The growth of the religious element of a new country is always one of its interesting features, and I will endeavor to give a short account of the progress made in this line in Minnesota from the mission period, which was directed more particularly to the Christianizing of the Indians. I will begin with the first structure ever erected in the state, designed for religious purposes. It was a very small beginning for the prodigious results that have followed it. I speak of the little log "Chapel of Saint Paul," built by the Rev. Lucian Galtier, in October, 1841, in what is now the city of St. Paul.
Father Galtier was a French priest of the Church of Rome. He was sent by the ecclesiastic authorities of Dubuque to the Upper Mississippi country, and arrived at Fort Snelling in April, 1840, and settled at St. Peters (now Mendota), where he soon tired of inaction, and sought a larger field among the settlers who had found homes further down the river, in the neighborhood of the present St. Paul. He decided that he could facilitate his labors by erecting a church at some point accessible to his parishioners. Here he found Joseph Rondo,Edward Phalen, Vetal Guerin, Pierre Bottineau, the Gervais Brothers, and a few others. The settlers encouraged the idea of building a church, and a question of much importance arose as to where it should be placed. I will let the good father tell his own story as to the selection of a site. In an account of this matter, which he prepared for Bishop Grace in 1864, he says:
"Three different points were offered, one called La Pointe Basse, or Pointe La Claire (now Pig's Eye); but I objected because that locality was the very extreme end of the new settlement, and in high water, was exposed to inundation. The idea of building a church which might at any day be swept down the river to St. Louis did not please me. Two miles and a half further up, on his elevated claim (now the southern point of Dayton's Bluff), Mr. Charles Mouseau offered me an acre of his ground, but the place did not suit my purpose. I was truly looking ahead, thinking of the future as well as the present. Steamboats could not stop there; the bank was too steep, the place on the summit of the hill too restricted, and communication difficult with the other parts of the settlement up and down the river."After mature reflection, I resolved to put up the church at the nearest possible point to the cave, because it would be more convenient for me to cross the river there when coming from St. Peters, and because it would be also the nearest point to the head of navigation, outside of the reservation line. Mr. B. Gervais and Mr. Vetal Guerin, two good, quiet farmers, had the only spot which appeared likely to answer the purpose. They consented jointly to give me the ground necessary for a church site, a garden and a small graveyard. I accepted the extreme eastern part of Mr. Vetal's claim,and the extreme west of Mr. Gervais'. Accordingly, in the month of October, 1841, logs were prepared and a church erected, so poor that it well reminded one of the stable of Bethlehem. It was destined, however, to be the nucleus of a great city. On the first day of November, in the same year, I blessed the newbasilica, and dedicated it to Saint Paul, the apostle of nations. I expressed a wish, at the same time, that the settlement would be known by the same name, and my desire was obtained. I had, previously to this time, fixed my residence at St. Peters, and as the name ofPaulis generally connected with that ofPeter, and the Gentiles being well represented at the new place in the persons of Indians, I called it St. Paul. The name "Saint Paul," applied to a town or city seemed appropriate. The monosyllable is short, sounds well, and is understood by all denominations of Christians. When Mr. Vetal was married, I published the banns as those of a resident of St. Paul. A Mr. Jackson put up a store, and a grocery was opened at the foot of Gervais' claim. This soon brought steamboats to land there. Thenceforth the place was known as 'Saint Paul Landing,' and later on as Saint Paul."
"Three different points were offered, one called La Pointe Basse, or Pointe La Claire (now Pig's Eye); but I objected because that locality was the very extreme end of the new settlement, and in high water, was exposed to inundation. The idea of building a church which might at any day be swept down the river to St. Louis did not please me. Two miles and a half further up, on his elevated claim (now the southern point of Dayton's Bluff), Mr. Charles Mouseau offered me an acre of his ground, but the place did not suit my purpose. I was truly looking ahead, thinking of the future as well as the present. Steamboats could not stop there; the bank was too steep, the place on the summit of the hill too restricted, and communication difficult with the other parts of the settlement up and down the river.
"After mature reflection, I resolved to put up the church at the nearest possible point to the cave, because it would be more convenient for me to cross the river there when coming from St. Peters, and because it would be also the nearest point to the head of navigation, outside of the reservation line. Mr. B. Gervais and Mr. Vetal Guerin, two good, quiet farmers, had the only spot which appeared likely to answer the purpose. They consented jointly to give me the ground necessary for a church site, a garden and a small graveyard. I accepted the extreme eastern part of Mr. Vetal's claim,and the extreme west of Mr. Gervais'. Accordingly, in the month of October, 1841, logs were prepared and a church erected, so poor that it well reminded one of the stable of Bethlehem. It was destined, however, to be the nucleus of a great city. On the first day of November, in the same year, I blessed the newbasilica, and dedicated it to Saint Paul, the apostle of nations. I expressed a wish, at the same time, that the settlement would be known by the same name, and my desire was obtained. I had, previously to this time, fixed my residence at St. Peters, and as the name ofPaulis generally connected with that ofPeter, and the Gentiles being well represented at the new place in the persons of Indians, I called it St. Paul. The name "Saint Paul," applied to a town or city seemed appropriate. The monosyllable is short, sounds well, and is understood by all denominations of Christians. When Mr. Vetal was married, I published the banns as those of a resident of St. Paul. A Mr. Jackson put up a store, and a grocery was opened at the foot of Gervais' claim. This soon brought steamboats to land there. Thenceforth the place was known as 'Saint Paul Landing,' and later on as Saint Paul."
The chapel was a small log structure—one story high, one door, and no windows in front, with two windows on each side, and one in the rear end. It had on the front gable end a large wooden cross, which projected above the peak of the roof some six or eight feet. It occupied a conspicuous position, on the top of the high bluff overlooking the Mississippi, some six or eight hundred feet below the point where the Wabasha street bridge now spans the river, I think, between Minnesota and Cedar streets.
The region thus named was formerly known by the appellation of "Pig's Eye." The state owes FatherGaltier a debt of gratitude for having changed it, as it seems impossible that the capital city could ever have attained its present majestic proportions, numerous and cultivated population, and many other advantages and attractions, under the handicap of such a name.
In the first New Year's address ever printed in Minnesota, on Jan. 1, 1850, supposed to be by Editor Goodhue, the following lines appeared:
"Pig's Eye, converted thou shall be, like Saul:Arise, and be, henceforth, SAINT PAUL."
"Pig's Eye, converted thou shall be, like Saul:Arise, and be, henceforth, SAINT PAUL."
Father Galtier died Feb. 21, 1866.
