Washington County, Minnesota - Chapter 34: Thk Kt. Ckoix Kivkit and Lake - Old Land, 1881

Chapter 34: Thk Kt. Ckoix Kivkit and Lake - Old Land

The St. Croix river takes its rise in upper St. Croix Lake, which is situated in Wisconsin, on the water shed which divides the St. Lawrence system from that of the Mississippi, deriving its waters in the upper portion from numerous small lakes, with which the water-shed is dotted. Flowing in a southerly direction to its junction with the Mis¬ sissippi it has been taken as the boundary line between the States of Minnesota and Wisconsin, becoming an important stream both in size and usefulness. The length of the river, following its tortuous course from its source to its mouth, is nearly 170 miles. It receives as tributaries, the Canoe, Yellow Pine, Crooked, Sand, Bear Creek, Kettle and Snake rivers, on the Minnesota side, of which the Snake with its several branches, viz: the Ground House creek, Fishing creek, Knife river and Little Snake; and the Kettle with its branches, viz: the Grind Stone, Pine, Split Rock, Moose and Willow, are the principal, while innumerable smaller streams and rivulets add to its volume. After receiving its principal tributaries, it pours over rocks, fanning beauti¬ ful rapids, once largely used for manufacturing purposes, thence it pursues its uniform course about thirty miles, nearly to the city of Stillwater, where it expands in width, forming what is called Lake St. Croix, a sheet of water averaging threequarters of a mile in width, extending to the mouth of the river, a distance from the point where the expansion begins, of about twenty-five miles. On the Wisconsin side of the river the tributaries are smaller and are, the Apple, Wolf, Trade, Wood, Clam; Willow and smaller streams.

The valley drained by the St. Croix is nearly 140 miles in length, varrying in width from sixty miles at the widest point to much narrower di¬ mensions. The water of the lake is clear and palatable. The bluffs upon either side are bold and lofty, bearing strong resemblance to those of the upper Mississippi. The lake is naviga- ble at the lowest stage of water for steamboats of the largest tonnage upon the Mississippi. Above the lake the river is navigable to Taylor's Falls, an enterprising and flourishing town.

This was the country of the Chippewas and Sioux; the Chippewas occupied the northern por¬ tion and the Sioux the southern; it was, too, the scene of many a bloody battle between the hostile tribes.

One old landmark remains about tw'elve miles below the falls of St Croix, at what is called Ce¬ dar Bend, that is said to mark the dividing line between the Chippewas of the north and the Sioux of the south. This is an old cedar tree standing on a high bluff, or at least it probably once stood upright, but in reality it now leans far over the bluff straining its roots thkt are bedded in the soil above, and reaching far down with its tendrils on the abrupt bluff to catch in the moist soil below. All the valley of the St. Croix lying north of this tree was said to belong to the Chip¬ pewas, while that part, of the valley south be¬ longed to the Sioux. The river was here called Cedar Bend, because of the cedars that lined the banks of the stream at this turn in its course. In the rocks near by are seen deep prints that resem¬ ble the impre&s of a horse's foot of mammoth dimensions. The Indians reverence these as the foot-prints of the Great Spirit's horse, supposing that he crossed the river at this point by leaping his horse over with such a violent stride that his feet were indented in the solid rock.

White men tore away the old Indian name, Hogan-wauke-kin, and gave the river new names. Father Hennepin says, in speaking of what is now the St. Croix: "This river is called the Tomb river, because the Issati left there the body of one of their warriors." On his map of the country of the Dakotas he also gives the name "The river of the Tomb," and marks the position of the falls. In his geographical description of the country he speaks of it as "a river full of rapids, by which, striking northwest, you can reach Lake Conde (Superior), that is as far as Namissakouat river, which empties into the lake." Later in 1700, Le Sueur speaks of it as the St. Croix, thus named because a Frenchman of that name was shipwrecked at its mouth. l*en icatid states that it was so called because of a cross planted over the remains of a voyageur.

