Full text of "The Mississippi River and its wonderful valley; twenty-seven hundred and seventy-five miles from source to sea"

See other formats

Class JEjSAjL
Bnnk • CM 4
Copyright N''.

COPYKIGHT DEPOSrr.

The Mississippi River

And Its Wonderful Valley

Twenty-seven Hundred and Seventy-five
Miles from Source to Sea

Julius Chambers

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
Member of the National Geographic Society

With 80 Illustrations and Maps

G. P. Putnam's Sons

New York and London
TLbc IRnicfterbocKer press

1910

,r^

C^"^

JULIUS CHAMBERS

Ube ■ftniclietbocfter |>re80, "Hew IBotft

ICI,A27H2.-4

TO MY WIFE
MARGARET

CONTENTS
Foreword

CHAPTER

I. The Era of Fable ....
II. Dawn op the Era of Credibility

III. The French Explorations

1. — Jacques Cartier
2. — Groseilliers and Radisson
3. — Allouez Finds a Name .
4.— Wonderful La Salle!
5. — Joliet and Marquette .
6. — La Salle Tries Again .
7. — Louis Hennepin
8.— La Salle's Last Visit .
9. — St. Cosme's Voyage
10. — Iberville Banishes All Mysteries
11. — Le Seuer and Blue Mud
12. — Philology of "■ Mississippi " .

IV. Jonathan Carver to William Morrison
V. The Louisiana Purchase .

VI. Lewis and Clark ....

PAGE

3
12
17

18
21
43
47
50
56
66
68
71
74
76
79
81
85
93

Contents

CHAPTER

VII.

VIII.

IX.

XI.
XII.

XIII.
XIV.

Zebulon M. Pike to Giacomo C. Beltrami
The Schoolcraft Expedition .
The Jean N. Nicollet Expedition
Elk Lake to South-west Pass .

1. — At White Earth Mission

2.— At Spirit Island .

3. — The Mississippi!

4. — Itasca ....

5. — A New Lake .

6.— Nicollet's Creek

7. — Down the Young Mississippi

8. — Pemidji, Cass, and Winnebagoshish

9. — Pokegama to St. Anthony
10. — Fort Snelling to Saint Louis
11, — By Steamboat to New Orleans .
12.— To the Sea and to New Yor
The Itasca State Park
Delta op the Mississippi .

1. — The Levees

2.— The Jetties
Joining the Great River to the Great Lakes
The Age of Water

Contents

XV.

The Mississippi in War .

237

1. — Struggles with the Indians .

237

2. — British Final Defeat at New Orleans .

242

3.— The Civil War ....

252

Forts Henry and Donelson

255

Shiloh

258

New Orleans .

. 262

VicJcstiirg

. 269

XVI.

" The Mississippi Bubble "

. 277

XVII.

Great Cities op the Valley

. 285

Saint Paul-Minneapolis

. 286

Saint Louis .

. 290

Memphis

. 294

New Orleans

. 297

To THE

River: L'Envoi ....

304

Index

305

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

The Mississippi River Immediately below Itasca Lake

Frontispiece *^

The Itasca Watershed 8 -

Surveyed and drawn by J. V. Brower, 1892-1903.

A Page of the Radisson Manuscript . . . . 24
Photographed at Bodleian Library, Oxford, England,

under direction of Hon. W. E. Lee.
(Courtesy of J. V. Brower.)

Father Hennepin's Discovery op St. Anthony Fall . 68

Painted by Douglas Volk in the State Capitol.
(Copyright, 1905, by Douglas Volk.)

Minnehaha Fall 80 •

(Copyright, 1908, by T. W. Ingersoll.)

Recent View at Southeastern Extremity op Itasca,
Showing the Point across the Lake at which
Schoolcrapt Reached It, in 1832 .... 110

Itasca Lake, Looking South prom Bluff at Northern

End 116

Nicollet's Creek, beyond Itasca. " The Cradled Her-
cules " 120

(Courtesy of J. V. Brower.)

The Mouth op Nicollet's Creek, where it Enters

Itasca 124 ^

(Taken since the building of a dam at the outlet of
the lake.)

The Outlet op Nicollet's Middle Lake . . . 126 ■^

X Illustrations

PAGB

The Itasca Lake Region, as Surveyed by Hopewell

Clarke, October, 188G 128

The Sources op the Mississippi 130^

First Official Survey Map (1875). By Edwin S. Hall.

The City op Duluth in 1872 . . . . , . 132 ^

Saint Paul, Looking Southwest 132

From a photograph taken in 1872.

A Typical Chippewa 136 -

The Mississippi River — Thirty Miles below Itasca

Lake . 112 j

Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

A Sample op Cedar Forest, in the Itasca Country . 142
Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

The Outlet op Itasca Lake, 1901 144 -

Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

The Mouth op Boutwell Creek, West Shore of Itasca

Lake 144

Minnesota Historical Society Collection,

The East Arm op Itasca Lake 146 -

(Looking north from the Southern End.)

The Shore op Itasca Lake, East Arm, near Nicollet's

Portage 148

Chambers Creek, Connecting Itasca with Elk Lake.

(Elk Lake in the Distance) 150

(Copyright, 1909, by H. D. Ayer.)

Elk Lake, Looking South prom Morrison Hill . . 152

Sketch Map op the Land between Lake Itasca and

Elk Lakes 154

Illustrations

A Minnesota Forest

Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

Map of the Upper Drainage Basin of the Mississippi
River

The Winnebagoshish Reservoir Dam , . . .
Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

PoKEGAMA Fall

Photograph by C. H. Dickinson.

The Second Government Dam on the Mississippi,
BELOW Grand Rapids . . . .

St. Anthony Fall

From a photograph taken in 1872.

A View of Fort Snelling, Showing the Round House

AND the Original Stockade

Photographed in 1872.

Roman Catholic " Basilica of St. Paul," Built by
Father Gaultier in 1841, after which the City

Was Named

Painted by H. W. Wack, after a drawing by R. O
Sweeney of Saint Paul, 1852.

View from Barn Bluff ....
View from Red Wing, Looking South .
The Author's " Baden Powell " Canoe .
The Maiden Rock, Lake Pepin .

Lake Pepin, from Top of Maiden Rock

Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

Lake Pepin, Looking North from Point No Point

PAGE

156

158
1G4

166

168
170

170

172

174
174
176
176

178

180

xii Illustrations

PAGE

Great Spirit Bluff, near Alma, Wisconsin . . . 182
Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

Fountain City 184

Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

The City of Winona, Minnesota 186

Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

" The Sugar Loaf," near Winona 188

Trempealeau 188

Minnehaha's Grave, near De Soto .... 190
Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111,

The City of Dubuque, Iowa 192

Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

A View of Nauvoo, Illinois, from a Photograph Taken

FROM Bluff Park, Showing Government Canal . 194
(Copyright by Goulty, Nauvoo, 111.)

A Cypress Swamp on the Mississippi, near New

Orleans 196

Old Absinthe House, New Orleans .... 198

The Old State House at Baton Rouge, Burned during

the Civil War 198

The House Built for the Emperor Napoleon . . 200

The Itasca State Park 202

(Map supplied by the Minnesota Historical Society.)

Itasca State Lodge 206

Birdseye View of Itasca Basin 206

Minnesota Historical Society Collection.

Illustrations xili

PAGE

The Mississippi at the Head of the Passes . . , 218

The Mouth op South Pass, Showing Eads Jetties . 220

Jetties at the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi

River 222

Cotton Staves and Steamboats at the Levee, New

Orleans . . 226

(Courtesy of M. B. Trezevant.)

Outline Map of the United States, Showing the Mis-
sissippi AND ITS Watershed 232

Keokuk 236

From a daguerreotype, 1847.

Battle Hollow, the Scene of Black Hawk's Defeat 238
Photograph by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

Nah-se-us-kuk (The Whirling Thunder) . . . 240
From Catlin.

Muk-a-tah-mish-o-kah-kack (The Black Hawk) . 240
From Catlin.

Point-a-la-Hache 264

The "Crescent" at New Orleans (Mississippi 100

Feet Deep) 266

(Courtesy of M. B. Trezevant.)

Ursuline Convent, below New Orleans. (Showing

High Wharf, Outside Levee) 268

General Pemberton's Headquarters, Vicksburg . . 274

St. Anthony Fall, 1910 284

The City of Minneapolis, from the Eastern Bank . 286

xiv Illustrations

PACK

Fort Snelling, 1908 288

(Copyright, 1908, by T. W. Ingersoll.)

Saint Paul, from Mississippi Bridge .... 290
(Copyright, 1908, by T. W. Ingersoll.)

The Minnesota State Capitol, Saint Paul . . . 292
(Copyright, 1909, by T. W. Ingersoll.)

Saint Louis from the River during the Visit of

President Taft 294

The City of Memphis 296

From a water-color painting by F. T. Anderson.

L'Union Francaise, New Orleans 298

Moss-Covered Oak, Audubon Park, New Orleans . 298

A Typical Corner 300

Cafe des Artists 300

The Cathedral of St. Louis 302

The Monk's Court (Cathedral on the Right) . . 302

South Pass, Rear Range Lighthouse .... 304

The Tomb of Dominique You, the Pirate Hero of

Chalmette 304

)

FOREWORD

THE Mississippi was named " The Father of Run-
ning Waters" by natives dwelHng amid the
forests of its vast valley who knew not of other
great rivers upon earth. Those sponsors were not far
wrong. In length, it is exceeded only by the Nile; in
volume, by the Amazon.

Geographically, it divides, almost equally, the broad
territory of the United States of America. It is the
proudest, most valued natural possession of the Ameri-
can people: it is revered next to American liberty!
Its banks are scenes of traditional and authenticated
romance. Its source has been a dreamland for poets;
its delta a haven of buccaneers and a rallying ground
for worthier heroes.

In American histoiy, it maintains leadership over
all other rivers, although many of them are nearer to
European discovery and settlement. In finance, its
good name was tarnished by Spanish and French
schemers: but, self-reliant by nature, the majestic
river redeemed itself as a highway for the internal de-
velopment of a Republic of free men. Its commerce
has builded a score of populous cities, has made hund-
reds of millionaires, and has suggested vast railway
systems that, for a score of years, took the burden of
traffic from its bosom. But the development of the
country has exceeded the capacity of man to build rail-
ways and to equip them. Throughout the Mississippi

xvi Foreword

valley confessed congestion exists. Deep waterways
are planned that will re-establish the majesty of The
River and its tributaries. The Mississippi returns to
its own!

In religion, the earliest missionaries of the Holy
Faith in North America followed its watery way.

In war, the Mississippi always has had a full share,
■ — savage against savage, white against red, and white
against white ! As an epilogue to the final conflict with
Great Britain, a battle was fought near its mouth, weeks
after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, that guaran-
teed title to the mammoth Louisiana Purchase. Early
in the Civil War, this river became the western " dead-
line " for revolt against Federal authority. From Saint
Louis and from the Gulf of Mexico, wedges of assault
were driven southward and northward into the vitals
of the Confederacy. Hereafter, it is a bond that must
always bind together the faggot of States.

Such a theme is worthy of a wondersmith in words.
< It deserves the sacrifice of a lifetime's patience and
research. The writer had hoped that a worthier hand
would give to the task a career and a fortune. His
only reason for undertaking this work, amidst the de-
mands of an exacting profession, is that since he tra-
versed the Mississippi's uttermost length, that river has
been to him an enthusiasm. Dwellers along its banks
have become his friends and associates ; mere towns when
first known to him have grown into prosperous cities.

During these lengthening years, the mighty liver's
irresistible flood has pursued its ceaseless journey to
the sea, indifferent to the appreciation of man.

Julius Chambers.

Lotos Club, New York City, 1910.

The Mississippi

CHAPTER I

The Era of Fable

HISTORY begins with an interrogation mark.
An Age of Fable has always preceded the
Age of Fact. The mystery regarding the first
Spaniard who saw the mouth of the Mississippi River
never can be cleared, unless credible records be un-
earthed in the Royal Library at Madrid that will ex-
plain the sources of information drawn upon for " The
Admiral's Map," with which the name of Christopher
Columbus is associated. This " Admiral's Map " is
the earliest known drawing upon which are set down
the partly enclosed waters to-day described as the Gulf
of Mexico, and the three-pronged delta of a mighty
river entering that Gulf from the northward. This
map, so intimately identified with Columbus, receives
its chief importance, despite many inaccuracies of de-
tail, from the fact that the three-mouthed delta is
located notably near the point at which the Mississippi
delivers its flood of waters to the sea. Corroborative
evidence of the accuracy of the original discoverer, who-
ever he may have been, exists in the indisputable fact
that no other river's embrochure along the entire Gulf
coast presents similar peculiarities. The map is veri-
table,— one of the geographical treasures of this world;
— but it was not engraved until 1507, or actually pub-
lished until 1513, when it appeared as an illustration

4 The Mississippi

in a Spanish translation of the " Almagest " of Claudius
Ptolemaeus, an Alexandrian astronomer-geographer of
the early part of the second century a.d. The second
book of the remarkable work of Ptolemaeus deals with
problems connected with determination of the obliquitj^
of the sphere. Not only did this Egyptian believe
that the planets and stars revolved around the earth,
but he attempted a calculation of the circumference
of this globe! A study of this work, many years pre-
viously, had warranted Columbus in assummg that the
distance from the west coast of Europe to the east
coast of Asia was only two thirds of the actual circum-
ference of the earth. Jebb is authority for the state-
ment that the entire theory of Columbus, wliich led
to the discovery of America, was due to the writings
and calculations of this Egyptian scientist. Such is
the debt of America to Egypt that never has been
honoured.

An examination of this sketch chart — for it cannot
claim to be more — discloses near the western extremity
of the large gulf that stretches westward from the
Florida peninsula an unmistakable delta, extending far
into the sea and having three distinct mouths, through
which a river of unusual volume discharges its waters.
The location and shape of Mobile Bay, with its two
rivers, are also accurately placed. Whether the chart
was drawn from hearsay, or was the fruit of Colum-
bus's actual vision, during his fourth and last voyage,
cannot be positively decided. But the sources of
Columbus's information are not so obscure as might
be supposed. On his second voyage, he coasted the
south side of Cuba, assumed by him to be a peninsula
of Asia, and discovered Jamaica. That was in the

The Era of Fable 5

summer of 1494. On his third voyage, he kept farther
south and, on July 31, 1498, went ashore at Trinidad,
following up this discovery by landing upon the con-
tinent of South America. The Cabots had already
visited North America. On his way home, Columbus
reached Santo Domingo, where he was seized and sent
to Spain in chains.

The importance of the fourth voyage of Columbus,
as associated with the famous " Admiral's Map," can-
not be overestimated. Leaving Spain in March, 1502,
he called at Santo Domingo only long enough to
reprovision and sailed thence to Central America, dis-
covering Honduras on July 30th of that year. The
most credible record of that voyage contains little de-
finite information regarding the route by which the
explorer reached the Central American coast. If
he passed through the Strait of Florida and followed
the coast line to the north and west, the " Admiral's
Map " is readily accounted for, because he must have
sighted the peculiar formation of alluvial soil that car-
ries the Mississippi's flood far into the Gulf of Mexico.
After landing at some point on the coast of Honduras,
Columbus followed the shore line southward as far as
Panama, and then sailed homeward by way of Jamaica.
This is matter of record. It has been surmised that
Columbus obtained the information upon which this
chart was drawn from daring Spanish adventurers
at Jamaica, — men who, at that time, had explored
the islands of the Caribbean Sea and most of the
coast of the vast land-and-island-enclosed gulf to the
northward.

Serious attempts have been made by modern savants
to link the name of Americus Vespucius to the Missis-

6 The Mississippi

sippi delta; but their arguments have not been con-
clusive. Vespucius was Columbus's evil genius: he was
an Italian, hailing from Florence, as Columbus did
from Genoa. He was a member of the commercial
house at Seville that outfitted Columbus's third voyage.
His claim that he was absent from Spain between
May, 1497, and October, 1498, engaged in a voyage
of discovery, is hotly contested and apparently con-
trovened by authenticated records of his business ac-
tivities in Seville during much of that time. Whether
the assertions of Vespucius were true or false, he stole
much of Columbus's glory, and, through the aid of
German geographical publishers, who first suggested
that the continent be named after " its discoverer," he
achieved the immortality his name enjoj'^s. Toward
the close of the nineteenth century, he found an able
defender in Count F. A. de Varnhagen, one time
Ambassador of Brazil to Portugal, who made many
original researches at Seville into the career of Ves-
pucius. His final conclusions were published in 1874.
Count de Varnhagen contends that the so-called first
voyage of Vespucius, previously discredited, actually
occurred in 1497-98; but that it was made to North
America and not to any place south of Honduras. On
his return voyage, he followed the coast northward and
eastward as far as some " undetermined port which he
described as ' the finest in the world,' whence he sailed
to the Bermuda Islands and thence home." The intri-
cate navigation suggested by this latest eulogist of Ves-
pucius through the Bahamas or, in the Gulf Stream, up
the Florida coast, is not creditable to his comprehension
of navigation at the close of the fifteenth century.^
1 Count de Varnhagen has this to say regarding " The Admiral's

The Era of Fable 7

The status of the next claimant is even more hazy
than that of the Florentine ship-chandler of Seville.
Francisco de Garay, Governor of Jamaica, made a
report to the Crown (published at Burgos, 1521),
announcing the discovery of Yucatan and expressing
a determination " to fit out, at his own expense, four
ships, with good pilots, and to give the command to
Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda, with the object of seeking
some gulf or strait in the mainland towards [!] Flor-
ida." The meaning of this obscure phrasing is that
the Governor of Jamaica believed, as did many other
people, that a navigable strait, to be found somewhere,
led through the continent to the sea that washed the
shores of Asia. He hoped to find it. This report of
Francisco de Garay bears date of 1519. The hoped-
for channel to Cathay was not found, although Pineda
was absent eight or nine months; but the commander
reported that he " had entered a large bay, into which
emptied a large river." This has been assumed to have
been Mobile Bay. He declared the mainland to be
thickly inhabited, adding that, after ascending the river
sixteen miles, he had " discovered forty villages of na-
tives." These he located in the Province of Amichel,
" a good land, peaceful, healthy, and provided with
abundance of fruits." Nothing is said about any ob-
stacles to navigation. In another part of the report,
Pineda describes the careening of his vessels " upon a
sandy beach, to clean their hulls," but whether this oc-
curred at Mobile Bay or elsewhere is not made clear.
Recent researches conducted by Mr. Clarence B. Moore

Map " : " It was compiled from much earlier ones, the information
derived from various sources. * The River of Palms/ shown on that
map, was intended to represent the Mississippi."

8 The Mississippi

appear to prove conclusively that Pineda visited Mobile
Bay, which has two rivers, instead of one, flowing into
it. The shores of this land-locked harbour contain many
evidences of early Indian villages. In fact, no other
port of entry on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico
answers to the condition set down by Pineda. This
Spanish commander may have passed the mouth of the
Mississippi but the claim that he sailed up that river
two hundred miles, or to the present site of Baton
Rouge, is so discredited as to be dismissed. If he ever
saw the Mississippi, he reached it through Lakes Pont-
chartrain and Maurepas. In that event, Mr. Moore's
theories go by the board.

The chief historical importance of this report of
Francisco de Garay centres in the statement that
Pineda " encountered Hernan Cortes, who had already
occupied Vera Cruz." Pineda's description of the na-
tives also casts a doubt upon his credibility. He says:
" Their stature varied in different provinces. In
some, we saw gigantic people; in others, men of
ordinary stature, and in still other places mere
pigmies."

It is highly probable that Hernan Cortes first ac-
curately charted the Mississippi mouth, as his map gives
it the name of " Arrestiosos " ; but the voyage of Pineda
must be immortal because it fixed the boundary of the
Western sea between Florida on the east and what is
now Mexico on the west. Cortes completed the super-
ficial exploration of Columbus by proving the non-
existence of any channel through which vessels could
pass to Asia.

Francisco de Garay sent out another expedition in
1528 with the avowed purpose of conquering and an-

F^ -^

0) >-<

J3P|0L{3De|c|

ino-piod

s ^ -^ ;-

The Era of Fable 9

nexing the provinces of the mainland extending from
the river Palmas — which may have been the Rio
Grande — to the Cape of Florida. This expedition
was entrusted to Panfilo de Narvaez, to whom was
given the title of " Governor of Florida, Rio de Palmas,
and Espiritu Santo." This undertaking had a most
unfortunate termination. When nearing the mouth of
the Mississippi, they discovered the influx of fresh
water but were blown out to sea and were forced to
land on what they assumed to be the western coast
of Florida. After a council had been held, the main
body under Narvaez's command was ordered to march
along the coast "until it reached a harbour; and the
ships carrying the other members of the troop were
to sail in a like direction, until they arrived at the
harbour sought for." The land and sea forces never
were reunited. The sufferings of the men afoot, among
the swamps and rank vegetation of the coast, were
terrible. The land forces reached Apalache, an Indian
town believed to have been near the present site of
Tallahassee. Thence they proceeded to the coast but
nothing could be seen or heard of their ships. They
set about building boats but as they had only one
carpenter among them and were without tools, they
erected a forge, making a bellows from horses' hides,
and converted their spurs, stirrups, and other iron im-
plements into axes, chisels, and other tools. Hair from
the manes and tails of their slain horses was converted
into rigging. Stones served for anchors; sails were
made from their own shirts. Five vessels are said to
have been completed in forty-eight days. Into each
of these fifty men were crowded, with such provisions
as they could obtain. They sailed on September 22,

lo The Mississippi

1528, following the coast westwardly " until the latter
part of October," when they made a landing but were
attacked by the natives and lost two of their men, — a
fact afterwards reported by Hernando de Soto. This
landing is supposed to have been near the present site
of Pensacola. The expedition at once put to sea again
and the only chronicle extant of the immediate hap-
penings is found in Oviedo's version of a letter written
nine years later by one of the only two survivors (the
original text does not exist), as follows:

And our people went two more days, at the end of which
the boat in which the treasurer was arrived at a point made
by the coast, behind which was a river that flowed broad and
swollen from freshet; a little behind, the boat of the governor
and the others anchored at some islands near by, and the
treasurer went to them and made known the discovery of the
river. As they found no wood with which to parch the maize
they had been eating raw for two days, they agreed to enter
the river, of which they took up fresh water in the sea; and
on going near to it, the violence of the current at the entrance
did not permit them to gain the land. While working to get
to it the wind sprang up in the north, and by it and the
strong current they were put out more to sea. And they
sailed that night and the next day following up to night time,
when they found themselves in three fathoms depth, and see-
ing that evening many smokes on the coast, they did not dare
to laud in the night time, and anchored.

The "Relation" sent by Nunez Cadeza de Vaca, de-
scribed as " the treasurer," to Emperor Charles V. the
same year differs in some respects. Here is its text:

We sailed that day until the middle of the afternoon, when
my boat, which was first, discovered a point made by the
land, and against a cape opposite passed a broad river. I
cast anchor near a little island forming the point, to await

The Era of Fable n

the arrival of the other boats. The Governor did not choose
to come up, and entered a bay near by in which were a great
many islets. We came together there and took fresh water
from the sea, the stream entering it in freshet. To parch
some of the maize we brought with us, since we had eaten it
raw for two days, we went on an island, but finding no wood,
we agreed to go to the river beyond the point, one league
off. By no effort could we get there, so violent was the cur-
rent on the way, which drove us out while we contended and
strove to gain the land. The north wind which came from
the shore began to blow so strongly that it forced us to sea
without our being able to overcome it. We sounded half a
league out, and found with thirty fathoms, we could not get
bottom; but we were unable to satisfy ourselves that the cur-
rent was the cause of the failure. Toiling in this manner to
fetch the land, we navigated three days, and at the end of
this time, a little before the sun rose, we saw smoke in several
places along the shore. Attempting to reach them, we found
ourselves in three fathoms of water.

It is not mere guesswork to conclude that the mouth
of this river which De Vaca could not enter with his
shallow boats was some other stream than the Missis-
sippi. Exactly where he touched must be a matter of
surmise, because it may have been any river outlet along
the coast of what is now Texas.

With this voyage, we close the conjectural period
of Mississippi River discovery, taking up in the next
chapter the real hero of the history of the mighty
river, Hernando de Soto, Adelantado de Florida, and
Conquistador.

CHAPTER II
Dawn of the Era of Credibility

DEALING with fable or with fact, the distinction
of original discovery of " The Father of Run-
ning Waters " must be accorded to the Span-
iards. They were not only first to gaze upon the
Mississippi, but, on their return to Europe, first to
make it known to the civilised world of their day.
The name of the hardy adventurer who first sighted
the three-pronged delta never will be known, but he
was a Spaniard.

X Baton Ttourr^^^yX^l

Series of Lakes, supposed route of Pineda, entering
Mississippi in 15 19 and of Moscoso leaving it in 1543

"It is a remarkable feature in the history of the
Mississippi," says Schoolcraft, " that it has been ' dis-
covered ' in sections, separated by long intervals of
time." When we remember that the river is nearly
three thousand miles in length, almost dividing a great
continent, nothing else was to have been expected.

Dawn of the Era of Credibility 13

Quest for gold brought adventurers to the mouth of
the mighty stream, while explorations of the north-
west were principally undertaken in the name of re-
ligion. Some explorations were not so religious as thej^
claimed to be, because a thrifty spirit of commercialism
characterised the conduct of their leaders.

The highly coloured tales of Cabeza de Vaca in-
spired the formation and despatch of the largest ex-
pedition that ever set sail for the American world. A
soldier of fortune, Hernando de Soto was born at
OBadajos in 1500 or 1501, and when fourteen years of
age, went to Darien with Pedrarias. He is heard of
ten years later in Nicaragua, with Cordoba. In the
spring of 1532, he joined Pizarro with reinforcements
at the Gulf of Guayaquil and took a prominent part
in the conquest of Peru. He returned to Spain, in
1536, loaded with honours and loot. The following
year, Charles V. appointed this daring adventurer
Governor of Cuba and Florida, adding special instruc-
tions to explore the latter country. If we may believe
the Relation of a Gentleman of the Town of Elvas,
written in Portuguese but not printed in English until
1686, the flower of the Spanish nobility joined that
expedition. Of the six hundred Spaniards and Portu-
guese noblemen " in doubtlets and cassocks of silk "
every man was intent on winning glory and gaining
riches. The entire expedition, when it finally sailed
from Havana, is said to have numbered nine thousand
men, including officers, sailors, and fighting men. This
statement is evidently erroneous because nine ships suf-
ficed to carry the invaders. Soto's total equipment was
probably about nine hundred and fifty men, half of
whom were arrayed in silk or satin. The little squad-

14 The Mississippi

ron sailed from San Lucar in April, 1538, and after
a year in Cuba, left Havana (May 12, 1539) for
Tampa Bay, where a landing was made. The ships
were sent back to Havana, with orders to return to a
designated place upon the northern coast of the Gulf.
The march of Soto during the next three years took
him around the top of the Gulf, across territory that
is now Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. He made
a great circuit to the northward that possibly carried
him into Georgia, the Carolinas, and eastern Tennessee.
That is conjectural, however; but it is known that he
descended the Alabama River to Mobile Bay. There
he had a fierce engagement with the natives (October,
1540). Thence, he pushed north-westward through
Mississippi and wintered on the Yazoo River, near to
the greater river but unconscious of its proximity. A
severe battle with the Indians occurred at this point.
(This same ground was fought over by Grant and
Sherman during the Civil War, prior to the siege of
Vicksburg.) Soto reached the Mississippi at Chicka-
saw Bluffs, May 8, 1541, old style, the exact locality
of Sherman's defeat in 1863. Soto crossed the Mis-
sissippi on May 15th, by what means is not clear, for
the river is more than a mile wide at that point and
the spring floods must have rendered its current very
rapid. He explored the region west of the river as far
north as the Missouri and south to the Red River. He
did not find the fabulous stores of gold he had expected
to discover. His followers were discouraged; two
hundred and fifty of them had died of fevers or wounds
received in battle. He returned to the Mississippi
again, at the mouth of the Red River, on April 17,
1542, fell ill of malarial fever, and after appointing

Dawn of the Era of Credibility 15

Luis de Moscoso (generally written Luys Moscoso)
his successor, Hernando de Soto died. To maintain
the fable of Soto's divine attributes, his body was hidden
in a hut for several days and then buried in the dark-
ness of night. But the natives discovered the grave
and gathered about it. JNIoscoso became fearful the
Indians might disinter the body; removing it from
the grave, he sunk it, heavily weighted, in the middle
of the great river with which the name of the Conquis-
tador for ever will be associated. According to "A
Gentleman of Elvas," the only chronicler who accom-
panied the expedition and whose name never will be
known, Soto died on May 21st.

The will of Hernando de Soto, made in San Cris-
tobal of the Havana, May 10, 1539, and sent back to
Spain, was found at Seville among the papers in the
suit of Isabel de Bobadilla, his widow, against Hernan
Ponce de Leon, Soto's partner and a co-executor of
the estate under the will. It is a long document, gorged
with religion, and makes many bequests. Soto directed
that his body be buried in the church at Xeres, near
Badajos, — a wish that never was realised.

After wandering about in the swamps until De-
cember of the same year, the depleted band reached
Minoya, above the mouth of the Arkansas, — much
farther from the Gulf than the point at which Soto
died.^ Here they constructed and launched seven brig-
antines, in which, on July 2, 1543, they set out for the
mouth of the tortuous river, thus completing their

1 Coronado was in the country west of the Mississippi, probably in
what is now Kansas, when Moscoso's troop was in such straits. Had
the fact been known and could they have united, the fate of the
combined troop might have been very different. — J. C.

1 6 The Mississippi

knowledge of the lower part of the broad stream to
which Soto had given the title of " Rio Grande," or
Great River.

Attaining the Gulf, they coasted westward, never
losing sight of land in their frail vessels, until they
arrived, ragged and disheartened, at the Spanish settle-
ment at Tampico. "They kissed the ground when
they found themselves again among their countrymen,'*
according to the Elvas chronicler.

Here the record of Spanish exploration in the
Mississippi Valley halts for two hundred years. There
were a few private expeditions to Florida, chiefly from
Cuba, but all were disastrous. The Spaniards had
"discovered" the Mississippi; but they did nothing to
utilise it.

CHAPTER III

The French Explorations

WE must now mentally transport ourselves to
Canada and to the North-west. As we have
seen, the Spaniards made their search for the
Mississippi from the sea; the French set out from
the region of the Great Lakes. Professor Ogg truly
says: "Except as a basis for subsequent territorial
claims, its discovery by the Spaniards might as well
never have occurred. The whole work of discovery
had to be wrought anew nearly a century and a half
later by the efforts of a different people."

The fur-traders and the missionaries of New France
accomplished a task that the Spaniards, greedy for
gold, had abandoned in disgust.

The Roman Church was prompt to recognise the
importance of the discoveries of Columbus. Whether
the Genoese had found much or little territory, Pope
Alexander VI. undertook, as Vicegerent of the Creator
of land and sea, to apportion it between Spain and
Portugal. By a bull, bearing date of May 4, 1493,
the right of discovery — which carried with it posses-
sion— of any new lands upon the face of this earth,
whether the planet were flat or spheroidal, was accorded
to those two crowns. This remarkable document, dis-
posing of all territories, known and unknown, in the
Americas, much of Africa, the eastern part of Asia,
and the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, fixed as a

2 17

i8 The Mississippi

dividing line the meridian passing north and south
through the Azores. A year later, the same authority,
presumably at Portugal's insistence, moved the longi-
tudinal demarcation far enough westward to annex to
the crown of Portugal the eastern part of the conti-
nent of South America. The only part of North
America gained by Portugal was the large island of
Newfoundland. The remainder of both continents was
accorded to Spain! Although Portugal got the worse
of that Papal decree, it still holds much of the terri-
tory granted at that time, while Spain has lost eveiy
foot of the earth's surface thus apportioned except the
Canary Islands!

Doubt as to the exact point at which that longitudinal
line crossed the mainland of North America afforded
a pretext to the French to enter this continent by the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. Francis I. was a devout church-
man; he respected the majesty of Sj)ain but cared little
for the rights of Portugal. That Papal bull was there-
fore the excuse for the voyages of Jacques Cartier.

I JACQUES CARTIER

The chart of Sylvanus, from the edition of Ptolemy
of 1511, induced Cartier to sail from St. Malo, April
20, 1534, with two vessels of sixty tons each and sixty-
one men, for the " Square Gulf," or Gulf of St. Law-
rence familiar to us, instead of to the semi-enclosed sea
known at that day to lie west of the Florida peninsula.
This statement is practically reduced to a demonstra-
tion by Justin Winsor, in his recent elaborate volume.^

1 Cartier to Frontenac, by Justin Winsor, 1894. (The cartography
of this work makes it invaluable. — J. C.)

The French Explorations 19

" Norman, Breton, and Basque had been frequenters
of its shores," says Winsor, meaning the " Gulfo Quad-
rado," and Cartier felt sure of the accuracy of their
charts — a contention that has been seriously disputed
regarding the " Admiral's map " of the Gulf of Mexico.
Jacques Cartier does not belong to the Mississippi any
more than do his successors who never reached its banks ;
but Cartier, Roberval, Nicolet, and Champlain were
the inspiration of the subsequent advance of sturdy
explorers and earnest French missionaries into the New
World.

Before there could be a Groseilliers, a Radisson, a
La Salle, or a Marquette, there had to be a New
France.

This development of an unknown land took time;
and that fact accounts for the long interregnum be-
tween the lapse of Spanish enthusiasm for exploration
on the Gulf of Mexico and the westward advances of
the French from Quebec through the Great Lakes.
The failure of Columbus to locate a supposed strait
leading to Cathay was admitted. The broad river that
flowed into the " Square Gulf " promised much. If
Cartier, in his reported voyage to the coast of Brazil
during his buccaneer period, had encountered the wide
mouth of the Amazon, he might have entertained the
same hope of solving the problem that Columbus and
his successors had abandoned. Every mile of progress
made by his ships up the St. Lawrence to what is now
called the Island of Orleans, near the present site of
Quebec, must have encouraged Cartier in the belief that
he had indeed found the way to the ocean of the
Indies. He established winter quarters in a small
cove near the mouth of the St. Charles River. On

20 The Mississippi

September 19, 1534, taking one of his vessels, he started
up the St. Lawrence, and, on October 2d, reached the
present site of Montreal. He named the hill, familiar
to every visitor to the hustling Canadian city, Mont
Royal. When Cartier climbed that mount, down
which athletic Canadians now toboggan during four
months of every winter, he saw only the terrors of the
Lachine Rapids and recognised a natural barrier that
must have ended his dream of a channel to the Indies.

The real value of this inland voyage of Cartier is
that the route was developed up the Ottawa, through
Nipissing Lake to the sea of the Hurons and the Great
Lakes. Its importance was momentous! If Canada
ever grows sufficiently rich and enterprising, she will
cut a canal from Lake Huron through Nipissing Lake
to the upper Ottawa and, by a series of locks on that
river, establish a water route that will shorten, by a
thousand miles, the distance from Duluth and the vast
wheat country of the Dakotas and Manitoba to the sea!

The Frenchmen, like the natives, knew hardly any-
thing about Lakes Ontario and Erie, because their way
to the North-west led up the Ottawa, through Lake
Nipissing to Georgian Bay, and left those two large
bodies of water outside their path.

Cartier's Bref Recite as his report to Francis I. is
known, is one of the few veritable guide-posts of modern
history. He returned to France twice and died within
sound of the sea, on the Brittany coast, September 1,
1557. But Gerard Mercator, the Flemish map-maker,
did not recognise the debt geography owed to Cartier.
Either he had not heard of the Frenchman's explora-
tions or he disbelieved in him.^

1 The Hakluyt-Martyr map of 1587 was the first to show the

The French Explorations

II GROSEILLIERS AND RADISSON

The claims of these two men as original discoverers
of Minnesota have been dis-
puted, reasserted, and dis-
cussed ever since the finding
of the so-called Radisson
manuscripts in the Bodleian
Library, at Oxford, and
among some records of the
Hudson Bay Company now
owned by the British Museum.
The history of these precious
manuscripts — which, in them-
selves, appear to be fully
authenticated — casts a shadow
upon them that is probably
ill deserved. They were copied
and published only in 1885,
by the Prince Society of Bos-
ton, in a small quarto volume
of three hundred and eighty-
five pages, bearing this title:
" Voyages of Peter Esprit
Radisson J Being an Account
of his Travels and Experi-
ences among the North Ameri-
can Indians, from 1652 to
1654. Transcribed from ori-
ginal Manuscripts . . . and an Introduction, by Gideon

Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coast lines of North America below lati-
tude 50° N.

22 The Mississippi

D. Scull, London, England. Boston: Published by the
Prince Society, 1885." In the aforementioned " Intro-
duction," we learn that these priceless manuscripts, if
genuine and trustworthy, were " for some time the prop-
erty of Samuel Pepys, diarist and Secretary of the
Admiralty to Charles II. and James II., who probably
received them from Sir George Carteret, Vice-Chamber-
lain of the King and Treasurer of the Navy, for whom, no
doubt, they were carefully copied from his rough notes
by the author, so that they might be brought, through
him, under the notice of Charles II. Some years
after the death of Pepys, in 1703, his collection of
manuscripts " (meaning Pepys's collection) " was dis-
persed and fell into the hands of various London
tradesmen, who bought parcels to use in their shops
as waste-paper. The most valuable portions were re-
claimed bj^ the celebrated collector, Richard Rawlinson."
Here we have all that is known about the Radisson
narratives. Although Mr. Scull, editor of the manu-
scripts as published by the Prince Society, states in his
introduction, " All his [Radisson's] manuscripts have
been handed down in perfect preservation, and are
written out in a clear and excellent handwriting, show-
ing the writer to have been a person of good educa-
tion," there are disconnected passages inclining one to
fear that many sheets were lost or misplaced. Some
of the most vital incidents in the narratives are passed
over by mere mention or are vaguely hinted at, while
inconsequential matters are given in elaborate detail.
It is futile, therefore, at this late date, to discuss these
slips and shadows of doubt. We must take the nar-
rative as it comes to us, and allow every reader to have
an opinion of his or her own.

The French Explorations 23

The writer of this volume does not intend to enter
upon a discussion regarding the credibility of the Radis-
son accounts of the stay of Groseilliers and himself in
the valley of the Mississippi. That they were there
is very fully attested by Tlie Jesuit Relations and
Allied Documents; Travels and Explorations of the
Jesuit Missionaries in New France, 1610 to 1791.
This series of seventy-three volumes is probably the
most valuable bit of Americana ever published in this
country (Cleveland, Ohio, 1896-1901). The writer
prefers to lean upon the best authority now living on
the Radisson manuscripts, Warren Upham, Secretary
of the Minnesota Historical Society, and to accept
them as they come to the readers of the present
day.

Sieur des Groseilliers, as the young Jesuit layman
helper in missionary work among the Hurons and Al-
gonquins chose to describe himself, was born Medard
Chouart,^ probably near Meaux, France, in 1621. Be-
fore he was twenty, he came to Canada and for six
years or more was a devoted servant of the Faith.
Then he became a fur-trader. He married a daughter
of Abraham Martin, from whom the Plains of Abra-
ham, to the west of the citadel at Quebec, received their
name. This wife, Helen, died in 1651 and two years
thereafter he took for second wife a sister of Radis-
son. This appears to have been the tie that bound
these two intrepid adventurers together. Pierre Esprit

1 " The name of des Groseillers, taken from a small property, was
Medard Chouart, but he is as little known by that name as Voltaire
was known by his real name of Arouet, he being always spoken of
by the name of des Groseillers, changed in one aflfidavit into * Goose-
berry,' the name literally translated into English being * gooseberry
bushes.' " — Canadian Archives, Report for 1895, p. 22.

24 The Mississippi

Radisson was also a Frenchman, hailing from St. Malo,
in Brittany. While a boy in his teens, his parents
brought him to Three Rivers, a settlement on the north-
ern bank of the St. Lawrence, about midway between
Quebec and Montreal. The date of the arrival of the
Radissons is fixed by the fact that Groseilliers mar-
ried Marguerite Radisson shortly after their coming
to the country (1651). Radisson had been a sailor,
even in youth, and knew most of the ports of the
Mediterranean. He had visited Paris, and during a
lengthy stay in London had acquired the English lan-
guage,— not alone a grammatical knowledge, but an
idiomatic and colloquial acquaintance, as his written
narratives prove. One year after his arrival in
Canada, Radisson, while on a hunting expedition, fell
into the hands of a band of Iroquois and was taken by
the Indians to a point in what is now Central New
York, on the Mohawk River. At the end of a year,
he escaped to Fort Orange (now Albany) , came down
the river to New Amsterdam, whence he sailed to Hol-
land. Radisson returned to Three Rivers in the spring
of 1654, at which point our interest in his "voyages "
begins. Groseilliers, as the elder man, appears to have
been accorded command, although Radisson was much
the better type of coureur des hois. In the two expedi-
tions, for profit rather than fame, that these two com-
mercial adventurers made between 1654 and 1660, they
penetrated beyond the great lakes of JNIichigan and
Superior into what is now Minnesota territoiy. The
claims set forth in the Radisson manuscripts to
having descended " the great river " to the sea or of
having travelled as far north as Hudson Bay need
not be discussed. The first is probably a boast

■ ^fTre^'TmO^ ^CJ-a

" fw*t* H^

^X^^«^/

^^,

-••V** ^»tM^/—

lUXjJ^^ ^^—hUj a^j^nri^ f^f^tji^

mte>^ (t-x- «/u«vV& dm^^^xj o-M-'Xi f^ e,.Ji> /C-AT-' 'Hf'^/^SS'' "" •'^^ .^isb . .^^ ^^^.^^f- aj£ij^(j^

■^

A Pao-e of the Kadisson Manuscript.

Photographed at Bodleian Library, Oxford, England, under Direction

of Hon. W. E. Lee.

(Courtesy of J. V. Brower.)

v>,^<' rlii*^ ji-r ,»tA' a^,

The French Explorations 25

and the second is unimportant in connection with the
Mississippi.

With the generous permission of Mr. Upham, who
has placed at my disposal the fruits of years of re-
search and travel, I shall summarise an exhaustive
treatise on the narratives of these " first white men in
Minnesota " based upon a series of addresses recently
delivered by him before the Minnesota Historical
Society.^

Radisson " married upward," securing for wife the
daughter of John Kirke, who soon after became a di-
rector in the Hudson Bay Company. That corpora-
tion, which received its charter from Charles II. as
late as 1670, had been doing business in a practical
manner for many years prior to that date. Radisson
had joined interests with the pioneers of that company,
and, with his brother-in-law, had gone to England to
put up a good front for the acquisition of the charter.
But Radisson was at heart a Frenchman and he was
not a tractable employee of the Hudson Bay Company.
In 1674, he kicked over the traces and transferred his
allegiance again to France, taking with him his in-
separable companion, and for ten years did everj^thing
that he believed would advance the interests of his na-
tive land. He went so far as to establish a French
trading post near the mouth of the Nelson River and
to turn pirate by seizing a New England ship that had
penetrated into Hudson Bay. This high-handed act
led to negotiations between the two nations, in which
Groseilliers and Radisson were " turned down " by the

1 Published in Minnesota Historical Society Collections, vol. x.,
Part II., pp. 449-594. The maps in this chapter are used by the
courtesy of Mr. Upham and the Minnesota Historical Society. — J.C.

26 The Mississippi

French. They harked hack to their Enghsh friends
and were welcomed with open arms. No doubt,
Radisson's father-in-law had much to do with that re-
ception and for the forgiveness of the past. In a few
lines of the " Narratives," Radisson states his own feel-
ings, although he does not speak for his companion.
He writes: " In May, 1684, I passed over to England
for good; so intent was I on engaging myself to the
service of his INIajesty, and to the interests of the Na-
tion, that any other consideration was never able to
detach me from it." Groseilliers, ever a Frenchman,
refused the overtures of the Hudson Bay Compan}'",
and at this parting of the ways the two brothers-in-law
separated for ever. Groseilliers drops out of history
as does Civilis, the great Batavian, afoot upon the dis-
connected bridge over the Wahal at the end of the Sixth
Book of Tacitus's History.

What these two men had previously accomplished
in six years (1654 to 1660) cannot be overlooked by
any historian of North American development. Our
interest in their *' voyages " begins with the first west-
ern expedition of the two Frenchmen, which occupies
pages 134 to 172 in the Prince Society's publication.
Radisson, the chronicler, overlooked the importance of
the discovery of the Upper JNIississippi, because he en-
titles his Narrative " The Auxoticiat Voyage into the
Great and filthy Lake of the Hurrons, Upper Sea of
the East, and Bay of the North." The date of start-
ing is not set down, but it is certain that it occurred
in the fall of 1654, because Radisson had returned from
France in the spring of that year. They ascended the
Ottawa River, with a small company of Hurons and
Ottawas, by way of Nipissing to what is now known

The French Explorations

as Georgian Bay. Stopping at all trading posts, the
Frenchmen passed that winter in the neighbourhood of
the Strait of Mackinac. Radisson praises the beauty
of Lake Huron ; some of the expeditions were extended
as far as Green Bay,
Lake Michigan.
Early in the spring
of 1655, the two ad-
venturers went to
the southern end of
Green Bay, as-
cended the Fox
River through Lake
Winnebago, ad-
vanced across Wis-
consin, and entered

the Mississippi near the site of Prairie du Chien.
Thence the explorers ascended the Mississippi through
Lake Pepin to Isle Pelee (or Bald Island), now
known as Prairie Island, on the Minnesota side
of the main channel a short distance above Red Wing.
Their stay lasted from April or May, 1655, to June,
1656, about fourteen months.

Investigations made by Upham and Brower regard-
ing the year passed by Groseilliers and Radisson on
Prairie Island have done so much to clear up the mys-
tery that enveloped the Jesuit " Relations " and the
Radisson diaries that we cannot do better than quote
the XJpham address on this point:

On this island, which derived its names, both in French
and English, from its being mostly a prairie, a large number
of Hurons and Ottawas, fleeing from their enemies, the Iro-
quois, had recently taken refuge, and had begun the cultiva-

The Mississippi

tion of corn. Their harvest the preceding year, on newly
worked land, was small; but much corn would be needed for
food during the long journey thence to Quebec with beaver
skins, which canoe voyage, requiring a month or more, Groseil-
liers and Radisson wished to begin soon after their arrival

at the island. They were obliged to remain till the next
year, and Groseilliers spent the summer on Trairie Island and
in its vicinity, one of his chief objects being to provide a large
(supply of corn for the return journey. Meanwhile Radisson

The French Explorations 29

went with hunting parties, and travelled " four months . . .
without doing anything but go from river to river." He was
enamoured of the beauty and fertility of the country, and was
astonished at its herds of buffaloes and antelopes, flocks of
pelicans, and the shovel-nosed sturgeon, all of which he partic-
ularly described. Such was the first year, 1655, of observa-
tions and exploration by white men in Minnesota, and their
earliest navigation of the upper part of the Mississippi River.

