Books: Minnesota and Dacotah
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C.C. Andrews >> Minnesota and Dacotah
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LETTER VI.
THE TOWN OF CROW WING.
Scenery-- First settlement of Crow Wing-- Red Lake Indians-- Mr.
Morrison-- Prospects of the town-- Upper navigation-- Mr. Beaulieu--
Washington's theory as to Norfolk-- Observations on the growth of
towns.
CROW WING, October, 1856.
I AM highly gratified with the appearance of this place. Mr. Burke
says-- " In order that we should love our country, our country should
first be lovely," and there is much wisdom in the remark. Nature has
done so much for this locality that one could be contented to live
here on quite a moderate income. The land is somewhat elevated, near
the bank of the Mississippi, affording a pleasant view over upon the
western side, both above and below the two graceful mouths of the Crow
Wing River. Towards the east and north, after a few miles, the view is
intercepted by a higher ridge of land covered with timber; or, by the
banks of the Mississippi itself, as from this point we begin to ascend
it in a northeasterly course.
Crow Wing was selected as a trading post upwards of twenty years ago.
Mr. McDonnald, who still resides here, was, I believe, the first white
settler. Till within a recent period it was the headquarters of the
Mississippi tribe of Chippewas, and the principal trading depot with
the Chippewas generally. Here they brought their furs, the fruits of
their buffalo and their winter hunts, and their handicraft of beads
and baskets, to exchange for clothing and for food. Thus the place was
located and settled on long before there was a prospect of its
becoming a populous town. Mr. Rice, the delegate in congress, if I
mistake not, once had a branch store here with several men in his
employ. The principal traders at present are Mr. Abbee and Mr.
Beaulieu, who have large and well selected stocks of goods. The
present population of white persons probably numbers a hundred souls.
The place now has a more populous appearance on account of the
presence of a caravan of Red Lake Indians, who have come down about
four hundred miles to trade. They are encamped round about in tents or
birch bark lodges, as it may happen to be. In passing some of them, I
saw the squaws busily at work on the grass outside of the lodge in
manufacturing flag carpets. The former Indian residents are now
removed to their reservation in the fork of the Mississippi and Crow
Wing rivers, where their agency is now established.
The houses here are very respectable in size, and furnished in
metropolitan style and elegance. The farms are highly productive, and
the grazing for stock unequalled. There is a good ferry at the upper
end of the town, at a point where the river is quite narrow and deep.
You can be taken over with a horse for twenty-five cents; with a
carriage, I suppose, the tariff is higher.
Perhaps one cause of my favorable impression of Crow Wing is the
excellent and home-like hotel accommodations which I have found. The
proprietor hardly assumes to keep a public-house, and yet provides his
guests with very good entertainment; and I cannot refrain from saying
that there is no public-house this side of St. Paul where the
traveller will be better treated. Mr. Morrison-- for that is the
proprietor's name-- came here fifteen years ago, having first come
into this region in the service of John Jacob Astor. He married one of
the handsomest of the Chippewa maidens, who is now his faithful wife
and housekeeper, and the mother of several interesting and amiable
children. Mr. M. is the postmaster. He has been a member of the
territorial legislature, and his name has been given to a large and
beautiful county. I judge that society has been congenial in the town.
The little church, standing on an eminence, indicates some union of
sentiment at least, and a regard for the higher objects of life.
Spring and summer and autumn must be delightful seasons here, and
bring with them the sweetest tranquillity. Nor are the people shut out
from the world in winter; for then there is travel and intercourse and
traffic. So are there pleasures and recreation peculiar to the season.
But the serene and quiet age of the settlement is near its close.
Enterprise and speculation, with their bustle and turmoil, have laid
hold of it. The clank of the hammer, the whistle of steamboats, the
rattling of carts, heaps of lumber and of bricks, excavations and
gratings, short corners and rough unshapen walks, will usurp the quiet
and the regularity of the place. Indeed a man ought to make a fortune
to compensate for residing in a town during the first years of its
rapid building. The streets appear, on the map, to be well laid out. A
number of purchasers of lots are preparing to build; and a few new
buildings are already going up. As near as I am able to learn, the
things which conduce to its availability as a business place are
these-- First, it is the beginning of the Upper Mississippi
navigation. From this point steamboats can go from two to three
hundred miles. But they cannot pass below, on account of the
obstructions near Fort Ripley, at Little Falls, and at Sauk Rapids.
