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 ^^^■^ 
 
 
 
 LUCAa, PHOTO. 
 
 
 /p ry 
 
PEN PICTURES 
 
 OF 
 
 ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, 
 
 AND 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
 
 OLD SETTLERS, 
 
 From the Earliest Settlement of the City, up to and 
 Including the Year 1857. 
 
 V c,. 
 
 By T. M. NEWSON, 
 a 
 Author of "Life in the Black Hills," *'He-Ie-o-pa," "Indian Legends," "Thrilling Scenes Ameijg 
 the Indians," "Recollections of Eminent Men," Etc. ' 
 
 VOIvUME I. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA; 
 1886. 
 
 ■EL 
 
 f-.l,;RAl;Y 
 
A^P^71 
 
 Entered accord ng to the Act of Congress in the year 1884, 
 
 By T. M. NEWSON, 
 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
 ALT, KIGHTS RESERVED. 
 
 BROWN, TREACY & C0.» 
 
 
 PRINTERS, 
 
 
 ST. PAUL, MINN. 
 
 
 ,i,lrll^>i0.3;; 
 
 
 ^. 
 
 Y'l i;'n:iViM\f ^/ 
 
 VV, A.SI!, LI \ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The grave levels all distinctions. So do Pen Pictures, Each name 
 appears in its individual capacity but in the body of the articles the merits and 
 titles of the persons mentioned are fully set forth. So too as regards engravings. 
 None appear but that of the author for the simple reason that some can aflford a 
 steel engraving while others equally as meritorious cannot, and hence all are placed 
 on a common level. It is possible that I may issue a special edition containing 
 portraits, if the demand should warrant, and in that case none but steel or the very 
 best photographic engravings will be used. 
 
 And thus I submit to posterity this work. Writing in the day in which 
 the majority of the people described lived, has enabled me to group together a vast 
 amount of reliable information and to procure a better conception of the peculiarities 
 of character than could have been obtained after the parties now living have passed 
 oflF the stage of life. The work embraces a period of twenty years, commencing at 
 1838 and ending with 1857 inclusive, and treats exclusively of the old settlers of 
 Saint Paul and not of the State at large. It has been my purpose to record 
 impartially every prominent fact and every event transpiring in this period, as well 
 as to obtain all accurate dates and other gorrect information respecting the subjects 
 about which I have written and who have either lived or died during the period 
 covered by my book. In delineating character I have avoided anything which 
 savored of extravagance in my laudations ; and the best evidence that I have been 
 successful in my labors is the commendation of over one hundred citizens of 
 Saint Paul whose verdict can be found at the end of this volume. Hoping that 
 my work will not only meet the approbation of the old settlers themselves and 
 their children, but of the people at large, I submit it to an intelligent and 
 discriminating public. t. m. n. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Historical Events and Biographical Sketches 
 
 Embraced in the Following Years 
 
 Inclusive, viz.: 
 
 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846, 
 
 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853, 
 
 1854, 1855, 1856, 1857. 
 
 INDEX TO CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. — 1838— First White Settler, page 6; First House, 6; Saint Paul, 
 its Origin and Early History, i ; Carver's Cave, 3 ; First Actual Settle- 
 ment, 5 ; Treaty with the Indians, 6. 
 
 Chapter II.— 1839— First Events, page 8; a Former Slave, Thompson, 9; 
 First Murder, 11; First White Child, 14. 
 
 Chapter III.— 1840-1— First Events, page 15; Trial of Phelan, 15; Pig's Eye, 
 16; First Church, 23; Name of St. Paul, 23; First Catholic Priest, 24; 
 Parrant's New Claim, 19; Slavery, 22. 
 
 Chapter IV.— 1842— First Events, page 27; First American Flag, 29; Saint 
 Paul, 27; An Indian Battle, 30. 
 
 Chapter V.— 1843— First Events, page 32 ; the Outlook, 38 ; the Central 
 House, 39; Camphor vs. Whisky, 40. 
 
 Chapter VI.— 1844— First Events, 41; First Frame House, 43; First Grist 
 and Lumber Mill, 44; First Protestant Service, 45; First Drayman, 45. 
 
 Chapter VII.— 1845-6- First Events, page 46; First Hotel, 47; First Odd 
 Fellow's Funeral, 47; First Cooper and Blacksmith, 48; First Post-office 
 and First Postmaster, 49; a Point on the River, 49; Oldest House in West 
 St. Paul, 51; Red River Carts, 52; First Painter and Artist, 53; Import- 
 ing Flour and Potatoes, sS; Oldest Dwelling House in St. Paul, 56; the 
 Oldest Building on Original Grounds, 57. 
 
PEN PICTURES. V 
 
 Chapter VIII.— 1847— First Events, page 60 ; Fifty Inhabitants, 60 ; First 
 Tavern, 63 ; First Day and Sunday Schools, 63 ; the Wild Hunter's Hotel, 
 64; the First Physician, 66; the First and Oldest Sunday School, 67; First 
 Steamboat Line, 69; Town Site Surveyed, 71; St. Paul House, 71; Indian 
 Camp Fires, 71; First Tailor, &c., 72; An Eye for an Eye, &c., 72. 
 
 Chapter IX.— 1848— First Events, page 73; New School House, 73; First 
 Protestant Sermons, 73; Out in the Cold, 73; First Delegate to Congress, 
 74; Title to Townsite; 74; One Store, 74; A Running Stream and the -Old 
 Castle, 74; City Hall Bell, 76; St. Paul the Capital, 77 ; Only a Village, 79; 
 Swinging on the Garden Gate, 83 ; Somewhat Remarkable, 84 ; Don't 
 Grumble, it is a Law,8S; First Miller, 90; Shooting Duclcs in the City, 90. 
 
 Chapter X. — 1849 — First Events, page 99 ; Organization of the Territory, 99 ; 
 Population in City and Territory, loo; First Paper, First Editor, First 
 Printing Press, 100; Arrival of Gov. Ramsey, 104; A few Log Houses, 
 105; Crystallization of Society, 105; First Brick and Stone Buildings, 106; 
 First Protestant Church, 107 ; Room in vrhich the Proclamation was Writ- 
 ten, 107; Meeting of the First Legislature, 107; Celebration of the First 
 Fourth of July, 108; By the River, 109; First Deed, no; Town Growing, 
 III; First Brick Yard, in; Old American House, 112; First Stage Coach 
 and Livery Stable, 113; Origin of our School System, 114; Dividing Line 
 between Civilization and Barbarism, 114; The Oldest Printer, 115; First 
 Real Estate Dealer and First Market Woman, 118; First Burial Ground, 
 119; St. Paul and Minneapolis one City, 119; First Clergyman, 120; Green 
 Enough to Try It, 128; Wild Turkey vs. Buzzard, 128; Rice Park, 138; 
 Meeting of the First Court, 139; First Hardware and Furniture Store, 139; 
 First Bank, First Masonic Lodge, First Odd Fellows, 141; St. Paul be- 
 comes a Town, 141; On the Bridge at Midnight, 147; First City Justice, 
 148; First Cletrk of First Court, 150; A Bit of History, 152; Don't Dream 
 Again, 158; Whisky vs. the Barn, 160; Seal of the Old Settlers, 162; Going 
 into the Country, 162; Ramsey County Created, 166; Monk Hall, 169; 
 
 First Bankers, 170; Just Escaped Lynching, 172; Dark as the D 1, 182; 
 
 The Contrast, 185 ; Ploughing in the City in 1845, 192. 
 
 Chapter XI. — 1850 — First Events, page 193; New Year's Calls, 193; No 
 Remarkable Events, 194; Post-ofRce and Letters, 194; First Theatricals, 
 194; Ramsey's Happy Hit, 196; Old Bets, 197; First Mayor, 200; First 
 Bowling Alley, 201; First Fresh Oysters, 209; First Club House, 209; 
 Chicken Feed and the Indians, 211; Threatened Burning of Ramsey in 
 EfEgy, 212; Ho, the Day is Breaking, 214; Arrival of a Boat, 214; No 
 Great Changes, 215; First Express Messenger, 215; First Brick House on 
 the Bluff, 223; First Kerosene Oil, 228; The Swedish Authoress and the 
 Swedish Singer, 236; First Fire, First Church Bell, First Court House, 
 First Episcopal Church, First Thanksgiving, 240; First Cholera, ti'irst 
 Directory, First Brick Store, 241 ; First Photographer, First Lithograph, 
 243 ; Talking to the Assessor, 244 ; First Brick Store, 247. 
 
 Chapter XII. — 1851 — First Events, page 259; Second Meeting of the Legis- 
 lature, 259; Capitol located, 260; First Dramatic Performance, 260;- Squaw 
 Log Drivers, 262 ; " Malice Towards None and Charity for All," 262 ; Fir^t 
 
vi PEN PICTURES 
 
 Concord Stage Coach, 263; A Square Drink and a Free Ride, 263; The 
 Old Stage Times, 264; In the Swearing Car, 264; Indian Fidelity, 265; 
 Touchingly Expressed, 267; Just my Luck, 268; The Express Business, 
 268; Our Doubts are Traitors, 268; Treaty with the Sioux, 269; The First 
 Bishop, 269; His Death, 271 ; The Red River Carts, 271 ; First City Clerk, 
 
 275; Gov. Ramsey Driving Nails, 276; A Thrilling Scene, 2S4; "D 
 
 the Land," 288; White Bear Lake, 288; The Winslow House, the Cathe- 
 dral, a Whig Organ, Hook and Ladder Company, 290; First Leather 
 Store, 293; Grass and Hazel Nuts on Third Street, 300; Reminiscences, 
 301; Indians and the Beggar Dance, 303; Indian Mode of Fishing, 304; 
 No Appreciation of Money, 305; The Characters of the Daj', 305; The 
 Oldest Undertaker, 306; Predicting a Collapse, 307; Sauerkraut and Light- 
 ning Rods, 308; Scraps from Memory, 308; Rather Aiiiusing, 309; Dia- 
 mond Cut Diamond, 317; The Great Beyond, 319; Imprisonment for Debt, 
 320; That Rocking Chair, 324; Now Go On With Your Bidding, 325; 
 The Old Post-office, 329. 
 
 Chapter XIII.^1852 — First Events, page 334; Opening of the Year, 334; 
 The Third Legislature, 335 ; Death of James M. Goodhue, 335 ; On Foot 
 to Superior, 336; Murders, Brutal Scenes, First Hanging, 337; On Stilts, 
 344; "I Gather Them In ! I Gather Them In," Mrs. Ramsey, 345; An 
 Interesting Incident, Newson, 347; The Wooden Ham, 366; Bad Luck, 367; 
 
 Chapter XIV. — 18153 — First Events, page 372; My Arrival in St. Paul, 372. 
 The Fourth Legislature, 374; Events of 1853, 375; Two Bucking Govern- 
 ors, 377; Rice vs. Gorman, 378; Put that Man in the Guard House, 379; 
 Grass in the Streets of St. Paul, 380; Never was There, 381; Log Cabin 
 vs. Merchants Hotel, 381 ; Indian Murder, 382 ; In a Bad Predicament, the 
 Pursuit, Indian Killed, 383; Interesting Incident, 385; New Postmaster) 
 Prairie Chickens,'Murders, 387 ; An Unpleasant Situation, Hole-in-the-Day, 
 395; Indian White Queen, 396; What is the Use .' 400; The Oldest Banker 
 in the City. 401 ; That Old-fashioned Inn, 409; Incidents in the Life of M. 
 E. Ames, 412; Kissing, 418; Sold the First Groceries, 421. 
 
 Chaptkr XV. — 1854— First Events, page 426; Capitol Building, 426; News- 
 papers, 427; Great Railroad Excursion, 428; Unsafe Currency, 429; First 
 Execution, 429; That Little Black-eyed Woman, 438; Incidents of Early 
 Journalism, 447; In a Tight Place, 448; Luck, 452 ; Beautiful Girls, 452; 
 Sick, 456; A Retrospect, 464; Force of Habit, 465; "I Remember," 465; 
 "Backward, Flow Backward," 468; The Early Settlers, 471; First Dress- 
 making, 472; Feet not Empty, 483; Parks, 487; Claims to be the First 
 Soldier in the Union Army, 492. 
 
 Chapter XVI.— 1855— First Events, page 495 ; Condensed Events, 495 ; Emi- 
 grating to the Frontier, 498; Boating, Fire Department, a Year of Immi- 
 gralion, 500; Gloriously Exhilarating, 501 ; A Busy Place, 502 ; A Square 
 Republican Fight, 503; I Know it is All Right, 506; Oldest Dry-Goods 
 House, 509; Excitement in Real Estate, 514; The Old Settler's Heart, 517; 
 Impediments of Life, 519; Musings, 530; The Moon Went Right On, 534; 
 First Billiard and Concert Hall, 542 ; " $5, Just $5," Billy Phillips, 558 ; First 
 News Stand, 555. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. vii 
 
 Chapter XVII. — 1S56 — First Events, page 563; Auspiciously Begun, 563; 
 Ramsey County, the Prophecy, 564; First Military Company and other 
 Events, 567; First Policemen, 568; Murder and Robbery, 568; The Fuller 
 House, 569; Arrivals, &c., 570, A Memorable Event, 578 ; LightonaDark 
 Subject, 600; Why ? 604; Young Men's Christian Association, 619. 
 
 Chapter XVIII. — 1857 — First Events, page 630; Culminating Year and 
 Conclusion, 630; Twenty-four Boats at our Levee, 631 ; Foster father, 632 ; 
 Up in a Balloon, 634; Ramsey County Jail, Military Companies, on the 
 War-path, 636; Directory, a Horrible Murder, 63S; Another Murder, 640; 
 Theatres, Constitutional Convention, St. Paul Library, 642; Vigilance 
 Committee, Wabasha Bridge, 644; Twenty Buildings Burned, 646; Con- 
 cert Hall Block, 648; Rumbling of the Cars, District Court, First School 
 House, 654; The Social Element of Early Days, 657; Rather EmDarrass- 
 ing, 664; The Real Estate Mania, 666; The Sunrise Expedition, 667; Rise 
 of Real Estate, 669 ; Three per cent, per Month, 672 ; The Wave Breaks, 
 Hard Times, 675-6; The Capital Removal, Eighth Session of the Legisla- 
 ture, 6S3; Celery vs. Salary, 685; First State Election, 690; First State 
 Legislature, 691 ; "Take a Drink, Sir," 692 ; " Be Brief, Sir," 694; The Long 
 Roll, 695 ; That Mule, 696. 
 
 Chapter XIX. — Little or No Data, page 699; Early Missionary Labors, 699; 
 Conclusion, Good-bye, 734; Testimonials of 105 Citizens, 735, 736, 737, 
 738. 739- 
 
 [I am indebted to Rev, E. D. Neill for courcesieb extended during the preparation of this 
 work.] 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 TO THE OLD SETTLERS OF ST. PAUL, MINTSTESOTA, 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS KINDLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY ONE WHO KNEW MOST OF THEM WHEN LIVING 
 
 AND RESPECTED THE MEMORIES 
 
 OF THOSE DEAD. 
 
PEN PICTURES. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 1838. 
 
 FIRST WHITE SETTLER — FIRST HOUSE IN WHAT IS NOW ST. PAUL. 
 
 ST. PAUL ITS ORIGIN AND ITS EARLY HISTORY. 
 
 In rapid growth and in material progress St. Paul may be 
 classed among the most remarkable cities of the Northwest. In 
 1 849 — or thirty-six years ago — when the bill giving Minnesota 
 an existence was first introduced into Congress and by which bill 
 St. Paul became the Capital of the Territory, even then men well 
 posted in geography were utterly ignorant of its whereabouts. 
 It was delineated on no map, known in no history, only recog- 
 nized as somewhere near the Falls of St. Anthony, away off in an 
 indefinable country known only to the savages. In the march 
 of little Qver a quarter of a century it now takes rank ajnong 
 the leading cities of the Union, and in solid growth and prosper- 
 ity astonishes even the most sanguine. ' 
 
 1 
 
2 PEN PICTURES 
 
 History, however Gomplimentary, can never adequately 
 compensate the early settlers of St. Paul for their earnest efforts, 
 and struggles to establish at the head of navigation on the Mis- 
 sissippi River, the foundation for a city, which, in the brief period 
 of the next twenty coming years will rival in commercial greatness 
 and in population any other metropolis in the West, not excepting 
 either Chicago or St. Louis. Its past history and its growth ; 
 its present prospective outlook; the grand empire beyond it yet 
 to be developed ; the opening up of the trade of Japan and China ; 
 the artery of commerce which cleaves its way to the Pacific coast 
 in the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad ; the great 
 wheat fields tributary to it ; its gridiron of railroad tracks ; its 
 grand wholesale trade reaching into nearly one hundred millions 
 per year ; its increasing manufacturing interests ; its large banking 
 capital — all attest the causes silently operating to produce results- 
 which will astonish the longest head and the most sagacious brain. 
 Coupled with this is a strong probability of the u-nion of the two- 
 cities (Saint Paul and Minneapolis,) not far in the distance, 
 and with these combined elements a power will spring into exist- 
 ence here that will challenge the admiration of the world ; for, at 
 about this point in the dim future, midway of the two oceans, 
 geographically in the center of this great continent, may yet sit 
 in solemn grandeur the Capitol of the American Nation. Con- 
 gress will some day clean up the Mississippi River from this 
 point to the gulf; millions of bushels of -wheat brought here by 
 hundreds of railroad trains will be transported on its bosom to 
 ocean steamers ; rav/ cotton from the plantations of "the south 
 will in turn find its way into our mills, and fabrics manufactured 
 therefrom will go forth to supply the wants of the future empire 
 which will spring up between this city and the Pacific ocean. 
 Iron ore from our mines will enter ou^ blast furnaces and supply 
 the great demands of hundreds of yet unborn cities, while our 
 mineral resources will bring into existence reducing, smelting 
 and refining factories that will employ thousands of men. 
 
 FATHER LOUIS HENNEPIN. 
 
 This earnest missionary was no doubt the first white man to 
 visit the site where now stands St. Paul. He ascended the Mis- 
 sissippi River in 1680 — or 205 years ago — but before reaching the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 3 
 
 ground now occupied by the city, was taken prisoner by the 
 Sioux Indians, and in April of that year reached a little bay a 
 short distance below the city, which must have been, from his 
 description, the mouth of Phelan Creek. 
 
 JONATHAN CARVER. 
 
 In 1766 — 1 19 years ago, and 86 years after the first visit of 
 Hennepin — Capt. Jonathan Carver, a man of distinction and who 
 had served as an officer in the French and Indian wars, conceived 
 the idea of exploring this then little known and undeveloped 
 region. In the fall of 1 766 he reached this locality and describes 
 " a great cave about thirty miles below the Falls of St. Anthony," 
 in the following accurate manner : " The entrance into it is about 
 ten feet wide; the height of it five feet; the arch within is near 
 fifteen feet high and about thirty feet broad. The bottom of it 
 consists of fine, clear sand. About twenty feet from the entrance 
 of it begins a lake.", The distance from the Falls of St. Anthony 
 is not thirty miles as stated by Carver, but about ten ; by river 
 about twenty. 
 
 carver's cave. 
 
 In this cave Carver held a grand council with the Indians 
 and he claims they gave him a deed of a large tract of land 
 embracing the present site of St. Paul, and many acres above the 
 Falls on the east side of the river, in the aggregate one hundred 
 square miles. Above this cave, on the bluff, was the burial-place 
 of the savages, and here to-day can be found many mounds. 
 It was also in this cave where the Indians held their great 
 gatherings, composed of various tribes who congregated here to 
 talk over the " affairs of state " and epjoy their huge pow-wows. 
 Those were happy days for the Aborigines, but now the red men 
 are rarely seen upon our streets, or rarely heard of, except on 
 the extreme frontier. 
 
 incidents of carver's cave LYMAN DAYTON. 
 
 The cave alluded to is at the foot of what is now known as 
 Dayton's bluff, about one-half mile below our present levee, with- 
 in the city limits, and on the east bank of the Mississippi River. 
 The bluff derives its name from Mr. Lyman Dayton, who former- 
 
4 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ly owned all the property on the plateau above and much of that 
 in the swamp below, now occupied by the various railroad com- 
 panies. He was an energetic, stirring, liberal, kind-hearted man, 
 and had he lived he would have been immensely rich. He was 
 portly in person, quick in speech and action, rugged in looks, 
 performed many good acts when living, and now when dead his 
 memory is kindly cherished by all the old settlers who knew him 
 well and appreciated his worth. He left a widow and an only 
 son, the former living at a place called Dayton, on the upper 
 Mississippi, and the latter now a resident of Minneapolis. 
 
 THE OWNERS OF THE DEED. 
 
 Nearly thirty years ago I traveled with a lady and gentle- 
 man on their way East who had visited St. Paul to claim their 
 possession as transferred to them by the heirs of Jonathan Carver, 
 to the immense tract of land already alluded to, having in their 
 keeping a deed of this then and now immensely valuable proper- 
 ty, and who were greatly disappointed on searching the records 
 to find that while such a deed was given to Carver by the Indians, 
 yet when the land was ceded to the United States no mention 
 was made of the transaction ; that is, the deed was not confirmed, 
 and hence the title was not perfect. The gentleman was then 
 sick and subsequently died, but for courtesies extended to him by 
 myself on the journey, his widow years afterwards gave me a copy 
 of the alleged deed, and I presented it to the Academy of Science. 
 That institution united with the Historical Society, and when this 
 was burned out in the old Capitol building the deed went up in 
 smoke as many other grand schemes of men have disappeared 
 in the black clouds of disappointment. What would have been 
 the result if these parties had succeeded in perfecting their title 
 nobody can tell, but this little incident is interesting as connected 
 with the early growth and history of St. Paul. In 1848 Dr. 
 Carver, grandson of Jonathan, visited our city in search of his 
 property, but Congress would not recognize his claim and the 
 matter quietly dropped. 
 
 THEN AND NOW. 
 
 Over twenty-five years ago Carver's cave was a place of rura:l 
 beauty and attractiveness. Many traditionary legends of the red 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 3 
 
 men lingered around its peculiar history, and tourists entered its 
 cavernous mouth, dallied with its clear water, wrote their names 
 upon its transitory sand walls, and sometimes penetrated its 
 winding, hidden rivulet as it laughingly gurgled its way on to the 
 Mississippi river. Then nature was dressed in her gayest attire. 
 Then I could pick my way along the bank of the river amid the 
 flowers that bloomed on every side. Now the whole plateau or 
 swanipy land, embracing several acres over which I then passed, 
 is one solid network of rails on which 9,226 trains or 45,636 
 cars pass per month, or over 250 trains of cars daily come and 
 go into the saintly city of St. Paul. (This includes freight as 
 well as passenger trains ; of the latter there are about 188 daily.) 
 The entrance to the cave is at present blocked by a railroad 
 track. Its capacious chamber is filled with beer barrels. Its 
 pearly stream has ceased to flow. It is slowly dying of civiliza- 
 tion, and in a few years will be known only in history, and yet to 
 those who remember it in its palmiest days, it brings up many 
 memories of by gone hours and recalls many features of old 
 friends who sleep the silent sleep of death. And so the years go 
 by, the tread of population increases, and the landmarks of the past 
 are obliterated by the swelling wave of the human race which 
 pushes barbarism to the mountains, crowds the Indians beyond 
 the plains and harnesses nature to do the bidding of dominant 
 man. 
 
 FIRST ACTUAL SETTLEMENT IN THIS REGION. 
 
 In the year 1805 — eighty years ago — a treaty was made 
 with the Sioux Indians, who at that time owned all the land on 
 the west side of the Mississippi River, by Lieut. Z. M. Pike, (after 
 whom Pike Island, at the base of Fort Snelling is named, and 
 which island can be plainly seen from the cars on the left coming 
 from the fort, or on the right going to the fort,) whereby they 
 ceded to the United States a reservation at the mouth of the 
 Minnesota River; and in 1819 — or sixty-six years ago — the 
 present Fort Snelling was commenced, and this is really the first 
 actual settlement in this region, antedating that at St. Paul or 
 "Pig's Eye." This year, or in 18 19, Mackinaw boats loaded 
 with government supplies, were poled up the Mississippi River 
 900 miles from St. Louis to Fort Snelling, the time thus occupied 
 
6 PEN PICTURES 
 
 being three months. Now palatial steamers can bring the same 
 kind of goods from the same points to Fort Snelling inside of 
 five days.- We really do not comprehend the march of events 
 and the progress of the age in which we live, until we dig up 
 the past and place it side by side with the present, and then we 
 begin to realize what Galileo many years ago said, that " the 
 world does move," and surrounding events demonstrate that it is 
 moving now faster than at any other period in its history. 
 
 TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS FOR PORTIONS OF THEIR LAND^ 
 " pig's EYE." 
 
 Thirty-two years after the first treaty, or about 1837, t^^ 
 Chippewas ceded a portion of their land east of the Mississippi 
 River — they claiming all the land on the east side of the river 
 and the Sioux all the land on the west side, the river being the 
 boundary line — and part of this land ceded by the Chippewas 
 is the present site of St. Paul. Settlers of, the Red River of the 
 North mostly of French extraction, who had been driven off the 
 Fort Snelling reservation ceded by the Sioux, settled upon this 
 ceded land from the Chippewas, and hence commenced the 
 nucleus from which a great city sprang into being and a greater 
 city is yet to be in the march of years. A Canadian voyageur, 
 with a bad reputation and sinister features, by the name of Pierre 
 Parrant, has the honor of being the first settler of our Saintly 
 City, From all accounts he was an ugly looking fellow but no 
 doubt brave. He had an eye that resembled that of a pig, and 
 hence the place was early called " Pig's Eye," which euphonious 
 name it bore for several years. ' 
 
 first HOUSE IN ST. PAUL IN 1 838, OR 47 YEARS AGO. 
 
 Parrant built the fii-st log house in St. Paul in i 838, or forty- 
 seven years ago, and at the close of that year nine cabins graced 
 the future city, composed of a motley group of Canadians and 
 Swiss French. Of course Parrant had to live, so he opened up 
 a trade with the soldiers and Indians of poisonous whisky, and 
 no doubt for a time both he and his fellow traders did a thriving 
 business. I believe he subsequently moved down the river about 
 three miles to a place now called " Pig's Eye," but what finally 
 became of him nobody seems to know. All great men have 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 7 
 
 "histories of their early struggles and poverty, but in the end 
 they get the better of them, so if this law applies to cities as no 
 <loubt it does, St. Paul is in the direct line of promotion. But 
 what a hodge-podge of concatenating episodes ! A Canadian 
 Frenchman ! Bad man ! Pig's Eye ! Whisky ! First log house ! 
 First settler ! Indians ! Finally, St. Paul. If a sinner gets to 
 heaven at last St. Paul is bound to be at the top of the ladder ! 
 When a boy I used to hear the quotation — 
 
 " Honor and shame from no condition rise, — 
 Act well your part, there all the honor lies." 
 
 St. Paul is acting well her part now no matter what may 
 Iiave been her early history. Beecher says it is not from whence 
 we come but what we are and where we are going, and St. Paul 
 is all right at the present time, and is pressing forward to a 
 -growth unprecedented in her history, or in the history of any 
 ■other city in the Northwest. 
 
 JOHN B. GAUTHIER. 
 
 I am trying to pick up the old stragglers so as to get them 
 •all in line at the muster call, and away back on the road side, 
 sitting on the green grass and under the shade of an aged tree, 
 is a somewhat bent form whose hair is gray and whose eyes are 
 dim, and who ever and anon mutters to himself, "Yes, yes; it is 
 a long time ago, forty-eight years, near half a century, since I came 
 here. Then there was no St. Paul ; no, no ; no whites ; no, no ; 
 Indians, elm trees thickly skirting the river ; teepees, war songs 
 and war dances ; hark ! I hear them now ! No, no ; only a 
 passing thought ! Oh, dear, how the years have fled, and so my 
 -children tell me I'm getting old ; I guess I am." The breeze 
 •comes up from the river, the old man drops his head upon his 
 staff, stray locks of long, gray hair float out from under his faded 
 hat, he clutches his cane with his bony hands and dreamily 
 wanders off into the silent chambers of memory — and sleep ! 
 He starts, rubs his eyes, looks around him, arouses up and feebly 
 says : " I guess I've been dreaming ; yes, yes, I'll go home ; 
 I'm growing old ;" and hobbling off slowly his form fades away 
 and is lost in the mists of eternity — he's dead ! 
 
 Mr. Gauthier was born in New York state in 1 803 and was 
 one of the original contractors of the Erie canal ; went to Texas 
 
8 PEN PICTURES 
 
 in 1833 and to St. Louis in 1835, where he married; was one of 
 the first settlers in Dubuque in 1837, and removed to St. Paul in 
 1838. He was an active and prominent man in St. Paul, 
 especially in West St. Paul, where he platted an addition which 
 will ever remain as a monument to his memory. He died in our 
 city in 1884. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 1839*. 
 
 Mrst Marriage— First Birth— First Death— Mrst Murder— Mrst Steamboat— With 
 aU the Events and all the Old Settlers of this Year, 
 
 REMINISCENCES. 
 
 People will marry, will kill, will die; children will be born; 
 so it was in the past, so it will be in the future. Basil Gervais is 
 acknowledged to be the first white child born in St. Paul, which 
 event occurred September 4, 1839, or forty-six years ago. He is 
 still living. The first legal marriage was in April, 1839, or forty- 
 six years ago— J. R. Clewett to Rose Perry. The first death and 
 the first murder was Hays, by the Indian Do-wau, as herein 
 noted. The crime was committed sometime in the month of 
 September, 1839, and for many years Phelan had been falsely 
 charged with the murder. The first steamboat arrived at Fort 
 Snelling in 1823, or sixty-two years ago. Mrs. Jackson, widow 
 of Henry Jackson, now the wife of John S. Hinkley, of Mankato, 
 brought the first clock to Minnesota, in the year 1842, and has 
 it with her yet. It has out-ticked the life of many an old settler 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 9 
 
 and has continued ticking all these long years of various changes. 
 It is different from "Grandfather's Old Clock," 
 
 " Which stopped short, never to go again 
 When the old man died, — 
 
 but continues on in the even tenor of its way with its everlasting 
 tick, tick, tick, tick ! 
 
 JAMES THOMPSON, A FORMER SLAVE, ONCE A RESIDENT OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 Lying upon a couch at the residence of Mrs. Odell in West 
 St. Paul, in the year 1884, was the emaciated form of a mulatto 
 man about five feet six inches in height and weighing one 
 hundred and fifty pounds. He was formerly a stout, healthy 
 person, turning the scales above two hundred, but sickness and 
 old age had conspired to leave but a semblance of what was once 
 a hale and vigorous organization. - His name was James Thomp- 
 son ; in previous years a slave ; then a free man, but poor and 
 dependent. From his lips I learned the following facts : 
 
 WHERE AND WHEN A SLAVE. 
 
 He started out on a journey when a mere lad, with George 
 Monroe, nephew of the President of the United States, and on 
 arriving at Lexington, Kentucky, Monroe became involved in 
 debt and was obliged to part with six of his slaves, among them 
 was Thompson, his brother and sister, and several aunts and 
 cousins. He was then conveyed to St. Louis and from thence 
 moved to Fort Snelling as the property of John Culbertson, sut- 
 ler, in 1827, or fifty-eight years ago, and was roaming about 
 where St. Paul now is in 1839. He was purchased by Capt. 
 Day, of the fort, and from this point went to Prairie du Chien, 
 Wis., where he became the chattel of Rev. Mr. Bronson, who paid 
 ^1,300 for him out of money collected at the East, and at this 
 time he received his free papers and became a .free man, having 
 been sold four times. He was immediately employed as an inter- 
 . preter of the Sioux, and did a great deal to advance the religion 
 of the Methodist church in the early days, as not only Mr. Bron- 
 son was the minister of the church, but he (Thompson) was a 
 member of the First Methodist Church, as well as a member of 
 the Old Settlers' association in this city at the time of his death. 
 He spoke in the highest praise of Mr. Bronson as a man who 
 
10 PEN PICTURES 
 
 had many good qualities and whose kindness of heart and gen- 
 erous acts he never could forget. 
 
 DUEL OVER A PIG FIRST AND ONLY FIGHT. 
 
 Mr. Thompson said that during his long residence in this 
 section he never had but one fight and that was over a pig, 
 whom the notorious Phelan (after whom Phekn, not Phalan 
 lake, was named,) had stolen. As soon as the fact was discov- 
 ered by him, he repaired to the residence of the thief, which 
 stood near Seven Corners, and finding his pig in a pen he 
 knocked off the boards and the favorite quadruped trotted out 
 and along home after him like a little dog, really glad to once 
 more find his own master. Phelan was absent at the time, but 
 learning that the pig was gone he became terribly enraged, and 
 sought out Jackson and told him some one had stolen his pig. 
 "Oh, I guess not," said Jackson; "the owner has got his pig, and 
 I guess you will have to fight to get it back." "Well, I will 
 fight," said Phelan, and down he went to where Thompson lived 
 and charged him with stealing his pig. 
 
 "It isn't your pig," said Thompson. 
 
 "It is my pig," said Phelan, "and if you don't give it up I 
 will lick you." 
 
 "You can't do it," said Thompson. 
 
 "Well, I will do it," replied the thief. 
 
 "Now see here," said Phelan, "I will meet you here to-mor- 
 row morning at 9 o'clock, and if you lick me the pig is yours, 
 and if I lick you the pig is mine." 
 
 "Agreed," said Thompson, and the two parted. And sure 
 enough, the next morning at 9 o'clock Phelan was on hand and 
 so was Thompson. Phelan was a long-legged and long-armed 
 man, and so when the parties met he went for Thompson with 
 his legs and feet, but Thompson dodged his many kicks, when, 
 all of a sudden he siezed him by his nether extremity and imme- 
 diately the brute and bully was upon the ground and Thompson 
 pummeled him with his fists so thoroughly that he called for 
 mercy. On gaining his feet he acknowledged that the pig 
 belonged to his antagonist and invited "the boys" to his shanty, 
 {Thompson among the rest,) and treated them to five gallons of 
 wine, and ever after that Thompson and Phelan were good 
 friends. 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 11 
 
 HELPED BUILD THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH IN ST. PAUL. 
 
 Though a poor colored man, once a slave, yet he not only 
 aided with his own hands to build the little Methodist church on 
 Market street, but furnished 2,000 feet of lumber, and made out 
 of the logs taken from the river, 1,500 shingles for the roof, and 
 then gave a lot which he owned towards paying for the church. 
 If the widow's mite was considered by the Saviour of the world 
 a valuable gift, how much more so was the gift of this once 
 poor slave, and yet he pined with sickness on a lowly couch, 
 and finally partially recovering, removed to Nebraska, where 
 Oct. 15th, 1884, he died, as also did his wife four days previ- 
 ously. 
 
 AIDED IN BUILDING THE FIRST HOUSE RUN THE FIRST FERRY. 
 
 Mr. Thompson also aided in erecting and constructing the 
 first house in St. Paul, which was owned by Phelan and Hays, 
 and stood near the Seven Corners. He also ran the first ferry 
 boat. 
 
 PHELAN DID NOT KILL HAYS THE FIRST MURDER. 
 
 It has been generally believed that Phelan killed Hays, his 
 partner, but Mr. Thompson sets this matter to rest very decid- 
 edly, by stating unequivocally, that an Indian by the name of 
 Do-wau, the Singer, killed him, and when fatally shot at the 
 battle of Kaposia this Indian, just before he died, admitted the 
 deed. This is an important item of history, as it relieves Phelan 
 of one of the many crimes charged to his account and verifies 
 the old saying "that murder will out." Hays' death was the first 
 murder in the city. Phelan was arrested for the crime but never 
 tried, as no positive evidence could be brought against him. 
 
 SOMETHING TO THINK OVER. 
 
 Mr. Thompson said that the ground this side of the Capitol 
 was not only marshy years ago, but that where the Church 
 Hospital now stands, on Eighth street, near the property of Mrs. 
 Robinson, there existed quite a large lake, whose outlet was 
 down the ravine formerly where "Moffett's Castle" stood, but 
 now occupied by the beautiful and imposing edifice of the First 
 National Bank. Out of this lake he had drawn many beautiful 
 
12 PEN PICTURES 
 
 fish. The verification of this fact by a living witness would lead 
 one to believe — looking upon the property now — that Donnel- 
 ly's able and interesting Atlantis is true. 
 
 . HIS RELATIONS WHEN BORN WHEN MARRIED. 
 
 Mr. Thompson must have been born in 1799 as he was 86 
 years old when he died. He came to Fort Snelling in 1827, or 
 58 years ago. His father, he thinks, must have been white or 
 nearly so, while he has good reasons for the belief that he kept 
 a noted hotel. Thompson married the mother of Mrs. Odell, 
 (a hale old lady also dead,) in the year 1848, or thirty-seven 
 years ago, by whom he had nine children, only one of whom 
 (George, thirty-four years old,) survives. 
 
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 In personal appearance Mr. Thompson resembled Morton 
 S. Wilkinson. He had a large, aquiline nose; a high fore- 
 head ; small, round eyes ; a well-set mouth ; with a peculiar 
 movement incident to the late senator. Beside he was tall, 
 slender, somewhat angular in his movements, and yet closely 
 knit in his physical organization, showing that with proper care 
 he might have lived at least ten years longer. His complexion 
 was quite light, indicating Anglo Saxon blood ; and his whole 
 make-up clearly showed that he was away above the ordinary 
 when a southern slave, and fully equal both to the white or the 
 Indian when a free man. He had played an important part in 
 the history of our city and state, and during the fifty-seven years 
 that he had trod our soil, I find nothing to mar a well-earned 
 and excellent reputation, except, perhaps, the duel over that pig ! 
 But as that was in defense of the weak and the helpless, so it 
 only adds to his glory as a true man and benefactor of his race, 
 for it taught the rough and bad Phelan to respect thereafter 
 the rights of others. Once a slave ! A good man ! A brave 
 pioneer! Life's measure full ! Going! Goodbye! 
 
 11 T' 
 
 I'm coming! I'm coming! 
 
 My hair is white as snow; 
 I hear the angels calling — 
 
 Poor old Joe! " 
 
 And poor old Joe has been gathered to his fathers. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 13 
 
 ANOTHER NOTED CHARACTER TA-TI, WIFE OF CHASKA. 
 
 Almost every day in the week can be seen upon our streets 
 a very comely Indian woman somewhat bulky in form, but 
 with a good countenance and pleasant expression, who comes 
 to St. Paul from Mendota, where she lives, to traffic with our 
 people in selling game and moccasins, and thereby obtain an 
 honest livelihood. She is one of the aborigines of this country 
 and is known among the whites as Lucy. When a babe in her 
 mother's arms, a Chippewa rushed in upon them and killed her 
 parent, and subsequently she married the brave Chaska, one of 
 Little Crow's leading warriors — indeed his best man. When the 
 Indian outbreak took place in Minnesota in 1862, instigated by 
 Little Crow, Chaska, although then in full Indian power, rushed 
 into the store at Yellow Medicine and finding his friend George 
 Spencer of this city driven up stairs, then wounded and in 
 imminent danger of being killed, placed himself between that of 
 his friend and his Indian comrades, and saved the life of Spencer ; 
 hid him in the grass ; administered to his wants ; placed him out 
 of danger, and then sought to save the lives of other whites, 
 and succeeded. Chaska was commended for these acts, and 
 subsequently was employed by Gen. Sibley to act as a scout with 
 his expedition across the plains. He was either purposely or 
 accidentally poisoned, (I have always thought the former,) while 
 performing excellent duty even against his own people, and his 
 body lies buried out on the plains, while his widow, Ta-ti, or 
 Lucy, passes up and down our streets, scarcely noticed by the 
 thousands who jostle her on the sidewalk. Several years ago 
 I. V. D. Heard, Esq., General Sibley and others, sent a petition 
 to congress to grant this poor widow a pension, but the members 
 turned their backs upon it. Great and glorious country ! when 
 the widow of a man like Chaska, who stepped out of his own 
 ranks to save the lives of the whites, and did save them, can get 
 no recognition at the hands of congress ! Millions can go into 
 the vortex of illegal pensions, but not one dollar to the struggling 
 wife of one of the noblest Indians that ever lived. I absolutely 
 blush for the great American flag when it is tarnished by 
 such flagrant acts of ingratitude, and this we call the glorious 
 American republic! — the President the Great Father of the 
 
14 PEN PICTURES 
 
 untutored savage. But Chaska's name will live, and his deeds 
 will live, long after small politicians have been swept into oblivion. 
 Ta-ti can have no prouder monument to the memory of her dead 
 husband than the reflection that at the most trying time in our 
 history, " he was the noblest Roman of them all." 
 
 BAZILLE GERVAIS FIRST WHITE CHILD. 
 
 Mr. Gervais was born in what is now St. Paul, September 
 4, 1 839, or forty-six years ago. Soon after his parents moved to 
 Little Canada, a French settlement about ten miles from St. 
 Paul, where he received a common school education. He has 
 never been really a settler of this city having devoted most of his 
 time to farming in White Bear township, where he now lives. He 
 is the father of a large family and is in moderate circumstances. 
 
 Mr. Gervais is a man of medium size, of light complexion 
 and quite active in his motions and in his speech. Though the 
 oldest settler in the county — not having lived in the city though 
 born here — yet he has failed to accumulate any property out of 
 the golden opportunities he has had, and still perhaps he is 
 better off on his farm than the possessor of millions, for a vast 
 estate always brings burdens which' the poor and humble never 
 know. " Will you take care of all my property for your board 
 and clothes ? " asked John Jacob Astor of a complaining friend. 
 '* Why no," he replied. " It's all I get," said Astor. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 16 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 1840-1. 
 
 First Act of the Military— First Priest— First Chvrch— Including all the Events 
 and aU the Old Settlers of these Years. 
 
 DRIVEN OFF. 
 
 A few French families from the Red River of the North, who 
 had settled on the Military Reservation of Fort Snelling, were forci- 
 bly driven off by the soldiers in the year 1840, the government 
 claiming that they had no rights there and that the reservation was 
 for the military alone, and this was their first act against the whites. 
 These families moved down to within the present limits of St. 
 Paul. This same year J. R. Brown was elected to the Wisconsin 
 legislature and in 1 840 the settlers had a representation among 
 the law-making powers, of our neighboring State of Wisconsin. 
 
 TRIAL OF PHELAN. 
 
 It was in this same year (1840,) that Phelan was brought up 
 for trial in Crawford county, Wisconsin, for the murder of Hays, 
 but as he never was arraigned, it is presumed that the grand 
 jury could not find evidence to form a bill against him and he 
 was set free. This act would seem to corroborate Thompson in 
 the statement that Hays was killed by the Indian Do-wau, and 
 not by Phelan. 
 
 PIERRE PARRANT. 
 
 In chapter one I accorded to Pierre Parrant the honor of 
 being the first white man who settled in St. Paul. His log 
 house was erected on the banks of the Mississippi river, at the 
 mouth of the small stream which flows from Fountain cave near 
 
16 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the present brewery of Mr. Banholzer in the upper part of the 
 city, and just off the old Fort road, now the property of the 
 Chicago, St. Paul & Omaha Railroad company. Here he sold 
 whisky to the Indians and to the soldiers from Fort Snelling, 
 and here he made his claim. He was followed by one Perry 
 and family, who located near Parrant, and whose shanty stood 
 where the old City Hospital now stands. It must be borne in 
 mind that the treaty with the Indians ceding this property to the 
 government, was made in June, 1837, (Parrant settled in 1838, 
 others in 1839-40-41,) so that the land was then, in 1840, open 
 to settlement ; and following Parrant and Perry (both Frenchmen 
 from the Red river region,) came the Gervais brothers, Pierre 
 and Ben, who made claims this side of Perry ; and following 
 these came three discharged soldiers, Evans, Hays and Phelan, 
 who also made claims ; two of them settling this side of the cave, 
 while Evans took up his abode on Dayton's Bluff. The claims 
 of Hays and Phelan ran from the river to the bluff and took in 
 what is now known as part of Third street in upper town, includ- 
 ing Wabasha and Eagle streets, on the first plateau above the 
 river. Then came a stranger by the name of Johnson, who built 
 a house near where the gas works now stand ; and then, in 1839, 
 followed an Englishman by the name of James R. Clewett, who 
 married Perry's daughter, and thus commenced the first settle- 
 ment of St. Paul, about forty -seven years ago. 
 
 pig's eye. 
 
 I have already noted the fact, that Pierre Parrant moved to 
 a place called Pig's Eye, (so named after his peculiar optic,) 
 about three miles below St. Paul. Here settled in 1 839 some 
 fifteen Frenchmen then in the employ of the old American Fur 
 company. Pig's Eye is only noted now as the place where a 
 sand bar intercepts the navigation of the Mississippi river. St. 
 Paul for a time was called Pig's Eye, but this gave way to a 
 more euphonious name which is still cherished by the city. Pre- 
 vious to moving to Pig's Eye Parrant made other claims in the 
 city, of which I shall speak hereafter. 
 
 THE early FRENCH VETAL GUERIN. 
 
 It is an indisputable fact that the early settlers of our city 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 17 
 
 were Canadian French, and most of them came from the North 
 and were a hardy, bold, brave class of men. A French fort was 
 huilt at Lake Pepin, also at the mouth of the Le Sueur river. They 
 were trappers and voyageurs and inured to frontier life. Among 
 those whose memory is greatly cherished by some of the oldest 
 settlers in this city, is that of the gentleman whose name precedes 
 this paragraph. Mr. Guerin was born in Canada in 1812 ; entered 
 the service of the American Fur Company in 1832; reached 
 Mendota the same year ; served the Company three years and 
 continued about this section for some time afterward, when he 
 settled upon the claim previously made by the discharged soldier 
 Hays, and built his cabin where Ingersoll's block now stands, 
 sometime in the year 1 840. Then trees and brush and a good- 
 sized forest greeted his view where now is a busy mart of 
 trade and of commerce. Before his death he lived in a small, 
 one-story and a half house built after the French fashion, which 
 stood on the ground now occupied by a large building owned by 
 the late Dr. Steele, corner of Seventh and Wabasha streets. 
 
 PERSONAX APPEARANCE OF GUERIN. 
 
 I remember Mr. Guerin as a slender m^an, with sharp fea- 
 tures, a mobile face, cool and slow in his movements, quiet in his 
 manners, and unostentatious in his dress. He was an unselfish • 
 man, kindly disposed, yet decisive in his character, and lived a 
 quiet, unobtrusive life. As an illustration of his generous 
 impulses I state the fact, that he gave part of his claim to an old 
 friend who erected a cabin where Mr. Goodhue's house formerly 
 stood, corner of Third and St. Peter streets, but subsequently this 
 friend sold his part of the claim for ;^ 150. 
 
 SUDDEN WEALTH. 
 
 In 1849 the rise in the value of Mr. Guerin's property — that 
 is his claim — nlade him worth ;^ 150,000, but it did not change 
 the quiet, humble citizen, who, out of his newly acquired wealth 
 gave liberally. The land whereon our present Court House 
 stands, and where several churches rear their spires heavenward, 
 was cheerfully given by this really good man. He was generous 
 to his poor countrymen, and many remember him with grateful 
 hearts. He was unlike other Frenchmen; more cool in his 
 2 
 
18 PEN PICTURES 
 
 manner ; and when surrounded by danger from the Indians, (and' 
 he had many narrow escapes in this direction,) he exhibited a 
 calmness, which, in view of his nationality, was truly marvelous. 
 
 ATTACKED BY INDIANS. 
 
 Immediately after the marriage of Mr. Guerin to a daughter 
 of Mr. Perry, he lived in his cabin, which, as I have already 
 written, stood just where Ingersoll's block now stands. Wil- 
 liams, in his history, says : "A few rods from Guerin's cabin 
 was Parrant's establishment, and the powerful nature of the 
 Minnewakan he sold the Indians there, used to turn them some- 
 times into red demons. In one of their crazy sprees the Indians 
 killed Guerin's cow and pig, and destroyed other property. 
 Indeed, the lives of Guerin and his bride were oftentimes in 
 danger, and their honeymoon was somewhat a stormy one, t^ke 
 it all in all. These devilish sprees of the Indians occurred 
 occasionally for several years. Once, when Mrs. Guerin was- 
 nursing her first child, about two months old, some nine or 
 ten Indians made an attack on the house and tried to kill Guerin. 
 They broke in the window and attempted to crawl in. Mrs. G. 
 concealed herself under the bed expecting to be murdered. 
 Guerin seized an axe and was about to brain the first pagan 
 whose head appeared through the window. This would have 
 been a very unfortunate affair for Guerin had it happened, but, 
 luckily, before any bloodshed occurred a friendly chief named 
 "Hawk's Bill," came up and remonstrated with the drunken 
 brutes, urging them to leave. While they were parleying Mr. 
 and Mrs. Guerin, with the child, slipped out of the door and 
 fled to Mr. Gervais' house. The Indians then went away, after 
 shooting Guerin's dog with arrows." 
 
 " At another time Guerin was leaning on the gate-post of his 
 garden when some drunken Indians coming up Bench street hill 
 fired at him, a ball struck the post making a narrow escape for 
 Guerin. Again, as he opened his door one morning, an iron- 
 headed arrow whizzed past his head and stuck in the door jam." 
 
 THEN AND NOW. 
 
 I quote these Indian attacks to bring more vividly to the mind 
 of the reader the great changes made in our city inside of forty 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 19 
 
 years. The imagination can readily picture in the past a few 
 log cabins amidst forest trees, nearly half a mile apart, with 
 Indian teepees and drunken Indians themselves prowling about 
 on our present Bridge Square, where now can be found all the 
 paraphernalia of civilized life. Those humble huts have g ven 
 place to stately edifices of commerce, and where the infuriated 
 savages sought the innocent lives of Guerin and his family, can 
 now be found silks and satins, and where the forest trees inter- 
 cepted travel can at present be seen street cars and the glare of 
 the electric light! All the old cabins are gone! The occupants 
 are gone ! The trees are gone ! The Indians are gone ! But 
 still civilization increases and the city grows 1 
 
 DEAD BUT HONORED. 
 
 Ten years ago I used to see Mr. Guerin walking our streets ; 
 interested in our growth ; pleasant in speech ; aiding every public 
 enterprise ; a really noble citizen. And even later along in life 
 when his property was taken from him and he became poor, he 
 still maintained his honor, his manhood, his integrity. He died 
 in 1 870, aged 58 years, and the Common Council of St. Paul, for 
 which city he had done so much in the shape of donations of 
 real estate, very properly and justly erected a monument to his 
 memory, and in the Catholic cemetery repose all that were 
 once the material elements of Vetal Guerin. 
 
 PIERRE PARRANT's NEW CLAIM. 
 
 Having been driven by the soldiers from his location near 
 Fountain cave, Parrant took another claim running back from 
 the river and including the present real estate from Minnesota 
 to Jackson streets. He built a cabin on the edge of the bluff 
 near Robert street, where he sold whisky, and finally disposed 
 of this claim to Ben Gervais for ten dollars ! This property is 
 now worth several miUions of dollars; certainly not less than 
 ;^3,ooo,ooo, and so goes the world ! . We can all see better 
 behind than before, and even if we see ahead we very often lack 
 the financial means necessary to secure a good thing, or even 
 hold on to that which we have. If Parrant had drank a barrel 
 of his own whisky, and it hadn't killed him, and he had gone 
 to bed and slept until the present time, on waking up he would 
 
20 PEN PICTURES 
 
 have found liimself a rich man! But he didn't do it, and he 
 didn't hold his claim, and he didn't get rich! And what are 
 you going to do about it? Nothing! It is the old story 
 Who has not told it and who has not heard it over and over 
 again ? If — and if — and if — 
 
 ABRAM PERRY. 
 
 This was one of the old settlers who was driven off the Fort 
 Snelling reservation and who made his home in St. Paul in 
 1 840. He had seven children, and there was nothing particu- 
 larly remarkable about him except that he was a hard-working 
 man and had many misfortunes. He died in 1 849 at the age of 
 seventy-five years. 
 
 CHARLES PERRY. 
 
 This was the only son of Abram Perry (there being six 
 daughters,) and he never resided in the city a great while, but is 
 now living and has a farm on the shores of Lake Johanna, some 
 ten miles from St. Paul. Of course he remembers the place as 
 it was, but he never dreamed of its present growth. He is an 
 unsophisticated farmer, living almost outside the limits of civili- 
 zation and probably enjoying himself better there than amid the 
 dazzling splendor of city life. He is certainly better off than he 
 would have been if he had owned half the land upon which St. 
 Paul now stands, for he has escaped a vast amount of vexatious 
 and untiring labor. 
 
 JOSEPH RONDO. 
 
 Mr. Rondo was born in Canada of French parents in 1807, 
 received a slight education when a boy, and at the age of 18 
 years engaged to the Hudson Bay Company as a voyageur and 
 was sent to the Pacific coast. In 1827 he settled in among the 
 Red river colony near Fort Gary, and married a Koontanais 
 mixed blood and became a farmer. He left Canada as "a refugee 
 and came to Fort Snelling in 1835, orforty years ago, near which 
 he opened a farm. Having no possessory rights upon the Fort 
 Snelling military reservation, he with others came to St. Paul in 
 1 840, and at first purchased a little tract now in the heart of the 
 city, which he sold and took a claim on land at present embrac- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 21 
 
 ing largely Rice street and that reaching out toward Lake Como, 
 and the tract is now called Rondo's addition to St. Paul. It 
 was mostly a marsh with a large number of small tamarac trees 
 upon it, but they have all been cut off and the marsh has disap- 
 peared. He first built a small wooden house near Carroll street, 
 and then, as he got along financially, erected a peculiar small 
 French brick house with a projecting roof and verandas, which 
 have only given way to improvements within the past few years. 
 This unpretending building has been absorbed now into a large 
 brick house which has been erected on the spot of his dear old 
 home. Although Mr. Rondo at one time owned a good deal of 
 property yet he never was well off but lived Ijumbly and worked 
 hard all his life-time. He has many descendants, some of whom 
 live here now. He was an honest and hard-working man. At 
 the time of his death he was 88 years old, and was the oldest 
 living settler in St. Paul in the year 1885. 
 
 XAVIER DE MAIR. 
 
 Mr. De Mair was born on the Red River of the North in 
 1813 ; when' a boy his parents moved to Prairie du Chien and he 
 arrived at Mendota in 1838, and was married in 1840 to Jose- 
 phine Cloquet; took up that year 160 acres in what is now the 
 city of St. Paul, where the University avenue car barn stands ; 
 traded his claim in 1842 for a horse and wagon ; from 1839 to 
 1842 carried mail from Fort Snelling to about where Winona 
 is at present ; after he disposed of his claim he took another 
 where Calvary cemetery now is ; remained there about five years ; 
 sold that for a team of horses valued at ;^300 ; then took another 
 piece of land about seven miles towards White Bear lake and 
 resided there about five years ; sold this land for ^30 and never 
 received the money; went to St. Peter in 1852 and lived there 
 until 1 877, when he removed to Wisconsin ; then came back to 
 St. Paul and at present lives in a small house on Winnipeg ave- 
 nue. He killed thirty-two deer one fall where part of St. Paul 
 now is, and away back in 1 837, or forty-eight years ago, he saved 
 the life of Rev. Father Ravoux near where La Crosse now 
 stands. 
 
22 PEN PICTURES 
 
 1841. 
 
 ANOTHER OLD SETTLER. 
 
 Most if not all the men I have already mentioned, came to 
 St. Paul during the year 1840; but in 1841 appeared Pierre 
 Bottineau, who purchased a tract of land known now only in 
 history as Baptist hill, because a Baptist church had been erected 
 thereon but of which no vestige at present remains. Where the 
 church stood can be seen the imposing building of Wilder & 
 Merriam, on Sibley street, occupied by Nicols & Dean. Bot- 
 tineau's father was a French Canadian and his mother was a 
 Chippewa woman, and with the blood of these two flowing in his 
 veins he was a somewhat remarkable man. He was in the 
 employ of Gen. Sibley as guide and interpreter in 1837, ^"d sub- 
 seqiiently became famous in conducting expeditions across the 
 plains, as he spoke all the Indian languages and had traveled 
 over almost every foot of the great Northwest. On leaving St. 
 Paul he made a claim at St. Anijhony, and then established a set- 
 tlement at what is now known as " Bottineau's Prairie." He is 
 a large man physically as I remember him, with a prominent face 
 and head, straight black hair and piercing eyes, and a swarthy 
 complexion. An odd contrast to this appearance is his exceeding 
 pleasant smile which nearly always radiates his face. He has 
 the characteristics of the bear and the gentleness of the woman, 
 and if alive, as I think he is, he must be a man 74 years old. He 
 is a noble link of the past, as he combines the French, the Indian 
 and the American, in all his elementary peculiarities. One of 
 the best things which can be said of Bottineau is, he was always 
 true to his trusts, and that of itself is a noble monument to any 
 man. 
 
 slavery ! DRED vSCOTT. 
 
 Don't be startled, reader, but it is a fact that slaves once trod 
 the free soil of Minnesota, and what is more remarkable still, is 
 the fact that the famous Dred Scott, about whom Chief Justice 
 Taney made such a singular decision, viz : " that negroes had no 
 rights which white men were bound to respect," was once the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 23 
 
 slave of Surgeon Emerson, stationed at Fort Snelling, Minne- 
 sota. At that early day nobody interfered with the slaves owned 
 by the officers, and yet they were really slaves and were treated 
 as such. A young negro by the name of Thompson, was owned 
 by an officer at the fort and was subsequently sold at Prarie du 
 'Chien, Wis., to Mr. Bronson, for ;^i,200, and he was afterwards 
 used as an interpreter of the Sioux language. To the credit of 
 Minnesota be it said, that no slave was ever bought or sold on 
 our soil, and yet it was a common thing for the officers at the 
 Fort to bring their slaves with them as personal property, as under 
 the law they were. Mr. Thompson formerly lived in St. Paul, 
 iDut moved to Nebraska, where he and his wife died in 1884. 
 -{See Chapter II.) In the meantime let us bless God that slavery 
 is dead! 
 
 AWAY BACK IN THE PAST. 
 
 Among those who came to Minnesota but not to reside 
 permanently in St. Paul, between 1830 and 1841, were Joseph 
 R. Brown, dead, in 1825, or 60 years ago; Norman W. Kittson, 
 living, in 1832, or 53 years ago; H. H. Sibley, living, in 1834, or 
 5 1 years ago ; Wm. H. Forbes, Martin McLeod and Franklin 
 Steele, all dead, in 1837, or 48 years ago; Henry M. Rice, liv- 
 ing, Wm. Holcombe, dead, 1839, or 46 years ago. Five of 
 -these oldest settlers subsequently moved to St. Paul and have 
 played an important part in her progress and in her destiny. 
 
 FIRST CHURCH NAME OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 In the year 1841 — forty-four years ago — the Catholics of 
 Dubuque, la., conscious of the existence of a settlement in this 
 then far off region, sent out Rev. Lucian Galtier to establish a 
 mission at Fort Snelling, and this good man, finding a group of 
 his own nationality and religion where St. Paul now is, erected 
 a small church of tamarac poles, " so poor," he writes, "it Would 
 remind one of the stable at Bethlehem." This simple structure 
 was dedicated on Nov. i, 1841, or 44 years ago, and named the 
 ■"Chapel of St. Paul." It stood on the bluff overlooking the 
 Mississippi river, on what is now known as Bench street, and 
 near the rear end of the Pioneer Press building. It was a 
 ^genuine log cabin, with one door for entrance, two windows on 
 
24 PEN PICTURES 
 
 each side, a cross at the front on the cornice, and the old picture 
 of it makes a striking contrast either with the present cathedral 
 or the more modern and more expensive German Catholic 
 Church, which cost in the neighborhood of ^300,000. At the 
 dedication of this chapel the reverend father expressed a wish 
 that the place then known as "Pig's Eye" might be named 
 "St. Paul," and from this little incident the city received the 
 name it now bears and which name has become famihar 
 throughout the land. 
 
 LUCIAN GALTIER THE FIRST CATHOLIC PRIEST IN ST. PAUL. 
 
 My history would be incomplete without a biographical' 
 sketch of the first priest who commenced his religious teachings- 
 in the city of St. Paul. Speaking of him, Rev. John Ireland 
 says : " Galtier was born in France in 1 8 1 1 ; was a student of 
 theology in his native diocese, when Bishop Loras, of Dubuque, 
 Iowa, came to Europe in quest ol missionaries ; that those who- 
 were persuaded to follow him to America and do missionary 
 work, were Rev. Joseph Cretin, afterwards Bishop of St. Paul ;. 
 Rev. Joseph Pelamourgues ; Rev. A. Ravoux, now vicar general 
 of St. Paul, and Rev. L. Galtier. The latter left Dubuque for 
 Fort Snelling on the 26th of April, 1840, and as he himself 
 writes : " There was then no St. Paul ; there was on the site of 
 the present city but a single log house occupied by a man named 
 Phelan, and steamboats never stopped there." Not finding many 
 settlers above the Fort on the St. Peter river, he continued in an 
 unsettled condition at that place until several families had made 
 locations on the Mississippi river, below Fountain Cave, as 
 described in a previous article. He says: "Already a few 
 parties had opened farms in this vicinity, (that is near the cave,) 
 and added to these the new accessions formed quite a little settle- 
 ment. Among the occupants of this ground were Rondo, Vetal 
 Guerin, Pierre Bottineau, the Gervais brothers, etc. I deemed it 
 my duty to visit occasionally these families, and set to work to- 
 choose a suitable spot for a church." The place of the church 
 was soon selected as hitherto described, and the building erected. 
 Writing to Bishop Grace, of this city, he says : " On the first of 
 November, in the year 1841, I blessed the new basilica and dedi- 
 cated it to St. Paul, the apostle ol nations. I expressed a wish 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 25 
 
 at the same time that the settlement should be known thereafter 
 by the same name, and my desire was obtained. The name 
 " St. Paul" as applied to a town or city, seemed appropriate. The 
 monosyllable is short, sounds well, and is understood by all 
 denominations of Christians. When Mr. Guerin was married, 
 I published the bans as being those of a resident of St. Paul. 
 It was named afterwards " St. Paul Landing," and later on St. 
 Paul. When some time ago an effort was made to change the 
 name I did all I could to oppose the project." 
 
 In 1 848 Mr. Galtier went back to France and returning soon 
 after was stationed at Prairie du Chien. He visited St. Paul in 
 1853 and again in 1855, and soon after died. He was never a 
 permanent settler of St. Paul, but I place him among the settlers 
 of 1 841, at the time he blessed the first church. 
 
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF GALTIER. 
 
 Those who knew him speak of him as a man of great 
 decision of character, with a rather strong cast of countenance, 
 large mouth and overshadowing eyebrows. His head sat upon 
 his shoulders like a military chieftain, and he was well chosen to 
 mould and control a heterogeneous mass of men whose lives had 
 been spent almost exclusively upon the frontier. He was a well 
 proportioned man, with a fixed determination to accomplish 
 what he undertook, and he succeeded. Years have fled, changes 
 have been made, the first little, crude log church and the first 
 honest, self-sacrificing priest have passed away, but both will 
 ever live in history made doubly dear by the noble achievements 
 of Rev. Lucian Galtier. 
 
 AUGUSTIN RAVOUX. 
 
 Very few of our citizens who notice a tall, spare man, with 
 a long, flowing coat and taking extended strides upon our 
 streets, ever wielding a cane in a peculiar manner, now throwing 
 it out from the arm, and then bringing it down upon the pave- 
 ment as he moves along, would suppose that this was Very Rev. 
 Father Ravoux, who came to St. Paul in 1841, or forty-four 
 years ago; and yet his face is familiar to all the old settlers and 
 his kind voice has been heard in many a lowly hovel. In active 
 missionary work in our city and State, he ranks next to Rev. 
 
26 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Galtier. Indeed, I may say, in his special line of duty he excels 
 him. He was born in France in 1815, and is consequently 
 seventy years old. In 1838 he offered his services to Bishop 
 Loras, of Dubuque, then in Europe, as a missionary in the West, 
 and soon after entered upon his duties, preaching in various 
 parts of the then territory ; learning the Sioux language ; printing 
 books in the Sioux tongue ; unfolding the gospel to the savages 
 by interpreters, and in 1842 returned to Mendota, and for some 
 time thereafter took the place of Mr. Galtier, who was absent at 
 Lake Pepin. Among the books he printed in the Indian lan- 
 guage, was one with a very peculiar title, viz : "Wa-Kan-tan-Ka 
 ti Cancu," meaning, " Path to the House of God." He was well 
 adapted to mingle with the Indians, as he readily learned their 
 language and. by his mild and gentle disposition won their 
 regard. On the removal of Rev. Galtier from his mission at 
 Mendota, Father Ravoux took his office and preached alter- 
 nately at the former place and in this city, and had under his 
 charge Mendota, St. Paul, Lake Pepin- and St. Croix, until the 
 arrival of Bishop Cretin in 1 851. 
 
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 Father Ravoux is a marked character upon the streets, or 
 anywhere else. His dress indicates his calling. With a kind, 
 benevolent face, broad forehead and slender body, he moves 
 along with the aid of his walking stick, with all the agility of a 
 man of forty. . He is a strong orthodox upholder of the Cath- 
 olic Church and believes in the positive punishment of all 
 violators of the law of God ; or at least what he honestly thinks 
 to be the law of God. Several years ago he was engaged in 
 arranging some drapery in the church and had his mouth full 
 of pins, when he fell and some of these pins passed down into 
 his wind pipe and some stuck in his throat, and he has suffered 
 more or less from this accident ever since. It has affected his 
 preaching somewhat, but still he has performed great labors in 
 the field and in the church, and is yet a grand, venerable speci- 
 ntien of an old-time Catholic priest. My religion is broad 
 enough to accept good from any church, no matter what its 
 denomination may be, and as the Catholic church early 
 moulded the morals of the young St. Paul, so it is a source 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 27 
 
 of great pleasure to record the meritorious claims it has upon 
 the public sympathy. At least the earliest religious teachers 
 and the earliest religious pioneers were of the Catholic Church, 
 and history demands nothing less than this recognition. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 1842. 
 
 Mrst Name of St. Paul — Mrst Shingled Roof Building — First American Flag- 
 Incidents and Old Settlers. 
 
 THE NAME OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 The man who proposed the name of St. Paul in lieu of 
 " Pig's Eye " for our city, ought to be canonized in history and 
 his name handed down, as it will be, to many generations yet 
 unborn. Just think of the " Grand Pig's Eye Opera House ! " or 
 the sweet, charming ladies of " Pig's Eye ! " or the " State Capital 
 at Pig's Eye!" or the "^100,000 mansion on one of the broad 
 avenues of Pig's Eye !" or the " head of navigation at Pig's Eye ! " 
 But then it might have been had not the good Catholic priest 
 Galtier gallantly come to the rescue, and proposed and insisted 
 that the name should be — St. Paul. He did not think that 
 the future of the then embryo city would end — " in a Pig's 
 Eye ! " — and so he gave it the name of the great Apostle after 
 whose teachings he himself followed. I accord to Galtier great 
 praise for suggesting the name, and greater praise still for the 
 utter obliteration of that horrid expression, " Pig's Eye ! " as in 
 any way applied to our present city. 
 
 OLD SETTLERS HENRY JACKSON. 
 
 In 1842, or forty-three years ago, the population I have 
 described, was made greatly more respectable by the arrival of 
 
28 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Henry Jackson, who, according to Yankee ideas, established a 
 store of general merchandize, including Hquid goods, and for a 
 time, in 1846, or thirty-nine years ago, was postmaster, and 
 allowed letters to be deposited in a candle-box two feet square, 
 out of which each customer helped himself People must have 
 been more honest then than now, or there were a less number of 
 drafts going through the mails, for I do not hear of any one 
 losing money at this early day, except at the gaming table. Each 
 one took his own letters and left the others. If this system were 
 adopted now most people would, no doubt, make an improvement 
 upon the past, by taking somebody else's letters and leaving 
 their own. 
 
 JACKSON AS HE WAS. 
 
 As I remember Jackson he was a short, thick-set man, slow 
 in speech, quiet in his movements, with a florid complexion, and a 
 mouth full of tobacco. He was generalissimo of all he owned 
 — a sort of walking encyclopedia condensed, political and other- 
 wise — and a man to whom others looked for general information. 
 He filled the measure of his usefulness in this city, and if my mem- 
 ory serves me aright removed to Mankato. .1 well remember, in 
 making a political speech at that place in 1 854, or thirty-one years 
 ago, I charged the removal of the Indians to that section (then 
 an unpopular measure,) to the influence of Hon. H. M. Rice, and 
 these charges were based upon information received from the 
 then Gov. Willis A. Gorman, now dead. At the end of my speech 
 a man in the audience arose and said, "that the speaker talked 
 fluently and well, but that he could tell more lies in a given time 
 than any man he ever heard." It was Jackson — and he was 
 right. I had been honestly lying, and did not know it, but sub- 
 sequently learned that my information was incorrect, and hence 
 I had done Mr. Rice a great injustice which I took an early 
 occasion afterwards to correct. [Further information shows 
 that it was P. K. Johnson who interrupted me, and not 
 Jackson.] 
 
 GIVING A BOND TO MARRY. 
 
 Jackson was born in Virginia in 1811, and was a self-made 
 man, possessing considerable fun, well versed in human nature, 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 29 
 
 and very hospitable. As an illustration of the humorous element of 
 his character, it is said of him that before his commission arrived as 
 Justice of the Peace, a couple applied to him to get married, but 
 he told them he could not perform the ceremony unless they 
 gave him a bond agreeing to return after his commission had 
 been received and be legally married over again. They consent- 
 ed to do this and he pronounced them man and wik-^by proxy. 
 The bond was given, and the much married couple departed, but 
 whether they returned to Jackson again is a mooted question. I 
 guess they didn't. 
 
 In his early days Jackson went to Texas and engaged in 
 the war there, and then drifted to New York, Wisconsin, Illinois 
 and finally Minnesota. His log store stood upon the bluff just 
 back of the Fire and Marine Insurance building on Jackson 
 street, and here he did considerable trading with the Indians and 
 the whites, and became a man of considerable importance. In 
 1843 he was made justice of the peace; in 1846 postmaster; in 
 1847 elected member of the Wisconsin Assembly, which office he 
 held two years ; later he was a member of our town council and 
 of the Territorial Legislature. He married Miss Angelina Bivins 
 in 1838, who still survives him, and died in 1857 at Mankato, 
 Minn. Jackson was a natural pioneer; easy, good natured and 
 very social. I remember him as a man sensitive as to points of 
 honor and strongly devoted to his friends. Jackson street in 
 this city was named after him. 
 
 MRS. JACKSON THE WIDOW. 
 
 In the year 1884 I met the widow of Mr. Jackson on 
 the streets of St. Paul, then the guest of Mrs. John R. Irvine. 
 She is a sprightly, well preserved lady, full of kindness and affa- 
 bility, and remembers distinctly many interesting reminiscences 
 of St. Paul, some of which I hope to be able to give to my 
 readers in succeeding chapters of Pen Pictures. 
 
 R. W. MORTIMER FIRST AMERICAN FLAG. 
 
 Among the early settlers who came to St. Paul in 1 842, was 
 Sergeant Richard W. Mortimer, an Englishman by birth and a 
 man of good education. On migrating to this country he secured 
 a position in the United States army, and finally followed the 
 
30 PEN PICTURES 
 
 soldiers to Fort Snelling, where he remained for some time, and 
 then moved to St. Paul, opening up with the money he had 
 saved while in the army, a stock farm on a small scale and also 
 a store. The first shingled roof building was his, then standing 
 on the corner of Third and Market streets, where Simmon's drug 
 store can now be seen. Mortimer lost money in his enterprise, 
 because he was progressive in his nature, and beside, he was 
 simply ahead of the country, ahead of the city and ahead of the 
 times. He lost sight of the fact that the poverty of the people 
 would prevent them from sustaining him in his new departure, 
 so he finally spent his money without any adequate recompense, 
 became dissatisfied with his lot, regretted he had ever left the 
 army, and pined away and died at the early age of 43 years. He 
 was loyal to the country of his adoption and paid ^^35 for the 
 first stars and stripes that ever floated over St. Paul, and when 
 this flag was struck down he was ready to shoot the villain on 
 the spot, and would have done so if he had not been prevented. 
 Mortimer's ^5, 000 dwindled to nothing in 1842, but if he were 
 alive to-day with his money and his experience, and could make 
 the same investment he made then, (eighty acres between St. 
 Peter and Washington streets,) a good round fortune would 
 crown his efforts. Some reap while others toil ; some toil and 
 reap nothing ; others gather plentifully out of sheer good luck, 
 while thousands pine and suffer for the necessaries of life. What 
 a long train of trouble, and trial, and toil, and disaster, and finan- 
 cial ruin has led to the present prosperity of St. Paul, and how 
 little we think of it ; and still it is a law, and the law goes on and 
 we go on with it, until at last we shall all be lost in the great 
 whirpool of oblivion. 
 
 AN INDIAN battle NEAR ST. PAUL. 
 
 The new comers to this city of rapid growth and unparal- 
 leled prospective greatness, can scarcely realize that only a few 
 years ago Indians trod our streets, or rather traveled over the 
 ground where our streets now are, at times gloating over their 
 bloody battles, or dangling the reeking scalp of a new-fallen foe ! 
 And yet such is the fact ! It should be remembered by the reader, 
 that the Sioux and the Chippewas have always been enemies 
 — that the former owned the land on the west side of the river 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 31 
 
 and the latter that on the east ; that whenever one tribe killed a 
 member of another tribe, revenge followed, and growing out of 
 this many bloody battles were fought. Now in the first place, 
 three Sioux were killed at Fort Snelling by the Chippewas, who 
 lay in ambush to take their scalps. In retaliation for this the 
 Sioux penetrated the Chippewa country to punish their enemy, 
 but were beaten. To revenge this raid the Chippewas determined 
 to attack the Sioux vilbge of Little Crow, at Kaposia, a few 
 miles on the west side of the river below St. Paul, but, before 
 they reached the village a battle took place on the east side of 
 the river, known as Red Rock. The Chippewas numbered about 
 1 50 warriors. Near where they niade their first halt to recon- 
 noiter they killed two Sioux women, who were in the field hoeing 
 corn, and cut off the head of a little boy, son of one of the 
 women. The firing of guns at this point aroused the Sioux at 
 the village, and they prepared for the combat. Rushing across 
 the river they met the Chippewas and the battle became furious 
 and lasted nearly three hours, when the Chippewas fled, leaving 
 ten or twelve of their dead upon the field. The Sioux lost about 
 twenty of their men, but they continued their pursuit of the flying 
 Chippewas for a number of miles, and then returned to their 
 village. I gleaned these facts from the late Thomas Odell, of 
 West St. Paul, who died from the effects of a cancer about two 
 years ago. Mr. Odell was fully cognizant of all the incidents 
 of this engagement, and no doubt they can be relied upon, at 
 least in all their main features, as correct. 
 
 DIFFERENT SCENES NOW. 
 
 Different scenes now meet the eye of the citizen and the 
 stranger. No Indians prowl about our city, except perhaps a 
 few half-civilized squaws from Mendota, and no rumor of an 
 Indian outbreak causes excitement in our midst. On the same 
 ground where the teepee stood is now the building of a majestic 
 wholesale establishment, and where the wild men of the forest 
 once held their war-dances, now glows in beauty and in grandeur 
 our new and splendid opera house. Church bells in 70 towers 
 drown the yell of savage revenge in the startling war whoop, 
 while the white-winged dove of peace cooes in solemn grandeur 
 over the graves of a'departed race. 
 
32 PEN PICTURES 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 1843. 
 
 Mrst Oldest Settler lAving— First Meat Market^First Four Log HuU. 
 
 EVENTS AND Blt)GRAPHIES OF THE YEAR 1 843. 
 
 In chapter number four I brought the reader down to the 
 year 1842, or 204 years from the time Louis Hennepin first 
 visited this locahty, and the first time the first white man set 
 foot upon soil where now grows in grandeur and in greatness 
 the city of St. Paul. 
 
 A FEW MORE OLD SETTLERS. 
 
 Among the oldest of the old settlers was Donald McDon- 
 ald, of Scotch descent, born in Canada in 1803, and who died 
 in 1 884, at the ripe age of eighty years. He was at one time in 
 the employ of both the Hudson and the American Fur Com- 
 panies ; traveled and traded . very extensively ' throughout the 
 Northwest, and claims to have put up the third house on the 
 east side of the Mississippi on ground now occupied by St. 
 Paul. He then laid claim to the land formerly owned -by the 
 late Stephen Denoyer, or better known where the old Half-way 
 House now stands, a few miles outside of the city, on the well 
 known St. Anthony road. He sold this land to Denoyer " for a 
 barrel of whisky and two Indian guns," the said land now 
 being worth not less than ;^ 5 00,000 ! Poor Mc. I did not know 
 him personally, but learn he was a brawny Scotchman, strong, 
 venturesome, and exceedingly fond of a roving life. He mar- 
 ried a half-breed, and after raising a large family of children, 
 stepped across the Stygian river to continue again his travels in 
 another world. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. S3 
 
 OLD PELON AND BILANSKI. 
 
 During the year 1 842 a Canadian voyageur, known only by 
 
 the name of " Old Pelon," drifted to the young city and became 
 
 the bar-keeper of Jackson. Mr. Goodhue, the first editor, spoke 
 
 of him as follows : "At that time all sorts of liquors were sold 
 
 out of the same decanter, and a stranger coming into the store 
 
 once, asked Pelon if he had any confectionery? Pelon, not 
 
 knowing the meaning of the word, supposed it was some kind 
 
 •of liquor, passed out the decanter of whisky to his customer, 
 
 raying : " Oui, Monsieur, here is confecshawn, ver good, superb, 
 
 magnifique." The stranger didn't drink but Pelon did, and 
 
 ■continued to do so until his appetite and his old age laid him in 
 
 the grave. 
 
 BILANSKI, 
 
 Bilanski was a Polander. His claim was known as " Oak 
 Point," near the present machine shops of the St. Paul & Duluth 
 Railroad Company, or better known now as Arlington Heights. 
 He was a lover of women, having married four, from three of 
 -whom he had obtained divorces, but one morning he was found 
 dead, and on investigation it was proved, at least by circum.- 
 stantial evidence, that he had been poisoned by his wife, who was 
 arrested for the crime on the evidence of a servant girl, tried and 
 ' -convicted of murder, and was hung in i860. 
 
 JOHN R. IRVINE, 
 
 Mr. Irvine came to this city in the winter of 1843, and like 
 Jackson, his friend, of whom I wrote in my last chapter, brought 
 with him a load of groceries, which he soon disposed of He was 
 born in Danville, N. Y., in 181 2, and combined the trades of the 
 blacksmith and the plasterer. In the latter capacity I knew him. 
 He purchased a claim of land embracing about 300 acres, (pay- 
 ing ;^300 for it,) occupying nearly all of what is now known as 
 upper St. Paul, and his log house, built after the French fashion, 
 stood on the corners of West Third and Franklin streets. Then 
 trees and brush and running streams made ingress to or egress 
 from his home very difficult. On the flats below Third street, 
 designated the " upper levee," was a dense forest of elm trees, 
 only one of which is left as a memory of the past. , Rings on 
 3 
 
34 PEN PICTURES 
 
 these trees have been counted up to as high as 600, making them 
 not less than 600 years old. Most of these trees were cut 
 off by Mr. Irvine and sold to steamboats. Along the base of the 
 hill, skirting Summit avenue, were cedar and tamarac ; all have 
 disappeared. From Mr. Irvine's house in back to the bluff, 
 including the ground now occupied by the German Catholic 
 Church, and from the Seven Corners, also including a good por- 
 tion of Pleasant and College avenues, and indeed reaching down 
 Seventh and Eighth streets and below Jackson, was a bog mire 
 impossible to travel. Now this property is one of the most 
 valuable in the city. Mr. Irvine accumulated other property on 
 Summit avenue and elsewhere, and the combined value of all his 
 real estate, had he held it, would have reached the sum of 
 ;^3,ooo,ooo. He gave the city the ground for Irvine Park, which 
 bears his name. 
 
 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 I remember Mr. Irvine as one of the people ; a man of no 
 ostentation ; a laborer ; always working ; never idle ; quiet in 
 manners ; strictly temperate, and very even in his every-day toil. 
 He was a man of ordinary physical development, somewhat 
 compact, cool and deliberate in speech, and eternally and ever- 
 lastingly doing something. He was a member of the Legislature, 
 and although not a brilliant man yet possessed a good fund of 
 common sense. During the financial crash he, with many others, 
 became involved, but worked out of it. He erected the large 
 building on the corner of Eagle and Third streets, known as 
 Flat-Iron Block ; was engaged for a time in banking, and finally, 
 when in the midst of his greatest labors, was taken sick and died, 
 at a good old age, reaching about 66 years, leaving some five or 
 six girls, all of whom have married well. Mr. Irvine had three 
 brothers who are still living. 
 
 MRS. JOHN R. IRVINE A HALLOWED OLD AGE. 
 
 There is nothing to me more beautiful than a serene and 
 hallowed old age, and never am I more forcibly reminded of this 
 than when I meet the cheerful and pleasant face of the former 
 Miss Nancy Galbraith, now the respected widow of John R.* 
 Irvine. In looking on her clear complexion and into her bright 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 35 
 
 eye and marking her pleasant smile, one can hardly realize that 
 this is the mother of a large family, and the woman of pioneer 
 life who forty odd years ago lived in a wilderness ; who, though 
 surrounded with early hardships and adversity has braved them 
 all, brought up an excellent bevy of children, and now is gliding 
 gently down the hill of life, loved by all who know and esteem 
 her ; and also by the public at large for her many virtues. She 
 lives on Summit avenue with all the comforts life can give, and 
 I only hope she may be spared many years more to enjoy the 
 laurels she has so justly earned. 
 
 J. W. SIMPSON 
 
 A few itinerant persons canie to St. Paul previous to Simp- 
 son, but soon after left. Among these were Coy, Blanchard, 
 Magee, etc., whom I need not designate as old settlers, but only 
 driftwood on the boisterous waves of adventure. Simpson, 
 whom I may class among those who came to Minnesota in 
 1842, and to St. Paul in 1843, formerly kept a warehouse on 
 the levee, corner of Sibley street. He was a small, thin, spare 
 man, possessing business qualities, and somewhat in advance of 
 the times. His early education had been more of the ministerial 
 character (being a Methodist), than the commercial, but he 
 finally drifted into the hard-tack groove of life, and died soon 
 after taking off his harness. He was born in Virginia in 1 8 1 8. 
 He once owned an acre where Union block now stands, and 
 subsequently purchased a tract between Baptist- hill and the 
 Merchants hotel, where he built a house and lived and died. 
 Only two years ago the house was torn down and a small 
 parcel of ground upon which it was situated was sold for 
 ;^90,ooo. A new and costly building has been erected on the 
 old site adjoining Mr. Drake's building on Fourth street, and 
 where Simpson unthinkingly planted, the present owners will 
 reap thousands of dollars, as the property is located in the ' 
 busiest part of the city. He paid ^200 for the tract ; its present 
 value is ^200,000 — the rise of the real estate in forty-two years ! 
 Mr. Simpson at one time was County Treasurer, and performed 
 his duties to the satisfaction of all. He married a niece of I.ouis 
 Robert, a Miss Denoyer, who survives him, and who has been 
 placed in comfortable circumstances by the recent sale of the 
 old homestead. He died in 1 870, aged fifty-two years. 
 
36 PEN PICTURES 
 
 FRIGHTENED BY THE CHOLERA. 
 
 Simpson became frightened when the cholera first made its 
 appearance at our levee, in the year 1854 or 5, as he had much 
 to do with steamboats and several cases came from the boats. 
 I remember one poor fellow in the last stages of the disease, 
 lying and apparently dying upon the ground, deserted. With a 
 good Samaritan I went to him, gave him some whisky, with 
 powdered charcoal and sugar, and to the surprise of all he 
 recovered. Years afterward he met me, hale and hearty, and 
 his gratitude was unbounded. Simpson was terribly frightened, 
 and hearing of my success with the whisky and in order to ward 
 off what he termed " that terrible disease," took to stimulants, 
 but his frail body could not stand the shock of disease, and he 
 later passed over to the other shore. He was an active, worthy 
 man, and the old stone warehouse where he did business still 
 stands as a tribute of respect to departed early pioneerism. 
 
 WILLIAM HARTSHORN. 
 
 Among those who came to St. Paul in 1 843, was the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, who was born in Massachusetts in 1794, and 
 who, soon after arriving here, formed a co-partnership with 
 Henry Jackson. The first deed on record in this county was 
 from Jackson to Hartshorn, for ;^ 1,000 for three acres, lying on 
 the Mississippi river, known as the " St. Paul Landing," now 
 worth probably ;^300,000. At . the expiration of two years 
 Hartshorn withdrew from the firm and ran a fur store in- this 
 city as well as several other fur stores outside. He finally sold 
 out to Randall, Freeman & Larpenteur, and removed to Still- 
 water; tired of that he came back to St. Paul and entered 
 business again, and died, January, 1865, aged seventy-one years. 
 A writer for the newspapers of that day speaks of him as fol- 
 lows . " He was an honest and pure-minded man, with a kind- 
 ness of heart and absence of guile that made him beloved by all. 
 Though at times well off, he was over-reached to an extent that 
 kept him in reduced circumstances all of his life." I cheerfully 
 add, that it gives me pleasure to record these kind words of one 
 whose memory should always live; not for any great act achieved 
 by him, or for his money, but because of his intrinsic merits as a 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 37 
 
 man. The world is full of animated, pushing, struggling beings, 
 but very few men, and when I find one, like Jack Bunsby in the 
 play, I propose " to make a note of it." 
 
 A. L. LARPENTEUR, ONE OF TWENTY LEFT. 
 
 Mr. L. was born at Baltimore, Md., in the year 1823. He 
 came to St. Paul in the year 1843, or forty-two years ago, and 
 when he appeared on the levee with a stock of groceries for Mr. 
 Hartshorn, for whom he subsequently clerked, three hundred 
 Indians greeted him (or rather the provisions,) with cheers. 
 About twelve white people with a number of savages, then com- 
 posed the population of St. Paul. Mr. Larpenteur continued 
 with his old employer until Hartshorn sold to Freeman, 
 Larpenteur & Co., and soon after he entered into business for 
 himself, on the corner of Third and Jackson streets, opposite the 
 Merchants hotel, now occupied by the Hale block. He was at 
 one time one of the original proprietors of the town site of St. 
 Paul, and was one of the commissioners who entered the land 
 upon which the city is now built. In 1850 he was alderman of 
 the City Council and Treasurer of Ramsey county. He speaks 
 English, French and Indian well, and at one time was an Indian 
 interpreter. Mr. Larpenteur is now doing a large business on 
 Jackson street, and is the father of ten children, and his oldest 
 daughter Rosa was the first white female child born in St. Paul 
 in 1847. 
 
 personal. 
 
 Mr. Larpenteur is of French descent and consequently is all 
 life and animation. He has a nervous, sanguine temperament ; 
 possesses a black, piercing eye , is of medium size ; always 
 pleasant, very quick ; talks quickly, acts quickly, figures quickly. 
 Judging from what he now is, one would think he must have 
 been " chain lightning " when young. He is a man of unbounded 
 industry, has unerringly maintained his love for trade, and is 
 never more in his element than when down deep in business. 
 Nobody is more devoted to his family than he, and at his 
 "Anchorage," surrounded with the cpmforts of a pleasant home 
 just outside of the city limits, he enjoys in his leisure moments 
 all the pleasures this life can give. Of twenty comparatively 
 
33 PEN PICTURES 
 
 young men who started out with him in life, he is the only one 
 left — all are dead. He is among the very oldest of the old set- 
 tlers of this city, indeed is the oldest living in 1885, and although 
 rising sixty years, and a little lame, he is as brisk and as cheery 
 and as animated as a man of forty. I wish him many more years 
 of an honored life. 
 
 Mr. L. married Miss Mary J. Presley, sister of the late Bart- 
 lett Presley, and she is yet a vigorous and pleasant lady, having 
 seen a great deal of pioneer life and a great many changes, and 
 still is lovely in her disposition and very greatly esteemed by all 
 who know her. 
 
 SCOTT CAMPBELL AS THE TWIG IS BENT THE TREE 'S INCLINED. 
 
 Scott Campbell had a mixture of Indian and Scotch blood 
 in his veins and married a half-breed woman. He added to this 
 an appetite for drink, and although he was an interpreter at Fort 
 Snelling for twenty-five years, and was employed by Steele, Kitt- 
 son and others, still he never was rich, and died in 1850, aged 
 sixty years. He came to St. Paul in 1843, and his log house 
 stood on Third street, just above Zimmerman's gallery, and his 
 claim embraced the land from Wabasha street to St. Peter, run- 
 ning back two blocks. His wife is reported to have been a good 
 woman, but his sons grew up indifferently, probably the reflex of 
 the father's character. Two were hung ; one died in an insane 
 asylum. Joseph Campbell is a worthy man, and probably all the 
 sons would have been better if they had been surrounded with 
 different circumstances and brought up under different influences, 
 for " as the twig is bent the tree 's inclined." Early examples, 
 early association, early education, early training,, have much to 
 do in moulding the character of the young, and if the Campbell 
 boys had been differently situated they might have adorned soci- 
 ety as good, moral citizens. Scott Campbell was a man of some 
 ability and with all his faults is pleasantly remembered by those 
 who knew him. 
 
 THE OUTLOOK IN 1 843 42 YEARS AGO. 
 
 At the time I record the events of 1843, St. Paul had but 
 three or four log houses, with a population not to exceed twelve 
 white people, and was a mixture of forest, hills, running brooks. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 39 
 
 ravines, bog mires, lakes, whisky, mosquitoes, snakes and Indi- 
 ans. One could scarcely find his way from the Merchants hotel 
 to Wabasha street, so thick were the underbrush and trees, and 
 no travel could go much beyond Fourth street in consequence of 
 .the swampy condition of the land. A fine waterfall was visible 
 just where the Capitol now stands, and the water from this beau- 
 tiful cascade made its way to a lake on Eighth street, near the 
 ■corner of Robert, in which were fish, and then sought the river 
 down a ravine where the building of the First National Bank now 
 -Stands. It was in fact only a small trading post, and those who 
 •came here then had no more idea of a city than they had of 
 crawling to heaven on a sunbeam ! But few are left of the early 
 ;settlers of 1843. The young man of twenty- five years ago, with 
 black hair, bright eyes, unmeasured energy, is an old man now, 
 with gray hair, dreamy eyes and tired footsteps. He feels the 
 burden of his years and plods along while newer and younger 
 elements jostle him to the end of the road and to the little bridge 
 •over which he soon must pass to that better land. 
 
 MORE OLD SETTLERS OF 1 843 THE ANTIQUATED CENTRAL HOUSE. 
 
 Among other old settlers who came to St. Paul in 1843, was 
 Alexander H. McLeod, son of a Scotch Canadian. He was a 
 man of great physical power, and it is related of him that he 
 killed his antagonist in a quarrel by a blow from his fist. He 
 has the honor of being the original builder of the old Central 
 liouse ; that is, he built a square log cabin on the site where it 
 used to stand, just back of Mannheimer's block, on Bench street, 
 and from time to time additions were added to it until it became 
 quite a respectable hotel, and in the years 1849-50-51 was used 
 for the Territorial Legislature." At an early day he was employed 
 by the American Fur Company ; clerked for Frank Steele ; be- 
 came a soldier in the Union army, and died in 1 864 aged forty- 
 :seven years. Previous to his death he made West St. Paul his 
 home, where I believe his widow now resides. 
 
 MORE CANADIAN FRENCHMEN. 
 
 Then came along David Sloan, who married a sister of Hole- 
 in-the-Day, the great Chippewa chief, and after trading and rov- 
 ing around among the natives of the forest for a number of years, 
 
40 PEN PICTURES 
 
 he died near Crow Wing. Joseph Desmarais was an interpreter 
 and guide, and on settling in St. Paul purchased a piece of prop- 
 erty near the corner of Third and Jackson streets, probably that^ 
 which is now known as the Prince block, for the munificent sum 
 of $50, and then went among the Indians, with whom he has since 
 made his home. Then Pepin, and Cloutier, and Gobin, and Lar- 
 rivier, and Delonais, all Frenchmen, drifted into the little hamlet,, 
 from which has sprung the city of St. Paul. Larrivier owned 
 the claim upon which the State Capitol now stands, but the poor 
 fellow could not see far enough ahead to hold on to it, which, at 
 present real estate retail prices, would have brought him about. 
 ;^50o,ooo! But then, he is just as happy now, for 
 
 " If ignorance is bliss, 
 'Tis folly to be wise." 
 
 CAMPHOR VS. WHISKY VINEGAR VS. BLOOD. 
 
 "The Indians were very troublesome this year and perpetually 
 drunk. One day Mrs. Mortimer, who was endeavoring to close- 
 out her stock of goods belonging to her late husband, was in her 
 house when an Indian stalked in and seeing a camphor bottle 
 standing on a shelf, took a deep swig, supposing it was whisky.. 
 As soon as he detected the nauseous taste, he gave a grunt of 
 rage and seizing a measure, turned some vinegar into it from a 
 barrel, supposing that also was whisky. He dashed down a heavy 
 draught of it without stopping to taste it. Mrs. Mortimer saw 
 the storm coming and fled for safety to Mr. Irvine's house, pur- 
 sued a moment after by the infuriated Indian, with uplifted toma- 
 hawk, but Irvine disarmed him and sent him off. The Indian 
 had left the vinegar running, however, and the whole of it was 
 gone when Mrs. Mortimer returned." — Williams. 
 
 FIRST MEAT MARKET. 
 
 The first meat market was opened this year by a Frenchman 
 named Gerou. 
 
 LUTHER FURNELL. 
 
 Mr. Furnell was born in New Hampshire in 1817 ; came to- 
 St. Paul in 1843 ; was engaged for several years as a teamster;, 
 made the original claim of the old Larpenteur farm on the St. An- 
 thony road, consisting of 160 acres ; broke and cultivated 10 acres ;. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 41 
 
 held it three years, when he sold it to Lot Moffett for ^100 ; worth 
 now ^125,000; purchased two acres on Seventh street, on part of 
 which stands the residence of Robert Smith, Esq., for twenty 
 dollars; worth now ;^SO,ooo. Mr. Furnell is a tall, thin, emaci- 
 ated man, with spectacles, and his health has been greatly im- 
 paired by a nervous disease. He has seen a great deal of trou- 
 ble but is an honest, upright, honorable man. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1844. 
 
 First American Female Child horn in Minnesota — First Frame Home — First Prot- 
 estant Service — First Grist and Saw Mills. 
 
 EVENTS AND MEN OF 1 844. 
 
 The first American female child born in the Territory of Min- 
 nesota, jvas Miss Cleopatra Irvine, now the wife of Richard Gor- 
 man, Esq., born in St. Paul in 1844. Mrs. Gorman is a splendid 
 looking woman and as good as she looks — a fine type of a beau- 
 tiful Minnesota lady. 
 
 LOUIS ROBERT. 
 
 Capt. Robert was born in Missouri in 181 1 ; died in St. Paul 
 in 1874, aged sixty-three years. He was a peculiar yet marked 
 character, inheriting an iron constitution from Canadian parent- 
 age, and in early life possessed an uncontrolable desire to travel, 
 which he satisfied very thoroughly on the upper Missouri and 
 
42 PEN PICTURES 
 
 also on the Mississippi, trafficking in furs and trading generally 
 with the Indians. He came to St. Paul in 1844, and in 1847 
 was one of the original proprietors of the town, purchasing part 
 of the land of Ben Gervais for ;^300, including the land upon 
 which the present high school building now stands ; commenced 
 trading with the Indians ; took a prominent part in the Stillwater 
 convention of 1848 for the- organization of our Territory; urged 
 the location of the Capitol at St. Paul ; was at one time a county 
 commissioner ; also a building commissioner ; was very liberal, 
 especially to the church j gave real estate and money to this end ; 
 and the bells of both the French Catholic Church and the Cathe- 
 dral, as they ring out their musical tones, tell of the generosity 
 of Capt. Louis Robert. 
 
 STEAMBOATING. 
 
 In the early days he noticed the great inconvenience caused 
 by steamboats leaving some considerable time before the close 
 of navigation in the fall, to engage in the southern trade, and re- 
 turning to St. Paul again late in the spring, so to obviate this 
 difficulty he repaired to St. Louis and bought a boat of his own 
 called the Greek Slave, at a cost of ;^20,ooo. He became cap- 
 tain and subsequently purchased other boats, one named after 
 his beautiful daughter, Jennie, who subsequently married Uri 
 Lamprey, Esq. At one time he was the owner of five steam- 
 boats. 
 
 "DEY SHALL BE FREE ! " 
 
 It is said of him that when he went before a magistrate to 
 convey some lots to a purchaser, he was told that it was neces- 
 sary to have them "bounded" — that is, measured — when he 
 
 broke out, " You tinks I be a d Jew ! My lots bonded ! — 
 
 never ! Dey shall be free ! " At the first Fourth of July celebra- 
 tion in 1 849, in a grove of trees which stood in front of the pres- 
 ent city hall. Judge Meeker, now dead, gave the oration, and W. 
 D. Phillips read the Declaration of Independence. Capt. Robert 
 listened very attentively to both productions, and at the conclu- 
 sion pronounced Phillips' speech the better of the two, and in 
 view of the fact that the captain's early education had been sadly 
 neglected, this nice discrimination only showed the real merits 
 of the man's mind. He was a great lover of liberty. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 43 
 
 NOSE ONLY VISIBLE. 
 
 Capt. Robert was not only a strong business man but a man 
 of great sagacity. During the Indian attack he was pursued by 
 the savages, who were determined to take his life, but the captain 
 dodged his enemies, and finally crawling into a swamp, lay there 
 for a considerable time with his whole body hid in the mire and 
 his nose just above the water. The Indians were outwitted and 
 Robert lived to see many of them hung and the balance driven 
 from the State. 
 
 AS I REMEMBER HIM. 
 
 Capt. Robert was a tall, muscular man, with strong features ; 
 decided convictions ; great energy ; excellent business qualities ; 
 and was a born leader of men. He never followed ; he always 
 led, and as captain of a steamboat he was in one of his best ele- 
 ments. His face was massive, and there was a great tenacity of 
 expression in his countenance, and yet he was kind, and liberal, 
 and social, but never losing sight of the main chance — business ! 
 Whatever he did, was done earnestly, vigorously, energetically. 
 In politics he was a power. During the years 1853-4-5 a-iid sub- 
 sequently, he controlled the French vote, and then he had shrewd- 
 ness enough to make an alliance with a man of those days who 
 controlled the Irish vote, and between the two they always came 
 out of the battle with a Democratic victory. Wm. P. Murray 
 was Robert's lawyer and confidential adviser, and Robert was 
 Murray's friend ; so when their political victory had been gained 
 they would sit down together and laugh heartily over the means 
 which had been employed to accomplish their ends. Murray is 
 at present city attorney, and has not yet quite forgotten the early 
 lessons in politics taught him by Robert, and yet, if the truth were 
 known, Murray was the teacher and Robert the pupil ! After 
 lingering several months with an aggravated cancer, Capt. Louis 
 Robert died May 10, 1874', very generally lamented, leaving be- 
 hind him a property worth ^500,000, now valued up into the 
 millions. 
 
 CHARLES BAZILLE FIRST FRAME HOUSE. 
 
 Another Canadian Frenchman by the name of Bazille, born 
 in 181 2, came to St. Paul in 1844 and erected the first frame 
 
44 PEN PICTURES 
 
 house on the corner of Jackson street and the levee, where the 
 old passenger depot of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
 road Company used to stand. Bazille was a carpenter by trade 
 and built other houses and also the first mill in this city. He 
 also opened and ran a brickyard on the Como road. He pur- 
 chased part of a claim now including the Capitol grounds and 
 running back over Wabasha hill, at present worth ;^2,ooo,ooo or 
 ^3,000,000. He, jointly with Vetal Guerin, gave the block upon 
 which the Capitol building now stands, to the United States, 
 which subsequently became the property of the State. He really 
 had so much land he did not know what to do with it, and plac- 
 ing no value upon it, gave it away almost indiscriminately, so 
 that in his declining years he was poor. He married a Miss 
 Perry and was the brother-in-law of Vetal Guerin. 
 
 FIRST GRIST AND LUMBER MILL. 
 
 Bazille erected the first grist and lumber mill in this city or 
 State, on Phelan creek, but as the logs did not come down and as 
 the wheat did not come up because it never had been sown, it 
 proved a failure. The 160 acres on this creek then cost $70; 
 sold in 1846, with improvements for ;^835 ; worth now about 
 $ 1 ,000,000. William Dugas owned this mill, but he subsequently 
 settled in Little Canada. 
 
 AS I KNEW HIM. 
 
 Charles Bazille was French all over ; an honest man. He 
 was short in stature, quickly spoken, and full of kindness. He 
 struggled through a long series of years, and died, I think, in 
 1878, seven years ago, much respected by all who knew him. 
 
 OTHER SETTLERS. 
 
 William Dugas, Francis McCoy and Joseph Hall came to 
 the city in the year 1844, but as they did not make valuable 
 claims and then lose them, (I refer to the two latter,) as all the 
 other old settlers did, I do not deem them worthy of extended 
 notices ; yet they were good men, carpenters by trade, and saved 
 themselves a great deal of trouble by letting the land alone. 
 
 THE BOSS CLAIMER. 
 
 Phelan took a claim in upper town, then in lov/er town, then 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 45 
 
 at Phelan lake, then on Prospect hill, then the ground formerly 
 owned by Edmund Rice, and then he skipped to California. He 
 grabbed up some five claims before he left, or about 800 acres 
 of land, and if he had only held on to all he grabbed what a 
 genius he would have been ! How moneyed men would have 
 taken off their hats and bowed to him, and invited him into their 
 parlors, and sipped wine with him, and hob-nobbed over bank 
 counters ! He was a good deal like the Irishman who let go his 
 hold to spit on his hands — he lost all ! But history will do him 
 credit; he was not the murderer of Hays, (so said Thompson,) 
 and he can point his long, bony, ghastly finger at his traducers 
 and exclaim — " Thou canst not say / did it ! " and Do-wau, in 
 spirit, will respond. Amen. 
 
 FIRST PROTESTANT SERVICE. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Hurlbut, a Methodist missionary, held service at 
 the house of Henry Jackson some time in the fall of 1 844. 
 
 FROZEN TO DEATH. 
 
 Charles Reed, a young Canadian Englishman, wandered off 
 in a snow storm and his body was found in a swamp near Lake 
 Como. The discovery was made by a little girl who saw a dog 
 gnawing a man's head, which proved to be that of Reed. 
 
 REV. GALTIER. 
 
 This year Father Galtier was transferred to another field of 
 labor, and Rev. Ravoux took his place. 
 
 THE FIRST DRAYMAN. 
 
 Peter Patwell was a burly Frenchman and was the first 
 drayman in the city. At the time of the Indian fight near the 
 Merchants hotel, he was standing upon his dray when he heard 
 a shot, and the moment he saw the Indians and heard a second 
 shot, he put the whip on to his horse and yelled worse than the 
 savages themselves, and he and his team dashed along the street 
 like a streak of lightning, the horse on a terrible gallop,^ Patwell 
 yelling and applying the whip ! The Indians cried out — " Oonk- 
 to-mee, a bad spirit; or, the Devil on wheels," and as the 
 Frenchman thought the Devil was after him, he yelled the 
 
46 PEN PICTURES . 
 
 louder and beat his horse the harder, until he found himself safe 
 in a thick wood and underbrush near the corner of Third and 
 Cedar streets, and here he had ample time to realize the fact that 
 so far as the whites were concerned this was only — a scare ! Mr. 
 Patwell was born in Canada in 1 807 ; came to St. Paul in 1 844, 
 and carried on draying ; removed to Stillwater in. 1 868. His son 
 Peter, named after him, lived in Stillwater and dealt in cigars ; 
 kept a restaurant, etc. He is a small man, quick in his move- 
 ments and decided in his ways. During the Indian outbreak he 
 was shot through the lungs and thus wounded walked a long 
 way to St. Cloud. He has a brother now in this city. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 1845-6. 
 
 First School— Mnt Hotel— First Odd Fellows Funeral— Mrst Cooper. 
 
 NO MEMORABLE EVENTS AND BUT FEW SETTLERS. 
 
 I find nothing of importance to record during the year 1845, 
 exceptthe opening of a day school temporarily by Miss Rum- 
 sey, which was in a log house that stood near the upper levee, 
 but it was continued only a short time as she married a Mr. 
 Megee and the building was closed; but this was no doubt the 
 first school opened in the place. Possibly there might have been 
 some twenty families in St. Paul at this time, not more than 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 47 
 
 three or four of whom were white. There were some five or six 
 traders, and steamboats came occasionally; and although the 
 houses were considerably scattered yet " it was a place not to be 
 sneezed at." Of course most of the population were Canadian 
 French, and these were intermarried with the native race, or 
 Indians. An accession of this class of people (French) was 
 made this year in the persons of Caviler, Francis Robert, (brother 
 of Louis,) David Benoit, L. H. La Roche, F. Chenevert, and two 
 Americans, Augustus and David Freeman. W. G. Carter, or as 
 he was called, " Gib " Carter, lived on the Fort road and died 
 there in 1852. He came from Virginia. 
 
 FIRST HOTEL. 
 
 La Roche purchased the real estate now covered by the 
 Merchants hotel in the year 1844, for about ;^IS0, and upon it 
 erected a log tavern in 1845, which was then known as the " St. 
 Paul House." This property was subsequently sold to S. P. 
 Folsom, and then to J. W. Bass, and out of this small beginning 
 has grown the present Merchants, once run by Col. Belote, then 
 by Col. Shaw, and now by Col. Allen. " St. Paul House," in 
 1845, value, house ^'^'^ land, at ^250; Merchants hotel, 1884, 
 value, house, land and furniture, ^500,000 ! ! 
 
 THE FREEMANS FIRST ODD FELLOWS FUNERAL. 
 
 These gentlemen were connected at one time with Hartshorn 
 and also with Larpenteur. David B. died from over-exertion in 
 attempting to overtake a runaway team which got loose from 
 him on the Stillwater road, and was buried by the Odd Fellows, 
 the first funeral of this character which occurred in Minnesota. 
 The Freemans were good men, but like nearly all the settlers of 
 that day they have long since gone to their final homes. 
 
 CHARLES CAVILIER. 
 
 Mr. Cavilier came to St. Paul in 1 845 ; was a saddler by 
 trade ; carried on the business in the city for some time, but 
 finally went into the drug trade with Dr. Dewey ; was territorial 
 librarian for several months, and shortly after took up his resi- 
 dence at Pembina, where at last account he still resides. He was 
 connected with the Methodist Mission at Red Rock, and was an 
 earnest member. ' 
 
48 PBN PICTURES 
 
 And thus by gradual steps I approach nearer to the city of 
 to-day and to the greater city which is to be, 
 
 FIRST COOPER AND FIRST BLACKSMITH. 
 
 Charles Rouleau and Joseph Monteur were Canadian French- 
 men who came to St. Paul in 1845. Rouleau was the first cooper 
 in the city. Monteur was the first blacksmith. 
 
 CHARLES T. ROULEAU, SENIOR. 
 
 Mr. Rouleau was born in Canada in 1807, and is conse- 
 quently seventy -eight years old. He came west in 1 829, or fifty- 
 six years ago, and was in the employ of the American Fur Com- 
 pany for nine years, or three terms ; was mail carrier from Point 
 Douglas to Taylor's Falls in 1 844 ; lived at St. Croix and re- 
 moved to St. Paul in 1845! His family consisted of fourteen 
 children, eight of whom are still living. A carpenter by trade 
 he was the first cooper in the city ; mad& casks for the govern- 
 ment ; hewed the logs for the first hotel — " The St. Paul House," 
 — later worked for the Lamb Brothers, but is now living upon the 
 weight of his years. He also built the first ferry boat at Anoka 
 and also the old ferry house at Fort Snelling ; made the first bar- 
 rels in the State, and labored in the saw mill of John S. Prince. 
 He now resides with a married daughter in an humble dwelling 
 in the Sixth ward, or West St. Paul. 
 
 PERSONAL mention. 
 
 I visited Mr. Rouleau only a short time since. He is a 
 bright, cheery old man, about medium height, clear eyes, thin 
 face, yet sprightly and polite. He is pleasant in conversation and 
 philosophical in his conclusions. Of course he has endured many 
 hardships and has seen many changes. Last year he visited 
 Montreal for the first time in fifty-four years, and in response to 
 my question — " How many old friends did you meefthere?" he 
 responded — " Three ! all the rest are dead." While absent on 
 his visit he met a sister 102 years old. She was blind, and deaf, 
 and bent over, yet she could sing well, and did sing for him. 
 " Oh, I don't want to live so long ! " he said, with a sorrowful 
 tone, " we be so much trouble." This aged sister has since died. 
 One of his daughters, aged forty years, now the mother of a fam- 
 
OF ST. FA UL, MINN. 49 
 
 ily, said she could scarcely realize that when a little girl she used 
 to attend school in the log hut which then stood on Bench street, 
 and yet such was the fact. Mr. Rouleau is a pleasant man and 
 a good deal of a philosopher. Judging from what I saw of him 
 he throws out rays of sunshine wherever he goes, and I trust he 
 may live long to enjoy a more sereile and genial old age. He 
 died Oct. $, 1885. 
 
 CHARLES ROULEAU, JUNIOR. 
 
 This is a son of Mr. Rouleau of whom I have been writing. 
 He was born in St. Paul in 1845, or forty years ago, and was in 
 the lumbering business from the age of eighteen years up to 
 1 87 1 , since which time he has been on the police force of the city 
 of St. Paul, and ranks among the oldest members — No. 5. He 
 is an excellent specimen of a well-preserved physical man ; large, 
 well proportioned, with a fine, clear complexion, indicating so- 
 briety, and is one of the best officers on the force. 
 
 1846. 
 
 First Postoffiae — First Postmaster — First Painter — First Artist — First River Boat, 
 
 THE EVENTS OF TSIS YEAR AND THE OLD SETTLERS A POINT ON 
 
 THE RIVER. 
 
 In 1 846 St. Paul was dignified into one of the " points " on 
 the river, for the trade of the place had then become of sufficient 
 importance to induce steamboats to land and discharge consider- 
 able freight here. 
 
 FIRST POSTOFFICE AND FIRST POSTMASTER. 
 
 Henry Jackson, to whom I have repeatedly alluded, was an 
 important man in the days in which he lived. He acted by 
 general consent of the people as postmaster, and as has been 
 hitherto described, all the letters in his possession were either 
 
 4 
 
oO PEN PICTURES 
 
 thrown down on the counter or into a box, and each one picked 
 out those that belonged to him. . Finally, on the strength of a 
 petition from the settlers, an office was established by the depart- 
 ment at Washington, April 7, 1846, and Jackson received his 
 commission as postmaster the same date. The first material 
 postoffice as made by Jackson, consisted of a rough box with 
 sixteen pigeon holes, and this original St. Paul Postoffice is now 
 preserved among the relics of the State Historical Society. 
 Nothing so clearly shows the growth of this city as the 
 comparative merits of the postoffice of 1846 and the postoffice 
 building of 1885! The original one is worth about $2; the; 
 other cost the government over |i50o,ooo! But Jehu! didn't 
 Jackson feel big when he received that commission ! He was- 
 already landlord, merchant, saloon-keeper, justice of the peace,, 
 politician, etc., and now, when Uncle Sam put such a feather in 
 his cap, he felt as though his cup of happiness was overflowing, 
 although he had sense enough not to show his exuberant 
 feeling. He was a popular man in his day and did much ta 
 advance the early growth of the city. 
 
 WILLIAM H. RANDALL. 
 
 This gentleman was born in Massachusetts in 1 806 ; trans- 
 acted business in New York for several years ; came to St. Paul. 
 in 1846, or thirty-nine years ago, and died in 186 1, aged 55 
 years. He succeeded Mr. Hartshorn in trade here, and having 
 brought considerable money with him he invested largely in real 
 estate, which is now very valuable, worth not less than ;^ 5,000,- 
 000. He was a public-spirited citizen, liberal, kind hearted, and 
 had unbounded faith in the growth of St. Paul. 
 
 personal characteristics. 
 
 No one person I remember more distinctly than the man 
 whose name heads this article. He was a fine, gentlemanly, 
 courteous citizen, a hail fellow well met, genial and generous. 
 At the time I first saw him, in 1853, he was the " biggest man in 
 town." He had various vehicles and drivers, any number of 
 horses, dealt largely in real estate, and his note was good almost 
 anywhere for almost any amount. Some of the property he 
 then owned in this city is now worth untold thousands, I might 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINX. 51 
 
 say millions. He builded well, he planned well. But " man 
 proposes, God disposes ; " and so, just in the midst of his pro- 
 spective gains, the great crash of 1857 came, and his property, 
 being mortgaged, went down and he went with it. Mr. Randall 
 was a man of fine business qualities, honest in purpose and 
 manly in act. Were he alive to-day and the possessor of the 
 real estate in this city which he once owned, he would be the 
 richest man in St. Paul. Litigation followed his death, and two 
 sons, who ought to be well off, are paddling their own canoes 
 and buffeting life's waves; and so goes the see-saw board of 
 destiny — one is up while the other is down. Teeter-taunter ! 
 teeter-taunter ! teeter-taunter ! 
 
 In personal appearance Mr. Randall was of medium size, 
 with a florid complexion, and always finely dressed. He invari- 
 ably ^carried a gold-headed cane and his movements on the street 
 were of an energetic character. He had a soft, pleasant voice, 
 and winning ways, and was always polite. He was social among 
 his friends, generous to their wants, and yet wide-awake for bus- 
 iness. We might say, he was the advance courier of gentlemanly 
 culture and true civilization. 
 
 THOMAS S. ODELL THE OLDEST HOUSE IN WEST ST. PAUL. 
 
 Occupying a pleasant niche upon the bluff and overlooking 
 one of the finest scenes in the Sixth ward, or West St. Paul, is 
 the rude log house of Thomas Odell, which was erected in 1850, 
 or 35 years ago, and is therefore the oldest building in that sec- 
 tion of the city. This was while the land on the West side of 
 the river belonged to the Indians, and the store was used as a trad- 
 ing post. Odell was born in New York ; was a soldier ; came 
 to Fort Snelling in 1841 ; mustered out in 1845 j removed to St. 
 Paul in 1 846, and helped survey the town plat in 1 847. He died 
 from the effects of a cancer only a few years ago. 
 
 MRS. ODELL. 
 
 The widow of the subject of my sketch still lives in the 
 Sixth ward, having recently parted with the old homestead for 
 a new one. She is a woman about fifty years of age, somewhat 
 fleshy, her mother being a full-blooded Indian ; her father, Lieu- 
 tenant Williams, formerly in the army. She has been married 
 
S2 PEN PICTURES 
 
 thirty-seven years and has lived in West St. Paul thirty-four 
 years. Her mother married John Thompson, the fornier slave, 
 and both are now dead. 
 
 " MARSH ON ! " 
 
 What a trio! Thompson eighty-five years old, fifty-seven 
 years in and about St. Paul ; Mrs. Thompson seventy years old 
 and seventy years a resident of this section of country ; Mrs. 
 Odell, her daughter, fifty years old and fifty years a resident. 
 What changes have transpired in the lives of these three people ! 
 One race — the Indians — has passed out entirely. Part of another 
 race — the old settlers— has gone ! — while a new race, embodying 
 pluck, and vim, and energy, and enterprise, and push, and dar- 
 ing, and money, confront these antiquarians and confuse them 
 with the introduction of modern ideas ! The Indian who leads 
 the advance on the war-path, says : " Marsh-on ! " go-ahead ! 
 Old Time says in English, " March-on ! " 
 
 eventful days. — RED RIVER CARTS. 
 
 In the early career of St. Paul one of the most Eventful 
 days was the arrival of from 1 50 to 200 wooden carts, laden with 
 furs from Pembina, 900 miles distant, and drawn by oxen har- 
 nessed singly. There was no iron about these carts and they 
 were always accompanied by half-breeds who were fantastically 
 dressed. The furs were exchanged for provisions and the old 
 carts, having creaked into the city, creaked out again, and the 
 good people waited patiently for another cavalcade to make its 
 appearance. The old Red river house, where these prairie voy- 
 ageurs used to stop, stood on Governor Ramsey's farm, now 
 Grand avenue, (upper part.) The event in modern days is the 
 arrival of a circus, or more properly, the opening of the North- 
 ern Pacific Railroad. In the past the cry was, — " Wait for the 
 Red river carts," or " until after the payment to the Indians." 
 Now it is, — " Wait until the wheat is cut," and the further cry is, 
 " Wait until the wheat is sold," and some of us, and most of us, 
 having waited all these long years without realizing a fortune, or, 
 having realized a fortune, lost it, are now waiting for the great 
 Reaper — death ! and he is coming, surely coming, for he has no 
 partiality for the human race and is no respecter of persons ! The 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 53 
 
 thinned ranks of the old settlers show that he has been among 
 them already, and we can hear him chuckle over the victory he 
 has made as he rattles his scythe among the gray heads and fee- 
 ble limbs and laughs as he sings : " I gather them in ! I gather 
 them in!" 
 
 N. W. Kittson, Esq., seems to have been the originator of 
 the Red river trade, and he was followed by Joe Rolette and 
 his uncle of Pembina. 
 
 THE FIRST PAINTER AND ARTIST. 
 
 From all I can learn James McClellan Boal was the first 
 artist, who came to St. Paul in 1846. He was at onetime mem- 
 ber of the Territorial Legislature, Adjutant General and member 
 of the House of R.epresentatives in 1852. He was a peculiar 
 character, very generous, and his generosity led him to poverty. 
 He died at Mendota in 1 862. 
 
 OTHER SETTLERS. 
 
 Louis Denoyer, H. D. White and J. D. Cruttenden were at 
 one period residents of St; Paul, but they remained here only a 
 short time. There is nothing notable in their histories, and 
 nothing that would interest the general reader. 
 
 DAVID FARIBAULT. 
 
 Built the New England House in 1 847 on ground formerly 
 occupied by the office of the Gas Company, on East Third street, 
 but was a resident of St. Paul in 1 846. He was one of the early 
 Indian traders. John Banfill remained in the city only a short 
 time and then removed to Manomin on the upper Mississippi, 
 where he kept a hotel. The place was better known as " Rice 
 Creek." 
 
 HENRY BELLAND AN OLD GUIDE. 
 
 About one mile from Bridge Square, on the West side of the 
 river and overlooking the greater portion of our now busy city, 
 is a story and a half house, the late residence of Henry Belland. 
 Mr. Belland was born in Canada in the year 18 16, and was sixty- 
 nine years old when he died; came to Minnesota in 1836, or 
 forty-eight years ago ; lived in Pig's Eye" in 1 840, on a claim he 
 bought of Parrant ; resided at Crow Wing one year, at Mendota 
 
54 PEN PICTURES 
 
 four years and on the West Side for thirty-nine years, or since 
 1846. Was married at Lac Qui Parle in 1839, (wife living;) was 
 employed for a long time by the American Fur Company, and 
 worked for Gen. Sibley sixteen years. He acted as a guide and 
 interpreter for the government nearly a quarter of a century, and 
 was with General Custer in his first campaign ; also with Gen- 
 erals Pope and Terry, and for eleven years was employed at 
 Fort Totten. He was also a trader for Major Forbes at Red 
 Wood Falls, and was on his way to that point when the Indians 
 made their outbreak, and in the fight killed his brother. He 
 built a log house on the bluff on the West side of the river, on a 
 claim which he made of 160 acres of land, thirty-nine years ago, 
 and at that time he told me, looking towards St. Paul, everything 
 was a forest, so dense that just in front of his house he could hear 
 the cackle of his neighbor's chickens although he could not see 
 his residence. The only houses visible from his dwelling was 
 one on Robert street and another at the base of Dayton's bluff. 
 Now we have a city of 1 20,000 people. 
 
 WITHOUT FOOD FOUR DAYS. 
 
 He happened to be near Fort Ridgely at the time the 
 Indians had surrounded that place, and to save his life he hid in 
 the bushes close to where the Indians came and tied their ponies, 
 and finally he and his companion, by the name of Le Clair, trav- 
 eled four days, he not tasting a particle of food during that 
 period. In his wanderings he came across a hut inhabited by 
 white men, who had thus secreted themselves outside of civiliza- 
 tion to avoid the draft. Notwithstanding he was on the best of 
 terms with the Indians, yet had they met him they would have 
 killed him, for when they have once declared war against the 
 whites it is rare that a life is ever spared ; and this fact so well 
 known by those who understand Indian character, only make 
 the noble acts of Chaska shine out in resplendent colors over 
 the dusky forms of the Indian race. 
 
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 Mr. Belland had sharp, heavy features, showing him to have 
 been a man of great endurance, exceedingly cautious and very 
 trustworthy. He was a little abo/ve five feet high, somewhat 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. S5 
 
 "broad across the shoulders, and possessed well developed 
 muscles. His hair was gray, and he was tremulous and deaf, 
 and unable to perform any work, the result of an attack of a 
 paralytic stroke, which had confined him to his house since 
 1878. He was a venerable man, and delighted to relate his 
 ■experience in the great Northwest during a period of near half a 
 ■century. He died January 11, 1885, aged 69 years. 
 
 WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. 
 
 His little, unpretentious house now stands upon five lots, all 
 that is left of a claim of 160 acres, which, if he had retained 
 them, would have brought him to-day ;^ 100,000! But then he 
 is no bigger fool than many others ; indeed, we are all fools so 
 far as even comprehending the shadow of what is to be ; if we 
 were not fools in this respect we would all be millionaires, and 
 that would make us all lunatics, so in the end perhaps it is just 
 .as well to be fools! Vanderbilt and Gould can't take their 
 untold millions with them, and they toil like galley slaves to 
 retain what they have, so that he who enjoys life serenely, walks 
 uprightly, fears nobody, culls from nature sparkling enjoyment, 
 is kind, generous and honest, although in moderate circum- 
 stances, really occupies a higher place upon the throne of 
 contentment than the millions delving in the hot cauldron of 
 business, all eager to grasp the golden bubbles that float away 
 on the incoming of — Death ! 
 
 IMPORTING FLOUR AND POTATOES FROM GALENA. 
 
 In the year 1 839 came along, the steamer Glaucus with 
 whisky for McDonald, and then, later, in 1 846, steamboats from 
 Galena with flour, potatoes, etc., for the new settlers, as Minne- 
 sota, in the estimation of Eastern men, was deemed too far north 
 and too cold to raise either corn or wheat. Just think of this, 
 oh ye bonanza farmers ! " Minnesota too far north to raise 
 either corn or wheat," and this was the honest belief of thousands 
 of men less than forty-five years ago. Just think of the wheat 
 product of Minnesota for the year 1883 — 35,000,000 bushels. 
 Of the corn crop, from 15,000,000 to 20,000,000; of potatoes 
 ;from 12,000,000 to 15,000,000 bushels, and yet in 1843 steam- 
 
36 PEN PICTURES 
 
 boats from Galena brought flour, corn, potatoes, eggs, butter, 
 etc., to feed the then struggling population. " Why," said a good 
 Christian Methodist friend of mine, whom I met after my return 
 from St. Paul in 1853, "you can't raise corn there, or wheat, or 
 potatoes ; they won't grow ; they can't grow. You can't live 
 there with the thermometer forty degrees below zero, unless you 
 burrow in snow huts as the Esquimaux do ; you, are simply crazy 
 of thinking of going to St. Paul to make it your future home." 
 But I came; I stayed; "I still live," and hope to live long 
 enough to see St. Paul with a population of 500,000 inhabitants. 
 I have seen it grow from 800 to 1 20,000 people, and can see no 
 reason why in ten years it should not reach 300,000, possibly 
 500,000, and this can be easily attained by the union of the two 
 cities, which will be the ultimate result of all this struggle on the 
 part of each to surpass the other in the race for supremacy. 
 
 JESSE H. POMEROY, A RESIDENT OF THIRTY-NINE YEARS. 
 
 Mr. Pomeroy was born in New York in 1821 ; attended a 
 common school and taught school for a short time, when he 
 learned the carpenter trade and worked at it for a brief period in 
 Ohio. He came to Stillwater in 1 845 and removed to St. Paul 
 in 1 846, where he carried on his business, and built not only the 
 first house, but the first ten or twelve houses in the place. Thirty- 
 nine years ago he little thought St. Paul would be the city it now 
 is, with a population of 120,000, as then the country was very 
 broken and some parts of the place very swampy. He thought 
 possibly it might be a " right smart village," but no city. 
 
 QUESTION SETTLED THE OLDEST DWELLING HOUSE IN ST. PAUL. 
 
 Mr. Pomeroy formed a partnership with a Mr. Foster and 
 the firm built the first frame building in the city for Louis Robert, 
 which stood on Bench street near the corner of Robert. This 
 was burned down, but it was rebuilt by the firm in 1 847 and later 
 was removed to Sixth street, back of the new Chamber of Com- 
 merce building. Mr. Pomeroy unhesitatingly pronounces this 
 the oldest frame dwelling house in the city, and as he and his 
 partner built it, he claims to know all about it, and he certainly 
 ought to. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 57 
 
 BUILDING ON FOURTH STREET. 
 
 He says that the building on Fourth street, which has the 
 card on it of the Ramsey County Association designating it as 
 the oldest house in the city, was a part of Louis Robert's trading 
 post, built of logs, and was removed to its present location some- 
 time after Robert's house had been erected. So this settles the 
 question by a living witness and by the mechanic whq con- 
 structed the building, as to which was the oldest house in St. 
 Paul in the year 1885, and where located. It has cost some 
 labor to dig out this bit of history from the past, but I am proud 
 in the consciousness of the fact that it is true, 
 
 THE OLDEST BUILDING ON ORIGINAL GROUNDS. 
 
 The oldest building standing upon the ground upon which 
 it was originally erected, is that on the corner of Jackson and 
 Bench streets, (or rather where Bench street terminates,) and 
 which is a part of the stone warehouse of Wm. Constans. It is 
 an old store and has on it in almost undistinguishable letters — 
 " Storage, forwarding and commission." Mr. Pomeroy says this 
 is the oldest store building in the city not removed from its orig- 
 inal position, while that on Sixth street is the oldest wooden 
 house or residence erected in the city, and thus this vexed 
 question seems to be settled. 
 
 THE OLDEST BUILDING. 
 
 At a meeting of the Old Settlers' Association, incorporated 
 in 1849, held in St. Paul June, 1885, a committee made the fol- 
 lowing report : 
 
 Whereas, the Ramsey County Pioneer Association has fixed 
 a sign on a frame building at No. 98 East Fourth street, near 
 Cedar, giving it the honor of being the oldest house in the city, 
 this committee report that this claim is unfounded — that the old- 
 est building is the stone structure at the foot of Jackson street 
 on the west side. It was built in 1 847, and was used as a com- 
 mission and storage warehouse by Freeman, Larpenteur & Co. 
 In c^jposition to the claim that the Fourth street house was built 
 in 1 844, the committee cited the fact that there were no saw mills 
 here then to manufacture the lumber of which it is composed. 
 
58 PEN PICTURES 
 
 It has also been said that the Fourth street structure was moved 
 to its present location from the foot of Jackson street. In oppo- 
 sition to this the committee showed the impossibility of moving 
 the building from there to its present site in those early days. 
 The report provoked considerable discussion, but was adopted. 
 
 FORT RIPLEY AND FORT RIDGELY. 
 
 In 1849 and in 185 1 Mr. Pomeroy built Fort Ripley and 
 Fort Ridgely, and of course they are well-built posts, as the writer 
 was stationed at both of these places during the war, and he 
 knows this from personal observation. They were erected under 
 the immediate control of the war department superintended by 
 an officer, but a man must have been a pretty good mechanic in 
 those days to have secured the job. 
 
 REAL ESTATE. 
 
 Mr. Pomeroy at one time owned a lot fifty feet front on 
 Third street, between Jackson and Robert, for which he paid 
 ^200; worth now ;^50,ooo; one on Fifth street 141 feet front, 
 known as Baptist Hill, for which he paid ^^700 ; worth now 
 ^70,000 ; that on the corner of Fourth and Jackson streets, (the 
 Davidson property,) 60 feet on Fourth and 1 50 on Jackson, for 
 which he paid ^200, worth now over ^100,000. On his return 
 from Fort Ridgely he went into the grocery business on this 
 corner, in which he continued about one year, when he returned 
 to his trade as a carpenter for a few years, and then entered the 
 furniture business, in which he remained ten years. From this 
 he drifted into buying and selling hard wood, in which he is now 
 engaged. 
 
 FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE, FIRST BOAT AND FIRST PRINTING OFFICE. 
 
 Mr. Pomeroy erected the first school house, which stood on 
 Third street, above Saint Peter, and also the first printing office 
 in which the first paper appeared. He brought the first lumber 
 to St. Paul to sell, and in the early history of the city erected 
 not less than thirty houses. He built the first boat in the North- 
 west, in 1 847 or 1 848, which was used to take a panoramic view 
 of the Upper Mississippi, and was considered a first-class vessel 
 of its kind. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 59 
 
 HIS HOME. 
 
 He purchased three lots on the corner of Jackson street and 
 University avenue, for which he paid ;^6oo; now worth ;^ 12,000. 
 On these lots he erected a fine residence, and is in a good condi- 
 tion to enjoy a serene and a pleasant old age. 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Mr. Pomeroy is a rugged son of toil, weather-beaten and 
 iron-bound from the effects of frontier life. He looks like a 
 swarthy scion of Vulcan, cast in the mould of human endur- 
 ance, and is as calm and unmoved as the granite hills of New 
 Hampshire. He is very undemonstrative and has no tact for 
 conversation, and yet he is like a celebrated race horse, when once 
 on the road he feels the inspiration of the past and gets over the 
 ground in good style. Nobody can drive him. Nobody can 
 scare him. In early days his sister cried out to him in the mid- 
 dle of the night : " Jesse ! the Indians are coming ! " 
 
 " W-e-1-1 ! 1-e-t t-h-e-m c-o-m-e ! " he replied, and turned 
 over in bed and went on with his sleeping. And this shows the 
 character of the man ; cool, brave, honest, quiet, industrious, 
 muscular, unpretending, he can whip aay braggart that may 
 have the courage to attack him, yet he is a kind, pleasant, amia- 
 ble gentleman and a good citizen. 
 
 JOHN BANFILL. 
 
 When the Indian war broke out in Florida, Col. BanfiU 
 resided in New Orleans, and on hearing of Dade's massacre he 
 volunteered and took an active part in the campaign. He 
 removed to Prairie du Chien in 1840, and came to St. Paul in 
 1846. He resided in this city for some time, and then moved to 
 Manomin. He helped build the steamer H. M. Rice, which ran 
 above the Falls, also a mill located at Manomin. In 1857 he was 
 elected State Senator, and in 1866 removed to Bayfield, where he 
 has remained ever since. He is a man of sterling worth and 
 greatly respected by all who know him, now about sixty years 
 of age. 
 
60 PEN PICTURES 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 1847. 
 
 Rnsl Election— Mrst Survey of Town Site— First Schools— Mrst Physician-^ 
 
 Mrst Tailor— First Hotel- First Drug Store— First Steamboat 
 
 Line, and Other Events in this Year, 
 
 FIFTY INHABITANTS. 
 
 In 1 847, thirty-eight years ago, the ground known as Min- 
 nesota was embraced within the Ternitory of Wisconsin, so that 
 when in 1848 Wisconsin was admitted as a State, the young 
 settlement of Minnesota was. left without a government. Steps 
 were immediately taken, however, to effect a Territorial organi- 
 zation, and at a convention held in Stillwater a memorial was 
 passed asking Congress to grant a Territorial existence with the 
 present beautiful name, Minnesota, (meaning in Indian, "sky 
 tinted or slightly turbid,") and this petition was granted with an 
 agreement on the part of those composing the convention, that 
 " St. Paul should be the Capital, Stillwater should have the 
 prison, and St. Anthony, (then there was no Minneapolis,) the 
 University," which agreement was faithfully adhered to. 
 
 H. L. Douseman, of Prairie du Chien, now dead, suggested 
 the name of Minnesota. At this time St. Paul could boast of 
 five stores, about twenty families and thirty-six children, com- 
 posed of English, French, Swiss, Sioux, Chippewa and African 
 descent, making in all not more than fifty inhabitants, while the 
 entire white population in the Territory could not have been at 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 61 
 
 this time more than 300. Her commercial element consisted of 
 a hght traffic in furs, a little lumbering business, and other minor 
 branches of trade, but the place began to be known and immi- 
 gration began to set in. 
 
 SOME OF THE OLD FELLOWS. 
 
 Ju.st as I get a little ahead in my history some of the real 
 old settlers away back in 1845-6-7, pop up before me and remind 
 me of the fact that I had almost forgotten them. Now here 
 comes a sort of rollicking fellow, not tall, nor very short, and 
 not very large, yet a genial, social man, and he Slaps me on the 
 back, and on turning around I find him to be 
 
 W. H. FORBES, 
 
 who was born in Canada in 1 8 1 5 ; was once a partner with Mr. 
 Kittson ; was engaged in the Indian trade for a number of years ; 
 was a member of the Legislature four years ; presiding officer 
 one year ; postmaster of St. Paul ; auditor of Ramsey County ; 
 entered the army in 1862 as Commissary; was breveted Major 
 and mustered out in 1866; subsequently appointed Indian agent; 
 came to Fort Snelling in 1837, or forty-eight years ago, and in 
 1847 became a resident of St. Paul, where he continued to reside 
 twenty-eight years, or up to the time of his death. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Major Forbes was an excellent, good man. I knew him' 
 well ; he was in the army with me ; I was the last person he 
 spoke with when he left St. Paul never to return alive. He was 
 ambitious, yet he performed his duties nobly and well. As an 
 evidence of this fact he left the army poorer than when he 
 entered it, and carried to the credit of the government a hand- 
 some sum which he had saved. He was impulsive, kind-hearted, 
 generous, social, and has left behind him a character unsullied 
 and a name untarnished. He admired everything that was 
 manly and denounced everything that was mean. But he is 
 gone ; his family is scattered and the old homestead that for- 
 merly stood on the corner of Fifth and Robert streets, has been 
 removed to give place to a ;^ 1,000,000 hotel — and so goes the 
 world ; each succeeding wave washes out the footprints on the 
 
62 PEN PICTURES 
 
 sands of life made by those who have gone before, and we pause 
 in silence at places once made dear by their presence, and wait 
 — but they come not. All is still. 
 
 J. W. BASS FIRST TAVERN. 
 
 Mr. Bass came to St. Paul in 1847, ^^ which time it is 
 alleged his wife was about sixteen years old. He kept store for 
 a time, and then purchased the interest of Simeon P. Folsom, 
 who ran the first tavern in the city, which was built of tamarac 
 poles and which formerly stood on the corner of Third and Jack- 
 son streets, where now stands the Merchants hotel. 
 
 Mr. Bass was born in Vermont in 1 8 1 5 ; lived for some time 
 in Wisconsin, at Prairie du Chien, and then moved to McGregor, • 
 Iowa ; married a Miss Brunson, daughter of Rev. Alfred Brun- 
 son ; kept hotel in this city ; was postmaster in 1 849 ; ran a 
 commission house on the levee and finally, in consequence of ill 
 health, retired from business. He accumulated a good deal of 
 real estate, during his residence here, but in 1857 and later, he 
 suffered from its great depreciation, but it rose again, and he is 
 now well off. He is a short, rather thick-set man, with a pleasant 
 address ; quite social in his nature, and for years past has lived 
 a somewhat retired life. He opened a large farm on the line of 
 the old Sioux City Railroad, but I think has given it up. He is 
 seventy years old, and yet is a fine, hale, genial gentleman, with 
 enough of life's comforts to make him happy. Mrs. Bass is one 
 of the oldest resident ladies in the city. She is an elegant look- 
 ing woman, and when young was beautiful, as indeed with her 
 gray hair and clear complexion she is now. 
 
 C. p. V. LULL A CHARACTER. 
 
 All the old settlers know Lull ; he was and is to-day a 
 character peculiar to himself. He was at one time Sheriff of 
 Ramsey County and had considerable to do in hanging the Indian 
 Yu-ha-za on St. Anthony hill, which was the first execution in 
 the Territory. He was always a moving spirit among his fellow- 
 men, and is now. He came to St. Paul in 1847, aid is a man 
 about fifty-five years of age. He is like a polar bear, always on 
 the go, always moving. A man of ordinary size, full of activity, 
 running over with hilarity, a hard worker. Lull has seen many of 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 63 
 
 the shadows and but httle of the sunshine of existence. His 
 peculiar temperament has driven him rough-shod over the crag- 
 ged hills of life, and yet with all his idiosyncrasies he is a pleasant 
 man and a genial fellow. He was born in New York and still 
 lives, and is still actively at work knocking off the rough corners 
 of hfe. 
 
 FIRST DAY AND SUNDAY SCHOOL. 
 
 History concedes that the first Mission Sunday School 
 taught in this city was by Miss Harriet E. Bishop, who also 
 taught for a year a day school, and who is really entitled to be 
 considered the first permanent school teacher, as she really was. 
 This was in the year 1847, or thirty-eight years ago. 
 
 MEMORY OF A GOOD WOMAN MISS BISHOP. 
 
 But a short time since, in 1884, I stood over the coffin of 
 one of the early pioneers of this city, and read in lines unmis- 
 takably traced upon the pale, dead face — 
 
 rest! PEACEFUL REST. 
 
 Hers had been a busy life. Leaving home and friends in 
 Vermont, she sought the distant shores of Minnesota and came 
 to St. Paul in 1 847, or thirty-eight years ago, to do what she 
 thought was her Master's bidding, and during all these long 
 years she never halted, never tired, never stopped, until sickness 
 placed her upon a bed of rest and death closed the scene forever. 
 Miss Bishop was thoroughly impressed with the belief that she 
 had a work to do — a destiny that must be filled, and acting upon 
 this impression she came among the early settlers of this city, 
 educated the young, taught religion, and aided in every way she 
 could to elevate the scale of morality. Whatever else may be 
 said of her, she was sincere and earnest. She taught, she wrote, 
 she worked — all for the cause of God. She was ambitious ; she 
 sought fame, and hence she wrote several works — some poetry, 
 and a history of the Sioux outbreak. These works were not 
 marked by any particularly brilliant characteristics, but they read 
 well and showed a vast amount of labor and research, which give 
 the reader a faint conception of the ever busy pen and busier 
 brain of the dead authoress. She was angular, positive, deter- 
 mined — such a woman as is necessary for frontier life. She 
 
64 PEN PICTURES 
 
 knew no policy. She attacked evils upon their merits ; never 
 conciliated or compromised ; hence she often antagonized some 
 of her best friends working with her in the same good cause. 
 Tired and weary with her struggle she sought peace in the mar- 
 riage tie. It came, but oh! how bitter ! And then she drifted 
 back again into single life, and toiled on in what she deemed her 
 duty, until the final change came and she passed over the river 
 at the age of 66 years. 
 
 Miss Bishop, once Mrs. McConkey, was a woman of comely 
 appearance ; tall, with a good figure ; a bright, expressive face ; 
 earnest and decided in manners, and quick in speech. She had 
 an air of active business about her, and seemed always in a 
 hurry. Until within a few years she wore curls, and looked 
 much younger than she really was, but back of all her energy 
 and activity and her desire to fill up the measure of her useful- 
 ness, there was a sad, broken heart, which at last gave way, and 
 she now rests in peace. Old settlers remember her kindly, and 
 future historians will give her a pleasant niche among the golden 
 days of the past. 
 
 AN OLD LANDMARK THE WILD HUNTER's HOTEL. 
 
 A. L. Larpenteur, Esq., bought of David Faribault in the 
 year 1 846, or thirty-nine years ago, seventy feet of land on Jack- 
 son street running to Fourth, now the property of Henry Hale, 
 Esq., and paid for it the sum of ^62.50. Its present value is 
 considerably over ^100,000. He was offered another seventy 
 feet adjoining for $4$, but Larpenteup was too shrewd a man 
 to load himself down with real estate at such ruinous high 
 prices, and so declined the offer. In 1 847 he concluded to build 
 on this lot, so timber was procured at ;^io per thousand, and 
 carpenters were set to work, and in due course of time what 
 was once known as the Wild Hunter's hotel, sprang into being 
 as a first-class city residence, costing the owner ^^900. It was 
 erected on the corner of Third and Jackson streets, where the 
 .ticket office now is, but in 1865 was moved to its former location 
 on Jackson street. Mr. Larpenteur lived here eight years, and 
 in this house five of his children were born, and here he passed 
 some of the pleasantest hours of his hfe. The hotel of the Wild 
 Hunter was kept for many years by a Mr. Mueller, who died in 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 65 
 
 1 866. It was a peculiar building, made so mostly by the addi- 
 tions which were added to it, and while it stood the blasts of 
 thirty-seven winters, like a good many other old settlers who 
 have gone before, it passed out of existence forever in 1885, to 
 make way for an imposing block of brick stores which now 
 usurp its place. 
 
 BENJAMIN W. BRUNSON. 
 
 Mr. Brunson is a son of Rev. A. Brunson, of Prairie du 
 Chien, and is a brother of Mrs. J. W. Bass, of this city. He was 
 born in Detroit in 1823. I first hear of Mr. Brunson as in the 
 milling business in Wisconsin, when, in May, 1847, he removed 
 to St. Paul, where he' has resided thirty-eight years, or near a half 
 a century. He is a lawyer and a very competent surveyor and 
 engineer. He assisted in surveying the town plat of St. Paul, 
 and having secured property east of Trout Brook, laid it out into 
 an addition. The original cost of the land to him was compar- 
 atively little, but the property is now worth many hundred 
 thousand dollars. In 1861 Mr. Brunson entered the Union 
 army, Company K, Eighth Regiment, and served three years. 
 He is and has been a great Odd Fellow and Mason, and has 
 probably seen as many ups and downs as any man in the State. 
 He has been a justice of the peace, a member of the Territorial 
 Legislature for two terms, general manager in the postofiice, and 
 is now connected with the government of the Union Depot. 
 
 AS I SEE HIM. 
 
 Mr. Brunson is a quiet, unobtrusive man, with decided opin- 
 ions of his own and quite independent in character. He never 
 says — " that's so," but he speaks what he believes is a fact, and 
 others echo — "that's so." He is not a large man; moves and 
 talks in a moderate manner, and thinks a good deal more than 
 he talks. He and his son are both energetic business men and 
 have the confidence of not only their associates, but of the public 
 at large. Perhaps if Mr. Brunson had had more policy and less 
 manhood, he would, in the common parlance of the world, have 
 been more successful financially, and perhaps he wouldn't ! A 
 great deal of life is governed by luck, and many times the most 
 ignorant and the meanest get the most money. Mr. Brunson is 
 sixty-two years old, but is bright, cheerful and active. 
 
 5 
 
66 PEN PICTURES 
 
 FIRST REGULAR PHYSICIAN J. J. DEWEY. 
 
 Dr. Dewey arrived at St. Paul in July, 1847, and in 184S" 
 established the first drug store not only in this city but in the- 
 State. At one time he built up quite a practice, but of late years- 
 has lived a somewhat retired life. He is a man above sixty 
 years, with a long, flowing beard ; very reticent ; moves over the 
 sidewalk with measured tread and has the appearance of a per- 
 son who is disappointed with the world, and yet it may be only 
 the peculiarity 'of the man. He is a quiet, undemonstrative 
 gentleman, and generally walks with his hands behind him.. 
 One looking at him would scarcely believe that he was the oldest 
 physician in St. Paul, who had resided here thirty-eight years_ 
 He has seen many changes and has followed many an old settler 
 to the grave, but he is a well-preserved man, and bids fair to live 
 many years longer. 
 
 p. K. JOHNSON. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is an old-timer and still lives at Mankato. He 
 was born in Vermont in the birthplace of Stephen A. Douglas, in- 
 1816; attended one term of school with young Douglas, but says- 
 that did not add anything to his own intellectual growth ; be- 
 came an apprentice to the tailoring business in 1832; served, 
 three years ; carried on business two years, and in 1837, or forty- 
 eight years ago, emigrated to Wisconsin, and after visiting small 
 places like Chicago, Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee (and they- 
 were small in those days,) he finally located at Rockford, Illinois. 
 Here he formed a partnership in the tailoring business with Wil- 
 liam Tinker of this city, which continued until 1841. They then 
 removed to Prairie du Chien and remained there as partners up 
 to 1846, when, in 1847, he came to St. Paul to hunt and fish and 
 to look up his land, as he was one of the heirs to the Carver 
 estate, embracing Stillwater, St. Anthony, St. Paul and so forth. 
 He says that at this time he could have had a lot on Third street 
 for making out a quit-claim deed, but what was the use when the 
 Carver heirs owned the whole city ? Finally he consented to 
 take a lot as a gift from H. M. Rice on upper Third street, and 
 there, in a small building, he commenced tailoring, but he did not 
 make up his mind to remain in the city until 1849. He was a 
 member of the Legislature in 1849 along with Henry Jacksoit 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. i!7 
 
 and other '49ers, and aided in locating the Capital at St. Paul. 
 He married Miss Bivins in 1851, and soon after settled near the 
 mouth of the Blue Earth river — now Mankato — built the first 
 house there, laid off the town, was postmaster, Register of Deeds, 
 deputy Clerk of the Court, justice of the peace, etc., etc., and in 
 1855-6 was a member of the Legislature. 
 
 THE RIGHT MAN. 
 
 In a note to the writer Mr. Johnson says : " In your political 
 tirade against Rice in this place, now some thirty odd years ago, 
 it was I instead of Jackson who complimented you for telling 
 more political lies (artistically,) in a given time than any man I 
 ever listened to." I am glad to have found the right man at last 
 who accused me of lying in my speech at Mankato, for poor 
 Jackson will now be able to sleep more quietly in his grave since 
 Johnson comes to the front and confesses his crime of interrupt- 
 ing the writer when he was trying to save his country by abusing 
 Rice. Johnson's and Newson's fame will now go down to history 
 together. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is a man of a good deal of ability, and had he 
 struck a different wave he would have occupied an entirely dif- 
 ferent position in society, though his life has not been without 
 its influence and its good. He has lived to see many queer 
 things, and towns and cities have grown up where only a quarter 
 of a century ago there were woods and Indians. He still lives 
 at Mankato at a good old age. 
 
 THE FIRST AND OLDEST SUNDAY SCHOOL IN MINNESOTA. 
 
 On the 25th of July, 1847, thirty-eight years ago. Miss 
 Harriet E. Bishop opened a mission Sunday school in a log house, 
 corner of Third and St. Peter streets, with seven scholars. They 
 were from parents of all nationalities and from all denomina- 
 tions, and great skill was required by the then young and in- 
 experienced but persevering teacher to make them comprehend 
 her meaning; but she succeeded admirably, and finally had 
 twenty-five children about her. The school was continued sev- 
 eral years and increased in numbers, and at last became con- 
 
6S PEN PICTURES 
 
 nected with the First Baptist Church of this city. Miss Bishop 
 died in 1883, and a biographical sketch of her Hfe appears in the 
 proper place. 
 
 SIMEON P. FOLSOM. 
 
 Mr. Folsom was born in Lower Canada in 18 19, and is con- 
 sequently 66 years old, which will greatly surprise most of his 
 intimate friends, who presumed him to be a man of not much 
 more than 50 years. He studied and practiced law, and then took 
 up the profession of civil engineering. He left his home in 1839 
 and came to St. Paul in 1847, or thirty-eight years ago. He 
 early enlisted in the Mexican war, as did Edmund Rice and 
 M. N. Kellogg, and also served in the Union army for a term of 
 three years during the war of the rebellion. He was also on 
 the staff of Major-General Bodfish, in 1839, ranking as major, 
 and in 1 852-3 was clerk in the Legislature. He was also the first 
 city surveyor of St. Paul in 1854, and has been a continuous 
 resident of St. Paul, or near to it, and identified with her 
 interests, for thirty-eight years. 
 
 A CANOE RIDE OF 3OO MILES. 
 
 In 1842 Mr. Folsom, having been appointed by the United 
 States government to take the census in this then almost un- 
 known region, and having performed his duties, purchased a 
 birch-bark canoe of the Indians, and alone started on a voyage 
 from Menominee, Wisconsin, down the Chippewa river to the 
 Mississippi, and from thence to Prairie du Chien, a distance of 
 300 miles. He made a sail out of one of his under -garments, 
 and thus floated on the broad bosom of the great river, some- 
 times stopping with fur traders, sometimes with Indians, and 
 sometimes alone. Then there were no farms, no villages, no 
 towns, no cities, and very few whites. He came west when nine- 
 teen years old, and has lived to see wonderful changes. He 
 speaks of visiting the old government mill near where Minneapo- 
 lis now stands, and between the mill and Fort Snelling on a wide 
 stretch of prairie land, stood a lone tree, and beneath this lone 
 tree the sentinel soldier would sit at noonday to shield himself 
 from the hot rays of the sun. Where that lone tree then stood 
 is now a bustling city. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 69 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Folsom is a man of a great deal of intelligence and has 
 led an active, busy life. I remember him in the palmy days of 
 real estate when be dealt in broad acres and drove about the city 
 as a nabob ; then I remember him not so rich ; in poor health, 
 ready and expecting to die any minute, and yet he has outlived 
 a large number of his old friends, and is as active as a kitten. 
 Very few men know more about real estate in and about St. 
 Paul, than Folsom. He has surveyed it ; he has owned it ; he 
 has sold it ; he has been on the topmost round of the ladder, 
 and at the bottom, and just now he is in the middle of the ladder 
 of life, and is as tenacious as an old hickory tree. He is social, 
 kind-hearted, generous ; has an excellent memory, and delights 
 to revel in the incidents of the past. Withal, he has a vein of 
 humor in his composition which makes him popular as a com- 
 panion and liked as a man. Mr. Folsom is in the best of health, 
 and looks younger than he did twenty years ago. 
 
 FREDERICK OLIVA. 
 
 Frederick Oliva was born at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 
 1816; came to St. Paul temporarily in 1843, and then to reside 
 permanently in 1 847. He clerked for Henry Jackson, then for 
 Louis Robert, and in 1 836 for Gen. Sibley ; was at one time dep- 
 uty Register of Deeds under Louis Oliver. He steamboated a 
 good deal and bought furs. He is now in the employ of Mr. 
 Langevin, in the Sixth ward, anc| has reached the age of 68 
 years, and yet he has not a gray hair in his head. He remem- 
 bers when the flats and indeed all the river bottom on the west 
 side of the city was thick with large elm, ash and other trees. He 
 was at the head of thirty men who felled these trees, and they 
 were so thick — the trees — rthat wagon roads had to be cut through 
 them to enable the teams to get out of the forest. There is now 
 only one solitary elm left, and some provision should be made to 
 preserve it as a link of the past. Mr. Oliva is a quiet, trust- 
 worthy man, unmarried and has no relations in this country ex- 
 cept an uncle at Prairie du Chien. 
 
 FIRST STEAMBOAT LINE. 
 
 This year witnessed also the organization of the first steam- 
 boat line, consisting of the solitary steamer "Argo," which was 
 
70 PEN PICTURES 
 
 designed to run once a week from Galena to St. Paul. This 
 result was effected through the personal efforts of Hon. H. M. 
 Rice. Previously stray boats only made their way to our city, 
 but now the shrill whistle of the little Argo evoked shouts of 
 praise from the crowd which congregated on the levee to witness 
 her arrival. Capt. Russell Blakeley was then clerk of the Argo, 
 and when she sank and the Dr. Franklin took her place, he was 
 clerk of her also. He subsequently became the captain of sev- 
 eral large boats, but as he did not come to St. Paul to reside 
 until 1856, I shall speak more fully of him in the events of that 
 year. 
 
 JOHN DOBNEY. 
 
 At the first election ever held in St. Paul (says Mr. Folsom,) 
 in the year 1847, forty-nine votes were cast, and one of the 
 judges of the election, after announcing the result, stated that 
 John Dobney had received the full number and was duly chosen. 
 As some of the judges were somewhat set up by copious drinks 
 of water from the Mississippi river, they wanted to know who 
 this John Dobney was, when the aforesaid judge conducted 
 them to a closet near by, and pointing, said — " There he is ! " 
 which proved to be a demijohn filled with whisky. In those 
 days such candidates invariably received the full number of 
 votes, and of course were always elected. 
 
 MORE OLD SETTLERS. 
 
 Aaron Foster was born in Pennsylvania in 181 7; came to 
 St. Paul in 1847 ; was a carpenter by trade; elected a justice of 
 the peace; enlisted in the army; died about 1864. I did not 
 know him. Daniel Hopkins was born in New Hampshire in 
 1787; came to St. Paul in 1847; opened a store and did con- 
 siderable business ; owned a good deal of real estate in the city, 
 among which was a lot on the corner of Third and Jackson 
 streets, for which he paid ^200; now worth ;^3 5,000. He died 
 in 1852 aged 65 years. Wm. C. Renfro was a young Virginian 
 of ability and education, and came to St. Paul in 1847. He 
 was a graduate of medicine ; very social in his nature, and yet 
 there was an air of dejection about him. He was found frozen 
 to death in his night clothes, under a tree, on the 3d of January, 
 1848. It seems that he indulged too freely in drink, and in a 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 71 
 
 ■ crazed condition of mind wandered from his home, then on 
 ■"Prospect Hill," towards town, and becoming benumbed with 
 
 the cold, fell and died. Intoxicating drinks in the end will get 
 the better of the bravest and the best. G. A. Fournier, who 
 'Came the same year, is dead. 
 
 TOWN SITE SURVEYED. 
 
 This year a town site was surveyed and the place was 
 known as " St. Paul Proper." The tract of land laid out for a 
 town site embraced ninety acres, and included the present busi- 
 ness portion of the city. Real estate was then so scarce that 
 -every available means were taken to save it, and so I find that 
 the surveyors or originators of our town plat crooked our 
 •streets, and cut corners and made our thoroughfares narrow in 
 ■order to secure space enough to build a city on, and they suc- 
 -ceeded admirably well. Had there been more land probably 
 -our streets would have been narrower and meaner, but crooked 
 and narrow as they are, thus commenced the nucleus of the 
 present St. Paul. 
 
 AN ENLARGED HOTEL. 
 
 The old "St. Paul House," of which mention has been 
 
 made, was greatly enlarged this year by J. W. Bass, and here 
 
 good accommodations could be found, and here the elite and 
 
 aristocracy of the place congregated to be entertained by " mine 
 
 genial host." When the old logs were taken down, to give place 
 
 "to the present edifice, they were found to be perfectly sound, and 
 
 7the gavel of the " Old Settlers' Association " was made out of 
 
 some of the wood. In 1853 the building stood upon quite a 
 
 bank, and I remember quite vividly of crawling up on a ladder 
 
 to get into the house. At one time in this building the post- 
 
 ■ office was kept ; at another time the Masons and Odd Fellows 
 met; at another time the " High-Cock-a-Lorums," or territorial 
 
 ■ officers, convened and issued the proclamation for the organiza- 
 tion of the Territory. 
 
 INDIAN CAMP FIRES. 
 
 Miss Bishop, who came to St. Paul in 1 847, alluding to the 
 •embryo city at this early day, writes : " It must be borne in mind 
 '.that St. Paul was a small trading post giving yet no sign of its 
 
73 PEN PICTURES 
 
 unprecedented growth. The council fires of the red men were 
 but just extinguished on the East Side and were still brightly 
 blazing on the west of the river. Our village was almost daily 
 thronged with Indians, where they frequently encamped in larger 
 numbers than the entire adult male population of the Territory. 
 Tragic scenes were often enacted by them when intoxicated and 
 provoked by fraud practiced upon them by unprincipled whisky 
 sellers." These Indians continued to dance and to beg about 
 the city up to, and including, the year 1 849, and many of them 
 were about the streets in 1853-4. 
 
 FIRST TAILOR FIRST PHYSICIAN FIRST SCHOOLS FIRST SURVEY. 
 
 The first tailor, first physician, first Sunday and day schools, 
 first survey of town site, first hotel, first regular line of steamboats, 
 all originated in the year 1847, and the little band of settlers 
 of that year began to assume form and to exhibit marks of civi- 
 lization. Of course affairs were in a crude condition, but a 
 moulding process then commenced which has been going on 
 ever since. Among the potential elements which conduced to 
 this end was the establishment of schools ; scho.ols, the great 
 basis upon which all society rests ; schools, the shimmering 
 lights which penetrate the darkness of barbarism and bigotry ; 
 schools, the bulwarks of the nation's liberties ; schools, the great 
 elevators of the people and the refining powers of the modern 
 age. To these elements I attribute the first start and onward 
 march of the prosperity of our city from that day to this. 
 
 AN EYE FOR AN EYE AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH. 
 
 Just below the old log house which stood where the Mer- 
 chants hotel now stands, on Third street, diagonally across the 
 flat, was a square tent occupied by a family of Indians. This 
 was in 1 847, when Mr. Simeon P. Folsom lived in the said log 
 house. For some time it had been observed that all was silent 
 about the tent, when, on Mr. Folsom's repairing to it, he found a 
 dead Indian in it, killed by a knife in the hands of another Indian, 
 who had crept silently into the tent and stabbed him. The family 
 had vacated the premises. The Indian stabbed had killed the 
 sister of the assassin, and he had carried out the old Mosaic 
 injunction, " An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." This 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MWN. 73 
 
 was the peculiar condition of affairs in and about the city in 1 847, 
 and in giving these incidents I do so to show how rapidly has 
 been the march of civilization since then. Now no Indians can 
 be seen in our midst, except, perhaps, a few friendly on.es who 
 reside at Mendota. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1848. 
 
 Mr A Ddegaie to Congress — Mrgt Miller — First Wagon Made in Minnesota — 
 
 Mrst Clock and Watch Factory— First Blacksmith— First 
 
 Two-wheel Dray — Events and Biographies. 
 
 A NEW SCHOOL HOUSE. 
 
 A ladies' sewing circle aided very materially in procuring 
 funds for a new school house this year, which was also used for 
 religious purposes, lectures, etc. It was built in the latter part 
 of August, 1848, and stood on Third street where the late Dr. 
 Alley's block now stands. The building was burned in 1857. 
 
 THE FIRST PROTESTANT SERMONS. 
 
 The first Protestant sermon in St. Paul was preached in 1 844^ 
 the second and third in 1846, and the fourth in 1847, by ^^v. Dr. 
 Williamson. The first prayer-meeting was held in November, 
 1848, and H. M. Rice tendered ^200 and ten lots towards the 
 erection of the first church. And even a temperance society was 
 organized, so that really the barbaric effects of the Indians and 
 the deteriorating power of the half-breeds began to give way 
 to the refining influences of schools, sobriety and religion. 
 
 "out in the cold." 
 
 Wisconsin was admitted into the Union as a state in 1 848, 
 so that Minnesota, being originally a part of Wisconsin when she 
 
7-i PEN PICTURES 
 
 took her place among the family circle, was left "out in the cold," 
 but the question of a territorial existence was agitated, and the 
 first public meeting ever held in this city was called this year to 
 consider this matter ; and subsequently a convention was held at 
 Stillwater. This convention framed resolutions in favor of a ter- 
 ritorial organization and then proceeded to the election of 
 
 THE FIRST DELEGATE, 
 
 and Hon. Henry H. Sibley, of Mendota, was chosen. Mr. 
 Sibley was also elected at the same time delegate to Congress 
 from Wisconsin, so that, in reality, he represented Minnesota and 
 Wisconsin jointly. 
 
 TITLE TO THE TOWN SITE. 
 
 This year the land upon which St. Paul stood having been 
 surveyed, was purchased for the proprietors, and although a good 
 many hungry land men were present at the sale, nobody bid 
 against them and St. Paul became a fixture for all time. H. H. 
 Sibley, Louis Robert and A. L. Larpenteur were chosen trustees 
 for the owners. 
 
 ONE STORE CHEAP PROPERTV. 
 
 In 1848 the place was a mere collection of huts with Indians 
 and birch-bark canoes promiscuously plenty, while at this time 
 I find only one log grocery, the principal store in the place. This 
 -year John R. Irvine bought the whole tract of land from St. Peter 
 street up to Fort street, for ^300, now worth one or two millions. 
 Where the City Hall stands was then a large grove of trees. The 
 first store was on the corner of Bench and Jackson streets. In 
 1847 there was not a sawed frame building in the town, and only 
 a few frame buildings in 1848-9. 
 
 a running stream THE " OLD CASTLE." 
 
 Very few persons who stand on the corner of Jackson and 
 Fourth streets and gaze up at that elegant building erected by 
 C. D. Gilfillan at a cost of ^150,000, or scan the Davidson block 
 on the opposite corner, or more closely inspect another elegant 
 edifice occupied by the First National Bank, on still another cor- 
 ner, can scarcely realize that here, in the year 1848, was once a 
 deep ravine, at the bottom of which flowed a stream of water 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 75 
 
 mid over a bridge the people went their way up Jackson street 
 to a hill near Fifth street, and then came to a halt— for this was 
 the end of the road. Down deep in this ravine a man by the name 
 of Lett Moffett erected a house, and here he kept boarders. 
 -■ Rev. E. D. Neill writes me as follows : — 
 
 "In April, 1S49, the Saint Paul House, kept by J. W. Bass, being full, I was 
 directed to a story and a half frame house not finished, kept by Mr. Moffett, which 
 was some distance north of what you call the ' Castle,' and on the prairie. His 
 bo.arders were so many that they were obliged to sleep on the floor. A man by the 
 name of Baldwin, born in Alabama and still living in Minneapolis, the keeper of the 
 ' Ocean Wave Saloon,' allowed me to sleep with him on a buffalo robe placed on a 
 rough home-made bed-stead. I stayed ten days at Moffett's. He attended the first 
 religious service I conducted in the little school house on Third street, and C. V. P. 
 Lull volunteered as chorister. When I went to settle my bill with Moffett, he 
 said — ' I can't take full price, for I went to your preaching and it amused me.' Lott 
 was a kind man and I did not consider his language sarcastic ; but supposed that 
 nmused in his mind was the synonym of pleased." 
 
 LOTT MOFFETT. 
 
 Mr. MoiTett was born in New York in 1S03, and died in St. 
 Paul in 1870, aged 67 years. His early education was some- 
 what neglected, yet he was a man of strong, sterling principles, 
 and did a great deal of good in the day in which he lived. He 
 served his trade as a millwright ; learned the business of woolen 
 manufacturer, and ran a mill. In July, 1848, he came to St. Paul 
 and purchased the land on the St. Anthony road known as the 
 Larpeiiteur farm. He disposed of this and went to Arkansas ; 
 engaged in mercantile business, bridge building and lead mining, 
 and returned to St. Paul in 1850, where he built a hotel and ran 
 it until his death, it being strictly a temperance house. He was 
 not a politician but a leading Mason ; was married three times, 
 and was universally respected. 
 
 PERSONAL PECULIARITIES. 
 
 Mr. Moffett was an eccentric but an honest man ; always 
 working, always striving to make mankind better. He was a strict 
 temperance man — indeed, I may say, violently so, and yet he 
 was kind and popular. From time to time he added stories to 
 his building until it peeped above the level of the street, and then 
 with his own hands he added other stories, until, when he died, he 
 had what was popularly called " Moffett's Castle " — three stories 
 below ground and four above. He finished it himself, and when 
 
76 PEN PICTURES 
 
 completed it was a very respectable looking building, except the 
 peculiarties of the man, which were made apparent in the many 
 gable ends which adorned the edifice. The spring which ran down 
 the ravine has dried up ; the ravine has been filled in ; the old 
 " Castle " has been torn down ; the good old man with long gray 
 hair and beard is dead; and now rises in increasing force the 
 incoming of a new age of money, brains, brick, mortar, com- 
 merce ; and just right here, at the crossing of these two streets, 
 is where the busiest part of the city is seen. The world is on a 
 " teanter," as the boys say ; when one man goes up the other 
 comes down. The motion is perpetual and the end is certain. 
 Some are dropping from the see-saw board of life, while others 
 are clambering into their places to try their luck in this great world 
 of strife ; and so the sickle of time moves on, cutting down a 
 wide swath among the ranks of the old settlers and among the 
 old things of the past, to make place for the untried and the new. 
 
 CITY HALL BELL. 
 
 The bell is now silent, and, like its maker, gone to rest, 
 pushed out of existence by the new Market Hall clock, which 
 regulates the hours. On the corner of Fifth and Jackson streets 
 was a hill that intercepted travel, and on this hill Mr. Illings- 
 worth, an Englishman, built a small house, and on the first floor 
 of this house he ran the original watch and clock establishment 
 in St. Paul, and our old City Hall bell, as it used to strike the 
 hours, was a reminder that it was made by his skillful hands. 
 When the city cut Jackson street through, the owner built the 
 first story of his house where the hill was, of brick, leaving the 
 second story wood, and then in a few years more, when both the 
 proprietor and his wife were laid in their graves, the old land- 
 mark was torn down and in its place arose an imposing brick 
 building. Mr. lUings worth was a large, fleshy man, with a fine 
 countenance, and his wife was equally as fleshy. He was a very 
 ingenious mechanic, well versed in his profession, slow and 
 methodical, yet sure. They left quite a family of children, sev- 
 eral of whom still reside here. He was "a fine old English 
 gentleman, all of the olden time." 
 
 And so goes the world 1 The man who made the clock is 
 gone, the place where the clock was made is gone, and the music 
 
OF Sr. PA UL, MINN. 77 
 
 of the bell itself is gone, and a sound from the past comes back 
 and asks — 
 
 "Whither are we going?" 
 
 and it echoes back again — 
 
 "Going! Going! Going!" 
 
 ■ HOW ST. PAUL WAS MADE THE CAPITAL. 
 
 General Sibley was sent as a delegate from Minnesota and 
 Wisconsin to represent this then section of the country in the 
 year 1 848. While in Congress he labored for a bill organizing 
 the Territory of Minnesota ; succeeded in getting the bill through 
 the Senate, but at the instigation of Senator Douglas Mendota 
 was made the capital. General Sibley, though a warm friend of 
 Douglas, strenuously opposed this, and the name of St. Paul was 
 finally inserted. Mendota was placed in the bill by Douglas, who 
 had visited Fort Snelling and knew the character of the country 
 in that section. It was through the efforts solely of Gen. Sibley 
 that St. Paul was made the Capital of the State of Minnesota. 
 
 B. F. HOYT THEN AND NOW. 
 
 Among those who came to St. Paul in 1848, was the gen- 
 tleman whose name heads this paragraph. He was generally 
 known as " Rev. B. F. Hoyt," or "Father Hoyt," and is now 
 remembered among the old settlers as such. Born in Norwalk, 
 Connecticut, in 1800, he early worked on a farm and taught 
 school ; settled in Western New York ; married Miss Elizabeth 
 Haney, sister of the noted Rev. Richard Haney, of Illinois, in 
 the year 1826, and then emigrated to Fulton County in the same 
 State, being twenty-five days on the road. Previous to his mar- 
 riage, or in 1825, he went to Ohio to secure 400 acres of land 
 out of 2,000 which were given to his grandfather on his mother's 
 side for losses sustained during the war of the Revolution. 
 Unlike young men of this modern age, he did not desire to start 
 his marriage life with a $6(.K) piano and a Brussels carpet, but he 
 went to work and furnished his house with furniture of his own 
 make, and both he and his wife were happy. In 1848 he came 
 to St. Paul with his family and built a tamarac log cabin on the 
 corner of Eighth and Jackson streets, on what is now known as 
 the Oakes place. His claim extended down Eighth to Broadway, 
 up Broadway and Jackson back to the bluff. The amount paid 
 
78 PEN PICTURES 
 
 for this claim was quite inconsiderable, but the property now 
 would bring several hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Hoyt was 
 the means of building the first "Methodist Episcopal Protestant 
 Church erected in the Northwest ; was a local preacher in the 
 church ; married the first white couple in St. Anthony ; was one 
 of the founders of the Hamline University, and made several 
 trips to New York in the interest of that institution ; probably 
 sold the first small tract of land disposed of in St. Paul, being 
 one acre for $40, to W. C. Morrison, corner of Ninth and Jackson 
 streets, on part of which Mr. Morrison now lives, (1885,) — prop- 
 erty worth ;^75,ooo; sold the Oakes block, less a small strip, for 
 ;^i,200 — same property sold for ;^40,ooo, then for ;^75,ooo, worth 
 now ^150,000; sold the Borup block, where the Baptist Church 
 now is, for ;^I50 — worth to-day from ^75,000 to ^100,000, with- 
 out improvements ; sold to Rev. C. Hobart one lot on Eighth 
 street, looking down Sibley, for ^$20, and gave him the adjoining 
 lot worth now $35,000; sold Oakland Cemetery for $30 per 
 acre; worth $5,000 per acre ; bought the island at White Bear 
 lake for a small sum — now worth many thousands of dollars ; 
 owned Bronson's Addition when it was worth $10 per acre — 
 worth now $8,000 and $10,000 per acre ; built the Yandies man- 
 sion on Dayton's bluff in 1855 or 1856, and was largely interested 
 in real estate in Red Wing, Cannon Falls, etc. When his son 
 Lorenzo and his friend W. G. Hendrickson were breaking their 
 present farms in Rose township, worth $5 per acre, and things 
 to them looked blue, his remark was, " Well, boys, do not be 
 discouraged ; you will live to see this land sell for $50 per acre." 
 They thought him visionary, but he continued long enough on 
 earth to see them both make their first sale at six times his esti- 
 mate, or $300 per acre, worth now $700 and $i,ooOper acre. 
 
 A KIND HEART. 
 
 Mr. Hoyt was running over with kindness and goodness ; 
 he was also a religious man, and identified himself closely with 
 the interests of the Methodist Church ; his doors were always 
 open to the preachers, from the bishop down. He was also gen- 
 erous. He gave largely to the poor ; did not despise the Indians 
 or the lowly ; James Thompson, the former slave, found in him 
 a friend ; and hundreds of poor families were made glad by wood 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 79 
 
 which was sent them by Father Hoyt. Aftei- his death, a man 
 who was cutting timber for him and hauling it to town, said he 
 had orders for eight cords of wood in his pocket at one time, 
 to be taken to different poor families. Wood in those days was 
 worth from $8 to $g per cord. An old settler, now living, can 
 testify to how he felt, when destitute of money and board bill 
 due, Mr. Hoyt gave him ;^20. He never cared for riches or 
 office ; he was like his Maker, always going around doing good. 
 He was on the best of terms with all the ministers of his day, 
 and had unbounded faith in the future greatness of St. Paul. 
 Of eight children five are living, Lorenzo, Judge J. F., Wm. H., 
 Mrs. J. H. Murphy, and Mrs. George H. Hazzard. 
 
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 I first met Mr. Hoyt at Red Wing in the year 1853, or 
 thirty-two years ago. He was a slender man, moderately tall, 
 with a round head, a little bald on top, quite deliberate in speech, 
 decided in expression, and rather hesitating in manner. He was 
 then dealing largely in real estate. H^ stooped a little, and if I 
 remember correctly, always carried a cane. He very seldom 
 indulged in mirth. When walking he passed along vigorously, 
 evidently impressed with the duties he had to perform. He was 
 a man of energy and endurance, constantly moving about for the 
 benefit of others, and lived a good, plain, pure, unselfish life. 
 One year before he died he called at the writer's house. The 
 vigor of manhood had gone. The face was pale and pinched, 
 the limbs were weak and tottering, the voice soft and plaintive, 
 and the eye clearly showed that he was conscious of the coming 
 end, and so he died as he had lived, a kind, genial, benevolent 
 Christian man, and his memory is kindly cherished by a large 
 circle of friends. His age was seventy-five years. 
 
 ONLY A VILLAGE. 
 
 At this time St. Paul was only a village. It is true some 
 of the trees and underbrush had been cut out, and a few extra 
 cabins had been added to the cluster. Indeed, it is said, that an 
 old settler expressed great astonishment on counting eighteen 
 chimneys in the fall of 1848, from which emanated smoke, to see 
 how rapidly the place was growing. But the foundation had 
 been laid for a city, and elements were at work moulding the 
 
80 PEN PICTURES 
 
 plastic clay. Civilizatioa began bucking up against barbarism 
 and barbarism began to recede. Intelligence began to penetrate 
 darkness, and the moral atmosphere began to, grow purer; good 
 men came in to push out the bad, and with this impetus the early 
 settlers took courage and— held on ! 
 
 BUSHROD WASHINGTON LOTT. 
 
 Mr. Lott was born at Pemberton, N. J., in the year 1826, and 
 came to St. Paul in 1848, or 37 years ago. He was president 
 of the Town Council of St. Paul before St. Paul was a city ; was 
 a member of the Legislature for two terms, and City Clerk for two 
 years. He was United States consul at Tehuantepec, Mexico ; 
 was appointed by President Lincoln without solicitation, and held 
 the office for* several years. He was also a lawyer and land 
 agent, and in early days was quite prominent. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Lott is a small, modest, retiring, gray-headed gentle- 
 man, who appears like one who had let go his hold on the af- 
 fairs of life — or, rather, like one who didn't care whether school 
 kept or not. He is kind and polite, and I never saw him out of 
 temper. In the early days he was as active as any one could be 
 in all matters that concerned the city, as the various offices he 
 held fully attest. He is unselfish — not selfish enough for his 
 own good. He shrinks from contact with the world when he 
 o ught, with a well-directed blow, to hit the world between the 
 eyes ; but Lott won't do that, so I expect he will " continue on 
 in the even tenor of his way " until gathered in by the reaper 
 Death. Of late years his health has not been good, and yet I 
 meet him almost daily upon the street, and the same pleasant, 
 smiling face, and the same kind-hearted gentleman of the past, 
 is equally the same kind-hearted gentleman of to-day. He is 
 fifty-nine years old. 
 
 THOMAS BARTON. 
 
 Mir. Barton was born in Ohio in 1810 ; was a millwright by 
 trade, and put in the first water-wheel in one of the mills at St. 
 Anthony Falls. He came to St. Paul to reside in 1848, and 
 purchased several acres on Phelan creek, near where Bilanski 
 lived; sold this property for ^800; worth now ^100,000; re- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 81 
 
 ■moved to the flats of West St. Paul in 1849 or '50, where he 
 
 laid claim to 160 acres; sold them for ;^i,Soo — worth now, in 
 
 view of new railroads, at least prospectively, ;^ 500,000! He 
 
 then purchased 144 acres on the Fort road, for ;^900, where he 
 
 lived many years and died in 1882, aged seventy-two. His 
 
 property on the Fort road is well worth ^2,000 per acre, which 
 
 would have made his purchase there worth near ;^300,ooo. Of 
 
 the original estate, however, there are only about twenty acres 
 
 left, which, on his death, fell to his children, Mrs. Barton having 
 
 died some years before. Mr. Barton dealt in stock, horses and 
 
 furs. He was a tall, well-made man ; slow in his movements 
 
 and in his conversation, but honest in his dealings. He lived a 
 
 plain, frugal life ; hated ostentation and clung to the old ideas 
 
 of the past. W. T. Barton, his oldest son, now aged 35 years, 
 
 was born in this city, but has of late years made Montana his 
 
 home. Rudolph, his next son, is a dentist. All of the girls are 
 
 married but one, who resides with her brother; 
 
 WILLIAM D. PHILLIPS. 
 
 " Billy Phillips " was well known among all the old settlers, 
 for he had marked peculiarities which distinguished him above 
 all other men. He was born in Maryland and was a lawyer by 
 profession, and came to St. Paul in 1848. Although made a 
 butt of in the day in which he lived, yet he was a man of con- 
 siderable ability. He was passionately fond of speaking, and if 
 he had been duly appreciated no doubt he would have left a 
 better record behind him. The only trouble with Phillips was, 
 he practiced too often at the " bar," and he seemed to be more 
 spiritually inclined than his associates, and in view of the great 
 latitude of these early days, that is saying a good deal. 
 
 "In 1849 H. M. Rice gave, without consideration, to Billy D. several lots, 
 one on upper Third street about a square below the American House. Mr. Rice 
 told him to make out the deed and he would sign it, which was done. Be it recorded 
 as an instance of mean ingratitude, that Billy subsequently brought a claim against 
 Mr. Rice for $5, for making out the deed, and Mr. R. paid it One lot Phillips sold 
 in 1852 for $600." — ^Williams. 
 
 "the balance just as good." 
 
 Phillips made a speech on Kossuth, and in an evil moment 
 Goodhue agreed to publish it, so Billy piled in the manuscript 
 6 
 
82 PEN PICTURES 
 
 upon him, over forty pages in legal cap, until he plainly saw 
 that the speech would take up all his paper, and he was in great 
 perturbation of mind what to do. After walking the floor in deep 
 meditation, he decided to print a column, and then added in 
 parenthesis — " The balance of the speech is just as good." After 
 the publication Phillips came in with a large hickory club and 
 two pistols and went for Goodhue in true western style, who- 
 finally compromised with him by giving him a receipt in full for 
 an old advertising bill which he never expected to get, and 
 Phillips went away somewhat mollified. Phillips was a queer 
 fellow ! 
 
 EDWIN A. C. HATCH. 
 
 To write about St. Paul and not mention Mr. Hatch, would 
 be like playing Hamlet with Hamlet left out, for he was among 
 the very earliest men who attracted the writer's attention, away 
 back thirty-two years ago. There was something peculiar and 
 striking about the man, which at once arrested the attention of 
 everybody, and his long-familiarity with Western life made him 
 a valuable companion. He was born in New York in 1825; 
 came to Minnesota in 1843, and St. Paul in 1848. He was 
 largely engaged in the Indian trade throughout the Northwest, 
 and understood the character of the savages as well as any man 
 living. He was at one time agent of the Blackfeet tribe, a very 
 cruel and warlike people, but he held them in check, and though 
 often narrowly escaping with his life, conquered them. It is 
 related of him that once when the Indians attempted to appro- 
 priate goods without his permission, he coolly opened a keg of 
 powder, lighted his pipe and told them to go ahead, and they 
 went ahead, but it was a good way in advance of the powder. 
 Indians don't like thunder storms of this character ! All the old 
 Minnesota soldiers remember " Hatch's Battalion." Well, he 
 was Major of this battalion in 1863, and held in check the 
 hostile Indians on our frontier for about one year, when he 
 resigned, 
 
 BAGGED HIS GAME. 
 
 When stationed at Pembina he found that two of the noto- 
 rious chiefs who had taken a prominent part in our Indian 
 massacre, were over the border in Canada. Of course they could 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 83 
 
 not be taken as prisoners the other side of the line, so he 
 employed strategy in the shape of copious rations of fire-water, 
 and when Mr. Indians became gently impressive, they' were 
 bound to dog sleds, and the next morning Shakopee and Medi- 
 cine Bottle woke up to find themselves within the boundary of 
 the United States. They were held in bondage for some time at 
 Fort Snelling, and were finally hung at that place in 1865. 
 Among other crimes committed by these ferocious Indians, it is 
 alleged that one of them seized an infant, crowded it into the 
 oven of a hot stove, and held the mother tightly in his grasp 
 until it was roasted. 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Major Hatch was an ordinary sized man, straight as an 
 arrow, with a complexion quite florid. He was always cool, 
 dignified, somewhat reserved, yet pleasant. Some years ago he 
 purchased thirty acres of land on the bluff overlooking the city, 
 now the property of Mr. Wm. Nettleton, for which he paid about 
 ;^io per acre. He then built a very fine house upon the premi- 
 ses, and finally sold the property to the present owner. What 
 Major Hatch then paid ^10 per acre for is now worth ;^30,ooo, 
 or ^1,000 per acre ! A few years before he died he was in the 
 employ of the Manitoba Railroad Company. He was a kind- 
 hearted gentleman, an affectionate husband and father, and his 
 memory is very generally cherished by those who knew him. 
 He died in 1881. 
 
 SWINGING ON THE GARDEN GATE. 
 
 In 1853 I saw a bright, brilliant, black-eyed girl swinging 
 on a gate which led to a small white house on Third street, the 
 home of A. T. C. Pierson. She was full of youthful hope and 
 happiness — the very picture at that time of a beautiful young 
 girl, and merry thoughts bubbled all over in her twinkling eyes 
 as she toyed with the rainbow tints of the future. Later she 
 became the wife of Major Hatch ; later still the widow, sur- 
 rounded with a family ; and although dark clouds of sorrow have 
 shut out a great deal of the sunshine of her married life, still the 
 charming Lotta of thirty-one years ago is still the matured, 
 motherly, matronly, pleasant Lotta of 1885. 
 
84 PEN PICTURES 
 
 WILLIAM H. NOBLES FIRST WAGON EVER MADE IN MINNESOTA. 
 
 William H. Nobles came to St. Paul in 1848; opened a 
 wagon maker's shop and turned out the first wagon ever made 
 in Minnesota. In 1856 he was elected a representative to the 
 Legislature from Ramsey County ; laid out a wagon road to the 
 Pacific Ocean ; discovered one of the best passes to the Rocky 
 Mountains ; entered the army ; was elected Lieutenant Colonel 
 of the Seventy-ninth New York Volunteers ; was Cotton Col- 
 lector for the government in the South ; U. S. Revenije officer ; 
 Master of Transportation of troops ; and at the conclusion of the 
 war, broken down in health, he repaired to the Waukesha Springs, 
 Wisconsin, and then to the Hot Springs, Colorado, but his health 
 continuing to fail, he returned to St. Paul and died in one of our 
 hospitals, aged about sixty years. 
 
 NOBLES AS a MAN. 
 
 Mr.' Nobles used to live in a brick house which stood in the 
 middle of Rice street on the Como road. He was not an edu- 
 cated man, but possessed good natural abilities. He had great 
 confidence in himself; was ambitious, inventive, social, aspiring, 
 very self-reliant, and withal, progressive. He was a man of 
 energy, as was illustrated in his trip to the mountains, and he was 
 also a hard worker. The old settlers will remember him as a 
 good deal of a politician, with a hasty temper, but possessing 
 many fine traits of character which still live as a memory of the 
 man. 
 
 SOMEWHAT REMARKABLE. 
 
 It is somewhat remarkable that St. Paul, originally situated 
 two hundred miles from any other important point, away from 
 railroads, and struggling for existence amid Indians and half- 
 breeds, had no outbursts of violence of any character up to 1848, 
 nor since ; that is, there has been no great shock of border ruf- 
 fianism which required the interposition of a vigilance commit- 
 tee, as is now and has been the case in other frontier towns. .We 
 have had no riots, no wanton destruction of property, no public 
 grievances which required the people to redress ; no loss of life, 
 except a few murders ; no burdens of men in power, nor the im- 
 position of rich men upon the poor ; but society has gradually 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 85 
 
 moulded itself silently into the better forms of civilization with- 
 out those deleterious influences incident to the growth of other 
 places. This is really remarkable, and due credit should be given 
 to the Catholic religion, which early prevailed in this section, and 
 which held in check the rougher elements of life. It is very true 
 whisky was sold and drunk, and yet I hear of no damaging 
 results from it except to the parties indulging, so that St. Paul can 
 very justly point to her past history with great pride and admi- 
 ration. It is also remarkable that of about thirty old settlers, 
 most of whom have taken prominent part in our affairs, more 
 than twenty-five came from Prairie du Chien ; that is, they emi- 
 grated to that town, remained there a short time, and then pushed 
 on to St. Paxjl, and have ever since been identified with our in- 
 terests. 
 
 NATHAN MYRICK. 
 
 That tall man who has been traveling our streets for a quar- 
 ter of a century and over, and who, to use a border expression, 
 has been a "rustler," is the well-known Nathan Myrick, who 
 was born in New York State in 1 822, and who at the age of eigh- 
 teen years came to La Crosse and laid out that town, a good 
 slice of which he still owns. Mr. Myrick entered largely into lum- 
 bering in Wisconsin in the years 1841 up to 1848, when he came 
 to St. Paul and engaged quite extensively in the Indian trade, 
 having at one time stores at St. Peter, Traverse de Sioux, Winne- 
 bago Agency, Yellow Medicine, Red Wood Agency, Big Stone 
 Lake, and at Lake Traverse. Mr. Myrick was also at one period 
 largely interested in property at Lake Superior. At the time of 
 the Indian outbreak all his stores at the above named places 
 were destroyed by the savages, and while Mr. Myrick received 
 some recompense of the government for his losses, he has other 
 claims which he has been pressing at Washington about every 
 winter for several years past. Of late he has been connected 
 with various enterprises which required brains, money and pluck, 
 but just now what he is doing, I do not know. 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Mr. Myrick is a marked character on the street in conse- 
 quence of his height. In one respect he is like Hiawatha, " for at 
 each stride a mile he measures," while like his prototype he used 
 
S6 PEN PICTURES 
 
 to deal largely in Indian trinkets. He is somewhat nervous, yet 
 has a good deal of nerve, and when he sets out to do a thing he 
 does it, if it can be done. He is venturesome ; a man of great 
 energy ; reaches out into the future ; goes in on his judgment, and 
 if he gets tripped, he don't " kick," as the boys say, but " picks 
 his flint and tries again." His head is round, his eyes small and 
 piercing, a nose denoting courage, with a full flowing beard and 
 a well put up body, mark him as an advanced guard in the wave 
 of civilization. He married a Miss Rebecca Ismon, of Vermont, 
 in 1843, who is still living. Of eight children three survive. 
 
 ABRAM A. CAVENDER. 
 
 Mr. Cavender still clings to life although he had what 
 resembled a paralytic stroke years ago, and the doctors said he 
 could not remain with us but a short time, and then he immedi- 
 ately discarded all medicine and all physicians and began to 
 improve rapidly, and is now quite well. He was born in New 
 Hampshire in 181 5; came to St. Paul in 1848; commenced 
 blacksmithing and wagon-making on Robert street, having pur- 
 chased the establishment of Wm. H. Nobles ; married Miss 
 Elvira, daughter of Daniel Hopkins, and continued in business 
 for many years, when he sold out to Quimby & Hallowell. 
 
 DEACON CAVENDER, 
 
 as he is more generally known — having been a prominent deacon 
 in the Baptist Church for several years past — is a thin, spare man, 
 with sharp features and with bright, twinkling eyes, a long gray 
 beard, and always wears a pleasant smile. He is a quiet, good 
 citizen, interested in religious matters, and has a happy faculty of 
 minding his own business, and thus, with a pleasant word for 
 everybody, glides smoothly along down the hill of life, greatly 
 respected as one of our oldest and best citizens. 
 
 WILLIAM FREEBORN. 
 
 Mr. Freeborn was born in 1816 ; came to St. Paul in 1848 ; 
 at one time owned considerable property in this city and county ; 
 was a member of our City Council ; removed to Red Wing in 
 1853, where he had large interests; also at Cannon Falls ; was 
 a member ofthe Legislature in 1854-5-6-7, and Freeborn County 
 was named after him. He was known as one ofthe trio of Free- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 87 
 
 "born, Daniels and Moss, but in 1 862 he emigrated to the Rocky 
 Mountains and finally settled in Cahfornia. He was a man of 
 progressive and speculative ideas, energetic, always scheming, 
 and had a happy faculty of getting other parties interested in his 
 enterprises. He was a quietly spoken man, of rugged appear- 
 ance ; self-possessed, and never was afraid to venture. 
 
 DAVID LAMBERT 
 
 was a native of Connecticut ; a lawyer, a speaker, an editor, and 
 :a man of considerable ability. He settled in St. Paul in 1848 
 and took a prominent part in the Stillwater convention. Domes- 
 Lie difficulties drove him to drink, so that his brain became 
 disordered, and he put an end to his brilliant career by jumping 
 from the roof of a steamer while on her way from Galena to St. 
 Paul, and died at the age of thirty years. 
 
 HENRY C. RHODES. 
 
 This gentleman came to St. Paul in 1848 and remained 
 Tiere only a short time, being connected with David Olmsted. 
 He owned some property on the corner of Fourth and Jackson 
 :streets, where he had a store and dwelling house, but finally 
 returned to Indiana and died in California. 
 
 W. C. MORRISON 
 
 was born in New York in 1 8 1 5 ; came to St. Paul in 1 848, at 
 which time he says there were only sixteen families. He mined 
 for lead in Galena at an early day, and built the first brick store 
 on Jackson street that had marble window caps and marble door 
 jams. He was in trade here a number of years and finally 
 accepted the position as right-of-way agent for the Manitoba 
 road, and though somewhat advanced in years he performed his 
 ■duties well and made some money. Mr. Morrison is a thick-set 
 man, cool and methodical in his movements ; quiet and unosten- 
 tatious in manner, and as a business man, energetic. He lives on 
 part of the acre he bought of " Father Hoyt " for $40, on Jackson 
 street, where he has made it his home for over a quarter of a 
 century. He has several sons grown to manhood. The young- 
 est son, Samuel, studied law with Gov. Davis, and is now 
 practicing in the city. Mr. H. is a quiet, pleasant gentleman, 
 and very generally esteemed by those who know him. 
 
88 PEN PICTURES 
 
 WM. B. BROWN 
 
 was a lead miner at Galena^ and on moving to St. Paul in 1 84S 
 he purchased the property on the corner of Wabasha and Third 
 streets, now known as the Warner block. In 1853 I was offered 
 this property for ;^ 1,700, and upon it stood a small building; 
 occupied by the Marshall Brothers, where they sold Sligo iron 
 and other hardware. The same property would probably now 
 bring ^50,000. " But why didn't you buy it? " asks a real estate 
 dealer. " Well, for several reasons : First — I did not think the 
 property was worth the amount asked. Second — I did not then 
 think St. Paul would ever grow to reach 1 20,000 people ; and, 
 Third — I hadn't the money." And so the years have come and 
 gone ; the city has continued to grow ; real estate has constantly 
 advanced ; and even wise men, and moneyed men, and sagacious- 
 men, and business men, have all been deceived in their estima- 
 tion of the value of real estate in the present bustling, growing, 
 solid, tangible city of St. Paul, less than forty yea.rs ago a place 
 of nine cabins and fifty inhabitants ! Why didn't the- people of 
 that period buy and hold all the land then in sight ? Echo asks,. 
 "Why?" 
 
 don't grumble — it is a law. 
 
 The old settler fifty-five or sixty years of age, with a grown- 
 up family about him, begins to feel that he is being pushed out 
 of the way by the younger elements which surround him. The 
 old places where he used to keep his books, and his papers, and 
 his hat, and his boots, have been appropriated to other purposes,, 
 and even the old rocking-chair in which he has sat for so many 
 years, he is daily in fear of being removed out of his reach for- 
 ever, and in its place to find a new and stylish double-and- 
 twisted-back-breaking-modern-institution, in keeping with the 
 new-fangled notions of this modern age. Then again the 
 cooking is not just what it used to be, for the children have- 
 got possession of the mother and are moulding her to their 
 ideas of " style." And then again, " Papa doesn't keep up with 
 the age! What is pleasant to him, isn't pleasant to us. He 
 wants to sit by the fire and read his paper; we want to dance;, 
 he is sober and thoughtful, and likes to talk of the past ; we like 
 fun; he is too cautious and holds us back, but we guess we 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 89 
 
 know what we are about ; he is a little old-fashioned in his 
 notions, but then we have to humor him. It is so strange that 
 people as they grow old have such peculiar ideas of life! 
 Wonder if we will ever be like that good, kind old father ? 
 Hope not." And the young, and thoughtless, and buoyant, and 
 gay, and ambitious, and loving children, thus imperceptibly and 
 unknowingly gradually push "the old man" along to the end of 
 the log where he sits musing upon the past. 
 
 Now, my friend, look at the matter philosophically. The 
 tree grows and sends out its branches. Its grand limbs have 
 stood the storms of many winters, and under its cooling shade 
 hundreds have gathered to shield themselves from the piercing 
 rays of the noonday sun. In course of time new shoots are 
 visible just below the old limbs, and as these new shoots put 
 forth their vigor they draw vitalizing power from the roots, and 
 the old limbs begin to droop, and then in their growth the 
 younger shoots, under a law of nature, commence quietly to 
 crowd out the old limbs, and they fade, sicken, die, drop, while 
 the new limbs take their places, to be in turn pushed out by the 
 same law as that which acted upon their parents. We cannot 
 expect our children to entertain the same views of life that we 
 do. It is an impossibility to be always young, and what may 
 appear to us as innovations upon our own rights, is but the 
 natural growth of human nature. Don't flatter yourself that 
 you are the only man of advanced years who is jostled and 
 crowded by " the young bloods " of your own household, for 
 such is not the case ; the law is general, and all must sooner or 
 later bow in submission to it. And yet, there is a consolation, 
 and we have it in the following beautiful lines from the lamented 
 poetess, Adelaide Proctor : — 
 
 "What is Life, father?" 
 
 "A battle, my child, 
 
 Where the strongest lance may fail. 
 Where the wariest eyes may be beguiled. 
 
 And the stoutest heart may quail. 
 Where the foes are gathered on every hand, 
 
 And rest not day or night. 
 And the feeble little ones must stand 
 
 In the thickest of the fight." 
 
90 PEN PICTURES 
 
 " What is Death, father? " 
 
 "The Rest, my child, 
 
 When the strife and toil are o'er; 
 The angel of God, who, calm and mild. 
 
 Says we need fight no more ; 
 Who, driving away the demon band. 
 
 Bids the din of the battle cease; 
 Takes banner and spear from our failing hand. 
 
 And proclaims an eternal peace." 
 
 JOHN D. DUION FIRST MILLER IN THE CITY. 
 
 Born in Canada in 1822, Mr. Duion came to St. Paul in 
 1 848, or thirty-seven years ago, unable at that time to speak a 
 word of English. He is a real live, active Canadian-Frenchman, 
 and although sixty-three years old is as bright and as fresh and 
 as jolly as a boy of twenty years. He was the first miller in the 
 city, and is a miller by trade, though at odd times he ran a steam 
 engine. 
 
 OUT OF LUCK. 
 
 He purchased a lot in Kittson's addition for ;^i,ooo; sold it 
 for ;^2,ooo; worth ^15,000; owned a lot on the corner of Cedar 
 and Ninth streets, for which he paid ^2,000; worth now ;gi 5,000. 
 In 1857 he removed to Pig's Eye, and with ^8,000 established a 
 saw mill, sank all his money, and came back poor and barefooted 
 to St. Paul, where he has since resided. 
 
 SHOOTING DUCKS IN THE CITY. 
 
 On the corner of Cedar and Minnesota streets was a large 
 pond of water, and in 1848 Duion used to shoot ducks that swam 
 upon its surface. After he came to St. Paul everything looked 
 so uninviting that he became disgusted and wanted to get away, 
 but he could not, for he had no money. He had not the faintest 
 conception then that St. Paul would grow to what it is now, or he 
 might have been a very rich man. 
 
 OXEN VS. CABBAGES. 
 
 As I have already said, he could not speak English, but he. 
 undertook to drive oxen for a living, and as he did not under- 
 stand "haw" from "gee," his oxen went directly opposite to 
 what he wanted them to do. One day he was passing a small 
 house where there was a good-sized cabbage garden owned by 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 91 
 
 a widow, and he yelled out " haw," and the oxen started for the 
 cabbages on a run, and before he could comprehend the fact that 
 he should have said " gee," a greater portion of the cabbages 
 had been devoured, and the widow came very near killing him 
 for his ignorance. " Oh ! my ! but dat vas one very great time. 
 How dat old woman did saccreme ; did say, ' By damn ! ' " 
 
 A PHILOSOPHER. 
 
 Mr. Duion is a small man and a constant laborer. He is 
 frank, cheerful, active, and philosophical. He has a nice little 
 home, has raised a family of five children, four boys and a girl, 
 and three of his boys are engineers. He looks upon the bright 
 side of life, and though sometimes he may feel a little sad at 
 " what might have been," yet he brushes away the cobwebs of 
 the past and laughs in the sunshine of the present, as he sings : 
 
 " Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears, 
 While we all sup sorrow with the poor; 
 There's a song that will linger forever in our ears, 
 Oh, hard times, come again no more. 
 
 " 'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary, 
 Hard times, hard times, come again no more; 
 Many days you have wandered around my cabin door. 
 Oh, hard times come again no more." 
 
 And thus in his quiet little cottage home he no doubt enjoys 
 more of life's sweetness than many who count their millions. And 
 why should he not? He has less to annoy him, less to burden 
 him, less to fret him, less to make him stingy and mean, less to 
 force him to be hypocritical and overbearing, less to take away 
 the best attributes of a man, and more to bring out the qualities 
 that adorn the brows of those who toil for their daily bread. 
 God aid the poor and the lowly in all the walks of life, for they 
 are nearer the perfection of manhood than those who are warped 
 and distorted by their everlasting greed for money! money! 
 money ! Pleasant cottage ! humble home ! happy Duion I 
 
 JOSE?H MONTEUR. 
 
 Mr. Monteur, to whom allusion has already been made, 
 came to St. Paul in 1 848, and claims to be the oldest black- 
 smith in the city, even ranking Col. Wm. H. Nobles, of whom 
 
92 PEN PICTURES 
 
 I have written. He was born in 1 8 1 2, and is now seventy-three 
 years of age. .He was among the old French settlers, and can- 
 not realize the great growth the city has made since he first 
 came here. He bought a lot of Louis Robert for $70, sold it 
 back to him again for ;^ 1,000; worth now ^20,000. Joseph Vil- 
 laume, born in France, and who came here in 1849, is now dead, 
 and I can glean but little information about him, except that 
 which I give in another chapter. 
 
 BENJAMIN IRVINE. 
 
 Born in New York in 1828; learned the carpenter's trade; 
 came to St. Paul in 1 848 ; worked at his business ; was twelve 
 years in Wisconsin; in 1858 carried on the wholesale and retail 
 grocery business in St. Paul; entered the army in 1861 ; re- 
 mained in the service two years as Orderly Sergeant of Com- 
 pany D ; lived in Ohio and Michigan several years, and 
 since then has resided in St. Paul. Mr. Irvine is a brother of 
 John and George. He is a tall, slender man ; quiet in his habits 
 and unpretending in his manners. Last year, to add to his 
 other troubles, he met with a serious accident to his left hand. 
 He once owned, or supposed he owned, fifty-one acres in the 
 city, fronting the -river, which cost him;^6o; worth now ;$ 1,000- 
 000. It is the old song — tee-ter-taunter ! tee-ter-taunter ! one is 
 up while -the other is down! tee-ter-taunter! He is now the jan- 
 itor at the Capitol. 
 
 JOHN F. HOYT. 
 
 Mr. Hoyt is a son of the late B. F. Hoyt, and was born in 
 Ohio in 1830; came to St. Paul in 1848; went to school to 
 D. A. J. Baker, and he says he was an admirable teacher, the 
 best he ever had ; took singing lessons with L. M. Ford ; 
 worked in the wagon shop of Col. Wm. H. Nobles one winter ; 
 saw the first printing press landed, and aided in squaring the 
 first chase in which to hold the forms of the old Pioneer. Then 
 was three years at school East ; returned home and studied law 
 with Ames and Van Etten ; was admitted to the bar by terri- 
 torial judges, but never practiced. Where the .State Capitol and 
 High School buildings now stand, he used to trap for foxes. 
 He has seen most of the land upon which St. Paul now stands 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 93 
 
 taken up at government price — ;?i.25 per acre — or by land war- 
 rants, which cost even less. He thinks this same land is now 
 worth ;^ 1 00,000,000. To the casual reader these figures may 
 appear large, but when an estimate is made of what all the land 
 is worth upon which St. Paul now stands, it w;ll be found that 
 Mr. Hoyt's figuring is not much out of the way. He held the 
 office of Judge of Probate twice ; was County Auditor ; County 
 Commissioner ; a charter member of the St. Paul Library Asso- 
 ciation ; was engaged in the milling business several years ; has 
 been and is now a member of the board of public works and a 
 water commissioner. Of late years he has been largely inter- 
 ested in the settlement of important estates, and has never had 
 any trouble in getting bondsmen, a fact which shows the con- 
 fidence reposed in his honesty, his honor and his manhood. 
 
 REAL ESTATE. A TRIBUTE TO OLD SETTLERS. 
 
 He purchased forty acres of land in Rose township, ' for 
 ^22 per acre, now worth ^500 per acre; and some for $^0 per 
 acre, now worth ;^6oo per acre; gave ;? 1,3 00 for a block on 
 Dayton's bluff, now worth $25,000. He could not even con- 
 ceive thirty-six years ago that St. Paul would be the city it is 
 to-day, and hence he placed no value upon 'real estate, and 
 yet he has seen hundreds of grand bargains slip out from under 
 his hands. 
 
