St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-09-10
way glistening in the sunlight, found my
self repeating:

" ltn MS nnger on the meadow,
Traced winding pathway for it
Saying to it, run in this way
But the falls like Minnehaha or any other
falls, require water TO make them attractive
and there was not much water there, so that
had to shut my eyes and draw upon my
Imagination to picture their real beauty.
The vast red granite ledge on which 1
stood looking westward was as smooth and
polished Upon its surface as glass, and it was
with difficulty that / could maintain IN foot
ing at times. Its front. almost perpendicu-
lar, has scaled off from time to time as the
action of the frost has opened its seams, and
huge masses of this splendid stone lie at its
base, their sharp, jagged points and edges
presenting not very inviting appearance
for one to fall upon. Upon one of the
smooth and polished rocks l read the follow
lug inscription, placed there by the first
white man VINO ever visited the pipestone
quarries, who, in command of an exploring
party sent out from Fort Smelling b. the
government, chiseled his name where the
lapse of ages or the rude hand of time can
never efface it. It reads: 81. n. Nicollet
expe iitiOn July 10th, 1885," and beneath
the name of Nicollet are the initials of a
number of his party, one of the members
Of which was the since illustrious
John C. Fremont
Passing around below the falls and ap-
preaching them from the west l beheld that
singular freak of Nature known as ''The
man of stone" 1t is solitary pillar of
granite, separated from the main ledge by
distance of some ten or fifteen feet and
which rises up some twenty-five feet high,
and is from five to eight feet in diameter.
Seen from the west it presents the perfect
form of the side view of a mans face, and
hence its name.
Standing upon this historic spot, rich in
the traditions Of all the Indian tribes, and
the scene OF many romantic though peace
full tale, I listened to the various legends
with great interest as they were recounted by
my companion; but l was still more inter
ested III viewing the various formations
which are to be seen here from the soft red
pipestone, easily cut or carved with a COM
mon pen-knife, and from which the Indian
calumet or peace pipe was made, to the
quartzite, granite and jaspar rock, which
takes a polish as fine as the smoothest glass,
aud the softer varieties of red building
stone, which are more easily worked, but
which form the most substantial building
material, and which, when subjected to fire,
resist an almost incredible degree of heat.
But my time for musing was cut short by
the more practical business of taking in
whatever there was to be seen here, so, leav-
ing the MAN. of Stone," the pretty falls and
the vast granite ledges, I turned my steps
toward the neat little
VILLAGE OF PIPEsToNE AGAIN.
Back went up the broad swale past the
mounds which mark where the Indians have
for so many hundred years dug the soft red
pipestone, back to the Calumet hotel, where,
having given Nature a chance to assert her
rights and to receive the necessary supply of
nutriment, lighted my calumet at peace
with all the world and the rest of mankind.
must not fail to say that the village of
PipestOne impresses me as much as its sur
roundings or romantic Indian legends. 1t
is built upon high rolling land, has wide,
well graded streets; has the finest railroad
facilities of any town in southwestern Min
nesota, and has clean, thrifty, substantial
look, very pleasing to behold. It contains
1000 people and is the county seat of Pipe
stone county, the extreme southwesterly
county but one RocR) in the state. 1t is
three by four townships in extent and is all
clean rolling prairie land without an in ch Of
waste.
PIPEsToNE COUNTY-THE SOIL.
The character of the soil Of Pipe
stone county is unsurpassed in the de-
gree of its natural fertility, its easy and per-
feet natural drainage, and the abundance
and purity of its water. 1t is a deep, rich,
black loan underlaid with a gravel and clay
subsoll, and contains 2SS, 720 acres. The
recent assessment returns show that of this
large area but 81, ,696 acres have as yet been
brought under cultivation. or this unculti-
waited region, every acre of which as already
stated is arabic, nearly the whole portion is
open to immediate purchase and settle
ment.
In 1866 congress granted each alternate
section of these lands to the state OF Mime
sofa to secure the building of a railroad into
this region, which the state legislature
granted to an organization known as the |
Southern Minnesota Railroad Extension |
company. These lands, lying within the |
limits OF Pipestone county, have recently |
passed into the hands of Close Bros Il Co., |
and are every acre of them now offered to |
actual settlers at very reasonable terms. In |
addition to these lands large amounts of pri- |
vate lands, purchased by spectators, are |
now offered by other land agents at very fair |
prices and on the most favorable terms.
To obtain farm in Pipestone county is |
to enter upon the sure road to wealth |
There is no section of the great northwest |
tt-hf foh oA
bility of its soil as this. No crop peculiar to |
this part of the temperate zone fails to find a |
prolific harvest here. 1t is a splendid wheat |
section; it is 4 good corn country. The fin |
est fax ever grown is cut here, and all other |
cereals return the most desirable and remu-
nerative crop. 1t is splendid stock region,
and in no section Of the country can dairy |
ing be carried on more successfully than |
here. The splendid upland grasses of this |
section possess almost inestimable value for |
grazing purposes and produce the best re-
suits imaginable as food for dairy cows.
TIMBER.
On this mountain of the prairie'' scarce
bush or shrub was to be seen in the DAYS
when Nicollet visited it, nor later, when
Sweet and Bennett located here. 1t was pra-
irie in the most absolute and literal sense,
the vast sweep of the eye covered more acres
Of country than almost any spot else could
furnish without tree or a serious elevation
to mar or obstruct the full range
Of the vision. The earlier set
tiers, appreciating the fact that
this lack of timber must necessarily prove
drawback to country possessing so many
other natural attractions. began at once to
plant trees, which is continued to-day with
the most pleasing and desirable results, until