States senators were elected, Henry M. Rice and Gen. James Shields.
General Shields served from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1859, and Mr. Rice
from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1863, he having drawn the long term. The
state also elected three members to the United States house of
representatives, all Democrats, James M. Cavanaugh, W. W. Phelps and
George L. Becker, but it was determined that we were only entitled to
two, and Mr. Phelps and Mr. Cavanaugh were admitted to seats. With this
state and federal representation we entered upon our political career.
At the next election for governor, in the fall of 1859, Alexander
Ramsey, Republican, was chosen, and there has never been a governor of
the state of any but Republican politics since, until John Lind was
elected in the fall of 1898. Mr. Lind was chosen as a Democrat, with the
aid of other political organizations, which united with the Democracy.
Mr. Lind now fills the office of governor. It will be seen that for
thirty-nine years the state has been wholly in the hands of the
Republicans. During the interval between the administration of Governor
Sibley and Governor Lind the state has had twelve governors, all
Republican.
In its federal representation, however, the Democrats have fared a
trifle better. The growth of population has increased our membership in
the federal house of representatives to seven, and occasionally a
Democrat, or member of some other party, has succeeded in breaking into
congress. From the first district W. H. Harries, a Democrat, was elected
in 1890. From the Third district Eugene M. Wilson, Democrat, was elected
in 1868; Henry Poeler, Democrat, in 1878; John L. McDonald, Democrat, in
1886; and O. M. Hall, Democrat, in 1890, and again in 1892. From the
Fourth district Edmund Rice, Democrat, was elected in 1886, and James N.
Castle, Democrat, in 1890. From the Sixth district M. R. Baldwin,
Democrat, was elected in 1892. From the Fifth district Kittle Halverson,
Alliance, was elected in 1890. From the Seventh district Haldor E. Boen,
People's Party, was elected in 1892.
Since Henry M. Rice and James Shields, all the United States Senators
have been Republican. They were Morton S. Wilkinson, Alexander Ramsey,
Daniel S. Norton, William Windom, O. P. Stearns, S. J. R. McMillin, A.
J. Edgerton, D. M. Sabin, C. K. Davis, W. D. Washburn and Knute Nelson.
Some of these have served two terms, and some very short terms, to fill
vacancies.
Of course, the state had its compliment of other officers, but as their
duties are more of a clerical and business character than political, it
is unnecessary to particularize them.
It is a subject of congratulation to all citizens of Minnesota that, out
of all the state officers that have come and gone in the forty years of
its life, there has been but one impeachment, which was of a state
treasurer, Mr. William Seeger, who was elected in 1871. Although he was
convicted, I have always believed, and do now, that he was personally
innocent, and suffered for the sins of others.
The State of Minnesota has always, since the adjustment of its old
railroad bond debt, held a conservative position in the
Union,--financially, socially, patriotically and commercially. Its
credit is the best, its prospects the brightest, and it makes very
little difference which political party dominates its future so long as
it is free from the taint of anarchy and is guided by the principles of
honor and justice. The only thing to be feared is that some political
party may gain control of the government of the nation, and either
degrade its currency, involve it in disastrous complications and wars
with other nations, or commit some similar folly which may reflectively
or secondarily act injuriously on Minnesota as a member of the national
family of states. Otherwise Minnesota can defy the vagaries of politics
and politicians. She has very little to fear from this remote
apprehension, because the American people, as they ever have been, will
no doubt continue to be, on second thought, true to the teachings and
traditions of the founders of the republic.
Minnesota, for so young a state, has been quite liberally remembered in
the way of diplomatic appointments. Gen. C. C. Andrews represented the
United States as minister to Sweden and Norway, and the Hon. Samuel R.
Thayer and Hon. Stanford Newell at The Hague, the latter of whom now
fills the position. Mr. Newell was also a member of the World's Peace
Commission recently held at The Hague. Lewis Baker represented the
United States as minister to Nicaragua, Costa Rica and San Salvador.
