Brown County, Minnesota - Chapter 1, 1916

Related State History

The greater part, or about two-thirds, of the territory embraced within the boundaries of Minnesota was included in the Louisiana Purchase, ceded to the United States by France in 1803. The remainder of this state, comprising the northeastern third part, lying east of the Mississippi river, was included in the country surrendered from Great Britain by the treaty of 1783, at the end of the Revolutionary War. In 1805 a grant of land nine miles square, at the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Peter (now Minnesota) rivers, was obtained from the Sioux Indians. A military post was established on the grant in 1819, and in 1820 arrangements were made for the erection of a fort, which was completed in 1822 and named Ft. Snelling, after the commanding officer, and the grant has ever since been known as the Ft. Snelling Reservation. In 1823 the first steamboat ascended the Mississippi as far as Ft. Snelling; and annually thereafter one or two trips of steamboats were made to this isolated post for a number of years.

and the Dakota or Sioux Indians, but adventurous pioneers had penetrated into the country along the streams tributary to the Mississippi river, and in 1836 Wisconsin territory was organized, comprising all the territory west of Lake Michigan, and including within its limits all the country west of the Great Lakes and north of Illinois, the west boundary of the territory being the Mississippi river.

Indian Treaties

In 1837 two important treaties were made with the native tribes of Indians. The first one was made by Gov. Henry Dodge, of Wisconsin, with the O jib ways, at Ft. Snelling, on the 29th of July, of that year, whereby they ceded to the United States all their pine or agricultural lands on the St. Croix river and its tributaries.

On the 29th of September, of the same year, at the city of Washington, a treaty with the Sioux was made by Joel R. Poinsett, a special commissioner representing the United States, and about twenty chiefs, accompanied by Major Taliaferro, their agent, and Scott Campbell, an interpreter. Through the influence and by the direction of Governor Dodge, this delegation of chiefs had proceeded to Washington for the purpose of making this treaty, by which the Dakotas, or Sioux, ceded to the United States all their lands east of the Mississippi river and all its islands. The Indians were to receive as consideration for the same $110,000 in cash, to be divided among the mixed bloods, $90,000 in payment of debts owing by the tribes, and $300,000 to be invested in five per cent, stocks, the interest of which should be paid to them annually.

In 1848 Wisconsin adopted a state constitution, but ignored the enabling act, and made the northern part of the western boundary of the state along the line of the St. Louis and Rum rivers, which was not accepted by the United States government, and the boundary line from the Mississippi river to Lake Superior became fixed, as in the enabling act, on the line of the St. Croix river and in a direct line to the mouth of the St. Louis river.

After the acceptance of the Wisconsin constitution, in May, 1848, the territory north and west of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers being practically without a government, the Hon. John Catlin, claiming to be still secretary and acting governor of Wisconsin territory, issued a proclamation for a special election, to elect a delegate to Congress. The election was held on October 30, and Hon. H. H. Sibley was chosen delegate, and after some delay was admitted as such into the Congress of the United States.

Territorial Government Established

On March 3, 1849, Congress passed an act to establish the territorial government of Minnesota. It fixed the seat of government at St. Paul, and established the southern boundary of the territory along the north and west boundary line of the state of Iowa, from the Mississippi river to the Missouri river, the western boundary through the middle of the channel of the Missouri river to the mouth of the White Earth river, and up the middle of the channel of the White Earth river to the boundary line between the United States and Great Britain, the northern boundary running thence easterly and southeasterly on the international boun- dary line to Lake Superior, and the eastern boundary running thence in a straight line to the northernmost point of the state of Wisconsin, and following the north and west boundary of said state down the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers to the place of beginning. At this time the population of the territory was mainly in the section east of the Mississippi river, and the settlers were almost entirely engaged in lumbering. The territorial government was declared fully organized, June 1, 1849, by Hon. Alexander Ramsey, who had been appointed first territorial governor. The year 1848 was noted as the year of excitement from the discovery of gold in California, and the eyes of many thousands of people throughout the east were turned westward, where opportunities were opening for the growth of new states. Although at the organization of the territory there was scarcely a thousand people, within a year the census of 1850 gave to the territory a population of 6,077. Of this number, however, 1,134 residents were credited to the northernmost part of the territory on the Red river of the North, many of these being half-breeds, and the early pioneers engaged in the fur trade, brought there through the influence of the Hudson Bay Company.

The first session of the territorial Legislature commenced in St. Paul, September 3, 1849, during which counties were established and a code of laws enacted. The second session was commenced in January, 1851, at which time the capitol was located at St. Paul, the university at St. Anthony, and the state prison at Stillwater.

The Council At Traverse Des Sioux

In 1851 three treaties were made with the Sioux and with the Ojibway bands of Indians, whereby large tracts of lands were relinquished to the United States. In view of the great extent of country desired, and the importance of the transaction, and the long continued friendship of the Dakota nation, President Fillmore departed from the usual mode of appointing commissioners, and deputed the Hon. Luke Lea, the commissioner of Indian affairs, and Gov. Alexander Ramsey to meet the representatives of the Dakotas, and to conclude with them a treaty for such lands as they might be willing to sell.

On the 27th of June, 1851, Commissioner Lea arrived in St. Paul on the steamboat " Excelsior,' ' and on the 29th he, in company with Governor Ramsey, landed at Traverse des Sioux, where the great council was to be held and the treaty consummated with the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of Sioux. Great delay in the proceedings was caused by the non-arrival of certain Sioux chiefs from the upper country, and it was not until the 18th of July that the council convened and the preliminaries to the treaty commenced. During this interval of about twenty days they all entertained themselves as best they could with races, dances, suppers, sham fights, and all sorts of fun.

