Books: Minnesota and Dacotah

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I. Lands subject to preemption. By sec. 10 of said act it is provided
that the public lands to which the Indian title had been extinguished
at the time of the settlement, and which had also been surveyed prior
thereto, shall be subject to preemption, and purchase at the rate of
one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. And by the act of 22d July,
1854, sec. 12, the preemption of unsurveyed lands is recognised as
legal. Lands of the following description are excepted: such as are
included in any reservation, by any treaty, law, or proclamation of
the President of the United States, or reserved for salines or for
other purposes; lands included within the limits of any incorporated
town, or which have been selected as the site for a city or town;
lands actually settled and occupied for the purposes of trade and not
agriculture; and lands on which are situated any known salines or
mines.

II. The amount designated is any number of acres not exceeding one
hundred and sixty.

III. Who may preempt. "Every person being the head of a family, or
widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, and being a
citizen of the United States, or having filed his declaration of
intention to become a citizen, as required by the naturalization
laws." But no person shall be entitled to more than one preemptive
right, and no person who is the proprietor of three hundred and twenty
acres of land in any state or territory of the United States, and no
person who shall quit or abandon his residence on his own land to
reside on the public land in the same state or territory, shall
acquire any right of preemption.

IV. The method to perfect the right. The preemptor must make a
settlement on the land in person; inhabit and improve the same, and
erect thereon a dwelling. And when the land has been surveyed previous
to settlement the preemptor shall, within thirty days of the date of
the settlement, file with the register of the proper district a
written statement describing the land settled upon, and declaring the
intention of such person to claim the same under the provisions of the
preemption law. And within twelve months of the date of the settlement
such person shall make the requisite proof, affidavit, and payment.
When unsurveyed lands are prompted (act of 1854), notice of the
specific tracts claimed shall be filed with the surveyor general,
within three months after the survey has been made in the field. And
when two or more persons shall have settled on the same quarter
section, the right of preemption shall be in him or her who made the
first settlement; and questions arising between different settlers
shall be decided by the register and receiver of the district within
which the land is situated, subject to an appeal to and revision by
the Secretary of the Interior of the United States.

And the settler must make oath before the receiver or register that he
or she has never had the benefit of any right of preemption under the
preemption act: that he or she is not the owner of three hundred and
twenty acres of land in any state or territory of the United States,
nor hath he or she settled upon and improved said land to sell the
same on speculation, but in good faith to appropriate it to his or her
own exclusive use or benefit: and that he or she has not directly or
indirectly made any agreement or contract in any way or manner with
any person or persons whatsoever, by which the title which he or she
might acquire from the government of the United States should enure in
whole or in part to the benefit of any person except himself or
herself; and if any person talking such oath shall swear falsely in
the premises, he or she shall be subject to all the pains and
penalties of perjury, and shall forfeit the money which he or she may
have paid for such land, and all right and title to the same; and any
grant or conveyance which he or she may have made, except in the hands
of bona fide purchasers for a valuable consideration, shall be null
and void.

Proof of the requisite settlement and improvement shall be made by the
preemptor to the satisfaction of the register and receiver, in the
district in which the lands so claimed lie, who shall each be entitled
to receive fifty cents from each applicant for his services rendered.
as aforesaid; and all assignments and transfers of the right hereby
secured prior to the issuing of the patent, shall be null and void.
(See U. S. Stat. at Large, vol. 5, 453-458.)

But I was on the point of advising the settler what he should bring
with him into a new country and what leave behind. He should not bring
much furniture. It is very expensive and troublesome to have it
transported. Nor will he need much to begin with, or have room for it.
It will cost nearly as much to transport it seventy miles through the
territory as it will to bring it from whence he started within the
limits of the territory. Let him pack up in a small compass the most
precious part of his inanimate household, and leave it ready for an
agent to start it after he shall have found a domicil. This will save
expensive storage. Then let his goods be directed to the care of some
responsible forwarding merchant in a river town nearest to their final
destination, that they may be taken care of and not be left exposed on
the levee when they arrive. St. Paul is now a place of so much
mercantile importance and competition that one may buy provisions,
furniture, or agricultural tools cheaper there than he can himself
bring them from the East. The professional man, however, will do well
to bring his books with him.

