Minnesota's northern boundary

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY.*

BY ALEXANDER N. WINCHELL.

CONTENTS.

I. Boundaries in Colonial Times.

Hudson Bay Company.

II. First Boundary of the United States, 1783.

1. Instructions of Congress.

2. First proposed boundary.

3. Second proposed boundary.

4. Third proposition, finally adopted.

a. Its errors.

1st. That the Lake of the Woods empties into Lake

Superior.
2nd. That the Mississippi river rises north of the

Lake of the Woods.

III. Unexecuted article of treaty of 1794.

IV. Unratified Convention of 1803.

1. Preliminary discussions.

2. Its provisions.

a. Shortest line from the Lake of the Woods to the Mis-

sissippi river to be the boundary.
&. Commissioners to find and mark the line.

V. Negotiations of 1807.

VI. Treaty of Ghent, 1814.

1. Various proposals.

2. Final provisions.

a. Commissioners to agree upon and mark the line from

Lake Huron to the Lake of the Woods.
&. Boundary west of the Lake of the Woods omitted

VII. Convention of 1818.

1. The forty-ninth parallel adopted.

UmT8it» °f Minnesota October 12, 1806; awarded "The '89

^e *

H—10

186 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

VIII. Work of the Commission under the Treaty of Ghent.

1. They map and define two parts of the line.

2. They disagree as to the line from Lake Superior to Rainy

Lake.

a. Claims of each party.

IX. Webster-Ashburton treaty of 1842.

A compromise measure.

X. Present condition of the boundary.

1. Not in accordance with the spirit of the treaty of 1783.

2. Loss to the United States.

3. The actual boundary not yet known.

BOOKS OF REFERENCE.

American State Papers, Foreign Relations.

Diplomatic Correspondence. Jared Sparks.

Senate and House Executive Documents.

Secret Journals of Congress.

Life and Works of John Adams. C. F. Adams.

Works of Franklin. Jared Sparks.

Treaties and Conventions of the United States.

Journal of the House of Representatives.

Congressional Globe.

Narrative and Critical History of America. Justin Winsor.

Minnesota Historical Society Collections, vol. vii., pp. 305-352,
"How the Mississippi river and the Lake of the Woods became instru-
mental in the establishment of the Northwestern Boundary of the
United States," Alfred J. Hill; vol. viii., pp. 1-10, "The- International
Boundary between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods," Ulysses
Sherman Grant.

NOTE. Mr. Hill's article in volume VII. of the Minnesota Historical Society
Collections will be found to cover much of the earlier history of this subject
quite fully. In such parts, where I have been obliged to parallel Mr. Hill. I
have condensed the account; and I would refer the reader who desires more
details of that period to his article. I am indebted to the same article for several
references of value.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 187

INTRODUCTION.

On September 4, 1895, there appeared in the Minneapolis
Times a special telegram from Tower, Minn., entitled, "Where
is the Boundary?" and reading as follows:

Tower, Minn., Sept. 3. (Special.)

The trouble between the Arion Fish Company, of Crane Lake, and
the Canadian authorities, over the seizure of their nets said to have
been in Canadian waters, threatens to result in an international dif-
ficulty and revive a long-disputed question. By the last treaty with
Great Britain the boundary line between northeastern Minnesota and
Canada was established in the navigable channel or deepest water in
the chain of lakes and rivers between the two countries. Several times
disputes have arisen, and good authorities claim that if the line were
properly adjusted it would give the valuable tract known as Hunter's
island to the United States. Minnesota parties have found extensive
and valuable deposits of iron ore on the island, and were it within the
United States it would become a flourishing and prosperous district.
The island comprises several thousand square miles of territory, and
many locations for iron have been taken on it by Minnesota capitalists.

While the statements in this clipping have no more truth
than the average newspaper report, they are a good indication
of the importance of the subject.

I.

BOUNDARIES IN COLONIAL TIMES.

To find the origin of this boundary it is necessary to go
back to colonial times. The Hudson Bay Company gradually
enlarged its territorial claims until in the eighteenth century
it claimed the whole watershed of the Bay of Hudson as far
south as the forty-ninth parallel. This claim was recognized
in the Treaty of Utrecht, and it is this recognition, misunder-
stood to refer to a boundary line of Canada, that is the pro-
totype of our present northern boundary.

II.

FIRST BOUNDARY OF THE UNITED STATES, 1783.

When Canada was ceded to Great Britain in 1763, this
line naturally became of no importance. But within twenty

188 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

years another boundary line was defined that trenched upon
the watershed of Hudson Bay; but with this new boundary
neither of the former parties had anything to do. It was in
February, 1779,* that Joseph Mathias Gerard de Rayneval, the
minister from France to the United States, urged upon Con-
gress the appointment of a commissioner to take part in
negotiations for a general peace, when such should occur.
Such an appointment made it necessary to formulate condi-
tions of peace beyond the main demand of independence. On
the 23rd of that month, therefore, a special committee, to
whom had been referred certain "official letters and com-
munications received from Paris," reported that certain
articles were absolutely necessary for the safety and independ-
ence of the United States, and therefore ought to be insisted
upon as ultimata. The first of these articles was concerning
the bounds, which were to be as follows : f

Northerly by the ancient limits of Canada, as contended for by
Great Britain, running from Nova Scotia, south-westerly, west, and
north-westerly, to Lake Nepissing, thence a west line to the Mississippi;
. . . and westerly by the river Mississippi.

On March 19th, Congress took into consideration the re-
port of the Committee of the Whole, and agreed to the follow-
ing ultimata:!

1. That the thirteen United States are bounded, north, by a line to
be drawn from the north-west angle of Nova Scotia, along the high
lands which divide those rivers which empty themselves into the river
St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic ocean to the north-
westernmost head of Connecticut river; thence down along the middle
of that river to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude; thence due
west in the latitude forty-five degrees north from the equator, to the
north- westernmost side of the river St. Lawrence or Cadaroqui; thence
strait to the south end of lake Nepissing; and thence strait to the
source of the river Mississippi; west, by a line to be drawn along the
middle of the river Mississippi from its source to where the said line
shall intersect the latitude of thirty-one degrees north. . .

This second description of the boundary was adopted by
Congress in the draft of instructions approved on August 14th

*Minn. Hist. Sac. Collections, vol. VII., p. 307.
fSecret Journals of Congress, 1775-88, vol. II., p. 133.

Jlbid., pp. 138, 225; Diplomatic Correspondence, Jared Sparks, vol. IV., p.
340.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 189

for the use of tlie minister to be appointed to negotiate a peace.
Continuing, the instructions read:*

But, notwithstanding the clear right of these states, ... if
the line to be drawn from the mouth of the lake Nepissing to the head
of the Mississippi cannot be obtained without continuing the war for
that purpose, you are hereby empowered to agree to some other line
between that point and the river Mississippi; provided the same shall
in no part thereof be to the southward of latitude forty-five degrees
north. . . .