This of course is a great element in its future success, as the
country above in the valley of the river is destined to be thickly
settled, and boats will run between this point and the settlements
along the river. It will also be a large lumber market, for the pine
forests begin here and extend along the river banks for hundreds of
miles, while the facility of getting the logs down is unexceptionable.
The territory north of Crow Wing is now open for settlers to a great
distance, the Indian title having been extinguished. Two land
districts have also been established, which will be an inducement for
fresh emigration. There is no other place but this to supply these
settlements; at least none so convenient. A great deal of timber will
also come down the Crow Wing River, which is a large stream, navigable
three months in the year. Arrangements are complete for building a
steamboat the ensuing winter, at this very place, to begin running in
the spring as far up as Ojibeway. Next season there will be a daily
line of stages between this and St. Paul. I understand also that it is
intended next summer to connect Crow Wing with the flourishing town of
Superior by stage. It will require considerable energy to do this
thing; but if it can be done, it will be a great blessing to the
traveller as well as a profit to the town. The journey from St. Paul
to Lake Superior via Crow Wing can then be performed in three days,
while on the usual route it now occupies a week. Such are some of the
favorable circumstances which corroborate the expectation of the
growth of this place. The southern or lower portion of the town is
included within the Fort Ripley reserve, and though several residences
are situated on it, no other buildings can be put up without a license
from the commanding officer; nor can any lots be sold from that
portion until the reserve is cut down. With the upper part of the town
it is different. Mr. C. H. Beaulieu, long a resident of the place, is
the proprietor of that part, and has already, I am informed, made some
extensive sales of lots. He is one of those lucky individuals, who
have sagacity to locate on an available spot, and patience to wait the
opening of a splendid fortune.[1]
[1 Since this letter was written, Mr. Thomas Cathcart has purchased a
valuable claim opposite Crow Wing at the mouth of the river, which I
should think was an available town site.]
My observation and experience in regard to town sites have taught me
an important fact: that as much depends on the public spirit, unity of
action, and zeal of the early proprietors, as upon the locality
itself. The one is useless without these helps. General Washington
wrote an able essay to prove the availability of Norfolk, Va., as the
great commercial metropolis of the country. He speculated upon its
being the great market for the West. His imagination pictured out some
such place as New York now is, as its future. The unequalled harbor of
Norfolk, and the resources of the country all around it, extending as
far, almost, as thought could reach, might well have encouraged the
theory of Washington. But munificence and energy and labor have built
up many cities since then, which had not half the natural advantages
of Norfolk, while Norfolk is far behind. A little lack of enterprise,
a little lack of harmony and liberality, may, in the early days of a
town, divert business and improvements from a good location, till in a
short time an unheard-of and inferior place totally eclipses it.
Knowing this to be the case, I have been careful in my previous
letters not to give too much importance to many of the town sites
which have been commended to me along my journey. I do not discover
any of these retarding circumstances about Crow Wing. I must conclude
at this paragraph, however, in order to take a horseback ride to the
Chippewa agency. In my next I intend to say something about the
Indians, pine timber, and the country above here in general.
LETTER VII.
CHIPPEWA INDIANS.-- HOLE-IN-THE-DAY.
Description of the Chippewa tribes-- Their habits and customs--
Mission at Gull Late-- Progress in farming-- Visit to
Hole-in-the-day-- His enlightened character-- Reflections on Indian
character, and the practicability of their civilization-- Their
education-- Mr. Manypenny's exertions.
CROW WING, October, 1856.
I CONSIDER myself exceedingly fortunate in having had a good
opportunity for observing the condition of the Chippewa Indians.