Let us assume now that the settler has got his house up, either a
frame house or of logs, with a part of his farm fenced; and that be
has filed his application for preemption at the land office in the
district in which he resides. Let us suppose further, that he is
passing his first autumn here. His house, if he is a man of limited
means, has but two rooms, and they are both on the basement story. He
has just shelter enough for his stock, but none for his hay, which is
stacked near by. The probability is, that he lives in the vicinity of
some clear stream or copious spring, and has not, therefore, needed to
dig a well. The whole establishment, one would think, who was
accustomed to the Eastern style of living, betrayed downright poverty.

But let us stop a moment; this is the home of a pioneer. He has been
industrious, and everything about him exhibits forethought. There is a
cornfield all fenced in with tamarack poles. It is paved over with
pumpkins (for pumpkins flourish wonderfully in Minnesota), and
contains twenty acres of ripe corn, which, allowing thirty-five
bushels to an acre, is worth at ninety cents per bushel the sum of
$630. There are three acres of potatoes, of the very best quality,
containing three hundred bushels, which, at fifty cents a bushel, are
worth $150. Here then, off of two crops, he gets $780, and I make a
moderate estimate at that. Next year he will add to this a crop of
oats or wheat. The true pioneer is a model farmer. He lays out his
work two weeks in advance. Every evening finds him further ahead. If
there is a rainy day, he knows what to set himself about. Be lays his
plans in a systematic manner, and carries them into execution with
energy. He is a true pioneer, and therefore he is not an idle man, nor
a loafer, nor a weak addle-headed tippler. Go into his house, and
though you do not see elegance you can yet behold intelligence, and
neatness, and sweet domestic bliss. The life of the pioneer is not
exposed to such hardships and delays as retarded the fortunes of the
settlers in the older states. They had to clear forests; here the land
is ready for the plough. And though "there is society where none
intrude," yet he is not by any means beyond the boundaries of good
neighborhood. In many cases, however, he has left his dearest friends
far away in his native village, where his affections still linger. He
has to endure painful separations, and to forego those many comforts
which spring from frequent meetings under the parental roof, and
frequent converse with the most attractive scones of youth. But to
compensate for these things he can feel that the labor of the pioneer,
aside from its pecuniary advantage to himself, is of service to the
state, and a helpmate to succeeding generations.

"There are, who, distant from their native soil,
Still for their own and country's glory toil:
While some, fast rooted to their parent spot,
In life are useless, and in death forgot!"

LETTER XII.

SPECULATION AND BUSINESS.

Opportunities to select farms-- Otter Tail Lake-- Advantages of the
actual settler over the speculator-- Policy of new states as to taxing
non-residents-- Opportunities to make money-- Anecdote of Col.
Perkins-- Mercantile business-- Price of money-- Intemperance--
Education-- The free school.

CROW WING, October, 1856.

IT is maintained by the reviewers, I believe, that the duller a writer
is, the more accurate he should be. In the outset of this letter, I
desire to testify my acquiescence in the justice of that dogma, for
if, like neighbor Dogberry, "I were as tedious as a king," I could not
find it in my heart to bestow it all without a measure of utility.