John Adams was first appointed as the commissioner, and
he went to France; but there he found scant favor, partially
on account of his bluntness; moreover oflicial influence was op-
posed to initiating a peace at that time, or through any man
but Franklin. Adams went the next year to Holland, to which
country he had been made minister.

On June 15, 1781, Mr. Adams' commission was annulled
by Congress, and he was reappointed as one of the five persons
to negotiate the treaty. His colleagues were Benjamin Frank-
lin, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and Thomas Jefferson. They
were given some discretionary power, and they used probably
more than was given.

On the British side, Mr. Oswald, and later Mr. Strachey,
were the negotiators. On October 8, 1782, certain articles!
were agreed upon by Franklin, Jay, and Oswald, which the
British commissioner took to England for the King's con-
sideration. The first article defined the boundary exactly ac-
cording to the description contained in the instructions given
by Congress on March 19, 1779, already fully quoted. These
were rejected by the King, and Mr. Oswald returned, furnished
by the King's ministers with arguments for a more southerly
line. Mr. Strachey came over also to help on the argument.

November 5, 1782, the commissioners had again reached
an understanding, and Mr. Strachey took a second proposition
to England for the King's consideration. In these articles!
the northern and western boundaries were given as running
"thence down along the middle of that [Connecticut] river
to the 45th degree of north latitude, following the said latitude
until it strikes the river Mississippi; thence by a line to be

*Seeret Journals of Congress, 1775-88, vol. II., p. 227.
fDiplomatic Correspondence, Jared Sparks, Vol. X., pp. 88-92.
tlbid.. p. 94.

190 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

drawn along the middle of the said river Mississippi, until
it shall intersect the northernmost part of the 31st degree of
latitude north of the equator."

The next day* John Adams, writing to Livingston, the
Secretary of Foreign Affairs, said, "We have at last agreed
to boundaries with the greatest moderation. We have offered
them the choice of a line through the middle of all the great
lakes or the line of 45 degrees of latitude, the Mississippi,
with a free navigation of it at one end, and the river St. Croix
at the other."

On the 25th of November, f Adams, Franklin, and Jay met
at Mr. Oswald's lodgings, and after some conference, Mr.
Oswald delivered to them certain articles as fresh proposals
of the British ministry, sent by Mr. Strachey. The second
one of these articles defined boundaries for the United States,
and the words there used were in effect the same as those
employed in the provisional Articles of Peace. So far as con-
cerned the northwestern boundary, the following were the
terms :

. . . from thence [i. e. the point of intersection of the Connecti-
cut river and the forty-fifth parallel] by a line due west on said latitude
until it strikes the river Iroquois or Cataroquy; thence along the mid-
dle of said river into Lake Ontario, through the middle of said Lake
until it strikes the communication by water between that Lake and
Lake Erie; thence along the middle of said communication, into Lake
Erie, through the middle of said Lake, until it arrives at the water
communication between that Lake and Lake Huron; thence along the
middle of said water communication into Lake Huron; thence through
the middle of the said Lake, to the water communication between that
Lake and Lake Superior; thence through Lake Superior, northward
of the Isles Royal and Philippeaux to the Long Lake; thence through
the middle of said Long Lake, and the water communication between
it and the Lake of the Woods, to the said Lake of the Woods; thence
through the said Lake to the most north-western point thereof; and
from thence on a due western course to the river Mississippi, thence
by a line to be drawn along the middle of the said river Mississippi
until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the 31st degree of north
latitude.

In addition, the navigation of the river Mississippi, from
its source to the ocean, was to remain forever free and open
to the subjects of Great Britain and the citizens of the United
States.

*Life and Works of John Adams, by C. F. Adams, vol. VII., p. 661.
fDiplomatic Correspondence, Jared Sparks, vol. X., p. 101.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. J91

Thus the famous phrase, "the most northwestern point of
the Lake of the Woods," originated with the British. As
stated before, the same line, defined a little more fully, was
that adopted in the Provisional Articles of 1782; and these
were exactly the same as those signed ten months later as
the Definitive Treaty of Peace.

Concerning this boundary the Commissioner wrote to Rob-
ert Livingston:*

The Court of Great Britain insisted on retaining all the territories
comprehended within the Province of Quebec, by the Act of Parliament
respecting it. They contended that Nova Scotia should extend to the
river Kennebec; and they claimed not only all the lands in the west-
ern country and on the Mississippi, which were not expressly included
in our charters and governments, but also all such lands within them
as remained ungranted by the King of Great Britain. It would be
endless to enumerate all the discussions and arguments on the subject.

We knew this Court and Spain to be against our claims to the
western country, and having no reason to think that lines more favor-
able could ever have been obtained, we finally agreed to those de-
scribed in this Article; indeed they appear to leave us little to com-
plain of, and not much to desire. Congress will observe, that although
our northern line is in a certain part below the latitude of fortyflve,
yet in others it extends above it, divides the Lake Superior, and gives
us access to its western and southern waters, from which a line in that
latitude would have excluded us.

Franklin, f writing to Livingston, said that the British
"wanted to bring their boundary down to the Ohio, and to set-
tle their loyalists in the Illinois country. We did not choose
such neighbors."

In reply, Mr. Livingston J said: "The boundaries are as
extensive as we have a right to expect."

The extent of the boundaries was a great surprise to
foreigners generally. Luzerne§ wrote to the French minister
Vergennes that the northern boundary from Lake Superior
to the sources of the Mississippi had surpassed all expecta-
tion. It gave the Americans four forts that they had found
it impossible to capture. Lands nearer the coast had already
depreciated in value, owing to the new acquisitions. "There
is a belief," he said, — and the remark shows the view then

*Diplomatic Correspondence, Jared Sparks, vol. X., p. 117.

fWorks of Franklin, Jared Sparks, vol. IX., p. 442.

^Diplomatic Correspondence, Jared Sparks, vol. X., p. 129.

§Narrative and Critical History of America, Justin Winsor, vol. Vll., p. 158,

192 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

opening of the future of America, — "that the plenipotentiaries,
in pushing their possessions as far as the Lake of the Woods,
are preparing for their remote posterity a communication
with the Pacific." And later he wrote that the vast extent of
the boundaries had caused great surprise and satisfaction.

Now, there are two geographical errors in the line as in-
dicated in the treaty, which made it impossible to determine
where the line really ran, and which required forty years to
eradicate.