On the 18th of July, all the chiefs having arrived, proclamation was made, and being convened in grand council and the pipe of peace having been passed around, the council was opened by an address from Governor Ramsey. On the 23rd of July the treaty was concluded and signed by the chiefs, by which they ceded to the United States all the lands claimed by these bands east of the Sioux Wood (or Bois des Sioux), and Big Sioux rivers and Lake Traverse to the Mississippi, excepting a reservation one hundred miles long by twenty miles wide, on the upper part of the Minnesota river. By this treaty the Indians were to remove within two years to the reservation ; to receive from the government, after removal, $275,000, to enable them to settle up their affairs and to become established in their new home; and $30,000 was to be expended in breaking land, erecting mills and establishing a manual training school. They were also to receive for fifty years from that time, an annuity of $68,000, payable as follows: Cash, $40,000; civilization fund, $12,000; goods and provisions, $10,000; education fund, $6,000.

About a week later, on the 29th of July, Governor Ramsey and Commissioner Lea met the chiefs and leading men of the Med-ay-wakanton and Wah-pay-koo-tay bands of Sioux at a grand council at Mendota, to negotiate another treaty for the sale of other lands, which was concluded on the 5th of August, being signed by sixty-four chiefs, head men and warriors. In the treaty these bands of Indians ceded and relinquished all their lands in territory of Minnesota and state of Iowa, and in consideration thereof the United States was to reserve for them a tract of the average width of ten miles on either side of the Minnesota river, and bounded on the west by the Tehay-tam-bay and Yellow Medicine rivers, on the east by the Little Rock river, and a line running due south from the mouth to the Waraju river ; and to pay them the following sums of money : For settling debts and aid in removal, $220,000 ; for erection of buildings and opening farms, $30,000 ; civilization fund, to be paid annually, $12,000 ; educational fund, paid annually, $6,000; goods and provisions, annually, $10,000; cash, $30,- 000. The annuities were to continue for fifty years from the date of the treaty.

These two treaties of 1851 at Traverse des Sioux and Mendota acquired for white settlement nearly 24,000,000 acres of the finest lands in the world. The cessions were mostly in Minnesota, but included about an eighth part, or nearly 3,000,000 acres, in the state of Iowa, between the line of the old " neutral ground" and the northern and western boundaries of the state. That tract of country, and generally all lands in Iowa, claimed by the Sioux, were therefore embraced in the articles of cession of both treaties.

The Senate of the United States, on the 23rd of June, 1852, ratified the treaties, with amendments to each, which amendments were subsequently accepted by the Indians, and on the 24th of February, 1853, President Millard Fillmore issued his proclamation accepting, ratifying and confirming each of the said treaties as amended. The total lands in the present state of Minnesota relinquished to the government by these treaties exceeded 19,000,000 acres ; and they also ceded about 1,750,000 acres in South Dakota, besides the tract described in Iowa.

The third treaty of 1851 was effected by Governor Ramsey with the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Ojibways at Pembina, by which they ceded certain territory, sixty-five miles in width by one hundred and fifty miles in length, intersected by the Red River of the North. This treaty was not ratified by the government.

and an era of speculation started which probably has never been excelled in any portion of the west. A census, taken in 1857, gave a population of 150,037.

Indian Hunters Cause Trouble

Notwithstanding there was an abundant supply of good land outside of the limits of the land ceded under these treaties, the adventurous spirit of the pioneers led many of them to settle on the extreme limits of the grant and in immediate proximity to the Indian settlements. In the southwestern portion of the state, particularly, settlements were made close to the boundary line of Iowa and north and west of Spirit lake. Some were in Iowa and some were in Minnesota, and all were within the jurisdiction of the Indian agent resident in the territory of Minnesota. Although the Indians were living on the reservation lands west of these settlements, in their hunting expeditions they were accustomed to return to the ceded lands. In a general way the Indians were civil, and committed only petty depredations ; but their visits were at times annoying. Among the Indians there was a single band, under the leadership of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the Scarlet Point, of about fifteen lodges, which had been for many years an independent band and of a thieving, vagabondish character (really outlaws from the Sioux nation, and not represented in the treaties of 1851), who had taken possession of a strip of land running on both sides of the boundary lines of Iowa and Minnesota, and extending to the Missouri river. In March, 1857, a few of these Indians were hunting in the neighborhood of Rock river and one of them was bitten by a dog belonging to a white man. The dog was killed by the Indian, and in return the owner of the dog made an assault upon the Indian, and afterward gathered his neighbors, and they went to the Indian camp and disarmed them. The arms were afterward returned to them, and the party moved northeast, arriving at the Spirit Lake settlement about the 6th of March, where they massacred the men and took four women into captivity. Other settlements were attacked, and altogether forty-two settlers were killed. Two of the women were afterward rescued through the efforts of Hon. Charles E. Flandreau, then the Indian agent. An effort was made to punish this band of savages, but all escaped except the eldest son of Ink-pa-du-ta, who had ventured into the camp of other Sioux, near the agency, and was killed in an attempt to capture him.

Town-Site Speculation

In 1855 and 1856 town-site speculation became the absorbing thought, and when the panic of 1857 set in, Minnesota was soon in a deplorable condition. The demand for an extensive railroad system and a state government had originated in the flush times of 1856 and 1857, and on February 26, 1857, Congress passed an act authorizing a constitutional convention, and granting a large amount of lands in aid of public schools. On March 3, 1857, an act of Congress was approved making a large grant of lands in aid of railroads.