Sometime ago I saw enough of the Indians in another part of the
country to gratify my curiosity as to their appearance and habits; and
as I have always felt a peculiar interest in their destiny, my present
observations have been with a view to derive information as to the
best means for their improvement. The whole number of Chippewas in
Minnesota is not much over 2200. They are divided into several bands,
each band being located a considerable distance from the other. The
Mississippi band live on their reservation, which begins a few miles
above here across the river, while the Pillagor and Lake
Winnibigoshish bands are some three hundred miles further north. The
agency of the Chippewas is on the reservation referred to, a little
north of the Crow Wing River, and six miles distant from this town. To
come down more to particulars, however, and adopt words which people
here would use, I might say that the agency is on Gull River, a very
clear and pretty stream, which flows from a lake of that name, into
the Crow Wing. I passed the agency yesterday, and two miles beyond, in
order to visit Pug-o-na-ke-shick, or Hole-in-the-day, the principal
and hereditary chief of the Chippewas. Mr. Herriman, the agent,
resides at the agency, in compliance with the regulation of the Indian
bureau, which requires agents to reside among the Indians. I strongly
suspect there are many people who would think it unsafe to travel
alone among the Chippewas. But people who live about here would
ridicule the idea of being afraid of violence or the slightest
molestation from them, unless indeed the fellows were intoxicated. For
my part, a walk on Boston common on a summer morning could not seem
more quiet and safe than a ramble on horseback among the homes of
these Indians. I spoke to a good many. Though naturally reserved and
silent, they return a friendly salutation with a pleasant smile.
Their old costume is still retained as a general thing. The blanket is
still worn instead of coats. Sometimes the men wear leggins, but often
go with their legs naked. A band is generally worn upon the head with
some ornament upon it. A feather of the war eagle worn in the
head-band of a brave, denotes that he has taken the scalp of an enemy
or performed some rare feat of daring. An Indian does not consider
himself in full dress without his war hatchet or weapons. I meet many
with long-stemmed pipes, which are also regarded as an ornamental part
of dress. They appear pleased to have anything worn about them attract
attention. They are of good size, taller than the Winnebagoes, and of
much lighter complexion than tribes living five hundred miles further
south. Herein the philosopher on the cooking of men is confirmed.
Their hair is black, long, and straight; and some are really
good-looking. There are but few who still paint. Those in mourning
paint their faces black. What I have seen of their houses raises high
hopes of their advancement in civilization. We can now begin to lay
aside the word lodge and say house. Over a year ago, Mr. Herriman
promised every one a good cooking stove who would build himself a
comfortable house. This promise had a good effect, for several houses
were built. But the want of windows and several other conveniences,
which are proper fixtures, gives their dwellings a desolate appearance
to one who looks to a higher standard of comfort. Of course I saw a
few of the men at the store (for there is a store at the agency),
spending their time, as too many white men do in country villages.
Eight miles beyond the agency, on Gull Lake, is a mission. It has been
under the charge of Rev. J. L. Breck, a gentleman of high culture, and
whose enlightened and humane exertions in behalf of the Indians have
received much commendation both from the agent and Gov. Gorman, the
Superintendent. He has been at the mission four years. While he had
the benefit of the school-fund, he had in his school, under his own
roof, 35 pupils; since that was withheld, the number of pupils has
been 22. Mr. Breck will soon remove to Leech Lake, and will be
succeeded by a gentleman who comes well recommended from a theological
institution in Wisconsin. I desired very much to go as far as the
mission, but from Crow Wing and back it would have been thirty miles,
and it was otherwise inconvenient on account of the rain. The Indians
are beginning to farm a little. They begin with gardens. Their support
is chiefly from the annuities paid by the United States, which are
principally received in some sort of dry goods. The goods are
furnished by contract, and the price paid for them is about enough, if
all stories are true. They also derive some support from their fur
hunts and by fishing. Buffaloes are still hunted successfully beyond
the Red River of the North. They bring home the furs, and also the
best parts of the meat. The meat is preserved by being partially
cooked in buffalo fat, cut into small pieces, and sewed up very tight
in the hide of the animal. It is called pemmican, and sells here for
twenty-five cents a pound. It is broken to pieces like pork scraps,
and the Indians regard it as a great luxury.