During the summer of 1655, while Groseilliers was
planting, tending, and harvesting corn for the return
journey of himself and his attendants in the following
3^ear, Radisson occupied four months of the season in
hunting excursions. His account of these trips is so
general as not to be satisfactory. Apparently, he de-
sired to have posterity believe that he had descended
the great river to the Gulf of Mexico. Here is a
verbatim transcript:

We weare 4 moneths in our voyage without doeing anything
but goe from river to river. We mett severall sorts of people.
We conversed with them, being long time in alliance with
them. By the persuasion of som of them we went into the
great river that divides itselfe in 2, where the hurrons with
some Ottanake & the wildmen that had warrs with them had
retired. There is not great difference in their language, as
we weare told. This nation have warrs against those of [the]
forked river. It is so called because it has 2 branches, the
one towards the west, the other towards the South, which we
believe runns towards Mexico, by the tokens they gave us. Being
among these people, they told us the prisoners they take tells
them that they have warrs against a nation, against men that
build great cabbans & have great beards & had such knives
as we had. Moreover they shewed a Decad of beads & guilded
pearls that they have had from that people, which made us
believe they weare Europeans. They shewed one of that na-
tion that was taken the yeare before. We understood him

30 The Mississippi

not; he was much more tawny than they with whome we
weare. His armes & leggs weare turned outside; that was
the punishment inflicted uppon him. So they doe with them
that they take, & kill them with clubbs & doe often eat them.
They doe not burne their prisoners as those of the northern
parts.

We weare informed of that nation that live in the other
river. These weare men of extraordinary height & biggnesse,
that made us believe they had no communication with them.
They live onely uppon Corne & Citrulles [pumpkins], which
are mighty bigg. They have fish in plenty throughout the
yeare. They have fruit as big as the heart of on Oriniak,
which grows on vast trees which in compasse are three arnie-
full in compasse. When they see litle men they are afraid
& cry out, which makes many come help them. Their arrows
are not of stones as ours are, but of fish boans & other boans
that they worke greatly, as all other things. Their dishes are
made of wood. I having seene them, could not but admire
the curiosity of their worke. They have great calumetts of
great stones, red and greene. They make a store of tobacco.
They have a kind of drink that makes them mad for a whole
day. This I have not seene, therefore you may believe as you
please.

Mr, Upliam concludes from this narrative that the
Radisson party travelled south-eastward, through what
is now Illinois, " going by portages from one river to
another, until they reached the Illinois River, ' that
divides itself in two,' so described, apparently, because
it is formed by the junction of the Des Plaines and
the Kankakee, each an important canoe route." De-
scending the Illinois to the Mississippi, Radisson prob-
ably went as far south as the junction of the big muddy
Missouri, referred to as an important canoe route
" toward the west." Upham concludes that neither
Groseilliers nor Radisson was aware that the river upon

The French Explorations 31

which they were encamped, at Prairie Island, was the
eastern or main branch of their " forked river."

The great council held on Prairie Island, prior to
the return of the Frenchmen to civilisation, must al-
ways command a place in the early history of the
Mississippi Valley. It bears so many earmarks of
veritability that Radisson must be acquitted of ex-
aggeration in this instance, if not in some others.
Probably five hundred Indians of various tribes had
assembled, with their flotilla of birch canoes, to accom-
pany the two Frenchmen to Lower Canada. The
Hurons, who had accompanied the traders the previous
year, were afraid of their enemies, then upon the war
paths along the route. The dangers of the return
journey took away the courage of the Indians, and they
began to talk about waiting until another year. But
Radisson, as soon as the " Council of Braves " was
assembled, harangued it.

This incident occurred toward the latter part of
June. Mr. Upham says:

What a scene for a painter to depict Groseilliers and Radis-
son pleading before eight hundred Indians! On each side,
two miles away, rise the wooded bluffs that inclose this valley
and its islands. In a beautiful prairie area, the motley crowd
of savages are sitting or lying upon the ground. At the
centre of the assemblage, these two courageous Frenchmen
are striving to persuade their dusky auditors to set out on
the first commercial venture connecting this region with
civilisation.

The eloquence of Radisson prevailed. Accom-
panied by several hundred Hurons and other Algon-
quins (Radisson says five hundred) , and " carrying a

32 The Mississippi

most welcome freight of furs," Groseilliers and Radis-
son arrived in Montreal and Quebec in August, 1656.

The second western expedition of Groseilliers and
Radisson did not occur until two or three years later.
Historians never will agree whether the two French-
men started in 1658 or 1659, although the Radisson
account explicitly enumerates the events of two years,
which perforce would have marked the summer of 1658
as the time at which the journey began, because the
return of the party in August, 1660, is proved by sev-
eral concurring records. Again there is a clash with
the " Journal " of the Jesuit Fathers, which indicates
that the party was away only one year. Upham
charges Radisson with deliberately adding a year dur-
ing which he asserted that he made a journey to Hud-
son Bay. In any event, the charge does not affect the
Groseilliers and Radisson explorations in northern Min-
nesota. The Jesuits might not have known of the year's
voyaging to the far North. Upham insists that records
at Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec show that the
party was absent about twelve months. That is vital, so
far as affecting the credibility of the alleged Hudson
Bay trip, but it does not concern the parts of the
Radisson narrative that interest us.

After more elaborate preparations than on the first
journey beyond Lake Superior, the two brothers-in-law
paddled away from Three Rivers amid the darkness of
night, because the Governor of Quebec, Argensoh, had
expressly refused to sanction the expedition on terms
proposed by the explorers and had followed that re-
fusal with a specific prohibition. The journey up the
Ottawa River was attended by several skirmishes with
roving bands of Iroquois. Some of the best written

The French Explorations S3

passages in Radisson are his descriptions of the craft
and wariness of Indian warfare; he understood the ab-
original nature as well as Fenimore Cooper. Twenty-
two days of frequent danger and constant hardship
brought the canoe flotilla into Georgian Bay, which
Radisson describes as " a sweet sea." Following the
east coast northward they came to the Sault Ste.
jMarie, " overflowing from Lake Superior." Jean
Nicolet, with seven Huron canoemen, had ascended the
Sault just twenty-five years before (1634), and had
cast the first European eyes upon " The Big Sea
Water," — as Superior was knowTi to the Indian tribes
of the region. Groseilliers and Radisson became the
first white men to navigate its length and to enter the
territory now known as northern Wisconsin and Min-
nesota. Radisson's description of the landmarks along
the south coast of Superior are accurate and prove his
presence there. He makes first mention of the high
sand dunes near Point au Sable, about one hundred
miles beyond the Sault. Fifteen miles farther, south-
westward from Point au Sable, he locates with ac-
curacy the Grand Portal, or Arched Rock, a natural
wonder to this day. Also, the Keweenaw peninsula,
which projects fifty miles into the lake, and the portage,
which saved eight days' paddling around the head-
land, are described. Five days of canoeing beyond the
western end of the Keweenaw portage brought the
voyageurs to a camp of Crees, on the shore, where they
were welcomed. A few days later, at the mouth of
the Montreal River, some boats' crews of Ojibw^as, the
men in which had voyaged with the party from the
Sault, turned their boats into that stream, returning
to their own country. The main party, however, con-

34 The Mississippi

tinued westward along the coast half a day's paddling
to Chequamegon Bay, which became their base for de-
parture inland and for their subsequent return home-
ward. This headquarters was about the site of the
present town of Ashland.

A stockade was erected, to protect the party from
sudden attacks by the natives, until a start for the
interior could be made. Having arrived so late in the
fall, the determination of the Frenchmen not to winter
on the coast is inexplicable. They had heard of a
large Indian settlement about sixty miles in the direc-
tion of the St. Croix River, by which in the spring
they intended to descend to the Mississippi. This
community was on the shore of what was later called
" Ottawa Lake." It is now identified as Lac Courte
Oreille. The natives of the tribe had not among them
an organising mind like that of Groseilliers at Prairie
Island to prepare a store of corn for the bleak winter:
the result was that the Frenchmen and their carriers
became a further addition to the half-starving settle-
ment before the rigours of winter began. The situation
grew rapidly worse. Those who have doubted the ac-
curacy of " The Famine," as portrayed in Longfellow's
Hiawatha^ will do well to compare the poem with
Radisson's account of the sufferings of himself and
party that winter. According to Upham, " the narra-
tion shows that the winter began while Groseilliers and
Radisson were guests, as we may say, of the Huron and
Menominee Indians, probably at Lac Courte Oreille,
near Hayward, Wisconsin. The first snowfall, and the
ensuing separation of the Indians into parties of two
or three for procuring sustenance by hunting, took place,
as we must suppose, in the later part of October or

The French Explorations 35

early November, 1659. Two months and a half later,
that is, shortly after New Year's day of 1660, they came
together at ' the small lake, the place of rendezvous ' in
the country of the Sioux."

Radisson's description of the reassembling and the
famine that followed, turned into modern English, is
highly realistic:

We are come to the small lake, the place of rendezvous,
where we found some people who had preceded us. We built
huts, waiting for those that came in day by day. We re-
mained fourteen days at this place, dismal as a churchyard;
for a heavy snow fell, preceded by mist that caused the snow
to stick to the rough-barked trees. The snow was so fine that
it would not bear our weight and although we made racketts
six feet long and a foot and a half broad we could not travel
upon them.

The famine grew worse daily. Beasts of the forests had
been frightened away, hunting was unprofitable. To augment
our misery, we received news from the Octanaks, a tribe of
one hundred and fifty, including women and children. They
had had a quarrel with the Hurons on the island where we
had been some years before in the Lake of the Staring Hairs
[Bois Blanc Island, as identified by Campbell, in Lake Huron.
— Upham], threatening to make war upon them in the coming
summer. Did they bring anything upon which to subsist?
Nothing; they are worse provided than are we: not having
any huntsmen, they are reduced to famine. O, cursed covet-
ousness, what art thou going to do? It were far better that
a company of rogues perish than that we be in danger of a
fate so cruel. They kept victuals from their own poor child-
ren, those dogs. They are the cursedest, unablest, and
cowardliest people I have seen amongst fourscore nations!
Every one cries with hunger; the women become barren and
the breasts of nursing mothers dry like wood. You men must
eat the bow-string, seeing you have not strength to use the
bow. Children, you must die! Ye French, who call your-

36 The Mississippi

selves Gods of the earth, hoping to make yourselves feared;
but you, too, shall taste of this bitterness.

Oh ! If the music we hear could give to us hope : we need
not for lamentable sounds nor sad spectacles. In the morn-
ing, the husband looks upon his wife, the brother upon his
sister, the cousin upon cousin, the uncle upon nephew found
dead in their cabins. The living languish with cries and hide-
ous lamentations. Good God, have mercy upon these unfortu-
nate, innocent people ! Of us that acknowledge Thee and have
offended, punish us ! True, we also have the executioner among
us. Those of us that are able, seek roots which are found
with much difficulty. The earth is frozen two and three feet
deep and the snow lies five and six feet upon it. Our chief
subsistence is a vine with a rind that grows upon trees like
ivy. We cut this vine into short pieces, boil them until the
skin loosens. This we dry in the smoke and grind to powder
between two stones, making a broth. It causes much thirst,
however.

We ate our dogs during the first fortnight. Next, we de-
voured the pelts we had reserved for shoes, clothes, and socks,
especially the beaver skins that were the walls of our cottages.
We burned off the hair upon the coals. All these abhorrent
things, we devoured. So eagerly did we eat that our gums
did bleed! The bark mentioned was our only food the rest
of the sorrowful time. We finally became images of Death!
We frequently mistook ourselves, taking the living for the
dead and the dead for the living. We wanted strength to
draw our friends out of the cabins, and when we had to do
so it was to put them four paces in the snow. At the end,
the wrath of God begins to be appeased. A large volume
would not contain the details of our sufferings. There were
above five hundred dead, — men, women, and children. When
we had abandoned hope, a few small, lean stags came our
way. They were easily run down, because their feet stuck
in the deep snow. Their throats were readily cut. I forgot
to mention that the wildmen [Indians] charged us with having
food surreptitiously brought to us by devils. Our sufferings
were as great as any, but we did not give up, as did the
natives.

The French Explorations

Except for the fact that the Radisson manuscripts
were not discovered at Oxford until many years after
Longfellow had published Hiawatha, the presumption
would be fair that he had drawn his facts and inspiration
from them. Here is Canto XX., entitled " The Famine" :

O the long and dreary Winter!
O the cold and cruel Winter!
Ever thicker, thicker, thicker
Froze the ice on lake and river,
Ever deeper, deeper, deeper
Fell the snow o'er all the land-
scape.
Fell the covering snow, and

drifted
Through the forest, round the
village.
Hardly from his buried wig-
wam
Could the hunter force a passage ;
With his mittens and his snow-
shoes
Vainly walked he through the for-
est.
Sought for bird or beast and

found none,
Saw no track of deer or rabbit,
In the snow beheld no footprints,
In the ghastly, gleaming forest
Fell, and could not rise from

weakness.
Perished there from cold and hun-
ger.
0 the famine and the fever!
O the wasting of the famine!
O the blasting of the fever!
O the wailing of the children!
O the anguish of the women!
All the earth was sick and
famished;
Hungry was the air around them.
Hungry was the sky above them,
And the hungry stars in heaven
Like the eyes of wolves glared at
them!
Into Hiawatha's wigwam
Came two other guests, as silent
As the ghosts were, and as

gloomy,
Waited not to be invited,
Did not parley at the doorway,
Sat there without word of wel-

In the seat of Laughing Water;

Looked with haggard eyes and
hollow

At the face of Laughing Water.
And the foremost said : " Be-
hold me!

I am Famine, Bukadawin! "

And the other said : " Behold me !

I am Fever, Ahkosewin ! "
And the lovely Minnehaha

Shuddered as they looked upon
her.

Shuddered at the words they ut-
tered,

Lay down on her bed in silence.

Hid her face, but made no answer;

Lay there trembling, freezing,
burning

At the looks they cast upon her,

At the fearful words they uttered.
Forth into the empty forest

Rushed the maddened Hiawatha;

In his heart was deadly sorrow.

In his face a stony firmness;

On his brow the sweat of anguish

Started, but it froze and fell not.

" Gitche Manito the Mighty! "
Cried he with his face uplifted
In that bitter hour of anguish,
" Give your children food, O

father!
Give us food, or we must perish !
Give me food for Minnehaha,
For my dying Minnehaha! "

Through the far - resounding
forest.
Through the forest vast and va-
cant
Rang that cry of desolation.
But there came no other answer
Than the echo of his crying,
Than the echo of the woodlands,
" Minnehaha! Minnehaha! "

In the wigwam with Nokomis,

The Mississippi

With those gloomy guests, that

watched her,
With the Famine and the Fever,
She was lying, the Beloved,
She the dying Minnehaha.
"Hark!" she said; "I hear a

rushing,
Hear a roaring and a rushing,
Hear the Falls of Minnehaha
Calling to me from a distance! "
" No, my child ! " said old Noko-

mis,
" 'T is the night-wind in the pine-

"Look! "she said; "I see my

father
Standing lonely at his doorway,
Beckoning to me from his wig-
wam
In the land of the Dacotahs ! "
" No, my child ! " said old Noko-

mis,
" 'T is the smoke, that waves and

beckons ! "
" Ah ! " she said, " the eyes of

Pauguk
Glare upon me in the darkness,
I can feel his icy fingers
Clasping mine amid the darkness!
Hiawatha! Hiawatha!"

And the desolate Hiawatha,
Far away amid the forest,
Miles away among the mountains.
Heard that sudden cry of anguish,
Heard the voice of Minnehaha
Calling to him in the darkness,
" Hiawatha ! Hiawatha ! "

Over snow-fields waste and

pathless,
Under snow-encumbered branches,
Homeward hurried Hiawatha,
Empty-handed, heavy-hearted,
Heard Nokomis moaning, Vv^aiimg:
" Wahonowin ! Wahonowin !
Would that I had perished for

you,

Would that I were dead as you

are!
Wahonowin ! Wahonowin ! "
And he rushed into the wig-
wam,
Saw the old Nokomis slowly
Rocking to and fro and moaning.
Saw his lovely Minnehaha
Lying dead and cold before him.
And his bursting heart within

him
Uttered such a cry of anguish,
That the forest moaned and shud-
dered,
That the very stars in heaven
Shook and trembled with his an-
guish.
Then he sat down, still and
speechless,
On the bed of Minnehaha,
At the feet of Laughing Water,
At those willing feet, that never
More would lightly run to meet

him,
Nevermore would lightly follow.
With both hands his face he
covered,
Seven long days and nights he

sat there,
As if in a swoon he sat there,
Speechless, motionless, uncon-
scious
Of the daylight or the darkness.
Then they buried Minnehaha;
In the snow a grave they made

her.
In the forest deep and darksome,
Underneath the moaning hem-
locks;
Clothed her in her richest gar-
ments,
Wrapped her in her robes of

ermine.
Covered her with snow, like er-
mine;
Thus they buried Minnehaha.

Warren Upham and J. V. B rower agree that the
" small lake " was Knife Lake, Minnesota, about fif-
teen miles south-east from Mille Lacs, the latter a large
body of shallow water, with numerous islands, that

The French Explorations 39

drains southward into the Mississippi through the Rum
River. Knife Lake is about ninety miles due west of
Lac Courte Oreille. Had the river St. Croix not been
frozen, the party could have descended to their former
home on Prairie Island, where, no doubt, they would
have had to reconquer the lands from the Sioux that
had driven away the Hurons, whom the Frenchmen had
left in possession three years before. As Radisson re-
ports, five hundred people died of famine and pestilence
at the Knife Lake settlement that winter! He and
Groseilliers narrowly escaped the same fate.

When spring came, the Frenchmen were as intent
as they had originally been upon a great feast for the
Indians of the surrounding country. Prior to going
into winter quarters they had sent word to the eighteen
settlements of Sioux, also to the O jib was, and they now
summoned the Crees from the shore of Lake Superior.
That feast caused native and foreigner alike to forget
the terrible winter. Radisson's account of the enter-
tainment would do credit to a society writer. Groseil-
liers and Radisson were famous among the natives as
" chin-chin men." The latter of the two strangers was
the better orator but the former was probablj^ more
familiar with the Indian languages. The eifect of the
three weeks' entertainment by the two Frenchmen was
felt among the Crees and Dakotas for two hundred
years! It probably saved thousands of human lives, as
white settlers began to enter the " wildman's countiy,'*
and it made missionary work among the natives less
dangerous.

At the close of the feast, Groseilliers and Radisson,
inseparable on this journey, accompanied the Tinton-
wan Sioux bands on a visit to their homes, far to the

40 The Mississippi

westward of the Mississippi. Their route is not as
clearly defined as could be wished, but authorities agree
that the party descended the Rum River to the Missis-
sippi at the present site of Anoka, thence by a land
route to the Minnesota River, which was ascended to the
prairie country/ Mr. J. V. Brower, to whom the peo-
ple of United States owe Itasca Park, at the sources
of the Mississippi, argued that the Frenchmen returned
with their Sioux hosts to the sources of Crow River,
which joins the Mississippi eight miles above Anoka,
and did not go near the Minnesota River. It will be
noticed on a map that the Minnesota makes a long
detour to the southward before it starts upon its north-
westerly course. B rower's argument is based upon the
non-reference of Radisson to St. Anthony's Falls, a
very tenable reason. Whichever route they travelled
to " the Sioux of Buffalo Land " they are believed to
have returned by the Minnesota and to have encamped
under the bluff upon which Saint Paul stands. The
rocky heights of Fort Snelling did not have the
picturesque, casemated castle that afterward crowned
them.

The return to the stockade at Chequamegon Bay,
Lake Superior, was made by very much the same route
as that over which they had entered the country. At
this point appear several irreconcilable points in the
narrative, — probably due to changes subsequently
made to introduce the Hudson Bay " diversion," which
the best of evidence proves never occurred. But it
appears credible that in the early part of 1660, the

1 Mr. Upham discusses the mystery of non-reference to St. An-
thony's Falls by Radisson in Minnesota Historical Society Collections,
vol. X., Part II, pp. 502-503.— J. C.

The French Explorations 41

western end of Lake Superior was encumbered with
broken ice. Mr. Upham cites a paper read before the
Minnesota Historical Society in 1898 by John R. Carey,
in which the statement is made that he, the speaker,
*' knew two men who got off a steamboat that had been
stuck in the ice in sight of Duluth for several days, on
June 9th, about forty years ago, and walked to the
shore, a distance of six miles." Residents of Duluth
assure me that such conditions are very exceptional.
But Groseilliers and Radisson pushed their way across
the western end of Lake Superior that June, to trade
with pelt hunters of the St. Louis River, not far from
the present site of the town of Two Harbours. The
Frenchmen returned to their base on Chequamegon Bay
and outfitted for the seven or eight weeks' homeward
journey to Three Rivers. There is no available space
to give to that voyage.

The importance of the two expeditions of Groseil-
liers and Radisson is such that it is not greatly dwarfed
by the incontestable fact that they failed to realise
the magnitude of their discoveries. Radisson was not
the braggart that others who followed him became.
For genuine pioneership these Frenchmen stand un-
challenged. Radisson also belongs to literature, because
modern spelling and a moderate resort to the blue pen-
cil— the lash under which all inexperienced writers of
diaries have to go — would render some of his work
equal to I'arkman or the best of Cooper. Groseilliers
and Radisson have left their footprints so plainly in
Wisconsia and Minnesota that time never will efface
them.

Mr. Upham sums up the work of these two men
admirably when he says:

42 The Mississippi

Among all the very interesting records of negotiations and
treaties of " peace and union/' made with the Indians of the
North-west by forerunners and agents of the French fur-trade,
none is more picturesque and dramatic than this. In the late
autumn or winter of 1634-35, Jean Nicolet, wearing a fan-
tastic silken Chinese vestment, met the Winnebago Indians
for a ceremonious conference, in the vague belief that their
country might border on the farthest eastern parts of Asia.
In 1660, Groseilliers and Kadisson, as we have seen, probably
within the area of Kanabec county, in the east central part
of Minnesota, taught to the Sioux and the Crees, previously
hostile to each other, peace and friendship toward the French.
In 1679, Du Luth ceremoniously planted the arms of France
in the great village of the Isanti tribe at Mille Lacs, and in
other Sioux villages of north-eastern Minnesota, none of which,
as he says, had been before visited by any Frenchman; and
on the 15th of September in that year, at the west end of
Lake Superior, he negotiated a great treaty with the as-
sembled tribes of the north, inducing them to make peace
with the Sioux, " their common enemy." During the remain-
ing years of the seventeenth century, Perrot, in 1689, at Fort
St. Antoine, on the Wisconsin shore of Lake Pepin, and Le
Sueur in 1693 at Chequamegon Bay, later at his trading post
built on Prairie Island in 1695 according to the command of
the Governor of Canada, and again in the winter of 1700 at
his Fort L'Huillier, on the Blue Earth River, were conspicuous
by their efforts to maintain peace among the Indian tribes,
loyalty to the French, and consequent extension and prosperity
of the fur-trade.

We may thank Radisson for his particular care to describe
the Sioux who attended the great feast. He thus gave the
earliest portrayal of the characteristics of that people, the
aboriginal owners of the greater part of Minnesota. It is to
be regretted, however, that he recorded only a very meagre
account of the ensuing visit of these French traders with the
Sioux of the Buffalo Prairies ("the Nation of the Beef")
in their own country.

The French Explorations 43

III — ALLOUEZ FINDS A NAME

The pioneer voyages of Groseilliers and Radisson
had been inspired by hope of commercial gain; but we
are now to witness the powerful influence of religion
in the field of exploration.

When the flotilla of native canoes that came every
spring to French settlements on the St. Lawrence was
ready in the autumn of 1665 to begin the homeward
voyage to " The Big Sea Water," Father Allouez
joined it.

The party arrived at the Sault Ste. Marie on Sep-
tember 2d. Before the great lake froze, Allouez had
proceeded to the western end of Superior and had
planted a cross and founded a mission at La Pointe,
on Chequamegon Bay, near the site of the present town
of Ashland. Of the hardships of that long trip, no
record remains. Diplomatist, as well as priest, Al-
louez made friends with eight hundred Algonquin war-
riors in the neighbourhood of La Pointe and took sides
with them against their traditional enemies, the Iro-
quois. He recognised the efficacy of the war club, the
tomahawk, and the arrow when needed to convince a
foe of error. During his intercourse with various tribes
along the coast of the Gitche Gumee ("The Shining
Big Sea Water ") , Allouez first heard the name " Mis-
sipi" applied to "The Great Running Water." He was
of opinion that the river flowed into the Sea of Vir-
ginia (Chesapeake). It is significant that neither
Groseilliers nor Radisson had brought back that name!
Lack of knowledge of the languages of the region may
explain, but hardly to the satisfaction of doubters.

44 The Mississippi

At the Sault Ste. Marie mission. Fathers Marquette
and Dablon had been labouring for two years before the
former was despatched westward to La Pointe in Sep-
tember, 1669, to reheve Allouez, who voyaged to the
head of Green Bay, on Lake Michigan, to exert the
reformatory influences of rehgion upon a band of
French coureurs de hois that had demorahsed the na-
tive of that locahty. Allouez arrived in early winter
and established the mission of St. Francis Xavier among
the Pottawattomies. In the spring of 1670, he as-
cended the Fox River, portaged to the head of the Wis-
consin, which, he recorded in his next report to Quebec,
" led to the great river ' Messisipi,' six days' journey
by canoe." The Jesuit "Relation " of the years 1669-70,
to which we shall have occasion to refer frequently,
specifically mentions this river again, Allouez adding:
*' It is more than a league [2.76 miles] wide, and flows
from North to South. The natives never have reached
its mouth: none of them knows whether it empties into
the Gulf of Florida or the Vermilion Sea" (Gulf of
California).

This information is somewhat more definite than
had been learned four years previously by the same
missionary, when he had first heard the name " Mis-
sipi." This earnest man filled Marquette's mind with
a sincere longing to become an explorer. Accounts of
the great stream had appeared in the " Relations,'*
compiled at Quebec from the reports of Jesuit Fathers
(Allouez does not appear to have heard of Groseil-
liers and Radisson), and, as he supposed, Marquette
determined to be first of all white men upon the river.
He wrote, " If I get a canoe which the natives have
promised to make for me, I intend to navigate this

The French Explorations 45

stream, to meet the tribes far down its course, and to
decide the ultimate direction of its flow." He added
that he would take with him a Frenchman (probably
a converted coureur de hois) who spoke the languages
of the natives. He uses the full word " Mississippi,"
variously spelled. The " Relation " of 1671 reports
that Indians who had seen both rivers declared
that " for more than three hundred leagues from
its mouth it is wider than the St. Lawrence at
Quebec."

A new name of which we shall hear much, that of
Louis Joliet, comes to the fore. An expedition to the
Great Lakes, in search of copper mines, led by him,
had returned, unsuccessful. In the spring of 1671, we
hear of him as a member of the imposing pageant
headed by Simon Fran9ois Daumont, Sieur St, Lus-
son, sent to the Sault Ste. Marie to impress the natives
with the majesty and glory of France. This cere-
monial, fully described in the " Relation " of 1671, oc-
curred on June 14th, of that year. At this durbar, or
function, St. Lusson " assumed power for the French
sovereign over all the territory from the North to the
South Sea and extending to the ocean on the west."
Not a signatory of that presumptuous document knew
the extent of the territory to which claim was made.
It had for fair precedent the bull of Alexander VI!
The four immortal names signed to that paper are the
Jesuit Fathers Claude Dablon, Louis Andre, Gabriel
Druillettes, and Claude Allouez. The masterly but
florid speech of Allouez to the assembled savages,
gathered from all parts of the Superior, Illinois, and
Michigan regions, is a classic. It was preserved by
Father Dablon. When the ceremonial ended, we hear

46 The Mississippi

nothing more of Louis Johet for two years, when he
and INIarquette loom large in history.

It is not necessary to attach great importance to
the only account that has come down to us of the ex-
pedition of the Spanish Governor of New Mexico, who,
at an unknown date in 1661, set out from Santa Fe
*' to visit the 'Quivera' Indians." The "Relation" is by
the hand of Father Nicholas Freytas, chronicler of the
expedition, and the only possible claim to credibility
that can be set up for it is that it mentions the name
of the great river. If that word were not interpolated
at a later date by some jealous rival of Father Allouez,
Frej^tas and not Allouez must be given credit for first
introducing the word " Mischipi " to the civilised world.
Here is the paragraph upon which the Freytas claim
stands or falls:

" Through these most pleasant and fertile fields we
marched during the months of IMarch, April, JMay, and
the kalends of June, and arrived at a large river which
they call ' Mischipi,' where we saw the first Indians
of the Escanxaques nation, who might be to the number
of three thousand, most warlike."

The almost conclusive argument against the Freytas
claim to first mention of this Algonquin name for the
Mississippi is that the Penalosa expedition did not pass
anywhere near the lands in which the Algonquins dwelt.
The name " Quiveras " does not appear in any other
" Relation." If they were adjacent to the Arkansas na-
tion, Tonty, La Salle, or Bienville would have been
very likely to have heard of them and to have left
some record of their location. The distance from Santa
Fe to the Mississippi, as the crow flies, is about eight
hundred miles, which assuredly might have been tra-

The French Explorations 47

versed in the hundred days claimed by the chronicler
for the undertaking. Governor Penalosa was the last
of the Spaniards for whom any original discovery asso-
ciated with the great American river has been claimed.
Father Freyias locates the Escanxaques as " having
north of them the Land of Fire " (i. e. the Maskoutens
country) .

IV — WONDERFUL LA SALLE !

A member of a rich Rouen family, Rene Robert
Cavelier, known to history as Sieur de la Salle, had
appeared at Montreal several years previously. He
had come ostensibly to visit a brother in Canada be-
longing to the Sulpitian order. Hennepin has declared
that this young man of twenty-three had been a Jesuit
novice in France, but not a particle of proof exists.
An early act of his was to join the Sulpitian Fathers;
next, he applied for and secured a grant of land, on
the St. Lawrence above the rapids — a site suggested
thirt}'^ years previously by Champlain for a trading post.
This was about 1667. He formed a small colony, built
a stockade, and began the life of a grand seigneur.
Some Senecas visited him for barter and the tales they
spun about a great river, faring south-west, that could
be followed for eight months to the sea, filled La Salle's
mind with a craze for exploration and wealth. As
Justin Winsor cleverly comments, the Seneca's story
" is comprehensible to-day by combining in one the
courses of the Alleghany, the Ohio, and the JMississippi ;
but to La Salle's imagination, it was a vision of the
great waterway that had been sought since the time of
Cartier." He cast religion to the winds!

48 The Mississippi

Mad with passion for fame and wealth, La Salle,
who had tied up his money in his stockaded post on
the St. Lawrence, hurried to Quebec in hope of rais-
ing funds. The Governor, Courcelles, gave him letters
patent of the broadest scope but nothing in money. He
returned to Montreal and organised a syndicate. Chief
among these associates was the Sieur de la Roussiliere.
La Salle seemed undecided in which direction to travel
but a Sulpitian priest, Dollier de Casson, threw the
deciding die. During the previous winter, passed in
the Nipissing country, he had picked up a renegade
French trooper who had claimed to have voyaged far
beyond the Great Lakes, and had inspired the local
head of the Sulpitians with the dream of pushing his
missions farther into the wilderness. The chief of the
Jesuits in Canada, Laval, happened to visit Montreal
(May 15, 1669) and readily gave to Father Dollier a
letter commanding the aid of all Jesuits, wherever met.
Laval suggested the valley of the Mississippi as a
future field.

La Salle converted his seigneury near Montreal into
cash and on July 6, 1669, with twenty men in seven
canoes, headed up the St. Lawrence. Galinee, one of
the party, left a journal of this trip, the manuscript
of which is now in the Bibliotheque Nationale, at Paris.
The expedition entered Lake Ontario and made a land-
ing at Irondequoit Bay, August 26th; but when La
Salle, Galinee, and others reached the Jesuit mission,
the priests of that order had gone away to Onondaga
(in what is now central New York) to attend a council.
In disappointment. La Salle returned to the lake and
passed the outlet of the Niagara River, without seeing
the falls, although Galinee says their roar was heard.

The French Explorations 49

Champlain had previously visited and described Niagara
(1603)/

At the western end of Lake Ontario, Louis Joliet
and Pere, returning from the copper prospecting tour
previously mentioned, were met. La Salle and Joliet,
nearly of an age and equally adventurous, struck up a
friendship at once. Here, the two priests, Dollier and
Galinee, broke away. La Salle was suffering from ill-
ness, caused, according to the sarcastic Galinee, " by a
sudden encounter with rattlesnakes," although he was
not bitten. It was really a split between the two mis-
sionaries and the men actuated only by commercial im-
pulses. The two Sulpitians portaged to Lake Erie and
upon its shore went into winter quarters. In the spring,
after many mishaps, Dollier and his companion pro-
ceeded up the Detroit River and reached the mission
at the Sault in May, 1670. Here, they found Fathers
IMarquette and Dablon. Laval's letter was not favour-
ably received there and the two wandering priests
returned to Montreal by the Ottawa route.

From the moment he parted mth Fathers Dollier
and Galinee, La Salle's movements become vague. He
was in eclipse for two years. Perhaps his reputation
unjustly suffers from the absence of a chronicler, like
Galinee. Many of his men deserted and returned to
JNIontreal. Where La Salle passed the two years that
intervened before his reappearance at Montreal is liter-
ally unknown! Margry, of Paris, courageously pub-

1 DES SA WAGES, OV VOYAGE DE SAMVEL CHAMPLAIN,
DE BROVAGE, a fait en la France nouuelle, Fan mil six cents
trois. A Paris, Chez CLAVDE DE MONSTR'OEILL, 1603. (Only
four copies known. One, owned by Mr. Mitchell Kennerley, recently
sold at auction in New York for $2900. — J. C.)

50 The Mississippi

lished a curious series of " Conversations " with La
Salle, said to have occurred in Paris in 1678, wherein
a claim is set up to the discovery of the Ohio River in
1670; and that he voyaged thereon as far as the Mis-
sissippi. Margry also asserts that, in 1671, La Salle
" went by Lake Michigan to the Chicago portage and,
by descending the Illinois River, again entered the
Mississippi." This would appear to have been spoken or
written by a man who was deficient in knowledge of
geography. Claims to two visits cannot be substan-
tiated. No information regarding the return routes
eastward in either the first or the second alleged trip
is presented. Gravier was a warm defender of La
Salle. Parkman believed the Frenchman descended the
Ohio as far as the falls and that his men deserted him
there, instead of at the Mississippi, as stated by Margry.
As a matter of fact, the Ohio rapids at Louisville are
readily run in canoes — the fall being only twenty-seven
feet in two and a half miles. Upon the slender thread
of an anonymous publication, impossible of verification,
rests La Salle's claim to have visited the upper
Mississippi ahead of Marquette.

The determination and energy of the man from
Rouen was such that he made two subsequent efforts
to reach the great river, the second from the Gulf of
Mexico. In this last voyage he was accompanied by
his brother, the Sulpitian priest, John Cavelier, whose
chronicle, as far as it goes, is wholly authenticated.

V — JOLIET AND MARQUETTE

Prior to the finding of the Radisson manuscripts
at Oxford, the claim of Joliet and JMarquette to a first

The French Explorations 51

sight of the upper Mississippi was uncontested, except
by the upholders of the La Salle contentions. There
had been arguments that Deguerre (1652), Drocoux
(1657), Allouez (1668), Pinet (1670), and Augustine
Meulan de Circe (1670) had visited the Mississippi by
the Illinois River route in the years mentioned. The
late Dr. Shea devoted many years of his life to clear-
ing up Marquette's record, and ultimately established
the credibility of the missionary's narrative. In the
statuary room of the Capitol at Washington stands a
marble effigy of the good priest who first explored the
river that gives name to the State of Wisconsin: it was
erected by the citizens of that State.

In far away Paris, Colbert never lost sight of the
vast possessions that lay beyond and south of the Great
Lakes of North America. His ambitions, if we are
to believe Charlevoix, exceeded his knowledge. Ap-
parently, the English had not detected his intention
to seize all North American territory as far as the Gulf
of California, into which he believed, as did nearly
everybody, that the widely heralded Mississippi emptied.

The Comte de Frontenac was Governor at Quebec.
Although a staunch Catholic, he hated the Jesuits.^ On
impulse, he is alleged to have stopped the publication
of their " Relations," a misfortune of the most lamen-
table character. Frontenac hoped to divert attention
from his own unpopularity in New France by sending
men to carry out Colbert's ambitious dreams. Joliet
had already been selected and he was responsible for
the choice of Father Marquette, a member of the order

'^Discovery of the Mississippi, John Gilmer Shea; Redfield, New
York, 1852. Also, Collections of the Wisconsin Historical Society,
vol. iii.

52 The Mississippi

that Frontenac feared and disliked. Joliet was a Cana-
dian, son of a waggon-smith; but the only man who
objected to the appointment was silenced by a reminder
that Paul of Tarsus was a tent-maker. Joliet had had
experience in the wilderness, as we know. La Salle,
who understood him, was absent on his vaguely-defined
visit to Ohio and Lake Michigan, and, unfortunately,
did not return until a month after Joliet's departure
in August, 1672. Joliet wintered at Mackinaw, where
he cultivated the acquaintance of Marquette, who had
been at the head of the Jesuit mission there for two
years. His experience among the natives exceeded that
of Joliet, and the latter fixed upon him as a valued
coadjutor. Whether or not Father Marquette secured
the consent of Monseigneur Laval to accompanj^ Fron-
tenac's agent, Joliet, may never be known, but he
decided to go.

Joliet was chief of the expedition; but Marquette
kept " the log," which accounts for the minor figure
that the former cuts in the narrative of this memorable
voyage. An opportunity presents itself to the writer
at this point to display vast erudition regarding the
peaceful conquest that the Governor of New France
was planning, but he puts it aside. A publishers' war
of the keenest sort between map-makers had broken
out in Europe. Sanson, the boldest guesser among
them, had issued a chart of the Great Lake region in
1669, in which he made Lake Michigan larger than
Superior.

Father Marquette's " Narrative," as printed by
Margry, of Paris, takes two forms. The text was
originally sent from the wilderness to Father Dablon,
at Quebec, and bv him embodied in his " Relation,"

The French Explorations 53

which was forwarded to Paris. The original was
retained at Quebec ; when the two versions were printed,
some discrepancies were pointed out. They are not
serious and do not affect the credibihty of the docu-
ments. Dr. John G. Shea first pubHshed Marquette's
journal in English.

The party started from Mackinaw in two large
canoes, seven men in all, on May 17, 1673, going by
the route to Green Bay that Jean Nicolet had followed
thirty-eight years before. Thence, they ascended the
Fox River, as Groseilliers and Radisson had done, and
made the mile and three quarters portage into the Wis-
consin River, — although Marquette does not appear to
have known its name. The narrative of that trip to
the Mississippi is so full of details that doubt of its
occurrence is removed. Every bend in the Wisconsin
and many of its natural features are mentioned.

The two canoes emerged from a sheltering head-
land upon the broad, swift current of the Mississippi
on June 17, 1673, — just one month after starting.
Marquette says he " found nineteen fathoms of water "
(one hundred and fourteen feet!), an error due to en-
thusiasm, doubtless. Remembering Father Allouez's
reports upon his return, he recorded the river's name
as " Missipi." The priest gives the latitude as 42l/^°
N., approximately correct. Prairie du Chien, which is
to-day near the mouth of that river, is in north latitude
43° 3', and the distance from the portage to that point
is one hundred and eighty miles.^

Marquette's party then descended the great river
and at a point below 40° (or about sixty leagues)

1 Marquette's Map on page 248, Justin Winsor's book. Houghton,
Mifflin & Co.

54 The Mississippi

they discovered a foot-path " leading into a beautiful
prairie." (Marquette doesn't say upon which bank,
although it becomes apparent later in the narrative.)
He and Joliet undertook to follow the trail alone.
They discovered an Indian village at the end of two
leagues (about five and a half miles). Near-by on a
river, were two other villages. The smaller stream upon
which these teepees stood would appear to have been
the Des Moines, which fixes the field of exploration in
what is now Iowa. Priest and trader were hospitably
received; they smoked the calumet and many speeches
were exchanged. Marquette causes the Illinois, who
were away from their home upon a hunting excursion,
to talk like the Mohicans in Fenimore Cooper's novels.
The sachem gave to the visitors a dog-feast.

The stay with the Illinois was brief, and toward the
end of June, priest and pelfer resumed their journey
with the current, noticing mulberry and persimmon
trees. They passed cliffs upon which were painted
the images of two monsters: these palisades are known
to this day as "the Painted Rocks," although the designs
that gave to them name have long vanished.

The entrance of the muddy, or coffee-hued, Missouri
is graphically described by Marquette, who, being
physicist as well as priest, reasoned that the Mississippi
was driven as nearly south as possible by the impetu-
osity of its added tributary from the north-west and
that its mouth was on the Gulf of ^lexico instead of
the Vermilion Sea. He so declared, without resei-vation,
and his opinion, formed by deduction, is almost as great
a mental triumph as was subsequent physical proof,
suppHed by Tonty and the Ursuline Sisterhood. As
every visitor to Saint Louis will recall, the waters of

The French Explorations 55

the two streams have not mixed, even at that point.
Marquette rightly conjectured that it would be possible
to ascend the Missouri and its tributaries and find a
portage into some great river that delivered its waters
into the Gulf of California. It was a good guess; the
headwaters of the Platte almost interlock with the
Colorado.

The site of Saint Louis was a dense forest. The
next great affluent entered from the east, twenty leagues
below the Missouri. It was the Ohio, known to the
natives as the Ouabache (Wabash). Joliet, or his
chronicler, does not record any traces of La Salle's pre-
vious visit to that place. They then " entered the mos-
quito country" as called in Chippewa-land to-day. Soon
after, they saw natives with fire-arms, the Chicachas,
who, after parleying, received the travellers. As other
voyagers had been told, Marquette was assured that not
more than ten days' journey separated them from the
sea. Everywhere, the natives were friendly, — indeed
they continued to be until the white man treated them
with injustice. The voyageurs redoubled their pad-
dling and arrived at Akamsea, the mouth of the
Arkansas River, which JMarquette locates 33° 40' N.
latitude, — probably not far from the Indian village of
Guachoya, where Hernando de Soto had breathed his
last, one hundred and thirty years before. It will be
recalled that the Spaniards under Moscoso, Soto's suc-
cessor, attained the mouth of the Mississippi from this
point after sixteen days. This would appear to prove
that Soto died near the mouth of the Arkansas, instead
of that of the Red River.

Here, again, Marquette was told that the sea was
" only ten days distant." Stories they heard about the

56 The Mississippi

warlike character of the tribes between Akamsea and the
Gulf and distrust of the Spaniards, into whose clutches
they must fall, caused priest and trader to agree that
the voyage had lasted long enough. A desire to send
his report of the trip to Quebec greatly influenced
Marquette; the Spaniards might seize the records and
prevent their use.

The return voyage was begun, therefore, on July
17, 1673. It may be disposed of in a few sentences.
Marquette turned into the IlHnois and passed by the
familiar route (of the present Chicago drainage canal)
to Lake Michigan. He was detained at the mission
of St. Francis Xavier, in Green Bay, during the en-
tire summer of 1674. In November of that year, he
set out for the Illinois country but an illness, from
which he had thought himself cured, returned, and " he
died gloriously at the age of thirty-eight years." His
last words were, " I believe that my Redeemer liveth."
The description of his last hours, near the site of the
present city of Chicago, by Father Dablon, is worthy
of any Uterature. Years later, some Kiskakon Indians,
dwelling at the Sault Ste. Marie, removed the body of
Father Marquette to the shrine he had established at
Mackinaw, — the church of St. Ignatius.

Joliet was welcomed on his arrival at the Sault
Ste. Marie. As he had been very ill, he wintered there
and went forward to Quebec in the summer. Joliet
lost all his records in the Lachine Rapids, where two
of his men were drowned.

VI — LA SAJLLE TRIES AGAIN

The reports that Joliet brought home threw La

The French Explorations 57

Salle into a white heat. He accepted Marquette's rea-
soning and Joliet's statements, based on talk with na-
tives at the Arkansas River, that the Gulf of Mexico
received the floods of the Mississippi. He hurried to
France and obtained a commission.

In the fall of 1675, Louis Hennepin, a Recollect
friar, arrived at Quebec from France. He was wel-
comed by Frontenac with joy as offering a foil for
the Jesuit dominance under which the Governor chafed.
La Salle came on the same ship with Hennepin. Also
on board was Duchesneau, the new Intendant, to re-
place Talon, sent as a spy upon Frontenac.

La Salle went to Fort Frontenac, at the western
end of Lake Ontario, under the terms of his grant and
spent thirty-five thousand livres in strengthening its
walls. Hennepin set up a mission among the Iroquois
near that fort. La Salle cherished dreams of curbing
the British advances to the south. His probable plan
was to open trade with the Mississippi, through the
Alleghany and Ohio rivers, but hostility of the natives
defeated it. La Salle suddenly departed for Quebec and
in November, 1677, sailed for France. There, he floated
on the high tide of success; he secured confirmation of
his seigneural rights at Fort Frontenac and convinced
his sovereign that the valuable peltry regions of the
West could be more easily reached from the new base
that he had created.

Money poured into his hands; but the greatest
treasure he secured in Paris was Henry Tonty, an
Italian soldier of fortune, who, in good or evil report,
for ever after remained staunch in his fidelity to and
respect for La Salle. To this day, the one-armed
Tonty is the hero of the Mississippi.

58 The Mississippi

Accompanied by Tonty, La Salle set sail from La
Rochelle in August, 1678, with fittings for a vessel
that was to be built on Lake Erie. At Quebec, after
a conference with Frontenac, La Salle decided to send
Cadillac and Hennepin ahead to the Illinois country
to establish food stations and arrange for trading posts
before his coming the following spring. Cadillac
stopped at the mouth of the Niagara River, where he
was well received by the Senecas, who " burned an In-
dian prisoner for his entertainment." La Salle and
Tonty joined Cadillac and together they selected the
mouth of Cayuga Creek, on Niagara River opposite
the Grand Island, as the place to lay the keel of a
fifty-ton (Tonty says forty-ton) vessel in which to navi-
gate the northern lakes. Leaving Tonty with a score
of ship-carpenters, La Salle went to the mouth of the
Niagara River, built a blockhouse named Foii; Conti,
and then to Fort Frontenac.

