USA > Minnesota > Illustrated history of Minnesota, a hand-book for citizens and general readers > Part 10
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177
THE STATE.
XII. PILLSBURY'S 3d ADMINISTRATION.
Second Re-election .- During the political campaign of IS79; a lively discussion was aroused relative to the advisa- bility of nominating Governor Pillsbury for a third term. It was thought by many to do so would be to establish a harmful precedent. But so meritorious had his official acts appeared to the people that he was again re-elected in 1879, his majority over Edmund Rice being more than fifteen thousand.
First Insane Hospital Burned .- The night of No- vember 15th, ISSo, the First Hospital for the Insane, at St. Peter, was partially destroyed by fire. Twenty-seven pa- tients perished and many others escaped from their keepers.
Burning of the Capitol .- On the morning of March Ist, ISSI, the Capitol of Minnesota presented to the be- holder's eye nothing but a mass of smouldeing ruins. At nine o'clock the previous evening warning flames shot from roof and dome. The alarm was given, but nothing could be done to save the building Both houses of the legisla- ture were in session, and when all chance of escape through the usual avenues was speedily cut off, intense excitement prevailed among the members. Happily, a few moments before the ceiling of the senate chamber fell, the senators found means of exit through a small window opening from the cloak room into the main stairway. The representa- tives were equally fortunate in escaping a terrible death.
The state library and many valuable relics of the His- torical Society were completely destroyed, but the books of the latter were for the most part saved in a damaged condition.
HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
Final Settlement of Bonds .- Selah Chamberlain, in behalf of himself and a majority of the railroad bond hold- ers, offered to make a settlement, taking new bonds of half the face value of the old. The legislature, March 2d, ISSI, enacted that a tribunal should decide whether the legisla- ture alone had power to make a settlement without appeal- ing to the people. Finally, under a provision of the act, the tribunal was composed of district judges; but the Su- preme Court issued a writ restraining them from taking action, and not only decided that the act forming the trib- unal was unlawful, but that the constitutional act of 1860 which called for a popular ratification of any plan of set- tlement that the legislature might devise was also null and void. In short, the legislature alone had the power of set- tlement in its own hands. Governor Pillsbury called an extra session of the legislature to meet October, ISS2, and this vexed question of generations was at last eliminated from the affairs of state by the acceptance of Chamberlain's offer.
Cox's Impeachment .- E. St. Julien Cox, during the legislative session of ISS1, was brought before the senate, then sitting as a court of impeachment, the charge of con- duct unbecoming his judicial position having been preferred against him, said conduct resulting from intemperate habits. He was accounted guilty and deposed from his judgeship.
Constitutional Changes .- It must have been noticed ere this that many amendments, adopted from time to time, greatly changed the character of the Constitution, and rem- edied some of those evils of which Governor Austin com- plained in his day. This administration saw still further changes. Special legislation was forbidden in eleven par- ticulars. Definite provision was made for levying state and
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THE STATE.
municipal taxes in general, and to pay for public improve- ments of a particular character. Finally, the swamp lands were devoted to the support of the common schools, those of higher learning, and other state institutions.
XIII .- HUBBARD'S 1st ADMINISTRATION.
Governor Hubbard .- Lucius F. Hubbard was born at Troy, New York, January 26th, 1836. His father, Charles F. Hubbard, sheriff of Rensselaer county, died three years later, and Lucius was given over to the care of an aunt at Chester, Vermont. At the age of twelve he went to Granville, New York, where he attended an academy for three years. He then began an apprenticeship at Poultney, Vermont, but com- pleted the trade, that of tin- smith, at Salem, New York
In 1854, he removed to Chi- cago, at which place he con- tinued to work at his trade. All GOV. HUBBARD. of these years of manual labor, too, were years of study, and it is not surprising, perhaps, to find him in 1857 forsak- ing the work bench for the editorial chair. At that time, he established the Republican at Red Wing, Minnesota. The following year, he was elected register of Goodhue county, and in 1861 was nominated as the Republican can- didate for the state senate, being defeated in the subse- quent election by Judge McClure, who had a majority of but seven. He immediately entered the army as a private in the 5th Minnesota, but upon its reorganization became
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
its lieutenant-colonel, from which time his military success was marked, as elsewhere recorded.
