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MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 
VOL.  VIII.    PLATE  X. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    DISCOVERY    OF   THE   MISSIS 

SIPPI    RIVER    AND    THE    ADVENT    OF 

COMMERCE  IN  MINNESOTA.* 


BY  CAPTAIN  RUSSELL  BLAKELEY. 


With,  the  hope  that  I  may  add  something  to  what  we  know 
of  the  past,  and  in  compliance  with  the  often-expressed  wish 
of  the  Council  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  I  have 
ventured  to  prepare  this  paper. 

The  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  river  has  always  been  an 
interesting  theme  of  discussion,  and  especially  so  to  those  who 
live  upon  its  banks,  and  all  information  on  this  great  event 
should  be  welcomed  to  the  pages  of  the  collections  of  the  His- 
torical Society. 

Prof.  J.  G.  Shea,  in  his  discussion  of  this  subject,  brought 
together  all  the  information  within  his  reach  for  the  purpose 
of  a  full  illustration  of  his  subject.  I  shall  follow  his  very 
judicious  example,  and  my  line  of  discussion,  by  bringing  to- 
gether the  record  as  I  find  it,  will  be  very  largely  an  elucidation 
of  what  I  may  present  for  consideration. 

Without  a  review  of  antecedent  history,  it  will  be  sufficient 
for  my  purpose  to  date  my  inquiry  from  the  year  1627,  when 
Louis  XHL,  under  the  inspiration  of  his  great  minister,  Rich- 
elieu, granted  to  the  One  Hundred  Associates,  called  the  Com- 
pany of  New  France,  the  feudal  lordship  of  Canada  for  all 
time,  and  to  the  Jesuits  the  sole  religious  supremacy  as  well. 
The  territory  embraced  in  this  kingly  bounty  extended  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  south  to  the  Arctic  ocean  on  the 
north,  and  from  the  island  of  Newfoundland  to  the  headwaters 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  river.  Richelieu  himself  was  made  head 
of  this  modest  corporation.  Quebec  was  made  the  chief  city 
for  the  fur  trade,  and  in  1640  it  was  supposed  to  contain  about 

*Read  in  part  at  the  monthly  meeting  of  the  Executive  Council,  Oct.  12, 
1896. 

ill— 3 


304  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

two  hundred  and  forty  inhabitants,  composed  of  the  Governor 
and  staff,  Jesuits,  nuns,  agents  of  the  company,  and  a  few 
colonists. 

The  Jesuits  set  themselves  to  work  to  convert  the  Ottawas 
and  Hurons  by  establishing  missions  among  them. 

For  the  history  of  this  company  and  the  experience  of  the 
Jesuits  and  their  missions,  I  shall  depend  upon  some  quota- 
tions from  the  "Relations  of  the  Jesuits,"  and  from  Parkman's 
series  of  histories  of  the  early  days  of  New  France.  The  en- 
tire income  of  the  country  was  dependent  on  the  fur  trade,  and 
amounted  to  many  thousand  francs,  until  the  destruction  of 
the  missions  of  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas  in  1649-50,  when  the 
Iroquois  succeeded  in  killing  the  missionaries  and  destroying 
and  dispersing  the  Indians,  who  fled  to  the  western  lakes, 
islands  and  forests  to  escape  from  this  fierce  people.  By  this 
dispersion  Quebec  and  Montreal  were  reduced  to  a  state  of 
sta<rvation. 

Parkman,  on  pages  424-5  of  "The  Jesuits  in  North  Amer- 
ica," in  speaking  of  this  event,  says  : 

The  division  of  the  Hurons  called  the  Tobacco  Nation,  favored  by 
their  isolated  position  among  the  mountains,  had  held  their  ground 
longer  than  the  rest;  but  at  length  they  too  were  compelled  to  fly,  to- 
gether with  such  other  Hurons  as  ha(J  taken  refuge  with  them.  They 
made  their  way  northward,  and  settled  on  the  Island  of  Michilimack- 
inac,  where  they  were  joined  by  the  Ottawas,  who,  with  other  Algon- 
quins,  had  been  driven  by  fear  of  the  Iroquois  from  the  western  shores 
of  Lake  Huron  and  the  banks  of  the  River  Ottawa.  At  Michilimack- 
inac  the  Hurons  and  their  allies  were  again  attacked  by  the  Iroquois. 
and*  after  remaining  several  years,  they  made  another  remove,  and 
took  possession  of  the  islands  in  the  mouth  of  the  Green  Bay  of  Lake 
Michigan.  Even  here  their  old  enemy  did  not  leave  them  in  peace; 
whereupon  they  fortified  themselves  on  the  main-land,  and  afterwards 
migrated  southward  and  westward.  This  brought  them  in  contact  with 
the  Illinois,  an  Algonquin  people,  at  that  time  very  numerous,  but  who, 
like  many  other  tribes  at  this  epoch,  were  doomed  to  a  rapid  diminu- 
tion from  wars  with  other  savage  nations.  Continuing  their  migration 
westward,  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas  reached  the  Mississippi,  where 
they  fell  in  with  the  Sioux.  They  soon  quarrelled  with  those  fierce 
children  of  the  prairie,  who  drove  them  from  their  country. 

The  condition  to  which  the  colony  had  been  reduced  is 
stated  in  a  note  on  page  5  of  "The  Old  Regime  in  Canada'/' 


According  to  Le  Mercier,  beaver  to  the  value  of  200,000  to 
livres  were  yearly  brought  down  to  the  colony  before  the  destruction 


THE   DISCOVERY    OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI    RIVER.  305 

of  the  Hurons  (1649-50.)  Three  years  later,  not  one  beaver  skin  was 
brought  to  Montreal  during  a  twelvemonth,  and  Three  Rivers  and 
Quebec  had  barely  enough  to  pay  for  keeping  the  fortifications  in  repair. 

In  consequence  of  this  stopping  of  the  fur  trade,  all  per- 
sons who  had  been  engaged  in  this  occupation  were  idle,  if 
not  starving.  The  first  information  of  a  change  in  this  condi- 
tion of  things  is  found  in  a  letter  of  the  Superior  of  the  Jesuits, 
Le  Mercier.  dated  September  21st,  1654,  published,  in  volume 
2,  "Kelations  des  Je"suites,"  chapter  4,  page  9 : 

After  the  capture  of  the  surgeon  of  Montreal  and  before  his  return 
from  captivity,  when  we  were  between  fear  and  hope,  not  knowing 
what  issue  the  affair  would  have,  a  fleet  appeared  at  a  distance,  which 
was  coming  down  through  the  rapids  and  the  waterfalls  which  are 
above  Montreal.  We  had  reason  to  fear  that  the  fleet  was  an  army 
of  foes,  but  we  perceived  at  their  approach  that  they  were  friends  who 
were  coming  from  a  distance  of  four  hundred  leagues  to  bring  us  some 
news  from  their  nation  and  learn  some  from  us.  The  inhabitants  from 
Montreal  and  Three  Rivers  had  a  double  joy  by  seeing  that  these  canoes 
were  loaded  with  furs  which  these  nations  came  to  exchange  for  our 
French  goods. 

These  people  were  part  of  them  Tionnontatehronnons,  whom  we 
call  La  Nation  du  Petun,  of  Huron  language,  and  part  of  them  On- 
dataouaouat,  of  Algonquin  language,  whom  we  call  Les  Cheveux  Rele- 
vez  (the  Straight  Hairs),  because  their  hairs  do  not  come  downwards, 
and  that  they  make  them  straight  like  the  comb  of  a  cock  which  points 
upwards.  All  these  people  have  quitted  their  old  country,  and  have 
gone  to  'fix  their  abode  with  the  more  distant  nations  towards  the  great 
lake  which  we  call  Des  Puants  (Stinkers),  because  they  live  near  the 
sea  which  is  salt  and  which  our  Indians  call  L'Eau  Puante  (the  Stink- 
ing Water).  It  is  in  the  direction  of  the  north. 

The  devastation  of  the  Huron  country  having  caused  them  to  ap- 
prehend like  misfortune,  and  having  been  pursued  everywhere  by  the 
fury  of  the  Iroquois,  they  thought  that  they  could  be  safe  only  by  re- 
moving themselves  to  the  upper  end  of  the  world. 

On  page  30,  the  same  subject  is  continued  in  the  following 
words : 

Another  says  that  in  some  of  the  islands  of  the  lake  called  Lac  des 
Gens  de  Mer  (Lake  of  the  People  of  the  Sea),  whom  some  improperly 
call  Les  Puants  (the  Stinkers),  there  is  a  multitude  of  people  speaking 
a  language  which  has  a  great  resemblance  with  the  Algonquin  lan- 
guage; that  there  is  only  nine  days'  journey  from  this  great  lake  to  the 
sea  which  separates  America  from  China,  and  that  if  there  was  some- 
body who  would  be  willing  to  send  thirty  Frenchmen  to  that  country, 
not  only  would  we  convert  to  God  many  souls,  but  we  would  get  a 
profit  which  would  surpass  the  expense  that  we  would  be  obliged  to 


306  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

incur  for  the  keeping  of  the  Frenchmen  whom  we  would  send  there, 
because  the  best  furs  come  more  abundantly  from  these  countries. 
Time  will  tell  us  what  we  know  now  only  by  the  reports  of  some  In- 
dians, who  affirm  that  they  have  seen  by  their  own  eyes  what  they  ex- 
press bjr  their  mouth. 

In  volume  3,  "Belations  des  J&suites,"  page  2,  the  Father  Su- 
perior makes  a  further  allusion  to  this  subject  evidently  so 
near  his  heart: 

Towards  the  end  of  the  month  of  August  we  see  fifty  canoes  and 
two  hundred  and  fifty  Indians,  loaded  with  the  riches  of  the  country, 
coming  to  trade  with  us,  and  to  ask  for  some  fathers  from  our  Com- 
pany to  go  to  teach  them  in  the  thick  forests  of  their  own  country,  dis- 
tant five  hundred  leagues  from  Kebec.  In  the  presence  of  so  bright 
a  day  we  forget  all  the  past  bad  nights.  Two  of  our  fathers  and  one 
of  our  friars  take  passage  with  thirty  Frenchmen;  but  the  Agnieron- 
nons,  whom  we  call  the  lower  Iroquois,  who  have  always  refused  to 
make  peace  with  our  allies,  cut  in  one  moment  the  thread  of  our  hope  by 
assaulting  these  poor  people  on  their  return,  and  by  killing  one  of  the 
two  fathers  who  were  going  to  preach  the  gospel  in  their  country. 

I  have  here  given  what  I  deem  a  necessary  preliminary,  for 
the  purpose  of  introducing  the  two  persons  of  all  others  who 
appear  to  have  been  the  first  civilized  or  Christian  people  who 
set  foot  on  the  soil  of  what  is  now  Minnesota. 

VOYAGE  OF  GKOSEILLIERS  AND  BADISSON  TO  THE 
MISSISSIPPI  RIVER. 

The  two  Frenchmen,  Groseilliers  and  Radisson,  who  have 
occasionally  been  alluded  to  in  the  early  days  of  New  France, 
and  who  have  also  been  referred  to  by  Rev.  E.  D.  Neill  in  his 
history  of  the  Ojibways  and  their  connection  with  fur  trad- 
ers, in  volume  5  of  the  Collections  of  the  Historical  Society 
of  Minnesota,  are,  I  think,  entitled  to  still  further  consideration 
by  all  who  are  interested  in  the  past  history  of  this  state  and 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  river.  Fortunately  we  are  in 
possession  of  an  authentic  account  of  the  travels  of  these  men 
in  the  language  of  one  of  them. 

The  volume  in  which  the  narratives  of  Radisson  appear  i* 
entitled:  "Voyages  of  Peter  Esprit  Radisson,  being  an  Ac- 
count of  his  Travels  and  Experiences  among  the  North  Ameri- 
can Indians  from  1652  to  1684.  Transcribed  from  the  original 
manuscripts  in  the  Bodleian  Library  and  the  British  Museum. 
With  historical  illustrations,  and  an  introduction,  by  Gideon 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI    RIVER.  307 

D.  Scull,  London,  England.     Boston :     Published  by  the  Prince 
Society.     1885." 

The  Prince  Society  has  endorsed  this  work  over  the  name 
of  its  President  by  the  following  preface: 

It  may  be  regarded  as  a  fortunate  circumstance  that  we  are  able 
to  add  to  the  Society's  publications  this  volume  of  Radisson's  Voyages. 
The  narratives  contained  in  it  are  the  record  of  events  and  transactions 
in  which  the  author  was  a  principal  actor.  They  were  apparently  writ- 
ten without  any  intention  of  publication,  and  are  plainly  authentic  and 
trustworthy.  They  have  remained  in  manuscript  more  than  two  hun- 
dred years,  and  in  the  mean  time  appear  to  have  escaped  the  notice 
of  scholars,  as  not  even  extracts  from  them  have,  so  far  as  we  are 
aware,  found  their  way  into  print.  The  author  was  a  native  of  France, 
and  had  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  The  jour- 
nals, with  the  exception  of  the  last  in  the  volume,  are,  however,  writ- 
ten in  that  language,  and,  as  might  be  anticipated,  in  orthography,  in 
the  use  of  words,  and  in  the  structure  of  sentences,  conform  to  no 
known  standard  of  English  composition.  But  the  meaning  is  in  all 
cases  clearly  conveyed,  and,  in  justice  both  to  the  author  and  the  reader, 
they  have  been  printed  verbatim  et  literatim,  as  in  the  original  manu- 
scripts. We  desire  to  place  upon  record  our  high  appreciation  of  the 
'courtesy  extended  to  the  Editor  of  this  volume  by  the  governors  of 
the  Bodleian  Library  and  of  the  British  Museum,  in  allowing  him  to 
copy  the  original  manuscripts  in  their  possession.  Our  thanks  like- 
wise are  here  tendered  to  Mr.  Edward  Denham  for  the  gratuitous  con- 
tribution of  the  excellent  index  which  accompanies  the  volume. 

BOSTON,  249  BERK  ELK  Y  STUEET,  EDMUND  F.  SL  AFTER, 

November  20,  1885.  President  of  the  Prince  Society. 

I  fully  agree  with  what  the  President  of  the  Prince  Society 
has  said  in  speaking  of  the  orthography,  use  of  words,  and 
structure  of  sentences,  and  will  add  that  the  utter  confusion 
manifest,  in  the  way  in  which  the  narrative  is  told,  has,  I 
think,  served  to  mislead  all  who  have  attempted  to  review 
the  work.  The  incidents  as  placed  in  the  text  are  without 
order  or  coherent  connection.  In  my  review  of  the  story,  I 
shall  endeavor  to  bring  into  harmonious  connection  those 
parts  of  this  history  which  I  think  belong  together,  without 
regard  to  the  places  where  I  find  the  paragraphs  placed;  and 
it  is  my  hope  to  make  an  intelligible  and  very  interesting  and 
manifestly  truthful  statement  of  facts.  My  review  will  be 
confined  to  the  third  and  fourth  voyages,  and  to  matters 
wholly  connected  with  them.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  give  the 
verbatim  language,  nor  the  orthography  of  the  author,  but  will 


308  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

conscientiously  render  the  meaning  of  the  text.     Commencing 
on  page  134  of  the  Prince  Society's  publication,  we  read : 

So  my  brother  seeing  me  back  from  those  two  dangerous  voyages, 
so  much  by  the  cruelties  of  the  barbars  as  for  the  difficulties  of  the 
ways,  for  this  reason  he  thought  I  was  the  fitter  and  more  faithful  for 
the  discovery  that  he  was  to  make.  He  plainly  told  me  his  mind;  1 
knowing  it  longed  to  see  myself  in  a  boat.  There  were  several  com- 
panies of  wild  men  expected  from  several  places,  because  they  promised 
the  year  before,  and  (to)  take  the  advantage  of  the  spring  (this  to  de- 
ceive the  Iroquois  who  are  always  in  wait  to  destroy  them),  and  of  the 
rivers  which  is  by  reason  of  the  melting  of  the  great  snows  which  is 
only  that  time,  for  otherwise  no  possibility  to  come  that  way,  because 
for  the  swift  streams  that  run  in  summer,  and  in  other  places  the  want 
of  water,  so  that  no  boat  can  come  through.  We  soon  see  the  perform- 
ance of  that  people,  for  a  company  came  to  the  Three  Rivers  where  we 
were.  They  told  us  that  another  company  was  arrived  at  Mont  Koyal, 
and  that  two  more  were  to  come  shortly,  the  one  to  the  Three  Rivers, 
the  other  to  Saegne,  a  river  of  Tudousack,  who  arrived  within  two  days 
after.  They  divided  themselves,  because  of  the  scant  of  provisions,  for 
if  they  were  together  they  could  not  have  victuals  enough.  Many  go 
and  come  to  Quebec  for  to  know  the  resolution  of  the  Governor,  who, 
together  with  the  fathers,  thought  fit  to  send  a  company  of  French  to 
bring  back,  if  possible,  those  wild  men  the  next  year,  or  others,  being 
that  it  is  the  best  manna  of  the  country  by  which  the  inhabitants  do 
subsist,  and  makes  the  French  vessels  to  come  there  and  go  back 
loaded  with  merchandise  for  the  traffic  of  furriers  who  come  from  the 
remotest  parts  of  North  America. 

As  soon  as  the  resolution  was  made,  many  undertake  the  voyage; 
for  where  there  is  lucre  there  are  people  enough  to  be  had.  The  best 
and  ablest  men  for  that  business  were  chosen.  They  make  them  go  up 
the  Three  Rivers  with  the  band  that  came  with  the  Sacques.  They, 
take  those  that  were  the  most  capable  for  the  purpose.  Two  fathers 
were  chosen  to  conduct  the  company,  and  endeavored  to  convert  some 
of  those  foreigners  of  the  remotest  country  to  the  Christian  faith.  We 
no  sooner  heard  their  design,  but  saw  the  effects  of  the  business,  which 
effected  in  us  much  gladness  for  the  pleasure  we  could  do  to  one  an- 
other, and  so  abler  to  oppose  an  enemy,  if  by  fortune  we  should  meet 
with  any  that  would  do  us  hurt  or  hinder  us  on  our  way. 

About  the  middle  of  June  we  began  to  take  leave  of  our  company 
and  venture  our  lives  for  the  common  good.  We  find  2  and  30  men, 
some  inhabitants,  some  Gailliards  that  desired  but  do  well.  What 
fairer  bastion  than  a  good  tongue,  especially  when  one  sees  his  owu 
chimney  smoke,  or  when  we  can  kiss  our  own  wives  or  kiss  our  neigh- 
bor's wife  with  ease  and  delight?  It  is  a  strange  thing  when  victuals 
are  wanting,  work  whole  nights  and  days,  lie  down  on  the  bare  ground, 
and  not  always  that  hap,  the  breech  in  the  water,  the  fear  in  the  but- 
tocks, to  have  the  belly  empty,  the  weariness  in  the  bones,  and  drowsi- 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI    RIVER.  309 

ness  of  the  body  by  the  bad  weather  that  you  are  to  suffer,  having 
nothing  to  keep  you  from  such  calamity. 

At  last  we  take  our  journey  to  see  the  issue  of  a  prosperous  ad- 
venture in  such  a  dangerous  enterprise.  We  resolved  not  to  be  the 
first  that  should  complain.  The  French  were  together  in  order,  the 
wild  men  also,  saving  my  brother  and  I,  that  were  accustomed  to  such 
like  voyages,  have  fear  for  what  happened  afterwards.  Before  our 
setting  forth  we  made  some  gifts,  and  by  that  means  we  were  sure  of 
their  good  will,  so  that  he  and  I  went  into  the  boats  of  the  wild  men.  We 
were  nine  and  twenty  French  in  number  and  six  wild  men.  We  em- 
barked our  train  in  the  night,  because  our  number  should  not  be  known 
to  some  spies  that  might  be  in  some  ambush  to  know  our  departure; 
for  the  Iroquois  are  always  abroad.  We  were  two  nights  to  get  to 
Mont  Royal,  where  eight  Ottawas  stayed  for  us  and  two  French.  If 
not  for  that  company,  we  had  passed  the  River  of  the  Meadows  which 
makes  an  isle  of  Mont  Royal  and  loins  itself  to  the  lake  of  St.  Louis, 
three  leagues  further  than  the  height  of  that  name. 

We  stayed  no  longer  there  than  as  the  French  got  themselves  ready. 
We  took  leave  without  the  noise  of  guns.  We  cannot  avoid  the  ambush 
of  that  eagle,  which  is  like  the  owl  that  sees  better  in  the  night  than 
in  the  day.  We  were  not  sooner  come  to  the  first  river,  but  our  wild 
men  see  five  sorts  of  people  of  divers  countries,  laden  with  merchan- 
dise and  guns,  which  served  them  for  a  show  than  for  a  defence,  if  by 
chance  they  should  be  set  on.  So  that  the  glory  begins  to  show  itself. 
No  order  being  observed  among  them,  the  one  sings,  the  other  before 
goes  in  the  posture.  Without  bad  encounter  we  advanced  three  days. 
There  was  no  need  of  such  silence  among  us.  Our  men  composed  only 
of  seven  score,  we  had  done  well  if  we  had  kept  together,  not  to  go  be- 
fore in  the  river,  nor  stay  behind  two  or  three  leagues.  Some  three  or 
four  boats  now  and  then  to  land  to  kill  a  wild  beast,  and  so  put  them- 
selves in  clanger  of  their  lives,  and  if  there  were  any  precipice  the  rest 
should  be  impotent  to  help.  We  warned  them  to  look  to  themselves. 
They  laughed  at  us,  saying  we  were  women;  that  the  Iroquois  durst  not 
set  on  them.  That  pride  had  such  power  that  they  thought  themselves 
masters  of  the  earth;  but  they  will  see  themselves  soon  mistaken.  How 
that  great  God  that  takes  great  care  of  the  most  wild  man  created,  and 
wills  that  every  man  confess  his  faults,  and  gives  them  grace  to  come 
to  obedience  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives,  sends  them  a  remark- 
able power  and  ordinance  which  should  give  terror  and  return  to  those 
poor  misled  people  from  the  way  of  assurance! 

As  we  wandered  in  the  aforesaid  manner  all  asunder,  there  comes 
a  man  alone  out  of  the  woods  with  a  hatchet  in  his  hand,  with  his 
brayer,  and  a  cover  over  his  shoulders,  making  signs  aloud,  that  we 
should  come  to  him.  The  greatest  part  of  that  flock  showed  a  palish 
face  for  fear  at  sight  of  this  man,  knowing  him  to  be  an  enemy.  They 
approached  not  without  fear  and  apprehension  of  some  plot.  By  this 
you  may  see  the  boldness  of  those  braggards  that  think  themselves  hec- 
tors when  they  see  but  their  shadows,  and  tremble  when  they  see  an  Iro- 


310  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

quois.  That  wild  man,  seeing  us  nearer,  sets  himself  down  on  the 
ground  and  throws  his  hatchet  away,  and  rises  again  all  naked  to 
show  that  he  has  no  arms,  desires  them  to  approach  nearer,  for  he  is 
their  friend  and  would  lose  his  life  to  save  theirs.  He  showed  indeed  a 
right  complaisance  for  saving  men  that  ran  to  their  ruin  by  their  in- 
discretion and  want  of  conduct;  and  what  he  did  was  out  of  mere 
piety,  seeing  well  that  they  wanted  wit,  to  go  so  like  a  company  of 
bucks,  every  one  to  his  fancy,  where  his  little  experience  leads  him, 
nor  thinking  of  that  danger  wherein  they  were,  showing  by  their  march 
they  were  no  men,  for  not  fearing.  As  for  him,  he  was  ready  to  die 
to  render  them  service  and  prisoner  into  their  hands  freely.  "For," 
saith  he,  "I  might  have  escaped  your  sight,  but  that  I  would  have  saved 
you.  I  fear  not  death,"  saith  he,— so  with  that  comes  down  into  the 
water  to  his  middle.  There  come  many  boats  around  him,  takes  him 
into  one  of  the  boats,  tying  a  cord  fast  about  his  body.  There  is  he 
fastened.  He  begins  to  sing  his  fatal  song  that  they  call  a  nouroyall. 
That  horrid  tone  being  finished,  he  makes  a  long,  a  very  long  speech, 
saying,  "Brethren,  to-day  the  sun  is  favorable  to  me,  appointed  me  to 
tell  you  that  you  are  witless  before  I  die,  neither  can  they  escape  their 
enemies  that  are  spread  up  and  down  everywhere,  that  watch  all  mo- 
ments their  coming  to  destroy  them.  Take  great  courage,  brethren,  sleep 
not;  the  enemy  is  at  hand.  They  wait  for  you;  they  are  so  near  that 
they  see  and  hear  you,  and  are  sure  that  you  are  their  prey.  Therefore 
I  was  willing  to  die  to  give  you  notice.  For  my  part,  that  what  I  have 
been,  I  am  a  man  and  commander  in  the  wars,  and  took  several  pris- 
oners; yet  I  would  put  myself  in  death's  hands  to  save  your  lives.  Be- 
lieve me;  keep  you  altogether;  spend  not  your  powder  in  vain,  think- 
ing to  frighten  your  enemies  by  the  noise  of  your  guns.  See  if  the 
stones  of  your  arrows  be  not  bent  or  loose;  bend  your  bows;  open  your 
ears;  keep  your  hatchets  sharp  to  cut  trees  to  make  you  a  fort;  do  not 
spend  so  much  grease  to  grease  yourselves,  but  keep  it  for  your  bellies. 
Stay  not  too  long  in  the  way,  it  is  robbery  to  die  with  conceit." 

That  poor  wretch  spoke  the  truth  and  gave  good  advice,  but  the 
greater  part  did  not  understand  what  he  said,  saving  the  Hurons  that 
were  with  him,  and  I,  that  told  them  as  much  as  I  could  perceive.  .  . 
We  call  him  a  dog,  a  woman,  and  a  hen.  We  will  make  you  know  that 
we  were  men,  and  for  his  pains  we  should  burn  him  when  we  came  to 
our  country.  Here  you  shall  see  the  brutishness  of  those  people  that 
think  themselves  valiant  to  the  last  point.  No  comparison  is  to  be  made 
with  them  for  valor,  but  quite  contrary.  They  pass  away  the  rest  of 
that  day  with  great  exclamations  of  joy,  but  it  will  not  last  long. 

That  night  we  lay  in  our  boats  and  made  not  the  kettle  boil,  because 
we  had  meat  ready  dressed.  Every  boat  is  tied  up  in  the  rushes, 
whether  out  of  fear  for  what  the  prisoner  told  them,  or  that  the  pris- 
oner should  escape,  I  know  not.  They  went  to  sleep  without  any  watch. 
The  French  began  to  wish  and  moan  for  the  place  they  came  from. 
What  will  it  be  if  we  hear  yet  cries  and  sorrows  after  all?  Past  the 
break  of  day  everyone  takes  his  oar  to  row;  the  foremost  oars  have 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVEE.  311 

great  advantage.  We  heard  the  torrent  rumble,  but  could  not  come 
to  land  that  day,  although  not  far  from  us.  Some  twelve  boats  got  be- 
fore us.  These  were  saluted  with  guns  and  outcries.  In  the  mean 
while  one  boat  runs  one  way,  one  another;  some  men  land  and  run 
away.  We  are  all  put  to  it;  none  knows  where  he  is,  they  are  put  to 
such  a  confusion.  All  those  beasts  gather  together  again  frightened. 
Seeing  uo  way  to  escape  they  got  themselves  all  in  a  heap  like  ducks 
that  see  the  eagle  come  to  them. 

That  first  fear  being  over  a  little,  they  resolved  to  land  and  to  make 
a  fort  with  all  speed,  which  was  done  in  less  than  two  hours.  The  most 
stupid  and  drowsy  are  the  nimblest  for  the  hatchet  and  cutting  of  trees. 
The  fort  being  finished,  everyone  maketh  himself  in  readiness  to  sus- 
tain the  assault  if  any  had  attempted.  The  prisoner  was  brought,  who 
soon  was  dispatched,  burned,  roasted  and  eaten.  The  Iroquois  had  so 
served  them,  as  many  as  they  have  taken.  We  missed  twenty  of  our 
company,  but  some  came  safe  to  us,  and  lost  thirteen  that  were  killed 
and  taken  in  that  defeat.  The  Iroquois  finding  himself  weak  would  not 
venture,  and  was  obliged  to  leave  us  lest  he  should  be  discovered  and 
served  as  the  other.  Nevertheless  they  showed  good  countenances, 
went  and  builded  a  fort  as  we  have  done,  where  they  fortified  them- 
selves and  fed  on  human  flesh  which  they  got  in  the  wars.  They  were 
afraid  as  much  as  we,  but  far  from  that;  for,  the  night  being  come, 
everyone  embarks  himself  to  the  sound  of  a  low  trumpet.  By  the  help 
of  the  darkness  we  went  to  the  other  side,  leaving  our  merchandise  for 
our  ransom  to  the  enemy  that  used  us  so  unkindly.  We  made  some 
carriages  that  night  with  a  world  of  pains.  We  missed  four  of  our 
boats,  so  that  we  must  alter  our  equipages.  The  wild  men  complained 
much  that  the  French  could  not  swim,  for  that  they  might  be  together. 
The  French  seeing  they  were  not  able  to  undergo  such  a  voyage,  they 
consult  together,  and  for  conclusion  resolved  to  give  an  end  to  such 
labors  and  dangers;  moreover,  found  themselves  incapable  to  follow  the 
wild  men,  who  went  with  all  the  speed  possible  night  and  day  for  the 
fear  that  they  were  in.  The  fathers,  seeing  our  weakness,  desired  the 
wild  men  that  they  might  have  one  or  two  to  direct  them,  which  by  no 
means  was  granted,  but  bid  us  do  as  the  rest.  We  still  keep  our  resolu- 
tion, and,  knowing  more  tricks  than  they,  would  not  go  back,  which 
should  be  but  disdainful  and  prejudicial.  We  told  them  so  plainly,  that 
we  would  finish  that  voyage  or  die  by  the  way.  Besides  that,  the  wild 
men  did  not  complain  of  us  at  all,  but  encouraged  us.  After  long  argu- 
ing, everyone  had  the  liberty  to  go  backwards  or  forwards,  if  any  had 
courage  to  venture  himself  with  us.  Seeing  the  great  difficulties,  all 
with  one  consent  went  back  again,  and  we  went  on. 

The  wild  men  were  not  sorry  for  their  departure,  because  of  their 
ignorance  in  the  affairs  of  such  nagivation.  It  is  a  great  alteration  to 
see  one-and-thirty  reduced  to  two.  We  encouraged  one  another,  both 
willing  to  live  and  die  with  one  another;  and  that  is  the  least  we  could 
do,  being  brothers. 


312  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

The  incidents  attending  the  balance  of  this  trip  to  the 
Lake  of  the  Hurons  are  very  graphically  described,  and  were 
laborious  and  attended  with  much  suffering  and  nearly  starva- 
tion, in  a  similar  manner  and  at  the  same  places  as  those 
described  in  chapter  13  of  "Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New 
World,"  which  speaks  of  the  discovery  of  Lake  Huron  by 
Champlain  in  1615. 

After  some  delay  and  a  season  of  mourning  for  those  lost  in 
the  fight  with  the  Iroquois,  the  party  is  divided,  one-half  going 
to  the  north,  and  the  other  to  the  south.  Our  voyagers  joined 
the  party  of  the  south,  and  made  a  voyage  around  Georgian 
bay,  and  reached  the  island  of  Michilimackinac,  where  they 
say  they  were  possessed  by  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas,  who  fled 
from  the  attacks  of  the  Iroquois  when  the  missions  of  the 
Hurons  were  destroyed  in  1649-50. 

We  made  large  gifts  to  dry  up  the  tears  of  the  friends  of  the  de- 
ceased who  were  killed  in  the  attack  of  the  Iroquois.  The  neighbors 
came  to  visit  us  and  bid  us  welcome,  as  we  are  so.  There  comes  news 
that  there  were  enemies  in  the  fields,  that  they  were  seen  at  the  great 
field.  There  is  a  council  called,  and  it  is  resolved  that  they  should  be 
searched  and  set  upon,  which  was  executed  speedily.  I  offered  my 
services,  so  went  and  looked  for  them  two  days,  finding  them  the  third 
day.  I  gave  them  the  assault  when  they  least  thought  of  it.  We  played 
the  game  so  furiously  that  none  escaped. 

The  day  following  we  returned  to  our  village,  with  eight  of  our 
enemies  dead  and  three  alive.  The  dead  were  eaten,  and  the  living  we 
burned  with  a  small  fire  to  the  rigor  of  cruelties,  which  comforted  the 
desolate  to  see  them  revenged  of  the  death  of  their  relations  that  were 

so  served But  our  mind  was  not  to  stay  in  an  island,  but  be 

known  with  the  remotest  people.  The  victory  that  we  had  gotten  made 
them  consent  to  what  we  could  desire,  and  because  we  showed  willing- 
ness to  die  for  their  defence 

That  nation  called  Pottawattarnies  comes  and  meets  us  witih  the  rest, 
and  peace  was  concluded.  Feasts  were  made  and  dames  with  gifts 
came  of  each  side,  with  a  great  deal  of  mirth.  We  visited  them  during 
that  winter,  and  by  that  means  we  made  acquaintance  with  another 
nation  called  Escotecke,  wLich  signifies  "fire,"— a  fair  and  proper 
nation;  they  are  tall  and  big  and  very  strong.  We  came  there  in  the 
spring.  When  we  arrived  there  were  extraordinary  banquets.  There 
they  never  have  seen  men  with  beards,  because  they  pull  their  hair  as 
soon  as  it  comes  out;  but  much  more  astonished  when  they  saw  our 
arms,  especially  our  guns,  which  they  worshipped  by  blowing  smoke  of 

tobacco  instead  of  sacrifice We  desired  them  to  let  us  know 

of  their  neighboring  rations Among  others  they  told  us  of 

a  nation  called  Nadoneceronon,  which  is  very  strong,  and  with  whom 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  313 

they  were  in  war;  and  anotiher  wandering  nation,  living  only  upon  what 
they  could  come  by.  Their  dwelling  was  on  the  side  of  the  salt  water 
in  summer  time,  and  in  the  land  in  the  winter  time,  for  it  is  cold  in  their 
country.  They  call  themselves  Christines,  and  their  confederates  from 
all  time,  by  reason  of  their  speech,  which  is  the  same,  and  often  have 
joined  together,  and  have  had  companies  of  soldiers  to  war  against 
that  great  nation.  We  desired  not  to  go  to  the  north  till  wa  had  made 

a  discovery  in  the  south,  being  desirous  to  know  what  they  did 

We,  finding  this  opportunity,  would  not  let  it  slip,  but  made  gifts, 
telling  that  the  other  nation  would  stand  in  fear  of  them  because  of  us. 
We  flattered  them,  saying  none  would  dare  to  give  them  the  least  wrong, 
insomuch  that  many  of  Hie  Ottawas  that  were  present  to  make  the  same 
voyage.  I  can  assure  you  I  liked  no  country  as  I  have  that  wherein  we 
wintered,  for  whatsoever  a  man  could  desire  was  to  be  had  in  great 
plenty;  viz.:  stags,  fishes  in  abundance,  and  all  sorts  of  meat,  corn 
enough.  Those  of  the  two  nations  would  not  come  with  us,  but  turned 
back  to  their  nation.  We  nevertheless  put  ourselves  in  hazard,  for  our 
curiosity,  of  stay  two  or  three  years  among  that  nation.  We  ventured, 
for  that  we  understand  some  of  liheir  idiom,  and  trusted  to  that. 

Before  proceeding  further  with  this  extremely  brief  and 
badly  arranged  history  of  this  journey,  it  is  advisable  that  we 
again  refer  to  the  extract  from  the  "Relations  of  the  Jesuits," 
which  after  speaking  of  the  Lake  of  the  Sea  and  its  multitude 
of  population,  says: 

That  there  is  only  nine  days'  journey  from  this  great  lake  to  the  sea 
which  separates  America  from  China,  and  that  if  there  was  somebody 
who  would  be  willing  to  send  thirty  Frenchmen  to  that  country,  not 
only  would  we  convert  to  God  many  souls,  but  we  would  get  a  profit 

which  would  surpass  the  expense We  now  know  only  by 

the  reports  of  some  Indians,  who  affirm  that  they  have  seen  by  their 
own  eyes  what  they  express  by  their  mouth. 

These  two  Frenchmen  are  all  that  remain  of  the  thirty 
French  who  started  on  this  expedition  in  August  of  the  year 
1654,  and  are  now  ready  in  the  spring  of  1655  to  continue 
this  journey  to  the  sea  that  separates  America  from  China, 
only  nine  days'  journey  from  their  starting  point.  They  have 
spent  the  winter  with  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas,  who  were  at 
that  time  living  upon  the  islands  of  the  Lake  of  the  Puans,  and 
at  the  north  part  of  the  bay.  In  the  first  description  of  the 
route  Radisson  says:* 

We  embarked  ourselves  on  the  delightfullest  lake  of  tlie  world.  I 
took  notice  of  their  cottages  and  of  the  journeys  of  our  navigation,  for 


*Parts  of  my  quotations  here  and  onward  are    italicized,  that  special  at- 
tention may  be  directed  to  them. 


314  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

because  that  the  country  was  so  pleasant,  so  beautiful  and  fruitful,  that 
it  grieved  me  to  see  that  the  world  could  not  discover  such  enticing 
countries  to  live  in.  This  I  say  because  that  the  Europeans  fight  for  a 
rock  in  the  sea  against  one  another,  and  for  sterile  land  and  horrid 
country,  that  the  people  sent  here  or  there,  by  changernent  of  air,  en- 
genders sickness  and  dies  thereof.  Contrarywise  these  kingdoms  are 
so  delicious  and  under  so  temperate  a  climate,  the  earth  bringing  forth 
its  fruit  twice  a  year,  the  people  live  long  and  lusty  and  wise  in  their 
way 

We  meet  with  several  nations,  all  sedentary,  amazed  to  see  us,  and 
who  were  very  civil.  The  farther  we  sojourned,  the  delightfuller  the 
land  was  to  us.  I  can  say  that  in  my  life  time  I  never  saw  a  more  incom- 
parable country,  for  all  that  I  have  been  in  Italy Being  about  the 

great  sea,  we  conversed  with  the  people  that  dwelleth  about  the  salt 
water,  who  told  us  that  they  saw  some  great  white  thing  sometimes  on 
the  water,  and  it  came  towards  the  shore,  and  men  in  the  top  of  it,  and 
made  a  noise  like  a  company  of  swans;  which  made  me  believe  that 
they  were  mistaken,  for  I  could  not  imagine  what  it  could  be,  except  the 
Spaniards;  and  the  reason  is  that  we  found  a  barrel  broken  as  they  use 
in  Spain.  Those  people  have  their  hair  long.  They  reap  twice  a  year; 
they  are  called  Tatarga,  that  is  to  say,  buff They  are  gen- 
erally stout  men,  so  they  are  able  to  defend  themselves We 

were  everywhere  made  much  of;  neither  wanted  victuals,  for  all  the 
different  nations  that  we  met  conducted  us  and  furnished  us  with  all 
necessaries 

The  summer  passed  away  with  admiration  by  the  diversity  of  the 
nations  that  we  saw,  as  for  the  beauty  of  the  shore  of  that  sweet  &ea. 
Here  we  saw  fish  of  divers,  some  like  the  sturgeons  and  have  a  kind  of  slice 
at  the  end  of  their  nose,  some  three  fingers  broad  in  the  end  and  two  only 
near  the  nose  and  some  eight  thumbs  long,  all  marbled  of  a  blackish  color. 
There  are  birds  whose  bills  are  two  and  twenty  thumbs  long.  That 
bird  swallows  a  whole  salmon,  keeps  it  a  long  time  in  his  bill.  We  saw 
also  she-goats,  very  big.  There  is  an  animal  somewhat  less  than  a  cow 
Avhose  meat  is  exceeding  good.  There  is  no  want  of  stags  nor  buffs. 
There  are  so  many  turkeys  that  the  boys  throw  stones  at  them  for  their 

recreation As  for  the  buff,  it  is  a  furious  animal.  One  must 

have  a  care  of  him,  for  every  year  he  kills  some  Nadoneseronons.  He  comes 
for  the  most  part  in  the  plains  and  meadows,  and  feeds  like  an  ox.  .  . 
.  .  The  horns  of  buffs  are  as  those  of  an  ox  but  not  so  long,  but 
bigger,  and  of  a  blackish  color.  He  hath  a  very  long  hairy  tail.  He  is 
reddish,  his  hair  frizzed  and  very  fine;  all  the  parts  of  his  body  much 
like  unto  an  ox.  The  biggest  are  bigger  than  any  ox  whatsoever. 

The  vines  grow  all  by  the  river  side;  the  lemons  are  not  so  big  as 
ours,  and  sourer.  The  grape  is  very  big,  green,  and  is  seen  there  at  all 
times.  It  never  snows  nor  freezes  there,  but  is  mighty  hot;  yet  for  all 
that,  the  country  is  not  so  unwholesome  for  we  seldom  have  seen  infirm 
people 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  315 

We  were  four  months  in  our  voyage  without  doing  anything  but 
going  from  river  to  river.  We  met  several  sorts  of  people.  We  con- 
versed with  them,  being  long  in  alliance  with  them.  By  the  persuasion 
of  some  of  them  we  went  into  the  great  river  that  divides  itself  in  two, 
where  the  Hurons  with  some  of  the  Ottawas  and  the  wild  men  that  had 
wars  with  them  had  retired.  There  is  not  great  difference  in  their 
language,  as  we  were  told.  This  nation  have  wars  against  those  of  the 
forked  mer.  It  is  so  called  because  it  has  two  branches,  the  one 
towards  the  west,  the  other  towards  the  south,  which  we  believe  runs 
towards  Mexico,  by  the  tokens  they  give  us.  Being  among  these  people, 
they  told  us  the  prisoners  they  take  tell  them  that  they  have  wars 
against  a  nation,  against  men  that  build  great  cabins,  and  have  great 
beards,  and  have  such  knives  as  we  have.  Moreover,  they  showed  a  decad 
of  beads  and  guilded  pearls  that  they  have  had  from  that  people,  which  made 
us  believe  they  were  Europeans.  They  showed  us  one  of  that  nation  that  was 
taken  the  year  before.  We  understood  him  not;  he  was  much  more  tawny 
than  they  with  whom  we  were.  His>  arms  and  legs  were  turned  outside; 
that  was  the  punishment  inflicted  upon  him.  So  they  do  with  them  that 
they  take,  and  kill  them  with  clubs,  and  do  often  eat  them.  They  do  not 
burn  their  prisoners  as  those  of  the  northern  parts. 

We  were  informed  of  that  nation  that  live  in  the  other  river.  These 
were  men  of  extraordinary  height  and  bigness,  that  made  us  believe  they 
had  no  communication  with  them.  They  live  only  upon  corn  and  citrulls 
(pumpkins),  which  are  mighty  big.  They  have  fish  in  plenty  throughout 
the  year.  They  have  fruit  as  big  as  the  heart  of  an  oriniak,  which  grows 
on  vast  trees  which  are  three  armsful  in  compass.  When  they  see  little 
men  they  are  afraid  and  cry  out,  which  makes  many  come  to  help  them. 
Their  arrows  are  not  of  stone  as  ours  are,  but  of  fish-bones  and  other 
bones  that  they  work  greatly,  as  all  other  things.  Their  dishes  are 
made  of  wood.  I  have  seen  them  and  could  not  but  admire  the  curiosity 
of  their  work.  They  have  great  calumets  of  great  stones,  red  and  green. 
They  make  a  store  of  tobacco.  They  have  a  kind  of  drink  that  makes 
them  mad  for  a  whole  day.  This  I  have  not  seen,  therefore  you  may  be- 
lieve as  you  please Tending  to  those  people,  we  went 

towards  the  south  and  came  back  by  the  north. 

We  had  not  as  yet  seen  the  nation  Nadoneceronons.  We  had  Hurons 
with  us.  We  persuaded  them  to  come  along  to  see  their  own  nation 
that  fled  there,  but  they  would  not  by  any  means.  We  thought  to  get 
some  castors  there  to  bring  down  to  the  French,  seeing  it  at  last  im- 
possible to  us  to  make  such  a  circuit  in  a  twelve  months'  time.  .  .  . 

We  came  to  the  straits  of  the  two  lakes  of  the  Stinkings  and  the 
upper  lake,  where  there  are  little  islands  toward  the  northwest,  few 
toward  the  southeast,  very  small.  The  lake  towards  the  north  at  the 
side  of  it  is  full  of  rocks  and  sand,  yet  great  ships  can  ride  on  it  without 
danger.  We,  being  of  three  nations,  arrived  there  with  booty,  and  dis- 
puted awhile,  for  some  would  return  to  their  country.  That  was  the 
nation  of  the  fire,  and  would  have  us  back  to  their  dwelling.  We  by 
all  means  would  know  the  Christinos.  To  go  back  was  out  of  our  way. 


316  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

This,  I  think,  is  all  of  the  record,  relating  to  the  voyage 
down  the  Mississippi  river  and  back  to  the  home  of  the 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  on  the  islands  in  the  north  part  of  Green 
bay,  that  it  is  necessary  to  embrace  in  the  discussion  of  the 
discovery  of  the  Mississippi  river;  and  in  order  to  do  so 
intelligibly  I  shall  quote  from  the  records  of  Marquette,  Hen- 
nepin,  and  the  Spanish  authorities,  so  much  as  I  think  will 
enable  me  to  prove  conclusively  that  the  voyage  of  Radisson 
was  down  the  Mississippi.  The  discussion  will  follow  after 
the  quotations  which  follow  here. 

EXPLORATION  BY  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET. 
First  in  order  are  extracts  from  an  account  of  the  dis- 
covery of  some  new  countries  and  nations  in  North  America 
in  1673  by  Pere  Marquette  and  Sieur  Joliet,  translated  from 
the  French,  and  published  in  Part  2  of  the  Historical  Collec- 
tions of  Louisiana,  by  B.  F.  French,  in  1850.  Commencing  on 
page  279,  we  read: 

I  embarked  with  M.  Joliet,  who  had  -been  chosen  to  conduct  this 
enterprise,  on  the  13th  May,  1673,  with  five  other  Frenchmen,  in  two 

bark  canoes The  first  nation  we  came  to  was  called  the 

Folles-Avoines,  or  the  nation  of  wild  oats Having  prayed 

with  them  and  given  them  some  instructions,  -we  set  out  for  the  Bay 

of  Puan  (Green  Bay) This  bay  is  about  thirty  leagues  long, 

and  eight  broad  in  the  greatest  breadth It  atKmnds  in 

bustards,  ducks,  and  other  birds,  which  are  attracted  there  by  the  wild 
oats,  of  which  they  are  very  fond.  We  next  came  to  a  village  of 
Maskoutens,  or  nation  of  fire 

The  French  have  never  before  passed  beyond  the  Bay  of  Puans 
(Green  Bay).  This  Bourg  consists  of  three  several  nations,  viz.,  Miamies. 

Maskoutens,  and  Kickapoos I  took  pleasure  in  looking  at 

this  bourff.  It  is  beautifully  situated  on  an  eminence,  from  whence  we 
look  over  an  extensive  prairie,  interspersed  with  groves  of  trees.  The 
soil  is  very  fertile,  and  produces  large  crops  of  corn.  The  Indians  also 
gather  large  quantities  of  grapes  and  plums. 

The  next  day,  being  the  10th  of  June,  the  two  guides  (Miamies)  em- 
barked with  us  in  sight  of  all  the  village We  were  informed 

that  at  three  leagues  from  the  Maskoutens,  we  should  find  a  river  which 
runs  into  the  Mississippi,  and  that  we  were  to  go  to  the  west-southwest 
to  find  it As  our  guides  had  been  frequently  over  this  port- 
age, they  knew  the  way  and  helped  us  to  carry  our  canoes  overland 
into  the  other  river,  distant  about  two  miles  and  a  half;  from  whence 
they  returned  home,  leaving  us  in  an  unknown  country 

The  river  upon  which  we  embarked  is  called  the  Mesconsin  (Wis- 
consin)  We  saw  neither  game  nor  fish,  but  roebuck  and 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  317 

buffaloes  in  great  numbers We  came  into  the  Mississippi 

on  the  17th  June  (1673). 