 He speaks in the highest terms of the old settlers ; of their 
 integrity, honor, enterprise, manhood, and of their kindliness of 
 heart. Having known many of them he thinks there never 
 was a better class of people in any community. 
 
 " I WANT THE GIRL." 
 
 In 1856, wheri about twenty-six years of age; young Hoyt 
 made a trip to AVashington, and while there he fell in love with a 
 niece of Senator Douglas and she reciprocated his feelings, but 
 being a young man unknown to the family, he met with opposi- 
 tion. Becoming somewhat desperate, he called upon Hon. H. M. 
 Rice, our delegate in Congress, who quietly heard his story and 
 then asked—" Well, what do you want? " to which he promptly 
 replied—" Why, I want the girl." Mr. Rice smilingly remarked, 
 "I shall see the family, shall dine with them to-day; call 
 to-morrow." Young Hoyt called and soon after got his girl 
 
94 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and married her, but she died some years afterwards, and in 
 memory of the part Mr. Rice took in the matter Mr. Hoyt 
 looks upon him as not only being a prince then but as a lord 
 now ; for few men would have turned aside from the cares and 
 duties of the United States Senate to interfere in a matter of 
 love between two young people. 
 
 MR. HOYT PERSONALLY. 
 
 On the street Mr. Hoyt moves along rapidly, rarely bowing, 
 and one would infer, not knowing him, that he was somewhat 
 misanthropic, yet this peculiarity in his nature comes more from 
 a concentration of his thoughts and a total abnegation of the 
 outer world. Off the street he is one of the most sociable of 
 men, free, frank, with a fine sprinkling of fun. He sympathizes 
 with the Methodist Church, of which his father was a devoted 
 supporter, although he himself is not a member. Politically he 
 is a Democrat, and has always been elected when he ran for 
 office. Physically he is a well-knit man, with all his faculties 
 well rounded out and evenly balanced; is temperate in his 
 habits ; sympathetic in his nature ; devoid of rant or ostenta- 
 tion ; is modest ; retiring ; avoids publicity, and yet he is quietly 
 and constantly aiding many meritorious enterprises. 
 
 JOHN R. SLOAN PERRY SLOAN. 
 
 Born in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1846; came to St. Paul in 
 1848; was engaged many years on the river bringing eggs, 
 butter and other produce to this market. He has been a con- 
 tinuous resident of this city for many years, and has seen many 
 and great changes. He is a young man, bright, generous, active, 
 a lover of horses, devoted to his mother, and a pleasant citizen ; 
 a man of discretion, sagacity and good judginent. 
 
 Perry Sloan was well known to all the old settlers. He 
 was a great lover of the horse, and rode many races. He was 
 an active, popular young man, and accidentally fell out of a 
 window in the Merchants hotel and was killed, in 1866, aged 32 
 years. Came to St. Paul in 1 848. 
 
 EDWARD SLOAN — MRS. SARAH SLOAN. 
 
 Mr. Sloan was born in New York State in 1808; came to 
 St. Paul in 1848; was in the lead regions of Wisconsin, and 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 93 
 
 struck the first lead in that section ; when in this city he carried 
 on the business of house painting, and died in 1879. 
 
 John's mother was born in New York in 1811; came to 
 St. Paul in 1848, and has Hved here ever since. She is a fine 
 looking woman, with not a gray hair in her head. Has had nine 
 children, seven of whom are living. 
 
 JOEL D. CRUTTENDEN. 
 
 Col. Cruttenden, of whom I have spoken briefly in another 
 place, left St. Louis in 1846 and removed to Prairie du Chien, 
 where he was employed by Brisbois & B.ice. In 1 848 he came 
 to St. Paul and remained up to 1850, when he took up his resi- 
 dence in St. Anthony and engaged in business with R. P. Russel. 
 He then went to Crow Wing and was connected with Maj. J. W. 
 Lynde. In 1857 he was elected to the House of Representa- 
 tives, and on the breaking out of the war was commissioned 
 Captain Assistant Quartermaster; was taken prisoner, and on 
 being exchanged rose to the rank of Colonel. At the close of 
 the war he was honorably discharged, and soon after removed 
 to Bayfield, Wisconsin, where he has held many offices and is 
 greatly esteemed. He is a pleasant, genial gentleman, well 
 known and well liked. 
 
 C. A. CAVENDER. 
 
 Mr. C. was born in 1 846, in Ohio ; came to St. Paul in 
 1848; was a pupil of the late Miss Harriet E. Bishop, and 
 attended the Washington and Adams schools until 1861 ; worked 
 in the carriage manufactory of his father, Dea. W. H. Cavender, 
 until 1864, when he was employed in the Provost Marshal's 
 department until August ist, 1864; enlisted, but did not go 
 south, being on detached service until May nth, 1865, when he 
 was mustered out ; entered service in the St. Paul postoffice as 
 distributing clerk, doing the work which now requires twelve 
 men ; May ist, 1866, went on the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, 
 which then was built to Elk River, thirty-nine miles, as brake- 
 man ; was promoted to baggage-master and passenger conductor ; 
 remained with that company until 1877, when he changed to the 
 Northern Pacific, and is now with that company as one of the 
 oldest passenger conductors on the road, or in the State. Never 
 
96 PEN PICTURES 
 
 had an accident to a train that caused loss of Hfe or Hmb. Has 
 always lived in St. Paul and always intends to. Married Decem- 
 ber 7, 1869, to Miss Jennie Nixon, daughter of William Nixon, 
 another of our old settlers. 
 
 TRAVELED 1,000,000 MILES. 
 
 Mr. Cavender is not only the oldest passenger conductor in 
 the State of Minnesota, having entered the railroad service in 
 1866, or nineteen years ago, but he has traveled 1,000,000 miles, 
 and what is remarkable still, during that time he never had an 
 accident to his train by which a limb was injured or a life lost. 
 This is a remarkable career in the history of a railroad conduc- 
 tor and gives one the impression that he bears a charmed life. 
 He made his first trip over the St. Paul & Pacific road when 
 there were only thirty-nine miles of road built, and has been in 
 active service as a railroad man from that day to this, having 
 seen some 3,000 miles of road constructed in this State during 
 this time. Of course so successful a railroad man must in time 
 become president of some gigantic railroad system, and Presi- 
 dent Cavender would sound quite as well as that of Deacon. 
 
 CAVENDER PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr.' Cavender is a stirring gentleman. In his capacity of 
 conductor he is prompt, cautious, careful, prudent, quick, pleas- 
 ant, just the man for the place. He is a good business operator ; 
 knows his duties and performs them, and with the same peculiar 
 smile which ever glows over the pleasant face of the good Dea- 
 con. He speaks with his eyes ; comprehends in a minute; is in 
 sympathy with the locomotive ; is on time ; catches the idea of 
 the traveler at once ; grasps the situation and masters it. He is 
 physically not large, but wiry, a straight-forward, manly gentle- 
 man. 
 
 LUKE MURPHY. 
 
 Mr. Murphy introduced the first two-wheel dray into the 
 city, and was generally known as teamster and an ardent parti- 
 san. While celebrating the election of H. M. Rice to Congress, 
 who lived in the only house then on Summit avenue, a rocket 
 pierced his body and killed him. He was born in Ireland in 
 1827; emigrated to America in 1846; resided for a time in 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 97 
 
 Brooklyn, New Orleans, and at Fort Snelling, and came to St. 
 Paul in 1848. He was noted principally for his sincere devotion 
 to the Democratic cause, and yet he was a hard-working, indus- 
 trious man. 
 
 JOHN HAYCOCK. 
 
 Captain John Haycock came to St. Paul in 1 848. He was 
 a captain on a river steamer, and then opened a wood yard on 
 Robert street, where he carried on the business for a number of 
 years. Captain H. is a tall, quiet man, and has run on the river 
 as a steamboat captain all his life, and is now engaged in that 
 occupation, and was so engaged at the time he carried on the 
 wood business. He lives at Winnipeg. 
 
 NELSON ROBERT. 
 
 Mr. Robert was born in Missouri in 1830; worked on the 
 homestead until the age of seventeen years, when his uncle, Cap- 
 tain Louis Robert, brought him to Prairie du Chien, where he 
 finished his education and came to St. Paul in 1 848 ; kept books 
 for Louis Roberts in the old World's Fair store, which stood on 
 the corner of Third and Robert streets ; some years later he 
 became a partner not only in all Mr. Robert's stores but in the 
 steambojit trade ; in the early part of the fifties he made many 
 trips from Redwood and Yellow Medicine to New York and 
 Philadelphia, his money being carried in a belt worn around his 
 body, the usual way in those days of carrying on banking. He 
 was at one time connected with W. K. Murphy in steamboating 
 on the Minnesota river, owning and commanding the steamers 
 Time and Tide and Jeannett Robert. In i860 he dissolved part- 
 nership with his uncle and continued the boating business alone, 
 carrying troops during the late war. At one time he was in the 
 employ of the government at St. Louis. After giving up steam- 
 boating he engaged in general merchandise near Granite Falls, 
 Minnesota, doing a large and profitable business. In December, 
 1 860, he married Miss Sarah A. Clark, a teacher for some three 
 years in what is now the public schools of St. Paul. He was a 
 member of the Common Council at one time, and died in 1 877, 
 greatly respected, as he was a high-toned, honorable man, at 
 whose record the finger of reproach was powerless to point. He 
 left a widow and five children in comfortable circumstances. 
 
 7 
 
98 PEN PICTURES 
 
 EPHRAIM RHODES. 
 
 A short, well-khit, close-grained man is Mr. Rhodes, who- 
 is an excellent engineer and a pleasant, social gentleman. He 
 was born in New York in 1826, where he was educated; learned 
 the trade of a machinist, and in 1 846 visited the Lake Superior 
 region in the steamer Sultana, of which he was engineer ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1 848 and engaged in the lumber business with the 
 late David Fuller ; then ran a saw mill ; was engineer on various 
 steamboats which plied on the river for years, and is the oldest 
 engineer in Minnesota. He is at present engineer at the Gilfillan 
 block, and is recognized as one of the oldest and most sprightly 
 of the old settlers, a jovial, industrious, hard-working citizen. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 1849. 
 
 Mrst Newspaper — Mrit Printing Press — First Editor — First Territorial Organiza- 
 tion — Mrst Brewery — First Masonic Lodge — First Brick House — First Chapel — 
 Mrtt Church Organized — First Proclamation — First Legislature — Mrst 
 Bricks — Mrst Baptist Church — Mrst Fourth of July Celebration — 
 Mrst Regular Butcher — Mrst Bankers — Mrst County Flection — 
 Mrst Stage Line — First Pump — Mrst Democratic Con- 
 vention — Mrst Stone Building — First Deed — Mrst 
 lAvery Stable — First School System — Mrst Market 
 Woman — Mrst Burial Ground — Mrst Oover- 
 nor — First Court — First Hardware and 
 Furniture Stores— Mrst Bank — Mrst 
 Clerk of Court — Mrst Drayman — 
 Mrst Territorial Officers — Pirst 
 Ferry Boat — First Register 
 of Deeds. 
 
 Wonderful Events of the Year 1849. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE TERRITORY. 
 
 June 1 , 1 849, the Territory of Minnesota was organized, and 
 then the only house in what is now known as upper town, or 
 above Wabasha street, was that occupied by the late John R. 
 Irvine, to which allusion has already been made. It stood on 
 the corner of, or near, Franklin street and Third, and around it 
 was a luxuriant growth of hazel brush and saplings. On the 
 corner of what was once Fort, now Seventh street and Third, 
 
100 PEN PICTURES 
 
 where the old Winslow House used to stand, and where Mr. Fore- 
 paugh has built a large block of stores, was a dense forest of 
 trees, and at the foot of these trees ran a lovely brook, crossing 
 the crude, natural street, ,and dancing on its way to the river over 
 the ground on which at present stands the factory of Chapman, 
 Drake & Co. ^ 
 
 POPULATION IN THE TERRITORY I, GOO CITY 1 50. 
 
 One can hardly realize the fact that in 1 849 Minnesota Ter- 
 ritory had but about 1,000 inhabitants — now, 1885, 1,000,600; 
 and the city 150 — now, 1885, 120,000; and only thirty houses 
 existed where there are now several thousands, yet such is the 
 truth. It is true the bill had passed Congress organizing a Ter- 
 ritory, yet there was no newspaper here, no evidences of civiliza- 
 tion, except a school, a church or two, and plenty of saloons ! 
 It was good soil upon which to plant eastern intelligence, and it 
 came. 
 
 THE FIRST PAPER AND THE FIRST PRINTING PRESS. 
 
 Probably the first person who conceived the idea of a news- 
 paper in Minnesota, was Dr. A. Randall, of Cincinnati, August, 
 1848. He subsequently formed a partnership with J. P. Owens, 
 and they jointly issued, at Cincinnati, the Minnesota Register, 
 dated St. Paul, April 27, 1849, and this was really the first 
 newspaper circulated in Minnesota. 
 
 The first printing press was owned by James M. Goodhue, 
 and arrived at St. Paul April 1 8, 1 849, and the first bona fide 
 paper printed in this city and in the Territory was upon this 
 press, April 28, 1849, and called the Minnesota Pioneer. 
 
 JAMES M. GOODHUE FIRST EDITOR. 
 
 Mr. Goodhue was born in New Hampshire in 1810; came 
 to St. Paul in 1849 ; died on the 27th of August, 1852, aged only 
 42 years. He graduated from Amherst College in 1832 ; imme- 
 diately commenced the study of law ; emigrated to Wisconsin, 
 where he practiced his profession for a number of years ; became 
 the editor of the Wisconsin Herald ; removed to St. Paul in 
 1 849 ; brought the first press and- the first type to the Territory ; 
 issued the first paper printed in the Territory, and ran a success- 
 ful career as an editor up to the period of his death, in 1852. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 101 
 
 From the time Mr. Goodhue arrived in St. Paul with his 
 printing machinery, the city began to grow. The old press upon 
 which his paper was printed has been used for some time in 
 various country offices — was once in St. Cloud; then in Sauk 
 Centre ; but where it is now I don't know, but I do know where 
 it ought to be — that is, in the Historical Society, carefully pre- 
 served. In his first issue the editor said : " We print and issue 
 the first number of the Pioneer in a building through which the 
 out-door is visible by more than 500 apertures." 
 
 JAMES M. GOODHUE AS A MAN. 
 
 James M. Goodhue, the first editor of the first paper pub- 
 lished in St. Paul or in the Territory of Minnesota, was one of 
 the finest paragraphists ever in the West. He was a good-sized 
 man, given a little to a rocking motion when he walked, but very 
 quick in perception and quick to act. He had also a deal of 
 humor, and a vast amount of sarcasm, which was plentifully 
 applied when his angry pen set out to chastise an enemy. , Added 
 to this was an unqualified great courage, and an indomitable will 
 power. He early foresaw the beauty and grandeur of Minnesota 
 and the probable greatness of 
 
 ST. PAUL, 
 
 and never let an opportunity slip wherein he did not paint their 
 beauties. His industry was untiring. The columns of his paper 
 show this, and had he lived he would have been an immense 
 power in the land of his adoption, and 'a man of great wealth. 
 Withal he was a person of impulse; quick to resent what he 
 deemed a wrong, and yet magnanimous in his acts. While in 
 the discharge of what he considered his duties, he had occasion 
 to severely criticise two old citizens and office holders (Col. 
 Mitchell and Judge Cooper,) and this criticism brought on a fight 
 between Goodhue and the friends of the latter. 
 
 THE FIGHT. 
 
 Williams, in his history, says : ■ 
 
 " Goodhue, immediately after the appearance of his paper, had been in the Leg 
 islature and started down street in company with a friend. After leaving the build- 
 ing a few steps, they met Joseph Cooper, a brother of Judge Cooper, who at once 
 advanced and struck at Goodhue. Both then drew pistols. Col. Goodhue having a 
 
J 02 PEN PICTURES 
 
 single-barrel pistol and Mr. Cooper a revolver. Some parleying ensued, when Mr. 
 
 Cooper declared — "I'll blow your G d brains out." Sheriff Lull here ran 
 
 up and commanding peace, disarmed the parties, but it seems Cooper still retained a 
 knife, and Goodhue another pistol, with which they renewed hostilities. Some one 
 endeavored to hold Goodhue, which gave Cooper an opportunity to stab him in the 
 abdomen slightly. Goodhue then broke away and shot Cooper, inflicting quite a 
 serious wound. Cooper again rushed on Goodhue, stabbed him in the back, on the 
 left side. Both parties were then led away and their wounds dressed, neither being 
 fatally injured. Col. Goodhue seems to have acted on the defensive during the 
 whole rencontre." 
 
 I will simply add, that while the attack of Cooper was 
 unjustifiable, the language of Goodhue was also unjustifiable, 
 and should never have been used. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Goodhue was a genial man in private life; full of wit 
 and humor; an able editor, a stirring citizen, a valued friend. 
 Soon after arriving in St. Paul, in 1853, I had occasion to sort 
 out some of his letters then in the office of the Pioneer, edited by 
 Joseph R. Brown, now dead, when I came across one from Gen. 
 Sibley, then a delegate in Congress, which read nearly as follows : 
 
 Washington, D. C, Dec, 18 jj. 
 Dear Goodhue : — I have a letter which I presume is from you, but it has no 
 date or signature. 
 
 Yours, H. H. Sibley. 
 
 Such were the peculiarities of Mr. Goodhue that when 
 absorbed in thought he would seize a paper and write a letter 
 just as he would an editorial, without date or name. Mr. Good- 
 hue ran the first ferry boat, just at the end of what was known 
 as Lamb's Island, then located in the river below the Union 
 Depot, now gone. He resided in a neat, white house, which 
 stood on the corner of Third and St. Peter streets. 
 
 HIS WIDOW. 
 
 He left a widow, who subsequently married Dr. T. T. Mann,, 
 and they have ever since resided near or in the city. Mrs. Mann 
 is an exceedingly pleasant and amiable woman, always ready to 
 aid the afflicted; quiet, gentle, loving, she may justly be classed 
 with Mrs. Irvine as among the marked women of the past. Mrs. 
 Tarbox, I believe, is her only daughter living. She also is an 
 amiable and talented woman, and greatly respected by all who 
 know her. A son formerly lived in Chicago, but now resides in 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 103 
 
 "this city. Mr. Goodhue left considerable property, which is now 
 very valuable, but he left to his widow and his children that 
 which is more endearing and more valuable — a good name — a 
 fact quite as gratifying to the editorial fraternity as it is to those 
 who more lovingly revere his memory. 
 
 BARTLEIT PRESLEY. 
 
 A short, chunky man was Mr. Presley. He was a little 
 •different from the ordinary cut of men ; had a solid, lymphatic 
 •characteristic, but a pensiveness which marked the man of 
 thought and the man of business. He was born in Germany in 
 the year 1 823 ; was raised in St. Louis ; married in 1 843 ; moved 
 to Galena in 1849, and thence came to St. Paul the same 
 year. He commenced with nothing forty years ago, dealing in 
 fruits, cigars, &c., and from this he drifted into the retail and 
 wholesale grocery business, but of late years made fruits his 
 specialty, dealing largely in them, and buying directly from the 
 points where they are raised, eastern California and other places. 
 He was the original fruit dealer in this city, and up to the day of 
 •his death he was by far the heaviest merchant in this line. Mr. 
 Presley was a member of the Common Council three continuous 
 years, and Chief Engineer of our fire department for three years. 
 He purchased the first steam fire engine brought to St. Paul. 
 He took the position of Chief Engineer at a time when the 
 •department was in bad odor, and left it in an elevated and effi- 
 'cient condition. What is remarkable, he was the only merchant 
 -in St. Paul, or in the State, who had been continuously 
 
 IN BUSINESS FORTY YEARS. 
 
 He was a living illustration of a fact, that a legitimate business 
 -closely adhered to for a series of years, will prove triumphant in 
 the end. In person Mr. Presley represented the German type of 
 man, with heavy features and a slow and cautious movement. 
 He spoke a little broken and somewhat thick, owing to a throat 
 -difficulty, yet expressed himself in a clear and terse manner. 
 He was never idle ; never had been ; always attended to his 
 -own business, and plodded on day after day with renewed deter- 
 mination to add something more to his financial gains. When 
 ••Chief of the fire department, who does not remember the kindly 
 
104 PEN PICTURES 
 
 acts of his departed wife, who in the coldest of weather, when the 
 jaded firemen were almost ready to give out, replenished them 
 with hot coffee, not once, but many times ? of her presentation of 
 flags to the gallant boys ? of her constant efforts to encourage 
 and sustain them ? And who was kinder to the firemen than 
 Bart. Presley? Many a once young man now growing gray, 
 will remember these kindly acts — these sweet memories of a by- 
 gone day. Mr. Presley erected years ago various tenement 
 houses on Eighth street, and among the number was one known 
 as the Club House. Only a few years since he built an elegant 
 business block on the site of his old stand, and at the time of his 
 death was estimated to be worth ^300,000. Quiet, unobtrusive, 
 industrious, solid, yet public-spirited and enterprising, Mr. Pres- 
 ley was satisfied with his success, but he did not live long enough 
 to enjoy the fruits of his toil, dying in St. Paul from blood 
 poisoning, on the 30th of June, 1884, aged 62 years. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF GOV. RAMSEY. 
 
 Gov. Ramsey had been married only a few years when he 
 was commissioned Governor of the then Territory of Minnesota. 
 He arrived at St. Paul on the 27th of May, 1 849, and declared 
 the Territory organized on the first of June of the same year. 
 In conversation with him he gives a very interesting account of 
 his landing at the levee ; of the crude condition of the then 
 embryo city ; the isolated and inferior character of the houses ; 
 of the dense mass of trees, the running brooks, and the ravines 
 which met his view, and the sad feeling which came over him 
 as he strolled all alone and marked what was to be the city 
 of his future life. Then all the bluff between Bench street and 
 the iriver, from near the foot of Jackson street to the upper levee, 
 was in a wild, uncleared condition, the only building between the 
 two points on the south side of Bench street, being a log hut 
 under the bluflf. He walked along Third street, and when in 
 front of what used to be the gas company's office, below Robert 
 street, he saw a peculiar building with a projecting portico, evi- 
 dently the best in the place, and he inquired of a boy, pointing 
 to the house — " What building is that? " when he was informed it 
 was for 'the Governor, the first intimation he had of his new 
 home. It was made of boards and belonged to the " Minnesota 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 105 
 
 Outfit," having been renovated by the company to receive his 
 gracious person. After visiting the city he boarded the boat and 
 steamed for Mendota, where he met Gen. Sibley, who gave him 
 a warm and cordial invitation for both himself and his wife to 
 make his house their home, which was the first stone dwelling 
 built in the Territory. Mrs. Ramsey, not knowing anything 
 about the condition of the country, desired to commence house- 
 keeping at once in the unique place on Third street (which she 
 had not yet seen,) but the Governor, in his off-hahd manner, 
 thought it advisable to wait a short time, and so they both 
 accepted Gen. Sibley's invitation and made his hospitable resi- 
 dence their home for about a month, when they removed to their 
 new quarters in this city, where they remained until the Governor 
 built his new house, which formerly stood where his present 
 residence now stands, corner of Exchange and Walnut streets, 
 only the old house fronted on Walnut street, while the new fronts 
 on Exchange. This visit to Gen. Sibley reconciled Mrs. Ramsey 
 to frontier life in the West. 
 
 A FEW LOG HOUSES. 
 
 At that time, says the Governor, looking down Third street 
 from Cedar, one could see but a few small log houses, no regular 
 roads, plenty of trees and underbrush, running streams, strolling 
 Indians, and but few human white beings, and these partook of all 
 the characteristics of frontier life. Now, in 1885, gazing down 
 the same street, one sees solid, massive business blocks, with a 
 stream of life pouring in and out of them, denoting, the growth 
 of the city in the brief period of thirty-six years, at present 
 numbering over 1 20,000 people. 
 
 CRYSTALLIZATION OF SOCIETY. 
 
 I find that the year 1 849 was remarkable for the crystalliza- 
 tion of affairs which culminated in the formation of society, 
 for in this year I date a nucleus around which civilization began 
 to cluster. Back of this was crudeness, Indians, frontier life, 
 semi-barbarism. It is very true H. H. Sibley had been elected 
 delegate to Congress the year before (1848,) and a sewing and 
 temperance society had been formed, and a school-house had been 
 built on the bluff on Third street where the late Dr. Alley's brick 
 
106 PEN PICTURES 
 
 block now stands, but still it was left for the year 1849 to com- 
 mence the career of a city that is now rapidly merging into 
 immense metropolitan life. This year (1849,) the Territory was 
 first organized and the first printing press and the first paper were 
 brought into existence. The foundation for the first brewery was 
 laid ; the first Masonic lodge was instituted ; the first brick house 
 was built ; the first Presbyterian chapel completed and church 
 organized ; the first Legislature met ; the first bricks were made 
 (except those in hats ;) First Baptist Church organized ; the first 
 celebration of the Fourth of July ; the first county election was 
 held ; the first stage line established ; the first town pump erected, 
 and the first Democratic convention met at the American House ; 
 and hence 1849 may be justly considered as really the first year 
 in which St. Paul began her onward march to reach the point 
 where she now is — the Queen City of the New Northwest. Pop- 
 ulation in the latter part of 1849, ^oo- Population in 1885, 
 1 20,000 ! 
 
 FIRST BRICK AND STONE BUILDINGS. 
 
 The first stone building in the city is that still standing on 
 the corner of Sibley street and the levee, formerly occupied by 
 J. W. Simpson. The former brick building at the corner of Fourth 
 and Washington streets, was built under contract and paid for by 
 Rev. E. D. Neill. It was the first brick building in the city and 
 the first finished north of Prairie du Chien. The Methodist, now 
 the Swedenborgian Church, on Market street, was the second. 
 Subsequently H. M. Rice erected a brick dwelling at the corner 
 of Third and Washington streets, now the site of the Metropoli- 
 tan hotel. In the house at the corner of Fourth and Washington 
 streets, two of Mr. Neill's children were born, and some of the 
 trees recently standing in the yard were planted by him. Dr. 
 Steele erected a brick block of dwellings adjoining the old house 
 and occupying all the yard, and then the old house was torn 
 down November, 1885. After Mr. Neill sold this house he 
 built the brick residence now the oldest standing on Summit 
 avenue, and formerly occupied by Mr. Ramsey Nininger. The 
 first brick building on the bluff, overlooking the river, was built 
 by Wm. G. Le Due, in the winter of 1853, and was occupied as 
 the postoffice. What is remarkable is the fact, that the Times, 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 107 
 
 the MinnesoHan and the Press were all printed in this building. 
 It is now known as the Tivoli, where is for sale not brains but 
 lager beer. 
 
 THE FIRST PROTESTANT CHURCH. 
 
 The first Protestant church edifice in the white settlement of 
 Minnesota/was built of wood by Rev. E. D. Neill, in the sum- 
 mer of 1849 (antedating the brick Methodist church to which I 
 allude above,) on a lot adjoining his residence, and in the spring 
 of 1850 was destroyed by fire. The Methodist, on Market street, 
 was the first brick church. The Catholics built the very first 
 church, of logs, in 1 841 . 
 
 THE ROOM IN WHICH THE FIRST PROCLAMATION WAS WRITTEN. 
 
 It will be remembered by the readers of this work, that I 
 spoke of a small log cabin that used to stand on the corner of 
 Third and Jackson streets, which, in the course of time, became 
 the habitation of Judge Aaron Goodrich, Chief Justice of the Ter- 
 ritory of Minnesota. Mr. G., in a paper he read before the His- 
 torical Society, thus describes the room in which the meeting of 
 the first Territorial officers was held, as well as the room in which 
 the first proclamation of the Governor was written. He says : 
 
 "The room was small but well lighted by a casement of 7x9 glass and sundry 
 openings between the logs. There were no chairs in the apartment — there was no 
 space for a chair ; the apartment was in strict architectural keeping with the win- 
 dow — it was just 7x9. Its furniture comprised one bed (upon which the Judge slept 
 at night,) one stand and two trunks. Gov. Ramsey sat upon a trunk and wrote his 
 proclamation upon the stand or small table (these are still in the possession of Mr. 
 Goodrich,) and this proclamation, written on the 1st day of June, 1849, 3^ years 
 ago, set in motion the Territorial organization which had been created by Congress." 
 
 Now look at our stately Capitol, with its imposing dome, and 
 its beautiful architectural effect, and its busy hive of State officers ! 
 What a contrast and what a change in the brief space of thirty- 
 six years ? 
 
 THE PLACE WHERE THE FIRST LEGISLATURE MET. 
 
 The first Territorial Legislature met in the old Central House 
 which used to stand on Bench street, overlooking the river, in 
 September of the year 1 849, and at the session of this Legislature 
 the village was organized into the " Town of St. Paul." 
 
108 PEN PICTURES 
 
 The parlor of this old house, now gone, was used for the 
 Council and the dining-room for the House, and about the hour 
 of noon a waiter would thrust his head in among the solons and 
 sing out — " Dinner ! " and then there was a sudden adjournment 
 and a general buzz. The Territorial officers also had quarters 
 here. 
 
 ANOTHER NEWSPAPER. 
 
 On the first of June, 1849, James Hughes issued a new pa- 
 per called the Minnesota Chronicle, which was consolidated with 
 the Register, the first number of which was published in Cincin- 
 nati, and both these papers, in their consolidated form, ceased to 
 exist in March, 1851. Mr. Hughes was a large man, of good 
 ability and great energy. He was a lawyer, kept a hotel, edited 
 a paper, and was generally useful. He subsequently moved to 
 Hudson, where he died several years ago, but I think he has a 
 son in business in this city. 
 
 THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY. 
 
 The first Fourth of July was celebrated in a grove of trees 
 where the City Hall now stands, in the year 1849, Gov. Ramsey 
 presiding; Sibley, Rice, Judge Goodrich, and about everybody 
 else in the Territory were present. 
 
 Judge Meeker, of St. Anthony, now dead, was the orator. 
 The Declaration of Independence was read by W. D. Phillips. 
 Among those who listened intently to the proceedings was Capt. 
 
 Louis Robert. Louis said — " I wouldn't give a d for Meeker, 
 
 but that other fellow made an eloquent speech." As everybody 
 admitted that his criticism was just — at least so far as the Dec- 
 laration of Independence was concerned — all had to concede that 
 Louis knew a good thing when he heard it, even if he were not 
 posted in the educational affairs of the nation. 
 
 SHAKING HANDS WITH THE GRAY-HEADS. 
 
 My labors are constantly interrupted by some old settler, 
 who, grasping me by the hand, draws a striking contrast to the 
 St. Paul at the end of 1 849, with a population of 800, and the 
 St. Paul of 1885 with a population of 120,000. The wooden, 
 creaking carts of thirty-six years ago have given way to palatial 
 cars, and metropolitan life has usurped the place of a few scat- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 109 
 
 tered log huts, bad whisky and Indians. " But then," they say, 
 " it is all right. It is a law constantly in operation, and if we fall 
 under it, it is our destiny and nobody's fault." 
 
 BY THE RIVER. 
 
 Up to 1849, or thirty-six years ago, the only ingress to Min- 
 nesota or egress from it, was by the river, there being no stage or 
 railway lines, in fact no roads. The trip to Prairie du Chien was 
 made by Mr. Rice on a French pony, which performed the jour- 
 ney on the frozen Mississippi river. When Mr. Rice came to 
 Fort Snelling in 1839, or forty-six years ago, he was twenty days 
 on a steamboat from St. Louis to Prairie du Chien, and some ten 
 days more from that point to this, making some thirty days from 
 St. Louis to St. Paul. Now the trip is made in less than five 
 days. A Frenchman, who knew the channel of the Mississippi 
 by duck-hunting, piloted the boat to the fort, and on the way the 
 passengers and others had to cut their own wood to keep up 
 steam. James M. Goodhue, the pioneer editor, illustrates their 
 plodding way by a race he claims was made by a saw mill lo- 
 cated on the bank of the river, and the little' steamer. Tiger. 
 Goodhue sarcastically and funnily kept the two together, nip and 
 tuck, for several miles, when he solemnly declared the saw mill 
 had beaten the Tiger and won the race. It was a capital take- 
 off on the slow, poking movements of the boats in those early 
 days. 
 
 DAVID DAY, PRESENT POSTMASTER. 
 
 Dr. David Day was born in Virginia in 1 825 ; removed to the 
 lead region in Wisconsin in 1 846 ; was engaged in mining for 
 three years ; studied medicine for some time, and then entered 
 the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, from 
 which he graduated in 1849; came to St. Paul in the spring of 
 that year; practiced his profession with success, when, in 1854, 
 he entered the drug business, in which he continued some 
 time ; was appointed first Register of Deeds of Ramsey County 
 in 1 849, and subsequently elected to the same office for two }'ears 
 more ; was a member of the Legislature from Benton County in 
 1852 and 1853, and in the latter year was elected Speaker; re- 
 tired from the drug business in 1866; appointed physician to 
 
no PEN PICTURES 
 
 the Winnebago Indians; was State Prison Inspector in 1871 ; 
 in 1874 was a seed-wheat commissioner and Commissioner of the 
 State Fisheries; and on June i, 1875, was appointed Postmaster 
 of St. Paul, and has recently been re-appointed, and still holds 
 that office to the satisfaction of the public. He has made an ex- 
 cellent postmaster. He drew the plan of the first Court House, 
 for which he received ten dollars. He is now one of the com- 
 missioners of the new Court House Board, and no man has 
 worked harder, or more unceasingly, or more devotedly, or more 
 honestly for the erection of a magnificent Court House, than has 
 Dr. Day. It is a somewhat singular coincidence that over thirty 
 years ago the doctor originated and made the plans for the old 
 Court House building, while now he is one of the most earnest 
 commissioners of the new, and It is certainly most gratifying to 
 him to know that his long and well matured plans will soon be 
 fully realized. Indeed, on the 14th of October, 1885, the corner- 
 stone of the new Court House was laid with Masonic ceremonies, 
 and among the speakers was Dr. Day, who gave an interesting 
 history of the old Court House and the progress of the new — 
 a fitting finale to his long labors in this laudable enterprise. 
 
 THE FIRST DEED THE MORTUARY CHAPEL. 
 
 Dr. Day put the first deed on record in Ramsey County, in 
 his own hand-writing, and it can be found thus recorded, and 
 indeed the whole book is in the doctor's hand-writing. 
 
 The best monument to the memory of any man in Oakland 
 Cemetery, is the beautiful Mortuary Chapel, built of Minnesota 
 stone and on an entirely original plan, different from anything in 
 existence, conceived and carried out by Dr. Day. Indeed, I may 
 say that this has been Dr. Day's hobby by day and by night, and 
 it is through his persistent and earnest efforts that the Chapel has 
 an existence, and there it stands, and there it will stand for ages 
 as a grand monument to his memory — artistic, useful, beautiful, 
 pleasing. 
 
 DR. DAY PERSONALLY. 
 
 Dr. Day is a man peculiar to himself; different from other ' 
 men in this particular — he is quiet, moderate, decisive, metaphys- 
 ical, thorough. He has excellent business and administrative 
 qualities, and is, financially, in a comfortable position. He is 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. Ill 
 
 complete master of his own affairs, and as postmaster has few, 
 if any equals. Physically he is well developed, although one 
 lung has been greatly affected, if not entirely gone. He stoops 
 a little, talks slowly, evidently weighs his words, and as the mind 
 evolves thoughts, twirls his mustache. His mind is of the meta- 
 physical character. He loves research ; is a scholar ; sees things 
 from a material point of view ; takes nothing on faith ; is metho- 
 dical and self-reliant ; withal he is laudably ambitious. He owns 
 the first iron-front building in the city, now known as the St. 
 James hotel, corner of Third and Cedar streets, and has a fine 
 residence on Dayton avenue. He is a good Indian scholar, and 
 at one time collected a vast number of their legends with a view 
 to publication, but has abandoned the idea. He has a uniform 
 temper, yet is very firm ; speculates a good deal in the realm 
 of " social science," yet is well posted in the manipulation of the 
 " almighty dollar." He is a quiet, pleasant, undemonstrative, good 
 citizen. 
 
 THE TOWN GROWING. 
 
 In April, 1849, there were thirty houses in St. Paijl; in June, 
 1849, 142. Seymour, in his little work, says : 
 
 " These buildings included three hotels, a State House, four warehouses, ten 
 stores, several groceries, two printing offices, etc. There were twelve attorneys and 
 five physicians, and not a brick or stone building in the place." 
 
 Of course these were erected later. Twenty buildings were 
 made habitable in three weeks. Population in January, 1849, 
 840. Thirty buildings in January, 1849; over 200 in December, 
 1849. So the town was pushing ahead. One thousand inhabi- 
 tants in the Territory at the commencement of 1849, 4,780 in 
 December of the same year. 
 
 first brick yard. 
 The first brick yard was opened and worked by D. F. Braw- 
 ley, who recently died at St. Vincent, and who came to St. Paul 
 in April, 1 849. The yard was near where D. W. IngersoU's res- 
 idence now stands. He made 300,000 brick in 1 849, and most 
 of them went into the residence of Rev. E. D. Neill and the 
 Methodist Church on Market street. Mr. Brawley says that 
 " this is the best laid up brick building in this city, and if not 
 taken down, will stand for years." Contractors better look at it. 
 
J 12 PEN PICT LUES 
 
 I do not know what other special business Mr. Brawley was 
 engaged in during his residence here, except as I remember his 
 running a ferry boat and was once a member of the Legislature. 
 He was a good deal of a politician and very decided in his con- 
 victions. As a man he was generous, kind-hearted, social; 
 physically, strong and energetic. He was about sixty years old 
 when he died. In his humble sphere he did a good deal towards 
 laying the foundation of our present growth and greatness, and 
 deserves more than this brief mention. , He has three children in 
 the city, one married daughter, one single, and one son. 
 
 THE OLD AMERICAN HOUSE. 
 
 One of the most conspicuous land-marks of the city in the 
 past, was the old American House, a long, white wooden build- 
 ing with a portico running the whole length of it, which stood 
 on the corner of Third and Exchange streets, where the brick 
 building formerly used for street cars now stands. This house 
 was opened by Rodney Parker in 1 849, and was run by Mrs. 
 Rodney Parker for several years. Here the stages left for St. 
 Anthony ; here politicians met and discussed questions of great 
 public moment ; here balls and dinner parties were given ; here 
 strangers and citizens gathered for social intercourse ; here bar- 
 gains in real estate were made ; here men of means from the 
 East were inveigled into various schemes of speculation in which 
 they usually lost their money, and here ran rampant " a feast of 
 reason and a ilow of soul." Mr. Parker was succeeded by the 
 Long Brothers, one of whom is dead. 
 
 THE ORIGINAL LANDLORD AND LANDLADY. 
 
 Of the original landlord, Parker, I can only say he was born 
 in New Hampshire somewhere in the year 1814; came to St. 
 Paul in 1 849 ; kept the American House — (or rather his wife 
 did)— secured a claim of 160 acres of land near Hamline Univer- 
 sity, costing him ;^io per acre, or rather ^2,000, worth now ^160,- 
 000 ; farmed some, and died about 1 874, close to sixty years! 
 He was a tall, spare man, quite moderate in his movements 
 owing to ill-health, yet a quiet, unobtrusive citizen. 
 
 Mrs. Parker was. a large, masculine looking woman, of fine 
 business qualities ; stirring and energetic ; a lover of money, and 
 through her industry and economy amassed quite a property. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. J 13 
 
 She was a woman of strong prejudices, and not having any chil- 
 •dren, adopted several, to one of whom she gave the bulk of her 
 wealth. She died, I think, in 1883. 
 
 THE FIRST STAGE COACH AND FIRST LIVERY STABLE. 
 
 Messrs. Willoughby & Powers came to St. Paul together in 
 the year 1849, and erected a barn on the side of a ravine near 
 Fourth street, where they opened the first livery stable and ran 
 the first one-horse stage to St. Anthony. Their business go 
 increased that they soon put on the route a four-horse Concord 
 •coach, and then came in the opposition lines, and stages were as 
 plenty as blackberries. 
 
 Mr. Willoughby was born in Vermont in 181 2 or '14; 
 mined and drove stages in Galena in 1848 ; came to St. Paul in 
 1 849 and opened a livery stable, as has already been noted. He 
 acquired considerable property, and when he died, which was 
 only a few years ago, he left an estate worth ;^ 100,000. 
 
 Willoughby was a man of immense humor; was well 
 Tcnown as " Bishop Willoughby, of the .(Eolian Church ; " was 
 prompt, pleasant, accommodating, and very companionable. He 
 was taken sick and died suddenly, greatly regretted by a large 
 number of old friends. 
 
 , Powers was a man quite eccentric; born in 181 8; died in 
 1868. He was not so fortunate as his partner in amassing 
 wealth, yet he was a good business man, and was much 
 esteemed by those who knew him. 
 
 CHARLES KILGORE SMITH. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in Ohio in 1799; educated at Oxford, 
 Ohio ; was a lawyer ; appointed Secretary of the Territory of 
 Minnesota by President Fillmore, in 1849; came to St. Paul the 
 same year ; was Secretary of the Historical Society ; was active 
 in establishing common schools in the city, and was a man of 
 decisive character. He was the target for politicians to shoot 
 at, but he survived all their shafts; resigned his office in 185 1, 
 and died in i866. I did not know him. 
 
 ALEX. M. MITCHELL. 
 
 Not the great millionaire of Milwaukee, but the former 
 Marshal of Minnesota, was born in North Carolina ; graduated 
 8 
 
114 PEN PICTURES 
 
 at West Point ; served in the Florida war ; also in the engineer- 
 ing department ; studied law at Yale College ; settled in Cincin- 
 nati ; enlisted in the Mexican war ; was commissioned Colonel ; 
 was severely wounded ; presented with a sword ; was appointed 
 Marshal of Minnesota; came to St. Paul in 1849; in 1850 was 
 nominated for Congress and beaten ; removed to Missouri, 
 where he died in t86i, aged 52 years. Col. Mitchell was a 
 brave man, a pleasant gentleman, but his own enemy. 
 
 ORIGIN OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
 
 Secretary Smith, who had taken great interest in our school 
 system, at a meeting called to consider the question in 1849, 
 moved that a committee be appointed to ask the County Com- 
 missioners to divide the town into school districts, which was 
 done, and three school houses were recommended to be opened 
 — one on a lot donated by Mr. Randall, one in the basement of 
 the Methodist Church, and one in Mr. Neill's lecture room. 
 Miss Bishop, Miss Schofield and Rev. C. Hobart were designated 
 teachers, and from this small beginning has grown our magnifi- 
 cent school system, with some twenty elegant school houses, 
 hundreds of teachers and thousands of scholars. " Tall oaks 
 from little acorns grow." 
 
 THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN CIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM. 
 
 Just think of it, reader! In 1849 the Sioux Indians owned 
 all the land on the west side of the river, where the Sixth ward 
 now is, and the whites only owned a strip on the east side, so 
 that barbarism had full sway across the Mississippi, while civili- 
 zation was struggling for a foothold on the east side. One shrill 
 war-whoop and every soul could have been murdered, but dis- 
 cretion and fairness with the Indians marked the old pioneers, 
 and soon the silent influences of a better life began to push 
 along the tepees, and with them their inmates, until now I find 
 the dominant white race occupying almost every foot of soil in 
 the State of Minnesota, and the process is still steadily going on 
 — pushing ! pushing ! pushing ! 
 
 CROWDING EVENTS THE OLDEST PRINTER. 
 
 The events of 1 849 crowd upon me rapidly, for some of the 
 men most prominent in our past history came to St. Paul during 
 this year, and some of the most stirring events transpired. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. lln 
 
 Capt. E. Y. Shelly, probably the oldest printer now working: 
 at his trade in the State of Minnesota, was the foreman in the 
 office of the Chronicle and Register, and came to St. Paul in 
 1849. ^''■- Shelly has stuck to the " case" for thirty-five years. 
 He has "locked" himself up in his profession, and has nearly 
 run off an "edition" of a purely printer's life. He is the "type" 
 of an unrelenting " compositor." Has turned the " period " when 
 he could not very conveniently engage in any other business, and 
 as the oldest printer he has no " parallel " in the State. He has 
 set up many a " paragraph," " revised his proof," and is nearly 
 ready " to go to press." Mr. Shelly is a quiet, industrious gentle- 
 man, quite retiring in his disposition, yet social in his nature. 
 He plods on in the even tenor of his way and has, I think, passed 
 the mile-stone of fifty-five years. He enlisted in the Third U. 
 S. Dragoons and served in the war with Mexico under Gen. Zac. 
 Taylor; entered the Union service in 1861, as First Lieutenant in 
 Brackett's Independent Company of Cavalry, and with two other 
 Minnesota companies were attached to the Fifth Iowa Cavalry, 
 which was organized at Benton Barracks, Mo., Capt. Brackett 
 being appointed as one of the Majors of said regiment. Capt. 
 Shelly succeeded him ; served in the army of the Cumberland ; 
 was detached from the regiment in the spring of 1864, and 
 ordered to report at Fort Snelling, where Brackett's MinnesQta 
 Battallion was organized; marched to Sioux City and joined 
 Gen. Alf Sully's Northwestern Indian Expedition against the 
 hostile Sioux ; served through the' campaign, mustered out in 
 spring of 1865. 
 
 NATHANIEL m'LEAN. 
 
 Major McLean was born in New Jersey in 1787; was a 
 brother of Judge McLean of the United States Supreme Court ; 
 learned the printer's trade at Cincinnati ; in 1 807 published a 
 paper at Lebanon ; was a member of the Ohio Legislature in 
 1 8 10 for three sessions ; an officer in the war of 1812 ; came to 
 St. Paul in 1 849 at the age of sixty years, to engage in the news- 
 paper business ; in November, 1849, was appointed Sioux agent 
 at Fort Snelling ; held the office four years ; elected Commis- 
 sioner of Ramsey County in the year 1855, and died of a cancer 
 
116 PEN PICTURES 
 
 in 1 87 1, aged 84 years. McLean township was named after 
 him. He was a tall, slender gentleman, a little lame, a rapid 
 talker, a truthful, honest, good man. 
 
 JOHN p. OWENS. 
 
 Was born in Ohio in 1818, of Welsh descent; worked on a 
 farm in early life ; attended college at Cincinnati for several years, 
 and then learned the printing business ; became a partner with 
 Maj. McLean in the publication of the Chronicle and Register ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1849 ; was editor of the Minnesotian, a whig 
 organ, for seven years ; was appointed Quartermaster of the 
 Ninth Minnesota Regiment in 1862 ; mustered out in 1865 ; bre- 
 veted Colonel ; appointed Register of the land office at Taylors 
 Falls in 1 869, an office he held at the time of his death, which 
 occured September 11, 1884. 
 
 MR. OWENS PERSONALLY. 
 
 All the early settlers could easily recognize J. P. Owens in 
 a crowd of men, for he was a man deeply interested in politics 
 and made this a specialty. He was an aggressive writer; a 
 strong partisan ; ' and whenever a primary meeting was held he 
 was always there. He gravitated as naturally into politics as a 
 duck does into water. He was among the first, indeed I may 
 say, he was the very first Whig editor in the State, and even after 
 the Whig party had been dead and buried, Owens held on to the 
 corpse, but early drifted into the Republican ranks, and after Fre- 
 mont was nominated for President, did good service for the 
 party. The writer had occasion to measure editorial lances with 
 Mr. Owens a great many times, but politically we agreed. He 
 was a political tactitian, and used his power to good advantage 
 when he could. 
 
 CHAMPAGNE VS. WATER. 
 
 As an illustration of his peculiar methods to circumvent a 
 political opponent, (as in one sense at that time I was,) at a party 
 given in honor of the Legislature at Mr. Raugh's ice-cream saloon 
 on Third street, my empty glass standing at my plate, was filled 
 with champagne three times, and was found em'pty three times. 
 As I represented the temperance element in the Legislature at 
 this time, it was charged upon me as having drank the Hquor, 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 117 
 
 when the fact was I never touched it, but some of my political 
 enemies did, and thus by this little trick it was intended to injure 
 my influence with that portion of the Legislature which did not 
 approve of spirituous liquors, but it failed. 
 
 Owens gloated over the act, and if I remember correctly, 
 charged me in his paper the next morning with disposing of the 
 sparkling wine, I don't say that he drank the champagne which 
 rightfully belonged to me, but I do say he was a party to the 
 joke. 
 
 MUNCHING TOGETHER. 
 
 Those were days of personal epithets instead of arguments, 
 and as the Times, which was edited by the writer, and the Min- 
 nesotian, edited by Owens, were rivals, of course some very hot 
 words were used, and the public had come to believe that we 
 were personal and deadly enemies. Meeting in an ice-cream 
 saloon one evening, I took a seat at the same table with Mr. Owens, 
 and was quietly disposing of my cooling " beverage," when a 
 mutual friend popped in upon us and exclaimed : 
 
 " Why, my God ! what are you doing here ? " 
 
 " Only cooling off," I replied. 
 
 " The d— ■ — 1 you are ; why, I supposed you never spoke to 
 each other, and would smash each other's faces the moment you 
 met, and yet here you are munching ice-cream together." 
 
 Mr. Owens was a man about sixty-six years old. He was 
 tall and slender ; stooped a little and walked a little lame. He 
 looked like a battle-scarred veteran, who having fought many a 
 good fight, as he had, now rested upon his laurels. Some years 
 ago he wrote a " Political History of Minnesota," but for some 
 reason the manuscript was never published. He was quietly en- 
 joying the repose of rural life on the St. Croix, when he died in 
 1884. ' ^ 
 
 M. N. KELLOGG. 
 
 Mr. Kellogg was born in New York State in 1822; enlisted 
 in the army in 1845 ; went to Mexico in 1847 ; was in the war one 
 year, or until 1 848 ; removed to Jefferson barracks that winter, and 
 in the spring of 1849 came to Fort SneUing, and from thence the 
 same year moved to St. Paul, where he has resided ever since, or 
 thirty-six years. He was in the Sixth Regiment Band as a clarionet 
 
118 PEN PICTURES 
 
 player; was in the army five years, and discharged in 1850; en- 
 gaged in the drug business with Mr. Hickox in 1850, and the firm 
 built a brick store corner of Cedar and Third streets. The seventy- 
 eight-foot lot upon which this store stood, cost ;^500 ; now worth 
 about ^40,000. 
 
 In 1853 he entered into partnership with J. W. Bond ; ran 
 the business up to 1857, when he sold to Bond, and in 1858 
 bought out the stock of toys and notions owned by B. Presley. 
 He continued that business until 1882, when he was obliged to 
 relinquish it in consequence of the failure of his eye-sight. He 
 purchased a lot in Rice & Irvine's Addition on Sixth street, in 
 1854, for ^150; sold the same in 1883 for about ^8,000. This 
 property was sold again in less than a year after, for $12,000, 
 ;^i6,soo, and ;^20,0Q0. Mr. Kellogg was married in 1855. 
 
 THE MAN HIMSELF. 
 
 Mr. Kellogg is a rather small gentleman, of an active, nerv- 
 ous temperament, and has been a very industrious citizen. 
 Although burned out twice, losing nearly all he had, yet he 
 plunged in again and soon obtained his footing. He has toiled 
 almost uninterruptedly for thirty odd years, and very few men 
 have been more assiduous to business than he. He has an active 
 brain, moves with celerity, arrives at conclusions quickly, and 
 nobody can say that he ever cheated him out of a cent ; is a very 
 temperate man, never drinks, chews or smokes. He is also 
 frugal, economical and strictly honest ; has always minded his 
 own business, and in many respects has been, and is now, a 
 model man. About two years ago his eye-sight began to fail him, 
 and now he is almost entirely blind, yet with this terrible afflic- 
 tion upon him he is philosophical, cheerful, hopeful, manly. All 
 the old settlers I know have, and I trust many new ones will 
 have, a kindly feeling for M. N. Kellogg. 
 
 FIRST REAL ESTATE DEALER FIRST MARKET-WOMAN. 
 
 Charles R. Conway hung out his shingle as a real estate 
 dealer, in a little, small white office which stood on a hill where 
 Mr. Schurmeier's building now stands, on Third street, between 
 Cedar and Minnesota, in the year 1849. He claims to be the 
 
 first real estate dealer in the city. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 119 
 
 The hundreds of market-women who now vend vegetables 
 at our market and elsewhere, will be glad to learn that Mrs. 
 Kessler was the first market-woman, who came from Little Can- 
 ada, twelve miles from St. Paul, with a single ox hitched to a 
 <:art, and who sold her potatoes, cabbages, pumpkins and other 
 vegetables in as approved style as do our market-women of to- 
 day. This, branch of business has grown to an enormous extent, 
 and it is quite proper that the pioneer of this trade should have 
 a place among the Pen Pictures of to-day. 
 
 FIRST BURIAL GROUND. 
 
 From all I can learn the first burial ground was that owned 
 "by the Catholics and occupied quite a space back of the Stees' 
 furniture store, on Minnesota street. A srfiall log stable stood 
 where the Pioneer Press office now stands, and directly in the 
 .rear of this, on the bluff, was the first chapel, erected by Father 
 Galtier. The burying ground belonged to the chapel, and is the 
 same piece of property upon which Stees' building, after being 
 erected twice, fell both times. 
 
 ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS ONE CITY. 
 
 Thirty-six years ! Reader, stop thinking of business for a 
 minute and ponder over the march of events ! What will be the 
 future of the country west of St. Paul in the next thirty-six 
 years ? What will be the status of this city ? I will anticipate 
 your reply by prophesying, that St. Paul and Minneapolis will 
 then be united as one city, with a population of i, 000,000 
 people, and these cities, thus united, will supply an empire 
 beyond of 5,000,000 inhabitants. "Oh, but," you say, "this 
 can never be done." Not so fast, my friend ! Look at the past ! 
 St. "Anthony has been swallowed up on the one side and WeSx 
 St. Paul on the other, and street cars and motor cars and rail- 
 -road cars and other appliances are now at work drawing to- 
 gether slowly but surely these two cities, and when they come 
 together, as they certainly will, it will be like the snapping jaws 
 of the mud-turtle — 
 
 ALL AT ONCE. 
 
 ' Then the new Capitol building, costing several millions of 
 (dollars, will be located on 100 acres. of land midway of the one 
 
120 PEN PICTURES 
 
 great city, and grand hotels will invite the world at large to« 
 partake of food unparalleled in sweetness and delicacy, and 
 luxurious beds will beckon tired bodies to sweet repose. The 
 superficial thinker who never gets above his nose, may and no 
 doubt will scoff at these ideas, but he can't change either the 
 immutable laws of nature or the immutable laws of God ; and 
 just as sure as the cars rumble to the Pacific ocean, just so sure 
 will St. Paul and Minneapolis, not many years in the future, be 
 united and march to power and to greatness under the banner 
 of one city. 
 
 E. D. NEILL FIRST RESIDENT PROTESTANT CLERGYMAN IN ST. PAUL.. 
 
 No one man has done more towards the growth of St. Paul 
 in a religious, literary, moral, and educational point of view, than 
 Rev. E. D. Neill. No one man's life has been more unceasingly 
 devoted to the public interests, than Rev. E. D. Neill. No one 
 man alone has done so much towards elevating public opinion 
 and towards laying the foundation of a great city here, as Rev.. 
 E. D. Neill. History, when correctly written, will give him. 
 great credit for his zeal and his devotion to the public good. 
 
 WHEN BORN, AND SOME OF HIS LIFE WORK. 
 
 He was born in Philadelphia in 1823 ; educated at Amherst 
 College, Massachusetts, and at the University of Pennsylvania ;. 
 graduated in 1 842 ; ordained a Presbyterian clergyman in 1 848 ;. 
 went to Galena to perform missionary work in 1847; came to- 
 St. Paul in April, 1849; wrote one of the editorial paragraphs- 
 in the first issue of the St. Paul Pioneer; contracted for the erec- 
 tion of the first brick house north of Prairie du Chien, for his 
 dwelling, now torn down, and planted with his own hands some of 
 the trees ; erected the first Protestant church, and, as the Presbyte- 
 rian manual mentions, organized in November, 1849, the first 
 Presbyterian Church in Minnesota, which was burned, and rebuilt 
 on the corner of Third and St. Peter streets ; organized the House 
 of Hope in 1855, and became its pastor ; was Territorial Super- 
 intendent of Instruction in 1 85 1 , and held the office for two years.. 
 State Superintendent Burt, in his report to the Legislature of 
 1881, wrote: 
 
 " The Territorial lawof 1851, requiring the Governor to appoint the Superin- 
 tendent of Schools, remained until i860 on the statutes. In that year it was enacted. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 121 
 
 that the Chancellor of the University, an officer then required to be appointed by 
 the Board of Regents, should be ex-officio Superintendent. This act made Rev. E. 
 D. Neill the first State Superintendent of Public Instruction. In his first State re- 
 port he recommended the township system and the appointment of County Superin- 
 tendents; and that the apportionment of school funds should be made upon the 
 number of scholars attending the district schools. Two of the early recommenda- 
 tions have been realized and the third is yet to come." 
 
 He organized and secured the erection of the Baldwin school 
 in 1853 ; in 1855, through his efforts, brought into existence the 
 College of St. Paul, now Macalester College ; took an active 
 part in the Historical Society of Minnesota — might say he was the 
 father of this institution— was Secretary from 185 1 to 1861 ; was 
 Secretary of the Board of Education ; ex-officio Superintendent 
 of Schools for several years ; Chancellor of the State University 
 for two years ; State Superintendent of Public Instruction three 
 years; in 1861 was appointed Chaplain in the First Regiment of 
 Minnesota Volunteers, and was on the field in the battles of Bull 
 Run, Fairoaks and Malvern, and served two years ; was hospital 
 chaplain in 1 864 ; was one of the private secretaries of Presidents 
 Lincoln and Johnson ; in 1869 was appointed Cbnsul to Dublin, in 
 which capacity he continued two years. He went abroad for the 
 purpose of having access to the great libraries of the British Mu- 
 seum and Dublin University, and while there Strahan & Co., of 
 London, published his " English Colonization of America." He 
 has also written the " Virginia Company of London," " Threads 
 of Colonial History," " Founders of Maryland," and the Mus- 
 sells, the old Albany publishers, have just announced another 
 work from his, pen, with the title of " Virginia Vetusta." His 
 works have been used and commended by Gladstone and Ban- 
 croft, and are works of reference at Harvard and John S. Hopkins 
 University. He returned to St. Paul in 1871 and became Pres- 
 ident of the Macalester College, but resigned his position, and is 
 now a professor in the same institution. In 1871 he withdrew 
 from the Presbyterian Church and entered the Reformed Episco- 
 pal Church ; has written an exceedingly interesting and accurate 
 history of Minnesota, the fifth edition published in 1883 ; per- 
 formed the first marriage in Ramsey County after its organiza- 
 tion ; built the first brick dwelling in the city ; lived for some 
 time in Minneapolis until the Macalester College building there 
 became a medical college and hospital, when he returned to St. 
 
122 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Paul, where he now resides, superintending and building up 
 Macalester College, located midway the two cities, and acting as 
 Presbyter in charge of Calvary Reformed Episcopal Chapel at 
 the corner of Grand avenue and Milton, a new enterprise of his 
 projection. 
 
 PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF MR. NEILL, 
 
 Mr. Neill is a well-formed gentleman physically, ordinarily 
 tall, with light complexion, side-whiskers, and has a pleasant, 
 courtly bearing. He not only has a very active brain, but is very 
 active in his movements. He walks like a man on springs! 
 moves directly forward to the object which he wishes to attain, 
 and having attained his object, is ready to take up another. He 
 is a remarkably industrious man, always either writing some- 
 thing or doing something ahead of public sentiment. He is 
 constantly in advance of the world, and hence the world is nearly 
 out of breath trying to keep up with him, and yet when he is fully 
 comprehended he is a great deal more practical than the public 
 give him credit for. He is an earnest man, an independent man, 
 a self-reliant man, a religious man, a progressiva man, an honest 
 man, a benevolent man, a kind-hearted man, a good man ; a man 
 of letters, a man of literature, a man of research, a man of thought ; 
 a pioneer ; a worker ; a human telegraph, throwing out scintilla- 
 tions of light ; a leader in civilization. He has no conception of 
 the value of money as personally relates to himself or to his 
 family. He has several huge trunks full of good deeds, but very 
 few of the glittering, golden dollars. He is extremely sensitive 
 as to points of honor, of true manhood, of principle ; and so he 
 has toiled on over a quarter of a century among the rough ele- 
 ments of life, and is now crowning the end of his career with 
 building up an institution that will live long after the material 
 man has been dissolved and the real man has taken his proper 
 place among the beings of another sphere. 
 
 HIS PECULIARITIES. 
 
 As a speaker in the pulpit or on the rostrum, Mr. Neill is 
 earnest, sincere, clear, progressive, argumentative. He appears 
 to be a bundle of nerves, and when he talks to you he is con- 
 stantly moving his feet just as rapidly as the intensity of his 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 123 
 
 thoughts act upon the nerve centres, and yet in another sense he 
 is not nervous, but earnest. He scorns most disdainfully any- 
 thing which to him appears mean. He is thoroughly independent. 
 He lives within himself. In person he is straight, manly, with 
 an intellectual look, and yet one would take him to be a foreign 
 gentleman of leisure just arrived, inspecting our institutions. His 
 first church was on the corner of Fourth and Washington streets. 
 His second on the corner of Third and St. Peter, part of which 
 still remains, but is devoted to the purposes of trade. The old 
 House of Hope, his third church, on Walnut street, has been 
 converted into dwelling houses, while the new House of Hope is 
 on the corner of Fourth and Exchange streets, and is one of the 
 finest church edifices in the city. Mr. Neill came to St. Paul a 
 young man, being about twenty-six years of age, and for thirty^ 
 six years the better part of his life has been spent in doing good 
 and elevating the masses. He has just passed sixty years, but is 
 still active, spirited, even youthful in his ways. He has written 
 his good deeds indelibly upon the future history of Minnesota, 
 and other generations will come to greatly esteem the name of 
 Rev. Edward Duffield Neill. 
 
 ALEXANDER RAMSEY. 
 
 The finest specimen of a physical man in the Northwest, is 
 Governor, Senator, Ex-Secretary of War, Alexander Ramsey. 
 The shrewdest, sharpest, best politician in Minnesota to-day, is 
 Alexander Ramsey. The man most thoroughly posted in human 
 nature, is Alexander Ramsey, and the man of the most jovial, 
 bluff, off-hand, friendly characteristics, is Alexander Ramsey. 
 No matter whether these elements of character are affected or 
 genuine, they are, as a matter of history, parts of the man, and 
 make him, what he really is, one of the most popular of the old 
 politicians and of the old settlers. 
 
 WHEN AND WHERE BORN WHAT HE HAS DONE. 
 
 Mr. Ramsey was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1 815, 
 of Scotch descent on his father's side and of German descent on 
 his mother's. He was left an orphan at the age of ten years ; 
 was employed as a clerk in a store at Harrisburg, and in 1828 
 was engaged in the office of the Register of Deeds of Dauphin 
 
224: PF^N PICTURES 
 
 County ; subsequently worked at the carpenter trade, but drifted 
 out of this into the study of law, and after leaving the Lafayette 
 College entered several law offices and was admitted to practice 
 in 1839, occupying some of his time, however, in teaching school ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1849. Mr. Barnes, in his history of the 
 Fortieth Cohgress, says : 
 
 "During the celebrated Harrison campaign of 1840, Mr. Ramsey took a prom- 
 inent part, and was that fall chosen Secretary of the electoral college of the State of 
 Pennsylvania. In 1841 he was elected Chief Clerk of the House of Representa- 
 tives, In 1843 he was nominated for Congress from the district composed of Dau- 
 phin, Lebanon and Schuylkill Counties, and served in the Twenty-Eighth Congress 
 (1843-4.) He was re-elected in 1844 a member of the Twenty-Ninth Congress, 
 his term ending March 4th, 1844. During these years Mr. Ramsey became well 
 known, not only in his own State, but widely among public men of the country, as 
 evincing those qualities of sagacity and firmness which have been so marked during 
 his whole career. As chairman of the Whig State Committee in 1848, he contri- 
 buted largely to the election of Gen. Zach. Taylor to the presidency. When that 
 brave old soldier was inaugurated it became his duty to appoint the officers of Min- 
 nesota Territory, and he at once tendered the governorship to Mr. Ramsey, which 
 was accepted. His commission is dated April 2d, 1849, and he immediately pro- 
 ceeded to remove with his family, to his new home. And here it should be 
 remarked, that Gov. Ramsey was married in 1845 to Miss Anna E. Jenks, of New- 
 town, Bucks Co., Pennsylvania. 
 
 " Gov. Ramsey arrived at the scene of his official duties on May 27, 1849, 
 and four days afterwards, with the other Territorial officers who had arrived, issued 
 a proclamation declaring the Territory organized and the machinery of law in oper- 
 ation. When the first Legislature met in September it bestowed on one of the first 
 counties created, and at that time the most populous and wealthy, the name of Min- 
 nesota's first Governor, a deserved and just compliment. 
 
 "Gov. Ramsey took early measures to procure the extinguishment of Indian 
 titles by treaty, etc.; and by negotiations made at Mendota and Traverse des Sioux, 
 in 1851, the valuable lands near Lake Pepin, and 40,000,000 acres in what now con- 
 stitutes middle and southern Minnesota, and about twenty counties in Iowa, were 
 thrown open to settlers. In the fall of 1851 he made a treaty with the northern 
 Chippewas for the cession by them of thirty miles on each side of the Red river, 
 which was not ratified. In 1863 he made another treaty, and the whole Red river 
 valley was opened up to settlement. 
 
 " In 1853 Gov. Ramsey's term closed, and in 1855 he was elected Mayor of 
 St. Paul. In 1857, when the Republican convention met, he was nominated for 
 first State Governor, but was unsuccessful in the contest. Two years later he was 
 again nominated and this time elected by a majority of 3,752 in a vote of 38,918. 
 At this time the State was considerably in debt, taxes difficult to collect, and many 
 other troubles were to be met, but his administration was a very successful one. 
 The following year the rebellion broke out, and this laid new duties and responsibil- 
 ities on the Governor. One was the proper officering of the regiments from the 
 State, but the very fact that a large proportion of Colonels appointed by him were 
 ultimately promoted to brigadiers and several to Major Generals, while every officer 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 12 r, 
 
 with the exception of too few to notice, made a good record, is proof enough that 
 the selections were wisely made of men who have done honor to our State on the 
 field. 
 
 " In 1861 Gov. Ramsey was re-elected. During his second term the Sioux 
 outbreak occurred, adding still further to the responsibilities of the position, but 
 ultimately peace and security were restored to the frontier. In January, 1863, Gov. 
 Ramsey was elected United States Senator for six years, and re-elected in 1869, 
 serving twelve years in all. During this period he was on several important stand- 
 ing committees, postoffice and post-roads, of which for years he was chairman. 
 Postal reform occupied much of his attention. He first introduced the bill for the 
 repeal of the franking abuse, and pressed it to its adoption, and visited France in 
 1869 to urge cheap international postage, which has since been accomplished." 
 
 He also aided, as far as possible, the construction of the 
 Northern Pacific Railroad. He was especially active in securing 
 the survey and improvement of the Upper Mississippi river and 
 branches by the general government. In 1880 was appointed 
 Secretary of War by President Hayes, and for a short time was 
 Secretary of the Navy. He labored earnestly and continually 
 for the interests of the great Northwest, and his services to this 
 section and to the country as a whole, will be gratefully remem- 
 bered long after he has passed away. Some of the extracts from 
 his messages predicting the future growth of the Territory, seem 
 almost prophetic. He evinced his own faith in its, future suc- 
 cess by large and judicious investments in real estate, which 
 ultimately have become of great value and are the bulk of a 
 comfortable fortune. 
 
 Mr. Ramsey is now one of the commissioners appointed 
 by President Arthur to inquire into the affairs of Utah, and if 
 possible remodel that degenerated Territory. His family origin- 
 ally consisted of three children, two boys and a girl; the boys 
 died in infancy, and the daughter is now married. 
 
 MR. RAMSEY AS A MAN. 
 
 The bold, Scotch-German face, pleasant smile, white hair, 
 stalwart form and open, frank, free manners of Gov. Ramsey, 
 make him a marked character on the street or in society. He 
 has great comrnand over his feelings, and can greet an enemy, 
 especially if he has any point to gain, as cordially as his best 
 friend ; indeed, in such a case, he is a good deal more cordial. 
 This arises not from policy, but from a total forgetfulness of any 
 political injury done him. He harbors no unkindness towards 
 any one, and this is natural to the man. He has been in office 
 
126 PEN PICTURES 
 
 almost uninterruptedly for forty -four years, or nearly half a cen- 
 tury, and in this particular surpasses all other men in his adapta- 
 tion to political life. One of the great and strong points in his 
 character, is his non-committalism, especialjy before election. 
 When called upon, however, to declare upon great state or 
 national questions, he never shrinks from the ordeal, and decides 
 in^a bluff, off-hand manner, which in early years gave him the 
 name of " Bluff Aleck." He is exceedingly cordial in his ways ; 
 makes everybody think he is a personal friend; avoids any 
 remark which might give offense, and in case of a sudden rumpus 
 you will always find him missing. When he gets into trouble, 
 however, he is like a steamboat, backs out gracefully. He is a 
 man of strong, solid, common sense ; cool, collected, self-poised ; 
 an excellent judge of human nature, and always looks on the 
 sunny side of life, no matter how dark the clouds may be which 
 are hidden from human view. He is a philosopher and believes 
 what is to be, will be. He is liberal in his religious views, if he 
 has any, and while temperate in his habits is broad-guaged in his 
 ideas of human life. Many interesting incidents of the method 
 Mr. Ramsey has adopted, to quietly slip through the world with 
 the least possible friction, might be given, but space will not per- 
 mit. One of his peculiar traits is just this : while a dozen small- 
 fry politicians are fighting for the spoils, Ramsey is in the corner 
 enjoying his political repast, and when the battle is over he 
 smacks his lips and coolly remarks — " Well, I can't see what all 
 this fuss is about. I've had my dinner ; I'm satisfied." In a 
 word, he has been eating the meat while the other dogs have 
 been fighting for the bone. He has had a busy and useful life, 
 and very justly can be classed as pre-eminently among the very 
 first men of the Nortliwest. Very few politicians have lived whose 
 political life is as pure ^s that of Alexander Ramsey, and what- 
 ever faults he may have, (as all men have faults,) he will leave a 
 name honored and esteemed for a long list of valuable deeds 
 done, and a memory made especially green by pleasant recollec- 
 tions of a genial, kindly nature, a warm, generous manner, a 
 hearty greeting, an esteemed friend, a popular citizen. 
 
 WOULD LIKE TO TRY THE EXPERIMENT. 
 
 I don't know but what I might feel as mellow and as well 
 disposed toward the human race as Gov. Ramsey does, if I had 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINSi. 127 
 
 been in office for over forty years and had piled up in the bank 
 to my credit, a large amount of money accumulated from sala- 
 ries ! I would like to try the experiment. These little things 
 have a very decided and pleasant effect upon the disposition, and 
 I feel sure that my own disposition could be very materially 
 sweetened and modified by exchanging places with my esteemed 
 friend — he writing Pen Pictures and I traveling in Utah — Gov. 
 Newson — plain Mr. Ramsey. Give me a chance. Senator, and I 
 will soon demonstrate my capacity to live and to die a mellow 
 old gentleman. 
 
 THE OTHER SIDE. 
 
 Fun is fun , but facts are facts, and the truth is, that during 
 the time Governor Ramsey held a State office, his salary never 
 paid him for the amount of money he expended in entertaining 
 the Legislature — and the Governor says facetiously — " In the old 
 days the members consumed an enormous amount of food " — 
 or the many others who were subjects of his hospitality. Then, 
 as Senator in Washington, he had two households to keep ,up, 
 and courtesies to extend, so that really he had but little left of 
 his salary at the end of each year. He made some real-estate 
 investments in early days, and these investments have enabled 
 him to live comfortably. 
 
 GENEROUS. 
 
 Governor Ramsey has always responded liberally to every 
 public enterprise which affected the growth of the city. I have 
 the information from a gentleman who knows, that while the 
 Governor has not built immense stores, yet he has given more 
 liberally than any man in the State, and many private gifts will 
 never be known, because unostentatiously the act of a good 
 heart. 
 
 THE TAX QUESTION. 
 
 Some years ago, succeeding the crash of 1857, when the 
 hard times were upon us, and property was still taxed upon the 
 inflated assessments of 1855-6, Governor Ramsey was asked to 
 recommend in his message a bill reducing the taxes upon prop- 
 erty if paid for in a certain time. This bill passed the Legisla- 
 ture, and many availed themselves of its provisions, and among 
 them Governor Ramsey himself; and this is all the reduction of 
 
1-J8 PEN PICTURES 
 
 taxes he has ever had in Ramsey County. He is a grand man, 
 and is growing in pubhc estimation as years carry him to the 
 final end. 
 
 GREEN ENOUGH TO TRY IT. 
 
 A Judge of one of our courts, and an old settler, had a long 
 beard, and in course of time the hair began to fall from his head, 
 at which he was greatly annoyed, when a theoretic scientist told 
 him that if he would gradually pull out all his beard it would 
 cause the hair to grow back again on his head ; and after he had 
 tested the matter, as he really believed the statement, a friend 
 was conversing with him one day on the subject, when he said — 
 " And this reminds me that some years ago an old fool, or phi- 
 l<i)Sopher, once told me that if I would pull out all my beard, 
 hair would grow again on top of my head ; and do you know I 
 was just green enough to try it!" I have discovered that old 
 settlers are sometimes taken in as well as young bloods, though, 
 generally, young bloods know more than their fathers every 
 time. 
 
 WILD TURKEY VS. BUZZARD. 
 
 In 1 849 a young stripling of a boy, aged twenty-two years, 
 engaged his services to Judge Knowlton to aid in running a Ter- 
 ritorial road from Hudson, Wisconsin, to St. Paul. He was a 
 bright lad; very self-reliant, and during the trip volunteered to do 
 the cooking. One day a bird that had been shot was brought 
 in, and the young man took it upon himself to " dish it up." He 
 made up a good fire ; put on the pot, picked the inviting fowl, 
 smacked his lips, and informed his friends of the forthcoming 
 elegant repast which he intended to spread before them. Din- 
 ner time came, but the bird was not done, and an indifferent 
 meal was served instead ; and so at supper, and so at breakfast, 
 and so at dinner, the bird all this time undergoing a vigorous 
 boiling process, when, after a lapse of two days, the Judge found 
 out that his knowing young cook had been boiling and sweating 
 and fretting over a wild buzzard instead of a wild turkey. 
 
 H. M. RICE VARIOUS OFFICES HE HAS HELD. 
 
 Mr. Rice was born in Vermont in 1816. His grandfather 
 on his mother's side was taken prisoner during the French war 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 129 
 
 of 177s, at the burning of Royalton, Vt, but afterwards ran- 
 somed. Young Rice attended a common school and an acad- 
 emy, and studied law at Richmond, Vermont; emigrated to 
 Detroit, Michigan, in 1835; in 1837 he left Michigan for the 
 West, and with his pack traveled on foot over two hundred 
 miles. Then there were only a few white settlers, but a good 
 many Indians ; the country was almost a barren wilderness 
 where are now cities, and towns, and villages. Before leaving 
 Michigan he was employed in the survey which finally termi- 
 nated in the location of the Sault Ste. Marie canal and other 
 important works under the direction of the State of Michigan ; 
 came to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, in 1839, ^"d was connected 
 with the sutler's department at that post ; in 1 840 was appointed 
 sutler at Fort Atkinson ; became connected with the house of 
 Pierre Choteau, Jr., & Co., of St. Louis ; had charge of the trade 
 of this house with the Chippewas and the Winnebagoes ; con- 
 trolled trading posts throughout the Chippewa country and had 
 great influence with the traders and Indians, from Lake Superior 
 to Red lake, and from thence to the British Possessions ; in 
 1846 was appointed a delegate in the place of a Winnebago 
 chief, to negotiate a treaty with the United States for their reser- 
 vation in Iowa, and in negotiating for another reservation Mr. 
 Rice secured the sale of land, which greatly aided white settle- 
 ment ; in 1 847, in company with Gen. Verplank, he purchased 
 various lands of the Chippewas, and in 1847, same year, of the 
 Pillager Indians ; and in 185 1—3 and 4, and in 1863, and at other 
 times, aided in making treaties with the Sioux and Chippewas, 
 whereby the greater portion of the land of our State was ceded 
 to the whites. In 1848 he purchased of John R. Irvine eighty 
 acres of land lying between Seven Corners and St. Peter street, 
 from the river back, comprising a part of Rice and Irvine's addi- 
 tion to St. Paul, paying about ;^400 for it — worth now ^3,000,000 
 — and thereby became a town site owner; erected warehouses, 
 hotels, business blocks; induced men of capital to come here; 
 gave away land for churches, schools, parks and other purposes ; 
 assisted Gen. Sibley in getting through Congress a bill organiz- 
 ing Minnesota as a Territory ; and in hundreds of other ways 
 greatly aided the material interests of our city and State. He 
 was also the founder of Bayfield, Wisconsin, in 1856. In 1853 
 9 
 
130 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Mr. Rice was elected a delegate to Congress, and was re-elected 
 in 1855. Williams, in his notice of him, says: 
 
 " He procured legislation extending the pre-emption system to unsur- 
 veyed lands ; also opening certain military reservations to actual settlers. Land 
 offices were to be established, post routes opened, and post-offices created ; im- 
 mense tracts to be purchased from the Indians and thrown open to settlement. 
 Besides, there were countless requests from private Individuals for favors to be 
 secured at the departments, or for special legislation, so that one can form 
 some idea of the work Mr. Rice accomplished. Indeed, only those who lived 
 in Minnesota during that period can know what it really owes to him for much 
 of its material progress. 
 
 " In 1857 Mr. Rice procured the passage of the act endowing our first 
 land grant roads, with the land which has alone secured their construction and 
 resulted in the rapid development of the State. Also, establishing here a Sur- 
 veyor General's office, and, more important in some respects than all, was the 
 enabling act authorizing Minnesota to form a State government. Mr. Rice's- 
 term as delegate closed in 1857, but he was at once elected Senator for six 
 years by the first State Legislature. During this term the rebellion broke out 
 and considerable numbers of Minnesota troops were stationed at Washington. 
 Mr. Rice's kindness and liberality to our soldiers will long be remembered. 
 His home in Washington was always open, as well as his purse, to the sick 
 and destitute soldier. During this term he served on several very important 
 committees, among others, on finance, on military, on post-roads, on public 
 lands, and the special committee to report some mode of averting the threat- 
 ened rupture between the North and the South." 
 
 Mr. Rice's political career virtually ceased when he left the- 
 United States Senate, although he was elected Treasurer for 
 Ramsey County for three terms, by handsome majorities, and 
 he made important improvements in that office. He did not 
 .serve out his last term, but resigned on account of ill health. 
 He made a popular and faithful Treasurer. 
 
 In addition to the above Mr. Rice was the president of the 
 Chamber of Commerce for several years ; also member of the 
 Board of Public Works, and part of the time president ; president 
 of the first Society for the Relief of the Poor ; president of the 
 Old Settlers' Claim Association ; member of the Board of Regents 
 of the State University ; president of the Historical Society ; 
 director in five railroad companies ; introduced the first bill and 
 made the first speech in favor of the Northern Pacific Railroad, 
 in 1858; was one of the four incorporators of that road allowed 
 to Minnesota, and the first Democratic convention in the Terri- 
 tory met at his house. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 131 
 
 In Speaking in the United States Senate of the Northern 
 Pacific route, he said : 
 
 " It can scarcely be doubted that the great saving, both in time and cost 
 of transportation, would cause not only the entire American, but the European 
 trade with China, Japan, and the Pacific islands, to go through by this route, 
 instead of going around the Cape. 
 
 " The country contains a larger portion of available soil than any equal 
 quantity of land on the Atlantic border. North of the forty-ninth parallel of 
 latitude fine crops are raised, and the wheat is of so fine a quality that it is 
 eagerly sought for seed, in the United States. 
 
 " It is highly esteemed as a grazing country. Cattle are not housed dur- 
 ing the winter, and herds are frequently driven southward five or seven hun- 
 dred miles, and then disposed of at a profit." 
 
 LIBERAL DONATIONS. 
 
 Among other donations which Mr. Rice has from time to 
 time made to the city of St. Paul, is Rice Park, worth now 
 many thousand dollars. The record also shows, that he gave to 
 the St. Joseph's Hospital a little over two acres, upon which is 
 now the large German Church, hospital and schools, and this 
 property is worth near a million. He also presented Rice 
 County, named after him, with a splendid library of political and 
 historical works relating to the government from its foundation 
 up, and valued at several thousand dollars. Many other dona- 
 tions of money and of land have been made by Mr. Rice, for 
 churches, schools, public improvements, &c., &c., so that he can 
 very justly be placed among the most liberal of benefactors to 
 the growth of St. Paul and Minnesota. 
 
 Mr. Rice was married to Mi.ss Matilda Whitall, at Rich- 
 mond, Va., March 29th, 1849; and when Senator his house at 
 Washington was the centre of attraction for the best society. 
 
 MATERIAL AID TO OUR CITY AND STATE. 
 
 Of the many men who have acted conspicuously in the past 
 history of our city and State, Mr. Rice was not only the first to 
 come to St. Paul to reside permanently, in the early part of 1 849, 
 but is pre-eminently the one most entitled to the thanks of the 
 people for the indefatigable efforts he has always made to advance 
 our material interests. He not only invested his own money 
 here but he induced his southern friends and others to secure 
 interests in the coming great city, and by various means per- 
 suaded capitalists to come in and take possession of the " goodly 
 land," and they came. 
 
132 PEN PICTURES 
 
 DOWN IN A CANOE REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS. 
 
 Mr. Rice had made his quarters for some time at Mendota, 
 when, in the winter of 1848 and the spring of 1849, he com- 
 menced erecting hotels, warehouses, etc., in St. Paul, and in 
 June of the latter year he and his family embarked in a birch - 
 bark canoe and floated down to this city, where he made it his 
 home and where he has resided ever since. 
 
 About thirty-six years ago Mr. Rice purchased one-third of 
 Dayton & Irvine's Addition for ^1.50 per acre; now worth from 
 ;^ 20,000 to ;^ 30,000 per acre ; one hundred and twenty acres 
 known as Woodland Park, for $2i3 P^f acre; now worth from 
 ;^i 5,000 to ;^20,000 per acre; twenty acres in Breckenridge & 
 Magoffin's Addition for ;^90 for the whole twenty acres; now 
 worth from 1^75,000 to ;^ 100,000 ; several hundred acres on the 
 Fort road for ^10 per acre ; now worth from ;g 10,000 to ;^ 1 5,000 
 per acre ; forty acres where the Omaha shops now stand, for 
 ^1.25 per acre; now worth — the forty acres — ;$ioo,ooo. These 
 are only a few of the many real estate transactions Mr. Rice has 
 had. while a resident of this city. 
 
 A great promoter. 
 
 He encouraged stage-coaches, hotels, steamboats, railroads, 
 churches, parks, business enterprises ; in fact anything that would 
 tend to the growth of St. Paul and Minnesota. He not only 
 did this, but he improved the property he owned and aided oth- 
 ers to do so. He gave generously of his lands and of his means 
 to every public enterprise, and one can scarcely turn a corner 
 and not find some donation of this liberal-hearted man. He came 
 to Fort Snelling forty-six years ago ; to St. Paul thirty-six years 
 ago, and during all these years he has manifested a lively interest 
 in the growth of both the city and the State. He erected the 
 second brick house in the city and State, which stood on the 
 corner of Third and Washington streets, (^now on site of the 
 Metropolitan hotel;) secured himself a homestead in the shape 
 of a fine brick residence, the first house on Summit avenue, on a 
 claim of one hundred and twenty acres which he called his farm, 
 and what is somewhat singular is the fact, that the land upon 
 which his house used to stand is now the property of his son-in- 
 law, Maurice Auerbach, Esq. These one hundred and twenty 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 133 
 
 acres, at a valuation of only ;^3,ooo per acre, would now be worth 
 $360,000; cost Mr. Rice ^33 per acre, or about $4,000. Later 
 still, he built another house on the avenue overlooking the city, 
 and here he resided until about two years ago, when he erected 
 a residence nearly opposite where he now lives. 
 
 THE OLD HOMESTEAD. 
 
 Many distinguished men have gathered in the parlors of 
 Mr. Rice's old residence, and could the ancient walls have spoken 
 before they were taken down, they could have told of many in- 
 teresting schemes, political and otherwise. But the old and 
 favorite homestead has gone. Many of those who once crossed 
 its threshold so eagerly, have also gone. The play-ground of 
 the little girls (now mothers,) is gone. The sweet twilight of a 
 sumnier's eve, as it lingered on a beautiful landscape of hill, and 
 dale, and river, and city, is gone. Slight threads of gray are 
 sprinkled amid the once black locks of youth and beauty, and 
 the longing heart reaches out into the past and gropes for scenes 
 that will never come again. Gone is the singing of the birds and 
 the laughter of childhood. The fond, cherished dream of a 
 hallowed old age has disappeared in the mists of the morning ; 
 b.ut the roar of the city is still the same, only louder ; the tread 
 of feet is still the same, only more solid ; the hum of life is still 
 the same, only greater ; and the burdens of the day are still the 
 same, only more of them, and heavier. And so the old things 
 of the past give way to the new, and the scenes of a busy life, 
 " like specters grim and tall," walk through the corridors of 
 memory and startle us with the onward march of time. 
 
 INCIDENTS ABOUT MR. RICE. 
 
 In 1855 the writer earnestly espoused the cause of William 
 R. Marshall, who was then running on the Republican ticket as 
 a delegate for Congress against H. M. Rice, regular Democrat, 
 and David Olmsted, anti-Nebraska Democrat. It was under- 
 stood by the Olmsted party, headed by Gov. Willis A. Gorman, 
 now dead, that in case it should appear that Olmsted had no 
 show of an election he would throw his forces for Marshall, 
 which would have secured his election, as Olmsted wished to 
 
1S4 PEN PICTURES 
 
 defeat Rice, biit at the last minute Gorman opposed this move- 
 ment; Olmsted remained in the field, Marshall was defeated 
 and Rice elected. 
 
 Ten years after Mr. Rice had beaten Mr. Marshall for del- 
 egate for Congress, he ran for Governor against Marshall, and 
 Marshall beat Rice by 3,476 votes, thus turning the tables, Mar- 
 shall going into power and Rice going out. 
 
 At that time, in 1855, I had never seen Mr. Rice, but learn- 
 ing from the then Executive of the State that Mr. Rice had been 
 instrumental in removing the Winnebago Indians from Long 
 Prairie to Mankatd, and that it was an unpopular theme at the 
 latter place, when I spoke there in defense of Marshall and against 
 Rice, I charged Rice with the act. At the conclusion of my 
 speech a quietly-spoken gentleman in the audience arose and 
 said — " The speaker was a good talker — had said a good deal, 
 and many interesting things, but that he had told more lies in a 
 given length of time than any man he had ever heard," alluding 
 more particularly to my charge against Mr. Rice. It proved 
 to be P. K. Johnson, and on investigation I found that I had 
 been actually lying on the authority of the Governor of the Ter- 
 ritory of Minnesota, who, no doubt, had himself been misinformed, 
 and that Johnson was right. I immediately wrote to Mr. Rice 
 disclaiming any intention to do him a wrong, and this opened a 
 friendship which has existed ever since. 
 
 "you shan't speak here." 
 
 During the same campaign I made arrangements to address 
 a meeting at Manomin, or Rice Creek, in favor of Marshall, and I 
 had the assurance, or my agent had, of the hotel proprietor. Col. 
 John BanfiU, that I should be heard ; so I rode night and day in 
 a buggy to keep my appointment, but when the time came to 
 speak I was told that inasmuch as I was attacking Mr. Rice, 
 that I should not speak in the hotel; and so, thus refused, I 
 repaired to a saloon near by, whose doors were thrown open, 
 and addressed quite a crowd of red-shirted lumbermen, who 
 treated me with the greatest consideration, notwithstanding I did 
 pummel Mr. Rice to the best of my ability, leaving out, how- 
 ever, the charge made at Mankato, about the Indians. The 
 owner of the hotel was a personal friend of Mr. Rice, and would 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 135 
 
 -not listen to anything derogatory to him, even of a pohtical 
 nature. As the landlord refused to let me speak in his house, so 
 1 refused to put up with him, and at night, and dark, my agent 
 and myself crossed on the ferry to the west side of the river and 
 made for a farm-house which we found empty, spent the night 
 as best we could, and the next day both our horse and ourselves 
 made a dinner out of raw corn which was plucked from the field. 
 Then farm-houses were three and four miles apart ; now this 
 whole section of country is thickly settled with farms and even 
 flourishing towns, and good hotels can be found in every direc- 
 -tion. 
 
 MR. RICE AT WASHINGTON. 
 
 In the winter of i860 and 1861 the writer spent several 
 weeks in Washington just at the time when the feeling between 
 the two sections of the country was at its highest ; when south- 
 •ern members of Congress were seething with rage ; when civil 
 war was imminent ; when northern men were trying to prevent 
 disunion; when the guns of the South were turned on Fort 
 :Sumpter; when Wigfall, and Slidell, and Mason, and other 
 Southern members were threatening to leave the Congress of 
 the United States ; when the whole of Washington society was 
 heaving with excitement; when Jo. Lane had just delivered his 
 speech in favor of the South, and Andrew Johnson had been 
 announced to reply to him ; when both houses were crowd- 
 ed with anxious and excited spectators waiting for Johnson's 
 speech ; when, just at this time, I strolled into the Senate chamber 
 -and took my seat in the gallery. Johnson was speaking in 
 defense of the Union, and at the close of his speech thunders of 
 .applause greeted his sentiments, and of course the galleries were 
 cleared. Partaking of the excitement of the moment, I rushed 
 down stairs and sent my card to Morton S. Wilkinson, our 
 Republican Senator, whom I had materially aided in electing to 
 ■Congress, but he was too busy with great national affairs to give 
 me any attention, so I skipped around to the other door and sent 
 my compliments to Mr. Rice, our Democratic Senator, who 
 immediately appeared, and invited me into the cloak room of the 
 Senate. "But the rules, Mr. Rice — "said the doorkeeper. " Never 
 mind the rules," said Mr. Rice, " I'll be responsible," and in a 
 
136 PEN PICTURES 
 
 minute more I stood in the presence of Andrew Johnson, 
 Stephen A. Douglas and Jo. Lane. This is a Uttle thing of itself,, 
 but it only shows the character of the man. 
 
 THE STOLEN GOVERNMENT INDIAN BONDS. 
 
 It will be remembered by my readers, that in 1 86 1, just be- 
 fore the outbreak of the rebellion, ^875,000 of certain bonds held 
 by the government in trust for the Indian tribes, had been ab- 
 stracted from the safe of the Secretary of the Interior, and at the 
 time of the discovery intense excitement followed. It seems that 
 a clerk by the name of Bailey, under Thompson, transferred to 
 a man by the name of Russell, as security only, these bonds,, 
 but Russell sold them, the knowledge of which coming to Mr. 
 Rice, he questioned Mr. Bailey, who was Secretary Thompson's, 
 confidential clerk and financial agent for the Indian trust bonds, 
 amounting in all to three million dollars. Bailey acknowledged 
 that he had given to Russell, of the firm of Russell, Majors & 
 Wardell, nearly a million of the Indian trust bonds for the same 
 amount of Secretary Floyd's acceptances as Secretary of War. 
 These illegal acceptances coming due, and no funds being in the 
 War Department to meet them, rendered the sale of the bonds,, 
 held by other parties, a necessity. There being no escape from 
 exposure, Bailey prepared a statement of the transaction, and 
 with the papers, handed the same to Mr. Rice, requesting him 
 to deliver them to Secretary Thompson on his return, he be- 
 ing then absent in North Carolina. Mr. Rice told Mr. Bailey 
 that he could not keep them in his possession a moment longer 
 than it would take him to reach the White House, where he at 
 once went and laid the documents before the President of the 
 United States, James Buchanan, who, on discovering the theft,, 
 remarked — " Well, Mr. Rice, secession is bad enough, but this is- 
 worse." Mr. Rice was the first person who discovered the fraud- 
 ulent abstraction of these bonds, and Thompson, who returned 
 unexpectedly that evening, fearing that other bonds to the amount 
 of ;^3,ooo,ooo had also been stolen, Mr. Rice, with Bailey and 
 others, examined the archives in the Interior Department, but 
 found them all safe. A committee of the House was appointed, 
 to investigate the matter, who, in concluding their report, say : 
 
 " Your committee were satisfied that Mr. Rice labored witli energy and 
 zeal to aid the government, and is entitled to the thanks of the House and the 
 country." 
 
OF ST. PAUL, illNN. 137 
 
 " MINNESOTA ROW " AT THE DEPARTMENTS. 
 
 A brick row of three houses situated on a pleasant street in 
 Washington, was designated as " Minnesota Row," having been 
 erected jointly by Messrs. Rice, Douglas and Breckenridge. Mr. 
 Douglas lived in one of the end houses, and Mr. Rice in the 
 middle. When the war broke out the row was appropriated by 
 the government as a hospital ; subsequently one of the houses 
 was purchased by General Grant and another by General Sher- 
 man. It was here that Mr. Rice showed his greatest power ; 
 here he received all classes of people of all parties, dispensed 
 generous hospitality and treated them kindly ; here he sought to 
 conciliate conflicting political views, and here he quietly yet 
 earnestly labored for the preservation of the Union. 
 
 No man had greater power with all the Departments at 
 Washington, than had Mr. Rice. Everywhere he was received 
 with great consideration, and during his official position he 
 accomplished wonderful results for the good of our city and our 
 State. History is history ; facts are facts ; right is right. Very 
 few men in Washington were more highly respected or more 
 courteously received by men of all parties before the war, than 
 Hon. H. M. Rice. 
 
 MR. RICE AS A MAN. 
 
 Any individual who can go from the extreme frontier of our 
 country, leaving savage surroundings, and enter directly into the 
 Senate of the United States, and command the respect and even 
 admiration of men of culture and letters, and who, then, can 
 return from the Capital of the nation and command the confi- 
 dence and respect of our Indian tribes, as Mr. Rice could and 
 can, and did do, is a somewhat remarkable character, to say 
 nothing of the mental qualities which permitted him to cope with 
 the best men of the nation. Tall and slender, with a fine head 
 upon his shoulders, and commanding presence, Mr. Rice wins 
 friends by his exceedingly courteous manner. He has a swaying 
 motion when he walks ; is dignified, pleasing, cautious ; some- 
 what retiring in his nature ; a fine conversationalist ; adverse to 
 publicity ; a lover of home, and an honorable, upright, manly 
 citizen. He partakes largely of the affability accorded to his 
 contemporary. Gov. Ramsey, but is more polished in his manner 
 
138 PEN PICTURES 
 
 of showing it. It would be difficult to find two men so well 
 adapted to public life, as H. M. Rice and Alexander Ramsey, 
 and especially so as men who have won public regard by their 
 hearty greetings and politeness. Mr. P.ice ranks among the most 
 notable and able men of the Northwest, and his own acts bespeak 
 his best praise. History will write his name high up on the scroll 
 of honor, and Minnesota can never afford to forget either him 
 •or his worthy deeds. 
 
 RICE PARK. 
 
 This is the outcome of Mr. Rice's generosity. For years 
 after the native trees had been cut off it, it presented a barren and 
 forsaken look. A florist by the name of Hanson finally got per- 
 mission of the city to put his green-house there for several years 
 in consideration of his planting trees and making them grow, and 
 the result of that wise measure is the present little green oasis, 
 which, under the guidance of a master hand in nature's adorn- 
 ments, has made it the admiration of all. 
 
 MRS. ALEXANDER RAMSEY. 
 
 In 1854 I met Mrs. Ramsey for the first time — a tall, well- 
 formed, queenly-looking woman ; commanding in her manners, 
 yet gentle and loving in her nature. She had been married only 
 four years when the Governor and herself took up their abode in 
 the crude gubernatorial residence on lower Third street, St. Paul, 
 and one can imagine the cares and deprivations of her early pio- 
 neer life and the immense tax upon her disposition to maintain 
 her equilibrium amid the trying scenes of those early days ; and 
 yet she was equal to the emergency. Throughout a quarter of a 
 century she not only greatly aided by her diplomacy her husband 
 in his political career, but has maintained the regard and esteem 
 of the public for her many private excellencies. The autumnal 
 tint of years only adds to her graces, while in the social circle 
 she still maintains her supremacy, as she always has. Mrs. Ram- 
 sey was born in Newton, Pennsylvania, in 1827 ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1849; died November 29, 1884, aged fifty-eight years. 
 
 MRS. H. M. RICE. 
 
 A bright, beautiful countenance, with black hair and black 
 eyes, as I remember her in early days, Mrs. Rice united the 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 139 
 
 characteristics of a southern beauty with northern tact. Most of 
 her married years have been spent amid the scenes of her hus- , 
 band's poHtical battles, and she herself has figured in the gay 
 society of Washington life. Indeed, she has been an important 
 factor in the power behind the throne, and though quiet and 
 undemonstrative her power has been none the less effective. The 
 early cares of years already gone, only create a subdued mellow- 
 ness which adds to the charms of a gentle, loving woman. 
 
 MEETING OF THE FIRST COURT OF THE TEKKITORY. 
 
 This event took place in the city of St. Paul on the 2d of 
 August, 1849. The officers were Chief Justice Aaron Goodrich, 
 Judge Meeker, Judge Cooper, and James K. Humphrey, Clerk. 
 It was a motley grouping of diversified humanity, antagonistic in 
 their peculiar characteristics, yet in the whole make-up able and 
 judicial. Here was Judge Goodrich with his angularity, story- 
 telling propensities, and positivenesS of character ; here was 
 Meeker with his slow, plodding, gross materiality ; here Cooper 
 with his ruffled shirt bosom, and his precise, nice, punctilious 
 methods ; Humphrey with his cautious, careful, measured air ; 
 and thus the Court opened with twenty lawyers in attendance and 
 only one juryman with a pair of boots. Chief Justice Goodrich 
 was assisted by Cooper, and although he occasionally shocked 
 the delicate nerves of Cooper by a funny story, yet the proceed- 
 mgs were conducted with due decorum and dignity. This was 
 the first District Court, and the term lasted six days. The second 
 District Court was held by Judge Meeker on the west banks of 
 the Mississippi, opposite the Falls of St. Anthony. The third 
 District Court was held at Mendota, Judge Cooper presiding. 
 Only three of the jurymen could understand the charge of the 
 Judge, among whom was Gen. Sibley, foreman, all the rest being 
 French. And thus were set in motion the wheels of the great 
 law car which has been moving forward with great velocity ever 
 since. 
 
 A MIXED POPULATION FIRST HARDWARE AND FURNITURE STORES. 
 
 In the latter part of 1849 St. Paul had five ministers, four- 
 teen lawyers, two land agents, five doctors, sixteen merchants, 
 three tailors, one shoemaker, or sole-saver, five hotels, two paint- 
 
140 PEN PICTVKES 
 
 ers, four blacksmiths, four masons, sixteen carpenters, five bak- 
 ers, one silversmith, one gunsmith, etc., etc., beside a numerous 
 retinue of half-breeds and Indians. The trade that year was 
 ;^i3i,ooo. The trade of 1885, wholesale and retail, will reach 
 near ;^ 1 00,000,000! This tells the story of St. Paul's growth 
 better than anything else can. 
 
 The first exclusive hardware store in the city, was estab- 
 lished in 1 849 by John McCloud & Brothers, and the building 
 which they built is still standing, on the corner of Third and 
 Cedar streets, now occupied as a dry-goods store. Mr. John 
 McCloud, I believe, is at Bayfield, and one of his brothers, Joe, 
 after trying farming in Dakota, returned to Philadelphia, from 
 whence the McClouds originally came. They were small, active, 
 honest men, but the population at that early day would not sus- 
 tain their trade, and since then the wave of immigration has 
 washed them almost out of memory. And so goes the world ; 
 one is up while the other is down. Teeter-taunter, teeter-taunter, 
 teeter-taunter ! 
 
 The first furniture store in 1849 stood on the corner of Third 
 and Minnesota streets, known as the Stees old stand, kept by a 
 man by the name of J. W. Frost. He used to make pine furni- 
 ture and repair other articles of household use. He sold out to 
 Washington Stees in 1850, and from that small beginning has 
 grown the large furniture establishment which has recently passed 
 out of the old proprietors' hands into that of a new firm. 
 
 LYMAN C. DAYTON HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Dayton's Bluff derives its name from this gentleman, to 
 whom I have previously alluded, and who was born in Connec- 
 ticut in 1 8 10. He was. of English descent, and when a boy 
 clerked in a dry-goods house and subsequently went into busi- 
 ness for himself in Providence, Rhode Island. From 1840 to 
 1849 he did a large trade in New York, when, in consequence 
 of ill-health, he retired from active labor and that year came to 
 St. Paul, where he commenced purchasing real estate, and did 
 not stop until he had secured some 5,000 acres. A large num- 
 ber of these acres are now within the city limits, and while they 
 cost Mr. Dayton originally ;^4,ooo, they are now worth jg4,ooo,- 
 000, as the property lies in a central and valuable portion of St. 
 
OF Sr. PAUL, MINN. 141 
 
 Paul. Mr. Dayton founded the town at the j unction of the Crow 
 river and the Mississippi, which bears his name, and where his 
 widow now lives. He was the proprietor and the first president 
 of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railway Company, and 
 continued so until his death, and gave a great deal of his time 
 and $10,000 in money to promote its interests. He never asked 
 or received any salary. He married Miss Maria Bates, and died 
 in 1865 aged fifty -five years. His widow still survives him. 
 
 He was a good-sized, pussy man, full of activity, and had 
 unbounded faith in the growth of St. Paul. He possessed great 
 energy ; was kind-hearted ; liberal ; public-spirited, and had he 
 lived and held on to his property, his real estate would have 
 made him immensely rich. 
 
 LYMAN DAYTON, 
 
 His only son, used to keep a real estate office in a 
 small wooden building where IngersoU's block how stands. 
 Later, and after the death of his father, he devoted his 
 time almost exclusively to the estate, although he was educated 
 a lawyer and is a gentleman of a good deal of intelligence and 
 sharp business tact. Latterly he has been investing in Dakota, 
 and bids fair to be a very rich man. He is ab >\xt 50 years of age 
 and came to St. Paul in 1 849. 
 
 FIRST BANK FIRST MASONIC LODGE FIRST ODD FELLOWS. 
 
 A man by the name of Young has the honor of issuing the 
 first bank bills, signed by a confederate by the name of Sawyer. 
 They read — " Bank of St. Croix, St. Paul, Minnesota." These 
 bills were quoted in Wall street at one per cent, discount, and of 
 course were a fraud. Young disappeared and the affair col- 
 lapsed. 
 
 The first Masonic lodge was instituted in 1849, and the first 
 
 Mason made in the Territory that year was a man by the name 
 of Scott. 
 
 This year also witnessed the organization of the Odd Fel- 
 lows and the Sons of Temperance. Indeed, I may say that 1 849 
 was a " boss year " for Minnesota. 
 
 ST. PAUL BECOMES A TOWN. 
 
 Up to November, 1849, St. Paul was legally nothing but a 
 " place." This year the Legislature passed a bill, which was 
 
142 PEN PICTURES 
 
 approved by the Governor, making the " place " the " Town of St. 
 Paul." Ramsey County was created, and St. Paul was made the 
 county seat. Provisions were effected for the appointment of 
 officers, and the residents of the little hamlet became as proud 
 as the citizens of any big town could be, over the prospective 
 growth and greatness of " our city." And from that day to this 
 St. Paul has been stretching, growing, spreading out, until she 
 has reached the magnificent proportions of 120,000 people! 
 Truly, " great oaks from little acorns grow." 
 
 THOMAS R. POTTS. 
 
 Dr. Potts was born in Philadelphia in 18 10; graduated at 
 the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania in 
 1831 ; resided at Natchez, Mississippi, ten years; in 1841 re- 
 moved to Galena, Illinois ; came to St. Paul in 1 849, where he 
 practiced medicine for twenty-six years ; was at one time Con- 
 tract Surgeon at Fort Snelling ; Pension Surgeon, Medical Pur- 
 veyor of the District, physician to the Sioux, etc.; in 1850 was 
 president of the Town Board ; in 1 866 City Physician ; Health 
 Officer in 1873 ; was married at Fort Snelling in 1847, to Miss 
 Abbey Steele ; died suddenly in the city of St. Paul, October, 
 1 874, aged sixty-four years. 
 
 personal. 
 
 Dr. Potts was an " institution " of the city, having practiced 
 here for over a quarter of a century, and was well known among 
 all the old settlers. He was a decided allopath ; believed in 
 heavy doses, and ridiculed the efficacy o'" small pills. At the 
 time of his death he was the oldest practicing physician in St. 
 Paul. He was a man of strong predilictions ; full of fun and 
 humor; social in his nature and kind-hearted in his practice. 
 He resided for many years in a small white house on Robert 
 street, and though having a large practice and a number of offices, 
 yet he had only a slight appreciation of money, and left but little 
 property to his widow, who is still living and residing in the 
 family of Gen. Sibley. One looking upon her tall and graceful 
 form and pleasant countenance, though saddened by care and 
 sorrow, is forcibly reminded of the old, old times which have gone, 
 never to return. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 14S 
 
 CHARLES K. CONWAY. 
 
 Among the ancient and original characters of the past is 
 Charles Conway, an old editor and an old printer, and a man of 
 considerable ability. He was born in Indiana in 1822 ; removed 
 to Michigan in 1831 ; to Illinois in 1837, where he attended the 
 University at Battle Creek and also at Rockford in 1838. He 
 began his apprenticeship at the printing trade in Detroit; in 1844 
 started and fedited the Rockford Forum ; sold out and returned 
 to Madison, Wisconsin, and in the fall of 1846 enlisted in the 
 Mexican war, where he remained nearly two years ; returned 
 again to Madison in 1 848, and purchased what is now the pres- 
 ent Democrat; ran it about one year and then sold out ; married 
 Miss Jane E. Nichols, and in 1849 moved to St. Paul; was the 
 first foreman of James M. Goodhue, of the Pioneer, and Superin- 
 tendent of Public Printing, and in 1850 formed a copartnership — 
 Lambert, Conway & Nichols — to carry on the real estate busi- 
 ness; in 1 85 1 the firm dissolved by the death of Nichols, and 
 Conway left for California, where he started the Los Angeles 
 News, which he ran six years during the rebellion ; sold out and 
 returned to St. Paul in 1867, and in 1869 went to Rochester, 
 Minnesota, and founded the Central Record and took an active 
 part against the ;^ 5, 000,000 railroad bonds; left the paper and 
 went on a farm ; removed to La Crosse ' to give his children an 
 education, and from thence removed to Dresbach, Minnesota, 
 where he now resides. 
 
 WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN CONWAY PERSONALLY. 
 
 He once owned 200 acres on Goose lake, adjoining White 
 Bear, for which he paid $\,^^ per acre, or ;^250; worth now 
 ^66,000. His house and office formerly stood on Third street, 
 near Cedar, and the eighty feet, which cost him then ;^25o, are 
 now worth close to j^8o,ooo. Lots in Patterson's addition which 
 he sold for ^25 and $y:> per lot, are now worth ;!S4,ooo per lot. 
 He owned ten acres just north of the Manitoba shops, for which 
 he paid ;^io per acre, and sold for $2^ per acre; now worth 
 ^2,000 per acre. 
 
 He is a slender gentleman ; deliberate in his speech ; comi- 
 cal and original in his expressions, but disconnected in his con- 
 versation. Having seen a good deal of human nature, he hasn't 
 
244 PEN PICTURES 
 
 much confidence in that commodity. He knows how to make 
 money, but he can't get it, because he won't He and steal. He 
 has an inventive turn of mind, and if he could only " hitch 
 up " with some supremely selfish specimen of humanity, Con- 
 way might be a rich man. As it is, he is a quiet, pleasant, hon- 
 est, clever gentleman, whose reward, if he gets any, will be in 
 another world, not this. 
 
 AARON GOODRICH. 
 
 The subject of this sketch has been in the past and is to-day a 
 character — an individualization — a positiveness — an originality — 
 markedly different from other men in this particular, that he ex- 
 presses his own sentiments in his own way, and is always ready 
 and willing and able to defend them. He was born in Sempro- 
 nius, Cayuga County, New York, in 1 807 ; practiced law in Ten- 
 nessee ; was elected as a Whig to the House of Representives of 
 that State, in which capacity he served to the satisfaction of his 
 constituents ; was a Presidential elector on the whig ticket in 
 1848 ; was appointed by President Taylor in March, 1849, Chief 
 Justice of Minnesota, and took up his residence in St. Paul that 
 year ; presided at the first term of the Supreme Court in the Ter- 
 ritory ; held the first District Court at Stillwater, Sauk Rapids 
 and St. Paul ; was a corporate member of the Historical Society ; 
 a charter member of the first Masonic" lodge ; a corporate mem- 
 ber of the Grand Lodge of the State ; drew up the first Repub- 
 lican platform adopted in this State ; prepared a code of pleadings 
 and practice ; was a member of the Republican National Con- 
 vention at Chicago ; labored to secure the nomination of Seward 
 for President ; was appointed Secretary of Legation to Brussels, 
 which position he held eight years ; returned to St. Paul in 
 1 869 ; wrote a book entitled " A history of the character and 
 achievements of the so-called Christopher Columbus;" arguing 
 that the name and pretended achievements of that individual 
 were mythical ; married a Miss Paris ; was a member of the Cin- 
 cinnati convention which nominated Horace Greeley, in which 
 body he cast his vote for Judge Davis, of Illinois. Judge Good- 
 rich was not pleased with the action of that convention. He was 
 one of the original movers in the organization of the " Old Set- 
 tlers' Association" in 1858; has been its secretary nearly ever 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MIXN. , 245 
 
 since. Of late the Judge has devoted his leisure moments to re- 
 vising his book, reading, studying, digging into the rubbish of 
 the past. He was a great admirer of Wm. H. Seward, and tried 
 very hard to make him President. In a speech introducing Sew- 
 ard to a St. Paul audience, the Judge gave utterance to senti- 
 ments highly complimentary to his friend, who greatly appreciated 
 them. 
 
 THE MAN PERSONALLY. 
 
 Judge Goodrich is a tall, spare man, with an exceedingly 
 active brain ; speaks quickly and decidedly ; talks right at you 
 with an earnestness born of a conviction that he is right, while 
 his eyes dilate, as they move rapidly in their sockets, and his 
 voice becomes louder as he proceeds with his reasons for his 
 opinion, which he proposes you shall not misunderstand. He is 
 a walking encyclopedia of ancient and biblical history ; an arse- 
 nal of fun and fact; a magazine full of argumentative missiles ; 
 a volcanic explosion in tl;ie midst of the religious element, and a 
 generally accepted electric battery, from which a thousand posi- 
 tive forces penetrate the citadels of bigotry and ignorance. 
 There is but one Judge Goodrich. John Randolph is dead ; 
 Goodrich still lives. No man in the State has such a striking 
 individuality as Goodrich, and no man is more generally correct 
 in his conclusions than Goodrich. He is eminently indepen- 
 dent ; never trims or uses policy, and though his utterances are 
 sometimes unpalatable, yet they command attention by their 
 originality. He made a good, sound judge, though he would, 
 occasionally, interpret the law sandwiched with a funny story ; is 
 an effective political speaker on the stump ; an excellent writer, 
 as his book shows ; a good lawyer ; a scholar among the pyra- 
 mids ; a hater of cant, hypocrisy and meanness ; a lover of honest 
 thought and honest expression. With all his idiosyncrasies he 
 has a kind heart, is esteemed by his former associates, and though 
 not now in active public life, yet is very kindly remembered by 
 the " old guard who continue to hold the fort." The Judge is 
 now in his seventy-ninth year, yet he is still active, and as ready 
 for an argument or a story, as he was twenty years ago. 
 
 The following is a good illustration of the character of the 
 man, which appeared in one of our daily papers : 
 10 
 
146 PEN PICTURES 
 
 "The other day an acquaintance approached the Judge with the remark, 
 'Judge, if you were made supreme ruler of the universe, what would you do?' 
 'I'd resign immediately, I would, by gad, sir ; I'm not hankering after any 
 more responsibility than I am compelled to bear.' " 
 
 HENRY F. MASTERSON. 
 
 Mr. Masterson was a peculiar citizen, somewhat different 
 from ordinary men in this particular, that he spent a life-time 
 in helping others and getting little or nothing in return. While 
 he may have had an appreciation of money, yet he had no ca- 
 pacity to accumulate it. He was born in New York in 1824; 
 studied law; came to St. Paul in 1849 with now Judge Orlando 
 Simons, Both these men were carpenters by trade, and before 
 arriving in St. Paul made a solemn vow to stand or fall together,, 
 and though not related, they were closely bound to each other 
 by the strongest ties of friendship. They came from New York to 
 Chicago by water, and hired a farmer to transport their baggage 
 to the Mississippi river, it being Stipulated " that when the walking 
 was good they might ride ; when it was bad they must walk." On 
 arriving at St. Paul, Judge Simons went to work as a carpenter, 
 while Masterson entered a saw mill at St. Anthony Falls, but 
 soon after Simons was tendered a situation by the government, 
 to aid in building a fort on the frontier, but he would not accept 
 the offer unless Masterson was also employed. Masterson was 
 soon engaged, and the two spent the summer and the fall on the 
 frontier, returning on the edge of winter with plenty of money, 
 and then opening the law office of Masterson & Simons, which 
 continued in this city for over twenty-five years. 
 
 as a man. 
 
 Masterson was a tall, robust-looking man, and was good for 
 twenty years had he not been overtaken by the terrible accident 
 which ended his career. He was social in his nature ; full of 
 reminiscences of the past, and a devoted friend. He was a pro- 
 found lawyer, delving deeper into the law than others, and in one 
 instance forcing the Supreme Court to reverse its own decision 
 against him. During all the time he lived in St. Paul he never 
 held an office ; always gave way to some one else ; so he spent 
 his life giving to others ; seemed to live for others more than for 
 himself, and thus he continued until the day of his death.. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 147 
 
 MUSING ON THE BRIDGE. 
 
 I often saw him wandering about the city, and once found 
 him musing upon the bridge, and as in imagination I now see him 
 standing upon that structure, the touching Hnes of Longfellow 
 come before me in all their beauty and their vividness : 
 
 " I stood on the bridge at midnight, 
 
 As the clocks were striking the hour, 
 And the moon rose o'er the city, 
 Behind the dark church tower. 
 
 4: H: ^ # 4) 
 
 " And like these waters rushing 
 Among the wooden piers, 
 A ilood of thoughts came o'er me 
 That filled my eyes with tears. 
 
 " How often, oh, how often, 
 
 In the days that had gone by, 
 I stood on the bridge at midnight. 
 And gazed on that wave and sky. 
 
 " How often, oh, how often, 
 
 I had wished that the ebbing tide 
 Would bear me away on its bosom. 
 O'er the ocean wild and wide : 
 
 " For my heart was hot and restless, 
 And my life was full of care. 
 And the burden laid upon me 
 
 Seemed greater than I could bear." 
 
 Then with the revulsion of feeling came the philosophical 
 strain : — 
 
 " But now it has fallen from me, 
 It is buried in the sea ; 
 And only the sorrow of others 
 Throws its shadows over me. 
 
 " Yet whenever I cross the river. 
 
 With its bridge with wooden piers. 
 
 Like the odor of brine from the ocean, 
 
 Comes the thought of other years ; 
 
 "And I think how many thousands 
 Of care-encumbered men. 
 Each bearing his burden of sorrow. 
 Have crossed the bridge since then." 
 
 He was uncompromising in the interests of his clients ; was 
 timid in charging or collecting his own fees ; was weak in the 
 defense of himself ; was a close student among the " musty vol- 
 
148 PEN PICTURES 
 
 umes " in search of precedents ; was exceedingly fond of music ; 
 was charitable ; defended others when it was unpopular to do so ; 
 never spoke ill of a single person ; had no business faculty ; never 
 disputed a bill ; always paid when he had money. Elated with 
 the idea of a $500 fee, he pondered over the case he had in hand, 
 and while walking on the railroad track in a fit of abstraction, 
 was struck by the huge engine and received injuries from which 
 he died. Just before the great change took place, Judge Simons, 
 his old friend, sat at his bedside with his hand clasped in his, thus 
 fulfilling the mutual vow the friends had taken years before. 
 George J. Flint, Esq., who was in the same office with Mr. Mas- 
 terson for several years, writes : 
 
 " I was the last business man he spoke to before he received the injury 
 ■which caused his deatli. He was more cheerful than I had seen him in a long 
 time because of his brightening prospects. I was with him at his death and 
 truly mourned him as a good man gone." 
 
 And thus — poor Masterson ! " Life's fitful fever o'er, he 
 sleeps well." 
 
 ORLANDO SIMONS— FIRST CITY JUSTICE HIS PECULIARITIES. 
 
 Judge Simons was born in New York State in 1824; was 
 educated at the Elmira and Chester Academies ; read law, and in 
 1849, with Masterson, came to St. Paul; in 1850 was chosen 
 justice of the peace ; in 1854 was elected the first City Justice; in 
 1875 was appointed Associated Judge of the Common Pleas 
 Court of Ramsey County, and in 1875 was elected for seven 
 
 years. 
 
 Judge Simons acts promptly, decides promptly, moves 
 promptly, though with long, measured strides, and talks promptly. 
 He possesses a good, judicial mind, and is fearless in the dis- 
 charge of his duty. He lives within himself. Has no faculty to 
 make money ; mixes but little in society ; gets down to the bot- 
 tom of any question, and his decisions are very generally acqui- 
 esced in as correct. When a City Justice he made the " fur fly," 
 but now as a Judge he is cool, dignified, courteous. His connec- 
 tion with Mr. Masterson is set forth in the article on that gentle- 
 man, and this completes the Pen Picture of one of the oldest 
 law firms in the city. I may add that if Judge Simons had tried 
 the accused young man for murder in Cincinnati, he would have 
 been convicted, and that terrible mob would have been averted. 
 
OF ST. PA UL. MINN. 149 
 
 WILLIAM P. MURRAY. 
 
 If Judge Goodrich is a character, as he surely is, W. P. Mur- 
 ray is another, only cast in a different mould. From the time he 
 came to the Territory, inaugurating his advent here by boiling for 
 dinner a tough buzzard two days for a wild turkey, up to the pres- 
 ent time, he has been a character, moving in various phases of 
 life, but always coming to the top. 
 
 He was born in Ohio in 1827 ; attended the law school of 
 Indiana University ; studied law and graduated in 1 849 ; came 
 to St. Paul in December of that year, and now ranks among the 
 oldest members of the bar. He was a member of the Territorial 
 House of Representatives in 1852 and 1853; of the Council in 
 1854 and 1855; President of the House in 1857; President of 
 the Constitutional Convention the same year ; member of the 
 House in 1 863 ; Senate in 1 866 and 1 867 ; House in 1 868 ; Sen- 
 ate in 1875 and 1876; making eleven sessions in all as a member 
 of the Legislature. He was also a County Commissioner and a 
 member of the City Council for a good many years, and is now 
 and has been for a long time City Attorney. Murray County is 
 named after him. If Murray and Ramsey were pitted against 
 each other, it would be hard to say who would get the most 
 meat from the political bone. I would not like to bet on either, 
 but as Murray is an Ohio man I would prefer the odds on him. 
 
 AS I SEE HIM. 
 
 Mr. Murray is a well-proportioned man, with a good deal of 
 a twinkle in his eye ; and now that the gray is mingling with the 
 black, he is really a fine looking gentleman. He is " quick as 
 lightning ; " generally in good humor ; always ready with a story ; 
 moves about with great celerity ; rubs his hand up over his fore- 
 head and through his gray hair ; slaps you on the back ; gives a 
 hearty laugh, and is off " in a jiffy." In early days it was " Bill 
 ■Murray," because he carried the boys with him ; to-day it is Hon. 
 Wm. P. Murray because the dignity of the city rests upon his 
 shoulders. His mind grasps a subject very quickly, and' his 
 insight and penetration into human nature are very keen. The 
 Irish blood in his veins makes him quick to retort, while his 
 political sagacity leads him to act very sly — "d d sly, sir," — 
 
150 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and yet he is popular among the masses and plays upon the 
 human heart as a musician does on the keys of a piano. Peri- 
 cles, the great Athenian orator, convinced a crowd that his client 
 threw his antagonist when the reverse was the fact. So with 
 Murray. His affected sincerity is convincing, and he wins his 
 .case, though he may heartily laugh over it afterwards. And yet 
 he has been a useful man to the public at large, and has filled a 
 great many offices of honor and of trust. He is a good lawyer, 
 a good talker, a good speaker, a good citizen ; full of energy ; full 
 of fun ; a regular bunch of fire-crackers among his friends ; 
 sympathetic, a real friend of the poor, kind-hearted, plain, blunt, 
 smiling " Bill Murray." 
 
 JAMES K. HUMPHREY FIRST CLERK OF FIRST COURT. 
 
 Mr. Humphrey was born in Ohio about 1832; educated at 
 the Western Reserve College ; read law with Gen. Dwight Jarvis ; 
 was admitted to the bar in 1846; studied medicine with Dr. 
 George Ashmun in 1847 and 1848; came to St. Paul in 1849; 
 was appointed Clerk of the District Court for Ramsey County 
 in 1849, and Clerk of the Supreme Court of the Territory, Janu- 
 ary, 1850; was in the United States revenue service from 1861 
 to 1876, or fifteen years. 
 
 He is a man of strongly marked individuality. He is very 
 democratic in his ideas, and is very little affected by public opin- 
 ion. He thinks what he pleases, does what he pleases, dresses 
 as he pleases, talks as he pleases, and when aroused, is most 
 emphatic in his denunciations. He is very methodical and delib- 
 erate in all he does ; is never in a hurry ; reasons carefully ; 
 is cautious, and gets through the world about as easily as most 
 men possibly could. He is a man of ability, and his speech be- 
 fore the Chamber of Commerce years ago, although written, was 
 an able paper. When in the revenue department his decisions 
 were considered final, so well posted was he in the revenue bus- 
 iness. He early purchased some terribly broken acres of land" 
 where the great wheat elevator now is, on the line of the Mani- 
 toba road, and after selling them five or six times, and being 
 obliged to take them back, he finally made a sale which netted 
 him some ^30,000 profit; and if he had held on to the property 
 until now, it would have made him g6o,ooo, but in this world of 
 
OF ST. FAUL, MINN. 151 
 
 inconceivabilities, " we can't most always know " what is best to 
 be done, and sometimes luck is more potent than brains, or even 
 what is termed business capacity. Mr. Humphrey several years 
 ago purchased Northern Pacific common stock for four and five 
 cents per share, and it went up to sixty and seventy cents per 
 share, giving him a handsome margin. He is a tall, slender 
 man, walks deliberately, with his head pressed forward, is quite 
 •courteous in his bearing, social in his nature, and is an unpre- 
 tending, pleasant gentleman. 
 
 THOMAS FOSTER. 
 
 I have no data by which I can fix the year in which Mr. 
 Foster was born, but he is now not far from seventy years of age, 
 and probably saw the light of this world for the first time in the 
 -State of Pennsylvania, about 1815. He came to St. Paul in 
 1849, after studying and practicing medicine in the East, and 
 was for a short time physician to the Sioux Indians. He also 
 .accompanied Gov. Ramsey on some of his treaty-making trips, 
 and at one time ran a small drug store on the corner of Third 
 and Exchange streets. Some time about 1858 or 1859^ he pur- 
 •chased the interests of Owens & Moore in the Daily Minnesotian, 
 and commenced his career as an editor. He was a pungent, 
 caustic writer, but with very little discretion; believed in the 
 ■doctrine of " pitching in " to everybody personally, and conse- 
 •quently soon lost his influence. He subordinated everything 
 else to his own individual opinion. In this respect he was an 
 ■editorial tyrant. 
 
 A cute trick — the bogus dispatches. 
 
 James M.Winslow had opened the first telegraph office in St. 
 Paul, and when absent a difficulty had arisen with the Times, then 
 edited by the writer, and the telegraph operator, concerning the 
 reception of some election returns, and this difficulty had extended 
 to the Minnesotian, and both papers stopped their telegraphic dis- 
 patches. On the return of Winslow, Goodrich, of the Pioneer, 
 slipped in between the two discontented papers and secured the 
 exclusive cohtrol of the dispatches, leaving the other two daily 
 journals out in the cold. 
 
 The Pioneer would appear first, then the other papers would 
 copy from that paper, and appear simultaneously, and so matters 
 
252 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ran, until Foster conceived the idea that he would get ahead of 
 the Times by bribing a Pioneer pressman to give him an advance 
 copy of the Pioneer, which was to be placed under a certain 
 stone, for a certain consideration. True enough, Foster got the 
 paper, put in the dispatches, and the Times copied from Foster, 
 whose paper had been circulated. Just as my paper was about 
 to go to press, out came the Pioneer with the genuine dispatches 
 (only one copy of the bogus dispatches having been printed for 
 Foster's benefit,) announcing the trick, and I then whipped into 
 my office, had the genuine dispatches set up from the Pioneer, 
 called the readers' attention to the bogus affair, which I published 
 along side the genuine, as a clear indication of my superior enter- 
 prise, and ended by crowing loudly over the fact of my unim- 
 peachable sagacity in not being duped ! I knew better ! of course 
 I did! Foster was the victim, but I escaped just " by the skin of 
 my teeth ! " — as the boys say — " you bet ! " Of course the Pioneer 
 grinned and Foster growled — " Sold, sold.' ' 
 
 A BIT OF HISTORY. 
 
 Soon after this the leading Republicans of the State got to- 
 gether and signified their desire that the two Republican papers — 
 the Times and the Minnesotian — should unite, and if this thing 
 could be done the paper thus united should have the public print- 
 ing. After several meetings it was agreed that the consolidated 
 concern should be the Minnesotian and the Times, with the firm 
 name of Newson, Moore, Foster & Co., and under this arrange- 
 ment Newson and Foster were to have equal powers as editors, 
 one not to interfere with the editorials of the others. It was also 
 understood that the paper should sustain the action of the party 
 in the Legislature, and not dictate to them, as had been Foster's 
 habit ; so I wrote a leading editorial to this effect, and went home, 
 then living at Lake Como. Foster, in the meantime, garbled this 
 editorial and added to it, telling the Republican members what 
 they should and what they should not do, and thus it was printed 
 unknown to the writer. Of course the next morning the Repub- 
 licans were indignant ; a coalition was made against the paper, 
 O. Brown, of Faribault, was elected printer, and the next day I 
 summarily dissolved the partnership, and ran the TzV^fj separately 
 thereafter, until it was leased to William R. Marshall, and soon 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINA. 153 
 
 after the Minnesotian died a natural death. This little bit of his- 
 tory tells the character of Foster as an editor and a man, better 
 than a volume possibly could. 
 
 AT DULUTH. 
 
 With the remnant of the wreck of the Minnesotian office, 
 Foster removed to Duluth and revived his old paper, which he 
 ran for a short time, secured some property there, sold it, started 
 a mill in Virginia, became divorced from his first wife, married 
 again, was in an office in the department at Washington, and is 
 now somewhere down South, I believe, editing a paper. He had 
 some social qualities, but was a positive, arbitrary character, 
 which proved more an injury to himself than to others. 
 
 Here I am again, harping on 1 849, but I can't help it ; peo- 
 ple would come to the city that year, and I must entertain them, 
 even if I do exhaust the patience of some others who want to 
 jump into the '50's. 
 
 EDMUND RICE. 
 
 Mr. Rice was born in Vermont in 1819; removed to Michi- 
 gan in 1838; studied law and was admitted to practice in 1842 ; 
 was Master in Chancery, Register of the Court of Chancery for the 
 third circuit, and clerk of the Supreme Court of the State ; served 
 in the Mexican war in 1848 ; settled in St. Paul in 1849; was a 
 member of the law firm of Rice, HoUinshead & Becker ; left 
 this firm in 1855 ; became the president of the Minnesota & Pa- 
 cific Railroad Company in 1857 ; also president of its successors, 
 the St. Paul and Pacific, and the St. Paul and Chicago, until 
 1872 ; made several trips to Europe in the interest of these com- 
 panies, and may very properly be denominated the father of the 
 railway system of Minnesota. Even before these roads were 
 thought of, he took great interest in a projected road called the 
 Northwestern, but which failed to get a recognition by Congress 
 in consequence of " skullduggery " which was used in passing 
 the bill. Indeed I may say he became a railroad man immediately 
 after giving up the practice of law, and continued in this line of 
 business over a quarter of a century. He was a member of the 
 Legislature in i85i-'67-'72-'77-'78; of the State Senate in 
 i864-5-'73-4; Mayor of the city of St. Paul; at one time 
 County Commissioner; Democratic candidate for Governor in 
 
154 PEN PICTURES 
 
 1879; Mayor of St. Paul in 1885, second time; and has filled 
 various other posts, of honor and of trust. He is a man whose 
 name has been as closely indentified with the material interests 
 of St. Paul as any person dead or living. He slipped out of 
 law into railroading as easily as a locomotive can go down hill 
 without brakes, and through the money of a railroad company 
 he has at last secured a competency to sustain himself and family 
 in their declining years. The great poet well said — " All's well 
 that ends well," and Mr. Rice can verify the correctness of the 
 expression in his own individual history. 
 
 HIS OLD HOMESTEAD. 
 
 Mr. Rice, in connection with Mr. Becker, secured some 320 
 acres of land, (Mr. Rice having one-half of it,) I think, of Phelan, 
 away back in 1849 or 1850, at a cost of about ^400 in gold, and 
 upon these one hundred and sixty acres he erected a large and 
 handsome house, and here is where most of his family where born, 
 and here, in this beautiful and romantic spot is were they spent 
 their early years. Part of the ground was finally laid off into 
 lots and sold, and the balance was disposed of to the Northern 
 Pacific Railroad Company about one year ago, for ;^250,000, so 
 out of this and the sale of lots, Mr. Rice realized for this prop- 
 erty the fine sum of about ;^399,6oo. It is a little remarkable 
 that having spent over a quarter of a century in railroad matters, 
 during which time he became involved, that a railroad company 
 should at last purchase his property and thereby put him finan- 
 cially upon his feet, a fact quite as interesting to the public as it 
 is to his family, or to his intimate friends. 
 
 THE MAN PERSONALLY. 
 
 A large, commanding figure and a courtly bearing, pleasant 
 smiles and most affable ways, an unaffected dignity and a calm 
 repose, mark the peculiar characteristics of Edmund Rice. 
 Coupled with these may be added a most generous nature and a 
 kind heart, with a sociability that would lull to rest even the 
 irritable temper of Bismarck, and I have in the subject of my 
 sketch elements which combined make him one of the most 
 popular men in the Northwest. His very presence commands 
 respect, and if that should fail, his good nature will always win 
 
OF Sr. PAUL, MINN. 155 
 
 an avenue to the better parts of the human heart. Mr. Rice's hfe 
 has not been one of sunshine and of pleasure, but it has been one 
 of battle — a constant struggle for supremacy ; and his patience, 
 and hopefulness, and untiring efforts during all these long years ; 
 his perseverance ; his devotion ; his unruffled philosophy ; his 
 calmness ; his fidelity to his friends, and his unyielding faith in a 
 better day coming, have won for him the crowning glory of a 
 true, a heroic and an honest man. The sublime imperturbability 
 with which he has met reverses in the past, and the equally sub- 
 lime unaffected simplicity with which he greeted prosperity when 
 it came, only show the peculiar metal of which the man is made, 
 and give us the key to a character which would adorn the pages 
 of Roman history. And yet Mr. Rice has plucked the flowers 
 by the way-side as he passed the mile-stones of manhood and of 
 middle-age — in a word — " as he journeyed through life he has 
 lived by the way " — not ostentatiously, but placidly, calmly, con- 
 tentedly, and thus, in old age, mellowed by the cares and trials 
 of an active career and sustained by a respectable bank account, 
 he ought to reach the end of his journey, as no doubt he will, 
 the personification of a genial, gentle, loving patriarch, perhaps 
 the last of the old settlers wandering amid the graves of his 
 friends, the best and noblest of them all. 
 
 GEORGE L. BECKER. 
 
 Mr. Becker was born in New York in 1829; removed to 
 Michigan in 1841 ; was educated at the University of Michigan 
 in 1 842 ; graduated in 1 846 ; studied law with George Sedgwick 
 up to 1 849, when he emigrated to St. Paul ; formed a copartner- 
 ship with Edmund Rice and a man by the name of Whithall, 
 and about a year after the firm became Rice, Hollinshead & 
 Becker, and continued in successful practice up to 1855, when 
 Mr. Rice retired, and the business was run by Hollinshead & 
 Becker a year longer, when Mr. Becker withdrew. In 1857 he 
 was elected one of three members of Congress from this State, 
 but the lack of population prevented him from taking his seat, 
 the State being entitled to only two members, when he promptly re- 
 signed, giving the position to somebody else. He was appointed 
 Land Commissioner of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad in 1 862 ; 
 was elected president of the same road in 1 864 ; held the posi- 
 
156 PEN PICTURES 
 
 tion for about twelve years; built some 317 miles of road; en- 
 listed foreign capital ; aided in developing a wilderness country ; 
 in 1854 was elected an Alderman of the city; in 1856 was 
 elected Mayor; was chosen to the Democratic Constitutional 
 Convention in 1857; was nominated for Governor on the Demo- 
 cratic ticket in 1859; in 1867 was elected to the Senate from 
 Ramsey County; re-elected in 1869; nominated for Congress 
 in 1872, but defeated; has been president of the Western 
 Railroad Company; and engaged at one time somewhat in farm- 
 ing in Brown's Valley, where he has some considerable property. 
 Years ago he traded some lots at Superior, City for the residence 
 of John I. Warren, across Trout Brook, and subsequently tore 
 down this building and erected a large and handsome mansion, 
 where he now resides. 
 
 MR. BECKER PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Becker is an ordinarily sized man, with rather mobile 
 features, and is somewhat retiring in his disposition. He is a pleas- 
 antly spoken gentleman ; domestic in his tastes, and moves along 
 in his-every day duties quietly and methodically. While presi- 
 dent of the Pacific Railroad Company he was untiring in his 
 efforts to make the company's affairs a success, and did much 
 toward the development of what is now known to be one of the 
 best portions of Minnesota. He is interested as a citizen in mat- 
 ters which concern the common good, and has always thrown 
 the weight of his influence in the scale of good order, sobriety 
 and law. He is popular with the masses, as the various offices 
 he has held clearly show ; and while he has not been much before 
 the. public of late years, yet he is held in high esteem as a worthy 
 citizen. He is at present a membar of the Railroad Commission. 
 
 WM. HOLLINSHEAD AS A LAWYER. 
 
 Mr. Hollinshead was born in Philadelphia about 1835 ; stud- 
 ied and practiced law in that city ; was a member of the Legisla- 
 ture of that State ; came to St. Paul in 1 849 ; connected himself 
 with Messrs. Rice and Becker in the law firm of Rice, Hollins- 
 head & Becker, which in its business was one of the largest law 
 firms in the West ; continued in this firm up to the time of its 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 2.57 
 
 dissolution, and died at the age of thirty-nine years. Mr. Hol- 
 linshead's second wife was Miss Rice, sister of Henry M. and 
 Edmund Rice, and is still living. 
 
 He was a clear-cut lawyer, and among the best that practiced 
 at the bar. He made law his specialty, and what he knew he 
 knew well. His cases were prepared with great care, and his 
 papers were scrupulously neat and clean. He was also an excel- 
 lent speaker, and it is said of him by a gentleman who lost his 
 case when Hollinshead was his opponent — " D n that fel- 
 low!, he just came up before the jury, threw back his head, 
 opened his mouth, and in ten minutes he had the twelve men by 
 the ears. I knew I should lose my case when I saw him enter 
 the court room, and I did." 
 
 He used clean English terms and conveyed his meaning in 
 a very direct way. He was also a good writer. I remember an 
 article written by him in defense of the old ^^ 5, 000,000 railroad 
 bond bill, which was published in the Times, and it was a masterly 
 piece of argument and sarcasm. It is generally conceded by all 
 the old lawyers who knew Mr. Hollinshead, that he was an able 
 man at the bar in his day, and had he lived he would have been 
 the ablest lawyer of to-day, simply because he gave up all his 
 time and his talents to the profession, and in it he excelled. I 
 believe he never held any office, except as above. 
 
 HIS GENERAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 He was a large, bulky man, with a florid complexion, and 
 possessed great energy, and resembled somewhat John Mathies. 
 He came down the street like k cyclone, and when he appeared 
 before a jury he overawed weak men by his impressive personal- 
 ity. He spoke right at his case, not round it, or over it, but 
 pierced it with his arguments and throttled it with his vehemence. 
 He was more like a lion shaking his shaggy locks at his enemy, 
 than an ordinary man, and when Michael E. Ames appeared as 
 the counsel on the opposing side, the contrast was striking, as 
 Ames was a perfect Chesterfield in manners, slender in person, 
 and as gentle as a lamb. Hollinshead was a social man ; liked 
 good company, and after he had won his case, nobody enjoyed 
 a pleasant " sit-down " better than he. He died in the full vigor 
 of manhood. 
 
J58 PEN PICTURES 
 
 A. R. FRENCH — WHAT HE LOST. 
 
 Mr. French must have been born somewhere in the year 
 1810. In early life he was a soldier in the Mexican war ; was at 
 Fort Snelling ; came to St. Paul in 1 849 ; opened the first auc- 
 tion store on Third street, near Jackson ; ran a ferry-boat ; lived 
 for several years in West St. Paul, and was an active, stirring 
 man. He was at one time with Frank Collins, another noted 
 aiictioneer in his day, who is now dead. French drifted to Wash- 
 ington, where he secured a situation, and where he now lives in 
 pleasant, comfortable circumstances. He was an energetic, pleas- 
 ant man, and among the old settlers is very kindly remembered. 
 
 French made a claim in early days near Merriam Park; 
 then he made a claim of 160 acres near St. Paul, now Elfelt and 
 Bernheimer's addition, for which Mr. Elfelt paid him ^2.50 per 
 acre ; now worth ;^6,ooo per acre. Original sum paid French 
 for the 1 60 acres, ;^400. Property now worth ;^96o,ooo. French's 
 loss in not holding on, ;^959,6oo. Of course these are small 
 items to old settlers, and the loss of ^1,000,000 does not disturb 
 their equilibrium, but then it is a matter of history, and as such 
 I record it. What might have been and what is, are two dis- 
 tinct propositions. What is and what may be, are matters for 
 the consideration of those who live to-day. Will they be wiser 
 than the old settlers of 1 849 ? Let us wait and see. 
 
 " don't dream again ! " 
 
 We are all dreaming. Some of pleasure ; some of fame ; 
 some of money. We can't live without dreaming. The mind 
 must first conceive the ideal before the material is born. Every- 
 thing invisible has a tangibility, and everything tangible has an 
 invisibility. Shakspeare says : 
 
 " We are such stuft' as dreams are made of, 
 And our little lives are rounded with a sleep." 
 
 Shakspeare was right. We are all bundles of dreams ; of 
 thought-projectors; of idealities; without which we could not 
 exist ; and then after all — 
 
 "Our little lives are rounded virith a sleep." 
 
 Thirty-six years ago an old Indian chief, residing near St. 
 Paul, owned some forty acres of land, which were as even and 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINX. ir>9 
 
 as beautiful as ever lay out doors. This chief was in the- habit 
 of visiting his Kersmokerman nechee, or white man friend, and 
 this friend had a military coat, with its blue cloth, glittering but- 
 tons, gold trimmings and gaudy epaulettes, which the chief 
 grealy admired. One morning, after having spent the night 
 with the old forty-niner, the chief addressed him about as follows 
 — " Me dream ! me see coat ! me like coat ! Me see white man 
 give one Indian coat ! Ho ! " 
 
 The old settler paused for a moment, walked across the 
 room, took down the coat, handed it to the chief, and remarked 
 — " I dislike very much to part with this old friend of my bet- 
 ter days, but the coat is yours." "Ho! Ho! " ejaculated the 
 chief and with an earnest request for his white friend to come and 
 see him in his tepee, he walked off with all the dignity of a mili- 
 tary hero, with the coat, of course, upon his back. A short 
 time after this the old settler of 1849, well known in this city, 
 spent a night with the chief, and in the morning he told the In- 
 dian that he also had a dream, and in response to the question 
 " What ? " he replied — " Kersmokerman dreamed that one Indian 
 gave nechee big heap land," pointing to the forty acres which 
 could be seen from the tepee door. The chief gave several ex- 
 tra whiffs to his pipe, crossed his legs, dropped his blanket, stood 
 erect with a self-satisfied air that he had been beaten, and ex- 
 claimed — " Nechee Kersmokerman shall have big heap land, 
 but — " (pointing his finger at his friend in a most impressive and 
 almost supplicating manner) — " Kersmokerman, white man, 
 don't dream again." 
 
 D. A. J. BAKER. 
 
 Even old settlers will be a little surprised to learn that our 
 genial and familiar Judge Baker taught one of the first public 
 schools in* the Territory of Minnesota, and yet history records 
 this fact, or at least it ought to. Mr. Baker was born in Maine, 
 in 1825 ; educated in his native state; studied law ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1849; taught school as above, which was composed of 
 103 scholars ; practiced law in this city for three years ; in com- 
 pany with others pre-empted the land and located what is now 
 Superior City in Wisconsin ; jn six months thereafter sold his 
 interest in that place for ;g8o,ooo in gold; was appointed Judge 
 
160 PEN PICTURES 
 
 by the Governor of Wisconsin ; held his commission about three 
 years ; was County Superintendent of Schools for ten years ; 
 was a member of the committee that framed the Constitution of 
 this State ; about 1 867 removed to Rose township ; built on his 
 farm the largest and finest green-house in the Northwest, occu- 
 pied important positions in the town, such as chairman of Super- 
 visors, County Superintendent of Schools, etc., etc., and has 
 always been deeply interested in politics from his peculiar Dem- 
 ocratic stand-point. He married Miss C. C. Kneland, to whom 
 he was devotedly attached, who died in 1875. He formerly 
 owned and lived in the double house which is nearly in the center 
 of what is now known as Merriam Park, a thriving settlement 
 about two miles from the city. He then purchased the old Hab- 
 good place, some two miles above Merriam, and here he formerly 
 devoted a great deal of his time in cultivating and adorning his 
 place, and in raising elegant flowers, in which he was ably assisted 
 by his wife. 
 
 BAKER PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Baker's long residence in this city, and his constant 
 association with its interests after his removal to Rose township, 
 entitle him to recognition as an old settler, and as such he is 
 very generally known. He is a large man ; moderate in gait and 
 moderate in speech ; very decided in his opinions ; bold and dar- 
 ing in his attacks, when he makes them ; loves to dispute legal 
 points, and is rather fascinated with the law and its mysteries ; 
 is a man of courage ; of force of character, and had he struck a 
 different groove when he started out in life, he might have been 
 something far different from what he now is — simply Judge Baker. 
 When he fights, he fights — I mean of course figuratively — when 
 he loves, he loves. He is a man of strong mental charactericities, 
 crushing down all opposition in his course, and yet he yields to 
 argument and gives way under the pressure of facts. He is warm- 
 hearted, generous, tender in his affections, a devoted friend and a 
 more loving husband never lived. 
 
 WHISKY vs. THE BARN. 
 
 Judge Baker's place on the old St. Anthony road to which I 
 have already alluded, became involved in debt, and he finally had 
 to leave it. On the opposite side of the street was an elegant 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 161 
 
 barn, and the Judge was bound to save it from the legal meshes 
 of the law, so just before the time expired carrying it out of his 
 possession, it is reported that he hired a large number of men on 
 Sunday, and set them to work removing the barn off the premises 
 into a street, and under the stimulating effects of ardent spirits, 
 the huge structure groaned and twisted, and finally was landed 
 safely on the public thoroughfare. Of course papers enjoining 
 him were gotten out, but could not be served because it was Sun- 
 day. Indeed the barn was removed before scarcely anybody in 
 the city knew anything about it. I have been told by physicians, 
 and of course they ought to know from their own personal ex- 
 perience, that in case of sickness, whisky given to patients will 
 stimulate them, but it is the first time to my knowledge, when 
 whisky given to a huge barn would stimulate it sufficiently to 
 enable it to get up and walk off of another man's premises and 
 settle down into the public highway! And yet when the case was 
 tried the judge alleged that this was the fact, and as the barn was 
 a free-moral agent and not in favor of high license and moved 
 itself, nobody could be convicted of doing wrong. 
 
 MRS. BAKER, 
 
 As I remember her, was a tall, graceful', fascinating woman, 
 lovely in her nature and charming in her manners. 
 
 " None knew her but to love her, 
 Nor loved her but to praise." _ 
 
 She was an affectionate wife and a devoted mother, and amid 
 all the trials and vicissitudes incident to the ups and downs of an 
 old settler's career, she never murmured, never complained, never 
 fretted, never chided ; always cheerful, always hopeful, casting 
 sunshine into the home, and weaving about those she loved, 
 golden chains of unbroken affection. 
 
 \ " Home's not merely four square walls, 
 
 Though with pictures hung and gilded; 
 Home is where affection calls, 
 
 Filled with shrines the heart has shielded. 
 Home ! go watch the faithful dove 
 
 Sailing 'neath the heaven above us — 
 Home is where there's one to love. 
 
 Home is where there's one to love us." 
 
 u 
 
162 PEN PICTURES 
 
 The vacant chair ; the hushed voice ; the quietness which 
 broods over the household, all tell us that the gentle woman, 
 the affectionate mother, the tender wife, the pleasant friend, has 
 passed into another life, higher, better, nobler than this ; and if 
 it be true, as the Indians allege, that the spirits of the dead are 
 connected with the living by unseen silver cords, then Mrs. Baker 
 will draw up after her all those she loved so fondly here. 
 
 SEAL OF THE OLD SETTLERS* ASSOCIATION THE PAST. 
 
 " In the background is delineated a plain ; in the distance 
 are seen the last rays of the setting sun ; nearer are seen Indian 
 hunters, their lodges, women and children, and a herd of buffalo." 
 
 THE FUTURE. 
 
 " Prominent in the foreground stands an aged man with sil- 
 vered hair ; he leans upon a staff; he is in the midst of a ceme- 
 tery ; the spire of a church is seen in the distance.^ As he turns 
 from a survey of the various monuments which mark the resting 
 place of departed old settlers, his eye rests upon a new-made 
 grave. It is that of his late associate ; he is the last survivor ; 
 his companions have fallen asleep. It is 1900. A group of 
 children in the foreground represent the rising generation of Min- 
 nesota, which shall reap the fruits of the ' pioneer's toil.' " 
 
 There is something very impressive about this seal,, and 
 especially the future, as delineated in the aged man who wanders 
 among the graves of his dead companions, the last of them all. 
 Old settlers are not unmindful of the suggestive warning this 
 picture presents. 
 
 GOING into the COUNTRY. 
 
 Mounting the top of a stage at the old American House, 
 (the inside of said vehicle being crowded with passengers,) I 
 snuffed the free, fresh air of the early morning, and as the driver 
 cracked his whip and the noble animals sped on their way, we 
 rolled up the hill at the end of Third street and were soon on the 
 old road which led to the Falls of St. Anthony. What a deUehtful 
 invigorating ride that was on the top of that stage ! How rapidly 
 the horses moved over the ground ! How the dust flew ! How the 
 heart became exhilarated ! How the passengers laughed, and sang, 
 and joked ! How the birds twittered ! How the squirrels chirped ! 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 163 
 
 We were going out of the great, bustling city of St. Paul, with 
 its 1,000 inhabitants, into the free air of the country ! And wasn't 
 it glorious ? Of course it was. The old stage since then has 
 been pushed out on to the frontier, and I see it only occasionally 
 in pictures, but I never can forget the good times I once had 
 in the past, inside its cozy walls. But stop a minute ! Look 
 over to the right ! See that white house with green blinds, that 
 large barn, with the figure of a rooster on the top, that lovely 
 garden stretching down to the road, those waving fields of grain, 
 in the midst of which is the elegant home of the thrifty farmer ! 
 What a charming scene ! " Driver ! I stop here." I dismount. 
 I wind up the long lane amid a row of beautiful trees ; I pause 
 on the edge of a green lawn ; I step upon the portico ; I enter 
 the house ; I turn back a moment and gaze with admiration on 
 the scene before me ; I re-enter ; so home-like, so neat, so pleas- 
 ant, so harmonious, so loving — the quiet abode of E. N. Larpen- 
 teur, now a thing of the past, gone forever, and with it the old 
 owner who sleeps the sleep that knows no waking. Every old 
 settler of St. Paul will recognize this picture ; every lover of 
 nature, of beauty, of neatness, of taste, of industry, of quietness, 
 of repose, of independence, will recur to the thrifty and beautiful 
 farm-house that thirty years ago could be seen on the old St. 
 Anthony road, and many will recall very pleasant recollections 
 of by-gone days. 
 
 " How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood, 
 When fond recollections recall them to view ; 
 The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood. 
 And every loved spot that my infancy knew. 
 
 " The mill, and the wide-spreading pond that stood near it; 
 The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell; 
 The cot of my father; the dairy-house nigh it, 
 And e'en the old bucket that hung in the well. 
 
 "The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket. 
 The moss-covered bucket that hung in the well." 
 
 E. N. LARPENTEUR. 
 
 Mr. Larpenteur, the owner of the farm just alluded to, was 
 born in Paris, France, in 1805 ; emigrated to America when a 
 young man and settled in Maryland, where he carried on farm- 
 ing; removed to St. Paul in 1849 and purchased for ;^300 the 
 
164 PEN PICTURES 
 
 farm land to which I have already alluded. His father occupied 
 a prominent place of honor in France, but through his Republi- 
 can principles, which were not congenial to the monarchy of that 
 day, he sought the shores of our Republic, where he could give 
 free expression to his opinion. He died of cholera in the city of 
 St. Paul, on May 6, 1849, aged seventy-one years. E. N. Lar- 
 penteur, the son, continued his farming operations three miles 
 from St. Paul until about the year 1867, when he sold the land 
 for J 1 2,000, now worth ;^ 100,000, and gave each of his children 
 something to start with in life. He was a member of the Old 
 Settlers' Association, of the Union Francaise, and a devoted 
 member of the Catholic Church. After disposing of his farm he 
 resided until his death in this city, where his widow, his two 
 daughters and a son now live. Mrs. Larpenteur has reached the 
 good old age of seventy-nine years, and is still living in this city. 
 She is surrounded with some of her children and grandchildren 
 and many friends, and is happy and comfortable in her declining 
 years. 
 
 AS A MAN. 
 
 Mr. Larpenteur was a rare specimen of a completed man ; 
 always active, always cheerful, always industrious ; devoted to 
 his family, faithful to his religion, honest, frugal, upright, he has 
 left behind him six children and eighteen grandchildren, and 
 hundreds of friends who will ever keep green in memory his 
 many virtues and his sterling qualities. He died in 1877, aged 
 seventy-three years. 
 
 E. L. LARPENTEUR, 
 
 The son of E. N. Larpenteur, was born in Baltimore, Octo- 
 ber, 1840, in the same house where five other children first saw 
 the light of day ; came to St. Paul with his father in 1 849, and 
 worked on the farm in Rose township for about fourteen years, 
 when, in 1866 he removed to this city and became connected 
 with the music house of Zenzius & Hanke, both dead ; for a time 
 was engaged at the Opera House ; devoted several years in collect- 
 ing rents for houses and other bills ; was married in 1873 ; opened 
 a large and fashionable millinery and dressmaking establishment 
 on upper Third street; entered into co-partnership with John B. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 165 
 
 Dow, for the manufacture of clothing, and employed a large 
 number of girls and women ; retired from business in consequence 
 of ill-health ; has been a proipinent Third-ward Republican politi- 
 cian ; has lived in the same ward eighteen years, and has been 
 many times appointed judge of elections ; at present he is taking 
 care of his own private matters, ^nd financially is in a comfortable 
 condition. 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF " DOC." 
 
 When an infant about sixteen months old, young Larpen- 
 teur was as sound and as active as any child ever born, but all 
 of a sudden he lost the use of his limbs, it is alleged from teeth- 
 ing, and from that time forward to the present period, his spine 
 has been affected. Of course physicians were employed to aid 
 the little fellow in his affliction, but their efforts were unavailing. 
 The child soon came to view the doctors as sacred beings, and 
 henceforth began to imitate them, mixing medicines, looking at 
 the tongue, feeling the pulse and talking learnedly of the symp- 
 toms, of the patient, and so well had he mastered his profession 
 that on one occasion he stuffed into the mouth of a neighbor's 
 child a mixture of sand, mud and soap, and completely cured 
 her of the disease of which she was afflicted. He also ground 
 up cream candy, put it into papers and doled it out to the sick as 
 powders. His success in this line gained him a diploma from his 
 friends, and he was dubbed thereafter " Doc," and has ever since 
 meekly borne the title. 
 
 MR. LARPENTEUR PERSONALLY. 
 
 Although an invalid Mr. Larpenteur is one of the most active 
 and indefatigable workers in the city, and accomplishes in the way 
 of business a good deal more than many able-bodied men. He is 
 a man of excellent judgment; cool and collected; careful, hon- 
 est, systematic, trustworthy, gentlemanly, kind-hearted and very 
 independent, especially in the matter of his religious belief, conced- 
 ing to others what he himself claims the right to have — to think 
 as he pleases. Many acts of kindness and of charity, which the 
 world will never know anything about, will be credited to Mr. 
 Larpenteur when his final account is adjusted ; and many in the 
 lowly walks of life will miss a true friend, when " Little Doc." 
 has passed out of material sight into the realms of perfected 
 
166 PEN PICTURES 
 
 manhood. He is one of the best-known old settlers in the city, 
 and his familiar face is recognized almost everywhere. He is 
 esteemed as a man and respected as a citizen. 
 
 RAMSEY COUNTY CREAfl'ED. \, ^ ' 
 
 Ramsey County was creat^W the^I^isl'ature'?^ the year 
 1849, and named after Governor 'Ramsey. ' Up to this time all 
 the records of the Territory were kept at Stillwater, and here is 
 where all the lawyers resided. Stillwater was^then the big town, 
 and St. Anthony was the next biggest town, but St. Paul began to 
 grow, and it was finally settled as to what place would carry off 
 the honors when St. Paul was made the temporary Capital of 
 the Territory. From that period the place began to increase in 
 population and wealth. Then came the first paper, schools, 
 churches, civilization, and Stillwater and St. Anthony fell way 
 behind. 
 
 DAVID COOPER AS A MAN. 
 
 Judge Cooper was born in Pennsylvania somewhere about 
 1820; studied and practiced law in his native State; was ap- 
 pointed one of the Associate Judges of the first Supreme Court 
 of the Territory of Minnesota, by President Taylor ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1849; at the expiration of his term he practiced law in 
 this city ; finally went to Nevada ; made mining titles his spe- 
 cialty ; from thence he removed to Utah, where he died, aged about 
 fifty-five years. 
 
 Judge Cooper was a medium-sized man, with a clear com- 
 plexion, good features, very gentlemanly in his make-up, and 
 was especially noted for his ruffled shirt bosom and ruffled cuffs, 
 which gave him the appearance of " an old-school gentleman," 
 such as we see in the person of Wm. Penn. He had a neat 
 appearance except when he allowed tobacco juice to drop on 
 his shirt bosom, as he was an inveterate lover of the weed. 
 He was a diligent student ; not brilliant as a lawyer nor as a Judge, 
 yet a good deal of an antagonist in a legal fight, and was very 
 social in his habits. 
 
 " I'll read the rules myself." 
 
 The rules governing the first court were submitted to the 
 judges in the hand-writing of several lawyers, and were conse- 
 
OF 8T. PAUL, MINN. 167 
 
 quently very hard to read. Clerk J. K. Humphrey had mastered 
 about one-third of them, then hesitated, and was trying to pick 
 out a word to make sense, when Cooper reached over the desk, 
 and in an irritable manner asked for the book, remarking — " I'll 
 read the rules myself," and then muttering something about hav- 
 ing a clerk who could neither read nor write, he proceeded to do 
 what Humphrey could not do, viz., read just three lines, when he 
 came to a pause, turned the book to the light, twisted it one way 
 and then the other, looked up, became red in the face, threw the 
 book down on the desk and ordered a recess of the court. Hum- 
 phrey " sniggered right out in meetin'," the lawyers laughed, the 
 Judge pulled his hat over his head and remarked — " A lawyer 
 that will write such a hand as that ought to be suspended from 
 practicing in the Courts." That same lawyer subsequently be- 
 came a United States Senator from Minnesota, the Judge died in 
 a hospital in a distant western State, a poor, broken-down man. 
 Humphrey still lives in St. Paul, and is as calm and as good- 
 natured now as he was then, thirty-six years ago. 
 
 J. W. BOND, AND HIS PECULIARITIES. 
 
 Capt. Bond was born in Pennsylvania about 1825; came to 
 St. Paul in 1 849 ; accompanied Gov. Ramsey in his treaty- 
 making tours ; wrote " Camp-Fire Sketches," and other articles ; 
 in 1853 opened a drug store in upper town with M. N. Kellogg ; 
 issued a work called " Minnesota and her resources ; " bought out 
 Kellogg and ran the business to 1861, when he was appointed 
 Captain Commissary in the army ; served four years ; went to 
 Europe ; returned ; was State Emigrant Agent for several years, 
 and latterly has been engaged in the insurance business. 
 
 Captain Bond is peculiar. He has a good-sized bald head ; 
 is slender in person, but a man of indomitable will-power and 
 energy ; is persevering ■ and determined ; prides himself upon be- 
 ing independent, and snaps his fingers at public opinion. He is 
 a man of considerable ability as a writer ; very secretive ; keeps 
 out of society; loves home; in a word turns his back upon the 
 world, caring very little for its good opinion or its bad. He 
 takes very little interest in public affairs, and plods on in his own 
 individual groove. He gained some notoriety years ago by a 
 dream he claims to have had wherein he pictured out the con- 
 
1G8 PEN PICTURES 
 
 struction of the Northern Pacific railway and the growth of St. 
 Paul, most of which has actually come to pass. 
 
 J. C. TERRY. 
 
 Mr. Terry was born in Ohio in 1824; was educated at an 
 academy in his native State ; learned the printing business ; 
 edited a paper in Lima ; was foreman of the Defraine Democrat, 
 Ohio ; was an attache of the army in Mexico ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1 849 ; engaged in lumbering ; was an employe on the Chron- 
 icle aiXid Register; published in 1851 the first Revised Statutes 
 of the Territory of Minnesota, and the volume bears his name ; 
 was the first publisher of the Minnesotian in 1852 ; was assistant 
 postmaster under Major Forbes and other postmasters, for eight- 
 een years ; was a member of the Board of Education for a 
 number of terms ; has been a member of the Board of Public 
 Works, and at present is secretary of the Masonic Relief Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 SOME REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS. 
 
 Mr. Terry drifted out of his various occupations into that 
 of real estate. He first purchased a lot on Walnut street, for 
 which he paid ;^ioo, worth now ;^6,ooo; owned two lots on 
 Wacouta street, for which he paid ;^300, worth ;^20,ooo; pur- 
 chased- corner of Eighth and Wacouta one lot for $\ ,800, worth 
 ;^ 1 5,000; fifty feet east of last lot for $200, will bring ;^7,ODO; 
 fifty feet east of the last property for ;^6oo, can't be purchased 
 now for ;^20,ooo; seventy-five feet on Seventh street for ^175, 
 sold it for ;^400, worth now ^30,000 ; corner of Sibley and Tenth 
 streets, 50x100 feet, ^800, sold for ^6,000, worth ^35,000; two 
 lots on Ninth street, one now owned by J. J. Hill, for which he 
 paid ;^5o, sold for ;^ioo, worth ^15,000; was offered forty acres 
 near where the old Park Place used to stSnd, corner St. Peter and 
 Summit avenue, for ;^3 per acre, or ;gi20; worth now ;$30,ooo 
 per acre, or in the aggregate ^1,200,000; was urged by Dr. 
 Borup to buy a block of lots on Third street, then a swamp, where 
 Griggs & Foster's warehouse now stands, for ;^so per block, but 
 Mr. Terry says most emphatically—" I did not take it." The 
 same block is now wOrth ;^30o,doo ! ! ! And so the list might be 
 carried out indefinitely, but I forbear. Terry says if he had 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. * 169 
 
 ^1,000,000 to-day he would invest it in St. Paul property, as he 
 has great faith in the growth of the city. 
 
 TERRY PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Terry is a tall man, moderate in his movements and 
 moderate in .his speech, and I never shall forget him as I saw 
 him for the iirst time with his large head peeping out from behind 
 the window of the old postoffice, thirty-two years ago. I thought 
 such a man, with such a head, ought to be distinguished in the 
 halls of Congress, or as the president of some immense railroad 
 corporation, but experience has taught me that it is not large 
 heads or brains that succeed financially, but small heads with 
 money-making proclivities will carry off the prize every time. 
 Mr. Terry, like many other old settlers, has had his ups and 
 downs ; his troubles and his trials ; yet he has filled his sphere 
 <of usefulness, and now, in advanced years, philosophically meets 
 events as they transpire. He is undemonstrative in his nature, 
 retiring in his disposition, and is esteemed both as a Mason and 
 a man. 
 
 " MONK HALL." 
 
 You pass by Moore's building at the Seven Corners, continue 
 up on the right West Seventh formerly Fort street, about half a 
 block, and you come to a long wooden edifice now occupied as 
 a fruit store, but better known to the old settlers as the rendez- 
 vous and residence of the late Luther H. Eddy. This building 
 formerly stood on the corner of Fort and Eagle streets and was 
 known as " Monk Hall," celebrated in its day for the conviviali- 
 ties incident to some of the men and the times of 1 849. Among 
 these was one known as " Jim Vincent," a splendid-looking fel- 
 low, whose social nature and gentlemanly bearing made him a 
 welcome guest anywhere, with or without money ; and then there 
 was Charlie Henniss, a warm-hearted, generous person, a good 
 newspaper writer, an effective and graceful speaker; and then 
 and then— but I will not mention any more names, but simply 
 
 state — 
 
 White spirits, black spirits, blue spirits, gray. 
 Mingle, mingle, mingle, but all have passed away ; 
 They sing not, they dance not, nor respond to our call. 
 But echo and re-echo the name of " Monk Hall." 
 
170 ' PEN PICTURES 
 
 From which one would infer (the poetry being partly origi- 
 nal,) that the old devotees of the past had come back to indulge 
 in the " flowing bowl " and to sing and live over again their weird 
 and mystic lives. One can almost hear the strains of the violin 
 and see the moving figures, and hear the voice of the leader call- 
 ing out — 
 
 " On with the dance, let joy be unconfined ; no sleep till morn, 
 Till youth and beauty meet, to chase the hours with flying feet." 
 
 And then the last night has come, the last song is to be 
 
 sung, the last dance to be enjoyed, the last farewell given, the 
 
 last drink taken, when we hear the chorus : 
 
 " Come, pass round the bowl — we'll drink while we stay, 
 Although from the hall *re the dawning of day 
 Our order forever wide-scattered shall be. 
 No more to unite in our wild revelry. 
 Bright spirits of Heaven, and spirits of hell, 
 With their thin airy forms and sulphurous smell, 
 Flit wildly around us and join in our glee. 
 Sing to our dancing and bend the gaj' knee." 
 
 The actors are all dead, but old " Monk Hall" still stands 
 to remind us of some of the incidents of 1 849, which I now pass 
 into history. 
 
 FIRST BANKERS BORUP & CAKES. 
 
 These gentlemen were the first legitimate bankers in the 
 Territory of Minnesota, and indeed I may say in the City of St. 
 Paul. Charles W. Borup, the senior member, was born in 
 Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1806, and died in St. Paul July, 1859, 
 aged 53 years. He came to Mackinaw, Lake Superior, in 1831, 
 was connected with what was known as the Northern Outfit, 
 established at St. Louis, to trade with the Chippewa Indians, and 
 had in charge trading posts at Rainy Lake. He subsequently 
 became chief agent of the American Fur Company, then con- 
 trolled by P. Choteau, Jr., & Co., of St. Louis, Missouri. At one 
 time he lived at Fort Snelling, Leech Lake, etc., and came to St. 
 Paul to reside permanently in 1 849. 
 
 BANKING BUSINESS. 
 
 In 1853 Borup and Oakes went into the banking business 
 in this city in a building which stood opposite the Merchants 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 171 
 
 hotel, where the Prince block now stands. In December of this 
 year I called upon them for the first money I had earned in the 
 Territory as a writer on the Pioneer — amount ;^I30 — when I was 
 told they did not have funds enough in the bank to pay, but they 
 would have some in a day or two. I waited and was paid. And 
 this was banking in the early days ! > Then their business increased, 
 and they moved to a room under the Merchants hotel. In course 
 of time the bank put out bills of an institution belonging to 
 George Smith, called the Atlanta money. Then the business of 
 the institution began to swell to large proportions ; but the peo- 
 ple became uneasy about this class of bills and they were driven 
 home on the bank, and thereafter the owners confined themselves 
 to a more ligitimate mode of financiering. 
 
 "two endorsers, sir." 
 
 Late one afternoon a then prominent dry goods merchant 
 and an intimate friend of Mr. Borup, rushed into the bank while 
 a crowd of men were standing about the paying clerk's desk, and 
 told Mr. Borup he wanted ;^3,ooo to send to New York. 
 
 " Have you two endorsers?" inquired Mr. Borup. 
 
 " Why — no — Mr. Borup. You know " 
 
 " Can't help it." 
 
 "Mr. Borup," expostulated the merchant, " if I don't get 
 this aid I am ruined." 
 
 " I can't help it, sir ; you must have two endorsers, sir ; that 
 is our rule, sir, and we can't deviate in your case." 
 
 The men in the crowd looked at each other and Borup went 
 on with his business. The merchant retired to his private room, 
 and sinking into a chair, exclaimed — " I am lost ! " when a gentle 
 tap was heard at the door and a boy handed him a note reading : 
 
 Your $3,000 has been sent. Never again ask for accommodations in a crowd 
 without being ready to comply with our rules. See me privately. Yours, B. 
 
 Of course the merchant was saved financially, and when he 
 wanted any further accommodation at the bank, he took good 
 care to see Mr. Borup " privately." 
 
 MR. BORUP PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Borup was a short, thick-set man, with a florid com- 
 plexion, and, I think, with blue eyes. He was quick in speech 
 
172 PEN PICTURES - 
 
 and quick in motion; very decided in his way and all business. 
 He could be very stern and then again could be very mild. He 
 was a remarkable man, of tact and will-power, never yielding in 
 business matters, and yet, as a father, husband, friend, kind, gentle, 
 loving. As a banking man of to-day he would rank high. 
 Charles H. Oakes, his partner, was right the opposite in all these 
 characteristics. He was always smiling, always kind, less brusque 
 in his ways than Borup, but more easy in his nature. He rarely 
 disagreed with anyone, and yet he was a man who had a mind 
 of his own. He was venturesome ; Borup never went outside of 
 legitimate business. They got along well together as partners, 
 as Borup did the business and Oakes always agreed with him. 
 
 HIS DEATH. 
 
 Mr. Borup entered his bank one morning and complained of 
 a pain in his heart. He finally left the bank, leaning on the arm 
 of a friend, still living, and reached his home. The friend left, 
 and in fifteen minutes after Mr. Borup was dead, struck down 
 while sitting in his chair, by heart disease. He was a man of 
 strong character, and as a financier would rank among the best 
 of to-day. He left quite a large family, only four or five of whom 
 survive him. 
 
 JUST ESCAPED LYNCHING. 
 
 Judge Goodrich informs me that while in a grocery store in 
 upper town on the 4th day of July, 1850, he overheard a rough 
 customer request volunteers to go down and lynch "old Borup." 
 The Judge's devoted friendship for Mr. B. led him to make quick 
 steps to the office of the doomed man, and he had just time to 
 inform Mr. Borup of what was in contemplation,, when the crowd 
 pressed in upon him. The leader informed the banker that he 
 had insulted not only them, but the whole American nation. 
 Borup wanted to know how, when they pointed to the top of his 
 house, which then stood on the corner of Fourth and Jackson 
 streets, and there they saw floating an English flag ! Borup was 
 dumbfounded, but recovering his senses he assured the crowd 
 that he meant no disrespect ; in fact, he did not know that the 
 flag was there. On investigation it was found that his little son 
 Gus, aged about six years, in rummaging a trunk, had found the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 213 
 
 flag which had been given to Mr. Borup by an Indian from the 
 British Possessions, and out of pure patriotism for the American 
 eagle, had cUmbed upon the top of the house and without the 
 consent or knowledge of his father, had thrown it to the breeze. 
 The crowd was satisfied with the explanation, and Mr. Borup 
 went into the house muttering to himself—" That Gus will be the 
 ruin of me yet" — while the little fellow shoved his hands deep 
 down into his breeches pockets with a self-assured air that he 
 was master of the situation. Gus is still alive. 
 
 JOHN ROGERS — OLDEST CONTINUOUS LANDLORD IN THE CITY. 
 
 I find that notwithstanding I have reached the year 1850, 
 yet there are several old settlers left straggling along in 1 849, and 
 I propose to pick them up and put them among the other land- 
 marks which adorn my history. One of the most unpretending 
 of these is John Rogers, who kept a hotel on Robert street, next 
 to the new German-American Bank,. up to 1885, and where he 
 had continuously acted as landlord for the past thirty-two years, 
 out-ranking any other landlord in the city or State. Mr. Rogers 
 was born in Ireland in 1828, came to America in 1845, and to 
 St. Paul in 1849. He purchased two lots where he now lives on 
 Robert street, for ;^250, worth at present $30,000. Upon one of 
 these lots he built a small wooden house in which he resided, and 
 later, in 1852, he erected on his other lot the brick building which 
 is now his hotel. In 1 849 the land was prairie back to Waba- 
 sha street, while in front of his house it was broken, and a 
 stream of water gurgled down under what is known as the build- 
 ing of the First National Bank. He was elected one of the first 
 Aldermen of the city, and he and Bush Lott are the only surviv- 
 ing Aldermen of that day. He was also School Inspector for 
 three years. In 1850 he was the first butcher who ran a cart 
 and supplied St. Paul, St. Anthony, Fort Snelling and Mendota 
 with fresh meat. Mosher & Douglas started an opposition line, 
 but while they were blacking their boots and polishing their stove 
 pipe hats preparatory to starting out on their journey, Rogers 
 had made his rounds, supplied his customers and was on his way 
 home. Of course the opposition firm went out of business in 
 less than a year. He was in the habit of purchasing flocks of 
 sheep arid fattening them on the natural food they found just in 
 
114: PEN PICTURES 
 
 front of his house, and reaching down to Jackson street. He 
 has had fifteen children born in Minnesota, nine of whom are 
 alive, and two sons are in business for themselves. His hotel 
 building has thirty-two rooms in it, and he has run it himself 
 just thirty-two years. 
 
 PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Rogers is a small man, keen, quiet, unpretending and 
 yet full of genuine Irish wit. He is a man who has paid strict 
 attention to his business, and has been satisfied to let well enough 
 alone. In over a quarter of a century while others have made 
 changes he has obstinately " held the fort," and now in turn the 
 fort holds him as he glides quietly and peacefully down the valley 
 of life, bearing the honor of being the oldest landlord in the 
 State. 
 
 R. p. RUSSELL. 
 
 Mr. Russell was born in Vermont in 1820; resided in Mich- 
 igan three years ; came to Fort Snelling at the request of Hon. 
 H. M. Rice, in 1839, traveling on foot from Prairie du Chien 
 through deep snow with only an Indian guide ; removed to the 
 Indian country in 1845 ^^^ entered the employ of Gen. Sibley ; 
 became a resident at the Falls of St. Anthony in 1847 ^iid 
 entered the service of the late Franklin Steele ; in the fall of that 
 year opened the first store in what is now Minneapolis ; was 
 married to Miss Marion Patch in 1 848, it being the first marriage 
 ceremony performed at the Falls of St. Anthony ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1849 and took charge of the business of H. M. Rice; 
 in the fall of that year formed a partnership with J. D. Crutten- 
 den ; then removed to St. Anthony and engaged in mercantile 
 business, and as St. Anthony was in Ramsey County, Mr. Rus- 
 s .11 was elected County Commissioner the year before the first 
 Court House was built; served three years and signed the bonds 
 issued for building the same ; in 1 862 was elected to the Legis- 
 lature; in 1854 was appointed Receiver of the United States for 
 the Minneapolis land office; resigned in 1858. During the time 
 he was Receiver nearly all the land in said district, including 
 West St. Paul and all of Dakota County, were sold to actual 
 settlers at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre! In 1862 he 
 was elected one of the Trustees of the then village of Minneap- 
 
OP ST. PAUL, MINN. 175 
 
 oils'; served until the village became a city ; was elected chairman 
 of the Board of Town Supervisors for the town of Minneapolis 
 in 1872, and served continuously until 1883 ; faid out a part of 
 what is now the city of Minneapolis, and has done his full share 
 in building up that city. N. W. Kittson, H. M. Rice and Mr. 
 Russell are probably the three oldest former living residents of 
 Hennepin County, Mr. Russell being the oldest settler now living 
 in the county. Ten children once graced the family circle of this 
 old settler, nine of whom still survive. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 In all the positions of trust and of responsibility in which 
 Mr. Russell has been placed, he has filled them with great credit 
 to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his employers. He is 
 a quiet, honest, honorable gentleman, very popular and very 
 greatly esteemed by those who know him. He has a plenty of 
 this world's goods, is surrounded by an interesting family of 
 children, and is among the most respeeted and best known of the 
 citizens of our sister city. 
 
 CHAUNCEY HOBART. 
 
 A venerable looking man, but a man of fine ability and 
 strong character, is Rev. Hobart, now living in Red Wing, Min- 
 nesota, aged seventy-four years. He has a prominent forehead 
 and decided features, which mark him as a man of great endur- 
 ance and power, and though now passed three-score-years-and- 
 ten, yet he is vigorous even in old age. He was born on the 
 shores of Lake Champlain, in Vermont, in 181 1, and is one of 
 twins ; was raised on a farm, and at the age of eight years was 
 in the habit of riding twelve miles on horseback to carry grist 
 to the mill ; attended a country school ; moved with his parents 
 to Illinois in 1821 ; joined the church in 1834; married the same 
 year; in 1835 was licensed to exhort; and was soon after rec- 
 ommended to preach, and so authorized, and from this time for- 
 ward Mr. Hobart wended his way through forests and swamps 
 in the far West, and has been preaching nearly fifty years. He 
 came to St. Paul in 1849, when there were only 400 inhabitants. 
 He was the first Chaplain of the first Legislature, and through 
 his labors completed the little brick church fronting Rice Park. 
 
176 PEN PICTURES 
 
 In his history of his life he speaks of a journey to a camp-meet- 
 ing in the following manner : 
 
 " Then we plunged into the wilderness, -which we knew to be a vast, dense 
 unbroken forest for the next one hundred miles, with nothing to guide us but the 
 sun, the stars, and a pocket-compass; had food for three and a half days ; four 
 blankets, coffee pot, two tin cups, a hand-ax, a rifle, and a pair of saddle-bags. After 
 having traveled about fifteen miles, we camped in a deep ravine in a choke-cherry 
 thicket, just deserted by a company of bears. The next day we passed over a rough 
 country, many hills being more than four hundred feet high. Found shelter in a 
 friendly cave while a severe thunder-storm passed by, and then we camped that night 
 in a deep ravine, and were thoroughly drenched about midnight, being then driven 
 out of bed to find shelter behind the large trees around- us. In the morning we dried 
 our clothes by a rousing fire, ate our breakfast, offered up our morning prayer, and 
 pursued our journey." 
 
 Mr. Hobart purchased two lots in Red Wing in 1853, and 
 upon these lots he built a humble home, where he now resides. 
 He was a resident of Minneapolis for some time, and then moved 
 to St. Paul, where he continued some years, and now makes his 
 home in Red Wing. He is a gallant old soldier of the Cross of 
 Christ. 
 
 ALEXANDER WILKIN. 
 
 Capt. Wilkin was a brother of Judge Wilkin, of our Dis- 
 trict Court, and son of the late Judge Samuel Wilkin of Orange 
 County, N. Y., where he was born in the year 1820. He studied 
 ■law with his father, and for a time practiced at Goshen. In 1 847 he 
 enlisted for the Mexican war ; was commissioned Captain ; served 
 under Gen. Taylor; came to St. Paul in 1849; practiced his 
 profession, when, in 1851 he was appointed United States Mar- 
 shal for Minnesota, and served until 1853, and that year he was 
 a candidate for Congress, but was defeated, when, in i860 he 
 espoused the cause of Stephen A. Douglas. He visited Europe 
 during the Crimean war, roamed among the allied armies, and 
 became thoroughly posted in the soldier art of the European 
 forces. He was in St. Paul practicing his profession and deal- 
 ing in real estate up to the breaking out of the rebellion ; re- 
 cruited the first company of the first regiment for the war ; 'was 
 Major of the Second. Minnesota; commissioned Lieutenant-Col- 
 onel of the same regiment in 1862 ; made Colonel of the Ninth 
 Regiment the same year; left the frontier and took part against 
 Forest in the South ; acted bravely at Bull Run ; when, in the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 177 
 
 battle of Tupelo, Mississippi, on July 14, 1864, he was shot 
 through the heart and killed instantly. 
 
 CAPTAIN WILKIN AS A MAN. 
 
 Capt. Wilkin was a small man, not weighing much over one 
 hundred pounds, yet he was the soul of honor and of manhood. 
 I knew him intimately and well, as he was associated with the 
 writer financially in the establishment of the old Times. He was 
 brave, active, manly, sensitive, honorable, generous, courteous, 
 ambitious and chivalrous. He was aspiring, and would have 
 been glad to have held some responsible political position, and yet 
 he would have scorned to have obtained it through any mean 
 trick. Failing in achieving his ideal political preferment, he 
 entered the army, and here he exhibited traits of character which 
 proved him to be a brave and noble soldier. He was excitable 
 in his temperament and quick to resent a wrong, yet he was 
 magnanimous and forgiving. Few men have gone down to the 
 grave with a better record or a better name than Col. Alex. Wil- 
 kin, and few names will be more kindly remembered by the old 
 settlers, than that of the " Little Captain." 
 
 ROBERT KENNEDY. 
 
 An old man, eighty-three years of age, who arrived in this 
 city thirty-six years ago, and who was born in Virginia in 1801 
 and came to St. Paul in 1849, is a living memento of the old 
 Central House in which the first session of the first Legislature 
 was held, for Mr. Kennedy at this time was the famous landlord 
 of this famous hotel, the first public house the writer stopped at 
 when he came to St. Paul in the year 1853. After running the 
 Central House for three years, he moved to Shakopee in 1854, 
 built and ran a hotel there thirteen years, when he returned to St. 
 Paul in 1857 and kept a boarding house for a time; then ran 
 what was known as " Mofifett's Castle " three years ; was landlord 
 of the old Snelling House on now West Seventh street two years ; 
 again kept a boarding house ; then took the Burnand House on 
 Fourth street, and ran that for .several years, thus filling out in 
 Minnesota some thirty years of his life as landlord and boarding 
 house keeper. 
 12 
 
178 PEN PICTURES 
 
 COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS HEAVY FEES. 
 
 In 1 853 Mr. Kennedy was appointed Collector of Customs; 
 for the port of St. Paul, and he held this office up to 1856, when 
 he resigned in favor of a little, dumpty old settler by the name 
 of L. B. Wait, a peculiar character in his day. During his term 
 of office, that is, three years, Mr. Kennedy received $46.^2 as 
 custom house fees. He was also inspector of steamboats and 
 did a lively business when the boats arrived, which in those early 
 days was not very often. 
 
 OVER THE PLAINS GOLD ! PERSONAL COURAGE. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy, tired of catering to the inner man, which is 
 the biggest part of the human family, in 1864 started over the 
 plains for the gold mines of Montana, where he remained about 
 a year. Here he made a gold claim near where Helena is now 
 a prosperous city, and out of this he took gold enough to pay all 
 his debts, most of which had been accumulated by endorsing. 
 After his return home his son sold out his gold claim in Mon- 
 tana for $2,70, now worth ;g300,ooo ! 
 
 Mr. Kennedy came in contact with many rough characters 
 in early days, which tested his personal courage. In one instance 
 he was informed that a bad man was about the street armed with 
 a knife seeking his life. Kennedy confronted him, took the knife 
 out of his belt, and actually forced him to go and deliver it up 
 where he got it. At another time an ugly fellow threatened to 
 shoot him, but Kennedy met him boldly, got the drop on him, 
 and the fellow threw up the sponge. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy are considerably advanced in 
 years, and they claim that during the Indian rebellion they fed 
 horses and men for which they never received a cent. Mr. K. 
 is incapacitated from performing any labor in consequence of an 
 injury to his knee, while Mrs. K., a kind, genial, worthy lady, is 
 worn out with hard work. They both deserve a pension of the 
 government. 
 
 GUS. J. BORUP. 
 
 Mr. Borup is a son of the late Cliarles W. Borup and the 
 same little fellow who planted an English flag on the top of the 
 flag staff of his father's house, on the Fourth of July, 1850, and 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 179 
 
 which act came very near causing his father considerable trouble, 
 for the particulars of which see notice of C. W. Borup. He was 
 then about six years of age. He was born at La Pointe, Wis- 
 consin, in 1 841 ; came to St. Paul in 1849, and is therefore one 
 of the oldest settlers. He was for a time with his brother Theo- 
 dore in the grocery and commission business, and then became 
 agent for the transportation lines of the Great Western, Erie and 
 Pacific Dispatch, in which position he has continued ever since. 
 He is a quiet, pleasant, industrious gentleman, well posted in his 
 business and much devoted to it. He is very generally esteemed 
 for his many good qualities. 
 
 JOHN B. SPENCER. 
 
 Mr. Spencer was born in Kentucky in 1821 ; was raised 
 upon a farm ; attended a common school ; learned the carpenter 
 trade ; came to St. Paul in 1 849 ; worked at his trade here ; 
 engaged in steamboating in 1856 ; in 1862 went to Montana, and 
 was among the first to make mineral discoveries there ; accumu- 
 lated ^10,000, mostly from building houses and selling them and 
 running a saw mill ; returned to St. Paul in 1865 and worked 
 at his trade ; invested money made in real estate ; went to Duluth 
 in 1869, where he remained until 1872; built the great break- 
 water and dock at that place; cost ;^ 200,000; is at present 
 engaged at his old trade of building houses in this city. 
 
 REAL ESTATE DEALS PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. spencer at one time owned 200 feet square on the cor- 
 ner of Wacouta and Third streets, for which he paid ^1,500; 
 worth now ^200,000 ; 50x150 feet on Robert street, between Third 
 and Fourth, cost ;^ioo, worth ;^25,ooo; 50 feet on Robert street, 
 between Fifth and Sixth streets, upon which Dr. Potts' old house 
 stands, cost ;^90 ; worth ^30,000 ; seventy-five feet on Wabasha 
 street for ^800 ; sold for ;$ 1,000 ; worth ;?S30,ooo ; a lot on Minne- 
 sota street for ^^900 ; sold for ;^ 1,500; worth |! 20,000; one acre 
 between Broadway and Canada streets, for ^500; worth ;^2S,ooo; 
 103 acres in West St. Paul, cost ^1,000; worth ;^ 1,000,000; 
 owned property on Fourth, Pine, Rosabel, Fifth, Sixth and other 
 streets; 120 acres near Como; 160 acres beyond the property 
 of Edmund Rice ; and indeed for ^5000 he could have bought 
 
180 PEN PICTURES 
 
 property in St. Paul in 1849 which is now worth ;^ 15,000,000! 
 Mr. Spencer lost most of his real estate by endorsing for others, 
 and yet he has some left. He owns some eight houses in the 
 city and the amount of property he has saved is sufficient to 
 enable him to live comfortably, and yet he had the ground-work 
 laid for a large fortune. 
 
 PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Spencer has sandy whiskers and sandy hair ; is tall, 
 slender ; moderate in his speech and in his movements, and quite 
 a philosopher in his way. He is a good mechanic ; keeps right 
 along at his work; never allows anything to disturb his equi- 
 librium, and never frets over " what might have been ! " He is 
 a quiet, cool, conservative, pleasant man and a good citizen. 
 
 JUSTUS CORNELIUS RAMSEY. 
 
 Mr. Ramsey, brother of Hon. Alexander Ramsey, was born 
 in Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, in 1821 ; was early left an 
 orphan ; received a common school education ; learned the trade 
 of a printer ; carried the chain in the survey of the line of the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad through the mountains ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1849 with about $15,000 in cash; was a member of the Leg- 
 islature in 1850-3-7, and for several years was an agent of the- 
 government. 
 
 INVESTMENT IN REAL ESTATE FIRST PUBLIC BEQUEST. 
 
 Soon after Mr. Ramsey's arrival in this' city, in connection 
 with his brother he purchased a one-quarter interest in Rice and 
 Irvine's addition to St. Paul, including one-quarter interest in 
 the old American House, then partially completed, for ^2,500 — 
 the property being jointly owned by the two brothers — now the 
 same property is worth $500,000. He also purchased outside 
 real estate, so that when he died in January, 1881, he was worth 
 $200,000. 
 
 The will of Mr. Ramsey bequeathed to eight nieces and 
 nephews, and to the Catholic and Protestant Orphan Asylums of 
 St. Paul, an equal interest in his estate, or about $15,000 apiece, 
 and this is, I believe, the first public bequest ever given by any ' 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 181 
 
 citizen of St. Paul, although many men have died here much 
 richer than Mr. Ramsey was. 
 
 PECULIARITIES. 
 
 In early days Mr. Ramsey entered largely into social life, 
 but of late years he became more sedate and thoughtful. He 
 was in some respects a peculiar man. He was of good size ; 
 bold, frank and devoid of show; despised cant and hypocrisy; 
 never wore an overcoat in the coldest of weather during his res- 
 idence in Minnesota, except once or twice ; was frugal in dress 
 and in every other way in the expenditure of his money, and 
 yet he quietly gave considerable to the needy. He usually 
 walked with his hands in his pockets, and for twelve years made 
 one room in this city his home. He was an unmarried man, and 
 so far as I can learn, had no entangling matrimonial alliances. 
 He was a mason and had taken the thirty-second degree. 
 
 HIS DEATH. 
 
 For several years Mr. Ramsey had been afflicted with dys- 
 pepsia and it had grown upon him to such an extent that it 
 affected his mind. Meeting him soon after his brother was 
 brought out in the newspapers for Senator, he exclaimed — " Why 
 do you do that ! Why do you do that ! Aleck is a bankrupt ! 
 can't raise ;^3,ooo in the world ! he ought to keep out of politics 
 and attend to his business ! he's a poor man ! a poor man ! " His 
 indignant look and vehement expression clearly showed that 
 something was wrong. Then again, just before his death, a 
 friend informed him that he had better go to Florida and eat 
 fruit. " Can't do it ! can't do it ! " he exclaimed — " I'm too poor ! 
 Havn't any money ! can't buy fruit ! " The evening before his 
 death he partook of California wine and cake, and it was noticed 
 that his voice had a: sorrowful tone. Then he was worried over 
 a suit of the government which had been brought to recover on 
 an officer's bond, and as Mr. Ramsey was one of the bondsmen, 
 he was afraid he would be obliged to pay |20,ooo. These things 
 no doubt had something to do in unsettling his mind. He was 
 found dead in his room, January 24, 1881, and thus passed into 
 history all that remained of Justus C. Ramsey, except his noble 
 
1H2 PEN PICTURES 
 
 gift to the little orphans, and that will ever remain green and 
 grand in the ever grateful present and the coming future. 
 
 CHARLES AND WILLIAM COLTER. 
 
 These two gentlemen came to St. Paul in 1849. Charles 
 was a butcher, and at one time owned a good deal of property, 
 and his real estate on Jackson street alone, if he had held it, 
 would have made him a rich man. He was born in Ireland about 
 1825 ; was engaged in the lumbering business quite extensively 
 in Maine and in New Brunswick ; on arriving at St. Paul entered 
 the cattle trade ; then started a store on Jackson street and at 
 one time had meat contracts with the government. 
 
 William Colter was born in the north of Ireland in 1833; 
 was educated at a common school ; came to America in 1 845 ; 
 engaged in the lumbering business in Maine ; arrived at St. Paul 
 in 1 849 ; went on a survey ; took a contract for splitting rails ; 
 with his brother engaged in the meat business ; shipped stock 
 and killed it ; was Second Lieutenant in the Minnesota Heavy 
 Artillery ; served about one year ; health being poor went to the 
 Pacific coast, California, Australia, Sandwich Islands, Central 
 America, &c. ; during this trip engaged in mining enterprises ; 
 returned to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in mer- 
 cantile pursuits, but in the crash of 1873 lost heavily; returned 
 to St. Paul in 1875; commenced the hat, cap and gentlemen's 
 furnishing business in 1876; was burned out; went to the Black 
 Hills with groceries; and then to Texas in 1878; lost heavily 
 there ; made for Leadville ; struck a streak of good luck ; came 
 back with health impaired and went to work for the city in 1880; 
 has been thus engaged for five years. 
 
 He was at one time quite well off, but lost most of his money 
 in endorsing, and has but little left of the wreck of a fortune of 
 over $150,000. He procured a pension for injuries while in the 
 army, and is now contented with his every-day work, and he does 
 work hard and faithfully. 
 
 "dark as the devil." 
 
 Two topers went to bed in a wayside inn one night with the 
 understanding that they were to be up early in the morning to 
 take the stage. One of them arose about four o'clock, opened 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 183 
 
 the blind, put his head out into the air and exclaimed to his half 
 awake companion : 
 
 " John ! it is as dark as the devil — going to storm, and I 
 smell brimstone ! " 
 
 John got up, and after fumbling around for a while, stuck 
 his head out of the window and remarked to Jim : 
 
 " Well, old boy, it is pretty dark ; I guess the storm is com- 
 ing, but I smell cheese ! " 
 
 They both had stuck their heads into a cupboard instead of 
 out of a window, while the sun was shining brightly, the birds 
 were singing gaily and the stage had been gone several hours ! 
 
 Colter says he thought it was pretty black when he thrust 
 his head out into the financial sky in 1873, and he is quite sure 
 he smelt brimstone! He is a social, pleasant man, and has 
 arrived at that stage of life when philosophy usurps the gay 
 dreams of youth and tones the ardor of more mature manhood. 
 
 MARSHALL SHERMAN. 
 
 Born in Vermont in 1822 ; came to St. Paul in 1849; was 
 among the first painters in the city ; enlisted in the Union army 
 for ninety days ; then for three years, and went through all the 
 battles without a scratch ; at the end of his time he re-enlisted, 
 and lost his leg in the first engagement. Mr. Sherman is a bach- 
 elor, quiet, modest, and very retiring in his nature. He has been 
 ■connected with the insurance business, and is a striking illustra- 
 tion of the poetical expression : 
 
 " P'ull many a flower is born to blush unseen. 
 And waste its fragrance on the desert air." 
 
 He is a good citizen and a good man, 
 
 J. W. SELBY PURCHASES. 
 
 Mr. Selby was born in Ohio in 1812 ; was for many years a 
 resident of St. Louis and Cincinnati, and in the latter city was a 
 partner in a large commission house. Sickness induced him to 
 come to Minnesota, and he settled in St. Paul in 1849. 
 
 He purchased ten acres on St. Anthony hill running from 
 College avenue back upon to the hill, for ;^200, orten dollars per 
 acre, and this he put under cultivation, raising potatoes and gar- 
 
J84 PEN PICTURES 
 
 den vegetables. James K. Humphrey, Esq., advanced him the 
 money to make this purchase, he having invested his surplus funds 
 in merchandise, etc., and before he had fully closed the trade he 
 was offered ^i,ooo for his bargain, but he erected a small house 
 upon the ground and kept the property until he sold all his land 
 below Summit avenue (reserving that aboye,) for a sum of money 
 sufficient to enable him to erect his brick homestead where the 
 Kittson mansion now stands, well known to old settlers. In 1850 
 he bought forty acres lying back and west of his original pur- 
 chase, for which he paid fifty dollars per acre. This land was 
 then covered with trees and underbrush, which he cleared and 
 cultivated. The same property is worth now ^10,000 per acre, 
 or in the aggregate ;^8oo,ocx). At the time he made his first pur- 
 chase there were only one or two houses above Seven Corners, 
 while now it has some of the handsomest dwellings in the city. 
 
 OFFICES HELD, AND AS A MAN. 
 
 He was a member of the Legislature in 1852, City Assessor, 
 member of the Board of County Commissioners, and a leading 
 elder in the First Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Mr. Selby was a man of medium size and rather slender ; 
 had sharp features, a clean-cut nose, and reminded one of a New 
 England Yankee. He was very industrious, economical and 
 thrifty. He obtained quite a living from his garden, and that 
 with the sale of part of his land, made him at the time he died, 
 comfortably well off. He was a conscientious, hberal-minded, high- 
 toned gentleman, and was universally respected by the commun- 
 ity. He died of a tumor in the stomach on the nth of April, 
 1855, aged forty-three years, and very few men have left behind 
 them a better record or a better name than that of J. W. Selby. 
 
 MRS. SELBY THAT COFFEE ! 
 
 Mrs. Selby may very justly be classed among the old set- 
 tlers, and one who did her share towards moulding public senti- 
 ment. I remember her as a bright, jovial, pleasant woman, 
 always cheerful and scattering sunshine in her path. She toiled 
 with her husband to accumulate their property, and after his 
 death visited Europe and thc.i married her old lover, now Senator 
 Conger from Michigan. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 183 
 
 In early days the writer advocated the principles of temper- 
 ance strongly, and on the incoming of the New Year he sug- 
 gested that the ladies present nothing to their gentlemen friends, 
 stronger than coffee, so Mrs. Selby, in the goodness of her heart, 
 set a special table for my benefit, in which coffee was to be the 
 leading feature, but unfortunately I was prevented from making 
 my New Year calls, and during all these long years I have been 
 regretting the loss of that delicious coffee which was intended as 
 a compliment to my temperance principles. The reader can ap- 
 preciate this point when he comes to understand that intoxicat- 
 ing liquor was the universal rule, not the exception. Mrs. S. was 
 in favor of every good movement to benefit the public, and 
 although now a resident of another State, yet she makes her 
 yearly pilgrimage to this city in order to live over again her 
 young married life. 
 
 JOSEPH VILLAUME. 
 
 An old straggler has just come into headquarters and reports 
 that he was born in France in 1812 ; that he was in the employ 
 of the French Government as a police officer for fourteen years ; 
 that in 1848 he emigrated to this country and landed in New 
 Orleans ; that he arrived at St. Paul in 1 849, or 36 years ago ; 
 that he embarked in the Indian trade, as at that early period 
 there were only a few houses where now stands St. Paul, and 
 the balance of the population was made up of red men who 
 occupied a good many tepees. He states that then there were 
 hills, and valleys, and running streams, and brush, and trees, 
 and rocks, where this city now rises into greatness and into gran- 
 deur, and that nobody could even imagine at that early day that 
 St. PAtiL could by any possibility grow into a respectable sized 
 village, to say nothing of a city of 1 20,000 people I apd yet, he 
 says, here it is. And look at 
 
 THE CONTRAST. 
 
 There, nestling in modesty on Sixth street, and meditating 
 on the past, is a little one story and a half French building, the 
 oldest dwelling house in the city of St. Paul, while just to the 
 right of it, fronting on Robert street, is. the elegant seven-story 
 edifice of the Chamber of Commerce, and diagonally across from 
 
186 PEN PICTURES 
 
 this fine specimen of architecture rises into majesty and into 
 beauty the new ;^ 1,000,000 hotel! The Httle brown house now 
 forty-six years old, looks out upon the scene with wonderment! 
 When it first reared its head into civilization, how proud and 
 grand it was ! How it loomed up against the board shanties and 
 wigwams of decaying barbarism ! How the owner and his wife — 
 both gone into the land of dreams — praised, and petted, and 
 admired it ! How visitors snugged down in its cozy parlor and 
 laughed at the beating storm that howled on the outside ! How 
 the green vines twined their loving arms about its broad, square, 
 good-natured face and peeked in at the window ! And how little 
 children gazed up in awe at its massive height! Poor little, hum- 
 ble nobody now ! You live only in the shadows of the great 
 buildings that frown down upon you ! They hardly know you 
 by reputation, and if they did know you they would care less 
 for you ! To them the past is nothing ! What of to-day ? What 
 of next year ? and so time comes and goes, and by and by, and 
 very soon too, the little old brown house will be missed from its 
 accustomed place ; its old tired and wearied timbers will be car- 
 ried to their long home and only history will drop a tear over its 
 memory ! 
 
 "Just so!" said the aged Frenchman, — "just so," and I saw 
 a red handkerchief in his hand, and a little black speck in his 
 eye, and a tear upon his cheek, and turning he gazed for a 
 moment upon the little unpretending brown house and then upon 
 the great mass of brick that towered heavenward on the opposite 
 corner, and moving away with tottering steps, I heard him mut- 
 tering — " Yes, the contrast ! — I see it ! — ^just so ! — ^just so ! " And 
 his form faded, faded, faded — and was — gone — forever ! 
 
 W. H. TINKER. 
 
 Mr. T. was born in Connecticut in 1813 ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1849; opened a tailor's shop on Third street, and continued 
 the business up to 1854, when, in company with T. M. Metcalf, 
 he engaged in the grocery trade in a store on Third street, near 
 Wabasha, and after a continuance of several years in this busi- 
 ness, gave it up and clerked for S. P. Folsom & Co., and was also 
 in the Recorder's and Marshal's offices. Of late years Mr. 
 Tinker has been doing very little, as he has passed three score 
 
OF ST. PA UL, 'MINN. 137 
 
 and ten, and enjoys 'more keenly the old rocking-chair by the 
 parlor stove than a tustle with the affairs of life on the outside 
 with the thermometer forty degrees below zero. He purchased 
 in 1851 eight acres lying between Thirteenth and Fifteenth streets, 
 for which he paid ^284; worth now ^50,000. He is a small 
 thin man ; moderate in his movements and very quiet in his con- 
 versation, and is also a man of a good deal of ability, and has 
 only been waiting for an opportunity to show the world what he 
 could have done — had he a chance. But it never came. 
 
 NATHAN SPICER. 
 
 Mr. Spicer was a tall, gaunt man, and very quiet in his ways. 
 He came to St. Paul in 1849 and opened a jewelry store, prob- 
 ably among the very first established in the city, and located on 
 Third street. He was a person of which but little can be said, 
 except that he attended to his business, was a good workman and 
 a good citizen. Where born or when born I do not know, but 
 if living he must be about sixty-five years of age. 
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL GIRLS' QUARREL. 
 
 " I heard Mr. Duday speak of you yesterday in terms of 
 panegyrical encomium," remarked the high-school girl to her 
 dearest friend. 
 
 " And what did you say ? " 
 
 " I coincided with his laudations." 
 
 " Well, I always thought you were a friend of mine, but if 
 you allow people to speak about me like that without saying a 
 word, I'll never speak to you again, you hateful thing. So 
 there ! " 
 
 "So there!" kind reader, if you become offended by my 
 " panegyrical encomiums," you can take revenge upon me by never 
 speaking to me again. But I feel pretty safe, even if the school- 
 girl did go back upon her friend. " So there." 
 
 MATHEW GROFF. 
 
 Mr. Groff was a painter by trade, and in early days was a 
 very ardent Republican, and on the subject of politics he was 
 most decided. At one time he had property in this city which 
 is now quite valuable. Fate turned against him, and his health 
 
188 PEN PICTURES 
 
 failing, he struggled on manfully ; was at one time a member of 
 the drug firm of Wren, Groff & Regally, finally began the man- 
 ufacture of what is now known as the Snow-Flake Baking Pow- 
 der, and when fully perfected, he died. The receipt for making 
 the same passed into the hands of his son Charles, and Mr. 
 Groff s name is now found in many a household. He was a man 
 of ordinary size; somewhat irritable over the mishaps of life, yet 
 generous and good-hearted. He was born near Troy, N. Y., in 
 1821 ; educated there, and taught school in Kentucky and Vir- 
 ginia ; came to St. Paul in 1 849 ; ran the old Mississippi House 
 for a time ; dealt in real estate ; in company with others laid out 
 and was an owner in the town sites of Carver, Belle Plaine, and 
 other places ; was landlord of the Snelling House ; aided in issu- 
 ing a directory ; was a broker for a year or so on Jackson street ; 
 started the Snow- Flake Baking Powder in 1 862 ; died in 1 876, 
 aged fifty-five years. His son, Charles R. Groff, now carries on 
 the business on a large scale. 
 
 p. p. BISHOP. 
 
