Minnesota and Dacotah

by C. C. Andrews

This being the condition of things, the manner in which the territory shall be divided— for no one can expect the new state will embrace the whole extent of the present territory— becomes a very interesting question. Some maintain, I believe, that the territory should be divided by a line running east and west. That would include in its limits the country bordering, for some distance, on the Missouri River; possibly the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. But it is hardly probable that a line of this description would give Minnesota any part of Lake Superior. Others maintain that the territory should be divided by a line running north and south; say, for instance, along the valley of the Red River of the North. Such a division would not give Minnesota any of the Missouri River. But it would have the benefit of the eastern valley of the Red River of the North; of the entire region surrounding the sources of the Mississippi; and of the broad expanse which lies on Lake Superior. The question is highly important, not only to Minnesota, but to the territory which will be left outside of it; and it should be decided with a due regard to the interests of both.[1]

[1 I take pleasure in inserting here a note which I have had the honor to receive from Captain Pope, of the Corps of Topographical Engineers I have before had occasion to quote from the able and instructive report of his exploration of Minnesota.

WASHINGTON, D. C. Dec. 10, 1856.

DEAR SIR:— Your note of the 6th instant is before me; and I will premise my reply by saying that the suggestions I shall offer to your inquiries are based upon my knowledge of the condition of the territory in 1849, which circumstances beyond my acquaintance may have materially modified since.

The important points to be secured for the new state to be erected in the territory of Minnesota, seem to be:— first a harbor on Lake Superior, easily accessible from the West; second, the whole course of the Mississippi to the Iowa line; and, third, the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. It is unnecessary to point out the advantages of securing these features to the new state; and to do so without enclosing too many square miles of territory, I would suggest the following boundaries, viz.:

Commencing on the 49th parallel of latitude, where it is intersected by the Red River of the North, to follow the line of deepest water of that river to the mouth of the Bois des Sioux (or Sioux Wood) River; thence up the middle of that stream to the south-west point of Lake Traverse; thence following a due south line to the northern boundary of the state of Iowa (43 degrees 30' north latitude); thence along this boundary line to the Mississippi River; thence up the middle of the Mississippi River to the mouth of the St. Croix River; thence along the western boundary line of the state of Wisconsin to its intersection with the St. Louis River; thence down the middle of that river to Lake Superior; thence following the coast of the lake to its intersection with the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions, and following this boundary to the place of beginning.

These boundaries will enclose an area of about 65,000 square miles of the best agricultural and manufacturing region in the territory, and will form a state of unrivalled advantages. That portion of the territory set aside by the boundary line will be of little value for many years to come. It presents features differing but little from the region of prairie and table land west of the frontier of Missouri and Arkansas. From this, of course, are to be excepted the western half of the valley of the Red River and of the Big Sioux River, which are as productive as any portion of the territory, which, with the region enclosed between them, would contain arable land sufficient for another state of smaller dimensions.

As you will find stated and fully explained in my report of February, 1850, the valley of the Red River of the North must find an outlet for its productions towards the south, either through the great lakes or by the Mississippi River. The necessity, therefore, of connecting the head of its navigation with a harbor on Lake Superior, and a port on the Mississippi, is sufficiently apparent. As each of these lines of railroad will run through the most fertile and desirable portion of the territory, they will have a value far beyond the mere object of transporting the products of the Red River valley.

The construction of these roads— in fact the mere location of them— will secure a population along the routes at once, and will open a country equal to any in the world.

As these views have been fully elaborated in my report of 1850, I refer you to that paper for the detailed information upon which these views and suggestions are based.