After the close of the war, he engaged extensively in milling operations and railroad construction, and during the four years subsequent to IS72 served in the state senate. In the fall of ISSI, he was nominated by the Republicans for governor, and in the election outstripped the Demo- cratic candidate, Gen. R. W. Johnson, by a majority of nearly twenty-eight thousand.
Completion of the Northern Pacific .- In the early fall of ISS3, the problem of centuries, the finding of a northwest passage, met with a practical solution. To be sure, the stately argosies of the nations, richly freighted with the products of India, could not even now, more than in the days of the early navigators, trace a continuous internat- ional highway of American inland seas and rivers; but the iron bands of the Northern Pacific at last stretched across the broad plains and lofty mountains of the West so that the swift messengers of steam could speed from sea to sea. The event was celebrated at Saint Paul and Minneapolis. There were those present who but a few years before had seen the wild deer leaping where they now saw thousands of people pouring through the costly triumphal arches spanning the commercial streets of two great cities. The President of the United States and dignitaries from European nations graced the occasion with their presence.
Biennial Sessions Adopted .- Nothing of a very marked political character occurred during this administration save the amending of the Constitution to prescribe biennial ses- sions of the legislature and otherwise alter the tenure of office in state and county.
Material Progress .- In respect to this administration,
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لسلسيق.
خـقـ
الاخت لالبعث فيشبا الباطلدا عىللدي
BRIDGE AND MILLS AT ST. ANTHONY FALLS TO-DAY.
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
Gov. Hubbard thus speaks :-
" The material progress of the State was very marked in many respects. In population, wealth, and the develop- ment of all the industries of our people, Minnesota made a decided advance during 1SS2 and 1SS3. The extension of our railroad system, particularly the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad, gave a decided impetus to our commercial centres. The adoption of more diversified methods infused new life into our agricultural interests, and with large accessions to our population, and active capital, all industrial pursuits felt the inspiration of a healthy and substantial progress."
XIV .- HUBBARD'S 2d ADMINISTRATION.
Hubbard's Re-election .-- In the fall of ISS3, Gov .Hub- bard was re-elected to the executive position. It was a time of happy auspices in the history of the Commonwealth, when the citizens could look back over the records of a wonderful past and forward to the great but sure fruitions of a near future.
Economic Growth .- During the three years of this ad- ministration, every conservative prophecy made at its beginning touching the economic welfare of the people has been more than fulfilled.
The industries of agriculture and dairying have increased greatly in the intelligence of the methods by which they are carried on; and the area of country devoted to these pursuits has been enlarged by thousands of acres once held by speculators, railroad corporations, and as parts of the public domain.
Manufacturing centres have grown rapidly in population and the number of their industries.
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GLIMPSE OF ST. PAUL TO-DAY FROM SUMMIT AVENUE.
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
Necessarily keeping pace with both these lines of ad- vancement, commercial life has moved vigorously in old directions and opened many new ones. In short, Gov. Hubbard's words in reference to his first administration might well be repeated here with emphasis.
Public Institutions .- But a surer index of what the final civilization of a people is to be than any gross meas- urement of progress in wealth, is the development of those public institutions which are the children as it were of the citizens' intellect and heart. In these years, for example, schools of every grade have multiplied in number and effi- ciency, and the educational system is quickly shaping itself to provide for the highest ideals of life. Public charities also have flourished, and to their number has been added a home at Owatonna for indigent children.
Civic Problems .- Yet, in the midst of this general prosperity, particular forms of discontent have gained strength among the people and assumed the shape of great civic problems.