The chapel of Saint Paul, after having been the first to greet all newcomers by way of the Mississippi for fifteen years, was taken down in 1856.
The next representative of the Catholic church to come to Minnesota was the Rev. Augustin Ravoux, who arrived in the fall of 1841. He went up the St. Peter's river to Traverse des Sioux, where he commenced the study of the Sioux language. Soon after he went to Little Rock, on the St. Peters, and thence to Lac qui Parle. After the removal of Father Galtier to Keokuk, in Iowa, he had under his charge, Mendota, St. Paul, Lake Pepin and St. Croix, until the second day of July, 1851, when the Right Reverend Bishop Cretin came to St. Paul, and assumed charge of church matters in Minnesota. Father Ravoux is still living in St. Paul at the advanced age of eighty-five years. His venerable and priestly form may often be seen upon the streets, in excellent health.
At the time of the coming of Father Galtier the country on the east side of the Mississippi, in what is now Minnesota, was under the direct jurisdiction of the Bishop of Milwaukee, and the part lying west of the river was in the diocese of Dubuque.
The growth of the church kept up with the rapid settlement of the country. In August, 1859, the Right Reverend Thomas L. Grace succeeded Bishop Cretin as bishop of St. Paul, and was himself succeeded by the Right Reverend John Ireland, in July, 1884. So important had Minnesota become to the Catholic Church in America that, in May of 1888, the see of St. Paul was raised to metropolitan dignity and Archbishop Ireland was made its first Archbishop, which high office he now holds.
I will not attempt even a short biography of Archbishop Ireland. His fame is world-wide; he is a churchman, statesman, diplomat, orator, citizen and patriot,—in each of which capacities he excels. He has carried the fame of Minnesota to all parts of the world where the Church is known, and has demonstrated to the Pope in Rome, to the Catholics in France, and to the Protestants in America that there can be perfect consistency and harmony between Catholicism and republican government. A history of Minnesota without a fitting tribute to Archbishop John Ireland would be incomplete indeed.
The representatives of the Protestant faith have not been behind their Catholic brethren in providing religious facilities for their adherents. They followed immigration closely, and sometimes accompanied it. Scarcely would an aggregation of people congregate at any one point in sufficient numbers to gain the name of a village, or a settlement, before a minister would be called and a church erected. The church went hand in hand with the schoolhouse, and in many instances one building answered for both purposes. There came Lutherans from Germany and Scandinavia, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Calvinists, Universalists, Unitarians, and every sect intowhich Protestantism is divided, from New England and other Eastern States. They all found room and encouragement, and dwelt in harmony. I can safely say, that few Western States have been peopled by such law-abiding, industrious, moral and religious inhabitants as were the first settlers of Minnesota. There was nothing to attract the ruffianly element,—no gold, silver, or other mines; the chief industry being peaceful agriculture. So free from all disturbing or dangerous elements did we consider our territory that I have on several occasions taken a wagon loaded with specie, amounting to nearly one hundred thousand dollars, from St. Paul to the Indian agencies at the Redwood and Yellow Medicine rivers, a distance of two hundred miles, through a very sparsely settled country, without any guard except myself and driver, with possibly an Indian picked up on the road, when I was entitled to a squad of dragoons for the asking.
In the early days the Episcopal Church in Minnesota was within the diocese of Wisconsin, and its functions administered by the venerable Bishop Kemper, who occasionally made us a visit, but in 1859 the church had expanded to such an extent that the state was organized into a separate diocese, and the Rev. Henry B. Whipple, then rector of a church in Chicago, was elected bishop of Minnesota, and still retains that high office. Bishop Whipple, by his energy, learning, goodness and universal popularity, has built up his church in this state to a standard surpassed by none in the respect in which it is held and the influence for good which it exerts. The official duties of the bishop have been so enlarged by the growth of his church as to necessitate the appointment of a bishop coadjutor to assist him in their performance, which latter office is filled by the Rev.Mahlon N. Gilbert, who is especially well qualified for the position.[1]
It would be impossible in a brief history like this to go very deeply or particularly into the growth of the religious element of the state. A general presentation of the subject in two grand divisions, Catholic and Protestant, is enough. Suffice it to say, that every sect and subdivision of the latter has its representative in the state, with the one exception of Mormonism, if that can be classified as a Protestant church. There are enough of them to recall the answer of the French traveler in America, when asked of his opinion of the Americans. He said: "They are a most remarkable people; they have invented three hundred religions and only one sauce." No matter how their creeds may be criticised, their joint efforts, Catholic and Protestant, have filled the state with religious, charitable, benevolent and educational institutions to an extent rarely witnessed out of it, so that if a Minnesotan goes wrong, he can blame no one but himself.
FOOTNOTES:[1]Bishop Gilbert died within a few months.
[1]Bishop Gilbert died within a few months.
[1]Bishop Gilbert died within a few months.
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In the year 1857, on the third day of March, the congress of the United States made an extensive grant of lands to the territory to aid in the construction of railroads. It consisted of every alternate section of land, designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width, on each side of the roads specified, and their branches. The grant mapped out a complete system of roads for the territory, and provided that the land granted for each road should be applied exclusively to such road, and no other purpose whatever. The lines designated in the granting act were as follows:
From Stillwater, by the way of St. Paul and St. Anthony to a point between the foot of Big Stone lake and the mouth of the Sioux Wood river, with a branch via St. Cloud and Crow Wing to the navigable waters of the Red River of the North, at such point as the legislature of the territory may determine.
From St. Paul and from St. Anthony via Minneapolis to a convenient point of junction west of the Mississippi to the southern boundary of the territory, in the direction of the mouth of the Big Sioux river, with a branch via Faribault to the north line of the state of Iowa, west of range 16.
From Winona via St. Peter to a point on the Big Sioux river, south of the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude.
Also from La Crescent via Target lake up the valley of the Root river, to a point east of range 17.
The territory or future state was authorized to sell one hundred and twenty sections of this land whenever twenty continuous miles of any of the roads or branches was completed,—the land so sold to be contiguous to the completed road. The right of way or road bed of any of the subsidized roads was also granted through any of the government lands. The roads were all to be completed within ten years, and if any of them were not finished by that time the lands applicable to the unfinished portions were to revert to the government. The lands granted by this act amounted to about 4,500,000 acres. An act was subsequently passed on March 2, 1865, increasing the grant to ten sections to the mile. Various other grants were made at different times, but they do not bear upon the subject I am about to present.
