University of Virginia Library

2. PART II.
TERRITORY OF DACOTAH.

THE PROPOSED NEW TERRITORY OF DACOTAH.

THE territory of Minnesota according to its present boundaries embraces an area of 141,839 square miles exclusive of water;—a domain four times as large as the State of Ohio, and twelve times as large as Holland, when her commerce was unrivalled and her fleets ruled the sea. Its limits take in three of the largest rivers of North America; the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Red River of the North. Though remote from the sea board, ships can go out from its harbors to the ocean in two if not three different channels. Its delightful scenery of lakes and water-falls, of prairie and woodland, are not more alluring to the tourist, than are its invigorating climate and its verdant fields attractive to the husbandman. It has been organized seven years; and its resources have become so much developed, and its population so large, there is a general disposition among the people to have a state organization, and be admitted into the Confederacy of the Union.1 A measure of this kind is not now premature: on the contrary, it is not for the interest of the general government any longer to defray the expenses of the territory; and the adoption of a state organization, throwing the taxes upon the people, would give rise to a spirit of rivalry and emulation, a watchfulness as to the system of public expenditures, and a more jealous regard for the proper development of the physical resources of the state. The legislature which meets in January (1857), will without doubt take the subject into consideration, and provide for a convention to frame a constitution.

This being the condition of things, the manner in which the territory shall be divided—for no one can expect the new state will embrace the whole extent of the present territory—becomes a very interesting question. Some maintain, I believe, that the territory should be divided by a line running east and west. That would include in its limits the country bordering, for some distance, on the Missouri River; possibly the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. But it is hardly probable that a line of this description would give Minnesota any part of Lake Superior. Others maintain that the territory should be divided by a line running north and south; say, for instance, along the valley of the Red River of the North. Such a division would not give Minnesota any of the Missouri River. But it would have the benefit of the eastern valley of the Red River of the North; of the entire region surrounding the sources of the Mississippi; and of the broad expanse which lies on Lake Superior. The question is highly important, not only to Minnesota, but to the territory which will be left outside of it; and it should be decided with a due regard to the interests of both.1

DEAR SIR:—Your note of the 6th instant is before me; and I will premise my reply by saying that the suggestions I shall offer to your inquiries are based upon my knowledge of the condition of the territory in 1849, which circumstances beyond my acquaintance may have materially modified since.

The important points to be secured for the new state to be erected in the territory of Minnesota, seem to be:—first a harbor on Lake Superior, easily accessible from the West; second, the whole course of the Mississippi to the Iowa line; and, third, the head of navigation of the Red River of the North. It is unnecessary to point out the advantages of securing these features to the new state; and to do so without enclosing too many square miles of territory, I would suggest the following boundaries, viz.:

Commencing on the 49th parallel of latitude, where it is intersected by the Red River of the North, to follow the line of deepest water of that river to the mouth of the Bois des Sioux (or Sioux Wood) River; thence up the middle of that stream to the south-west point of Lake Traverse; thence following a due south line to the northern boundary of the state of Iowa (43 degrees 30' north latitude); thence along this boundary line to the Mississippi River; thence up the middle of the Mississippi River to the mouth of the St. Croix River; thence along the western boundary line of the state of Wisconsin to its intersection with the St. Louis River; thence down the middle of that river to Lake Superior; thence following the coast of the lake to its intersection with the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions, and following this boundary to the place of beginning.

These boundaries will enclose an area of about 65,000 square miles of the best agricultural and manufacturing region in the territory, and will form a state of unrivalled advantages. That portion of the territory set aside by the boundary line will be of little value for many years to come. It presents features differing but little from the region of prairie and table land west of the frontier of Missouri and Arkansas. From this, of course, are to be excepted the western half of the valley of the Red River and of the Big Sioux River, which are as productive as any portion of the territory, which, with the region enclosed between them, would contain arable land sufficient for another state of smaller dimensions.

As you will find stated and fully explained in my report of February, 1850, the valley of the Red River of the North must find an outlet for its productions towards the south, either through the great lakes or by the Mississippi River. The necessity, therefore, of connecting the head of its navigation with a harbor on Lake Superior, and a port on the Mississippi, is sufficiently apparent. As each of these lines of railroad will run through the most fertile and desirable portion of the territory, they will have a value far beyond the mere object of transporting the products of the Red River valley.

The construction of these roads—in fact the mere location of them—will secure a population along the routes at once, and will open a country equal to any in the world.

As these views have been fully elaborated in my report of 1850, I refer you to that paper for the detailed information upon which these views and suggestions are based.