In May, the Griffon was launched, and for safety
from the Senecas was anchored offshore. She car-
ried five small guns.^ Tonty, with a small party, went
ahead by Lake Erie to the Strait (Detroit) where he
arrived August 10th. The bark, Griffon, started for
Detroit late in July and after much difficulty in get-
ting out the Niagara River into the lake, overtook the
Tonty party at the entrance to the " strait." All were
taken aboard. Without mishap, they sailed to Lake
Huron and anchored at Mackinaw on September 17,
1679. A start was made for the river of the Miamis

1 From this point we follow the " Relation of Henry de Tonty,
written from Quebec, Nov. 14, 1684, and addressed to Abbe Renau-
dot, who was his patron near the Prince de Conti and who introduced
Tonty to M. de La Salle."— Margry.

The French Explorations 59

(St. Joseph River) on October 5th, and coasting Lake
Michigan one hundred and twenty leagues they landed
at their destination November 12th. There, La Salle
was found building a fort. An attempt to murder La
Salle was made by one of the twenty-nine French-
men during the portage to the Illinois River. The
mental grief he must have suffered when he became
conscious that poison had been given to him by dis-
loyal companions, who hoped by his death to avoid the
dangerous trip ahead of them, must have been infinitely
greater than any physical agony he endured. His
despair was indicated by the name he gave to the
stockade he built, soon after, at the Illinois portage,
Creve Cceur, — the fort of the " Broken Heart." On
December 15th, a conspiracy among the men to take
the boats and desert was discovered and frustrated.
Tonty describes the descent of the Illinois in admirable
manner. An Illinois village was seen on January 4,
1680; and although the weather was very cold, the In-
dians were naked. While visiting with these natives,
poison was found in La Salle's porridge and six of his
men, probably implicated in the plot, deserted. The
building of a forty-ton vessel was undertaken for the
descent of the Mississippi.

Meanwhile, Father Louis Hennepin was sent north-
ward into the land of the Sioux. For some unaccount-
able reason. La Salle declared his intention to return
by land to Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, " a
journey of four hundred leagues." He departed on
March 10th. Tonty, with a few men, remained through
the summer and fall of that year, and his description
of an attack from the Iroquois is a graphic picture of
Indian warfare. After wandering about all that winter.

6o The Mississippi

the retreat to Green Bay was accomphshed and Macki-
naw saw the sorely famished party on Corpus Christi
day, 1681. La Salle arrived next day: his purpose to
return to the Mississippi quest was inflexible. His
account of his long tramp across what is now Illinois,
Indiana, and Ohio to Lake Erie was listened to with
much interest.

Back went Tonty, under La Salle's orders, to the
mouth of the St. Joseph River, arriving November 10th,
and on December 19th, La Salle joined him. Finding
the river full of ice, the party coasted the lake (Michi-
gan) " to a certain little river called Chicago," from
which stream they portaged a league and a half into
another creek that emptied into the Illinois. Sleds
were used to transport the packs. At this point, Tonty
gives a complete roster of the twenty-three Frenchmen
and eighteen " savages." After dragging their outfit
for seventy leagues, open water was found, more canoes
were constructed, and the descent to the Mississippi ac-
complished on February 6, 1682. This was Tonty's
first sight of the great river, which La Salle named
" Colbert," after his patron.

Tonty describes the camp life at the mouth of the
Illinois, with its hardships and diversions. He men-
tions the catch of a catfish so large that it " supplied
ample food for twenty-two men." This recalls the later
Southern negro story of the same sort of fish that was
*' six feet between the eyes, — go as you please on its
length."

Tonty's account of the descent of the Mississippi
to the mouth of the Arkansas is rather more graphic
than is Marquette's, abounding in incidents such as
Pierre Proud'homme, the gun-smith of the expedition.

The French Explorations 6i

getting lost in the woods; the finding of large quanti-
ties of bean-bearing vines clinging to trees; the cere-
monial of the calumet, and the forming of an intrenched
camp that would have delighted Violet le Due, or
Vauban. La Salle " took possession of the land at the
mouth of the Arkansas, in the name of his Most
Christian Majesty, and set up the king's arms."

During the trip down-stream to the Taensas, "beaver
and otter were not found, owing to the presence of
crocodiles " (alligators) . Buffalo were seen all the way
to the sea! The western bank was followed until March
22 (1682), when Tonty visited a remarkable native
village, having houses of clay, with dome-shaped roofs
that were rain-proof. The chief received him seated
upon a couch instead of upon the ground. More than
sixty elderly warriors, habited in long white shrouds,
stood around. A torch of dry canes burned in this
audience chamber and, strangest of all, the four walls
were decorated with paintings and hung with yellowish
copper shields. An alcove was the chief's sleeping
quarters. Camp cots were used for the occupancy of
the chiefs of the eight villages that were his depen-
dencies. (These are the descriptions appropriated by
M. Chateaubriand.) With their hands raised to their
heads, these old men shouted, like coyotes, "Ho, ho!
Ho, ho!" (This is the Chippewa form of greeting
to this day in the Itasca country. "Ho!" uttered
singly, means " Thank you " ; but repeated several
times it is a friendly welcome.) In very many ways,
the Taensas showed the effects of a foreign civilisation.
Among other evidences, Tonty mentions the fact that
food was served to each guest in a separate glazed
earthenware bowl ; that nobody passed between the torch

62 The Mississippi

and the chief, and that the cooking showed signs of
the cuhnaiy art. The chief had pendants containing six-
teen large pearls hanging from his ears. He told
Tonty they were taken from shells, plenty in the river.
When Tonty returned to La Salle's camp after his
visit to the Taensa chief, the commandant insisted that
he go back after the pearls. He did so and received
them in exchange for a cheap bracelet. They were as
large as peas and La Salle took them. The Taensas
had a temple facing the chief's cabin, containing an
altar. Upon the top of the lodge were three eagles
looking toward the morning sun, and upon its exterior
walls were exposed heads of enemies slain in battle.
A redoubt with watch-towers of hard wood enclosed
this house of worship. Guards watched day and night.
Ten leagues' farther progress toward the mouth of
the Mississippi was made on March 25, 1682. Next
day, going southward, a log canoe (pirogue) was seen
crossing the broad river. Savages appeared on both
banks. La Salle reluctantly sent Tonty with the peace
pipe. When he landed, the natives received him seated,
which was a sign of peace, and then cheerfully smoked
the calumet. A knife was given to the chief, " which
he hastily hid in his robe as if guilty of a theft." The
chief clasj)ed his own hands to signify his friendship.
Tonty says he imitated the native's action (" je le
contrefis"). Some commentators have smiled at this
statement, because Tonty only had one arm. It is
known, however, that he had a bronze hand which he
might have clasped with his real one. Two warriors
were despatched to La Salle, across the river, Tonty
remaining as hostage. After a conference, they re-
turned with all the Frenchmen of the party, including

The French Explorations 63

La Salle. The commandant accepted an invitation to
go to the neighbouring village of the tribe, called Nahy
(Natchez, according to Parkman) and passed the night
there. The Taensas practised slavery: Tonty speaks
of buying a boy slave and his mother from them.

Next day, La Salle's party, accompanied by many
friendly natives, went ten leagues down-stream to a
village of the Cordoas. On Easter Day, another start
was made for the sea, said to be ten days distant. At
the end of eighty leagues (two hundred and twenty
miles), Indians were descried on the western bank and
the war drums were heard. The French disembarked
at the mouth of a small creek and Tonty constructed
a fortified angle as a defence against arrows. Four
men sent to reconnoitre were attacked with a shower
of arrows. The French party, with native followers,
re-embarked and proceeded two leagues (five and one
half miles) to a village on the eastern bank, the name
of which proved to be Tangibaho. The village was
depopulated and evidences of a recent battle were on
every side. This is what Tonty says : " We found
only corpses. The people had been defeated by Chou-
choumas. Blood was ankle deep! Five great lodges
were filled with dead bodies. The rest of the village
had been destroyed by fire. This place was distant
thirty leagues (sixty-seven and one half miles) from
the sea."

Following our river route, the voyageurs came in
sight of the sea on April 6 (1682). "As the river
here divides into three channels," writes Tonty (thus
conclusively proving that the three-pronged mouth of
the "Admiral's map" belonged to the Mississippi),
" M. de La Salle undertook the exploration of the one

64 The Mississippi

to the right [the South-west pass of to-day], I took the
central one, and the Sieur d' Autray (Jacques Bour-
don) that to the left. We found all of them excellent,
broad, and deep. When we had reassembled on the
9th, M. de La Salle set up the arms of the King of
France and a cross. A Te Deum was sung. After
firing three salutes, and burying a lead tablet engraved
with His Majesty's arms, M. de La Salle took posses-
sion of the river in the name of the most exalted and
glorious prince Louis the Great, King of France and
of Navarre."

The return voyage began on April 10th, and was
enlivened by several pitched battles with the natives.
The most serious affair occurred over a slave woman
who had been presented to La Salle by the Arkansans
on the downward voyage but belonged to the Quini-
passas, near the mouth of the Mississippi. She was
recognised and a night attack by her people was made
on La Salle's camp. Considerable bloodshed resulted
but the slave was not surrendered. The French were
again well received by the Cordoas, but messengers
from the Quinipassas ^ had preceded them : treachery
was only prevented by La Salle's undaunted courage.
Escape was made up-stream to the Taensas where sev-
eral very happy days were passed. A neighbouring
chief sent two bands of music (!), to the cadence of
which the paddlers worked. The reception ceremony''
concluded with a prayer to the sun. May 3d saw them

1 Any philological defence of the orthography of many of the
obscure Indian names is impossible. The spelling differs in nearly
all the Jesuit manuscripts, — in several instances, varying in the work
of the same relator. Along the lower Mississippi, many Spanish
names were retained by the French; along the upper river, French
spelling has been followed. But, as stated, that is not uniform. — J. C.

The French Explorations 65

under way again. Desiring to hasten northward, La
Salle preceded Tonty, but a few days later at a land-
ing, a letter written by Jacques Cochois was seen fast-
ened to a tree announcing La Salle's dangerous illness
and summoning the surgeon of the expedition, Jean
Michel. Tonty started immediately. La Salle was
found at Fort Proud'homme, — named for the place at
which the gun-smith had gone astray in the woods on
the downward voyage, — dangerously ill. After remain-
ing until June 4th, La Salle being no better, Tonty
was ordered to proceed to the river of the Miamis taking
three Frenchmen and one Indian. He parted with La
Salle, as he supposed, for ever. Just north of the
Ohio, the little party had a narrow escape from mas-
sacre at a village of mixed tribes. A friendly native
discovered the plot, and on June 27th Tonty arrived
safely among the Illinois. The water in the Wisconsin
being low, the party went afoot to Winnebago Lake,
where Tonty bought a boat and returned by the usual
Green Bay route to Mackinaw (July 22, 1682) . There,
he received word of M. de La Salle's recovery, after
forty days' sickness. The commandant arrived in per-
son during the summer. He was anxious to go to
France to report to the King (Louis XIV.) but being
too weak from his illness, sent his despatches by Father
Zenoble, who had accompanied him throughout the long
voyage to the Gulf of Mexico. Tonty was sent by La
Salle to build a fort for the protection of the Shawanoes,
his devoted allies. La Salle joined Tonty on December
30th and during that winter " Fort Saint Louis was
built upon an impregnable rock." Peace was made
between all the Illinois tribes except the Iroquois.

Then it was that La Salle renewed his determina-

66 The Mississippi

tion to return to France. After La Salle had sailed,
Tonty was harassed by envoys from Quebec and,
throwing up his job, returned to the capital of New
France in the autumn of 1684, to compose the
" Relation " which we have briefly summarised.

VII — LOUIS HENNEPIN

Sparks, and other authorities on the missionaries,
consigns Father Louis Hennepin " to that amiable
class who seem to tell truth by accident and fiction by
inclination." At most, all that can be claimed for
Hennepin is that he was first to get into print an ac-
count of any voyage on the Mississippi from the
mouth of the Wisconsin northward to the Fall of St.
Anthony. He is doubtless entitled to that great place
in Mississippi history. All students of that period must
remember that Hennepin was a Recollect priest and had
not been well treated by the Jesuits at Quebec, Mon-
treal, or Sault Ste. Marie, owing to the fact that he
had striven to eclipse Allouez, Marquette, Dablon, and
other Jesuits.

The Hennepin narrative begins at Fort Crevecoeur,
the well-known point on the Illinois about midway be-
tween Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, on the 29th
of February, 1680. It describes the Illinois as having
the width and depth of the Seine, at Paris. The date
on which the Mississippi was reached is not mentioned,
but on March 12th, Hennepin describes the " Colbert."
as he insisted upon calling the great river, " running
south-south-west, between two chains of mountains which
wind with the river, in some places far from the banks. Be-
tween the river and the hills are large prairies, on which

The French Explorations 67

wild cattle are often seen browsing. This great river
is almost everywhere a short league in width, and in
some places two or three leagues."

Hennepin gives the first graphic description of the
Lake of Tears (Pepin), "about a hundred miles be-
low the Fall of St. Anthony." This cataract he de-
scribes thus: "It is forty or fifty feet high, divided
in the middle by a rocky island of pyramidal form. I
called the cataract St. Anthony of Padua, in gratitude
for favours done to me by the Almighty, through the
intercession of that great saint, whom we had chosen
as patron and protector of all our enterprises."

The Sioux believed, according to H. L. Gordon,
an authority on Dakota traditions, that the Great Unk-
te-hee, who created earth and man, originally dwelt in
a cavern under the Fall of St. Anthony, and often ap-
peared to mortals in the form of a buffalo-bull. In
such form, like the ancient Egyptians at Memphis, they
worshipped him. Recently, when standing in the Apis
tomb at Sakkara, the vast campo-santo of Memj^his
where the god-bulls were buried, I recalled this fea-
ture of the Sioux religion. A very curious fact about
the rock-hewn mausoleum at Sakkara is that one of
the large, black granite sarcophagi, highly polished and
inscribed, lies, with its lid, inside the entrance to the
vast tomb. It never was put in place! Why was
the work left uncompleted? Did a revolt against the
deification of bulls, a protest against a disgusting re-
ligious ceremonial, occur at that place, because the folly
of worshipping a god that could die was proclaimed
and conceded?

Father Hennepin had much trouble with the na-
tives. They were suspicious of his prayers and use of

68 The Mississippi

the rosary. Finally, he and his party were captured
and Indian paddlers put into their canoe. " Five
leagues below St. Anthony's fall," the Indians broke
up Hennepin's canoe, and distributed the members of
his party " as prisoners to three heads of families in
place of three of their children killed in war." The
unfortunate Frenchmen were made to swim streams
filled with floating ice and subjected to many other
hardships. A favourite trick was to set fire to grass
in the path of the prisoners.

In this part of the narrative, there is complete con-
fusion of dates. Hennepin describes a sort of Turkish
bath to which he was subjected as a remedy for a
severe cold. He was cured, after several treatments.
He speaks of " Indians who came as ambassadors from
five hundred leagues to the West." He mentions a
trip that the three Frenchmen made with a single In-
dian to the mouth of the Wisconsin in the hope that
*' the Sieur de La Salle had sent to that place a re-
inforcement of men as he [La Salle] had promised."
That trip to the Wisconsin, whether it occurred or not,
is graphically described. What became of the Indian
guard is not stated, but Hennepin and his other com-
panions arrived at Mackinaw late that fall and wintered
there. In the spring of 1681, the party returned to
Quebec by way of the Detroit, Lakes Erie and Ontario,
and the St. Lawrence.

VIII LA SALLE's last VISIT

Whatever may be said of La Salle, he assuredly
possessed determination. Although his tales of travels
in the New World were somewhat discredited, he

r^'

-M

<";

"bi

-u

X <u -^

.5 Q

r >

&fl

•^ Q .S

>> >»

The French Explorations 69

ascribed the disbelief to jealousy and secured funds
enough to fit out a squadron of four ships in the winter
of 1684 and sailed from La Rochelle. His own ship,
Le Joli, encountered a storm in which she fared so
badly that the four vessels put back to the port of
departure for repairs. Again, they sailed, about the
last of December, but ran into a storm and were sepa-
rated. A Spanish cruiser captured the St. Francois,
but the other three came to a rendezvous at Petit
Goave, Santo Domingo. We shall follow the narra-
tive of Cavelier, a brother of La Salle and, although
a member of the Sulpitian order, not always trust-
worthy.

At the period in which the Rev. John Caveher's
*' Narrative " begins, Europeans possessed only one
lodgment on the Mississippi, namely Tonty's stock-
ade. La Salle hoped to ascend the great river from
the Gulf to that haven of safety.

Father Cavelier 's first important statement is a
distinct allegation that Captain Beaujeu, commander
of La Salle's little squadron, deliberately caused the
foremast of Le Joli, the flagship, to be sawed so that
it went overboard in the first gale thereafter en-
countered. This commander refused to proceed beyond
L'Espirito Santo Bay (February 4, 1685). He sailed
homeward from this port on the Gulf of Florida (Mex-
ico) on March 14th, leaving La Salle with only one
ship, LiU Belle.

La Salle, undaunted, founded a village, and built
a fort to protect himself from the Indians, who thought
the newcomers Spaniards, instead of Frenchmen. He
finally made peace, and the Indians guided him to the
interior, where they showed to him a copper plate.

70 The Mississippi

dated 1588 and carrying the arms of Spain, fastened
to a post. This proved that the Spaniards had preceded
him.

With thirty men, La Salle set out by land from
his fort to the mouth of the Mississippi. Thej'' tramped
two months and ten days- — the chronicler omits to state
in what direction. At an Indian village, he learned
that his party was only forty leagues from the sea. He
was told of a river that probably was the Rio Bravo.

Shortly after La Salle's return to his port at
L'Espirito Santo (or St. Louis Bay, as he renamed
it), his small frigate. La Belle, was wrecked. The
disaster was due to the lack of sufficient sailors. All
the men aboard, except eight, were lost. In this dire
extremity. La Salle undertook to reach Canada. With
Cavelier, three other Frenchmen, and two Shawnee In-
dians, he started on April 13, 1685 [according to Le
Clerq, the real date is 1686], to make his way north
to the Illinois River, the route up which to Lake Su-
perior he claimed to know. Nearly all the members of
the party w^ere prostrated with fever, and at the end
of forty days, they returned to Saint Louis Bay.
Abandoning hope of reaching Canada, La Salle waited
a year in expectation that his King would send a
rescuing ship: but when the beginning of 1687 came,
he determined upon a second attempt to ascend the
Mississippi. He selected only twenty-eight of his most
vigorous men, [Anastasius says 20: Joutel, 17], and
started on January 6th. From that date to the
16th of February, when the " Narrative " of Cave-
lier abruptly ends, we have each daj^'s march set
down.

Not the slightest evidence exists that La Salle

The French Explorations 71

reached the banks of the Mississippi. On January
17th, at an Indian village, they witnessed a bull fight,
in which Indians on horseback armed with lances fought
bulls exactly as the picadores of Spain do to-day.
From that tribe, La Salle bought thirty horses for
thirty knives, ten hatchets, and a few needles.

La Salle died about this time, which accounts for
the cessation of his brother's " Narrative." The
latter returned to Canada and ultimately to France,
but concealed the fate of La Salle for two
years.

There is a note of suspicion in every line of Cavelier.
Whether La Salle was saint or imposter must always
be in doubt, owing to the curious, irreconcilable record
left by Cavelier.

IX — ST. cosme's voyage

The scene again shifts to the North-west. Francis
Joliet de Montigny, born at Paris in 1661, had been
ordained priest at Quebec in 1693. Accompanied by
Fathers Davion and St. Cosme, he intended to found
a mission of the Jesuit Seminary of Quebec on the
Mississippi. He bore the appointment of Vicar Gen-
eral of the Bishop of Quebec. This expedition was
outfitted at lavish expense; but M. de Montigny re-
turned from this trip disgruntled, gave up his post at
Quebec, went to France, and refused to take furthei:
interest in American missions. Exactly what occurred
to sour him never will be known. He was sent to China,
but returned to Paris and died, 1725. The " Narra-
tives " of St. Cosme and Davion are equally valuable
and interesting.

72 The Mississippi

The letter of J. F. Buisson St. Cosme, missionary
priest, to the Bishop of Quebec is one of the most
valuable of all documents concerning the opening of
the upper Mississippi. To it, largely, we owe a proper
appreciation of Henry de Tonty. As a lieutenant of
La Salle, Tonty had directed affairs in Illinois with
tact. He was one of the founders of Detroit.

Montigny, Father St. Cosme, Father Davion, the
Sieur de Vincennes, — here first mentioned and ap-
parently a nephew of Louis Joliet, — and Tonty, the
Neapolitan, left Mackinaw on September 15, 1698. The
intrepid Tonty agreed to pilot the party to and down
the Mississippi as far as the Arkansas. The expedi-
tion followed the usual course into Lake Michigan, to
Green Bay, at the head of which they found a Jesuit
mission. The direct route thence to the great river was
through Green Bay and down the Wisconsin; but the
Foxes were hostile and this party was obliged to go
by the Chikagu (Chicago) route. They coasted down
the west side of Lake Michigan, arriving at the site of
Milwaukee on October 7th. There, the Sieur de Vin-
cennes parted with the missionaries, as he was going
to the country of the Miamis. Arriving at the Jesuit
mission near the present site of Chicago, Montigny,
Davion, and St. Cosme were hospitably received. On
the 24th, a start was made up the Chicago River. The
route to the Mississippi followed that of the present
drainage canal into the Illinois. Lowness of water in
both rivers made the journey tedious. Of this trip,
lasting about six weeks, owing to halts at various
missions, Tonty was the hero. He proved himself dip-
lomatist, as well as leader. The Italian had been among
the Illinois three years before. Tonty's shibboleth

The French Explorations 73

always was, "We do not fear men!" — meaning that they
only feared God.

The Mississippi was sighted on the 5th of December.
St. Cosme thus describes it at the mouth of the Illinois :
" Micissippi is a large and beautiful river, that comes
from the north. It divides into several channels, which
form beautiful islands. It makes several bends but
seems to me to keep always the same direction to the
south as far as the Akanseas. It is lined by very fine
forests."

Embarking on the 6th, after making six leagues,
the party came to the mouth of the Missouri. " It
comes from the west and is so muddy that it spoils the
waters of the Micissippi, which, down to that point, are
clear."

Upon a lofty headland, on the west bank, a cross
was planted, to the singing of Vexilla Regis. They
camped on the night of December 15, 1698, a short
distance below the mouth of the Wabache.^ Nothing
befell the party until they reached the Arkansas's mouth,
except the discovery and description of the first peli-
can,— " as large as a swan, its bill a foot long and the
throat of such extraordinary size that it will hold a
bushel of wheat." Christmas was celebrated with high
mass; and an earthquake occurred at one o'clock in the
afternoon. Even the earth was busy.

A large Indian village was reached on St. John's
day, where the calumet, or peace pipe, was smoked.^

1 The Ohio was called " Wabash " by the French from its mouth
to the source of the present Wabash; the Ohio being the part from
Fort Duquesne (Pittsburg) to the mouth of the Wabash. (See
Gravier's Journal.) Shea, 69.

2 Marquette had first described the calumet. Father Gravier also
gives an account of this ceremonial. 3 Shea (St. Cosme's voyage, 73).

74 The Mississippi

Here they parted from Tonty, who had to return to
the land of the IlKnois. St. Cosme thus speaks of him :
" He is the man who knows the country best. He has
been twice to the sea : he has been twice far inland to the
remotest nations. He is loved and feared everywhere."

This letter of Father Cosme to the Bishop of Quebec
was accompanied by a brief missive from Sieur de Mon-
tigny, detailing the establishment of Father Davion
among the Tonicas on the Mississippi sixty leagues be-
low the mouth of the Arkansas. He speaks of his own
stay among the Taensas, first mentioned by Father
Membre, and a projected visit to the Natchez. He de-
scribes their " rather fine temples, the walls of which
are of mats." Their religion " is serpent worship."
In another place, he says " the serpent is one of their
divinities." He adds: " They do not dare to accept or
appropriate anything without taking it to the temple."
Among the Taensas, the death of a popular chief was
accompanied b}^ the killing of all the braves who volun-
teered to go with him to the happy hunting grounds.
" Last year," writes Montigny,^ " when the chief of the
Taensas died, twelve persons offered to die. They were
tomahawked."

The same courier took a letter from the Rev.
Dominic de la Source, also with the Montigny expedi-
tion. It does not add any details. All these com-
munications bear final date of January 2, 1699.

X — IBERVILLE BANISHES ALL MYSTERIES

Although La Salle had really established the con-
necting links between the great river of Hernando de

1 Shea, Early Voyages Up and Down the Mississippi, 78.

The French Explorations 75

Soto and the mighty stream far to the northward with
which the names of Radisson, JoHet and Marquette,
Hennepin and Tonty are associated, his statements and
those of his chroniclers did not carry conviction. The
honour of converting assumption into established fact
remained for another Frenchman, Pierre Le Moyne
d'lberville, seventeen years after La Salle's expedition
of 1682. Sieur dTberville was born at Montreal, July
16, 1661. He entered the French navy at the age of
fourteen and saw active service in command of a frigate
as early as 1692. He was sent to Hudson Bay in 1694
and again in 1697. Going to France, he was com-
missioned during the winter of 1698-99 to establish
direct commercial relations with the lower Mississippi.
Collecting all previous data, he made a thorough ex-
amination of the coast line of the Gulf west of Florida.
He it was who finally cleared up all doubts about the
Mississippi emptying into the " Bay of Saint-Espirit,"
or Mobile Bay. This bay was the rendezvous of his
vessels and he decided that neither of the two rivers
entering it could be the one of which he was in search.
He coasted westward until he found a haven that after-
wards received the name of Biloxi. Acting on informa-
tion obtained from the natives, Iberville left his ships
at anchor and, on February 27th, set out with a party
in small boats toward the west. He had been told that
the large river which the Indians called the " Malban-
chia," the same that the Spaniards described as the
" River of the Palisades," lay fifteen or twenty leagues
in that direction. He put into the mouth of the Mis-
sissippi River on the night of March 2, 1699. Com-
menting on the momentous importance of this event,
B rower says:

76 The Mississippi

Up to this time, the Spaniards seem to have acted like
dogs in the manger in respect to the lower Mississippi, and
the shores of the Gulf of Mexico to the east and west. Al-
though the entire coast line had long before been explored by
their ships, no information concerning it had been directly
published. They evidently knew about the embrochure of the
river, for they called it " the River of the Palisades," on ac-
count of the bristling appearance presented by the trees that
had drifted from upstream and lodged at the outlets of the
delta, where they helped to form bars. The Spaniards assured
Iberville that, by reason of these bars, there was not any
entrance. Fortunately, he did not believe them.

Iberville and his brother, Bienville, made a thorough
and systematic exploration of the lower part of the
Mississippi. Exactly how far northward he penetrated
is uncertain. The best opinion is that he ascended to the
Red River. He could not reconcile many of the state-
ments made by La Salle and his chroniclers with the
topography as he found it; but when he received from
an Indian chief a letter — " the speaking bark " he
called it — that Tonty had left in 1685 to be delivered
to La Salle, when he should ascend the river, Iberville
knew that he had solved the greatest mystery of the
New World. This first voyage of Iberville closes
the story of French exploration on the lower two thirds
of the Mississippi. Contemporaneously, Le Seuer, as
we shall see, was seeking a blue clay in the Minnesota
region, overlooking the fact that unless he found sap-
phires and turquoises his merchandise would not admit
of transportation to an eastern market.

XI — LE SEUER AND BLUE MUD

The first mention of Le Seuer, a Canadian and

The French Explorations 77

relative of Iberville, is as a coureur de hois at Chegoi-
megon, on Lake Superior. His thorough acquaintance
with the Dakota language gave high value to his
services as mediator for the Quebec government between
the Chippewas and Dakotas.

Les coureurs des hois were of a class that made
themselves popular by terrorism, — anticipating the cow-
boys of the western plains. They were lawless, half
traders, half explorers, wholly bent on divertisement,
and not discouraged by misery or peril. They lived
in utter disregard of all religious teaching, but the
priesthood, among savages, were fain to wink at their
immoralities because of their strong arms and efficient
use of weapons of defence. Charlevoix says that
" while the Indian did not become French, the French-
man became savage." Not until Frontenac's day were
these French vagabonds brought under control. Of
such antecedents was Le Seuer.

The account of Le Seuer's long voyage on the upper
Mississippi in 1699-1700 is here summarised from Ber-
nard de la Harpe's transcripts of Le Seuer's journals.
He was sent out to Canada from France vdth the ships
Menominee and Gironde to form " an establishment at
the source " of the Mississippi. Reports of the exist-
ence of a mine of green or blue earth, somewhere on
the upper Mississippi, had reached France. As Shea
very truly says, such a mine does n't seem an over-
valuable thing to cross the ocean and half a continent
to seek. By order of Frontenac, Governor General of
Canada, Le Seuer, had, in 1695, built a fort on an island
in the Mississippi " two hundred leagues above the
mouth of the Illinois to maintain peace between the
Sioux [See-ous] who dwelt in the Minnesota country

78 The Mississippi

and the Ojibwas (Chippewas or Sauteurs) of the
Lake Superior region." It was then that he discovered
the green or blue earth in Minnesota. He went to
France in 1697 to sohclt a grant of the mines. Obtain-
ing it, he embarked at La Rochelle in June of that
year, but, off the Newfoundland banks, his vessel was
taken by an English fleet of sixteen ships and he was
carried prisoner to Portsmouth. Peace being declared,
Le Seuer hurried to Paris to secure a new commission,
— having thrown his former one overboard to prevent
his identity being kno^\^l. A new cormnission was
issued, bearing date of 1698. When he reached
Canada, Frontenac turned against him and prevented
him from proceeding to the INIississippi region. He
returned again to France and arrived in the colony of
Louisiana on December 7, 1699. He made a trip up
the Mississippi and was gone about two years, reappear-
ing at Fort Biloxi, near the mouth of the river, on
February 10, 1702. The account of this long up-stream
voyage and return is the most valuable of all early
Mississippi chronicles, because it carries conviction re-
garding its truthfulness, but it is not interesting read-
ing, kept, as it is, in diary form.

A letter from Le Seuer, dated Paris, 1701 [evi-
dently this date is an error or has been tampered with],
exists in which this trader denounces as an imposter
one Mathieu Sagean, who had appeared in France with
a wonderful tale of his explorations of the Mississippi
far above the mouth of the Illinois River. His story
was that he had been associated with La Salle and
Tonty in the expedition of 1683 and had obtained per-
mission of his chief to penetrate far toward the head-
waters of the mighty river. But, as his narrative did

The French Fxplorations 79

not appear until after Hennepin had announced the
discovery of the Fall of St. Anthony, Sagean's account
of " a high fall, around which it was necessary to make
a portage of six leagues " did not impress anybody.
Sagean was an imposter of the Glazier type, and, as
Brower says, " had he been other than an illiterate man,
he would have written a book " — claiming everything
set down by previous chroniclers.

XII — PHILOLOGY OF MISSISSIPPI

The Mississippi River has borne many names; dif-
ferent parts of the long stream have carried titles of
their own. Prior to Hernando de Soto's arrival, the
aboriginal tribes along its banks had separate designa-
tions for the river traversing their own possessions. The
Cortes map gives to the river the name " Espiritu
Sancto," which never was accurately applied to the lower
Mississippi. A list of all known appellations, gathered
by J. V. Brower, is as follows:

Meche Sebe, the original Algonquin designation.

Chucagua, an Indian name, noted by Soto's expedition.

TamaliseUj an Indian name, noted by Soto's expedition.

Tapatu, an Indian name, noted by Soto's expedition.

Mico, an Indian name, noted by Soto's expedition.

Rio Grande, a Spanish designation, noted by Soto's ex-
pedition.

" The River," a Spanish designation, noted by Soto's ex-
pedition.

Palisado, a Spanish designation, from floating trees seen
near its mouth, giving the appearance of a palisade.

Escondido, a Spanish designation ; hidden from sight by
the innumerable passes, cut offs, bayous, etc., at and above its
mouth, making it difficult to discover the main channel.

8o The Mississippi

St. Louis, a French designation.

Conception, a French designation, by Marquette.

Buade, so called by Joliet after the family name of Gov.
Frontenac.

Colbert, after Jean Baptiste Colbert, an eminent French
statesman.

Mischipi, Nicolas Freytas's visit to the Quivira tribes, 1661.

Messipi, Father Allouez, in " Relation " of 1667.

Meschasipi, Hennepin map of 1697.

Michi Sepe, Labal's version.

Misisipi, Labatt's version.

Missisipi, Marquette's spelling.

Mississipi, a later French version.

Mississippi, the American spelling, adopted in tke nine-
teenth century.

1^'

i oo"

CHAPTER IV

Jonathan Carver to William Morrison

ALTHOUGH Jonathan Carver is the next visitor
to the upper Mississippi region whose record is
beyond dispute, much had been written in the
meantime about the locality. From his dungeon in the
Bastile, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, long stationed
at Mackinaw and Detroit, wrote in his " Memoires " :

As regards the source of the Mississippi, we can say that
it is in 48° N. latitude and 96° W. longitude. It apparently
has its origin in some lake, which forms another river, going
to the north and discharging itself into the great lake of the
Assiniboines, which forms rivers without end that empty them-
selves towards Fort Nelson, and into other great bays. This
lake is called by the savages " The Grandfather of All Lakes,"
meaning that it is incomparably greater than all others.

An English traveller and astronomer, David
Thompson, entered the service of the North-west Com-v
pany in 1797 and in his capacity as a trader crossed the
country lying between the western end of Lake Superior
and the Manitoban region. He traversed the Messaba
district, and had he been a geologist, as well as as-
tronomer, might have discovered the richest deposits
of iron ore on this continent. He first suggested a
junction, at their sources, of the waters of the Red
and the Mississippi rivers. He left the Mouse River,
February 25, 1798, with a dog train. He passed up
the Red River of the North to Red Lake River and

82 The Mississippi

arrived at Red Lake on April 17th. Turning south-
ward, he came to Turtle Lake on the 27th. He de-
clared that " Turtle Brook," which flowed to the
southward from that lake, was the JNIississippi, and that
Turtle Lake was the source of the great river. Thus
it is seen that he anticipated Pike, Cass, and Beltrami
hy many years. He was only guessing, as were they.
Thompson descended Turtle River to Red Cedar Lake
(Lake Cass) and thence passed by the main stream to
Sandy Lake River, going to Lake Superior over the
well-worn trail that marked the " carry " to the St.
Louis River. His reports make the first mention of
Lake " Winnipegoos," the largest body of open water
in the Mississippi's path. He was unqualifiedly the
first white man to traverse that part of the upper stream
between Lake Cass and the mouth of Sandy Lake
River. Curiously, he does not make mention of Poke-
gama Fall, an obstruction that he could not possibly
have overlooked.

M. de La Verendrye very narrowly escaped associa-
tion with the search for the sources of the Mississippi
River. He was familiar with the route from Lake
Superior to Lake Winnipeg, through the Lake of the
Woods, and should have possessed a fairly accurate
knowledge, by hearsay, of the region directly to the
southM^ard of that well-travelled water route; but, in
1737, he sent to Paris what purported to be a map of the
country west and north of Superior in which Red Lake
is set down as emptying into the Red River of the North
and reaching Lake Winnipeg through the channel of
the latter. Nothing could be more erroneous. Veren-
drye coasted Lake Superior and passed to Winnipeg
by the well-known route through Rainy Lake and Lake

Jonathan Carver to William Morrison 83

of the Woods. He ascended the Assiniboine and Sas-
katchewan rivers to the Rocky Mountains. He was
very near the sources of the Mississippi, if he went by
Red Lake, as some versions of his narrative claim, but
he never visited them oj saw any part of the stream.
He seems to have possessed some acquaintance with
Turtle River, flowing into Lake Cass, and thought
to be the continuation of the Mississippi by Beltrami,
Pike, Cass, and all predecessors of Schoolcraft. This
is said without prejudice to William Morrison, who did
not announce his visit to Lac la Biche in 1802 until
January 16, 1856, when the narratives of Schoolcraft and
Nicollet had been in print for more than twenty years.

The claim of William Morrison, which has been
conceded by J. V. Brower, the First Commissioner of
the Itasca State Park and the highest authority upon
Mississippi exploration in Minnesota, rests entirely
upon a letter written by Mr. Morrison to a brother,
dated from Berthier, January 16, 1856. Omitting only
references to family matters, it runs as follows:

My Dear Brother: — Your letter of the 26th ultimo has-
come to hand. ... I note what you say concerning the source
of the Mississippi. You wish to know who was the first per-
son who went to its source. For the information of the His-
torical Society, I will state to you all about what came to my
knowledge, by which you will perceive that H. R. Schoolcraft
is in error and that he was not the first person who made the
discovery of the source of the Mississippi.

I left the old Grand Portage, July, 1802, landed at Leech
lake in September. In October, I went and wintered on
one of the Crow Wing streams near its source. Our Indians
were Pillagers; in 1803-4, I went and wintered at Lac La
Folle. I left Leech lake, passed by Red Cedar lake, up river
Lac Travers to the lake of that name, then up river La Biche

84 The Mississippi

or Elk river, to near Lac La Biche, when we made a portage
to fall into Lac La Folle. Lac La Biche is near to Lac La
Folle. Lac La Biche is the source of the Great River Missis-
sippi, which I visited in 1804, and if the late Gen. Pike did
not lay it down as such when he came to Leech lake it is be-
cause he did not happen to meet me. I was at an outpost
that winter. The late Gen. Pike laid down on his book Red
Cedar lake as the head of the Mississippi river. I did not
trace any vestige of white men before me. In 1811-12, I
wintered again at Lac La Folle near to the plains. We went
down river La Folle some distance. I then overtook a gentle-
man with an outfit from Michilimackinac, Mr. Otepe, with
whom I parted only at Fond du Lac. He took the south
towards Mch'a and I north to our headquarters, which had
been changed to Fort William north of the Grand Portage.
This I expect will explain that I visited in 1804, Elk lake, and
again in 1811-12. With respect to the first Fond du Lac
traders, we all came from Mackinac. Some came by Lake
Superior and others up by Prairie du Chien, up to Crow Wing
and some went to Lac La Que de I'Outre — Otter Tail lake —
Messrs. Reaume, Cotton, Casselais, Sayers, Letang and several
others, some came by Lake Superior and others up the Missis-
sippi by way of Prairie du Chien. These persons were per-
sons who preceded us. The French had trading posts on Lake
Superior, but not in the interior of F. D. L. that I could ever
discover. The late Mr. Sayers returned from Mckina and
found that his bands of Indians had died by the smallpox
_1780— I think.

Perhaps it is not amiss to mention that I went to the
Indian country engaged to Sir Alexander McKenzie & Co.,
who had joined stock with the X. Y. Co., formerly the Richard-
son & Co. . . .

Your affectionate brother,

William Morrison.

Mr. Morrison was born in Canada in 1783, and died
there August 7, 1866: records indicate that he became
a naturahsed citizen of the United States.

CHAPTER V

The Louisiana Purchase

THE purchase of the Louisiana Territory had
stupendous results and largely made most of
the history of the United States for the sixty
years that followed the act. By thus securing this vast
region from France, Jefferson not only doubled the
existing area of our country but secured possession
of the Mississippi River from its source to the sea.
Napoleon comprehended the sacrifice France was mak-
ing when he exclaimed, " I have given to England a
maritime rival that, sooner or later, will humble her
pride." The far-reaching effects of this event are well
stated by John W. Foster in A Century of American
Diplomacy (page 204) :

It made the acquisition of Florida a necessity. It brought
about the annexation of Texas, the Mexican War, the thirst
for more slave territory to preserve the balance of power, the
Civil War, and the abolition of slavery. It led to our Pacific
coast possessions, the construction of the trans-continental
lines of railway and our marvellous Rocky Mountain develop-
ment, the demand for an Isthmus Canal, the purchase of
Alaska, the annexation of Hawaii. It opened up to us the
great field of commercial development beyond the Pacific in
Japan, China, and the islands of the sea. It fixed our destiny

86 The Mississippi

as a great world power, the effects of which we are to-day just
beginning to realise.

The history of the undefined region described as
the Louisiana Territory is exceedingly complex and the
ablest historians have never been able to disentangle
truth from fiction concerning the early period. Re-
ligion and love of gold had equal parts in opening
and fixing the nationalities of nearly every section in
the ^lississippi ValleJ^ Francis Parkman has told the
wonderful story of what the black robe of the Jesuit
did for the North-west and the delta of " The Father
of Waters." La Salle was responsible for dedicating
the whole region to France under the name of " Louisi-
ana." His chief thought was to outrival Champlain
on the St. Lawrence. He secured footing in the upper
^lississippi region ahead of the English and by a chain
of forts from New Orleans to Blue Earth, in Min-
nesota, he planned to keep them out. La Salle did not
live to carry out his dream, but the idea survived him.
In 1699, the first settlement was established in Louisi-
ana and in 1712, Antoine Crozat obtained a grant from
Louis XIV. which defined its boundaries so amazingly
that the country of Louisiana included the entire INIis-
sissippi watershed from the Alleghanies to the Rocky
Mountains. The text, taken from Martin's Louisiana,
{{., 178), is as follows:

The territory is bounded by New Mexico on the West; by
the English lands of Carolina on the East, including all the
establishments, posts, havens, and principally the port and
haven of the Tsle of Danphin, heretofore called Massacre; the
Eiver St. Louis, heretofore called Mississippi, from the edge
of the sea as far (north) as the Illinois (country) ; together
with the River St. Philip, heretofore called Missouri, the

The Louisiana Purchase 87

River St. Jerome heretofore called Oiiabache (Ohio), with
all lakes and rivers mediately or immediately flowing into any
part of the river Saint Louis or Mississippi.

The northern boundary of this immeasurable tract
of land was defined by the treaty of Utrecht (1713) to
be the forty-ninth degree of north latitude. Crozat
could not find any gold on his concession and surren-
dered his charter to the Crown in 1717.

" The Western Company," with which John Law
was connected, took over the Crozat concession and, so
characteristic of the " frenzied financier " as subse-
quently revealed, claimed the whole of the Illinois
country as having been included in the charter, but the
question never was decided.

According to a painstaking historian, John W.'
Monette, who published two large volumes on this sub-
ject in 1846, " The project of purchasing New Orleans
and Eastern Louisiana was entertained from the
beginning of Washington's administration." ^ Had
New France and Louisiana grown together as La
Salle dreamed, France would have become a dominant
power in North America, from which Great Britain
never could have dislodged her; but personal infatua-
tion for the court life of Paris overcame ambition for
dominant power in the New World. The effect of
these influences upon the swaggering French royal-
ists of Quebec is admirably described in a recent novel
entitled Le Chien d'Or. New France passed into
English hands (1763) ; Louisiana was neglected. In
1717, as mentioned above, it had been handed over to

1 Monette's History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Mis-
sissippi Valley, vol. i., 503.

88 The Mississippi

John Law and was used by him as the pretext for the
most high-handed financial scheming known to history
until emulators in the United States outshone him dur-
ing the unwatched period of do-nothing Presidents,
extending from 1868 to 1901.

While Louis XIV. lived, he was " The State," as
he claimed, but he was a weak monarch and the kings
that followed him were cursed with weaker advisers
than he had possessed. In 1762, France ceded her
possession to Spain and for nearly forty years the
people of Louisiana led a semi-tropical existence, hardly
conscious of the yoke they carried. " Under what king,
Bezonian?" never was asked in the absinthe taverns of
the Orleans in the New World.

Her people hardly noticed " the shot heard around
the world "; or, if they did, failed to realise its import
to them. Doubtless, the American Revolution was of
much less interest to the French of New Orleans than
was the Revolution in Paris that hurried fast upon
the conclusion of the former. The two great social
upheavals of the eighteenth century were of minor in-
terest to New Orleans at the time, but both vitally
affected her destiny.

Diplomacy recognised the importance of the trans-
Mississippi region. Napoleon and Jefferson had a
simultaneous thought. The effect of the French phi-
losophers upon Jefferson's mind was apparent in every
act of his public career. Voltaire, Diderot, and Rous-
seau had taught that " the sovereignty of the State and
the people were one, — liberty, equality, and fraternity
of mankind."

The young American Republic was a real thing.^

1 Those interested in the policy of France toward the Mississippi

The Louisiana Purchase 89

During the period between 1783 and 1793, Washing-
ton shoe-buckles and FrankHn snuff-boxes were a fad
of Paris. Out of the French Revolution rose Napo-
leon, in many respects the greatest figure of all time.
Neither Europe nor Africa confined his ambition or
his thoughts; his eyes often turned toward America,
the soil of which had been consecrated to France by
La Salle and Montcalm. Napoleon brought sufficient
pressure to bear upon the Spanish monarch to compel
the retrocession of the Louisiana Territory to France
in 1800. The exact date has been disputed. It was
a secret treaty of necessity, because England could
and would have seized New Orleans. The truth came
out during a suspension of hostilities between France
and England but any defence of the colony by Napo-
leon being impossible, Louisiana was obviously in the
market for sale. Almost contemporaneously with the
general diffusion of the knowledge that France had
regained her former possession, a high-handed act of
inhibition against the traders of the Mississippi Valley
was committed. These sturdy pioneers had enjoyed
the right to send their goods to New Orleans, as " a
place of deposit," whence they could be shipped to all
parts of the world. It was a great market. The
closing of it meant dickering with the fur-traders of
the North-west and the Great Lakes, men who drove
hard bargains and paid slowly. On the other hand, at
the great port of New Orleans one part of the com-
mercial world bid against the other. A crisis was
inevitable.

Valley during the administrations of Presidents Washington and
Adams will find the subject elaborately treated by Frederick Jackson
Turner, in The American Historical Review, January, 1905.

90 The Mississippi

President Jefferson was prompt to comprehend the
importance of this arbitrary act to the j)ioneers who
had won the lands they occupied inch by inch from the
savages and beasts of the forests. Although not to be
described as a pioneer himself, Jefferson, as Governor
of Virginia, had aided in the formation of Kentucky.
While Secretary of State, he had insisted upon the
right of navigating the Mississippi and had tried to
negotiate a treaty to that effect, vainly, until 1795; but
when the French closed New Orleans as a place of de-
posit of merchandise in 1802, Jefferson showed the
energy of which he was capable.

