We lingered long, and reluctantly turned our feet away from this enchanting scene where both real and imaginary heroes and heroines have dwelt, and in the bright waters of which their picturesque encampments have been often mirrored.
St. Anthony—opposite Minneapolis—is one of the oldest towns in the State, and was, in ante bellum times, quite a fashionable resort for the Southerners. The war ended that, while the latter city gave to it its final coup de grâce, and soon after the business set to the west bank of the river.
Its chief object of interest is the State University, which has but just entered upon its career of usefulness.
Tourists will enjoy a few days in and around Minneapolis. It is the centre of a number of attractive objects of natural curiosity. A drive to Lake Calhoun and a day's sport in fishing is both practicable and pleasant.
We cannot regard the City of St. Anthony as equalling Minneapolis as a place of residence in point of health. Even in the latter city it is important that a home be had as remote from the neighborhood of the Falls as is convenient. Its adaptability to the needs of the invalid consists more in the walks and drives, the ample boarding-house and hotel accommodations, good markets, and cheerful, pleasant society, than in the particular location of the town itself or in the character of the soil on which it is built.
Beyond, and on the line of the St. Paul and Pacific Branch Railroad—now owned and operated by the Northern Pacific Railroad—the towns of Anoka and St. Cloud, both on the banks of the "great river," are either more desirable for invalids than most other points in the State within our knowledge, so far as location is concerned. They are high and dry above the river, and possess a soil in and around them of a loose sandy character, for the most part every way favorable to good drainage and dryness. The towns themselves are quite small, yet accommodations might be found for a large number in the aggregate. The hotels offer no special temptation to guests beyond those of the ordinary private family in the way of home comforts and conveniences. The people are kind, intelligent, and obliging to strangers; as, indeed, they are elsewhere in the State. Yet there is always a more hearty and cordial salutation among the inhabitants of towns who are anxious to secure good reputations and thereby enlarge their borders.
There is some hunting and fishing near both of these places, as, indeed, there is at most all points in the interior.
Near St. Cloud are Pleasant, Grand, Briggs, and Rice's Lakes, where fishing and rowing may be had, while the country eastward of the town affords fair hunting.
It is quite an advantage to any place, from an invalid standpoint, that the surrounding country affords them abundant means whereby the mind may be occupied and kept from crooning over the memories of loved ones far away, or brooding upon their own misfortunes.
On the St. Paul and Pacific Main Line—also controlled and owned by the Northern Pacific Road—are a number of attractive and healthful places, where ample accommodations may be had for the invalid, and where those who come to construct new homes will find cheap lands and good society.