Minnesota; Its Character and Climate Part 2

Chief Wapashaw, whose village once occupied the site of the present city of Winona, had a daughter, _Weenonah_, the beauty and pride of all his tribe. This fair maiden had been thwarted in her affections by powerful and cruel hands, and rather than submit to unite her young life with one, other than he whom she so fondly loved, resolved to sacrifice herself. A fishing party, of which she was a member, proceeded to this lake, and while resting on the eastern sh.o.r.e she fled away, and to the top of this high eminence, where, discovering herself to the company below, she recited the story of her broken heart and undying love for him whose name she had been even forbade to speak, and, closing by chanting a wild death-song, flung herself down the sides of this terrible precipice, and was dashed in pieces. Her father and friends, guessing her intent, on being hailed by her from the top of this rock, dispatched, as the story goes, their fleetest of foot to her rescue, but unavailingly. No Indian pa.s.ses by this place of tragedy without uttering mournful wails in memory of their beautiful and loved Weenonah.

Along the base of these cliffs are numerous caverns, once the abode of wild beasts, and, even as late as Carver's visit, in 1766, numbers of bears were found wintering in them, and in the minor caves numberless rattlesnakes were seen by him. In his explorations in this immediate neighborhood he discovered, on the edge of the prairie, the outlines of an old fortification, which was distinctly traceable, and extended for nearly a mile, in its sweep enveloping an area ample for five thousand men. Its form was semi-circular, with the flanks resting on the river.

The whole appearance was as if it had been built full a century before his visit, and while the ditch was indistinguishable, its angles were, and "displayed as much of science as if built by a pupil of Vauban himself." What race could have originally constructed it is a mystery, certainly not any of the known tribes inhabiting this country. Carver could not have misjudged the character of these intrenchments, since he had himself received a military education, and was therefore, of all explorers, not likely to be misled in his estimate.

The pleasure seeker will find it convenient to visit any portion of Lake Pepin from any of the villages along its sh.o.r.es. From Lake City a steamer usually plies to all interesting points, up and down the lake.

Those wishing to halt in a locality of rare beauty and refined society, will choose FRONTENAC above.

Half a dozen miles above the north end of the lake comes

RED WING,

named after one of the great Dakota chiefs. It is attractively situated on the esplanade adjoining the famous Barnes' Bluff, with an amphitheatre of hills in the rear completely sheltering and hedging the place from view as it is approached from the south. The bluff is between four and five hundred feet in height, and on its summit lies buried the remains of the great chief, Red Wing.

The place has an increased importance, now that the "Air-Line" railway between St. Paul and Chicago pa.s.ses through, giving speedy and constant communication to those cities all the year round.

On reaching the mouth of the St. Croix, thirty miles above, both banks of the Mississippi belong to Minnesota; the former watercourse filling out the eastern boundary of the State.

THE ST. CROIX RIVER

is an important tributary to the Upper Mississippi, and penetrates one of the great pine districts of the northwest. The princ.i.p.al business done on this stream is lumbering, which gives employment to many hundreds of people, and amounts in the aggregate to many thousands of dollars annually. Navigation extends to Taylor's Falls, some sixty-five miles from its mouth.

There is a regular line of steamers plying between St. Paul and the head of navigation, making daily trips, and doing a prosperous business. They are, however, quite small and apparently inadequate to the increasing trade.

The most important of all the towns on the St. Croix is

STILLWATER,

with a population of several thousand souls. The chief object of interest, statewise, is the penitentiary, which we did not care particularly to examine. The city can boast, however, of a n.o.ble school edifice, and county court-house, either of which would adorn any place in the country.

There is at present no rail connection with St. Paul, though this want is soon to be supplied, and when completed it is expected to extend the line toward the railway system of Wisconsin and the East.

The St. Croix is famed among tourists for its beautiful scenery and attractive falls at the head of navigation. Pleasure parties make frequent excursions from St. Paul, and the trip is truly enjoyable if you are always sure of so urbane and obliging an officer as is Captain William Kent.

Just above the junction of these two rivers is the town of

HASTINGS,

one of the great wheat marts of the northwest. It has several thousand inhabitants, the foreign element preponderating, we should judge. There are no specially interesting features either in or about the immediate neighborhood, if we except the Vermilion Falls.

