From the town of Kelliher one can travel due north fifty 

 miles to the international boundary and from International 

 Falls one may travel directly west for nearly 100 miles with- 

 out crossing a railroad track. 



The truth about this region is that in the ordinary sense 

 of the word it is not a swamp at all; it is a region where 

 nature has not had time to develop a natural drainage. In 

 other words, the streams have not yet had time enough to 

 cut their channels, own drainage ditches. 



A Decided Slope. 



Practically all the land, although quite level, has a decided 

 slope, either toward Red lake and Red river or toward Rainy 

 river and Lake of the Woods. 



Nearly all of the three counties named last were once cov- 

 ered by the great glacial lake Agazzis, of which Red lake and 

 Lake of the Woods are remnants. In this great glacial lake 

 the subsoil, now a rich crumbly clay, was deposited as a fine 

 lake mud. This subsoil has now been enriched by a black 

 vegetable muck, making an ideal soil for all kinds of crops. 



Near the towns of Baudette and Spooner several fields of 

 clover will produce a fine second crop. On the place of Mr. 

 Sorenson, four miles north of Baudette, I saw the best garden 

 crops I have ever seen in Minnesota. 



I saw fields of wheat, oats, speltz, corn and potatoes that 

 promised as rich a yield as any in the state, and in the gar- 

 dens the tomatoes were just getting ripe. 



Warm Climate. 



Besides the fertility of soil I was not a little surprised at 

 the warm climate. The region lies only from 1,100 to 1,200 

 feet above sea level, and over a considerable area the growth 

 of vegetation is stimulated by the moist, warm winds from 

 the Lake of the Woods, a very considerable body of warm 

 water, covering an area of about 1,600 square miles. 



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