This grant came at a time of great financial depression, and when the territory was about to change its dependent condition for that of a sovereign state in theUnion. It was greeted as a means of relief that might lift the territory out of its financial troubles, and insure its immediate prosperity. The people did not take into consideration the fact that the lands embraced in the grant, although as good as any in the world, were remote from the habitation of man, lying in a country absolutely bankrupt, and possessing no present value whatever. Nor did they consider that the whole country was laboring under such financial depression that all public enterprises were paralyzed; but such was, unfortunately, the monetary and business condition.
On the twenty-third of February, 1857, an act had passed the congress of the United States authorizing the people of Minnesota to form a constitution preparatory to becoming a state in the Union. Gen. Willis A. Gorman, who was then governor of the territory, called a special session of the legislature to take into consideration measures to carry out the land grant and enabling acts. The extra session convened on April 27th. In the meantime Governor Gorman's term of office had expired, and Samuel Medary of Ohio had been appointed as his successor, and had assumed the duties of his office. He opened the extra session with an appropriate message. The extra session adjourned on the 23d of May, and in accordance with the provisions of the enabling act of congress, an election was held on the first Monday in June for delegates to a constitutional convention, which was to assemble at the capitol on the second Monday in July. The constitutional convention is an event in the history of Minnesota sufficiently important and unique to entitle it to special treatment, which will be given hereafter.
An act was passed at the extra session, on the 19th day of May, 1857, by which the grant of lands made tothe territory was formally accepted, "upon the terms, conditions and restrictions" contained in the granting act.
On the twenty-second day of May, at the extra session, an act was passed to execute the trust created by the land grant act, by which a number of railroad companies were incorporated to construct roads on the lines indicated by the act of congress, and to aid in the building of these roads, and the lands applicable to each were granted to it. The companies were to receive title to the lands as the construction progressed, as provided in the granting act. They also had conferred upon them powers to issue bonds, in the discretion of the directors, and to mortgage their roads and franchise to secure them.
These railroad companies were organized upon the hope that the aid extended to them by the grants of land would enable them to raise money sufficient to build their several roads. They had nothing of their own, and no security but the roads and lands upon which to negotiate loans. The times, and the novel idea of building railroads in unpeopled countries, were all against them, and, of course, nothing could be done.
The constitutional convention met and framed an instrument for the fundamental law of the new state which was very conservative, and, among other things, contained the following clause, which was enacted in section 5 of article IX.:
"For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenses the state may contract debts, but such debts shall never in the aggregate exceed two hundred and fifty thousand dollars." And another clause found in section 10, which is as follows: "The credit of the state shall never be given or loaned in aid of any individual, association or corporation."
"For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenses the state may contract debts, but such debts shall never in the aggregate exceed two hundred and fifty thousand dollars." And another clause found in section 10, which is as follows: "The credit of the state shall never be given or loaned in aid of any individual, association or corporation."
It was the intention of the framers of the constitution to prevent the legislature from ever using the credit or funds of the state in aid of any private enterprise, and these provisions effectually accomplished that end.
The people were deeply disappointed when they became convinced that the roads could not be built with the aid that congress had extended, and as this work was also looked upon as the only hope of financial relief, the case became a desperate one, which could only be remedied by the most extreme measures. The promoters of the railroads soon discovered one, in an amendment of the section of the constitution which prohibited the credit of the state being given or loaned to anyone, and at the first session of the first legislature, which convened on Dec. 3, 1857, an act was passed proposing such amendment, to be submitted to the people for ratification. The importance of this amendment, and its effect and consequences upon the future of the state, demands that I give it nearly in full. It changed section 10 as it was originally passed, and made it read as follows:
"Section 10. The credit of that state shall never be given or loaned in aid of any individual association or corporation, except that, for the purpose of expediting the construction of the lines of railroads, in aid of which the congress of the United States has granted lands to the Territory of Minnesota, the governor shall cause to be issued and delivered to each of the companies in which said grants are vested by the legislative assembly of Minnesota the special bonds of the state, bearing an interest of seven per cent per annum, payable semi-annually in the city of New York, as a loan of public credit, to an amount not exceeding twelve hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or an aggregate amount to all of saidcompanies not exceeding five millions of dollars, in manner following, to-wit:"
"Section 10. The credit of that state shall never be given or loaned in aid of any individual association or corporation, except that, for the purpose of expediting the construction of the lines of railroads, in aid of which the congress of the United States has granted lands to the Territory of Minnesota, the governor shall cause to be issued and delivered to each of the companies in which said grants are vested by the legislative assembly of Minnesota the special bonds of the state, bearing an interest of seven per cent per annum, payable semi-annually in the city of New York, as a loan of public credit, to an amount not exceeding twelve hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or an aggregate amount to all of saidcompanies not exceeding five millions of dollars, in manner following, to-wit:"
The amendment then prescribes that, whenever ten miles of railroad was graded so as to be ready for the superstructure, it should receive $100,000 of the bonds, and when ten miles should be completed with the cars running, the company so completing should receive another $100,000 of the bonds until each company had received its quota. The bonds were to be denominated "State Railroad Bonds," for the payment of which the faith and credit of the state was to be pledged. The railroad companies were to pay the principal and interest of the bonds, and to secure such payment they were to pledge the net profits of their respective roads, and to convey to the state the first two hundred and forty sections of land they received, and to deliver to the state treasurer an amount of their first mortgage bonds equal to the amount of bonds received by them from the state, and mortgage to the state their roads and franchises. This was all the security the companies could give, but the underlying difficulty was that it had no value whatever. There were no roads, no net or other profits. The lands had no value whatever except such as lay in the future, which was dependent on the construction of the roads and the settlement of the country. The bonds of the companies, of course, possessed only such value as the property they represented, which was nothing, and the mortgages were of the same character. The whole scheme was based upon hopes, which the slightest application of sober reasoning would have pronounced impossible of fulfillment. But the country was hungry, and willing to seize upon anything that offered a semblance or shadow of relief.
The proposed amendment was to be submitted tothe people for adoption or rejection, at an election to be held on the fifteenth day of April, 1858. In order to fully comprehend the condition of the public mind, it should be known that the constitution, with all the safeguards that I have mentioned, had only been in force since Oct. 13, 1857, a period of about six months, and had been carried by a vote of 30,055 for to 571 against its adoption.
The campaign preceding the election was a very active one. The railroad people flooded the state with speakers, documents, pictures, glee clubs singing songs of the delights of "Riding on the Rail," and every conceivable artifice was resorted to to carry the amendment. It was carried by a vote of 25,023 in favor of its passage, to 6,733 against.