The election of members of the Constitutional Convention was held on June 1, 1857, and the result was an almost equal division representing the Democratic and Republican parties. So close was this division, and there being some contested seats, when the convention assembled, on July 13, two distinct organizations were made, each proceeding to frame a Constitution, but finally, by conference committees, they united in one document, which was submitted to a vote of the people on October 13, and was adopted almost unanimously. By this Constitution the boundaries of the state were changed on the west, making the Red River of the North the line, up the Bois des Sioux, and thence extending along that river and through Lake Traverse and Big Stone lake, and by a direct south line to the north boundary of Iowa.

This Constitution provided for an election of state officers at the same time of voting upon the adoption of the Constitution, resulting, by a close vote, in the election of the Democratic nominees. The first state Legislature was convened on the 2nd of December, 1857, and continued in session until March 25, 1858, when a recess was taken until after the state should be admitted. Some doubts were raised as to the legality of the acts of the Legislature previous to admission by Congress. The act of admission was passed and approved, May 11, 1858. The Legislature again assembled in June, and finally adjourned, August 12, 1858. During this prolonged session the embryo state was without funds, and a loan of $250,000 was authorized ; but as the acts of the Legislature before admission were somewhat irregular, the loan could not be readily negotiated. To tide over the difficulty state warrants were issued in the form of bank notes, and passed current, with more or less discount, until the summer of 1858, when they were redeemed from the proceeds of the loan consummated after the admission of the state.

The first Legislature worked diligently in what they considered the best interest of the state, and as the grant of lands by the United States in aid of railroads within the state had to be turned over to companies, a large part of the session was devoted to railroad legislation. The scheme of further aid to companies who might be willing to undertake the building of railroads was originated, and was commonly denominated the "Five Million Loan Bill," contemplating the loan of the credit of the state, to that amount, in such sums as would be paid upon the grading and final completion of certain miles of road. On a submission of this law to the people it was adopted by a large majority. The opposition at the time of the vote upon this measure was very bitter, and continued after bonds were being issued, and with the dissatisfaction arising from the small amount of work completed and the large amount of bonds issued, threatenings of repudiation advocated by leading men in the state caused a distrust in financial circles and a final collapse of the whole scheme, with the foreclosure of the mortgages taken by the state upon the railroad lands and franchises, and the abandonment of all railroad construction for the time being. The total amount of bonds issued under this provision of the constitution was $2,275,- 000. By the foreclosure proceedings the state acquired about 250 miles of graded road, the franchises of the companies and the lands, amounting to five million of acres, as indemnity for this issue of bonds. Notwithstanding the state had acquired all the rights, including the improvements of the railroad companies, the feeling against any settlement of the bonds was strong enough to secure an amendment to the constitution in 1860, prohibiting the passage of any law levying a tax or making other provision for the payment of the principal or interest of these bonds without having the same submitted to a vote of the people and adopted.

The two years following the crash of 1857 were replete with financial disaster and a shrinkage of inflated values in town-sites; but the country was filling up with farmers, and the rich soil of the state was giving abundant harvests. The political contest of 1859 was bitter, and resulted in the Republican party carrying the state, both for state officers and the Legislature.

The census of 1860 gave the state a population of 172,- 023. During this year there was great hope of a largely increased immigration into the county; but the political situation in the Union, starting with the opening of the presidential campaign of that year, soon indicated a disturbing element throughout the country, and distrust and depresison were manifest on all sides which was not allayed by the result of the presidential election. The war period, commencing with the time of the President's proclamation in April, 1861, to the final close of the rebellion in 1865, did not permit any material growth in the state. About twentytwo thousand of her able-bodied citizens volunteered and were enlisted in the Union army.

Unrest Among The Indians

Minnesota river, embracing some of the finest lands in the state, was becoming a barrier to settlements in the upper Minnesota valley. Settlers had taken lands close up to the reservation, and there was considerable complaint that Indians were coming off the reservation and committing petty depredations, and the Indians had more or less complaints to make regarding the extortions practiced by the post traders. The encroachments of the whites were viewed with suspicion by the Indians, and sooner or later, from these causes alone, a conflict would probably have occurred. The War of the Rebellion, calling away so many of the ablebodied men of the state, left the frontier settlements almost defenseless, and doubtless caused the younger portion of the tribes to become more offensive to the settlers and more exacting in their demands.

The lands embraced within the reservation under the treaties of 1851 were in the very heart of Minnesota, and, considering the forests and streams, were the choicest of farming lands. The settlers on the border were anxiously coveting this 4 4 Garden of Eden." A sentiment was created throughout the state that the Indians should abandon the tribal relations and become civilized. To this end the head men of the Dakota nation were induced, in 1858, to go to Washington, under the charge of Hon. Joseph R. Brown, in whom they had great confidence, for the purpose of negotiating for the whole or a part of this reservation. Treaties were signed ceding the ten-mile strip on the north side of the river, upon the payment of $140,000, and the government provided that every head of a family or single person over the age of twenty-one adopting a civilized life should secure in fee eighty acres of land. From some cause the payments of $140,000 were never made, and there was great dissatisfaction on account of this treaty, among those of the tribes who were adverse to accepting the condition of civilization ; and from the fact that there was no money divided among them on account of this relinquishment a bitter dissension arose between the older chiefs and the younger members, the latter claiming that they had been robbed either by the chiefs or by the government, and they proposed to have the settlement, peaceful or otherwise.