The state has also been honored by the appointment of the following
named gentlemen from among its citizens as consuls general to various
countries: Gen. C. C. Andrews to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Hon. Hans
Mattson to Calcutta, India; Dr. J. A. Leonard to Calcutta, and also to
Shanghai, China; and Hon. John Goodenow to Shanghai, China.
We have had a full complement of consuls to all parts of the world, the
particulars of which are unnecessary in this connection.
The state has also had three cabinet officers. On Dec. 10, 1879,
Alexander Ramsey was appointed secretary of war by President Hayes, and
again on Dec. 20, 1880, he was made secretary of the navy. The latter
office he held only about ten days, until it was filled by a permanent
appointee.
William Windom was appointed secretary of the treasury by President
Garfield, and again to the same position by President Harrison. He died
in the office.
Gen. William G. Le Duc was appointed commissioner of agriculture by
President Hayes, which was a _quasi_ cabinet position, and was
afterwards made a full and regular one. The general was afterwards made
a member of the National Agricultural Society of France, of which
Washington, Jefferson and Marshall were members.
Senator Cushman K. Davis, who was chairman of the committee on foreign
relations of the senate, was appointed by President McKinley one of the
commissioners on the part of the United States to negotiate the treaty
of peace with Spain after the recent Spanish war.
Gov. William R. Merriam was appointed by President McKinley as director
of the census of 1900, and is now busily engaged in the performance of
the arduous duties of that office. They are not diplomatic, but
exceedingly important.
President Cleveland appointed John W. Riddle as secretary of legation to
the embassy at Constantinople, where he has remained to the present
time.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Necessity has compelled me, in the preparation of this history, to be
brief, not only in the subjects treated of, but also in the manner of
such treatment. Details have usually been avoided, and comprehensive
generalities indulged in. Those who read it may find many things
wanting, and in order that they may have an opportunity to supply my
deficiencies without too much research and labor, I have prepared a list
of all the works which have ever been written on Minnesota, or any
particular subject pertaining thereto, and append them hereto for
convenience of reference. Any and all of them can be found in the
library of the Minnesota Historical Society in the state capitol.
So much of what I have said consists of personal experiences and
observations that it more resembles a narrative than a history, but I
think I can safely vouch for the accuracy and truthfulness of all I have
thus related.
BOOKS WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED RELATING TO MINNESOTA.
The following will be found in "Collections of the Minnesota Historical
Society, volume I, St. Paul, 1872:"
1. The French Voyageurs to Minnesota during the Seventeenth
Century, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
2. Description of Minnesota (1850), by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
3. Our Field of Historical Research, by Hon. Alexander Ramsey.
4. Early Courts of Minnesota, by Hon. Aaron Goodrich.
5. Early Schools of Minnesota, by D. A. J. Baker.
6. Religious Movements in Minnesota, by Rev. C. Hobart.
7. The Dakota Language, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
8. History and Physical Geography of Minnesota, by H. R.
Schoolcraft.
9. Letter of Mesnard, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
10. The Saint Louis River, by T. M. Fullerton.
11. Ancient Mounds and Memorials, by Messrs. Pond, Aiton and
Riggs.
12. Schoolcraft's Exploring Tour of 1832, by Rev. W. T.
Boutwell.
13. Battle of Lake Pokegama, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
14. Memoir of Jean Nicollet, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
15. Sketch of Joseph Renville, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
16. Department of Hudson's Bay, by Rev. G. A. Belcourt.
17. Obituary of James M. Goodhue, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
18. Dakota Land and Dakota Life, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
19. Who were the First Men, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
20. Louis Hennepin, the Franciscan, and Du Luth, the Explorer.
21. Le Sueur, the Explorer of the Minnesota River.
22. D'Iberville; An Abstract of his Memorial.
23. The Fox and Ojibway War.
24. Captain Jonathan Carver and his Explorations.
25. Pike's Explorations in Minnesota.
26. Who Discovered Itasca Lake, by William Morrison.
27. Early Days at Fort Snelling.
28. Running the Gauntlet, by William T. Snelling.
29. Reminiscences, Historical and Personal.
Volume 2:
30. Voyage in a Six-oared Skiff to the Falls of St. Anthony in
1817, by Major Stephen H. Long.
