this affair:

"I was selected by the actual settlers to bid off portions of
the land for them, and when the hour for business arrived, my
seat was universally surrounded by a number of men with huge
bludgeons. What was meant by the proceeding, I could, of course,
only surmise, but I would not have envied the fate of the
individual who would have ventured to bid against me."

It has always been assumed in the far West, and I think justly, that the
pioneers who first settle the land and give it value should enjoy every
advantage that flows from such priority, and the violation of laws that
impede such opportunity is a very venial offense. So universal was the
confidence reposed in Mr. Sibley, that many of the French settlers, the
title to whose lands became vested in him, by his purchase at this sale,
insisted that it should remain in him, and he found it quite difficult
in many cases to get them to accept deeds from him.

THE FIRST NEWSPAPER.

Although the first message of the governor went a great way in
introducing Minnesota to the world, she was particularly fortunate in
the establishment of her first newspapers. The Stillwater convention of
1848, of which I have spoken, first suggested to Dr. A. Randall, who was
an attache of Dr. Owen's geological corps, then engaged in a survey of
this region by order of the government, the necessity of a newspaper for
the new territory. He was possessed of the means and enterprise to
accomplish the then rather difficult undertaking, and was promised
ample support by leading men of the territory. He returned to his home
in Cincinnati in the fall of 1848, intending to purchase the plant and
start the paper that year, but the navigation of the rivers closed
earlier than usual, and he was foiled in his attempt. He, however, set
up his press in Cincinnati, and got out a number or two of his paper
there. It was then called the "_Minnesota Register_," and appeared as of
the date of April 27, 1849, and as printed in St. Paul. It was in fact
printed in Cincinnati about two weeks earlier. It contained valuable
articles from the pens of H. H. Sibley and Henry M. Rice. These
articles, added to Mr. Randall's extensive knowledge of the country,
made the first issue a great local success. It was the first Minnesota
paper ever published, and bears date just one day ahead of the
_Pioneer_, subsequently published by James M. Goodhue, which was
actually printed in