The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1915-01-21
THE EARLY HISTORY OF
MINNESOTA
Minnesota's Story Told by E. M. Lehnerts, U. of NJ

for the trails of both the buffalo and
the Indian. After serving the Red
Men for many years as famous
highway, the Pembina or Lake Agas-
siz trail, in 1874, became and for 20
years remained a noted thoroughfare
for the Red River cart brigades which
wendell their way to St. Paul.
When the first French voyagers,
Grosilliers and Radisson, came to this
region in 1856, the Dakota or Sioux
were masters of the entire territory.
The Objibwas or Chippewas had not
yet pushed their way into Minnesota
from Northern Wisconsin. But in
1879 the Ojibwas were here, for at
that time Duluth made energetic eff
forts to establish peace between them
and the Dakotas with whom they were
fighting for the possession of the COW
eted lake and forest region of north
eastern Minnesota, so rich at that
time in furbearing animals. Inch by
inch the Ojibwas forced the Dakotas
south until in the latter half of the
eighteenth century the state was
about equally divided between the two
tribes. Within their separate terri
tories, each tribe made network of
trails.
Among the routes by water and
portage path in the Ojibwa country
are several that became regular thor
oughfares, when, with the coming of
the French, the fur trade started in
Minnesota. Of these, few of special
Importance may be mentioned. First,
there is the old prehistoric canoe and
portage route from Lake Wjnnibi-
goshish to the Rainy River; second,
the Superior route up the st. Louis
river to Fon du Lac, thence to Sandy
Lake via the Savannah River portage
to the upper Mississippi and Cass lake
third, the routes from Crow Wing by
Gull and Leach Lakes, which merged
into the Sandy Lake route at Cass
Lake, and proceeded through Red
Lake, up the navigable Red Lake rives
to Thief River, thence across the
northwest corner of the present coun-
ty of Pennington to the Pembina trail,
and over that trail to Pembina; and
fourth the route from Grand Portage
to Lake Winnipeg, along the chain of
lakes and streams of our Canadian
boundary, across Lake of the Woods,
the Winnipeg river and down that
stream to Lake Winnipeg.
Quite different was the transporter
ton among the Sioux after their ex-
pulsion from the northern woods and
lakes. After Ito, they became peo-
pie of the treeless plains using ponies
for transportation while the Ojibwas
chung to the birch bark canoe and the
pack strap.
The limits of this paper do not per-
NIT the mention of the trails in the
southern part of the state. Suffice it
to say that from the northern boun-
Diary of Minnesota to it's southern lin
its ran network of Indian routes by
trail and by portage-path, and lake
and stream.
Even in the cold season, the Indian
triumphed over natures obstacles,
crossing the ice-locked waters and
snowbound fields and forests on his
snow shoes and toboggan. By means
of these and his dogs, creatures that
were half wolf, he followed the winter
trails to his trapping grounds and to
his villages. The extent to which
these early trails Influenced the course
of the later wagon roads and rail-
roads furnishes an interesting subject
in the history of the development of
transportation in Minnesota.