31. Early French Forts and Footprints of the Valley of the Upper
Mississippi, by Rev. E. D. Neill.
32. Occurrences in and around Fort Snelling from 1819 to 1840,
by Rev. E. D. Neill.
33. Religion of the Dakotas (Chapter VI. of James W. Lynd's
Manuscripts).
34. Mineral Regions of Lake Superior, from Their First Discovery
in 1865, by Hon. Henry M. Rice.
35. Constantine Beltrami, by Alfred J. Hill.
36. Historical Notes on the U. S. Land Office, by Hon. Henry M.
Rice.
37. The Geography of Perrot, so far as it relates to Minnesota,
by Alfred J. Hill.
38. Dakota Superstitions, by Rev. Gideon H. Pond.
39. The Carver Centenary; an account of the Celebration, May 1,
1867, of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Council and
Treaty of Capt. Jonathan Carver with the Nadowessioux, at
Carver's Cave in St. Paul, with an address by the Rev. John
Mattocks.
40. Relation of M. Penticant, translated by Alfred J. Hill, with
an introductory note by the Rev. E. D. Neill.
41. Bibliography of Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams.
42. A Reminiscence of Fort Snelling, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van
Cleve.
43. Narrative of Paul Ma-za-koo-to-ma-ne. Translated by Rev. S.
R. Riggs.
44. Memoir of Ex-Governor Henry A. Swift, by J. Fletcher
Williams.
45. Sketch of John Otherday, by Hon. Henry H. Sibley.
46. A Coincidence, by Mrs. Charlotte O. Van Cleve
47. Memoir of Hon. James W. Lynd, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
48. The Dakota Mission, by Rev. S. R. Riggs.
49. Indian Warfare in Minnesota, by Rev. S. W. Pond.
50. Colonel Leavenworth's Expedition to Establish Fort Snelling
in 1819, by Major Thomas Forsyth.
51. Memoir of Jean Baptiste Faribault, by Gen. H. H. Sibley.
52. Memoir of Captain Martin Scott, by J. Fletcher Williams.
53. Na-peh-shnee-doo-ta, a Dakota Christian, by Rev. T. S.
Williamson.
54. Memoir of Hercules L. Dousman, by Gen. Henry H. Sibley.
55. Memoir of Joseph R. Brown, by J. F. Williams, E. S.
Goodrich, and J. A. Wheelock.
56. Memoir of Hon. Cyrus Aldrich, by J. F. Williams.
57. Memoir of Rev. Lucian Galtier, by Bishop John Ireland.
58. Memoir of Hon. David Olmsted, by J. F. Williams.
59. Reminiscences of the Early Days of Minnesota, by Hon. H. H.
Sibley.
60. The Sioux or Dakotas of the Missouri River, by Rev. T. S.
Williamson.
61. Memoir of Rev. S. Y. McMasters, by Earle S. Goodrich.
62. Tributes to the Memory of Rev. John Mattocks, by J. F.
Williams, Hon. Henry H. Sibley, John B. Sanborn and Bishop
Ireland.
63. Memoir of Ex-Governor Willis A. Gorman, compiled from press
notices, and eulogy by Hon. C. K. Davis.
64. Lake Superior, Historical and Descriptive, by Hon. James H.
Baker.
65. Memorial Notices of Rev. Gideon H. Pond, by Rev. S. R.
Riggs, Hon. H. H. Sibley and Rev. T. S. Williamson.
66. In Memory of Rev. Thomas S. Williamson, by Rev. S. R. Riggs
and A. W. Williamson.
67. The Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre of 1857, by Hon. Charles E.
Flandrau.