The first map which showed this valley was made in Paris in 1688, by Tillemont, upon which ap¬ pears Lakes Brade (Mille Lacs). Magdeline (St. Croix) and Prophet (Snake) river.

The valley of the St. Croix was once a famous hunting ground of the Indians, and equally fam¬ ous as the battle ground of the contending tribes. It has been called the Golgotha of the Indians, because it was strewn with the skulls of their braves. Over this territory, as disputed land, one 'enemy pressed the other back and forth, according to the temporary advantage obtained by each.

At Pokeguma (now Pokegama) lake, on Snake river, was an Indian village, where in later times a missionary station was established. This vil¬ lage was occupied by Dakotas as late as 1700, but subsequently it became by conquest the abode of the Chippewas. Rev. E. D. Neill says of it: " Pokeguma is one of the 1 Mille Lacs,' or thou¬ sand beautiful lakes, for which Minnesota is re¬ markable. It is about four or five miles in extent, and a mile or more in width. Its shores are strewn with boulders, that in a past geologic age, have been brought by some mighty impetus from the icy north. Down to- the water's edge grow the tall pines, through which, for many years, the deer have bounded and the winds sighed mournfully, as they wafted away to dis¬ tant lands the shriek of many Dakota or Ojibway mothers, caused by the slaughter of their children. Theriake is situated on Snake river, about twenty miles above the junction of that stream with the St. Croix."

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, in 1836, established a mission among the Chippewas at Lake Pokeguma. Their mission house was on the east shore, but the In¬ dian village was on an island in the lake. The efforts of the missionaries were devoted to the encouragement of the habits of civilization among the savages, inducing them to build houses like their own around the mission and to cultivate the land. They were encouraged in these labors by the purchase of the surplus provision raised.

The women of the mission pursued the same policy on their part, encouraging the squaws to cleanliness and domestic arts. In a letter w'ritten by the missionaries in 1837, they say: " The young women and girls now make, wash and iron after our manner. The men have learned to build log houses, drive team, plough, hoe and handle an American axe, with some skill in cut¬ ting large trees, the size of which, two years ago, . would have afforded them a sufficient reason why they should not meddle with them."

The traditions of the Indians point back in¬ definitely to struggles between the Chippewas and Sioux, indicating that their hostility has been long standing, existing perhaps centuries before the advent of the white man. They inform us of great battles in the past, though such have rarely occurred in recent times: as evidence of this fact a curious mound is pointed out by them shaped like a turtle with the head pointing to¬ wards the west. This mound is at the portage between the Cut Foot Sioux and Big Fork, and the tradition is:

The Sioux and Chippewas here met in large force, and after a furious battle the Chippewas were beaten and fled in confusion with much loss to the eastward. After the battle the Sioux, to commemorate their victory, built the turtle, which to this day is perfectly defined in outline, with its head pointing to the east, indicating the direc¬ tion in which their foes had fled. Soon, however, the Chippewas received re-inforcements, and re¬ turning renewed the battle. This time victory perched on the opposite banner, and the Sioux fled to the westward with as much precipitation as the Chippewas had exhibited after the first en¬ counter, but in an opposite direction. The Chip¬ pewas then to commemorate their victory and de¬ ride the Sioux, reversed the turtle by building a bead at the west end and converting the bead made by the Sioux into a tail. Thus reversed the turtle remains to verify the traditions of the tribes and to be a monument to the superior prowess of the Chippewas, who step by step drove to the south the Sioux who once occupied large villages as high as Leech Lake, and on the southern borders of Canada.

The Ojibwas of the north had in company with other tribes formed an alliance in early times with the French. The Sacs and Foxes who usually occupied the country on the Fox river in Wisconsin, frequently bunted through the St. Croix Valley, and formed an alliance to wage war against these allies of the French. Their atti¬ tude placed them also in hostility to the French traders. Encouraged and abetted by the French, the Ojibwas made incursions into Minnesota about 1726, with the purpose of driving out tribes hostile to the French by means of the fire-arms placed in their hands by them. Under the lead¬ ership of Bi-ans-wab, they drove the Dakotas from their homes in the north at Leech Lake, Mille Lacs and other points. Forced to take up their residences on lands below, and near the Valley of the St. Croix, frequent hunting excur¬ sions were made through this valley, and many a hostile encounter took place between the deter¬ mined foes. The last conflict between the Foxes and Ojibwas took place at St. Croix, the account of which is here condensed from that of the late Anglo-Ojibwa, Wm. W. Warren. Waub-o-jug, or White Fishe**, a famous war chief of Lake Superior summoned by means of his war club and wampum sent to all the scattered tribes of the Ojibwas, bis combined forces to march against the Sioux village.