The  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  is  in  about  42°  30'  north  latitude.  .  . 
.  .  We  slowly  followed  its  course  to  the  south  and  southeast  to  42° 

north  latitude The  islands  are  covered  with  fine  trees,  but 

we  could  not  see  any  more  roebucks,  buffaloes,  bustards,  and  swans. 
We  met  from  time  to  time  monstrous  fish,  which  struck  so  violently 
against  our  canoes  that  at  first  we  took  them  to  be  large  trees,  which 

threatened  to  upset  us When  we  threw  our  nets  into  the 

water  we  caught  an  abundance  of  sturgeons,  and  another  kind  of  ftsh 
like  our  trout,  except  that  the  eyes  and  nose  are  much  smaller,  and  they 
have  near  the  nose  a  lone  like  a  woman's  busk,  three  inches  broad  and  a  foot 
and  a  half  long,  the  end  of  which  is  flat  and  broad,  and  ichen  it  leaps  out  of 
the  water  the  weight  of  it  throws  it  on  its  back. 

Having  descended  the  river  as  far  as  41°  28',  we  found  that  turkeys 
took  the  place  of  game,  and  the  Pisikious  that  of  other  animals.  We 
call  the  Pisikious  wild  buffaloes,  because  they  very  much  resemble  our 
domestic  oxen;  they  are  not  so  long,  but  twice  as  large.  We  shot  one 
of  them,  and  it  was  as  much  as  thirteen  men  could  do  to  drag  him 
from  the  place  where  he  fell.  They  have  an  enormous  head;  their 
forehead  is  broad  and  flat;  and  their  horns,  between  which  there  is  at 
least  a  foot  and  a  half  distance,  are  all  black  and  much  longer  than  our 
European  oxen.  They  have  a  hump  on  the  back,  and  their  head,  breast, 
and  a  part  of  the  shoulders  are  covered  with  long  hair.  They  have  in 
the  middle  of  their  forehead  an  ugly  tuft  of  long  hair,  which,  falling 
down  over  their  eyes,  blinds  them  in  a  manner,  and  makes  them  look 
hideous.  The  rest  of  the  body  is  covered  with  curled  hair,  or  rather 
wool  like  our  sheep,  but  much  thicker  and  stronger.  They  shed  their 
hair  in  summer,  and  their  skin  is  as  soft  as  velvet,  leaving  nothing  but 
a  short  down.  The  Indians  use  their  skins  for  cloaks,  which  they  paint 
with  figures  of  several  colors.  Their  flesh  and  fat  is  excellent,  and  the 
best  dish  of  the  Indians,  who  kill  a  great  many  of  them.  They  are  very 
fierce  and  dangerous,  and  if  they  can  hook  a  man  ivith  their  horns  they  toss 

him  up  and  then  tread  upon  him They  graze  upon  the  banks 

of  the  rivers,  and  I  have  seen  four  hundred  in  a  herd  together. 

We  continued  to  descend  the  river  ....  [to]  about  the  lati- 
tude of  40  degrees On  the  25th  June  we  went  ashore  [and 

saw  traces  of  men  and  were  taken  to  their  village] Their 

language  is  a  dialect  of  the  Algonquin They  keep  several 

wives,  of  whom  they  are  very  jealous,  and  watch  them  closely.    If  they 
behave  unchastely,  they  cut  off  their  ears  or  nose,  of  which  I  saw  sev- 
eral  who   carried   those   marks   of  their   infidelity.     ...     .     .    Their 

knives,  axes,  and  other  instruments,  are  made  of  flint  and  other  sharp 

stones They  live  by  hunting,  and  on  Indian  corn,  of  which 

they  always  have  a  plenty Their  clothing  consists  of  the 

skins  of  wild  animals,  which  serves  to  clothe  their  women,  who  dress 
very  modestly,  while  the  men  go  most  of  the  year  almost  naked. 


318  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

The  writer  (Marquette)  here  describes  the  calumet  and  the 
ceremonies  of  the  calumet. 

We  found  a  quantity  of  mulberries  as  large  as  those  of  France,  and 
a  small  fruit  which  we  took  at  first  for  olives,  but  it  had  the  taste  of  an 
orange,  and  another  as  large  as  a  hen's  egg.  We  broke  it  in  half,  and 
found  the  inside  was  divided  into  two  divisions,  in  each  of  which  there 
were  eight  or  ten  seeds  shaped  like  an  almond,  and  very  good  to  eat 
when  ripe We  saw  also  in  the  prairies  a  fruit  like  filberts. 

Marquette  next  describes  the  painted  rocks,  also  the 
floating  drift  in  the  Missouri,  the  water  of  which  was  so  roily 
or  muddy  that  they  could  not  drink  it. 

This  river  conies  from  tne  northwest,  and  empties  into  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  on  its  banks  are  situated  a  number  of  Indian  villages.  We 
judged  by  the  compass  that  the  Mississippi  discharged  itself  into  the 

Gulf  of  Mexico After  having  gone  about  twenty  leagues  to 

the  south  and  a  little  less  to  the  southeast,  we  met  another  river  called 
Ouabouskigou  (the  Ohio),  which  runs  into  the  Mississippi  in  the  latitude 
of  36°  N 

Marquette  narrates  their  experience  with  the  Indians  on 
the  shores  of  the  river,  and  that  they  landed  at  a  village  and 
were  entertained  with  buffalo  and  bear  meat,  also  white 
plums,  which  were  excellent. 

We  observed  they  had  guns,  knives,  axes,  shovels,  glass  beads,  and 
bottles  in  which  they  put  their  powder.  They  wear  their  hair  long  as 
the  Iroquois,  and  their  women  are  dressed  as  the  Hurons.  They  told 
us  that  they  were  only  within  ten  days'  journey  of  the  sea;  that  they 
bought  their  goods  from  the  Europeans,  who  lived  towards  the  east, 
that  they  had  images  and  chaplets,  and  played  upon  musical  instru- 
ments, that  they  were  clothed  as  I  was,  and  were  kind  to  them.  .  .  . 
The  account  the  Indians  gave  us  of  the  sea  was  very  encouraging,  and 
therefore  we  applied  our  oars  with  great  vigor,  in  hopes  of  seeing  it 
very  soon.  The  banks  of  the  river  began  to  be  covered  with  high  trees, 
which  hindered  us  from  observing  the  country  as  we  had  done  all  along. 
The  elm,  cotton[wood]  and  cypress  trees  are  beautiful  on  account  of 
their  size  and  height.  We  judged,  from  the  bellowing  of  the  buffaloes, 
that  some  prairies  were  near.  We  saw  quails,  and  shot  a  parrot. 
.  .  .  .  We  soon  descended  to  latitude  33°  north  and  found  ourselves 
at  a  village  on  the  river  side  called  Mitchigamea. 

The  Indians  at  this  village  were  very  troublesome  and  the 
voyagers  nearly  despaired,  but  finally  the  Indians  made  signs 
of  peace  and  asked  them  to  come  on  shore. 

They  told  us  that  at  the  next  great  village,  called  Arkansea,  eight 
or  ten  leagues  farther  down  the  river,  we  could  learn  all  about  the 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI   RIVEE.  319 

sea We  embarked  early  next  morning  with  our  interpreters 

and  ten  Indians,  who  went  before  us  in  a  canoe [After 

arriving  at  Arkansea,  we]  asked  them  what  they  knew  of  the  sea,  and 
they  said  we  were  within  ten  days'  journey  of  it,  but  we  might  perform 
it  in  five.  That  they  were  unacquainted  with  the  nations  below,  be- 
cause their  enemies  had  prevented  them  from  visiting  them.  .... 
They  make  three  crops  of  Indian  corn  a  year.  They  roast  and  boil 
it  in  large  earthen  pots  very  curiously  made.  They  have  also  large 
baked  earthen  plates,  which  they  use  for  different  purposes.  The  men 
go  naked  and  wear  their  hair  short.  They  pierce  their  noses  and  ears, 
and  wear  rings  of  glass  beads  in  them. 

The  women  cover  themselves  with  skins,  and  divide  their  hair  into 
two  tresses,  which  they  wear  behind  their  back  without  any  ornament. 
Their  feasts  are  without  any  ceremony,  they  serve  their  meats  in  large 

dishes,  and  every  one  eats  as  much  as  he  pleases Their 

cabins  are  made  with  the  bark  of  trees,  and  are  generally  very  wide 
and  long.  .  .  .  .  They  keep  their  corn  in  panniers  made  of  rushes. 
They  have  no  beavers,  and  all  their  commodities  are  buffalo  hides. 
It  never  snows  in  this  country,  and  they  have  no  other  winter  than  con- 
tinued heavy  rains,  which  makes  the  difference  between  their  summer 
and  winter.  They  have  no  other  fruit  but  watermelons,  though  their 
soil  might  produce  any  other,  if  they  knew  how  to  cultivate  it.  ... 

The  voyagers  turned  back  from  the  village  of  Arkansea, 
and  the  following  is  Marquette's  description  of  the  country  on 
the  Illinois  river  by  which  they  returned  to  lake  Michigan: 

I  never  saw  a  more  beautiful  country  than  we  found  on  this  river. 
The  prairies  are  covered  with  buffaloes,  stags,  goats,  and  the  rivers  and 
lakes  with  swans,  ducks,  geese,  parrots,  and  beavers.  The  river  upon  which 
we  sailed  was  wide,  deep  and  placid  for  sixty-five  leagues,  and  naviga- 
ble most  all  the  year  round. 

HENNEPIN'S  DESCRIPTION  (1680). 

I  add  some  quotations  from  "A  Description  of  Louisiana," 
by  Father  Louis  Hennepin,  Recollect  Missionary,  translated 
from  the  edition  of  1683,  and  compared  with  the  La  Salle 
documents  and  other  contemporary  papers,  by  Prof.  John  Gil- 
mary  Shea,  and  dedicated  to  Et  Rev.  John  Ireland,  D.  D.,  and 
J.  Fletcher  Williams,  President  and  Secretary  of  the  Minne- 
sota Historical  Society,  published  in  1880.*  The  extracts  from 

*NOTE.— In  1880  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society  held  a  Bi-CentenniaJ 
celebration  of  the  discovery  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  I  was  a  member 
or  the  Committee  of  Arrangements.  In  discussing  the  appropriate  order  of 
service  to  be  observed  upon  that  occasion,  there  was  developed  a  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  the  credibility  of  Father  Hennepin's  published  account  of  his 
voyage.  Rev.  John  Ireland  became  very  earnest  in  his  defense  of  the  truth- 
Ill. — 4 


320  MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

the  voyage  of  Father  Hennepin  will  be  brief,  as  the  references 
made  to  himself  are  few. 

On  page  196  and  following,  in  speaking  of  the  River  Col- 
bert, the  author  says  that  it  runs  between  two  chains  of 
mountains  and  intervening  prairies,  upon  which  he  often  saw 
wild  cattle  browsing.  Beyond  the  river  bluffs,  here  called 
mountains,  were  vast  prairies.  Woods  covered  the  islands, 
and  were  interlaced  with  so  many  vines  &s  to  be  almost  im- 
passable. He  describes  the  rivers  Wisconsin,  Black  and  Buf- 
falo (Chippewa),  and  the  Lake  of  Tears  (Lake  Pepin).  "Forty 
leagues  above  is  a  river  full  of  rapids,  by  which,  striking 
northwest,  you  can  proceed  to  Lake  CondeV'  Eight  leagues 
above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  comes  the  river  Issati  (Rum 
river),  which  leads  to  Lake  Buade  (Mille  Lacs),  the  home  of 
the  Nadonessiou. 

The  account  of  Hennepin's  capture  by  the  Indians  begins 
on  page  205,  and  is  followed  by  a  narrative  of  his  experiences, 
with  statements  of  what  he  saw  and  learned,  during  his 
captivity. 

The  Indians  at  times  sent  their  best  runners  by  land  to  chase  the 
herds  of  wild  cattle  on  the  water  side;  as  these  animals  crossed  the 
river,  they  sometimes  killed  forty  or  fifty,  merely  to  take  the  tongue 
and  most  delicate  morsels,  leaving  the  rest. 

The  chief,  to  whom  he  had  been  given,  showed  him  five  or 
six  of  his  wives.  i 

Sometimes  he  assembled  the  elders  of  the  village,  in  whose  presence 
he  asked  me  for  a  compass  that  I  always  had  in  my  sleeve;  seeing  that 
I  made  the  needle  turn  with  a  key,  and  believing  justly  that  we  Euro- 
peans went  all  over  the  habitable  globe,  guided  by  this  instrument, 
this  chief,  who  was  very  eloquent,  persuaded  his  people  that  we  were 
spirits,  and  capable  of  doing  anything  beyond  their  reach.  At  the  close 
of  his  address,  which  was  very  animated,  all  the  old  men  wept  over 
my  'head,  admiring  in  me  what  they  could  not  understand.  .  .  . 
During  our  stay  among  the  Issati  or  Nadonessiou,  we  saw  Indians  who 
came  as  ambassadors  from  about  five  hundred  leagues  to  the  west 
They  informed  us  that  the  Assenipovalacs*  were  then  only  seven  or 
eight  days  distant  to  the  northeast  of  us.  All  the  other  known  tribes 


fulness  of  the  history,  and  wrote  to  Prof.  J.  G.  Shea  for  his  opinion,  which 
was  promptly  furnished;  and  with  this  authority  he  made  a  most  satisfactory 
vindication  of  Hennepin  at  the  celebration,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  record  of 
proceedings  of  the  Society's  publications. 

By  the  urgent  request  of  Archbishop  Ireland,  supported  by  officers  of  the 
Society,  Professor  Shea  prepared  and  published  his  translation  above  referred 
to. 

*AssIniboins. 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  321 

on  the  west  and  northwest  inhabit  immense  plains  and  prairies  abound- 
ing in  buffalo  and  peltries,  where  they  are  sometimes  obliged  to  make 

fires  with  buffalo  dung,  for  want  of  wood 

Another  time  we  found  an  otter  on  the  bank  of  the  river  Colbert, 
eating  a  large  fish  which  had,  running  from  the  head,  a  kind  of  paddle 
or  beak,  five  fingers  broad  and  a  foot  and  a  half  long,  which  made  our 
Picard  say  that  he  thought  he  saw  a  devil  in  the  paws  of  that  otter: 
but  his  fright  did  not  prevent  our  eating  this  monstrous  fish,  which  we 
found  very  good. 

This  account  of  the  voyage  of  discovery  by  Father  Henne- 
pin  was  accompanied  by  a  map  upon  which  was  located  the 
Lake  of  the  Assenipoils,  evidently  intended  to  represent  Lake 
Winnipeg,  but  its  location  was  too  far  north,  although  in  the 
proper  direction  from  the  Indian  home  of  Hennepin. 

SPANISH  AUTHORITIES. 

DISCOVERY  OF  C1BOLA  BY  FATHER  DE  NIC  A  (1539). 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  Hakluyt's  "Voyages 
of  the  English  Nation  to  America,"  edited  by  Edmund  Golds- 
mid,  1890,  volume  3,  pages  67-83. 

The  same  day  came  three  Indians  of  those  which  I  called  Pintados, 
because  I  saw  their  faces,  breasts  and  arms  painted.  These  dwell  far- 
ther up  into  the  country  towards  the  east,  and  several  of  them 
border  upon  the  Seven  Cities,  which  said  they  came  to  see  me  be- 
cause they  had  heard  of  me;  and  among  other  things  they  gave  me 
information  of  the  Seven  Cities,  and  other  provinces,  which  the  Indian 

that  Stephen  sent  me  had  told  me  of They  said  that  they 

went  for  Turqueses  and  Hides  of  kine,  and  other  things;  and  that  of 
all  these  there  was  great  abundance  in  this  country.  Likewise  I  en- 
quired how  and  by  what  means  they  obtained  these  things.  They  told 
me,  by  their  service,  and  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  and  that  they 
went  into  the  first  city  of  the  Province  which  is  called  Cevola,  and  that 
they  served  them  in  tilling  their  ground  and  in  other  business,  and  that 
they  give  them  hides  of  oxen,  which  they  have  in  those  places,  and 
turqueses  for  their  service,  and  that  the  people  of  this  city  wear  very 
fine  and  excellent  turqueses  hanging  at  their  ears  and  at  their  nostrils. 
They  say  also  that  of  these  turqueses  they  make  fine  works  upon  the 
principal  gates  of  the  houses  of  this  city 

Amongst  others  the  Lord  of  this  Village  came  unto  me,  and  two 
of  his  brethren,  very  well  apparelled  in  cotton,  ....  and  they 
presented  unto  me  many  wild  beasts,  as  conies,  quails,  maize,  nuts  of 
pine  trees,  and  all  in  great  abundance,  and  offered  me  many  turqueses 
and  dressed  ox  hides,  and  very  fair  vessels  to  drink  in,  and  other  things, 
whereof  I  would  receive  no  whit 


322  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

At  the  last  when  they  saw  me  resolute,  two  of  the  chief  of  them 
said  they  would  go  with  me;  with  whom  and  with  my  Indians  and  in- 
terpreters I  followed  my  way,  till  I  came  within  sight  of  Cevola,  which 
is  situated  on  a  plain  at  the  foot  of  a  round  hill,  and  maketh  shew  to 
be  a  fair  city,  and  is  better  seated  than  any  that  I  have  seen  in  these 
parts.  The  houses  are  builded  in  order,  according  as  the  Indians  told 
me,  all  made  of  stone,  with  divers  stories  and  flat  roofs,  as  far  as  I 
could  discern  from  a  mountain  which  I  ascended  to  view  the  city.  The 
people  are  somewhat  white;  they  wear  apparel,  and  lie  in  beds;  their 
weapons  are  bows;  they  have  emeralds  and  other  jewels,  although 

they  esteem  none  so  much  as  turqueses Their  apparel  is  of 

cotton  and  of  ox  hides,  and  this  is  their  most  commendable  and  honor- 
able apparel.  They  use  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  for  they  have  no 
other  metal. 


EXPLORATION   OF  CIBOLA  AND   QUIVIRA   BY   CORONADO   (1540). 

The  relation  of  Francis  Vasquez  de  Coronado,  Captain 
General  of  the  people  which  were  sent  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor's  Majesty  to  the  country  of  Cibola,  newly  discovered, 
is  found  in  Hakluyt's  Voyages,  volume  3,  pages  117-132.  Cor- 
onado departed  with  his  army  from  Culiacan  on  the  22nd  of 
April,  1540.  He  describes  the  situation  and  state  of  the  Seven 
Cities,  called  the  Kingdom  of  Cibola,  and  of  the  customs  and 
qualities  of  their  people,  and  the  beasts  which  are  found  there. 

It  remaineth  now  to  certify  your  honor  of  the  Seven  Cities,  and 
the  kingdoms  and  provinces  whereof  the  Father  Provincial  made  repoi 
unto  your  Lordship.    And  to  be  brief,  I  can  assure  your  honor,  he  say<; 
the  truth  in  nothing  that  he  reported,  but  all  was  quite  contrary,  sav- 
ing only  the  names  of  the  cities,  and  great  houses  of  stone:    for  al 
though  they  be  not  wrought  with  turqueses,  nor  with  lime  nor  bricl 
yet  are  they  very  excellent  good  houses  of  three  or  four  or  five  loft 
high,  wherein  are  good  lodgings  and  fair  chambers  with  ladders  in- 
stead of  stairs,  and  certain  cellars  under  the  ground,  very  good  am 
paved,  which  are  made  for  winter,  they  are  in  manner  like  stoves:  anc 
the  ladders  which  they  have  for  their  houses  are  all  in  a  manner  mov- 
able and  portable,  which  are  taken  away  and  set  down  when  the} 
please,  and  they  are  made  of  two  pieces  of  wood  with  their  steps  as 

ours  be They  wear  their  hair  on  their  heads  like  those  of 

Mexico,  and  they  are  well  nurtured  and  conditioned;    and  they  have 
turqueses  I  think  in  good  quantity,  which,  with  the  rest  of  the 
which  they  had,  except  their  corn,  they  had  conveyed  away  before 

I  came  thither In  this  country  there  are  certain  skins  well 

dressed,  and  they  dress  them  and  paint  them  where  they  kill  their  oxen, 
for  so  they  say  themselves. 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  328 

Coronado  sent  to  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  as  presents  from 
Cibola,  an  ox  hide  (buffalo  robe),  turquoises,  two  turquoise  ear- 
rings and  fifteen  combs  made  by  the  Indians,  tablets  set  with 
turquoises,  etc.  He  also  mentions  that  in  this  place  was  found 
"some  quantity  of  gold  and  silver  ....  very  good." 

Francis  Lopez  de  Gomara  gives  the  account  of  Coronado's 
continuation  of  this  expedition  to  Quivira  (in  the  same  volume, 
pages  133-5),  from  which  I  take  the  following: 

They  had  news  of  Axa  and  Quivira,  where  they  said  was  a  king 
whose  name  was  Tartatrax,  with  a  long  beard,  hoary  headed,  and  rich, 
which  was  girded  with  a  Bracamart,  which  prayed  upon  a  pair  of  beads, 
which  worshipped  a  cross  of  gold  and  the  image  of  a  woman,  the  Queen 
of  Heaven 

Quivira  is  in  forty  degrees  [of  north  latitude]:  it  is  a  temperate 
country,  and  hath  very  good  waters,  and  much  grass,  plums,  mulberries, 
nuts,  melons  and  grapes,  which  ripen  very  well.  There  is  no  cotton; 
and  they  apparel  themselves  with  ox  hides  and  deer  skins. 

Gomara  gives  this  description  of  buffaloes,  with  brief  men- 
tion of  other  animals  of  the  great  plains  and  the  country  far- 
ther west  and  north : 

These  oxen  are  of  the  bigness  and  color  of  our  bulls,  but  their  horns 
are  not  so  great.  They  have  a  great  bunch  upon  their  fore  shoulders, 
and  more  hair  on  their  fore  part  than  on  their  hinder  parts;  and  it  is 
like  wool.  They  have  as  it  were  a  horse's  mane  upon  their  backbone, 
and  much  hair  and  very  long  from  their  knees  downward.  They  have 
great  tufts  of  hair  hanging  down  their  foreheads,  and  it  seemeth  that 
they  have  beards,  because  of  the  great  store  of  hair  hanging  down  at 
their  chins  and  throats.  The  males  have  very  long  tails,  and  a  great 
knob  or  flock  at  the  end;  so  that  in  some  respects  they  resemble  the  lion 
and  in  some  others  the  camel.  They  push  with  their  horns,  they  run, 
they  overtake  and  kill  a  horse  when  they  are  in  their  rage  and  anger. 
Finally,  it  is  a  foul  and  fierce  beast  of  countenance  and  form  of  body. 
The  horses  fled  from  them,  either  because  of  their  deformed  shape*  or 
else  because  they  had  never  seen  them.  Their  masters  have  no  other 
riches  nor  substance:  of  them  they  eat,  they  drink,  they  apparel,  they 
shoe  themselves:  and  of  their  hides  they  make  many  things,  as  houses, 
shoes,  apparel  and  ropes:  of  their  bones  they  make  bodkins:  of  their 
sinews  and  hairs,  thread:  of  their  horns,  maws,  and  bladders,  vessels: 
of  their  dung,  fire:  and  of  their  calves'  skins,  budgets,  in  which  they 
draw  and  keep  water.  To  be  short,  they  make  so  many  things  of  them 
as  they  have  need  of,  or  as  many  as  suffice  them  in  the  use  of  this  life. 

There  are  also  in  this  country  other  beasts  as  big  as  horses,  which, 
because  they  have  horns  and  fine  wool,  they  call  them  sheep;  and  they 
say  that  every  horn  of  theirs  weighs  fifty  pounds  weight. 


324  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

There  are  also  great  dogs  which  will  fight  with  a  bull,  and  will 
carry  fifty  pounds  weight  in  sacks  when  they  go  a  hunting,  or  when 
they  remove  from  place  to  place  with  their  flocks  and  herds. 

EXPEDITION  OF  PE&ALOSA. 

In  1882  Prof.  J.  Gilmary  Shea  (to  whom  English  students 
have  become  greatly  indebted)  published  a  translation  of  the 
Expedition  of  Don  Diego  Dionisio  de  Pefialosa,  Governor  of 
New  Mexico,  from  Sante  Fe  to  the  River  Mischipi  and  Quivira 
in  1662,  as  described  by  Father  Nicolas  de  Freytas,  O.  S.  F., 
and  also  an  account  of  a  previous  expedition  by  the  Maestre  de 
Campo  Vincent  de  Saldivar  in  1618,  portions  of  which  may 
well  be  added  here. 

Pefialosa  led  his  expedition  eastward  and  rediscovered 
Quivira.  In  his  company  were  eighty  Spaniards,  whose  captain 
was  Michael  de  Noriega,  "and  a  thousand  Indians  on  foot  with 
bows  and  arrows,  all  very  well  armed,  both  men  and  horses, 
and  with  all  the  other  equipments  of  peace  and  war,  .  . 
with  thirty-six  carts  of  various  sizes  well  provided  with  pro- 
visions and  munitions,  and  a  large  coach,  a  litter  and  two 
portable  chairs  for  his  person,  and  six  three-pounders,  eight 
hundred  horses,  and  three  hundred  mules."  Freytas,  his  his- 
torian, continues  as  follows : 

We  took  our  course  eastward  till  we  marched  two  hundred  leagues, 
all  through  pleasing,  peaceful,  and  most  fertile  fields,  and  so  level  that 
in  all  of  them  no  mountain,  or  range,  or  any  hill  was  seen,  which  finally 
ended  at  a  very  high  and  insuperable  ridge  which  is  near  the  sea, 
eight  leagues  beyond  the  great  city  of  Quivira,  called  Taracari;  and  so 
agreeable  and  fertile  are  they  that  in  all  the  Indies  of  Peru  and  New 
Spain,  nor  in  Europe,  have  any  other  such  been  seen,  so  pleasant  and 
delightful,  and  covered  with  buffalo  or  cows  of  cibola  which  caused 
notable  admiration.  The  further  we  entered  the  country  the  greater 
was  the  number,  with  many  and  very  beautiful  rivers,  marshes,  and. 
springs;  studded  with  luxuriant  forest  and  fruit  trees  of  various  kinds, 
which  produce  most  palatable  plums,  large  and  fine  grapes  in  great 
clusters  and  of  extremely  good  flavor,  like  those  of  Spain,  and  even 
better,  ....  abundance  of  roses,  strawberries  without  end,  small 
but  savory,  many  Castilian  partridges,  quails,  turkeys,  sandpipers, 
pheasants,  deer,  stags  or  elk  in  very  great  number,  and  even  one  kind 
of  them  as  large  and  developed  as  our  horses. 

Through  these  pleasant  and  most  fertile  fields  we  marched  during 
the  months  of  March,  April,  May,  and  the  kalends  of  June,  and  arrived 
at  a  large  river  which  they  call  Mischipi,  where  we  saw  the  first  In- 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  325 

dians  of  the  Escanxaques  nation,  who  might  be  to  the  number  of  3,000, 
most  warlike,  well  armed  and  equipped  in  their  manner,  who  were  go- 
ing to  attack  the  first  city  of  the  Quiviras,  who  are  their  enemies,  and 
are  destroying  themselves  by  continual  wars. 

After  entering  into  peace  with  us  these  Escanxaques  gave  notice 
of  Quivira  and  its  peoples,  and  they  marched  with  us  that  day  up  by 
the  borders  of  that  beautiful  river,  which  is  rapid,  and  forms  in  parts 
very  delightful  and  beautiful  prairies,  so  fertile  that  in  some  they 
gather  the  fruit  twice  a  year,  and  great  forests  in  parts  at  distances  of 
two,  four,  six,  and  ten  leagues,  and  strange  trees  not  seen  until  this 
place. 

From  this  point  we  turned  our  route  northward,  following  the  river 
which  drew  its  current  from  thence,  leaving  the  east  on  our  right,  and 
that  day  the  army  halted  in  the  prairies  by  the  river,  and  the  Escan- 
xaques Indians  lodged  somewhat  apart;  and  it  is  worth  noting  what 
they  did  that  evening,  which  was  their  going  out  to  the  number  of  six 
hundred  to  hunt  cibolas,  which  they  found  very  near,  and  in  less  than 
three  hours  they  returned,  each  bringing  one,  two,  and  some  three 
cows'  tongues  from  the  incredible  slaughter  which  they  made  of  them. 

The  next  day  the  army  marched,  and  after  going  four  leagues  we 
discovered  the  great  range  already  mentioned  which  ran  from  east 
to  north,  covered  with  smokes,  by  which  they  gave  notice  of  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Christian  army,  and  soon  after  we  discovered  the  great 
settlement  or  city  of  Quivira,  situated  on  the  widespread  prairies  of 
another  beautiful  river  which  came  from  the  range  to  enter  and  unite 
with  that  which  we  had  hitherto  followed. 

Before  crossing  the  great  river  which  served  us  as  a  guide,  and  in 
sight  of  the  city,  the  army  halted  in  the  prairie  thereof,  Don  Diego  hav- 
ing previously  ordered  the  Escanxaques  to  retire  and  not  enter  the  city 
till  his  Lordship  commanded  otherwise.  This  they  did,  though  against 
their  will,  because  they  wished  that  both  they  and  the  Senor  Adelantado 
with  his  soldiers  should  at  once  assault  the  city  with  fire  and  blood, 
and  destroy  it. 

So  numerous  were  the  people  who  appeared  before  the  great  settle- 
ment, men,  women,  and  children,  that  it  excited  wonder,  and  then 
seventy  head  chiefs  came  very  well  attired  in  their  style  with  neat 
chamois  and  buckskin,  and  caps  or  bonnets  of  ermine,  and  they  wel- 
comed the  Senor  Adelantado  with  the  greatest  marks  of  love  and  re- 
spect that  they  could,. 

His  Illustrious  Lordship  received  them  with  pleasure  and  ordered 
them  to  be  entertained,  and  he  gave  them  some  presents  with  his  ac- 
customed liberality,  endeavoring  to  quiet  their  minds,  which  were  dis- 
turbed by  the  alarm  which  they  had  felt  on  seeing  him  and  the 
Escanxaques,  their  avowed  enemies,  as  well  as  to  gain  their  good  will 
for  the  furtherance  of  his  expedition,  and  giving  them  to  understand 
the  friendly  intercourse  that  he  would  maintain  with  them,  and  from 
the  outset  impressing  this  on  them  not  only  by  words  but  also  by  most 
devoted  affection  and  example  ....  and  afterwards  his  Lord- 


326  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

ship  received  a  present  of  a  great  quantity  of  ermine,  buckskin,  chamois, 
marten,  otter,  beaver,  and  sable-skins,  and  a  quantity  of  Indian  corn  in 
grain  and  bread,  beans  and  pumpkins,  sandpipers,  turkeys,  partridges, 
and  rabbits,  and  much  fresh  fish  which  the  Indians  brought,  giving 
him  to  understand  that  he  should  receive  that  as  a  mark  of  their  good 
will  till  next  day,  when  he  might  enter  their  city,  which  was  on  the 
other  bank  of  the  rapid  river,  and  that  they  would  serve  him  with  much 
love  and  all  possible  hospitality. 

With  this  they  returned  to  their  houses  with  very  courteous  supplies 

for  the  governors  and  chiefs  of  the  city The  Senor  Adel- 

antado  detained  two  of  those  chiefs  that  evening  and  night  with  fair 
words  and  better  deeds;  they  were  examined  and  questioned  as  to 
their  land  and  the  qualities  of  it  and  of  its  tribes 

The  account  of  these  casiques  and  the  questions  of  Don  Diego  and 
the  Father  chaplains  lasted  till  midnight,  at  which  hour  they  were 
sent  to  sleep;  but  they,  seeing  themselves  alone  and  among  such  strange 
and  foreign  folk,  and  that  their  enemies,  the  Escanxaques,  were  so 
near,  fled  and  crossed  the  river  to  their  city,  which  at  sunrise  was  de- 
populated and  without  inhabitants,  because  their  enemies,  the  Escanxa- 
ques, without  being  observed  by  our  men,  slipped  off  and  attacked  the 
city,  killing,  burning,  and  destroying  all  they  could;  on  which  surprise 
his  Lordship  ordered  the  army  to  cross  the  river,  and  it  was  forded 
with  difficulty,  as  it  was  still  night,  and  he  encamped  at  the  entrance 
of  the  town,  which  is  situated  on  the  delightful  banks  of  another  river, 
which  runs  through  the  midst  of  it,  and  the  houses  and  streets  are  on 
both  banks.  The  shape  of  the  buildings  for  the  most  part  is  round, 
two,  three,  and  four  stories,  covered  with  straw  with  wonderful  skill, 
and  the  framework  of  Coleo,  Curcura,  or  Otate,  which  are  all  three 
names  of  a  solid  cane,  strong  and  full  of  knots,  of  which  walking- 
sticks  are  usually  made,  which  does  not  grow  in  warm  climates;  and, 
as  we  observed  in  what  we  saw,  they  plant  twice  a  year,  as  some 
fields  were  ready  to  harvest  and  others  were  planting.  We  could  find 
no  Indian  to  act  as  interpreter,  as  all  had  fled,  fearing  the  great  fury 
of  their  enemies  the  Escanxaques,  whom  they  supposed  to  be  favored 
by  and  in  alliance  with  our  men,  and  to  arrest  the  conflagration  of  the 
city  it  was  necessary  for  the  army  to  march  in  two  bodies  and  that 
the  one  with  the  Maese  de  Campo  should  spend  most  of  the  day  in  keep- 
ing back  the  Escanxaques. 

The  next  morning  the  army  marched  through  the  town  some  two 
leagues,  and,  having  counted  some  thousands  of  houses,  halted  on  the 
bank  of  another  river,  which  also  entered  it;  and  it  was  remarked  that 
every  quarter  of  a  league,  a  little  more  or  less,  highways  entered  the 
city  of  sixteen  paths  and  some  of  more,  well  beaten  and  even,  which 
came  down  from  the  lofty  range,  which  was  some  six  leagues  distant 
from  the  buildings. 

From  this  point  the  Senor  Ad^lantado  sent  a  squad  of  twenty-five 
soldiers  with  Sergeant  Major  Francis  de  Madrid  to  go  and  explore  all 
the  town,  without  their  being  able  to  reach  the  end  of  the  streets,  and 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  327 

when  furthest  on  they  discerned  more  of  the  town,  and  more  smokes 
on  the  ridge,  which  ran  along  the  right  side  of  the  city  towards  the 
north. 

Before  arriving  at  this  town  we  passed  many  very  large  rivers, 
....  and  most  of  these  rivers  very  deep  to  run  asequias  for  irri- 
gation, and  the  soil  black,  strong,  fertile,  and  covered  with  grass;  and 
in  conclusion  all  the  plain  from  the  city  of  Quivira  to  the  ridge,  which 
must  be  six  or  seven  leagues,  seemed  a  paradise;  and  Senor  Don  Diego, 
seeing  that  it  was  useless  to  follow  men  who  fled,  and  .  .  .  as  he 
had  no  orders  to  make  new  discoveries,  from  that  part  turned  back  to 
these  provinces  on  the  llth  of  June 

There  were  on  this  expedition  men  of  various  nations  in  Europe, 
Asia,  Africa,  and  America,  and  all  unanimously  declared  that  they  had 
never  seen  so  fertile,  pleasant,  and  agreeable  a  country  as  that.  .  .  . 

Prof.  Shea  closes  his  preface,  accompanying  this  transla- 
tion, with  the, following  remark: 

This  narrative  will  help  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  early 
Spanish  intercourse  with  Quivira,  and,  I  think,  shows  that  province 
to  have  been  north  of  the  Missouri  River. 

EXPEDITION  OF  SADDIVAR. 

In  the  year  1618  Maestre  de  Campo  Vincent  de  Saldivar 
had  made  a  journey  of  discovery  with  forty-seven  well  ap- 
pointed soldiers,  accompanied  by  the  Father  Friar  Lazarus 
Ximenez.  This  expedition,  as  narrated  also  by  Freytas,  passed 
through  several  populous  nations  to  the  end  of  the  Moq  and 
journeyed  through  uninhabited  countries  fifteen  days,  and  ar- 
rived at  the  Rio  de  Buena  Esperanza  (Good  Hope  river)  or 
Tison  river,  where  they  found  themselves  in  north  latitude 
36°  30';  and,  going  up  this  river  for  two  days  toward  the 
north  with  a  very  good  guide  who  offered  to  conduct  them, 
they  arrived  at  a  little  village,  and,  asking  information  of  the 
country  and  the  interior,  they  were  told  such  great  things  of 
it  as  those  in  the  west  on  the  coast  of  the  South  Sea  and 
California  had  told  them,  that  in  the  country  beyond  they 
would  find  "some  terrible  nations  of  giants,  so  huge  and  extra- 
ordinary that  one  of  our  men  on  horseback  was  small  compared 
to  them,  and  that  they  fired  very  large  arrows."  .It  appeared 
to  Saldivar  that  he  could  not  raise  sufficient  force  to  encounter 
such  a  multitude,  so  he  determined  to  return,  fearing  some 
misfortune  such  as  was  experienced  by  Captain  Humafia  and 
others;  and  although  Father  Lazarus  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  soldiers  opposed  this  determination,  they  could  not  prevail. 


328  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

Although  twenty-five  of  them  begged  permission  to  go,  the 
Maestre  de  Campo  was  not  willing  to  permit  it,  fearing  they 
would  all  be  lost,  and  commanded  that  they  should  go  no 
farther,  but  turn  back. 

DISCUSSION  OF  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RlVER. 

Did  Groseilliers  and  Radisson  discover  the  Mississippi 
river? 

This  voyage  is  the  first  by  eighteen  years  that  is  recorded, 
and  consequently  it  cannot  be  corroborated  by  any  con- 
temporaneous authority;  hence  we  must  rely  upon  what  the 
succeeding  authorities  say  to  corroborate  this  record. 

For  the  purpose  of  doing  this,  I  have  cited  the  "Relations 
of  the  Jesuits,"  Parkman's  series  of  histories  as  quoted  above, 
Marquette,  Hennepin,  and  the  Spanish  authorities,  which  are 
all  before  the  reader. 

At  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  this  voyage  the  mis- 
sionaries had  been  massacred,  and  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas 
had  been  driven  to  the  "end  of  the  world,"  and  a  condition  of 
starvation  confronted  the  people  of  Canada.  Groseilliers  had 
without  doubt  been  engaged  in  the  contraband  trade  with  the 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  at  the  time  of  their  dispersion,  and  was 
acquainted  with  the  Indians  that  had  come  with  the  canoes 
loaded  with  furs,  as  the  Father  Superior  has  advised  us.  The 
starving  condition  of  the  country  compelled  him  to  follow  the 
Indians.  He  was  quite  at  home  with  them,  and  on  more  con- 
fidential terms  with  them  than  with  the  Governor  or  the 
Jesuits.  The  return  of  Radisson  from  captivity  with  the  Iro- 
quois  was  a  very  opportune  event,  and  hence  the  proposition 
to  him  to  join  in  this  enterprise  to  know  the  people  of  the  west 
and  south. 

The  arrival  of  the  fleet  of  canoes  and  the  resolution  of  the 
Governor  and  the  Father  Superior  to  send  the  priests  and 
thirty  Frenchmen,  was  the  very  opportunity  they  would  nat- 
urally desire.  They  joined  the  Indians,  but  were  not  with  or 
rather  of  the  French  party. 

The  Indians  were  natives  of  the  River  Ottawa  and  Lake 
Huron,  and  had  fled  to  the  islands  of  Michilimackinac  and 
Green  Bay,  as  stated  in  "The  Jesuits  in  North  America."  The 
incidents  of  this  voyage  have  been  recited.  They  fought  the 
Iroquois  at  Mackinac,  made  a  treaty  with  the  nations  living 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  329 

on  the  shores  of  the  bay,  the  Pottawattamies  and  Menomonees, 
and  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas,  became  acquainted  with  the  Fire 
Nation,  and  learned  from  their  neighbors  of  the  great  and  war- 
like nations,  the  Nadoneceronons  and  the  Christinos. 

All  the  Indians  who  have  been  mentioned  are  found  located 
in  the  exact  places  given  in  the  narrative,  on  the  map  of  "Coun- 
tries traversed  by  Marquette,  Hennepin  and  La  Salle,"  which 
Parkman  has  given  in  "La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great 
West" 

"The  Relations  of  the  Jesuits,"  "Pioneers  in  the  New 
World,"  and  "The  Old  Regime  in  Canada,"  are  relied  upon  to 
confirm  all  that  Radisson  has  said  of  this  voyage  to  the  spring 
of  1655,  when  they  started  down  the  Mississippi  with  the 
Hurons,  Ottawas,  and  Fire  Nation.  The  great  beauty  of  the 
country  is  still  self-evident  to  the  people  who  live  in  it. 

The  fish,  cattle,  stags,  birds  and  productions  described  by 
Radisson,  Marquette,  and  Hennepin,  are  not  found  anywhere 
else  in  America;  and  the  authorities  cited  from  the  Spanish 
expeditions  most  triumphantly  corroborate  what  has  been 
said  by  Radisson  and  Marquette  as  to  the  climate,  productions, 
and  people  of  the  southern  part  of  the  river  and  country. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  the  language  of  each,  for  the 
reader  can  and  will  compare  the  different  accounts  for  him- 
self. The  only  part  that  is  especially  entitled  to  review  is 
what  is  said  of  the  visit  of  Radisson  up  the  Great  River.  After 
turning  back  from  the  salt  water  he  speaks  of  many  sorts  of 
people,  and  says: 

By  the  persuasion  of  some  of  them  we  went  into  the  great  river 
that  divides  itself  in  two,  where  the  Hurons  with  some  of  the  Ottawas 

and  the  wild  men  that  had  wars  with  them  had  retired 

This  nation  have  wars  against  those  of  the  forked  river.  It  is  so  called 
because  it  has  two  branches,  the  one  towards  the  west,  the  other  to- 
wards the  south,  which  we  believe  runs  towards  Mexico,  by  the  tokens 
they  gave  us. 

It  is  not  presumption  to  say  that  the  Great  River  was  the 
Missouri,  and  that  the  fork  or  branch  which  runs  towards 
Mexico  was  the  Platte.  Radisson  also  says: 

Being  among  these  people,  they  told  us  the  prisoners  they  take  tell 
them  that  they  have  wars  against  a  nation,  against  men  that  build 
great  cabins,  and  have  great  beards,  and  have  such  knives  as  we  have. 
....  They  showed  us  one  of  that  nation  that  was  taken  the  year 
before.  We  understood  him  not;  he  was  much  more  tawny  than  they 


330  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

with  whom  we  were We  were  informed  of  that  nation  that 

live  in  the  other  river.  These  were  men  of  extraordinary  height  and 
bigness,  that  made  us  believe  they  had  no  communication  with  them. 
.  .  .  .  They  have  fruit  as  big  as  the  heart  of  an  oriniak  [elk], 
which  grows  on  vast  trees  which  are  three  armsful  in  compass.  .  .  . 
They  have  a  kind  of  drink  that  makes  them  mad  for  a  whole  day. 

The  great  cabins  were  the  houses  of  four  and  five  stories 
described  by  Father  de  Nica  and  by  Coronado  in  his  report  to 
the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  and  were  of  the  kind  delineated  by  our 
late  fellow  citizen,  Gen.  J.  H.  Simpson,  in  his  report  of  his 
expedition  to  the  Navajo  country  (in  the  edition  published  by 
Lippincott,  Grambo  and  Co.,  in  1852).  The  fruit  was  the  nuts 
of  pine  trees,  mentioned  by  Father  de  Mca,  which  grow  in 
great  abundance  in  the  mountains  of  Mexico  and  California, 
growing  upon  trees  that  are  from  forty  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  high  and  of  great  dimension.  The  nuts  are  in  the 
cones  of  the  trees,  which  are  from  two  to  five  inches  long. 
Many  thousand  pounds  of  these  nuts  are  sold  to  Mexicans  to- 
day. The  tawny  prisoner  was  an  African  slave  taken  from  the 
Spaniards  with  big  beards  and  knives  (swords).  They  found 
arrows  and  dishes  of  good  workmanship  which  excited  the  ad- 
miration of  the  voyagers,  and  learned  of  a  drink  that  made 
them  mad  a  whole  day,  which  was  an  alcoholic  distillation  of 
pulque,  a  produce  of  the  maguey  plant.  It  is  still  a  favorite 
beverage  of  Mexicans  and  Indians  alike,  after  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years'  use,  and  is  called  mescal  or  aguardiente.  The  fable 
of  the  men  of  extraordinary  height  and  bigness  will  be  ac- 
counted for  by  turning  back  to  the  expedition  of  Saldivar. 

Finally,  there  are  millions  of  men  living  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  who  can  confirm  what  is  said  regarding  its 
climate  and  natural  productions ;  and  thousands  of  old  settlers 
are  still  living  who  have  seen  the  painted  ox  hides,  buffs,  stags, 
goats,  turkeys,  and  other  game  mentioned,  while  the  fishermen 
of  Lake  Pepin  still  occasionally  catch  a  shovel-nosed  sturgeon. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  evidence  of  the  discovery  of  the 
Mississippi  by  Groseilliers  and  Radisson  is  quite  sufficient  to 
satisfy  the  most  skeptical. 

CONTINUATION  OF  RADISSON'S  THIRD  VOYAGE. 

On  page  1 54  is  given  an  account  of  a  war  between  the  Sault 
(Ojibways)  and  Christines,  resulting  in  peace  and  confederacy 
between  them,  in  order  to  be  able  to  defend  themselves  from 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  331 

the  Iroquois  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Sioux  on  the  other.     The 
narrative  continues  as  follows: 

We  arrived  then  where  the  nation  of  the  Sault  was,  where  we  found 
some  Frenchmen  that  came  up  with  us,  who  thanked  us  kindly  for  to 
come  and  visit  them.  The  wild  Octanaks  (Ottawas)  that  came  with  us 
found  some  of  their  nation  slaves,  who  were  also  glad  to  see  them. 
For  all  they  were  slaves,  they  had  meat  enough,  which  they  had  not 
in  their  own  country  so  plentiful,  being  no  huntsmen,  but  altogether 
fishers.  As  for  those  towards  the  north,  they  are  most  expert  in  hunt- 
ing, and  live  upon  nothing  else  the  most  part  of  the  year.  We  were 
long  there  before  we  got  acquainted  with  those  that  we  desired  so 
much,  and  they  in  like  manner  had  a  fervent  desire  to  know  us,  as  we 
them.  Here  comes  a  company  of  Christinos  from  the  Bay  of  the  .North 
Sea,  to  live  more  at  ease  in  the  middle  of  woods  and  forests,  by  reason 
they  might  trade  with  those  of  the  SSault  and  have  the  conveniency  to 
kill  more  beasts. 

There  we  passed  the  winter  and  learned  the  particularities  that 

since  we  saw  by  experience The  Christinos  had  skill  in 

that  game  above  the  rest 

We  did  what  we  could  to  have  correspondence  with  that  warlike 
nation  and  reconcile  them  with  the  Christinos.  We  went  not  there  that 
winter.  Many  were  slain  of  both  sides  the  summer  last.  The  wounds 
were  yet  fresh,  wherefore  it  was  hard  to  conclude  peace  between  them. 
.  .  .  .  At  last  we  declared  our  mind  first  to  those  of  the  Sault, 
encouraging  those  of  the  north  that  we  are  their  brethren,  and  that  we 
would  come  back  and  force  their  enemy  to  peace,  or  that  we  would 
help  against  them.  We  made  gifts  one  to  another,  and  thwarted  a  land 
of  almost  fifty  leagues  before  the  snow  was  melted 

We  arrived,  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  us,  men  and  women,  to 
a  river  side  where  we  stayed  three  weeks  making  boats.  Here  we 
wanted  not  fish.  During  that  time  we  made  feasts  at  a  high  rate.  So 
we  refreshed  ourselves  from  our  labors.  In  that  time  we  took  notice 
that  the  buds  of  trees  began  to  spring,  which  made  us  make  more  haste 
and  be  gone.  We  went  up  that  river  eight  days  till  we  came  to  a  na- 
tion called  Pontonatenick  and  Matonenock,— that  is,  the  Scratchers. 
There  we  got  some  Indian  meal  and  corn  from  those  two  nations,  which 
lasted  us  till  we  came  to  the  first  landing  isle. 

The  Christinos  are  now  in  readiness  to  leave  for  their  home 
in  their  boats  that  it  has  taken  one  hundred  and  fifty  men 
and  women  three  weeks  to  build.  Who  are  they,  and  where 
is  their  home,  and  where  is  the  "first  landing  isle?"  First  in 
order,  that  there  shall  not  be  any  confusion  about  the  name 
of  this  tribe  of  Indians,  I  here  insert  a  paragraph  from  an  ex- 
tract from  Alexander  Henry's  "Travels  and  Adventures  in 
Canada,"  which  will  be  found  further  on : 


v 


332  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

,On  the  sixteenth  [of  August],  we  reached  Lake  Winipegon,  at  the 
entrance  of  which  is  a  large  village  of  Christinaux,  a  nation  which 
I  had  not  previously  seen.  The  name  is  variously  written:  as  Cris- 
tinaux,  Kinistineaux,  Killistinoes,  and  Killistinaux. 

Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  his  "General  History  of  the 
Fur  Trade,"  on  pages  xci.-cxvi,  gives  an  extended  account  of 
the  Knisteneaux  Indians.  It  is  quite  too  long  for  insertion 
here,  but  I  make  a  quotation  of  that  part  relating  to  the 
country  they  occupy. 

These  people  are  spread  over  a  vast  extent  of  country.  Their  lan- 
guage is  the  same  as  that  of  the  people  who  inhabit  the  coast  of  British 
America  on  the  Atlantic,  with  the  exception  of  the  Esquimaux,  and 
continues  along  the  coast  of  Labrador  and  the  gulf  and  banks  of  St. 
Lawrence  to  Montreal.  The  line  then  follows  the  Ottawa  river  to  its 
source;  and  continues  from  there  nearly  west  along  the  high  lands 
which  divide  the  waters  that  fall  into  Lake  Superior  and  Hudson's 
Bay.  It  then  proceeds  until  it  strikes  the  middle  part  of  the  river  Wini- 
pic,  following  that  water  through  the  Lake  Winipic,  to  the  discharge 
of  the  Saskatchiwine  into  it;  from  thence  it  accompanies  the  latter  to 
Fort  George,  when  the  line,  striking  by  the  head  of  the  Beaver  river 
to  the  Elk  river,  runs  along  its  banks  to  its  discharge  in  the  Lake  of 
the  Hills;  from  which  it  may  be  carried  back  east  to  the  Isle  a  la 
Crosse,  and  so  on  to  Churchill  by  the  Missinipi.  The  whole  of  the  tract 
between  this  line  and  Hudson's  Bay  and  Straits  (except  that  of  the 
Esquimaux  in  the  latter),  may  be  said  to  be  exclusively  the  country  of 
the  Knisteneaux. 

On  page  liii,  which  is  a  part  of  the  description  of  the  canoe 
route  from  Grand  Portage  to  lake  Winnipeg,  we  find  this  addi- 
tional information. 

The  portage  of  Lac  Bois  Blanc  ....  is  one  hundred  and 
eighty  paces.  Then  follows  the  lake  of  that  name,  but  I  think  im- 
properly so  called,  as  the  natives  name  it  the  Lake  Pascau  Minac 
Sagaigan,  or  Dry  Berries.  Before  the  smallpox  ravaged  this  country 
and  completed  what  the  Nodowasis,  in  their  warfare,  had  gone  far  to 
accomplish,  the  destruction  of  its  inhabitants,  the  population  was  very 
numerous.  This  was  also  a  favorite  part,  where  they  made  their 
canoes,  etc.,  the  lake  abounding  in  fish,  the  country  round  it  being 
plentifully  supplied  with  various  kinds  of  game,  and  the  rocky  ridges, 
that  form  the  boundary  of  the  water,  covered  with  a  variety  of  berries. 

When  the  French  were  in  possession  of  this  country,  they  had  sev- 
eral trading  establishments  on  the  islands  and  banks  of  this  lake. 
Since  that  period,  the  few  people  remaining,  who  were  of  the  Algonquin 
nation,  could  hardly  find  subsistence;  game  having  become  so  scarce 
that  they  depended  principally  for  food  upon  fish,  and  wild  rice  which 
grows  spontaneously  in  these  parts. 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  333 

I  cannot  omit  an  extract  from  chap.  IX.,  pp.  137-140,  of  W. 
W.  Warren's  "History  of  the  Ojibways"  (volume  5  of  the  pub- 
lications of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society).  Mr.  Warren's 
History  was  written  during  the  years  1851  to  1853. 

A  few  years  after  the  great  convocation  of  northwestern  tribes 
[1671],  and  treaty  with  the  French  nation  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  a  com- 
pany of  French  traders  proceeded  up  the  west  coast  of  Lake  Superior, 
and  built  a  trading  post  or  "fort"  (as  these  establishments  were  termed 
in  those  days),  on  a  beautiful  bay  situated  on  the  lake  shore  a  few  miles 
above  ....  Pigeon  river,  and  known  as  "Grand  Portage," 
.  .  .  .  from  the  fact  that  a  portage  of  ten  miles  is  here  made  to 
Pigeon  river,  to  avoid  the  rapids  which  preclude  navigation  even  for 
canoes,  for  many  miles  above  the  entry  of  this  "bad  winding  stream." 

This  is  probably  the  first  permanent  post  erected  by  the  white  man 
in  the  region  of  country  comprised  within  the  present  limits  of  Minne- 
sota Territory.  It  was  built,  as  near  as  I  can  judge  from  the  informa- 
tion of  the  Indians  and  old  traders,  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago. 

The  great  quantity  of  beaver  existing  at  this  period  on  all  the 
streams  emptying  into  Lake  Superior,  and  especially  throughout  the 
country  watered  by  Kah-man-a-tig-wa-yah  and  its  tributaries,  together 
with  the  great  docility,  harmless  character  and  friendly  disposition  of 
the  section  of  the  Ojibways  occupying  this  district,  who  comprise  the 
northern  division  of  the  tribe,  were,  without  doubt,  the  leading  causes 
which  induced  the  French  here  to  build  their  first  "fort"  in  preference 
to  any  other  spot  on  Lake  Superior. 

From  this  point,  also,  a  vast  region  of  unexplored  country  became 
open  to  their  indefatigable  enterprise,  in  a  northern  direction.  It  is 
by  this  route  that  they  first  became  acquainted  with  the  remote  north- 
ern tribes  of  the  Ke-nis-te-no  and  Assineboins,  with  whom  they  soon 
opened  a  communication. 

Long  before  this,  the  Ojibways  of  the  northern  division  had  already 
reached,  in  their  northern  progress,  the  country  of  the  Ke-nis-te-no  and 
Assineboins,  the  former  of  whom  belonged  to  the  same  stock  as  them- 
selves, and  though  the  latter  were  of  Dakota  extraction,  yet  finding 
the  two  tribes  in  close  alliance  and  carrying  on  a  war  against  the  Da- 
kotas,  they  entered  their  wigwams  in  peace,  and  joined  in  alliance  with 
them. 

I  recollect  of  having  read  in  some  book  that  the  Assineboins  had 
been  forced  into  an  alliance  by  the  Ke-nis-te-no  who  first  received  fire- 
arms from  the  British  by  the  route  of  Hudson's  Bay.  This  led  me  to 
make  close  inquiries  on  this  subject,  and  I  find  that  Indian  tradition 
says  differently.  Esh-ke-bug-e-coshe,  the  present  aged  and  respected 
chief  of  the  Pillager  Ojibways,  lived  many  years  in  his  youth  among 
these  tribes;  and  he  gives  the  following  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  this  singular  alliance,  between  an  Algic  and  a  Dakota  tribe, 
first  happened. 


334  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

"Many  winters  before  they  became  aware  of  the  presence  of  the 
white  man  on  this  great  island,  the  Yankton  division  of  the  great  Da- 
kota tribe  resided  on  the  borders  of  the  great  western  prairies  near  the 
Red  River  of  the  North.  They  numbered  many  hundred  lodges,  and 
their  warriors  prevailed  against  the  Ke-nis-te-no  toward  the  north  and 
west,  and  caused  them  to  keep  under  the  shade  of  the  forests  and 
swamps  which  covered  their  hunting  grounds.  At  one  time  it  hap- 
pened, as  it  often  does,  that  two  young  men  quarrelled  about  a  womanf 
and  one  in  the  heat  of  passion  and  jealousy  took  the  life  of  the  other. 
Both  belonged  to  numerous  and  important  families,  and  in  accordance 
with  the  law  of  'blood  for  blood,'  notwithstanding  his  relatives  wished 
to  buy  him  off,  the  murderer  was  killed The  great  Yank- 
ton  camp  became  a  scene  of  excitement,  and  murders  occurred  daily, 
till  the  weaker  party,  consisting  of  a  thousand  lodges,  left  the  main 
camp  and  retired  by  themselves,  to  pursue  their  hunt  for  meat  to  feed 
their  women  and  children. 

"[This  strife  was  continued  until]  the  smaller  camp,~to  prevent 
their  total  eventual  extinction  ....  moved  towards  the  country 
of  the  Ke-nis-te-no,  with  whom  they  had  always  waged  a  never-ending 
warfare;  and  preferring  to  trust  themselves  to  their  generosity  rather 
than  to  the  vindictive  hatred  of  their  own  kindred,  they  collected  the 
women  and  children  whom  in  former  years  they  had  captured  from 
them  and  adopted  in  their  families.  These  they  placed  on  horses,  and, 
loaded  with  presents,  they  were  sent  to  the  great  Ke-nis-te-no  town 
.  .  .  .  with  the  peace  pipe  of  the  seceding  Dakotas,  requesting  to 
be  received  'in  their  lodges'  and  protected  from  the  'tire  that  raged  in 
their  rear,  on  the  western  prairies.' 

"The  manly  and  compassionate  Ke-nis-te-no  sent  forty  of  their 
warriors  to  receive  them  into  their  country,  and  escort  them  into  their 
village.  A  grand  council  was  held,  ....  and  they  were  ac- 
cepted as  allies  and  brothers Their  united  prowess  eventu- 
ally drove  the  Dakotas  from  the  northern  plains Shortly 

after  this  first  alliance,  the  Ojibway  made  his  appearance  among  themf 
and  he  too  became  a  party  to  the  mutual  compact  which  has  been  kept 
unbroken  to  this  day." 

In  Prof.  Shea's  "Life  of  Marquette,"  is  found  another  refer- 
ence to  the  Christinos  and  their  home  (Historical  Collections- 
of  Louisiana,  Part  4,  page  Ivii): 

The  Kilistinaux  are  a  nomad  people,  whose  rendezvous  we  do  not 
yet  know.  It  is  northwest  of  the  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  they 
are  always  in  the  woods,  and  live  solely  by  their  bow.  They  passed 
by  the  mission  where  I  was  last  fall  in  two  hundred  canoes,  coming 
to  buy  merchandise  and  corn,  after  which  they  go  to  winter  in  the 
woods;  in  the  spring  I  saw  them  again  on  the  shore  of  the  lake. 

This  quotation  is  taken  from  the  "Relations  of  the  Jesuits/' 
1669-70,  Ottawa  part.  This  mission  was  located  at  La  Pointe, 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  335 

near  Bajfield  and  Ashland,  Wis.,  and  of  course  on  the  south 
side  of  Lake  Superior;  and  we  think  that  the  one  hundred 
and  fifty  Christinos  crossed  the  lake  to  their  home  by  way  of 
the  Grand  Portage  or  Pigeori  river  to  lake  Sagaigan  and  Lac 
Bois  Blanc,  which  Mackenzie  described  in  its  palmy  days 
while  in  possession  of  the  French.  It  is  a  reasonable  presump- 
tion that  on  the  islands  of  the  Sagaigan  (now  called  lake 
Saganaga)  was  the  "first  landing  isle,"  after  the  trying  and 
arduous  voyage  across  the  lake;  and  it  would  be  in  their  own 
country.  All  the  country  to  the  south  of  what  became  the 
canoe  route  of  the  traders  belonged  to  the  Sioux,  their  deadly 
enemies. 

We  now  resume  Radisson's  narrative  of  the  voyage: 

There  we  were  well  received  again.  We  made  gifts  to  the  elders  to 
encourage  the  young  men  to  bring  us  down  to  the  French;  but  mightily 
mistaken,  for  they  would  reply,  "Should  you  bring  us  to  be  killed? 
The  Iroquois  are  everywhere  about  the  river  and  undoubtedly  will  de- 
stroy us  if  we  go  down,  and  afterwards  our  wives  and  those  that  stayed 
behind.  Be  wise,  brethren,  and  offer  not  to  go  down  this  year  to  the 
French.  Let  us  keep  our  lives."  We  make  many  private  suits,  but  all 
in  vain.  They  vexed  us  most  that  we  had  given  away  most  of  our 
merchandise  and  swapped  a  great  deal  for  castors  Moreover,  they 
made  no  great  harvest,  being  but  newly  there.  Besides,  they  were  no 
great  huntsmen.  Our  journey  was  broken  till  the  next  year,  and  must 
perforce. 

That  summer  I  went  a  hunting,  and  my  brother  stayed  where  he 
was  welcome  and  put  up  a  great  deal  of  Indian  corn  that  was  given 
him.  He  intended  to  furnish  the  wild  men  that  were  to  go  down  to 
the  French,  if  they  had  not  enough.  The  wild  men  did  not  perceive 
this;  for  if  they  wanted  any,  we  could  hardly  keep  it  for  our  use.  The 
winter  passed  away  in  good  correspondence  one  with  another.  We  sent 
ambassadors  to  the  nations  that  used  to  go  down  to  the  French,  which 
rejoiced  them  the  more  and  made  us  pass  that  year  with  a  greater 
pleasure,  saving  that  my  brother  fell  into  the  falling  sickness,  and 
many  were  sorry  for  it.  That  proceeded  only  from  long  stay  in  a  new 
discovered  country,  and  the  idleness  contributed  much  to  it.  There  is 
nothing  comparable  to  exercise.  It  is  the  only  remedy  for  such  dis- 
eases. After  he  languished  awhile  God  gave  him  his  health  again. 

The  desire  that  everyone  had  to  go  down  to  the  French  made  them 
earnestly  look  out  for  castors.  They  have  not  so  many  there  as  in  the 
north  part,  so  in  the  beginning  of  spring  many  came  to  our  isle.  There 
were  no  less,  I  believe,  than  five  hundred  men  that  were  willing  to 
venture  themselves.  The  corn  that  my  brother  kept  did  us  a  world  of 

service When  we  were  ready  to  depart,  here  comes  strange 

Dews  of  the  defeat  of  the  Hurons,  which  I  thought  would  put  off  the 

in— 3 


336  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

voyage.  There  was  a  council  held,  and  most  of  them  were  against  the 
going  down  to  the  French,  saying  that  the  Iroquois  were  to  bar  this 
year,  and  the  best  way  was  to  stay  till  the  following  year.  And  now 
the  enemy,  seeing  himself  frustrated  of  his  expectation,  would  not 
stay  longer,  thinking  that  we  were  resolved  never  more  to  go  down,  and 
that  the  next  year  there  would  be  a  bigger  company  and  better  able  to 
oppose  an  enemy.  My  brother  and  I,  seeing  ourselves  all  out  of  hopes 
of  our  voyage,  without  our  corn,  which  was  already  bestowed,  and 
without  any  merchandise,  or  scarce  having  one  knife  betwixt  us  both, 
so  we  were  in  a  great  apprehension  lest  the  Hurons  should,  as  they 
have  done  often  when  the  Fathers  were  in  the  country,  kill  a  French- 
man. 

Seeing  the  equipage  ready  and  many  more  that  thought  long  to 
depart  thence  for  merchandise,  we  upon  this  resolved  to  call  a  public 
council  in  the  place;  which  the  elders  hearing,  came  and  advised  us 
not  to  undertake  it,  giving  many  fair  words,  saying:  "Brethren,  why 
are  you  such  enemies  of  yourselves  to  put  yourselves  in  the  hands  of 
those  that  wait  for  you?  They  will  destroy  you  and  carry  you  away 
captives.  Will  you  have  your  brethren  destroyed  that  love  you,  being 
slain?  Who  then  will  come  up  and  baptize  our  children?  Stay  till  the 
next  year,  and  then  you  are  like  to  have  the  number  of  six  hundred 
men  with  you.  Then  you  may  freely  go  without  intermission.  Ye 
shall  take  the  Church  along  with  you,  and  the  fathers  and  mothers 
will  send  their  children  to  be  taught  in  the  way  of  truth  of  the  Lord." 
Our  answer  was  that  we  will  speak  in  public,  which  granted,  the  day 
appointed  is  come.  There  gather  above  eight  hundred  men  to  see  who 
should  have  the  glory  in  a  round.  They  sat  down  on  the  ground.  We 
desired  silence.  The  elders  being  in  the  middle,  and  we  in  their  mid- 
dle, my  brother  began  to  speak.  "Who  am  I?  am  I  a  foe,  or  a  friend? 
If  I  am  a  foe,  why  did  you  suffer  me  to  live  so  long  among  you?  If 
I  am  a  friend,  and  if  you  take  so  to  be,  hearken  to  what  1  shall  say. 
You  know,  my  uncles  and  brethren,  that  I  hazarded  my  life  going  up 
with  you.  If  I  have  no  courage,  why  did  you  not  tell  me  at  my  first 
coming  here?  It'  you  bare  more  wit  than  we,  why  did  you  not  use  it 
by  preserving  your  knives,  your  hatchets,  and  your  guns,  that  you  had 
from  the  French?  You  will  see,  if  the  enemy  will  set  upon  you,  that 
you  will  be  trapped  like  castors  in  a  trap.  How  will  you  defend  your- 
selves like  men?  That  is  not  courageous  to  let  yourselves  be  caught 
like  beasts.  How  will  you  defend  your  villages?  with  castor  skins V 
How  will  you  defend  your  wives  and  children  from  the  enemy's  hands?" 

Then  my  brother  made  me  stand  up,  saying,  "Show  them  the  way 
to  make  wars  if  they  are  able  to  uphold  it."  I  took  a  gown  of  castor 
skins  that  one  of  them  had  upon  his  shoulder  and  did  beat  him  with 
it.  I  asked  the  others  if  I  was  a  soldier.  "Those  are  the  arms  that 

kill,  and  not  your  robes Do  not  you  know  the  French  way? 

We  are  used  to  fight  with  arms  and  not  with  robes.  You  say  that  the 
Iroquois  wait  for  you,  because  some  of  your  men  were  killed.  It  is 
only  to  make  you  stay  until  you  are  quite  out  of  stock,  that  they  dis- 


THE   DISCOVERY    OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  337 

patch  you  with  ease.  Do  you  think  that  the  French  will  coine  up  here 
when  the  greater  part  of  you  are  slain,  by  your  own  fault?  You  know 
they  cannot  come  up  without  you.  Shall  they  come  to  baptize  your 
dead?  Shall  your  children  learn  to  be  slaves  among  the  Iroquois  for 
their  fathers'  cowardness?  You  call  me  an  Iroquois.  Have  not  you 
seen  me  disposing  my  life  with  you?  Who  has  given  you  your  life,  if 
not  the  French?  ....  If  you  will  deceive  them,  you  must  not 
think  they  will  come  another  time  for  shy  words  nor  desire.  You  have 
spoken  first,  do  what  you  will.  For  my  own  part,  I  will  venture  choos- 
ing to  die  like  a  man  rather  than  live  like  a  beggar.  Having  not  where- 
withal to  defend  myself,  farewell;  I  have  my  sack  of  corn  ready.  Take 
all  my  castors.  I  sihall  live  without  you."  And  then  1  departed  that 
company. 

This  very  remarkable  speech  entirely  changed  the  purpose 
of  the  Indians,  and  they  resolved  to  go.  Their  wives  got  their 
bundles  ready. 

Our  equipage  was  ready  in  six  days.  We  embarked  ourselves.  We 
were  in  number  about  five  hundred,  all  stout  men.  We  had  with  us  a 
great  store  of  castors'  skins.  We  came  to  the  south.  We  now  go  to 
the  north,  to  overtake  a  band  of  men  that  went  before  to  give  notice 
to  others.  We  passed  the  lake  without  danger.  We  wanted  nothing, 
having  good  store  of  corn  and  nets  to  catch  fish,  which  are  plentiful 
in  the  rivers At  last  we  are  out  of  the  lakes. 

Each  one  leaves  and  hides  something  till  their  return,  and 
to  lighten  the  labor  down  the  Ottawa.  There  are  nearly  six 
pages  of  description  of  their  voyage  down  the  Ottawa  and 
accounts  of  fights  with  Iroquois.  After  the  Iroquois  left  them 
they  turned  to  come  to  their  journey's  end,  and  went  down  the 
swift  stream  without  making  any  carriage.  The  canoe  in 
which  Radisson's  brother  was,  with  several  of  the  wild  men, 
turned  over  in  the  rapids,  and  they  were  in  great  peril.  The 
brother  (Groseilliers)  lost  his  book  of  notations  of  the  last 
year,  but  none  of  the  beaver  skins. 

The  Iroquois  got  a  great  way  before  us,  not  well  satisfied  to  have 
stayed  for  us,  having  lost  seven  of  their  men;  two  of  them  were  not 
nimble  enough,  for  our  bullets  and  arrows  made  them  stay  for  good  and 
all.  Seven  of  our  men  were  sick,  who  had  barely  escaped  from  being 
drowned,  and  two  were  wounded  by  the  Iroquois. 

The  next  day  we  went  on  without  any  delay  or  encounter 

We  came  to  Quebec,  where  we  are  saluted  with  the  thundering  of  the 
guns  and  batteries  of  the  fort,  and  of  the  three  ships  that  were  then 
at  anchor,  which  would  have  gone  back  to  France  without  castors  if 
we  had  not  come.  We  were  well  treated  for  five  days.  The  Governot 


338  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

made  gifts  and  sent  two  brigantines  to  bring  us  to  the  Three  Riyers, 
where  we  arrived  the  second  day.  On  the  fourth  day  they  went  away. 

That  was  the  end  of  our  three  years'  voyage  and  a  few  months. 
After  so  much  pain  and  danger  God  was  so  merciful  as  to  bring  as  back 
safe  to  our  dwelling,  where  the  one  was  made  much  of  by  his  wife, 
the  other  by  his  friends  and  kindred 

They  went  away  the  next  day,  and  we  stayed  at  home  at  rest  that 
year.  My  brother  and  I  considered  whether  we  should  discover  what 
we  had  seen  or  no;  and  because  we  had  not  a  full  and  whole  discovery, 
which  was  that  we  have  not  been  in  the  Bay  of  the  North,  not  knowing 
anything  but  by  the  report  of  the  wild  Christinos,  we  would  make  no 
mention  ol  it  for  fear  that  those  wild  men  should  tell  us  a  fib.  We 
would  have  made  a  discovery  of  it  ourselves  and  have  an  assurance, 
before  we  should  discover  anything  of  it. 

My  wish  to  make  this  paper  as  .short  as  is  practicable,  with 
making  it  intelligible,  prevents  my  repeating  the  text  of  the 
story  or  quotations.  The  extracts  made  from  Alexander 
Henry's  Travels  and  from  Radisson  give  these  Indians  the 
name  Christinos.  Warren  calls  them  Kenistenos;  and  Sir 
Alexander  Mackenzie,  Knisteneaux.  All  refer  to  the  same 
tribe  and  place  them  at  the  same  home,  north  of  lake  Su- 
perior; and,  of  course,  the  only  way  to  get  there  was  by 
crossing  the  lake  to  Grand  Portage  and  by  way  of  the  Groseil- 
liers  river,  mentioned  by  Henry  in  his  description  of  the  canoe 
route  of  the  fur  trade  in  17Y5.  Franquelin's  map  of  lake 
Superior  in  1688  has  located  this  river  as  entering  the  lake 
near  the  point  now  called  Grand  Portage.  (For  a  copy  of  this 
map  see  page  230,  vol.  4,  of  the  "Narrative  and  Critical  History 
of  America.")  The  extracts  from  Henry's  Travels  and  Mac- 
kenzie's "General  History  of  the  Fur  Trade"  will  make  this 
whole  country  familiar  to  the  reader  and  will  locate  the  home 
of  the  Christinos  and  Sioux  without  mistake.  Mackenzie's 
description  of  Lac  Bois  Blanc  and  Lake  Pascau  Minac  Sagai- 
gan,  or  Dry  Berries,  indicates  an  Indian  paradise  which  would 
be  the  location  of  the  "first  landing  isle." 

The  assumption  that  the  Indians  and  Frenchmen  crossed 
lake  Superior  in  their  canoes  may  be  a  little  too  much  for 
the  credulity  of  some  persons.  For  the  purpose  of  removing  all 
misapprehension  on  that  point,  I  insert  a  paragraph  from  the 
history  of  the  "Birch  Bark  Canoe"  to  be  found  further  on,  taken 
from  a  pamphlet  called  "Peace  River,  a  Canoe  Voyage  from 
Hudson's  Bay  to  the  Pacific,  by  the  late  Sir  George  Simpson 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI    EIVER.  339 

(Governor,  Hon.  Hudson's  Bay  Company),  in  1828."     On  page 
41,  Note  II,  "Light  Canoes,"  we  read: 

The  canoe  du  Maitre  was  of  six  fathoms,  measured  within,  and 
the  canoe  du  Nord  about  four,  more  or  less.  The  ordinary  crew  for 
the  former  was  sixteen  or  eighteen,  and  for  the  latter  eight  or  nine. 
The  larger  could  stand  any  storm  in  Lakes  Huron  and  Superior,  but 
it  was  ever  the  habit  of  voyage  to  avoid  the  encounter  as  much  as 
possible.  Their  ordinary  load  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  pieces  of 
ninety  pounds  each,  say  five  tons,  with  men,  and  passengers'  baggage. 
They  always  carried  passengers,  say  from  four  to  eight  or  even  more 
in  case  of  children.  I  never  heard  of  such  a  canoe  being  wrecked,  or 
upset,  or  swamped;  they  swam  like  ducks.  If  overtaken,  as  was  often 
the  case,  in  a  long  traverse  from  jx>int  to  point,  or  across  large  bays 
in  the  big  Lakes,  the  heavy  "parla"  [red  canvas  oilcloth]  used  to  be 
thrown  over  the  goods  as  a  storm  deck,  and  then  skilled  strength  and 
pluck,  with  the  trusty  bark,  did  the  work. 

This  extract  was  taken  from  the  journal  of  the  late  chief 
factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Archibald  McDonald, 
who  accompanied1  Sir  George  Simpson  on  this  voyage, — a  man 
during  all  his  life  engaged  in  the  fur  trade.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  text  is  intelligible  enough  without  remark  to  the 
close  of  the  Third  Voyage. 

RADISSON'S  FOURTH  VOYAGE. 

The  Fourth  Voyage  commenced  in  the  summer  of  1658, 
after  the  brothers  had  stayed  at  home  for  a  year;  and,  as  we 
shall  see,  Badisson  gives  a  more  satisfactory  and  intelligible 
account  of  the  places  they  visited,  and  the  incidents  are  more 
distinctly  stated.  I  shall  omit  much  that  would  be  interest- 
ing, but  will  not  omit  such  parts  as  I  deem  necessary  to  show 
how  these  men  became  entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  intro- 
duced trade  and  commerce  in  Minnesota. 

In  the  spring  following  we  were  in  hopes  to  meet  some  company, 
having  been  so  fortunate  in  the  year  before.  Now  during  the  winter, 
whether  it  was  that  my  brother  revealed  to  his  wife  what  we  had  seen 
in  our  voyage  and  what  we  further  intended,  or  however  it  came  to 
pass,  it  TV  as  known;  so  much  that  the  Father  Jesuits  were  desirous 
to  find  out  a  way  how  they  might  get  down  the  castors  from  the  Bay 
of  the  North  by  the  Sacgnes,  and  so  make  themselves  masters  of  that 
trade.  They  resolved  to  make  a  trial  as  soon  as  the  ice  would  permit 
them.  So  to  discover  our  intentions  they  were  very  earnest  with  me 
to  engage  myself  in  that  voyage,  to  the  end  that  my  brother  would 
give  over  his,  which  1  utterly  denied  them,  knowing  that  they  could 


340  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

never  bring  it  about,  because  I  heard  the  wild  men  say  that  although 
the  way  be  easy,  the  wild  men  that  are  fed  at  thei-r  doors  would  have 

hindered  them,  because  they  make  a  livelihood  by  that  trade 

During  that  time  we  made  our  proposition  to  the  Governor  of  Que- 
bec, that  we  were  willing  to  venture  our  lives  for  the  good  of  the  coun- 
try and  go  to  travel  to  the  remotest  countries.  .  i  .  .  . 

The  Governor  gave  them  leave  on  the  condition  that  they 
should  carry  two  of  his  servants  along  with  them,  and  should 
give  him  a  moiety  of  the  profits. 

My  brother  was  vexed  at  such  an  unreasonable  demand,  to  take 
inexperienced  men  to  their  ruin.  All  our  knowledge  and  desire  de- 
pended on  this  last  voyage,  besides  that  the  Governor  should  compare 
two  of  his  servants  to  us,  that  have  ventured  our  lives  so  many  years 
and  maintained  the  country  by  our  generosity  in  the  presence  of  all; 
neither  was  there  one  that  had  the  courage  to  undertake  what  we  had 
done.  We  made  the  Governor  a  slight  answer,  and  told  him  for  our 
part  we  knew  what  we  were,  discoverers  before  governors.  If  the 
wild  men  came  down,  the  way  for  them  as  for  us,  and  that  we  should 
be  glad  to  have  the  honor  of  his  company,  but  not  of  that  of  his  serv- 
ants. The  governor  was  much  displeased  at  this,  and  commanded  us 
not  to  go  without  his  leave.  We  desired  the  Fathers  to  speak  to  him 
about  it.  Our  addresses  were  slight  because  of  the  shame  was  put 
upon  them  the  year  before  by  their  return;  besides  they  stayed  for  an 
opportunity  to  go  there  themselves. 

After  some  delay  and  conference  with  the  wild  men  that 
had  come  down  from  the  upper  lake,  with  whom  they  were 
acquainted,  mostly  of  the  Sault  nation,  they  resolved  to  start. 
The  wild  men  started  first,  but  promised  to  Radisson  and  his 
brother  that  they  would  wait  for  them  two  days  at  the  Lake 
of  St.  Peter. 

We  did  not  let  them  wait  so  long,  for  that  very  night,  my  brother 
having  the  keys  of  the  borough  as  being  captain  of  the  place,  we  em- 
barked ourselves Being  come  opposite  to  the  fort,  they 

ask  who  is  there.  My  brother  tells  his  name.  Everyone  knows  what 
good  services  we  had  done  to  the  country;  and  they  loved  us,  the  in- 
habitants as  well  as  the  soldiers.  The  sentry  answered  him,  "God  give 
you  a  good  voyage." 

I  omit  the  description  of  the  passage  up  the  Ottawa  and 
onward,  although  a  hazardous  and  laborious  one,  until  they 
arrived  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 

We  came  after  to  a  rapid  that  makes  the  separation  between  the  lake 
of  the  Hurons  and  that  which  we  call  the  {Superior  or  Upper  lake,  for  that 
the  wild  men  hold  it  to  be  the  longer  and  broader,  besides  a  great 
many  islands,  which  make  it  appear  of  bigger  extent  This  rapid  was 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  341 

formerly  the  residence  of  those  with  whom  we  were We 

made  cottages  at  our  advantage,  and  found  the  truth  of  what  those 
men  had  often  told  us,  that  if  once  we  could  come  to  that  place  we 
should  make  good  cheer  of  the  white  fish.  The  bear,  the  castors,  and 
the  oriniack  showed  themselves  often,  but  to  their  cost;  indeed  it  was 

to  us  like  a  terrestrial  paradise 

But  the  season  was  far  spent,  and  diligence  required  us  to  leave 

that  place The  weather  was  agreeable  when  we  began  to 

navigate  upon  that  great  extent  of  water,  finding  it  so  calm  and  the  air 

so  clear We  found  a  small  river.     I  was  so  curious  that  I 

inquired  of  my  dearest  friends  the  name  of  the  stream.  They  named  it 
PauaMckkomesibs,  which  signifies  a  small  river  of  copper.  I  ask  him 
the  reason.  He  told  me  "Come,  and  I  will  show  you  the  reason  why." 
It  was  not  two  hundred  paces  in  the  wood  where  many  pieces  of  cop- 
per were  uncovered;  further  he  told  me  that  the  mountain  I  saw  was 
of  nothing  else.  Seeing  it  so  fair  and  pure,  I  had  a  mind  to  take  a 
piece  of  it,  but  they  hindered  me,  telling  my  brother  there  was  more 

where  we  were  to  go 

From  this  place  we  went  along  the  coasts,  which  are  most  delightful 
and  wondrous,  for  it  is  Nature  that  made  it  so  pleasant  to  the  eye, 
the  spirit,  and  the  belly.  As  we  went  along  we  saw  banks  of  sand  so 
high  that  one  of  our  wild  men  went  up  for  curiosity;  being  there,  he 
showed  no  more  than  a  crow.  That  place  is  most .  dangerous  when 
there  is  any  storm,  being  no  landing  place  so  long  as  the  sandy  banks 
are  under  water;  an-i  when  the  wind  blows,  that  sand  rises  by  a 
strange  kind  of  whirling  that  are  able  to  choke  the  passengers.  One 
day  you  will  see  fifty  small  mountains  at  one  side,  and  the  next  day, 

if  the  wind  changes,  on  the  other  side 

After  tihis  we  came  to  a  remarkable  place.  It  is  a  bank  of  rocks 
that  the  wild  men  made  a  sacrifice  to;  they  call  it  Nanitoucksinagoit, 
which  signifies  the  likeness  of  the  devil.  They  fling  much  tobacco  and 
other  things  in  its  veneration.  It  is  a  thing  most  incredible  that  that 
lake  should  be  so  boisterous,  that  the  waves  of  it  should  have  the 
strength  to  do  what  I  have  to  say  in  this  discourse:  first,  that  it  is  so 
high  and  so  deep  that  it  is  impossible  to  climb  up  to  the  point.  There 
come  many  sorts  of  birds  that  make  their  nests  here,  the  goilants, 

which  is  a  white  sea-bird  of  the  bigness  of  a  pigeon It  is 

like  a  great  portal,  by  reason  of  the  beating  of  the  waves.  The  lower 
part  of  the  opening  is  as  big  as  a  tower,  and  grows  bigger  in  going  up. 
There  is,  I  believe,  six  acres  of  land  above  it.  A  ship  of  500  tons  could 
pass  by,  so  big  is  the  arch.  1  gave  it  the  name  of  the  .Portal  of  St. 
Peter,  because  my  name  is  so  called,  and  that  I  was  the  first  Christian 
that  ever  saw  it.  There  are  in  that  place  caves  very  deep,  caused  by 
the  same  violence.  We  must  look  to  ourselves,  and  take  time  witih  our 
small  boats.  The  coast  of  rocks  is  five  or  six  leagues,  and  there  scarce 
a  place  to  put  a  boat  in  assurance  from  the  waves.  When  the  lake  is 
agitated  the  waves  go  into  these  concavities  with  force  and  make  a 
most  terrible  noise,  most  like  the  shooting  of  great  guns. 


342  MINNESOTA   HISTOKICAL   SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

For  a  description  of  the  Pictured  Hocks,  and  of  the  Grand 
Portal,  see  Foster  and  Whitney's  "Report  on  the  Geology  of 
the  Lake  Superior  Land  District"  (Senate  Ex.  Doc.,  No.  4,  Spe- 
cial Session,  March,  1851). 

Some  days  afterwards  we  arrived  to  a  very  beautiful  point  of  sand 
where  there  are  three  beautiful  islands,  that  we  called  the  Trinity. 
.  .  .  .  We  discovered  a  bay  very  deep,  where  a  river  empties  itself 
with  a  noise  for  the  quantity  and  depth  of  the  water.  We  must  stay 
there  three  days  to  wait  for  fair  weather  to  make  the  trainage,  which 
was  about  six  leagues  wide.  So  done,  we  came  to  the  mouth  of  a 
small  river,  ....  We  found  meadows  that  were  about  ten 
leagues  square,  as  smooth  as  a  board.  We  went  up  some  five  leagues 
further,  where  we  found  some  pools  made  by  the  castors.  We  must 

break  them  that  we  may  pass Being  come  to  the  height, 

we  must  drag  our  boats  over  a  trembling  ground  for  the  space  of  an 
hour 

Having  passed  that  place,  we  made  a  carriage  through  the  land 
for  two  leagues.  The  way  was  well  beaten  because  of  the  comers 
and  goers,  who  thus  shorten  their  passage  by  eight  days  less  than 
would  be  required  to  pass  around  the  point  that  goes  very  far  out  in 

that  great  lake In  the  end  of  that  point,  tha/t  goeth  very 

far,  there  is  an  island,  as  I  was  told,  all  of  copper.  This  I  have  not 
seen.  They  say  that  from  the  island  of  copper,  which  is  a  league  in 
the  lake,  when  they  are  minded  to  thwart  it  in  a  fair  and  calm  weather, 
beginning  from  sunrising  to  sunset,  they  come  to  a  great  island,  from 
whence  they  come  the  next  morning  to  firm  land  at  the  other  side. 

The  crossing  from  the  south  shore  of  the  lake  is  undoubt- 
edly by  the  portage  across  Keweenaw  point  and  Isle  Roy  ale; 
but  the  distances  are  without  doubt  quite  too  far,  for  it  is 
estimated  as  six  score  and  ten  leagues.  The  Indians  and 
Frenchmen,  however,  may  be  excused  for  thinking  it  a  great 
distance,  especially  when  they  had  to  cross  it  in  their  small 
canoes. 

Five  days  after  we  came  to  a  place  where  there  was  a  company 
of  Christinos  that  were  in  their  cottages.  They  were  transported  for 
joy  to  see  us  come  back.  They  made  much  of  us,  and  called  us  men 
indeed,  to  perform  our  promise  to  come  and  see  them  again.  We  gave 
them  great  gifts,  which  caused  some  suspicion,  for  it  is  a  very  jealous 
nation.  But  the  short  stay  that  we  made  took  away  that  jealousy. 
We  went  on  and  came  to  a  hollow  river  which  was  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  in  breadth.  Many  of  our  wild  men  went  to  wiu  the  shortest  way 
to  their  nation,  and  we  were  then  three  and  twenty  boats,  for  we 
met  with  some  in  that  lake  that  joined  with  us  and  came  to  keep  us 

company,   in   hopes   to   get  knives   from   us Seven   boats 

stayed  of  the  nation  of  the  Sault.    We  went  on  half  a  day  before  we 


THE   DISCOVERY   OP   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  343 

could  come  to  the  landing  place,  and  were  forced  to  make  another  car- 
riage, a  point  of  two  leagues  long  and  some  sixty  paces  broad.  As  we 
came  to  the  other  side,  we  were  in  a  bay  of  ten  leagues  about,  if  we 
had  gone  in.  By  going  about  that  same  point,  we  passed  a  strait,  for 
that  point  was  very  nigh  the  other  side,  which  is  a  cape  very  much 
elevated  like  pyramids.  That  point  should  be  a  very  tit  place  to  build 
a  fort,  as  we  did  the  spring  following.  In  that  bay  there  is  a  channel 
where  we  take  great  store  of  fishes,  sturgeons  of  a  vast  bigness,  and 
pikes  of  seven  feet  long.  At  the  end  of  this  bay  we  landed.  The  wild 
men  gave  thanks  to  that  which  they  worship,  we  to  the  God  of  Gods, 
to  see  ourselves  in  a  place  where  we  must  leave  our  navigation  and 
forsake  our  boats  to  undertake  a  harder  piece  of  work  in  hand,  to 
which  we  were  forced.  The  men  told  us  that  we  had  tive  great  days' 
journeys  before  we  should  arrive  where  their  wives  were.  We  foresee 
the  hard  task  that  we  were  to  undergo  by  carrying  our  bundles  upon 
our  backs.  They  were  used  to  it.  Here  everyone  for  himself  and  God 
for  all. 

We  finding  ourselves  not  able  to  perform  such  a  task,  and  as  they 
could  not  well  tell  where  to  find  their  wives,  lest  the  Nadoneceronons 
have  wars  against  their  nation  and  forced  them  from  their  appointed 
place,  my  brother  and  I  consulted  what  was  best  to  do,  and  declared 
our  will  to  them,  which  was  thus:  "Brethren,  we  resolve  to  stay  here, 
being  not  accustomed  to  make  any  carriage  on  our  backs  as  you  are 
wont.  Go  you  and  look  for  your  wives.  We  will  build  us  a  fort  here. 
And  seeing  that  you  are  not  able  to  carry  all  your  merchandise  at  once, 
we  will  keep  them  for  you,  and  will  stay  for  you  fourteen  days.  Be- 
fore the  time  expires  you  will  send  to  us  if  your  wives  are  alive,  and 
if  you  find  them  they  will  fetch  what  you  leave  here  and  what  we 
have.  For  their  pains  they  shall  receive  gifts  from  us.  So  you  will 
see  us  in  your  country.  If  they  be  dead,  we  will  spend  all  to  be  re- 
venged, and  will  gather  up  the  whole  country  for  the  next  spring,  for 
that  purpose  to  destroy  those  that  were  the  causers  of  their  death, 
and  you  shall  see  our  strength  and  valor.  Although  there  are  seven 
thousand  fighting  men  in  one  village,  you  will  see  that  we  will  make 
them  run.  away,  and  you  shall  kill  them  to  your  best  liking  by  the 
very  noise  of  our  arms  and  our  presence,  who  are  the  Gods  of  the 
earth  among  those  people." 

They  wondered  very  much  at  our  resolution.  The  next  day  they 
went  their  way,  and  we  stay  for  our  assurance  in  the  midst  of  many 
nations,  being  but  two  almost  starved  for  want  of  food. 

They  built  a  fort,  and  after  twelve  days  they  saw  about 
fifty  young  men  approaching,  with  some  of  their  former  com- 
panions. 

They  offered  to  carry  our  baggage,  being  come  on  purpose.  .  .  . 
We  went  away  free  from  any  burden,  whilst  those  poor  miserable 
thought  themselves  happy  to  carry  our  equipage,  for  the  hope  that 


344  MINNESOTA   HISTOKICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

they  had  that  we  should  give  them  a  brass  ring,  or  an  awl,  or  a  needle. 
There  came  above  four  hundred  persons  to  see  us  go. 

After  leaving  their  fort  they  marched  four  days,  and  came 
to  the  shores  of  a  lake  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  boats. 
The  next  day  they  embarked  and  arrived  by  water  at  a  village 
of  a  hundred  cabins  without  palisades.  They  were  received 
with  loud  outcries,  and  the  women  especially  manifested  their 
friendship  and  welcome.  They  distributed  presents  to  the 
men,  women  and  children,  making  great  speeches,  and  prom- 
ising to  be  their  friends  and  to  help  to  destroy  their  enemies. 
After  this  business  had  been  settled,  the  winter  came  on  and 
the  snows  began  to  fall.  They  made  preparations  for  their 
winter  hunting,  and  each  was  informed  of  a  rendezvous  for 
meeting  after  two  months  and  a  half  in  the  winter,  at  a  small 
lake,  where  they  were  to  advise  what  they  should  do. 

During  this  time  we  sent  messengers  everywhere,  to  give  special 
notice  to  all  manner  of  persons  and  nations,  that  within  five  moons 
the  feast  of  death  was  to  be  celebrated,  and  that  we  should  appear  to- 
gether and  explain  what  the  devil  should  command  us  to  say,  and  then 
present  them  presents  of  peace  and  union. 

After  quite  an  interesting  description  of  a  distressing 
winter,  in  which  many  die  of  starvation,  and  without  much 
account  that  is  intelligible  as  to  how  they  came  back,  we  find 
the  mention  of  two  men  who  visit  them  from  a  strange  land; 
and,  after  relating  some  incidents  of  this  visit,  they  ,say  these 
men  were  Nadoneseronons,  that  they  were  much  respected, 
and  that  nobody  durst  offend  them  because  they  were  upon 
their  land.  These  Indians  had  come  to  make  some  inquiry 
about  the  great  feast  that  the  messengers  had  given  notice  of, 
for  they,  the  brothers,  tell  them  "the  convenientest  place  to 
celebrate  that  great  feast."  This  visit  had  another  purpose 
without  doubt,  for  some  two  moons  afterward  came  that  spe- 
cially noted  visit  of  the  eight  ambassadors,  of  which  Radisson 
gives  the  history  as  follows: 

After  them  came  eight  ambassadors  from  the  nation  of  the  Nadones- 
eronons,  that  we  will  call  now  the  Nation  of  the  Beef.  Those  men  each 
had  two  wives,  loaded  with  oats,  corn  that  grows  in  that  country,  and 
a  small  quantity  of  Indian  corn,  with  other  grains.  It  was  to  present 
to  us,  which  we  received ^as  a  great  favor  and  token  of  friendship;  but 
it  had  been  welcome  if  they  had  brought  it  a  month  or  two  before. 
They  made  great  ceremonies  in  greasing  our  feet  and  legs,  and  we 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  345 

painted  them  with  red.  They  stripped  us  naked,  and  put  upon  us  cloth 
of  buff  and  of  white  castors.  After  this  they  weeped  upon  our  heads 
until  we  were  wetted  by  their  tears,  and  made  us  smoke  in  their  pipes 
after  they  kindled  them.  It  was  not  in  common  pipes,  but  pipes  of 
peace  and  of  war,  that  they  pull  out  but  very  seldom,  when  there  is 
occasion  for  heaven  and  earth.  This  done,  they  perfumed  our  clothes 
and  armor  one  after  another,  and  to  conclude  did  throw  a  quantity  of 
tobacco  into  the  fire.  We  told  them  that  they  prevented  us,  for  letting 
us  know  that  all  persons  of  their  nation  came  to  visit  us,  that  we -might 
dispose  of  them. 

The  next  morning  they  were  called  by  our  interpreter.  We  under- 
stood not  a  word  of  their  language,  being  quite  different  from  that  of 
those  we  were  with.  They  arrived,  they  sat  down.  We  made  a  place 
for  us  more  elevated,  to  be  more  at  our  ease  and  to  appear  in  more 
state.  We  borrowed  their  calumet,  saying  that  we  are  in  their  country, 
and  it  was  not  lawful  for  us  to  carry  anything  out  of  our  own  country. 
That  pipe  is  of  a  red  stone,  as  big  as  a  fist  and  as  long  as  a  hand.  The 
small  reed  is  as  long  as  five  feet,  in  breadth  and  thickness  of  a  thumb. 
There  is  tied  to  it  the  tail  of  an  eagle  all  painted  over  with  several 
-colors  and  open  like  a  fan,  or  like  that  makes  a  kind  of  a  wheel  when 
he  shuts.  The  top  of  the  stick  is  covered  with  feathers  of  ducks  and 
other  birds  that  are  of  a  fine  color.  We  took  the  tail  of  the  eagle,  and 
instead  of  it  we  hung  twelve  iron  bows  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
feathers  were,  and  a  blade  about  it  along  the  staff,  a  hatchet  planted 
in  the  ground,  and  that  calumet  over  it,  and  all  our  armors  about  it 
-on  forks.  Everyone  smoked  his  pipe  of  tobacco,  nor  they  never  go 
without  it.  During  that  while  there  was  a  great  silence.  We  prepared 
,some  powder  that  was  little  wetted,  and  the  good  powder  was  precious 
to  us.  Our  interpreter  told  them  in  our  name,  "Brethren,  we  have  ac- 
cepted of  your  gifts.  You  are  called  here  to  know  our  will  and  pleas- 
ure, which  are  as  follows:  first,  we  take  you  for  our  brethren  by  tak- 
ing you  into  our  protection;  and,  to  show  you,  we,  instead  of  the  eagle's 
tail,  have  put  some  of  our  armor,  to  the  end  that  no  enemy  shall  ap- 
proach to  break  the  affinity  that  we  make  now  with  you."  Then  we 
took  the  twelve  irons  off  the  bows  and  lifted  them,  telling  them  that 
those  points  shall  pass  over  the  whole  world  to  defend  you,  and  to  de- 
stroy your  enemies  that  are  ours.  Then  we  put  the  irons  in  the  same 
place  again.  Then  we  took  the  sword  and  bade  them  have  good  cour- 
age, that  by  our  means  they  should  vanquish  their  enemy.  After  we 
took  the  hatchet  that  was  planted  in  the  ground,  we  turned  round 
about,  telling  them  that  we  should  kill  those  that  would  war  against 
them,  and  that  we  would  make  forts  that  they  should  come  with  more 
assurance  to  the  feast  of  the  dead.  That  done,  we  throw  powder  in 
the  fire,  that  had  more  strength  than  we  thought;  it  made  the  brands 
fly  from  one  side  to  the  other.  We  intended  to  make  them  believe  that 
it  was  some  of  our  tobacco,  and  make  them  -smoke  as  they  made  us 
«moke.  But  hearing  such  a  noise,  and  they  seeing  that  the  fire  fled 
of  every  side,  without  any  further  delay  or  look  for  so  much  time  as 


346  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

to  look  for  the  door  of  the  cottage,  one  ran  one  way,  another  another 
way;  for  they  never  saw  a  sacrifice  of  tobacco  so  violent.  They  went 
all  away,  and  we  only  stayed  in  the  place.  We  followed  them  to  reas- 
sure them  of  their  faintings.  We  visited  them  in  their  apartments, 
where  they  received  us  all  trembling  for  fear,  believing  really  by  that 
same  means  that  we  were  the  devils  of  the  earth.  There  was  nothing 
but  feasting  for  eight  days. 

