davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24
tory of 1tasea State Park; Its Cost and Perfection

c@'ScT>HSScSSUSHEH WHHHEHNU1H11W
the creeks flowing into them All the
adjoining timber lines bordering those
two lakes has been under water to the
great damage of valuable state prop
erty. LAUNDERING and logging roads
have recently been indiscriminateIy
Slashed through and across park lands,
disfiguring their beauty, and opening
the way to all the dangers of forest
CONGREGATIONS against many magnifi-
cent evergreen groves and promiscuous
forests which were numbered among
the most valuable park holdings the
state possessed. Now those possessions
are hideously disfgured and the forests
are dying and decaying to afford avar-
1clouS lumbermen the opportunity of
conducting their private business for
personal gain to the great damage of
the state, jeopardizing it's investments,
permanently running it's property and
precip1tating decay, destruction, floods,
and the damages of fire where the
beautiful shore lines, waters and for
eStS of a magnificent state park once
rested in sublime enthrallment, and
magnificent preservation.
Now the face of nature is seriously
changed at the park.
On the 2Sth day of March, 1904, At
shore of Itasca lake and personally
witnessed those damaging changes.
Much has been said concerning the
legal rights of lumbermen to precipitate
Itasca lake into log BOOM it's wa
ters into a reservoir, and it's river into
a closed timber chute.
The state comes first at it's park.
Who has offered that it, also, has vest
ed legal rights in its estate which shall
be protected against indiScriminate de-
terioration for personal aggrandise-
ment?
1t is a crime against the nation and
the state of Minnesota to longer per-
nit the devastating onslaughts against
Itasca lake to continue without protest
and effective actioni
Timber Estimates Raised
Recently wealthy lumbermen who
own a limited amount of land inter-
mixed with the park lands for the con-
demnation of which appropriations
were made by the legislature, have been
permitted to raise the timber estimates
on a given area at and near the new
park house from 1884, feet to TO-
$4,000 feet, an excess which can be
shown not to exist in fact, as soon as
opportunity will permit legal review
of a questionable transaction against
the state.
The new park lodge was provided
for by the last legislature in an APP
preparation bill permitting the struct-
ure to be erected at a limited cost.
The site selected is at the crest of a
forested hill at the mouth of Mary
creek overlooking the east arm of
Itasca lake, where the Lind saddle trail
from the main wagon road leads across
the hills to Elk lake, the source of the
Mississippi and Nicollet springs, twen-
ty-three miles from Park Rapids.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24
4 fair quantity. which is nearly always

fair quantity. which is>nearly always
praised.
Critics used to lay about them with a
will. To be sure it was rather broad
sword and bludgeon style. But now, /
think, criticism is becoming almost osa, toe 90
literature has immensely improved In
my youth We had a few great names
Dickens, Thackeray, George Eliot i
think you have nothing to compare with
them now in the front rank. But in the
rank close behind the front your attain
ment is certainly much higher than any
thing we then possessed
Much of what Mr.. Meredith says Will be
resented in this country. For INSTANCE,
his declaration that fear of death is the
real cause of the English objection to
CONSUMPTION. Men come to me-" he says,
land say their trade would suffer or they
could not spare two years of their ap.
premiership Their real meaning is that
they are afraid of being called out and
getting shot at So they pay others to
do the killing and dying for them.
Meredith's own creed with regard to the
fear of death is CHARACTERISTIC. No one.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

The extent of the view from the
dome can best be judged from the
most remote landmarks visible on each
side.
To the southwest, then, Gan be made
out, with some difficulty, the old
Catholic church at Mendoza, opposite
Fort Smelling. This historic building
is about seven miles away.
To the southeast, as told, rises the
chimney at South ST. Paul, five miles
distant. st. Paul Park across the
river, and still farther off, can readily
be distinguished.
To the north, Gladstone, four miles
away, is easily found, and the smoke
stacks at North ST. Paul, several
miles beyond, may often be located.
On the west one tries the eye to best
advantage. To the left of Como
avenue the tower of the city work
house energies from the groves that
encompass Como park and quite con-
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

