Country wet and marshy; not a tree in sight; prairie with low
ridges and knolls, and great number of ponds and marshes; night's camp
by a small pond; no wood, but plenty of bois de vache; grass good.
"July 7. Approaching the Shayenne; country as yesterday for some half
dozen miles; bordering on the river the ground is broken with deep
coulees and ravines, and to keep away from them the train kept at some
distance from the river, encamping by a small marshy pond; no wood;
plenty of bois de vache; grass good; water tolerable; first buffalo
killed to-day.
"July 8. Prairie swelling with ridges; descend to the Shayenne, which
flows some one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet below the prairie
by a steep hill; camp in the bottom of the river; wood and water good;
grass rather poor; the bottom of the Shayenne, some half a mile wide,
is often soft and miry, but when crossed by the train firm and dry.
"July 9. Cross the Shayenne, fifty feet wide, three and a half feet
deep; immediate banks some ten feet high, and requiring some digging
to give passage to the wagons.
"Prairie with swelling ridges and occasional marshes to camp, to a
slough affording water and grass; no wood; buffalo very abundant.
"July 10. Prairie swelling into ridges and hills, with a frequency of
marshes, ponds, and sloughs; camp at a pretty lake, near Lake Jessie;
fairly wooded, with water slightly saline; grass scanty, having been
consumed by the buffalo. Prairies covered with buffalo."
I take this valuable sketch of the natural features of the country
from volume 1 of Explorations and Surveys for the Pacific Railroad
(page 353-356); for which I am indebted to the learned Secretary of
War.
LETTER XV.
ST. CLOUD TO ST. PAUL.
Importance of starting early Judge Story's theory of early rising
Rustic scenery Horses and mules Surveyors Humboldt Baked
fish Getting off the track Burning of hay stacks Supper at St.
Anthony Arrival at the Fuller House.
ST. PAUL, October, 1856.
I WAS up by the gray dawn of the morning of yesterday, and after an
early but excellent breakfast, crossed the river from St. Cloud, in
order to meet the stage at Sauk Rapids. As we came up on the main
road, the sight of a freshly made rut, of stage-wheel size, caused
rather a disquieting apprehension that the stage had passed. But my
nerves were soon quieted by the assurance from an early hunter, who
was near by shooting prairie chickens while they were yet on the
roost, that the stage had not yet come. So we kept on to the spacious
store where the post office is kept; where I waited and waited for the
stage to come which was to bring me to St. Paul. It did not arrive
till eight o'clock. I thought if every one who had a part to perform
in starting off the stage from Watab (for it had started out from
there that morning), was obliged to make the entire journey of 80
miles to St. Paul in the stage, they would prefer to get up a little
earlier rather than have the last part of the trip extended into "the
dead waist and middle of the night." I remarked to the driver, who is
a very clever young man, that the stage which left St. Paul started as
early as five o'clock, and I could not see why it was not as necessary
to start as early in going down, inasmuch as the earlier we started
the less of the night darkness we had to travel in. He perfectly
agreed with me, and attributed his inability to start earlier to the
dilatory arrangements at the hotel. When jogging along at about eleven
at night between St. Anthony and the city, I could not help begrudging
every minute of fair daylight which had been wasted. The theory of
Judge Story, that it don't make much difference when a man gets up in
the morning, provided he is wide awake after he is up, will do very
well, perhaps, except when one is to start on a journey in the stage.
I took a seat by the driver's side, the weather being clear and mild,
and had an unobstructed and delightful view of every object, and there
seemed to be none but pleasant objects in range of the great highway.
Though there is, between every village, population enough to remind
one constantly that he is in a settled country, the broad extent yet
unoccupied proclaims that there is still room enough. Below Sauk
Rapids a good deal of the land on the road side is in the hands of
speculators. This, it is understood, is on the east side of the
Mississippi. On the west side there are more settlements. But yet
there are many farms, with tidy white cottages; and in some places are
to be seen well-arranged flower-gardens. The most attractive scenery
to me, however, was the ample corn-fields, which, set in a groundwork
of interminable virgin soil, are pictures which best reflect the true
destiny and usefulness of an agricultural region. We met numerous
teams heavily laden with furniture or provisions, destined for the
different settlements above. The teams are principally drawn by two
horses; and, as the road is extremely level and smooth, are capable of
taking on as much freight as under other circumstances could be drawn
by four horses. Mules do not appear to be appreciated up this way so
much as in Missouri or Kentucky. Nor was it unusual to meet light
carriages with a gentleman and lady, who, from the luggage, &c.,
aboard, appeared to have been on somewhat of an extensive shopping
expedition. And I might as well say here, if I havn't yet said it,
that the Minnesotians are supplied with uncommonly good horses. I do
not remember to have seen a mean horse in the territory.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 36 of 50
Words from 35724 to 36727
of 50597