The  time  now  was  nigh  that  we  must  go  to  the  rendezvous;  this 
was  betwixt  a  small  lake  and  a  meadow.  Being  arrived,  most  of  ours 
were  already  in  their  cottages.  In  three  days'  time  there  arrived  eigh- 
teen several  nations,  and  came  privately,  to  have  done  the  sooner.  As 
we  became  to  the  number  of  five  hundred,  we  held  a  council.  Then 
the  shouts  and  cries  and  the  encouragements  were  proclaimed,  that 

a  fort  should  be  build ed , 

In  two  days  this  was  finished.  Some  thirty  young  men  of  the  na- 
tion of  the  beef  arrived  there,  having  nothing  but  bows  and  arrows, 
with  very  short  garments,  to  be  the  nimbler  in  chasing  the  stags.  The 
irons  of  their  arrows  were  made  of  stags'  pointed  horns  very  neatly. 
They  were  all  proper  men,  and  dressed  with  paint.  They  were  the  dis- 
coverers and  the  foreguard.  We  kept  a  round  place  in  the  middle  of 
our  cabin,  and  covered  it  with  long  poles  with  skins  over  them,  that 
we  might  have  shelter  from  the  snow.  The  cottages  were  all  in  good 
order;  in  each  ten  or  twelve  companies  or  families.  That  company 
was  brought  to  that  place  where  there  was  wood  laid  for  the  fires.  The 
snow  was  taken  away,  and  the  earth  covered  with  deal  tree  boughs. 
Several  kettles  were  brought  there  full  of  meat.  They  rested  and  ate 
above  five  hours  without  speaking  one  to  another.  The  considerablest 
of  our  companies  went  and  made  speeches  to  them.  Afterward  one 
takes  his  bow  and  shoots  an  arrow,  and  then  cries  aloud,  then  speaks 
some  few  words,  saying  that  they  were  to  let  them  know  that  the  eld- 
ers of  their  village  were  to  come  the  morrow  to  renew  the  friendship 
and  to  make  it  with  the  French,  and  that  a  great  many  of  their  young 
people  came  and  brought  them  some  part  of  their  ways  to  take  their 
advice,  for  they  had  a  mind  to  go  against  the  Christines,  who  were 
ready  for  them,  and  they  in  like  manner  to  save  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren. They  were  scattered  in  many  cabins  that  night,  expecting  those 
that  were  to  come.  To  that  purpose  there  was  a  vast  large  place  pre- 
pared some  hundred  paces  from  the  fort,  where  everything  was  ready 
for  the  receiving  of  those  persons.  They  were  to  set  their  tents  that 
they  bring  upon  their  backs.  The  pearches  were  put  out  and  planted 
as  we  received  the  news,  the  snow  put  aside,  and  the  boughs  of  trees 
covered  the  ground. 

The  following  day  they  arrived  with  an  incredible  pomp 

The  first  were  young  people  with  their  bows  and  arrows,  and  buck- 
lers on  their  shoulders,  upon  which  were  represented  all  manner  of 
figures,  according  to  their  knowledge,  as  of  the  sun  and  moon,  of  ter- 
restrial beasts,  about  its  feathers  very  artificially  painted.  Most  of 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  347 

the  men  their  faces  were  all  over  dabbed  with  several  colors 

They  leave  a  tuft  of  hair  upon  their  crown  of  their  heads,  tie  it,  and 
put  at  the  end  of  it  some  small  pearls  or  some  Turkey  stones,  to  bind 
their  heads.  They  have  a  robe  commonly  made  of  a  snake's  skin, 
where  they  tie  several  bears'  paws,  or  give  a  form  to  some  bits  of 
buffs'  horns,  and  put  it  about  the  said  robe.  They  grease  themselves 
with  very  thick  grease,  and  mingle  it  in  reddish  earth,  which  they 
burn,  as  we  our  bricks.  With  this  stuff  they  get  their  hair  to  stand 
up.  They  cut  some  down  of  swan  or  other  fowl  that  hath  a  white 
feather,  and  cover  with  it  the  crown  of  their  heads.  Their  ears  are 
pierced  in  five  places;  the  holes  are  so  big  that  your  little  finger  might 
pass  through.  They  have  yellow  ware  that  they  make  with  copper, 
made  like  a  star  or  half  moon,  and  there  hang  it.  Many  have  Turkeys. 
They  are  clothed  with  oriniack  and  stags'  skins,  but  very  light.  Every- 
one had  the  skin  of  a  crow  hanging  at  his  girdle.  Their  stockings  are 
embroidered  with  pearls  and  with  their  own  porke-pick  work.  They 
have  very  handsome  shoes,  laced  very  thick  all  over,  with  a  piece  sown 
to  the  side  of  the  heel,  which  was  of  hair  of  buff,  which  trailed  above 
half  a  foot  upon  the  earth,  or  rather  on  the  snow.  They  had  swords 
and  knives  of  a  foot  and  a  half  long,  and  hatchets  very  ingeniously 
done,  and  clubs  of  wood  made  like  back-swords;  some  made  of  a  round 
head  that  I  admired  it.  When  they  kill  their  enemy,  they  cut  off  the 
tuft  of  hair  and  tie  it  about  their  arms.  After  all,  they  have  a  white 
robe  made  of  castors'  skins  painted. 

Those  having  passed  through  the  middle  of  ours,  that  were  ranged 
at  every  side  of  the  way,  the  elders  came  with  great  gravity  and  mod- 
esty, covered  with  buff  coats  which  hung  down  to  the  ground.  Every- 
one had  in  his  hand  a  pipe  of  council,  set  with  precious  jewels.  They 
had  a  sack  on  their  shoulders,  and  that  which  holds  it  grows  in  the 
middle  of  their  stomachs  and  on  their  shoulders.  In  this  sack  all  the 
world  is  enclosed.  Their  face  is  not  painted,  but  their  heads  dressed  as 
the  foremost.  Then  the  women  laden  like  unto  so  many  mules,  their 
burdens  made  a  greater  show  than  they  themselves;  but  I  suppose  the 
weight  was  not  equivalent  to  its  bigness.  They  were  conducted  to  the 
appointed  place,  where  the  women  unfolded  their  bundles,  and  flung 
their  skins  of  which  their  tents  are  made,  so  that  they  had  houses  in 
less  than  half  an  hour. 

After  they  rested  they  came  to  the  biggest  cabin  constituted  for 
that  purpose.  There  were  fires  kindled.  Our  captain  made  a  speech  of 
thanksgiving,  which  would  be  long  to  write  it.  We  were  called  to  the 
council  of  new  come  chief,  where  we  came  in  great  pomp,  as  you  shall 
hear.  First  they  came  to  make  a  sacrifice  to  the  French,  being  Gods 
and  masters  of  all  things,  as  well  of  peace  as  of  war,  making  the 
knives,  the  hatchets,  and  the  kettles  rattle,  etc.;  that  they  came  purposely 
to  put  themselves  under  their  protection;  moreover,  that  they  came 
to  bring  them  back  again  to  their  country,  having  by  their  means  de- 
stroyed their  enemies  abroad  and  near.  So  said,  they  present  us  with 
gifts  of  castors'  skins,  assuring  us  that  the  mountains  were  elevated, 


348  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

the  valleys  risen,  the  ways  very  smooth,  the  boughs  of  trees  cut  dowry 
to  go  with  more  ease,  and  bridges  erected  over  rivers,  for  not  to  wet 
our  feet;  that  the  doors  of  their  villages,  cottages  of  their  wives  and 
daughters,  were  open  at  any  time  to  receive  us,  being  we  kept  them 
alive  by  our  merchandise.  The  second  gift  was,  that  they  would  die  in 
their  alliance,  and  that  to  certify  to  all  nations  by  continuing  the  peace, 
and  were  willing  to  receive  them  and  assist  them  in  their  country,  being 
well  satisfied  they  were  come  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  the  dead.  The 
third  gift  was  to  have  one  of  the  doors  of  the  fort  opened,  if  need 
required,  to  receive  and  keep  them  from  the  Christines  that  come  to 
destroy  them;  being  always  men,  and  the  heavens  made  them  so, 
that  they  were  obliged  to  go  before  to  defend  their  country  and  their 
wives,  which  is  the  dearest  thing  they  had  in  the  world,  and  in  all 
times  they  were  esteemed  stout  and  true  soldiers,  and  that  yet  they 
would  make  it  appear  by  going  to  meet  them;  and  they  would  not 
degenerate,  but  show  by  their  actions  that  they  were  as  valiant  as  their 
forefathers.  The  fourth  gift  was  presented  to  us,  which  was  of  buff 
skins,  to  desire  cur  assistance  for  being  the  masters  of  their  lives,  and 
could  dispose  of  them  as  we  would,  as  well  of  the  peace  as  of  the  wars, 
and  that  we  might  very  well  see  that  they  did  well  to  go  defend  their 
own  country;  that  the  true  means  to  get  the  victory  was  to  have  a 
thunder.  They  meant  a  gun,  calling  it  miniskoick. 

The  speech  being  finished,  they  entreated  us  to  be  at  the  feast.  We 
go  presently  back  again  to  furnish  us  with  wooden  bowls.  We  made 
four  men  carry  our  guns  afore  us,  that  we  charged  with  powder  alone, 
because  of  their  unskillf ulness  that  they  might  have  killed  their  fathers, 
We  each  of  us  had  a  pair  of  pistols,  a  sword,  and  a  dagger.  We  had 
a  roll  of  porkepick.  about  our  heads,  which  was  as  a  crown,  and  two 
little  boys  that  carried  the  vessels  that  we  had  most  need  of;  this  was 
our  dishes  and  our  spoons.  They  made  a  place  higher  and  most  ele- 
vate, knowing  our  customs,  in  the  middle  for  us  to  sit,  where  we  had 
the  men  lay  our  arms.  Presently  come  four  elders,  with  the  calumet 
kindled  in  their  hands.  They  present  the  candles  to  us  to  smoke,  and 
four  beautiful  maids  that  went  before  us,  carrying  bears'  skins  to  put 
under  us.  When  we  were  together,  an  old  man  rises  and  throws  our 
calumet  at  our  feet,  and  bids  them  take  the  kettles  from  the  fire,  and 
spoke  that  he  thanked  the  sun  that  never  was  a  day  to  him  so  happy 
as  when  he  saw  those  terrible  men  whose  words  make  the  earth  to 
quake;  and  he  sang  a  while.  Having  ended,  he  came  and  covered  us 
with  his  vestment,  and,  all  naked  except  his  feet  and  legs,  he  saith, 
"Ye  are  masters  over  us;  dead  or  alive,  you  have  the  power  over  us, 
and  may  dispose  of  us  at  your  pleasure."  So  done,  he  takes  the  calumet 
of  the  feast,  and  brings  it,  so  a  maiden  brings  us  a  coal  of  fire  to  kindle 
it.  So  done,  we  rose,  and  one  of  us  begins  to  sing.  We  bade  the  inter- 
preter to  tell  them  we  should  save  and  keep  their  lives,  taking  them  for 
our  brethren;  and,  to  testify  that,  we  shot  off  all  our  artillery,  which 
was  of  twelve  guns.  We  draw  our  swords  and  long  knives  to  our 
defence,  if  need  should  require,  which  put  the  men  in  such  a  terror 


THE   DISCOVERY   OP   THE    MISSISSIPPI    RIVER.  349 

that  they  knew  not  what  was  best,  to  run  or  stay.    We  throw  a  hand- 
ful of  powder  in  the  fire  to  make  a  greater  noise  and  smoke. 

Our  songs  being  finished,  we  began  our  teeth  to  work.  We  had 
there  a  kind  of  rice,  much  like  oats.  It  grows  in  the  water  in  three  or 
four  feet  depth.  There  is  a  God  that  shows  himself  in  every  country, 
almighty,  full  of  goodness,  and  the  preservation  of  those  poor  people 
who  know  him  not 

Having  next  described  the  manner  of  gathering  the  grain, 
and  of  dressing  and  cooking  it,  the  narrative  continues: 

After  the  feast  was  over,  there  come  two  maidens  bringing  where- 
withal to  smoke,  the  one  the  pipes,  the  other  the  fire.  They  offered 
first  to  one  of  the  elders  that  sat  down  by  us.  When  he  had  smoked, 
he  bids  them  give  it  us.  This  being  done,  we  went  back  to  our  fort 
as  we  came.  The  day  following  we  made  the  principal  persons  come 
together  to  answer  to  their  gifts.  Being  come  with  great  solemnity, 
there  we  made  our  interpreter  tell  them  that  we  were  come  from  the 
other  side  of  the  great  salted  lake,  not  to  kill  them  but  to  make  them 
live;  acknowledging  you  for  our  brethren  and  children,  whom  we  will 
love  henceforth  as  our  own.  Then  we  gave  them  a  kettle.  The  second 
gift  was  to  encourage  them  in  all  their  undertakings,  telling  them  that 
we  liked  men  that  generously  defend  themselves  against  all  their  ene- 
mies; and  as  we  were  masters  of  peace  and  wars,  we  are  to  dispose 
the  affairs  that  we  should  see  an  universal  peace  all  over  the  earth; 
and  that  this  time  we  could  not  go  and  force  the  nations  that  were  yet 
further  to  condescend  and  submit  to  our  will,  but  that  we  would  see  the 
neighboring  countries  in  peace  and  union;  that  the  Christines  were 
our  brethren,  and  have  frequented  them  many  winters;  that  we  adopted 
them  for  our  children,  and  took  them  under  our  protection;  that  we 
should  send  them  ambassadors;  that  I  myself  should  make  them  come 
and  conclude  a  general  peace;  that  we  were  sure  of  their  obedience  to 
us;  that  the  first  that  should  break  the  peace  we  would  be  their  enemy, 
and  would  reduce  them  to  powder  with  our  heavenly  fire;  that  we  had 
the  word  of  the  Christines  as  well  as  theirs,  and  our  thunders  should 
serve  us  to  make  wars  against  those  that  would  not  submit  to  our  will 
and  desire,  which  was  to  see  them  good  friends,  to  go  and  make  wars 
against  the  upper  nations  that  do  not  know  us  as  yet.  The  gift  was 
of  six  hatchets.  The  third  was  to  oblige  them  to  receive  our  proposi- 
tions, likewise  the  Christines,  to  lead  them  to  the  dance  of  union, 
which  was  to  be  celebrated  at  the  death's  feast  and  banquet  of  kindred. 
If  they  would  continue  the  wars,  that  was  not  the  means  to  see  us 
again  in  their  country.  The  fourth  was  that  we  thanked  them  for 
making  us  a  free  passage  through  their  countries.  The  gift  was  two 
dozen  knives.  The  last  was  of  smaller  trifles,  6  graters,  2  dozen  awls, 
2  dozen  needles,  6  dozen  looking-glasses  made  of  tin,  a  dozen  little 
bells,  6  ivory  combs,  with  a  little  vermillion.  But  for  to  make  a  recom- 
pense to  the  good  old  man  that  spoke  so  favorably,  we  gave  him  a 
Ratchet,  and  to  the  elders  each  a  blade  for  a  sword,  and  to  the  two 


350  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

maidens  that  served  us  two  necklaces,  which  we  put  about  their  necks, 
and  two  bracelets  for  their  arms.  The  last  gift  was  in  general  for  all 
the  women  to  love  us  and  give  us  to  eat  when  we  should  come  to  their 
cottages.  The  company  gave  us  great  Ho!  ho!  ho!,  that  is,  thanks. 
Our  wild  men  made  others  for  their  interest. 

A  company  of  about  fifty  were  despatched  to  warn  the  Christinos 
of  what  we  had  done.  I  went  myself,  where  we  arrived  the  third  day, 
early  in  the  morning.  I  was  received  with  great  demonstration  of 
friendship.  All  that  day  we  feasted,  danced  and  sang.  I  compared 
that  place  before  to  the  buttery  of  Paris,  for  the  great  quantity  of  meat 
that  they  used  to  have  there;  but  now  will  compare  it  to  that  of  Lon- 
don. There  I  received  gifts  of  all  sorts  of  meat,  of  grease  more  than 
twenty  men  could  carry.  The  custom  is  not  to  deface  anything  that 
they  present.  There  were  above  six  hundred  men  in  a  fort,  with  a 
great  deal  of  baggage  on  their  shoulders,  and  did  draw  it  upon  light 
sleds  made  very  neatly.  I  have  not  seen  them  at  their  entrance,  for 
the  snow  blinded  me.  Coming  back,  we  passed  a  lake  hardly  frozen, 
and  the  sun  [shone  upon  it]  for  the  most  part,  for  I  looked  a  while 
steadily  on  it,  so  I  was  troubled  with  this  seven  or  eight  days. 

The  mean  while  that  we  were  there,  arrived  above  a  thousand 
that  had  not  been  there  but  for  those  two  redoubted  nations  that  were 
to  see  them  do  what  they  never  before  had,  ....  plays,  mirths, 
and  battles  for  sport,  going  and  coming  with  cries;  each  played  his 
part 

Here  follows  a  description  of  the  drums  and  the  manner 
of  playing  on  them.  These  sports  continued  fourteen  days, 
during  which  time  Groseilliers  and  Radisson  received  more 
than  three  hundred  castors'  skins  as  presents,  but  they  were 
so  far  away  that  they  did  not  bring  five  to  the  French. 

This  feast  ended,  everyone  returns  to  his  country  well  satisfied. 
To  be  as  good  as  our  words,  we  came  to  the  nation  of  the  beef,  which 
was  seven  small  journeys  from  that  place.  We  promised  in  like  man- 
ner to  the  Christinos  that  the  next  spring  we  should  come  to  their  side 
of  the  upper  lake,  and  there  they  should  meet  us,  to  come  into  their 
country.  We  being  arrived  among  that  nation  of  the  beef,  we  wondered 
to  find  ourselves  in  a  town  where  were  great  cabins  most  covered  with 
skins  and  other  close  mats.  They  told  us  that  there  were  7,000  men. 
This  we  believed.  These  have  as  many  wives  as  they  can  keep.  If 
any  one  did  trespass  upon  the  other,  his  nose  was  cut  off,  and  often 
the  crown  of  his  head.  The  maidens  have  all  manner  of  freedom,  but 
are  forced  to  marry  when  they  come  to  the  age.  The  more  they  bear 
children  the  more  they  are  respected.  I  have  seen  a  man  having  four- 
teen wives.  There  they  have  no  wood,  and  make  provisions  of  moss 
for  their  firing.  This  their  place  is  environed  with  pearches  which  are 
a  good  distance  one  from  another,  that  they  get  in  the  valleys  where 
the  buff  use  to  repair,  upon  which  they  do  live.  They  sow  corn,  but 


^o _ 

UNIVERSITY 


THE   DISCOVERY   OP   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  351 

their  harvest  is  small.    The  soil  is  good,  but  the  cold  hinders  it,  and 

the  grain  very  small The  people  stay  not  there  all  the 

year;  they  retire  in  winter  towards  the  woods  of  the  north,  where  they 
kill  a  quantity  of  castors,  and  I  say  that  there  are  not  so  good  in  the 
whole  world;  but  not  in  such  store  as  the  Christines,  but  far  better. 

We  stayed  there  six  weeks,  and  came  back  with  a  company  of 
people  of  the  nation  of  the  Sault,  that  came  along  with  us  laden  with 
booty 

Groseilliers  and  Radisson  have  now  returned  from  their 
visit  to  the  home  of  the  Sioux  or  Nadoneseronons.  Their 
fort,  where  the  two  strangers  and  eight  ambassadors  came  to 
visit  them,  was  probably  at  the  outlet  of  Kainy  lake,  where 
there  was  a  trading  post  under  the  French  during  their  suprem- 
acy, later  a  post  of  the  Northwest  Company,  and  it  was  con- 
tinued, until  within  a  few  years,  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 
Our  great  authority  as  to  the  history  of  Indian  tribes  in  Min- 
nesota is  William  W.  Warren,  and  I  quote  what  he  has  to  say 
about  the  great  and  favorite  home  of  the  Sioux  when  the 
Ojibways  commenced  the  invasion  of  their  territory.  It  is 
found  in  chapter  xiii,  page  175,  of  volume  5,  Minnesota  His- 
torical Society  Collections. 

The  region  of  country  from  which  the  Mississippi  derives  its  source, 
is  covered  with  innumerable  fresh  and  clear  water  lakes  connected 
with  one  another,  and  flowing  into  the  "Fattier  of  Rivers"  through 
rapid  and  meandering  streams.  All  these  lakes  and  streams  abound 
with  fish  of  the  finest  species  and  flavor.  In  Leech,  Winnepeg,  Cass, 
and  other  of  the  larger  lakes,  the  whitefish  are  found  equal  in  size  to 
the  celebrated  whitefish  in  Lake  Superior.  And  so  are  also  the  salmon 
trout  which  (curious  enough)  are  to  be  found  only  in  Puk-a-gum-ah  and 
Trout  lakes.  Muscallonge  have  been  found  to  grow  to  the  great  size 
of  from  four  to  six  feet  in  length.  Brook  trout,  sturgeon  and  catfish 
are  not  found  in  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  above  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony. 

The  shores  of  these  beautiful  lakes  are  lined  with  groves  of  the  tall 
pine,  and  the  useful  maple  from  which  the  Indian  manufactures  sugar. 
The  birch  tree  also  abounds,  from  which  the  Ojibway  has  long  been 
accustomed  to  procure  the  covering  to  his  wigwam,  and  material  for 
the  formation  of  his  ingeniously  wrought  canoe.  In  many  of  these 
lakes  which  lie  clustered  together  within  an  area  of  several  hundred 
miles,  the  wild  rice  grows  in  large  quantities  and  most  luxuriantly, 
affording  the  Indian  an  important  staple  of  subsistence. 

In  former  times  this  region  of  country  abounded  in  buffalo,  moose, 
deer,  and  bear,  and  till  within  thirty  years  past,  in  every  one  of  its 
many  water  courses,  the  lodges  of  the  valuable  and  industrious  beaver 
were  to  be  found. 

in.— 6 


352  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

Possessing  these  manifold  advantages,  this  country  has  always  been 
a  favorite  home  and  i-esort  for  the  wild  Indian,  and  over  its  whole  ex- 
tent battle  fields  are  pointed  out  where  different  tribes  have  battled 
for  its  possession. 

The  attention  of  the  Ojibways  wa3  early  directed  to  it.  They 
found  it  in  possession  of  the  powerful  and  wide-spread  Dakotas,  whom, 
after  many  years  of  severe  fighting,  they  eventually  forced  to  seek  for 
new  homes  farther  \\estward,  and  they  in  turn  took  possession  and 
have  kept  to  this  day  the  large  and  beautiful  lakes  which  form  the 
sources  of  the  "Great  River." 

On  pages  188-191  we  learn  that  the  noted  chief  Bi-aus-wah 
made  his  home  at  Sandy  Lake  about  1730,  and  that  about  the 
year  1745  the  Ojibway  pioneer  hunters,  braving  the  attacks 
of  their  enemies,  first  permanently  planted  their  wigwams 
on  the  shores  of  Lac  du  Flambeau  and  Lac  Coutereille  (Courtes 
Oreilles),  in  northwestern  Wisconsin. 

Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  his  "General  History  of  the 
Fur  Trade,"  on  page  Ixii,  says : 

Lake  Winipic  is  the  great  reservoir  of  several  large  rivers,  and  dis- 
charges itself  by  the  River  Nelson  into  Hudson's  Bay.  The  first  in 
rotation,  next  to  that  I  have  just  described,  is  the  Assiniboin  or  Red 
River,  which,  at  the  distance  of  forty  miles  coastwise,  disembogues  on 
the  southwest  side  of  Lake  Winipic.  It  alternately  receives)  those  two 
denominations  from  its  dividing,  at  the  distance  of  about  thirty  miles 
from  the  lake,  into  two  large  branches.  The  eastern  branch,  called  the 
Red  River,  runs  in  a  southern  direction  to  near  the  head  waters  of  the 

Mississippi The  country   on  either  side  is   but  partially 

supplied  with  wood,  and  consists  of  plains  covered  with  herds  of  the 
buffalo  and  the  elk,  especially  on  the  western  side.  On  the  eastern  side 
are  lakes  and  rivers,  and  the  whole  country  is  well  wooded,  level, 
abounding  in  beaver,  bears,  moose-deer,  fallow-deer,  &c.,  &c.  The  na- 
tives, who  are  of  the  Algonquin  tribe,  are  not  very  numerous,  and  are 
considered  as  the  natives  of  Lake  Superior.  This  country,  being  near 
the  Mississippi,  is  also  inhabited  by  the  Nadowasis,  who  are  the  nat- 
ural enemies  of  the  former;  the  head  of  the  water  being  the  war-line, 
they  are  in  a  continual  state  of  hostility;  and  though  the  Algonquins 
are  equally  brave,  the  others  generally  outnumber  them;  it  is  very 
probable,  therefore,  that  if  the  latter  continue  to  venture  out  of  the 
woods,  which  form  their  only  protection,  they  will  soon  be  extirpated. 
There  is  not,  perhaps,  a  finer  country  in  the  world  for  the  residence  of 
uncivilized  man,  than  that  which  occupies  the  space  between  this  river 
and  Lake  Superior.  It  abounds  in  everything  necessary  to  the  wants 
and  comfort  of  such  a  people.  Fish,  venison,  and  fowl,  with  wild  rice, 
ire  in  great  plenty;  while,  at  the  same  time,  their  subsistence  requires 
that  bodily  exercise  so  necessary  to  health  and  vteor. 


THE   DISCOVERY    OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI    RIVER.  353 

The  other  branch  is  called  after  the  tribe  of  the  Nadawasis,  who 
Aere  go  by  the  name  of  Assiniboins,  and  are  the  principal  inhabitants 
of  it.  It  runs  from  off  the  north-northwest,  and,  in  the  latitude  of  51£ 
west  and  longitude  103£,  rising  in  the  same  mountains  as  the  river 
Dauphin,  of  which  1  shall  speak  in  due  order.  They  must  have  sepa- 
rated from  their  nation  at  a  time  beyond  our  knowledge,  and  live  in 
peace  with  the  Algonquins  and  Knisteneaux. 

Parkman,  in  the  introduction  to  "La  Salle  and  the  Dis- 
covery of  the  Great  West,"  page  xxv,  says : 

At  length,  in  1658,  two  daring  traders  penetrated  to  Lake  Superior, 
wintered  there,  and  brought  back  tales  of  the  ferocious  Sioux,  and  of 
a  great  western  river  on  which  they  dwelt. 

Continuing,  on  page  220,  the  narrative  of  Radisson,  we 
read : 

.  We  were  twelve  days  before  we  could  overtake  our  company  that 
went  to  the  lake.  The  spring  approaches,  which  is  the  fittest  time  to 
kill  the  oriniack.  A  wild  man  and  I  with  my  brother  killed  that  time 
above  six  hundred,  besides  other  beasts.  We  came  to  the  lake  side 
with  much  pains,  for  we  sent  our  wild  men  before,  and  we  two  were 
forced  to  make  carriage  five  days  through  the  woods.  After  that  we 
met  with  a  company  that  did  us  a  great  deal  of  service,  for  they  car- 
ried what  we  had,  and  arrived  at  the  appointed  place  before  three 
days  ended.  Here  we  made  a  fort.  At  our  arrival  we  found  at  least 
twenty  cottages  full. 

One  very  fair  evening  we  went  to  find  what  we  hid  before,  which 
we  find  in  a  good  condition.  We  went  about  to  execute  our  resolution, 
forseeing  that  we  must  stay  that  year  there,  for  which  we  were  not 
very  sorry,  being  resolved  to  know  what  we  heard  before.  We  waited 
until  the  ice  should  vanish,  but  received  [news]  that  the  Octanaks  built 
a  fort  on  the  point  that  forms  that  bay,  which  resembles  a  small  lake. 
We  went  towards  it  with  all  speed.  We  had  a  great  store  of  booty 
which  we  would  not  trust  to  the  wild  men,  for  the  occasion  makes  the 
thief.  We  overload  our  slide  on  that  rotten  ice,  and  the  further  we 
went  the  sun  was  stronger,  which  made  our  trainage  have  more  dif- 
ficulty. I  seeing  my  brother  so  strained,  I  took  the  slide,  which  was 
heavier  than  mine,  and  he  mine.  Being  in  that  extent  above  four 
leagues  from  the  ground,  we  sunk  down  about  the  one  half  of  my  leg 
in  the  ice,  and  must  advance  in  spite  of  our  teeth.  To  leave  our  booty 
was  to  undo  us.  We  strived  so  that  I  hurt  myself,  insomuch  that  1 
could  not  stand  upright,  nor  any  further.  This  put  us  in  great  trouble. 
Upon  this  I  advised  my  brother  to  leave  me  with  his  sled.  We  put  the 
two  sleds  one  by  another.  I  took  some  clothes  to  cover  me.  After  I 
stripped  myself  from  my  wet  clothes,  I  layed  myself  down  on  the 
Bled;  my  brother  leaves  me  to  the  keeping  of  that  good  God.  We  had 
not  above  two  leagues  more  to  go.  He  makes  haste  and  came  there 
in  time,  and  sends  wild  men  for  me  and  the  sleds.  There  we  found 


354  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

the  perfidiousness  of  the  Octanaks.    Seeing  us  in  extremity,  they  would 
prescribe  us  laws.    We  promised  them  whatever  they  asked.    They 

came  to  fetch  me 

We  came  to  the  seaside,  where  we  find  an  old  house  all  demolished 
and  battered  with  bullets.  We  were  told  that  those  that  came  there 
were  of  two  nations,  one  of  the  wolf,  the  other  of  the  long-horned  beast. 
....  They  tell  us  particulars  of  Europeans 

We  went  from  isle  to  isle  all  that  summer.  We  plucked  abundance 
of  ducks,  as  of  all  other  sort  of  fowls;  we  wanted  not  fish  nor  fresh  meat. 
We  were  well  beloved,  and  [they]  were  overjoyed  that  we  promised 
them  to  come  with  such  ships  as  we  invented.  This  place  has  a  great 
store  of  cows.  The  wild  men  kill  them  not  except  for  necessary  use.  We 
went  further  in  the  bay  to  see  the  place  that  they  were  to  pass  that  sum- 
mer. The  river  comes  from  the  lake  and  empties  itself  in  the  river  of 
Sagnes,  called  Tadousack,  which  is  a  hundred  leagues  in  the  great  river 
of  Canada,  as  where  we  were  in  the  Bay  of  the  North.  We  left  in  this 
place  our  marks  and  rendezvous.  The  wild  men  that  brought  us  de- 
fended us  above  all  things,  if  we  would  come  directly  to  them,  that  we 
should  by  no  means  land,  and  so  go  to  the  river  to  the  other  side,  that 
is,  to  the  north,  towards  the  sea,  telling  us  that  those  people  were  very 
treacherous 

They  clothe  themselves  all  over  with  castors'  skins  in  winter,  and 
with  stags'  skins  in  summer.  They  are  the  best  huntsmen  of  all  Amer- 
ica, and  scorn  to  catch  a  castor  in  a  trap They  have  the  same 

tenents  as  the  nation  of  the  beef,  and  their  apparel  from  top  to  toe. 
.  .  .  .  a  nation  called  among  themselves  neuter.  They  speak  the 
beef  and  Cliristinos'  speech,  being  friends  to  both 

In  the  beginning  of  spring  there  came  a  company  of  men  that  came 
to  see  us  from  the  elders,  and  brought  us  furs  to  entice  us  to  see  them 

again The  boats  ready,  we  embark  ourselves.    We  were 

700.  There  was  not  seen  such  a  company  to  go  down  to  the  French. 
There  were  above  400  Christines'  boats  that  brought  us  their  castors, 
in  hopes  that  the  people  would  give  some  merchandise  for  them. 
.  .  .  .  The  company  that  we  had,  filled  above  360  boats.  There 
were  boats  that  carried  seven  men,  and  the  least  two.  It  was  a  pleas- 
ure to  see  that  embarking,  for  all  the  young  women  went  in  stark 
naked,  their  hair  hanging  down,  yet  it  is  not  the  custom  to  do  so.  I 
thought  it  their  shame,  but  contrary  they  think  it  excellent  and  old 
custom  good.  They  sing  aloud  and  sweetly.  They  stood  in  their  boats, 
and  remained  in  that  posture  half  a  day,  to  encourage  us  to  come  and 
lodge  with  them  again.  Therefore  they  are  not  altogether  ashamed 
to  show  us  all,  to  intice  us,  and  to  animate  the  men  to  defend  them- 
selves valiantly  and  come  and  enjoy  them. 

In  two  days  we  arrived  at  the  River  of  the  Sturgeon,  so  called  be- 
cause of  the  great  quantity  of  sturgeons  that  we  took  there.    Here  we   • 
were  to  make  our  provisions  to  pass  the  lake  some  fourteen  days.    In 
the  said  time  we  dried  above  a  thousand  of  sturgeons.    The  women 
followed  us  close;    after  our  abode  there  two  days  they  overtook  us. 


THE    DISCOVERY   OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  355 

We  had  several  false  alarms,  which  put  us  in  several  troubles.  They 
wondered  to  have  found  a  oryanck  dead  upon  the  place,  with  a  bullet 
In  his  body.  There  thousand  lies  were  forged.  Therefore  we  go  from 
thence,  but  before  we  come  to  the  long  point  whereof  we  spoke  before 
.  .  .  .  we  perceive  smoke.  We  go  to  discover  what  it  was,  and 
by  ill  luck  we  found  it  was  an  Iroquois  boat  of  seven  men,  who  doubt- 
less stayed  that  winter  in  the  Lake  of  the  Hurons,  and  came  there  to 

discover  somewhat As  they  saw  us,  away  they,  as  swift 

as  their  heels  could  drive.  They  left  their  boat  and  all.  They  to  the 
woods,  and  were  pursued,  but  in  vain,  for  they  were  gone  before  three 
hours.  The  pursuers  came  back;  one  brings  a  gun,  one  a  hatchet,  the 
other  a  kettle,  and  so  forth.  The  council  was  called,  where  it  was  de- 
creed to  go  back  and  put  off  to  go  down  to  the  French  till  the  next 
year.  This  vexed  us  sore  to  see  such  a  fleet  and  such  an  opportunity 
come  to  nothing,  foreseeing  that  such  another  may  be  not  in  ten  years. 
We  were  to  persuade  them  to  the  contrary,  but  they  checked  us 
soundly,  saying  we  were  worse  than  enemies  by  persuading  them  to 
go  and  be  slain.  In  this  we  must  let  their  fear  pass  over,  and  we  back 
to  the  River  of  the  Sturgeons,  where  we  found  our  wives,  very  busy 
in  killing  those  creatures  that  come  there  to  multiply.  We  daily  hear 
some  new  report;  all  everywhere  enemies  by  fancy. 

We  in  the  mean  time  busy  ourselves  in  the  good  of  our  country, 
which  will  recompense  us  badly  for  such  toil  and  labor.  Twelve  days 
are  passed,  in  which  time  we  gained  some  hopes  of  fair  words.  We 
called  a  council  before  the  company  was  disbanded,  where  we  repre- 
sented that,  if  they  were  discoverers,  they  would  not  have  valued  the 
loss  of  their  kettle,  knowing  well  they  were  to  get  another  where  their 
army  lay,  and  if  there  should  be  an  army  it  should  appear,  and  we  in 
such  a  number  they  could  be  well  afraid  and  turn  back.  Our  reasons 
were  heard  and  put  in  execution.  The  next  day  we  embarked,  saving 
the  Christines  that  were  afraid  of  a  sight  of  a  boat  made  of  another 
stuff  than  theirs,  that  they  went  back  as  we  came  where  the  Iroquois 
boat  was.  Our  words  proved  true,  and  so  we  proceeded  in  our  way. 

Being  come  nigh  the  Sault,  we  found  a  place  where  two  of  these 
men  sweated,  and  for  want  of  covers  buried  themselves  in  the  sand 
by  the  water  side  to  keep  their  bodies  from  the  flies  called  maringoines, 
which  otherwise  had  killed  them  with  their  stings.  We  thwarted  those 
two  lakes  with  great  pleasure,  having  the  wind  fair  with  us.  It  was 
a  great  satisfaction  to  see  so  many  boats,  and  so  many  that  never  had 
before  commerce  with  the  French.  So  my  brother  and  I  thought  we 
should  be  welcomed.  But,  O  Covefcousness,  thou  art  the  cause  of  many 
evils!  We  made  a  small  sail  to  every  boat;  everyone  strove  to  be  not 
the  last.  The  wind  was  double  ways  favorable  to  us.  The  one  gave  us 
rest,  the  other  advanced  us  very  much,  which  we  wanted  because  of 
the  above  said  delay.  We  now  are  come  to  the  carriages  and  swift 
streams  to  get  the  Lake  of  the  Castors.  We  made  them  with  a  courage, 
promptitude,  and  hunger  which  made  us  go  with  haste  as  well  as  the 
wind.  We  go  down  all  the  great  river  without  any  encounter,  till  we 


356  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

come  to  the  Long  Sault,  where. my  brother  some  years  before  made  a 
shipwreck.  Being  in  that  place  we  had  work  enough.  The  first  thing 
we  saw  was  several  boats  that  the  enemy  had  left  at  the  river  side. 
This  put  great  fear  in  the  hearts  of  our  people.  Nor  they  nor  we  could 
tell  what  to  do;  and  seeing  nobody  appear,  we  sent  to  discover  what 
vhey  were.  The  discoverers  call  us,  and  bid  us  come,  that  those  who 
,vere  there  could  do  us  no  harm. 

You  must  know  that  seventeen  French  made  a  plot  with  four  Algon- 
quins  to  make  a  league  with  three  score  Hurons  for  to  go  and  wait  for 
the  Iroquois  in  the  passage  at  their  return  with  their  castors  on  their 
ground,  hoping  to  beat  and  destroy  them  with  ease,  being  destitute  of 
necessary  things.  If  one  has  -his  gun,  he  wants  his  powder;  and  so 
the  rest.  All  the  other  side  without  doubt  had  notice  that  the  travelers 
were  abroad,  and  would  not  fail  to  come  down,  with  a  company,  and 
to  make  a  valiant  deed  and  heroic  action  was  to  destroy  them  all,  and 
consequently  make  the  French  tremble  as  well  as  the  wild  men,  for 
the  one  could  not  live  without  the  other;  the  one  for  his  commodities, 
the  other  for  his  castors;  so  that  the  Iroquois,  pretending  to  wait  for 
us  at  the  passage,  came  thither  flocking.  The  French  and  wild  com- 
pany, to  put  the  Iroquois  in  some  fear  and  hinder  their  coming  there 
so  often  with  such  confidence,  were  resolved  to  lay  a  snare  for  them. 
That  company  of  soldiers,  being  come  to  the  farthest  place  of  that 
Long  Sault  without  being  discovered,  thought  already  to  be  conquerors 
making  carriage,  having  abroad  fifteen  men  to  make  discoveries,  but 
met  as  many  enemies.  They  assaulted  each  other,  and  the  Iroquois 
found  themselves  weak,  left  there  their  lives  and  bodies,  saving  two 
that  made  their  escape  and  went  to  give  notice  to  two  hundred  of  theirs 
that  made  ready  as  they  heard  the  guns,  to  help  their  foreguard.  The 
French,  seeing  such  great  odds,  made  a  retreat,  and  warned  by  four 
Algonquins  that  a  fort  was  built  not  far  off,  built  by  this  nation  the 
last  year,  they  fled  into  it  in  an  ill  hour.  In  the  mean  while  the  Iro- 
quois consulted  what  they  should  do;  they  sent  to  five  hundred  and 
fifty  Iroquois  of  the  lower  nation,  and  fifty  Orijonot  that  were  not  far 
off.  Now  they  would  assault  the  French  in  their  fort,  the  fort  not 
holding  more  than  twenty  men.  The  Hurons  could  not  come  in,  and 
could  not  avoid  the  shot  of  the  enemy.  Then  the  French  pulled  down 
the  fort,  and,  closed  together,  they  stoutly  began  to  work.  Those  that 
the  French  had  killed,  they  cut  their  heads  off  and  put  them  upon  long 
poles  of  their  fort.  This  skirmish  lasted  two  days  and  two  nights. 
The  Iroquois  find  themselves  plagued,  for  the  French  had  a  kind  of 
bucklers  and  shelters.  Now  arrive  six  hundred  men  that  they  did  not 
think  of  in  the  least.  Here  is  nothing  but  cries,  fire,  and  flame  day  and 
night.  Here  is  not  to  be  doubted,  the  one  to  take  the  other,  the  one  to 
defend  himself  till  death.  The  Hurons,  seeing  such  a  company,  sub- 
mitted to  the  enemy,  but  are  like  to  pay  for  their  cowardice;  being  in 
their  hands,  they  were  tied,  abused,  smitten,  and  burned  as  if  they 
were  taken  by  force,  for  those  barbarous  were  revenged  on  their  bones 
as  any  was  wounded  or  killed  in  the  battle. 


THE   DISCOVERY    OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  857 

In  this  great  extremity,  our  small  company  of  one  and  twenty  did 
resist  five  days  against  eight  hundred  men,  and  the  two  foremost  days 
against  two  hundred,  which  were  seven  days  together  without  inter- 
mission; and  the  worst  was  that  they  had  no  water,  as  we  saw,  for 
they  made  a  hole  in  the  ground  out  of  which  they  got  but  little  because 
they  were  on  a  hill.  It  was  to  be  pitied.  There  was  not  a  tree  but  was 
shot  with  bullets.  The  Iroquois  came  with  bucklers  to  make  a  breach. 
The  French  put  fire  to  a  barrel  of  powder,  thinking  to  shock  the  Iro- 
quois or  make  them  go  back;  but  did  to  their  great  prejudice,  for  it 
fell  again  in  their  fort  which  made  an  end  of  their  combat.  Upon  this 
the  enemy  enters,  kills  and  slays  all  that  he  finds,  so  one  did  not  make 

an  escape All  the  French,  though  dead,  were  tied  to  posts 

along  the  river  side,  and  the  four  Algonquins.  As  for  the  Hurons,  they 
were  burnt  at  their  discretion.  Some  nevertheless  escaped  to  bring  the 
certain  news  how  all  passed.  It  was  &  terrible  spectacle  to  us,  for  we 
came  there  eight  days  after  that  defeat,  which  saved  us  without 
doubt 

We  went  down  the  river  without  making  any  carriage,  and  we 
adventured  very  much.  As  soon  as  we  were  at  the  lower  end,  many  of 
our  wild  men  had  a  mind  to  go  back  and  not  to  go  any  further,  thinking 
really  that  all  the  French  were  killed.  As  for  my  brother  and  I,  we  did 
fear  very  much  that  after  such  a  thing  the  pride  of  the  enemy  would 
make  them  attempt  anything  upon  the  habitations  of  Mount  Royal, 
which  is  but  thirty  leagues  from  thence.  We  advised  them  to  make  a 

fort and  to  send  immediately  two  very  light  boats,  that 

could  not  be  overtaken  if  the  enemy  should  discover  them;  and  that, 
being  arrived  at  the  habitation,  they  should  make  them  shoot  the  pieces 
of  ordnance,  and  that  as  soon  as  the  night  should  come  we  would 
embark  ourselves  and  should  hear  the  noise,  or  else  we  should  take 
council  of  what  we  should  do,  and  stay  for  them  at  the  height  of  the 

isle  of  Mount  Royal;    which   was  done   accordingly Our 

two  boats  did  go,  but  the  rest  were  so  impatient  that  they  resolved  to 
follow  them,  being  willing  to  run  the  same  hazard;  and  we  arrived  the 
next  morning  and  were  in  sight  when  the  pieces  were  shot  off,  with  a 
great  deal  of  joy  to  see  so  great  a  number  of  boats  that  did  almost 
cover  the  whole  river. 

We  stayed  three  days  at  Mount  Royal,  and  then  we  went  down  to 
the  Three  Rivers.  The  wild  men  asked  our  advice  whether  it  was  best 
for  them  to  go  down  further.  We  told  them  no,  because  of  the  dangers 
that  they  may  meet  with  on  their  return;  for  the  Iroquois  could  have 
notice  of  their  coming  down  and  so  come  and  lie  in  ambush  for  them, 
and  it  was  in  the  latter  season,  being  about  the  end  of  August.  Well, 
as  soon  as  their  business  was  done,  they  went  back  again  very  well 
satisfied,  and  we  very  ill  satisfied  for  our  reception,  which  was  very 
bad  considering  the  service  we  had  done  to  the  country,  which  will  at 
another  time  discourage  those  that  by  our  example  would  be  willing 
to  venture  their  lives  for  the  benefit  of  the  country,  seeing  a  Governor 
that  would  grow  rich  by  the  labors  and  hazards  of  others.  .  . 


358  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

The  Governor,  seeing  us  come  back  with  a  considerable  sum  for  our 
own  particular,  and  seeing  that  his  time  was  expired  and  that  he  was 
to  go  away,  made  use  of  that  excuse  to  do  us  wrong  and  to  enrich  him- 
self with  the  goods  that  we  had  so  dearly  bought,  and  by  our  means 
we  made  the  country  to  subsist,  that  without  us  had  been,  I  believe,  oft- 
entimes quite  undone  and  ruined,  and  the  better  to  say  at  his  last  bid- 
ding, no  castors,  no  ship,  and  what  to  do  without  necessary  commo- 
dities. He  made  also  my  brother  prisoner  for  not  having  observed  his 
orders,  and  to  be  gone  without  his  leave,  although  one  of  his  letters 
made  him  blush  for  shame,  not  knowing  what  to  say,  but  that  he  would 
have  some  of  them  at  what  price  soever,  that  he  might  the  better 
maintain  his  coach  and  horses  at  Paris.  He  fined  us  four  thousand 
pounds  to  make  a  fort  at  the  Three  Rivers,  telling  us  for  all  manner 
of  satisfaction  that  he  would  give  as  leave  to  put  our  ccat  of  arms  upon 
it,  and,  moreover,  6,000  pounds  for  the  country,  saying  that  we  should 
not  take  it  so  strangely  and  so  bad,  being  we  were  inhabitants  and  did 
intend  to  finish  our  days  in  the  same  country  with  our  relations  and 
friends.  But  the  Bougre  did  grease  his  chops  with  it,  and  more,  made 
us  pay  a  custom  which  was  the  fourth  part,  which  came  to  14,000 
pounds,  so  that  we  had  left  but  4t$,000  pounds,  and  took  away  £24,000. 
Was  not  he  a  tyrant  to  deal  so  with  us,  after  we  had  so  hazarded  our 
lives,  and  having  brought,  in  less  than  two  years  by  that  voyage,  as 
the  Factors  of  the  country  said,  between  forty  and  fifty  thousand 
pistoles?  For  they  spoke  to  me  in  this  manner:  "In  which  country 
have  you  been?  From  whence  do  you  come?  For  we  never  saw  the 
like.  From  whence  did  come  such  excellent  castors?"  .  .  .  .  See- 
ing ourselves  so  wronged,  my  brother  did  resolve  to  go  and  demand 
justice  in  France. 

For  a  short  account  of  the  defeat  of  Adam  Dollard  and  the 
Hurons  in  the  fight  at  the  Long  Sault,  see  a  note  in  Prof.  J.  G. 
Shea's  translation  of  Charlevoix's  "History  of  New  France,'' 
on  page  33,  volume  3.  It  is  also  mentioned  in  the  "Journal  des 
Je'suites,"  page  284,  June  8,  1660.  For  the  purpose  of  estab- 
lishing the  date  of  the  return  of  Groseilliers  and  Radisson,  I 
cite  the  following  extract  from  the  "Journal  des  Je'suites"  of 
August,  1660,  page  286: 

On  the  17th,  my  Lord  de  PetrSe  started  for  his  visit  to  Three  Riv- 
ers and  Montreal,  with  Mons.  de  Charny  and  others  and  the  four 
Oiochronons.  He  arrived  at  Montreal  on  the  21st  at  five  o'clock  of  the 
evening,  where  the  Ottawas  had  arrived  on  the  19th.  The  Ottawas 
started  from  that  place  the  next  day,  on  the  22nd,  and  arrived  at  Three 
Rivers  on  the  24th,  and  departed  on  the  27th.  They  were  three  hun- 
dred. Des  Grosilleres  was  in  their  company,  who  had  gone  there  the 
year  before.  They  started  from  lake  Superior  with  a  hundred  canoes; 
forty  went  back,  and  sixty  arrived  here  loaded  with  furs  to  the  value 
of  200,000  livres.  They  left  at  Montreal  50,000  livres,  and  brought  the 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  359 

remainder  to  Three  Rivers.  They  came  from  that  place  in  twenty- 
six  days,  and  were  two  months  in  returning.  Des  Grosillers  passed 
the  winter  with  the  nation  of  the  Beef,  which  he  estimates  as  four 
thousand  men;  they  are  the  settled  Nadonesseronons.  Father  Mesnard, 
Father  Albanel,  Jean  Guerin,  and  six  other  Frenchmen,  went  back 
with  them. 