This internal strife was augmented from year to year by the withdrawal of families who were willing to accept the civilization fund, the number in three years succeeding the treaty amounting to one hundred and sixty persons. They were, however, still annuity Indians, and claimed the right to be heard in the councils. The annuity Indians, all told, numbered about six thousand two hundred, and the annual cash payment to each person amounted to about fifteen dollars. The Indians were treated as wards of the United States. Two agencies were established, around which were gathered storekeepers to sell the Indians goods in anticipation of the annuity payments ; and, usually, the annual payment was simply a settlement of the claims of the traders, who took the risk of furnishing the goods in advance. That there was injustice practiced upon the Indians is doubtless true; probably not so great as the disaffected Indians imagined. There was enough, however, to make the time of the annual payment an anxious period, for fear of an outbreak. The failure of the government in its attempt to punish the Spirit Lake murderers had a tendency to create a feeling among the leaders of the rebellious spirit that if they could only unite the whole body of Sioux in an uprising they could make a successful attack upon the settlers, and perhaps regain the lands formerly held by the Indians. The War of the Rebellion, starting in 1861, gave renewed energy to the discontent. The Indians were well aware of the reverses of the Union forces during the first year of the war. The calls for troops were taking the able-bodied men from the farms, and many of the halfbreeds had volunteered for the army. All these conditions had a disquieting effect, and, added to this, in 1862 the June payment was not made; and as there was no satisfactory answer for the delay, the traders took advantage of the necessities of the Indians and insinuated that perhaps the government would go to pieces, and there would be no further payments. The missionaries endeavored to counteract these evil influences, and, with the aid of the civilized Indians, succeeded in averting deliberate outbreak. The delay in payment of annuities, however, tended to keep up the discontent, particularly among the younger braves, who were the hunters. Their vagabond life brought them into the settlements, and in contact with the whites ; and their worthless, lazy habits made them offensive to the families, as beggars of meals or money, or anything that took their fancy.

Massacre Of 1862

These are, in brief, the circumstances which led up to the great massacre of 1862, which for a short time threatened the lives of all the settlers on the western boundary of the state. There was no concerted action for the massacre, and to some extent there is an uncertainty as to why the first murders were committed. Four young men or boys are believed to have commenced the massacre, in a spirit of bravado, making a threatening attack first upon a family, driving them from their home, and afterward following them to a neighbor's house, where, after an altercation with the families, they killed three men and two women. These occurrences took place on the 17th of August, in the township of Acton, twelve miles west of Litchfield. Realizing that if they remained in the vicinity punishment would soon overtake their murderous acts, they lost no time in going back to camp, relating what they had done, and asking protection. A hasty consultation was had between two of the chiefs ; they realized that the murderers must be given up, or the annuities would be stopped, and a war of extermination would be inaugurated. They chose to stand by the murderers, and immediately following there was a general uprising of the entire Sioux bands. So swift were their movements, before any effective resistance could be brought against them, that about eight hundred of the settlers, men, women and children were murdered within a few days. The prompt action of the state authorities, aided by the national government, resulted in the capture of about 2,000 of the belligerent Indians and the withdrawal of the remainder beyond the boundaries of the state, into the wilds of Dakota. Of the captured Indians, 303 were found guilty of murder and rape, and were condemned to death by a military court-martial. Of this number 265 were reprieved by- President Lincoln, and the remainder, thirty-eight of the most prominent engaged in the massacre, were hung in Mankato on the 26th of December, 1862. The next year the general government authorized an expedition against the Indians who had escaped to the Dakota plains, because of their constant raids in small squads on the frontiers of the state for the purpose of horse-stealing and marauding upon adventurous settlers who might risk going back to their abandoned farms. After two decisive encounters, the Indians retreated beyond the Missouri river, and in 1864 another expedition was sent forward and a final settlement of the Sioux outbreak was accomplished by a confiscation and surrender of the ponies and arms of most of the bands hostile to the government.

The several tribes of Sioux Indians were engaged in this massacre, and were the representatives of the tribes that had made the cession of lands in 1851, under the first and second treaties of that year. Under these treaties the government had set aside trust funds of $2,520,000, from which there was paid annually the sum of $126,000. Settlers who had lost property urged their claims for indemnity, and Congress promptly established a commission to receive all claims and investigate the facts. The commission was duly organized and established headquarters in the city of St. Paul, and carefully examined all the claims presented. The total number filed was 2,940, with damages amounting to $2,458,795.16. The commission allowed 2,635 claims, and cut down the damages to $1,370,374. By an act of Congress these claims were paid, and the annuities and all further payments to the tribes were stopped. The state was also reimbursed for extraordinary expenses incurred during the period of insurrection.

On the 2nd of October, 1863, a treaty was concluded at the old crossing of Red Lake river, about twelve miles east of the present city of Crookston, by Alexander Ramsey and

Ashley C. Morrill, and the chiefs and head men of the Red Lake and Pembina bands of Ojibway Indians, for the cession of a large tract of country, being the same land embraced in one of the treaties of 1851, but not ratified at that time, of which the boundaries are as follow: Commencing at the intersection of the national boundary with the Lake of the Woods; thence in a southwest direction to the head of Thief river ; thence following that stream to its mouth ; thence southeasterly in a direct line toward the head of Wild Rice river; and thence following the boundary of the Pillager cession of 1855 to the mouth of said river; thence up the channel of the Red river to the mouth of the Cheyenne; thence up said river to Stump lake, near the eastern extremity of Devil 's lake; thence north to the international boundary ; and thence east on said boundary to the place of beginning. It embraced all of the Red River valley in Minnesota and Dakota, except a small portion previously ceded, and was estimated to contain 11,000,000 acres. This treaty was ratified by the Senate, with amendments, March 1, 1864. The Indians, on the 12th of April, 1864, assented to the amendments, and President Lincoln, by his proclamation of the 5th of May, 1864, confirmed the treaty.