The different bands responded by sending to¬ bacco as a favorable reply to the message con¬ tained in the war club; emblems full of signifi¬ cance to savage intelligence. The band from Sandy Lake village were, however, behind time in meeting their appointment; Waub-o-jug, there¬ fore, proceeded cautiously down the St. Croix. On reaching the falls early in the morning, they were preparing to make the portage, when scouts sent forward to reconnoitre returned hurriedly to give information of a large party of Sioux and Foxes landing at the other end of the same portage.

Instant preparation was made for the battle which was now inevitable, and as their presence had become known at the same time to their foes, the hostile parties met as if by mutual agree¬ ment, in the middle of the portage. The Ojib¬ was numbered but three hundred, and the Foxes seeing their own superiority in numbers and con¬ fident in their valor, requested the Sioux not to join in the light, but to sit by and see how quickly they could rout the Ojibwas. Accordingly the Foxes alone encountered their old foes, and inch by inch the field was contested, many daring acts of personal prowess exhibiting the deadly nature of their hate. About noon the Foxes commenced yielding ground, and at last were forced to flee in confusion.

Indian Battle

Fortunately the Sioux who had been smoking their pipes in what appeared stoical indifference now raised the war whoop and stopped the rout in season to save their allies who would otherwise have perished to a man.

For a time the battle raged again with the greatest fury, until the Ojibwas having exhausted their ammunition were forced in turn to retreat. This retreat was just turning into a rout, at the head of the portage, when the tardy band from Sandy lake arrived at this opportune moment, and eager and fresh they withstood the onset of Sioux and Foxes, until their retreating friends could rally again to the battle. Victory again changed sides, and the former victors were forced back with great slaughter in their ranks. Many were driven over the rocks into the boiling flood below, and every crevice in tbe cliffs contained a dead or wounded enemy. From this time the Foxes retired south and forever gave up the war with their victorious enemies.

The old Ojibwa chief, Buffalo, of La Pointe, says that the fires of the Foxes were by this stroke nearly extinguished, and they were reduced to fifteen lodges. They were subsequently absorbed in tbe Algonquin tribe.

Carver's first acquaintance with the Dakotas, or Sioux, Commenced near the river St. Croix. He says: "Near the river St. Croix, reside bands of the Naudowessie Indians, called the River Bands. This nation is composed at present of eleven bands. They were originally twelve, but the Assinepoils, some years ago, revolting and separating themselves from the others, there re¬ main at this time eleven. Those I met here are termed the River Bands, because they chiefly dwell near the banks of the river; the other eight are generally distinguished by the title of Naudowessies of the plains, and inhabit a country more to the westward. The names of the former are Nehogatawonahs, the Mawtawbauntowahs and Shashweento walls."

On the Otis farm, above Marine Mills, in the valley of the St. Croix, there are numerous mounds, and every appearance of an Indian set¬ tlement. Dakota tradition alleges that there was once a small and powerful band that lived above Lake St. Croix. Tbe Mautauton Dakotas, which are spoken of by Le Sueur and Carver, may re- . fer to these.