The  Fourth  Voyage  of  Radisson  is  entitled  to,  and  shall 
have,  a  candid  and  fair  consideration.  In  the  spring  of  1658 
our  voyagers,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  Governor  Ar- 
genson  and  the  Jesuits,  started  to  visit  the  Bay  of  the  North 
(Hudson's  Bay).  The  Sault  Ste.  Marie  and  its  whitefish,  the 
copper,  the  Pictured  Rocks  and  Grand  Portal,  the  portage 
across  Keweenaw  Point,  and  Isle  Royale,  are  eternal  wit- 
nesses of  the  truth  of  the  story  as  given  by  Radisson.  It  would 
have  been  agreeable  if  he  had  told  us  of  the  Grand  Portage  of 
nine  miles,  from  lake  Superior  to  the  Groseilliers  (Pigeon) 
river,  but  we  have  learned  that  such  small  matters  do  not 
count  in  this  story. 

In  five  days  they  find  the  Christinos,  in  their  cottages,  who 
receive  them  with  many  demonstrations  of  joy.  I  think  I  may 
assume  that  this  place  was  at  the  "first  landing  isle,"  from 
which  they  had  returned  home  in  1657;  and,  as  we  are  in- 
formed that  this  voyage  was  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  Hud- 
son's bay,  it  must  have  been  by  what  was  afterwards  known 
as  the  Canoe  Route  of  the  Fur  Trade  to  Hudson's  bay  and 
the  Northwest,  as  given  by  Mackenzie.  The  brothers  had 
spent  about  a  year  at  this  place  on  their  third  voyage.  They 
without  doubt  knew  by  hearsay  the  whole  country  and  its 
inhabitants,  and  knew  the  relative  locations  of  each  of  the 
Indian  nations.  After  some  days  of  rest  they  again  start 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  selection  for  a  trading  post.  We 
have  known  these  men  for  three  years  as  we  have  followed 
them  in  their  third  voyage.  We  have  found  them  men  of 
great  intelligence,  and  would  expect  them  to  use  their  best 
judgment  in  locating  their  home  in  the  country  for  the  pur- 
pose of  trade  with  the  Indians.  We  have  learned,  in  the  quota- 
tions from  Warren  and  Mackenzie,  where  the  best  and  most 
abundant  furs  were  to  be  found.  They  in  their  day  undoubt- 
edly knew  well  the  most  convenient  place,  by  inquiring  of  the 
Christinos  who  were  natives  of  the  country,  and  knew  the 
Sioux  and  their  home  and  the  Hudson's  bay.  With  this  knowl- 


360  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

edge  we  believe  that  the  place  at  which  they  landed  and 
abandoned  their  boats,  and  which  the  Christinos  went  from 
to  hunt  for  their  wives,  was  at  the  outlet  of  Rainy  lake.  There 
has  been  a  trading  post  at  this  point,  a  very  large  one  in  early 
days,  beginning  even  back  in  the  days  of  tradition  and  con- 
tinuing down  to  the  end  of  the  fur  trade  by  the  canoe  route. 
We  assume,  therefore,  that  this  was  their  home.  From  this 
point  all  these  journeys  can  easily  be  traced,  and  the  main 
incidents  of  the  fourth  voyage  made  to  harmonize.  The  two 
Sioux  strangers  who  found  them  on  their  own  land,  the  eight 
ambassadors  and  their  wives,  and  the  great  number  of  men 
and  women  that  came  to  the  treaty,  so  graphically  described, 
could  comfortably  come  to  this  place,  and  would  feel  at  home, 
as  it  was  in  their  own  country.  The  accurate  descriptions  of 
their  persons,  clothing  and  skin  tents,  their  gravity  in  council, 
with  their  pipes,  are  true  to  the  letter;  and  it  was  not  possible 
for  Radisson  to  have  learned  of  these  things  from  hearsay,  nor 
even  from  the  Christinos,  their  nearest  neighbors,  without  be- 
ing in  the  Sioux  country.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  speculate 
about  the  matter,  for  the  visit  to  Hudson's  bay  is  to  be  proved 
beyond  a  doubt,  and  that  includes  and  makes  possible  every- 
thing else  pertaining  to  the  voyage. 

That  part  of  the  text  in  reference  to  their  visit  to  the  bay 
is  very  short.  They  spend  the  summer  with  the  Indians,  in 
visiting  James  bay  and  the  river  that  connects  with  the  Sague- 
nay,  which  joins  the  St.  Lawrence  one  hundred  leagues  from 
its  mouth.  They  made  a  location  there  at  the  southeast  ex- 
tremity of  the  bay,  on  what  was  afterward  called  Prince 
Rupert's  river,  and  went  to  lake  Winnipeg  on  their  way  home 
to  visit  the  Assiniboines,  in  order  to  induce  them  to  go  down 
to  the  French.  The  account  of  the  voyage  home  does  not 
require  further  comment.  Their  treatment  by  the  Governor 
and  their  resolve  to  go  to  France  for  justice  are  all  told,  and 
it  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  them;  and  I  now  proceed  to  give 
the  evidence  upon  which  I  rely  to  fully  prove  the  truth  of  the 
record. 

In  Prof.  J.  G.  Shea's  translation  of  Charlevoix's  "History  of 
New  France,"  on  page  230  of  volume  3,  I  find  the  following 
note: 

Medard  Chouart  de  Groseilliers  was  a  native  of  Touraine  and  an 
experienced  pilot.  He  was  an  early  emigrant  to  Canada,  where  he 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  361 

married  a  daughter  of  Abraham  Martin,  king's  pilot.  He  reached 
James  Bay  overland  from  Lake  Assiniboin,  and,  returning,  endeavored 
to  induce  the  Quebec  merchants,  and  subsequently  the  French  court, 
to  send  ships  to  Hudson's  Bay.  Failing  to  induce  them,  he  went  to 
JBngland,  and,  with  Radisson,  conducted  an  English  vessel,  commanded 
.by  Zachariah  Gillam,  a  New  Englander,  to  the  bay. 

On  page  305,  volume  9,  "Documents  relating  to  the  Colonial 
History  of  the  State  of  New  York,"  M.  de  Denonville,  Governor 
,of  New  France,  in  a  paper  accompanying  his  letter  of  Novem- 
ber 8, 1686,  to  M.de  Seignelay,  Minister  of  Colonies  and  Marine, 
discussing  the  right  of  France  to  the  Iroquois  country  and 
Hudson's  bay,  says : 

The  settlement  made  by  the  English  in  1662  at  the  head  of  North 
Bay  does  not  give  them  any  title,  because  it  has  been  already  remarked 
that  the  French  were  in  possession  of  those  countries,  and  had  traded 
with  the  Indians  of  that  Bay,  which  is  proved  still  better  by  the  knowl- 
edge the  men  named  Desgroselliers  and  Radisson  had  of  those  parts 
where  they  introduced  the  English.  They  had  traded  there,  no  doubt, 
with  the  old  French  Coureurs  de  bois. 

I  am  gratified  in  being  able  to  add  an  English  authority  on 
this  subject,  in  confirmation  of  the  truthfulness  of  Kadisson. 
In  an  article  in  John  Oldmixon's  history,  "The  British  Empire 
in  America,"  edition  of  1741,  the  author,  speaking  of  Hudson's 
bay,  says,  on  page  544: 

The  civil  wars  in  England  put  discoveries  out  of  men's  heads.  The 
bold  had  other  work  cut  out  for  them,  and  we  hear  of  no  more  sucli 
adventures  till  the  year  1667,  when  Zachariah  Gillam,  in  the  Nonsucn 
ketch,  passed  through  Hudson's  straits,  and  then  into  Baffin's  bay  to 
75  degrees,  and  thence  southward  into  51  degrees,  where,  in  a  river 
afterwards  called  Prince  Rupert's  river,  he  had  a  friendly  correspond- 
ence with  the  natives,  built  a  fort,  named  Charles  Fort,  and  returned 
with  success. 

The  occasion  of  Gillarn's  going  was  this:  Monsieur  Radisson  and 
Monsieur  Gooselier,  two  Frenchmen,  meeting  with  some  savages  in  the 
Lake  of  Assimponals,  in  Canada,  they  learned  of  them  that  they  might 
go  by  land  to  the  bottom  of  the  bay,  where  the  English  had  not  yet 
been;  upon  which  they  desired  them  to  conduct  them  thither,  and  the 
savages  accordingly  did  it.  The  two  Frenchmen  returned  to  the  upper 
lake  the  same  way  they  came,  and  thence  to  Quebec,  the  capital  of 
€anada,  where  they  offered  the  principal  merchants  to  carry  ships  to 
Hudson's  bay;  but  their  project  was  rejected.  Thence  they  went  to 
France,  in  hopes  of  a  more  favorable  hearing  at  court;  but,  after  pre- 
senting several  memorials  and  spending  a  great  deal  of  time  and  money, 
they  were  answered  as  they  had  been  at  Quebec,  and  their  project 


362    '          MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL  SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

looked  upon  as  chimerical.  The  King  of  England's  ambassador  at 
Paris,  hearing  what  proposals  they  had  made,  imagined  he  should  do 
his  country  good  service  in  engaging  them  to  serve  the  English,  who 
had  already  pretences  to  the  bay;  so  he  persuaded  them  to  go  for 
London,  where  they  met  with  a  favorable  reception  from  some  men  of 
quality,  merchants  and  others,  who  employed  Gillam,  before  men- 
tioned, a  New  England  captain,  in  the  voyage;  and  Radisson  and 
Gooselier  accompanying  them,  they  arrived  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay, 
and  succeeded  as  we  have  hinted  already. 

When  Gillam  returned,  the  adventurers  concerned  in  fitting  them 
out  applied  themselves  to  King  Charles  II.  for  a  patent,  who  granted 
one  to  them  and  their  successors  for  the  bay  called  Hudson's  Straits. 
The  patent  bears  date  the  2d  of  May,  in  the  22d  year  of  that  king's 
reign,  A.  D.  1670. 

The  first  proprietors,  or  company,  called  Hudson's  Bay  Cornpauyr 
were: 

Prince  Rupert,  Mr.  Richard  Cradock, 

Sir  John  Hayes,  Mr.  John  Letton, 

Mr.  William  Young,  Christopher  Wrenn,  Esq., 

Mr.  Gerard  Weymans,  Mr.  Nicholas  Hayward. 

We  now  close  the  review  of  the  third  and  fourth  voyages 
of  Groseilliers  and  Radisson,  with  the  sequel  down  to  the 
organization  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1670.  Their 
achievements  are  without  a  parallel  in  history,  and  they  have 
proved  themselves  and  deserve  to  be  recognized  as  the  most 
noted  men  that  New  France  or  Canada  ever  produced.  They 
do  not  require  any  eulogy  from  me.  I  have,  as  I  believe,  faith- 
fully presented  their  claim  to  be  considered  (as  I  think  they 
are  entitled  to  be  considered)  honest,  truthful  men,  by  all  intel- 
ligent readers. 

ROUTE  OF  THE  FUR  TRADE  ALONG   THE  NORTHERN  BOUNDARY 

OF  MINNESOTA. 

The  history  of  the  fur  trade  in  the  Northwest,  from  the 
iays  of  Groseilliers  and  Radisson  until  the  surrender  of  the 
Country  to  the  English  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1763,  may 
some  day  be  found  among  the  unpublished  letters  of  the 
officials  of  New  France  and  the  Jesuits.  It  is  not  worth  while 
to  anticipate  what  they  will  reveal.  The  general  history  of 
this  trade  from  1763  is  pretty  well  known,  but  does  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  this  paper.  I  am,  however,  tempted  to 
add  some  extracts  describing  the  canoe  route  used  in  this 
traffic  along  the  northern  boundary  of  Minnesota,  from  lake 
Superior  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods. 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  363 

Alexander  Henry's  "Travels  and  Adventures  in  Canada 
and  the  Indian  Territories,  between  the  years  1760  and  1776," 
was  printed  in  1809.  The  following  extracts  are  taken  from 
this  work,  pages  236-249,  in  chapter  8,  Part  2 : 

On  the  10th  day  of  June,  1775,  I  left  the  Sault,  with  goods  and 
provisions  to  the  value  of  throe  thousand  pounds  sterling,  on  board 
twelve  small  canoes  and  four  larger  ones.  The  provisions  made  the 
chief  bulk  -of  the  cargo,  no  further  supply  being  obtainable  till  we 
should  have  advanced  far  into  the  country.  Each  small  canoe  was 
navigated  by  three  men,  and  each  larger  one  by  four 

At  the  Grand  Portage  I  found  the  traders  in  a  state  of  extreme 
reciprocal  hostility,  each  pursuing  his  interests  in  such  a  manner  as 
might  most  injure  his  neighbor.  The  consequences  were  very  hurtful 
to  the  morals  of  the  Indians. 

The  transportation  of  the  goods  at  this  grand  portage,  or  great  carry- 
ing-place, was  a  work  of  seven  days  of  severe  and  dangerous  exertion, 
at  the  end  of  which  we  encamped  on  the  river  Aux  Groseilles.  .  .  . 

On  the  eighth  [day  of  July]  we  ascended  the  Groseilles  to  the 
carrying-place  called  the  Portage  du  Perdrix,  where  the  river  falls 
down  a  precipice  of  the  height  of  a  hundred  feet [The  de- 
scription of  this  route  from  Grand  Portage  will  be  given  chiefly  from 
Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie's  account  of  his  voyage  in  1798.] 

On  the  twentieth  [of  July]  we  reached  Lake  Sagunac,  or  Sagnaga, 
distant  sixty  leagues  from  the  Grand  Portage.  This  was  the  hither- 
most  post  in  the  northwest,  established  by  the  French;  and  there  was 
formerly  a  large  village  of  Chipeways  here,  now  destroyed  by  the  Na- 
dowessies.  I  found  only  three  lodges,  filled  with  poor,  dirty  and  almost 
naked  inhabitants,  of  whom  I  bought  fish  and  wild  rice,  which  latter 
they  had  in  great  abundance.  When  populous,  this  village  used  to  be 
troublesome  to  the  traders,  obstructing  their  voyages,  and  extorting 
liquor  and  other  articles.  .  .  .  .' 

We  now  entered  Lake  a  la  Plule,  which  is  fifteen  leagues  long,  by 
five  broad 

The  River  a  la  Pluie  is  forty  leagues  long,  of  a  gentle  current. 
.  .  .  .  There  were  perfect  solitudes,  not  even  a  canoe  presenting 
itself,  along  my  whole  navigation  of  the  stream.  I  was  greatly  struck 
with  the  beauty  of  the  scene,  as  well  as  with  its  fitness  for  agricultural 
settlements,  in  which  provisions  might  be  raised  for  the  northwest. 

On  the  thirtieth,  we  reached  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  or  Lake  des 
lies,  at  the  entrance  of  which  was  an  Indian  village  of  a  hundred 
souls 

From  this  village  we  received  ceremonious  presents.  The  mode 
with  the  Indians  is,  first  to  collect  all  the  provisions  they  can  spare, 
and  place  them  in  a  heap;  after  which  they  send  for  the  trader,  and 
address  him  in  a  formal  speech.  They  tell  him  that  the  Indians  are 
happy  in  seeing  him  return  to  their  country;  that  they  have  been  long 
in  expectation  of  his  arrival;  that  their  wives  have  deprived  them- 


364  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

selves  of  the  provisions,  in  order  to  afford  him  a  supply;  that  they  are 
in  great  want,  being  destitute  of  everything,  and  particularly  of  am- 
munition and  clothing;  and  that  what  they  most  long  for  is  a  taste  of 
his  rum,  which  they  uniformly  denominate  milk. 

The  present,  in  return,  consisted  in  one  keg  of  gunpowder,  of  sixty 
pounds  weight;  a  bag  of  shot,  and  another  of  powder,  of  eighty  pounds 
each;  a  few  smaller  articles,  and  a  keg  of  rum.  The  last  appeared 
to  be  the  chief  treasure,  though  on  the  former  depended  the  greater 
part  of  their  winter's  subsistence. 

In  a  short  time,  the  men  began  to  drink,  while  the  women  brought 
me  a  further  and  very  valuable  present  of  twenty  bags  of  rice.  This  I 
returned  with  goods  and  rum,  and  at  the  same  time  offered  more,  for 
an  additional  quantity  of  rice.  A  trade  was  opened,  the  women  bar- 
tering rice,  while  the  men  were  drinking.  Before  morning,  I  had  pur- 
chased a  hundred  bags,  of  nearly  a  bushel  measure  each.  Without  a 
large  quantity  of  rice,  the  voyage  could  not  have  been  prosecuted  to  its 
completion 

The  Lake  of  the  Woods  is  thirty-six  leagues  long.  On  the  west  side 
is  an  old  French  fort  or  trading-house,  formerly  frequented  by  numer- 
ous bands  of  Chipeways,  but  these  have  since  been  almost  entirely  de- 
stroyed by  the  Nado\\  essies 

On  the  sixteenth  [of  August]  we  reached  Lake  Winipegon,  at  the 

entrance  of  which  is  a  large  village  of  Christinaux The 

name  is  variously  written;  as  Cristinaux,  Kinistineaux,  Killistinoes 

and  Killistinaux The  dress  and  other  exterior  appearances 

of  the  Cristinaux  are  very  distinguishable  from  those  of  the  Chipeways- 
and  Wood  Indians. 

The  men  were  almost  entirely  naked,  and  their  bodies  painted  with 
1  red  ochre,  procured  in  the  mountains,  and  often  called  vermilion, 

The  women,  like  the  men,  paint  their  faces  with  red  ochre;  and  in 
addition  usually  tatoo  two  lines,  reaching  from  the  lip  to  the  chin,  or 
from  the  corners  of  the  mouth  to  the  ears.  They  omit  nothing  to  make 
themselves  lovely  ....  and,  not  content  with  the  power  belong- 
ing to  these  attractions,  they  condescend  to  beguile,  with  gentle  looks, 
the  hearts  of  passing  strangers.  The  men,  too,  unlike  the  Ghippewas- 
(who  are  of  a  jealous  temper)  eagerly  encourage  them  in  this  design. 
One  of  the  chiefs  assured  me  that  the  children  borne  by  their  women 
to  Europeans  were  bolder  warriors,  and  better  hunters,  than  them- 
selves. 

The  Cristinaux  have  usually  two  wives  each,  and  often  three;  and 
make  no  difficulty  in  lending  one  of  them,  for  a  length  of  time  to  a  friend. 
Some  of  my  men  entered  into  agreements  with  the  respective  husbands, 
in  virtue  of  which  they  embarked  the  women  in  the  canoes,  promising 
to  return  them  the  next  year.  The  women,  so  selected,  consider  them- 
selves as  honored;  and  the  husband  who  should  refuse  to  lend  his  wife,, 
would  fall  under  the  condemnation  of  the  sex  in  general. 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  365 

Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  his  "General  History  of  the 
Fur  Trade  from  Canada  to  the  Northwest,"  (forming  a  part  of 
his  "Voyages  from  Montreal  ...  in  the  years  1789  and 
1793,"  published  in  London  in  1801),  after  a  description  of  the 
route  from  Lachine,  Canada,  by  way  of  the  Ottawa  and  the 
lakes  Huron  and  Superior  to  the  Grand  Portage,  says : 

At  length  they  all  arrive  at  the  Grand  Portage,  which  is  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  leagues  from  St.  Mary's,  and  situated  on  a  pleasant  bay 
on  the  north  side  of  the  lake,  in  latitude  48.  north  and  longitude  90. 
west  from  Greenwich.  ... 

At  the  entrance  of  the  bay  is  an  island  which  screens  the  harbor 

from  every  wind  except  the  south The  bottom  of  the  bay, 

which  forms  an  amphitheatre,  is  clear  and  inclosed;  and  on  the  left 
corner  of  it,  beneath  an  hill,  three  or  four  hundred  feet  in  height,  and 
crowned  by  others  of  a  still  greater  altitude,  is  the  fort,  picketed  in 
with  cedar  palisadoes,  and  inclosing  houses  built  with  wood  and  cov- 
ered with  shingles.  They  are  calculated  for  every  convenience  of  trade 
as  well  as  to  accommodate  the  proprietors  and  clerks  during  their 
short  residence  there.  The  North  men  live  under  tents;  but  the  more 
frugal  pork-eater  lodges  beneath  his  canoe 

When  they  are  arrived  at  the  Grand  Portage,  which  is  near  nine 
miles  over,  each  of  them  has  to  carry  eight  packages  of  such  goods 

and  provisions  as  are  necessary  for  the  interior  country 

Having  finished  this  toilsome  part  of  their  duty,  if  more  goods  are 
necessary  to  be  transported,  they  are  allowed  a  Spanish  dollar  for 
each  package;  and  so  inured  are  they  to  this  kind  of  labor,  that  I  have 
known  some  of  them  set  off  with  two  packages  of  ninety  pounds  each, 
and  return  with  two  others  of  the  same  weight,  in  the  course  of  six 
hours,  being  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles  over  hills  and  mountains. 
This  necessary  part  of  the  business  being  over,  if  the  season  be  early, 
they  have  some  respite,  but  this  depends  upon  the  time  the  North  men 
begin  to  arrive  from  their  winter  quarters,  which  they  commonly  do 
early  in  July.  At  this  period,  it  is  necessary  to  select  from  the  pork- 
eaters  a  number  of  men,  among  whom  are  the  recruits,  or  winterers, 
sufficient  to  man  the  North  canoes  necessary  to  carry,  to  the  river  of 
the  Rainy  lake,  the  goods  and  provision  requisite  for  the  Athabasca 
country;  as  the  people  of  that  country  (owing  to  the  shortness  of  the 
season  and  length  of  the  road  [they]  can  come  no  further)  are  equipped 
there,  and  exchange  ladings  with  the  people  of  whom  we  are  speak- 
ing, and  both  return  from  whence  they  came 

The  North  men,  being  arrived  at  the  Grand  Portage,  are  regaled 
with  bread,  pork,  butter,  liquor,  and  tobacco,  and  such  as  have  not  en- 
tered into  agreements  during  the  winter,  which  is  customary,  are  con- 
tracted with,  to  return  and  perform  the  voyage  for  one,  two,  or  three 
years:  their  accounts  are  also  settled,  and  such  as  choose  to  send  any 
of  their  earnings  to  Canada,  receive  drafts  to  transmit  to  their  relations 


366  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

or  friends:  and  as  soon  as  they  can  be  got  ready,  which  requires  no 
more  than  a  fortnight,  they  are  again  dispatched  to  their  respective 
departments 

The  people  being  dispatched  to  their  respective  winter  quarters, 
the  agents  from  Montreal,  assisted  by  their  clerks,  prepare  to  return 
there,  by  getting  the  furs  across  the  portage,  and,  re-making  them  into 
packages  of  one  hundred  pounds  weight  each,  to  send  them  to  Montreal, 
where  they  commonly  arrive  about  the  month  of  September. 

The  mode  of  living  at  the  Grand  Portage  is  as  follows:  The  pro- 
prietors, clerks,  guides,  and  interpreters,  mess  together,  to  the  number 
of  sometimes  an  hundred,  at  several  tables  in  one  large  hall,  the  pro- 
vision consisting  of  bread,  salt  pork,  beef,  hams,  fish,  and  venison,  but- 
ter, peas,  Indian  corn,  potatoes,  tea,  spirits,  wine,  &c.,  and  plenty  of 
milk,  for  which  purpose  several  milch  cows  are  constantly  kept.  The 
mechanics  have  rations  of  such  provisions,  but  the  canoe-men,  both 
from  the  North  and  Montreal,  have  no  other  allowance  here,  or  in  the 
voyage,  than  Indian  corn  and  melted  fat.  The  corn  for  this  purpose 
is  prepared  before  it  leaves  Detroit,  by  boiling  it  in  a  strong  alkali, 
which  takes  off  the  outer  husk;  it  is  then  well  washed,  and  carefully 
dried  upon  stages,  when  it  is  fit  for  use.  One  quart  of  this  is  boiled 
for  two  hours,  over  a  moderate  fire,  in  a  gallon  of  water;  to  which, 
when  it  has  boiled  a  small  time,  are  added  two  ounces  of  melted 
suet;  this  causes  the  corn  to  split,  and  in  the  time  mentioned  makes  a 
pretty  thick  pudding.  If  to  this  is  added  a  little  salt  (but  not  before 
it  is  boiled,  as  it  would  interrupt  the  operation),  it  makes  an  whole- 
some, palatable  food,  and  easy  of  digestion.  This  quantity  is  fully  suf- 
ficient for  a  man's  subsistence  during  twenty-four  hours 

The  Americans  call  this  dish  nominee. 

The  trade  from  the  Grand  Portage  is,  in  some  particulars,  carried 
on  in  a  different  manner  with  that  from  Montreal.  The  canoes  used 
in  the  latter  transport  are  now  too  large  for  the  former,  and  some  of 
about  half  the  size  are  procured  from  the  natives,  and  are  navigated 
by  four,  five,  or  six  men,  according  to  the  distance  which  they  have  to 
go.  They  carry  a  lading  of  about  thirty-five  packages,  on  an  average; 
of  these  twenty-three  are  for  the  purpose  of  trade,  and  the  rest  are 
employed  for  provisions,  stores,  and  baggage.  In  each  of  these  canoes 
are  a  foreman  and  sternman;  tne  one  to  be  always  on  the  look  out 
and  direct  the  passage  of  the  vessel,  and  the  other  to  attend  the  helm. 
They  also  carry  her,  whenever  that  oifice  is  necessary.  The  foreman 
has  the  command,  and  the  middle-men  obey  both;  the  latter  earn  only 
two-thirds  of  the  wages  which  are  paid  the  two  former.  Independent 
of  these  a  conductor  or  pilot  is  appointed  to  every  four  or  six  of  these 
canoes,  whom  they  are  all  obliged  to  obey;  and  is,  or  at  least  is  in- 
tended to  be,  a  person  of  superior  experience,  for  which  he  is  proportion- 
ably  paid. 

In  these  canoes,  thus  loaded,  they  em  Dark  at  the  north  side  of  the 
portage,  on  the  river  Au  Tourt,  which  is  very  inconsiderable;  and  after 
about  two  miles  of  a  westerly  course,  is  obstructed  by  the  Partridge 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  367 

Portage,  six  hundred  paces  long.  In  the  spring  this  makes  a  consider- 
able fall,  when  the  water  is  high,  over  a  perpendicular  rock  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet  From  thence  the  river  continues  to  be  shallow, 
and  requires  great  care  to  prevent  the  bottom  of  the  canoe  from  being 
injured  by  sharp  rocks,  for  a  distance  of  three  miles  and  an  half  to 
the  Prairie  or  Meadow,  when  half  the  lading  is  taken  out  and  carried 
by  part  of  the  crew,  while  two  of  them  are  conducting  the  canoe 
among  the  rocks,  with  the  remainder,  to  the  Carreboeuf  Portage,  three 
miles  and  an  half  more,  when  they  unload  and  come  back  two  miles, 
and  embark  what  was  left  for  the  other  hands  to  carry,  which  they 
also  land  with  the  former;  all  of  which  is  carried  six  hundred  and 
eighty  paces,  and  the  canoe  led  up  against  the  rapid.  From  hence  the 
water  is  better  calculated  to  carry  canoes,  and  leads  by  a  winding 
course  to  the  north  of  west  three  miles  to  the  Outard  Portage,  over 
which  the  canoe,  and  everything  in  her,  is  carried,  for  two  thousand 
four  hundred  paces.  At  the  further  end  is  a  very  high  hill  to  descend, 
over  which  hangs  a  rock  upwards  of  seven  hundred  feet  high.  Then 
succeeds  the  Outard  Lake,  about  six  miles  long,  lying  in  a  northwest 
course,  and  about  two  miles  wide  in  the  broadest  part.  After  passing 
a  very  small  rivulet,  they  come  to  the  Elk  Portage,  over  which  the 
canoe  and  lading  are  again  carried  one  thousand  one  hundred  and 
twenty  paces;  when  they  enter  the  lake  of  the  same  name,  which  is  an 
handsome  piece  of  water,  running  northwest  about  four  miles,  and  not 
more  than  one  mile  and  an  half  wide.  Here  is  a  most  excellent  fish- 
ery for  white  fish,  which  are  exquisite.  They  then  land  at  the  Portage 
de  Cerise,  over  which,  and  in  the  face  of  a  considerable  hill,  the  canoe 
and  cargo  are  again  transported  for  one  thousand  and  fifty  paces. 
This  is  only  separated  from  the  second  Portage  de  Cerise  by  a  mud 
pond  (where  there  is  plenty  of  water  lilies),  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
length;  and  this  is  again  separated  by  a  similar  pond  from  the  last 
Portage  de  Cerise,  which  is  four  hundred  and  ten  paces.  Here  the 
same  operation  is  to  be  performed  for  three  hundred  and  eighty  paces. 
They  next  enter  on  the  Mountain  Lake,  running  northwest  by  west, 
six  miles  long,  and  about  two  miles  in  its  greatest  breadth.  In  the 
centre  of  this  lake,  and  to  the  right,  is  the  Old  Road,  by  which  I  never 
passed;  but  an  adequate  notion  may  be  formed  of  it  from  the  road  1 
am  going  to  describe,  and  which  is  universally  preferred.  This  is  first, 
the  small  new  portage  over  which  everything  is  carried  for  six  hundred 
and  twenty-six  paces,  over  hills  and  gullies;  the  whole  is  then  em- 
barked on  a  narrow  line  of  water  that  meanders  southwest  about  two 
miles  and  an  half.  It  is  necessary  to  unload  here,  for  the  length  of 
the  canoe,  and  then  proceed  west  half  a  mile  to  the  new  Grand  Portage, 
which  is  three  thousand  one  hundred  paces  in  length,  and  over  very 
rough  ground,  which  requires  the  utmost  exertions  of  the  men,  and  fre- 
quently lames  them:  from  hence  they  approach  the  Rose  Lake,  the 
portage  of  that  name  being  opposite  to  the  junction  of  the  road  from 
the  Mountain  Lake.  They  then  embark  on  the  Rose  Lake,  about  one 
mile  from  the  east  end  of  it,  and  steer  west  by  south,  in  an  oblique 
in. — 7 


368  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

course,  across  it  two  miles;  then  west-northwest  passing  the  Petite 
Perche  to  the  Marten  Portage,  three  miles 

Over  against  this  is  a  very  high,  rocky  ridge,  on  the  south  side, 
called  Marten  Portage,  which  is  but  twenty  paces  long,  and  separated 
from  the  Perche  Portage,  which  is  four  hundred  and  eighty  paces,  by 
a  mud  pond  covered  with  white  lilies.  From  hence  the  course  is  on 
the  lake  of  the  same  name,  west-southwest  three  miles  to  the  height  of 
land,  where  the  waters  of  the  Dove  or  Pigeon  River  terminate,  and 
which  is  one  of  the  sources  of  the  great  St.  Lawrence  in  this  direc- 
tion. Having  carried  the  canoe  and  lading  over  it,  six  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  paces,  they  embark  on  the  lake  of  Hauteur  de  Terre, 
which  is  in  the  shape  of  a  horse-shoe.  (The  route  which  we  have  been 
traveling  hitherto  leads  along  the  high  rocky  land  or  bank  of  Lake 
Superior  on  the  left.  The  face  of  the  country  offers  a  wild  scene  of 
huge  hills  and  rocks,  separated  by  stony  valleys,  lakes,  and  ponds. 
Wherever  there  is  the  least  soil,  it  is  well  covered  with  trees.)  The 
lake  is  entered  near  the  curve,  and  left  at  the  extremity  of  the  west- 
ern limb,  through  a  very  shallow  channel,  where  the  canoe  passes,  half 
loaded,  for  thirty  paces  with  the  current,  which  leads  through  the  suc- 
ceeding lakes  and  rivers,  and  disembogues  itself  by  the  river  Nelson 
into  Hudson's  Bay.  The  first  of  these  is  Lac  de  pierres  &  fusil,  running 
west-southwest,  seven  miles  long  and  two  wide,  and,  making  an  angle 
at  northwest  one  mile  more,  becomes  a  river  for  half  a  mile,  tumbling 
over  a  rock  and  forming  a  fall  and  portage,  called  the  Escalier,  of  fifty- 
five  paces ;  but  from  hence  it  is  neither  lake  or  river,  but  possesses  the 
character  of  both,  and  ends  between  large  rocks,  which  cause  a  current 
or  rapid,  falling  into  a  lake-pond  for  about  two  miles  and  an  half,  west- 
northwest,  to  the  portage  of  the  Cheval  du  Bois.  Here  the  canoe  and 
contents  are  carried  three  hundred  and  eighty  paces,  between  rocks; 
and  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  is  the  Portage  des  Gros  Pins,  which  is 
six  hundred  and  forty  paces  over  an  high  ridge.  The  opposite  side  of 
it  is  washed  by  a  small  lake  three  miles  round;  and  the  course  is 
through  the  east  end  or  side  of  it,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  northeast, 
where  there  is  a  rapid.  An  irregular,  meandering  channel,  between 
rocky  banks,  then  succeeds  for  seven  miles  and  an  half  to  the  Mara- 
boeuf  Lake,  which  extends  north  four  miles,  and  is  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  wide,  terminating  by  a  rapid  and  decharge,  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty  paces,  the  rock  of  Saginaga  being  in  sight,  which  causes  a  fall 
of  about  seven  feet,  and  a  portage  of  fifty-five  paces. 

Lake  Saginaga  takes  its  name  from  its  numerous  islands,  its  great- 
est length  from  east  to  west  is  about  fourteen  miles,  with  very  irregu- 
lar inlets.  It  is  nowhere  more  than  three  miles,  wide,  and  terminates 
at  the  small  portage  of  La  Roche,  of  forty-three  paces,  From  there  is 
a  rocky,  stony  passage  of  one  mile,  to  Prairie  Portage,  which  is  very 
improperly  named,  as  there  is  no  ground  about  it  that  answers  to  that 
description,  except  a  small  spot  at  the  embarking  place  at  the  west 
end:  to  the  east  is  an  entire  bog;  and  it  is  with  great  difficulty  that 
the  lading  can  be  landed  upon  stages,  formed  by  driving  piles  into  the 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  369 

mud  and  spreading  branches  of  trees  over  them.  The  portage  rises 
on  a  stony  ridge,  over  which  the  canoe  and  cargo  must  be  carried  for 
six  hundred  and  eleven  paces.  This  is  succeeded  by  an  embarkation  on 
a  small  bay,  where  the  bottom  is  the  same  as  has  been  described  in  the 
west  end  of  Rose  Lake,  and  it  is  with  great  difficulty  that  a  laden 
canoe  is  worked  over  it,  but  it  does  not  comprehend  more  than  a  dis- 
tance of  two  hundred  yards.  From  hence  the  progress  continues 
through  irregular  channels,  bounded  by  rocks,  in  a  westerly  course  for 
about  five  miles,  to  the  little  Portage  des  Couteaux,  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  paces,  and  the  Lac  des  Couteaux,  running  about  south- 
west by  west  twelve  miles,  and  from  a  quarter  to  two  miles  wide.  A 
deep  bay  runs  east  three  miles  from  the  west,  where  it  is  discharged  by 
a  rapid  river,  and  after  running  two  miles  west  it  again  becomes  still 
water.  In  this  river  are  two  carrying  places,  the  one  fifteen,  and  the  other 
one  hundred  and  ninety  paces.  From  this  to  the  Portage  des  Carpes  is 
one  mile  northwest,  leaving  a  narrow  lake  on  the  east  that  runs  parallel 
with  the  Lake  des  Couteaux,  half  its  length,  where  there  is  a  carrying- 
place,  which  is  used  when  the  water  in  the  river  last  mentioned  is  too 
low.  The  Portage  des  Carpes  is  three  hundred  and  ninety  paces,  from 
whence  the  water  spreads  irregularly  between  rocks,  five  miles  north- 
west and  southeast  to  the  Portage  of  Lac  Bois  Blanc,  which  is  one 
hundred  and  eighty  paces.  Then  follows  the  lake  of  that  name,  but 
I  think  improperly  so  called,  as  the  natives  name  it  the  Lake  Pascau 
Minac  Sagaigan,  or  Dry  Berries. 

Before  the  small  pox  ravaged  this  country,  and  completed  what 
the  Nodowasis  in  their  warfare  had  gone  far  to  accomplish,'  the  de- 
struction of  its  inhabitants,  the  population  was  very  numerous;  this 
was  also  a  favorite  part,  where  they  made  their  canoes,  &c.,  the  lake 
abounding  in  fish,  the  country  round  it  being  plentifully  supplied  with 
various  kinds  of  game,  and  the  rocky  ridges,  that  form  the  boundaries 
of  the  water,  covered  with  a  variety  of  berries. 

When  the  French  were  in  possession  of  this  country,  they  had  sev- 
eral trading  establishments  on  the  islands  and  banks  of  this  lake.  Since 
that  period,  the  few  people  remaining,  who  were  of  the  Algonquin 
nation,  could  hardly  find  subsistence;  game  having  become  so  scarce 
that  they  depended  principally  for  food  upon  fish,  and  wild  rice  which 
grows  spontaneously  in  these  parts. 

This  lake  is  irregular  in  its  form,  and  its  utmost  extent  from  east 
to  west  is  fifteen  miles;  a  point  of  land,  called  Point  au  Pin,  jutting 
into  it,  divides  it  in  two  parts:  it  then  makes  a  second  angle  at  the 
west  end,  to  the  lesser  Portage  de  Bois  Blanc,  two  hundred  paces  in 
length.  This  channel  is  not  wide,  and  is  intercepted  by  several  rapids 
in  the  course  of  a  mile;  it  runs  west-northwest  to  the  Portage  des  Pins, 
over  which  the  canoe  and  lading  is  again  carried  four  hundred  paces. 
From  hence  the  channel  is  also  intercepted  by  very  dangerous  rapids 
for  two  miles  westerly,  to  the  point  of  Portage  du  Bois,  which  is  two 
hundred  and  eighty  paces.  Then  succeeds  the  portage  of  Lake  Croche 
one  mile  more,  where  the  carrying-place  is  eighty  paces,  and  is  followed 


370  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

by  an  embarkation  on  that  lake,  which  takes  its  name  from  its  figure. 
It  extends  eighteen  miles,  in  a  meandering  form,  and  in  a  westerly  di- 
rection; it  is  in  general  very  narrow,  and  at  about  two-thirds  of  its 
length  becomes  very  contracted,  with  a  strong  current. 

Within  three  miles  of  the  last  portage  is  a  remarkable  rock,  with 
a  smooth  face,  but  split  and  cracked  in  different  parts,  which  hang  over 
the  water.  Into  one  of  its  horizontal  chasms  a  great  number  of  arrows 
have  been  shot,  which  is  said  to  have  been  done  by  a  war  party  of  the 
Nodowasis  or  Sioux,  who  had  done  much  mischief  in  this  country,  and 
left  there  these  weapons  as  a  warning  to  the  Chebois  or  natives,  that, 
notwithstanding  its  lakes,  rivers,  and  rocks,  it  was  not  inaccessible  to 
their  enemies. 

Lake  Croche  is  terminated  by  the  Portage  du  Rideau,  four  hundred 
paces  long,  and  derives  its  name  from  the  appearance  of  the  water, 
falling  over  a  rock  of  upwards  of  thirty  feet.  Several  rapids  succeed, 
with  intervals  of  still  water,  for  about  three  miles  to  the  Flacon  port- 
age, which  is  very  difficult,  is  four  hundred  paces  long,  and  leads  to  the 
Lake  of  La  Croix,  so  named  from  its  shape.  It  runs  about  northwest 
eighteen  miles  to  the  Beaver  Dam,  and  then  sinks  into  a  deep  bay 
nearly  east.  The  course  to  the  portage  is  west  by  north  for  sixteen 
miles  more  from  the  Beaver  Dam;  and  into  the  east  bay  is  a  road 
which  was  frequented  by  the  French,  and  followed  through  lakes  and 
rivers  until  they  came  to  Lake  Superior  by  the  river  Caministiquia, 
thirty  miles  east  of  the  Grand  Portage. 

Portage  La  Croix  is  six  hundred  paces  long;  to  the  next  portage 
is  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  its  length  is  forty  paces;  the  river  winding 
four  miles  to  Vermillion  Lake,  which  runs  six  or  seven  miles  north- 
northwest,  and  by  a  narrow  strait  communicates  with  Lake  Namaycan, 
wliich  takes  its  name  from  a  particular  place  at  the  foot  of  a  fall, 
where  the  natives  spear  sturgeon.  Its  course  is  about  north-northwest 
and  south-southeast,  with  a  bay  running  east,  that  gives  it  the  form 
of  a  triangle;  its  length  is  about  sixteen  miles  to  the  Nouvelle  Portage. 
The  discharge  of  the  lake  is  from  a  bay  on  the  left,  and  the  portage 
one  hundred  and  eighty  paces,  to  which  succeeds  a  very  small  river, 
from  whence  there  is  but  a  short  distance  to  the  next  Nouvelle  Portage, 
three  hundred  and  twenty  paces  long.  It  is  there  necessary  to  embark 
on  a  swamp  or  overflowed  country,  where  wild  rice  grows  in  great 
abundance.  There  is  a  channel  or  small  river  in  the  centre  of  this 
swamp,  which  is  kept  with  difficulty,  and  runs  south  and  north  one 
mile  and  a  half,  with  deepening  water.  The  course  continues  north- 
northwest  one  mile  to  the  Chaudiere  Portage,  which  is  caused  by  the 
discharge  of  the  waters  running  on  the  left  of  the  road  from  Lake 
Naymaycan,  which  used  to  be  the  common  route,  but  that  which  I  have 
described  is  the  safest  as  well  as  shortest.  From  hence  there  is  some 
current  though  the  water  is  wide  spread,  and  its  course  about  north 
by  west  three  miles  and  a  half  to  the  Lake  de  la  Plnie,  which  lies 
nearly  east  and  west;  from  thence  about  fifteen  miles  is  a  narrow 
strait  that  divides  the  land  into  two  unequal  parts,  from  whence  to  its 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  371 

discharge  is  a  distance  of  twenty-four  miles.  There  is  a  deep  bay  run- 
ning northwest  on  the  right,  that  is  not  included,  and  is  remarkable 
for  furnishing  the  natives  with  a  kind  of  soft,  red  stone,  of  which  they 
make  their  pipes;  it  also  affords  an  excellent  fishery,  both  in  the  sum- 
mer and  winter;  and  from  it  is  an  easy,  safe,  and  short  road  to  the 
Lake  du  Bois  (which  I  shall  mention  presently),  for  the  Indians  to  pass 
in  their  small  canoes,  through  a  small  lake  and  on  a  small  river,  whose 
banks  furnish  abundance  of  wild  rice.  The  discharge  of  this  lake  is 
called  Lake  de  la  Pluie  River,  at  whose  entrance  there  is  a  rapid,  be- 
low which  is  a  fine  bay,  where  there  had  been  an  extensive  picketed 
fort  and  building  when  possessed  by  the  French:  the  site  of  it"  is  at 
present  a  beautiful  meadow,  surrounded  with  groves  of  oaks.  From 
hence  there  is  a  strong  current  for  two  miles,  where  the  water  falls 
over  a  rock  twenty  feet,  and,  from  the  consequent  turbulence  of  the 
water,  the  carrying-place,  which  is  three  hundred  and  twenty  paces 
long,  derives  the  name  of  Chaudiere.  Two  miles  onward  is  the  p'resent 
trading  establishment,  situated  on  an  high  bank  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river  in  48°  37'  north  latitude. 

Here  the  people  from  Montreal  come  to  meet  those  from  the  Atha- 
basca country,  as  has  been  already  described,  and  exchange  lading 
with  them.  This  is  the  residence  of  the  first  chief,  or  Sachem,  of  all 
the  Algonquin  tribes  inhabiting  the  different  parts  of  this  country.  He 
is  by  distinction  called  Nectam,  which  implies  personal  pre-eminence. 
Here  also  the  elders  meet  in  council  to  treat  of  peace  or  war. 

This  is  one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the  Northwest,  and  runs  a  course 
west  and  east  one  hundred  and  twenty  computed  miles;  but  in  taking 
its  course  and  distance  minutely  I  make  it  only  eighty.  Its  banks  are 
covered  with  a  rich  soil,  particularly  to  the  north,  which,  in  many  parts, 
are  clothed  with  fine  open  groves  of  oak,  with  the  maple,  the  pine,  and 
the  cedar.  The  southern  bank  is  not  so  elevated,  and  displays  the 
maple,  the  white  birch,  and  the  cedar,  with  the  spruce,  and  alder,  and 
various  underwood.  Its  waters  abound  in  fish,  particularly  the  stur- 
geon, which  the  natives  both  spear  and  take  with  drag-nets.  But  not- 
withstanding the  promise  of  this  soil,  the  Indians  do  not  attend  to  its 
cultivation,  though  they  are  not  ignorant  of  the  common  process,  and 

are  fond  of  the  Indian  corn,  when  they  can  get  it  from  us 

We  now  proceed  to  mention  the  Lake  du  Bois,  into  which  this  river 
discharges  itself  in  latitude  49.  north,  and  was  formerly  famous  for  the 
richness  of  its  banks  and  waters,  which  abounded  with  whatever  was 
necessary  to  a  savage  life.  The  French  had  several  settlements  in  and 
about  it;  but  it  might  be  almost  concluded  that  some  fatal  circum- 
stance had  destroyed  the  game,  as  war  and  the  small  pox  had  dimin- 
I  ished  the  inhabitants,  it  having  been  very  unproductive  in  animals 
;  since  the  British  subjects  have  been  engaged  in  travelling  through  it; 
though  it  now  appears  to  be  recovering  its  pristine  state.  The  few 
Indians  who  inhabit  it  might  live  very  comfortably,  if  they  were  not 
so  immoderately  fond  of  spirituous  liquors 


372  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

The  Lake  du  Bois  is,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  nearly  round,  and  the 
canoe  course  through  the  centre  of  it  among  a  cluster  of  islands,  some 
of  which  are  so  extensive  that  they  may  be  taken  for  the  main  land. 
The  reduced  course  would  be  nearly  south  and  north.  But  following 
the  navigating  course,  I  make  the  distance  seventy-five  miles,  though 
in  a  direct  line  it  would  fall  very  short  of  that  length.  At  about  two- 
thirds  of  it  there  is  a  small  carrying-place,  when  the  water  is  low.  The 
carrying-place  out  of  the  lake  is  on  an  island,  and  named  Portage  du 
Rat,  in  latitude  49°  37'  north  and  longitude  94°  15'  west,  and  is  about 
fifty  paces  long 

THE  BIRCH  BARK  CANOE. 

The  history  of  the  fur  trade  should  not  be  closed  without 
a  respectful  reference  to  the  birch  canoe,  and  description  of 
this  serviceable  means  of  conveyance,  by  which  that  early 
commerce  was  carried  on  for  over  two  hundred  years.  For 
this  purpose  I  give  some  extracts  from  the  writings  of  persons 
who  all  their  lives  were  engaged  in  this  trade. 

Chief  Factor  Archibald  McDonald,  who  accompanied  Sir 
George  Simpson  in  his  voyage  from  York  Factory  on  Hudson 
bay  to  the  Pacific,  in  1828,  kept  the  minutes  of  this  expedi- 
tion. They  were  edited  and  published  by  Malcolm  McLeod  in 
1872.  Speaking  of  the  "light  canoe,"  on  page  41,  McLeod 
says: 

Light  canoes  were  specially  made  and  adapted  for  speediest  travel. 
I  saw  those,  the  very  ones  spoken  of,  at  Norway  House,  on  their  pas- 
sage up.  The  Governor's  was  the  most  beautiful  thing  of  the  kind  I 
ever  saw;  beautiful  in  its  "lines"  of  faultless  fineness,  and  in  its  form 
and  every  feature;  the  bow,  a  magnificent  curve  of  bark,  gaudily  but 
tastefully  painted,  that  would  have  made  a  Roman  rostrum  of  old 
hide  its  diminished  head.  The  paddles,  painted  red  with  vermilion, 
were  made  to  match,  and  the  whole  thing  in  its  kind  was  of  faultless 
grace  and  beauty— beauty  in  the  sense  of  graceful  and  perfect  fitness 
to  its  end. 

