ul to a
point forty miles below, only the lightest of the "stern-wheel" boats
could make any headway. The inhabitants declared they had never before
known such a low stage of water, and earnestly hoped it would not
occur again. It was paralyzing much of the business of the State.
Many flouring and lumber mills were lying idle. Transportation was
difficult, and the rates very high. A railway was being constructed
to connect with the roads from Chicago, but it was not sufficiently
advanced to be of any service.

Various stories were in circulation concerning the difficulties of
navigation on the Upper Mississippi in a low stage of water. One pilot
declared the wheels of his boat actually raised a cloud of dust in
many places. Another said his boat could run easily in the moisture on
the outside of a pitcher of ice-water, but could not move to advantage
in the river between Lake Pepin and St. Paul. A person interested in
the railway proposed to secure a charter for laying the track in the
bed of the Mississippi, but feared the company would be unable to
supply the locomotives with water on many portions of the route. Many
other jests were indulged in, all of which were heartily appreciated
by the people of St. Paul.

The day after my arrival at St. Paul, I visited the famous Falls of
the Minnehaha. I am unable to give them a minute description, my visit
being very brief. Its brevity arose from the entire absence of water
in the stream which supplies the fall. That fluid is everywhere
admitted to be useful for purposes of navigation, and I think it
equally desirable in the formation of a cascade.

The inhabitants of St. Paul have reason to bless the founders of their
city for the excellent site of the future metropolis of the Northwest.
Overlooking and almost overhanging the river in one part, in another
it slopes gently down to the water's edge, to the levee where the
steamers congregate. Back from the river the limits of the city extend
for several miles, and admit of great expansion. With a hundred years
of prosperity there would still be ample room for growth.

Before the financial crash in '57, this levee was crowded with
merchandise from St. Louis and Chicago. Storage was not always to be
had, though the construction of buildings was rapidly pushed. Business
was active, speculation was carried to the furthest limit, everybody
had money in abundance, and scattered it with no niggard hand. In
many of the brokers' w