 Mr. Bishop was a young lawyer of considerable ability and 
 possessed a great amount of splendid mother-wit. He figured in 
 early days with such men as E. Rice, Hollinshead, Becker, etc., 
 and took rank with any of them. He was a cousin of the late 
 Mrs. McConkey, nee Miss Harriet Bishop, and was noted for his 
 unusually bright and talented mind. He was born in Vermont 
 in 1825; received a good education and graduated at college; 
 studied law and came to St. Paul in 1 849, where he practiced his 
 profession. In a letter to Gov. Marshall, his old friend, he writes : 
 
 " Twelve years of my life — from the age of twenty to the age of thirty-two — 
 were thrown away for the most part, because I kept no remote end in view, and 
 maintained no paramount rule of conduct, but permitted myself to be governed by 
 the impulses which happened to be stirred within me." 
 
 Conscious of this fact, Mr. Bishop decided to become a 
 Christian, and so announced his decision at "a little prayer-meeting 
 in the Baptist Church " of this city, and following this he took a 
 two-years' course of study in the Theological Department of tlje 
 Madison University ; graduated in 1858; married Miss Sophia 
 M. Lathrop, of Hamilton, N. Y. ; settled as a pastor of the Bap- 
 tist Church at Burlington, la.; was pastor of the First Baptist 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 189 
 
 Church of Auburn, N.. Y., from i860 to 1868 ; went from thence 
 on account of ill-health, as general missionary for the State of 
 Florida; in 1872 closed his engagement with the missionary 
 society ; purchased 6,000 acres of a wild orange grove on credit ; 
 enlisted capital ; has done well, and his income is now $5,000 per 
 year above the interest money paid upon the land. In 1876 he 
 took a very active part against the carpet-baggers in Florida, and 
 was elected to the Legislature ; attended the last two Democratic 
 conventions, and could have been elected to Congress if he had 
 consented to serve. He is in a good condition financially and 
 fills up his spare time with literary labors. I did not know Mr. 
 Bishop personally, but all his old Minnesota friends will be 
 glad to read this flattering account of his checkered career, 
 
 JOSEPH W. BABCOCK 
 
 Was born in 1819, at Windham, Connecticut, and received 
 his early education there. When a young man he was employed 
 much of the time as agent for new publications and traveled 
 extensively throughout the New England and the Middle States. 
 At the commencement of the Mexican campaign he entered Com- 
 pany H, Fifth Infantry, and served through the war ; came to 
 St. Paul from New Orleans in 1 849 ; was commission merchant ; 
 had a store near the upper steamboat landing, and had charge 
 of two warehouses there; left St. Paul in the fall of 1852 and 
 went to Kasota, where he made a claim before the treaty was 
 ratified and while Red Iron's band of Indians was still there ; 
 in the spring of 1853 he laid out the town of Kasota; built a 
 saw mill, and in company with George Marsh, now of Mankato, 
 obtained a contract to carry the mail from St. Paul to Sioux 
 City for three years. Financially he never recovered fully from 
 the crash of 1857. He opened the Kasota stone quarries in 
 1869, and died at his residence in Kasota on the 15th of Febru- 
 ary, 1 882, aged sixty-three years. 
 
 Mr. Babcock was a man of medium size ; very active and 
 had a habit of shrugging his shoulders and hitching up his pants. 
 He was full of business, but adverse circumstances overtook him 
 as they .overtook many others, and he went down in the financial 
 crash of 1857, and never fully gained his feet. He has a son. 
 
190 PEN PICTURES 
 
 who succeeded his father in the stone quarry business, and who 
 resides at Kasota. 
 
 JOSEPH H. SEMPER. 
 
 Mr. Semper was born in Canada in 1 844 ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1 849, or thirty-six years ago, and was educated here ; enhsted 
 in Brackett's Batallion and served through the war ; also went 
 out with Capt. Fisk on his trip to Montana, and when Fisk of- 
 fered a reward of $2^1 for the first Indian scalp, Semper brought 
 it in with the head attached ; he at one time lived at Little Can- 
 ada ; then for eight years was in the employ of Day & Jenks ; 
 also in that of the late H. B. Harwood, Wyman & Mullen, and 
 finally with Lanpher, Finch & Skinner, with whom he remained 
 up to his death. Mr. Semper was a heavy man, well and favor- 
 ably known among the traveling men, and at one time had a 
 brother in the shoe business on Third street. He was a gentle- 
 man of good traits of character, kind, considerate, honest, manly. 
 
 JOHN MURPHY, 
 
 Son of Luke Murphy, was born at Fort Snelling in 1849; 
 removed to St. Paul with his family the same year ; was edu- 
 cated here and learned the trade of a painter, and is now em- 
 ployed in the Manitoba paint shops. He is a bright middle-aged 
 man and very worthy, and well learned in his business. • 
 
 MRS. M. L. STOAKES. 
 
 Mrs. Stoakes was born in the State of New York in 181 2; 
 lived in Western New York for some years ; resided a short time 
 in Illinois, then at Prairie du Chien, when, in 1849 she came to 
 St. Paul and opened a millinery store on the corner of Third 
 and Washington streets, south side. She established the first 
 regular millinery establishment in the city, although millinery on 
 a limited scale was carried on by another party. She remained 
 in the city eighteen years, when she removed to Montana in 1867, 
 going by railroad and coach to Sioux City, and then by Missouri 
 river to Fort Benton, and was forty-seven days on the steamer 
 from Sioux City to Fort Benton. She has property in the city, 
 and returns to St. Paul almost every year to give it attention 
 and see her old friends. She is a woman of strong business 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 191 
 
 characteristics, quietly spoken, and ranks among the most re- 
 spected of the old settlers. She has one daughter who married 
 a Mr. Cullen, a leading attorney of Montana. 
 
 JOSEPH ROBERT. 
 
 Mr. Robert is a brother of the late Capt. Louis Robert, and 
 was born in Missouri in 1827; worked on a farm up to 1844; 
 removed to Prairie du Chien ; came to St. Paul in 1845, and was 
 for a short time engaged with his brother in a store ; the same 
 year went to the Red River of the North with three carts loaded 
 with goods, and an Indian pony; traded there until 1849, when 
 he returned to St. Paul and took charge of the transportation 
 of the goods of the Winnebago Indians to Long Prairie; bought 
 a store at Swan river and commenced trading; ran it for two 
 years; began freighting in 1853-4, and in 1859 took a contract 
 to carry goods and emigrants from St. Paul to St. Anthony, Crow 
 Wing and other points in the Territory ; then bought lands in 
 various parts of Minnesota, having made no money in the Indian 
 trade, probably being too honest ; in 1 860 was connected with 
 his brother in the Indian business. He was on his way to one 
 of his brother's trading posts when he was informed that the In- 
 dians had broken out and were killing the settlers. He rode out 
 from New Ulm near enough to satisfy himself that this was the 
 fact, when he turned and gave the settlers warning ; re-entered 
 New Ulm ; was a bearer of dispatches to Gen. Sibley ; returned 
 and was in and about New Ulm seventeen days, and engaged in 
 the fight there two days. In the fall of 1 862 (speaking the Chip- 
 pewa language 'eadily,) he commenced trading with that tribe 
 at Mille Lac. He continued there up to 1882, when he returned 
 to St. Paul, where he has remained ever since. In 1865 he went 
 through to Vermillion lake for a New York company, with seven 
 teams. He has always resided in St. Paul with his family, from 
 1849 up to 1885, though he has at different times been absent on 
 business, and spends his summers at his country residence on the 
 shores of Bald Eagle lake. 
 
 AT WASHINGTON. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Robert visited Washington and spent two 
 months fighting for the rights of the Indians, as a decision had 
 
292 PEN PICTURES 
 
 been made that the whites had a right to go on to the Indian res- 
 ervation and make homesteads. It was through Mr. Robert's 
 influence that this decision was revoked, and now he finds that 
 the white settlers who went on to the land in good faith under the 
 decision of the government, are ordered to leave without any 
 redress, and he thinks this a great wrong ; that their money- 
 ought to be refunded and they recompensed for their loss. And 
 Mr. Robert is right. 
 
 PLOUGHING IN THE CITY. 
 
 In 1845, or forty years ago, Mr. Robert ploughed a field of 
 about twenty acres then fenced, running from Third street back 
 to nearly Sixth street, and from half way to Minnesota one way 
 and half way to Jackson the other, and in this field he planted 
 oats and raised a good crop. The street where he raised the oats 
 has just been paved. The twenty acres cost his brother about 
 ;^30o; worth now upward of ;^2,ooo,ooo! At this time there 
 were about ten families in the place, and not to exceed fifty white 
 people. Mr. Robert has been an important interpreter for the 
 Chippewa Indians; was elected Alderman of St. Paul in 1881, 
 and re-elected in 1883, serving two terms ; was on the park com- 
 mittee, and was also on the committee appointed to receive Villard 
 and President Arthur. He is a tall, muscular man, somewhat 
 commanding in his appearance, well preserved physically and dif- 
 fering from an ordinary Frenchman in that he is moderate in his 
 conversation and in his manners, and yet he is a man of activity 
 and great endurance, as a checkered life of some forty years in 
 Minnesota clearly shows. He is social, pleasant, honest ; a great 
 friend of the Indians and a great friend of humanity generally. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 1850. 
 
 MrH Mayor— Mrd Brick Store— Krst ThanJesgimng— First Theatricals— First 
 Bowling Alley — First Lithograph — First Excess — First Messenger — 
 Mrst Fresh and Shell Oysters — First Photographer— First Carbon CHI- 
 First Fire— First Church BeU^First Court House— Mrst Episcopal 
 Church — Mrst Directory — Mrst Appearance of Cholera— 
 Mrst Presbyterian Church Organized — First Term of 
 Court in Ramsey County — Mrst President Chamber 
 of Commerce — First Daguerrean Artist — 
 Embracing all the Events and 
 Incidents of this Year. 
 
 NEW YEARS CALLS BALLS. 
 
 The first of the year opened up auspiciously for the intro- 
 duction of the social amenities of life. New Year's calls were 
 very generally indulged in and many a side-board glistened with 
 free entertainment, which at the present day would make the 
 ordinary tramp smack his lips. The people began to put on 
 style. On the evening of January i, 1850, a ball was given at 
 the Central House, which building then stood on Bench street, 
 at the foot of Robert, and was attended by one hundred gentle- 
 men, and almost as many ladies. On the 22d of February, or 
 Washington's birthday, another ball was given at the American 
 House, which eclipsed all previous attempts in this line. A band 
 of music was in attendance, and about eighty persons enjoyed 
 the occasion. In fact all through the winter of 1850 balls and 
 social festivities ruled the hour. 
 
 13 
 
194 PEN PICTURES 
 
 NO REMARKABLE EVENTS. 
 
 I find no remarkable events transpiring during the year 
 1850. The place then was celebrated as it is now for its great 
 number of lawyers, there being at this time twenty-five. In 
 November, 1849, the First Presbyterian Church was organized, 
 with Rev. E. D. Neill as pastor, one of Minnesota's best known 
 old pioneers, and the church began this year to assume form 
 and shape. Three schools were also in progress. The Legis- 
 lature met for the second time in January, 1850, in the old Rice 
 House, Third street, corner Washington, now occupied by Metro- 
 politan hotel. The first term of court for Ramsey County was 
 held. Mr. Neill's chapel was burned in April. Population, 1,290. 
 Christ's Church organized ; cholera appears ; Fredricka Bremer 
 visits the city ; building of Court House commenced ; County 
 Jail built, and the first Thanksgiving celebrated. Society seemed 
 to be quietly moulding itself to civilization, and yet there are no 
 startling events to make the year 1850 memorable. 
 
 POST OFFICES AND LETTERS. 
 
 In 1850 there were sixteen post offices in the Territory of 
 Minnesota; in 1883 there were 10,084 in the State ; in 185a 
 36,400 letters passed through our post office during the year; in 
 1883 7,146,883 letters passed through the post office in the same 
 length of time ; or 700 letters passed through the post office per 
 week in 1850, and 137,443 passed through the post office per 
 week in 1883, a gain of 136,743 per week over 1850. Letters 
 then were one month on the way from Washington ; now they 
 are four or five days. 
 
 ABRAM S. ELFELT FIRST THEATRICAL REPRESENTATIONS. 
 
 Mr. Elfelt was born in Pennsylvania in 1827 and came to 
 St. Paul in 1850, or thirty-five years ago. He, with his broth- 
 ers, opened the first dry-goods house in this city in 1849, he 
 being then in Philadelphia and they here, and their building 
 stood at the foot of Eagle street, near the upper levee, and where 
 the Minnesota Soap Company now have a large establishment. 
 Then, he and his brothers, in 1851, erected the present large 
 building corner of Third and Exchange streets. This at the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 195 
 
 time it was erected, was the largest building in the city and called 
 out a good many citizens to aid in lifting the frame. The upper 
 part of the building was known as Mazourka Hall, and in this 
 hall the first theatrical representations in the city were given. 
 The glass, and nails, and paints used, were transported 800 
 miles, and laborers were paid five dollars per day. The building 
 at first was stocked with dry-goods and groceries, but subse- 
 quently was devoted exclusively to dry-goods. Mr. Elfelt con- 
 tinued in the dry-goods trade for about seventeen years, when he 
 became interested in real estate and has more or less ever since 
 followed this branch of business. He originated the first Board 
 of Trade, in 1 864, and was one of the first directors, and on that 
 being merged into the Chamber of Commerce he became a 
 member of that body and subsequently a director. He has spent 
 a great deal of his time gratuitously in fostering immigration, 
 sending away pamphlets, etc., and has taken especial interest in 
 the building and completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad, 
 having great faith that this line of road would add'to the devel- 
 opment of the city and the State. As a mark of appreciation the 
 Chamber of Commerce passed unanimously a vote of thanks to 
 Mr. Elfelt for his labors in behalf of immigration. In 1850 Mr. 
 Elfelt purchased sixteen lots for ^800, which he still owns ; worth 
 now ^25,000. 
 
 ELFELT PERSONALLY. 
 
 He is a small man with black hair and whiskers, and speaks 
 quite earnestly. He usually wears a silk hat, sometimes eye-glass- 
 es, and is uniformly neat in his dress. He is enthusiastically inter- 
 ested in everything that will advance the interests of St. Paul. 
 For thirty-five years he has traveled the streets of St. Paul and 
 has seen the growth of the city from mere nothing to what it is 
 to-day. He is quiet, gentlemanly, full of good humor, smokes 
 a good deal, always ready to talk, but when he talks it is with 
 great earnestness. He is kind-hearted, very sympathetic, and is 
 just the kind of man to possess a fortune, for I know if he had 
 it he would do a great deal of good with it. He is an honorable 
 gentleman, frank, social, impulsive, and is universally esteemed 
 for his many good qualities. Mr. E. holds at present no public 
 position except that he is a life member of the Historical Society, 
 
196 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and was the first to contribute towards the purchase of a lot now 
 owned by the association. 
 
 THE WINNEBAGOES RAMSEY'S HAPPY HIT. 
 
 The Winnebago Indians became dissatisfied with their reser- 
 vation this year, and visited Gov. Ramsey to " talk " over the 
 matter. A grand council was held in a large warehouse in this 
 city, and among some of the most noted braves thus gathered, 
 Gov. Ramsey took his place as " the noblest Roman of them 
 all." After matters had been amicably adjusted to the satisfac- 
 tion of the chiefs, the Governor arose and in his bland and most 
 genial manner, impressed upon the savages the importance of 
 leaving whisky alone and becoming a temperance people, and in 
 order to clinch his argument he said — " The white man has 
 quit drinking ! — in a great measure ! " The interpreter made 
 him say, "in a large-sized vessel," when one of the old chiefs 
 exclaimed — " That may be very true, but Indian see white man 
 drink out of small measure very often." The Governor turned 
 and remarked-^" That may possibly be correct ! — the Indian 
 may possibly be right; he probably is, but then the Indian 
 should be careful and avoid the bad habits of the whites, not 
 imitating them in any measure, especially in this matter of 
 whisky drinking." It was a neat affair all around, and highly 
 edifying to the Indian traders and interpreters, who, of course, 
 were strictly temperance men, and who were rejoiced to find the 
 Governor on their side ! 
 
 WILLIAM TAYLOR. 
 
 Taylor was a colored man, and if my memory serves me he 
 was a barber. At any rate he was a good performer on the fid- 
 dle or violin, and was a great favorite at balls and parties. He 
 was a fine-looking fellow^ large, portly, well-dressed, easy in his 
 manners, and possessed of a pleasant and musical voice. " Bal- 
 ance partners," would echo through the hall like the sweet strains 
 from an iEolian harp, and everybody was happy when " Bill Tay- 
 lor " did the calling. He was a general favorite among his own 
 people, and was very much liked by the whites. He lived just 
 back of the jail on Fifth street, where his widow did reside until 
 1885, when she sold to Mr. Capehart for $8,030 and the old 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 197 
 
 homestead has gone. Taylor, like many others, always attended 
 the Indian payments, and while at Yellow Medicine in 1862, 
 waiting for the money to arrive, the Indians, under Little Crow, 
 made their outbreak and he was killed. Many old settlers remem- 
 ber Bill Taylor and all will regret his untimely end. He came 
 to St. Paul, I think, in 1850. 
 
 " OLD BETS " A CHARACTER. 
 
 While this harmless old Indian woman had been in the habit 
 of visiting St. Paul several years previous to 1850, yet she 
 became a sort of fixture in the city that year, that is, she was 
 among, the whites oftener than usual, and was more generally 
 known, in fact might be rightly called one of the old settlers. 
 Her Sioux name was Aza-ya-man-ka-wan, or Berry Picker. She 
 was born near Mendota in 1788; died at Mendota in 1873, aged 
 eighty-five years ; was married to Iron Sword ; had several child- 
 ren ; one became a Christian, and a daughter, I believe, now lives 
 in St. Paul. One of her brothers was a famous warrior, prophet 
 and medicine man, by the name of He-in-da-koo. And this 
 reminds me of the following original Indian legend of Old Bets, 
 which is founded on facts in her early life, gleaned from an old 
 Indian in 1862, and which appears in a volume by the writer, 
 entitled " Thrilling Scenes Among the Indians." I reproduce it 
 for the benefit of my readers. 
 
 OLD BETS. 
 (Aza-Ya-Man-Ka-Wan ; or Berry Picker.) 
 
 The familiar face of old Bets used to peer in upon my vision 
 for about twenty years, when all of a sudden it disappeared, and 
 the news came that she was dead. Very few who met her wrink- 
 led face, her laughing eyes, her grotesque figure, or heard her 
 whining voice asking for " kosh-poppy," or money, knew of the 
 romantic history attached to that old squaw, as she almost daily 
 paraded the streets of St. Paul and sold her moccasins or 
 begged for aid ! The weight of years, the burden of trouble, 
 silent grief, patient suffering, all leave their impress behind, and 
 the Indian is not exempt from this general law. Who knows or 
 can divine the history of that old man, tottering under the load 
 of a hfe of suffering ? Who could realize that in his early days he 
 
198 PEN PICTURES 
 
 stole the hearts of women, electrified men, and moved the masses 
 with his oratory ? Now, old and decrepid, how useless ! Who 
 could imagine, even, the early triumphs, the bewitching beauty, 
 the incomparable charms of that young girl, who, threading 
 life's thoroughfare, drew after her hundreds of admirers ? now 
 that bent-over, gray-haired, bowed-down form ; how changed ! 
 So each and every one has a history, and must in turn pass out 
 of youth, and vigor, and beauty, and manhood, and woman- 
 hood, into the silent, stealthy tread of old age, groping down the 
 valley of death, hoping to catch a glimpse on the other shore of 
 that light which burns forever ! The Indian race is not an excep- 
 tion to the general rule. 
 
 Old Bets was once young and handsome, and she drew after 
 her many admirers. Born at the confluence of two rivers — the 
 Mississippi and the Minnesota — her childhood was passed among 
 the scenes of her final death ; but her early girlhood was out 
 among the wild scenery of her tribe, where danger confronted 
 the red men of the plains and acts of valor crowned the warrior 
 with undying fame ! Youiig Bets was greatly loved among her 
 tribe, not only for her beauty but for her kind disposition, as 
 well as for her bravery ; so it came to pass that a young man 
 who had won great renown on the battle field, sought the hand 
 of the young girl in marriage, and in turn she looked upon his 
 attentions with favor. Her brother, however, being himself a 
 warrior and a medicine man, objected to the match upon the 
 ground that his sister's suitor had, in the past, wronged him, and 
 he declared he should never darken the door of his tepee, even 
 if he did — as he was willing to — make amends for the injury 
 given. 
 
 The merry laugh of the Indian maiden gradually died away. 
 Her joyous nature turned to soberness, as she thought of the 
 young heart which beat only for her, and in turn, before she was 
 aware of it, her tenderest feelings were wrapped up in the welfare 
 of the young and ardent lover, whose image had become a part 
 of her own existence. She besought her brother to forgive the 
 young warrior. She assured him that her happiness depended 
 upon her union with him ; but the stolid face, the hardened heart 
 would not relax, and she turned away with great sorrow and 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 199 
 
 entered the forest, where unexpectedly she met Chig-go-nia, her 
 best and dearest friend. Here their interview terminated with a 
 .solemn resolve to die for each other, and on the morrow the two 
 were to quietly meet, bid good-by to old associations, and 
 mounted on ponies, pass away west as man and wife. 
 
 With the rising of the sun the young and lovely berry-picker 
 "had" fled, and with her Chig-go-nia. Her brother, whose name 
 was He-in-da-koo, was soon aware of what had occurred^ and 
 mounted on one of his fleetest horses, and well armed, he started 
 out in pursuit. About noon he overtook the flying couple, who, 
 conscious of his desperate hatred and unrelenting ferocity, re- 
 doubled their speed ; the warrior, however, gained upon them 
 until they were all soon together and speeding rapidly over 
 the plain. Young Bets' brother rode in front, and drawing 
 his horse's head across the path of the lover, sought to cut him 
 down with his tomahawk. His sister pleaded for his life, but see- 
 ing that her pleadings were all in vain, she reined in her pony, 
 brought him close to the side of her lover, and with one spring 
 from her animal, she landed in his lap. With one arm about the 
 waist of his love, the young man fought bravely for his life, but 
 -encumbered with the maiden he fought to great disadvantage, 
 when, all of a sudden his antagonist struck him with his toma- 
 hawk on the head from behind, and the young man sank to the 
 earth, and in the arms of his sweet-heart breathed out his last 
 farewell. The maiden was carried back into camp, and though 
 she subsequently married a man of note in her tribe, yet the great 
 sorrow of her early love never left her, and traces of that sorrow 
 could be seen upon her face even in her old age as she trudged 
 up and down our streets. 
 
 For many years this inoffensive old woman became a marked 
 -character, both to our citizens and to strangers. I remember 
 her as the possessor of a wrinkled face, peculiar eyes, disheveled 
 hair, large mouth, exposed neck, uncouth form ; but always with 
 her cheerful " ho-ho," and she plodded along under the weight of 
 years and of her great sorrow. She was a kind and devoted 
 friend to the whites, and before her death became quite poor, but 
 it is a credit to humanity to be able to state, that she was aided 
 by pecuniary help from our citizens, and finally died in the Chris- 
 
200 PEN PICTURES 
 
 tian belief and was accorded a Christian burial in the place of 
 her birth, and where she had spent the best portion of her life. 
 
 FIRST MAYOR DAVID OLMSTED, THE EDITOR. 
 
 Born in Vermont in 1822, Mr. Olmsted followed the Winne- 
 bagoes to Long Prairie, having for many years previously en- 
 gaged in the Indian trade, where he established a store, and also 
 another in this city in the year 1848. He came to reside per- 
 manently in St. Paul in 1853, but previous to this, in 1849, while 
 off and on in the city, he was elected a member of the first Ter- 
 ritorial Council of Minnesota, and was chosen president of that 
 body. He was also in the Council of 1851, so that I can justly 
 class him as among the citizens of the city in 1850. In 1853 he 
 gave up his Indian trade and purchased of Col. D. A. Robertson 
 the Minnesota Democrat office, which was in a white wooden 
 building standing on the corner of Third and Wabasha streets, 
 now known as the McQuillan block. Judge Nelson at one time 
 owned this same printing office. Olmsted edited the Democrat 
 until 1854, when he sold out and was elected first Mayor of St. 
 Paul. He removed to Winona in 1855, and that year was nom- 
 inated for Congress, H. M. Rice being his opponent on the Dem- 
 ocratic ticket, and Wm. R. Marshall running as a Republican, 
 who was defeated. Soon after this, his health failing him, he 
 sailed for Cuba, where he remained one winter ; but getting no 
 better, he returned home and died in i86i, aged thirty-nine years. 
 Olmsted County is named after him. 
 
 HOW THE FIRST MAYOR LOOKED. 
 
 Mr. Olmsted was a well-built man ; pleasant in his address ; 
 quiet in his manners ; sensible in his speech ; naturally polite, 
 and a real gentleman, somewhat like Edmund Rice. He had a 
 large head with heavy, shaggy eyebrows, and when he addressed 
 his fellow-men it was with an air of equality, not with an air of 
 superiority. His voice was low and pleasing, and a quiet, sub- 
 dued smile played upon his features. He never ranted ; his temper 
 was uniform ; his movements dignified, and yet he was approach- 
 able by every one. The serenity of his nature and the true ele- 
 ments which make a man, won for him many friends. St. Paul 
 may well be proud of her first mayor. He was a man of a good 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 201 
 
 deal of solid ability, appealing more to reason and to argument 
 than to tinselry or demagogism, to carry his case. As an illus- 
 tration, he was an old-time Democrat, but he could not endure 
 slavery, so he ran for Gongress on the anti-Nebraska ticket, and 
 of course was defeated. At the age of twenty-four years he was a 
 member of the convention which framed the constitution for 
 Iowa, and in every public position which he held in Minnesota 
 he was noted for his good common sense and his love of fairness 
 and justice. As an editor he adorned the profession, as a mayor 
 he honored the city, as a man his memory is revered and 
 respected. 
 
 FIRST BOWLING ALLEY BOUND IN CALF. 
 
 The first bowling alley was a rough boarded building on the 
 south side of Third street, upper town, overlooking the river. 
 The interior was as rough as the exterior and somewhat after the 
 fashion of " Monk Hall," of which I have already written. 
 
 In 1850 a celebrated law firm in this city had a brand-new 
 Bible with an elegant cover on it, and feeling that no lawyer's 
 office was complete without the word of God in it, one of the 
 firm stripped off the expensive cover and had it bound in calf, so 
 that it is now dressed in the same garb as the law books belong- 
 ing to the firm. The elegant lids of the Bible were used to cover 
 up decisions in divorce cases, and was thoroughly read by every 
 lady who patronized the establishment. The word of God in calf 
 externally looked like the twin-brother of Blackstone, but in many 
 other respects greatly resembled the owner of the book — at least 
 in the binding ! 
 
 JOSEPH R. BROWN. 
 
 Mr. Brown was born in Maryland in 1805, and had he lived 
 to this time he would have been eighty years old. He died in 
 New York in 1870, or fifteen years ago, aged sixty-five years. 
 His father was a local Methodist Episcopal minister, and in early 
 years Joseph was put to learn the printer's trade, but becoming 
 dissatisfied from what he alleges was cruel treatment, he ran 
 away and enlisted in the army and came to Fort Snelling as a 
 drummer boy in 18 19, or sixty-six years ago, at which time he 
 was about fourteen years of age. He left the army somewhere 
 in the years 1825 or 1828, and engaged in the lumbering and 
 
202 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Indian business. He came to St. Paul t© reside permanently in 
 1850, although he had been in the city off and on for a year or 
 more. He married a Dakota woman, and at the time I first met 
 him had a family of six or eight children. In the early days, 
 before the existence of Minnesota, he was appointed a justice of 
 the peace in Wisconsin ; was also elected a member of the Leg- 
 islature of that State for three years ; was a prominent member 
 of the convention which took steps to organize Minnesota into a 
 Territory; was Secretary of the Territorial Council after Minne- 
 sota became a Territory, during the years 1849 and 1851 ; was 
 Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives in 1853 ; member 
 of the Council (or Senate) in 1854 and 1855 ; of the House in 
 1857, and Territorial Printer in 1853-4; was also an influential 
 member of the Constitutional Convention, and chairman of the 
 committee appointed to canvass the votes on the adoption of the 
 constitution; was appointed Indian agent in 1857, 'ind no man 
 ever dealt more fairly or honestly with the red men than Joseph 
 R. Brown. 
 
 At the time I met him he was largely engaged in the Indian 
 trade ; had laid out Henderson as a town-site and was running 
 a stage-line to it; had purchased the Pioneer of the estate of 
 James M. Goodhue in 1852, and was conducting the affairs of his 
 political, or rather Democratic party, while he had conceived the 
 idea in his brain of a huge steam wagon, which was to traverse 
 the prairies loaded with goods for the frontier, for he was always 
 reaching out beyond the confines of civilization into the remote 
 portions of barbaric life. Having let go his hold on the Pioneer 
 he started the Democrat at Henderson in the year 1857; ^^d 
 from thence he and his family drifted into what is known as 
 Brown's Valley, a beautiful country at present adorned with ele- 
 gant farms. When Mr. Brown came to St. Paul he purchased 
 the property now known as Kittson's addition, for ;^I50 — worth 
 to-day several millions. It is alleged that he sold the lot where 
 Raugh's saloon used to stand, on Third street, now occupied by Mr. 
 Jones, for a box of cigars, the present value being about ;^25,ooo. 
 He had but little appreciation of money only so far as it was a 
 means of effecting certain ends, and these ends usually were the 
 advancement of the human race. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 203 
 
 CLEARLY DEFINED AND CLEARLY SEEN. 
 
 The traveler who passes over the gr-eat plains of Dakota, 
 sees here and there a sage-bush and sometimes a small sapling, 
 and then, all of a sudden his vision falls on a great butte, or rock, 
 which, rising out of the prairie in huge proportions, looms up 
 against the sky and throws its shadows for miles in the distance. 
 What nature presents on our plains is illustrated in the career of 
 the human race. The great njass of the people resemble sage- 
 brush, with here and there a tree of a larger growth, but capping 
 all, and overlooking all, and overshadowing all, rises the- great 
 man, who, in his rugged characteristics resembles nature's land- 
 mark, for he stands prominently out from his fellow-men dearly 
 defined and clearly seen. Such was Major Joseph R. Brown, 
 the subject of this sketch. Coming to Minnesota early, and 
 having been intimately associated with Mr. Brown in editing the 
 Pioneer for six months, I am, perhaps, as well able to speak of 
 his peculiar traits of character as any man living. I have stated 
 in previous articles that I landed at the levee at St. Paul in the 
 year 1853, determined to make this city my future home, and 
 what more natural than that I should seek a place in my own 
 profession ? So I entered the Minnesotian office on Third street, 
 and there met Owens and Moore, and to my application, " Do 
 you want a ' devil,' or a printer, or an assistant editor, or an edi- 
 tor-in-chief? " came back the curt answer, " No ! " I trudged up 
 Third street to the corner of Wabasha, where the old Democrat 
 was then printed; entered the office and there met David Olm- 
 sted, with his great, shaggy eyebrows and his big head, and 
 George W. Armstrong, with his pleasant face and red hair, and 
 in response to my question for work, a modified and pleasing 
 answer greeted me " No ! " I trudged over Third street, passed 
 by a one story and a half wooden building where IngersoU block 
 now stands, walked down Bench street a short distance and en- 
 tered the office of the Pioneer. I stood in the presence of Joseph 
 R. Brown. At this time Mr. Brown was a good-sized man, then 
 about fifty years of age, with a sharp Roman nose, clear-cut 
 features, hair somewhat long and gently curling, head tending to 
 baldness, wore an open stand-up collar lying loosely about his 
 neck, and presented an appearance which at once denoted some- 
 
204 PEN PICTURES 
 
 thing above the ordinary man. Hjs chin was prominent and his 
 lips thin, and when he spoke his eyes dilated, and when done 
 speaking he made^a^bise between a sneeze and a cough, pro- 
 duced by a catarrhal affection, with which he had long been 
 troubled. 
 
 " Mr. Brown," I said, " I called to inquire if you wished any 
 one to assist you." He turned square around from his writing 
 and with a pleasant smile, answered — " Well, by George, I think 
 I do." " I guess I can suit you ; I have been in the printing busi- 
 ness for myself; know all the ins and outs of the profession," I 
 remarked, when he fixed his strong, bright eyes upon me and 
 asked — " What do you consider your services worth ? " to which 
 I replied — " Fix your own terms." " I want a man to assist me 
 here," he replied, "to take entire charge of the paper when I am 
 gone ; and so you think you can perform the labor ? " I told him I 
 certainly thought I could, when he agreed to pay me $^o per 
 week, and I was then and there engaged in the old Pioneef office, 
 in 1853, or thirty-two years ago. 
 
 ANECDOTES OF BROWN THE DEAD HORSE. 
 
 I remember many pleasant incidents in the life of Mr. Brown, 
 all of which go to make up the real character of the man. He was 
 a person of great energy and great industry and great vitality, 
 and with an evenness of temper which I never before and never 
 since have met with in my association with men ; always good- 
 natured, always considerate, and I remember the fact with feel- 
 ings of the liveliest emotions, that during the six months I was 
 with him, I can recall no word or look that militates in the least 
 degree against the memory of the lamented dead. Mr. Brown 
 had the habit of saying " By George ! " He never swore ; he 
 never drank ; he never played cards ; he did smoke cigars occa- 
 sionally. ■ At times he was thoughtful, and a calm and serene 
 expression would creep over his face as he no doubt sometipies 
 thought of the old folks at home and of his childhood hours. 
 One morning the driver of his stage to Henderson came into the 
 offi^.'- with a very sad face, and addressing Mr. Brown, who was 
 quietly writing at my elbow, said — " The horses have run away, 
 Mr. Brown, and one — one — one — of — them — is — dead ! " Mr. 
 Brown quietly turned around and looking up in the face of the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 203 
 
 distressed man, in a pleasant but by no means excited manner, 
 inquired how it all happened, and when the driver had concluded 
 his story, Brown simply remarked — " Well, by George ! John, if 
 those horses hadn't run' away, it is probable that both of them 
 would have been alive now. Well, I must get another horse, by 
 George ! " The effect upon the poor driver was instantaneous ; 
 his eyes lightened up, his countenance assumed a different shape, 
 and a great sigh came from his heart as he then and there no 
 doubt resolved never to do anything in the future that would 
 lose him the respect and the friendship of so good a man as 
 Joseph R. Brown. 
 
 A BILL TO SUPPRESS IMMORALITY. 
 
 I entered the office one morning about 6:30 o'clock, and 
 found Mr. Brown at his table writing. " Well, Mr. Brown, you 
 are pretty early this morning," I remarked, when he quietly 
 said — " Yes, by George ! pretty early in view of the fact that I 
 have not yet been to bed." " Why, Brown, is that so ? What 's 
 up ? " " Oh, nothing, only I am getting up a bill for the suppres- 
 sion of immorality, and I knew I would not be able to conclude 
 it unless I took the night to do it in, and I have just finished it." 
 The reader should bear in mind that Mr. Brown was then Terri- 
 torial Printer, and that bills were considered " fat takes," inas- 
 much as large slugs were placed between each line, and the 
 printer was allowed one dollar per 1,000. The next day Mr. 
 Brown arose in the Senate, as he was then a member of that 
 body, and in his peculiar grave and honest manner, desired to 
 introduce a bill for the suppression of immorality, and moved 
 that it be read by its title and printed, which motion prevailed. 
 The next day the bill came up and was read. It first made pro- 
 vision for the suppression of liquor on the bars of steamboats — 
 Brown was a temperance man ; — it then enumerated many other 
 elements of immorality, and finally it resolved that to advance 
 the moral character of the community no person shall be per- 
 mitted to hang the under-garments of either sex on a public 
 clothes-line, as such an act is detrimental to the public morals 
 of the people. Of course the Senate saw the joke, and the bill 
 was immediately indefinitely postponed ; but Brown had carried 
 
206 PEN PICTURES 
 
 his point, the bill had been ordered printed, and his one night's 
 labor on it had netted him just ^loo. 
 
 HOME BURNED NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 It was Sunday morning when I sauntered up to the office 
 and there met Mr. Brown, who was exercising a peculiar habit 
 which he had of scratching the palm of his left hand with the 
 nails of the fingers of the right, and looking very serious. 
 "Good morning, Mr. Brown ; I thought you were in Henderson." 
 " By George ! I wish I was across the river," he replied. " Why 
 so, Mr. Brown ? " " Well, my house has been burned down and 
 I am getting a little anxious about my family." " How do you 
 know your house has been burned ? " " Well, by George ! I saw 
 it, and don't you see the smoke ? " and looking in the direction 
 in which he pointed, which was then on the bluff in West St. 
 Paul, sure enough, there was the smoke of his ruined home. 
 The river at this time was full of ice, and it was impossible for 
 the ferry-boat to run, and it was very dangerous for anybody to 
 attempt to cross. Brown walked up and down the bluff for 
 some time, when, all of a sudden I missed him, and casting my 
 eyes down the river there he was, jumping from one cake of 
 floating ice to the other at the imminent risk of his life ; now glid- 
 ing down the stream ; now caught in a gorge ; now struggling 
 to gain the shore ; now safe ! Several days passed before I was 
 able to follow him, which I did, and found him coolly scratching 
 his bare limb, with the remnant of his household goods which 
 had been saved, and his wife and family about him. " By George! 
 it was a narrow escape, but we are all here," said the affectionate 
 father and kind husband, and I thought I saw a tear glisten in 
 his eye as his children gathered around him and heard him tell 
 me of the narrow escape of his family from the devouring ele- 
 ments. With a brave spirit and a hght heart he went to work, 
 and in a few days another home arose on the ruins of the old. 
 
 HIS COOLNESS IN TIMES OF DANGER. 
 
 Frank C. Shanley, who was a private in the army and who 
 was also in the Indian war, writes me as follows : 
 
 " Your notice of Mr. Brown has brought to my mind an incident which occurred 
 nearly twenty-two years ago, and which illustrates the character of the man. It was 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 207 
 
 at the battle of Birch Coolie, and Joe Brown's coolness and bravery took a great 
 weight off my mind, for I was then young in years and inexperienced, but at the 
 same time had to stand the siege. I was on guard duty at our camp when attacked, 
 and happened to come up near Mr. Brown, and from what I could learn I was sure 
 It meant death to all of us, but not so to him. His first words uttered in my hear- 
 ing were — ' By George! we have got into a fix, boys; now we must fight to get out 
 of it.' He waited a few moments, which seemed like hours to me, and then said — 
 'Well, by George! I want some volunteers to run the gauntlet.' The men were on 
 hand in a minute, the first one to volunteer being George Wells, for they all had con- 
 fidence in Brown. 'Well, we will bridle the horses now and start,' said he, 'but 
 remember, it is dangerous,' and just as he spoke a bullet hit him in the shoulder 
 and stunned him for a moment, and then he remarked jocosely — ' Well, boys, that 
 won't do. Don't waste your ammunition, but make it count, by George! ' This 
 coolness, just at that time, in the beginning of the fight, may be considered as sav- 
 ing us all, for a stampede was imminent, as the men were sick and disgusted with 
 the horrible scenes and the odor from the decomposed bodies, which came up from 
 every side, and having been deprived of sleep, they were in a good condition to get 
 wild and run. Joe Brown, in not losing his head upon this occasion, saved the 
 camp, and, of course, saved our lives." 
 
 brown's steam wagon. 
 
 It was an earnest desire on the part of Mr. Brown to bring 
 to perfection a steam wagon which would be able to traverse our 
 extensive prairies and draw after it immense loads of goods both 
 for the Indian and the settler. To this end he had one made 
 which resembled very much the present huge steam roller now 
 in use on our streets by the city, and started it across the 
 plains ; but it broke down and so did Brown financially, and the 
 matter for the time being was abandoned. Parts of the machin- 
 ery of this novel invention lay upon the prairies for years, and 
 it was for the purpose of perfecting this invention that the inven- 
 tor went East in 1 870, but never returned alive. No doubt the 
 idea which produced the present street roller originated in the 
 brain of Joseph R. Brown. 
 
 IN A TIGHT SPOT. 
 
 It will be remembered by my readers, that in the year 1853 
 the question of permitting or not permitting slavery into our 
 Territories, was then agitating the country. Brown was absent 
 at his trading post and I wrote an editorial committing the 
 paper to the anti-slavery part of the discussion, and the next 
 day in came Gov. W. A. Gorman with a huge book under his 
 arm, his gold-headed cane in his hand, and little Jack Morgan 
 
208 I'EN PICT DEES 
 
 by his side. Gorman, in austere terms for which he was noted, 
 wanted to know, in a dignified manner, who wrote that article ? 
 I pleaded guilty to the charge. Gorman replied — " Well, sir, by 
 
 G , sir, you have ruined the Democratic party, sir," and then 
 
 he unfolded the leaves of his great book and sought to demon- 
 strate by a record of the past, that slavery was right and ought to 
 have the privilege of going where it pleased on the public domain, 
 to which, of course, " Our Little Jack " earnestly assented. It 
 was a tight spot to put me in, but I squeezed out of it and waited 
 the return of the editor, who, I felt sure, would be very angry, 
 and possibly dispense with my services. Brown came and the 
 first words were — " By George ! you have got me into a close 
 corner. How came you to put that article in ? " I explained 
 the affair to him as best I could, when, without another word he 
 sat down and wrote a very adroit article rectifying the matter, 
 and then reading it to me, he remarked — " I guess that will save 
 the Democratic party," and it did, for both Gorman and Morgan 
 were satisfied and Brown laughed over the weakness of human 
 nature. 
 
 BROWN AS A MAN. 
 
 Rugged in his nature, uncultivated by the schools, unassisted 
 by early advantages, unaided by wealth or moulded by refined 
 society, Joseph R. Brown rises head and shoulders above his fel- 
 low-men, both in those traits of character which mark the true 
 man, and in those othef traits of character which mark the true 
 genius. His mind was broad and grasping and progressive. 
 His heart was kind, and large and generous. His nature was 
 cool, serene, hopeful. He carved out his own fortune ; he has 
 written his own name indelibly upon the rock of truth and man- 
 hood, and there it will remain forever. 
 
 THE GOOD-BY DEAD. 
 
 " God bless you, my old friend ! " was the salutation of Mr. 
 Brown to the writer in the Merchants hotel in the year 1870, and 
 he grasped my hand with a warmth of friendship, the memory 
 of which time can never efface. " I am going East to perfect 
 my steam wagon ; am a little ahead financially through my 
 Indian agency, and by George ! I think I am now all right," and 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 209 
 
 drawing me to the bar he did that which I never knew him to do 
 before — call for a glass of wine, and we drank the parting cup ; 
 he to go East ; I to go West — to part forever. And soon after 
 came the sad news, " Brown is dead ! " But like another great 
 man who passed away before he did, Brown " still lives " — not 
 only in the history of Minnesota, but in the memory of all those 
 who knew him intimately and who cherish his good deeds and 
 his noble character. 
 
 THE FIRST FRESH OYSTERS. 
 
 The first fresh oysters were brought to this sectioii of coun- 
 try by Governor Ramsey, in kegs from Chicago, in February, 
 1850. Previous to this date cove oysters had been imported, but 
 the credit of introducing the fresk fruit belongs to the Governor. 
 When I contemplate the immense number of oysters now used 
 in this State, and the immense sums necessary in procuring them, 
 I can realize the force of the expression, " Tall oaks from little 
 acorns grow." 
 
 ' COLE," OR J. C. MARTIN. 
 
 Every old settler will remember Cole Martin, who, in early 
 days with King Cole led the social male circle in this city. Cole 
 was as much a man in St. Paul in his way twenty-five years 
 ago, as the late Sam. Ward was in Washington. King Cole is 
 dead, but Cole Martin still lives and flourishes in the Capital of 
 the nation. He was born in Virginia in 1828; removed to Indi- 
 ana ; enlisted in the Mexican war in 1840, and remained in the 
 army two years ; came to St. Paul in 1 848 ; was absent two years ; 
 returned in 1 850, from which year I date his residence, and 
 remained up to 1858, when he removed to Washington, where 
 he has ever since resided. His first visit to St. Paul in twenty- 
 four years was made last summer. 
 
 "the hippodrome" FIRST CLUB-HOUSE. 
 
 Cole Martin and King Cole established the first club-house 
 in the city, which stood on the corner of Fourth and Robert 
 streets, where the German-American bank now is. Here could 
 be found the very finest liquors in the Northwest displayed on 
 tempting side-boards, and taken ad libitum by members of the 
 club. Here, too, were social " sit-downs," which, in those early 
 14 
 
210 PEN PICTURES 
 
 days were considered highly proper appendages to society. Here^ 
 too, were served up some very fine dishes, and partaken of by 
 epicurean palates. The faro-bank in those days was the only 
 bank upon which capitalists could make a run, and around the 
 " Hippodrome " gathered the wealth and the bon-ton of the city. 
 
 THAT CELEBRATED RACE PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 " Cole " Martin owned a horse called the " Black Hawk," 
 and Willoughby owned an apparently old broken-down stage 
 animal, called " Sleepy." Willoughby made a bet that " Sleepy " 
 could clean out "Black Hawk." "Cole" took the bet. The 
 distance was twenty miles ; to St. Anthony, around the St. Charles 
 hotel, and back. Great excitement prevailed ; immense bets for 
 those days were made, and the road from St. Paul to St. Anthony 
 was literally alive with vehicles, men on horseback and pedes- 
 trians. " Black Hawk " started out nimbly, and many bets were 
 made on him, but old " Sleepy " came in ahead to the great mor- 
 tification of the owner of the animal and those who had bet on 
 his favorite steed. It was the old story over again of being 
 deceived by appearances, but it was a memorable event in the 
 history of "Cole" Martin, and occurred in the year 1855. 
 
 Mr. Martin was tall, slender, gentlemanly, elegantly dresse'd, 
 fine looking, and in his profession the soul of honor. He was a 
 great favorite with the ladies, and indeed I may say with the 
 gentlemen. He was early left an orphan and has only one 
 brother living, E. F. Martin, who formerly carried on business 
 on Jackson street, in this city. Jim Vincent, Charlie Henniss, 
 Andy Shearer, Cole Martin, King Cole, were peculiar characters 
 who flourished in the days of the past, only one of whom still 
 lives, " Cole " Martin. 
 
 WASHINGTON STEES. 
 
 Mr. Stees was born in Pennsylvania in 1826; came to St. 
 Paul in 1850; purchased of a man by the name of Frost his 
 small furniture store which stood on the corner of Third and 
 Minnesota streets, and established what was the first regular 
 furniture outfit in this city, with which Mr. Stees has been con- 
 nected for the past thirty-four years, and then only retiring in 
 consequence of ill-health. He paid for the corner lot upon which 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 211 
 
 his establishment stood, fifty feet on Third street by one hundred 
 and fifty on Minnesota, ;^SOO — worth now ;^75,ooo.' Mr. Hunt 
 went into partnership with Mr. Stees and continued for several 
 years, when he opened a livery stable. As trade increased new 
 buildings were added to the old furniture store, until it is now 
 one of the largest establishments of the kind in the Northwest. 
 Just back of his original store was a building in which he lived, 
 and beyond this, on Minnesota street, was the Catholic burial 
 ground. 
 
 PIG AND CHICKEN FEED VS. INDIANS ON THE FARM. 
 
 In these early days it was common for the Indians to pounce 
 into the kitchen of the lady of the house, and clean out her 
 larder of all that was in it. I do not mean to say that they 
 would steal, but they begged so hard and so audaciously, that it 
 was equivalent to it. Of course the whites gave cheerfully 
 because it was for their interests to do so, beside they desired to 
 keep on the good side of the red men so if possible to avoid an 
 outbreak. One day while Mrs. Stees was scrubbing her floor, 
 (and in the early times they were glad to have floors,) several 
 Indians pushed into her kitchen and seeing a large dish of 
 chicken and pig feed, (the latter composed somewhat of dish- 
 water,) and supposing it was for them; seized it, sat down upon 
 the wet floor, and before the good woman could make any pro- 
 . testation, had swallowed the whole, and then smacking their lips 
 and grunting, left the premises. That night the chickens went 
 to roost without supper, and the pigs squealed until morning for 
 something to eat. The next day, about the same hour, the same 
 Indians made their appearance, but the rooster crowed, the hens 
 cackled, the pigs grunted, for their mistress had circumvented the 
 Indians by giving her dumb family an early meal. Once again 
 the Indians gathered at the hospitable kitchen, and this time Mrs. 
 Stees had thoughtlessly left her dishwater in a huge pot on the 
 stove, and it was luke-warm. Mr. Indians seized and drank it 
 before the presiding genius of the kitchen knew they were pres- 
 ent. They soon after left, and were heard to exclaim — " Me heap 
 sick," and the general contortions of their features clearly showed 
 that they were telling the truth. They " threw up " this kind of 
 a job and never visited the family again. 
 
212 PEN PICTURES . 
 
 Two hundred acres of land lying upon Lake Phelan, were 
 purchased by Mr. Stees in 1857, for ^4,000, and he lived there 
 from that date until last year, when he purchased the Heather 
 mansion, just off of Summit avenue, where he now resides. His 
 200 acres are worth ^100,000, and this is putting the property at 
 only $500 per acre. 
 
 THREATENED BURNING OF RAMSEY IN EFFIGY. 
 
 Mr. Stees gives a very amusing account of a threatened 
 burning-in-effigy case, in which our worthy Gov. Ramsey was 
 the principal figure. It seems that the Governor would not com- 
 ply with the demands of a certain party to do a certain thing, so 
 they threatened to burn him in effigy, and Ramsey declared they 
 should not do it ; so he marshaled his friends and armed them, 
 and arming himself, waited for the contest. Ramsey was some 
 thirty-five years younger than he is now, and his Scotch-German 
 blood was aroused to its highest pitch. He buckled on his 
 sword, had his arms and ammunition ready, and as commander- 
 in-chief was determined to take the consequences of a fixed and 
 bloody battle, but his enemies should never burn him in effigy in 
 front of his own house — never ! — no ! — never ! The raw recruits 
 were stationed at available points in his dwelling ; the arsenal 
 department was closely inspected ; the quartermaster and com- 
 missary had made ample provisions for a long siege ; his friends 
 were eager for the affray and firm in their devotion to his inter- 
 ests ; while he, as he strode impatiently up and down in his own 
 parlor, was supposed to mutter : 
 
 " Come on, Macduff, 
 And damned be he who first cries — ' Hold ! Enough ! ' " 
 
 Returning to the other end of his room, he probably thought 
 
 of, if he didn't utter, the following sentiment of Sir Roderick 
 
 Dhu: 
 
 " This roclc shall fly from its firm base as soon as I." 
 
 But the enemy didn't come ! The sentinels peered out into the 
 darkness ! All was still ! The commissary issued fatigue rations 
 amid the clash of arms inside, but the silent night gave back no 
 response. The hours wore on heavily, pregnant with big coming 
 events, but there was no sleep. 
 
 " Macbeth had murdered sleep." 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 213 
 
 " They come ! They come ! " can be heard the cry upon the 
 outer wall, and with deadly grip each soldier grabs his gun to 
 dare, to do, to die ! Listen ! All is still. 'Tis a false alarm ! 
 No enemy appears ; no enemy dare appear to confront the gal- 
 lant band who are ready to fall for their brave commander ! And 
 then the clank of arms within the dwelling grew louder, and 
 hearts grew braver, " and there was hurrying to and fro," and 
 impetuous movements, and glaring eye-balls, and unsteady steps, 
 " when in the small hours of the morning," the bloodless battle 
 having been fought and won, the victors slept upon their arms, 
 and Ramsey had triumphed ! 
 
 Towards daylight most of the party finding that the bellig- 
 erents did not make their appearance, left the residence of the 
 Governor and wended their way to " Monk Hall," which then 
 stood on the corner of Eagle and Exchange streets. Here they 
 made a furious attack on the building with , stones, breaking in 
 the windows and forcing the inmates to seek other quarters for 
 their lives. In this building was stored the effigy of the Gov- 
 ernor, but his prompt and decided action intimidated his enemies, 
 and won him the victory. 
 
 MR. STEES PERSONALLY. 
 
 Ill-health for many years has prevented Mr. Stees from 
 taking any active part in public affairs. In 1859 he was County 
 Commissioner, and in 1854 was Chief Engineer of the Fire 
 Department. He is a good-sized man and looks much more 
 rugged than he really is. Is a quiet, unobtrusive, industrious, 
 pleasant gentleman, and has given many years to a lucrative 
 business from which he retires to enjoy the repose of a well- 
 spent life. 
 
 MICHAEL CUMMINGS AS I SEE HIM. 
 
 Mr. Cummings was born in Ireland about 1 827 ; came to 
 St. Paul in 1850; elected City Marshal in 1851 ; Alderman in 
 1869, i870-'7i-'72 and '73 ; member of the Board of Education 
 three years; and Chief of Police in 1863. For several years 
 past Mr. Cummings has not been actively engaged in any busi- 
 ness, and what he is now doing I do not know. 
 
 He is a tall, well-proportioned man, with a fine head and a 
 fine address, and one seeing him on the street would not suppose 
 
214 PEN PICTURES 
 
 he was the person who had filled so many important offices, and 
 yet he is a gentleman of good ability, and if he had " kept on in 
 the even tenor of his way," he might still have been prominent 
 among the politicians of to-day. He was a stone mason by 
 trade, and built the iirst stone building in St. Paul. He also 
 brought the first shell oysters to the city in the year 1852. He 
 was offered one dollar and fifty cents per dozen for them, but he 
 wouldn't sell them ; gave them to his friends. Generous Mike ! 
 
 AN EPISODE. 
 
 The writer had made a speech in the old Market House 
 which reflected somewhat politically upon two members of the 
 Legislature, when one or both of these members threatened to 
 whip him, and a number of his friends hearing of the matter, 
 offered to escort him safely home. Among the number was Mike 
 Cummings, and although we differed politically, he being a Dem- 
 ocrat and I a Republican, yet he swore vengeance upon the 
 person who should injure a hair of my head. He was at least 
 six foot tall and equally large in other respects, so my enemies 
 concluded to let me alone. I shall always have a pleasant mem- 
 ory of Mike Cummings. 
 
 " HO ! " THE DAY IS BREAKING. 
 
 The Indians always say " How ! " or " Ho ! " which means, 
 " How to do ? " So the whites adopted this habit and whenever 
 they drank they invariably said "Ho ! " and Minnesota is known 
 all over the Union, especially in drinking circles, by this little 
 word. Two EngHsh tourists were visiting the West and one of 
 them hearing " Ho ! " and the clinking of glasses, innocently 
 inquired — " What makes 'em say 'o when they drink ? Does it 
 'urt 'em ? " The other fellow dropped off into a snooze, when 
 his companion awoke him by exclaiming — " Wake up ! the day 
 is breaking ! " " Well, let her break," replied the other ; " I've 
 got no money there ! " 
 
 THE ARRIVAL OF A BOAT. 
 
 It should be remembered by my readers, that in 1850 there 
 were no railroads or stage lines to St. Paul, and that for nearly six 
 months the people were deprived of a boat by the ice in the river. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 215 
 
 One can conceive the joy over the arrival of the first steamer, 
 bringing as it did not only provisions but good tidings from 
 home. And then when the stage line did come it took a week to 
 get to or from either Galena or Dubuque. Jump on to a train of 
 cars now and see how soon you can reach the seaboard ! But 
 after all a pony was better than walking ; a horse and a carriage 
 were better than a pony ; a stagjs was better than a private con- 
 veyance ; a boat better than a stage ; the cars the best of all, 
 unless in the future we shall find some new channel in the shape 
 ■of electricity which can put us over the road in half the time with 
 greater convenience than now. 
 
 NO GREAT CHANGES. 
 
 No great changes were made in the city during 1850. The 
 first town election was held and twenty-five marriages were cele- 
 brated. The Pioneer was anxious to have the stumps pulled out 
 -of Third street. The Minnesota river was navigated some 300 
 miles for the first time. Two hundred and fifty families then lived 
 in the city. The first Court House was commenced, and Dr. 
 Day was paid ^10 for drawing the plans. Vetal Guerin donated 
 the land. Now, in 1885, plans for a new Court House have been 
 accepted which will necessitate an outlay of not less than ;^6oo,- 
 000, and an elegant foundation for the building is already in. 
 Land for the present Catholic Cathedral was also donated this 
 year. The new jail was commenced. The Democrat was started 
 by Col. D. A. Robertson, and subsequently purchased by Judge 
 D. A. J. Baker. A large proportion of the population this year 
 was French. Now it is German. No particular public improve- 
 ments were made aside from the above, but civilization began to 
 gradually push out barbarism and the place continued to steadily 
 grow. 
 
 J. C. BURBANK, FOUNDER OF THE FIRST EXPRESS FIRST MESSENGER. 
 
 Mr. Burbank was born in Vermont in 1822; worked on a 
 farm ; received only a common school education ; taught school ; 
 opened a bookstore at Watertown, N. Y. ; ran an express to New 
 York city ; removed to Wisconsin where he opened and worked 
 a farm; came to St. Paul in 1850, without money and without 
 friends, and . was the first express messenger between St. Paul 
 
216 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and Galena, carrying the express matter in his pocket, and later 
 along when he secured a sub-contract for carrying the mail — ^it 
 consisted of one bag ! He engaged for a while in the lumbering 
 business, and on leaving that established in 185 1, the first express 
 which ran between St. Paul and Galena. In 1852 he formed a 
 partnership with W. L. Fawcett ; then with Ed. Holcombe ; then 
 with C. T. Whitney, the other partners retiring, and engaged in 
 the forwarding business ; then, in 1854, the Northwestern Express 
 Company was organized, and in 1856 Whitney went out of the 
 concern and Capt. Russell Blakely became a partner. In 1857 
 Burbank & Co. put a line of stages on the route East to compete 
 with Walker & Co. ; secured the mail contract in 1858 ; " hitched 
 horses" with Allen & Chase, and in 1859 the Minnesota Stage 
 Company was organized ; in 1 860 John L. Merriam entered the 
 firm, and for seven years Burbank, Blakely & Merriam were the 
 " high-cock-a-lorums " in the stage and transportation business in 
 the Northwest. Mr. Burbank continued in these avocations up 
 to 1 867, when he devoted himself to insurance, banking, railroad 
 and other enterprises. He was the president of the Chamber of 
 Commerce from 1869 to 1881 ; was largely interested in the St. 
 Paul & Sioux City Railroad, in which he was a director ; was an 
 active organizer of the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Com- 
 pany, and was its president and financial manager; in 1873 was 
 one of the early originators of the Street Railway Company; was 
 president of the same ; and then, while engaged in many useful 
 occupations, he died in 1876, aged fifty -four years. 
 
 AS MR. BURBANK LOOKED INCIDENTS. 
 
 J. C. Burbank was a well-developed man, strong, rugged, 
 tough, decided, the very picture of health and vim, and pos- 
 sessed native, uncultivated talents, which made him a marked 
 character. He was'strong in good, common sense ; clear in his 
 business perceptions ; prompt to act ; industrious ; self-reliant, 
 with good judgment, and a man of excellent tastes. Had he 
 lived until to-day he would have been a very rich man. 
 
 Riding with him one day he remarked — "I have just paid 
 ;^2S,ooo on my old Sioux City Railroad stock, but it don't pay." 
 "Well, what did you do that fc"," I asked, "if it does not 
 pay?" "Oh! to save the other ;^25,ooo already in." Riding 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 217 
 
 with him some six months afterwards he again remarked^" I 
 have paid in $25,000 more on my old Sioux City stock!" 
 "Heavens save us," I replied, "why do you persist in sinking 
 money in that way ?" " Can't help it," was his response. " I must 
 protect the $50,000 already in, and I have faith in the future." 
 After his death his estate realized a very large sum from this 
 investment alone. 
 
 " That tree is worth $500 to the people who ride on Summit 
 avenue," he said to the writer one day as he stopped his horse 
 and pointed to a beautiful Norway spruce, some forty feet high, 
 then in the yard owned by the author of these articles. " Why, 
 Burbank, I didn't know you were such a lover of nature," was 
 my response, when he offered $1,000 to put that same tree down 
 in his own yard in as good a condition as it then stood. Bur- 
 bank is gone ; the tree is gone ; both his and my own homestead 
 are gone ; the little girls who used to gambol on the green sward, 
 are gone ; and the charming spot which to him was so dear, has 
 passed into other hands. Such is life ! He was an excellent citi- 
 zen; a good neighbor; a fine business man; public-spirited; 
 genial, pleasant and manly. 
 
 D. A. ROBERTSON. 
 
 Colonel Robertson was born in Pennsylvania in 181 3, and 
 is a descendant of the Highland Scotch ; studied law in New 
 York; was admitted to practice in 1839; removed to Ohio; 
 became the editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Mount Vernon 
 Banner, and other papers ; was appointed U. S. Marshal in 1 844 
 for the State of Ohio, which office he held four years ; was a 
 member of the constitutional convention of Ohio ; resigned the 
 position and came to St. Paul in 1850; established the Minne- 
 sota Democrat that year ; was elected a member of the House of 
 Representatives in 1859 and i86o; Sheriff in 1863, serving two 
 terms ; was a member of the Board of Education ; a member 
 and a great promoter of the Historical Society and the Academy 
 of Sciences ; is a director of the St. Paul Library ; organized 
 the first Grange of Patrons of Husbandry in the United States, 
 giving it a splendid set of books ; speculated in real estate ; 
 made money ; visited Europe ; accumulated a very fine library, 
 consisting of several thousand volumes, which he sold to the State 
 
218 PEN PICTURES 
 
 University ; is a member of the National Scientific Society ; wrote 
 several works which have never bepn published ; has lectured 
 on history, political and social science, and is still an earnest 
 lover of literature in all its departments. 
 
 THE COLONEL AS I SEE HIM. 
 
 Colonel Robertson has the appearance of a man who has 
 spent most of his life in the army. He possesses a good physi- 
 cal organization, is well built, stands erect, walks dignifiedly, and 
 has a commanding manner, giving one the impression that he 
 had been trained in a military school. He has been a great 
 student all his life, and his library room is his battle field. No 
 matter how abstruse a subject may be, or how deep, or how 
 perplexing. Colonel Robertson attacks it as vigorously as Grant 
 did the Confederate forces in the war, and he usually comes 
 off victorious. I remember visiting his rooms years ago when 
 the question of scientific agriculture was exercising the public 
 mind, and such an array of documents, papers, books, writing 
 material and manuscript, never met my vision before, even in an 
 editor's office. Literary pursuits seem to be a part of the 
 Colonel's existence, and if there is anything he enjoys in life it 
 is the pleasure derived from his books. He is a very social 
 man ; always ready to talk and does talk ; is public-spirited ; a 
 lover of nature and a citizen much respected. His striking pecu- 
 liarity is the manner in which he seeks to impress one with his 
 views, and in this regard he resembles somewhat Rev. E. D. 
 Neill, only he is a little more persistent. When he was younger 
 he was a great politician, that is, of the Dem.ocratic persuasion, 
 and his political writings indicate strength and terseness, with 
 great boldness of expression, especially in attacking an antago- 
 nist. He has just passed seventy years, yet is hale, hearty and 
 active, and in 1885 was residing with his wife in Europe. 
 
 R. R. NELSON. 
 
 Judge Nelson was born in Cooperstown, N. Y., in 1826 ; is 
 the son of the late Judge Samuel Nelson, once one of the Judges 
 of the United States Supreme Court ; studied law in his father's 
 office and also in that of the late Judge J. R. Whiting, and prac- 
 ticed in his native State; came to St. Paul in 1850; was 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 219 
 
 appointed one of the Supreme Judges of the Territory of Minne- 
 sota in 18,57 ; subsequently, in 1858, was appointed United States 
 District Judge by President Buchanan, which office he has filled 
 for the past twenty-seven years. 
 
 THE JUDGE AS HE IS. 
 
 No man walks the streets of St. Paul upon whom the man- 
 tle of judge sits so grandly and so becomingly, as that of Judge 
 Nelson. On the bench or off it he is every inch a judge, and for 
 over a quarter of a century he has impartially and ably adminis- 
 tered justice under the law to hundreds of culprits, and yet I 
 know of no instance where any injustice has been done. The 
 Judge is a fine-looking man; well rounded out into excellent 
 proportions ; is serene, dignified, yet affable ; moves silently 
 among his fellow-men, and as a citizen is greatly respected. As 
 a judge he ranks among the first. His decisions are clear, sound 
 and just. He has a very kind heart, but never allows that to 
 swerve him from the path of duty. , He studies his cases thor- 
 oughly, is anxious to arrive at the truth, and conscientiously per- 
 forms the duties imposed upon him. In early days the Judge 
 made investments in St. Paul which are now very valuable, and 
 had his interests in Superior City turned out as- was expected, he 
 would have been a very rich man. As it is, he is comfortably 
 well off, and in the eyes of the public enjoys as much of life as 
 most men are entitled to. He dignifies the great nation of which 
 he is an honored and honorable judge, and reflects credit upon 
 the profession of which he is at the head. 
 
 HOLE-IN-THE-DAY, the famous INDIAN CHIEF. 
 
 Hole-in-the-Day was a great friend of the whites, and finally 
 
 married a Caucasian woman at Washington. He was born in 
 
 Minnesota, and his father before him was a great chief of the 
 
 Chippewa Indians, both of whom are now dead and buried upon 
 
 a hill about two miles above Little Falls on the Mississippi river. 
 
 In 1850 Hole-in-the-Day took a Sioux scalp on the west side of 
 
 the river, opposite St. Paul, which event is thus described by the 
 
 Pioneer of that date : 
 
 " On Wednesday there was great excitement in St. Paul — Indians yelling at 
 each other across the river, and running up and down the shore, canoes crossing the 
 
220 PEN PICTURES 
 
 river, and everything betokening the utmost exasperation. It seems that nevrs had 
 reached them that a party of Sioux were overtaken a short distance out of St. Paul, 
 tvpo murdered and three taken prisoners. At this moment a company of Sioux have 
 started northward through town, stripped of their blankets, in pursuit of the das- 
 tardly murderers. This is the first blow struck by the Chippewas in revenge for 
 fourteen of their tribe murdered the other day in a sugar camp, by the Sioux." 
 
 It seems that Hole-in-the-Day came down the river in a 
 canoe as far as Fountain Cave ; crossed over to the other side ; 
 secreted his boat in the bushes near the trail which the Sioux 
 took to Mendota ; fell upon a company of three or four ; killed 
 and scalped one ; recrossed the river and put for home, having 
 traveled eighty miles in twenty-four hours. The reader should 
 remember that the Chippewa country then embraced the land on 
 the east side of the river, while that of the Sioux was on the 
 west ; and when it is recorded as a matter of history that this 
 event occurred almost in our midst in the year 1850, one can 
 realize the rapid strides civilization has made since that time. 
 Hole-in-the-Day was a large, splendid specimen of an Indian 
 warrior, of whom I shall have more to say in a subsequent chap- 
 ter. 
 
 HIRAM STILLWELL. 
 
 Born in New York in 1824, Mr. Stillwell came to St. Paul 
 in 1850, and has ever since been engaged in the building and 
 contracting business. He erected the old Merchants hotel when 
 owned by Col. Shaw, and has been as true to his line of business 
 as the needle is to the pole, and what he has done or may do, 
 has been and will be done well. He is a steady, industrious 
 man, and peculiar in the fact that he is very unostentatious and 
 undemonstrative. He is a good deal of a politician of the Re- 
 publican order, and is very much like a still well— deep, cool and 
 quiet; a good mechanic, a good man, a good citizen. 
 
 GEORGE W. MOORE. 
 
 Mr. Moore was born in Pennsylvania in 1824; came to St. 
 Paul in 1850; his grandfather was in the Continental army from 
 New Jersey ; George attended school held in a log cabin about 
 six months in the year, and in 1838 learned the printing business, 
 and then attended an academy for about two years, during which 
 time he did a little teaching ; worked in a book office in New York, 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 221 
 
 leaving there when twenty-six years of age and coming to St. 
 Paul. On arriving in this city he became foreman of the Pioneer 
 office, owned by Goodhue, and in 1852 became one of the pub- 
 lishers of the Minnesotian, and continued so up to 1859, and then 
 the Times was united with the Minnesotian and the firm — New- 
 son, Moore, Foster & Co., was elected that year to do the Legis- 
 lative printing. Soon after this he retired from the printing busi- 
 ness, and in 1861 was appointed Deputy Collector of Customs 
 and custodian of the Custom House, St. Paul, by President 
 Lincoln, which office he held uninterruptedly for nearly eigh- 
 teen years, and to the general satisfaction of the party and the 
 people. He was an Alderman from the Fourth ward for a term 
 of three years — 1 866-' 69 — during one year of which he was vice- 
 president of the committee on streets. 
 
 A POLITICIAN. 
 
 Mr. Moore was a natural politician. He was once a Henry 
 Clay Whig, but early espoused the Republican cause and fought 
 it out desperately on that line. I have seen him stand at the 
 polls and challenge the Irish Democrats until he had scarcely a 
 garment left on his back. In those days of twenty-five years 
 ago, the Irish were different from what they are now. Then 
 whisky was the dominant element and common sense was at 
 a discount. Fights at the polls were almost universal, and the 
 Irish, or rather whisky, was usually the aggressor ; now, through 
 the influence of Bishop Ireland and the good sense of the Irish 
 people themselves, no more orderly or sober class of men can 
 be found at the voting precincts on election days, than the sons 
 of " Erin mavureen, Erin go braugh." Mr. Moore not only 
 worked in the ranks where work would tell, but he served as 
 chairman on the county committee for a good many years. He 
 took a decided stand at the door of Ingersoll Hall at the time 
 the Republican convention split, one section nominating Hub- 
 bard and the other Donnelly. Hubbard resigned and Andrews 
 was subsequently nominated. I instance these cases to show 
 the dogged persistency with which Moore carried out his politi- 
 cal ideas. When he got his eyes " sot " politically, nothing could 
 move them. He struck from the shoulder because he always 
 attended the primary meetings, and stood at the polls where 
 
222 PEN PICTURES 
 
 effective work did great good. Besides Moore was a good politi- 
 cal planner. 
 
 AS A MAN. 
 
 In his palmy days Moore was a thick-set, somewhat lym- 
 phatic individual ; good-natured ; moderate in his movements 
 and in his speech. He had great decision of character, and when 
 he had decided upon a question it was very difficult to move 
 him. Generally he was not free to advance opinions of his own, 
 but rather adopted the opinions of those in whom he had confi- 
 dence, and then he fought desperately to maintain them. He 
 was a good printer, and a good writer, industrious, honest, cool, 
 calm, and a pleasant companion. As a government officer he 
 was prompt and faithful in the discharge of his duties. He mar- 
 ried a Miss Tuttle and owns property on Dayton and Selby 
 avenues, which has now become very valuable. Mr. Moore has 
 been an invalid for many years, and his apparent want of energy 
 no doubt may be attributed to this cause. He is an old land- 
 mark and was once a partner of the writer. He has my kindest 
 wishes for his continued prosperity and ultimate restoration to 
 health. 
 
 WM. G. LE DUC. 
 
 Gen. Le Due is of French descent, his father having been 
 in the French army, but the General himself was born in Ohio 
 in 1832. When a lad he was educated at Kenyon College and 
 graduated with the honorary degree of A. M. ; admitted to prac- 
 tice law in 1849; came to St. Paul in 1850; practiced his pro- 
 fession in this city ; dealt in real estate and made mercantile ven- 
 tures up to 1856, when he removed to Hastings, and there 
 engaged in milling and town site speculations ; entered the army 
 as Captain Assistant Quartermaster in 1 862 ; was on General 
 Dana's staff as Chief Quartermaster in the field; was on the com- 
 mission to examine quartermasters ; was promoted to Brevet- 
 Brigadier General ; resigned in 1 865 ; returned to Hastings ; 
 organized the Hastings and Dakota Railroad Company ; was 
 president of the same until 1870; was appointed United States 
 Commissioner of Agriculture by President Hayes, and held the 
 office several years, during which time he sought to demonstrate 
 that tea could be grown in this country and that we could also 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 223 
 
 raise our sugar and our molasses. He is now a resident of 
 Hastings. 
 
 THAT LITTLE BOOK STORE — SUPPLYING THE CITY WITH WATER. 
 
 In 1853 Le Due kept a small assortment of books and sta- 
 tionery in a one-story little white wooden building which stood 
 on the south corner of the present Ingersoll block. He was 
 quite intimate with Mr. Brown of the Pioneer, (who at that time 
 was a member of the Legislature,) and Le Due was a great 
 schemer, always proposing something new. He dealt also in real 
 estate. 
 
 I think he was the originator of the proposition .which was 
 made to Mr. Brown in the presence of the writer, to secure a 
 charter of the Legislature to furnish the city with water. I 
 remember he was very enthusiastic over the matter and urged it 
 upon Mr. Brown with a great deal of eloquence. The plan was to 
 take water from the Mississippi river and convey it in barrels to 
 the houses of the citizens, for which they were to pay a stipu- 
 lated price. At that early day it was considered a gigantic enter- 
 prise, and the charter was supposed to be very valuable. Now 
 the water-works of the city cost probably, $ i ,000,000, and thou- 
 sands of barrels of water daily are required to supply the demand. 
 Then and now ! — what a change ! I little thought at this time 
 that this same active, bustling, energetic, wide-awake man 
 would be United States Commissioner of Agriculture and stand 
 at the head in Washington of the greatest indus'try of the nation, 
 and yet such is the fact. 
 
 A tall, quick, active man, with positive convictions, fertile 
 in expedients, with a restless brain and unbounded energy, are 
 the peculiarities which marked Gen. Le Due as I saw him in 
 1853, and even later in life. 
 
 THE FIRST BRICK HOUSE ON THE BLUFF. 
 
 The first brick house on the bluff on the south side of Third 
 street, was built by Mr. Le Due in the winter of 1853, and as 
 soon as completed it was occupied as the post office. Then it 
 became a saloon ; then the office of the Minnesotian ; then the 
 Times and Minnesotian, and in this building the old St. Paul 
 
224 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Press was born. Now the place is known as the Tivoli, where 
 ingredients for the stomach are served up instead of ingredients 
 for the brain. And thus the march of years continues while the 
 wheels of time involve changes that startle us with their vivid 
 records of a by-gone age. 
 
 CHARLES H. OAKES. 
 
 Mr. Oakes was a kind, genial gentleman all of the olden 
 times, and a memory of his pleasant ways comes back to me 
 laden with many recollections of by-gone years. He was simi- 
 lar in character to Mr. Brown, of whom I have written, and had 
 many of his pleasing peculiarities, among which was that favor- 
 ite expression, " by George ! " In all the years of my acquaint- 
 ance with Mr. Oakes, I never saw him out of temper once, or if 
 so, it was with a half smile upon his lips. He was a rare speci- 
 men of one of the old land-marks in the history of the North- 
 west, and to those who knew him well, as the writer did, his 
 memory will grow dearer as years advance. 
 
 WHEN AND WHERE BORN. 
 
 Mr. Oakes was born in Vermont in 1 803 ; his father was a 
 merchant and manufacturer, and at one time was sheriff in 
 Michigan. The son received only a common school education; 
 clerked in a store for a short time; came to Chicago in 1821 ; 
 was employed in the sutler's department when there were only 
 two white people in Chicago ; removed to Sault Ste. Marie in 
 1822; engaged in the mercantile business two years, and then 
 commenced trading with the Indians, employing voyageurs, etc., 
 which he followed for some time, when he connected himself 
 with the American Fur Company, and continued in this business 
 up to 1834. During the trips Mr. Oakes made at this time 
 among the Indians in search for fur, he experienced many hard- 
 ships, and in one case particularly, where he froze his feet. 
 Mr. Oakes had other narrow escapes ; once when the Indians 
 wanted to kill him because he would not give them whisky, but 
 he promised them in the spring when they brought in their fur, 
 to treat them all round, and this satisfied them. Mr. Oakes kept 
 his promise and the Indians were happy. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 225 
 
 A CHICAGO BLOCK VS. RED-DOG MONEY ! 
 
 He suffered many privations as most voyageurs and explor- 
 ers do, but came out of his trials all right, and from 1834 up to 
 1838 was in Michigan engaged in speculating, out of which he 
 made some money and loaned ;^5,ooo of it to parties in Chicago, 
 who urged him to take in pay a block of land on Clark street 
 now worth ;^ 1, 600,000; but he had no faith in Chicago " mud," 
 and accepted in lieu therefor " Red-dog " money and realized 
 nothing for his ;^5,ooo! In 1838 he resumed his connection with 
 the Atnerican Fur Company and continued with them up to 
 1850, when he removed to St. Paul, and in 1853, in company 
 with his brother-in-law, Charles W. Borup, opened a bank, of 
 which I have already spoken in a previous article. Mr. Borup 
 died in 1859, but the banking business was continued until 1866, 
 when Mr. Oakes retired from the concern, visited Europe, and 
 for several years after enjoyed a quiet and serene life. 
 
 MR. oakes as a man. 
 
 Tall, well-proportioned, hale, hearty, with gray hairs ; a face 
 beaming with smiles, and a voice low and musical, were pecu- 
 liarities which caused Mr. Oakes to be cordially welcomed wher- 
 ever he went. His affability won him many friends. His system 
 bubbled over with good nature. His heart was young even in 
 old age. He carried sunshine in his eyes, and there was music 
 in his laugh. " By George ! is that so ? " will be recognized by 
 those who best knew Mr. Oakes. 
 
 . " go see him, oakes— go see him ! " 
 
 Borup was naturally impetuous, as all men with heart- 
 disease are, and many times he unintentionally offended some 
 of his best customers. Then, after business, he would meet Mr. 
 Oakes at his own house and talk over the affairs of the day. 
 Suddenly he would break out — "Oakes, I know I offended 
 
 Mr. to-day. Go see him ; see him ; make it right with him." 
 
 And Mr. Oakes would call upon the customer, engage him in 
 conversation, and before he left convince him that Mr. Borup was 
 one of the b&st friends he had in the city. Of course the next 
 day Borup would treat the gentleman with the utmost courtesy, 
 
 15 
 
226 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and everything thereafter would move along smoothly. This 
 occurred not once, but many times, and well illustrates what I 
 have previously said, " that Borup & Oakes got along well to- 
 gether as partners, as Borup did the business and Oakes always 
 agreed with him ; " but aftet all Mr. Oakes was an important 
 spoke in the wheel. 
 
 A GREAT WALKER. 
 
 Mr. Oakes had always been a great walker, and he claimed 
 he kept his health by out-door exercise. He made it a habit to 
 walk not less than six miles per day. Meeting him for the first 
 time in 1853, 1 presented him with a check for $i'iO on his bank, 
 but the graceful manner in which he informed me that there were 
 no funds in hand, impressed me most favorably with the man. I 
 was in his company many times afterwards and under trying 
 circumstances, and always found him kind and pleasant. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 I met^him the last time on Third street, just as I was leav- 
 ing for the Missouri river. I thought his step was not as steady 
 as formerly, that he was a little more bent in the shoulders than 
 usual, and that his face had lost somewhat of its rugged appear- 
 ance ; yet his smile was the same ; his greeting more cordial, and 
 his voice even more pleasant. On my return he was deadI 
 And thus another old oak in the forest of .human existence had 
 been swept away by the cyclone death, leaving many true friends 
 to mourn its fall. Mr. Oakes was close to eighty years when 
 he died. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES H. OAKES. 
 
 If years crown goodness with undying laurels, then in the 
 case of Mrs. Oakes the years have been very generous. A bright, 
 pleasant eye, dark hair, threaded with gray, a brunette complex- 
 ion, sweet, engaging manners and a pleasant smile, are graces 
 which adorn the oldest and best known lady resident of the city. 
 Born in 181 2, Mrs. Oakes looks as fresh and young as a woman 
 of thirty, and yet she has lived to see her husband, her sister, 
 and her sister's husband, and all her children but one, pass into 
 the silent land. Thirty yeqrs ago the writer spent an evening 
 in her pleasant home, when George, and Charlie, and David, and 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 227 
 
 Jane, and grandpapa, and Mr. Oakes, and Mrs. Oakes, and her 
 sister, Mrs. Borup, and Mr. Borup, graced the social circle. 
 Then they numbered nine — now they number two. Since then 
 Gen. Van Etten, former husband of Miss Jane, has joined " the 
 innumerable caravan gone before," making eight out of ten in 
 thirty years, of this family w|jo have crossed the mystic river ; 
 and yet serenely, and calmly, and pleasantly, and hopefully, 
 the mother, the wife, the sister, the friend patiently awaits the 
 messenger, ready at a moment's call 
 
 "To draw the drapery of her couch about her, 
 And lie down to pleasant dreams." 
 
 And so the years roll on like the surging waves of the ocean, 
 and foot-prints on the sands of time of to-day are all obliterated 
 in the brief period of thirty-five years. Within this magic cir- 
 cle the original tree and its branches disappear, and from the roots 
 spring new shoots, which, in their turn, must follow the everlast- 
 ing, eternal wheel of time. 
 
 FERDINAND MONTI. 
 
 Mr. Monti was born in Switzerland, Italy, in 1834; came to 
 this country when five years old ; lived in New York city ; was 
 engaged as teamster in the Mexican war in 1 846, and lost a leg 
 in the service ; resided for some time after the war in New Orleans, 
 and came to St. Paul in 1850. He married a Miss St. Cyr, a 
 French girl, whose parents resided in St. Louis, and soon after 
 opened a dry- goods and grocery store nearly opposite the old 
 American House on upper Third street. He sold out his busi- 
 ness arid became connected with Louis Robert in the steamboat 
 line, in which he continued five years ; removed to St. Cloud and 
 engaged in business there ; was burned out ; no insurance ; 
 came back to St. Paul, where he resided until his death. 
 
 LET GO too soon HIS PENSION. 
 
 He at one tinie owned two lots on Third street nearly oppo- 
 site the old American House, for which he paid ^50 ; sold for 
 ^1,400; worth now ;^ 15,000. He purchased forty acres on St. 
 Peter street, back of the Park Place hotel, for ;^200 ; worth now 
 $50,000; bought a claim at Cottage Grove of 160 acres for $20; 
 
228 PEN PICTURES- 
 
 worth now about ;^ 10,000. Monti was just as wise as many- 
 other old settlers and about as rich when he died. 
 
 When living he drew a pension of ^^24 per month for the 
 loss of his leg, which was procured for him by special legislation, 
 but the moment he died the pension stopped and his widow gets 
 nothing. Mrs. Monti's father, I am informed, was in the war of 
 1 8 1 2 and also in the Black Hawk war ; was a mail carrier over 
 100 years ago in the time of Gen. Jackson, and occupied a prom- 
 inent place in the old hero's confidence. 
 
 COMING BACK FROM THE DEAD. 
 
 In 1879 and some time before this, Mr. Monti had been 
 affected with dropsy, and in 1880 he died. While in the cham- 
 ber of the dead Mrs. Monti heard a noise, and looking up saw Mr. 
 Monti rise up, and upon approaching him found him to be alive. 
 Unable to speak she looked at him for a moment and then dis- 
 covered that his gray hair had turned black, and bursting into 
 tears he exclaimed — " Mother ! this world is bad, but the other 
 is worse," and then continued to weep. He lived two months 
 afterwards, and just before he died remarked — " I am near the 
 mansion." He was a generous, kind-hearted man ; had met 
 with many losses and suffered a great deal before he left for that 
 other world which he said was " worse than this." Poor Monti ! 
 if what he had revealed to him was true, what will the rest of 
 the old settlers do when they come to pass the boundary line ? 
 Echo comes back — " boundary line." 
 
 EDWIN BELL FIRST CARBON OR KEROSENE OIL. 
 
 Capt. Bell was born in Pennsylvania in 1816; came to St. 
 Paul in 1850; in the spring of 1851 made a claim twelve miles 
 below St. Paul at a place now called Langdon, but he found he 
 had mistaken his calling as a farmer, and returned to St. Paul 
 in 1854 and commenced steamboating on the Minnesota river; in 
 1857 opened a wholesale and retail grocery store in connection 
 with his brother, H. Y. Bell, in Irvine block, upper Third street, 
 and here they offered for rale in this city the first carbon, or what 
 is now known as kerosene oil, also the first lamps for burning it. 
 Capt. Bell had command of the steamboat that took down the 
 first load of freight on the Red River of the North to Winnipeg, 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 229 
 
 at which time Winnipeg had only three houses ; built the first 
 dam on the Red River of the North in order that steamboats 
 could get over the bar at Goose rapids ; moved the Winnebagoes 
 by steamboat from Mankato to St. Paul during the war; had 
 charge of the United States improvements in the Minnesota river 
 for several years ; also for a part of the time those of the Wiscon- 
 sin river under Gen. G. K. Warren ; superintended the building 
 of the largest dam in the Mississippi river above St. Louis, for 
 the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad Company, and this dam was 
 constructed after Capt. Bell's own patent ; conveyed the first guns 
 and ammunition in the Indian war to points on the Minnesota 
 river. 
 
 HOW THINGS THEN LOOKED. 
 
 The Captain says that when he arrived at St. Paul the first 
 man who met him was Judge Goodrich, and he called out to him, 
 without an introduction — " Mister, your old pung looks like a 
 broken-winged duck." And indeed it did, for it was all torn to 
 pieces by the brush, and was tied together by straps taken from 
 his trunk, as he had made the trip in it overland from below. 
 He says that then there was not a house north of Third street, 
 except a few on Robert street. All the boats landed at the upper 
 levee at the foot of Eagle street. Opposite St. Paul (now the 
 Sixth ward, with a population of 15,000,) the land was covered 
 with heavy timber, and in this timber the Indians made their 
 homes, especially in the winter. From Chestnut street to near 
 the Cave the timber was also very dense and heavy. 
 
 REAL ESTATE AN INVENTOR. 
 
 He bought one acre on Pleasant avenue for;^300; sold it for 
 ;^3,ooo; worth now ;g25,ooo; purchased three lots on Dayton 
 avenue, for which he paid about ^500 ; he holds them yet ; worth 
 ;^30,ooo without the houses. When the writer came to St. Paul 
 in 1853, Capt. Bell's little white house was away out of town and 
 people wondered why he did not buy somewhere inside of civili- 
 zation! But now he is surrounded with some of the finest man- 
 sions in the city, one alone costing over ^150,000! He is the 
 oldest continuous inhabitant on St. Anthony Hill, and has lived 
 in his present house near a quarter of a century. 
 
230 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Capt. Bell is quite a genius. He is the inventor of the best 
 dams in the Mississippi river, arid has recently brought to perfec- 
 tion an invention to wash gold and silver and copper from the 
 gravel in which it is found, or from the rock when powdered. 
 
 IN PERSON. 
 
 He is a tall man, and moves over the ground with an angular 
 motion, somewhat like persons born in the South. He takes long 
 strides, and comes down upon one like a huge steamer under a 
 full head of steam. He is a man of positive characteristics, and 
 is well adapted to command. What he knows he knows, or he 
 sincerely thinks he knows. He is a pusher ; that is, what he has 
 to do he does energetically. He is conservative in his nature 
 and never makes a venture. He is kind, pleasant, talkative, 
 social, a good citizen and a good man, and has accumulated 
 enough of this world's goods to live comfortably the remainder 
 of his life. His wife is descended from one of the finest families 
 in Europe. 
 
 A REMINISCENCE OF THE INDIAN WAR. 
 
 In August, 1862, Captain Bell was summoned to appear 
 before Gov. Ramsey and Gen. Sibley, then at Fort Snelling, and 
 engaged to run his boat to St. Paul as quickly as possible to 
 get ammunition for the soldiers, as the Indians had broken out 
 and were murdering the whites. The Captain put his boat under 
 a high speed, arrived at St. Paul, and after working all night, 
 got the guns and ammunition on board, and steamed back again 
 to the Fort, received the troops at once, and put his boat up the 
 Minnesota river, and at Shakopee commenced to unload, carry- 
 ing some of the weapons up the stream to other places. At 
 Carver the scene was appalling. The Captain says : 
 
 "Men, women and children were crowded on the bank of the river, many of 
 them in their night clothes, just as they had hurriedly fled from their homes, on 
 receiving the dread news that " the Indians were coming ! " Some had come from 
 Glencoe and other points back of Henderson and Carver. It was a strange scene. 
 These panic-stricken refugees were overjoyed at the sight of the soldiers,, and 
 appeared much relieved to find that steps had been taken to protect them. We 
 landed the balance of the soldiers at Little Rapids, and at once returned to Shako- 
 pee. Here we found great excitement among the troops. It was found that the 
 balls furnished were of too large a caliber for the old muskets ! This was an un- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 231 
 
 fortunate and awkward dilemma, certainly, and came at a time when every minute's 
 delay increased the alarm and impatience of the people of the valley, whose lives 
 and property where threatened by the horde of red demons who were known to be 
 devastating the settlements but a few miles distant, and perhaps pressing on towards 
 the towns in the lower valley. Some of the soldiers tried to pare down the balls, 
 so as to adapt them to the bore of their muskets, but of course this was tedious 
 and unsatisfactory work. A sadge was finally used, but this, too, was a slow way 
 of supplying a military expedition with bullets ! There was, at the time, much 
 •discussion and fault-finding by the impatient people and journalists about this matter 
 of unsuitable ammunition, and attempts were made to lay the blame upon this one 
 and that one — even upon the commander of the expedition, who certainly could not 
 have been responsible for it." 
 
 The fact was, there were no decent guns in the State, and 
 none to be had, and the call for help was so sudden there was 
 no time to ascertain what the weapon were, or what kind of am- 
 munition was available, so that neither Gov. Ramsey nor Gen. 
 Sibley was to blame for this mishap. 
 
 JAMES STARKEY. 
 
 Captain Starkey was born in England in 1818; came to 
 America in 1849; to St. Paul in 1850; was Assistant Secretary 
 of the Territory from 1850 to 1853; a member of the Legisla- 
 ture in 1857; Speaker /w /"^w? of the House the same year ; Cap- 
 tain of the St. Paul Light Cavalry in 1855 ; on duty in 1857 to 
 protect settlers at Rum river from Indians ; was engaged in a 
 battle ; lost one man ; killed two Indians and took seven prison- 
 ers ; commanded the Chisago Rangers in 1861 to hold in check 
 the Indians on the St. Croix; raised a company of cavalry 
 on the breaking out of the rebellion and tendered it to the gov- 
 ernment, but it was not accepted; in 1862, at the time of the 
 Indian massacre, was in command of a company of mounted 
 rangers and did good service against the savages; resided at 
 Columbus in 1863; ran a saw mill; was County Commis- 
 sioner of Anoka County ; justice of the peace ; engaged in rail- 
 roading ; made the first survey of a railroad route from St. 
 Paul to Lake Superior, which, with slight modifications, was 
 subsequently adopted ; was a contractor on the Lake Superior 
 & Mississippi Railroad — now St. Paul & Duluth — and broke 
 the first ground for the construction of the Northern Pacific 
 road. 
 
232 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ST. PAUL SEWERAGE SYSTEM. 
 
 At the request of the Board of Public Works in 1873, Capt, 
 Starkey was induced to take charge of the city sewers and 
 inaugurate a system, or in other words bring order out of chaos ;, 
 this he succeeded in doing by establishing a sewer department ; 
 compiled the sewerage ordinances, and prepared plans and speci- 
 fications for a large number of main and lateral sewers, which 
 were constructed under his supervision, and as I am informed,, 
 there has been no material change in Mr. Starkey's plan or sys- 
 tem since, although succeeding engineers have attempted to im- 
 prove on the same. Having, therefore, given his brain and long 
 experience to the city for a low salary, his connection ceased 
 with the city in 1875. That his labors in the sewerage depart- 
 ment of the city have stood the test of years, and the further 
 fact that his youngest son, Albert, a promising engineer, has- 
 now sole charge of the city sewerage department, is a source of 
 gratification to those who know the subject of my sketch. Capt. 
 Starkey is at present a member of the Ramsey County Plat Com- 
 mission, and has recently received the appointment of Assistant 
 Inspector of Buildings in this city. His son, Edward, is now 
 serving his second term as Alderman of the Fifth ward. 
 
 STARKEY AS A MAN. 
 
 Capt. Starkey is a well-built and well-preserved man, some- 
 what on the old English gentleman style ; supple, active, humor- 
 ous. He is a man of fine attainments ; a ready writer, a poet, 
 and a good speaker. In the early days of the Democratic party 
 he was a man of influence among his associates, but he was like 
 many others, too modest to ask for services rendered, and there- 
 fore got nothing. He is naturally a soldier; brave and com- 
 manding ; loves military life, and had fate thrown him into the 
 regular army he would have made a fine record. He is inde- 
 pendent. Of late years thinks and acts politically on his own 
 individual convictions ; is ambitious, but spurns office unless 
 obtained without corruption ; is social, even playful ; always 
 scatters sunshine wherever he goes, although dark clouds may 
 at the same time shade the heart. He is kind, genial, temperate,, 
 honest and sympathetic ; has led an active, useful life, and though 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 233 
 
 not recompensed in his own person for services rendered the 
 city, yet it must be gratifying to him to see the meritorious 
 traits of his family fully appreciated by a discerning public. 
 Although merging on to seventy years he is a man apparently 
 just in his prime, and bids fair to outlive many younger men. 
 
 JOHN BELL HIS REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS. 
 
 A rugged son of Erin, a hardy toiler, a saving, thrifty, hon- 
 est, industrious man, is bold, bluff John Bell. Who of the old 
 settlers does not know him? Who does not respect him for his 
 maiily qualities? Mr. Bell was born in the north of Ireland in 
 1826; came to America in 1847, and for a time resided in Mas- 
 sachusetts; arrived in St. Paul in 1850; worked for Gov. Ram- 
 sey; married in 1856; for a number of years was engaged in 
 hauling goods for the government ; in later years took contracts 
 for digging cellars ; was among the first to deal in lime and 
 cement in this city, and is engaged in this business now. 
 
 He was offered a lot on the corner of Bench and Wabasha 
 streets where the Tivoli now is, for ^^lo ; couldn't see the value ; 
 didn't take it ; lot now worth $20,000 ; bought of Judge Lam- 
 bert the block in lower town on which the residence of Mr. 
 Beaupre stands, for ;^ioo; gave it to his brother ; brother sold 
 it for $900; worth now $75,000; he owns fifty feet on Third 
 street, between Cedar and Wabasha, for which he paid $300 ; 
 worth $50,000 ; purchased a lot on Minnesota street for a yoke 
 of cattle with horns broken, cost $200; land worth $20,000; 
 owns one hundred feet on the same street ; cost $400, worth 
 $30,000 ; owns four acres on Lake Como, for which he paid 
 $800, mo.stly in work, worth $5,000 ; could have bought 150 feet 
 on Fifth Street by 100 on Minnesota, for $200, worth $40,000 ; 
 helped build the old Lake Como road for Henry McKenty, and 
 numerous other bargains he could have picked up, but let them 
 slip — ^just for fun ! 
 
 HAS NEVER MOVED HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Mr. Bell built a house on Minnesota street nearly a quarter 
 of a century ago, where he now lives, and in this place he has 
 raised a family of five boys and two girls, and has never moved 
 from the old homestead. Clerk Bell, of the District Court, is his 
 
234 PEN PICTURES 
 
 oldest son, and he is a bright, promising young man. John Bell 
 has never known the luxury of moving, and this may account 
 in a great degree for his uniform temper, although he does some- 
 times get angry, probably because he can't move. In addition 
 to his other property he has a store on Third street for which he 
 receives a rental of ;^iSO per month. 
 
 While Mr. Bell has been and is now a hard-working, indus- 
 trious man, yet he has a good deal of vim in him, and those 
 who attempt to run over him usually get bit. He is strong, 
 sinewy, tough ; has a good stock of common sense, and great 
 will-power. He has accumulated his property by " the sweat of 
 his brow," and is a sturdy citizen. When thoroughly excited 
 he is like a lion and bears down upon his opponent with all the 
 force at his command, and yet he is a solid, worthy, good, man, 
 pleasant and agreeable in the every-day walks of life. 
 
 JAMES H. BROWN. 
 
 Born in Canada in 1837; had a common school education; 
 came to St. Paul in 1850, where he learned the trade of shoe- 
 maker ; was afterward cabin boy on a Mississippi river steam- 
 boat ; followed boating thereafter seventeen years ; engaged in 
 the grocery business in this city, and is, or was until recently 
 proprietor of a large retail grocery store. He married Miss 
 Anne Murphy. 
 
 WM. H. ILLINGWORTH 
 
 Was born in England in 1 844 ; came to America at an 
 early day, and settled in Philadelphia ; removed to St. Paul in 
 1850; was engaged with his father in the jewelry business on 
 Jackson street until he became of age, when he went to Chicago 
 to learn photography ; established himself in business in this 
 city in 1 867, where he has continued ever since. He has taken 
 views in the Black Hills, Montana, and in many other places, 
 and ranks high in his profession. He is a quiet man, unosten- 
 tatious, and devoted to his art. 
 
 LUKE MARVIN. 
 
 Born in England in 1820; came to the United States in 
 1842; resided for a short time in Kentucky; removed to St. 
 Paul in 1850; engaged in the mercantile business until 1861 ; 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 235 
 
 was a member of the City Council ; president of the same ; and 
 during the above year was appointed Register of the U. S. land 
 office at Duluth, then a place of three houses, and where he 
 went to reside and continued to live until his death ; remained in 
 oflfice eight years ; was Auditor of St. Louis County nine years ; 
 was a member of the Legislature in 187 1-2 ; was an active pro- 
 moter of a railroad to the Lake, espe_c.ially to. Duluth, and, he 
 lived long enough to see this enterprise completed; was post- 
 master of Duluth for about ten years ; then his eldest son 
 became postmaster ; then his next oldest son, and this son finally 
 resigned. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS. 
 
 When I first met Mr. Marvin he was keeping a shoe store 
 on Third street, and lived on the corner of Broadway and Seventh 
 streets, in a small ' building which has long since given way to a 
 large brick store. He was a small man, very conscientious in the 
 discharge of his duties, and had a somewhat plaintive voice. He 
 was quick in his movements ; public-spirited ; industrious ; honest ; 
 governed by principle ; ambitious ; a great Republican worker ; a 
 strong party man, and a worthy citizen. I met him at Duluth in the 
 winter of 1 865, when he occupied a small building as United States 
 land office, overlooking the lake and bay, and which building is 
 still standing, or was last summer. Then three or four houses con- 
 stituted Duluth. I met him again a few years later as postmaster, 
 when Duluth had grown to the dignity of a city with a popula- 
 tion of several thousands. Prospectively he was then a rich man 
 in real estate. Once again I met him ; Jay Cooke had failed ; 
 real estate had depreciated ; Duluth was on its back ; Mr. Marvin's 
 riches and the fortunes of many others had fled. I met him once 
 more, broken down in health, and then the news came — gone ! 
 Mr. Marvin was a prominent settler in the early days of St. Paul, 
 and his memory is cherished by all those who knew him. And 
 thus the hnks in the chain of the past are being severed, and each 
 year the line is growing shorter and shorter. 
 
 A link broken DEATH OF BARTLETT PRESLEY. 
 
 When I commenced my Pen Pictures in the Glo3e in 
 December, 1883, among the first of the old settlers I wrote about, 
 was B. Presley. I found him in his store busy with his fruit, and 
 
236 PEN PICTURES 
 
 yet he complained of his throat, as he had once before said to the 
 writer that it was so bad he could not spend his winters North ; 
 in other respects he was in apparent good health. I saw him 
 again for the last time on Wednesday, the second of July, 1884, 
 when he lay cold and silent and dead in his beautiful home — the 
 first broken link in my Pen Pictures of the old settlers of St. 
 Paul. The venerable firemen, his gray-headed contemporaries, 
 the Masonic order, the gathering of the people, the paraphernalia 
 of the fire department, with the mournful strains of music, all 
 clearly indicated the esteem in which he was held by the com- 
 munity. But then this is only another link broken ! only another 
 warning ! only another vacant chair. 
 
 THE SWEDISH AUTHORESS AND THE SWEDISH SINGER. 
 
 In October, 1850, Miss Fredricka Bremer, the Swedish 
 authoress, visited St. Paul and also what is now known as Lake 
 Minnetonka, just then discovered by white men for the first time. 
 She spent several days in this section of country ; carved her 
 name on a tree near Manitou, or Spirit Point, in the above lake ; 
 roamed over our hills, and on her return home wrote a very 
 interesting account of her travels in the then great unpeopled 
 Northwest. In those early days the TFrench were mostly the 
 occupants of the soil. Now the French have disappeared and 
 in their places have come the hardy sons and daughters of 
 Sweden. Miss Bremer, in her " Homes of the Northwest," thus 
 alludes to her visit to St. Paul : 
 
 " Scarcely had we touched the shore when the Governor of Minnesota and his 
 pretty young wife came on board and invited me to take up my quarters at their 
 house. The town is one of the youngest infants of the great West, scarcely eighteen 
 months old, and yet it has in a short time increased in population to 2,000 persons, 
 and in a very few years it will certainly be possessed of 22,000, for its situation is as 
 remarkable for its beauty and healthfulness as it is advantageous for trade. As yet, 
 however, the town is in its infancy, and people manage with such dwellings as they 
 can get. The drawing-room of Gov. Ramsey's home is his office, and Indians and 
 work-people and ladies and gentlemen are alike admitted. In the meantime Mr. 
 Ramsey is building a handsome house upon a hill, a little out of the city (the old 
 house stood where the new one now stands,) with beautiful trees around it, and 
 commanding a grand view of the river. If I were to live on the Mississippi I would 
 live here. It is a hilly region, and on all sides extend beautiful and varying land- 
 scapes. The city is thronged with Indians. The men for the most part go about 
 grandly ornamented, with naked hatchets, the shafts of which serve them as pipes. 
 They paint themselves so utterly without any taste, that it is incredible." 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 237 
 
 MADAME NILSSON. 
 
 In 1884 the great Swedish singer visited Minnesota and sang 
 in the State Coliseum to an audience of 5,000, just thirty-four years 
 after the first visit of Miss Bremer, the Swedish historian. .Then 
 St. Paul had grown from 2,000 in 1850 to 120,000 in 1884, and 
 among those who heard the great singer not less than 1,500 were 
 Swedes, and more are coming. No Indians are now seen upon 
 our streets ; the new residence of the Governor is not only within 
 the city limits, but worth ^540,000 ; the hopeful trade of that day 
 has grown from mere nothing to nearly ;^ 100,000,000 per year, 
 and the city is still spreading out and still growing into magnifi- 
 cent proportions. What strides ! — what changes in a few brief 
 years 1 
 
 R. M. SPENCER. 
 
 Born in Kentucky in 1817 ; came to St. Paul in 1850 ; was 
 captain of a steamboat for many years ; was uncle of John B. 
 Spencer, and though at one time he owned a large amount of 
 real estate, yet before his death he lost it. I did not know him 
 personally, but learn he was a hardy river man, well versed in 
 all the affairs of the steamboat trade. He lived in the lower 
 part of the city and died there. 
 
 THE REAL MAN. 
 
 Men are misjudged; motives are misjudged; actions are 
 misjudged; and I find this truism all along the pathway of life; 
 yet the development of the inner man brings to the surface grand 
 qualities which are unseen, and of course unappreciated by the 
 public. The finest diamonds are hid beneath the rude rubbish 
 of nature ; the purest heart lies encased in a rough covering ; 
 the brightest intellect is trammeled by circumstances ; even genius 
 itself is cramped for want of money, or opportunity, or appreci- 
 ation. The development of the true man is not the outer growth 
 due to material causes, or wealth, or position, but the inherent 
 qualities of the invisible essence of all life, of all manhood. So 
 in estimating character let us be sure that we know the real man 
 rather than the gross garment of a gross world, made up of com- 
 ponent parts of all the elements of imperfect nature,, and which 
 is only the material form of that which is better within. 
 
238 PEN PICTURES 
 
 LOUIS M. OLIVIER HIS REAL ESTATE. 
 
 Mr. Olivier was born at Berthier, province of Quebec, Can- 
 ada, in 1 819 ; received a complete classical educationand prepared 
 himself for the priesthood, but on the eve of admission declined ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1850, was employed by Rice & Haney 
 until elected Register of Deeds in the fall of 1853; was re- 
 elected in 1855 ; dealt largely in real estate and worked up a set 
 of abstract books for Ramsey County, which have been used 
 ever since; returned to Canada in the spring of 1858; died in 
 his native place July, 1 862, aged only forty-three years. 
 
 He bought the block adjoining St. Joseph Hospital on the 
 east, except two lots fronting on St. Peter street, for ^800 ; worth 
 now $50,000 ; six lots on Minnesota street, between Fifth and 
 Sixth streets, for which he paid ;^2,5oo; worth now ;^90,ooo; 
 300 feet on Jackson street, between Eighth and Ninth, for $5,000 ; 
 worth $150,000. 
 
 AS I REMEMBER HIM. 
 
 " Louie Olivier," as he was called, possessed the natural 
 trait of his native country — politeness. He was tall, slender, 
 social, full of life and vivacity ; a good accountant, and a man 
 of a very generous nature. He had great influence with the 
 French, was a power among them, while his affability with 
 the Americans won him many friends. I remember him well 
 and pleasantly, for he was a genial companion and a kind friend. 
 
 WILLIAM CONSTANS. 
 
 Mr. Constans was born in France in 1829; received a com- 
 mon school education; came to St. Paul in 1850; clerked for a 
 time in an old log store which stood upon the hill near lower Jack- 
 son street, the front part being used for groceries and provisions 
 and the back part, in the shape of a shed, being used as a tailor 
 shop. At this early day he could not see how a clerk could be 
 paid for his services out of the profits of legitimate business, 
 but he soon learned how it was done, and with about $300 went 
 into business for himself He continued in trade one year, when 
 the firm became Constans & Burbank, and in addition to their 
 commission transactions they started the first express in Minne- 
 sota. At the end of a year they were $160 out of pocket from 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 239 
 
 their express enterprise, Constans paying his half of the loss, or 
 ^80. Burbank then went out of the concern and made there- 
 after the express business a specialty. 
 
 .THIRTY-FIVE YEARS IN CONTINUOUS BUSINESS HIGH WATER. 
 
 Mr. Constans continued in business at his old place twenty- 
 three years, and at the old and new place he has been in busi- 
 ness continuously in the city, thirty-five years, and now that Mr. 
 Presley is dead, he is the oldest continuous merchant in the city 
 or State. He purchased his present property on the upper part of 
 Jackson street in 1852, built in 1858 his residence, and has lived 
 there ever since. He erected a brick house on Seventh street in 
 1853, and Burbank built a wooden house the same year on what 
 was known as Baptist Hill, about where the Manitoba Railroad 
 office now stands. Trade had been good that year and the firm 
 "branched out!" 
 
 Mr. Constans informs me that in the spring of one year the 
 steamer Nominee poked her nose into the back window of his 
 warehouse near the present Bethel Home on Jackson street, and 
 some five hundred feet from the present bank of the river. He 
 says this ground has been filled up some twelve feet since then, 
 and that it was common for the water to cover his warehouse 
 floor, of course sometimes worse than at others. 
 
 APPEARANCE. 
 
 Mr. Constans is neither a large nor a small man, but of 
 medium size. He is a person of great self-reliance and individ- 
 uality of character ; is a thorough business man ; a man of 
 method ; unerringly devoted to trade, and knows how to carry 
 on an extended enterprise as well as any other man in the city. 
 He early purchased a good deal of property, and its rise has 
 made him a rich man — worth several hundred thousand dollars. 
 He is quiet in his every-day walk of life ; pleasant yet reticent, 
 marching forward in one groove, and bending his energies to 
 one end — business. 
 
 And thus I am marching along down through the vista of 
 years, picking up by the way-side the almost forgotten pioneers 
 of over a quarter of a century ago, who, then young, laid the 
 foundation for a great city here, and who, now burdened with 
 
240 PEN PICTURES 
 
 cares, and gray hairs, and unsteady limbs, are groping down 
 into the valley of old age, waiting to catch a glimpse of that 
 other shore where hundreds have preceded them into that better 
 land. And so I pause, and think, and — wait ! 
 
 FIRST FIRE IN ST. PAUL. 
 
 On the sixteenth of May, 1850, Rev. E. D.Neill's chapel, on 
 Washington street, took fire by some shavings becoming ignited, 
 accidentally or otherwise, and was burned to the ground. This 
 was the first fire which occurred in St. Paul. Where Warner's 
 block now stands, corner of Third and Wabasha streets,, was an 
 unfinished warehouse, and in this Mr. Neill preached until his 
 new church was erected. 
 
 first church bell in MINNESOTA FIRST COURT HOUSE. 
 
 The first Presbyterian church, rebuilt on the corner of Third 
 and St. Peter streets, was finished in October, 1850, and the first 
 bell in Minnesota was hung in its belfry and was rung the Satur- 
 day evening preceding the Sunday of the first service within its 
 walls. The second bell was in the Market Street Church. 
 
 The first Court House was commenced in November, 1850, 
 but was not completed until the year 1851. It stood thirty-three 
 years and served an admirable purpose. It was torn down in 
 the early part of 1884 to make room for a new Court House, 
 which will cost not less than ;^6oo,ooo. The old wooden jail was 
 erected a few months later in the same year. It was demolished 
 in 1857. It was an insecure and unsafe place in which to keep 
 prisoners. 
 
 FIRST THANKSGIVING FIRST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 
 
 Gov. Ramsey issued a proclamation designating December 
 26, 1850, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer, the first Thanks- 
 giving ever commemorated in Minnesota. Of course turkeys 
 were quite scarce, but whisky was in abundance, and " the boys " 
 whooped it up until very late in the night. They were a great 
 deal more thankful for what they had in those days than we are 
 now, even if the whisky was adulterated with strychnine and 
 tobacco. 
 
 On the fifth of September, 1850, the corner-stone of Christ 
 Church was laid on Cedar street, and shortly after the building 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 241 
 
 -was erected. It was a little Gothic structure, and was reached 
 by a two-plank sidewalk from Third street. Here Revs. Wilk- 
 coxson and Beck and Van Ingen preached, and then the new 
 church was erected on the corner of Fourth and Exchange, where 
 it now stands, and the little old church passed out of sight for- 
 ever. 
 
 FIRST CHOLERA FIRST DIRECTORY FIRST BRICK STORE. 
 
 A case of cholera occurred in this city for the first time, this 
 year, and a man by the name of Lumley died with it. It again 
 made its appearance, I think, in 1854, and several died, mostly 
 boatmen. 
 
 This year witnessed the publication of a directory, and the 
 erection of a brick store. There then existed in the city five 
 clergymen, fourteen lawyers, two land agents, four doctors, 
 sixteen mercantile firms, one shoemaker, six hotels, three paint- 
 ers, two blacksmiths, four plasterers, five masons, eighteen car- 
 penters, one silversmith, one gunsmith, five bakers, three wheel- 
 wrights, one harness-maker, one tinner, two newspapers. The 
 first brick store was built by John Farrington, corner of Third 
 and Exchange streets. 
 
 JOSEPH A. WHEELOCK. 
 
 Mr. Wheelock was born in Nova Scotia in 1831 ; was edu- 
 cated at an academy in New Brunswick ; came to St. Paul in 
 1850 ; was in the sutler's store at Fort Snelling for about two years ; 
 was editor of the Real Estate and Financial Advertiser, owned 
 by Charles H. Parker, from 1854 until 1858; was associate edi- 
 tor of the old Pioneer in 1859; made a trip with Gov. Ramsey in 
 1863 to consummate a treaty with the Red Lake Indians; was 
 Commissioner of Statistics in i860; in 1861 was connected with 
 William R. Marshall in renting the Times office, type, material, 
 good-will, etc., then edited by T. M. Newson, and out of this 
 transaction grew the establishment of the Press, of which Mr. 
 Wheelock became editor ; was appointed postmaster at St. Paul 
 in 1 870. He married Miss Kate French, of New Hampshire, in 
 1 861. During the war a paper called the Daily Union, estab- 
 lished by Fred. DriscoU, was merged into the Press, and in 1875 
 the old Pioneer and soon after the Minneapolis Tribune were 
 16 
 
242 PEN PICTURES 
 
 absorbed by the Press, and this joint paper was presided over by- 
 Mr. Wheelock, as editor-in-chief; subsequently the Tribune was- 
 re-established upon an Associated Press franchise purchased 
 from the Pioneer Press. The outcome is the present Pioneer 
 Press, of which Mr. Wheelock is still editor ; so that he has been 
 continuously in the editorial harness up to the time of his leav- 
 ing for Europe in 1883, about twenty-two years, although pre- 
 vious to entering upon his daily duties he had edited a weekly 
 paper four years, thus making in all about twenty-six years of 
 active editorial life. 
 
 WHEELOCK PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Wheelock is a tall, spare gentleman with side-whiskers 
 sprinkled with gray, and usually carries a cane. Over a quarter 
 of a fcentury ago I remember him as an invalid, very slender,, 
 with large eyes, a good brow, and supposing his lungs to be 
 affected, daily used what was then a novel expedient, a lung 
 inhalent for the benefit of his health. He was social in his nature, 
 somewhat hesitating in his speech, decided in his opinions, 
 impulsive, easily excited to anger, and exhibited what one might 
 term a reserved power, it only needing a good physical organiza- 
 tion to bring it out. His trips on the plains greatly aided to 
 restore his health, so that when he became Commissioner of Sta- 
 tistics he piled up the figures in an intelligent and accurate 
 manner. It is said of him that in boyhood he was considered 
 different from other children, and that peculiar, distinct charac- 
 teristic of early days he has carried into manhood, and still he is 
 a very able writer, a deep thinker, with an analytic and philo- 
 sophical mind. In early years he wrote with a great deal more 
 ornamentation than now, that is, he used many constructive 
 words to convey his meaning, while at present he drives right 
 forward to the main point at issue. He is self-rehant, and pos- 
 sesses a large degree of individuality ; is reserved in his manners, 
 yet to those who know him well he is social, amiable, generous, 
 and a pleasant companion. He has strong likes and dislikes ; 
 has devoted his time almost exclusively to his profession, and his 
 ambition has been to build up a powerful journal, and iq this par- 
 ticular he has shown both ability and tenacity. The -Jl^riter has 
 measured pens with Mr. Wheelock on some public questions and 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 243 
 
 differed with him on others, yet that will not prevent him from 
 rendering honor to whom honor is due, or bias him in his honest 
 estimation of the man. He left for Europe before the first of July, 
 1883, and after spending over a year there returned to St. Paul, 
 July 9, 1884, when he resumed his active duties as the chief 
 editor of the Pioneer Press. 
 
 JOEL E. WHITNEY FIRST PHOTOGRAPHER. 
 
 Born in Maine in 1822; educated at an academy; resided 
 for a short time in Illinois and Indiana; came to St. Paul in 
 1850; opened a daguerrean gallery in a building on the corner 
 of Third and Cedar streets ; remained there seventeen years ; 
 then removed to the Lambert building, on the opposite corner, 
 up-stairs, where he continued until 1 871, having been in the busi- 
 ness altogether twenty-one years. The first daguerrean artist 
 was Dr. W. A. Jarvis ; the second Joel E. Whitney. 
 
 Mr. Whitney produced the first photographic likeness in the 
 city, and was therefore the first photographer. He took many 
 views from which engravings have been made, among them the 
 first Catholic Chapel, the Falls of St. Anthony, and other places. 
 His pictures had much to do in attrat;ting attention to the city. 
 
 FIRST LITHOGRAPH OF ST. PAUL REAL ESTATE. 
 
 The first lithograph map of the city was issued by S. P. Fol- 
 som & Co. and it is a very fine work of art. The first lithograph 
 view of the city was by Whitney & Le Due and gave the best 
 view of St. Paul at that time. The first plat was issued by Whit- 
 ney & Nichols. Mr. W. was once in the banking business, the 
 firm being Caldwell, Whitney & Co., and the building now 
 stands on the corner of Third and Robert streets, at present occu- 
 pied as a drug store. 
 
 Mr. Whitney bought eighty-five feet on the corner of Cedar 
 and Third streets in 1850, for which he paid ^1,100; worth now 
 ^60,000; owned half of the claim in 186 1 upon which Merriam 
 Park now stands, for which he paid ^2,000 ; worth now ^200,- 
 000; bought forty acres this side of the Reform School for ^250 ; 
 worth now ^40,000 ; owned largely in Whitney & Smith's Addi- 
 tion, cost ^10,000; worth ^500,000; purchased four acres in 
 Butman's Addition for ^650; worth ^100,000; owned an acre 
 
244 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and a third on Canada street, paid ^145, sold for ^^400; worth 
 now ;^30,ooo; had property at Cottage Grove, Anoka, and else- 
 where ; invested largely in paper towns and lost all the money 
 he had made in the city. He left for the South in 1871 and 
 returned to St. Paul in 1881, and entered the grocery business 
 on Jackson street, but gave it up in consequence of ill-health, 
 and since then he has been doing comparatively nothing. 
 
 MR. WHITNEY AS A MAN. 
 
 Mr. Whitney was always estimated an honest man. He was 
 industrious and honorable, and years can detract nothing from 
 these qualities. He is of medium size ; quite deaf, but an ami- 
 able and pleasant gentleman, and has seen St. Paul grow from 
 a mere handful of men and women to a city of 120,000 inhabit- 
 ants. 
 
 JOEL WHITNEY, 
 
 Father of Joel E. Whitney, came here in an early day and 
 made many real estate investments, one-half of which, had he 
 held, would have made him worth millions. He gave to the 
 German Society the lot upon which the present German Metho- 
 dist Church stands, and he was among the first temperance men 
 in the city — a great worker in the cause he espoused so enthu- 
 siastically. 
 
 TALKING TO THE ASSESSOR. 
 
 When I ask some of the old settlers what property they 
 once owned and what they now own, they usually turn around 
 to see if the assessor is near by, and some won't give the figures 
 under any circumstances whatever, and this reminds me of a 
 little story : In early days Stephen Denoyer was the possessor 
 of some 400 acres between St. Paul and St. Anthony, and every 
 time a boat arrived at our levee he walked up and down on his 
 veranda and advanced his real estate so many dollars per acre. 
 One day a larger number of boats arrived than usual, and 
 Denoyer, very much elated, put his property up to quite a 
 respectable figure, when, among the gentlemen listening to him, 
 one addressed him as follows : 
 
 " Mr. Denoyer, you have about 400 acres here, have you 
 not?" 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 245 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Denoyer, " I has 400 acres." 
 
 "Well, Mr. Denoyer, what is your property worth per 
 acre ? " 
 
 " O, veil, I'se zinks one hundred tollars per acre." 
 
 " Then you think that one hundred dollars per acre is cheap 
 for your propertj'^ ? " 
 
 "Veils, I zinks he be worth more tan one hundred and 
 twenty-five tollars per acre." 
 
 " You have 400 acres here ? " 
 
 " Yah ! You'se buy 'em ? " 
 
 " Oh, no," said the man, and soon drove off. 
 
 "Do you know who that man was?" said a gentleman to 
 Denoyer. 
 
 " Vy's, no. Vot you ask for ? " 
 
 " Well, that was the Assessor of Ramsey County," he 
 replied, when Denoyer was heard to exclaim : 
 
 " Oh, my Gods," and calling for his fast horse he was soon 
 on the road trying to overtake the Assessor and to convince him 
 that he had accidentally make a mistake in the valuation of his 
 own property. Of course Denoyer caught his man and then 
 " smiled," and the Assessor " smiled," and they kept on " smil- 
 ing," (for everybody " smiled " in those days,) and finally a com- 
 promise was effected whereby Denoyer's property was assessed at ■ 
 ^25 per acre instead of ^125. Moral — look out for the Assessor. 
 
 WILLIAM NOOT. 
 
 Among the many earnest Democrats I met on my first 
 arrival in St. Paul in the year 1853, — the Territory was then Dem- 
 ocratic — none were more enthusiastic, or more warmly devoted 
 to their party, than William Noot and " Little Jack Morgan," the 
 latter well known by the old settlers as the Ohio Democratic pol- 
 itician. Noot and Jack were inseparable. They agreed on party 
 issues ; never faltered in their devotion to the memory of Andrew 
 Jackson, and socially were hale fellows well met. Poor Jack ! 
 How often he tried to convince me that I was wrong in my devo- 
 tion to the cause of the slave, and how often he regretted that 
 one he so esteemed should be misled by fanatical ideas. Unfor- 
 tunately he did not live to see the results of the great rebellion, 
 
246 PEN PICTURES 
 
 but died in early life fully impressed with the belief that the Dem- 
 ocratic party was the only pure and great and grand party which 
 could save this country from destruction. Jack came to St. Paul 
 sometime in 1852 or 1853, and of whom I shall have more to say. 
 Mr. Noot I lost sight of for years and supposed he was dead, 
 when a mere accident found him alive and well, living at a serene 
 old age in the town of Big Lake, Sherburne County, Minnesota. 
 
 WHEN AND WHERE BORN. 
 
 He was born in Wesel, on the Rhine, Prussia, in the year 
 1 8 1 1 ; removed to Missouri in 1 844 ; engaged in farming ; mar- 
 ried Nancy Merchant in 1845; came to St. Paul in 1847; 
 remained here a short time when he made a claim one mile above 
 the mouth of Rum riyer, including the big island, but was 
 driven off when the Winnebagoes were removed to Blue Earth 
 County, they having a high old spree over his scoota-wa-boo, 
 which they found, and which event Mr. Noot thus describes : 
 
 WHOOPING IT UP. 
 
 He had two barrels of whisky at this time which he had 
 sold to the Indian traders and had it hid according to instruc- 
 tions in a corn crib, but the Indians found it out and then there 
 was a lively tussel. They took every pot and pan he had, and 
 even emptied his powder keg and filled that with whisky, and 
 removed these vessels to where they camped that night which 
 was about three-quarters of a mile from Noot's house. Himself 
 and wife and little son then went to Mr. Folsom's, at the mouth 
 of Rum river, but there was no sleep. The Indians were very 
 liberal with their whisky, and fortunately they were very good- 
 natured, so Noot and his family escaped with their lives. 
 
 Mr. Noot then bought a claim near St. Paul in 1850, sold 
 it, and took another claim on the Fort Snelling reservation, in 
 Reserve township. He served two terms in the Territorial House 
 of Representatives in 1853-4, and translated the first message of 
 Governor Ramsey into German ; voted for Abe Lincoln, but 
 after the death of that good man he went back to his old love, 
 the Democratic party. He enlisted in the Second Minnesota Reg- 
 iment and served his adopted country, and though not rich he 
 has been blessed with eleven children, and resides where he has 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 247 
 
 made it his home for the past twenty years. One son is dead, 
 three others and one daughter are married, and this veritable 
 Noot, to our memory of thirty-two years ago, still lives at the 
 advanced age of seventy-four, dreaming over again the pheasant 
 times he had with little Jack Morgan and the good old Demo- 
 cratic party of over a quarter of a century ago, having been a 
 resident of Minnesota for about thirty-eight years. 
 
 JOHN FARRINGTON. 
 
 Mr. Farrington was born in Ireland in 1827; came to this 
 country when about seven years of age; was trained in mercan- 
 tile pursuits in New Orleans in 1 840, until he thought the city 
 was too big for him, when he removed to Chicago in 1 849, and 
 engaged in business with his brother George, and finding Chicago 
 too large removed to St. Paul in 1850, where he has remained 
 -ever since, and with which city he is entirely satisfied. 
 
 FIRST BRICK STORE IN BUSINESS. 
 
 Mr. Farrington built the first brick store in the city, which 
 formerly stood on West Third street, near Exchange, the ground 
 floor of which was occupied by himself and brother, and the sec- 
 ond story by Captain Wilkin, then Secretary of the Territory. 
 The upper part of this building was subsequently, in 1854, occu- 
 pied by the Times printing office, and by Charles Parker, banker, 
 •on the lower floor. Later along it was consumed by fire. 
 
 In 1853 there existed a firm by the name of Rice, Culver & 
 Lowry, which dealt largely in the Indian supply business of the 
 Northwest and the traffic in furs. When Mr. Rice was elected 
 to Congress Mr. Farrington took his place, and the firm became 
 Culver, Farrington & Co., and continued to exist up to 1865, or 
 twelve years. 
 
 BENEFIT TO ST. PAUL. 
 
 The trade of this firm was of great benefit to St. Paul as 
 furs were brought to this city from all sections of the Northwest, 
 and in exchange for these furs large amounts of provisions were 
 sent out on to the frontier. This trade continued until Congress 
 passed a law virtually placing a tariff on furs, and this sent them 
 into Canada and into England, when the fur trade was aban- 
 -doned, and the firm of Culver & Farrington entered largely into 
 
248 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the real estate business, and continued until the death of the- 
 senior partner, Mr. Culver, which occurred in 1878. 
 
 PROPERTY WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. 
 
 Mr. Farrington has a large amount of real estate in this 
 city, most of which has become valuable. He also has a large 
 number of acres in Blue Earth County. 
 
 In ■ 1 849 he purchased one-quarter interest in Whitney &. 
 Smith's addition to St. Paul, which ran from Jackson street to 
 Broadway, for ,$500. The present property is worth ;^2,ooo,oool 
 Ministers, and shrewd men, and men of brains, and men without 
 brains, and men of culture, and men of no culture, and land men, 
 and water men, have all got "left" in their estimates of the 
 growth of St. Paul, and there is a unanimous verdict that if — 
 and if — and if — what might have been ! — if we had only held on 
 to that real estate ! but we didn't do it, and that settles the 
 question. 
 
 PUBLIC-SPIRITED NO ELECTIVE OFFICE. 
 
 As one of the early settlers Mr. Farrington was always 
 foremost in aiding any enterprise which would advance the inter- 
 ests of the city, hence I find him subscribing to steamboat and. 
 railroad stock, investing in the first telegraph, and aiding in 
 building hotels, a third interest of which he now owns in the- 
 Metropolitan. ' 
 
 He never held an elective office and was never a candidate 
 for one. He was a member of the Board of Public Works for 
 three years, and has been President of that body four years,, 
 making seven years in all. Was appointed U. S. Deputy Col- 
 lector at the Custom House, St. Paul, in 1885, resigning as a. 
 member of the Board of Public Works. 
 
 personally. 
 
 Mr. Farrington is a slenderly-built gentleman, very pleasant 
 in his ways, an excellent business man, and undemonstrative in 
 his nature. He is quite reticent when it is for his interest to be 
 so, and quite social with his friends. He walks usually with his 
 hands clasped in front of him, head inclined to the sidewalk as 
 though in deep study, and moves straight forward about his busi- 
 ness. The black hair of thirty years ago has turned to gray,. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 249 
 
 giving him a more venerable appearance than in the days of 
 " Auld Lang Syne," and with a gentle stoop in his shoulders we 
 see the once president of our Board of Public Works as he 
 appears upon our streets, a connecting and valuable link which 
 cements the past with the present. 
 
 EMANUEL GOOD. 
 
 Mr. Good was born in Pennsylvania in 1827; i-eceived a 
 common school education; came to St. Paul in 1850; when he 
 arrived he saw a large crowd of Indians on the levee, even 
 greater in numbers than the whites, which startled him ; com- 
 menced his career here in the lumbering business ; worked in 
 THE FIRST SAW MILL IN ST. PAUL, and has studiously followed his 
 business in the lumber trade for upwards of thirty-three years. 
 He has accumulated a fine property consisting of houses and 
 lots, and has a family of nine children, six of whom, however, 
 are only living. He is a very quiet, industrious man ; acquired 
 his property by saving, qnd is a substantial citizen, really a Good 
 man. 
 
 R. C. KNOX. 
 
 Mr. Knox was born about 1827 ; came to St. Paul in 1853 ; 
 
 was a member of the Council in 185 1 ; Orderly Sergeant of the 
 
 City Guards in 1853; Alderman in 1843-7; Street Commissioner 
 
 in i860; was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and at one time 
 
 took large contracts at Duluth and elswhere for the construction 
 
 of docks and warehouses. He was what the boys would call 
 
 " a stayer," being a man of great " push " of character, and was 
 
 the originator of the first hook-and-ladder company in this city. 
 
 He was a very tall man, being upward of six feet, and when he 
 
 walked his strides were like " Jack the giant killer." In his day, 
 
 which was thirty-five years ago, he was a great fireman, and the 
 
 old men now — young men then — who used to follow his lead, 
 
 assert that he would tire out a dozen ordinary men at a fire. He 
 
 was a pleasant gentleman, and all the old settlers will remember 
 
 him, for he towered in majesty above all, and was generally 
 
 esteemed by all. 
 
 chakles j. henniss. 
 
 I have hitherto only incidentally alluded to Mr. Henniss 
 simply because I have had no means of knowing or ascertaining 
 
250 PEN PICTURES 
 
 his history. He was of Irish descent and came to St. Paul in 
 either 1849 or 1850, and was born about 1834, being at the first 
 time I saw him, not far from twenty-five years of age. He was 
 a slender, genteel man of good address, and possessed compos- 
 ing and oratorical abilities, which, had he lived would have won 
 for him a name, but his social qualities ran away with his judg- 
 ment and at an early age he passed to the grave. I remember 
 some of his after-dinner speeches and they were fervent, spicy, 
 original, and withal quite effective. He wrote in an easy, flow- 
 ing style, and was really a man of much promise, but too much 
 sociability ended in his untimely death. 
 
 L. B. WAIT. 
 
 Mr. Wait was a short, thick-set man, extremely moderate in 
 his movements and very peculiar in his manners. He at one 
 time was Clerk of the Council, and later was Collector of the 
 Port of St. Paul. He used to run a lime and seed store on 
 lower Third street, this side of Jackson, and then he went into 
 the printing business on Fourth street, in the old stone building 
 occupied by Lamb & Sons, and failing went to California where 
 he now is. He was born about 1 834 and came to St. Paul in 
 1850. He was a quiet person, very deliberate in his movements 
 and in his talk ; never in a hurry ; 40,000 Indians on the war- 
 path could not make him run, and he was as odd in his ways as 
 his appearance indicated originality ; yet he was a moral, reput- 
 able citizen against whom I can say nothing, except that he was 
 awfully slow, and that he had a right to be if he so desired. 
 
 abner haycock. 
 
 Mr. Haycock was born in St. Paul in 1850 and received 
 his education at our common schools and then succeeded his 
 father in the wood business. Prior to this, in 1870 up to 1873, 
 he was engaged in the grocery trade. He married Miss Haley 
 in 1873, and though still in the vigor of manhood he. may well 
 count himself as an old settler and one whose experience in this 
 country ought to be of some service to him before he reaches 
 " the sere and the yellow leaf." 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 251 
 
 DAVID OAKES. 
 
 One Ijas a very pleasant memory about poor David Oakes, 
 who fell in the battle at Pittsburg Landing during the late war 
 with the South. He was a manly fellow, and though tinged with 
 Indian blood, (of which he need not be ashamed,) yet he was 
 always the gentleman. I remember him as a large, muscular, 
 well-formed man ; straight, active, pleasant ; and to-day I can 
 find nothing against him to cast a shadow over his excellent 
 career. He wag a trusted clerk of his father and was often sent 
 on important missions among the Indians, and he never betrayed 
 a trust or faltered in his duty. Brave and self-possessed, he with 
 Theodore Borup cowered the Indians when they made an on- 
 slaught on the Sioux in the old Minnesota Outfit and thereby 
 saved much bloodshed. It was no doubt this same courageous 
 element of his character which caused him to rush into the thick- 
 est of the fight at Pittsburg Landing, where he met his death. 
 Poor, gallant Dave Oakes 1 gone down in life young, yet leaving 
 a memory pleasant to his widow and pleasant to his friends. 
 
 He was born at La Pointe, Wisconsin, in 1828; came to 
 St. Paul in 1850; married Miss Curran, who survives him ; con- 
 tinued mostly in the employ of his father, until he enlisted in the 
 army, and was killed in 1 862, aged about thirty-five years. 
 
 " His life was gentle and the elements 
 So mixed in him that nature might stand up 
 And say to all the world, this is a man." 
 
 FERDINAND KNAUFT A SCHOOL-BOY. 
 
 Mr. Knauft was born in Prussia in the year 1826 and edu- 
 cated at the common schools of that country ; cathe to America 
 in 1845 and worked at the carpenter business in Quincy, Illinois, 
 one year, and in St. Louis three years ; arrived at St. Paul in 
 1850 and continued his trade on Seventh street up to i860, when 
 he abandoned the business and became a school-boy at the age of 
 thirty-six years, and with his books under his arm trudged along 
 to the Commercial College, then kept by O. F. Carver on Third 
 street, anxious to obtain a business education, which he success- 
 fully accomplished. In 1851 he commenced the grocery trade 
 in a little store on the corner of Seventh and Olive streets, (having 
 in the year 1850 erected the building,) and continued in the trade 
 
252 PEN PICTURES 
 
 up to 1 870, when he turned the stock over to his son and his son- 
 in-law and thought he would take the world easy, but his active, 
 industrious life would not permit him to do so, and he again en- 
 tered business in 1870 with a partner named Carl Ahrendt, but his 
 partner had too much theatrical ability about him to suit Knauft, 
 who dealt in matters of fact, and so, in the year 1 874, he bought 
 him out and has ever since run the business (hardware) alone, 
 until 1884, when he gave his young son, Benjamin, a half-inter^ 
 est in the store, and the firm now is really Knauft & Son. 
 
 INCIDENTS. 
 
 He was induced to come to St. Paul because it was the 
 heighth of his ambition to own real estate, artd here he could 
 get it with such means as he had at hand, while in St. Louis he 
 could not, so he came to this city. In his then youthful estima- 
 tion to own property was to be a king. At the time he built on 
 the corner of Seventh and Olive streets in 1850, there were only 
 a few houses in that whole section of the city, and on the oppo- 
 site corner was a blacksmith's shop and an old inn where the 
 Indians used to procure whisky. He resided on Seventh street 
 thirty-four years, and now massive blocks of brick are taking 
 the places of shanties and vacant lots. 
 
 PROPERTY — OFFICES. 
 
 In 1850 Mr. Knauft purchased a lot on the corner of Sev- 
 enth and Rosabel streets, (150 feet on Seventh and fifty feet on 
 Rosabel,) for which he paid ^400 ; worth now ^50,000 ; a lot on 
 the corner of Pine and Seventh, paid ^400 ; worth ^20,000 ; three 
 lots on Seventh, adjoining his corner lot, cost him ^1,500; worth 
 ;^6o,ooo; 100 feet on Tenth street; cost ;^ 1,600; worth ;g8,ooo. 
 He has other property in various parts of the city, but the above 
 is sufficient to demonstrate his early idea that the man who owns 
 real estate is a king. Knauft's a king ! " Long live the King ! " 
 He has four outside buildings beside his recent purchase of 
 Adam Gotzian's residence on Dayton's bluff, for which he paid 
 ^ 1 5,000, and where he now resides. His brick block on Seventh 
 street is 200 feet long by 100 deep; has some twelve stores and 
 thirty rooms in it, all bringing him in a handsome rental. The 
 cost of this block was about $70,000. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 253 
 
 Mr. Knauft was a member of the Territorial Legislature in 
 1856; also a member of the Common Council for three years. 
 Since then he has no taste for politics and has no desire to occupy 
 any political position. He has been married three times and 
 nine children have graced the household, six of whom are now 
 living. He is worth, at least, ^250,000. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Thirty-one years ago I remember Mr. Knauft as a small, 
 thin, spare, apparently sickly man, with a long face, weighing 
 not more than ninety pounds. He was then a quiet, modest, 
 industrious, pleasant gentleman. Now I find him with ruddy 
 cheeks, a full, round face, a rotund form, and carrying down the 
 scales at 225 pounds. He is still the same careful, prudent, good- 
 natured, plodding business man of over a quarter of a century 
 ago, yet I notice a less elastic step than formerly, a more mod- 
 erate movement than in the years gone, a few gray hairs lying 
 around loose, still he has reached the throne of his ambition, 
 and sits there--—" every inch a king ! " — a king because financially 
 above want, and every inch a man because possessing the ele- 
 ments that make one. 
 
 JOSEPH FARR. 
 
 " Joe Farr," a fine specimen of a colored gentleman, with his 
 loping gait on the sidewalk and his bright eyes, is well known 
 to all the old settlers, for as a man and a citizen he has been very 
 generally esteemed for many years. It is true that in a fit of 
 passion to which he was subject, he would occasionally take 
 somebody by the nose and abruptly slap him in the face, and 
 though not a banker yet he would shave any one out of fifteen 
 cents quicker and better than the best confidence man I ever saw, 
 and still Joe was popular. His customers seemed to like it and 
 Joe laughed and grew fat. He was born in Washington city 
 in 1832, where he lived twelve years; then removed to Galena 
 and resided there six years, running on steamboats as the boy 
 who made up the berths ; came to St. Paul in 1850 having pre- 
 viously learned the trade of a barber ; was at one time located in 
 the old American House; then in' a building opposite the First 
 Presbyterian Church, then in Rogers' block, and then in that 
 
234 PEN PICTURES 
 
 owned by the late Dr. Stewart, where he continued for some 
 twelve years, making in all about twenty-eight years of an active 
 life of a barber, and he was an excellently good one. He then 
 secured a position in the seed store of T. M. Metcalf, where he 
 now is. Mr. Farr has a very intelligent family, two of his 
 daughters having been teachers in our public schools. 
 
 JOHN PARKER. 
 
 Mr. Parker is an Englishman with a round, bright face and 
 a well developed head, and has been in St. Paul for thirty-five 
 years. He is a quiet man, but none the less a good and worthy 
 citizen. He was born in the south of England in 1815. After 
 receiving a very indifferent education he learned the trade of a 
 carpenter and worked in London for sixteen years ,\ emigrated to 
 America in 1 848 ; was ernployed in Brooklyn and New York ; 
 resided in Chicago up to 1850, when he came to St. Paul; 
 worked on the old Presbyterian Church which used to stand on 
 Third street; also at Ft. Ripley. In 1852 he went to reside with 
 the Indians at Gull and Leech lakes, where he was employed as 
 a carpenter and where he remained for years ; returned to St. 
 Paul and has been employed at his trade more or less ever since. 
 
 REAL estate BURNED OUT. 
 
 In 1852 he bought two lots on Fort street, now West Sev- 
 enth, near the residence of Robert Smith, Esq., for ;^22S apiece; 
 worth now in the aggregate ^24,000 ; a lot in Leech's addition 
 for ^70, worth now ^12,000. What is remarkable is the fact 
 that this property he still owns. 
 
 When Mr. Parker first came to St. Paul he and his brother 
 kept a bachelor's hall in a house near the present residence of 
 Henry Horn, Esq., and while absent on business the building 
 took fire and that and everything in it was consumed, not leaving 
 him a suit of clothes ; loss about ^900. 
 
 KINDLY feeling. 
 
 Coming down into the city after the fire, Mr. Parker met 
 Hon. H. M. Rice, who had a store of his own, and who greeted 
 him with — " Well, Parker, you have been burned out — come into 
 my store and get anything you want." And he gave him a nice 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 235 
 
 coat and vest. Gov. William R. Marshall gave him some shirts, 
 while James M. Goodhue turned all the money out of his drawer 
 and regretted it was not full. Mr. Fullerton put the best coat in 
 his store on his back and told him to walk off. Indeed, every- 
 body extended a helping hand and showed a very kindly feeling. 
 Mr. Parker was engaged to a girl in the old country, who, after the 
 death of her father, came to America in 1853, Mr. Parker having 
 been here some time previously, and was married to her old 
 lover, and has proved a faithful and devoted wife. He is a man 
 of moderate size, uncommonly quiet in his ways, a hard work- 
 ing, industrious gentleman and a man of excellent character. 
 
 BENJAMIN THOMPSON. 
 
 A Straight, dignified gentleman, all of the olden times, was 
 Mr. Thompson, who', in his daily rounds was always the same. 
 His measured step and soldierly bearing, with a courtly manner, 
 gave him a marked individuality and made him an impressive 
 figure in the past. He was born in Pennsylvania, of Quaker 
 parentage, in 181 2; received a good education and graduated at 
 Wilmington College, Delaware ; inherited a large fortune ; came to 
 St. Paul in 1850, and was at one time partner of H. M. Rice ; was 
 Indian agent for several years ; made a treaty with the Sissetons 
 and established the first farming among the Indians of Minnesota. 
 He was at Fort Abercrombie during the Sioux outbreak and 
 narrowly escaped massacre. During the later years of his life 
 he was associated with Bishop Ireland in his colonization scheme, 
 and while thus engaged was stricken with paralysis, and after 
 lingering nearly two years, died. Mr. Thompson was a thorough 
 gentleman, a man of unbending integrity, and very generally 
 esteemed for his many good qualities. I remember Mrs. Thomp- 
 son as a bright, beautiful woman, tall, graceful and amiable, but 
 the old times and the old associations and the old places have 
 been and are now passing away forever. But a few golden links 
 remain, and they are breaking, breaking, breaking! 
 
 CHARLES SYMONDS. 
 
 Capt. Symonds was originally a sea captain and a man of 
 muscular power. He was well developed physically and was as 
 rugged in his nature as some of the huge hills of his own bonnie 
 
256 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Scotland, where he was born about the year 1828; emigrated 
 to America in 1848 and came to St. Paul in 1850. Here he 
 built the first large ice-house in the city, and for years was an 
 exclusive dealer in this article. His capacious buildings stood 
 at the foot of Eagle street, while the gathering of his crop pf ice 
 from the river each year called out a small army of men. He 
 was at one time justice of the peace and ran for Sheriff, but was 
 defeated. When, the gold excitement at Vermillion lake broke 
 out he was among the first to enter that region, taking machinery 
 and men as the representative of a New York company. In his 
 attempt to come out from the mines alone he lost his way and 
 very nearly starved to death, but his pluck and good constitution 
 saved him. He was a man of strong convictions ; self-reliant in 
 his nature; quite positive; a good judge of men and a man of 
 courage. 
 
 AN ILLUSTRATION. 
 
 When in the Vermillion district the Captain had some diffi- 
 culty with the Indians, and it was found necessary to call in the 
 powers of the vigilance committee to quell what then appeared 
 to be a coming Indian fight, and he was waited upon by the com- 
 mittee to concede to the Indians what was really their rights. 
 He refused, and arming himself and carrying ammunition into 
 his blacksmith shop, defied the committee and all the Indians. 
 The writer was then president of that district and knowing the 
 Captain's will-power he called on him in his fortified citadel and 
 after a pleasant argument the Captain gave in and the difficulty 
 was adjusted. He died several years ago leaving a fine family 
 of boys, all of whom reflect great credit upon the memory of 
 their father by their upright, manly conduct. Mrs. Symonds was 
 always a sweet, pretty woman, and in her widowhood has lost 
 none of those charms which made her a favorite years ago. 
 
 ISAAC p. WRIGHT. 
 
 Born in Kentucky in 1822 ; removed to Illinois in 1834 ; edu- 
 cated at a common school ; lived for a short time at St. Louis ; 
 then returned to Illinois ; in 1842 mined at Galena; removed to 
 Prairie du Chien in 1845; learned the trade of joiner and car- 
 penter and painter; in Kentucky built residences, hotels, school 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 257 
 
 buildings, etc.; enlisted in a company of volunteers raised for 
 the Mexican war in Wisconsin; in 1836, when his time expired, 
 he went to New Orleans, Arkansas, and Louisville, Ky., where 
 he erected a number of buildings ; arrived at St. Paul in 1850; 
 married on the twenty-second of November of that year ; was 
 Captain in the State Militia in 1863, under a commission issued 
 by Gov. Ramsey; was Alderman in 1858; served an unexpired 
 term and was re-elected for a full term ; was school trustee ; was 
 appointed a special committee of the Common Council to fill the 
 quota of men of the city for the war ; was appointed by the 
 Board of Health Chief Sanitary Inspector for the city ; was on 
 the Board of Public Works in 1877, and president of the same; 
 was Government storekeeper of the Quartermaster's Depart- 
 ment ; storekeeper of Commissioner of Internal Revenue ; was 
 chairman of the committee of arrangements of the Common 
 Council to receive Gen. Grant on his first visit to St. Paul in 
 1865 ; was in the grocery and provision business from 1857 to 
 1862 ; was appointed a member of the Board of Control in 1884 
 and is treasurer of the same, which office he still holds ; is also 
 elder in Hope Church ; was contractor for painting the old 
 State Capitol ; also first Court House, Presbyterian Church, 
 building of H. M. Rice, etc.; was Master of the Ancient Land- 
 Mark Lodge of Masons five years, and was presented with a 
 Past Master's jewel by this lodge for valuable services rendered. 
 
 HAS RESIDED IN ONE HOUSE THIRTY-FOUR YEARS REAL ESTATE. 
 
 Before leaving to get married in 1850, Mr. Wright pur- 
 chased two lots in Rice and Irvine's addition for which he paid 
 $200, and on these lots in the spring of 185 1 he erected a cot- 
 tage home, where he has resided ever since, having never moved. 
 It was and is now a beautiful and romantic spot, overlooking the 
 river, and at that time was out in the country, but his place is 
 now thickly surrounded with houses, and railroad trains run under 
 his very windows many times a day. Property worth now from 
 ^10,000 to ^12,000. 
 
 He bought a lot on Grand avenue for ;?700; sold it for 
 ;^i,8oo; worth now ;^4,ooo; three lots in Ed. Rice's addition for 
 ;^6oo; sold for ^750; worth now;^3,6oo; forty acres on the 
 
 17 
 
258 PEN PICTURES 
 
 reserve for $400 ; sold for ^800 ; worth now ;^20,000 ; two lots 
 in Ed. Rice's Addition for ^400;- worth now 5,000; one lot for 
 ;^200; worth ;^2,ooo; fifteen feet on Fort street in 1849, for 
 ^1,000; worth ^6,000. 
 
 PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Wright is a well-proportioned man ; active and vigor- 
 ous ; very pleasant in his ways ; moderate in his speech ; 
 direct in his actions ; and is perhaps as well known on our streets 
 as any old settler who has been here for the past thirty-five years. 
 He has a quick brain ; is always thinking or laying plans for 
 some scheme, and yet in his movements he is quiet and unob- 
 trusive. He is what is termed a self-made man, having been 
 left an orphan when quite young, and having had no near rela- 
 tives to advise or look after him ; is diversified in his attainments,, 
 having been a joiner, a painter, a carpenter, a politician, a mason, 
 an alderman, and a deacon, and yet in all these affairs of life he 
 has faithfully performed his duty. He has tried to be always 
 Wright and thus far has succeeded. 
 
OF ai. PAUL, MINN. 269^ 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 1851. 
 
 FirH Legitimate Dramatic Performance — First Concord Stages — Mrst Bishop- 
 Kret City Clerk — Mrst McCormack Reaper — First Importation — Mrst 
 Hook and Ladder Company — Mrst Leather Store — Mrst Pen- 
 sion Office — Mrst School of Penmanship — Mrst Candy 
 Maker — Mrst Sidewalk — Mrst Big Mre— First 
 Crockery Store— Inddenta and 
 Biographies. 
 
 SECOND MEETING OF THE LEGISLATURE. 
 
 The first Territorial Legislature met in the old Central 
 House on Bench street, September 3d, 1849. The second session 
 of the Legislature was held in 1850-1, in a brick building on 
 Third street, known as the old Rice House, corner of Third and 
 Washington. The third session of the Legislature was held in 
 the winter of 185 1-2, in a new brick building which stood on 
 Third street, near where the Merchants hotel now stands. 
 
 JAMES M. GOODHUE WOUNDED. 
 
 I have already given the particulars of the fight between 
 Joseph Cooper, brother of Judge Cooper, and James M. Good- 
 hue, editor of the Pioneer, whereby both parties where wounded 
 and from the effects of which wounds the latter died. I will 
 only say in passing that the event occurred January 16, 1851. 
 
260 PEN PICTURES 
 
 THE CAPITAL LOCATED. 
 
 The Legislature, having power from the general govern- 
 ment to expend ;^20,ooo for the location of the Capital of the 
 Territory, the question was warmly discussed in the Legisla- 
 ture, and the matter was finally compromised as follows : Capi- 
 tal to go to St. Paul, the University to St. Anthony and the Peni- 
 tentiary to Stillwater. Three Commissioners were appointed to 
 supervise the erection of a building, and a block of land (the 
 present site,) given by Charles Bazille and Vetal Guerin, was 
 accepted. Bazille gave the property in his own name, and Guerin 
 reimbursed Bazille half of a block elsewere, and hence they were 
 joint donors. The property now belongs to the State even if the 
 Capital is removed. The old or first Capitol building cost ;^40,ooo. 
 
 FIRST dramatic PERFORMANCE OTHER EVENTS. 
 
 The first dramatic performance seen in St. Paul, was at 
 Mazurka Hall during the month of August, 185 1, when a troupe 
 from New Orleans enacted " Slasher and Crasher," " Betsy 
 Baker," and other plays. One can see in imagination the tin- 
 selry and daub of the stage of that day, as well as the crude 
 surroundings of the hall ; the old benches, the three-footed stools, 
 the rickety chairs, the tobacco juice and peanut shells, the 
 saioked room, all of which were apparent concomitants of a first- 
 class theatre of thirty-four years ago ! and to this he can hear 
 the wild shrieks of the "boys," or the jingling of tumblers in 
 the room below, and form a very correct idea of the cla.ss of 
 amusements given to the St. Paul public in 1851 ! Now take my 
 arm, if you please ; walk with me to Wabasha street ; let us 
 enter the Grand ; open your eyes ; critically inspect this beauti- 
 ful house ; see that capacious stage ; look out upon that audi- 
 ence ; listen to those sweet strains of music ; observe the glitter 
 of the electric lights. Ah ! there they come ! what scenery ! what 
 dresses ! what actors ! The dark-visaged face of the grim old 
 Past crouches in one corner of the opera room and horribly 
 grins as he witnesses the innovation of years, while a sweet 
 cherub angel floats over the stage and smiles serenely while she 
 wafts her golden hair onward and upward ! 185 1! — 1885! Pro- 
 gress ! Prosperity ! Pre-eminence ! 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 261 
 
 Rev. E. D. Neill was appointed Superintendent of Schools ; 
 a Red river train of 102 wooden carts arrived; treaty with the 
 Sioux Indians made ; fifteen additions added to the city ; appear- 
 ance of Weekly Minnesotian ; Winslow House commenced ; 
 Catholic Cathedral completed. 
 
 W. R. MARSHALL. 
 
 Born in 1825 in Boone County, Mo., Governor Marshall 
 came to Minnesota in 1 847, or thirty-eight years ago. He is of 
 Irish-Scotch descent ; received a common school education, and 
 when at the age of thirteen years, in common with his brother, 
 supported their mother and youngest sister. At the age of six- 
 teen years he worked in the lead mines of Galena, 111., and in 
 1847 he moved to Stillwater, Minn., and then to the Falls of the 
 St. Croix. He pre-empted a claim at St. Anthony in 1849, 
 which, had he held it to the present time, would have made him 
 a very rich man. In the spring of 1849 he with his brother 
 Joseph, well known to old settlers, established the first store of gen- 
 eral merchandise at the Falls of St. Anthony. He surveyed that 
 town and was engaged by the United States in surveying pine 
 lands on the Rum river. He was elected to the first Territorial 
 Legislature, and in 1851 removed to St. Paul and established 
 the first iron and heavy hardware store, not only in this city, but 
 in the State. The building was a small wooden one, standing on 
 the ground now occupied by the Warner block, corner of Third 
 and Wabasha streets, and I remember it as the "Sligo Iron 
 Store." The brothers afterwards occupied the stone building 
 adjoining the Opera House (recently taken down,) and after 
 selling out they established a banking house, which finally went 
 down in the financial revulsion of 1857. Gov. Marshall pre- 
 sided at the meeting which organized the Republican party of 
 the State of Minnesota, and was brought out as a candidate for 
 delegate to Congress by the St. Paul Daily Ti7nes, then edited 
 by T. M. Newson, and was subsequently nominated by the con- 
 vention, but through the pig-headedness of the anti -Nebraska 
 wing of the Democratic party, was defeated, and H. M. Rice 
 elected in his place. In 1861 he leased the printing material of 
 the old Daily Times for one year, and thus established the St. 
 Paul Daily Press, of which he was one of the editors, when in 
 
2G2 PEN PICTURES 
 
 1 862 he entered the army and did service in the campaign against 
 the Indians under Gen. Sibley, and then with his regiment went 
 Gouth, where he was engaged in several battles and was finally 
 commissioned Brigadier Gjoeral. In 1865 he was nominated for 
 Governor and was elected to that office ; re-elected in 1 867 ; was 
 Railroad Commissioner for several years ; was in the pay of the 
 United States Government as special agent of pine lands, and is 
 now Land Commissioner of the Iron Range Railroad. 
 
 MARSHALL PERSONALLY. 
 
 Governor Marshall is a tall, slender man, with sandy whis- 
 kers and rather small features, and is fearless and brave in his 
 nature. He is generally sedate in expression and quite deliber- 
 ate in speech. His head is bald, and his whole demeanor indi- 
 cates a thoughtful man. Very few men have passed through so 
 active a life as Governor Marshall. He has been swinging on 
 the see-saw board of fate — a good many times up and a good 
 many times down, yet he is energetic, persevering, cool, decided. 
 He has filled many places of honor and of trust, and is now in 
 comfortable circumstances ; while he is much esteemed as a man 
 and a citizen. 
 
 SQUAW LOG DRIVERS. 
 
 The Democrat of May, 1851, said : 
 
 " About forty Sioux squaws with canoes, have been at work on the Missis- 
 sippi for some time past, driving logs. 'ITiey receive for their services about a dollar 
 per day each. They are very expert canoe paddlers." 
 
 They looked somewhat like our fancy boatmen of the pres- 
 ent day who now paddle their boats on our river, but then the 
 squaws were more thoroughly dressed. 
 
 " MALICE TOWARD NONE AND CHARITY FOR ALL." 
 
 When in the midst of the greatest rebellion known in the 
 history of modern nations — when surrounded with cares, and 
 trials, and responsibilities never before assumed by a chief magis- 
 trate—when opposed by a great and brave military power, the 
 off-shoot of one immense family — when beset with danger from 
 without and danger from within the Union army — when followed 
 by the assassin and dogged by spies— when bravely and nobly 
 and conscientiously performing his duty with a grand heart and 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 263 
 
 a grand purpose, even right in the midst of his most inveterate 
 foes — Abraham Lincoln uttered those memorable words which 
 will forever go ringing down the corridors of Time and lose them- 
 selves in the ocean of Eternity — " Malice toward none and 
 CHARITY FOR ALL." The historian should rise above personal feel- 
 ings and prejudices, and should endeavor to imitate the great 
 patriot in his noble expression, and in delineation of character 
 should clearly exemplify the motto — " Malice toward none and 
 ■charity for all." Upon this basis Pen Pictures were started, and 
 upon this basis they have struck a responsive chord in the popular 
 heart, and upon this basis they will go to the world in book form, 
 and upon this basis they will be best known in history. The 
 bright side of life is the real life, and when I can say nothing 
 good of a man I shall leave a blank where his name, ought to 
 appear; but experience has taught me that many good deeds 
 are often forgotten while some bad deeds are greatly magnified. 
 I do not propose to mar an otherwise symmetrical career because 
 I find upon 4t a few indifferent blemishes ; so, with " malice to- 
 ■ward none and charity for all, I shall continue my Pen Pictures 
 until the great Public calls — " Stop." 
 
 FIRST CONCORD STAGE COACH IN MINNESOTA. 
 
 The first stage in the shape of a two seated wagon, was run 
 from St. Paul to St. Anthony by Messrs. Wiloughby & Powers, 
 in the year 1 849. In the fall they added a four-horse spring 
 wagon that would carry fourteen passengers, and in 1851 intro- 
 duced the first stage coach ever run in Minnesota. It is still in 
 •existence, and is " as sound as a nut." In the fall of 185.1 Ben- 
 son & Pattison entered into competition with Willoughby & 
 Powers, and two lines of stages were established between St. 
 Paul and St. Anthony, one the " Red Line " and one the " Yel- 
 low," and the regular price of seventy-five cents was reduced to 
 twenty-five cents. The opposition line went Willoughby & Pow- 
 ers one better and reduced the fare to ten cents, and then the 
 fun commenced. 
 
 A SQUARE DRINK AND FREE RIDE. 
 
 One day Wiloughby & Powers' coaches, filled with twenty 
 passengers at ten cents per head, were reigned up in front of the 
 
264 PEN PICTURES 
 
 old American House, where pay was usually taken, when one of 
 the passengers wanted a drink. Willoughby, who was present, 
 and who felt remarkably good over obtaining all the passengers 
 for the Falls away from his competitors that day, treated the 
 thirsty individual, when nineteen more passengers pounced upon 
 the unfortunate proprietor, who, in the goodness of his heart, set 
 them up to the tune of just ;^3.oo, and as the aggregated fare'for 
 the twenty was only ;^2.00, the stage company not only furnished 
 the ride to St. Anthony for nothing but gave each passenger a 
 good square drink and five cents apiece besides ! After the 
 drinks the first man treated slapped Willoughby on the back and 
 exclaimed — " You are just the man for a new country — you must 
 succeed." And he did succeed — the wrong way, for subse- 
 quently both lines sold out to Alvaren Allen, and the firm be- 
 came Allen & Chase, and then Burbank, Blfikely Si Merriam, 
 and now it is Blakely & Carpenter. 
 
 IN THE SWEARING CAR. ' 
 
 I v/ell remember, after returning from Washington in 1861, 
 where I had been to receive the appointment of postmaster of St. 
 Paul, (but where I had been politically sold, with many other 
 good men,) — I say I well remember the smiling face and twink- 
 ling eyes of Col. Allen at LaCrosse, who, after poking us up with 
 buffalo robes and shutting the stage door, broke out into a hearty 
 " Ha ! ha ! ha ! " 
 
 " What 's the matter? " I inquired. 
 
 " O-ho ! " said the Colonel, " the-them fe-fellows are go-going 
 h-ho-home in the s-we-swearing c-car ! " and he again burst forth 
 into one of the most unearthly laughs that ever emanated from a 
 human stomach, which so frightened the horses that it set us 
 whirling over the road at a very rapid speed, to the imminent 
 danger of our lives. The Colonel can laugh like a ten-horse 
 steam engine! 
 
 THE OLD STAGE TIMES. 
 
 Who does not remember the good old stage times of years 
 ago ? The preparation, the reality, the trip ! With what delight 
 one mounted the rocking vehicle ! With what ecstasy he snuffed 
 the morning air! With what joy he hailed the country and its 
 beautiful scenery ! With what pride he gazed on the leaders as 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 265 
 
 they lifted their proud heads and capered on their way ! And 
 then the driver ! how he held the ribbons, and cracked his whip, 
 and grew big with importance, and bragged of his team, and 
 came in ahead of time ! The landlord of the little country inn 
 shook his sides with extl-eme pleasure as he saw the crowded 
 stage gallantly making its way to his door! And then such 
 meals of salt pork, and fried potatoes, and boiled ham, and fried 
 eggs, and stale bread, and pea coffee ! Nobody grumbled ; the 
 charges were moderate, and even if the passenger didn't sleep the 
 night before, he could doze away in the good old stage as it went 
 rattling along to its destination ! The song, the joke, the story, the 
 new acquaintance, — all gone, — how they come back to memory ! 
 And that good, dear old stage, and that garrulous driver, and 
 those glorious leaders, with blue ribbons in their head-gear, and 
 the lovely country, and the running streams, and the crude 
 bridges, and the blue-eyed girl, so angelic in the eyes of youth, 
 and the way-side stopping places, and the early morning start, and 
 the break-down in mud, and the delay, and the midnight meal, 
 and the sound sleep ; aye, even the horn which announced our 
 coming have all passed from our gaze forever and in their places 
 have come the huge steam-engine, the dirty fireman, the active 
 brakeman, the polite conductor, the Pullman sleepers, the palace 
 dining cars, and whiz, whiz, whiz, away we go amid smoke, and 
 cinders, and dust, to battle again with the material and business 
 elements of life ! So, good-bye, old stage, old times, old associa- 
 tions, old and delightful memories of a by-gone age ! Good-bye 
 leaders, and drivers, and landlords, and country, and streams, 
 and birds, and nature, and happiness, and joy, and girl, and fresh 
 air, and good appetites, and health-inspiring vigor !— good-bye ! 
 Like the old man who has carried many a burden, the old stage 
 has been shoved out on to the frontier by newer and fresher 
 blood, there to finally leave its bones amid the soil of a new 
 people 1 Good-bye ! 
 
 INDIAN FIDELITY. 
 
 Near where Gates A. Johnson's residence now stands, just 
 beyond the house of D. W. Ingersoll, was found on the morning 
 of April 4, 1 85 1, the body of a dead Indian. Not far from this 
 point was an encampment of Winnebagoes, and the Sheriff, with 
 
266 PEN PICTURES 
 
 a body of soldiers, repaired thither to arrest the murderer and 
 bring him to justice. While quietly cooking their evening meal 
 the officer inquired of Che-en-u-waz-hee-kaw, or Standing Lodge, 
 if he knew anything about the murder. " Of course I do," he 
 replied—" I killed him ! " He had been selected by his tribe to 
 kill the Indian for some offense for which the penalty was death, 
 and he had simply performed his duty according to the Indian 
 idea and Indian custom. Standing Rock was arrested without 
 any opposition on his part, incarcerated in Sheriff Lull's carpen- 
 ter shop, and finally was held over to the grand jury which met 
 in the middle of the month. He was released upon his word of 
 honor that he would appear at the proper time, and notching a 
 stick to number the days to be sure to be present when wanted, 
 he went his way to hunt with his tribe. Very unexpectedly to 
 everybody, he made his appearance at the first day of court sit- 
 ting upon the doorstep, ready for his fate. Every day for a week 
 he came and waited but his case could not be called. He was 
 finally indicted by the grand jury, but never attempted to escape, 
 and was at last discharged, leaving the white men with all their 
 boasted chivalry with a manhood untarnished and a word of 
 honor unimpeached. 
 
 ISAAC VAN ETTEN HIS PERSONALI•^i^ 
 
 Gen. Van Etten was born about 1836; graduated at Union 
 College in 1848-9; entered the law office of Hon. Samuel J. 
 Wilkin, father of our Judge Wilkin ; was admitted to the bar in 
 1 85 1, and came St. Paul the same year ; was appointed Adjutant- 
 General of the Territory of Minnesota by Gov. Gorman, in 1853, 
 and held the office until 1858; was a member of the Territorial 
 Council in 1853-4; formed a law partnership with the late Col. 
 Alexander Wilkin in January, 1853, the latter retiring in the 
 fall — the firm of Ames & Van Etten succeeding, the late Michael 
 E. Ames being his partner. This firm became Ames, Van Etten 
 & Officer, and afterwards Van Etten & Officer until 1865. In 1 863 
 he was appointed Consul of the United States to Jerusalem by the 
 President through Gov. Seward, then Secretary of State, which 
 appointment he declined. Gen. Van Etten retired from practice 
 in 1 866 on account of a disease of the heart, but resumed practice 
 in 1872 with Hon. L. Emmett. He died December 28, 1873. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 267 
 
 Mr. Van Etten was a tall, active man, full of life and anima- 
 tion, and at the time I knew him was a great Democratic poli- 
 tician. He was a devoted friend of the late Gov. Gorman and 
 was at one time his Adjutant General. His tall and command- 
 ing figure (though then quite young,) attracted attention, while 
 his social qualities won him many friends. He was very active, 
 impulsive, easily excited, yet back of all this there was a good, 
 honest heart. He gr^avitated into politics as naturally as a child 
 digs into sand, but several years before his death he abandoned 
 politics and devoted his attention to business, and having, through 
 others, lost considerable money, his health gave way and he 
 died at about thirty-seven years of age. 
 
 MRS. VAN ETTEN TENDERLY AND TOUCHINGLY EXPRESSED. 
 
 Mrs. Van Etten is yet quite a fine and young-looking lady, 
 having, however, passed through much tribulation in the death 
 of her husband, her father, and all her brothers. She is an 
 excellent singer, and though among the last of her family is as 
 amiable, and as pleasant, and indeed almost as young, as when 
 many years ago I first met her as simply Miss Jane Oakes. 
 
 A thoughtful writer has said, that if " we die to-day the sun 
 will shine as brightly and the birds will sing as sweetly to-mor- 
 row. Business will not be suspended a moment, and the great 
 mass will not bestow a thought upon our memories. ' Is he 
 dead ? ' will be the solemn inquiry of a few as they pass to work. 
 No one will miss us except our immediate connections, and in a 
 short time they will forget and laugh as merrily as when we sat 
 beside them. Thus shall we all, now active in life, pass away. 
 Our children crawl close behind us, and they will soon be gone. 
 In a few years not a living being can say, ' I remember.' We 
 lived in another age and did business with those who slumber in 
 the tomb. This is life. How rapidly it passes." 
 
 " Our friends are waiting for us, 
 
 The loved, the tried, the true, 
 But time's frail, misty curtain 
 
 Now hides them from our view; 
 They've reached the quiet harbor — 
 
 Not lost, but gone before. 
 And now they wait to ^reet us 
 
 Upon the distant shore." 
 
268 PEN PICTURES 
 
 "just my luck." 
 
 An old seftler of St. Paul who was given somewhat to 
 profanity, took the cars years ago at Dubuque, Iowa, for the 
 East — then there were no railroad Hnes in Minnesota^and when 
 seated in the coach he indulged quite freely in profane remarks. 
 Just back of him was a young minister, now of St. Paul, (the 
 name I suppress,) who, after a while became uneasy and believ- 
 ing that now was a good time to save a soul, reached over and 
 patting the profane man on the back, exclaimed — " My friend, 
 you are on the road to h — 11 ! " " Is that so ? " asked the old 
 settler, "that's just my d — n luck — I bought a ticket for Roch- 
 ester." 
 
 THE EXPRESS BUSINESS. 
 
 After J. C. Burbank dissolved with Wm. Constans (as they 
 both were in the express business originally,) Mr. Burbank made 
 a specialty of the express enterprise, became his own messenger, 
 and in 1851 the business began to increase largely. Several 
 partnerships were formed and dissolved, when C. T. Whitney 
 united with Burbank and added to the business that of forward- 
 ing and commission merchants. In 1854 regular messengers 
 were employed and the business constantly increased, and has 
 continued to increase ever since, and from a small beginning has 
 grown to a gigantic enterprise. The leading figure in this move- 
 ment was J. C. Burbank, and he may very properly be denomi- 
 nated as the father of the express business in Minnesota. 
 
 OUR DOUBTS ARE TRAITORS. 
 
 Shakespeare says : 
 
 ' ' Our doubts are traitors, which make us lose the good 
 We oft might win, by fearing to attempt." 
 
 Years ago the old settler had great doubts as to the growth 
 of St. Paul ; great doubts as to the ultimate value of the land 
 upon which the present city is built ; doubts as to its population ; 
 doubts as to its commercial importance ; doubts as to its railroad 
 interests ; and so, many of them, " fearing to attempt," lost much 
 good financially they might otherwise have won. Many of these 
 doubts have disappeared in the march of time, but then the old 
 settler is not as supple and as ambitious as he was twenty-five 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 269 
 
 years ago, nor does he care as much for money as he did then. 
 He fears to venture. He has seen many of the ups and downs 
 in life. He halts ; he hesitates ; he quibbles ; he doubts ; when 
 a young and inexperienced scion from the Er.st, with his papa's 
 money, jumps over his head and takes the prize. The old settler 
 simply submits, and philosophically exclaims — " Just my d — n 
 luck." 
 
 TREATY WITH THE SlOtlX. 
 
 Up to this year the Sioux Indians owned all the land on the 
 west side of the Mississippi river, but a treaty was made with 
 them on the 23d of July, 1 851, at Traverse des Sioux, whereby 
 they ceded 21,000,000 acres of land to the United States, and 
 this land is now covered with villages, towns, cities, railroad 
 tracks, farms, energy, enterprise and capital, and where will one 
 day arise an empire that will astonish the world. Of course 
 there was great rejoicing over the treaty because the land would 
 be open to settlement, the traders would get their money due 
 from the Indians, and the Indians themselves would have money 
 to expend with the whites. It was the opening of a new era in 
 the history of the Northwest ; it meant, to push the Indians on to 
 the frontier; it was, as Goodhue then wrote in 1 851, the intro- 
 duction of "farms with their fences, and white cottages, and 
 waving wheat-fields, and vast jungles of rustling maize, and vil- 
 lages, and cities crowned with spires, and railroads with trains of 
 cars rumbling afar off — and now nearer and nearer the train 
 comes thundering across the bridge into St. Paul, fifteen hours 
 from St. Louis on the way to Lake Superior." All of this has 
 been realized and more too, in thirty-four years, and many of 
 those who attended that treaty still live as witnesses of this 
 unparalleled growth. The Sioux Indians have been swept out- 
 side of the borders of Minnesota since 1851, and still the tide of 
 civilization rolls on. 
 
 JOSEPH CRETIN, D.D., THE FIRST BISHOP OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 Rt. Rev. Joseph Cretin was consecrated Bishop on the 26th 
 of January, 1851, and arrived in St. Paul on the 2d of July of 
 the same year, or thirty-four years ago. Since the days of the 
 good Father Galtier, the first priest, the Catholic Church had 
 
270 PEN PICTURES 
 
 grown to large proportions, and it became necessary to have a 
 Bishop to direct its movements. Father Ravoux, who took the 
 place of Rev. Galtier in 1844, speaking of Bishop Cretin, says: 
 
 " All those who have been well acquainted with him are convinced that he con- 
 stantly walked in the footsteps of Saint Paul, by zeal, piety, charity, humility, 
 incessant labor and patience in sufferings; not only after his consecration, but also 
 when a priest, when in the seminaire and in the college. He put immediately his 
 hand to the plow, and, faithful to the advice of our Saviour, did not look behind. He 
 knew for whom he worked, and however difficult the task might be, supported by 
 Divine grace, he was always cheerful. Before the lapse of five months after his 
 arrival in St. Paul, he erected on block seven, in St. Paul proper, a brick build- 
 ing, eighty-four feet long by forty-four wide, three stories and a half high, including 
 the basement. That building became immediately the second Cathedral of St. Paul, 
 and also the second residence of the Rt. Rev. Bishop, of his priests and semina- 
 rians ; and in a few months after some apartments of the basement were used as 
 school-room for boys. The young girls were also to be provided with Catholic 
 schools, and in 1852 the Sisters of St. Joseph devoted themselves in St. Paul to 
 the holy work of their institute, and they opened their schools on the property of 
 the church on Third street. (This is the same ground now occupied by the Pioneer 
 Press olifice and other buildings.)" 
 
 PURCHASE OF PKOPERTY FOR A CATHEDRAL. 
 
 Good Father Ravoux continues his narrative : 
 
 "After the Bishop's departure for France, aware of the necessity of securing 
 some lots for the Cathedral and other purposes, I bought of Mr. Vetal Guerin 
 twenty-one lots for $800, and for $100 the lot on which now stands the Cathedral. 
 This last I bought of another person who had already some lumber on the ground 
 for a building. He had bought the same on credit of Mr. Guerin for $60. He 
 deeded me that lot for $40 profit. I considered the purchase of the twenty-two lots 
 a very good bargain for the church, as also a good one for Mr. Guerin, because it 
 was understood that the Cathedral and other buildings w juld be erected on block 
 seven, and such improvements would increase the value of Mr. Guerin's property. 
 The event proved that I was not deceived in my expectation. The Right Rev. 
 Bishop after his return from France, paid the money for the twenty-two lots and 
 received the deed; I had but a bond for the security of our bargain." 
 
 These twenty-two lots which cost ^900 in 185 1, are now 
 worth not less than ^500,000, possibly ;^8oo,000, so Father Ra- 
 voux made a most excellent bargain for the church. If I under- 
 stand the matter the property runs from Sixth street on Wa- 
 basha to Seventh ; from Seventh to St. Peter ; from St. Peter to 
 Sixth, and from Sixth to Wabasha, including the old Cathedral, 
 the new Cathedral, the residence of the Bishop, schools, stores, 
 etc. It is now in the heart of the city and is a very valuable 
 piece of property. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 271 
 
 DEATH OF BISHOP CRETIN HIS FUNERAL HIS LOOKS. 
 
 Of the death of this good man Father Ravoux says : 
 
 "The Right Rev. Bishop died on the 22d of February 1857. His illness had 
 been very long and painful, but he always continued to be the good and faithful ser- 
 vant of God, bearing with the greatest patience all his sufferings. More than once 
 when his pains were most intense, I heard him exclaim — 'It is good for me to 
 suffer for my sins. As I cannot work I, at least, ought to offer my pains to God for 
 tlie faithful and for all.' " 
 
 The writer well remembers the funeral of Bishop Cretin. 
 It was the largest ever held in the city up to that time. The 
 priests, the children, the mournful music, the sincere mourners, 
 the immense procession as it moved slowly along our streets, 
 demonstrated the great esteem in which the Rev. Bishop was 
 held. Indeed I have seen many large funerals since then, 
 but none so solemn, and so imposing, and so sincere, and so 
 grand, as that which conveyed to the tomb all that remained of 
 the once greatly esteemed Bishop Cretin. 
 
 Bishop Cretin was a fine and intellectual looking man, with 
 a very pleasant face, and a serene yet subdued expression. He 
 was partially bald, wore glasses and had all the politeness of the 
 French. He dressed in his ministerial garments, and was very 
 devotedly attached to the church of which he was the honored 
 head. 
 
 THE TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS. 
 
 Capt. Russell Blakely may be said to have originated this 
 business, having sold out his interest with J. C. Burbank & Co. 
 and taken a contract to transport goods from New York to the 
 Red River of the North, and thence to Hudson Bay. He with 
 others built the first steamer on the Red river and carried on the 
 business successfully some years, when J. C. & Henry C. Bur- 
 bank followed it up quite extensively. This branch of trade was 
 of great benefit to St. Paul as well as to St. Cloud, and was only 
 abandoned when pushed out by railroads. 
 
 THE SQUEAKING RED RIVER CARTS PEMMICAN. 
 
 This year 102 Red river carts made their way to St. Paul. 
 These carts were on two wheels only and were composed entirely 
 of wood and leather, no iron whatever being used about them. 
 To them were hitched singly oxen with raw-hide harnesses, and 
 
272 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the train would come into the city in single file accompanied with 
 half-breed drivers, fantastically dressed. As no oil or grease was 
 used about the axles the squeaking noise these carts made was 
 enough to drive a Christian mad. They brought in furs and 
 carried back some gold, with groceries and provisions. In 1858 
 about 600 of these carts came to the city, and then the trade 
 began to decrease. The time consumed on the journey from 
 Pembina to St. Paul was usually thirty days, sometimes longer, 
 according to the condition of the roads. 
 
 Pemmican is a preparation of raw buffalo meat, dried^ 
 pounded and mixed with tallow, and then pressed into a bag 
 made from a buffalo hide. It was the principal sustenance of the 
 Red river men who accompanied the carts, and though unpalat- 
 able to a man who gets tender-loin beef-steak at our hotels, yet 
 it was essential and valuable food for those whose business it 
 was to navigate our plains. 
 
 And so these singular vehicles of commerce have disap- 
 peared, and even the stage and the steamboat that took their 
 places to a degree, have been supplanted by the irrepressible 
 railroad train that now precedes even the march of civilization 
 and pushes the Indian race on to the extreme borders of the 
 American continent. These elements of the past have only com- 
 bined to make St. Paul the focal point of an immense trade, 
 and this with her railroad interests and a population of 120,000, 
 place her pre-eminently before the world as the great city of the 
 new Northwest. 
 
 ALVAREN ALLEN. 
 
 Colonel Allen was born in the State of New York in 1822 ; 
 moved with his father on a farm in Wisconsin in 1837, where he 
 remained five years ; attended the high school in Beloit during 
 the winter, and drove team summers to pay his way ; clerked in 
 a retail store for two years ; in a jobbing house in Milwaukee for 
 three years ; left for Dubuque, Iowa, and arrived at St. Paul in 
 1851 ; visited St. Anthony ; fell in love with the Falls and the 
 country surrounding ; loaned a gentleman his team to go to St. 
 Paul, for which he received $<i, then the next day ;^io, and then 
 the Colonel exclaimed— "Wife, I've struck it ; livery is our busi- 
 ness ;" and immediately four horses and three wagons followed the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 273 
 
 single team, and Allen was on the road to wealth and to glory. 
 Seeing that he had struck a lead, he then added the veterinary 
 practice, and in this he was as successful as in the livery business, 
 receiving as high as ^50 for curing a single horse in the last stages 
 of disease ; in five years he had a stable of fifty horses, carriages, 
 wagons, harnesses, and in 1856 purchased the stage line and 
 mail route of Patterson, Benson & Ward, but subsequently sold 
 one-half interest to C. L. Chase, then Secretary of the Territory, 
 and they jointly secured the route from St. Paul to St. Anthony 
 for ;^2i,000. In 1859, in connection with the owners of the 
 Northwestern Express Company, the firm started the line /rom 
 St. Paul to La Crosse, and soon after consolidated, thus crippling 
 contemplated opposition and making J. C.Burbank manager. A 
 party of stage men, however, came on to St. Paul to establish a 
 line, and after losing ;^7 5, 000, withdrew, leaving the field to the 
 old company. 
 
 Col. Allen followed the stage business up to 1859 when he 
 entered railroading, which he continued through 1873, and then 
 purchased Col. Shaw's interest and lease in the Merchants hotel 
 for ^$40,000 ; he then bought the hotel itself of Col. Potter for 
 ;^275,ooo, and has added largely to its accommodations since 
 then, making its present value not far from ^500,000. 
 
 Col. Allen was the second Mayor of St. Anthony ; has been 
 Alderman for four terms, or eight years, of the city of St. Paul, 
 and president of the Council four years. 
 
 REAL estate TRANSACTIONS PERSONALLY. 
 
 In early days he made a claim where Minneapolis now is, 
 of 160 acres of land, the same ground upon which the Harvester 
 Works are built. He sold this claim for ;^5,ooo ; worth ^jg 1,000,- 
 000; purchased two lots on Dayton avenue, with a small house, 
 where he made his home, for ^1,600; sold the same for ^^ 12,000; 
 worth |! 1 5,000; bought of Mr. Rhiel his residence on Dayton 
 avenue for ^13,500, finished it up and sold the property for $54,- 
 000; worth ^45,000. 
 
 Col. Allen is always cool. I never saw him in a hurry, and 
 yet he accomplishes a great deal of labor and runs his huge 
 mammoth eating establishment like clock-work. 
 
 18 
 
274: PEN PICTURES 
 
 R. C. BURUICK. 
 
 Burdick is a character, but as I can't catch him as he is I 
 shall have to catch him on the fly. He was born in Michigan in 
 1834; had a common school education; cr.me to St. Paul in 
 1851 ; from Elgin to Galena he supposed he was to ride in the 
 stage, but " walked half the way and carried a rail the other 
 half; " paid the captain of a steamer to St. Paul his last nickel ; 
 " struck the town a pauper," so he says ; went to H. M. Rice for 
 a loan ; got it ; started up the country and brought up at Watab ;. 
 some time afterwards read law with Rice, Hollinshead & Becker ;; 
 didn't think he would make a lawyer and gave it up; clerked 
 for S. B. Lowry at Watab in the winter of 1852-3 ; went to Pem- 
 bina in 1853; wintered in 1854-5 ^t St. Joseph, thirty miles west 
 of Pembina; hunted buffalo in the summer of 1855 ; in that fall 
 was elected a member of the Territorial Legislature representing 
 more counties than people; in 1856 went into the general trading 
 business at Watab; the crash came and wiped him out; entered 
 the service of Mr. Kittson ; took charge of his Red river wooden 
 carts, and continued with him up to 1862 ; came down from the 
 Fort Garry country with a company of eight, only three of whom 
 are living; entered the services of the Stage Company in 1863,. 
 and continued up to 1865 ; that year engaged with the Hudson 
 Bay Company ; -continued with them five years; ran a store in 
 Winnipeg ; was there when the rebellion broke out in 1 869-70 ; 
 was imprisoned by the order of Riel ; but was so well acquainted 
 with the French half-breeds and spoke their language so accu- 
 rately, that Riel couldn't get them to hold him and he was 
 released ; had charge of men in 1870 to build a United States fort 
 at Pembina; in 1871 was in the employ of H. C. Burbank, ship- 
 ping goods under contract of Hudson Bay Company ; was in the 
 employ of the St. Paul and Pacific Elevator Company in 1872 ; 
 moved to Willmar in 1873; was with Commodore Davidson in 
 1877, as "general utility "man; was employed by the Millers* 
 Association at Minneapolis in 1879, and remained with them up 
 to 1881 ; then was employed by A. B. Stickney to/take charge 
 of a body of men to explore and survey a pass/in the Rocky 
 Mountains 900 miles west from Winnipeg ; two years after this he 
 went to the same place in a Pullman car; and was finally in the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 27 S 
 
 employ of the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company as supply 
 agent. Mr. Burdick is the father of six children, five of whom 
 still live. 
 
 AN INDIAN Murder. 
 
 Mr. Burdick says that in the winter of 1855 the Indians 
 were very troublesome in the settlement of St. Joseph where he 
 was then living, making frequent raids upon the settlers, stealing 
 horses and killing such of the inhabitants as could be found away 
 frt)m the village. Mrs. Spencer, wife of a missionary, was killed 
 by them that summer, and when discovered she was lying upon 
 the floor dead, with two children, three and five years old, sitting 
 on each side of her body, and a babe upon her bosom whose 
 face was all bloody from its efforts to secure nourishment. The 
 citizens got track of a party of Indians that summer and followed 
 the trail ; met and killed four out of seven, and two more of the 
 remaining three were slain by hunters on the plains, so Mrs. 
 Spencer's death was avenged, but it did not bring back the dead 
 mother to the poor little children. 
 
 A CLOSE CALL BURDICK AS A MAN. 
 
 In the winter of 1854-5 Burdick made a trip from Pembina 
 to Crow Wing with dogs and on snow-shoes. The first day out 
 the dogs broke into the provisions and devoured all there was, 
 leaving the party to exist on tea and rotten fish the rest of the 
 trip, but they came out alive though considerably emaciated. 
 
 Although fifty years of age yet Mr. Burdick is as vigorous 
 and as active as a person of thirty years. He has been a great 
 roamer; is bubbhng all over with fun; is full of magnetism, 
 with a well developed physical organization capable of enduring 
 almost any amount of exposure and fatigue. He is an off-hand, 
 humorous, kind-hearted gentleman, and can show a record of 
 experiences in the Northwest that can discount any other traveler. 
 He now resides in this city, and is chief State Inspector of Wheat. 
 
 SHERWOOD HOUGH FIRST CITY CLERK. 
 
 Mr. Hough was born in New York in 1 827 ; came to St. 
 Paul in 185 1 ; was appointed Deputy Clerk of the District Court 
 of Ramsey County, which office he held until 1 860, when he was 
 elected Register of Deeds for two years; in 1854 was elected 
 
276 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the first City Clerk of St. Paul for two years; chosen City 
 Comptroller in 1857, which office he soon resigned; was again 
 appointed DeputY Clerk of the District Court of Ramsey County 
 from 1863 to 1865; in 1866 was elected Clerk of the Supreme 
 Court of the State, holding that office by re-election three terms ; 
 has been Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer of the I. O. O. F. 
 of the State of Minnesota for some ten years ; has been a Di- 
 rector in the St. Paul Building Association, the first organization 
 of the kind in this State ; also one of the incorporators and a 
 member of the board of trustees of the Minnesota O. F. M. B. 
 Society, from its organization in 1 870, for many years thereafter ; 
 in 1876 commenced the book and stationery business and has 
 been engaged in it ever since. 
 
 Mr. Hough has been a great Odd Fellow all his life, and 
 has filled many offices of honor and of trust in that society. He 
 is a man of ordinary size, quiet in his manners, very attentive to 
 business, and much devoted to his family. An unfortunate dis- 
 ability in the use of one limb prevents him from mingli-ng much 
 with his fellow-men, and yet he is social and pleasant to all who 
 know him, and is a quiet cititizen. 
 
 L. E. REED. 
 
 Mr. Reed was born in Massachusetts in 1830; removed to 
 Ohio when three years old; came to St. Paul in 1851 ; went to 
 Long Prairie with a missionary, where he worked on the gov- 
 ernment farm; in the fall of 1851 walked the whole distance 
 from Long Prairie to St. Paul, or 140 miles; taught school 
 about fifteen miles north of Freeport; returned to St. Paul in 
 1852 ; hired out to a carpenter to do rough work. 
 
 GOV. RAMSEY DRIVING NAILS. 
 
 His first duty was to build a fence around Gov. Ramsey's 
 lot. He went at it but in driving the nails broke every other 
 one, which attracted the attention of the Governor, who, on 
 appearing before young Reed told him that he was destroying 
 more nails than his day's wages came to. 
 
 "Well," said Reed, "these nails are not good." 
 " Yes they are," said the Governor, " but you don't know 
 how to drive them." 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 277 
 
 " But these nails , came from Pittsburg, and they are not 
 Worth a tinker's snap." 
 
 " Oh-ho ! young man," said the Governor, " these nails are 
 good, but you don't strike them right. Give me the hammer ; 
 I'm an old cabinet-maker, and I'll show you how to drive nails," 
 and the Governor drove every nail without a break, to the utter 
 astonishment of Reed. 
 
 "Now, young man," said the Governor, "what have you 
 been in the habit of doing ? " 
 
 "Well," said Reed, "I have been working on a farm," his 
 face longer than the board he was trying to adjust on the rail of 
 the fence. 
 
 " Take this order," said the Governor ; " go out to my farm 
 near Lake Como ; go to work and I will pay you $2S P^r month," 
 and Mr. Reed did so. 
 
 FIRST m'CORMACK REAPER IN THE STATE BIG INDIAN BRAVE. 
 
 Here Mr. Reed drove the first reaping machine ever in the 
 State of Minnesota, and as four horses were attached to it he was 
 prouder then than at any other period of his life. Jus Ramsey 
 had an ugly horse that could not be used, but Reed put a Span- 
 ish bit on him, hitched him in with the others, and he worked 
 thereafter as docile as a child. Indeed the horse and the 
 machine were great curiosities and many visited the field to see 
 the animal and to observe the machine cut the grain, not only 
 that of the Governor's but of the neighbors' at large. 
 
 While at Long Prairie one night, the Indians stole two 
 horses. Reed went in pursuit of them and coming up with the 
 thieves sought to get back the stolen animals, when one of the 
 Indians fired his pistol at him and the powder flew into Reed's 
 face. Nothing daunted he knocked the Indian down, secured 
 his pistol and its paraphernalia, and was about moving away 
 when another Indian knocked him down. Recovering himself 
 he seized the horses and mounting his own, started on a full 
 gallop, when all of a sudden the animal he was riding gave a 
 jump and he discovered an Indian lying by the way-side who, as 
 he passed, had tried to seize his legs, but Reed eluded him and 
 came into camp triumphantly. After that he became a great 
 favorite with the red men, and on one occasion they dressed him 
 
278 PEN PICTURES 
 
 up as a brave, put rings on his wrists, painted his face and greatly- 
 honored him as a Big Indian Chief. 
 
 " I WILL VOTE FOR YOU AS LONG AS I LIVE." 
 
 On the Fourth of July, 1852, it was agreed that the best way 
 to celebrate the day was to entertain strangers at the residences 
 of citizens, so J. W. Bass took twenty, somebody else ten, and 
 Deacon Cavender ten. Among those who went with Cavender 
 was Reed. Fifteen years afterwards Reed ran for Alderman in 
 the same ward in which Cavender lived, and finding out that 
 Cavender was about to vote against Jiim, Reed addressed him as 
 follows : 
 
 " Cavender, you are not going to vote against me ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am." 
 
 " But you wouldn't vote against a friend you once enter- 
 tained at dinner ? " 
 
 " You never took dinner with me." 
 
 " Yes, I did." 
 
 " Prove it and I will vote for you," said Cavender, and Reed 
 did prove it, even telling him what they had for dinner fifteen 
 years before. 
 
 " Give me your hand and a ticket," said Cavender, " I'll vote 
 for you for any office you may run for as long as I live," and he 
 did, only regretting that he could not do the same favor to the~ 
 other iiine who sat down to his hospitable table on the Fourth 
 of July, 1852. 
 
 TAUGHT SCHOOL AGAIN. 
 
 YouHg Reed drifted back to Illinois in 1852 and taught 
 school where he had been the year before, and then on his way 
 out to St. Paul he stopped at a small town ; bought a farm with 
 a crop on it ; cleared j^7,000 ; married a well-to-do young lady ; 
 traveled south ; came back to St. Paul; loaned out about ;^8,ooo; 
 crash came in 1857 ; lost it all ; was aided by Mr. Edgerton to 
 get on to his feet again ; became a street broker ; paddled along 
 for three years ; had his ups and downs ; was Alderman eight 
 years and president of the Council one term ; became engaged in 
 the banking business with the Thompson Brothers, as far back 
 as 1862; then with the First National Bank in 1863, with which 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MliVN. 279 
 
 institution lie was connected several years, and in 1873 became 
 its vice-president ; was once a partner of William Dawson, the 
 firm being Dawson & Company, and continued such for four 
 years ; was vice-president of the City Bank -three years, and is 
 now president of the Capital Bank of this city. Mr. Reed has 
 been in the banking business twenty-five years. 
 
 SOME REAL ESTATE REED AS I SEE HIM. 
 
 In 1852 Mr. Reed purchased a lot on Wabasha street 
 adjoining the Market, for which he paid ;^400; sold for ;^4,00C; 
 worth ;^ 1 5,000; fifteen years ago he bought two lots and a house 
 on the corner of Sibley and Sixth streets, for which he paid 
 g5,ooo; worth now ^50,000; in 1851 one lot on Fifth street for 
 ^225 ; now worth ;^20,ooo. These are only a few items of his 
 real estate transactions. 
 
 Mr. Reed is a fine-looking man, with a well-developed head 
 and a clear, black eye. He is very deliberate in his speech, 
 thinks before he gives utterance to his thoughts, and is quite an 
 impressional conversationalist. He takes to banking naturally ; 
 looks upon money as a tangibility, the same as real estate or 
 •other property, and acting upon this basis makes his calculations. 
 He is far-seeing in his movements, and yet very cautious — is 
 pretty sure when he moves to move right. He is quiet ; never 
 rants ; is self-poised ; pleasant ; and yet when animated he draws 
 down his mouth in a peculiar way which belongs only to Mr. 
 Reed. He never forgets his friends. He gives quietly but with 
 discrimination, and is a first-class citizen. In all matters of 
 finance his advice is generally sought and his opinion is greatly 
 ■esteemed. Mr. Reed's gradual ascent from a farm boy to that 
 ■of a successful banker, is full of good lessons for the young, and 
 this little yet interesting sketch of his life ought to leave an excel- 
 lent impression. 
 
 RICHARD MARVIN EARLY EDUCATION. 
 
 Mr. Marvin was born in England in 1817, and is now the 
 only surviving member of a large family. Descended on the 
 mother's side from Scottish covenanters and on the father's from 
 a line of English non-conformists, the principles of civil and 
 jeligious liberty became an ingrained sentiment with him in his 
 
280 PEN PICTURES 
 
 early boyhood, and he shared in and to this day remembers the 
 exciting times of Catholic emancipation and the first Refornl bill. 
 His education was chiefly received in a classical boarding 
 school in his native town taught by Rev. James Buckham. He 
 was taken away from school in his fourteenth year against the 
 protest of his tutor, and just when he had become intensely inter- 
 ested. His old tutor is still living and in good possession of his 
 faculties, in his ninety-first year, and scholar and teacher still 
 correspond with each other. 
 
 . MARRIED CAME TO ST. PAUL. 
 
 In 1837, at twenty years of age, Mr. M. was married to 
 Hannah, daughter of Mr. Charles Reading, deceased, of War- 
 wick, England. Residing after their marriage for some time in 
 Henley, in Arden, in Warwickshire, they removed to Leam- 
 ington in the same county, where they lived for some seven years. 
 They came to Cincinnati in the spring of 1845, and Mr. M. 
 remembers well a visit he made to Professor Stowe, at Lane 
 Seminary, and where he had the pleasure of dining with him and 
 his since celebrated wife. The Professor had just returned from 
 England, and he spoke of points of interest so numerous in the 
 locality from which Mr. M. came, Warwick Castle especially, 
 that it brought up many scenes of by-gone days. It was stated 
 that the Earl of Warwick's rent roll was some ^40,000 per year, 
 and yet he was poor. Mrs. Stowe, turning to her husband said— 
 " You see you are not the only poor man in the world." After 
 remaining in Cincinnati some six years and having gone through 
 two very severe cholera seasons, he decided to come to St. Paul, 
 and arrived here in 185 1. His advent in St. Paul was very for- 
 tunate ; his health had been broken ; but here he found an entire 
 change and the commencement of a career of health such as he 
 had not known for years. 
 
 ATTEMPT AT FARMING BUSINESS. 
 
 In the first season he made an attempt at farming on a place 
 of 123 acres, which he had purchased for a small sum on the 
 west side of Phelen's lake. Being a novice at the business he 
 discontinued it and rented a few acres of it for some years to a 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 281 
 
 tenant. He continued to be the owner of the same place for 
 twenty-four years. 
 
 In the fall of 1851 Mr. M. leased a lot on Third street on 
 which the First National Bank building was erected some years 
 later. He put up a building upon it and opened a retail china 
 and glassware store. In 1855 he erected a brick building on 
 Third street (which is still standing, and which has been occu- 
 pied till a short time ago by McGae's restaurant,) and in this he 
 carried on his business for several years. He subsequently moved 
 into the building once occupied by Wm. Lee's wholesale dry- 
 goods house, previously to which his son had entered into part- 
 nership with him. 
 
 FIRST IMPORTATION FROM ENGLAND FINANCIAL CRASH. 
 
 Some years before the spring of 1857, Mr. M. had taken a 
 trip to England for the double purpose of visiting old scenes and 
 associations and establishing a direct trade with the Staffordshire 
 potteries. He purchased what was then accounted a large stock, 
 some sixty crates of ware ; shipped via New Orleans to St. Paul 
 under bond. After his return from England came on the terri- 
 ble financial revulsion of 1857, which cost him nearly all he was 
 worth, yet straitened as he was he continued to import and his 
 credit remained unimpaired with .his English correspondents, and 
 in the meantime his trade had become mainly a jobbing business. 
 The war which subsequently came on put a bar on importation, 
 and was the cause of great loss to him. 
 
 The real estate which he had purchased at an early day is 
 now worth some sixty or seventy thousand dollars. He is now 
 in his sixty-ninth year and has gone through mental experiences 
 which have bankrupted his courage. 
 
 OFFICES HE HAS HELD. 
 
 Mr. Marvin was elected Alderman of the city at its first 
 municipal electiori ; has been for thirty-three years an elder in 
 the Presbyterian Church; in 1875 was made treasurer of Oak- 
 land Cemetery Association, of which he had previously been a 
 trustee, which position he has. filled acceptably and successfully 
 for nine years, and has the gratification of seeing the cemetery 
 
282 PEN PICTURES 
 
 which has been for many years very sacred to him, increa,singly 
 beautiful and faithfully guarded from vandal desecration. 
 
 Mr. M. has been married forty-seven years and the wife of 
 his youth is still the companion of his age. His children, four 
 in number, one-half of his original family, are all married, and 
 live in St. Paul. They and their children form a valued and 
 affectionate circle where he finds a pleasant and ever-recurring 
 welcome. 
 
 MARVIN AS A MAN. 
 
 He is quick, earnest, sensitive, active, honorable, honest, 
 religious ; was an unflinching, outspoken anti-slavery man when 
 it was very unpopular to be so, and lives more in the past and in 
 the future, than in the present. He has a highly poetical tem- 
 perament, and has produced some fine poetry, of which the fol; 
 lowing is an extract of some thirteen hundred lines written some 
 three years ago : 
 
 " The heart its own bitterness truly may know. 
 Yet knows not its share in the causes of woe; 
 Man hides from himself in dust of the fight, 
 And oft in the wrong will deem himself right; 
 Will parry and thrust with passion for guide, 
 'Till truth shall fold pinion and stoop to his pride. 
 
 " There shall be a day when to know and be known. 
 And problems now dark shall all be his own; 
 From thence, looking back on the drama of life. 
 Amazed, he shall glance o'er its causes of .strife, 
 When fools had wrought folly, and wise men had smiled, 
 And echoed the folly, by folly beguiled." 
 
 H. L. MOSS. 
 
 Mr. Moss was born in New York in 1819; graduated at 
 Union College in 1 84O ; studied law and admitted to practice in 
 1 842 ; removed to Wisconsin and resided there several years, 
 when, in 1 848 he moved to Stillwater ; was appointed United 
 States District Attorney in 1 849 for the Territory of Minnesota, 
 and held the office four years; removed to St. Paul in 1851, 
 where he has resided ever since ; in 1 863 he was again appointed 
 United States District Attorney, and held that position up to 
 1 868, since which time he has been engaged in the insurance 
 business. Mr. Moss aided in the organization of the Territory 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 283 
 
 and rendered valuable services at Washington in getting through 
 our land-grant bills. 
 
 MOSS AS A MAN. 
 
 Mr. Moss is a fleshy, easy, good-natured, pleasant gentleman, 
 and by industry has built up a large and profitable insurance 
 business. In early years he was disposed to speculate in new 
 towns with Messrs. Freeborn & Daniels, but of late years has 
 given his attention almost exclusively to his business. He is 
 quiet, undemonstrative, and yet when drawn out in conversation 
 is a good talker, and when somewhat animated, rolls his eyes up 
 towards you in a very peculiar manner. He is deliberate in his 
 movements ; quiet in his every-day life ; but still is always busy 
 doing something. He believes in the doctrine that one can get 
 through the world fast enough without hurrying, and in this he 
 is right. Some men are like little dogs, constantly running about 
 to catch something and never succeeding, while other men move 
 right along and accomplish a good deal. JVIr. Moss enjoys about 
 as much of life as most men, and is respected and esteemed for 
 his many good qualities. 
 
 p. W. NICHOLS. 
 
 Among the first churches the writer attended soon after 
 bringing back to St. Paul a wife from Albany, N. Y., in 1857, 
 was " the little church around the corner " of Ninth and Tem- 
 perance streets, which was erected in 1858. It was the first 
 Congregational Church in St. Paul, and its organization was 
 due chiefly to the faith and puritan zeal of Deacon P. W. 
 Nichols. 
 
 Mr. Nichols was born in Massachusetts in 1806, and came 
 to St. Paul in 185 1 in search of health. He was a retiring, un- 
 assuming man of more than ordinary intellectual ability. He 
 laid foundations for the advancement of the human family in 
 many quiet ways, but it was in organizing and fostering Plymouth 
 Church that his influence in moulding the life of the young city 
 was chiefly felt. He died in 1863. Mrs. Nichols survived him 
 nearly twenty years, and passed away in 1883, beloved by all 
 who knew her, a most beautiful example of a serene Christian 
 old age. 
 
284 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Their son and daughter Hve in St. Paul. Miss Kate 
 Nichols is a young lady of superior ability, while her brother is 
 a quiet, honest, unassuming man. 
 
 GEORGE H. SPENCER. 
 
 Major Spencer (who justly derives his title from being In- 
 dian agent,) was born in Kentucky in 1832 ; educated at Ashbury 
 Academy in Indiana; clerked in a hardware store at Terra 
 liaute ; came to St. Paul in 185.1 ; was engaged by A. L. Lar- 
 penteur for eight, years, and as Larpenteur's trade was mostly 
 with the red men, here he became intimately acquainted with 
 the -Indians, their language, their mode of living, and here he 
 made a friendship with Chaska, (oldest son or first born,) who 
 subsequently saved his life ; was once partner with Major Forbes, 
 who did a general Indian business at a trading post on the west 
 side of Big Stone lake; was there until just before the breaking 
 out of the Indian massacre in 1862 ; was at this time at the Red 
 Wood agency procuring supplies, and having made his purchases 
 was getting ready to go home, when he noticed a number'of In- 
 dians in town who appeared to be on the war-path ; didn't suspect 
 anything wrong ; didn't apprehend any danger ; was standing in 
 the door of Maj. Forbes' store, when he observed that the Indians 
 were surrounding all the buildings, but his fears were dispelled 
 when they told him that they were in search of Chippewas who 
 had been seen in that vicinity only a few days before. 
 