Rev. S. W. Pond, in commenting on Indian warfare, states that great slaughters seldom oc¬ cur. lie says: "Indeed, Indians consider it fool¬ hardiness to make an attack when it is certain some of them will be killed. Bloody battles were seldom fought by them, except when the party attacked, rallied and made an unexpected resist¬ ance. The Dakotas had traditional accounts of very few battles where many were killed; yet, such an event, if it occurred, would not be soon forgotten. He often spoke of an attack made by the Chippewas long ago, on a party of Dakotas who were encamped by the Mississippi where Prescott now stands, in which many Dakotas were killed; also of a very successful winter cam¬ paign made by them against the Chippewas, some seventy or eighty years ago. But they told of very few great battles or great slaughters, and had preserved no definite account of the number killed. It is probable that some years, perhaps often, they lost more by murder and suicide than by war." Mr. Pond gives a report made up from his diary, showing the number of Indians killed during the ten years following 1835, to be only 214 men, women and children, and the greatest mas¬ sacre numbered seventy, mostly women and children caught unprotected.

The Indian method of warfare was a cowardly one, creeping undiscovered to attack their enemy unprepared. If their approach was discovered be¬ fore the attack was made, the attacking party would withdraw, if possible, without striking a blow. If driven to bay, they would exhibit the desperate fighting qualities of animals under like circumstances, but their courage was of a kind showing itself more in fuss and feathers and washed off as easily as the war paint.

The following is a letter from Rev. Mr. Boutwell, descriptive of an attack the Sioux made upon the Ojibway settlement, on Snake river, in consequence of which the Ojibwas were com¬ pelled to abandon the settlement. The letter bears date, September 28th, 1841, and is as fol¬ lows: forward and showed me the wounds they had re¬ ceived in the battle. The circumstances were briefly these: While our people were all quiet at home and busily engaged in planting and build¬ ing, one hundred and eleven Sioux came upon them, and one would have naturally supposed that they would have cut off the whole settle¬ ment. But no, the Lord wrought for the Ojibwas a most signal deliverance. Not one of our praying Indians or a member of their families was cut off. The Sioux had divided their num¬ ber into tens and secretly posted them so as to strike upon the different parts of the village at the moment a preconceited signal should be given. The Lord frustrated their council and prevented a general slaughter.

"Three Ojibwa young men had embarked in a canoe to cross over the lake, just opposite our house, taking with them two young girls to bring the canoe back. At the point where they landed lay a party of Sioux in ambush. Though the sig¬ nal had not been given, yet the Sioux could not resist the temptation, and the whole party fired into the canoe. The three young men jumped into the water and gained the shore and escaped, with only one wounded in the thumb. The little girls waded into the lake and were pursued by the Sioux and dispatched with spears and waxclubs. Their screams were distinctly heard by their parents and their dying agonies in the hands of their enemies were all witnessed and within half a mile of the mission door. This gave the alarm to the whole village. The women and children betook themselves to their canoes and fled for a small island in the lake. The attack soon began upon every part of the settlement. The men and the boys who could bear anns, about fifteen in all, gathered themselves in three houses, and defended themselves as well as they were able. Only a few days previous to the at¬ tack Mr. Ayer sent Mr. Coe to assist the Indians in fortifying one of the houses. Here they did some execution and damped the courage of their enemies.

"The fathers of the two little girls who were killed, after seeing their children murdered be¬ fore their eyes, embarked in a canoe and came over from the island and killed one Sioux. They were so hard pushed they were obliged to return to their canoe. One of them plunged into the water, and swam with one hand and towed his friends in the canoe with the other, while the Sioux were on the shore with their rifles taking aim at his head. Tiie man literally swam and towed away his friend in a bark canoe, dodging the balls of his enemies falling on every side. This is no fiction, but a fact witnessed by Mr. Ely and others, who stood and saw the whole affair. The result of the whole affair was, the Sioux lost two warriors, and killed two little girls, besides having some six or eight wounded in all. After the engagement subsided, Messrs. Ely and Coe went for the bodies of the two children. They found the heads severed, and a tomahawk stick¬ ing in each, one of which Mr. Ely has and designs to send you, still besmeared with the blood of one of his scholars.

