The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-10-16
RURAL NOTES.
What Our Reporter Saw and Thought
During Jaunt Through the Country.

in which We travelled is lie Ray town
ship. Nature lavished bountiful bestow-
ments upon that section Of Blue Earth |
county, and destined il To become the |
most populous and wealthy locality with
IN her boundaries. a well known poet
has appropriately mentioned the forests
as Gods first temples" and there are
yet portions Of this once thickly studded
and majestic forest standing in all Of its
primitive magnificence, strikingly sug-
eestive Of the pristine grandeur, and
corroboraiive of the poeiical idea of
universal tabernacle of Worship; where
all nature, both animate and inanimate,
knelt in common at the shrine Of q
bountiful Creator But
1T Is u part we see, and not the whole"
for that nobler offspring of Providential
munlticence, (cIvilized mani has cut,
carved and cultivated until the major
part of the township has been cleared
of it's once gaudy coating, and we'll cult
waited fields been established therein,
adorned with every specie of domestic
habitation, from the humblest 10 the
most luXurant.
The census returns of last summer
gave lie Ray townshipa population which
may have seemed almost incredulOus To
those in remote parts of the county who
have never traversed the wooded dis
tricts, hut trip along one or two of the
principal thoroughiares of the town
would suffice In dispel any such doubts,
| for the comparative small size of the
farms makes the settlements compact,
and one can scarcely drive one-fourth "f
mile without passing Il residence. IL
is II natural consequence in timbered
districts for the settler Ia prefer small
tract Of land where the difficulty of
bringing il under cultivation lis so great.
And again, LeRav's rich, rolling surface
was the means Of attracting enterprising
agricultnrists in large numbers, all of
whom have worked with untiring zeal
i'm converting It's hidden wealth into
means of support, AMI Of founding q
commonwealth that is destined la be-
come a power in more respects than one.
The settlers of any forest region are
| forced into groups, or collections, from
the simple fact that public highways
must be made ere the common traffic of
the locality can he prosecuted, and the
farm houses are Ia bc found in close
proximity to either side of the main
thoroughfares. II is distinctively 80 IN
LeRay township, and the major part of
the settlers are located along a few well
travelled roads running in Il general east
and west direction. The lines, or ranges,
of settlements are about mile apart,
with pastures and well cultivated fields
extending back from either side Of the
road. One thing which attracted our no.
tIcc il, the extent tn which these fields
are cleared of stumps, many of them be-
ing entirely free of all Indications OF
having once been covered with dense
growth of timber. And again, the per-
feet adaptability of the township, almost
entire, for agricultural purposes. Most
of our timber land is either too flat To he
cultivated with comfort or else too billy
and broken. But in LeRay is found a
proper mean between the two extremes
The Northwestern railroad, which pass
es through the town from southeast 10
To northwest, has always been the ar
terry of life i'm the townships prosperity
instigating an immense traffic i'm wood
lumber and ties. Upon this the early
settlers founded their financial hope
and they found live market at all times
of the year for all materials cut from
, their lands. Circumstances point to q
change now. however, and the product.
of farm and field must soon prove the
support of the ma jority of the denizen.
of this town. The extraordinary influx
of coal into the western towns and cities
; has absolutely crippled the wood trade
: and besides the supply on many farm!
: is about exhausted. Hence, We conclude
, that in the near future the wood bust
, ness, which has always been the redeem
ing feature Of that locality, will take 1
secondary place, and more eXclusiv,
farming will he done. Ii must not bt
q understood, however, that even now
U this branch of industry is at all mino
factor, for the array of handsome dwell
, ings, spacious and comfortable barn
.. and granaries, the large herds of stock
and well cultivated orchards, seen al
around are proof positive to the contrary
We would prefer To particularize more
IN this mention of the agricultural inter
ests, for there are numerous enterpris
Ing and well-to-do farmers whose sur
5 roundings and methods of carrying OF
: their business would bear favorable no
! tice; and the perrsal of such might b,
| beneficial To their fellow farmers, blu
the many features there 10 write abou
forbids, and we must decline 80 to do
A few general remarks as TO the charac
ter Of the settlers must needs be said
u,
be, in degree, unjust. In sizing tn,
population up, the most striking fact is
the comparative youth Of the settlers
nearly all being men vino brought {,
their vicinity the vigor and push o
Young manhood, and to this perhaps i
. largely due the highly developed stat,
of the town. And again, the communi
" at large are thoroughly intelligent, a
is demonstrated by conversing will
them, and by the opponents visible il
T the numbera and excellence of the schoo
I houses and churches. No township il
n the county IL so well equipped will
good school facilities. And last, but no
least, as an indication of this intelligence
' papers taken and read. OF course Their
! are those who neither read nor think
A caring for aught else than their dali
, bread, and the clnk of the delusive dol
lar, but they are the very limited eXcep
D ton, so far as we could discern.
LeRay contains the village of Eagl
Lake, which must receive a gOodly shar
I of the notice given the town, for it i
among the first, if not he first villag
in the county in every respect.
: was founded when the Northwest
A ern road was first constructed, an,
. has grown to he place of business i'm
pOTlstntt. IL u Ntil pToNIutu WIFI Btll
~ eral merchandise stores, among whicl
:. those Of ID. w. Selleck, Hon. Horac
Cummins, Phelps & Allyn and Brade
l. IL Hageard are foremost, Mr.. Haggard
= Of the latter firm, being now Democrat
. trustee of Uncle Sans postal depart
T" ment. The place is also sufficient
b. equipped with hotels. Among these tn
j most prominent ones are the Hilton
: House and Globe Hotel. Mr.. l.. w
Stearns is proprietor of the latter an,
processes TO cater to the public accepta
Il bly,. A. +. Hilton, Esq, resident O
f, sides over the destinies Of the Hilton
: House, while his estimable better-hal
u presides over the destinies of the guests
/, and to say that all fare sumptuously, an.
o well is putting the fact mildly. Scrupu
. lous neatness pei vades throughout In
establishment and the repOrtOrial appe
u tite can vOuch for the high quality an,
n inviting wholesomeness of the bills @
$ fare. The ring of the blacksmith's anvil
;, comes from several localities in town
=, and several wneelwrights do good bust
u ness. Messrs. Miner, IiarcOurt & Bar
G tholomcw are doing a good business il
: their planning establishment. The,
have recently added new features {,
y their mill and propose TO keep apac
: with the times in all improvements. Nh
# c. ID. Cook, who is now ut the zenith O
: ms honeymoon, runs an exclusive drug
I, store, and seems as happy AZ a boy a
u majority with "a bride i'm her "teens.
y Chas. HOehn carries on nice little har
4. ness shop, and G. III. Walters does tn
hardware business. A new butche
shop was established last week Whicl