To give an idea of the intense feeling that was exhibited in this election, it is only necessary to state that at the city of Winona there were 1,102 votes cast in favor of the amendment and only one vote against it. This negative vote, to his eternal honor be it said, was cast by Thomas Wilson, afterwards chief justice of the state, and now a citizen of St. Paul.
In the execution of the requirements of the amendment, the railroad companies claimed that they could issue first mortgage bonds on their properties to an indefinite amount and exchange them with the state for its bonds, bond for bond, but the governor, who was Hon. Henry H. Sibley, construed the amendment to mean that the first mortgage bonds of the companies which the state was to receive must be an exclusive first lien on the lands and franchises of the company. He therefore declined to issue the bonds of the state unless his views were adopted. The Minnesota & Pacific Railroad Company, one of the land grant corporations, applied tothe supreme court of the state for a writ of mandamus, to compel the governor to issue the bonds. The case was heard, and two members of the court holding the views of the applicants, the writ was issued. I was a member of the court at that time, but entertaining opposite views from the majority, I filed a dissenting opinion. Anyone sufficiently interested in the question can find the case reported in Volume II. of the Minnesota Reports, at page 13. This decision was only to be advisory, as the courts have no power to coerce the executive.
The railroad companies entered into contracts for grading their roads, and a sufficient amount of grading was done to entitle them to about $2,300,000 of the bonds, which were issued accordingly, and went into the hands of the contractors to pay for the work done. It, however, soon became apparent that no completed railroad would ever result from this scheme, even if the whole five millions of bonds were issued. What should have been known before was made clear when any of these state bonds were put on the market. The credit of the state was worthless, and the bonds were valueless. The people became as anxious to shake off the incubus of debt they had imposed upon their infant state as they had been to rush into it.
Governor Sibley, in his message, delivered to the second legislature in December, 1859, said, in speaking of this issue of bonds:
"I regret to be obliged to state that the measure has proved a failure, and has by no means accomplished what was hoped for it, either in providing means for the issue of a safe currency, or of aiding the companies in the completion of the roads."
At the election, held on Nov. 6, 1860, the constitutionwas again amended, by expunging from it the amendment of 1858 authorizing the issue of the state railroad bonds, and prohibiting any further issue of them. An amendment was also made to section 2 of Article IX. of the constitution at the same time, by providing that no law levying a tax, or making any other provisions for the payment of interest or principal of the bonds already issued, should take effect or be in force until it had been submitted to the people, and adopted by a majority of the electors.
It was very proper to prohibit the issuance of any more of the bonds, but the provision requiring a vote of the people before those already out could be paid was practically repudiation, and the state labored under that damaging stigma for over twenty years. Attempts were made to obtain the sanction of the people for the payment of these bonds, but they were defeated, until it became unpleasant to admit that one was a resident of Minnesota. Whenever the name of Minnesota was heard on the floor of congress as an applicant for favors, or even for justice, it was met by the charge of repudiation. This was an era in our history very much to be regretted, but the state grew steadily in material wealth.
On March 2, 1881, the legislature passed an act, the general purpose of which was to adjust, with the consent of the holders, the outstanding bonds, at the rate of fifty cents on the dollar, and contained the curious provision that the supreme court should decide whether it must first be submitted to the people in order to be valid or not, and if the supreme court should not so decide, then an equal number of the judges of the district court should act. The supreme court judges declined to act, and the governor called upon the district court judges to assume the duty. Before any action was takenby the latter, the attorney general applied to the supreme court for a writ of prohibition to prevent them from taking any action. The case was most elaborately discussed, and the opinion of the supreme court was delivered by Chief Justice Gilfillan, which is most exhaustive and convincing. The court holds that the act of 1881 is void, by conferring upon the judiciary legislative power, and that the amendment to the constitution providing that no bonds should be paid unless the law authorizing such payment was first submitted to and adopted by the people was void, as being repugnant to the clause in the constitution of the United States, that no state shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts. With these impediments to a just settlement of this question removed, the state was at liberty to make such arrangements with its bond creditors as was satisfactory. John S. Pillsbury was governor at that time. He had always been in favor of paying the bonds, and removing the stain from the honor of the state, and finding his hands free, it did not take him long to arrange the whole matter satisfactorily, and to the approval of all the parties. The debt was paid by the issue of new bonds, at the rate of fifty per cent of the principal and interest of the outstanding ones and the surrender of the latter. This adjustment ended a transaction that was conceived and executed in folly, and was only prevented from eventuating in crime by the persistent efforts of our most honorable and thoughtful citizens throughout the state. The transaction has often been called by those who advocated repudiation, "An old Territorial fraud," but there was nothing in it but a bad bargain, made under the extraordinary pressure of financial difficulties.
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The state was restored to all the lands and franchises of the various companies by means of foreclosure, and on March 8, 1861, passed an act to facilitate the construction of the Minnesota & Pacific Railroad, by which act the old railroad was rehabilitated, and required to construct and put in operation its road from St. Paul to St. Anthony on or before the first day of January, 1862. The company was required to deposit with the governor $10,000 as an earnest of good faith. Work was soon commenced, and the first ten miles constructed as required. This was the first railroad ever built and operated in Minnesota. The first locomotive engine was brought up the river on a barge, and landed at the St. Paul end of the track in the latter part of October, 1861. This pioneer locomotive was called the "William Crooks," after an engineer of that name who was very active and instrumental in the building of the road. This first ten miles of road cost more energy and brain work than all the rest of the vast system that has succeeded it. It was the initial step in what is now known as the Great Northern Railway, a road that spans the continent from St. Paul to the Pacific, and reflects upon its enterprising builders all the credit due to the pioneer.
It was not long before the Northern Pacific Railroad Company was incorporated by act of congress, passed on July 2, 1864. This road was to extend from the head of Lake Superior to Puget Sound, on a line north of the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, with a branch via the valley of the Columbia river to Portland, Ore. The company had a grant of land of twenty alternate sections through the states. It was commenced shortly after its incorporation, but met with financial disaster, and was sold under foreclosure of a mortgage, and underwentmany trials and tribulations, until it was finally completed on the eighth day of September, in the year 1883, and has been in successful operation ever since. As the Northern Pacific has its eastern terminus and general offices in St. Paul, it is essentially a Minnesota road. The same may be said of the Great Northern, although both are transcontinental roads.
From the small beginning of railroad construction in 1862 have grown thirty-seven distinct railroad corporations, operating in the state of Minnesota 6,062.69 miles of main tracks, according to the official reports of 1898, with quite a substantial addition in course of construction. These various lines cover and render accessible nearly every city, town and village in the state.