First of all, the producing classes have an active associa- tion called the Farmers' Alliance whose purposes are simi- lar to those of the old Grange, but the new organization promises to be far more powerful than the old.
Labor, too, stands more strongly intrenched than ever before against the exactions of capital, and indeed in some cases has itself become the party of unwise encroachment on human rights.
Another class of citizens, thinking that the very root of our social and political troubles lies in the wide-spread habit of intemperance, propose to exercise their elective franchise in prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicants.
However, none of these forms of civil agitation need be
THE STATE,
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viewed with alarm as elements of permanent discord, but rather as means which in spite of human unfairness born of passion will surely bring about wholesome reforms.
XV .- McGILL'S ADMINISTRATION.
Gov. McGill .- Andrew R. McGill, the nominee and can- didate-elect of the Republican party in the fall of ISS6, was born at the old home of his paternal ancestry in Crawford county, Pa., February 19th, 1840. His grandfather was a veteran of the Revolution, and from him and his own father he inherited the simple pleas- ures and rugged toil of a farmer boy's life. Studious in habit, and literary in his tastes, he sought and received the educa- tional advantages of a village academy. When a young man of twenty, he began the life of a teacher in the vicinity of Cov- ington, Kentucky. After the GOV. MCGILL. breaking out of the Rebellion, he removed to St. Peter, Minnesota, and continued teaching. In 1862 he enlisted in the 9th Regiment, but was discharged a year later on account of ill-health. He was admitted to the bar in 186S. For the twenty-three years just past his energies have been expended in the various positions of editor, publisher, clerk of the district court, governor's private secretary, and in- surance commissioner.
Here this history rests at the dawn of the fifteenth state administration and the election of the tenth governor.
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
KEY TO PRONUNCIATION.
ā, as in .fate.
ă, as in have.
· å, as in fate, but briefer:
ä, as in
fär.
a, as in.
all.
a, mute, or as u in
ŭs.
â, as in.
âir.
a, mute, or as u in
but.
ē, as in ēve.
ě, as in mět. e, mute, or as ŭ in. ūs.
ê, as in
ère.
é, as ã in
there. I, as in
.it.
ī, as ē in. mēte. ō, as in
note. ö, as in
odd. 9, as in prove.
ū, as in ūse. ú, as in but. û, as in ûrge.
y, as in .. pull.
ü, French u
see Webster's Dic., p. 1682, note 5.
y, as in rude.
ğ, as in ğet.
ģ, as in gem.
° degree of latitude and longitude.
' acute or primary accent.
' grave or secondary accent.
' chief primary accent, or heavy.
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lāte.
è, as ê in
DAYS OF THE VOYAGEURS.
Physical Features.
I. After due account has been made of race characteristics, it may safely be said that the physical features of a country are a great factor in shaping its history ; for example, they determine the occupations of the people; occupations pursued for generations develop certain mental traits; finally these niental traits determine channels of national life. .
Position and Surface.
I. To gain some idea of the variations in elevation, the reader is referred to the table of the same given in another part of the appendix.
Rivers.
I. There are many fine water powers upon these streams. The largest yet developed are at St. Anthony Falls and St. Cloud.
The Dakotas.
I. Dakota (Dah'ko-tah). Allied, united; name applied to the confederation of tribes now called Sioux.
2. Santees. Correct form, Isanyati (Ee-san'yah-tee). Dwell- ers by Knife Lake; the same lake is now called Mille Lacs. Neill says: "It is asserted by Dakotah missionaries now living, that this name was given to the lake because the stone from which they manufactured the knife (isan) was here obtained."
3. Mississippi. Great and long river. See Hennepin, note 8.
4. Yanktons. Correct form, Thanktonwan (Ee-han'kton-wan). End-dwellers. There is also a French form ; namely, Yanktonais (Ee-han'kton-wan-na). Little End-dwellers.
