The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-09-07

and a creamery or cheese factory here
before long, see if we don t.
John Hanna, of Elysian, preached
in the M. E. church Sunday evening.
He introduced our people to his wife,
bride of few days, and many and
cordial were the congratulations ex-
tended to the young people.
VIM. Durrin and family, W. E.
Davey and family, with Mr.. Davey's
brother and cousin, John Luth and
Mike Murtaugh went to Swan Lake
Saturday and remained until Monday
enjoying little duck hunt We have
not seen any ducks, but we know they
wrought terrible slaughter for we
know these gentlemen are all dead
shots
Will Cross came over from Amboy
Monday afternoon, bringing his uncle
with him for treatment at the Allyn
institution. The sick man, under the
ministrations of Prof Allyn, was en-
abled to enjoy night of good sleep, a
novel experience to him.
George Southwick is on the mend,
and will soon be ready for work again.
Madison Lake contributes her share
to the state fair attendance. Mr.. and
Mrs. Ezra Stearns, Mr.. and Mrs.
Orrin Jackson and Mr.. and Mrs. Will
Hanchett are there for the whole
week. Many others will go for day
or two.
Your scribbler pedaled his bike to
st. Clair last Thursday, and took a
few mental notes of the changes the
past few years have made over that
way. Going by the Mankato mineral
springs one is impressed by the dead
and down" appearance of things and
is moved to moralize upon the mis-
fortune of getting wrong ideas too
firmly fixed in ones Uranium, and how
good farmer may be spoiled to make
bad promoter. Going through what
was formerly the 'big woods the eye
can reach for miles on either side of
| the road, and the farmers in the tim
Der are now within sight of their
neighbors practically as well as far
mers up on the prairie. But shade
trees are scarce When the early set
| tier went into the woods his first
| thought was to get space cleared on
which to raise little grain to feed
the family, and he was especially
anxious to cut away everything close
| to the house so that he could get some
sunlight and air into his premises.
After time, when his clearing ex
tended back, he found his house ex-
posed to blazing sun in summer and
to the bitter winds in winter, and
then he commenced to plant shade
trees. So now we find, around houses
in the timber, young soft naples,
where might have been giant oaks,
or spreading elms. But those early
settlers were not ignoramuses any one
of us would have done the same. Good
roads for a wheel, too, exist where
formerly an empty team found it diff
cult to pull an empty wagon. Not
many years hence we shall see log
house exhibited at the state fair, SO
great curiosity has this sort of habi
tation become. Frame and brick
houses, big red barns, concreUl chicken
houses, fine hog pens, ice houses, dove
cotes, sheep pens and other comfort
able buildings loom up in every turn
of the road, and wind mills-where
can you look and not see one2 And
the owners of these fine improvements
are the gentlemen who, we are told,
will vote for Bryan because times are
hard And we are likewise told that
there is no money in farming Com
ing nearer to st. Clair, we have to
circle away off to the left to get up to
the bridge to cross the river. 1t occurs
to the weary pedalist that st. Clair
deserves a bridge down back of the
hotel and that the county officials
could spend money in worse manner
than by putting in another bridge
there. AS one comes upon the bridge
the LIE Sueur river looks up at him
defantIy, as much as to say am out
of training just now, but come around
at the time of the spring thaw or the
June freshet and will show you that
I am not a has been yet. And it would,
too. Just across the bridge, and one
is in the mill yard. the old mill which
has done service there since Indian
days It's burrs and later it's rolls have
ground the -four and feed which have
fattened the babies and beeves alike
during forty years, and for many
years it made the lumber used for
miles around st. Clair, grinding
nights and saving days, and its
whistle has brought delight to the
hungry farmer boy all these years as
it poured out the joyful tune at noon
tide But new machinery, changed
over building, and new proprietor
force a fellow to scratch his memory
little to recall the old structure. Go
ing down town the first familiar face
is that of Henry Foster, and it has
been SO for forty years, and we hope
it may continue for forty more. Where
is So and So2 He is at Mankato, at
the Republican convention. So
familiar faces are few, as the @. o. P.
-. ILo-o 1oGoIx-