The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-05

l have read with interest the articles
OF Frank Mead and J. Newton Mind which
appeared some weeks ago in b u r
a !, but their "reminiscences only ex-
tended back to the early seventies Or late
sixties. if I recollect rightly. Perhaps a.
few thoughts" about the real "early.
days." when this vicinity was wild and
woolly" Indeed. may be of interest to
some readers, especially to some of the
old boys who emigrated to this region
"befo the wah.' :
The writer arrived in St. Anthony in
the spring of 1857 fresh from New York,
printing Office. There were no railroads
| in the territory, and all travel came up
the river to st. Paul
/ chit" the St. Paul Pioneer office in
about two minutes after the steamboat
had moored at the foot Of Jackson street,
st. Paul. and with all the assurance of a
21-year- tendemoot, thrust into the
hands of Earl S. Goodrich, the editor and
proprietor Of the Pioneer, an elaborate
letter Of recommendation from my en-
ployer In New York. l do not know what
the recommendation said, as I had never
read it, but after Mr.. Goodrich had care.
fully looked it over he took me all over
his office, and then offered me a situation
as compositor. pressman, proof reader,
itemizer, or any other old thing 1 wanted
But 1 was all swelled up with enterprise
at that time, and informed him that I was
going over to the falls to start paper. "
had tarried in Chicago long enough to
pick out set Of printing material, which
was to be shipped when l had located, and
s. P. Rounds, proprietor of the type
foundry, was careful to add: Send the
money along when you order the stun
shipped" MI. Rounds had evidently had
dealings with young printers before.
Boarding a Concord stage l was soon
in St. Anthony, although all the passen-
gers had to get out twice and help pry the
stage out of sloughs. found the st. An
thony express office, owned and run by
Judge Isaac Atwater, on the corner of old
Main street and what is now Central ave-
nue. Harvey D. Snow, Buffalo printer,
printer, constituted the balance of the
typographical force Snow said they were
short handed and wanted more help. So
gave UP my newspaper scheme for the
time being and went at the case. gAs.
Besides the Express there was another
paper, called, if recollect, the Minnesota
Republican, and owned by a Rev. Mr..
Ames. This Office was purchased during
the summer of 1857 by Croffutt &. Clark
and merged into the Falls Evening News.
On the Minneapolis side Of the river a
paper was published by William A,
Hothchkiss, called the Minnesota Demo-
crat. rs
Hotchkiss soon afterwards sold out, re-
moving to the vicinity of Monticello,
where he engaged in farming until the
war broke out, when he raised the famous
Hot chkiss battery, became major and
Served during the war. I think he is yet
alive and publishing paper in the south
ern part of the state.
Billy Proctor of the Express was rare
character and used often to boast of be-
ing the founder of Monticello, Wright
county, as he pre- empted the land where
Monticello now stands during the year
1852 or 1853. Mr.. Snow, the foreman,
soon after returned to Buffalo, N. Y, and
the writer of these lines soon after fol-
lowed him, "but that is another story"
After person has once tasted the
charms of the west, generally speaking,
he Is i'll at ease In the more sedate east,
and the fall Of the same year found the
writer back again in st, Anthony where
he commenced the publication of semi
weekly advertising sheet, purchasing the
type OF defunct paper that had been
started as a town boomer at Nininger,
Mr.. Donnelly's home, and negotiating for
the use Of one OF the Express odd Foster
presses.
At this time there were only two papers
published north OF northwest of St An
thony Falls, one of them being the st,
Cloud Visitor, owned and published by
Mrs. Jane G. Swisshelm. and the other.
| think. was published at Sank Rapids
by Mr.. Benedict.
But early In the summer of 1858 the
writer disposed Of his 7x9 semi weekly.
as Croffut used to call it, and started the
publication OF paper at Monticello.
Printing material was scarce in the state
at that time. In 1859 was called upon
to print the delinquent tax sales of
Wright, sherbunne. Carver, Meeker and
kandiyohi coInties--about all Of them at
the same time Material ran short.
sent the Office hand down on the steam
boat to St.NAnthony to borrow all the fg-
ures and ''quads" the Offices could be in
duced ito spare, while took the up-
stream boat for st. Cloud and depleted