The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-15

George R. Roberts, of Stephen, pass
ed through the city yesterday on his
way home from New York. Mr.. Rob-
erts represented the people of Marshall
county in the legislature in 1889, and
has long been prominent in the affairs
of that section of the state. He chatted
cordially with a Gil b e reporter last
evening at the Windsor hotel He said:
But few people have an adequate
idea of the fertility of the soil in our
locality. The fact that we are way up
North gives prevalence to the impress
sion that we can only raise pine trees,
but nothing could be more misleading.
The climate at Roseau is not as severe
as in st. Paul. as there is but little
wind, and the 1roSts come, as a rule,
late in the season. Almost everything
that can be raised successfully in the
more agricultural parts of the state can
be harvested with profit in Roseau and
Marshall counties. We have great
deal of Valua BILE timber scattered all
over the territory. and we are directly
tributary to one of the richest mining
sections in the United States. Our
farmers raise two and three crops Of
hay and clover. More settlers have
gone in this year than for some years
past, and the value of the live stock
market in Roseau county alone during
the fall has been estimated at $4,000.
The Manitoba and Southwestern
railway has been completed forty-six
miles out of Winnipeg towards RoSeau,
and we expect that>it will be COM
pleted to Roseau by the Fourth of July,
when a big celebration will take place.
From there the line will run due east
to Gun Flint Lake, where 1t will con-
meet with an old branch of the Can
adam Pacific to Port Arthur, which
has been purchased by the new road.
THE completion of this road will be
a great thing for the Manitoba wheat
growers. as we'll as the farmers living
along the line. as it will give com
petitive line with the Canadian Pacific
from Winnipeg to Lake Superior. AS
the road will pass on line about mr.
teen miles north of the terminus of the
Duluth & Iron Range road at Tower, 1t
is quite likely that a connection Will
be made between the two roads. This
will give what will practically be two
outlets for the Manitoba wheat to Lake
Superior. one at Duluth and the other
at Port Arthur. The new road will
tap all of the Northern part Of the
state and will run through the new
Warroad settlement, which is one Of
the most promising in this locality, be-
cause of it's great fertility agricultural
ly 1t is located on the Southern shore
in this connection that the Warroad
river, which enters the lake here, fur
nishes a fine harbor for the vessels
which run down from Rat Portage.
There are fully 100 steamers on the
lake. and with Rat Portage and its
10000 Inhabitants. who live largely on
the mining industry, there will be
fine market on the Canadian side for
the products of all that the Minnesota
farmers can raise. Lake of the Woods
has thousands of islands, and 1t is said
to surpass from a picturesque point of
view the Thousand Islands on the st.
Lawrence river
"At present there is no direct rail-
road connection with Roseau. At
Stephen you take the stage and after
a sixty-mile drive arrive at Roseau. AS
soon as the Manitoba and Southeast
ern railroad is completed there will be
q great rush to the country directly
south of Lake of the Woods"