that black and white creature the ex-
cited public, which covers the space
below the Tapping canvas wings Of
the grand stand.
Away past the ball park, beyond 'the
thunder of the captains and the shout
ing" the gray arch of the Sixth street
bridge leads the eye to the ample
foliage that enriches Daytons bluff.
To the north, as mentioned, lie but
few buildings. Close at hand the
splendid red stone dwelling built by the
late John L. Merriam contrasts pic
torially with the green grounds that
surround it. To the northward,
through lane Of pleasant homes,
stretches the spick-and-span asphalt
of the new Capitol boulevard. But at
the end of three or four blocks the ave-
nue. halts before railroad yards and
railroad shops. A few thick groves
beyond the rows of shining tracks,
then hillsides without houses or trees;
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24


Looking around you beyond the
building itself, you find yourself the
center of circle of vision some twelve
miles in diameter. You can see prac-
tically the whole city of st. Paul and,
on several sides, you can see beyond
the municipal limits.
You observe that high plateaus Dor
der the sky, line far above the level
of the Mississippi. Across the river,
beyond West ST. Paul, which is really
"South" st. Paul, the hills appear to be
somewhat the highest. Dayton's
bluff on the east, ST. Anthony hill on
the west, look but little higher than
the business district down towards the
south or southeast, although in fact
they rise sharply far above the down.
town level. Closer at hand Merriam
hill, on the north, directly beneath the
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

code, mandatory in it's character and
teElns, prohibiting the destruction of
timber and trees along the shores of
Itasca, Elk, and other lakes and their
tributary creeks. Notwithstanding
those precautions Itasca and Elk lakes
were flooded by lumberman's logging
dam Immediately below the outlet of
Itasca lake, first constructed in 1902,
permanently established with gates and
chutes in 1908, and raised and nearly
doubled in it's capacity in 1904 on lands
now legally dedicated as park property
exclusively for the use of the state.
Log booms and log landings covering
large surface areas of Itasca lake and
its approachable shores have greatly
damaged the public property of the
park, virtually closing portions of its
resorts against public use by the peo-
pie who are lawfully in possession of
vested rights.
The floods from the lumberman's
dam across the Mississippi, where it
formerly connected it's winding and
descending channel, have precipitated
backwater overflow which over
Spreads and mandates every shore of
Itasca and Elk lakes and the banks of
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

denSely foreSted areas approximately
identical i'm details on the charts of the
two separate surveys of 1889 and 1900.
Greatly to the regret Of many of our
citizens who have been deeply inter-
eSted in the permanent preservation Of
Itasca state park in it's natural con-
dition and primitive beauty, formative
and perfective periods in it's history,
have been recently superseded by a
critical period, very distressing in re-
suits, caused by an advance across the
area of the state park by destructive
lumbermen, pre- cipitating against state
property extensive damages which will
require many years to repair and over
come. Logging roads have been con-
structed across state park lands, log
landings have been established along
the shores of Itasea lake, dam near
the outlet of that historic and reserved
body of public water now diSaStrouSly
floods all its environS, creating lum-
berman's booming reservoir for the
private business of individuals against
the established rights of the state and
it's people, beginning in December, 1901,
and continuing to the present time.
While the damage by backwater floods
over the entire area of Itasca and Elk
lakes is slowly and surely creating an
extensive Shore-line destruction Of
park trees, evergreens and forests IN
the selfish interest of persons seeking
individual gain, the public officials
whose duty it is by law to. prosecute
offenders against the peace ana dignity
of the state are inactive and acquies-
cent
AS the original commissioner of this
society which first moved for the crea-
ton of public park in 1889, assume
the responsibility of recording the facts
as / understand them for the purpose
of perpetuating the continued history
of Itasca state park for this society.
Councillor J. B. CLANCY has twice
visited Itasca lake and the park, con-
.tributing otherwise to the preparations
necessary for the present publication.
Mr.. Edwin c. Champion. life mem
Der of this society, made tour OF the
state park and a canoe and camping
adventure down the MISSISSIPPI to
Winnibigoshish lake in 1902, when he
secured a valuable series of views
along the whole course of his contln-
uous voyage, which contains many
representations of scenes at the park,
Kakabikans rapids and elsewhere. So
very many of those admirable art pro-
auctions have been solicited for illus
trations and freely contributed to the
pages of this volume that only this
general acknowledgment for Mr..
Champions contribution to history was
convenient. Very respectfully,
~. V. Brewer.
State Park in Fine Condition
On the 1st day of January, 1901, at
the beginning of Gov. Van SAINTS ad-
ministration of state affairs, 1tasca
state park was in an admirable condi-
ton of perfect preservation. Its every
environment was in a state of nature
with rich labyrinths of evergreen
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