The only remaining object worthy of attention, aside from the scenery of the river, between this town and the city of St. Paul, is

RED ROCK

camping-ground, situated on the east sh.o.r.e, on a level stretch of land six feet above the river at high water. This tract is quite extensive, and for the most part free of any timber beyond a grove or two, all of which is now owned by the Methodist a.s.sociation, and occupied by them annually as a camp-ground.

This same ground was formerly used by the Indians as a camp-ground on the a.s.sembling of the various tribes of the Dakotas in general council, or on grand holidays, celebrated by all the various national bands. It derives its name from a rock, which is about six feet in diameter and nearly round, lying a few rods only from the river and in plain sight as the steamer pa.s.ses. This rock was mysteriously striped with red paint every year by the Indians, and was known by them as the Red Rock. Long after the occupation of the country by the whites, the custom of painting it was regularly kept up while any of the race remained, and it still bears marks of their work. No one ever saw them paint it, and it is believed the work was secretly done at night. It was held sacred by them as the abode of some good spirit, and received a certain homage, such as these superst.i.tious, polytheistic people were accustomed to render their G.o.ds.

CHAPTER IV.

ST. PAUL.

As seen from the deck of the steamer.--The pleasant surprise it gives the visitor.--Impressions regarding new places.--The beauties of the city.--The limestone caves.--Pere Louis Hennepin.--The population of St. Paul.--Its public buildings and works.--A park wanted.--The geological structure of the country.--St. Paul, the Capital city.--Its railroad connections.--The head of navigation.--Impressions.

Our first visit to the Apostolic city was on the morning of one of those golden days in early autumn, any one of which might have inspired Longfellow's little poem, "A Day of Sunshine," they were so perfect.

The goodly ship on which we came was rounding a tract of low meadow-land, skirted by some forest growths, when suddenly the streaming sunlight was flashed back to us from the spires of the city of St. Paul itself, sitting like a queenly crown at the head of this n.o.blest of all rivers.

All were surprised and delighted to find that, in the matter of its location and general appearance, it so far exceeded what our fancies had painted it. No correct idea had been conveyed by any representation of it that we had ever seen, nor had any sketch sufficiently outlined it for the imagination to fill up; yet we were prepared to see a _pretty_ city, though not looking for a _grand_ one. The view from the deck of the steamer, as the traveller approaches the place, is one of the best.

The river makes an abrupt turn to the westward, in front of the city, which is situated on the northern side of this elbow, immediately at the turn, with its face full southward down the river. It would, after all, fail to be as imposing as it is but for its location, which is greatly elevated above the river, rising from it in irregular grades, with intervening tables, back fully a mile to the summit of the high bluffs forming the rear of the city.

The common impression in relation to all towns in the new States, and with reason, too, is, that they are of such rapid growth, under speculative influences, as to often possess no solid elements of prosperity, and that, after the first wave of excitement dies out, they collapse; but if they have real advantages of position and enterprise combined, the prize is as surely theirs. The critical period for St.

Paul has pa.s.sed, like that in the life of its great namesake, and the visitor, as he walks along the streets of the town, finds evidences of its substantial and permanent growth on every hand.

Probably no place of the same population in the entire valley, from New Orleans up, can boast of as many substantial and costly stores, or as many elegant and tasteful houses, as can St. Paul. The fine prospect to be had from every portion of the town is likewise a noted feature peculiar to itself, and is what neither wealth nor art can create. Back, on the edge of the bluff, which surrounds the city in a semi-circular form, runs Summit Avenue, already a fashionable quarter, but which, ere long, must be famed as commanding one of the most interesting landscapes in a country abounding in many natural beauties.

From Dayton's Bluff, on the left, likewise an attractive point in itself, the best view of the city can be had. Under this bluff is a cave, which was used as the council-chamber of the red men, and has been the witness of many a notable event. It is a subterraneous cavern formed by the running water wearing away the soft, white, calcareous sand, which, everywhere in this section, underlies the strata of blue limestone next to the surface. There are several of these caves near the town, but of no great interest beyond serving to while away an idle hour, or to give some additional zest to a morning's ramble.