Volume 4:
68. History of the City of St. Paul and County of Ramsey,
Minnesota, by J. Fletcher Williams, containing a very full
sketch of the first settlement and early days of St. Paul, in
1838, 1839 and 1840, and of the territory from 1849 to 1858;
lists of the early settlers and claim owners; amusing events
of pioneer days; biographical sketches of over two hundred
prominent men of early times; three steel portraits and
forty-seven woodcuts (portraits and views); lists of federal,
county and city officers since 1849.
Volume 5:
69. History of the Ojibway Nation, by William W. Warren (deceased);
a valuable work, containing the legends and traditions of the
Ojibways, their origin, history, costumes, religion, daily
life and habits, ideas, biographies of leading chieftains and,
orators, vivid descriptions of battles, etc. The work was
carefully edited by Rev. Edward D. Neill, who added an
appendix of 116 pages, giving an account of the Ojibways
from official and other records. It also contains a portrait
of Warren, a memoir of him by J. Fletcher Williams, and a
copious index.
Volume 6:
70. The Sources of the Mississippi; their Discovery, Real and
Pretended, by Hon. James H. Baker.
71. The Hennepin Bicentenary; Celebration by the Minnesota
Historical Society of the 200th anniversary of the Discovery of
the Falls of St. Anthony in 1680, by Louis Hennepin.
72. Early Days at Red River Settlement and Fort Snelling;
reminiscences of Mrs. Ann Adams.
73. Protestant Missions in the Northwest, by Rev. Stephen R.
Riggs, with a memoir of the author, by J. F. Williams.
74. Autobiography of Major Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian Agent at
Fort Snelling, 1820 to 1840.
75. Memoir of General Henry Hastings Sibley, by J. F. Williams.
76. Mounds in Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin, by Alfred J. Hill.
77. Columbian Address, delivered by Hon. H. W. Childs before the
Minnesota Historical Society, Oct. 21, 1892.
78. Reminiscences of Fort Snelling, by Col. John Bliss.
79. Sioux Outbreak of 1862; Mrs. J. E. DeCamp's Narrative of her
Captivity.
80. A Sioux Story of the War; Chief Big Eagle's Story of the
Sioux Outbreak of 1862.
81. Incidents of the Threatened Outbreak of Hole-in-the-day and
other Ojibways at the time of the Sioux Massacre in 1862, by
George W. Sweet.
82. Dakota Scalp Dances, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
83. Earliest Schools in Minnesota Valley, by Rev. T. S. Williamson.
84. Traditions of Sioux Indians, by Major William H. Forbes.
85. Death of a Remarkable Man; Gabriel Franchere, by Hon.
Benjamin P. Avery.
86. First Settlement on the Red River of the North in 1812, and
its Condition in 1847, by Mrs. Elizabeth T. Ayres.
87. Frederick Ayer, Teacher and Missionary to the Ojibway
Indians, 1829 to 1850.
88. Captivity among the Sioux; Story of Nancy McClure.
89. Captivity among the Sioux; Story of Mary Schwandt.
90. Autobiography and Reminiscences of Philander Prescott.
91. Recollections of James M. Goodhue, by Colonel John H. Stevens.
92. History of the Ink-pa-du-ta Massacre, by Abbie Gardner Sharp.
Volume 7:
93. The Mississippi River and Its Source; a narrative and critical
history of the river and its headwaters, accompanied by the
results of detailed hydrographic and topographic surveys;
illustrated with many maps, portraits and views of the scenery;
by Hon. J. V. Brower, Commissioner of the Itasca State Park,
representing also the State Historical Society. With an
appendix: How the Mississippi River and the Lake of the Woods
became instrumental in the establishment of the northwestern
boundary of the United States, by Alfred J. Hill.
Volume 8:
94. The International Boundary between Lake Superior and the Lake
of the Woods, by Ulysses Sherman Grant.
95. The Settlement and Development of the Red River Valley, by
Warren Upham.