The method of taxation of railroad property adopted by the state is a very wise and just one. It imposes a tax of three per cent upon the gross earnings of the roads, which, in 1896, yielded the comfortable sum of $1,037,194.40, the gross earnings of all amounting to $36,918,741.71. This plan of taxation gives the state a direct interest in the prosperity of the roads, as its taxes are increased when business is good and the roads are relieved from oppressive taxation in time of business depression.
The grading which was done and for which the bonds of the state were issued was, as a general thing, utilized in the final construction of the roads.
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In 1842 the country north of Iowa and west of the Mississippi as far north as the Little Rapids, on the Minnesota river, was occupied by the M'day-wa-kon-ton and Wak-pe-ku-ta bands of Sioux. The Wak-pe-ku-ta band was at war with the Sacs and Foxes, and was under theleadership of two principal chiefs, named Wam-di-sapa (the "Black Eagle") and Ta-sa-gi. Wam-di-sapa and his band were a lawless, predatory set, whose depredations prolonged the war with the Sacs and Foxes, and finally separated him and his band from the Wak-pe-ku-tas. They moved west towards the Missouri, and occupied the valley of the Vermillion river, and so thorough was the separation that the band was not regarded as part of the Wak-pe-ku-ta when the latter, together with the M'day-wa-kon-tons, made their treaty with the government at Mendota in 1851.
By 1857 all that remained of Wam-di-sapa's straggling band was about ten or fifteen lodges under the chieftainship of Ink-pa-du-ta, or the "Scarlet Point," or the "Red End." They had planted near Spirit lake, which lies partly in Dickinson county, Iowa, and partly in Jackson county, Minnesota, prior to 1857, and ranged the country from there to the Missouri, and were considered a bad lot of vagabonds.
Between 1855 and 1857 a small settlement had sprung up about forty miles south of Spirit lake, on the In-yan-yan-ke or Rock river.
In the spring of 1856 Hon. William Freeborn of Red Wing (after whom the county of Freeborn in this state is called) had projected a settlement at Spirit lake, which, by the next spring, contained six or seven houses, with as many families.
About the same time another settlement was started some ten or fifteen miles north of Spirit lake, on the head waters of the Des Moines, and a town laid out which was called Springfield. In the spring of 1857 there were two stores and several families at this place.
These settlements were on the extreme frontier, and very much isolated. There was nothing to the west ofthem until you reached the Rocky Mountains, and the nearest settlements on the north and northeast were on the Minnesota and Watonwan rivers, while to the south lay the small settlement on the Rock river, about forty miles distant. All these settlements, although on ceded lands, were actually in the heart of the Indian country, and absolutely unprotected and defenseless.
In 1857 I was United States Indian agent for the Sioux of the Mississippi, but had lived on the frontier long enough before to have acquired a general knowledge of Ink-pa-du-ta's reputation and his whereabouts. I was stationed on the Redwood and Yellow Medicine rivers, near where they empty into the Minnesota, and about eighty miles from Spirit lake.
Early in March, 1857, Ink-pa-du-ta's band was hunting in the neighborhood of the settlement on the Rock river, and one of them was bitten by a dog belonging to a white man. The Indian killed the dog. The owner of the dog assaulted the Indian, and beat him severely. The white men then went in a body to the camp of the Indians and disarmed them. The arms were either returned to them or they obtained others, I have never ascertained which. They were probably given back to them on condition that they should leave, as they at once came north to Spirit lake, where they must have arrived about the 6th or 7th of March. They proceeded at once to massacre the settlers, and killed all the men they found there, together with some women, and carried into captivity four women, three of whom were married and one single. Their names were Mrs. Noble, Mrs. Marble, Mrs. Thatcher and Miss Gardner. They came north to the Springfield settlement, where they killed all the people they found. The total number killed at both places was forty-two.
I was the first person to receive notice of this affair. On the 9th of March a Mr. Morris Markham, who had been absent from the Spirit lake settlement for some time, returned, and found all the people dead or missing. Seeing signs of Indians, he took it for granted that they had perpetrated the outrage. He at once went to Springfield, and reported what he had seen. Some of the people fled, but others remained, and lost their lives in consequence. It has always been my opinion that, being in the habit of trading with these Indians occasionally, they did not believe they stood in any danger; and, what is equally probable, they may not have believed the report. Everyone who has lived in an Indian country knows how frequently startling rumors are in circulation, and how often they prove unfounded.
The people of Springfield sent the news to me by two young men, who came on foot through the deep snow. The story was corroborated in a way that convinced me that it was true. They arrived on the 18th of March, completely worn out and snow-blind. I at once made a requisition on Colonel Alexander, commanding at Fort Ridgely, for troops. There were at the fort five or six companies of the Tenth United States Infantry, and the colonel promptly ordered Capt. Barnard E. Bee of Company "A" to proceed with his company to the scene of the trouble. The country between the fort and Spirit lake was uninhabited, and the distance from eighty to one hundred miles. I furnished two experienced guides from among my Sioux half-breeds. They took a pony and a light traineau, put on their snowshoes, and were ready to go anywhere. Not so with the soldiers, however. They were equipped in about the same manner as they would have been in campaigning in Florida, their only transportation beingheavy wheeled army wagons, drawn by six mules. It soon became apparent that the outfit could not move straight to the objective point, and it became necessary to follow a trail down the Minnesota to Mankato and up the Watonwan in the direction of the lake, which was reached after one of the most arduous marches ever made by troops, on which for many miles the soldiers had to march ahead of the mules to break a road for them. The Indians, as we expected, were gone. A short pursuit was made, but the guides pronounced the camp fires of the Indians several days old, and it was abandoned. The dead were buried, and after a short stay, the soldiers returned to the fort.
When this affair became known throughout the territory it caused great consternation and apprehension, most of the settlers supposing it was the work of the Sioux nation. Many of the most exposed abandoned their homes temporarily. Their fears, however, were allayed by an explanation which I published in the newspapers.
I at once began to devise plans for the rescue of the white women. I knew that any hostile demonstration would result in their murder. While thinking the matter out an event occurred that opened the way to a solution. A party of my Indians had been hunting on the Big Sioux river, and having learned that Ink-pa-du-ta was encamped at Lake Chan-pta-ya-tan-ka, and that he had some white women prisoners, two young brothers visited the camp and succeeded in purchasing Mrs. Marble, and brought her into the Yellow Medicine agency, and delivered her to the missionaries, who turned her over to me. I received her on the 21st of March, and learned that two of the other captives were still alive. Of course, my first object was to rescue the survivors, and to encourage the Indians to make the attempt, Ipaid the brothers who had brought in Mrs. Marble $500 each. I could raise only $500 at the agency in money, and to make up the deficiency I resorted to a method, then novel, but which has since become quite general. I issued a bond, which, although done without authority, met with a better fate than many that followed it,—it was paid at maturity.