 A THRILLING SCENE SPENCER SHOT. 
 
 While thus looking unsuspectingly upon the scene, the Amer- 
 ican colors on Forbes' flag-staff were run up, as they usually were 
 every morning, (and as it appeared afterward, this was the signal 
 for the Indians to commence the fight,) when instantly from four 
 to five hundred Indians opened fire upon everybody and every- 
 thing within their reach, and the whites fell in every direction. 
 Spencer was hit in the right arm, then in the breast, the ball 
 striking a rib and glancing off; then in the abdomen, tearing 
 open the flesh and making a frightful wound. He staggered to 
 the stairs, closed the door after him and barred it, crawled up to 
 the floor and threw himself upon a bed, while below he could 
 hear the crack of the Indian rifles, the horrible yells of the war- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 2Sr, 
 
 riors and the groans of the dying. All was in a terrible state 
 of confusion. In the room in which he lay were guns and am- 
 munition, and this the Indians knew, so they dared not venture as 
 they were well aware that Spencer could dispute the passage of 
 the stairway, and they knew he had weapons to do it with. 
 
 A GOOD INDIAN FRIEND. 
 
 While lying upon the bed conscious that his time had come 
 to die, he heard a thumping at the door, and recognizing the voice 
 of Chaska — with whom he had fished and hunted when mere 
 boys together — Spencer got up and though very weak, descended 
 the stairs, opened the door and then went back to his bed. 
 Chaska came up, approached the bed ; , asked him if he were 
 much hurt; if he thought he would live, and putting his arm 
 about him conducted him down stairs, where they confronted a 
 gang of Indians who were panting for his blood. Chaska in- 
 stantly threw himself in front of his friend, exclaiming — " I will 
 save this man's life, and whoever hurts him, hurts me ; stand 
 back ! " And notwithstanding he was the head warrior of Little 
 Crow's band, and a man of great influence with the tribe, yet so 
 terribly excited were the Indians that one of them snapped his 
 gun at Spencer twice, but fortunately it did not go off; and then 
 another Indian made for him with a fixed determination to kill 
 him, but Chaska drew his tomahawk, and in a minute more 
 would have slain the assailant, but he and others being afraid 
 withdrew, and Spencer and his friends made for the grass, when 
 he was again set upon by an Indian who informed Chaska that 
 it was well understood that not a white person was to be saved, 
 but Chaska replied — " This man is my friend and he shall live, 
 so be gone," and fearing instant death, as he well knew the de- 
 termined character of Chaska, he left to carry on his murderous 
 career somewhere else. 
 
 A DRINK OF WATER OR DEATH. 
 
 Spencer lay in the grass in pain, when Ta-ti, Chaska's wife, 
 and another squaw made their appearance, and they were in- 
 structed to remain with him and care for him until Chaska could 
 get a horse and wagon to convey him to his tepee. While the 
 women were bending over him they were discovered by the 
 
286 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Indians who again wanted to kill him, but the squaws saved his 
 life. And then, as he lay there, writhing in intense agony, he 
 was attacked with an insatiable thirst for water, and he made up 
 his mind that he might as well die from the bullets of the Indians 
 as from the internal fire which was consuming him, so he broke 
 away from the squaws and with great effort made for a house 
 near by, where the Indians had driven a poor settler up into his 
 loft, and were then trying to kill him. Spencer passed right by 
 these Indians who were watching the man to get a shot at him ; 
 saw a pail filled with water, seized the dipper, and after emptying 
 it twice, came out of the house as he went in with a dipper of 
 water in his hand unmolested, the Indians no doubt thinking, from 
 the blood they saw, that he would soon die. Chaska made his 
 appearance with a one-horse wagon ; loaded it out of the goods 
 taken from Forbes' store, and on top of the tepee cloth thus 
 obtained, placed Spencer, and at the end of four miles lartded 
 him in the lodge of his necarniss, or best friend. When about 
 two miles on the way another body of Indians met them and 
 wanted to Icill Spencer, but Chaska fought them off. Then again 
 during the time he was in the tent of Chaska many sought his 
 life, especially after some Indian had been killed by the whites, 
 but silent, solemn, sullen, determined, Chaska sat with his gun 
 in his hand, ready to kill the first man who entered his tepee 
 door. And thus poor Spencer was nursed and tenderly cared 
 for for six weeks and then delivered to Gen. Sibley safely, by this 
 noble Indian, who had shown undaunted courage and unpar- 
 alleled devotion to his fi-iend. It is sad to think that Chaska 
 was subsequently poisoned while on the Indian expedition, either 
 purposely or accidentally, and his bones now lie on the great 
 plains of Dakota, but one can never forget him or his memory, 
 and that one is — Major George H. Spencer. 
 
 CLERK AND INDIAN AGENT A BAD INDIAN. 
 
 Major Spencer was chief clerk of the subsistence depart- 
 ment of Gen. Sibley's expedition. He was appointed Indian 
 Agent by President Garfield for the Yanktonnais Sioux in 1881, 
 and was afterwards reappointed by President Arthur, but was 
 legislated out of office in consequence of the consolidation of 
 one agency with another, after having held his position one year. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 2ST 
 
 During his term of office he was honest, faithful, a good friend 
 of the Indians and an excellent officer of the government, leav- 
 ing no unsettled or ambiguous accounts behind him when he 
 retired to private life. 
 
 While Major Spencer concedes that he has had some good 
 Indians among his acquaintances, yet he admits that there are 
 also some bad ones. As an illustration, on one occasion he gave 
 credit to an Indian in the shape of traps, powder, shot, pro- 
 visions, etc., to enable him to prosecute his hunt. He made a 
 good catch that season of furs, but instead of paying Spencer 
 what he owed him, he took his furs to Fort Abercrombie and 
 traded them off for whisky. When he returned he was up- 
 braided in rather strong language for his conduct, which offended 
 him. Soon after Spencer had occasion to drink from a pail of 
 water standing near by, and noticing a peculiar taste and being 
 a little suspicious, he permitted two cats to drink out of the same 
 water, when they both died from convulsions in a few mirtutes. 
 He had a heavy mustache which saved his life, for he picked 
 poison enough out of it afterwards to have killed a dozen men, 
 for it acted as a strainer and caught the deleterious drug. He 
 learned subsequently that this Indian managed to empty the con- 
 tents of a bottle of strychnine into the water pail, in hopes to 
 kill Spencer for reprimanding him for his conduct. 
 
 Again, another Indian fired his store-house because he 
 couldn't get credit, but the fire was subdued before any great 
 damage was done. It was no uncommon thing to find arrows 
 sticking into his horses, the work of some devilish Indian because 
 foiled in his efforts to get goods. 
 
 MAJOR SPENCER HIMSELF. 
 
 Personally Spencer is of medium height, very quiet in his 
 ways, cool in his temperament, undemonstrative, a good book- 
 keeper, honest and very courageous, as many incidents in his 
 life show. While laying no claims to literary ability, yet he is a 
 great admirer of literary merit, and had he been differently edu- 
 cated in early life, he might have made his mark as a literary 
 man. He is modest and retiring, and shines only best when 
 among his friends, the outer world knowing but little, of the 
 intrinsic merit of the inner man. 
 
288 PEN PICTURES 
 
 " D N THE LAND ! " 
 
 In early days an old settler had succeeded in getting 
 together a good many acres of land, but as times grew bad 
 he found it quite difficult to raise money with which to pay 
 taxes; indeed he could not pay his taxes. One-day after imbib- 
 ing pretty freely, he soliloquized to himself as follows : 
 
 " Columbus discovered America ! Yes, Columbus thought 
 he was smart ; he found more land than he could use. D — n 
 Columbus! 
 
 " Isabella sent Columbus to discover America ; hadn't got 
 land enough ; oh, no ! wanted all the dirt she could get, of 
 course ! D — n Isabella ! 
 
 " Then that old fool of a husband of Isabella, the King of 
 Spain, hadn't sense enough to see that the land he was grabbing 
 would put him in the poor house ! Oh, no; he knew it ah; he 
 was a western land speculator, and so America was discovered. 
 D — n the King! 
 
 " And then another confounded fool of a man came to this 
 country and scraped up 4,000 acres of land, and thought he was 
 a Vanderbilt, and now he can't pay his taxes ! D — n the land ; 
 I don't want it ; I won't have it ! D — n the country ! D — n 
 Isabella and the King ! D — n Columbus ! " 
 
 And the poor fellow wandered off to drown his sorrow in 
 the flowing bowl, while other old settlers significantly shook their 
 heads and whispered — " A little off, but he's about right." 
 
 WHITE BEAK LAKE. 
 
 This year a party visited White Bear Lake and examined 
 its surroundings. The land about it was then subject to entry, 
 or could be bought for $1.2^1 per acre; worth now several thou- 
 sand dollars per acre. 
 
 F. A. RENZ. 
 
 Mr. Renz was born in 1825, in a town near Baden-Baden, 
 in Germany; arrived at New York in 1846; drifted to North 
 Enfield, New Hampshire, where he commenced blasting out stone 
 for a railroad company ; next was in the employ of the Boston 
 water-works and was discharged without pay '; during his first 
 winter in this country he labored for a farmer at Rutland, Massa- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 289 
 
 chusetts, where he received his board ; returned to New Yorl< 
 City in 1847,. and was employed for four years in a wholesale 
 importing house of French China and glassware ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1 851, it taking a month to make the journey, while now 
 you can make it in less than a week ; here he engaged with a 
 surveying party under Lieut. }. H. Simpson (late General Simp- 
 son,) to survey a Territorial road from Point Douglas to Fort 
 Ripley ; all above St. Anthony was then a wilderness ; returned 
 to St. Paul and engaged in the confectionery and fancy goods 
 business, and was the first candy maker in the State ; disposed of 
 his business in 1857, and went to Kansas; invested some money 
 there; lost it; went to Europe that year; returned in 1858 and 
 commenced farming in Carver County, on a claim he made in 
 1852, where he remained five years; returned to St. Paul in 
 1865 and became a partner with George Benz, but sold out the 
 same year to Major Becht ; then purchased Benzberg's brewery 
 and distillery, which burned down and he lost everything, besides 
 leaving him in debt $2,000 and carrying with the disaster two 
 houses and two lots, which would have been very valuable now. 
 The debt, however, was all paid with interest, Mr. Renz earning 
 the money as United States Gauger, and he is now out of most 
 of his troubles and is in a comfortable condition. 
 
 REAL ESTATE OFFICES— AS A MAN. 
 
 Mr. Renz paid 1^700 for a lot where Dr. Day's hotel now 
 stands, on the corner of Third and Cedar streets, which he sub- 
 .sequently sold for $6,000; now worth $30,000; he owned a 
 house, and lot on Dayton avenue, and one on the corner of 
 Exchange and Seventh streets, which were absorbed in his brew- 
 ery speculation, now very valuable; he also purchased several 
 acres on Summit avenue, which have greatly advanced in price, 
 the past two years. 
 
 When in Carver County he was Chairman of the Super- 
 visors of the township of Ghanhausen ; was elected justice of 
 the peace ; was three times member of the Legislature ; was 
 Register of the United States Land Office at Henderson, appointed 
 by President Lincoln in 1861 ; was elected City Treasurer by the 
 City Council of St. Paul to fill a vacancy, July, 1873, and held 
 
 19 
 
290 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the office to June, 1882; was Superintendent and Secretary of 
 the St. Paul work-house, but has recently resigned. 
 
 Mr. E.enz is a quiet, industrious gentleman, and has toiled 
 hard to get where he is financially to-day. He has seen a good 
 many ups and downs, but has surmounted all his trouble, and is 
 now enjoying perhaps as much of life's pleasures as most men.. 
 He is active, positive, tenacious, undaunted, and as superintend- 
 ent of the v/ork-house filled admirably an important position ta 
 which his talents fit him. He is a man of ordinary size ; a little 
 bent in the shoulders and moves along about his business in an 
 enei-getic manner. He is a good man and a useful citizen, and 
 his career is a striking illustration of what one can accomplish 
 by pluck, energy, industry and perseverance. 
 
 A FEW EVENTS OF THIS YEAR THE WINSLOW HOUSE. 
 
 The old Winslow House which used to stand on the corner 
 of Seventh and Third streets, and which was erected by Jame& 
 M. Winslow, was commenced this year. The writer was at the 
 opening of this house when completed, in 1853, and partook of 
 the first meal. It was kept by Mr. Deuel, and under it was a 
 bank, a drug store, and the first railroad ticket office in the Terri- , 
 tory, run by a Captain George, long since dead. In front of it 
 bubbled up a stream of spring water. In its day it was a popular 
 hotel, but like some fourteen other buildings of this character, it 
 burned down in the year 1862. Capt. George, and Ward, and 
 Rich, and Billy Snell, and some of the Deuel family, and many 
 others, once the occupants and attaches of this house, are dead ! 
 And thus moves on the world, obliterating the land-marks of the 
 past, and bringing to view new faces in place of the old ones 
 which are gone forever ! 
 
 THE OLD CATHEDRAL A WHIG ORGAN HOOK AND LADDER CO. 
 
 The old brick Cathedral now standing on Wabasha street, 
 was completed this year, and it was a great event, not only for 
 the Catholic Church, but for the city itself It answered the 
 purposes for which it was built until the present stone Cathedral 
 took its place. 
 
 Politicians will remember the days of the Whig party when 
 Henry Clay was its idol and Daniel Webster the great expounder 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 291 
 
 of its principles. They will remember later along of " Tippecanoe 
 and Tyler too," and then of the death of the partj' and the in- 
 coming of the great Republican organization which remained in 
 power twenty-five years. Looking back over a quarter of a 
 century one can see many changes, and among them the fact 
 that in 1851, thirty-four years ago, the Weekly Minnesotian, a 
 Whig organ, was started in this city by John P. Owens, John C. 
 Terry being publisher. In those days men were more personal 
 than now, and as a result, growing out of political attacks, 
 Owens had several assaults thrust upon him, but he -outlived 
 them, entered the Republican party, fought its battles for years 
 and died in 1884. 
 
 R. C. Knox, over six feet tall and now a resident of either 
 Montana or Colorado, started a movement for a hook and ladder 
 company in 1851, which was successful, and from this beginning 
 has grown our present fire department. Five of the ladders then 
 in use were subsequently owned by the old Pioneer Hook and 
 Ladder Company, and did good service for many years. 
 
 JAMES K. HOFFMAN AS A MAN. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman was born in Pennsylvania in 1831 ; received a 
 common school education; came to St. Paul in 1851 ; was en- 
 gaged two years with John R. Irvine in running a saw mill; 
 worked for D. L. Fuller three years; tool: charge of Wm. L. 
 Ames' mill, which stood at the foot of Dayton's bluff, and ran it 
 for some time ; then entered a grocery store one year ; rented 
 the store and continued the business up to 1873 ; was appointed 
 State Inspector of Oil, and held the office seven years ; was 
 Alderman for six years, and is now engaged partly in looking to 
 his own business and that of C. D. GilfiUan. 
 
 Mr. Hoffinan as a man is of good size physically, and pos- 
 sesses a well-developed brain ; very quiet in his ways, and unob- 
 trusive in his manner. He has pulled through all the financial 
 crashes, and though not immensely rich yet he is comfortably 
 well off; has paid every dollar of his debts, and of course is a 
 happy man, for nothing conduces so much to one's real hap- 
 piness as the fact that he is out of debt with a small income to 
 support life. Happy man ! 
 
292 PEN PICTURES 
 
 JOSJiPH FORD, SR. 
 
 Born in New York State in 1825 ; labored on a farm until 
 sixteen years old ; learned the hatter's trade ; worked in various 
 places throughout the country; studied law in New York City; 
 was the original young man in 1841 whom Horace Greeley ad- 
 vised " to go west ; " made a claim in Illinois ; sold the land for 
 ;^ii per acre; now worth ^lOO per acre; was in the Western 
 Reserve College, Ohio, three years; was in Chicago in 1846, 
 where he worked at his trade; came to St. Paul in 1851 ; 
 studied law with Rice, Hollinshead & Becker ; was admitted to 
 the bar and practiced law in the Territory and State ; was clerk of 
 the House of Representatives in 1852-3 ; was the first man who 
 enlisted in Company A Seventh Regiment ; Served all through 
 the war and was in nearly every battle ; was never off duty a day 
 for sickness or otherwise, until after the siege and taking of Mo- 
 bile, Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, Alabama, and on the last 
 march from these battles and victories he was stricken down 
 insensible by a sun-stroke, was conveyed to a hospital and sub- . 
 sequently discharged. He received a back pension of ^^8,000, 
 and now receives ^72 per month. 
 
 BUILT THE FIRST HOUSE AT NORTHFIELD PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Ford made the first claim and built the first house and 
 ploughed the first field and was the first settler in the oi'iginal 
 narrow limits of the village of Northfield ; he was the original 
 political ring smasher in the Territory ; was the original Blaine 
 man in Rice County; was a correspondent of the St. Paul Daily 
 Times ; also correspondent of Eastern papers, etc., etc., and did 
 considerable in early days to induce emigrants to come to Min- 
 nesota. He was sick for several years after his sun-stroke in the 
 army, when he partially recovered, and is now and has been for 
 some time living in Northfield, Minnesota, carrying on farming. 
 
 Mr. Ford is a man of decided ability and force of character ; 
 active, intelligent, industrious, pushing, but ill-health has greatly 
 marred a somewhat eventful life. He enjoys a good pension 
 from the government , has a nice farm, and is well satisfied with 
 his present prospects, as well he may be, as he can truly exclaim 
 with Shakespeare — " All's well that ends well." 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 293 
 
 GEORGE IRVINE. 
 
 George Irvine is a brother of the late well-known John R. 
 Irvine, and was born in New York in 1815; received a common 
 school education ; learned the trade of a tanner and currier ; car- 
 ried on business in Pennsylvania and Cincinnati ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1851 ; commenced his career here by hoeing a patch of 
 four Or five acres of potatoes where College avenue now is ; to- 
 gether with his brother John, framed the old saw mill which 
 stood near the upper levee and which was run for years ; and 
 following this the brothers purchased a stock of groceries and 
 provisions at St. Louis and opened a store as partners in a build- 
 ing on Third street where the Empire block used to stand, and 
 continued this business up to 1853, when, in 1854 they built the 
 warehouse on the upper levee and opened a forwarding and com- 
 mission trade, which they carried on for a year ; moved their 
 stock to a building corner of Exchange and Third streets, which 
 building was erected in 1848. In 1855 Mr. Irvine constructed 
 the brick dwelling on Pleasant avenue, now owned by Dr. Bris- 
 bine. 
 
 FIRST LEATHER STORE IN ST. PAUL REAL ESTATE. 
 
 Mr. Irvine being a. tanner induced Kessler & Rhiel to open 
 the first leather store in this city, and he became one of the part- 
 ners. The store was in the old Rice House, on upper Third 
 street, and here they carried on a leather, hides and finding busi- 
 ness, and it yielded a good profit. He left the concern in 1856, 
 and in 1857 opened a grocery store which he ran up to 1861 ; 
 in 1 864 he became a policeman and continued one year, when 
 he opened a boarding house, and later carried on the Arcade on 
 Robert street for a little over three years and a half; went to 
 California in 1873 ; was in Colorado a year; in New York and 
 Boston in 1875 ; returned to St. Paul in 1876 and the same 
 year became connected with the Merchants hotel, and has been 
 there in various positions ever since. 
 
 Mr. Irvine did not procure a great deal of real estate in the 
 early days, as his brother John used to tell him he had enough 
 for himself and all his brothers, but he purchased two lots on 
 Pleasant avenue, for which he paid ^500; worth now ^20,000; 
 two lots on College avenue, cost ;^400; sold for $1000, worth 
 
294 PEN PICTURES 
 
 $lo,QOO. And, singular as it may appear, this is tlie extent of 
 his real estate transactions. 
 
 GEORGE AS HE IS. 
 
 Mr. Irvine is now close to seventy years. His hair is white, 
 and he stoops a little, and yet he is as vigorous as many men at 
 fifty. He has had a peculiar and checkered life ; was not born 
 with a golden spoon in his mouth ; has found it pretty hard to 
 even get a silver one ; " has boxed the compass ; " has flown to 
 "ills he knew not of;" has fought life's battle fiercely; has been 
 imposed upon, and yet he is quiet, philosophical, pleasant, step- 
 ping carefully down the decline that leads to the final end, and 
 is quite willing to cross the little bridge to the other shore. 
 
 THEN AND NOW. 
 
 In 1 85 1 400 Indians were engaged gathering cranberries 
 out at Rice lake, only a few miles from St. Paul, and in the fall 
 of this year twenty-five bears were killed at the same place. It 
 was a common thing to see fifty Indians in the town at one time. 
 Now no Indians can be seen ; no bears are visible ; population 
 has set in, and where these elements o!" barbarism existed, are 
 farms, railroads, towns, cities, civilization. The undertow of the 
 wave of immigration could thus early be heard rumbling from the 
 East, and on it came, sweeping back the Indians and opening a 
 new light into the dark recesses of a forest of a comparatively 
 unexplored and an undeveloped region. 
 
 DEWITT CLINTON COOLEY. 
 
 Judge Cooley, by which name he is more generally known, 
 is one of the familiar personages of the past in the city of St. 
 Paul, a sort of index board marking the years long since gone ; 
 and although the younger portion of the community may not 
 know him, the old settlers can soon pick him out of the jostling 
 crowds that swarm our sidewalks. Born in the State of New 
 York in 1824, he received a thorough education, and after the 
 study of law for five years, at the age of twenty-one he passed 
 a searching examination by the late Charles O. Connor, of New 
 York city, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 295 
 
 that State. He subsequently removed South, and in 1851 came 
 to St. Paul for the benefit of his health. 
 
 « 
 
 OFFICES HELD AS A WRITER. 
 
 Soon after his arrival here he was made Town Attorney 
 '{there was then no city,) and became City Attorney when the 
 town' assumed that dignity. He was also elected Attorney for 
 Ramsey County, and held both offices simultaneously. He was 
 isole commissioner to draft and revise the first ordinances adopted 
 by the new city ; was also the first Pension Agent in Minnesota. 
 After practicing law in this city up to 1 864, he removed to Wilkes- 
 barre, Penn., but at the expiration of ten years returned to St. 
 Paul, where he has remained almost uninterruptedly ever since. 
 
 Judge Cooley possesses peculiar talents as a writer, his 
 principal forte being fun and sarcasm, and yet he prepared a most 
 useful index digest of the tax laws of Minnesota, which not only 
 received the sanction of the State, but elicited high commenda- 
 tion from the bench and the bar. He is well known as the origi- 
 nator and promoter of the Third House of Representatives of 
 the State ; that is, many citizens came together voluntarily and 
 went through the formality of organizing the Third House, and 
 then listening to the reading of the Governor's message, which 
 was usually written by Cooley, many times ridiculing men and 
 measures and parties, but more generally it was a take-off on 
 the genuine Legislature then in session at the Capitol. In these 
 papers Judge Cooly showed point, fun, sarcasm, sense and non- 
 sense. He also later delivered a lecture on " Old Settlers," in 
 which he endeavored to bring out their weak points and yet in 
 a manner not to offend. He has also written some dramatic 
 •compositions as well as verse ; and quite recently has compiled a 
 book, but upon what particular subject the public are not yet 
 advised. He dealt but little in real estate, but at one time owned 
 .a fine piece of property on the old St. Anthony road, but after 
 the death of his wife, sold it. His domestic afflictions have been 
 very sad. 
 
 AS HE IS. 
 
 Judge Cooley is a short, thick-set man, with strong features 
 .and hair silvered with gray, with a well-poised head and a firm 
 
296 PEN PICTURES 
 
 step. His nature runs to fun as naturally as the duck seeks the 
 water, and in conversation he usually brings out the amusing 
 part of life. He is always good-natured, and when interested 
 in conversation picks his left hand with his right finger nail, and 
 this motion is intensified as the conversation grows more earnest. 
 He is quite unassuming ; is not in love with the law sufficiently 
 to practice a great deal, but devotes most of his time to literary 
 pursuits, and when he gets into the proper groove — if he ever 
 does — the public will stop and examine his merits. 
 
 WM. TAYLOR DONALDSON AN OLD FIREMAN REAL ESTATE. 
 
 Mr. Donaldson was born of English parents, in Ohio, in 
 1825; lived on his father's farm until eighteen years old, when 
 he went to Cincinnati to become acquainted with the practical 
 working of business ; came to St. Paul in 1851 and formed a 
 partnership with J. D. Pollock, and this firm has existed from 
 that day to this, or thirty -four years, being the oldest firm in the 
 city, although Wm. Constans individually has been the longest 
 continuously in business here. 
 
 Mr. Donaldson early identified himself with the fire depart- 
 ment of this city ; indeed he was among the very first, and re- 
 mained with it as an active member until it passed out of the 
 hands of the volunteer members into the control of the city. 
 While performing his duties as a fireman he was injured, and 
 remained disabled for some time. Although Mr. Donaldson did 
 not enter the army he contributed toward the support of the gov- 
 ernment during the war, and by strict attention to business has 
 secured a comfortable property. Married a Miss Thorne in 1 873 ; 
 has two children. 
 
 In 1 85 1, in connection with Mr. Pollock, his partner, Mr. 
 Donaldson purchased four lots on the corner of Broadway and 
 Fifth streets, for ^100. He sold some of them for $1,700 and 
 the balance for ^20,000. He bought thirty acres on the shores 
 of Lake Phelan for ^125, worth now ;g5,ooo; secured two five- 
 acre lots in Hoyt's addition for ;^ioo; sold for ^3,000; worth 
 now $ 1 2,000. 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Mr. Donaldson is a tall, slender gentleman, unpretentious, 
 cool, cautious, methodical, and honest. He and his partner have 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 297 
 
 worked harmoniously in the same harness for thirty-four years, 
 and during that period have passed through some very depress- 
 ing times, and yet they have withstood the financial storms and 
 have the honor — -and it is an enviable one — of being the oldest 
 firm in the city. Mr. Donaldson was about twenty-six years old 
 when he came here; then a young man with no gray hairs or 
 wrinkles ; now he is on the shady side of life and prefers the old 
 rocking-chair to the merry jingle of hilarity in the ball-room. 
 Possessing a handsome house and surrounded with all the com- 
 forts vouchsafed to man, very few enjoy to a greater degree the 
 family circle than Mr. Donaldson ; and thus in declining years. 
 he has become mellowed with contentment and is satisfied with 
 a life well spent. 
 
 WILLIAM S. COMBS. 
 
 A small, delicate, slender, exceedingly pleasant young man, 
 then only twenty years old, came to St. Paul thirty-four years 
 ago, and who does not remember him ? His pleasant smile, his 
 affable manners, his genial ways, how like warm rays of sunshine 
 they come back and knock at the door of memory! The li;tle 
 slender youth has grown into manhood now and has filled out 
 physically into fine proportions, has passed the meridian of life, 
 is stepping down into the valley of old age, but the geniality of 
 the past is still there, the old smile is still there, the old warm and 
 generous heart is still there, the sincere real man is still there. 
 
 William S. Combs was born in the city of New York in 
 1831 ; was educated at the public schools of that city; removed 
 to Kentucky in 1 843 ; resided in Lexington five years ; in St. 
 Louis in 1848, and located in St. Paul in 1851, opening a book 
 and stationery store in the fall of that year ; broke his leg when 
 at St. Louis purchasing goods ; returned to St. Paul ; sold out 
 and kept books in the winter of 185 1-2 at Mendota for Gen. 
 Sibley; married Miss Carrie White, May 10, 1852, while at 
 Oxford, Ohio; took an active part in the public schools and 
 served as president of the Board of Education as well as secretary 
 for many years ; and as chairman of the building committee gave 
 his personal attention to the erection of some of the largest and 
 most expensive school buildings in the city, among which were 
 the Jefferson, Madison and Lincoln, and was connected with the 
 
298 PEN PICTURES 
 
 school board over sixteen years, giving his time freely to the 
 public good to the detriment of his legitimate business. 
 
 THE FORT SNELLING CLAIM ASSOCIATION. 
 
 In early days a body of men associated themselves together 
 to protect each other in holding their claims, and of this body of 
 men H. M. Rice was president, and William S. Combs was sec- 
 retary. Very often it happened that a valuable claim would be 
 taken possession of by some interloper, and then the power of 
 the association was called in to evict him. Gn one occasion a 
 man and his family had erected a shanty on the claim owned by 
 a Dr. Bidwell, of this city, and as he would not go off the mem- 
 bers of the association met and commenced tearing down the 
 building. When the shanty had become nearly divested of its 
 outer covering, Dominick Troyer, a large and powerful man, 
 seized the uprights that supported the roof, and then he gave the 
 man and his family fair warning that if they did not get out in 
 three minutes he would let the roof down upon their heads, and 
 seeing that he meant business, they " got," and Bidwell again 
 took possession of his claim. 
 
 TAUGHT THE FIRST PENMANSHIP MASONIC RECORD OFFICES. 
 
 While Mr. Combs was carrying on his book business in a 
 building on Third street, next to the old Times office, he divided 
 off a little room in the back part of his store, and there intro- 
 duced penmanship and book-keeping, the first of the kind ever 
 taught in Minnesota. He was an industrious and ambitious 
 young man, and filled up the time in this way to advance his 
 pecuniary interests. 
 
 Mr. Combs is a member of Ancient , Landmark Lodge, No. 
 S ; Minnesota Royal Arch Chapter, No. I ; St. Paul Council of 
 R. and S. M. ; all of the Scottish Rite bodies, to the thirtieth 
 degree ; served the Grand Lodge as its grand secretary from 1 866 
 to 1877; and the Grand Royal Arch Chapter as grand secretary 
 from 1867 to 1877 ; was M. P. G. M. of the Grand Council for a 
 year. 
 
 He was an active member of the first Board of Trade and its 
 secretary for several years. When the Chamber of Commerce 
 was formed he was an active member of that body for several 
 
OF ST. PA UL, M1N^\ 299 
 
 years. He was also an early member of the Pioneer Guards, the 
 first military company in the State. 
 
 Mr. Combs did not deal much in real estate, but he purchased 
 in 1853 eighty acres of land near what is now known as Post's 
 Siding, for i^/oo ; at present worth ^80,000. Of course like all 
 the rest of ^the old settlers he let it go for just what it cost him. 
 It is the old story ; I need not repeat it. 
 
 THE REAL MAN. 
 
 For thirty odd years I have known Mr. Combs quite inti- 
 mately, and have always found him an agreeable and pleasant 
 gentleman. His sunny nature has never left him and clings to 
 him even now. His early history West is full of romance, and 
 very few could pass through the many trials he encountered 
 when a mere boy, without greatly marring even a less perfect 
 disposition than that which is owned by Mr. Combs, and yet he 
 is as genial to-day as he was over a quarter of a century ago. 
 A fine looking man, straight, commanding, with a frank, free, 
 open countenance, he wins his way among his fellow-men, and 
 though not blessed with a superabundance of this world's goods, 
 yet he scatters pearls of sunshine wherever he goes, and thus I 
 leave him^" the noblest Roman of them all." 
 
 " BACKWARD, TURN BACKWARD." 
 
 "Backward, turn backward, O time in your flight, 
 Make me a child again just for tonight! 
 Mother, come back from the echoless shore, 
 Take me again to your heart as of yore. 
 Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care, 
 Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair; 
 Over my slumbers your loving watch keejD — 
 Rock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep." 
 
 CHARLES J. STEES INDIANS— A NOVEL SIGHT. 
 
 Capt. Stees was born in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, in 1834; 
 came to St. Paul in i 85 i . He was three weeks on the way from 
 his native place to this city, while the trip can now be made in 
 less than three days. This year (1851,) the river was high, the 
 water coming up to William Constans' warehouse steps. 
 
 Hearing of the Indian treaty going on at Mendota, he 
 remained on the boat and went up there. Here thousands of 
 
300 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Dacotahs or Sioux had assembled to make a treaty with United 
 States Commissioner Luke Lea and Gov. Ramsey ; the bluffs and 
 surrounding hills were covered with Indian tepees, while chiefs, 
 braves, warriors, squaws, pappooses and dogs crowded around 
 Sibley's trading post and young Stees' heart beat with wondrous 
 and admiring excitement, he being just from school and full of 
 Fennimore Cooper's romantic ideas of the noble red man of the 
 forest, but subsequent events served to change his sentiments in 
 regard to the " Redskins," for eleven years later — during the 
 Sioux massacre of 1862 — he had an opportunity to face these 
 same redskins in battle and assisted in capturing many of them 
 and recapturing a large number of white women and children 
 and one white man, who were held as prisoners by them. Some 
 of the braves made very fine speeches, were very eloquent and 
 graceful in their oratory, and had a very happy, don't-carative- 
 ness manner of speaking some wholesome truths which the com- 
 missioners were not delighted to hear. The whole scene was a 
 picture never to be forgotten. 
 
 GRASS AND HAZEL NUTS ON THIRD STREET. 
 
 As a boy, fresh from Philadelphia, Capt. Stees was not favor- 
 ably impressed with St. Paul as a village, with its board shanties 
 and less numerous frame houses. West St. Paul was then a 
 forest of fine tall trees, the grass was green along Third street, 
 and he gathered hazel nuts corner Third and Minnesota. An old 
 log barn belonging to the Catholic mission, stood where the Pio- 
 neer Press stands now. The stable of the Central House stood 
 where Mannheimer's block now is, and Bill Taylor's barber shop 
 and Bass' post office occupied a one-story frame about where 
 Schleik's shoe store is. The Fremont House, with its pet bear, 
 stood on a " pretty bench " overlooking a beautiful view of the 
 river, and there was a magnificent promenade along the bluff 
 facing the Mississippi, from Jackson to Wabasha street, which 
 Col. Goodhue always advocated should be reserved by the city 
 as a boulevard. Had his wishes been carried out St. Paul would 
 possess to-day a front view which for a promenade and beauty of 
 scenery would be unsurpassed on this continent. The writer 
 earnestly advocated the preservation of this same boulevard in 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINX. 301 
 
 1854, but cupidity overrode sagacity, and the opportunity has 
 now probably gone forever. 
 
 REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Across Third street, below Cedar, about where Boeringer's 
 store is, there was a ledge of rocks out of which a constant ooz- 
 ing and dripping of water came, making the walking muddy and 
 disagreeable for the ladies, so the McCloud Brothers furnished 
 the necessary lumber in the shape of empty hardware boxes, 
 and R. West McCloud, Ike Markley and C. J. Stees laid the first 
 sidewalk in St. Paul, from Minnesota street on Third to the foot 
 of this ledge of rocks, and the ladies were thus enabled to pass 
 dry-shod over this spot to the Rev. E. D. Neill's brick church, 
 corner Third and Market, where it was not an unusual sight to 
 see Indians march into church their bells and trinkets jingling 
 and squat themselves down on the floor of the aisle and listen to 
 the religious discourse of the minister. Baptist Hill also had its 
 little church — from which the hill derived its name — and was 
 well attended. Presley's little candy store was a resort on Sun- 
 days, especially by Indians, who would hang around until Bart 
 would come out and treat them. He would give them a peck 
 of decayed apples and they would invariably pick out the rotten- 
 est and ripest and enjoy them most. Simpson's trading post, 
 corner Third and Robert, and old Creek's log cabin back of it 
 on the bluff, was also a resort. The arrival and opening of Cur- 
 ran's World's Fair — dry-goods store — on the opposite corner, 
 with his daughters as lady clerks, was a social event in St. Paul 
 which set the young men in a flutter. Charlie Cave's saloon on 
 Third street, with its walls painted full of Indian scenes and 
 Indian life was considered something very grand in those days. 
 Signs out at night denoted keno as being played up stairs, and 
 gambling was in full blast open and above board. On the bridge, 
 reaching across from the First National Bank to the Gilfillan 
 block, corner Fourth and Jackson streets, could always be found 
 a group of Sioux Indians intently watching the building of a 
 brick culvert, and fhey were disappointed and astonished at not 
 seeing the brick fall in when the wooden supports were taken 
 out ; they could not understand the philosophy of the arch. 
 
302 PUN PICTURES 
 
 Here was Lot Moffett's first house, over which he built his cas- 
 tle, the first floor of the latter commencing where the roof of 
 the former left off. Larpenteur's store, corner Third and Jack- 
 son, was always full of Indians selling their peltries and furs and 
 buying powder and shot, or knick-knacks. Wm. H. Forbes' 
 trading post and Minnesota Outfit was at the foot of Third street, 
 corner of Jackson, where scores of Indians could always be found 
 lying around on summer evenings, shooting rats with their bows 
 and arrows by twilight. Tom Reed's grocery store was always 
 a resort for Jackson, Jim Thompson and huriters, trappers and 
 frontiersmen generally, who congregated there at night, sitting 
 on boxes, barrels, etc., telling yarns by the light of a tallow dip 
 of hunting, trapping, fighting Indians and hair-breadth escapes. 
 On one occasion one of them purchased a violin and among 
 other tunes played " Home, Sweet Home," and it brought tears 
 to the eyes of these rough buckskin-shirted pioneers. 
 
 FIRST BIG FIRE IN ST. PAUL. 
 
 The first big fire in St. Paul was Daniel's hotel in 1851, at 
 the upper levee; the building had just been finished and fur- 
 nished but not occupied, and it burned like a tinder box, and 
 there was no fire apparatus excepting some ladders and buckets, 
 and Stees says his shoulder was very sore from carrying the 
 former until big Tom Knox stopped a farmer's team and im- 
 pressed it by turning the horses around and loading up the lad- 
 ders. He says that the Rev. E. D. Neill's fine broadcloth suit 
 was no drawback to his duty as a citizen at a fire, for he worked 
 like a Trojan carrying out the fui-niture. Tom Knox, Bart 
 Presley and Wash Stees were three of the muscular fire laddies 
 of those days. About this time, with Ike Markley and others, 
 young Stees made a pre-emption claim on the bluff, on the west 
 side of the river opposite the Presbyterian Church. They 
 together put up a log shanty, provisioned it, and hired a man to 
 hold possession, although the treaty had not yet been ratified. 
 Such a claim would now be worth ^150,000. 
 
 The high steps running from the lower levee to the top of 
 the bluff, was always a resort for the young men of the village on 
 Sunday afternoons, and on one occasion a party had assembled 
 there when a Winnebago Indian came along and by his accou- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINy. 303 
 
 trements, etc., he was recognized as a courier to the Indian vil- 
 lage opposite. Ned West, a dissipated young fellow from New 
 York, and "half-shot," stopped the Indian and accosted him, 
 but the latter took no notice of him and seemed anxious to pass 
 by, but Ned stood in his way and continued to jabber Dacotah to 
 him. The Winnebago would not answer but passed him, when 
 Ned gave the Chippewa war-whoop, and the former flew down 
 the stairs like a deer and out upon the ice, when he stopped and 
 examined the priming of his rifle, while the boys on the steps 
 began to look for shelter. Seeing his gun all right he started on 
 the run as before, and in two minutes the western shores 
 resounded with war-whoops and yells from Little Crow's band, 
 who had heard Ned's war-whoop and thought some of their 
 friends in danger. It caused some merriment, but it was a dan- 
 gerous joke. Jimmy Peck, a paper-hanger from New York, 
 came here to make his fortune, but he was in advance of the 
 times. If people had a roof over their heads they were satisfied 
 and desired no such luxury as paper on their walls. Jimmy was 
 unfortunate, but could work at nothing else. He was homesick, 
 but had no money to get away, so in his distress he conficfed his 
 troubles to Charlie Stees, who borrowed a loaf of home-made 
 bread, some cheese and cold meat from Mrs. W. M. Stees — 
 unknown to her — a canoe from an Indian in like manner, and 
 Jimmy was sent floating down the river homeward bound, late 
 at night, on his way rejoicing. He was a good fellow only ahead 
 of the times. 
 
 INDIANS AND THE BEGGAR DANCE. 
 
 Little Crow's band frequently came to town and indulged in 
 various dances in front of the trading posts where they bartered 
 skins, furs and pelts and traded generally, and on such occasions 
 the traders invariably made them presents of calico, tobacco, etc. 
 Twice a year they came to these posts on a begging expedition 
 and danced the beggar dance, which was very amusing to witness ; 
 they were in a nearly nude condition, with their bodies daubed 
 with blue earth, indicating their poverty, and they presented a 
 hideous appearance. They formed in a circle and danced in 
 front of a store until something was given them, and some portly 
 Indians looked very comical as they jumped up and down, their 
 
304 PEN PICTURES 
 
 fat sides shaking like so many porpoises. 'Twas amusing to 
 witness the struggle between modesty and curiosity as evinced 
 by the ladies of St. Paul of those early days, who were eager to 
 see the spectacle and yet did not wish to be recognized, so they 
 peeped from behind window curtains to the amusement of the 
 male portion of the community. 
 
 INDIAN FORMER MODE OF FISHING IN WEST ST. PAUL. 
 
 Capt. Stees speaks of enjoying New Year's day with Little 
 Crow's, band fishing in the ice in one of the sloughs where West 
 St. Paul now stands. The Indian mode of fishing in winter is 
 to cut three holes in the ice two feet square, at an equal distance 
 from the shores. This is repeated several times about every one 
 hundred yards, and at each of these holes is placed a squaw with 
 a hickory switch with three hooks attached at the end. She 
 kneels down at the hole and throws her blanket over her head 
 and the hole so as to exclude the light and she can then see 
 plainly into the water. After the squaws have taken their posi- 
 tions at the holes, say thirty or forty, the entire band go down 
 the banks a quarter of a mile below the first set of holes, and 
 come on to the ice each provided with a heavy club similar to a 
 street-paver, and pound on the ice while moving toward the holes, 
 at the same time they dance, sing and yell most vociferously, 
 making the most frightful noise imaginable, pertaining more to 
 the infernal regions than to mother earth. With all this hideous 
 music they approach the openings in the ice, and of course the 
 fish are frightened and rush along until they come to the holes, 
 when, seeing the light, they make a pause and become huddled 
 up together in a mass. Now is the time for the squaws, and they 
 take advantage of the opportunity and whip the fish out as rap- 
 idly as a Chinaman will throw rice into his mouth with his chop 
 sticks. The fish that escape the squaws' hooks at the first set 
 of holes are again driven on by the same musical band that 
 comes stamping after them to the next set of holes, where they 
 meet the same fate as their predecessors, and so on until they 
 have run the entire gauntlet and become quite decimated. Some- 
 times over fifty fish are taken at one passing at each hole. When 
 all the holes are passed and the Indians are not satisfied with 
 their success, they proceed around by land, head the fish off, 
 
OF ST. PA UL. MINN. 305 
 
 ■drive' them back and compel them to run the gauntlet the second 
 time. Some of these fish weighed as much as eighteen pounds. 
 Who thinks of fishing now in West St. Paul except for lots ? 
 
 NO APPRECIATION OF MONEY. 
 
 The Indian did not seem to appreciate the value of money. 
 The Captain has seen a party of Indians at a payment receive 
 over ^loo each, and then come to St. Paul and spend every cent 
 ■of it in less than two hours. They would buy blankets and 
 strings of sleigh-bells with which they would cover their horse's 
 back with one string and his neck full with the others and then 
 gallop around town in grand triumph, and by night they pos- 
 sessed neither horse nor blanket, and not even a bell. They inva- 
 riably spent their money foolishly and came into town hundreds 
 at a time on horseback, single file, bells jingling, fanta.stically 
 ■dressed and painted, whooping, yelling, creating an exciting as 
 well as ludicrous sight. Their purchases were generally traded 
 off for whisky, and that 's where the bells, blankets and horses 
 went. 
 
 THE CHARACTERS OF THE DAY IN 1 85 1, 
 
 Were Lott Moffett, Judge Kennedy, Louis Robert, C. P. 
 Lull, Charlie Cave, Joe Rolette, Bon. Syphers, Ned West, Ike 
 Markley, John P. Owens, Jim Vincent, Bill Shelly, Seisholtz, Col. 
 McKenty, of " Broad Acres," Col. Goodhue, Sam Sargent, Col. 
 Burton, of the Central House; Jackson, the postmaster; Bill 
 Taylor, the barber, who played at all the dances ; Frank Collins 
 and French, the auctioneers ; Nat Spicer, the watchmaker ; George 
 Reisdorff, the drayman ; Old Napoleon Heitz, Jim Thompson, 
 the ferryman ; Tom Odell, with a squaw wife ; Parson Wil- 
 loughby, of the .(Eolian Church ; Old Bets and Wooden-legged 
 Jim, her brother ; Hock-Washta, an old Indian eighty years of 
 age, who always wore a plug hat full of ribbons and pieces of 
 calico, who was a public pensioner ; Julia, the pretty squaw ; 
 • Popcorn Johnson, the popcorn vender. Among the prisoners 
 taken at Camp Release was " Old Bets' " mother, who afterwards 
 died in the squaw pen at Fort Snelling in the winter of 1 862-3. 
 
 MEMORY OF THE FIRST FURNITURE STORE. 
 
 W. M. Stees' furniture store where Capt. Stees first went to 
 work, was situated on a French Catholic burial ground, and a 
 20 
 
306 PEN PICTURES 
 
 small picket fence was placed around each grave. On the corner 
 of Third and Minnesota streets, where the present brick block now 
 stands, was erected a shanty about 20 x 40 feet, one-story high ;: 
 the sides were upright boards with a board roof, and the rear of 
 the building set on stilts, the front resting on Third street. The 
 surroundings were hazel bushes, there being no building betweea 
 it and the top of the hill, near Cedar street. Two dozen chairs, 
 as many bedsteads and tables, were deemed a considerable stock 
 of furniture. Six chairs, a bedstead and table was quite a bill of 
 sale in those days. Selling a bureau was an event worthy to be 
 talked about. Then they made most of their furniture, and the 
 bed-posts were turned by a turning lathe which was a liberal per- 
 spiration-generator and human legs the motive power. He spealis 
 of taking a piece of furniture to deliver at Louis Olivier's house, 
 somewhere west of Wabasha and north of Fifth street and came 
 near getting his horse mired in the bog. At another time he 
 was sent to put up a bedstead for A. L. Larpenteur and the pres- 
 ence of a pretty lady so embarrassed him that he sawed off the 
 slats entirely too short and had to go back after new ones. He 
 speaks of making a "gable end" coffin, with "split roof" and 
 working all night in order to have it finished in time. The idea 
 of keeping ready-made coffins on hand in those days would have 
 been deemed a sacrilege and the party doing so liable to a 
 lynching. 
 
 THE OLDEST UNDERTAKER IN MINNESOTA. 
 
 Capt. Stees is the oldest undertaker now in the business in 
 the State. He has seen young ladies of St. Paul marry, become 
 mothers and grandmothers and then bury some of their children 
 and grandchildren. His first case was at Mendota and the corpse 
 Mr. Frank Steele's child. After making the casket Wash and 
 he took the same up in a buggy, and half-way between here and 
 Fort Snelling their pony stuck in a swamp and the mosquitoes 
 liked to eat them up, drawing blood every time they presented 
 their bills. The second case was that of a young man who froze 
 to death in his cabin two and a half miles from town. He was 
 found with his knees on the floor, his arms on the bed and his 
 head resting on his arms in a praying posture, frozen as hard as a 
 rock. In this position the body was brought to an old carpenter 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 307 
 
 shop at the bridge, corner Fourth and Jackson streets, where 
 Gilfillan block now stands. Here an old scow was procured and 
 filled half full of water ; then a fire was built on the ground floor, 
 some stones heated red hot and thrown into the water to heat it 
 in order to thaw out the body. Prior to this word was sent up 
 to come and take the measure for a coffin. Tom Reed was 
 coroner. Capt. Stees went down and asked where the body was. 
 One of the men pointed to a corner where an object was con- 
 cealed under a blanket ; he raised the blanket and there lay the 
 man in a reversed position from that in which he was found ; 
 knees doubled up and his arms crossed over his forehead and 
 eyes wide open. It was a. horrible sight and Charlie was fright- 
 ened and went home, telhng his brother Wash he had better go 
 down and measure that body, the recollection of which time can 
 never efface. The deceased was an eccentric genius who planted 
 cedar posts around his claim and then dug a two-foot hole in 
 front of each post which he called a witness. He had a solid 
 mahogany tool chest full of fine tools, which is now in the pos- 
 session of a gentleman of this city. He also had a Mexican 
 soldier's land warrant, besides ;g250 in gold. He left no will and 
 no heirs appeared to claim his estate, and the question suggests 
 itself — " Who got his property and his money ? " 
 
 PREDICTING A COLLAPSE DICKERING. 
 
 There were plenty of predictions in the early days that St. 
 Paul would never amount to anything as a town. The channel 
 of the river would be cleared to St. Anthony and that would 
 be the " head of navigation." " Real estate is too high now " — 
 said these wiseacres, when a lot fifty feet front on Third street 
 sold for ^500 — " and there is bound to be a collapse, the same as 
 in Chicago." Very little money changed hands ; everything was 
 on the " dicker." The carpenter dickered with the stone mason, 
 he with the grocer, the latter with the furniture dealer, and they 
 all swapped around for real estate ; they took and gave notes to 
 settle up when the Indian payment came off. A man came into 
 the store and traded a gold watch for furniture, the watch was 
 traded for real estate, and so it passed around. Capt. Stees paid 
 ,^13.50 for a lot in 1851, rented that lot out so that taxes and 
 assessments never cost him anything, and in 1 88 1 sold that lot for 
 
308 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ;^i,350, making large per cent, in thirty years, one dollar for every 
 cent invested. The same property is now worth eight times the 
 amount he sold for, or some ;^ 10,000. 
 
 SAUERKRAUT AND LIGHTNING RODS. 
 
 When St. Paul was a village Philadelphia and New York 
 city were well represented in its limited population, and as a 
 sequence the New York Knickerbockers and Pennsylvania Dutch- 
 men liked sauer-kraut; so in the winter Mrs. W. M. Stees put 
 up a large barrel of what in those days — shut out from civiliza- 
 tion — was considered a great delicacy, and when she opened the 
 barrel for use, " the boys " were notified of the fact, and they 
 came down the hill regularly for their mess of sauer-kraut. 
 There was more sociability then than now. " Everybody knew 
 everybody," and it is refreshing in these degenerate days of 
 broadcloth and plug hats and liveried coachmen, to think of the 
 genuine sociability and honest friendship that existed then. But 
 the jealousy and rivalry existing between " upper town and lower 
 town " store keepers, was truly amusing ; the rivalry between 
 St. Paul and Minneapolis to-day, as a comparison, is " no- 
 whar." 
 
 Every old settler knew Parson Willoughby who kept the 
 livery stable on the corner of Fourth and Robert streets. One 
 day a lightning-rod man came along and wanted to put up rods 
 on Willoughby's barn. The latter said — " I've an old boss I'll 
 give you to put some up." " Good enough," said the man, and 
 to work he went. In about an hour Willoughby went out to see 
 how he was getting along, when he found he had seven up 
 already. " For God's sake what are you doing ? Do you want 
 to tempt the ligntning? Come down and I'll give you the hoss." 
 
 SCRAPS FROM MEMORY. 
 
 A soldier down from the Fort on a furlough, came into Bill 
 Taylor's barber shop to get shaved; Bill was playing on his 
 violin ; the soldier gave him half-a-dollar for the privilege of 
 dancing ten minutes in his shop while he played; the offer was 
 accepted and the son of Mars danced away to his own delight 
 and that of the bystanders, and departed seemingly happy and 
 satisfied. Taylor was killed in the Indian outbreak. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 309 
 
 The arrival of Red river carts was quite a feature and 
 brought considerable British coin into town. The event was gen- 
 erally celebrated with a high old drunk by those old voyageurs. 
 Another feature was the arrival in winter of a dog train with 
 sledges, bringing in members of the Legislature from Pembina on 
 snow-shoes. Editor Goodhue facetiously announced them as 
 " the arrival from Pembina of members of the Legislature, Jim 
 Vincent, Teton, and the other dogs ; they are all putting up at 
 the Central House." 
 
 LEARNED THE JEWELRY BUSINESS AGAIN IN THE ARMY. 
 
 Capt. Stees returned to Philadelphia in 1853 and learned 
 the jewelry business; then went south to Raleigh, N. C, where 
 he followed that business until secession sentiments got pretty 
 warm, and he returned to Philadelphia. When Sumpter was 
 fired on he joined the army and was Major of. a three-months 
 Pennsylvania regiment, and on the mustering out of his regi- 
 ment he returned to St. Paul and engaged in the furniture busi- 
 ness with his brothers, but the exciting times of war rendered 
 him restless and too uneasy for business, so with a number of 
 other young men on Third street, he re-enlisted in the Ninth 
 Minnesota Regiment. The up-rising of Little Crow and massacre 
 of our people by the Sioux requiring prompt action, Gov. Ram- 
 sey issued a proclamation consolidating the first ten fullest com- 
 panies into the Sixth Regiment, and thus young Stees became 
 Second Lieutenant of Co. G, and the troops were immediately 
 sent to the front. After the fight at Birch Coolie he started for 
 St. Paul with Col. Prince, bearing dispatches for Gov. Ramsey. 
 
 rather amusing. 
 
 They arrived at St. Peter at 9 o'clock that night and changed 
 horses. Below St. Peter they stopped at Harry Lamberton's 
 where Judge Flandrau was stopping, whom Mayor Prince wished 
 to see on business. The latter knocked at the door and after 
 considerable delay a light appeared and a voice from the inside 
 asked — " Who 's there ? " " Mayor Prince, froni St. Paul ! " was 
 the reply. Presently the door was opened about a foot by Mr. 
 Lamberton with a lamp in hand, revealing Judge Flandrau at 
 the head of the stairs with a double-barrelled shot-gun cocked 
 
3 1 PEN PICT VRE8 
 
 and bearing upon the untimely visitors. Lamberton held the door 
 in that position until Flandrau reported the visitors " O. K." and 
 they were admitted. These gentlemen were " neither naked nor 
 clothed, barefoot nor shod," but each were robed in a garment 
 which covered them, and after a hearty laugh at the situation, 
 business was transacted, a lunch discussed and washed down 
 and the guests took their departure. The scene was a ludicrous 
 one, but the state of affairs made the precaution necessary. 
 
 HIS ARMY RECORD. 
 
 Capt. Stees was with his regiment, the Sixth Minnesota, until 
 the close of the war ; was on two Indian expeditions under Gen. 
 Sibley ; then went south to that graveyard of disease, Helena, 
 Ark., or, as the boys were pleased to call it, " Hell-in-Arkan- 
 saw." Thence to Missouri and brigaded with the Sixteenth 
 army corps at New Orleans ; then around to Dauphin Island and 
 up the Mobile Bay at the taking of Spanish Fort and Fort 
 Blakely and the fall of Mobile in April, 1865. After Richmond 
 had been taken and Lee surrendered, the regiment then went to 
 Montgomery, Ala., and remained there until July, when they 
 were ordered home and mustered out at Fort Snelling August 
 19, 1865. 
 
 After this he spent twelve years in California, when, return- 
 ing to St. Paul he married and settled down engaging in the fur- 
 niture business with his brother. When the Stees Brothers sold 
 out to Quinby & Abbott at the beginning of the present year, he 
 remained with the new firm taking charge of the undertaking 
 department making that his specialty. 
 
 As regards age Capt. Stees holds his own pretty well, and 
 as an old veteran from Grand Forks remarked to him at the 
 G. A. R. encampment at Minneapolis — " If I didn't know it was 
 twenty-three years ago since I did the first guard duty I ever did 
 in my life under you as Lieut. Stees at Fort Ridgley on the night 
 before the fight at Birch Coolie, I would say you were not a day 
 older now than you were then." And he has never forgotten the 
 barrel of pickles issued to his men by the writer, then Major 
 C. S. U. S. Army at St. Cloud, on their return from the second 
 Indian expedition under Gen. Sibley. 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 311 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Capt. Stees is a man of fine social qualities ; of medium size; 
 -quick in his movements j impulsive ; ready to resent a wrong or 
 -a fancied injury, and yet he is brave, generous and kind-hearted. 
 His large experience of events of early days in the history of our 
 -State and his retentive memory, enable me to give a very read- 
 able and interesting Pen Picture of his life. He is just in the 
 prime of his manhood and is a gentleman of more than ordinary 
 ability. 
 
 J. D. POLLOCK. 
 
 Mr. Pollock was born in Dearborn County, Indiana, of 
 Scotch-Irish parents, in 1825. He was educated in a log school- 
 house and graduated at the age of ten years, occasionally after- 
 wards studying by the light of a hickory-bark fire during the 
 time he worked on the home farm. At the age of twenty-one 
 he removed to Cincinnati and in the spring of 1851 he came to 
 St. Paul expecting to return in the fall, not deeming it safe for 
 any one but a Canadian Frenchman to remain so far north dur- 
 ing the winter. 
 
 property purchased GROCERY BUSINESS PERSONALLY.: 
 
 In connection with his present partner, Mr. Donaldson, Mr. 
 Pollock purchased several pieces of real estate in block 44, Kitt- 
 son's addition, for ^400; now worth ^50,000 ; also a claim for 160 
 acres for ;^ 50, costing in the aggregate ^200; now worth |l20,ooo, 
 and finding that these purchases kept him from returning East he 
 •concluded to remain in St. Paul and issued his card as an archi- 
 tect and builder, and the handsome residences of the late Horace 
 and J. E. Thompson and J. C. Burbank, attest his fine taste in this 
 natural line of his genius. 
 
 In 1851 he entered into partnership with Mr. A. S. Ogden 
 in the general grocery business, and in the following March 
 formed the partnership of the present firm of Pollock, Donaldson 
 & Ogden, which has beeh continually in business for thirty-four 
 _years. He married the youngest daughter of the late Major N. 
 McLean in the year 1855, and commenced .housekeeping in the 
 ■edifice still standing on the corner of Broadway and Fifth streets, 
 where he lived over twenty-five years, or until he built his pres- 
 
312 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ent beautiful residence on Portland avenue. He disposed of his- 
 old house and two lots, which cost him $16,000, for ;^20,ooo. 
 
 Mr. Pollock is a strongly marked man, the Scotch in his 
 elements predominating. He is of medium size ; sandy hair and 
 whiskers, and is an indomitable worker. He and his partners 
 fully verify the adage that a legitimate business constantly 
 adhered to, wins in the long run. He is a quiet, unobtrusive 
 gentleman, well fixed financially, and like his partner, Mr. Don- 
 aldson, is in a condition to enjoy a serene and mellow old age, 
 and he fully deserves all the happiness and comfort life can give.. 
 
 THOMAS W. BOURES. 
 
 Born in Canada in 1833, where he learned his trade; came 
 to St. Paul in 1851 ; engaged with Borup & Oakes in their lum- 
 bering mills ; then in their flouring mills ; then had charge of 
 the old Winslow mill ; then worked in the Government mills at: 
 Winnebago Agency; went to California in 1858 ; returned to St. 
 Paul in 1866, and continued to follow his trade in different parts 
 of the State up to 1878, when he engaged as head miller in the 
 Brainerd mills, where I believe he now is. He is a man who 
 thoroughly understands his business ; is industrious, and is an 
 active worker in the great busy bee-hive of life. 
 
 J. G. riheldaffer. 
 
 Mr. Riheldaffer was born in Pennsylvania, of German-Irish 
 descent, in 1 8 1 8 ; was educated at West Alexandria Washington 
 College, in the Princeton Theological Seminary ; graduated in 
 1848; became the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at 
 Fort Wayne, Indiana; came to St. Paul in 185 1 ; organized 
 and built the Central Presbyterian Church near the Capitol, and 
 was minister of this church thirteen years. In 1858 he opened 
 the first and then only Protestant Female Seminary in the State, . 
 and his school was located on the corner of Summit avenue and 
 St. Peter street. He continued this seminary for ten years, 
 when, in 1868 he was appointed superintendent of the State 
 Reform School, which position he still holds. Previous to this 
 he was a member of the Board and also for seven years Regent 
 of the State University. He is also trustee of the Albert Lea. 
 college, which is really only an off-shoot of his old seminary. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 313 
 
 REAL ESTATE AS SUPERINTENDENT. 
 
 He owned three lots on the corner of Summit avenue and 
 St. Peter street, 150 by 186, upon which his school buildings 
 stood, and which cost him originally ^1,200; worth now ^50,- 
 000; he also owned eleven lots in the immediate neighborhood 
 of the last named property, for which he paid ;^3,ooo; could 
 not be bought now for less than ;^ 100,000; a lot on Fifth street, 
 nearly opposite the Custom House, costing him ^350, is now 
 worth ;^2 5,000; another lot near Hope Church, which cost him 
 ;^6oo, worth $8,000 ; three lots close to Stillwater street, valued 
 at |SiS,ooo, cost him ;^I25. Of course had Mr. Riheldaffer held 
 on to his lots until the present day, he would have been a very 
 rich man, but like many others he didn't. 
 
 No man in the State of Minnesota is better fitted for the 
 position of Superintendent of the Reform School, than Mr. 
 Riheldaffer. He has built the school up to its present flourish- 
 ing condition, which is the finest of any institution in the State, 
 and nobody could ask for a better man. Surrounded by one 
 hundred and twenty-eight boys and fourteen girls, everything 
 moves along like clock-work, and the expenses are kept down 
 to a consistent grade of economy. The State owns sixty-three 
 acres, which originally cost ;^i 7,000; worth now ;^i 26,000; 
 $7 5,000 have been expended in improvements, making the insti- 
 tution — land and buildings — valued at ;^20i,ooo, — the State gain- 
 ing a profit on the land alone of ;^ 109,000. 
 
 MR. RIHELDAFFER PERSONALLY. 
 
 I remember Mr. Riheldaffer about thirty years ago, as a 
 tall, well-proportioned gentleman, with black ■ hair and black 
 whiskers ; moderate in his speech but decisive in opinions. He 
 has grown stouter now and his hair and whiskers are gray, 
 although his complexion is florid and he is the picture of health, 
 bordering on to the likenesses of the old patriarchs of a by-gone 
 age. He is a fine-looking rhan ; cool and decided ; possessing 
 fine abilities ; careful and cautious ; very attentive to his duties, 
 and during the sixteen years he has been Superintendent of the 
 Reform School, nobody has questioned his honor, his honesty, 
 or his manhood. A valuable citizen, his loss will be keenly fe.t 
 
814 PEN PICTURES 
 
 when he steps over the river on to the other shore. He was 
 married in 1 851 to Miss Catherine Ogden, and has a family of 
 four children. 
 
 GEORGE FARRINGTON. 
 
 Mr. Farrington is a man now about sixty years of age,, 
 being born in Ireland in 1826, and some thirty years ago was 
 known to the writer as a banker and dealer in real estate. He 
 was an enterprising gentleman and erected a number of houses 
 and dealt largely in city lots, and was a member of the Legis- 
 lature in 1852-3 ; a member of the City Council in 185 1-2 ; one 
 of the incorporators, of the Oakland Cemetery in 1853. He 
 formerly lived on College avenue in what is known as the " oc- 
 tagon " house, still standing, but removed to Madison, Wiscon- 
 sin, where he engaged in the banking business. He was at one 
 time in 1854, a silent partner in the St. Paul Daily Times, sub- 
 sequently merged into the Press; then for several years ran the 
 Pai'k Place hotel. He was a man of energy and stirring busi- 
 ness qualities ; affable in his manners yet a deadly opponent 
 when aroused. He was also one of the first supporters of the 
 Central Presbyterian Church. He invested in Minnesota in 1849 
 with his brother John, and located at St. Paul in 185 i. In his 
 home life he was exceedingly pleasant, and I remember him very 
 sincerely, for it was he who kindly administered to my comfort 
 when lying sick with a bilious fever at the old Winslow House, 
 in the year 1854. He removed from St. Paul some twenty 
 years ago, and I believe is now a resident of California. 
 
 THEODORE BORUP SAVED HIS LIFE. ■ 
 
 Mr. Borup was born about 1834; came to St. Pi^uL in 1851, 
 and of course was quite a young man. He eventually drifted 
 into the commission business and then into the grocery business, 
 and is now a sutler on the frontier. 
 
 It is said of him that in the midst of a fight with two steam- 
 boat crews, a burly roustabout was just in the act of hurling a 
 large iron bar from the levee, into the brain of one of the Cap- 
 tains of the boats, when Theodore rushed down and with the 
 agility of a tiger and the strength of a Hercules, struck the as- 
 sailant to the ground, thereby saving the life of the captain. This 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 315 
 
 feat is pronounced by those who witnessed it as one of the most 
 daring and decisive ever performed. 
 
 ANOTHER HEROIC ACT. 
 
 When the Indians fired into the Minnesota Outfit in 1852 
 and killed a sister of old Bets, Borup with David Oakes were in 
 the store, and they both rushed to the front door and confront- 
 ing the Indians Borup charged them with cowardice and mean- 
 ness in firing upon inoffensive women and children, and this dar- 
 ing act on his part subdued the savages and saved the loss of 
 many lives, for the Indians, ashamed of themselves, skulked 
 away when they originally intended to kill every Sioux in the 
 store. 
 
 Mr. Borup is a slender person ; very wiry ; very quick ; 
 possesses good commercial qualities, and is eminently a man of 
 fine social characteristics. He is of a quiet, undemonstrative 
 nature, yet of a roving disposition, and is well known to all the 
 old settlers, among whom he has grown up from a mere boy to 
 that of a man of mature years. 
 
 A. H. CATHCART. 
 
 Mr. Cathcart was born in Canada about the year 1827 ; was 
 educated there, and at the age of eleven years was trained in the 
 mysteries of the dry-goods business. Reaching his majority he 
 went to Montreal, and later removed to New York, where he 
 remained until 1850; then drifted West and finally arrived at 
 St. Paul in 1851 ; was at one time messenger in the Legislature. 
 He was among the very first dry-goods merchants in this city, 
 if not the first who made a specialty of the business. The firm 
 was A. H; & J. Cathcart, and in 1852 they ran two stores ; then 
 they removed their stock to Robert street, and in 1855 erected 
 a large brick building on Third street, near where the First Na- 
 tional Bank used to stand, and filled it with a heavy assortment 
 of goods. At this time Cathcarts' was the great dry-godds 
 house in the city. They passed through the disastrous times of 
 1857, and in 1873 A. H. Cathcart (John having been murdered 
 in the South,) took in a partner by the name of Oxley, and the 
 store was then removed to the corner of Third and Wabasha 
 streets, which occupied the whole space now devoted to the 
 
316 PEN PICTURES 
 
 business purposes of Lambie & Co. and Myers & Finch. Sub- 
 sequently Mr. Cathcart removed to Farmington, in Dakota 
 County, where he carried on the business for several years, when 
 he relinquished it and came to St. Paul where he now is. One 
 of his sons, born here, became a lawyer and is now practicing in 
 the city. 
 
 AS HE USED TO BE. 
 
 Mr. Cathcart thirty years ago was a comparatively, young 
 man, tall, well-proportioned, with black side-whiskers, and the 
 very essence of politeness. His early education in the dry-goods 
 business had given him a polish which was very taking with the 
 ladies. As he grew older the hair grew thinner on the top of 
 his head until the crowning glory of years now picture him as 
 a man passed the meridian of life. And yet he is straight, ac- 
 tive, vigorous. 
 
 JOHN CATHCART. 
 
 John was the brother of A. H. and was one of the firm ; 
 born in Canada about 1829; came to St. Paul in 1851, and the 
 dry-goods firm became A. H. & J. Cathcart. During the war 
 John went South to engage in the cultivation of cotton, and hav- 
 ing secured a plantation in Louisiana was proceeding, with a 
 partner, to commence operations, when one night, all alone, a 
 body of southern men arrived at his place and ordered him to 
 get up and come out. He did so, when they took him about 
 eight miles from his house, and after stripping him, shot him 
 through the head, and he was found dead the next morning un- 
 der a tree. His body was brought to St. Paul and buried. 
 
 I never knew the immediate cause of his death, whether it 
 originated from something Cathcart said which was obnoxious 
 to the then southern mind, or whether they thought he had no 
 right to the land, or whether it was done out of pure deviltry 
 because he was a northern man. It was sad enough to realize 
 the fact that he was murdered, even if we never know the reason 
 for the act. 
 
 John was more daring than his brother. He grouped about 
 him a circle of young friends, and struck out on his own re- 
 sponsibility. He certainly was not wise in taking the time he 
 did to make his " new departure," for a few years later would 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 317 
 
 have given him greater security to both life and limb. He was 
 esteemed in the city and his death was greatly regretted. He 
 was unmarried. 
 
 WILLIAM BIRCHER, 
 
 The Drummer Boy of Minnesota, noted for his dexterity on 
 the drum and for his humorous nature and many excellent jokes, 
 was born in Indiana in 1845, and at the age of seven years, or 
 in 185 1, came to St. Paul, where he received his education, and 
 was at school when, in 1861, the War of the Rebellion broke 
 out, and at the age of sixteen years he joined Company K, of 
 the Second Minnesota Regiment, and went to the front as the 
 favorite drummer boy of the boys in blue ; was in the battles of 
 Mill Spring, Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Stone River, Chicka- 
 mauga and many others. His time expiring, he re-enlisted, and 
 soon after joined Sherman's forces in Georgia and was with him 
 in his grand march to the sea ; and he was also at the grand 
 review at Washington, and during all the war he never was 
 wounded or received a scratch. He returned home in 1865 and 
 engaged in various occupations, among which was a favorite 
 saloon known as " Billy Bircher's Place," in West St. Paul. 
 He claims to be the youngest soldier now living of the great 
 army of the Union, having enlisted in 1861 and passed through 
 the entire service. He also beat the first long roll for the first ' 
 victory of the war at Mill Spring, and the last long roll of victory 
 at Bentonville, North Carolina. Mr. Bircher gave up his saloon 
 in West St. Paul and engaged in the grocery business with 
 James McGrath, and retiring from this he removed into Dakota 
 County, where he is now cultivating the soil. He was married 
 to Mary Young in 1 869 and has three children. 
 
 DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND. 
 
 Bircher is full of jokes. At the late State Fair there was a 
 great crowd rushing on to the cars to get seats, and among the 
 number were the members of the Great Western Band. Two of 
 them secured comfortable positions, leaving "Billy" out in the 
 cold, when he made up his mind to get even with them, so when 
 a friend and his lady entered the cars he remarked carelessly — 
 " Cars pretty full." " Yes," said the friend. " I wouldn't care 
 
318 PEN PICTURES 
 
 only I have my wife with me." " Come along with me," said 
 Bircher, " and I'll get you a seat," and forthwith he proceeded to 
 the place occupied by his fellow musicians, and after introducing 
 both the lady and the gentleman to his friends, mildly remarked — 
 " These people would like a seat." Of course they got it, but 
 with a mental reservation on the part of the victims that they 
 owed " Billy" Bircher just one. 
 
 GOT IT BACK. 
 
 Returning from the Rochester Fair the train reached a way- 
 station in the night, dark and rainy. The members of the" Great 
 Western Band were on board, and so was " Billy," who, very 
 tired at the time the cars stopped, was dozing, when the conduc- 
 tor called out — " West St. Paul ! " Bircher started up, rubbed 
 his eyes, looked out of the window, seized his drum and, half 
 asleep, amid the darkness and the rain, jumped on to the plat- 
 form while the train moved on, and at the end of the car could 
 be seen a musician laughing over the victory he had achieved 
 and tooting on his instrument. " That ain't West St. Paul, 
 Bircher," cried out one of his friends. " Oh, you get out," said 
 Bircher ; " I was here before you were born ; I guess I know 
 West St. Paul when I see it." Sauntering up to the depot he 
 met the man in charge, who, surprised, asked — " What's the 
 
 matter ? Left ? " " Left ! the d 1, what do you mean ? " asked 
 
 Bircher. " Why, this is Randolph, thirty-two miles from St. 
 Paul ! " To use a slang phrase, Bircher " tumbled " at once, and 
 soon after the cars backed down and took him on board, and 
 since then " Billy " has not been playing as many practical jokes 
 as usual, for he found out that there is ^ruth in the old axiom : 
 " Diamond cut diamond." 
 
 personal. 
 
 Mr. Bircher is a short, chunky man, very social and very 
 kind-hearted; broad-guaged in his generosity and delights in 
 narrating many thrilling scenes of the war. Once, in the spring 
 of 1 88 1, when West St. Paul was flooded, many neighbors took 
 shelter under " Billy's " hospitable roof, and there they were re- 
 ceived kindly, tenderly treated by the proprietor and his wife and a 
 young man by the name of Conrad Stautz, then in his employ. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 319 
 
 and many years will elapse before those then gathered in safety 
 from the roaring flood in Mr. Bircher's humble home, will forget 
 his kindly act. He is still the " drummer boy," where he has been 
 for twenty years, in the Great Western Band, and can perform 
 on either the little or the big drum, taking the blue ribbon as the 
 best manipulator of the sticks. He is a gentleman very univer- 
 sally esteemed for his many excellent qualities and bears a good 
 reputation as an honorable man. 
 
 THE GREAT BEYOND. 
 
 It is stated that there is an average of one death per minute 
 among the population of the world, and when one comes to think 
 what an enormous number of inhabitants must be in that other 
 land to which we are all going, the question naturally arises, 
 " Where are all these people and what are they doing ? " In 
 round numbers the dead must exceed billions upon billions. 
 Do they work ? Have they bodies ? How is it possible among 
 all that crowd of billions for one to find his relatives and friends ? 
 How can they all nestle in Abraham's bosom ? The dead must 
 exceed many times the livirig, and there are now on the earth 
 at least 900,000,000 ; and it puzzles the thinking mind to know 
 where they are and what they are doing. One is impressed with 
 these thoughts by the fact that a little over two years ago the 
 writer commenced his Pen Pictures and since then twenty old 
 settlers have gone to join the great crowd beyond — where? 
 
 D. A. MILLER. 
 
 Mr. Miller was born in Virginia in 1828 and came to St. 
 Paul in 1851, or thirty-four years ago, when there was but a 
 small cluster of houses where now stands a city of i2C,ooo 
 people. He was a carpenter by trade and worked at his 'profes- 
 sion three years. He was on intimate terms with the Indian 
 chief Little Crow, and has seen many changes since his residence 
 here. A few years ago he kept what was known as the Warren 
 House, or better known as " Moffett's Castle," which stood on the 
 corner of Jackson and Fourth streets, where the building of the 
 First National Bank now stands. He was a tall, slender man, 
 somewhat moderate in his speech and in his movements, yet a 
 pleasant gentleman. 
 
320 PEN PICTURES 
 
 JAMKS M. CURRAN IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT. 
 
 Mr. Curran was born in Ireland about the year 1 806 ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1851 ; opened a large dry-goods store on the 
 corner of Third and Robert streets, and for that early day carried 
 on an extensive trade. His two beautiful daughters clerked for 
 him, and " Curran's World's Fair Store " was as well known in 
 St. Paul in 1851 as Stewart's used to be in New York in later 
 years. 
 
 About this time there was a law upon the Territorial Statute 
 book authorizing imprisonment for debt, and in the little old, 
 dark, weather-beaten, unpainted, one-story wooden jail, which 
 stood near where the present stoiie one now stands, several per- 
 sons had been confined because they could not discharge their 
 honest obligations, and one prisoner died in jail before he could 
 satisfy the demands of his creditors. And this occurred right 
 in the city of St. Paul! Curran was just the man to push busi- 
 ness, and of course he became involved, and by the advice of his 
 lawyer stepped across into Wisconsin to save himself from crimi- 
 nal arrest. The necessity for this act brought out the indigna- 
 tion of his friends, and indeed the indignation of all the friends 
 of those who were or might become financially unfortunate, and 
 Judge Goodrich stepped to the front as the champion of the 
 repeal of this obnoxious law, and prepared a bill for that purpose 
 which was presented to the Legislature of 1854. "Bill Davis," 
 of this city, a member of the House, had the bill in charge, and 
 after it had passed both branches of the Legislature and had gone 
 into tl^e hands of the Engrossing Clerk, it could nowhere be 
 found, and the clerk claimed that it had been either lost or stolen. 
 
 A CLOSE call. 
 
 Goodrich and Davis were petrifiedly mad ! They stormed 
 about among the members and through the halls of the building ; 
 held secret meetings ; appointed detectives, and swore vengeance 
 upon the person who had perpetrated the outrage. And so a 
 week or more passed, when a suspicious member was spotted, and 
 as he came out of the House of Representatives embellished with 
 his usual innocent and child-like smile, Davis demanded the bill. 
 " Oh ! " he said, " he didn't have the bill ; he positively knew 
 nothing about it ! He would be ashamed to do so dirty a trick." 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 321 
 
 Here Goodrich, who had informed Davis that the bill had been 
 seen and was about to leave the Capitol, stepped in front of the 
 retiring member and said — " You have the bill now in your 
 pocket. If this be not so, hold me responsible." Then Davis 
 
 said — " G— d — -— you, give me that bill," drawing a pistol 
 
 and putting it close to his head, while Judge Goodrich stood near 
 by with his eyes flashing fire. " Give me that bill ! " again cried 
 
 Davis, " or I'll blow your d d brains out in two minutes," at 
 
 the same time drawing out his watch and cocking his pistol ! 
 The " Heathen Chinee " hesitated a minute, when Davis exclaimed 
 — "One minute more and you are a dead man!" and out from 
 the member's coat pocket came the stolen bill ! Davis and Good- 
 rich were so rejoiced to get back again their little pet that they 
 forgot to administer severe punishment to the member, and he 
 fortunately escaped unhurt, yet if he had not given up the bill 
 just when he did, he would have been a dead man, for in those 
 days men meant what they said when they drew a pistol on 
 another. The bill passed both houses, was signed by Gov. 
 Gorman, and the obnoxious law was wiped from the statute book, 
 after having been in force from 1849, some four years. 
 
 This detestable law really broke Curran up, for it took time 
 to repeal it, and before that was accomplished his business suf- 
 fered and he finally sold out to Capt. Louis Robert. 
 
 \ HOW HE LOOKED. 
 
 Curran was a medium-sized man ; rather slenderly built, and 
 if I remember correctly, with a smooth face, ruddy complexion, 
 aggressive, insinuating, quick, brusk, with business-movements, 
 possessing great energy, and a man of nerve and venture. Were 
 he in business to-day he would make his mark as a first-class 
 merchant. He lived in a brick house which stood on Robert 
 street, west of Third, overlooking the river, and when this house 
 was torn down to make way for a business block, the bricks 
 were used in the erection of Capt. Louis Robert's new house at 
 the head of the same street, above Eighth. I have already men- 
 tioned the fact that his two daughters married and both now live 
 in this city, but where Mr. Curran at present is, or whether he is 
 still alive, I do not know. 
 
 21 
 
322 PEN PICTURES 
 
 HENRY m'kENTY. 
 
 An odd genius was Henry McKenty. Small, wiry, active^ 
 genial, persevering, pushing, public-spirited, generous, sensitive,, 
 proud, everlastingly quick at a bargain, he seemed to be driven 
 by a forty-horse steam power engine, and in the prime of his life 
 he used the capacity of the machine for all it was worth. His 
 ideas were broad and liberal, and he had nerve and courage to 
 carry them to completion. He came to St. Paul just at a time 
 when his genius as a real estate man had ample opportunity 
 for free scope, and he led off in his special department as the 
 great warrior of his profession. He was pre-eminently king!: 
 He was an original, bold, startling, aggressive land operator, not 
 confined to the limits of a city or village, but reaching out for 
 " broad acres," on a broad platform, with broad and liberal views 
 of business, and he headed the column until he went down in 
 the trying times of 1857-8. McKenty was truly a character!! 
 In early life a little wild, he came west not only to retrieve what 
 he had lost but to gain in the affection of one he subsequently 
 called — wife. He won both, but the end, oh, how Sad ! how 
 bitter I 
 
 INCIDENTS " FIVE PER CENT. PER MONTH." 
 
 " Mac ! I have no money, but I '11 take a lot of you for a 
 watch! "said the writer in 1853. "Agreed," said the smiling 
 land operator. " I have a lot in Mankato ; give me your watch 
 and I will give you your deed," and the bargain was closed. 
 The watch was worth ;^5o, the lot ;^io. I held the property lor 
 about twenty-five years when I found it was a part of an uncouth 
 stone quarry, and some way or other I had lost sight of the mat- 
 ter until recently, when I discovered the identical lot to be a 
 valuable piece of real estate ! I guess I have Mac's deed yet ; am 
 going to look it up ! Possibly I 've struck oil. 
 
 In 1853 a little, brisk-appearing citizen'asked Dr. Mann if he 
 had come to the city to loan money, if so he could get him five per 
 cent. ! " That's nothing," said the Doctor, " I can ^et five per 
 cent, in Philadelphia." "Oh!" said the little gentleman, "I 
 mean five per cent, per month, and good paper at that." "Oh-ho ! 
 aha ! yes ! " said the Doctor, and a few days after he loaned a 
 number of little sums and they were all paid back with the lib- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 823 
 
 eral five per cent, interest. One morning this little frisky man 
 wanted to sell the Doctor a lot, and succeeded in doing so, when 
 towards night he came back and said : 
 
 " See here, Doctor, I will give you one hundred dollars 
 advance on that lot I sold you," and of course the Doctor took 
 it and repeated the transaction several times thereafter. This 
 little, active, busy, pleasant man, was Henry McKenty. 
 
 CONSCIENTIOUS INTEREST PROFITS. 
 
 Pennock Pusey was brought up under Quaker influences, and 
 when McKenty told him he would give him three and a half 
 per cent, per month for the use of his money, he declined the 
 offer, honestly believing in those days that it would be wrong for 
 him to do so, but before the end of the war Pusey got bravely 
 over this twinge of conscience and I should now be afraid to 
 offer him two and one-half per cent, per, month ! . Mac compro- 
 mised on a less rate of interest ; received the money ; bought 
 "broad acres" for 1^1.25 per acre, and in less than a year after 
 Pusey purchased some of this same property at ^2.50 per acre, 
 and Mac made 58 per cent, on his investment! That cured 
 Pusey of any further conscientious scruples respecting the loan- 
 ing of money on a good rate of interest ! and especially as he 
 sold this same land afterwards to Dalrymple for ^ 1 5 per acre. 
 
 In 1854 Mac entered several thousand acres of prairie land 
 in Wcishington County at ;^i.25 per acre; in 1855 he sold' the 
 same land for $t, per acre, and cleared 300 per cent., or ;^23,ooo. 
 He immediately entered again, and again other land, always 
 in " broad acres," and came out with tremendous profits. The 
 great depression of 1857-8 carried land down and with it many 
 honest, sagacious, honorable men, and they never recovered from 
 the disaster. 
 
 THAT BROKEN GLASS. 
 
 A year or two after the financial crash of 1857, McKenty 
 began to feel the effects of hard times, and occasionally would 
 not be in condition to pay his little debts as promptly and liber- 
 ally as formerly. On this point he was extremely sensitive. 
 Coming down Third street one day the writer observed both of 
 the large glasses in his office door broken all to pieces. Enter- 
 
324 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ing I found the smiling land operator and looking around in- 
 quired what was the matter. "Oh, nothing, nothing much, sir; 
 only a big dog, sir, went through that window, sir ! Bad dog, 
 sir ! bad dog, sir ! " and Mac smiled as serenely as though he 
 had just come in possession of a great fortune. I left him smil- 
 ing, when I learned a few doors below that a sort of pugnacious 
 individual by the name of H. E. Baker, generally called He 
 Baker, had dunned Mac for a little bill and in seeking to press 
 his claims in a somewhat aggravated manner, Mac seized him 
 quickly in the foundation of his pantaloons and pitched him 
 headlong through the window on to the sidewalk, and ever after 
 that when any allusion was made to the broken window, he 
 would curl his lip and exclaim — "A dog, sir! nothing but a dog, 
 sir ! a d-o-g ! " 
 
 THAT ROCKING CHAIR. 
 
 Times continued ba'd. McKenty still kept his office on the 
 corner of Cedar and Third streets, but one could see that he was 
 financially worried. The same old pleasant smile played about 
 his features and the same old hopeful tone of voice greeted his 
 acquaintances, yet to one who knew him well there was a tinge 
 of sadness which elicited the secret sympathy of all his old and 
 well-tried friends. Knowing that he must be in need of money, 
 I said to him one day — " Mac, I will give you ^5 for that ancient 
 rocking-chair," pointing to an old-fashioned rocker with the hair 
 seat all out and the springs considerably smashed. " No, sir ; 
 you can't have it sir ! at 'that price, sir ! too much, sir ! too much, 
 sir ! will take $4, sir, for that chair, sir ! $4, sir ! " and I paid him 
 the money and shall never forget the tear as it gathered in his 
 eye and shone through the sweet smile which radiated his face. 
 Of course the chair was repaired, and while seated in it one 
 evening, Mac came into my home and in glowing terms pictured 
 to me what could be done in the oil regions if he only had a lit- 
 tle money, so I pooled in 1^400, and as I never received any 
 equivalent back, the chair cost me just $404. It has been my 
 favorite seat now for over twenty years, and in it I have dreamed 
 of the past, of its old owner, of the ups and downs of life, and 
 of the many scenes and incidents portrayed in my Pen Pictures. 
 Dear old chair ! no matter what thy history may have been, I 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 325 
 
 love thee still. Within thy soft cushioned folds I feel secure 
 from the outer world, and while I rock leisurely to and fro, 
 sometimes I think I hear gentle voices from another sphere whis- 
 pering — " Peace ! peace ! " How unselfish is that old chair ! how 
 faithful ! how true ! hoAV serene ! how comfortable ! how full of 
 by-gone memories. 
 
 " NOW GO ON WITH YOUR BIDDING." 
 
 Sometime in 1853 McKenty secured land where Minne- 
 apolis now stands, and hearing that certain parties had threat- 
 ened to bid on it over himself, he went to a cabinet-maker and 
 ordered two coffins, both painted black ; then to a livery stable 
 and procured a 'bus ; then secured a band of music, and with 
 the coffins and the musicians and flags and the people, (free ride) 
 he drove to the place where the bidding was to be, (I think Still- 
 water,) and arriving amid a great crowd placed the coffins on the 
 ground, and on the coffins laid two huge pistol^, and then mount- 
 ing one of the coffins he called out aloud — " Now go on with 
 your bidding!" Of course nobody under the circumstances 
 bid, and Mac got the land. I do not give this as of my own 
 personal knowledge, but as obtained from other parties. 
 
 THE END OF A BUSY LIFE. 
 
 Tired with waiting for the good times to come, Mr. Mc- 
 Kenty sought the oil regions in hopes to retrieve his losses, but 
 there fate went against him and returning to St. Paul he col- 
 lected a little money and soon after started for California, but he 
 found no relief in the golden city, and finally drifted back to his 
 old stamping ground, a disheartened, discouraged, changed 
 man, but still he struggled to regain his lost footing. I met him 
 at the Merchants hotel the day before he passed out of sight for- 
 ever. He sat reading a newspaper when Col. Shaw glanced over 
 his shoulder and found that the print was upside down. He in- 
 vited him to dinner and as he sat waiting to be served, he devoted 
 his time in thoughtlessly catching flies. The next day he was 
 dead. Unable to " endure the slings and arrows of outrageous 
 fortune," in a fit of desperation he " flew to ills he knew not of," 
 and a small mound in Oakland Cemetery with no monument, 
 marks the place where repose the remains of Henry McKenty ! 
 
S26 PEN PICTURES 
 
 WHEN AND WHERE BORN. 
 
 Mr. McKenty was born in Pennsylvania in 1821 ; came to 
 St. Paul in 1851 and brought some capital with him with which 
 to operate ; dealt largely in " broad acres," and at one time 
 owned nearly all the land about Lake Como except that in the 
 possession of Mr. Aldrich. To make these lands available he 
 built a road to them at a cost of J^6,000 in gold. He died by his 
 own hand, a pistol shot, on the lOth of August, 1869, aged forty- 
 eight years. And what is remarkable his youngest daughter 
 soon after followed him, and his wife, unable to bear these terri- 
 ble troubles, put an end to her existence by hanging herself in 
 her own house, leaving one sad, forlorn, desolate, heart-broken 
 daughter, who subsequently went to Philadelphia and married a 
 rich man. 
 
 Poor McKenty ! Once joyous ! happy ! ambitious ! pros- 
 perous! generous! — high up on the teeter-taunter board of life, 
 and then 1 down again on the other end, groping in the darkness 
 of despair, poor, heart-broken ! desolate ! dead ! I throw the 
 mantle of charity over thy deed and drop a green sprig upon thy 
 grave ! 
 
 C. M. WILSON. 
 
 Major Wilson was born in Ohio in 1842, and is a son of 
 the late Gen. Thomas W. Wilson ; came to St. Paul with his 
 parents in 185 1 ; attended Miss Harriet E. Bishop's school that 
 year, and also a mission school kept by Rev. Mr. Breck, and is 
 among the oldest scholars living of both these schools. When 
 quite young he seemed to possess no fear, and was at one time 
 the captain and leader of the upper town boys vs. the lower town, 
 and all old citizens can readily recall many contests between 
 these two factions, some of which ended in pitched battles. He 
 was one of the boys who in 1852 transformed William S. Comb's 
 sign so as to read, " Women's Side Combs," and though not 
 maliciously inclined, yet he was full of mischief. 
 
 saved from drowning — " I 'll go ! " 
 
 When passing the upper levee with other boys, he heard 
 screams in the direction of the river, to which point he and his 
 companions rushed, and there they found a man about to sink in 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 327 
 
 the water for the third time, and although there were a number 
 ■^^of grown persons witnessing the strugghng victim, not a soul 
 moved to save him. Young Wilson pulled off his boots, jumped 
 into the river, swam to the man who had already sunk below the 
 surface, seized him by the hair and pulled him to the shore 
 Such an act of bravery was never excelled by a boy only ten 
 years old, except, perhaps, in another case when ■ he rescued a 
 valuable package from a burning building. 
 
 In 1852 the old Daniels Housp, a wooden building of four 
 stories, on the upper levee, was in flames. " Can't you save that 
 valuable package ? " asked a lady boarder as she frantically and 
 piteously Iqoked up into the faces of a number of men, at the 
 same time pointing to the burning building, but they made no 
 response, when young Wilson cried out — " I '11 go ! " *and he did 
 go, and brought out the valuables, and almost immediately the 
 whole frame-work fell in with a terrible crash ! These brave traits 
 •of character brought him into prominence, and he was praised by 
 the adult population and lionized as a hero by the boys. 
 
 IN TRADE. 
 
 In 1853 young Wilson with his brother engaged in trading 
 with the Sioux Indians at Shakopee, he being at that time the 
 •only white boy in the place, and it was then and there that he 
 first gained a knowledge of the Sioux language and habits, and 
 it is amusing to see after a lapse of some thirty years, how the 
 Indians will readily recognize " the little black head," as they 
 used to call him. He has also been the recipient of many beau- 
 tiful presents from several Ijidian tribes. In 1855-6-7 he attended 
 school at Granville, Ohio, and on returning to Minnesota took 
 up the occupation of farming, but left it in 1861 to join the Union 
 army, which he did, and served until the last Confederate soldier 
 laid down his arms. He was promoted step by step, and each 
 time for meritorious conduct. 
 
 A PRISONER ESCAPED 
 
 In 1864, in company with Gen. Stoneman, he was captured 
 -on what is known as the Stoneman raid through the State of 
 •Georgia, and with the balance of the men was at once taken to 
 
'328 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Andersonville prison, where he was kept six months, or until 
 Gen. Sherman began his march to the sea. He was then ordered 
 to Charleston, a city which was at that time under strong bom- 
 bardment from our army. He was also prisoner at Monticello. 
 Fla., Florence, S. C, Goldsborough, and other places. 
 
 He made his escape from Florence prison in company with 
 fifteen others, but was recaptured by the use of bloodhounds, at 
 which time three of the fifteen prisoners were killed and seven 
 of the remaining ones died before reaching the Florence prison 
 again. He is now the president of the Ex-Andersonville Prison- 
 ers' Association in this State, which alone is sufficient proof that 
 the statements herein made are correct, and that he is held in 
 high esteem by his fellow prisoners. At the close of the war he 
 was tendered a position in the regular army, which he declined. 
 
 BUILDING RAILROADS INSPECTOR OF CUSTOMS PERSONALLY. 
 
 In 1868, 1869 and 1870, Maj. Wilson did a large portion of 
 the work upon the Lake Superior & Minnesota Railroad between 
 this city and the Northern Pacific Junction, and received at the 
 hands of the employes under him a beautiful gold watch and 
 chain worth $500, the contributions towards buying it coming 
 from over two thousand men. He married in 1871 Miss Miller 
 of Ohio, who died in 1884, leaving a son and daughter. From 
 1872 to 1877 he was in the real estate business- in this city, the 
 firm being T. W. Wilson & Son, and during all of which yeai-s 
 he took an active part in politics, notably the nomination and 
 election of Dr. Stewart to Congress. 
 
 In 1878 he was appointed inspector of Customs at Grand 
 Portage, Minn., and held the office for about four years, when, 
 on account of government contracts which he had received,, 
 together with mining and lumbering interests, he resigned the 
 office and gave his attention to private business. In 1881 he, 
 with E. F. and A. Lemay, formed a partnership under the firm 
 name of Wilson, Lemay & Son and engaged in railroad and 
 harbor building, since which date they have built the Harbor of 
 Refuge at Grand Marias, on Lake Superior, together with a large 
 amount of railroad and harbor work done at and near Duluth,. 
 Minn., and also at Superior, Wis. He was the first man to open 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 329 
 
 up the mine of the Silver and Copper Island Mining Company, 
 and was its first superintendent and director and is still a stock- 
 holder. 
 
 Maj. Wilson is a rather slender, wiry man, full of energy, and 
 uses indomitable will-power in his aims and in his purposes. He 
 is what miners would call a " rustler," has a very active brain 
 backed by nerve, and enters earnestly into all enterprises with 
 which he is connected. He is liberal in his disposition, social in 
 his nature, a natural schemer, persistent in his efforts, and devoted 
 in his friendships — a man of much force of character. 
 
 THE OLD POST OFFICE AN INDIGNANT CROWD, 
 
 • 
 
 In 185 1 the old post office was kept in a small log building 
 where the Merchants' hotel now stands, corner of Third and 
 Jackson streets. A diminutive box about two feet square con- 
 tained receptacles for letters and a door with several lights of 
 glass in the top, shut out inquisitive people from entering the 
 sanctum sanctorum. In those early days many weeks elapsed 
 before letters were received, and it was natural that men of fami- 
 lies, and especially young men, should feel anxious to get some 
 letters from home or from their sweet-hearts, so when the mail 
 came in, groups would gather about the office and await the 
 delivery of the long looked for and expected tidings. On one 
 of these occasions James Humphrey, Abram Elfelt, C. P. V. Lull 
 and others were in front of the post office when the mail arrived, 
 and after seeing the worthy postmaster, J. W. Bass, inspect the 
 -ctters very deliberately and put them away in their places again, 
 and then look at his watch and lock the door and go to dinner, 
 they could restrain their impatience no longer and broke out 
 with words of indignation. Lull caught' the sentiment and 
 agreed if the crowd would back him, he would burst open the 
 door, and as they assented to do so, in went the door with a 
 bang. Of course any such attempt to break open the doors of 
 the post office now would meet with severe punishment, but Bass 
 only knit his brows and grumbled about being in such a hurry, 
 and that ended the matter. Tempora mutantur — times have 
 changed. The old postmaster and all the parties mentioned are 
 still living. 
 
330 PEN PICTURES 
 
 LAFAYETTE EMMETT. 
 
 Judge Emmett is, or was years ago when in the city, a man 
 above medium size, quite slender, cleanly shaven, and very pleas- 
 ant in his intercourse with his fellow-men. He was born in Ohio 
 about 1827; was well educated, studied law and was admitted 
 to practice when quite young. He came to St. Paul in 1851 
 and was at one time in partnership with H. L. Moss, and also 
 with James Smith, Jr.; was Attorney General under Gov. Gorman 
 in 1854; was first Chief Justice of the State, being elected in 
 1857, and served for seven years. He then carried on the prac- 
 tice of his profession in this city for some time, and' finally moved 
 to Faribault, and from thence to Ortonville, Big Stone lake. He 
 was very generally esteemed for his ability as a lawyer and a 
 judge, as well as for those amiable traits of character which 
 adorned the man. He was of a retiring disposition, undemon- 
 strative, unassuming — a quiet, solid, genial gentleman and citizen. 
 
 RICHARD F. MARVIN 
 
 Was born in England in 1 842 ; came with his parents to 
 Cincinnati in the spring of 1845, and from thence to St. Paul in 
 1851. He was educated chiefly in the parochial school of the 
 Central Church, this city. For several years he assisted in his 
 father's business on Third street, and finally became a partner in 
 the same, until its close in 1 874. After this for a year or more 
 he became traveling agent for Eastern houses in the same line 
 of trade, traveling almost entirely in the South for the benefit of 
 his health, and finally, some eight or nine years since, went into 
 the insurance business, in which he still successfully remains. 
 
 Mr. Marvin is a man of middle height, inclining to be stout 
 and looks somewhat older than he is. He is married and the 
 father of three children, and is emphatically a domestic man, an 
 extensive and inveterate reader, his family and his books when 
 away from business, engrossing his attention to the exclusion 
 of outside social life. Peculiarly reticent in manner he is gen- 
 erous to a fault, but is little understood except by the very few 
 who come to know the faculty he has for retaining and assimi- 
 lating the results of his habit of reading, and the sensible views ~ 
 he holds in relation to men and things generally. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 331 
 
 AUGER F. HAGERMAN 
 
 Was born in Berlin in 1819; emigrated to America in 
 1849; resided for a year or so at Chicago and St. Louis; came 
 to St. Paul in 1851 ; learned the trade of a finisher of furniture 
 and for a time worked for Stees & Hunt; left St. Paul in 1879. 
 He was a great lover of theatricals and performed in the German 
 dramatic societies of this city and is well remembered by many 
 German citizens. He was a small man, very quick and perfectly 
 at home on the stage, wher^ he now is playing in Cincinnati. 
 Herman H., his son, was born in 1847; came to St. Paul in 
 1851 and has remained here ever since; was for a time in the 
 tea and tobacco business, but is now engaged in real estate on 
 the West Side. He is like his father, small, but active, smart 
 and gentlemanly. 
 
 MARTIN D. CLARK. 
 
 Mr. Clark was born in Ohio in 1824; was educated at the 
 common schools three months and then labored on a farm. He 
 -learned the trade of a joiner and carpenter and came to St. Paul 
 in 185 1 ; worked on the old Court House when flour was ten 
 dollars per barrel and all kinds of provisions were very high. 
 At night he toiled in his cellar making doors, sashes, etc. He 
 bought a farm in 1854 a few miles from St. Paul on the Hudson 
 road, for about ninety cents per acre, and sold it at the rate of 
 fifty dollars per acre. Previous to 1854 he had built over two 
 hundred houses in St. Paul, being a carpenter and joiner, and a 
 rusher at that. When Mr. Clark with his wife arrived at our 
 levee he saw a man named Bully Wells trying to shoot another 
 man by the name of McLagan, and his wife asked earnestly — 
 " What kind of a country are you taking me to ? " Clark said 
 he didn't really know himself — ^at least this shooting business 
 was not down on the program when he started. Still he had 
 -faith in the place and has it yet. He is a quick, active, nervous 
 man, full of energy, social and pleasant, of good size, and has 
 been a man of industry all his life. Since his arrival here both 
 his boy, seven years old, and his wife have died, leaving him 
 alone in the world. The property he has struggled so many 
 years to retain is now becoming very valuable, and it is fair to 
 presume that if he lives ten years longer — and I sincerely hope 
 
332 PEN PICTURES 
 
 that he may live twenty years — he will be able to enjoy in ele- 
 gant leisure the fruits of his early struggle. 
 
 TRUMAN M. SMITH. 
 
 Mr. Smith is a living illustration of how a man can start on 
 the first round of the financial ladder, climb to the top by his own 
 exertions, and then fall through the instrumentality of others, 
 not himself, clearly demonstrating that we are creatures of cir- 
 cumstances rather than " architects of our own fortunes." Grant 
 won victories on battle fields because it was to be so, but failed 
 in Wall street because of circumstances over which he had no 
 control. We too often pride ourselves upon our puny power, 
 our greatness, our sagacity, our superior genius, our business 
 qualifications, when after all it is only luck, or what is the same 
 thing — circumstances. Had not circumstances turned against 
 Mr. Smith when in the heighth of his financial success, he proba- 
 bly would have been a millionaire — now he sells vegetables in 
 the market. And what is true of him is true of hundreds and 
 thousands of others. He was born in Vermont in 1825, where 
 he was educated and worked on a farm; married in 1845 ''"d 
 moved to Wisconsin ; farmed for a while and came to St. Paul 
 in 185 1. Here he cut wood for Capt. Wilkin for fifty cents per 
 cord, at the same time packed bran, but his health failing he col- 
 lected bills for Samuel Seargent for a year or so, when he was 
 elected a Justice of the Peace in 1852; tried over four hundred 
 cases; never had a jury trial; one case only was appealed; 
 decision sustained. He continued buying and selling and barter- 
 ing up to 1853-4, when he entered the banking business, opening 
 his office in the corner of the old brick building which stood at 
 the junction of Third and Minnesota streets.; continued here for 
 five years, and then, fitting up a handsome office in the old Fuller 
 House, corner of Seventh and Jackson streets, moved there and 
 remained in business up to 1857. This year the Ohio Trust 
 Company failed and Smith lost ^28,000 by their paper, and in 
 one day had to meet ;^86,ooo for which other parties were respon- 
 sible, so he closed his banking doors and never opened them 
 again. He made no assignment, nor did he go into bankruptcy, 
 but turned out all his property to meet his debts. In 1856 he 
 bought of a Mr. Burns the stone house on Dayton's bluff known 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 333 
 
 as the Davidson property, and this went with his other assets. 
 His wife owns several acres near the old place, and this Mr. 
 Smith cultivates, raising asparagus and small fruits and sells 
 them at the market. He is a man who is seldom seen in the city 
 except upon business ; has withdrawn as it were almost entirely 
 from society, and makes his home all the heaven he can find 
 here, a quiet, undemonstrative, old-time gentleman. 
 
 HENRY BELLAND. 
 
 A tall, strong, muscular man is Mr. Belland, son of the old 
 and noted scout who died only a short time ago, and a man who 
 clearly shows his familiarity with frontier life. He was born in 
 Lac qui Parle in this State in 1840, and came down the Minne- 
 sota river in 1841 in a birch-bark canoe to Mendota and thence 
 down the Mississippi to Pig's Eye, below St. Paul, where he 
 remained seven years; removed to Crow Wing, but the next 
 spring came back in another birch-bark canoe with H. M. Rice, 
 down the Mississippi to Mendota ; attended a French school— 
 the first school of the kind in the State — at Mendota ; came to 
 West St. Patjl in 1851 ; was a pupil of the Cathedral school 
 three years and also of the college at Canada ; worked for Louis 
 Robert, Myrick and Forbes; in the Indian outbreak he was 
 special messenger for Gen. Pope; in 1864 in charge of a party 
 of scouts he accompanied Gen. Thomas who was ordered to 
 locate Fort Rice; in 1865 traded with the Indians at Yellow 
 Medicine. 
 
 A desperate fight — discovered the murderer. 
 
 While on his scouting mission he found two Frenchmen 
 who had been fighting twelve Indians two days and two nights, 
 but he came to their relief, drove the Indians away, and saved the 
 Frenchmen. 
 
 He was the first to discover and point out the murderer of 
 the Jewett family near Mankato, who proved to be Campbell, the 
 half-breed Indian, and who was subsequently hung. Mr. Belland 
 has been in charge of scouts at various forts and places, but is 
 now a resident of West St. Paul. He is vice-president of the 
 Junior Pioneers, and is a good deal of a politician, dealing largely 
 in that commodity. When considerably aroused his extreme 
 
334 PEN PICTURES 
 
 heighth enables him to pick the stars but from the sky and 
 throw them at his adversaries with telling effect, and if he should 
 fail in this he would make his enemies flee from the wrath to 
 come by his immense proportions. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 1852. 
 
 Mrst Maine Liquor Laii) — Death of the First Editor — First Conviction for 
 Murder — First Completed Court House — First President of Union Fran- 
 coise and St. John Societies — First Organization of Ramsey 
 County Agricultural Association — First News of the In- 
 dian Outbreak — First Stock Farm in Ramsey 
 County^First Editorial of the Writer 
 — Mrst Restaurant — Events 
 and Old Settlers of 
 this Year. 
 
 OPENING OF THE YEAR T852. 
 
 On January ist of this year a temperance convention was 
 held and very earnest feelings were shown in favor of a Maine 
 liquor law, and a demand being made for it the Legislature sub- 
 sequently passed a bill which was endorsed by a respectable 
 majority of the people to whom it was submitted for their rejec- 
 tion or approval. It was later along pronounced unconstitu- 
 tional, and from that day to this whisky has been sold openly in 
 this city and in this State. From the records of the past it is 
 quite evident that the people living in Minnesota in 1852 weVe 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. .33,5 
 
 most decidedly in favor of the abolition of the liquor traffic, but 
 Judge Hayner, of the Supreme Court, pronounced the law null 
 and void and the matter passed into oblivion. 
 
 THE THIRD LEGISLATURE. 
 
 On January 7th the Legislature met for the third time in 
 the brick building which stood near the corner of Third and Jack- 
 son streetSj where the Merchants now stands. Nothing start- 
 hng transpired at this session except the passage of the liquor 
 law, to which allusion has already been made. Gov. Ramsey 
 read his message to both Houses in the old Baptist Church, 
 which has long since given place to large wholesale warehouses, 
 and the huge hill and the little sacred edifice have passed into 
 history, but the Governor still livess The first Agricultural 
 Society of Ramsey County- was organized this year; Daniel's 
 new hotel burned; Cemetery Association formed; treaty of 
 Sioux ratified by Congress ; Court House completed, (now demol- 
 ished;) Joseph R. Brown bought the Pioneer, and 
 
 JAMES M. GOODHUE DIED. 
 
 The death of Mr. Goodhue, the pioneer editor of this city 
 and of this State, which occurred on the 27th of August, 1852, 
 created a profound sensation, for notwithstanding his impetuous 
 nature he was a man of power, whose influence was always cast 
 in the scale of right. Joseph R. Brown, who succeeded him in 
 the Pioneer, thus pays a just and manly tribute to his memory : 
 
 "Col. Goodhue was a man of warm temperament, which occasionally betrayed 
 him into an undue severity of comment upon those who differed with him in opin- 
 ion upon political questions, and upon aspirants for office whom he deeined unworthy , 
 of public confidence. Many of his editorials woiild have done no discredit to the 
 New York Herald in its most palmy days. They are replete with satiric humor. 
 Indeed, his powers of sarcasm were limited only by his sense of propriety, and we 
 can all testify to the effective mode in which they were exercised. In comparison 
 with the ordinary controversial articles of the country press, his style of writing 
 was as fine gold to lead. He will be numbered with the small band of sturdy men who 
 labored constantly and with iron resolution, to establish the pillars of society in our 
 Territory upon a sound moral basis. His press was always found on the side oWaw, 
 order, temperance and virtue. Minnesota may well lament his death and inscribe 
 his name on the roll of her benefactors." 
 
 Mr. Goodhue died at his residence, corner of Third and St. 
 Peter streets, just after a terrible spasm, having been sick only a 
 
386 PEN PICTURES 
 
 short time. He was buried in among a forest of trees off to the 
 right of Lake Como, in ground which had been selected as a 
 burial place for the dead, but which was finally abandoned 
 because a good title could not at that time be obtained to the 
 property. Judge Goodrich, his faithful friend, was the last to 
 leave the grave after the funeral, and for years afterwards made 
 many pilgrimages to it, until at last some vandal hand destroyed 
 the trees and then fires obliterated the place where now repose 
 the bones of the first and talented editor of the State of Minne- 
 sota. When the writer became assistant editor in the Pioneer 
 office in 1853, he gathered up Mr. Goodhue's letters and docu- 
 ments and passed them into the hands of his widow, now Mrs. 
 Dr. Mann. A biographical sketch of Mr. Goodhue's life appears 
 in Chapter Nine. 
 
 on" FOOT TO SUPERIOR— DOG STAGES. 
 
 To get to Superior in 1852 one was obliged to go to Chicago 
 or foot it across the marshy country occupying near a week in the 
 journey. I made the trip once on foot, and then rode over it in 
 the first wagon, (and what a trip ! ) then in the first stage ; then 
 in the first railroad cars. At this time there was no railroad 
 west of Rockford, 111., and I came over in a stage from that point 
 to Galena and took the old steamer Nominee for St. Paul. Now 
 look at the miles and miles of railroad tracks, not only east but 
 west of St. Paul, and one can go to Lake Superior in less than 
 a day. Why, even the Pacific coast is now accessible, all accomp- 
 lished inside of thirty years. 
 
 The members of the Territorial Legislature used to make 
 their journeys from Pembina to St. Paul on dog sledges in 
 about twenty-five days. The Pioneer oi 1852, says: 
 
 " Each had his cariole drawn by three fine dogs harnessed tastily with j ingling 
 bells and driven tandera-fashion, at 2:40 at least when put to their speed. They 
 usually traveled from thirty to forty miles per day, and averaged about thirty-five 
 miles. They fed the dogs but once a day on the trip, and that at night, a pound of 
 pemmican each. On this they drew a man and baggage as fast as a good horse 
 would travel, and on long journeys they tire horses out." 
 
 Of course in those early days no horses could withstand the 
 trip across the prairies in the snows on the extreme frontier, so 
 dogs took their places and they became formidable and valuable 
 property. St. Paul at this time had a population of 1,500. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 337 
 
 MURDERS BRUTAL SCENE FIRST HANGING. 
 
 Elijah S. Terry, brother of John C. Terry of this city, was 
 murdered by the Sisseton Indians near Pembina, where he had 
 gone to teach an Indian mission school. On the 2 1st of July 
 Chauncy Godfrey killed his wife with a pistol when in a fit of 
 jealousy. He escaped from the Territory. A Sioux Indian by the 
 name of Yu-ha-zee, killed a woman by the title of Keener, who, 
 with her husband and family were emigrating on to the land 
 then recently purchased of the Indians. Yu-ha-zee was arrested, 
 indicted by the grand jury, tried and convicted, and sentenced to 
 death, all inside of a week. He was hung in a little over a year 
 afterwards. 
 
 To my personal knowledge six or eight murderers had es- 
 caped punishment in the then Territory of Minnesota when this 
 poor, friendless Indian was immediately seized, tried, convicted 
 and sentenced to death in five days, and then treated in a brutal 
 manner up to and including his death. The scene on St. An- 
 thony Hill where the execution took place, was simply disgrace- 
 ful to civilization. A hooting mob followed the poor creature to 
 his death on a cold and windy day, he shabbily dressed, and vul- 
 gar and obscene remarks were made when he was ushered into 
 eternity. I denounced the proceedings then, and denounce them 
 in stronger terms now. It is a sad commentary upon so-called 
 justice when one can count up not less than twenty murders in 
 the past thirty years which have been committed in this city, and 
 only two of the offenders have suffered the penalty of death — 
 one a woman, Mrs. Bilanski, and the other an Indian, Yu-ha- 
 zee ! While I admit that the Indian was no doubt guilty of the 
 crime charged, yet I cannot help but mark the alacrity and the 
 manner in which he was punished, while many white murderers 
 were permitted to escape without even any serious effort to arrest 
 them. 
 
 THOMAS CAULDER. 
 
 Caulder was a. tall, raw-boned Scotchman, who kept a 
 liquor saloon on Third street and prided himself upon being a 
 gentleman. At the time I knew him in 1854, he must have been 
 fifty years old. He was a large man with strong features, had a 
 quiet way of speaking, and I think died sometime in the year 
 
 22 
 
5,98 PEN PICTURES 
 
 i860. It was at his saloon that an affray occurred in 1852,. 
 which terminated in the death of a man named Dalton, and of 
 which murder of course no notice was taken, 
 
 FINDLAY m'CORMICK OFFICES. 
 
 " Full many a flower is born to blush unseen," etc., and this 
 seems to be the case of Mr. McCormick, who, though an old 
 settler is scarcely ever found posing before the public. Born ia 
 Pennsylvania in 1818, he worked on a farm for a few years ; then 
 attended a common school ; became a teacher and taught school ; 
 was employed as book-keeper for four years in an iron furnace 
 establishment in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, and came to- 
 St. Paul in 1852. 
 
 Was City Comptroller of St. Paul two years ; receiver of 
 the Wabasha bridge seven years ; engaged in the city and U. S. 
 Engineer department for nearly three years ; has been and is 
 now secretary of the board of managers of the Reform School, 
 and has held the office since 1869, or fifteen years. His family 
 consisted of a wife and two children ; wife and son dead ; has a 
 daughter living. 
 
 IMPRESSIONS INDIANS QUIET, UNDEMONSTRATIVE. 
 
 Mr. McCormick says he never expected to see St. Paul 
 what it is to-day. He remembers it as a small village with huts, 
 Indians, French and half-breeds, and with no outward evidence 
 of its ultimate growth to its present size. One of the events 
 which impressed his mind most thoroughly, was the sight of a 
 dozen Chippewa Indians coming over Baptist Hill in 1852, near 
 the old church, in war paint, with tomahawks, knives and guns, 
 ferociously in pursuit of theSioux. Their wild, fierce looks and 
 demoniacal yells haunt his memory yet, and why should they 
 not? Then, not knowing their motive, he supposed they were 
 making a raid upon the whites, and one can conceive what feel- 
 ings a man would have under such circumstances. 
 
 A more quiet and undemonstrative man does not live in St. 
 Paul than Mr. McCormick. Of ordinary size and of a pleasant 
 nature, he glides in and out among the busy throng almost 
 unrecognized except to the few who know the beaten paths he 
 has trod for the past thirty-three years. He is a man of unblem- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 339 
 
 ished character, retiring in his nature, strictly attentive to busi- 
 ness, honorable/ unambitious, and an excellent type of an honest 
 man. Mr. McCormick's long connection with the Reform School 
 renders him an important spoke in that great wheel of youthful 
 reformation, which is one of the grandest institutions in the State 
 of Minnesota. 
 
 WILLIAM H. SHELLY THE INDIAN OUTBREAK. 
 
 Mr. Shelly was born in New York in 1829 and came to St. 
 Paul in 1852, or thirty-four years ago. He was a carpenter by 
 trade ; held the office of City Assessor for two years ; was an 
 officer in the State Constitutional Convention, sergeant-at-arms 
 of both branches of the Legislature and doorkeeper of the United 
 States House of Representatives in Washington for two sessions. 
 He was also sutler in the army. 
 
 He was the first man who brought the news of the Indian 
 outbreak in 1862 to Gov. Ramsey, and he did this on his own 
 responsibility. He was with Major Galbraith, the Indian Agent, 
 who had organized a company to go south, and was on his way 
 to St. Paul, when they were overhauled by a man by the name 
 of Dickerson, who notified them of the outbreak. Shelly imme- 
 diately started for St. Paul, a distance of fifty miles, and after 
 riding all night arrived in the morning and gave the Governor 
 the news. He was in St. Paul on the 17th and the outbreak 
 occurred on the i6th. 
 
 a narrow escape PERSONALLY. 
 
 On their way to New Ulm they were met by eighteeii 
 Indians, all painted, with rifles cocked, and seeing the situation 
 they invited them into a saloon near by and treated them to native 
 wine. This fortunate circumstance probably saved the lives of 
 both Mr. Shelly and Galbraith, as it was no doubt the intention 
 of the Indians to kill them at this time. 
 
 Mr. Shelly is a large man and is a natural politician. . He 
 has made it a profession and is well posted in the tricks of both 
 parties. He has a peculiar way of ingratiating himself into the 
 good graces of those who " run the machine," and has a remark- 
 able faculty for worming out political secrets. He keeps posted 
 on all matters pertaining to both parl.'.s, and makes this the 
 
340 PEN PICTURES 
 
 business of his life. His portly appearance and self-assurance, 
 with his positive declarations as to matters under discussion, give 
 him considerable influence among the party leaders, and very few 
 men have more political sagacity than Shelly, although they may 
 have more money. He once owned a good many acres of land 
 near Lake Como, and also a store on Jackson street, either of 
 which would have made him well off, but the great depression 
 which carried down a good many old citizens did not pass. him 
 by. He is just as much a landmark as the Merchants hotel; 
 is social, friendly, kind-hearted, and when gone will leave a 
 vacant place — and a big one. 
 
 T. T. MANN COMING TO ST. PAUL. 
 
 Dr. Mann was born in Philadelphia in 1816; first attended 
 a country school at a place called " Down the Neck," then a 
 school in Chester County, and then a few terms in a classical 
 establishment in the county of Lancaster. After four years' devo- 
 tion to the study of medicine and several years in the practice of 
 the same, he took charge of a sanitarium, and then drifted to a 
 town on Lake Superior where he spent a year, and following 
 that came to this city in 1852. 
 
 These wanderings were forced upon him on account of ill- 
 health, and his coming to St. Paul was purely accidental. He 
 left the mining regions of the south shore of the lake intending 
 to return to Philadelphia, but when he reached a little village at 
 the lower end of the lake, he chanced to see a large government 
 map of Minnesota tacked up in the hotel, and it occurred to him 
 that he might cross to the Mississippi and descend that river 
 until he reached some public conveyance whereby he could get 
 to Chicago, so that by these means he would then have made 
 the circuit of the most western frontier country that would proba- 
 bly be settled and civilized during his life-time. In talking the 
 matter over a gentleman from Boston agreed to join him. A 
 steamboat would bring them up to La Pointe, but from this place 
 they must trust to Indian voyageurs with birch-bark canoes. 
 The camp outfit was soon on hand except canoes, which could 
 be bought at La Pointe. From there the voyageurs would agree 
 to bring them only so far as Taylors Falls, and from thence in 
 to Stillwater; down the St. Croix they ran gr^at danger as 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 341 
 
 neither of them knew how to manage a boat. One day's pad- 
 dling on the river, however, was sufficient for the Doctor, and he 
 abandoned the canoe and took refuge on a raft, his Boston friend 
 preferring to get through as best he could in his frail boat. The 
 raft in time reached Stillwater and soon after the young traveler 
 found himself in St. Paul. 
 
 A FUNNY EVENT. 
 
 A little funny event led him to remain here. The day after 
 landing in the city and while sitting in the hotel, a brisk-appear- 
 ing man introduced himself and asked the Doctor if he had conie 
 intending to loan money, at the same time stating that money 
 was five per cent. The Doctor laughed at that, saying, " that 
 was nothing ; it was six per cent, in Philadelphia." 
 
 " Oh, but this is five per cent, a month and good paper at 
 that," replied the little man. 
 
 Then the Doctor thought that if this person was not deranged 
 the subject was worth looking into, so a few days after a small 
 loan was made to a dry-goods man and another to a commission 
 merchant, and both loans when due were promptly paid. In the 
 meantime a little dickering took place in lots. The beginning 
 was something like this : One morning the frisky little gentle- 
 man above referred to, persuaded the Doctor to buy a lot. 
 Towards night he appeared again and said: 
 
 " See here ! I will give you one hundred dollars advance 
 on that lot I sold you." 
 
 The bargain was closed instantly. In a few days another 
 transaction took place with the same gentleman, which was iden- 
 tical with the previous transaction. This busy, wide-awake real 
 estate man, who opened a new life to the subject of my sketch, 
 was no other than Henry McKenty, a well-known citizen of the 
 young town, whose friendship, when he fancied a man, knew no 
 limits, 
 
 OTHER INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE. 
 
 These little operations were followed up from time to time, 
 and it was two years before the Doctor returned to Philadelphia. 
 On arriving there he found that the city had lost its attractions 
 and he soon returned to St. Paul, where the most of his time 
 
342 PEN PICTURES 
 
 since has been occupied in the ordinary avocations of life. He 
 spent nearly two years in traveling through Europe, and during 
 his trip wrote some admirable letters of affairs in the old world ; 
 and for four years resided temporarily in the District of Colum- 
 bia. All that he has done in a public way was filling an appoint- 
 ment as physician to the Winnebago Indians, until they were 
 removed, and for four years serving as president of the Agri- 
 cultural Society of the State. At one time he was County Physi- 
 cian, but how he obtained the office he never inquired and never 
 knew. He always went when called upon, never presented any 
 bill, and doubts if there were any provisons made for a physi- 
 cian. How the Doctor's term ended and who succeeded him, 
 he does not know. 
 
 A DRY-LAND EEL ! — MARRIED PERSONAL. 
 
 One thing he remembers as peculiar to the period when he 
 was a boy and attended school, that nearly all the teachers 
 employed with whom he came in contact, except with the 
 Quakers, appeared to be broken-down Irish ' gentlemen ; good 
 scholars; fine manners, but extremely harsh in school. One 
 bright summer morning the teacher came in with a large black 
 snake gripped by the neck, which had wound itself around his 
 arm. " Here," says he to Mr. Lloyd, the propiietor, "'is a fine 
 dry-land eel I have brought you." He was terribly shocked at 
 his own ignorance when relieved of the snake and informed that 
 eels were never found out of the water. 
 
 Just before the writer came to the Territory, Dr. Mann mar- 
 ried the widow of the late James M. Goodhue, first editor of the 
 Pioneer, and some years later he visited Philadelphia for the pur- 
 pose of educating the children of the dead journalist. To them 
 he was a good and an affectionate father. His thoroughly hon- 
 orable management of Mr. Goodhue's estate, turning over to the 
 heirs every foot of ground left them at their father's death, pro- 
 tecting it from grasping knaves and contractors, is a record 
 worthy to leave behind one when the law presents so many hooks 
 to hang a plea upon and through this defect defenseless orphans 
 are too often left at the mercy of designing men, but in this case 
 an honest man protected the rights of the helpless. . 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 843 
 
 Dr. Mann is a gentleman of fine literary attainments, and arti- 
 -cles and letters he has written clearly attest this statement. He is 
 tall ; usually walks a little bent with a swinging movement ; hair 
 white ; hands behind him ; and is quietly spoken. He has suf- 
 fered for years with a stomach difficulty and has rather with- 
 drawn himself from society than encounter its exacting cares. 
 The home circle is to him the pleasantest spot on earth. Though 
 somewhat retiring in his nature yet when well known he is 
 social, entertaining, kind-hearted, genial, and an excellent con- 
 -versationalist. 
 
 THOMAS ALBERT JACKSON (COLORED.) 
 
 Born in 1826 in the town of Princess Ann, Maryland; at 
 the age of eight years (1834) his mother moved to Philadelphia so 
 that her son Albert might be sent to school. In 1836 she again 
 moved to Ithaca, New York, where ThomaS Albert remained 
 until 1844, when he came west. In 1840 he entered the office 
 of Dr. William S. Pelton (a brother-in-law of Samuel J. Tilden,) 
 as office boy, in order to study medicine, the doctor dying soon 
 ^fter. Albert tried 'the silk-worm culture but without success. 
 
 On the 13th of June, 1852, he landed in St. Paul, and was 
 immediately employed by Anson Northrop as steward for the 
 St. Charles hotel, St. Anthony; and in 1854 went into the Capi- 
 "tol, St. Paul, as janitor, during J. Travis Rosser's secretaryship. 
 He has filled many places of trust and responsibility ; was 
 appointed through the influence of General Averill in 1872 a 
 mail agent, filling that office ten years and has been latterly in 
 :the Custom House at Pembina and St. Vincent as Inspector. 
 
 Jackson is a small, quick, bright colored man, and greatly 
 interested in politics, being a Republican. He was formerly a 
 barber in this city; removed to Duluth; obtained an office, and 
 .has ever since been " on the fly." 
 
 JACKSON AND AN EPISODE. 
 
 If I remember correctly it was Jackson whom Rosser, a 
 Virginian, then Secretary of the Territory, ill treated, and which 
 ■called forth criticism on the part of the St. Paul Daily Times, 
 then edited by the writer. Rosser resented the article and threat- 
 .«ned to whip the editor, but I wrung my revenge on him by 
 
344 PEN PICTURES 
 
 manufacturing a speech reported to have been given at a public 
 dinner, which under the circumstances he was incapable of mak- 
 ing, and he was so pleased with my ingenious method of " whip- 
 ping the devil around the stump," that he not only thanked me 
 cordially for what I had done but ever after was my firm friend. 
 Jackson now lives in Minneapolis. Rosser is dead. 
 
 ON STILTS. 
 
 A correspondent writing from St. Paui in the fall of 1852,. 
 says: 
 
 " My ears at every turn are saluted with the everlasting din of land ! land !. 
 land warrants ! town lots, etc., etc. I turn away sick and disgusted. Land at 
 breakfast, land at dinner, land at supper, and until ii o'clock, land! then land in, 
 bed until their vocal organs are exhausted — then they dream and groan out — 'land!' 
 Everything is artificial, floating — the excitement of trade, speculation and expecta- 
 tion is now running high, and will, perhaps, for a year or so — but it must have- 
 a reaction. 
 
 And the reaction did come in 1857, and land, and fortunes,, 
 and credits, and almost everything else went out of sight, and 
 men commenced over again their eventful lives, and land again 
 gained its footing and prosperity again returned, and what was- 
 once wild speculation has become solid and firm. 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON MORGAN. 
 
 Young Morgan resembled Stephen A. Douglas only Morgan 
 was smaller, but he had the same cast of countenance and the 
 same peculiar form, and both were Democrats. " Little Jack,"' 
 as he was familiarly called, was born in Ohio somewhere about 
 the year 1827 ; was a printer by trade and came to St. Paul in 
 1852. Here he took an active part in politics, especially those 
 of the Democratic party, and on ail occasions and everywhere 
 " Little Jack " was the mouth-piece of the Democracy. He was 
 at one period jn his history, editor of a paper in the Minnesota 
 valley, and was chief clerk of the Senate at the time Gen.. 
 Gorman was Governor, I think in the year 1855. His head was 
 large, his tone self-assuring, his air that of a man of importance,, 
 while his small, chubby body resembled somewhat a banty 
 rooster. He was connected with a good family in Ohio, one of 
 his brothers having been speaker of the Ohio House of Repre- 
 sentatives. William Noot, John P. Owens, Bill Shelly, Jack 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 345 
 
 Morgan ! What memories these four names bring up, especially 
 out of the dark, almost forgotten political past. Jack died some 
 twenty-eight or twenty-nine years ago from an overdose of 
 hilarity ; Owens passed away only a few months since ; Shelly 
 and Noot still live to enjoy the fruits of a Democratic victory, 
 while the wheel of Time continues its everlasting revolution. 
 And so come the weeks, and the months, and the years, and the 
 centuries, and with them the young, and the ardent, and the 
 ambitious, and in the eternal march of time they will all be 
 swept into the ocean of eternity, making way for others, who, in 
 their turn will follow their footsteps. 
 
 "l GATHER THEM IN ! I GATHER THEM IN ! " DEAD ! 
 
 So says the old reaper Death as he industriously swings his 
 scythe among the men and the women of over a quarter of a 
 century ago. He makes no distinction — he overlooks no one — 
 he is impartial in his dealings — he is unrelenting and exacting 
 in his demands — he is unerring in his calls. Beauty, money, 
 wealth, fame, poverty, distress, virtue, manhood, youth, woman- 
 hood, all alike are laid low in the dust. So far as this world is 
 concerned each have a common level, so far as the other world 
 is concerned that depends upon the deeds done here ; but the 
 universal fate of all is — Death. 
 
 Mrs. Anna E. Ramsey died at her late elegant residence on 
 South Exchange street, on the 29th of November, 1884, at 4 
 o'clock p. M., aged fifty-nine years ; and thus another prominent 
 and greatly esteemed member of the old settlers has passed 
 behind the dark curtain which divides the future from the 
 present, and 
 
 " Drawing the drapery of her couch about her, 
 Has lain down to pleasant dreams." 
 
 WM. L. AMES OFFICES PROPERTY. 
 
 Mr. Ames was born in Massachusetts in 181 2; his father 
 manufactured the celebrated "Ames' shovel," while his elder 
 brothers, Oakes and Oliver, were the originators and builders of 
 the Union Pacific Railroad. He himself ran an iron business in 
 New Jersey, and came to St. P.wl in 1852. Here he engaged 
 in the manufacturing interests and then having purchased some 
 
346 PEN PICTURES 
 
 300 acres of land near St. Paul, he opened a stock farm. His 
 property lay near the Harvester Works and is now very valuable. 
 The stock farm was an excellent one, because it had the finest 
 herd of short-horned cattle in the country. 
 
 He was one of the original proprietors of the town site of 
 St. Peter ; president of the State Agricultural Society in 1 863 ; 
 a member of the Board of Education in 1856-7 ; a member and 
 •one of the organizers of the Chamber of Commerce ; a corpora- 
 tor and one of the first directors of the St. Paul & Pacific Rail- 
 road Company ; president of the Home Insurance Company ; a 
 stockholder in the St. Paul Gas and St. Paul Dispatch com- 
 panies ; was a state delegate to the Cincinnati convention which 
 nominated Greeley for President, and died in 1873 age sixty-one 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Ames was a good-sized man and as he grew older he 
 became corpulent. He was a person of considerable force of 
 character ; very affable ; an excellent entertainer, and his late 
 residence which has recently been remodeled, stands upon a 
 plateau which surrounds St. Paul and is now the home of Uri 
 Lamphrey, Esq. Tlje first party I attended in the West was at 
 the cheerful and pleasant home of Mr. Ames, thirty-two years 
 ago. 
 
 Had Mr. Ames lived and retained his property to the pres- 
 ent time, it would have made him a man worth ,^500,000 inde- 
 pendent of other resources. The original cost to him of the 
 land he purchased at an early day, was about ^15,000; profit 
 ^485,000, and yet at the time he bought his farm it was con- 
 sidered away out of the city. He had several sons and left a 
 sweet, pretty, pleasant widow. 
 
 I. v. D. HEARD. 
 
 Thirty-two years ago the writer met Mr. Heard for the first 
 time on the old steamer Nominee, and he (Heard) had then just 
 reached the age of twenty-nine years. He is now at noon-day 
 fifty. Born in New York State in 1834 he received an academ- 
 ical education, studied law, was admitted to practice, and in 1852 
 arrived at St. Paul, where he acted as clerk in the law offices 
 of Wilkin & Van Etten, Ames & Van Etten and Rice, Hollins- 
 head & Becker. His talents and ambition carried him into the 
 
OP ST. PAUL, MINN. 347 
 
 City Attorneyship in 1856, and again in 1865, i86j and 1867, 
 and he filled the position with great credit. In 1857 ^^ ^as ap- 
 pointed County Attorney, and was then elected to the same office 
 for two years, and re-elected in 1859 and 1861, holding the place 
 six years. In 1 87 1 he was sent to the State Senate from Ramsey 
 County ; was also at one time a member of the Cullen Guard, 
 Adjutant of mounted militia, member of Gen. Sibley's staff 
 and Acting Judge Advocate of a military commission at the trial 
 of the Sioux in 1862. He subsequently wrote a history of the 
 Indian war which is probably more correct than any work on the 
 same subject in circulation. 
 
 AN INTERESTING INCIDENT. 
 
 [From the Pioneer of October 13, 1853.] 
 
 "ARE YOU CERTAIN ? 
 
 " A little incident occurred on board of the Nominee on her passage up, 
 which, as it tends to illustrate the old saying that we should be careful what 
 we say, we publish it for the benefit and edification of our readers. 
 
 "Two young 'gentlemen were seated at the supper table briskly engaged 
 with their knives and forks, when one of them overheard the name of the 
 other brought in question by three gentlemen, who occupied seats nearly oppo- 
 site. As a matter of course the curiosity of tlie one talked about led him to 
 listen, and he had the satisfaction of learning the following very interesting 
 facts concerning himself : 
 
 " ' He wore a white hat — was a small man, and said he was connected with 
 Mr. Brown, at St. Paul.' 
 
 " ' What was his name .'' interrogated another gentleman. 
 
 "'N .' 
 
 " ' There is no such person in St. Paul,' said the third. ' Are you not 
 mistaken in the name ? ' 
 
 " ' No ! He was introduced to me at Chicago. I should judge he was a 
 sort of fast man — thought a good deal of a celebrated horse owned by a gentle- 
 man there, and wished to go to the races which came oflf that afternoon. He 
 was introduced to me and I was informed that he was on boiird of the boat.' 
 
 " ' Did he wear a mustache ? ' 
 
 " ' I think not.' 
 
 "'Had he whiskers ?' 
 
 '"I've no recollection that he had. He wore a white hat— was quite a 
 small man.' 
 
 "'Ha! ha! ha!' laughed the third; 'I guess he was an impostor. There 
 is no such man in St. Paul ; Mr. Brown was the firm when I left, and that's 
 only a short time ago. You've been sold — ha! ha! ha ! ' 
 
 • "'Ha! ha! ha!' chimed in another. And thus the looking-glass was held 
 up before the face of the unsuspecting stranger who had ample time, as Burns 
 says, 'to see himself as others see him.' The natural conclusion the trio 
 
348 PEN PICTURES 
 
 came to was, that the small man, who wore a white hat, was an impostor. 
 And with this impression they withdrew from the board evidently much pleased 
 with their tea-table conversation. The young man whp had been the subject 
 of their remarks, also withdrew, and shortly after meeting one of the afore- 
 said gentlemen, he accosted him as follows: 
 
 " ' At the table I heard you mention the name of Mr. Newson whom you 
 took for an impostor. I am that gentleman ' — extending his hand ' and arn 
 happy to make your acquaintance.' The peculiar lights and shades which 
 played over his countenance can be better imagined than described. He at 
 once recognized his mistake, and made due apology for his remarks, which 
 was received in the kindest manner, and during the remainder of the passage 
 the two were on intimate and friendly terms. 
 
 " Moral — Always be careful what you say, remembering the old adage, 
 
 that the d 1 is always near when you are talking about him. That man is 
 
 an impostor.' Are you certain.' Be careful." 
 
 The significance of this article, copied from the Pioneer of 
 thirty-two years ago, lies in the fact that the young man who 
 thought the present writer was an impostor then, is no less a 
 personage than I. V. D. Heard, of the present day ; and I repro- 
 duce the article because not only of the pleasant memories it 
 evokes from the past, but because also it is the first article I wrote 
 in the then Territory, now State of Minnesota. We were both 
 young men then, but to-day we are traveling together down the 
 hill of life, the one who wore the white hat having a little the lead 
 of the young chap, who, not knowing that I had been to St. Paul 
 and had made arrangements with Mr. Brown to accept a position 
 on the Pioneer and was then on my way back for that purpose, 
 thought it could not be so, and hence the laugh, the joke, and the 
 explanation. An acquaintance thus made, and a friendship thus 
 formed, has remained uninterrupted for thirty-two years. 
 
 AS A LITERARY MAN. 
 
 Aside from his fine abilities as a lawyer, Mr. Heard possesses 
 literary qualifications of a high order. He is quite a classical 
 scholar, and his productions show thought and polish. As a 
 speaker he is somewhat nervous, yet he is decided and his utter- 
 ances carry conviction, and this same characteristic is shown jn 
 his efforts at the bar. He is earnest, sincere, honest ; and this 
 gives him an enviable position in his profession. As a man he 
 is warm-hearted, and has the delicate sympathy of a woman. 
 He would if he could make the world a great deal happier than it 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 340 
 
 is. He is of medium height, somewhat sturdy in his build, pos- 
 sessing a round, well-developed head, with a peculiar yet not un- 
 pleasant twist of the mouth when he speaks ; is able, quiet, mod- 
 est, industrious ; a respected and valuable citizen. 
 
 LOUIS DEMULES. 
 
 Mr. Demules was born in Canada in 1832 ; married a sister 
 of Vetal Guerin; came to St. Paul in 1852; was a clei-k for 
 Louis M. Olivier for two years ; was also a clerk and agent for 
 Louis Robert from 1S60 to 1862 ; in 1863 opened a grocery store 
 corner Wabasha and Seventh streets ; was in business up to 1 874 ; 
 was a candidate for Treasurer of the City ; was candidate for 
 Register of Deeds twice; was elected Alderman and School 
 Inspector ; was the first president of the Union Francaise Society ; 
 was first president of St. John the Baptist Society ; held various 
 offices in these two orders ; was also promoter of these societies 
 which formed the parish of St. Louis French ; held the office of 
 United States Ganger six years, and was at the time of his death, 
 in September, 1885, Deputy Collector of Customs. 
 
 DEFENDING FORT RIDGELY REAL ESTATE. 
 
 Four days before the outbreak of the Sioux Indians in 1862, 
 Mr. Demules raised a company of forty-five men to enlist in the 
 Federal army, and while on his way to St. Paul he heard of the 
 outbreak and his men and others organized into a strong body 
 at St. Peter and marched to the defense of the fort, and in making 
 that defense three of his men were killed and three were wounded. 
 After the fort had been saved, all the men enlisted in the Mounted 
 Rangers to serve in the State, and Demules returned to take 
 charge of Capt. Robert's business, including four stores. 
 
 He purchased twenty-two acres in St. Paul in 1852, costing 
 ^1,300; worth now $100,000; 100 feet on Seventh street, costing 
 ;^2,500 ; worth now ;^30,ooo ; ten acres near the Manitoba round- 
 house, for which he paid $i,ioo; worth JS 55,000; a lot near the 
 Union Depot on Fourth street ; cost ;^930 ; worth $40,000 ; two 
 lots on Norris street, cost $2,000 ; worth $8,000 ; ten acres on 
 Lambert's Island, near Vadnais lake, for $250 ; worth $8,000, and 
 lots of property in other places, all of which has greatly advanced 
 in value, and among it were three lots v/here the German Catho- 
 
350 PEN PICTURES 
 
 lie Church now stands, which cost him $900 ; worth $ 1 5 ,000 ; 
 sold them for ;^ 1,700, and ;^500 of the purchase money went 
 towards the education of his children of whom he has had five, 
 and of these one son has been a member of the Legislature. 
 
 Mr. Demules was always a stirring, active citizen, never fail- 
 ing to advance the interests of St. Paul. He was not tall, nor 
 fat, and yet possessed a physical organization which was capable, 
 of great endurance. He had a high head, almost completely 
 bald, .resembling somewhat the "top-knot" worn by the late 
 Horace Greeley. He was only a remnant left of that gallant 
 band of Frenchmen who were the early pioneers of our city and 
 to whose memories we turn with the kindest regard, for in my 
 investigations of history I find that they were a bold, brave, hardy^ 
 honest class of men, who committed no deeds of violence of 
 which history need be ashamed. 
 
 R. O. SWEENEY. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia in 1831; removed to Kentucky when 
 a mere lad ; then returned to the Quaker City ; received an aca- 
 demical education ; father enlisted during the Mexican war and 
 died in Mexico, when young Sweeney entered a silk house at 
 the age of seventeen years and remained in it until he was twenty- 
 one years old; came to St. Paul in 1852; was a partner of W. S. 
 Potts in the drug business ; five years later he purchased the 
 interests of Messrs. Delano, and has continued in the business 
 ever since. For years he has been a Commissioner of the State 
 Fishery. 
 
 J. H. SCHURMEIER "THAT GOLD CAR." 
 
 Mr. Schurmeier was born in Germany in 1828', and in 1848 
 he and his brother were engaged in making wagons in St Louis. 
 He same to St. Paul in 1852 and started in business in a small 
 way, which has now grown to large proportions. His shops on 
 Rosabel street, near Seventh, are very extensive, his machinery 
 being driven by a fifty-horse steam engine, and he employs over 
 fifty men. The property he purchased when he first came to St. 
 Paul has become very valuable, and is increasing in value every 
 day. During all these long years, from I052 up to 1884, Mr. 
 Schurmeier has never faltered or stopped, and his continued carcj 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 351 
 
 ful and prudent method of transacting business has made him a 
 rich man. 
 
 During the excitement growing out of the discovery of gold 
 at VermiUion Lake in 1864-5, the writer organized a company 
 to go there and prospect for the precious metal, and although 
 eniinent assayers and chemists in New York and Boston reported 
 ^30 and $/^o of gold to the ton of the rock found there, yet the 
 excitement died out and the matter was abandoned. Before start- 
 ing on my expedition I ordered a large car twenty feet long to 
 be built, and which was subsequently used as a dining room, and 
 as it was winter when I commenced my journey, this car was 
 put upon runners and served admirably the object for which it 
 was intended. It was built by Mr. Schurmeier and he can now 
 turn back to the pages of history and claim the honor of having 
 built the first car that rolled on the shores of Lake Vermillion, 
 although since then large bodies of iron have induced capitalists 
 to construct tracks on which regular trains now pass to the lake 
 covering most of the identical ground over which "Newson's 
 Gold Car ". rumbled nineteen years ago ! Tempora mutantur; 
 Times have changed, but I am quite willing to abide the result. 
 
 PROPERTY EARLY PURCHASED. 
 
 In the year 1852 Mr. Schurmeier purchased a lot on the 
 corner of Seventh and Rosabel streets, for which he paid ^200 ; 
 worth now ;g28,ooo, and upon this lot he erected a three-story 
 brick building costing ;^i 5,000, and for which he receives ;^300 
 per month in rents ; then in 1882 he bought the lot on which the 
 Minnesota House stands on Rosabel street, next to the first or 
 corner lot, for which he paid $11,000; worth $15,000; about 
 twenty-five years ago he purchased 100 feet on Rosabel street 
 where his carriage factory now stands, and paid $1,400; worth 
 now $20,000; in 1872 he bought half of a lot on the other cor- 
 ner of Rosabel and Seventh streets and paid $4,500; v/orth now 
 $15,000; owns half a block on Rosabel and Broadway; costs 
 $6,000 ; worth $40,000 ; a lot near Union Depot, corner Rosabel 
 and Third; cost in 1866 $1,200; worth $25,000; two lots on 
 Broadway and Ninth, cost in 1870 $1,900; worth $12,000; an- 
 other lot on Rosabel street, where he lives ; cost in 1865 $1,500; 
 worth $15,000; two lots on Jackson street, one of which cost in 
 
352 PEN PICTURES 
 
 i860 ^1,500, the other in 1863 ^4,500; worth now ;^26,ooo; a 
 lot on Third street, in i860 for ^5,500 ; worth ^35,000. 
 
 When Mr. Schurmeier bought his property on Rosabel 
 street it was covered with hazel brush and trees, and was the 
 sleeping place of the Indians, and the little shop where was built 
 my " Gold Car" in 1865, has been remodeled and is now stocked 
 with a large assortment of goods. 
 
 Mr. Schurmeier is a quiet, unostentatious man ; very delib- 
 erate in his movements, yet far-seeing and sagacious in material 
 interests. Whatever money he makes in his business he puts , 
 into real estate, and gets about as much comfort out of life as 
 almost any man I know. 
 
 A. T. C. PIERSON. 
 
 Who is that man with long hair and a slouch hat, and a 
 swaggering motion, and who moves his head rapidly from one 
 side to another and thrusts his hands deep down into the pockets 
 of his pants ? That is A. T. C. Pierson, the great Mason, who 
 has climbed the Morgan ladder to the top round and is looking 
 about to see if he can't grapple with the stars and steal into the 
 other world and establish a higher order of Masonry there. He 
 is as young in feeling and in action as a boy of sixteen, and yet 
 he makes a splendid picture of a grand old patriarch as he really 
 is, just stepping upon the last step which leads to three score and 
 ten. His flowing locks, his elastic step, his rapid movements, 
 his quick brain, his boyish yet venerable appearance, all make 
 him a paradoxism — a sort of contradiction, and yet as a whole 
 he is complete and individualized into an exception to a general 
 rule; in a word, he is a character! There are very few if any 
 men in the country better posted on Masonry than Pierson, as 
 he has made it a life study and has written several books on 
 the subject, and if Masonry is as grand and sublime as its advo- 
 cates claim it is, Mr. Pierson ought to be good enough to go to 
 heaven on a sunbeam ; if he isn't he 's to blame, not Masonry. 
 
 He was born in New Jersey in 1815, in the old homestead 
 which has been in possession of the family for two hundred 
 years. In 1819 he removed to Cincinnati; returned to New Jer- 
 sey in 1822; went to New York in 1827; graduated from Bar- 
 clay Street Medical College that year ; came to Minnesota in 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 333 
 
 the employ of the Indian Department in 1850, and in 1852 
 became a permanent resident of St. Paul. He was at one time 
 with the Winnebago Indians, then with the Chippewas, and next 
 -with the Sioux. He became chief draughtsman in the Surveyor 
 ■General's office some twelve years ago, and through various 
 Republican administrations has continued in this position up to 
 a short time since. Mr. Pierson is a fine-looking man and his 
 portrait presents a striking appearance. He is social in his 
 nature and outwardly is all one needs to ask for when dealing 
 " on the square." 
 
 JOHN LUNKENHEIMER. 
 
 Mr. Lunkenheimer was born in Germany on the Rhine in 
 1 819; learned the trade of a carpenter; emigrated to America 
 in 1 842 ; was nine years in Wisconsin engaged in farming ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1852; worked at his trade for one year, then 
 started the Darmstaeter HofC — a German boarding house. In 
 1857 ^^ was burned out, and in i860 built what is now called 
 the American House, corner of Fourth and Wabasha streets, 
 and which was subsequently purchased by Mr. Pottgeiser. After 
 this he started a boarding house on Wabasha street. He is now 
 a hale old gentleman, still living in the city. 
 
 JOHN LUNKENHEIMER, JR., 
 
 Was born in Wisconsin in 1843; came to St. Paul in 1852 
 when he was nine years old, and here he received his education ; 
 clerked for his father, who kept an old-fashioned German inn, or 
 hotel, on the corner of Fourth and Wabasha streets, up to the 
 year i860, when, for seven years young Lunkenheimer devoted 
 his time to the liquor and cigar trade, and for five years ran a 
 livery stable. Was a member ot the Legislature in 1875-6; 
 was Major of the First Regiment of the National Guards ; was 
 a member of the fire department eighteen years, and foreman 
 twelve. He then went out of the livery business and engaged 
 again in the sale of liquor and cigars. He took part in the 
 Indian war of 1862, and was in the battle of Birch Coolie. 
 Married in 187010 Miss Gertrude Smith, and has a family of 
 three children, and is now Deputy Sheriff under Richter. 
 
 John is a quiet man and has considerable influence with his 
 German neighbors. I remember the old hotel — a perfect coun- 
 ts 
 
854 PEN PICTURES 
 
 terpart of many found in Europe — which formerly stood on the 
 corner of Fourth and Wabasha streets, but many of the old set- 
 tlers who passed its threshold have gone to rest ; the old inn has- 
 passed into history ; the old landmarks are nearly obliterated ;. 
 the old ways and the old times are giving place to new faces,, 
 new things, new men ; and though we try to check the flying 
 hours, they still glide on, while — 
 
 "Time, Time, 
 , The tomb-builder, liolds his fierce career, 
 Dark, stern, all pitiless, and pauses not 
 Amid the mighty wrecks that strew his path." 
 
 ISAAC W. MILNER. 
 
 All the old citizens who knew Mr. Best, the stone con- 
 tractor, will not forget his partner, the subject of this sketch, who 
 was born in England in 1820, and who, after learning his trade 
 as a stone-cutter, came to America in 1845 and worked for a 
 while on the Vermont Central and the New Albany and Salem 
 railways ; came to St. Paul in 1852, and two years after assisted 
 in the stone work of a bridge at the Falls ; then he followed con- 
 tracting with his partner, Mr. Best, in this city until 1868, and 
 then aided in the construction of the Custom House. He and 
 Mr. Best continued business up to 1874, when, in consequence of 
 ill health Mr. Best retired and soon after died. Mr. M. was sub- 
 sequently City Inspector and had the supervision of the stone 
 work of the new Capitol. He is a hard-working, industrious,, 
 careful, honest man. 
 
 H. A. SCHLIEK. 
 
 Mr. Schliek was born in Germany in 18 18, where he learned 
 the trade of a shoemaker and came to this country in 1845. He 
 landed at New Orleans and went to St. Louis where he remained 
 three years. He then removed to Milwaukee, and there worked 
 for three dollars per week, and at the expiration of five years 
 had laid by $'jOO with which to commence business at Madison, 
 which place he left soon after for St. Paul, where he arrived in 
 1852 with three dollars in his pocket and his wife with five. He 
 commenced business in the building which at present stands on 
 the corner of Wabasha and Third streets but which then occu- 
 pied the corner now devoted to the Pioneer Press office. It was 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. SSS 
 
 subsequently moved to where it now stands. In 1877 the firm 
 was organized as Schliek & Company, the company consisting 
 of his two sons, and a fine store was opened on Third street and 
 has ever since done a good trade. He married a Miss EHzabeth 
 Kersting in Milwaukee, in 1850, and left when he died, three 
 children, Edward, Charles and Augustus, all young men of fine 
 promise and good business tact. His wife preceded him in her 
 death only a short time, and Edward, bis oldest son, died since 
 the above was written, in September, 1885. 
 
 EARLY INVESTMENTS. 
 
 Among Mr. Schliek's early purchases were three lots in 
 Nicollet County for which he gave three pairs of boots ; property 
 now valued at about ;?3,500 ; one lot in Mankato City, cost $2^, ; 
 worth ;^700; 360 acres on the Superior road, cost ^150; worth 
 several thousands ; 16 lots in Le Sueur County, cost ^250 ; worth 
 ;$2,ooo; lot near the German Catholic Church, St. Paul, for 
 which he paid ^1,800; sold for $7,500; worth ;^io,ooo; lot on 
 Cedar street, near where the old Episcopal Church stood, cost 
 ;^2Co; worth $15,000; lot on Oakes street, cost $2,800; sold for 
 $6,000; worth $8,000; lot in the Sixth ward, cost $500; worth 
 $6,000; three acres near the Home for the Homeless, cost $300 ; 
 worth $66,000 ; the lot corner of Fourth and Wabasha streets, 
 cost $2,800 fourteen years ago ; worth $22,000 now. Beside this 
 he left between $60,000 and $70,000 in personal property, so that 
 his estate when he died footed up to nearly $200,000, all 
 accumulated by strict attention to business. 
 
 A PECULIAR MAN. 
 
 Mr. Schliek will always be remembered by the old settlers 
 as one of the most polite men in the city. He was invariably in 
 good humor, very affable, and made a great run on the " Burt 
 shoe," and on this he built up a large trade. He started his 
 boys in business on Third street, and then fell back into his little 
 old store — now remodeled by his son — on the corner of Wabasha 
 and Fourth streets, where he spent the remainder of his business 
 days. He was a well-proportioned man, quick in his movements, 
 pleasant in his ways, and especially noted for the manner in 
 which he addressed his friends on the street, just in front of 
 
3S6 PEN PICTURES 
 
 his store, by a shake of the hand, a nod of the head, and that 
 ever-to-be-remembered cluck of the mouth. He was Democratic 
 in his feehngs — having no snobism about him — and often ap- 
 peared on his favorite corner with a pair of spectacles on his 
 head, (no hat,) an apron around his waist, bowing and shaking 
 hands with all he met, never failing to greet them with that 
 peculiar noise he made with the tongue. He gave quite liberally 
 to the German Church and to other charitable objects, and lived 
 and died a good man, at the age of sixty-four years. I never 
 turn even now that identical corner without expecting to see that 
 identical old gentleman greet me in his peculiar way, for he was 
 as much of a landmark in the past as the building itself is 
 to-day. 
 
 " Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble. 
 From the cradle to the grave." 
 
 And such is life ! But it is good to reflect that it leaves no 
 stings. 
 
 JOHN o'GORMAN OFFICES PROPERTY. 
 
 Capt. O'Gorman was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1816; 
 emigrated to Boston in 1834; removed to Chicago in 1848; and 
 came to St. Paul in 1852; died in 1872, aged fifty-six years. 
 He held the position at one time in this city of Captain of 
 Police, then Chief of Police, then City Assessor for two years. 
 Inspector of State Prison, Bridge Receiver for many years, and 
 Captain of a military company called the Shields Guards. 
 
 The Captain purchased a lot on the corner of Ninth and St. 
 Peter streets in the year 1852, for which he paid ^700. It was 
 sold for ^I0,030, and is now worth ;^i6,ooo; he purchased also 
 some lots out on the Fort road for which he paid about ;^ioo; 
 worth now $8,000. On his city lot on St. Peter street, he erected 
 a small brick building in which he reared eight children, six of 
 whom are boys and two are girls — all living. I think he was 
 a stone-cutter by trade, but of late years he was prevented from 
 working at it for the want of good health. 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Capt. O'Gorman was a slender man, very quietly spoken 
 and very pleasant in his manners. I remember him very well. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN.' 337 
 
 Sergeant William O'Gorman, his son, was in my commissary 
 department for several years. One of the boys was in Gen. 
 Sibley's office during the war ; another became a priest ; another 
 was with Pat Kelly, and indeed the boys have all done well, 
 thanks to the good example set them by their excellent father, 
 of whom I have many pleasant memories. 
 
 JOHN MATHES. 
 
 The old adage that it takes " nine tailors to make a man," 
 is not true in the case of Mr. Mathes, who was a man before he 
 was a tailor and has continued so ever since, although he was 
 among the very first who handled a pair of shears in St. Paul, 
 where he arrived in the year 1852. For six years he carried on 
 his business on Third street, when he gave it up and became the 
 cutter for Mr. Campbell, with whom he continued for five years, 
 and then was connected with Griswold & Tenney (both dead,) 
 and in 1 870 opened his present extensive trade on Jackson street, 
 where he and his partners are doing a good business. He is a 
 bustling, active business man, and has seen many and great 
 changes since he came to St. Paul, now thirty-three years ago. 
 
 JAMES O'BRIEN AS A MAN. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien was born in Michigan in 1845 i was educated 
 in the common schools of that place and came to St. Paul in 
 1852. In 1862 Ke enlisted in Company H, Tenth Regiment, and 
 served during the war. He was wounded at the battle of Nash- 
 ville, December 16, 1864, and in 1865 was discharged. Four 
 years after returning to St. Paul he was appointed deputy clerk 
 of the District Court, which position he held for upwards of 
 fifteen years. He then engaged in the collection of accounts, 
 and finally built himself and family a home, but only a short 
 time ago (in 1884,) it was burned down, and nearly everything he 
 had went up in smoke. Fortunately the Democratic party was 
 looking about for a formidable candidate for County Auditor, and 
 they struck " Jimmy," and putting him on to the track he ran like 
 a wild deer and came out of the contest with upwards of 3,000 
 majority. It was a clear case of good luck, but it is just as grati- 
 fying and a little more pleasing to Mr. O'Brien than if the elec- 
 tion had been achieved by many months of planning and figuring. 
 
3.58 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Mr. O'Brien is a small, wiry man ; very active ; hopeful ; 
 industrious ; and just now very grateful. He is an accommo- 
 dating gentleman, honest, and no doubt will make a good and pop- 
 ular county officer. He is a young old settler, that is, he is only 
 thirty-nine years of age and yet he has been in St. Paul thirty- 
 two years, — having come here when he was only seven years 
 old, and thus having the advantage of us veterans he ought to 
 learn from experience how to accumulate sufficient money to 
 take care of his family and himself in his old age. " Jimmy," 
 mark those wrecks ! — steer your ship into a safe harbor ! Go 
 slow ! 
 
 HENRY o'gORMAN. 
 
 Judge O'Gorman is a son of Capt. John O'Gorman (now 
 dead,) and was born in Boston in 1847, where he received a com- 
 mon school education. He came to this city with his parents in 
 1852. I remember him as a quiet, pleasant young man and an 
 excellent penman. He removed to St. Louis in 1863 and was 
 employed as a clerk in an abstract office, and during this time he 
 attended the St. Louis Law School and graduated in the senior 
 class of 1872. Returning to St. Paul that year he engaged in 
 the practice of his profession and continued so up to 1877, when 
 he served as Judge of Probate of Ramsey County, to which he 
 was elected with considerable unanimity and which he filled with 
 very general acceptability. In 1882 he ran foi» Sheriff of Ram- 
 sey County, and after a legal contest with Mr. Richter as to who 
 received the greatest number of votes, he was declared elected, 
 and has held the office for two years. 
 
 Mr. O'Gorman is a gentleman of medium size, with a round 
 face, well-developed physical organization and very undemon- 
 strative. He is quite even in his temperament, gentlemanly in 
 his manners and destitute of ostentation. He married Ellen M. 
 Dicks, of St. Louis, in 1868. 
 
 WILLIAM O'gORMAN A LITTLE DIFFERENT, 
 
 This is another son of the late Capt. John O'Gorman, and 
 was born in Boston in 1845. He came to St. Paul in 1852 and 
 here he received his education. In 1862 he enlisted in Company 
 K, Tenth Regiment, but was on detail duty in the commissary 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 359 
 
 -department under Capt. Newson for a year or so, and then joined 
 his regiment in the Sixteenth Army Corps under Gen. A. J. 
 Smith. He served three years in the army, and after being hon- 
 orably discharged, accompanied a party to VermilHon lake in 
 search of gold, and subsequently became a clerk in the post 
 -office for one year ; was three years in the real estate business in 
 St. Louis ; returned to St. Paul ; clerked for different firms some 
 ten years ; then engaged in the cigar and tobacco business for 
 himself, and is now secretary of the Board of Fire Commissioners. 
 " Sergeant Billy," as we used to call him, is a little differ- 
 ■ent in general make-up to his brother Henry. He is a stirring 
 man, full of vigor and manhood, and yet all this energy does 
 but little good towards bringing him a fortune however much 
 he may deserve it. He is honest, capable and trustworthy, but 
 like many others was no doubt born under an unlucky star, yet 
 he is a philosopher and proposes to trudge on to the end. He 
 has this advantage, he is in the prime of manhood and has thirty- 
 two>years of solid experience in the ups and downs of western 
 life, so he is much better prepared for the ills incident to living 
 "than the " old codgers " who have nothing to hope for but — 
 Death ! — " Sergeant Billy," move to the front ! 
 
 NATHANIEL E. TYSON THAT WHISKY. 
 
 Tyson was pretty generally known by all the old settlers. 
 In his way he was a character ; tall, well-proportioned, active, 
 loud-speaking, he impressed a stranger with his importance, and 
 yet he was a man more of bustle than merit. He was born about 
 1824 ; came to St. Paul in 1852 ; kept a grocery store with John 
 Cathcart, backed by Jus. Ramsey, (both now dead,) on the corner 
 of Fourth and Robert streets. 
 
 He ran for County Treasurer, and furnished one of his 
 political friends a barrel of whisky with which to advance his 
 cause, when late in the afternoon of the day of election he went 
 .around to see how matters were getting along, and discovered 
 his friend very tired and treating his political enemies to copious 
 draughts of his own whisky. He made this discovery only in 
 time to save a few drinks, and Nat was bursting mad, but that 
 . did not save him — he lost the office he wanted, also a barrel of 
 whisky, and the good-will of his generous friend. Later along 
 
360 PEN PICTURES 
 
 he ran a grocery store on Third street and left the city some 
 time either in the year 1858 or 1859 and has dropped out of sight 
 and almost out of memory. 
 
 FREDERICK DUION 
 
 Was born in Missouri in 1831 ; learned the trade of an 
 engineer; came to St. Paul in 1852 ; was engaged as an engin- 
 eer on the river up to 1875, when he was appointed engineer of 
 the fire steamer Hope, No. 3, which position he held with credit 
 to himself and to the department for many years. Married 
 Miss Denoyer in J 839. Eight children made the family circle,, 
 one of whom is dead. Mr. Duion is the son of one of the old- 
 est French settlers, of whom I have made mention, and is a gen- 
 tleman esteemed for his ability as an engineer and for his many 
 good qualities. 
 
 CHARLES FILLMORE A MOURNFUL ACCIDENT. 
 
 No more ardent, no more enthusiastic or warmer friend St.. 
 Paul ever had, than Charles Fillmore, the half-brother of Presi- 
 dent Fillmore, both dead, whom I met about this time. He lived 
 next to Gov. Ramsey's, on Walnut street, and the house modified 
 still stands on a bluff, while the old residence of the Governor- 
 was bought, removed, and is now occupied by Horace Bigelow,. 
 Esq. A stately mansion adorns the spot of Gov. Ramsey's old 
 home. Fillmore is dead; Mrs. Ramsey is dead; Ramsey lives.. 
 Fillmore's old house is still up on the bank ; Ramsey's is down, 
 on the level with modern civilization. 
 
 Mr. Fillmore was an active, stirring man, of medium size,. ■ 
 full of enthusiasm for the growth of the city, and indeed I may 
 say he was the first person to induce the writer to stay in St. 
 Paul. He was born in New York about 1820 ; came to St. Paul. 
 in 1852; died in 1854, aged thirty-four years. 
 
 A peculiar accident happened at his funeral which for the- 
 time being shocked the community. While the hearse was pass- 
 ing along Fort street, now West Seventh, and when ascending a. 
 small Tiill, the back door of the vehicle was burst open and the- 
 cofifin fell to the ground, or partially so, and of course the event 
 threw a gloom over everybody, but it was soon replaced without 
 harm, and the procession moved on. Mr. Fillmore's deatk 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 861 
 
 was greatly regretted, for he was a man of fine social and busi- 
 ness qualities and an energetic promoter of the city's interests. 
 
 JOHN IRELAND. 
 
 Right Reverend, or Bishop John Ireland, D.D., was born in 
 Ireland in 1838; came to America with his parents in 1849, set- 
 tling at Chicago, where he attended school at the academy of 
 "Saint Mary's of the Lake;" located at St. Paul in 1852, and 
 has since then resided in this city, except when in Europe. In 
 company with the now venerable Father Ravoux and Rev. 
 Thomas O. Gorman, of Rochester, Minn., John Ireland left for 
 France in the year 1853 to complete his theological studies; 
 passed four years of a preparatory course at Meximeux, Ain, and 
 another four years with the Marist Fathers of Hyeres, Var., and 
 here he finished his education; returned to St. Paul in 1861 and 
 was ordained priest by Bishop Grace on December 21 of that 
 year ; in 1 862 was commissioned Chaplain of the Fifth Minnesota 
 Regiment and remained in service a year, tendering his resigna- 
 tion only on account of ill-health; became the pastor of the 
 Cathedral parish, and on the 12th of February, 1875, was 
 appointed by the Pope Bishop of Maronea, in partibus infideliun , 
 and Vicar Apostolic of Nebraska. This appointment was subse- 
 quently recalled, and he became the coadjutor of Rt Rev. Bishop 
 Grace, of St. Paul, and was consecrated Bishop December 21, 
 1875. Bishop Grace resigned July 31, 1884; Bishop Ireland 
 
 succeeded him. 
 
 HIS characteristics. 
 
 No man in the Northwest has filled up the measure of his 
 usefulness and of his life-work thus far, so completely and so 
 grandly, as Bishop Ireland. No name in history will glow with 
 greater halo and greater warmth for good acts conceived, for 
 good acts performed, for good and noble acts reiterated again 
 and again, than that of him, who, coming himself from the ranks 
 of the poor and the lowly, has ever sought to elevate his own 
 nationality, and in that act to elevate the world at large. A 
 mere boy when ordained a priest (twenty-three years of age,) he 
 stepped boldly into the arena of life, and dealing with the mate- 
 rial as well as the spiritual elements of our existence, reached 
 down into the great heart of humanity and touching the secret 
 
362 PEN PICTURES 
 
 spring of magnetic attraction hidden there, induced thousands to 
 chmb upward on to the ladder of respectabihty and manhood, 
 and therein he has healed many a broken heart and has dried 
 many a sorrowing tear. Like his great Master before him, he 
 goes among publicans and sinners, not among the righteous ; 
 like his Master before him, he is imbued with love and humility, 
 and in seeking the purification of the inner man he seeks to ele- 
 vate the material or the outer man ; like his Master before him, 
 he assimilates with the masses and sympathizes with them in 
 their great burdens of woe ; points out the path which tends to 
 a better life ; leads the way to temperance, prosperity and happi- 
 ness ; picks up the fallen ; encourages the weak ; guides the 
 footsteps of the faltering. No man in this great western country 
 has done so much towards the elevation of the Irish race, as has 
 Bishop Ireland ; no man living has so strong a hold upon his 
 people and their affections, as has Bishop Ireland, and no living 
 Bishop of any denomination has done more towards the advance- 
 ment of the whole human family (in advancing his own people,) 
 than has this heroic follower of the meek and lowly Jesus. I 
 care not what church a man may belong to, or what creed he 
 may embrace, for " as ye sow so shall ye reap," and Bishop Ire- 
 land's good deeds will carry him to a better land without a 
 church and without a creed, if there is a just God. 
 
 THEN AND NOW. 
 
 Over a quarter of a century ago the men who clamored the 
 loudest, fought the fiercest at elections and were the first to find 
 their way to the police court, were the Irish citizens of this city. 
 They were then " the hewers of wood and the drawers of water ; " 
 the dray horses of society. And yet it was not the Irish but the 
 whisky in the Irish. Where are the Irish to-day ? Among the 
 most wealthy, the most honored, and the most respected of 
 people. How came they so? Largely through the influence 
 and the persistent efforts of Bishop Ireland. I am writing history, 
 not romance ; facts, not fiction, and am seeking to show what 
 has been accomplished through the influence of one man, and 
 yet this influence has not been given exclusively for his own 
 people but for the benefit of all classes of citizens, for Bishop 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 363 
 
 Ireland will unite cheerfully with ministers of any denomination 
 to effect a lasting pubHc good. 
 
 COLONIZATION. 
 
 Among the very first to make the colonization scheme in 
 this State, so far as the Irish are concerned, practical, was by 
 Bishop Ireland, and by that intelligent and noble old Irish gentle- 
 man, Dillon O'Brien, father of our former Mayor. Through 
 their efforts seven settlements of Irish have been planted upon 
 our soil and they are all prospering. Gen. Shields and Capt. Mc- 
 Grorty years ago started the movement, but it was left for Bishop 
 Ireland and his earnest co-laborer, to carry to a successful issue 
 a very important element in the future advancement of the Irish 
 race in this country. This, with his consistent and persistent 
 efforts in favor of temperance, have won for him the highest love 
 and the highest reverence from his own people, and the highest 
 regard and the highest respect from a large class of American 
 men and women who differ with him in his theological views, 
 but who know him to be — 
 
 "A man for all of that." 
 ' HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Bishop Ireland is a tall, slender, intellectual-looking gentle- 
 man, with sharp features and with a bright, expressive face. He 
 usually wears a long frock coat and a slouch hat, walks quickly, 
 flings his right arm out at his side, throws the head up, and 
 moves rapidly over the pavement, scarcely ever stopping to 
 notice anything or anybody on the way, or to even greet an 
 acquaintance. He gives one the appearance of a stirring, active 
 business man, and yet back of all this is intellect: As a public 
 speaker he is clear, earnest, concise, logical, argumentative and 
 eloquent. As a bishop and a priest, while he is devoted to the 
 church yet he is tolerant, fair and dignified. As a citizen he is 
 public-spirited and wide-awake to the interests of his adopted 
 city. As a man, possessing all the essential elements of true 
 manhood, I know no peer to Bishop Ireland. 
 
 RICHARD IRELAND. 
 
 A tall, quite slender, very active man, with white hair and a 
 quick step, whose every motion is energy, mark the peculiar char- 
 
36i PEN PICTURES 
 
 acteristics of the father of one of the most able Catholic bishops 
 in the United States. The subject of my sketch was born in Ireland 
 in 1805 ; came to America in 1849; settled in Burlington, Vt., 
 and from thence went to Chicago in 1850; located in St. Paul 
 in 1852; here he followed his trade, that of a carpenter, and 
 built the old residence of H. M. Rice, now pulled down, and 
 many other dwellings; was appointed Deputy Sheriff under 
 O'Gorman, and though a man rising 80 years of age, yet he is as 
 active and as young appearing as a person of 50. He is especi- 
 ally noted for the manner in which he walks, throwing the right 
 foot forward and moving rapidly onward sidewise. He talks 
 quickly, acts quickly, moves quickly, and in fact is lightning on 
 wheels ! And yet he has a kind, benevolent face, a pleasant way, 
 and is a good man. 
 
 ALBERT WOLFF SPEECHES, ETC. 
 
 Born September 26, 1825, in the city of Brunswick, Ger- 
 many ; received a collegiate education ; studied theology (Protest- 
 ant) at the University of Goettingen in 1 846-'49 ; when yet a stu- 
 dent took part in the revolutionary fight at Dresden, Saxony, in 
 May, 1 849 ; taken prisoner ; sentenced to death ; sentence com- 
 muted to ten years' imprisonment; pardoned in June, 1852; of 
 his own free will emigrated to the United States ; came to St. 
 Paul in November, 1852 ; got employment with the firm of Renz 
 & Karcher, pioneer confectionery and fancy-goods store; remained 
 in that establishment up to 1854; settled on a claim in Carver 
 County in December of that year ; elected as an Olmsted Demo- 
 crat to the House of the Territorial Legislature in 1855 ; was 
 counted out, because as alleged at the time. Carver County was 
 not legally organized ; was writing editor of the first Republican 
 German paper of Minnesota, the Minnesota Deutsche Zeitung, in 
 1855 ; has continued in editorial work from that time to this, for 
 different German papers in St. Paul, Chaska and New Ulm ; was 
 Emigration Commissioner to Germany from Minnesota from 
 March, 1864, to March, 1871 ; elected member of the Board of 
 Education in 1872; married in 1861 to the daughter of the late 
 J. B. Sommer, jeweler and watchmaker, formerly of St. Paul, 
 now of Springfield, III. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 365 
 
 He made a very eloquent speech at the dedication of the 
 German Athenaeum, November ii, 1859, being the centennial of 
 Schiller's birthday ; at the dedication of the first banner of the 
 St. Paul Turnverein, May 26, 1 860 ; at the reception of the Ger- 
 man poet, Friederich von Bodenstedt; at the reception of Mr. 
 Villard's guests ; has erected three cottage residences for him- 
 self in St. Paul, respectively in the years 1867, 1871, 1880; is at 
 present chief writing editor of the Daily Volkszeitung of this city. 
 
 A PRISONER ! SENTENCED TO DEATH ! RELEASED ! 
 
 Very few persons who casually observe a tall gentleman 
 upon our streets, with light complexion and spectacles, and who 
 usually moves along rapidly as though burdened with great 
 business cares, would suppose that this gentleman was Mr. 
 Wolff, the subject of my sketch, who was once a fighter in the 
 revolutionary cause of Germany, then a prisoner, then sentenced 
 to death, and then released, and is now a quiet, sedate, peaceful 
 citizen of St. Paul. Mr. Wolff has been in the editorial harness 
 for thirty years, and he is not only a pungent, strong writer, but 
 an eloquent speaker. He is better known to the German ele- 
 ment of our population than to that of the American, for he is 
 a modest, retiring gentleman, and devotes a large part of his 
 time to his pen. He is esteemed for his abilities and respected 
 for his manhood. 
 
 ' CHARLES RAUCH. 
 
 In early days Appollo Hall, situated near where Lindeke's 
 dry-goods store now is on Third street close to Wabasha, was 
 the great rendezvous for almost everybody, for those who drank 
 and for those who didn't drink, but who were obhged to go there 
 to find their friends, dizzy or sober, and so it became the most 
 popular place in the city. It was kept as a saloon and a restau- 
 rant, and was presided over by Charles Ranch and his buxom, 
 pleasant wife. Here is where many social parties met and gave 
 utterance to that popular song : 
 
 "Come, landlord, fill the flowing bowl until it does run over; 
 Come, landlord, fill the flowing bowl until it does run over — 
 
 For to-night we'll merry, merry be, 
 
 For to-night we'll merry, merry be. 
 
 For to-night we'll merry, merry be. 
 And to-morrow we'll get sober." 
 
366 PEN PICTURES 
 
 But many of those who drank there didn't get sober for a 
 week, and some of them went down to the grave drunk, singing 
 their favorite song and probably woke up on the other side still 
 humming — 
 
 "Come, landlord, fill the flowing bowl until it does run over." 
 
 IT WAS THE FIRST RESTAURANT 
 
 In the city, and for many years was immensely popular, for 
 the food was good, the liquors were pronounced excellent by 
 those who were judges, while Rauch and his wife were the per- 
 sonification of geniality and good nature. He was a sort of 
 burly-headed man, with black, curly hair, the possessor of a red 
 round face, took snuff, winked his eyes, talked in broken Eng- 
 lish, walked with a dignified air and was very fond of a good 
 joke, just the man to please the masses, while she was a tidy, 
 large, good-looking woman, jolly, winsome, and both commanded 
 the utmost respect. 
 
 THE WOODEN HAM. 
 
 One New Year's day a great free spread was made for the 
 guests of the house and for others who might come in, and 
 among the eatables on the table was a large ham. This ham 
 was made of wood and the skin of a regular ham was drawn 
 over it and the outside was beautifully decorated, and it was 
 arranged that a young man who made great pretensions as a 
 carver should dish it out ; so Mr. Rauch rigged him up with an 
 apron, a jaunty cap, and a sharp knife and fork, and while some 
 fifty hungry mouths were arranged around the table to receive a 
 precious morsel of the inviting meat, the warrior of the knife 
 commenced his battle. He tugged, he sweated, he swore, he 
 grew red in the face. Of course it was a ham — he knew a ham 
 
 when he saw it, but it was the d est, toughest hog he had 
 
 ever struck. " Give it up ? Never ! " So while the crowd 
 waited, and the knowing ones winked and smiled, the young man 
 toiled over his task until he had succeeded in getting a small 
 portion of the skin off, when he grew pale, dropped his knife 
 and fork, tore off his apron, dashed down his cap, gave one 
 piercing look at the mutilated meat and exclaimed — " All bone, 
 by G — d ! " and dashed out of the door. Mrs. Rauch had effected 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 367 
 
 her purpose, for the young man never came back again, but some 
 real, genuine hams were brought on, and the New Year was 
 toasted gayly away into the wee hours of the morning. 
 
 WHEN AND WHERE BORN BAD LUCK. 
 
 Mr. Rauch was born in Germany in 1812; learned the 
 trade of a tailor ; came to America in 1 849 and opened a cloth- 
 ing establishment in New York, where he remained two years ; 
 was burned out ; lost everything ; carried on a clothing estab- 
 lishment at Lafayette, Ind.; was burned out there and saved only 
 ;^200 out of ^8,000; came to St. Paul in 1852 and opened a 
 saloon and restaurant, where he remained some six years and 
 cleared ;^45,ooo; invested the amount in what is now known as 
 Banholzer's brewery ; lost nearly all ; started again in his restau- 
 rant in the old place; ran it seven years; sold out and bought 
 real estate — a lot for ^600; sold for $1,200; worth $25,000; lots 
 on St. Anthony hill for which he paid ;^iSO; worth $2,000 and 
 $3,000; paid $400 for three lots in Leech's addition; worth 
 $6,000; gave $250 for eight acres on Dayton's bluff; worth 
 $15,000. Just before he died he opened a grocery store on the 
 corner of Forbes and Fort streets. In 1856 he was a member 
 of the City Council, and in 1858 member of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives. 
 
 BAD LUCK. 
 
 Just in the midst of a prosperous beer brewing business 
 after he left the restaurant, one of his workmen accidentally fell 
 into a vat, and when taken out he was dead and the flesh peeled 
 from his body, and notwithstanding Rauch drew off his beer and 
 let it run into the Mississippi river, yet the prejudice was so 
 great on the part of the people, that his sale of beer came to a 
 positive stop, and his loss was immense, reaching as high as 
 $30,000. Who will deny the power of luck, bad, good or indif- 
 ferent in a man's life ? Twice burned out and lost everything ; 
 made $45,000; it slipped out of his hands because one of his 
 workmen fell into a vat and was boiled ; went back to his restau- 
 rant ; made money again ; invested it in real estate — now he is 
 dead ; real estate is valuable ! And this is life ! What old set- 
 tler does not remember Apollo Hall and the pleasant face of 
 Charles Rauch ? 
 
368 PEN PICTURES 
 
 REUBEN HAUS. 
 
 The familiar face of Mr. Haus has been seen on our streets 
 for over a quarter of a century, for it is now some thirty-three 
 years since he removed to this city and all these long years he 
 has lived here. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1818; learned 
 the trade of a carpenter ; came to St. Paul in 1852 ; was archi- 
 tect and builder in those early days, his first work being the 
 erection of the judge's seat in the old Court House; Joe Daniels 
 was contractor for this and the Capitol ; then the erection of the 
 Court House itself; then he built the old Capitol building in 
 1853 — burned down; the old Winslow House — burned in 1862; 
 put the roof on the present jail in 1858 ; built an addition to the 
 Presbyterian Church and American House; was a member of 
 the Legislature two terms, and Building Commissioner in 1857, 
 and was Constable in the city for a year or so. Of late years he 
 has done nothing except occasionally make a sale of real estate. 
 He is a man marching on to seventy years ; is somewhat bent, 
 walks with a cane, head turned towards the sidewalk, and is a 
 very quiet person, generally wrapped up in his own thoughts. 
 
 JOHN DONIVAN. 
 
 Mr. Donivan was born in Canada in 1835 and educated in 
 that country; came to St. Paul in 1852 ; ran a string band for 
 several years, and then carried on a fruit and vegetable stand in 
 the market. He lost his eye-sight by inflammation of the eyes, 
 but he plays some on the violin even now though blind, and con- 
 trives to make an honest living. At one time he could have 
 bought a fraction of two lots on Seventh street, 85 x 125, for $^0; 
 the same property is worth now ;g50,ooo. He is a pleasant, 
 patient gentleman under his affliction, and a very deserving 
 man. 
 
 THOMAS F. MASTERSON. 
 
 Mr. Masterson was born in New York State in 1830, where 
 he was educated ; early entered a store in Chester, Orange 
 County, and removed to Pittston, Pa., in 1850, and there became 
 a clerk. He came to St. Paul in 1852 and engaged with the 
 Fuller boys, who kept a store on upper Third street and dealt in 
 the Indian trade. He was clerk for the Messrs. Fuller up to 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 369 
 
 1857. In 1 861 he entered the employ of Capt. T. M. Saunders, 
 A. Q. M., U. S. A., being his first clerk, and continued with him up 
 to his death, and then with Capt. Roselle until the year 1 87 1 , being 
 the first and last clerk in the Quartermaster's department in this 
 city. He then entered the service pf Col. Rogers in the pension 
 office, and from- thence became Inspector of Customs, and has 
 been in the Custom House ever since, now some twenty odd years. 
 Mr. Masterson is a man of ordinary size, quite quick in his 
 movements, and a clerk as reliable as the magnetic needle. He 
 is one of the most industrious men in the city, and is so 
 faithful to his duties that his services are always in demand. He 
 is temperate, quiet, unaffected — in a word, minds his own busi- 
 ness and protects that of his employers. 
 
 PAUL FABER OFFICES. 
 
 Mr. Faber was one of the earliest settlers, coming here in 
 1852. He is, or rather was, a small, stirring man, at one time 
 a good deal of a politician and very active in his party, but per- 
 fidy on the part of some of his political friends taught him a 
 lesson and he dropped out. He has always been an energetic 
 business man, but like nearly all others who have been here for 
 years he has had his financial misfortunes, and he wouldn't be 
 an old settler if he hadn't had. He was born in Germany in 
 1827 ; was educated in the old country and learned the trade of 
 a tailor ; emigrated to America and located at Dubuque, Iowa, 
 where he remained two or three years, and came to St. Paul as 
 above stated ; started a tailoring shop in the same block where 
 he now is, and continued until 1853, when he opened a hotel in 
 lower town, and soon after conducted the same business on Fort 
 street until the war broke out, when he went into the grocery 
 trade and continued in that until 1 876 ; then started a restaurant 
 which finally merged into Hotel Faber. 
 
 He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1857 ; 
 wharf-master in 1862; member of the Legislature in 1869-70; 
 married Miss Catharine Kumpt in 1854, and celebrated his silver 
 wedding about six years ago. Mr. Faber has been a hard-work- 
 ing, industrious man, and notwithstanding the disasters he has 
 encountered, he has surmounted them all and is now doing 
 well financially, and he deserves his good luck for he is a worthy, 
 
 24 
 
570 PEN PICTURES 
 
 pleasant gentleman and withal has a fine-looking, robust, amia- 
 ble, industrious, excellent wife. 
 
 GEORGE LAURENT. 
 
 Mr. Laurent is of French parentage, borii in Canada in 
 1839, and after receiving an education there learned the trade of 
 an architect and settled in St. Paul in 1852, being connected 
 with Charles Marcott, and then with Knight thirteen years ; en- 
 tered the army in 1861 ; was with Gen. Terry's expedition, and 
 is the architect of Forts Totten, Stephenson and Ransom ; was in 
 the employ of the Government nearly two years ; is the architect 
 of many buildings, among which is a college in St. Peter, the 
 contract for which he obtained over the efforts of all other archi- 
 tects, and also the Union block at Minneapolis which cost $21^- 
 000; He has also been the architect of many priva'e d. veilings. 
 Is Chief of Platoon in the St. Paul Cavalry, mustered in in 1885. 
 He is a man of ordinary size, very polite, as all the French are, 
 a genial, pleasant gentleman, and an architect of fine ability. 
 
 PATRICK o'bRIEN 
 
 Was born in Ireland in 1841 ; moved to Kalamazoo, Michi- 
 gan, in 1843 ; lived there until 1852, when that year he came tO' 
 St. Paul; began to work for Rice, Hollinshead & Becker in 
 1854; also for Hollinshead & Becker, Hollinshead & Slade, and 
 William Hollinshead until he died ; afterwards for Horn & 
 Galusha, and Horn, Lund & Galusha ; in 1 863 went out with 
 Johnson & Thornton on a surveying expedition ; came back in 
 1 864 ; in February of same year began work in the post office 
 on Third street; continued until 1865, when he accepted a posi- 
 tion in the Press office ; remained with the Press Company until 
 1 870, when he began work again in the post office as chief clerk ; 
 continued in that position until H. M. Knox resigned the Assist- 
 ant Postmastership, when he was appointed to that position by 
 Dr. Day. He began at the bottom of the ladder and has worked 
 up ; was an active member of the old fire department ; joined 
 Hope Engine Co. No. i in t86o; held all the offices in the com- 
 pany except Steward and Treasurer ; was Foreman at the time 
 the company disbanded ; was married in 1877 to Miss Fannie 
 Higgins; has a family of four. girls; owns a house and lot on 
 McBoal street ; never speculated in land. He always remembers 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 371 
 
 some advice that Mr. Becker gave him when he was working for 
 him. He was Hke most young chaps, rather in a hurry to do 
 some work and not over-particular how it looked when done. 
 Mr. Becker called him up and did the work as it should be done 
 and said — " Pat, if you ever do anything do it right, even if it is 
 to saw a stick of wood." He always remembered that. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien is a short, prompt, very active man, with light 
 hair and light complexion ; quick as ligtning in business matters, 
 and one of the most industrious and reliable men in the city. 
 He is pleasant in his manners, obliging, correct, always at his 
 post, and one of the most efficient and faithful men in the post 
 office department, a very important man in a very important 
 position. His excellent character and his industrious habits 
 make him an excellent citizen. 
 
 JAMES M. WINSLOW. 
 
 Among one of the most noted old settlers was James M. 
 Winslow. He was a tall, slender man, with thin features and 
 measured his words as a clerk measures molasses in cold 
 weather ; and yet he was a good deal of a man, for he had brains 
 to originate and courage to carry out. Before coming to St. 
 Paul in 1852 he ran a large stage business in Vermont. When 
 he came here he built the old Winslow mill on Trout Brook ; 
 erected the Winslow House at St. Peter, the old Winslow House 
 at St. Anthony, the Winslow House in St. Paul, and partially 
 completed the Metropolitan, which he tried very hard' to have 
 called the Winslow, but failing in his contract to complete it, the 
 name was changed and that almost broke his heart. He also 
 built the first telegraph line from here to Dubuque, and all these 
 enterprises were generally started on bonuses received from the 
 people and with which he pushed to completion enterprises beyond 
 his means. He was a public-spirited man, always doing something 
 of a public nature, and yet always cramped for want of means, 
 and still he was a valuable citizen, especially in the line of 
 improvements. He came to St. Paul in 1852, and was born in 
 Vermont in 18 10. He left for California some years ago, died 
 there in October, 1885, aged 75 years, and was buried in Oak- 
 land Cemetery, St. Paul, November 5, 1885. He was married 
 and had one daughter and one son. 
 
372 PEN fICTUBES 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 1853. 
 
 Mrst Arrival of the Author of Pen Pictures — First Incorporation of the Tire and 
 
 Marine Insurance Company — First Explorations on the Northern Pacific 
 
 Bailroad Route — First Democratic Territorial Officers — First 
 
 Marhet House — First Cemetery Association Organized 
 
 — First Occupancy of Capitol Building— First 
 
 Dedication of the Baldwin School — 
 
 First Indian Fight in the City — 
 
 ■ First Pork Packing— The 
 
 Events and Old 
 
 Settlers of 
 
 1853. 
 
 MY ARRIVAL IN ST. PAUL. 
 
 In 1 8 5 3 , or thirty-three years ago, I arrived at the levee of the 
 city of St. Paul. All was bustle. Six large steamboats unloaded 
 their freight of human beings and in groups the passengers 
 wended their way to the various hotels. I entered the door of 
 the old Central House, Bench street, which stood back of Mann- 
 heimer block. I talked with the people ; I paraded the streets. 
 What life ! — what animation ! — what vim ! I entered the old 
 Minnesotian office, which stood near where Schurmeier's block 
 now stands, on Third street. There was John P. Owens, the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 373 
 
 editor, who died in September, 1884; — there was George W. 
 Moore, his partner, long the Custom House ofificer, still among 
 us, but in fedble health. I pushed on to the Democrat office, a 
 two-story wooden building on the corner of Third and Wabasha 
 streets, where McQuillan's block now stands. I entered the door 
 on the latter street and ascended the stairs. I saw the noble 
 features of David Olmsted; received the kindly greeting of 
 George W. Armstrong ; met the smiling face of Jack Morgan — 
 now all dead ! I prossed the street, passed by a little, low, one- 
 story wooden building where IngersoU's block now rears its lofty 
 head. It was occupied by Gen. William G. Le Due, the subse- 
 quent Commissioner of Agriculture, as a book store. I turned 
 the corner on Bench street — which was then opened but a short 
 . distance ; entered a story and a half wooden building ; I stood in 
 the presence of Joseph R. Brown. The genial face, the twinkling 
 eye, the noble heart, the kindly voice — ^now silent in the grave — 
 will never be forgotten. It was in this building, in the employ 
 of this good man Brown, that I wrote my first editorial in the 
 city of St. Paul, in the year 185 3, thirty-three years ago, and 
 which editorial was quoted in my Pen Pictures in Chapter 
 Twelve ; and though Brown, and Olmsted, and Morgan, and 
 Armstrong, and the little old building have all gone to their rest, 
 yet the writer still lives, a feeble link of a once fraternal chain of 
 the past. 
 
 "the old folks at home." 
 
 Soon after my arrival I was importuned to speak at the dedi- 
 cation of the Baldwin school, and responded in my first speech 
 in the city, to the toast of the " Old Folks at Home." It was an 
 extempore effort, and being just fresh from under the shadow of 
 those I loved, no doubt I spoke warmly on the subject under dis- 
 cussion. At least when I had concluded I found some of the 
 audience in tears, and among the rest a small, pretty woman 
 with curls, who seemed to be more particularly affected than 
 others, and on inquiry I found her to be Mrs. Masterson, the wife 
 of the subject of one of my Pen Pictures. A few years later 
 and she was dead, and from that time forward Masterson wan- 
 dered like a ship at sea, tossed on the angry billows of fate, 
 pining for something which never returned. 
 
374 PEN PICTURES 
 
 JAMES AKERS. 
 
 Mr. Akers was born in England in 1812; educated in the 
 old country; emigrated to America in 1831 ; resided at Baltimore 
 four years ; engaged in carpentering and merchandising ; then 
 resided at Cincinnati ; at Indianapolis ; in the South, and in Ohio 
 in 1 85 1 ; came to St. Paul as a sub-contractor in 1853 ; removed 
 to Red Wing; was the first magistrate of that county in 1855 ; 
 was a resident of Wisconsin in 1862 ; was County Commissioner 
 six years and chairman of the County Board ; removed to Sauk 
 Rapids in 1 869 ; built three buildings there and opened a store, 
 bought property and remained there two years, and in 1871 
 returned to St. Paul where he now is looking after his real estate. 
 He is a man of force and sagacity, and had he followed out his 
 own instincts would have had property in this city worth a good ' 
 many thousand dollars. 
 
 MR. AKERS PERSONALLY NEVER CHEWED OR DRANK. 
 
 Mr. Akers is a small man and is as active as a cat. One 
 looking at him would suppose him to be about fifty years old 
 instead of seventy-three. His step is firm and elastic, while his 
 mind is as quick and comprehensive as a man of thirty. 
 
 Here is an illustration of how a man can live without the ar- 
 tificial stimulants usually indulged in by the human family. Mr. 
 Akers during his long and somewhat remarkable career, never 
 chewed, drank for fifty years, or smoked, and what is more, he 
 never wore glasses and his eyesight is good. He is a walking 
 temperance society, and can see clearly because his brain is not 
 muddled. Then again he is an illustration of another axiom, 
 that " eveiy man is the architect of his own fortune." 
 
 MEETLNG OF THE LEGISLATURE DIVORCES. 
 
 The fourth session of the Territorial Legislature met in 
 1853 in the two-story brick block which formerly stood on the 
 corner of Third and Minnesota streets, on ground now occupied 
 by the Mannheimer building. The ballot for Speaker reached 
 as high as sixty-four, and then Dr. Day was elected by one vote 
 over B. W. Lott. 
 
 Several divorces had taken place up to this year, but they 
 now began to subside. A fat, pussy justice of the peace by the 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 375 
 
 name of Le May, a Frenchman, had a good deal to do in this 
 line, especially as the early pioneers were mostly French, and he 
 tied or untied the Gordian knot to suit his convenience. He 
 came to St. Paul in 1853 and resided here up to the year 1854 
 -or '55, and then removed to Pembina. In speaking of one of his 
 freaks Williams says : 
 
 ' ' A couple — French people — came to him to be married. The knot was well 
 -and truly tied, the fee paid and the certificate delivered. But the next day back came 
 the parties and wanted the ceremony undone. Their brief trial of married life had 
 -convinced them that they were unsuited to one another. The obliging justice 
 informed them that for $5 ^^ would divorce them. The fee was paid, whereupon 
 Tie tore up the marriage certificate and announced that they were free and single 
 -again." 
 
 EVENTS OF 1853. 
 
 This year began to realize the influence of civilization. The 
 •old Court House had been built and Gov. Ramsey delivered his 
 message in it. The St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Com- 
 pany which has grown to huge proportions now, was incorpo- 
 :rated this year, as were also the St. Paul & St. Anthony and Lake 
 Superior & Mississippi Railroad Companies. So, too, Gov- 
 ■ernor Stevens and his party explored the Northern Pacific route. 
 This year was also made memorable by the arrival of Gen. Wil- 
 Jis A. Gorman, Territorial Governor, who succeeded Ramsey, 
 .and also the year when most of the new Territorial officers 
 .arrived — Rosser, Secretary; Irwin, Marshal; Welsh, Chief Jus- 
 tice ; Chatfield and Sherburne, Associate Justices — all dead, from 
 the Governor down the whole list. Col. D. A. Robertson suc- 
 •ceeded Olmsted in the Democrat; Oakland Cemetery Associa- 
 tion was organized ; Capitol building completed, or rather execu- 
 tive chamber occupied ; the old brick market house long since 
 gone, was erected this year, as well as the Sisters' Hospital ; the 
 Masonic order flourished ; a military company was organized ; 
 Baldwin school dedicated ; number of buildings in the town 604 ; 
 residences 517; business houses 10; churches 6; hotels 4; 
 school houses 4; Court House, Jail, Capitol. Population about 
 3,000. Total valuation ^723,534. Oakland Cemetery bought; 
 -40 acres cost ^1,600, or ;^40 per acre; worth now ^5,oco per 
 .acre, or ^160,000. 
 
376 PEN PICTURES 
 
 "joe, the juggler." 
 
 Among other events of this year the writer of these Pen 
 Pictures became connected with Joseph R. Brown, as associate 
 editor of the old Pioneer. It was in this office and about this 
 time that Mr. Brown received the epithet, or rather the playful 
 . expression applied to him, as " Joe, the Juggler." An employe, 
 Ike Conway, wrote upon the door of the office a number of 
 names to which he applied significant terms, and among the 
 others was the name of the writer and that of Mr. Brown, and 
 here's where the expression originated, in the year 1853. Mr. 
 Brown was not a juggler in any sense of the woifd, but he was 
 very fond of fun, and to get at this fun in his own inimitable way 
 he used very original ideas and means. 
 
 WILLIS A. GORMAN. 
 
 No one can possibly comprehend the real character of Gen. 
 Willis A. Gorman, once Governor of Minnesota, by any Pen 
 Picture they may read of him, however accurate it may be, for 
 he was so peculiar in his make-up that it needed a personal 
 acquaintance with the man to fully appreciate his somewhat 
 remarkable career as well as his singular characteristics. 
 
 WHEN BORN, ETC. 
 
 He was born in Kentucky in 1816; received a common 
 school education and then studied law, and was admitted to the 
 bar at the age of twenty years ; removed to Indiana in 1845 and 
 began the practice of his profession ; elected a member of the 
 Legislature at the age of twenty-three years ; filled the position 
 several terms ; was elected Major of a battalion of riflemen soon 
 after the breaking out of the Mexican war and took a prominent 
 part in the battle of Buena Vista; was mustered out in 1847; 
 recruited a regiment for the Mexican campaign, of which he was 
 elected Colonel, and with his men fought gallantly until the close 
 of the war; in 1849 was elected a member of Congress from 
 Indiana; re-elected in 1851, continuing in Congress for four 
 years ; was appointed Governor of Minnesota by President 
 Pierce; came to St. Paul in 1853 and succeeded Gov. Ramsey, 
 and remained in office up to 1857 ; resumed the practice of law 
 this year and became a member of the Constitutional Conven- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 37 T 
 
 tion ; was a candidate the same year for United States Senator ; 
 on the breaking out of the civil war in i86l he was appointed 
 Colonel of the First Regiment of Minnesota ; after the battle of 
 Bull Run was promoted to the position of Brigadier General and 
 held this position until 1 864, when he was mustered out of the 
 service and returned to St. Paul and resumed the practice of 
 his profession with C. K. Davis, when, in 1 869 he was elected 
 City Attorney and was re-elected to that office four times and 
 held the position when he died. 
 
 TWO BUCKING GOVERNORS. 
 
 Just before, or about the time that Gov. Ramsey's term 
 expired, charges were preferred against him that while Governor 
 and ex-officio Indian agent, he had violated the law by permit- 
 ting bank bills to be paid out instead of gold — then the legal- 
 tender of the government — that is, while acting for the Indians- 
 he sent the gold with which he was to pay the traders due from 
 the Indians, to New York, and received in lieu thereof bills on 
 the Bank of North America, and with these he paid the traders,, 
 not the Indians, when he should have paid in gold. . These 
 charges were referred to Gov. Gorman to take testimony, and I 
 shall never forget my first impression of the man, as I saw him 
 " clothed with a little brief authority," and strutting the stage like 
 a monarch of all he surveyed. A tall, large-boned young man, 
 named Dow, was secretary of the investigating committee, and 
 from day to day the testimony was received until at last it was 
 all in, and then Gorman went off into one of those peculiar Demo- 
 cratic tirades for which he was so noted, and in which he prophe- 
 sied that Ramsey would be totally annihilated, politically and 
 otherwise, but the quiet, wily, discreet Governor slipped off to 
 Washington slyly and when the testimony was received he was 
 there to refute it, and the result was Congress exonerated him 
 entirely from all blame. Gorman was shocked ; Ramsey was 
 pleased. Gorman raved; Ramsey smiled. The bucking pro- 
 pensities of the Irish-American Governor were met by the buck- 
 ing propensities of the Scotch-German Ex-Governor, and a halt 
 was called, and by a sort of mutual consent the matter was 
 finally dropped and new political issues arose- to call into action 
 
378 PEN PICTURES 
 
 strong and vigorous opposition on the part of these two promi- 
 nent men. 
 
 RICE vs. GORMAN. 
 
 Gov. Gorman was a man of strong positiveness of character 
 and a Democrat in every sense of the word, completely and thor- 
 oughly saturated with the Democratic juice. Of southern birth 
 he hated any one who sought to interfere with slavery or curtail 
 in any degree its power, and hence his early Territorial adminis- 
 tration was strongly pro-slavery, but later along in life he arrayed 
 himself among the anti-Nebraska Democrats and fought H. M. 
 Rice, running on the Democratic ticket, by bringing out David 
 Olmsted on a more liberal platform, while Marshall ran as a 
 Republican. It was during this contest that the writer earnestly 
 espoused the cause of Marshall, and just previous to going out 
 into the country to speak for him he called on Gov. Gorman, and 
 in the course of the conversation he (Gorman) informed him that 
 H. M. Rice had been the means of removing the Winnebago 
 Indians from Watab Prairie to Mankato, and as the Indians were 
 then annoying the whites and the removal measure was a very 
 unpopular one, I thought I saw in the statement a good point to 
 make against Rice, especially in my speeches in the Minnesota 
 valley; so, in the simplicity of my early manhood I said to the 
 Governor — " And then this is really so ? " " Really, so, sir ! " 
 exclaimed Gorman, straightening himself up, his eyes flashing 
 fire and his voice roaring like a lion — " Really so, sir ! By 
 
 G , sir, do you doubt, sir, the Executive of the Territory of 
 
 Minnesota, sir ? " I was a little frightened at his military and 
 austere look, for I had never seen many live Governors though 
 I had read about them, and this was a real snorter, so I timidly 
 accepted the statement, more fully convinced than ever from the 
 Governor's earnestness, that what he said must be true, and with- 
 drawing from the presence of this august, and truthful, and 
 modest executive, I soon after started out on my journey, and 
 reaching Mankato poured the grape-shot into Mr. Rice, charging 
 him over and over again, specifically with forcing the Indians 
 down on the poor suffering whites, fully conscious in my own 
 mind that I was telling the truth, (although Johnson said I 
 " lied,") but I stuck to my text, for Governor Gorman asserted it 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 319 
 
 was true, and who would think of doubting the word of a Demo- 
 cratic Governor? And thus all along the Minnesota valley I 
 made the statement again and again, when, close to home on my 
 return trip, I was infornied by a friend in whom I had confidence, 
 that my story was false from the beginning to the end, and on 
 investigation I found it to be so and that Gorman had been telling 
 me a political " whopper." He did it so artlessly, so earnestly, 
 so scientifically and so convincingly, that I admired the man for 
 his ingenuity ; and years afterwards when he admitted the soft 
 impeachment and laughed over it, I gave him credit for great 
 ability — especially in this line. 
 
 " LIEUTENANT, PUT THIS MAN IN THE GUARD HOUSE." 
 
 Soon after Colonel Gorman had been promoted to the posi- 
 tion of Brigadier General, he was stationed at Helena, Arkansas, 
 and Gov. Hubbard then on his way down south, fortunately had 
 among his troops a company from Minnesota and the boys were 
 anxious to pay their respects to the old hero of many battles. 
 So they marched to his headquarters, headed by Lieut. Wm. B. 
 McGrorty and were drawn up in front of the tent of the Gen- 
 eral, and when he appeared they gave him the military salute by 
 presenting arms. One of the men immediately after left the 
 ranks, and rapidly approaching the General familiarly slapped 
 him on the back, exclaiming—" How to do, Gineral ? " " Who 
 the devil are you ? " asked the General, turning and looking 
 down upon the man with scorn. " I 'm one of the byes who 
 
 used to vote with yees in the Dimocratic party." " The h 
 
 you are ! " responded the General. " What right have you to 
 address your superior officer in this way ? " drawing himself up 
 and assuming an extra dignified appearance. " Oh, well, Gin- 
 eral, I meant no harm, but I jist wanted to see the old Dimo- 
 cratic war-horse." Gorman frowned, stepped back a foot or two 
 and then called out — " Lieutenant, put this man in the guard- 
 house! — the insolent fellow!" And the Lieutenant, obeying 
 orders seized his man and hustled him into the guard-house 
 which was only a short distance from where his comrades stood 
 silently witnessing the scene. And then almost simultaneously 
 every man in the company laid down his musket upon the 
 ground, and repairing jn a body to a heap of hard coal near by, 
 
380 PEN PICTURES 
 
 they let fly these httle black missiles both at the guards and at the 
 guard-house itself, until the officers began to think that matters 
 were getting serious, and so the man was released and the affair 
 was treated as a huge joke ! — when, in fact, Gen. Gorman found 
 that he had started a whirlwind which he could not control, and 
 that the disaffection among the njen was spreading in every 
 direction. Of course he thought his action was necessary in 
 order to keep up the discipline of the army, and in a measure it 
 was, but the boys were too fresh from the ranks of civil life to 
 permit what they deemed an outrage on one of their number to 
 pass unrebuked, and the General had good sense enough to see 
 that the best way out of the dilemma into which he had thought- 
 lessly plunged himself, was to treat it as a joke! and laugh 
 heartily at the fun ! which he took the credit of having made for 
 this special occasion ! ! 
 