Robert R. Livingston, his Minister to France, was
directed to make overtures to Napoleon. The latter
had vast schemes of colonisation. The pioneers of the
Ohio and upper Mississippi were in a threatening mood
and wanted to descend the river to take forcible pos-
session of New Orleans. Jefferson, wishing to avert
war, which such a filibustering expedition would have
forced, sent James Monroe, afterwards President of
the United States, to France as Special Envoy. Events
in Europe contributed to Jefferson's success. Monroe
had hoped to secure all of Louisiana east of the
Mississippi for $2,000,000 which Congress had ap-
propriated. Instead, Napoleon made a counter pro-
position. He offered the entire Louisiana Territory
for 125,000,000 francs. This was finally reduced to
80,000,000 francs, about $16,000,000, a fourth of which
was to be paid to American citizens for claims against
France. (Thus were founded the French Spoliation
Claims, about which one hears to this day in the
corridors and committee rooms of the Capitol at
Washington. )

The Louisiana Purchase 91

That treaty was signed April 30, 1803, and on De-
cember 29th of that year, at noon, the French tri-colour
was lowered from its pole facing the official residence
in New Orleans and the Stars and Stripes of the
Federal Union replaced it.

The " Louisiana Purchase," including part of
Texas, was in area twenty-six times larger than the
State of New York. Since the acquisition of that
territory the following States, " cut from the web of a
splendid imperial property," have been admitted to the
Federal Union: in 1812, Louisiana, 48,720 square
miles; in 1821, Missouri, 69,415; in 1836, Arkansas,
53,850; in 1845, Iowa, 56,025; in 1858, Minnesota,
83,365; in 1861, Kansas, 82,080; in 1876, Colorado,
103,925, — a portion of this State lying west of the
Rocky Mountains was not included in the " Louisiana
Purchase " but was secured by the " Guadalupe Hi-
dalgo Treaty," which brought with it Utah, Arizona,
etc.; however, fully 60,000 square miles of Colorado
territory come from the " Purchase "; — in 1889, North
and South Dakotas, aggregating 150,932 square miles;
in the same year, Montana, 146,080; in 1890, Wyoming,
97,890; in 1907, Oklahoma, and what is left of Indian
Territory, equalling 55,000 square miles, — if what was
ceded by Texas to the United States on December 13,
1850, be omitted. The acquisition of the Yellowstone
National Park, 3575 square miles, must not be over-
looked as part of the " Purchase." Its area is chiefly
in Wyoming, although a strip on its western side ex-
tends across the Idaho border and to the northward
into Montana. The natural features of that region
are so marvellous that when John Colter returned to
Saint Louis to tell about them, he was ridiculed and

92 The Mississippi

denounced. Henry M. Stanley had the same experi-
ence after his return to England from the Livingstone
expedition.

There is no necessity to discuss the Oregon question
in this connection: much pleasanter is it to feel that
Oregon came to the Union by right of discovery by
Captain Gray, of Boston, who entered the Columbia
River in May, 1791, supported by the additional fact
that John Jacob Astor established the first permanent
trading post at Astoria. The land was not only
discovered but actually settled bj^ Americans!

The United States paid less than two cents for each
hundred acres of land conveyed by France!

It is usual to refer to the purchase of Manhattan
Island for $24 by Peter Minuit, acting for the Dutch
West India Company, as an outrageous bargain, driven
by civilised men with untutored savages; but, by com-
parison, the Indians of Manhattan were treated liber-
ally. Jefferson's deal with Napoleon was the greatest
real estate transaction ever made. Its consequences
were disastrous to the Emperor, precipitating the war
with England and her alHes that culminated at Water-
loo. Under Napoleon, France, mounted and afoot,
had faced the troops of all Europe; but that secret
treaty with the American Republic, which only half a
generation earlier had cast off the British yoke, threw
England into a rage and cost Napoleon his crown.

CHAPTER VI

Lewis and Clark

WHEN the purchase of the Louisiana Territory
had been completed. President Jefferson be-
gan to feel anxiety regarding the value of the
acquisition. He had traded with Napoleon " sight un-
seen," except the part embraced in the lower Mississippi
Valley. The great North-west was literally an un-
known land. The vastness of the new possession
was not comprehensible. And right here, it may
be said that one of the most marvellous exhibi-
tions of our national development is the rapidity
with which the primeval area has been opened to
civilisation.

In the third year of the nineteenth century. Captain
Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark, with
a party of thirty men, pitched camp on the west bank
of the Mississippi where is the present site of Saint
Louis and began building three flat-bottomed boats.
They were preparing for an epoch-making voyage of
exploration, nothing less arduous than the ascent of
the Missouri River ! This trip, inadequately as it was
outfitted, was the initiative of approximate knowledge
of a territory exceeding five hundred thousand square
miles in extent!

Saint Louis, in 1803, was a small trading post and

94 The Mississippi

its few white citizens were indifferent to the fortunes
of the Lewis and Clark expedition; hut the young
leaders were exactly the men for the undertaking.
They were Virginians, experienced woodsmen, and had
seen service against the Indians. Lewis was four years
the younger but was pre-eminently the man to com-
mand. He was twenty-nine and Clark thirty-three
years of age. Lewis had been appointed Private
Secretary to President Jefferson when the latter took
office in 1801. Therefore, when on April 30, 1803,
Jefferson's Special Commissioner, Monroe, and the
regularly accredited Minister from the United States
made the purchase from the French nation, the arduous
task of examining and reporting upon the property
was intrusted, to the President's Secretary and a com-
panion of the latter's selection. Captain Clark. The
President gave to the chief of this expedition elaborate
instructions and the report of that three years' task,
readily accessible in Washington, might serve as a model
for all explorers since that time. Lewis was the scien-
tific and Clark the military director.

When the boats were completed and their stores
aboard, the intrepid men pulled twenty miles up-stream
to the mouth of the Missouri, but at this point, the
actual beginning of their journey, they were stopped
by a Spanish officer who commanded a fort at the junc-
tion of the two rivers. It must be remembered that
the western boundary of the United States was the
Mississippi, and the Spanish flag floated over aU
territory to the west of that river, from the British
possessions on the north.

France had ceded to Spain, November 13, 1762,
"The country and colony of Louisiana and the posts

Lewis and Clark 95

thereon depending," thereby parting with her entire
American dominions; but when Spain, on February 10,
1763, ceded to England all of her American possessions
east of the Mississippi except the town of New Orleans,
the American Revolution was a foregone consequence.
The result of that war so embarrassed England in the
control of Florida that she retroceded it to Spain in
1783 and the Spanish flag again waved from the east
coast of Florida to the Pacific Ocean. By a secret
treaty October 1, 1800, Spain transferred " the colony
or province of Louisiana back to France, without re-
strictions as to limits but with her ancient boundaries
as they were when France, in 1762, had ceded the
territory to Spain."

Very probably that Spanish commander at the
mouth of the Missouri River in the summer of 1803
had not heard of the last two transfers, — trans-
ferrals, namely, of Spain back to France and the sale
by the latter to the United States. His name has ob-
scure mention in the Lewis and Clark journal but he
is lost to history. His arbitrary act, however, caused
one year's delay in the setting out of the expedition.
A messenger had to be sent to Washington for instruc-
tions and Lewis and Clark went into winter quarters
on the Illinois side to await his return.

Having back of them all the power of the young
republic and bearing official documents showing the de-
tails of the transfer from France to the United States,
Lewis and Clark started on their voyage up the Mis-
souri River, May 4, 1804. There we leave them, as
one might have said farewell to Jason and the good
ship Argo, as she disappeared behind the Cyanian rocks
at the entrance to the Bosphorus. The extent and

96 The Mississippi

wealth of the " Purchase " has been dealt with in a
preceding chapter.

Lewis and Clark occupied two years, four months,
and nineteen days in their weary journey from the
Mississippi River to Portland, Oregon, and back. To-
day, luxurious trains traverse much the same route in
either direction, in three days. A cargo of two thou-
sand tons of tea from Yokohama arrived at Tacoma,
on Puget Sound, recently. It was consigned to
Chicago and New York. Ten freight trains were re-
quired to move this cargo over the Northern Pacific
Railroad, part of which route was traversed by Lewis
and Clark.

In little more than half a century after Lewis and
Clark had pushed their explorations beyond the Mis-
sissippi, the great West was won! This is in contrast
to the rate of progress as told in all stories of his-
toiy. Centuries elapsed during the advancement from
Assyria to Egypt, Egypt to Greece, Greece to Rome,
and the progress across the Alps to north-western
Europe. The Trojan war gave to literature the
Iliad, the Odyssey, and the ^neid; Cyrus's inva-
sion of Asia Minor, the Anabasis; the conquest of
Europe, after the fall of Rome, The Song of Ro-
land, The Nibelungen Lied, Romance of the Rose,
The Cid, Beowidf, — the hero of an Anglo-Saxon epic
poem the scenes of which are laid in Denmark and
Sweden (eighth century), — the Icelandic tales of Mag-
nussen (1663), the Heimshringla, — the most import-
ant prose work in old Norse literature (1178), written
by the Icelander Snorri Sturluson, — Orlando Furioso,
a metrical romance of forty cantos by the Italian poet
Ariosto (1515), and Jerusalem Delivered by Tasso.

Lewis and Clark 97

Lewis and Clark gave to English literature Irving's
Astoria and Captain Bonneville^ Parkman's Histories,
Theodore Winthrop's John Brent, Bret Harte's Tales,
Joaquin Miller's verses. That is what a peaceful jour-
ney did for American literature.

CHAPTER VII
Zebulon M. Pike to Giacomo G. Beltrami

LIEUTENANT ZEBULON M. PIKE was di-
rected by the government to proceed up the
Mississippi, — as Lewis and Clark had previously
been ordered to explore the Missouri, — to its source.
He set out from the present site of Saint Louis on
August 9, 1805, at the head of twenty men in keel boats.
After many hardships, the expedition went into winter
camp on November 1st, on the west bank of the river
at a point in what is now Morrison County, Minnesota.
After erecting a blockhouse. Lieutenant Pike started
on December 10th on a sledge journey. He camped
on Christmas day a few miles above the present site of
Brainerd. He reached the mouth of Pine River De-
cember 31st and three days later discovered an Indian
village over which a British flag was floating. A fire
occurred in the camp of the expedition on the night of
January 4th that destroyed the tents and an explosion
of the ammunition was narrowly averted. Exhausted,
the detachment reached Leech Lake February 1st, on
snow-shoes, dragging their supplies on bark toboggans.
In his report, I^ieutenant Pike commits himself thus:
" I will not attempt to describe my feelings on the
accomplishment of my voyage, for this is the main
source of the Mississippi." When, on February 12th,
he had reached Red Cedar Lake, now known as Lake

Zebulon M. Pike to Giacomo C. Beltrami 99

Cass, he added : " This lake may be called the upper
source of the Mississippi River." The natives, seeing
that Pike's party was not composed of French or Eng-
lishmen, described his followers as " white Indians."
After several pow-wows, at which the aborigines were
made acquainted with the fact that a new and veiy
different " Great Father " ruled over them. Pike be-
gan his return march to the blockhouse, where he
arrived in March, 1806. When the river opened
in the spring, the party returned to Saint Louis,
aften an absence of eight months and twenty-two
days.

Lieutenant Pike wrote his name large upon the early
history of this country. He was only twenty-six years
of age when he made the terrible mid-winter trip
to Lake Cass. He was mortally wounded during the
second war with Great Britain, while leading an Ameri"
can attack upon York (now Toronto). He had then
attained the rank of Brigadier-General, at the age of
thirty-four years. As J. V. Brower is careful to point
out. Pike's information was " entirely hearsay and he
accepted the stories told him about the Turtle Lake
source." He did not do any actual exploring ; the lakes
and rivers were frozen, rendering such work impossible.
That his trip was considered remarkable at the time is
shown by the place accorded to it in contemporaneous
literature. He was deceived, just as Beltrami was
seventeen years later.

General Lewis Cass was appointed Governor of the
Territory of Michigan in October, 1813, and held the
post for eighteen years. As ecc-officio Superintendent
of Indian Affairs in his territory, he addressed a letter
to John C. Calhoun, Secretaiy of War, on November

loo The Mississippi

18, 1819, proposing an exploring expedition through
Lake Superior and to the sources of the Mississippi.
Secretary Calhoun endorsed the suggestion and ordered
the equipment of the expedition. The party set out
from Detroit, May 24, 1820, accompanied by a detach-
ment of troops. Here we first hear of Henry R.
Schoolcraft, who went along as mineralogist. Capt.
D. B. Douglas was attached as topographer and as-
tronomer and a few Indian hunters were added. At the
end of the forty-third day, over the route travelled by
missionaries and coureurs de hois for a century and a
half, Governor Cass arrived at the mouth of the St.
Louis River, near the present site of Duluth. Sandy
Lake trading post, on the Mississippi, was reached on
July 15th. As J. V. Brower remarks, " Lieut. Pike
had preceded Cass at this place by fourteen years
and it is probable that Le Sueur had ascended the
Mississippi as far as the mouth of Sandy Lake River."
Leaving his principal force in camp at this point, Gov-
ernor Cass proceeded with two canoes, bearing Mr.
Schoolcraft, Major Forsyth, Captain Douglas, Dr.
Wolcott, and Lieutenant Mackay, " to explore the
sources of the Mississippi."

Starting from Sandj^ Lake on July 17th, Red Cedar
Lake was attained on the 21st. Mr. Schoolcraft at
once renamed the body of water Cass Lake, in honour
of the chief of the expedition, and so it is known to
this day. From Chippewas, Cass learned that " the
source of the river was JLac La Biche, about fifty miles
west-north-west of Red Cedar Lake." Turtle River, a
considerable stream, entered the lake from the north.
Remarkable as it appears, nobody undertook to find the
source of Turtle River or to circumnavigate the large,

Zebulon M. Pike to Giacomo C. Beltrami loi

shallow lake called after Governor Cass, for other in-
lets. Had this been done, the entrance of the main
stream, leading to the Hauteurs des Terres, would have
been found by Cass in 1820. The weather was pro-
pitious, the expedition was well equipped, but, like
Pike, whose opportunities were limited by snow and
ice, the untrustworthy statements of the natives were
accepted as facts.

Governor Cass began his return journey on July
21, 1820, " after a stay of a few hours " at Cass Lake!

Taking up their detachment at Sandy Lake, the
party descended to St. Anthony Fall, traversed Lake
Pepin to Prairie du Chien, then ascended the Wis-
consin, portaged to the Fox River, and landed in Green
Bay, as many had done before them. Governor Cass
arrived at Detroit, September 15, 1820, having crossed
the southern peninsula of Michigan in the saddle. His
entire trip occupied one hundred and fifteen days. It
gave to him international fame and largely contributed
to obtain for him the nomination as Democratic candi-
date for the Presidency of the United States twenty-
eight years afterwards. Its fame endured more than
a quarter century.

The only real importance that attaches to the Cass
expedition is that it pointed the way for Henry R.
Schoolcraft, who, twelve years later, followed the same
route, camped where the Cass party had camped, and
imitated its movements in every respect except coming
home without investigating the shore line of Cass Lake.
The map resulting from the Cass expedition, which
was drawn by Schoolcraft, is highly valuable, because
it establishes the existence, although in a wrong direc-
tion, of Lac La Biche, at a point independent of Turtle

I02

The Mississippi

River. Of course it should have been south-west instead
of north-west of Cass Lake. Here is the map:

The next visitor of record to Lake Cass, Giacomo
Constantino Beltrami, did not receive during his life-

S^ttrees y Uc MissiS3if>hC.

CcLQ^incx-.

JfCcck ^

Z Jfy7i?feliec

ej>.

Vr^/a/li ^J*a/tefa /

Section of a map showing the track pursued by the

Expedition under Governor Cass in 1820

Drawn by Henry R. Schoolcraft

time proper recognition of his efforts to locate the
source of the Mississippi. This was largely due to the
jealousy of Major Long, U. S. A. No less an au-

Zebulon M. Pike to Giacomo C. Beltrami 103

thority than Jean N. Nicollet pleads the cause of Bel-
trami, who was born at Bergamo, Italy, in 1779, his
father being a customs official of the Venetian Republic.
After a superior education, he entered the army but
soon began the practice of law in the courts at Mace-

J^aiyL L

rAekcfesC ia«Z- ^^ , Ju.iL

i¥ source ot/kjiMUsissnl

Leech"

Extract from Beltrami's Chart, 1828

rata. We hear of him in Florence about 1812, where
he gained powerful social alliances that secured to him
the Presidency of the Court of Forli. He was ambi-
tious and probably became enmeshed in some political
intrigue, because he was banished in 1821. He came
to America, imbued with a desire for exploration and
discovery. He made his way to Saint Louis and thence
to Fort Snelling. From this place, he addressed a

I04 The Mississippi

letter to his most influential social sponsor in Florence,
Madame La Comtesse Compagnoni, born Passeri and
popularly known as " Countess of Albany." This
letter would not appear to have brought financial as-
sistance in time to have aided him in accompanying
Major Long, who had been commissioned to conduct
an expedition up the Minnesota River and down the
Red River of the North to Pembina. Beltrami said
in his journal: "My first intention, that of going in
search of the real sources of the Mississippi, was al-
ways before my eyes." When Long and Beltrami
quarrelled, the latter engaged two Chippewas and set
out for Red Lake. He was soon deserted by his guides
and he reached Red Lake alone, after many hardships.
Securing a guide and interpreter, Beltrami left Red
Lake, August 26, 1823, and two days later reached a
place that he described as " the highest land of North
America." There he found a deep lake, which he
named " Julia " after his patroness. He did not stop
at that, but without investigating whether or not the
lake had an outlet, announced it " the Julian source of
the Mississippi"! As Pike and Cass had done, he
accepted statements of the savages. One very singular
thing about Beltrami's journal is that he distinctly says
" this Julia Lake is formed in the shape of a heart, and
it may be truly said to speak of the very soul." Such
is the form of Itasca! It must also be admitted, in
Beltrami's behalf, that his guide described to him Lac
La Biclie and he charted it as "Doe Lake, West source
of the Mississippi." Three quarters of a century's dis-
cussion followed the claims of Beltrami. His chart is
worthy of a place in all volumes dealing with this sub-
ject. Its similarities to that of Lieutenant Pike will

Zebulon M. Pike to Giacomo C. Beltrami 105

be observed. Here is a portion of his map of the re-
gion north-west of Lake Superior, setting forth his
claims.

Beltrami descended Turtle River to Lake Cass, as
Thompson had done, twenty-six years earlier, and ul-
timately made his way down the Mississippi to New
Orleans. There he pubHshed, in 1824, La Decouverte
des Sources du Mississiiipi. From New Orleans, he
went to Mexico, and claimed to have crossed the pen-
insula to the Pacific coast before he returned to London
in 1827. In that city, his Pilgrimage in Europe
and America appeared in two volumes, from which
Chateaubriand and other French writers drew copi-
ously. In the museum of his native city, Bergamo,
Beltrami deposited the trophies of his explorations in
northern Minnesota and there they may be seen to this
day. A county in Minnesota has been named in his
honour.

CHAPTER VIII

The Schoolcraft Expedition

HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT organised his
own expedition to Cass, or Red Cedar, Lake at
St. Mary's, on Lake Superior, in the spring of
1832. It was not intended, primarily, for exploration,
but to effect a settlement of existing hostilities between
the Sioux (See-oo) and Chippewas. Lieutenant Allen,
U. S. A., with a battalion of infantry, accompanied
Superintendent of Indian Affairs Schoolcraft; Dr.
Douglas Houghton went along as botanist and Rev.
W. T. Boutwell was a guest. George Johnstone acted
as interpreter. There were thirty men, in all. It was
the year of the Black Hawk War.

As the pretext for the Schoolcraft expedition never
was made plain in the reports of Mr. Schoolcraft him-
self or of Lieutenant Allen, I wrote to Rev. W. T.
Boutwell, in June of 1880, asking him to tell me what
he knew about the matter. His generous response,
made at the sacrifice of much effort, deserves to be
given in full as final words from the last survivor of
a historic episode. It bears date of June 23, 1880, and
is as follows:

Nothing but the infirmities of age (seventy-seven) has pre-
vented an earlier reply. You ask for incidents in relation to
Mr. Schoolcraft's expedition to Itasca in 1832. To explain
the purpose of the trip, it is necessary to go back as far as

io6

The Schoolcraft Expedition 107

1805, when Lieutenant Pike made his expedition under direc-
tion of our Government and, at that early day, reached Leech
Lake and pronounced it the source of the Mississippi. He
found the country occupied by British [traders] and under
English influence. The Indian chiefs were flaunting English
flags and displaying English medals. A brief extract from
a letter, addressed to Hugh McGillis, one of the traders, will
explain the cause of his (Pike's) expedition: "You will give
immediate instructions to all posts in the territory under your
direction that at no times or on no pretence whatever are
they to hoist, or suffer to be hoisted, the English flag. That,
on no occasion, will you present a flag or a medal to an In-
dian, or hold counsel with any of them on political subjects."

Nearly thirty years later (1831), when I came to this
country, the old English traders had given place to a new
class of men. Most of them were Americans, such as Lyman
M. Warren, Charles H. Oaks, John Fairbanks, Allen Morri-
son, and W. Holiday. The Am. F. Co.'s depot was at Macki-
naw, in charge of Robert Stuart. Ex-Governor Sibley was at
that time a clerk in the Company's office.

Personal influence has a long life, — as some say, it never
dies. Although many of the early English traders had long
since died, their influence had become enduring by presents
of ammunition, goods, flags, tobacco, and medals from the
then traders at all the frontier posts. The chiefs and braves
visited these posts every summer and there received large
presents. To counteract this influence was one of the objects
contemplated by the United States Government in despatching
Mr. Schoolcraft upon his mission to Cass Lake. The chief of
every band of any note that we visited displayed the English
flag and English medals; but they promptly exchanged them
for United States flags and medals when Mr. Schoolcraft made
such proposition to them. Each band received a present of
Indian goods, ammunition, and tobacco; they were civil and
respectful in their responses to Mr. Schoolcraft, who coun-
selled them to abandon the war path and to be at peace with
their old enemies, the Sioux, until we reached Leech Lake.
Flat-Mouth's band, at that place, numbered seven hundred,
besides a band of three hundred on [word undecipherable]

io8 The Mississippi

island. Mr. Schoolcraft made to them a large and valuable
present of powder, shot, ball, Indian goods, medals, and flags
in exchange for English flags and medals. After Mr. School-
craft had addressed the Indians, as he had done on other
occasions, old Flat-Mouth rose and replied : " I suppose our
Father will be displeased if I do not speak. We are very
poor, and when we heard you were coming to visit your child-
ren we were in hopes you would pity us and bring us some-
thing to make our hearts glad." Pointing to a pile of the
richest Indian goods embraced in Mr. Schoolcraft's gifts and
amounting in value to several hundred dollars, he continued:
" The ' Big Hats,' " — by which he meant to designate the
English, — " are more generous to us than that ! I would have
been on my way to visit them had I not heard you were
coming. You tell us to abandon the war path! You would
have us sit still while our enemies kill our young men? The
words of ' the Long-Knives,' " — meaning the Americans —
" have been like the wind that shakes the trees for a moment
and is gone. You promised us that if we sat still and our
enemies came and killed our children you would punish them;
but you have not kept your promises and have restrained us
from punishing our enemies."

During this address, Flat-Mouth had held his blanket about
his body with one hand, but at its conclusion, he allowed the
blanket to fall from his shoulders to his feet and stood before
us naked, except a breech cloth. Addressing Mr. Schoolcraft,
the chief continued : " I will not hide the truth from you,
Father. We have just returned from war, in which we were
successful against our old enemy. I tell you, further, that
if my people go on the war path and I do not lead I will
not be slow to follow." Every member of the speaker's band
grunted approbation. Here we saw the true feelings of all
the border bands. They were more warmly attached to their
long-while English friends than to the Americans.

The Schoolcraft expedition reached the Mississippi
from Lake Superior by ascending the St. Louis
River and portaging into Sandy Lake River, thence

The Schoolcraft Expedition 109

descending it to Libby's trading post, at its mouth, —
where the main stream was three hundred and thirty
feet wide, according to Lieutenant Allen's measure-
ment. Turning northward, the party ascended the big
river through the Thundering Rapids, — now called
Grand Rapids, — to Pokegama Fall; thence through
the Great Savannah, crossed Lake Winnebagoshish, and
entered Lake Cass, the ultimate point of previous offi-
cial exploration. Camp was made on Grand Island.

In the first week of July, 1832, Schoolcraft started
across Cass Lake to the westward to find the entrance
of a large stream that Yellow Head, the principal chief
of the lake tribe, assured him was the continuation of
the Mississippi. His party consisted of five small
canoes, carrying three men each, with stores for the
voyage. The remainder of the party was left in camp
on Grand Island.

From the western end of Cass Lake, the ascent of
the river was resumed. Forty miles of paddling
brought Schoolcraft to the pretty lake that has nearly
retained its Chippewa name, Pa-mid-ji-gum-aug, or
Cross-water Lake. The Mississippi merely flows
through the southern end of Pemidji Lake, which is
very nearly cut in two by sharp promontories that
approach from the east and west. Schoolcraft named
the southern part of this lake after Washington Irving,
but the name has not been retained.

After leaving Lake Pemidji, the course up-stream
soon became almost due south. Five miles farther, the
ultimate forks of the river were encountered, the west-
ern branch being the larger. The guide recommended
the eastern branch as easier of ascent. Schoolcraft
named it " Plantagenet." It expanded in two places

no The Mississippi

into small lakes, which were called Marquette and La
Salle, in the order of their discovery. Late in the day,
a larger lake, with a fine evergreen forest upon its
southern side, was entered. The following day, rapids
and falls were met. A portage was made over a ridge,
through a region of Alpine plants. Small pines, of
the grey species, cedar, and spruce were abundant, and
the borders of the river were overhung with grey wil-
lows. A lake formed the ultimate reservoir of this
branch of the river, and from this lake a crossing was
to be made to the headwaters of the western or main
branch of the Mississippi.

This portage of six miles was made with several
rests. Reaching the brow of a ridge, the bright gleams
of sunshine upon a lake burst into view. It was the
goal of the explorer's hopes! The five canoes were
soon in the water and the party embarked. We now
quote Schoolcraft's description:

This was the 13th of July, 1832, being three hundred and
five years after the discovery of the mouth of the Mississippi
by Narvaez, and two hundred and nineteen years after the
actual discovery of its interior channel by Hernando de Soto.
It was a calm and bright day. Itasca Lake, as we named it,
is about five miles long.i We found the outlet quite a river,
with a swift current. We were two days and nights in its
descent [i. e., to Cass Lake]. There is a cascade, a few miles
below the lake (Itasca) called Ka-bi-ka, which we ran. We
found this stream the larger branch, and about one-third longer
than the Plantagenet fork.

The most cursory examination of Mr. Schoolcraft's

1 Commissioner J. V. Brower fixes the geographical position of
Schoolcraft Island, north latitude 47° 13' 10", longitude west from
G., 950 12'.

Recent View at Southeastern Extremity of Itasca, Showing

the Point across the Lake at which Schoolcraft

Reached it, in 18:i2.

The Schoolcraft Expedition

III

map, as found in his report, shows that he did not
enter the west arm of Itasca Lake. As a " sketch
map " it is about as inaccurate as a map could be made.
In the drawing, B indicates the point of entrance to
the lake, C the island upon which the party stopped,
and A the outlet of the lake.

The truth about the naming of Schoolcraft's lake
was brought out in 1872, as a direct result of a visit

Schoolcraft's map of Itasca Lake, 1832

to the region made by the writer of this volume. In
a letter to the New York Herald the statement was
publicly made by him that Schoolcraft had coined the
name I-tas-ca from two Latin nouns, supplied by the
Rev. W. T. Boutwell, — " Veritas caput," — by eliminat-
ing the first three letters of the first word and the last
syllable of the second word. It became a matter of
discussion in various parts of the country. Eight years
later, the author of this book wrote to the Rev. Boutwell
and received the following reply:

Dear Mr. Chambers: As you say, it was in 1872 that in-
quiry was raised regarding the origin of the word " Itasca."

rat/^c ?se

L O'Ke Pian i^ato e n et"

■^^s

Sources of the Mississippi River. Drawn to illustrate
Schoolcraft's journey to Itasca Lake, 1832

The Schoolcraft Expedition 113

The Secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society, knowing
I had accompanied the Schoolcraft expedition, addressed a
note to me with the request that if I had any knowledge re-
garding the origin of the name I would favour him with a
reply. I gave to him the time, place, and circumstances under
which I first heard the word uttered by Mr. Schoolcraft. Here
are the facts:

As we were coasting along the south shore of Lake Superior
one beautiful morning, the lake as calm and smooth as a
mirror, Mr. Schoolcraft turned to me with this question :
" Mr. Boutwell, can you give to me a word in Greek or Latin
that will express 'true head' or 'source'?"

After a moment's reflection, I replied, " I cannot ; but I
can give you two words." I gave to him " Veritas caput." He
wrote out the two words and, shortly after, turning to me,
said, with animation:

" I have it ! " Then and there, I first heard the word
" I-tas-ca."

With much esteem, yours,

W. T. Boutwell.

Stillwater, July 27, 1880.

Of course, Mr. Boutwell should have given to
Schoolcraft the words " ve-rum ca-put," the adjective
agreeing with the gender of the noun. From those
words, the name " Rum-ca " might have been framed:
it would have had a " true " Chippewa ring, albeit
suggestive of " fire-water." ^

1 In the entire range of history, sacred and profane, only one
episode exists as curious and interesting as this one. It is said a
Jewish maiden, pitying the sufferings of the Saviour staggering under
the weight of His cross on the road to Calvary, handed to Him her
handkerchief. Jesus wiped His brow, returned the dainty linen to
its owner, and pursued His painful journey. A perfect likeness of
the Christ was upon the handkerchief! The precious article was
called vera iconica (true likeness), and that gentle Jewess has been
known ever since that dreadful day as Sainte Veronica (Ver-a ic-
onica). One of these handkerchiefs is preserved in St. Peter's,
Rome; another is shown at Milan. — J. C.

114 The Mississippi

Dr. Douglas Houghton, who accompanied the
Schoolcraft expedition, kept a journal of the trip which
was not published until 1882, when it appeared in the
Detroit Post and Tribune. It explains several obscure
points in the narratives of Schoolcraft and Allen.
Most startling is its disclosure of the fact that the party
was at Itasca only three and one half hours of one
afternoon. Having described the voyage to Lake Cass,
where the party arrived on July 10, 1832, the Houghton
narrative continues:

Our party was reorganised for a further prosecution of the
exploration. Indians and voyageurs declared that the Mis-
sissippi had its origin in a lake called La BicJie, sixty miles
in a north-westerly direction : actually nothing was known of
the situation above Cass Lake. Lieut. J. Allen announced
that he could not prevail upon his men to accompany us
farther. Our party, as reorganised, numbered sixteen men : H.
R. Schoolcraft, Lieut. Allen, Rev. W. T. Boutwell, George
Johnson, myself, and eleven voyageurs and natives.

At five o'clock a.m. (Wednesday, July 11th), Schoolcraft,
Allen, Boutwell, Johnson [s?c], and myself embarked. Each
of us occupied a separate canoe, paddled by one voyageur and
one Chippewa. We ascended the river beyond Lake Cass to
a body of water called by the voyageurs Lac Travers. Pro-
ceeding, we passed a series of small lakes and encamped at a
point of woods.

July 12th, Thursday, we embarked at 5 a.m., and continued
to ascend the stream until 4 p.m., when the guides advised a
portage, owning to the tortuous character of the river. [This
is the Eastern, or Plantagenet, branch of the Mississippi, be it
remembered. — J. C] We portaged two miles across country,
soil of diluvial character, containing boulders of trap rock,
syenite, and quartz. The course of the stream had been south-
erly. We camped on again reaching the insignificant creek.

July 13th, Friday. — The sun had scarcely arisen when we
embarked and ascended the winding brook at which we had

The Schoolcraft Expedition 115

encamped the evening before, for twelve or fifteen miles, when
we arrived at an expansion of water one or two miles in
length, called by the guides Ossowa Lake. Its waters were
blackish and bordered with aquatic plants. This lake receives
two small brooks, and may be regarded as the source of this
branch of the Mississippi. The head of this lake is one hund-
red and twenty miles from the forks. The chief, Yellow Head,
pushed his canoe through the weeds of the shore and soon an-
nounced his discovery of the portage which would lead to Lac
La Biche of the French. Having reached the source of this
branch of the great river, it may be noted that its existence
as a separate fork of the Mississippi has been hitherto unknown
in our maps. Immediately after landing we followed the por-
tage in a westerly direction, wading for some distance before
the soil became firm. The course led through a tamarack
swamp for about two miles. Thirteen rests were deemed the
length of the portage. Having passed over, or rather through,
the marshes, we arrived at a series of sandy ridges, supporting
a growth of grey pine covered with lichen. These ridges
separate the headwaters of the Mississippi and its tributaries
from those of Red River. Having passed over these ridges
near four miles, making in all six miles of portage, we arrived
at Lake Itasca, near its head. This lake is considered the
true source of the Mississippi, and our party was the first
which had ever reached it. The lake is small and irregular,
having many bays proportionately deep. It is eight miles in
length, and has an average width of three fourths of a mile.
The shore rises gradually to a considerable height from the
water, but the soil is of the same barren, sandy kind already
mentioned. The principal timber is grey and yellow pine and
aspen. Near the foot of the lake is a small island, upon which
we landed, and Mr. Schoolcraft ordered the American flag to
be hoisted, and it was so secured as to remain a long time.
This was the first flag ever hoisted at the head of the Mis-
sissippi River.

We arrived at the lahe at aT)Out one o'clock p.m., and hav-
ing coasted through it and made some examinations, our sole
object of visiting the Mississippi was accomplished, and, at

ii6 The Mississippi

li.SO, ice commenced dcscciKlinc/ the outlet of the lake, which
ivas a mere hrook, about ten feet in width.

A final word about Beltrami. INIr. Schoolcraft and
Lieutenant Allen have only words of sarcasm and dis-
respect for the adventurous Italian. One is puzzled,
after comparing their reports, to account for their
bitterness except upon the meanest of motives, —
jealousy at finding their work anticipated. In Bel-
trami's narrative,^ published ten years before Allen's
report,^ he fixes " the source of the great river in Lake
Moscos-Saguaiguen." O-mush-kos Saw-gaw-see-gum
is clearly the same lake; and, if they are not the same
words, the French name, which Beltrami gives, would
settle the identity of the lake. Beltrami adds, " It is
also known as Lac La Biche, the first one above Lac
Tr avers" (Pemidji Lake).^ Beltrami further antici-
pates both of his critics, because he states that " the
large river flowing into Lac de la Cedre Rouge [Cass]
on the west is the continuation of the Mississippi." He
says it is called Demizimaguamaguen-sibi and leads
directly into Lac Travers. Much additional philo-
logical proof might be given to strengthen Beltrami's
position and to identify the main stream as located by
him.

Again, Beltrami does not claim (as Allen alleges)
Tortoise, or Turtle, Lake as the " true source of the
Mississippi," but only describes it and its feeders as
" the Julian sources." Yet, on the map attached to

1 Beltrami's Pilgrimage in Europe and America, 2 vols. London,
1823.

- Executive Reports, 1st Session, 23d Congress. (1833.) Vol. ii.,
page 323.

3 Beltrami's Pilgrimage, vol. ii., page 434.

•"

j*^

-u

t«

• p—

-li

,j:3

The Schoolcraft Expedition 117

Lieutenant Allen's report to the President of the United
States, a mark of disrespect for Beltrami's work is
placed by affixing to that locality the words, " False
source of the Mississippi." Schoolcraft and Allen
subsequently quarrelled; but at the time of their jour-
ney they appear to have agreed that they possessed
letters patent to everything associated with the upper
Mississippi. They write as though the river belonged
to them ; men who had shown them the route are warned
off. This feeling accounts for the perpetration of
*' ver I-tas ca-put," and nothing else does. Mr. Bout-
well's letter narrates the circumstances under which the
word was coined: but I frankl}'^ admit not to have un-
derstood Mr. Schoolcraft's motive for insisting upon
stamping " true source " upon Itasca Lake until I
examined Lieutenant Allen's map.

Recurring to the various theories and explanations
that had been put forth in former years, to account for
the selection of the name " Itasca," I may say that
after the Boutwell announcement was made by the
Minnesota Historical Society, considerable merriment
was created over a letter that had appeared in a Saint
Paul newspaper in May, 1872, addressed to A. J. Hill,
of Saint Paul, by Mary H. Eastman, of Washington,
D. C, in which she had repeated a remarkable legend
that had appeared in her collection of Indian Folk-lore,
known as Eastman's Aboriginal Portfolio. Here is
the lady's story, as taken from her letter:

Itasca was the daughter of Manabazho, Spirit God of the
Chippewas. I have printed, in my Aboriginal Portfolio an
account of the exciting scene of the discovery of the Missis-
sippi, and the tradition of Itasca, after whom Mr. Schoolcraft
named the lake. The Chippewa guide gave the tradition to

ii8 The Mississippi

Mr. Schoolcraft who gave it to me. It is a lovely little tradi-
tion, and reminds one of Ceres and Proserpine.

Itasca was beloved by Chebiabo, keeper of the souls of the
dead, and was about to be torn from her family and borne
to his gloomy abode, she having refused to go with him. The
storm spirits interfered in her behalf, but too late to save
her. In the confusion of the struggle in which the gods took
part, Itasca was buried under hills of sand, forming a mound
that the Chippewa guide showed to Mr. Schoolcraft as her
grave. The rills that flow from the rocks and sand, forming
the lake, are made by the tears of Itasca weeping for ever
for home and friends, — the sorrow produced by the revenge
of this terrible (Pluto) Chebiabo. The name and tradition
of Itasca are as reliable as any other. It is a subject for a
grand poem.

What can be thought of the statement that Mr.
Schoolcraft is responsible for this yarn?

CHAPTER IX

The Jean N. Nicollet Expedition

THE first real investigation of the sources of the
Mississippi was made by a Frenchman, Jean
Nicolas Nicollet, who came to the United States
in the same year that Schoolcraft visited and named the
Itasca region. He was born at Cluses, not far from
Geneva, in Savoie, in 1790. His parents were poor;
he learned the watchmaker's trade and pursued the
study of mathematics. He went to Paris, was admitted
to the first class of L'Ecole Normale, and soon received
an appointment as Professor of Mathematics in the
College of Louis le Grand. He became distinguished
as an astronomer, — having discovered two comets, for
which he received the decoration of the Legion of
Honour.

Nicollet arrived in New Orleans, according to the
most credible authorities, in 1832, where he was assisted
by Bishop Chance of Natchez. He communicated to
the War Department his wish to engage in a voyage
of exploration on the upper Mississippi. He set out
from New Orleans on a tour to the north in 1835. At
Saint Louis, he made the acquaintance of P. Chouteau,
Jr., a successful merchant, who furnished him with
means to prosecute his journey. Henry H. Sibley,
who met Nicollet at Fort Snelling, asserts that the
Frenchman's visit to Itasca occurred during the

119

I20 The Mississippi

summer of 1835, instead of 1836, as claimed by
the traveller himself/

Nicollet arrived in Washington after his exploration
of Itasca in 1838, published his reports, and was sent
on a mission to chart the vast region between the Mis-
souri and Mississippi. The career of John C. Fremont
may be said to have begun with that expedition, he
having been assigned thereto by the Secretary of War.
Nicollet ascended the Missouri, much as Lewis and
Clark had done, and returned by way of the Minnesota
River, opening a new country to civilisation. He died,
full of honours but poor in purse, at Washington on
September 18, 1844.

J. V. Brower summarises Nicollet's preliminary re-
port in such masterly fashion that he brings out its best
features. This summary is given without comment on
the discrepancies between Nicollet's measurements and
those of Schoolcraft^:

The Itasca region is covered with American larch and white
cedars. The hills to the east of Itasca rise one hundred and
twenty feet above the water. No sign of the flag set up on
Schoolcraft Island. So, this is Itasca Lake, — it may be lik-

1 See Minnesota Historical Collections, vol. i., p. 188. It is a curi-
ous and highly interesting coincidence that M. Nicollet should have
had the same Christian name as his distinguished predecessor in
Northern exploration, Jean Nicolet, who is mentioned in the " Rela-
tions " of the Jesuit Fathers as arriving in Canada in 1618, and, after
spending a season at Nipissing Lake, was sent by the Company of
New France to Les Gens de Mer, or People of the Sea (the Win-
nebagoes) , to negotiate a peace between them and the Hurons. The
Nicollet of 1836, who had appreciative words for everybody that had
preceded him, was savagely attacked and a contemporary critic as-
serted that his baptismal name was Joseph. It was probably a mean,
unjustified assertion.

~ Brower's The Mississippi and its Source, vol. vii. of Minnesota
Historical Society Collections.

Nicollet's Creek, bey out! Itasca.

{" The Cradled Hercules.")

Courtesy of J. V. Brower.

The Jean N. Nicollet Expedition 121

ened to the mysterious source of the Nile! (Pliny, lib. v.)
Five small creeks enter this lake, all but one mere trickling
rills, oozing from clay beds at the bases of the hills that
consist of an accumulation of sand, gravel, and clay, inter-
mixed with erratic fragments.

The elevations are flat on top, varying in height from eighty-
five to one hundred feet above surrounding waters. They are
covered with thick forests, in which coniferous plants pre-
dominate. South of Itasca Lake, they form a semicircular
region, with a boggy bottom extending to the south-west sev-
eral miles: thence these Hauteurs des Terres ascend to the
north-west and north, and then, stretching to the north-east
and east through the zone between 47 and 48 N. latitude,
make the dividing ridge between the waters that empty into
the Gulf of Mexico and into Hudson Bay. The waters sup-
plied by the north side of these heights — still on the south
side of Itasca — give origin to the five creeks referred to.
These are the utmost sources! Those that flow from the
southern side of the same heights form Elbow Lake, the source
of the Red River of the North. They are close together.

Of the five streams mentioned, one empties into the east
bay of the lake and the other four into the west bay. I visited
them all. I explored the principal one (August 29, 1836).
At its entrance into Itasca it is between fifteen and twenty
feet wide, and has a depth of two to three feet. I paddled
against a brisk current for twenty minutes; stream full of
obstructions. Leaving my canoe, I sought the springs among
the hills on foot. After a walk of three miles, into the hills,
found a small lake, from which the Mississippi flowed in a
current a foot deep and two feet wide. At no great distance,
however, this rivulet, uniting itself with other streams, sup-
plies a second minor lake. From this lake issues a rivulet,
larger and stronger, — " a cradled Hercules," — giving promise
of its strength and its maturity, for its velocity has increased.
It transports the smaller branches of trees ; it begins to form
sand-bars; its bends are more decided, until it subsides again
into the basin of a third lake, larger than the two preceding.
Having here acquired renewed vigour and tried its consequence

12 2 The Mississippi

upon an additional length of two or three miles [sic] it
finally empties into Lake Itasca, the principal reservoir of all
the sources to which it [the Mississippi] owes its subsequent
majesty.

M. Nicollet was evidently in the dark as to the
origin of the name Itasca. ( See " Report," p. 59.)
This is what he says of the island:

There is only one island in Itasca Lake, not more than
two hundred and twenty-two yards long,i with a sandy, grav-
elly soil but covered by a full growth of northern trees that
give to it a picturesque appearance. [Again, he says:] The
Mississippi, as it issues from Itasca, is sixteen feet wide, four-
teen inches deep, beautifully transparent, and swift in cur-
rent. The temperature of the water (August 29th) at 7 a.m.,
was sixty-two whilst the air was fifty-six. After an hour's
descent, the stream enlarged to twenty-five feet, three feet
deep.

In view of discussion regarding the actual achieve-
ments of Jean N. Nicollet, we cannot do better
than to quote, literally, his official report to Con-
gress, pubhshed January 11, 1845, — nearly nine

1 It is interesting to compare this statement with Lieutenant
Allen's report (of the Schoolcraft expedition) in which he says:
*' The island, which I called * Schoolcraft,' in Lac La Biche, is 150
yards long (450 feet), 50 yards broad (150 feet) and elevated 20
or 30 feet in its highest part; a little rocky in boulders and grown
over with pine, spruce, wild cherry, and elm." (See Executive Docu-
ments, 1st Session, 23d Congress, vol. 4, p. 44. Also p. 323.) Here
is what he says of the region: "The lake is surrounded by hills
300 feet high, of irregular shape, conforming to the bases of these
pine hills, which for a great part of its circumference rise abruptly
from its shores. The lake is deep, very clear, and cold. ... It
would seem that no kind of animal life was adapted to so gloomy a
region."

The Jean N. Nicollet Expedition 123

years after his journey and four months after
his death. He had given many of his last hours to
a revision of the proofs/ We begin with the con-
clusion of the final portage from Leech Lake into
Itasca:

The last in the series [of ridges], also the highest, is one
hundred and twenty feet above the waters of Itasca Lake.
This ridge, with a rapid descent, led us to the borders of the
lake, where I took a barometrical observation at noon.

My next move was to pitch my tent on Schoolcraft Island.
The staff, at the top of which that gentleman informed us he
had raised the American flag, had been cut down by Indians.
I made use of what remained to fix upon it my artificial hori-
zon, and immediately proceeded to make astronomical observa-
tions, and to take up the exploration of the sources of the
Mississippi.

The Mississippi holds its own from its very origin; for it
is not necessary to suppose, as has been done, that Lake
Itasca may be supplied with [from] invisible sources, to jus-
tify the character of a remarkable stream, which it assumes
at its issue from this lake. There are five creeks that fall
into it, formed by innumerable streamlets oozing from the
clay beds at the bases of the hills, that consist of an accumu-
lation of sand, gravel, and clay, intermixed with erratic frag-
ments, being a more prominent portion of the great erratio
deposit previously described and which here is known by the
name of ''Hauteurs des Terrcs" — heights of land.

These elevations are commonly flat at top, varying in height
from eighty-five to one hundred feet above the level of the

1 The text is taken from a copy of the Nicollet " Report " in the
possession of the American Geographical Society, which is a presenta-
tion volume inscribed, " To His Excellency, Baron Alexander von
Humboldt, from his fervent admirer, J. G. Fliigel." Doc. No. 52,
House of Representatives, 28th Congress, 2d Session, 1845; page 56
et seq. Jean Godefroi Fliigel was a German lexicographer who served
as a German consul in the United States and died in 1855. — J. C.

12 4 The Mississippi

surrounding waters. They are covered with thick forests, in
which coniferous plants predominate.^

The waters supplied by the north flank of these heights
of land — still on the south side of Lake Itasca — give origin
to the five creeks of which I have spoken above. These are
the waters which I consider to he the utmost sources of the
Mississippi. Those that flow from the southern side of
the same heights, and empty themselves into Elbow Lake,
are the utmost sources of the Red River of the North; so that
the most remote feeders of Hudson Bay and the Gulf of
Mexico are closely approximated to each other.

Now, of the five creeks that empty into Itasca Lake, one
empties into the east bay of the lake: the four others into the
west bay. I visited the whole of them; and among the latter
is one remarkable above the others, inasmuch as its course is
longer, and its waters more abundant : so that, in obedience to
the geographical rule, " that the sources of a river are those
which are most distant from its mouth," this creek is truly
the infant Mississippi; all others helow, its feeders and
tributaries.