These errors were both wholly due to the inaccuracies
of the map upon which the line of demarcation was drawn.
This was Mitchell's map, published first in 1755, and brought
to the negotiation by the British Commissioners. Other maps
much better were not wanting, and some were even before the
commission ; but it was not known at that time that they were
more accurate, and no great care was put upon the line in the
northwest corner, as that was not supposed to be of any
present importance and was especially insignificant when
compared to the pressing need of an accurate boundary in the
northeast corner. The errors were:

1st. The idea that the Lake of the Woods outflowed south-
eastward instead of northward, and that it was at the head of
the basin of the Great Lakes instead of near the base of the
Hudson Bay watershed. This error was undoubtedly of great
benefit to the United States, because the evident and plainly
stated intention of the commissioners was to run- the line
through the middle of all the Great Lakes and onward to the
source of the greatest lake. This would have brought the
boundary down through Lake Superior to its southwest end,
and then up the St. Louis river to its source in Seven Beaver
lake, which is very nearly due north of Duluth and a little
farther south from the international boundary than it is north
from Duluth.

2nd. The idea that the Mississippi took its rise northwest-
ward of the Lake of the Woods, and that a line could therefore
be run due west from that lake to the Father of Waters. This
made it, of course, physically impossible to run the line as the
treaty required, and thus introduced to diplomacy what was
long known as the "Northwest Boundary Question." If the
first error had not been made, the second would scarcely have
existed; for, though the St. Louis river rises a short distance

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 193

north of lake Itasca, yet its source is almost exactly on an
east and west line with the northernmost bend of the Missis-
sippi and is considerably south of several small branches of
the river.

The result of the first error was the addition to the United
States of a very large tract of land, — how large we cannot, of
course, precisely know, but it is at least fifteen thousand
square miles, or as large as the combined areas of Massa-
chusetts, Connecticut, and Khode Island.

To whose advantage the second error worked is not so
clear. It may be said that through it the British obtained the
right to the free navigation of the river Mississippi. That is
undoubtedly true, but did that right amount to anything?
And even if it did, there is strong probability that the Ameri-
cans were very willing to grant this right in order to have a
strong ally in demanding of Spain, which controlled the lower
Mississippi, the free navigation of that end of the great river.

III.

UNEXECUTED ARTICLE OF TREATY OF 1794.

The provisions of this first treaty betweeen the two great
English-speaking Powers were not fully observed by either
one; and, other questions also arising, there was very soon
a necessity for another treaty. With this in view, John Jay
was sent to England by Washington in 1794. Lord Grenville,
the British minister, giving voice to a suspicion* that had been
gradually growing stronger, considered it as an established
fact that a due west line from the Lake of the Woods to the
Mississippi could not be drawn, because such a line would
pass entirely to the north of any of the sources of that stream.
In accordance with this supposition he suggested to the Ameri-
can envoy two new lines between the waters of lake Superior
and the Mississippi, either of which would rectify the geo-
graphical error of the former treaty. The first was a line
drawn due west from "the bottom of West Bay in the said
Lake" to the "river of the Red Lake, or eastern branch of the
Mississippi, and down the said branch to the main river of the
Mississippi." This line would have been as impossible as

*Minn. Hist. Soc. Collections, vol. VII.; appendix, A. J. Hill, p. 315.

194 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

the one he was trying to correct. The other plan was to fol-
low the "water communication" described in the treaties, until
a point due north of the mouth of the St. Croix river should
be reached, whence a line should be run directly to the Missis-
sippi at the mouth of its said tributary. Mr. Jay would not
listen at all to such proposals, which involved a cession of
territory. Nor was he willing to concede to his lordship that
the position of the head of the Mississippi in relation to the
Lake of the Woods was certainly known. He suggested, how-
ever, that the truth should be ascertained by actual survey,
and to this proposition the British minister agreed.

The fourth article of this treaty, as finally signed, was as
follows:*

Whereas it is uncertain whether the river Mississippi extends so
far to the northward as to be intersected by a line to be drawn due
west from the Lake of the Woods, in the manner mentioned in the
treaty of peace between His Majesty and the United States: it is
agreed that measures shall be taken in concert between His Majesty's
Government in America and the Government of the United States, for
making a joint survey of the said river from one degree of latitude
below the Falls of St. Anthony, to the principal source or sources of the
said river, and also of the parts adjacent thereto; and that if, on the
result oL such survey, it should appear that the said river would not be
intersected by such a line as is above mentioned, the two parties will
thereupon proceed, by amicable negotiation, to regulate the boundary
line in that quarter, as well as all other points to be adjusted between
the said parties, according to justice and mutual convenience, and in
conformity to the intent of said treaty.

This survey was never made, as it was not long afterward
that the astronomer David Thompson, in 1798, visited the
most northern sources of the Mississippi and proved that they
lie nearly two degrees south of the northern end of the Lake
of the Woods. The reliability of his observations was ques-
tioned by no one, and accordingly the survey was considered
unnecessary.

Nevertheless, the clause requiring the two parties to "pro-
ceed, by amicable negotiation, to regulate the boundary line
in that quarter," was not neglected.

••Treaties and Conventions concluded between the United States of America
and other Powers since July 4, 1776, (Washington, 1888, printed as Sen. Ex. Doc.,
Second Session, 48th Congress, vol. I., Part 2), p. 382.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 195

IV.

UNRATIFIED CONVENTION OF 1803.

Mr. Madison, Secretary of State, on the 8th of June, 1802,
wrote* to Kufus King, minister at London, directing him to
reopen negotiations on the unsettled portion of the boundaries
between Great Britain and the United States. In his com-
munication he pointed out that the second article of the treaty
of 1783 was rendered void by reason of the impossibility of run-
ning a line due west from the Lake of the Woods to the Mis-
sissippi river, and suggested another one in place of it, which
was:

. a line running from that source of the Mississippi which
is nearest to the Lake of the Woods, and striking it, westwardly, as
a tangent, and, from the point touched, along the water-mark of the
lake, to its most northwestern point, at which it will meet the line run-
ning through the lake.

Mr. King was not in London when this letter arrived, and
the matter thus passed into the hands of the charge' d'affaires,
Christopher Gore, who was afterward commissioned from
Washington to carry on the negotiations. On September 28,
1802, Mr. Gore had an interview with Lord Hawksbury, the
British Commissioner, and, after explaining the anomaly
which it was proposed to straighten out, he continued :f

Supposing the most northern branch of the source of the Mississippi
to be south of the Lake of the Woods, as seems now to be understood,
•it is suggested, as consistent with justice and the mutual convenience
of the parties, to establish the boundary of the United States in this
quarter, by a line running from that source of the Mississippi which
is nearest to the Lake of the Woods, and striking it westwardly, as
a tangent, and from the point touched along the watermark of the lake
to its most northwestern point, at which it will meet the line running
through the lake.