"The third day after the Sioux retreated, the Ojibways followed their trail and found the bodies of the two men. They scalped them, cut off their heads, and brought home the flesh and a part of the limbs of one. The flesh they boiled and made a feast of it. Not many days after this affair, they fled and hardly an Indian has been seen at Pokegama since. After my arrival in June a party of six men from Mille Lac came and gave us a formal invitation to remove there with our people. In July I went to visit our people on the upper St. Croix and at La Pointe, whither they had fled. I informed them of the visit of the Mille Lac Indisms, and that the Sioux are determined to prosecute the war. They were unanimous in saying we will return to Pokegama, and you must not leave us.^* A few days since I received a letter from one of the Mille Lac men, now at La Pointe, saying that he is coming to see us again, and that there will be three hundred Indians this winter at Mille Lac, and one of us must go and open school there. vOur families have all been visited with sickness. * * * *

It is still a matter of doubt with us whether our Indians will venture back to winter by us, though they talk so strongly and are so unwilling to let us go to Mille Lac. The Lord I trust will direct; to Him we constantly look, and on Him we will wait."

While missionaries were thus engaged in mor¬ al, humane and religious measures for the im¬ provement of the savage, the general government was not idle in formulating and enforcing expe- dientR looking toward peaceful relations between the hostile tribes, and its decisive measures were productive of more permanent good than the sim¬ ple persuasions of the kindly-meaning mission¬ aries.

Further, in view of the wants of the settler, it was determined by the government to open up the lumber district of the North-west by the purchase from the Indians of these lands. Game, upon which they had relied for subsist¬ ence, had become scarce on the east side of the Mississippi, and white men were beginning their encroachments. In view of these facts the treat¬ ies in contemplation were pressed to consumation.

The year 1837 was a memorable one in the his¬ tory of the St. Croix Valley, for during that year occurred the two Indian treaties which threw open to settlers the whole of the valley with its almost inexhaustible pineries, and the fine strip of agricultural land lying between the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers.

The first of these treaties was made with the Chippewas July 29th, 1837, at St. Peters, now Mendota, by Gov. Dodge of Wisconsin, acting as commissioner of the United States government. We give the full text of the treaty.

Treaty

Beginning at the jiyiction of the Crow Wing and Mississippi riverth between twenty and thirty miles above where the Mississippi is crossed by the forty-sixth parrallel of north latitude, and running thence to the north point of Lake St. Croix, one of the sources of the St. Croix river; thence to and.along the dividing ridge between the waters of Lake Superior and those of the Missis¬ sippi, to the sources of the Ocha-sua-sepe, a tribuary of the Chippewa river; thence to a point on the Chippewa river, twenty miles below the out¬ let of Lake De Flambeau: thence to the junction of the Wisconsin and Pelican rivers; thence on an east course twenty-five miles; thence southerly on a course parallel with that of the Wisconsin river, to the line dividing the territories of the Chippewas and Menomonees; thence to the Plo¬ ver portage; thence along the southern boundary of the Chippewa country, to the commencement of the boundary line dividing it from that of the Sioux, half a day's march below the falls on the Chippewa river; thence with said boundary line to the mouth of the Wah-tap river at its junction with the Mississippi river, to the place of begin¬ ning.

Article 2. In consideration of the cession aforesaid, the United States agree to make to the Chippewa nation, annually, for the term of twenty years from the date of the ratification of this treaty, the following payment:

4. One thousand dollars for farmers, and for supplying them and the Indians with implements of labor, with grain or seed, and whatever else may be necessary to enable them to carry on their agricultural pursuits.

6. Five hundred dollars in tobacco. The pro¬ visions and tobacco to be delivered at the same time with the goods, and the money to be paid ; which time or times, as well as the place or places where they are to be delivered, shall be fixed upon, under the direction of the President of the United States.

The blacksmith-shops to be placed at such points in the Chippewa country as shall be desig¬ nated by the superintendent of Indian affairs, or under his direction.

If at the expiration of one or more years, the Indians should prefer to receive goods, instead of nine thousand dollars to be paid to them in money, they shall be at liberty to do so, or, should they conclude to appropriate a portion of that annuity to the establishment and support of a school, or schools, among them, this shall be granted.

