The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier Part 5

When the state was admitted into the Union the judiciary was made to consist of a chief justice and two a.s.sociate justices, who const.i.tuted the supreme court, with a jurisdiction exclusively appellate, and a district judge for each district. As the state has grown in population and business, the supreme court judges have been increased to five and the judicial districts to eighteen in number, two of which, the second and the fourth, have six judges each, the eleventh three, the first and seventh two each, and the remainder one each.

The practice adopted by the territorial legislature was generally similar to that of the New York code, with such differences as were necessary to conform it to a very new country. From a residence in the territory and state of forty-seven years, nearly all of which has been spent either in practice at the bar or as a judge on the bench, I take pride in saying that the judiciary of Minnesota, in all its branches, both territorial and state, has, during its fifty years of existence, equalled in ability, learning and integrity that of any state in the West, which is well attested by the seventy-seven well filled volumes of its reported decisions.

Nearly all of the old lawyers of Minnesota were admitted to practice at the first term held at Stillwater, among whom were Morton S. Wilkinson, Henry L. Moss, Edmund Rice, Lorenzo A. Babc.o.c.k, Alexander Wilkin, Bushrod W. Lott, and many others. Of the whole list, Mr. Moss is the sole survivor.

FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE.

The first legislature convened at St. Paul on Monday, the 3d of September, 1849, in the Central House, which for the occasion served for both capitol and hotel. The quarters were limited, but the legislature was small. The council had nine members and the house of representatives eighteen. The usual officers were elected, and on Tuesday afternoon both houses a.s.sembled in the dining-room of the hotel. Prayer was offered by the Rev. E. D. Neill, and Governor Ramsey delivered his message, which was well received both at home and abroad.

It may be interesting to give the names of the men const.i.tuting this body, and the places of their nativity. The councillors were:

James S. Norris, Maine.

Samuel Burkleo, Delaware.

William H. Forbes, Montreal.

James McBoal, Pennsylvania.

David B. Loomis, Connecticut.

John Rollins, Maine.

David Olmsted, Vermont.

William Sturgis, Upper Canada.

Martin McLeod, Montreal.

The members of the House were:

Joseph W. Furber, New Hampshire.

James Wells, New Jersey.

M. S. Wilkinson, New York.

Sylva.n.u.s Trask, New York.

Mahlon Black, Ohio.

Benjamin W. Bronson, Michigan.

Henry Jackson, Virginia.

John J. Duvey, New York.

Parsons K. Johnson, Vermont.

Henry F. Stetzer, Missouri.

William R. Marshall, Missouri.

William Dugas, Lower Canada.

Jeremiah Russell, Lower Canada.

L. A. Babc.o.c.k, Vermont.

Thomas A. Holmes, Pennsylvania.

Allen Morrison, Pennsylvania.

Alexis Bailly, Michigan.

Gideon H. Pond, Connecticut.

David Olmsted was elected president of the council, with Joseph R. Brown as secretary. In the House, Joseph W. Furber was elected speaker, and W. D. Phillips clerk.

Many of these men became very prominent in the subsequent history of the state, and it is both curious and interesting to note the varied sources of their nativity, which shows that they were all of that peculiar and picturesque cla.s.s known as the American pioneer.

The work of the first legislature was not extensive, yet it performed some acts of historical interest. It created eight counties, named as follows: Itasca, Wabashaw, Dakota, Wahnahtah, Mankato, Pembina, Washington, Ramsey and Benton. The spelling of some of these names has since been changed.

A very deep interest was manifested in the school system. A joint resolution was pa.s.sed ordering a slab of red pipestone from the famous quarry to be sent to the Washington monument a.s.sociation, which was done, and now represents Minnesota in that lofty monument at the national capital.

This was done at the suggestion of Henry H. Sibley, who furnished the stone. It will be remembered that I have referred to the visit of George Catlin, the artist, to Minnesota, in 1835, and that his report was unreliable. Among other things, he said that he was the first white man who had visited this quarry, and induced geologists to name the pipestone "Catlinite." Mr. Sibley, in his communication to the legislature presenting this slab, in answer to this pretension, says:

"In conclusion, I would beg leave to state, that a late geological work of high authority by Dr. Jackson, designates this formation as Catlinite, upon the erroneous supposition that Mr. George Catlin was the first white man who had ever visited that region; whereas it is notorious that many whites had been there and examined the quarry long before he came to the country. The designation, therefore, is clearly improper and unjust. The Sioux term for the stone is Eyan-Sha (red stone), by which, I conceive, it should be known and cla.s.sified."

