Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, Part 39

Author: Holcombe, R. I. (Return Ira), 1845-1916; Bingham, William H
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago : H. Taylor & Co.
Number of Pages: 1190

USA > Minnesota > Hennepin County > Minneapolis > Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota > Part 39

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One of the most acceptable of foods to such men at the supper hour was bean soup, of a kind and quality such as a cook on the frontier, alone, knows how to prepare. Plenty of good bread was always in ahun- dance at such time. Usually there was also either

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

corned beef or boiled pork to be had by those who wished it; generally also boiled rice or apple dump- lings, besides tea and coffee.

The work of the frontiersman is more or less hazard- ons in its nature, and yet bad accidents are rarc. Oc- casionally a man is struck by a falling limb, or he may be cut by the glancing blow of an ax, though he learns to be very careful when using tools, well knowing that there is no surgeon or hospital near at hand. Some- times in the early winter, men unaccompanied, yet obliged to travel alone, drop through the treacherous ice and are drowned. Few winters pass in a lumber country where instances of this kind do not oceur. One day, when alone, I came near enough to such an experience. I was obliged to eross a lake, known to have air holes probably caused by warm springs. The ice was covered by a heavy layer of snow, consequently I wore snowshoes, and before starting to cross, eut a long, stout pole. Taking this firmly in my hands, I made my way out on the ice. All went well until I was near the opposite shore, when suddenly the bot- tom went out from under me and I fell into the water, through an unseen air hole which the snow covered. The pole I carried was sufficient in length to reach the firm ice on either side, which alone enabled me, after much labor, impeded as I was by the eumbersome snowshoes, to gain the surface. The next absolutely necessary thing to do, was to make a fire as quickly as possible, before I should become benumbed by my wet garments.

The survey went steadily on, the snow and cold in- creased, and rarely was it possible to make an advance of more than four miles in a day. Frank Hoyt re- mained at the warehouse and watched the supplies which were steadily diminishing. One day, Philip B. Winston, two men of the crew, and I, set out to the supply camp to bring some provisions to the eook's camp. The first day at nightfall, we reached an Indian wigwam that we knew of, situated in a grove of hard wood timber, near the shore of a lake, directly on our route to the supply eamp. Our little party stayed with the Indians and shared their hospitality. It was a large wigwam, covered principally with eedar bark, and there was an additional smaller wigwam so elose to it, that a passage way was made from one wigwam to the other.

In the smaller wigwam, lived a young Indian, his squaw, and the squaw's mother ; in the larger wigwam lived the chief, his wife, his daughter, son-in-law, and the hunter, his wife, and two daughters, all of whom were present exeept the hunter. There was an air of expectancy noticeable as we sat on the mats around the fire in the wigwam, after having made some coffee and eaten our supper outside. Presently the chief informed us that an heir was looked for that evening in the adjoining tent. Before nine o'elock, it was an- nounced that a young warrior had made his appear- ance, and all were happy over his arrival. The large pipe was brought forth, filled with tobacco, and, after the chief had taken the first smoke, it was passed around to their guests, and all the men smoked, as well as the married women.

The next morning, we continued our journey aeross

the lake and on to Hoyt's camp, where, it is needless to say, he was glad to see some white men. Their visits were rare at his eamp. Filling our paeks with things the eook had ordered, we started on our return journey, arriving at the Indian camp at nightfall. As we left the ice to go up the banks of the lake to the wigwams, we met the mother of the young warrior who had made his first appearance the preceding night, going down to the lake with a pail in each hand to bring some water to her wigwam. The healthy young child was brought into the wigwam and shown to the members of our party, who complimented the young mother and wished that he might grow to be a brave, worthy to be chieftain of their tribe.

That evening a feast had been prepared at the ehief's wigwam, in honor of the birth of the child, to which our party was invited. The menu consisted principally of boiled riee, boiled muskrat, and boiled rabbit. The three principal foods, having been eooked in one kettle and at the same time, were served as one eourse, but the guests were invited to repeat the eourse as often as they desired. This invitation was aeeepted by some, while others seemed satisfied to take the course but once. I have always found the hospitality of the Chippewa Indian unsurpassed, and more than once, in my frontier experienees, I have found that hospitality a godsend to me and to my party.