From the agency I hastened on to see Hole-in-the-day
(Pug-o-na-ke-shick, his Indian name, means, literally,
Hole-in-the-sky). He is a famous chief, having in his youth
distinguished himself for bold exploits and severe endurance. But what
most entitles him to attention is the very exemplary course he has
pursued in attempting to carry out the wishes of the government in
bringing his race to the habits of civilized life. It was principally
through his influence that a treaty was made between his tribe and the
United States, and after it went into effect he turned his attention
to farming. Previous to the treaty he was supported as chief by the
tribal revenue. He has succeeded well. Over a year ago the receipts of
what he sold from his farm, aside from what his household needed,
amounted to over two hundred dollars. At length, after riding a mile
and a half without passing a habitation, over a fertile prairie, I
came in sight of his house. He lives near a small lake, and north of
him is a large belt of heavy pine timber. He has an excellent farm,
well fenced and well cultivated. His house is in cottage style, and of
considerable length; spacious, neat, and well furnished. Arriving at
the door I dismounted, and inquired of his squaw if he was at home.
She sent her little girl out into the field to call him. There,
indeed, in his cornfield, was he at work. He met me very cordially;
and invited me into a room, where he had an interpretor. We held a
protracted and agreeable conversation on Indian matters. He invited me
to dine with him, and nothing but want of time prevented my accepting
his polite invitation. He was very neatly dressed, and is quite
prepossessing in his appearance. He is younger than I supposed before
seeing him. I judge him to be about thirty-four. He is a man of strong
sense, of great sagacity, and considerable ambition.
There is no reason why the Indians should not speedily become
civilized. Those who have longest lived amongst them, and who best
understand their character, tell me so. I fully believe it. The Indian
follows his wild habits because he has been educated to do so. The
education of habit, familiar from infancy, and the influence of
tradition, lead him to the hunt, and as much to despise manual labor.
He does what he has been taught to consider as noble and honorable,
and that is what the most enlightened do. Certainly his course of life
is the most severe and exposed; it is not for comfort that he adheres
to his wild habits. He regards it as noble to slay his hereditary foe.
Hence the troubles which occasionally break out between the Chippewas
and the Sioux. To gain the applause of their tribe they will incur
almost any danger, and undergo almost any privation. Thus, we see that
for those objects which their education has taught them to regard as
first and best, they will sacrifice all their comforts. They have
sense enough, and ambition enough, and fortitude enough. To those they
love they are affectionate almost to excess. Only direct their
ambition in the proper way, and they will at once rise. Teach them
that it is noble to produce something useful by their labor, and to
unite with the great family of man to expand arts and to improve the
immortal mind-- teach them that it is noble, that there is more
applause to be gained by it, as well as comfort, and they will change
in a generation. They will then apply themselves to civilization with
Spartan zeal and with Spartan virtues.
In a communication to the secretary of war by Gen. Cass in 1821,
relative to his expedition to the sources of the Mississippi, he makes
the following interesting extract from the journal of Mr. Doty, a
gentleman who accompanied the expedition:-- "The Indians of the upper
country consider those of the Fond-du-Lac as very stupid and dull,
being but little given to war. They count the Sioux their enemies, but
have heretofore made few war excursions.
"Having been frequently reprimanded by some of the more vigilant
Indians of the north, and charged with cowardice, and an utter
disregard for the event of the war, thirteen men of this tribe, last
season, determined to retrieve the character of their nation, by
making an excursion against the Sioux. Accordingly, without consulting
the other Indians, they secretly departed and penetrated far into the
Sioux country. Unexpectedly, at night, they came upon a party of the
Sioux, amounting to near one hundred men, and immediately began to
prepare for battle. They encamped a short distance from the Sioux, and
during the night dug holes in the ground into which they might retreat
and fight to the last extremity. They appointed one of their number
(the youngest) to take a station at a distance and witness the
struggle, and instructed him, when they were all slain, to make his
escape to their own land, and relate the circumstances under which
they had fallen.
"Early in the morning they attacked the Sioux in their camp, who,
immediately sallying out upon them, forced them back to the last place
of retreat they had resolved upon. They fought desperately. More than
twice their own number were killed before they had lost their lives.
