St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-29
The PROPOSED Canal.
Special to the Globe.

SpGcldl 10 Jne OIODe.
Browns VALLEY, Mimi, Dec. as
Browns Valley takes especial interest in
the proposed canal connecting lakes Tray
erse and Big Stone as the canal would run
through the city limits. Besides, if Traverse
is made reservoir for the upper Mississippi
it would give Browns Valley an unlimited
water power. At meeting of the board
of trade the following resolutions were
passed:
Whereas, The general government has al
ready appropriated money for Improvement
of the Red River of the North, and has ex-
pended the same to good purpose between
Breckenridge and the forty-ninth parallel;
and,
Whereas, The improvement of the water
way of the Red River valley would not at
tain its greatest beneficial results to commerce
along said route until improvement is con-
tinued to a navigable connection with Lake
Traverse and Big Stone lake, the govern
ment survey of which was made and favor
ably reported upon by the government engi-
neers in their report of this locality in 1882 !;
and,
Whereas. The commerce along these lakes
will this year amount to at least Il, 200 600
bushels in wheat alone, which, at 4 saving
of cents per buShel in freight, would be
$360,000; and,
Whereas, All that is necessary to add to the
RIGdb MdlcEW dy 6GN6DIy lllllGS LuOT6 III lGEHG0
by lake route alone, with natural depth of
from eight to twenty feet, averaging a mile
in width in these lakes, is to cut canal across
the low neck of land between the lakes, a dis
lance of one mile and one-eighth, which has
an elevation or depth of only seven feet at
the deepest point, and by strengthening the
Minnesota river few poil.ts in its course be-
low the village CT Browns Valley, and dredg-
ing somewhat, not over half MILE at point
where it is necessary to give sufficient depth
of water for all navigabe purposes; and,
Whereas, Traverse and Big Stone lakes,
each with an area of twenty-five square
miles, could be made and utilized as reser-
vOirs for surplus spring and summer rains to
the extent of doubling the flow of water in
the Minnesota river, tributary to the Missis-
sipp, for four months in the year after July
l, as shown by the engineers report of 1882,
thus not only making this natural waterway
navigable from the foot of Big Stone lake to
the Red river, but forming one of the largest
and grandest reservoirs of the upper Missis-
sippi, at 4 cost far below that required to
render navigable any other waterway of equal
distance in the United States; and,
Whereas, The legislative assemblies Of
Minnesota and Dakota, after mature deliber-
alton on the facts and statistics involved,
have memorialized congress of the import
and advantages of the opening up and i'm
proving of this waterway; and
Whereas, a delegate convention to con-
Oak, Tuesday, Jan. IL, 1886; therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Browns Valley board of
trade that congress be petitioned to appro-
pirate $4,000 to the cutting of q canal be-
tween Lakes Traverse and Big Stone, and
strengthening out this portion of the Mime
sofa river as herein defined, dredging it to
the necessary extent, and for the dyking
across the head of Traverse lake, with a view
to constituting it a needful part of the reser-
Voir system of the upper Mississippi.
Resolved, That we instruct our representa-
tives to cooperate with those of other con-
gressional districts, mutually concerned in
securing the aforementioned appropriation
during the session of the present congress-
Resolved, That we select four delegates
from this body to represent at the Fargo
convention our county interests, with in
structfons to furnish said convention an ac-
curate report of the situation here, and such
statement of facts relative to our agrcult-
ural and commercial matters as the occasion
may require, and that they give hearty sup
port to such practical measures as may there
be devised for the accomplishment of the
great enterprise now under consideration.