As it was the first bond ever issued in what is now Minnesota, the two Dakotas, Montana, and, I may add, the whole Northwest; it may be interesting to give it in full:
"I, STEPHEN R. RIGGS, Missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I, CHARLES E. FLANDRAU, United States Indian agent for the Sioux, being satisfied that Mak-piya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two Sioux Indians, have performed a valuable service to the Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing from captivity Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux agent, and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two remaining white women who are now in captivity among Ink-pa-du-ta's band of Indians depends very much on the liberality shown towards the said Indians who have rescued Mrs. Marble, and having full confidence in the humanity and liberality of the Territory of Minnesota, through its government and citizens, have this day paid to said two above named Indians, the sum of five hundred dollars in money, and do hereby pledge to said two Indians that the further sum of five hundred dollars will be paid to them by the Territory of Minnesota or its citizens within three months from date hereof."Dated, May 22, 1857, at Pa-ju-ta-zi-zi, M. T."STEPHEN R. RIGGS,"Missionary, A. B. C. F. M."CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,"U. S. Indian Agent for Sioux."
"I, STEPHEN R. RIGGS, Missionary among the Sioux Indians, and I, CHARLES E. FLANDRAU, United States Indian agent for the Sioux, being satisfied that Mak-piya-ka-ho-ton and Si-ha-ho-ta, two Sioux Indians, have performed a valuable service to the Territory of Minnesota and humanity, by rescuing from captivity Mrs. Margaret Ann Marble, and delivering her to the Sioux agent, and being further satisfied that the rescue of the two remaining white women who are now in captivity among Ink-pa-du-ta's band of Indians depends very much on the liberality shown towards the said Indians who have rescued Mrs. Marble, and having full confidence in the humanity and liberality of the Territory of Minnesota, through its government and citizens, have this day paid to said two above named Indians, the sum of five hundred dollars in money, and do hereby pledge to said two Indians that the further sum of five hundred dollars will be paid to them by the Territory of Minnesota or its citizens within three months from date hereof.
"Dated, May 22, 1857, at Pa-ju-ta-zi-zi, M. T."STEPHEN R. RIGGS,"Missionary, A. B. C. F. M."CHAS. E. FLANDRAU,"U. S. Indian Agent for Sioux."
I immediately called for volunteers to rescue the remaining two women, and soon had my choice. I selected Paul Ma-za-ku-ta-ma-ni, the president of the Hazelwood Republic, An-pe-tu-tok-cha, or John Otherday, and Che-tan-ma-za, or the Iron Hawk. I gave them a large outfit of horses, wagons, calicos, trinkets of all kinds, and a general assortment of things that tempt the savage. They started on the twenty-third day of May, from the Yellow Medicine agency, on their important and dangerous mission. I did not expect them to return before the middle of June, and immediately commenced preparations to punish the marauders. I went to the fort, and together with Colonel Alexander, we laid a plan to attack Ink-pa-du-ta's camp, with the entire garrison, and utterly annihilate them, which we would undoubtedly have accomplished had not an unexpected event frustrated our plans. Of course, we could not move on the Indians until my expedition had returned with the captives, as that would have been certain death to them; but just about the time we were anxiously expecting them, a couple of steamboats arrived at the fort with peremptory orders for the whole garrison to embark for Utah to join Gen. Albert Sydney Johnson's expedition against the Mormons, and that was the last I saw of the Tenth for ten years.
My expedition found that Mrs. Thatcher and Mrs. Noble had been killed, but succeeded in bringing in Miss Gardner, who was forwarded to me at St. Paul, and by me formally delivered to Governor Medary on June 23, 1857. She was afterwards married, and is now a widow, Mrs. Abbie Gardner Sharpe, and resides in the house from which she was abducted by the savages, forty-three years ago. I paid the Indians who rescued her $400 each for their services. The territory made an appropriationon the fifteenth day of May, 1857, of $10,000 to rescue the captives, but as there were no telegraphs or other speedy means of communication, the work was all done before the news of the appropriation reached the border. My outlay, however, was all refunded from this appropriation. I afterwards succeeded, with a squad of soldiers and citizens, in killing one of Ink-pa-du-ta's sons, who had taken an active part in the massacre, and that ended the first serious Indian trouble that Minnesota was afflicted with.
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By the end of the year 1856 the Territory of Minnesota had attained such growth and wealth that the question of becoming a state within the Union began to attract attention. It was urged by the government at Washington that we were amply capable of taking care of ourselves, and sufficiently wealthy to pay our expenses, and statehood was pressed upon us from that quarter. There was another potent influence at work at home. We had several prominent gentlemen who were convinced that their services were needed in the senate of the United States, and that their presence there would strengthen and adorn that body, and as no positive opposition was developed, the congress of the United States, on the 26th of February, 1857, passed an act, authorizing the territory to form a state government. It prescribed the same boundaries for the state as we now have, although there had been a large number of people who had advocated an east and west division of the territory, on a line a little north of the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude. It provided for a convention to frame the constitution of the new state, which was to be composed of two delegates for each memberof the territorial legislature, to be elected in the representative districts on the first Monday in June, 1857. The convention was to be held at the capital of the territory, on the second Monday of July following. It submitted to the convention five propositions to be answered, which, if accepted, were to become obligatory on the United States and the State of Minnesota. They were in substance as follows:
1. Whether sections 16 and 36 in each township should be granted to the state for the use of schools.
2. Whether seventy-two sections of land should be set aside for the use and support of a state university.
3. Whether ten sections should be granted to the state in aid of public buildings.
4. Whether all salt springs in the state, not exceeding twelve, with six sections of land to each, should be granted to the state.
5. Whether five per centum of the net proceeds of the sales of all the public lands lying within the state, which should be sold after its admission, should be paid to the state for the purpose of roads, and internal improvements.
All the five propositions, if accepted, were to be on the condition, to be expressed in the constitution or an irrevocable ordinance, that the state should never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil within the state by the United States, or with any regulations congress should make for securing title to said lands in bona fide purchases thereof, and that no tax should be imposed on lands belonging to the United States, and that non-resident proprietors should never be taxed higher than residents.
These propositions were all accepted, ratified and confirmed by section 3 of Article II. of the constitution.
