IT is maintained by the reviewers, I believe, that the duller a writer
is, the more accurate he should be.
In the outset of this letter, I
desire to testify my acquiescence in the justice of that dogma, for
if, like neighbor Dogberry, "I were as tedious as a king," I could not
find it in my heart to bestow it all without a measure of utility.
I shall try to answer some questions which I imagine might be put by
different classes of men who are interested in this part of the west.
My last letter had some hints to the farmer, and I can only add, in
addition, for his benefit, that the most available locations are now a
considerable distance above St. Paul. The valley of the St. Peter's is
pretty much taken up; and so of the valley of the Mississippi for a
distance of fifteen miles on either side to a point a hundred miles
above St. Paul. One of the land officers at Minneapolis informed me
that there were good preemption claims to be had fifteen miles west,
that being as far as the country was thickly settled. One of the
finest regions now unoccupied, that I know of, not to except even the
country on the Crow Wing River, is the land bordering on Otter Tail
Lake. For forty miles all round that lake the land is splendid. More
than a dozen disinterested eye-witnesses have described that region to
me in the most glowing terms. In beauty, in fertility, and in the
various collateral resources which make a farming country desirable,
it is not surpassed. It lies south of the picturesque highlands or
hauteurs des terres, and about midway between the sources of the Crow
Wing and North Red Rivers. From this town the distance to it is sixty
miles. The lake itself is forty miles long and five miles in width.
The water is clear and deep, and abounds with white fish that are
famous for their delicious flavor. The following description, which I
take from Captain Pope's official narrative of his exploration, is a
reliable description of this delightful spot, now fortunately on the
eve of being settled " To the west, north-west, and north-east, the
whole country is heavily timbered with oak, elm, ash, maple, birch,
bass, &c., &c. Of these the sugar maple is probably the most valuable,
and in the vicinity of Otter Tail Lake large quantities of maple sugar
are manufactured by the Indians. The wild rice, which exists in these
lakes in the most lavish profusion, constitutes a most necessary
article of food with the Indians, and is gathered in large quantities
in the months of September and October. To the east the banks of the
lake are fringed with heavy oak and elm timber to the width of one
mile. The whole region of country for fifty miles in all directions
around this lake is among the most beautiful and fertile in the world.
The fine scenery of lakes and open groves of oak timber, of winding
streams connecting them, and beautifully rolling country on all sides,
renders this portion of Minnesota the garden spot of the north-west.
It is impossible in a report of this character to describe the feeling
of admiration and astonishment with which we first beheld the charming
country in the vicinity of this lake; and were I to give expression to
my own feelings and opinions in reference to it, I fear they would be
considered the ravings of a visionary or an enthusiast."[1] But let me
say to the speculator that he need not covet any of these broad acres.
There is little chance for him. Before that land can be bought at
public sale or by mere purchasers at private sale, it will, I feel
sure, be entirely occupied by actual settlers. And so it ought to be.
The good of the territory is promoted by that beneficent policy of our
public land laws which gives the actual settler the first and best
chance to acquire a title by preemption.
[1 To illustrate the rapid progress which is going on constantly, I
would remark that in less than a month after leaving Crow Wing, I
received a letter from there informing me that Messrs. Crittenden,
Cathcart, and others had been to Otter Tail Lake and laid out a town
which they call Otter Tail City. The standing and means of the men
engaged in the enterprise, are a sure guaranty of its success.]
Speculators have located a great many land warrants in Minnesota. Some
have been located on lakes, some on swamps, some on excellent land. Of
course the owner, who, as a general thing, is a nonresident, leaves
his land idle for something to "turn up" to make it profitable. There
it stands doing no good, but on the contrary is an encumbrance to the
settler, who has to travel over and beyond it without meeting the face
of a neighbor in its vicinity. The policy of new states is to tax
non-resident landholders at a high rate. When the territory becomes a
state, and is obliged to raise a revenue, some of these fellows
outside, who, to use a phrase common up here, have plastered the
country over with land warrants, will have to keep a lookout for the
tax-gatherer. Now I do not mean to discourage moneyed men from
investing in Minnesota lands. I do not wish to raise any bugbears, but
simply to let them know that hoarding up large tracts of land without
making improvements, and leaving it to increase in value by the toil
and energy of the pioneer, is a way of doing things which is not
popular with the actual settler. But there is a great deal of money to
be made by judicious investments in land. Buying large tracts of land
I believe to be the least profitable speculation, unless indeed the
purchaser knows exactly what he is buying, and is on hand at the
public sale to get the benefit of a second choice.
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