The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-08-19
MINI ESOTA.
Gland of sky.Tinted Waters'--,A Region o.
Beauty and W0nder--.Ihe nc" river VI ''0
North and Its Fertile valley.

Gland of sky-Tinted Waters,'--.A Region OF
Beauty and WOnder---The Red River Oh inc
North and It's Fertile Valley.
For the Free Trader.
"Roll on, thou dark blue ocean. roll!'
wrote the immortal Burns in his apostrophc
70 the ocean, and perhaps grander descrip'
rive WAS never penned Yet, had the famous
hard lived IN this day and made tour OF the
great Northwest, along the line OF the 81
Paul Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad, he
would have been more inspired, ana even
amazed at Its grandeur. Instead OF dark
blue ocean, rolling deeply and darkly,' he
would behold vast rolling PRAIRIE no"
billowy with golden waves OF grain, ana
laughing with harvest, the ike OF winch
was never seen anywhere else on earth
Leaving St. Paul by what is called the
Short Line" OF the st. Paul, Minneapolis "
Manitoba railroad, the tram goes rolling away
through the great
PARK REGION"
over pretty knolls shaded by groves Oh hcaVy
timber, across beautiful prairie openings rich
with ripenlng crops or fertile fields, with tall
waving grass, by lovely lakes wooded to the
beach, or nesting amid green heids
or wooded shores, their crystal waters
sparkling like diamonds in the midst
of emerald settings; meanderng streams
whose silver threads are seen wandering In
all directions, and finally minglng with the
clear waters of some placid lake; by busy
towns and peaceful villages, and at intervals
the homes and newly built houses Of the set
tiers In fact, the entire route from ST. faui
TO Fergus Falls is one continuous series OF
ever changing landscape panoramas, COM
posed of a constant succession OF water, woods
and prairie, charmingly commingled, the
sight of which keeps the traveller in contln'
uous delight by the quickly recurring sttrac-
tons that meet the view.
The ozark Region" is so called from the
richness of It's soil, the wonderful number Of
lakes 1t contains and the varied character OF
its topography which, with It's magnificent
forests and grand praries, combine to form
natural park of such magnitude, as to make
the entire region one of the wonders Of the
Northwest III ID lHCiuucu III ludI oouy vi
forest known as
THE BIG WOODS"
in whose depths are found thousands Of
charming lakes and streams. This belt of
woodland extends across the northeast corner
the state, onward to the shores of Lake Supe-
rlor and contains an area of nearly $1,000
square miles.
St. Cloud, Osakis and Fergus Falls are the
principal cities on the route, but there are
others OF equal importance, a mere mention of
which would require too much time and
space to enumerate.
Lake Osakis ls the largest and most charm
ing, in the midst Of a perfect swarm of lakes,
nearly all having heavily wooded shores and
connected with each other by natural streams,
which extend from Osakls to Fergus Falls,
taking III a vast amount Of country. This is
called the
LAKE REGION"
which terminates at GAINESVILLE, where the
prairie unreieved begins and stretches away
like an unbroken sea to Bismark on the west
and Lake Winnipeg on the north Land of
sky.tnted waters" as Minnesota is sometimes
called, with Its 5000 lakes, varying In size
from 800 yards to fifteen miles in diameter,
many of them exceedingly beautiful, with
transparent waters, pebbly bottoms and wood
ed shores, rejecting some of the most brilliant
mirages From these living reservoirs, three
of our grand rivers take their rise. On the
east the Father of Waters" bubbles into life
from the pebbly depths Of Lake Itasca--which
is LOO feet above the level of the gulf-and
flows eastward for fifty miles, and then,
crescentlike, winds on through the region of
the "Big Woods" through series of beauti-
full lakes, by picturesque hills and shadowy
groves, and then southwark
"tike some huge monster winding
Downward through the praircd plains;
Seeking rest but never finding
Till the tropic gulf he gains"
Northward, dividing the state OF Minnesota
and the territory of Dakota, flows the Red
River OF the North, u disappointing crooked,
ditch or creek than river, aud flowing north
when all It's neighbors run south, finding an
outlet in the distant regions of Lake Winnie
peg. From the imposing name and the
conspicuous figure it cuts on the map, one
would expect to find the Red River of the
North a stream of size and dignity But
imagine the disappointment when your first
glimpse is had of it by crossing it on the rail
road bridge that links Morehead and Fargo
together, to find 1t nothing but crooked
narrow stream, SO narrow that an ordinarily
good athlete might clear its banks in stand
ing jump. 1t is without exception the crook
eldest stream in the world, flowing nearly Sin
hundred miles between Its two extreme points
which by air line are but $50 miles apart.
There is perhaps no portion of the United
States attracting so much attention at the