Article 3. The sum of one hundred thousand dollars shall be paid by the United States to the half-breeds of the Chippewa nation, under the di¬ rection of the president. It is the wish of the In¬ dians that their two sub-agents, Daniel P. Bushnell and Miles M. Vineyard, superintend the dis-

Article 4. The sum of seventy thousand dol¬ lars shall be applied to the payment, by the United States, of certain claims against the In¬ dians, of which amount, twenty-eight thousand dollars shall, at their request, be paid to William A. Aitkin, twenty-five thousand dollars to Lyman M. Warren, and the balance applied to the liqui¬ dation of other just demands against them - which they acknowledge to be the case with re¬ gard to that presented by Hercules L. Dousman, for the sum of five thousand dollars ; and they request that it be paid.

Article 5. The privilege of hunting, fishing, and gathering the wild rice upon the lands, the rivers and the lakes included in the territory ceded, is guaranteed to the Indians, during the pleasure of the president of the United States.

From Leach Lake - Chiefs : Aish-ke-bo-gekoshe, or Flat Mouth; R-che-o-san-ya, or the El¬ der Brother. Warriors: Pe-clie-kins, the Young Buffalo; Ma-glie-ga-bo, or La Trappe; O-be-guadaus, the Chief of the Earth; Wa-bose, or the Rabbit; Che-a-na-quod, or the Big Cloud.

From Gull Lake and Swan River - Chiefs: Pagoo-na-kee-zhig, or the Hole in the Day; Songako-mig, or the Strong Ground. Warriors: Waboo-jig, or the White Fisher; Ma-wu-da, or the Bears Heart.

From St. Croix River - Chiefs: Pe-zhe-ke, or the Buffalo; Ka-be-ma-be, or the Wet Mouth. Warriors: Pa-ga-we-we-weting, Coming Home Hollering; Ya-banse, or the Young Buck; Kiske-ta-wak, or the Cut Ear.

From Lac De Flambeau - Chiefs: Pisli-ka-gaghe, or the White Crow; Na-wa-ge-wa, or the Knees; O-ge-ma-ga, or the Dandy; Pa-se-quam-jis, or the Commissioner; Wa-he-ne-me, or the White Thunder.

From Millo l^ac - Chiefs: Wa-shask-ko-kone, or Rat's Liver; Wen-ghe-ge-she-guk, or the First Day. Warriors: Ada-we-ge-shik, or Both Ends of the Sky; Ka-ka-qnap, or the Sparrow.

From Sandy Lake - Chiefs: Ka-nan-da-wa-winzo, or Le Brocheux; We-we-shau-shis, the Bad Boy or Big Mouth; Ke-che-wa-me-te-go, or the Big Frenchman. Warriors: Na-ta-me-ga-bo, or the Man that Stands First; Sa-ga-ta-gun, or Skunk.

From Snake River - Chiefs: Nandin, or the Wind; Sha-go-bai, or the Little Six; Pay-a-jik, or the Lone Man; Na-qua-na-bie, or the Feather. Warriors: Ila-tan-wa; Wa-me-te-go-zhins, the Little Frenchman; Sho-ne-a, or Silver.

The other treaty was concluded at Washington in the fall of 1837, (September 29) with the Da¬ kotas. By the terms of this treaty all their lands were ceded, lying east of the Mississippi, includ¬ ing all the islands therein. They received there¬ for, three hundred thousand dollars, to be in¬ vested in five per cent, stocks, the income of which shall be paid to them annually; one hundred and

Development Of The Country

The ratification of these treaties was a very important event for Minnesota, sounding, as it were, the key note for the settlement of the state, and from this time on, settlers began to arrive and people the St. Croix Valley.