chiefly on philosophical questions.
Mrs. Sidney Webb's declaration, at the
Women Writer'S dinner. that she cared
little for novels and positively hated
poetry, affords striking evidence of the
mental limitations of an exceptionally
gifted woman Before her marriage she
was well known as Miss Beatrice Potter
and enjoyed the distinction of being one
of the few women whom Herbert Spen-
Ger, as he relates in his autobiography,
greatly esteemed on account of her intel
lectual attachments. The great philoso-
pher regarded her as one of his chosen
disciples and it was source of disap-
pointment to him when she became an
ardent Socialist although her conversion
was largely due to the great philoso-
piers doctrine of land nationalism.
which, yielding to the pessimism of old
age, he subsequently retracted. In this
latest literary pronouncement she has
again shown that she possesses the
courage of her convictions. There are,
however not a few women in these days
who seek to acquire a reputation for
strong -mindedness by assuming contempt
for imaginative literature.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

finest view. of the city that one may en-
joy outside of a balloon.
Many thousands of visitors will as
cend to the top of the capitol dome
during every year hereafter of the
many years that the marble capitol
will stand a monument to Minnesota
culture and American art.
The ascent to the dome takes our
Excelsior" disciple up a series of
stairways, some straight, and some
curling, to the door of an outside bal
ceny near the base of the curved part,
or roof, of the dome. Here he looks up
at the big marble eagles perched above
his head and observes that the eagle
is much taller than a man, and that
the bird, like all his relatives sitting
around the dome, is probably twice
the size of Sinbad's roc.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

streales of which distressing prophe-
cies were once made-do not exist in
these particular stones, or, as has been
sagely promised, the natural blueness
of the marble fades rapidly after ex-
posture to the weather. The lantern,
certainly, is not streaked, however
closely you examine it. Neither is it's
color an opaque, fiat and dazzling
white, like a whitewashed wall. 1t
is white with an evanescent blue shade,
a deep, translucent white such as that
of fresh snow in a shadow. The blue
tint which was to have ruined this
marble has redeemed it; has given it
a beauty that would never be dis
played by any plain white stone.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

Various are the color memories that
an amateur sentry recalls leisurely, in
the darkness, as he plods down the
corkscrew stairway. ST. Paul, he will
remember, is green and red; the resi-
dence quarter is tinted by it's trees,
the commercial quarter, by it's bricks.
But the dark green of st. Anthony hill
is notably broken by the yellow walls
of the lofty Hotel Aberdeen. And the
new federal building fingers on the
retina, lending a hint of medievalism
the more memorable because SO in
appropriate.
In the gray walls of this structure,
in its steep and red tiled roofs, fancy
finds a venerable French chateau, the
stronghold of some plumed and steel
clad seigneur dropped down amidst the
department stores, the office buildings
of modern and American ST. Paul.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

shades, dense forests, wooded ravines,
cone-covered hills, messed lowlands,
pine groves, fir, cedar and birch thick
cts, all bordering nearly hundred
glittering and glistening picturesque
lakes in health-g giving basin where
distinctly bubbling springs give birth
to the great Father of Waters at the
source of the Mississippi-an emblem
and promise of continuity in the sacred
preservation to the whole body of a
vast and rapidly increasing nation of
intelligent people, the shores and the
waters of Itasca lake and it's descend
ing outlet as lawfully established and
legally protected public resort
The history of Itasca lake and it's
permanent preservation, in the words
of Senator Knute Nelson. are sacred
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