96. The Discovery and Development of the Iron Ores of Minnesota, by
N. H. Winchell, State Geologist.
97. The Origin and Growth of the Minnesota Historical Society, by
the President, Hon. Alexander Ramsey.
98. Opening of the Red River of the North to Commerce and
Civilization, with plates, by Capt. Russell Blakeley.
99. Last days of Wisconsin Territory, and Early Days of Minnesota
Territory, by Hon. Henry L. Moss.
100. Lawyers and Courts of Minnesota, Prior to and During its
Territorial Period, by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
101. Homes and Habitations of the Minnesota Historical Society, by
Charles E. Mayo.
102. The Historical Value of Newspapers, by J. B. Chaney.
103. The United States Government Publications, by D. L. Kingsbury.
104. The First Organized Government of Dakota, by Gov. Samuel J.
Albright, with a preface by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
105. How Minnesota became a State, by Prof. Thomas F. Moran.
106. Minnesota's Northern Boundary, by Alexander N. Winchell.
107. The Question of the Sources of the Mississippi River, by Prof.
E. Lavasseur. (Translated by Col. W. P. Clough.)
108. The Source of the Mississippi, by Prof. N. H. Winchell.
109. Prehistoric Man at the Headwaters of the Mississippi River
(with plates), and an addendum relating to the early visits
of Mr. Julius Chambers and the Rev. J. A. Gilfillan to Itasca
Lake, by Hon. J. V. Brower.
110. History of Minnesota, by Edward D. Neill. First Edition, 1858;
has gone through four editions.
111. Concise History of the State of Minnesota, by Edward D. Neill,
1887.
112. Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars, 1861-1865, prepared
under the supervision of a committee appointed by the
legislature, 1890-1893, in two volumes.
113. History of the Sioux War and Massacres of 1862-1863, by Isaac
V. D. Heard, 1865.
114. A History of the Great Massacre by the Sioux Indians in
Minnesota, by Charles S. Bryant and Abel B. Murch, 1872.
115. Minnesota Historical Society Collections, in eight volumes,
1850 to 1898, containing many of the above named works and
papers.
116. History of St. Paul, Minnesota, by Gen. Christopher C.
Andrews, 1890.
117. History of the City of Minneapolis, by Isaac Atwater, in two
volumes.
118. Pen Pictures of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Biographical Sketches
of Old Settlers, by T. M. Newson.
119. Fifty Years in the Northwest, by W. H. C. Folsom, 1888.
120. The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery
of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Minnesota Volume by Jeremiah
Clemmens, assisted by J. Fletcher Williams, 1879.
121. Progressive Men of Minnesota, Biographical Sketches and
Portraits, together with an historical and descriptive sketch
of the state, by Marion D. Shutter and J. S. McLain, 1897.
122. Biographical History of the Northwest, by Alonzo Phelps, 1890.
123. A History of the Republican Party, to which is added a
political history of Minnesota from a Republican point of
view, and biographical sketches of leading Minnesota
Republicans, by Eugene V. Smalley.
124. There are also many quarto histories of counties in Minnesota
and of larger districts of the state, mostly published during
the years 1880 to 1890, including twenty counties, namely,
Dakota, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue,
Hennepin, Houston, McLeod, Meeker, Olmsted, Pope, Ramsey,
Rice, Steele, Stevens, Wabasha, Waseca, Washington, and
Winona, and five districts, namely, The St. Croix Valley, the
Upper Mississippi Valley, the Minnesota Valley, the Red River
Valley and Park Region, and Southern Minnesota.
125. Winona and its Environs, by L. H. Bunnell, 1897, with maps and
portraits.
Among the Earliest Publications are:
126. Minnesota and its Resources, by J. Wesley Bond, 1853.
127. Minnesota Year Books, 1851, 1852, 1853, by William G. Le Duc.
128. Floral Home, or First Years of Minnesota, 1857, by Harriet
E. Bishop.
129. Narratives and Reports of Travels and Explorations, by
Hennepin, Carver, Long and Keating, Beltrami, Featherstonhaugh,
Schoolcraft, Nicollet, Owen, Oliphant, Andrews, Seymour and
others.
