The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-12-01

| much credit is due for the enlighten-
ment which the present generation and
| those that are to come received from
| their careful notatiOns as to the char
acter of the country which they pene-
| trated the habits of the aborigines,
| and other important points Of historical
worth.
SEEKING THE NORTHWEST PAS
SAGE.
But 1t should be remembered that
the dream of Columbus had not yet
been exploded. A new world had been
discovered, but that 1t was disconnected
with the old was not, at that time,
known, hence there was a persistency,
on the part Of explorers, in the hope
that somewhere along the route they
should at last come up against the
land OF the Orient itself, or find them
selves in a water course which should
lead thereto. Thus we find the ex-
plorations from the mouth of the Gulf
or st. Lawrence resulting In contact
first with Lake Ontario, and thence on
ward, In a westerly direction, to the
broad eXpanse Of Lake Superior, all of
which was sufficient to delude the-spirit
into the confidence that they had at
last discovered the sea, and that its
navigation would bring them to the
land which they were seeking. Of
course, many years were occupied In
these attempts before the facts
were comprehended. The northwest
passage was being sought, and only the
circumnavigation Of the globe itself
could establish the falsity Of the then
existing theories as to it's surface. 1t
in This 6parnI o.f
sage which led, In 1883, to the settle
ment Of New Foundland; and it was
from this event that Sir Walter Raleigh
imbibed his inspiration to make fur
ther settlement by England on the
| American continent. And yet this was
| an entire century before Penn's pur-
| chase. The hardships endured by Raj
| eigh and the lack Of enthusiasm dur
! ing the Tudor reigns in England re-
suited in little progress being made
Many disasters came upon the colonies
in various parts Of the country, but par
ticularly in Virginia. Lord Baltimore,
himself a Roman Catholic, and eager to
establish his faith firmly on the Amer
lean continent, gave opportune revival
to English colonization. The Dutch,
with their instinct for business, had
settled New York, but only to yield
later their valuable acquisitions on the
Hudson to the English power after a
struggle continuing for more than fifty
years. A singular addition and one of
great industrial value to the colonies
resulted from the immigration hither
Of 1000 skilled operatives in the work.
| Ing of cloth, who were driven here as a
! consequence of the prevalence Of the
! plague in London in 1865. But probably
the greatest force operating for the
| Improvement Of the welfare of colonists
was the example set by Penn in his
treatment Of the Indians, for it was
directly traceable to this incident that
the Huguenots made their way hither.
where they received the full enjoyment
Of their rights, and which attracted
numbers of industrious Germans early
in the eighteenth century. The French
in their attempts at colonization in
Canada were compelled to yield at last,
in 1853, to the prowess of the English
at Quebec. Meanwhile the development
of the resources of some of the islands
of the West Indies, notably San Do
mingo, Martinique and Guadalupe, had
enabled them to become particularly
flourishing as producers Of sugar, as
well as other semi-tropical raw ma
terial.
IMMIGRATION STIMULATED.
AS the American colonies thrived and
prospered and these facts became
known to their respective home coun-
| try, immigration thither was much
| stimulated. The freedom accorded to
all sects for the worship Of God accord
Ing to their own conscience afforded
another source Of inspiration to the
prosecuted of the Old World to seek
the liberty of the new. The disposi-
ton to proselyte the recently discov-
cred tribes was also a source Of stimu-
lation, particularly to the representa-
tives Of the Roman Catholic church.
But underlying all this existed thar
persistent desire to penetrate the coun-
try beyond and with the purely selfish
motive for the advancement of trade.
BARON LAHONTAN.
One Of the most intelligent and cour-
ageous Of the adventures Of that pe-
tenant OF the French colony at Placen-
tia, in Newfoundland. This distin,
guiShed traveller penetrated North
America as far west as the Mississipp
river, observing the customs of the ma.
tives and carefully noting the same
and making a comprehensive study OF
the commerce then already existing
between the settlers themselves as vel
as between the aborigines and the set
tiers, and meanwhile taking note q,
existing methods Of navigation Of the
Great Lakes and the rivers Of the nortI
and endeavoring to fathom the causes
: Of difficulty already actively operatins
between the French and the English. a,
we'll as between the several Indiar
tribes that controlled the territory EN-
braced within Southern Canada. La.
hontan prepared maps and gave minut,
descriptions of the natural history O
the country, and preserved in his let
ters some of the most valuable feature;
of the civilization existing at that time
He began his tour at Quebec, and
descending the st. Lawrence, visited
the habitations Of the savages wher
A ever community existed within reach
The Jesuits had already been actiy,
among this people and had secured ;
number Of converts. He visited Mon