Seven miles from St. Anthony is a tidy settlement called Manomin, near
the mouth of Rice river. But the first place of importance which we
reached is Anoka, a large and handsome village situated on Rum river.
It is twenty-five miles from St. Paul. The river is a large and
beautiful stream and affords good water-power, in the development of
which Anoka appears to thrive. A vast number of pine logs are annually
floated down the river and sawed into lumber at the Anoka mills. The
settlers are principally from Maine. By the treaty of 22d February,
1855, with three bands of the Chippewa Indians, an appropriation of
$5000 was set apart for the construction of a road from the mouth of
Rum river to Mille Lac. The road is half completed.

We took an early dinner at Itasca, having come thirty-two miles.
Itasca is quite an unassuming place, and not so pretty as its name.
But I shall always cherish a good-will for the spot, inasmuch as I got
a first-rate dinner there. It was all put upon the table before we sat
down, so that each one could help himself; and as it consisted of very
palatable edibles, each one did help himself quite liberally. We
started on soon afterwards, with a new driver and the third set of
horses; but with the disagreeable consciousness that we had still
before us the largest part of the day's journey. In about three hours
we came to Big Lake, or, as it is sometimes called, Humboldt. The lake
is anything but a big lake, being the size of a common New England
pond. But then all such sheets of water are called lakes in this part
of the country. It is a clear body of water, abounding with fine fish,
and has a beautiful shore of pebbles. Several similar sheets of water
are passed on the journey, the shores of which present a naked
appearance. There is neither the trace of a stream leading from or to
them, nor, with few exceptions, even a swamp in their vicinity.