This  class  of  canoes  is  [or  rather  was,  for  I  am  speaking  of  times 
now  somewhat  old]  generally  known  under  the  name  of  "North 
Canoes,"  from  the  fact  that  on  the  arrival  of  the  largest  kind  of  canoes, 
used  in  the  trade,  viz.,  those  used  to  be  dispatched  [and  that  until  very 
lately]  from  Lachine,  on  first  open  water,  to  Fort  William,  Lake  Su- 
perior, and  which  were  called  "Canots  du  Maitre"  had  to  be  exchanged, 
or  left  behind  for  smaller  craft,  half  the  size,  and  such  as  could  be 
portaged  from  that  point  upwards.  The  Canot  du  M.  [Canoe  of  the 
Master,  as  we  would  call  it  in  English]  was  of  six  fathoms,  measured 
within,  and  the  C.  du  Nord  about  four,  more  or  less.  The  ordinary 
crew  for  the  former  was  sixteen  or  eighteen,  and  for  the  latter  eight 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI   RIVER.  873 

or  nine.  The  larger  could  stand  any  storm  in  Lakes  Huron  and  Su- 
perior, but  it  was  ever  the  habit  of  voyage  to  avoid  the  encounter  as 
much  as  possible.  Their  ordinary  load  was  one  hundred  and  twenty 
pieces  of  ninety  pounds  each,  say  five  tons,  with  men,  and  passengers' 
baggage.  They  always  carried  passengers,  say  from  four  to  eight  or 
even  more  in  case  of  children.  I  never  heard  of  such  a  canoe  being 
wrecked,  or  upset,  or  swamped;  they  swam  like  ducks.  If  overtaken, 
as  was  often  the  case,  in  a  long  traverse  from  point  to  point,  or  across 
large  bays  in  the  big  lakes,  the  heavy  "parla"  [red  canvas  oil  cloth] 
used  to  be  thrown  over  the  goods  as  a  storm  deck,  and  then  skilled 

strength  and  pluck,  with  the  trusty  bark,  did  the  work. 

• 

I  add  also  a  description  given  by  Mr.  Hopkins,  the  Secre- 
tary of  Sir  George  Simpson,  of  the  start  of  Sir  George  from 
Lachine  on  his  voyage  around  the  world  in  1841-2.  He  says  : 

By  nine  o'clock  our  two  canoes  were  floating  in  front  of  the  house 
in  the  Lachine  canal,  constructed  to  avoid  the  famous  rapids  of  St. 
Louis.  The  crews,  thirteen  men  to  the  one  vessel,  and  fourteen  to  the 
other,  consisted  partly  of  Canadians,  but  principally  of  Iroquois,  from 
the  opposite  village  of  Kaughnawaga,  the  whole  being  under  the  charge 
of  my  old  and  faithful  follower,  Morin.  .... 

The  canoes,  those  tiny  vehicles'  of  an  amphibious  navigation,  are 
constructed  in  the  following  manner:  The  outside  is  formed  of  the 
thick  and  tough  bark  of  the  birch,  the  sheets  being  sewed  together  with 
the  root  of  the  pine  tree  split  into  threads,  and  the  seams  being  gummed 
to  make  them  air  tight,  The  gunwales  are  of  pine  or  cedar,  of  about 
three  inches  square;  and  in  their  lower  edges  are  inserted  the  ribs, 
made  of  thin  pieces  of  wood  bent  to  a  semicircle.  Between  the  ribs 
and  the  bark  is  a  coating  of  lathing,  which,  besides  warding  off  in- 
ternal injury  from  the  fragile  covering,  serves  to  impart  a  firmness  to 
the  vessel.  These  canoes  are  generally  about  thirty-five  feet  from 
stem  to  stern;  and  they  are  five  feet  wide  in  the  centre,  gradually 
tapering  to  a  point  at  each  end,  where  they  are  raised  about  a  foot. 
When  loaded,  they  draw  scarcely  eighteen  inches  of  water;  and  they 
weigh  between  three  hundred  and  four  hundred  pounds. 

Realizing  that  the  days  of  this  amphibious  navigation  have 
passed  from  the  limits  of  our  state,  I  am  tempted  to  make  an- 
other quotation  from  this  narrative  of  Sir  Geo.  Simpson's  jour- 
ney fifty  years  ago  (page  27): 

Before  bidding  good-by  to  our  old  friend  the  Ottawa,  let  me  here 
offer  a  description  of  a  day's  march,  as  a  general  specimen  of  the 
whole  journey.  To  begin  with  the  most  important  part  of  our  pro- 
ceedings, the  business  of  encamping  for  a  brief  night,  we  selected, 
about  sundown,  some  dry  and  tolerably  clear  spot;  and  immediately 
on  landing,  the  sound  of  the  axe  would  be  ringing  through  the  wood, 
as  the  men  were  felling  whole  trees  for  our  fires,  and  preparing,  if 


374  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

necessary,  a  space  for  our  tents.  In  less  than  ten  minutes  our  three 
lodges  would  be  pitched,  each  with  such  a  blaze  in  front  as  virtually 
imparted  a  new  sense  of  enjoyment  to  all  the  young  campaigners, 
while  through  the  crackling  flames  might  be  seen  the  requisite  number 
of  pots  and  kettles  for  our  supper.  Our  beds  were  next  laid,  consist- 
ing of  an"  oilcloth  spread  on  the  bare  earth,  with  three  blankets  and  a 
pillow,  and,  when  occasion  demanded,  with  cloaks  and  great-coats  at 
discretion;  and  whether  the  wind  howled  or  rain  poured,  our  pavilions 
of  canvas  formed  a  safe  barrier  against  the  weather.  While  part  of 
our  crews,  comprising  all  the  landsmen,  were  doing  duty  as  stokers, 
and  cooks,  and  architects,  and  chambermaids,  the  more  experienced 
voyageurs,  after  unloading  the  canoes,  had  drawn  them  on  the  beach 
with  their  bottoms  upwards,  to  inspect,  and,  if  needful,  to  renovate  the 
stitching  and  the  gumming;  and  as  the  little  vessels  were  made  to 
incline  on  one  side  to  windward,  each  with  a  roaring  fire  to  leeward, 
the  crews,  every  man  in  his  own  single  blanket,  managed  to  set  wind, 
and  rain,  and  cold  at  defiance,  almost  as  effectually  as  ourselves. 
Weather  permitting,  our  slumbers  would  be  broken  about  one  in  the 
morning  by  the  cry  of  "Leve!  level  lever  In  five  minutes,  woe  to  the 
inmates  that  were  slow  in  dressing,  the  tents  were  tumbling  about  our 
ears;  and  within  half  an  hour  the  camp  would  be  raised,  the  canoes 
laden,  and  the  paddles  keeping  time  to  some  merry  old  song.  About 
eight  o'clock,  a  convenient  place  would  be  selected  for  breakfast,  about 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  being  allotted  for  the  multifarious  operations 
of  unpacking  and  repacking  the  equipage,  laying  and  removing  the 
cloth,  boiling  and  frying,  eating  and  drinking;  and,  while  the  prelimi- 
naries were  arranging,  the  hardier  among  us  would  wash  and  shave, 
each  person  carrying  soap  and  towel  in  his  pocket,  and  finding  a  mir- 
ror in  the  same  sandy  or  rocky  basin  that  held  the  water.  About  two 
in  the  afternoon  we  usually  put  ashore  for  dinner;  and  as  this  meal 
needed  no  fire,  or  at  least  got  none,  it  was  not  allowed  to  occupy  more 
than  twenty  minutes  or  half  an  hour.  Such  was  the  routine  of  our 
journey,  the  day,  generally  speaking,  being  divided  into  six  hours  of 
rest  and  eighteen  of  labor.  This  almost  incredible  toil  the  voyageurs 
bore  without  a  murmur,  and,  almost  invariably,  with  such  an  hilarity 
of  spirit  as  few  other  men  could  sustain  for  a  single  forenoon. 

But  the  quality  of  the  work,  even  more  decidedly  than  the  quantity, 
requires  operatives  of  iron  mould.  In  smooth  water  the  paddle  is  plied 
with  twice  the  rapidity  of  the  oar,  taxing  both  arms  and  lungs  to  the 
utmost  extent;  amid  shallows  the  canoe  is  literally  dragged  by  the 
men  wading  to  their  knees  or  to  their  loins,  while  each  poor  fellow,  after 
replacing  his  drier  half  in  his  seat,  laughingly  shakes  the  heaviest  of 
the  wet  from  his  legs  over  the  gunwale,  before  he  again  gives  them 
an  inside  berth;  in  rapids,  the  towing  line  has  to  be  hauled  along  over 
rocks  and  stumps,  through  swamps  and  thickets,  excepting  that  when 
the  ground  is  utterly  impracticable,  poles  are  substituted,  and  occasion- 
ally, also,  the  bushes  on  the  shore.  Again  on  the  portages,  where  the 
breaks  are  of  all  imaginable  kinds  and  degrees  of  badness,  the  canoes 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE   IN   MINNESOTA.  375 

and  their  cargoes  are  never  carried  across  in  less  than  two  or  three 
trips,  the  little  vessels  alone  monopolizing,  on  the  first  turn,  the  more 
expert  half  of  their  respective  crews.  Of  the  baggage,  each  man  has 
to  carry  at  least  two  pieces,  estimated  at  a  hundred  and  eighty  pounds 
avoirdupois,  which  he  suspends  in  slings  of  leather  placed  across  the 
forehead,  so  that  he  has  his  hands  free  to  clear  the  way  among  the 
branches  of  the  standing  trees,  and  over  the  prostrate  trunks.  But,  in 
addition  to  the  separate  labors  of  the  land  and  the  water,  the  poor 
fellows  have  to  endure  a  combination  of  both  sorts  of  hardship  at  least 
three  or  four  times  every  day.  The  canoes  can  seldom  approach  near 
enough  to  enable  the  passengers  to  step  ashore  from  the  gunwale;  and 
no  sooner  is  a  halt  made  than  the  men  are  in  the  water  to  ferry  us  to 
dry  ground  on  their  backs.  In  this  unique  part  of  their  duty  they  seem 
to  take  pride;  and  a  little  fellow  often  tries  to  get  possession  of  the 
heaviest  customer  in  the  party,  considerably  exceeding,  as  has  often 
been  the  case  in  my  experience,  the  standard  aforesaid,  of  two  pieces 
of  baggage. 

Sir  George  Simpson,  in  his  testimony  before  the  select  Com- 
mittee of  Parliament  in  1857,  says  he  had  passed  over  the  route 
from  Fort  William  or  Grand  Portage  to  Winnipeg  forty  times. 
These  trips  were  made  in  the  manner  related  in  Mr.  Hopkins' 
description. 

Longfellow's  "Song  of  Hiawatha,"  in  its  seventh  canto,  de- 
scribes the  materials  of  which  the  birch  canoe  is  constructed; 
and  the  illustrated  edition  of  this  poem  issued  in  1891  by 
Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.  has  a  good  photogravure  of  the  process 
of  its  building  by  Indians  in  the  forest. 

THE  COMMERCE  OF  CIVILIZATION. 

The  concluding  part  of  this  paper  will  be  devoted  to  Com- 
merce in  Minnesota,  on  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributa- 
ries, to  the  year  1862,  and  will  contain  all  that  I  have  been 
able  to  gather  from  all  sources,  including  the  files  of  newspa- 
pers of  Galena,  111.,  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society's  files, 
and  the  files  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society;  to  which  I 
have  added  my  own  personal  recollections  of  the  history. 
Scharf's  "History  of  St.  Louis  City  and  County,"  and  Capt. 
E.  W.  Gould's  "History  of  River  Navigation,"  contain  a  great 
number  of  incidents  relating  to  the  early  days  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi. But  I  must  say  that  I  was  very  much  disappointed 
in  my  expectation  of  finding  data  that  would  be  of  service  in 
my  work  among  the  files  of  newspapers  and  other  printed  au- 
thority; there  is  very  little. 


376  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

The  keel-boat  service  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  trans- 
portation of  troops  and  supplies  for  the  fort;  and  the  Indian 
Agent,  Major  Forsyth,  gives  us  (in  this  Society's  Historical 
Collections,  volume  3,  pages  139-167)  his  journal  of  his  voyage 
from  St.  Louis  to  St  Peter's  in  1819.  Soon  thereafter  comes 
the  age  of  steam. 

ARRIVALS  OF  STEAMBOATS   AT  FORT  SNELLING,  1823-1839. 

For  the  purpose  of  making  the  list  of  steamboat  arrivals  a8 
full  and  complete  as  possible  at  this  time,  I  am  induced  to  copy 
from  the  Minnesota  Historical  Collections,  volume  2.  In  its 
pages  102-142,  Rev.  E.  D.  Neill,  in  his  "Occurrences  in  and 
around  Fort  Snelling,  from  1819  to  1840,"  gives  the  following 
names  and  dates  of  steamboat  arrivals  at  that  place,  which  I 
have  here  collected  together  from  his  narrative: 

1823-1826. 

Steamboat  Virginia,  Capt.  Crawford,  May  10th,  1823.  She  was  one 
hundred  and  eighteen  feet  long  and  twenty-two  feet  wide.  She  waa 
received  with  a  salute  from  the  fort.  Among  her  passengers  were 
Major  Biddle,  Lieut.  Russell,  Taliaferro,  the  Indian  Agent,  and  Bel- 
trami,  an  Italian  refugee. 

The  steamboat  Rufus  Putnam,  Capt.  David  G.  Bates  in  command, 
reached  the  fort  April  5th,  1825.  Four  weeks  later  she  made  a  second 
trip  with  goods  for  the  Columbia  Fur  Company,  and  proceeded  to 
Land's  End,  their  trading  post  on  the  Minnesota  river. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  steamboats  that  had  arrived  at  Fort 
Snelling  up  to  May  26th,  1826,  the  exact  dates  being  known  for  only 
three:* 

1.  Virginia,  May  10th,  1823.  9.    Josephine. 

2.  Neiville.  10.    Fulton. 

3.  Putnam,  April  2nd,  1825.          11.    Red  Rover. 

4.  Mandan.  12.    Black  Rover. 

5.  Indiana,  13.    Warrior. 

6.  Lawrence,  May  2nd,  1826.        14.    Enterprise, 

7.  Sciota.  15.    Volant. 

8.  Eclipse. 

1832. 

Steamboat  Versailles,  May  12th. 
Enterprise,  June  27th. 

1835. 

The  steamboat  Warrior,  built  and  commanded  by  Capt.  Throck- 
morton,  arrived  June  24th  with  supplies  and  a  pleasure  party.  Among: 

*Note.— There  are  evidently  mistakes  in  this  list  of  arrivals  before  May 
26th,  1826. 

The  Red  Rover  made  her  appearance  in  the  Galena  trade  in  1830,  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Joseph  Throckmorton.  He  also  built  the  Warrior  in  1832, 
and  was  in  command  and  participated  in  the  Battle  of  Bad  Axe  in  that  year. 

The  steamboat  Josephine,  Capt.  J.  Clark,  was  in  the  Galena  and  St. 
Louis  trade  in  1829. 

Steamboat  Missouri  Fulton;  Capt.  Culver  was  captain  of  this  boat  in 
1828. 


THE   ADVENT   OF    COMMERCE   IN   MINNESOTA.  377 

the  passengers  were  Capt.  Day  and  Lieut.  Beech,  of  the  army,  Catlin, 
the  artist,  and  wife,  General  George  W.  Jones,  J.  Farnsworth,  Mrs.  Fe- 
lix St.  Vrain,  Misses  Farnsworth,  Crow,  Johnson,  and  others.  On  July 
16th  the  Warrior  again  arrived  at  the  fort. 

1836. 

The  Missouri  Fulton  arrived  on  May  8th.  [Mr.  Neill  does  not  give 
the  name  of  her  captain.  I  venture  to  add  the  name  of  Capt.  Orren 
Smith.  He  commanded  her  for  a  time.] 

Steamboat  Frontier,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris,  May  29th. 

Steamboat  Palmyra,  Capt.  Cole,  June  1st,  with  some  thirty  ladies 
and  gentlemen  passengers,  a  pleasure  party. 

Steamboat  St.  Peter's,  Capt.  J.  Throckmorton,  July  2d.  Among  the 
passengers  were  Nicollet,  coming  to  begin  his  exploration  of  the  North- 
west, and  several  ladies  from  St.  Louis  on  a  pleasure  tour. 

On  October  9th,  a  small  steamboat  arrived  with  stores  for  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

1837. 

The  steamboat  Rolla  arrived  November  10th,  bringing  back  the  Sioux 
delegation  who  had  visited  Washington  and  made  a  treaty  there  Sep- 
tember 29th,  by  which  the  valley  of  the  St.  Croix  was  opened  to  white 
immigration. 

1838. 

Steamboat  Burlington,  Capt.  J.  Throckmorton,  May  25th;  and  again 
June  13th. 

Steamboat  Brazil,  Capt.  Orren  Smith,  June  15th,  two  boats  being  at 
the  fort  at  the  same  time.  The  Burlington  made  three  trips  this  season. 

The  steamboat  Ariel  arrived  June  20th. 

The  steamboat  Burlington  completed  her  third  trip  on  June  28th, 
bringing  146  troops. 

The  steamboat  Palmyra,  Capt.  Middleton,  arrived  July  15th,  with 
official  notice  of  the  ratification  of  the  Sioux  treaty,— bringing  also  ma- 
chinery for  the  St.  Croix  mill,  and  a  millwright,  Calvin  Tuttle,  with 
other  men,  to  build  it. 

Steamboat  Ariel,  August  27th,  and  again  September  29th. 

Steamboat  Gipsy,  with  Chippewa  goods,  October  21st. 

1839. 

Steamboat  Ariel,  Capt.  Lyon,  April  14th. 

Steamboat  Gipsy,  Capt.  Grey,  May  2nd. 

Steamboat  Fayette,  May  llth. 

Steamboat  Glaucus,  Capt.  G.  W.  Atchison,  May  21st,  and  again  June 
5th. 

Steamboat  Pennsylvania,  Capt.  Stone,  June  1st. 

The  steamboat  Ariel  arrived  June  6th;  and  also  made  three  later 
trips,  arriving  June  26th,  July  17th,  and  August  15th. 

Steamboat  Knickerbocker,  June  25th. 

Steamboat  Malta,  Capt.  J.  Throckmorton,  July  22d. 

The  steamboat  Pike,  with  soldiers,  arrived  September  9th  and  again 
September  17th. 


378  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

There  is  no  authority  given  for  this  record ;  but  the  annals 
were  prepared  by  Kev.  E.  D.  Neill,  and  he  must  have  had  some 
authority  for  the  record.  I  personally  became  well  acquainted 
with  nearly  all  the  captains  above  named,  and  with  all  the 
boats  from  the  summer  of  1839.  Major  Taliaferro  resigned 
his  office  in  January,  1840;  and  I  presume  the  above  record 
is  from  his  papers. 

RECORDS  FROM   GALENA  NEWSPAPERS,  1828-1848. 

The  Miners'  Journal  of  Galena,  in  1828,  mentions  the  fol- 
lowing steamboats:  Indiana,  Capt.  Fay;  Red  Rover,  Capt. 
J.  Throckmorton;  Josephine,  Capt.  Clark;  and  Missouri  Ful- 
ton, Capt.  Culver.  In  1829  it  mentions  the  Josephine,  Capt. 
Clark;  Red  Rover,  Capt.  Throckmorton ;  and  the  Galena,  Capt. 
David  G.  Bates.  One  steamboat  was  advertised  for  Fort  Snell- 
ing,  the  Lady  Washington,  Capt.  Shellcross.  The  editor  appar- 
ently did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  notice  the  arrivals  of 
boats,  as  everyone  knew  well  of  their  arrival.  The  paper  was 
a  weekly,  and  it  did  not  appear  necessary  to  mention  them.  Its 
publication  was  suspended  during  the  Black  Hawk  war. 

The  Galena  Advertiser,  in  the  fall  of  1835,  noticed  the  close 
of  navigation  as  occurring  on  November  7th;  and  said  that 
the  Warrior  and  Galena  had  left  for  Pittsburgh.  From  this 
newspaper,  chiefly,  I  have  obtained  the  following  imperfect 
records  for  the  next  twelve  years : 

1836. 

The  Advertiser  mentions  the  opening  of  navigation  April 
9th,  and  says  that  the  steamboat  Olive  Branch,  Capt.  Strother, 
the  Wisconsin,  Capt.  Flaherty,  the  Dubuque,  Cavalier,  War- 
rior, and  Galena,  had  left  for  St.  Louis. 

The  Missouri  Fulton,  Capt.  O.  Smith,  and  the  new  steam- 
boat Frontier,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris,  one  of  the  boats  built  by 
D.  S.  &  R.  S.  Harris,  gave  an  excursion  trip  to  the  people  of 
Galena  and  Dubuque. 

1837. 

The  steamboat  Smelter,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris,  with  R.  S.  Har- 
ris, engineer,  was  one  of  the  first  boats  built  with  state  rooms 
for  the  upper  Mississippi  river.  She  was  advertised  for  St. 
Peters  about  June  1st;  the  Pavillion,  Capt.  Lafferty,  about 
the  20th;  the  Burlington,  for  June  17th;  and  the  Irene,  Rolla, 
and  Fulton,  later.  The  Rolla  was  mentioned  as  being  in  Ga- 


THE   ADVENT    OF   COMMERCE   IN   MINNESOTA.  379 

lena  with.  Major  Taliaferro  and  his  Indian  delegation  on  their 
return  from  Washington  to  St.  Peter's.* 

The  following  list  of  boats  was  mentioned  as  having  been 
in  the  trade  to  and  from  Galena  in  1837:  Palmyra,  Dubuque, 
Gipsy,  Pavillion,  Adventurer,  Emerald,  Missouri-Fulton,  En- 
voy, Wyoming,  Olive  Branch,  Science,  Ariel,  Cavalier,  Heroine, 
Galena,  Smelter,  Lady  Marshall,  Irene,  Alphia,  Huntress, 
Kolla,  Caledonia,  and  Burlington.  Boats  lost  during  the  sea- 
son were  the  Dubuque,  Rolla,  Emerald,  and  Heroine; 

1838. 

The  steamboat  Brazil,  Capt.  Orren  Smith,  arrived  in  Ga- 
lena April  4th.  The  Gipsy  was  advertised  for  St.  Peter's; 
and  the  Ariel  arrived  from  St.  Peter's.  The  Pizarro,  Capt.  B. 
S.  Harris,  a  new  boat  133  feet  long  and  20  feet  beam,  144  tons, 
arrived. 

1839. 

The  Glaucus,  Rosalie  and  Pizarro  were  advertised  for  the 
Galena  and  St.  Louis  trade.  The  steamboat  Brazil  was  adver- 
tised for  a  pleasure  trip  to  St.  Peter's  July  21st;  and  the 
steamboat  Pike  was  on  her  way  to  St.  Peter's  with  troops 
September  3d. 

1840. 

The  steamboats  Elba,  lone,  Quincy,  and  Pike,  are  men- 
tioned. The  Annie  was  noted  as  on  her  way  to  St.  Peter's 
April  1st;  also  the  Omega,  The  following  boats  were  adver- 
tised to  make  pleasure  trips  to  St.  Peter's  during  the  summer, 
viz.:  Loyal  Hanna,  Malta,  Valley  Forge,  lone,  and  Brazil. 
The  Indian  Queen,  Capt.  Saltmarsh,  was  in  the  trade  this 
season. 

1841. 

The  following  steamboats  were  advertised  or  otherwise 
mentioned:  the  Otter,  Capt.  Harris;  Sarah  Ann,  Capt.  Laf- 
ferty;  Chippewa,  Capt.  Griffith;  Illinois,  Capt.  McAllister; 
Muscoda,  Capt.  J.  H.  Lusk;  and  Rock  River,  Capt.  Agostin 
Haraszthy.  This  last  named  captain  was  a  Hungarian  count 
and  exile. 

The  steamboat  Brazil  was  sunk  on  the  Rock  Island  chain, 
in  the  upper  rapids,  being  a  total  loss. 


*Thls  name  was  applied  to  the  trading  post  on  the  site  of  the  present 
village  of  Mendota,  at  the  southeast  side  of  the  mouth  of  St.  Peter's  (Min- 
nesota) river,  opposite  to  Fort  Snelling. 


380  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

1842. 

The  New  Brazil,  Capt.  O.  Smith,  arrived  September  24th. 
She  was  160  feet  long,  and  23  feet  beam.  The  following 
boats  were  in  the  trade  this  year:  Amaranth,  Capt.  G.  W. 
Atchison;  Osprey,  Capt.  N.  W.  Parker;  lone,  Capt.  Le  Boy 
Dodge;  Ohio,  Capt.  Mark  Atchison;  Iowa,  Capt.  D.  B.  More- 
house;  and  the  General  Brooke,  Capt.  Throckmorton.  The 
last  returned  from  a  trip  to  St.  Peter's  May  26th.  The  Otter, 
Capt.  Harris,  and  the  Rock  River,  ran  between  Galena  and  St. 
Peter's  during  the  season. 

1843. 

The  steamer  Chippewa  came  down  from  St.  Peter's  May  2d; 
the  New  Brazil  June  5th ;  and  the  General  Brooke,  Jasper,  and 
Otter  always  ran  to  St.  Peter's  during  the  season.  There  must 
have  been  other  boats,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  trace  of 
them.  These  boats  ran  to  St.  Peter's  seven  trips  in  the  sea- 
son. 

*  1844. 

The  boats  advertised  for  St.  Peter's  in  1844  were  the  Hiber- 
nia,  Lewis  F.  Lynn,  Capt.  S.  M.  Kennet;  Lynx,  Capt.  W.  H. 
Hooper;  Mendota,  Capt.  Robert  A.  Riley;  and  St.  Croix,  Capt 
Hiram  Bersie.  The  Otter,  Capt.  Harris,  was  run  in  the  Galena 
and  St.  Peter's  trade  during  the  season;  also  the  Rock  River, 
Capt.  Agostin  Haraszthy. 

1845. 

The  following  steamboats  plied  from  Galena  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  river:  Uncle  Tobey,  Capt.  Cole;  Lynx,  Capt.  John 
Atchison;  War  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  St.  Croix,  Capt. 
Hiram  Bersie;  Iowa,  Capt.  D.  B.  Morehouse;  Cecilia,  Capt 
Throckmorton;  and  St.  Anthony,  Capt.  A.  C.  Montfort. 

1846. 

During  this  year  I  find  mention  of  the  Atlas,  Capt.  Robert 
A.  Riley;  Prairie  Bird,  Capt  Nick  Wall;  War  Eagle,  Capt 

D.  S.  Harris;  Falcon,  Capt.  Le  Grand  Morehouse;  Cora,  Capt. 
Throckmorton ;  Argo,  Capt.  Kennedy  Lodwick ;  Monona,  Capt 

E.  H.  Gleim;  Raritan,  Capt.  Rogers;  and  the  Otter,  Capt  Har- 
ris.   During  the  season  there  were  twenty-four  arrivals  in 
Galena. 

1847. 

The  Argo,  Capt.  M.  W.  Lodwick,  advertised  as  a  regular 
packet  for  the  season  from  Galena  to  St.  Peter's,  Fort  Snelling, 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE   IN    MINNESOTA.  381 

and  Stillwater.    I  was  clerk  on  this  boat  from  June  8th  until 
she  sunk  in  the  fall. 

Other  steamboats  running  this  year  were  the  War  Eagle, 
Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  Dubuque,  Capt.  E.  H.  Beebe;  Time  and 
Tide,  Capt.  E.  W.  Gould;  Lynx,  Capt.  John  Atchison;  Senator, 
Capt.  McCoy;  and  the  Bon  Accord,  Capt.  H.  Bersie.  These 
six  boats  were  advertised  from  St.  Louis  to  St.  Peter's  and 
Fort  Snelling. 

1848. 

The  Dr.  Franklin,  Capt.  M.  W.  Lodwick,  was  a  Galena  and 
St.  Paul  packet.  This  was  the  first  boat  of  the  Galena  and 
Minnesota  Packet  Company.  Her  owners  were  Campbell  and 
Smith,  Henry  Corwilh,  H.  L.  Dousraam,,  Brisbois  &  Eice,  H.  H. 
Sibley,  M.  W.  Lodwick,  and  R.  Blakeley.  The  other  boats  in 
the  trade  were  the  Highland  Mary,  Capt.  John  Atchison;  Sen- 
ator, Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  Alex.  Hamilton,  Capt.  W.  H.  Hooper; 
and  Anthony  Wayne,  Capt.  Dan  Able.  I  am  almost  certain 
that  Capt.  ThroQkmorton  ran  the  Cora  in  the  trade  some  part 
of  the  season ;  and  I  think  there  were  others  that  I  have  not 
been  able  to  trace. 

RIVALRY  BEGUN  IN  1848. 

This  season  commenced  a  contest  that  made  the  steamboat 
business  lively,  if  not  profitable,  between  Galena  and  St.  Paul, 
for  several  years.  The  Harris  brothers  had  sold  the  Otter, 
and  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris  was  running  the  War  Eagle  to  St.  Louis, 
but  claimed  to  be  in  the  trade  from  Galena  to  St.  Paul.  In 
the  winter  after  the  Argo  was  sunk  (in  the  fall  of  1847),  Capt. 
M.  W.  Lodwick  and  the  present  writer  went  around  to  the 
Ohio  and  bought  the  Dr.  Franklin,  a  new  and  very  nice  boat, 
to  take  the  place  of  the  Argo  between  Galena  and  St.  Paul. 
The  Harris  brothers  sold  the  War  Eagle  and  bought  the  Sen- 
ator, in  hopes  that  they  would  have  the  best  boat  in  the  trade; 
but  when  the  Dr.  Franklin  arrived  they  found  they  had  reck- 
oned without  their  host,  and  the  Senator  was  run  from  St. Louis 
to  St.  Paul  until  the  fall  trade  commenced.  They  turned  in  from 
Galena  to  St.  Paul  and  so  continued  to  the  close  of  the  sea- 
son, and  quite  an  opposition  grew  up  between  the  different 
parties;  but  after  consultation  it  was  arranged  that  the  Dr. 
Franklin  owners  should  buy  the  Senator,  with  the  understand- 
ing that  the  Harrises  would  go  out  of  the  trade  and  all  feeling 
would  subside.  During  the  winter,  however,  Congress  passed 


382  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

the  bill  to  organize  the  Territory  of  Minnesota,  which,  of 
course,  changed  the  face  of  things  very  much.  The  future 
prospect  for  steamboat  trade  was  a  little  too  much  for  the  re- 
tiring party,  as  appeared  by  D.  S.  Harris'  going  around  to  the 
Ohio,  where  he  bought  the  Dr.  Franklin  No.  2,  which  had  been 
built  by  Capt.  John  McClure,  of  whom  we  had  bought  the 
"Old  Doctor,"  as  our  boat  was  now  called.  The  No.  2  was  the 
better  boat;  but  the  "Old  Doctor"  had  made  too  many  friends 
during  the  season  to  be  an  easy  party  to  drive. 

Capt.  Orren  Smith,  who  was  a  brother-in-law  of  D.  S.  Har- 
ris, had  taken  charge  of  the  Senator,  and  the  No.  2  seemed  to- 
delight  in  annoying  the  Senator  during  the  season  of  1849. 
But  Capt.  Smith  went  around  to  the  Ohio,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1850  returned  with  the  Nominee,  which  was  so  much  faster 
than  the  No.  2  that  she  went  into  the  St.  Louis  trade.  The 
situation  had  become  interesting,  as  the  emigration  constantly 
increased  to  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin.  The  Harrises  had 
been  raised  in  Galena  and  were  always  popular,  and  through 
sympathy  their  friends  naturally  sided  with  them.  D.  S.  and 
R.  S.  Harris  had  begun  steamboating  as  soon  as  Smith  Har- 
ris was  old  enough  to  turn  a  wheel  as  pilot,  and  Scribe  to  be 
an  engineer.  Both  these  boys  were  with  Capt.  David  G.  Bates 
on  the  steamboat  Galena  in  1829.  They  commenced  building 
steamboats  in  1832,  when  they  built  the  Jo  Davis.  They  had 
built  afterward  the  Relief,  Frontier,  Smelter,  Pizarro,  Pre- 
emption, and  Otter,  and  they  owned  the  War  Eagle,  when  in- 
1848  they  felt  that  they  were  being  driven  off  the  river  by  a 
powerful  combination ;  and  the  end  was  not  yet. 

INCIDENTS  IN  THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE  WINNEBAGOES. 

My  interest  in  the  Packet  Company  has  led  me  to  forget 
that  there  were  other  matters  of  historical  character  that  be- 
long to  the  year  1848.  Our  old  acquaintances,  the  "Gens  de 
Mer"  Winnebagoes,  whom  we  found  at  the  south  end  of  Green 
Bay  in  1654-5,  as  related  in  the  early  part  of  this  paper,  again 
claim  our  attention.  After  several  changes  of  domicile,  they 
are  again  about  to  seek  a  new  home  in  Minnesota  on  a  new 
reservation  at  Long  Prairie.  In  the  summer  of  1848  their 
agent,  Gen.  J.  E.  Fletcher,  and  the  other  assistants,  with  the 
troops  from  Fort  Atkinson,  started  on  this  arduous  enterprise. 
Among  others  interested  in  this  change  of  base  of  the  Winne- 
bagoes, I  remember  H.  M.  Rice,  David  Olmsted,  E.  A.  C. 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE   IN    MINNESOTA.  383 

Hatch,  S.  B.  Lowry,  John  Haney,  Jr.,  N.  Myrick,  Richard 
Chute,  George  Culver,  and,  last  but  not  least,  their  venerable 
missionary,  Rev.  David  Lowry,  together  with  many  other  em- 
ployees not  now  recollected. 

The  bands  were  divided;  part  came  down  the  Turkey  river 
in  their  canoes,  and  part  started  by  land  with  the  teams  of  the 
agent  and  the  ponies  of  the  Indians.  The  point  of  rendezvous 
was  at  the  Wabashaw  prairie,  where  Winona  now  stands. 
The  tribulations  of  all  parties  in  making  this  journey  had 
about  exhausted  all  their  physical  strength,  as  well  as  the  pa- 
tience of  all  concerned;  and  when  they  were  again  joined  at 
the  prairie,  the  Indians  refused  to  move  another  foot.  The 
Indians  had  camped  at  the  south  end  of  the  prairie  in  the  tim- 
ber, in  order  to  have  wood  handy,  and  to  have  a  shade  over 
their  lodges.  The  agent,  soldiers,  and  all  other  parties  en- 
gaged in  this  enterprise,  made  their  camp  on  the  highest  point 
of  the  prairie,  south  of  the  present  town,  where  the  writer  first 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  noted  Winnebagoes.  The 
trouble  continued  to  increase  rather  than  to  abate.  The  Win- 
nebagoes had  for  many  years  hunted  in  the  bottoms  of  the 
Mississippi  river  to  the  east  and  south  of  them;  and  the  new 
move  was  leaving  the  last  of  their  old  hunting  grounds. 

After  the  agent  had  nearly  despaired  of  success,  the  only 
alternative  left  was  to  send  to  Capt.  Eastman  at  Fort  Snell- 
ing  for  additional  troops,  which,  with  a  six-pounder,  were  sent 
under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Hall,  to  see  whether  he  could  en- 
courage the  fellows  to  go.  In  canvassing  the  situation,  Lieut. 
Hall  became  suspicious  that  the  chief,  Wabasha,  whose  village 
was  just  above  the  prairie  upon  the  Rolling  Stone  creek,  had  in 
some  way  encouraged  the  Winnebagoes  not  to  go.  He  ar- 
rested Wabasha  and  brought  him  on  board  the  Dr.  Franklin, 
and  chained  him  to  one  of  the  stanchions  of  the  boat  on  the 
boiler  deck,  evidently  with  the  intention  of  frightening  him; 
but  after  a  short  time  he  thought  better  of  it,  and  released 
him.  This  was  regarded  as  a  great  outrage  to  this  proud  chief, 
and  it  was  not  regarded  in  favorable  light  by  those  having 
charge  of  the  Winnebagoes,  who  numbered  over  two  thousand 
souls,  besides  Wabasha's  band;  but  it  finally  passed  without 
trouble.  All  the  men  in  charge  of  the  Indians  were  constantly 
urging  them  to  consent  to  the  removal,  and  talks  were  almost 
of  daily  occurrence,  which  would  always  end  in  Commis- 
sary Lieut.  J.  H.  McKenny's  sending  down  to  the  camp  more 
in.— 8 


384  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

flour,  sugar,  meat  and  coffee,  realizing  that  when  their  stom- 
achs were  full  they  were  more  peaceable. 

One  morning  the  troops,  agent,  and  all  in  charge,  were  as- 
tounded to  find  the  Indian  camp  deserted;  not  an  Indian,  dog 
or  pony  was  left.  The  canoes  that  had  brought  part  of  them 
were  gone  as  well.  Everything  in  camp  that  could  hunt  was 
started  to  find  them.  The  Dr.  Franklin  was  sent  down  the 
river  to  overtake  them  if  they  had  gone  in  that  direction,  and 
I  think  it  was  three  days  before  they  were  found.  They  had 
taken  their  canoes  and  gone  down  the  river  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Slough,  and  thence  had  gone  over  into  Wisconsin  and 
were  comfortably  encamped  on  the  islands  and  shores  of  the 
river,  but  were  nearly  starved.  They  promised  to  return  to 
their  camp  the  next  day  in  their  canoes.  About  ten  o'clock 
the  next  day  those  on  watch  saw  them  coming  out  of  the  head 
of  the  Slough  some  three  miles  above  the  steamboat  landing. 
It  was  one  of  our  beautiful  summer  mornings,  with  not  a  rip- 
ple on  the  water;  and  when  these  two  thousand  men,  women, 
children,  and  dogs,  passed  down,  floating  without  even  using 
a  paddle,  except  to  keep  in  the  stream,  all  dressed  in  their  best, 
they  presented  such  a  picture  as  I  have  not  seen  equaled  since. 
They  were  disposed  to  show  themselves  at  their  best.  Lieut. 
McKenny  met  them  at  their  camp  with  provisions,  and  the  old 
status  quo  was  reestablished. 

The  chiefs  had  said  in  their  talks  that  they  were  afraid  that 
the  Sioux  would  not  be  willing  to  have  them  move  into  their 
country  or  their  vicinity,  and  that  there  would  be  trouble.  In 
order  to  remove  this  impression,  it  was  proposed  to  have  the 
chiefs  of  the  Sioux  bands  brought  down  to  the  camp  to  meet 
them  in  council,  to  which  they  consented.  The  Dr.  Franklin 
was  sent  up  to  bring  the  chiefs  from  the  upper  villages  for 
that  purpose.  Those  from  Little  Six  village  were  brought  to 
St.  Paul,  and  probably  some  from  the  villages  above;  and 
there  they  were  fitted  out  with  entirely  new  suits  of  clothes 
from  head  to  foot,  each  one  consisting  of  a  blue  frock  coat, 
leggins  and  moccasins,  silk  plug  hat,  white  ruffled  shirt,  and  a 
small  American  flag  for  each  chief.  The  Little  Crow,  Red 
Wing,  and  Wabasha  bands  were  all  represented  at  this  council. 

On  the  day  appointed  for  holding  the  council  there  was 
another  display  of  Indian  pomp  and  ceremony,  which  those  of 
us  unused  to  Indian  ways  were  not  prepared  for;  The  council 
was  held  at  the  camp  of  the  agent  on  the  prairie,  and  at  the 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE   IN   MINNESOTA.  385 

hour  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the  council,  the  whole  band 
of  the  Winnebagoes  was  seen  coming  up  from  their  camp 
mounted  upon  their  ponies  and  dressed  in  their  best ;  they  ad- 
vanced in  deployed  lines  extending  for  many  rods  from  the 
center  of  line  and  led  by  their  head  chief  Winneshiek,  sup- 
ported by  other  noted  men  of  the  band  on  the  right  and  left. 
As  they  approached  the  council  ground,  the  -chiefs  dismounted 
from  their  horses  and  advanced  to  take  their  places  in  the 
council  prepared  for  them  and  their  braves.  After  the  chiefs 
had  been  received  with  becoming  dignity  by  the  agent  and  the 
Sioux  chiefs,  their  braves  closed  up  in  a  circle  and  took  their 
places  within  hearing  distance  of  what  should  be  said  on  this, 
to  them,  very  important  occasion;  and,  as  I  know,  a  very 
anxious  and  uneasy  body  of  men  were  in  the  camp  of  the 
agent  and  traders,  as  to  the  result  of  this  council.  It  was  too 
great  an  occasion  to  be  disposed  of  in  a  hurry.  My  recollection 
is  that  it  was  several  days  before  the  Winnebagoes  were  will- 
ing to  agree  to  go;  but  even  Indians  tire  of  talking,  and  eat- 
ing must  perforce  have  an  end.  The  council  was  closed  with 
a  wedding,  the  Winnebagoes  giving  one  of  their  beautiful 
maidens  to  some  noted  brave  of  the  Sioux  whose  name  I  have 
forgotten.  The  presents  that  were  given  by  the  Winnebagoes 
to  the  bride  were  said  to  have  been  quite  considerable.  The 
women  and  children  were  carried  on  board  our  steamboat,  the 
Dr.  Franklin,  and  its  barge,  as  they  were  ready. 

There  was  another  incident  that  may  as  well  be  told  here. 
The  Indians  of  the  River  bands  of  the  Sioux  had  learned  that 
the  Argo  in  1847  had  become  the  property  of  their  friends  and 
traders,  H.  H.  Sibley,  H.  L.  Dousman,  and  Brisbois  &  Rice,  and 
she  was  always  welcomed  with  great  cordiality  whenever  she 
landed  at  any  of  their  villages.  When  she  sunk  in  the  fall 
of  1847,  they  naturally  felt  that  our  loss  was  theirs.  It  became 
known  that  we  had  bought  the  Dr.  Franklin,  called  by  them 
the  Great  Medicine,  before  that  steamboat  arrived.  When  she 
landed  at  Red  Wing  on  her  first  trip,  the  traders  sung  out  that 
the  Great  Medicine  was  coming.  This  cry  raised  everyone 
in  the  village,  men,  women,  and  children,  and  all  rushed  to  the 
bank  of  the  river  and  onto  the  boat,  shouting  "How!  how! 
how!" 

The  Dr.  Franklin  had  the  first  steam  whistle  that  came  up 
the  river.  It  was  placed  just  on  top  of  the  boiler  under  the 
cabin  floor,  and  had  an  unearthly  screech.  After  we  had 


386  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

landed  the  freight  and  I  had  finally  got  all  the  Indians  ashore, 
except  the  chief  Waucota,  who  was  going  up  to  Mendota,  they 
all  stood  waiting  to  see  her  back  out.  Having  on  a  pretty  good 
head  of  steam,  the  temptation  to  have  a  little  sport  was  too 
much  for  the  engineer,  Bill  Myers.  Just  as  he  gave  her  a  turn 
back  on  her  wheels,  he  pulled  the  cord  of  the  whistle,  which 
gave  a  terrible  screech,  and  instantly  every  Indian  man,  woman 
and  child  jumped,  shed  their  blankets,  and  rushed  for  the  top 
of  the  bank  or  some  place  to  hide.  As  they  did  so  all  on  the 
boat  shouted  with  laughter.  This  was  too  much  for  the  poor 
Indians;  they  had  shown  that  they  had  been  frightened,  which 
was  a  reflection  on  their  courage,  and  they  felt  that  we  had 
done  it  on  purpose.  The  only  possible  way  out  of  the  dilemma 
was  to  serve  all  the  villages  alike.  Then  they  could  not  laugh 
at  one  another,  for  all  had  been  frightened.  When  we  returned^ 
the  old  chief  Waucota  explained  the  matter  to  them  and  re- 
stored their  good  humor  again;  but  this  story  got  out  among 
the  bands  of  the  Minnesota  river,  and  they  rather  had  the 
laugh  on  those  that  had  been  frightened,  until  the  summer  of 
1851,  When  the  Dr.  Franklin  went  up  to  Traverse  des  Sioux, 
to  the  Indian  Treaty  of  that  year.  The  camp  of  the  Indians 
was  upon  the  second  rise  or  plateau,  at  some  distance  from  the 
bank  of  the  river;  and  it  was  some  little  time  before  the  young 
Indians,  and  especially  those  from  up  the  Minnesota,  got  down 
to  the  bank.  As  they  did  so  the  Indians  of  the  Mississippi 
bands  began  to  shout  to  me,  and  imitated  the  whistle,  which 
some  of  them  could  do  very  well.  I  at  once  took  the  hint,  and 
as  I  was  standing  with  some  of  my  lady  passengers  on  the 
hurricane  deck,  looking  at  the  great  village  of  lodges,  I  stepped 
to  the  cord  and  gave  the  wild  or  Minnesota  River  boys  a  terri- 
ble salute,  which  scared  them  even  worse  than  those  they  had 
made  so  much  fun  of.  When  I  came  down  from  the  deck  the 
young  Indians  that  had  called  to  me  came,  with  Major  Forbes, 
to  thank  me  for  the  fright  I  had  given  the  wild  Indians,  as  they 
called  them,  and  said  that  they  were  even  now  and  it  was  all 
right. 

THE  TERRITORIAL  PERIOD. 
1849. 

Some  part  of  my  record  for  1848  should  have  been  reserved 
for  this  year,  and  I  may  be  pardoned  for  having  outrun  the  cur- 
rent history,  but  will  endeavor  to  follow  the  business  of  each 


THE    ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE    IN    MINNESOTA.  387 

year  under  its  proper  head.  The  opening  of  navigation  this 
year  was  of  especial  interest.  On  March  3rd,  1849,  Congress 
had  passed  the  act  to  organize  the  Territory  of  Minnesota, 
which  was  an  assurance  that  immigration  would  be  largely 
increased,  and  that  law  and  order  would  be  established;  in 
other  words,  the  country  had  now  passed  from  an  Indian  to  a 
civilized  condition,  a  guarantee  of  progress. 

The  Galena  and  Minnesota  Packet  Company  advertised 
the  Dr.  Franklin,  Capt.  M.  W.  Lodwick,  and  the  Senator,  Capt. 
Orren  Smith,  as  regular  packets  from  Galena  to  St.  Paul  for 
the  season ;  and  the  Highland  Mary,  Capt.  John  Atchison,  and 
Dr.  Franklin  No.  2,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris,  for  the  St.  Louis  and 
St.  Paul  trade.  Sometime  in  the  season,  about  September, 
the  Yankee,  Capt.  M.  K.  Harris,  made  her  appearance  in  the 
trade  from  Galena.  I  find  mention  of  the  steamboats  Minne- 
sota, R.  A.  Riley,  and  War  Eagle,  built  at  Pittsburgh  for  the 
St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul  trade,  but  am  not  aware  that  they  ever 
came  into  the  river.  There  were  other  boats,  no  doubt,  from 
St.  Louis;  but  I  do  not  find  trace  of  them. 

Gov.  Alex.  Ramsey  and  wife  came  up  to  St.  Paul  on  the 
Dr.  Franklin  from  Prairie  du  Chien  the  last  week  in  May.  I 
find  mention  of  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Col.  Snelling  by  the  Dr. 
Franklin  on  Oct.  25th,  1849.  During  this  season  our  friends 
of  the  Winnebago  nation  managed  to  get  away  from  their  reser- 
vation and  went  down  to  the  vicinity  of  La  Crosse.  The  chol- 
era broke  out  this  summer  and  was  bad  on  the  lower  river;  but 
St.  Paul,  so  far  as  I  remember,  entirely  escaped. 

1850. 

Navigation  opened  April  19th  (the  Highland  Mary  and  the 
Nominee  arriving  on  the  same  day),  and  commenced  with  five 
boats  in  the  trade,  namely,  the  Nominee,  Capt.  O.  Smith;  Dr. 
Franklin,  Capt.  M.  W.  Lodwick;  Yankee,  Capt.  M.  K.  Harris, 
from  Galena  to  St.  Paul;  Highland  Mary,  Capt.  John  Atchi- 
son ;  and  Dr.  Franklin  No.  2,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris.  The  Excel- 
sior, Capt.  James  Ward,  was  advertised  as  a  regular  boat  to 
St.  Louis  for  the  season.  The  Lamartine  made  several  trips. 
The  Highland  Mary  was  withdrawn  on  the  death  of  Capt.  John 
Atchison,  who  died  of  cholera.  The  Tiger,  Capt.  Maxwell, 
made  her  appearance  this  season;  she  had  the  machinery  of 
the  Otter.  The  Anthony  Wayne  should  also  be  mentioned, 
Capt.  Dan  Able.  There  were  2,100  barrels  of  cranberries 


388  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

shipped  from  St.  Paul  tills  year.    J.  C.  Burbank  commenced 
his  express  business  on  the  Nominee  this  season. 

