, is used for the varions
mills and factories. The wheel pits arc
from - to 80 feet below the canal-the
water passing from the wheel to the river
below by tunnel through the solid rock
will give you few statistics For the
week ending May %, 1868, the amount
Of freight forwarded from the Minneapolis
depot amounted to three million six hun
dred thousand pounds mainly lumber and
-four. Besides this large quantities Of lumber
are doated down the river-one to two hun
dred thousand feet in a raft In ascending
the Mississippi we met large number OF
these lumber RATS, on one Of which was con
=ricuou>ly Inscribed = GRANT Is CHIEF. ="
AMI the hardy lumbermen cheered with
wiz for their standard bearer, o1r neH presi-
de.t. az We passed them.
some idea Of the working capacity of the
mills may be hal when I repeat the re
markof the proprietor of a shingle mill. '.On
Tuesday this week we made and packed
eighty thousand shingles in ten hours. tax
ing our lumber in the log in the river
But leave this to describe the most lovely
and poetic s-Ninnehaha = Little Falls creek
is a stream about the size of Dog river at its
mouth. Five miles from the city of Mime
apolis it uarrows to Il breadth ofabout thirty
feet. and pours over smooth surfaced solid
sand stone rock sixty feet. The rock be
meath the surface is so soft that it has grad
ually crumbled away sixteen feet back Of the
falls \ path leads around and back of the
falls
IN passing around in the rear Of and twen-
ty feet under the overhanging rock, we stood
some moments in rapt admiration Of this nat
ural curiosity. already famous in poetic his
tory. Nothing could be seen but the smooth
excavated semi circular rock on each side in
the rear and above Us. and the'' laughing wa
ter in front ! did not speak The won
derfui and matchlesS beauty of the falling,
laughing waters holds one spelI-bo in a
silent ec.tacv of admiration. The baptismal
mist soon warned retreat, and we passed
around ami below to a foot bridge sixty feet
n front Of the falls Here, too, the drench
NC mist dictated a further retreat-and hast
ly gathering a few memento pebbles, we
assembled the path sixty steps to the bank
above 1t Is enchanted ground 1t was here
that Hawatha bought his arrows of the
chief and wooed and won his daughter,
Minnehaha No wonder that the poet :
muse was inspired to sing the song. With
the Indian it was favored spot 1t is now
visited by thousands yearly. and is the ro-
mantle retreat Of many festive picnic. The
inclosed photograph will give you minia
ture view.
If YOU ask for the prevailing political sent
ment Of the West, Irefer you to the motto
Of the lumbermen, GRANT IS CHIEF"
Yours Truly,