 GRASS IN THE STREETS OF ST. PAUL. 
 
 It may not be generally known but it is a fact, nevertheless, 
 that Congress in its enabling act did not locate the Capital at St. 
 Paul permanently, but permitted the first Legislature to meet 
 here, leaving a future Legislature to locate it where it pleased, 
 subject, of course, to an endorsement of the people. Gov. Gor- 
 man knew this, so he and his friends conceived the idea of remov- 
 ing the 'Capital to St. Peter where they were largely interested in 
 real estate, and a bill was introduced into the Legislature of 1857 
 for this purpose and passed. On being referred to the committee 
 on enrolled bills, of which Joe Rolette was chairman, he put the 
 bill into his pocket and kept it there until the Legislature 
 adjourned, and of course the measure failed. During these 
 excitable times Gov. Gorman became very conspicuous in his 
 advocacy of the measure, and in one of his speeches he declared 
 that he would yet " live long enough to see grass grow in the 
 streets of St. Paul ! " This is what one might term " a Gorman- 
 ism," but wouldn't Gov. Gorman open his eyes now if he could 
 only come back and see our paved streets, and stone sidewalks, 
 and massive buildings, and 1 20,000 people, and some twelve lines 
 of railroads, with thousands of miles of tracks and 250 trains of 
 cars per day, coming into and going from the Saintly city ! In 
 an earnest, honest and in an unsophisticated manner he would 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 881 
 
 say — ." Gentlemen, that little matter about grass growing in the 
 streets of St. Paul was only a joke of mine ; by the eternal St. 
 Paul will yet be the largest city in the United States of America ! 
 Only a little joke, gentlemen ! — that's all." And he would say it 
 in such a way as to really convince those who heard him that it 
 was true. 
 
 "never was there!" 
 
 Gov. Gorman had made a flaming Democratic speech to the 
 Irish at Shieldsville and then made another directly opposite in 
 its tenor to the Americans at Northfield, when one of his audience 
 who had heard him at Shieldsville accused him of having said 
 things entirely different at that place from what he said at North- 
 field, when Gorman, drawing himself up to his greatest height 
 and with a burst of eloquence, exclainied — " My friend is mis- 
 taken ; I was never in Shieldsville in my life ! " The man was 
 dumbfounded ; couldn't speak ; and Gorman continued his speech 
 as though nothing had happened. 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Gov. Gorman was a well-proportioned man ; straight, com- 
 manding, and good-looking, He had a strong will-power; was 
 very decided and emphatic ; a man of undaunted courage ; a 
 good lawyer; a well-trained politician; an excellent stump 
 speaker ; a ready debator ; an honest executive officer, and as a 
 citizen, genial and social. He was impulsive, and in politics was 
 apt to exaggerate; liked display, and noise, and bluster, and 
 command ; was one of the boys among the boys, and sincerely 
 believed in the doctrine that " all's fair in politics," yet as a man 
 he has left a name untarnished, and during his long and useful 
 public career I find nothing against his good intentions nor do 
 I find any charge of fraud or dishonesty or meanness detrimen- 
 tal to his character. He was a natural leader of men, and aside 
 from his peculiar idiosyncrasies, was, in three words — a good 
 man. 
 
 LOG CABIN vs. MERCHANTS HOTEL KNOWING DOG. 
 
 Where the Merchants hotel now stands, corner'of Jackson 
 and Third streets, existed in 1853 a log cabin, which sat above 
 the street on a rising hill with a pair of stairs leading to it, and 
 
382 PEN PICTURES 
 
 in the upper portion of this cabin was the room of Judge Aaron 
 Goodrich, the Chief Justice of Minnesota. Opposite this cabin 
 was what was termed the "Minnesota Outfit," a fur-trading estab- 
 hshment owned by P. Choteau, Jr., & Co., of St. Louis, but which 
 subsequently passed into the hands of Forbes & Kittson, and 
 where all the Indians then in this region — and there were a 
 great many — did their trading. Early on the morning of April 
 26th, 1853, some sixteen Chippewas were seen prowling about 
 the city, and when night came on they hid themselves behind 
 some boards standing near the stairway leading to the upper 
 portion of the afore-mentioned cabin, where was the room of tl^e 
 aforesaid judge. During the night a favorite dog of the Judge 
 awakened him repeatedly by pawing on his bed and whining and 
 otherwise endeavoring to arrest his attention. The annoyance 
 became so great that the Judge whipped the dog into submission, 
 but the sequel proved that the dog knew more than the Judge 
 even though he were a sound lawyer and deeply learned in legal 
 jurisprudence. 
 
 INDIAN MURDER. 
 
 Morning came. On the outskirts of the city several of the 
 Chippewas were on the lookout from the top of the remains of a 
 hotel in lower town which had been destroyed by fire. The 
 Sioux lived on the west side of the river and when they moved 
 across in their canoes to come to the " outfit," the Chippewas, 
 who had secreted themselves the night before, were signaled as 
 to their (Sioux) coming by those on the watch-tower, and an- 
 other signal was given when the Sioux landed on the shore. 
 When they entered the " outfit," still another signal was given, 
 and then, in an instant the Chippewas opened a fire into the 
 " outfit " killing a sister of " Old Bets," (a well-known Sioux In- 
 dian character in St. Paul in early days, and whose wound was 
 dressed by Dr. Goodrich, assisted by I. P. Wright,) wounding 
 several Indians and riddling the building with balls. Then went 
 up one of the most unearthly yells ever heard in even an Indian 
 country, and all the Chippewas rushed for the " outfit," no doubt 
 instigated by the burning imagination of reeking scalps. Theo- 
 dore Borup and David Oakes (the latter dead,) who were in the 
 store at the time, in the midst of the imminent danger that sur- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 3S3 
 
 rounded them, stepped to the front and confronting the savages, 
 charged them with cowardice in thus attacking and killing inno- 
 cent women and children. This brave conduct on the part of 
 these two men held in check the Indians and they took their 
 departure. Had Judge Goodrich responded to the instincts of 
 his noble dog it is possible this brutal attack would have been 
 avoided, for the Judge, finding a body of Indians secreted close 
 to his room would have at once concluded they were there for no 
 good purpose and proper measures would have been taken to 
 have them sent away. 
 
 IN A BAD PREDICAMENT. 
 
 In the midst of this excitement a half-breed named Antonie 
 Findlay, who was in the " outfit " at the time, ran to the rear end 
 of the building and climbing out of a window paused a moment 
 to view the situation. In front of him was apparently death from 
 the savages ; below him was twenty-five feet of space with jagged 
 rocks at the bottom. While hanging on the window sill in this 
 position the idea of being shot in the rear made him shake so 
 violently that he let go his hold and down he went. Bruised and 
 battered, and frightened half to death he limped off and thus 
 escaped the brutal bullets of the Chippewas, one of which grazed 
 his foot before he leaped from the window. A white man fol- 
 lowed Findlay out on to the window sill in the same way and at 
 the same time, but viewing his perilous situation he scrambled 
 back again into the window, and still lives to recount his narrow 
 escape from death. 
 
 IN HOT PURSUIT AN INDIAN KILLED WOODEN-LEGGED JIM. 
 
 Immediately following this murder, as it was nothing else 
 but murder, mounted troops were called for by Gov. Ramsey 
 and in response Lieut. McGruder, from Fort Sneiling, with a 
 body of dragoons, made their appearance and accompanied by 
 the Governor started in pursuit of the flying Chippewas who fled 
 toward St. Croix, their old hunting grounds. Coming in sight 
 of the savages the soldiers fired without orders, so it is alleged, 
 and it is also said that Lieut. McGruder fired a fatal shot; at 
 any rate an Indian fell, was scalped, and the balance secured as 
 prisoners. In 1853 I visited Fort Sneiling and saw the scalp of 
 
384 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ' this Indian then in possession of Lieut. McGruder, who subse- 
 quently took a prominent part with the South in the Civil War. 
 This was the same McGruder who had possession of one of the 
 guns which pointed down Pennsylvania avenue during the 
 inauguration of Mr. Lincoln. If, at this time, McGruder and 
 some of his companions had turned their cannons upon the peo- 
 ple of Washington there is no telling what would have been the 
 result ; and if the Indians had gathered their forces at the time 
 of the pursuit and made an attack upon this pursuing party, 
 they would have wiped them out of existence and been also able 
 to have seized the city itself. But they didn't think of that, or 
 if they did they were afraid to act, and the whites were saved 
 from a scene of terrible carnage and bloodshed. 
 
 Directly after the Chippewas had fired and wounded his 
 sister, Wooden-Legged Jim rushed to the door and tried to kill 
 his enemies with a revolver, but the dilapidated old weapon 
 would not go off, when he seized a rifle and gave a parting shot, 
 which, it is said wounded the chief. The fleeing Indians 
 responded and Jim was soon minus a part of his wooden leg, 
 but that did not prevent him from hobbling back in triumph and 
 yelling as only an Indian can yell when he gives the real, genu- 
 ine savage war-whoop. 
 
 J. TRAVIS ROSSER. 
 
 Among the arrivals at St. Paul in the early part of 1853, 
 was a tall, slender, well-dressed young gentlem.an by the name 
 of Rosser, who came to the city as Secretary of the then Ter- 
 ritory of Minnesota. He was about twenty-five years of age, or 
 born in Virginia in 1 828. He was a man of remarkable affability, 
 a genial, pleasant, chivalrous Southerner, but a lover of slavery 
 and a hater of abolitionists, and while personally friendly to the 
 writer yet he detested his principles. In his arrogant Southern 
 manner he sought to impose upon a colored man at the Capitol, 
 but in an article in the old St. Paul Daily Times I exposed his 
 conduct and stated that no gentleman would be guilty of the act 
 imputed to him, which so irritated Rosser that he gave out notice 
 to his friends that he intended to chastise me for my unpleasant 
 expression, so of course I made preparation for my defense, but 
 we never met and consequently no collision occurred. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 385 
 
 AN INTERESTING INCIDENT. 
 
 Years ago it was customary to celebrate the Fourth of July 
 in St. Paul in a real old-fashioned and becoming manner — that 
 is, by nearly all the citizens taking a part in the proceedings and 
 getting happy as the golden hours flew by. It was on one of 
 these occasions that Mr. Rosser, then Secretary of the Territory, 
 was called upon to respond to the toast of Minnesota, and he did it 
 as the fellow addressed the lamp-post at lo o'clock at night on his 
 way home. My relations with Mr. Rosser would have justified me 
 in exposing his conduct at the banquet, but I proposed to take 
 my revenge in another way ; so I went into my office and wrote 
 out a neat little speech — I was then editing the Daily Times — 
 and the next morning it appeared in my paper. Going down 
 Third street unfortunately I observed Rosser coming up. What 
 to do I did not know. I looked for a corner but none was handy, 
 so I proposed to meet him boldly and walked along bravely. 
 Rosser put directly for me, his body bent forward and his arms 
 swinging in the air, when we met face to face, and a moment 
 more he had me by the hand. " Old fellow," he exclaimed, " did 
 I make that speech last night ? " " Yes, you did," I replied. 
 
 "Well, if I did," responded Rosser, "I'll be if I don't get 
 
 drunk on every Fourth of July." And again shaking my hand 
 most cordially, and requesting me to call on him at any time for 
 a favor, we parted good friends. In June 1857 I wanted to go 
 East and get married, but had no money. The United States 
 government owed me about $3,000 for Territorial printing, but 
 how could I get it? There were no funds in the treasury, so an 
 idea bethought me, I will go see Rosser, and making a clean 
 breast of the matter to him he turned around and asking for my 
 warrants endorsed them as Secretary of the Territory, and Ira 
 Bidwell, the banker, immediately cashed them and I was pecu- 
 niarily happy. When his term of office expired Rosser went to 
 Mankato to live, then went south, joined the cause of the Con- 
 federates and died— a kind, genial, courteous Virginia gentleman. 
 
 M. W. IRWIN. 
 
 Mr. Irwin was born in Missouri about 1824, and came to 
 Minnesota in 1853 as United States Marshal of the Territory. 
 25 
 
386 PEN PICTURES 
 
 He was a large man, with full habits ; rather quiet, yet he made 
 a good officer. He left Minnesota and died many years ago. 
 
 WILLIAM H. WELSH 
 
 Became Chief Justice of Minnesota in 1853, and arrived in 
 St. Paul the same year. He must have been born somewhere 
 near the year 1 812, for as I remember him he was a tall, slender 
 gentleman, somewhat advanced in years evfn in 1853. He was 
 a quiet, undemonstrative man, whose speech and movements 
 were moderate, and finally removed to Red Wing where he lived 
 and died. He was esteemed a gentleman of unblemished char- 
 acter. 
 
 A. G. CHATFIELD. 
 
 Judge Chatfield, a name by which he was best known, was 
 born in Butternuts, Otsego County, New York, June 27, 1810; 
 studied law in New York ; was admitted to the bar in 1837 J '^^* 
 a member of the New York Legislature in 1839, 1840, 1841 and 
 1846; removed to Wisconsin in 1848, and came to St. Paul in 
 the year 1853, as Associate Justice of the Territory. He was a 
 straight, splendidly-built man, with a florid complexion and an 
 elegant address ; very genial in his manners ; indeed one might 
 say he was " a fine American gentleman all of the olden time." 
 He was a judge of the finest purity of character ; very careful, 
 and very honest, and very sincere, and very conscientious in his 
 convictions of right. He removed to Belle Plaine many years 
 ago, where his duties called him, and there he died universally 
 mourned by the whole bar of the State. 
 
 MOSES SHERBURNE. 
 
 Judge Sherburne was cast in the mould of a grand man. 
 He was physically large and intellectually great. He was one 
 of the Associate Judges of Minnesota, born about 1820, in the 
 State of Maine, and came to St. Paul in the year 1853. He was 
 a man of fine proportions, with a large, towering forehead and 
 immense eyes, and his decisions have never been overruled. He 
 sat on the bench a real judge — calm, cool, decided, clear.-headed, 
 dignified. The latter part of his life was spent in Sherburne 
 County, named after him, and he went down to the grave in the 
 full vigor of his manhood. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 387 
 
 DANIEL H. DUSTIN. 
 
 Mr. Dustin was born in New York, when, I do not know ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1853 as United States District Attorney, and 
 occupied a one-story wooden building on upper Third street, near 
 Eagle. He was a social gentleman and a lawyer of a good deal 
 of ability. He was in perfect health and attended a celebration 
 on the Fourth of July, 1854, when in six days after he was dead 
 — supposed to have died of cholera. 
 
 JOTTINGS— 1853 " MINNESOTA OUTFIT." 
 
 This year Kittson, Rolette and Gingras, members of the 
 Legislature from Pembina, walked to the Capital of the Territory, 
 500 miles on snow-shoes ! Think of that ye modern en-ervated 
 dudes ! Our esteemed citizen. Commodore Kittson, is as vigor- 
 ous to-day at the age of seventy years, as many others at the 
 age of fifty 1 Moral — Walk 500 miles on snow-shoes ! and then 
 live a happy and serene life ! 
 
 The Minnesota Outfit building which used to stand where 
 the Prince block now is, opposite the Merchants hotel on Third 
 street, and in which building old Bet's sister received her death- 
 wound from the Chippewas, is now on Eighth street, below Broad- 
 way, (removed there,) and the old letters on the clap-boards are 
 easily seen through the fading paint, indicating its former use. 
 
 NEW POSTMASTER PRAIRIE CHICKENS — 'JWU MURDERS. 
 
 This year J. W. Bass, postmaster, went out of power and 
 Maj. Forbes came in as the new incumbent. J. C. Terry became 
 his deputy and continued in the postal service eighteen years. 
 
 The post office in 1853 stood on Third street a short dis- 
 tance from Minnesota, and was surrounded with hazel brush and 
 trees. Of course it was a small affair, and Terry had considera- 
 ble time on his hands which he employed in shooting prairie 
 chickens that seemed to have a peculiar fancy for the corner now 
 occupied by the Pioneer Press office, where they found good pick- 
 ings near a stable. How astonished some of those chickens 
 would be to come' back now and catch a glimpse of their old 
 stamping-grounds, and especially lower Third street 1 
 
 This year a theatrical company held the boards at the Court 
 House; the old city market building, brick, long since removed, 
 
388 PEN PICTURES 
 
 was built ; a man by the name, of Thomas Grieves was shot by- 
 Henry Constans in self-defense; three papers were then pub- 
 lished in St. Paul ; some seventy merchants constituted the com- 
 mercial supremacy of the city and among them were ten dry- 
 goods and eight general dealers and ten who dealt in groceries 
 Two men by the name of Hull and Clark were brutally 
 murdered in the fall of this year, and the writer, on publishing a 
 severe column article in the Pioneer on the outrage, was waited 
 upon by two ministers who thanked him very sincerely for his 
 courage, but expressed their fears that he might lose his life for 
 thus daring, at that early day, to speak out so boldly against 
 murder and crime. They even desired to accompany me home, 
 but I went it alone, lived through it all, and " still live." 
 
 JOSEPH SPIEL THE BATTLE OF LIFE. 
 
 Mr. Spiel was born in Bingen on the Rhine, in Germany, in 
 1832 ; came to the United States in 1847 ; to St. Paul in the fall 
 of 1853 ; opened a grocery store on upper Third street, and for 
 a time made money, but soon found out that it would not do to 
 trust everybody ; his experience came too late ; people specu- 
 lated ; lost money ; bank bills were not good over night ; t 
 crashing times of 1857 came on, and in 1858 down he went with 
 many others, and he has been struggling more or less ever since. 
 Mr. Spiel married a daughter of Theodore Ayd in 1855, who has 
 had eight children, five of whom are living and grown up. He 
 was elected Commissioner of Ramsey County for two terms. 
 
 If any man in this city has battled faithfully and honestly 
 for a fair, square living, that man is Joe Spiel. I remember him 
 for over a quarter of a century as an energetic, stirring, indus- 
 trious man, and yet fate seemed to be against him. In early days 
 he was a great Democratic politician, and the little, short, thick- 
 set disputant with his groceries ready to be delivered, would stop 
 any time for an hour and discuss politics, always warmly sus- 
 taining the principles of Democracy, but it did not help his busi- 
 ness any. He is quick in his movements, positive in his make- 
 up, honest in his dealings, faithful in his duties, and persevering 
 in his efforts. If he had paid a little more attention to the inter 
 ests of Joe Spiel instead of to the interests of his political friends, 
 it would have been better for him, and yet he is a pleasant gen- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 389 
 
 tleman, and in the position that he now fills, that of City Jailor, 
 he is always the philosopher, and while strict in the performance 
 of his duties still he is kind and considerate to those entrusted 
 to his care. 
 
 GEORGE CULVER PERSONALLY. 
 
 While Mr. Culver may very justly be considered an old set- 
 tler of this State yet he did not come to St. Paul until 1853. 
 He was born in New York in 181 8 ; removed to Michigan in 
 1834; then to Iowa and remained at Fort Atkinson until 1848, 
 when he came to Minnesota and settled at Long Prairie and 
 engaged in business with Charles and Henry M. Rice; came to 
 this city and formed a partnership with John Farrington, and the 
 firm became Culver & Farrington, and continued in business 
 twenty-two years. Beside carrying on an extensive trade with 
 the Northwest the firm opened a pork-packing department, the 
 first in Minnesota. Their trade was very extensive among the 
 Indians and for years they maintained many trading posts on 
 the frontier, dealing largely in furs. When the house relin- 
 quished its business the partners commenced dealing extensively 
 in real estate, and became part owners of the Metropolitan hotel, 
 and finally Col. Culver became the landlord after the death of 
 Mr. Deucher and continued so about one year when he died, and 
 the hotel for a time was closed. 
 
 Mr. Culver was a peculiar man. He was large physically ; 
 very even in his temperament ; exceedingly good-natured ; cool 
 and meditative ; moderate in his movements ; reflective ; and was 
 noted especially for his hearty good laugh. His whole appear- 
 ance gave one the impression of solidity, and his universal sunny 
 nature won him many friends. He was regarded as a cautious, 
 prudent business man, and at his death was supposed to have 
 left a valuable estate, but from some unexplainable cause his 
 property dwindled away, and his heirs caught the shadows instead 
 of the substance. He loved quiet fun, enjoyed a joke, and in his 
 nature was very social. He left a widow who still lives, and a 
 son and daughter, both married, — the daughter now dead. 
 
 ROBERT A. SMITH OFFICES REAL ESTATE. 
 
 Born in Indiana in 1827 Mr. Smith studied law and then 
 was elected Auditor of Warwick County of that State when about 
 
890 PEN PICTURES 
 
 twenty-two years of age, and served three years ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1853 in the capacity of Private Secretary of Gov. Gor- 
 man and Territorial Librarian, which position he held until 1858.^ 
 In 1856 he was appointed County Treasurer, and was subse- 
 quently elected to the same position, and continued in the office 
 twelve years. In 1 866 he entered the banking house of Dawson 
 & Stevens where he has been one of the firm ever since, or 
 twenty-five years, though the name has been changed from time 
 to time. 
 
 He was Private Seci-etary of Gov Gorman ; Territorial Li- 
 brarian ; County Treasurer ; Alderman two years, and president 
 of the Council, and is now serving on his second term as Alder- 
 man and president of the Council from the Fourth ward ; was a 
 member of the Legislature of 1856, and was also a member of 
 the Legislature of 1885. 
 
 Mr. Smith has bought and sold a great deal of real estate in 
 this city, and it is the old story — property has greatly advanced 
 over prices he originally paid, some pieces going from ;^6oo to 
 ^30,000 and upwards. In 1853 he purchased two lots on Fort 
 street, 120x180 — his present residence — which cost him ^1,000; 
 worth now $30,000 ; then he secured two lots in the rear of the 
 former ones, fronting on Oak street, 1 20 x 1 80, for which he 
 paid :^SOo; worth ;^8,ooo; in 1861 he bought the lot corner of 
 Cedar and Fourth streets — where the new club house has been 
 built — seventy-five feet front ; cost $600 ; worth $30,000 ; a lot 
 corner of Sixth and Robert streets, 90x100 feet, for which he gave 
 $1,000; worth $40,000; a corner lot on Market and Fourth 
 streets, fronting the park, for $3,000; worth $25,000; in com- 
 pany with Mr. Dawson he bought in 1871 about fifty acres in 
 what is now known as a part of Woodland Park, paid $400 per 
 acre, or in the aggregate, $20,000; worth now $10,000 per acre, 
 or 3500,000; secured several acres in Stinson's Addition for 
 $330 per acre; worth $4,000 per acre; in 1866 purchased four- 
 teen acres in Wilkin and Heywood's outlets, with a good house 
 thereon, for $1,000 ; property worth now $25,000, and very un- 
 expectedly to himself and to his preconceived notions, he holds 
 this property yet, and when he stops to think over the matter he 
 gets frightened at his own temerity. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 391 
 
 PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Smith is a very popular man, and almost every office 
 he has held (except that of Treasurer,) has been thrust upon him. 
 When holding the latter position he was quite liberal with his 
 funds, giving to churches, schools, and other charitable . objects, 
 and very likely also for political purposes, so that when he came 
 out of office at the end of twelve years, he only had $6,000 in 
 real estate, and with this capital and a few hundred dollars in 
 ■cash, he became a partner with Wm. Dawson, giving his note 
 to Dawson for the capital he furnished, (;^5,000,) and this is the 
 way he commenced the banking business in which he has been 
 engaged for a quarter of a century. Mr. Smith has always been 
 a Democrat, but when he ran for office the Whigs invariably 
 helped him through, and in one case he came out ahead of all 
 his party friends, being the only candidate on the Democratic 
 ticket elected. He is a man of medium size ; well constructed ; 
 rather cool in his temperament ; cautious ; very pleasant in his 
 manners ; — somewhat non-commital, yet with nerve sufficient to 
 ■decide when it is necessary ; exceedingly social in his nature ; 
 liberally disposed ; kind-hearted, and popular with all classes. 
 He married a sister of Gov. Gorman and has one son and two 
 •daughters. He is a careful, prudent, solid, worthy, valuable 
 citizen. 
 
 WM. B. m'grorty. 
 
 Capt. McGrorty was born in Ireland in 1825; came to 
 America in 1 844 ; settled in New York city and was employed 
 in several commercial houses and as a commercial traveler until 
 the year 1853, when he came to St. Paul. On arriving here he 
 purchased the lot on the corner of Robert and Fourth streets, 
 now occupied by the building of the German National Bank, 
 erected a stone store on it, and engaged in the grocery business, 
 and soon after entered politics, and took an active part in the 
 ranks of the Democratic party. 
 
 OFFICES RAILROAD CONTRACTOR REAL ESTATE A WAR DEMO- 
 CRAT. 
 
 As the result of his political career he was elected Alder- 
 man of the Second ward in 1856, for three years; was County 
 Commissioner for three years ; a member of the Constitutional 
 
392 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Convention in 1857; a member of the Legislature in 1858, and 
 was appointed United States Quartermaster in 1864, which posi- 
 tion he held at the time of his unfortunate death. 
 
 Soon after the passage of the ;^5,ooo,ooo loan bill, and when 
 Selah Chamberlain began to construct railroads in this State, 
 Mr. McGrorty took heavy railroad contracts, arid of course 
 relied upon the good faith of the State to sustain the contractors, 
 but when the bonds were repudiated his entire property went by 
 the board — he lost everything. 
 
 Mr. McGrorty's lot on the corner of Fourth and Robert 
 streets, cost him in 1853,^800; worth now ;^50,ooo; he paid 
 ;^ 1,800 in 1856 for one hundred feet on Jackson street where he 
 formerly resided ; worth now ;^30,000. He erected a large stone 
 residence on this property and lived there for some time, but sold 
 it to N. W. Kittson, where Mr. Kittson resided until his family , 
 moved into his new mansion on St. Anthony Hill. 
 
 Captain McGrorty was a strong Douglas Democra,t, and on 
 the election of Abe Lincoln and the secession of South Carolina, 
 he entered heartily into the Union movement and urged the vig- 
 orous prosecution of the war. He carried out in practice what he 
 taught in theory, and entered the army (Fifth Minnesota Regi- 
 ment,) in 1 861, and served with great credit on Gov. Hubbard's 
 staff when Colonel and also when Brigadier General in the field, 
 and was especially mentioned by Gen. Hubbard in his reports of 
 battles to the Adjutant General, for brave and meritorious con- 
 duct. Was appointed United States Quartermaster and Captain 
 by President Lincoln, September, 1 864, and in December of the 
 same year he received a furlough to come home to St. Paul, and 
 February 16, 1865, after the expiration of his furlough and while 
 returning to his post of duty, was drowned in the Mississippi 
 river at or near La Crosse. 
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS DEATH. 
 
 He had ridden down in the stage from St, Paul to a point 
 nearly opposite La Crosse, when it was found unsafe to go over 
 the ice in a vehicle and he concluded to walk, so in company 
 with a gentleman by the name of Temple, of this city, they 
 trudged on their way together, talking gaily of the war and of 
 other matters^ when, all of a sudden, they broke through the ice 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 393 
 
 or walked directly into an air hole, (as it was in the evening and 
 they could not see very clearly,) and both disappeared out of 
 sight. Search was made and at last McGrorty's body was found 
 and buried by the soldiers at La Crosse. 
 
 PERSONALLY. 
 
 Capt. McGrorty was a true-blue Irishman, and yet an Ameri- 
 can. He was a good-sized man with sandy hair and whiskers, 
 retaining all the impulsiveness of his nationality and yet so 
 schooled by experience as to be calm and self-possessed in times 
 of emergency. He was bold and aggressive in his character, self- 
 reliant, insinuating, yet positive when necessary, courageous, a 
 man of considerable force of character, and who always inspired 
 confidence in those about him. He was in command of the Min- 
 nesota company that went to visit Gen. Gorman at Helena — an 
 incident noted in the history of the Governor's life. He never 
 forgot the green old sod of his fatherland, for, in connection with 
 the late Gen. Shields and others he sought to do in 1854 what 
 Bishop Ireland has since successfully accomplished, viz.: to 
 establish colonies of Irishmen on the soil of Minnesota and 
 Dakota. He was social in his nature, kind-hearted, and has left 
 behind him many pleasant memories. He married in Vermont 
 in 1 848, and his widow and six children are still living, some in 
 St. Paul and some in other parts of Minnesota. 
 
 WILLIAM B. m'GRORTY, JR. PERSONAL. 
 
 This is the eldest son of the late Capt. William B. McGrorty ; 
 was born in St. Paul in 1855 ; educated and graduated at our 
 High School in 1 875 ; also at the Law Department of the Univer- 
 sity of Michigan in 1879 ;in 188 1-2 was a member of the firm of 
 McGrorty & Hall ; same year was elected Associate Municipal 
 Judge, which office he resigned to accept the Probate Judgeship 
 in November, 1882; was elected president of the St. Paul 
 Alumni Association — numbering 200 — in 1884, and is now on 
 his second term as Judge of Probate. 
 
 Judge McGrorty is a quiet, unostentatious gentleman, less 
 'demonstrative than his father yet possessing many of his quali- 
 ties. He is a good deal smaller man ; a thoughtful student ; a 
 
394: PEN PICTURES 
 
 good lawyer, and makes an excellent judge. He is a young man 
 of fine abilities and very popular. 
 
 GEORGE W. PRESCOTT AN EPISODE. 
 
 Mr. Prescott was born in Maine about 1827; came to St. 
 Paul in 1853; was appointed Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
 tion by Gov. Gorman ; was for a long time Clerk of the United 
 States District Court; a member of the Board of Education from 
 1.862 to 1868, and was a journalist of a good deal of ability. I 
 think he was also in the army. Some years ago Mr. Prescott 
 became a preacher and has devoted his time to that profession 
 £ver since. 
 
 I shall never forget the remark Mr. Prescott made to the 
 writer soon after his fight on the Custom House swindle whereby 
 I saved several hundred thousand dollars to the United States 
 government, and I am sorry to say got kicked for it — " If you 
 should do no other act of your life, that of itself ought to carry 
 you to heaven ! " He was a sincere, upright, manly Christian, if 
 there ever was one (and I must confess they are very few in num- 
 ber,) and of course he is, or was, a poor man. I remember him 
 as small in stature, very quick in movement, impulsive, decided, 
 straight-forward, honest, consistent, manly, sincere. And if there 
 is a good place beyond this world George W. Prescott will surely 
 get it, for he surely deserves it. 
 
 ANDREW J. WHITNEY. 
 
 I have but little data respecting Mr. Whitney, although I 
 knew him well. He came to St.- Paul in 1853, and was appointed 
 Clerk of the Supreme Court by Gov. Gorman, and was at one 
 time City Clerk. I think he subsequently became a partner with 
 his brother in the daguerrean business,-but when he left St. Paul 
 and where he now is, I do not know. He was a tall, active, 
 bustling, go-a-headative man, quite gentlemanly in his bearing, 
 and a good clerk. All of the old settlers of 1853 knew Andy J. 
 Whitney. 
 
 THEODORE W. BEULKE. 
 
 Mr. Beulke was born in St. Paul in 1853, and was educated 
 at our schools. At the age of twenty -one years, or in 1 874, he 
 engaged in the butcher's trade up to 1880, when he purchased 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINX. 39.5 
 
 the Garibaldi meat market, an old-established house, being among 
 the first regular meat shops in the city, and for years has run it 
 very successfully. He is a prompt, stirring business man, and 
 though comparatively a young chap, yet he is an old settler, and 
 one generally esteemed for his many good qualities. 
 
 MARTIN- BRUGGERMANN. 
 
 Mr. Bruggermann was born in Prussia in 1828; came to 
 America in 1834, and resided in Michigan eight years; arrived 
 at St. Paul in 1853 and engaged in the malting business, and 
 carried on a very extensive trade, his brewery being 540 x 120 
 feet, two and one-half stories high. He married Miss Barbara 
 Keller in 1855 ; eight children are living; two are dead. Mr. 
 Bruggermann is a solid, excellent, worthy citizen. 
 
 MRS. MARGARET CRANSTON 
 
 Was born in Ireland in 1829; came to America in 1849; 
 resided in New York two years i came to St. Paul in 1853 ; mar- 
 ried Patrick Shannahan ; he died leaving seven children, when in 
 1878 she married Joseph Cranston, and for years they kept the 
 Traveler's House in the Sixth ward, or West St.. Paul. Mrs. 
 Cranston is a sprightly business woman, and though a genuine 
 old settler yet she is far from looking old, and is greatly respected 
 for her many excellent traits of character. 
 
 AN unpleasant SITUATION HOLE-IN-THE-DAY. 
 
 While sitting in a small office of the Snelling House thirty- 
 two years ago, my attention was arrested by the imposing pres- 
 ence of a large Indian chief, who, with his blanket about him 
 strode into the room with the dignity of a Roman Senator. He 
 was a large man, with high cheek-bones, a well-poised head, 
 dark, brilliant black eyes and hair, and with a pleasant smile he 
 exclaimed while passing — " Booshu, nechee ! " — " how to do, 
 friend ! " — and took a seat near me. There was a' massive char- 
 acteristic about the man which did not belong to the ordinary 
 Indian and yet he had all the Indian peculiarities. Dinner was 
 soon announced and he took a seat near me at the table. He 
 ate with ordinary deliberation and an ordinary amount of food, 
 but while so engaged one of the windows was suddenly dark- 
 
896 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ened, and on looking up I beheld many grimy faces and burn- 
 ing eyes, with war-paint and feathers, the possessors of which 
 belonged to the Sioux nation. Gleaming knives and partially 
 covered tomahawks made my position by the side of the Chip- 
 pewa chief rather uncomfortable, so I moved away ; but he con- 
 tinued to eat on, and then the door opened and thirty Sioux war- 
 riors filed along in front of the foe of their nation with clinched 
 rifles and hearts glowing with revenge. Still calm, with not a 
 muscle of his mobile face denoting fear; the chief finished his 
 dinner, coolly arose, drew his blanket about him, and with a 
 lordly tread, a compressed lip and a flashing eye, walked down 
 in front of these hostile Sioux and lighting his pipe deliberately 
 puffed the smoke into the very faces of his inveterate foes. That 
 man was Hole-in-the-Day, the chief of the Chippewa nation, 
 and the thirty Sioux warriors were on his war-path, but they 
 feared the white man's troops that would dart down upon them 
 the moment the blow had been struck, so they restrained their 
 wrath and let the great chief depart unmolested. 
 
 MARRIED ASSASSINATED: — INDIAN WHITE QUEEN HIS TOMB. 
 
 Hole-in-the-Day was an Indian of remarkable sagacity and 
 intelligence. He associated with the whites and comprehended 
 their ideas of civilization. He was very wily and very brave, 
 and greatly feared by his enemies. It is said of him that he 
 would float down the Mississippi river in his canoe to St. Paul, 
 paddle across the stream to the opposite shore, secrete his boat, 
 lie in wait for the Sioux who were in the habit of following the 
 trail to Mendota, then pounce upon them, kill one or two, secure 
 their scalps, and make his way back again to the east shore, and 
 thence home. 
 
 He visited Washington several times and became pretty well 
 versed in the ways of tricksters and politicians. Once while on 
 a visit to the Capital he fell in love with a white girl in the 
 National hotel, and actually proposed to her, was accepted, and 
 they were married. He came west, repaired to his home near 
 Fort Ripley, installed his wife in his tepee as the White Indian 
 Queen, and soon after he was assassinated while riding home 
 with his little son. Hole-in-the-Day had a magnificent physical 
 organization. He was very straight, quite dignified and yet very 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 397 
 
 affable, and withal he was very generally liked by the whites. 
 During the Sioux outbreak in 1 862 he had overtures from Little 
 Crow, the great Sioux chief, to join with him in massacring the 
 whites, but he declined the honor although some of his people 
 were very anxious to have him do so. 
 
 On a high hill overlooking the Mississippi river, about three 
 miles above Little Falls, lie the bones of the great chief and 
 those of his father after whom he was named. There is a slight 
 depression between two hills, and in this depression is a lone 
 tree which stands as a sentinel over the graves of these two 
 noted chiefs. No other Indians lie buried in the neighborhood. 
 
 JULIUS GROSS PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Gross is a native of Prussia, born in 1822; came to 
 America in 1851; remained in Chicago up to 1853, when he 
 migrated to St. Paul. He was a carpenter and builder by trade, 
 and worked at his business one year, when, in 1 854 he opened a 
 hotel known as the St. Paul House, which he subsequently sold 
 and then opened the Gross hotel on Fort street, where he now 
 is. He married Miss Susie Faber in 1854. 
 
 Mr. Gross is a large man with a good-sized bay-window, and 
 as seen on the street he resembles an old Knickerbocker of the 
 early days of New York city. He is a saving, industrious per- 
 son, quiet in his manners, and from long years of industry has 
 built up a good business. 
 
 B. MICHEL. 
 
 Mr. Michel was born in Germany in 1832 ; educated in the 
 old country and emigrated to America in 1852 ; worked at the 
 trade of joiner and carpenter in Buffalo, New York ; stopped for 
 a short time at Chicago, and removed to St. Paul in 1 853, where 
 he continued working at his trade up to 1867, when he opened a 
 grocery store and saloon, and has accumulated property worth 
 from ;^75,ooo to ;^ioo,ooo. Married in St. Paul to Miss Francis 
 Breker. Mr. Michel is a stirring, sagacious man, and can pile 
 up a lot of dollars quicker than any person I know of. 
 
 JOHN A. WEIDE PERSONAL. 
 
 Almost everybody used to know " Johnny Weide," as he was 
 familiarly called, because he was one of the most pleasant gen- 
 
398 PEN PICTURES 
 
 tlemen in the city of St. Paul, and as a young man he was very 
 popular. He was born at Madison, Indiana, in 1844, where he 
 remained up to 1853, when, with his parents he removed to this 
 city, and was partially educated at our public schools, but 
 finished his education at Leipsic, Saxony, Germany. On his 
 return to St. Paul he opened a clothing store on East Third 
 street, and then after spending a year in Philadelphia he returned 
 to his clothing trade and continued in it up to 1 870, when he sold 
 out. For several years following he engaged in the music busi- 
 ness, and disposing of that he opened an art studio, or school, 
 in which I believe he is now employed. Mr. Weide's father 
 came to St. Paul in 1853, and started a grocery store in lower 
 town, accumulated a good deal of property and died several 
 years ago quite an old man. Joseph and Charles, welj/lcnown 
 citizens, are brothers of John. 
 
 Mr. Weide is a medium-sized gentleman, with a well-pro- 
 portioned form, rather slender in figure, with a fine countenance; 
 exceedingly polite, and always tastily dressed. His buttoned 
 frock coat, silk hat and inevitable cane, with a quick step, mark 
 some of the peculiarities of the true gentleman. He is very fond 
 of music and is quite an artist. Indeed, he was cut out for 
 either a painter or professor, and he greatly mistook his calling 
 when he engaged in the material elements of business. He is a 
 quiet, amiable, worthy gentleman. 
 
 ROBERT C. WILEY OFFICES PERSONAL. 
 
 " Honor and shame from no condition rise. 
 Act well your part, there all the honor lie.s." 
 
 Mr. Wiley is emphatically a self-made man, though I must 
 admit that his political sagacity has had much to do with his 
 success. He was born in New York State in 1 827 ; lived on a 
 farm until he was nineteen years old, when he learned the trade 
 of a carpenter and joiner ; came to St. Paul in 1853 ; helped to 
 erect the first bark and afterwards the first log cabin at a place 
 called Excelsior ; returned to St. Paul and worked on the old 
 Capitol building — burnt down; then in 1854 in company with 
 C. F. Hill, he began contracting and building, and continued in 
 this business up to 1863 when he went to Faribault and superin- 
 tended the erection of the Shattuck school, St. Mary's Hall, and 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 309' 
 
 the Bishop's Church; returned to this city in 1869 and erected 
 depots on the line of the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad. Since 
 then he has carried on the general business of his trade and con- 
 tracting. 
 
 Mr. Wiley is quite a politician and when he moves he carries 
 the laboring classes with him because he is supposed to be the 
 exponent of their interests. In 1859 he was elected Alderman 
 of the Third ward ; served three years and was re-elected, but 
 resigned at the expiration of one year and went to Faribault^ 
 He was elected to the Legislature in i877-'78-'8o ; was elected 
 Register of Deeds in 1883, which position he now holds. 
 
 Mr. Wiley is a slender person of ordinary size ; quiet in his 
 movements and in his conversation, and has the faculty of say- 
 ing but little. He is a business man, thoroughly honest and 
 makes a good officer. 
 
 THOMAS HOWARD OFFICES— PERSONAL. 
 
 Judge Howard was born in Ireland in 1834; came to Amer- 
 ica in 1848 ; located in St. Paul in 1853 ; educated in the com- 
 mon schools of Ireland ; lived in Chicago where he partially 
 learned the trade of a tinner and finished his apprenticeship in 
 St. Paul ; here he worked at it more or less for thirteen years. 
 During this time he developed into a politician and took a very 
 active part in the ranks of the Democratic party, and as a result 
 he held the following offices : Was a member of the School 
 Board from 1869 to 1872, three years; County Commissioner 
 from 1867 to 1 87 1, four years; Municipal Judge from 1869 to 
 1872, three years ; chairman of the Democratic County Commit- 
 tee seven years ; also chairman of the .City Committee. 
 
 Mr. Howard is a small man, now clerk in the office of Reg- 
 ister of Deeds of Ramsey County, where he has been for several 
 years past. In early days he was a leader among the Irish poli- 
 ticians, a man of nerve, and I might say audacity, but of late 
 years he has dropped out of politics and out of public notice, 
 and is quietly pursuing " the even tenor of his way," satisfied 
 with what there is left of life to enjoy. He is a quiet, dignified, 
 self-possessed, pleasant gentleman, and a man of considerable 
 ability. 
 
400 PEN PICTURES 
 
 "what is the use?" 
 
 Why this everlasting struggle for money ? Why this over- 
 worked brain ? Why this eternal round of business ? — Cut 
 bono, — what good ? Death comes and many in the brief period 
 of twenty-four hours are forgotten ! Dead men are not wanted 
 in this age ! Time is too precious to grieve ! So the great, 
 bustling world pushes the inanimate into oblivion and goes on 
 to repeat over and over again the folly of those gone before ! 
 To accumulate riches is commendable, but how many get their 
 wealth honestly ? How many did not lie ? how many did not 
 misrepresent ? how many did not cheat ? — how many ? You can 
 count the number almost on the fingers of your hands. How 
 many get rich by pursuing an honest and honorable course ? A 
 small fraction of the great world at large. And yet wealth is a 
 boon ; money is an essential element of happiness and comfort, 
 if properly obtained and not realized at the cost of manhood, of 
 health or of life. Nine-tenths of the men in business to-day are 
 working like galley-slaves to accumulate money; never stop- 
 ping, never resting, never tiring in their ceaseless rounds of labor 
 until cut short by the grim monster Death ! Miss Ella Wheelei', 
 in one of her beautiful poems, asks : 
 
 "What is the use of this tempestuous haste .' 
 The end is certain. Let us take our time 
 And hoard the vital forces that we waste 
 
 Before our day has reached its golden prime. 
 
 "What is the use of rushing with spent breath 
 After old age, its furrows, its white hair .' 
 Why need we hurry so to welcome Death, 
 
 Or go half-way, with hands stretched out to Care f 
 
 "There is no use. Dear heart, if we but wait 
 All things will find us. Let us pause, I say : 
 We cannot go beyond the silent gate 
 
 That lies a short da3''s journey down the way^ 
 
 "So let us take our time in youth's fair bowers, 
 The summer season is so brief at best; 
 Let us look on the stars, and pluck the flowers, 
 And when our feet grow weary, let us rest." 
 
 ERASTUS SMITH EDGERTON. 
 
 Mr. Edgerton was born in Delaware County, New York, in 
 1816, and after receiving a limited academic education, removed 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 401 
 
 to Delhi, where he was appointed Deputy Sheriff. I find in the 
 Jiistory of Ramsey County the following notable event of his life : 
 
 A NOTABLE EVENT. 
 
 " In the capacity of Deputy Sheriff he came in collision with a combina- 
 tion of armed men known as anti-renters, who resisted the payment of rents 
 .and the execution of the laws. He was placed in command of a posse of 
 horsemen, and on that occasion seven prisoners were captured and confined in 
 the county jail at Delhi. The rioters attempted to destroy the jail and rescue 
 their comrades. As arms and ammunition were scarce, he conceived the idea 
 -of using pitchforks, which he collected from the stores in town, and organized 
 a pitchfork brigade, of which he was appointed Captain, and this brigade was 
 used to defend the cannon in lieu of sabres, and the Rev. Mr. Leonard of the 
 Presbyterian Church, was made First Lieutenant. He, with his company, also 
 assisted in preserving order at the sale of cattle for rents at the Earl sale in the 
 town of Andes. His horse was shot from under him, and Mr. Steele, his com- 
 rade, was also shot and killed, with his horse. He here made his first speech 
 to a band of 163 armed and disguised rioters, warning them against the crime 
 of murder and the punishment which was sure to follow. Two of them were 
 •sentenced to be hung and eighteen to State's Prison, and a large number to 
 the county jail, while others fled the country." 
 
 THE OLDEST BANKER IN THE CITY AND STATE. 
 
 On the 8th of January, 1844, Mr. Edgerton was married to 
 Miss Cannon; removed to St. Paul in 1853, and in 1854 opened 
 a bank in partnership with the late Charles N. Mackubin in a 
 rooni in the Winslow House, Seven Corners, and subsequently 
 removed to the corner of Exchange and Third streets, v/here the 
 firm continued up to 1857, when Mr. Mackubin retired and 
 Edgerton has continued in the business ever since, putting him 
 in the front rank as the oldest continuous banker in the city and 
 State, a position he is justly entitled to and which he has bravely 
 won. Borup & Oakes, Ira Bidwell, and I think Truman M. 
 Smith preceded him, but the three first are dead, and Mr. Smith 
 is in another business. 
 
 THE ;^5,ooo,ooo railroad loan bill. 
 
 When this bill had passed the Legislature and had been 
 endorsed by over 18,000 majority of the people, certain parties 
 desired to get the bonds upon which to do banking. Failing to 
 secure the exclusive control of the bonds for this purpose, they 
 turned their guns upon the measure and fought it desperately, 
 even after it had passed the Legislature and been approved by 
 
 26 
 
402 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the people. This is a matter of history. And it was currently 
 reported at the time and generally believed, that Mr. Edgerton 
 was the third party to make up this syndicate ; indeed he owned 
 the People's Bank, whose bills circulated on these bonds ; but be 
 this as it may, I find him opposing the measure and so incurring 
 the wrath of the advocates of the movement, that on the even- 
 ing of the day when the loan amendment was carried, he was- 
 serenaded and the band played the " Dead March." Here he 
 made the second speech of his life when he uttered that memora- 
 ble sentence — " The time will come when the people of Minne- 
 sota will vote to repudiate the bonds by a larger majority than 
 they have voted to issue them," — and that prediction has proven 
 true. And yet, the amendment having passed the Legislature 
 and having been approved by the people and having been incor- 
 porated as a part of the Constitution, became a plighted pledge 
 of the State to pay, and Mr. Edgerton therefore opposed repu- 
 diation, and when the bills of his People's Bank came in for 
 redemption, he redeemed every dollar ! Chas. Parker, Pease, Chal- 
 fant %L Co., Wm. R. Marshall, Truman M. Smith and others went 
 by the board, but Edgerton came out of the fire like pure gold,, 
 and has maintained his credit unimpaired ever since. In 1865 
 he organized what is now known as the Second National Bank 
 of St. Paul, and has been its principal stockholder and president 
 from that time to this. He also aided in the organization of the 
 National Bank at St. Peter and the Lumbermen's Bank at Still- 
 water, and is now not only a director in these banks but in the 
 Commercial National Bank of Chicago. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Edgerton is a tall, slender person, quick as thought in 
 his transactions and usually wears glasses. He is a man of 
 great nerve ; a remarkable financier ; one of the best bankers in 
 the Northwest, and a gentleman of intrinsic merit. He is pru- 
 dent, cautious, careful, yet decisive ; active and stirring, yet slow ; 
 close, calulating, systematic, but generous ; and his views of how 
 a young man ought to be educated to become a good banker, 
 are the soundest and best I have ever heard advanced by anj' 
 financier. Mr. Edgerton has done many very generous acts to 
 various individuals, and to his relatives he has given not less 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 403 
 
 than ;^ 1 00,000. While personally I never received a favor from 
 him, yet I learn from those who know him best that he ranksall 
 other bankers in this city, dead or alive, in acts of generosity, 
 and these acts have been .performed so quietly, so pleasantly, and 
 so cheerfully, that the recipients of his favors will never forget 
 his kindness. 
 
 JOHN BALL BRISBIN A LITERARY MAN. 
 
 Mr. Brisbin was born at Saratoga, New York, in the year 
 1 827 ; his father was an eminent physician, his mother was the 
 great-great niece of the mother of Washington, and his grand- 
 father coming to this country from the north of Ireland, died at 
 the age of one hundred and one years. The family have the 
 Norman-French pedigree which will in a measure account for 
 some of Mr. Brisbin's peculiar characteristics. Educated at Troy 
 and Schuylersville young Brisbin entered Yale College at New 
 Haven, Conn., in the year 1842, and graduated in 1846 with the 
 reputation of being one of the finest writers and speakers in that 
 institution, taking the Townsend prize for the best essay in the 
 senior class. 
 
 A LITERARY MAN. 
 
 Though a little wild and full of nervous energy in his youth, 
 young Brisbin took a prominent position among his literary col- 
 legiate associates. He was one of the editors of the Yale Liter- 
 ary Magazine; was president of the Brothers in Unity ; a mem- 
 ber of the Psi Upsilon Society and also of the Skull and Bones. 
 His social nature and superior attainments made him a general 
 favorite, and he was one of the boys among the boys, and yet 
 he never lost his dignity or his confidence in his own abilities. 
 The writer was a citizen of New Haven at the time Mr. Brisbin 
 was prosecuting his studies at Yale, and he remembers him as a 
 small, slender, elegantly dressed young man, straight, dignified, 
 and while affable, yet positive in the expression of his opinions. 
 
 THE STUDY OF LAW OFFICES CAPITAL REMOVAL BILL. 
 
 After graduating he read law with Henry W. Merrill, of 
 Saratoga, and subsequently with Judge Cady, and Cady, Van 
 Vechton & McMartin, of Albany, and was admitted to the bar 
 
404 PEN PICTURES 
 
 in 1849; practiced at Schuylerville until 1853 and then removed 
 to St. Paul. 
 
 Mr. Brisbin, on arriving in this city, took an active part in 
 the ranks of the Democratic party and has ever since been a 
 strong, unflinching, determined and able advocate of its prin- 
 ciples. He was a member and president of the Territorial 
 Council (Senate,) in 1856-7 ; a member of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives in 1858 and in 1863 ; Mayor of the city, by a unani- 
 mous vote, in 1857; City Attorney in 1856; Supreme Court 
 Reporter; in 1859 was candidate for Attorney General; in 1864 
 was chairman of the Minnesota delegation to the National Demo- 
 cratic Convention which nominated George B. McClellan for 
 President; was for several years chairman of the State Demo- 
 cratic Central Committee, and has for a long period past devoted 
 his time in writing and in speaking for the Democratic party no 
 matter whether the principles of that party were popular or 
 unpopular. In this respect Mr. Brisbin has been pre-eminently 
 conspicuous. He married Miss Almira George in 1850, who 
 died in 1863, and then married in 1865 Miss M. Jones of this 
 city, a native of New York, who still lives. 
 
 Probably no one man did more in the Legislature of 1857 to- 
 prevent the removal of the Capitol from St. Paul to St. Peter, 
 than did John B. Brisbin. He was fortunately president of the 
 Senate, and by his ruling, his determined efforts, and his influ- 
 ence he held the opposition together and they won. The bill had 
 passed both houses and had gone to the committee on enrolled 
 bills, of which Joe Rolette, of Pembina, was chairman, and he 
 of course put the document in his pocket and cleared out. Not 
 making his appearance for several days Mr. Balcombe, a mem- 
 ber from Winona, offered a resolution that the next member of 
 the committee enroll a copy of another bill and report it to the 
 Senate, and upon this he moved the previous question, when Mr. 
 Setzer moved a call of the House; and then occurred that gladi- 
 atorial parliamentary battle which has never since been witnessed 
 in this State. The vote was five for the motion and nine against 
 it, and Brisbin, the president, decided that two-thirds of fourteen 
 not voting for the motion it was lost, Balcombe strenuously 
 declaring, however, that nine ivas two-thirds of fourteen, but 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 405 
 
 " Bris " insisted that his decision was correct, so the Senate con- 
 tinued under the call ©f the House, but no Rolette made his 
 appearance. And here is where Mr. Brisbin showed his te- 
 nacity of purpose and parliamentary knowledge, for the Senate 
 could not adjourn under the call, and if members on the opposite 
 side absented themselves, then the bill could be killed, so liquid 
 and solid refreshments were sent to the chamber and both parties 
 ate, and drank, and slept, and camped on the floor of the Sen- 
 ate. This continued for a number of days and nights, and 
 another copy of the bill was procured, enrolled, reported, passed 
 and sent to Mr. Brisbin to sign, which he refused to do, claiming 
 that the bill was not legal ; nor would the Speaker of the House 
 sign it, but Gov. Gorman put his signature to it and subsequently^ 
 when the matter had been carried to the Supreme Court for adju- 
 dication, the decision of Judge Nelson was in favor of the posi- 
 tion taken by Mr. Brisbin, and St. Paul still continues to be the 
 Capital of Minnesota. Joe Rolette was. in one of the upper 
 rooms in the old International hotel playing cards, while the 
 Council continued in continuous session iive days and five nights, 
 waiting for the Sergeant-at-Arms to produce the member of the 
 committee (Rolette,) who had the bill in charge. He came just 
 as the gavel of President Brisbin had declared the Senate 
 adjourned, and in a hilarious and grotesque manner presented 
 the bill as duly enrolled ! And though twenty-eight years have 
 passed since then, yet to the writer it appears almost as an event 
 of yesterday — almost a dream ! 
 
 AS A LAWYER HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Mr. Brisbin ranks high as a lawyer, especially as an advo- 
 cate at the bar. His forensic efforts are peculiar, yet effective, 
 carrying conviction and bringing out many fine points of law. 
 When addressing a jury he usually commences slowly and as^he 
 warms up he throws his whole soul into the case, pushes up his 
 coat sleeves, sometimes almost above the elbows ; spits in small 
 but frequent quantities ; moves his head to one side, gives a 
 convulsive twitch of the body, and marches rapidly forward in 
 his argument, never moderating or ceasing until he reaches' the 
 end. He becomes so intensified in his speeches that he seeks to 
 break down all opposition and grows electrically eloquent. He 
 
406 PEN PICTURES 
 
 likes the forum better than the office and may very justly be 
 termed a successful advocate, as through his brain-power he has 
 accumulated a comfortable property. As a political speaker he 
 is systematic, cool, argumentative, historical and interesting, 
 quoting largely from Shakespeare and other eminent authors, for 
 he has an excellent memory. 
 
 Mr. Brisbin is not a large man physically, yet what there is 
 of him is well and tersely made. He has a very dignified appear- 
 ance. Standing erect with a fine head set upon square shoulders, 
 he gives one the idea of a man of power. He usually dresses 
 in a swallow-tail blue coat with brass buttons ; a high standing 
 collar and a broad-brimmed, low-crowned slouched hat. Out of 
 the court room he is very social in his nature and is easily 
 approached. He is a good conversationalist, is original in many 
 of his expressions, besides drawing from a well-stocked mind 
 many pearls from the very best authors. His features are of the 
 Grecian mould and strong lines of character are marked on his 
 face, indicating a man of thought, a man of study, and a man 
 of ability, while the peculiar twist of the head and the frequent 
 expectorations by the lips, clearly mark the individual traits of 
 John Ball Brisbin. 
 
 CHARLES E. FLANDRAU OFFICES HEROIC ACT. 
 
 Judge Flandrau was born in New York city in 1828. His 
 father was for several years a law partner of Aaron Burr, and 
 his mother was a sister of Gen. Macomb, at one time Commander- 
 in-Chief of the United States army. The Judge was educated 
 at Washington and Georgetown ; followed the sea as midship- 
 man for three years ; learned the trade of sawing mahogany ; 
 studied law at Whitesboro, N. Y., and in the latter part of 1853 
 located at St. Paul, where he has more or less ever since 
 resided. 
 
 He was a Deputy Clerk of the United States District Court 
 and notary public in 1854; member of the Territorial Council 
 in 1855 ; United States Indian Agent for the Sioux in 1856; 
 member of the Constitutional Convention in 1857; Associate 
 Justice of the Supreme Court in 1857 ; Associate Justice of the 
 Supreme Court of the State from 1857 to 1864; Judge Advocate 
 General in 1858; president of the first Board of Trade in Min- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 407 
 
 Tieapolis; Democratic candidate for Governor of the State in 
 1867 ; Democratic candidate for Chief Justice in the fail of 1869, 
 and in 1 868 was chairman of the Democratic State Central Com- 
 mittee. Married a Miss Dinsmore, of Kentucky, in 1859; mar- 
 Tied a second time Rebecca B. Riddle, of Pennsylvania, 1871. 
 Has two sons and two daughters. 
 
 One of the most notable acts in the life of Judge Flandrau, 
 and which stands out in bold relief and reflects great honor upon 
 the man, is the conspicuous part he took in the defense of New 
 Ulm during the Indian outbreak in the year 1862. It seems 
 that the Indians were on their way to attack Fort Ridgely and also 
 New Ulm, and on the news reaching St. Peter bells were rung to 
 give the alarm and bring the citizens together, and at this meet- 
 ing a company was organized and Hon. Charles E. Flandrau, 
 then Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, was elected Cap- 
 tain. Fifteen men were soon armed and mounted and under the 
 command of ex-Sheriff Boardman made all haste for the unfor- 
 tunate town which they found besieged by Indians, but dashing 
 into the place at full gallop opened up a fire on the enemy and 
 saved it for the time being. Flandrau with one hundred men 
 hastened forward to the rescue, and reached the city about nine 
 -o'clock in the evening and was most cordially welcomed by the 
 people who were in a wild state of frenzy. Here they halted for 
 the night, throwing out guards, when on the next day the barri- 
 cades were strengthened, the men encouraged, and a general 
 organization for defense adopted. Judge Flandrau was chosen 
 ■Commander-in-Chief, and he set himself to work vigorously to 
 meet the enemy. During the day one hundred more men from 
 Mankato and Le Sueur 'were added to the command, making 
 about 250 men in all. The first attack upon New Ulm was made 
 • on Tuesday, and now, having failed to reduce Fort Ridgely, the 
 Indians made their way to the town in large numbers and com- 
 menced the second attack on Thursday. Judge Flandrau wisely 
 considered it best to meet the Indians on an open space, so he 
 stationed his men on the prairie about half a mile distant from the 
 town, and there the battle was fought. The Indians drove his men 
 iowards the city, when the Judge and others led the advance up 
 .hill, and a sharp and general fight ensued. The Judge says : 
 
408 . PEN PICTURES 
 
 "The conflagration became general in the lower part of the town on both sides- 
 of the street, and the bullets flew very thickly both from the bluff and up the street.. 
 I thought it prudent to dismount and conduct the defense on foot." 
 
 And he did do so gallantly and coolly throughout the whole 
 campaign, having ten men killed and fifty wounded, but he saved 
 the town and in that act he has left behind him a name memor- 
 able in history. 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Judge Flandrau is a tall, slender, sinewy, dignified, courte- 
 ous, energetic, polished gentleman, who more resembles a retired 
 army officer than a civilian. He is quick, decisive ; well-learned 
 in the law ; polite, earnest, convincing in his arguments, and an 
 excellent speaker. He seeks rather to get at the merits of his 
 cases than to befog the jury. Indeed I may say he is a first-class 
 lawyer and a first-class man, and has filled many important posi- 
 tions in the State with great credit. 
 
 HENRY WEBER, SR. — PERSONAL. 
 
 A great many old settlers of all nationalities will remember 
 Mr. Henry Weber, who came to St. Paul in the spring of 1853. 
 He was born in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1820; emigrated to 
 America in 1850, the year of his marriage; stopped for two years 
 at Fort Wayne, Ind.; purchased a fine team of horses and with 
 a few dollars in his pocket started overland for Galena, and there 
 took the steamer for St. Paul, accompanied by his wife and an 
 eight-months-old child, now a man grown. At the end of about 
 two years Mr. Weber had laid by some money, and selling his- 
 team bought some eighty feet on upper Third street, (opposite 
 the Conservatory of Music,) which the heirs still own; built 
 some stores thereon (since burned down,) and went into business 
 for himself as one of the first confectioners, dealing also in toys 
 in upper town, which section was at that time the most prominent 
 business part of the city. For a while he did a good trade, as he 
 was a careful, prudent, economical man and bravely rode the 
 financial storm of 1857 ; and even after this he accumulated some 
 other property, beside building in i860 the stone residence on 
 Summit avenue opposite the Kittson mansion, where his widow 
 now resides. 
 
 Mr. Weber was a man honest in his dealings, as many old. 
 settlers well remember, and like his friend Presley, was a hard- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 409 
 
 working, industrious citizen. He died of dropsy in 1869, leaving 
 a widow and two sons and one daughter in comfortable circum- 
 stances. 
 
 HENRY WEBER, JR. 
 
 Mr. Weber was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1852; 
 came to St. Paul in 1853; was educated at the public schools 
 and finished his education at Prof. Faddis' Commercial College ; 
 became a clerk for his father, and after his death entered the 
 employ of R. & J. M. Warner, on Third street, which position 
 he held for twelve years. After leaving this firm he went into 
 business for himself in the fall of 1881, and being a genial, good- 
 hearted, social, very well known young man, he has done an 
 excellent business. Like his father he started on a very limited 
 capital ; was careful ; used pluck ; worked hard, until he is con- 
 sidered to-day one of the most prominent young retail merchants 
 in St. Paul. When a child he remembers running down Third 
 street and getting lost in the ravines which then existed below 
 Wabasha street, and since then he has watched the growth of 
 St. Paul with pleasure;. He was married in 1876 to Miss Sophia 
 Haeffner, and has three children living and one dead. Mr. 
 Weber is a fine specimen of a physical organization, with a free, 
 frank, open countenance, and a man of considerable ability. He 
 deserves all he has achieved and a good deal more. 
 
 NICHOLAS POTTGIESER THAT OLD-FASHIONED INN. 
 
 Mr. Pottgieser was born in Germany in the year 1 827 ; edu- 
 cated at the common schools of that country ; emigrated to 
 America in 1846, arriving at Chicago; worked on a farm for a 
 while ; went to Michigan and engaged in milling and lumbering ; 
 returned to Chicago and became a clerk for his uncle who kept 
 a hotel ; married and remained in Chicago several years ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1853 ; bought three lots on the corner of Fifth 
 and Wabasha streets, the present site of the Custorn House, and 
 on these lots erected a building which he used as a hotel called 
 the Minnesota House, and which he kept until 1866, when, after 
 adding additions to it he leased it to Mr. Etta, and the name was 
 changed to that of the Mansion House. 
 
 How grandly it loomed up before the weary traveler as he 
 drew near to its hospitable door and cuddled in from the beating 
 
410 PEN PICTURES 
 
 storm ! How cheery the fire crackled in the big old fire-place, 
 ■or roared in the huge old wood stove, and how warm and com- 
 fortable the dingy room became when the smiling landlord 
 greeted his guests. And then the mug of beer ! the old pipe ! 
 the smoking viands on the long wooden table ! the pleasant form 
 of the matron, in her tidy apron and smiling face ! the warm 
 reception; the story, the song, the dance, the good cheer! — 
 *' exactly, exactly ; " — the soft, downy beds, the sound Sleep, the 
 familiar faces and voices, and gleeful tones of laughter ; the utter 
 freedom from restraint, the home comforts ; aye, all have disap- 
 peared, and those who threw such a halo of light, and warmth, 
 and pleasure over, and in, and through the little unpretentious 
 inn, have also passed down into the dark valley of death ! A 
 few old, tottering men occasionally pause in front of that mass 
 of stone and cement known as the Custom House, and look in 
 vain for the little old-fashioned inn that over a quarter of a cen- 
 tury ago occupied the place, and then, turning mutter — " Gone, 
 gone ! gone ! " and when I look again they too have passed into 
 the unseen, silent land. 
 
 In 1867-8 Mr. Pottgieser sold two lots out of his three for 
 about ^20,000, ;? 1 3,000 cash, and took as part payment the lot 
 and house corner of Fourth and Wabasha streets, and here he 
 kept what was known • as the American House until he died, in 
 1880, aged fifty-three years. Previous to opening this house in 
 1 868, he engaged in the vinegar business but gave it up to carry 
 on the hotel. 
 
 REAL ESTATE PERSONAL MRS. POTTGIESER. 
 
 His original three lots on the corner of Fifth and Wabasha 
 streets, cost him about ^1,000; worth now ;^so,ooo; the Ameri- 
 can House property, loox 100 feet, which he took in trade, is 
 worth ;^7S,ooo more, nearly this amount having been paid for it 
 by the present owner. 
 
 Mr. Pottgieser was a man of ordinary size, possessing great 
 energy and great industry. He carried his head to one side, 
 threw his left foot forward so that when he walked it was par- 
 tially side-way, and he moved like a whirlwind. He was shrewd, 
 sharp, quick, and when anything struck him as particularly im- 
 pressive or amusing, he would careen his head, snap his fingers 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MIXN. 411 
 
 and exclaim — " Exactly ! exactly ! " He had five children — two 
 dead ; two boys and one daughter living. Mrs. Pottgieser con- 
 tinued to run the hotel a year or so after the death of her husband 
 and was noted as a remarkable business woman, kind, moth- 
 erly and greatly esteemed by all who knew her. She died in 
 1 88 1*. 
 
 HORACE R. BIGELOW AS A LAWYER INCIDENTS. 
 
 A tall, slender, quiet, moderate, modest, unostentatious gen- 
 tleman is Horace R. Bigelow, now marching forward to three 
 score and ten. Born in New York in 1820, he received a com- 
 mon school education ; taught school for a time ; studied law 
 with Mann and Edmunds of Utica, and in partnership with E. 
 S. Brayton practiced his profession up to 1853, when he came to 
 St. Paul and has lived here uninterruptedly ever since. He 
 married in New York Miss Cornelia Sherrill, who still lives. 
 
 Very few men have lived a more quiet, or a more serene, 
 or a more uniform, or a better life, than Mr. Bigelow ; and this 
 is remarkable for a lawyer who has attained the eminence at the 
 bar which he has, and can only be accounted for by the fact that 
 he is eminently self-poised, is no public speaker, and has made 
 his reputation before the jury, not in strains of liquid eloquence, 
 but by his perfect conception of the law as obtained by earnest 
 study in his office, coupled with a fine discrimination in favor of 
 iustice, for law is one thing and justice is another, and Mr Bige- 
 low has never lost sight of this fact. In point of solid law learn- 
 ing, good judgment, honest convictions as to right and fair deal- 
 ing, as a judicial advocate Mr. Bigelow has no peer in this State, 
 and as a man and a citizen he has no superior. 
 
 When I made my first speech in this city to the toast of 
 "The Old Folks at Home," in the Baldwin school-house in 1853, 
 Mr. Bigelow said to me — " I would give all I had if I could speak 
 like that ! " and several times since then he has sought to address 
 a jury, but has never been satisfied with his efforts. He ought 
 to be, for Bigelow is rich and I am poor ; and yet it was a sort 
 of chance which started him out into the financial world. The 
 Indian massacre had occurred and many settlers on the frontier 
 had lost all their property. Senator Wilkinsori succeeded in 
 getting a bill through Congress paying the settlers for damages, 
 
412 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and many of these claims coming into the hands of Bigelow, out 
 of this transaction he made considerable money, and then, of 
 course, banks and railroad companies and others engaged his 
 services, and he has quietly moved. onward to financial success. 
 He would make a most excellent and upright judge. He has 
 never been entangled in politics and has never held any office, 
 and is about as complete a man as this modern age has produced. 
 
 MICHAEL E. AMES — PECULIARITIES. 
 
 Mr. Ames was the Chesterfield of the Minnesota bar, and 
 for that matter one might say he was the Chesterfield of the 
 whole Northwest. He was born in Vermont about 1822 ; received 
 an ordinary common school education ; was induced to commence 
 the study of law by a suit he had over some tin boxes ; removed 
 in early life to Wisconsin and practiced his profession there; 
 then drifted in 1849 to Stillwater, where, I think, he was for a 
 time in business with Judge Nelson; came to St. Paul in 1853, 
 and the firm finally became Ames, Van Etten & Officer. He 
 was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1857. 
 
 Mr. Ames was a man of fine legal attainments and was 
 unquestionably the coolest and most polite lawyer at the bar. 
 He was tall, well-dressed, having all the appearance of a perfect 
 gentleman, and his irresistibly pleasant manners won him many 
 friends. He had his faults, as all men of his genial nature have, 
 but he was nevertheless an able advocate, and cool enough in a 
 lawsuit to freeze out even a Minnesota cold winter. Nervous 
 and fidgety lawyers used to get out of all manner of patience 
 with Ames because he was always so self-possessed. 
 
 " THAT D REFRIGERATOR " " HE SAID NOTHING." 
 
 Once Gov. Gorman had a case with him, and he became so 
 indignant at his smiling and collected manner, that he burst out 
 with the exclamation — " Look at that d — d refrigerator ! " at the 
 same time scowling at him in a most terrific manner as only Gor- 
 man could scowl. Ames meekly replied — " My friend seems to 
 be a little disturbed," and that made Gorman madder than before. 
 
 A suit had been instituted against Curran of the old World's 
 Fair store, in_ which Vetal Guerin was somewhat mixed up. 
 Brisbin was on one side of the case and Ames on the other. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 413 
 
 " Well, what did Vetal Guerin say ?" asked Ames of the 
 witness. 
 
 " I object," said Brisbin. " Well, all right ; we'll argue this 
 point," said Ames, and so the two lawyers went at it, and con- 
 tinued their arguments from ten in the morning until two in the 
 afternoon, when Judge Palmer decided that the question was 
 admissible, and " Bris " subsided. 
 
 " Well," asked Ames in a drawling tone, " what-did-the-wit- 
 ness-say ?" 
 
 " Vetal Guerin, you mean ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Oh, he didn't say anything." Brisbin roared, the court 
 smiled, and Ames remarked, politely bowing — " A very obliging 
 witness," and went on with the case as though nothing had hap- 
 pened. 
 
 A PLEASANT LITTLE EPISODE BRISBIN VS. AMES PERSONAL. 
 
 Ames had in hand a case of a citizen of one of the adjoin- 
 ing towns, when all of a sudden his client withdrew the suit and 
 put it into the hands of another law firm. When the man came 
 upon the witness stand to testify, Ames inquired of him what a 
 certain neighbor had said to him (the witness) about the matter 
 under dispute, which question he declined to answer, and on 
 being forced to do so by the order of the Judge, he said : 
 
 " Well, he told me to have nothing to do with that d 
 
 rascal of a fellow, Ames, and that's why I took my case out of 
 his hands." After the uproar in court attending this incident had 
 partially subsided, Ames turned to the Judge and in his most 
 polite and insinuating and persuasive manner, remarked — " May 
 it please your honor, a very pleasant little episode ! " 
 
 Mr. Brisbin had sued a client for services rendered, and as 
 he was a witness he employed Ames to conduct the case ; amount 
 at issue ;^3DO. When the suit came to trial Ames was on hand 
 and opened the matter thus — " Mr. Brisbin will please take the 
 stand," and then addressing the Judge — " May it please your 
 honor, I shall move to amend this complaint by substituting 
 ;^i,ooo instead of ;^300." 
 
 " But," said Brisbin, " I can't swear to that, Mr. Ames." 
 Ames looked at him for a moment scornfully, and then in the 
 
414 PEN PICTURES 
 
 blandest manner remarked — " Mr. Brisbin will please step aside ; 
 I never allow a witness to interfere in my cases." " Bris " began 
 to expostulate, but it was no use; Ames' dignity had been 
 offended, and he refused to go on with the case. 
 
 . Mr. Ames had a peculiar voice resembling somewhat a 
 woman's. He was always gentlemanly, always social, always 
 kind, never held any political office, and died in the vigor of 
 manhood. He fell down stairs in coming out of his office in the 
 old brick building which stood on the corner of Third and Min- 
 nesota streets, and soon after joined "the innumerable throng" 
 which had gone before. 
 
 " Life's fitful fever o'er, he sleeps well." 
 DAVID SANDFORD REAL ESTATE PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Sandford was born in Massachusetts in 1825 ; educated 
 at the Lennox Academy; studied law at Great Barrington; 
 admitted to practice in 1 847 ; entered into partnership with Judge 
 Sumner, with whom he remained until 1 849, when he went to 
 California and was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of 
 that State; returned to Massachusetts and in 1853 settled in St. 
 Paul ; was admitted to practice in the Territorial Court and 
 has continued in his profession here ever since ; married M. M.. 
 Ray of Great Barrington in 1859; has one son, a lawyer. 
 
 Mr. Sandford purchased some twenty -five years ago, a lot on. 
 Wabasha street fronting Court House Square, for which he paid 
 ^700; property worth now ;^25,ooo. He also purchased real 
 estate on the corner of Fourth and Rosabel streets, and near to- 
 it, which cost in the aggregate about ^5,000; worth now ;^6o,DOO. 
 Property in other places makes him the owner of not less thaa 
 $125,000 in real estate. Of course assessments, taxes, interest 
 on money, all have to come out of these investments, and yet 
 even then the rise on the property leaves a very fine margin. 
 
 Mr. Sandford is a medium sized man ; very quiet in his. 
 habits ; quick and industrious ; undemonstrative ; a careful, safe 
 lawyer, and a sober, steady, honorable citizen. He is a man who- 
 knows his own business thoroughly and minds it. 
 
 A BLOW UP. 
 
 Another gentleman by the name of Sandford, but not the 
 one above alluded to, formerly owned a building which stood on 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 413 
 
 the corner of Third and Wabasha streets now known as War- 
 ner's block, which was destroyed by fire. On the opposite cor- 
 ner where the Second National Bank now is, was a two-story 
 wooden edifice, a room in which was occupied by the late Dr. J. 
 H. Stewart. It so happened that in Sandford's building was 
 some powder, and during the conflagration a lot of this powder 
 exploded and carried Stewart out of his bed of typhoid fever 
 and landed him on the floor, entirely curing him of his disease. 
 Sandford was considerably frightened and so was everybody 
 else, including Stewart, but the Doctor never afterwards pre- 
 scribed the remedy to his typhoid patients as he was afraid the 
 cure would be worse than the disease — a shock on the nerves 1 
 
 PETER BERKEY OFFICES AS HE IS. 
 
 Mr. Berkey was born in Pennsylvania in 1822 ; had but little 
 opportunity for, and never received much of an education, but was 
 early thrown upon his own resources and obliged to seek his liv- 
 ing as best he could, and as he did, working on canals, railroads 
 and stage roads in his native State, but he picked up a great deal 
 of good common sense and practical knowledge, and it has been 
 of great service to him in his mature years ; besides it has taught 
 him lessons of industry and economy which have paved his way 
 to financial success. Forty-nine years ago he saw the first train 
 of cars pass over the track of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and 
 the first boat on the Pennsylvania canal. He came to St. Paul 
 in 1853, and I remember Berkey's livery stable down on the cor- 
 ner of Eagle and Exchange streets, near Symond's old ice-house ; 
 then he removed to upper town and ran a livery for nearly thirty 
 years, and yet at the same time he was engaged in other branches 
 of business, such as iron, hardware, railroad, insurance and bank- 
 ing. A friend originally went into the livery business and leav- 
 ing suddenly Mr. Berkey had to carry on the establishment. 
 
 Mr. Berkey was Alderman in 1859, 1862, 1864, 1865, 
 1868 and 1871 ; member of the Legislature in 1872; County 
 Commissioner in 1863, 1873, 1875; was president of the St. 
 Paul, Stillwater & Taylors Falls Railroad ; director of the Sec- 
 ond National Bank ; vice-president of the Fire & Marine Insur- 
 ance Company for ten years ; director in the St. Paul Trust 
 Company ; a trustee of the City Library ; Indian Commissioner 
 
416 PEN PICTURES 
 
 of the State at large to care for the refugees from the Indian 
 massacre ; Commissioner to audit claims on the part of the refu- 
 gees ; was once captain of a canal boat, and is now president of 
 the St. Paul National Bank. 
 
 Mr. Berkey is as hard as iron in his general physical and 
 mental make-up — that is, he is a man of positive and determined 
 elements of character ; far-seeing and sagacious ; prudent ; con- 
 servative ; careful ; cautious ; strict ; methodical, and yet all 
 tempered with a good deal of hard common sense. He is 
 emphatically a self-made man ; has proved a valuable officer in 
 the City Council and in the Legislature and as County Commis- 
 sioner, and is especially useful in the Chamber of Commerce. 
 He is a man who can say no with a big N. He is individualized. 
 He is a balance pendulum in the financial circle. He is a regu- 
 lator ; a brake on the wheel of precipitation ; a general " hold- 
 back " to extravagance and high taxes ; in a word though appar- 
 ently a little abrupt yet he is a very useful citizen because possess- 
 ing the very elements which make him what he is. He is a man 
 of medium size, with gray hair, a rounded and well-developed 
 head, a strong cast of countenance, and has more the appearance 
 of a citizen from New England than from Pennsylvania. He is a 
 necessity for the good of the body politic, and when gone the 
 business community will greatly miss Peter Berkey. 
 
 CHARLES A. B. WEIDE. 
 
 Very few men in this city have turned the corner so happily 
 and been so thoroughly rejuvenated and blessed with good luck, 
 as has Charles A. B. Weide. 
 
 "Now is the winter of our discontent 
 Made glorious summer by the son of York, 
 And all the dark spots that lowered about his pathway 
 Are in the deep bosom of the ocean buried." 
 
 The hard times, the depression in property, the struggle, the 
 loss, the anjfiety incident to all the old settlers, are only things 
 of history in Mr. Weide's case, for he now is on the top wave 
 and is marching forward to complete success. He is slender in 
 person, energetic in his movements, yet quiet in his ways. Born 
 in Germany in 1833, he emigrated with his parents to this coun- 
 try in 1834, and removed to a place called Egypt, in Illinois, and 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 417 
 
 from thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence to Madison, Indi- 
 ana; thence to IndianapoHs in 1850, where he opened a store 
 and remained in business there some two years and a half; came 
 to St. Paul in 1853 and was employed with his father in a store 
 up to 1857, when the latter turned his business over to himself 
 and his brother Joseph, giving them ;^2,ooo to work on. The 
 brothers built up a large trade on Third street, where they were 
 burned out in 1867, and following came a long and hotly-con- 
 tested lawsuit for the insurance money, which was finally, won 
 by the Weides after the case had gone to the United States 
 Court. Then they did little or nothing up to 1871, and from 
 that year began dealing in real estate and continued up to 1 876, 
 when Charles was taken sick and remained so up to 1882, and 
 then he returned to St. Paul and again tackled real estate and 
 has done exceedingly well. He sells his own land, and on 
 Arlington Hills and Nelson's Eastville Heights Addition he has 
 sold over 700 lots. He has recently donated two lots to the 
 Swedish and Norwegian Methodist Churches. He was married 
 in i860 to Louise, daughter of Casper H. Schurmeier, and has 
 one son and daughter, and in his own language " is the happiest 
 pian in the State and feels as young as any one of thirty years." 
 
 JOSEPH WAKEFIELD. 
 
 Born in Providence, R. I., in 1831 ; after a thorough educa- 
 tion young Wakefield studied law and was admitted to practice ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1853 and formed a partnership with John E. 
 Warren, the firm being Wakefield and Warren. He was a 
 young man of fine personal appearance, genial and gentle, and 
 as Mr. Neill said of him, " unostentatious and unobtrusive he 
 was unappreciated by those who are ' caught by glare.' Pos- 
 sessed of a competence he was not under the hard necessity of 
 entering into the scramble for public emolument, so he was a 
 real gentleman and to be loved. During the first year of his resi- 
 dence in St. Paul, with the aid of a few others, he was instru- 
 mental in procuring the delivery of a course of lectures for the 
 improvement of young men, and was ever ready to co-operate 
 in advancing the higher interests of the city." He gave Mr. 
 Neill ^500 when he died to form the nucleus of a church in St. 
 Paul, and no young man who ever came here has left behind 
 
 27 
 
418 PEN PICTURES 
 
 him so excellent a memory as that of the young, talented and 
 genial gentleman — Joseph Wakefield. 
 
 GEORGE W. ARMSTRONG HOW TO MAKE MONEY. 
 
 In 1 8 5 3, or thirty-three years ago, the writer entered the office 
 of the old Democrat, which was then in a room in a wooden 
 building on the corner of Third and Wabasha streets, and there 
 he met a quiet, unpretending gentleman, who, greeting him cor- 
 dially, .demonstrated that he was superior to a good deal of the 
 humanity which lay around loose. He was slender in person, 
 very quiet in his ways and affable in his nature, and an acquaint- 
 ance thus began lasted over thirty years. Mr. Armstrong was 
 born in Ohio in 1827; received a fair education and entered the 
 office of the Ohio Statesman at the age of fifteen years and 
 learned the trade of a printer. Years afterwards he became one 
 of the editors of the Mount Vernon, Ohio, Democratic Banner, 
 and subsequently was one of the proprietors of the Keokuk, 
 Iowa, Constitution; came to St. Paul in 1853, and a few years 
 afterwards was appointed Territorial Treasurer and was subse- 
 quently elected to the same office by the people. He then com- 
 menced dealing in real estate and loaning money, and in this he. 
 continued up to his death. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong once said to me on Third street, and I shall 
 never forget the remark — " Newson, don't bother yourself with 
 business, but when you get ;^iOO put it out at interest, that pays 
 best, for interest goes on when you sleep, when you wake, when 
 you weep, when you rejoice, when you die. It is the easiest and 
 best way to make money," and so it is, but I learned the lesson 
 too late. Armstrong acted upon his own advice and his estate 
 is quite valuable. His interest money and the rise on the real 
 estate which he purchased made him rich. He was a man with 
 no bad habits, no angular points, no animosities, but very gen- 
 erally esteemed and very generally respected for his intrinsic 
 merits as a man and a citizen. 
 
 KISSING. 
 
 In early days, while wandering in the woods on the west 
 side of the river, I saw that which very few persons have ever 
 seen, and that which is never done, viz : an Indian young man 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 41 ff 
 
 kissing a maiden, giving her the real, genuine, modern smack. 
 I never saw it before nor since, nor have I ever read of a male 
 Indian kissing a female. Kissing among the whites is a common 
 practice, for we hold our women our equal or a little above us, 
 but the Indians look down upon the squaws as too inferior to 
 kiss, and hence they never do it. I have seen some white people 
 even affect to despise kissing, but — 
 
 "Nobody is above it; 
 
 The old maids love it, 
 And vpidows have a finger in the pie. 
 
 Some people are so haughty 
 
 That they say it's very naughty, 
 But you bet your life they do it on the sly." 
 
 ISAAC H. CONWAY PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Conway is an old landmark having come to St. Paul 
 in 1853. In early days he was rather a small man, full of fun 
 and mischief, but as the years began to pile themselves up on 
 him he has become sedate and rounded out into good proportions 
 and he can now turn the scale at 230 pounds., I remember him 
 in the old Pioneer office in 1853, when he gave Maj. Joseph R. 
 Brown the title of " Joe the Juggler," and when his other funny 
 antics made him the humorous man of the office. He was born 
 in Michigan in 1836; removed to Illinois with his parents in 
 1839; returned to Michigan in 1850; learned the printing busi- 
 ness with an older brother; came to Minnesota in 1853, '"id in 
 the early part of that year was employed on the St. Anthony 
 Express. From the case where he worked he could look across 
 the Mississippi river over the Falls of St. Anthony, and from this 
 position saw the ground broken for the first building that was 
 erected in Minneapolis. In the latter part of 1853 he came to 
 St. Paul and worked in the old Pioneer office, which stood on 
 Bench street. In 1854 he was employed as general delivery 
 clerk in the St. Paul post office; in 1855 had a book store on 
 Third street, between Minnesota and Cedar; in 1856 returned to 
 Michigan and commenced the publication of a weekly news- 
 paper; in 1857 taught school at Belvidere, 111., and the same 
 year married Miss Esther R. Sheldon of that place; in 1858 
 returned to St. Paul and assisted Andrew J. Whitney in the City 
 Clerk's office, and in 1859, on the resignation of Mr. Whitney, 
 
420 PEN PICTURES 
 
 was elected to fill the vacancy; in i860 was appointed Deputy 
 County Auditor of Ramsey County; was reappointed to the 
 same position in 1862; in 1865 was connected with T. D. Smith 
 of Chaska in the sutler store at Fort Snelling ; in. 1866 was clerk 
 with A. S. Wheelock in the grocery trade on Seventh street, St. 
 Paul; in 1867 went to Chicago, 111., and engaged as traveling 
 salesman in the tea trade and continued in this capacity until 
 1873, when he went to La Crosse, ^'.'is., and engaged in the 
 clothing business; in 1875 was employed with Canterberry & 
 Co. at Midway and Onalaska, Wis. ; in 1876 returned to St. Paul 
 and engaged as traveling salesman; in 1881, still retaining his 
 residence in St. Paul, he engaged as traveling salesman for an 
 importing tea house of New York city and is now employed by 
 said house. 
 
 From the above it will be seen that Mr. Conway has had his 
 share of the many changes in life, having been on the teeter- 
 taunter board, now up, now down, and yet he coolly views 
 things as they are, not as he would have them. He is a good 
 deal like David Crockett, if he fails, he picks his flint and tries 
 again ; and thus the wheel of time keeps on its constant course 
 while the old settler tugs away until washed out into the ocean 
 of eternity. 
 
 BRUNO BEAUPRE. 
 
 Mr. Beaupre was born in Canada in 1823, and is of French 
 descent. At the age of fourteen years he moved with his parents 
 to Oswego, N. Y., where he received a common school educa- 
 tion ; came to St. Paul in 1853, and has been a grocery mer- 
 chant here for thirty-three years. At first he was in the firm of 
 Temple & Beaupre, wholesale and retail dealers. On the death 
 of Mr. Temple the firm became Beaupre & Kelly, continuing up 
 to 1875, when it was changed to McQuillan, Beaupre & Co. 
 Since the first of January, 1877, it has been Beaupre, Allen & 
 Keogh, and is now Beaupre, Keogh & Co. The house has 
 always had a good reputation ; no man has given it more char- 
 acter than Mr. Beaupre. Since a resident of St. Paul he has 
 lived a very busy yet quiet life ; has had very little to do with 
 politics and never held a political office in his life, and if there is 
 any pleasure or profit in office-holding he has generously let his 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 421 
 
 neighbors have the hon's share. He is a domestic man, quite 
 contented to be the ruler of a small household, and prosperity 
 has not spoiled him, for he likes to see others comfortable as 
 well as himself, and is a friend to the poor. He was married in 
 1855 to Miss Margaret Amelia Bamford, and has four children 
 living. 
 
 SOLD THE FIRST GROCERIES. 
 
 Mr. Beaupre was the first man this side of Chicago to take 
 his grip-sack to sell goods from St. Paul on samples, and he is 
 very proud of this achievement, while now he is the oldest whole- 
 sale merchant in the city. It was an up-hill business over twenty- 
 five years ago to sell goods at wholesale from St. Paul upon 
 samples presented, and country merchants would frequently say 
 to him — " We don't understand how you can sell us goods at 
 wholesale when we carry stocks just as large as yours and buy 
 just as cheaply as you do." Notwithstanding all this, with the 
 extra energy and perseverance he displayed, Mr. Beaupre would 
 sell them their groceries, and was therefore the first to convince 
 the merchants in the country of the fact that they could buy their 
 goods in St. Paul cheaper than elsewhere, and hence he became 
 the father of the present immense jobbing trade of our already 
 great and growing city. He is a tall and slender man, very active 
 in business, but quiet and unassuming on the street ; has been in 
 poor health for several years and yet he is a man of great energy 
 and endurance, and enjoys a good horse and a fast team as well 
 as any gentleman in the State. 
 
 martin delaney. 
 
 Mr. Delaney was born in Ireland in 1828 ; emigrated to New 
 York in 1 847 ; learned the trade of a butcher, and came to St. 
 Paul in 1853 ; was government butcher at Fort Snelling; opened 
 a meat stall in the market; built the first exclusive meat shop in 
 the city, near the Seven Corners ; ran a stall in the market and 
 also his shop twelve years ; in 1 870 built the first regular stock 
 yards in the city or State, and in 1880, in partnership with Capt. 
 M. J. O'Connor, opened his present stock yards on the upper 
 flats. Mr. Delaney says that in 1853 the population of St. Paul 
 consumed five cattle per day; now 125 cattle are required for city 
 
422 PEN PICTURES 
 
 consumption daily, and that the prices of beef have doubled since 
 then. Cattle at that time came from Illinois ; now from Montana. 
 In early days Mr. Delaney worked at farming for a short time 
 on the property of Daniel Hopkins and owned some forty acres 
 of land in Reserve township, which he sold for ;^i 1,500; worth 
 now ;^40,ooo. Mr. Delaney is a large man standing above six 
 feet in his stockings; has a fresh, florid complexion, and is quiet 
 and unostentatious in his ways. He has followed but one pur- 
 suit all his life, except for a few months at farming, and that is a 
 dealer in stock, and in his special business he has no superior. 
 He is a man of uniform temper and habits, and when in the com- 
 pany of his friends is social and pleasant, and very generally 
 esteemed for his solid worth. 
 
 CHARLES E. MAYO. 
 
 Mr. Mayo is among our tallest citizens, rivaling in height 
 Nathan Myrick, and his familiar form is well-known to all the 
 old settlers. He has always been a very steady, very quiet, very 
 temperate, very industrious and very respectable citizen. He is 
 destitute of pedanticity and has no tendency toward grandilo- 
 quence, but is a gentleman of intrinsic merit, and though modest 
 and retiring yet he has performed his part in the great drama of 
 frontier life. He was born in Massachusetts in 1827, where he 
 was educated ; clerked in a hardware store in Boston for seven 
 years ; resided six months in Cincinnati ; came to St. Paul in 
 1853; commenced the hardware business in 1854 on Third 
 street, between Robert and Jackson. After several removals 
 Mayo & Clark took a building on Third street, below the Mer- 
 chants hotel, where they remained until they went out of' busi- 
 ness. Mr. Mayo was in the hardware trade for nearly thirty 
 years, and during all this time he never held any public office, 
 although he was one of the incorporators of the St. Paul Library 
 Association, and has held every office in that institution from 
 president down. He was also president of the Historical Society 
 and was a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences. He 
 has never dealt in politics and consequently has saved himself 
 many hours of humiliation and regret. He is very much inter- 
 ested in the genealogy of his family and has given much time 
 and attention to it. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 423 
 
 THOMAS GRACE OFFICES HELD. 
 
 Mr. Grace is an unassuming man, who, for the past thirty-two 
 years has Uved in St. Paul, and who during those years has quietly 
 passed along in the even tenor of his way, accomplishing a vast 
 amount of work in his especial department as a mason and stone 
 ■contractor, having built some of the most substantial buildings 
 in the city. He is probably the oldest contractor in St. Paul, 
 and is to-day the leading one. He has always worn a smile 
 upon his face, possesses an even temper, and for over a quarter 
 of a century has been the same pleasant, affable, genial Tom 
 Gdrace. He was born in Ireland in 1826; educated in the old 
 ■country and learned the trade of a mason ; landed in New York 
 in 1847; visited Boston; worked on a railroad in New Hamp- 
 shire ; returned to New York where he engaged in chopping 
 wood and farming for four years, at $14 per month ; was employed 
 at his trade in building a stone church at Pittsfield, Mass., where 
 he remained one year and a half; removed to Chicago in 185 I 
 and came to St. Paul in 1853 ; in 1854 commenced contracting 
 and building. He built the present jail and was superintendent 
 ■of the Custom House, and it would be almost impossible to enu- 
 merate the many buildings he has erected in over a quarter of a 
 century. 
 
 He was Alderman in the City Council seventeen years, 
 elected from year to year without opposition ; was for six years 
 a member of the School Board, and for twelve years a member 
 of the Board of Control. A man of his own party sold him out 
 and he then retired from political life. 
 
 THAT LITTLE OLD SHANTY ! SOMEWHAT REMARKABLE. 
 
 When Mr. Grace first arrived here he purchased a lot on 
 Fifth street and erected a shanty thereon, and kept the door 
 ■closed by a stick, as he was too poor to purchase a latch and 
 hinges. He has lived on the same lot for thirty-two years 
 although the old shanty and its then pleasant surroundings have 
 long since passed away. 
 
 When Mr. Grace was a boy in Ireland he used to hear 
 people talk of America, and feeling that the family was getting 
 pretty numerous he gathered together a little money and deter- 
 
424 PEN PICTURES 
 
 mined to take care of himself and hence sailed for America. He 
 left behind him a father, a mother, seven brothers and three sis- 
 ters. In 1858, or eleven years afterwards, all the family were 
 together in this country, and later yet they were all in St. Paul,, 
 and his parents died here. When Mr. Grace landed in this city 
 he had just ^4; he is now worth ^150,000, and the accumulation 
 of this wealth may be traced to the result of a steady, honest, hon- 
 orable, industrious life. He is always cool, always self-possessed, 
 always moderate in his walk and in his conversation, and is a 
 good deal like Pat's mocking bird, (an owl,) which, he said " didn't 
 sing much but kept up a divil of a thinking." 
 
 C. H. WILLIAMS 
 
 Was born in New York city in 1 834 ; removed to Detroit 
 in 1836; was educated at Notre Dame, Ind. ; learned the trade 
 of a painter; came to St. Paul in 1853 and has followed his 
 profession here ever since. He was chief engineer of the fire 
 department in 1856-7-8-9, and in 1803-4, six terms in all. He 
 speaks in the warmest terms of the old volunteer fire department 
 away back in 1854 and later. Mr. Williams is a very quiet 
 man and very diligent in his business. He made an excellent: 
 chief engineer and has always been an enthusiastic and a. 
 devoted fireman. He is an unostentatious, industrious citizen. 
 
 HENRY LUNKENHEIMER. 
 
 A jolly man is Henry Lunkenheimer, and in his every-day 
 life he is the personification of good nature and good health. 
 He thinks a strong, hearty laugh is better than physic, and 
 herein he shows his good sense. He was born in Wisconsin 
 and received his education partially in this city, having come 
 here in 1853; was with Cherritre & Farwell in 1859; with Edel- 
 brook, St. Cloud, in 1862, and remained six years; was one 
 year with Beaupre & Kelly ; four years with J. H. Woolsey & 
 Co. ; three years in the grocery business ; with Fuller & Co. one 
 year ; H. P. Rugg two years ; Rosenberger, St. Cloud, one year i 
 Peabody & Co. three years, and is now with Perkins & Lyons. 
 He is a man of a great deal of energy fortified with a good 
 physique and blessed with a pleasant disposition, all of which 
 are necessary to get through this bustling, active, eager, selfish, 
 world. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 425 
 
 JOSEPH GUION. 
 
 Mr.'Guion is a large man, turning the scales at 220 pounds. 
 He is the descendant of a French family whose pedigree he can 
 trace back 200 years, and is said by those who know him to 
 have a heart as big as his body, that is, he has always been and 
 is now very generous. He is very fond of hunting, and is much 
 of a politician, especially on the Democratic side. He is very 
 free and frank in his manners, and is an off-hand, pleasant gen- 
 tleman. He was born in Missouri in 1825; educated there; 
 learned the trade of a printer ; worked on a farm ; came to St. 
 Paul temporarily in 1845; boated and made voyages into the 
 interior; in 1848 went to St. Louis and was married; in 1850 
 took a journey to California and engaged in mining ; returned 
 to Minnesota in 185 1 and settled at Belle Plaine, where he 
 remained up to 1853, when he moved to St. Paul; during the 
 Indian outbreak he went to Fort Ridgely with Gen. Sibley ; he 
 was Deputy Sheriff under King two years and for a time under 
 Richter ; has lived in West St. Paul for some time where he 
 now resides, and is the father of six grown-up boys. Property 
 he purchased there has greatly advanced, while the increased 
 value of the property he has now in that ward will make him 
 well off. He is one of the oldest settlers and has a vivid recol- 
 lection of the old times and the old landmarks of the long-gone 
 past. 
 
 WM. H. GRUBE 
 
 Was born in Germany in 1820; came to Minnesota in 
 1849 with a colony from Buffalo, N. Y., and settled where New 
 Ulm now is ; became disgusted and the colony after enduring 
 many hardships, returned to Buffalo, and Grube came to St. 
 Paul in 1853 and bought a good deal of land on Dayton's bluff, 
 where he now resides. In early life he took up stone-cutting 
 and though knowing nothing about it he soon commanded his 
 ;^2.50 per day, and at the end of five years had laid by 
 111,900. He seems to be a genius at almost every thing, but 
 more especially in the accumulation of property. He is a small 
 man but very quick and very industrious ; has gray hair, moves 
 rapidly and is never idle. He is at present janitor of the North- 
 ern Pacific Railroad shops. 
 
426 PEN PICTURES 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 1854. 
 
 Rr^ City Eleclion — First Execution — First Railroad Excursion — Mrst Daily 
 Papers — Mrgt Incorporation of the City — First Election of Maym — FH.rst Or- 
 ganization of Police Force — First Board of Trade — First Hook andZadder 
 Company organized — First Meeting of the Legislature in the Capitol 
 Building — First Incorporation of Masons — First Bridge Com- 
 pany Incorporated — First Oldest Settler in this region — First 
 Man who was Mrst Governor of the State — First Baker — 
 First Wagon Maker — First Railroad Ticket Agent — 
 First Dressmaking Establishment — First Presi- 
 dent of First Dental Association — All 
 the Events and Settler of 1854. 
 
 CAPITOL BUILDING ITEMS OF NEWS. 
 
 The old Capitol building was completed this year and the 
 Minnesota Legislature met in it for the first time — being the fifth 
 session of that body. The first city election was also held this 
 year — David Olmsted, Mayor. This too was a year of incorpo- 
 rations. 
 
 The German Reading Society was incorporated ; the city of 
 St. Paul was incorporated, embracing 2,400 acres divided into 
 three wards ; the Masons were incorporated ; the St. Paul bridge 
 was incorporated, and society generally was incorporated into a 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 427 
 
 better condition. Public parks and the introduction of water 
 works were recommended by the Mayor ; public Market rented ; 
 Board of Health appointed; International hotel commenced, 
 Winslow House opened, Board of Trade organized, police force 
 authorized, a rotary saw mill established, Sintomine hotel burned, 
 six boats with 6oo passengers arrived, immigration pouring in, 
 Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company organized with thirty-one 
 men, Yu-ha-zee, a Sioux Indian, hung on St. Anthony hill, which 
 was the first execution in the Territory; city valuation, ;^ 1,300,- 
 000. 
 
 INCOMING OF NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 This year seems to have started the newspaper men for 
 they appeared on their high horses and plenty of them. Earle 
 S. Goodrich bought out Brown of the Pioneer, and in May the 
 Daily Pioneer and the Daily Democrat, separate journals, ap- 
 peared ; then the Daily Minnesotian, by John P. Owens ; then 
 the Daily Times, by T. M. Newson, and so the discordant ele- 
 ments commenced. Up to this time matters had been pretty 
 peaceful, but from this period forward the greatest war of words 
 followed and was kept up for a series of years. Here were four 
 daily papers in full blast — and pretty good ones, too — in a city 
 of 4,000 population. But heavens ! what a jargon of epithets 
 and personalities. Those then in the field have passed out of it. 
 Some are dead, some are in other regions, some are here ; but 
 I notice that even the papers of to-day are not entirely devoid 
 of the personalities incident to an earlier period and which not 
 only weaken the paper itself but disgrace the profession. 
 
 DEATH OF W. W. HICKOX. 
 
 Where Dr. Day's iron-front building now stands, on the 
 corner of Third and Cedar streets, was formerly a drug store 
 kept by a man by the name of Hickox. A drayman (Peltier) 
 brought a box for Hickox for which he charged him twenty- 
 five cents drayage, but Hickox claimed it was too much, and in 
 his efforts to get the box off the dray he was struck on the head 
 with an iron pin by Peltier, from the effects of which he died. 
 The drayman was acquitted. 
 
428 PEN PICTURES 
 
 GREAT RAILROAD EXCURSION PROSPEROUS. 
 
 The first railroad excursionists who visited St. Paul, were 
 those who came West to formally celebrate the opening of the 
 Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, which was completed to the 
 Mississippi river in 1854, and when once there they took steam- 
 ers for St. Paul. Of course there was no telegraph in those 
 days and the first intimation the people had of their coming — 
 they had come ! And such a scene ! They rushed up Third 
 street, pitched headlong into the old American House, the 
 starting point of the stages, climbed up on to the coaches ; hired 
 every hack and every carriage and cart they could find, at 
 enormous figures, in order to reach St. Anthony and see the 
 Falls before the boat made its return trip. The citizens were 
 paralyzed. They put every vehicle they could find at the com- 
 mand of the visitors, but the crowd was so great and the rush 
 so ill-timed, and so inconsiderate, and so unexpected, that it was 
 a mixed and hodge-podge affair, and as a consequence created 
 considerable ill feehng. However, on their return from St. 
 Anthony they were received at the Capitol and entertained as 
 hospitably as the circumstances of the case would permit, but 
 many of them went away mad — and among them were several 
 reporters for the New York papers — and they "just howled," as 
 the boys say. Among the excursionists were ex-President Fill- 
 more, Bancroft, the historian, several eminent judges and a 
 number of national men. This was in 1854. Then our popula- 
 tion was not 5,000 and our facilities for entertaining company 
 were very poor, especially when some one hundred and fifty 
 strangers popped in upon us without warning. What a contrast 
 now! Mark the city's reception of Villard and of President 
 Arthur in 1883! Hundreds of carriages were ready! Thou- 
 sands of people cheered! Unnumbered flags adorned every 
 building in our public streets. All was orderly and our guests 
 left delighted with their visit and loud in their praise of our un- 
 stinted hospitality. Then, in 1 854, the excursion alluded to was to 
 commemorate the opening of the first railroad to the Mississippi 
 river. In 1883 the excursion was in commemoration of the 
 opening of the first road to the Pacific ocean ; all of which has 
 been achieved in the brief period of thirty years. Who could 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 429 
 
 have realized a quarter of a century ago the rapid march of 
 events ? 
 
 The year 1854 was a prosperous one for St. Paul. Settlers 
 came rushing in on every boat ; farms were opened ; buildings 
 were erected, and everywhere not only in the city but in the 
 Territory eastern people flocked to take advantage of our rich 
 soil and dry, invigorating climate. It was the beginning of a 
 boom which has been kept up ever since. 
 
 CHARLES EMERSON 
 
 Succeeded David Olmsted as publisher of the Democrat. 
 Mr. Emerson was a small man, and at one time Surveyor-Gen- 
 eral of the Territory, and came to St. Paul in 1853. He was a 
 strong Democrat and very ambitious, and ran his newspaper in 
 the interests of Gov. Gorman. He once owned a residence on 
 Summit avenue and sold it to Mr. McCargar and McCargar 
 sold it to McElrath. He was a surveyor by profession and at 
 one period in the history of the city was quite a prominent man, 
 but his riches took wings, his popularity disappeared, and he 
 became a sutler in the army, and finally died of softening of the 
 brain in a room adjoining one occupied by the writer in the old 
 International hotel, I think in the year 1863. 
 
 unsafe currency FIRST EXECUTION. 
 
 This year was noted for the introduction and circulation of 
 many notes of private banks in the East, among the rest the 
 notes of that which was known as the Atlantic money, put forth 
 by a man by the name of George Smith. The bills greatly 
 depreciated in value, so the merchants organized the first 
 Board of Trade to protect their interests against these wild-cat 
 schemes. Those who experienced the trying times of those days 
 can well appreciate the national banks of to-day. 
 
 This year witnessed the first execution in this State by hang- 
 ing, of the Indian Yu-ha-zee. I have already expressed in pre- 
 vious Pen Pictures my indignation of this disgraceful affair, and 
 only quote now what Mr. Williams says in his history: "The 
 execution was witnessed by a large crowd, who, according to 
 the journals of the day, looked on it more as a joke than as a 
 
430 PEN PICTURES 
 
 solemn act of justice." And yet the poor Indian suffered, while 
 hundreds of whites escaped the penalty of the law. 
 
 N. W. KITTSON THE OLDEST SETTLER. 
 
 The man above all others living who can pre-eminently 
 claim the oldest residence in this region, is Commodore Norman 
 W. Kittson, who, born in 1814 has already reached the ripe age 
 of 71 years. He is a man who has had a remarkable career, 
 and over fifty years of this career have been spent in this section, 
 not always in St. Paul, but either at Fort Snelling or near by, 
 so that he can justly rank all others in the claims of his friends, 
 (except Maj. Joseph R. Brown,) as the oldest settler in this 
 region. Mr. Kittson arrived at Fort Snelling in the year 1834. 
 fifty-one years ago. Joseph R. Brown arrived at Fort Snelling 
 in 1 819, sixty-six years ago. H. M. Rice arrived at Fort Snelling 
 in 1839, or forty-six years ago. Mr. Rice out-ranks Mr. Kittson 
 as a continuous resident of St. Paul, as Kittson did not come here 
 to reside permanently until 1854, yet dealing with the man who 
 has lived near St. Paul, if not constantly in the city for fifty-one 
 years, I accord to him the front rank as the oldest settler. 
 
 WHEN BORN AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 Mr. Kittson is a native of Lower Canada ahd a step-grand- 
 son of Alexander Henry, who explored this whole upper country 
 in the year 1 776. His real grandfather was John Kittson, who 
 was in the P 'sh army under Wolfe at the siege of Quebec. 
 At the age of sixteen years, or in 1830, he was engaged with the 
 American Fur Company; came to Fort Snelling in 1834, and 
 entered the sutler's department; in 1839 commenced business at 
 a small point above Fort Snelling ; in 1 843 became a partner 
 with the American Fur Company and shipped furs from Pembina 
 in Red river wooden carts to Mendota ; was elected a member 
 of the Minnesota Legislature along with Rolette and Grant, and 
 represented the Pembina district ; was re-elected and served four 
 years, in 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855. He was a hard-working, effi- 
 cient member. The distance from Pembina to St. Paul was 500 
 miles, and this distance was traveled by Mr. Kittson either on 
 snow-shoes or in dog sledges, not meeting on his way scarcely 
 a house. The ground over which he then passed is now trav- 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 431 
 
 ersed by a railroad in which he was formerly part owner, and 
 this same land, then a vast plain, is now dotted with cities, towns, 
 villages and farms, aggregating a population of not less than 
 300,000. In 1854 the firm of Forbes & Kittson were engaged 
 in the Indian business at the southeast corner of Third and 
 Robert streets, in J. W. Simpson's old stone store. 
 
 CAME TO ST. PAUL TO LIVE PERMANENTLY. 
 
 Mr. Kittson dates his permanent residence in St. Paul from 
 the year 1854, and in 1858 he was elected Mayor of the city. 
 In i860 he became the agent of the Hudson Bay Fur Company 
 and established a line of steamers on the Red River of the 
 North, having his headquarters in St. Paul. Mr. Kittson's con- 
 nection with J. J. Hill and Stephens of Montreal, in the old St. Paul 
 & Pacific Railroad Company, the principal stock of which was 
 held by foreigners, brought him a good round sum of money, 
 and with this money he has been very lavish in his expendi- 
 tures of building up one of the finest horse-breeding establish- 
 ments in the country, costing, with his fine brood of racers and 
 stables, close on to ;^ 1,000,000. He has also erected a ^100,000 
 residence on Summit avenue, one elegant hotel, the Astoria, and 
 a part of the Clarendon, on Wabasha street, also the Globe office 
 on Fourth street, and has invested some hundreds of thousands 
 of dollars in mercantile and manufacturing interests, and is con- 
 stantly placing his money where it will advance the material 
 interests of the city, and to-day he is one of St. Paul's most sub- 
 stantial and enterprising citizens. 
 
 AS I REMEMBER HIM. 
 
 As I remember Mr. Kittson over thirty years ago, he was a 
 sprightly, fine-looking man ; cleanly and really elegantly dressed ; 
 hair just turning gray ; eyes bright, with a quiet, pleasant voice ; 
 genial in nature and a man of excellent characteristics. He was 
 unassuming and undemonstrative in his manners but attractive 
 in his ways. In business matters he was very reticent, except 
 to his bosom friend, Gen. H. H. Sibley, to whom he confided 
 everything, and the friendship between these two men reminds 
 me forcibly of the beautiful play of "Damon and Pythias." 
 Mr. Kittson is a thorough-going business man. Very few per- 
 
432 PEN PICTURES 
 
 sons think so profoundly as he. He never gives one any outward 
 evidences of what he intends to do, but when his plans are thor- 
 oughly digested he moves right along. Such men ought to live 
 hundreds of years, for, after struggling half a century and learn- 
 ing from experience how to live and accumulating fortunes which 
 might be used in doing good, it seems to me that they are better 
 able to benefit the human race than at any other period of their 
 lives ; but the great physical law says no, and they drop out of 
 line to give place to younger blood. Great family affliction and 
 ill-health have changed the Mr. Kittson of a quarter of a century 
 ago to a man with a step less active and a tread less firm ; and 
 yet he is constantly busy — constantly inaugurating new enter- 
 prises — constantly investing his money in a way to aid the 
 masses. He has a warm and generous heart ; is liberal ; gives 
 cheerfully ; is quiet and unobtrusive, and when gone will leave 
 behind him hundreds of true friends who will ever keep green his 
 memory. 
 
 HENRY HASTINGS SIBLEY. 
 
 A really good man — an honest man — a moral man — an able 
 man — an upright man — a worthy man — a man whose name will 
 long live in the history of the Northwest, and especially in the 
 archives of the State of Minnesota, is that of General Henry 
 Hastings Sibley. His early pioneer life, his early travels, his 
 early deeds, his early efforts in the cause of right, his early 
 influence, his early and persistent noble example, his early devo- 
 tion to the State he has so ably and so faithfully served, all attest 
 the intrinsic worth of the once Governor, the once member of 
 Congress, the once brave soldier, and the now honored civilian. 
 A little over a half a century has passed since young Sibley 
 entered upon his untried life in the wilds of the West, and what 
 scenes of activity, of dangers, of hardships, of narrow escapes, 
 of heroic deeds, of grand acts of usefulness crowd into those fifty 
 odd fleeting years ! Then young, buoyant brave, gallant, ardent, 
 ambitious, he stepped boldly to the front and intelligently 
 moulded the elements that have culminated in a great State ; and 
 now in his serene and declining years he looks out from the 
 chambers of memory and. travels back again over the path he 
 trod long ago. And so the wheel of time goes on ; men pass 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 433 
 
 off the stage of life as new generations spring into existence ; 
 but the State will continue to live, and with it the name of its 
 early benefactor: — Gen. Henry Hastings Sibley. 
 
 HIS ANTECEDENTS. 
 
 Judge Solomon Sibley of Massachusetts, the father of Gen. 
 Sibley, was an early and prominent pioneer of Ohio and Michi- 
 rgan ; a member of the first Legislature of the Northwest Terri- 
 tory in 1799; a Congressman in 1820; Judge of the Supreme 
 Court from 1824 to 1836; United States District Attorney 
 etc., etc. He married a daughter of a distinguished officer of 
 the revolution, of whom Mrs. Ellet remarks "that she was a 
 woman of unusual personal beauty and rare mental accomplish- 
 ments ;" so it will be seen that Gen. Sibley sprung from a good 
 stock, and inherited to a great degree the pioneer elements of his 
 .ancestors. 
 
 WHEN AND WHERE BORN. 
 
 Henry H. Sibley was born at Detroit, Mich., in 1811 ; re- 
 ceived an academical education, having given two years to the 
 ■classics ; studied law for a time, but gave it up for a more stir- 
 ring life, and at the age of seventeen commenced mercantile pur- 
 suits at Sault Ste. Marie ; entered the employ of the American 
 Fur Company at Mackinaw in 1829, where he remained five 
 years ; was admitted as a partner in the Fur Company in 1834, 
 Jiaving charge of the trade above Lake Pepin, headquarters at 
 Mendota; arrived at that place Nov. 7, 1834, or fifty-one years 
 ago, making the distance of about 300 miles on horseback, there 
 being but one single, solitary habitation on the way. In 1836 he 
 ■erected at Mendota the first private stone dwelling in Minnesota, 
 and in 1 843 married Miss Sarah J. Steele, sister of the late Frank- 
 Jin Steele of Fort Snelling. 
 
 OFFICES HELD. 
 
 He was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1838, or forty- 
 seven years ago, being probably the first civil officer in what is 
 now known as Minnesota, then a part of Iowa ; was about this 
 time appointed first Captain of the First Iowa Cavalry ; in 1848 
 was elected a delegate to Congress from what was designated 
 
 28 
 
434 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Wisconsin Territory, with the understanding that he would urge 
 the organization of Minnesota Territory, which he did with 
 entire success, for the bill passed in 1 849, and that fall he was 
 elected delegate to Congress from Minnesota for two years, and 
 re-elected in 1850, serving four years in all; wrote many articles- 
 for the Eastern press on the climate, advantages and resources 
 of Minnesota, and by personal exertions did much toward 
 advancing the interests of the Territory ; was elected a member 
 of the Minnesota Legislature from Dakota County in 1855;. 
 served as a member and president of the Democractic wing- 
 of the Constitutional Convention ; elected 
 
 FIRST GOVERNOR OF THE STATE 
 
 In the fall of 1857; was inaugurated in 1858; retired in 
 1 860 ; in 1 862 was appointed commander of the forces raised 
 to quell the Sioux outbreak ; subdued the Indians ; restored 250 
 white prisoners ; secured 2,000 Indians, 400 of whom were tried 
 and 38 of whom were hung in 1862; was commissioned Briga- 
 dier General ; in 1865 headed an expedition to Devil's lake and the 
 Missouri river, for the purpose of routing and driving away the 
 hostile foe from our frontier ; several battles took place in which 
 his command was successful, and this expedition virtually put an 
 end to all future Indian wars ; in 1865 Gen. Sibley was commis- 
 sioned a Major General " for efficient and meritorious services ; " 
 was relieved of his command in 1866; appointed on a commis- 
 sion to negotiate treaties with hostile Sioux ; in 1 87 1 was a mem- 
 ber of the Legislature from West St. Paul ; was president of the 
 State Normal Board ; regent of the State University; a member 
 for a short time of the Board of Indian Commissioners ; presi- 
 dent of the St. Paul Gas Company ; director of the First Na- 
 tional Bank ; director in the old Sioux City Railroad ; was Park 
 Commissioner ; member of the Board of Education ; a promi- 
 nent and active member and president of the Historical Society ; 
 president of the Chamber of Commerce ; ran for Congress in 
 1878, but was beaten ; has had the honor of living in four Ter- 
 ritories and one State ; has had the additional honor of a bright, 
 active town being named after him, as well as Sibley County ; of 
 building the first stone house which is now the most ancient resi- 
 
OF ST. PA DL, 3A/iV.V, 43o 
 
 dence of the kind in the State ; and last but not least, of being 
 the oldest living inhabitant of the State, save one, and he is Nor- 
 man W. Kittson, his personal friend. 
 
 RESIDENCE IN ST. PAUL. 
 
 Gen. Sibley did not come to reside permanently in St. Paul 
 until 1862, but he was here in the city long years before that, 
 and in 1 848 bid in the town site at the request of the settlers, and 
 subsequently, in company with Louis Robert and A. L. Larpen- 
 teur entered the lands and deeded the lots to the respective 
 owners, so that I can very justly make him a resident of the city 
 in 1854, and this brings him side by side with his old friend of 
 many years. 
 
 ON HIS STAFF. 
 
 The writer was an officer on Gen. Sibley's staff during the 
 years 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1864, and when his expedition was 
 fitted out at Camp Pope to pursue the Indians, I was there as com- 
 missary and A. A. Quartermaster. Previous to the arrival of the 
 General, many private letters passed between himself and myself, 
 and from these letters I came to know more fully the man. He 
 seemed imbued with a conscientious desire to do his duty at the 
 same time to commit no grievous errors by haste. In starting 
 out in the campaign he knew the wily foe he had to cope with, 
 and his cautious characteristics were construed as marks of fear, 
 while had he been less cautious many a brave fellow's bones 
 would now be bleaching on the plains of Dakota. His orders 
 were to drive the Indians into the Missouri river or across it, and 
 then Gen. Sully was to intercept them. Sibley did his duty ; Sully 
 failed to come up, and the Indians escaped. Had Gen. Sibley 
 violated his orders in going beyond the Missouri river, he would 
 have been subjected to a court-martial, and had he prematurely 
 brought on an engagement with the savages as some of his 
 officers wanted him to do, many lives would have been lost and 
 no good would have been gained. 
 
 THE ^5,000,000 LOAN BILL. 
 
 This bill I think was first introduced into the Legislature by 
 a Mr. Lindley of Southern Minnesota, and the amount asked 
 
436 PEN PICTURES 
 
 originally as a State loan to construct railroads, was* about 
 ^3,000,000, but it swelled up to accommodate other portions of the 
 State, to ;^5,ooo,ooo. In this shape it passed the Legislature, 
 was submitted to a vote of the people, and was carried by a popu- 
 lar majority of about 18,000. The Democratic party was then 
 the dominant power in the State, and Gen. Sibley was Governor. 
 He made a ruling before the issuance of a single bond, requiring 
 the railroad companies to deposit with the Governor a trust deed 
 containing a priority of lien to the State, on all the lands, fran- 
 chises, etc., of the companies respectively, as a condition prece- 
 dent to any issue of bonds under the constitutional amendment. 
 The companies demurred, as this ruling prevented them from 
 any other issue of first mortgage bonds, and from it the appeal 
 was taken to the Supreme Court by one of the companies, and 
 the Governor's ruling reversed by a majority of the Court, Judge 
 Flandrau dissenting. A writ of mandamus was served upon the 
 Executive accordingly. The effect of this decision was to de- 
 prive the State of a priority of lien upon the property and fran- 
 chises of the companies and place her on a par with holders of 
 any amount of first mortgage bonds the company might choose to 
 issue, and the security of the State was thus greatly impaired. In 
 a short time the people revolted, and by a larger vote than that 
 which carried the measure, repudiated the bonds, and the credit 
 of the State became greatly impaired in financial circles at the 
 East and elsewhere, and this Gen. Sibley keenly felt ; so, for 
 years efforts were made to pay the bonds and relieve the State 
 from the stigma of repudiation. No man worked harder to 
 accomplish this end than Gen. Sibley, and it was probably the hap- 
 piest day of his life when a few years ago provision was made to 
 pay these bonds and wipe out the debt, thus leaving his name 
 free from odium. 
 
 AN INTERESTING GATHERING. 
 
 In 1885 some of the personal friends of Gen. Sibley gave 
 him a supper at the Metropolitan hotel in this city, where many 
 things were said complimentary to the honored guest. In a brief 
 speech the General concluded as follows : 
 
 " My public and private record has been made up, and faulty and imperfect as 
 it may be, it is now too late to alter or amend it. I thank God that he has spared 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 437- 
 
 me to see the fiftieth aiiniversarj' of my advent to what is now Minnesota, and to 
 witness the transformation of this region from a howling wilderness, tenanted 
 alone by wild beasts and savage men, into a proud and powerful commonwealth; 
 and I especially thank him for surrounding ine in the evening of my days with 
 troops of loving friends of both sexes, who overlook my many imperfections in their 
 desire to smooth my pathway to the grave. 
 
 "It is a great consolation to me that I can at least leave my children the heri- 
 tage of an honest name, and to my many friends a remembrance, not only of my 
 devotion to them, but of my earnest and long continued labors to advance the inter- 
 ests and welfare of our beloved Minnesota. God grant to each one of you a long life 
 and a full measure of prosperity." 
 
 PERSONALLY, 
 
 Gen. Sibley is a tall, finely-developed man, and in his 
 younger days was a splendid specimen of a rounded, well- 
 moulded physical organization. In early life he was very fond 
 of fishing and hunting. He has a well-formed head ; strong 
 features ; a large, black, piercing eye, and he looks at you with 
 the gaze of a hawk, and this is' one of his peculiar, striking 
 characteristics. He is very systematic, neat and prompt in mat- 
 ters of business ; moves quietly and moderately ; is cautious and 
 prudent; weighs subjects upon which he has to act with due con- 
 sideration; is strictly honest, very jealous of his reputation, 
 and has a high appreciation of a man of integrity and honor. 
 Honorable and upright himself he spurns meanness in others, 
 and in passing down into history he will leave a grand record 
 and a name unsullied and revered. 
 
 NICHOLAS POTTGIESER, JR. 
 
 Nick " is a chip of the old block, only more so, there being 
 more of him — physically. He was born in St. Paul on the site 
 of the present Custom House, in 1854; was educated in this city 
 and aided his father in his hotel up to 1875, when he married 
 Miss Handlos, and started business for himself on Wabasha 
 street, where he now is. He was connected with the Great West- 
 ern Band for fourteen years, entering the service as a mere drum- 
 mer boy. He was also a member of the Board of County Com- 
 missioners in 1 88 1, and served for two years. He is a man of 
 force, power, push ; a good deal like his own beer, running over 
 with geniality ; kind, generous, sympathetic. He walks and acts 
 much like his father, yet he is brimful of sunshine and of good- 
 
.438 PEN PICT VR ES 
 
 nature, always cheerful and always the same pleasant, jovial 
 " Nick." 
 
 THAT LITTLE BLACK-EYED WOMAN. 
 
 For many years Nick Pottgieser's place has been celebrated 
 for its excellent baked beans, and the writer has often partaken 
 of this savory dish there as have many others. Nick is justly 
 proud of his beans, and once upon a time his friends put up a 
 job on him in which this vegetable played an important part. 
 
 " liave some beans this morning ? " asked Nick. " They are 
 elegant." 
 
 " Don't care if I do," replied the customer. He tastes, 
 smells, looks at them, and pushes the plate back. 
 
 " What's the matter?" asks Nick. 
 
 " Well, I don't know, but they seem to have a taste of soap." 
 
 "A taste of soap! Let me see." Takes a teaspoonful, 
 smacks his lips, and exclaims — " I don't taste any soap." Another 
 customer comes in. " Beans, if you please." " Yes, yes," says 
 Nick ; •" fine beans." " Yes," says the^ customer, " but don't you 
 think there is some mistake here ? " (tasting.) " What's that ? " 
 asked Nick. " Why, I guess the cook put soap into the beans 
 instead of pork," said his second customer. Nick began to feel 
 the blood rush to his head. " There is no soap in these beans," 
 he replied. " Yes, there is," said the customer ; " I can taste it 
 very plainly." Nick tastes. " Well, it does taste a little that way, 
 
 it 's a fact." Out goes customer in a huff. " D the luck," 
 
 said Nick, " there 's soap in those beans, sure." In comes another 
 customer. " Nick, 'morning. Some beans, please." Nick piles 
 up the plate, exclaiming — " We have always good beans here." 
 Customer takes one mouthful and then rushes for the door. 
 
 " What 's the matter ? " asks Nick. " D those soapy beans, 
 
 they make me sick ! " and away he went thundering down the 
 street, while Nick made his way back to the pan of beans, took 
 one big mouthful, spit it out and roared — " Soap ! soap ! " and 
 then pitched the whole dish into the street, muttering — " I'm not 
 going to keep any soapy beans in my establishment if I know 
 myself." In come Nick's three customers, as sober as deacons, 
 and as they approach the bar one says — " Come, Nick, set 'em 
 up ! " " For what ? " he asks. " The beans. All a joke ; no soap ; 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. ' 439 
 
 ibeans first-rate — sold ! " And Nick set 'em up, while that little 
 .black-eyed woman who did the cooking and who had heard the 
 imputation cast upon her most excellent culinary qualifications, 
 laughed heartily as she peeked through the door-crack and saw 
 the chagrin of her great, big, good-hearted husband who really 
 thought that his little black-eyed wife had put soap into the 
 beans! And Nick grew awfully small in his own estimation, 
 while his little wife never looked so charming. 
 
 CHARLES POTTGIESER, 
 
 Only living brother of " Nick," was born and educated in 
 this city ; took music lessons with Frank Wood ; then went to 
 Boston and attended the Conservatory of Music there for five 
 
 j/^ears, and finished his education in Berlin, Germany. He made 
 his first appearance in his old home, St. Paul, on Sunday, Janu- 
 
 •ary ii, 1885, at Turner Hall, where Prof. Seibert's orchestra gave 
 some splendid music, and where young Pottgieser astonished the 
 audience by his masterly performance on the piano. He ought 
 to win a grand name in the musical world. 
 
 GILBERT POTTGIESER. 
 
 Mr. P. was a young man of many fine traits of character ; a 
 universal favorite with his friends, but his early life was cut short 
 by that dreadful disease, consumption, and he died at the age of 
 twenty-nine. 
 
 And so roll on the years and with them go the old settlers, 
 and their wives, and their children, and neighbors, and friends, 
 who pass off the stage of life forever and a new generation of 
 people spring up to take their places, and wonder what manner 
 of looking creatures those were who preceded them in the race 
 of life. And while wondering, the echo comes back — " race of 
 life ! " 
 
 JOHN B. SANBORN MILITARY AND OTHER OFFICES. 
 
 Gen. Sanborn was born in New Hampshire in 1826 ; received 
 -an academic education and attended Dartmouth College one 
 year, when he commenced the study of law ; removed to St. Paul 
 in the latter part of 1854; in 1859 was elected a member of the 
 House, and in 1861 a member of the Senate. The law firm for 
 
440 PEN PICTURES 
 
 many years in this city was Sanborn & French, and then San- 
 born, French & Lund, and of this firm only Gen. Sanborn now 
 remains, the other two having died several years ago. 
 
 On the breaking out of the civil war Gov. Ramsey appointed- 
 Sanborn Adjutant and Quartermaster General of the State, and 
 he organized and equipped four regiments that year, which re- 
 quired a great deal of labor but which was satisfactorily accom- 
 plished. He was then appointed Colonel of the Fourth Regi-- 
 ment, and v/as in command at Fort Snelling and of all the troops- 
 in the district during the winter of i86l, and in the spring of 
 1862 was ordered to Mississippi where he entered the Corinth, 
 Campaign. Here he was placed in control of a brigade which 
 subsequently became a part of the famous Seventeenth Army 
 Corps, and in the terrible battle of luka he lost 600 of his 2,2CO 
 men, and for the gallant part he took in this battle he was pro- 
 moted to the position of Brigadier General. He was in many 
 other important battles, such as Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson,. 
 Champion Hills, and the assault on Vicksburg, and when the 
 latter place surrendered he was placed in command of the south- 
 west district of Missouri, and after the campaign against Price 
 he was promoted to Brevet Major General " for gallant and 
 meritorious services." In September 1867, after leaving the- 
 army, he was appointed one of the " Peace Commission," in 
 company with Gens. Sherman, Harney, Terry and N. G. Taylor,, 
 Tappan and Senator Henderson, to negotiate treaties with cer- 
 tain tribes of Indians, and was engaged in this labor eighteen 
 months. This was an important treaty and embraced the follow- 
 ing Indian tribes : Comanches, Kiowas, Cheyennes, Arapahoes,. 
 Apallaches of the upper Arkansas, Navahoes, Bannocks, Brules, 
 Unkappapa, Black feet, Minnecongu, Ogalallas, Sansarcha, Yank- 
 ton and Yanktonnais. The recommendations of the commission 
 were mdorsed by Congress, except the most salient point, which 
 was compulsory education. Previous to this Gen. Sanborn had 
 served on another Indian commission after the massacre of Fort 
 Phil. Kearney, with Gen. Sulley, Col. Parker, N. B. Buford, and 
 G. P. Beaufaize. On his return home he was elected a member 
 of the House in 1872 and a member of the Senate in 1881 ; was 
 an active member of the Chamber of Commerce fifteen years,, 
 and president of the same three years ; is now president of the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MISN. 441 
 
 German-American Hail Insurance Company ; president of the 
 Bankers' Life Insurance Company ; president of the Roller Flour 
 Mill Company ; has been president of the German-American 
 Bank twelve years ; is one of the board of directors ; is one of 
 the executive council of the Historical Society ; was in the ser- 
 vice of the United States nearly eight years, and has been actively 
 engaged in the practice of law twenty-four years. Indeed he 
 has been an important factor in the growth of this city and State 
 since 1854, or thirty-two years ago, and has been a good deal of 
 that time in public positions, giving to the country a great deal 
 of gratuitous labor. 
 
 THE SENATORSHIP. 
 
 Some twenty-three years ago M. S. Wilkinson, Gen. San- 
 born, Sam. Mayall and others were candidates for the United 
 States Senatorship, although Sanborn was a dark horse. May- 
 all, in order to grease the political wheels, put some ^10,000 in 
 a secure spot and placed the key in the hands of a friend in 
 order to effect his own election. When the fact became gener- 
 ally knov/n, probably from Mayall himself, from some cause or 
 other Sanborn ran up to within one of an election, which fright- 
 ened both Wilkinson and Mayall almost out of their boots, while 
 Sanborn gave one of his " broad smiles " and accepted the situa- 
 tion. At that time there was a bitter feeling on the part of the 
 rural members toward St. Paul, and when they found that San- 
 born, a St. Paul man, was likely to be elected, they turned and 
 elected Wilkinson, although he was not their original choice. 
 Mayall subsided and passed into political oblivion, but it was a 
 narrow escape for Sanborn. 
 
 AS A MAN. 
 
 Gen. Sanborn is a strong, robust man, with a good deal of 
 push and power in his composition, evidently the descendant of 
 a very hardy race. In early territorial times he was ambitious, 
 both as a lawyer and as a politician, and when he embarked in 
 either one of these professions or both, he went in to win, if 
 possible, no matter at what cost. The same characteristic was 
 prominent in his services during the war, and hence I find him? 
 always at the front. He is a good lawyer, a pleasant speaker at 
 
-H2 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the bar, though not especially eloquent ; is social and agreeable 
 in his nature ; is liberal in his gifts, and would have been glad 
 if circumstances had permitted, to have crowned his career by a 
 seat as a Circuit Judge of the United States Court. He has spent 
 thirty-two years of a useful, active, energetic life in our city, and 
 will pass down to history as a prominent and honored citizen. 
 
 C. D. GILFILLAN WATER WORKS GILFILLAN BLOCK OFFICES. 
 
 Mr. Gilfillan was born in Oneida County, New York, in 
 1831 ; passed through the public schools and finished his educa- 
 tion in 'the Homer Academy and Hamilton College ; came to 
 Minnesota in 1851; settled in Stillwater; taught school the 
 first year in that city ; studied law afterwards ; practiced in Still- 
 water; removed to St. Paul in 1854 and was engaged in his 
 profession altogether thirteen years. During these latter years 
 he made some money out of the claims of the settlers for depre- 
 dations by the Indians, and entered largely into politics. 
 
 He then commenced single-handed to build the present St. 
 Paul Water Works, and with what money he had and that which 
 he borrowed he inaugurated and carried to completion an enter- 
 prise which ought ever to remain as a monument to his genius. 
 He sold the Water Works to the city for over a quarter of a 
 million of dollars, and then engaged in banking, farming and 
 building, in which business he is now employed. 
 
 The Gilfillan block in its massive solidity and architect- 
 ural beauty, will remain long after its owner has passed beyond 
 the sight of man. It rears its lofty head where once was a deep 
 ravine down which meandered a stream of water, and the gully 
 through which this stream ran was the only natural road from 
 the river up on to Jackson street. Now that section is the busi- 
 est part of the city. The building itself is six stories high, made 
 as near fire-proof as it can be, and cost close on to ^200,000. 
 Mr. Gilfillan at one time owned part of the Merchants' hotel with 
 Mr. Potter, but in dividing the property Potter took the hotel 
 which he subsequently sold to Allen, and " Gil." became the pos- 
 sessor of the corner property he now owns. 
 
 In early days Mr. Gilfillan was a powerful and very active 
 Republican party man, and he can tell more about the outside 
 and inside of the early politicians of this State than any 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 443 
 
 person living. He was at one time Recorder at Stillwater ; mem- 
 ber of the House of Representatives three terms ; member of 
 the Senate four terms ; on the organization of the Republican 
 party in 1855 he was made chairman of the Central Committee 
 for three years, and was a member of the committee six years ; 
 was president of the old Water Works and commissioner for 
 the new ; is vice-president of the First National Bank, and has 
 held many other offices of trust and of responsibility. Of course 
 all the real estate of Mr. Gilfillan has greatly advanced in value 
 since his purchase, so that he may safely be set down as worth 
 $500,000, although he himself says — " They used to have a say- 
 ing in Cincinnati in its days of porcine greatness, that you could 
 never tell how much fat there was in a hog until he was dead 
 and cut up, so no one can be rated until he is dead and his debts 
 paid. It maybe something or nothing," but he adds — " although 
 I have now real estate enough to break me, yet at the same time 
 it is helping to support me." 
 
 HIS PERSONALITY. 
 
 Mr. Giliillan is not a large but a fat man^ weighing over 300 
 pounds. He has a good-sized, massive head and great brain 
 power, and this coupled with unbounded energy and unwearied 
 indefatigability, have made his life a success, although at one 
 time I knew him when the income of his law practice would not 
 pay his office rent. One looking about and noting the changes 
 in different men's lives, is almost forced to the conclusion that 
 Shakespeare was right when he said : 
 
 "There's a divinity," etc. 
 
 " Gil." started out as a school teacher, but poor ; then as an 
 inexperienced lawyer, then as a politician, then as a business 
 man, then a banker, then an owner of real estate — now a mil- 
 lionaire. Of the one hundred who commenced the race for life 
 with him, eighty were poor then and eighty are poor now. 
 " Many are called but few are chosen." And why it is so I don't 
 know, but the facts nevertheless are indisputable. Call it luck, 
 or brains, or genius, or force of character, or industry, the cards 
 always come up the same way, — a few are rich while many are 
 poor. Mr. Gilfillan is a man of no ostentatious peculiarities, or 
 
444 PEN PICTURES 
 
 puffed up with pride. He is very plain in his appearance, demo- 
 cratic in his ideas of life, careful, prudent, safe, and would make 
 an excellent Governor of the State, for he is a man of broad con- 
 ceptions and fine ability, and is one of St. Paul's most conserva- 
 tive and solid citizens. 
 
 JOHN S. PRINCE. 
 
 Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1821, Mr. Prince worked in a 
 shoe store at two dollars per week, and then served as an appren- 
 tice to the commission business in 1836; resided in Cincinnati 
 until 1840, when he entered the employ of the American Fur 
 Company at Evansville, Ind., and when that company suspended 
 operations he engaged with Pierre Choteau, Jr., & Co. in 1842 
 and became the purchasing agent for the company in Ohio, Indi- 
 ana, Illinois, Michigan and the Territory of Wisconsin. This 
 company having interests in St. Paul, Mr. Prince came here in 
 1854 to look after those interests, and he superintended the first 
 sawmill in the city, which was located down on the swampy 
 flats now covered by railroad tracks. While attending to the 
 real estate of this firm he gradually became interested in- land 
 himself, and met with flattering success. He has constantly had 
 charge of the property of rich parties in St. Louis, and though 
 those who put him in keeping of their real estate forty years ago 
 have died, yet their descendants still trust him, a high compli- 
 ment to his manhood and his honesty. 
 
 OFFICES — EARLY LIFE AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 He was one of the incorporators of the Fire and Marine 
 Insurance Company, and of the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad ; 
 a director in the latter company up to the time of its sale ; was 
 a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1857 ! was on Gen. 
 Sibley's staff; was Mayor of the city in i860, 1861, 1865 and 
 1 866, and the last time was elected without opposition ; was 
 president of the Commission on Assessments one year ; and of 
 the Board of Public Works three years ; was originally cashier 
 of the Savings Bank of this city and is now its president. 
 
 Col. John Stoughtenburgh Prince is an American, although 
 of English descent, and is one of eight in the family who bears 
 the name of John. His father died when he was twelve years 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. ' 445 
 
 old, and the boy then went out into the world to earn his own 
 living, and he is a notable example of a self-made man. As a 
 boy he was industrious, studious and independent. He married 
 Miss Emma L. Linck in 1844, who has had twelve children, 
 seven of whom are living. He is a devout member of the Catho- 
 lic Church, and it used to be a common saying — " You can't 
 beat Prince for Mayor." 
 
 INCIDENTS OF HIS BOYHOOD PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Prince received only ^g 160 per year for his service as an 
 apprentice to the commission business, and out of this he had to 
 pay $3 per week for his board, or ^156, leaving him $4 for his 
 clothes per year. His quick wits enabled him to pick up some 
 money on the outside, so that at the age of nineteen years the 
 firm dissolved and he was offered ;^400 per year. When young 
 he had a natural adaptability to business, and had he remained 
 in Cincinnati he would have been a very rich man. When he 
 assumed the arduous duties for the fur company, he was obliged 
 to ride many miles on horseback, and five hundred miles at a 
 time was no uncommon event, as in those early days there were 
 no railroads and very limited stage accommodations. 
 
 Col. Prince is a well-made man physically, and well propor- 
 tioned. He is quick in speech, easily aroused, quick in compre- 
 hending and quick in motion. He made a good and very popular 
 . public officer, and has done much towards building up the city. 
 I remember him as among the first to erect a dwelling in lower 
 town, and following, Thompson, Sibley, Merriam, Wilder, Drake, 
 and others constructed elegant residences near him, and then 
 what had hitherto been considered a sand bank, with low, scrubby 
 brush, became all of a sudden a popular part of the city and has 
 remained so ever since. Col. Prince has. led a very active, stir- 
 ring life, and he may very justly be classed among our honest, 
 worthy, self-made, honorable citizens. 
 
 EARLE S. GOODRICH JOURNALISM. 
 
 In 1854 journalism in St. Paul took a march forward. 
 There were then in the city the Weekly Pioneer, the Weekly 
 Democrat and the Weekly Minnesotian. The writer of these 
 articles was at this time an associate editor with Mr. Brown on 
 
446 PEN PICTURES- 
 
 the Piofieer, when in the spring of 1 854 a comparatively young man, 
 elegantly dressed and with brown, curly hair, made his appear- 
 ance in the office, and after a brief consultation with Mr. Brown, 
 left for the East, and it was soon after rumored that the paper 
 had changed hands and that the new proprietor was Earle S. 
 Goodrich. It was also announced that he intended to start a 
 daily paper. Williams, in his history, says : 
 
 FIRST DAILY PAPERS. 
 
 " The Democrat and Minnesotian at once determined to follow the lead of 
 the Pioneer, the former appearing on May i, the same day as the Yi2SS.y Pioneer , 
 and the latter on May 12. On May 15 the Daily Times made its appearance, 
 edited and published by Thomas M. Newson, who had for six months or more 
 been engaged as a writer on the Pioneer. With him was associated J. B. H. 
 Mitchell and M. J. Clum. Mr. Newson subsequently secured the interests of 
 both these gentlemen and continued the Times with much success until 1861, 
 when it was leased to William R. Marshall." 
 
 So at this period there were four daily papers in the city 
 with the following editors : Pioneer, Earle S. Goodrich ; Minne- 
 sotian, John P. Owens ; Times, T. M. Newson ; Democrat, David 
 Olmsted. The Pioneer was really the organ of the Democratic 
 party ; the Minnesotian was Whig ; the Times independent ; the 
 Democrat, Democratic. These were the first daily papers pub- 
 lished in the city or in the State. Two of the editors are dead^ 
 Owens and Olmsted, and two are living, Goodrich and Newson^ 
 one entirely out of the harness, the other partially so. 
 
 WHEN BORN AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich was born in New York in 1827; early con- 
 ceived the idea of fitting himself for the editorial profession, and 
 to that end learned the printing business ; also studied law and 
 was admitted to practice; removed to Wisconsin and in 1848 
 ran a campaign paper at Sheboygan for several months ; was- 
 elected Clerk of the Court, but resigned and removed to Green Bay, 
 was County Clerk of Brown County from 1850 to 1854, when, 
 in March of that year he removed to St. Paul and commenced 
 the publication of the Pioneer, which he continued for ten years ; 
 was commissioned Captain and aide to Gen. McClellan in 1862,. 
 but by a blunder of the War Department was sent to the Shen- 
 andoah valley, and here he served some time and was finally 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 447 
 
 ordered to St. Paul, where Gen. Pope was then stationed, but 
 Goodrich and the commanding officer not agreeing the former 
 resigned. He immediately followed up Gen. Pope with many 
 bitter articles in his paper, until at last headquarters were 
 removed to Milwaukee. In 1865 Mr. Goodrich disposed of his 
 interest in the Pioneer and purchased the stock of the St. Paul 
 Gas Company, which he controlled for two years ; then entered 
 largely into the manufacture of peat ; engaged in railroad con- 
 struction for a time, and I believe has recently been dealing in 
 mining enterprises. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF EARLY JOURNALISM PANTING FOR HIS BLOOD. 
 
 In 1854 Mr. Goodrich came out strongly against one of the 
 Democratic candidates for the purpose of killing him off, as he 
 was obnoxious to a large number of the party. The man 
 attacked retorted on Goodrich with the threat to kill him, and 
 Goodrich left his office, came to the Winslow House and took 
 tea with the writer, while the injured politician was about the 
 streets with a revolver hunting for his victim. Several days 
 after when the heat of passion had subsided, the matter was 
 dropped and no blood was spilled. 
 
 It was a beautiful Sunday morning, I think in 1855, when 
 Charles H. Parker, then a banker in this city, turned the corner 
 of the old Winslow House from out Fort at Seven Corners, and 
 with rapid tread, a flashing eye and pale face hurried by me as I 
 stood in the door of the hotel. 
 
 " Where going, Parker ? " I asked. 
 
 " Going to kill that infernal devil, Goodrich," he replied. 
 
 "What's up?" 
 
 " I'll shoot him ! " 
 
 I drew near him and found that he was not only in earnest 
 but that he had a six-shooter loaded to the muzzle, and as mat- 
 ters looked a little skittish I proposed to go along. During our 
 journey to the office Parker was unrelenting, determined, des- 
 perate, and all efforts I made to avert the coming calamity only 
 seemed to make the matter worse. The cause of this grievance 
 was, that in his recent failure Goodrich had charged that he 
 (Parker) had not treated his depositors fairly, and in this Good- 
 rich was correct, for, as a matter of history Parker had used 
 
448 PEN PICTURES 
 
 some of the money of his depositors with which to buy real 
 estate, and failing to realize on this real estate in time he had to 
 go under, and this Goodrich knew ; at least I am so informed by 
 one of the clerks in Parker's office at the time. We entered the 
 editorial room together. There was Goodrich, whp I must con- 
 fess was exceedingly cool, and whom I expected any minute to 
 see lying a corpse upon the floor, but a word from myself that we 
 were all Masons and ought to adjust the matter satisfactorily, 
 opened a soothing influence and the misunderstanding was ami- 
 cably settled. Mr. Goodrich assured Mr. Parker that he had no 
 motive to misrepresent him and did not wish to do so, and Mr. 
 Parker being satisfied with the explanation, I withdrew from the 
 interview with a long breath, gratified at the turn events had 
 taken. Parker is in California ; Goodrich and Newson still live 
 in St. Paul. 
 
 IN A TIGHT, PLACE. 
 
 During the early period of the old Daily Times I received 
 many threats as to my being killed, horse-whipped, etc., but 
 during my editorial career was never struck or injured. At St. 
 Patrick's supper, however, held in the hall of the old market 
 house — now pulled down — I was called upon to respond to the 
 toast of the Governor of Minnesota (Gorman, now dead,) and in 
 the course of my remarks I spoke of corruption which ran 
 knee-deep through our legislative halls and complimented the 
 Governor for his efforts to stay the tide. I cannot just now 
 remember, but must have made some personal allusion to some 
 of the members who were then present, for soon after my speech 
 six persons desired to go home with me, and I finally learned 
 that my life had been threatened by parties then in the room ; 
 and so, sure enough, I was escorted to my boarding house by 
 several of my friends, some now dead, others living. Among 
 these was Justus Ramsey, Jack Morgan, Mike Cummings and 
 three more. Twice I confronted men in my office with loaded 
 revolvers, but for some cause or other the weapons didn't go 
 off — but the men did. 
 
 A SINGULAR COINCIDENCE. 
 
 Such were the journalistic experiences of Mr. Goodrich and 
 myself in 1854, both of whom commenced daily editorial life in 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 449 
 
 St. Paul in the same month, and in the same year, and what is 
 remarkable, both were born in 1827, and in the same State, and 
 hved on the same street, arid have both retired from the exact- 
 ing cares of a modern daily newspaper hfe; a little older, less 
 ambitious, more conservative, and better satisfied with those 
 •quiet pursuits incidental to declining years, and yet neither one 
 nor the other is old or in any degree superannuated. 
 
 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 Mr. Goodrich is a man of ordinary size, and in early life 
 -was very precise and very particular in his dress and in his per- 
 sonal appearance. He was cool, cautious, calculating, reticent 
 and undemonstrative. As a writer he was caustic and finished, 
 and in some of his articles on Gov. Gorman and others, he 
 reminded one of the incisive characteristics of " Junius," his par- 
 ticular forte being in this special line of writing. He is a great 
 lover of the fine arts, of music, and of the beautiful, and delights 
 in elegant architectural designs or buildings ; is cultivated in his 
 tastes and if he had ;^ 1,000,000 would spend it in adornments, 
 paintings, and in erecting an elegant home with all its comforts. 
 He has a broad comprehension of business ; is polite, pleasant, 
 ■courteous, affable — says but little — thinks a good deal. 
 
 PENNOCK PUSEY PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Pusey was born in Pennsylvania, of English descent, in 
 1825; one of his relatives was the trusted friend of William 
 Penn ; he (Pusey) was educated at the West Town Quaker Acad- 
 emy in the Keystone State, arid very early in life became deeply 
 and sincerely interested in the anti-slavery movement; in 1849 
 he engaged in farming in Maryland; in 1854 came to St. Paul 
 and was connected with Henry McKenty until 1862; in 1863 he 
 became Assistant Secretary of State under Gen. Baker; also 
 Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction ; Commissioner of 
 Statistics; in 1872 Commissioner of Insurance; was married in 
 1867; resigned his ofifice in 1873; visited Florida; became pri- 
 vate secretary of Gov. Pillsbury in 1875 and continued so two 
 terms, when he visited the East, made a tour of Europe, and 
 returned to St. Paul a gentleman at large, where he now is. 
 29 
 
450 PEN PICTURES 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Pusey is rather under the medium size as a man; is^ 
 well filled out,' carrying a round, well-developed head, a smiling 
 face, with gold spectacles, and has a pleasing, courteous manner. 
 He is a gentleman of culture and education, and has written 
 many able articles for the press, principally against slavery and 
 ignorance, and in favor of art and music. His life has been so- 
 pure and so uniform that I find nothing startling or exciting in 
 it, and yet as a whole it makes up a mellowed, completed man- 
 hood worthy of imitation by those who may come after him. 
 
 HENRY L. CARVER. 
 
 Captain Carver was born in New York in 1830 ; educated 
 at the common and high schools; studied law with Luther C. 
 Peck ; graduated from the National Law School at Poughkeepsie, 
 N. Y., in 1854; admitted to the bar the same year, and came to 
 St. Paul in 1854, where he soon after engaged in the practice of 
 law with W. A. Spencer, Clerk of the United States District 
 Court; enlisted in Company G, Sixth Regiment; promoted to 
 First Lieutenant; then was appointed Quartermaster with the 
 rank of Captain; breveted Major, and at the close of his term 
 of service Colonel ; served in the Indian campaign with Gen. 
 Sibley ; was on his staff and that of Gen. Corse until the end of 
 the war ; was a member of the Legislature in 1 862 ; married 
 Miss M. Ashley in 1857. Captain Carver has been an active, 
 public-spirited man, and it was principally through his influence 
 that the old Opera House was built, as well as the street car 
 tracks. He was at one time part owner of the old Pioneer. 
 He has a peculiar expression of the face which gives him an 
 individuality, so that Carver would be Carver in any part of the 
 world. He has seen St. Paul grow from a mere nothing to what 
 it is to-day, and during that growth has been a part of it. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Captain Carver is a good-sized man ; very quiet and moder- 
 ate in his movements. He had a hand in the building of the 
 post office and Custom House, and it was through his instru- 
 mentality that the building was located upon its present site; has 
 been an active member of the board of directors of the St. Paul 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 431 
 
 Public Library since its organization ; has also served as chief 
 officer in the different Masonic bodies in the city for a number 
 of terms, and also as the Grand Commander of Knights Tem- 
 plars of the State. He is now president of the board of direct- 
 ors of the " Masonic Temple Association." 
 
 LOUIS E. FISHER. 
 
 Mr. Fisher was born near Boston, Mass., in the year 1821 ; 
 was well educated ; learned the printing business in Boston ; left 
 Boston in 1841 to witness the inauguration of President Harrison 
 in Washington ; remained there until Harrison's death, and then 
 came west over the mountains to Wheeling, Va., thence to 
 Madison, Ind., where he had relatives ; read law with Hon. Jesse 
 D. Bright for six months, and then went down the river, and 
 after a cruise of two years returned to Boston, having seen nearly 
 all the States in the Union ; became foreman and afterwards 
 reporter on the Boston Daily Advertiser, where the reading of 
 the Weekly Pioneer ol'si. Paul from i849-'53 determined him to 
 make Minnesota his home; reaching St. Paul April 1854, he 
 assisted in getting out the first Yi2^\\y Pioneer, May ist, 1854 ; for 
 a year was foreman of the Real Estate Advertiser, edited by J. A. 
 Wheelock ; then returning to the Pioneer was in succession fore- 
 man, city editor, general news editor, managing editor from 
 1 861 to 1865 ; from 1866 nearly up to the time of the consolida- 
 tion of the Pioneer and the Press, in 1875, was editor-in-chief of 
 the Pioneer; became general news editor on the Pioneer Press; 
 subsequently, when, like Horace Greeley, at fifty he "ceased to 
 enjoy sitting up all night with a morning paper," resigned to 
 prepare matter for the newspapers printed by the Northwestern 
 Newspaper Union. There is scarcely a branch of the printing 
 business, from roller-boy to editor-in-chief with which he is not 
 familiar. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Fisher is a good writer and has had a large experience 
 in the newspaper business, as the above clearly shows. In his 
 short, pithy articles he exhibits ability and incisive points and a 
 good deal of wit coupled with sarcasm, and has uncommon good 
 judgment in selecting from other papers. At one time his name 
 was very favorably spoken of for Democratic Governor. He is 
 
462 PEN PICTURES 
 
 a fair-sized and robust-looking man, moderate and dignified in 
 his movements, full of good humor, modest and retiring, cau- 
 tious in his nature, studious and correct in his habits, quiet and 
 industrious in his every-day life, and an excellent citizen, and 
 ought to have been a rich man, and yet he has a consciousness 
 of having made the world better for having been in it. 
 
 luck! 
 
 Some men start out in life bright, happy and hopeful, and 
 by their superior attainments and industry build up excellent 
 avocations that from causes over which they have no control, 
 drop into other hands, and when years of toil and labor have 
 passed, they find they have been going up the hill just "for the 
 fun of the thing," to accommodate somebody else, and are now 
 going down the hill at a rapid rate, without any brakes, which 
 they find isn't quite so funny, especially if they have turned the 
 corner of forty-five years ! We may turn and twist the question 
 of success in any way we please, when the whalebone of circum- 
 stances will always snap back to one proposition only — luck ! 
 For some men are lucky in everything they touch, while others, 
 no matter how hard they may work, or how honest they may 
 be, or how economical, or how devoted, or how shrewd or 
 sagacious, or how much business talent they may display, a 
 series of concatenating circumstances will arise to push them 
 down to the base of the hill and keep them there, while men 
 with none of the elements of success will rise to the summit 
 under the buoyant effects of good luck ! 
 
 BEAUTIFUL GIRLS. 
 
 In 1854 a little house stood upon the bank on Robert street, 
 and in it dwelt two beautiful girls, the daughters of Curran, pro- 
 prietor of the World's Fair Store, which occupied the corner of 
 Third and Robert streets. I remember these girls with their 
 black hair and black eyes and beautiful complexion and winning 
 ways, and they attracted a great deal of attention and were very 
 justly admired. One married Theodore Borup and still lives, a 
 beautiful woman, and the other married David Oakes, and still 
 remains a charming widow. They must have come to St. Paul 
 about 1853. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 453 
 
 T. M. METCALF. 
 
 Mr. Metcalf was born in the State of New York in 1827; 
 his father was an eminent physician and young Metcalf was 
 schooled in Geneseo, Livingston County, when he entered into 
 mercantile pursuits at Hammondsport, N. Y., until 1850, and 
 then moved to Michigan and was assistant paymaster on the 
 Michigan Southern Railroad for two years ; came to St. Paul in 
 1854; kept a grocery store on Third street; was employed as 
 assistant paymaster under Major Leslie; was Comptroller of the 
 city from 1856 to 1858; was elected Auditor of Ramsey County 
 in i860 for two years; was for some time during the war chief 
 clerk in the Provost Marshal's office; after the war in 1866 
 became engaged in real estate; in 1873 was elected to the Legis- 
 lature ; further along carried on the seed business as successor 
 to Hollister & Castle, and of late has been enjoying farming in 
 connection with his present occupation as a large dealer in seeds. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Metcalf might be called a somewhat pussy man, as he 
 must turn the scales at considerably above 200, and yet he is 
 active and apparently in the full bloom of health. He used to 
 'be a good deal of a politician, but after having " learned the 
 ropes " thoroughly, he has dropped out to give " the young men 
 a chance." He has been a good citizen, but like many others is 
 now backing into the ranks of the past, satisfied with having 
 done his part toward the growth of a great city. 
 
 MARTIN B. BRUGGEMANN 
 
 Was born in St. Paul in 1854; his parents moved to Hen- 
 derson in 1856, and after a short period of hotel-keeping they 
 returned to St. Paul, when young Bruggemann commenced his 
 mercantile career in the house of Lindeke & Co. He was at one 
 time connected with his brother in the commission business at 
 Seven Corners, but sold out his interest in 1881 and purchased 
 an interest in the dry-goods house of B. F. Zahm, where, I think, 
 he now is. He is a gentleman of fine business character and a 
 worthy son of worthy parents. 
 
454 . PUN PICTURES 
 
 C. C; BERKMAN. 
 
 Mr. B. was born in Ohio in 1 83 1 ; received a common school 
 education ; removed to Vernon, Ind., and then married at the 
 age of twenty, in the year 1851, a Miss M. A. Sperry; came to 
 St. Paul in 1854 and commenced the practice of his profession, 
 that of veterinary surgeon ; purchased two lots at St. Anthony 
 and erected a dwelling thereon ; his neighbors at this time, inde- 
 pendent of the Indians, numbered five, where there is how a city 
 of over 120,000 people; in the latter part of 1854 Mr. Berkman 
 was called to Fort Snelling to treat horses belonging to the bat- 
 tery of Gen. Sherman ; joined the Third Minnesota Regiment 
 and went South ; returned in 1 862 and became veterinary post sur- 
 geon at the Fort ; received his discharge March, 1 864 ; returned 
 to St. Paul, and has remained here ever since. Mr. B. has made 
 his profession a specialty and is probably as well posted on the 
 diseases of horses as any man living. 
 
 p. CHURCHILL. 
 
 A native of Ireland and born in 1844, Mr. Churchill arrived 
 in this country in 1849; resided in Ohio until 1854, when he 
 came to this city ; joined the volunteer fire department in 1868 ; 
 was a member until they disbanded in 1877, and then became a 
 regular fireman of steamer No. 8. He was enthusiastic in his pro- 
 fession and served the cause he espoused ably and well. He is 
 a small man, very quick in his movements and very industrious — 
 a hardworking, worthy citizen. 
 
 PATRICK CONLEY. 
 
 Mr. Conley is a native of Illinois, born in that State in 1851 ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1854; removed to Dakota County, where 
 he received a practical education, and then struck out to see the 
 world, and after " sowing his wild oats " he returned to St. Paul 
 and opened a variety theater, which he has run quite success- 
 fully for several years, and which is now merged into what is 
 known as the Olympic, on Seventh street. 
 
 Mr. Conley is a bright, active, pushing young man, having 
 a special aptitude for running a variety theater, and he is the 
 only one who has succeeded in the business in this city. He is 
 a good business man and a good manager. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 455 
 
 M. GORDON CRAIG. 
 
 Mr. Craig was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1851 ; his parents 
 brought him to St. Paul when only three years old, or in 1854, 
 and he was educated in our public schools. The elder Craig is 
 ■quite extensively known as a most successful house-mover, and 
 
 his son learned the trade of a joiner and builder with John 
 :Summers, until the spring of 1878, when in company with 
 
 Mathew Taylor, he succeedeH Mr. Summers, and they have ever 
 
 since carried on a large trade of contracting and building, 
 -employing a good deal of capital and a good many men. Mr. 
 'Craig is a quiet sort of a man, but is a pusher in business and is 
 
 a good illustration of what can be achieved by straight-forward, 
 
 .manly effort. 
 
 ALFRED DUFRESNE. 
 
 Black hair, black whiskers, black eyes, with a dark com- 
 plexion, and a quick, nervous movement, . are characteristics 
 which mark the next best man in Pat Kelly's large grocery 
 -establishment on Third street. Mr. Dufresne is a striking char- 
 acter, and a very important spoke in a very large wheel. He 
 was born at Rivier du Loup, Province of Quebec, in 1836; edu- 
 cated at the public schools; came to St. Paul in 1854; for sev- 
 eral years clerked in the wholesale grocery houses of Temple & 
 Beaupre, and Beaupre & Kelly, and is now one of the firm of 
 P. H. Kelly & Co., where he has been for many years. He mar- 
 ried Miss Marie Louise Gauthier, and has had a family of ten 
 •children, five of whom survive. I can only add that Mr. Dufresne 
 is lightning on wheels in his special department, and when con- 
 mected with Pat Kelly they two make a first-class, enterprising 
 team. 
 
 J.. G. FREEMAN 
 
 Came to St. Paul in 1854; born in Vermont in 1832; 
 acquired the trade of a machinist ; worked in the mills of the 
 
 •city ; built the Long lake lumber mills ; owned one-half of a 
 mill at Monticello ; sold out and went to Chicago ; returned in 
 three years to St. Paul and commenced dealing exclusively in 
 
 •engines ; then moved to Third street, and has built up a large 
 
 -and profitable trade. 
 
4B6 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Mr. Freeman is a person of florid complexion and is " old- 
 business " in every sense of the word, dealing largely in all sorts- 
 of heavy machinery and has met with financial success. As a 
 man he is undemonstrative, but no less a quiet, careful, good 
 citizen. 
 
 HENRY HABIGHORST. 
 
 Born in Germany in 1824 Mr. Habighorst learned the trade 
 of a tailor in the old country, and in 1847 came to America and 
 located at St. Louis ; removed to St. Paul in 1854; worked at 
 his trade three years, when he entered a dry-goods firm as sales- 
 man and continued there nine years ; was in St. Louis nearly two- 
 years, when he returned to St. Paul and commenced the dry- 
 goods business for himself on Fifth street, and now has one of 
 the largest stores on Seventh street and is the owner of an ele- 
 gant block. His career has been remarkable, but he seemed 
 to strike the right groove at the right time, and has gone on 
 in a very successful way. He is a solid, substantial, energetic: 
 man. 
 
 G. R. HART A COMMENDABLE ACT. 
 
 Mr. Hart was born in New Hampshire in 1826; came to- 
 St. Paul in 1854 and engaged as foreman in the then furniture 
 establishment of Stees & Hunt, and has remained there ever 
 since, or thirty-two years. He has always been found at his post 
 as true as the needle to the pole, and has been of great service: 
 to the proprietors on that account. 
 
 When the hard times of 1857 came on, Mr. Hart went to 
 the firm and sa:d — " Gentlemen, times are hard ; I want you to 
 reduce my wages ; when times get better we can go back to the 
 old prices, but I am quite willing and think it right for me to 
 bear my portion of the burden with you." The proprietors were- 
 surprised, and at the earnest request of Mr. Hart reduced his 
 wages until times got better, and the result has been that Mr. 
 Hart has kept his place during all these long years, and not only 
 that, but he has accumulated enough property to make him com- 
 fortable for life. And he deserves all he has and much more, for 
 he is a man rightly named — H(e)art. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 437 
 
 PETER HAUPERS. 
 
 Born in Germany in 1837; emigrated to America in 1846 
 and landed at Chicago; came to St. Paul in 1854; engaged in 
 the blacksmithing business until 1 867, when he became a part- 
 ner with George Mitsch in wagon manufacturing, which he con- 
 tinued up to 1 88 1, when he retired. He was married in 1862 to 
 Barbara Stolz of Bavaria. I don't know Mr. Haupers, but am 
 informed that he is a very worthy man and citizen. 
 
 • HORATIO HOULTON. 
 
 A quiet, unassuming, hard-working man is Mr. Houlton, 
 who, born in Maine in 1834 and educated at the common schools 
 in that State, came to St. Paul in 1854, and in 1880 engaged in 
 the lumber trade with John S. Prince, which he has continued for 
 several years. He is a steady, industrious, honest man, uncom- 
 monly undemonstrative and very deserving. 
 
 JOHN B. OLIVIER AS A MAN. 
 
 Born of French-Canadian parents in Canada in 1836, Mr. 
 Olivier received an academical education in his native place and 
 came to St. Paul in 1854; was clerk in the office of Register 
 of Deeds three years ; was a member of the Legislature in 
 i859-'6o; was in the real estate business several years; in the 
 army two years — Eighth Minnesota ; was engaged in the office 
 of the abstract of titles and selling land up to 1 872, when he 
 was elected Auditor of Ramsey County in 1873 ; was appointed 
 Abstract Clerk, which position he held with great credit for sev- 
 eral years and then resigned the office and began dealing in real 
 estate and examining titles, in which he is now engaged, and has 
 built up a large trade, having spent all his life in this special line 
 of business ; married Miss Marie Louise Capistrant who has had 
 nine children. 
 
 Mr. Olivier is a somewhat tall man, possessing all the inher- 
 ent qualities of the French nation — politeness — and is recognized 
 everywhere by this trait of character. He is genial, social, 
 industrious, and has had a strong influence with the French of 
 St. Paul, and indeed has it now. He is a very agreeable gentle- 
 man ; in this respect has no equal, and is well known and much 
 esteemed among the old settlers. 
 
458 PEN PICTURES 
 
 HENRY JUSTUS FIRST WAGON-MAKER. 
 
 Mr. Justus is a German by birth, born in 1828 ; emigrated 
 to this country and settled in Chicago in 1850 ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1854; engaged in the manufacture of wagons and carriages, 
 and was the first wagon-maker in this city and State. He prides 
 himself upon this distinction and well he may, for the reputa- 
 tion of his work has enabled him to build up a large business. 
 He is a worthy gentleman, unassuming and deserving. 
 
 J. C. KAHLERT. 
 
 A small man with intense black eyes and hair, quick in his 
 movements and methodical in his business, is J. C. Kahlert, who, 
 born in Germany in 1820, learned the dyeing trade and traveled 
 through many parts of Europe ; came to America in 1 846 ; car- 
 ried on the dyeing business in Maryland and Frederick City until 
 1854, when he removed to St. Paul, and was the first man in his 
 business in this city ; has continued in his special line of trade 
 thirty-two years ; lost by fire on upper Third street, then by the 
 falling of a building in Empire block, but has come out ahead 
 of all his disasters and is now permanently settled and doing a 
 good business. He is a thriving, industrious, steady man. 
 
 SICK. 
 
 In 1854 the writer was seriously sick in the Winslow House 
 with typhoid fever, and so impressed was he with the idea that 
 his sickness came from the water in the hotel, that he gave a 
 servant a twenty-dollar gold piece to furnish him a supply for 
 one week from out a bubbling stream that ran across Third 
 street in front of the hotel, but this did not arrest the disease, and 
 he came very near passing over that other stream from the dis- 
 tant shores of which no traveler ever returns. It is somewhat 
 remarkable that the physician who attended him, (Dr. Wren,) 
 the man who watched with him, (George W. Armstrong,) the 
 minister who prayed with and for him, (Rev. Dr. Van Ingen,) 
 and the friend who sympathized most deeply with him, (Gen. 
 Simpson of the United States army,) have all passed away, leav- 
 ing him the only one alive of that old settlers' group. I men- 
 tion this as a striking illustration of the mutability of human 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 4 39 
 
 life. A quarter of a century wipes out a large proportion of the 
 human race, and the law is not only inexorable but universal. 
 " Fleet are the rapid moments — fl_v they must, 
 
 Not to be stayed by mask nor midnight roar — 
 Nor shall a pulse among that mouldering dust 
 Beat wanton at the smiles of beauty more." 
 
 HUGH B. MONTGOMERY. 
 
 A native of Canada, born in 1834, Hugh B. being the oldest 
 child, under the laws of that country he fell heir to his father's 
 estate, and so far as I can learn received all the property and at 
 the age of eighteen years left home ; in 1 842 became a cabin 
 boy on a steamer ; was employed in a hotel in Detroit one* year 
 and a half; returned to his home ; came to St. Paul in 1854; 
 opened the Mansion House which stood on the bluff where the 
 government supply building now stands ; he soon after sold out 
 and started the La Belle saloon; disposed of this in 1855 ^^d 
 opened a small pioneer store at Superior City, Wisconsin, where 
 he remained two years ; removed to Milwaukee and was steward 
 in the Newhall House three years ; returned to St. Paul in 1 862 
 and started a restaurant on Bridge Square ; went to the Black 
 Hills in 1 877 ; became completely " strapped ; " returned home 
 and opened an all-night restaurant, first in the old place once 
 run by Guy Saulsbury on Third street, then on Jackson street, 
 where he remained for a number of years, and where he made 
 money. In his rambles sometime previously he purchased a 
 third of a claim made by W. H. Stuart where Crookston now 
 is, and as the railroad was obliged to cross there, it made the 
 town and the town made Montgomery. Lots which cost him 
 three dollars he has been selling for ;^500 and ;^8oo, and with his 
 money he purchased property in this city, so that the little cabin 
 boy of years ago now owns some twenty-four houses in this 
 city, stock in the Crookston and other banks, and is the vice- 
 president of the former. He is probably worth not less than 
 ;? 1 00,000, while in 1877 it would have been difficult for him to 
 have raised ^5 ! Such is the combination of good luck and 
 good management. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 He is a tall, slender, gentlemanly, fine-looking man, very 
 quiet in his manner ; cool, clear-headed, self-reliant, industrious. 
 
460 PEN PICTURES 
 
 temperate, social. He has shown his abih'ty and sound judg- 
 ment in taking care of the money and property good luck has 
 brought him, but he is just as unaffected to-day with all his 
 wealth as he was when I met him in the Black Hills eight years 
 ago with a large amount of good nature and ten cents in his 
 pocket. His first wife, Lydia M.' Houghston, died in 1869; his 
 second wife is Lizzie E. Morgan, to whom he was married in 
 1 87 1. Mr. Montgomery sold out his restaurant in 1884, and is 
 now giving his attention to his real estate and cattle raising, 
 having a ranch in Montana. He died in St. Paul October 16, 
 1885,, aged 51 years, since the above was written. 
 
 ANDREW NIPPOLT. 
 
 Born in Illinois in 1 848 ; came with his parents to St. Paul 
 in 1854; learned the trade of a carriage-maker and worked for 
 Quinby & Hallowell about twelve years ; commenced business 
 for himself in 1 876 ; was burned out in 1 877 ; moved to the 
 corner of Seventh and Sibley streets, and then to Sixth street, 
 and subsequently was made to move on with the times and make 
 room for the splendid Hotel Ryan, and then opened a large and 
 commodious shop on Eighth street, near Jackson, where he is 
 doing a nice business. Miss Julia Feldhauser, his wife, was the 
 daughter of an old settler of that name who came to St. Paul in 
 1853 and who was engaged in the boot and shoe business, but 
 who is now in Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 Mr. Nippolt is a large man, with much force of character, a 
 rustler in business, and yet he is quiet and pleasant in his man- 
 ners and impresses one as a gentleman of great amiability. He 
 is a self-made man and fully deserving all the success he has 
 attained. 
 
 CHARLES A. F. MORRIS. 
 
 Mr. Morris is a peculiar man ; short, thick-set, quick, deci- 
 sive, but he is a man of decided ability in his profession, that of 
 civil engineering. He was born in 1827 in Ireland; his father's 
 ancestor was colonel in the army of William the Conqueror ; his 
 mother, though born in Ireland was of French extraction ; the 
 family tutor taught Charles when he afterwards finished his edu- 
 cation at the select school of J. T. Sturgeon ; then he was two 
 years in the government engineering department ; served as an 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 461 
 
 apprentice three years to Sir John Neill ; came to America in 
 1849; took a position on the Hudson River Railroad and 
 remained there until that road was completed; located in St. 
 Paul in 1854; was drafted during the war but was exempt; was 
 City Engineer in 1 862 ; served on several Enghsh and Irish rail- 
 roads ; was an engineer on the Hudson River, Albany & Troy, 
 Long Island, Chicago, Alton & St. Louis, St. Paul 8l Minnesota, 
 St. Paul & Pacific, Winona branch, Stillwater branch, St. Paul, 
 Minneapolis & Manitoba and others. At one time he had 5,000 
 men at work under him in counties Clare and Galway, Ireland, 
 building sea-walls, piers, bridges and roads. He is now con- 
 nected with an important branch of the engineering department 
 of the Northern Pacific road and is stationed I think at Portland, 
 Oregon. He married Miss Mary Ellen D. Reid, of Scotch nation- 
 ality, a genial, pleasant woman. 
 
 Mr. Morris is an active, prompt business man, fully alive to 
 the importance of his profession, and a gentleman of unexcep- 
 tionable character. He is a devout and active member of the 
 Episcopal Church, and though quickly-spoken in manner and 
 impulsive in his nature, yet very few men have so many and so 
 good friends as Charles A. F. Morris. 
 
 WILLIAM SPRIGG HALL PERSONAL. 
 
 Judge Hall was born in Maryland in 1832; educated at St. 
 John's College in that State ; studied law and was admitted to 
 practice in 1854; came to St. Paul that year and formed a part- 
 nership with Harwood Iglehart; in 1856 was appointed Super- 
 intendent of Schools of the Territory of Minnesota; in 1857 was 
 chosen a State Senator ; in 1867 was elected Judge of the Court 
 of Common Pleas ; was re-elected in 1875 without opposition, on 
 the recommendation of the Ramsey County bar, and held his 
 office until he died, which was on the twenty-fifth of February, 
 1875, having expired on a railroad car on his way home, aged 
 forty-two years. 
 
 Judge Hall was a very popular man in the day in which he 
 lived, and was one of the most respected lawyers as well as one 
 of the purest jurists that ever sat on a' bench. I remember him 
 as a small man, with a swaying, southern motion when he 
 walked, always accompanied by a cane, exceedingly polite, very 
 
462 PEN PICTURES 
 
 pleasant in conversation, and a man of strong, sterling character. 
 He was greatly esteemed by the members of the bar, and was a 
 great favorite with the people. He married Miss Elizabeth Sell- 
 man Welsh of Maryland in 1857, and left a widow, two daughters 
 and a son, all now living in St. Paul, the son being a young man 
 of fine abilities and following in the footsteps of his illustrious 
 father — that of a lawyer. 
 
 WILLIAM H. ACKER. 
 
 Capt. Acker was born in New York in 1833 ; was educated 
 in Michigan, and from thence came to St. Paul in 1854; was 
 book-keeper in the banking house of William R. Marshall for 
 several years ; was among the fitst to organize the old popular 
 Guards, the pioneer military company in Minnesota, and was at 
 one time its Captain ; was appointed Adjutant General of the 
 State in i860; resigned in 1861 ; recruited a company for the 
 First Regiment ; was in the famous Bull Run fight and was 
 wounded, and afterwards commissioned Captain in the Sixteenth 
 Regulars, and was killed at the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862, 
 aged twenty-nine years. 
 
 Capt. Acker very early in life was thoroughly imbued with 
 true military spirit. Long before the war he was esteemed as the 
 best natural military genius in the city or in the State, and was the 
 moving spirit in the old Pioneer Guards, and on the breaking out 
 of the war he had no equal as a drill-master. He was tall and 
 straight and had a military bearing and moved about like one 
 born to command. His private character was unexceptional. 
 His body was brought to this city and buried with great military 
 honors, and the long procession of soldiers and citizens who fol- 
 lowed it to the grave and the thousands who witnessed the 
 scene, clearly showed the high esteem in which the deceased was 
 held by his neighbors and his friends. 
 
 RICHARD L. GORMAN AS A MAN. 
 
 Capt. Gorman was born in Indiana in 1837 ; educated at the 
 University of that State; located at St. Paul in 1854; entered 
 the ranks of the First Minnesota Regiment as a private ; was 
 promoted to the position of Captain of the New York Volun- 
 teers, and served in the army three years. He married Miss C. 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 463 
 
 A. Irvine, daughter of the late John R. Irvine, in the year 1863 ; 
 was made Secretary of the Board of Public Works in 1873, 
 which office he has held ever since and holds now ; was elected 
 to the Legislature of 1885, and made a good, faithful member. 
 Capt. Gorman is a son of the late Gen. Gorman, and is a 
 gentleman of quiet habits, slenderly built, somewhat gray, stands 
 erect; when interested in conversation talks energetically, and, 
 like his father, is a good deal of a politician, but a great deal 
 less demonstrative. He is a cautious, prudent officer, and an 
 unaffected, worthy citizen. 
 
 JOHN W. WILLIS. 
 
 Mr. Willis was born in St. Paul in 1854 and educated 
 in the schools of this city. He was Latin instructor in the St. 
 Paul High School for two years ; studied law with Gilman 
 & Clough ; was admitted to the bar in 1879; was a candidate 
 for Attorney General on the Democratic State ticket in 1884; 
 has taken an active part in politics on the Democratic side, 
 speaking in several campaigns, and is constantly building up an 
 increasing practice ; has been a member of the School Board, 
 president of the Pioneers of i860, and married a Miss Forsythe. 
 
 THE MAN. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Willis entered the freshman class in the Univer- 
 sity of Minnesota,. and in the next year the sophomore class at 
 Dartmouth, whence, in 1877 he was graduated with the highest 
 honors. Adopting the law as his profession he soon gained a 
 lucrative practice. In 1883 he received the unanimous nomina- 
 tion of the Democratic State Convention for Attorney-General, 
 and as a tribute to his personal popularity his vote ranged sev- 
 eral thousands in excess of that of his party, the excess in Ram- 
 sey County alone being 2,200. In important litigations, both 
 civil and criminal, Mr. Willis has already become a marked char- 
 acter. In causes bristling with abstruse points and dangerous 
 with technical strategy, — causes in which the veteran practitioner 
 rarely meets the youthful aspirant for forensic renown, — Mr. 
 Willis has gallantly kept afloat "the white plume of Navarre." 
 He has represented and continues to represent the Northern 
 Pacific Railroad in important litigations involving large interests. 
 
464 PEN PICTURES 
 
 wherein he has successfully advocated the general welfare against 
 bitter local jealousies and combinations. His practice in criminal 
 cases includes the somewhat remarkable one of the State against 
 Sorenson, where, as counsel for the prisoner he reduced a hotly- 
 urged prosecution for murder in the first degree to a conviction 
 only for manslaughter in the second degree, and maintained it 
 in the Supreme Court against strong opposition ; and the recent 
 case, still remembered by the public at large, the State against 
 Hanley, tried in Minneapolis on a change of venue, wherein he 
 led the prosecution — a trial which resulted in the first verdict of 
 conviction for murder in the first degree ever obtained in Henne- 
 pin County. 
 
 Controlled by classic tastes, a lover of classic models, a pro- 
 ficient in the art of eloquence, John Willey Willis bids fair to be 
 to Minnesota what Wendell Phillips was to Massachusetts, and, 
 with the mantle, to deserve, too, the title of him of "the silver 
 tongue." 
 
 He is a tall, well-proportioned young man, dignified in his 
 bearing and a gentleman of unexceptionable habits, one destined 
 to occupy a prominent place in the history of our State. 
 
 A RETROSPECT. 
 
 The year 1854 began to open up a new impulse to the 
 young and throbbing heart of St. Paul. The city had become 
 incorporated this year ; four daily newspapers had been ushered 
 into existence and were constantly setting forth in glowing colors 
 the great advantages the city and the Territory possessed for 
 emigrants, and people from all parts of the world began to land 
 at our levee. The little cluster of houses grew wonderfully fast ; 
 new streets were opened; new hotels erected; new enterprises 
 inaugurated; new blood infused in the community; Capitol 
 building completed; first Mayor elected; first railroad excur- 
 sion; first police force organized; first Board of Trade; first 
 hook and ladder company formed ; new cemetery bought ; popu- 
 lation 4,000; city valuation ^1,300,000. Everybody was busy 
 and real estate began that terrible boom which ended in the dis- 
 astrous collapse of 1857. This year M. N. Kellogg built his 
 residence on Sixth street, in what was then known as a swamp, 
 and there was no building above the City Hall, or above the resi- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 463 
 
 ■dence of Mr. Neill on Fourth street, afterwards owned by J. W. 
 Bond, except a small house occupied by Mr. Ireland, in all that 
 section of the city now worth millions of dollars and to-day 
 thickly populated. 
 
 FORCE OF HABIT. 
 
 A Chicago man died and found his wife waiting for him on 
 the other shore. 
 
 " Why, John," said she, " I thought you would come sooner. 
 What on earth delayed you so long ? " 
 
 " Oh, that confounded bridge was open again." 
 
 Just so with the writer — when he tries to get ahead into 
 other years he finds the door of memory open and hundreds of 
 events tripping in before him over the bridge of the past, which 
 demand attention, and so perforce of habit he lingers until the 
 draw closes, while his readers, a good way ahead of him, are 
 waiting for his coming. 
 
 " I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER." 
 
 Tom Hood, the Irish poet of the heart, says : 
 
 " I remember, I remember 
 
 The house where I was born, 
 The little window where the sun 
 
 Came peeping in at morn ; 
 He never came a wink too soon, 
 
 Nor brought too long a day ; 
 But now I often wish the night 
 
 Had borne my breath away. 
 
 "I remember, I remember 
 
 The fir-trees dark and high ; 
 I used to think their slender tops 
 
 Were close against the sky ; 
 It was a childish ignorance. 
 
 But now 'tis little joy 
 To know I'm farther off from Heaven 
 
 Than when I was a boy." 
 
 Who cannot remember, when young, the log cabin in the 
 West of early days, with " the fir trees reaching to the skies " 
 and the feeling that came over him of some grand event to trans- 
 pire in the future of his life, of which, however, he had no 
 definite idea ? And then after years of labor and trouble in the 
 30 
 
466 PEN PICTURES 
 
 great world of strife, how the heart wanders back to the simple 
 old homestead, and amid his crushed hopes and baffled schemes,, 
 the old settler gazes on the scenes of his early childhood, sees 
 the tall trees again, the rock, the stream, scans the "little window 
 where the sun came peeping in at morn," and exclaims — " I'm 
 farther off from Heaven than when I was a boy." His innocent 
 early days ; his playmates ; his parents ; the happy hours of 
 years long gone ; the clinging memory of childhood, all come 
 back to him, and catching a glimpse of " the old house where he 
 was born," he regrets to think that before added cares and woes 
 and sorrows and sins came to him he could not have passed 
 away into that unseen and better land where the weary are at: 
 rest, and yet he remembers, oh ! how he remembers. 
 
 JOHN CHURCHILL. 
 
 Born in Ireland in 1 847 ; came to America in 1 846 ; located 
 at St. Paul in 1854; learned the tinner's trade with Joe Horn; 
 appointed torch-bearer in the fire department in 1863; went to 
 Kansas in 1 864 ; returned to St. Paul in 1 868 ; served as assist- 
 ant chief engineer one year; in 1880 was elected foreman of 
 hose company No. 3, which position he held for many years. 
 Mr. Churchill is an active man, and takes great interest in the 
 fire department with which he has been connected many years. 
 Married Miss Ellen O'Leary in 1877. 
 
 JAMES THOMAS. 
 
 Born in Ireland in 1823 ; came to America in 1852 ; located 
 in St. Paul in 1854; bought a farm twelve miles out from the 
 city, cost ;^200, worth now 7,000; resided at Mendota seven 
 years; was justice of the peace for that time; removed to 
 Austin and from thence to Minneapolis, where he kept a hotel. 
 He is a quick, active man, and is noted for the expression — 
 " Oh ! if I had but j ust taken that chance 1 What a pity ! " 
 
 WILLIAM THOMAS, 
 
 Son of the above, was born in Ireland in 1844; came to 
 St. Paul in 1854; has been a locomotive engineer for many 
 years, and is the oldest engineer now running on the St. Paul 
 & Duluth road. He ran the locomotive William L. Banning ten 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 467 
 
 years. There are five engineers in the family, and William pulls 
 down the scale at 235 pounds and stands six feet and one inch 
 in his stockings. His brother Joe is one of the oldest engineers 
 on the St. Louis & Minneapolis road, but William is a " buster," 
 a real genuine specimen of the prolific soil of " auld Ireland." 
 
 PATRICK FALLIHEE. 
 
 A native of Ireland Mr. Fallihee came to St. Paul in 1854; 
 pre-empted a claim at Kaposia in 1855, which he held at the 
 imminent peril of his life, and which he finally sold and invested 
 his money in land in Washington County; bought some lots 
 and built on them at Columbus ; returned to St. P.-vul and 
 opened a shoe store on Robert street, where he remained until 
 j ust before the breaking out of the war ; removed to Stillwater 
 and enlisted in Company B, First Minnesota Regiment, and in 
 the many battles in which this regiment was engaged — I think 
 some twenty-two — he never missed one, from Bull Run to 
 Gettysburg, although once he came very near being taken pris- 
 oner. Only thirty-six of his company entered the famous battle 
 of Gettysburg, and out of six unharmed in that engagement he 
 was one of them. Returning home with his regiment he removed 
 to Wright County, where he remained in mercantile pursuits for 
 about fourteen years, when he removed to St. Paul to spend his 
 remaining years free from care, in the quiet of a pleasant home. 
 During his absence in the army his intelligent and excellent wife 
 supported her two boys aifd herself by teaching school. Mr. 
 Fallihee is greatly respected by those who know him. He is a 
 man of a few words, honest, lenient, generous, kind, brave, 
 manly. 
 
 NARCISSE MICHAUD. 
 
 Mr. Michaud was born in Canada in 1 840 ; acquired a col- 
 legiate education and came to St. Paul in 1854; removed to 
 Canada and remained there until 1878, when he returned and 
 entered into the grocery business with his brother, and by fair 
 dealing and gentlemanly treatment built up a large trade. Nar- 
 cisse now carries on a grocery store in the market building. He 
 is a polite, obliging, pleasant gentleman, never idle but always 
 busy advancing the interests of his customers. 
 
468 PEN PICTVBES 
 
 AUGUST RCEDLER. 
 
 Born in Germany in 1832; came to New York in 1850; 
 resided two years in the city and two at Rochester ; located in 
 St. Paul in 1854; entered the employ of Bailey & Primrose, 
 furniture dealers ; became one of the firm of Bailey & Co. in 
 1863, and in 1879. Bailey withdrawing Mr. Reedier took the 
 business into his own hands and has carried it on ever since. 
 Married in 1858 to Miss M. Smith of St. Paul. Mr. R. is a 
 steady, cautious, industrious, careful man, and has built up a 
 large trade. 
 
 " backward, flow backward." 
 
 " Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years ! 
 I am so weary of toil and of tears — 
 Toil without recompense, tears all in' vain — 
 Take them and give me my childhood again ! 
 I have grown weary of dust and decay — 
 Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away ; 
 Weary of sowing for others to reap — 
 Rock me to sleep, rriother — rock me to sleep ! " 
 
 In my Pen Pictures of the early settlers I am not unmind- 
 ful of the fact, that among those who came here in the vigor and 
 beauty of years, were our mothers, our sisters, our wives, our 
 sweet-hearts, and some of them after a period of excessive toil 
 and of labor, looking back upon the past and seeing but little to 
 reward them for their pioneer hardships, long for the days 
 of their childhood, and pine for scenes which will never come 
 again. All their bright hopes of early youth have been dashed 
 to the earth ; all their gay dreams of wealth have passed away 
 as the morning dews, and still they live and are toiling on to the 
 end. No wonder they think of mothers, of homes, of child- 
 hoods, of the pleasant pleasures incident to youth, and in 
 moments of almost despair murmur : 
 
 "Weary of sowing for others to reap," 
 Wishing mothers would rock them to sleep. 
 
 Oh, how many heart-burns, how many sad, weary hours 
 the young wives of pioneer days have endured, waiting, hoping, 
 wishing, praying, pleading for the better times which never come, 
 and yet through those long years of constant waiting, so hopeful 
 and so patient ! Aye, in agony they cry out : 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 469 
 
 "Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue, 
 Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you. 
 Many a summer the grass has grown green. 
 Blossomed and faded, our faces between ; 
 Yet, with strong yearnings and passionate pain, 
 Long I to-night for your presence again. 
 Come from the silence so long and so deep — 
 Rock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep ! " 
 
 JAMES NUGENT. 
 
 Born in Philadelphia in 1 846 Mr. Nugent came to St. Paul 
 in 1854 ; served several years in the fire department ; was the first 
 driver of engine No. 2 ; was appointed on the police force in 1872, 
 and has remained there ever since. While in pursuit of a burglar 
 he fell into aa excavation in a private alley, and so injured his 
 arm that it had to be amputated. He now occupies a responsi- 
 ble position on the police force at the City Hall. Mr. Nugent is 
 a fine-looking man and a splendid officer, and is very generally 
 esteemed by his cotemporaries on the police force. Had the 
 alley in which he met his accident been a public highway he 
 would have secured several thousand dollars damages, as it was 
 not he received but a moiety of what he should. He is a steady, 
 sober, industrious man. He married Miss Julia Gorman, who 
 has had eight children, six of whom are living. 
 
 J. G. C. RANK. 
 
 Mr. Rank was born in Germany in 1832, and received his 
 educational advantages in that country ; dealt in stock with' his 
 father; came to America in 1852, locating at New York; 
 removed to St. Paul in 1854; surveyed lumber for Thomas 
 Yardley ; opened a seed store ; became a resident of Minne- 
 apolis, where he manufactured brick ; moved to Greenleaf and 
 engaged in mercantile trade; held the offices of justice of the 
 peace, Town Clerk aild Assessor; returned to St. Paul; en- 
 gaged in the liquor business; is the inventor of the broad-cast 
 seeder ; and finally became the landlord of the Farmers' hotel, 
 in West St. Paul. I do not know Mr. Rank personally, but he 
 is what miners would call " a rustler," — a man of original ideas 
 and much force of character. 
 
470 PEN PICTURES 
 
 JOHN E. NEWELL. 
 
 Born in Ireland in 1847; came to America in 1848; lived 
 in New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Chicago three 
 years; cam.e to St. Paul in 1854; in 1864 began learning 
 the tinner's trade ; completed it and worked at it until 1878, 
 when he was appointed on the police force and has been there 
 ever since, an efficient officer and a good cititizen. Mr. Newell 
 married a Miss Mary Dunn of Dakota County. 
 
 WILLIAM GIES- — OFFICES. 
 
 Mr. Gies was born in Germany in 1824; educated in the 
 old country; came to America in 185 1 ; worked at his trade as a 
 baker in New York city ; went to Detroit ; was employed by an 
 uncle in the grocery business ; arrived at St. Paul in 1854 and 
 engaged for George Spence, the first baker in the city, who was 
 a Scotchman and who came hei'e in 1850. Mr. Spence kept a 
 bakery first on Eagle street ; then removed to the Seven Corners, 
 and here is where Mr. Gies went into partnership with him. 
 After Campbell of Galena sold the corner lot to Moore, Spencer 
 & Gies moved to Third street, a few doors from the corner. 
 Who does not remember that little old bakery of over a quarter 
 of a century ago, with its pies and candies and doughnuts ? 
 Then the firm bought a lot on Fourth street, nearly adjoining 
 the present Winslow House, once known as Gruber's hotel, and 
 here in 1856 they built a three-story brick building and moved 
 the Eagle bakery into it. The firm continued up to 1857 when 
 Spence removed to St. Anthony and Gies continued the business 
 up to 1867, and then in connection with the Eagle bakery he 
 started a steam bakery at the foot of Robert street and took in 
 Charles Passavant as partner. In 1868 Mr. Gies went to 
 Europe to visit his father, the firm giving up the Eagle and carry- 
 ing on the steam bakery, and represented St. Paul as one of the 
 sharp-shooters, and he says the shooting feast was one of the 
 grandest things he ever witnessed, the dining-hall where the 
 crowd assembled seating 6,000 persons, and dinner was an- 
 nounced by a call of the bugle; started for home in 1868, and 
 soon after arriving was obliged to give up his steam bakery and 
 went back to that on Fourth street. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 471 
 
 Mr. Gies was Alderman in 1 866 from the Third ward to fill out 
 an unexpired term ; was a member of the School Board for three 
 years and a half; was an active fireman for eight years and be- 
 longs now to the Exempt Firemen's Department. He is an old 
 resident ; a man of medium height ; quiet in his manner and has 
 seen much trouble and many changes. He is the father of six 
 children — one boy and five girls, and is at present engaged in 
 the real estate commission business. 
 
 THE EARLY SETTLERS. 
 
 The early settlers of this city were mostly French Canadians, 
 biit for some cause or another they began gradually to drop out 
 in the years 1853- '54 and the German element began to drop in, 
 so that to-day we see comparatively but few Frenchrnen to offset 
 a large German population. This element inaugurated its migra- 
 tion to St. Paul about the years 1853-4-5, and numbers now 
 probably more than one-third of our present population, and a 
 very valuable acquisition it is, composing at present some of our 
 most solid citizens. The Frenchman is quick, vivacious, nervous, 
 anxious to rush matters, while the German is slow, careful, pru- 
 dent, economical, saving, so that the one race has come to the 
 front while the other has scattered and dropped in the rear. The 
 Swiss-French of early days who settled in this city, were a 
 worthy class of people and I commend them in the highest de- 
 gree, but the sunny climate of France would not permit them to 
 ■endure the more rigorous climate of the Northwest, and hence 
 our State is rapidly filling up with a more hardy people — Ger- 
 mans, Swedes, Scandinavians and Norwegians. 
 
 EDWARD A. BOYD 
 
 Was born in Maine in 18 16; educated at the common 
 -schools ; subsequently attended the academy of Bishop Hopkin 
 in Vermont; began the practice of medicine in Andover, Me., 
 in 1843, or forty -two years ago, and received his diploma from 
 the Homeopathic State Institute; came to St. Paul in 1854, and 
 is now the oldest homeopathic physician in the city. At one 
 time Dr. Boyd was the Worthy Chief Templar of the grand 
 lodge of Good Templars, and he was once Justice of the Peace 
 for Ramsey County. Married Miss Sarah B. Farrington of 
 -Andover, Me., who has had eleven children, seven boys living. 
 
472 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Dr. Boyd lived in Little Canada at one time but is now a. 
 resident of this city. He is a patriarchal-looking man, with grajr 
 hair, gray whiskers, always cheerful and hopeful, and bears with 
 grace and dignity the honor of being the oldest homeopathic 
 physician now living in this city or State. In early days he pur- 
 chased 100 acres at Little Canada and held them for over a 
 quarter of a century, when he sold them last year and is now 
 investing in St. Paul. He is a hale, genial, pleasant gentleman. 
 
 I. C. GEORGE. 
 
 All the old-timers will remember Capt. I. C. George, for he 
 was a man of fine social qualities and the first railroad ticket 
 agent in the city or in the State, and kept his office under the 
 Winslow House, Seven Corners. Billy Snell, Ward, Rich, King 
 and others of his associates all come up before me in vivid array. 
 Snell was a small man and ran the bar for the Winslow House. 
 Ward was also a small man and was clerk for Deuel, the land- 
 lord, and subsequently married one of his daughters. Rich was 
 a handsome man, in the furniture business, and King, a regular 
 harum-skarum fellow, in the carpet trade. Altogether they were 
 a jolly crew ; I do not mean boisterous from liquor, but from the- 
 natural overflow of good nature. George, Rich, Snell and Ward 
 are dead. King, I believe, is in the South. Two of Mr. Deuel's 
 daughters are also dead. 
 
 Capt. George was born in New York in 1815, and left an 
 orphan at the age of eleven years; married in 1839; came to- 
 St. Paul for his health in 1853, and to reside here permanently 
 in 1854; opened a railroad office already mentioned, and con- 
 tinued in the business up to 1867, when his health failing he was- 
 obliged to abandon -his office, and died in June 1872, aged 57 
 years. In early days he purchased a lot then away out of the- 
 city on the Fort road, and here his wife opened the 
 
 FIRST DRESS-MAKING ESTABLISHMENT 
 
 In St. Paul and has continued it from that day to this. Dur- 
 ing the war the Captain had a flag flying from the top of his house, 
 and when the Union soldiers won a battle he unfurled it to the- 
 breeze right side up, but when they lost he turned the stars and 
 stripes upside down and moaned over the result, for he was a. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 473 
 
 great Union man. He was a somewhat tall, slender person, delib- 
 erate in his movements and social and pleasant in his ways. 
 During his sickness it is said he coughed up a pin from his 
 lungs, but that did not save him from that dread destroyer con- 
 sumption, and he died shortly afterwards. 
 
 JEREMIAH m'CARTHY, 
 
 Or better known as " Jerry " McCarthy, is a character, a 
 sort of original genius in his way of viewing the world. He is 
 a short, well-developed man, with a florid complexion, quick as 
 lightning in thought and in action; bold, pushing, daring; a 
 sort of — " Come on, boys; I'll lead ! " full of wheels ; social to a 
 marked degree ; running over with dry humor, and impressed 
 with the belief that "the end justifies the means;" an earnest, 
 active (has been) Democrat ; a knock-down and drag-out poli- 
 tician, believing in the Jacksonian doctrine ; a forty-horse steam 
 engine, plowing, pushing, pulling, driving, always on the go, but 
 forgetting that the human system like everything else in the 
 material world, can be injured by too much use. 
 
 HIS EARLY LIFE. 
 
 Mr. McCarthy was born in Ireland in 1833 within two miles 
 of the Lakes of Rillarney; received but little education; when 
 a boy he herded cows in his native land, his parents dying when 
 he was seven years old; emigrated to America in 1852; soon 
 after coming here he carried water for a living in the cars in 
 Indiana-; came to St. Paul in 1854; made a claim on the Fort 
 Snelling reservation ; subsequently worked in Dawson's stone 
 quarry in West St. Paul ; was Deputy Sheriff of Dakota County ; 
 married Miss Mary Finerty in 1 860 ; ran a grocery store in 
 West St. Paul in i860; also in 1868-9 to 1872; moved to 
 Farmington in 1875 and prosecuted farming; returned to West 
 St. Paul and continued his store up to 1882, when he sold out 
 to his son ; he was a member of the Legislature from Dakota 
 County three terms ; was one of the first Aldermen from the 
 Sixth ward, and continued such eight years. He opened a farm 
 near Morris, in this State, in 1877, ^""^ P^t under cultivation 
 1,100 acres, while at the same time he took contracts for St. 
 Paul streets and sewer work ; laid Third street to Sibley ; built 
 
474 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the Stillwater Railroad; also the Chicago Sz: St. Paul from 
 Hastings to Red Wing ; Milwaukee road from West St. Paul 
 to Mendota, around Fort Snelling; in 1882 constructed the 
 Little Falls road from Morris to Skandaville, Stevens County ; 
 has two children, a boy and a girl. The junior McCarthy is a 
 fine, pleasant-looking man, with a great future before him if he 
 embraces opportunities. " Jerry " McCarthy, his father, was one 
 of seven brothers and three sisters, and is a self-made man and 
 has been a man of much force of character and unbending 
 energy. He died since this was written, in St. Paul, September, 
 1885, aged forty-nine years. 
 
 GEORGE SCOTTEN THE MAN HIMSELF. 
 
 Mr. Scotten was born in England in 1808 ; educated in the 
 old country; emigrated to America in 1837; learned the trade 
 of a book-binder, and at one time published a Democratic news- 
 paper in Ontario County, New York ; came to St. Paul in 1854; 
 clerked for Starkey & Pettys ; was a notary public and dealt 
 somewhat in real estate ; in 1 860 opened a brewery for the manu- 
 facture of ale, at the foot of Dayton's bluff, and the firm was 
 Drewry & Scotten ; ran it four years, when he sold out and 
 purchased in 1879 four acres on the Hastings road, one mile 
 and a half from the Merchants hotel, for $^0 per acre ; worth 
 now ^20,000. Upon part of this land he started a nursery and 
 has it largely in grapes. 
 
 Mr. Scotten is a short, somewhat chunky man, very ener- 
 getic in his movements and is upright in all his dealings. He 
 has a large head, and is noted even now in his advanced age for 
 his quick step. I had not met him for ten years, when I found 
 him at the age of seventy-seven in his garden, cultivating his 
 fruits as active and as vigorous as a man of fifty. 
 
 GEORGE MITSCH. 
 
 Mr. Mitsch was born in Germany in 1825; emigrated to 
 America in 1846, landing at New York, where he remained 
 three months ; then moved to Chicago and worked at his trade, 
 that of a blacksmith, for three years ; went into business for 
 himself in 1 849 ; married that year ; caught the gold fever and 
 went to California in 1850, taking the overland route and being' 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 475 
 
 one hundred and sixteen days on the trip ; found plenty of gold, 
 " but the d was to get it ; " mined for a while ; went to Sac- 
 ramento, where he worked for five dollars per day and his 
 board; couldn't stand the pressure; again went to the mines; 
 borrowed six dollars to get back to Sacramento, where he again 
 worked at his trade; returned to Chicago Jn 1852 and came to 
 St. Paul in 1853, where he purchased some property; went 
 back to get his wife and came here to reside permanently in 
 1854; opened a blacksmith and wagon shop on Seventh street 
 (there wasn't any street there then,) and he has remained at this 
 place ever since, now some thirty-two years. 
 
 REAL ESTATE OFFICES PERSONAL. 
 
 He purchased a lot on Seventh street in 1854, cost ^$300; 
 worth ;^30,ooo; that corner of St. Peter and Seventh in 1855, 
 cost ;^8oo; worth 1^25,000; the triangular corner of Washington 
 and Seventh in 1864, cost ;^ 1,400 ; worth ^22,000 ; a lot on Rosa- 
 bel street, between Sixth and Seventh, cost ;^400 ; worth ;^20,ooo ; 
 a lot on Third street cost ;^i,200; sold for ^^20,000; worth 
 $30,000 ; one on St. Peter street cost $2,000 ; worth $20,000 ; 
 his home on Pleasant avenue, worth $20,000. 
 
 Mr. Mitsch was a member of the Legislature in 1859 ; was 
 a member of the City Council in 1 866 for three years ; was a 
 member of the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore in 
 1872; in 1875 started the Catholic Aid Society, and has been 
 president of it from its first organization to the present time, and 
 it has increased from one society to thirty-two. Mr. Mitsch is 
 especially proud of this association, and well he may be, for it is 
 a very meritorious institution. In 1871 he was connected with 
 Mr. Dries in the drug business; in 1883 was elected County 
 Commissioner, which position he still holds. His family con- 
 sists of one boy and four girls. 
 
 Mr. Mitsch is a short, thick-set man ; has been very indus- 
 trious all his life ; prudent, conservative ; a common-sense and 
 valuable citizen, while at the same time he is gentlemanly and 
 pleasant, yet when necessary determined and solid. 
 