If the division last mentioned—or one on that plan—is made, there will then be left west of the state of Minnesota an extent of country embracing more than half of the territory as it now is; extending from latitude 42 degrees 30' to the 49th degree; and embracing six degrees of longitude—97th to 103d—at its northern extreme. The Missouri River would constitute nearly the whole of its western boundary. In the northerly part the Mouse and Pembina Rivers are among its largest streams; in the middle flows the large and finely wooded Shayenne, "whose valley possesses a fertile soil and offers many inducements to its settlement;" while towards the south it would have the Jacques, the Big Sioux, the Vermillion, and the head waters of the St. Peter's. In its supply of copious streams, nature seems there to have been lavish. Of the Big Sioux River, M. Nicollet says, its Indian name means that it is continuously lined with wood; that its length cannot be less than three hundred and fifty miles. "It flows through a beautiful and fertile country; amidst which the Dacotahs, inhabiting the valleys of the St. Peter's and Missouri, have always kept up summer establishments on the borders of the adjoining lakes, whilst they hunted the river banks. Buffalo herds are confidently expected to be met with here at all seasons of the year." The Jacques (the Indian name of which is Tchan-sansan) "takes its rise on the plateau of the Missouri beyond the parallel of 47 degrees north; and after pursuing nearly a north and south course, empties into the Missouri River below 43 degrees. It is deemed navigable with small hunting canoes for between five hundred and six hundred miles; but below Otuhuoja, it will float much larger boats. The shores of the river are generally tolerably well wooded, though only at intervals. Along those portions where it widens into lakes, very eligible situations for farms would be found." The same explorer says, the most important tributary of the Jacques is the Elm River, which "might not deserve any special mention as a navigable stream, but is very well worthy of notice on account of the timber growing on its own banks and those of its forks." He further observes (Report, p. 46) that "the basin of the river Jacques, between the two coteaux and in the latitude of Otuhuoja, may be laid down as having a breadth of eighty miles, sloping gradually down from an elevation of seven hundred to seven hundred and fifty feet. These dimensions, of course, vary in the different parts of the valley; but what I have said will convey some idea of the immense prairie watered by the Tchan-sansan, which has been deemed by all travellers to those distant regions perhaps the most beautiful within the territory of the United States."

The middle and northern part comprises an elevated plain, of average fertility and tolerably wooded. Towards the south it is characterized by bold undulations. The valley of the Missouri is narrow; and the bluffs which border upon it are abrupt and high. The country is adapted to agricultural pursuits, and though inferior as a general thing to much of Minnesota, affords promise of thrift and properity in its future. It is blessed with a salubrious climate. Dr. Suckley, who accompanied the expedition of Gov. Stevens through that part of the West, as far as Puget Sound, says in his official report: "On reviewing the whole route, the unequalled and unparalleled good health of the command during a march of over eighteen hundred miles appears remarkable; especially when we consider the hardships and exposures necessarily incident to such a trip. Not a case of ague or fever occurred. Such a state of health could only be accounted for by the great salubrity of the countries passed through, and their freedom from malarious or other endemic disease."

Governor Stevens has some comprehensive remarks concerning that part of the country in his report. "The Grand Plateau of the Bois des Sioux and the Mouse River valley are the two keys of railroad communication from the Mississippi River westward through the territory of Minnesota. The Bois des Sioux is a river believed to be navigable for steamers of light draught, flowing northward from Lake Traverse into the Red River of the North, and the plateau of the Bois des Sioux may be considered as extending from south of Lake Traverse to the south bend of the Red River, and from the Rabbit River, some thirty miles east of the Bois des Sioux River, to the Dead Colt hillock. This plateau separates the rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay from those flowing into the Mississippi River. The Mouse River valley, in the western portion of Minnesota, is from ten to twenty miles broad; is separated from the Missouri River by the Coteau du Missouri, some six hundred feet high, and it is about the same level as the parallel valley of the Missouri." (Report, ch. 4.)