The day on which I explored this principal creek (August
29, 1836), I judged that, at its entrance into Itasca Lake, its
bed was from fifteen to twenty feet wide, and the depth of
water from two to three feet.^ We stemmed its pretty brisk
current during ten or twenty minutes; but the obstructions
occasioned by the fall of trees compelled us to abandon the
canoe, and to seek its springs on foot, along the hills. After
a walk of three miles ^ {sic), during which we took care not
to lose sight of the Mississippi, my guides informed me that
it was better to descend into the trough of the valley; when,
accordingly, we found numberless streamlets oozing from the
bases of the hills. [Remarks about temperature at this point
are omitted.]

1 A brief omission of matter quoted by Brower, and of a few sen-
tences describing the dividing ridge between the Mississippi and Red
River of the North, occurs here. The latter is not pertinent (p. 58).

2 The reader is asked to refer to the Government survey map in
the front of this volume.

The Mouth of Nicollet's Creek, where it Enters Itasca.
(Taken since the Building of the Dam at the Outlet of the Lake.)

The Jean N. Nicollet Expedition 125

As a further description of these head waters, I may add
that they unite at a small distance from the hills whence they
originate, and form a small lake, from which the Mississippi
flows with a breadth of a foot and a half, and a depth of a
foot. At no great distance,^ however, this rivulet, uniting
itself with other streamlets coming from other directions,
supplies a second minor lake, the waters of which have already
acquired a temperature of 48°. From this lake issues a
rivulet, necessarily of increased importance — a cradled Her-
cules, giving promise of the strength of its maturity; for its
velocity is increased; it transports the smaller branches of
trees; it begins to form sand bars; its bends are more de-
cided, until it subsides again into the basin of a third lake,
somewhat larger than the two preceding.^ Having here ac-
quired renewed vigour, and tried its consequence upon an
additional length of two or three miles [!], it finaHy empties
into Itasca Lake, which is the principal reservoir of all the
sources to which it [the Mississippi] owes all its subsequent
majesty. [Some comments on Schoolcraft, Lieutenant Allen,
and Beltrami are omitted.]

After having devoted three days to an exploration of the
sources of the Mississippi, I took leave of Itasca Lake, to the
examination of which the expedition that preceded me by
four years had devoted but a short time. (Allen's report, 44.)

M. Nicollet's account of his descent of the river to
Lake Cass does not differ greatly from that of Lieu-
tenant Allen, who accompanied Schoolcraft. From
that point, he went " through intermediary lakes and
portages " to Leech Lake, where we leave him.

Mr. J. V. Brower, who gave the best years of his
life to maintaining the worthy, if confusing, claims of

1 Among the articles enumerated in M. Nicollet's kit was " a meas-
uring tape " and it is to be regretted he did not use it.

~ All of which is very confusing, unless we are to understand that
the stream grew larger as it neared its ultimate source. Nicollet in
his ascent, " took care not to lose sight of the Mississippi." Mr.
Brower's explanation is ingenious (see next page).

126 The Mississippi

Jean N. Nicollet, admitted the difficulty of explaining
Nicollet's report. He says ^ :

The discovery of three small lakes by M. Nicollet, up the
channel of the main tributary, so graphically described by
him, and the manner in which he located them upon his map,
without careful courses and measurements, has misled ob-
servers of the locality as to his three lakes. Hopewell Clarke
was led to presume that his third lake was a small body of
water (now a dry bed) to the eastward of his middle lake,
while my casual examination of 1888, in the confusion of
location in which M. Nicollet placed these three bodies of
water, indicated that the third lake up the tributary did
not exist, and a belief accordingly was publicly expressed.
No one question has been more puzzling than the identity of
Nicollet's third lake. There is a probability that M. Nicollet
in passing up the valley and affluent discovered by him
became bewildered in the thickets of the locality, which pre-
cluded the possibility of his correctly delineating the topo-
graphy of the spot. It is absolutely impossible to certainly
and accurately trace his stejjs after he left his canoe and
passed along the brow of the hills, being careful to remain
within sight of the stream, that he might not become lost. It
is possible, since it is certain that he passed up the valley
on the east bank of the stream, that he only saw two lakes,
for the peculiarities of the topography there, in passing up
the valley on the brow of the hills on the east side of the
stream, bring the middle lake in sight first, and continuing,
the lower lake comes in sight, thence passing up the stream
the middle lake again comes to the view. Query: May it not
have been that Nicollet, passing the middle lake first, reach-
ing the lower lake second, and then again arriving at the
middle lake, may have made the mistake of describing the
two lakes as three, having arrived in sight of the middle lake a
second time? Such a view is forced upon the reader of his
report, in the light of a survey in detail of Nicollet's lower

^The Mississippi River and its Source, by J. V. Brower. Min-
nesota Historical Society Collections, vol. vii., 162.

The Outlet of Nicollet's Middle Lake.

The Jean N. Nicollet Expedition 127

and middle lakes; especially so, since it is known that the
waters, in abundance, ooze from the base of the hill imme-
diately above Nicollet's middle lake, and uniting form a stream
of continued surface flowage to Itasca Lake. It is very doubt-
ful if Nicollet ever saw the pool of water which has been
designated as his third lake, for purposes of correct geo-
graphical delineation. It, however, is the only pathway out
of a dilemma at this time.

After an exhaustive consideration of the question, it is
believed that the underground channel, now distinctly defined
between Nicollet's upper and middle lakes, possibly might have
been, in 1836, a surface channel, and, accordingly, a declared
determination upon the question of the three lakes has been
made with much doubt.^

Just how much this explanation explains is left to
impartial readers. The author of this volume does not
express an opinion; and he venerates Mr. Brower.

In this immediate connection (although it does not
belong here chronologically), I annex to M. Nicollet's
report the account of Hopewell Clarke's special survey
of the Nicollet valley, made in 1886, at the instance
of Henry D. Harrower.^ Mr. Clarke's standing and

1 St. Paul, Minn., Dec. 18, 1889.

After due deliberation, and with a copy of Nicollet's original map
of the sources of the Mississippi and North Red River before us, we
conclude the three lakes noted by Nicollet on the principal affluent to
Lake Itasca, as shown by his said map, are the two lakes in the
south-east quarter of section 21, and the small lake in the south-west
corner of section 22, township 143, range 36.

Signed: Hopewell Clarke,

J. V. Broweb.

2 Mr. Henry D. Harrower, representing the educational publishing
house of Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co., had previously issued a
small volum.e dealing conclusively with the claims of Captain Willard
Glazier, made by Glazier as a result of a trip to the Itasca country
in 1884, On page 21 of that book, Mr. Harrower says: " Some time
after most of this paper was in type I learned the name and ad-
dress of the New York Herald correspondent of 1872. Mr. Julius
Chambers at once kindly placed his note-book at my service, and a

128 The Mississippi

experience are recognised. With two assistants, he
entered the Itasca basin from the southward, by way
of Park Rapids, and arrived at Itasca Lake, October
13, 1886. His report bears date of December 7th, of
that year; and his survey map, taken therefrom, is much
more detailed than that of the Government surveyor,
Edwin S. Hall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CLARKE MAP

Nicollet Creek is the largest feeder of the lake. It is 16
feet wide and 21/2 feet deep at its entrance to Itasca. My
exploration of this stream was the most complicated and
difficnlt of our undertakings, and it was with considerable
difficulty that we were able to identify the three lakes which
Nicollet describes: but, while on the ground, we concluded
that Nicollet's three lakes are those marked on my map A, B,
and G. At first sight, it would seem, from Nicollet's descrip-
tion, that these are not the ones to which he referred; and
I have given much study to the points involved, endeavouring
to reconcile his description with some other theory.

We followed the stream to the first lake at the edge of
the hills and through the swamps; the course of the brook is
two miles in length and seemed like four. Distances on the
ground double up very fast when one follows crooked streams,
— as you will remember when you compare the length of the
stream between Itasca and Elk lakes (1084 feet) with the act-
ual distance between the two lakes (350 feet). If we add to
the actual length of the course of the stream from the lake A
to its outlet at D, which is in reality two miles, the difficulties
Nicollet encountered wading through the tamarack marsh, we

copy of his note-book map is here reproduced for the first time. See
page 22." On page 26, he adds: "Mr. Chambers went over every
mile of the river by water. He did not make any stump speech, did
not rate himself a great discoverer, did not call his lake, * Lake
Chambers,' was not greeted by brass-bands, and did not finally re-
ceive the freedom of the city of New Orleans."

The Jean N. Nicollet Expedition 129

can easily believe that this is the course he describes as " two
or three miles in length. . . ."

But lake G is not the source at the present time from which
Nicollet's stream draws its principal supply of water. To find
this source, after considerable exploration, we were obliged to
go to a lake which has its head in the north-western quarter
of section 34. This is the utmost source and fountain-head
of the water flowing north into Lake Itasca. The lake itself
is fed by numerous springs along its borders, and its surface
is 92 feet above the level of Lake Itasca. The small inlet from
the lake marked / was dry when we visited it, but water runs
through it in the wet season. The hills south rise from 20
to 160 feet high, and water never has flowed over them, north-
ward. It might be interesting to know how far it flows
under them. It is certain that it does, but there is no way
to trace the course or distance. All the streams in this part
of the basin rise in springs in tamarack swamps, which are
undoubtedly fed by water percolating under the hills from
lakes and swamps beyond; and, no doubt, the group of lakes
V, B, W, and X, in the southern part of sections 33, 34, and
35, which spread out to a considerable extent in sections 3,
4, and 5 of the townships next south, are the reservoirs that
feed a number of these streams. Beginning with the lake
marked E, it spreads northward nearly half a mile. At its
northern end, the water flows out of this lake in a stream
11/2 feet wide, and 1 foot deep, and, running west about 200
feet, empties into a small lake about 2 acres in extent, marked
G. This lake connects with another of the same size about
20 feet to the west of it.

At the time we were there, both ponds were full of moss
and bogs, and almost dried up, the abundant inflow of water
running out by underground passages as fast as it came in;
but both lakes show that at some seasons of the year they
contain 4 feet more of water, caused by the increased flow in
the springtime and in the rainy season. At that time the
underground passages are not large enough to carry the water
off, and so it accumulates and the ponds fill up. Apparently
they once had a surface outlet which is now closed by a beaver

130 The Mississippi

dam. The water flowing from the two lakes feeds the two
springs numbered 3 and 5.

Proceeding to the spring marked 5, we find the water
bubbling up and flowing away in a rapid, lively stream, in a
direction generally northward. It is fed by springs along its
course until it reaches the extreme south-western corner of
section 22, where it is 2i^ feet wide and 8 inches deep, and
discharges into a small pond of about 5 acres in extent. This
pond is the most remarkable one in the course of the stream ;
it has no surface outlet, and, from the formation of the land
about it, apparently has never been any larger than it now
is; but, with the large volume of water flowing into it, we
perceive that it must, of course, have a steady and sufficient
outlet underground. This we found to be toward the west,
where it bursts forth in an immense spring or pool, marked
2, in the extreme south-eastern quarter of section 21. The
lowest point on the hill between the pond and the spring is
12 feet above the level of the pond; and the water, dropping
underground, bubbles up in the swamp 200 feet away and 33
feet below that level. The stream passes underground from
section 22 into section 21, and is therefore invisible to one
following up the course of the section line.

Proceeding from the spring marked 2, the water flows in
a north-westerly direction, and empties into the lake marked
B, — the second one of Nicollet's chain of lakes. The outlet
of this lake is on the west side, a stream 3 feet wide and a
foot deep, joined at a short distance by another from the
south. Following up the stream, which joins the main one
on section 21, we find it rises on section 28 at a spring
marked 3, evidently fed by an underground passage from the
pond F. These streams are re-enforced throughout their
course by springs which ooze from the bases of the hills that
line the tamarack swamps; so that, when the creek leaves
lake A, it flows with a brisk current 12 feet wide and 1 foot
deep, which is further re-enforced by numerous springs all
the way to Lake Itasca. At the point of its discharge into
the lake, it is a broad, well-defined stream, 16 feet wide, and
2l^ feet deep at its deepest point.

The Sources of the Mississippi.
First Official Survey Map, 1875, by Edwin S. Hall.

CHAPTER X

Elk Lake to South-west Pass

SCHOOLCRAFT in 1832 and Nicollet in 1836,
— nobody of record since that time ! " exclaimed
a New York newspaper correspondent in the
Congressional Library, at Washington, one day, after
an examination of all reports, official and otherwise, of
exploration at the head-waters of the Mississippi River.
The time was January, 1872. Forty years had elapsed
since Schoolcraft had visited and named Itasca Lake,
as " the true source " of the " Father of Waters."

Mr. Schoolcraft's official report showed that he had
merely paddled from the southern end of the eastern
arm of Itasca to the only island in the lake and thence
direct to the outlet. That he had overlooked important
features was proved by Nicollet's visit, four years later.
This capable and scholarly Frenchman had passed four
days at Itasca and had examined the west arm of the
lake, which Schoolcraft had wholly neglected.

Plans for a trip to the sources of the Mississippi
took form in the correspondent's mind, which were
subsequently carried out. Three months in the open
air had been ordered by a physician, to supplement
recovery from serious illness, and such an outing af-
forded opportunity to obey that command. The corre-
spondent financed the expedition himself, although he
arranged to send letters to the New York Herald.

131

132 The Mississippi

The best map that Colton, New York's cartographist
of the time, could supply, showed the Itasca region as
a blank! A journey was made to Troy, and a canoe
was ordered from Waters, Balch & Co., to be delivered
at Saint Paul the first week in May.

When the correspondent arrived at the capital of
Minnesota, he visited the State Land Office, in hope
that the large Colton map could be supplemented with
details sufficiently clear to lay out a route to Itasca
Lake. Not a single profitable addition was made to
the chart! It was desirable to go by some other route
than that of Leech Lake, which Nicollet had followed.
Greatly disappointed, the would-be canoeist sent his
boat by rail to Brainerd, but personally stopped in
Duluth, still intent upon obtaining needed information.
This " City of the Unsalted Seas " was then a small
nest of white frame houses, clinging to a rocky hill-
side, with mot enough scrubby pines to shelter its brood
from the keen winds of Lake Superior. Its streets
were sloughs and its hotel was something memorable.
A photograph, secured that day, is veritable.

The Northern Pacific Railroad was slowly progress-
ing across Minnesota toward the Red River of the
North. Possessing a personal letter from Jay Cooke,
the directing mind in that enterprise, the writer of this
narrative went to Brainerd and sought information at
" Headquarters," as the combined hotel and offices of
the corporation were described. There, Dr. Day, then
Indian Commissioner, was encountered. He was on
his way to White Earth. Acting upon his advice, the
correspondent resumed the journey westward by rail.
Leaving the train at Oak Lake station, not far from
the present town of Detroit Lake, the night was passed

Saint Paul, Looking Southwest.
From a photograph taken in 1872.

The ritv of Dnhith iu 1872.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 133

in a log tavern, and on the following day a waggon
carried the Commissioner and the correspondent twenty
miles across the prairie to White Earth, seat of the
Chippewa Indian Reservation of that name, where, at
Morrison's trading post, the expedition to Itasca Lake
was outfitted.

I — AT WHITE EAETH MISSION

The " hotel " was chiefly of logs and its partitions
were of straw-board. Its mistress was a daughter of
" Hole in the Day," a Chippewa chief whose name
was national. A church and a school were the only
evidences of civilisation, although a few small plots of
ground were devoted to agriculture. " Graves in the
air," bodies of the dead supported by poles, were seen.
One of the best guides in the North-west, Henry Beau-
lieu, of a famous French-Canadian family at Mackinaw,
and a packman were engaged ; word was sent by runner
to another Chippewa carrier to meet the party at the
first long portage.

The people at the Mission were gravely anxious,
just then, regarding the fate of a missing man. One
of the most widely known " timber-cruisers " in Min-
nesota, Peter Kelly, had set out, more than a month
before, to locate land-scrip in the Itasca wilderness, but
had not returned.

Frontiersmen are united by a brotherhood of com-
mon, ever-present danger. Men belonging to the
White Earth Mission had vainly tried to follow Kelly's
trail into the brush and through a broad belt of fallen
timber. The lost man was not familiar with the Itasca
region. He was a servant of foreign monopolists, that,

134 The Mississippi

in local belief, were stealing timber lands from the
government: nevertheless, these natural philanthropists
could not permit Kelly to die in the woods, unsought.
The second search party had returned, unsuccessful and
hopeless. The pioneers at White Earth agreed that
the " timber-cruiser " had been maimed in crossing a
tornado path and had died of starvation in the woods.

" Cruising for timber " is a livelihood of the forest
primeval. The simile is apt. A woodman who seeks
new lumber regions amid the pathless wilderness, where
the sun is hidden by day and the stars b}^ night, is as
bold a navigator as is the sailor on the trackless waste
of the deep.

iThe " timber-cruiser " is a child of the woods, as was
the coureur de hois who preceded him; and, like his
precursor, he is an advance agent of civilisation. Scien-
tifically, he knows little of astronomy beyond the sun's
course and the polar star. In the forest primeval, the
heaven-lit constellations can rarely be seen; but the
secrets of terrestrial nature, sacred possessions of path-
finders gone before, guide him on his wa3^ His trained
eye will detect the deflection of tender twigs toward
the south. The gray moss of the tree-trunks is always
on the side toward the north; the bark is more supple
and smoother on the east than on the west; southward
the mildew never comes. On the prairie, he knows that
the tips of the grass incline toward the south, and are
less green on the northward side. Thus does an un-
lettered savant box the compass in the wilderness.

(The " timber-cruiser " is a forest king! The wealth
of the woods is his. Here he reigns alone, — he dares
not have a confidant! His is the task of locating the
land-scrip that capitalists or corporations have pur-

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 135

chased from government. He precedes the woodman,
the axe, and the saw. He undertakes arduous jour-
neys, equipped only with a blanket, a gun, a compass,
and salted provisions. He relies upon his weapon to
provide fresh meat and protection. His acts of
courage, endurance, and skill never are witnessed, —
never are discussed by himself. His success or failure
is known only to the directors of the lumber companies
that employ him and to whom he makes a detailed
report. So retentive is his memory that at the end of
a two months' " cruise " he can indicate upon a map the
tracts of valuable woodland among a hundred square
miles of worthless tamarack: but the exact location of
the treasure is a secret to be guarded with his life.
Months may pass before the lands can be " taken up '*
and entered upon the records at Washington.

The pathless forest is the " timber-cruiser's " home.
Solitude is his companion; and, like his brother on " the
multitudinous seas," he often dies alone, his unburied
body becoming part of the elements he so intimately
courts. He is unknown to song or story.

A waggon carried our boat and provisions through
six miles of morass, briars, and pine woods to White
Earth Lake. Crossing this, the route followed the
White Earth River for two miles to a portage around
a fall. Seven miles farther, against a sluggish current,
through another reed-encircled lake, brought us to a
portage of one mile to the Twin Lakes. These bodies
of water are prettily located amid pine-covered hills.
We crossed the first one and encamped on the narrow
strip of land that separates the two lakes. A wretched
night among wood ticks and mosquitoes followed.

After crossing the second lake, we were met by an

136 The Mississippi

aged Chippewa, engaged for the long carry of ten miles
across a desolate tract of red sand and charred stumps,
due north by the compass, to the Wild Rice River. The
soil was a-bloom with purple moss, its only vegetation.
Late in the day, this river was reached. It is twenty-
five feet in width at this point, although on Colton's
map it did not extend more than ten miles east of the
Red River. We camped for the night.

At four o'clock, sunrise, the ascent of the river be-
gan. Wild Rice Lake, six miles long, was traversed.
It is an immense field of rice, nowhere more than five
feet deep, and supplies grain for a vast region. After
leaving the lake, the stream became so tortuous that
the compass "boxed" itself; thence, through a dense
forest of pine, from which the river emerged into a
grassy meadow, strewn with trunks and branches of
large trees, — carried thither by tornado from a nearby
tract of woods, across which it had passed. Several
hemlocks and oaks were noticed standing on their tops,
with trunks skyward ! This was not a " windfall " in
the accepted sense, which is a tornado track through
a forest. Two of the real sort, of different ages, were
encountered on the following day, when a long portage
(five miles), chiefly through tamaracks, had to be un-
dertaken to reach a chain of three lakes, in the Wild
Rice watercourse, the river course turning too far
northward to be followed.

Amid the fallen timber, the guide wielded a hand
axe with surprising effectiveness, often leading the path
up an inclined trunk of a fallen forest-monarch and
chopping a path for descent along a similar bridge,
equally slimy and treacherous. Within half a mile of this
portage, we entered a fine grove of oak and basswood.

A Typical Chippewa.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 137

A small stream of clear water, that separated it from
a tamarack morass, drew the line of demarkation.

The methods of native guides have not changed since
the days of St. Cosme or of Father Gravier, for my
Chippewas frequently said : " Up this stream so many
days," or " so many carries to such and such a
place."

The first of the three lakes mentioned charmed the
eye. A mile and a half long, with a beach of spark-
ling sand, it seemed a harbinger of civilisation; but not
a house or wigwam was visible upon its shores. Al-
though early in the afternoon, this marked the end of
the day's work, because the aged packman, who had
followed afoot, must be awaited. While the chief of
the expedition was enjoying a bath in the cool water,
the guide speared several large pickerel. The carrier
came into camp about sunset. We decided to take him
as far as the Mississippi.

Two trips across the lake next morning were neces-
sary to carry over our party and stores. The creek
had become very shallow and clogged with grass, and
the way to the third lake was most tortuous. Two of
us walked along the banks of the first and second lakes.

The last of the pretty lakelets is known to Sioux
and Chippewa as " Kak-sha-boor-cow-mond." In its
centre is a grass-covered islet, revered as a " spirit isle "
by the Chippewas. Like the Puritan forefathers,
Chippewas and Sioux believe in witchcraft: the Sioux
tell tales of " were-wolves " encountered or heard in the
forests. This is probably due to the fact that Chippe-
was can imitate a wolf's howl to perfection. It is the
cry they use on a trail to acquaint their companions of
their whereabouts.

138 The Mississippi

II AT SPIRIT ISLAND

Under strong protest from the two packmen, the
guide and I crossed to the green island. After our
return, the young Chippewa, learned in the traditions
of his people, spoke:

You were on holy ground. There dwelt a great-great-
granddaughter of the first pale-faced woman. Her hair, white
as the birch tree's bark, floated like a frosty mist about her
head. On " Me-ne-do-me-nis," as we name that isle, is one of
every species of tree between here and 0-mus-kose [Itasca
Lake], brought here and planted by that gentle spirit's hands.
Thus rose a sacred grove. Across these waters the warpath
often led, but Sioux or Chippewa never profaned this hallowed
spot, — as you have done.

To which, Ka-ba-be-zen, aged carrier, did comment,
in utmost seriousness: " A white spirit dwelt here, be-
yond dispute. Men, known to me, have seen her stand-
ing on yon hill, whence she watched them cross the
lake. In later years, voyageurs profanely landed on her
isle and found her lodge in ruins. The gentle spirit
of that grove had gone away."

Henrj^ Beaulieu, guide, then said:

There is some historic basis for this tradition. The story
of such a woman was told at Mackinaw when I was a boy. Her
name was Temple. She came to the Straits, in the summer
of 1835, with her father, a Major in the British service, long
stationed at Quebec. When retired for age, he visited Macki-
naw, intending thereafter to return to England. The old
soldier was a widower; his wife, who had shared his active
life in the barracks of the Chtlteau Saint Louis, was at rest
in the lofty cemetery at Quebec, near the tall monument raised
to both Montcalm and Wolfe.

The population at the Straits was then composed of French-

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 139

Canadians, rather than English, and half-breeds of a dozen
tribal affiliations. Instead of a fortnight's stay, the visit
lengthened into weeks. The girl was young and of exalted
imagination. She was fascinated by the romantic side of
savage life. The Indian dances diverted her : she heard, again
and again, tales of the coureurs de dots, — knights-errant of the
wilderness. Their leader was an expatriated Frenchman,
young and handsome as a picture, Henri Sainte-Ange. His
name was chief passport to Major Temple's favour and
brought to him acquaintance with the daughter. The young
man was born to inspire admiration in the heart of a girl
whose imagination was aglow with the weirdness of border
life. The soldier's daughter allowed herself to be overcome
by infatuation for this handsome boy of the woods and fled
with him. The music of the name, " Sainte-Ange," dulled her
conscience, no doubt.

The lovers, with two strong men at the paddles, had been
gone two hours when their flight was made known to Major
Temple. The father's rage was terrible.

" One hundred guineas to the crew that overtakes them ! "
he shouted ; and, at the shore, he added : " A guinea to every
man who joins the hunt ! "

A score of canoes were manned. The pursuit began. Its
course was out the Straits, eastward, toward Lake Huron,
where, late in the day, the fugitives were descried. In the
leading boat knelt the girl's father, toiling, like a maniac, at
his paddle. The chase grew furious, for the sun was low:
all had fear that, after dark, the guilty pair might escape
and the reward be lost.

The lovers beheld the vengeance that pursued. Crouching
in the coureur's canoe, repentant and in tears, was she. As
soon as his voice would carry to the hunted, the soldier's
threat to the abductor was heard.

"You die, you dog!" he shouted.

The evening breeze bore the challenge to Sainte-Ange; he
acted under the forest code. At a sign from him, his paddlers
stopped. He stood to his full height and awaited the onset
of the guinea-grabbing pack. When distance served, he

I40 The Mississippi

brought his rifle to his eye, and, with sure aim, shot Major
Temple dead ! The veteran's body tumbled out the boat ! The
game had rendered the hunter!

The daughter's horror was too deep for tears. The panting
crews from Mackinaw, kneeling at their places, were silent.
All prospect of reward was gone and, in the twilight, the
paddlers turned their faces homeward.

The rest of this history [continued Beaulieu] I had
from Monsieur Boulonger, who lives on the eastern bay of
Winnebagoshish Lake, in our direct route to Pokegama Falls :

Sainte-Ange dared not return to Mackinaw, fearing trial
and punishment; so he carried his prize to the Chippewa
country, at the head of Lake Superior. This meant fifteen days
under paddle, through the Sault Ste. Marie and along the
southern shore of the great lake to the present site of Duluth.
The ascent of the river Saint Louis, with its foaming rapids
and tiresome portages, consumed another week. Thence to
Sandy Lake, on the Mississippi.

Sainte-Ange was no longer a hero to the soldier's daughter :
she covered him with maledictions. Neglect, reproach, and
ill-usage were encompassed in the winter and spring that
succeeded. Then came another grief, — a child was born.

Before the river froze, Sainte-Ange descended the Missis-
sippi, through the French Rapids, and passed the winter at
a Chippewa village where Crow Wing now stands. His " white
squaw," hopeless and remorseful, was shunned by all women
of the tribe. The curse of her father's death was said to be
upon her.

In the spring of 183G, Sainte-Ange set out for Pembina
[continued the guide]. Ascending the St. Peter's, he portaged
over the familiar trail into a branch of the Red River of the
North. Several stages were made toward Greater Winnipeg.
His party camped one night at the mouth of the Wild Rice
River. There the craven adventurer deserted the woman and
his child. Frantic in her despair, Madame Sainte-Ange gath-
ered provisions and set out alone in a small canoe which had
been left for her. She turned its prow up the Wild Rice River,
only because it led eastward: after days of hardship, she

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 141

reached this lake. She did not know that she was within
five miles of " The Father of all Running Waters " that
would have carried her to the sea. That island, over there,
became an abode of penitence. She built a lodge, no doubt,
as she had seen them built; she had learned to call a spark
from the flint, and lived upon roots and fish. The child prob-
ably succumbed during the first winter. The mother's end
could not have been long deferred.

Word for word, as the guide spoke, less tersely than
above, the younger Chippewa, beneficiary of a mission
school, translated the story to his companion. When
he had finished, the -aged carrier shook his head.

" It is a white man's tale ; and false," said he, " for
spirits never die! "

III — ^THE MISSISSIPPI

Crossing the Spirit Lake in relays, the final five-
mile tramp to the bank of the stream I was to follow
to the Gulf of Mexico began. This is the famous
A-ze-wa-wa-say-ta-gen portage, a route between the
Upper Mississippi and the Red River of the North
known to the Dakotas and Chippewas for generations.
A clearly marked trail led for two miles through dense
pine woods, thence into a tamarack swamp, — a dreary
journey. We could not cover more than one mile an
hour in the swamp.

About five o'clock, we emerged from a tangled mass
of hazel and willow bushes into a pretty meadow a
mile wide, through which meandered a sluggish stream
eighteen feet in breadth, — the Mississippi!

While pitching camp, we were overtaken by a young
man and woman, brother and sister. They came from
White Earth. The girl, sweetheart of the missing

142 The Mississippi

Kelly, was typical mate for a " timber-cruiser." When
the people at the Mission abandoned the search, she
set out. There was n't any romance in her nature.
Compelling her brother's co-operation, they started a
day after us, but less encumbered, travelled more
rapidly. They made their camp for the night near
ours and shared our supper of " slugs," — dough boiled
in water in which bacon had been prepared. Excellent,
if hungry! When we separated, after breakfast, the
girl held out a small, brown hand and asked :

" You '11 look for him, I 'm sure ? "

" Indeed, we shall," I promised, little thinking how
real that pledge would become.

"We shall go down-stream to Lake Pemidji; then
we shall return to the Itasca region by the east
branch and 'do up ' these hills. I '11 stay till I find
hun."

We watched that brother and sister launch their
bark canoe, and we waved a farewell as they disap-
peared, down-stream, round the first bend of the young
Mississippi.

Until a survey fixes upon a map the exact location
at which the A-ze-wa-wa-say-ta-gen portage terminates
on the Mississippi's bank, one has difficulty in estimat-
ing its distance below the outlet of Itasca Lake. The
aged carrier, before he left us, reckoned it at sixteen
miles; but almost three daj^s' struggle with nature that
followed led me to think the distance twice that much.
Nicollet locates this point forty miles down-stream from
Itasca, — as good a guess as any. After we had reached
the goal, my guide calculated the journey at twenty-six
miles. Personally, I haven't an opinion.

The general direction was south. After the first

Sample of Cedar Forest in the Itasea Country.

(Minnesota Historical Society Collection.)

The Mississippi River — Thirty Miles below Itasca Lake.

(Minnesota Historical Society Collection.)

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 143

day's paddling up-stream, rapids were encountered,
around which the boat had to be carried. Stretches of
canoeable water were rare. We often had to tramp for
hours in the bed of the stream because progress along
its banks was impossible. This journey was attended
with many hardships. Among the hills, on the third
day, the stream was strewn with boulders; our supplies
had to be packed in relays. The guide laid out a new
trail along what appeared to have been a former bed of
the river, carrying our route across a strip of tamarack
and through a birch forest. This " cut-off " saved
a detour in the bed of the rock-and-tree-gorged
creek.

Beauheu was master of his trade, a true coureur de
hois. He " blazed " this trail so that it was as plain
to him as Broadway. It was, nevertheless, a lonesome
forest path. During these days, not an animal of the
squirrel kind was seen: not a bird sang at dawn or
a cicada chirped at nightfall. We found plenty of
game lower down the long river, but in the Itasca
wilderness, we absolutely saw nothing to shoot and must
have starved had we depended upon hunting. Fish are
not plenty in Itasca Lake although the Chippewa did
succeed in spearing a few pickerel during our stay.
His method was to go out after dark, with a roll of
birch bark ablaze upon a pole of green wood projected
over the bow of the canoe.

When heart-breaking climbing over boulders and
fallen timber in the channel, and slow, discouraging
tramps through quagmires and pathless underbrush
along the river banks brought us to the crest of the
hills, gravelly stretches of water were met and ultimately
a depth in which the canoe could be floated. The

144 The Mississippi

ascent of that eight or ten miles of the Mississippi is not
a job for " a quitter "!

When the trees broke away and the last rays of an
afternoon sun were discernible ahead, in the open, we
felt that a large lake was not far away. It could not
be anything else than Itasca. The Mississippi not far
below Itasca is very picturesque, as the frontispiece to
this volume proves.

IV — ITASCA

The boat was dragged through what proved to be
the last rapid, and in great expectancy we climbed in.
Rounding a bend in the almost currentless stream, which
had broadened to forty feet and bore every evidence of
back-water from a large pond, we emerged into the
north arm of Itasca Lake. We had arrived!

The prospect from the outlet, looking eastward (as
shown by a recent photograph) is not thrilling. The
north arm of Itasca is half a mile broad and its eastern
shore rises to a bluff of twenty-five feet. At the time
of my visit, it had a background of soft-wood trees,
with a few pines. The loneliness of the entire landscape
was appalling.

Below the outlet, on a grassy slope, we camped for
the first night, preferring to select a better site on the
following morning. We were worn out and hungry
after a day spent in climbing the hills, — probably not
more than seven or ten miles. While the guide was
preparing supper, the Chippewa and I paddled a short
distance down the lake and selected a camping site to
which we could move on the following day. It was a

Tlie Outlet of Itasca Lake, 1!)04.

(Minnesota Historical Society Collection.)

The Mouth of lioutwell Creek, West Shore of Itasca Lake.

(Minnesota Historical Society Collection.)

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 145

dry knoll on the western shore, reached through a fringe
of grass.

As this trip occurred before the introduction of the
kodak, recent pictures of the scenery of the Itasca re-
gion and of the Mississippi have been made by special
photographers or supplied by Commissioner Brower
and by the Minnesota Historical Society. The recent
death of J. V. Brower is most lamentable. At the
time of my visit to Itasca, the landscape did not con-
tain a house or wigwam, or any evidence of human
visitation. There were no clearings, as shown in recent
photographs. A government survey was not attempted
until three years later, — probably ordered by an official
of the United States Land Office, after the indifference
shown toward the region had been set forth in my
correspondence.

Leaving the Chippewa with directions to move camp
down the western shore of Itasca about three quarters
of a mile, to the place selected the previous evening,
the guide and the writer began the first real excursion
on Itasca Lake. Out in the north arm, my first thought
was to look for the island mentioned by Schoolcraft
and Nicollet. At first, it could not be separated from
the background; but in a little time reason was ex-
plained. A headland shut it from jw. When that
had been turned, Schoolcraft Island came plainly into
sight; but, as we were looking at its narrow end, it
appeared insignificant in size. Some stiff paddling,
against a strong breeze, blowing up the lake, landed
us upon its rocky shore. It does not exceed five hund-
red feet in length and I walked over its area, despite
underbrush and its rock-strewn surface. The guide
thought the season too early for snakes, but he agreed

146 The Mississippi

with me that it was promising snake-land. These two
acres of rocky ledge contain many fine trees; but the
surface is grown with thorns and biTish. No evidences
of camp-fires were visible; there was not a sign of
recent visitation. Nicollet, I remembered, had camped
elsewhere. The exact location of the island is shown
in the first government survej^ made by Edwin S. Hall,
in 1875, and published in 1876.

In shape, Itasca Lake most nearly resembles a
three-pronged starfish, — the eastern arm slightly longer
than the other two. Its extreme length is three and
one sixth miles. Mr. B rower " chained " it upon the
ice. The most picturesque view of the sparkling water
is had from Schoolcraft Island, looking south-west.

M. Nicollet fixed the altitude of the surface of Itasca
Lake at one thousand five hundred and seventy-eight
feet; but ]Mr. Brower, in 1891, corrected these figures
to one thousand four hundred and fifty-seven feet. The
elevation was confirmed b}^ heavy frosts on the June
mornings during our stay. One expects to find Nature
at her best in that merry month ; but in the Itasca region
April weather continues through ]May and June. Al-
though it does not impress a visitor as a land suited
to tender sprouts, some of the vegetation has tropical
rankness. The days are noticeably longer than in lower
latitudes ; but the sun shines in such half-hearted fashion
that the waters of the lake retain the chill with which
they come from the springs.

The first day was devoted to an exploration of the
eastern arm of Itasca Lake. Passing through the
channel on the eastern side of Schoolcraft Island, we
paddled round a grass-lined promontory, jutting from
the north-eastward, into a reedj^ bay of considerable

The East Ann of Itasca Lake.

(Looking North from the Southern End.)

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 147

size, which terminated in a morass of wild rice. A small
stream enters this bay.

From this estuary, the east coast line was examined
southward. The beach is gravelly, always grassy, and
the forest comes down to the shore. Its tall trees are
well shown in the photograph. Three landings were
made at gullies that might have been mouths of small
streams; but hills rose from the shore and a few rods
of tramping in each instance dispelled any supposition
that permanent bodies of water existed above. I sought
in vain for evidences of continued use of the two trails
by which Schoolcraft and Nicollet had portaged to
Itasca from the eastern branch and from Leech Lake,
respectively. Forty years of disuse had obliterated all
traces of them.

Not a rivulet enters the eastern arm of Itasca, ex-
cept at the extreme south-eastern end. There a small
stream comes down a gully. Disembarking, I walked
up that ravine to the top of a rise, at which point the
brooklet became insignificant. I saw no signs of a pond
beyond; but recent official surveys show a small one
half a mile to the southward. I did not " discover "
it. Hopewell Clarke's experience was similar to mine.
In the rainy season, this creek doubtless sends con-
siderable water into Itasca.

The coast line of the promontory that obtrudes it-
self from the southward into Itasca was laboriously
scrutinised. It does not contain an inflowing creek.
The west shore of this east arm occupied much of the
afternoon: it is generally reed-grown. Here was seen
the finest timber between Itasca and Pemidji Lake,
— where the right bank of the Mississippi, amid its Ten
Rapids, is absolutely superb in its woodland.

148 The Mississippi

A tired party returned to camp that evening.

V A NEW LAKE

The second day, June 9th, was devoted to the west
arm of Itasca. During the forenoon, the real find of
the trip was made. In paddHng southward from the
new camp, we deviated from the direct course to make
a brief second visit to Schoolcraft Island; but it lay
in shadow, because the sun had not yet cUmbed above
the tree tops on the eastern hills. In going thence
toward the west arm, we must have passed in close prox-
imity to a submerged, rocky shoal, discovered by a gov-
ernment survejdng party in after years, but we did not
detect it. Its presence, however, accounts for surpris-
ingly shallow soundings obtained in that part of Itasca.

We began the day's work at the western point of
the promontory, — recently christened by Commissioner
Brower " Ozawintib Point," — and found the eastern
shore of the west arm to possess reed-grown character-
istics similar to those of the western beach of the east
arm. The bluff is the same height, but large trees ap-
peared to be fewer. At the southern end, however, the
land back of the rushes sloped down to a swamp, — one
of the same old tamarack quagmires we knew so well.
Crowding our way along the edge of the grass, in a
reedy cove, I saw an unmistakable cun-ent entering
Itasca. A clogged watercourse was distinguishable in
the rank sod of the tamarack bog beyond the grass: it
had the distinctive character of a perennial stream, —
the outlet of a storage reservoir.

The canoe had been lightened of all luggage, ex-
cept the gun, and carried only provisions for the mid-

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 149

day meal: nevertheless, fallen saplings and shallow
water rendered progress slow. The boat had to be
lifted over logs and much brush had to be dragged out
the watery path. After a half -hour's tedious progress
up this crooked stream, we found unmistakable back-
water and, climbing into the boat, soon paddled from
the shade of overhanging boughs into a charming lake-
let. It is more than a mile long and nearly as broad,
although it did not look so large in the bright morn-
ing sunlight. Here is a sizable lake certainly not seen
by Schoolcraft, who never entered the west arm and
only spent a few hours at Itasca. Nor is this deep
reservoir mentioned by Nicollet, even after the most
liberal interpretation is given to his language.

This charming body of clear water lies in a deep
bowl, formed by low hills on the east, a ridge on the
west ending in a swamp. Southward are two swamps,
but into the lake from that direction projects a prong
of dry land, dividing the sheet of water, somewhat like
Itasca, into two bays. Crossing to the western bay,
the canoe was pushed up a large creek that entered at
that point. Although the swampy valley was narrow,
obstructions were such that I soon left the boat and
tramped or waded a considerable distance, probably a
mile, without finding any other lake. The forest in
that locality is so thick that I could not see the " Heights
of Land " lying to the southward. Returning to the
canoe and to the lake, we paddled into the eastward of
the two bays, which had been clearly noticeable while
crossing the water. Among the rushes at its extreme
end, we found a smaller stream than the one before
visited and a short tramp along the eastern edge of
the marsh soon brought me to a little pond. Further

150 The Mississippi

examination of the south-eastern shore disclosed only
an inconsequential creek. Some tentative soundings
were taken with a trolling-line but the depths found
along the eastern shore were not great. Subsequent
investigation has shown this lake to be much deeper
than Itasca, proving it to be a separate bowl. Sound-
ings of sixtj^-five feet, made by the JMississippi Com-
mission, are frequent. Of the streams flowing into the
lake, the one entering the west bay appeared to the
writer the most important, although Mr. Clarke differs
with this opinion. A small brook on the west side has
since been named after A. H. Siegfried.

Without consciousness of important achievement, I
playfully called this lakelet " Dolly Varden," intending
at a future time to rechristen it " Lake Lincoln," in
honour of the martyred President; but, although the
ISIinnesota Historical Society conceded the original dis-
covery to me, General James H. Baker, then Surveyor-
General of the State, was directed from Washington,
wisely, no doubt, to transfer to the newly discovered
lake the name originally borne by Itasca, namely,
" Omoskos," or " Elk." Such act might be assumed
to indicate that the government authorities, at Wash-
ington, believed the lakelet to be the " true source." ^
J. V. Brower, Itasca Park Commissioner and official
representative of the Minnesota Historical Society, set

1 Regarding the choice of this name, Henry D. Harrower, of Ivi-
son, Bla'keman, Taylor & Co., who sent Mr. Clarke to make a special
survey, after the Glazier fiasco of 1881, says in the preface to the
Clarke report : " The former surveyor-general of Minnesota, who had
charge of the government land-office at St. Paul, states that, act-
ing in accordance with general instructions from the government, he
transferred the name from the larger lake, which Schoolcraft had
called ' Itasca,' to the smaller in order to retain the designation
originally used by the Indians."

^^^

»«-,

■^i..

':y':;§mri-'^^

'■^M*

/O,*^-'-'

^pi^'^;

'•■ T" -C' >

'%'^i>

ftV.^-;j

»J , ■ -v. <s

^^BpBar^

^^te;^ Wtl'A;

1 - ■ • "• ■

.^•^ ^i^%-*.-«lP?-

WK^'^^. w f-jr'.ij^,,\

,' f'-:.

•>7^~-_r;^^:i'<,' >

e^^iKS'

'^^'a

^.."^^ '"<

^;-:.,
f^^. -,

''^i^tk

3 ■ . ■

^-^m^

*\' ; J T? / »-,:'y« .

^^^^1^^^^,^^!

K^^^^^

l^^l

^^^^II-

; ^^''" -.

wm^ " -^VL^

:s-

^^K^ 1-amp r^

•^p?-

^•■

Bii

.,:^j

^F^*^'^'''*^fi|M|^r^

''€^m

■T" '"^^^g*^*;^^,, .^

Chambers Creek, Connecting Itasca with Elk Lake. (Elk Lake

in the Distance.)

(Copyright, 1909, by H. D. Ayer.)

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 151

forth the Society's decision on page 98, volume xi.,
Minnesota Historical Society Collections:

Discoveries at the Source

Earliest Probable Occupants^ Prehistoric.

Earliest Known Occupants, Aboriginal.

First Known op White Men, . . William Morrison, 1803.

First Authentic Discovery_, Lake

Itasca, H. R. Schoolcraft, 1832.

Second Authentic Discovery, Prin-
cipal Stream, , J. N. Nicollet, 1836.

Third Authentic Discovery, Elk

Lake, Julius Chambers, 1872.

Fourth Authentic Discovery,

United States Survey, .... Edwin S. Hall, 1875.

Fifth Authentic Discovery, Spe-
cial Survey, Hopewell Clarke, 1886.

Returning to the outlet of the lake, I disembarked
and ascended a hill thirty feet high, from which the
waters of Itasca were visible through trees along its
shore. Hardly four hundred feet separated the two
bodies of water, indicating that the stream connecting
them was tortuous. The presence of a bluff on each
side of the narrow outlet of the smaller lake — hardly
a rod separating the two — precludes the assumption
that the two bodies of water were united in 1836, other-
wise than by the present stream. Hopewell Clarke,
C. E., has authorised me to quote from his report and
to reproduce his sketch map, made in 1886, fourteen
years after my visit. Incidentally, the map explains
why I originally described the stream, since named
" Chambers Creek " by Commissioner Brower, as tra-
versing a tamarack swamp its entire distance from Itasca

152 The Mississippi

Lake. First, I reproduce Mr. Clarke's survey of the
locahty, as found in his report (page 11) :

One of the most interesting parts of our work was the
survey and examination of the narrow strip of land between
Lake Itasca and Elk Lake. We found it to be 350 feet wide
at the narrowest point between the lakes, and 520 feet meas-
uring along the crooked trail at the base of the knoll. The
lakes run nearly parallel for 1020 feet, and the strip of land
contains in all about 10 acres.

The portion shown as hilly on the plat is a small mound-
like elevation, nearly devoid of all timber, which rises with
a gradual slope south from Lake Itasca to a height of 33 feet,
and descends abruptly to the shore of Elk Lake. Its direction
between the lakes is nearly east and west. Its height above
Lake Itasca at its western base is 10 feet, where it is less
than 100 feet wide; and thus, if each lake were a little higher
in elevation, they would at this point be within 100 feet of
each other. The highest point on the trail between the two
lakes is 12 feet. The ridge extends to the outlet of Elk Lake,
from which point Lake Itasca is in full view. Another hill
rises to the east of the outlet, leaving an opening 12 feet
wide, through which the stream flows with a rapid current,
in a channel 6 feet wide and 6 inches deep. The balance of
the land between the two lakes, on either side of the creek,
is a tamarack swamp.

The outlet of Elk Lake flows nearly north-east 80 feet, and
enters the tamarack swamp, where its general direction is north
for 600 feet, until it reaches a point within 110 feet of Lake
Itasca. It then curves back toward Elk Lake, and finally
enters Lake Itasca, its whole course from Elk Lake measuring
1084 feet. Where it debouches into Lake Itasca, it is 7 feet
wide and 8 inches deep. We noted its width at numerous
places in its course, and found it to vary from G to 12 feet,
and its depth from 2 to 8 inches. It gains nothing from springs
along its route, and its increased width and depth are caused
by back water from Lake Itasca. It is a very pretty little
stream, and has been cleared out by the Indians. The dif-

'•''Vx^^!-

o
>^

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 153

ference in elevation between the two lakes is 1 foot and J
inch. The stream between the lakes falls 6 inches between
Elk Lake and a point where it enters the tamarack swamp, in
the first hundred feet of its course; the balance, 7 inches,
measures the fall in its course through the tamarack swamp
of nearly 1000 feet.

