The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1871-02-09
THE MILE LAC COUNTRY,
Its Early sottlement-DlilleL Lac Lake.
laundering Operations.


Its Early sottlemcnt-NlillsL Lac Lake.
Lumbering Operations.
EDITOR JouRNAL.-There is q por-
ton Of Northern or rather Middle Min.
nesota which has not yet received such
notice in the paears as its merits de.
serve, but ID i becoming known
as an exce'lS1l ming and grazing
region. Many a hardy emigrant has
set his stakes where before long he will
reap rich reward for his toll aud leave
to his posterity an Inheritance second
to nvne in any part of Minnesota. I
refer to the eastern parts Of Benton,
Morrison and Grow Wing counties, all
Of Mile Lac county and the western
parts Of Kanebec and Aiken counties.
This region is almost exclusively tim
bered country, part Of it heavily so,
consisting principally Of maple, oak,
bass, elm, :sh and large and valuable
bodies Of pine. Mile Lac lake, the
largest lako in the bounds Of Minneso-
ia, is in this part of this region, and
touches three of the counties named
Its extreme length, N. W. and 5. E., IS
quite % miles. 1t is somewhat OF
circular form, with general diameter
of about IS miles; only in peculiar
states of the atmosphere can a person
standing on one side see the opposite
shore. The outlet of this lake is Rum
river, down which for more than
twenty years have annually been floated
millions Of feet Of pine longs. In the
winter of 1850-51 the writer of this
wos engaged in supplying lumber
camp, on the West Branch of Rum
river, some ten miles above where
Princeton now boasts of its frst.class
schools and its 800 inhabitants. In
1857 the first frame house was built IN
Princeton by the writer, and a few
hardy lumbermen had opened farms
near, and extending fourteen miles up
both branches of the river log houses
were built and preparations for opening
farms began. Those few who perse-
vered, are now reaping rich reward.
Every thing they can raise is sold at a
price equal to that obtained in the Min
neapolis market with transportation ad-
ded. Owing to the demand of lum-
bermen, which will far exceed the sup
plies raised here for years to come, the
additional labor Of opening farms in
the timber will be more than repaid in
the extra price all produce will bring
at the doors Of the producers, AS an
example will mention that hay this
winter costs 500 per ton at the logging
camps; feed for teams $500 to 1925
per hundred pounds; -four $3.50 and
$500 per Dbl. It is now universally
acknowledge d fact that a timbered
country suffers far less from drouth
than prairie country indeed, it is
this superabundant moisture that pre-.
vents rapid settlement of this region,
but as clearings are made and inhabi-
tants multiply the precipitation will be
less and the labor of opening and
maintaining good roads will of course
become less.
Mile Lac Lake, besides being the
largest is one of the handsomest sheets
of water within the bounds of Mime
sofa. Some centuries ago, the Dakota
Sioux owned the country and lived on
the borders of this lake. A Catholic
priest-Father Marquette, 1 think it
was-was kept as a prisoner on one of
the small islands near its southern
shore. But the Chiprewas have now
for a long time occupied the country by
virtue of conquest. The soil in its vi
entity is of superior quality, and the
tiubcr not very heavy, being mostly
sugar maple, oak, butternut, ash, &c.,
with few bodies of excellent pine.
During the land speculation mania of
1861 and '58, efforts were made to
settle the borders of this lake. Paper
cities were laid out and lots sold, and
in few instances streets were laid out
on the ground aud the trees in them
cut down, leaving the blocks untouched
by the ak, and the voyager now sees
from his canoe the long straight lines
Of low brush aanked by the undis
turbed forest growth. Several farms
were opened 10 1857 and '58 when I
first surveyed lands around the lake,
but owing to the difficulty Of forty or
fifty miles Of timber road intervening
between them and a market, they have
been abandoned, and the Chippewa has,
undisturbed, continued to hunt the
mink, otter and deer, and collect the
annual crop Of rice and maple sugar
Now, however, the rapid advance Of
the pioneer and the close approach of
railroads bid fair to start poor Lo on
his journey towards the setting SUM-
Alas poor, despised Preceding race"
Hinkley station, on T. Lake Supe-
rior and Mississippi railroad, is only
about % miles a little south of east
from the south-easternmost part of the