Among the most famous, are Lake Minnewaska, on the Little Falls and Dakota division of the road, fifty-nine miles from its junction with the main line; Clitherall and Battle Lakes, on the Fergus Falls and Black Hills branch; and Detroit Lake, on the direct line to the West, 230 miles from St. Paul. All these have fine pebbly beaches, lined with beautiful borders of timber, and their accommodations for all classes of visitors—anglers, sportsmen and families—are exceptionally good.
Like all the waters of Minnesota, they teem with fine, gamey fish of many varieties. The accomplished editor of the American Angler, writing in his well-known journal, after a visit to the Northwest in the summer of 1885, stated, that, during a life of nearly a quarter of a century as an angler, no experience with a rod had equaled in variety and weight the two days' fishing he had had on Detroit Lake. Nor was Mr. Harris' success exceptional. A score of one hundred pounds per day on two rods, is, as he goes on to state, considered quite a modest record.
For what is locally regarded as a good catch, we must turn to that of the three gentlemen who, on the afternoon of June 1st, 1885, brought in, as the result of less than three days' work, 603 pike, 138 black bass, 178 rock bass, 28 cat-fish and 25 pickerel; the entire catch weighing 2,321 pounds. This “fish story” is well authenticated. Eastern anglers can have no conception how full of fine fish, of many varieties, these Minnesota lakes are. For black and rock bass, maskalonge, pickerel, wall-eyed pike, and an infinite variety of smaller fish, a recent writer in the American Angler pronounces Detroit Lake the finest fishing ground on the continent. Nor need any angler or sportsman—for prairie chickens, ducks and deer are abundant—expect to have to look to sport to make up for the deficiencies of accommodation; for the Hotel Minnesota is said, on the highest authority, to be a gem of a hostelry for anglers, every facility and convenience they could wish for being obtainable at moderate charges.
The scenic attractions, also, are of a high order, the natural features of the surrounding country being of the most diversified character. The air is pure and invigorating, and hay fever and malarial diseases are absolutely unknown.
Lake Park is another delightful resort in this region, having good fishing and boating within easy distance, and a first-class hotel adjoining the depot.
Before arriving at Detroit, the traveler from St. Paul passes through Brainerd, the “City of the Pines.” The selection of this city for the location of the machine shops of the railroad has given a great impetus to its growth; nevertheless, for deer and bear hunting, it is still one of the best localities in the State. There is fine fishing, too, in its immediate vicinity, and its hotel accommodations also are very good. Here it is, also, that travelers from the East, coming by way of the Great Lakes, join the west-bound train.
The distance to Brainerd from Duluth, the point of debarkation, at the west end of Lake Superior, is 114 miles.
The traveler, who, in 1886, visits Mr. Proctor Knott's “Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas,” will find the straggling village of five years ago a busy city of 20,000 inhabitants, with abounding evidences of the commercial importance it has attained. By reason of the advantages afforded by the great waterway of the continent, for the direct shipment of wheat to the Eastern States or to Europe, Duluth has become almost as formidable a rival of Minneapolis as that city is of Chicago. It handled last year no fewer than 15,819,462 bushels of wheat, while its saw mills cut up 125,000,000 feet of lumber, and an extensive trade was also carried on in coal, salt and lime.
A few miles distant, and connected with it by a railway whose construction involved the building of an exceedingly fine iron bridge, is the city of Superior, also with excellent terminal facilities. The eastern terminus of this, the Wisconsin division of the railroad, is Ashland, an important town and favorite summer resort on Lake Superior. Midway between this town and Duluth the line crosses the Brule river, whose excellent fishing grounds its recent opening has, for the first time, rendered accessible.
The Brule river proper is a large stream, averaging 100 feet in width, of clear, cold water, flowing, its entire length, through one of the great forests of Wisconsin. With high banks, and free from low or marshy ground, it is an ideal trout stream. The best fishing on the river is to be had in a stretch of fourteen miles, extending six miles above, and eight miles below, the crossing of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The trout attain a large size, catches of three and four pound fish being an everyday occurrence. In the surrounding forest, game, including moose, deer, beaver and pheasant, is found in great abundance. Large quantities of venison were shipped hence by rail during the winter of 1885–86, the shipments from November 1st to December 15th alone exceeding 13,000 pounds.