A Period Of Rapid Development

The close of the Civil War in the spring of 1865, and the return of the soldiers, and the assurance of no further depredations from the Sioux Indians, started a new era of prosperity and rapid growth. The Legislature, in the meantime, had granted charters on the foreclosed roadbeds and lands to new railroad companies, and the construction of roads was furnishing abundant labor to all who were coming to the state. The population at this time was 250,099, and in 1870 the population had increased to 439,706, nearly doubling in five years. The railroad companies had within the same period constructed nearly 1,000 miles of railroad and continued their building with even greater vigor until the financial crisis of 1873 brought all public enterprises again to a stand, and produced stagnation in all the growing towns. The farmers had been active in developing the country, and were adding largely to the productions of the state when the grasshopper raids, for the time being, destroyed the growing crops, and caused great financial distress for two or three years.

The census of 1875 gave the state a population of 597,- 407, still showing a fair increase, but small in comparison with the five years following the close of the rebellion. By 1878 the state had fairly recovered from the financial crash of 1873, but speculation has at no time since 1878 been so reckless as during the two periods ending in 1857 and 1873.

Along with the prosperity of the state, caused so largely by the rapid railroad building, the state pride began to assert itself with more force, and the prominent citizens continued to urge an adjustment of the dishonored railroad bonds. In 1877 a proposition setting aside the proceeds of 500,000 acres for internal improvement lands in settlement was by act of the Legislature submitted to a vote at a special election called for the 12th of June, and was voted down by the decisive vote of 59,176 against to 17,324 votes for, the proposition. This vote was largely owing to the fact that the state at that time had almost an entire new population that had come into the state long after the bonds were

In 1881 the Legislature enacted a law providing for the adjustment of these bonds and designating the judges of the supreme court as a commission to make the settlement. The constitutionality of this law was questioned, a writ of injunction was served, and the final determination of the supreme bench was that the law was unconstitutional, as also the amendment of 1860, prohibiting any settlement without a vote of the people. This latter act had previously been determined unconstitutional by the supreme court of the United States. An extra session of the Legislature was called in October of the same year, when the final adjustment was authorized by act of the Legislature, on a basis of fifty per cent, of the amount nominally due, and, after a careful examination of all the claims presented, the bond question was forever set at rest by the issue of adjustment bonds, to the amount of $4,282,000, to parties entitled to receive them. For the payment of these bonds the proposition of setting aside the proceeds of the 500,000 acres of internal improvement lands was again submitted to the general election in 1881, and by a vote of 82,435 votes in favor, and 24,526 votes against, the action of the Legislature was ratified and the stigma of repudiation removed, which had been fastened upon the state by the popular vote of 1877.

In 1880 the national census gave the state a population of 780,773, and the state census of 1885 swelled these figures to 1,117,798, indicating the extraordinary growth of fortythree per cent. ; but an examination of the fij^ures shows that the growth was mainly confined to the cities, being nearly eighty per cent, of increase, while in the farming community

During the ten years between 1880 and 1890 there was a period of great activity in the railroad building, and 2,310 miles of road were put in operation. This alone gave great energy to the business of the state, and caused a large increase in the population of the cities, and gradually culminated in a most extravagant real estate boom, and an era of the wildest speculation. In the country the growth was normal over the entire state, although large numbers of farmers in the southern half of the state were attracted to the plains of Dakota, where great activity was being developed by the pushing of railroads into different sections of the territory.

Diversified Farming Interests

The settlement of the Dakotas and the consequent breaking up of the virgin land, after the year 1885, almost doubled the wheat yield of the northwestern states, so that the farmers of Minnesota were soon confronted with the question whether wheat should continue to be their leading staple. In the southern part of the state the wheat return was not enough per acre to yield any profit to the farmer at the reduced prices ; and gradually methods have changed, so that the leading agricultural industries now include dairying, stock raising, and general diversified farming. It seems probable that Minnesota will hold her place as the greatest wheat-producing state, and will also earn a greater reputation as the best all-round farming state in the Union.

of 1,301,826, an increase of 184,028 in five years, of which amount about 70,000 increase went to the cities and 114,000 to the country districts, showing eighteen per cent, increase in the cities and fifteen per cent, increase in the country. The state census of 1895 showed an increase of 272,793, or 21.95 per cent., in the preceding five years, giving a total population of 1,574,619.

According to the census of 1910 the population of Minnesota was 2,075,708, showing an increase of 17.8 per cent, during the preceding decade. The population of the five largest cities was as follow : Minneapolis, 301,408 ; St. Paul, 214,744; Duluth, 78,466; Winona, 18,583; and Stillwater, 10,198.

Minnesota was the first state of the Union to respond to the call of the President for volunteers at the beginning of the war with Spain, in April, 1898. Three regiments, designated as the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Regiments of Minnesota Volunteers, were mobilized at St. Paul, April 29, and were mustered into the United States service on May 7 and 8. The Fifteenth Regiment was mustered into service on July 18. In total this state furnished 5,315 officers and enlisted men for the volunteer army. At the close of the war the Twelfth and Fourteenth Regiments returned to Minnesota, and were mustered out of service in November. The Fifteenth Regiment continued in service until March 27, 1899 ; and the Thirteenth Regiment, after more than a year of service in the Philippine Islands, was mustered out on October 3, 1899.

