Stevens Says In His Report " The Plateau Of
The Bois Des Sioux Will Be A Great Centre Of Population And
Communication.
It connects with the valley of the Red River of the
North, navigable four hundred miles for steamers of
Three or four feet
draught, with forty-five thousand square miles of arable and timber
land; and with the valley of the Minnesota, also navigable at all
seasons when not obstructed by ice, one hundred miles for steamers,
and occasionally a hundred miles further. The head of navigation of
the Red River of the North is within one hundred and ten miles of the
navigable portion of the Mississippi, and is distant only forty miles
from the Minnesota. Eastward from these valleys to the great lakes,
the country on both sides of the Mississippi is rich, and much of it
heavily timbered."
I will also add another remark which he makes, inasmuch as the
character of the country in this latitude, as far as the Pacific
shore, must have great influence on this locality; and it is this: "
Probably four thousand square miles of tillable land is to be found
immediately on the eastern slopes of (the Rocky Mountains); and at the
bottoms of the different streams, retaining their fertility for some
distance after leaving the mountains, will considerably increase this
amount." Mr. John Lambert, the topographer of the exploration, divides
the country between the Mississippi and Columbia rivers, into three
grand divisions. The first includes the vast prairies between the
Mississippi and the base of the Rocky Mountains. The second is the
mountain division, embracing about five degrees of longitude. The
third division comprises the immense plains of the Columbia.
Of the first division from here to the foot of the Rocky Mountains
let me quote what Mr. Lambert in his official report calls a "passing
glance." "Undulating and level prairies, skirted with woods of various
growth, and clothed everywhere with a rich verdure; frequent and rapid
streams, with innumerable small but limpid lakes, frequented by
multitudes of waterfowl, most conspicuous among which appears the
stately swan; these, in ever-recurring succession, make up the
panorama of this extensive district, which may be said to be
everywhere fertile, beautiful, and inviting. The most remarkable
features of this region are the intervals of level prairie, especially
that near the bend of Red River, where the horizon is as unbroken as
that of a calm sea. Nor are other points of resemblance wanting the
long grass, which in such places is unusually rank, bending gracefully
to the passing breeze as it sweeps along the plain, gives the idea of
waves (as indeed they are); and the solitary horseman on the horizon
is so indistinctly seen as to complete the picture by the suggestion
of a sail, raising the first feeling of novelty to a character of
wonder and delight. The following outlines of the rolling prairies are
broken only by the small lakes and patches of timber which relieve
them of monotony and enhance their beauty; and though marshes and
sloughs occur, they are of too small extent and too infrequent to
affect the generally attractive character of the country. The
elevation of the rolling prairies is generally so uniform, that even
the summits between streams flowing in opposite directions exhibit no
peculiar features to distinguish them from the ordinary character of
the valley slopes."
I think I cannot do a better service to the emigrant or settler than
to quote a part of the report made by Mr. A. W. Tinkham, descriptive
of his route from St. Paul to Fort Union. His exploration, under Gov.
Stevens, was made in the summer of 1853; and he has evidently given an
impartial account of the country. I begin with it where he crosses the
Mississippi in the vicinity of St. Cloud. The part quoted embraces the
route for a distance of two hundred and ninety-five miles; the first
seventy miles of which was due west the rest of the route being a
little north of west.
"June 9. Ferried across the Mississippi River, here some six hundred
to eight hundred feet wide boating the camp equipage, provisions,
&c., and swimming the animals; through rich and fertile prairies,
variegated with the wooded banks of Sauk River, a short distance on
the left, with the wooded hills on either side, the clustered growth
of elm, poplar, and oak, which the road occasionally touches;
following the 'Red River trail,' we camp at Cold Spring Brook, with
clear, cool water, good grass, and wood.
"June 10. Cold Spring Brook is a small brook about ten feet across,
flowing through a miry slough, which is very soft and deep, and
previous to the passage of the wagons, had, for about two hundred feet
distance, been bridged in advance by a causeway of round or split logs
of the poplar growth near by; between this and the crossing of Sauk
River are two other bad sloughs, over one of which are laid logs of
poplar, and over the other the wagons were hauled by hand, after first
removing the loads. Sauk River is crossed obliquely with a length of
ford some three hundred feet depth of water four-and-a-half to five
feet; goods must be boated or rafted over, the river woods affording
the means of building a raft; camped immediately after crossing; wood,
water, and grass good and abundant.
"June 11. Over rolling prairies, without wood on the trail, although
generally in sight on the right or left, with occasional small ponds
and several bad sloughs, across which the wagons were hauled over by
hand to Lake Henry a handsome, wooded lake; good wood and grass;
water from small pond; not very good.
"June 13. Passing over rolling prairies to a branch of Crow River, the
channel of which is only some twenty feet wide and four or five feet
deep; but the water makes back into the grass one hundred feet or more
from the channel as early in the season as when crossed by the train.
Goods boated over; wagons by hand and with ropes; no wood on the
stream; several small lakes, not wooded, are on either side of the
trail, with many ducks, geese, and plovers on them:
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