The  Dr.  Franklin  No.  2,  Capt.  Harris,  the  Anthony  Wayne, 
Capt.  Dan  Able,  and  the  Lamartine,  went  up  to  near  the  falls 
of  St.  Anthony  in  the  summer  of  1850. 

The  Governor  Ramsey  commenced  regular  trips  from  St. 
Anthony  to  St.  Cloud  this  summer.  This  steamboat  was  built 
by  Capt.  John  Eollins.  Her  machinery  was  built  in  Bangor, 
Maine,  and  was  brought  to  the  Territory  by  way  of  New  Or- 
leans. 

The  Anthony  Wayne  and  Yankee  made  the  first  trips  up 
the  Minnesota  river  this  year. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Rice  had  contracted  to  return  the  Winnebagoes 
to  their  reservation ;  and  the  Dr.  Franklin  and  Nominee  gath- 
ered them  up  on  their  regular  trips. 

1851. 

The  season  opened  earlier  than  usual,  the  Nominee  being 
the  first  boat,  arriving  April  4th.  Capt.  Smith  was  welcomed 
cordially.  The  first  arrival  had  been  a  noted  occasion,  being 
the  commencement  of  navigation.  The  following  boats  were 
advertised  for  the  season,  as  packets  from  Galena:  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, Capt.  M.  W.  Lodwick;  Nominee,  Capt.  O.  Smith;  and  the 
Yankee,  Capt.  M.  K.  Harris.  The  Dr.  Franklin  No.  2,  Capt.  D. 
S.  Harris,  and  the  Excelsior,  Capt.  J.  Ward,  were  regular  pack- 
ets from  St  Louis.  The  Uncle  Toby,  Capt.  Cole,  made  several 
trips  from  St.  Louis.  The  De  Vernon,  Robert  Fulton,  Minne- 
sota, and  Oswego  were  transient  visitors. 

The  Indian  treaty  was  made  at  Traverse  des  Sioux;  and 
the  Dr.  Franklin  took  a  large  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  up 
to  the  treaty  grounds  on  July  21st. 

Willoughby  &  Powers,  and  Patterson  &  Benson,  ran  stages 
from  St.  Paul  to  St.  Anthony  during  the  summer.  Willoughby 
<fe  Powers  also  ran  stages  to  Stillwater  this  season. 

1852. 

Navigation  opened  in  St.  Paul  April  16th.  The  Nominee, 
Capt.  Smith,  was  welcomed  by  the  hearty  shouts  of  nearly  all 
the  men,  women  and  children  in  town.  This  great  outburst 
of  feeling  was  on  account  of  the  season's  being  twelve  days 
later  than  the  year  before;  the  patience  of  all  was  quite  ex- 
hausted by  the  delay.  The  Galena  and  St.  Paul  packets  were 
the  Nominee,  Capt.  Orren  Smith;  Dr.  Franklin,  Capt.  R. 


§1 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE    IN    MINNESOTA.  389 

Blakeley;  the  Caleb  Cape,  until  the  new  boat  should  arrive, 
the  Ben  Campbell,  Capt.  M.  W.  Lodwick,  to  replace  the  Cape; 
and  the  Dr.  Franklin  No.  2,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris,  until  the  new 
St.  Paul  should!  arrive,  when  she  was  sold.  The  Black  Hawk, 
Capt.  Kennedy  Lodwick,  was  bought  by  the  Packet  Company 
for  low  water;  and  the  Greek  Slave  was  bought  by  Capt.  Louis 
Robert. 

This  season  was  expected  to  be  a  terror  for  opposition;  but 
the  Ben  Campbell  and  the  new  St.  Paul  were  both  too  slow  and 
too  deep  in  the  water,  and  were  therefore  soon  sold,  both  par- 
ties being  supremely  disgusted  with  the  result.  The  Harrises 
and  their  friends,  who  had  taken  a  hand  with  them,  realized 
that  something  had  to  be  done.  Capt.  Hairis  felt  it  was  life 
or  death  now,  and  went  around  to  the  Ohio  to  buy  a  boat  which 
would  surely  beat  the  Nominee.  He  soon  returned  with  the 
West  Newton  and  placed  her  alongside  the  Nominee,  feeling 
sure  he  could  beat  her  easily.  This  anticipation  was  not  real- 
ized, and  the  difference  was  hardly  apparent;  but,  to  make 
things  hot,  they  advertised  to  make  two  trips  a  week  to  St. 
Paul.  By  this  time  everybody  on  the  river  from  Galena  to 
St.  Paul  had  taken  sides  in  this  fight,  and  after  the  close  of 
navigation  the  friends  of  both  parties  insisted  that  there  was 
enough  for  all  in  the  trade,  and  that  the  fight  must  be  compro- 
mised and  the  interest  joined  in  a  new  organization.  This  was 
done  in  the  winter  of  1852-3,  when  the  Galena  &  Minnesota 
Packet  Company  was  founded,  with  Capt.  Orren  Smith  as 
President,  and  J.  R.  Jones  as  Secretary. 

IMMIGRANTS  TO   ROLLING    STONE. 

In  the  spring  of  1852,  on  the  first  trip  of  the  Dr.  Franklin,  a 
man  came  on  board  who  wanted  to  pay  his  passage  to  Rolling 
Stone.  George  R.  Melville,  who  was  my  clerk,  and  who  was 
having  his  first  experience  on  the  river,  looked  at  the  list  of 
landings  so  as  to  know  what  to  charge  him  for  his  passage. 
He  could  not  find  the  place  on  the  list,  and  told  him  he  would 
have  to  see  the  Captain,  as  he  could  not  tell  him  the  price  of 
passage.  It  was  very  near  the  time  for  the  boat  to  start  and 
the  passenger  waited  until  I  was  at  liberty,  and  finally  said 
that  my  clerk  did  not  know  how  much  his  fare  would  be  to 
Rolling  Stone.  I  looked  at  the  man  in  rather  an  inquiring 
way,  as  if  to  ask  if  he  had  not  made  a  mistake  in  the  name;  and 
as  he  said  that  was  the  right  name,  I  replied  that  there  was 


390  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

no  such  place  an  the  river.  He  evidently  thought  I  was  quiz- 
zing him,  and  with  a  look  of  disgust  put  his  hand  in  his  coat 
pocket  and  took  out  a  large  map  of  the  town  of  Rolling  Stone, 
upon  which  were  represented  several  houses,  a  large  hotel,  a 
warehouse  and  dock,  and  the  steamboat  Dr.  Franklin  lying 
at  the  landing  and  putting  out  passengers  and  freight  with  the 
usual  activity  of  such  occasions.  After  he  had  exhibited  his 
beautiful  map  with  my  own  boat  at  the  landing,  he  looked  at 
me  as  though  he  thought  it  was  time  for  me  to  apologize  for 
my  bad  treatment.  I  at  once  acknowledged  that  I  was  sur- 
prised, and  politely  asked  for  an  explanation,  saying  that  I  did 
not  know  any  such  place,  and  asked  him  to  please  be  seated 
while  I  would  try  to  see  if  I  could  recognize  the  town,  further 
asking  him  to  give  me  its  history  so  that  possibly  I  might  rec- 
ognize it. 

He  then  told  me  that  Mr.  William  Haddock  had  been  out 
in  the  country  the  year  before,  and  had  made  this  selection  for 
a  colony  which  had  been  founded  during  the  winter  in  the 
City  of  New  York;  that  a  crowd  of  men  had  gone  out  during 
the  winter  to  build  the  hotel  and  the  houses  and  dock  and 
warehouse,  as  he  had  shown  me  on  the  map;  that  Mr.  Had- 
dock had  assured  him  that  the  Dr.  Franklin  ran  right  by  the 
place,  and  had  told  him  to  get  on  my  boat,  because  I  knew  just 
where  the  town  was  and  ran  right  by  it  every  trip;  and  that 
he  had  come  out  early  with  a  large  lot  of  apple  seed  to  plant 
a  nursery.  By  questioning  and  guessing  I  finally  located  the 
town,  or  rather  where  it  ought  to  be.  I  said  that  this  was  an 
Indian  territory,  and  that  the  Government  would  not  permit 
a  settlement  on  the  land;  that  the  location,  as  I  gauged  it, 
was  about  three  miles  above  Wabasha  Prairie,  and,  as  near  as 
I  could  make  out,  it  was  the  present  home  of  Wabasha's  band 
of  the  Sioux,  and  I  thought  possibly  immigrants  would  get  a 
warm  reception;  and  that  there  was  only  one  white  man  liv- 
ing within  ten  miles  of  the  place,  and  there  could  not  possibly 
be  any  such  buildings  as  he  described.  He  answered,  "Why, 
you  will  find  at  least  one  hundred  men,  women,  and  children, 
waiting  in  Galena  for  the  return  of  your  boat,  to  come  up  to 
their  future  home!"  I  explained  to  him  that  the  boat  had 
been  up  the  slough  or  channel  adjoining  that  shore,  looking 
for  the  Winnebago  Indians  in  1848,  and  had  nearly  had  its 
chimneys  knocked  down  by  the  overhanging  trees. 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE    IN   MINNESOTA.  391 

When  I  went  off  watch,  I  said  to  the  pilot  that  there  was  a 
man  to  be  landed  at  Wabasha  Prairie,  as  near  to  Johnson's 
claim  as  he  could,  and  directed  him  to  blow  the  whistle  to  wake 
Johnson,  so  that  the  man  would  have  somebody  to  care  for 
him.  When  I  came  on  deck  on  my  morning  watch,  I  found 
my  friend  still  on  board,  and  asked  him  why  he  had  not  landed 
at  the  Prairie.  He  answered  that  he  wanted  to  be  landed  at 
Boiling  Stone,  and  kept  on  the  boat  until  we  came  back  from 
St.  Paul. 

On  my  return  to  Galena,  I  found,  as  he  had  told  me,  quite 
a  large  number  of  persons  who  wished  to  engage  passage  to 
Rolling  Stone,  well-to-do  looking  people,  with  much  evidence 
of  comfortable  living  at  home.  They  had  bought  teams, 
wagons,  and  farm  implements,  provisions,  and  a  general  out- 
fit, as  they  supposed  they  would  want  them.  Some  of  the 
ladies  had  their  canary  birds  and  other  family  pets,  and  they 
were  all  as  happy  as  anyone  could  wish  to  be.  Mr.  B.  H.  Camp- 
bell had  said  to  them  that  Captain  Blakeley  knew  all  the  river 
in  the  day  or  night,  in  answer  to  their  questions  about  me  and 
my  boat;  and  no  one  asked  a  question,  but  all  were  anxious 
to  go  as  soon  as  possible  to  their  new  and  happy  home.  I  was, 
as  usual,  very  busy  in  port  and  did  not  ask  any  questions,  as 
they  appeared  to  be  intelligent  persons;  and  I  supposed 
that  possibly  I  might  be  mistaken,  and  might  not  quite  under- 
stand the  situation.  The  boat  left  late  in  the  day,  and  when 
we  left  Dubuque  it  was  quite  dark,  so  that  I  was  on  my  watch 
.and  did  not  have  any  talk  with  my  passengers  for  the  Boiling 
Stone  colony. 

After  breakfast  the  next  day,  which  was  a  fine  day,  almost 
all  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  my  colony  friends  came  on  the 
hurricane  deck  to  look  at  the  country  and  river,  and  to  make 
inquiries  of  the  captain  about  their  new  home.  After  answer- 
ing many  of  their  questions,  I  began  to  ask  some  questions  in 
turn.  They  made  much  the  same  answers  as  my  apple  seed 
friend  of  the  last  trip;  and,  as  our  mutual  questions  and  an- 
swers were  exchanged,  they  became  somewhat  interested  in 
the  discussion.  I  finally  asked  whether  any  of  them  were  farm- 
ers. They  said,  "No!"  they  had  always  lived  in  New  York 
€ity,  and  during  the  winter  they  had  held  meetings  and  had 
lectures  on  the  subject  of  colonies  in  the  West,  and  had  founded 
this  colony  venture,  which  had  some  politics  in  it  One  of  their 


392  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

watchwords  was,  "Vote  yourself  a  farm"  They  acknowledged 
that  they  did  not  know  what  they  should  find  where  they  were 
going,  or  whether  provision  was  made  for  their  reception  or 
not;  but  stated  that  a  committee  had  gone  out  during  the 
winter  to  make  ready  for  them. 

I  then  said  that  it  was  not  possible  that  there  had  been  any 
buildings  built,  as  there  were  only  two  white  men  that  lived 
within  fifty  miles  of  the  place,  and  no  lumber  to  build  with 
could  be  obtained  nearer  than  Black  River  Falls  or  the  Chip- 
pewa  river,  all  in  Wisconsin;  and  that  I  was  sure  they  would 
not  have  a  place  to  put  their  families  in  out  of  the  weather.  I 
explained  to  them,  as  well  as  I  could,  what  they  would  have 
to  do;  that  they  would  be  landed  at  Wabasha  Prairie,  about 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  Rolling  Stone,  where  a  Mr.  John- 
son had  located  a  town  site  claim  and  had  a  little  cabin  big 
enough  for  himself,  which  he  had  built  during  the  last  fall; 
but  that  my  advice  to  them  all  was  to  go  to  St.  Paul,  except 
that  a  committee  should  be  left  to  see  for  themselves,  whor 
when  the  boat  returned,  would  tell  them  better  what  to  do. 

They  were  quite  too  enthusiastic  to>  take  advice;  and  all, 
or  nearly  all,  landed  on  the  bare  prairie  without  a  thing  to  pro- 
tect them  from  the  weather  but  the  goods  they  landed.  Other 
boats  brought  others  to  join  the  colony,,  and  in  all  some  three 
or  four  hundred  persons  must  have  landed  for  Rolling  Stone, 
Not  a  house,  nor  the  sign  of  a  house,  had  been  built;  nor  was 
there  any  provision  for  their  protection.  They  got  some  lum- 
ber off  the  rafts  as  they  came  down  from  the  Chippewa,  and 
made  a  floor  to  lie  down  on,  and  made  a  kind  of  roof  to  shed 
the  water  from  their  goods  and  themselves.  The  men  folks 
went  up  to  the  Rolling  Stone,  and  some  of  them  built  sod  houses 
or  dug  holes  in  the  banks  to  shelter  themselves  from  the  sun 
and  weather.  Sickness  attacked  them ;  many  died  during  the 
summer  and  fall ;  and  when  winter  set  in,  the  place  had  been 
almost  entirely  abandoned.  Some  part  of  the  suffering  of  this 
unfortunate  people  was  told  by  Elder  Ely,  who  lived  in  Wi- 
nona;  but  I  am  not  aware  whether  any  part  of  his  lecture  is 
in  print,  and  I  have  felt  that  this  short  story  about  an  unfortu- 
nate experience  in  the  early  days  of  the  immigration  to  Min- 
nesota should  have  a  record. 

There  were  some  other  curious  things  of  this  colony.  My 
recollection  is  that  the  village  was  to  be  laid  out  in  a  fanciful 


THE    ADVENT    OF    COMMERCE    IN    MINNESOTA.  393 

manner,  with  a  large  greenhouse,  a  large  lecture  hall,  and  a 
library;  and  that  the  colonists  were  each  to  have  a  house  lot 
in  the  town,  and  each  a  farm  laid  out  in  the  surrounding  coun- 
try; but  I  am  not  able  to  give  a  full  and  intelligent  description 
at  this  day,  because  many  of  their  projects  as  explained  to  me 
have  passed  from  memory. 

1853. 

In  the  winter  of  1852-3  the  Senate  had  approved  the 
amended  Sioux  Treaty  of  1851.  This  information  was  scat- 
tered to  the  four  corners  of  the  United  States,  and  on  the 
opening  of  navigation  in  1853  the  usual  rush  to  the  new  Indian 
purchase  began.  The  Packet  Company's  boats  for  this  season 
were  the  Nominee,  Capt.  B.  Blakeley;  Ben  Campbell,  Capt.  M. 
W.  Lodwick;  West  Newton,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  and  the  Dr. 
Franklin,  Capt.  P.  Lodwick;  with  the  Black  Hawk,  and  possi- 
bly some  others,  for  low  water.  The  first  boat  of  the  season 
was  the  West  Newton,  April  llth. 

This  was  quite  a  notable  year  to  those  interested  in  the 
location  of  river  towns.  Winona,  Mount  Vernon,  Minneiska, 
Wabasha,  Reed's  Landing,  Lake  City,  Red  Wing,  Hastings, 
and  other  towns  not  now  remembered,  made  earnest  appeals 
to  the  Packet  Company  to  give  their  locations  friendly  and 
considerate  attention.  Reed's  Landing  had  been  started  about 
1850  to  accommodate  the  Chippewa  River  lumbermen,  who 
found  the  bottomlands  on  the  Wisconsin  side  too  low  in  high 
water  seasons.  The  St.  Louis  boats  paid  us  more  attention 
this  season,  and  the  Minnesota  river  claimed  the  attention  of 
immigrants. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  steamboats  of  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi river,  with  the  number  of  arrivals  of  each  at  St.  Paul 
during  the  season:  The  Nominee,  29;  Dr.  Franklin  No.  2,  28; 
West  Newton,  27;  Greek  Slave,  18;  Black  Hawk,  10;  Shen- 
andoah,  5;  Grand  Prairie,  3;v  Die  Vernon,  1;  Hindoo,  2; 
Humboldt,  11;  Henrietta,  2;  lola,  5;  Jennie  Lind,  1;  Asia, 
12;  Excelsior,  13;  Luella,  7;  and  the  Clarion,  23,  the  last  being 
from  the  Minnesota  river.  There  may  have  been  others  from 
the  Minnesota  river  in  this  list.  It  will  be  noticed1  that  the 
old  Dr.  Franklin  does  not  appear  in  the  list  of  arrivals  made. 

1854. 

Mr.  Henry  W.  Farnham,  of  the  firm  of  Sheffield  &  Farnham, 
contractors  for  the  construction  of  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island 


394  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

Railroad,  asked  some  one  of  the  Packet  Company  to  visit  Chi- 
cago at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  that  road 
in  the  winter,  prepared  to  make  some  arrangement  with  them 
to  furnish  a  line  connection  from  Rock  Island  to  Galena  and 
upper  river  points,  as  the  railroad  would  be  finished  early  in 
the  spring.  I  made  the  visit  and  concluded  the  arrangement 
for  business  as  soon  as  their  road  should  be  completed. 

While  the  conversation  about  the  line  to  meet  them  pro- 
gressed, it  became  known  that  we  were  building  two  new  and 
very  nice  boats  for  business  the  next  summer;  and  the  in- 
quiry was  made,  "Can  you  promise  us  the  exclusive  charter 
of  one  of  these  new  boats  to  take  ourselves,  families,  and 
friends,  to  St.  Paul  and  back  in  pleasant  high  water  season?" 
I  replied,  "Most  certainly,  at  any  time  that  suits  your  conven- 
ience, if  you  give  us  a  week's  notice."  They  promised  to  give 
notice  in  due  time. 

This  season's  opening  was  rather  early,  and  the  Nominee, 
Capt.  Blakeley,  arrived  on  April  8th.  The  Packet  Company's 
boats  for  the  season  were  the  Nominee,  Capt.  R.  Blakeley;  War 
Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  Galena,  Capt.  D.  B.  Morehouse; 
Royal  Arch,  Capt.  E.  H.  Gleim;  and  the  Dr.  Franklin,  Capt.  P. 
Lodwick. 

The  new  boats  were  very  nice  ones.  The  experience  in 
building  the  Ben  Campbell  and  New  St.  Paul  was  not  lost  in 
the  plans  for  the  new  boats.  Capt.  M.  W.  Lodwick  had  sold 
his  stock  to  Capt.  D.  B.  Morehouse,  an  old  steamboat  man.  I 
was  the  youngest  boatman  of  the  lot.  Capt.  Harris  we  knew. 
Capt.  Morehouse  had  lived  in  Galena  in  an  early  day,  and  had 
been  engaged  in  the  New  Orleans  trade  for  some  years.  Capt. 
Gleim  was  a  clerk  on  the  steamboat  Warrior  with  Capt. 
Throckmorton  at  the  Battle  of  Bad  Axe;  and  my  first  pilot, 
Capt.  William  White,  was  a  pilot  on  her  at  the  same  time. 
Capt.  Preston  Lodwick,  on  the  "Old  Doctor,"  had  become  a 
very  popular  man  in  the  season  of  1853.  I  think  I  may  say 
without  challenge  that  the  whole  outfit  of  the  Packet  Company 
this  season  could  not  be  beat  in  its  general  appearance  any- 
where on  the  western  waters.  Other  steamboats  plying  to  and 
from  St.  Paul  this  year  were  the  Black  Hawk,  Capt.  R.  M. 
Spencer;  Grey  Cloud;  Navigator,  Capt.  A.  T.  Champlin;  Globe, 
Capt.  Haycock;  Greek  Slave;  Rebus;  Black  Hawk,  Capt.  O. 
H.  Maxwell;  Excelsior,  Capt.  T.  Owens;  New  St.  Paul,  Capt. 


If' 


O 


cd 
$ 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE    IN    MINNESOTA.  395 

Bissell;  Admiral,  Capt.  John  Brooks;  Minnesota  Belle,  Capt. 
Humbertson;  Luella;  Editor,  Capt.  Smith;  Henrietta,  Capt. 
C.  B.  Gall;  Alice;  Grand  Prairie;  lola;  Sangamon,  Capt.  R. 
M.  Spencer;  and  probably  some  others  that  I  cannot  remember 
or  find  record  of.  Some  of  these  boats  ran  up  the  Minnesota 
river,  and  some  went  down  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  to  St. 
Louis. 

Burris  &  Hartzel,  of  Point  Douglas,  shipped  2,000  bushels 
of  wheat  this  year,  the  first  shipment  recorded. 

EXCURSION   OF   EASTERN  VISITORS. 

Mr.  Farnham  gave  us  notice  that  the  invited  guests  on  the 
excursion  would  exceed  the  number  contemplated,  and  asked 
us  to  be  prepared  to  send  two  of  our  packets  to  take  the  party; 
but  a  little  later  he  asked  for  another,  and  finally  the  number 
was  increased  to  five  boats. 

Mr.  George  W.  Moore,  at  the  time  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  Minnesotian,  published  in  this  city,  joined  the  fleet  at 
La  Crosse ;  and  to  him  I  am  thankfully  indebted  for  the  follow- 
ing report,  which  was  published  in  the  daily  Minnesotian  Fri- 
day morning,  June  9th,  1854. 

According  to  the  programme,  about  twelve  hundred  invited  guests  of 
the  Chicago  and  Rock  Island  Railroad  Company  assembled  at  Chicago, 
on  Saturday  evening  last,  to  join  in  the  excursion  celebratory  of  the 
union  of  the  Mississippi  with  the  Atlantic.  This  immense  concourse 
was  passed  over  the  Road  on  Monday,  with  a  degree  of  order  and  reg- 
ularity that  all  speak  of  in  the  highest  degree  of  commendation.  Arriv- 
ing at  Rock  Island,  the  following  steamers  were  in  waiting  to  receive 
the  guests: 

Galena  and  Ht.  Louis  Packets. 

Golden  Era,  Capt.  Hiram  Bersie;    G.  W.  Sparhawk,  Capt.  Montre- 
ville  Green;  Lady  Franklin,  Capt.  Legrand  Morehouse. 
Galena  and  Minnesota  Packets. 

War  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;   Galena,  Capt.  D.  B.  Morehouse. 

On  these  magnificent  packets,  embarked  about  one  thousand  of  the 
company;  and  at  a  given  signal,  bells  were  rung  and  whistle®  sounded, 
and  then  the  curling  waters  of  the  Great  River  opened  to  receive  the 
keels  of  vessels  freighted  with  hundreds  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
and  women  of  the  nation,  who  had  never  before  set  eye  upon  the  rich 
beauties  which  nature  has  distributed  so  profusely  over  our  mighty 
valley.  The  list  of  names  which  we  annex  shows  that  the  character  of 
the  party  is  such  as  was  never  before  assembled  in  one  company  in 
these  United  States.  Eminent  statesmen;  world  renowned  jurists;  the 
great  and  celebrated  in  science  and  divinity;  the  famous  in  art  and  let- 


396  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

ters,  and  the  leading  men  at  the  helm  editorial,  are  mingled  in  social 
intercourse  upon  this  grand  occasion. 

It  was  an  unfortunate  event  that  the  weather  proved  somewhat  un- 
favorable when  the  party  was  landed  at  Galena  on  Tuesday  morning. 
Notwithstanding  this  drawback,  the  Galenians  were  on  hand  to  receive 
the  guests  in  a  manner  becoming  the  well-earned  reputation  of  that  en- 
terprising city.  An  excursion  was  had  to  the  mines,  and  at  the  boats 
addresses  were  made  and  happy  responses  received  from  Hon.  Edward 
Bates  of  St.  Louis,  Ex-President  Fillmore,  and  others.  At  Dubuque, 
the  same  interesting  ceremonies  took  place. 

At  La  Crosse,  the  boats  landed  in  a  driving  rain  storm  from  the 
north,  which  prevented  the  citizens  from  making  such  demonstration  as 
they  otherwise  would  have  wished.  Still,  a  large  crowd  was  at  the 
landing,  and  when  the  familiar  visage  of  MILLAED  FILLMORE  appeared 
upon  the  deck  of  the  Golden  Era,  there  were  universal  and  prolonged 
cheers  from  the  assembled  multitude  on  shore.  But  a  brief  stop  was 
made  here;  and  this  was  the  last  general  call  made  at  any  point  until 
the  party  arrived  at  St.  Paul  yesterday  morning. 

The  boats  reached  our  landing  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
The  display  of  the  fleet  in  our  river,  upon  rounding  the  point  below  the 
city,  is  represented  by  those  who  witnessed  it  from  the  shore  as  being 
grand  beyond  precedent.  The  five  boats  were  so  arranged  that  they 
approached  in  order  as  regular  as  though  they  were  an  armed  squadron 
taking  their  position  in  line  of  battle.  Two  full  bands  of  music  were 
on  board,  both  of  which  struck  up  lively  airs  as  the  boats  neared  the 
landing.  This,  with  the  rays  of  the  bright  June  sun  which  broke  forth 
in  all  his  glory  after  three  days'  storm;  the  animation  of  the  company 
on  board  the  boats,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  assembled  hundreds  on 
shore  and  on  the  decks  of  the  Admiral,  then  lying  at  the  landing,  pro- 
duced a  scene  of  excitement  which  St.  Paul  has  never  before  witnessed, 
and  perhaps  will  not  again  for  many  years. 

Unfortunately,  the  fast  railroad  time  of  Sheffield  &  Farnham,  on 
this,  as  on  the  occasion  of  all  enterprises  in  which  they  engage,  was 
somewhat  ahead  of  their  neighbors  and  contemporaries.  The  citizens 
of  St.  Paul  were  not  expecting  the  arrival  until  twenty-four  hours  later. 
Consequently,  no  such  arrangements  were  consummated  to  receive  their 
guests  as  had  been  planned  and  were  in  process  of  execution.  But  nev- 
ertheless, they  did  the  best  they  could  under  the  circumstances;  and 
we  hope  the  degree  of  attention  so  promptly  displayed  upon  the  spur  of 
the  moment  has  been  satisfactory  to  the  distinguished  company. 

Many  of  the  party— a  large  majority,  we  believe— visited  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony  and  Fort  Snelling,  and  returned  highly  delighted  with 
the  excursion.  Throughout,  the  excursion  has  been  one  scene  of  unin- 
terrupted pleasure  and  delight  to  all  who  have  participated  in  it  To 
the  personal  attentions  of  Mr.  Farnham  and  his  amiable  lady,  and  to 
those  of  Col.  Mix  [passenger  agent  of  the  railroad],  and  the  officers  of 
the  several  steamers,  we  feel  authorized  to  say  all  are  ready  to  bear 
grateful  testimony.  All  are  in  ecstasies  of  delight  with  the  country,  the 


THE   ADVENT    OF    COMMERCE    IN    MINNESOTA. 


397 


scenery,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion.  In  mingling  freely  among 
the  vast  company,  we  failed  to  see  a  soured  visage  or  hear  a  complain- 
ing remark.  To  the  projectors  and  executors  of  this  more  than  regal 
fete,  the  Northwest,  and  the  individuals  who  composed  the  party,  owe 
a  debt  of  heartfelt  gratefulness  which  can  never  be  repaid. 

We  will  not  attempt  to-day  to  narrate  the  many  pleasing  and  agree- 
able incidents  of  this  occasion.  Below  we  give  the  names  of  such  of  the 
distinguished  guests  as  we  were  enabled  to  collect  while  the  boats  were 
passing  from  La  Crosse  to  St.  Paul.  Many,  in  all  probability,  who 
equally  deserve  a  place  in  this  record,  have  been  inadvertently  omitted. 
In  the  company  are  about  two  hundred  ladies,  the  wives,  daughters  and 
friends  of  the  male  guests.  Among  them,  we  notice  the  name  of  Miss 
CATHARINE  M.  SEDGWICK,  and  others,  not  unknown  to  fame  in  the  lit- 
erary world.  But  we  must  close  our  account  for  to-day,  and  finish  up 
full  particulars  hereafter. 

In  the  company  that  is  thronging  our  streets  as  we  write,  are  the 
following  gentlemen: 
Hon.  Edward  Bates,  of  Missouri. 
Hon.  Millard  Fillmore,  Ex-Pres't 

U.  S. 

Hon.  N.  K.  Hall,  [Ex-P.  M.  Gen- 
eral, Buffalo,]  N.  Y. 
Gov.  Mattison,  of  Illinois. 
Gen.  John  A.  Granger,  Canandai- 

gua,  N.  Y. 

Hon.  John  A.  Rockwell,  Ct. 
Hon.  Geo.  A.  Babcock,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
Hon.  John  R.  Bartlett,  Providence, 

R.  I. 

Hon.  John  A.  Dix,  New  York. 
Hon.  George  Bancroft,  of  Boston. 


Hon  N.  Edwards,  of  Illinois. 
Francis  P.  Blair,  Esq.,  Maryland. 
Francis  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  Esq.,  St.  Louis. 
Elbridge  Gerry,  N.  Y. 
Rev.  Dr.  Bacon,  New  Haven,  Ct. 
Rev.  Mr.  Pitkin,  New  Haven,  Ct. 
Rev.  Mr.  Littlejohn,  New  Haven,  Ct. 
Prof.  B.  Silliman,  Sr.,  Yale  College, 

Ct. 

Rev.  Dr.  Fitch,  Yale  College. 
Prof.  A.  C.  Twining,  New  Haven. 
Prof.  Hubbard,  Dartmouth  College, 

N.  H. 

J.  J.  Phelps,  Esq.,  New  York. 
Hon.  C.  J.  M' Curdy,  Conn. 
Gov.  Roger  S.  Baldwin,  Conn. 
Hon.  D.  B.  St.  John,  Albany,  N.  Y. 


James  Br,ewster,  Esq.,  New  Haven. 

Hon.  Alva  Hunt,  N.  Y. 

Riifus  H.  King,  Albany. 

Frank  Townsend,  Albany. 

Hon.  John  C.  Wright,  Schenectady. 

Mr.  Cassey,  New  York. 

Mr.    C.    P.   Williams,    Stoniugton, 

Conn. 

V.  P.  Down,  Albany. 
H.  T.  Tuckerman,  Boston. 
N.  C.  Ely,  New  York. 
E.  H.  Tracy,  New  York. 
W.  Chauncey,  Ex-Mayor,  New  York, 
A.  J.  Clarkson,  St.  Lawrence;  Co., 

N.  Y. 

J.  Pall,  New  York. 
S.  Frothingham,  New  York. 
Judge  Oakley,  New  York. 
A.  S.  Murray,  Esq.,  Orange  Co., 

N.  Y. 

Col.  Abel,  Albany,  N.  Y. 
Rev.  Dr.  Spring,  New  York. 
Rev.  Dr.  Kennedy,  Albany. 
Rev.  Dr.  Vermilliyea,  New  York. 
Charles  B.  Sines,  New  Haven. 
Judge  Wood,  New  Haven. 
Judge  Parker,  Albany. 
Judge  S.  O.  Phelps,  Conin. 
J.  F.  Kennett,  artist,  New  York. 
Capt.  Goodrich,  New  Haven. 
Robt.  B.  Minturn,  New  York. 


398 


MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 


Mr.  Bogart,  New  York. 

Wm.  Higgins,  Liverpool,  Eng. 

Col.  Wm.  Davenport,  late  U.  S.  A., 
Philadelphia. 

Judge  Parker,  Prof,  of  Law,  Har- 
vard University. 

Hon.  A.  C.  Flagg,  Late  Comp- 
troller, N.  Y. 

Moses  Kimball,  Esq.,  Boston  . 

Kev.  Messrs.  Curtis,  Eggleston, 
Clarkson,  and  Sheply,  of  Chicago. 

H.  W.  Farnham,  of  Chicago  & 
Rock  Island  Railroad. 

Col.  Mix,  of  Chicago  &  Rock  Island 
Railroad. 

Mr.  Cook,  firm  of  Cook  &  Sargent, 
Davenport,  Iowa. 

Judge  Grant,  Davenport,  Iowa!, 

John  C.  Hamilton,  N.  Y. 

Thos.  W.  Gale,  N.  Y. 

Nicholas  Dean,  N.  Y. 

W.  C.  Redfield,  N.  Y. 

John  Howe,  N.  J. 

John  Bloom,  Washington  Hollow, 
N.  Y. 


Capt.  Orren  Smith,  President  of 
Galena  &  Minnesota  Packet  Co, 

Judge  Gale,  La  Crosse,  Wis. 

John  H.  Kinzie,  Chicago. 

Robt.  S.  Hilton,  Albany. 

Benj.  M.  Hutchinson,  Rome,  N.  Y, 

F.  F.  Marling,  N.  Y. 

John  P.  Jervis,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Warner,  N.  Y. 

H.  G.  Bronson,  N.  Y. 

W.  S.  Herriman,  N.  Y. 

John  J.  Mason,  N.  Y. 

Chas.  Stebbins,  Jr.,  Cazenovia,  N.  Y. 

J.  Phillips,  Phoenix. 

M.  Van  Schaick,  N.  Y. 

Hon.E.W.Hamlin,  Wayne  Co.,  Pa. 

S.  S.  Smith,  New  York. 

A.  M.  Knapp,  New  York. 

J.  H.  Ten  Eyck,  New  York. 

Wm.  D.  Bliss,  New  York. 

Samuel  J.  Tilden,  New  York. 

Capt.  Scribe  [R.   S.J  Harris,  Ga- 
lena, 111. 

Capt.  H.  H.  Gear,  Galena. 
O.  C.  Harris,  Waterville,  N.  Y. 


EDITORS. 


Col.  Fuller,  New  York  Mirror. 

George  H.  Andrews,  N.   Y.   Cou- 
rier and  Enquirer. 

H.  L.  Tobey,   Kingston  Journal, 
N.  Y. 

E.  Evans,  Buffalo  Democrat. 

Charles  Hudson,  Boston  Atlas. 

Charles  A.  Dana,  New  York  Tri- 
bune. 

Epes  Sargent,  late  of  Boston  Tran- 
script. 

S.  Bowles,  Springfield  (Mass.)  Re- 
publican. 

A.  H.  Bullock,  Worcester  ^Egis. 

J.  H.  Sanford,  New  iork  Journal 
of  Commerce. 

N.  W.  T.  Root,  New  Haven  Reg- 
ister. 

James  F.   Babcock,   New  Haven 
Palladium. 

Joseph  A.  Woodward,  New  Haven 
Courier. 


Carlton  Edwards,  Albany  Express. 

Isaac  Platt,  Poughkeepsie  Eagle. 

A.  S.  Pease,  Poughkeepsie  Tele- 
graph. 

Charles  Hale,  Boston  Advertiser. 

A.  P.  Cummings,  N.  Y.  Observer. 

W.  C.  Prime,  N.  Y.  Journal  of 
Commerce. 

D.  E.  Wagner,  Rome  Daily  Senti- 
nel. 

John  S.  Boswell,  Hartford  Cou- 
rant. 

H.  H.  Van  Dyck,  Albany  Atlas. 

Col.  Wm.  Schouler,  Cincinnati  Ga- 
zette. , 

E.  D.  G.  Prime,  N.  Y.  Observer. 
Caleb  Foot,  Salem  (Mass.)  Gazette. 
Mr.  Aiken,  N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 
A.  S.  Evans,  Chicago  Journal. 
John    A.    Bross,    Chicago    Dem. 


Dr.  Ray,  Galena  Jeffersonian. 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE    IN   MINNESOTA.  399 

F.  A.  Moore,  Springfield  (111.)  Jour-  Lewis  Mclver,  Utica  Telegraph. 

nal.  John  Lockwood,  Jr.,  N.  Y.  Home 

Col.    Danforth,   Rock   Island   Re-  Journal. 

publican.  Ellis  H.  Roberts,  Utica  Herald. 

Wm.  Duane  Wilson.  Chicago  Cou-  A.  Pitch,  N.  Y.  Commercial  Adver- 

rant.  tiser. 

Charles     Welden,     N.     Y.     Daily  C.    Gather   Flint,    Chicago   Daily 

Times.  TrlDune. 

R.  L.  Wilson,  editor  of  the  Chicago  Journal;  Thurlow  Weed,  of  the 
Albany  Journal;  and  Hugh  Hastings,  of  the  Albany  Knickerbocker,  left 
the  party  for  St.  Louis,  at  Rock  Island. 

Capt.  H..  H.  Gear  made  the  speech,  of  welcome  at  Galena, 
which  was  responded  to  by  Ex-President  Fillmore,  N.  K.  Hall, 
Ex-Postmaster  General,  and  Prof.  Silliman  of  Yale  College. 
Speeches  were  made  from  the  boats  at  Dubuque  by  Ex-Presi- 
dent Fillmore,  Hon.  Edward  Bates,  Judge  Parker,  General 
Lawrence,  Rev.  Dr.  Bacon  of  New  Haven,  Charles  Hudson  of 
the  Boston  Atlas,  A.  T.  A.  Davis  of  the  New  York  Tribune, 
Gen.  John  A.  Dix,  and  Mr.  Black  of  St.  Louis.  The  response 
was  by  Mr.  Samuels,  in  most  felicitous  terms. 

When  the  boats  were  under  way  they  were  at  times  lashed 
together  in  order  to  make  things  more  pleasant  with  music 
and  dancing.  Boats  went  to  Mendota  and  returned  at  seven 
o'clock  P.  M.  Citizens  had  made  preparations  for  a  reception 
at  the  Capitol,  which  was  to  have  come  off  Friday  evening; 
but  by  the  exertions  of  the  committees  which  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  citizens,  and  especially  by  the  efforts  of  Gov. 
Gorman,  W.  G.  Le  Due,  and  Col.  Mix  of  the  Rock  Island  Rail- 
road, the  preparations  were  nicely  completed  for  Thursday 
evening.  By  eight  o'clock  a  large  portion  of  the  visitors  had 
assembled  at  the  Capitol,  and  Gov.  Gorman  happily  presented 
Ex-President  Fillmore  to  the  citizens  of  Minnesota,  and  Hon. 
H.  H.  Sibley  greeted  the  distinguished  party  with  a  hearty 
welcome.  The  Ex-President,  Hon.  George  Bancroft,  and 
others,  responded  in  hearty  thanks  for  this  kind  reception, 
highly  complimented  the  country,  and  rapturously  extolled 
the  magnificent  scenery  on  the  river  as  they  had  seen  it  in 
tEeir  coming  on  the  beautiful  boats  in  which  they  had  been 
so  regally  cared  for.  After  the  ceremony  of  the  reception  was 
over,  the  people  of  the  cities  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  Anthony  were 
severally  presented  to  the  guests;  and  with  all  their  ability 
the  ladies  and  gentlemen  vied  with  each  other  in  doing  honor 

m.— 9 


400  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

to  their  guests  until  nearly  eleven  o'clock,  when  the  party 
proceeded  to  the  boats.  They  were  accompanied  to  the  river 
by  our  citizens  en  masse,  who,  on  the  departure  of  the  excursion- 
ists, gave  them  all  a  good-bye  and  their  ardent  hopes  for  their 
safe  arrival  home. 

The  writer  may  be  indulged  in  a  reflection  or  two  on  the 
completion  of  this  great  event  for  Minnesota.  As  has  been 
mentioned,  the  expectation  of  both  parties  in  the  arrangements 
for  this  excursion  contemplated  the  accommodation  of  proba- 
bly not  more  than  two  hundred  persons  at  most;  but  the  re- 
sponses to  the  invitations  of  Mr.  Farnham  came  in  with  thanks, 
and  permission  was  also  asked  for  the  friends  of  those  who 
were  complimented  to  go  with  them.  Many,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  did  not  know  whether  they  could  go  or  not  until  near 
the  time  to  start.  It  was  quite  easy  for  the  railroad  company 
to  find  the  cars  to  take  them  over  the  road  from  Chicago;  but 
where  were  the  boats  to  come  from  to  accommodate  such  a 
host  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  comfort,  and  with  credit  to 
the  occasion?  My  own  boat,  with  of  course  myself,  was  up 
the  river,  and  I  did  not  know  what  a  rush  had  been  made  to 
respond  to  the  anxious  request  of  Mr.  Farnham.  I  arrived  in 
Galena  only  a  very  short  time  after  the  excursion,  when  I 
learned  of  the  grand  success  that  had  attended  the  effort  to 
accommodate  this  host  of  the  most  noted  ladies  and  gentlemen 
of  the  nation,  with  five  of  the  best  boats  on  the  river  between 
St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul,  under  the  care  of  the  most  experienced 
captains  and  crews  in  the  trade.  You  may  well  believe,  but 
you  cannot  realize,  my  feeling  of  relief  to  find  this  distinguished 
party  in  the  hands  of  men  so  capable,  and  on  board  boats  that 
I  knew  would  not  only  carry  and  return  them  safe,  but  in  the 
greatest  comfort  then  known  to  steamboat  travel  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi river.  It  was  said  at  the  time  that  this  was  an  adver- 
tising dodge  to  influence  immigration.  There  is  no  truth  in 
such  a  supposition,  but  the  success  of  this  visit  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  people,  especially  the  editors  of  the  daily  press  of  the 
country,  did  more  than  the  best  laid  plan  for  advertising  the 
country  that  has  ever  been  made  since.  It  cost  nothing,  but 
the  great  papers  of  the  day  and  the  magazines  of  the  .country 
were  all  full  of  the  most  laudatory  literature  in  relation  to  the 
country,  the  scenery  on  the  river,  and  the  pleasure  and  com- 
fort of  the  journey.  Good  results  came  back  to  us  in  a  thou- 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE   IN   MINNESOTA.  401 

sand  ways  and  for  many  years,  as  immigration  commenced  to 
turn  its  attention  to  Minnesota. 

1855. 

Navigation  was  opened  to  St.  Paul  April  17th,  by  the  ar- 
rival of  the  War  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris.  The  following  were 
the  Galena  &  Minnesota  Packet  Company's  boats: 

War  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  Galena,  Capt.  R.  Blakeley; 
Golden  Era,  Capt.  J.  W.  Parker;  Lady  Franklin,  Capt.  J.  H. 
Malone;  Greek  Slave;  City  Belle,  Capt.  K.  Lodwick;  Royal 
Arch,  Capt.  E.  H.  Gleim;  and  Alhambra,  Capt.  W.  H.  Gabbert. 

The  Fanny  Harris,  Capt.  Jones  Worden,  commenced  run- 
ning from  Dubuque  and  was  the  beginning  of  the  Dubuque 
line  of  boats. 

The  Falls  City  made  her  appearance  in  June,  having  been 
built  by  our  St.  Anthony  friends  to  prove  that  the  Falls  was 
the  head  of  navigation.  She  was  a  stern-wheel  boat,  155  feet 
long,  27  feet  beam,  with  three  boilers,  and  was  commanded  by 
Capt.  Gilbert. 

This  was  a  very  low  water  season  for  most  of  the  year;  and 
it  seemed  as  though  all  the  light  draft  and  stern-wheel  boats 
of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  had  come  to  St.  Paul.  The 
immigration  that  was  now  in  full  tide  to  the  new  lands  west  of 
the  river  in  the  Sioux  purchase  was  becoming  widely  known, 
and  the  rush  made  for  choice  homes  kept  everybody  busy. 

The  following  was  the  list  of  boats  in  the  trade  this  season, 
as  complete  as  I  can  trace  them:  War  Eagle,  Galena,  Lady 
Franklin,  Golden  Era,  City  Belle,  Greek  Slave,  Royal  Arch, 
Alhambra,  Minnesota  Belle,  J.  B.  Gordon,  Time  and  Tide,  Kate 
Cassel,  Black  Hawk,  Luella,  Hamburg,  Julia  Dean,  York  State, 
Berlin,  Globe,  Dan  Canouse,  Henrietta,  Navigator,  Clarion, 
Fanny  Harris,  Equator,  Reville,  Excelsior,  Oakland,  Falls  City, 
Audubon,  Latrobe,  Laclede,  Badger  State,  Regulator,  Fire 
Canoe,  Dubuque,  Montellis,  Vienna,  New  St.  Paul,  Parthenia, 
Conewago,  Editor,  Ben  Bolt,  G.  W.  Sparhawk,  Prairie  State, 
Jas.  Lyon,  A.  G.  Mason,  Kentucky  No.  2,  Montauk,  Grey  Cloud, 
Sam  Gaty,  Ben  West,  Belle,  Golden  Prairie,  Rose,  Flora,  H.  M. 
Rice.  Twin  City,  H.  T.  Yeatman,  Adelia,  Gossamer,  Osceola, 
Col.  Morgan,  Gipsy,  Shenandoah,  H.  S.  Allen,  lola. 

The  number  of  boats  was  thus  sixty-eight.  The  number 
of  arrivals  from  Galena  was  300;  from  St.  Louis  and  the  Ohio, 


402  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

120;   and  from  the  Minnesota  river,  143.     The  total  number 
of  steamboat  arrivals  at  St.  Paul  was  thus- 563. 

The  Illinois  Central  Bailroad  was  finished  to  Dunleith  in 
the  summer,  and  the  present  writer  was  appointed  agent  and 
traffic  manager  for  this  railroad  at  Dunleith  in  the  fall  of  1855. 

1856. 

Navigation  was  opened  April  18th  by  the  steamboat  Lady 
Franklin,  Capt.  M.  E.  Lucas.  The  Galena,  Dunleith  and  Min- 
nesota Packet  Company,  of  which  Capt.  Orren  Smith  was 
President,  and  J.  R.  Jones,  Secretary,  ran  the  following  boats : 
War  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  Galena,  Capt.  Kennedy  Lod- 
wick;  Northern  Belle,  Capt.  Preston  Lodwick;  Golden  Era, 
Capt.  J.  W.  Parker;  Lady  Franklin,  Capt.  M.  E.  Lucas;  Ocean 
Wave,  Oapt.  E.  H.  Gleim;  City  Belle,  Capt.  A.  T.  Champlin; 
Granite  State,  Capt.  J.  Y.  Hurd;  and  Alhambra,  Capt.  W.  H. 
Gabbert. 

The  Dubuque  and  St.  Paul  Packet  Company  ran  the  fol- 
lowing boats:  Fanny  Harris,  Capt.  J.  Worden;  Excelsior, 
Capt.  Kingman;  Kate  Cassel,  Capt.  S.  Harlow;  Flora;  and 
Wyandotte,  Capt.  Pierce. 

The  Northern  Belle  was  a  very  nice  boat  built  at  Cincin- 
nati under  the  supervision  of  Capt.  Lodwick,  and  was  es- 
pecially well  adapted  to  the  trade,  being  226  feet  long,  29  feet 
beam,  beautifully  finished,  and  of  very  light  draught.  She  be- 
came a  very  popular  boat. 

Mr.  E.  H.  Johnson,  a  man  whom  Capt.  Orren  Smith  landed 
at  Winona,  as  they  called  their  new  town,  in  the  fall  of  1851, 
to  make  a  claim  for  himself  and  one  for  Capt.  Smith,  both  at 
the  expense  of  Capt.  Orren  Smith,  had  by  this  time  become 
dissatisfied  with  the  captain  and  thought  it  his  duty  to  buy 
a  steamboat  to  run  against  the  old  Packet  Company,  and  in 
that  way  return  some  of  the  money  he  had  made  by  Capt. 
Smith's  assistance,  seeing  meanwhile  whether  he  could  break 
the  Packet  Company.  By  the  advice  of  some  one  who  was 
anxious  to  run  a  boat  at  somebody's  else  expense,  he  bought 
the  Tishemingo,  which  had  a  pretty  good  reputation  for  speed, 
and  she  commenced  a  packet  line  from  Winona  to  Galena;  and 
after  having  lost  the  Packet  Company  some  money,  she  was 
sold  in  Galena  to  pay  her  debts; — not  a  very  profitable  ven- 
ture. 