Name

Minnesota derives its name from the river which was named "Minisota" by the Dakotas, pronounced "Min-neesotah," applied to the stream, in its natural state in the summer season, after the waters were cleared from the roiling caused by the spring floods. Mini, water; sotah, skycolored. Apparently to secure the correct pronunciation in English letters, the convention called at Stillwater, in 1848, for the purpose of procuring a territorial organization, instructed their delegates to see that the name of the territory should be written Min-ne-sota.

Geography

Geographically, Minnesota occupies the exact center of the continent of North America, midway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and also midway between Hudson bay and the Gulf of Mexico. This state is bounded on the south by Iowa, on the west by South and North Dakota, on the north by Manitoba and Ontario, and on the east by Wisconsin. It extends from latitude 43 degrees 30 minutes, to 49 degrees 24 minutes, and from 89 degrees 29 minutes, to 97 degrees 15 minutes, west longitude. From its southern boundary to the northern is about 400 miles, and from its most eastern to the extreme western point about 354 miles.

Area

which 3,608,012 acres are water. In altitude it appears to be one of the highest portions of the continent, as the headwaters of three great river systems are found in its limits, those of streams flowing northward to Hudson bay, eastward to the Atlantic ocean, and southward to the Gulf of Mexico.

About half of this surface, on the south and west, consists of rolling prairie, interspersed with frequent groves, oak openings and belts of hardwood timber, watered by numberless lakes and streams, and covered with a warm, dark soil of great fertility. The rest, embracing the elevated district immediately west and north of Lake Superior, consists mainly of rich mineral ranges and of the pine forests which clothe the headwaters of the Mississippi, affording extensive supplies of lumber. There is but a very small percentage of broken, rocky or worthless land in the state. Nearly all is arable.

Numerous rivers and watercourses give the state excellent drainage. But few states are so well watered as Minnesota. Its navigable rivers are the Mississippi, the Minnesota, the St. Croix, the St. Louis, the Red River of the North, and the Red Lake river, all of which, near their sources, have extensive water powers; while a number of smaller streams such as Rum river and Snake river, both valuable for lumbering, the Cannon and Zumbro rivers, the Vermilion, Crow, Blue Earth, Des Moines, Cottonwood, Chippewa, LeSueur, Root, Elk and Sauk rivers, also furnish fine water powers. These with their tributaries and a host of lesser streams penetrate every portion of the state.

Some of the water powers furnished by these streams are among the finest in America, and many of them have been utilized for manufacturing purposes.

The lakes of Minnesota are more numerous and varied in form than in any other state in the Union. Bordering on the northeast corner of the state for one hundred and fifty miles, the waters of the great Lake Superior wash its shores. Within the state there are about ten thousand lakes, the largest of which is Red lake, in the central northern part of the state, bordered partly by dense pine forests, with its overflow through Red Lake river, by a devious course, into the Red River of the North. On the same northern slope, in St. Louis county, is the beautiful Vermilion lake, with its tributaries, at the edge of the great Vermilion iron range, and flowing into Rainy lake, on the northern boundary, and then through Rainy Lake river into the Lake of the Woods, and thence into Lake Winnipeg, and finally into Hudson bay. On the southern slope of the state is Itasca lake, the source of the Mississippi, with Cass lake, Lake Winnibigoshish, Leech lake, and other innumerable lakes, all adding volume to the water of the Mississippi, eventually flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Then there is Mille Lacs, the source of Rum river, and the picturesque Lake Minnetonka. These are the largest lakes in the state. Of these, however, only Minnetonka, White Bear, Bald Eagle and Chisago lakes have so far been much utilized as summer resorts. The incomparable park region, traversed by the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads, is the paradise of summer idlers, of hunters and fishermen ; but it is not in this portion alone that all the beautiful lakes are found. The northeastern and the southwestern sections each have numerous lakes to attract the summer visitor.

There is an undoubted modification of the climate of the state, caused by these numerous bodies of water, giving a most delightful summer temperature.

Fine varieties of fish are abundant in all these lakes; and the state expends annually thousands of dollars, through a game and fish commission, to improve the varieties and to prevent their wanton destruction.

Elevation

Surveys with leveling from the sea show that the shore of Lake Superior is the lowest land in the state, 602 feet above sea level. The waters of the northeastern part of the state south of the Mesabi iron range flow into Lake Superior, and are carried to the Atlantic ocean. The Mississippi river, having its chief source in Lake Itasca, at 1,466 feet elevation, runs in a southerly direction, leaving the state at 620 feet above sea level.

The Red River of the North, rising in the north, near Itasca lake, at a height of 1,600 feet above the ocean, after a circuitous route south and west of Breckenridge, in Wilkin county, and then flowing north along its great valley, leaves the state at an elevation of 750 feet. The average elevation of the state is given at about 1,275 feet. The highest elevation is the Misquah hills, in Cook county, 2,230 feet.

Climate

The elevation of Minnesota above the sea, its fine drainage, and the dryness of the atmosphere give it a climate of unusual salubrity and pleasantness. It has an annual mean temperature of 44 degrees, while its mean summer temperature is 70 degrees, the same as that of middle Illinois and Ohio, southern Pennsylvania, etc. The excessive heats of summer often felt in other states are here tempered by the cooling breezes. Its high latitude gives it correspondingly longer days in summer than states further south, and during the growing season there are two and one-half hours more sunshine than in the latitude of Cincinnati. This, taken in connection with the abundant rainfall of early summer, accounts for the rapid and vigorous growth of crops in Minnesota, and their early maturity. The cool breezes and cool nights in summer prevent the debilitating effects of heat often felt in low latitudes. The winter climate is one of the attractive features of the state. Its uniformity, and prevailing freedom from thaws and excessive spells of cold, severe weather or heavy snow storms, and its dryness, together with the bright sunshine and electrical conditions of the air, all tend to enhance the personal comfort of the resident, and make outdoor life and labor a pleasure.

