sentences:  It was less well used during times of relative calm.In the late 1850s, its utility was increased by improvements made by the U.S. Army, which straightened and improved the winding ox path through the woods along the Leaf and Crow Wing Rivers, and also replaced the old trail along the Mississippi River between Fort Ripley (near Crow Wing) and Sauk Rapids with a military road.The Middle or East Plains Trail also came into common use in the 1840s.