The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1876-01-20
BEYOND THE BIG WOODS"

BEYOND THE BIG WOODS"
Under this heading we spoke last week
of Willmar, Kandiyohi county, and its
surroundings, with promise to give our
notes of Morris, Stevens county, which
was the terminus of our late trip beyond
the ''Big Woods"
There is no fact connected with immi-
grafton in this state, more cheering and
hopeful than the class of settlers one
meets with in our frontier counties.
The wave of Immigration, from the
east to- the west, does not, if we are 10
Judge by our own state, carry with 1t.
the weeds of unthrift, idleness or igno-
rance, but the representatives, OF that
hopeful energy and intelligence which
finding all the vantage ground of the
old states occupied by capital, seek in the
west, broad, Virgin field, where muscle
is capital and energy the precursor OF
success.
Never were we more impressed with
this fact than on the occasion of our late
visit to Morris.
In the public school of Morris, in
charge of Mr.. Buell. Chichester, an expe-
ricnced and accomplished teacher, we
saw as fine, bright, healthy and comfort.
ably clad children rs We ever remember
seeing in any school, and subsequently
we met the citizens of Morris and the set
tiers in its immediate nei ghborhoed at a
gathering in the school house and if the
audience was small it was an intelligent
and educated one
On the evening speak of had the
pleasure OF meeting Mrs. Frisby and her
interesting family. The first brave
white woman that settled in Stevens
county, west Of Pomme de-terre river.
She is just the kind of woman one might
expect would make frontier home
happy; hopeful and brave with bright
good humors mantling her comely,
motheriy face; one OF those women
whose hopeful natures are better than
steam plows on their husbands farms,
whose smiles are the brightest sunbeams
that ever nestled under II humble root
tree, whose companionship is mans best
inspiration and guide.
But we must not run on ia gossip or
we will forget all about statistics. the
very thing people want.
Facts sir, keep to facts. facts are all
that are necessary"
AND here we nave some corrections to
make in our former statement in repard
to Stevens county.
There are in the county abou, 600
acres Of timber belonging to settlers.
Mr.. Frisby has % acres, within three
miles OF Morris and Mr.. G.. Wintermute
10 acres on his farm. four miles from
Morris. while any amount of timber can
be had in Ottertail county, Is miles from
the town of Morris
Nevertheless 1T is on the railroad CON-
pany that settlers must depend tor a SUP
ply of fuel, until the young groves set
out on their own farms give supply
Doth for fencing and fuel. Acting on this
idea the business men of Morris have
done good deal to encourage tree
planting, of them having opened
farms and set out trees.
found too, that was mistaken in re-
gird to swamp land in Stevens county.
There are very few sections that do
not contain hundreds of acres of the fin
est soil adapted to tllage. the ,illage
land being admirably diversified with
meadows OF the finest quality. Twas in .
formed that rib or wire grass is unknown
in Stevens county.
Stevens county wants for no,b;no nm,
trees and they are coming one hundred
million strong. We hope that our new
Forestry Association will do mucb tn
hurry them up; indeed all our citizens
now fully awake to the prac,icabiIity of
euriching and identifying our prairies
with groves Of timber.
And in this connection we will relate
an anecdote of the late Major Joe Bro ), n
whom every Minnesotian knew and re-
spected,
1t was related to us by Mr.. c. Winter.
mnte in whose company it was our good
fortune to travel to Morris.
speaking;of tree planting on the prai-
res. remarked. What fun they used
to make of Iguatius Donnelly about thu.
bill he introduced into congress to en-
courage tree culture on western nr,,.
ries, Il remember it very well- replied
Mr.. Wintermute, ian incident con,ac,.
ed with il, was in my Office one day at
For, Wadswor'h. reading a copy OF the
St. Pau! Pioneer, which had an amusing