Commissioners might be appointed to ascertain the local relation of
the Mississippi to the Lake of the Woods, and, if as was supposed by
the treaty of peace, to run the line there agreed on. But if the relative
position of these two waters be as now believed, to establish the
boundary by running a line as above described.

* American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. II., p. 585.
tlbid., p. 58H.

>fp
/^

f UNIVERSITY }

\ or

OF THE

196 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

On October 6, in a report to the Secretary of State, Mr.
Gore said in reference to Lord Hawksbury's views :*

On that part of the boundary which is to connect the northwest
point of the Lake of the Woods with the Mississippi, he observed that
it was evidently the intention of the treaty of peace that both nations
should have access to, and enjoy the free use of that river; and he
doubtless meant that this access should be to each nation through their
own territories. He remarked, that commissions, which I had pro-
posed for . . . running the line . . . might establish such a
boundary as would secure to each nation this object. To the remark I
made no reply, other than by observing that the line suggested was
what naturally seemed to be demanded by just interpretation, . . .
but this I did, however, chiefly with a view of not assenting to his pro-
posal, and in a manner rather declining than courting the discussion.
It will probably be persisted in; and I much doubt if this Government
will be inclined to adjust any boundary in this quarter, that has not
the right desired for its basis.

After receiving this news from Mr. Gore, Mr. Madison
wrote to Rufus King, under date of December 16, 1802 :f

It appears that the proposition for adjusting the boundary in the
northwest corner of the United States is not relished by the British
Government. The proposition was considered by the President as a
liberal one, inasmuch as the more obvious remedy for the error of the
treaty would have been by a line running due north from the most
northern source of the Mississippi, and intersecting the line tunning
due west from the Lake of the Woods; and inasmuch as the branch
leading nearest the Lake of the Woods may not be the longest or most
navigable one, and may, consequently, favor the wish of the British
Government to have access to the latter.

This reasoning clearly proceeds on the assumption that the
British possessions westward of the Mississippi reached south
at least as far as to the sources of that river; and yet within
two months exactly the opposite view was strenuously and suc-
cessfully maintained, by the Americans. The change was
probably brought about by a study of the "possibilities" of
the Louisiana purchase. Mr. Madison continued :

The proposition, for these reasons, would not have been made but
from a desire to take advantage of the present friendly dispositions of
the parties for the purpose of settling all questions of boundary be-
tween them. As it is not probable, however, that the settlement of
this particular boundary will for some time be material, and as the

*American State Papers, vol. II., p. 587.
tlbid., p. 589.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 197

adjustment proposed is not viewed by the British Government in the
same light as by the President, it is thought proper that it should not
for the present be pursued; and that the other questions of boundary
should be adjusted with as little delay as possible. In the mean time,
further information with respect to the head waters of the Mississippi,
and the country connected^ with them, may be sought by both parties;
it being understood that the United States will be as free to be guided
by the result of such inquiries, in any future negotiation, as if the
proposition above referred to had never been made by them. Should
it be most agreeable to the British Government to have an early survey
instituted, with a view to a proper boundary in this case, the President
authorizes you to concur in such an arrangement.

The British Government proved to be more yielding than
Mr. Madison expected and the convention, as drawn up by
Mr. King, was finally signed on the 12th of May, 1803. In
his letter of transmittal accompanying the document, which
was sent the next day, Mr. King said:*

The convention does not vary in any thing material from the tenor

of my instructions The source of the Mississippi nearest

to the Lake of the Woods, according to McKenzie's report, will be found
about twenty-nine miles to the westward of any part of that lake,
which is represented to be nearly circular. Hence a direct line between
the northwesternmost part of the lake, and the nearest source of the
Mississippi, which is preferred by this Government, has appeared to
me equally advantageous with the lines we had proposed.

The terms of this convention relating to the part of the
boundary adjoining Minnesota were as follows :t

ART. 5. Whereas it is uncertain whether the river Mississippi ex-
tends so far to the northward as to be intersected by a line drawn due
west from the Lake of the Woods, in the manner mentioned in the
treaty of peace between His Majesty and the United States, it is agreed
that, instead of the said line, the boundary of the United States in this
quarter shall, and is hereby declared to be the shortest line which can
be drawn between the northwest point of the Lake of the Woods and
the nearest source of the river Mississippi: and for the purpose of as-
certaining and determining the northwest point of the Lake of the
Woods and the source of the river Mississippi that may be nearest to
the said northwest point, as well as for the purpose of running and
marking the said boundary line between the same, three commission-
ers, upon the demand of either Government, shall be appointed, and
authorized, upon their oaths, to act; . . . and the decisions and
proceedings of the said commissioners, or of a majority of them, made
and had pursuant to this convention, shall be final and conclusive.

*American State Papers, vol. II., p. 590.

flbid., p. 584.

198 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

But twelve days before the signing of this convention, and
entirely without the knowledge of these negotiators, Louisiana,
recently acquired by France, was sold by Napoleon to the
United States, and our Senate feared that this fifth article
might limit the rights of this country concerning the boundary
of the newly acquired territory. They consequently ratified
the convention with the exception of the fifth article. The
British would not agree to this partial ratification, and so the
convention failed entirely.

V.

NEGOTIATIONS OF 1807.

On the very last day of 1806 American and British commis-
sioners signed a treaty in London, mainly concerning com-
merce and navigation. It contained no article concerning im-
pressments, and for this reason the President did not send it
to the Senate. Thus for the lack of one good feature an other-
wise excellent treaty died an untimely death. But the com-
missioners were still at work on additional articles, and "after
many intermissions and much discussion, the British commis-
sioners at length presented" a proposition, the fifth article of
which ran as follows:*

ART. 5. It is agreed that a line drawn due west from the Lake of
the Woods along the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude shall be the
line of demarcation [division line] between His Majesty's territories and
those of the United States to the westward of the said lake, as far as
the territories of the United States extend in that quarter; and that said
line shall, to that extent, form the southern boundary of His Majesty's
said territories, and the northern boundary of the said territories of the
United States; provided that nothing in the present article shall be con-
strued to extend to the northwest coast of America, or to the terri-
tories belonging to or claimed by either party, on the continent of
America, to the westward of the Stony mountains.

The American commissioners objected that the line should
be drawn due north or south from the northwest point of the
Lake of the Woods, until it intersected the forty-ninth parallel,
and thence west. This was agreed to by the British.

After considerable discussion as to the westward extension
of the line and the free navigation of the Mississippi by the

*Amerlcan State Papers, vol. III., p. 164.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 199

British, the American commissioners proposed that the fifth
article should read:*

It is agreed that a line drawn due north or south (as the case may
require) from the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods,
until it shall intersect the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, and
from the point of such intersection, due west, along and with said
parallel, shall be the dividing line between His Majesty's territories
and those of the United States to the westward of the said lake; and
that the said dine, to and along and with the said parallel, shall form
the southern boundary of His Majesty's said territories, and the north-
ern boundary of the said territories of the United States. . . .