5. Minnesota. The explorer Nicollet says: "The adjective Sotah is of difficult translation. The Canadians translated it by a pretty equivalent word, brouillé, perhaps more properly rendered in English by blear. I have entered upon this explanation because the word Sotah really means neither clear nor turbid, as some authors have asserted, its true meaning being readily found in the
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
Sioux expression Ish-ta-sotah, blear-eyed." Neill says: "The name is a compound Dakotah word. This nation called the Missouri Minneshoshay, muddy water, and this stream Minnesota. The precise signification of Sotah is difficult to express. Some writers have said it means clear, Schoolcraft bluish green, others turbid. From the fact that the word signifies neither white nor blue, but the peculiar appearance of the sky on certain days, the Historical Society publications define Minnesota to mean the sky-tinted water, which is certainly poetic, and according to Gideon H. Pond, one of the best Dakotah scholars, correct."
Of course, the State was named after the river.
6. Teetons. Correct form, Tetonwan (tee'ton-wan). Prairie- dwellers.
7. Lac qui Parle (lăk-ki-parl). The lake that speaks. It was so called by the French in translating the Indian word iyedan. Some say the Indians named it on account of an echo - or because they heard voices but saw no people when they went there first.
8. Big Stone Lake. Evidently so named on account of the many large boulders lying on its shores and bluffs.
9. Assiniboine (ăs-sin'i-boine). Correct form, Assiniboanes. "Their own distinctive name is never used; the neighboring Algonquin tribes called them Assinipawlak, Stone warriors, as some infer from the nature of the country near the Lake of the Woods."-American Encyclopedia.
Another authority says the name means the people who roast something on stones, because these people roast their meat on red-hot stones.
10. Iowas (i'o-was). English form for the French Ayavois, which in turn was an attempt to pronounce the Dakota word Iyakhba. It means Sleepy ones.
Long before the days of the voyageurs, it is said, the Yanktons lived upon the banks of the Red River of the North. One of their noted warriors was killed in the progress of a feud. His relatives retaliated, and the feud spread from family to family until the tribal bond was broken. and the smaller faction of a thousand lodges fled from the stronger and formed a lasting alliance with one of the Algic races, the Kristenos or Crees.
191
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
II. Omahas (o'ma-haws).
I2. Blue Earth. The river was given this name because of the blue clay of the Cretaceous formation found in its banks.
I3. Des Moines (de-moin').
14. Ojibwas (o-jib-ways). Ochipwe, Ochipe, forms given by Bishop Baraga. They never call themselves Chippewas as the Americans name them. Warren says: "Ojibwa means to roast till puckered up," and that it originated in the custom of torturing their enemies by fire. He pronounces it O-jib-way.
15. Mdewakantonwan (mda-wah-kay'toy-wan). Sacred-Lake- dwellers.
16. Wapekutes (wah-hpä'koo-tays). Leaf shooters.
17. Wahpetonwans (wah-hpa'ton-wan). Leaf-dwellers.
18. Sissitonwans (see-see'ton-wans). Marsh-dwellers.
19. W'iciyela (wi-chi-yea'lah).
20. WVi (wee).
First Explorers.
I. Jean Nicolet (zhon ne'ko'lā').
2. Michigan (Cree word), from mishigam, big lake.
3. Le Jeune (leh zhun').
4. Jourges (zhoor'zhå'). A French ensign.
5. Raymbault (ram'bo'). A French ensign.
6. Sault Ste. Marie-more properly Sault de Sainte Marie (so deh sän mä' re). The Falls of St. Mary.
7. "Quebec, from kepek, or kipak, being shut; kipaw, it is shut. The Indians of the St. Lawrence still call it Kepek ; because the river looks shut up by Diamond Cave, when going up, and by the Orleans island, when coming down."- Bishop Baraga.
8. Iroquois (ir-o-kwoy'). The Six Nations of New York; namely, Cayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas, and Tuscaroras.