A sketch map, by Mr. Clarke, is on opposite page.

One thing particularly noticeable about Elk Lake,
namely, its great depth, has been mentioned. In Itasca,
soundings rarely exceed twenty-five or thirty feet, while
in Elk Lake they are generally twice as deep. The
aged tamaracks in the swamp between Itasca and Elk,
as well as the two points of land, confirm a belief that
the lakes have never been one since the original sub-
sidence of the waters, — as special pleaders for Nicollet
argue. One of the streams emptying into Elk Lake
extends southward therefrom two miles to the region
of the shallow ponds on higher ground, so clearly shown
in the map of the Itasca State Park. The most ac-
curate charts recently made do not show communicating
watercourses between many of these lakes and ponds.
The writer of this volume has not any personal
jealousies to exploit. To him, the Elk Lake trip
is a delightful memory, unmarred by a single un-
friendly thought. He was in search of health, not
glory.

When camp was regained, after most of a day spent
in sight of the sparkling lakelet to the southward, in-
cluding a refreshing splash in its waters, Itasca looked,
after sundown, as forbidding as Lethe's stream. Sleep,
but not a bath therein, brought forgetfulness to a tired
canoeman.

154 The Mississippi

VI — Nicollet's creek

Great honour belongs to Jean N. Nicollet for re-
searches he made in the narrow valley west of Elk Lake.
The writer of this volume had read Nicollet's official
report, also his preliminary one, before starting on this
trip. " The Cradled Hercules " had not inspired the
enthusiasm with which its discoverer had endowed it.
An inspection of its mouth, on the morning following
the day spent at Elk Lake, sufficed to dampen such
ardour as he might have felt. That creek belongs to
M. Nicollet! When expert civil engineers, like Hope-
well Clarke and J. V. B rower, cannot reconcile vital
features in Nicollet's survey, special correspondents
would best keep off. The mouth of the creek was in-
significant in 1872, compared with its aspect since a
lumber dam has been built at the outlet of Itasca
(1903).

Its present appearance, from a recent photograph,
is shown in the picture.

The work of M. Nicollet, in 1836, has been so thor-
oughly followed up by Hopewell Clarke, in 1886, and
J. V. Brower, in 1891-96 and 1901, that their reports
have been given precedence^ out of chronological order,
in the chapter on M. Nicollet (IX.). These gentle-
men make out a better case for the French explorer
than he does for himself. This may have been due to
unf amiliarity with our language, although that explana-
tion never has been offered.

Coasting the west beach of the west arm of Itasca,
after leaving the mouth of " The Cradled Hercules,"
a thousand yards of paddling brings one to an estuary,
into which a small stream flows from a tamarack

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 155

forest, having its sources in springs at the base of the
bluffs, half a mile back from the lake. (Commissioner
Brower named it " Boutwell Creek," after the guest of
the Schoolcraft party.) This is the last feeder to
Itasca Lake.

yil — ^DOWN THE YOUNG MISSISSIPPI

The descent of the river to the A-ze-wa-wa-say-ta-
gen portage is play compared with the ascent. The
canoe was readily dropped through the Kakab-ikans
Rapids by the guide and Chippewa walking in the
stream, each holding an end. The first affluent of the
Mississippi enters it from the west. In the series of dis-
mal gorges, where the river tumbles over huge boulders,
darts around sharp, rocky corners, and gurgles over
fallen logs, boat and provisions were packed. It is a
region of evil omen.

Much lighter in equipment than when we ascended
the hills, I had only my knapsack to carry. At the
end of a toilsome afternoon, we encountered the guide's
newly made trail, which left the river to our right-hand
and traversed a defile into a region of tamarack. Near
its northern end, we had left a cache of provisions, of
which we w^re now in need. Cache is hardly the word,
because a bag of flour and of salt fish had been fast-
ened to a sapling, *' ridden down " by the native and
then allowed to return to its natural position with our
stores at its top. The guide insisted that we push ahead
to that point before camping for supper. Much fa-
tigued, I demurred; but, in the woods, a guide speaks
by authority. He explained that a young bear, able
to climb a sapling, might get our provisions. The sun

156 The Mississippi

was above the horizon, as I sat down to rest. Guide
and Chippewa were told to go ahead; I was confident
of my ability to overtake them. I fell asleep instantly :
when I awoke, twilight had begun. I transcribe my
experiences, as written that night in the log-book :

Hurrying along the new trail, I cover half its length
before darkness renders invisible the axe-cuts upon the
trees. Very soon, I am wandering among scrubby
pines and tamaracks, out of sound of the river. Turn-
ing eastward to regain the stream, I stumble over en-
tangling roots and sink into bog-holes. Diy wood for
a fire is not to be had; I am not woodsman enough to
light a strip of birch-bark. Not an echo returns my
shouts. One cartridge remains in my revolver; but I
dare not use it to fire a signal of distress. Climbing
the hills, the guide had pointed out trees torn by bears'
claws, a trivial incident in his company.

A shower bursts, accompanied by lightning and
thunder. Camp lay north-west, from one to three miles,
— dependent upon my wanderings. The shadow of a
hill looms up and I follow its base, hoping to reach
the river bank. I ask no greater boon than to hear its
waters again. Into the tamaracks, over treacherous sod
that hides bog-holes, — doubling on my tracks! Dan-
gerous to go foi*ward: equally so to remain where I
am. My companions may not find me, and that means
starvation!

Exhausted with fatigue and anxiety, under dripping
boughs, I stand stock still and listen. In all my world,
the only sound is rain! In indescribable loneliness, I
shiver with nervousness, or chill. I remember the lost
timber-cruiser. What if I meet him, crazed with
hunger! In growing di'ead, I dare not shout for aid.

A Minnesota Forest.
(Minnesota Historical Society Collection.)

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 157

A new sound! Not rain, although the drip, drip,
drip from the water-laden boughs goes on. Not the
movement of man or animal; surely, not the rustling
of leaves? 'T is running water I hear: the way to the
river is mine!

A few yards distant is the tiniest of brooklets, hail-
ing me in Nature's own sweet language of hope. Its
voice is low at the brush-formed cascade from which
it calls, but its word is — " Thoroughfare ! "

Into the channel of that tiny creek, lest it elude
me in the dark: a physical contest with tangled boughs
and bushes soon brings me to the Mississippi. Here,
also, the river bed is easiest route. At a bend in the
watery path, the glare of my camp-fire flashes up.

I find it deserted: guide and packman, alarmed at
my non-arrival, are seeking me, in true chivalry of the
forest.

VIII PEMIDJI^ CASS^ AND WINNEBAGOSHISH

The descent of the Mississippi through the three
large lakes of the watershed above Pokegama Fall is
crowded with sensational incidents. When the meadow
land is reached, the river becomes tortuous but amply
deep for paddling. During forenoon of the third day
after leaving Itasca, we passed our camp site at the
end of the White Earth route. Only a short distance
farther, a real mystery of our voyage was met.
A new, birch-bark canoe was found overturned in
the stream. It had been fitted for a single occu-
pant. The inside was blackened, as by an explosion of
powder. It had caught in roots at the riverside. In-
stinctively, we thought of the missing timber-cruiser.

158 The Mississippi

The guide gave as his opinion that a gun or powder
flask had exploded in that boat.

We camped that night upon a smooth bit of sod,
under a sheltering maple tree. Next morning we
entered a broader prairie and passed two short bits
of veiy rapid water. On the left bank, a creek of
considerable size joined the river. It drains a lake
not far inland and is known as " Pinnididiwin," — an
abbreviation of Jali-pinuniddiwin, " place of violent
deaths." " Once upon a time," the people of a Chip-
pewa village on the shores of the lakelet were massacred
by their ancient enemies, the Sioux. Age and youth
were not respected: captives were put to death with
tortures. Our Chippewa, responsible for this state-
ment, pointed out a tree into which a squaw of his
people had climbed, to hide among the foliage. She
was the only woman that escaped. My informant said
the Chippewas thought the ability of a squaw to climb
a tree so wonderful that this woman had been deified.
(Tree climbing is utterly unnatural to an Indian, he
explained. The importance of this lake outlet is due
to the fact that it is reckoned to be one hundred miles
from Itasca.

We camped that night in a forest of pine and birch.
The duty of making " smudges," or smouldering fires
to smoke out mosquitoes, fell to me: the guide soon
had a roaring fire and supper. It w^as chiefly of
" slugs," — dough, roughly torn into pieces and boiled
in water with the last piece of our salt bacon. The
product was tough as rubber and heavy as lead; but
when one is hungry, " slugs " are highly edible.

We started at four o'clock next morning, in dense
fog and raw weather until the sun got high. The Mis-

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 159

sissippi kept in the forest ; the scenery was of exceeding
picturesqueness. Sometimes, the river encroached upon
hills and created bluffs fifty feet in height. In such
cases, a broad, sandy bank formed upon the opposite
side. 'No noticeable increase in the size of the Missis-
sippi occurs until junction with the eastern branch,
coming from lakes Marquette, La Salle, Plantagenet,
Assawe, and other small ponds. Each branch is about
forty-five feet wide. The volume of water from this
stream is larger than that of the main river, and more
than doubles it in size. (This oj)inion differs from
Schoolcraft's.) Below the junction, the right bank be-
comes a beautiful grove of maple, oak, and beech. On
the left, the land rises to a knoll and stray hemlocks
are seen. The river has a straight stretch of about half
a mile at this point. Woodland shifts to the left bank ;
the right merges into a swamp of reeds, cat-tails, hazel
bushes, and scrub poplars. The stream soon enters a
marsh and a sharp turn to the right landed us in the
smaller, or southern, section of Lac Travers (Pemidji ^
Lake).

Little Pemidji is a handsome sheet of water. Dark
forests of pine are seen to the east, but the soft woods
on the western hills are of inferior character. Our
course across this lakelet to the channel into the larger
body was N. one point E., and the distance is one and
one quarter miles. These two lakes were probably
connected by a brook, but they are to-day practically
one sheet of water, separated only by a narrow strip

1 Since this region has been invaded by railroads, Pemidji is often
spelled Bemidji. A town of that name, on the Great Northern Rail-
road, has been established. The writer prefers to retain the original
Chippewa spelling, without any philological discussion.

i6o The Mississippi

of low land, covered with a thick growth of heech and
poplar. The view of Greater Pemidji, as one enters
from the inlet, is impressive. The lake is probably
seven miles long by four in breadth and has every sign
of being deep. In the distance, the north shore ap-
peared to be a high bluff, surmounted by fine forests.
The north-eastern beach is swampy, but the land soon
rises into a wooded plateau, pines predominating. The
western shore is of yellow clay. We dined on the
northern bank of the Mississippi, just where it leaves
Pemidji; a hemlock there bears the Greek letter "delta."

The Mississippi flows placidly out Pemidji, through
a grove of towering hemlocks on the right: so clear is
the water that the pebbly bottom can be seen at a depth
of eight or ten feet. Fish are plentiful and our Chip-
pewa speared many of them. At the end of a mile
comes a change. A series of dangerous rapids follows
one another so closely that there is not breathing space
between them. They are called the Metoswa, or Ten,
Rapids : we counted seven. The river has now increased
to such volume as to render rapids dangerous to the
craft that carries us. The destruction of one's canoe
in the wilderness is almost as serious as loss of musket
or cartridges. In the third rapid, where the roaring
stream makes a sharp turn to the right and tears doAvn-
ward among rocks for fifteen hundred yards, the Chip-
pewa steered us into the wrong channel and our boat
was so seriously broken that we got ashore with diffi-
culty, for repairs. An hour sufficed to cure the leaks.

The remaining rapids were less troublesome. At
one of them, the river expanded to such width that
the water was too shallow for our heavily loaded canoe.
Chippewa and guide stepped overboard and directed

Elk Lake to South-west Pass i6i

the course of the boat. At the foot of this rocky stair-
way, the Mississippi resumes its placidity and, after
winding through a fine forest of poplar, oak, and
pine, expands into a lake, — the first of three. The
scenery at times is wild and picturesque. The three
lakelets are in a vast meadow and their shores are reedy.
The smallest is one mile in width. In the largest, which
is twice as broad, we were treated to a hail-storm that
badly battered us. The icy balls were large as filberts.
Some were an inch in diameter; all were of milky
whiteness. They fell in such quantities that the lake
seemed a bubbling cauldron. Severe as were bruises
upon wrists and shoulders, the scene was both curious
and interesting. Our Chippewa insisted that many
ducks, quail, and pigeons would be killed by the hail,
but we looked for feathered victims in vain. The
storm was followed by a double rainbow of resplendent
charm.

Cass Lake looks like a large body of water upon
the map; but islands are so numerous therein that it
can be navigated without hazard in canoes in all
weathers. We stopped for a brief space at a Pillager
teepee on Grand Island; then proceeded to the mouth
of Turtle River, where we arrived at dark. This is
the point at which David Thompson, the English trader,
and Beltrami, the Italian voyageur, encountered the
Mississippi.

Turtle River is a large stream, and Governor Cass
can hardly be blamed for thinking it the continuation
of the Mississippi. He stopped at the mouth of Turtle
River. There is a village of twenty lodges on the west-
ern side of the river's mouth, but at the time of our
visit all the men were away, hunting. The women were

i62 The Mississippi

sociable. In return for a pair of moccasins, bestowed
upon a young native woman, I was invited to go fire-
fishing that night at a small lake a few miles northward
on Turtle River. The courtesy was declined; but the
art of attracting fish by a flambeau and spearing them
as they^ come to the surface to look at the torch has at-
tained a high degree of perfection among the Pillager
women. This tribe of the Chippewa nation was at one
time larger than any other. In Schoolcraft's day, there
were eight hundred families about Leech and Cass lakes.
When I visited the village at the mouth of Turtle River,
there were less than one hundred bucks, squaws, and
pappooses attached to that settlement. The Chippewa
nation gave to the Red Cedar (Cass) Lake tribe the
name Muk-im-dua-win-in-e-wug ("men who take by
force"), of which "Pillager" is an admirable trans-
lation. They were named by the natives, but the
philologist who Anglicised their title understood the
English language. My fishing-tackle and cooking
utensils disappeared, as by magic. Whenever we
served a meal, a bunch of old women sat down to eat
with us. But these Cass Lake Pillagers were the first
living people we had seen since parting with the
" timber-cruiser's " mate, many days before, and, for
that, we forgave much.

That was Minnesota in 1872.

After the natives had partaken of three meals on our
provisions, all served before noon, I ordered a start.
We first moved across to the eastern bank of Turtle
River's mouth; but in fifteen minutes ten squaws and
three times as many boys and girls rejoined us. The
river is forty feet broad and the current very swift.
There must be a ford somewhere. My visitors had

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 163

taken off their single garments and carried them on
their heads, because their clothing was not wet. We
bade farewell to Turtle River in the middle of the after-
noon. The outlet of the lake was attained at four
o'clock.

The Mississippi is one hundred and seventy feet
wide where it leaves Cass Lake, and has become a
majestic stream. This stretch of the river, almost to
Lake Winnebagoshish, will always be remembered with
great delight: it is a succession of handsome villa sites,
without villas. The banks rise in gentle slopes to a
plateau forty feet high; a sod of lawn-like smoothness
is underfoot; the giant Norway pines do not keep out
the sunlight and not a shrub of underbrush is seen.
Each bend in the river develops a charming, grassy
knoll; all that is lacking are houses and people.

One mile of the Mississippi, before it enters Lake
Winnebagoshish, — the Victoria Nyanza of the American
river, — can be saved by a portage directly into the lake
at a point where the stream approaches within a hund-
red yards of the large body of water; but darkness
admonished us to remain in the boat.

/'As we emerged from the river's mouth upon the
broad expanse of the lake, moon and stars were re-
flected in the water. The weather was clear and cool.
We hugged the west coast and very nearly suffered
disaster by running ashore, under full headway. A
tall tree, silhouetted against the sky, was assumed to
be upon an island, but it marked the extremity of a
narrow spit of land that runs a quarter mile into the
lake. Rounding that point, we landed at the mouth
of a small stream, and passed the night in an abandoned
trading post. The memorable feature of that house

164 The Mississippi

was its wall-paper. Two sides of the interior were
covered with pages from a folio Bible !

Mr. Schoolcraft says he found pelicans on this lake ;
we did not see any. Our first daylight look at the great
lake and its ten miles of open water, which must be
crossed in a frail canoe, was almost terrifying. A gale
was blowing from the eastward, which continued for
forty-eight hours. Heavy surf dashed uj)on the beach
and the broad expanse of this miniature sea was white
with foam. We were " wind bound " two days. On
the third morning, we crossed Winnebagoshish, — a very
unpleasant experience and probably the most dangerous
incident in my entire trip on the river. A squall oc-
curred near the middle of the lake and a heavy swell
developed. Constant bailing, which duty fell to me,
alone prevented the boat from swamping. With much
relief, we ran into smooth water in a narrow estuary
that extends to the south-eastward, — a small replica of
Green Bay, Wisconsin. On the shore, at this point,
stood the hut of an aged French trader, Boulanger.

Three miles of paddling down the river after leav-
ing the bay brought us to a smaller lake, surrounded
on all sides by reeds. (At this point the United States
Government has recently built a dam, shown in the
picture.) A portage exists at the south-eastern shore
of this lake, leading to the Ball-club Lake. The saving
of distance would have been considerable, but we fol-
lowed the river, intending to make White Oak Point
trading post before dark.

We were soon in The Eagle's Nest Savannah, thirty
square miles of meadow, covered by a foot of water.
A novice might readily get lost in this vast shallow lake
of waving grass, because the river channel is difficult

The Wiiinebagoshisli Keservoii* Dam.

(Minnesota Historical Society Collection.)

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 165

to follow. Stalks of wild rice, resembling wheat, rise
six feet above the water and as a canoeist pushes them
aside to effect passage they envelop him in their writh-
ing embrace. A compass is necessarj^, for the only
visible outlook is the sky. Despite the best of guid-
ance, we got astray among the grass and sacrificed
much time in regaining the channel. Leech Lake River
enters the Mississippi from the westward through this
meadow and, for that reason, the volume of water it
supplies is difficult to estimate.

Darkness had fallen when we landed at White Oak
Point, where the progress of a lively game of " Mocca-
sin " was made manifest by a dirge-like chant, issuing
from a wigwam.^

The scenery between White Oak Point and Poke-
gama Fall is truly picturesque. Hills rise abruptly
from the river and forests crown them. Alternately
traversing dense woodland and pretty valleys, the half
day's paddling to the lumber camp at the mouth of
Pokegama Lake remains a pleasant memory. The
group of huts, where dwelt the Maine lumbermen,
seemed a return to civilisation, — the first habitation of
white men encountered since leaving White Earth. We
were soon enjoying salt pork, which is exceedingly
appetising after a long diet on fresh fish, pigeons and
ducks. Two nights and a whole day were passed with
these genial hosts; the only return I could make was

1 Hennepin, Description de la Louisiane, Paris, 1693 (Shea's
translation, 301), gives a clear account of the Indian game of " Plum
Stone." It was played as craps are thrown to-day with dice. The
plum pits were marked and the better had an even chance at guessing
which side fell upward. The game of " Moccasin," which I found
to be the Chippewa gambling game, is not mentioned in any of the
Jesuit " Relations " so far as noticed.

i66 The Mississippi

to act as bearer of mail to the nearest post-office, at
Muddy River, or Aikin, about three hundred miles
down-stream.

The morning we left, the young woman with whom
we had parted in the Itasca foot-hills paddled into
camp, attended by her brother. They were much ema-
ciated and worn; but the girl appeared glad to have
overtaken us. In simple language, she told how they two
had hurried down-stream from the A-ze-wa-wa-say-ta-
gen landing to the mouth of the Marquette River and,
examining every timber tract, had ascended it to the
dividing ridge betw^een Leech and Itasca lakes. Cross-
ing to the latter, they had followed us along the rocky
river bed. They had seen many trees blazed by me
with the Greek letter " delta," for " Delta Kappa Epsi-
lon," — although the girl called it " a triangle," — and
had used our camp sites on more than one occasion.
Among the Itasca hills, they had found the body of
the timber-cruiser. Records of his discoveries w^ere in
his rubber tobacco-pouch, placed there by this faithful
servant, in face of death.

" We found him, as I said we would," were her
w^ords, with a long sigh, " but dead."

IX — POKEGAMA TO ST. ANTHONY

The Mississippi above Pokegama Fall narrows to
sixty feet in wddth. Restricted to these limits by a
rock}'^ bluff on the northern side, the river slides down
the face of a limestone ledge, over twenty feet in height
and standing at an angle of thirty-five degrees. It is
not a " fall," in strict sense. Where the water takes

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 167

the " toboggan," the stream was divided at the time of
my visit by a mass of rock, upon which a few spruce
pines clung with surprising tenacity; not an ounce of
soil was visible, — the trees doubtless drew their sus-
tenance from the river. This obstructing rock has been
removed. Rapid water at the top of the fall had to
be crossed to reach the portage; the prospect of in-
voluntarily " shooting the chute " was not pleasant.
Why the carry was not made on the right bank was not
explained.

The Pokegama portage is less than two hundred
yards and easy. This fall is an impenetrable barrier
to navigation by small steamers, until the government
builds a series of locks around it. Thrice each summer,
in my day, a stern- wheeler of the type that " runs in
a heavy dew " came up from Aiken with supplies for
the lumber camps and trading posts; but to-day rail-
roads have penetrated to the locality. A prosperous
town has developed at Grand Rapids, four miles below
Pokegama, at the " Thundering Rapids." The United
States Government has erected a barrage near that
point, for the control of the river.

Pokegama Lake, five miles long, having its outlet
at the head of the fall, was the site of one of the mis-
sions located in the Mississippi lake region during the
first half of the nineteenth centurj^ Hither came Rev.
Frederick Ayer, from Massachusetts, in 1836, and upon
the natives that gathered about this sanctuary the
Sioux fell, in 1840, to avenge wrongs they claimed had
been inflicted upon them by the Chippewas. Their
principal complaint was that two of Little Crow's sons
had been murdered. The Chippewas insisted that the
young men had been killed in self-defence. When the

1 68 The Mississippi

Sioux were known to be in the neighbourhood, the Chip-
pewas sent their women and children to an island in
Pokegama Lake and beat off their ancient enemies.
The winter of 1850-51 at Cass, Leech, Pokegama, and
Sandy lakes was one of great suffering. The crop of
wild rice had been very poor the preceding fall and
starvation existed in all native villages. Chippewas ate
their children.

Experienced woodmen, who had made the trip, es-
timated the distance from Pokegama to Sandy Lake at
one hundred and fifty miles: we easily traversed it in
two days, camping the first night at Split-Hand River,
after a run of sixty-eight miles. We ran through the
" Thundering," or " Grand," rapids and the river main-
tains a strong current all the distance. It was a long,
uninteresting trip, through an alluvial region, its timber
worthless for any purpose except fuel.

Starting from Split-Hand camp at five o'clock, un-
der a blue sky, we soon entered a region of pine forest.
Flocks of pigeons rose at every bend of the river; we
bagged a large mess. A few ducks were overtaken,
but they were of the " hell-diver " variety and difficult
to shoot.

An entirely new danger menaced us. The river
abounded in floating logs on their way to the saw-mills
at Minneapolis. Landing for breakfast, at the mouth
of Swan River, our Chippewa stepped upon a nest of
small snakes, the first we had encountered. His fright
was surprising; one would have supposed that, raised
in the forest, an Indian would not entertain unfriendly
feelings for fellow-citizens of the wilderness. A charge
of shot put the snakes out of suspense, but the native
belaboured the nest for several minutes. We break-

a
a

r~ ^

£h

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 169

fasted sumptuously upon pigeons and biscuits, with salt
pork, brought from the lumber camp.

Swan River is a large stream, entering the Missis-
sippi on the eastern bank and is navigable for canoes
ninety miles, due north to Swan Lake. During the
forenoon's progress, the track of a tornado, locally
described as " a windfall," was passed.

We slept that night at the mouth of Sandy Lake
River, upon the floor of Mr. Libby's historic trading
post. " Libby's " has been known for three generations
as the point of portage for the " Big Sea Water "
(Lake Superior), reached by descending the turbulent
St. Louis River. The eastward trip is made in two
days; the westward in three, owing to the dalles of the
St. Louis. Sandy Lake is a body of water three miles
across and contains many small islands.

From Sandy Lake to Muddy River was an easy
day's run. Two stretches of rapid water were en-
countered between the mouths of Cypress and Willow
rivers. The latter stream, about forty miles below
Libby's, possesses historical importance because Lieu-
tenant Zebulon M. Pike ascended it when he visited
Leech Lake in 1805. The forests are dense, but their
timber is worthless for lumber. Muddy River to
Brainerd occupied one day. The River of the Pines,
two hundred feet wide, enters the Mississippi from the
north and an island divides its waters at the mouth.
Pine ridges are supplanted by bottom-land, growing
elm, ash, oak, and maple. Tall, slender trees, recalling
the cypress but really Lombardy poplars, that have
been numerous, become more and more scarce until they
disappear from the landscape. Five miles below Pine
River are six islands. Beltrami, always classical, named

lyo The Mississippi

the centre one " Cythrea." He says, in describing the
place, " Only a temple is wanting to make of it another
Cythrea " — the island of Venus. The French Rapids
were hardly noticeable, owing to high water. This
swift spot is about twenty miles above Brainerd and
marks the northern limit of that tract of primitive rock
described as " yetiies roches." The mouth of a stream
known as the Nokassippi enters the Mississippi at the
end of those rapids. Twilight was settling over Brain-
erd as a landing was made under the Northern Pacific
railroad bridge.

We had returned to civilisation. There my Troy-
built Baden-Powell canoe awaited me. The guide and
Chippewa carrier were paid off and sent by rail to Oak
Lake station. Next afternoon, I paddled alone to Fort
Ripley, where I became the guest of its Commandant,
Captain McCaskey.

Next day was a strenuous one, during which I parted
with my long-while companions, the pines. Little Falls,
jammed with logs, was portaged. A waggon carried
the trim canoe through the village to a point below the
rough water. Pike Rapids were " run," owing to wil-
ful misinformation regarding landmarks of the ap-
proaches to that dangerous stretch of river. I had
been advised to watch for an island with two trees upon
it, and to go ashore on the western bank: but when
I passed the island, the speed of the current precluded
all possibility of making a landing. If attempted, I
would be drawn, side on, into the foaming rapid. The
" falls " are caused by ledges of rock, many sharp points
serving to tear the stream into ribbons. Safety lay in
a try at the deepest looking watery chute. Sitting
astride the canoe, behind the cock-pit, — as I remembered

*0tamjL

St. Anthony Fall.
From a photograph taken in 1872.

A View of Fort Snelliug, Showing' the Round House

and the Original Stockade.

Photo, in 1872.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 171

MacGregor did on the Rob Roy, — to raise the bow, I
steered straight for the crest of a big roller that, ap-
parently, hid a smooth-topped boulder. Fortunately,
the canoe's keel bore a strip of steel, for, at railroad
speed, it struck. The shock was tremendous, but the
crew clung by his heels, as he would have done to a
bare-back horse. A barrel of water was taken aboard ;
but as there was a recurrence of rapids for half a mile,
bailing was impossible. There was not any danger,
but an upset would have entailed loss of property.
Great sport!

The land became prairie. I camped on a small
island, only separated from the west bank by a narrow
channel; but, hearing the bark of a dog, I launched the
boat in search of a human habitation. It was found
near Brockway and I slept on a feather bed that night.
I got under way early, and as a stiff breeze was blow-
ing down-stream, sailed at single reef for ten miles.
Coming out from the end of an island, a squall struck
me, jibed the boom, and an upset was narrowly averted.
Handling a main sheet and steering with a double-
bladed paddle is not as easy as it looks. Then came
rough water above Wautab, and sail had to be taken
in. This was done by unstepping the mainmast. The
rapids were child's play. There is a three-mile bend
in the river at this point at which a cut-off of a hund-
red feet would save the entire distance. As I was alone,
I could not portage, although the point had been clearly
indicated. Reaching Sauk Rapids, I contracted with
a teamster to carry me -around the bad water; but a
riverman assured me I could run through if I impli-
citly followed his advice, owing to the height of the
stream. He drew a rough map. I removed from the

172 The Mississippi

canoe the sails, the gun, and everything portable and
kept faith with the waggoner by having him carry these
articles to a point below the village. I then walked
to a landing from which the rapids could be closely
studied. My adviser, the riverman, pointed out a
place near the centre of the stream where the water
went through a depression in the rocky ledge. It
looked safe, provided I could reach the middle of the
river, without being carried abeam into the foaming
waters. He advised that I pull up-stream for a short
distance.

This having been done, the canoe was headed direct
for the big chute in midstream. The noise of the
water was terrifying ; but I went through without strik-
ing. Considerable water was taken aboard, and I fear
my cheeks were a trifle pale when I pulled ashore to
get the traps from the wagjgon. Half a dozen men
who had accompanied the teamster made remarks about
my adviser that were not complimentary. But they
overlooked the fact that I had been running through
rapids all way down-stream.

St. Cloud, on a bluff to the westward, presented a
charming appearance. Its tall church spires shone
beautifully in the sun.

The country became an elevated plateau and the
banks increased in height. Prairie still exists on the
eastern bank but on the west, where the land slopes down
to the shore, is a continuous fringe of maples and pop-
lars. These trees shade the western bank from Sauk
Rapids to Anoka. The river swarmed with logs and
lumbermen were met at eveiy village. I stopped for
luncheon at Bailey's at the mouth of Elk River, — im-
portant as marking the northern limits of Hennepin's

>;i

^
M

•^

.t:"

— '

-T

■*^

""^

■?

l-H

j_,

CL,

«f-l

'rt

• i^

-isT

1—1

cs3

=4-1

•-= T w

^ 4- rO

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 173

and Carver's explorations. Between that village and
Anoka rapid water is constantly encountered.

Anoka is a snug town- on the eastern side, at the
mouth of Rum River, a stream one hundred and sixty
feet wide and the outlet of JLes Mille Lacs, or Thousand
Lakes, as the large, island-studded pond south of Aikin
is known. Canoes can ascend Rum River one hundred
and ten miles. Mille Lacs was discovered by Du Luth,
and by him named Lac Buade in honour of Frontenac,
Governor of Canada, whose family name was Buade.

Every mile developed a larger quantity of floating
logs and in rapid water these are not agreeable com-
panions. At such time, one recalls the fable of ^sop
about the drifting jars of earthenware and brass. Al-
ready the stream seemed gathering strength for its mad
plunge at St. Anthony and about four miles above the
cataract, I took a train into Minneapolis. The Dolly
and her crew were soon resting at the Nicollet
House.

The picture shows how St. Anthony looked at that
time.

'Professor Winchell, a physicist who has made a
study of the geology of the Upper Mississippi, con-
cludes that the cataract at St. Anthony has worked
back from Fort Snelling, eight miles, since the glacial
period, or five thousand years, and that the time re-
quired to cut the Mississippi channel from Cape Girar-
deau to St. Anthony was four hundred thousand years.
The rock from the fall down to the mouth of the
Wisconsin River is St. Lawrence limestone, and the
stratum averages two hundred feet in thickness. Ac-
cording to John Arnold Keyes, St. Anthony is "the
remnant of the most stupendous cataract the world ever

174 The Mississippi

saw, having a perpendicular descent of six hundred
feet." There is a fall in the Yosemite Valley with a
perpendicular drop of fifteen hundred feet but the
volume of water is insignificant. The Victoria, on the
Zambesi, is one thousand yards wide and has a sheer
descent of three hundred and sixty feet. Therefore,
" if his [Mr. Keyes's] theory, be correct, his statement is
not exaggerated." The Sioux called the fall Ha-lia,
the " loud laughing " or " roaring." The JMississippi
they described, according to Gordon, as the Ha-ha-
Wd-kpa, " River of the Falls." The Chippewa name
for the fall was Ka-kd-hik-kung.

'The cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul are one
in interest, and ultimately will be united under one
corporate title, — just as are Brooklyn and INIanhattan.
Opposition to such union is shared equally by the two
cities. For nearly a generation, Brooklyn balked at
uniting with New York. " The Twin-Cities," as they
describe themselves, are the immediate market for the
largest wheat growing section of this country. The
centre of JNIinneapolis is only seven miles in a straight
line from that of Saint Paul.

Minnesota is larger in area than all New England.
It is the watershed of the continent. The great rivers
that drain it have their rise only a few miles apart and
radiate east, north, and south. The St. Lawrence
drains the eastern slope, the Red River of the North
the northern, and the Mississippi the middle and south-
ern sections. The highest elevation is one thousand
six hundred and eighty feet above the sea level. Min-
nesota is the Land of Lakes. Dr. Day, of Saint Paul,
calculated that three and one half acres of every one
hundred acres, or one million six hundred and one thou-

View from Red Wiug, Looking t^outh.

View from Barn Bluff.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 175

sand eight hundred and forty acres, are of inland lake
surface.

X — FORT SNELLING TO SAINT LOUIS

After reposing upon cushions in the hotel parlour
during the night, the Dolly was taken in a waggon to
the river front at the southern end of Minneapolis and
launched. Passing the mouth of Minnehaha Creek,
I was able to paddle nearly up to the fall; a short walk
was necessary. Returning to the Mississippi, the
frowning and picturesque heights of Fort Snelling
dominated the landscape. This imposing and romantic
fortress, sole reminder of the long struggle with man
and nature for possession of the North-west, is still
calculated to cause a heart-thrill. Its white stone walls
cling to the brink of a precipitous cliff, and over all,
upon a tall staff, floats the flag of our country. The
entrance of the Minnesota River, at Mendota, a Dakota
word for "meeting of the waters," is very imposing;
the mouths of the IMissouri and Ohio surpass the Min-
nesota in volume but not in scenic effect. Finding a
favouring breeze, the mast was stepped and a speedy
sail to Saint Paul followed.^ One of the rowing clubs
offered the hospitality of its boat-house and the crew
rested at a hotel for two days.

^The Mississippi scenery between Saint Paul and
Keokuk is as beautiful as that of any river in the world.
The Hudson has higher mountains, the Rhine its his-
toric ruins, the Seine its artistic chateaux, the Danube
its " Iron Gates," and the Colorado its canon; but, for

1 Carver's cave, at Saint Paul, was known to the Dakotas as " the
sacred lodge" (Neill, 207). It is now a beer cellar.

176 The Mississippi

five hundred miles, our own greatest river passes
through a variety of scenery attractive to the eye and
romantically associated with the early development of
our republic. The river banks below Saint Paul are
high bluffs on the east and beautiful lowlands on the
west.

Leaving the club, where my canoe had been housed
most hospitably, I sailed and paddled to Hastings,
thirty-two miles, by one o'clock. Finding a breeze, I
sailed about two miles below Prescott where the wind
died out. The beauty of the landscape to the east-
ward grew with each bend of the river. Diamond
Bluff, the end of the day's run, has for background a
charming, rocky precipice.

In the absence of any breeze next morning, I
tugged at the paddle as far as Red Wing, famous in
song and story as the site of the village of a tribe hav-
ing a chief of that name. The town is prettily located
on the western bank; the view therefrom, shown in
the photograph, is one with which the eye does n't tire.

Then comes the grand expansion of the river known
as Lake Pepin, twenty-five miles long by three to five
in width. Not an island in it. High looms the bare
front of the Maiden Rock, grand in nature and fasci-
nating in romance. Every passenger upon steamers
and trains is told the tale anew. I heard it at every
hamlet upon the lake: it represents tourist capital.
Ever since the time of the Tarpeian Rock, precipitous
cliffs have served for the immolation of real or mythical
maidens. The story of Winona's self-destruction gen-
erally takes this form: The Dakotas and Chippewas
were engaged in bloody warfare about the close of the
eighteenth century. Red Wing, chief of the Dakota

The Maideu Rock, Lake I'epin.

The Author's '' Baden-rowell " Canoe.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 177

tribe on Lake Pepin, had for daughter Winona, tradi-
tionally beautiful. She had many suitors but she re-
jected all the braves of her own people, having secretly
pledged herself to a son of Wahnabozah, chief of the
Chippewas and the hereditary foe of her father. With
the opening of spring, Red Wing called a council of
war and asked the aid of all tribes among the Dakotas.
The most powerful young chief, who had come from
far up the Mississippi, Wazikoota by name, demanded
Winona for wife as the price of his assistance and Red
Wing acceded to the conditions.

The Indian girl had a stolen interview with her
Chippewa lover, informed him of her father's plans, and
they agreed that as soon as the decisive battle had
been fought they would meet atop this rock and flee to
the Red River country. The lovers were spied upon,
the Chippewa brave was pursued and killed. When
Wazikoota turned to claim Winona, she ran to the edge
of the cliff and with a despairing shriek cast herself
headlong upon the rocks below. The Indian legend
asserts that the angry Spirit of the Lake caused a great
wave to sweep to the base of the hill w^hich, returning,
bore the bodies of the lovers to a grave beneath the
waters.^

A dehghtful sail across the lake to the pretty village
of Frontenac followed. Pepin is an enlargement of
the Mississippi twenty-five miles in length and no-

1 Col. John W. Bliss, son of Major John Bliss, U. S. A., who
passed his boyhood at Fort Snelling, tells of having to tie up for
two days in Lake Pepin, at the base of " Maiden Rock " (then called
"The Lovers' Leap"). He was travelling with his parents to the
post to which his father had been assigned, on the stern-wheeler
Warrior, which made two trips each summer from Saint Louis to
Fort Snelling.

178 The Mississippi

where more than five miles in width. Its general direc-
tion is towards the south-east and its form is that of
an extended line of beauty. A range of low hills ex-
tends into the lake from the west which the steamboat
men call " Point No Point," for the reason that, hour
after hour, it looks like a headland but proves to be
only a continuous bluff. Frontenac, called a watering
place, is just below Point No Point. The French,
under M. Frontenac, drove the Reynards from the Wis-
consin up the Mississippi and built a stockade on the
west bank near Point de Sable. Lake Pepin, as seen
from the rocky hill above Frontenac, is shown in the
photograph.

From Frontenac, I again crossed the lake to a small
hamlet about one mile above Reed's Landing where I
spent the night. In the morning, against a head wind,
I pulled ten miles to Wabashaw for breakfast.

" Wah-pah-sah " was the hereditary name of a long
and illustrious line of Dakota ( Sioux) chiefs. " Waba-
shaw " is the white man's pronunciation. The name is
descriptive of the pole used in the Sioux dances, upon
which, like a May pole, feathers and coloured cloths
were fastened. Therefore, Wapasa meant "The Stand-
ard," not " The Leaf Shaker," as has been suggested.
The principal village of these aboriginal forest barons
was Ke-uk-sa, the present site of Winona. Stephen
R. Riggs, author of The Dakota Grammar^ saj'^s, " Ke-
uk-sa means * Village of Law Breakers,' so described
because this band disregarded the custom of the Dakota
nation against marrying blood relations of any degree."
Wapasa, grandfather of the last chief of that name, was
a friend of the British during the American Revolution.^

1 Neill's History of Minnesota, 225-229.

CL,

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 179

Here was beautiful prairie, still within the Minne-
sota border. Here was the capital of " The Standard "
tribe of the Sioux.

A strong wind blew against the current all day,
making the paddling laborious. The water was so
rough that I could not land at Almy but proceeded
to Buffalo, remembered solely as the site of a saw-mill
and a beer-garden. As the wind increased, so did the
blisters upon my hands. Mount Vernon, eighteen
miles, was passed at one o'clock and a luncheon of cove
oysters, hard bread, and coffee was eaten on the river
side. After waiting in vain for the wind to moderate,
I paddled eleven miles to Fountain City.

The scenery on both sides of the river is magnificent,
but the heaviness of the work at the paddle prevented
its entire enjoyment. The little German town of Foun-
tain City nestles at the foot of a hill and seemed very
comfortable in the warmth of the afternoon's sun. Al-
though I had hoped to reach Winona before dark, I
spent the night there and the beer tasted as good that
night as any I subsequently have drunk in Munich.
The hospitality of the Wisconsin town was agreeable.
My boat was carried from the warehouse, where it had
been kept under lock during the night, and I started
down the river at nine o'clock.

Not far from Winona is the picturesque " Sugar
Loaf." It casts a very heavy shadow across the river
in the early morning, as will be seen from the photo-
graph. A sandy beach runs along its base. A brief
stop was made at Winona to mail letters, after which
I paddled to Trempealeau.

At half -past five, I stepped ashore at La Crosse,
at the end of a dashing sail, carrying all canvas, and

i«o

The Mississippi

the much admired canoe was taken to the parlour of the
International Hotel. The river is almost four miles
wide at La Crosse owing to innumerable islands and
channels. A start was made at six o'clock next morn-
ing. Brownsville was reached at ten and a stop for
the night was made at Lansing, after paj'^ing a visit
to the supposed grave of Minnehaha at De Soto on
the Wisconsin bank.

Lansing, on the Iowa side, lies at the foot of the
usual range of bluffs. The day was fine and hugging
the Iowa bank to avoid numerous channels made by
countless islands, I paddled all the way to McGregor,
opposite Prairie du Chien. The upper town of McGre-
gor first came in sight to the south of a long stretch
of water. The levee was found very rocky. After
luncheon at the Evans House, I crossed the river to
Prairie du Chien, the oldest town on the Mississippi,
dating back to the time of Pere IMarquette. The
modern city is not exactly where Father Marquette
saw the prairie dogs. At Fort Crawford, — " Prairie-
Dogtown," as described in a report on file at the War
Department, — Colonel Zachary Taylor, then a recog-
nised Indian fighter and afterwards to carve his way
to the Presidency by success in the Mexican War, was
in command for several years, dating from 1833. He
had then served in the Sauk and Fox campaigns.

The Wisconsin, where it joins the Mississippi, is
imposing, but historical associations give to it pre-
eminent importance. Very little imagination was
necessary to see, in mind's eye, the figures of grave-
visaged missionaries and the strong, daring counte-
nances of French traders in canoes emerging from the
river's mouth.

Lake Pepin, Looking North from Point No Point.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass i8rr

Below Prairie du Chien, the scenery becomes of
picturesque grandeur. Lofty bluffs appear on each
side, some of rock, others alluvial, having similitude
to ruined castles, Saracen watch-towers like those seen
upon the Sardinian and Spanish shores of the Medi-
terranean, and grotesque figures of gigantic size.
In places, these bluffs attain a height of six hundred
feet; many of them are coloured by various mineral
deposits and are often crowned with clumps of chest-
nut and oak.

I paddled into Guttenberg, Iowa, at dark and spent
the night at the Crawford House, — the day's voyage
being forty-six miles. Next day was the Sabbath but
there did not seem to be any observance thereof, so,
after breakfast, I decided to proceed to Dubuque. The
scenery began to lose many of its charms. The
bluffs, cheerful companions since leaving Minneapolis,
began to melt into the prairie. A light breeze spring-
ing up, sail was set and the fifteen-mile run from
Cassville to Wells' Landing was made in two hours.
After a stop for luncheon, the voyage was resumed
without incident to Dubuque. In the afternoon sun,
the church spires and pretty villas of this flourishing
city could be seen on rising ground far inland. The
water-side part of the town appeared common enough.
I proceeded down-stream and passed the night at a
white frame cottage on the Illinois bank where I was
hospitably received. My canoe was stored in the
carriage-house.

Next day, being overcast, with a fair wind down-
stream, I paddled and sailed to Sabula, forty-eight
miles, without incident. The following day, I pro-
ceeded as far as Le Claire, forty-seven miles. An early

1 82 The Mississippi

start was made next morning, because I expected to
enjo}^ running the Rock Island Rapids. I arrived at
the head of the rapid water about nine o'clock and had
passed through several miles of it before I realised its
character. The length of the rapid is fourteen miles,
or from Rock Island to Port Byron on the Illinois
side. According to Captain R. E. Lee, U. S. En-
gineers, the fall in the river is 25.74 feet. The Mis-
sissippi flows over a bed of limestone, the ledges of
which sometimes reach quite across the river. In times
of very shallow water, one might possibly incur some
danger in running the Rock Island Rapids; but I had
followed the spring freshet down and had a thoroughly
enjoyable hour among the swift currents.

The shores are generally prairie above Rock Island
and the background well timbered. Davenport, with
a charming range of sloping hills behind it, formed a
fine landscape. Muscatine was the halting place for
the night. The next day was intolerably warm and
the trip to Burlington, sixty-two miles, was very
arduous.

Here followed one of the red letter days of the
voyage. Starting from Burlington at nine o'clock, I
followed the Iowa shore hoping to secure a sailing breeze,
but the wind was blowing up-stream and this made the
heat more endurable. Bluffs reappeared on the west
and soon grew to almost the magnitude they had pos-
sessed about Lake Pepin. Charming little green islands
were scattered in the stream. As the meal hour ap-
proached, I came to a little town, the water front of
which was lined with rafts. Upon one of these, I saw
a frame boarding-house and immediately applied for
entertainment. The landlord was an Irishman and fed

Great t^pirit Blutl", uear Aiiua, Wiscou.siu.
Photo, by E. J. Hall, Oak Park, 111.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 183

me on boiled beef and dried peaches. The meat was
tough, but the appetite was indulgent.

I set out for Nauvoo. The imposing site had been
described to me, but its beauty far exceeded expecta-
tions. I beached my canoe under the bluff about five
o'clock, at a point from which a path led up the slope
to a red brick hotel. There I found a hale and refined
old lady, Mrs. Joseph Smith, widow of the founder of
Mormonism. She was mistress of the tavern. After
supper, she and I sat upon the brow of the bluff, with
the mighty Mississippi flowing between us and the
Iowa shore, while I listened to her narrative of the ter-
rible privations and persecutions of early Mormon days.
Mrs. Smith's conversation is very memorable, due to
the romantic surroundings and especially to the ex-
cellence of its English. Nauvoo cannot be dismissed
in a few words. It belongs to the history of religion
in the Mississippi Valley, and its romantic features
equal those of the missionary priests who devoted their
lives to the dissemination of doctrines in which they
devoutly believed.

Nauvoo is the sacred town of Momionism: to true
believers, it is what Benares is to Buddhism and Mecca
to Islam. The Mormon idea — older than Joseph
Smith, who gave to it form and direction — was a
product of several communistic movements that began
between 182Q and 1830, in various parts of the Eastern
States. This farmer's son, living at different periods
of his boyhood near Palmyra and Manchester, in west-
ern New York, saw visions, had dreams, and practised
healing by faith. His father, mother, and maternal
grandfather had asserted similar unusual powers.
There is a quaint " chap-book " in the Berrian Collec-

1 84 The Mississippi

tion, published by one Solomon INIack (Windsor,
Canada, 1810), which foreshadows the neurotic con-
ditions that developed in Joseph Smith.