It was in the month of February, 1875, when the surveying party completed its work east of Bow String Lake, and finished, one afternoon, closing its last lines on the Third Guide Meridian. At the camp, that afternoon, preparations were being made for a gen- cral move of considerable distance. It is not always possible for the frontiersman to reach his goal on the day that he has planned to do so. An instanee in point occurred next day, when our surveying party was moving out to Grand Rapids. The snow was deep and the weather intensely cold when we broke camp that morning, hoping before nightfall to reach one of Hill Lawrenee's logging eamps. Some Indians had been hired to help paek out our belongings. Our course lay direetly through the unbroken forest, with- out trail or blazed line, and the right direction was kept only by the constant use of the eompass. All were on snowshoes, and those of the party who could be depended upon to correctly use the compass, took turns in breaking road. Eael compass-man would break the way through the snow for half an hour, then another would step in and break the way for another half hour, and he in turn would be succeeded by a third compass-man. This change of leadership was continued all the way during that day.

About the middle of the afternoon, the Indians threw down their packs and left our party altogether, having bceome tired of their jobs. This necessitated dividing up the Indians' packs and each man suf- fieiently able-bodied taking a part of thicse abandoned loads in addition to his own pack; and thus we con- tinucd the journey.

Night was fast approaching, and the distance was too great to reach the Lawrence eamp that night.

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

Fortunately, there were some Indian wigwams not far in advance. These we. reached after nightfall, and, as our party was very tired and carried no pre- pared food, we asked for shelter during the night with the Indians. They soon made places where our men could spread their blankets around the small fire . in the center of the wigwams. Then we asked if we could be served with something to eat. We received an affirmative "Ugh," and the squaws commenced preparing food, which consisted solely of a boiled rabbit stew with a little wild rice. It was once more demonstrated that hunger is a good cook. After hav- ing partaken of the unselfishly proffered food, and, after most of our party had smoked their pipes, all lay down about the fire, and fell asleep. Even the presence of Indian dogs, occasionally walking over us in the night, interfered but little with our slumbers. The next morning our party started out without break- fast, and by ten o'clock reached the Lawrence camp, where the cook set out, in a few minutes time, a great variety of food, and an abundance of it, of which each man partook to his great satisfaction.

From Lawrence camp we were able to secure the services of the tote team that was going out for sup- plies, which took our equipment through to Grand Rapids. From that point, we were able, also, to hire a team to take our supplies to the Swan River, crossing which, we went north to survey two townships, which would complete the winter's contract.

It has been stated that this winter of 1874 and 1875 was the coldest of which the Weather Bureau for Min- nesota furnishes any history. Besides the intense cold, there were heavy snows. Nevertheless, no serious in- jury or physical suffering of long duration befell any member of our band of hardy woodsmen. Not one of our number was yet thirty years old, the youngest one being eighteen. Two only of the party were mar- ried, Fendall G. Winston and myself. On leaving Grand Rapids in August, we separated ourselves from all other white men. The party was as completely separated from the outside world as though it had been aboard a whaling vessel in the Northern Seas. No letters nor communications of any kind reached us after winter set in, until our arrival in Grand Rapids in the month of February following. Letters were occasionally written and kept in readiness to send out by any Indian who might be going to the nearest logging camp, whence they might by chance be carried out to some post office. Whether thesc letters reached their destinations or not, could not be known by the writers as long as they remained on their work, hidden in the forest.

I had left my young wife and infant daughter, not yet a year old. in Minneapolis. Either, or both might have died and been buried before any word could have reached me. It was not possible at all times to keep such thoughts out of my mind. Of course every day was a busy one. completely filled with the duties of the hour, and the greatest solace was found in believ- ing that all was well, even though we could not com- municate with each other. As I recall, no ill befell any one of the party nor of the party's dear ones, dur- ing all these long weeks and months of separation.

Every man of the party seemed to become more rugged and to possess greater endurance as the cold increased. It became the common practice to let the camp fire burn down and die, as we rolled into our blankets to sleep till the morning hour of arising.

Not every night was spent in comfort, however, though ordinarily that was the average experience. The less robust ones, of whom there were very few, sometimes received special attention.

