CHAPTER I
A PEEP AT THE PAST
Had the same Providence
which wafted the Mayflower to Plymouth Rock directed
its course into the Gulf of Mexico, and thence up
the windings of the Mississippi, into the regions
of vast prairies and natural gardens, the forests
of New England would be still standing, and no cities,
mighty in influence, would have risen from their fall.
The red man would still lurk in the dark recesses
of those forest, pursuing his game without fear of
molestation; and the smoke of his wigwam and council
fires would ascend from the ground where his fathers
had dwelt and held their council.
Obviously, Providence
shaped the means, and the work to be accomplished,
though centuries were consumed in man's "rough
hewing." This energy and enterprise, born and
nurtured on that sterile soil, have no parallel in
the world's history; and for their full development,
they have pushed on towards the setting sun, and diffused
themselves over the "unshorn gardens of the wilderness,"
while the grand drama of city building was enacting
upon the Atlantic coast. There, side by side, arose
the church and school-house, and with them men of
giant mind, who thrilled the nation with their eloquence.
The power of the Press was acknowledged, and the savage
was either subdued, or retreated before the light
of civilization.
For centuries, the might
Northwest smiled in unpraised beauty—a befitting
field for the enjoyment of
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celestial beings. The fairest portion
of all this beautiful earth has no historic lore,
save in some remaining monumental antiquities. The
Red Man remained undisputed and undisturbed owner
of the soil. His light canoe skimmed the surface of
crystal lakes, glittering in the sun's rays, and radiant
with reflected floral beauty. The dancing streamlet
sweetly harmonized with the gentle breeze and the
wood-bird's notes. The graceful swan arched her white
neck, the queen of waters, as she floated fearlessly
along. Flowers breathed forth their odors where there
was none to admire, and trees of a hundred years grew
old and died on the mysterious mounds
"That overlook the rivers, or
that rise
In the dim forest."
"The encircling vastness stretched
Like airy undulations far away,
As if the ocean in her gentlest swell
Stood still, with all her boundless billows fixed
And motionless for ever."
Over these the buffalo roamed in herds
that
"Shook the earth with thundering
steps."
marking a trail to guide the future
explorations and surveys of the white man. The untutored
savage heard the voice of the Great Spirit in the
moaning winds and the deep-toned thunders. He paused
from the pursuit of game to render homage to the "wakan"
that intercepted his path. The awful war-whoop resounded
o'er the bluffs as he pursued his long hated enemy.
The reeking scalp was exhibited in the horrid war-dance,
and the captive
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was tortured in the most cruel manner
that savage malice and hate could devise.
But in the great plans
and purposes of JEHOVAH, a moral dawn appears. The
march of empire is westward. On, on it rushes, till
the inventive genius of the immortal Fulton has pushed
it beyond the Great Lakes; and the wild beasts of
the prairie, with the red man, have fled the approach
of steam.The iron horse, more mighty than Bucephalus,
is neighing far, far beyond, and making the widely-separated
Atlantic and Mississippi to meet. Men, indeed, "run
to and fro, and knowledge is every where increased."
Richness and beauty increase as we approach the interior—as
we stand upon the banks of earth's noblest stream,
surrounded by the flowery plains, the rich, undulating
prairies and natural parks of Minnesota, the El Dorado
of the world. In the first gush of enthusiasm we exclaim
"Eureka! Eureka!"
Emigrant Train crossing the prairie.
(click for larger size)
Chapter II