The first attempt at settlement on the St. Croix was the claim made by military officers stationed at Fort Snelling. This took place in 1827, and their occupancy continued under a color of title until about 1840, covering a large tract of land at the intersection of the St. Croix and the Missis¬ sippi rivers. Although this claim proved abortive in consequence of an act of congress prohibiting military officers from usurping the rights of citi* zens while in the employmentof and enjoying com¬ pensation from the United States government, the result of this attempt was the establishment of Philander Prescott in the enjoyment of 160 acres of land, forming a part of the original claim. Mr. Prescott had been an Indian interpreter and farmer under the government and was at the time of the passage of the act referred to, residing on the land attempting to hold the whole exten¬ sive claim in trust for the officers interested therein. The awe-inspiring frown of the officers of the fort, whose power was respected and whose rights were not fully understood by pioneers for a long time, prevented settlement and progress at this point. Settlement was, therefore, pushed fur¬ ther up the river and for a long time assumed the character of lumbering camps without permanent improvements. The settlement at the falls of St. Croix in 1837 was the most important of the these, and the next made.

The pioneers of every western state are by na¬ ture, fortune-seekers. The love of nature and romantic scenery does not determine settlement, and further, as the love for his new home is yet to be developed, the settler is still looking west¬ ward and cannot be called a fixture until children have grown up around his hearth and the heart strings have become entangled among the new associations. Too often before these ties are ce¬ mented he acts the part of a vandal, by cutting trees and recklessly wasting the store of wealth laid up by the generous hand of nature in the soil and foliage.

Many of the pioneers of the St. Croix valley long felt that it was not their future home. They came with ax on shoulder, purposing to do the work cf hardy lumbermen, make what could be made here in dollars and cents, and then move on to new fields of couquest. To locate sixty miles from a post-office, and receive mail and supplies by semi-annual communication with the outside world, with a purpose of waiting for the world to open communication with them during their life would have been presumption, to say the least, on the part of our pioneers.

The d^relopment of the country surpassed their fondest predictions, and what would have seemed altogether improbable at first, has become true, viz: this has become the home of their choice. The word home covers it all, implying in itself the institutions that follow the settlement of en¬ lightened people, the church, the school, and the associations of agreeable people in ties of warm friendship. The feature which attracted settle¬ ment to the St. Croix Valley was the pine forests on its tributaries, taken with the facilities for its manufacture into lumber and convenience of transportation to good markets. The pine for¬ ests of Minnesota extend in a broad belt from the upper St. Croix Valley northwesterly across the tributaries of the St Croix and the Mississippi to Red Lake. The numerous streams by which this extensive tract is interlaced, enables the compa¬ nies that cut logs during Uie winter to drive them during the spring freshets to the seats of lumber manufactories, of which the principal ones now are Minneapolis on the Mississippi, and Stillwater and other points on the St. Croix. The largest amount of logs at any part of the St. Croix Valley are cut and rafted down the Kettle and Snake rivers and the Wisconsin tributaries from sixty to one hundred miles above Taylor's Falls.

The valuable water-power at the Falls of St. Croix had long tantalized speculative explorers, and was remarked as an attractive and romantic spot for settlement, in addition to the wealth seen in the power of the falls, should it be developed. In 1837, Franklin Steele, who had acted as pri¬ vate secretary for General Jackson, and at the close of his administration had taken the advice of the general to embark in western enterprise on the upper Mississippi, started from Fort Snelling in a birch bark canoe, propelled by eight men, and descending the Mississippi river to the mouth of the St. Croix, ascended that river and made a claim at the falls, which included the water¬ power, building a log claim cabin in which to place a tenant to protect his rights according to the code of squatter sovereignty.

This claim was made on the Wisconsin side of the river. Franklin Steele was a native of Ches¬ ter county, Pennsylvania, and brought with him, in addition to a large amount of natural talent and energy, some capital and much political in¬ fluence.

A company was at once formed, consisting of Franklin Steele, W. S. Hungerford, Dr. Fitch, James IJbbey, B. F. Titcomb, James Livingston and W. S. Holcombe as members, with the last named member, Mr. Holcombe, as general mana¬ ger.

Mr. Steele, however, both by the advice of Gen¬ eral Jackson before setting out, and his own judgment after viewing the country, had deter¬ mined to secure if possible, the more valuable lo¬ cation, at what is now the city of Minneapolis. Succeeding in this his original plan, he disposed of his interests at St. Croix, and transferred his energies to the development of the interests at the falls of St. Anthony.