 GEJRGE J. MITSCH 
 
 Was born in St. Paul in 1854; educated at the German 
 Catholic school, the Cathedral, and also St. John's College ; 
 
476 PEN PICT URE8 
 
 entered a drug store in 1 869, owned by his father ; attended the 
 Pharmacy College at Philadelphia and graduated in 1876; 
 returned to St. Paul and again became a clerk in the drug store 
 of his father, and finally started in business for himself on the 
 corner of St. Peter and Seventh streets. In 1884 he ran for 
 Sheriff but failed of an election, and is now in business where 
 he first started for himself Mr. Mitsch is a fine specimen of a 
 physical man and a gentleman who has many friends, social, 
 pleasant and unostentatious. 
 
 M. C. TUTTI.E. 
 
 Mr. Tuttle is a man of ordinary size, hair turning a little 
 gray, and yet his step is as elastic as that of a person of thirty 
 years. He has a pleasant word for his acquaintances and has 
 lived here so long that he is a part of the history of the city. 
 For many years he engaged taking shadows, and now in turn 
 he himself is taken in Pen Pictures, to be perpetuated in history. 
 He is very social in his ways, always cheery, hopeful, some- 
 what cautious and yet venturesome enough when he thinks he 
 sees his way clear. He was among the first daguerreotypists in 
 the city and finally merged into photography. He was born in 
 Maine in 1830, educated there and learned the trade of a daguer- 
 rean artist; removed to St. Anthony in 1853 and in 1854 came 
 to St. Paul, and in 1861 bought out C. T. Whitney's gallery 
 and carried on the business for a good many years. He early 
 joined the Pioneer Guards and was in the celebrated Wright 
 County war when Col. Prince did the commanding and Col. 
 Crooks did the prompting and the troops did the fighting — over 
 the camp-fire with stolen chickens and pigs — and Mississippi 
 water ! Tuttle says the pigs didn't squeal, nor did any of the 
 boys. Some of the soldiers were wounded in the neck and were 
 brought home in ambulances because they were sun-struck ! 
 After his experience in this war he helped raise Company D, 
 Second Regiment, and was elected First Lieutenant. The 
 fatigues of the first war so shattered his health that he could, 
 only serve two years in the Union army, and then resigned, 
 returning to St. Paul where he engaged in the photographic busi- 
 ness and continued ten years. For some time past he has been 
 dealing in real estate. Like many other old settlers Mr. Tuttle 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 477 
 
 has begun to realize that the fundamental basis of all success in 
 this utilitarian age is money, and so he is reaching out to see if 
 he can't get some of the plums by buying and selling a little of 
 mother earth. 
 
 FRED LUHRSEN. 
 
 Mr. Luhrsen was born in Germany in 1821 ; emigrated to 
 Chicago in 1849; made the first piano in the State of Illinois; 
 came to St. Paul in 1854; opened a music store; then engaged 
 in the furniture business on Third street, where he was burned 
 out ; then opened what was known as the Elevator saloon, cor- 
 ner of Third and St. Peter streets ; kept it a few years ; sold out 
 and has now retired from business. I remember Mr. L. as a 
 good-sized man, quiet in his ways, industrious but undemonstra- 
 tive — always busy, a pleasant gentleman. 
 
 W. F. DIETER. 
 
 Mr. D. was born in Germany in 1828; emigrated to New 
 York city in 1 048 ; went to Philadelphia and engaged in the 
 shoe business up to 1854, when that year he came to St. Paul 
 and worked as a journeyman for two years and then formed a 
 partnership with the late J. Geib ; dissolved partnership in three 
 years and removed to Third street, where he remained six years. 
 Soon after, in the year 1872, he retired from business, and at the 
 end of four years again engaged in trade and has continued up 
 to the present time. He is a small man, of pleasant address, 
 rather quiet in his manner and a good substantial citizen. 
 
 JOHN p. foster. 
 
 Mr. Foster was born in Germany in 1816 and educated 
 there ; learned the trade of a carpenter ; emigrated to Chicago 
 in 1849, and came to St. Paul in 1854; carried on business here 
 for many years, doing the wood-work for the German Catholic 
 Church, building the tower on St. Anthony Hill, and also the 
 railing around the St. Joseph Hospital. He was extensively 
 engaged in contracting and building, and was an upright, indus- 
 trious man. 
 
 STEPHEN p. FOSTER, 
 
 His son, is a young man of medium size, a little deaf, and 
 yet a pleasant, amiable gentleman. He was born in Germany in 
 
47 S PEN PICTURES 
 
 1848; came to St. Paul in 1854; educated here; formerly lived 
 with Hon. H. M. Rice ; at one time ran the billiard hall on Jack- 
 son street, but has been employed more or less as barkeeper. 
 He is social in his nature, good-hearted, industrious and a pleas- 
 ant citizen. 
 
 J. S. SEWALL PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Sewall was born in Boston in 1 827 ; received a high 
 school education ; studied engineering, and was assistant engin- 
 eer on the St. Andrew and Quebec Railroad in i849-'50 ; assistant 
 engineer on the Rock River Valley Railroad, from 1850 to 1852, 
 now the Chicago and Northwestern ; resident engineer of Illinois 
 and Wisconsin Railroad in 1852-3; came to St. Paul in 1854; 
 was engineer of the Wabasha bridge from 1857 to 1^59; engin- 
 eer of the St. Paul, Stillwater and Taylor's Fall Railroad in 
 1871 ; engineer of the Fort Snelling bridge in 1878-9; City 
 Engineer from 1876 to 1881 ; engineer for the St. Paul Ware- 
 house and Elevator Company in building elevators A and B 
 from 1 874 to 1 879. 
 
 Mr. Sewall is the concentration of individualization, being 
 somewhat of a marked and by some might be deemed an eccent- 
 ric character in his looks, his speech and in his movements, and 
 yet in his profession he is a man of ability. . He is quiet, unos- 
 tentatious and unpretehding and moves over the sidewalk with 
 long strides and a straight forward motion ; always minding his 
 own business. 
 
 ADAM DECKER. 
 
 Mr. Decker was born in Germany in 1831, educated in the 
 old country and emigrated to America in 1 850, landing in Ohio, 
 where he remained only a short time and moved to Pittsburg, 
 Pa. He learned the trade of a tinner at Marietta, O., came to 
 St. Paul in 1854, worked for Mayo & Clark one year, and for 
 H. E. Baker four years. In 1859 he went into business for him- 
 self in a building on Third street ; was burnt out in 1 860 and 
 then moved to Jackson street above Fourth, and in 1 868 he built 
 his present building where he has remained seventeen years. 
 He carried on the tin trade for some time when he added hard- 
 ware, in which business he is now engaged. In 1856 he bought 
 property on Third street where the old Dispatch office now stands. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 479 
 
 for i^ioo per foot, worth at present near ;^i,ooo per foot. His 
 present property on Jackson street cost him ^loo per foot, worth 
 to-day ;^700 per foot. Mr. Decker is a medium-sized man with 
 strongly marked features ; very quiet in his ways yet a man of great 
 prudence and industry, and who has built himself up from humble 
 beginnings to his present comfortable position. He is one of 
 the staunch, steady, sagacious, careful, sound firms of the city, 
 and as a man he is quiet, pleasant, plain, unobtrusive and very 
 much respected. 
 
 J. p. POND A MILITARY MAN. 
 
 Maj. Pond is a medium-sized gentleman with flowing beard, 
 and in his movements he is as quick as lightning. He can turn 
 a corner so rapidly that he finds himself ahead of his shadow, 
 and that is executing a movement much better than most men 
 can do. He is straight, with a military air, and when he and 
 Col. Crooks lock arms and walk down the street together, then 
 look out for the tread of armies. He is an old settler and is as 
 well known as any old settler can be. Was born in Vermont 
 about 1822 ; educated there and also in Troy, N. Y. ; was clerk 
 in a drug store for three years ; was in a hardware establishment 
 three more; removed to New York, and from thence went to 
 Detroit, where he opened a store consisting of paints, oils, etc. ; 
 returned to New York city and again entered the hardware busi- 
 ness, where he remained two years ; then formed a partnership 
 , with Halstead & Dash, and continued ten years ; spent a short 
 time in business in Buffalo, and from thence went to Cincinnati 
 in 185 1 ; commenced business under the firm name of Young, 
 Nurse & Pond, and in 1854 sold out and came to St. Paul ; con- 
 nected himself with J. L. Farwell & Co.; purchased their. inter- 
 est in 1858 and disposed of the business in i860; spent a year 
 in New Orleans, and on his return entered the Adjutant General's 
 office where he remained two years, performing nearly all the 
 duties of the office ; then was with C. D. Strong in the hard- 
 ware business in 1 866 ; in 1 868 formed a partnership with C. E. 
 Mayo & Co. ; sold out in 1 874, and since then has been engaged 
 in various businesses, such as real estate, rail-roading, etc. He 
 was one of the incorporators of the Mercantile Library Associa- 
 tion, was the president of the same, is and has been a, director. 
 
480 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and has been one of the strongest supporters of this institution. 
 He married his second wife, a lovely woman, Miss Stultz.in 1878, 
 who died in 1883. 
 
 Maj. Pond belonged to the Fourth Regiment of New York 
 city and was with that regiment at the time of the Astor Place 
 riot. He was also in the line of procession at the funeral of 
 John Quincy Adams, and earned his title as IVlajor of the regi- 
 ment 'by his military duty. He is a pleasant, social and polite 
 gentleman, quick in thought as well as in action, and has rode 
 life's waves bravely. 
 
 GEORGE A. NASH. 
 
 Mr. Nash was born in New York State in 1829; educated 
 there ; clerked for Saunder Crane four years ; with George Ben- 
 ham two years ; was in a drug store seven years, and came to 
 St. Paul in 1854; entered the employ of Mr. Hickox, who kept 
 a drug store on the corner of Third and Cedar streets j then 
 removed to St. Anthony and purchased the drug store of H. P. 
 Sweet; was there until 1855 ; bought forty acres where Minne- 
 apolis stands for $1,500; worth now ;^500,ooo; built a farm- 
 house and barn on it, and for a time worked his farm ; traded 
 ten lots for a top-buggy ; same lots worth ^25,000 ; made a claim 
 near where Hon. E. M. Wilson's house now is, in Minneapolis, of 
 eighty acres; sold his pre-emption right for $1,200; property 
 worth $2,000,000 ; was at Minneapolis when there were but two 
 houses; also when the government order came throwing the 
 land upon which Minneapolis is situated, open to settlement; 
 traded his forty-acre farm for a house in St. Anthony ; on the 
 breaking out of the war took an active part in raising troops ; 
 tried to enter the army ; was prevented by a lame leg ; went with 
 his brother in 1 864 with the Sixth Regiment as assistant sutler ; 
 after the war he traveled for a wholesale drug house two years ; 
 opened a livery stable in St. Paul ; sold out and was appointed 
 general agent of the New England Mutual Life Insurance Com- 
 pany, and continued agent eight years ; became the general 
 agfent of the ^tna ; was in business with E. G. Hodgson ; took 
 the agency for the Northwest of the Union Mutual of Maine, 
 which he now holds. He purchased a lot on Dayton avenue in 
 1880, for which he paid $6,250; sold for $10,000; worth$i8,ooo; 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 481 
 
 tought the corner on Third street and Pleasant avenue for ^4,500 ; 
 worth ;^ 1 8,000, and upon this ground he. has erected a block of 
 ■dwellings which cost him ;^26,ooo. 
 
 A GREAT LOVER OF HORSES PERSONALLY. 
 
 George Nash knows a good horse when he sees him, and 
 this knowledge has enabled him to purchase animals for ^300 
 and sell for g 1,500, and thus he has made considerable money 
 in this specialty. He is a great lover of the horse and has a 
 sort of intuitive conception of his good points. 
 
 He is a wiry man of great energy of character, at one time 
 the possessor of black hair and black beard, now a little gray. 
 He walks and talks and acts promptly, decidedly, and is never 
 idle — always on the go. Whatever he does he does according to 
 Scripture, with all his might. He is positive in his expressions, 
 rapid in his movements, and is as good a judge of horse-flesh as 
 any man in the Northwest. 
 
 D. C. PRICE AS HE IS. 
 
 Dr. Price, dentist, was born in New York in 1830 ; educated 
 there and studied dentistry; removed to St. Louis in 1851 ; 
 opened an office and practiced his profession; married in 1853; 
 remained in St. Louis nearly four years and came to St. Paul in 
 1854; took dentistry rooms over Combs' book store in upper 
 town. Third street; moved to the old Rice red brick house, 
 which used to stand on the corner of Third and Washington 
 streets where the Metropolitan now is, and here he remained 
 eight years ; then occupied rooms over the United States Express 
 office, corner of Third and Cedar streets, and finally removed to 
 his present quarters on Third street, above Bridge Square, where 
 he has remained some fifteen years. He is the oldest dentist in 
 the city, and was the first president of the first dental associa- 
 tion in the State. 
 
 Dr. Price is a fine-looking man, well-proportioned physically 
 and walks very erect, much like a man bred in a military school. 
 He is dignified in his bearing, yet courteous, and though not 
 mingling much with the people yet he is a gentleman of fine 
 feelings and cultivated tastes. He has been in the dentistry 
 business thirty-four years, and during five years of that time he 
 
 31 
 
482 PEN PICTURES 
 
 did not lose ten days from his office. Very few men have been, 
 more devoted to their profession than Dr. Price, and though he 
 has turned the corner of fifty yet he is a young-looking man,, 
 and with his profession and his lovely family about him, he gets 
 as much happiness out of this world and glides as quietly 
 through it, as most men I meet. 
 
 JOHN WAGNER. 
 
 Mr. Wagner was born in Germany in 1836; emigrated to- 
 America in 1852 and remained in Illinois two years, when, in 
 1854 he came to St. Paul and his first work was to mow hay- 
 on the road to Fort Snelling. His next move was to buy a Wind 
 horse and an old dray and go into the express business, and in 
 this he made from ^10 to ^15 -per day. He was with Henry 
 Timme three years, but in 1857 started the California saloon and 
 continued this up to 1859, when he went into the ice business 
 and remained in tli^t up to 1874; opened a store on Robert 
 street, but is now dealing largely in coal and wood. Mr. Wag- 
 ner is a well-moulded, compact man, of medium size, always 
 pleasant and agreeable, and is a solid citizen. As a specimen 
 of his financial genius he says he had only $jO to buy the blind 
 horse with, and borrowed $4. to make up the amount, and after 
 using the animal some time sold it for ^100. Mr. Wagner is a 
 good citizen and a solid man. 
 
 N. P. INGALLS. 
 
 A tall, fine-looking man was Mr. Ingalls of thirty years 
 ago, with black hair and black whiskers, and he is a good-look- 
 ing man now, only he is considerably gray, with a step less elas- 
 tic and an eye less bright. He was always a quiet man, and 
 moved in his especial line of business without a riffle. He was 
 born in New Hampshire in 1822, where he was educated and 
 received a musical training ; taught music in Concord for some 
 time; came to St. Paul in 1854; was engaged in teaching music 
 up to 1 86 1, when he entered the army as the leader of the First 
 Regiment Band. Of late years he has been a tuner of pianos, 
 in which business he is now engaged. 
 
 GEORGE FETSCH. 
 
 Mr. Fetsch was born in Germany about 1837 ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1854; engaged in the retail cigar business in this city 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 483 
 
 for fifteen years, part of the time in the wholesale trade. He 
 commenced quite young and worked very energetically and 
 faithfully until his health failed him, when he removed to Forest 
 Lake, where he died in 1 884. He entered the business when a 
 mere boy, and his great efforts to build up a trade brought on a 
 peculiar nervous disease, no doubt largely superinduced by an 
 affection of the heart, and this terminated fatally. He was a 
 small, active, busy, industrious man, and he and his brother 
 worked up a trade from the manufacture of a few cigars which 
 now give the house the pre-eminent lead in its particular line. 
 Mr. Fetsch though positive and impulsive was a good man. 
 Adam Fetsch, his brother, still carries on the cigar business in 
 this city. 
 
 FEET NOT EMPTY. 
 
 Some people who come west have no more brains than 
 the law allows. One of these so-called professors greeted his 
 scholars as follows: 
 
 " If I should stand on my head," said he, coming up to the 
 boys with the air of a man who has got a poser — " if I stand on 
 my head the blood all rushes into my head, doesn't it ? " 
 
 No one ventured to contradict him. 
 
 " Now," continued he triumphantly, " when I stand on my 
 feet why don't the blood all rush into my feet ? " 
 
 " Because," replied Miss Coshannigan's brother, " because 
 your feet are not empty." 
 
 The boys all laughed, but Flipkins said he couldn't see any 
 joke. It is needless for me to state that the professor was an 
 old-timer. 
 
 TIMOTHY DELANEY. 
 
 Close to thirty years ago a quick-witted, prompt, bustling 
 Irishman with the above name, entered the printing office of the 
 writer and took charge of the running of his press. He proved 
 a great worker and a valuable man, and his fidelity to his employ- 
 er's interest never flagged, so that I came to treat him with 
 unbounded confidence. This person was Timothy Delaney, and 
 during the many years he was in my employ I always found him 
 an honest, worthy, industrious man. He was born in Ireland in' 
 
484: PEN PICTURES 
 
 1837; educated at the common schools ; emigrated to America 
 and landed at New York in 1851 ; resided in New Jersey three 
 years and took care of a farm ; was connected with the fire de- 
 partment at Paterson, N. J.; came to Minnesota in 1854, and in 
 1855 was in the employ of the government at Fort Snelling ; 
 moved to Galena the same year and worked in the office of the 
 Gazette; returned to St. Paul in 1856 and entered the employ 
 of T. M. Newson, as pressman on the old Daily Times, and 
 continued there up to 1 860, at the period the paper was leased to 
 William R. Marshall and became the Press; then was appointed 
 jailor and turnkey under Sheriff Robertson ; was appointed 
 policeman under Mayor Stewart ; became overseer in a branch 
 of the Commissary Department in the army under the writer, 
 where he remained two years and a half; was one of the earliest 
 volunteer firemen ; went to Vermillion in 1 866 ; then became a 
 private detective and watchman for the Metropolitan hotel for 
 two years ; entered the Fire Department on Christmas Day and 
 after remaining eight years, retired from it on g Christmas Day ; 
 was at one time foreman of Hope Engine, No. 3 ; was for several 
 years in ill-health and did little or nothing, but is now watchman 
 at the central fire department headquarters in this city. Mr. 
 Delaney is a medium-sized man, more moderate and more care^ 
 ful in his movements than he used to be, and yet he hates hypoc- 
 risy, meanness and dishonesty. He is a liberal thinker ; has 
 been impulsive in early years, but this sprang from his good 
 and generous motives, and when weighed in the balance he will 
 prove to be a good deal more of a man than the world has yet 
 given him credit for, and a good deal more of a man than many 
 who now lay claim to that title. 
 
 ALFRED J. HILL. 
 
 Mr. Hill was born in England in 1833 ! received a common 
 school education and learned mechanical engineering ; came to 
 St. Paul in 1854 and entered the employ of Capt. J. H. Simp- 
 son, government engineer, and was in the employ of the govern- 
 ment for several years ; then engaged his services at the State 
 Capitol ; enlisted in Company E, the Sixth Regiment, and served 
 in the Indian campaign in 1862, and as a topographical draughts- 
 man under Col. George Thorn at Washington ; rejoined his regi- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 483 
 
 ment at Helena, Ark., in the summer of 1864 and served until 
 the close of the war. On his return to St. Paul he became, con- 
 nected with the Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad Company ; 
 was appointed land clerk by Charles Mcllrath, State Auditor, 
 and retained his position six years , was clerk in the pension 
 office ; was made land clerk and draughtsman when the United 
 States Court appointed a special commission to sell lands in dis- 
 pute between the Northern Pacific and St. Paul & Pacific Rail- 
 way Companies ; was transferred thence into the service of the 
 St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company, where he 
 remained until 1884. Mr. Hill is a small man, quite quick in 
 his movements, and has great preference for geographical and 
 historical studies, and in the early days of the State government 
 devoted much of his leisure time to the correction and adjust- 
 nient by legislative enactment of the tangled county boundaries. 
 He also in former years paid some attention to the neglected 
 subject of the archaeology of our State, and is a man of much 
 thought and much research. 
 
 J. C. PRENDERGAST, 
 
 Mr. Prendergast is a somewhat thick-set man, of moderate 
 size, quite cautious in his movements and very careful in his 
 actions. He started out with nothing but his own labor and his 
 will-power, and the firm now does a business of ^200,000 per 
 year. He has been in trade in this city thirty years, and is still 
 the same prudent, careful man of a quarter of a century gone. 
 This is the oldest house of the kind in the city. He was born in 
 Ireland in 1834; emigrated to America in 1847; located at New 
 Haven, Conn.; came to, St. Paul in 1854; learned the trade of a 
 tinner with H. E. Baker ; went into business with Thomas How- 
 ard ; was chief engineer of the fire department in 1875 ; was an 
 active fireman for many years ; is now exempt ; has been a 
 member of the Board of Fire Commissioners since the organi- 
 zation, and is in every respect a valuable, worthy citizen. 
 
 HARWOOD IGLEHART PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Iglehart was born in Maryland in 1829; graduated at 
 the old St. John's College in 1848; studied law and received his 
 diploma in 1852 at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; 
 
486 PEN PICTVKKS 
 
 practiced law at Annapolis, Md. ; came to St. Paul in 1854; 
 carried on his profession here and dealt in real estate ; laid out 
 several additions, built several houses, and Iglehart street is 
 named after him. Mr. Iglehart was an early member of the old 
 Pioneer Guards ; was commissioned a Major in the State militia 
 and was on Gen. Sibley's staff; was also member of the Episco- 
 pal Convention which elected Bishop Whipple Bishop ; was a 
 lay delegate to the general triennial convention of thfe Episcopal 
 Church which met in the South before the late war. He has 
 always been largely engaged in church matters. He has been a 
 member of the Historical Society since 1861 ; was president of 
 the Mercantile Library Association ; was sub- commissioner for 
 the Mount Vernon Association; was one of the first Board of 
 Trustees for St. Luke's Hospital and treasurer of same ; for over 
 twenty-five years has been a Mason and Odd-Fellow. His 
 brother, W. T. Iglehart, who in early days was a lawyer in this 
 city, has been recently appointed postmaster at Annapolis, Md. 
 Mr. Iglehart married Miss Kent in 1866, who has had three sons, 
 two living. Latterly he has not been interested in active busi- 
 ness affairs, but still has great faith, as he always has had, in 
 the future growth of St. Paul, and is at present operating only 
 in a small way. He believes the two cities will yet come together 
 and combined will have a large population. 
 
 Mr. Iglehart is a man of ordinary size, straight, quick; 
 moves energetically and talks as he moves. In early, days he 
 did a good deal of business in real estate, and if he could have 
 kept his property at present prices he would have been very 
 rich. His family resides in Maryland, and one son graduated 
 from St. John's College a short time since. He is gentlemanly 
 and courteous in his bearing, kind and considerate, and well 
 known to all the old settlers. 
 
 CHARLES N. MACKUBIN. 
 
 Born in Maryland ; educated there ; did business for a time 
 in Illinois; came to St. Paul in 1854; invested largely in real 
 estate and engaged in banking here under the firm name of Macku- 
 bin & Edgerton, and opened his first bank in the old Winslow 
 House building; then moved to the corner of Third and Frank- 
 lin streets; built a number of fine buildings, and his transactions 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 4S7 
 
 in real estate were quite extensive. He was a bold operator, a 
 ■member of the Senate in i860 and died in 1863. I remember 
 Mr. Mackubin as a gentleman with a fine face, indicating good 
 blood, and a man who always wore gold spectacles. He was 
 -quiet in his manner, yet an able business gentleman, and one of 
 .St. Paul's early stirring business men. 
 
 JOHN ADDISON BERKEY PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Berkey is a native of St. Paul, born in 1854, his parents 
 "having come here in 1853. He was a pupil at our public schools 
 and finished his education at the Polytechnical Institute, Troy, 
 N. Y. When quite young Mr. Berkey entered into partnership 
 'with Charles R. Groff in the sale of baking-powders, teas, spices, 
 •coffees, etc., etc., and then ran the establishment alone for a year 
 ■or so, when he took in a partner by the name of Talmadge, and 
 the firm now continue the business. 
 
 He is a young man of excellent business qualities, and is a 
 steady, industrious, worthy citizen. He married Miss Minnie 
 De Graff in 1877, a lady of fine personal appearance, and is him- 
 self a pleasant and agreeable gentleman. 
 
 WILLIAM a. van SLYKE PARKS. 
 
 " A thing of beauty is a joy forever," and the man who can 
 produce this result ought to be perpetuated in bronze or marble 
 in one of our parks, so that all classes can gaze upon the placid 
 features of the benefactor whose artistic genius has made nature 
 blush in her efforts to compete with the superior attainments and 
 handiwork of man. He who makes two blades of grass grow 
 where there was but one, is deserving of the highest public 
 •commendation, and he who goes farther than this and makes 
 roses bloom and flowers shed their fragrance on the air, and 
 God's grand sentinels, the trees, to spread their brawny arms and 
 shield the wayfarer from the piercing rays of the noon-day sun, 
 has accomplished a feat grander and more lasting than the hero 
 •on the battle field or the politician in the forum of the Senate. 
 Take away the grass, the trees, the flowers, the birds, the spark- 
 ling water, the quiet nooks and dells in the household of nature, 
 and man's heart becomes seared, and blackened and dwarfed 
 -and narrow. He lives, he struggles for one end— money. His 
 
4S8 PEN PICTUEES 
 
 brain revolves to one point only — business. He dies for no other 
 purpose than — to economize. But give him nature in all her 
 elegant appointments ; give him. the balmy air, the rippling 
 streams, the carol of the songsters, the ravine, the mountain, the 
 forest, the diadem of the prairie, with its variegated colors, the 
 green, velvet lawn, and the thoughts of the Creator as they 
 assume form in the bursting petal of the rose, pr the purity of 
 the calla-lily, or the clinging affection of the creeping vine, and 
 he broadens out into the sublimest elements of manhood and 
 ripens for that ultimate end, the perfection of a better life. 
 
 "Amid the storms they sang. 
 
 And the stars heard, and the sea, 
 And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 
 To the anthems of the free." 
 
 Free from the corroding elements of life — free from the- 
 burning, insatiate desire for gold — free from the corrupting influ- 
 ences of society. Standing under the blue canopy of God, with 
 its all-elegant surroundings, man expands in his soul-power, he- 
 broadens in his mentality ; his aspirations are higher, grander,, 
 purer ; he is more charitable, more genial, kinder, nobler, better. 
 And so he who educates the people to a proper appreciation of 
 nature, and whose untiring efforts to this end have produced 
 most salutary results, deserves to be remembered, for he is a 
 part of and lives in the hearts of the masses. A marble shaft,, 
 pure and symmetrical, should stand where it can be seen of all 
 men, upon which should be inscribed : 
 
 "WILLIAM A. VAN SLYKE, 
 "TAe Friend of Nature and the Friend of the People.^'' 
 
 That which impresses me most earnestly, is the apparent 
 reserve artistic power of Mr. Van Slyke. I admire his tastes,, 
 his genius, his overpowering personality in his arrangement of 
 our parks, but his possibilities are greater than his acts, and 
 hence the real strength of the man can only be brought out in a- 
 wider field of usefulness, and I trust that may be found in the 
 adornment of our great park on the shores of Lake Como. 
 
 One knowing Mr. Van Slyke and his career of life, is surprised: 
 at his peculiar talents. Tall, modest, unassuming, kind-hearted,, 
 philanthropic, benevolent, he is one of the most public-spirited men-. 
 
OP ST. PA ULf MINN. 489 
 
 in our city, and every celebration is unfinished without his hand. 
 He is the originator of our electric light shafts, obtained at con- 
 siderable cost, and for which he is still financially largely respon- 
 sible ; he was the moving spirit in Our beautiful arches — he is, 
 per se, the man above all other men who has transformed our 
 dirty, sombre, dark, forbidding parks into gems of loveliness — is 
 always collecting money for charitable objects ; is never idle in 
 acts of benevolence ; and still, with all these burdens upon his 
 back he trudges on in the daily routine of business life. 
 
 WHEN AND WHERE BORN, ETC. 
 
 Mr. Van Slyke was born in the State of New York in 1838 ; 
 educated there; clerked in a dry-goods and grocery store in 
 Cooperstown, N. Y. ; came to St. Paul in 1854; entered the 
 employ of William Cooley and continued with him up to 1856, 
 when he commenced business for himself; was a Lieutenant in 
 the old Pioneer Guards ; on the breaking out of the war raised 
 Company G, of the Fifth Minnesota, and became its Lieutenant ; 
 served two years ; was discharged from the army in consequence 
 of sickness, and continued ill for a year and a half; then entered 
 the grain and commission business, his store being in various 
 parts of the city in lower town, until he moved to Sibley street, 
 his present quarters, where he has been for twelve years. 
 
 THAT OLD SIGN AND THAT OLD HOMESTEAD. 
 
 Mr. Van Slyke has the same old sign on his present store 
 that he started business with in 1856, or twenty-nine years ago. 
 It has survived fire and hard usage incident to moving, but is 
 still legible and is emphatically " an old settler." 
 
 All good artists cling to the old things of the past, and Mr. 
 Van Slyke is no exception. He built the present house he lives 
 in, in 1857, and he has resided continuously there for twenty- 
 eight years. Of course the trees, and the shrubbery, and the 
 little unpretending- nooks, and the familiar points of the dear old 
 home still evoke lively emotion, for it was here he took his young 
 bride ; it was. here his children were born ; it was here where 
 supreme happiness was found, away from the jarring elements 
 of the world ; it was here where sorrow came ; it was here when 
 sick and weary of the burdens of life, gentle hands and kindly 
 
490 PEN PICTURES . 
 
 voices smoothed the weary brow and calmed the aching heart ; 
 it was here in this sequestered Httle spot called home, where the 
 best part of life found a lodging place. The man is less ambi- 
 tious than he was over a quarter of a century ago ; the brow 
 shows more furrows now; the eye is more pensive, and gray 
 hairs sprinkle locks once brown. The little boy has grown to 
 manhood and the little girl is growing to womanhood ; there are 
 vacant chairs ; memories of babyhood. God bless the dear old 
 home. 
 
 BURNED OUT OFFICES. 
 
 In 1859 ^ fir^ swept both sides of Third street, and among 
 the sufferers was Van Slyke. Many goods not burned were 
 stolen, so that when the rubbish was cleared away Van had but 
 little left, still with a brave heart he started anew, and can now 
 exclaim — " Richard's himself again ! " 
 
 Mr. Van Slyke has been Alderman three years ; chairman 
 of the committee on parks, chairman of the committee on the 
 Villard reception, and chairman of the committee on decorations 
 at the time of the Garfield funeral, all of which positions he held 
 with great credit. For several years past he has given more 
 than half of his time to the interests of the city. He has had one 
 son in Europe studying medicine, but who is now in the city, 
 while the home circle is the Mecca to which his heart always 
 travels. He is a quiet, modest, unpretending gentleman, plain 
 in speech and in dress ; but beneath his hat he carries a head 
 unsurpassed for its artistic and cultivated taste, especially in 
 arranging the drapery which enfolds the beautiful and attractive 
 form of nature, and beneath his coat beats a heart always alive 
 to the sympathetic calls of the human race. 
 
 PHILLIP DE ROCHEBRUNE. 
 
 Mr. De Rochebrune is of French descent, born in Maryland 
 in 1826; was educated at the Dickerson College at Carlyle; read 
 law in Maryland and also with Judge Cooper in this city ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1854; was admitted to practice here, and engaged 
 in his profession and also in the purchase and sale of real estate. 
 In 1854 he bought a block of lots on the corner of Dayton and 
 Virginia avenues, which cost him ^2,400; worth now ^50,000. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 491 
 
 He is physically strong aside from his affliction of an unsound 
 limb. He is a man of positive convictions, and one who has 
 seen St. Paul grow from a small village to a great city. 
 
 LOUIS FISCHER. 
 
 Born in Switzerland in 1830 ; learned the trade of a tailor, 
 and traveled over the continent; came to America in 1853, land- 
 ing at New York, but was in Chicago up to 1854, when he came 
 to St. Paul ; enlisted in the Sixth Regiment in 1 862, but was 
 soon after discharged for disability; was in the Indian battles of 
 Birch Coolie and Yellow Medicine ; subsequently he opened a 
 clothing house under the Metropolitan hotel, which he ran eight 
 years ; removed to corner of Seventh and Franklin streets, where 
 he continued his business Tap to the time of his death in 1884. 
 He was Alderman from 1882 to 1884'; was the organizer of the 
 Druids, the German Odd Fellows, the Sons of Herman and the 
 Workmen. Married in 1856. Four children and a widow now 
 live in this city, his oldest son being largely engaged in building 
 societies. 
 
 Mr. Fischer was a very popular man among his own nation- 
 ality; very active; always reaching out ahead of the world ; 
 short, somewhat stout, a leader of men, and his inspiring and 
 pleasant disposition always made him a favorite. 
 
 E. C. PALMER PERSONAL. 
 
 Judge Palmer was born in Vermont about 1825; studied 
 law and was admitted to the bar; came to St. Paul in 1854 and 
 formed a law partnership; in 1856 was Lieutenant in* the old 
 Pioneer Guards ; in 1857 was elected the first State Judge of the 
 District Court ; prepared the revised statutes in 1 866 ; was attor- 
 ney for the old Sioux City Railroad for about seventeen years ; 
 became the attorney for the First National Bank; has been 
 married. 
 
 Judge Palmer is a large man, well developed physically, 
 and a sound, solid lawyer. His Revised Statutes rank among 
 the best, while his cases always bear the marks of a master- 
 hand. He never indulges in glittering generalities but gets down 
 to business like the winning horse in the race. " Does the razor 
 pull?" asked the barber of his customer. "Yes, it does," re- 
 
492 PEN PICTURES 
 
 sponded the suffering patient. " O, well, the beard is bound to 
 come if the handle don't break," replied the polite manipulator 
 of the blade. So with Judge Palmer, he is bound to win his 
 cases if he lives. He is a man of little demonstration ; a close 
 student, was an upright and able judge, and is an honored and 
 an honorable citizen. 
 
 CHARLES KOCH. 
 
 Mr. Koch was born in Germany in 1829; emigrated to 
 America in 1854, and came the same year to St. Paul, where he 
 carried on the carpentering and contracting business and had a 
 little old shop on West Seventh street; entered the army in 
 Company E, Fifth Minnesota Regiment, and served in the South 
 for a year and a half, when he was .obliged to return home in 
 consequence of sickness ; was the president of the German 
 Reading Society, and as such cast the vote which retained its 
 name ; was also the originator of the German theatricals and an 
 actor himself; died in 1863 from disease contracted while in 
 the service, and as his was among the first military funerals of 
 the war, it was a very large one. He was a short, somewhat 
 thick-set man ; quick in his movements and an active member 
 of the German Society. He left tv/o sons, one the foreman of 
 the Glo5e and the other a saloon-keeper, both intelligent, pleas- 
 ant men. 
 
 C. F. HAUSDORF PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. H. was born in Saxony in 1 840 ; emigrated to America 
 in 1848; attended the public schools in Detroit, Mich., up to 
 1854, when he came to St. Paul and was a pupil in the public 
 schools here until 1856, and was in college two years. In 1861 
 he claims he was the first man in the United States to enlist 
 under the call of President Lincoln for 75,000 volunteers for three 
 months ; but this claim is also set up by Col. J. R. King ; claims 
 he was the first man in the first company of the first regiment of 
 the first troops from Minnesota who enlisted for three years, and 
 the First Minnesota was the first regiment in the United States 
 sworn in for three years; was private in 1861 ; appointed corp- 
 oral in 1861 ; Sergeant in 1862; First Lieutenant in 1864; Cap- 
 tain in 1864; Major in 1864; Lieutenant Colonel in 1865; was 
 in all the engagements from the beginning to the close of the 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 493 
 
 war in which the regiment took a part, or that were fought by 
 the Army of the Potomac ; was nearly four and a half years in 
 the war and with the old Minnesota First ; was wounded at the 
 battle of Gettysburg in 1 863 ; was in command of the First Regi- 
 ment of Minnesota for ten months ; was four years in Califor- 
 nia ; has been bookkeeper and salesman ; has been in the 
 wholesale iron and hardware trade, and is now running a grocery 
 business of his own in West St. Paul, where he has some fine 
 property. He was married in 1867, and has three children; is 
 the permanent secretary of the First Regiment of the Minnesota 
 Volunteer Association, and at present is grand secretary of the 
 Ancient Order of Druids of the State, as well as a member of 
 the Junior Pioneers. He lived a charmed life, for he never was 
 wounded but once during the war. 
 
 Mr. Hausdorf is a man of ordinary size, closely and com- 
 pactly built, with black hair and black whiskers, and with an air 
 of self-possession which marks the man. He is a gentleman of 
 excellent reputation, honest and upright both in public and in 
 private life, and the city ought to erect in one of our parks a full- 
 size statue of the man in memory of his peculiar services to his 
 country, if it be true that he was the first soldier in the Union 
 army during the war of the rebellion. 
 
 THOMAS B. CAMPBELL. 
 
 Mr. Campbell is a tall, slender man, with strongly marked 
 feautures, very quiet and undemonstrative and one of a class of 
 citizens who mind their own business and never interfere with 
 the affairs of the public. In this respect he is rather remark- 
 able. I have known him for over a quarter of a century, and in 
 this regard he is the same to-day that he was then. He was 
 born in New York State in 1830; educated in his native place; 
 then clerked with a brother in the mercantile business in Havana, 
 N. Y. ; came to St. Paul in 1854; entered the employ of Cath- 
 cart & Co. were he remained two years ; was in the bank of 
 Truman M. Smith for.three years ; in 1859 opened a retail cloth- 
 ing store in the old Lambert block on Third street, where he 
 remained one year, and then occupied a store in the Bernheimer 
 block, and continued there five years ; Henry Burbank became 
 connected with Mr. Campbell, and the wholesale business con- 
 
494 PEN PICTURES 
 
 tinued in the old Paul block, corner Third and Robert streets, 
 up to 1 88 1, when the firm moved to lower Third street, and is 
 now Campbell & Burbank, and has been in the wholesale trade 
 for twelve years. Mr. Campbell was married in 1855. 
 
 FKEDERICK EMMERT. 
 
 I remember Fred Emmert for over thirty years, as a strong 
 Republican politician and as an active, stirring citizen, and a great 
 political friend of Hon. A. Ramsey. He was born in Germany 
 in 1831 ; was educated there and learned the trade of a cooper; 
 emigrated to America in 1849; made flour barrels in Mansfield, 
 Ohio ; worked in Columbus and Milwaukee as a butcher ; went 
 to Chicago and opened a wood-yard ; was engaged in the Emigrant 
 House ; lived in St. Louis, Council Bluffs and Iowa and came to 
 St. Paul in 1854; opened the St. Paul House with Julius Gross on 
 Third street; in 1855 moved to Bench street, and kept the St. 
 Paul House; in 1856 built the Emmert House on Bench street, 
 near Bridge Square ; he and Adam Heck kept a saloon on Robert 
 street and sold two glasses of beer for five cents ; opened Oak Hall, 
 corner of Third and Washington streets during the war; in 1865 
 engaged in the brewery business corner of Eagle and Exchange 
 streets, where he now is. He purchased Dominick Troyer's 
 interest in the brewery who traveled through Europe on foot ; 
 his first and last choice for President was Alexander Ramsey. 
 Mr. Emmert visited Europe in 1885, and when there he was a 
 great Bismarck man, which gave him the entrepot to every 
 point in Germany, for it was a novel thing to find a German- 
 American a great admirer of Bismarck. Emmert is a small man, 
 very social and very pleasant, and one of the oldest of our old 
 citizens. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 495 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 1855. 
 
 Mm Survey of tlie City—First Annual Report of the City Justice— Mrst Organ^ 
 
 izaiion of the House of Hope— First Fire Departments First Republican 
 
 Fight — First Surgeon in the War — First Public Hall — First French 
 
 School— First Loch Picker-First Good Shepherd School 
 
 House — First Omnibus Line— First Catholic Paper — 
 
 First Steam Marble Factory — First Cfun Store— 
 
 F^rst Billiard and Concert Hall — First 
 
 Hack in St. Paul — Including 
 
 Every Event and Every 
 
 Old Settl-er in the 
 
 Year 1855. 
 
 CONDENSED EVENTS OF THE YEAR. 
 
 This was the sixth year that the Legislature had met in St. 
 Paul and the year the survey of the city was made by S. P. Fol- 
 som, costing ^3,500. Alexander Ramsey was elected Mayor ; 
 first annual report of City Justice, 95 cases, $ 1 37 collected. This 
 too was a year of the beginning of great speculation in land. 
 Henry McKenty dealt in " broad acres " and was the king 
 operator. Population, city, 4,726 ; county, 9,495 ; Territory, 
 53,600. The Daily Free Press, championing the cause of Gov. 
 Gorman, made its appearance ; Pioneer and Democrat consoli- 
 dated; Good Shepherd School house built; House of Hope 
 Presbyterian Society organized ; 30,000 people arrived during 
 
496 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the season, and the city was fairly overrun . with parties looking 
 for new homes. 
 
 JOHN C. BECHT. 
 
 Born in Prussia in 1831 ; came to America in 1853 ; lived 
 two years in Chicago, when he removecj to St. Paul in 1855; 
 entered the army as Captain of Company E, Fifth Minnesota 
 Regiment ; served during the war and was promoted to Major ; 
 formed a partnership with George Benz in the wholesale liquor 
 business in the year 1865, and continued with him up to the time 
 of his death; was elected Sheriff of Ramsey County in 1875 ; 
 re-elected in 1877, and died while in office in 1878. Married 
 Miss Sarah Schilling. 
 
 Mr. Becht was a short, thick-set man, with dark complexion 
 and heavy whiskers, and was a man of but few words. He was 
 quiet, unsophisticated in his ways and very reticent, and yet he 
 was a popular man and a good officer. 
 
 TRUE S. WHITE WHEN AND WHERE BORN. 
 
 Mr. White was born in Ohio in 1841 ; worked on a farm; 
 came to St. Paul in 1855 ; entered the book store of William S. 
 Combs, his brother-in-law, and remained with him until 1862, 
 when he,joined the Second Regiment of the Minnesota Volun- 
 teers, but not being of age was not mustered in ; later in the 
 same year he made a visit to his old home in Ohio, where he 
 enlisted in the Ninety-third Regiment of that State and served 
 until the close of the war ; was mustered out as Captain and 
 returned to St. Paul to live. He then became employed in the 
 wholesale paper and stationery house of Averill, Russell & Car- 
 penter as bookkeeper and salesman. He remained with this 
 firm up to 1875, when he commenced business for himself as 
 T. S. White & Co., afterwards as White, Stone & Co. ; ran the 
 business successfully and subsequently consoHdated with D. D. 
 Merrill & Co., organizing the St. Paul Book and Stationery 
 Company, and remained in charge of the wholesale department 
 of that establishment until 1 881, when he resigned and started 
 again as T. S. White & Co., wholesale paper and stationery ; sold 
 out in 1883; started again doing same business in the Drake 
 block ; was burned out ; lost everything ; then started the whole- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 497 
 
 sale paper and stationery department of the Pioneer Press Com- 
 pany, where he now is as superintendent. He is a prominent 
 member of the G. A. R., and has served in important official 
 positions in that organization, including the State department. 
 
 Mr. White is a man of moderate size, inclined to corpulency, 
 and yet he is quick and energetic in all his movements. He is a 
 gentleman of excellent business qualities and lacks only one 
 essential element to success — good luck ! He has nerve, push, 
 ability; is social, pleasant and accommodating; is self-reliant 
 and possesses largely the elements of popularity, and yet all his 
 life-time has been spent in planting and nurturing the tree while 
 somebody else has been gathering the fruit. 
 
 MICHAEL J. o'CONNOR 
 
 Is, as his name indicates, of genuine Irish stock, though 
 born in London, Eng., in 1833 ; emigrated to America in 1836; 
 received a public school education in New York ; removed to 
 Chicago in 1848; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; engaged with his 
 father in a gents' furnishing and tailoring establishment on the 
 ground now occupied by the Pioneer Press office ; was a member 
 •of the Common Council from 1859 to 1862, refusing to be a can- 
 didate for re-election, but responded to the President's call for 
 troops and recruited for the Tenth Regiment, Minnesota Volun- 
 teers ; was chosen Captain of Company K ; took part in Gen. 
 Sibley's campaign in fighting and driving the Sioux Indians 
 across the Missouri river; went south with his regiment in 
 1 863 ; was appointed Assistant Inspector General at St. Louis 
 and saw hard service while o;i inspecting tours, riding through 
 Southwestern Missouri; in 1864 his regiment was attached to 
 the Sixteenth army corps and took part in the engagement at 
 Tupelo, Miss., routing the combined forces of Forrest and Chal- 
 mers ; served under Gen. A. J. Smith part of the summer of 
 1864; was with the "Tenth and a picked corps under Gen. 
 Mower, who were ordered to follow the Confederate Gen. Price, 
 and encountered one of the most severe campaigns of the war, 
 marching thirty consecutive days through Arkansas and Mis- 
 souri, which terminated in the fight on the Little and Big Blue 
 rivers, at which Marmaduke and a large force were captured and 
 Price finally driven from that section of the country. On the 
 32 . 
 
49S PEN PICTURES 
 
 return of the Union forces south Capt/ O'Connor was left in the- 
 hospital in St. Louis, but recovered in time to join his command 
 at Vicksburg, and took part in the twenty days' siege of Spanish 
 Fort and final capture of Mobile. This being about the last 
 battle of the war he returned home with his regiment having 
 seen service from our northwestern boundary at Devil's Lake 
 and the Missouri river, thence southward to the Gulf. Was 
 mustered out at Fort Snelling in 1865; the following fall was 
 elected City Treasurer, which position he left to go in business 
 with his brother, where he continued until 1870, when he was 
 elected City Clerk, which office he filled until 1879, when he- 
 formed a partnership with Martin Delany, and they together- 
 built the Northwestern stock yards. He is a member of the 
 G. A. R., and in November, 1855, married Mary Fitzpatrick,. 
 only daughter of Dr. Walter Fitzpatrick of Ireland, who has 
 made a most amiable wife and mother. He is also the father 
 of a bright family of boys and girls. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN AS HE IS. 
 
 Capt. O'Connor is a tall, symmetrically-formed man, with a. 
 military step and a military air, with long whiskers and with but 
 few gray hairs, although having passed the boundary line of 
 fifty years. He is quick, active, stirring, prompt, positive, and a. 
 man of excellent ability and good habits ; is decided and 
 emphatic in his opinions, yet an upright and manly citizen. 
 
 EMIGRATING TO THE FRONTIER. 
 
 The rougher element of society, half-breeds and gamblers, 
 began to look about this year for other places to go, as the more 
 respectable part of the population were crowding them out. 
 New features of civilization were introduced constantly; five 
 daily papers were in full blast, the Pioneer, the Democrat, the 
 Minnesotian, the Times and the Free Press ; six or eight steam- 
 boats were arriving at our levee ; every stage went out crowded ; 
 real estate began to boom ; everybody was stirring ; the papers 
 set forth the beauties of Minnesota and praised its salubrious 
 climate ; letters of inquiry came from all parts of the country ; 
 and from this time forth St. Paul became a fixed fact. Then the 
 gray-headed men of to-day were young. Then the gray-headed 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINX 49'J 
 
 men were the stirring spirits of the times. Then the gray- 
 headed men moulded and builded the foundation upon which the 
 city now flourishes. Then they had faith in the growth of the 
 city and of the State, and upon that faith many of them have 
 spent a quarter of a century delving, and digging, and toiling, 
 and sweating, while others come in and reap the reward of their 
 labors. 
 
 H. p. GRANT. 
 
 Born in Vermont in 1 828 ; at the age of eighteen years young 
 Grant went to Boston where he was employed as a cleric in a 
 wholesale boot and shoe store; removed to St. Paul in 1855 and 
 started a wholesale establishment on Third street in his line of 
 goods ; was among the first firemen in St. Paul, and was elected 
 foreman of Minnehaha Company, No. 2; was elected Alderman 
 for three years in 1862 ; was Captain of Company A, Sixth 
 Regiment ; was in command of the troops at Birch Coolie during 
 the Indian fight; went south in 1863 with the rank of Major; 
 was promoted that year to the rank of Colonel, and held it until 
 the close of the war ; returned to St. Paul and engaged in the 
 grain and commission business, in which he is now employed. 
 Mr. Grant is a sturdy-set man, quiet and undemonstrative, and 
 is active in his business relations. His amiable wife, who was 
 Miss Isabel McLeod, died in 1884. 
 
 W. T. welsh OLD FIREMAN— -personal. 
 
 Mr. Welsh was born in Maine in 1819; received a slight 
 education; moved to Massachusetts in 1832; learned the trade 
 of a shoemaker and worked at it up to 1839; carried on a shop 
 at Detroit, Michigan, four years; went to farming and continued 
 that four years, when in 1855 he sold out and came to St. Paul; 
 formed a partnership with Mr. Heinbach and conducted the shoe 
 business fifteen years in a small building on upper Third street ; 
 purchased 200 feet on Arkwright street eight years ago, for 
 which he paid $67^ ; worth now ^4>500; married Miss Bancroft 
 in 1 841, and has been married forty-three years, and has made 
 up his mind that he has as good a wife as lives. 
 
 Mr. Welsh was among the very earliest firemen in the city, 
 being connected with the first organization some thirteen years. 
 
500 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and continued with it until it disbanded. When that event took 
 place the company presented him with the photographs, thp flags 
 and the books of the organization out of respect for his faithful 
 services. 
 
 In 1855 there was a good deal ot rowdyism, mostly by 
 young boys ; so one night nearly all the signs in the city were 
 changed, and Mr. Welsh found in the morning that he had the 
 sign of a millinery establishment on hi^ shop, while the milliner 
 had a shoemaker's sign on hers. One of the principal saloons 
 had a sign of a temperance house placed on it, while the tem- 
 perance house was honored with — "A good soiir mash, ten 
 cents a drink ! " The change of signs was almost universal 
 throughout the city and created much laughter when the next 
 morning brought to view the ludicrous scenes. 
 
 Mr. Welsh is a man of uncontrollable impulses, which he 
 has greatly regretted. Yet he is kind-hearted, honest and hon- 
 orable. He is at present a switch-tender on the Manitoba road, 
 near Lafayette avenue, and though crippled somewhat by expos- 
 ure in early days, still he is well satisfied with his lot and enjoys 
 life quite as well as his more wealthy neighbors, Kittson and 
 Hill. 
 
 BOATING FIRST FIRE DEPARTMENT A YEAR OF IMMIGRATION. 
 
 The Packet Company this year declared ^100,000 dividends 
 on the season's business. The War Eagle and City Belle alone 
 paid ;^74,ooo profit, while the whole amount of profits would 
 exceed ;^i 50,000 for 1855. The total number of arrivals was 
 immense. 
 
 In March, 1855, the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company 
 was organized with twenty-eight men. The City Council voted 
 ^200 towards its support, while sufficient money was subscribed 
 by the citizens to enable the purchase of a truck and ladder and 
 also a small engine, which were used for years with much suc- 
 cess. Now there are six steam and two chemical engines, and 
 the value of the property is ^202,375. 
 
 Every boat this year came laden with passengers, the War 
 Eagle bringing up in one trip 814. One can imagine what a 
 stirring scene that was on the levee, and how eager the citizens 
 of that day were to get any information from the outer world. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 501 
 
 as there were then three mails per week between Dubuque and 
 St. Paul. 
 
 gloriously exhilarating. 
 
 It was gloriously exhilarating on hearing the whistle of a 
 boat, to rush down to the levee and when it arrived to board it, 
 beg papers of a late date from the passengers, or listen to the 
 recital of some event unknown to the pilgrims in the far-off 
 Northwest, or grasp by the hand some old acquaintance whom 
 one had not met for many years. And then to see the import- 
 ance of the captains, and the activity of the clerks, and the over- 
 bearing manners of the cruel mates, and the weary, busy crews, 
 and the importuning reporters ; and then, again, steam is up, the 
 boats move away, glide through the water, and all is still ! 
 Good old days ! gone forever ! and the boats are gone, and the 
 commanders are gone, and the crews are gone, and most of the 
 passengers are gone, and in their places come the clingly-clangly, 
 hurdy-gurdy, rattling, ringing, banging, puffing, wheezing, whif- 
 fing cars ! It is all right enough, only I sometimes wish I was 
 back again in the good old days of steamboats and stages and 
 the primitive mode of living, for, somehow or other it seems to 
 me as though I obtained more real enjoyment out of life then 
 than in the present struggling, tugging, eternal and everlasting 
 effort to get through the world in the least possible time, with 
 the least possible amount of comfort 1 Dear old days, good-bye 
 forever ! 
 
 JOSHUA BRADLEY. 
 
 " Father Bradley," as he was more generally known, was a 
 kind, lovable. Christian gentleman, the pastor at one time of the 
 Baptist Church, and lived down under the hill near Charles 
 Symond's ice-house. I never knew any facts connected with his 
 history, only he was an estimable man, and at the time of his 
 death in 1855, must have been close to eighty years of age. He 
 was a good, Christian minister. An Ohio paper speaking of Mr. 
 Bradley, says : 
 
 "Mr. Bradley, a minister of the Baptist denomination, was a very superior 
 preacher, being by the help of God instrumental in the salvation of many hundreds. 
 He was the organizer of several societies in the different States for systematic 
 benevolence, was prominently connected at different times with a number of educa- 
 
502 PEN PICTURES 
 
 tional institutions, and was the founrler of two or three colleges, one of which was 
 the college at Granville, Ohio, now called Dennison University, of which the Bap- 
 tist denomination are so justly proud." 
 
 Mr. Bradley died December i6, 1855, aged eighty-two years 
 and Mrs. Bradley died in 1886. 
 
 A BUSY PLACE. 
 
 St. Paul was now a busy place. " The hotels and boarding 
 houses were crowded, the .stage lines worked night and day, 
 people were even camping on the streets, stores were doing a 
 perfect rush of business, livery stables coining money, saloons 
 reaping brisk profits, real estate dealers fairly ecstatic and me- 
 chanics not half able to keep up with the work pressing upon 
 them." Streets were opened and graded, trees were cut down, 
 brush removed, hollows filled in, bridges constructed, small and 
 large houses made their appearance, while the tepee of the In- 
 dian took up its march westward toward the setting sun. And 
 in the midst of all this activity and bustle real estate began to 
 advance. Henry McKenty had made ;^23,000 on one transac- 
 tion and then others fell into line and common dirt went up like 
 a balloon. And to add to the fever this year the many reporters 
 who came out on the Rock Island Raiload excursion poured 
 through their papers glowing accounts of the beauty and re- 
 sources of the country, and this sent capital forward for invest- 
 ment and corner lots and paper towns went whooping, and the 
 owners almost grew wild with excitement. This was the begin- 
 ning of the real estate craze which culminated with disastrous 
 effects in the year 1857. 
 
 JOHN M. BURCH. 
 
 A native of Prussia born in 1831 ; came to America in 1846 
 and settled in Michigan, where he learned the trade of tanner 
 and currier; located in St. Paul in 1855; enlisted in the Sixth 
 Minnesota regiment in 1862 and served until 1865, principally 
 against the Indians; on returning to St. Paul engaged in the 
 furniture business for five years; bought the St. Peter House and 
 stock yards ; in 1 867 opened the Farmers' Home which he ran 
 three years and then engaged in the grocery and liquor business. 
 He is a stirring, active man. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 503 
 
 A SQUARE REPUBLtCAX FIGHT THE PAPERS. 
 
 This year also witnessed the first square RepubHcan fight in 
 the Territory. Wilham R. Marshall was the Republican candi- 
 date for Congress, brought out by the writer, and ran on the 
 straight Republican issue against David Olmsted, anti-Nebraska 
 Democrat, and H. M. Rice, regular Democrat. As a matter of 
 political history it was agreed that in case there was no show for 
 Olmsted, and there certainly was none, his supporters should go 
 to Marshall, in which event Marshall could have been elected, 
 but towards the last of the campaign Gov. Gorman, who made 
 the contract with the writer, violated it, and Marshall was 
 ■defeated, but it was a fair, square Republican fight, and the first 
 issue of this kind made in this section of country. 
 
 Of the five daily papers in the early part of this year two 
 "" kicked the bucket," the Democrat merging into the Pioneer z.nA 
 the Free Pi;.^ss, a personal organ of Gov. Gorman, was discon- 
 tinued the next spring. This paper was published by Samuel J. 
 -Albright & Co., and edited by 
 
 A. C. SMITH— A MEMORY. 
 
 Mr. Smith was a rabid Democrat ; tall, slender, gaunt, some- 
 what awkward in his ways, with the inevitable literary stoop in 
 
 the shoulders, and wore a pair of gold spectacles ; was decided 
 in his nature, and these elements combined gave him somewhat 
 
 .an impressive appearance. He was a man of ability and had 
 held positions of trust before he came to the State, and after 
 leaving the Free Press received an appointment in the land ofifice 
 
 .at Litchfield, at which place he lived and died. He was an old- 
 line Democrat, and one of the most devoted kind, and came to 
 St. Paul in 1855. 
 
 That little dingy old joiner's shop on the corner of Fifth 
 
 rand Market streets, and fronting Rice Park, was in 1855 occu- 
 pied by a man by the name of E. Howitz, a foreigner, with a 
 large head and long, flowing beard. He had the appearance of 
 
 -an honest man, but one evening turned up as a forger on Mar- 
 shall & Co.'s bank to the tune of ^5,000, and left the country and 
 ■is now probably in Europe enjoying his Rhine wine, but the 
 litde old building still stands intact to remind one of the crime 
 
 ■committed within its walls. 
 
504: PEN PICTURES 
 
 GEOKGE VV. FREEMAN. 
 
 Mr. Freeman was born in England in 1 845 ; came to America 
 when only eight yeairs old and remained two years in Cleveland, 
 Ohio; came to St. Paul in 1855. He was educated in the 
 schools of this city, and in 1850 entered' a boot and shoe firm 
 and remained there up to 1868, when he engaged as a traveling 
 salesman for C. Gotzian & Co. until 1 876, and then became one 
 of the partners. Married Miss I. Dony in 1868. 
 
 Mr. Freeman has been an old fireman, and was for several 
 years secretary of the Hook and Ladder Association, and is- 
 now vice-president of the State Firemen's Association of Minne- 
 sota. He is a gentleman of fine address, fine-looking, has an 
 excellent reputation, and is very generally esteemed for his manl}^ 
 traits of character. 
 
 J. H. STEWART PERSONAL. 
 
 Dr. Stewart was born in New York in 1829; graduated at 
 the university of that State in 185 1 ; practiced medicine at Peeks- 
 kill from 1851 to 1855, and the same year came to St. Paul; 
 in 1856 was appointed physician for Ramsey County; in i860 
 was elected State Senator ; was surgeon in the First Minnesota 
 Regiment in 1861 ; taken prisoner at Bull Run ; held a prisoner 
 at Richmond, but was finally exchanged; was elected Mayor of 
 St. Paul in 1 864 ; appointed Postmaster in 1 869, which he held 
 up to 1874; in 1868 was again elected Mayor, and re-elected in 
 1872; was a member of Congress from the Fourth District in 
 1 876, and served one term ; was appointed Surveyor General 
 of Minnesota in 1879, and held the office for four years ; in 1857 
 he married a Miss Sweeny, who survives him ; formed a part- 
 nership with Dr. C. A. Wheaton, and the firm at the period of 
 his death was Stewart & Wheaton. They were at one time city 
 and county physicians. Died August 25, 1884, aged 55 years. 
 
 I remember Dr. Stewart in 1855 as a small, slender young 
 man, with reddish hair and whiskers and a bright, gleeful, boyish 
 air. I was the first person to get him the position of physician 
 for Ramsey County, his first office. He went on from point to 
 point until he entered Congress. He was the first surgeon 
 mustered into the service at the commencement of the wai", and 
 
0¥ ST. PA UL, MINN. 505 
 
 during his life was largely interested in public affairs. As he 
 
 grew older he grew more rotund and more sedate, but in his 
 
 earlier years he was noted for his love of fun and his genial 
 nature. 
 
 WILLIAM L BANNING HOW LONELY AND YET HOW GLAD. 
 
 Capt. Banning was born about 1816 in Delaware; was well 
 educated; studied and practiced law; removed to Philadelphia 
 and was associated with the late William Hollinshead in the legal . 
 profession ; in 1 845 was elected a member of the Pennsylvania 
 Legislature; came to St. Paul in 1855 ^nd engaged in the bank- 
 ing business on upper Third street ; in 1 860 was elected a mem- 
 ber of the House of Representatives; in 1861 retired from his 
 banking business ; was appointed commissary of subsistence in 
 the army with the rank of Captain, and remained in service two 
 years ; in 1 864 became connected with the St. Paul & Lake 
 Superior Railroad as president ; enlisted Jay Cooke and others in 
 the enterprise ; went to Europe to negotiate the bonds, and while 
 president of the road for seven years put it upon a solid founda- 
 tion ; was an influential member of the Chamber of Commerce ; 
 ran for Governor on the Democratic ticket ; vehemently opposed 
 the ^5,000,000 railroad loan bill, and has been a valuable mem- 
 ber of society. 
 
 When Capt. Banning landed in London as president of the 
 Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad Company with several 
 millions of dollars in bonds to negotiate, he climbed upon an 
 eminence which overlooked the great, throbbing, crowded, bust- 
 ling city of the old world, and amid all that seething throng that 
 jostled in the streets below him, he knew no one — not a soul ! 
 He says he never felt so lonely in all his life. With millions- 
 locked up in the little tin box by his side — with plenty of money 
 to pay his way — with letters of introduction to the financial mag- 
 nates of the great city — with a reasonable degree of assurance 
 in the success of his measure, he felt sad and depressed, for of 
 all the crowd before him he knew none. Gazing down upon the 
 moving masses he saw policemen clearing the way for a noted 
 gentleman, and as he gazed the tall form of what appeared to 
 be one of .London's most distinguished men made its appearance 
 headed and surrounded by the police. The gentleman was bow- 
 
306 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ing politely, and at first he thought it might be the Lord Mayor 
 himself, but a second look startled him ! Could it be possible ? 
 He crept closer to the crowd ; gazed n^ore intently ; his heart 
 beat more rapidly ; that face was familiar ; he drew nearer and 
 nearer ; yes, he had seen that man somewhere before. Could 
 it be? No — well — possibly. They met face to face! and he 
 recognized his old friend — Hon. Edmund Rice of St. Paul, 
 Minn., who had just returned from the office of the Lord Mayor 
 under an especial escort of a squad of police. Both were in 
 Europe on the same mission — that of negotiating bonds, and 
 of course the meeting was a warm and a friendly one, and 
 Banning felt better. 
 
 MR. BANNING AS A MAN. 
 
 Capt. Banning may well be considered a solid man, both 
 mentally and physically. In the judgment of the writer he is a 
 gentleman of superior ability. If fate had only thrown him in a 
 position to bring out the mental faculties with which he has been 
 blessed, he would have made a most excellent United States 
 Senator, dwarfing to insignificance by the. brilliancy and power 
 of his mental forces the many tallow candles now strutting their 
 brief political existence upon the stage of life and glimmenng 
 faintly in their feeble efforts to follow their own shadows. He is 
 a man of solid reasoning powers ; decided and deliberate in his 
 utterances ; strong, steadfast, iron-bound in his convictions ; 
 determined, persevering in his efforts ; cool, philosophical in 
 defeat ; earnest and sincere in his opposition. It seems to be a 
 law that men of high mental attainments should never obtain any 
 great wealth, except by accident, or if obtained to lose it, and 
 while therefore Capt. Banning is comfortably well off he is not 
 rich in the common parlance of the world, and yet he has been 
 and is now a very valuable citizen. 
 
 "l KNOW IT IS ALL RIGHT." 
 
 The earnest faith of the old settlers in the ultimate destiny 
 of St. Paul, was something like the reasoning of the old woman 
 who said she " thought so because she thought so," and hence 
 the early comers thought St. Paul must be in the future a large 
 place, because they thought so — they knew it must be all right. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINK. 507 
 
 ' This reminds me of the simple creed of the child so pleasantly 
 told by Miss Wheeler : 
 
 " They were tiilking of Creeds and Isms — 
 Of this belief and that, 
 Silent and still among them 
 A little maiden sat. 
 
 "They argued about the Bible 
 
 And spent much idle breath 
 
 In wrangling o'er translations 
 
 And the meaning of Life and Death. 
 
 '"Now what is your creed, my wee one?' 
 Said some one to the child. 
 She turned hei- sweet eyes upward 
 And her voice was low and mild: 
 
 "'I have no creed,' she answered, 
 
 And her fair face shovvn with light, 
 'But whenever I think about it 
 I know it is all right.' 
 
 "O, better than lengthy dogmas — 
 Better than creed or text 
 Is the faith of a child: it answers 
 For this world and the next." 
 
 The simple faith, the plain, unpretentious habits, the honest 
 motives, the sincerity of the heart, destitute of hypocrisy, destitute 
 of meanness, destitute of cunning, artless, innocent, unselfish; 
 how the world has drifted away from these earliest and best ele- 
 ments of the human race into the discordant whirlpool of inhar- 
 monious selfishness ! and yet amid all this meanness of human 
 nature I turn to the pure and gentle nature of the child and there 
 I find confidence in the All-wise Power — "We know it is all 
 right." 
 
 GEORGE L. OTIS— WHERE BORN OFFICES. 
 
 A man who was much respected in the day in which he 
 lived, and who built up a large law practice upon a reputation 
 gained for honor, honesty and manhood, was George L: Otis, a 
 small, quiet, pleasant, unpretending gentleman, who was probably 
 one of the most devoted and studious lawyers St. Paul ever 
 had. In his early professional life he seems to have struck out 
 into an original course of action for himself, and so conducted 
 
SOS PEN PICTURES 
 
 his cases as to win entire confidence, and especially was this true 
 in the disposition of money entrusted to his care ; so that with 
 industry, study and honorable dealings with his clients, coupled 
 with a rare amount of self-reliance, Mr. Otis obtained a large 
 practice, the result of his own inherent abilities and individuality. 
 In trying a case he was noted for the sincere manner in which 
 he brought it before the jury, not for any display of oratory or 
 extraneous efforts, but by the evident merits of the case itself as 
 elicited by himself He was no orator, but cool, calm, collected, 
 earnest, he appealed more to the manhood of the jury than to 
 their feelings, and hence was successful. His especial forie was 
 office work — digging out the law and giving advice — rather pre- 
 venting trouble than helping people out of it — in a word he was 
 denominated by the world as a quiet, prudent, careful, honest, 
 honorable lawyer, and with this reputation he died, aged about 
 fifty-four years. 
 
 Mr. Otis was born in New York in 1829 ; removed to Michi- 
 gan in 1837; studied law there and was admitted to practice; 
 came to St. Paul in 1855 ^nd built up a large and profitable 
 business, which he maintained to the day of his death. 
 
 He was a member of the House of Representatives in 
 1857-8 ; of the Senate in 1866 ; Mayor of St. Paul in 1867 and 
 in 1 869 ; was thenominee of the Democratic party for Governor ; 
 was for years one of the managers of the State Reform School, 
 and held a high position in the Masonic order. 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Otis was a very quiet man-, and very rarely ventured 
 outside of his ofifice or of his house. He usually walked delib- 
 erately along the street with head "inclined to the sidewalk and 
 hands behind him, nodding now and then, and always wore a 
 pleasant smile. He purchased three lots on Summit avenue 
 some twenty-three years ago, where his widow at present resides, 
 for which he paid ^1,000; worth now some $50,000. He was a 
 man who made no show ; attended diligently to his business ; 
 treated the world kindly and considerately, and quietly laid down 
 his burden to the great regret of the members of the bar and of 
 his fellow-men. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 500 
 
 D. W. INGERSOLL. 
 
 Mr. IngersoU was born in New Jersey in 1812 ; educated at 
 the common schools; at the age of fourteen years he com- 
 menced mercantile pursuits, entering the store of John S. Potwin, 
 and on Mr. Potwin removing to Burlington, Vt., young IngersoU 
 went with him, and he became ultimately his partner, and subse- 
 quently the firm read D. W. IngersoU & Co. ; removed to New 
 York in 1837; engaged in the wholesale dry-goods trade up to 
 1854, when health failing he removed to Irvihgton, N. Y., and 
 from thence to St. Paul temporarily in 1855 ; in 1856 opened a 
 dry-goods store, which is in existence to-day, and which is the 
 continuously 
 
 OLDEST DRY-GOODS HOUSE 
 
 in the city or State. It was originally on Third street, nearly 
 opposite the Presbyterian Church, but was subsequently removed 
 to McClung's building, corner store, Bridge Square, now occu- 
 pied by a saloon, and underneath it, in the basement, was the 
 publication office of the old St. Paul Daily Times. In 1857 Mr. 
 IngersoU purchased the triangular piece of property corner of 
 Third and Wabasha streets, for $ 1 1 ,000, and in 1 860 commenced 
 the erection of the present IngersoU block. At that time the 
 ground was partially covered by two small one-story buildings, 
 one occupied by Col. Le Due as a stationery store and the other 
 by Lyman C. Dayton as a real estate office. Just a short distance 
 back on Bench street was the office of the old Pioneer. The pres- 
 ent IngersoU property is worth from ;^40,ooo to ^50,000 without 
 the building, with it not less than ^75,000. 
 
 INGERSOLL HALL OFFICES AS A MAN. 
 
 The really first public hall of any note in St. Paul, was that 
 in the top part of the new building erected by Mr. IngersoU, and 
 which for so many years bore his name. It was finally cut up 
 into offices and then remodeled to suit the purposes of a public 
 library. The ground floor of this building was for years occu- 
 pied by Mr. IngersoU as a dry-goods store and the Second 
 National Bank, and the Second floor by offices. It is a solid and 
 valuable building — a substantial landmark of the past. 
 
 Mr. IngersoU was a valuable merriber of the School Board 
 from 1865 to 1877, or twelve years, and for some time was its 
 
510 PEN PICT URES 
 
 president ; was appointed president of the Board of Managers of 
 the State Reform School in the year 1867, and he has held this 
 position ever since, or eighteen years ; has been president of the 
 State Temperance Society , has also been an active, energetic 
 member of charitable associations, superintendent of Sunday 
 schools, first treasurer of the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad 
 Company, was the first president of the Elevator Company, a 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce and has held other offices 
 of honor and of trust. 
 
 Mr. Ingersoll has always been, up to a short time since, one 
 of the most energetic business men in the West, only last year 
 dropping out publicly from his firm although still a member of 
 it, which has done an immense business since 1856, or for twenty- 
 nine years ; and although apparently out of mercantile trade, 
 yet he is equally as busy in erecting tenement houses and super- 
 intending other important matters with which he is connected. 
 Seventy-three years of age, one would hardly think he could be 
 much over fifty, for his step is elastic, his movements quick, his 
 brain clear, his mind unclouded, and if his hair and whiskers 
 were colored black he might be taken for a man of forty. Of 
 ordinary size, with white locks flowing in the wind while he 
 moves rapidly from one place to another, he appears like one 
 whose mental forces draw the physical organization after him, 
 the brain leading the man. He is positive in his character; 
 impulsive ; unbending in his beliefs ; earnest in his nature ; tire- 
 less, vigilant, and though for the time being dropping active busi- 
 ness, yet he is never still, for he shifts one foot with the other 
 when trying to be quiet, and exclaims rather impatiently — " Yes, 
 yes, yes ! " showing the peculiar and nervous characteristics of 
 the man. He is an earnest worker in the city and an earnest 
 worker in the interest of the church, but the grandest efforts of 
 his life will live in history and be forever associated with the 
 great good he has accomplished while president of the Reform 
 School of the State of Minnesota, for during all the time he has 
 been president of this institution he has never received one dol- 
 lar in pay for his services. 
 
 J. w. m'clung. 
 
 Mr. McClung was born in Kentucky in 1826 ; his father was 
 eminent as an author, a lawyer, an orator, legislator and divine. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 511 
 
 ;i;;d was a nephew of Chief Justice Marshall; young McClung 
 received a classical education at Centre College, Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky ; studied law with his father ; graduated at the law depart- 
 ment of the Transylvania University in 1847; practiced two 
 years ; then entered the grocery and commission business, in 
 which he continued several years ; came to St. Paul in 1855 
 and opened a law and real estate office ; gave his whole attention 
 to real estate in 1856 and since then ; built a block of wooden 
 stores on Bridge Square, which soon after burned down unin- 
 sured; erected the present stone bl6ck at a cost of ,^10,000; in 
 1864 was burned out again without insurance, and after strug- 
 gling for twenty years came out ahead and paid up all his debts, 
 having passed through two crises without capital, two fires 
 without insurance, two wars without a contract, and still is able 
 to pay one hundred cents on the dollar. He organized the first 
 building association in 1 869 west of Ohio, and has been secre- 
 tary and manager seventeen years, and is known as the father 
 of these institutions in the West, full forty of which have grown 
 up from the original. In 1 868-9 he was the chief editor of the old 
 Pioneer, and contributed liberally to the press of the city over the 
 7iom de plume of " Merrimac," and won a good reputation as a 
 writer of humor, crisp, sharp, pungent; was elected a director 
 of the Chamber of Commerce in 1871 and has been re-elected 
 ever since ; was the first to inaugurate our system of parks, and 
 Como Park was the result ; proposed the annexation of West 
 St. Paul in the Chamber and worked the bill through the Legis- 
 lature, the City Council and before the people ; introduced into 
 the Chamber the first resolution which resulted in calling the 
 first River Convention for the Upper Mississippi in 1877, the 
 subsequent convention at St. Louis and also the last one at St. 
 Paul; was a delegate to these conventions, except at Quincy, 
 and to this he sent a letter which was received with applause ; 
 wrote the memorial to Congress which secured ^65,000 for the 
 Fort Snelling bridge, and aided by his voice and his pen to carry 
 the measure, and was successful ; v/rote the several memorials con- 
 cerning the West St. Paul harbor ; was active in securing the 
 State Fair grounds ; proposed the extension of the city limits ; 
 and these are only a few of the many measures he has inaugu- 
 rated for the benefit of St. Paul, and had he worked as hard for 
 
512 FEN PICTURES 
 
 himself as he has for the public, he would have been a very 
 wealthy man. As a real estate dealer Mr. McClung has been an 
 improver, furnishing lumber to build with, and thus has aided 
 people of moderate means. 
 
 He was County Commissioner in i860; City Assessor from 
 1864 to 1869; clerk of the Board of Public Works in 1872; 
 County Assessor in 1875, and one of the incorporators of the 
 St. Paul Library Association. He issued a work entitled " Min- 
 nesota As It Is in 1 870," which was a model of pith and brevity, 
 and aided strangers to see us as we are. While a public officer 
 he had one merit indispensably necessary to a correct perform- 
 ance of duty, and that was courage to do right. 
 
 PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. McClung is a man of ordinary size, with full, flowing 
 whiskers and a pleasant expression. He is undemonstrative in 
 his nature, yet open and decided in the expression of his opin- 
 ions, original in his methods of thought, independent in his 
 nature, a pungent and able writer, strictly honest in his dealings 
 and a pleasant, affable gentleman. He is a highly respected and 
 excellent citizen, and ought to be Mayor of the city of St. Paul. 
 
 H. J. HORN. 
 
 " Our Harry," as he is familiarly called by his friends, is a 
 little, short, thick-set man; with a jolly face,' a pleasant smile and 
 a never-forgotten courtesy of manner. He looks more like a 
 young student with his books under his arm than a man creep- 
 ing quietly along to three-score-and-ten, and yet the face denotes 
 strength, character, abihty. He belongs to the old school of 
 lawyers of common sense, and not to the glittering generalities 
 of the new-fangled modern devotees of Blackstone. In this 
 respect he resembles somewhat the late George L. Otis, for both 
 lawyers were similar in their treatment of cases over a quarter 
 of a century ago ; both anxious for an honest administration of 
 justice. He might be considered a little "fussy" in the trial of 
 his cases, and yet this arises more from an over-anxiety to bring 
 out every point than any disposition " to take up the time of the 
 court with irrelevant matter." He is especially thorough ; a 
 good lawyer ; an earnest speaker ; an able advocate ; a kind gen- 
 tleman ; a worthy citizen. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 513 
 
 NATIVITY AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 Mr. Horn was born in Philadelphia in 1821 ; received a 
 good school education including the classics; read law with 
 Henry D. Gilpin, then Attorney General of the United States ; 
 was adnriitted to the bar in 1 849 ; practiced in his native city ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1855 ; was a partner with Reuben Galusha 
 and W. W. Billson ; was City Attorney in 1857 ! County Attor- 
 ney in 1864-6; member of the School Board in 1857-9; also in 
 1884; was at one time corporation counsel; has long been an 
 «lder in the House of Hope Church ; married Miss Fannie Ban- 
 ning in 1859, and has done a good deal towards the advance- 
 ment of Christianity and of Sunday schools in general. Mr. 
 Horn has mingled but little in politics and may be classed with 
 the independent Republicans. He is among the able lawyers of 
 the Minnesota bar. 
 
 JOHN FLETCHER WILLIAMS WELL-FITTED AS HE APPEARS. 
 
 Mr. Williams is a descendant of the Welsh in the person 
 •of John Williams, away back in the seventh generation, but 
 J. Fletcher was born in Ohio in 1834, where he attended Wood- 
 ward College in Cincinnati, then the Ohio Wesleyan University, 
 Delaware; graduated in 1852, and came to St. Paul in 1855. 
 Here he engaged in journalism for about twelve years, being at 
 one time connected with the Daily Pioneer, Press, Minnesotian 
 and Dispatch, when in 1 867 he was elected secretary and libra- 
 rian of the Historical Society, which position he still holds. In 
 addition to this he is corresponding secretary of the Old Set- 
 tlers' Association, and also of the Ramsey County Pioneer 
 Society, and has been secretary of the Minnesota Editorial Asso- 
 ciation. Besides, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Rhode Island, Maine, 
 Buffalo, Montana and the New England Genealogical Society 
 have made him a member of their associations. He is also the 
 author of the History of St. Paul and Ramsey County, and of 
 many interesting papers and valuable sketches ; is an active 
 Odd-Fellow, having held almost every prominent office in the 
 Grand Lodge and Grand Encampment of the State ; is at pres- 
 ent grand scribe of the latter. He was a member of the United 
 States Centennial Commission for Minnesota in 1871, and served 
 as such up to 1876; was a member of the School Board from 
 1864-7, 1868-71. 
 
514 PEN riCTUllES 
 
 Very few men are better fitted for the position he occupies- 
 than Mr. Williams. When a reporter on the press he was con- 
 stantly writing historical and biographical sketches, and his mind 
 naturally turned to researches in the past. When he entered 
 upon his duties as secretary of the Historical Society, he found 
 it in a dilapidated condition and went earnestly to work to build 
 it up, and has done so in the most gratifying manner. Of course 
 the State has furnished the means. 
 
 Mr. Williams is a somewhat peculiar character. He is 
 small, polite, obliging, industrious, and is a walking encyclo- 
 paedia of the dead past. He is like a singed cat, a good deal 
 better than he looks, especially so in his line of duty as secre- 
 tary. When gazing at or conversing with you his mind seems 
 to be wandering amid the pyramids of Egypt, and yet he 
 responds with alacrity to the requests made upon him. He is 
 exceedingly cautious, politic, and on certain subjects though he 
 may talk a great deal, says but very little, while upon other sub- 
 jects he becomes quite loquacious and quite frank. He is a man 
 of ability, unpretentious, steady, upright, studious, and is very 
 valuable as secretary of the Historical Society. 
 
 EDMUND MARTIN. 
 
 Born in Indiana in 1836; moved -to Iowa with his parents in 
 1 840 ; learned the printer's trade in the office of the Burlington 
 Gazette ; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; worked on the old Pioneer 
 in the winter of 1855-6 ; subsequently in the offices of the Times, 
 Minnesotian and Free Press; left St. Paul in 1858; returned in 
 1862 ; left again in 1864, and did not return until 1882. when he 
 opened a saloon on Jackson street ; ran it about one year ; left 
 the city again, but is once more among us. Mr. Martin is the 
 youngest brother of Cole Martin, and was early left an orphan. 
 In one of his peculiar freaks he put up a printing office in Gales- 
 burg, Illinois, worth IS400, over a game of cards and lost, but 
 turned over the office to the winner. He is a slender, delicate man, 
 one of the oldest printers in the State, and a pleasant gentleman. 
 
 excitement in real estate. 
 The excitement in real estate in the early part of 1855 was 
 simply astonishing. Men became wild over their successes ; new 
 towns sprang into existence and new cities on paper multiplied 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 515 
 
 faster than the wild locust of Egypt. City lots jumped so high 
 over night that the tallest ladder could not reach them in the 
 morning, and the spirits of the dealers in real estate were kept 
 up by pouring spirits down. It was land for breakfast, land for 
 dinner and land for supper! The man who hadn't a corner lot 
 was a nonentity and men who had corner lots were millionaires. 
 And such cheek ! Paper towns and swamp lots were offered for 
 $ I oo apiece — worth ten cents ! Strangers looked at these land 
 speculators in wonderment! Such perfect self-complacency' 
 Such utter abnegation of money ! Such cool equanimity and- 
 presumption ! Such cheek ! I have never seen it equaled. 
 
 And so real estate people grew rich while the writer plied 
 his pen serenely and thought as the boy did who went through 
 the kitchen and seeing a lot of cake on the shelf, exclaimed : 
 
 " Mother, mother ! there' s a lot of gingerbread on the shelf," 
 and then growing, suddenly sedate and thoughtful, he continued, 
 " but I suppose that's nothing to me," and so the writer thought it 
 was nothing to him and kept on the even tenor of his way. 
 
 JOHN B. COOK AS I SEE HIM. 
 
 Mr. Cook is a native of New York, born in 1818 ; moved to 
 Pennsylvania in 1828, where for several years he carried on mer- 
 chandising.; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; in 1864 purchased over 
 two hundred feet on Third street oppositethe Merchants hotel 
 and opened a livery stable; in 1868 started his omnibus line; in 
 1 87 1 erected a large stone barn on Fourth street, at present 
 known as the Greve block, which was three stories high, and 
 since then he has greatly enlarged his omnibus business until it is 
 now the only line of any magnitude in the State. Fourteen years 
 ago when Mr. Cook built on Fourth street, that street was then 
 not open to Rosabel, and he graded from Jackson on Fourth to 
 a little way beyond his barn ; now that street below this point is 
 a soHd mass of wholesale business houses. About two years ago 
 Mr. Cook sold his property on Fourth street and purchased of 
 Constans on the upper part of Jackson street, a good piece of 
 real estate upon which he erected large and commodious build- 
 ings for his business. He married Mi.ss Ellen E., daughter of 
 Commodore Champlin of the United States Navy, in 1853, and 
 has lived in St. Paul thirty years. 
 
516 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Mr. Cook is a prompt, energetic, stirring business man ; of 
 ordinary size ; somewhat slender, and yet capable of great endur- 
 ance. He is very much devoted to his business and very few 
 men have labored more faithfully than he to accomplish the good 
 results he has achieved. He has one son who is in business with 
 him and the firm ranks among the best in the city. He is a quiet, 
 undemonstrative, excellent citizen. 
 
 GATES A. JOHNSON. 
 
 Born in New York in 1826 Mr. Johnson received a common 
 school education, and his father dying when young he was obliged 
 to take care of himself and his mother, and so at an early age 
 he commenced his chosen calling, that of a civil engineer. In 
 this capacity he was engaged on the Ogdensburg, New York, 
 road as an axeman, and was promoted by the death of two offi- 
 cers ahead of him to the position finally of chief engineer. He 
 was also employed on the Great Western road of Canada ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1855 ; was soon after engaged in the preliminary 
 survey of the Hastings & Dakota Railroad ; became chief engin- 
 eer of the Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad ; completed 
 this important line and the immense bridges upon its route which 
 have stood fourteen years of travel, were planned by Mr. John- 
 son ; was superintendent of the same road for two years ; was 
 chief engineer of the White Bear & Stillwater road ; was City 
 Engineer in 1 860 for one year ; was Alderman from 1871 to 1 876 ; 
 was County Surveyor from 1 864 to 1 866 ; was elected Alderman 
 in 1883, re-elected and served one term; and is now Alderman 
 and Building Inspector of the city, having been appointed to the 
 latter office in January, 1884, and reappointed in 1886. 
 
 REAL ESTATE AN INTERESTING INCIDENT. 
 
 In. 1866-7 Mr. Johnson purchased one block of twelve lots 
 in Rondo's addition, facing Nelson avenue, for ;g4,ooo; worth 
 now ^40,000 ; two lots fronting on Nelson avenue for ;^300 each ; 
 worth ^6,000 each; four acres on University avenue for ^1,000; 
 worth ;^27,QOO ; a lot, corner of Fourth and John streets, for 
 ^600; worth ;g 1 0,000; one-third of a lot near the Capitol, cost 
 ;^6oo; worth ;^io,ooo. This was in 1866 and in 1867. 
 
 Just before the war, when times were very hard, in the win- 
 ter of i860, Mr. Johnson applied to W. D. Washburn, the Sur- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 517 
 
 veyor General, for work, and fortunately secured a contract of 
 $20,000 to survey some land away upon the Mississippi river. 
 Mr. Johnson had a partner from Houston County, but both were 
 poor and how to obtain money to start with was a serious ques- 
 tion. Finally Johnson mustered up courage enough to call upon 
 the Thompsons of the Second National Bank, and laid his case 
 before them, stating that he could only give them the word of a 
 gentleman that the amount would be paid ; they thought that 
 was " thin security," but consented to advance him ^2,000 with- 
 out any security, or even his note. So he procured his outfit 
 and started in on the contract. The winter was very severe, 
 when, just as the' parties had got fully under way up came the 
 United States Marshal conveying the gratifying intelligence that 
 Mr. Johnson's partner had been drafted, and through his father 
 this partner had to raise ;^300 which he did, and the two con- 
 tractors again went ahead with their job. It was not long before 
 the marshal made his appearance the second time with the news 
 that Johnson's partner had again been drafted, and this time he 
 could not pay ;?300 but was obliged to either go himself or pro- 
 cure a substitute and this cost him just i? 1,000. Then they soon 
 after exhausted the ;^2,ooo advanced to them by the bank, and 
 were forced to go to their moneyed friends again for more, and 
 they received ^^2,000 additional from the bank, and at the expira- 
 tion of a year completed their contract and divided the profits of 
 about ;^500 apiece out of their old broken-down outfit, not 
 receiving a single penny in money for their year's work. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is an active and young-looking man, with long, 
 sandy whiskers and a stirring air of business. During his resi- 
 dence of some thirty years in this city, he has been connected 
 with various branches of trade, but civil engineering has been his 
 principal employment. As an Alderman he performed his duties 
 well and met the wishes of his constituents, and as a citizen he 
 is much respected. He has also been closely connected with the 
 church, and has proved an efficient aid in its support. Though 
 he has had many an up and down in life, yet he is well preserved 
 and still ready for the fight. 
 
 THE OLD settler's HEART. 
 
 Deep down beneath the hard casement of experience ; in- 
 side of the iron-clad elements of a long and an eventful life ; 
 
518 PEN PICTDRES 
 
 hidden from the vulgar gaze of the pubHc and rippling in its 
 early innocence, is a stream of pure friendship, covered with 
 years of troubles, and trials, and falsehoods, and perfidy, and 
 meanness from the outer world, and yet still there it is, in its 
 native simplicity, welling up and flowing all over in its tender- 
 ness for the welfare of those who trod life together a quarter of 
 a century ago. Seared, and blackened, and old, and tough may be 
 the outer covering, but within is the dwelling place of the noble 
 hearts of those who respond promptly to the calls of their com- 
 panions of younger days. The magic touch of the past stirs 
 the latent bonds of friendship, and the heart of the pioneer leaps 
 to the front to aid the helpless and strengthen the weary down 
 the hill of life. God bless the old settlers ! 
 
 ALBERT KNIGHT EDWARD ZIMMERMAN. 
 
 Mr. Knight was born in New York in 1829; was educated 
 at Union college and went to St. Louis in 1 840, and remained 
 there till 1849; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; was for a time en- 
 gaged in the boot and shoe business on Third street ; became a 
 citizen of St. Peter in 1858 ; was Mayor of that city ; president 
 of the St. Peter Company ; was one of the originators and own- 
 ers of the new hotel there, and during his life was largely identi- 
 fied with the history of the place. Mr. Knight was a slender 
 man, very bright and quick in his transactions and noted for his 
 public spirit. 
 
 Mr. Zimmerman was born in France in 1821 ; resided in 
 the department of Alsace until 1 848, when he came to America 
 to avoid the revolutionary troubles then in France, and landed 
 in New York the same year; came to St. Paul in 1855 and 
 engaged in the mercantile business and became widely known 
 and respected. He was a member of the School Board from 
 1 862 to 1 866. He was a man of fine personal appearance, amia- 
 ble in his nature and affable in his manners. He died in 1 866. 
 
 JOHN C. DEVEREUX. 
 
 Born in Ireland in 1831, Mr. D. received a practical, com- 
 mon school education, and left his native land in 1839 settling 
 at Pittsburg, Penn., with his father. When nineteen years old he 
 went into business in Evansville, Ind., and from thence came to 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 519 
 
 St. Paul in 1855 ; clerked for Mr. Presley that year, but in 1856 
 ■opened up trade for himself and continued until the breaking 
 •out of the war, when he enlisted in Company G, Third Minne- 
 sota Regiment, and was soon after commissioned Second Lieuten- 
 ant, then First Lieutenant, then Captain. After his return from 
 the war to the city he started the Northwestern Chronicle, a Catho- 
 lic journal and the first one of the kind this side of Chicago, and 
 -continued it up to 1876, when he disposed of his interest and 
 engaged in various occupations, among which was that of Deputy 
 Register of Deeds in 18/8-9, and Daputy County Assessor for 
 1883-4. In January 1885 he became the general manager of the 
 Chronicle, where he now is. He was a member of the first Board 
 •of Immigration four years — no fee or reward. Sent 5,000 pamph- 
 lets to Ireland. Married Agnes E. Coulter in 1 864. 
 
 IMPEDIMENTS OF LIFE. 
 
 There are some roads full of ruts and some people are 
 •^obliged to travel over them whether they will or not, while there 
 are other roads smooth and delightfully pleasant, and on these 
 roads the lucky ones drive to success. It is generally the kind- 
 hearted, the sympathetic, the generous, the noble, the philan- 
 thropic, and even the learned, the wheels of whose life's carriages 
 stick in the mud holes and the ruts on the thoroughfare of our 
 existence, and not the selfish, or the cruel, or the money-getting, 
 or the hard-hearted men of the world, who, as it were by mere 
 chance glide into the good things of this life. The better the man 
 "the deeper the mud, and the nobler the purpose the more diflfi- 
 -Gult the rut; the greater the struggle, the less success. And 
 yet, just over there, on the other road, whiz ! go the lucky chaps, 
 and there are no mud holes or ruts to impede their progress, 
 though they may reel in drunkenness and fester in corruption. 
 This problem of life is yet unsolved ; perhaps it never will be; 
 but why the good, and the true, and the manly, and the virtuous, 
 rand the honest are checked in their careers of success, and the 
 bad, and the indolent, and the vicious are permitted to prosper, 
 is an incomprehensible wonder to the thinking mind. And so 
 "Capt. Devereux and many others have had impediments in their 
 ^paths of life, not of their own making, or growing out of any 
 seeming neglect on their part, but insurmountable barriers have 
 
520 PEN PICTURES 
 
 been thrown in the way of their progress and their success,, 
 whether for their good or their injury, the end of life only- 
 can tell. 
 
 The subject of my sketch is a pleasant gentleman, with a- 
 flowing beard and a kind heart. He has fought life's battle 
 bravely and has left a record that he can carry with him into 
 that unseen land which is the destiny of all, for all are march- 
 ing, slowly but surely marching to join that gr^nd army gone 
 before. 
 
 PETER JOSEPH DREIS. 
 
 Mr. Dreis was born in Prussia in 1842; came to America 
 in 1852; landed at Chicago and was educated there; removed 
 to St. Paul in 1855 ; learned the drug busines with Bond & Kel- 
 logg, and entered the store of Dr. J. W. Jarvis, who being suc- 
 ceeded by Mr. Schrceder, he remained with him two years ; 
 attended the Adams school, and in the spring of 1859 took a 
 position in the drug store of A. N. Jenks, and remained there 
 up to 1 87 1 ; then with Gordon, when in company with George 
 Mitsch he commenced business under the firm name of Dreis & 
 Mitsch, and continued the partnership for several years, and 
 then the firm was dissolved and Mr. Dreis opened a store of his 
 own. He was secretary of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Com- 
 pany from 1 864 to 1 869 ; was president of the old Exempt Fire- 
 men's organization ; treasurer of the St. Paul Fire Department 
 Association in 1879; Alderman of the Third ward in 1878-9;. 
 since 1884 he has been treasurer of the St. Joseph German 
 Catholic Orphan Society. He married Miss Mary Schneider,, 
 who has borne him ten children — seven living. 
 
 On the night of February 3, 1868, the old International 
 hotel which stood on the corner of Seventh and Jackson streets, 
 burned down, and the equally old building which then existed. 
 where J. P. Allen's drug store now is, took fire, and a piece of 
 cornice falling struck Mr. Dreis on the head and felled him to 
 the earth. He was taken up as dead, and the papers so an- 
 nounced, but although very seriously injured he recovered. 
 " Joe," as he was familiarly called, was a great fireman in his day 
 and was always in the lead. He was a boy among the boys- 
 and never flinched in the discharge of his duty. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 521 
 
 He purchased a lot on Tilton street in 1 868 for which he 
 paid ;g50o; worth ;^4,ock3; he has a lot and brick block on the 
 corner of Ninth and St. Peter streets worth $18,000; also a farm 
 of 343 acres in Big Stone County. " Joe " is a bright, active, 
 honorable man, not large, but full of business, as active as a cat 
 and well posted in his special department as a druggist. He is 
 a kind, pleasant, affable gentleman, and a good citizen. 
 
 M. D. FLOWER A POLITICIAN. 
 
 Born in Ohio in 1841 ; received an academic education; 
 came to St. Paul in 1855; left school and joined the army as a 
 private ; served as such two years ; was promoted for meritori- 
 ous services to the rank of Captain; was appointed Adjutant 
 General of Minnesota by Gov. Austin, and served during his 
 administration ; was reappointed by Gov. Davis, and served 
 during his term ; was elected Chief Clerk of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives of the Minnesota Legislature in 1878; re-elected in 
 1879; was appointed Collector of Customs the same year; in 
 1880 was appointed Supervising Inspector of steam vessels, 
 which position he has held until recently. He formerly ran the 
 hotel at Lake Elmo and also the hotel at Lake Osakis. 
 
 Gen. Flower is a natural politician, and in the past has taken 
 a very active part in the counsels of the Republican party. He 
 was elected to the Republican State Convention in 1878, and has 
 been for a long time secretary of the State Central Committee, 
 and delegate to all kinds of Republican Conventions. During 
 the past year he has been gradually dropping out of politics, and 
 just now with the Democracy in power, he is quite willing to 
 let somebody else run the ship of State. He is a small man, 
 quick in his movements yet slow to act until the matter has been 
 fully canvassed, and then he is energetic in carrying out his 
 plans. He is quiet, unobtrusive, social and amiable, well quali- 
 fied for the position he has just vacated. 
 
 HENRY GALVIN. 
 
 That familiar face and those familiar buttons, that steady 
 tread and that good-natured bearing, that pleasant smile and 
 that soldier-like performance of duty, fully remind me that 
 Henry Galvin has been on the police force for twenty-nine years 
 
S22 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and ranks as the oldest policeman in the city. He is a land- 
 mark and his star always twinkles. Born in Ireland in 1830, 
 Mr. Galvin acquired a common school education and came to 
 America in 1852. He spent three years in Connecticut and 
 removed to St. Paul in 1855 ; in 1856 he was appointed on the 
 police force of this city, and has continued in that capacity for 
 over a quarter of a century. Since 1875 he has been assigned 
 to the railroad depots and has performed his duj:ies with great 
 moderation and discretion, yet promptly and faithfully. He 
 married Miss Mary Mullen in 1855. Mr. Galvin is a well- 
 formed and a well-preserved man; always self-poised; strictly 
 temperate, watchful, careful, prudent, gentlemanly, and is never 
 off his beat. He is greatly esteemed by those who know him, 
 and fully appreciated by the citizens whose interests he so faith- 
 fully guards. 
 
 CONRAD GOTZIAN. 
 
 Mr. Gotzian was born in Germany in 1835 ; came to Amer- 
 ica when quite a youth, and after spending a few years in eastern 
 cities arrived in St. Paul in 1855. At about this time his business 
 career may be said to have commenced. It was then that the 
 foundation was laid, small but solidly and well, upon which the 
 present weighty superstructure was subsequently built. The 
 business, started in a modest way, gradually but steadily and 
 surely developed in proportions, and in 1866 merged into a 
 strictlyjobbing trade and was carried on in the present prominent 
 location. 
 
 Mr. G. is a tall, strongly made man physically ; quiet and 
 thoughtful in manner ; industrious ; far-seeing ; self-rehant ; broad 
 and liberal in his ideas of business methods and generous in his 
 disposal of favors pecuniary and otherwise ; yet withal a prudent, 
 conservative man, who, in his present independent position, 
 doubtless derives much inward satisfaction from the fact that his 
 business has always run successfully from the start; entirely free 
 from financial embarrassment at all times and with a commercial 
 credit strong and almost unquestioned. He is an apt and living 
 illustration of what good common sense, industry and faithful 
 attention to the details of a business will do in carving out one's 
 fortune. He is a pleasant gentleman and a solid, popular citizen. 
 Was a Legislative member during '82 and '83. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 523 
 
 JOHN E. HAGGENMILLER 
 
 Is a native of Germany, born in 1831 ; removed to Detroit, 
 Mich., in 1854, and came to St. Paul in 1855 ; steamboated for 
 a short time on the Mississippi river ; was employed in a restau- 
 rant ; subsequently engaged in the liquor business for seventeen 
 years, when, with a Mr. Kuhl he opened a wholesale liquor house ; 
 sold his interest to his partner in 1880, and in 1881 became 
 associated with George Benz ; dissolved with Mr. Benz in Septem- 
 ber 1884, and is now engaged in no business. Married Laura 
 Presley, and has a splendid family of children. 
 
 In 1859, without his knowledge or consent, Mr. Haggen- 
 miller was elected a delegate to the Democratic Convention to 
 nominate city officers, and immediately thereafter his friend, 
 John Wagner, asked him to vote for Mr. Gibbs, a Republican, 
 for City Justice, and he promised to do so. King, a partner of 
 William P. Murray, was running for the same office on the Demo- 
 cratic ticket, and feeling sure that Haggenmiller was all jight, 
 King called at his place of business and took him in his carriage 
 to the convention, but said nothing to him about voting, so when 
 the members came to act Haggenmiller voted for Gibbs to the 
 great consternation of his Democratic friends who glared at him 
 with eyes of fire and charged him with being bought, when the 
 fact was Haggenmiller being entirely ignorant of the rules of poli- 
 ticians simply carried out the promise he had given to his friend 
 Wagner, not being in any degree aware of the consequences 
 which would follow. Gibbs was elected and of course the howl 
 was greater than before, and that cured Haggenmiller of politics, 
 and although he had afterwards many requests to permit his 
 name to be used, he invariably replied — " Nein ! " He was a 
 member of the fire department from 1857 up to the time the paid 
 department came into existence ; he was first assistant foreman 
 of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company in 1863. 
 
 Mr. Haggenmiller is a fine-looking man, with a florid com- 
 plexion and is one of the most social and popular Germans in 
 the city. For a long time he kept a favorite saloon "just round 
 the corner " on Robert street, and has recently been in upper 
 town with Mr. Benz, though now out of the firm. While always 
 affable yet he is a good business man and has greatly prospered. 
 
524 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and deserves it, for he is a deserving man and a deserving 
 citizen. At present he is in no business. 
 
 FRANCIS VON HEYDERSTAEDT. 
 
 Mr. H. when twenty years of age emigrated to America, 
 but was born in Germany in 1832 ; lived in Illinois and Wiscon- 
 sin until 1855 when he came to St. Paul and engaged his ser- 
 vices in a commercial establishment for ^250 per year; located 
 at Belle Plaine in 1858 where he married Miss Rudolph ; returned 
 to St. Paul in 1866 and commenced the buying and selling of 
 grain and dealing in produce and provisions, which in 1869 led 
 to pork packing and in this he was associated with Mr. Saun^ 
 ders. In i870-'7i he built two stores on Seventh street, one of 
 which he formerly occupied as a grain and commission merchant. 
 Saunders went out of the concern in 1880, Heyderstaedt re- 
 tired in 1 88 1, and formed a partnership with Schutte in 1883. 
 
 Mr. Heyderstaedt bought two lots on Sixth street twenty- 
 eight years ago for ^300 ; worth now ^^24,000 ; a lot on Seventh 
 street for ^15,000; sold for ;^3 5,000; a lot on St. Peter street for 
 ^3,000; worth ;^8, 000. He also owns a brick building on the 
 corner of Broadway and Eighth streets, worth $16,000, besides 
 other property of value. In making these comparisons in the 
 prices of property I do not say that the parties who once owned 
 the property own it still, but simply state the fact that at one 
 time the lot alluded to was worth so much, now it is worth ten 
 times more than that, showing the rise of real estate in the city 
 during a certain number of years. 
 
 Mr. Heyderstaedt is a self-made man, having worked him- 
 self up from nothing as it were to a fine property. He is a very 
 quiet, pleasant gentleman, of medium size, possessing a florid 
 complexion, is quite cautious and very careful in his business 
 arrangements, and never steps where the ice is thin. 
 
 EDMUND R. HOLLINSHEAD. 
 
 Mr. Hollinshead was born in this city in 1855 ; received 
 his education here ; studied law and was admitted to practice in 
 1877, and in the Supreme Court in 188 1. He was a young man 
 of considerable ability and continued his practice until a severe 
 sore throat admonished him to seek a sunnier climate, which he 
 did, but his disease progressed rapidly, and he died I think in 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. S25 
 
 1883. He was a small man with red hair, social in his nature, 
 and a lawyer of a good deal of ability, and had many amiable 
 qualities, and yet in the full vigor of manhood he went down to 
 the grave a blasted young life. 
 
 ROLLIN A. LANPHER AS A MAN. 
 
 Mr. Lanpher was born in Illinois in 1843 ; was educated in 
 his native State and completed his studies in a commercial col- 
 lege at Chicago ; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; enlisted in the Sec- 
 ond Minnesota Regiment in 1861 and served three years; in 
 1864 was employed in the office of the Adjutant General; in 
 1 867 entered the service of Forepaugh & Co. ; m 1 868 began 
 business for himself under the firm name of Hines & Lanpher, 
 which is now R. A. Lanpher & Co.; in 1871 he married Miss 
 Lotta M. Taylor. 
 
 Mr. Lanpher is a small, slender person, yet possessed of 
 great energy and excellent business qualities. He is a self- 
 made man ; prompt, decisive, and honorable in his dealings, and 
 is a successful business man. 
 
 JACOB MAINZER "PLEASE SHOULDER ARMS." 
 
 A square-built, short, chunky man, with the courtly bearing 
 of a member of the imperial family of Kaiser William, Mr. 
 Mainzer is an exception to the general rule of men. The inher- 
 ent quality of politeness bubbles all over him and is as much a 
 part of his nature as is the life-giving principle of his existence. 
 He was born in Germany in 1^54 ; was educated there, and 
 especially in the studies at college; came to America in 1853, 
 landing at New York, and to St. Paul in 1855, where he has 
 ever since resided. He studied law and was admitted to the bar 
 in 1 860; was elected justice of the peace in 1859; at the begin- 
 ning of the war, in company with Col. Kiefer, he raised the first 
 German company in the State ; was appointed Lieutenant and 
 continued in the service for over two years, and resigned in con- 
 sequence of ill-health; in 1863 was elected County Commis- 
 sioner for three years ; elected Register of Deeds for Ramsey 
 County in 1865, which office he held four years; in 1873 
 invented a system of book-keeping, embracing abstracts of titles 
 to property in Ramsey County, and in 1 863 married Miss Caro- 
 line Gendron of Canada East. 
 
526 PEN PICTURES 
 
 The following joke on Maj. Mainzer is told by Col. Uline: 
 When in the army Squire Mainzer's politeness made itself 
 visible in various ways. One day when in command of the com- 
 pany he cried out in his softest and sweetest strain — " Will the 
 company please shoulder arms ? " Of course the " boys " broke 
 out into a giggle and cheerfully complied with the request, for 
 it was rather an uncommon thing to find so much politeness in 
 a First Lieutenant, especially in time of war. While Mr. Main- 
 zer is a true-blue gentleman, yet this joke is greatly enjoyed by 
 his friends, as it illustrates the dominant character of the man. 
 
 " Squire " Mainzer is a square man. He is kind-hearted 
 and has helped many " a poor soldier " to get his pension papers 
 through the office at Washington. He is industrious and eco- 
 nomical, and with the practice of law and his abstract business, 
 contrives to feed the " vrow " and the little " bairns," who so 
 politely ask him for bread and butter, while a new house seems 
 to show the prosperous sea in which he is sailing. I hope at 
 the proper time he may be able to climb "Jacob's" ladder of old 
 and reach the promised land. 
 
 THOMAS W. m'ARDLE G. W. MERRILL. 
 
 Born in Ireland in 1827 Mr. McArdle came to America 
 when eight years old, locating in Philadelphia, where he learned 
 the trade of carpenter and joiner, and removed to St. Paul in 
 1855. He commenced contracting business in this city in 1861, 
 his first work being for Dr. Day. In 1871 Felix Rivard became 
 associated with him in business, and for years they have been 
 doing a fine trade. He married. Mary McGeehan of Philadel- 
 phia in 1854. McArdle is a stirring business man and an 
 upright, manly citizen. 
 
 Mr. M. was born in Maine in 1829; received a common 
 school and academic education ; learned the business of ship 
 joiner of his father, who in this line was famous in his day; 
 worked at his trade in many of the principal cities of New Eng- 
 land until 1855, when he came to St. Paul, where, in 1864 he 
 engaged in contracting and building, and has continued his 
 business ever since. In early life Mr. Merrill became connected 
 with the Masonic order, and has taken a very pi'ominent part 
 in the various organizations ever since. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 527 
 
 FERDINAND WILLIUS. 
 
 A pale, slender, cool, quiet young man was Mr. Willius 
 over a quarter of a century ago, and now he has rounded out 
 into middle age and is traveling in Europe on the money he 
 made in this city during the last thirty years. He was always 
 industrious and attentive to business, and each y-ear found him 
 richer than the year before, so that at that age of life when 
 money is of some service he has all he desires to make him com- 
 fortable in his declining years. He was born in Germany in 
 1829 and received an education there ; emigrated to America in 
 . 1854 and came to St. Paul in 1855 ; opened a bank in 1856, the 
 firm being Meyer & Willius ; then Meyer, Willius & Brother ; 
 then Ferdinand & Gustav Willius ; then Willius Brothers & 
 Dunbar ; then German-American Bank ; now National German- 
 American Bank. Mr. Willius was president of the old German- 
 American Bank for ten years, and was also director. He was 
 Alderman of the City Counsel for some ten years, and president 
 of the same ; was director of the Chamber of Commerce, and 
 Willius street takes its name after him; was married in 1859; 
 retired from the bank voluntarily and is now sojourning in 
 Europe at his leisure. He is a man of a good deal of financial 
 ability and sagacity, and has steadily pursued one calling ; is 
 cool, meditative, industrious, careful, prudent, safe. 
 
 ANDREW R. KIEFER PERSONAL. 
 
 Col. Kiefer was born in Germany in 1832; left there in 
 1849 and arrived at St. Paul in 1855 ; was engaged for some 
 years in the millinery business, and soon after the breaking out 
 of the war in 1861 was appointed Captain of Company G, Second 
 Regiment ; was for several months stationed at Forts Ripley and 
 Snelling ; in 1861 started south with his regiment and in 1863 
 participated in the battle of Mill Spring, the first battle which 
 resulted in victory for the Union troops ; was also in the fight at 
 the battles of Corinth, Springfield, Perry ville and a number of 
 others of minor consequence; was for a time Provost Marshal 
 of Tennessee and was subsequently promoted to the position of 
 Colonel ; was enrolling clerk of the Minnesota House of Rep- 
 resentatives in 1859; a member of the Legislature in 1864; was 
 in the wholesale liquor trade as Kiefer & Heck ; ran a distillery 
 
528 PEN PICTURES 
 
 near Post Siding; was Clerk of District Court of Ramsey 
 County in 1878; was one of the originators of the Hail Storm 
 Insurance Company, and is now a principal officer ; deals largely 
 in real estate, and is a stirring business man. 
 
 Col. Kiefer is a very popular man and has a very taking way 
 with him. He is full of vitality and magnetism and attaches 
 people to him by a peculiar politeness blended with the best of 
 good humor. He is like a sunshiny day throwing out shimmer- 
 ing rays of warmth wherever he goes, and yet he is energetic 
 and a strong business man, a good deal of a politician and a 
 gentleman greatly respected not only for his moral worth, but 
 for his social qualities. 
 
 ORVILLE G. MILLER 
 
 Was born in New York in 1832 ; received an academic edu- 
 cation and learned the trade of a printer ; came to St. Paul in 
 1855 and worked for T. M. Newson in the old Times office the 
 same year ; then in the Pioneer office, and finally started an office 
 of his own, which he continued several years, and then in 1884 
 gave it up, and was employed in the job office of the Pioneer. 
 Mr. Miller is a fat man, turning the scale at 230 pounds. He is 
 moderate in his movements and quiet in his habits, and is well- 
 known by the craft as an excellent workman. 
 
 Miller used to play, I think, the trombone in the band, and 
 once upon an excursion the members becoming tired out, lay 
 down under the trees — nearly all full — of weariness. When once 
 more on the march Miller commenced his blowing, when eyes, 
 ears, nose and mouth were filled with sand, caused by some m.is- 
 chievous " cuss," who, not wishing the instruments to be differ- 
 ent from the owners, filled them up — with fine dirt — which made 
 sad havoc with the blowing qualities of the musicians. 
 
 WILLIAM L. MINTZER 
 
 Was well-known to all the old settlers of a quarter of a cen- 
 tury ago — now dead. Born in Philadelphia in 181 8; was edu- 
 cated in his native city and in Washington ; in early life began 
 the livery business as well as merchandising ; went to Canada in 
 1853; dealt in horses; also resided in Vermont; came to St. 
 Paul in 1855; invested in real estate, and at the time of his death 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 529 
 
 in 1883, he was rich, money made from the rise of his property ; 
 in 1857 he established a sale stable in this city; opened a farm 
 •of 100 acres in West St. Paul, and during all his life-time dealt 
 largely in horses, and latterly in other stock. 
 
 Mr. Mintzer was a queer man with many eccentricities, and 
 yet he was strictly temperate and gave his influence strongly in 
 favor of temperance. He owned valuable property but was 
 awfully averse to paying taxes or assessments for improvements 
 on it, and his opposition to the tax-gatherer was almost a mania. 
 He dressed shabbily and always complained of being poor, but 
 he was a social, pleasant man, and because of his peculiarities 
 will be more vividly remembered than many others. He died of 
 heart-disease in St. Luke's Hospital, this city, in 1 884, and it is 
 still an unsettled question whether he was married or not. 
 
 JOHN NICOLS. 
 
 " Honest John Nicols " is remembered by those who knew 
 the merits of the man. Descended from an old English family, 
 he was born in Carohne County, Maryland, in the year 181 2, 
 and grew to manhood among relatives who had lived in one place 
 continuously for over two hundred years. At the early age of 
 twenty-four years he was elected to the Maryland Legislature 
 where he served three terms in the House and Senate, and while 
 the Mexican war was raging he raised a company and was com- 
 missioned its colonel, but the war came to a close before his 
 troops could be ordered to march, Though an owner of slaves 
 yet he was opposed to' slavery and in 1847 he gave freedom to 
 all his servants who had reached their majority, and continued to 
 do so until all were manumitted. He entered mercantile life in 
 Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1847, where he remained most of the 
 time up to 1885, when he came to St. Paul; bought out William 
 R. Marshall and engaged in the iron trade with 'Peter Berkey 
 and continued the business to the time of his death. 
 
 OFFICES WORTHY OF NOTE PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Nicols was a member of the Board of Education in 
 1862-5; County Commissioner in 1860-1, 1871-3; member of 
 the State Senate in 1864-5, 1872-3; Regent of the State Uni- 
 versity for several years ; treasurer of the Board of Regents ; 
 
 34 
 
330 PEN PICTURES 
 
 was one of the first of two lay delegates sent from Minnesota to- 
 the general Methodist Conference, and was a liberal supporter of 
 the Methodist Church. In politics he was an old-line Whig up 
 to the breaking out of the war, and then he became a Republi- 
 can and an unflinching Union man. ' 
 
 The writer was a reporter for two newspapers in the State 
 Senate at the time Mr. Nicols was a member, and he had ample 
 opportunity to watch the man and he unhesitatingly says that 
 John Nicols had no equal in industry or in the conscientious 
 and faithful discharge of his duties, and in point of honor, hon- 
 esty and manhood he had no peer anywhere. 
 
 Mr. Nicols was a thin, spare, plainly-appearing gentleman,, 
 and walked a little bent over, or rather his head projected for- 
 ward as he walked. He was a man of earnestness, very con- 
 scientious, strictly honest, a sincere member of the church, and 
 a most excellent citizen ; a rare man in every sense of the word. 
 
 PATRICK o'rEGAN. 
 
 Mr. O'Regan was born in Philadelphia in 1842 ; received 
 a limited education; came to St. Paul in 1855, and was in the 
 employ of the late William H. Forbes ; returned to Philadelphia 
 where he remained up to 1 861 and then enlisted in the army 
 and became sergeant; was discharged in 1864, having been in 
 all the battles in the army of the Potomac ; in 1 866 he returned 
 to St. Paul and engaged in the liquor trade and has lived here 
 ever since. 
 
 MUSINGS. 
 
 Never say good morning to the devil until you see him, but 
 when he comes treat him politely — that is, never borrow trouble, 
 try to avoid it, but when it overtakes you, meet it manly. Two old 
 settlers put up at a hotel, one occupying a room over the other. 
 The occupant in the upper room kept the gentleman in the lower 
 one from sleeping by his constant walking. Out of patience the 
 man disturbed knocked at the door of his fellow-lodger and said 
 — " What the devil is the matter with you ? What are you walk- 
 ing the floor for?" " Oh, my dear sir," said the poor fellow, 
 pale and haggard, " I've a note to pay in the morning and don't 
 know where I shall be able to raise a dollar." " Is that all ? " 
 asked the man. "You d d fool; go to bed and let the fel- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 531 
 
 low who holds the note walk the other half of the night ; you 
 have done your duty," and then he hobbled off to his couch. 
 We are fretting ourselves into premature graves over matters we 
 can't control. Every man is the creature of circumstances, and 
 most of our boasted ability is only the lucky turn of an event. 
 We must keep doing something, but nine business men out of 
 every ten fail in their various avocations of life. Hope, however, 
 buoys us up from day to day. " Well, perhaps to-morrow mat- 
 ters rn^y be better," and so this grand element in the human 
 heart holds us above the sea of despair, of suicide, of ruin, and 
 amid all our disasters we float out on to the ocean of life still 
 dreaming of something better beyond our present troubles. 
 Hope teaches us philosophy. Hope aids our ambition. Hope 
 is the life-giving principle of man. Without Hope all is gone — 
 lifeless, cold, inanimate, dead. 
 
 " CHRIS." STAHLMANN. 
 
 Among the former well-known Germans of this city, was 
 Chris. Stahlman, the celebrated manufacturer of beer. He was 
 a large man, with full habits, rather quiet in his manners and yet 
 a man of great business force of character. In early days he 
 went out to what was known as the old Fort road, now Seventh 
 street, and purchased several acres of land there and built his 
 brewery thereon. These acres were then considered away out 
 of the city, but are now within the city limits and very valuable. 
 He was one of the very first brewers, if not the first in St. Paul, 
 and his beer was celebrated for many years. He was born in 
 Bavaria in 1829; came to the United States in 1846 and located 
 in Indiana, where he remained two years, and then moved to 
 Cincinnati ; resided there five years ; lived two years in Iowa ; 
 removed to St. Paul in 1855, and erected his brewery the same 
 year. He was a member of the House of Representives in 1 871 
 and in 1883 ; was County Commissioner in 1871, and held sev- 
 eral other minor offices. He was a good-sized person, slow in 
 his movements, yet a man of a good deal of business tact and 
 sagacity, and very generally known throughout the city. 
 
 CHARLES PASSAVANT. 
 
 Mr. Passavant was born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, one of 
 the three free cities of Germany, in 1832; received a mercantile 
 
532 PEN PICTURES 
 
 education ; worked on a farm for three years and attended an 
 Agricultural College two terms; came to America in 1854 and 
 located at Pittsburg, Penn. ; removed to St. Paul in 1855; was 
 engaged in various occupations until 1858, when he became edi- 
 tor of the Minnesota Deutsche Zeitung, the first German Repub- 
 lican paper in the State, and during the same year he was 
 appointed Deputy Register of Deeds which he held up to i860; 
 then read law with C. D. Gilfillan, Esq., and in 1862 took charge 
 of the office of Register of Deeds to which he had been elected 
 in 1 861; held the office four years; visited Germany and re- 
 mained there four months; on his return home entered partner- 
 ship with Mr. Geis in the Northwestern Steam Bakery ; sold out 
 and served as City Assessor from 1870 to 1874, and from thence 
 to 1 880 he was in the insurance and real estate business ; pur- 
 chased an interest in the St. Paul flouring mills in 1880 and ran 
 them up to 1883, when he was appointed Abstract Clerk and 
 held that position up to a short time since. Married Miss Schlief 
 in 1856, who has had thirteen children, ten of whom are living. 
 Mr. Passavant is a small man, with sharp features and sharp 
 ideas. In early days he was a very active politician, well 
 posted, and untiring in his efforts to advance the interests of the 
 Republican party. He has a brain which acts very quickly, and 
 he moves rapidly, accomplishing a good deal of work in a short 
 . time. He has a nervous temperament, and speaks and acts posi- 
 tively as though satisfied in his own mind as to the correctness 
 of the positions he has assumed. He is a man of industry; 
 never idle ; and for, twenty-five years past has performed labor 
 enough to entitle him to a season of rest and ease, but if he is 
 like many other old settlers he will find it only in the grave. 
 
 CHARLES H. SCHNITTGER. 
 
 Born in Germany in 1836 Mr. Schnittger came to America 
 in 1844, and to St. Paul in 1855 ; learned the trade of a shoe- 
 maker, and acted as a salesman up to 1857, when he became a 
 partner with F. Knauf in the grocery business; sold out in 1859 
 and became again a salesman until 1 862 ; then entered the notion 
 trade, and later engaged in the dry-goods business with H. H. 
 Timme ; Mr. T. retiring in 1879 and Mr. Schnittger continued the 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 533 
 
 business. . He is a gentleman of versatile attainments, possesses 
 more than ordinary ability, and is a good citizen. 
 
 T. L. SCHURMEIER. 
 
 Mr. Schurmeier was born in St. Louis in 1852; came to St. 
 Paul in 1855; educated at the Baldwin University, Ohio; was 
 inj. J. Hill's railroad office for five years; entered the First 
 National Bank as bookkeeper; afterwards as teller up to 1858, 
 when he assumed the financial department of Lindeke, Warner 
 & Schurmeier. He is a young man of fine business qualities 
 and of excellent habits, and in connection with his partners is 
 building up an elegant trade. Quiet and undemonstrative he is 
 a worthy, sohd citizen, while at the same time he is an affable, 
 pleasant gentleman. 
 
 J. F. TOSTEVIN. 
 
 Mr. Tostevin was born in the highlands of Jersey, Europe," 
 in 1 823 ; went to Exeter, Devonshire, England, with his parents, 
 where he was educated ; moved to London at the age of twenty- 
 one years and engaged in the mafble business; emigrated to 
 America in 1 849 and located at Buffalo, N. Y. ; superintended 
 large marble works there until 1855 when he came to St. Paul, 
 and soon after engaged in his old business, and for many years 
 was the owner and is now of the only steam marble factory in 
 the State. He was married in London in 1844, to Miss Sibylla 
 Smallridge, who has borne seven children, four of whom are 
 living. 
 
 INCIDENTS. 
 
 Mr. Tostevin has been in the marble and stone business for 
 forty-eight years, thirty of which have been spent in St. Paul. 
 He opened his factory on one of the corners of Robert and 
 Eighth streets in 1855, where he remained for twelve years, 
 doing most of the work himself, and then removed to the oppo- 
 site corner, where he now is and where he has been for eighteen 
 years. At the time of the opening of his establishment there 
 were but a few houses near him and the Indians were all about 
 him, and frequently pointed to his monuments and exclaimed — 
 " Dead-live-white-men." The ground north of his shop was a 
 swamp, and water stood in holes. Mr. Tostevin was the first 
 
o34 ' PEN PICTURES 
 
 marble manufacturer in the city or State, although a man by the 
 name of Amidon did a little business, assisted by "Squire" 
 Mainzer, in rubbing down the monuments. Mr. T. sold out to 
 Truman M. Smith, but returned again to the old establishment. 
 He once owned forty acres near Mr. Brainerd's ; cost ^800 ; sold 
 for ;^7,ooo; worth ;^35,ooo. He also owned other real estate 
 upon which he made money and which is now very valuable. 
 He did not think St. Paul could possibly be the city it is, and 
 yet he has lived to see its growth. 
 
 Mr. Tostevin is a man of medium size, very quietly spoken, 
 deliberate in his expressions, honest and conscientious in his 
 dealings, upright, manly, plain, cautious, sincere, modest, natu- 
 ral; and his word is as good as his bond. From very small 
 beginnings by unceasing industry he has built up a large busi- 
 ness and has the gratification of seeing his sons well-to-do in 
 life, one being with him in business and the other engaged in 
 developing a fine quarry at Dresbach, opened by his father. 
 Mr. Tostevin is really " a fine old English gentleman all of the 
 olden time," and very few men could pass through what he has 
 and come out like the burnished gold, as he is. An uninter- 
 rupted acquaintance of over a quarter of a century leads me to the 
 conclusion that there are very few better men than J. F. Tostevin. 
 
 "the moon went right on." 
 
 Old settlers are apt to be a little sensitive over the march of 
 events, feeling as though they might have reaped a golden har- 
 vest had they only jumped in in time, but they should bear in 
 mind this fact that all can't be rich or famous, and that each 
 one in his individual capacity, no matter how humble, has done 
 his part towards the completion of the great whole. Some had 
 to dig the cellar, some to lay the foundation, some to raise the 
 frame, some to fill the chinks, and some to complete the edifice, 
 and here it stands, in all its grand proportions, and each is enti- 
 tled to his full meed of praise. Don't fret over the past ; let it 
 go. Suppose little dogs do bark at you ; heed them not, but 
 press on to the end of your journey. And this reminds me of 
 a little story. An eminent judge had decided against some 
 young sprigs of the law who thought they knew it all, and 
 becoming incensed over his decision they said many unkind 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 535 
 
 things of the eminent jurist. Walking home they all stopped at 
 the village tavern, as was the usual custom in the olden time, 
 when in strode the Judge, and as he was a good story-teller, 
 they forgot their anger for the time being and requested him to 
 favor them with one of his delightful romances. 
 
 " Well," said the Judge, " it was a beautiful night and the 
 moon rose in all her grandeur — full, round, serene," — and he 
 paused. 
 
 "Well, what then, Judge?" asked his listeners. 
 " By the road-side," continued the Judge, " stood a beautiful 
 white cottage, with its green blinds, and smooth lawn, and creep- 
 ing vines," — and the speaker paused again. 
 
 " And what then. Judge ? " broke in a number of voices. 
 " Nothing," responded the Judge, " only the moon shone 
 TaeautifuUy down upon that little cottage, and the air was serene 
 and quiet, and nature was reposing in all her voluptuous loveli- 
 ness, and the great luminary moved majestically across the 
 azure sky, and the dim stars seemed to twinkle in glorious hap- 
 piness, and the perfume of the roses exhaled the air, when all of 
 a sudden a little snarling, snapping, homely, yellow dog ran out 
 from behind that little cottage, and looking the moon full in the 
 face, barked, and barked, and barked," — another pause. 
 
 " And what in Heaven's name occurred next ? " asked his 
 now eager listeners. 
 
 " Why, the moon went right on and paid no attention to 
 him," and in an instant the Judge was out of the room leaving 
 his vilifiers to ponder over the lesson he had taught them. 
 
 No matter what have been the mishaps of life old settlers 
 should learn to imitate the moon and let little dogs bark, for 
 they lose what Huxley calls " the protoplasm of life," while the 
 old settler lives to forget their memories. 
 
 JOHN H. DODGE. 
 
 Mr. Dodge was born in Vermont in 1 83 1 ; removed with 
 his parents to Michigan in 1836 and here he received his educa- 
 tion at the common schools. When quite a young lad, not more 
 than sixteen years of age, he engaged in steamboating on Lake 
 Superior and followed the business three years and then removed 
 to St. Ste. Marie, where he engaged in the grocery trade and 
 
536 PEN PICTURES 
 
 which he continued up to 1855, when he came to St. Paul and 
 opened a grocery store on upper Third street, and continued this 
 until 1859 when he was elected City Clerk and remained in that 
 office including most of 1861, and then became the presiding 
 genius at the counter of the old American House and held his 
 position until that noted hotel was burned. When Col. Allen 
 took possession of the Merchants hotel Mr. Dodge became his 
 clerk, and he has been a fixture there ever since, now some 
 twelve years. He was at one time in the employ of the Ameri- 
 can Express Company, and I think also a clerk for Col. Shaw. 
 Very few men are better known throughout the city and the 
 State than John H. Dodge, for as hotel clerk he must of necessity 
 come in contact with a great many men and of course they must 
 know the accommodating gentleman who treats them so kindly. 
 Mr. Dodge's long familiarity with human nature and his peculiar 
 temperament have won him the reputation of " the model man," 
 and he takes the ribbons as the best hotel clerk in Minnesota. 
 He is a quiet, even-tempered gentleman, and can stand a volley 
 of questions with the same immovability as the rocks of Gibral- 
 ter can withstand the never-ceasing waves of the ocean as they 
 dash against their solid base. But he is more than this — he is 
 an excellent accountant, and above and beyond all — honest! He 
 is a man of ordinary size, with a good, clear complexion, some- 
 times using spectacles, and moves as quietly in society as a well- 
 conceived thought, creating no jar but none the less effective in 
 his undemonstrative efforts to make the world better for his hav- 
 ing lived in it. 
 
 SAMUEL J. ALBRIGHT. 
 
 Mr. Albright, the publisher of the old Daily Free Press^ 
 edited by A. C. Smith, was a printer by trade, and was formerly 
 connected with the Pioneer. He is a man now rising fifty years. 
 In his young days he was full of energy, and for that matter is 
 now ; short, of ordinary size, with a florid complexion and gold 
 spectacles, he moves with the celerity of light. After leaving 
 the Free Press he became connected with a townsite scheme and 
 newspaper enterprise in Dakota, and from thence drifted to Chi- 
 cago where he now is. He came to St. Paul in 1855; is a 
 social, pleasant gentleman and a great favorite with those who 
 know him. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 537 
 
 H. M. DODGE. 
 
 " Squire " Dodge, father of John H, Dodge, will long be 
 remembered by those who knew him. His position as justice of 
 the peace for many yeirs in a little old building on upper Third 
 street, gave the public an opportunity to know the man, his quiet 
 ways and his peculiar traits of character. " Yes, yes, yes," with 
 a roll of the tongue under the cheek and between his teeth, was 
 a marked characteristic, while his kindness of heart won him 
 many friends. The old, dingy room, the long benches, the dark, 
 forbidding desk, the gray-headed " squire " in his spectacles, the 
 solemn grandeur and the pure ministerial wings of justice, all 
 come up before me like a troop of happy children romping home 
 from school — how memory dates back, but the old " squire " is. 
 gone. 
 
 Mr. Dodge was born in Chelsea, Vermont, in 1802; received 
 a common school education ; kept a hotel in his native place for 
 several years; emigrated to' Southern Michigan in 1836, where 
 he was engaged in mercantile pursuits for ten years and where: he 
 was elected County Treasurer ; moved to the northern portion of 
 Michigan in 1846, and was appointed Custom House officer by 
 the United States government, and elected justice of the peace 
 and Clerk of the District Court, and a member of the Legislature^ 
 and with Gen. Stockton collected revenue for the United States 
 for mineral lands; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; engaged in the 
 grocery business for four years; was Alderman in 1858 and in 
 1861, and part of the time president of the Council ; was justice 
 of the peace for fifteen years, and had in trust a large amount of 
 property belonging to other parties. He was esteemed an upright, 
 honest man, and an honest " squire." He lived in the house in 
 which he died twenty-two years. " Naturally of a legal mind, 
 patient and laborious in researches, determined to reach the truth 
 and courageous in rendering his decisions without fear or favor, 
 the verdict finally accorded him as 'justest justice' is the bright- 
 est diadem in his crown of a long life most worthily lived." 
 
 C. C. MILES 
 
 Is a native of Philadelphia where he was educated ; born in 
 1832, came to St. Paul in 1855, engaged in business as bell- 
 
538 PEN PICTURES 
 
 hanger, locksmith and dealer in safes ; picked the lock of the first 
 railroad car which came to this city, and has been picking locks 
 ever since, and has thus far evaded the penitentiary. Married 
 in 1858 to Miss Helen A. Bedell of this city. 
 
 " Charlie " Miles is a specialist in his line of business, and a 
 good one at that. > He is a bright, active man, quick as light- 
 ning, always pleasant, always cheerful, and always the gentle- 
 man, and withal he is a good business man, and has built up a 
 large trade by straight-forward dealing. While he can get inside 
 of a lock where nobody else can, he is always " safe" in the ulti- 
 mate end of his undertaking. 
 
 D. D. MERRILL OFFICES. 
 
 " Great oaks from little acorns grow," and so Mr. Merrill 
 has grown from a small beginning to huge proportions — I mean 
 in business, not physically. He was born in Michigan in 1834; 
 received a common school education ; passed through Kalama- 
 zoo College and came to St. Paul in 1855. He was engaged 
 for a time with Folsom, Rohrer & Banker, who were real estate 
 dealers and Mr. Merrill kept their abstract books ; he then 
 became Deputy City Treasurer ; went to Oneota, Lake Superior, 
 in 1857, and had charge of Mr. Ely's store and mill; returned 
 to St. Paul the same year and entered the employ again of Dan 
 Rohrer who was City Treasurer and dealt in real estate; re- 
 mained with him until 1859; was secretary of the Republican 
 Committee and made a tour of the State with Schurz, Grow, 
 Colfax and other prominent Republicans ; same year married 
 Miss Alice A. King; in i860 opened a little store, 14x30, for 
 himself on Third street and stocked it with books and station- 
 ery, a friend advancing ;^ 1,500 and Mr. Merrill putting in his 
 time to offset the money ; in 1865 he bought a building next to 
 him and began to branch out ; moved across the street where 
 he remained two years, when in 1877 Mr. Schurmeier erected a 
 building for him just below Cedar on Third street, where he 
 continued until 1879 when the firm of White, Stone & Co. was 
 merged with his own firm and the St. Paul Book and Station- 
 ery Company became incorporated and moved to its present 
 -commodious quarters on lower Third street, and here business 
 has been transacted for the past six years. 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 530 
 
 Mr. Merrill was a member of the School Board from 1865 
 to 1868; during the war he was secretary and treasurer for the 
 United States Christian Commission and handled a large amount 
 of money, goods, clothing and hospital stores for the soldiers, 
 swelling the total up into thousands of dollars, and this he did 
 for four years without pay ; he has been treasurer of the Minne- 
 sota Baptist State Convention for twenty-one years ; has been 
 the depository of the Bible Societies of the United States ever 
 since he started in business, now some twenty-five years, and 
 has been an active and valuable member of the Baptist Church 
 for over a quarter of a century. Indeed, I may say Mr. Mer- 
 rill has been identified with every conceivable Christian effort 
 to benefit the city and the State during his early manhood 
 up to the present time. As an illustration of his character, 
 when learning during the war that Mr. Prentiss, of the Louis- 
 ville Journal was advocating the cause of the Union, he pro- 
 cured two hundred and sixty subscribers for his paper in St. 
 Paul and sent him the money, to which Mr. Prentiss made an 
 eloquent response 
 
 REAL ESTATE IN WEST ST. PAUL STATE SCHOOL BOOKS. 
 
 Some twenty years ago Mr. Merrill put about ^^ 12,000 in 
 West St. Paul property, its present value being about ^500,000 1 
 Lots he purchased then for ^25 and $30 apiece, have been sold 
 for $5,000 and ;^6,000, but out of 500 lots he originally owned 
 there he has about 200 left, averaging not less than ;^300 per 
 lot. . 
 
 About ten years ago the school-book manufacturers of the 
 United States combined and were making enormous profits upon 
 their stock, when the question arose as to the propriety of 
 the State manufacturing its own school books, and finally Mr. 
 Merrill was called upon to point a way out of the difificulty 
 which he did and which culminated in the present law whereby 
 books that hitherto cost twenty-five cents can be obtained 
 now for one-third to one-half less under the contract made by 
 the State with Mr. Merrill. This law broke the back-bone of 
 the combination and gave to the school children books at a 
 reasonable rate, and no man worked more earnestly to this end 
 than did D. D. Merrill. 
 
640 PEN PICTURES 
 
 QUICK AND UNTIRING. * 
 
 Mr. Merrill is a medium-sized man and of unbounded energy 
 and untiring industry. He is just in the vigor of manhood, and 
 notwithstanding the great strain that has been upon him for 
 years yet he does not look older than forty-five. A man of 
 ready comprehension he has the nerve to back the self-reliant 
 element of his character while the foundation for his success lies 
 in his prudent management and honorable dealing. He is a 
 good man and a good citizen. His mother was the sister of the 
 late Charles H. Oakes and his grandfather died at the age of 95 
 years, some twenty-eight years ago. 
 
 CASPER H. SCHURMEIER. 
 
 Among one of the earliest old settlers with whom I became 
 acquainted, was the subject of my sketch. He was a typical 
 type of the German nation — solid, cool persistent, industrious, 
 self reliant, calculating, with a remarkable faculty for making 
 money. He was a man of fine physical organization ; very quiet 
 and very moderate in his ways, and still when he moved it was 
 always to some purpose. He was honest and honorable and I 
 know of no one who would wantonly kill a blade of grass which 
 grows upon his grave. 
 
 Mr. Schurmeier was born in Germany about 1820; emigrated 
 to St. Louis in 1840, where he engaged in the wagon-making 
 business; came to St. Paul in 1855 and opened a shop on 
 Franklin street, where he continued many years ; purchased a 
 homestead on the corner of Ninth and Canada streets and here 
 he lived thirty years and here he died, and here his widow now 
 resides. Mr. Schurmeier was an Alderman in 1855, 1 861, and 
 1868; was County Commissioner in 1872-3, and in all these 
 positions he performed his duty acceptably and well. He died 
 in March 1 873, leaving three daughters and four sons. Theodore 
 is one of the firm of Lindekes, Warner & Schurmefer, and Gus- 
 tave of Foot, Schultz & Co. He was only the forerunner of a 
 German element which is now an important factor in the up-build- 
 ing of our city. 
 
 JOHN m'cAULEY. 
 
 Mr. McCauIey is a medium-sized man with a vivacious tem- 
 perament and a pleasant address. He has been a worker all his 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 341 
 
 life-time, and is an honorable, upright citizen, and yet the fates 
 have decided against him, and just now as Father Time is sprink- 
 ling his beard with gray he feels as though he would like to 
 have some rich Vanderbilt adopt him and leave him heir to some 
 of his vast estate. " Mac " is quite positive he could take care of 
 the amount he might receive, if somebody would only give him 
 a chance. He certainly is deserving of all he may ever get from 
 that source or from any other. He was born in Pennsylvania in 
 1836 and educated at the common schools of that State; came 
 to St. Paul in 1855 ; clerked in a grocery store and was among 
 the first traveling men who went out of St. Paul to solicit 
 orders ; in connection with Mr. Fink he opened a grain and com- 
 mission house on Sibley street in 1880, where he is now. There 
 are no remarkable events in his life only that everlasting strug- 
 gle which is incident to every old settler who was not born with 
 a gold spoon in his mouth. " Mac " is a good man. Married 
 with a family. 
 
 M. R. PRENDERGAST THE MAN. 
 
 Mr. Prendergast was born in Ireland in 1842; emigrated to 
 America in 1847 and settled in New Haven, Connecticut, where 
 he was educated; came to St. Paul in 1855 and learned the 
 printer's trade with T. M. Newson ; soon .after he entered the 
 Union army and joined the Tenth Regiment. John Grace, Tom 
 Howard, Prendergast, Capt. Sullivan and others attempted to get 
 up a company, but they didn't procure men enough to go 'round 
 for officers to say nothing of the privates, and finally consolidated 
 with another company. Prendergast went into the army as a 
 private and came out as a Commissary Sergeant. He then 
 removed to Le Sueur and started the Courier in 1 867, and the 
 Henderson Democrat in 1 869 ; published one of these papers 
 seven years and the other five, when he came to St. Paul in 
 1873 and went into partnership with his brothers in the plumbing 
 and stove business, where he has remained ever since. In early 
 days Mr. Prendergast carried around the whole edition of one 
 paper and distributed it to subscribers in the city. One of his 
 brothers, James, died, which left the firm as J. C. and M. R. 
 Prendergast. Mr. Prendergast made a visit to his old home in 
 Ireland in 1885. 
 
542 PEN PICTURES _ 
 
 "The boy, when an apprentice, foreshadowed the character 
 of the man, for he was one of the most industrious lads who 
 ever set a type, and in manhood he has fully carried out this 
 trait of character; He is remarkably quick in his conclusions 
 and in his actions ; never idle ; always cheerful ; a good business 
 man ; a pleasant gentleman. 
 
 H. ORLEMAN FIRST BILLIARD AND CONCERT HALL. 
 
 A very quiet, unostentatious man is Mr. Orleman, so utterly 
 oblivious to public sentiment that he has never run for apolitical 
 office and consequently still retains his good name. He has 
 done a great deal of shaving, but it has been outside of the walls 
 of a bank, and while he has sought to cover up deficiencies it has 
 been to head off growing evils, so that he has been a public 
 benefactor. He was born in Germany in 1 834 ; educated in the 
 old country and landed at New York in 1 851, where he remained 
 four years as a barber, hair-dresser and wig-maker. He arrived 
 at St. Paul in 1855 and opened a barber shop on East Third 
 street, then in the American House, then in the old building of 
 John R. Irvine, including hair-dressing and wig-making, and is 
 now the oldest barber in St. Paul. He continued his profession 
 here for many years, his principal place of business being on 
 upper Third street. He joined the fire department in 1857, con- 
 tinuing with the old Hope Company nine years ; was a member 
 of the German Reading Society ; is a member of the St. Paul 
 Turnverein Society, and helped organize it. 
 
 The first legitimate billiard and concert hall in this city was 
 opened by Mr. Orleman in 1868, occupying the basement under 
 his present store and that of George Benz on Third street. At 
 these concerts Papa Esche, Siebert, Hankie, and other well- 
 known German musicians took part. In connection with them 
 he also kept a saloon, having continued in the same place seven- 
 teen years. He married in New York in 1854 Miss Susan Benz, 
 a sister of George Benz. His oldest daughter is the wife of Mr. 
 Grote. Mr. Orleman is a square-built man, with square features, 
 hair considerably sprinkled with gray, and has a happy fac- 
 ulty of minding his own business. He deals largely in imported 
 beer, and " is a good old German gentleman all of the olden 
 time." 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 543 
 
 E. A. WELLER REAL ESTATE A BALLOON. 
 
 Mr. Weller was born in Connecticut in 1818, where he 
 received his education ; learned the trade of a cabinet-maker ; 
 Avorked at it in New Milford, when he went to New York and 
 engaged in the hotel business ; opened a hotel in Bridgeport, 
 Conn., for himself; sold out in 1855 and came to St. Paul that 
 year and was superintendent of the old Winslow House — burned ; 
 in 1859 took charge of the Winslow House at St. Anthony — 
 building still standing; returned to St. Paul and bought and 
 sold real estate until 1865, when he went East and remained 
 there ten years; returned to St. Paul in 1875; in 1878 opened 
 a grocery store on upper Third street and continued it three 
 years ; since then he has been in the real estate business. 
 
 He purchased forty acres in Ramsey County just this side 
 of the Hennepin line, some years ago, for ^1,200 ; sold for ^1,600 ; 
 worth ^40,000 now ; bought two lots on the corner of Third 
 street and Pleasant avenue, for which he paid $3,300 ; worth now 
 $15,000; with improvements $25,000. He has been married . 
 twice and has one son, and one daughter by the second wife. 
 
 When in Bridgeport he agreed to bring 20,000 people into 
 the city by the ascension of a balloon, and for this purpose the 
 great French balloonist in New York was engaged with a balloon 
 of the capacity of 3,000 yards. The 20,000 people came, the 
 balloon went up, but it was the wrong way, for it struck the side 
 of a barn and disappeared as a good many other things have — 
 in gas. Still, on second trial it was a success, and so were the 
 20,000 people. 
 
 One morning in 1862 Mr. Weller found forty-two Chippewa 
 chiefs encamped upon the ground on upper Third street, now 
 occupied by the late residence of Judge Nelson, and directly 
 opposite that of Mr. Weller's own home, having arrived there 
 during the night, and here they had gathered to tender their aid 
 to Governor Ramsey to fight the Sioux, who were then in open 
 warfare with the whites. The Governor, however, declined their 
 services, and after entertaining them very liberally with a good 
 dinner, they took their departure for home. Such a scene now 
 would be quite a curiosity. 
 
 Mr. Weller is a small man, but possesses gieat energy of 
 character, and has been all his life-time an indefatigable worker. 
 
644 PEN PICTURES 
 
 He accumulated a good deal of wealth but lost it through others. 
 Yet he has surmounted all obstacles, and now owns land and four 
 houses worth ;^30,ooo. He is a quiet man who minds his own 
 business and looks out for his own interests. 
 
 WILLIAM GOLCHER. 
 
 All the old settlers knew Golcher, now of California, and 
 before the war a,ll the Southerners who came to this State knew 
 him, for it was to his store on Third street, above Cedar, that 
 sportsmen and fishermen drifted for their outfits, and Golcher 
 then was the " king bee ; " He kept, I believe, the first legitimate 
 gun store in the city or State, and held the ribbons for a good 
 many years. He was born in England in 1834; emigrated to 
 Philadelphia with his father in 1 840 ; aided him in supplying the 
 goverment with a large number of flint- locks for the Indians. 
 In the factory he showed his mechanical skill, and at the age of 
 seventeen years was foreman of his father's shop and made a 
 complete rifle and has it yet. He came to St. Paul in 1855 and 
 opened a store on Third street. Here he built up a large trade, 
 not only with the whites but with the Indians. He originated 
 the first sportsmen's club, and it has been remarkable that all 
 through his life he has been noted for missing just one bird, that 
 is, he can shoot eleven birds but he can't shoot twelve, which 
 carries off the honors of the day. In 1873 he leased his prop- 
 erty and went out of business. He was a member of the fire 
 department for fifteen years, and was Alderman some four years ; 
 was at one time Fish Commissioner ; invented two guns ; in 1877 
 visited England; in 1878' made a trip to California, and there 
 formed a copartnership and there he now is. 
 
 Mr. Golcher was a fine mechanic and very fond of sporting. 
 He was devoted to his business and made but few acquaintances, 
 as he was a quiet man, and rarely, if ever, went outside of a cer- 
 tain line of conduct, yet he was a good citizen and a man of irre- 
 proachable character. 
 
 EGBERT E. HUGHSON. 
 
 The Hughson of early days and the Hughson of to-day are 
 somewhat different beings apparently, yet both are the same. 
 The Egbert Hughson of twenty-five years ago was a young man 
 of stirring political energy who was always ready to advance the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 54 ff 
 
 interests of his party or of his country, while to-day he is the 
 sedate business man leaving politics to take care of themselves, 
 and in this he is perfectly right. He is a man of moderate size, 
 uniform in his habits and much devoted to his business. Born 
 in New York in 1832 early in life he moved to Buffalo, where he 
 attended school and clerked for a time, when, in 1855 he came to 
 St. Paul and entered the employ of C. C. Hoffman, who kept a 
 boot and shoe store on upper Third street, and continued with 
 him up to 1857, and then in 1858 he bought out his employer 
 and took in George W. Farrington as partner, and in 1 862 sacri- 
 ficed his stock at auction to enter the army ; raised one or two 
 companies and finally joined Company H, Eighth Regiment ; 
 became First Lieutenant and was detached as A. A. Q. M. and 
 A. A. Commissary and was stationed at Sauk Centre ; went out 
 on the plains with Col. Thomas' expedition and was commissary 
 of same ; built the fort at Sauk Centre, and was finally ordered 
 south to join his regiment, but not readily finding it he was 
 assigned to duty as a Brigadier and Division Commissary, and 
 during the war performed his duties in such a commendable 
 manner as to receive recognition and promotion. He issued 
 rations to the rebel soldiers at Charlotta, N. C. Maj. Hughson 
 was mustered out of the army in 1865, returned to St. Paul and 
 entered the boot and shoe business under the firm name of 
 Pratt & Hughson, and in 1867 he commenced the insurance 
 business and has been in it ever since, the firm being Hugh- 
 son & Heminway. 
 
 He was a first-class officer in the army, as I can fully attest, 
 and at the conclusion of the war he returned to private life with 
 quite moderate means, fully demonstrating the honesty of the 
 officer. He is a careful, prudent gentleman and a safe business 
 man. With the exception of serving as one of the Fire Com- 
 missioners he has held no public office, but is ranked highly as 
 a first-class member of society. 
 
 JOHN CLARK. 
 
 Chief of Police John Clark is a large man about six feet 
 tall, of dark complexion, well built, and physically probably the 
 largest man on the police force. He is especially noticeable for 
 his undemonstrative ways and his quiet manners, and yet he is 
 
 35 
 
546 PEN PICTURES 
 
 effective in the discharge of his duties and is always on the alert 
 for the public good. He manages the force so quietly that one 
 sees no friction, and hears no jars, and in this particular he is 
 somewhat remarkable. He is commanding and dignified, and 
 his very presence inspires confidence in the force, which is the 
 guardian of the people's interests. He was born in the State of 
 New York in 1845 ; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; was engaged in 
 various occupations up to 1871, when he entered the police force 
 as a patrolman ; admitted as a sergeant in the spring of 1875 ; was 
 made captain in 1878 and chief in 1882, and has held the posi- 
 tion ever since. He makes a good chief. 
 
 C. W. WILLIAMS. 
 
 Mr. Williams was an artistic painter of considerable ability, 
 who, in early days carried on his profession in this city. He 
 was English in his ways and manners, yet was a man much 
 respected for his sterling worth. He was born in Gloucester- 
 shire, England, in 1808; was educated in that country and 
 learned the trade of a painter; emigrated to America in 1831 ; 
 resided in New York city five years ; in Detroit eighteen years ; 
 was chief engineer of the fire department of that place; came 
 to St. Paul in 1855; continued- his business here until 1862, 
 when he died. 
 
 E. H. DEUEL. 
 
 A fine man, fine looking, with a fine family, was the old land- 
 lord of the Winslow House as I knew him in 1855, or thirty years 
 no.w gone. His pretty girls went out to battle with life with their 
 male companions a long time ago, and three of them have re- 
 turned widows, and two will never return again. The pleasant 
 and smooth-faced boys have grown to manhood, with mustaches 
 and whiskers. The father and mother are gray, with footsteps 
 feeble. The old house has gone to ashes. The trees have been 
 cut down and the little stream that crossed the road has been 
 dry these many years. I look for familiar faces but they come 
 not. I listen for dear voices but all is still. I tread the sidewalk 
 and only the echoes come back — thug, thug, thug, thug ! How 
 lonely ! Even the dogs that used to gambol about the doorway 
 are gone ! The old stages that rattled up to the house to receive 
 passengers have been pushed out on to the extreme frontier by 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 547 
 
 the rapidly multiplying railroads, and the old times, and the old 
 buildings, and the old faces are going^ — going — going ! 
 
 Mr. Deuel was born in New York State in 1818; came to 
 St. Paul in 1855 and became landlord of the Winslow House, 
 which he kept for nearly seven years. It stood on the corner of 
 Third and Fort streets (Seven Corners,) where Mr. Forepaugh's 
 building now is. He had four girls and two boys, and left the 
 city in 1 862, and is now I believe keeping a hotel in Oswego 
 County, New York. He was a popular landlord and an excel- 
 lent good man, and had a very lovely family over a quarter of a 
 century ago. 
 
 ANDREW ERICKSON. 
 
 Mr. Erickson was born in Sweden and educated in the old 
 country where he learned the trade of a cabinet-maker ; emi- 
 grated to America in 1852 landing in New York, where he 
 worked at his trade for three years ; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; 
 was employed in the erection of the Fuller House, Winslow 
 House, First Episcopal Church, Merchants hotel, Ryan hotel ; 
 made the first railroad turn-table in the State and worked on the 
 last one on the Manitoba road at St. Vincent ; had full charge of 
 the military post at New Red Cloud on the Missouri river ; was 
 bridge receiver in St. Paul for two years in 1872; was in the 
 furniture business four years ; in the post office one year ; in Wis- 
 consin three years ; in the army three years — Eighth Minnesota 
 Regiment ; on returning to St. Paul he has continued working 
 at his trade. He remembers distinctly when the Indians and 
 whites ran a foot race down Third street from Ingersoll's block 
 to the corner of Robert street. Mr. Erickson is the father of 
 ten children, two of whom only survive, while his wife for years 
 has been in feeble health. He is a pleasant, quiet, hard-working 
 man, deserving of a better fate than that which has followed him. 
 
 T. J. CONNOLLY. 
 
 Mr. Connolly was born in Canada, of English parentage, in 
 1838 ; came to St. Paul about 1855, and was early an engineer, 
 as his father was before him. He was an engineer on the Mis- 
 sissippi river from 1855 to 1874, and then he emigrated to the 
 Red river, where he became the chief engineer of the Kittson 
 line of steamers, and remained there up to 1883, when he re- 
 
548 PEN PICTURES 
 
 turned to St. Paul and became the engineer of fire steamer No. 
 2, which position he held up to the time of his death. He was 
 a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and though a man of quick im- 
 pulses yet he was generally esteemed by those who knew him, 
 having been one of the early engineers of the upper Mississippi. 
 His age was forty-seven when he died, and he left a widow and 
 six children. 
 
 A. D. HASLETT. 
 
 A tall, fine looking man was Mr. Haslett in the year 1855, 
 when he kept a small gents' furnishing store on the corner of 
 Third and Wabasha streets, in a wooden building which stood 
 where the Second National Bank now is. It was a cozy little 
 place, his trade was good, and probably the owner had more real 
 comfort there then than he has ever had since. He was a man 
 of marked ability in his special line and very social in his nature, 
 and didn't know at that time what he has since sadly learned, 
 that he was doing well. He was the picture of health, with a 
 ruddy complexion, bright eyes and vivacious manners ; now how 
 changed! Thirty-one years have brought lines of care in his 
 face, gray among his hair, a troubled look, a less firm step; 
 still, like us all he hopes on, bears his burden of misfortune as, 
 best he can and to the outer world appears happy. The uni- 
 verse is full of just such people, and we only catch their inner 
 lives by mere accident, and yet it is a law and thousands in the 
 past as well as thousands in the future must succumb to it. We 
 can't always be young, always happy, always prosperous; old 
 age will come, health will fail, troubles multiply, and then — the 
 grave ! 
 
 Mr. Haslett was born in Pennsylvania in 1824; received an 
 academic education, after which he went to Philadelphia and 
 became a clerk in a mercantile establishment, and in 1 848 com- 
 menced business for himself; removed to New York in 1852, 
 where he continued his mercantile pursuits ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1855 and opened a gents' furnishing store, with hats and caps, 
 where he remained five years; went to Philadelphia in 1861 
 and again engaged in business ; on his return to the city he 
 became a woolen commission merchant, in which trade he con- 
 tinued up to about one year ago, when he opened a book store 
 on Seventh street, which he has now sold out. There are two 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 549 
 
 kinds of luck — good and bad ; some get the good, some get the 
 bad ; if the good, the world says " He's smart; " if the bad, the 
 world says " He's a d — d fool ! " But the world isn't always right. 
 
 J. C. QUINBY. 
 
 A slender, well-moulded man, with a bright, spirituelle and 
 pleasant expression, exceedingly indifferent to publicity and mod- 
 est and retiring in his ways, Mr. Quinby may be justly classed 
 among our very best citizens, for if a long life of manliness 
 entitles him to this recognition, the appellation is not in- 
 appropriately applied. He was born in Maine in 1835, and 
 with a moderate education entered the carriage factory of 
 his father, where he learned the trade, so that at the age of 
 eighteen years he was competent to and did work at the 
 business. By mere accident he learned of St. Paul and 
 decided to come here, expecting of course that he would be 
 obliged to take his ax and cut timber for a living, but on arriving 
 in the city in 1855, he spent only one hour looking for work, and 
 then found all he could do with a Mr. Pensfield, who kept a shop 
 over the livery stable of the late Willoughby & Powers, and here 
 he continued until in May, 1857, when he formed a partnership 
 with Mr. Gavender who had previously built a wooden building 
 midway of the block between Fourth and Fifth streets on Robert. 
 Here he remained for four or five years, when his wife's health 
 failing, he went East, and on his return Cavender went out of the 
 firm and the new firm of Quinby & Hallowell came into exist- 
 ence, and this continued until about two years ago when the old 
 firm sold out and dissolved, Quinby going in with a Mr. Abbott 
 in the furniture business and Hallowell continuing carriage- 
 making with his two sons. Mr. Quinby was in and about 
 the premises where he first started his career for some twenty- 
 six years. He was a member of the Common Council for 
 two terms, of the Board of J'ublic Works two or three years, 
 member and director of the Chamber of Commerce, prominent 
 in the Methodist Church as trustee, treasurer and steward, and 
 is at present a member of the Board of Public Works. He is a 
 quiet man and much esteemed by all who know him. 
 
 FRANK LAMBRECHT. 
 
 Mr. Lambrecht was born in Germany in 1829; was edu- 
 cated in the old country and engaged in the mercantile business 
 
B60 PEN PICTURES 
 
 there until 1854, when he emigrated to America and came to St. 
 Paul in 1855; was clerk in the Register of Deeds office two 
 years ; kept store about fifteen years ; became Inspector of Cus- 
 toms and store-keeper at the Custom House in 1882, where he 
 has remained ever since. Married Miss Schleif in St. Paul in 
 1855. He is a very quiet man, but a good, solid citizen, of ordi- 
 nary size and of decided pushing characteristics. 
 
 DAVID BURKE. 
 
 David Burke's tall form and gentlemanly characteristics are 
 as familiar to the public as Rice Park or any other noted object 
 within the city limits, foi' he has been upon our streets for nearly 
 thirty years, and when one comes to know the history of the 
 man he grows in the esteem of all good-thinking people. He 
 was born in Ireland about 1832, and emigrated to America in 
 1 849, landing in New York, and soon after removed to Connecti- 
 cut, where he worked on a railroad for sixty cents per day; 
 then became the assistant foreman of a stable of one hundred 
 and fifty head of horses, owned by the Middlesex Quarry Com- 
 pany, where he worked three years ; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; 
 was employed by H. Rogers, Long & Bro., Burbank & Co. ; 
 drove stage between Lake City and Wabasha one winter ; was 
 engaged at the International stables ; went on a railroad survey 
 which was made from Minneapolis to Forest City ; was in the 
 livery stables of Eddy & Crumby, also Pope's stables, and finally 
 started the first public street hack in the city, somewhere about 
 1865, and has continued that business up to the present time. 
 He has but recently erected a large barn, costing about ;^ 10,000, 
 while his whole investment in horses, hacks, etc., cost $3S>- 
 000. He started with seventy-five dollars in money and one 
 hack over twenty-five years ago. Mr. Burke is a quiet, thought- 
 ful, steady man, and gives his personal attention to his busi- 
 ness and has gradually worked his way up from a common 
 laborer on a railroad track at sixty cents per day, to a man with 
 a fine home and a splendid business. 
 
 HARVEY OFFICER PERSONAL. 
 
 Born in Pennsylvania in 1834, Mr. Officer was educated at 
 Nachez, Miss., where he studied law and was admitted to practice 
 in the Supreme Court of that State, coming to St. Paul in 1855, 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 651 
 
 and here he acted as clerk for Ames & Van Etten, and remained 
 with them until 1857, when he went into partnership with them 
 and continued one of the firm until 1 864, and then entered the 
 army as Captain of Company D, heavy artillery, and served on 
 the staff of Brig. Gen. Judah until July, 1865, when he returned 
 to St. Paul and became assistant mustering officer under Gen. 
 Averill ; was mustered out of service that year and resumed the 
 practice of law. Was City Attorney in 1 868-70 ; County Attor- 
 ney in 1870-72; reporter of the Supreme Court in 1858 to 1864; 
 has been married three times, his last wife being Miss Sarah 
 M. Gordon of New York. He is now attorney for the St. Paul 
 Trust Company of this city. 
 
 Mr. Officer is a quick, energetic man of medium size, and 
 moves with celerity along the sidewalk as well as in his office. 
 He is a good, sound, careful, prudent lawyer, and is conscien- 
 tious in what he does. He is esteemed among his fellow citizens 
 as an upright, worthy gentleman, and as an old settler there are 
 very few who are more respected as a man and as a citizen than 
 Harvey Officer. 
 
 ADAM FINK. 
 
 A trim-built, moderately-sized man is Mr. Fink, who is not 
 only unostentatious but modest and retiring in his ways. He 
 is a fine type of a German, and isn't selfish enough in his nature 
 to make money, and yet he is a good business man and a good 
 citizen. He was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1831 ; educated 
 there at the public schools; emigrated to America in 1847; 
 farmed for a while near Milwaukee ; clerked in a grocery store 
 until 1855, when he came to St. Paul and engaged in the recti- 
 fying of whisky and vinegar ; in 1 874 opened a hat and cap 
 store in Milwaukee, while still a resident of this city ; was for a 
 time on the sick list, when, in 1880, in connection with Mr. 
 McCauley, he started a grain and commission house on Sibley 
 street where he now is. Mr. Fink is q, very pleasant gentleman, 
 a quiet, solid citizen ; is married and has a family. 
 
 GEORGE W. SHERWOOD 
 
 Was born in 1833 in New York, and after acquiring a com- 
 mon school education, came to St. Paul in 1855, and has been 
 largely engaged in lumbering and railroad contracting more or 
 
332 PEN PICTURES 
 
 less ever since. Mr. Sherwood is a medium-sized man; still 
 young ; quick in his movements ; of good business qualities, 
 and a gentleman very generally respected for his many good 
 traits of character. 
 
 N. A. COOK. 
 
 Mr. Cook is a fine looking man, resembling somewhat Com- 
 modore Davidson, with regular features and clear complexion. 
 He is a man of medium size, quiet and gentlemanly in his ways 
 and unaffected in his manners. He was born in New York State 
 in 1825 ; moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he was educated 
 and where he learned the trade of a ship-carpenter ; ran on the 
 lakes, working at his business, when, in 1855 he came to St. 
 Paul. He laid out the townsite of Champlin, in Hennepin 
 County; removed back again to St. Paul in 1859; steam-boated 
 on the river until 1 872, when he opened a restaurant ; ran the 
 Warren House for five years, and is now owner of an eating 
 house on Seventh street. 
 
 F. R. SMITH. 
 
 Dr. Smith is a tall, slender, unexcitable man, who moves 
 moderately and speaks moderately, and who has made his money 
 by his large practice. He is a man of no display ; has held no 
 offices, and there is no more honorable or quiet or better citizen 
 residing in St. Paul than Dr. Smith. He was born in New Jersey 
 in 1 809 ; educated in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsyl- 
 vania; graduated in 1838; practiced in the northern portion of 
 that State, and came to St. Paul in 1855 ; in 1879 he relinquished 
 his practice, which was taken up by his son Dr. Charles Smith. 
 He is married and has two sons. 
 
 JOHN E. o'brien. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien was born in Ireland in 1834; educated there; 
 emigrated to America in 1849 ; learned the trade of a stone-cut- 
 ter in New York State and worked cutting stone on the Gene- 
 see valley canal one year ; removed to Cincinnati, Keokuk and 
 Missouri, where he worked at his trade ; came to St. Paul in 
 1855; began contracting; built the Fifth ward sewer; opened 
 streets; erected the new Opera House, the Court and Union 
 blocks, Exposition and many other buildings, and has been con- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 553 
 
 tracting and building ever since he came here. He is a well- 
 proportioned man physically; quiet in his movements, steady in 
 his purposes, and a straight-forward, honest, industrious man. 
 
 PATRICK BUTLER. 
 
 Mr. Butler is an exemplification of the fact that it doesn't 
 require whisky or beer to get along in life. He has abjured 
 both and has come out ahead of the heap and is away in advance 
 of many others who indulge in the " creature." He was born in 
 Ireland in 1829 ; educated in that country ; came to America in 
 1851 ; resided some years in Philadelphia and then in Illinois up 
 to 1855, when he came to St. Paul and pre-empted land in Scott 
 County. He drove government mules to Forts Ripley and 
 Ridgely in 1856, and he remembers encountering snowdrifts 
 thirty feet high, it being impossible for the mules to make the 
 trip, but oxen were placed on the other side of the drifts to draw 
 the loads through them by means of chains, which were thrown 
 over the top of the snow. On returning to St. Paul Mr. Butler 
 became the transfer agent for the railroad companies, and he con- 
 tinued in this business for ten years, and then retired from active 
 service and is now engaged taking care of his property. He 
 had charge of the old wharf-boat in 1868 and 1871, and was 
 wharf-master in iZ6g-''jo~''ji. He married in November, i860. 
 He is a temperate, manly, frugal, industrious, quiet, steady, 
 worthy man. 
 
 JOSEPH I. BEAUMONT PERSONAL. 
 
 A straight, prompt, quick, fine looking man is Mr. Beau- 
 mont, and though passing on to sixty years yet he. is as supple 
 as a man of forty. He has a distinguished appearance, and is 
 always the gentleman. His path has not been strewn with 
 roses, and yet he is philosopher enough to take things as they 
 come and to trudge on to the end, and when an old settler or 
 anybody else gets to this status in life he shows wisdom obtained 
 from experience. Nothing is gained by foaming and fretting 
 over matters beyond our control. If, after years of industry and 
 perseverance we fail to obtain the goal of our ambition — if 
 obstacles are thrown in our way which we cannot remove — if 
 all our efforts are .unavailable and we find it utterly and totally 
 impossible to succeed, why rant and tear, and swear and sweat ? 
 
5S4 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Calmly and placidly say " Good morning, Mr. Devil," and he 
 will respect you for your politeness, if for nothing else, and pos- 
 sibly aid you out of sympathy. The world admires a brave 
 man, and it requires more courage to fight the battles of life of 
 every day than the sanguinary engagement on the battle-field of 
 contending armies ; so he who holds out unto the end and main- 
 tains his manhood unimpaired, is a gallant soldier and a brave 
 man. 
 
 Mr. Beaumont was born in Plattsburg, N. Y., in 1827; was 
 educated at that place and clerked there for a year or so, and 
 for six years at Vicksburg, Miss. ; came to St. Paul tempo- 
 rarily in 1854, but removed permanently to this city in 1855; 
 engaged in the grocery business in 1856, the firm being Beau- 
 mont & Gordon ; bought out Gordon in 1862 ; in 1866 he opened 
 a wine and liquor store and continued it up to 1876; in 1877 was 
 appointed Assessor of Ramsey County and has been re-appointed 
 four terms since and still holds the office. He was a member of 
 the Common Council in 1 866-7 i was Lieutenant of the old Pio- 
 neer Guards ; was in the fire department for five years and has a 
 certificate of exemption ; was chief fire warden of the city ; was 
 one of the vestry of the old St. Paul Episcopal Church; in 1877 
 became a convert to the Roman Catholic religion, and he and all 
 his family joined that church. 
 
 Mr. Beaumont has made an excellent Assessor, and as a 
 public officer is very generally liked, while as a man he is much 
 esteemed. He is a quiet, pleasant gentleman, of ordinary size, 
 standing very erect, with a good deal of the military about him, 
 and yet he is as worthy as he is unpretentious. 
 
 CORNELIUS RILEY. 
 
 A tall, slender, fine looking man, with black eyes and black 
 beard sprinkled with gray, whose motions are easy and grace- 
 ful, and who has had a somewhat remarkable career, is Corne- 
 lius Riley, who, by the force of his own exertions and good luck, 
 has climbed the ladder from the bottom round to the top — a strik- 
 ing illustration of a self-made man. In all my Pen Pictures 
 there are but few men who stand out in bolder relief " as archi- 
 tects of their own fortunes," than the subject of my sketch. He 
 was born in Ireland m 1836; partially educated in the old coun- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 555 
 
 try and partially in this; landed at Quebec in 1850; was em- 
 ployed in a hotel at Montreal; came to St. Paul in 1855, and 
 soon after became the head steward of the old Winslow House, 
 then on the corner of Third and Fort streets, now Seventh, 
 where he remained for five and a half years ; was steward of the 
 Winslow House in St. Anthony in i860, at present a college; 
 was connected with the International of St. Paul in 1861 ; went 
 to Little Rock, Ark., but finding it too hot returned to the Inter- 
 national and continued there eight and a half years, or until it 
 was burned down ; then he entered the employ of the Park Place 
 hotel. 
 
 FIRST NEWS STAND PAID PROMPTLY HOUSES AS HE IS. 
 
 In connection with the late Mr. Thompson he established 
 the first news stand in St. Paul. Soon after the opening of the 
 Metropolitan he was employed as steward, and when he left this 
 hotel he went into the news business direct, having a news stand 
 in the Park Place, the International, the Metropolitan and the 
 Merchants. At this time he also began his business on the rail- 
 roads, selling books and fruit, and at one time controlled the 
 trade of all the Milwaukee road west of the Mississippi ; also 
 on the Northwestern to Eau Claire ; now he controls the west 
 end of the Omaha and also the Northern Pacific through to 
 Portland and on all its branches ; the Oregon River and Naviga- 
 tion Company lines; Oregon Short Line, Oregon & California 
 and Duluth roads. He also has control of the Union Depot at 
 St. Paul. 
 
 When fire destroyed the depot many parcels and other 
 packages left in Mr. Riley's care, were either stolen or destroyed, 
 but he came forward promptly and paid up every claim reaching 
 into several thousand dollars, to the great gratification of his 
 customers. 
 
 Several years ago he quietly purchased property on and 
 near Nina avenue, and on this property he erected nine houses, 
 and is now engaged erecting two more, and from these houses 
 he derives a good income. The real estate upon which these 
 dwellings stand, cost him in 1870, ;^5,ooo — worth now close to 
 ;^50,ooo. He has two sharp, bright, industrious sons, who have 
 taken the burden of business off his shoulders, while he devotes 
 
SB6 PEN PICTURES 
 
 his time principally to real estate, although he still continues at 
 the head of the firm. 
 
 -Over a quarter of a century ago I remember Mr. Riley as 
 a slender, pale, careful, quick, steady, polite, industrious young 
 man, a steward in one of our hotels, and also as a caterer at the 
 parties of some of bur best citizens. I saw him later, pale, haggard, 
 worn down, in ill health. Again he loomed up on my vision, 
 fresh from Europe, having returned from a trip to " Erin Ma- 
 vourneen, Erin go Bragh," and then again I find him immersed 
 in business, building houses, laying out a suburban home, and 
 managing an immense trade upon many lines of railroads. To- 
 day he is in the prime of life; good-looking, with a clear, black 
 eye and flowing beard, quiet yet affable, cool and deliberate in 
 his movements, generous in his nature, moderate in his walk, 
 and he passes along the sidewalk with his head always in ad- 
 vance of his body, a striking illustration of a self-made, genial, 
 thoughtful, pleasant and excellent business man. 
 
 W. J. JEBB 
 
 Came to Minnesota in 1850 and to St. Paul in 1855, and 
 learned the trade of a printer with the writer ; then worked for a 
 while in the office of the Pioneer Press; secured a farm in Meeker 
 County where he now is. He was born in Jersey City in 1838. 
 Mr. Jebb is a quick, energetic, very intelligent gentleman, and 
 has been all his life industrious. He is like his brother, tall and 
 slim, and is in every sense a deserving man. 
 
 SAMUEL S. EATON OLDEST INSURANCE AGENT PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Eaton was born in Vermont in 1825 ; educated at the 
 Newbury Seminary ; engaged in lumbering in Canada ; went to 
 California in 1849 by the way of Cape Horn, where he dealt in 
 mines; located in Buffalo, N. Y., in 185 1, and commenced the 
 insurance business there, thirty-four years ago ; married in 1853 ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1855, and has been engaged in the insur- 
 ance business here ever since, and to-day ranks as the oldest 
 insurance agent in the State, having done business in this city 
 thirty years. He was connected with the Fire and Marine Insur- 
 ance Company in 1865 as secretary, and remained as such up 
 to 1 87 1 ; then he became the general agent of the Manhattan 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 557 
 
 Fire Company of New York, and continued such ten years. He 
 is now local agent and special adjuster for some ten companies, 
 and has so established his business that it runs along smoothly 
 and profitably. Married. 
 
 Almost everybody knows " Sam Eaton," as he is very gen- 
 erally recognized. He is a man of compact physical organization ; 
 capable of great endurance ; positive in his nature ; always 
 strikes from the shoulder ; very earnest in what he does ; very 
 quick in speech, in motion and in action ; is a clear-cut business 
 man; is a sort of general locomotive crushing down all obsta- 
 cles in his way; is self-reliant, and by a steadiness of purpose 
 has built up an excellent insurance business and stands at the 
 head of his profession. No man has a wider or better reputa- 
 tion for fair dealing than has Samuel S. Eaton. He has obtained a 
 competency and gets about as much out of life as any man can. 
 He is rugged in nature with many strong points of character. 
 
 FRANK KELLY, SR. 
 
 Mr. Kelly was born in London in 1827; emigrated to 
 America in 1855, and came to St. Paul the same year over the 
 plains with Mr. Kittson ; learned the trade of a shoemaker, and 
 in early days worked for Mr. Schliek ; was Constable for several 
 years ; at one time kept a little old shoe-shop on the levee ; in 
 1 877 opened what was known as the Western House on the cor- 
 ner of Minnesota and Fourth streets, the ground now occupied 
 by an immense brick livery-stAble, where he remained for five 
 years. He died of cancer in the throat. Mr. Kelly was a small, 
 slender man, quiet in his ways, always cleanly shaven, and a 
 gentleman much esteemed ; married and left a widow and several 
 children. 
 
 WILLIAM LEIP. 
 
 Mr. Leip is a man of full habits with a tendency to corpu- 
 lency, and has a ruddy complexion and a very healthy look, just 
 as though he received most excellent living at White Bear lake, 
 where he has for so many years catered to the wants of the most 
 fastidious and where he still reigns as " our most genial land- 
 lord." He is full of animal life, possesses great energy, is most 
 always in good spirits and never idle, constantly improving his 
 place and constantly adding to his wealth. He has always 
 
558 PEN PICTURES 
 
 paddled his own canoe and has always been financially above 
 board. He was born on the Rhine in Germany in 1832; was 
 educated in Brussels ; emigrated to America in 1 847 ; lived in 
 St. Louis seven years, when in 1855 he came to St. Paul, and 
 soon after entered the wholesale liquor trade on the corner of 
 Third and Jackson streets, and continued it up to 1861 ; then he 
 removed up town and started a brewery, and Leip's ale was " all 
 the go " for a" time ; he remained in this business for four years, 
 th^n bought a hotel at White Bear lake run by a man by the 
 name Barnum, and also thirty-eight acres ; amount paid ;^4,500 ; 
 worth now ^100,000. He is a man of medium size, dark hair 
 and whiskers, affable in his nature and yet Leip never misses a 
 chance in any thing that will advance his pecuniary interests, 
 and hence he has built additional cottages and additional rooms 
 at White Bear lake to accommodate his numerous guests. 
 
 "billy PHILLIPS." 
 
 I don't know just when "Billy Phillips" (I believe an Eng- 
 lishman by birth,) came to St. Paul, but it must have been either 
 in 1854 or 1855. He was a short, thick-set man, with a good 
 bay window and a pompous manner and made and kept some 
 of the finest cigars of his day. He was an inveterate eater and 
 every restaurant in the city gave him a wide berth. Yet he was 
 polite, though untidy, and possessed many good qualities. Rus 
 Munger used to buy cigars of him on "tick," and when he 
 entered the store he would exclaim — " Well, Billy, what do I 
 owe you now ? " and Phillips would always give him the correct 
 answer. One day Munger came in and yelkd out — " Well, Billy, 
 what is my bill now ? " " Mr. Munger," said Phillips, in a soft, 
 low voice, "you wait until your bill is ;^5, just $t,, and then you 
 pay me — you oblige me — ^just $<,." So Munger ran the bill up 
 to $4:9S, when he bought his cigars of somebody else and 
 didn't go near Phillips for two months ! One day he entered 
 the store and asked for a cigar and Billy accosted- him — " You 
 buy no cigars of me — what is the matter ? " " Well, the fact is," 
 said Munger, " you wanted me to oblige you to let the bill run 
 until it reached just $$; I'm trying to accommodate you! 
 I can't afford to buy of you because a cigar would cost me ;g5, 
 when I can get it anywhere else for five cents. You wanted 
 
. OF ST. PAUL, MINX. 559 
 
 me. to let the bill run to ;^S ; I owe you ;^4.9S ; one more cigar and 
 I will be obliged to pay you ^5. I can't do it," said Hunger 
 with a sober face for which he is noted. " Oh, my God," 
 said Billy, in great astonishment, " that bill may run for twenty 
 years!" and he walked rapidly across the floor in great ex- 
 citement. "Just so," said Hunger, "just so," and coolly 
 walked out of the store. Phillips went forthwith and put on 
 a clean shirt and as soon as Hunger saw this (he had worn 
 his old garment three months without washing, he paid him 
 the ^5 to the great delight of Phillips and the great delight 
 of the community at large. He died several years ago, and 
 very few, if any one, knew anything about his early history. 
 
 A. WILSON. 
 
 Mr. Wilson was born in Pennsylvania in 1 8 1 3 ; educated 
 there and learned the trade of the tin and copper business in his 
 native place, where he worked for about one year, when he 
 removed to Ohio and continued in business there for some 
 twenty years ; came to St. Paul in 1 85 5 and opened a shop on 
 Jackson street; removed to Broadway, where he now is and 
 where he has been for the past eighteen years. He served one 
 year as justice of the peace, but has held no other offices. Mr. 
 Wilson has been peculiarly afflicted by the death of six out of 
 his seven sons — John, former mail agent and politician ; William 
 and Charles, drowned in White Bear lake, the former a good 
 singer and also a politician ; Harry, Pomeroy, and then Joseph, 
 among the youngest ; James still survives. As Mr. Wilson has 
 reached the ripe age of over three score and ten years he retired 
 from active business over a year ago, and he and his wife are 
 only waiting the summons to join their boys in the better land. 
 He has been a hard-working and industrious man, and is a 
 worthy citizen. 
 
 HENRY D. MATHEWS. 
 
 A good, solid, fine-looking man, with a florid complexion 
 and pleasant, gentlemanly ways, is Henry D. Mathews, of the 
 firm of Sanders & Hathews. He came to this city when only 
 ten years of age, and is what might be termed an old-young 
 settler. He is well known for his quiet, even traits of character, 
 his industrious habits and manly dealings, and is noted as an 
 
S60 PEN PICTURES 
 
 excellent citizen. He was born in New York city in 1845; edu- 
 cated there; came to St. Paul with his father in 1855; entered 
 the employ of William Golcher, who kept a gun store on Third 
 street, where he remained up to 1 862 ; then enlisted in Company 
 G, Sixth Minnesota Regiment, and continued in the service, 
 being with the regiment at the South until 1 865 ; was in the 
 employ of J. J. Hill from 1866 to 1869; was with J.'H. Sanders 
 from 1 869 to 1 877, when he became one of the firm, where he 
 now is ; was wharf-master in 1 872 ; agent for the Diamond Joe 
 line of steamboats from 1877 to 1881 ; has been secretary and 
 treasurer of the Northwestern Lime Company since June i, 1885, 
 and is a worthy, useful man. 
 
 JAMES H. MATHEWS. 
 
 Mr. Mathews was the father of Henry D., and was" born in 
 New York city in 1822 ; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; entered the 
 employ of William Golcher, gunsmith, and continued with him 
 up to the time Mr. Golcher left for California ; after that he did 
 little or nothing up to the time of his death. He was at one 
 time foreman of hook and ladder company and president of 
 the Exempt Firemen's Association. He was an ordinarily tall 
 man, straight, with gray hair, steady as clock-work, and much 
 respected. 
 
 PATRICK DOUGHER PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Dougher was born in Ireland in 1 829 ; educated in that 
 country ; emigrated to America in 1847; landed and remained 
 at St. Johns, N. B., one year, when in 1 848 he removed to Port- 
 land, Me., where he continued for eight years — first as bell-boy 
 in a hotel, then as night clerk and then head waiter ; came to 
 St. Paul in 1855, and that year went to the Merchants, then 
 kept by a man by the name of Capt. Allen — not Col. Allen — and 
 this man was followed by Col. Belote, with whom Dougher 
 remained five years as porter ; then he was employed in the 
 International until it burned in 1 869 ; then he was in the Park 
 Place hotel one year and a half; then he became connected with 
 the Metropolitan and continued there ten years; in 1881 he 
 opened the St. James hotel on the corner of Third and Cedar 
 streets, and has been the landlord of this hotel ever since. He 
 is another exemplification of a self-made man, climbing the lad- 
 
OF ST. FA UL, MINN. 561 
 
 ■der from bell-boy to proprietor. When he came to St. Paul he 
 possessed $900 ; he is now worth ^30,000. 
 
 Mr. Dougher is a short, thick-set man, with a round, bald 
 head and bright eyes ; very quick in his movements, philosoph- 
 ical in his nature, never growling, always busy, and makes an 
 •excellent landlord and is a worthy, honest citizen. " A-1-1 
 a-b-o-a-r-d f-o-r t-h-e M-i-1-w-a-u-k-e-e t-r-a-i-n." 
 
 SAMUEL G. SLOAN PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Sloan was born in Philadelphia in 1834; educated at 
 the common and high schools ; studied conveyancing and was 
 ■considered the best engrosser of legal papers in Philadelphia ; 
 •came to St. Paul in 1855 ; opened an office nearly opposite the 
 American House on upper Third street and did a success- 
 ful business. In this building Nininger & Sloan carried on busi- 
 ness, Mr. Sloan buying and selling a great deal of property for 
 Nininger. The Fillmore farm (now Summit Park addition,) was 
 bought for ^151 per acre, now worth ^10,000 per acre. Sloan's 
 investments were all good, but the disastrous panic of 1857 
 proved too much for him. In 1861 he was- made Secretary of 
 the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Company, and with the presi- 
 dent of the road went to Philadelphia to make a contract with 
 •capitalists, and failing in this he lost his position. Upon the 
 assurance of this position he married. He then turned his atten- 
 tion to the livery business, and with his great fondness for riding 
 and his intuitive knowledge of horses he bought out Crumby at 
 the Seven Corners and for a time Berkcy & Sloan carried on the 
 business. Mr. Sloan's fine tastes and extreme nicety about his 
 ■" hitch-ups " attracted attention and a large trade was the result. 
 He then dissolved with Berkey and opened a stable on Seventh 
 street, near Jackson and close to the International hotel, but when 
 that hotel burned his patronage decreased and he turned over a 
 thirteen years' lease for which he had paid ;^,2,5oo. He then 
 dealt in real estate, insurance, etc., until the summer of 1877, 
 when he met with a very severe and painful accident, producing a 
 curvature of the spine, and finally went to Philadelphia for treat- 
 ment. Recovering somewhat he took a position with Charles 
 Cafifrey, a carriage-builder. In 1881 he returned to St. Paul to 
 act as agent for James Stinson, and with the experience of pre- 
 36 
 
562 PEN PICTURES 
 
 vious years and with some of the fire of his youth still left in' 
 him, he resolved to once more " pitch in," and try to recuperate 
 his shattered fortunes, and he has succeeded, for he has some 
 real estate which ought in time to make him well off. He is the 
 representative of the largest real estate owner in the Northwest, 
 and this, with his natural ability and industry are building up a. 
 fine trade. ' 
 
 Mr. Sloan is a tall, finely-proportioned gentleman, with black 
 hair, black eyes and black whiskers, and has an extremely 
 polite and pleasant way with him. He dresses well and is 
 always neat in his personal appearance. He is kind and affable 
 in manners, and a good horse and a fine rig and Sloan are syn- 
 onymous, for he is a great lover of these elements of happiness. 
 He is a Jefferson-Jackson-Douglas-Democrat, and yet he has 
 never mingled in politics and has never held any office. All the 
 old settlers are glad to know that he is climbing the hill of pros- 
 perity, and none would regret to learn that he was as rich a man 
 as Kittson, for Kittson deserves it and so does Sloan. 
 
 JOHN STEELE. 
 
 Dr. John Steele was born in Pennsylvania in 1 809 ; studied 
 medicine and graduated at the Jefferson Medical College of 
 Pennsylvania ; began his practice at Strasburgh where he con- 
 tinued until 1855, when he came to St. Paul and immediately 
 entered upon his profession here, which he continued with suc- 
 cess for twenty-eight years, when he retired and gave his atten- 
 tion to his real estate. Having accumulated a good deal of 
 money he loaned it out and built some fine buildings, among 
 which are a business block on Wabasha street and a residence 
 block on Washington street. He was married to Catharine 
 McClung and leaves a son and three daughters. 
 
 Dr. Steele was a tall, spare man, quite straight, with gray 
 hairs; very moderate in his movements and in his expressions; 
 rather retiring in his nature and yet he was quite a public-spir- 
 ited citizen, having built several fine buildings. He was but 
 little before the public and never held any civil office, his time 
 being absorbed principally by his own increasing business. He 
 died in this city of cancer of the mouth, December, 1885, aged 
 seventy-six years. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 663. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 1856. 
 
 Mrsi Military Compiny Organized— First Brass Band Organized— First Typo- 
 graphical Union Organized— First Policemen— First Vigilance Committee 
 — Mrsi German Zeitung Paper — First Laying Corner Stone of the 
 Cathedral — First Laying Corner Stone of the Historical Society 
 — First Conductor on First Railroad Train — First Inde- 
 pendent Job Printing Office — First Opening of 
 the International Hotel — First Board of 
 Education — F\rst German Catholic 
 Church Built— And All the 
 Events and All the Old 
 Settlers of this 
 Year. 
 
 AUSPICIOUSLY BEGUN. 
 
 The year 1856 opened auspiciously for the young city. A 
 large number of steamboats arrived almost daily at our levee, 
 and hundreds of emigrants not only dropped into our city to 
 remain, but thousands made their way into the Territory to set- 
 tle upon our prolific soil. The crude condition of the frontier 
 village disappeared and in its place came the airs of a metropolis. 
 All was bustle. Our streets were crowded with strangers ; our 
 stages filled with passengers ; our hotels over-run with visitors ; 
 our real estate men were as thick as blackberries ; new build- 
 ings popped up on every side ; streets began to be leveled ; new 
 hotels were erected ; capitalists made their appearance, and there 
 was a general air of activity in every direction, while ten and 
 sometimes twelve steamboats lay at our levee. 
 
564: PEN PICTURES 
 
 RAMSEY COUNTY MARK THE PROPHECY, 
 
 It may not be generally known to the reader, that at one 
 time Ramsey County ran up in a long strip of land and included 
 Pembina, and that we had members of the Legislature from 
 that section ; subsequently this strip was detached and added to 
 other counties, and that in 1856 St. Anthony was cut off entirely 
 from Ramsey County and our county limits have for years 
 remained as they now are. As events have transpired it is 
 unfortunate that St. Anthony was ever detached from Ramsey 
 County, as in all probability it would in a few years have been a 
 part of this city, and indeed I may say only a short time longer 
 will suffice to make St. Paul and Minneapolis one great me- 
 tropolis. 
 
 Fifteen years ago I was the first to advance this proposition 
 in a letter to the St. Paul Dispatch, only I went further and 
 placed the Capitol of the State between the two cities, which in 
 time will be in the center of the one great city, and I have no 
 reasons even now to change my mind. The two cities will be 
 one, and the State Capitol ought to be, and will be, in the center 
 of that large metropolis with a population of 500,000 people! 
 Mark the prophecy made June, 1855 ! 
 
 GIRART HEWITT DECEMBER EXCURSIONS. 
 
 Col. Hewitt rode into public notoriety on the incoming wave 
 of real estate. Tall, once muscular, and even in 1856 command- 
 ing in his appearance, he was a man of many excellent traits of 
 character, although exceedingly nervous, produced by ill-health. 
 He was among the first to take up real estate in this city and 
 push it, and had he lived until now the increased value of his 
 property would have made him a very rich man. He was born 
 in Pennsylvania in 1825 ; studied law and renioved to Alabama, 
 where he remained twelve years; came to St. Paul in 1856; 
 opened up a real estate office and in connection therewith issued 
 an immigration pamphlet which had a very large circulation not 
 only in this country but in Europe, passing through twenty 
 editions. It was the first pamphlet of the kind and brought the 
 Colonel a great deal of business at the same time it greatly , 
 aided the State. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 565 
 
 Col. Hewitt was the originator of the celebrated December 
 excursions. Finding that the impression prevailed East that 
 the Minnesota winters began in September, when the fact was 
 the river did not freeze over until many times in January, he con- 
 ceived the idea of a steamboat excursion in December of each 
 year, and for this purpose a steamboat was chartered, music 
 secured, regular fare charged, and the amount received divided 
 between the Protestant and Catholic orphan asylums. On these 
 excursions some of our citizens appeared in linen dusters and 
 fans, and as all the papers made elaborate reports of the affair 
 Eastern sentiment became greatly modified. When Mr. Hewitt 
 died our December excursions died also. Col. Hewitt was no 
 office-seeker, but he would have liked the position of secretary 
 of the Immigration Board, but it was given to another, and from 
 that time forward he became disgusted with paying out money 
 to induce emigrants to come to Minnesota. He was a member 
 of the School Board in i859-'6i ; ran for Alderman once, but 
 was beaten; took part in the incipient Indian war in 1862 ; was 
 a prominent and popular and influential member of the Chamber 
 of Commerce, and an energetic real estate dealer. He was 
 nervous, quick, having great faith in the growth of St. Paul and 
 often talked with the writer on the probable union of the two 
 cities which to him was a hobby. He was impulsive but his 
 impulses were for good. He was public-spirited ; sympathetic ; 
 sagacious, and before he died was in the employ of the St. Paul 
 & Milwaukee Railroad Company, securing a right of way for the 
 short line to Minneapolis, and real estate was just on the edge 
 of a boom, which, had he lived to have seen it would have made 
 him almost insane, for he had struggled long to hold his prop- 
 erty and the silver lining to the cloud was j ust visible. He was 
 a good and valuable citizen. 
 
 JOSEPH A. VERVAIS. 
 
 Dr. Vervais was tall, slender and of medium size, with a 
 well-set head upon his shoulders and a gentleman of great urban- 
 ity of manners. He was a good surgeon and a good physician, 
 and I remember him as he moved energetically about and 
 promptly answered to the calls of his patients. He was very 
 kind-hearted and obliging, and was much esteemed by those who 
 
566 PEN PICTURES 
 
 knew him intimately. He was born in Quebec, Canada, in 
 1822; studied and completed a course of physics and surgery 
 in McGill College in 1 843 ; attended college also at Geneva, N. Y., 
 where he received his diploma as M. D.; returned to Canada 
 in 1 844 and engaged in the practice of medicine ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1856 and established himself in his profession; was 
 County Physician of Ramsey County in 1858-9; in 1862 was 
 Assistant Surgeon of the Fifth Minnesota Volunteers ; resigned 
 in consequence of ill health ; was Surgeon of the Second Cav- 
 alry in 1864 and served until the close of the war. He died in 
 October 1869, leaving a widow, three sons and a daughter. 
 
 JOSEPH O. VERVAIS T. A. VERVAIS. 
 
 Mr. Vervais was born in Quebec in 1846 and received a 
 collegiate education in Missouri and also at Niagara, N. Y. ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1856; was employed in the post office de- 
 partment in 1 869 ; was appointed Deputy Register of Deeds in 
 1 870 ; was Assistant Abstract Clerk in 1 872 ; received the 
 appointment of Abstract Clerk in 1885. 
 
 Mr. Vervais is pleasant, obliging, quick, social, and posses- 
 ses all the elements of popularity ; is fully competent to perform 
 his duties, and is a very worthy gentleman. He is of medium 
 size, with a clear complexion, quiet in his disposition and very 
 industrious — characteristics which commend him as a man and 
 a citizen. 
 
 T. A. Vervais was born in Canada in 1 848 ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1856; was educated at the High School and commercial col- 
 lege of this city ; was with Cariveau Fontaine for eleven years, 
 when he entered the post office and has been there ever since. 
 He is very much like his brother and is an excellent young man. 
 
 JOHN A. STEES. 
 
 -Mr. Stees was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, in 
 1839; was educated at the common schools and clerked in a 
 drug store until 1856, when he came to St. Paul and took 
 charge of J. B. Holmes' hardware store; in 1857 clerked for 
 Washington Stees ; entered business for himself in 1 860 ; became 
 a partner with W. M. Stees in 1862, and the firm continued 
 together until 1883, when they sold out, and since then he has 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 667 
 
 been engaged taking care of his real estate. He is a medium- 
 sized man, with black hair and black whiskers ; quick in his 
 motions, and very much devoted to business ; has held no public 
 offices, and is one of the most unostentatious and undemonstra- 
 tive men in the city, a pleasant, amiable gentleman. 
 
 FIRST MILITARY COMPANY SOME EVENTS OF 1 856. 
 
 The Minnesota Pioneer Guards were organized this year, 
 ^(1856,) with A. C. Jones, Captain; E. C. Palmer and Lyman C. 
 Dayton as Lieutenants. This was a iirst-class company and the 
 first organized in the Territory, but the war for the Union ab- 
 sorbed its members and its organization ceased. 
 
 The Legislature met this year for the seventh time, but no 
 special acts were passed for the benefit of the city. St. Paul 
 Lodge of Masons No. 3 was instituted ; C. S. Cave succeeded 
 W. H. Forbes as Postmaster ; Robert Smith was appointed 
 ■County Treasurer ; Edmund Rice was elected County Commis- 
 sioner ; Board of Education created ; brass band for the Pioneer 
 Guards was organized, fourteen members, with J. C. Terry as 
 leader ; a long row of wooden buildings on the bluff, erected by 
 J. H. Stewart and J. W. McClung, was burned ; corner stone of 
 the present Cathedral laid ; German Catholic Assumption Church 
 built ; first priest. Rev. D. Marogna ; City Hall completed ; 
 Methodist Church, Jackson street, erected ; Damascus Command- 
 •ery, Free Masons, instituted; Minnesota Grove No. i, U. A. O. 
 Druids chartered; St. Paul Typographical Union organized; 
 Wabasha bridge commenced, and Myers & Willius opened a 
 .banking business. 
 
 HIRAM ROGERS PERSONALLY. 
 
 Mr. Rogers was born in Pennsylvania in 1 806 ; when twenty 
 years of age he removed to Philadelphia and carried on the 
 manufacture of morocco quite extensively ; emigrated to Zanes- 
 ville, Ohio, in 1836, where he was largely engaged for some 
 twenty years in the production of leather and boots and shoes ; 
 returned to Philadelphia in 1855, and in company with his son 
 ■opened a house similar to that in Zanesville; came to St. Paul 
 in 1856; purchased a strip of bluff property on Third street and 
 erected what is now known as Rogers' block ; in the basement 
 -of this building he engaged in the tanning and leather business, 
 
568 PEN PICTURES 
 
 when he retired from the trade and gave his attention to his real' 
 estate. He built another block of brick adjoining his stone one, 
 and also erected the building formerly occupied by the ninety- 
 nine-cent store on the opposite side of the street. 
 
 Mr. Rogers was a very active man, of medium size and very- 
 industrious, but a man of strong prejudices and of quick 
 impulses. Although a man rising three-score and ten he was 
 very active, and was a pushing, bustling business operator up to 
 the time of his death, which occurred in 1879. He was married 
 in 1827 to Miss Hannah Dice. 
 
 WILLIAM D. ROGERS, 
 
 His son, came to St. Paul in 1856 ; born in Zanesville, Ohio,, 
 about 1830; was engaged with his father for many years; was 
 at one time mail agent on the Duluth road ; was secretary of 
 the Chamber of Commerce for two terms ; succeeded his father 
 in business after his death; kept hotel for several months; 
 engaged in real estate ; ran as a Pullman car conductor, and is 
 now in California. 
 
 " Billy," as he was generally called, possessed all the stir- 
 ring and business elements of his parent, but he didn't seem to 
 have the same bull-dog grip. He is a small man, very quick in 
 his movements and very social in his nature, quite as impulsive- 
 as his father, but not as careful or as prudent. 
 
 FIRST POLICEMEN. 
 
 Previous to the appointment of the first policemen in 1856,. 
 William Miller, the City Marshal, acted in that capacity, but the- 
 city got to be too large for him to handle easily, so the Council 
 appointed four policemen, viz : John Gabel, Nicholas Miller, M. 
 C. Hardwig and Edward Maher. A short time later the force 
 was increased to twelve men, and Henry Galvin, now on his 
 beat, was one of them, and he is therefore the oldest policeman, 
 in the department. 
 
 MURDER AND ROBBERY. 
 
 The necessity for policemen grew out of the fact that with 
 the arrival of a great many boats came also a great many 
 roughs, and these roughs began to rob and to murder. One of 
 their victims was George B. McKenzie, proprietor of the Man- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MIXX. 569 
 
 sion House, located on the bluff, just back of the Mannheimer 
 block, and whose body was found in the river July 9, 1856, 
 robbed of money known to have been previously in his posses- 
 sion. A man by the name of Robert Johnson was also robbed 
 one night and his body thrown over the bluff, he dying from the 
 effects of his injuries. In fact these crimes became so frequent 
 that a public meeting was called and a vigilance committee 
 appointed to rid the city of bad characters, and they accom- 
 plished their purpose. This is the only time in the history of 
 St. Paul where measures of this character were deemed neces- 
 sary to preserve the peace and lives of the citizens, but they had 
 the salutary effect. 
 
 THE FULLER HOUSE, OR INTERNATIONAL. 
 
 The Winslovv, the Merchants and the old American Houses 
 were having a great run of custom, when a man by the name of 
 Alpheus G. Fuller proposed to build another hotel, with a little 
 help, which would eclipse all the rest ; so he received a bonus in 
 the shape of land and ;^ 12,000, and with this he erected an ele- 
 gant hotel corner of Jackson and Seventh streets, costing ^iio,- 
 000. Two brothers by the names of Stephen and Edward Long, 
 who formerly kept the American House, leased it. At first it 
 was called the Fuller House, but the name was changed to that 
 of the International, and it was run for several years until it 
 burned, February 3, 1869; loss, ;^i2S,ooo. 
 
 JAMES DAVENPORT AS HE IS. 
 
 Mr. Davenport is a descendant of Rev. John Davenport, 
 one of the founders of the New Haven colony, Connecticut, in 
 which State Mr. Davenport was born, July, 181 2. He was 
 raised in New York city and educated for college, but was una- 
 ble to enter the classical course in consequence of ill-health. 
 When quite a young man he became a member of the firm of 
 Van Vleck & Davenport, and opened a book store on Broadway, 
 New York, but subsequently the firm became Davenport & 
 Wood, and in 1 846 it became Dewit & Davenport. It was a 
 leading establishment and published some of the most popular 
 books of the day. The sale of some of these books reached 
 close on to sixty thousand copies. In 1856, in consequenc of 
 the ill-health of his wife, Mr. Davenport came to St. Paul and 
 
570 PEN PICTURES 
 
 opened a book store on Third street, below the Metropolitan ; in 
 a few years later he removed lower down on Third street, near 
 the bridge, where he continued up to 1885, when he sold out 
 and retired from business altogether. He was engaged in the 
 book trade for forty-five years. His wife's health grew worse after 
 coming to Minnesota and she died in 1875, leaving, three sons, 
 Rufus, James and Alfred, all of whom are young men of fine 
 promise, one an engineer and one an eminent doctor. 
 
 No more venerable looking man walks the streets of St. 
 Paul than James Davenport, and no citizen is held in higher 
 respect than the well-known book-seller who for forty-five years 
 has familiarized the public with the expression " He's got 'em ! " 
 — a favorite mode of advertising. Mr. Davenport is a gentle- 
 man of fine literary tastes and has written a number of popular 
 stories and sketches, some of which have been published here 
 and some East. He has lived in a time of great improvements ; 
 has seen the power of steam amplified as applied to boats, rail- 
 roads built, canals constructed, telegraphs utilized, ocean steam- 
 ers inaugurated, telephones perfected, elevated railroad tracks 
 made available and electric lights take the place of candles, oil 
 lamps and the universal gas. For years Mr. Davenport has been 
 suffering from a stricture which has made him appear very fee- 
 ble, and yet up to a short time past he ' has been at his store 
 almost every day for twenty-nine years. He is moderate in his 
 movements and conversation, but is a kind, genial, intelligent, 
 pleasant gentleman. 
 
 ARRIVALS ITEMS. 
 
 The arrivals at the hotels for some months of this year 
 exceeded 1,000 each, and for the whole season immigration was 
 quite large, reaching as high as 28,000. The city valuation was 
 ;^3,278,250. Rev. John Mattock arrived this year and became 
 the pastor of the Presbyterian Church, which stood on the corner 
 of Third and St. Peter streets ; William L. Banning's residence 
 was burned, also the old red brick Rice House, which stood on 
 the corner of Third and Washington streets, in which one ses- 
 sion of the Legislature was held, the ground now occupied by 
 the Metropolitan ; the Wabasha bridge was commenced ; the 
 Staats-Zeitung was established by E. Orthwein ; Royal Arch 
 .Masons No. i instituted; William Sprigg Hall was made Super- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 371 
 
 intendent of Public Instruction ; D. L. Fuller, J. S. Brown, a 
 banker, and Charles J. Henniss, an editor, died; Luke Marvin 
 was drowned. l«^o events of any startling nature occurred in 
 1856 except the robberies and murders already alluded to, 
 although the city continued to grow and to improve. New 
 stores and new residences were erected, and there was a general 
 tendency towards metropolitan life. 
 
 WILFORD L. WILSON. 
 
 Mr. Wilson is a native of New York, born in 181 5; he 
 received a good education preparatory to entering the higher 
 branches of study in order to fit him for the ministry, and to 
 this end he entered Hamilton College and continued there one 
 year; was in the University at Middleton, Conn., in 1837, and 
 remained there two years; was at one time employed as an 
 agent of the American Anti-Slavery Association ; then in 1838-9 
 was engaged with the State Anti-Slavery Society ; entered the 
 theological department of Yale College in 1839 and graduated 
 with the class of 1842 and had a license to preach, and did 
 preach in the summer of 1844; gave up preaching and engaged 
 in merchandising, which he carried on for several years ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1856 and engaged for a time in farming in Rose 
 Township ; became Assistant United States Assessor for Ramsey 
 County, and then Assessor of the district ; has been employed 
 in the pension office, and has done special duty in that depart- 
 ment ; was private secretary to Gov. Davis during his adminis- 
 tration ; was apfjointed Appraiser of Customs in 1876; in 1881 
 was appointed Deputy Collector, Inspector and Examiner of 
 Customs, which position he held up to a short time since. 
 