is no looking straight down. There
is no suggestion of a precipitous wall.
There is scarcely hint of the madly
fatal toboggan slide that would follow
a jump across the unobtrusive balus-
trade.
But the platform is 212 feet above
the ground. So high are we standing
that, when we look down on the brown
ish red slate roofs of the capitol, the
three high stories of the wings are
dwarfed to less than one. The roofs
bordered by their marble balustrades,
appear like a decorative enclosure
around the ground-base of the all
important dome.
solidly built Of marble. It's white COL
umns glisten in the sunshine with a
crystalline reflection. Either the blue
streaks in Georgia marble = those
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

After this bit of air and ornithology
you retreat again into the twilighted
interior and complete your ascent up
a narrow, winding steel staircase that
whirls SO sharply AROUND its central
steel column that your head begins to
swim whenever you try to run.
Yet the exodus at last upon the
balcony about the foot of the lantern
provides no shock for sensitive, earth
creeping nerves.
The balcony is not broad, neither is
the marble balustrade high. But the
great dome swells below so broadly on
all sides that one seems to be standing
The lantern above is delicately yet
on a wide and spacious hill. There
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

@TANDING at the foot of the Ian
~ tern on top of the dome of the new
- marble capitol, a small boy said
the other day, with native wisdom: IF
/ could jes' put a box here with a slot
in it, and get one cent from everybody
whatll come up here, I'd get lots of
money, wouldn't 1, papa?"
Papa answered "huh- huh, meaning
yes, after the manner of fathers with
sagacious, questioning sons. But doubt
less this parent would have been de-
lighted to acquire a perpetual grant
of the dome admission privileges.
For the foot of the lantern marks
the highest artificial elevation easily
accessible in st. Paul, and affords the
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

Relations between authors and pub
fishers being SO frequently strained in
these days it is worth noting that the
late Sir IL. NJ. Stanley named Mr.. Mars
ton, long the leading spirit of Marston,
Low & Co., as one of his executors.
Stanley made a lot of money out of the
books which this firm published for him.
but the comparatively large fortune which
he left-$750 900 is generally regarded
the city were not unconnected with stock
exchange speculation in which he showed
as rare faculties for discovery as he did
when he found Livingstone.
Hayden Church.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

recluse of Box Hill is now seventy
six. No one, however, needs to do
more than read this interview with
George Meredith to be assured that
all is well with the mind that produced
Richard Feveral." Evidently, however,
1.-The MASTER as he is called Teverently
here, will write no more, as he says
that since this last illness he has felt "a
peculiar Discrimination for work of all
kinds and adds that the thought of
taking up pen is quite abhorrent." But
Mr.. Meredith says that though his mind
NOW seems asSn it could not give out
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

marble temple to seek a view on the
east side, we hear a far-off shout, a
shout that grows sharper with repeti-
ton, an angry, blood-seeking cry, the
voice of some Roman rabble. And the
voice exclaims, in Yankee Latin, "Out!
OUT Shut Up! Rotten! Rotten!
Lobsteri''
1t is the voice of tranquil pleasure
seekers strengthening their manly
stamina at the gentle game of baseball.
1t is the CHEEKY shout of the happy
bleachers complimenting the rare
wisdom of the umpire.
The gray figures of the players are
moving across the lawn-like diamond.
few squares to the southeast, while
strange twitching seems to disturb
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24


are intrusive but most convincing and
suggestive
The penalties of a criminal statute,
operative and of force provide heavy
fines and Imprisonment for offenses
against the legally established compact
between the United States and the
state of Minnesota, whereby all the
public lands at Itasca state park were
dedicated exclusively for public USE
BY the happening of untoward and
distressing events during the continu-
ance of the gubernatorial administra-
ton for Minnesota from Jan. 1, 1901,
to Jan. 1, 1905, the stability of Itasca
state park has been variously and al
most irl,aparably damaged, democrat
lied and grievously impaired by lum-
bering operations. distinctly provided
against by large appropriations from
fhe state treasury, and by criminal
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