Solomon Mack was an illiterate, shiftless man who
described himself as " a wild ass's colt," and his
daughter, Lucy Mack, became the mother of Joseph
Smith. The boy grew up in an atmosphere of unreality
and probably inherited a taint of epilepsy. Solomon
Mack confessed to " frequent fits." Smith's mother
was a mental freak. She implicitly believed in dreams.
Thus, the founder of JNIormonism was a product of
atavism; his erratic temperament was inherited. Jour-
nals left by Mrs. Lucy Smith foreshadow the recent
work of Mrs. Mary Baker-Eddy. They were pub-
lished in Liverpool (1853), and are of undeniable
authenticity.

Joseph Smith, Senior, came as a colonist from New
England to the property of the Holland Land Com-
pany, owners of a large tract west of Seneca Lake, in
New York. Palmyra had only four log houses. In
this environment, Lucy Smith raised her children. For
a brief period, the Smiths lived at JNIanchester, a place
equally desolate: but at Palmyra, the son, Joseph, be-
gan to argue and to exhort whenever he could secure
hearers. On day, he announced the finding of a set
of golden plates, upon which were inscribed " The
teachings of Nephi, his reign and ministry."

" The Book of Mormon " appeared in 1830, printed
by E. B. Grandin, for the author, at Palmyra.

After Smith's followers had migrated to Kirtland,
Ohio; thence (1838) to the town of Far West, Mis-
souri, where relentless persecution culminated in the
massacre of twenty people at Plaun's Mill, we find

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 185

them at ISTauvoo, on the IlHnois bank of the Mississippi.
Already Orson Pratt was preaching the faith in Eng-
land and sending to America a constantly increasing
stream of converts.

\!The site of Nauvoo probabty is the most beautiful
on "the Father of Waters." A majestic bluff, over-
looking the broad river, and a vast stretch of level
country behind it, affords ample room for a city of
vast proportions. Had the Mormons not been ruth-
lessly driven to the Great Salt Lake, a city equal in
beauty, wealth, and industry to the capital of Utah
would stand upon this commanding eminence to-day,
adding to the pride of the State and nation. Here the
sect thoroughly organised for the first time. The ori-
ginal title of the boat-landing had been " Commerce " ;
but Smith renamed it " Nauvoo," or " The beautiful."
A large tract of land was purchased for $14,000, and
broad streets were laid out, crossing each other at right
angles. A busy, thriving town developed. Two hund-
red houses and many public edifices were built. In
1841, Smith had a revelation, directing that a great
temple be built. Underneath the land a fine quality
of limestone had been discovered and quarries were
opened, from which material was procured to build the
temple. The corner-stone was laid with much cere-
mony in 1841. The structure was of polished stone,
one hundred and thirty-eight feet long, eighty-eight
feet wide, and sufficiently capacious to accommodate
three thousand people. It was surmounted by a tower
rising one hundred and seventy-five feet, and its inte-
rior decorations were costly. The total expenditures
exceeded $500,000.

I Nauvoo soon had a population of ten thousand

1 86 The Mississippi

people, and Joseph Smith was supreme in authority.
With prosperity came internal dissensions among the
Mormons and many malicious reports were circulated
regarding Smith's moral character. He was accused
of having " spiritual wives," although that part of the
INIormon doctrine had not been propounded. The en-
tire population of Illinois eventually divided on Mor-
mon and anti-Mormon sentiment. Smith's bitterest
opponents and critics were Dr. Foster and Mr. Law,
editors of The Nauvoo Expositor: they published so
many attacks upon Smith that Ke ordered their print-
ing-office burned. These editors got warrants for the
arrest of Joseph and Hiram Smith, but the constable
was driven out of town when he tried to serve the
papers. Conditions became so strained that Governor
Ford sent a demand from Springfield for the surrender
of the Smith brothers. He feared to call out the
militia, knowing that bloodshed would ensue.

Joseph Smith expressed a willingness to submit to
the authority of the State government, at the same
time declaring that he believed he would be a victim
of mob fury. The Governor promised protection and
the two men surrendered themselves at Carthage.
They were incarcerated in the jail at that place. On
June 27, 1844, a mob gathered which broke into the
prison and shot the two men to death. It was a very
brutal outrage.

The assassination of Joseph Smith strengthened
Mormonism. Alive, he may have been an imposter;
dead, he became a martyr. His biographers have
found many difficulties in arriving at a correct estimate
of Joseph Smith. He was a remarkable man, pos-
sessed of superior natural talent and of much executive

S OS

_' o

OJ o

H Pi

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 187

ability. Under unceasing persecutions and constant
hardships, he established a combination of thrift and
religion that has endured in Utah unto this day.

At the time of his first alleged revelation, there were
forty-three separate sects of the Christian religion in
this country. The land resounded with the hysterical
ciy, "What must we do to be saved?" Appeal for
salvation was so general that Smith found hundreds of
followers, when, at any other period, he would not have
secured scores. Smith was either a sincere religious
fanatic, or a remarkable imposter.

The grave and imposing stone temple at Nauvoo,
upon which the faithful had laboured so devotedly, was
burned by anti-Mormons in 1848. With Brigham
Young as their leader, the Mormons trekked across the
plains to the Great Salt Lake and established, at
"Deseret," a new home, which their energies have caused
to bloom. Their new city was laid out upon lines
similar to those adopted at Nauvoo.

After the exodus of the main body of the " Latter
Day Saints," Nauvoo became the seat of a sect of
French Socialists calling themselves " Icarians." Re-
pudiating the new leader, Brigham Young, the widow
of Joseph Smith remained behind, to end her days at
the scene of her beloved husband's preaching and only
a few miles from the place of his murder. She re-
married, when past middle life, and I was introduced
to her husband.

" Joseph Smith never suggested or practised poly-
gamy," said the aged lady, with a directness born of
sincere belief. " He was a devoted and faithful hus-
band. The blemish of polygamy was engrafted upon
Mormonism, which was a pure, gentle, trusting faith,

i88 The Mississippi

— ^beautiful as the behefs of the ancient Greeks, — ^by
Brigham Young and Orson Pratt, after my husband's
cruel assassination."

*' You love this place and his memory so deeply
that you would not trek to far-away Utah? " I asked.

" Not altogether that. I was a devout believer in
the faith as disclosed by Joseph Smith; but I would
not follow false prophets."

After breakfast, next morning, I visited the site of
the great temple, a ploughed field. Not a villager ap-
peared to realise a lost opportunity. Wayfarer as I
was, I could have lingered for hours watching the grand
river that I had seen grow from a brook.

The pull to Keokuk, nineteen miles, was made
through rapid water; but I would not have known I
was descending a fall had I not noticed a steamer as-
cending through a lock on the Iowa side. The dis-
tance was covered in about ninety minutes. Although
the heat was intense I pushed on to Canton, twenty-
four miles farther. I landed on the Iowa shore at half-
past two, utterly fagged. I was twenty miles from
Quincy and after waiting until the sun got low, I easily
made the distance before dark. The following day
was uneventful. To avoid getting into chutes and
ponds along the route required watchfulness. I went
miles out of my way on two occasions. I intended to
stop at Hannibal for luncheon, but had run by it be-
fore the error was detected. I stopped three hours at
Saverton, on account of the intolerable heat, and then
proceeded to Louisiana, Mo., opposite Quincy junc-
tion, and spent the night.

As I was getting ready to start, next morning, the
steamboat Belle of La Crosse ran on the levee. This

i4s^

" The Sugar Loaf," near ^^'in()lla.

Trempealeau.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 189

was the second time she had met me since I had left
Saint Paul. Realising that she would reach Saint
Louis, a round one hundred miles distant, before dark,
I decided to dodge sunstroke and take her. My canoe
was carried aboard and I received a warm welcome from
the captain. We passed the mouth of the Illinois River,
sacred to the memories of the early explorers and mis-
sionaries, at four o'clock, and, after a brief stop at Alton,
saw the coffee-coloured flood of the Missouri add itself
to the clear waters of the Mississippi. As far as Saint
Louis, the western third of the broad river remained
cafe au lait in hue. Putting the canoe in a warehouse
near the wharf, I went to the Southern.

XI BY STEAMBOAT TO NEW ORLEANS

The voyage from Saint Louis to New Orleans on
the steamboat James Howard developed sufficient in-
cidents to fatten a story book. The boat was only
partially loaded, because the chief part of the cargo for
New Orleans was to be received at Cairo, from Ohio
River craft. This would necessitate a stay at the little
town in " Egypt," Illinois, and many passengers for
the lower river preferred to wait in Saint Louis and
overtake the boat by train.

Any narrative of a week's hfe upon a Mississippi
steamboat without gambling experiences would not
possess the flavour of reality : but the run to Cairo was
uneventful. The captain was an interesting man who
had spent forty years on the river. He mentioned the
suicide of Captain Durkin, of the Minotaur^ who lost
all his earthly possessions in a game of poker, aboard
his own boat. The spell of the terrible name borne by

iQo The Mississippi

the craft did not impress the captain; but he was very-
sure that ill luck attended all steamers christened with
names beginning with " M." The same fatality ap-
plied to the Missouri River as well as to the Mississippi.
He cited the cases of the Magnolia, which took fire and
burned two hundred and twenty-five of her three hund-
red passengers; of the Metamora, sunk above Choctaw
Island ; of the Midas, snagged at the bend above Island
No. 16; of the Mayfloisoer, burnt at Memphis, and of
several others. He then recurred to Captain Durkin
and said:

On a down trip, two well-dressed passengers came aboard
at Memphis and announced themselves as Louisiana planters.
That evening, one of these strangers suggested a game of
poker to the captain. Durkin was fond of " draw " and
agreed. After play with varying fortune, he was dealt four
kings. Then he bet all his money and his quarter interest
in the Minotaur. His opponent showed four aces. Durkin
signed a bill of sale for his share in the boat, went to his
stateroom, and shot himself. He left a note, saying : " A
man who would bet his last dollar on four kings does n't
deserve standing-room on earth."

As an exception to popular superstition among
Mississippi steamboat captains, it may be stated that
the James Howard was burned soon after the trip that
served to continue my voyage as far as the Crescent
City. The explosion of the Sultana's boilers, in 1864,
had caused a sacrifice of six hundred and forty-seven
lives, and the Saluda, ending her career in similar
fashion, destroyed one hundred human beings.

Train from Saint Louis brought fifty passengers
for our boat, among whom was a collector for a New

l-M

rf^

^"^

!-i

4—

',^^

> — 1

►-j

^—H

_ ^

"a!

-u

•^ ? Ah

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 191

York house known to me. That afternoon, as we were
passing Island No. 10 and New Madrid, historically
interesting, owing to the places they occupy in the re-
cords of the Civil War, I listened to a gambling episode
that had occurred to the narrator while ascending the
Mississippi during the previous winter:

I never shall touch a card again [he began]. I have
had my lesson. I arrived at New Orleans from a collection
tour in Texas, with quite a bunch of money in certified checks
and cash. Coming too late for banking hours, I carried this
money aboard the boat, which was to leave at nine o'clock,
intending to secure a draft at Memphis to the credit of my
house. I scheduled the checks and mailed them to New York ;
then I made the bills into a bundle, which I deposited with
the purser of the steamboat. He was in collusion with gam-
blers aboard, and before supper, I had been introduced to
several sleek but respectable-appearing men. A game of poker
was proposed after the boat got under way, and having several
hundred dollars of money of my own, I had no objections.
I thought I could take care of myself. I met a Cincinnati
salesman aboard, Whitney by name, and persuaded him to
join us. W^e adjourned to a stateroom from which a four-
poster bed had been removed and six of us " sat in."

The game ran along quietly for half an hour, nobody
making any suggestion to increase the modest five-dollar limit.
I was ahead about |80. Whitney was a small loser. No
amount of money worth talking about had changed hands. I
had my eyes about me, but had failed to detect evidences of
collusion or cheating on the part of my new acquaintances.
I played with a feeling of increased confidence, and under
pretext of getting some cigars from my stateroom, dropped
out long enough to secure the wad of money from the purser's
safe.

There was a " jack pot " soon after my return. The player
at my left, one of the strangers, was dealing. The first
man said, " No." The second player " declined to open."

192 The Mississippi

The third, Whitney, tossed a blue chip into the centre of the
table, with the statement: "I open, for the limit!" The
fourth man, at my right, " chipped along."

I had a pair of kings and a pair of jacks; so I " hiked it."
The dealer quit, as did the chap next to him. The second
player stayed for the $10, as did Whitney. Fourth man saw
my raise and raised back. I " chipped along," but was sur-
prised to find strength develop at Number Two, who " tilted
the pot," as if he meant to stay. Whitney would n't quit.
When Number Four's turn came, he " made good " and raised !
I merely chipped, feeling that I was over-playing two
pairs. Surely enough, Two " bumped it " ; Whitney quit ;
Four merely '' stayed " ; I decided to " linger " and take cards.
This is what the draw revealed:

Number Two asked for two cards. The logic of that act
was that he had declined to " open " on threes, or, quite im-
probably, was holding " a kicker " to a pair. I " read him "
for threes.

Number Four's draw was interesting. He took one card,
ostentatiously placing his discard before him and covering it
with a chip. Although he had n't " broken the jack," he in-
tended to give the impression that he had split a pair and
was about to draw to a straight or flush. I reasoned that if
he had been given fours " to go in " he would have " stood
pat," in order to indicate a smaller hand than he actually
possessed. With the probability of having threes to beat at
Number Two, and a completed flush at Number Four, I made a
freak draw. I had a pair of kings, therefore nobody else could
get four kings. I tossed them away, with the three spot
of hearts, and drew to the jacks. To my surprise, I was
given a king and two jacks! That ought to have made me
wise ; for, don't you see, on the assumption that I would draw
only one card, the intention of the dealer was that I should
have a king full, — a very respectable hand. Four jacks, how-
ever, were different. I would have played a " full " with
caution : but f-o-u-r-s ! I did n't worry about a straight flush ;
as for fours, only aces or queens could beat me. I tried to
look unconcerned, as I awaited the first bet. Whitney being

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 193

out, that distinction fell to Number Four. I raised him, heard
Two raise me and saw Four " hike " it, again, — as he spoke
of the folly of over-playing a flush.

Here is where the usual thing occurred. Somebody sug-
gested " taking off the limit." The passion was on me ; I was
glad to agree. All the avaricious traits of my character were
in evidence. I was a different man from the one who had
entered the game, — a soulless thing, money-mad.

When Two topped my re-raise of Four's raise by a hundred
dollars, I was delighted. I was doubly glad when Four added
another hundred. I pushed two bills across the table to
" make good " and taking all the rest of my own cash, raised
|250. I had expected a show-down at this point ; but in the
half minute of silence that followed, I decided to use the
money of my firm, if necessary to force a conclusion. Em-
bezzlement ? Yes ; but at that moment my dying mother could
not have convinced me I was doing wrong. After unusual
deliberation, the gamester at my left " saw " Four's hundred,
my |250, making |350, and added five crisp hundred dollar
bills to the stake. Cold perspiration appeared on my fore-
head ; the only choice lay between jail or victory. " Mine are
as good as they were," commented Four, as he again raised
another |500.

A glance at my hand showed that none of the jacks had
got away; I still held five cards, with the king. My hand
was n't foul, whether it won or lost. The possibility of a
straight flush in Four's hand froze the marrow in my bones.
What could I do but go on?

It is well enough to say I could have retired with the loss
of a few hundred dollars and remained honest. Persons who
reason thus fail to comprehend the passion that swayed me.
I opened the bulging envelope and spread the bills across a
knee. It cost me |1000 to " call," but I did so. As I had
feared. Number Two " saw " his friend's $500 raise and " went
up " an equal amount. Without an instant's hesitation, Four
" made good " and raised a plumb thousand.

I saw two things clearly. First, I was being " saw-bucked "
by the players alternately raising on either side of me;

194 The Mississippi

second, I had probably over-played my fours and could not
win on a " show-down." I had already embezzled |1000 of my
employers' funds. Suicide suggested itself, in case I failed
to win; but I did not have the slightest impulse to quit.
Meanwhile, Four tossed in |1500, meaning an increase of
flOOO.

With swimming eyes, I " saw " the $1500 promptly, fortu-
nately counting the money in my lap. That meant $2500 of
the money entrusted to my keeping. But, I made a dis-
covery ! Upon the back of the envelope, I had written " $3260."
I had overlooked several sums, and still had $3000 left. I
could win, if my antagonists hadn't that much between them.
After my " call," Number Two " made good " Four's raise and
added $500. Instantly, Four counted out precisely $760, mean-
ing a " raise " of $260 !

My eyes were opened by that bet. I glanced at the back
of the envelope I had given to the purser, — " 3260." Exactly
the amount! The fellow wanted my last dollar and wasn't
afraid of a " show-down."

Here 's where the catastrophe was to have occurred. I de-
tected an expression of sarcastic glee on the face of the dealer,
— who had not joined in the betting but was to be sharer in
the spoils. Number Two had only a few bills on the table,
but he appeared to know that he would n't need more. Four
acted as if he already had my cash in his clutches. He was
contentedly swinging upon the gate of hell! The satanic leer
of joy in that man's eyes decided me: I "made good" and
raised him $2240 !

Consternation appeared upon the faces of the three pro-
fessional gamblers. Number Two leaned over to Whitney and,
showing to him four aces, begged for enough money to " call."
Number Four in a low voice asked to have the bet reduced
to $800,— all the funds he had with him.
" Never ! " I fairly screamed.

Four then asked to leave the room to secure money; but,
at a motion from me, Whitney stepped to the door, and, mak-
ing sure it was locked, put the key in his pocket. I was
armed and meant to die rather than let that gang of scoun-

^C5

■-— '

•-^

bJO

1— (

-M

-a

&iD

=*-(

-a

.»-H

'fH

^<^

>•

«M

_<D

k-*

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 195

drels do me. Number Four, the dean of the trio, rose, throw-
ing down his cards, faces upward. He bowed and said :

" It is a dead ' freeze-out ' : but your nerve and your money
win."

As Whitney showed a pair of queens, his " openers," I saw
that Number Four had laid down a ten-high, straight flush.

The James Howard chugged away throughout the
night and ran her bow upon the levee at Memphis
shortly after noon of the following day. The city had
not fully recovered from the effects of the Civil War.
It was far from being the beautiful place it is to-day.

Several stops, notably at Helena, were made during
the night and all the next day was spent " rounding the
bends " in this crookedest of American rivers. The
Jordan, in Palestine, is probably the only stream on
earth containing more convolutions. Although the dis-
tance from the Lake of Tiberias to the Dead Sea is
hardly sixty miles, the Jordan uses full two hundred
miles in making the steep descent. The point of great-
est interest during that long day's steaming was the
mouth of the Arkansas River, where is the defunct
village of Napoleon. Visions of La Salle, Tonty, and
other early explorers came before my eyes as we steamed
smoothly past the outlet of this great river. Lost towns
are scattered along the entire made-lands of the Mis-
sissippi's delta; but the most notable is this one of
Napoleon, which from 1844 to 1874 was county seat
of Desha County, Arkansas, and had eight hundred in-
habitants in 1860; but, since my visit, the Mississippi
took a dislike to it and washed away its streets and
houses. I am assured that to-day the site of this
ambitious town cannot be identified.

Amidst the sunlight of the following morning, I

196 The Mississippi

caught sight of Vicksburg. Standing at the wheel-
house, an obhging ex-Confederate pointed out the
strategic features of the landscape. Especially did he
indicate the locality near the mouth of the Yazoo, at
which General Sherman suffered defeat. Our steamer
carried a great deal of merchandise for Vicksburg, and
passengers spent until four o'clock visiting places of
historic interest. Many of the cave dwellings, cut into
the hard-clay hillsides and occupied during the bom-
bardment, were still in existence and some of them were
in use as beer cellars.

At daylight the following morning, we were at
Natchez-under-the-Hill : five hours were spent in ram-
bling about the upper town. Memories of the Spanish,
French, and English pioneers were awakened by the
names of many of the streets. I would have liked to
have seen a few streets or squares bearing the titles of
the wonderful native chieftains described in the Jesuit
" Relations." John Hay, an associate on the Tribune ,
had not published Jim Bludso of the Prairie Belle,
who "had one wife at Natchez and another here in Pike."
Having read Chateaubriand's Rene and Atala, I sought
for a monument to Chactas.

BatonRouge was announced at breakfast and I drove
over much of the desolated city. Deserted houses were
numerous. Like Natchez, the streets were paved with
square, red tiles. Dwellings of the poor were crowded
among the business houses. The really impressive ob-
ject of the then former capital of Louisiana was its
ruined State House, standing as evidence of the ravages
of the terrible conflict so recently ended. (In 1880,
this city was again made the capital of the State.)

The roofless capitol stood upon an eminence at the

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 197

southern end of town, overlooking the broad and placid
river I had followed for weeks and watched its growth
from a brooklet to a thing of majesty. It stood in
grounds filled with blooming shrubs: banana, plantain,
palmetto, magnolia, and box trees spread their foliage
over the paths. The stucco with which the brick struc-
ture was covered gave to the ruin the effect of white
marble. It belonged to a school of architecture the ex-
amples of which are more beautiful as ruins than
as habitations of men. Not a hillock appears below
Baton Rouge: the bluffs that shone so grandly at
Vicksburg and Natchez have dwindled to nothing.
Sugar plantations are well-nigh continuous from the
mouth of the Red River on the western and Baton
Rouge on the eastern banks, as far south as Pointe-a-la-
Hache, fifty miles below New Orleans. In their rear
are the vast cypress swamps of Louisiana, with their
moss and vine-laden trees of most funereal aspect.

During the night, the James Howard tied up at
her wharf, not far from the foot of Canal Street, New
Orleans, but most of her passengers remained aboard
until next day, when, going ashore, I drank water of
Elk Lake, iced for a mint julep of New Orleans.

XII — TO THE SEA AND TO NEW YORK

The steamship George Cromwell, Captain Samuel
L. Clapp, did not sail for New York until the follow-
ing Saturday, leaving four days in which to visit many
interesting places identified with the early history of
the Mississippi's development. Canal Street is as
indelibly associated with the " Crescent City " as
Broadway is with " Gotham." It is a broad, open thor-

198 The Mississippi

oughfare into which a visitor inevitably drifts, no matter
at what point he enters the city. Thereon are its fash-
ionable clubs and one of the best restaurants in all
creation, — the place at which one can obtain real gombo
soup and eat the Creole papahotte, or marsh-fed plover.
But the visitor who knows his New Orleans does not
linger on Canal Street: he seeks the French quarter
through Royal Street. Within a few squares of the
busy modern thoroughfare, crowded with all forms of
traffic, he enters a region wherein is yet the eighteenth
century. He has revealed to him the New Orleans of
the Provincial period. Without any stretch of imagi-
nation, he can easily fancy himself in the older streets
of Bordeaux. Quaint depots of antiquarians, little
absinthe and wine shops; tobacco factories in hallways
(where one can have a cigar rolled while waiting) ; tiny
furniture warerooms having mysterious yellow or red
paper slips pasted in a corner of their front windows
which mean that lottery tickets are sold " on the side."
There, too, are many quaint Spanish houses, a single
story in height, with their red-tile roofs. The
" quarter " is honeycombed with courtyards that might
be in Southern France or in Spain, veritable patios
that lack nothing of Andalusian glamour, even to spark-
ling fountains. Royal Street was the Faubourg St.
Germain of the Orleans of the Louisiana Province.

Especially did I visit the old St. Louis Hotel
around which all social activities of the Franco-
American city revolved during the first half of the nine-
teenth century. There duels were arranged; the great
ball of each winter was given there. It was the central
point of " Acadia," as the merry French-Creoles, as late
as the Fifties, understood it. The interior of its cen-

Old State House at Baton Rouge, Burued
durino- the Civil War.

Old Absinllie House, New Orlcau.s.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 199

tral cupola was frescoed by a nephew and pupil of
Canova; but far more curious to me, as existing evi-
dence of a barbarism from which the Civil War had
so recently freed my country, I walked to the corner
of the rotunda and stepped upon the raised block of
stone between two massive columns that had served
for a generation as an auction-block from which human
beings were sold to the highest bidder! Years after-
ward, when shown into a slave market at Tangier, a
city of the most debased survival of medieval barbar-
ism, the mental picture of this auction-block at New
Orleans recurred to me. There was the stone, with the
auctioneer's name cut thereon. One had only to close
his eyes to find around him the gilded youths of the
Forties and Fifties, bidding against one another for
this pretty slave or that sinewy field-hand. How easy
to see a graceful octoroon, standing upon that grey
stone, her scantily-clothed, coppery-hued figure framed
between the fluted Corinthian columns, an object of
jibes and rivalry between the members of a group of
brandy-heated libertines !

I strolled into Charles Street, a corridor of balconies,
and to the " rendezvous des amies de Vart culi-
naire" an unincorporated organisation that assembles
about four o'clock, every afternoon, at " The Old
Absinthe House," to discuss the latest thought in cook-
ing and, incidentally, to imbibe uncounted glasses of
pale, amber-hued drink, — properly dripped into a gob-
let with a pointed bottom. Not far distant, in Chartres
Street and upon a corner, I was shown the house that
the " pure-blooded " Creoles built for the Exile at St.
Helena, the great Napoleon who had given their land
and themselves to the young Republic. Instead of

200 The Mississippi

effecting the intended rescue and building his house
when they had " their Emperor " to occupy it, the hero-
worshippers were celebrating their intended benefaction
in a noisy revel when word of Napoleon's death, months
before, at " Longwood," on his lonely island prison,
reached New Orleans.

A visit of reverent sympathy was made to the tomb
of Dominique You, the Baratarian pirate who rendered
such heroic service to General Jackson on the Plain
of Chalmette. It is in need of repair and if the city
of New Orleans does not attend to the task, Congress
should appropriate money for the purpose.

At eight o'clock on the morning of August 3d, the
steamship George Croinwell swung from her wharf and
headed for the Gulf of Mexico, — the last stage of the
Mississippi journey. In mid-stream, aboard an ocean-
going craft, the majesty of the great river was felt as
not before. Every eye was watching for the Plain of
Chalmette, the field upon which the squirrel-hunters of
the woods and the smugglers of Barataria defeated
British veterans of the Peninsular war. Its site was
indicated by an uncompleted shaft. Between Pointe-a-
la-Hache, — where a clumsy carpenter is said to have
dropped overboard an axe, — and Forts St. Philip and
Jackson, the river banks are lined with orange groves.
Across the narrow strip of land that restrains the river
in its channel below the forts, rarely a mile in width, the
Gulf can be plainly seen. Here and throughout lower
Louisiana, the people speak of " the coast " of the Mis-
sissippi; it is quite improper to say "banks." A
panorama of splendid plantations unrolled before us.
Reaching the head of the passes, we took the south-west
channel to the sea. The bar, one hundred and twenty

The House Built for llie lOiupe'ioi- Napolecin.

Elk Lake to South-west Pass 201

miles from the " Crescent City," was crossed at 4.30
in the afternoon; the three-pronged delta, having mys-
terious place upon the famous " Admiral's Map " of
unknown authorship, came clearly into view as the
mouths of south and north-east passes were reached.

The red-sandstone walls of the frowning but worth-
less fortress upon the Dry Tortugas were sighted at
five o'clock of August 6th, and Key West light ap-
peared at ten the same night. We went through
Florida Strait with the onrush of the Gulf Stream at
its most constricted point. Along the east coast of the
Peninsula, we had the dainty flying-fish and bright-
hued nautilus with us as far as Canaveral light. The
Gulf Stream, veritable " river in the ocean " and greater
in volume than the mighty flood from which I had
parted company, was hurrying us northward at a speed
of five miles an hour. It was bound for that Haven
of Missing Ships, the Sargasso Sea; we for that
Port of the Living, New York.

Cape Hatteras, with its resplendent, companionable
light, amid the loneliness of that generally storm-tossed
part of the Atlantic, was sighted at 8.58 p.m.^ of the
9th. Thirty hours later, we were at our pier in New
York. A trip of more than six thousand miles at an
end, the writer was at once asked to and did volunteer
for an undertaking far more hazardous than that in
which he had been engaged.

CHAPTER XI

The Itasca State Park

THE preservation of the sources of the Mississippi
probably grew out of a suggestion made by the
late Alfred J. Hill, of Saint Paul, in March,
1889, that the Itasca region be secured by the State of
Minnesota and converted into a park. Joseph A. Whee-
lock, in the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, warmly advocated
the measure and it was formally brought before the
Minnesota Historical Society in 1890 by Emil Geist, of
Saint Paul. General John B. Sanborn, a member of
the State Senate, was asked to prepare and submit a
bill to the Legislature. This act, which met with hearty
approval, created " The Itasca State Park, composed
of thirty-five square miles of territory at Itasca Lake,
for ever dedicated to the public." Under the provi-
sions of the act, Governor WilUam R. Merriam ap-
pointed J. V. Brower, First Commissioner of the Itasca
State Park. Although Mr. Brower had visited the
region in October of 1888, he had not been equipped
at that time with instruments for charting the lake.
He returned, however, in March, 1889, and measured
Itasca on the ice. In 1891, he made a topographical
survey, as directed by the special act, and the results
of the hydrographic survey of 1889 and of the topo-
graphical examination of 1891 were combined in a chart
that afterwards became known as a map of the Itasca

Bwwiiaiiuiu.iiaw^ii^.uV:A'Jii.i'H.VK«ma<MvJ.w

:;e p8:u3SU! aq |1!M pue 'pazi.^iBip Buiaq s\ ;no-pi0^ siqi

japioLjeDeid
:ino-p|Od

^ ^

The Itasca State Park 203

State Park. It is herewith given. Representative J.
N. Castle, of Minnesota, introduced a bill in Congress
giving to the State of Minnesota all government lands
lying within the limits of the park; but despite the
promptitude with which the bill became a law, timber-
cruisers and lumber companies " located " vast tracts
of the territory. These they have largely denuded of
timber and some of the splendid forests along the shores
of Itasca Lake have been destroyed.

The name of J. V. Brower will always be associated
with sturdy efforts made to retain the natural beauties
of the Itasca Lake region. He had performed the
task for which he was commissioned by his State and
the Governor thereof, before the Mississippi Com-
mission took cognisance of the sources of the mighty
river. Of great value were the calculations he com-
piled regarding the elevations of the points upon the
river and especially of the large lakes in the Minne-
sota watershed. He computed the elevation in feet
above sea level, at the surface of the stream, to be as
follows :

Gulf of Mexico 0.0 Prairie du Chien 597.5

City of Saint Louis 384.8 La Crosse 621.2

Mouth of the Illinois. . 399.4 Saint Paul 680.5

Hannibal 444.9 Above St. Anthony Fall 782.0

Quincy 453.8 Below Pokegama Fall. 1248.0

Keokuk 472.3 Above Pokegama Fall. 1269.8

Burlington 505.1 Winnebagoshish Lake . 1292.8

Rock Island 533.7 Cass Lake 1302.8

Dubuque 578.2 Itasca Lake 1457.0

Taken in connection with the distances between the
localities mentioned, the changes in altitude unmistak-
ably indicate rapid water in many places. The height

204 The Mississippi

of Pokegama Fall is established at 21.8 feet. Mr.
B rower and his assistants gave more than j&ve months
to their work, and the survey made by them would
appear to have been more thorough and satisfactory
than that of Edwin S. Hall, C. E., for the United States
Government, in 1875, when, for the first time, the Itasca
country had any lines run.

Mr. Brower spent many months in compiling his
report. It gives a topographical description of Itasca
Lake, but states that the soundings made were in-
adequate for an accurate calculation of the cubic gal-
lons of water contained in the lake. Depths of twenty
to thirty-five feet were found in numerous places and
some as great as fifty. The deepest water is off Turn-
bull Point, — the cape that divides the two southern
arms. Mr. B rower's measurement of Itasca Lake upon
the ice gives the following figures: *' From the centre
of the channel at the outlet of Itasca, on the surface
of the ice, to the mouth of Chambers Creek, 16,727
feet," — 3 miles, 887 feet, or about three and one sixth
miles. This is the first actual measurement and is defin-
itive. Mr. Brower adds, on the same page : " There
is no doubt whatever that Elk Lake is supplied to some
extent by waters from the greater ultimate reser\'^oir
bowl by tortuous channels through the ways which
nature in her grandeur has provided." ^

Itasca Lake varies in width from one sixth to three
quarters of a mile. " Many precipitous hills, covered
with pine timber, nearly surround it," continues the
Commissioner's report.

Among them it is deeply embedded. In places, the shores
are lined with boulders, thickly bordered with overhanging

1 Minnesota Historical Society Collections, vol. vii., p. 259.

The Itasca State Park 205

flora. At occasional points along the shore, springs of clear,
cold water appear, around which cluster balsam, fir, spruce,
the native tamarack, willow, aspen, ash, and birch, with pine
groves at higher elevations. Drought does not greatly affect
the outflow of the lake. The following streams of running
water supply the lake with an inflow equalling the outflow;
Nicollet's Creek [called by him "the Cradled Hercules"]
at the extreme south-west angle; Chambers Creek, the outlet
of Elk Lake, at east side of west arm; Mary Creek, at ex^
treme south-east angle; Boutwell Creek, at west side of west
arm; Island Creek, on west side, opposite Schoolcraft Island;
and Floating Bog Creek, at Floating Bog Bay. The area of
Schoolcraft Island is 2.62 acres. A shoal of boulders exists
in the main body of the lake, a short distance west by south
from the island. There are a series of small lakes extending
southward through Mary Valley, from the eastern arm as far
as Deming Lake.

Stanley A. McKay, of Owatonna, Minnesota, con-
tributes a statement regarding the outflow of Itasca,
which Commissioner Brower has deemed worthy to be
included in his report. It is as follows:

It seemed to me beyond question that the volume of water
flowing out Itasca Lake was far greater than the combined
volume of all its four streams and inlets. If actual measure-
ment prove this to be true, — and it seems to me probable,
thus showing that the added volume of the outlet comes from
springs in the lake, — would not that leave Itasca as the real
source of the Mississippi?

The answer to Mr. McKay's query is that every-
thing depends upon the facts; his theory is based upon
an assumption. A decision in the matter ought to be
easy of attainment.

Commissioner Brower's latest exploration of the
Nicollet Valley and of Nicollet Creek is given herewith
in his own words:

2o6 The Mississippi

Where the stream becomes a part of Itasca Lake, it is
forty feet in width and two feet in depth; narrowing as as-
cended, it was found to be three feet in depth, twenty feet in
width, with a brisk current, a short distance from the lake.
The character of the locality is a deep valley, somewhat
swampy along the stream, with prominent hills on either side,
heavily timbered with the native pine. These hills also appear
in detached groups in the tamarack and fir thickets, sometimes
a hundred feet in height and the pines a hundred feet higher
than the hills beneath their stately branches, making the local-
ity easy of access and not difficult to closely examine. Pass-
ing up the stream, the explorer is impressed with its import-
ance, as compared with all the other streams found there, by
its sharply defined banks, its winding, meandering channel,
deeply cut into the stratum to a sandy, gravelly bed, with the
appearance and characteristics of the Mississippi below Itasca
Lake. It has sandbars, sharp angles in its channel, deep and
shallowing currents, and all the striking features of a river.
Trees have been felled in several places across its banks to
permit of passage on foot (1904). Upon the removal of these
trees, canoes might be propelled nearly two miles up this
channel from Itasca Lake.

The lines of measurement were extended throughout the
entire locality, thereby securing the distances and elevations;
lakes were sounded for depth, the streams were measured for
width, depth, and flowage, and the topography was carefully
taken, even to the extent, when found necessary, of opening
passages through the thickets around Nicollet Valley. A line
penetrating the wilderness from Morrison Hill, directly to the
north shore of Hernando de Soto Lake, discovered the exist-
ence and continuance of a spur of the Hauteurs de Terre,
sharply separating the waters of Nicollet Valley from those of
Elk Lake. The lines of measurement, extended to every local-
ity, gave the following results:

From the centre of the channel at the outlet of Itasca Lake
to the mouth of Nicollet's Creek, 17,920 feet; thence up the
channel to mouth of Demaray Creek, 3797; to Nicollet's lower
lake, 2760; to Nicollet's middle lake, 1956; to Nicollet Springs,

Itasca Park Lodge.

A liii'dseye View of Itasea Basin.
(Minnesota Historical Society Collection.)

The Itasca State Park 207

690; to Nicollet's upper lake, 315; to centre of Mississippi
Springs, 5265 ; to north end of Whipple Lake, 1320 ; and thence
to inner flank of the Hauteurs de "^erre at south shore of
Hernando de Soto Lake, 12,060 : or a total of 46,089 feet.

Due almost wholly to the enthusiasm, energy, and
persistence of the late J. V. Brower, the Itasca State
Park is now an established institution. Its area is
19,701.69 acres. Of this, the United States granted
6956.92 acres; the Northern Pacific Railroad Com-
pany, 2452.96; two school sections 1280; purchased of
Weyerhauser 3191.90; swamp lands 82.67; Great
Northern selections 210.16, and acreage in unsuccess-
ful negotiation 5527-08. Since the locality has become
easy of access, many tourists visit the Park every
summer. A lodge for the entertainment of guests has
been built south of the east arm of Itasca, in a fine
forest.

CHAPTER XII

Delta of the Mississippi

NO other river delta in the world compares with
that of the Mississippi. Geologists assure us
that an arm of the Gulf originally extended as
far north as Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and that the
creation of the present frontier line has been " the slow,
calm toil of Nature." This gives to it a stretch across
eight and one half degrees of latitude, say one thousand
miles !

The Nile delta extends southward from the Medi-
terranean,— the Sea of All Antiquity, — as far as
Helouan, a village ten miles south of Cairo, prin-
cipally memorable for its fossilised forests. This is
one hundred and forty miles distant from the sea.
Standing bj^ the great obelisk at Heliopolis, — and the
tall monolith is the only evidence extant that a city of
a million people once was there, — the writer of this
volume realised, recently, that the surface of the Nile
delta, in which Heliopolis stands, had been raised
twenty-five feet since Sesostris set up the shaft, four
thousand years ago. The delta of the Ganges is not
so large as that of the Nile.

The made land of the Mississippi's delta averages
sixty miles in width, narrowing in places to thirty and
expanding at other times to ninety miles. It is widest

at the mouth of the Arkansas River, where is the dead

208

Delta of the Mississippi 209

town of Napoleon; and narrowest at Natchez and at
Helena. Interlocking bayous and channels, navigable
for light-draft steamboats, parallel the Mississippi's
entire course through these thousand miles of soft, allu-
vial bed. Every available acre of land is thus brought
into close proximity to navigation, — a characteristic
that renders the mighty American river different from
any other in the world.

Before the completion of the present dyke system,
Colonel Caleb G. Forshay, a distinguished engineer
who devoted many years to the problem of controlling
the waters of the Lower Mississippi, estimated that one
tenth of the delta area was consumed by channels or
water spaces: yet, such was their importance, as means
of inter-communication, that they added assessable
value to the real estate in every State along that part
of the river.

The part of the delta bordering the Gulf of Mexico
contains seven thousand two hundred and thirty-two
square miles of marsh lands. The fertility of the soil
is apparently inexhaustible. In the last two latitudinal
degrees of the river's course, rice and sugar are grown
in an abundance and quality not equalled in any other
part of North America. Sugar-cane is cultivated only
in the Mississippi delta, south of latitude 31 degrees
and 30 minutes. From that point, northward, for five
degrees, cotton grows in double quantities as compared
with the uplands. Oranges, figs, grapes, apples,
peaches, and other fruits of the semi-tropics and of the
temperate zones are grown in various parts of the delta.
Pecans, most valuable because most marketable of all
nuts, abound over the entire alluvial basin.

This productiveness is universally applicable to all

2IO The Mississippi

Tinsubmerged alluvial lands of the Mississippi delta and
does not apply exclusively to chosen areas.

Colonel Forshay calculates the productive lands in
the basin at 22,920,320 acres. " It is the largest body
of equal fertility known to geography," he adds. It
is fully twice as large as Egypt, as represented by the
Nile valley, delta and the Fayum. In the Mississippi
valley, a loss of one crop in five from overflow (a
large estimate) leaves to the agriculturist double the
product of continuous half crops upon the uplands.

The forests of the delta are remarkable for the large
size of their trees and the exuberance of foliage : cypress
and oak are the chief varieties, but many other kinds
abound. Great festoons of parasitic moss and climb-
ing vines cling to the branches of the trees. While
ships were built of wood, live oaks, at the southern
section of the delta, supplied angles and braces for the
marine of the world. Some cypress swamps have pro-
duced as much as fifty thousand feet of lumber to the
acre, — not mentioning several hundred yards of
moccasin snakes.

I — ITS LEVEES

Prior to the building of levees, the Mississippi al-
ways overflowed at 38° 30' N., and passed into the White
Water lakes and swamps connecting with the St. Francis
and the Black rivers, whence the flood pursued its course
to the White River and Arkansas valleys, through
Macon Bayou, thence by the Red and Atchafalaya
rivers into the Gulf of Mexico. Often, this overflow
did not find its way back into the Mississippi, but formed
a parallel, although shallow, channel a thousand miles

Delta of the Mississippi 211

long. This peculiar geographical feature is only to be
likened to the annual overflow of the Amazon and Ori-
noco rivers, by v^^hich they are temporarily united.
When Sir Charles Lyell, an English geologist, ex-
amined the Mississippi delta, he limited its northern
boundary to the head of the Atchafalaya and gave to
it an area of thirteen thousand six hundred square miles :
but Colonel Forshay fixed its northern limit at three
miles below Cape Girardeau, and gave to it an area of
thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and thirty-six
square miles.

The Nile has subsided every season before the Mis-
sissippi begins to run aflood. What is a supreme bless-
ing in Egypt, is in Louisiana gravest of calamities.
JMillions have been spent at Assuan, at Assiut, and
below Cairo to distribute the fertilising floods far and
wide; in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas money
has been poured out to restrain the angry river within
its banks.

The fertility of the Mississippi delta is so extraor-
dinary and its climate so salubrious that the rescue
of its cultivable lands from submergence by annual
floods has engaged the attention of the best engineer-
ing ability since an early period in the history of the
Republic. During the last half -century, the subject
has become a matter of supreme importance to Ameri-
can commercial growth, has commanded the attention
of Congress, and has warranted a constant expenditure
of enormous sums of money by the States along its
banks, as well as by the general government.

The first systematic attempt to control the great
river was undertaken at New Orleans in the year 1717,
when De la Tour, who had laid out the city, ordered a

212 The Mississippi

dyke built along its river front from Canal Street to
the Esplanade to protect the citizens from overflow.
Planters then began continuing levees along the river.
This constant struggle of man against the elements
continued in a desultory way for a hundred years
and, especially in Louisiana, during three changes of
government. The defence of man against the relent-
less encroachment lacked organisation. Its weakness
at some points amounted to incapacity; the strength
of the defence was gauged only by the weakest point
and the river proved its might whenever it chose. In
1828, however, the assaulting force grappled the prob-
lem seriously. The levees then reached from Pointe-
a-la-Hache below New Orleans to the Red River's
mouth on the west side, a total of four hundred
miles of dykes. The young State of Louisiana had
been aroused to activity by the disastrous flood of that
year. After ten years' continuous labour, the outlets of
the largest bayous were closed. Bayou 1' Argent, a
few miles above Natchez and opening into Lake St.
John, and Bullet's Bayou, opening into Lake Con-
cordia, were closed by a parish tax, not by riparian
proprietors. The filling up of these two bayou con-
nections with the river marks the beginning of State
and national reclamation.

The rescue of the Concordia plantations from the
grasp of the Mississippi River is a historical event,
remembered and celebrated from one end of the delta
to the other.

One by one, Bryan's Bayou, Alligator Bayou, and
River Styx, leading into Lake St. Joseph; Bayou Vidal
leading to Tensas; and Providence Bayou, communi-
cating with Lake Providence, were sealed up. Before

Delta of the Mississippi 213

the advent of the great flood of 1844, every old river
lake for six hundred miles up the right bank of the
Mississippi was cut off from the river's overflow. No
braver struggle between man and nature ever was made.

The next step was an effort on the part of the
Louisiana Legislature to secure aid from the general
government. This took the form of a memorial from
the former body in the winter of 1849 praying the
Congress of the United States for aid to protect the
people and property of the Mississippi delta against
inundations. The government had many thousand
acres of unsold land in the delta and Congress acted
with promptitude. A survey of the delta by United
States engineers was ordered. To assist the States, the
unsold government swamp lands were given to the
various States. In 1853, after the several States in
interest had formed a combination for mutual protec-
tion, the national government practically took charge
of the work.

According to Humphreys and Abbott, the levee
line was completed on the eastern bank from Pointe-a-
la-Hache to Baton Rouge; thence for two hundred
miles, until Vicksburg is reached, the mighty river im-
pinges upon bluffs which serve as nature's own dykes.
The line was finished from Vicksburg north to Horn
Lake at the Mississippi State line, in which section the
largest outlet grappled wdth anywhere along the river
up to that time, Yazoo Pass, was closed. From that
point to the northern end of the delta only short
stretches of dykes were required.

The problem on the western bank was an almost
equally serious one. Before the government took hold,
the line of the defence against floods had been com-

214 The Mississippi

pleted through Louisiana and along the Arkansas shore
nearly to the mouth of the Arkansas River. Above
that point, the river front of Arkansas and Missouri
required only forty miles of levee, — due to high banks.

When this work was thoroughly in hand, the Civil
War burst upon the country in 1861. All work
stopped. Spades were laid aside for muskets. Instead
of using sand bags for stopping crevasses in the levees,
men piled them into breastworks for protection from
bullets. The amount of levee destruction due to mili-
tary necessity during the four years of conflict never
can be accurately calculated. Within a few weeks of
the surrender at Appomattox, the States of Louisiana
and Mississippi began repairing the most- important
breaks in levees along their banks. In many places,
due to changes in the river's course, levees have been
destroyed and rebuilt thrice since 1865. In Louisiana
alone, the amount of filling necessary to stay the en-
croachments of the river, for the five years immediately
following the close of the war, amounted to 8,135,656
cubic yards and cost $4,881,936. Louisiana issued
during that time, — according to O. D. Bragdon, —
$8,134,000 in Levee Bonds.

