and we "The Providence Gazette was published at that ti have the files." I said, "Very well, get that newspaper, and I warrant that you will find all about it and find it correctly stated." Accordingly he got down the files of the newspaper, and there we found an excellent report, just as you would find in the Pioneer Press tomorrow for any event occurring today in St. Paul within the observation of a reporter. It was short, but it was a much clearer and more specific account of the event than any I had ever seen. And in addition there was the proclamation of the British governor of Rhode Island, describing the same event and offering a reward for the capture of the offenders. The newspaper report and the proclamation gave a different date from either of those given on the portrait and on the cup; and the newspaper, having been published immediately after the event, was certainly authentic. Now I venture to say that we make a mistake, all of us who have access to the files of newspapers, if we do not go to them for the best account of any of the events in our history. Therefore I think that one of the most valuable and useful departments of the Library of the Minnesota Historical Society is its great collection of newspapers. This is one of its best lines of work for the preservation of the history of Minnesota, well performed to the present time, and needful to be continued for future generations. In addition to the benefit of the newspapers as mere history, and as furnishing the materials of better history in the future and of the events that are occurring today, better than we can get elsewhere, this collection is of vast business value to the State. It has been well remarked, that every piece of property, in every State, at least once in a generation, upon the average, passes through the hands of the law, under an administrator or sheriff or trustees or some legal proceedings, by which the title to the property is derived. Those proceedings are all advertised and referred to in the newspapers. Thus we have here, and the Minnesota Historical Society is perpetuating, the history of the title of every man's property in the State of Minnesota. Ladies and gentlemen, I have detained you too long. I only intended to touch upon some features of the society's work that had not been mentioned before, but I wanted you all to know, and we want the public to know, that this society has done good work for the people of Minnesota. This work must be continued, and it deserves the good will of the public and of the State. Previous to the address by Colonel Clough, a song, composed by Von Suppe, entitled "My Native Land," was sung by Mr. J. Warren Turner, of Minneapolis, with piano accompaniment by Mr. Charles G. Titcomb. After that address the audience rose and sang My country, 'tis of thee, Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Let freedom ring. AMERICA. My native country, thee, Thy name I love; I love thy rocks and rills, Our fathers' God, to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee I sing; Long may our land be bright Great God, our King. The Anniversary Celebration was then concluded with a benediction by Bishop Whipple. OBITUARIES. ELIAS FRANKLIN DRAKE. Elias Franklin Drake was born in the village of Urbana, Champaign county, Ohio, on December 21st, 1813, and died in the seventy-ninth year of his life, on February 14th, 1892, at Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego, California. His death was the close of a long life of unusual activity and success. About the close of the last century, Ithamar Drake, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, removed from Pennsylvania to Warren county, Ohio, with his wife and four chil dren, Henry, Abraham, Isaac and Mary. This was during the pioneer period of Ohio, and Ithamar Drake, like the great num. ber of pioneers, engaged in farming, having purchased a tract of land which was heavily timbered. He was successful and became a prosperous and contented farmer. His children were reared on the farm. The family were members of the regular Baptist church, and in intelligence, morals, and religious life, were much in advance of the general average of pioneers in southern Ohio at that day. Subsequently and at the early settlement of Indiana, Ithamar Drake, with his con Isaac and his daughter Mary, who married Harvey Pope, removed to Shelby county, Indiana. The son, Dr. Henry Drake, remained in Ohio, married Hannah Spining, and was the father of Elias F. Drake. Henry Drake had a thirst for knowledge, and although educational opportunities were limited, he acquired a good English education and studied Latin, Greek, and music. His father having furnished him with the necessary money, he studied medicine and was just beginning to practice his profession, when he died, leaving his widow with four young children and with little means of support. Hannah Spining, the mother of Mr. Drake, was the daughter of Mathias Spining, who was a native of New Jersey and |