I shall try to answer some questions which I imagine might be put by
different classes of men who are interested in this part of the west.
My last letter had some hints to the farmer, and I can only add, in
addition, for his benefit, that the most available locations are now a
considerable distance above St. Paul. The valley of the St. Peter's is
pretty much taken up; and so of the valley of the Mississippi for a
distance of fifteen miles on either side to a point a hundred miles
above St. Paul. One of the land officers at Minneapolis informed me
that there were good preemption claims to be had fifteen miles west,
that being as far as the country was thickly settled. One of the
finest regions now unoccupied, that I know of, not to except even the
country on the Crow Wing River, is the land bordering on Otter Tail
Lake. For forty miles all round that lake the land is splendid. More
than a dozen disinterested eye-witnesses have described that region to
me in the most glowing terms. In beauty, in fertility, and in the
various collateral resources which make a farming country desirable,
it is not surpassed. It lies south of the picturesque highlands or
hauteurs des terres, and about midway between the sources of the Crow
Wing and North Red Rivers. From this town the distance to it is sixty
miles. The lake itself is forty miles long and five miles in width.
The water is clear and deep, and abounds with white fish that are
famous for their delicious flavor. The following description, which I
take from Captain Pope's official narrative of his exploration, is a
reliable description of this delightful spot, now fortunately on the
eve of being settled-- " To the west, north-west, and north-east, the
whole country is heavily timbered with oak, elm, ash, maple, birch,
bass, &c., &c. Of these the sugar maple is probably the most valuable,
and in the vicinity of Otter Tail Lake large quantities of maple sugar
are manufactured by the Indians. The wild rice, which exists in these
lakes in the most lavish profusion, constitutes a most necessary
article of food with the Indians, and is gathered in large quantities
in the months of September and October. To the east the banks of the
lake are fringed with heavy oak and elm timber to the width of one
mile. The whole region of country for fifty miles in all directions
around this lake is among the most beautiful and fertile in the world.
The fine scenery of lakes and open groves of oak timber, of winding
streams connecting them, and beautifully rolling country on all sides,
renders this portion of Minnesota the garden spot of the north-west.
It is impossible in a report of this character to describe the feeling
of admiration and astonishment with which we first beheld the charming
country in the vicinity of this lake; and were I to give expression to
my own feelings and opinions in reference to it, I fear they would be
considered the ravings of a visionary or an enthusiast."[1] But let me
say to the speculator that he need not covet any of these broad acres.
There is little chance for him. Before that land can be bought at
public sale or by mere purchasers at private sale, it will, I feel
sure, be entirely occupied by actual settlers. And so it ought to be.
The good of the territory is promoted by that beneficent policy of our
public land laws which gives the actual settler the first and best
chance to acquire a title by preemption.

[1 To illustrate the rapid progress which is going on constantly, I
would remark that in less than a month after leaving Crow Wing, I
received a letter from there informing me that Messrs. Crittenden,
Cathcart, and others had been to Otter Tail Lake and laid out a town
which they call Otter Tail City. The standing and means of the men
engaged in the enterprise, are a sure guaranty of its success.]

Speculators have located a great many land warrants in Minnesota. Some
have been located on lakes, some on swamps, some on excellent land. Of
course the owner, who, as a general thing, is a nonresident, leaves
his land idle for something to "turn up" to make it profitable. There
it stands doing no good, but on the contrary is an encumbrance to the
settler, who has to travel over and beyond it without meeting the face
of a neighbor in its vicinity. The policy of new states is to tax
non-resident landholders at a high rate. When the territory becomes a
state, and is obliged to raise a revenue, some of these fellows
outside, who, to use a phrase common up here, have plastered the
country over with land warrants, will have to keep a lookout for the
tax-gatherer. Now I do not mean to discourage moneyed men from
investing in Minnesota lands. I do not wish to raise any bugbears, but
simply to let them know that hoarding up large tracts of land without
making improvements, and leaving it to increase in value by the toil
and energy of the pioneer, is a way of doing things which is not
popular with the actual settler. But there is a great deal of money to
be made by judicious investments in land. Buying large tracts of land
I believe to be the least profitable speculation, unless indeed the
purchaser knows exactly what he is buying, and is on hand at the
public sale to get the benefit of a second choice. I say second
choice, because the preemptor has had the first choice long ago, and
it may be before the land was surveyed. What I would recommend to
speculators is to purchase in some good town sites. Buy in two or
three, and if one or two happen to prove failures, the profits on the
other will enable you to bear the loss. I know of a man who invested
$6000 at St. Paul six years ago. He has sold over $80,000 worth of the
land, and has as much more left. This is but an ordinary instance. The
advantage of buying lots in a town arises from the rapid rise of the
value of the land, the ready market, and withal the moderate prices at
which they can be procured during the early part of its history.