 Mr. Wilson is a good-sized man, quick in speech and action, 
 with abundance of pluck. For the last twenty years he has 
 been much in official life, with political prominence in the Repub- 
 lican party, yet that has not obscured the Christian elements of 
 his character. He is an active worker in religious circles, and 
 has been for nearly thirty years a member of the sessions of the 
 House of Hope, or of the Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Churches, 
 in the latter of which he is now. He has also been closely iden- 
 tified with the benevolent movements of the day, temperance, 
 anti-cruelty to animals, the relief of the poor, and whatever he 
 has considered beneficial to humanity. 
 
5 72 PEN PICT URE8 
 
 E. D. K. RANDALL. 
 
 Mr. Randall was born in New York city in 1839, and is a 
 son of William Randall, one of the early and prominent settlers 
 of St. Paul; was well educated; came to this city in 1856 and 
 engaged in a wholesale notion and toy business on Third street, 
 which he continued for a number of years. For some time past 
 he has been engaged as A traveling man for Forepaugh & Tarbox. 
 He is the oldest member of the present Baptist Church, and has 
 been an important element in that society. He is a stirring man, 
 full of energy, full of hope, full of good deeds. 
 
 WILFORD C. WILSON. 
 
 Captain Wilson was born in the State of New York in 1847 ; 
 came to St. Paul with his father in 1856, coming part way up 
 the river in the ill-fated steamer Lady Franklin on her last trip. 
 He lived for a time in Rose Township ; attended the Jefferson 
 School, from which he enlisted in Company B, Eleventh Minne- 
 sota Volunteers, and was promoted to the non-commissioned 
 staff in 1864. In 1865, after being honorably discharged with,. 
 his regiment, he attended Fairfield Academy, New York ; re- 
 turned to St. Paul in 1867 and was connected with the river 
 siirvey under Gen. Warren;, was principal of the Lakeland 
 School, Washington County. In the fall of 1 868 he became con- 
 nected with the firm of Wilson & Worley (now Wilson & 
 Rogers) where he is at this writing. In 1869 he assisted in 
 organizing the " Governor's Guard," an independent military 
 company, and was made First Lieutenant ; later he was made 
 Captain of the company, and it was known as Company A, First 
 Regiment National Guard S. M., the first mihtia company 
 organized after the war. Is Past Commander of Acker Post No. 
 21, G. A. R. 
 
 Captain Wilson is a bachelor, good-looking, of good address 
 and of good business qualities ; energetic in his movements and 
 energetic in his speech. 
 
 E. C. BELOTE. 
 
 Mr. Belote has been a somewhat prominent man in the his- 
 tory of our city, for most of the time he has been before the 
 public and is very generally known. He is a tall, slender gentle- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. ST3 
 
 man, pleasant in his address, moderate in his manners and has 
 been a successful landlord, Mrs. Belote, a large, splendid looking 
 woman, having added very much to his popularity by her excel- 
 lent house-keeping qualities and her affable manners. Mr. B. 
 was born in New York in 1812 ; was raised on a farm ; came to 
 Minnesota in 1855 and to St. Paul in 1856; was landlord of the 
 Merchants hotel previous to Col. Shaw, for five years ; then mine 
 host of the International until it burned in 1869; retired from 
 business ten years in consequence of ill-health, and in 1 879 took 
 possession of the Metropolitan, where he remained up to about 
 1884, when, falling from a carriage he injured his hip and was 
 obliged to abandon the hotel business, and is now engaged look- 
 ing after his real estate. He served nine months as Alderman 
 by appointment. Although a man above seventy years of age 
 yet he looks much younger, and were it not for his lameness he 
 would be good for ten years more of active service. He is a 
 land-mark of the past to whom hungry tramps look with long- 
 ing eyes, but just now they look in vain. 
 
 GEORGE BENZ. 
 
 Mr. Benz was born in Germany in 1038; received a good 
 education in a private school and was prepared by his training 
 to teach; emigrated to the United States in 1854 and was em- 
 ployed as a clerk in Chicago for one year and a half and came 
 to St. Paul in 1856; in connection with F. A. Renz he opened 
 a wholesale liquor store but subsequently Mr. Renz sold out his 
 interest to Maj. J. C. Becht, who, dying in 1878, the partnership 
 was dissolved and Mr. Benz continued the business up to 1880 
 when the firm of George Benz & Co. was formed. Mr. Benz 
 was a member of the Legislature in 1873-4-5 ; was on the 
 School Board for two terms, and is now in the wholesale liquor 
 business on Third street. He is a man of strong, vigorous char- 
 acter, very positive in his nature and very decided in his opin- 
 ions ; of a bilious, nervous temperament, and yet he is a man of 
 many excellent traits, a solid citizen and has done much to 
 advance not only the interests of our schools but the interests 
 of our city. He is a man who has traveled in Europe and has 
 fine tastes, and a proper appreciation of the commercial impor- 
 tance of St. Paul. 
 
574 PEN PICTURES 
 
 JOHN B. BRESETTE. 
 
 Capt. Bresette as a detective has played an important part 
 in this community and is very generally known for his brusque, 
 quick, off-hand way, and yet he is as plausible as an angel if it is 
 necessary to be so. He is of French descent, a good-sized man 
 with a florid complexion, and is always busy, and for the amount 
 of care and trouble he has passed through he is a well-preserved 
 detective. He has several peculiar traits of character, among 
 which are his earnestness, his devotion to his profession, his 
 activity, his determination and his perseverance. Born in New 
 York in 1838, at the age of eighteen years he struck out for the 
 far West and brought up at St. Paul in 1856; worked that year 
 in a lumber mill, but in 1857 was appointed on the police force 
 and served up to 1862, when he enlisted in the army, Eighth 
 Minnesota, and served to 1865, and was then discharged on 
 account of disability ; on his return to the city he was re-ap- 
 pointed on the police force and in 1872 was made a special 
 detective ; is now captain with detective duties. Married Miss 
 Herman Brosseau in 1856. Bresette is a terror to wrong-doers 
 and they all give him a wide berth, as well they may. 
 
 JOHN W. BURDICK. 
 
 Born of English descent in Connecticut in 1842, Mr. Bur- 
 dick's father moulded the first clipper ship East and the son 
 drifted to St. Paul in 1856; removed to ScottCounty, Where he 
 resided three years; to Martin County in 1861 ; engaged in the 
 fur trade and opened a store ; enlisted in the Sixth Minnesota 
 Regiment ; removed to Fairmount and opened a store again ; sold 
 out and traveled two years for H. A. Bromley of this city ; ' then 
 he became engaged for A. C. Bailey ; settled permanently in St. 
 Paul in 1879; was elected secretary and treasurer of the Bailey 
 Manufacturing Company ; was County Surveyor of Martin 
 County two years and County Commissioner and School Super- 
 intendent. He is a man of great energy and good business 
 qualities. 
 
 LAYING THE CORNER STONE OF THE CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL. 
 
 This immense building was commenced in 1854, the corner 
 stone was laid in 1856, and the building completed in 1858. It 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 57 o 
 
 was originated by Bishop Cretin who died before it was finished. 
 It was Bishop Cretin who suggested Rev. John Ireland for the 
 ministry. The Cathedral was opened for service on the 13th 
 of June, 1858, and on that day ;^428 was collected. On Christ- 
 mas night 2,000 persons attended mass. The building cost 
 nearly ^45,000. The Catholic population of St. Paul is about 
 20,000. 
 
 REIM H. CAPISTRANT GEORGE VV. GRAY. 
 
 Mr. C. is a native of Canada, born in 1837 > was educated in 
 the common schools of Massachusetts and finally graduated from 
 the College of St. Hyacinthe, Canada; came to St. Paul in 
 1856; served in the Eighth Minnesota two and one-half years 
 and in the heavy artillery fifteen months ; taught school for four- 
 teen years ; was a farmer for a time ; then abstract clerk and 
 clerk in a dry-goods store ; was justice of the peace thirteen 
 years and County Commissioner six years. Married Miss Zoe 
 Morisette of Ramsey County. 
 
 Mr. Gray was born in this city in 1856 and educated here; 
 was deputy postmaster in West St. Paul for a time ; followed 
 civil engineering for two years and assisted in laying out West 
 St. Paul ; worked in the machine shops of McAfee Brothers one 
 year ; followed the trade of a carpenter for a short time ; was 
 night watchman on the steamer Manitoba on the Red River of 
 the North ; returning to St. Paul he engaged with Noyes Bros. 
 & Cutler; clerked in the grocery store of J. C. McCarthy; went 
 into business for himself and was burned out ; erected a store of 
 his own and is now doing a good trade. He is a man of strong 
 characteristics, of great energy and much intelligence, active, 
 stirring, a worthy member of society. 
 
 MARK COSTELLO JOHN DOWLAN. 
 
 Mr. Costello is a quiet, unobtrusive, industrious man, who 
 for many years has been a principal contractor and builder in 
 this city. He was born in Ireland in, J 833; located in Pennsyl- 
 vania after coming to America ; learned the trade of carpenter 
 and joiner; removed to St. Paul in 1856; has been a contractor 
 and builder in this city for. twenty-nine years and has had his 
 shop on the corner of Market and Fifth streets for nearly a quar- 
 
576 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ter of a century. He is noted for his good work, his upright 
 character and his quiet demeanor. 
 
 Mr. Dowlan was born in Ireland in 1 829 ; removed to Can- 
 ada when young; came to the United States in 1 850; worked in 
 a shawl and broadcloth factory in New York ; went to Ohio ; 
 spent three years in California in gold mining ; removed to St. 
 Paul in 1856; engaged in the wood business and is now the old- 
 est dealer of wood in the city ; was elected Street Commissioner 
 in 1 863 and served three terms of two years each ; was contrac- 
 tor oh the city water works ; elected Alderman in 1 874-7 ; was 
 president of the Council in 1881 ; re-elected Alderman in 1884, 
 and still continues in office. Since 1870 he has devoted his entire 
 attention to the wood business. He is a man of ordinary size, of 
 good business habits, an active member of the Catholic Church, 
 has proved a good Alderman, and is a quiet, worthy citizen. 
 Has been a valuable man in public life. 
 
 CHAUNCEY W. GRIGGS OFFICES PERSONAL. 
 
 Away back in the past some thirty years ago, I remember 
 Col. Griggs in business on Third street, and then in the grocery 
 trade on the corner of Third and Seventh streets, or Seven Cor- 
 ners, and then at Chaska, Carver County, making and shipping 
 brick, and then engaged in government contracts, and then deal- 
 ing in real estate, and coal and wood in the city of St. Paul. 
 He is of English descent, born in Connecticut in 1832 ; received 
 a good academical education, and in 185 1 left home for Detroit, 
 Mich., as a clerk in a banking house. Was engaged in business 
 in Ohio, Iowa and Michigan previous to coming to St. Paul, 
 which was in the year 1856. In 1861 he enhsted in the Third 
 Minnesota Infantry, and was soon after promoted to First Lieu- 
 tenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, but 
 resigned in 1863 in consequence of sickness, and returned to 
 St. Paul. 
 
 Col. Griggs was a member of the House two terms, member 
 of the Senate three terms, and an Alderman of the city seven 
 years. He was interested in banking in 1872, and occupies a 
 prominent position in the banking interests of the city now ; is a 
 director in three national banks, the aggregate capital of which 
 is ^1,700,000. He is largely engaged in the wholesale grocery 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 577 
 
 business. He is also the president of the State Building Asso- 
 ciation, which office he has held seven years ; vice-president of 
 the St. Paul National Bank ; a member of the board of water 
 commissioners, appointed in 1882, "and represents a class of 
 business men who have made our Western cities marvels of rapid 
 growth and enterprise." 
 
 Col. Griggs is a fine-looking man, well-proportioned and 
 possessing excellent business qualities. He is quiet in his move- 
 ments, cool and deliberate, but effective in results, and has laid 
 a basis upon which he is building up a fortune. He is exceed- 
 ingly social and pleasant in his nature, yet back of all this he is 
 shrewd and scheming. He has made a good public officer, more 
 so by his earnest work than by outward display, and may very 
 justly be classed among our sensible, sagacious, solid, able citizens. 
 Col. Griggs married Miss Martha A. Gallup in 1859, ^"^ elegant 
 woman of superior ability, of remarkable energy and charming 
 manners, a young-old settler, so to speak, whose influence has 
 always been for good. The Colonel himself having accumu- 
 lated wealth, has cultivated with it a spirit of generosity which 
 finds practical exemplification in all good enterprises. 
 
 THEODORE HAMM AS HE IS. 
 
 Born in Baden, Germany, in 1825 ; learned the butcher's 
 trade in the old country,- emigrated to America in 1854; lived 
 in BufiTalp, New York and Chicago, and came to St. Paul in 
 1856; followed his trade here until 1857; opened a saloon and 
 boarding house, which he kept for eight years, when he pur- 
 chased the grounds upon which his large brewery now stands, 
 the other side of Trout Brooj?. In 1874, in company with 
 Phillip Thon, he purchased the Brainerd flouring mills, which 
 they have run ever since. Of course the property Mr. Hamm 
 bought years ago has now become very valuable, and he has 
 increased his facilities for brewing very largely. What was once 
 a broken, isolated part of the city is now one of the most valuable. 
 Hills have come down and valleys have been filled in until 
 Hamm's grounds present a very comely appearance. 
 
 Mr. Hamm is a muscular man, strong, active, pushing, and 
 yet he is gentlemanly and obliging. He is untiring in his 
 devotion to his business and has built up a large trade upon the 
 
 37 
 
578 PEN PICTURES 
 
 merits of his manufactured article. He is greatly assisted hy 
 his son, and together they make a strong firm. 
 
 PATRICK KEIGHER. 
 
 Mr. Keigher was born in Ireland in 1837 ; came to America 
 in 1 845 and located in New York State, where he was educated, 
 and then went to New York city and engaged with the Ameri- 
 can Express Company four years and came to St. Paul in 1856. 
 He at one time clerked for L. B. Wait & Co., but finally started 
 business for himself on the corner of Fifth and Wabasha streets, 
 where he remained for many years. Mr. Keigher is a small 
 man with sandy whiskers and has a quiet way of transacting 
 business. He is not only popular among his own people but 
 among the Americans. Indeed he is a pleasant, accommodating, 
 kind-hearted man, more worthy of mention than many making 
 greater pretensions. 
 
 A MEMORABLE EVENT. 
 
 On the 24th of June, 1856, the corner stone for a new 
 building for the Historical Society was laid with great pomp and 
 ceremony. The building was to be on the corner of Tenth and 
 Wabasha streets, and after the lapse of twenty-nine years the lot 
 is still vacant, or only recently leased for other purposes. Prof 
 Maury of Washington made the principal speech on the occa- 
 sion, assisted by Mayor Becker and Rev. John Penman, and a 
 great procession marched through our streets. The tin box 
 containing the valuables was subsequently taken out of the 
 corner stone and deposited in the historical rooms at the Capitol. 
 
 PETER KERST. 
 
 In a small shop on the corner of Seventh (formerly Fort) 
 and Ramsey streets, years ago, Peter Kerst commenced business 
 for himself after having, worked as a journeyman for Mr. Mitsch 
 about six years. His business was wagon and sleigh manufac- 
 turing and general blacksmithing, which increased rapidly until 
 he was obliged to remove his shop to give place to a fine brick 
 building erected by Gov. Ramsey. He is an industrious son of 
 Vulcan and has built up a good business. Born in Germany in 
 1829, he came to St. Paul in 1856; married Miss Francisca 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 579 
 
 Rapp in 1862, who died in 1864; married Miss Josephine Rapp 
 in 1 865, by whom he has had six children, two of whom are 
 Hving. 
 
 J. p. LEITNER. 
 
 A short, thick-set, chubby man is Mr. Leitner, who was 
 formerly a printer, but who kept a cigar store for many years on 
 the corner of Third and St. Peter streets. He was in the Union 
 army and enlisted in the Sixth Regiment in 1 862 ; was mustered 
 out as Sergeant in 1865 ; was a member of the fire department 
 in 1 860 ; exempted from service in 1 866 ; became a member of 
 the U. A. O. D. in 1865; was grand secretary of the Grand 
 Grove; is a member of Ancient Landmark Lodge No. 5, A. F. 
 and A. M., and of Champion Lodge No. 13, K. of P., holding 
 the rank of P. C. ; held a clerkship in the post office in 1866 and 
 remained there up to 1871 ; gave up his store in 1885 and was 
 appointed clerk in the office of Register of Deeds, where he now 
 is. Mr. Leitner is a good deal of a quiet politician, and is 
 peculiarly noted for his smooth, low-toned conversation. He is 
 an industrious, unobtrusive man. Born in Bavaria, Germany, in 
 1840, he received a good education in the common schools of 
 that country, when he was admitted into the Royal Bavarian 
 School of Husbandry, which he left in 1855 in anticipation of 
 emigrating to America; came to St. Paul in 1856 and has 
 resided here ever since. 
 
 THOSE HOGS. 
 
 An old settler not many years ago went into the business 
 of raising hogs, and after getting together a good crop he was 
 obliged to drive them east to sell them, as there was no market 
 at home. Of course the long journey and expense ate up the 
 profits, and on his return his neighbors asked him how much he 
 had made. " Oh," he said, " I lost money, but then I had the 
 company of the hogs ! " 
 
 WILLIAM LINDEKE PERSONALLY. 
 
 The Lindeke brothers have built themselves up from com- 
 paratively nothing to affluence, and they deserve all they have 
 secured, for it has been obtained by honest labor and strict atten- 
 tion to business. William was born in Prussia in 1835 ; received 
 but a limited education; emigrated to America in 1854; spent 
 
580 PEN PICTURES 
 
 two years in traveling through the States; came to St. Paul in 
 1856; worked as a laborer in the lumbering business for six 
 months and then learned the trade of a miller, and worked for 
 three years in the old city mills, and in 1858 was. placed in 
 charge of the milling department and continued in that capacity 
 up to 1 862, when he rented the mill, purchased the ground the 
 next year, erected the Union mills thereon, and kept both in 
 operation until 1865, when he turned his attention to his own 
 mills exclusively, assisted by his brother Frederick, who had had 
 general charge of the business for some years. In 1871 Mr. 
 Lindeke became associated with his brother, A. H., in the retail 
 mercantile trade, but in 1881 sold to Lindeke, Ladd & Co., and 
 since then he. has been largely engaged in the wholesale depart- 
 ment. He was County Commissioner for. four terms, first by 
 appointment and the following three by election. 
 
 Mr. Lindeke is a well-set man physically, denoting power 
 and inherent push. He is about eight years older than his 
 brother, of light complexion, hair a little gray, and wears a 
 goatee. His face indicates strength of character, while his sunny 
 disposition makes him a popular man everywhere. He is pro- 
 nounced to be one of the best dry-goods merchants in the coun- 
 try, his judgment always being good in the purchase of stock, 
 while he is a safe, careful, prudent man at the head of a great 
 establishment, and an excellent citizen. 
 
 JAMES J. O'CONNOR "A LITTLE CUSS." 
 
 One who hears of wonderful deeds on the part of some 
 wonderful detective, is surprised on confronting him to find him 
 only a man. And this reminds me of a little incident which 
 occurred in my own individual history years ago. The paper I 
 edited was the organ of the $5,000,000 railroad loan bill, and on 
 submitting the question to the people it was indorsed by a popu- 
 lar vote of 18,600 majority. Immediately afterward a gentle- 
 man from the rural district wanted to make my acquaintance, 
 and on being introduced remarked — " I have a good mind to 
 knock you down ! " " Why ? " I inquired. " Because," he said, 
 " I took you to be six feet tall, but you are only a little cuss ! " 
 In imagination he saw me a large, tall, powerful man, when, in 
 fact I weighed but ninety-five pounds, and was small and far 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 581 
 
 beneath his conception of what I should be for the amount of 
 work rendered in the canvass just passed. And so we magnify 
 men by their deeds, and Mr. O'Connor comes in for his share, 
 although he is a man of considerable muscle, but not large and 
 cumbersome. He was born in Kentucky in 1855, and in 1856 
 his parents removed to this city with him, where Ije received an 
 education, and at the age of sixteen years was employed in the 
 grocery store of J. & M. Butler; <;ontinued there until 1872, 
 when he entered the wholesale grocery house of P. H. Kelly, 
 and from that he was appointed detective on the police force, and 
 is in fact a very efficient officer. He is cautious, careful, shrewd, 
 quick, decisive, and with nerve enough to carry to completion 
 anything he may undertake. 
 
 JOHN o'donnell. 
 
 Mr. O'Donnell is a native of Ireland, born about 1830; 
 emigrated to New York in 1851 ; learned the trade of carriage- 
 maker in Albany, N. Y. ; worked at Herkimer one year ; also, 
 for Wright & Willet of Chicago; came to St. Paul in 1856 
 and opened a carriage establishment on Exchange street, where 
 he carried on business iifteen years, when, in 1873 he started a 
 livery stable near his old shops and ran it up to about one year 
 ago, when he became a deputy in the Sheriff's office. He is a 
 small man, with a round face and florid complexion, very unde- 
 monstrative and like many other old settlers has been on the tee- 
 ter-taunter board of life, now up and now down, for some twenty- 
 nine years, having seen a great deal of trouble and affiiction 
 growing out of sickness and death in his family. 
 
 D. L. CURTICE. 
 
 Mr. Curtice was born in New York in 1828; was a student 
 of the late Dr. Taylor, deceased ; also a student with Roscoe 
 Conkling, Augustus and Frederick Seward, at the Auburn, 
 N. Y., academy, and was prepared for college, but abandoned 
 the idea and took a course in civil engineering ; was in the engin- 
 eering department when the first railroad was built in Canada 
 West in 1851 ; was engineer on the L. O. A. & N. Y. Railroad 
 from 1852 to 1855 ; came to St. Paul in 1856; was with J. A. 
 Case, City Engineer, St. Paul, in 1856 and 1857; was City En- 
 gineer in 1858-9; married in 1859; in 1862 located the St. Paul 
 
6S2 PEN PICTURES 
 
 & Pacific Railroad from Big Lake to St Cloud ; was City Engin- 
 eer from 1869 to 1874, during which time by his recommenda- 
 tion the street grades were fixed leveling Baptist hill, now the 
 wholesale district of the city. The owners of the property at 
 that time declared the proposition to cut the hill down to its pres- 
 ent plane not only ridiculous but insane, and that the generation 
 then living would be in their graves long before the completion 
 of the work. That property then worth ^75 to ^100 per front 
 foot, is now worth from ;^700 to ;^i,ooo. Smith Park has been 
 graded and is being beautified, and it is hard to realize that the old 
 circus grounds on the park were once fifty feet above its present 
 grade. Mr. Curtice has been County Surveyor, and at present 
 is engaged in civil engineering. He is a small man, very method- 
 ical in his ways, attends to his own business and what he does 
 he does thoroughly and well. He makes no display, is quiet in 
 his movements and is an industrious, unpretending citizen. 
 
 GEORGE PALMES. 
 
 A really good man is the noblest work of God, and George 
 Palmes is a good man. A personal knowledge of his career 
 for over a quarter of a century ought to qualify me to judge of 
 his character correctly, and when thoroughly analyzed but few 
 men, in my opinion, are better than George Palmes. I remem- 
 ber him when on Bridge Square and carrying on business as 
 Mott & Palmes, tailors ; I remember him later when adversity 
 swept the firm out of existence, and still later I remember him 
 struggling for a foot-hold, and all through this he was the same 
 kind-hearted, patient, industrious citizen, and so he has lived for 
 over a quarter of a century, and so he lives to-day, plodding on 
 his way with his hair a little grayer, his step a little weaker, but 
 with his manhood unimpaired and his honesty unimpeached. 
 Mr. Palmes is a trim-built gentleman, always pleasant, always 
 attending to his business, always honorable, and by no means 
 rich, yet he is the possessor of a humble, happy home, and has 
 the universal respect of his fellow-men. He was born in LeRoy 
 Genesee Co., N. Y., in 1828; was reared and educated in Michi- 
 gan; came to St. Paul in 1856 and has resided here continu- 
 ously ever since. After his dissolution of partnership with Mr. 
 Mott he started in business on a small scale, and has constantly 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINA. 533 ' 
 
 increased his trade until his establishment is now considered the 
 ■best in the city. His shop is probably the oldest continuous 
 tailoring establishment in St. Paul or in the State. He married 
 Miss Hull in 1853, who died several years ago. 
 
 J. B. RICE. 
 
 Almost as long back as I can remember anything about 
 railroads, especially in this State, " Judd " Rice looms up simul- 
 taneously with them, and becomes as it were a part and parcel 
 ■of them. If my memory serves me correctly he was the con- 
 ductor who ran the first passenger train on the then St. Paul & 
 Pacific Railroad (now the Manitoba,) from this city to St. 
 Anthony, and as I was one of the passengers on that occasion, 
 July 2, 1862, or twenty-three years ago, I well remember how 
 proud " Judd " was as the iron horse ploughed his way as it then 
 seemed to me over a vast prairie, but now almost a solid city ! 
 Mr. Rice when only nineteen years old began working for the 
 Michigan Central Railroad, and after coming to St. Paul in 
 1856, he was a conductor on what is now the St. Paul, Minne- 
 apolis & Manitoba road six years, and then in 1 868 was made 
 assistant superintendent of the same road and holds the position 
 5till, having charge of the Fergus Falls division. He was born 
 in Yankee land, Vermont, in 1830. " Judd " is a small or rather 
 spare man, very affable, always pleasant, prompt in the discharge 
 of his business, energetic, and a competent, popular railroad 
 official. 
 
 MERRILL RYDER. 
 
 A quiet, easy, pleasant man is Merrill Ryder, and when one 
 comes to learn something of his early history he is surprised at 
 his equanimity, for he was among the first to strike out into the 
 Red river country in search of furs soon after the license of the 
 Hudson Bay Company had expired in 1861, and on these trips 
 he endured many hardships and incurred grea.t dangers. He 
 was in the Red river country when the Indian outbreak occurred, 
 and on returning in 1 862 all the passengers in the stage that fol- 
 lowed him were massacred, while he came through safely. His 
 brother was connected with him and others in a store at Big 
 Stone Lake, and one day the lower Indian bands called him out, 
 when some fifty fired at him and he fell dead. Mr. Ryder was 
 
5S4 PEN PICTURES 
 
 born in Connecticut in 1827; educated at the common schools; 
 was in business in New Hartford for seven years, when he came 
 West in 1854, and to St. Paul in 1856. After his return from 
 the Red river country, as already stated, he continued the sell- 
 ing and buying of furs until 1 867, when he added the manufac- 
 ture of the same and began dealing in the hide and wool busi- 
 ness and the traffic in game, and has engaged in this business 
 for many years, having been a permanent resident of St. Paul 
 from 1856. He is a man of moderate size, of pleasing address, 
 and yet he- is a gentleman of good business qualities and a quiet,, 
 unobtrusive citizen. 
 
 ROBERT SMITH THE MAN. 
 
 Born in England in 1 828 ; educated at the grammar school ;. 
 emigrated to Buffalo, N. Y., in 1855 ; engaged in the butcher 
 business; came to St. Paul in 1856; in 1857 was steward of the 
 St. Paul Club ; kept the house for Judge Nelson for a time after 
 the club gave it up ; engaged with the firm of Drewry & Scotten 
 in 1 86 1, where he remained seven years; was bookkeeper in the 
 boot and shoe store of W. J. Smith & Co. in 1 869, and then was- 
 with McCauley & Castner in the commission business ; in 1 873 
 became the chaplain of the Bethel mission of the Western Sea- 
 men's Friend Society; is now engaged in various missionary^ 
 work ; was for two terms and a half chaplain in the Legislature. 
 
 Such is the brief history of Robert Smith, and yet it is not 
 all his history, for in connection with the material elements of 
 life he has been a prominent factor in the promotion of good 
 deeds, and like his master mingles with publicans and sinners to- 
 do His commands. There is something refreshing in Mr. Smith's 
 mode of preaching, for there is an originality and an earnestness in 
 the man which command attention. He is devoid of hypocrisy 
 or mere show, and when he speaks it is from the heart and not 
 from motives of policy in order to gain notoriety or popularity.. 
 He is a good representative of the genuine Englishman ; has an 
 excellent physical organization, considerable force of character,, 
 and has made himself a man and a good citizen by the strength 
 of his own will-power. 
 
 JOHN SUMMERS. 
 
 Mr. Summers is an excellent specimen of a self-made man^ 
 and it is really through the force of his industry and individu- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 585 
 
 ality that he has attained his present position as owner and 
 landlord of the Windsor hotel. Years ago I knew him as a 
 journeyman carpenter, then as Summers & Co., then he sold put 
 and built and took possession of the Windsor hotel in 1877. 
 He was born in Scotland in 1830 ; was well educated in the 
 High School of Glasgow; learned the trade of a carpenter in 
 his native city ; emigrated to Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1852; to Chicago 
 in 1855, where he worked three years, and then came to St. 
 Paul in 1856, with results as already narrated. Mr. Summers 
 shows his Scotch characteristics by his strong and somewhat 
 angular points of character, and what he has made financially 
 has been by that unceasing and indomitable will-power which 
 marks the man. He is industrious, prudent, careful, economical, 
 self-reliant, cautious yet progressive, pleasant, a solid, business, 
 common-sense citizen. 
 
 H. S. TEMPLE. 
 
 " Going ! going ! going ! how much do I hear ? one dollar ! 
 one dollar ! one dollar ! going — g-o-n-e ! " This is the first 
 memory I have of Mr. Temple, who, surrounded with piles of 
 goods and a crowd of people in a store down on East Third 
 street in the year 1856, was rattling off a lingo of words inter- 
 spersed with fun, song and poetry. He Was a fine looking man, 
 with a fresh complexion, a pleasant eye and expression and a 
 long, flowing beard. His voice was clear and melodious, and he 
 held his audience by sheer force of good nature. And so he 
 continued for years in that dingy auction room — " Going ! going ! 
 going! gone!" Originally he was born in Maine in 1823 and 
 naturally fell into the lumbering business with his father ; then 
 " went it on his own hook " for two years, and then entered mer- 
 cantile pursuits and commenced his career in this city in 1856 
 as an auctioneer. He sold all the property confiscated by the 
 State during the Indian war ; all condemned property of the 
 United States, and at one time a warehouse full of hard-tack. 
 He then opened what was known as Moffett's Castle and kept a 
 good hotel for a year or so, when he sold out and started a 
 dining-room on Jackson street, and from thence leased the Com- 
 mercial hotel on Seventh street, where he has been for several 
 years. Mr. Temple is a man of energy and of business tact, and 
 makes an excellent landlord, and is a very worthy, pleasant gen- 
 tleman. 
 
S86 PEN PICTURES 
 
 CALVIN S. ULINE. 
 
 Very few men were more popular when in active business 
 life in this city, than Col. Uline. He was a " hail fellow well 
 met," liberal, kind-hearted, always one of the boys, and good 
 nature was a predominant trait in his character. He was a 
 young, sprightly fellow when he came to this city, but years have 
 made him more sedate and have filled out the frame-work to a 
 respectable degree of flesh, still he is the same old-time pleasant 
 "Cal." Born in New York in 1833 he received an academic 
 education at Charlottesville and removed to New Jersey in 1850, 
 but in 1853 took up his residence in Indiana and became distrib- 
 uting clerk in the post office at Indianapolis. Arriving in St. 
 Paul in 1856 he connected himself with L. H. Eddy and C. W. 
 Griggs in the grocery business until 1861, when he enlisted in 
 the Second Minnesota Regiment, and served over four years, 
 being commissioned Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Cap- 
 tain, Major and discharged as Lieutenant Colonel. He was 
 elected Treasurer of Ramsey County in 1868 and held the office 
 up to 1 876, or eight years ; was married in 1 865 to a dear little 
 woman, sister of Luther H. Eddy. In 1871 he held the position 
 of salesman of lands for the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba 
 Railroad Company ; engaged in mining and lost considerable 
 money ; sold his homestead on Mississippi street for ^26,000 and 
 moved to Devil's Lake, Dakota, where he now is. The many 
 friends of Col. Uline wish him God-speed. 
 
 THOMAS m'MAHON. 
 
 A native of Ireland, born in 1833; came to America in 
 1850; lived in Chicago six years, when he removed to St. Paul 
 in 1856; was Wall street commissioner of St. Paul one year 
 and was appointed on the police force in 1874 and has been on 
 the force a number of years. Mr. McMahon coming here 
 twenty-nine years ago, saw a good deal of the hardships inci- 
 dent to pioneer life, but he has maintained his manhood and has 
 proved a faithful servant of the city. 
 
 JOHN WEBER. 
 
 Mr. Weber was born in Switzerland in 1827 and educated 
 in his native land; arrived at New York from the old country 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 587 
 
 and worked at his trade as a stone cutter for four years ; came to 
 St. Paul in 1856 and worked for six years for B. Presley, spent 
 three years in the mines of Idaho, traveled through different 
 States and finally returned to St. Paul and opened a grocery 
 store on the old Fort road, now Seventh street, where he 
 remained for some time. He married Miss Catherine Ayd in 
 1869. Mr. Weber is a quiet, steady man, and has built up quite 
 a nice trade by years of industry and fair dealing. 
 
 JOSEPH MINEA 
 
 .• Came to St. Paul in 1856; born in Indiana in 1832; 
 engaged in wagon-making and blacksmithing in 1858; entered 
 into partnership with Michael Eaton in 1867; bought out his 
 partner and carried on the business alone for four years ; made 
 a partnership with his brother ; in 1881 became sole proprietor 
 and has carried on the business in West St. Paul successfully, 
 demonstrating what can be achieved by earnest, hard labor. 
 
 TERRENCE O'bRIEN. 
 
 Born in Ireland in 1832. Mr. O'Brien at the age of four- 
 teen years removed to Montreal, Canada, then to Vermont, then 
 to New York and Pennsylvania, and came to St. Paul in 1856; 
 was a stone cutter by trade ; worked on the Wabasha bridge ; 
 formed a partnership with M. Roche in 1861 and continued it 
 until 1 879, when the present partnership was formed. The firm 
 is now carrying on a large business. 
 
 THOMAS p. WILSON. 
 
 Gen. Wilson was born in Connecticut in 1 842 ; moved to 
 Herkimer County, N. Y., with his parents, and came to St. Paul 
 in 1856 ; finished his education here at the St. Paul College, and 
 taught school during the winter of i86o-'6i. In the summer of 
 1 86 1 he enlisted in- the Fourth Minnesota Volunteers, and was 
 made Commissary Sergeant of the regiment. In the early sum- 
 mer of 1862 he was made Second Lieutenant, and a month 
 later was promoted to First Lieutenant and Quartermaster of 
 the Eleventh Louisiana Colored Infantry — a regiment which 
 was nearly wiped out of existence at the battle of Miliken's 
 Bend, an engagement in which the subject of this sketch took 
 an active part. He was with the army at the siege of Corinth, 
 
5S8 PEN PICTURES 
 
 battles of luka and Gorinth, and the siege of Vicksburg. He 
 remained at various duties in Louisiana and Mississippi and Louis- 
 iana until 1864, when he was appointed Captain and Assistant 
 Quartermaster, and ordered to join Sherman at Atlanta ; served 
 as Quartermaster of one of the divisions of the Seventeenth Corps 
 on " the march to the sea." After the grand review at Wash- 
 ington in 1865, he was placed in charge of the entire wagon 
 train of Sherman's army on an overland trip from Washington 
 to Louisville. From thence he was ordered to Denver and 
 made Chief Quartermaster of Colorado Territory, after having 
 been breveted Major for meritorious service. He resigned ' in 
 1866 and returned to St. Paul, engaging in the lumber trade. 
 In 1868 he opened a furnace and plumbing establishment, under 
 the firm name of Wilson & Worley ; later changed to Wilson 
 & Rogers, and from which he retired in 1885. During Gov. 
 Pillsbury's first term he was appointed Quartermaster General 
 of the State of Minnesota, with the rank . of Brigadier General ; 
 was re-appointed by Governor Hubbard, and is now serving in 
 that capacity. 
 
 Gen. Wilson is a gentleman of good business qualities, quick 
 in his movements, energetic in character, and backed by a good 
 corporosity. He passed through a severe ordeal in the army, 
 but rides the wayes of life like an iron-clad steamer, and appears 
 good for any emergency which may arise. 
 
 CHARLES A. ZIMMERMAN. 
 
 "An Alsatian! It can't be possible!" Yes, sir; that 
 bright, .quick, courteous, gentlemanly-looking man, with dark 
 hair, black eyes and dark whiskers, who is cute enough to catch 
 the shadows before they fade, was born in Strasbourg, France, in 
 1 844, and is the identical gentleman who shows his ability as a 
 writer and his genius as an artist — a talented Franco-German- 
 American. This trait of character was developed at the early 
 age of fourteen years when young Zimmerman constructed his 
 own camera and started out in his first attempt in the art of pho- 
 tography. At the age of four years he emigrated to America 
 with his parents, and after receiving a good education came to 
 St. Paul in 1856, and entering the old Whitney gallery, then on 
 the corner of Third and Cedar streets, carved his own way up to 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 589 
 
 the ownership of an estabUshment at the rate of eight- dollars per 
 month, and then he purchased a building on Third street and 
 devoted the four stories to his special profession. 
 
 Mr. Zimmerman's ability as a photographer was fully rec- 
 ognized when in 1871 he received the Philadelphia gold medal 
 for the perfection of his art, and in 1876 the Centennial gold 
 medal for the same. His literary works embrace contributions 
 on light optics, the chemistry and the working of processes ; 
 papers to children in St. Nicholas ; papers on out-door sports 
 and rod and gun abound in the columns of Forest and Stream, 
 Chicago Field, and- Scribner. His best known water-color paint- 
 ings are " The Light Shell," " Trying for a Double," " In the 
 Gloaming," and " Interrupted." The copyright for the first two 
 netted ;^3,ooo. His largest painting, " Damascus Commandery 
 Encampment," was finished in 1881. Mr. Zimmerman has been 
 secretary and treasurer of the St. Paul Sportsmen's Club, and 
 in 1 88 1 became the commander and owner of a fleet of pleasure 
 boats on Lake Minnetonka, which subsequently were merged 
 into a company and of which he is now manager. 
 
 He is a tall, slender man, as already described, a lover of 
 his own business and a worker in his own profession ; is cordial 
 and pleasant in manner, polite, as all Frenchmen are, industri- 
 ous, progressive in his trade as well as in his ideas, pre-eminent 
 in photography and able with his pen. He gives strict attention 
 to his business, and is ever reaching out into unknown fields to 
 achieve new results in the march of art and science. 
 
 EDWARD OSCAR ZIMMERMAN. 
 
 A brother of Charles, Mr. Zimrnerman was born in France 
 in 1842; emigrated to America in 1848, and in 1856 came to 
 St. Paul. He enlisted in the Sixth Regiment in 1 862 and was 
 made Lieutenant in 1864 and served until the close of the war. 
 He is somewhat interested with his brother in the photographic 
 trade, and for sfeveral years was traveling salesman for Auerbach, 
 Finch & Van Slyke. He is much like his brother, and still he is 
 different in that he is more sedate, and yet is a solid, useful man. 
 
 DAVID -RAMALEY. 
 
 One of the most tireless, most active and most industrious 
 . and hard-working printers I ever knew, was David Ramaley, 
 
590 PEN PICTURES 
 
 who to-day- is just as unceasing in his labors as he was twenty- 
 nine years ago. Rough, ready, prompt, quick, never sick, never 
 off duty, he has made his daily rounds for over a quarter of a 
 century, and still he is the same vigorous, energetic, bustling 
 typo of the past, the oldest continuous job printer in the city or 
 in the State. Ramaley is really a character, and his peculiarities 
 have individualized him among the craft. He was not the 
 inheritor of a golden spoon, but even at the early age of eleven 
 years entered the printing office, where he received his only edu- 
 cation and where he has been for the. past forty-six years. At 
 the age of seventeen he became foreman of the office of the 
 Pittsburg Daily Gazette ; then published an agricultural paper in 
 that city in 185 1 ; also a paper in Monongahela City; emigrated 
 to Minnesota in 1855 and commenced the lumbering business at 
 Le Sueur ; also worked in the office of the old Democrat of this 
 city the same year ; returned East and came to St. Paul to live 
 again in 1856; started a saw or rotary mill on what was known 
 as Ames' island down in the then old swamp now covered by a 
 network of railroad tracks ; then worked as a compositor on the 
 Pioneer, finally became foreman, city editor and then business 
 manager of the paper, and continued thus up to 1862, when he 
 started the first job office, independent of the newspapers in the 
 city ; took in Giesen as a partner ; then in 1 866 H. P. Hall, and 
 they ran a paper called the Commercial Review; became busi- 
 ness manager of the Minneapolis Tribune in 1867, where he 
 remained six months; in 1868 the present St. Paul Dispatch 
 was started by Hall & Ramaley, who ran it together for three or 
 four years, or to about 1871, when the partners dissolved. Hall 
 taking the Dispatch and Ramaley the job office; in 1873 Rama- 
 ley secured the State printing by contract, which he held until 
 1878; entered into partnership with J. C. Cunningham; pub- 
 lished the Daily News ; continued the job printing business up 
 to 1 88 1 when he became connected with the typQ foundry; went 
 out of that in 1884 and is now once more in the printing busi- 
 ness for himself. 
 
 Mr. Ramaley was a member of the School Board in 1 862-5 ; 
 has published a small book for printers as a guide in their job 
 department, but in other respects he has not been before the 
 public. He was born in Pittsburg, Penn., in 1828, and is an old 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 591 
 
 landmark among the printers of the city. He is a short, thick- 
 set man, with iron-gray hair and moves about with the celerity 
 of a whirlwind, while he keeps up a rapid conversation by his 
 " Yes, yes, yes ; I think so, yes, yes ; just so, just so — yes, yes, 
 yes." Any one who knows David Ramaley will recognize the 
 picture, but he is a good man and worthy citizen. 
 
 GUY M. SAULSBURY. 
 
 Mr. Saulsbury was born in New York in 1825 where he 
 was educated ; went to California in 1 849 ; was engaged in min- 
 ing there nine months ; returned to New York in the latter part 
 of the same year and ran on the packet passenger boats of the 
 Erie Canal for six years ; moved to'Washington County, Minn., 
 in 1853 and entered the lumbering business; came to St. Paul 
 in 1856 but did little or no business up to 1859, when he opened 
 a restaurant and in connection therewith started a hotel on the 
 European plan (the first in the city;) continued the hotel and 
 restaurant business for ten years ; made several trips across the 
 plains to Montana, Idaho and Denver, and could at one time 
 have purchased an interest in the latter city for ^5,000, worth 
 now ^20,000,000! Guy says that when he thinks of this little 
 matter and of other lost opportunities, he feels like hiring some 
 ten smart, active lads, with new shoes, to kick him out of this 
 world into some unknown and uninhabited part of another globe. 
 In 1876 he went into the Black Hills and opened a commission 
 business with the late H. B. Montgomery, and I shall never for- 
 get with what disgust he would rattle off the goods and then 
 getting no bids would dash the articles down on the counter, 
 and utter a — silent prayer. One night he got desperately 
 mad, and after putting up about everything there was in the store 
 and getting no bids, he drew out of his pocket a ^20 gold piece 
 and asked the crowd if they would bid on that. And such a 
 look, such a face, such utter hopeless despair — " How much for 
 the ^20 gold piece? How much? Gentlemen, it must be sold ! 
 ^14, $IS, $16, $17, $17.^0, ^18! going, going; a ^20 gold 
 piece for ;^i8 ! " Not a man smiled, not another bid was made ! 
 Guy looked over the crowd in utter contempt, paused a minute, 
 shoved the money down into his pocket and exclaimed — " You 
 d fools. You shan't have it at any price," and jumping from 
 
593 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the counter he flew around like a crazy man, put out the lights, 
 drove the crowd out of the building, locked the door, and the 
 next day sold out his whole stock in a lump at about two-thirds 
 less than it cost him, and the store was to rent. He left the hills 
 soon after and walked the whole distance back, glad as he said 
 to get on solid ground. Here he resumed his restaurant business 
 on Third street and continued for five years ; sold out; went to 
 his farm of some 300 acres at Lakeland, where he now is, 
 although at one time he was engaged in the patent and apple 
 business. He was married in 1848 and has two children. 
 
 Mr. Saulsbury is a good, solid man physically ; quick in his 
 movements ; a little nervous, and has passed through a great 
 many hardships ; has greal energy ; is always on the go, is 
 always going to get fixed to live, but never gets there. Probably 
 like all the other old settlers when he gets nicely situated old 
 Time will come along and ask him to take a walk and he no 
 doubt will consent for Guy has great respect for an officer whose 
 commands he knows must be obeyed. 
 
 WILLIAM MARKOK. 
 
 Very few old settlers have led a more quiet or a more 
 serene life than Mr. Markoe. My earliest recollection of him 
 was his connection with a balloon in which he made several 
 ascensions from this city, and from that time to this I have 
 always found him the same high-toned, elegant gentleman that 
 characterized him nearly thirty years ago. He was born at the 
 old Markoe House in Philadelphia, in 1820 ; was well educated 
 and graduated at the theological seminary of New York ; was 
 for seven years a clergyman of the Episcopal Church in Wis- 
 consin ; subsequently he embraced the Catholic religion, and 
 has ever since been a devoted member of that church ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1856, just in time to have the full benefit of 
 the crisis of 1857; in 1856-7 made two balloon ascensions, 
 one with Messrs. Eaton and Brown, who, after sailing around 
 in the air landed in the top of a tree some forty miles north- 
 east of St. Paul, among swamps and impenetrable forests. While 
 preparing for a third ascension the balloon burst and doubtless 
 saved the lives of the three parties who were about to ascend, as 
 there was a strong gale blowing at the time which would have 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. S99 
 
 •dashed the air-ship against the old International hotel. Mr. 
 Markoe was at one time, against his own inclinations, selected 
 by both parties to the City Council ; was chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on Streets, and was the originator of the ordinance re- 
 quiring sidewalks to be built by individuals instead of by general 
 taxes, thereby giving a great impetus to public improvements. 
 He was also on the committee to found the Reform School, and 
 ■was one of the framers of the charter. In early years he was 
 afflicted with palsy, which prevented him from engaging in any 
 active business. He married in 1 849 and has a family of young 
 ■men, who in point of ability and moral worth have but few 
 superiors. Mr. Markoe is an able writer, a pleasant gentleman 
 and one of our most estimable citizens. 
 
 JOHN MATTOCK. 
 
 A somewhat remarkable man was Rev. John Mattock, and 
 yet a good man and a godd scholar. He was a solid, sound 
 preacher, according to the orthodox doctrine ; a common-sense, 
 matter-of-fact individual who believed in uniting the material with 
 the spiritual world, for while he taught religion he also dealt 
 largely with the hum-drum affairs of life. He was not an elo- 
 ■quent or a magnetic preacher, and yet he was a man of good, 
 sound judgment and reliability. He was a minister in St. Paul 
 nineteen years and died in 1875, having maintained his position 
 uninterruptedly with his congregation during that long period. 
 The father of Mr. Mattock was once Governor of Vermont and 
 a member of Congress from that State for two terms. Mr. Mat- 
 tock himself was born in Vermont in 1814, and graduating at 
 Middlebury College in 1832 commenced the study of law, but 
 gave it up for the pursuit of religion, and after fully preparing 
 himself for the ministry, graduated at the theological department 
 of Yale College. He was pastor of a congregation at Keeseville, 
 N. Y., for eighteen years, when he removed to St. Paul in 1856 
 and succeeded Mr. Neill as the pastor of the First Presbyterian 
 Church, and at the same time he became very much interested 
 in educational matters, so that he was elected Secretary of the 
 School Board and Superintendent of Schools in i860, which 
 position he held up to 1872. He was also a member of the His- 
 torical Society, much interested in matters and theories of an 
 38 
 
594 PEN PICTURES 
 
 antiquated nature, and a lover of geology. He was a quiet,, 
 pleasant man ; moderate and consistent in his views and yet 
 decided in his opinions, and had the faculty of holding the 
 friends he made. His son, Dr. Brewer Mattock, was an excep- 
 tionally fine young man, at one time city and county physician 
 of St. Paul. He was small, quick, affable, and a true, good,, 
 manly citizen, now living, I think, in Faribault. 
 
 A. B. BRACKETT WHEN AND WHERE BORN A COMPLIMENT. 
 
 There is probably no man in the Northwest who has beea 
 through so many perilous adventures and who has endured sO' 
 many hardships, and who has come out so completely unharmed,, 
 and who is even now well prepared to vigorously fight the battles- 
 of life, than Colonel A. B. Brackett, our present United States 
 Deputy Marshal. His history is one continuous series of stir- 
 ring events ; in the mountains among the miners, in the army 
 among the bullets, on the plains amid the war-whoops, in the 
 dens among the robbers, flitting here and there and everywhere,, 
 surrounded with danger, and yet he is as bold and vigorous to-day 
 as he was twenty years ago. A man of fine physical proportions,, 
 very reticent, full of energy and courage, he moves down upon 
 his victim like a tornado, and before one is aware of it he has 
 him in his power. Very few men can fill the position of Deputy 
 United States Marshal so acceptably as Colonel Brackett, and very 
 few men made better cavalry officers in the army than the sub- 
 ject of my sketch. 
 
 He was born among the granite hills of New Hampshire in' 
 1826 and educated at the common schools of that State, when, 
 at the age of fifteen years he removed to Boston and engaged in 
 the grocery business and in 1848 sailed for California and 
 entered largely into mining and remained in the mines four- 
 years ; in 1852 took up another enterprise in which he continued 
 until 1854 and then returned to Boston, and two years later, or 
 in 1856, came to St. Paul. In connection with C. W. Griggs he 
 opened a store on Third street, and was in business here one year,, 
 when he was appointed Deputy Sheriff by Tullis ; served out his 
 term and was re-appointed Deputy by Deacon Caldwell and 
 Robertson, and then Deputy United States Marshal by William 
 B. Gere, and in turn by Marshal Buck. In 1861 he entered the 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 595 
 
 army and was made Captain of one of three cavalry companies 
 which were raised in this State to go south. On arriving at their 
 place of destination these several companies were consolidated 
 and called the Curtiss Horse Regiment, and of this regiment he 
 was appointed Major by Gov. Ramsey in 1862. Finally an order 
 came from the Secretary of War that the regiment must bear the 
 name of some State, and it was called the Fifth Iowa Cavalry, 
 and this accounts for the fact that as three companies of Minne- 
 sota cavalrymen were merged in as a part of this regiment, and 
 as Brackett was Major of said regiment, he did duty with his 
 own soldiers while apparently hailing from another State. He 
 served in the army three years, and then re-enlisted and entered 
 the service at the head of Brackett's battalion, and was with Sully 
 on the plains ; served five years, was Lieutenant Colonel, and 
 then breveted Colonel in 1864; mustered out in 1866. He 
 ■engaged in business in Minneapolis for one year, or up to 1871, 
 when he was appointed United States Deputy Marshal under 
 Eaton ; also under Marshals Armstrong, McLaren and Denny, 
 and is now in that position, having been in this office some 
 twenty-four years. 
 
 Gen. Sully in his report says : 
 
 " A very large body of Indians collected on my right for a charge. I directed 
 Brackett to rout them. This he did gallantly, driving them in a circle of about 
 three miles to the base of the mountains and beyond my line of skirmishers, killing 
 many of them. The Ir,dians, seeing his position, collected in large numbers about 
 him, but he repelled them, assisted by some well-directed shots from Jones' 
 battery." 
 
 Just before Maj. Brackett's battalion left St. Paul for Sioux 
 City, some of his friends here met and presented him with a 
 beautiful sword costing ^800, Of course the recipient was over- 
 come with feelings of gratitude for the act, and expressed him- 
 self in fitting t^rms. This was a testimonial for real merit, 
 bravery, friendship, and the faithful discharge of duty. 
 
 About twenty-five years ago, when editing the Times, my 
 local editor charged Mr. Brackett with neglect of duty while 
 acting as deputy under Sheriff Caldwell, and in return he sued 
 me for ^10,000 damages. The case, however, was withdrawn 
 and never came to trial, and no allusion has been made to the 
 matter by either of us from that time to this. It was an episode 
 of the early times having no particular significance, and is only 
 
i 
 •596 PEN PICTURES 
 
 now alluded to as a matter of history. No better friends could 
 possibly exist to-day than Maj. Brackett and the writer. 
 
 POOR AUNT Millie! — personal. 
 
 When down South in the performance of his duty, Maj. 
 Brackett was forced to take several contrabands into his camp 
 and among them an old negro woman called "Aunt Millie." 
 He treated her kindly and she became cook at headquarters and 
 was with him in all his skirmishes and battles. On his way 
 through the South Aunt Millie, wearing a Union soldier's coat, 
 reached her old home and met some of her old friends who tried 
 to persuade her to remain with them, but she exclaimed — " No, 
 I'se gwine with Massa Lincoln's army of de Lord," and con- 
 tinued with Maj. Brackett until he reached St. Paul, when the 
 Major being ordered to join Gen. Sully, left Aunt Millie with 
 George A. Brackett of Minneapolis, who, when she died in- 
 March, 1885, aged over 100 years, had her buried in his own 
 family burial lot, and the Major attended the funeral. 
 
 Maj. Brackett is a large man, with great energy of charac- 
 ter, quiet in his movements and very decided and emphatic in 
 his acts. With all this he is mild and lenient. He is a man of 
 wonderful industry, has been and is now always on the go, and 
 as a soldier he was prompt, brave and full ot activity. He is 
 as well known throughout the Northwest as any man in it, for 
 there is scarcely a village or hamlet he has not visited in pursuit 
 of some criminal. He is a man of large heart and sympathies, 
 and socially very much liked. One of his striking peculiarities 
 is the manner in which he responds to you in conversation. He 
 brings his right hand rapidly across his goatee and nodding his 
 head, says — " Yes — yes — ^j ust so ! Yes ! No ! — You don't say 
 so ! — Y-e-s — y-e-s ! — Well — I declare — ^Y-e-s ! " Maj. Brackett's 
 success in capturing a prisoner is brought about by his firmness 
 and his kindness, and while his duty has called him into many 
 dangerous places yet I have never heard of his being shot or in 
 any way injured. He is a quiet, pleasant man, a good officer 
 and a good citizen. 
 
 JAMES DILLON. 
 
 Who of the old settlers does not know James Dillon, the 
 intelligent and industrious blacksmith, who, for years has been a 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. B97 
 
 prominent figure in the Democratic party ? And who does not 
 know him as at the head of one of the most prominent temper- 
 ance societies of this city ? Who does not know him as the 
 active, pushing, wide-awake business man, who has accumulated 
 a fine property by the sweat of his brow ? In the olden times 
 some of the best Democratic speeches made on the stump when 
 Gov. Gorman was in his vigor, were made by Dillon, sharp, 
 crisp, incisive, full of common sense, and no man was more 
 active or more influential in the ranks of the party than he. He 
 is a small gentleman, very energetic, quick to comprehend and 
 like a polar bear — always on the go — but he is better than the 
 bear in that he has a kind and sympathetic heart. He was born 
 in Ireland in 1825; educated in the old country; learned the 
 trade of a blacksmith, and traveled in various parts of Europe ; 
 was in France during the revolution in 1848, and emigrated that 
 year to America and landed at New York, where he remained 
 four years and came to St. Paul in 1856; here he continued his 
 trade up to a few years past, when he began dealing in real 
 estate and has continued in that business ever since. , He is a 
 fine specimen of an intelligent, industrious and worthy Irish 
 gentleman — a self-made man. 
 
 RUSSELL BLAKELEY THE BONES OF THEIR ANCESTORS. 
 
 One of the very first and excellent good ipen I met with 
 when on my way to this city, was Captain Russell Blakeley, 
 commander of the steamer Nominee. Indeed his boat brought 
 me to St. Paul and I have a very vivid recollection of the man, 
 especially as he gave me the first information about this city and 
 its surroundings. He is a tall gentleman, very moderate in his 
 speech, exceedingly pleasant in his manners, and yet he is well 
 adapted to command. During the whole trip, notwithstanding 
 he was plied with many questions by the passengers, he was still 
 the same mild and elegant gentleman then as he is to-day. He 
 is one of the pioneer steamboat men of the upper Mississippi, 
 and was born in Massachusetts in 181 5. At an early age his 
 parents removed to Leroy, Genesee County, N. Y., and here he 
 grew to manhood; removed to Illinois in 1836; to Galena in 
 1839; to Virginia in 1844; to Galena again in 1847. In the 
 historj' of Ramsey County I f.nd.the following: 
 
598 PEN PICTURES 
 
 "When the Argo was put on the river in the year 1847, Captain Blakeley 
 was engaged as clerk, and then on the Dr. Franklin, running the latter part of the 
 time as captain. In 1853 he ran the Nominee, and in 1854 took command of the 
 Galena. * * * In 1855 he was appointed agent at Dunleith of the packet com- 
 pany, and soon after bought out the interest of Charles T. Whitney in the North- 
 western Express Company, the firm then becoming J. C. Burbank & Co. Captain 
 Blakeley visited St. Paul in 1847 although he came here to reside permanently in 
 1855, and became interested in mail contracts, stage and transportation lines, etc. 
 Mr. Burbank retired from the company in 1867, and the business is now continued 
 by Blakeley & Carpenter. Captain B. was also largely interested in the old Sioux 
 City Railroad Company, and was at one time a director in it." 
 
 While Captain Blakeley has been a strong Republican and 
 chairman of the State Central Committee several times, yet I 
 know of no political office he has held, or of any office he has 
 ever sought, and yet he is, in the opinion of the writer, one of 
 our very best citizens. He has long been a prominent member 
 of the Chamber of Commerce from its organization ; also vice- 
 president several terms ; is largely interested in our local affairs, 
 and is never afraid to express his convictions as to the best inter- 
 ests of our city. While he is positive in his nature and no trim- 
 mer, yet he is not offensive in the expression of his views. He 
 is director in the Fire & Marine Insurance Company ; was presi- 
 dent of the old St. Paul, Stillwater & Taylor's Falls Railroad 
 Company, and worked up the scheme ; is the vice-president of 
 the Historical Society ; was on the Indian commission to assess 
 damages for the overflow of the reservoirs on the upper Missis- 
 sippi; has been, from its organization in 1877 to the present 
 time, president of the Northwestern Stage & Transportation 
 Company, and is the same courtly gentleman, although some- 
 what older and grayer than when I first met him, now thirty-two 
 years ago. 
 
 A short time after Capt. Blakeley had been instrumental in 
 getting a boat to ply on the Red River of the North, he received 
 a unique letter from the Indians in that neighborhood, stating 
 that the " water fowl " disturbed the bones of their ancestors but 
 the matter could be amicably adjusted if he would send them 
 several kegs filled with ;^io gold pieces; and although the old 
 Indians' bones continued to rattle in their graves as the boat 
 puffed up and down the river for years afterward, yet the Captain 
 was just hard-hearted enough to let them rattle, and they are 
 rattling still, for the gold was Jiever sent forward. I can only 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 399 
 
 add that Captain Blakeley is one of our most valuable and 
 jespected citizens. 
 
 JAMES SMITH, JR. 
 
 Mr. Smith has been so closely identified with St. Paul and 
 Tier interests for over twenty-five years, that to speak of one 
 without the other would be to produce Hamlet without the cen- 
 tral figure. I remember the firm originally as Emmet & Smith, 
 ;and then as Smith & Oilman in the old McClung block, which 
 -copartnership continued for quite a lengthy period, and then Mr. 
 Smith became the attorney for the St. Paul & Duluth road, in 
 which capacity he has acted for not less than twenty years. 
 With his law business he mingled politics, and in early days had 
 an ambition to go to Congress, and just at a period when he 
 ■could have been successful he threw away his chance. 
 
 Mr. Smith was a member of the Senate in 1861, '62, '63, 
 '76, and for several years afterwards a member of the House and 
 Senate, and also president and attorney for the Duluth Railroad 
 Company, in all of which positions he was faithful and indus- 
 trious. 
 
 He was born in Ohio in 1815 ; was well educated; read law 
 and was admitted to practice in 1839, and became a partner of 
 Col. I. M. Vance; came to St. Paul in 1856 and has resided here 
 •ever since. When quite young his eye-sight was seriously 
 impaired, but his ambition and perseverance pushed him on, and 
 it is almost a miracle that he has accomplished what he has with 
 so great a difficulty to encounter. Four years ago Mr. Smith 
 probably served his last term in the Legislature, and is now 
 greatly engrossed in the duties pertaining to the attorney-ship of 
 the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad Company. He is a peculiar- 
 looking man; tall, slender, hair all awry, full whiskers, and 
 yet he is very polite and gentlemanly, and this has greatly aided 
 him in getting through the world. He is an able lawyer, ener- 
 •getic, determined, persevering, and no more industrious man 
 lives than James Smith, Jr. As a legislator he was sincere, 
 faithful and able ; as a man and a citizen he is greatly respected. 
 
 LORENZO ALLIS. 
 
 Among the leading lawyers in his day in the city of St. 
 Taul, was Lorenzo Allis, a delicatCj light-complexioned gentle- 
 
600 PEN PICTURES 
 
 man, who came to this city from the South for his health and 
 who immediately took rank as one of the bright lights in the 
 legal fraternity. He was born in Vermont in 1823, his ancestors 
 having landed at Salem in the third voyage of the Mayflower in 
 1640; graduated from the university in 1845; married Miss 
 Castle the same year ; went to New Orleans where he practiced 
 his profession and became one of the editors of the Picayune, at 
 that time the leading and most powerful paper in the South, and 
 from thence he came to St. Paul in 1856, where he practiced 
 law for over a quarter of a century, being engaged in some of 
 the greatest cases ever brought before our courts'. He was what 
 I would call " a clean-cut lawyer," that is, he was analytic in his 
 dissection of a case and moved forward in his argument with 
 ideas rather than words. He was always in earnest, and I 
 scarcely ever knew him to indulge in anything frivolous when 
 before the jury or the judge. He was an industrious man and 
 prepared his cases with great care. Withal he was a pure, good 
 man. He was earnest, sometimes a little nervous over delays,, 
 and yet he has left an excellent record as a citizen and a lawyer. 
 His two sons, Frederick and Edmund Castle Allis, succeeded- 
 him in his law business and keep up the name of their father. 
 The third son, Harold, is in the Quartermaster's Department.. 
 Mr. Allis died March, 1883, aged sixty years. 
 
 EDWARD HEENAN LIGHT ON A DARK SUBJECT. 
 
 Heenan was a character. He was of Irish descent, born 
 about 1827; came to St. Paul in 1856; was engaged for a time 
 in the dry-goods business, and then bloomed out into a full- 
 blown politician and became the Register of Deeds of Ramsey 
 County. 
 
 When Heenan was Register of Deeds, the Democratic 
 County Board advertised for bids to publish the tax-list, and the 
 writer, then editor of the Times, was awarded the contract as the 
 lowest bidder, but Goodrich of the Pioneer claimed that he was 
 entitled to the list on the ground of being the Democratic organ, 
 and also that his contract as county printer covered the list, so he 
 and his friends conspired to secure it, and to this end the officer 
 who had the making out of the tax-list turned the copy over to- 
 the Pioneer and left the Times out in the cold. The law said that 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 601 
 
 in case the list was not published at a given time, the contract 
 would be violated. Goodrich had the tax-list in his possession, 
 had it set up, Would have it printed in his paper under the law 
 in the morning ; I had the contract but had no copy. What to 
 do I did not know, so I called on Heenan and laid the case 
 before him. The list must be set up that night or I was gone up 
 on my contract. " Go to your office," said Heenan, " have twenty 
 or thirty printers ready, and I will take care of the copy." I did 
 as he suggested, and at 7 o'clock in the evening in walked Hee- 
 nan with a copy of the Pioneer with the printed tax-list, and 
 before morning the naimes were set up and published in the 
 Times, and the only copy of any paper stuck up on to the old 
 court house according to law on the morning of that eventful 
 day, was a copy of my own paper instead of the Pioneer. It 
 seems that the Pioneer, in order to more surely comply with the 
 law to have the list on the walls of the court house at a specific 
 time, had a copy pasted up at 5 o'clock that evening, but at 7 
 o'clock, or two hours later, that same copy was in my hands. Who 
 put it there I leave the reader to guess. But my paper was out 
 in time under the contract, and I had fully complied with the 
 law in prin^ting the list. The case was taken before the County 
 Commissioners, and after a desperate fight my bill was ordered 
 paid, and as a compromise, Goodrich's bill was also allowed. 
 How Newson got a copy of that tax list has been a conundrum 
 for a good many years, and this is the first time an explanation 
 has been given to the public. Heenan married a daughter of 
 the late James M. Winslow,and soon after symptoms of insanity 
 made .their appearance and he finally died in an insane asylum, 
 I think in St. Louis. He was a firm friend of one he liked, and 
 a man of lion courage. I never saw his equal ; he dared to do 
 anything ; as a friend he was as firm as steel. 
 
 JOHN M. WARNER. 
 
 Mr. Warner is a smallish man, a little gray, and quite active 
 in his movements, always pressing his head forward and looking 
 down upon the pavement when he walks, and his walk is peculiar 
 inasmuch as his steps are short and he moves right along rap- 
 idly to the point he wishes to reach. He is a thoughtful man 
 and says but little, and for years has been as steady to business 
 
eO'2 PEN PICTURES 
 
 as the tick of the clock. His labors have been rewai'ded by the 
 accumulation of a competency, and he now devotes himself to 
 his real estate. He was born in Connecticut in 1829; was edu- 
 cated in his native State ; learned the trade of a hatter in Dan- 
 bury, Conn., where he remained five years ; removed to Chicago 
 in 1849 when that city had about 2O,0OO inhabitants. This was 
 the year of the cholera when twenty-five persons died daily, and 
 Mr. Warner says that times then were simply awful. He con- 
 tinued in Chicago in the auction and commission business for 
 seven years, when in 1856 he came to St. Paul and in connec- 
 tion with his brother opened an auction and commission store 
 on Third street, one door this side of Presley's, where he re- 
 mained one year ; then he occupied the corner opposite the Mer- 
 chants hotel — now the Prince block — where the firm continued 
 about five years ; removed to the corner of Third and Wabasha 
 streets, now Warner's block ; was burned out and took posses- 
 sion of the corner of Third and Cedar streets, where the brothers 
 remained some fifteen years. Reuben Warner sold out in 1878, 
 and J. M. sold out in 1884. 
 
 That familiar sound which all the old settlers have heard 
 for the past quarter of a century, has passed into silence now, 
 and though in imagination I hear it ringing in my ears again 
 and echoing, " Going ! going ! gone ! " yet the truth has become 
 verified, for the old sign, the old auctioneer, the old faces, the old 
 times that used to cluster about Warner's auction store, have 
 gone forever ! Echo comes back and whispers — " Gone ! " And 
 so the world moves on ; the years come and go ; nature smiles 
 as serenely to-day as she did 6,000 years ago ; the stars shine 
 just as brightly; the old pass out into the unseen land; the 
 young take their places, and they in turn drop into obscurity to 
 give others room, and thus for ages and ages the great world 
 has moved upon its axis, unheeding the moaning heart which 
 cries out in agony — " Stop the wheels of time and save our old 
 scenes and our old friends." But the world moves on and we 
 pass away — where? 
 
 FRANCIS BINGHAM. 
 
 Mr. Bingham was born in New Hampshire in 1809 ; removed 
 to New York in 181 5, and from thence to Boston, where, at the 
 age of nineteen years he engaged in the grocery business. He 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 603 
 
 remained nine years in Boston, when he returned to New York 
 State and engaged in farming and the dairying business. His 
 health faiHng him he came to St. Paul in 1856 and commenced 
 the manufacture of cordage and brooms, made from material 
 raised by himself The hard times coming on forced Mr. Bing- 
 ham to relinquish this branch of trade, and he became a collector, 
 which business he followed successfully for many years. He 
 was a tall, handsome-looking man, with red cheeks, which he 
 retained up to several months before his sickness. He was 
 always courteous and always the gentleman, and this had much 
 to do in making him a popular collector. He died at the ripe 
 age of seventy-six, and many who knew him socially will never 
 forget his kind and pleasant ways and his tall and commanding 
 person. 
 
 A. D. DAVIDSON. 
 
 A patriarchal-looking man is Mr. Davidson, now seventy- 
 one years of age, but with a step as elastic as that of a boy ; he 
 is of medium size, with white flowing whiskers and hair and a 
 clear and fresh complexion ; is very active and very conscien- 
 tious. He has been a man of labor all his life-time, and only a 
 few months since was working on the new Protestant Orphan 
 Asylum, driving the saw and the plane as actively as any young 
 man could do. He was born in Nova Scotia in 18 14; was well 
 educated; learned the trade of carpenter and worked at it in 
 Rhode Island, New York, Kentucky and Indiana, generally con- 
 tracting and erecting buildings; came to St. Paul in 1856; 
 opened a shop near the old rotary mill on the flats and commenced 
 business. The first house he built was for William Branch. He 
 erected the Washington school house, St. Paul Church, the 
 residence of Dr. Patterson, the Paul block on Third street, first 
 Methodist Church, first Hamline University, etc., etc., making 
 some sixty buildings in all. Mr. Davidson.was one year old 
 when Wellington won the battle of Waterloo, and being of Eng- 
 lish birth he celebrates the event every ygar. He is a good man, 
 strictly temperate, moral, upright, a devoted member of the 
 Methodist Church, a worthy citizen, and a prohibitionist of the 
 strongest character. Thomas, his son, who was formerly a printer 
 and then a contractor at Duluth, is now in Portland, Oregon. 
 
604 PEN PICTURES 
 
 REUBEN WARNER. 
 
 Mr. Warner is about as quiet a man as his brother, J. M., 
 but has more venture in his composition, so that he has picked 
 up some money in speculation outside of his ordinary business. 
 He was an important spoke in the old firm, yet not contented 
 with his business, or believing he could do better, he formed a 
 partnership with Lindeke & Schurmeier, and has added a cool 
 ;^ 100,000 to his other possessions. Mr. Warner is a good-sized 
 man, quite reticent, moderate in his ways, minds his own business, 
 is very gentlemanly and pleasant, and is a model citizen. He 
 was born in Connecticut in 1831 ; came to St. Paul in 1 856 and 
 was in business with his brother up to 1878, when he became one 
 of the firm of Lindekes, Warner & Schurmeier, where he now 
 is. The history of one brother is mainly the history of the other, 
 but the firm has been well known in St. Paul for over a quarter 
 of a century, and among all our citizens none bear a better name 
 than Reuben Warner. 
 
 JOHN J. WILLIAMS 
 
 Is a son of the late C. W. Williams and was born in England 
 in 1831 ; emigrated to America with his father in the same year; 
 learned the trade of a painter; moved to Detroit in 1836; was 
 educated at Notre Dame in Indiana, and came to St. Paul in 
 1856, where he continued his business. In 1857 he joined the 
 first organized fire company in the city ; was assistant foreman 
 and a fireman for many years. In 1 868 he was elected City 
 Clerk and held the office two terms, or until 1872 ; in 1874 was 
 elected secretary of the legal commission appointed to revise the 
 city charter; in 1885 was appointed clerk of the Board of Con- 
 trol and now holds that position. Mr. Williams is a medium- 
 sized man and in his day has been a great Democratic politician. 
 Like all the old settlers he has had his ups and downs, more downs 
 than ups, and yet he has become a philosopher and now goes 
 along with the world instead of trying to push it ahead of him 
 or fight it. He is a pleasant gentleman and an unassuming citi- 
 zen, a man of an excell^t education who ought to have occupied 
 a higher position in life. 
 
 WHY? 
 
 " Why didn't you buy all the land embraced in the present 
 limits of St. Paul? I would if I had come here thirty-three 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 6O.1 
 
 years ago. Why just think what a rich man you might have been ! 
 That property you could have bought in 1854 for a thousand 
 dollars is now worth ^1,000,000 ! I'd a done it if I had been here ; 
 yes, I would, sure ! " "Just hold on a bit, my friend. Suppose you 
 didn't possess the ;^i,ooo, or ;^500, or ;^ioo, or ^50, and couldn't 
 even borrow ;^io, then what? Suppose there was plenty of land 
 but no money ? Suppose you had purchased all the property 
 you speak of and had held on to it until now, where would have 
 been your St. Paul of to-day ? " " Oh, well, I would have bor- 
 rov/ed the money just the same ; stolen it, got it some way, but I 
 would have purchased this land and held it, you bet." How 
 much easier is it to preach than to practice ! How much 
 easier to be a man in comfortable circumstances at the East 
 than a poor devil on the frontier struggling for a home with 
 barely money enough to get a very precarious living! The man 
 of capital doesn't come West and cut down trees and build cab- 
 ins and fight Indians ; not a bit of it. He waits until the prop- 
 erty becomes valuable, and then he buys and wonders why that 
 poor outcast of a pioneer didn't grab all the land in sight ! He 
 reminds me of the hungry miner who went into a restaurant and 
 wanted " a good, square meal," and seating himself at a table 
 where two gentlemen were indulging in a social glass, as soon 
 as his dinner was brought to him he waded in as only a hungry 
 miner can. Presently he reached over and seized the whisky 
 botde of his companion. " Hold on," said the gentleman, " that's 
 private!" "Ah, yes," said the miner, "that's all right," and 
 immediately everything on the table disappeared down his 
 capacious throat. Discovering another bottle on the left he 
 reached out to take that, when the owner growled at him — 
 " Private, sir ! " which only evoked the response — " Yes, just so ! " 
 Soon after the waiter brought in a huge pudding, and placing it 
 in front of the miner disappeared. " Some pudding, please," said 
 
 one of the gentlemen, passing his plate. " No sir ; not a bit 
 
 of it," said the miner throwing his brawny arms about it and 
 drawing it towards him. " This is private pudding and I will eat 
 the whole d — d batch of it if I bust ! " and he did eat it to 
 the great consternation of his dude friends, who were afraid to 
 interfere in the face and teeth of three huge pistols which dangled 
 in his belt ! Some men are land hungry ; they want the whole 
 
606 PEN PICTURES 
 
 pudding, and when they have eaten it they bust, and for many 
 striking illustrations of this fact consult old settlers. 
 
 WILLIAM H. KELLEY. 
 
 Mr. Kelley is a small, modest, retiring gentleman, who goes 
 through the world as quietly as a snow flake. He is an excellent 
 book-keeper, as steady as the needle and as unostentatious as a 
 prairie flower, and yet he fills an important niche in the great 
 temple of society. For his recreation he has found time to col- 
 lect and analyze about half of the flora of Minnesota, besides 
 giving a great many of his spare hours to the St. Paul Library 
 Association (to which allusion has already been made,) having 
 been a director from the beginning of its organization and at one 
 time its president and was secretary for fifteen years. Since the 
 establishment of the Public Library he has been the secretary of 
 the Board of Directors, and is deeply interested in making the 
 library one of the best in the world. He was born in Boston, 
 Mass., in 1819; received a fair education; learned the trade 
 of a sign and ornamental painter; entered his father's clothing 
 store and became a partner at the age of twenty-one years; 
 came to Minnesota in 1855 and spent a year at Itasca, where 
 his parents and two brothers were making a farm. In 1 850 his 
 brother, O. H. Kelley, took a claim near the town and that year 
 one branch of the Legislature passed an act making Itasca the 
 Capital of the Territory. 
 
 Mr. Kelley moved to St. Paul in 1856 and was employed 
 in the store of G. G. Griswold ; then became secretary of the 
 St. Paul Bridge Company, secretary of the St. Paul Library 
 Association for fifteen years, and was for many years book-keeper 
 in the First National Bank ; then was sick for a long time and 
 then resumed his old place in the bank, where he now is. He is 
 a gentleman who makes no show, but possesses real merit. 
 
 GUSTAV WILLIUS. 
 
 Mr. Willius is a brother of Ferdinand and was born in Ger- 
 many in 1832; educated in the old country and came to America 
 in 1856, and the same year to St. Paul. He was book-keeper at 
 one time for Ambs & Co., liquor dealers, where he remained one 
 year, and then joined the banking firm of Meyer & Willius, and 
 has been in the bank during its various changes up to its reorgan- 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 607 
 
 ization as the National German-American, and is at present its 
 president. He married in 1871. Mr. Willius is a frail-looking 
 gentleman, and yet he appears to have the iron constitution of 
 Bismarck, for during many years of hard labor he has constantly 
 kept to his work and is at it still. He is a very cautious yet 
 affable man, and deserves all the money he has made, for he 
 has earned it. He is a quiet, cool, calculating, careful gentle- 
 man, and one of our most unobtrusive citizens. 
 
 WILLIAM A. SPENCER. 
 
 Born in New York State in 1824 Mr. Spencer received a 
 good education, studied law and practiced in his native State 
 for eight years, when in 1856 he came to St. Paul and for a time 
 dealt in real estate, then became a partner in the firm of Brisbin, 
 Spencer & Green, then Spencer & Green, and then Spencer & 
 Carver. In 1863 he was appointed clerk of the United States 
 District Court and has remained so ever since, some twenty-three 
 years ; was Supreme Court reporter for ten years, but has held 
 no political offices. Mr. Spencer is a man of medium size, some- 
 what delicate looking, and yet he is an excellent citizen, very 
 quiet and generally very reticent, a good man ; is married and 
 has three talented sons. 
 
 AUGUSTUS R. CAPEHART. 
 
 Mr. Capehart is a gentleman of medium size, with a trim- 
 built physical organization and of polite and dignified manners. 
 He is the production of the "sunny South," and has all the charac- 
 teristics of Southern affability. In a word he is a gentleman, and 
 yet when he gets locked in the horns of the law he can fight as 
 desperately as any man I know of He came here to better his 
 condition and he has done it, as a fine hotel building and an ele- 
 gant block called Clifton hall, on Fifth street, fully demonstrate. 
 He detests meanness and hypocrisy, and if he had plenty of 
 money he would shake up the dry bones of fraud and corrup- 
 tion and purify the political and social atmosphere of their dele- 
 terious influences. He is a man of thought, and with a silk hat, 
 a small cane, and a head bent towards the sidewalk, he peoples 
 his ideality with a regiment of human beings who come and go 
 at his bidding, while the material world has but very little charm 
 for his contemplative mind. 
 
COS PEN PICTURES 
 
 Mr. Capehart was born in Georgia about the year 1836; 
 removed to Louisiana, and in Bardstown, Ky. he attended a 
 Jesuit college and took his degree of A. B. at the same time 
 Garland, the present Attorney-General of the United States, took 
 his degree as Master of Arts. There were but two Protestants 
 in the graduating class of this college^— Gus Garland and Gus 
 Capehart, and they were strong friends then and have been ever 
 since. After graduating Mr. Capehart went to Louisiana, where 
 he read law, and came to St. Paul in 1856; entered the office of 
 Ames & Van Etten ; remained with them about one year, when 
 he went into business for himself on Third street, between Min- 
 nesota and Cedar. He has never held a political office but has 
 given his whole attention to his profession, except in the purchase 
 and improvement of some real estate, of which he is still the 
 owner. He was one of the original incorporators of the St. Paul 
 library, and has always been its friend. 
 
 Like many an early settler in St. Paul Mr. Capehart be- 
 came at one time disheartened and homesick, and finally made 
 up his mind to go home, so he wrote a letter to his relatives and 
 friends that he was coming back, but on the way to the post 
 office to post the letter he began to think that it v/as a good 
 deal like child's play to come away out to Minnesota and then 
 return, so he destroyed the letter and is now glad that he made 
 this decision. In 1878 Mr. Capehart purchased a lot on Fifth 
 street for $3,000, worth now ;^2O,oo0 ; has recently purchased 
 Mrs. Taylor's old place, 50x150, for which he paid ;^8,ooo, 
 worth $25,000. Upon, this property he has erected a fine hotel 
 building which must of necessity bring him a splendid income. 
 He is a good lawyer, a pleasant gentleman, an enterprising citi- 
 zen, a good man. 
 
 EDWARD H. WOOD HIS LIFE. 
 
 A large man, with large brain, and large heart, and large 
 sympathies, is Judge Wood, who moves slowly but surely and 
 effectively in every enterprise he inaugurates. He has a well- 
 developed physical organization which supports a more than 
 ordinary-sized brain, and which requires extraordinary oppor- 
 tunities to bring it into play, as it moves slowly but powerfully 
 when called into action. The Judge has mistaken his calling; 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 609 
 
 he ought to have been a politician — in one sense he is such now, 
 but I mean a national politician, and then when in the House of 
 Representatives or in the Senate he could have displayed those 
 qualities of the mind which are now hidden from public view. 
 'Circumstances backed by ability would push him to the front 
 very rapidly, and when there he would be the master of circum- 
 stances. Men of less brains and more ambition, have climbed 
 to giddy heights, but, unable to sustain themselves have fallen, 
 while Judge Wood when once up would stay there, demonstrat- 
 ing the difference in the preponderance of mentality. The Judge 
 moves moderately, speaks deliberately, thinks deeply, expresses 
 an opinion cautiously, weighs matters carefully, and would have 
 made a excellent judge of one of our courts. He is genial and 
 social in his nature, kind-hearted, attracts men to him, and yet 
 when aroused on any matter which enlists his sympathies, he is 
 positive and powerful in his opposition. He admires genius and 
 generosity, hates meanness and trickery, is a good lawyer and 
 made a most excellent justice. The home circle is his ideal con- 
 ception of heaven, and there he shows his best elements as 
 father, husband, friend. 
 
 He was born in Kentucky, near Louisville, in 1836; was 
 the youngest son of Maj. Nathaniel B. Wood, one of Kentucky's 
 soldiers of the war of 181 2; received an academic education in 
 Louisville, and on the death of his parents went with his eldest 
 brother and the Kentucky settlement to Texas, near Gonzales, 
 on the Guadalupe river, in 1841, and returned home in 1848. 
 He remained at school until 1856 when he came to St. Paul and 
 at once entered the employ of Henry McKenty as an assistant 
 surveyor in surveying Como villas ; in the fall of the same year 
 he joined the Parker H. French party which undertook to boom 
 Watab, a small town on the upper Mississippi river, but which 
 failed ; went to Anoka and clerked in the store of E. P. Shaw ; 
 then taught school in Round Lake district near there; com- 
 menced reading law in 1857, and had the nucleus of a law library 
 presented to him by Gen. C. C. Andrews, late minister to Brazil ; 
 tfiught school and read law up to 1 860 when he was admitted to 
 the bar at Taylor's Falls, Senator S. J. R. McMillan being the 
 presiding judge. The same year he married Miss Helen S. 
 Bolles, daughter of the then presiding elder of the St. Paul 
 
 39 
 
610 PEN PICTURES 
 
 district Methodist Episcopal Church; practiced his profession* 
 at Taylor's Falls until the war, when he entered the Seventh 
 Minnesota Regiment as private ; was promoted to Quartermas- 
 ter Sergeant on the organization of the regiment; passed the 
 military board as First Lieutenant and was assigned to duty in' 
 the army of the Cumberland under Capt. J. W. Bond, who was 
 Chief Commissary of that district, and bore the title of A. A. Q. 
 M. and A. A. C. S. ; was mustered out in 1866, and in 1867 settled 
 in West St. Paul, where he taught school several terms and 
 inaugurated the scheme to annex the West Side to the city of 
 St. Paul ; was a member of the Town Board several terms ; was 
 Alderman from the Sixth ward in 1875; ran independently 
 against an opponent who was nominated by both parties and 
 won ; was justice of the peace in this city for five years and 
 declined a ren'^mination ; is now engaged in real estate business 
 in West St. Paul. Judge Wood-is a very popular man because 
 he gets down into the hearts of the people, and the people are 
 always quick to appreciate their friends. 
 
 PHILIP fabel. 
 A good, solid man is Mr. Fabel, who has gone on his way 
 quietly yet prosperously. He was born in Germany in 1835, 
 where he received a schooling; came to America in 1851, 
 resided four years in Philadelphia, and made St. Paul his home 
 in 1856; was engaged on a steamboat, and in a saw-mill, when he 
 began working at his trade as a shoemaker ; made a claim in 
 Carver County; opened a store for himself in 1865, and has 
 been in his present place of business for twenty years, a quiet, 
 steady, careful, honorable citizen. 
 
 WESTCOTT WILKIN. 
 
 Judge Wilkin of the District Court, is a man of medium 
 size, somewhat slender, very gentlemanly and courteous in his 
 bearing, and possessing all the characteristic dignity of a judge. 
 He is very simple in his tastes and quiet in his ways, and yet as 
 a judicial officer on the bench he commands the highest respect 
 for his impartiality and sound decisions. He considers his cases 
 with great care, and it has been very rare that an appeal has 
 been taken from him to the Supreme Court, and very few 
 appeals when thus taken have been sustained. He was born in 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 611 
 
 Goshen, N. Y., in 1 827 ; received a good education, and gradu- 
 ated at Princeton College in 1 843 ; attended law school in New 
 Haven, Conn., in 1846 ; studied law with his father, Hon. Samuel 
 J. Wilkin ; practiced law in Sullivan, N. Y.; was County Judge 
 for three or four years ; canne to St. Paul in 1856 ; was in part- 
 nership with I. V. D. Heard ; elected Judge of the District Court in 
 1864; re-elected in 1871 ; elected again in 1878 and in 1884 witl- 
 out opposition, having occupied the position some twenty years. 
 Judge Wilkin wears long hair now sprinkled with gray, and 
 a long, flowing beard now nearly white ; is a little bent in the 
 shoulders, with a pleasant expression on the face, and is never 
 without a courtly bearing. He is of a slight physical build — 
 not large ; has a well-developed head ; is cool and calm in his 
 utterances and undemonstrative in his ways ; is social in his 
 nature; a close student, a keen lawyer, a pure judge, a pleasant 
 companion, generous and just, and a good citizen. He is 
 unmarried and wears his age as he wears his honors — with 
 becoming modesty. 
 
 THEODORE C. FIELD. 
 
 A little boy, so to speak in 1856, being born in 1837; ^ 
 man of mature years in 1886. Young, active, industrious, Mr. 
 Field came to St. Paul with Mr. IngersoU in 1856; clerked for 
 him; married his daughter in 1859; became a partner in 1861, 
 and continued as such up to 1884, when Mr. IngersoU retired 
 from active participation in the partnership, and it became Field, 
 Mahler & Co. He has been in the same firm and almost the 
 same place, and in the same business for twenty-eight years — a 
 quiet, honorable, unostentatious dry-goods man ; never deviating 
 from his special line of business, always treading the same track. 
 He is a man of medium size, somewhat gray, a straight-forward 
 business gentleman and a solid citizen. 
 
 CHARLES F. MAHLER. 
 
 What has been said of Mr. Field can be said of Mr. Mahler. 
 He too came to this city with Mr. IngersoU in 1856 and has 
 been with him ever since. Born in Germany in 1836 he arrived 
 in America in 1 847 ; settled in Waterville, Ohio ; was educated 
 there; clerked for Mr. Dodd and Gen. Stedman, and on arriving 
 in this city entered the employ of Mr. IngersoU and has been 
 
612 PEN PICTURES 
 
 with him ever since. He became one of the firm in 1857. ^r. 
 Mahler has had his troubles, but he has outlived them all, and 
 is a very pleasant, agreeable gentleman — a fine type of an indus- 
 trious citizen. He was the first man who sold dry-goods for a 
 firm in St. Paul outside of the city — in fact he may justly be 
 called the pioneer dry -goods drummer. 
 
 WILLIAM WAKEFIELD. 
 
 William Wakefield was born in Rhode Island in 1825 ; was 
 educated there and came to St. Paul in 1856; soon after coming 
 here he entered the employ of Knox Taylor in the dry-goods 
 business, and continued with him until after the war. Of late 
 years he has been dealing in real estate. He purchased on Day- 
 ton's bluff, then outside of the city limits, in i860, four acres of 
 land for about ^^300, worth now close to ;^30,ooo. He has 
 adorned his place with beautiful trees, and it is a very lovely and 
 a very desirable home. 
 
 Mr. Wakefield is a slender man, unpretentious and unde- 
 monstrative, very conscientious in his beliefs and always anxious 
 to do right. He lives a quiet life, and in his own home circle 
 finds pleasures the world cannot give; and well he may, for he 
 has one of the finest home-surroundings in the city and an 
 amiable and lovely wife. 
 
 JOHN ROCHE. 
 
 Comptroller Roche was born in Ireland in 1 83 1 and arrived 
 at New York city when three months old. He has English, 
 Scotch and Irish blood in his veins, which may account in a 
 measure for the bull-dog vigilance with which he guards the pub- 
 lic treasury. He received a good academical education in the 
 Empire City, and becoming interested in ancient pottery took up 
 the profession of terra-cotta and manufactured it on quite an 
 extensive scale. The beautiful designs over the windows of the 
 Cooper Institute, New York, were made by Mr. Roche, as well 
 as the lion's head over the side doors of Trinity church, the 
 terra-cotta being made durable and elegant by an ingredient 
 known only to Mr. Roche. He also manufactured sewer pipe. 
 He continued the business until he was burnt put, when, in 1856 
 he came to St. Paul and entered the employ of Culver & 
 Farrington as book-keeper, where he I'emained nine years. In 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 613 
 
 1864 he was elected City Comptroller, and has been in this office 
 twenty-one years. Every dollar of St. Paul's financial obliga- 
 tions has been signed by Mr. Roche, except about ;$2,8oo in 
 bonds issued before he came into office. There are no lithographs 
 of his signature, and the labor of signing thousands of bonds 
 has been great, but there is much satisfaction in the reflection 
 that when Roche goes out of office he will be able to detect the 
 genuine signature from the spurious. He is a man of good pro- 
 portions, straight, deliberate in his movements, with a full sandy 
 beard, quiet yet impressive in conversation, cool, decided, obdu- 
 rate, when necessary, and always self-possessed. Nobody can 
 drive him. He is methodical in his accounts and correct, but he 
 must take his own time. He looks much younger than he 
 really is, and possesses one trait of character not usually found 
 in a public officer, viz.: courage to resist a pressure to do wrong. 
 He is a quiet, undemonstrative man, and moves along in his 
 daily duties like the everlasting revolutions of machinery, and 
 will probably run a full quarter of a century in office before he 
 comes to a halt. 
 
 M. W. BROWN. 
 
 A tall, muscular man with a powerful physique, is Mr. 
 Brown, who was born in Canada in 1 8 1 8 and eame to St. Paul 
 in 1856; engaged in building and contracting, but of late years 
 has aided in toting the children of the Kindergarten to and from 
 school. Mrs. Brown established the first school of this character 
 in this city or State, and in connection with a home school now 
 runs it. Her husband's black covered wagon, with the little tots 
 in it, is a familiar and a pleasing sight, and when gathered about 
 him one is reminded of Gulliver and the little people who tried 
 to bind him with ropes, and thus he goes smiling along cheered 
 by the group of innocence and beauty which delight him on his 
 way. A happy man. 
 
 MAURICE LYONS. 
 
 Mr. Lyons is a large, well-preserved man, and was born in 
 the County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1827 ; was educated there and 
 brought up to horticulture and agriculture; emigrated to Amer- 
 ica in 1850 and pursued his regular calling in New York and 
 
614 PEN PICT DUES 
 
 Ohio. Following the advice of the late Horace Greeley he 
 pulled up stakes, moved west, and came to St. Paul in 1856. 
 On his arrival he took charge of the big saw mill of Stewart 
 Cobb & Co. on the upper levee, and continued in that business 
 until, 1862, when he engaged in the wholesale liquor trade with 
 the late George P. Peabody, and continued so until 1872, when 
 Mr. Peabody retired. He then formed a partnership with W. 
 L. Perkins, under the firm name of Perkins, Lyons & Co. 
 Twenty years ago he bought a residence lot (on what was known 
 then as Baptist hill,) corner Sixth and Sibley streets, for ^1,500, 
 now worth ^40,000, on which he is erecting a handsome and 
 substantial five-story block to cost ^45,000. He is owner of 
 other valuable property in the city of St. Paul, among which is 
 his handsome residence and well-kept grounds on East Tenth 
 street. He has several hundred acres of land in Minnesota and 
 Dakota ; is largely interested in Grand Forks real estate ; is a 
 partner in the flour milling business in that city with his son-in- 
 law, Secretary McCormack. Mr. Lyons is one of those men 
 who always had implicit faith in Minnesota and St. Paul in 
 particular. He has kept pace with her upward and onward 
 movement since he came to the Territory. He is well fixed 
 financially ; is also an ardent lover of music and the fine arts, 
 which can be seen by the drawings and paintings which adorn 
 his residence, being the work of his highly- educated and accom- 
 plished daughters, who are amongst the finest musicians in 
 St. Paul and proficient performers on the harp, that grand old 
 instrument of David, that once through Tara's hall sent forth 
 its sweet music and adds to the charm of an already perfect 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Lyons is social and pleasant in his ways, and yet he 
 is a number one business manipulator, moving steadily and 
 cautiously onward to success. He is a man of neatness and pro- 
 priety and loves a well-regulated home ; besides, he has a fine 
 appreciation of the benefits of a good education, and has spared 
 no expense on his children to this end. He has devoted his time 
 strictly to business and home life, and is one man among a thou- 
 sand who has been favored by good luck in all the elements 
 which go to make up a human existence, and what is pleasant 
 in Mr, Lyons' case, he deserves it. all. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 615 
 
 JAMES J. HILL. 
 
 Among the many men in this city who have rapidly 
 ascended the ladder of prominence and of wealth, I know of 
 none who deserves that position more fully or who has more 
 justly earned it than J. J. Hill, now recognized as the railroad 
 king of the Northwest. Coming from humble beginnings, by 
 the force of his own character he has achieved results which 
 astonish his best friends and place him among the wealthiest of 
 ■our citizens, while at the same time he is one of our most pub- 
 lic-spirited and valuable elements of progress. Old settlers well 
 remember the " Jim Hill" of early days, a youth of slender pro- 
 portions but possessed of great activity, who beat all others in 
 the handling of freight ; they remember him as a man of great 
 industry ; always cool, never excited ; always busy, never idle ; 
 always sober, steady, true, calm, quick ; looking ahead of other 
 men into the future; comprehending at once the situation of 
 affairs and acting apcordingly ; very reticent yet confiding in 
 those in whom he had confidence. Such were the peculiarities 
 of the man thirty years ago, and such are, to a large degree, 
 "the peculiarities of the man of to-day. A short, solidly-built, 
 cloSely-knit person, with a fresh, florid complexion, possessing a 
 keen, black, penetrating eye indicating magnetic force and a 
 nervous energy, one would not suppose that Mr. Hill possessed 
 the power and push he has shown, and yet he is one of that 
 kind of men who never exhausts all his resources at once but 
 ■even in the greatest emergencies he is not only equal to the 
 demands made upon him but has a reserved force left for any 
 ■contingency. This characteristic is clearly defined and makes 
 him one of the strongest men in the Northwest, capable of even 
 ■greater results than he has already attained. He is broad in his 
 ideas, and is somewhat ahead of the age in which he lives, but 
 that does not weaken^ the correctness of his views or the sound- 
 ness of his judgment, and hence I find him like Alexander look- 
 ing for more worlds to conquer, while the great people stand 
 sback astonished at the wonderful leaps he makes as he marches 
 •on ahead of public sentiment. He not only grasps the railroad 
 interests of the State but he comprehends the importance of 
 agriculture and stock-raising, and with all this clearly discerns 
 .the ultimate destiny of cities.. A§ a business man he is prompt, 
 
616 PEN PICTURES 
 
 clear-headed and emphatic. As a citizen he is social, pleasant,, 
 solid, and in many ways very valuable. As a man he is strong,, 
 sagacious, careful, yet progressive and bold, possessing elements 
 of character which make him a natural leader among men. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE HIS RAILROAD SERVICE. 
 
 Mr. Hill was born in Guelph, Canada, in 1838; received a 
 moderate education and came to St. Paul in 1856. He was 
 receiving clerk for .Bronson, Lewis & White, commission mer- 
 chants on the levee, in 1856-7 ; he then became the agent for the 
 Northwestern Packet Company, and in 1865 erected the old 
 wooden warehouse where the Milwaukee freight depot now is, 
 and here he carried on a forwarding and commission business 
 for about ten years, the boats being on one side of him and the 
 cars on the other. He then went into the wood and coal trade,, 
 and the firm became Hill, Griggs & Co., then it became Hill & 
 Acker. He also helped organize the Northwestern Fuel Com- 
 pany and was a director with Mr. Saunders, and I think is now. 
 About this time, or somewhere in 1868-9, he formed a connec- 
 tion with Mr. Kittson to run steamboats on the Red River of the 
 North, and after making a success of this he no doubt then first 
 conceived the idea of purchasing the stock of the old St. Paul & 
 Pacific Railroad Company, which was held at that time at about 
 seventeen cents per share, and probably most of the stock was 
 finally procured at less than ten cents per share. He owns a 
 stock farm near St. Paul, upon which is some of the finest 
 blooded cattle in the country. 
 
 I find that he entered the railroad service in 1875 as the- 
 local agent of the St. Paul & Pacific Company, and continued in 
 this capacity for several years. His purchase of the old stock 
 in connection with Kittson and Stevens, gave him a power in the 
 new organization, and he was general manager of that from 
 1879 to 1 88 1, when he became the vice-president and general 
 manager of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba road from 
 1 88 1 to 1883, and from that date to the present time he has been, 
 president of the same. 
 
 It is probable that Mr. Hill's large experience in the North- 
 west and knowing its capacity for development, led him to seri- 
 ously entertain the idea of purchasing the stock of the old 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MIKX. 617 
 
 Pacific road, and especially in view of the fact that the company 
 was losing money and the Dutch stockholders were disgusted 
 with their investments, and with the additional fact that under 
 proper management and the growth of the country he could 
 make the road pay and advance the price of the stock, so, 
 for a comparatively small consideration three parties purchased 
 the stock and Hill came. to the front as the leading genius of 
 our local railroad interests. Concentrating all his energy in this 
 especial direction he has suceeded in building up a powerful 
 railroad interest which is not only advancing the welfare of the 
 two great cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis but of the State at 
 large, and in this he is doing a noble work for himself and the 
 people. 
 
 Of course Mr. Hill is well off and his fortune will rank 
 from $10,000,000 to ;^ 1 5,000,000. He gave his wife ;^ 1,000,000 
 in government bonds some time ago, the interest on which 
 affords her some ready pin money. He is quite liberal in his 
 gifts, contributing ;^20,ooo towards the bonus for the Ryan hotel 
 and ^5,000 for the Medical College, and full-blooded cattle to 
 farmers, while he is constantly aiding other enterprises both by 
 his railroad and his means. He is modest and retiring in his 
 disposition yet bold and aggressive in his plans, and is one of 
 St. Paul's foremost citizen's, honored for his ability and respected 
 for his worth. Mr. Hill was married to Miss Mary F. Mehegan 
 in 1867, and has a family of nine children and an amiable and 
 much-esteemed wife. 
 
 TIMOTHY REARDON. 
 
 Mr. Reardon was born in Ireland in 1837; when quite 
 young his father emigrated to America and settled in New York 
 State, where he now lives close to one hundred years old. His 
 son, one of thirteen of a family, learned the trade of a carpenter 
 in New York State, and in 1856 came to St. Paul, and soon after 
 began contracting and building and has continued the business 
 ever since. Married in i860 and married again in this city. Mr. 
 Reardon was in the fire department for sixteen years, during 
 which time he was assistant engineer for about one year and a 
 half; was also Alderman three years; justice of the peace and 
 president of the old Fire Association some four or five years. 
 
618 PEN PICTURES 
 
 He is a large, robust man, of much energy of character, and a 
 great worker in his special line of business. 
 
 J. W. IMESON. 
 
 Mr. Imeson was bcrn in England in 1842; emigrated to 
 America when a babe and settled with his parents in Detroit, 
 Michigan, where he was educated; came to St. Paul in 1856; 
 soon after worked on a farm ; then went south and traveled over 
 a good portion of the United States; was driven out of the 
 South in i860 for being a Union man and refusing to join the 
 Southern minute men ; went on a surveying party and on his 
 return enlisted in the First Minnesota Regiment in 1861, and 
 marched south ; came back in 1 864 in order to raise a company 
 of sharp-shooters ; was tendered a commission in the Heavy 
 Artillery, but declined it ; went west scouting on the plains ; 
 came back in 1873 and was employed in the U. S. River and 
 Harbor Improvement Service ; surveyed and platted lots in 
 Ramsey County; was connected with John T. Halsted for a time ; 
 in 1876 went to the Black Hills as messenger on the North- 
 western Stage route; is now and has been since 1877 in the 
 U. S. Mail Service. 
 
 A PRISONER., 
 
 Mr. Imeson found one of his comrades wounded on the 
 battle field and he would not leave him, so with another com- 
 panion they made a stretcher of a blanket on some muskets and 
 attempted to carry the wounded boy out of the range of the 
 guns, but they were overpowered and made prisoners. On the 
 night of the death of his comrade, Imeson and another soldier 
 escaped from their prison house, knocked down a guard and 
 made their way to the river, but to their great surprise here they 
 were met with a volley from the pickets on the opposite side and 
 made their way down the stream, but were soon overtaken and 
 returned to their dungeons, this time in chains. He was finally 
 exchanged and secured his liberty, but not without many hard- 
 ships and many narrow escapes. 
 
 Mr. Imeson is a gentleman of good proportions, very active ; 
 black hair and whiskers ; kind-hearted, courteous, polite; an old 
 soldier; a faithful officer and a good man. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 619 
 
 YOUNG men's christian ASSOCIATION. 
 
 This organization was effected in 1856. The association 
 began with eleven members; in 1885 it numbered 799, and the 
 average attendance each day of last year reached as high as 
 200; from 75 to 100 in the evening. If this organization con- 
 tinues to grow at this ratio a few years hence will find it an 
 important auxiliary in all important moral reforms. 
 
 MATHIAS KOCH CUTTING WOOD IN RICE PARK. 
 
 Mr. Koch was born in Prussia in 1830; educated, at the 
 common schools; emigrated to America in 1854; worked at 
 farming in Indiana one year ; removed to Wisconsin in the fall 
 where he also engaged in farming for one year ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1856; was a common laborer for about twelve months ; then 
 ran an express wagon for eight years ; sold out and opened a 
 grocery store in 1864, and continued in the business up to 1879- 
 was elected Assessor of the Third Ward in 1872 ; was appointed 
 Assistant County Assessor in 1874 and reappointed in 1877; 
 was a member of the Board of Public Works, appointed by 
 Mayor Dawson, and re-appointed by Mayor Rice, and still con- 
 tinues a member, and is also Assistant County Assessor. Was 
 married in Germany and married again in 1 861, his first wife 
 having died. 
 
 Mr. Koch has had a very diversified experience, having 
 worked his way up from pinched circumstances to his present 
 position, but he says he remembers nothing more vividly than 
 after arriving here and not being able to get any wood, he was 
 advisee! to go into Rice Park and cut the stumps of the trees 
 existing thereon, and with his ax he followed the advice and 
 secured a goodly amount of fire material from the old stumps 
 of what were once fine forest trees. 
 
 Mr. Koch is man of strong characteristics and of great per- 
 severance, physically well moulded and well balanced. He has 
 made a popular and faithful officer, and is a fine illustration of 
 how a man of pluck can climb from the bottom to the top of the 
 ladder. He is a pleasant gentleman and a good citizen. 
 
 WM. W. FOLSOM. 
 
 Mr. Folsom was born in New Hampshire in 1824; removed 
 to Stillwater in 1 846 ; aided in building the Areola Mills ; car- 
 
620 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ried on lumbering in the winter of 1849-50 ; cut the first logs on 
 Kettle river in the winter of 1850-51, and ran them to market; 
 built the Chisago House, now the Dalles, in 1851 ; kept it until 
 1856, when he removed to St. Paul; dealt in real estate two 
 years; opened the City hotel in 1858; sold out in 1859; removed 
 to Stillwater in 1859 and conducted the Minnesota House one 
 year ; returned to St. Paul and opened a sewing machine agency 
 in Rogers' block; sold out in 1861 ; went to St. Louis in 1862; 
 took a position in the Quartermaster's department ; returned to 
 St. Paul in 1865 and was sick; purchased a farm in Mounds 
 View and held it ten years ; returned to St. Paul, where he has 
 been doing no business, except in 1857 when he ran a grocery 
 store. He was the first justice of peace at Taylor's Falls; is a 
 member of no civil or religious society — a free-thinker — ^never 
 drank ; was at one time agent for R. Munger in the piano trade; 
 married in 1852; has had no children, but has adopted several. 
 Mr. Folsom is an ordinary-sized man ; has been very active 
 all his life and has undergone many hardships,' especially in the 
 early days when all this country was a wilderness. He minds 
 his own business ; does his own thinking, and is quite independent 
 in his " get up," a quiet, steady, temperate, worthy citizen. 
 
 CHARLES T. miller. 
 
 Mr. Miller was born in Illinois on the 22d of February, 
 1835; received little or no education; lived at one time in St. 
 Louis; came to St. Paul in 1856; commenced merchandising 
 in the stone block above the Metropolitan hotel, on upper Third 
 street ; removed to the corner of Sibley street and the levee ; was 
 connected with W. F. Davidson in the steamboat business for 
 some fifteen years, being a clerk with J. J. Hill ; ran a large farm 
 at Cottage Grove ; was in the commission business with Van Slyke 
 for five years, and is now engaged taking care of his real 
 estate. Some years ago he purchased 225 feet on the corner of 
 Robert and Seventh streets for ^26,000 ; worth now, with build- 
 ings on, $150,000; bought on the corner of Fifth and Robert 
 streets for $8,000, worth $60,000 ; his rentals reach as high prob- 
 ably as $20,000 per year. Mr. Miller is a tall, slender, quiet 
 gentleman, who moves about his businesss in the most modest 
 manner, and yet he produces good results. He has made several 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 621 
 
 lucky strikes, and is one of the few old settlers who has some- 
 thing tangible to show for his early hardships and labors, and 
 still he deserves all he has, for he is a solid man and pleasant 
 citizen. 
 
 CHARLES GERVAIS. 
 
 . Mr. Gervais is a man of fine physical development, with 
 black whiskers and black hair, slightly mixed with gray; has a 
 quick motion ; walks with a heavy cane ; is a steady, honest, 
 reliable, honorable, trust-worthy man, and is a descendant of the 
 Gervais of early days. He was born in Canada in 1833 ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1850; clerked in a grocery store several years ; 
 took a claim and left it to enter the army in the Fifth Regiment ; 
 lost his claim while in the service of his country three and a half 
 years ; was in the hospital six months for a disabled limb, and 
 drew full pension ; was married in 1865; has an amiable wife 
 and three children; is in the employ of Corlies, Chapman & 
 Co., where he has been fourteen years. Though in a humble 
 sphere of life Mr. Gervais ranks high as a first-class man, and 
 is much esteemed by those whose interests he serves. 
 
 HENRY HALE 
 
 Is one of our old settlers about whose history I can glean 
 but a few facts, yet I learn he was born in Vermont in 18 16; 
 graduated at college; studied law and practiced in his native 
 State; came to St. Paul in 1856; opened a law office on Bridge 
 Square and at one time was in partnership with Judge Palmer ; 
 vehemently opposed the ;^ 5, 000,000 Loan Bill and made a speech 
 against it, and then gradually drifted into the purchase of real 
 estate in which he has been engaged for many years. He owns 
 a great deal of very valuable property, among which is the long 
 brick building on Jackson street running from Third to Fourth, 
 the rentals of which in themselves is a fortune. 
 
 Judge Hale is a solidly built man and physically well 
 developed. He is moderate in all he does ; is in no hurry, yet 
 as a business man he is far-seeing and sagacious ; calculates 
 closely, builds economically and makes one dollar earn another 
 quicker and surer than any man I know. He is a quiet, unde- 
 monstrative man ; has never mingled in politics or taken any par- 
 ticular part in public affairs and yet he has done considerable in 
 
622 PEN PICTURES 
 
 building. He has lived a quiet life and is known as a quiet, 
 solid citizen ; walks erect and steps upon the sidewalk like one 
 who has a sure foundation, and having traveled in Europe he 
 has the airs of a man of wealth as he really is. He is about 
 sixty- five years old. 
 
 WILLIAM H. TEMPLE. 
 
 Mr. Temple was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 1837; emi- 
 grated to the United States in 1 848 ; settled in Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 where he attended school for two years, and then. went into his 
 uncle's clothing store who was a large manufacturer and dealer : 
 three years later became connected with his brother in the same 
 business; in 1856 came to St. Paul and opened a large stock of 
 clothing in a building on upper Third street, where he continued 
 for several years. Soon after the ^5,000,000 loan bill passed the 
 Legislature and became a law, he sold a large amount of cloth- 
 ing for the bonds based upon the credit of the State, so that next 
 to Mr. Chamberlain he had the greatest number of bonds when 
 the State redeemed them. He at one time owned a great deal 
 of real estate in St. Paul and Minneapolis, and owns a good 
 deal still. He has been absent from the city from time to time, 
 but has always made St. Paul his home, and is now engaged 
 largely in the commission business. 
 
 Mr. Temple is a medium-sized man with a florid complex- 
 ion ; very quiet and retiring in manner and very modest in his 
 disposition ; pleasant yet undemonstrative, and still he has played 
 his humble part on the great stage of life like hundreds of other 
 old settlers, who, though unknown to fame have all helped fill 
 up the chinks in the great log cabin of what is now a metropoli- 
 tan city. 
 
 CASPER REINHARD. 
 
 Among the early settlers of St. Paul are the names of many 
 who did not occupy prominent positions in what is called public 
 life, but who nevertheless did much towards laying the founda- 
 tion of the embryo city, and contributed their share in building 
 up the present metropolis of the Northwest. In this category 
 may be classed the name of Casper Reinhard, who was born in 
 Bavaria, Germany, in 1825, and came to this country in 1849. 
 He located first in "Cincinnati, Ohio, where, in 1852 he was mar- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 623 
 
 ricd, and from thence removed with his wife and two children to 
 St. Paul early in the year 1856. He followed the somewhat 
 humble occupation of stone cutter and builder; suffered from 
 the disastrous financial revulsions of that and the subsequent 
 year, and from that time until his death, August 24, 1866, he 
 labored hard to maintain his family, hewing his way through by 
 the sweat of his brow. He was a quiet, honest, industrious 
 man, much respected, and has left behind him a family noted for 
 many good traits of character. One son, Louis G. Reinhard, is 
 a well-known business man on Third street, while the other son 
 is Superintendent of Schools in Washington Territory, and both 
 are well-to-do and pleasant gentlemen. 
 
 MARTIN FLANAGAN RODNEY C. GOODING. 
 
 Mr. Flanagan was a native of Ireland, born in 1824; came 
 to America in 1 843 ; lived fourteen years in Vermont ; arrived 
 in St. Paul in 1856; was employed in a wholesale liquor store 
 for five years ; worked for 'Walter & Wells for six years, then 
 formed a partnership with Peabody Brothers, and died some years 
 ago. He was a tall, slender man, always prompt, always oblig- 
 ing, and always industrious. 
 
 Mr. Gooding is a native of New York, born in 1 846 ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1856; was educated in our public schools; was 
 clerk in an insurance office ; was for some time cashier for the 
 St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad depot, and has been for many 
 years connected with the establishment of P. H. Kelly as cash- 
 ier. Mr. Gooding is a man of fine commercial attainments, and 
 the responsible positions he has filled is sufficient evidence of the 
 esteem in which he is held by the business community. He is a 
 reliable, steady, honest, worthy man. 
 
 WM. M. LEYDE. 
 
 A rather spare man, yet full of energy, is Mr. Leyd^, who 
 for years has struggled manfully in the battle of life and who is 
 now reaping the rewards of his merit. He is very industrious, 
 and an excellent mechanic; was born in Pennsylvania in 
 1824 and educated in that State, where he built and ran a large 
 flouring mill for three years ; came to St. Paul in 1856 ; opened 
 a mechanical shop in this city, but finally went to farming near 
 
624 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Newport, and during that period invented what was known as 
 the Leyde Thresher, a number of which were manufactured and 
 sold, but for want of capital to prosecute the work the business 
 was abandoned. He then started a shop in West St. Paul, but 
 was obliged to give it up in consequence of sickness brought 
 about by improper sewerage. On the breaking out of the civil 
 war he recruited one thousand men for the service, raised a com- 
 pany for the Minnesota Artillery, went south and with his guns 
 held several forts at various times until reinforcements arrived, 
 and for meritorious services was promoted to Lieutenant. He 
 was also in the Indian war on our frontier, and with Capt. Hen- 
 dricks and others relieved Birch Coolie. He was also bearer of 
 dispatches during these troublesome times. He is now engaged 
 in the stone-crushing business in this city, having been an engin- 
 eer since 1856, and is doing well, fully illustrating the axiom that 
 " it is a long road that has no end." 
 
 CHARLES L. WOOD ROBlERT m'mENEMV. 
 
 Mr. Wood was born in Ohio in 1834; worked on a farm; 
 removed to Zanesville, and came to St. Paul in 1856; was ticket 
 agent for the Milwaukee road eight years ; was station agent for 
 the Minnesota Central at West St. Paul; was agent for the 
 Minnesota Valley Road three years ; with two others took aeon- 
 tract to build thirty miles of the Wisconsin Central ; was engaged 
 in the lumber trade at Hillsboro, Dakota, while at the same time 
 he carried on farming; was in the employ of Auerbach, Finch 
 & Van Slyke about two years. He is a tall and slender man ; 
 quick in his movements and somewhat retiring in his disposition, 
 and has had the usual ups and downs incident to the life of an 
 old pioneer. 
 
 Mr. McMenemy was born in Ireland in 1828 ; educated in 
 the old country and emigrated to America in 1851 ; removed to 
 Ontario, Canada, in 1852; remained there until 1856, clerking 
 in a dry-goods store, when the same year he came to St. Paul. 
 Here he entered the employ of J. W. Bass and Beaumont & 
 Gordon ; was with Temple & Beaupre eight years ; then rented 
 the old St. Pierre farm, just beyond the late residence of Hon. 
 Edmund Rice; bought twenty acres near by for $50 per acre, 
 now worth ^5,000 per acre; lost ten acres, but continued to hold 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 62 S 
 
 on to the balance, after selling five acres for $83000, and that 
 which is saved he proposes to retain for his family. He was in 
 the employ of Auerbach, Finch & Scheffer for fourteen years. 
 Has-been married. 
 
 Mr. McMenemy has been a hard-working man, and by mere 
 accident good luck has come to him in the erection of the North- 
 ern Pacific shops, from the effects of which his property has 
 greatly increased in value and made him comparatively well off. 
 
 ADOLPHUS MOORE. 
 
 Mr. Moore was born in London, England, in 1822; was 
 educated at the common schools there and learned the fur-cut- 
 ting business ; worked at his trade in the old country five years ; 
 emigrated to America and continued his trade in New York ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1856 and engaged in the raw fur buying 
 business, and has been in that department ever since. He 
 opened a fur store in Concert Hall block in 1857; then moved 
 to East Third street, between Wabasha and Cedar ; then occu- 
 pied a building on Third street, nearly opposite the First National 
 Bank, where he remained six years ; gave up the retail fur busi- 
 ness in 1864, and has continued the buying of raw furs from 
 that date to the present. 
 
 Commodore Kittson sold to Mr. Moore in 1864 six thousand 
 Hudson Bay mink for nine dollars apiece, or ;^S4,ooo, the largest 
 number ever brought together in one lot. The same class of 
 goods can now be purchased for fifty and seventy-five cents 
 apiece ! He also bought about this time 18,000 buffalo robes for 
 nine dollars apiece. Buffalo robes command now almost any 
 price. 
 
 He is married and has three daughters. He is the oldest con- 
 tinuous president of any building association in this city or 
 State, having been fifteen years continuously in that office, besides 
 organizing a vast number of other associations. In personal 
 appearance Mr. Moore is tail and slender ; quite moderate in his 
 ways and in his speech ; unaffected and sincere in his acts, and 
 is an upright, honest, worthy citizen. 
 
 JAMES m'dONALD. 
 
 No more quiet man lives in the city of St. Paul than Mr. 
 McDonald, though he is very generally sought after and very 
 40 
 
626 PEN PICTURES 
 
 generally esteemed when found, for he deals in just those things 
 which are universally liked — ice-creams and confectioneries. He 
 learned his trade with Nathan Clark, a celebrated caterer in 
 his day, who had an establishment in Broadway, New York ; 
 when of age he continued five years in business for himself and 
 in 1852 went to New Orleans, and then to Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 remaining there from 1854 to 1856, when he came to St. Paul 
 and since then has been constantly in the ice-cream, confection- 
 ery and pastry business up to the present time ; first opening a 
 store on lower Third street, and then locating on upper Third 
 street, where he now is, having been in one place twelve years, 
 and in business in this city twenty-eight years, and during that 
 time he has made over 75,000 gallons of cream. In all his long 
 experience Mr. McDonald says he never found a person who did 
 not like ice-crearn. He is a tall, slim, angular person, showing 
 his Scotch descent ; has attended strictly to business, and the 
 result is he has property worth at least ^60,000. Is married 
 and has two sohs. 
 
 MICHAEL TREACY. 
 
 Mr. Treacy is an ordinary sized man, with a quiet movement, 
 possessing a good, round head, stoops a little, and lopes some- 
 what when he walks. He was born in Massachusetts in 1844, 
 where he was educated; came to St. Paul in 1856; worked for 
 T. M. Newson in 1859, ^^id learned the trade of a job printer; 
 was in the job department of the Pioneer Press for twenty-two 
 years, when in 1882 he commenced business for himself and the 
 firm is now Brown, Treacy & Howard, who are printing Pen Pic- 
 tures for the author. 
 
 Mr. Treacy was always an apt apprentice and very industri- 
 ous, and he has carried these qualities into manhood, and they 
 are rapidly making him well off. His big hold is his steady, 
 persistent, determined industry, coupled with excellent artistic 
 taste in "the art preservative of all arts." He is a quiet man, 
 with eyes that laugh and an expression that is pleasant, and is a 
 very deserving citizen. John Treacy, his brother, was born in 
 Massachusetts in 1850 ; learned the trade of a printer in the 
 office of the Pioneer Press, and is now working for Brown, 
 Treacy & Howard. He is a small man, full of humor, likes fun, 
 and yet is a good printer. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 627 
 
 IGNATIUS DONNELLY. 
 
 It is quite proper that I should top out my monument of 
 personal events for 1856, with a name that will live long after 
 nearly all other names in the Northwest have passed into ob- 
 livion. As a politician Donnelly, in one sense, has been a suc- 
 cess — in another, a failure. He is bold, aggressive, original, 
 ambitious, but lacks steadiness of political purpose. He is ear- 
 nest, determined, positive, intellectually great, yet is destitute of 
 that very element of character which marks the successful politi- 
 cal career of Alexander Ramsey. He however is a fighting man 
 and has none of the peculiar traits of a politician. It is true 
 that Elihu Washburne in Congress objected to the leception of 
 a purely local measure introduced by Donnell)?, and out of this 
 grew an acrimonious fight. Washburne then attacked Donnelly 
 in the columns of the St. Paul Press in a severe article, and this 
 drew out from Donnelly on the floor of Congress a bitter per- 
 sonal speech, and from that day to this Mr. Donnelly has had 
 arrayed against him a strong political opposition. Had his sense 
 of propriety or even policy enabled him to have endured the 
 slings of his enemies quietly without making the retort that he 
 did, it is possible he would have saved himself the opposition he 
 has since encountered, but that would not have been Donnelly. 
 He has the Celtic blood and the Irish spirit of resentment, and 
 he resented what he felt was a wrong, of course taking the con- 
 sequences very willingly upon his own head. 
 
 It was in 1857 I think, when a ydung man about twenty -six 
 years of age, not much taller than myself and quite slender in 
 person, just fresh from Philadelphia, crossed Wabasha street at 
 Bridge Square, and after crossing and being introduced, handed 
 me a pamphlet printed for private circulation, on " The Sonnets 
 of Shakespeare." After an examination I pronounced the author 
 a man of ability. His subsequent life is quite generally known 
 to the public, and yet it may be interesting to trace his career 
 from a boy to mature manhood. 
 
 Mr. Donnelly was born in Philadelphia m 1 83 1 ; his father 
 was a native of Ireland, his mother was born in Philadelphia ; 
 he was educated in the public schools and graduated from the 
 Central High School in 1849 with the degree of A. M.; studied 
 law for three years with B. H. Brewster, afterwards Attorney 
 
628 PEN PICTURES 
 
 General of Pennsylvania and of the United States ; admitted to 
 the bar in 1853; married in 1855; came to St. Paul in 1856; 
 practiced his profession and engaged in farming and literary pur- 
 suits until 1859, when he was elected Lieutenant Governor of the 
 State of Minnesota, at an election when the State was carried by 
 the Republican party for the first time ; was re-elected Lieuten- 
 ant Governor in 1861 ; was elected to Congress in 1862; re- 
 elected in 1864 and again in 1866. In 1868 he was re-nominated 
 for the same office, but defeated by a combination in which 
 money was freely used to effect the result. 
 
 After Donnelly had been nominated by a wing of the Re- 
 publican convention, those opposed to him met and put in 
 nomination Gen. L. F. Hubbard, now Governor of Minnesota. 
 Hubbard perceiving that he was simply being used as a cats-paw 
 to defeat Donnelly, declined to run ; and Gen. Andrews took his 
 place. Of course there being two Republican candidates in the 
 field, it threw the election into the hands of Hon. E. M. Wilson 
 of Minneapolis, the Democratic candidate, and he was sent to 
 Congress from a strong Republican district. The next year the 
 very man who had been instrumental in defeating Donnelly, pro- 
 posed his name for the office of Governor on the ground that he 
 had been treated unjustly by the party. Mr. D. refused to make 
 any effort for the nomination, but would have been nominated 
 but for his refusal to secretly pledge his support to a certain 
 gentleman for United States Senator. He subsequently sus- 
 tained Gov. Austin for Governor, but it becoming evident that 
 the Republican party was in favor of Protection he ran for Con- 
 gress in 1870 as an Independent, the Democrats supporting him 
 although not nominating. He came very close to success, but 
 was defeated. In 1872 he took the stump in Minnesota, Wis- 
 consin, Illinois and Michigan for Greeley for president, as a Lib- 
 eral Republican, but was again doomed to disappointment, 
 as Greeley was unsuccessful. In 1873 he was elected by the 
 Democrats and Anti-Monopolists State Senator from Dakota 
 County, and did good service in the Legislature. Later along 
 he started a paper devoted to anti-monopoly principles and ran 
 it a few years ; then was again nominated for Congress by the 
 Anti-Monopolists and the Democratic party, and made his great 
 run on the "brass kettle" issue, being elected in the district out- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. ' 629 
 
 side of Minneapolis, and here the great fight was made against 
 him, and which finally defeated him. At this time he was carry- 
 ing on farming in a place called Donnelly, but after- the election 
 of Jais opponent, Washburne, he retired to his home at Nininger 
 and engaged in literary pursuits, and astonished the country by 
 the appearance of his "Atlantis," a work of remarkably startling 
 theories and bold propositions. This was followed by his " Rag- 
 narok." In 1884 he was nominated for Congress in the Third 
 district by three conventions, Anti-Monopolists, Democrats and 
 the People's party, and took the stump against Maj. Strait, Re- 
 publican. He made an active campaign, and though not elected, 
 yet he reduced his opponent's plurality from 10,000 to 1,300, and 
 his majority to about 700. He has great power on the stump, 
 and at political meetings always draws crowded houses, for his 
 speeches are full of fun as well as sharp, bristling points. 
 
 HOW HE LOOKS,- SPEAKS, ACTS. 
 
 Mr. Donnelly looks and acts like a young Falstaff, with a 
 round, chubby face, a round, well-developed body, and round, 
 chubby hands. He is a good liver, in the sense of eating plenty 
 of plain, substantial food, and wears his sign on his countenance, 
 but he uses neither alcohol, coffee, tea nor tobacco and one not 
 knowing him would t ike him to be a jolly bishop of some Cath- 
 olic cathedral. As a man he is very social in his nature, bub- 
 bling over with good humor and anecdote ; an excellent conver- 
 sationalist," and his hearty laugh is like the cholera, very 
 contagious. As a speaker he ranks among the first, in argument, 
 logic, ability, humor and conclusiveness. As a writer I place 
 him among the ablest in the country in originality of thought 
 as well as in original methods of arraying facts and hewing a 
 way to conclusions. His "Atlantis " has won him a literary name 
 which time can never efface, while his " Ragnarok " detracts in no 
 degree from his well-earned laurels. In debate he is a stubborn, 
 able political opponent ; fearless in the expressions of his opin- 
 ions and decided in his convictions ; remarkably ready in repartee 
 and inexhaustible in resources. The combative elements of the 
 man have kept him in political hot water for nearly twenty years, 
 but he seems to enjoy it and grow fat over it, while his versatile 
 talents enable, him to turn from the exacting cares of a political 
 
630 PEN PICTURES 
 
 battle to the quiet and serene realms of literary labors. In a 
 word, Mr. Donnelly is an able man ; as a politician he lacks pol- 
 icy and discretion ; as a writer he challenges criticism ; and I 
 regret that circumstances have arisen to prevent him from occu- 
 pying a place in the councils of the nation, for there he would be 
 sure to make his mark as one of the rising men of this country. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 1857. 
 
 Mrst Balloon Ascendon— First Stone Jail Still Standing — First Light Cavalry- 
 First Shields Cfuards — First Bishop Dead — First Library Association — 
 Mrst Bridge Across the Mississippi at St. Paul — First State Legisla- 
 ture—First Fire- Engines— First Big Fife— First School Rouse 
 fiuilt by the Board of Education— First United States 
 District Court — First Gas — First Denominational 
 Scrip — First Financial Remdiion in Real 
 Estate and in Everything Else — First 
 Efforts to Remove the Capital 
 — Events and Matters 
 in the Year 
 1857. 
 
 CULMINATING YEAR 1 857 — -CONCLUSION. 
 
 When the events and biographies of this year have been 
 completed, I shall have traveled over a space of twenty years, 
 beginning at 1838 when the first white settler erected the first 
 house on the spot where is now a bustling city of 1 20,000 inhab- 
 itants, and coming down to the time when Minnesota assumed 
 the garb of statehood in the year 1857, thus concluding my first 
 
OF ST. PA UL'.'MINN. 631 
 
 volume. During these twenty years I have sought to bring out 
 every prominent event of the past and to preserve the history of 
 those who came here in each year, and if I have failed to do so 
 in all cases, it has occurred because I have been unable to reach 
 the data necessary to this end. The year 1857 ni^y be classed 
 as among our most exciting and memorable years. It was the 
 turning point in the destiny of the city. It was the period when 
 the young metropolis raised side-whiskers and mustaches, and 
 strutted upon the platform of manhood. It was the beginning 
 of that age when self-esteem marked the characteristics of the 
 growing young city, and this was especially noticeable when the 
 Territory became dressed in the garments of a State. In the 
 •early part of this year St. Paul contained about 6,000 inhabit- 
 ants, and there were about 158 firms, but two of which remain 
 to-day — William Constans and A. L. Larpenteur. In October 
 of the same year the population had increased to 9,973. The 
 city valuation in 1857 was $6,417 ,22>t, against ;^3,287,220 for 
 1856, and the number of buildings erected during the year 
 •was 343. 
 
 TWENTY-FOUR BOATS AT OUR LEVEE. 
 
 Never in the history of this city had immigration poured 
 into it so rapidly as this year, and St. Paul was claimed by 
 strangers to be the liveliest town on the Mississippi river, a repu- 
 tation it has sustained ever since. In the early part of the year 
 business was thriving and the hotels, the boarding houses, the 
 saloons, the livery stables were taxed to their utmost, while 
 mechanics were driven with work and the public improvements 
 inaugurated by the city in the way of grading streets, were 
 really phenomenal. The city continued to fill up with all classes 
 of people, among which were tourists, speculators, sporting men 
 and roughs, most of these, however, being of the floating char- 
 acter while others came as permanent residents. It was not an 
 uncommon thing to see some sixteen and eighteen steamers 
 lying at our levee at one time, and about May 7 some twenty- 
 four steamboats stuck their noses close up into our river bank, 
 the largest number ever seen at our landing in one day. The 
 reader should remember that then we had no railroads, and that 
 all travel came by boats and stages, consequently the river trade 
 for 1857 was simply enormous. 
 
632 PEN PICTURES 
 
 W. A. CROFFUT. 
 
 In a little old country town by the name of Orange, between 
 Birmingham and New Haven, Conn., the subject of my sketch 
 was born in the year 1836; was educated at a country school 
 and brought up as a fa:rmer's boy. When the writer sold out 
 the first paper with which he was connected as owner and editor, 
 in the town of Birmingham, Conn., in the year 1852, Mr. Croffut, 
 then a very young man, got his eye on the place, shortly bought 
 the paper, and a few years later while oh a visit East, discover- 
 ing Jiis sparkling abilities, the author of these Pen Pictures 
 ihduped him to come west, and he became connected with the 
 old St., Paul Daily Times as city editor in the yeai: 1856, and of 
 which the writer was then editor-in-chief He was a young man 
 of bright intellect, quick of comprehension and wielded a ready 
 pen. 
 
 " FOSTER FATHER." 
 
 In a letter from New York city dated May, 1885,' Mr. 
 Croffut writes me as follows : 
 
 " In the matter of journalism I regard you as my foster-father and sponsor. 
 You gave me 'my first word of encouragement from the ranks editorial, and you did 
 more than anybody else to give me scope and draw me out. Your readers suffered; 
 but while I apologize to them I am grateful to you. I was just twenty years old 
 when I edited the Times that spring during your absence in the East." 
 
 Before my return from the East Mr. Croffut removed to 
 Minneapolis and purchased the St. Anthony Republican and 
 started the Falls Evening News. In 1859 he returned to Con- 
 necticut and originated the Danbury Jeffersonian, and following 
 purchased the New Haven Palladium; was employed on the 
 New York Tribune for a year or so, when, in 1867-8 he wi'ote 
 his History of Connecticut during the Rebellion ; also, a work 
 entitled The Helping Hand. From 1 869 to 1 872 he was managing 
 editor of the Chicago Post ; in 1873 and 1874 was editor of the 
 Minneapolis Tribune ; bought out and ran the Evening Mail; 
 went to New York and joined th-e Graphic staff" in 1875, where 
 he remained four years ; was on the Tribune and wrote the Bour- 
 bon ballads, 1 50,000 of which were circulated in the campaign 
 of 1880 ; since that time he has been and is now the correspond- 
 ent of nine different papers. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 633 
 
 It was in the year 1857 when Croffut, reporter for the Times, 
 stepped on board of the Grey Eagle in search of items, and 
 Capt. Harris immediately went in search of the reporter and 
 ordered him landed on shore. Soon afterwards it was discovered 
 that Capt. Harris had made a mistake and had abused the 
 reporter for the Times when he intended to have punished the 
 reporter for the Pioneer, and while Croffut was on his way to 
 arrest Harris, Ramaley, reporter for the Pioneer, was in a secure 
 place with his hands upon his ham-strings and almost dying 
 with laughter over the narrow escape he had made. Croffut 
 was petrifiedly mad, and was a good deal madder when Justice 
 Simons fined Harris only $10 for his unjustifiable assault. 
 
 As this is a matter of history I allow Mr. Croffut to tell his 
 own story in his own peculiar way : 
 
 " One thing I recall distinctly. I overworked, and was taken down with a. 
 hot fever at the Merchants hotel. There I lay and suffered for some weeks; when 
 one morning the doctor told nie I might go out for a few minutes if I would 'be 
 careful.' I promised and out I tottered, and down to the levee where the Grey 
 Eagle had just tied up. I pulled myself up to the pilot house somehow, and asked 
 for papers from 'the States,' when Capt. Harris jumped up and shouted to the 
 stevedores to 'bounce me.' I tried to explain, but six big fellows came forme. 
 They yelled, they seized me by the collar, by the arms, by the legs, by the head, and 
 they pushed, pulled, hauled and hustled me. I struck the deck below like a bag of 
 meal falling from heaven; and when I clambered to my feet an antic Irishman 
 poked me ashore with the business end of a marlin-spike. I was surprised, but 
 the beautiful scene comes back to me as if it were but yesterday. I was as sore as 
 if I had been through a threshing machine, but I climbed up the bank high enough 
 so that I couldn't roll back into the river, then I collapsed. Nobody came to pour 
 Mrs. Winslow's soothing syrup into my wounds, but Capt. Harris thoughtfully 
 flung a quid of tobacco into the river and sent his clerk to inform me that, from the 
 bird's-eye view he was able to obtain of me as I lay recovering consciousness, he 
 judged he had got hold of the wrong man, and that it was not I that he wanted to 
 thrash. I thanked him and went away in a pensive mood. Harris was always a 
 sort of left-handed pet of mine after that, as anybody can see by looking over an old 
 file of the Times. During these years I was much indebted to a St. Paul lawyer 
 named Palmer, for information and valuable hints from a brain well stored with 
 varied knowledge. Is he there yet ? " 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Croffut is not only an excellent prose writer but he is a 
 poet of considerable ability, and has written some very fine arti- 
 cles in this vein. As a racy, fresh, piquant correspondent he has 
 no superior, and his published works show not only originality 
 but thought and research. He has enlarged and comprehensive 
 
634 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ideas of .human life growing out of his extensive experiences, 
 and possessing a very active brain he grasps the situation at 
 once and adorns the central thought with flashes of wit and sar- 
 casm. He has been to Europe twice ; has visited Cuba, Yuca- 
 tan, Mexico, Bermuda, Canada and Nova Scotia ; has boxed the 
 compass in this country, so that his ready pen never wants for 
 material for his always readable letters. He is a literary hum- 
 ming-bird, and if he lacks anything it is a literary anchor to 
 hold him down to one thing in life. He is a man of ordinary 
 size, with a well-developed head, quick, aggressive when he seeks 
 to extract from you any desired information, and yet he is brim- 
 ful of humor and his eyes dance with delight" when he can get 
 an idea that nobody else has thought of He is a pleasant, 
 agreeable, social gentleman ; very correct in his habits and quite 
 progressive in his ideas, and as he claims me to be his " foster- 
 father," I do not hesitate to express my admiration for the many 
 eminent qualities of my adopted son and early precocious protege. 
 He has accumulated property worth $30,000. 
 
 MISS CLARA LOUISE KELLOGG. 
 
 In a biographical sketch of Miss , Kellogg's life, I learn that 
 the first time she sang in public was at the age of ten years. The 
 biographer says : "The song was entitled and ended with the 
 words : ' Who'll buy my little book ?' the little prima donna ex- 
 tending to the audience her hand in which was a small book. ' I 
 will,' exclaimed Thomas M. Newson, then editor of the Derby 
 Journal, as he stepped up and gave the half-frightened little girl a 
 bright silver dollar, the first one she ever received for her first song 
 in public." (In explanation perhaps I should say, I boarded in 
 Mr. Kellogg's family several years.) The writer also published 
 the first poem of Miss Virginia Townsend, who subsequently 
 achieved a reputation in literary circles ; so that in pushing Croffut 
 to the front, encouraging Miss Kellogg in song, and in follow- 
 ing Miss Townsend in the realm of story-telling, somebody, some- 
 time, somewhere in the future will give me credit for good taste, 
 good judgment and due appreciation of merit, even in infancy. 
 
 UP IN A balloon! 
 This year our venturesome fellow-citizen Mr. Marcoe, made 
 several successful balloon ascensions, in one of which Mr. Croffut 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 686 
 
 of the then St. Paul Daily Tzwj, accompanied him and wrote a 
 description of the upper regions. In another ascension S. S. Eaton 
 and H. M. Brown went up with him. They sailed from the fair 
 grounds and landed eighteen miles northward, where Mr. Eaton 
 was thrown out, or fell out, or jumped out, and the valve ropes 
 were broken off close to the neck of the balloon, and it shot up 
 into the sky, when Mr. Brown, to save their lives, climbed up to 
 the neck of the balloon by the network and secured the cords. 
 The same year a good many went up in real estate balloons, but 
 they never came down again and their balloons went to the ! 
 
 WILLIAM CAINE. 
 
 Dr. William Caine was a slenderly-built man with auburn 
 hair, quick in his motions and speech,, possessing a bright, pene- 
 trating eye which seemed to read one's thoughts, and he had an 
 affability of manner which made him a very popular physician 
 in the sick room. He was born in the Isle of Man in 1818 ; emi- 
 grated to the United States in 1827 and settled at Cleveland, Ohio, 
 where he was educated, and from thence he removed to Seneca 
 Falls, New York, and there studied medicine ; graduated' at the 
 Geneva Medical College (old school,) in 1845, and soon after 
 begin investigating homeopathy, and was so thoroughly con- 
 vinced of its truths that in 1850-51 he took his diploma at the 
 Cleveland Homeopathic College and located at Ravenna, where 
 he had previously practiced in the allopathic school. In 1857 
 his health became broken down by overwork and a violent attack 
 of pneumonia left him in such a weakened condition that his life 
 was despaired of, and in this condition he started for Minnesota 
 on a cot bed. Shortly after arriving in this city in 1857, he com- 
 menced improving and gained so rapidly that he was urged to 
 practice by his friends, which he finally cpnsented to do, and soon 
 had more business than he could attend to. He was a man most 
 thoroughly devoted to his profession, and died from the effects 
 of a sun-stroke received while conveying a patient from Wyoming 
 to this city in an open carriage. 
 
 Dr. Caine was a perfect gentleman and an excellent physi- 
 cian. He was well known in the day in which he lived and 
 especially in this city, and while honest and honorable he was 
 conscientious in the discharge of his duty. His only son and his 
 
636 PEN PICTURES 
 
 only child, Dr. William H. Caine, is now a practicing physician 
 in Stillwater, Minnesota, while his widow resides in St. Paul. 
 
 RAMSEY COUNTY JAIL MILITARY COMPANIES. 
 
 The present stone jail now occupying a part of the Court 
 House square, was commenced this year by Day & Grace, and 
 finished in the. fall. . Contract price, $75,000, but before it was 
 finished it cost a good deal more, exceeding $100,000. 'The old 
 wooden jail had been previously torn down. 
 
 The St. Paul light cavalry, Capt. Starkey, and the Shields 
 guards, Capt. John O'Gorman, were organized this year and on 
 one or two occasions did effective work. 
 
 WILLIAM BANHOLZER. 
 
 A large young man is Mr. Banholzer, all business, very 
 industrious and very worthy. He' is a solid man, and by indus- 
 try has built up an extensive business, his brewery ranking among 
 the largest. A native of Germany, born in 1 849, he came to 
 America and located in St. Paul in 1857 ; here he received his 
 education, and was in the employ of Auerbach, Finch & Scheffer 
 nine years; was two years at Belle Plaine, in the mercantile 
 trade, and in 1 876 engaged with his father in the brewing busi- 
 ness, and in 1 879 purchased his father's interest and has continued 
 the business ever since. Married Miss Louise Foot in 1878. 
 The elder Banholzer is a man of great humor, and yet he has 
 been a strong business man and possesses great energy even 
 now. 
 
 ON the WAR PATH-^FRANK BREUER. 
 
 Great excitement existed in the city this year on the report 
 that Ink-pa-doo-tah's band of Sioux Indians had been killing 
 some settlers at Spirit J!.ake, near the Iowa line. The citizens 
 became very much aroused, and the Pioneer Guards of St. Paul 
 volunteered to go in pursuit of the red devils, but no transporta- 
 tion or ammunition could be furnished. Two fugitives, however, 
 from the settlement came to the city and were provided for. This 
 year the water company was incorporated, and the Dramatic 
 Joint Stock Company, but no other legislation was had affecting 
 the city. The St. Paul Episcopal Church was organized, Rev. 
 A. B. Paterson. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 637 
 
 Mr. Frank Breuer died in 1 884. He was a medium-sized man 
 and very much liked by those who knew him, especially in the 
 fire department. He was rather undemonstrative in his manners 
 and yet inspired the confidence of his friends. ■ For a long time 
 he was the president of the old Hook and Ladder Association, 
 which kept up its annual Fourth of July celebrations, and when 
 Breuer died that died also. He was chief engineer of the fire 
 department for two terms ; was also Alderman of the city. Born 
 in Germany in 1839, he emigrated to this country in 1850; 
 remained at Chicago until 1857, when he came to St. Paul 
 and at first engaged with J. S. Dennison one year, then with 
 Nichols & Berkey; in 1 880 he went into partnership with Mr. 
 Rhodes and remained there until he died. He was a popular 
 fireman and a much respected citizen. 
 
 MAURICE AUERBACH. 
 
 Small physically, quiet, thoughtful, positive, quick, gentle- 
 manly, busy — one would not suppose that he was the man at 
 the head of the greatest wholesale dry-goods house in thife city 
 or State, and yet such is the fact. His career has been a pecu- 
 liar and remarkable one, and only shows that good stuff can be 
 wrapped up in small bundles. A man's reputation magnifies his 
 materiality, and one' not knowing Mr. Auerbach would suppose 
 him to be six feet tall and weighing 250 pounds, and yet dia- 
 monds are valuable even though not large. Born in Prussia of 
 German parentage in 1836, Mr. Auerbach was educated in the 
 schools of his native place, and had some experience in the dry- 
 goods trade before coming to this country. In 1857 he emi- 
 grated to America, and in the winter of that year came to St. 
 Paul ; was clerk for one year for D. T. Justice, an early dry-goods 
 merchant of our city ; was also clerk for Justice & Forepaugh ; 
 became partner with' the firm name of Justice, Forepaugh & Co. 
 in i860; in 1868 commenced business with G. R. Finch and 
 Charles Scheffer, and continued until the death of Mr. Scheffer, 
 when, in 1875 the firm changed to Auerbach, Finch, Culbertson 
 & Co.; then in 1881 to the firm of Auerbach, Finch & ^Van 
 Slyke. Mr. Auerbach was one of the originators of the Mer- 
 chants' National Bank, and was its president up to 180O when he 
 retired. He has held no political office or any other, but has 
 given his best years to business. 
 
638 PEN PICTURES 
 
 He is a man of great sagacity and capacity, and especially 
 so in his own line of business, and as the head of the present 
 firm he has guided his great house into the ocean of prosperity. 
 Here is a case where a man has made circumstances instead of 
 circumstances making the man, and where his success may be 
 attributed to his individual efforts more than to a series of pleas- 
 ant surprises in the shape of good luck. He is a quiet, unos- 
 tentatious, social, pleasant man, and a -good citizen. 
 
 ITEMS OF INTEREST — ^DIRECTORY A HORRIBLE MURDER. 
 
 Goodrich, Somers & Co. issued the first city directory in 
 1857, containing 1,700 names, which, multiplied by three gave a 
 population of 5, 100, but this was under the estimated number of 
 inhabitants. The second directory was issued by Newson & 
 Barton. 
 
 I see him still ! so pale, so horrible! He sits on his work 
 table ; the hand with the needle has stopped on its way to the 
 garment which lies in his lap ; his eyes glare; his face is so white 
 — he's dead ! killed by an axe or a hatchet in the hands of an 
 assassin. Twenty-eight years have passed and yet that sight is 
 just as vivid to-day as when I first saw that murdered man in a 
 little shop on West Third street, which stood'where the Maxfield 
 block now is, and where his industrious career had been arrested 
 by the murderer's blow ! He was a poor tailor and killed for his 
 money, a considerable amount of which he had about him. A 
 native of Louisville, Ky., Henry William Schroeder met his hor- 
 rible fate a stranger in a land among strangers, and his murderer 
 escaped the penalty of the law. 
 
 ALBERT ARMSTRONG. 
 
 For many years Mr. Armstrong was a power among the 
 Democrats of this city, ranking with the very best of able poli- 
 ticians, but ill-health of late years has prevented him from tak- 
 ing any active part in politics, and I may also say even in busi- 
 ness, although he can occasionally be seen upon our streets. He 
 was born in Ohio in 1825 and held the position of clerk of the 
 District Court in Columbiana County, Ohio, for three years ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1857 i was Deputy State Treasurer for two 
 years under his brother, George W. Armstrong ; was Deputy 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 639 
 
 County Treasurer under Robert A. Smith in 1 863 ; in 1 865 was 
 elected clerk of the District Court, which position he held twelve 
 years. At the expiration of his term of office he went into the 
 real estate and commission business, and latterly has been giving 
 his attention to his private affairs. A marked peculiarity of Mr. 
 Armstrong's management is the fact, that all his property brings 
 him in an income ; he has no dead real estate, but some five or 
 six stores and three or four houses, from which he derives a 
 handsome living. He is not a large man, but rather thin, with 
 gray hair and a somewhat tired look, yet when in good health 
 he was a man of much energy and one of the wheel-horses of his 
 party. He is quiet, -cautious, prudent, economical, a member of 
 the Methodist Church and a good citizen. Mr. Armstrong is 
 married and has one son, B. W. Armstrong, who has held sev- 
 eral responsible positions with his father, and for two years was 
 private secretary of Mayor O'Brien. He is quick, active, pronlpt, 
 energetic; a good deal of a politician, and has the financial 
 ability of " the old man," and withal is a social, pleasant gentle- 
 man. 
 
 CYRUS BROOKS. 
 
 Cyrus Brooks, D. D., was born in Vermont in 181 1. In 
 1817 the family removed to Ohio and settled in Licking County, 
 near Granville. From this town he entered the ministry of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church in 1833. His hcense bears date 
 June 22d of that year, and late in the August following he was 
 received into the Ohio Conference. 
 
 After serving twenty-four years in the Ohio and Cincinnati 
 conferences, he came by transfer from the latter conference to 
 Minnesota in 1857, and was located at St. Paul. Here he has 
 spent six years in the pastorate in St. Paul, one in Minneapolis, 
 three in Red Wing and three in Winona;, and has served as Pre- 
 siding Elder eight years on the St. Paul District and four years 
 on the Minneapolis District. While in Ohio he represented his 
 conference in the General Conferences of i852-and 1856, and 
 after coming to Minnesota, in those of i860, 1868, 1872 and 
 1 876. The D. D. was conferred upon him in 1 860 by the Ohio 
 Wesleyan University, of which he had been a trustee for many 
 years before leaving Ohio. He is a married man and has two 
 sons in the ministry in Colorado. 
 
04:0 PEN PICTURES 
 
 After a ministry of forty-nine years, rheumatism compelled 
 him to retire from active service in 1882. With the exception 
 of the seven years' pastorate in neighboring cities, he has been a 
 resident of St. Paul ever since he came to Minnesota in 1857, ^^^ 
 so expects to continue to the end of his life. 
 
 Mr. Brooks is a tall, spiritual-looking man, with a gentle 
 stoop of the shoulders, gray hair, clear, pleasant eyes, and always 
 bearing an amiable expression on his countenance. He looks 
 like a refined patriarch from another sphere, sent by his Master to 
 do his bidding, and his acts never belied his looks — a real good 
 man. 
 
 ANOTHER MURDER. 
 
 Out near where Stahlmann's brewery now is, used to be a 
 bad house called " The Cave," the rendezvous of the very worst 
 characters of both sexes, and one night two parties became 
 involved in a fight, arid a man by the name of Golden killed 
 another by the name of Peter W. Trotter. Of course the mur- 
 derer escaped as all others did, except a poor Indian and a 
 defenseless woman, and they were hung. A few nights after this 
 a large number of citizens held a meeting and decided that the 
 house should be burned down, and headed by a Thompsonian 
 physician, the crowd repaired to the place, entered the house, 
 took out the furniture and valuables, and driving out the inmates 
 set the building on fire, and after seeing it burn down, deliber- 
 ately walked home, the writer being one of the crowd. Some- 
 time afterwards a new building was erected, on the old ground, 
 but it did not remain there long, and the old house known as 
 " The Cave " passed into history. A similar house on the Still- 
 water road called the " Gotten Farm," was kept by a man by the 
 name of Tuttle, a good deal of a bully ; and further along Bond 
 Cyphers kept a half-way .house, where good dinners were obtained, 
 and these two houses have also passed into history. 
 
 C. E. DAVIS. 
 
 Captain Davis died suddenly in this city in the month of 
 March, 1885, aged about fifty -three years. He was a tall, slen- 
 der man, decidedly straight and military in his bearing, with an 
 off-hand manner of meeting his friends, which was always cor- 
 dial. He came to St. Paul in 1857 and soon after was appointtd 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 641 
 
 Deputy United States Surveyor, and in 1 860 he assisted in the 
 prehminary survey of the Lake Superior & Mississippi, now 
 St. Paul & Duluth Railroad; enhsted in the First Minnesota 
 Regiment in i86t ; was pronjoted to the rank of Captain in Han- 
 cock's Veteran Reserve Corps, but in the spring of 1865 he 
 resigned and returned to St. Paul; was employed in 1866 by 
 General Warren, and had charge of the Minnesota river survey ; 
 in 1868-9, with others, surveyed the battle field of Gettysburg; 
 was appointed military storekeeper at St. Paul in 1 877 ; made 
 government surveys about Duluth ; was for a time employed in 
 the office of the Surveyor General, but of late had been doing 
 nothing. He left a widow and several children. 
 
 DEATH OF BISHOP CRETIN. 
 
 Bishop Cretin, whose biography can be found in the prOper 
 year, arrived in St. Paul in July, 1851, and although the church 
 was poor and the place was small, yet in five months from the 
 time he came here he had caused to be erected the brick building 
 on Wabasha street known as the old Cathedral or Catholic school 
 house, and had laid the foundation for what is now the prosper- 
 ous Catholic Church. He died on the 22d of February, 1857, 
 after a long and painful illness, and his funeral was the most 
 imposing affair that had ever taken place in this city. The priests , 
 the robed boys, the children, the solemn music, the mournful 
 procession of i ,500 people, clearly demonstrated the great esteem 
 in which he was held, not only by the members of his own, 
 church but also by the citizens generally. Six years of arduous 
 labor in this city ended in a triumphant death, leaving an excel- 
 lent memory behind him. 
 
 SAMUEL MEDARY, GOVERNOR ST. PAUL LIBRARY. 
 
 The first Governor of the Territory of Minnesota was Alex- 
 ander Ramsey ; the second Willis A. Gorman ; the third Samuel 
 Medary, who arrived in St. Paul on the 22d of April, 1857. 
 W. W. Wheeler was his secretary. Medary was the last Territorial 
 Governor. Gen. H. H. Sibley came in as the first State Governor 
 soon after, or in October of the same year, though Minnesota 
 did not become a State until the winter of 1857-8. Gov. Medary 
 was a short, well-developed man, quite pleasant in his address, 
 
642 PEN PICTURES 
 
 and during the time he was in the chair he made an acceptable 
 ofificer. He died many years ago, and his secretary Wheeler is 
 in Montana. 
 
 The original incorporators of the original St. Paul Library 
 Association, which was chartered in 1857, were the following 
 gentlemen : Charles E. Mayo, J. W. McClung, R. F. House- 
 worth (dead,) S. D. Jackson, J. F. Hoyt, E. Ingalls, A. R. Cape- 
 hart, William A. Croffut, Thomas Connolly and P. De Roche- 
 brune. These gentlemen effected no decisive results under their 
 charter towards securing a library, when the same year the Mer- 
 cantile Library Association came into existence, and the incor- 
 porators of this institution pushed it to the front and gave it 
 vitality. The Young Men's Christian Association had been 
 organized in 1856, and had a library, and in 1863 it transferred 
 all its books to the Mercantile Library Association, and then a 
 new organization was effpcted which is now known as the present 
 St. Paul Library Association, and the following gentlemen 
 became active incorporators : D. W. Ingersoll, H. M. Knox,. 
 George W. Prescott, E. Eggleston, W. S. Potts, D. D. Merrill, H. 
 Knox Taylor, T. D. Simonton, D. A. Robertson, WiUiam Daw- 
 son, R. Marvin, J. P. Pond, R. F. Crowell, W. B. Dean, D. Ra- 
 maley, R. O. Strong, C. E. Mayo, E. Hogan. D. W. Ingersoll 
 was the first president and William H. Kelly has been secretary 
 for some fifteen or twenty years, and has worked incessantly for 
 the welfare of the institution. Later along Gov. Ramsey and 
 other gentlemen became interested, and a year or so ago the 
 hbrary was turned over to the city and is now free, and is very 
 generally patronized — a noble institution, reflecting credit upon 
 the city and upon the originators. 
 
 THEATERS CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. 
 
 1857 was celebrated for its theaters. Sallie St. Clair's varie- 
 ties opened at Market Flail and was really " the go " of the day, 
 or rather of the night. Then Van Liew opened on the corner 
 of Fourth and St. Peter streets, and subsequently built on Fifth 
 street. He ran during the years 1858 and 1859, but the building 
 on the corner of Fourth and St. Peter streets burned down in Sep- 
 tember of the latter year, taking fire while Schuyler Colfax and 
 Galusha A. Grow were addressing a political meeting. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 643 
 
 A Mr. Scott opened a People's Theater in Irvine's hall, upper 
 town, now known aa flat-iron block, so we had three theaters in 
 full blast in 1857, as we also had five daily papers in full blast, 
 but the hard times weeded them out and it is now found difficult 
 to support two theaters with a population of 1 20,000 inhabitants, • 
 and only three daily papers ; four with the German. 
 
 This year the Constitutional Convention was held and the 
 following delegates were elected, all being from the Democratic 
 party: Moses Sherburne, George L.Becker, Michael E. Ames, 
 D. A. J. Baker, John L. Prince, Patrick Nash, Lafayette Emmett, 
 William P. Murray, W. A. Gorman, William H. Taylor, William 
 B. McGrorty and Paul Faber. 
 
 NICHOLAS WAGNER. 
 
 Born in Prussia in 1823 Mr. Wagner came to America in 
 1847; resided in New York one year; removed to Chicago and 
 worked at the trade of a blacksmith in Illinois nine years ; came 
 to St. Paul in 1857; followed his trade until 1873, when he 
 opened the Wagner House on St. Peter street, where he now is. 
 He is an affable landlord and has built up a good business ; is 
 quiet, pleasant, industrious, and these qualities have brought him 
 a nice property, which he deserves. 
 
 R. O. STRONG, 
 
 A small, spare man physically is Mr. Strong ; very quiet in 
 his ways ; moderate in his speech and yet a gentleman who has 
 figured prominently before the public in the capacity of chief 
 engineer of our fire department for several years. He is cool 
 and collected, and very seldom thrown off his base, and if he had 
 had the fire appliances now in use during the time he was chief 
 engineer, he would have been able to have made a much better 
 showing than he did. He was phief engineer for some five years ; 
 is one of the most ardent members of the Old State Firemen's 
 Association and is its secretary ; was a devoted member of the 
 old Hook and Ladder Society — now dead — and has in many 
 ways shown his interest and regard for firemen generally, always 
 aiding to the best of his ability their cause. No better friend of 
 firemen ever lived than R. O. Strong. 
 
 He was born in New York in 1 827 ; moved to Michigan in 
 1835 ; was a clerk in Jackson, Michigan, in 1844; was in business 
 
644 PEN PICTURES 
 
 with his father at Parma in 1850; came to St. Paul in 1857; 
 opened a carpet store on upper Third street,*which he conducted 
 up to 1876; was elected chief engineer of the St. Paul fire de- 
 partment, which office he held for six years, and since then he 
 has been engaged in associations connected with firemen, more 
 or less. He is a quiet, cool, modest man, always self-possessed, 
 and moves through the world with no noise and no tinselry, but 
 with a consciousness that as a public officer he did his full duty. 
 
 JOHN H. RANDALL. 
 
 Mr. Randall is a son of the late William Randall, of whom 
 I have already written at length, and if he had one-':hird of the 
 property in this city once owned by his father, he would be a 
 millionaire. He is an ordinary sized man, of light complexion 
 and very much of a gentleman; pleasant in his manners and 
 exceedingly industrious. He was born in Massachusetts in 
 1 846 ; removed to New York City and entered a wholesale silk 
 house at the age of fifteen years, where he remained until he 
 , came to St. Paul in 1857 to look after his father's business. In 
 1 862 he entered the office of the chief engineer's department of 
 the old St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company, where he 
 remained for some time ; then he became general freight agent, 
 assistant treasurer and chief clerk of the company under the 
 administration of George L. Becker. In 1861 he entered the 
 employ of the St. Paul Harvester Works, where he now is and 
 has been for many years. Mr. Randall is a man of excellent 
 character, whose whole life thus far has been one of labor, and 
 if there is a gentleman in the city who lives up to his Christian 
 faith, it is John H. Randall. Steady, upright, busy, manly, 
 moral, temperate, unostentatious, as a philosopher he forgets 
 " what might have been," puts his burden on his shoulder and 
 trudges along over the path of life. 
 
 a vigilance committee WABASHA BRIDGE. 
 
 Several murders and numerous fires, with the arrival of a 
 great many boats with some very bad characters, induced the 
 citizens to get together and to discuss the question of self-preser- 
 vation, and out of this grew a vigilance committee, the second 
 and the last of the kind ever organized in our city. This com- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 645 
 
 mittee was so thorough in its work that in a short time vaga- 
 bonds and criminals vacated the place, and order once more 
 reigned in St. Paul. 
 
 The Wabasha street bridge was commenced as a private 
 enterprise in 1856 but for want of funds was stopped. In the fall 
 of 1857 the Council voted $50,000 towards its completion, and it 
 was eventually passed over to the city. It was for a time a toll 
 bridge, but was made only a few years ago a free bridge, and 
 over it thousands of people pass per day to the West Side. 
 
 EDWARD CRAMSIE. 
 
 Mr. Cramsie was born in Ireland in 1800; removed to Bel- 
 fast and there he was educated and there he learned his trade, 
 th^t of white-smith and bell-hanger. Went to Manchester, 
 England, and was married. In 1826 he came to America and 
 settled in Philadelphia, and made the lock for the United States 
 Batik, and this lock was then and many years afterwards consid- 
 ered the finest and best lock on the American continent, and was 
 among the curiosities of the Centennial. In 1836 he settled in 
 Friendsville, purchased a farm and became " The Village Black- 
 smith." He was also justice of the peace at this place for twenty 
 years ; a member of the Board of Education, and was known far 
 and wide as the great peace-maker. 
 
 He came to this city in 1857 ; built the first blacksmith shop 
 on Fourth street, just in front of the present skating rink, (but the 
 shop like its former owner is now gone,) and here he and his sons 
 carried on the blacksmith's business. Here the poet, the judge^ 
 the doctor and the philosopher met with the son of Vulcan and 
 many and varied were the subjects discussed around the blazing 
 forge, for here, as in all new places, the blacksmith's shop seemed 
 to be a center of attraction, but in this case the attraction was 
 mostly due to the fact that Mr. Cramsie was a well-read and well- 
 informed man, fond of argument, genial, full of quiet humor, but 
 just and liberal in his opinions. He was kind and honorable, 
 winning the love and respect of all who knew him, and that 
 meant, in those days, the entire population. 
 
 When the war broke out and his two sons enlisted, he 
 accepted the position as agency blacksmith at Yellow Medicine. 
 He was there at the time of the Sioux outbreak in 1862, and was 
 
646 PEN PICTURES 
 
 one of the little band saved by Other-Day. He died November 
 2, 1879, an honored and honorable citizen, 
 
 TWENTY BUILDINGS BURNED THEODORE H. MILLER. 
 
 On upper Third street, north side, near Market, w^s a 
 Gothic dwelling boarding house kept by a Mr. Holland, an Eng- 
 lishman, called Holland place. In 1854 it stood out in bold relief, 
 and from its porch was a beautiful view of the Mis'^issippi river 
 rolling along in majesty under the bluffs. In course of time 
 other buildings were erected about it, and then one night, Aug. 
 4, 1857, the incendiary applied the torch, and some twenty edi- 
 fices went down into ashes. On Aug. 1 8, a long row of buildings 
 on Robert street, running to Fourth, were also destroyed by fire, 
 and this and various acts of burglars led the people to conclude 
 it was about time to act, and what they did has already been nar- 
 rated in a previous article. 
 
 A regular " rustler." is Mr. Miller. He is full of energy and 
 like a humming-bird flies from flower to flower. A native of 
 Germany, born in 1841, Mr. Miller was brought to this country 
 m 1842 when quite young, and his father settledin Michigan; 
 ttfen removed to Chicago where the boy acquired a practical 
 education; came to St. Paul in 1857 ; worked as a day laborer 
 for a year ; learned the trade of a carpenter, at which he worked 
 up to 1862, when he enlisted in the Sixth Minnesota Regiment, 
 which fought the Indians, and th-^n went south ; was honorably 
 discharged in 1865 ; worked at his trade two years ; entered a 
 chair factory and continued there until 1873 ; was in a carpet 
 store until 1875, when he opened a sample room on Third street, 
 and here he remained for some time. He is a man of genial 
 temper, and very active in his nature. 
 
 A. F. KNIGHT. 
 
 I remember Mr. Knight as one of our earliest architects, 
 when St. Paul had a few crude buildings and but little order had 
 been evoked out of chaos. He is a tall and slender gentleman, 
 making no display of his abilities and yet he is a man of fine 
 tastes, as many of the buildings of which he is architect clearly 
 indicate. He is among the earliest and oldest architects in the 
 city, and his work has a classical character instead of being mere 
 daubs. He was born in the State of New York in 1831 where 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 047 
 
 Tie was educated ; worked on a farm for a short time and then 
 learned the trade of a carpenter and studied architecture; 
 removed to Chicago, where he remained two months, and came 
 to St. Paul in 1857 and opened an office on Bridge Square. In 
 1859 he went to St. Louis where he remained two and a half 
 years, returning to St. Paul and continuing his profession in this 
 •city ever since. He was the superintendent of the Custom 
 House, architect of the Merchants hotel; Opera House, Hope 
 Church, St Mary's Church, Pope's Church, and other buildings. 
 He is very quiet in his movem.ents and in his conversation, and 
 glides through the world in an easy and unsensational manner. 
 
 OTTER DREHER. 
 
 Born in Germany in 1839 Mr. Dreher was left an orphan 
 •at the early age of eight years, and though prepared to enter 
 the University, yet in 1853, at the age of fourteen years, he left 
 for America, landing at New York and was thrown upon his 
 own resources ; reached Illinois where he secured employment ; 
 then worked in Madison, Chicago, Dubuque, and Peoria. His 
 first appearance in St. Paul was in 1857 with a theatrical troupe 
 with which he continued until 1859, when he entered the book- 
 store of Phillip Rohr, in a little old building which now stands 
 •on Fifth street, fronting Rice Park, but in 1861 he enlisted in the 
 army for three months, and at the end of that time re-enlisted in 
 the Third Minnesota and acted as Company Sergeant for seven- 
 teen months. He was subsequently promoted to the position of 
 Second Lieutenant, and also to that of Captain of Company A 
 for meritorious services on the field. During the Indian outbreak 
 in this State he was on duty ; was at the siege of Vicksburg, 
 Mississippi and in other important battles in the Southwest dur- 
 ing the Rebellion. He served over four years in the army and 
 ■was discharged in 1865. On his return to this city he was 
 employed on the Volksblatt for a time ; was in the Treasurer's 
 office during Colonel Uline's term ; was elected Register of Deeds 
 in 1877; was re-elected in 1879; was in the furniture business; 
 •elected member of the School Board ; and is now the secretary 
 ■of that body. 
 
 Mr. Dreher is a short, thick-set man ; very quick in his 
 movements ; quite an actor, and really " is the architect of his own 
 
G48 PEN PICTURES 
 
 fortune," having struggled up from a poor orphan boy to where 
 he now is. He has the German shrug of the shoulders, and 
 whatever he does is on the German-French plan, that is, with 
 celerity. He was one of the main movers in the formation of 
 the German organizations of this city and is an active member 
 of many of their societies. 
 
 M. B. FARRELL. 
 
 A native of Ireland, born in 1835 ; after receiving an educa- 
 tion Mr. Farrell emigrated to America in 1849; remained in. 
 New York for a short time when he moved to Rochester and 
 there learned the trade of a carpenter ; re.sided in Penn Yan five 
 years ; removed to Canada where he remained also five years ;. 
 married in 1857; came to St. Paul the same year and has been 
 engaged ever since in contracting and building, having put up 
 over a hundred houses in this city, among which was the old 
 Court House, French church and other public buildings. 
 
 Mr. Farrell is a large man, active, industrious, and has done 
 a good deal of labor. He moves energetically and is one who- 
 minds his own business. He mingles but little with the great 
 crowd, and has never held any political office, and like many 
 other old settlers is struggling on to the end, determined to go- 
 down with the flag flying. 
 
 CONCERT HALL BLOCK. 
 
 Above the elevator on Third street, on the south side, was 
 erected in 1857 by J. W. McClung's father, a large building- 
 called the Concert Hall block, the remains of which can now be 
 seen. It was near where was the first ten-pin alley in the city. 
 In the basement of this block was a hall in which Tom Marshall, 
 'he celebrated Kentucky orator, once delivered one of his famous 
 speeches, and the upper part of the building was devoted to- 
 offices. Mr. McClung erected some wooden buildings this side 
 of Concert Hall, and one of these offices was occupied by J. H. 
 Brownson, who, in a fit of insanity, threw himself from the back 
 window falling to the ground below some one hundred feet, and 
 of course killing himself almost instantly. He was a large 
 man, a lawyer and a gentleman of good ability. The accident 
 occurred in December, 1858. The building burned down a few 
 years afterwards. Prior to this, or some time in 1854, the writer" 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 649 
 
 Strongly advocated in his paper the purchase by the city of all 
 the river front on Third street from Bridge Square to above the 
 Metropolitan hotel, and that it be forever held sacred as the bay 
 window to St. Paul. He claimed that the scenery on the Mis- 
 sissippi at this point equaled anything in Europe, and it ought 
 to be preserved, but it was not. Some day in the future his 
 advice will be heeded — but at a big cost. 
 
 HENRY M. KNOX. 
 
 A small, energetic man, with sharp features, quick motions 
 and a pair of gold spectacles adorning a thoughtful face, is 
 Henry Knox. I remember him as a cashier in a private bank 
 started by himself and his brother, Jno. J. Knox, in Dr. Stewart's 
 old stone block on Bridge Square, in 1857. He was born in 
 New York in 1830; received a good common school education 
 and graduated at Hamilton College in CHnton, N. Y., in 1851. 
 In 1854 he held a position in the Bank of Vernon, New York, 
 then in the Merchants' Bank on Wall street, New York city ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1857; he and his brother, J. J. Knox, for 
 some years Comptroller of the United States Treasury, opened a 
 private bank which went down in the common ruin in 1858 ; was 
 for a year or two assistant postmaster in the St. Paul post office; 
 afterwards he became cashier of the First National Bank of this 
 city, and in 1878 was appointed Public Examiner of the State of 
 Minnesota; re-appointed in 1881 and 1884, which position he 
 has held ever since. Mr. Knox has also been a prominent mem- 
 ber of Hope Church ; has been superintendent of its Sunday 
 school ; is the senior elder of that church and has visited Europe 
 once with its former pastor ; was twice chairman of the mileage 
 committee of the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church ; 
 was also delegate to the Presbyterian council at Edinburgh in 
 1877; suggested the consolidation of the mercantile library with 
 that of the Young Men's Christian Association. He married 
 Miss Charlotte Cozzens in 1857, a fine-looking lady, of a sweet 
 and amiable disposition and a beautiful singer, and one who is 
 greatly esteemed for her lovable and womanly qualities. Mr. 
 Knox himself is a gentleman of excellent repute, an able, stir- 
 ring, industrious officer, and one who is as well qualified for the 
 responsible position he occupies as any man in the State. As 
 
■€50 PEN PICTURES 
 
 an old settler he is known by his quiet, unobtrusive ways and 
 his steady devotion to business. 
 
 NICHOLAS HARDY. 
 
 " I had only twenty cents and borrowed five more to make 
 the amount twenty-five cents, to pay the expressman for bringing 
 up my trunk," was the remark of " Nick " Hardy as he laughed 
 over the peculiar freaks of fortune in a man's life. He knew the 
 world was before him and he was bound to make a living, and 
 has succeeded. He first saw the light of day in Germany in 
 1842, obtained a very limited education and at the age of eleven 
 years worked on a farm and then two years in a hotel; emi- 
 grated to America at the age of fifteen years, or in 1857, and 
 after spending a few days in New York came directly to Minne- 
 sota and located on a farm in Rose Township, where he remained 
 ten years and then became a permanent resident of this city, 
 •dealing largely in buiying and selling horses, and in 1873 
 engaged in the ice business, which has now reached extensive 
 proportions. The firm was until recently Defiel & Hardy, and 
 they put up some 25,000 tons of ice per year and employed 
 about fifty men. 
 
 Mr. Hardy is comparatively a young man in the full vigor 
 of manhood ; is of good size, weighing nearly two hundred 
 pounds ; cool, prudent, moderate, yet energetic ; full of vigor and 
 health and a general pusher in business. He is a pleasant and 
 agreeable gentleman and a solid citizen. 
 
 JOHN M. GILMAN PERSONAL. 
 
 Mr. Oilman was born in Vermont in 1824; was left an 
 orphan when six months old, his father being Dr. John Gilman ; 
 received a good education and graduated at the Montpelier 
 Academy in 1 843 ; read law with Messrs. Heaton & Reed, and 
 was admitted to the bar in 1864; removed to Lisbon, Ohio, 
 where he practiced his profession eleven years ; was elected to 
 the Ohio Legislature in 1849 ^^^ served one term ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1857; formed a partnership with James Smith, Jr., and 
 the firm continued for several years when it became Gilman, 
 Clough & Lane, but is now simply John M. Gilman. Mr. Gil- 
 man has been continuously in the law business in this city for 
 twenty-eight years ; has served some six terms in the Legisla- 
 
OF ST. PA TJL, MINN. 651 
 
 ture ; has been the Democratic candidate for Congress twice ; 
 has .been chairman of the State Democratic Committee, and has 
 always been an active Democratic head-light. 
 
 A tall, slim, pale, thoughtful man is John M. Oilman, who 
 moves along the street quietly, apparently sees nobody, is a little 
 bent in the shoulders, and is always absorbed in his own medita- 
 tions. He gives one the appeara.nce of a gentleman in delicate 
 health, and yet his arduous law labors demonstrate that he is a 
 man of nerve and endurance. He is what may be termed a 
 " clear cut " lawyer ; earnest in what he does or says, and always 
 speaking to the point, never wasting words on irrelevant issues. 
 He is a great student and studies his cases thoroughly, so that 
 when they come before the court or jury they are multum in 
 parvo, or much in little. Mr. Oilman is an able and a very quiet 
 man, much devoted to his profession and moves systematically 
 forward in the even tenor of his way, quiet and undemonstrative, 
 yet always earnest in whatever he does. 
 
 AUGUSTUS J. GOODRICH. 
 
 A tall, quiet, amiable gentleman, with a head somewhat 
 covered with the frosts of years, is the secretary of the St. Paul 
 Gas Company, who, for nearly a quarter of a century has filled 
 his present position with great credit. He is a gentleman in 
 every sense of the word, and mmds his own business. He 
 makes no displays ; affects no airs ; moves serenely over the 
 path of life ; attends strictly to his duties ; never obtrudes him- 
 self upon the public, and may be classed among our most relia- 
 ble and respected citizens. He was born in the State of New 
 York in 1 8 1 8 ; received a good education; and clerked in a store 
 in LeRoy until the goods were shipped to Michigan, when he 
 went there to dispose of them ; in 1 844 he' opened a general 
 dry-goods and grocery store in Paw-Paw, and here he remained 
 five years ; then removed to Detroit, where he continued two 
 years ; was at Kalamazoo three years ; came to St. Paul in 
 1857; became connected with his brother in the Pioneer, where 
 he remained up to about 1 866, and then sold out and bought 
 into the gas company where he has acted as secretary and treas- 
 urer ever since ; has been a trustee in the First Episcopal Metho- 
 dist Church, and has been a delegate to the general conference 
 
652 PEN PICTURES 
 
 of said church which was held at Baltimore. Mr. Goodrich is a 
 very unpretentious man, but fills an important niche in the great 
 auditorium of society. Mrs. Goodrich is the daughter of the 
 late Mr. Friend, formerly City Clerk, and is a woman greatly 
 esteemed for her many amiable qualities. 
 
 JOHN MATHEIS. 
 
 Mr. Matheis is " as plump as a partridge " and as active as 
 a steam engine. He is a man of great energy of character and 
 has built up an immense trade by his irresistible vim. He is 
 one of St. Paul's most solid business men and in the line of his 
 goods leads the column. I remember him years ago as a small 
 stripling of a lad clerking for Oscar King, and when King be- 
 came involved Mr. Matheis stepped to the front and has remained 
 there ever since, and he can very justly be ranked as among the 
 oldest firms in the city. He has a large head, blessed by a 
 respectably large physical organization and a large heart, and 
 these, under the control of good judgment, has enabled him to 
 exclaim as did the Roman General — " Vem, vidi, vici," — I came, 
 I saw, I conquered. He is exceedingly social in his manners 
 and has a keen perception of human nature, and while on the 
 one hand he pushes business on the other he cultivates the amen- 
 ities of social life. He was born in Germany in 1837; received 
 a good education at Bierbach; emigrated to America in 1854; 
 came to St. Paul in 1857; clerked for Oscar King; went into 
 business for himself in 1861, and has been continuously in busi- 
 ness now twenty-four years. Matheis is a full team with irre- 
 sistible push. 
 
 JAMES KING — A POLITICIAN. 
 
 Mr. King was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1834; emigrated 
 to America in 1 844, landing at New York city, where he remained 
 ten years attending school, and then removed to Lafayette, Indi- 
 ana, and clerked in a jewelry store four years ; came to St. Paul 
 in 1857; opened a restaurant- on Third street in 1858; started a 
 clothing and auction house in 1670 on Eas; Third street, where 
 I used to see him with his black hair and energetic movements. 
 In 1870 he was elected captain and chief of police, which office 
 he held up to 1878, when he was appointed Sheriff of Ramsey 
 County to fill the unexpired t^rm of Major Becht, who died. In 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 6.i3 
 
 1 879 he was elected Sheriff and held that office two years ,; was 
 a member of the Common Council from 1863 to 1869. Some 
 two years ago he leased for forty years the property corner of 
 Fourth and Minnesota streets, 100 x 125, and upon this property 
 he built a large brick building costing ;^25,ooo, called the St. 
 Paul Horse Exchange, and here is where he is now in business. 
 Mr. King has been a very active Democratic politician for oyer 
 a quarter of a century, and he has given blows and taken blows. 
 He is a wide-awake, energetic, pushing man ; moves with rapid 
 motion, and thinks and acts the same way. He is. positive in his 
 opinions and aggressive in his movements, and though his hair 
 is silvered over with age yet his eye is as bright and his step as 
 light as twenty-eight years ago. King brought with him here 
 ^5,000, and if this had been invested in real estate and he had 
 jione to bed and slept, on awakening in 1886 he would have 
 found himself a rich man. He is a social, pleasant gentleman, 
 and an active, stirring citizen. 
 
 JOHN CLARKIN. 
 
 Mr. Clarkin is a native of Ireland, born in 1830; emigrated 
 to America in 1 848, landing at New York ; learned the trade of 
 carpenter in New Jersey, where he resided five years ; lived three 
 years in Wisconsin, and came to St. Paul in 1857, and has since 
 then been more or less actively engaged at his trade. He has 
 worked at Fort Custer, Lincoln, and Fort SneUing, many times 
 having had a large number of men in his employ. Married in 
 St. Paul in 1859 to Miss Julia Hayes. Mr. Clarkin is a large, 
 fine-looking man, with a good address, and is now inspector of 
 all new engine houses, a position he is well qualified to fill and 
 which he will maintain with credit to himself and the city, for 
 he is a worthy man and a good citizen. 
 
 N. LANPHER. 
 
 Mr. Lanpher was born in New York in 1814; was well 
 educated and taught school eighteen years in Canada West, and 
 in New York and in Illinois; came to St. Paul in 1857; was 
 overseer of the poor six years, and has been actuary of the Oak- 
 land cemetery for fifteen years. During this time he has seen 
 many old and some new settlets pass from life to death and still 
 
654 PEN PICTURES 
 
 he is at his post of duty, and still listens to the . song of the old 
 sextoh who sings — " I gather them in ; I gather them in." And 
 this old sexton is Edward Lot, who, for twenty-one years l^as 
 been faithfully at work in the cemetery. Mr. Lanpher has seen 
 and made many improvements in the city of the dead which now 
 numbers some 8,000 inhabitants, and from a dark and forbidding 
 spot in the past it has grown to be a place of attraction and 
 beauty, with its elegant mortuary chapel, its lovely flowers, its 
 costly monuments, its green lawns, its weeping trees, its singing 
 birds, its quiet and serene atmosphere, its subduing influence. 
 Amid all these scenes and with death almost daily staring him in 
 the face, Mr. Lanpher ought to be a good man, and he probably 
 is. He lives in the new and cozy house at the cemetery gate„ 
 and almost constantly travels his daily round of sad duties. He 
 is not a large yet he is an active and industrious man, and takes 
 great interest in the general attractiveness of the cemetery over 
 which he has presided so many years. 
 
 RUMBLING OF THE CARS DISTRICT COURT FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE. 
 
 In the fall of 1857 the cars of the Milwaukee & Chicago 
 Railroad reached Prairie du Chien on their way up toward our 
 city. The connection had formerly been made at Dunleith, 
 many miles below, so we were all happy with the hope of at 
 some time in the future seeing a railroad train enter Minnesota. 
 
 The United States District Court, Judge R. R. Nelson pre- 
 siding, was convened on the 7th of September 1857, ^^d four 
 hundred cases were reported on the calendar for trial. The 
 number of cases only showed the increased degree of civilization 
 which permeated the community. 
 
 The first school house built by the Board of Education was 
 the Washington, at a cost of .$8,433, which was dedicated this 
 year. It stood on Eighth street for twenty-eight years, and was 
 torn down in 1885 to make way for a better one. 
 
 In September of this year the gas was turned on for the 
 first time. We had plenty of real estate gas, but it wouldn't 
 burn ! 
 
 FRED. LINDEKE. 
 
 Mr. Lindeke was born in Germany in 1 839 and emigrated 
 to this country in 1856; resided one year in Sheboygan, and 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 65S 
 
 came to St. Paul in 1857, ^"d after working on a farm for a 
 year he engaged with his brother in the milling business and has 
 had charge of the Union Mills. He is a steady, sober, industri- 
 ous, practical man, devoid of show or ostentation, and yet is a 
 man of genuine merit. 
 
 PATRICK LEO. 
 
 Mr. Leo is a representative of labor ; a man who for years 
 has dignified his calling, and who by his industry has accumu- 
 lated something for a rainy day. " By the sweat of the brow 
 shall ye live" is as true now as thousands of years ago, and 
 when men learn this lesson and the lesson of economy, human 
 beings generally will succeed in saving a competency for old 
 age. None need be ashamed of labor, for it is the foundation 
 upon which the prosperity of society rests. Mr. Leo was born 
 in Ireland in 1838 and learned the trade of a stone mason ; emi- 
 grated to New York in 1852, where he worked at his trade seve- 
 ral years ; came to St. Paul in 1857; laid the stone in Inger- 
 soll's block and in the First National Bank ; worked at Fort 
 Totten, Fort Wadsworth, Fort Keough, and at other government 
 places ; was in the employ of Mr. Pollock for three years, and 
 married in 1854. Mr. Leo is a sprightly man, always laboring 
 and always engaged in enterprises which tend- to advance the 
 interests of the toiling million. A laborer himself, he knows 
 how to appreciate the wants of others who toil for their daily 
 bread. 
 
 JOHN J. HINKEL. 
 
 Mr. Hinkel was born in New York in 1851 ; lived one year 
 in Buffalo and came to St. Paul with his parents in 1857 ; was 
 educated in our public schools ; went into business for himself 
 at the age of 18 years — a supply store ; was in partnership 
 with his father in the meat and provisions trade, importing fish, 
 cheese ; engaged in the ice business with C. D. GilfiUan in the year 
 1876; bought him out, and one of his special transactions has 
 been the sprinkling of the streets of St. Paul. Several years ago 
 he purchased a tract of land midwdy the two cities, and laid 
 out what was known as Union Park. He finally purchased 
 an interest held by Mr. Grote, and divided his park up into lots, 
 and out of the enterprise he will make a nice fortune- He is a 
 
6B6 PEN PICTURES 
 
 young man, with a fresh, florid complexion; of medium size; 
 quite active in his movements and pleasant in manners ; is a 
 great lover of fishing and hunting, especially the latter, which he- 
 does in a truly scientific manner. Eight months ago there was 
 not a house in Union Park ; now there are thirty-six, and the 
 aggregated value of these houses is ^125,000, and among the 
 number is a residence of his own costing ;^ 12,000. He is an 
 active, stirring, wide-awake business man and an enterprising 
 citizen. 
 
 R. M. S. PEASE. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Pease, ex-Baptist minister and ex-banker, was born 
 in Connecticut in 1822 and educated at the Albany Academy; 
 at the age of twelve years he became a dry-goods clerk for one 
 year, for which he received the munificent sum of ;^I ! He then 
 clerked in Albany; N. Y., one and one-half years ; then eleven 
 years was in the employ of the Canal Bank of Albany, N. Y.; 
 then organized and was cashier for five years of the Iron Bank 
 of Falls Village, Conn.; then note teller of the Metropolitan 
 Bank of New York ; then member of the firm of Bostwick, 
 Pease & Co., St. Paul, 1857, afterwards Pease, Chaltfant & Co.; 
 then R. M. S. Pease & Co., which firm sold out to R. M. S. 
 Pease, who, in 1859, together with eight other bankers in this 
 city, went down like a row of bricks after the State of Minne- 
 sota repudiated the interest on her seven per cent, bonds issued 
 to help build the railroads of our State, and in which, relying on 
 the " faith and honor " of the State of Minnesota pledged for their 
 payment, they, the banks, issued the so-called railroad currency. 
 After this Mr. Pease gave himself a few years more fully to the 
 ministry than while engaged in business, though during all the 
 time he was in business he was often called upon to supply differ- 
 ent pulpits in St. Paul and Minneapolis and many out-stations. 
 In 1863 he was engaged by J. K. Slidel to organize and open the 
 books for the Minneapolis Bank, which was afterwards merged 
 into the First National Bank of Minneapolis, where he became 
 clerk for seventeen years, and until from over-work his constitu- 
 tion was shattered by a nervous disease which compelled him to 
 lay aside for some three or four years to recuperate his health. 
 He has now retired to his homestead on Prospect Hill, Rose 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 657 
 
 Township, Ramsey County, where at present he resides. Mr. 
 Pease is a tall, slim, now venerable-looking man, very quick in 
 ■all his movements and has been a man of great force of charac- 
 ter. He has passed through an immense amount of " head 
 labor," and it is only a wonder that he has notsuccumbed to the 
 inevitable long ago ; and yet aside from his gray hairs and the 
 lines of care and trouble which have cut their way deep into 
 his face, he is as sprightly and as young as a man of forty. He 
 is a pleasant, honest, toiling, well-disposed man, whose fate has 
 been to suffer the troubles of life with no power to avert the 
 blow, and yet he is a philosopher and endures unto the end. 
 
 BENJAMIN BRACK. 
 
 Mr. Brack is an Englishman, born in London in 1846; 
 •emigrated with his parents to America and resided at New York 
 until 1857, when he came to St. Paul and was a cash boy with 
 D. W. Ingersoll & Co.; enlisted in 1 862 in the Eleventh Minne- 
 sota Regiment, Company F, and served until 1865, when he was 
 honorably discharged, and on returning to St. Paul engaged 
 again in the dry-goods business as a clerk until 1877, when he 
 entered the employ of Auerbach, Finch & "Culbertson and 
 remained with them until the firm of Lindeke, Warner & Schur- 
 meier was formed, when he became their cashier and has remained 
 with them ever since. He is a thorough-going, steady, trust- 
 worthy, honest man, and the place he fills is sufiRcient evidence 
 of the esteem in which he is held by his employers. 
 
 THE SOCIAL ELEMENT OF EARLY DAYS. 
 
 Men knew each other more intimately in early days than 
 they do now, and the social element was more largely developed 
 than at present. Of course there was less public sentiment 
 against drinking than to-day, and yet men go on a jamboree now 
 just as they used to thirty years ago, only it is in a little more 
 polished style. I remember at a social gathering given by an 
 old settler now living, that after the wine had been repeatedly 
 passed and the speeches made, he mounted the table and walked 
 triumphantly over the dishes, smashing and kicking them in every 
 direction, while the landlord and owner of the articles looked on 
 complacently and laughed heartily over the grotesque figure he 
 
 42 
 
658 PEN PICTURES 
 
 made. Nobody made any resistance. The next day the dish- 
 fiend appeared, asked for his bill, received it and paid the ;?I50- 
 damages without a murmur. 
 
 It is an old saying that when whisky is in brains are out, 
 but in the place of both of these elements there used to be a heap- 
 of good humor. One night three or four bloods put up a job- 
 on an editor, and while in his office cogitating, they forced an old 
 horse into the outer room and closed the door, and on hearing 
 the noise the owner of the quill opened the door and the horse- 
 stuck his nose into his face. The editor jumped out of the back 
 window and ran for life. 
 
 JAMES GILFILLAN. 
 
 Chief Justice Gilfillan of the Supreme Court of the State of 
 Minnesota, was born in Scotland in 1 829, and emigrated to New 
 York in infancy, where he received an academic education; studied 
 law at Ballston Spa and Buffalo, and was admitted to the bar at 
 Albany in 1850; came to St. Paul in 1857 and immediately com- 
 menced the practice of his profession. In 1862 he enlisted in 
 Company H, Seventh Regiment, and was commissioned Captain 
 in August of that year ; served with the regiment in its Indian 
 campaigns, and afterwards at the South, at Tupelo, Tallahatchee, 
 and in other battles and campaigns. On the 7th of September, 
 1 862, he was promoted to Colonel of the Eleventh Minnesota ; 
 commanded that until mustered out in June, 1 865 ; in 1 869 was 
 appointed Chief Justice of the State of Minnesota; again appointed 
 in 187s, and elected the same year for the full term of seven years. 
 Judge Gilfillan is a large man, who walks very straight, and is 
 naturally very reticent and somewhat reserved, yet he is a good 
 lawyer and has made an excellent Chief Justice. Perhaps I can- 
 not portray his character any better than to say that he is a solid 
 man ; solid in looks, solid in movement, solid in thought, solid 
 in his decisions, and, withal, is a solid citizen. He moves in his 
 own individual sphere and keeps his own counsel ; is quiet and 
 undemonstrative, and confines himself to his peculiar profession. 
 
 EDWARD L. ALLEN. 
 
 Some men slip along through life quietly and pleasantly, 
 with no trouble, no sorrow, no mishaps, while others are doomed 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 659 
 
 to misfortunes of the most overpowering and of the most aggra- 
 vating character. Why this is so I cannot divine, and especially 
 is this unaccountable to me in view of the fact that those people 
 who have the most trouble and the most sorrow are usually the 
 best. The wicked flourish like " a green bay tree ; " money flows 
 into their coffers and material success attends their efforts, but 
 the honest, hard-working, struggling man is Overtaken with dis- 
 asters which crush him to the earth. We all hope that there is 
 a just and merciful Being, but sometimes our faith is greatly 
 shaken when we see innocence suffer and good men weep over 
 afflictions brought upon them by no act of their own. The most 
 analytic and the most metaphysical thinker can't answer satisfac- 
 torily the question — " Why ? " while the bare facts stare us in the 
 face from a thousand sources. 
 
 Mr. Allen is a small but very active man ; full of hope, of 
 energy and of grit. He has been constantly in active business 
 since he came West, some twenty-eight years ago, and there 
 seems to be no let-up to his untiring efforts, and yet during those 
 twenty-eight years he has seen sorrow enough to put an ordi- 
 nary man inside the walls of an insane asylum. Hope, or faith, 
 or something else has kept him up, and he continues his round 
 of years, now and then peering out into the future to catch a 
 glimpse of the loved ones gone before. He was born in Connec- 
 ticut in 1829, where he was educated and where he worked on a 
 farm until he was twenty-one years old, and then entered a store 
 in Fishkill, N. Y., as a clerk and subsequently clerked in New- 
 burgh for two years; came to St. Paul in 1857; entered the 
 dry-goods establishment of D. W. Ingersoll, and after serving 
 in the capacity of employe twelve months, became partner, and 
 remained in the business up to 1 860, when he removed to Min- 
 neapolis and opened a large dry-goods house there, and the 
 respective firms were Allen & Howe, Allen & Fletcher, E. L. 
 Allen, Allen & Blakeman. He bought out Blakeman in 1875 
 and the firm became E. L. Allen. The year previous he built a 
 business block on Hennepin avenue, near the Nicollet House, and 
 was so prosperous in his affairs that he had property all over the 
 city. In the height of his prosperity that terrible disease, diph- 
 theria, entered his household in the year 1875, and his wife and 
 child died in one week, and from the i Sth of May to the 24th 
 
660 PEN PICTURES 
 
 of the same month four of his family died and were buried — all 
 from the same disease. 
 
 Disheartened he sold out his business ; hard times came ; 
 his property slipped away from him and he decided to move to 
 St. Paul. Before matters could be consummated his oldest and 
 only daughter was taken sick with the typhoid fever and laid 
 down the burden of life in 1880, and in 1881 he again became a 
 resident of this city, where he has remained ever since. For sev- 
 eral years he has acted as agent for Bradner, Smith & Co., but 
 is now in business for himself The property he lost in Minne- 
 apolis is now worth from ^150,000 to ^$200,000, but he still 
 trudges on, hoping unto the end. 
 
 ROBERT L. WHARTON. 
 
 Mr. Wharton was born in Pennsylvania in 1827; educated 
 there and learned the trade of a carriage maker ; removed to 
 Delaware where he remained one year ; returned to Pennsyl- 
 vania and carried on the carriage-making business three years ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1857; opened a shop on Robert street for 
 the manufacture of carriages; and then removed to Jackson 
 street, where he continued the business on a large scale until 
 about two years since, when he commenced dickering in real 
 estate, placing mortgages, etc. Like almost everybody else who 
 came here in early days, Mn Wharton has seen severe times, 
 but he has paid up nearly all his indebtedness at the rate of one 
 hundred cents on the dollar. 
 
 He is a prompt, quick-motioned man, sensitive, and has 
 struggled manfully through years of adversity, but never lets go 
 his grip. The black hair and black whiskers of over a quarter 
 of a century ago have turned gray, and the once healthy com- 
 plexion now bears the autumnal tints of age, still Mr. Wharton 
 toils on, retaining his old-time independence and the hopefulness 
 of the true philosopher. 
 
 JOSIAS R. KING. 
 
 Colonel King was born in Washington city about 1832; in 
 1847 he went to Florida for his health, and to effect this result 
 connected himself with a surveying party, and after carrying the 
 chain six months began to use the compass and learned the use of 
 the transverse table ; in a word he became a master of the pro- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 661 
 
 fession ; remained in Florida until 1850 when he engaged in gov- 
 ernment surveys ; returned to Washington city that year ; attended 
 Georgetown College to secure a cadet-ship at West Point ; in 
 six weeks left for California; was detained at the Straits of 
 Magellan until 1851 ; hunted ostrich and llama in Patagonia and 
 Terra del Fuego ; arriving at Cahfornia he made directly for a 
 place called Bodega Bay, and there with several others com- 
 menced the cultivation of potatoes, abandoning the idea of digging 
 for gold ; planted seven acres of the esculent ; at the expiration 
 of three months he and his friends sold out their prospective 
 crop for $5,000; purchased pack mules and miners' outfits and 
 started for the mines. Potatoes commanded one dollar per pound 
 in California; prospective crop, 168,000 pounds, or ;^i68,ooo; 
 expense ^$1 8,000; total loss on the trade, $170,000. Col. King 
 remained at the mines only a short time, when he entered the 
 service of the gentleman who secured the contract for surveying 
 the State ; threw up his position and went back again to the mines, 
 where he remained one year or more; joined a party of twenty 
 rangers to go in search of the Mexican bandit, Joaquin, and after 
 considerable hardship in the mountains returned to Sail Francisco 
 in 1855; joined a party for the survey of the boundary line between 
 Mexico and the United States, and after an absence of nearly one 
 year returned to Washington; came to St. Paul in 1857 and 
 engaged in surveying. 
 
 Col. King claims to be the first man enlisted in the Union 
 army during the rebellion, although this is also claimed by Col. C. 
 F. Hausdorf The question still seems to be an open one, and I 
 leave it to be settled in the future by unmistakable official or 
 tangible evidence. Col. King was appointed First Sergeant A 
 Company in 1861 ; promoted Second Lieutenant i8th September; 
 engaged at the battle of Bull Run ; action at Edward's Ferry, 
 siege of Yorktown ; action at West Point, Battles of Seven Pines, 
 Fair Oaks, Peach Orchard, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, 
 Glendale, First and Second Malvern Hill ; action at Viena, at 
 South Mountain and battle of Antietam ; had a horse killed 
 under him at Antietam; action at Charlestown, and battles of 
 Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville (had a shell cut hind legs 
 off his horse at Charlestown ;) promoted First Lieutenant in 1862 ; 
 made Adjutant Regiment in 1862; Aid-de-Camp to Brigadier- 
 
662 PEN PICT DEES 
 
 General Sully in 1862 ; engaged in the Indian campaigns on upper 
 Missouri and in battles of White Stone Hill, and Taka-on-Koutay 
 on little river; promoted Captain in 1863; honorably mustered 
 out of service at Fort Snelling in 1864; appointed by President 
 Lincoln Lieutenant Colonel Second United States Volunteers ; 
 was a rebel prisoner of war in 1865 ; in command of regiment, 
 and was assigned to the command of the third sub-district 
 of the district of the Upper Arkansas ; in charge of escort 
 duty to Santa Fe, Arizona and California ; commanded Forts 
 Riley, Larned and Ellsworth, Kansas, and Forts Wynkoop and 
 Lyon, Colorado Territory ; honorably mustered out of service in 
 1865, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; appointed Second Lieu- 
 tenant by President Johnson in 1866, and joined the Second 
 United States Infantry at Taylor Barracks, Louisville, Kentucky ; 
 sent with a detachment to take post at Lebanon, Kentucky ; pro- 
 moted First Lieutenant in 1 868 ; remained at Lebanon, Ken- 
 tucky, in command of post two and one half years ; in charge 
 of Freedmen's Bureau, and engaged in suppressing illicit whisky 
 distilleries and Ku-Klux organizations in Central Kentucky ; A. 
 C. S. at Atlanta, Georgia ; resigned his commission on account 
 of serious illness of his wife, and was honorably discharged from 
 the service in 1871 ; returned to St.. Paul in March 1871 ; did 
 surveying, and then began the fire insurance business and has 
 been engaged at this more or less ever since. At present is sur- 
 veyor of the Underwriters Union at St. Paul ; was appointed 
 Assistant Inspector General M. M. G. with rank of Lieutenant 
 Colonel, April, 1885 ; was promoted to be Inspector General, M. 
 N. G. with rank of Brigadier General, September, 1885, ^^^ is 
 still a. Democrat. Colonel King is a large man, with a fine phy- 
 sique ; very quick in his movements and decided in his actions. 
 He has had a large experience " in the rough-and-tumble of 
 life," and ought to be able now to get through the world without 
 much help, and still " there's a divinity which shapes our ends 
 rough hew them as we may." 
 
 SAMUEL PIERCE JENNISON. 
 
 Gen. Jennison was born in Massachusetts in 1 830 ; educated 
 at Harvard College ; was the principal of the High School in 
 Concord, N. H., two years ; read law with Gen. Sanborn and 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 66S 
 
 ■C. C. Lund in the Granite State; came to St. Paul in 1857 and 
 conducted Rev. E. D. Neill's college that year ; was a law part- 
 ner with Judge David Cooper in i8s8-'S9; was an opponent of 
 the loan amendment in 1858; took an active part in the canvass 
 preceding 1857-9; was private secretary of Gov. Ramsey in 
 i860; resigned in 1 861 and enlisted in Company D, Second 
 Minnesota Regiment ; was elected Second Lieutenant ; promoted 
 to Adjutant in 1862, and assumed the office at the battle of Mill 
 Springs ; was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Tenth Min- 
 nesota in 1862; commanded the regiment from 1863 to 1865; 
 Teceived a gun-shot wound in the head at the battle of Nashville ; 
 after returning to St. Paul became a writer on the St. Paul 
 Press, but the effects of his wound obliged him to relinquish his 
 position ; spent six months in Pithole, Pa., as agent of the cele- 
 brated Holmden farm ; was appointed secretary of Gov. Mar- 
 shall in 1867, and remained with him two terms ; in 1870 removed 
 to Red Wing, where he has since resided ; engaged in the news- 
 paper and printing business ; was for three sessions, 1867, 1868 
 and 1871, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives; and 
 through two sessions and the impeachment trial in 1 881-2, was 
 secretary of the Senate ; in 1871 was elected Secretary of State, 
 and re-elected in 1873 ; has been private secretary of Gov. Hub- 
 .bard since the beginning of his first term in January, 1882 ; has 
 been the president of the St. Paul singing society, and has 
 given many leisure moments to the cultivation of music, and has 
 a remarkably interesting musical family, himself being an excel- 
 lent musician. 
 
 Gen. Jennison is a man of fine proportions physically and 
 -of impressive characteristics, with a large head and bluff man- 
 ners. He is aggressive in his nature, a strong partisan, decided 
 in his opinions and never afraid to express them ; bubbling over 
 with wit and humor, energetic, industrious, a ready and witty 
 speaker, and was a brave and efficient officer in the army of the 
 Union. 
 
 EDWIN GRIBBLE: 
 
 Mr. Gribble is a man of peculiar traits of character, and yet 
 Jie possesses ability and has many good impulses. He is well 
 read, quiet yet positive, and has his own opinion of men and 
 things. He is combative in his nature and tenacious in his 
 
664 FEN PICTURES 
 
 views ; a self-educated man, and a man of good moral character ;: 
 of medium size, deliberate in his movements and persistent ini 
 his opinions. He was born in England in 1825; emigrated to- 
 America in 1834 and remained in New York six months, and 
 from thence went to Patterson, N. J., to Salem, Ohio, and to Pitts- 
 burg, Pa., where he was educated; came to St. Paul in 1857; 
 made a claim on Lake Minnetonka of 130 acres, which he holds 
 yet ; went to New Orleans in 1 860 and returned in 1 868, and has- 
 been here ever since. He commenced to study law in Pittsburg 
 and in New Orleans, and was admitted to practice in this State 
 in 1869. He is a descendant from the English and Swiss,. 
 and though somewhat eccentric in his ways, yet he is a quiet and. 
 inoffensive citizen and a man of no mean ability. 
 
 RATHER EMBARRASSING. 
 
 " Well, by thunder !" said an old settler to another, "we 
 meet very funny people out here in the West, don't we ? Just 
 look at that frightful-looking maiden in the doorway 1 " 
 
 " Well, I don't know," said the other old settler, " she isn't: 
 near so bad-looking as that disagreeable, scrawly young fellow 
 talking with her." 
 
 " By Jove! that young fellow is my brother! " 
 " By jingo ! apple snaps ! that girl is my sister ! " 
 Both old settlers looked soberly at each other, and then con- 
 cluded it was about time to take a drink — of cold water. 
 
 CHARLES H. SLOCUM. 
 
 Mr. Slocum was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1836; 
 educated at the common schools and attended an academy in. 
 Michigan; removed to Wisconsin in 1849; learned the printing 
 trade and returned to Buffalo in 1853, and held a position in the 
 Christian Advocate; removed to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1856, and 
 was foreman and local editor of the Daily Leader ; came to St.. 
 Paul in 1857; was connected with the St. Anthony Express up- 
 to 1 860, when he removed back to St. Paul ; worked for the 
 writer until 1863; was telegraph courier for the old St. Paul. 
 Press ; that is, Goodrich of the Pioneer '^x'a.A a monopoly of the 
 line here and the Press had to send to St. Anthony to get the- 
 news, Slocum bringing the midnight dispatches down on horse- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MmN. 665 
 
 back ; in 1863 went to Mankato and resurrected the Independent; 
 in 1867 removed to St. Charles, Winona County, where he estab- 
 lished the St. Charles Herald, which he ran seven years ; while 
 here he was elected assistant acting clerk of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives, for five terms ; purchased the Post at Blue Earth 
 city in 1874; appointed postmaster at the same time and held 
 the position nine years; returned to St. Paul in 1883. 
 
 Mr. Slocum is a small man ; very active ; talks quickly, and 
 has been an aggressive partisan. He is quiet in his ways ; unob- 
 trusive and industrious ; has energy enough to run a steamboat 
 or a dozen political campaigns and has been in the State twenty- 
 eight years. 
 
 JOHN DEVEREUX. 
 