130. For Geographic and Geologic descriptions of Minnesota, the
reports of the geological and natural history survey are the
most complete sources of information, by Prof. N. H. Winchell,
State Geologist, assisted by Warren Upham, Ulysses Sherman
Grant, and others. The annual reports comprise twenty-three
volumes, 1872 to 1894, with another to be published. Several
other volumes have been issued as bulletins of the survey, on
iron, mining, birds, mammals, and fishes.
131. Four thousand two hundred and fifty bound volumes of Minnesota
newspapers, embracing complete files of nearly all the
newspapers ever published in Minnesota from first to last.
132. One thousand seven hundred and two books and about fifteen
hundred pamphlets relating in some way to Minnesota history.
All these books can be found in the library of the Minnesota
Historical Society, which is always open to the public, free.
133. Much historical and other information is contained in the
messages of the governors and reports of the various state
officers, and especially in the Legislative Manuals prepared
for the use of the members of the legislature by the secretary
of state, under chapter 122 of the General Laws of 1893, and
former laws. These Manuals, and especially that of 1899, are
replete with valuable statistics concerning the state, its
history and resources.
134. Illustrated History of Minnesota, by T. H. Kirk, M. L., 1887.
135. Ancestry, Life and Times of Henry Hastings Sibley, by Nathaniel
West, D. D., 1889.
136. Minnesota and Dacotah in Letters descriptive of a Tour
through the Northwest in the Autumn of 1856, with information
relative to public lands and a table of statistics, by General
C. C. Andrews.
137. Lights and Shadows of a Long Episcopate by the Rt. Rev.
Henry Benjamin Whipple, D. D., L. L. D., Bishop of Minnesota.
138. Reminiscences, Memoirs and Lectures of Monsignor A. Ravoux,
V. G. 1890.
139. Encyclopedia of Biography of Minnesota, with a History of
Minnesota, by Judge Charles E. Flandrau.
FINIS.
TALES OF THE FRONTIER.
* * * * *
HUNTING WOLVES IN BED.
Forty-six years ago, almost immediately after my arrival in St. Paul, I
accepted an offer to explore the valley of the Minnesota river and its
tributaries, with reference to finding out the character of its soil,
timber, steamboat landings and other natural features, bearing upon the
founding of a city. My attention was particularly directed to the point
where St. Peter now stands, which had then acquired the name of Rock
Bend, from a turn in the river in front of the prairie, with a rocky
wall which presented a fine landing for steamboats. Of course, the
valley was not a _terra incognito_ when I entered it, but settlement was
very sparse, and very little was known about it. Town-site speculation
was rife, and any place that looked as if it would ever be settled was
being pounced upon for a future city. There was not a railroad west of
Chicago, and every town location was, of course, governed by the rivers.
As strange as it may seem to the residents of the present day, the
Minnesota was then a navigable stream, capable of carrying large side
wheel steamers several hundred miles above its mouth, and afterwards
bore an immense commerce. As soon as the ice broke up in the spring,
the river would rise and overflow its banks clear to the bluffs on each
side, making a stream of from five to six miles wide, and deep enough to
float boats anywhere within its limits.
A man by the name of William B. Dodd, better known as Captain Dodd in
those days, had selected a claim at Rock Bend, covering the landing, and
had laid out a road from the Mississippi to this point. He wanted to
interest capitalists to start a town on his claim, and had succeeded in
gaining the attention of Willis A. Gorman, then governor of the
territory, and several other gentlemen, but none of them had ever been
up the valley, and reliable information was difficult to obtain. It was
true that Tom Holmes had laid out Shakopee, and Henry Jackson and P. K.
Johnson, with a syndicate behind them, had selected Mankato, and I think
there was a settler or two at Le Sueur, but the whole valley may be said
to have been at that time in the possession of Indians, Indian traders
and missionaries.