The Coolidge examiner., 1936-05-22
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington, d. C.-WNU Service.

three widely separated seas, through
the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mex
iico, through the Red river and its
tributaries to Hudson bay; and
| through the Great Lakes and the
st. Lawrence to the Atlantic. And
no other state has as many lakes
within it's borders. There are more
than 10000 of them.
The map of the state reveals that
Minnesota is cut into two vast tri-
angles by a diagonal line running
from the northeast corner (where
the Red river flows out northWard)
down the southeast corner (where
the Mississippi flows out south
ward). Imagine the upper triangle
painted green, and the lower tri-
angle painted yellow, and presto !
you have the state roughly divided
into its natural forest and prairie
! parts.
The green triangle, before the
lumberman came, was in general a
huge pine forest, and begins to be
so again. The yellow triangle, be-
fore the farmer came, was grass
land like the billows of a great
sea, majestic and limitless"; now
| it is fields, with wind-breakS of
planted trees to shelter the red
barns and white farmhouses.
The diagonal line that divides
these triangles has it's significance
too. 1t marks the chief trade route
through the state and also wan
dering barrier of deciduous woods,
now carved up to make way for
farms and cities, which everywhere
separates the pinelands from the
prairies.
Broader toward the south where
it attaches to the deciduous woods
of Wisconsin, it dwindles to thin
scattering Of stunted trees toward
the nOrth-the final outpost of the
hardwood forest of eastern Amer
lea.
AS the ends of this diagonal mark
the low exits Of the states two
principal rivers, the outer corners
of the two triangles mark the states
highest ground. At the outer cor
ner of the yellow triangle the
plateau known as Coteau des Prai-
rie just crosses, dividing the Mis-
souri, from the Mississippi basins
with its immense gradual swell. In
the outer corner of the green tri-
angle, the Arrowhead Country"
above Lake Superior, are the Saw
tooth mountains and the Misquah
hills. rocky, choked in forest.
Climate is "ContinentaI"
The climate of this pair of tri-
angles is a grief to those who re-
sent surprises. 1t is continental"
in the most emphatic sense. Tenn
peratures range in a mild year
through 12O degrees; in a year with
a real wallOp to it, as high as 165.
In consequence, the native Of out
door habits must maintain a ward
robe that includes everything from
the shortest of swimming shorts
to the longest Of long wOOlenS.
Lake Superior, it is true, tends
to temper the winds Of the region
around it, but not to the shorn
lamb; no, no. Thanks to the prox-
unity of that deep reservoir of pure
icewater, a grouchy visitor has been
heard to complain that the coldest
winter he ever spent was one sum-
mer in Duluth!
Nor are the blessings Of ample
rainfall to be taken for granted. OF
late years the yellow triangle, COM
monty less rainy and much less
snowy than the green, has involun-
tarily tried the experiment Of get
ting along with next to no moisture
at all. In fact, Minnesota has wealth
er to please all tastes, in strong
doses which. as a rule, stimulate
rather than kill.
The Nineteenth century marked
an immense change in Minnesota.
The white man arrived in numbers
to establish himself in a country
where it was easier to make living
than in the one he had come from.
This was not a very noble purpose
in one way, and it led to many in
justices to the existing inhabitants,
both men and animals.
Yet the annals of the pioneer in
vasiOn reveal, too, a deep longing
in those people for the good life,
for they were certainly ready to
undergo discomforts that were sor-
did and hardships that were killing
in their high hopes for the future
in a new land.
There was much to be done, for
the white man always insists on
altering nature to suit his own
views. But energy was the char
acteristic of the age. With rifle, ak,
and plow, and later with money,
miracles were wrought.
Its Animal Population.
For one thing, the status of the
native animals was drastically
changed. In the yellow triangle.
marvelously fertile for wheat, the