Col. Leavenworth, the commanding officer, received the expedition in the most cordial manner, and assigned quarters for the members. Gov. Cass was received with a salute due to his rank. We learn that the post was established last fall. Orders for this purpose were issued, as will be seen by reference to the _Preliminary Documents_, p. 35, early in the spring. The troops destined for this purpose, were placed under the orders of Col. Leavenworth, who had distinguished himself as the commander of the ninth and twenty-second regiments, in the war of 1812. They left Detroit in the spring (1819), and proceeding by the way of Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, where garrisons were left, they ascended to the mouth of the St. Peter's, in season to erect cantonments before winter. The site chosen, being on the alluvial grounds, proved unhealthy, in consequence of which the cantonment was removed, in the spring of 1820, to an eminence and spring on the west bank of the Mississippi, about a mile from the former position.
Position of the military post established at the mouth of the St. Peter's--Beauty, salubrity, and fertility of the country--Pictographic letter--Indian treaty--The appearance of the offer of frankincense in the burning of tobacco--Opwagonite--native pigments--Salt; native copper--The pouched or prairie rat--Minnesota squirrel--Etymology of the Indian name of St. Peter's River--Antiquities--Sketch of the Dacota--Descent of the Mississippi to Little Crow's village--Feast of green corn.
In favor of the soil and climate, and of the salubrity of the position, the officers speak in terms of the highest admiration. The garrison has directed its attention to both horticulture and agriculture. About ninety acres of the choicest bottom land along the St. Peter's Valley, and the adjacent prairies, have been planted with Indian corn and potatoes, cereal grains, and esculents, inclusive of a hospital, a regimental, and private gardens. At the mess-table of Col. Leavenworth, and in our camp, we were presented with green corn in the ear, peas, beans, cucumbers, beets, radishes, and lettuce. The earliest garden peas were eaten here on the 15th of June, and the first green corn on the 20th July. Much of the corn is already too hard for the table, and some of the ears can be selected which are ripe enough for seed corn. Wheat, on the prairie lands, is found to be entirely ripe, and melons in the military gardens nearly so. These are the best practical commentaries on the soil and climate.[88]