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 StatisticsChristopher Columbus Andrews (1829-1922), future Civil War general, diplomat, and state official, wrote these twenty-six letters on a trip to the Minnesota and Dakota [Dacotah] territory during the fall of 1856. He traveled by rail as far as Chicago and Dunleith (Jo Daviess County, Illinois), continuing by steamship to St. Paul, and making his way by stagecoach to Crow Wing and St. Cloud before returning east. Each letter describes the trip or discusses the territory's economic and institutional development, governance, and opportunities for pioneers, land speculators, and entrepreneurs. Andrews devotes considerable attention to the Minnesota bar and also takes an interest in such topics as farming, lumbering, railroads, waterways, the potential of Lake Superior and the Red River valley, and efforts to induce the Chippewa [Ojibwe] to adopt a way of life rooted in European cultural traditions. The letters anticipate the establishment of Dakota as a separate territory and review current proposals for demarcating its boundaries. Andrews also comments on slavery and the era's racial attitudes. |
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Minnesota and Dacotah: In Letters Descriptive of a Tour Through the North ... C C 1829-1922 Andrews No preview available - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
agricultural Anthony arrived banks beautiful boat Bois des Sioux camp Chippewas city or town Cloud court crossed Crow Wing River Dacotah distance district Dunleith east farms feet deep feet wide Fond-du-Lac Fort Ripley Fort Snelling Galena grass growth horses Hudson's Bay Hudson's Bay Company hundred miles Indians John Lake Superior land office latitude lawyer LETTER located Louis River marshes ment Minnesota Mississippi River Missouri navigation North number of acres occupation Otter Tail Lake Paul Pembina pine pioneer population Post Office Postmaster Prairie du Chien preëmpt preemption preemptor present public lands railroad Red River region residence road rolling prairies Rum River Sauk Rapids season selected settled settlement settler side soil stage statute steamboat stream territory thence three hundred timber tion town sites trade travelling trip twenty acres Upper Mississippi valley village wagons Watab Weekly western wood
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