Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-05-18
LETTER FROM WISCONSIN.
ELLSWORTH, WIS, April 10, 1870.

ELLSWORTH, WIS.,, April lU, 1871.
DEAR CHRoNICLE:-One idle day the
good steamer War Eagle, bound for st.
Paul, touched the sand at Prescott, Pre-
scott is a fine, growing village at the foot
of lake st. Croix,) and two individuals,
with southern congressional papers in
hand, stepped promptly aboard. The
taller and better looking of the two, it is
needless % remark, was your CORES
pendent.
"Al RbOardT' shouted the captain,
and soon the laboring puff of the engines
told with what i~mpetuosity we met and
triumphed over the Father of Waters.
1t is a pleasant thing to stand upon the
upper deck of a Mississippi steamer and
watch the scenery of the shore, espe-
cially when the leaves are just expand
ing to meet the fervid embrace of an
April sunshine. The ocean is monotO-
nous, but as you steam along the course
of the Upper Mississippi, Nature, the
stage manager, constantly shifts the
scenes, so that the eye never tires of
gazing, and the mind never wearies of
contemplating.
The first place of interest, after leav-
ing Prescott, is PIT Douglas, the oldest
trading post along the river. 1t rs stu
ated at the junction of the river with
lake st. CroiN. \ story is told, how
that one dark, stormy night, when lake
st. Croix was seething and boiling like
a veritable Charybdis, a canoe filed
with painted warriors shot out from the
opposite side, and with no eye to watch,
SAVE the All-Seeing-guided only by an
an occasional flash of lightning and a
savage instinct-reached the Point, just
below the fort. Nothing indicated the
savage presence to the sleepers within,
until the night had worn far into the
morning, and the sentinel had grown
dull watching for the tardy sun-then
suddenly a yell as of a iend-a cry of
agony-a leaden thud as of a falling
body, and the startled sleepers awoke.
Nothing wa to be seen in the grey twi-
light, except the outstretched form of
the dying Waterman, who spoke but
one word and died. That word was
the name of his affianced bride,
and she a captive in the red mans
canoe, borne already half way Over the
lake. Quickly as possible stout men
men brought out the boats, but alas,
too late-a breaker rolled over the frail
Indian craft, and the maiden and her
captors sank beneath the turbulent
waters. The only confirmation of this
story is that the locality would have
been tip-top for such an occurrence.
But soon PIT. Douglas fades into a dim
line far to the south, and new scenes
of interest appear. Hastings, the next
stopping place, about three miles from
Point Douglas, is the only considera-
BILE town between Prescott and ST. Paul.
But we must not linger on the river, for
we wish to introduce the city of
ST. PAUL,
The head of practical steamboat naviga-
ton. 1t is a common idea that a city
should grow like the oak, and not like
the linden-that a city rapidly built can
not be enduring. This proposition is
negatived, however, by st. Paul, the
population of which doubles every i've
or six years, and which, notwithstand-
ing, is the best built city in the north
west. A city's permanency does not
depend entirely upon the material of
which its walls are hewn, nor upon the
~affluence of its incorporators. 1t is the
plain, hard working farmer who sup
plies the arteries and keeps the pulses
of a great city throbbing. Yes, after all,
"God's true noblsmen'', the honest yeo-
manry, are the true builders of cities.
st. Paul is the center of a vast agricultu-
raj district, which, for fertility of soil,
natural scenery, and health of climate.
cannot be surpassed, and this accounts
for its prosperity. Tie streets are too
narrow, but are neatly and regularly
laid out. The buildings are mostly of
q fine quality of limestone, which is
founG in abundance, buildings being
frequently fashioned of Stone quarried
in digging tile cellars. According to
recent computations, the city contains
about thirty thousand inhabitants. We
will not detain you longer at st. Paul,
for we wish to speak Of Minneapolis,
about eight miles further up the river.
MINNEAPOLIS
Is the great Touring mart of the north
west, and is noted mostly for its ex-
tensive manufacturing facilities, equal,
doubtless, to any in the world and for
its neat and tasteful appearance. The
Falls of st. Anthony, consisting of a
succession of minor falls, furnishes a
ready water power, having an almost
unlimited quantity, seeming. st. An
thony, a coy little village, lies opposite,
and between them is Nicolet Island, so
nearly annihilated by the recent flood.
At st. Anthony, we called at the home
Of General Van Cleye, Of the old Cum
berland. Time and hard service have
made a deep impression On him since
last we saw him proudly riding at the
head of his corps. The hero of a hun
dred battles is standing very near the
great ocean of eternity, the spray of the
breakers of which already is dashing
upon his hair, and 1 felt, as 1 looked at
him, thgt he must soon engage in a con-
iict that even genlHs cannot Withstand.
About three miles below Minneapolis
is the fsr-famed Falls Of Minnehaha.
Dame Nature must have been in a poeti-
cal mood when she fashioned Mime
haha. 4 crystal trout stream, leaping
and eddying among the rocks; now
winding through leafy vistas, and now
broadening out into a silver sheet-so
pure and clear that the blue sky above
smiles a recognition of its own bright
FACET flashes along, until-also much
liks the course Of 9 human life-it
dashes over an abyss, and is drunk in
by the greedy river. Good views of the
falls may be had upon either bank,
above or below. Niagara strikes the
mind with a kind Of dread-a r~ealiza-
tien Of q mighty power, arousing feel
ipgs Of sHblimitg. But Aiinnehaha is
not so stern-it laughs yOl in the face
it beams upon you; it fills your mind
with sweet, dreamy thought, and you
cannot help feeling that inward sense of
pleasure which beauty always awakens.
The next time we stopped, We were in
the shadow of old Fort Smelling, at the