The article being submitted to the British commissioners
in this form, they agreed to it with the exception that they
wanted to add after the words, "to the westward of the said
lake," the following : "as far as their said respective territories
extend in that quarter; and that the said line shall, to that
extent, form the southern boundary," etc.

Secretary Madison, writingf July 30th, 1807, to the com-
missioners, authorized them to agree to this addition if they
could not secure their own wording. But at this point the
negotiations were broken off; for, on account of a change of
ministry in England, the commissioners were recalled, and
the subject was never again resumed.

VI.

TREATY OF GHENT, 1814.

The War of 1812 was the cause of the next negotiations,
which resulted in the Treaty of Ghent in 1814. The Secretary
of State, writing to the commissioners^ on June 23, 1813, said
that, if a restitution of territory should be agreed upon, pro-
vision should be made for settling the boundary line between
the two powers from the St. Lawrence to the Lake of the
Woods, on account of the valuable islands in the rivers and
lakes claimed by both parties, and suggested that commis-
sioners be appointed on each side, with full powers to adjust
this boundary on fair and equitable considerations.

*Ibid., p. 165.
tlbid., p. 185.
^American State Papers, vol. III., p. 700.

200 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

The American commissioners at Ghent, writing to Mr.
Monroe on August 19th, 1814, presented the wishes of the
British, as follows:*

2d. The boundary line west of Lake Superior, and thence to the
Mississippi, to be revised; and the treaty-right of Great Britain to the
navigation of the Mississippi to be continued. When asked, whether
they did not mean the line from the Lake of the Woods to the Missis-
sippi? the British commissioners repeated, that they meant the line
from Lake Superior to that river.
•

Five days later the American commissioners wrotef to
the British that they perceived that Great Britain proposed,
"without purpose specifically alleged, to draw the boundary
line westward, not from the Lake of the Woods, as it now is,
but from Lake Superior;" and they objected to that intention
as demanding a cession of territory.

To this the British made a spirited reply, as follows :| "As
the necessity for fixing some boundary for the northwestern
frontier has been mutually acknowledged, a proposal for a
discussion on that subject cannot be considered as a demand
for a cession of territory, unless the United States are pre-
pared to assert that there is no limit to their territories in that
direction, and, that availing themselves of the geographical
error upon which that part of the treaty of 1783 was formed,
they will acknowledge no boundary whatever; then, unques-
tionably, any proposition to fix one, be it what it may, must
be considered as demanding a large cession of territory from
the United States," etc. Were the American commissioners
prepared to assert such unlimited right? Or were the pleni-
potentiaries willing to acknowledge the boundary from the
Lake of the Woods agreed to, but not ratified, in 1803? The
British commissioners would be contented to accept favorably
such a proposition, or to discuss any other line of boundary
which might be submitted for consideration.

After some further sparring on paper, the American com-
missioners submitted the draft of several articles for the
treaty.§ The sixth article provided that the part of the bound-
ary from Lake Huron to the Lake of the Woods should be
fixed and determined by commissioners. The eighth article
was the same as the fifth of the unfinished treaty of 1807, in

*Ibid., p. 709. tlbld., p. 714.

flbid., p. 712. SIbid., pp. 735-740.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 201

the form agreed to by the British at that time. But the Brit-
ish plenipotentiaries of this negotiation substituted for it the
original British article of 1807, and added a clause which gave
to British subjects free access to the Mississippi river and the
enjoyment of its free navigation. After considerable discus-
sion the negotiators concluded that they could not agree as
to the eighth article, and so decided to leave it out altogether.
That part of this treaty in which we are especially inter-
ested is contained in its seventh article, as follows:*

It is further agreed that the said two last-mentioned Commissioners,
after they shall have executed the duties assigned to them in the pre-
ceding article, shall be, and they are hereby, authorized upon their
oaths impartially to fix and determine, according to the true intent of
the said treaty of peace of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three,
that part of the boundary between the dominions of the two Powers
which extends from the water communication between Lake Huron and
Lake Superior, to the most northwestern point of the Lake of the
Woods, to decide to which of the two parties the several islands lying
in the lakes, water communications and rivers, forming the said bound-
ary, do respectively belong, in conformity with the true intent of the
said treaty of peace of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three;
and to cause such parts of said boundary as require it to be surveyed
and marked. The said Commissioners shall, by a report or declaration
under their hands and seals, designate the boundary aforesaid, state
their decision on the points thus referred to them, and particularize
the latitude and longitude of the most northwestern point of the Lake
of the Woods, and of such other parts of the said boundary as they may
deem proper. And both parties agree to consider such designation and
decision as final and conclusive. And in the event of the said two Com-
missioners differing, or both or either of them refusing, declining or
wilfully omitting to act, such reports, declarations, or statements shall
be made by them, or either of them, and such reference to a friendly
sovereign or State shall be made in all respects as in the latter part of
the fourth article is contained, and in as full a manner as if the same
was herein repeated.

This article is given thus at length because the commis-
sioners did disagree and made separate reports. The fourth
article, mentioned in the quotation, provided, in very explicit
terms, for arbitration under these conditions by some friendly
foreign power, whose decision, based on the evidence sub-
mitted by the disagreeing commissioners, should be accepted
as final and conclusive.

*Treaties and Conventions, Senate Ex. Doc., Second Session, 48th Congress,
Vol. I, Pt. 2, p. 403.

II— 11

202 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

VII.
CONVENTION OF 1818.

Within a year from the date of this treaty, overtures were
made toward a further convention especially to treat of sub-
jects of commerce and navigation. On May 22, 1818, the Sec-
retary of State, Mr. John Quincy Adams, wrote to the Ameri-
can commissioners, giving them various instructions. Among
other things he informed them that the British Government
wanted to refer some of the subjects to commissioners, like
those authorized by the Treaty of Ghent. One of these sub-
jects was noted as follows:*

. . . the boundary line from the northwest corner of the Lake
of the Woods westward, which you remember was all but agreed upon,
and went off upon a collateral incident at Ghent. . . .
. . . As to the line from the Lake of the Woods, as some dissatis-
faction has already been excited here by the expense occasioned by the
two commissions already employed in settling the boundary, another
commission, to draw a line through the depth of the deserts, and to an
indefinite extent, would be still more liable to censure; besides, the
apprehension which it might raise, that the issue of the commission
would be to bring the British territory again in contact with the Mis-
sissippi.