THE   ADVENT    OF   COMMERCE   IN    MINNESOTA.  403 

The  following  is  a  list  of  boats  run  in  the  trade  this  season: 
Equator,  Wave,  Galena,  Golden  Era,  Fanny  Harris,  City  Belle, 
Northern  Belle,  Ocean  Wave,  Kate  Cassel,  Flora,  Excelsior, 
Lady  Franklin,  Time  and  Tide,  Alhambra,  Ben  Carson,  War 
Eagle,  Falls  City,  Clarion,  Reville,  H.  T.  Yeatman,  Metropoli- 
tan, Berlin,  Granite  State,  Hamburg,  Laclede,  Luella,  Cone- 
wago,  Jas.  Lyon,  Globe,  Oakland,  A.  G.  Mason,  Minnesota 
Belle,  Lucy  May,  Arcola,  Mansfield,  Thos.  Scott,  Royal  Arch, 
Golden  State,  Jacob  Trabor,  York  State,  Editor,  H.  S.  Allen, 
Matte  Wayne,  Sam  Young,  Rochester,  Montauk,  Greek  Slave, 
Ben  Bolt,  Gipsy,  Fairy  Queen,  John  P.  Luce,  White  Bluff,  Des 
Moines  Valley,  Violet,  Minnesota  Valley,  Diomed,  New  St. 
Croix,  Forest  Rose,  Fire  Canoe,  Brazil,  Gossamer,  Badger 
State,  Henrietta,  Grace  Darling,  Tishemingo,  America,  Julia 
Dean,  Atlantic,  Delegate,  St.  Louis,  Henry  Graff,  Carrier, 
Bongo,  W.  G.  Woodside,  Chart,  Vienna,  New  York.  The 
whole  number  of  boats  was  seventy-nine;  and  the  number  of 
arrivals  at  St.  Paul,  759. 

Capt.  E.  *H.  Gleim  died  at  the  De  Soto  House  in  Galena 
early  in  the  season  this  year.  He  was  a  very  popular  boatman 
and  an  estimable  gentleman. 

1857. 

Navigation  opened  May  1st,  the  latest  date  ever  known  up 
to  this  time,  the  first  arrival  being  the  Galena,  Capt.  W.  H. 
Laughton. 

The  great  activity  of  the  steamboating  during  the  years 
1855  and  1856,  and  the  promise  of  immediate  railroad  connec- 
tions at  Prairie  du  Chien  this  season,  the  reputation  which 
the  Territory  had  acquired  for  its  climate  and  fertility  of  soil, 
and  the  commerce  that  had  grown  up  so  fast  between  Galena, 
Dubuque,  and  the  upper  Mississippi,  so  stimulated  everybody 
connected  with  it  that  the  Galena,  Dunleith  and  Minnesota 
Packet  Company,  realizing  that  more  new  boats  would  be 
necessary  to  control  the  trade,  resolved  to  build  three  larger 
and  nicer  boats  to  meet  the  trade  of  1857.  Capt.  Orren  Smith 
went  to  Ohio  in  the  fall  of  1856,  and  contracted  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  Grey  Eagle,  Milwaukee,  and  Northern  Light. 
Almost  at  the  same  time  the  Dubuque  and  Minnesota  Packet 
Company  made  its  appearance  on  the  Ohio  to  build  two  new 
boats  as  well.  Each  company  had  supposed  that  it  was  the 
only  one  to  have  new  boats  in  the  spring  of  1857.  The  mutual 


404  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

discovery  that  each  of  the  companies  was  building  large  and 
expensive  boats  put  a  damper  on  the  outlook  for  the  coming 
season's  business,  and  resulted  in  a  reorganization  of  the  Ga- 
lena Company  under  the  name  of  the  Galena,  Dubuque,  Dun- 
leith and  Minnesota  Packet  Company,  with  Capt.  Orren  Smith, 
President;  J.  P.  Farley,  Vice  President;  J.  R.  Jones,  Secre- 
tary; and  Capt.  R.  Blakeley,  General  Agent  at  Dunleith.  All 
the  boats  were  transferred  to  the  new  company. 

The  following  is  the  description  of  the  five  new  boats: 
Grey  Eagle,  250  feet  long,  35  feet  beam;  Milwaukee,  240  feet 
long,  33  feet  beam;  Northern  Light,  240  feet  long,  40  feet  beam; 
Itasca,  230  feet  long,  35  feet  beam;  and  Key  City,  230  feet 
long,  35  feet  beam.  Their  tonnage  measurement  was  from 
350  to  over  400  tons  each,  and  no  better  boats  were  ever  built 
for  the  upper  river. 

The  business  season  commenced  with  the  following  boats 
and  officers:  Grey  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  Milwaukee,  Capt. 
Stephen  Hewett;  Northern  Light,  Capt.  P.  Lodwick;  Itasca, 
Capt.  D.  Whitten;  Key  City,  Capt.  Jones  Worden;  War  Eagle, 
Capt.  Kingman;  Galena,  Capt.  W.  H.  Laughton;  Northern 
Belle,  Capt.  J.  Y.  Hurd;  City  Belle,  Capt.  K.  Lodwick;  Ocean 
Wave;  Granite  State,  Capt.  W.  H.  Gabbert;  Fanny  Harris, 
Capt.  Anderson;  and  Alhambra,  Capt.  McGowen. 

When  the  Milwaukee  and  Prairie  du  Chien  Railroad  was 
ready  for  business,  the  Milwaukee,  Capt.  S.  Hewett,  the  Itasca, 
Capt.  D.  Whitten,  and  the  Ocean  Wave,  were  assigned  as  the 
packets  for  that  line;  and  for  the  Galena,  Dubuque  &  Dunleith 
line,  the  following  steamboats:  Grey  Eagle,  Capt.  Harris; 
Northern  Light,  Capt.  P.  Lodwick;  Key  City,  Capt.  Worden; 
War  Eagle,  Capt.  Kingman;  Galena,  Capt.  W.  H.  Laughton; 
City  Belle,  Capt.  K.  Lodwick;  Granite  State,  Capt.  W.  H.  Gab- 
bert; Golden  Era,  Capt.  Scott;  Golden  State,  Capt.  S.  Harlon; 
Fanny  Harris,  Capt.  Anderson;  and  the  Alhambra,  Capt.  Mc- 
Gowen.  These  boats  made  double  daily  lines  from  Galena,  etc., 
some  of  them  being  special  packets  and  others  for  freight. 

The  St.  Louis  and  St.  Paul  steamboat  men  decided  to  divide 
the  time  between  them  so  as  to  form  a  regular  line  to  St.  Paul. 
Prominent  in  this  line  were  the  following  boats:  Canada, 
Capt.  James  Ward;  W.  L.  Ewing,  Capt.  M.  Green;  Denmark, 
Capt.  R.  C.  Gray;  Metropolitan,  Capt.  T.  B.  Rhodes;  Minne- 
sota Belle,  Capt.  Thomas  B.  Hill ;  Pembina,  Capt.  Thomas  H. 


MINNESOTA  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,  VOL.  VIII. 


PLATE  XIV. 


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THE   ADVENT   OF    COMMERCE    IN    MINNESOTA.  405 

Griffith.;  Northerner,  Gapt.  P.  Alford;  Lucy  May,  Capt.  J.  B. 
Rhodes;  and  the  Aunt  Letty,  Capt.  O.  G.  Morrison. 

The  following  boats  were  advertised  for  the  Minnesota 
River  trade:  Capt.  Davidson's  Line,  consisting  of  the  Frank 
Steele  and  some  other  boat  not  remembered;  Capt.  L.  Robert's 
Line,  consisting  of  the  Time  and  Tide  and  the  Jeannette  Rob- 
erts; and,  besides,  the  Antelope,  Clarion,  Medora,  Equator,  J. 
Bissell,  and  Wave. 

There  were  more  boats  in  the  Mississippi  river  above  St. 
Louis,  plying  to  and  from  St.  Paul,  during  this  season  than  at 
any  time  before  or  since.  The  following  is  believed  to  be  a 
very  accurate  list  of  them:  Grey  Eagle,  Northern  Light,  Mil- 
waukee, Itasca,  Key  City,  War  Eagle,  Galena,  Northern  Belle, 
City  Belle,  Ocean  Wave,  Granite  State,  Golden  Era,  Golden 
State,  Fanny  Harris,  Alhambra,  Canada,  W.  L.  Ewing,  Den- 
mark, Metropolitan,  Minnesota  Belle,  Pembina,  Northerner, 
Lucy  May,  Aunt  Letty,  A.  G.  Mason,  Audubon,  Antelope,  Ade- 
lia,  Brazil,  Arizona,  Atlanta,  Belfast,  Bangor,  Ben  Coursin,  Ben 
Bolt,  Cremonia,  C.  H.  Wilson,  Conewago,  Clarion,  Chippewa, 
Cambridge,  Courier,  Dew  Drop,  Earlia,  Equator,  Tunis,  Envoy, 
Editor,  Endeavor,  Fred  Lorenz,  Fire  Canoe,  Frank  Steele, 
Falls  City,  Freighter,  Genl.  Pike,  Glenwood,  H.  S.  Allen,  H.  T. 
lYeatman,  Hermonia,  Hamburg,  Henry  Graff,  Henry  Clay,  Isaac 
Shelby,  Jacob  Poe,  J.  Bissel,  Jas.  Lyon,  Jacob  Trabor,  Jean- 
nette Roberts,  Jemima  Whipple,  Key  Stone,  Kate  French., 
Kentucky  No.  2,  Key  West,  La  Crosse,  Montauk,  Messenger, 
Minnesota  Belle,  Minnesota,  Mansfield,  Medora,  Orb,  Oakland, 
Progress,  Red  Wing,  Reserve,  Rosalie,  Rocket,  Reville,  Sara- 
cen, Sam  Young,  Skipper,  Time  and  Tide,  Tishemingo,  Vixen, 
Wave,  Mt.  Deming,  White  Cloud.  Some  of  these  boats  ran  to 
Fulton  City.  There  may  have  been  some  other  boats  this  sea- 
son, but  in  the  main  the  list  is  correct. 

The  last  boat  of  the  season  arrived  November  14th;  the 
number  of  days  of  navigation  was  198;  the  whole  number  of 
boats  recorded  for  the  year,  99;  and  the  number  of  arrivals, 
965. 

PERIOD  OP  STATEHOOD  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

1858. 

Navigation  opened  earlier  this  spring  than  in  any  former 
record,  on-  March  25th,  the  Grey  Eagle,  Capt.  Harris,  being 
the  first  to  arrive. 


406  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

The  Galena,  Dubuque,  Dunleith,  and  Minnesota  Packet 
Company's  boats  were  as  follows:  Grey  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Har- 
ris; Northern  Light,  Capt.  Preston  Lodwick;  Key  City,  Capt. 
Jones  Worden;  Milwaukee,  Capt.  Stephen  Hewett;  Itasca, 
Capt.  David  Whitten;  Northern  Belle,  Capt.  J.  Y.  Hurd;  Ga- 
lena, Capt.  W.  H.  Laughton;  War  Eagle,  Capt.  W.  H.  Gabbert; 
Ocean  Wave,  Oapt.  Scott;  Golden  Era;  and  City  Belle. 

Of  these  boats  the  following  composed  the  Prairie  du  Chien 
Line:  Milwaukee,  Capt.  Hewett;  Itasca,  Capt.  Whitten;  and 
Ocean  Wave,  Capt.  Scott. 

The  Northern  Line  from  St.  Louis  comprised  the  Canada, 
Capt.  James  Ward;  Denmark,  Capt.  R.  C.  Gray;  Henry  Clay, 
Capt.  Charles  Stephenson;  Metropolitan,  Capt.  Rhodes;  Min- 
nesota Belle,  Capt.  J.  B.  Hill;  Pembina,  Capt.  Thomas  H.  Grif- 
fith; and  W.  L.  Ewing,  Capt.  M.  Green. 

The  Minnesota  River  boats  were  Frank  Steel e,  Time  and 
Tide,  Jeannette  Roberts,  Isaac  Shelby,  Fire  Canoe,  Antelope, 
Freighter,  Clarion,  and  Wave. 

Above  St.  Anthony  were  the  Enterprise,  Capt.  Isaac  Young; 
and  H.  M.  Rice,  Capt.  William  Harmon. 

The  names  of  the  steamboats  in  the  St.  Paul  trade  in  1858 
are  Adelia,  Alhambra,  Antelope,  Atlanta,  Brazil,  Canada,  Cas- 
tle Garden,  Challenge,  Chippewa,  City  Belle,  Clarion,  Col.  Mor- 
gan, Conewago,  Casnovia,  Denmark,  Dew  Drop,  Envoy,  Eolian, 
Fire  Canoe,  Frank  Steele,  Fred  Lorenz,  Freighter,  Galena, 
Golden  Era,  Grey  Eagle,  Hamburg,  Hazel  Dell,  Henry  Clay, 
Isaac  Shelby,  Itasca,  Jacob  Trabor,  Jas.  Lyon,  Jas.  Raymond, 
Jeannette  Roberts,  Keokuk,  Key  City,  Laclede,  Lake  City, 
Lucy  May,  Medora,  Metropolitan,  Minnesota,  Minnesota  Belle, 
Milwaukee,  Northern  Belle,  Northern  Light,  Oakland,  Ocean 
Wave,  Panola,  Pembina,  Red  Wing,  Rosalie,  Sam  Kukman, 
Tigress,  Time  and  Tide,  Vixen,  War  Eagle,  Wave,  W.  L.  Ewing. 

The  whole  number  of  boats  was  62;  of  arrivals,  1,090.  The 
last  boat  arrived  November  16th,  the  number  of  days  of  naviga- 
tion having  been  236. 

1859. 

Navigation  was  opened  April  20th  by  the  Key  City,  Capt. 
Jones  Worden.  The  Galena,  Dubuque,  Dunleith  &  Minnesota 
Packet  Company's  boats  were  the  Grey  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Har- 
ris; Northern  Light,  Capt.  P.  Lodwick;  Milwaukee,  Capt.  Ste- 
phen Hewett;  Ocean  Wave,  Capt.  Scott;  Itasca,  Capt.  D. 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE    IN   MINNESOTA.  407 

Whitten;  Golden  Era,  Capt.  W.  H.  Laughton;  Northern  Belle, 
Capt.  J.  Y.  Hurd;  Key  City,  Capt.  Jones  Worden;  the  War 
Eagle;  and  others  not  now  remembered. 

This  year  opened  with  three  railroads  to  the  Mississippi: 
The  Illinois  Central,  Milwaukee  &  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  the 
Milwaukee  &  La  Crosse.  The  Packet  Company  had  agreed  to 
run  a  line  of  boats  to  each  railroad.  The  boats  running  to  the 
Illinois  Central  were  the  Grey  Eagle,  Northern  Light,  Key 
City,  and  some  other  boats  for  freight  and  low  water;  to  the 
Milwaukee  &  Prairie  du  Chien  line,  the  Milwaukee,  Itasca,  and 
Ocean  Wave;  and  to  the  Milwaukee  &  La  Crosse  line,  the  War 
Eagle,  Northern  Belle,  and  Golden  Era. 

The  Northern  Line  Packet  Company  ran  the  following 
steamboats:  Canada,  Capt.  James  Ward;  W.  L.  Ewing,  Capt. 
M.  Green;  Denmark,  Gapt.  R.  C.  Gray;  Metropolitan,  Capt. 
Thomas  B.  Rhodes;  Minnesota  Belle,  Capt.  J.  B.  Hill;  Pem- 
bina,  Capt.  Thomas  H.  Griffith;  and  the  Northerner,  Capt. 
Pliny  Alford.  Some  others  were  added  as  the  season  ad- 
vanced. 

The  Minnesota  River  Line  included  the  Frank  Steele,  Capt. 
J.  R.  Hatcher;  Favorite,  Capt.  P.  S.  Davidson;  Eolian;  and 
the  Freighter,  Capt.  John  Farmer. 

Capt.  Robert's  Independent  Line  had  the  Time  and  Tide, 
Capt.  Nelson  Robert;  and  the  Jeannette  Roberts,  Capt.  F. 
Aymond. 

The  enumeration  of  the  boats  in  the  trade  is  as  follows: 
North  Star,  Frank  Steele,  Antelope,  Wave,  Equator,  Berlin, 
Genl.  Pike,  Metropolitan,  Fred  Lorenz,  Favorite,  St.  Louis, 
Chas.  Wilson,  Northern  Light,  Milwaukee,  W.  L.  Ewing,  Ocean 
Wave,  Grey  Eagle,  Itasca,  Canada,  Minnesota  Belle,  W.  S.  Nel- 
son, Chippewa,  Golden  Era,  Lucy  May,  Denmark,  Northern 
Belle,  Isaac  Shelby,  Northerner,  Freighter,  Pembina,  Bangor, 
Lake  City,  Snow  Drop,  Henry  Clay,  Conewago,  Belfast,  Ro- 
salie, Jenny  Lind,  H.  S.  Allen,  Ben  Campbell,  Kate  Cassel, 
Vixen,  Keokuk,  Black  Hawk,  Hastings,  Goody,  Friends,  An- 
gler, Saxon,  Ida,  May,  New  Golden  State,  Clarima,  Time  and 
Tide,  Jeannette  Roberts,  Key  City,  Chippewa. 

The  whole  number  of  boats  was  54;  of  arrivals,  808.  Navi- 
gation closed  November  27th,  the  number  of  days  of  naviga- 
tion having  been  222. 


408  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

1860. 

Navigation  opened  March  28th,  with  the  arrival  of  the 
steamer  Milwaukee,  Capt.  John  Cochran.  The  boats  of  the 
Galena,  Dubuque,  Dunleith  &  Minnesota  Packet  Company 
were  the  Grey  Eagle,  Milwaukee,  Northern  Light,  Itasca,  Key 
City,  War  Eagle,  Ocean  Wave,  Northern  Belle,  Golden  Era, 
Keokuk,  Fanny  Harris,  and  Alhambra.  They  were  assigned 
in  the  spring  as  in  the  following  lists;  but,  owing  to  compli- 
cations that  developed  during  the  summer,  they  were  badly 
deranged,  and  it  is  probable  that  I  may  not  be  able  to  follow 
them  during  the  summer. 

The  boats  that  ran  from  Dubuque,  Dunleith,  and  Prairie 
du  Ghien  to  St.  Paul  were  the  Milwaukee,  Capt.  J.  Cochran; 
Northern  Belle,  Capt.  J.  Y.  Hurd;  Golden  Era,  Capt.  W.  H. 
Laughton;  and  Ocean  Wave,  Capt.  N.  F.  Webb. 

On  the  Milwaukee  and  La  Crosse  Line  were  the  War  Eagle, 
Capt.  J.  B.  Davis;  Keokuk,  Capt.  E.  V.  Holcombe;  and  the 
Fanny  Harris,  Capt.  W.  H.  Gabbert. 

The  Minnesota  Packet  Company  and  the  Northern  Line 
Packet  Company  agreed  to  jointly  run  the  great  United  States 
Express  from  St.  Louis  to  St.  Paul,  Stillwater,  and  St.  An- 
thony, to  be  double  daily,  and  to  leave  St.  Paul  as  follows: 

Northerner,  Capt.  Alford,  Monday  morning;  Gray  Eagle, 
Capt.  Harris,  Monday  evening;  Canada,  Capt.  J.  W.  Parker, 
Tuesday  morning;  Northern  Light,  Capt.  Lodwick,  Tuesday 
evening;  Metropolitan,  Capt.  J.  B.  Jenks,  Wednesday  morning; 
Itasca,  Capt.  Whitten,  Wednesday  evening;  Sucker  State, 
Capt.  T.  B.  Rhodes,  Thursday  morning;  Key  City,  Capt.  J. 
Worden,  Thursday  evening;  Pembina,  Capt.  J.  B.  Hill,  Friday 
morning;  W.  L.  Ewing,  Capt.  J.  H.  Rhodes,  Saturday  morning; 
New  Hawkeye  State,  Capt.  R.  C.  Gray,  Saturday  evening. 

On  the  Minnesota  river  were  the  Favorite,  Capt.  P.  S.  Da- 
vidson; Frank  Steele,  Capt.  J.  R.  Hatcher;  the  Antelope; 
and  probably  others. 

In  the  summer  of  1859  the  Milwaukee  &  La  Crosse  Railroad 
was  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  to  go  into  court  in  Milwaukee, 
and  the  court  appointed  Mr.  Hans  Crocker  of  Milwaukee,  Re- 
ceiver. Mr.  E.  H.  Goodrich  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  road, 
and  Mr.  Harvey  Rumsey  was  agent  at  La  Crosse.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  boats  appeared  to  be  prosperous,  and  these  gentle- 
men, through  Mr.  Rumsey,  asked  the  writer  for  an  interest  in 


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THE   ADVENT    OF    COMMERCE    IN    MINNESOTA.  409 

the  business.  This  proposition  was  duly  presented  to  the 
directors  of  the  Packet  Company  and  was  respectfully  de- 
clined. These  gentlemen  finally  invited  Capt.  W.  F.  Davidson 
to  send  down  his  boats,  the  Favorite  and  Frank  Steele  (which 
had  been  shut  out  of  the  Minnesota  river  by  low  water),  to 
La  Crosse,  stating  that  they  would  give  him  the  business  of 
the  railroad.  Capt.  Davidson  promptly  accepted  this  very 
promising  invitation. 

The  freight  was  transferred  to  Capt.  Davidson,  which  had 
been  consigned  to  the  Minnesota  Packet  Company;  and  a  ticket 
agent  was  put  on  the  cars  to  take  up  the  tickets  for  the  old 
line  and  to  give  new  ones  for  the  Davidson  boats.  This  action 
of  the  representatives  of  the  court,  in  breaking  a  written  con- 
tract without  cause"  created  the  natural  result  in  such  cases, 
and  the  present  writer  and  Mr.  J.  R.  Jones,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Packet  Company,  were  directed  to  make  them  put  the 
business  back  on  the  Packet  Company's  boats.  Believing  the 
best  way  to  do  that  was  to  make  the  fight  sharp  from  the  start, 
we  made  the  passage  for  all  persons  from  above  La  Crosse  to 
Milwaukee  and  Chicago  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  and  the 
rate  for  all  grain  shipped  from  above  La  Crosse  to  Milwaukee 
and  Chicago  four  cents  per  bushel;  and  we  announced  that 
all  freight  from  Milwaukee  and  Chicago  to  points  above  La 
Crosse  would  be  carried  free  on  the  Packet  Company's  boats. 
The  price  for  passage  from  points  above  La  Crosse  to  Mil- 
waukee and  Chicago  was  soon  made  one  dollar,  which  made 
the  trustees  of  the  bondholders  of  the  railroad  call  upon  the 
court  to  know  what  was  being  done  with  the  road.  In  making 
answer,  the  court,  as  in  duty  bound,  ordered  Mr.  Hans  Crocker 
to  restore  the  business  of  the  railroad  to  the  Packet  Company's 
boats  according  to  the  contract. 

There  were  some  other  boats  in  the  upper  river  trade  this 
season,  including,  I  think,  the  Henry  Clay,  Capt.  Charles  Steph- 
enson.  This  summer's  business  started  with  a  good  class  of 
boats,  especially  from  St.  Louis  to  St.  Paul,  the  best  that  ever 
ran  in  the  trade  of  the  upper  river.  The  Hawkeye  State  and 
Sucker  State  were  new,  and  they  all  were  in  good  shape;  but 
the  demoralization  caused  by  the  men  in  charge  of  the  Mil- 
waukee &  La  Crosse  Railroad  prevented  anything  like  a 
profitable  season.  It,  however,  furnished  some  excitement  for 
railroads,  steamboats,  and  the  public  for  about  sixty  days. 


410  MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY    COLLECTIONS. 

Navigation  closed  about  November  23rd.  The  number  of 
arrivals  at  St.  Paul  was  776;  the  number  of  boats,  45;  and  the 
season  of  open  navigation,  240  days. 

1861. 

Navigation  was  opened  April  8th,  by  the  arrival  of  the 
Ocean  Wave,  Capt.  N.  F.  Webb.  The  La  Crosse  Line  ran  the 
Keokuk,  Capt.  E.  V.  Holcombe;  Northern  Belle,  Capt.  W.  H. 
Laughton;  and  Ocean  Wave,  Capt.  N.  F.  Webb. 

The  St.  Paul,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Dubuque  &  Dunleith  Line 
ran  the  Milwaukee,  Capt.  John  Cochran;  Golden  Era,  Capt. 
W.  H.  Gabbert;  War  Eagle,  Capt.  Charles  L.  Stephenson;  and 
Ttasca,  Capt.  J.  Y.  Hurd. 

The  St.  Louis,  St.  Paul  &  Stillwater  Line  ran  the  North- 
erner, Capt.  P.  Alford;  Pembina,  Capt.  Thos.  B.  Hill;  Metro- 
politan, Capt.  Thos.  B.  Buford;  Sucker  State,  Capt.  T.  B. 
Rhodes;  Canada,  Capt.  J.  W.  Parker;  W.  L.  Ewing,  Capt.  J. 
H.  Rhodes;  Grey  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris;  Northern  Light, 
Capt.  John  B.  Davis;  Key  City,  Capt.  J.  Worden;  Hawkeye 
State,  Capt.  R.  C.  Gray;  Henry  Clay,  Capt.  C.  B.  Gall;  and 
Denmark,  Capt.  J.  J.  Robinson. 

The  Davidson  Line  to  La  Crosse  ran  the  Frank  Steele, 
Capt.  W.  F.  Davidson;  Favorite,  Capt.  P.  S.  Davidson;  and 
Winona,  Capt.  J.  R.  Hatcher. 

The  Minnesota  River  boats  were  the  Albany,  City  Belle, 
Jeannette  Roberts,  Antelope,  and  Ariel. 

The  following  were  transient  boats :  Fred  Lorenze,  Fanny 
Harris,  La  Crosse,  and  Alhambra. 

The  Grey  Eagle,  Capt.  D.  S.  Harris,  was  sunk  at  the  Rock 
Island  bridge  at  five  o'clock  p.  M.,  May  9th,  in  going  down 
stream  heavily  loaded  with  wheat  and  a  large  number  of  pas- 
sengers. The  steamer  and  cargo  were  a  total  loss.  Capt.  Har- 
ris, who  had  run  the  river  and  rapids  so  successfully  for  so 
many  years,  was  standing  at  the  wheel  with  his  pilot,  with  the 
utmost  confidence  in  the  Grey  Eagle's  making  the  passage  of 
the  bridge.  He  was  so  hurt  in  his  pride  as  a  successful  boat- 
man, that  he  abandoned  the  river  forever  and  sold  his  stock. 
On  the  22nd  day  of  June,  the  writer,  under  contract,  shipped 
on  board  the  War  Eagle  and  Northern  Belle,  the  First  Minne- 
sota Regiment  for  Washington,  D.  C.,  under  the  command  of 
Col.  Gorman. 


THE   ADVENT    OF    COMMERCE    IN    MINNESOTA.  411 

Navigation  closed  November  28th ;  the  number  of  arrivals 
was  972;  and  the  season  of  open  navigation,  233  days. 

1862. 

The  years  1861-2  made  a  great  many  changes  in  the  person- 
nel of  the  old  Galena  and  Minnesota  Packet  Company.  Capt. 
D.  S.  Harris  had  sunk  his  great  favorite  steamboat  on  the 
Rock  Island  bridge  and  sold  his  stock.  Mr.  J.  R.  Jones  was 
appointed  United  States  Marshal  of  the  northern  district  of 
Illinois,  and  removed  to  Chicago.  Mr.  James  Carter  also  re- 
moved to  Chicago.  Mr.  Henry  Corwith  also  sold  his  stock. 
The  writer  also  had  removed  to  St.  Paul. 

The  spring  of  1862  found  Mr.  B.  H.  Campbell  and  Nathan 
Corwith  as  the  principal  owners  in  this  Company,  with  Capt. 
Orren  Smith,  R.  S.  Harris  and  Meeker  Harris  in  the  active 
management.  The  summer  business  opened  in  the  spring  with 
some  arrangements  that  surprised  some  of  us  who  had  not  had 
time  to  attend  the  meeting  in  the  winter  of  1861-2.  The  first 
thing  that  challenged  the  attention  of  the  writer  was  the  ad- 
vertisement of  the  Davidson  Line  from  La  Crosse  to  St.  Paul, 
with  the  War  Eagle,  Northern  Belle,  and  Moses  McClellan  as 
the  regular  boats,  under  direction  of  Capt.  W.  F.  Davidson, 
President,  and  Capt.  W.  H.  Rhodes  as  agent.  It  thus  ap- 
peared that  Capt.  Davidson  had  two  of  our  boats  in  his  line, 
himself  being  in  control  of  the  line.  On  inquiry  it  was  found 
that  Capt.  Davidson  had  organized  a  new  company,  that  the 
old  company  owned  one-half  of  the  stock,  and  that  Capt.  Da- 
vidson was  to  run  it.  In  addition,  the  boat  store  of  R.  S.  & 
Meeker  Harris  was,  on  the  opening  of  navigation,  removed  to 
St.  Paul.  This  business  was  doing  so  beautifully  well,  that 
during  the  summer  Messrs.  B.  H.  Campbell  and  Nathan  Cor- 
with took  authority  to  sell  off  the  stock  of  the  old  Company, 
which  they  did  forthwith,  and  called  a  meeting  of  the  stock- 
holders to  ratify  the  sale,  which  was  done  notwithstanding 
the  protest  of  the  minority  of  the  stock.  The  minority  holders 
took  their  money  and  gracefully  retired.  The  final  result  of 
these  two  honorable  transactions  was  that  Capt.  Davidson  be- 
came the  owner  of  all  the  steamboats  of  the  old  line,  very 
much  to  the  disgust  of  the  men  who  had  made  these  sharp 
bargains  without  the  consent  of  their  old  associates. 


412  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

It  was  found  in  the  fall  of  1862  that  St.  Paul  was  not  a 
good  place  for  a  boat  store,  and  the  remnants  of  the  stock 
were  removed  down  the  river  again. 

The  opening  of  navigation  was  April  18th,  with  the  arrival 
of  the  Keokuk,  Capt.  J.  R.  Hatcher.  The  Davidson  Line  to 
La  Crosse  consisted  of  the  Moses  McClellan,  Capt.  Martin; 
Northern  Belle,  Capt.  W.  H.  Laughton;  and  Keokuk,  Capt.  J. 
R.  Hatcher. 

The  St.  Paul,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Dubuque  &  Dunleith  Line 
had  the  Milwaukee,  Capt.  E.  V.  Holcombe;  Itasca,  Capt.  J.  Y. 
Hurd;  War  Eagle,  Capt.  N.  F.  Webb;  Northern  Light,  Capt. 
W.  H.  Gabbert;  Key  City,  Capt.  Jones  Worden;  Alhambra, 
Capt.  William  Faucett;  and  probably  some  others. 

The  St.  Louis  &  St.  Paul  or  Northern  Line  ran  the  Sucker 
State,  Capt.  James  Ward;  Denmark;  Canada;  Hawkeye  State; 
and  Northerner,  Capt.  P.  Alford.  The  steamboat  Davenport 
was  added  to  this  line  in  1863. 

The  Minnesota  River  steamers  were  the  Frank  Steele,  Fa- 
vorite, Jeannette  Roberts,  and  probably  some  others. 

Navigation  closed  November  15th,  the  season  of  open  navi- 
gation having  been  212  days.  I  think  that  the  boats  named 
did  most  of  the  business  this  season. 

There  are  many  persons  whose  names  should  be  mentioned 
in  this  paper  for  their  long  and  faithful  service  in  connection 
with  this  history  of  the  navigation  of  the  upper  Mississippi 
river.  I  only  regret  that  in  the  nature  of  the  case  I  shall  omit 
many  that  are  justly  entitled  to  a  record  here.  I  am  entirely 
dependent  upon  my  memory  for  those  that  are  named,  as  there 
is  no  record  for  reference. 

Among  the  clerks  who  were  employed  on  the  boats  of  the 
Packet  Company,  I  remember,  with  the  greatest  pleasure  and 
high  respect,  Messrs.  Daniel  V.  Dawley,  John  H.  Maitland, 
John  Brooks,  John  S.  Pym,  A.  C.  Monfort,  Geo.  R.  Melville, 
Robert  Melville,  Chas.  T.  Hinde,  Ed.  Halliday,  George  A.  Ham- 
ilton, George  S.  Pierce,  John  Cochran,  Mr.  Cooley,  Joseph.  D. 
Du  Bois,  Geo.  C.  Blish. 

The  pilots  are  also  among  the  responsible  and  courageous 
men  on  a  steamboat  who  should  always  be  remembered  with 
the  highest  respect.  No  one  knows  better  the  obligation  that 
all  souls  on  board  a  steamboat  are  under  to  them  than  the 
man  on  watch  on  the  deck  with  them,  in  dark  and  stormy 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE   IN   MINNESOTA.  413 

weather.  Among  this  class  of  men  I  am  gratified  to  be  able 
to  remember,  among  my  early  acquaintances,  Moro  and  De 
Mara,  the  French  pilots  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  for  their  faithful 
service;  and,  with  these  and  in  later  years,  Pleasant  Connack, 
William  White,  John  Arnold,  Joseph  Armstrong,  John  King, 
Rufus  Williams,  E.  A.  West,  E.  V.  Holcombe,  Hiram  Beadle, 
William  Cup,  Jerome  Smith,  Henry  Gilpatrick,  T.  G.  Dreming, 
William  Tibbies,  Jackson  Harris,  Stephen  Hanks,  Stephen 
Dalson,  Charles  Manning,  Peter  Hall,  George  Nicholas.  Many 
of  these  men  worked  during  many  years  for  the  Packet  Com- 
pany. I  deeply  regret  that  my  memory  does  not  reach  the 
others. 

STATISTICS. 

Below  are  given,  in  regular  succession,  the  dates  of  the 
earliest  steamboat  arrivals  as  furnished  by  Mr.  Philander 
Prescott,  the  interpreter  at  the  Indian  Agency  at  Fort  Snell- 
ing,  from  1844  to  1849,  and  as  given  in  the  St.  Paul  newspapers 
after  1849: 

1844.  Otter Capt.  D.  S.  Harris April      6. 

1845.  Otter Capt.  D.  S.  Harris April     6. 

1846.  Lynx Gapt.  J.  Atchison March  31. 

1847.  Cora    Capt.  J.  Throckmorton  . . .  April      7. 

1848.  Senator Capt.  D.  S.  Harris April     7. 

1849.  Highland  Mary Capt.  Atchison April     9. 

1850.  Highland   Mary Capt.  Atchison April    39. 

3851.    Nominee Capt.  O.  Smith April      4. 

1852.  Nominee Capt.  O.  Smith April    16. 

1853.  West  Newton Capt.  Harris  April    11. 

1854.  Nominee Capt.  Blakeley April     8. 

1855.  War  Eagle Capt.  D.  S,  Harris April    17. 

1856.  Lady  Franklin Capt  M.  E.  Lucas April    18. 

1857.  Galena Capt.  Laughton   May       1. 

1858.  Grey  Eagle Capt  D.  S.  Harris March  25. 

1859.  Key  City Capt  J.  Worden April   20. 

1860.  Milwaukee Capt.  Cochran March  28. 

1861.  Ocean  Wave Capt.  N.  F.  Webb April     8. 

1862.  Keokuk Capt.  Hatcher April    18. 

The  number  of  arrivals  each  year  were  as  follows :  1844,  41 ; 
1845,  48;  1846,  24;  1847,  47;  1848,  63;  1849,  85;  1850,  104; 
1851,  119;  1852,  171;  1853,  235;  1854,  310;  1855,  536;  1856, 
759;  1857,  965;  1858,  1,090;  1859,  802;  1860,  776;  1861,  772; 
1862,  846. 

The  average  close  of  navigation  was  about  November  22nd ; 
and  the  average  number  of  days  of  navigation,  222. 


414  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

All  persons  who  read  this  history  of  forty  years  of  steam- 
boat commerce  in  Minnesota  will  agree  with  me  that  there 
must  have  been  an  immense  amount  of  valuable  material  that 
has  been  left  out  of  the  record,  which  would  be  very  interest- 
ing. No  one  can  be  more  painfully  aware  of  that  fact  than  I 
am.  I  have  known  almost  every  man  named  in  the  list  of 
boatmen  that  I  have  given,  have  taken  them  by  the  hand,  and 
their  persons  come  back  in  very  familiar  form  to  my  recollec- 
tion, but  they  are  nearly  all  gone ;  very  few  are  left,  and  those 
are  of  the  younger  men  that  came  into  the  trade  as  I  left  it. 

Those  that  are  gone  have  left  no  record,  although  some  of 
them  spent  a  lifetime  in  the  business.  There  is  but  one  of  my 
corporate  associates  of  the  Packet  Company  left,  and  but  very 
few  of  the  employees;  and  they  are  the  younger  men  who 
came  in  at  about  the  time  I  was  retiring,  thirty-five  years  ago, 
All  are  gone,  and  there  is  no  one  that  can  supply  what  has 
been  forgotten.  I  am  gratified  that  I  have  been  able  to  pre- 
serve so  much. 

The  plates  accompanying  this  paper,  prepared  from  photo- 
graphs, show  some  of  the  principal  steamboats  of  the  early 
commerce  of  the  Mississippi  river.  On  these  and  the  other 
steamboats  whose  records  appear  in  the  foregoing  pages,  the 
majority  of  the  immigrants  during  these  early  years  of  the  Ter- 
ritory and  State  came  to  Minnesota. 

Many  of  my  readers  may  regard  this  as  a  sudden  end  of 
the  history  of  steamboating  in  Minnesota. 

It  is  not  an  agreeable  thing  to  relate  the  events  that  fol- 
lowed the  summer  of  1862;  but  on  the  whole  I  am  tempted  to 
say  a  word  or  two.  Capt.  W.  F.  Davidson  entered  into  an  ar- 
rangement with  the  old  Galena  Company,  which  finally  re- 
sulted in  his  becoming  the  owner  of  the  stock  of  that  company. 
The  construction  of  railroads  caused  him  to  send  some  of  his 
boats  to  St.  Louis,  which,  as  a  matter  of  course,  brought  him 
into  competition  with  the  Northern  Line  and  with  the  St.  Louis 
and  Keokuk  Line. 

Captain  Davidson  finally  held  a  controlling  interest  in  all 
the  business  on  the  river  above  St.  Louis.  But  the  holders  of 
a  large  portion  of  the  stock  of  the  Northern  Line  became  dis- 
satisfied, and  applied  to  the  court  for  a  receiver  to  manage  the 
business,  by  which  Capt.  Davidson  was  compelled  to  fight  for 


THE   ADVENT    OF   COMMERCE   IN   MINNESOTA.  415 

his  property.  This  took  so  long  that  the  boats  and  barges 
were  worn  out  before  he  again  got  possession  (to  say  nothing 
of  the  cost  of  litigation).  The  business  was  ruined ;  his  health 
was  broken;  and  the  remnants  of  what  had  been  a  grand  in- 
dustry, building  up  the  commerce  of  the  Northwest,  were  de- 
stroyed. 

In  conclusion,  I  regard  it  as  appropriate  to  notice  some  of 
the  oldest  and  earliest  boatmen  in  the  commerce  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  by  adding  the  following: 


OBITUARIES. 

CAPTAIN  DAVID  G.  BATES.  The  first  trace  that  I  can  find 
of  Capt.  Bates  is  when  he  was  going  into  the  lead  mines  on 
a,  keel-boat,  with  a  crew  of  Frenchmen,  in  the  summer  of  1819. 
In  1822  he  engaged  in  Indian  trade  and  smelting  near  Du- 
buque.  In  1824  he  went  to  St.  Louis  and  bought  the  steam- 
boat Ruf  us  Putnam,  on  which  he  came  to  Fort  Snelling  in  1825. 
Later  he  built  the  Galena,  and  is  reported  to  have  visited  the 
Fort  with  her  in  1828.  He  was  a  genial  gentleman ;  was  born 
in  Virginia;  died  November  22,  1850,  aged  fifty-eight  years; 
and  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  on  the  hill  in  Galena. 

CAPTAIN  JOSEPH  THROCKMOKTON  was  born  June  16, 1800, 
in  Monmouth  county,  New  Jersey.  As  a  lad  he  entered  into 
mercantile  business  in  a  house  in  New  York.  Later,  in  com- 
pany with  others,  he  purchased  the  steamboat  Red  Rover  on 
the  Ohio.  She  was  sunk,  but  was  finally  raised  and  taken  to 
St.  Louis,  and  was  employed  in  the  Galena  trade  about  1830. 
In  company  with  Capt.  George  W.  Atchison,  he  built  the  Win- 
nebago  and  employed  her  in  the  Galena  trade  until  1832,  when 
he  built  the  Warrior  in  Pittsburgh,  which  had  a  barge  that 
she  towed  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers.  When  he 
was  in  command  of  her,  the  Black  Hawk  War  broke  out.  She 
was  chartered  to  take  troops  and  supplies  to  the  Bad  Axe  bat- 
tle ground,  and  she  took  an  active  part  in  that  battle.  Capt. 
Throckmorton  continued  on  the  upper  Mississippi  river,  and 
in  1835  built  the  steamboat  St.  Peter,  in  1836  the  steamboat 
Ariel,  in  1837  the  Burlington,  and  in  1842  the  General  Brooke, 
in.— 10 


416  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   COLLECTIONS. 

In  1845  he  sold  the  Brooke  to  the  American  Fur  Company, 
and  commanded  the  Company's  steamer  Mmrod;  but,  after 
purchasing  the  Cecilia,  he  relinquished  his  command.  In  1848 
he  purchased  the  Cora,  and  was  in  command  of  her  a  year  or 
two,  being  succeeded  by  Capt.  O'Gorman,  and  then  engaged 
in  the  insurance  business  at  St.  Louis.  He  returned  to  his 
former  occupation  as  steamboat  captain  and  built  the  Genoa 
and  commanded  her  until  1856;  in  1857  he  built  the  Florence; 
and  in  1864  the  Montana.  In  1868  he  purchased  the  Columbia 
and  ran  her  in  the  St.  Louis  and  Fort  Benton  trade,  subse- 
quently n'ade  several  trips  in  the  Illinois  trade  with  the  Illi- 
nois Packet  Company,  and  finally  sold  the  Columbia  to  the 
Arkansas  River  Packet  Company.  During  the  last  two  years 
of  his  life  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States  under 
Col.  Macomb  on  the  upper  Mississippi  river.  He  died  in  De- 
cember, 1872. 

This  sketch  is  taken  from  Scharf s  "History  of  St.  Louis 
City  and  County." 

CAPTAIN  DANIEL  SMITH  HARRIS  was  born  at  Cartwright, 
Delaware  county,  New  York,  July  24, 1808.  His  father,  James 
Harris,  moved  to  Connecticut  and  finally  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
From  Cincinnati  he  removed  with  Dr.  Moses  Meeker  on  the 
keel-boat  Col.  Bomford  to  Galena,  111.,  in  1823.  The  family 
were  descended  from  Mayflower  Pilgrims.  Mr.  Harris  was  en- 
gaged with  Dr.  Meeker  in  erecting  his  lead  furnace  in  Galena, 
and  daring  the  doctor's  absence  had  charge  of  his  business. 
The  foregoing  pages  give  the  personal  history  of  the  Harris 
brothers,  and  it  need  not  be  repeated  here. 

D.  S.  Harris  married,  May  22,  1833,  Miss  Sarah  M.  Lang- 
worthy,  sister  of  Mrs.  Capt.  Orren  Smith,  and  sister  of  the 
brothers  James,  Lucius,  and  Solon  Langworthy,  early  and  well 
known  settlers  in  the  mines  and  Dubuque.  Mrs.  Harris  died 
on  the  island  of  Cuba,  January,  1850.  He  was  again  married 
to  Miss  Sarah  Coats  in  August,  1851.  She  died  February  23, 
1886.  The  children  by  the  first  wife  were  Mrs.  M.  M.  Dodge, 
Mrs.  C.  T.  Trego  of  Chicago,  Mrs.  Amelia  C.  O'Ferril,  Chatfield, 
Minn.,  Mrs.  T.  G.  Maupin  of  Portland,  Ore.,  and  D.  S.  Harris, 
Jr.,  of  Madrone,  Washington ;  and  by  the  second  wife,  Mrs.  J. 
V.  Hillman,  Galena;  Mrs.  C.  F.  Taylor  of  Warren;  Mrs.  Irene 
Gillette;  Mrs.  H.  L.  Jenks;  and  Paul  Carrington  Harris.  Cap- 
tain Harris  died  March  17, 1893,  and  was  buried  in  Greenwood 
Cemetery  in  Galena. 


THE   ADVENT   OF   COMMERCE   IN   MINNESOTA.  417 

The  following  is  from  the  Dubuque  Telegraph: 
CAPTAIN  ORREN  SMITH,  well  known  to  the  early  settlers  of 
Galena  and  Dubuque,  and  in  fact  along  the  Upper  Missis- 
sippi, died  October  31,  1881,  at  the  residence  of  his  brother, 
Sam  T.  Smith  in  La  Crosse,  Wis.  Capt.  Smith  was  born  in 
Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  near  Cincinnati,  in  August,  1806,  and 
was  over  seventy-five  years  old.  Before  he  was  eighteen  he 
emigrated  to  the  lead  mine  region  with  Moses  Meeker  in  the 
capacity  of  a  clerk  at  Galena  or  vicinity.  After  a  year  or  two 
he  engaged  in  mining  with  James  Langworthy,  and  they  dis- 
covered the  famous  Phelps  lode  near  Hard  Scrabble,  Wis., 
since  known  as  Hazel  Green.  About  1827  he  married  Miss 
Mary  Ann  Langworthy,  a  sister  of  the  Dubuque  Langworthys. 
In  1833  he  removed  his  family  to  Dubuque,  and  still  engaged 
in  the  lead  trade  by  building  a  smelting  furnace  near  the  Wil- 
son grove,  now  better  known  as  the  William  Y.  Stewart  farm. 
Two  years  later  he  went  with  Lucius  H.  Langworthy  to  spend 
the  winter  in  Cincinnati.  In  the  spring  of  1835  he  bought  the 
steamer  Heroine  and  engaged  in  river  commerce.  In  that  and 
other  navigation  enterprises,  aided  by  the  Langworthys,  he  was 
so  successful  that  he  commanded  and  largely  owned  a  number 
of  steamboats  in  the  course  of  the  next  twenty  years,  and  was 
for  a  long  time  president  of  the  Minnesota  Packet  Company. 
About  1866  he  removed  to  Chicago  and  engaged  in  manufactur- 
ing and  commercial  affairs.  He  returned  to  Dubuque  a  year 
or  two  ago.  His  wife  died  about  five  months  since.  One 
daughter  and  two  sons  survive.  The  remains  of  the  deceased 
arrived  at  Dubuque  November  1st  and  were  interred  November 
2nd  at  Lin  wood. 


LIST  OF  PLATES  ACCOMPANYING  THIS"  PAPEE. 

Page. 

PLATE         X.    PORTRAIT  OF  CAPTAIN  BLAKELEY 303 


STEAMBOATS  OF  THE  UPPEK  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER,  1850-1862. 

PLATE        XL    STEAMBOAT  NOMINEE 388 

At  Galena  on  the  Fever  (Galena)  River,  looking  west. 


418  MINNESOTA   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  COLLECTIONS. 

Page. 

PLATE   XII.  STEAMBOAT  WAR  EAGLE 394 

At  LaCrosse  (in  "the  Slough"),  looking  east.  (The 
War  Eagle  was  finally  burned  at  La  Crosse,  set- 
ting fire  to  the  freight  depot.) 

PLATE     XIII.    STEAMBOAT  NORTHERN  BELLE 402 

At  Winona,  looking  east. 

PLATE     XIV.    STEAMBOAT  GREY  EAGLE... 404 

At  St.  Paul,  near  (close  above)  Jackson  Street,  look- 
ing south. 

PLATE       XV.    STEAMBOAT  MILWAUKEE 404 

At  Winona,  looking  east. 

PLATE     XVI.    STEAMBOAT  NORTHERN  LIGHT 404 

At  Winona,  looking  east. 

PLATE    XVII.    STEAMBOAT  ITASCA. 404 

At  Winona,  looking  east. 

PLATE  XVIII.    STEAMBOAT  KEY  CITY 404 

lAt  Winona,  looking  east. 

PLATE     XIX.    STEAMBOAT  CANADA 406 

At  Winona,  looking  east. 

PLATE       XX.    STEAMBOAT  SUCKER  STATE 408 

At  Winona,  looking  east. 

PLATE     XXI.    STEAMBOAT  DAVENPORT 412 

At  Winona,  looking  east. 


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