These features tend to make this climate the healthiest in the Union. It gives life and briskness to those performing manual labor, enabling them to do more work than in a damper or duller climate.

Chronological

1635. Jean Nicollet, an explorer from France, who had wintered in the neighborhood of Green Bay, brought to Montreal the first mention of the aborigines of Minnesota.

1659-60. Grosseilliers and Radisson wintered among the Sioux of the Mille Lacs region, Minnesota, being its first white explorers. In a previous expedition, four years earlier, they are thought to have come to Prairie Island, west of the main channel of the Mississippi, between Red Wing and Hastings.

1661. Father Rene Menard left Kewennaw, on Lake Superior, to visit the Hurons, then in northern Wisconsin, and was lost near the sources of the Black and Chippewa rivers. His breviary and cassock were said to have been f ound among the Sioux.

council with the Sioux at their principal settlement on the shore of Mille Lacs. Du Lhut, in June, 1680, by way of the St. Croix river, reached the Mississippi and met Hennepin.

1689. May 8, Nicholas Perrot, at his Ft., St. Antoine, on the Wisconsin shore of Lake Pepin, laid formal claim to the surrounding country for France. He built a fort also on the Minnesota shore of this lake, near its outlet.

1700. LeSueur established Ft. L'Huillier, on the Blue Earth river (near the mouth of the LeSueur), and first supplied the Sioux with firearms.

1766. Capt. Jonathan Carver visited St. Anthony falls and Minnesota river. He claimed to have made a treaty with the Indians the following spring, in a cave afterward called "Carver's Cave," within the present limits of St. Paul, at which he said they ceded to him an immense tract of land, long known as "Carver's Claim," but never recognized by the government.

1796. Laws of the Ordinance of 1787 extended over the Northwest territory, including the northeastern third of Minnesota, east of the Mississippi river.

1803. April 30, that part of Minnesota west of the Mississippi, for the preceding forty years to possession of Spain as a part of Louisiana, was ceded to the United States by Napoleon Bonaparte, who had just obtained it from Spain.

1803-04. William Morrison, the first known white man to discover the source of the Mississippi river, visited Elk lake and explored the streams entering into the lake forming the head of the river.

1812. The Dakotas, Ojibways and Winnebagoes, under the lead of hostile traders, joined the British during the war. Red River colony established by Lord Selkirk.

part of Crawford county, Michigan. Ft. Snelling established, and a post at Mendota occupied by troops, under command of Col. Leavenworth. Maj. L. Taliaferro appointed Indian agent, arriving on April 19.

Governor Cass visits Minnesota and makes a treaty of peace between the Sioux and O jib ways at Ft. Snelling. Col. J osiah Snelling appointed to the command of the latter post. 1823. The first steamboat arrived at Mendota, May 10, Major Taliaferro and Beltrami being passengers. Maj. Stephen H. Long explored Minnesota river, the Red river valley, and the northern

Snelling with the Ojibways, by which the latter ceded all their pine lands on the St. Croix and its tributaries; a treaty was also effected at Washington with a deputation of Dakotas for their lands east of the Mississippi. These treaties led the way to the first actual settlements within the area of Minnesota.

The town of St. Paul surveyed, platted and recorded in St. Croix county register of deeds' office. First improvement of the water power at the Falls of St. Anthony.

Minnesota without a government. August 26, the " Stillwater Convention" held, taking measures for a separate territorial organization, and asking that the new territory be named Minnesota. October 30, H. H. Sibley elected delegate to Congress.

3, the bill organizing Minnesota passed. March 19, its territorial officers appointed. June 1, Governor Ramsey declared, by proclamation, the territory organized. September 3, the first territorial Legislature assembled.

another flood. July 23, treaty of Traverse des Sioux completed and August 5 the treaty of Mendota, opening the territory west of the Mississippi to settlers.

1854. Celebration of the opening of the Rock Island railroad, the first road to the Mississippi river, by a mammoth excursion, reaching St. Paul, June 8. Large immigration this season and the three succeeding ones, and the real estate mania commences.

Samuel Medary (appointed by Buchanan), arrives on April 22. Legislature passes a bill to remove the capital to St. Peter, but it fails to accomplish the object. Ink-pa-du-to massacre, April. Land grant passes Congress. April 27, extra session of the Legislature to apportion land grant. July 13, Constitutional Convention assembles. Real estate speculation reaches its height, and is checked by the financial panic, August 27. Great revulsions and hard times. Census shows 150,037 population. October 13, Constitution adopted and state officers elected.

bill passed by the Legislature, March 9 ; ratified by vote of the people, April 15. Great stringency in money market. State admitted, May 11. State officers sworn in, May 24.

War." "Glencoe" and "Owatonna" money issued. Work on the land grant road ceases. Collapse of the five million scheme. First export of grain this fall. Hard political struggle ; the Republicans triumph.

1861. April 15, President proclamation for troops received ; the first regiment recruits at once ; J une 22, it embarks at Ft. Snelling for the seat of war.