In my opinion, the greatest achievement of the first legislature was the incorporation of the Historical Society of Minnesota. It established beyond question that we had citizens, at that early day, of thought and culture. One would naturally suppose that the first legislative body of an extreme frontier territory would be engaged princ.i.p.ally with saw logs, peltries, town sites, and other things material; but in this instance we find an expression of the highest intellectual prevision, the desire to record historical events for posterity, even before their happening. And what affords even greater satisfaction to the present citizens of Minnesota is, that from the time of the conception of this grand idea there have never been men wanting to appreciate its advantages, and carry it out, until now our state possesses its greatest intellectual and moral treasure in a library of historical knowledge of sixty-three thousand volumes, which is steadily increasing, a valuable museum of curiosities, and a gallery of historical paintings.

This legislature recommended a device for a great seal. It represented an Indian family with lodge and canoe, encamped; a single white man visiting them, and receiving from them the calumet of peace. The design did not meet with general approval, and nothing came of it. The next winter Governor Ramsey and the delegate to congress prepared a seal for the territory, the design of which was the Falls of St. Anthony in the distance, a farmer plowing land, his gun and powder horn leaning against a newly cut stump, a mounted Indian, surprised at the sight of the plow, lance in hand, fleeing toward the setting sun, with the Latin motto, "Quae sursum volo videre," ("I wish to see what is above"). A blunder was made by the engraver, in subst.i.tuting the word "Quo" for "Quae," in the motto, which destroyed its meaning. Some time after, it was changed to the French motto, "L'Etoile du Nord" ("Star of the North"), and thus remains until the present time.

While speaking of seals, I will state that the seal of the supreme court was established when the first term of the court convened, in 1858. The design adopted was a female figure, representing the G.o.ddess of liberty, holding the evenly-balanced scales of justice in one hand and a sword in the other, with the somewhat hackneyed motto, "Fiat just.i.tia ruat coelum" ("Let justice be done if the heavens fall"). I remember that, soon after it appeared, some one asked one of the judges what the new motto meant, and he jocularly answered, "Those who fy at justice will rue it when we seal 'em."

The seal was changed to the same device as that of the state, with the same motto and the words, "Seal of the Supreme Court, State of Minnesota."

IMMIGRATION.

When the first legislature convened, the governor, on the second day of the session (Sept. 4, 1849), delivered his message. It was a well-timed doc.u.ment, and admirably expressed to attract attention to the new territory. After congratulating the members upon the enviable position they occupied as pioneers of a great prospective civilization, which would carry the American name and American inst.i.tutions, by the force of superior intelligence, labor and energy, to untold results, he among other things said:

"I would advise you, therefore, that your legislation should be such as will guard equally the rights of labor and the rights of property, without running into ultraisms on either hand; as will recognize no social distinctions except those which merit and knowledge, religion and morals unavoidably create; as will suppress crime, encourage virtue, give free scope to enterprise and industry; as will promptly and without delay administer to and supply all the legitimate wants of the people--laws, in a word, in the proclamation of which will be kept steadily in view the truth that this territory is designed to be a great state, rivalling in population, wealth and energy her sisters of the Union, and that consequently all laws not merely local in their objects should be framed for the future as well as the present....

"Our territory, judging from the experience of the few months since public attention was called to its many advantages, will settle rapidly. Nature has done much for us. Our productive soil and salubrious climate will bring thousands of immigrants within our borders; it is of the utmost moment that the foundation of our legislation should be healthful and solid. A knowledge of this fact will encourage tens of thousands of others to settle in our midst, and it may not be long ere we may with truth be recognized throughout the political and the moral world as indeed the "Polar Star" of the republican galaxy....

"No portion of the earth's surface perhaps combines so many favorable features for the settler as this territory,--watered by the two greatest rivers of our continent, the Missouri sweeping its entire western border, the Mississippi and Lake Superior making its eastern frontier, and whilst the States of Wisconsin and Iowa limit us on the south, the possessions of the Hudson Bay Company present the only barrier to our domain on the extreme north; in all embracing an area of 166,000 square miles, a country sufficiently extensive to admit of the erection of four states of the largest cla.s.s, each enjoying in abundance most of the elements of future greatness. Its soil is of the most productive character, yet our northern lat.i.tude saves us from malaria and death, which in other climes are so often attendant on a liberal soil. Our people, under the healthful and bracing influences of this northern climate, will never sink into littleness, but continue to possess the vigor and the energy to make the most of their natural advantages."

