Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-06-22

st. Paul by Milwaukee & st. Paul
R.R., 139 miles; st. Paul to Duluth by
Lake Superior and Mississippi II. r.,
156 miles.
THE COUNTRY
From Marshalltown on up to within
a few miles of st. Paul is mainly
prairie, varied of course by elevations
and depressions, with occasional
groves, ard streams fringed with tim
Der, but for the greater part stretch
ing out into seemingly endless plains.
Some fine towns are strung along the
Railroad, and many farms have been
made; but there seems to be open
prairie enough yet for millions more
of people.
AS younear the southern line Of
Minnesota, small lakes begin to di-
versify the scene; and these increase
both in size and in number as you go
beyond S.. Paul. In that region they
vary in size from few acres up to
thousands Of acres in area; they are
always pure and fresh, though some
of them have neither inlet nor outlet;
they are generally of considerable
depth, and never dryup. The banks
are i'm some cases merely the slope of
the prairie, and in others more alb
rupt and Ornamented more or less
with natural trees and shrubbery.
All these lakes are beautiful, and
must give excellent opportunities for
boating in Summer and skating and
sleighing in Winter.
Near st. Paul the country Is more
rocky ard mountainous or hilly, and
the scenery is exceedingly beautiful.
The apIreciative traveller might feast
his eyes for days together among the
lovely views around Fort Smelling,
st. Pau. and Minneapolis. The Mis-
sissippi there looks very little like
what /; is at Keokuk and below
though q good-sized and eminently
available river there nevertheless.
For some 80 or GO miles north OF
northeastward from st. Paul, along
the l.. s. d NJ. II. r., the country il
undulating, and varied by frequent
SUGGESTIONS of prairies, groves, lakes
marshes and swamps. 1t is quite
pleasant to ride over, but might not
do 80 well for n "steady diet" Some
where about so or GO miles from st
Paul you enter the pineswamps; ant
frdhn there on to Duluth you are sur
rounded by pine timber. The wis
traveller will take good lunch will
him when he leaves st. Paul, an,
not trust to the Entertainments a
Hinckley" laid down in the bills.
| With these preliminary remarks
leaving other towns and incidents L
he mentioned hereafter according t
the room that may be left, we come
at once to
DULUTH,
The city Of the magnificent future
the paradise of possibilitiesAand th'
present terminus of the Northern
Pacific Railroad. The town is at tht
extreme or southwestern end Of Lake
Superior. Standing in the middle o
the place, on the main street, and fac
ing about eastward, you look GU
upon the ilimitabIe waters Of Lake
Superior. Behind you rise the some
what steep bluffs, perhaps 200 fee
high or more, covered with the dense
pine forest. Circling around to the
right of the front extends Minnesota
point, a very narrow strip of land
averaging perhaps several rods IN
width, and running out about
miles, between the Lake on one side
and st. Louis Bay on the other. Fol
most of its length 1t is somewhat
thinly covered with trees. st. Louis
Bay IL seven miles long, and average
perhaps mile in width, and, as VIZ
were told, is from to IS feet deep
It freezes over in Winter to the depth
of 5 feet, being then equal to solid
ground for purposes of travel.
Our party arrived at Duluth on Tho
evening of the 9th, had big dance
at the Clark House that night, went
out on sail down st. Louis Bay and
back by the Lake next morning, and
started home about noon Of the 10th
so we didn't have much time to ex.
plore matters for ourselves, but de
rived such information as we could
from residents there and from circu
lars, &c., distributed on the train.
Duluth claims, as we were told, a
population Of about 4, 600; but the
nlape seemed to us about as large n