Pending the ratification of the treaty, opera¬ tions at St. Croix were delayed, but in 1838, W. S. Hungerford, Livingston and company, began the work with energy, and in 1840, finished the mill. The old steamer Palmyra, Captain Hol¬ land, from St. Louis, had brought up men, stores and mill machinery, and a general supply for the lumber camp.

She arrived at St. Croix, July 17th, 1838 ; prob¬ ably the most important part of her cargo, large though it was, consisted of the news budget, of which the sum total and that which embraced all was the official notice of the ratification of the treaty made at Fort Snelling the previous year, and ratified by the senate on the 15th of June.

This force not only built the mill, dam and water-race, but buildings were soon going up at different points on the townsite. Stores and sa¬ loons were built, and around them congregated Indians and half-breeds, besides the mechanics and laborers occupied in building the future city. Wages were high and all was bustle and activity. Among those engaged in the work were J. L.

Taylor, II. N. Setzer, J. W. Ludden, Patrick Fox, William Colby, Elam Greeley, John Mc- Kusick, Jacob Fisher, Elias McKean, Martin Mower, D. B. Loomis, and others whose names are enrolled among the pioneer aristocracy of Minnesota.

We give below a letter written by J. M. Mul¬ len, of Taylor's Falls, as a fitting introduction to some early settlers and descriptive of things as they were in 1840 on the St. Croix river.

"It was in April, 1840, nearly forty-one years ago, that the old steamer Tennessee could have - been seen lying at the landing at St. Louis with steam escaping from her steam-pipes, and the black smoke rolling from her chimneys. The crew was busy engaged in taking on board a large supply of stores, mill machinery and general merchan¬ dise. About eighty passengers were on board, the boat having been chartered by the St. Croix lumber company for a trip to the falls of the St. Croix, then the new "Eldorado," the pine re¬ gion of the then territory of Wisconsin. Every¬ thing being aboard, the lines were let go, the last tap of the bell was heard, and the steamer slowly moved from her moorings into the stream and was headed on her course. The city was soon ifessed and lost sight of by the bends in the river; almost every nook and comer was covered with freight. The cooks were busy preparing meals for passengers and crew, while the clerk had regis¬ tered on his books the names of W. S. Holcombe, Dr. Fitch, W. S. Hungerford, J. L. Taylor, W. S. Libby, J. W. Furber, Daniel McLean and W. O. Mahoney, names that have since become historic in the St. Croix valley. But few small towns were seen along the lone banksof the Mississippi, and after passing the little town of Dubuque the evidences that they were beyond the bounds of civilization, and near the haunts of the red man, were plainly visible. Frequently would be met a lot of natives in their birch-bark canoes, hideous in their war paint, and as the steamer passed they would make the woods ring with a savage war whoop.

"After a voyage of fourteen days the boat en¬ tered Lake St. Croix, an event that pleased all on board, glad that the journey was so nearly ended. The steamer glided swiftly over the lake's smooth surface, and soon reached its head, at which place was a trading post kept by Joe. Brown.

Starving Time

About twelve miles up the river could be seen a lone cabin. As the steamer approached the land¬ ing, the entire population was on hand to greet the boat, among them Orange Walker, Hiram Berkey, Asa Parker, David Ilone, William Dibble, Samuel Burkleo and others. Mrs. David Hone, the only white lady in the place, was stand¬ ing in her cabin door. They were at work get¬ ting the frame ready for a new saw-mill; a por¬ tion of the machinery had arrived some time be¬ fore. After passing Marine Mills, not a habita¬ tion of any kind was seen along the river. It was evening when the Tennessee reached the dalles, and her passengers gazed with wonder on the high, perpendicular rocks which rose majes¬ tically on either side. As the escape *of steam from the pipes of the boat could be heard for miles, the entire population was on hand and looked with amazement at the steamer. It was indeed a mixed crowd, white, Indians and halfbreeds. Soon all hands had climbed tire high cliffs, and took the trail that led to the village of St. Croix Falls.