On the 28th of July a more elaborate set of instructions
was sent by the Secretary to the plenipotentiaries. The third
heading wasrf "3. Boundary, from the Lake of the Woods,
westward." Under this title, a full history of all the previous
diplomatic negotiations was given; then, continuing, Adams
wrote :

From the earnestness with which the British Government now re-
turn to the object of fixing this boundary, there is reason to believe
that they have some other purpose connected with it, which they do not
avow, but which in their estimation, gives it an importance not belong-
ing to it, considered in itself. An attempt was at first made by them,
at the negotiation of Ghent, to draw the boundary line from Lake Su-
perior to the Mississippi.

It is not surprising that Mr. Adams suspected the mo-
tives of the British in seeking to settle this boundary, since
he thought it was to go "through the depth of the deserts."
The British seem to have been better informed.

*American State Papers, Vol. IV, p. 372.
tlbid., p. 376.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 203

The commissioners, in their letter accompanying the com-
pleted treaty, said* that the British had made an attempt
to insert an article allowing them free access to, and naviga-
tion of, the Mississippi river; but that they would not con-
sent to the article and the British abandoned it.

The article in this convention referring to the northwest-
ern boundary is as follows :f

Art. 2. It is agreed that a line drawn from the most northwestern
point of the Lake of the Woods, along the forty-ninth parallel of north
latitude, or, if the said point shall not be in the forty-ninth parallel
of north latitude, then that a line drawn from the said point due north
or south, as the case may be, until the said line shall intersect the
said parallel of north latitude, and from the point of such intersection,
due west, along and with the said parallel, shall be the line of demarca-
tion between the territories of the United States and those of His
Britannic Majesty, and that the said line shall form the northern bound-
ary of the said territories of the United States, and the southern bound-
ary of the territories of His Britannic Majesty, from the Lake of the
Woods to the Stony mountains.

It may as well be remarked here that the forty-ninth
parallel, thus chosen, was supposed to have been laid down
by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 as a boundary of Canada.
This is erroneous. At that time this line was claimed by the
Hudson Bay Company as its southern boundary; and certain
matters concerning the boundaries in the New World were
left to commissioners who met at Paris in 1719, and who
were supposed to have agreed to boundaries. That is the only
basis for the idea, which is made all the more vague and un-
founded by the fact that the commissioners never agreed
and never reported.

After this convention of 1818 we have for the first time
the northern boundary of Minnesota completely defined; but
it was only on paper, and partly in a very unsatisfactory way.

VIII.

WORK OF THE COMMISSION UNDER THE TREATY OP GHENT.

The commissioners appointed under the sixth and seventh
articles of the Treaty of Ghent were Peter B. Porter for the
United States and Anthony Barclay for the British govern-

*Ibicl., p. 380.
tlbid., p. 406.

204 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

ment. The sixth article referred to the boundary from the
intersection of the St. Lawrence with the forty-fifth parallel
to the head of Lake Huron. They made their decision and
report on this part of the line on June 18th, 1822, and the
expense of this part of their work was, in round numbers,
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000).* This it was which
caused dissatisfaction and prompted Mr. Adams' caution to
the plenipotentiaries of 1818 to appoint no more commissions.
The work being so far done, the commissioners proceeded
to the execution of their duties under the seventh article. The
treaty of 1783 said the line was to pass through Lake Su-
perior northward of Isles Koyale and Phelipeaux, and through
Long lake to the most northwest point of the Lake of the
Woods. The instructions of the commissioners were to de-
termine and mark this line; but the difficulty lay in determin-
ing the actual location of Isle Phelipeaux and of Long lake.
The American commissioner proposed! that the latter be de-
termined at once, and suggested that it was the Pigeon
river. The British commissioner objected on the ground that
it could better be decided later, and proposed a survey of the
route from the Pigeon river to the Lake of the Woods. The
agents of the commissioners, with their surveyor and astrono-
mers, were accordingly directed to proceed up the Pigeon river
by joint order of the commissioners. The approach of winter
interrupted their work and forced them to return. There-
upon Col. Delafield, the American agent, offered evidence to
show that the Pigeon river was the "Long lake" mentioned
in the treaty; and the American commissioner, Gen. Porter,
again urged that it be thus decided. But the British commis-
sioner refused a second time to settle the matter, and the next
spring the surveyors, astronomers (of whom David Thomp-
son was one), agents, and the secretary of the commission,
Dr. John J. Bigsby, were sent out again with instructions to
certainly finish the survey that season. This forced them to
do their work rather hurriedly; but, nevertheless, no maps
have yet been published which are so accurate as those then
prepared. Such instructions were given, undoubtedly, be-
cause the House of Representatives had censured the great
cost of the work so far, and urged an early completion. The

•American State Papers, Vol. V., pp. 50, 242.

fHouse Ex. Doc., 25th Cong., Second Session, Doc. No. 451.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 205

British commissioner now announced that he was of the opin-
ion that the bay and river St. Louis formed the true Long
lake and proposed a survey of that route. Gen. Porter was
surprised by this move, and promptly refused his sanction for
the order for a survey of the St. Louis river. The British
commissioner nevertheless gave the order in his own name
alone. Gen. Porter thereupon affirmed that he had only
offered the Pigeon river route as a compromise and that the
proper route was by the Kaministiquia river, and in his turn
ordered a survey of that water course.

The commissioners had previously disagreed over the pos-
session of St. George's island in the Sault* rapids between
lakes Huron and Superior. They now proceeded to run those
portions of the line upon which they agreed, namely, from
the head of Sault rapids through lake Superior to a point a
short distance north and east of Isle Boyale; and, later, when
the surveyors had returned and reported, that part of the line
extending from the Chaudiere falls through Bainy lake and
the Bainy river and thence through the Lake of the Woods
to the most northwest point of the same. The American
commissioner now brought forward his evidence in favor of
locating Long lake on the Kaministiquia river as a lake some-
times called Dog lake. And he presented a pretty strong
case, too. He brought forward a series of ten distinct maps,
several of them being official, and all of them showing Long
lake on the Kaministiquia river. These maps were all pub-
lished from three months to a few years after the conclusion
of the treaty of 1783, and some of them expressly stated that
they gave the boundaries as decided upon in the recent treaty.
He argued from the phrase "northward of the Isles Boyal
and Phelipeaux" that it would be unreasonable to go so far
out of the way, if the line were then to turn abruptly south-
ward, merely to give a few small and unimportant islands to
the United States.

The British commissioner also presented a good case. He
showed that the bay and estuary of the St. Louis river were
the only waters anywhere near the western shore of Lake
Superior which could properly from their shape be called
"Long lake," and he brought forward two maps upon which

*Now commonly pronounced and spelled "Soo."

