CHAPTER XXVIII.
NATURAL RESOURCES.
THE St. Croix Valley
was earliest brought into note on account of its lumbering
interests; and skirting the western banks of the river
and lake are many fine and well cultivated farms.
As we pass along we wonder if this region was
so recently the home of the red man, and the lurking
place of the wild beast!
Messrs. Haskell and Norris
are entitled to the credit of pioneer farmers in Minnesota,
and in this valley, the delta between the Mississippi
and St. Croix rivers, their farms were located. “They
first demonstrated the fact that our lands are equal
to any in the West for the production of cereals,
a fact which was denied not only by non-residents
of the territory, but by individuals among us.”
The erroneous idea has
extensively prevailed, that “Minnesota is too
cold to raise corn.” “The total absurdity
of this idea has been so fully and effectually exposed,
that it is now rarely or never urged by men of ordinary
intelligence. Minnesota will, within a few years,
be one of the most extensive corn-growing States in
the Union. Both soil and climate are perfectly adapted
to the growth of this cereal. The ordinary yield on
well-cultivated fields, is from fifty to seventy bushels
per acre.
“Wheat is also a staple production; some fields
having produced over forty bushels of winter wheat
[133]
134
to the acre. But spring wheat has been
extensively raised; and if the ground is properly
prepared, never fails to produce bountifully. From
twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre may be considered
the average yield. It is never liable to rust (so
far as we know), the dryness of the climate being
a guaranty against that mischief The grain is plump
and heavy, and makes a flour nearly, if not quite,
equal to wheat produced further south. Its cultivation
has been rapidly on the increase, although the demand
has more than kept pace with the supply.
“Oats are also extensively
raised, and have proved a certain and profitable crop.
The average yield is estimated at about forty bushels
to the acre, although as high as sixty are frequently
raised. They are, perhaps, as profitable a crop as
can be raised, as from the immense quantities required
for feeding in the Territory, a ready-cash market
is always at hand, at high prices. They are seldom
less than fifty cents a bushel, ranging from that
to a dollar, and even higher on some occasions.
“Barley and buckwheat
are both good crops, although the former has not yet
been cultivated to any great extent in the Territory.
In regard to roots, no country in the world can surpass
this, either in quality or yield per acre.
“In short, as a
vegetable and grain-growing country, there is not
a State or Territory in the Union that can surpass
Minnesota, nor is there a country where farming is
now more profitable.
“The demand for
labor in Minnesota is very great, and no person who
is willing to work need here be unemployed. Wages
are high for all kinds of labor,
135
especially for mechanics whose trade
is connected with building. Ordinary journeymen carpenters
get from two dollars to two and a half per day-first-rate
workmen, three dollars. The immense amount of building
going on is likely to sustain these prices for some
time to come.
“Lumbermen usually
get from twenty-five to thirty dollars per month.
Farm hands get from twenty to twenty-six dollars and
board. Sawyers, millmen, and shingle makers, get from
one to two dollars per day, according to skill and
experience.
“Girls, for doing
house work, get from one and a half to three dollars
per week-average about two dollars and twenty-five
cents. The supply is not equal to the demand, as this
class of girls who come to Minnesota always have numerous
advantageous offers of marriage, some one or more
of which they are generally sensible enough to accept.
“Vast quantities
of lands are to be obtained at Government price, though
none of much value near the principal towns, or bordering
on the great thoroughfares, excepting far up the Mississippi.
This is one reason for the high rates of wages for
a person can ‘make a claim,’ put up a
shanty, break and fence a few acres, and if he choose,
sell out in six or eight months for from three hundred
to a thousand dollars, or even more, according to
location. Of course, this is much, better wages than
can be obtained by the month, with, perhaps, less
hard labor and hardships and for every hour’s
labor he bestows on his ‘claim,’ he will
reap a munificent compensation, whether he preempts
to make a farm for his own use, or sells his improvements
to some other.
136
“Another reason for the continuance
of high rates of labor is found in the immense immigration.
Farm houses are to be built all over the territory,
and hundreds of new towns are springing up, many of
which are to become cities of importance within a
few years; hence mechanics need have, no fears of
lack of profitable employment.”
Chapter XXIX
Return to top