 Mr. Devereux was born in Ireland in the year 1798, cele- 
 brated as the year of the Irish rebellion ; was well educated, and 
 arriving at manhood - engaged largely in the manufacture of 
 tobacco and snuff in the south of Ireland. He emigrated to 
 America in 1837; settled in Pittsburgh, Pa., and commenced the 
 manufacture of all kinds of wall, wrapping and tar papfer. In 
 184s a fire broke out which laid waste ninety acres of business- 
 blocks, and in this fire Mr. Devereux lost ;$SO,ooo — all he had — 
 was penniless. Shortly after he removed to Somerville, Ky., and 
 started again, and was quite successful until the house he dealt 
 with in Pittsburgh failed, when he again met with a great loss and 
 was obhged to succumb. In 1857 he came to St. Paul and has 
 been here ever since, and has reached the ripe age of eighty-eight 
 years. For twelve years he was in the County Auditor's office, 
 always as prompt as the hands of the clock, but of late years he 
 has resided with his daughter. 
 
 I remember Mr. Devereux as a tall, elegant appearing, gray- 
 haired gentleman, whose courtly bearing would do honor to any 
 Chesterfield in Europe, but for ten years I have missed him. He 
 has dropped out of the active duties of life, and though close to 
 ninety years of age, he is still hale and hearty, probably the old- 
 est man to-day in Ramsey County. He belongs to the school 
 of the old-style gentleman, and though advanced in years and 
 unable to take an active part in business, yet he is honored and 
 respected by all. 
 
666 PEN PICTURES 
 
 THE REAL ESTATE MANIA. 
 
 The speculative real estate wave which started in 1855 and 
 swelled to huge proportions in 1856, broke out into tremendous 
 white-caps in 1857. Almost every body went into the business 
 of buying and selling real estate, procuring acres and laying 
 them out into cities and selling corner lots for fabulous prices. 
 It became a mania. On paper these cities (there were no towns,) 
 looked elegantly well with their court house squares, and parks, 
 and churches, and school houses, and steamboats, and railroad 
 trains, and though the lots were located in marshes and in many 
 cases in water, yet that, unknown to the purchasers, did not pre- 
 vent the ignorant from buying, and so the wave rolled on, gain- 
 ing force and carrying with it good, honest men, as well as bad 
 men and robbers. There was some excuse for inflated real 
 estate in the city, from the fact that for two years previously im- 
 migration had been pouring in at an unprecedented rate, and the 
 city had been growing at a very rapid pace ; besides, men of 
 money in the East were anxious to invest in Western towns, 
 especially in St. Paul, and hence it was natural that land in and 
 about our city should go up in value, but unprincipled men took 
 advantage of this state of things and palmed off on the unsus- 
 pecting outside property that had no value whatever. And yet 
 there were instances where men honestly believed that their 
 particular cities were to be the coming places. One gentleman 
 owned some land in a town called Cambridge and Gov. Gorman 
 offered him ^10,000 for it in 1857, or twenty-eight years ago; 
 worth now $800 ! Another gentleman presented his grandmother 
 with some lots in a Minnesota city which he told her were very 
 valuable and would be more so in the future. When she died 
 she gave her cash and good property to her other grand-children 
 and reserved these lots for the favorite boy who had remembered 
 her in life ; but the lots are not worth to-day ten cents apiece. 
 Of course if men could make money so readily in selling land, 
 they would not cultivate it, and so the whole tendency of this 
 speculative land era was bad. But it came to an end. 
 
 F. X. CZEIKOWITZ. 
 
 Mr. Czeikowitz was born in Austria in 1825 ; educated in the 
 old country; emigrated to America and remained at Chicago 
 
OF ST. PAUL. MINN. 667 
 
 one year and a half, when, in 1857 he came to St. Paul; worked 
 for Covitz, the fur man; then removed to New Ulm and was 
 there at the time of the attack of the Indians, and did his part of 
 fighting behind a big salt barrel, having been in the army in the 
 old country, and he enjoyed it; returned to St. Paul in 1862 and 
 opened a fur store on the corner of Fifth and Cedar streets, 
 where he carried on business for a number of years, and died in 
 1 874, aged 49 years. Mr. Czeikowitz was a short, thick-set man ; 
 quick in his movements and good-natured as he was fat, bearing 
 down the beam at two hundred and fifty-six pounds. He was 
 well known to the old settlers by his ponderous bay window. 
 His son R. D. C. was born in 1855 ; came to St. Paul with his 
 father ; was with him in the store up to his death ; has been in 
 the business of painting five years. He is a chip of the old 
 block, only more so, that is, he is short, thick-set and what the 
 boys would call "phatty," yet he is a good man and a pleasant 
 gentleman. 
 
 THE SUNRISE EXPEDITION. 
 
 During the summer of 1857 the Chippewa Indians were in 
 the habit of leaving their reservation and wandering about the 
 settlements near Sunrise, Cambridge, in Chisago County, and 
 other places, and as an opportunity offered to steal and annoy 
 the people. Complaints coming to Governor Medary he ordered 
 Capt. Starkey, who but recently had organized a volunteer cav- 
 alry company, to take part of his command and to arrest at once 
 all Indians known to have committed any depredations. On the 
 24th of August the Captain, booted and strapped and spurred, 
 and mounted on his spirited war-charger, drew up his men in 
 line, and amid the plaudits of the people dashed forward in the 
 defense of the frontier. On the 28th he overtook six lone Indi- 
 ans, who submitted to a pow-wow, but the poor devils, frightened 
 half to death by the glitter and pomp of war, and especially by 
 the commanding and overpowering presence of the gallant Cap- 
 tain, broke away and ran for their lives into the bushes. The 
 commander immediately ordered one of his men by the name of 
 Fr-ink Donnelly, to put his horse on the gallop, head off the flee- 
 ing enemy, and in the name of the Continental Congress and the 
 Territoiy of Minnesota order them to stop. Donnelly did so. 
 
668 PEN PICTURES 
 
 when an Indian by the name of Sha-go-ba, probably not under- 
 standing Donnelly's meaning and supposing his last hour had 
 come, fired, and Donnelly fell dead. Then the gallant cavalry- 
 men charged and killed one Indian and wounded another, and of 
 course the remaining four were made prisoners. The grand cor- 
 tege with the dead bodies of Donnelly and the Indian, the Indian 
 prisoners and the triumphant Captain, arrived at St. Paul on the 
 29th, and of course there was great excitement as the conquering 
 hero entered the gates of the saintly city. Young Donnelly was 
 a carpenter by trade, and worked with his father, and volunteered 
 to go on the expedition in the place of a regular cavalryman who 
 was prevented by sickness, and when he returned a corpse there 
 was mourning at his own home and great indignation among the 
 people. A funeral sermon was preached over the body in the 
 Jackson Street Methodist Church, by Rev. John Penman, and the 
 military buried him with their accustomed impressive honors. 
 Major Cullen, then superintendent of Indian affairs, brought the 
 matter before Judge Nelson of the United States Court on a writ 
 of habeas corpus, and the Judge ordered the prisoners to be 
 brought into his presence, and the next day Capt. Starkey with 
 his sword and sashes and guards and Indians and military ac- 
 coutrements, and impressed with the belief that he was the rising 
 great military chieftain of the Northwest upon whom all eyes 
 were turned, entered the court room with his retinue, and in his 
 dignified manner saluted the Judge with a military bow, when 
 his honor addressed him as follows : " Captain, it is not in 
 accordance with the genius of our institutions to have armed 
 soldiers in a court of justice ; remove the guards ! " The Captain 
 wilted ; for a moment he looked for a mouse hole into which to 
 crawl, but recovering his equanimity he realized the fact that 
 after all he was only the Captain of a military company and not 
 the dictator of an empire or the dispenser of justice among the 
 people ; but he says that in all his life his pride never had such 
 a fall, for he really thought he had command over his own 
 guards until the Judge pricked the bubble and left him without 
 an)'' wind. The four Indians were released, but Sha-go-ba was 
 sent to the Chisago jail and in a few days cut his way out with a 
 pen-knife and escaped, and thus ended what was known as the 
 Sunrise Indian expedition. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 669 
 
 But joking aside, this expedition was not near so funny as it 
 has been made to appear. It should be remembered that every 
 thing vvas then in a crude condition — Capt. Starkey had but very 
 httle to do with, his men were inexperienced, and there was every 
 indication of an Indian outbreak, and of course the Hves of the 
 people were in the hands of the Indians. Starkey promptly 
 obeyed the order of the Governor with such raw troops as he 
 could muster, and it is quite probable that this very act awed the 
 savages into submission and saved a great deal of bloodshed. 
 The Indians were in earnest, and the best evidence of this is the 
 fact that Capt. Starkey had the pummel of his saddle shot away, 
 the ball passing close to his body. He risked his own life and 
 the lives of his men, and then had the satisfaction of footing the 
 bills, so really this expedition ought to go down to history as a 
 brave and gallant and meritorious act on the part of Capt. Star- 
 key and his men, for it is no funny business to go out and fight 
 Indians, or even invite that result. 
 
 THE RISE OF REAL ESTATE. 
 
 From time to time I have shown the rise of real estate in 
 this city in the following way : Have given the price of what an 
 old settler paid for property, say twenty years ago, and what the 
 same property is worth now. It does not necessarily follow that 
 the old settler who once owned the property should own it now. 
 In nine cases out of ten the old settler has no property at all ; 
 but the real estate he once owned has gone up in price just the 
 same ; so that the object in making these comparisons is not to 
 exalt the old settler financially (I wish I could) but to show the 
 growth of the city through the constant rise of its real estate. 
 If it be a fact that I or anybody else bought a lot on Third 
 street in 1854, and paid ^200 for it, and it is now (1886,) worth 
 ^^30,000, no matter who at present owns it, that fact shows there 
 must have been some cause for the rise of this property during 
 these twenty years, and this cold fact put in composition type, 
 is doing a great deal to inspire confidence in the growth of our 
 city. If this be not a fact let somebody refute it now. But it 
 can't be done because it's true, and as truth must go down into 
 history. 
 
670 PEN PICTURES 
 
 H. S. FAIRCHILD. 
 
 No more familiar face to the old settlers can be found upon 
 the street than that of H. S. Fairchild, and he " takes the cake " as 
 the oldest real estate dealer in the city or the State. He is a me- 
 dium sized man, with a healthy, ruddy complexion, self-possessed, 
 moderate in his movements, persistent, wide-awake, energetic, 
 public-spirited and industrious, and during his career here has 
 seen adversity and prosperity ; indeed he has swung clean round 
 the circle and is now on the top round of the ladder. He is a 
 man of earnest nature, somewhat of a sanguine temperament, and 
 yet is governed by reason and facts. Napoleon, walking in the 
 garden of the Tuilleries, communicated to his favorite marshal 
 information tha the intended to fight the battle of the Bridge of 
 Lodi. " Oh, don't do that," said his marshal, " you will fail ! " It 
 was mid-day and the sun was shining brightly. " Do you see 
 that star ? " asked Napoleon, pointing upward. " No," responded 
 the marshal, looking toward the sky. " I do," remarked the great 
 general. In real estate Fairchild can see a star where nobody 
 else can, and what is more he generally sees clearly, so that there 
 is a striking resemblance between the two celebrated generals, 
 one, the arbiter of men and nations, the other the arbiter of broad 
 acres and corner lots. 
 
 He was born in Ohio in 1826; received an academic educa- 
 tion, and after graduating taught in the Lebanon and Waynes- 
 ville academies ; went to Mississippi in 1 847 and taught school 
 there ; in 1852 entered into merchandising at Brandon, Miss., and 
 continued in it up to 1857, when he came to St. Paul; opened 
 a real estate office on Jackson street, opposite the old Interna- 
 tional Hotel, twenty-eight years ago ; soon after entered the 
 office of Smith & Gilman, and dealt in real estate ; read law with 
 them and was admitted to the bar ; formed a partnership with 
 Mr. Pease, and the firm took an office on Robert street, near 
 John Rogers' hotel ; moved to the McClung block and " went it 
 alone " in a real estate and auction business, and did the same in 
 Rogers' block ; then moved to the corner of Fourth and Robert 
 streets (Whicher's old place remodeled,) where he dealt in real 
 estate and carried on an auction and dry-goods business ; was 
 burned out in 1871; took a room in the Fire and Marine building 
 and dealt in real estate exclusively ; went into the Prince block. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. ■ 671 
 
 and from there removed to the corner of Jackson and Fourth 
 streets and then to the Chamber of Commerce building, corner of 
 Sixth and Robert streets, where he now is. Mr. Fairchild has been 
 for some time and is now a member of the Chamber of Com- 
 merce, has held no political office though importuned to do so, 
 and has been in the real estate business continuously twenty- 
 eight years, and is the only one left of the many real estate 
 agents of 1857. He was the first to propose the erection of the 
 Fort Snelling bridge ; was one of the commissioners with John 
 Nichols, William Lee and D. W. Ingersoll* to superintend the 
 building of it. 
 
 He originated the idea of giving the poor farm of two hun- 
 dred and ten acres to the State Fair Association for fair pur- 
 poses, and after working zealously for this measure he had the 
 gratification of seeing the enterprise a success. 
 
 In his investments in real estate he has been very successful, 
 especially in the vicinity of the Harvester Works where he 
 bought land for $20 per acre, which now commands from ^500 
 to ^1,200 per acre. Some year or so ago he purchased a hand- 
 some home on Summit avenue, where he now resides, while he 
 has a summer resort on Lake Thoreau, three miles from the city. 
 He is a gentleman of pleasing address, well posted in St. Paul 
 real estate, prompt in business matters, having unbounded faith 
 in the growth and greatness of St. Paul, and is quietly " salting 
 down " choice pieces of land that must in the future make him a 
 rich man. 
 
 DANIEL W. HAND. 
 
 A fine American gentleman all of the olden times, is Dr. D.W. 
 Hand. He has a splendid physique, a courtly bearing, a genial 
 manner, a stately presence and a charming way with him in the 
 sick chamber. As a man and a citizen he has few superiors. 
 Though a little hard of hearing yet this does not militate against 
 the excellent qualities which adorn one of our best citizens; 
 
 Dr. Hand was born in New Jersey in 1834 ; he was well edu- 
 cated, studied medicine with Dr. John Willey, and in 1856 grad- 
 uated from the Medical College of Pennsylvania ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1857 and immediately commenced the practice of his 
 profession, entering into partnership with Dr. Samuel Willey; 
 was assistant surgeon in the First Minnesota Regiment; was 
 
e72 PEN PICTURES 
 
 promoted to brigade surgeon and served until 1863; was a spe- 
 cial commissioner to investigate facts concerning the introduc- 
 tion of yellow fever into Newberne, N. C; returned to St. Paul 
 and resumed practice with his old partner ; then transacted busi- 
 ness with Dr. Davenport, but is now alone. He is an excellent 
 physician of the allopathic school, and is very generally esteemed 
 for the many fine traits of his character — a perfect gentleman. 
 
 THREE PER CENT. PER MONTH. 
 
 It was not an uncommon thing this year to find parties giv- 
 ing three and three and a half and in some cases five per cent, 
 per month for the loan of money to carry them through, and a 
 few gave a bonus on top of this exorbitant rat^, making interest 
 on money thus loaned, sixty and seventy per cent, per annum ! 
 We had nearly a dozen private banks, but they had become 
 drained of their funds, and being so far removed from the money 
 centers, cash commanded any rate of interest, and this interest 
 piled up and finally buried the unfortunate victim's under it ! No 
 one can appreciate the terrible condition of affairs in the city of 
 St. Paul in the year 1857 but those who passed through it! 
 Many a man walked the floor all night worrying where he could 
 get money to pay his note in the morning, and some, losing all 
 their accumulations of years of hard labor, turned to the flowing 
 bowl and soon after passed off the stage of life forever. 
 
 DELOS A. MONFORT. 
 
 Mr. Monfort was born in New York in 1835 ; was well edu- 
 cated; came to St. Paul in 1857; was cashier of the old Peo- 
 ple's Bank; in 1865 was cashier of the Second National Bank, 
 which position he ably filled for nearly twenty years, and after 
 serving as vice-president he left for Europe and remained there 
 one year. On returning to this city he again engaged in the 
 fancy wholesale and retail grocery business, which he had started 
 years before, and which he continued for a year or so, and then 
 left for the Black Hills to engage in mining. He finally drifted 
 back into the Second National Bank, where he assumed his old 
 position as cashier and in his old familiar way. For the past 
 fifteen years he has been the eminent commander of Damascus 
 Commandery of Knights Templars of St. Paul ; has also been 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 673 
 
 •Grand Commander of the State. He married Miss Mary J., sis- 
 ter of Erastus 3. Edgerton, in i860, who is a lady very much 
 ■esteemed for her sunny nature and excellent qualities as a woman 
 and a wife. Mr. Monfort himself is a well-formed man, of ordi- 
 nary size, straight, always well dressed, and having the appear- 
 ance of a gentleman of money and of leisure. It is not gener- 
 ally known, but he has one of the finest libraries in the State 
 and is a great lover of literature although his business calls him 
 among money bags and bank bills. He usually wears a silk hat 
 and carries a cane ; is quick in his motions, prompt, decided, 
 pleasant, and probably understands the banking business as well 
 as any man in the State, and he ought to for he is the pupil of 
 that prudent and splendid financier, Erastus S. Edgerton, under 
 whose management the Second National Bank has obtained its 
 present excellent reputation. 
 
 RUSSELL C. MONGER. 
 
 A somewhat peculiar man is Mr. Muuger, that is, he is dif- 
 ferent from ordinary men in his general make-up ; and yet he is 
 a gentleman of good business qualities, of fine musical abilities, 
 and has been, and among musicians especially is now, public- 
 spirited. He is a self-^made man and during the troublesome 
 times of 1857 and later, he passed through severe financial revul- 
 sions and yet came out of them paying dollar for dollar. He 
 has handled a great deal of money and has lost a great deal of 
 money, and still he is pushing to the front with that indomitable 
 energy which marks the man, and has already achieved finan- 
 cial success. He is a gentleman of good physical development, 
 stands erect, throws his head backward while at the same time 
 he moves it from side to side, talks strongly and in a confident 
 tone ; is full of animal life ; fond of fun ; can tell a good story, and 
 among a crowd Mr. Munger looms up conspicuously. He ought 
 to have entered the army for he has all the characteristics of an 
 army officer, and this is as natural to him as breathing. He is 
 exceedingly social in his nature, affable in his manners and very 
 polite. He may justly be called the originator of instrumental 
 music in this State, for it was the Munger Brothers who, as the 
 Old Gents' band, inaugurated a new era in our musical affairs 
 and started into existence our first military music. 
 43 
 
674 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Mr. Hunger was born in Madison, Conn., in 1837; removed tO' 
 New Haven in 1848; remained there until 1856, during which 
 time he received his education, and soon after started'West, stop- 
 ping at Iowa City, where he continued .one year in the grain and 
 commission business, and in 1857 came to St. Paul; played for 
 Sallie St. Clair in the old Market hall with his two brothers, the 
 aggregate wages for the time being $4$ per week ; then engaged 
 for about one year in shipping produce to St. Louis, especially 
 potatoes, and in 1858 he and his brother bought out a man by 
 the name of Mortimer and started a music store in what was 
 known as Concert Hall block, where they gathered about them 
 the best musical element of the city. The brothers soon began 
 dealing in pianos and made a good deal of money. They ran 
 fourteen years through some of the severest financial times we 
 ever had in the West and then sold out. 
 
 The Old Gents' band finally merged into the Pioneer Guard 
 band, and then came the Great Western band, of which Mr. 
 Munger was one of the originators, and for seven years was its 
 leader. His natural active temperament induced him to unite 
 with others in originating and building the opera house, and he 
 was manager of the same for several years. Then he became 
 interested in and built a grain elevator at Duluth, costing a good- 
 deal- of money. The elevator burned down in 1880. In 1878 
 he resumed his old music business while his brother Roger made 
 Duluth his home, and from that time to this he has been engaged 
 in his old profession. He organized the first base ball-club in 
 the State and ran it for a year on twelve dollars, and ran it well 
 too at that. All Mr. Munger's acts demonstrate that he is a 
 public-spirited man, a good citizen and a general promoter of the 
 city's best interests. 
 
 HENRY p. UPHAM. 
 
 A comparatively young man with a boyish look, Mr. Upharo 
 is the personification of business. He is tall, has no whiskers 
 but a mustache, is quiet, yet moves rapidly from place to place, 
 and has a sort of reserved power which indicates the character 
 of the man. He is a strong business manipulator without the 
 rant — a locomotive without the noise — a motive power with a 
 steady push. His career from a bank clerk to a bank president, 
 has been a peculiar one, but marked by that remarkable trait of 
 
OF »T. PA UL, MINN. 673 
 
 character — steadiness of purpose — which is the predominant 
 element of his nature. Modest and retiring he moves more 
 especially in the business circle, and yet he loves out-door sports 
 and delights in rambling among the archives of the past. He is, 
 at the head of an immense monetary institution and guides the 
 helm with a master's hand, showing not only experience but rare 
 good judgment. A highly respectable and valuable citizen is 
 Henry P. Upham. 
 
 He was born in Massachusetts in 1837 and is a descendant 
 from the English ; was educated at the common school, and 
 when a mere lad in the year 1854, he became a clerk in the Tolland 
 County Bank, Massachusetts, where he remained two years, and 
 in 1857 came to St. Paul; formed a partnership with C. W. 
 Griggs in the lumber business, on the upper levee ; dissolved 
 soon after and bought a saw mill on the West Side, at the end 
 of the bridge, and ran it five years ; in 1 863 entered the employ 
 of the Thompson Brothers, bankers, as a general clerk ; in 1864 
 became teller in the bank, which position he held for three years ; 
 then purchased a flouring mill at Chaska and ran it two months; 
 became assistant cashier of the First National Bank in 1869, and 
 held this office for two years ; then, with others organized and 
 started the City Bank, Gen. Sibley, president, Upham, cashier, 
 which continued in business up to 1873, when the bank consoli- 
 dated with the First National, and he took the position of cashier ; 
 in 1880 he was elected president, and has continued as such up 
 to the present time. Mr. Upham has held no political offices but 
 has given his whole life to business. He has accurnulated some 
 money but it has been more from the sale of real estate than the 
 bank, especially from broad acres, he at one time owning 100,- 
 000 acres of land in Minnesota, and of course the rise on this 
 land has made him well off. He never dealt to any extent in 
 city property, and his movements have all been quiet and unosten- 
 tatious. He is an active member of the Historical Society, and 
 is very fond of poring over the musty pages of the long-forgotten 
 past. His principal amusement is hunting, which he enjoys 
 keenly. 
 
 THE WAVE BREAKS HARD TIMES. 
 
 Just in the midst of this roaring, seething, foaming, tossing 
 real estate sea, in 1857, all of a sudden, like lightning from a 
 
676 PEN PICTURES 
 
 clear sky, a great financial wave broke over the country and 
 down went almost everybody, especially those who had dealt 
 extensively in real estate. They became land-poor, and many 
 have not recovered from the shock of that time up to to-day. The 
 primary cause of this disaster was the failure of the Ohio Life 
 Insurance and Trust Company of New York, which occurred on 
 the 24th of August, 1857, but even without this failure a great 
 revulsion must necessarily have come to the dealers in real 
 estate in our midst, but that event only hastened the end. 
 
 In the latter part of this year there were several private 
 banks in existence with only a little money in each, the financial 
 hurricane having struck everything. Among these were Borup 
 & Oakes, Mackubin & Edgerton, the Messrs. Knox, Ira Bidwell, 
 Tom Daily, and I think Pease, Chalfant & Co., and perhaps Par- 
 ker Paine. Nearly all the currency in the country " had gone 
 whire the woodbine twineth," and the stringency in the money 
 market was very severe. Exchange on the East was ten per 
 cent. ; no bills were in circulation, for there were none, and as 
 fast as any specie came upon the market* it was seized and 
 hoarded up. People then began to exchange one commodity for 
 another, land (the staple article,) groceries, lumber, boots, shoes 
 and merchandise generally, until there were no more commodi- 
 ties to exchange, and then the merchants held meetings to devise 
 some measures for relief — a stay law, a general banking system ; 
 the issue of city and county bonds were all suggested, and finally 
 a batch of " denominational scrip " was put into circulation by 
 the authorities and kept there for several years. This tided over 
 to the next season when more doubtful expedients were resorted 
 to under the ^5,000,000 loan bill which passed in 1858, to sup- 
 ply a much needed want, that is, some definite, substantial, safe 
 banking system, in which the people could have unbounded con- 
 fidence, but that experiment, like all others, failed. The people 
 had learned a valuable lesson ; they found out that it required 
 something more than speculations in real estate to make a pros- 
 perous city, so they turned their attention to the cultivation of the 
 soil. 
 
 E. F. WARNER. 
 
 Mr. Warner is a gentlenian of quiet characteristics and yet a 
 man of excellent business qualities. I remember him twenty- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN.- 677 
 
 eight years ago as the manager of the Northwestern Express 
 Company, and here he was master of the situation conducting his 
 affairs in a prompt and highly creditable manner. He is a man 
 of ordinary size, well-proportioned physically, prompt yet cool 
 and decided, never frustrated and managing his affairs in his own 
 peculiar, prudent way. He was born in New York in 1836; was 
 educated at the common schools and also at the Genesee Wes- 
 leyan College, and came to St. Paul in 1857 j was employed by 
 J. C. Burbank as manager of the Northwestern Express Com- 
 pany and made his run the first winter from St. Paul to Prairie 
 du Chien, embracing nearly 50,000 miles in the aggregated 
 various trips he made. When the American Express Company 
 secured the territory south of St. Paul, Mr. Warner entered into 
 its services and finally became superintendent of the division, 
 controlling 223 offices, 36 messengers and 291 employes. He 
 came into the field when dog trains. Red river carts, stages and 
 steamboats were the channels of communication from one place 
 to another, but now these are all ignored and the fastest trains 
 are employed to rush express packages from one place to another. 
 He has had some twenty-five years of express experience, and 
 if any man can take packages safely through into another world, 
 Warner can do it, although just now he is engaged in another 
 business, and has no inclination to explore the unknown. 
 
 Mr. Warner informs me that during the war Gen. Fremont 
 made a requisition on Gen. Pope, then, stationed in this city, for 
 ^3,000,000, and the funds were forwarded to him by express, 
 charges $1,700. During the time Mr. Warner was manager of 
 the Northwestern Express Company not a package was lost. 
 Some money was missed but recovered. 
 
 He resigned his position as manager in 1882 and the same 
 year commenced dealing in furs, which he continued to do for 
 twelvemonths, and in 1883 entered largely into the lumbering 
 trade which he now carries on quite extensively. He also com- 
 menced the buying of buffalo bones on the prairie, and shipped 
 East la.st year one hundred car loads or 1,500,000 pounds, to be 
 used as a fertilizer. Buffalo horns are not marketable now, as 
 celluloid takes their place. At one time Mr. Warner was the 
 
 - manager of the Rock County Farming Company, which owned 
 23,000 acres. 
 
678 PEN PICTURES 
 
 He is very fond of hunting and has been the president of the 
 sportsmen's club, and has also been quite active in securing laws 
 to protect game, holding to the theory that if people come here 
 and find good hunting they will also invest in our real estate. 
 He is a well-preserved man, pleasant in his ways, moderate in 
 his movements and conservative and closely devoted to business. 
 
 GEORGE SEJBERT., 
 
 Professor Seibert was born in Germany in 1 836 ; received a 
 good common-school education and emigrated to America in 
 1 849, landing at New York and remained there six years, during 
 which time he was in a grocery store and commenced the study 
 of music, and he is indebted to his brother-in-law, Frank Danz, 
 for his first musical lessons. He soon after became connected 
 with a roving musical combination or circus, as one of the musi- 
 cians and traveled quite extensively when the combination broke 
 up, and in 1855 he removed to Chicago, where he remained two 
 years giving his time exclusively to playing in the Light Guard 
 band, studying music, etc. He came to St. Paul in 1857 and 
 opened a cigar and fruit store in a little building which stood on 
 the corner of Fifth and Jackson streets, and here he paid seven- 
 teen dollars per month rent. He continued in this kind of busi- 
 ness for four years when he made up his mind that he would drop 
 peanuts and candy and cigars and ginger snaps and go back to 
 his favorite profession of music, so he sold out and commenced 
 to teach bands of music how to get harmony from their brass 
 instruments, and he succeeded admirably. From that time, i860, 
 up to the present, he has been engaged in music ; has been the 
 leader of the Great Western band since 18 53 and leader of Sei- 
 bert's orchestra an equal number of years ; was leader of the mu- 
 sical society for twelve years, of which the late Charles Scheffer 
 was a prominent member ; was treasurer of the same sixteen 
 years ; has played in various bands for twenty-six years, thus 
 placing him away up on the top round of the ladder in the mu- 
 sical world. Some four years ago the Professor was thrown from 
 a carriage and had his leg injured, which causes him. to walk a 
 little lame, and then for a year or two his health failed him, so 
 that he was obliged to give up a good deal of his favorite work, 
 but he is all right again now. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 679 
 
 Mr. Seibert is not a large man, nor is he a small one, but he 
 IS a man who has done an enormous amount of labor in the 
 musical world ; has fought against adverse circumstances and 
 has conquered. He is very quiet in his ways ; rather retiring in 
 Jiis disposition, but is always prompt in his musical career and 
 unceasing in his efforts to group together and hold the many 
 musical elements at his command. He has brought up an excel- 
 lent family of children, and is himself a man against whom no 
 ■evil word can be spoken ; an honest, honorable, worthy citizen ; 
 .a first-class musician, whose constant efforts have done much to 
 -advance the musical tastes of our citizens. 
 
 A. H. LINDEKE. 
 
 Mr. Lindeke was born in Germany in 1844; emigrated to 
 America in 1856, locating in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and came 
 
 :to St. Paul in 1857 ; was employed in the store of N. W. Kittson 
 in 1859 as bundle boy, and remained with Mr. Kittson's partner 
 until 1 867 ; then was engaged by Cathcart & Go. about one 
 year, when he started in business for himself, having two part- 
 ners ; in 1 872 he purchased his partners' interest and his brother 
 became associated with him, the firm being A. H. Lindeke & Bro. 
 This establishment was carried on as a retail store until 1881 ; 
 in 1878 the firm of Lindekes, Warner & Schurmeier was formed 
 and soon took rank as among the first wholesale dry-goods 
 
 -Stores in the State, and is still in existence. It does a business 
 of ;^3,ooo,ooo per year. Mr. Lindeke has never held any politi- 
 
 ■cal offices but at present occupies the position of vice-president 
 of the Jobbers' Union. 
 
 He is a fine-looking man just in the prime of life, with black 
 hair and whiskers, and a good complexion. He is polite in his 
 bearings, social, always the gentleman, and is one of the best 
 posted dry-goods men in the Northwest. He has had a remark- 
 able career, climbing up from a bundle boy by the force of his 
 
 -own exertions to that of an important member of a great firm, 
 
 -and he deserves everything he has and a great deal more. As a 
 man he is cool, honest, honorable, anxious to do right ; as a citi- 
 
 -zen there is none better ; as a business man he ranks high ; as a 
 
 •companion he is genial and pleasant ; as a gentleman he has no 
 
 .superior. 
 
680 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ALEXANDER JOHNSTON. 
 
 Mr. Johnston was born in Orange County, New York, in- 
 1833, and is a descendant of three nationalities; received an aca- 
 demic education and when nineteen years old entered as a clerk 
 in a mercantile house. On the death of his grandfather he re- 
 ceived quite a liberal sum of money ; visited Minnesota in 1853 ; 
 returned East; again came to Minnesota in 1856 and located at 
 a place called Okaman, Waseca County, where, in company with 
 his father-in-law he invested in a townsite and built a flouring 
 mill. He then started a paper at Wilton, the county seat of 
 Waseca, and called it the Home News ; ran it about one year, 
 then removed to Faribault and issued a paper called the Northern 
 Statesman ; ran that two years, when he removed to St. Paul in 
 1857 and worked in the office of the Pioneer. In 1866 he started 
 the Hastings Union, and continued that three years, still engaging 
 in his profession as a printer. At one time he was local editor 
 0.1 the old Pioneer, then on the Press, then on the Pioneer Press, 
 the. Dispatch and the Globe. He was register of deeds in 1876-7, 
 secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in 1875, and was an 
 elector on the Douglas Democratic ticket in 1859. 
 
 Mr. Johnston is a gentleman of medium size, very pleasant 
 in his manner, social in his nature, and an excellent writer, but 
 for years past he has trod the thorny path of the reporter's life. 
 He is like many others, in a certain groove out of which it is hard 
 to deviate, and yet he is a man of fine abilities, kind-hearted, 
 amiable and generous in his nature. He is a strong Democrat 
 and has always been so, and is deserving of a comfortable office- 
 at the hands of the party. 
 
 JAMES J. EGAN. 
 
 Mr. Egan was born in Ireland in 1842 ; emigrated to America, 
 with his parents in 1 848 ; was educated in the public schools of 
 New York city; came to St. Paul in 1857, at the age of fifteen 
 years ; went on to a farm in Sibley County with his parents ; drove 
 an ox team for two hours, when he dropped farming and started 
 for the city to hunt up a job ; became the office-boy of Jacob Main- 
 zer, who was a real estate agent on upper Third street, and from 
 thence entered the drug store of J. W. Bond ; remained with him 
 two years ; then went East for an education, and at the end of 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. OSI 
 
 three years graduated at the Wisconsin college; studied law 
 with I. V. D. Heard; enlisted as a private in the so-called Eighth 
 Irish Regiment ; on the out-break of the Indians went to the 
 front voluntarily, discarding his enlistment in the Eighth Regi- 
 ment ; became Second Lieutenant in Joe Walker's cavalry com- 
 pany; went to Fort Ridgely with Gen. Sibley; company dis- 
 banded at the fort ; enlisted in Joe Anderson's cavalry company ; 
 was ordered out as an escorting party to Red Wood agency ; 
 encamped under the direction of Joe Brown at Birch Coolie ; 
 engaged in the fight at that place; returned to Fort Ridgely 
 sick and disabled and soon after came to St. Paul ; entered the 
 office of Van Etten & Officer ; worked for Col. Cleary, Quar- 
 termaster of Gen. Pope ; entered the employ of Capt. Saunders, 
 Quartermaster, at $ioo per month, office hours from 9 to 3 p. m., 
 a big bonanza, having previously received about $20 per month ; 
 was clerk for Averill when Provost Marshal ; Gen. Averill ten- 
 dered him the position of First Lieutenant in a Minnesota battery ; 
 he accepted the position and went to Chattanooga ; became Ad- 
 jutant of the regiment and Adjutant of the post; was mustered 
 out at the close of the war, having performed honorable service ; 
 studied law at Ann Arbor; returned to St. Paul in 1865; 
 entered Smith & Gilman's office ; acted at one time as secretary of 
 the Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad Company ; was nomi- 
 nated for Judge of Probate in 1867, beaten ; elected to the Legis- 
 lature in 1868; removed to Duluth in 1869; was City and Coun- 
 ty Attorney of St. Louis County ; was elected member of the 
 Legislature of St. Louis County in 1875 ; had charge of harbor 
 litigation in 1876; came to St. Paul in 1877; ran for County 
 Attorney in 1878, beaten; ran again in 1880, elected, and has 
 held the office ever since ; was a delegate from Minnesota to the 
 National Convention in 1 87 1 which nominated Greeley, and voted 
 for him; visited Washington in 1871 ; saw Sumner, Trumbull, 
 Matt Carpenter, Conkling, Saulsbury, Tipton, Schurz and others, 
 including Edmunds, and daily attended the debates immediately 
 previous to the Greeley campaign ; visited J. Cooke and made his 
 acquaintance when in the full vigor of his power, and, for a young 
 man, Egan has been over a good deal of ground and seen a great 
 deal of life. He is just in the prime of hfe, and ought to reach a 
 much higher position. 
 
e82 PEN PICTURES 
 
 PERSONAL. 
 
 Judge Egan is an ordinary-sized man, partially bald, light 
 complexion, the possessor of a round, well- developed head, with 
 an exceedingly polite manner, and always has a merry twinkle 
 in his eye. He has a pair of hit\ges in his back and can swing 
 himself into the good graces of almost anybody. Probably he 
 fell into this habit when quite young, running for office, and has 
 kept it up ever since. He is an excellent judge of human 
 nature and can get round a corner as easy " as greasedlightning." 
 He is a good lawyer and a good speaker, and as County Attor- 
 ney has given very general satisfaction. He has also good judg- 
 ment and good discrimination, and while performing his duty 
 has a kind- heart. I knew Mr. Egan when a little kid in Bond's 
 drugstore, away back in 1857 or 1858, some twenty-eight years 
 ago, and have watched his career with interest from that day to 
 this. The facts of his life simply demonstrate that he is a self- 
 made man, and whatever prominence he has attained it has been 
 by his own inherent will-power and industry. He is very social 
 in his nature, polite to everybody ; accomplishes a good deal of 
 work and what he does he does well. Very few young men 
 have a better record, and very few young men have a better 
 prospective future. 
 
 JOHN PATTERSON. 
 
 Mr. Patterson was born in Vermont in 1830 ; was educated 
 in his native State, and worked on a farm for^ten years ; in 1850 
 was Deputy Sheriff of Clinton County, New York ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1856; engaged in cutting wood, and cut two cords per 
 day for two years ; in 1858 was on the police force and contin- 
 ued there for five years ; was a special detective two years ; was 
 a member of the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company and fire- 
 man five years; was Deputy Sheriff two years under Grace, and 
 aided very materially in arresting eight prisoners who escaped 
 from jail ; has caught some seventeen horse thieves and was 
 eleven days in pursuing one man ; arrested fifteen burglars be- 
 side the seventeen horse thieves alluded to, and has done a great 
 deal of detective work. He was a member of the board of 
 health as health officer in 1 872, under Dr. Potts, when there were 
 a number of cases of small-pox, and continued health officer 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINS. 683 
 
 eight years. He helped plant the trees in Rice Park, and hauled 
 1 80 loads of sand to make mortar for the City Hall. He is at 
 present not rich and doing nothing. Mr. Patterson is a some- 
 what tall man and has the appearance of a person in delicate 
 health. He is very quiet in his demeanor, and the fact that he 
 has made no money is pretty good evidence that he has not 
 robbed the public treasury or any body else. 
 
 EIGHTH SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE THE CAPITAL REMOVAL BILL. 
 
 The Legislature met for the eighth time this year, as it had 
 in one or two years previously, in the old Capitol building. It was 
 the most exciting session I ever saw in Minnesota, growing out 
 of the attempt of certain parties to move the Capital to St. Peter. 
 It was also the first State Legislature. It should be remembered 
 tliat Congress did not locate the Capital permanently at St. Paul, 
 but permitted the Legislature to meet here and then gave it 
 power to locate the Capital where it pleased, and inasmuch as it 
 had never done so up to 1857, or at least so it was claimed, Gov- 
 ernor Gorman and others conceived the idea of putting it on 
 wheels and running it to St. Peter — then a small town on the 
 Minnesota river — and as a truthful historian I must say they 
 came very near effecting their ends. The removal bill was intro- 
 duced into the Senate by W. D. Lowry, of St. Cloud, on the 6th 
 of February, 1857, and it passed that body on the 12th — ayes 8, 
 nays 7. It went through the House on the 1 8th. On the 27th 
 the original bill and enrolled copy were placed in the hands of 
 Jo Rolette, chairman of the committee on enrolled bills, and after 
 comparing the two it was his duty to report them back to the 
 Senate. The first intimation to the advocates of the measure 
 that something was wrong, was the fact that on the 28th of Feb- 
 ruary Rolette was not in his seat. St. A. D. Balcombe, a mem- 
 ber from Winona, suspicious that something might be wrong, 
 introduced resolutions calling on Rolette to report the bill at 
 once, and in case he failed to do so that the next member of the 
 committee be ordered to procure another enrolled copy of the 
 bill and report. This action brought the opponents of the bill 
 to their feet, and when Balcombe moved the previous question on 
 his resolution, Mr. Setzer made a call of the house and the two 
 conflicting parties locked horns in the fight. Balcombe moved 
 
6S4 PEN PICTURES 
 
 that the call be dispensed with, and the vote on this motion was 
 yeas 9, nays 5. John B. Brisbin, president of the Senate, declared 
 that the motion was lost on the ground of the want of a two- 
 thirds vote, but Balcombe insisted that nine was two-thirds 
 of fourteen, but Brisbin declared that the motion was not carried, 
 so the bill was considered under a call of the house, and the ser- 
 geant-at-arms, John M. Lamb, was ordered to proceed forthwith 
 and bring in the body of the absent Rolette ; and every morning 
 as Lamb made his report, Setzer, in his bull-dog way, would rep- 
 rimand him for not doing his duty faithfully, at the same time 
 giving a sly wink to his friends, as he was opposed to the re- 
 moval bill. It seems that Rolette put the missing bill into his 
 pocket, more for fun at first than anything else, vacated his seat, 
 repaired to the old Fuller House or International Hotel, which 
 stood on the corner of Seventh and Jackson streets (since burned 
 down,) and occupying a room in the upper part of the hotel, min- 
 gled with his friends at night amid the jingle of glasses, and 
 heard from them the anathemas heaped upon his devoted head, 
 while the bill itself reposed quietly in the bank vault of Truman 
 M. Smith. During the day he was dressed in one of the gar- 
 ments of the chamber-maid, and had the full freedom of the 
 house. But the friends of the measure were not idle. They pro- 
 cured another bill, passed it, had it enrolled, but neither the pres- 
 ident of the Senate nor speaker of the House would sign it, but 
 Governor Gorman did, and it was printed among the laws. In 
 the meantime the St. Peter Company, after the adjournment of 
 the Legislature, went ahead and erected a building in St. Peter 
 to accommodate the Territorial officers and the Legislature, and 
 then applied to Judge Nelson of the Supreme Court for a man- 
 damus to compel the officers to go to St. Peter, but Judge Nel- 
 son filed an opinion, concluding as follows : 
 
 " We are of the opinion, therefore, that there has been no law passed by the 
 Legislative power of the Territory removing the Capital from St. Paul to St. Peter. 
 The application for a mandamus is therefore refused." 
 
 And " this mouse, thus found floating in the air, was then 
 happily nipped in the bud." While under a call of the Senate, 
 during which time the sergeant-at-artns of that body was look- 
 ing for Rolette, bedding and meals were brought into the Senate 
 chamber, and the members continued in an uninterrupted session 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 685 
 
 for five days and five nights, when, just at the moment the gavel 
 of the presiding officer fell upon the desk and he announced the 
 Senate adjourned, in stalked Rolette announcing that the bill 
 had been duly enrolled, at the same time heartily laughing and 
 poking fun over the good joke he had played upon the members ! 
 
 REWARDED. ' 
 
 After the affair was all over the opponents of the bill repaired 
 to the Fuller House, called out Rolette and escorted him through 
 the streets, everybody following, and the night was made gor- 
 geous with noise and fun. Then a purse of money of about 
 ^3,000 was made up and given to Rolette, and Lamb also 
 received a handsome present. Thus ended the greatest Legis- 
 lative struggle ever known in this State. 
 
 CELERY vs. SALARY. 
 
 One of the old settlers was particularly impressed with a 
 bunch of celery, which made its appearance in St. Paul for the 
 first time some thirty years ago. " Yes," he remarked, " I love 
 celery and I love salary. Both are hard to get." " Well, what 
 is the difference between the two ? " asked another old settler who 
 never heard of this dejicious esculent and supposed of course 
 they both meant the same. " Well," said the first old codger, as 
 he pushed the aromatic plant into his mouth, " well, the differ- 
 ence is just this: Celery you have to bank before you get it, and 
 salary you have to get before you can bank it." The second 
 old settler dropped his pipe, looked into vacancy, hesitated a 
 moment, and then deliberately exclaimed — "Well, it beats all 
 creation that I never thought of that ! " 
 
 RICHARD W. JOHNSON FROM LIEUTENANT TO MAJOR GENERAL. 
 
 A large, military-looking man, with gray whiskers and gray 
 hair, with a portly appearance and an energetic movement, affa- 
 ble in his bearing yet positive in his opinions, Gen. Johnson 
 exemplifies the man in the character of the soldier. His stirring 
 nature, his brusque, off-hand greetings, his quick comprehension, 
 his business activity, his physique, backed by a fountain of good 
 nature, mark him as a man of power, and one noting his elastic 
 step on the street would take him to be a much younger man 
 than he really is, for the vigor of strong manhood still holds sway 
 
686 FEN PICTURES 
 
 over the veteran General. Born in Kentucky in 1827, he has the 
 tempered chivalry of the South while at the same time he has 
 the hot blood of the Kentuckian who is ever ready to resent what 
 he deems an insult. After a good education he was appointed 
 to West Point from his native State, and was graduated in 1849; 
 was at once elevated to brevet Second Lieutenant and assigned 
 to the Sixth Infantry and ordered to report to the commanding 
 officer, Col. G. Loomis, at Fort Snelling, October 4, 1849. In 
 1850 he married Miss Rachel E.Steele, the sister of the late Mrs. 
 H H. Sibley and of Franklin Steele. In the fall of 1850 he was 
 promoted to the First Infantry and joined that regiment in Texas. 
 Soon after he became connected with the First Infantry he was 
 appointed Adjutant of his regiment and served in that capacity 
 until 185s, when he was made First Lieutenant of the Second 
 Regiment of cavalry. On joining that regiment he was appointed 
 Regimental Quartermaster which position he held until promoted 
 to Captain, December i, 1856. As Captain of cavalry he was 
 occupied up to 1861 in campaigns against the Indians in Texas 
 and had many combats with them. When the secession move- 
 ment took place he was in Texas and was surrendered by Gen. 
 Twiggs in common with all the troops stationed in that State, 
 but he succeeded in getting North with his company without 
 being paroled and took up his quarters at Carlisle barracks, 
 Pennsylvania, where, after remounting his command he became 
 connected with Gen. Patterson's column at Chambersburg, and 
 participated in the campaign under him, being engaged in the 
 battle of Falling Water. In 1861 he obtained a leave of absence 
 to enable him to accept the position of Lieutenant Colonel of the 
 First Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry, but before the regiment was 
 formed he was appointed Brigadier General of volunteers and 
 assigned to duty with Gen. Anderson as a Brigade Commander. 
 He remained with that army participating in the battles of Stone 
 River, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, New Hope 
 Church, the Atlanta campaign, etc. At New Hope Church he 
 was wounded by a twelve-pound shell, having several ribs broken 
 and deranging the natural fastenings of the liver, which adhered 
 improperly, leaving him unfit for active duty. In this condition 
 he was appointed Chief of Cavalry on the staff of Gen. Sherman 
 and ordered to take post in Nashville. When Sherman started 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 687 
 
 for the sea and Thomas reached Nashville, Gen. Johnson reported 
 to him and was assigned to the command of a division of cavalry 
 which he commanded in the battles of Franklin and ISIashville. 
 When Hood's army was driven from Tennessee Gen. Johnson 
 was assigned to the command of the district of Tennessee, and 
 remained in command of the same until the war was ended and 
 he was mustered out of the volunteer service. He served as 
 Provost Marshal General of the division of the Mississippi, and 
 afterward of the department of the Cumberland. When the 
 Provost Marshal's department was no longer required Gen. 
 Thomas continued him on his staff as Judge Advocate. In 1867, 
 being unable to perform field duty, he was at his own request 
 placed on the retired list with the rank commensurate with the 
 command he was exercising at the time he was wounded. 
 
 '" For gallant and meritorious service in the battle of Chicka- 
 mauga" he was breveted Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel for Chat- 
 tanooga, Brigadier General for Nashville, Major General for ser- 
 vices during the war, and Major General of volunteers for " gal- 
 lant and meritorious service in the battles before Nashville, Tenn." 
 
 While Gen. Johnson is a strong Democrat and has taken an 
 active part in the welfare of the party, speaking and writing in 
 its defense, yet he has held only one civil office, and that was 
 County Commissioner in 1878. He was a candidate for Governor 
 in 1 88 1, and made a canvass of the State, speaking effectively in 
 defense of the principles of his party, but the overwhelming 
 majority of the opposition defeated him. In 1 868 he was military 
 professor in the State University, and then removed permanently 
 to St. Paul to live, although, like Gen. Sibley, he has been iden- 
 tified with the city's interest for over a quarter of a century, and 
 very properly comes in as an old settler in 1857. 
 
 In 1870 he was a partner in the real estate business with 
 Col. D. A. Robertson in this city ; a few years later he left the 
 firm and is now in business for himself. He has been an active 
 member of the Chamber of Commerce, and at one time was 
 president; is a useful member of the Historical Society and 
 a prominent member of Hope Church. 
 
 Gen. Johnson is a good writer and a good speaker. His life 
 of Gen. Thomas, a large and beautifully-printed volume, will 
 receive greater recognition in years to come than in the day in 
 
€88 PEN PICTURES 
 
 which it was written. It is a valuable work, because it is the 
 accumulation of facts passing under the personal recollection of 
 the author, and its style is clear, interesting, flowing and histor- 
 ical. It was written in 1880. 
 
 The General has been a very active, prominent, useful mem- 
 ber of society, and still is. His energy is one of his predomi- 
 nate elements — push, go, accomplish, do something seems to be 
 the inward spirit which moves the man. He is social, genial, 
 pleasant, accommodating, and yet everything revolves around 
 that one word — busy — and thus he is constantly filling up the 
 measure of his usefulness and mellowing out a serene and happy 
 old age with generous acts of kindness. 
 
 WILLIAM T. CULLEN. 
 
 * ■' 
 
 Maj. Cullen was a somewhat remarkable and eccentric man. 
 Large, energetic, full of fun and business, he filled an important 
 niche in the early history of our city, and has left behind him 
 three sons, two of whom now reside in our midst. He was a man 
 of great force of character, self-reliant, original, positive, persuasive, 
 ambitious, and he moved about more like a young elephant 
 than an ordinary man. He had great courage, and was a good 
 judge of human nature, hence he usually carried his measures. 
 He was open, frank and pleasant in his manners ; always ready 
 to tell a story and a good one ; had a large amount of sociability 
 in his nature, and was generally liked by his fellow-men. He 
 was born in Pennsylvania in 1819; was of Scotch descent, and 
 left an orphan at the age of nine years, and after a slight common 
 school education was put out as an apprentice to the blacksmith- 
 ing business in Midland County, Pa., where he perfected his trade. 
 He then traveled with a man who owned some fine race horses, 
 and did the shoeing; moved to Lounsville County, Ohio, where 
 he studied and practiced law, and where he married Miss Susan 
 M. O'Hara in 1837 ; then he removed to Mansfield, where he con- 
 tinued the practice of the law and hotel-keeping. He was 
 admitted to practice at the bar in Ohio and in Indiana, and made 
 a good jury lawyer. He removed to Sunbury and was connected 
 with the Northwestern Stage Company and dipped into all sorts 
 of speculation, invention, etc. Eriiigrated to Indiana in 1850, 
 and here he became superintendent of a stage company and also 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 689. 
 
 tept a hotel. He was elected to the Legislature of Indiana and 
 by his vote sent to the United States Senate Jesse D. Bright and 
 Fitch, and for this service he was appointed superintendent of 
 Indian affairs for the Territory of Minnesota, although he desired 
 to be Surveyor General of Indiana; came to Saint Paul in 1857, 
 and by his conciliatory and careful management prevented an 
 Indian autbreak at Spirit Lake. When the Indian war broke 
 .out in this State in 1861 he raised the first company to go in 
 defense of the frontier and was elected Captain, and when further 
 along the militia was organized he was appointed Colonel. He 
 ran for Congress, but was beaten by Donnelly. 
 
 When Gen. Gorman assumed command of the first regiment 
 that was raised for the war, Maj. Cullen formally presented his 
 militia sword and uniform to that gallant officer at the Capitol in 
 this city, and after Gorman had put on the Major's coat and was 
 just buckling on the sword, his horse became frightened and ran 
 away with the hero on him, and the animal did not stop until 
 half way to Lake Como. It has always been supposed that the 
 horse became insulted at the military coat of a militia Colonel 
 representing an army of two white men apd a few half-breeds 
 away off on the frontier. Certainly that was a knowing horse. 
 
 Maj. Cullen subsequently went to Montana and became 
 interested in a gold -mine, and when the Methodists had the 
 power, or rather the say-so as to the appointments of agents, he 
 was selected as superintendent of Indian affairs ; and when the 
 Quakers had the direction of matters he was appointed peace 
 commissioner, special agent and superintendent of Indian affairs. 
 He was at one time part owner of the Metropolitan hotel, and in 
 many respects was a public-spirited citizen. I have a kindly 
 memory for the Major, with his jolly face, rotund body and 
 hearty laugh — now gone forever — for though a little crude and 
 not polished as a scholar, yet he was a man of strong natural 
 abilities and possessed many fine traits of character. 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON BARNEY. 
 
 A large, vigorous, healthy man is Capt. Barney. Though 
 rising seventy years, yet he is as supple as a boy and enjoys the 
 best ot health, and still for the past ten years he has eaten no. 
 meat, has never tasted liquor of any kind or smoked a cigar or 
 
 '44 
 
690 PEN PICTURES 
 
 chewed tobacco. In this respect he is the most perfect man im 
 this State. He takes his milk and oatmeal daily, claiming that 
 it is easily digested, and as oats give -muscle and endurance to- 
 the horse, so, he says, oatmeal gives power to the man. He 
 certainly presents an excellent specimen of both his theory and 
 his practice. He was born in Jefferson County, New York, in 
 1808 ; received but a slight education, and at the age of twelve 
 years commenced to learn the trade of tanner with Jasen Fair- 
 banks, where he remained until he was twenty-one years old, and. 
 during which time he never drank any tea or coffee, or spiritu- 
 ous liquors of any kind ; was at one time special mail agent in 
 Ohio ; worked at his trade in various parts of Ohio and for his 
 old boss about eight years ; was with his brother several years 
 in Ohio, then went to Wheeling, Virginia, and ran a flat boat, 
 for three years ; was steamboat mate for two years ; captain some- 
 ten years ; built about sixty miles of the Steubenville, Ohio, rail- 
 road in 1854-5-6; came to St. Paul in 1857, and engaged in 
 the grocery, wheat and pork business; traded and bartered. He 
 has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce eight years, 
 and for several years vice-president; was a useful and valuable 
 member of the County Commissioners in 1872-3, and was for a 
 time a member of the Board of Public Works. At one period 
 he was in the pork business with Marshal Miller. 
 
 Capt. Barney owns considerable property in the city, among 
 which is Barney's block on Seventh street, and he is estimated 
 to be worth ;$ 100,000. He is an open, frank, honest man, and is 
 descended from one of the finest families in Ohio ; has always led 
 an active and temperate life, and is one of our most solid citizens. 
 It is needless to say that he is an old Jeffersonian Democrat,, 
 having been named after Thomas Jefferson. 
 
 FIRST STATE ELECTION CHARLES HAGGENMILLER. 
 
 Although Minnesota was not admitted as a State until 
 1857-8, yet the first State election was held in October of 1857, 
 and Gen. Sibley was chosen Governor. The first State District 
 Judge was E. C. Palmer ; first Probate Judge of Ramsey County, 
 Rev. John Penman ; first Treasurer, Robert A. Smith ; first Reg- 
 ister of Deeds, Edward Heenan. Of course all these officers 
 " felt big," because they were inside the boundary of a State, for 
 it was a great honor to live in a State then. 
 
OF ST. PAUl, MINN. 691 
 
 " Charlie " Haggenmiller is well and very favorably known 
 to the old settlers, although his familiar face is now missed in our 
 midst, not that he is dead, but we don't catch a glimpse of his 
 smiling face in business as formerly, and yet he is well remem- 
 bered by the "boys" of 1857. He opened his eyes in Germany 
 for the first time in 1829, and after receiving a common school 
 education landed on our shores in 1854 and engaged in the nurs- 
 ery business in Detroit one year; came to St. Paul in 1857; 
 made a claim in Hennepin County, but sold out ; returned to St. 
 Paul and engaged in the general liquor business ; then kept a 
 saloon, and now has dropped out of view. Mr. Haggenmiller is 
 a man of medium size, social, pleasant and magnetic, and draws 
 about him a host of friends. 
 
 MEETING OF FIRST STATE LEGISLATURE FIRE MACHINES ORDERED. 
 
 The meeting of the first State Legislature was held in the old 
 Capitol building on Dec. 2, 1857. There was a general feeling 
 of congratulation over the admission of the State, and active 
 measures were taken to put the machinery in good working 
 order. 
 
 The Council ordered this year two engines, and in view of 
 this fact Hope Engine No. i and Minnehaha Company No. 2 
 were organized. The boys were greatly pleased over the pros- 
 pects of two genuine fire steamers. 
 
 WILLIAM CROOKS. ' 
 
 There is but one original Col. William Crooks ; all the rest 
 are imitations. His stately walk, his dignified bearing, his sol- 
 dierly appearance, his sharp, incisive words, his decided charac- 
 ter, his marked personality, his individuality, his curt, crisp, 
 pungent sentences, his familiar ways, are peculiarities which 
 belong exclusively to Col. Crooks, and any one who attempts to 
 imitate him will make a failure. In the ordinary run of life there 
 is a sameness ; the trees are similar, the leaves resemble each 
 other, the rocks have the same appearance, and yet a bold peak 
 attracts universal attention and rivets the eye by its peculiar 
 sharp points and ruggedness. So with Col. Crooks ; he is no 
 sycophant, but a natural leader, with clear-cut traits of charac- 
 ter ; a man of self-reliance ; bold, frank, decided, quick of com- 
 
692 PEN PICTURES 
 
 prehension, apparently bluff, yet kind-hearted, generous and just. 
 He is a well-rounded-out man in the prime of life, and treads the 
 earth like one who has a warranty deed to the ground he walks 
 on. His movements are stately, while his conversation is easy 
 and flowing, and this, coupled to a pleasing address and a fine 
 physical development, mark the Colonel as a man of will-power, 
 backed by good judgment to execute any plan he may wish to 
 accomplish. His especial life work should have been a Major 
 General in the army, for his military knowledge and executive 
 abilities would have given him a pre-eminent position, and yet as 
 a civilian and a politician he grasps the situation with a master's 
 
 hand. " No, sir ; by , sir, that must be done ! " illustrates 
 
 the man, and still he is not dogmatical or over-bearing or unrea- 
 sonable, but when the matter is once settled then comes the exe- 
 cution — prompt, decisive, sharp, quick. " Not a bit of it, sir ; 
 
 not a bit of it ; he is the element of discord, and by — , sir, he 
 
 must go ! " and if the Colonel is around about that time he does 
 go. And yet with all this apparent severity pf temper very few 
 men are more social in their nature or who have a larger stream 
 of keen humor and of genuine fun in their composition than has 
 Col. Crooks. 
 
 " TAKE A DRINK, SIR ! " 
 
 Gen. Sibley was gathering his men and supplies at Camp 
 Pope in the year 1862, preparatory to starting out on his Indian 
 expedition, and Col. Crooks had just arrived to take command 
 of the post. The Quartermaster of the expedition had accom- 
 panied the Colonel, and matters were assuming a busy appear- 
 ance. The writer was Commissary and Quartermaster at the 
 camp, so placed in the latter position by Gen. Sibley, when the 
 Quartermaster of the expedition, thinking, perhaps, that I was a 
 little green (and I was,) ordered me to turn over all the articles in 
 my possession into his hands. Not relishing the command I called 
 on Col. Crooks then in charge of the camp, to learn from him 
 what I should do, so finding him in his tent the following con- 
 versation took place : 
 
 " Good morning, Colonel." , 
 
 " Good morning. Captain." 
 
 ■" How do you find things, Colonel ? " 
 
 ■" Fine camp, sir ; fine camp." 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 693 
 
 " Colonel, I called to make some inquires about my 'duties 
 in turning over my supplies." 
 
 The Colonel was very busy sorting out his trunk and ap- 
 parently not hearing me turned abruptly around and said : 
 
 "Take a drink, sir; take a drink; good Kentucky, sir; 
 good liquor, sir. Take a drink ! " 
 
 I was no drinking man; I could scarcely go under an 
 apple tree without feeling a dizziness in my head, and what to 
 do I didn't know. I hesitated. "Take a drink, sir," came the 
 command from my superior officer, which startled me into a 
 consciousness of the fact that I might be arrested for disobedi- 
 ence of orders, and I obeyed the command. The Colonel still 
 kept on rummaging in his trunk, passing an occasional remark, 
 when I ventured to again say : 
 
 " Colonel ! I — I — Colonel — I was — about — to say — Colo- 
 nel— I— I—" 
 
 " Take another drink, sir," came the stern, full voice of the 
 Colonel. 
 
 Heavens ! I thought, what shall I do ! That last drink 
 was playing hide-and-go-seek in my brain, and I could just see a 
 dozen tents waltzing around in a dance ! In a tremulous voice 
 I began — "Colonel, I'er — I'er don't — drink — drink — much, 
 and—" 
 
 " Take a drink, sir," once again came the imperative voice, 
 and to emphasize his command he turned and brought his hand 
 and his forefinger down in front of me in such a mandatory 
 manner that the hair stood up on the top of my head. I saw 
 the guard house on one side and the tumbler on the other; I 
 drank ! My tongue got loose ; I began to think I was as good 
 as Col. Crooks or anybody else, so for a minute I poured my 
 grievances into the Colonel's ear, and he, apparently without 
 noticing me, coolly turned and said — " Let's take a walk," and 
 placing his arm kindly into mine, (a fortunate thing for me,) we 
 passed the line of tents, occasionally remarking upon the char- 
 acter of the camp, when, just as we arrived in front of head- 
 quarters, there, standing in the door, was Capt. C, the Quarter- 
 master. The Colonel came to a full halt, wheeled suddenly 
 around, bringing me with him, and addressed the officer in the 
 following emphatic terms : 
 
694 PEN PICTURES 
 
 " Sir, Capt. Newson is the Quartermaster of this post, sir, 
 and when he turns over his stores it will be on an order from 
 me, sir ; by , sir ; understand that, sir." 
 
 And he did understand it, for he never troubled me again. 
 We continued our walk a short distance, when the Colonel with- 
 drew his arm from my own and in a short, quick, yet kindly 
 tone, said — " Captain, cut off your hair — you look like a tramp ; 
 shave up ; put on straps ; be a soldier ! " 
 
 Lest the reader should misapprehend the motives of Col. 
 Crooks in commanding me to drink, I would say that at the time 
 alluded to I was worn completely down by over-work, having 
 nipe clerks under me, and he knowing my nervous and depleted 
 condition and also my aversion to liquor, had taken tl(is method 
 to administer a stimulant which I now believe had much to do 
 in saving me from a fit of sickness. It was simply a dose of 
 medicine. This little incident illustrates the sagacity and at the 
 same time the bluff mode of a kind-hearted man. 
 
 " BE BRIEF, SIR ! " 
 
 The Sixth Regiment was drawn up for dress parade. It 
 was a bright, beautiful morning, and the boys were in splendid 
 trim, while the Colonel seemed to have an extra twinkle in his 
 eye forshadowing some peculiar fun ahead. He appeared 
 grandly in his military suit, and moved in front of his favorite 
 regiment like an, emperor. The men had come to a rest in order 
 to listen to the morning prayer of the chaplain, when the Colo- 
 nel roared out — " Be brief, sir ! — make your prayer short, sir, by 
 
 , sir ; " and a general twitter ran along the hnes. Of course 
 
 the prayer was soon finished, when the regiment went through 
 the manual of arms, and then the Colonel gave the ordei- — 
 " Forward ! march ! " 
 
 Away went the boys in blue ; over granite boulders, down 
 the ravine, up the hill, across the plain, when the order came, 
 sharp and shrill, " Double quick," and on they rushed, pell-mell, 
 close to the Minnesota river's brink. " Halt ! right about face ! " 
 Not a man flinched ; every soldier knew his Colonel, and though 
 the men did not comprehend what his plans were, yet each one 
 was there to obey, for they all had implicit confidence in their 
 commander ; and there they stood while the Colonel compla- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 693 
 
 ■cently cried out — " Right dress !" and then — " Forward ! march !" 
 and the regiment soon reached its quarters. In five minutes an 
 ■order came to me from the Colonel to issue to his men ten gal- 
 lons of whisky. " I can't do it, Colonel," I said, " as I am 
 •ordered by the powers at Washington not to issue so much 
 whisky, except in cases of greit emergency. " Fatigue duty, 
 
 sir ; by , sir, my men were on the brink of the river, sir," 
 
 -and I thought I saw a grim smile creeping out from under the 
 •corners of the Colonel's eyes. The whisky was issued, for it 
 was perfectly proper to do so in cases where men had performed 
 fatigue duty, and this was a clear case. The Colonel chuckled 
 to himself, while the boys enjoyed the joke " as one of Billy 
 
 Crooks' best." 
 
 "the long roll." ■ . 
 
 " Get up to-morrow at 3 o'clock and see the fun," said the 
 ■Colonel, as he gave me a sly wink, " I'm going to beat the long 
 roll.'- So I was up on time, and sure enough, just in the gray of 
 the morning away went the drum, and of course it was a signal 
 •of danger — the Indians must have attacked the camp. The Col- 
 onel, mounted on his black charger, was immediately on hand, 
 and as the drum continued to repeat its warning the troops came 
 piling out of their tents in the most heterogeneous and comical 
 manner. Half awake, frightened, partially dressed, no caps, no 
 coats, guns but no ammunition, ammunition but no guns, ba?e 
 feet, boots without stockings, .stockings without boots, bulging 
 • eyes, disheveled hair, cartridges missing, scared faces, officers 
 •dumbfounded. " Fall into Hne !" came the order. "Regiment, 
 double quick — march ! " and away went this squad of rag-tag and 
 bob-tails with the Colonel at the head, fully impressed with the 
 belief that they were after the Indians, and a more laughable 
 scene never met the vision of man. Of course it v/as dark and 
 many tumbled down, while others thought they were rushing to 
 sure death. Whep the poor devils were nearly exhausted and 
 out of breath in running, the order came, " Halt! Right about 
 
 face march ! " and the men came into camp in a very forlorn 
 
 state. "Officers, examine the condition of your men and report 
 any deficiency to headquarters," and the Colonel rode away to 
 his tent laughing immoderately over the scare he had given the 
 •camp ; but the last order was " the unkindest cut of all," for if 
 
696 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the various officers did their duties the men knew but few would 
 escape the penalty of not being ready. Meeting, the Colonel the 
 next day I asked him why he had put the camp in such a terri- 
 ble turmoil and he answered — " Discipline, sir ; discipline. Sol- 
 diers must learn to be always ready ; by sir, discipline ! " 
 
 And I found on a subsequent qccasion, when the long roll was 
 beat, that the Colonel was right ; the men were then ready, and 
 that the lesson taught them was a good one. 
 
 THAT MULE ! ' 
 
 Gen. Sibley was coming to Camp Pope and I was anxious; 
 to get him a place that might be decently termed " headquar- 
 ters," and as there was no lumber to build with, I proposed to- 
 draw a house froni about a mile ofif and plant it in the midst of 
 the camp, and for this purpose I asked for a detail of lOO men,, 
 and putting the building on skids attached some twenty mules- 
 to it and away it went. Arriving near a little creek I found 
 it necessary to employ four mules on each end in front of the- 
 building, and then, with the soldiers, put the whole force in mo- 
 tion, so that when the creek was reached the mules would jump 
 it. When all was ready amidst a terrible yell away we went, but 
 on reaching the creek a stubborn mule " paused on the brink of 
 the Rubicon," and in that fatal pause the building ran over hinL 
 and his body passed under the house and out of sight. Of course 
 we all supposed he was crushed to atoms, when, judge of our 
 surprise on opening the door there was the mule's head peeping 
 up through the floor and shaking his long ears. Men were set to- 
 work to cut him out, supposing of course his legs were broken., 
 and lo ! when released he was as frisky as a deer, and amidst 
 the plaudits of the crowd he was escorted to the camp by a 
 drum and fife and a file of soldiers. On arriving there the inci- 
 dent was narrated to Col. Crooks, who, after contemplating the 
 animal for a moment, burst forth in one of his peculiar expres- 
 sions — "I'll make him a Major General, by , sir; he de- 
 serves it." Then turning to the Commissary, he said — " Cap- 
 tain, issue him a gallon of whisky. Fatigue duty, sir; fatigue 
 duty." And it is an historical fact that at the end of three days- 
 the mule had actually drank the whole gallon of whisky, and. 
 when last I saw him he was in the hey-day of his glory and. 
 of his fame. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 697 
 
 Col. Crooks was bom in New York city in 1832 and is 
 the third son of the celebrated Ramsay Crooks, president of the 
 American Fur Company ; attended West Point Military Academy, 
 and resigning, became assistant to John B. Jervis, the distin- 
 guished engineer; came to St. Paul in 1857 when 25 years old, 
 and became the chief engineer of the St. Paul and Pacific Rail- 
 road, and was one of the earliest and most devoted men who 
 helped carry this enterprise to completion in the dark and trying 
 days which beset it. In honor of this the first locomotive engine 
 which ever turned a wheel in Minnesota (1862) received his name. 
 He carried on his profession for several years, when in 1 862 he 
 became Colonel of the Sixth Regiment, and was on the plains 
 with Gen. Sibley and did effective labor in the field. His regi- 
 ment was one of the finest in the State and was one of the best 
 drilled. After he resigned in 1 864, he became connected with 
 Hon. Edmund Rice in starting what is now known as the River 
 division of the Milwaukee road, and in its aid he went to Europe. 
 
 OFFICES. 
 
 Col. Crooks was a member of the House of Representatives 
 during the sessions of 1875, 1876 and 1877, from the Twenty- 
 third senatorial district of Ramsey County, and represented the 
 same district in the Senate during the regular and extra sessions 
 of 1 88 1. Beyond the fact that he served one year as a member 
 of the Board of Public Works of the city of St. Paul, the above 
 are all the civil offices Col. Crooks has held, with the exception 
 that he is now a member of the commission to locate the second 
 State prison of this State. While a member of the two houses 
 of the Legislature he made an exceedingly creditable record. 
 His don homme manner, his genial disposition, and his personal 
 popularity, were largely instrumental in carrying a number of 
 measures of great importance to the city and the people of the 
 State. He was also an active and influential member of the 
 River Convention, and was one of the originators of the measure. 
 
 The marked characteristics of Col. Crooks have been fully 
 set forth in the beginning of this article, and in closing this brief 
 sketch of his life I can only say that he has impressed me as a 
 gentleman and as a man of power, as a warm-hearted, frank, social, 
 genial, worthy citizen. 
 
698 PEN PICTURES 
 
 SCARCITY OF MONEY. 
 
 And then came the terribly hard times ! With no money, no 
 values, no property, no business, little or no emigration, no 
 banks, or banks with empty vaults, no courage, no hope, notes 
 due, mortgages foreclosed, men heavily in debt, land depreciated 
 from fifty to seventy-five per cent., no trade, indeed with nothing 
 to trade, no foundation to build on, no one can imagine the fright- 
 ful condition of affairs in St. Paul in the latter part of the year 
 1857 but he who passed through it all, and he can scarcely realize 
 the immense struggle he than made! Nine-tenths of all the old 
 settlers who went down that year have never financially recovered, 
 or if they have, it has been by a terrible effort or the fortunate 
 rise in real estate, which, for many years they could not sell at 
 any > price. I do not attribute all this financial disaster to the 
 speculation solely in real estate in and about our city, as other 
 writers do, but the general depression throughout the United 
 States coming at that particular time had much to do with the 
 matter, and altogether, made a financial hodge-podge of an other- 
 wise prosperous cky. But then it left healthy results. It taught 
 the people prudence; it demonstrated the necessity for inherent 
 development ; it counseled caution in the treatment of real estate ; 
 it said in trumpet tones — " Btiild solid foundations ;" it inspired a 
 spirit of conservatism; it put curb-bits into the mouths of en- 
 thusiasts ; it opened up a new avenue of thought and of business, 
 and inaugurated a system of growth which to-day makes St. Paul 
 the most solid city in the Northwest, and out of adversity came 
 prosperity. The old gray-heads suffered — the young men of to- 
 day reap the harvest. 
 
OF ST. FA UL, MINN. 699 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Incidents and Biographies with but little or no Data. 
 
 I find it utterly impossible to obtain complete data of all the 
 old settlers in time for my first ediaon, so I content myself with 
 a few glittering rays of light thrown upon those whose memories 
 still linger in the days of " auld lang syne," hoping that in my 
 second edition I shall be able to give full and complete histories 
 of all whose records at present are unavailable or who have 
 been overlooked. Some old settlers whose data is complete did 
 not reach me until most of my book had been printed, and hence 
 I am obliged to put them in this chapter. 
 
 EARLY MISSIONARY LABORS. 
 
 The stage had arrived at Reed's Landing in the year 1853. 
 The passengers were cold and hungry. The country way-side 
 dining-house was illy supplied with provisions, but on the table 
 were bread, butter, and a plate of eggs, one for each customer. 
 Down sat the guests, when a young man seized the dish of eggs and 
 turned them all on to his own plate and commenced eating. 
 Directly opposite to him sat a young minister, who, not seeing 
 anything to devour, watched his friend and the eggs until he could 
 stand it no longer, when he reached over and in a meek voice 
 inquired — " Where are you from, sir ? " " St. Paul," was the 
 reply. " That's enough," said the minister, " I'm going there to 
 preach the gospel ; to do missionary work." 
 
 Dr. William H. Miller was a character in the day in 
 which he lived. He was born in Prussia in 1811 ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1854 and opened a small drug store on upper Third 
 street, nearly opposite the old American House, and then moved 
 to the corner of Third and Exchange streets. The doctor was 
 
700 PEN PICTURES 
 
 somewhat peculiar in his habits and in his mode of living, saving 
 very carefully every cent, and giving most persistent efforts to 
 business. He not only dealt in drugs, but did a good deal of 
 doctoring in herbs ; was a good botanist, and very often could be 
 seen, on Sundays especially, with his clean-cut features, his 
 gray hairs, his spectacles, his long pipe and his cane, delving 
 among the wild plants looking for some peculiar herb. He was 
 married and had a family of sons and one daughter. 
 
 When Myers & Willius opened a bank in 1856, Dr. Miller 
 commenced to deposit with them,'and continued with that bank 
 during all its changes up to the time he died, in 1884, never fail- 
 ing to deposit something every day in the week for thirty years, 
 and at the time of his death he was the oldest depositor in this 
 bank, a:nd worth from ;^50,ooo to ^^75,000. He built the large 
 brick building known as Miller's block, on the corner of Third 
 and Exchange streets, and had, at the time of his death, bank 
 stock and cash on deposit. He calculated very closely, and 
 lived economically, dying at the advanced age of 71 years. His 
 old drug store still stands on the corner of Fourth and Exchange 
 streets, and has a venerable-looking appearance, as did its owner. 
 
 Henry Morris was a good man ; patient, hopeful, forbea:r- 
 ing, industrious, kind-hearted, he toiled dri to the end, and quietly 
 stepped out of this world into the unseen, to reap that which he 
 had sown — the result of a good life here. With no creed, no 
 religion, no faith, his life was as simple as a child's, and if there 
 be a just and merciful God Henry Morris is as high up in the 
 estimation of the Almighty as millions who profess Christianity, 
 yet who disgrace it by acts of meanness. "As ye sow so shall 
 ye reap," is good enough religion for the masses, and if one can't 
 get to a better land on this road he would get completely lost on 
 any other. And so Morris lived arid died, an honorable, honest 
 man, and has left behind him a record which might well be imi- 
 tated. He came to St. Paul in 1853 ; was for a time in the cloth- 
 ing business ; then was engaged selling sewing machines, and then 
 became Deputy United States Marshal, and though often sick and 
 wearied of life, yet he faithfully pressed forward in the discharge 
 of his duties. He was a kind and indulgent father, a quiet, unpre- 
 tending citizen, a pleasant, obliging man. He was born in 1825 
 and died in 1885. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. ■ 701 
 
 Louis Kreiger was a short, thick-set, full-faced man, of 
 German birth, born in 1828, who, at one time was quite promi- ' 
 nent in the city. He was a member of the Council in 1871 and 
 in 1875 ; wharf-master in 1866, and did business at one time on 
 Seventh street. Adversity overtook him and Louis struggled on 
 to the end. He was a kind-hearted man, a good deal of a politi- 
 cian, and at one time had considerable influence with the Ger- 
 mans. 
 
 C. L. Willis, Esq., is an able and higly respectable lawyer, 
 who for some years has not been actively engaged in the pursuit 
 of his, profession. He came to St. Paul in 1850 and invested 
 considerable money in real estate here, as well as at Superior 
 and Ashland, Wis. I remember him as connected with the 
 Empire block on upper Third street, and for thirty years have 
 almost daily met him, the same calm, placid, thoughtful, quiet, 
 genial, old-school gentleman. He was formerly connected with 
 the press before coming to St. Paul and prior to entering the 
 legal profession, and since his residence here he has won the 
 kindest regards of all by those unqualified characteristics which 
 mark the true gentleman. He is the father of John W. Willis, 
 and mgy be classed among St. Paul's oldest and best citizens. 
 
 Joseph Le May was a little pussy Frenchman, who in early 
 days married a couple and who a short time afterwards divorced 
 the same for ^5 by tearing up the marriage certificate. He was 
 a justice of the peace here and a- great Democrat. He removed 
 to Pembina some years ago. In early • days Tie had great 
 influence with the French and will be very generally remembered 
 by the old settlers. 
 
 Aaron W. Tullis was a tall, dignified man, with a good 
 complexion, and very active. He had a pleasant address, and 
 carried the boys with him at the day of election. He was Sheriff 
 of Ramsey County in 1856-1858 ; also in 1860-1862. He was a 
 Republican politician, a jovial man of the world, and lived where 
 Dr. Mann formerly did, on the corner of Summit avenue and 
 Third street. His wife was killed by falling over backward with 
 the seat of the wagon. Tullis went to California, and if rumor 
 can be believed was killed there. 
 
 George Turnbull was an early settler and married a daugh- 
 ter of the late John R. Irvine. He wis at one time Deputy 
 
702 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Sheriff under Deacon Caldwell, a;nd a man of a great deal of 
 push. He went to Florida a good many years ago ; returned to 
 St. Paul and opened a livery stable some time in 1883, where I 
 think his son carries on the business. 
 
 J. Y. Caldwell was a thick-set man who formerly ran a 
 hardware store on upper Third street. He was a hurly-burly 
 fellow, possessed great energy, and was generally known as 
 " Deacon." He was Sheriff in 1858 and i860. I believe he is 
 dead. 
 
 Baron von Glann. — Who of the old settlers does not 
 remember this peculiar Von — his rapid, earnest, energetic talk? 
 his quick, nervous movements ? his insane infatuation for money? 
 When carrying on a small, dingy grocery store on upper Third 
 street near the Seven Corners in the year 1856, he invited the 
 writer in to see him, and he then showed him his books where it 
 was demonstrated that his meals cost him just three cents apiece, 
 or nine cents per day. He took out of his store everything ^: 
 iirst cost, did his own cooking and thus economized while he 
 bought thousands of dollars of interest-bearing city bonds. 
 Hard times came on, and oh, how Von Glann fretted; how he 
 talked; how he ranted over the belief that he would lose his 
 money, but he didn't, for the city paid him every dollar with 
 interest. Then Von Glann went to Chicago and married, and he 
 became dreadfully excited over the extravagance of his wife and 
 they parted, the court granting her an alimony. This broke his 
 heart, and after years of a fevered, troubled life he left his money- 
 bags and went to join the great throng gone before. 
 
 The old "Holland Place" was a peaked-roof building 
 which stood on Third street near Market, overlooking the river. 
 It was built in the Gothic style, and was conducted in the old 
 English manner. The landlord was a square-built Englishman, 
 emphatic, slow, unmoved, methodical, and who saw everything 
 in a practical way. Of course he couldn't take a joke, and so 
 the house burned down and he got out. His wife was a sharp- 
 featured woman, nervous, petulant, etc., and the combination of 
 these elements and the house itself, left a strong impression on 
 my mind. 
 
 G. G. Griswold was a dealer in ready made clothing on 
 Third street. He was a man of good address, quite pleasant in his 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 70» 
 
 ways and carried on a large trade. I remember him as furnish- 
 ing my first military suit, and I shall never forget the peculiar 
 feeling which came over me as I looked into the glass for the first 
 time and saw myself — a soldier. Griswold was for years in ill- 
 health and visited California in the hopes of relief, but he came 
 back to St. Paul, built some handsome houses on Dayton ave- 
 nue and died in this city some five or six years ago. In one of 
 these houses his widow now resides, as fine-looking and as 
 bright and as youthful as she was many years ago. 
 
 Among the most agreeable of men of nearly thirty years 
 ago, was J. F. Darrow, the accommodating clerk of the old 
 Winslow House in St. Paul. He was a good-looking young 
 man, and always pleasant, very much resembling in looks and 
 actions Mr. Duel, the landlord, and both together made a pleas- 
 ant team for a hotel. When the Winslow House at St. Anthony 
 (now a college,) was opened, Darrow became the clerk, and from 
 thence he removed to the Bowery, New York, and kept the Wes- 
 chester House for many years, and then became a citizen of -Bal- 
 timore, where he now runs the Clarendon. Mr. Darrow is a 
 man about 53 years of age, born, I think, in New York, came to 
 St. Paul in 1854 or 1855, and among his numerous acquaint- 
 ances of the past I know of none who would not do him a favor, 
 or who would not speak of him as an amiable, kind-hearted gen- 
 tleman. 
 
 Thomas Lamb kept a butcher shop, or, more properly speak- 
 ing, a sausage establishment, in the old Edgerton bank building, 
 corner of Franklin and Third streets. He was a thick-set man, 
 with a peculiar walk, and was very out-spoken in his way, and 
 yet he was an industrious citizen. He was a man of strong 
 physical powers, and a scientific boxer. He dealt principally in 
 pork, and owned a fine homestead on the old St. Anthony road. 
 He was born about 1820; came to St. Paul in 1856, and died 
 several years ago. Mr. Lamb purchased a hog of Mr. Wescott, 
 which weighed 1,140 pounds, and after putting it on exhibition 
 at ten cents per head, killed it and it took him many months to 
 get rid of the meat. 
 
 D. C. Justice was a dry-goods merchant away back in 1855, 
 and kept his store on Third street. He had a good establish- 
 ment for his day, and at one time it was very popular with the 
 
704 ■ PEN PICTURES 
 
 ladies. He was a full-faced, healthy-looking man, born about 
 1829, I think in New York State. He left St. Paul many years 
 ago, and where he now is I do not know. 
 
 "de greatest man." 
 
 Two aged colored men were talking about an old settler, 
 when they came to the following conclusion : 
 
 " Degustus ! — dat is de most oblivrous and de greatest man 
 in de wold ! He is — am fact ! " 
 
 " Oh, hush ! — You don't know nuthin ! Dar's one man a 
 great deal bigger than he." 
 
 " Wall, whar is he? whar is he? I jest want to see that man, 
 I do. Whar is he?" 
 
 " Wall, now, Degustus, you just show you ignorance; ob 
 course you do — ^jest like yer. God is the greatest man." 
 
 " Oh, wall, wall, yes — but God is the oldest." The old set-' 
 tier who overheard the conversation smiled and went on his 
 way. 
 
 H. E. Baker was a queer character. He was a short, thick- 
 set man, full of energy, and had a good deal of business get-up 
 to him, but he had no discretion or policy. He was the animal 
 McKenty referred to when asked what caused his broken win- 
 dow. He replied, "A dog, sir, jumped through it," when the 
 fact was that Baker in presenting a bill to Mac, which he 
 couldn't pay, was very impudent to him, and Mac.,' seizing him 
 by the foundation of his pants, pitched him through the window. 
 Baker kept a hardware store, on Third street in the year 1855, 
 and was so " ram-buck-sious " in his ways that he was nick- 
 named " He Baker." He was of a very positive character, so was 
 McKenty, and hence the antagonism. He left the city for Cali- 
 fornia some twenty odd years ago. 
 
 Goodrich and Morton. — These gentlemen came to St. 
 Paul in 1854 or 1855. They were both practicing physicians, 
 the former somewhat slender in person and quiet in his ways, 
 while the latter was plump, full of life and vigor. Goodrich was 
 reticent and attentive to his business, while Morton was social 
 and a " hale fellow well met." Both are dead. The residence 
 of Goodrich was on Sixth street, on the line of the present dis- 
 puted street survey, where the remains of the cedar posts of his 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 705 
 
 fence can at present be seen, and demonstrating where the Hne 
 ■of the street legally is. 
 
 Alexander Buchanan. — A large, burly, good-natured 
 Scotchman was Alexander Buchanan, who, in 1859 and 1861 
 was Auditor of Ramsey County. He owned several acres near 
 the city limits and devoted his spare time to the cultivation of 
 flowers and fruits. He was social in his nature and a great 
 admirer of Bobby Burns. He died many years ago. Came to 
 St. Paul in 1857. 
 
 WiLLLAM Nixon. — On Bridge Square, before there was any 
 bridge, was a peanut and apple stand presided over by William 
 Nixon. He did well in his business and finally opened a large 
 hardware store on West Third street. He was an industrious, 
 money-making man, who must have come here in 1854-5. 
 Domestic trouble induced him to leave the city and settle in St. 
 Cloud, where he ran a large store for several years, and then sold 
 out and removed to a farm below St. Paul, but is now back again 
 in St. Cloud. He was an Irishman by birth and had the faculty 
 of making money better than any man 1 ever met. Like many 
 other old settlers of over a quarter of a century ago, he is now 
 stepping down the ladder of life, not unmindful of the fact that 
 the world does move. 
 
 R. F. HousEWORTH was a queer man, and yet a clever citi- 
 zen. He was a member of the School Board in 1 865-6, Clerk 
 of District Court in 1858-62, and a lawyer by profession. He 
 was in ill-health most of the time and died twenty years ago. 
 
 Isaac H. Banker was a young man of fine address and of 
 considerable ability. He was, I think, a surveyor. He was a 
 quiet, pleasant gentleman who stepped over the river years ago. 
 
 C. G. Irvine is a short, thick-set man, a son of George 
 Irvine, and has been in the American Express office for many 
 years. He is a quick, trust-worthy business man and moves as 
 quietly in his every-day life as a snow-flake falls on the pave- 
 ment, and yet he is an important spoke in a very large wheel. 
 He fills up the measure of his usefulness, having been in St. 
 Paul for some thirty-odd years. 
 
 William G. Fonseca was one of the most fashionable and 
 polite young men in the city of St. Paul in 1854. He kept a 
 dry-goods store on upper Third street in what was known as 
 45 
 
706 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Empire block, and he drew about him the don ton. His suavity 
 of manner made him noted among the ladies. He left St. Paul 
 nearly twenty years ago and emigrated north to Pembina and 
 married a woman with Indian blood, and he used to make trips 
 to St. Paul with his old wooden squeaking carts. It was cur- 
 rently reported among his young friends, that he was crossed in 
 love by a young lady in this city, and Fonseca " flew to ills 
 he knew not of. " I met him for the first time in over twenty 
 years, at Winnipeg, some two years now gone, and he introduced 
 to me one of his little daughters, a beautiful, black-eyed brunette 
 girl, with just enough of the Indian blood in her to make her 
 look charming, and she was charming. 
 
 And then the cars started, and away we went homeward, 
 leaving behind us the still polite, kind-hearted, sedate husband 
 and father, once the Chesterfield of St. Paul. I learned that in 
 the common parlance of the world Fonseca was well fixed, but 
 it seemed very odd to me to find him the " toy of circumstances " 
 with his peculiar surroundings, and yet such is life. 
 
 George Pulford, I think, was of Irish parentage and came 
 here sometime in 1853—4. He v/as steward at the old American 
 House for many years, and at other hotels, and was a man of 
 strong traits of character. He accumulated considerable prop- 
 erty, but before he died was for years in ill-health and somewhat 
 lame. He was an old land-mark, and very generally known 
 among the old settlers. 
 
 J. T. Halstead was a surveyor, and was city engineer in 
 1857. He is a very industrious and honest man ; of good size, 
 energetic, brusque in his ways and yet a man esteemed for his 
 many good qualities. 
 
 J. E. Fullerton kept a clothing store on Third street, near 
 Ingersoll's block, away back in 1852. He was a tall man, of 
 fine social qualities and very generous in his nature. John 
 Parker had been burned out and had lost everything. " Here, 
 Parker," said Fullerton, " put on this cbat, the best in the shop," 
 and when Parker had complied, Fullerton gently pushed him to 
 the door and said, " Get out of here!" and Parker got, carrying 
 the new and elegant coat with him. Mr. F. left St. Paul many 
 years ago, and I know nothing of his whereabouts, but he was a 
 good fellow. 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 707 
 
 WiLLiAk Langley was all horse, and kept a livery stable 
 in what is now known as the Olympic Theater, remodeled, on 
 Seventh street. He was a small, exceedingly active man, loud 
 talking and full of dash. He was a " dandy," in the common 
 parlance of the boys. 
 
 C. C. King kept a grocery store for many years on the cor- 
 ner of Robert and Fifth streets. He is a good-sized gentleman, 
 somewhat crippled by d|sease, with a head marking some sixty 
 years, and hair gray. He was formerly an engineer, and is now 
 doing nothing. He must have come to St. Paul some time in 
 1854 or 1855, and is a man of quiet, unostentatious habits. 
 
 William Cahoone was a small man from the South, whom 
 I met in St. Paul with Jones and other Southern men, away back 
 in 1854, and who had emigrated to this city to grow up with it. 
 He was a bright, active young fellow, full of chivalry, and though 
 differing with me on the question of slavery and sometimes grow- 
 ing very warm over the matter, yet we were good friends. Before 
 the war Mr. Cahoone went South, and we met again for the first 
 time in twenty-five years, in this city in 1885. The slender youth, 
 then weighing perhaps 100 pounds, had grown to full manhood, 
 and had broadened out, and dropped the stale at nearly 200 ; but 
 he possessed the same old-time courtesy and kindliness which 
 marked his career of over a quarter of a century ago. In early 
 days Mr. Cahoone dealt in real estate ; later he became connected 
 with the editorial profession, and is now one of the owners of the 
 Bell telephone. He is a gentleman in every sense of the word 
 and a man of ability. 
 
 Joseph Weide is an old settler, but he is so extremely mod- 
 est, or so extremely busy making money, that I have been unable 
 to obtain any information of him^only in a general sense, and of 
 what I know of him personally. He was born in Madison, Indi- 
 ana, about 1837 ; came to St. Paul in 1853, and with his brother 
 Charles carried on business with their father. He is a man of 
 dark complexion, with black hair and black whiskers, of a san- 
 guine temperament, and very active. He moves as though pos- 
 sessed of wings, with a tireless energy and an indomitable will- 
 power. If he hadn't had these elements he would have been dead 
 long ago. He is a man of nerve and of pluck, and can't be kept 
 down. When earnest (and he is generally in earnest,) he talks 
 
708 PEN PICTURES 
 
 with great emphasis and rolls his head from side to side gently, 
 sufficiently so, however, to convince any one that he usually 
 means just what he says. He is out-spoken, decided, quick, impul- 
 sive and generous, and if he could have had a dollar for every 
 movement he has made during his life, he would be worth now 
 many millions. 
 
 Ed. Hogan was another old settler who dealt largely in real 
 estate and was a prominent member of the Baptist Church. He 
 died years ago. 
 
 C. C. Hoffman was a dealer in boots and shoes in upper 
 town thirty-two years ago. I knew but little about him, except 
 that he was a man of full habits and came from Buffalo. 
 
 Ira Bidwell, the banker of early days, must have come to 
 St. Paul from Wisconsin in 1854. He opened a bank in the old 
 brick building which stood on the corner of Third and Minne- 
 sota streets, and continued there for many years. He was a very 
 quiet and prudent man, exceedingly cautious in business matters, 
 and died many years ago. His son Henry was with him in the 
 bank, and at one time owned the Prescott place in West St. 
 Paul, where he cultivated grapes and raised bees. He went to 
 California and then to Nevada, where he now is. He was a quiet, 
 kind-hearted man, and probably would have done much better 
 had he stayed here. 
 
 Who does not remember Frank Collins with his immense 
 voice and stentorian lungs as he rode through the streets and 
 sang out, " Going, going, how much am I offered ? going, going ! " 
 He was an auctioneer and did a big business, and was a genial 
 man. Frank talked all over a ten-acre lot, and yet he was a stir- 
 ring citizen and a great rattler in business. 
 
 Patrick Brady was born in Ireland and came to St. Paul 
 in 1849. He engaged in contracting and opened the first 
 thoroughfare in the city, cutting through Eagle street. He took 
 up some land on the west side of the river, then Dakota County, 
 but gave it up and removed back again to the city, where he 
 lived on Fourth street, and died in 1877. His old residence is 
 still standing. He left four sons and one daughter. He was of 
 good size, physically, and an industrious, worthy man. 
 
 Capt. Charles G. Pettys was born in Massachusetts about 
 1825; he was a sea captain before coming to St. Paul, which 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 709 
 
 was in the year 1855. The firm of Starkey & Pettys, dealers in 
 real estate, was started immediately after his arrival, and continued 
 up to 1 858. At the breaking out of the war the Captain obtained 
 a position in the navy as master's mate in one of the government's 
 gun boats ; at a later period he went to California ; again returned 
 to St. Paul, and after a fitful life was found dead in the City Hall, 
 where he had been taken by a policeman. He had a weather- 
 beaten face, clearly showing his early life, and yet at one period 
 in his history he was a man of worth, of standing and of influence, 
 but a diseased appetite got the better of him, and he passed into 
 the " unseen shadow." 
 
 C. W. Carpenter, Esq., is a brother of the late Matt. Carpen- 
 ter, and came to St. Paul in 1855, and has been engaged for most 
 of the time as partner with Capt. Russell Blakeley in the stage 
 business. He is a man of ordinary size, with fine features, a 
 healthy complexion, and is a good citizen. He is generally absent 
 from the city on business ; is a quiet, pleasant gentleman, and 
 ranks among our best business men. He has been connected 
 with the Northwestern Stage Company for many years ; engaged 
 at one time in mining, but is now principally occupied in super- 
 intending the company's lines in the Black Hills and elsewhere. 
 Dr. Miller I knew away back in 1853, which year must 
 have brought him to St. Paul. He was a thick-set man with a 
 round, florid face, the very picture of health, and a man of a spec- 
 ulative turn of mind, and when I first met him he was in partner- 
 ship with Messrs. Kinney and Bond in the purchase of land 
 above the upper levee. He bought a lot on a side hill near Lafay- 
 ette avenue, where he built him a house, and where, if I am not 
 mistaken, his widow now lives. He was a genial, kind-hearted 
 man, very quiet in his movements, yet possessed of ability and 
 much respected. Kinney was a good deal like him, but both are 
 dead, while Bond has removed his residence south. Dr. Miller 
 left several children, one, a daughter, a very intelligent and ami- 
 able lady, now the principal of the Webster school in this city. 
 J. R. Jenks was once of the firm of Day & Jenks, who kept 
 a drug store on the corner of Third and Cedar streets. I believe 
 he came to St. Paul with Gov. Ramsey, or soon after, either in 
 1849 or 1850, and has been here ever since. He has been 
 engaged in the drug business for some years but now has a gov 
 
770 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ernment office at Fort Snelling. He is a quiet, retiring man in 
 his disposition, a gentleman of uniform habits and a good citi- 
 zen. 
 
 " Sam " Abbey, as he was familiarly called by his old friends, 
 was a fine-looking fellow and very generally esteemed by those 
 who knew him. He was an excellent business man, and for 
 years was engaged as an accountant on the frontier. He must 
 have come to St. Paul in 1854 and died twenty years ago, leav- 
 ing a widow who now resides in this city. 
 
 Patrick Nash was born in Ireland about 181 5, came to St. 
 Paul in 1853, and was a sewer and street contractor for many 
 years. In early days he was the only contractor of any account 
 in the city, and during his career here he was a hard-working^ 
 busy citizen. He was a short, thick-set man, very moderate in 
 his movements and in his speech, and very generally respected. 
 Patrick Ryan is another contractor, more especially for sew- 
 ers, and was born in Ireland in 1825; came to St. Paul about 
 1852, and has employed a good many men and done a good 
 deal of work in the city. He helped make that beautiful avenue 
 at Fort Snelling, and many of our own streets, if they could talk, 
 would praise him for the work he has done on them. He was 
 an Alderman for several years ; has been on the police force and 
 has occupied other offices of trust. He is a quiet man, with 
 bright, ilorid complexion and pleasant agreeable ways. 
 
 James A. Case was born in New York in 1823 ; learned the 
 trade of a surveyor; came to St. Paul in 1852 and was actively- 
 engaged in business for many years, when about twenty-six years 
 ago he lost all he had. He is a cousin of Judge Wilkin and is 
 at present in the employ of a railroad company. He is a fine, 
 pleasant-appearing gentleman, inoculated with a good deal of 
 philosophy and common sense, and is deterniined to tug on to 
 the end. 
 
 William Paist, I think, came to St. Paul with J. W. Mc- 
 Clung, some time in the year 1856, and was for a time associated 
 with him in business matters. He was much interested in agri- 
 culture, and was once secretary of the State Society. He was a 
 social man, very generally liked. The catarrh caused him to 
 talk through his nose somewhat, and finally ended in consump- 
 tion, he dying some ten years ago. 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 711 
 
 C. GiEB was a small, very nervous man, who kept a boot 
 and shoe store on Third street, and came to St. Paul some time 
 in 1856-7. He accumulated property, but had a great deal of 
 trouble with the insurance companies after he had lost his build- 
 ing by fire, and from what the writer knows personally of his 
 affairs, he is cons. rained to believe that the insurance compa- 
 nies, or rather their agents, imposed on Gieb and tried to cheat 
 him, which he justly resented. He died suddenly of heart-dis- 
 ease. 
 
 Dr. H. A. L. Von Wedelstaedt is a tall man, of quick 
 motion, and a great admirer of secret organizations. He came 
 to St. Paul in 1857 and carried on the profession of a homeo- 
 pathic physician up to 1877, or twenty years, when he removed 
 to Deadwood, where he now is. He is a good physician, socia- 
 ble in his nature, very fond of display, and is well remembered 
 by the older residents of the city. He has a fine family, and his 
 oldest son is now in business in this city. 
 
 N. P. Langford is a tall gentleman, who for years has been 
 familiar to the older residents of the city. He came to St. Paul 
 in the year 1854, and was for a time cashier in Marshall & Co.'s 
 bank, then became Bank Examiner for the United States, and 
 has occupied this office ever since. He is a very quiet man, out- 
 side of the noise and bustle of life and of the perplexing cares 
 of politics. Indeed, h" is a good, reliable, steady citizen. 
 
 Daniel Eagan was born in Ireland in 1830; educated in 
 the old country, and worked for a living there ; emigrated to 
 America in 1848, and came to St. Paul in 1849. He was first 
 employed by William Branch ; then was at Fort Ridgely.for two 
 years, and subsequently worked for various houses in this city. 
 He is a man of medium size, quiet in his ways, but has seen the 
 dark side of Hfe as well as the light, and yet he trudges on 
 hoping unto the end. 
 
 Charles H. Parker must have come to St. Paul in 1853, 
 for I remember him as a banker in upper town in 1854. He was 
 a small man, with red hair, very polite and quite genial in his 
 nature, and very ambitious. He laid the foundation for a for- 
 tune, but his income couldn't keep step with his out-go, and like 
 hundreds of other old settlers, he closed up his bank and removed 
 to California, where I learn he has done well. He was an active. 
 
712 PEN PICTURES 
 
 pleasant gentleman and full of public spirit, and had he remained 
 here would have proved one of St. Paul's best and most solid 
 citizens. 
 
 Thompson Ritchie kept a store filled with gentlemen's 
 goods on the corner of Third and Wabasha streets in 1853, and 
 sold out to A. D. Haslett. " How do you do? When did you 
 come from Philadelphia? How are the folks?" was the first salu- 
 tation I received from Mr. Ritchie, soon after landing in St.. 
 Paul, and although I protested I didn't know him, yet Ritchie 
 insisted that I was the man. I see Ritchie now ; a small, active, 
 good-natured fellow, shaking my hand like the handle of a town 
 pump, and asking me about people I knew nothing of. He 
 went to Superior, opened and ran a hotel, and is now in Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 James Nash was born in Ireland in 1817 ; was educated and, 
 worked there until he was about 24 years old, when in 1841 he 
 emigrated to America; came to St. Paul in 1853; was killed 
 by an engine while walking on the St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
 Manitoba road in this city in 1884, aged 6'^ years. He was a 
 hard-working, industrious man, and at the time of his death was- 
 in the employ of the above road. He was a brother of Patrick 
 Nash, who died in 1885. 
 
 George W. Gauthier, a bright, active, energetic young man, 
 was born in St. Paul in 1853, and is now one of the stirring mail- 
 carriers of the city. George was a cook on various steamboats- 
 which plied upon the Mississippi river and its tributaries, for 
 twelve years, and worked for P. H. Kelly before he entered upon 
 his present occupation. He has a mother and two brothers, and- 
 is himself a worthy, sober, industrious gentleman. 
 
 J. J. McCardy was once the partner of Judge Cooley, and. 
 came to St. Paul about 1852. He was formerly a banker and 
 broker in New York city. He was in St. Paul only about three 
 years, when he took up his residence somewhere else, and at. 
 the opening of the war became a Colonel in the army. He was 
 always a great military man, as much so as Colonel Bend. He- 
 was social in his nature, and a good lawyer, yet " loud " on the 
 tactics, a regular martinet. 
 
 A little, short, duck-legged young man by the name of Ben- 
 Morse, came to St. Paul in 1853, and ran a shoe store on Third. 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 713 
 
 street. He subsequently became a Quartermaster's clerk during 
 the war for T. M. Newson; then messenger for J. C. Burbank 
 between this city and La Crosse, and finally died in Dakota 
 County aged about 35 years, unmarried. Ben was a social, 
 pleasant, very active man ; a true friend and possessed many 
 excellent traits of character, although he believed in the doctrine 
 that " as we journey through life we should live by the way.'' 
 Born about 1830. 
 
 " Count " Semper was a tall, active man, with great energy 
 of character, who kept a boot and shoe store on East Third 
 street near the Second National Bank. He was of French descent 
 and was noted for his style, hence the name of " Count." He 
 at one time owned the building in which his store was, but 
 removed to Chicago some ten or twelve years ago, and I missed 
 sight of him until the past summer, when he made St. Paul a 
 visit — the same " Count " Semper. 
 
 J. Q. A. Ward was well known in the day in which he lived. 
 He was tall, quick, positive, full of business, and when I came to 
 St. Paul in 1853 he was the advertising man on the old Minne- 
 sotian. He subsequently became the local editor on the Pioneer 
 and on various other papers. He was one of the original Pio- 
 neer Guards, a man when in proper condition, of sterling business 
 qualities and very energetic. Somewhat sensitive, yet social and 
 pleasant. 
 
 One of the most genial old settlers was Joe Campbell, who 
 kept a restaurant and was a great lover of horses. He was a 
 bright, active man, and many will remember him for his many 
 pleasant traits of character. He died some twenty years ago, 
 leaving several children and a widow. " Billy," his son, was 
 with the writer in the army and for many years lived in this city, 
 where his mother, I believe, now resides. 
 
 On lower Third street, below Robert, the three Raguets 
 kept a liquor store. Their father was there before them. They 
 were all very large men and apparently booked for the good old 
 age of eighty years each, and yet they are all dead, and the 
 writer, who at that time weighed about 100 pounds, " still lives." 
 As the German says, " you can't most always tell what is going 
 to happen sometimes." The Raguets were generally liked and 
 one of them married the daughter of W. C. Morrison of this- 
 city. 
 
714 PEN PICTVMES 
 
 D. C. Greenleaf was among the first jewelers in the eity 
 and kept a store on the bluff on Third street above Bridge Square, 
 near where the elevator now is. After being burned out he 
 moved further up the street on the opposite side, and then took 
 the store on lower Third street where Egan, the jeweler, now is. 
 He appeared to be prosperous in his business, for he erected sev- 
 eral buildings and built up a good trade. He was deaf, but was 
 an energetic, honest, good man and died some fifteen years ago. 
 Came to St. Paul in 1855. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Willey was a handsome young physician with 
 elegant manners and was always dressed in the neatest style. 
 He was once a partner of Dr. Brisbine, but dissolved and during 
 the latter years of his life practiced alone. He had remarkably 
 small feet and hands and was a general favorite with the ladies. 
 He must have come here in 1853, and died about ten years ago. 
 He was a good physician, a pleasant, affable gentleman, and mar- 
 ried one of John R. Irvine's sweetest and prettiest daughters. 
 
 Thomas W. Coleman was an Englishman of the true type, 
 except that in physical development he was more American than 
 English, having a slight frame and being very quick in his move- 
 ments. He was English in his ways of thinking and was espe- 
 cially English in his punning propensities, and yet' outwardly he 
 was an American. The last time I met him he said — " I intend 
 to write a history of your life," and yet he died, and I am again 
 out in the cold. He was full of life and good cheer ; full of fun ; 
 full of good ideas, and possessed a reservoir of common sense. 
 He was born in England about 1804; emigrated to Canada, 
 where he carried on a very extensive business ; removed to Fort 
 Atchinson, Iowa, the buildings of which he bought; visited 
 St. Paul in 1854-5, and came here permanently to live in 1857, 
 but engaged in no business. He has left a widow and several 
 married daughters. He died in 1885. 
 
 The Fuller boys, three of them, came from Connecticut. 
 David died some twenty years ago. One of the brothers, 
 Alpheus G., inaugurated and kept for a time the old Fuller 
 House, afterwards known as the International. They were 
 sterling men. David was large and somewhat lymphatic, the 
 owner of the hotel ; Alpheus was spar^ and tall, while the third 
 brother was of medium size. J. W. Bass and William H. Ran- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 715 
 
 dall gave Fuller the land upon which his hotel stood, and 
 ^12,000 was raised as a bonus. The cost of the building was 
 $110,000. This was in 1856; now, in 1886, we have a hotel 
 which, with the furniture, cost ;^i,oco,ooo, and the people gave a 
 bonus of ;g200,ooo. I think all the Fullers are dead. They 
 were an enterprising family, and their sister was an able poetess. 
 
 The Long brothers were another peculiar family, or rather 
 part of a family. Stephen was a sharp, severe, close business 
 man, while his brother " Bro." was just the opposite. Stephen 
 & " Bro." kept the American House for a number of years, and 
 then ran the International and finally the Winslow. Stephen 
 had all the elements of a dictator in him and he used them on a 
 small scale. He was decided, quick, imperious and impetuous, 
 while his brother wore a long, flowing beard and was very gene- 
 rally liked for his amiable disposition. "Bro." Long is dead, 
 and Steve, the last I heard of him, was -down South, if he has 
 not already gone to a warmer climate. The Longs came to St. 
 Paul in 1853. 
 
 ' Samuel Bond was a little, short man, a lawyer, and one of 
 those men who carried the world upon his back. He was much 
 interested in literary pursuits, and was one of the friends of our 
 library, as well as one who inspired the first course of lectures in 
 the city. Like a star he has disappeared from the sky and " gone 
 glimmering through the things that were, a school boy's tale, the 
 vision of an hour." 
 
 William Bowles, or better recognized as " Billy Bowles," 
 was one of the old-timers, and was at one period in the livery 
 business with Benjamin on Jackson street, but he had previously 
 kept the bar of the American House. He was a fair-sized man 
 and very generally liked. He died some years ago. His widow 
 survives him. 
 
 Col. Shaw was a somewhat peculiar man. His son Henry 
 had a small store in. upper town in 1854-5, and William subse- 
 quently had a hat store in lower town. The Colonel succeeded 
 Col. Belotte in the Merchants hotel, and it was through his 
 indefatigable efforts that the Merchants became a hotel of any 
 considerable magnitude. He enlarged it, improved it, doted 
 over it and spent his money and his time on it. He was a very 
 pleasant, man and made many friends, and yet he was always 
 
116 PEN PICTURES 
 
 trying to do beyond his means, and as a consequence he left the 
 hotel with little or nothing for his long years of labor. He then 
 tried various hotel enterprises without success, and finally died 
 in New York poor. The Colonel was a good, public-.spirited, 
 pleasant man. Harry went South and William went North- 
 west. 
 
 J. B. LowRY kept a harness shop on Third street, and must 
 have come to St. Paul in 1854-5. He was a small man, and 
 after a time moved to a cross-street near Broadway, where he 
 carried on business and finally died. 
 
 Dr. John B. Phillips was a gentleman of fine culture and a 
 man of leisure.. He was well filled out physically, with a healthy 
 glow upon his face and wore spectacles. He was a great lover 
 of the fine arts and wrote many criticisms on the drama, art and 
 music. He appeared to have no blemishes, was a perfect gentle- 
 man and an excellent citizen. He came to St. Paul in 1857; was 
 born in Pennsylvania of Quaker parents, about 1825; was an 
 associate of Bayard Taylor ; graduated from the medical depart- 
 ment of the University of Pennsylvania in 1855 ; spent two years 
 in Europe ; was arrested and imprisoned in Switzerland on sus- 
 picion of being Mazzini ; died in St. Paul some ten or twelve 
 years ago. 
 
 Joe Horn was a tinner and had a little shop in upper town. 
 He was a square-built man of good proportions with a sallow 
 face and a positive manner. He took great interest in politics 
 and, was most decided in the expression of his opinions. I lost 
 sight of him nearly twenty years ago. He was a character. 
 
 Hiram J. Taylor, I think, was at one time in partnership 
 with his brother, D. C, but after trying several enterprises he 
 entered the lumbering business and for a time did well. He was 
 also a good deal of a politician, and was a member of the City 
 Council in 1857-60, 1870-4; also County Commissioner in 
 1859; Auditor in 1871-3. He left the city for Kansas several 
 years ago, and both he and his wife are dead. He was a square- 
 built, solid man, positive in his nature and quick in his move- 
 ments. 
 
 Daniel Bohrer was a small man, very quick in his move- 
 ments, and at the time I first knew him he kept a book and .sta- 
 tionery store. He was easily excited, and was especially notice- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 7i7 
 
 able for the quick movement of his head and the rolling of his 
 eyes from one side to another. He was City Treasurer in 1 854-9, 
 and a most ardent Republican. He left St. Paul some ten or 
 twelve years ago. 
 
 D. C. Taylor owned and ran a blacksmith shop near the 
 Seven Corners in 1854; he then started a bank, and finally left 
 the city. He was a man of sharp features, rather slender, but 
 possessing good business qualities. 
 
 William R. Miller, or as he was more generally known, 
 " Marshal Miller," was a very large man, the largest in the city 
 twenty-five years ago, reaching close to seven feet, and yet he 
 was symmetrically perfect. He not only had physical power 
 but he looked power, and over-awed small men by the very 
 largeness of his proportions, and still he was as kind and gentle 
 as a child. He was City Marshal for some years, and then in 
 1854-8 was chief of police. He had previously been in business 
 in the East. He died many years ago, and one daughter, now 
 living in this city, survives him. Miller was a good man. 
 
 William Branch was a medium-sized man, cool and col- 
 lected, and possessed of considerable ability. He was a schemer 
 and one of the best lobbyists I ever knew. He was originally a 
 mason by trade, but he rose by the force of his abilities to 
 Alderman in 1856-61, County Commissioner in 1858-9, member 
 of the House of Representatives in 1857-66, railroad contractor, 
 and was an important element in carrying forward to completion 
 the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad. He was quite deliberate in his 
 movements and in his conversation, yet he was a persistent and 
 shrewd worker, and generally succeeded in his plans. He was 
 a great friend of Duluth, and when he died, about the age of 50 
 years, he owned considerable property there. He was a pleasant 
 gentleman and a valuable citizen. He owned a home on Dayton's 
 bluff, and in his former grounds his body now reposes. 
 
 Dr. Russell Post was a peculiar man who carhe to St. 
 Paul in 1854. He had formerly followed the sea; then became 
 a Connecticut peddler ; then dealt largely in real estate in Cleve- 
 land or Cincinnati ; and failing, came to St. Paul, and for a time 
 began doctoring by concocting medicine out of herbs, and 
 finally adopted the magnetic treatment with which he was quite 
 successful. He purchased property on Eighth street, where he had 
 
718 PEN PICT URES 
 
 his office, and subsequently bought a number of acres now known 
 as Post Siding. He also conceived the idea of a mineral spring 
 at Bald Eagle lake, where he jiad become the possessor of land, 
 and here he erected a mineral spring house and laid out some 
 roads, and while engaged in this enterprise he died close to 65 
 years. He was a man of great earnestness and positiveness of 
 character ; venerable in his looks, with white hair and whiskers ; 
 short, thick-set, quick in his movements, and an inveterate talker. 
 He had been married twice, and left several children, only one, 
 however, lived with him in this city. 
 
 A. T. Chamblin was a man of quick motions, rather stern 
 and abrupt in his nature, and at one time was in the dry-goods 
 trade. He was a member of the City Council in 1854—7 ^"^d of 
 the House of Representatives in 1857, and Comptroller in 1857- 
 He was a man of full habits, with a florid complexion, and pos- 
 sessed considerable force of character. 
 
 Luther H. Eddy was a man of considerable importance in 
 the day in which he lived. He kept a grocery store on Fort 
 now Seventh street for a good many years. He was Alderman 
 in 1861-4, i869-'72; was chief of police in 1870-72; was chief 
 of fire department in 1863, and held several other minor offices. 
 He was a small but very active man, running over with energy; 
 taxed himself beyond his strength and died with the dropsy some 
 years ago. I believe he was born in New York about 1827, and 
 came to St. Paul in 1856 or 1857. 
 
 Dr. M. B. Patterson was a dentist of superior ability, com- 
 ing to St. Paul in 1854. He was quite a slender lad then, and 
 opened an office in what was known as upper town. In later 
 years he grew stouter. He moved to a building erected by Dr. 
 Stewart, near Bridge Square, some time in 1B56, and continued 
 his practice there for some twenty-four years. He was a most 
 excellent dentist, very social in his nature, and an interesting 
 story-teller. For several years prior to his death he became more 
 sedate, and moved moderately, but he lost none of his dry, telling; 
 humor. He was born in 1832, in New York; died in 1882; left 
 a widow and four children. 
 
 F. Heymel was born in Germany in 1819; came to St. 
 Paul in 1852 ; is a contractor and plasterer, and has followed his 
 trade in this city for nearly thirty-three years; is a member of 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 719 
 
 the Druids and one of the highest officials in that organization ; 
 has been an ardent poHtician on the Republican side but never 
 held any offices. Of sixteen children only four are living. Con- 
 rad, his oldest son, was with a hardware firm in this city for 
 twenty-one years, and gives a very interesting account of life in, 
 the old country and in this ; there wages are $2 per week ; here 
 $2 per day. He is a brightj pleasant man. 
 
 Edward H. Schliek was born in Milwaukee in 1854 and 
 when a babe came to St. Paul the same year. After the death 
 of his father he succeeded him in his boot and shoe business 
 corner of Wabasha and Fourth streets. Mr. Schliek belonged 
 to several German societies and also the fire department, and 
 was at one time Fire Commissioner. He was very sociable in 
 his nature yet reticent to the public at large. He was a man of 
 full habits until sickness overtook him and death ended a young 
 career. 
 
 Levi Sloan was born in New York and came to St. Paul 
 in the spring of 1 849, and was among the first to open a grocery 
 store opposite the old American House on upper Third street ; 
 had a trading post at Crow Wing and ran teams on the road from 
 this city to the former place; was married in 1850 and died in 
 1855, leaving two daughters. He was a small man, very active 
 and in early days endured many hardships. In 1850 he pur- 
 chased two lots on Third street, one on the corner of Pleasant 
 avenue for ^100 ; worth now ^i 5,000. 
 
 Lorenzo Babcock was a lawyer of some note away back in 
 1849. He was a quiet man, somewhat petulant in his manners 
 and died many years ago. He was a member of the first Legis- 
 lature and first Attorney General of the Territory. 
 
 Dr. William Jarvis was among the very first to open a 
 drug store in this city, and also the first photographer, and the 
 old building in which he dealt out medicine still exists on Fifth 
 street. He was a bluff man, very decided in his ways and finally 
 opened a sort of a nursery on the river below West St. Paul, 
 and raised vegetables and small fruit. He came to St. Paul in 
 1849 and died some years ago. Born about 1822. 
 
 J. R. Brewster was at one time a painter and lived in a lit- 
 tle house on the corner of St. Peter and Fourth streets, now the 
 Herzog property. He came here in 1849 and was a very quiet 
 
720 PEN PICTURES 
 
 man, always minding his own business. He died years ago. 
 And then there was Dominick Trover, a large man, full of poli- 
 tics and bluster, and who started a brewery on a small scale on 
 Exchange street and went to Europe, traveled all over it on foot 
 and never returned, leaving his property to Fred Emmert. And 
 then again there was Henry Buell, and his son, like begetting 
 like, who had a store on Robert street, slow, plodding men, noted 
 especially for their easy-going ways. And then we have KoviTZ, 
 the old fur dealer in upper town, whose wife became the landlady 
 (now dead) of the Merchants Hotel under Shaw, where her pretty 
 daughters attracted attention many years ago. And then comes 
 Alexander Rey, the commission merchant on the levee, with his 
 quick, burly manners and French accent, away back in 1854; 
 and John Castner comes before me, limping on one leg and 
 passing by like a whirlwind, and who was Coroner in 1 86o-'62 ; 
 and here comes Charles Elfelt, who, in 1849 was in the dry- 
 goods business with his brother Abram, and who was connected 
 years afterward with another brother in the same business, and 
 then Elfelt left for Philadelphia. In the early days he was quite 
 prominent in the business affairs of the city, and did a good deal 
 towards the development of St. Paul. He is a fine-looking man, 
 about fifty-five years of age, and is very quick in his movements. 
 And look there, see that old, faded sign of Dahl & Doull, book 
 and stationery. Mr. Dahl was a slender gentleman, unobtru- 
 sive, industrious and very generally liked. He has a son now in 
 this city who is carrying on a large furniture establishment. And 
 thus the old settlers of 1849, 1850-1-2-3-4-5 come up before 
 me, and like Banquo's ghost will not down until I give them a 
 place in the Pen Pictures of St. Paul. And even now while I 
 am trying to get the army of the past into line for inspection, I 
 can see a number of stragglers left behind, and here they come. 
 Wm. Fowler has all the elements of a hardy New England 
 man ; tall, straight, rugged, positive, strong, and like the emblem 
 on the letter-heads of the State Dairymen's Association, he looks 
 like one " who had come to stay," and having been successful as a 
 dairyman and a farmer, he can afford to crow. He was born in 
 Massachusetts in 1827 ; when nine years old he moved to Ohio ; 
 helped clear a timber claim there in 1852. He then looked 
 beyond his nose and thought he would come West, and so he 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 721 
 
 arrived in what is now St. Paul in 1852, but with no intention 
 of remaining here only for a few months. That winter Mr. Fowler 
 says Capt. Simpson organized a military company and the men 
 used to drill in an old warehouse near the present depot. He 
 invested in a suit of clothes, but he never saw the clothes and 
 the men were never called out for duty, which he thinks was a 
 pretty good joke on those who in those early days were consid- 
 ered " pilgrims." or " tender feet." He was at what was termed 
 the whisky riot at the warehouse of William Constans ; also saw 
 the old Daniel House burn down, when an old settler threw the 
 looking-glass out of the window and carried down stairs care- 
 fully the feather bed; he and R. C. Kflox slept in the then new 
 old Court House in order to avoid the attacks of the musquitoes, 
 which were very troublesome, and with the exception of three 
 years in the army, Mr. Fowler has always resided within a few 
 miles of St. Paul, owning and running a farm at Newport, 
 Washington County. He has been quite prominent in the dairy 
 business and has been a member of the State Agricultural Soci- 
 ety for several years, and is a man of hard, common sense and 
 of a decided practical turn of mind. 
 
 Dr. A. G. Brisbine says he don't want to go into Pen Pic- 
 tures, not because he does not like them but because he is 
 just a little diffident in appearing in print. And yet I could not 
 think of leaving him out, as he is too good a man to be ignored 
 even at his own request. He is physically large, quite moderate 
 in his ways, an excellent physician, and an old and highly 
 esteemed citizen. One looking at him would hardly think he 
 had a heart as big as his head, and yet those who know him 
 know this to be the fact. " Doctor, my little baby girl's arm is 
 out of joint; please come and see her." " Yes, I will," was the 
 response, and in a short time he was on hand, and taking the 
 little delicate arm in his large, brawny hands, oh, how gently he 
 treated it, and in a minute the arm was all right. And then his 
 kind tone and kind manner, I can never forget them, nor will the 
 baby and its mother. Many a rough covering shields a diamond, 
 and many erroneous conceptions are formed of the real man. 
 And so away back in 1852 Brisbine & Willey were the leading 
 physicians, and then the firm dissolved, and Brisbine became 
 assistant surgeon in the army and Willey sickend and died. For 
 
 46 
 
722 PEN PICTURES 
 
 over a quarter of a century the doctor has plodded on in his 
 modest, retiring ^yay, and still holds the fort as the oldest prac- 
 ticing allopathic physician in the State. He was born about 1 827 
 and came to St. Paul in the year designated. 
 
 John E. Warren was a tall and slender gentleman, ener- 
 getic and a man of culture who had traveled extensively in the 
 old world and I think was the author of two books- of foreign 
 travels. He was a law partner with the late Wakefield in the 
 year 1852, and became Mayor of St. Paul in 1863, and also 
 United States District Attorney ; removed to Chicago where I 
 think he now lives ; was born in Troy, N. Y. At one time his 
 father owned a great deal of property in St. Paul. 
 
 Allen Pierse was a queer character. He dealt in real 
 estate and was a notary public. He was here in 185 1-2, and 
 had his office on Third street. So too was Samuel Sargeaxt. 
 Sam and C. P. V. Lull were a good deal of the same cast of men, 
 although the latter was more positive. Sargeant one time kept a 
 saloon and a livery stable. Of late years he had been quite 
 unwell and died about one year ago. He was one of the early 
 and original characters of St. Paul. 
 
 Louise Schmidt came here in 1853 ; was a social man and 
 kept a restaurant on Third street; died several years ago. 
 
 Joseph Daniels was a tall, very gentlemanly person, who 
 came to St. Paul in 1 849 ; took contracts to construct buildings ; 
 engaged in laying out new towns, and finally, after practicing 
 law, left for Washington, D. C, where he now is. He owned and 
 occupied a very pretty place on St. Anthony Hill, now very val- 
 uable. 
 
 In 1853 Louis Blum kept a dry-goods store on Third street, 
 and continued to keep it for many years, as the most fashionable 
 dry-goods house in the city. He finally abandoned business 
 and became a clerk. He was a large, fine looking man, black hair 
 and black whiskers and very pleasant in his ways. If any of 
 our people in early days wanted a rich, or costly, or fashionable 
 article, Blum had it. He died with heart-disease leaving sev- 
 eral sons and a widow. 
 
 Isaac Markley was, at one time, an up-town store keeper, 
 the firm being Markley & Kern. He was a hard-working, indus- 
 trious man, a great church goer, and after leaving his business 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 723 
 
 became a deputy sheriff, moved to Wyoming, farmed some and 
 died there. His house beyond Summit avenue now owned by 
 General Alexander, was, in 1854 away out in the country. Poor 
 Markley tried hard enough to succeed but the fates were against 
 him. Wm. Kern his partner, was a small man, cool, calm, self- 
 poised and yet a good citizen. What became of him I never 
 knew. 
 
 Henry Burbank is a man about forty-five years of age, with a 
 healthy glow upon his face and a heart full of sunshine, — always 
 apparently happy, and always pleasant. He came to St. Paul 
 some time in 1853 or '54, and was for several years in business 
 with his brother J. C. Burbank, and then for a time resided in 
 St. Cloud, where he carried on an extensive trade in a general 
 store and transportation business. He returned to St. Paul after 
 the war and entered into partnership with T. B. Campbell in the 
 wholesale clothing business, which they have continued up to the 
 present time. Mr. Burbank is a stirring, active, business man ; 
 devoted to his interests and very much esteemed for his many 
 excellent qualities. He is a good and valuable citizen. 
 
 Charles L. Yale was a fine-looking fellow who carried on a 
 leather store on the corner of Third and St. Peter streets ; born 
 I think in Conneticut, somewhere in 1830, and died aged about 50 
 years. After giving up his store he became the commercial editor 
 of the old Press and continued on it for several years, when he 
 removed east. He was a man of good proportions physically, 
 with black hair and black whiskers, yet moderate in his move- 
 ments and had strong likes and dislikes. He must have come 
 to St. Paul in 1856-7. 
 
 M. J. Clum was born I think in Troy, New York, about 
 1836, and came to St. Paul in 1853. He was a compositor in 
 the old Pioneer office at the time Joe Brown ran it and at the 
 time the writer was associate editor of the paper in 1853. In 1854 
 he became a partner in the firm of Newson, Mitchell & Co. 
 in the publication of the Daily Times; then worked on the old 
 Press, the successor of the Times, and has been since the consoli- 
 dation of the two papers, {Pioneer and Press) in the office of that 
 journal. He is now one of the oldest printers in the State and 
 has been in the harness continuously thirty-three years. Mr. 
 Clum is a moderate-sized man, quiet in his manners, with a fair 
 
724 PEN PICTURES 
 
 complexion, steady in his habits, amiable in his disposition, and 
 moves along in the beaten track of life. He is generally esteemed 
 for his pleasant traits of character and his devotion to his pro- 
 fession, while his favorite expression — " Gosh darn it," mark his 
 individuality among those who know him. 
 
 Richard Bradley, formerly foreman in the Pioneer Press 
 office, worked for the first time in this city in the old limes 
 office for the writer, and then for the Press and then in the office 
 of the Pioneer Press, until he died in 1883. He was a small, 
 active, nervous, steady man, and an excellent job printer. He 
 was honest and upright, and was one of the most industrious 
 men I ever met. Hugh I. Vance was formerly foreman of the 
 old Pioneer office and preceded Mr. Bradley in the Times. He 
 entered the army and was killed during the war. He was a tall, 
 wiry person, and I think was born in the South. He owned a 
 place of 160 acres on Bald Eagle Lake in 1853, and offered it to 
 the writer with a good house thereon, for $400, but I couldn' t 
 see where the profit came in. Worth now ;^40,ooo ! 
 
 Nathaniel Capen is a tall, weather-beaten man, who has 
 seen a great deal of hardship in the West having been a team- 
 ster and stage driver for many years. He is a quiet and unob- 
 trusive citizen and moves along in his own especial line of busi- 
 ness. He was born in Vermont in 1 840 ; moved to Ohio where 
 he was engaged in railroad work for three years ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1851 ; teamed it one year; drove stage for the Minne- 
 sota Stage Company for twelve years, and is now one of the 
 oldest stage drivers in the State ; was in the employ of the Mer- 
 chants Union Express Company for two and a half years ; was 
 also in the employ of Isaac W. Webb and Wm. A. Judd, and is 
 now driving hack for himself; was married in 1864. 
 
 Dr. A. Faulkenshield was born in Denmark in 1821; was 
 an active surgeon in the Danish army ; emigrated to America 
 about 1853; practiced his profession in Chicago for several 
 years, but his artistic predilections induced him to abandon his 
 chosen occupation and take up miniature painting, in which he 
 continued in Chicago for several years, when, in 1856 he came to 
 St. Paul ; was first connected with the old Whitney gallery, but 
 has had for the past ten yeai's a studio in Zimmerman's gallery. 
 As a miniature painter he has no equal. He is a large, fine- 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 725 
 
 looking man, resembling the late Horace Greeley, especially in 
 his walk, and impresses one with the conviction that he is a fine 
 specimen of a fine Danish-American gentleman, as he really is. 
 He is unpretentious, retiring in his nature, yet genial and pleas- 
 ant, and an artist of genuine merit. 
 
 E. H. Bradshaw came to St. Paul about 1855 ; was engaged 
 for a time in the Oyster Bay Restaurant, and then started a 
 saloon for himself; he is now running a laundry. He is a some- 
 what reticent man; undemonstrative in his ways and moves 
 quietly on in his pilgrimage to the end. 
 
 James W. Yandes was a queer man, who came to St. Paul in 
 1856 with several hundred thousand dollars made in railroad 
 building. He was born in Indiana in 181 7. He was a man of 
 capital and invested largely in property here, but mingled very 
 little with the people. He resided on Dayton's bluff in the stone 
 residence once owned by Father Hoyt; was honest but very 
 eccentric, and died in St. Paul in October 1885, aged sixty-eight 
 years. His son aged twenty-seven, years, killed himself on his 
 father's grave a few days after his parent was buried, leaving only 
 two sisters out of a once happy family. Mr. Yandes left prop- 
 erty worth from ;^5oo,ooo to $1,000,000. 
 
 Patrick Treacy was a tall man, social in his nature and 
 well known in the day in which he lived. He was born in Ire- 
 land and adopted the business of gardener ; came to St. Paul in 
 1856 and died some twenty years ago, aged 65 years. One of 
 his sons learned the printing trade with the writer, and the other 
 is now in business for himself, and these two sons are two of the 
 finest job printers in the city. Still another son is a printer, and 
 all have a fine conception of the mechanical art. 
 
 Joseph Hall, or as he was better known, " Joe Hall," for- 
 merly kept a bowling alley, saloon, restaurant, etc., on the corner 
 of Third and Wabasha streets. He subsequently opened a 
 livery stable near the Custom House and ran it for several years. 
 Joe must have come to St. Paul in 1857, °^ some twenty-eight 
 years ago. He was a man of ordinary size ; very quick in his 
 movements; always polite ; a good business man; social, liberal, 
 — in a word, " a hale fellow well met." When the writer went 
 out of business in 1 860, he and his friends had " a sit down " at 
 Joe Hall's, and memories of old times and old places and old 
 
726 PEN PICTURES 
 
 faces come back to him like the hazy gauze of a beautiful dream. 
 Mr. Hall is dead, but his widow resides in this city. 
 
 George P. Metcalf. — Mr. Metcalf was born in New York 
 in 1834; came to St. Paul in 1854, and was employed by 
 Charles H. Parker in his bank ; was also with Forbes & Kittson, 
 and remained with them up to 1856; was in the employ of 
 Simeon P. Folsom as confidential clerk; in 1857 returned to his 
 birth place, married Miss Emily Dwight, engagced in the dry- 
 goods business, and remained about 23 years ; on his return he 
 found a city of 50,000 where there had been but 6,000. Mr. 
 Metcalf is a medium-sized man, very quiet in his ways, a good 
 book-keeper, and a good citizen. He moves along so quietly 
 that one would not think he was in the world, and yet he is a 
 man who would soon be missed when gone. 
 
 Isaac W. Webb was born in Ohio in 1831 ; came to St. 
 Paul in 1854 ; kept books for Stephen Long in the old American 
 House ; was in the transportation business for a time ; hauled 
 the first steam engine to the Red River of the North ; opened a 
 livery stable near Rice Park in this city ; ran a farm and sold 
 wood ; and finally drifted out on to the frontier, where he now 
 is. Mr. Webb has been a very active man, and at one time had 
 a good deal of property, but the fluctuations in Western life did 
 not let him pass, and so like many other old settlers he has had 
 to endure the fate of the early pioneers. He is a man of great 
 energy and ought to be worth ^1,000,000. 
 
 Thomas Brennan was born in Pennsylvania in 1836 ; moved 
 to St. Louis where he was educated; came to St. Paul in 1853 ; 
 was for several years in the pop factory ; ran the Exchange 
 hotel, has worked for the city, and is so employed now. He is 
 a tall, slender, dark-complexioned man, quiet in his movements, 
 yet effective in his work, and has seen St. Paul grow from com- 
 paratively nothing to its present enviable position. 
 
 John Butler is a native of Ireland, born in 1826, and emi- 
 grated to America in 1852; worked on a farm near Philadel- 
 phia one year; removed to Chicago in 1853; came to St. Paul 
 in 1854; drove a dray for six or seven years; opened and kept 
 a grocery store on the corner of Fourth and Robert streets, where 
 the German-American Bank now stands ; ran it six years ; con- 
 tracted and built the first sewer in the city ; built part of the first 
 
OF ST. PAUL, MINN. 727 
 
 railroad track from St. Paul to St. Anthony ; graded the old Sev- 
 enth street bridge, and is now back again in his old business of 
 running an express. Mr. Butler has seen many ups and downs in 
 life ; has lost a good deal of property, and he is absolutely broken 
 down by hard labor and ill-health. He is still battling in the 
 ranks of the old. settlers, and still hopeful. 
 
 Capt. Sprague is an old settler but I can glean no infor- 
 mation about him except that at one time I think he was captain 
 of police and also kept hotel at St. Peter. He has been engaged 
 for several years in traveling for a commercial house in this city. 
 He is a very quiet and a very much esteemed gentleman ; of 
 •ordinary size, and I regret that I can get no further information 
 about him. 
 
 H. S. ViTT came to St. Paul in 1856; opened a restaurant 
 and saloon, which he ran for several years ; then went into the 
 carpet business on Jackson street ; closed that out, and is now in 
 the saloon business again. He is a man of ordinary size ; quiet 
 in his ways ; very industrious, and much devoted to his business ; 
 a man who is very generally esteemed by all who know him. 
 
 Baron Von Freudenrich was a tall, slender man, with gray 
 hair, and came to St. Paul in 1856. He built a stone house 
 away out in the country, over on Dayton's bluff, which is now 
 close into the city. He was a quiet, pleasant gentleman, and died 
 years ago. He had a son who was with the troops on the front- 
 ier, and who was a good soldier and a young man of excellent 
 traits of character. 
 
 In 1886 poor old Mr. Kovitz, who in 1854 kept a fur store 
 ■on upper Third street, was laid away to rest. He had two pretty 
 daughters, who, I believe, married and moved out of the city. 
 His wife was for a time house-keeper at the Merchants hotel, and 
 a son kept a restaurant near the depot. Mrs. Kovitz is dead, 
 and now the old gentleman who had reached seventy-odd years, 
 has also gone. He must have come to St. Paul in 1853, or per- 
 haps before, and was one of the earliest fur dealers in the city, 
 if not the first. " Nick," his son, a dwarf, died in this city in 
 1886, of heart disease. 
 
 Richard Gordon was born of Irish parents about 1829; 
 clerked in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 185 1 ; came to St. Paul in 
 1854-5; was for a time in the bank of Borup & Oakes; was in 
 
728 PEN PICTURES 
 
 the transportation business ; then in the drug business as Jenks 
 & Gordon ; then opened a grocery store, the firm being Beau- 
 mont & Gordon ; then he was the chief clerk for the late Capt. 
 Carlin and also for H. L. Carver, in the U. S. Quartermaster's 
 department during the war ; opened a hat and cap establishment 
 as Gordon & Fergurson and has continued it ever since. Mr. 
 Gordon is a man of ordinary size, with a florid complexion, very 
 quick in his movements and possessing fine business qualities. 
 He is a good musician and a great lover of music, and in former 
 years did much towards elevating the tastes of our people in this 
 particular. 
 
 James Goodhue is a son of the late James M. Goodhue, the 
 first editor in St. Paul and in Minnesota. He is about forty 
 years of age, somewhat thick-set, has broad shoulders and stoops 
 a little. He is a man of ability and possesses a good deal of the 
 humor of his father. He lives on an income from his estate ; is 
 a social, genial man, and goes through life as easily as any body 
 I know of. He resided for a time in Chicago, but is now a resi- 
 dent of this city, where his mother and sister live and where he 
 has many friends. 
 
 E. M. Hallowell was born in Maine about 1830; came ta 
 St. Paul in 1857; worked for a while for Deacon Cavender,. 
 when after Cavender went out of the firm the partnership of 
 Quimby & Hallowell was formed. When Quimby withdrew 
 Hallowell with his sons took the business and has continued it 
 ever since, and now have quite an extensive factory. Mr. Hal- 
 lowell is a skort, stout, slow, cautious man ; very temperate and 
 very industrious, and is a leading member of the Baptist Church. 
 By years of industry and care he has built up a large business, 
 and is known as a solid, worthy citizen. 
 
 Captain Lucius B. Martin came to St. Paul somewhere in 
 1854 or 1855, and was born about 1830. At one time he ran a 
 saw mill on the West Side. He had formerly been a captain of 
 a steamboat ; then engaged largely in the lumbering trade at 
 Anoka and made money ; entered the army at the breaking out 
 of the war and served with great acceptance, he being a brave 
 soldier ; at one time he was in Milwaukee and then was in New 
 Orleans. He was a small man, very quick in his movements and 
 very sanguine in his temperament, and very decided in his opin- 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 729 
 
 ions. His father was a fine old gentleman who resided in this 
 city and who died here. A brother taller and older was one of 
 the firm and when the financial crash came it took them all down 
 together. The Captain died in 1885. He was married. 
 
 Edwin S. Beck. — Mr. Beck is a medium-sized man, ener- 
 getic, full of business, social and pleasant. He was born in 
 England in 1834 ; educated partly in the old country and partly 
 in the public schools of Cleveland, Ohio ; learned the trade of a 
 painter in the latter place; came to St. Paul in 1855 ; has been 
 engaged at his trade here ever since. The firm is now Beck & 
 Rank, and it has carried on a large business, as Mr. Beck is a 
 pushing, go-ahead man, and one who understands his business. 
 
 -Samuel Poucher was born in England about 1806 and came, 
 to St. Paul in i85i,or 35 years ago. He worked for John R.Irvine, 
 and in the early days helped lay the foundation of the city. He 
 has always been a laborer and has seen many hard times, and yet 
 he is reaching out into old age, nearing the mile-post of eighty 
 years. He is a large man, somewhat lame, clearly showing the 
 English in his make-up, and yet he is a quiet, pleasant old gen- 
 tleman ; was at one time a member of the Legislature. 
 
 Frank Kelly, Jr., the son of the late Frank Kelly, was 
 born in St. Paul in 1856; received a common school education 
 was engaged for a time in theatricals ; then kept a saloon. He 
 is a young man of pleasant address, chock full of politics, an 
 active worker in the Democratic ranks and one of these days 
 will climb the political ladder into office. Indeed I may say he 
 is a natural politician, and there seems to be something in the 
 name to breed an atmosphere which smacks of politics. Kelly, 
 of Tammany, Kelly, of Minnesota, known as the " boss," and 
 now Frank Kelly of the young Democracy ; there's something 
 in it. 
 
 Wm. Acker, larother of the late Capt. Acker, and son of 
 the late Henry Acker, was born in New York in or about 1832 ; 
 came to St. Paul in 1854; was at one time in the wood and coal 
 business with J. J. Hill ; then became a traveling salesman for 
 a wholesale house in this city, and is now or was in the employ 
 of the Northwestern Fuel Company. Mr. Acker is an active,, 
 industrious man, very quiet in his ways and deserving of a 
 larger amount of success than he has obtained. 
 
730 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Wm. G. Robertson is a son of Col. D. A. Robertson, and 
 came to St. Paul with his father in 1850. He was educated 
 partially here and partially in Europe ; was at one time sutler at 
 Fort Snelling, but of late years has been engaged in real estate. 
 He is somewhat tall in figure, dignified and courteous in manners, 
 and is a good business man ; quiet in his movements and gentle- 
 manly in his bearing. 
 
 Parker Paine was a banker away back in 1856-7. He was 
 a tall man, born about 1820, and opened a bank in the old brick 
 building which stood on the corner of Third and Minnesota 
 streets, and was noted for his moderate movements and his con- 
 servative ideas. He was somewhat awkward in manner and 
 moved forward sidewise, with his head inclined to one side, 
 while his left hand was partially closed by an accident. He was 
 never in a hurry, but did business methodically and carefully, 
 and was a liberal supporter of the Methodist Church. He was 
 a prudent, steady, worthy citizen. 
 
 A brother of D. C. Greenleaf kept a jewelry store on the cor- 
 ner of Minnesota and Third streets. He was a quiet, steady man, 
 but drifted out of our cold climate into the orange groves of 
 Florida, where he now is, and where financially he has done well. 
 
 L. L. Benson was a short, thick-set man, with square shoul- 
 ders and of a somewhat dignified bearing. In early days he and 
 Pattison owned and ran a stage line to St. Anthony. He came 
 here in 1850. 
 
 James Day was a stone cutter and a brother of Dr. Day. He 
 came here in 1850. He was a good-sized man, quite moderate 
 in his ways and unostentatious in his conduct. He lived in a 
 little house which still stands on the corner of Tenth and Waba- 
 sha streets, near the Capitol. And then there were Rey & 
 May, and Philip Felderhauser, and J. H. and L. McClung, 
 and Andrew Levering and a number of others whose histories 
 cannot be obtained, at least for this edition, but which I trust 
 may appear in full in my next. 
 
 And then came Creek, a little, small, old man, quick in 
 motion and quick in temper, who used to live on St. Peter street, 
 and whose son used to work for the writer. If I remember cor- 
 rectly Creek kept a little stationery store, but he died a long time 
 ago, and Charley, his boy, drifted further West. 
 
OF Sr. PAUL, MINN. 731 
 
 Justice Nelson Gibbs was a large man, slow in his move- 
 ments, somewhat bent in the shoulders, impressive in his nature, 
 and wearing a large head sprinkled with gray. He was City 
 Justice a number of years and died at an advanced age. 
 
 . Norman Kittson is a splendid looking man, with fine fea- 
 tures, a good head, and a long black beard, the son of N. W. 
 Kittson, Esq., of this city. Indeed I consider him an excellent 
 specimen of a physical man. He was born between Fort Snell- 
 ing and Minnehaha in 1 836, or 50 years ago ; went to Winnipeg 
 in 1845 where he was educated; returned to St. Paul in 1852 
 and back to Winnipeg in 1861; was a clerk for the Hudson Bay 
 Company seven years; returned to St. Paul in 1878 and has 
 been here ever since in the office of his father. He was one of 
 the original members of the Pioneer Guards; also of the first fire 
 department. He is a large man, very quiet in his manners and 
 very much liked ; and I regret I have been unable to get the facts 
 "pertaining, to his life so that I could put him in the year to which 
 he belongs. 
 
 " J.\CK, THE Scout." — Capt. James K. Wilson, son of the 
 late Gen. T. W. Wilson, was born in Newark, Ohio, 1838; 
 came to St. Paul with his father in 1851 ; was drug clerk in 
 Hickox & Kellogg's store in 185 1-2; traded with the Sioux 
 Indians in 1853-4; educated at Granville, Ohio, in 1855-6-7; 
 farmed in 1858-9; married Miss Hattie Haymond, of Fairmont, 
 Va., in 1 860 ; family consists of three sons and one daughter ; 
 was a Sergeant in Co. A, First Cavalry, in 1862; had charge of 
 Gen. Sibley's body guard on the famous campaign against the 
 Sioux to the Missouri river ; was noted for both horsemanship 
 and bravery. After the expiration of his enlistment he was com- 
 missioned a U. S. scout, with headquarters on the Watonwan, 
 Minnesota ; it was there the name of " Jack, the Scout," was 
 given him, and old settlers on the frontier tell many pleasant and 
 amusing stories of his wonderful horsemanship and strategy in 
 pursuit of the marauding Indians. In 1864 he was commissioned 
 Lieutenant in Company H, First Minnesota Heavy Artillery, and 
 was compHmented with commission of Brevet Major for long 
 and meritorious services. Capt. Wilson is a slim, active man ; 
 couldonce jump higher and farther than any person in Minne- 
 sota ; when a boy. he was noted for skating, running and swim- 
 
752 PEN PICTURES 
 
 ming ; and as a man he is Stirring and energetic, and has laid by 
 a comfortable sum for cold weather ; resides at Minneapolis and 
 is accounted as one of the best citizens of that thriving city. 
 
 Michael Roche. — Born in Ireland in 1832 and emigrated 
 to America in 1 848 ; learned the trade of a stone mason in Penn- 
 sylvania; came to St. Paul in 1857; worked as a journeyman, 
 and during the fina.ncial crash of that year obtained only seventy- 
 five cents to one dollar per day ; went south in the fall of 1859 ; 
 returned in i860, and in 1861 commenced contracting, and now 
 carries on a large business. He is esteemed as one of the best 
 contractors in the city, for he is honest in the execution of 
 his work and gives satisfaction. Mr. Roche served three years 
 as a member of the Board of Education, and two years on the 
 first Board of Public Works. Married in New York in 1857; 
 wife died ; married again in 1875 to Miss Linnehan. Mr. Roche 
 is a man of ordinary size, very pleasant in his ways and an 
 honest contractor. He has worked his way up from a small 
 beginning until now he is among our most trust-worthy business 
 men. 
 
 Joseph Lewis I remember as the agent of Gov. Ramsey 
 away back in the fifties. He managed the Governor's business 
 for many years, went on to a farm, and then became a collector 
 of bills, and is now janitor of one of our schools. Mr. Lewis is 
 a man of strong prejudices and strong feelings; very active in 
 his nature and decided in his opinions. He was born about 
 1820; is married, and a family of boys made the home circle; 
 died in St. Paul, in February, 1886. 
 
 Dan May came to St. Paul in 1856 — a shoemaker. He is 
 a native of Ireland. Also Thomas Jackson, an Irishman and 
 shoemaker. Both these men have now retired from active work. 
 
 John George Stein is a man of medium size, very quiet in 
 his ways and very industrious. He was born in Germany in 
 1829; emigrated to America in 1852, spending some time in 
 Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and coming to St. Paul in 1856. 
 He clerked up to 1858, when he started a grocery store on Rob- 
 ert street and subsequently opened a feed store on Wabasha 
 street ; removed to Anoka, where he ran a flouring mill with his 
 brother for thirteen years ; came back to St. Paul, and here he 
 resides. He purchased the property on the corner of Wabasha and 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 733 
 
 Fourth streets, the old American site, 25 x 100 feet, for ^25,000; 
 worth now ^50,000. He and his brother have a good deal of, 
 other property and they have acquired it by strict attention to 
 business and economy. Mr. Stein is a very worthy gentleman. 
 
 General Thomas W. Wilson was born in Virginia in 1803 ; 
 was the seventeenth child of a family of thirty; was educated at 
 the William and Mary College, Virginia; superintended his 
 father's mills, salt works and plantation in what is now We.st 
 Virginia; emigrated to Newark, Ohio, in 1823 and settled upon 
 a military section of land given to him by his father, who was 
 an officer the in war of the Revolution ; married Miss Martha O. 
 Bannon ; had a family of eleven children, six of whom are living ; 
 early entered military life, and to him more than to any other 
 man belongs the credit of furnishing for the State of Ohio the 
 great number of well-drilled men for the Mexican War ; and it 
 is reinarkable that in a small section in Ohio where General Wil- 
 son lived, came forth Gens. Sherman, Sheridan, Rosencrantz, 
 Wood, Curtiss and others. He was president of the Ohio State 
 Agricultural Society several years ; also of the State Importing 
 Society ; never held an office and repeatedly refused one when 
 offered. He was a pioneer railway man of central Ohio, and 
 built one of the first roads in the State. Meeting with heavy 
 losses in i848-'49-'SO, he came to St. Paul in 1851, bringing 
 with him about ;^ 1 0,000; was one of the earliest real estate agents 
 here and was an active, earnest believer in the ultimate greatness 
 of our city. General Wilson was a tall, slender gentleman, very 
 polite, generous, intelligent, and a man much respected for his 
 many excellent traits of character. He died in 1 878. 
 
 Thomas Barwise is a healthy, hearty-looking Englishman, 
 born in England in 1827 and educated in the old country ; learned 
 the trade of shoemaker and emigrated to America in 1850; 
 remained in Detroit six years, when in 1856 he came to St. Paul, 
 and has worked at his trade ever since. He first opened a shop 
 on Fourth street, then on Robert, then on Minnesota, where he 
 now is. He has never filled any public office but ha-s been trying 
 all these long years to create a good understanding with the peo- 
 ple, and has succeeded. He is a good-sized man, nearly bald, 
 industripus, steady, pleasant, and plods on his way in a philo- 
 sophical manner. He is married and is the father of four chil- 
 dren. 
 
734 PEN PICTURES. 
 
 Dr. J. H. Murphy is an old settler of the State but came to 
 St. Paul to live in 1 862 and of course comes in my second vol- 
 ume. It is fortunate for the author, because a biography of the 
 Doctor would necessitate an extra volume to complete my labors. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 And thus I close my Pen Pictures of the men and events 
 transpiring in St. Paul covering the period from 1838 to 1857 
 inclusive, or twenty years, and which complete my first volume 
 of 755 pages. It has been my purpose to make this history cor- 
 rect, and as it has been written in the day in which the author 
 and his subjects lived, it is probably as perfect as any history of 
 this character could possibly be made. It has cost patience, 
 labor and research and some skill in delineating character with- 
 out giving offense, and yet if I have gathered up the threads of 
 a disjointed whole and made them available for future reference, 
 I have lived for some purpose. 
 
 GOOD bye! 
 
 And so to my many kind friends who have followed me so 
 patiently through some hundreds of columns of newspaper talk, 
 I would not be human if I did not thank them for the kind atten- 
 tion they have given me and the Icind words they have spoken 
 in my behalf, and of their due appreciation of the humble efforts 
 which have been made by me to rescue from oblivion the names 
 and deeds of the many brave old settlers who laid the foundation 
 for the present and future greatness of the city of St. Paul. 
 
PEN PICTURES. 
 
 Over One Hundred Complimentary Notices. 
 
 [Pen Pictures were published in the St. Paul Sunday Globe two y.ars prior to being collected i 
 
 book form.l 
 
 "WHAT XHKY XHI1i«k:. 
 
 Gen. H. H. Sibley— •* So far as my knowledge extends the sketches are remarkable for 
 their accuracy and of great historical value. I have perused them with much interest." 
 
 Commodore^ N. W. Kittsoi(i.--''I can, in all sincerity say, that his facts, figures' inci- 
 dents, etc., m regard to the pioneera of St. Paul, are almost phenomenally correct, and his esti- 
 mation of men and the narration of their deeds just and fair." 
 
 , ^^V,' ^^^' Ramsey — "They are very interesting brief biographies of the early set- 
 tlers of St. Paul and will be of great value in the future for reference. So far as my knowl- 
 edge goes, they are correct as to dates, etc. They will be read with ever increasing interest as 
 time rolls on." 
 
 Hon. H. M. Rice.— "I have found them very correct as to dates, facts, etc., and I feel 
 like extending to Maj. Newson my sincere personal thanks for the great labor he has per- 
 formed in collecting and collating the facts in regard to the early settlers of St. Paul and 
 also incidentally the coincident history of the Territory and State of Minnesota." ' 
 
 A. L. Larpenteur, oldest living white settler in St. Paul.— '-'Maj. /Newson's sketches 
 are almost absolutely correct so far as dates, facts, etc., are concerned, and in the main they 
 are truthful in his estimate of men." 
 
 Rev. E, D, Neill.— "I have read them with great interest and historically they are very 
 correct. Shall purchase a copy for each of my children." 
 
 Judg^e Aaron Goodricli.- "His facts, data, estimate of men, etc., etc., are wonder- 
 fully correct and can be relied upon by the future historian for his facts." 
 
 Mayor Edmund Rice.— "They have been written in the Major's easy, entertaining, 
 graceful style, and I believe that they are as near correct in statement of facts as it is possible 
 to make such sketches." 
 
 Hon. Ignatius DonneUy.— "They are very interesting; well written; entertaining 
 now, and will be very valuable to the historian and genealogist in the future." 
 
 Dr. David Day. — "They are carefully prepared, written in a very attractive style, and 
 will be invaluable in the future for the remarkable accuracy of their statement of facts and 
 dates. It is of such sketches that correct history is made." 
 
 Bisb.op John Ireland. — "They are most valuable contributions to the history of our 
 city and State. The Pictures are truly life-like, so correctly are fact^ narrated, so fresh and 
 animated is the style. They bring up before us, that we see again and hear them, dear old 
 friends knit to us by all the sweet associations of early Western settlements." 
 
 J. Fletcher Williams, Secretary Historical Society.— "Seldom, if ever, has any city 
 had its pioneers and their work so well and carefully inscribed on the pages ot history. 
 Maj. Newson deserves the praise of every 'old-timer' in St. Paul," 
 
 William F. Murray. — "His facts, dates, names, incidents, etc., are all characterized 
 with an accuracy which is simply surprising." 
 
 liOuis E. Fislier. — ''Of exceeding great value to the present and of far greater value to 
 future generations, containing as they do a truthful, fair, just and reliable record of those who 
 led the van in building up our city and State." 
 
 Gov. li, F. Hubbard.— "I have read his sketches with great interest and I find them 
 as far as my knowledge goei, to be correct, truthful and just. It must have been a task of 
 great labor, research and patience to collect all this data, facts, etc., so interesting in the 
 present and which must, from the very nature of things, be almost invaluable to the genera- 
 tions which shall come after us." 
 
736 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Maurice Lyons. — "They are nnusually correct, and in the naain are just and truthful 
 in their estimate of the men he writes about." 
 
 I. V, D. Heard.— "I have read them with great interest and value them very highly, 
 more especially on account of their correctness in the narration of facts, incidents, etc., and 
 will be invaluable in the future for reference." 
 
 Hon. C. C. Andrews, late minister to Brazil. — "What astonished me most was their 
 phenomenal accuracy in regard to dates, facts, etc., about those I had personally known, and 
 with whose history I was more or less familiar. They are invaluable as a record of local 
 history." 
 
 Jiidg^e D. A. J. Baker.— "They are not only interesting bnt are as near correct, just and 
 nccurnte as to dates, facts, etc., -ah it is possible to make such sketches. When printed in book 
 ioim the volume shall occupy a place of honor in my library." 
 
 Rol>ert A. Smith.. — " They are readable, interesting and correct as far as data, etc., are 
 concerned and cannot fail to be of great value for reference hereafter." 
 
 Edward Ricliards. — "They are spicy, deal with historical facts and are very readable- 
 About the most interesting articles in the Globe." 
 
 Judge E. F. Parker. — "They are invaluable as a truthful and accurate history of men 
 and events that are fast becoming a memory of the past. They are interesting and remarkably 
 free from errors." 
 
 JoUn W. RocKe, City Comptroller.— "I have read the Pen Pictures with exceeding 
 great interest and consider them invaluable on account of their truthfulness and accuracy." 
 
 Gates A. Johnson. — "They are written in an attractive style and have the merit of 
 being phenomenally accurate and correct." 
 
 " Doc." E. N. Larpenteur. — "Maj. Newson*s articles are very correct and very just, 
 original in their inception and exceedingly interesting to read. Indeed, I may say his hook 
 when completed and published, will have no counterpart on the globe, and will command a 
 high premium some years hence." 
 
 H. F. Hall, late editor of the Globe.^"I regard the work you have done and are doing 
 in this line as absolutely invaluable. The sketches are historical and have the advantage, in 
 many cases, of not being written after the subjects are dead and necessary data placed beyond 
 reach of being obtained. As time wears on your work will be more appreciated than it is now 
 and I predict that in future years no man in St. Paul will he able to count himself as informed 
 relative to the early history and growth of this section of the country, who has not read and 
 does not keep a copy of your Pen Pictures for reference and re-reading." 
 
 Mrs. Cliatfield, widow of the late Judge Chatfield of Belle Plaine.— "N. P. Willis once 
 wrote me ' that the highest reward of authorship was the assurance that he had given pleasure 
 to his friends,' a sentiment which I believe is shared by all literary gentlemen. If so, surely 
 you have your reward, for all classes seem to read your Pen Pictures with great pleasure and 
 interest." 
 
 R. P. IVicliols, Chicago. — "Your Pen Pictures were exceedingly interesting to me. 
 You have given such faithful and delightful biograpMcal sketches, and as usual you wield a 
 tacile, gracetui, graphic and vigorous pen. My own acquaintance with the history of St. Paul 
 justifies me in saying that the historical portions of the sketches that I have read have been 
 written with remarkable fullness, accuracy and fidelity. Your work will be an honor to the 
 author and to your city * a joy forever.'" 
 
 "W. E. Magra-w, circulator of the Globp.— " I consider ' Pen Pictures of St. Paul,' writ- 
 ten by Major. T. M. .I^'ewson, and which have been running as a series for some time past in the 
 columns of the Sunday Globe,' one of the most remunerative features of the paper. In my 
 judgment they have made ai.d held more warm friends for the paper than any otherone special 
 leature of the Sunday Globe. Whien completed and compiled it will be a valuable historical 
 acquisition to our city, containing information which cannot be obtained elsewhere. 
 
 Reuben Warner.— "They will be beyond value in a few years as a matter of reference 
 on account of their correctnews, fairness, etc." 
 
 Jolin A. Stees. — " They are interesting, fair, just, correct, and will be of especial value 
 to those who come alter us." 
 
 L. G. Reinhard.— "They have the double merit of being written in a very entertain- 
 ing manner, and so lar as I know are absolutely correct as to dates, incidents, etc." 
 
 Ex-Governor Davis.—" Pen Pictures have been exceedingly interesting reading to 
 me and are almost invaluable as a history of the men and times of which he writes. I have 
 knuwn many of the early settlers and his sketches have been correct and just." 
 
 Samuel H. Nichols, Clerk of the Supreme Court. — " Have read the Pen Pictures with 
 much interest. They cannot fail to be of great value for reference in the future." 
 
 Patrick Butler. — " They have great interest for us early settlers, but they will be of far 
 more interest and value to our children and our children's children for many generations yet 
 to come." 
 
 George Francis Thomas, author, writer, etc., La Pointe, Wisconsin. — "Have read 
 your Pen Pictures with constantly increasing interest. Yours is certainly a great work, and 
 one which you can well be proiid of." 
 
 A. J. Wampler.— "They cannot fail to be both interesting and valuable in the future. 
 Have been greatly interested in their reading." 
 
 Georj^e W. Lamson.- " Kewson's Pen Pictures have been highly interesting reading, 
 and valuable as to facts." 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 737 
 
 Jolin E. HaggeniutUer. — "They have been the most Interesting feature of the Sunday 
 Globe. I have known many of the early settlers he writes about, and I find that In his dates, 
 facts, incidents, he has been singularly correct, truthful and just." 
 
 iGreorge K. Shavr, editor Dispatch. — "Have read with much interest Maj. Newson's 
 biographical sketches of the early settlers of St. Paul. They are valuable records that ought 
 tu be permanently preserved. I believe the publication will command a large sale." 
 
 David Ramaley. — " It has given me great pleasure to read your Pen Pictures. You 
 are furnishing the best kind of material for future history, because it is contemporaneous, not 
 legendary." 
 
 John Ij. Merriam, — " Pen Pictures have interested me greatly, and so far as I know 
 they are truthful and the facts correct." 
 
 Wm. TU. Banning.— "So far as my knowledge goes these sketches have been correct and 
 fair. They will be very valuable hereafter for reference." 
 
 J. I. Beaumont, County Auditor. — " I cannot speak too highly of this valuable series of 
 historical events. They are correct, fair just and invaluable for future reference. To me 
 they have been deeply interesting." 
 
 Col. A. R. Klefer. — "They are a valuable contribution to the present generation, and 
 will be above all value in the future on account of their reliable statement of facts, figures, 
 etc. They are exceedingly interesting reading." 
 
 F. J. Wbltloch, Belle Plaine. — " Your Pen Pictures will fill many of the most desirable 
 pages of the future history of the Territory and State of Minnesota, and will be duly appre- 
 ciated by this and the coming generation." . , 
 
 Hon. Jolin B. Brlsbln. — "I have read Newson's Pen Pictures of the early settlers of 
 St. Paul with interest and profit. They are just to the dead, interesting to the living, and will 
 be invaluable to future generations as furnishing correct local historical facts in regard to the 
 men who helped lay the foundation of the present and future great city of Saint Paul." 
 
 General S. P. Jennison.— "They are decidedly interesting reading, and will be more 
 so as time rolls on. Should be preserved for their local historical value." 
 
 J. F. Tostevin. — "They are invaluable as a history of the men who laid the founda- 
 tion of our city. So far as I know they are remarkably just and fair." 
 
 JBx-Mayor Ames, Minneapolis. — " His Fen Pictures; as far as my knowledge goes, are 
 remarkably correct in regard to data, incidents, etc. They are written in a spicy, racy, able, 
 entertaining and interesting manner." 
 
 Frank H. Carleton, Minneapolis. — " They condense a large amount of historical facts 
 and incidents into a small space, and are written in a free, easy and spicy style. 1 can testify 
 to their correctness and fidelity to truth." 
 
 Piatt B. Walker, editor Lumberman, Minneapolis. -^"Are of absorbing interest. Have 
 been of incalculable' benefit to me. From my own knowledge and information derived from 
 others, I can truthfully say that his data, facts, etc., are correct, just and truthful." 
 
 Matthevir Breen. — " They are decidedly interesting and almost beyond value on account 
 of the careful manner in which facts, figures, etc., have been collected, all of which will pass 
 into history and become a text-book for future reference." 
 
 Judge Westcott Willcin. — "Have read them with great interest and found them very^ 
 correct. They are written In a very attractive style, and will be valuable for future reference." 
 
 J. H. Hanson. — "In his outline portraitures he has boiled down more goffd and true 
 men than even the oldest settler could remember. In 1900 his Pen Pictures will command a 
 high premium. It is a work that will be always highly prized." 
 
 Capt. J. D. Wood. — "A few years hence when the last of the founders of the capital 
 and commercial city of Minnesota have passed over the 'silent river,' as many already have, 
 the data thus furnished will be invaluable." 
 
 Judge W. B. McGrorty "They are singularly correct, fair and just, and will be 
 
 almost beyond value as a reference. It is only a few days ago that one of his sketches played 
 an important part before me jn the Probate Court, where his statements were fully corroborated 
 by sworn testimony. I read them with constantly increasing interest." 
 
 J. W. McClung. — "I consider them valuable contributions to the history of the State. 
 They are faithful and accurate sketches, in many cases remarkably life-like, written in con- 
 densed and discriminating language, with malice towards none and charity for all." 
 
 County Attorney J. J. Eagan. — "The circulation of the book should be general, 
 because it is historical, biographical and replete with facts concerning the histpry of St. Paul. 
 It is an honor to the author and ought to be received with pleasure by every old settler." 
 
 Horace Dunn. — " I want his book, when published, as a hand-book for future reference, 
 which I consider almost invaluable. Have read his Pen Pictures with interest and profit." 
 
 Nicbolas Pottgeiser.—" They are almost faultlessly correct as to dates, incidents, etc., 
 and will be of inestimable value to those who will come after us. Have read his Pen Pictures 
 with intense interest." 
 
 W. H. Temple. " I consider them the most valuable contributions to the history of St. 
 
 Paul yet published, and they are correct, fair and just." 
 
 H. G. Donnelly.—" They are readable and decidedly interesting both to old and new 
 
 ^ f"a. Noble, Northfleld.— ".Have read Pen Pictures with great interest. Many of the 
 names of those he writes about are familiar household words in all parts of the State, and it is 
 decidedly interesting to read about their early struggles and their later triumphs. 
 
738 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Capt. E. v. Holcoinbe.—" Have been delight^I with Pen Pictures. They are readablev 
 correct as to data, and jutt in his estimfire of men." 
 
 Capt. JoUn C. Devereux. — *' His facts and statements are as nearly correct as it is- 
 possible to make them under the circumstances. Don't know of another man so peculiarly 
 fitted for the task as Maj. Newson, and who has performed it so well." 
 
 Gen. R. W. Jolinson. — "They are well written and historically correct. The historieFt 
 are faithful of all our old settlers, and the rising generation will want to know something of 
 the men who laid our foundation for greatness so deep and so broad, and in his Pen Pic- 
 tures can be found the desired information." 
 
 James rKlnjBT* — *' They are brief, but he has managed to condense a large amount of val- 
 uable information in a small space. So far as I know they are correct as to facts, incidents, 
 etc." 
 
 Wm. FoTrler, Newport. — "I have a personal knowledge of many of the men and events- 
 he writes about, and as far as that knowledge extends his statements are singularly correct," 
 
 diaries Pa8savant.—"Newson's Fen Pictures are very interesting reading to thou- 
 sands who now inhabit the great city whose foundations they laid. His facts, figures, inci- 
 dents, etc., are truthful, fair and just." 
 
 U. J. Brainerd.— " Have read them with great interest and they will be of great value 
 hereafter On account of their accuracy as to facts, data, etc." 
 
 Georg^e W. Walslh.. — " They will be of inestimable value to lawyers, especially on account 
 of their futl and accurate statements of facts so necessary for reference." 
 
 Dr. v. Smith, Duluth. — " Have read the Pictures with much interest and am glad they 
 are to appear in book form, as they will be invaluable for reference." 
 
 H. E. Vitt.— " Have read them with great interest, and so far as my recollection serves 
 me, the facts stated, etc.. are correct." 
 
 W. A. Croffut, New York. — "I am sure there is nobody in Minnesota so well fitted by 
 experienre, temperauieut and culture to write a readable book of Fen Pictures about the old 
 stagers, than Maj. Newson." . 
 
 D. W. Ingersoll. — "They span a wonderful period of time not only in the history of St, 
 Paul, but also of the State and nation. His facts, incidents, etc., which he relates are, I 
 believe, correct, fair and just. I trust he will receive a large pecuniary reward for his careful' 
 and pains-taking labors." 
 
 Charles Mahler. — ** His facts, incidents, etc., are truthful, fair and just. His book 
 will be of great and always increasing value." 
 
 Dr. T, T. Manti. — "Such articles are history and should be correct to be of value. Major 
 Newson has haU this idea in view, as, so far as I know, they are singularly correct, just and 
 fair. They will be read a hundred years from this with much greater interest than they are 
 to-day." 
 
 Richard Marvin. — " Have never read any newspaper articles with so much, interest as 
 Major Newson's Pen Pictures. I have studied these sketches carefully and I find them inter- 
 esting, correct, fair, and just; beyond price in value." 
 
 Martin Delaney. — "They are interesting, valuable, fair, correct as to dates, and for 
 future reference will become a standard work." 
 
 Major A. B. Brackett. — "They have been very interesting to me, and the almost 
 unanimous verdict is that they are correct, fair and just." 
 
 John H. Dodg-e. — "I do not remember anything that has interested me so much as Maj. 
 Newson's Pen Pictures. I consider them singularly correct, fair and just, and they must be of 
 immense value in the future." 
 
 Major C. M. Wilson.— "All the main facts in Newson's Pen Pictures are correct, his 
 estimate of men fair and just, and his articles are wonderfully interesting. His historical nar- 
 rations aie of great value." 
 
 Thomas Lyle. — "He has placed before the coming generation an incentive to honest 
 labor, and taught even the most dependent not to give up, but always keep the bright star of 
 hope befure them with an assurance that what has been done can more easily be done again." 
 
 Prof. Wood. — " Decidedly interesting and historically correct ; will be read with profit 
 long after this generation has passed away." 
 
 Prof. George Seibert. — " It is a good piece of fortune that a pen with the ability. 
 disposition and tairness and correctness was found in Maj. Newson to chronicle the early his- 
 tory of the men that will soon all have passed to the land of the unknown. His work will 
 prove a valuable acquisition to the library of every family in St. Paul and the State at large." 
 
 Judge Burg-ess. — "Have been edified, pleased, interested and instructed in reading 
 Maj. Newson's Pen Pictures. They will be of great value for future reference." 
 
 John Mathies. — " He has done his work well, and his forth-coiuing book will be a most 
 valuable contribution to the early history of St. Paul." 
 
 Alex. Johnston.—'' Fen Pictures will become the standard authority in all that relates 
 to the early local history of Bt. Paul. They are written In that easy, racy, flowing, graceful 
 style which characterizes everything that comes from Major Newson's pen. Probably no other 
 man now living could have accomplished this task so truthfully and impartially, with charity 
 for all and malice toward none." 
 
 John Sloan. — " They are correct, truthful and just. They have a peculiar interest to us 
 young old settlers, as they deal with facts, incidents, etc., of which we know but are fast for- 
 getting." 
 
Oh' S'i\ PAUL, MINN. 739 
 
 Capt. H. A, Castle.—" They have made decidedly interesting reading even at the pres- 
 ent day, but their chief merit and value consista in their Statements of historical facts con- 
 cerning the early history of St, Paul. It must have required patient labor and intelligent 
 research to compile such a valuable work." 
 
 Peter Berkey. — "Decidedly interesting and, so far as my knowledge goes, unusually 
 correct." 
 
 B. W. liott.— " Thej are of great interest to me and are exceptionally correct and 
 truthful." 
 
 Cbarles Wetier.— " They are above value as a narrative of local historical facts." 
 Harry Burmingliam. — "Have read them with great interest and believe them to be 
 truthful, lair and just." 
 
 J, N. Rogers.— " They are exceedingly interesting and especially valuable on account of 
 their rare correctness. 
 
 Bruno Beaupre. — "Have read Pen Pictures with great interest, and so far as I know 
 the facts and incidents are correct. Will be of great value in the future." 
 
 Henry Galviii.— "They are written in an attractive style and are remarkably correct in 
 regard to facts, incidents, etc." 
 
 Thomas Grace.— -'They are true and life-like sketches of the lives of the early settlers 
 and will be read with even greater interest by future generations. Their great merit is in their 
 correctness as to dates, facts, etc." 
 
 H. P. Upham. — " They are very interesting history, written in an attractive style, and 
 I believe very correct as to dates, incidents, etc.'' 
 
 Cbarles Zimmerman. — "Have read them with great interest and value them for their 
 •correct statements of historical facts." 
 
 Col. C. W. Griggs. — " They are undoubtedly the most valuable contributions to the local 
 history of St. Paul yet published, and they are especially valuable fortheir remarkable correct- 
 ness in state ment of facis." 
 
 True S. Wliite. — "They are unquestionably the most interesting and valuable statistics 
 ever printed in regard to the early times and men of St. Paul. 
 
 Maurice Anerbach.. — " Have read them with much interest, and so far as my knowl- 
 edge extends they are exceptionally correct in the statements of facts, incidents, etc., con- 
 nected with the early settlers of St. Paul." 
 
 Harry Carter. — " His Pen Pictures have been'read by me with great interest and profit, 
 though I am comparatively a new-comer in the city." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 Aza-ya-raan-ka-wan, Old Bets.... 197 
 
 Allen, Alvaren 272 
 
 Ames, William L 345 
 
 Akers, James 374 
 
 Ames, Micliael E 412 
 
 Armstrong, George W... — 418 
 
 Acker, William H 462 
 
 Albright, Samuel J 536 
 
 Allis, Lorenzo 599 
 
 Auerbach, Maurice 637 
 
 Armstrong, Albert 638 
 
 Allen, Edward L 658 
 
 Abbey, Samuel 710 
 
 Acker, William 729 
 
 Bottineau, Pierre 22 
 
 Bilanski, ]?olander 33 
 
 Basil, Charles 43, 44 
 
 Benoit, David , 47 
 
 Boal, James McClellaii 53 
 
 Belland, Henry 53 
 
 Banflll, John 59 
 
 Bass, J. W 62 
 
 Bishop, Miss Harriet E 63 
 
 Brunson, Benjamin W 65 
 
 Barton, Thomas 80 
 
 Brown, William B 88 
 
 Brawley, David F Ill 
 
 Becker, George L 155 
 
 Baker, D. A. J 159 
 
 Baker, Mrs. D. A. J 161 
 
 Bond, J. W 167 
 
 Borup, Charles W.. 170 
 
 Borup, G. A 178 
 
 Bishop, P. P 188 
 
 Babcock, Joseph W 189 
 
 Bets, Old 197 
 
 Brown, Joseph E 201 
 
 Burbank, J. C 215 
 
 Bell, Edwin 228 
 
 Bell, John 233 
 
 Brown, James H 234 
 
 Bremer, Fredricka 236 
 
 Burdick, E. C 274 
 
 Boures, Thomas W 312 
 
 Borup, Theodore 314 
 
 Bircher, William 317 
 
 Belland, Henry 333 
 
 Beulke, Theodore W 394 
 
 Bruggemann, IMartin 395 
 
 Brisbin, John B 403 
 
 Bigelow, Horace E 411 
 
 Berkey, Peter 415 
 
 Page. 
 
 Beaupre, Bruno 420' 
 
 Bruggemann, Martin B 453 
 
 Berkman, C. C 454 
 
 Boyd, Edward A 471 
 
 Berkey, John Addison 487 
 
 Becht, John C. 496 
 
 Bradley, Joshua 501 
 
 Burch, John M 502 
 
 Banning, William L 505 
 
 Burke, David 550 
 
 Butler, Patrick 553 
 
 Beaumont, Joseph 1 553 
 
 Belote, E. C 572 
 
 Benz, George 573 
 
 Bresette, .John B 574r 
 
 Burdick, John W. 574 
 
 Brackett, A. B 594 
 
 Blakeley, Russell 597 
 
 Bingham, Francis 602 
 
 Brown, M. W 613 
 
 Banholzer, William 636 
 
 Breuer, Frank 636 
 
 Brooks, Cyrus 639 
 
 Brack, Benjamin 657 
 
 Barney, Thomas J 689' 
 
 Baker, H. E 704 
 
 Buchanan, Alex 705 
 
 Banker. Isaac H 705 
 
 Bidwell Ira 708 
 
 Brady, Patrick 708 
 
 Bond, Samuel 715 
 
 Bowles, William 715- 
 
 Branch, William 717 
 
 Babcock, Lorenzo 719 
 
 Brewster, J. R 719. 
 
 Buel, Henry 720' 
 
 Brisbine, A'. G 721 
 
 Blum, Louis 722" 
 
 Burbank, Henry 723 
 
 Bradley, Richard 724 
 
 Bradshaw, E. H 725 
 
 Brennan, Thomas 726 
 
 Butler, John 726 
 
 Beck, Edwin S 729 
 
 Benson, L. L 730 
 
 Barwise, Thomas 733. 
 
 Carver, Jonathan 3: 
 
 Clewett, J. R g 
 
 Campbell, Scott 38 
 
 Cloutier 40- 
 
 Caviller 47 
 
 Chenevert, F 47 
 
PEN PICTURES. 
 
 741 
 
 Page, 
 
 Carter, W. G 47 
 
 Caviller, Charles 48 
 
 Cavender, Abraui A 67 
 
 Cruttenden, Joel D 95 
 
 Cavender, C. A 95 
 
 Conway, Charles E 143 
 
 Cooper, David 166 
 
 Colter, Charles 182 
 
 Colter, William 182 
 
 Cummings, Michael 213 
 
 Cretin, Joseph 269, 641 
 
 Cooley, Dewitt Clinton 297 
 
 Combs, William S 298 
 
 Cathcart, A. H 315 
 
 Cathcart, John 316 
 
 Curran, James M 320 
 
 Clark, Martin D 331 
 
 Caulder, Thomas 337 
 
 Chatfleld, A. G 386 
 
 Culver, George .389 
 
 Cranston, Mrs. Margaret 395 
 
 Conway, Isaac H 419 
 
 Carver, Henry L 450 
 
 Churchill, P. 454 
 
 Conley, Patrick 454 
 
 Craig, M. Gordon 455 
 
 Churchill, John 466 
 
 Campbell, Thomas B 493 
 
 Cook, John B 515 
 
 Clark, John 545 
 
 Connolly, T. J 547 
 
 Cook, N. A 552 
 
 Capistrant, Reim H 575 
 
 Costello, Mark 575 
 
 Curtice, D. L 581 
 
 Capehart, Augustus R 607 
 
 Croffut, W. A , 632 
 
 Caine,. William 635 
 
 Cramsie, Edward 645 
 
 Clarkin, John 653 
 
 Czeikowitz, F. X 666 
 
 Cullen, William J 688 
 
 Crooks, William 691 
 
 Caldwell, J. Y 702 
 
 Cahoone, William 707 
 
 Carpenter, C. W 709 
 
 Case. James A 710 
 
 Campbell, Joe 713 
 
 Coleman, Thomas W 714 
 
 Chamblin, A. T 718 
 
 Castner, John 720 
 
 Clum, M. J 723 
 
 Capen, Nathaniel 724 
 
 Creek 730 
 
 Dayton, Lyman 3, 4 
 
 Do- wan, the Singer 11 
 
 Desmarais, Joseph ■lO 
 
 Dugas, William 44 
 
 Denoyer, Louis 53 
 
 Dewey, J. J. 
 
 Duion, John D.. 
 
 90 
 
 Page. 
 
 Day, David 109 
 
 Dayton, Lyman C ]40 
 
 Dayton, Lyman 14| 
 
 Donaldson, William Taylor 296 
 
 Demules, Louis 349 
 
 Duion, Frederick 360 
 
 Donivan, John 368 
 
 Dustin, Daniel H 381 
 
 Delany, Martin 42-7 
 
 Dufresne, Alfred 455 
 
 Dieter, W. F 477 
 
 Decker, Adam 478 
 
 Delaney, Timothy....: 483 
 
 De Rochbrune, Phillip 490 
 
 Devereux, John C 518 
 
 Dreis, Peter Joseph 520 
 
 Dodge, John H 535 
 
 Dodge, H. M 537 
 
 Deuel, E. H 546 
 
 Dougher, Patrick 560 
 
 Davenport, James 569 
 
 Dowlan, John 576 
 
 Dillon, .James 596 
 
 Davidson, A. D 603 
 
 Donnelly, Ignatius 627 
 
 Davis, C. E 640 
 
 Dreher, Otter 647 
 
 Devereux, John 665 
 
 Darrow, J. F 703 
 
 Dahl 720 
 
 Daniels, Joseph 722 
 
 Day, James 730 
 
 Elfelt, S. Abram 194 
 
 Emmett, Lafayette 330 
 
 Edgerton, Erastus Smith 400 
 
 Emerson, Charles 429 
 
 Emmert, Frederick y 494 
 
 Erickson, Andrew 547 
 
 Eaton, Samuel S 556 
 
 Eagan, James J 680 
 
 Eagan, Daniel 711 
 
 Eddy, Luther H 718 
 
 Elfelt, Charles 720 
 
 Furnell, Luther 40, 41 
 
 Freeman, Augustus and David... 47 
 
 Faribault, David 53 
 
 Forbes, William H 61 
 
 Folsom, Simeon P, 68 
 
 Foster, Aaron 70 
 
 Freeborn, William 86 
 
 Frost, J. W 140 
 
 Foster, Thomas 151 
 
 French, A. It. 158 
 
 Farrington, John 247 
 
 Farr, Joseph 253 
 
 Ford, Sr., Joseph 292 
 
 Farrington, George 314 
 
 Fillmore, Charles 360 
 
 Faber, Paul 369 
 
 Flandrau, Charles E 406 
 
742 
 
 PEN PICTURES 
 
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 Fisher, Louis E 'lol 
 
 Preeman, J. G 455 
 
 Fallihee, Patrick 4H7 
 
 Foster, John P 477 
 
 Foster, Stephen P 477 
 
 Fetsch, George 482 
 
 Fischer, Louis.... 491 
 
 Freeman, George W 504 
 
 Flower, Mark D 521 
 
 Fink, Adam 551 
 
 Fabe], Phillip 610 
 
 Field, Theodore C 611 
 
 Folsom, William W 619 
 
 Flanagan, Martin 623 
 
 Fiirrell, M. B 648 
 
 Fairchild, H. S 670 
 
 Fonseca, William G 705 
 
 Fullerton, J. E 706 
 
 Fuller, David 714 
 
 Fuller, Alpheus 714 
 
 Fowler, William 72(1 
 
 Faulkenshield, A 724 
 
 Frudenrich, Baron von 727 
 
 Gauthier, John B 7, 8 
 
 Gervais, Basil 8, 14 
 
 Guerin, Vetal 16 
 
 Galtier, Lucian 24, 27 
 
 Gobin 40 
 
 Goodhue, James -U 100,259,335 
 
 Goodhue, Mrs 102 
 
 Goodrich, Aar n 114, 107, 172, 
 172, 320, 336, and 382. 
 
 Groff, Mathew : 1S7 
 
 <jood, Emanuel 249 
 
 Gorman, Willis A 376 
 
 Gross, Julius 397 
 
 Grace, Thomas 423 
 
 <3-uion, Joseph 425 
 
 Grube, William H 425 
 
 Gilfillan, C. D. 442 
 
 Ooodrich, EarleS 445 
 
 Gorman, Richard L 462 
 
 Gies, William 470 
 
 George, L C 472 
 
 Galvin, Henry 521 
 
 Gofzian, Conrad 522 
 
 Oolcher, William 544 
 
 Gervais, Charles 621 
 
 Gilman, John M 650 
 
 Goodrich, A. J 651 
 
 Griswold. G. G 702 
 
 Greenleaf, D. C 714, 730 
 
 Gibbs, Nelson 731 
 
 Grant, H. P 499 
 
 ■Gray, George W 575 
 
 Griggs, Chauncey W 576 
 
 Gilfillan, Jamies 6.58 
 
 Gribble, Edwin 663 
 
 Glann, Baron von 702 
 
 Goodrich, Dr 704 
 
 GiBb, C 711 
 
 Page. 
 
 Gauthier, George W 712 
 
 Gordon, Eichard 727 
 
 Goodhue, James 728 
 
 Hennepin, Louis 2 
 
 Hays, Sergeant 8 
 
 Hartshorn, William 36 
 
 Hall, Joseph ' 44 
 
 Hurlbut, Kev. Mr 45 
 
 Hopkins, Daniel 70 
 
 Hoyt, B. F. 77 
 
 Hatch, Edwin A. C 82 
 
 Hatch, Mrs 83 
 
 Hoyt, John F 92 
 
 Haycock, John 97 
 
 Hughes, James 108 
 
 Humphrey, James K 150 
 
 HoUinshead Wm 156 
 
 Hobart, Chauncey 175 
 
 Hole-in-the-Day 396, 219 
 
 Henniss, Charles J 249 
 
 Haycock, Abner 250 
 
 Hough, Sherwood 275 
 
 Hofl'man, James K 291 
 
 Hagerman, Auger F 331 
 
 Heard, L V. D 346 
 
 Haus, Reuben 368 
 
 Howard, Thomas 399 
 
 Hickox, W. W 427 
 
 Habighorst, Henry 456 
 
 Hart, G R..,. -lo6 
 
 Haupers, Peter 457 
 
 Houlton, Horatio 457 
 
 Hall, W'illiam Sprigg 461 
 
 Hill, Alfred J 484 
 
 Hausdorf, C. F 492 
 
 Horn, H. J 512 
 
 Hagsenmiller, John E ;.... 523 
 
 Heyderstaedt, Francis von 524 
 
 Hollinshead, Edmund R 524 
 
 Hughson, Egbert E 544 
 
 Haslett, A. D 548 
 
 Hewitt, Girard 564 
 
 Hamm, Theodore 577 
 
 Heenan, Edward 600 
 
 Hill, James J 615 
 
 Hale, Henry 621 
 
 Hardy, Nicholas 650 
 
 Hinkel, John J 655 
 
 Hand, Daniel W 671 
 
 Haggenmiller, Charles 690 
 
 Houseworth, R. F 705 
 
 Halstead, .T. T 706 
 
 Hogan, Edward 708 
 
 Hoffman, C. C 708 
 
 Horn, Joe 716 
 
 Heymel, F .-... 718 
 
 Hall, Joseph 725 
 
 Hallowell, E. M 728 
 
 Irvine, John R 33, 34 
 
 Irvine, Mrs. John R 34 
 
OF ST. PA UL, MINN. 
 
 743 
 
 Page. 
 
 Irvine, Miss Cleopatra 41 
 
 lUingsworth, William 76 
 
 Irvine, Benjamin 92 
 
 lUingsworth, Williiim H 234 
 
 Irvine, George 293 
 
 Ireland, John... 361 
 
 Ireland, Richard 363 
 
 Irwin, M. W 385 
 
 Ingalls, N. P 482 
 
 Iglehart, Harwood •. 485 
 
 IngersoU, D. W 509 
 
 Imeson, J. W 618 
 
 Irvine, C. G 705 
 
 Jackson, Henry ....27, 28, 49 
 
 Johnson, P. K 66 
 
 Jackson, Thomas A 343 
 
 Justus, Henry 458 
 
 Johnson, Gates A 516 
 
 Jebb, W. J. 556 
 
 Jennison, Samuel Pierce 662 
 
 Johnston, Alexander 680 
 
 Johnson, Richard W 685 
 
 Justice, D. C 703 
 
 Jenks, J. R 709 
 
 Jarvis, William 719 
 
 Jackson, Thomas 732 
 
 Kellogg, M. N 117 
 
 Kennedy, Robert 177 
 
 Knox, R.C 249 
 
 Knault, Ferdinand 251 
 
 Kittson, N. W 430 
 
 Kahlert, J. C 458 
 
 Koch, Charles 492 
 
 Knight, Albert 518 
 
 Kiefer, Andrew R 527 
 
 Kellv, Sr., Frank ;. 557 
 
 Keigher, Patrick 578 
 
 Kerst, Peter 578 
 
 Kelly, William H 606 
 
 Koch, Mathias 619 
 
 Knight, A. F 646 
 
 Knox, Henry M 649 
 
 King, James 652 
 
 King, Josias R 660 
 
 Kreiger, Louis 701 
 
 King, C. C 707 
 
 Kovitz and son 720, 727 
 
 Kern, WiUiam...". 723 
 
 Kelly, Jr., Frank 729 
 
 Kittson, Norman 731 
 
 Larpenteur, A. L 37, 64 
 
 Larrivier. 40 
 
 Lull, C. P. V 62 
 
 Lott, B. F 80 
 
 Lambert, David. 87 
 
 Larpenteur, E. N 163 
 
 Larpenteur, Mrs. E. N 164 
 
 Larpenteur, E. L 164 
 
 Le Due, William G 222 
 
 Page. 
 
 Lunkenheimer, John 353 
 
 Lunkenheimer, Jr., John 353 
 
 Laurent, George 370 
 
 Lunkenheimer, Henry 424 
 
 Luhrsen, Fred 477 
 
 Lanpher, Rollin A 525 
 
 Lambrecht, Frank 549 
 
 Leip, William 557 
 
 Leitner, J. P 579 
 
 Lindeke, William 579 
 
 Lyons, Maurice 613 
 
 Lisyde, William M 623 
 
 Lanpher, N 653 
 
 Lindeke, Fred 654 
 
 Leo, Patrick 655 
 
 Lindeke, A. H 679 
 
 Le May, Joseph 701 
 
 Lamb, Thomas 703 
 
 Langley, WiUiam 707 
 
 Langford, N. P 711 
 
 Long Brothers 715 
 
 Lowry, J. B 716 
 
 Lewis, Joseph 732 
 
 Mair, Xavier de 21 
 
 Mortimer, R. W 29, 30 
 
 McDonald, Donald 32 
 
 McLeod, Alexander H 39 
 
 McCoy, Francis 44 
 
 Monteur, Joseph 48 
 
 Moffett, Lott 75 
 
 Myrick, Nathan 85 
 
 Morrison, W. C 87 
 
 Monteur, Joseph 91 
 
 Murphy, Luke 96 
 
 Mitchell, Alex. M 113 
 
 McLean, Nathaniel 115 
 
 McCIoud Brothers. John 140 
 
 Masterson, Henry F. 146 
 
 Murray, William P 149 
 
 Murphy, John 190 
 
 Martin, J. C 209 
 
 Moore, George W 220 
 
 Monti, Ferdinand 227 
 
 Marvin, Luke 2.34 
 
 MarshaU, William R 261 
 
 Marvin, Richard 279 
 
 Moss, H. L 282 
 
 MiUer, D. A 319 
 
 McKenty, Henry 322 
 
 Marvin, Richard F 330 
 
 McCormick, Findlay 338 
 
 Mann, T. T 340 
 
 Morgan, Andrew Jackson 344 
 
 Milner, Isaac W 354 
 
 Mathes, John 357 
 
 Masterson, Thomas 368 
 
 McGrorty, WiUiam B 391 
 
 McGrorty, Jr., WUliam B 393 
 
 Michel, B 397 
 
 Mayo, Charles B 422 
 
 Metcalf, T. M 453 
 
744 
 
 PEN PICTURES 
 
 Page. 
 
 Montgomery, H. B 459 
 
 Morris, Charles A. F 460 
 
 Michaud, Narcisse 467 
 
 McCarthy, Jeremiah 473 
 
 Mitsch, George 474 
 
 Mitsch, George J 475 
 
 Mackubin, Charles N 486 
 
 McClung, J. W 510 
 
 Martin, Edmund 514 
 
 Mainzer, Jacob 525 
 
 McArdle, Thomas W 526 
 
 Merrill, G. W 526 
 
 Miller, Orville G 528 
 
 Mintzer, William L 528 
 
 Miles, C. C 537 
 
 Merrill, D. D 538 
 
 McCauley, John 540 
 
 Mathews, Henry D 559 
 
 Mathews, James H S60 
 
 Munger, Russel C 673 
 
 Miller, William H 6il9 
 
 Morris, Henry 700 
 
 McMahon, Thomas 5S6 
 
 Minea, Joseph 587 
 
 Markoe, William 592 
 
 Mattock, John 593 
 
 Mahler, Charles F 611 
 
 Miller, Charles T 620 
 
 McMenemy, Bobert 624 
 
 Moore, Adolphus 625 
 
 McDonald, James 625 
 
 Medary, Samuel 641 
 
 Miller, Theodore H 646 
 
 Matheis, John. 652 
 
 Monfort, DelosA 672 
 
 Morton, Dr 704 
 
 Miller, Dr 709 
 
 McCardy, J. J 712 
 
 Morse, Beniamih 712 
 
 Miller, William E 717 
 
 Markley, Isaac 722 
 
 Mptcalf, George P 726 
 
 Martin, Lucius B 728 
 
 May, Dan 732 
 
 Murphy, J. H 734 
 
 Nobles, William H 84 
 
 Neill, E. D. 120, 75, 106, 107, 240, 
 261, 301, 302. 
 
 Nelson, E. E 218 
 
 Nilsson, Madame 2:M 
 
 Noot, William 245 
 
 Nichols, P. W 283 
 
 Nippolt, Andrew 460 
 
 Nugent, James 469 
 
 Newell, John E 470 
 
 Nash, George A 4f-0 
 
 Nicols, John 529 
 
 Nixon, William 705 
 
 Nash, Patrick 710 
 
 Nash, James 712 
 
 Page. 
 
 Odell, Thomas S 51 
 
 Odell, Mrs 51 
 
 Oliva, Frederick 69 
 
 Owens, John P 116 
 
 Olmsted, David 200 
 
 Oakes, Charles H 224 
 
 Oakes, Mrs. Charles H 226 
 
 Oakes, David 251 
 
 O'Gorman, John 356 
 
 O'Brien, James 357 
 
 O'Gorman, Henry 358 
 
 O'Gorman, William 358 
 
 O'Brien, Patrick 370 
 
 Olivier, John B 457 
 
 O'Connor, Michael J 497 
 
 Otis, George L 507 
 
 O'Regan, Patrick 580 
 
 Orleman, H 542 
 
 Officer, Harvey 550 
 
 O'Brien, John E 552 
 
 O'Connor, James J 580 
 
 O'Donnell, John 581 
 
 O'Brien, Terrence 587 
 
 Parrant, Pierre 6, 15, 16, 19 
 
 Perry, Abram 20 
 
 Perry, Charles 20 
 
 Pelon, "Old" 33 
 
 Pepin 40 
 
 Patwell, Peter 45, 46 
 
 Pomeroy, Jesse D 56 
 
 Phillips, William D 81 
 
 Presley, B 103 
 
 Parker, Eodney 112 
 
 Parker, Mrs 112 
 
 Powers, Simon i.... 113 
 
 Potts, Thomas E 142 
 
 Parker, John... 254 
 
 Pollock, J. D 311 
 
 Pierson, A. T. C 352 
 
 Prescott, George W 394 
 
 Pottgieser, Sr., Nicholas 409 
 
 Pottgieser, Mrs. N 411 
 
 Pottgieser, Jr., Nicholas 437 
 
 Pottgieser, Charles 439 
 
 Pottgieser, Gilbert 439 
 
 Prince, John S 444 
 
 Pusey, Pennock 449 
 
 Pond, J. P 479 
 
 Price, D. C 481 
 
 Prendergast, J. C 485 
 
 Palmer, E. C 491 
 
 Prendergast, M. E ,541 
 
 Phillips, "Billy" 558 
 
 Palmes, George 582 
 
 Pease, E. M. S 656 
 
 Patterson, John 682 
 
 Pulford, George 706 
 
 Pettys, Charles G 708 
 
 Paist, William 710 
 
 Parker, Charles H 711 
 
 Phillipp, John B 716 
 
OF ST. PA VL, MINN. 
 
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 Post, Russell 717 
 
 Patterson, M, B 718 
 
 Pierse, Allen .."."'. 722 
 
 Poucher, Samuel 729 
 
 Paine, Parker 730 
 
 Quimby, J. C 549 
 
 Rondo, Joseph 20 
 
 Ravoux, Augustin 25 
 
 Robert, Louis 41,42, 43 
 
 Reed, Charles 45 
 
 Rumsej', Miss 46 
 
 Robert, Francis 47 
 
 Roche, L. H. La 47 
 
 Rouleau, CharlesT 48 
 
 Roleau, Jr., Charles 49 
 
 Randall, William H 50 
 
 Renfro, William C 70 
 
 Rhodes, Henry 87 
 
 Roberts, Nelson 97 
 
 Rhodes, Ephraim 98 
 
 Ramsey, Alexander, 123, 104, 196, 
 
 209, 212, 230, 236, 240, 276, 377. 
 Rice, H. M. 128, 23, 73, 81, 109, 
 
 138, 174, 175,254. 
 
 Ramsey, Mrs. A 138 
 
 Rice, Mrs. H. M 138 
 
 Rice, Edmund 153 
 
 Rogers, John 173 
 
 Russell, R.P 174 
 
 Ramsey, J. C... 180 
 
 Robert, Joseph 191 
 
 Robertson. D. A 217 
 
 Reed, L. E 276 
 
 Renz, F. A 288 
 
 Riheldaflfer, J. G 312 
 
 Rauch, Charles 365 
 
 Rosser, J. Travis 384 
 
 Roedler, August 468 
 
 Rank, J. G. C 469 
 
 Riley, Cornelius 554 
 
 Rogers, Hiram 567 
 
 Rogers, William D 568 
 
 Randall, E. D. K 572 
 
 Rice, J. B 583 
 
 Ryder, Merrill 583 
 
 Ramaley, David 589 
 
 Roche, John 612 
 
 Reardon, Timothy 617 
 
 Reinhard, Casper 622 
 
 Randall, John H 644 
 
 Ryan, Patrick 710 
 
 Ritchie, Thompson 712 
 
 Raguets 713 
 
 Rohrer, Daniel 716 
 
 Rey, Alex 720 
 
 Robertson, William G 730 
 
 Roche, Michael •• 732 
 
 Simpson, J. W 35 
 
 Sloan, David 39 
 
 Pase. 
 
 Sloan, John R 94 
 
 Sloan, Perry 94 
 
 Sloan, Edward 94 
 
 Sloan, Sarah 94 
 
 Smith, Charles K 113 
 
 Shelly, E. Y 115 
 
 Simons, Orlando 148 
 
 Spencer, John B 179 
 
 Sherman, Marshal 188 
 
 Selby, J. W 183 
 
 Spicer, Nathan 187 
 
 Semper, Joseph H 190 
 
 Stoakes, Mrs. M. L 190 
 
 Stees, Washington 210 
 
 Stillwell, Hiram 220 
 
 Starkey, James 231 
 
 Spencer, R. M 237 
 
 Symonds, Charles 255 
 
 Spencer, George H 284 
 
 Stees, Charles J 299 
 
 Smith, Truman M 332 
 
 Shelly, William H 339 
 
 Sweeney, R. 350 
 
 Schurmeier, J. H 350 
 
 Schliek, H. A .• 354 
 
 Sherburne, Moses 386 
 
 Spiel, Joseph 388 
 
 Smith, Robert A 389 
 
 Sandford, David 414 
 
 Sibley, Henry Hastings, 432, 74, 
 77, 102, 105, 139, 230, 434, 436, 437 
 
 Sanborn, John B 439 
 
 Scotten, George 474 
 
 Sewall, J. S 478 
 
 Smith, A. C 503 
 
 Stewart, J. H 504 
 
 Stahlmann, Chris 531 
 
 Schnittger, Charles H 532 
 
 Schurmeier, T. L 533 
 
 Schurmeier, Casper H 540 
 
 Sherwood, George W 551 
 
 Smith, F. R 552 
 
 Sloan, Samuel G 561 
 
 Steele, John 562 
 
 Stees, John A 566 
 
 Smith, Robert 584 
 
 Summers, John 581 
 
 Saulsbury, Guy M 591 
 
 Smith, Jr. James 599 
 
 Spencer, William A 607 
 
 Strong, R. 643 
 
 Slocum, Charles H 664 
 
 Seibert, George 678 
 
 Semper, "Count" 713 
 
 Shaw, Colonel 715 
 
 Shaw, Henry and William 715 
 
 Schliek, Edward H 719 
 
 Sloan, Levi 719 
 
 Schmidt, Louise 722 
 
 Sargeant, Samuel 722 
 
 Sprague, Capt 727 
 
 Stein, John George 732 
 
746 
 
 PEN PICTURES. 
 
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 Thompson, James 9 
 
 Ta-ti 13 
 
 Terry, J. C 168 
 
 Tinker, W. H 186 
 
 Taylor, William 196 
 
 Thompson, Benjamin 255 
 
 Tyson, N. E 359 
 
 Thomas, James 466 
 
 Thomas, William 466 
 
 Tuttle, M. C 476 
 
 Tostevin, J. F 533 
 
 Temple, H. S 585 
 
 Temple, William H 622 
 
 .Treacy, Michael 626 
 
 'TuUis, Aaron W 701 
 
 TurnbuU, George 701 
 
 Taylor, Hiram J 716 
 
 Taylor, D. C 717 
 
 Troyer, Dominick 720 
 
 Treacy, Patrick 725 
 
 Testimonials, 735, 736, 737, 738 739 
 
 Upham, Henry P 674 
 
 Uline, S. Calvin 586 
 
 Villaume, Joseph 185 
 
 Van Etten, Isaac 266 
 
 Van Etten, Mrs 267 
 
 Van Slyke, William A 487 
 
 Vervais, Joseph A 565 
 
 Vervais, Joseph 566 
 
 Vervais, T. A 566 
 
 Vance, Hugh J 724 
 
 Vitt, H. S 727 
 
 White, H. D 53 
 
 Willoughby, Amherst 113 
 
 Wilkin, Alexander 176 
 
 Wheelock, Joseph A 241 
 
 Whitney, Joel R..... 248 
 
 Whitney, Joel 244 
 
 Wait, L". B 250 
 
 Wright, Isaac P 256 
 
 Wilson, C. M 326 
 
 WolflF, Albert 364 
 
 Winslow, James M 371 
 
 Welsh, William H 386 
 
 Page. 
 
 Whitney, Andrew J 394 
 
 Weide, John A 397 
 
 Wiley, Roberto 398 
 
 Weber, Sr., Henry 408 
 
 Weber, Jr., Henry 409 
 
 Weide, Charles A. B 416 
 
 Wakefield, Joseph , 417 
 
 Williams, C. H 424 
 
 Willis, John W 463 
 
 Wagner, John 48? 
 
 White, True S 496 
 
 Welsh, W. T 499 
 
 Williams, John Fletcher 513 
 
 Willius, Ferdinand 527 
 
 Weller, E. A 543 
 
 Williams, C. W 546 
 
 Wilson, A 559 
 
 Warner, E. F 676 
 
 Wilson, Wilford L 571 
 
 Wilson, Wilford C 572 
 
 Weber, John 586 
 
 Wilson, Thomas P 587 
 
 Warner, John M 601 
 
 Warner, Reuben 604 
 
 Williams, John J 604 
 
 Willius, Gustav 606 
 
 Wood, Edward H 608 
 
 Wilkin, Westcott 610 
 
 Wakefield, William 612 
 
 Wood, Charles L 624 
 
 Wagner, Nicholas 643 
 
 Wharton, Robert L 660 
 
 Willis, C. L 701 
 
 Weide, Joseph 707 
 
 Wedelstaedt, H. A. L. von 711 
 
 Ward, J. Q. A 713 
 
 Willey, Samuel 714 
 
 Warren, John E 722 
 
 Webb, Isaac W. 726 
 
 Wilson, James K 731 
 
 Wilson, Thomas W...., 733 
 
 Yale, Charles L 723 
 
 Yandes, James W 725 
 
 Zimmerman, Charles A 588 
 
 Zimmerman, Edward 589 
 
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