St. Paul received its name from Pere Louis Hennepin, a European, belonging to the Order of Franciscans, who landed on the present site of the city while on a voyage of exploration and discovery up the Mississippi River, in April, 1680. He was an extensive traveller and prolific writer; but of all things done by him, that of giving the name of the famous Apostle to this locality, and now city, was by far the best. The next hundred and fifty years pa.s.sed by and still all a blank, and not till 1850, the year following the territorial organization of Minnesota, can it be said to have a.s.sumed the appearance of a permanent settlement, with a population of perhaps a thousand adventurous souls.

The present enumeration of St. Paul, as given by the census of 1870, just completed, shows a trifle over twenty thousand. This is not as high a figure as the people had hoped for and counted upon; but yet this shows an increase of about seventy-five per cent. for the last five years. No one can walk the city and not believe that this recent and rapid growth has substantial foundation in the enlarging business and increasing importance of the town itself.

The public buildings and works of the city are worthy of note in any sketch; and we would first call attention to the Capitol, which stands obscured from the river, and back of the centre of business, on the table between the front and rear bluffs. It is a plain structure of brick, in the form of a cross, with wings of equal length. This must eventually give room to a more suitable and dignified structure, yet for all present needs, and during the infancy of the State, it is not at all inappropriate.

The most costly building, when finished, will be the Custom-House of the General Government. It is being built of granite, brought from St.

Cloud, and is estimated to cost the handsome sum of three hundred thousand dollars.

The interests of education are well looked after in the half-dozen public school buildings; and the religious element has abundant spiritual food dispensed from the full score of costly and well-ordered church edifices, some of which contribute much to the architectural grace and ornament of the town.

A notable feature in the landscape, as the city is approached by either railroad or river, is the wooden bridge spanning the river just at the steamboat landing. It is over a fourth of a mile in length, and built upon an _inclined plane_, at a cost of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The first abutment on the side of the city starts on a level with the bluff, giving seventy-five feet between the bridge and the river, and then falls rapidly away, supported by nine stone piers, to the low flat land on the opposite sh.o.r.e. This is used as a carriage road, and connects St. Paul with all the adjacent country on the opposite side of the river. A half-mile beyond this bridge, the companion bluff to that on which the city stands begins, rising to an equal height with it. These bluffs, however, it should be stated, are not of such imposing appearance as are those on the river below, and concerning which we have written in a preceding chapter. They seem to gradually lessen in height from four and five hundred feet at Lake Pepin, where the greatest alt.i.tude occurs, to about one-third of that here at St. Paul.

The city's supply of water is fine, and at all times abundant; a lake back of the town being the natural reservoir of this supply. What has been to many towns a great labor and burden, has here required but a trifling expense.

Hotels are usually the traveller's thermometer by which he judges the culture, beauty, and general characteristics of the town. It is quite singular that people remember a town either with delight or disgust, just in proportion as the entertainment furnished at their hotel is good or bad, but there is more of truth in this than any of us would care at first to acknowledge. The good people of St. Paul have, however, nothing to fear in this respect. There are several fine establishments, chief of which is the "Metropolitan," and then the "Park Place," with its cool and ample verandahs, inviting travellers to repose and rest.

The question of a Public Park is being agitated, and with every hope that it will be carried to successful results. But little attention has been given this matter by any of our cities until a very recent period; and now their beauty and utility having been established, many towns are moving in this most important matter. St. Paul can afford to issue bonds liberally to this end; and should the district under consideration be secured, including the beautiful Lake Como, little elaboration will suffice to make it immediately a notable feature of the town.

The strata of blue limestone near the surface, and on which the city practically stands, is of great value, and quarries can be opened anywhere, from which good building material in unlimited quant.i.ties can be had at small cost; easily competing with lumber in the market, which is likewise plentiful, as we shall see when we come to look into the history and growth of the sister city on the river, above.

This stone already const.i.tutes the chief material used in the erection of all the better cla.s.s of buildings in the city, and, indeed, Third Street, the princ.i.p.al business thoroughfare, has even now little else than this honest and solid-looking material to represent it.