M. Nicollet was a scientific or matter of fact man, who preferred to talk about "erratic blocks" and "cretaceous formations" rather than to indulge in poetic descriptions. The outline which follows, however, of the western part of the territory is what he considers "a faint description of this beautiful country." "The basin of the Upper Mississippi is separated in a great part of its extent from that of the Missouri, by an elevated plain; the appearance of which, seen from the valley of the St. Peter's or that of the Jacques, looming as it were a distant shore, has suggested for it the name of Coteau des Prairies. Its more appropriate designation would be that of plateau, which means something more than is conveyed to the mind by the expression, a plain. Its northern extremity is in latitude 46 degrees, extending to 43 degrees; after which it loses its distinctive elevation above the surrounding plains, and passes into rolling prairies. Its length is about two hundred miles, and its general direction N. N. W. and S. S. E. Its northern termination (called Tete du Couteau in consequence of its peculiar configuration) is not more than fifteen to twenty miles across; its elevation above the level of the Big Stone Lake is eight hundred and ninety feet, and above the ocean one thousand nine hundred and sixteen feet. Starting from this extremity (that is, the head of the Coteau), the surface of the plateau is undulating, forming many dividing ridges which separate the waters flowing into the St. Peter's and the Mississippi from those of the Missouri. Under the 44th degree of latitude, the breadth of the Coteau is about forty miles, and its mean elevation is here reduced to one thousand four hundred and fifty feet above the sea. Within this space its two slopes are rather abrupt, crowned with verdure, and scolloped by deep ravines thickly shaded with bushes, forming the beds of rivulets that water the subjacent plains.

The Coteau itself is isolated, in the midst of boundless and fertile prairies, extending to the west, to the north, and into the valley of the St. Peter's.

The plain at its northern extremity is a most beautiful tract of land diversified by hills, dales, woodland, and lakes, the latter abounding in fish. This region of country is probably the most elevated between the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. From its summit, proceeding from its western to its eastern limits, grand views are afforded. At its eastern border particularly, the prospect is magnificent beyond description, extending over the immense green turf that forms the basin of the Red River of the North, the forest-capped summits of the haugeurs des terres that surround the sources of the Mississippi, the granitic valley of the Upper St. Peter's, and the depressions in which are Lake Traverse and the Big Stone Lake. There can be no doubt that in future times this region will be the summer resort of the wealthy of the land." (pp. 9, 10.)

I will pass over what he says of the "vast and magnificent valley of the Red River of the North," having before given some account of that region, and merely give his description of the largest lake which lies in the northern part of the territory: "The greatest extension of Devil's Lake is at least forty miles,—but may be more, as we did not, and could not, ascertain the end of the north-west bay, which I left undefined on the map. It is bordered by hills that are pretty well wooded on one side, but furrowed by ravines and coulees, that are taken advantage of by warlike parties, both for attack and defence according to circumstances. The lake itself is so filled up with islands and promontories, that, in travelling along its shores, it is only occasionally that one gets a glimpse of its expanse. This description belongs only to its wooded side; for, on the opposite side, the shores, though still bounded by hills, are destitute of trees, so as to exhibit an embankment to the east from ten to twelve miles long, upon an average breadth of three-quarters of a mile. The average breadth of the lake may be laid down at fifteen miles. Its waters appear to be the drainings of the surrounding hills. We discovered no outlets in the whole extent of about three-quarters of its contour we could explore. At all events, if there be any they do not empty into the Red River of the North, since the lake is shut up in that direction, and since we found its true geographical position to be much more to the north than it is ordinarily laid down upon maps. A single depression at its lower end would intimate that, in times of high water, some discharge might possibly take place; but then it would be into the Shayenne." (p. 50.)

Such are some of the geographical outlines of the extensive domain which will be soon organized as a new territory.

What will it be called? If the practice hitherto followed of applying to territories the names which they have been called by their aboriginal inhabitants is still adhered to, this new territory will have the name of Dacotah. It is the correct or Indian name of those tribes whom we call the Sioux; the latter being an unmeaning Indian-French word. Dacotah means "united people," and is the word which the Indians apply to seven of their bands.1 These tribes formerly occupied the country south and south-west of Lake Superior; from whence they were gradually driven towards the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains by their powerful and dreaded enemies the Chippewas. Since which time they have been the acknowledged occupants of the broad region to which they have impressed a name. Several of the tribes, however, have crossed the Missouri, between which and the Rocky Mountains they still linger a barbaric life. We may now hope to realize the truth of Hiawatha's words:—

If it be asked what will be done with these tribes when the country comes to be settled, I would observe, as I have said, that the present policy of the government is to procure their settlement on reservations. This limits them to smaller boundaries; and tends favorably to their civilization. I might also say here, that the title which the Indians have to the country they occupy is that of occupancy. They have the natural right to occupy the land; but the absolute and sovereign title is in the United States. The Indians can dispose of their title to no party or power but the United States. When, however, the government wishes to extinguish their title of occupancy, it pays them a fair price for their lands according as may be provided by treaty. The policy of our government towards the Indians is eminently that of protection and preservation; not of conquest and extermination.

Dacotah is the name now applied to the western part of Minnesota, and I am assured by the best informed men of that section, that such will be the name of the territory when organized.