(From Staff Correspondent
LONDON, July 16.-It is quite impossi-
bic to write about literary happenings
here without referring to the striking in
terview with George Meredith, which has
just appeared in the London Chronicle.
During many years of invalidism the
mind of the greatest living writer of
English has maintained its brilliancy and
Its possessor kept closely in touch with
current events, but it was feared by his
admirers that Mr.. Meredith's recent Sc
rious illness might have proved too much
for even his amazing mental vitality. The
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

and, at last, along the horizon, a pal
ing of thick woods.
The Interurban District
AS one looks westward, University
avenue draws itself sharply across the
view; block after block the broad gray
avenue traverses the smoky distance
westward toward Minneapolis Farther
to the right Como avenue departs in a
northwesterly direction. Though trees
are many on this side, houses abound
also. Not that the houses are close to-
gether along the outer limits of the
Eighth ward, but they may be dis
cerned, nevertheless, as far as the eve
can reach. 1t is the interurban dis
triet, the hope of the future Twin
City.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

SEE%SS%>XNNNN
ceal Lake Como. Beyond Como the
structures at the state fair ground.
miles away, are prominent, especially
the brilliant dome of the main build
ing.
Minneapolis Court House Tower
A big elevator in lofty relief stands
forth at the right of University avenue
somewhere in the neighborhood of the
Minnesota Transfer; and still to the
right OF this elevator, away over in
the smoke that blows from bituminous
Minneapolis, the tower of the Hennepin
county court house rests mirage-ii ike
amongst the grimy clouds And that
tower is nearly ten miles distant.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24
Falsely Accused

Police Magistrate-You are charged with
fighting. What have you to say for your
self?
fessional pugilist, and
Chicago News.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

A new state building has been or
dered constructed at beautifully for
ested area of the park at Mary creek,
near the southeastern extremity of
Itasca lake, for the accommodation of
the park commissioner and visiting
tourists, pursuant to the terms of an
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

any manner been acknowledged by the
authorities of that commission. The
field parties of the Mississippi river
commission while conducting their sur
veys at Itasca state park were in con-
slant use of specially mounted park
charts of this society, by which they
were guided through the labyrinths Of
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

distinct confirmation of topographic and
photographic conditions reported to
this society in 1890, as charted in 1892,
Notwithstanding the fact that no credit
whatever for the promiscuous and ex-
tensive use of the records and field
notes provided by this society has in
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-24

enactment passed by the legislature in
1903.
The United States by its Mississippi
river commission has caused to be ex-
pended in an exhaustive trigonomet-
rical survey of Itasca basin, in 1900,
many thousands of dollars. The Off
cial chart of that survey indicates a
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1904-01-22
DEATH IN WHlFF OF NEW POISON.
A London Chemist Claims to Have Made the
Discovery.

London (By Cable. "A chemist
named Brotferton claims to have discov-
cred in the course of some experiments
in the treatment of metals with view to
finding a method Of mparting to common
substances an attractive untarnisl1abe
surface, a new poison of so deadly a
character that single Whit of it would
cause death and leave no trace.
Mr.. Brotherton, speaking of his dis
covery, said:
"The possibility of manufacturing such
a poison has long been known to chem
lists. 1t is form of arsenouS gas, but
no other investigator has, so far as
known, discovered how to make it. hit
upon it entirely by accident and might
easily have lost my life in the discovery.
"As it is the only sufferer was favor
lite cat, who was very fond of sitting at
my bench when | was at work. She took
a single breath Of the gas and died il
stantly"
Mr.. Brothreton has been beSieged by
inquiries and some of these have been of
a character to suggest that the possession
of this deadly secret is coveted by large
number of persons who are apparently Of
good social status.