1862. Call for 600,000 men. August 17, massacre at Acton; August 18, outbreak at Lower Sioux Agency, eight miles east of Redwood Falls ; 19th, New Ulm attacked ; 20th, Fort Ridgely attacked; 25th, second attack on New Ulm; 30th, Fort Abercrombie besieged ; September 2d, the bloody attack at Birch Coulee. September 19, first railroad in Minnesota in operation, between St. Paul and Minneapolis. September 23, battle of Wood Lake; 26th, captives surrendered at Camp Release ; military commission tries 321 Indians for murder, rape, etc.; 303 condemned to die; December 26, 38 hung at Nankato.

disbanded. In all 22,016 troops furnished by the state. Census shows 250,099 inhabitants. 1866-72. Rapid railroad building everywhere; immigration heavy; "good times' ' prevail, and the real estate inflated.

at St. Peter destroyed by fire ; eighteen inmates burned to death, seven died subsequently of injuries and fright, and six missing; total loss, $150,000.

1889. The Legislature enacts the Australian system of voting in cities of 10,000 and over. The first electric street railway started in the state at Stillwater.

826. J uly 13, an excursion steamboat returning from Lake City encampment foundered on Lake Pepin, and 100 people drowned. July 13, tornado swept across Lake Gervias, in Ramsey county, near the town of Jackson, traversing Martin, Faribault, Freeborn, Mower and Fillmore counties, on a line nearly parallel with, but from five to fifteen miles north of, the Southern Minnesota division of the Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, doing a large amount of damage to farms and farm buildings, and causing the death of about fifty people along the track of the storm.

capitol commission to select a site for a new capitol, and providing a tax of two-tenths of a mill for ten years to pay for the site and the erection of a building. A great financial crisis causes the failure of several banks and many mercantile and manufacturing establishments in the larger cities of the state.

of Hinckley, in Pine county, carrying death and destruction over nearly four hundred square miles of territory, destroying the towns of Hinckley and Sandstone, causing the death of 417 people, rendering homeless and destitute 2,200 men, women and children, and entailing a property loss of about $1,000,000.

about a quarter part of its former area, and on May 15 a large tract of agricultural and timber lands formerly belonging to that reservation was opened for settlement.

Minnesota supplied four regiments for service in the Spanish- American War, being the first state, May 7, to respond to the presidents call. October 5, the Pillager Indians attacked United States troops near Sugar Point, Leech lake.

northern and western sections. April 22, death of Alexander Ramsey, first territorial governor, later governor of the state, United States senator, and secretary of war.

1904. Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Minnesota exhibits win many first prizes for flour, butter, fruits, iron ores, work of pupils in schools, etc.

of Science, Literature and Arts, of the University of Minnesota, completed at cost of $410,000 for the building and its equipment. The total number of students of this University enrolled in all departments for the year was 4,145.

1908. The fiftieth anniversary of the admission of Minnesota to statehood was celebrated in connection with the state fair, the attendance during the week being 326,753.

operation, at Rochester, Minnesota, September 21, 1909. Lieut.-Gov. Adolph O. Eberhart sworn in as governor by Chief J ustice Start, in the Supreme Court retiring room, at 11 o'clock the same day.

1910. Population of Minnesota, shown by the national census, 2,075,708. Death of State Treasurer Clarence C. Dinehart, June 8, E. S. Pettijohn appointed to succeed, June 11. Forest fires in northern Minnesota during the second and third week in October, results in death to about thirty people and the destruction of about $20,000,000 of property. Spooner and Baudette wiped out.

to the United States Constitution for election of United States senators by popular vote. October 18, George E. Vincent was inaugurated president of the University of Minnesota.

1912. The Legislature in special session enacted a new primary election law and " corrupt practices " act. October 19, the statue of Governor Johnson on the capitol ground was unveiled.

its sixty-fourth annual session in Minneapolis. United States postal savings bank and parcel post inaugurated in Minnesota. Practical reforms in state road laws enacted. Work begun on the new building of the St. Paul Public Library and Hill Reference Library. New postoffice and new railroad depot building in Minneapolis. November 5, the historic Carver's cave, all trace of which had been lost for forty years or more, was definitely located.

tions in Minnesota cities. April 4, Frederick Weyerhauser, extensive lumber operator, died in his winter home at Pasadena, California. April 15, plans adopted for St. Paul's new terminals and union depot. May 9, a bronze statue of Gen James Shields, tendered by the Loyal Legion and the Grand Army of the Republic to the state of Minnesota, for a niche in the capitol. Unveiled in November; formally presented to the state by Commander Samuel Appleton, of the Loyal Legion; accepted by Governor A. O. Everhart; eloquent memorial address by Comrade and Companion John Ireland, archbishop. July 4-11, the National Educational Association held its annual convention in St. Paul. November, Winfield Scott Hammond, Democrat, elected governor of Minnesota, defeating William E. Lee, Republican nominee. 1915. January 2, session of the thirty-ninth Legislature opened at the state capitol ; Hon. J. A. A. Burnquist, lieutenant-governor, president of the Senate ; H. H. Flower, speaker of the House of Representatives. January 3, Winfield Scott Hammond inaugurated governor of Minnesota. February 12, birthday of Abraham Lincoln observed by Minnesota Commandery of the Loyal Legion by a banquet at the West hotel, Minneapolis. Oration by Bishop William A. Quayle, of the Methodist Episcopal church. February 19-20, forty-ninth annual convention of the Minnesota Editorial Association assembled at the St. Paul hotel, St. Paul, President H. C. Hotaling, presiding. December 30, death of Governor Hammond. December 31, Lieutenant-Governor Burnquist assumed the office of governor. 1916. February, discovery of discrepancies in the office of Walter J. Smith, treasurer of the state, and his subsequent resignation.