Minnesota; Its Character and Climate

Ledyard Bill
Minnesota; Its Character and
Climate

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Title: Minnesota; Its Character and Climate Likewise Sketches of Other
Resorts Favorable to Invalids; Together With Copious Notes on Health;
Also Hints to Tourists and Emigrants.
Author: Ledyard Bill
Release Date: April 6, 2004 [EBook #11922]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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MINNESOTA ***

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[Illustration: MINNEHAHA, LAUGHING WATER.]

MINNESOTA;

ITS CHARACTER AND CLIMATE.
LIKEWISE
SKETCHES OF OTHER RESORTS FAVORABLE TO INVALIDS;
TOGETHER WITH COPIOUS NOTES ON HEALTH;
ALSO
HINTS TO TOURISTS AND EMIGRANTS.
BY LEDYARD BILL,
_Author of "A Winter in Florida" etc., etc._
1871.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871,
BY LEDYARD BILL,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

TO
MY NIECES
THIS VOLUME OF SKETCHES
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR

PREFACE.
By general consent Minnesota has enjoyed a superior reputation for
climate, soil, and scenery beyond that of any other State in the Union,
with, perhaps, a single exception.
The real ground of this pre-eminence, especially in climate, has not
been well understood, owing, probably, in part, to the slight
acquaintance with the general features and characteristics of the State
itself, and, in part, to that want of attention which the subject of
climatology and its effects on the health of mankind has deserved.
Lying to the north of the heretofore customary lines of travel, the State
has been visited by few comparatively, except those whose immediate
interests necessitated it, and even they have gleaned but an imperfect
knowledge of either the climate or of the unusual beauty and interest
which so distinguish Minnesota from all other Western States.
Instead of the low, level, treeless plain usually associated with one's
ideas of the West, there is the high, rolling country, extending many

miles back from the eastern frontier, while the general elevation of the
State is upward of one thousand feet above the sea--abounding in
pleasant and fertile valleys, large and valuable forests, together with
many beautiful lakes, nearly all of which are filled with the purest of
water and with great numbers of the finest fish.
While the attractions of Minnesota for the tourist and emigrant have
been duly considered in these pages, those of the climate for the invalid
have received especial consideration, and we have added such hints and
suggestions as circumstances seemed to demand; together with
observations on other localities and climates favorable to pulmonic
complaints.
BROOKLYN, N.Y., 1871.

CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
LEADING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STATE.
The water system of the State.--Its pure atmosphere.--Violations of
hygienic laws.--A mixed population.--General features of the
country.--Intelligence of the population.--The bountiful
harvests.--Geographical advantages.



CHAPTER II.
THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI.
The source of the river.--The importance of rivers to governments as
well as commerce.--Their binding force among peoples.--The rapids at
Keokuk.--Railroad and steamboat travelling contrasted.--Points at
which travellers may take steamers.--Characteristics of Western
steamboats.--Pleasuring on the Upper Mississippi.--The scenery and its
attractions.

CHAPTER III.
RIVER TOWNS.
Brownsville, the first town.--The city of La Crosse.--Victoria and
Albert Bluffs.--Trempeleau and Mountain Island.--The city of
Winona.--Its name and origin.--The Winona and St. Peters
Railroad--The Air-Line Railroad.--Her educational
interests.--Advancement of the West.--The towns of Wabasha and
Reed's Landing.--Lake Pepin and Maiden's Rock.--Romantic story.--An
old fort.--Lake City and Frontenac.--Red Wing and Hastings.--Red
Rock.



CHAPTER IV.
ST. PAUL.
As seen from the deck of the steamer.--The pleasant surprise it gives
the visitor.--Impressions regarding new places.--The beauties of the
city.--The limestone caves.--Père Louis Hennepin.--The population of
St. Paul.--Its public buildings and works.--A park wanted.--The
geological structure of the country.--St. Paul, the Capital city.--Its
railroad connections.--The head of navigation.--Impressions.

CHAPTER V.
CLIMATE.
The climatic divisions of the country.--Periodical rains.--Prevailing
winds of the continent.--Changes of temperature.--Consumption in
warm climates.--Cold, humid atmospheres.--What climate most
desirable for the consumptive.--The dry atmosphere of the
interior.--Dry winds of the interior.--Table of rainfall of the whole
country.



CHAPTER VI.
CLIMATE--continued.
The atmosphere of Minnesota.--Its dryness.--Falling snow.--Equability
of temperature.--Rain-fall for spring.--The constitutional character of
the climate.--The lakes and rivers of the State.--The northeast
winds.--Where the northeasters begin.--Their general direction and
limit.--The atmospheric basin of Iowa.--Neglect of meteorology.--Its
importance to the country.



CHAPTER VII.
CONSUMPTION.

Consumption mapped out.--The east winds.--Comparative
statistics.--Number of original cases of consumption in
Minnesota.--Consumption can be cured.--Rev. Jeremiah Day.--Fresh
air the best medicine.--The benefit of a dry atmosphere.--Equability of
temperature.--The power of the mind over disease.--Kinds of
consumption.--Danger in delays.



CHAPTER VIII.
CAUSES
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