The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier

Chas E Flandrau
The History of Minnesota AND Tales of the Frontier. BY JUDGE CHARLES E. FLANDRAU
PUBLISHED BY E. W. PORTER, ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA. 1900.
To the Old Settlers of Minnesota, who so wisely laid the foundation of our state upon the broad and enduring basis of freedom and toleration, and who have so gallantly defended and maintained it, this history is most gratefully and affectionately dedicated by the author.
Charles E. Flandrau.
The original design of this history was, that it should accompany and form part of a book called the Encyclopedia of Biography of Minnesota. It was so published, and as that work was very large and expensive, it was confined almost exclusively to its subscribers, and did not reach the general public. Many requests were made to the author to present it to the public in a more popular and readable form, and he decided to publish it in a book of the usual library size, and dispose of it at a price which would place it within the reach of everyone desirous of reading it. As the history is written in the most compendious form consistent with a full presentation and discussion of all the facts concerning the creation and growth of the state, it was estimated that it would not occupy sufficient space in print to make a volume of the usual and proper size. The author therefore decided to accompany it with a series of Frontier Stories, written by himself at different times during his long residence in the Northwest, which embrace historical events, personal adventures, and amusing incidents. He believes these stories will lend interest and pleasure to the volume.
THE AUTHOR.
It has been a little over fifty years since the organization of the Territory of Minnesota, which at its birth was a very small and unimportant creation, but which in its half century of growth has expanded into one of the most brilliant and promising stars upon the union of our flag; so that its history must cover every subject, moral, physical and social, that enters into the composition of a first-class progressive Western state, which presents a pretty extensive field; but there is also to be considered a period anterior to civilization, which may be called the aboriginal and legendary era, which abounds with interesting matter, and to the general reader is much more attractive than the prosy subjects of agriculture, finance and commerce.