The election for delegates took place as provided for, and on the day set for the convention to meet, nearly all of them had assembled at the capital. Great anxiety was manifested by both the Democrats and the Republicans to capture the organization of the convention. Neither party had a majority of all the members present, but there were a number of contested seats on both sides, of which both contestant and contestee were present, and these duplicates being counted, were sufficient to give each party an apparent majority. It was obvious that a determined fight for the organization was imminent. The convention was to meet in the house of representatives, and to gain an advantage, the Republicans took possession of the hall the night before the opening day, so as to be the first on hand in the morning. The Democrats, on learning of this move, held a caucus to decide upon a plan of action. Precedents and authorities were looked up, and two fundamental points decided upon. It was discovered that the secretary of the territory was the proper party to call the convention to order, and as Mr. Charles L. Chase was the secretary, and also a Democratic delegate, he was chosen to make the call. It was further found that when no hour was designated for the meeting of a parliamentary body, that noon of the day appointed was the time. Being armed with these points, the Democrats decided to wait until noon, and then march into the hall in a body with Delegate Chase at their head, and as soon as he reached the chair he was to spring into it and call the convention to order. General Gorman was immediately to move an adjournment until the next day at 12 o'clock M., which motion was to be put by the chair, the Democrats feeling sure that the Republicans being taken by surprise would vote no, while the Democrats would all vote aye,and thus commit more than a majority of the whole to the organization under Mr. Chase. On reaching the chair, Mr. Chase immediately sprang into it, and called the convention to order. General Gorman moved the adjournment, which was put by the chair. All the Democrats loudly voted in the affirmative and the Republicans in the negative. The motion was declared carried, and the Democrats solemnly marched out of the hall.
The above is the Democratic version of the event. The Republicans, however, claim that John W. North reached the chair first, and called the convention to order, and that as the Republicans had a majority of the members present, the organization made under his call was the only regular one. Nothing can be determined as to which is the true story from the records kept of the two bodies, because they are each made up to show strict regularity, and as it is utterly immaterial in any substantial point of view, I will not venture any opinion, although I was one of the actors in the drama,—or farce,—as the reader may see fit to regard it.
The Republicans remained in the hall, and formed a constitution to suit themselves, sitting until August 29th, just forty-seven days. The Democrats on the next day after their adjournment, at 12 o'clock M., went in a body to the door of the house of representatives, where they were met by Secretary and Delegate Chase, who said to them: "Gentlemen, the hall to which the delegates adjourned yesterday is now occupied by a meeting of citizens of the territory, who refuse to give possession to the constitutional convention."
General Gorman then said: "I move the convention adjourn to the council chamber." The motion was carried, and the delegates accordingly repaired to the council chamber, in the west wing of the capitol, where Mr.Chase called the convention to order. Each branch of the convention elected its officers. The Republicans chose St. A. D. Balcombe for their president, and the Democrats selected Hon. Henry H. Sibley. Both bodies worked diligently on a constitution, and each succeeded in making one so much like the other that, after sober reflection, it was decided that the state could be admitted under either, and if both were sent to congress that body would reject them for irregularity. So towards the end of the long session a compromise was arrived at, by the formation of a joint committee from each convention, who were to evolve a constitution out of the two for submission to the people; the result of which, after many sessions, and some fisticuffs, was the instrument under which the state was finally admitted.
A very curious complication resulted from two provisions in the constitution. In section 5 of the schedule it was provided that "All territorial officers, civil and military, now holding their offices under the authority of the United States or of the Territory of Minnesota shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices until they shall be superseded by the authority of the state," and section 6 provided that "The first session of the legislature of the State of Minnesota shall commence on the first Wednesday of December next," etc.
These provisions were made under the supposition that the state would be admitted as soon as the constitution would be laid before congress, which it was presumed would be long before the date fixed for the holding of the first state legislature; but such did not turn out to be the case. The election was held as provided for on the thirteenth day of October, 1857, for the adoption or rejection of the constitution, and for the election of all the state officers, members of congress and of thelegislature. The constitution was adopted by a vote of 36,240 for, and 700 against, and the whole Democratic state ticket was also chosen; and to be sure not to lose full representation in congress, three members of the house of representatives were also chosen, who were all Democrats.
The constitution was duly presented to congress, and admission for the state demanded. Much to the disappointment of our people, all kinds and characters of objections were raised to our admission; one of which I remember was, that as the term of office of the state senators was fixed at two years, and as there was nothing said about the term of the members of the house they were elected for life, and consequently the government created was not republican. Alexander Stevens of Georgia seriously combatted this position, in a learned constitutional argument, in which he proved that a state had absolute control of the subject, and could fix the term of all its officers for life if it so preferred, and that congress had no right to interfere. Many other equally frivolous points were made against our admission, which were debated until the eleventh day of May, 1858, when the federal doors were opened and Minnesota became a state. The act admitting the state cut down the congressional representation to two. The three gentlemen who had been elected to these positions were compelled to determine who would remain and who should surrender. History has not recorded how the decision was made, whether by cutting cards, tossing a coin, or in some other way, but the result was that George L. Becker was counted out, and W. W. Phelps and James M. Cavanaugh took the prizes.
It was always thought at home that the long delay in our admission was not from any disinclination to letus in, but because the house was quite evenly divided politically between the Democrats and the Republicans, and there being a contested seat from Ohio, between Mr. Valandingham and Mr. Lew Campbell, it was feared by the Republicans that, if Minnesota came in with three Democratic members, it might turn the scale in favor of Valandingham.
This delay created a very perplexing condition of things. The state legislature elected under the constitution met on the first Wednesday of December, before the constitution was recognized by congress, and while the territorial government was in full force. It passed a book full of laws, all of which were state laws, approved by a territorial governor. Perhaps in some countries it would have been difficult to harmonize such irregularities, but our courts were quite up to the emergency, and straightened them all out the first time the question was raised, and the laws so passed have served their purpose up to the present time.
The first governor of the state was Henry H. Sibley, a Democrat. He served his term of two years, and the state has never elected a Democrat to that office since, unless the choice of Hon. John Lind, in 1898, may be so classified.