Long living around the open camp fire in the winter months, standing around in the smoke, and accumu- lating more or less of the odors from foods of various kinds being cooked by the open fire, invariably result in all of one's clothing and all of one's bedding be- coming more or less saturated with the smell of the camp. This condition one does not notice while living in it from day to day, but he does not need to be out and away from such environments for more than a few hours, before he becomes personally conscious, to some degree, that such odors are not of a quality that would constitute a marketable article for cash. On arriving in Minneapolis at the close of the winter's campaign, without having changed our garments-as we had none with us that had not shared with us one and the same fate-Mr. P. B. Winston and I engaged a hack at the railroad station, and drove to our respective homes.

It was Mr. Winston's domicile that was first reached, and it happened, as the driver stopped in front of his house, that his fiancé, Miss Kittie Stevens, (the first white child born in Minneapolis), chanced to be passing by. Of course their meeting was unex- pected to cither, but was a pleasant and joyous one, though somewhat embarrassing to Mr. Winston. The wind was blowing, and I noticed that he took the pre- caution to keep his own person out of the windward. He had been a soldier in the Confederate Army, and I smiled with much satisfaction as I observed his splen- did maneuver.

On meeting me next day, Mr. Winston inquired whether his tactics had been observed, and, being as- sured that they had, he said that that was the embar- rassing moment for him, for he did not know but that the young lady might have considered that she had just grounds for breaking the engagement. Both of us, however, knew better, for she was a young lady possessed of a large degree of common sense and love- liness. The young people later were married, Mr. Winston becoming mayor of Minneapolis, remaining always, one of its best citizens. Often afterwards, in- cidents of that winter's experience, a few of which have been herein recorded, were gone over together with great pleasure by the parties interested.

The occupation of the pioneer woodsman as he is related to lumbering in the Northwest is one which demands many of the highest attributes of man. He must be skillful enough as a surveyor to always know which description of land he is on, and where he is on that description. He must be a good judge of tim- ber, able to discern the difference between a sound tree and a defective one, as well as to estimate closely the quantity and quality of lumber. reckoned in feet, board measure, each tree will likely produce when

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

sawed at the mill. He must examine the contonr of the country where the timber is, and make calculations how the timber is to be gotten out, either by water or by rail, and estimate how much money per thou- sand feet it will cost, to bring the logs to market. The value of the standing pine or other timber in the woods is dependent on all of these conditions, which must be reckoned in arriving at an estimate of the desirabil- ity of each tract of timber as an investment for him- self, or for whomsoever he may represent.

Possessing these qualifications, he must also be hon- est ; he must be industrious ; he must be courageous. He must gain the other side of rivers that have no bridges over them, and he must cross lakes on which there are no boats. He must find shelter when he has no tent, and make moccasins when his shoes are worn and no longer of service, and new ones are not to be

obtained; he must be indefatigable, for he will often be tempted to leave some work half finished rather than overcome the physical obstacles that lay between him and the completion of his task.

On the character of this man and on his faithfulness, · his honesty, his conscientiousness, and on the correct- ness of his knowledge concerning the quality, quantity, and sitnation as to marketing the timber he examines, depends the value of the investments. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are invested on the word of this man, after he has disappeared into the wilderness and emerged with his report of what he has seen. The requisitions of manhood for this work are of a very high degree, and, when such a man is found, he is entitled to all of the esteem that is ever accorded to an honest, faithful, conscientious cashier, banker, or ad- ministrator of a large estate.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE BANKING INTERESTS OF THE CITY.

SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE IMPORTANT AND TYPICAL BANKS AND TRUST COMPANIES OF MINNEAPOLIS-THE FIRST NATIONAL -- THE NORTHWESTERN NATIONAL-THE SECURITY NATIONAL-MINNEAPOLIS .TRUST CO .- MINNESOTA LOAN AND TRUST CO .- THE STATE INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS-FARMERS AND MECHANICS SAVINGS BANK- SCANDINAVIAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL-METROPOLITAN NATIONAL-ST. ANTHONY FALLS BANK-THE NATIONAL CITY BANK OF MINNEAPOLIS-THE GERMAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL-EAST SIDE STATE BANK.