206 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

they were denominated "The Long Lake." Other lakes, he
said, might occasionally be called "Long lake," but no other
was distinctively known as "The Long Lake." By this route,
as on the others, there was only one short divide — and that
the Height of Land — between the waters of Lake Superior
and those of the Lake of the Woods. Moreover, the portages
were fewer, showing a better water communication.

There seemed to be no chance of an agreement until Gen.
Porter, "notwithstanding the clear right of the Americans,"
for the sake of securing a decision offered to adopt the Pigeon
river water course, provided the British commissioner would
concede the American right to St. George's island and agree
to the compromise.

The British commissioner made a counter proposal, as
follows: He would compromise on the Pigeon river portage
route, beginning at Grand Portage, and following the course
taken by the traders across numerous portages, all of them
going southerly, provided the American commissioner would
yield St. George's island to the British.

Gen. Porter would not yield so much, and the British com-
missioner finally offered to begin the line at the Pigeon river,
if the free and unrestricted use of the Grand Portage could
be secured to subjects of both Powers on equal footing. Gen.
Porter replied that, though the differences now were not ma-
terial enough to defeat an agreement, yet he could not grant
the use of the Grand Portage as proposed, since it was beyond
his powers.

As neither commissioner would compromise any further,
both made their reports, setting forth each one his own case.
The actual facts as to the reports of these commissioners
seem to be very generally unknown. In the notes* of the
"Treaties and Conventions of the United States," it is stated
that the line from Lake Superior to the Lake of the Woods was
marked by the commissioners, but that "the line as marked
was changed in part by the provisions of the second article
of the Treaty of 1842." Now we know that this line was not
marked, and was not even agreed upon, and therefore could
not have been "changed in part."

"Treaties and Conventions, p. 1329.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 207

But this idea that the commissioners did mark the line
is very common!* And so people have wondered why the
American commissioner allowed himself so often to be led
off south from the true water course to the portage route.
Some have even gone so far as to say that the British got the
American commissioner drunk "at the portage south of Hunt-
er's Island and carried him across."f This is, of course, sheer
nonsense, as the commissioners never went over the routes,
but sent their agents; and, moreover, the lines by the water
course and the portage route were perfectly well known to
both commissioners and were made the subject of controversy
between them. It may be noted as an instance of the growth
of legends, and, incidentally, of their unreliability.

IX.

WEBSTER-ASHBURTON TREATY OF 1842.

The Treaty of Ghent required that the reports of these
commissioners be referred to some friendly sovereign or state
as a final umpire, but this was never done.J On the contrary,
the matter was allowed to hang fire for nearly twenty years,
until Sir Kobert Peel, the English prime minister, sent Lord
Ashburton to this country to enter into negotiations, particu-
larly on the boundaries, with Mr. Webster, then Secretary of
State. The resulting treaty was avowedly a "give and take"
transaction. It was not attempted to settle each question on
its own merits, but one party yielded one point in return for
a supposedly equivalent gain somewhere else. And thus it
happened that, when the commissioners met, Lord Ashburton
offered to yield St. George's island to the United States, pro-
vided Webster would agree that the boundary should follow
the portage route westward from Lake Superior instead of
the water courses. The formal propositions made seem to
show that the Englishman was rather the more wily of the
two; and, in this instance, at least, Mr. Webster agreed to
His Lordship's first proposal practically without alteration.

Lord Ashburton, under date of July 16, 1842, wrote§ a short
re'sume' of the work of the commissioners under the Treaty of

*Minn. Hist Soc. Collections. Vol. VIII., p. 2.

fHon. W. W. Pendergast, Minnesota State Superintendent of Public Instruc-
tion, told me this on the authority of Gen. Lewis B. Baker, State Tree and
Forest Commissioner.

$House Journal, 1823-4, p. 11.

§House Ex. Doc., 27th Congress, Second Session, Doc. No. 2.

208 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

Ghent, according to which there were, at that time, two points
of difference, viz.: 1. As to the ownership of St. George's
island. 2. As to the boundary from Lake Superior to the Lake
of the Woods. Ashburton" remarked: "The first point I am
ready to give up to you, and you are no doubt aware that it is
the only object of any real value in this controversy;" but two
conditions were afterward tacked on, namely, common naviga-
tion of two channels at the time wholly belonging to the United
States, one at the head of Lake St. Glair and the other in
the St. Lawrence. He continued : "In considering the second
point, it really appears of little importance to either party
how the line be determined through the wild country between
Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods; but it is important
that some line should be fixed and known." In further nego-
tiations, Ashburton reiterated several times that this question
was of very little importance — that the land in question was
of no practical value — and Mr. Webster seems to have be-
lieved him; indeed, it is possible, though it seems to me im-
probable,* that he was sincere in belittling the value of the
country.

After thus preparing the way for a favorable reception,
Lord Ashburton said : "I would propose that the line be taken
from a point about six miles south of Pigeon river, where the
Grand Portage commences on the lake, and continued along
the line of said portage, alternately by land and water, to Lac
la Pluie, — the existing route by land and water remaining
common to both parties. This line has the advantage of be-
ing known, and attended with no doubt or difficulty in Cun-
ning it."

Mr. Webster, in his reply of July 27th, offered to agree to
the proposition of Lord Ashburton with the exception that the
line is to begin at the mouth of Pigeon river. He defined
the proposition quite fully, and his wording is exactly that
which was finally adopted. In commenting on this proposi-
tion, the great orator said: "There is reason to think that
Long lake mentioned in the treaty of 1783 meant merely the
estuary of Pigeon river. . . . There is no continuous wa-
ter communication between Lake Superior and the Lake of
the Woods. The broken and difficult nature of the

*That this country was known to many to be valuable appears In the Presi-
dent's message transmitting this treaty.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 209

water communication . . . renders numerous portages
necessary; and it is right that these water communications
and these portages should make a common highway, where
necessary, for the use of the subjects and citizens of both Gov-
ernments."

Nothing further was done in the matter till the treaty was
signed, as Lord Ashburton readily agreed to what was virtu-
ally his own proposition.