To such persons as have a desire to come West, and are not inclined to
be farmers, and who have not capital enough to engage in mercantile
business, there is sufficient employment. A new country always opens
avenues of successful business for every industrious man and woman;
more kinds even than I could well enumerate. Every branch of mechanics
needs workmen of all grades; from the boy who planes the rough boards
to the head workman. Teaming affords good employment for young men the
year round. The same may be said of the saw-mills. A great deal of
building is going on constantly; and those who have good trades get
$2.50 per day. I am speaking, of course, of the territory in general.
One of the most profitable kinds of miscellaneous business is
surveying. This art requires the services of large numbers; not only
to survey the public lands, but town sites and the lands of private
individuals. Labor is very high everywhere in the West, whether done
by men, women, or children;-- even the boys, not fourteen years old,
who clean the knives and forks on the steamboats, get $20 a month and
are found. But the best of it all is, that when a man earns a few
dollars he can easily invest it in a piece of land, and double his
money in three months, perhaps in one month. One of the merchant
princes of Boston, the late Col. T. H. Perkins, published a notice in
a Boston paper in 1789, he being then 25, that he would soon embark on
board the ship Astrea for Canton, and that if any one desired to
commit an "adventure" to him, they might be assured of his exertions
for their interests. The practice of sending " adventures" "beyond the
seas" is not so common as it was once; and instead thereof men invest
their funds in western prizes. But let me remark in regard to the fact
I relate, that it shows the true pioneer spirit. Col. Perkins was a
pioneer. His energy led him beyond his counting-room, and he reaped
the reward of his exertions in a great fortune.

I have now a young man in my mind who came to a town ten miles this
side of St. Paul, six months ago, with $500. He commenced trading, and
has already, by good investments and the profits of his business,
doubled his money. Everything that one can eat or wear brings a high
price, or as high as it does in any part of the West. The number of
visitors and emigrants is so large that the productions of the
territory are utterly inadequate to supply the market. Therefore large
quantities of provisions have to be brought up the river from the
lower towns. At Swan River, 100 miles this side of St. Paul, pork is
worth $85. Knowing that pork constitutes a great part of the
"victuals" up this way, though far from being partial to the article,
I tried it when I dined at Swan River to see if it was good, and found
it to be very excellent. Board for laboring men must be about four
dollars a week. For transient guests at Crow Wing it is one dollar a
day.

I have heard it said that money is scarce. It is possible. It
certainly commands a high premium; but the reason is that there are
such splendid opportunities to make fortunes by building and buying
and selling city lots. A man intends that the rent of a house or store
shall pay for its construction in three years. The profits of
adventure justify a man in paying high interest. If a man has money
enough to buy a pair of horses and a wagon, he can defy the world.
These are illustrations to show why one is induced to pay interest. I
do not think, however, money is "tight." I never saw people so free
with their money, or appear to have it in so great abundance.

There is one drawback which this territory has in common with the
greater part of the West, and in fact of the civilized world. It is
not only a drawback, but a nuisance anywhere; I mean drinking or
whiskey shops. The greater proportion of the settlers are temperate
men, I am sure; but in almost every village there are places where the
meanest kind of intoxicating liquor is sold. There are some who sell
liquor to the Indians. But such business is universally considered as
the most degraded that a mean man can be guilty of. It is filthy to
see men staggering about under the influence of bad whiskey, or of any
kind of whiskey. He who sends a young husband to his new cabin home
intoxicated, to mortify and torment his family; or who sells liquor to
the uneducated Indians, that they may fight and murder, must have his
conscience-- if he has any at all-- cased over with sole leather. Mr.
Gough is needed in the West.

Minnesota is not behind in education. Ever since Governor Slade, of
Vermont, brought some bright young school mistresses up to St. Paul
(in 1849), common school education has been diffusing its precious
influences. The government wisely sets apart two sections of land--
the 16th and 36th-- in every township for school purposes. A township
is six miles square; and the two sections thus reserved in each
township comprise 1280 acres. Other territories have the same
provision. This affords a very good fund for educational uses, or
rather it is a great aid to the exertions of the people. There are
some nourishing institutions of learning in the territory. But the
greatest institution after all in the country-- the surest protection
of our liberties and our laws-- is the FREE SCHOOL.

