CHAPTER XXVII
CLILMATE OF MINNESOTA
THE climate of Minnesota
is one of its greatest attractions.
For healthfulness it is unsurpassed. Elevated on the
continent above all miasmatic and malarious influences,
it is subject to none of those bilious diseases so
common in lower and more southern portions of the
West. The atmosphere is bracing, exhilarating, invigorating,
and pure.
The severity of our winters
has, doubtless, deterred many who would otherwise
have sought homes in its lovely vales. but experience
teaches all that they have nothing to fear from this
source.
"It is true, that
the cold is here more intense than in the Eastern
States in the same latitude; that is, the thermometer
often indicates a lower degree of temperature than
is there experienced. * * But that the winters
of Minnesota are far pleasanter, and that the human
system is less affected by the cold here than at the
East, is a fact generally admitted by all whose experience
enables them to form a correct judgment. This is attributable,
in a great measure, probably, to the dryness of the
atmosphere, and, in part, in consequence of the system
becoming habituated to the change, or acclimated,
and capable of enduring a greater degree of cold without
inconvenience, than in a damper atmosphere."
The extremities do occasionally
suffer the bitings of frost, while the individual
is scarcely sensible of cold; and therefore one needs
to be well prepared for the sea-
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son, and he has nothing to fear or suffer.
In a more southern latitude one might chill to death
without freezing, while here we would freeze without
chilling. On one occasion, during the earlier period
of pioneer life, my feet became badly frozen during
a ride of eighteen miles, on an unbroken road without
a house. I was sensible of no material suffering,
and yet, such was the actual state of my
physical system, that I have ever regarded the exercise
of digging myself from a snow drift, into which the
overturned sleigh had plunged me, as the means of
saving me from freezing to death. My nose, too, suffered
similarly on another occasion, yet the fact was unnoticed,
until it was exposed to the heat of the fire. These
extremes of cold are rare, and winter here is, on
the whole, a very pleasant season.
Snow usually begins to
fall about the middle of November, or the first of
December, and until the first of March we have steady
sleighing, with no general thaw; and rain rarely falls.
The average depth of snow is about ten inches, and
it seldom drifts to cause any inconvenience. The highest
winds are in the spring, when, though not very cold,
they are frequently very disagreeable.
The reign of winter is
suddenly resigned, and, without a frown, spring hastens
with rapid pace, and earth seems literally to drink
up the snow; and the floral train commences to deck
the earth. On the "sunny side" of a ravine
or bluff, the delicate spring flower announces the
awakening of vegetable life, while yet on the "shady
side," the formidable snow bank is wasting away.
When the ground is fairly bare the roads are usually
dry and dusty. Except in a few places, mud is almost
unknown.
"The soil is of such
a nature that it absorbs the water
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almost as fast as it falls; and after
the heaviest rain, two or three days are quite sufficient
to put the roads in the best possible order. How great
this advantage is, can be best understood by those
accustomed to the impassable thoroughfares of the
States below us, during several months of the year.
The spring in Minnesota,
with the advance of vegetation, is quite as early
as it is several degrees south of us. Immigrants from
below often express their surprise at finding vegetation
here farther advanced than at four hundred miles south.
"Plowing may usually
be commenced as soon as the snow is off the ground.
In some seasons it is commenced in March; but ordinarily,
little is done before April. Vegetation is quick and
rapid, and grains requiring the longest time to mature,
are always out of the way of frost.
"Some few excessively
hot days are experienced in the summer, the mercury
running as high as ninety, and even above one hundred,
in the shade. But even then, the nights are rarely
oppressive, a cool breeze usually prevailing, and
modifying the temperature so as to render it delightful;
and a comfortable night's rest is always obtained."
Autumn is decidedly the
crowning season. "The glorious Indian summer,
from four to six weeks, presents a feature which no
other part of the Union can boast in such perfection.
Nothing can surpass the splendor of the forests at
this season, or the mild, pure, delicious atmosphere.
It is worth a journey across the Atlantic to enjoy
a Minnesota Indian summer." Fall rains are uncommon,
and the wheeling is fine, until the snow falls on
dry, hard, and smooth roads.
In illustration of our
delightful autumns, I am now,
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October 9th, clad in summer dress, and
actually oppressed with heat; and such has been the
uninterrupted temperature, thus far, through the present
season.
I am aware, that if the
whole truth could be told—if a faithful
picture of the matchless beauty and natural advantages
of this "goodlie land" could be drawn, it
would appear to the world as the work of imagination,
rather than reality. The more we know of the country,
the greater our admiration, and the more intense our
enthusiasm.
Captain Pope, in his Government
Report, has the following strong but reliable language:
"It is impossible, in a report of this character,
to describe the feelings of admiration and astonishment
with which we first beheld the charming country in
the vicinity of this Lake (the Ottertail); and were
I to give expression to my own feelings and opinions
in reference to it, I fear they would be considered
the ravings of a visionary, or enthusiast." In
reference to the country in general, he further says:
"I have become so much interested in the country,
and so fully convinced of the rapid progress it will
make in wealth and population, that it would not only
be a high honor, but a deep gratification to me, should
I be so fortunate as to be selected for the purpose
of continuing the explorations yet to be made within
its borders. Without being too sanguine or enthusiastic,
it appears to me that no State or Territory in the
West presents so many, or such remarkable advantages
to the farmer or manufacturer; and I am well convinced
that those who may be induced, by the perusal of this
report, to emigrate to the Territory of Minnesota,
will find their anticipations more than realized,
and will be rather disposed to condemn me for having
said too little than too much.
Chapter XXVIII
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