e at
boat building so I let him say it. I worked sixteen days for him
building an addition out of green timber. At the end of that time he
asked what I wanted for the work. I did not know so he gave me $25.00 in
shin plasters. It was Grocers Bank, Bangor, Maine money. All of the
money here was then.

As soon as I got it, I hiked out for St. Anthony, where I took to
building in earnest. I helped build the Tuttle mill on the west side in
'50 and '51. Tuttle moved from the east side over to the government log
cabin while it was building and I boarded with them there. I also built
the mill at Elk River.

The first Fourth of July I was driving logs up above what is now East
Minneapolis. We had a mill with two sash saws, that is, saws set in a
sash. Settlers were waiting to grab the boards as they came from the
saw. How long it took those saws to get through a log! A mill of today
could do the same work in one-tenth the time. We could only saw five
thousand feet a day working both saws all the time.

I helped build the Governor Ramsey which plied above the Falls and up
the river. She was loaded with passengers each trip going to look over
sites for homes. I also helped build the H. M. Rice. After the railroad
was built, these boats were moved on land over the Falls and taken by
river to the south where they were used in the war.

I first boarded at the messhouse of the St. Anthony Water Power Company.
This messhouse was on a straight line with the front door of the
Exposition Building on the river bank. All butter and supplies of that
nature were brought a long distance and were not in the best of
condition when received, so this messhouse was called by the boarders,
"The Soap Grease Exchange," and this was the only appellation it was
known by in old St. Anthony.

The first sawmills put up in St. Anthony could saw from thirty to forty
logs apiece, a day.

As there were absolutely no places of amusement, the men became great
wags. One of the first things that was established by them was a police
court of regulations with Dr. Murphy as judge. As there were no
sidewalks, a stranger would be run in and have to pay a fine, such as
cigars for the crowd, if he was found spitting on the sidewalks. Lawyer
Whittle was fined two pecks of apples and cigars for wearing a stovepipe
hat and so the fun went on, day after day.

Mr. Welles ran for Mayor and, as there was no opposition, the before
mentioned wags decided to have some. A