The first bank at St. Anthony was established by Richard Martin, in 1854; later the same year Far- num & Tracy started. The first bankers on the west side of the river were Simon P. Snyder and Wm. K. McFarlane, who came in 1855. They not only estab- lished a banking house with ample capital but en- gaged somewhat extensively as dealers in real estate. They did a great deal for the advancement and prog- ress of the young city. C. H. Pettit came also in 1855 and founded the second bank in Minneapolis proper.

From the very first years after they came into existence the local banks have operated for good to an extent surpassing the money exchanges of almost every other American city. The chief factors in the development, growth, and prosperity of Minneapolis have been its mills and other factories, and these could not have succeeded but for the banks.

Following are notices and sketches of a few of the banks of the city, leading in their character and regarded with great favor in the public estimation. The few mentioned here are typical and representa- tive of the whole number.

FIRST NATIONAL BANK.

The First National Bank of Minneapolis was founded under circumstances of more than ordinary romance and adventure, and the history of the insti- tution is in brief and by implication that of the re- gion in which it is located. The sum of $10,000, on which it was founded, was brought by stage in 1857 to what was then the little village of Minneapolis. The money belonged to J. K. Sidle, a young man from the city of York, Pennsylvania, and he brought it for the purpose of starting a bank. He secured the as- sistance of Peter Wolford in the enterprise, and to- gether they established a private bank under the firm name of Sidle & Wolford, which carried on a flour- ishing business for a short time before being incor- porated as a State institution under the name of the Minneapolis Bank.

In 1864, in obedience to a call from President Lincoln, banks all over the country hurried to nation- alize under a new banking law then recently passed by Congress. The Minneapolis Bank made applica- tion for a charter under which to work as the First

National Bank of Minneapolis early in the year, but it was not until December 12, that year, when the application was perfected and the capital was all paid in. The first stockholders and directors were J. K. Sidle, H. G. Sidle, Henry Sidle, G. Scheitlin, Loren Fletcher, D. C. Bell, E. A. Veazie, Anthony Kelly, E. B. Ames, Capt. John Martin, and W. A. Penniman. J. K. Sidle was elected president and H. G. Sidle cashier. Later Geo. Pillsbury became a stockholder and director, serving until his death. The last statement of the Minneapolis Bank, made on May 31, 1864, showed resources amounting to $126,960.03, a capital stock of $60,000, and depos- its aggregating $41,922.92. The First National Bank began business with a capital stock of $50,000, which was increased to $100,000 in 1872, to $200,000 in 1874, to $600,000 in 1878, to $1,000,000 in 1886, and to $2,000,000 in 1903, the sum at which it now stands. In 1894 F. M. Prince was elected cashier, and in January, 1895, vice president, being suc- ceeded in the cashiership by C. T. Jaffray. At the same time Captain John Martin was elected presi- dent. On the death of Captain Martin, in 1904, Hon. John B. Gilfillan was elected president. But after two years Mr. Gilfillan was made chairman of the board of directors and Mr. Prince was elected presi- dent. The officers of the bank in 1913 were: F. M. Prince, president; C. T. Jaffray, A. A. Crane, George F. Orde and D. Mackerchar, vice presidents ; H. A. Willoughby, cashier, and G. A. Lyon and P. J. Leeman, assistant cashiers. The board of direct- ors consists of: J. B. Gilfillan, chairman; George C. Bagley, Earl Brown, E. L. Carpenter, R. H. Chute, Hovey C. Clarke, A. E. Clerihew, Elbridge C. Cooke, Isaac Hazlett, Horace M. Hill, W. A. Lancaster, A. C. Loring, John D. McMillan, John H. McMillan, S. G. Palmer, E. Pennington, Alfred S. Pillsbury, Charles S. Pillsbury, R. R. Rand, John Washburn, F. B. Wells, A. M. Woodward, F. M. Prince, C. T. Jaffray, A. A. Crane, and George F. Orde.

