Minnesota and Dacotah   By: C. C. (Christopher Columbus) Andrews (1829-1922)

MINNESOTA AND DACOTAH:

IN

Letters descriptive of a Tour through the North West,

IN THE AUTUMN OF 1856.

WITH

INFORMATION RELATIVE TO PUBLIC LANDS,

AND

A TABLE OF STATISTICS.

By C. C. ANDREWS,

COUNSELOR AT LAW; EDITOR OF THE OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.

"From the forests and the prairies, From the great lakes of the Northland, From the land of the Ojibways, From the land of the Dacotahs."

LONGFELLOW

SECOND EDITION. W A S H I N G T O N: ROBERT FARNHAM 1857

Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1857, by

C. C. ANDREWS,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the District of Columbia.

PHILADELPHIA:

STEREOTYPED BY E. B. MEARS.

PRINTED BY C. SHERMAN & SON.

THESE

"Trivial Fond Records"

ARE

RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED

TO THE

YOUNG MEN OF MINNESOTA.

INTRODUCTION.

THE object of publishing these letters can be very briefly stated.

During the last autumn I made a tour into Minnesota, upwards of a hundred and thirty miles north west of St. Paul, to satisfy myself as to the character and prospects of the territory. All I could learn from personal observation, and otherwise, concerning its society and its ample means of greatness, impressed me so favorably as to the advantages still open to the settler, that I put down in the form of letters such facts as I thought would be of general interest. Since their publication in the Boston, Post a few requests, which I could not comply with, were made for copies of them all. I was led to believe, therefore, that if I revised them and added information relative to unoccupied lands, the method of preemption, and the business interests of the territory, they would be worthy of publication in a more permanent form. Conscious that what I have written is an inadequate description of that splendid domain, I shall be happy indeed to have contributed, in ever so small a degree, to advance its growth and welfare.

Here I desire to acknowledge the aid which has been readily extended to my undertaking by the Delegate from Minnesota Hon. HENRY M. RICE whose faithful and unwearied services I will take the liberty to add in behalf of the territory, merit the highest praise. I am also indebted for valuable information to EARL S. GOODRICH, Esq., editor of the Daily Pioneer (St. Paul) and Democrat.

In another place I give a list of the works which I have had occasion to consult or refer to.

C. C. ANDREWS.

Washington, January 1, 1857.

LIST OF WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN CONSULTED OR REFERRED TO IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS WORK.

Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, by Major Z. M. PIKE vol. Philadelphia; 1807.

Travels to the Source of the Missouri River, by Captains LEWIS and CLARKE. 3 vols. London: 1815.

Expedition to the Source of the St. Peter's River, Lake Winnepek, &c., under command of Major STEPHEN H. LONG 2 vols. Philadelphia: 1824.

British Dominions in North America. By JOSEPH BOUCHETTE, Esq. 3 vols. London: 1832.

History of the Colonies of the British Empire. By R. M. MARTIN, Esq. London; 1843.

Report on the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi, by J. N. NICOLLET. Senate Document 237, 2d Session, 26th Congress. Washington: 1843.