title: Minnesota: A History (Second Edition)  (States and the Nation)
author:  William E. Lass 
description: William E. Lass is professor of history at Mankato State University. He lives in Mankato, Minnesota.
zlib_text: [Illustration: MINNEHAHA, LAUGHING WATER.]
  
  ## MINNESOTA;
  
  ##### ITS CHARACTER AND CLIMATE.
  
  ##### LIKEWISE
  
  ##### SKETCHES OF OTHER RESORTS FAVORABLE TO INVALIDS; TOGETHER WITH COPIOUS
  NOTES ON HEALTH;
  
  ##### ALSO
  
  ##### HINTS TO TOURISTS AND EMIGRANTS.
  
  ##### BY LEDYARD BILL,
  
  _Author of "A Winter in Florida" etc., etc._
  
  1871.
  
  Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871,
  
  ##### BY LEDYARD BILL,
  
  In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
  
  ## TO
  
  ##### MY NIECES
  
  ##### THIS VOLUME OF SKETCHES
  
  #####  _IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED_
  
  ##### BY THE AUTHOR
  
  ## PREFACE.
  
  By general consent Minnesota has enjoyed a superior reputation for climate,
  soil, and scenery beyond that of any other State in the Union, with, perhaps,
  a single exception.
  
  The real ground of this pre-eminence, especially in climate, has not been well
  understood, owing, probably, in part, to the slight acquaintance with the
  general features and characteristics of the State itself, and, in part,