This message, while not in the least exaggerating the actual situation, was well calculated to attract immigration to this region. It was written in a year of great activity in that line. Gold had been discovered in California, and the thoughts of the pioneer were attracted in that direction, and it needed extraordinary inducements to divert the stream to any other point. It was extensively quoted in the eastern papers, and much commented upon, and succeeded beyond all expectations in awakening interest in the Northwest. It was particularly attractive in Maine, where the people were experienced in lumbering, and many of them flocked to the Valley of the St. Croix and the Falls of St.

Anthony, and inaugurated the lumbering business, which has since grown to such immense proportions. The valleys of the St. Croix, the Rum, and the Upper Mississippi rivers, with their tributaries, soon resounded with the music of the woodman's axe. Saw mills were erected, and Minnesota was recognized among the great lumber producing regions.

Although immigration continued to be quite rapid during the years 1850-54, it was not until about the year 1855 that it acquired a volume that was particularly noticeable. The reader must remember that Minnesota was on the extreme border of America, and that it represented to the immigrant only those attractions incident to a new territory possessing the general advantages of good climate, good soil and good government as far as developed. There was no gold, no silver, nor other special inducements. The only way of reaching it was by land on wheels, or by the navigable rivers. There was not a railroad west of Chicago. To give an idea of the rush that came in 1855, I quote from the "History of St. Paul," by J. Fletcher Williams, for many years secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society, published in 1876. Speaking of the immigration of 1855, he says:

"Navigation opened on April 17th, the old favorite, 'War Eagle,'

leading the van with 814 pa.s.sengers. The papers chronicled the immigration that spring as unprecedented. Seven boats arrived in one day, each having brought to Minnesota two hundred to six hundred pa.s.sengers. Most of these came through St. Paul and diverged hence to other parts of the territory. It was estimated by the packet company that they brought thirty thousand immigrants into Minnesota that season. Certainly 1855, 1856 and 1857 were the three great years of immigration in our territorial days. Nothing like it has ever been seen."

In the early fifties, the Mississippi up to, and even for a long distance above, the Falls of St. Anthony was navigable for steamboats. A fine boat, the "Ans. Northrup," once penetrated as far as the Falls of Pokegama, where she was dismantled and her machinery transported to the Red River of the North, and four or five boats regularly navigated the stream above the falls.

The Minnesota river, during all the period of our early history, and far into the sixties, was navigable for large steamers up to Mankato, and in one instance, a steamboat carrying a large cargo of Indian goods was taken by Culver and Farrington, Indian traders, as far as the Yellow Medicine river, and into that river, so that the goods were delivered at the agency, situated a few miles above its mouth. I mention this fact because a wonderful change has taken place in the watercourses and lakes of the state in the past twenty odd years, which I propose to account for on the only theory that seems to me to meet the conditions. Up to about twenty years ago, as soon as the ice went out of the Minnesota river in the spring, it would rise until it overran its banks and covered its bottoms for miles on each side of its channel, and would continue capable of carrying large steamers until late in August. Since that time it has rarely been out of its banks, and navigation of its waters has entirely ceased. The same phenomenon is observable in relation to many of our lakes. Hundreds of the smaller ones have entirely dried up, and most of the larger ones have become reduced in depth several feet. The rainfall has not been lessened, but, if anything, has increased. My explanation of the change is, that in the advance of civilization, the water sheds or basins of these rivers and lakes having been plowed up, the rainfall which formerly found its way quickly into the streams and lakes over the hard natural surface is now absorbed into the soft and receptive ground, and is returned by evaporation. This change is generally attributed to the destruction of forests, but in this case that cause has not progressed sufficiently to have produced the result, and our streams do not rise in mountains.

The trend of immigration toward Minnesota encouraged the organization of transportation companies, by boat and stage, for pa.s.sengers and freight, and by 1856 it was one of the liveliest communities to be found anywhere, and, curious as it may seem, this era of prosperity was the cause of Minnesota's first great calamity.

The object of the immigrant is, always, the betterment of his condition.

He leaves old communities, where compet.i.tion in all branches of industry is great, in the hope of "getting in on the ground floor," as we used to say, when he arrived in a new country, and every American, and, in fact, everybody else, wants to get rich by head work instead of hand work, if he can. The bulk of the immigration that first came to Minnesota remained in the cities; there was no agriculture worthy of the name. I may say that we had nothing at all to sell, and everything we needed to buy. I can remember that as late as 1853, and even after, we imported hay in bales from Dubuque to feed the horses of St. Paul, when there were millions of tons of it growing in the Minnesota valley, within a few miles of the city.

In the progress of emigration to the West, the territories have always presented the greatest attractions. The settler expects to have a better choice of lands, and at original government prices. Society and politics are both in the formative condition, and very few emigrants omit the latter consideration from their hopes and expectations. In fact, political preferment is a leading motive with many of them.