In 1906 the bank built its present banking house at the corner of First Avenue South and Fifth Street, in the center of the business district of the city. The building has a frontage of 165 feet, is forty feet high, and is especially worthy of com- mendation for its excellent light provisions. The floor space of the main banking room contains 15,000

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HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS AND HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA

square feet, and the institution is fully equipped in the most modern style for its work. In addition to the usual departments of business conducted by banks, the First National has an equipment of safety deposit vaults ; a ladies' department, with a rest room for this class of its patrons and other provision for their comfort; a savings department, and a foreign exchange department. It was one of the first banking institutions in the country to distribute a portion of its earnings each year to every member of its staff. This it does by crediting to the account of each man the bons allowed annually for ten years and paying interest on the fund thus acenmulated, which ma- tures and the whole amount becomes payable at the end of that period. It has also established a pension fund for its employes whereby each of them. after he has served fifteen years from his twenty-first birthday, is entitled to a pension if he becomes in- capacitated, or he may retire on his pension when he reaches sixty years of age. In case of his death his family receives a definite amount of care and assistance from the bank. The institution has long realized that a large part of its business success is due to the proficiency of its employes, and has felt it a duty to give them a part of what they help to earn.

This enterprising and progressive institution, which is one of the leaders in the banking business in the country, will in 1914 celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. It has done its whole duty in aiding the development and progress of the Northwest, and done it well. The aggregate of its resources is now nearly $35,000,000, and the volume of business it transacts is enormous No financial panic, however widespread and generally disastrous, has ever shaken its firm foundations or seriously disturbed its prog- ress ; and no "wild cat" or speculative project, how- ever spectacular and alluring, has ever been given any consideration by it. The bank has kept ou the straight line of legitimate banking operations, with- out variation or shadow of turning, except as the pas- sage of time has brought about new departments and facilities for its patrons, and now it is impregnable in its massive strength and without reservation of any kind or degree in the faith and regard of its immense body of well satisfied patrons.

THE NORTHWESTERN NATIONAL BANK.

The people of Minneapolis and its ever-widening business zone are fortunate in having always avail- able banking facilities that are ample, quickly re- sponsive to the community's needs, and adapted to its specific wants. Such facilities are furnished, to an extensive degree, by the Northwestern National Bank. In times of misfortune it has loyally served its community, and, at all times, its management, while exercising prudence and an essential conser- vatism, has supplied with a spirit of liberal accom- modation every legitimate requirement.

To an institution of good size and attainment there is sometimes given the honor of reflecting upon its city and territory a certain distinction, one which

may serve, in a measure, as a return for benefits re- ceived. This gratification has in recent years been afforded the Northwestern National Bank. It lies in the fact that the institution has materially raised the financial rank of Minneapolis among the cities of the United States. In point of population the city ranks eighteen ; in a comparison of all national banks showing deposits of $25,000,000 and over, Minne- apolis, by means of the record of this bank, assumes eleventh place. This fact was first made apparent by the publication in the Wall Street Journal, in October, 1913, of a list based upon this classification. Among all the national banks of the country the Northwestern ranked thirty-third.

Another item of national comparison may be cited. Consequent upon the consolidation of the National Bank of Commerce and the Swedish American Na- tional Bank with the Northwestern, in 1908, and its affiliation with the Minnesota Loan and Trust Com- pany in 1909, the association became "the largest financial institution in the West north of a line drawn from Chicago through St. Louis to the Pa- cific." This territory, it may be explained, does not include the city of San Francisco.

It was in April, 1872, at the Nicollet House, where many meetings of much future import were held in those early days, when the first meeting of sub- scribers for stock in the proposed new bank took place. The men who came together upon that occa- sion' were prominent in the early affairs of Minne- sota, or destined later to achieve such prominence. They chose as directors, Dorilus Morrison, William Windom, C. M. Loring, Clinton Morrison, C. G. Goodrich, Henry T. Welles, Anthony Kelly, and C. HI. Pettit. William Windom, eminent in national polities (being at that time a United States Senator), subsequently became a member of President Gar- field's Cabinet, and, in 1899, Secretary of the Treas- ury under President Harrison. Thomas Lowry, who was afterwards president of the Soo Road and of the Twin City Rapid Transit Company, acted as secretary of this first meeting. Dorilus Morrison was elected president of the new bank and S. E. Neiler cashier.

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Compendium of history and biography of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota, Part 39

Author: Holcombe, R. I. (Return Ira), 1845-1916; Bingham, William H Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Chicago : H. Taylor & Co. Number of Pages: 1190

Author: Holcombe, R. I. (Return Ira), 1845-1916; Bingham, William H
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago : H. Taylor & Co.
Number of Pages: 1190