Eight of them were tomahawked in the holes to which they had
retreated; the other four fell on the field. The thirteenth returned
home, according to the directions he had received, and related the
foregoing circumstances to his tribe. They mourned their death; but
delighted with the bravery of their friends, unexampled in modern
times, they were happy in their grief.
"This account I received of the very Indian who was of the party and
had escaped."-- [See Schoolcraft, p. 481.][1]
[1 Pride is a characteristic trait in Indian character. On a recent
occasion when several bands of the Chippewas were at Washington to
negotiate a treaty with the United States, they had an interview with
their Great Father the President. He received them in the spacious
East Room of the executive mansion, in the presence of a large
collection of gentlemen who had gathered to witness the occasion. Each
chief made a speech to the President, which was interpreted as they
spoke. When it came to the turn of Eshkibogikoj (Flat Mouth) that
venerable chief began with great dignity, saying: "Father! Two great
men have met!" Here he paused to let the sentence be interpreted. His
exordium amused not only the whites but the Indians.]
In the contest between the Athenians and the Dorians, an oracle had
declared that the side would triumph whose king should fall. Codrus
the Athenian king, to be more sure of sacrificing himself, assumed the
dress of a peasant, and was soon killed; and the event soon spread
dismay among the enemies of Athens. His patriotism was accounted so
great, that the Athenians declared that there was no man worthy to be
his successor, and so abolished the monarchy. I think the history of
the Indians would show instances of heroism as praiseworthy as can be
found in the annals of the ancients. Let it be remembered, too, that
the Spartans knew that an imperishable literature would hand down
their valor to the praise of the world through all the future. But the
Indian looked for the preservation of his exploits only in the songs
and the traditional stories of his tribe.
I allude to these traits because I think it will be agreed, that
whatever race possesses those elements of character which lead them to
pursue with zeal and courage things they have been taught to regard
most creditable, is capable of being civilized. We now pay the Indian
for his lands in agricultural tools, in muskets and powder, in
blankets and cheap calico-- and in education; but the smallest item is
education. If half the money which the government is liable to pay for
Indian troubles during the last year, could be appropriated to a
proper system of education, we should hear of no more serious Indian
wars. But I have not time to pursue the subject. I will say, however,
that the present commissioner of Indian affairs, Mr. Manypenny, is
doing a very good work in advancing their condition. The press ought
to bestow some attention on the subject. There are nearly 400,000
Indians within the United States and territories. If the philanthropy
of the age could spare the blacks for a little while, and help
civilize the Indians, it would be better for all parties. Here is an
enterprise for genuine humanity.
LETTER VIII.
LUMBERING INTERESTS.
Lumber as an element of wealth-- Quality of Minnesota lumber--
Locality of its growth-- The great pineries-- Trespasses on government
land-- How the lumbermen elude the government-- Value of lumber--
Character of the practical Lumberman-- Transportation of lumber on
rafts.
CROW WING, October 1856.
IT seems to have been more difficult for countries which abound in
precious metals to attain to great prosperity than for a rich man to
secure eternal felicity. Witness, for instance, the sluggish growth
and degenerate civilization of the South American states. But timber
is a fundamental element of colonial growth. The mines of Potosi
cannot compare with it in value. An abundance of timber and a
superabundance of it are two very different things. Some of the
Middle, and what were once Western States, were originally covered
with forests. So of the greater part of New England. In Ohio and in
Michigan timber has been an encumbrance; for there was great labor to
be performed by the settler in clearing the land and preparing it for
the plough; and at this day we see in travelling through each of those
states, as well as in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, fields
planted amidst heavy timber trees which have been belted that they may
wither and die. By an abundance of timber I mean an ample supply not
only for domestic but foreign market; and with this understanding of
the word I will repeat what has often been said, and what I suppose is
well known, that Minnesota has an abundance of excellent timber.
Unlike the gorgeous forests in New Hampshire, which behind high cliffs
and mountain fastnesses defy the woodman, the timber of Minnesota
grows in the valleys of her great rivers and upon the banks of their
numerous tributaries. It is thus easily shipped to a distant market;
while the great body of the land, not encumbered with it, but naked,
is ready for the plough and for the seed. Most of the timber which
grows in the region below this point is hard wood, such as elm, maple,
oak, and ash.
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