9. Garreau (gar-rö').
IO. Nadouessioux (năd oo-ess-soo). A French attempt to pro- nounce an Ojibwa word said to mean enemies. The name was applied to the Dakotas. It is now abbreviated to Sioux.
1
192
HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
Groselliers and Radisson.
I. Medard Chouart (may-dah' shoo-a'),
2. Meaux (mo). A town twenty-five or thirty miles north of east of Paris, France, on the river Marne.
3. Pierre D' Esprit (pe-ere dês-pri').
4. St. Malo (săn mä' lo). Probably the seaport of that name on the northwest coast of France.
5. Groselliers (gro-sel-ya'). Sieur (sē-ur'). Sir.
6. Radisson (ră di son').
7. Canada (Cree word), a collection or village of huts.
8. René Menard (ren-a me-na').
9. Chegoimegon (shag'war-me-gon'). Also spelled Chaq-wa- mi-gon. Warren, perhaps the best authority, gives the phonetic form Shag-a-waum-ik-ong.
IO. Tetanga (tā-täng'ä).
II. Isle Royale is the French form.
12. Prince Rupert. Nephew of Charles I. of England.
René Menard.
1. The Hurons themselves were of Iroquois stock, but the latter became nevertheless their implacable enemies. The band of them that settled at Lake Superior were expelled by the Sioux, and again wandered eastward. Part of the tribe exists to-day in Canada under the old name, and part in Indian Territory under the name of Wyandots.
2. Perrot (på-ro').
3. Black River. The Sioux called it Sappah (sa-pa), black. Then the French called it the Noire (nwa), black. Hence the English form.
4. Marquette (mar-ket'). A French Jesuit missionary. For an account of his explorations, see U. S. History.
5. Allouez (al'wa').
The Fur Traders.
I. Coureurs des bois (kou reur de bwa). Rovers, or rangers, of the woods.
2. Voyageur (vwa'ya zhûr'). A traveler.
193
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
3. Bateaux (bat-oz'). Long, narrow boats tapering rapidly from the center toward both ends, and unstable save in the hands of skillful boatmen.
4. Bois brulé (bwa broo-la'). Burnt wood. This name was given to the half-breeds on account of their dark complexions.
Nicholas Perrot.
I. Jesuits (ģes'ū its). "A religious order founded by Ignatius Loyola (loi-o'la), and approved in 1540, under the title of The So- ciety of Jesus.
"The order consists of Scholars, who take vows simply of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and can leave the Society or be dismissed from it, and professed Priests, who also make the same three vows, but cannot be dismissed from the Society, nor dis- charged from their obligations. The latter class is again divided into Spiritual Coadjutors, who have the care of souls, and Jesuits of the Four Vows, who add to the three obligations already men- tioned a fourth vow of undertaking any missions to which they may be ordered by the proper authority, and from among whom missionaries are selected."-Webster's Dictionary.
2. Talon (ta-lón').
3. Intendant. A minister in charge of public affairs. In refer- ence to the French government of Canada, it usually meant a minister of justice with somewhat enlarged duties.
4. St. Lusson (sănt lus-son').
5. Joliet (zho le-a) was a Jesuit missionary. In 1673, accom- panied by Marquette (mar-két'), he ascended Fox river, made a portage to the Wisconsin river and descended to the Mississippi. He then explored the latter stream nearly to its mouth.
Du Luth.
I. Du Luth (dụ lụt).
2. Germain en Laye (ger-main-ān-lā).
3. New France was the name given by Cartier (kar'te-a') to the country adjacent to the St. Lawrence river. Later the name was applied, somewhat indefinitely as to boundaries, to the north- ern French possessions in America.
4. This was for the purpose of extending the fur trade.
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
5. Kamenistagoia. This word is said to be of Indian origin and to signify three mouths. It is applied generally to Three Rivers at Thunder Bay, north shore of Lake Superior.