LETTER XIII.

CROW WING TO ST. CLOUD.

Pleasant drive in the stage-- Scenery-- The past-- Fort Ripley Ferry--
Delay at the Post Office-- Belle Prairie-- A Catholic priest-- Dinner
at Swan River-- Potatoes-- Arrival at Watab-- St. Cloud.

ST. CLOUD, October, 1856.

YESTERDAY morning at seven I took my departure, on the stage, from
Crow Wing. It was a most delightful morning, the air not damp, but
bracing; and the welcome rays of the sun shed a mellow lustre upon a
scene of "sylvan beauty." The first hour's ride was over a road I had
passed in the dark on my upward journey, and this was the first view I
had of the country immediately below Crow Wing. No settlements were to
be seen, because the regulations of military reservations preclude
their being made except for some purpose connected with the public
interests. A heavy shower the night before had effectually laid the
dust, and we bounded along on the easy coach in high spirits. The view
of the prairie stretching "in airy undulations far away," and of the
eddying current of the Mississippi, there as everywhere deep and
majestic, with its banks skirted with autumn-colored foliage, was
enough to commend the old fashioned system of stages to more general
use. Call it poetry or what you please, yet the man who can
contemplate with indifference the wonderful profusion of nature,
undeveloped by art-- inviting, yet never touched by the plough-- must
lack some one of the senses. Indeed, this picture, so characteristic
of the new lands of the West, seems to call into existence a new
sense. The view takes in a broad expanse which has never produced a
stock of grain; and which has been traversed for ages past by a race
whose greatest and most frequent calamity was hunger. If we turn to
its past there is no object to call back our thoughts. All is
oblivion. There are no ruins to awaken curious images of former life--
no vestige of humanity-- nothing but the present generation of nature.
And yet there are traces of the past generations of nature to be seen.
The depressions of the soil here and there to be observed, covered
with a thick meadow grass, are unmistakeable indications of lakes
which have now "vanished into thin air." That these gentle hollows
were once filled with water is the more certain from the appearance of
the shores of the present lakes, where the low water mark seems to
have grown lower and lower every year. But if the past is blank, these
scenes are suggestive of happy reflections as to the future. The long
perspective is radiant with busy life and cheerful husbandry. New
forms spring into being. Villages and towns spring up as if by magic,
along whose streets throngs of men are passing. And thus, as "coming
events cast their shadows before," does the mind wander from the real
to the probable. An hour and a half of this sort of revery, and we had
come to the Fort Ripley ferry, over which we were to go for the mail.
That ferry (and I have seen others on the river like it) is a
marvellous invention. It is a flat-boat which is quickly propelled
either way across the river by means of the resistance which it offers
to the current. Its machinery is so simple I will try to describe it.
In the first place a rope is stretched across the river from elevated
objects on either side. Each end of the boat is made fast to this line
by pullies, which can be taken up or let out at the fastenings on the
boat. All that is required to start the boat is to bring the bow, by
means of the pully, to an acute angle with the current. The after part
of the boat presents the principal resistance to the current by
sliding a thick board into the water from the upper side. As the water
strikes against this, the boat is constantly attempting to describe a
circle, which it is of course prevented from doing by the current, and
so keeps on-- for it must move somewhere-- in a direction where the
obstruction is less. It certainly belongs to the science of
hydraulics, for it is not such a boat as can be propelled by steam or
wind. I had occasion recently to cross the Mississippi on a similar
ferry, early in the morning, and before the ferryman was up. The
proprietor of it was with me; yet neither of us knew much of its
practical operation. I soon pulled the head of the boat towards the
current, but left down the resistance board, or whatever it is called,
at the bow as well as at the stern. This, of course, impeded our
progress; but we got over in a few minutes; and I felt so much
interested in this new kind of navigation, that I would have been glad
to try the voyage over again.

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