One of the most interesting characteristics of this prairie commonwealth is its population. They are a sturdy people, strong in heart and broad in mental vision. The romance of the Indian and the cowboy, the fur-trader and the trapper, has been the theme of many an interesting tale. The first white settler, who took a knife and on bended knee cut squares of sod and built a shanty and faced long hard winters on this northern prairie, is a character the whole world loves and honors. Several years ago an old schoolmaster, whose home is not so very far from Minnehaha Falls, delivered a “Message to the Northwest” which typifies the spirit of these people. He said in part: “I am an old man now, and have seen many things in the world. I have seen this great country that we speak of as the Northwest, come, in my lifetime, to be populous and rich. The forest has fallen before the pioneer, the field has blossomed, and the cities have risen to greatness. If there is anything that an old man eighty years of age could say to a people among whom he has spent the happiest days of his life, it is this: We live in the most blessed country in the world. The things we have accomplished are only the beginning. As the years go on, and always we increase our strength, our power, and our wealth, we must not depart from the simple teachings of our youth. For the moral fundamentals are the same and unchangeable. Here in the Northwest we shall make a race of men that shall inherit the earth. Here in the distant years, when I and others who have labored with me shall long have been forgotten, there will be a power in material accomplishment, in spiritual attainment, in wealth, strength, and moral influence, the like of which the world has not yet seen. This I firmly believe. And the people of the Northwest, moving ever forward to greater things, will accomplish all this as they adhere always to the moral fundamentals, and not otherwise.”