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LETTER VIII.

LUMBERING INTERESTS.

Lumber as an element of wealth-Quality of Minnesota lumberLocality of its growth-The great pineries-Trespasses on government land-How the lumbermen elude the government-Value of lumber-Character of the practical lumberman-Transportation of

lumber on rafts.

CROW WING, October, 1856.

It seems to have been more difficult for countries which abound in precious metals to attain to great prosperity than for a rich man to secure eternal felicity. Witness, for instance, the sluggish growth and degenerate civilization of the South American states. But timber is a fundamental element of colonial growth. The mines of Potosi cannot com. pare with it in value. An abundance of timber and a superabundance of it are two very different things. Some of the Middle, and what were once Western States, were originally covered with forests. So of the greater part of New England. In Ohio and in Michigan timber has been an encumbrance; for there was great labor to be performed by the settler in clearing the land and preparing it for the plough; and at this day we see in travelling through each of those states, as well as in Kentucky, Ten

nessee, and Missouri, fields planted amidst heavy timber trees which have been belted that they may wither and die. By an abundance of timber I mean an ample supply not only for domestic but foreign. market; and with this understanding of the word I will repeat what has often been said, and what I suppose is well known, that Minnesota has an abundance of excellent timber. Unlike the gorgeous forests in New Hampshire, which behind high cliffs and mountain fastnesses defy the woodman, the timber of Minnesota grows in the valleys of her great rivers and upon the banks of their numerous tributaries. It is thus easily shipped to a distant market; while the great body of the land, not encumbered with it, but naked, is ready for the plough and for the seed. Most of the timber which grows in the region below this point is hard wood, such as elm, maple, oak, and ash.

There is considerable scrub oak also thinly scattered over large portions of fertile prairie. To a casual observer these oaks, from their stunted appearance, would be taken as evidence of poor soil. But the soil is not the cause of their scrubby looks. It is the devouring fires which annually sweep over the plains with brilliant though terrific aspect, and which are fed by the luxuriant grass grown on that same soil. If the oaks did not draw uncommon nourishment from the soil, it must be difficult for them to survive such scorchings. It is a consoling thought that these fires cease in proportion as the.

country is settled up. The rock maple is indigenous to the soil; and the Indians have long been in the habit of making sugar from its sap. The timber most used for fences is tamarack. The pineries may be said to begin at the mouth of the Crow Wing River; though there is a great supply on the Rum River. For upwards of a hundred miles above here on the Mississippi-more or less dense, the pine forests extend. Captain John Pope, in the interesting report of his expedition to the Red River of the North, in 1849, says "The pineries of the upper Mississippi are mostly upon its tributaries, and I think are not found on the west side further south than the parallel of 46° N. latitude." (The latitude of this place is 46° 16′ 50′′.) "They alternate, even where most abundant, with much larger tracts of fertile country." Again he says"As might be expected from its alluvial character, there is no pine timber in the valley of the Red River, but the oak and elm there attain to a size which I do not think I have ever seen elsewhere." In another place he remarks that "the pineries along the Crow Wing River are among the most extensive and valuable found on the tributaries of the Mississippi." Mr. Schoolcraft says of this river, "the whole region is noted for its pine timber." In speaking of the country on the St. Louis River, a few miles from where it empties into Lake Superior, the same gentleman remarks: "The growth of the forest is pines, hemlock, spruce, birch, oak, and

maple." I had heard considerable about Minnesota lumber, it is true, but I was not prepared to see the pine timber so valuable and heavy as it is above and about here. The trees are of large growth, straight and smooth. They are not surpassed by

"The tallest pine,

Hewn on Norwegian hills to be the mast
Of some great admiral."

Cujus est solum ejus est usque ad cœlum—whose the soil, his to the sky-is a maxim in these pine regions of literal importance. There is something besides utility also to be mentioned in this connection. With the exception of swamps, which are few and far between, the timber land has all the beauty of a sylvan grove. The entire absence of under`brush and decayed logs lends ornament and attraction to the woods. They are more like the groves around a mansion in their neat and cheerful appearance; and awaken reflection on the Muses and the dialogues of philosophers rather than apprehension of wild beasts and serpents.

The relative importance of the lumber business would hardly be estimated by a stranger. It has been carried on for at least six years; and considerable has found its way as far down as St. Louis. It will be asked, I imagine, if all this timber land, especially the pine, has been sold by the government; and if not, how it happens that men cut it. down and sell it? I will answer this. The great region of pineries has not yet been surveyed, much

less sold by the government. But notwithstanding this, men have cut it in large quantities, sold it into a greedy market, and made money, if not fortunes in the business. As a sort of colorable excuse for cutting timber, those employed in the business often make a preemption claim on land covered with it, and many people suppose they have the right to cut as much as they please after the incipient steps towards preemption. But this is not so. All that a claimant can do in this respect is to cut wood enough for his fuel, and timber enough for his own building purposes, until he receives a patent from the government. Of course it is altogether reasonable and proper that men should be precluded from doing so until their title in the soil is complete. Because, until a preemption claim is perfect, or, until the land has been acquired by some legal title, it is not certain that the claimant will ultimately secure it or pay any money to the government. But does not the government do anything to prevent these trespasses? Yes, but all its attempts are baffled.

For example, last spring a large quantity of splendid lumber was seized by the United States marshal and sold at public auction. It was bid off by the lumbermen themselves, who had formed a combination to prevent its falling into the hands of other purchasers. This combination had no resistance as I am aware of in the public opinion of the territory, and the timber was sold to those who had it cut at a price so far below its value that it didn't

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