HISTORY OF MINNEAPOLIS GATEWAY TO THE NORTHWEST EDITED BY REV. MARION DANIEL SHUTTER, D.D., LL.D. VOLUME I ILLUSTRATED Chicago Minneapolis The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1923 FOREWORD Much of the world's history centers around the deeds of great military generals and their victorious armies. Thousands have read of the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal and Napoleon, the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava, the sufferings and fortitude of Washington's men at Valley Forge, and the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania. Yet many of these readers have remained oblivious to the fact that "Peace hath its victories no less renowned than war." They have overlooked the importance of the history of their immediate surroundings-of events "All of which they see and part of which they are." It is not necessary to wander far from the upper Mississippi Valley to find interesting narrative. Nearly two and a half centuries have passed since the Franciscan friar, Father Louis Hennepin, the first white man to behold the Falls of St. Anthony, looked upon the sparkling cataract and listened to the roar of the waters. His discovery and naming of the Falls, the expeditions of Lieutenant Pike and Major Long, the building of Fort Snelling, the treaties with the various Indian tribes, the fur traders with their picturesque costumes and Red River carts, the development of the water power at the Falls, the evolution of Minneapolis from a backwoods settlement of a few log cabins to the metropolis of the great Northwest, all combine to form a story of gripping human interest. When the first white men built their rude cabins near the Falls, almost the entire State of Minnesota was a primeval wilderness. With commendable energy the pioneers set to work to redeem that wilderness from savagery. Through their industry and sagacity great changes have come. The railroad has taken the place of the Indian trail, the schoolhouse occupies the site of the council wigwam, skyscrapers rear their heads where once stood the red man's tepee, the scream of the factory whistle and the hum of machinery are heard instead of the howl of the wolf and the war-whoop of the painted savage. And most of this progress has been made within the memory of persons yet living. To tell the story of this progress is the purpose of this history. How well that purpose has been attained is for the reader to determine. The work has been one involving great care and labor, but the publishers confidently assert that no effort has been spared to make this history both authentic and comprehensive. Authentic, because, as far as possible, official records have been drawn upon as sources of information; and comprehensive, because it is believed that no important event connected with the city's growth and development has been overlooked or neglected. Samuel Johnson, in his "History of Rasselas," says: "He that has much to do will do something wrong; and if it were possible that he should always act rightly, yet when such numbers are to judge of his conduct, the bad will censure and obstruct him by malevolence and the good sometimes by mistake." In presenting this history to the citizens of Minneapolis, the editor and publishers are hopeful that the "malevolent" will find but little to criticize, and that the "good" will point out its short-comings in a kindly spirit. They are also hopeful that the readers, much as they may admire the courage and accomplishments of the city's founders, may also learn to profit by their mistakes and work together for a greater and better Minneapolis. The editor and publishers take this opportunity to acknowledge their obligations to city officials and heads of departments for their assistance in consulting the public records; to the managers of various clubs and institutions for their coöperation; to those who promptly answered letters of inquiry, from which much valuable information was obtained, and to the attaches of the Minneapolis Public Library for their uniform courtesies while the work was in course of preparation. S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY. |