6. St. Louis River. Named after Louis XIV. of France.
7. It was customary in taking possession of a new country to erect the king's coat of arms on some natural or artificial object. Hennepin's map represents them graven on the bark of an oak with the sign of the cross above them. See page 15.
8. This tribe is described under the Dakotas, note 2.
9. The Songaskitons are the people mentioned in note 18, and the Houetbatons those in note 17, of the Dakotas. It is well to anglicize these names in pronunciation, as they are simply French imitations of Indian words.
IO. Mille Lacs. Literally, Thousand Lakes, but applied to this one in particular. Du Luth called it Lac Buade in honor of Frontenac, whose family name was Buade.
II. See the Fur Traders, note 4.
12. St. Croix (kroi). Named after one of the early French traders who was drowned at its mouth by the capsizing of his boat.
13. Du Chesneau (doo shay'no).
14. See Nicholas Perrot, note 3.
15. Frontenac (fron'te-nak). His real name was Louis Buade. Count de Frontenac was his title of nobility.
Hennepin.
I. Recollects. Franciscan friars. Gray friars. Minorites. An order of the Roman Catholic Church founded by St. Francis of Assisi (ä-see'see), Italy. They believe in extreme poverty and a life of contemplation. The Recollects were a reformed division of the order.
2. Ath (ät). A town of Belgium situated on the Dender, a navigable branch of the Scheldt.
3. Artois (ar'twa'). An old province in the northeast of France.
4. Dunkirk (dun'kerk'). A fortified seaport of France situated on the Strait of Dover.
5. Calais (ka'la'). A well-built town situated in Northern
195
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
France on the Strait of Dover. It is an important seaport, and is fortified by castle and forts.
6. Sieur Robert Chevalier de La Salle (se ur' ro'ber' shev-ah- lee-a' deh lah Sahl). See U. S. History.
7. Rouen (roo'un). An old, important city of Normandy, France, situated on the Seine about twenty-five miles from its mouth.
8. Marquis de Seignelay (mar-kee deh sān'yeh-lā'). His real name was Jean Baptiste Colbert (zhon bä teest kol'ber). Like his father he was a great statesman. In Hennepin's time the Missis- sippi was called the Colbert in his honor; before that the early French explorers, for example Perrot, had called it the Louisiane (loo'ee-ze-än'), doubtless after Louis XIV.
9. St. Joseph River. See map of Michigan.
IO. Kankakee. From a Cree word (ką ka-kiw) meaning a crow. See maps of Indiana and Illinois.
II. Peoria, singular forni of Peorias, the name of a tribe of Indians.
12. Crevecœur (krā-v-kûr).
13. Accault (ah'kō).
14. Picard du Gay (pee kä' doo gay).
15. See the Dakotas, note 15.
16. The same as Lake Pepin, which name was given to it about the time Ft. Beauharnois was founded. Boucher had an uncle of that name, and it was also the name of the Dauphin of France. It may have been given on one of these accounts.
17. The St. Croix River.
IS. Lake Condé (kon da'). Lake Superior. Condé was the name of a branch of the royal house of Bourbon (boor-bon). Louis the XIV. was the greatest monarch of this time, and this is but one of several instances where names were given in his honor.
19. The St. Anthony referred to was a Franciscan monk of Padua (păd'ua), Italy.
20. Red Rock. Prof. A. W. Williamson says : "Inyan sha,- inyan, stone; sha, red; the Dakota name of Red Rock, near St. Paul. A few rods from the river, near the house of Mr. Ford, an early settler, was a large egg-shaped syenite boulder, believed by
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HISTORY OF MINNESOTA.
the Indians to be the abode of a powerful spirit which they wor- shiped by keeping the stone carefully painted red, and by offer- ings of food. Every stone and every other natural object was believed by the Dakotas to be the abode of a spirit, but hard, egg- shaped stones only were worshiped."
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