The portion of this treaty which concerns the subject be-
fore us is as follows:*

ARTICLE II. ... thence, adopting the line traced on the maps
by the Commissioners, thro' the river St. Mary and Lake Superior, to
a point north of He Royale, in said lake, one hundred yards to the
north and east of He Chapeau, which last-mentioned island lies near the
northeastern point of He Royale, where the line marked by the Com-
missioners terminates; and from the last-mentioned point, southwest-
erly, through the middle of the sound between the He Royale and the
northwestern main land, to the mouth of Pigeon River, and up the
said river, to and through the north and south Fowl Lakes, to the
lakes of the height of land between Lake Superior and the Lake of the
Woods; thence, along the water communication to Lake Saisaginaga,
and through that lake; thence, to and through Cypress Lake, Lac du
Bois Blanc, Lac la Croix, Little Vermilion Lake, and Lake Namecan
and through the several smaller lakes, straits, or streams, connecting
the lakes here mentioned, to that point in Lac la Pluie, or Rainy Lake,
at the Chaudiere Falls, from which the Commissioners traced the line
to the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods ; thence, along
the said line, to the said most northwestern point, being in latitude
49° 23' 55" north, and in longitude 95° 14' 38" west from the observa-
tory at Greenwich; thence, according to existing treaties, due south
to its intersection with the 49th parallel of north latitude, and along
that parallel to the Rocky Mountains. It being understood that all the
water communications and all the usual portages along the line from
Lake Superior to the Lake of the Woods, and also Grand Portage, from
the shore of Lake Superior to the Pigeon River, as now actually used,
shall be free and open to the use of the citizens and subjects of both
countries.

This again is a mere boundary on paper. How long it
would have remained so it is hard to say; but, in 1870, it was
incidentally discoveredf by a corps of surveying engineers
that, at Pembina, the supposed line was really more than
4,600 feet south of the true line, which is, of course, in latitude

"Treaties and Conventions, Sen. Ex. Doc., Second Session, 48th Congress,
Vol. I., Part 2, p. 434.

•{•Congressional Globe, 1870-71, p. 582.

210 MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

49° north. This brought the fact prominently before the gov-
ernment that the line had never been surveyed or marked, and,
after President Grant had twice urged it in his annual mes-
sages, Congress authorized the appointment of a commission
to survey and mark the line westward from the Lake of the
Woods to the Kocky Mountains, in cooperation with a similar
British commission. The surveyors set monuments along this
line, and prepared maps and accurate descriptions. The mon-
uments are mostly iron pillars, a mile apart, from the Lake of
the Woods to the west boundary of Manitoba; and farther west
the line is marked by stones and earth mounds. On May 29th,
1876, the maps and protocol were signed at Washington by
representatives of both governments.

X.

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE BOUNDARY.

Since that date the northern boundary has been considered
a closed question of diplomacy; but the newspaper clipping
which is quoted at the beginning of this article, as well as
the present actual condition of the boundary east of Kainy
lake go far to warrant the opinion that serious complications
will soon arise, and that skilled diplomacy will then be called
upon to mark the boundary line by actual measurements on
the ground, so that it will be known to which party the in-
numerable islands in the boundary waters belong. Think of
a boundary line between two great nations which is no more
definitely marked or described than would be done by saying
it should pass through Lake Minnetonka! And yet our north-
ern boundary from Lake Superior to Rainy lake is scarcely so
well defined as that, and is not marked at all !

It is hard to understand why Mr. Webster, in the treaty of
1842, did not insist upon the line through the water courses
which was clearly intended by the treaty of 1783.* Although
there ought to be only one divide on the whole route, there
are actually six. The most eastern is at the headwaters of
the Pigeon river, where the route crosses to a lake emptying
through the Arrow river, which latter stream, tributary to

*Minn. Hist. Soc. Collections, Vol. V11I., Part I: International Boundary,
8. Grant, p. 4.

MINNESOTA'S NORTHERN BOUNDARY. 211

the lower part of the Pigeon river, affords the natural water
communication and therefore ought to have been the bound-
ary. The next is the Height of Land, the only divide which
ought properly to be on the boundary. The third is at the
east end of "Hunter's Island," between Saganaga lake and
Cypress lake, and is about a quarter of a mile long. This little
neck of land is all that prevents the so-called "Hunter's
Island" from being a true island, since the waters of Saganaga
lake flow continuously along the north side of the "island"
and pass through Lac la Croix, into Namecan and Rainy lakes.
The fourth and fifth divides are just south of the west end of
Hunter's Island (or peninsula), and this is the only place
where the boundary can be corrected to follow the water
course and also coincide with all existing treaties.* There is
no reason why this should not be done, but, as only about ten
square miles would accrue to the United States, there is no
probability of a change. The sixth and last divide is south-
ward from the east end of Lac la Croix. It is possible that a
little water at the highest stage of the lakes and streams in
the spring flows over this divide, but the plain and natural
water course is certainly the Namecan river which flows north-
ward from Lac la Croix into Namecan lake.

The whole amount of land thus lost to the United States
is slightly over one thousand square miles.f At the time of
the Webster-Ashburton treaty, fifty years ago, one thousand
square miles in this region was of very little value. But con-
ditions have changed. The eastern end of the Vermilion iron
range crosses Hunter's Island, and the timber of this region
is fast becoming quite valuable.

At one other place, also, the boundary is probably not lo-
cated in its proper place, and that is in the Lake of the Woods.
The commissioners were in doubt as to what was the real
"northwest point" — whether at Rat Portage or the place
finally selected. But there is another point which is more
properly the "northwest point," than either of these two. It
is in a northwestern bay or arm of the Lake of the Woods
which is called Lac Plat. The surveyors camped one day near
the opening into this bay, but erroneously thought it to be a

"That Is, assuming that the commonly accepted, but very doubtful, location
of Cypress lake is correct.

fMinn. Hist Soc. Collections, Vol. VIII., p. 5.

212 MINNESOTA HISTOKICAL SOCIETY COLLECTIONS.

river. This error cost the United States about two hundred
square miles of land and nearly as much water surface in the
Lake of the Woods. This, however, is of no great value, as
the land is reported to be, in general, very swampy.

With the mention of a little complication of boundary lines*
this paper will close. The line passing through the Lake of
the Woods goes into and along the bay of the Northwest
Angle. Near the head of this long bay the line intersects the
line surveyed "from the most northwest point due south," and
then, abruptly turning north, it crosses the north and south,
line several times within a quarter of a mile, and finally bends
off to the west for nearly half a mile, at the end of which
distance it returns to the north and south line just at the
northwest point where it ends. To whom do those little
patches of swamp between the lines belong?

NOTE. — Subsequent to the completion of this paper and
after its acceptance for the present publication, the author
had an interview near Koochiching, on the Rainy river, with a
party of Canadian surveyors of this boundary, as noted in the
following letter:

Koochiching, Minn., July 27, 1896.

. . . The Canadian government has not waited for a joint survey
to inform itself concerning the actual condition of the boundary; but
it has quietly sent out a party of surveyors at its own expense to trace
the line from Pigeon point to the Lake of the Woods. The work was
ordered by the Commissioner on International Boundaries, and is in
charge of A. J. Brabazon, for the past three years engaged on the
Alaskan boundary survey, who is now on the way to Ottawa to re-
port. He is satisfied that the Treaty of Washington is in agreement
with the physical features.

ALEXANDER N. WINCHELL.

•See maps in the Surveyor General's Office, St. Paul, Minn.

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