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At the eighth session of the legislative assembly of the territory, which convened on Jan. 7, 1857, a bill was introduced, the purpose of which was the removal of the seat of government from St. Paul to St. Peter, a small village which had recently come into existence on the Minnesota river about one hundred miles above its mouth. There could be no reason for such action except interested speculation, as the capitol was alreadybuilt in St. Paul, and it was much more accessible, and in every way more convenient than it would be at St. Peter; but the movement had sufficient personal and political force behind it to insure its success, and an act was passed making such removal. But it was destined to meet with unexpected obstacles before it became a law. When it passed the house it was sent to the council, where it only received one majority, eight voting for and seven against it. It was, on the 27th of February, sent to the enrolling committee for final enrollment. It happened that Councillor Joseph Rolette, from Pembina, was chairman of this committee, and a great friend of St. Paul. Mr. Rolette decided he would veto the bill in a way not known to parliamentary law, so he put it in his pocket and disappeared. On the 28th, not being in his seat, and the bill being missing, a councillor offered a resolution that a copy of it be obtained from Mr. Wales, the second in order on the committee. A call of the council was then ordered and Mr. Rolette not being in his seat, the sergeant-at-arms was sent out to bring him in, but not being able to find him, he so reported. A motion was then made to dispense with the call, but by the rules it required a two-third vote of fifteen members, and in the absence of Mr. Rolette only fourteen were present. It takes as many to make two-thirds of fourteen as it does to make two-thirds of fifteen, and the bill had only nine friends. During the pendency of a call no business could be transacted, and a serious dilemma confronted the capital removers; but, nothing daunted, Mr. Balcombe made a long argument to prove that nine was two-thirds of fourteen. Mr. Brisbin, who was president of the council and a graduate of Yale, pronounced the motion lost, saying to the mover, who was also a graduate of Yale, "Mr. Balcombe, we never figuredthat way at Yale." This situation produced a deadlock, and no business could be transacted. The session terminated on the fifth day of March by its own limitation. The sergeant-at-arms made daily reports concerning the whereabouts of the absentee, sometimes locating him on a dog-train, rapidly moving towards Pembina, sometimes giving a rumor of his assassination, but never producing him. Matters remained in this condition until the end of the term, and the bill was lost.
It was disclosed afterwards that Rolette had carefully deposited the bill in the vault of Truman M. Smith's bank, and had passed the time in the upper story of the Fuller House, where his friends made him very comfortable. Some ineffectual efforts have been made since to remove the capital to Minneapolis and elsewhere, but the treaty, made by the pioneers in 1849, locating it at St. Paul, is still in force.
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One of the provisions of the enabling act was that in the event of the constitutional convention deciding in favor of the immediate admission of the proposed state into the Union, a census should be taken with a view of ascertaining the number of representatives in congress to which the state would be entitled. This was accordingly done in September, 1857, and the population was found to be 150,037.
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The first visitation of grasshoppers came in 1857, and did considerable damage to the crops in Stearns and other counties. Relief was asked from St. Paul for the suffering poor, and notwithstanding the people of the capital city were in the depths of poverty, from thefinancial panic produced by over-speculation, they responded liberally. The grasshoppers of this year did not deposit their eggs, but disappeared after eating up everything that came within their reach. The state was not troubled with them again until the year 1873, when they came in large flights, and settled down in the western part of the state. They did much damage to the crops, and deposited their eggs in the soil, where they hatched out in the spring, and greatly increased their number. They made sad havoc with the crops of 1874, and occupied a larger part of the state than in the previous year. They again deposited their eggs, and appeared in the spring of 1875 in increased numbers. This was continued in 1876, when the situation became so alarming that Gov. John S. Pillsbury issued a proclamation, addressed to the states and territories which had suffered most from the insects, to meet him by delegates at Omaha, to concert measures for united protection. A convention was held, and Governor Pillsbury was made its president. The subject was thoroughly discussed, and a memorial to congress was prepared and adopted, asking for scientific investigation of the subject, and a suggestion of preventive measures.
Many appeals for relief came from the afflicted regions, and much aid was extended. Governor Pillsbury was a big-hearted, sympathetic man, and fearing the sufferers might not be well cared for, he travelled among them personally, incognito, and dispensed large sums from his private funds.
In 1877 the governor, in his message to the legislature, treated the subject exhaustively, and appropriations were made to relieve the settlers in the devastated regions. In the early spring of 1877, the religious bodies and people of the state asked the governor to issue aproclamation appointing a day of fasting and prayer, asking Divine protection, and exhorting the people to greater humility and a new consecration in the service of a merciful Father. The governor, being of Puritan origin, and a faithful believer in Divine agencies in this world's affairs, issued an eloquent appeal to the people to observe a day named as one of fasting and prayer for deliverance from the grasshoppers. The suggestion was quite generally approved, but the proclamation naturally excited much criticism and some ridicule, but, curious as it may seem, the grasshoppers, even before the day appointed for prayer arrived, began to disappear, and in a short time not one remained to show they had ever been in the state. They left in a body; no one seemed to know exactly when they went, and no one knew anything about where they went, as they were never heard of again on any part of the continent. The only news we ever had from them came from ships crossing the Atlantic westward bound, which reported having passed through large areas of floating insects. They must have met a western gale when well up in air, and have been blown out into the sea and destroyed. The people of Minnesota did not expend much trouble or time to find out what had become of them.
The crop of 1877 was abundant, and particularly so in the region which had been most seriously blighted by the pests.
Before the final proclamation of Governor Pillsbury every source of ingenuity had been exhausted in devising plans for the destruction of the grasshoppers. Ditches were dug around the fields of grain, and ropes drawn over the grain to drive the hoppers into them, with the purpose of covering them with earth. Instruments called "hopperdozers" were invented, which hadreceptacles filled with hot tar, and were driven over the ground to catch them as flies are caught with tanglefoot paper, and many millions of them were destroyed in this way, but it was about as effectual as fighting a Northwestern blizzard with a lady's fan, and they were all abandoned as useless and powerless to cope with the scourge. Nothing proved effectual but the governor's proclamation, and all the old settlers called it "Pillsbury's Best," which was the name of the celebrated brand of flour made at the governor's mills.
Prof. N. H. Winchell, the state geologist, in his geological and natural history report, presents a map which, by red lines, shows the encroachments of the grasshoppers for the years 1873-76. To gain an idea of the extent of the country covered by them up to 1877, draw a line on a state map from the Red River of the North about six miles north of Moorhead, in Clay county, in a southeasterly direction, through Becker, Wadena, Todd and Morrison counties, crossing the Mississippi river near the northern line of Benton county, continuing down the east side of the Mississippi, through Benton, Sherburne and Anoka counties, there recrossing the Mississippi, and proceeding south, on the west side of the river, to the south line of the state in Mower county. All the country lying south and west of this line was for several years devastated by the grasshoppers to the extent that no crops could be raised. It became for a time a question whether the people or the insects would conquer the state.
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