(The Mississippi has tributaries that surpass the
greatest rivers of Europe. It discharges into the Gulf
of Mexico one half more water than do the Rhine,
Loire, Po, Elbe, Vistula, Danube, Dnieper, Don, and
Volga into the ocean and lake front of Europe. Its
flow past New Orleans is equal to that of the Indus,
Euphrates and Ganges combined; about twice as much
as the Nile; equals that of the Rio de la Plata, and is
surpassed by the Amazon. Unlike the floods of the
Nile and the Ganges, which occur annually and with

Delta of the Mississippi 215

chronological precision, the Mississippi risings are ir-
regular as to time and magnitude. The flood of 1882
exceeded all previous ones and still holds the high-water
record. Theoretically, the Missouri ought to be the
determining factor and generally does supply the great-
est volume of superfluous water; but the freaks of the
Ohio, assisted by the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers,
are very curious. When floods of large proportions
arrive simultaneously from the north and east at the
meeting point, Cairo, a rise of forty to fifty feet has
occurred and the mighty river expands to a width of
ten to sixty miles. " It would seem as if the sea had
again returned to its own," comments Robert Stewart
Taylor, a student of flood phenomena. He has pre-
pared exhaustive data on the levee system of the Mis-
sissippi from which we arrive at an estimate of the
menace to agriculture by these floods. The area of
rich, tillable land so threatened, he places at 10,000,000
acres. Of this area, 2,000,000 acres belong to the corn
belt, extending from Commerce to the Washita River;
6,000,000 acres are in the cotton belt, between the
Red and Washita rivers; and 2,000,000 acres are in
the sugar and rice belts, extending from the Red River
to the Gulf. Were these lands secure from overflow,
they have a productive capacity of 60,000,000 bushels
of com, 4,000,000 bales of cotton (500 pounds each),
2,000,000,000 pounds of sugar, and 1,000,000,000
pounds of rice. " Up to date," says Mr. Taylor in a
recent article on this subject, "less than one third of
these possibilities have been reahsed." This would
indicate that the general government and the States
of the Mississippi Valley cannot expend too much
money for the construction and maintenance of levees.

2i6 The Mississippi

The Mississippi Commission was created by an act
of Congress three years before the disastrous flood of
1882, but it did not bestir itself until after that calamity
had aroused the energies of the entire country, looking
to the protection of the lowlands of Mississippi, Arkan-
sas, and Louisiana. The Commission consists of three
United States engineers, two officers of the Coast and
Geodetic Survey, and three civilians, eight members.
It has expended from one to four million dollars an-
nually in maintaining the dykes. Since 1882, the States
bordering upon the mighty flood route to the sea have
spent $18,000,000 and the government $16,000,000, in
fending off the Mississippi along 1300 miles of levees.
A continuous system to-day extends from New Madrid
to St. Francis, 200 miles; an unbroken dyke incloses
the Yazoo Basin, north of Vicksburg, 300 miles; an-
other line from Arkansas City to the mouth of the Red
River, 331 miles; another from the Red River to Fort
Jackson, 274 miles ; and, on the east bank, another from
Baton Rouge to Fort St. Philip, 193 miles. There
are many smaller sections, especially at the mouths of
tributaries. Chief success has been attained in the
lowest third of the river.

" There was a time, ages ago, when an estuary ex-
tended from the Gulf of Mexico to the hills above
Cairo," says Robert Stewart Taylor, specialist on the
levee problem.^

If the relative elevations of sea and land were as they are
now, the Mississippi River ended in a waterfall three hundred
feet high, at the head of that bay and near the site of the
present town site of Commerce. A few miles eastward, the
Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee leaped from similar

^ " The Levee Problem," Forum, vol. xxiv., 325.

Delta of the Mississippi 217

elevations into the same abyss. With this enormous down-
pour came the sand, clay, and loam, scoured from a million
square miles of watershed, — with which the estuary of the
Mississippi has been filled and from which has been formed
its present alluvial delta. Into this basin has been gathered
the cream of the Continent, a hundred feet deep and having
an area of twenty-nine thousand square miles.

Generals Humphreys and Abbott have made elabo-
rate calculations as to the annual soil-waste caused by
the Mississippi and its tributaries, which show that the
river carries into the Gulf over 400,000,000 tons of solid
matter, in addition to large quantities of earth salts,
in solution, and of sand, or other coarse material swept
along its bottom. In a recent article ^ intended to ex-
plain why the riches of American farms take wings,
Emerson Hough comments on the Humphreys and
Abbott conclusions:

At the time of these determinations [he says], settlement in
the Mississippi Valley was comparatively limited, and, as
shown by local observations on different rivers, the effect of
extending agriculture has been to increase the soil-matter car-
ried by the Mississippi fully twenty-five per cent. Ninety per
cent, of the matter transported by the waters consists of
rich soil-stuff washed from the surface or leached from the
subsurface of fields and pastures and (in less degree) of
woodlands. Reckoned on the basis of value as fertiliser, the
material could hardly be appraised at less than one dollar
per ton; so that the annual loss to the agricultural interests
of the country can hardly fall short of a billion dollars —
equivalent to an impost as great as most other taxes com-
bined, and one yielding absolutely no return.

The watery inhabitants of the Lower Mississippi

1 " The Waste in Mud," by Emerson Hough, Saturday Evening
Post, March 27, 1909.

2i8 The Mississippi

possess marked peculiarities. The alligator is not
found north of the Yazoo. He frequents the bayous of
Arkansas and Louisiana, — especially those of Plaque-
mines parish, — in preference to the main channel.
His fear of man, dread of the porpoise, curious night
trips ashore, the toughness of his hide, the tremendous
strength of his tail, the ease with which the saurian is
called to the surface by an imitation of the bark of a
dog or squeal of a pig, his slow growth and longevity
of three hundred years are noteworthy. The bellow of
the alligator is heard only in stormy nights.^

Land crabs, or " fiddlers," are the foes of levee
builders. The banks are sometimes covered with these
crustaceans. They possess a single claw, instead of
two, sometimes upon the right and sometimes upon the
left side, which they throw up as a menace.

In the Mississippi is the garpike, which Hugh
Miller declares " has remained to unlock the marvels
of the ichthyology of the remotest periods of geologic
history appropriated to the fish dynasty." It is half
fish and half reptile. A coat of mail, composed of bony
plates, from which a steel will strike fire, covers it.
It has two rows of teeth, one reptilian and one pisca-
torial, and an air bladder upon which it can draw when
out of water. Lyell says of the garpike: "He can
hurt anything and nothing can hurt him."

II — THE JETTIES

For more than two generations, there has been
open war between man and nature at the outlets

1 See an article on this subject by James A. Noyes, Putnam's
Magazine, 1868.

-a

Delta of the Mississippi 219

of the Mississippi. The Gulf Stream sweeps past
the three mouths of the mighty river and phenomena
not found elsewhere on the globe exist there. Of
these, the most remarkable are the mud lumps that
often rose in front of a navigator while he was wait-
ing at the bar for high tide. These mud volcanoes were
the dread of pilots, ancient and modern : they were " the
evil genii of the Passes."

Soon after the close of the Civil War, Captain James

B. Eads began a study of conditions at the mouths of
the Mississippi. His first great undertaking associated
with that river was the building of a steel and iron
bridge at Saint Louis; but when that enterprise was
fairly under way, he turned his attention to providing
an assured depth of thirty feet at the outlet of the
river. Three distinguished government engineers. Gen.
A. A. Humphreys, Capt. H. L. Abbott, and Major

C. W. Howell, strenuously opposed Eads. Major
Howell had proposed a canal from the Mississippi, at
a point three miles below Fort St. Philip, to Breton
Sound, whence a five-fathom channel, running south-
ward to deep water, already existed. The canal would
have had to have a lock, the capacity of which would
not exceed twenty-four vessels per day. Captain Eads
contended that jetties could be built for one half the
cost of the canal. He maintained the contest for sev-
eral years and finally won. He contracted to build
jetties at South Pass for $11,000,000 and to maintain
them for nine years, payment to be made when success
was assured.

In 1875, Congress authorised the late James B.
Eads to construct jetties at South Pass, by which the
fourteen miles of channel was to be straightened and

220 The Mississippi

increased to a depth of twenty-six feet of water. The
work was placed under the immediate direction of E.
L. Corthell, C. E., and was completed with entire suc-
cess. The actual cost was $8,021,740.87.

( In one of his memorials to Congress, Captain Eads
stated his theory about the delta problem. " The Mis-
sissippi is simply a transporter of solid matter to the
sea, chiefly sand and alluvion held in suspension by the
mechanical effect of the current," says Captain Eads.
" A certain velocity gives to the stream ability of hold-
ing in suspension a proportionate quantity of solid
matter; and when thus charged, the stream can sustain
no more, — hence will carry off no more, — and there-
fore cannot wear away its bottom or banks, no matter
how directly the current may impinge against them."
This was new hydraulics ; it flew in the face of accepted
theories.

" The Gulf does not present a barrier to the out-
ward flow because less friction exists in walls of water
than between banks of earth," argued Captain Eads.

/At the bar, the river flows between banks of salt water and
over a bottom of brine instead of mud. No longer having
a descent of a few inches to the mile, it must maintain its
current in the Gulf simply by acquired momentum. Friction
finally brings it to a state of rest, when a spreading out
movement begins. The tides in the Gulf are feeble, averaging
less than fourteen inches in height.

Jetties are simply dykes or levees under water, and act as
banks to the river to prevent its expansion and diffusion as
it enters the sea. Where the banks of a river extend boldly
into the ocean a bar never exists. In delta forming rivers,
they are always found.

Captain Eads reasoned that if bars result from the

(1^

Delta of the Mississippi 221

diffusion of the alluvium-laden river water, fan-like,
after entering the sea, the remedy was to prevent such
diffusion. An examination of the passes showed a nar-
row and uniform width of channel until a point within
seven miles of the bar, the latter being three miles be-
yond land's end. The Mississippi was extending its
own banks into the Gulf " at the rate of eight to nine
inches per day " ! Eads decided that the bar would not
continue to advance seaward if jetties were constructed.
The river averaged sixty feet in depth between the bar
and the city of New Orleans ; but on the bar, it rapidly
shoaled to twelve and seventeen feet. This was the
problem Captain Eads grappled at South Pass. He
tried for a deep, open, permanent outlet, without locks,
agreed to maintain the jetties for nine years, and they
were not to be paid for then unless entirely successful.
The terms of the contract showed the confidence of the
engineer in his theories. The achievement was one of
the most brilliant in modern engineering.

The jetties were formed by layers of brush mat-
tresses, weighted with forty to fifty pounds of broken
stone to the square foot and capped with a heavy con-
crete wall. Up to the level of mean high water, the
jetty-structure consisted of tiers of mattresses two feet
in thickness, made of willow brush, held together by a
top and bottom framework of yellow pine, and braced at
the sides with three-by-six-inch timber. These mat-
tresses were in two hundred feet lengths and varied in
width from ninety-five feet for bottom layers to thirty-
five feet at the top. The isolated position of the work
necessitated the construction of quarters for the work-
men, and thus the town of Port Eads came into ex-
istence. A flotilla of tugs and barges was employed

222 The Mississippi

in bringing materials and provisions from New Or-
leans.

Although the initial experiment of the Eads system
of improving the Mississippi's entrance to the sea was
tried at South Pass, — primarily because official influence
was strong enough to prevent the test at South-west
Pass — complete success of the concessionaire compelled
the adoption of the same methods for the latter. In-
crease in the draft of ocean steamships and the prospec-
tive completion of the Panama Canal, which will bring
New Orleans into direct communication with the com-
merce of the Far East, counselled the creation of a
channel of thirty-five feet depth. The contract for
the improvement of South-west Pass was awarded to
Christie & Lowe of Chicago. Mr. Cornelius Donovan,
United States Assistant Engineer, supervised the con-
struction. The Eads system of willow mattresses and
broken stone, with concrete capping, was employed.
The two jetties, 17,000 feet long on the eastern bank
and 11,000 feet on the western, were completed in the
spring of 1908. The quantities of materials used in
the construction were 1,085,830 square yards of mat-
tress, 337,426 tons of rip-rap stone — ^brought from
Birmingham, Alabama, — and 44,511 cubic yards of con-
crete. The contractors were paid $2,629,360.35.

This achievement converted New Orleans into one
of the deep-water ports of the world.

( North-east Pass is in the hands of United States
engineers, not with a view to rendering it navigable for
ocean steamships but as a chute for canying off sur-
plus water during floods. It had a formidable crevasse,
opening directly into the Gulf. Into this was dumped
thousands of tons of concrete blocks and broken stone.

:^e pe^jasu! sq him pue 'pBz\v5\p Buiaq si ;no-p(p^ sjqi

J9p|oqaDe|d
ino-p|oj

s ^ -^ ?■

Delta of the Mississippi 223

A ditch, three feet wide in 1872, afterwards widened
to 2230 feet! A closure was made in 1898 by a dam
6600 feet long; but on the night of its completion, one
of the worst storms known to the coast carried away
170 feet of the dam, which breach had widened by June,
1907, to 1029 feet. The break has since been closed
and is under permanent control.

CHAPTER XIII

Joining the Great River to the Great Lakes

AGITATION for the creation of a deep-water
route from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi
and thence to the Gulf of Mexico has taken defi-
nite shape since the completion of the Chicago Drain-
age Canal, uniting Lake Michigan with the Illinois
River. That enterprise was carried through solely by
the city of Chicago, at an expense of $50,000,000, and
that populous and enterprising municipality is willing
to contribute its canal if the national government will
guarantee the maintenance of a fourteen-foot channel
from Chicago to the sea.

The Chicago Drainage Canal extends from the
mouth of Chicago River to within sight of Joliet Lake,
below Lockport: it is navigable the entire distance of
thirty-six miles by vessels drawing twenty feet of water.
Much of the distance was through solid rock, a soft
limestone. In offering this splendid improvement to
the government, Chicago stipulates that a fourteen-foot
channel be maintained in the Illinois and Mississippi
rivers to Saint Louis. Army engineers report that
such a channel which will be easy of maintenance can
be constructed for $31,000,000. Congress has in-
structed the Mississippi River Commission to make a
survey and estimate of the cost for continuing the

channel from Saint Louis to New Orleans. This plan

224

Joining the Great River to the Great Lakes 225

to connect the Great Lakes with the Mississippi,
through which the sea can be reached, is equal in im-
portance to the construction of the Panama Canal.
Better internal water conmiunication is imperative to
meet the growing demands for more prompt trans-
portation at periods of railroad congestion. Proof of
the value and earning capacity of such a deep water
canal as proposed is seen in the splendid success of
the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, connecting Lakes Superior
and Huron, the freight traffic through which exceeds
fifty-five million tons annually. According to Repre-
sentative Joseph E. Ransdell, of Louisiana, " The total
cost of government improvements on the Great Lakes
has been about $70,000,000, and the saving on the com-
merce through the ' Soo ' alone in one year (1905) was
nearly two and one half times as much as the entire
cost of all our improvements on the lake system." ^

The total cost of the projected improvements that
will enable steamships of fourteen-foot draught to deliver
grain loaded at Duluth or Chicago at Havana, Colon,
or Liverpool will exceed $100,000,000, — a sum which
the State of New York is expending to provide a barge
canal from Lake Erie through the Hudson to the
metropolis. The problem from Lockport to the mouth
of the Missouri, which enters the Mississippi twenty
odd miles below the confluence of the Illinois River, is
comparatively simple; but the route below that point
presents many difficulties. The Missouri carries so
much soil that fifteen feet of silt are often deposited
in one place during a year. The channel below Saint
Louis has an average depth of eight to nine feet, but

1 Speech of Joseph E. Ransdell in House of Representatives, Jan.
31, 1907.

226 The Mississippi

it is constantly shifting. Sand-bars created in a year
are often carried away in a week's time. Dredging in
such places is useless. Therefore, it is evident that the
difficulties of maintaining a deep waterway between
Saint Louis and Natchez, at which point the river be-
comes deep enough for battleships (as recently shown
by a visit of the Mississippi to that city), surpass
those presented by the Panama Canal. They are not
insurmountable, however, if we may believe statements
of competent engineers.

While President of the United States, Theodore
Roosevelt took an active interest in all plans to improve
transportation facilities throughout the Mississippi
Valley. In one of his memorable addresses, during his
triumphant trip down the mighty river, he said:

The valley of the Mississippi is politically and commer-
ciaily more important than any other valley on the face of
the globe. Here, more than anywhere else, will be determined
>^ the future of the United States, and, indeed, of the whole

western world; and the type of civilisation reached in this
mighty valley, in this vast stretch of country lying between
the Alleghanies and the Rockies, the Great Lakes and the
Gulf, will largely fix the type of civilisation for the whole
western hemisphere.

Twenty-two States are included in the Mississippi
Basin. They comprise forty per cent, of the total
area of the United States and produce seventy-five per
cent, of its exports. The bulk of our agricultural pro-
ducts, nearly two thirds of our manufacturing indus-
tries, and about ten billion dollars' worth of finished
merchandise come from its valley. Until recently, rail-
roads have been able to keep pace with its transporta-
tion demands, but such has been the development during

I I ^"

Joining the Great River to the Great Lakes 227

the past decade that traffic must again seek the water-
ways belonging to the arterial system of this mammoth
river. A fourteen-foot channel from Saint Louis to
New Orleans would go farther to relieve the entire
Middle West and South-west than any other national
improvement that could be undertaken. With such a
depth of water a single powerful towboat would carry
from thirty to forty train-loads.

Systematic plans for improving the navigation of
the upper Mississippi by deepening its channels were
inaugurated in 1902 at Quincy, Illinois. A convention
of representatives from every city and town between
Saint Paul and Saint Louis was held and " The Upper
Mississippi River Improvement Association " took
form. The second meeting was held at Dubuque. The
River and Harbour Committee of the House of Repre-
sentatives is asked at each session of Congress to appro-
priate money to procure and maintain a navigable
channel of six feet, at low water. Excessive railroad
freights will restore the steamboat to pre-eminence.
The lumber business of the North is almost at an end:
lumber is now shipped North from southern pine dis-
tricts, and the consumers on the upper river are
clamorous to bring it by water. Opinion is that the
Mississippi must at no distant day again bear the
burden of a mighty internal commerce. Precedent is
found in France, where hundreds of millions of francs
have been spent in internal waterways. Commerce
that uses these improvements is created by them. Al-
though it exceeds in volume the maritime commerce of
the Republic, railway traffic has steadily grown, de-
spite competition. Americans must remember that the
areas of the five States preaching this propaganda for

22 8 The Mississippi

Mississippi improvement are almost twice that of
France.

The Mississippi steamboat traffic of to-day is largely
coal from the Ohio River and its tributaries. There
was a period in the history of the West when the great
river from New Orleans to Saint Paul was crowded
with steamboats carrying thousands of passengers and
many thousand tons of freight. The railroads have
destroyed that industry.

The first steamboat to plough the waters of the Mis-
sissippi was built at Pittsburg in 1810, by Nicholas
J. Roosevelt, great-great-granduncle of ex-President
Roosevelt, backed by Robert R. Livingston and Robert
Fulton. She was a stern-wheeler, one hundred and
sixteen feet long and twenty feet beam, named New
Orleans. She had two masts and was painted sky
blue! She cost $38,000. Starting from Pittsburg,
September 24, 1811, she reached Natchez on December
24th and New Orleans on January 10, 1812. The
actual running time was two hundred and fifty-nine
hours, the speed being seven and one half miles an hour,
with the current. This boat never attempted to ascend
the river farther than Natchez. After use as a packet
between New Orleans and that city, she ran on a snag
and sank.

Fifty-nine steamboats were engaged in traffic on the
Mississippi and Ohio by 1819, most of them built at
Ohio River towns. The Zehulon M. Pike, a boat
of thirty-seven tons, was first to ascend the Mississippi
above the mouth of the Ohio, touching at Saint Louis
on August 2, 1817. The Independence, built at Pitts-
burg in 1818, was the first steamboat to stem the strong
current of the Missouri, ascending it to Boonsville, two

Joining the Great River to the Great Lakes 229

hundred miles above the river's mouth, in May, 1819.
In the same year, the Western Engineer^ seventy-five
feet long, ascended the Missouri to Council Bluffs, six
hundred and fifty miles from Saint Louis by the river
course. In 1823, the Virginia first ascended by steam
to Fort St. Anthony (afterwards known as Fort
Snelling).

Steamboating on the Mississippi reached its culmi-
nating point a short time before the Civil War. On
the upper river, the maximum was attained in 1857,
with ninety-nine steamboats landing at Saint Paul: but
they chiefly carried freight, as the passenger arrivals
at the outpost of civilisation were only nine hundred and
sixty-five, or less than ten passengers to a trip. The
maximum of steamboat traffic on the lower river is
found in New Orleans records for the year ending
August, 1860, which show 3245 arrivals from river
ports, 785 from sea ports; $289,565,000 in value of the
river conmierce received and despatched, and $183,-
725,000 of ocean imports and exports. The Ohio River
was always the largest traffic feeder.

Any account of Mississippi steamboat traffic would
be incomplete without mention of the historic race
from New Orleans to Saint Louis, between the Robert
E. Lee and the Natchez in 1870. I heard the story
thus :

Captain T. P. Leathers, of the Natchez, a Cincinnati built
boat, made the trip from New Orleans to Saint Louis, one
thousand two hundred and seventy-eight miles up-stream, in
three days, twenty-one hours and fifty-eight minutes. He
arrived on June 24, 1870, and wired the fact to Captain John
W. Cannon, commander of the Rodert E. Lee, a New Albany
built craft and rival of the Natchez. Cannon knew it was a

230 The Mississippi

challenge and began to prepare for the return of the Natchez.
He lightened the Lee in every possible way and arranged for
coal barges to be anchored in mid-stream at various points
along the river. He refused all freight or passengers.

The Natchez returned to the Crescent City, took several
hundred tons of freight and a few passengers, and started for
Saint Louis at five o'clock, June 30th. The Lee swung into
the stream at the same moment. Captain Leathers had been
informed of the preparations of the Lee's commander. It was
a race from the start! At first, only the people of the Mis-
sissippi Valley looked on; but before the end of twenty-four
hours, the entire population of the United States was follow-
ing telegraphic accounts of the contest. The Lee gained
slightly every hundred miles. At Natchez, three hundred
miles from the starting point, she was ten minutes ahead,
because the Natchez had made two landings for coal and
wood.

At the Vicksburg bend, although the two boats were ten
miles apart by the river's course, their smoke commingled.
More people stood upon the shore at Helena than at any time
since De Soto was there! Forty thousand men, women, and
children watched the steamers pass Memphis without making
a landing. The Natchez had cut down the Lee's lead, be-
cause Leathers had adopted Cannon's method of taking fuel;
but in the bend near Island No. 10 she ran aground and
lost six hours! The Lee arrived at Saint Louis only thirty-
three minutes ahead of the previous record of the Natchez!
Captain Cannon was " lionised," although opinion ever will
be divided regarding the relative speeds of the two boats.
The South was not rich in those days; but more than
$1,000,000 changed hands in the Mississippi Valley on the
result of that race.

CHAPTER XIV

The Age of Water

STEAMBOAT traffic upon the Mississippi and its
tributaries almost disappeared toward the end of
the nineteenth century. Railroads paralleled
these great rivers, reached the towns upon their banks,
and, until the extraordinary crops of 1906, were able to
carry the products of the earth from farmer to con-
sumer and to return to the former such merchandise,
machinery, or food as he needed. Suddenly, as ap-
peared, the utter inadequacy of the railroads for the
'purpose of moving that great crop was demonstrated.
Congestion existed in every part of the country. It
was not confined to any particular locality. There were
not cars enough upon which to load the mountains of
accumulated freight; there were not locomotives suf-
ficient to draw the miles of cars filled to their utmost
carrying capacity; there were not new rails in exist-
ence, adequate for doubling the trackage of existing
lines; men were not to be spared from other activities
to mine the iron ore, to smelt it, or to lay the steel
rails after they were rolled. Terminals for the proper
handling of the enormous quantities of freight were
utterly inadequate. The amount of capital invested in
the railroad systems of the United States had grown
to $17,000,000,000, and every dollar so invested had
added ten dollars to the wealth of the country. " More

231

232 The Mississippi

railroads, more engines, more cars, more teraiinal area ! "
was the cry; but as wise a man as James J. Hill at
once showed that the money necessary to provide pre-
sent relief— at least $5,000,000,000— could not be de-
voted to that work without paralysing other branches
of business. He further demonstrated that were the
rails ready, the men at hand to lay them, and the en-
gines and cars built, the relief would only be temporary.
Therefore, the master minds in railroad transportation
were among the first to point to a necessary resumption
of river traffic. H2O again came to the fore!

The agitation broke out sporadically in various parts
of the country. New York State was digging a barge
canal from the Hudson to Lake Erie. Chicago had
completed a drainage canal, primarily to carry the al-
most stagnant waters of Chicago Creek into the Illinois
River and thence to the Mississippi, in order that the
sewerage-laden stream should not flow into Lake Michi-
gan and infect the city's drinking water. Consideration
for the health of the people of Saint Louis, who took
their water from the Mississippi, was overlooked in the
enthusiasm of those who prosecuted the splendid enter-
prise. But the size and efficiency of the canal, when
water began to flow through its broad channel, sug-
gested a deep-water highway from the Great Lakes
to the Mississii^pi and thence to the Gulf of Mexico.

Delegates and representative business men from all
parts of the Middle West assembled in convention at
Saint Louis in November, 1906, and formed the Lakes-
to-Gulf Deep Waterway Association. This organisa-
tion sent a representative committee to Washington
in December of the same year, urging upon the Presi-
dent and members of both Houses of Congress the

The Age of Water 233

creation of a Commission " to prepare and to report
a comprehensive plan for the improvement and control
of the Mississippi River system and other inland water-
ways in such manner that the rivers of the country
may be fully utilised for navigation and other indus-
trial purposes." Every city of importance in the Mis-
sissippi Valley memorialised the President or Congress
and on March 14, 1907, Theodore Roosevelt created
the present Inland Waterways Commission of nine
members. He said, in part:

^In creating this Commission, I am influenced by broad con-
siderations of national policy. Our inland waterways, as a
whole, have thus far received scant attention. It is becoming
clear that our streams should be considered and conserved as
great natural resources. The time has come for merging local
projects and uses of the inland waters in a comprehensive
plan designed for the benefit of the entire country. The task
is a great one, yet it is certainly not too great for us to ap-
proach. The results which it seems to promise are even
greater. The present congestion affects chiefly the people of
the Mississippi Valley, and they demand relief. When the
congestion of which they complain is relieved, the whole coun-
try will share the good results. ... It is not possible to
frame so large a plan for the control of our rivers without
taking account of the orderly development of other natural
resources. The cost necessarily will be large, but it will be
small in comparison with the billions of capital now invested
in steam railways.

The Commission began active work in the spring of
1908, by inspection trips through the Great Lakes and
down the Mississippi, being accompanied from Keokuk
to Memphis by President Roosevelt, in what proved
to be one of the most triumphal pageants ever seen in
this country.

234 The Mississippi

Previously, in May of the same year, had occurred
the memorable Conference of Governors at the White
House. This convocation had grown out of a sugges-
tion made by William George Jordan, a young New
York newspaper man. Its influence in awakening the
American people to the importance of conserving the
natural resources of the broad territory was momentous.
Another step was the creation of a National Conserva-
tion Commission which prepared a three-volume report,
that is by far the most complete summary of the
resources of the United States ever collected.

Such were the beginnings of the campaign that
signalises the entrance upon an Age of Water. Great
steamers will reappear upon our broad rivers and an
industry that seemed dead for ever will be revived in
more than original splendour.

Mr. W J McGee, Secretary of the Inland Water-
ways Commission, has compiled some startling figures
to show the immensity of the transportation problem,
as it exists at present in the United States. There are
in the United States 26,200 miles df navigable rivers,
Mr. McGee estimates, and 2800 miles of canals in
operation (with nearly as much more inoperative
or abandoned), which in 1904 carried respectively,
127,000,000 and 5,000,000 tons of freight. There are
222,500 miles of railway which, during 1906, carried
1,631,374,219 tons.

That is to say, although the United States has a more ex-
tensive and better distributed natural system of inland water-
y ways than any other country, and despite the fact that water
carriage costs on the average only a third or a fourth as much
as rail carriage, less than one ninth of our freight lines are
waterways, and only one twelfth of our commodities are car-

The Age of Water 235

ried by water. And of our aggregate assets of say |107,000,-
000,000, our steam railways have risen to |18,000,000,000, or
about one sixth, which even at first sight seems out of pro-
portion ; and the disproportion becomes still more glaring when
current production is compared with railway earnings — the
former in 1906 reaching |7,000,000,000 to |10,000,000,000 (ac-
cording to mode of estimate of farm products) and the latter
12,325,765,167, or fully one fourth as much. The case is clear ;
we are employing extravagant agencies and paying exorbitant
rates for transportation ; the prices of our staples depend too
little on cost of production, too largely on cost of carriage.^

According to careful estimates, two hundred trillion
cubic feet of rain descends annually upon the two bil-
lion acres of " Uncle Sam's " mainland farm. Again
quoting Commissioner McGee, than whom no better
authority on this subject exists, " Nominally, land sells
by the acre or front foot ; but, actually, the price, within
ten per cent., is fixed by the associated water." Of
course, the statist refers, primarily, to land used for
agricultural purposes ; but his statement is quite correct,
even when applied to the greatest of our cities. New
York, for example, owes everything it is to the sea.
Without the hydrosphere that surrounds the earth, there
would not be any ocean or rivers. Therefore, there
would not be any New York, with some of its land
selling as high as $400 a square foot. "The two hundred
trillion cubic feet, or ten Mississippis, of annual rainfall
is, in verity, the sole effective capital of the country,"
continues the Commissioner.

Without it, the land would be desert, devoid of tree or
shrub or other living thing. Say five eights of this rainfall
is evaporated to temper climate, form dews, and redescend

1 Commissioner W J McGee, in Popular Science Monthly, April,
1908.

236 The Mississippi

elsewhere. A fifth goes down to the sea in rivers. An eighth is
stored for a time as ground water. The remaining twentieth,
or half a Mississippi's volume, is stored or used in the onto-
sphere, — meaning in the living structures and functions of
animals and plants. The time of storage is short: an animal
may survive a week, a humid-land annual plant six weeks, or
a tree six months, without renewed supply. Springs fail, and
brooks run dry under a three months' drought. Had we a
rainless year, half the lesser rivers of America would dry up.
At the end of seven such successive years, the Mississippi
would cease to flow; within ten years, the lake-fed St. Law-
rence would be no more. The days of witchcraft and mystery
about water are ended. Science has risen to show that the
sources of spring and well and brook and river, of flowing
sap and pulsing blood are the life-giving benediction of the
clouds.

There is found the " true source " of the Mississippi.

Keokuk.
(From a Daguerreotype, 1847.)

CHAPTER XV
The Mississippi in War

PRACTICALLY, every mile of " The Father of
Waters," from Itasca Lake to Natchez, has been
fought over by antagonistic aboriginal tribes.
Except near the Mississippi's mouth and in Minnesota,
conflicts between natives and white men have been of
small importance. Early Spanish adventurers, seek-
ing gold and finding it not, vented their disappoint-
ments upon the natives ; their inhuman conduct is chiefly
responsible for the deadly hatred displayed by the In-
dian toward the invaders of his hunting grounds and
the destroyers of his villages. Pledges of good faith
made by the strangers were generally broken, and in
nearly every way the white man fixed the standard for
treachery that the red man adopted. Tales of Spanish
brutalities passed from tongue to tongue, through many
different native languages and dialects, losing nothing
in repetition, up the length of the mighty river and
thence, through the Red River of the North, as far as
the ice-bound coast of Hudson Bay.

tThe anthropoid of the copper-hued countenance de-
voted three centuries, a brief space according to his
spare mind, to " getting even " with the pale-faced
intruder.

I — STRUGGLES WITH THE INDIANS

The French in the North-west tried the blandish-

237

238 The Mississippi

ments of religion and of cajolery. The effect of the
great feast given by Radisson in the country of the
Illinois endured for several generations. The example
of patience under such afflictions as famine and pesti-
lence was most salutary. Crude, untutored minds
comprehended that bravery was not entirely confined
to the war-path and battle-field. The savages saw
pale, thin-visaged priests come among them, alone and
unarmed, and they recognised the sublimity of a faith
that sustained them. They marked the difference be-
tween the religion of the Spaniard and that of the
French-Canadian.

Largely due to the Spaniards who had preceded
him, Iberville, a French-Canadian military and naval
commander, sent to Louisiana in 1699, built Fort
Biloxi and a fort upon the Mississippi; but he paid
a visit to the Natchez with Tonty and left the country
without taking the life of a single native. Bienville,
who succeeded him, and was in turn followed by
Cadillac, was sent by the latter to attack the same tribe.
This developed what is known in history as the first
Natchez war. The pretext for the expedition was the
murder of four Frenchmen by the Natchez, and Bien-
ville started with less than sixty soldiers and boatmen
to make reprisal on a tribe of eight hundred warriors!
Cadillac hoped for Bienville's defeat, for he had re-
fused to marry the Governor's daughter, — he, a
Canadian adventurer, although for a time Governor of
Louisiana province, had rejected an alliance with the
proud French family of Cadillac! Bienville employed
diplomacy, which is another word for falsehopd. He
went to an island occupied by the Tunicas, not far
from the Natchez, and sent word that he desired to

^ (^

«4-l

, p

ffi

|-^

>»

H—

j^'

-(J

-M

'£' ,;4^

The Mississippi in War 239

locate a mill or factory in the Natchez country. The
chiefs of the latter tribe were suspicious but were finally
persuaded to visit Bienville. The latter had sent boat-
men past the Natchez capital, in the darkness of night,
to post upon the trees afficlies of warning to all French-
men descending the Mississippi. These untruthfully
stated : " The Natchez have declared war against the
French, and IM. de Bienville is encamped at the
Tunicas."

The Natchez chiefs arrived at Bienville's head-
quarters on May 8, 1716. When the calumet was
offered to him, Bienville declined and demanded re-
paration for the murder of the Frenchmen. The chiefs
were greatly surprised, supposing that the French
Governor at New Orleans was uninformed of the
tragedy. The envoys were put in chains. At night-
fall, Bienville sent, for the principal chief, " Great Sun "
and his two brothers, "The Stung Serpent " and "Little
Sun," and told them he would spare their lives on con-
dition that the heads, not merely the scalps, of the mur-
derers of the four Frenchmen were delivered to him.
"Blood for blood!" he exclaimed. "I am known as
' The Arrow of Uprightness ' and * The Tomahawk of
Justice.' " It was agreed that " Little Sun " should
return to the Natchez and secure the heads of the mur-
derers. He came back with three heads, but confessed
that the principal culprit had fled into the forest; his
head not being obtainable, that of his brother had been
brought, instead. Bienville was not satisfied.

In the meantime, twenty-two Frenchmen and Cana-
dians, descending the river, had seen Bienville's pro-
clamations and had joined him. This brought his
fighting strength to seventy-two men. The Tunicas

240 The Mississippi

gave information of an intended attack by the Natchez,
to release their chiefs. The Tunicas offered forty braves ;
but Bienville, fearing treacheiy, declined their help.
That attack was not made, probably owing to a threat
by Bienville that he would cut the throat of each
chief, big and little, the moment the Natchez made their
appearance. The river began to overflow the island
on which Bienville was encamped ; he therefore executed
a treaty by which the natives agreed to cut and deliver
logs for a stockade at Natchez. Bienville released all
his captives, except one, whom he connected with the
murders. He, " Chief of the Beard," was shot, in the
presence of the other captives. Bienville had con-
quered the Natchez by the trick of getting their chiefs
into his clutches and keeping them until he secured
terms that suited him.

The fort was built by the natives, in keeping with
their promise, and was occupied on August 3, 1716.
Thus did two distinct and antagonistic races sit down
to watch each other.

Bienville left Aid-Major Pailloux in command at
the fort and departed for Mobile, where he arrived on
October 4th. He was rejoiced to find that Cadillac
had been deposed, and Bienville received a letter from
the Minister of Marine reappointing him Governor, to
supplant De I'Epinay, Cadillac's successor.

Fully a century later, the scene shifts to the upper
^lississippi. The French and the Chippewas between
Lake Superior and the Wisconsin River had driven the
Renards, or Fox Indians to the west bank of the great
river, where they coalesced with another tribe of the
Algonquin nation, the Sauks, or Sacs. After the Illi-
nois country and the western bank of the Mississippi

s ^

- ^ ^
P

a.
H

#i:»

:5 C

The Mississippi in War 241

came into the possession of the United States, the Sacs
and Foxes maintained stubborn resistance to the ad-
vance of the white man culminating, in 1832, in what
is known as the "Black Hawk War." Colonel Zachary
Taylor took an active part in that campaign. The
leader of the revolt against the Government was " Black
Hawk," who had been chief of the Sacs for almost fifty
j^ears. Below Prairie du Chien is Bad Axe River; the ^X
last engagement of the Black Hawk War was fought ^^

five miles south of that point. The Sacs and Foxes
were defeated by United States troops under General
Atkinson, and " Black Hawk " was taken prisoner.
Many battles of this campaign were outside what is
strictly the Mississippi Valley, although the Sacs and
Foxes belonged there.

A perpetual state of war continued between the
Dakotas (Sioux) and the Ojibwas (Chippewas), for a
hundred years. The conflict was waged without mercy !
The year 1833 was particularly bloody. Almost every
bend in the Mississippi above the entrance of Crow
Wing River had its tragedy. A battle that lasted three
days was fought at the last turn in the river before it
takes the plunge at St. Anthony.

The Sioux outbreak in Minnesota in 1862 led by
" Little Crow," was confined to the Minnesota River
valley and hardly belongs in this volume; but it was
probably the last open revolt of the natives that the
citizens of that region will know, certain troubles with
Chippewa Indian agents and lumbermen in 1898 being
settled by arbitration. The Sioux knew that the Civil
War was in progress and that the arms of the South
were often triumphant over those of the North. In
brief, the Indians realised that the white men were
16

242 The Mississippi

fighting among themselves! It appeared to be an aus-
picious time in which to shake off a galHng yoke and
to destroy the intruders. The brutahty with which the
settlers at Redwood and that part of the valley were
treated was typical of the worst period of aboriginal
uprisings.

Fugitives fled down the Minnesota to St. Peters
(now Mendota), Mankato, and St. Cloud. These
towns were crowded. Forts Snelling and Ripley were
places of refuge. Governor Ramsey asked Col. H. H.
Siblej!^ to take command of the militia and to hurry up
the Minnesota Valley to the scene of disturbances. A
detachment of troops and settlers sent from Fort
Ridgeley, on the Minnesota, to quell disturbances and
bury the dead at Birch Coolie, a trading post eighteen
miles to the north-west, was surrounded at night by
three hundred Sioux, and twelve soldiers and civilians
killed. This was in the first week of September, 1862.
Colonel Sibley attacked and captured the main
band of Little Crow's army. The leaders and all
participants in the outrages, some thirty odd, were
hanged.^

II — BRITISH FINAL DEFEAT AT NEW ORLEANS

'jThe splendid and decisive victory of the American
troops on the Plain of Chalmette — known to history
as the Battle of New Orleans, a conflict of several days'
duration, culminating on January 8, 1815 — was as es-
sential to the future greatness of the American Republic
as was any engagement of the Revolution. By Louis
Jonte Meader, a Louisianian author, it has been very

^ Heard's History of the Sioux War. New York, 1864.

The Mississippi in War 243

prettily and accurately described as " our Thermopylae."
Had that battle been lost, although fought after a treaty
of peace actually had been signed, and the city of New
Orleans occupied by British forces, England would have
attempted to hold what had been known as " The
Louisiana Province," despite the treaty, under the de-
fensible claim that the Napoleonic sale of 1803, by which
the United States acquired the territory from France,
was void, because that nation did not possess a
valid title to the Province. The gravity of such a com-
plication is tremendous, when we remember that another
war would have been necessary to acquire the vast
wedge of territory to-day comprising our Western
States. The Pacific coast might never have become a
part of this Republic!

The battle itself was a brilliant achievement, — one
that will always reflect honour upon the commander and
credit upon the brave frontiersmen who did such eif ective
execution upon the enemy. An invading army of four-
teen thousand, including ten thousand seasoned veteran
British troops, was crushingly defeated by thirty-two
hundred raw Kentucky, and Tennessee militia and
Louisiana Creoles. The disparity of loss was as re-
markable as the victory and was due to the fact that
the woodsmen used the musket of the period as an
arm of precision.

The abdication of Napoleon at Fontatinebleau, April
11, 1814, and the temporary pacification of Europe
consequent on that event, decided the British Cabinet
to prosecute the war against the United States with
the utmost vigour. Veterans of the Peninsular Cam-
paign were re-embarked at Plymouth in the fall, and
sailed under sealed orders. On their way across the

244 The Mississippi

Atlantic, the ships touched at Madeira, October 8th, at
Barbadoes and had rendezvous at Negro Bay, Jamaica.
There, the British fleet was joined by four thousand
troops under General Keane, a young Irish officer
who had followed from Plymouth. The combined
forces, in fifty vessels, reached the Louisiana coast
on November 29th. Anchoring between Ship and Cat
Islands, near the entrance to Lake Borgne, the com-
mander of the expedition hoped to land before his pre-
sence on the coast was known and to take the Americans
by surprise. Commander Daniel T. Patterson, in
charge of the Naval Station at New Orleans, received
word of the presence of the British and sent five gun-
boats, a tender, and a despatch boat to the passes of
Mariana and Christian to watch the enemy. A pre-
liminary fight occurred there. The American vessels,
under Lieutenant Thomas Catesby-Jones were discov-
ered by the British. His force consisted of only one
hundred and eighty-two men and twenty-three guns.
His flagship was a small sloop of eighty tons. The
British attacked in sixty barges, under Captain Lockyer,
and with such overwhelming numbers won a victory,
giving to them control of Lake Borgne. Troops were
landed between the 16th and 20th of December, imder
command of General Keane.

Jackson had reached Mobile on November 11, 1814,
after the evacuation of Pensacola by the British and
Spaniards. There he received despatches from New
Orleans begging him to hurry to its defence. Several
English vessels were already in the neighbourhood;
their commander, Captain Lockyer, was in communi-
cation with British sympathisers ashore. In this con-
nection, Lockyer committed a blunder that led to the

The Mississippi in War 245

disclosure of his plans by one Jean Lafitte to General
Jackson.

Here occurs a highly romantic episode that must
always be associated with the final grapple of American
and Briton for the independence of the States. A com-
munity of smugglers had headquarters on a marshy
island, Grande Terre, at the Gulf entrance to Barataria
Bay, sixty miles south-west of New Orleans. This
broad bit of bay afforded a sheltered harbour, in which
the small craft of the Baratarians lay in shallow water
beyond gun reach of ships of the line. Jean Lafitte,
chief of these outlaw^s, is the American pet buccaneer.
He is our " Pirate of the Gulf of Mexico," although
he never was a corsair in the strict sense of the word,
because never guilty of a crime against humanity but
only a defier of revenue and neutrality laws. In this
particular, he differed from Captain Kidd, who was
an inhuman monster. Kidd was an Englishman. He
once lived in Wall Street, New York. Curiously, the
first " Trust " company was organised in his house,
after he had been hanged in England. He proved his
fidelity to his mother country by going home for trial
and execution. Lafitte was born in Bordeaux, France,
learned the blacksmith's trade there: he came to New
Orleans, established a forge in St. Philip Street and
was a law-abiding citizen for several years. But smug-
gling West Indian liquors and costly French mer-
chandise into the populous city of New Orleans
offered much greater prospects of wealth than shoeing
horses. He assembled a band of associates and settled
at Grande Terre. It became a smuggler's lair. Never
outside the Spanish Main was a worse embodiment of
dauntless courage and cunning than existed in Lafitte's

246 The Mississippi

followers. He had several hundred expert gunners and
sharpshooters. In addition, the Baratarians, as they
liked to be called, possessed a squadron of swift, well-
armed vessels that would have been of inestimable
service to the British commander. Knowing that the
Government at Washington had proscribed Lafitte and
that the brother of the Baratarian chief was already in
l^rison at New Orleans, Captain Lockj^er naturally ex-
pected to find Lafitte filled with hatred for the United
States. He was in error. Lafitte had accumulated a
fortune by unlawful depredations; he wanted to return
to New Orleans to enjoy it and recognised an oppor-
tunity to make peace with the Americans. Self-interest,
therefore, rather than patriotism, may have inspired him
to send a letter he had received from Captain Lockyer
to John Blanque, a member of the Louisiana Legisla-
ture. In an accompanying note, Lafitte said : " Though
proscribed by my country, I never shall miss an occa-
sion to serve her, or to prove that she never has ceased
to be dear to me."

In his communication to Blanque, he also repeated
details of interviews with two British officers, who had
been sent ashore to confer with him and to deliver the
letter from their commander. Plans of the intended
British operations against New Orleans were also in-
closed. To Governor William C. C. Claiborne, Gov-
ernor of Louisiana, Lafitte addressed the following
remarkable letter:

'I offer to restore to this State several citizens who, per-
haps, in your eyes, have lost the right to that sacred title. I
offer them, nevertheless, and they are all you could wish to
find them, — ready to exert their utmost efforts in defence of
their country. All that I ask is that a stop be put to the

The Mississippi in War 247

proscription against me and my adherents by an act of obliv-
ion for all that has been done in the past. I decline to say
more on this subject until I have the honour of Your Ex-
cellency's answer; and should it not be favourable to my
ardent desires, I declare to you that I shall at once leave the
country, so that no imputation may be made connecting me
with the contemplated invasion.

Governor Claiborne convened a council of leading
citizens, before which he laid the letters of Lafitte; the
decision was to reject the offer. An expeditionary force,
under command of Colonel Ross of the United States
Army and Commodore Patterson, was sent to Bara-
taria, which attacked the smuggler's stronghold and
captured his ships and took many prisoners. The latter
were taken back to New Orleans and put in prison.

Governor Claiborne sent copies of the British docu-
ments and Lafitte's letters to General Jackson, who left
Mobile for New Orleans on their receipt, arriving De-
cember 2, 1814. He established his headquarters on
Royal Street.

The city was in an undefended condition, but, with
his characteristic energy, Jackson organised the local
military forces, obstructed the entrances to the large
bayous, strengthened the fortifications, — especially im-
proving Fort St. Philip, on the Mississippi below the
city. He openly denounced Lafitte, and opposed *' any
alliance whatever with those infamous bandits," declar-
ing, in the same breath, that his only hope was to get
his hands upon them and to hang every one of them.

While seated at headquarters a few days after the
affair of Barataria, General Jackson was surprised by
a call from Jean Lafitte, who, taking his Hfe in his
hands, braved the sturdy soldier, face to face. Before

248 The Mississippi

Jackson could order his arrest, the bandit chieftain re-
newed his patriotic offers. So well did he argue his
case that his services were accepted and the two re-
markable men shook hands. This conversion of Jack-
son proves the magnetic power of Lafitte, because " Old
Hickory " was a man of usually inflexible will. All
judicial proceedings against the Baratarians were sus-
pended and their release from prison ordered. Jackson
sent some of these erstwhile pirates to assist in the
defence of the outlying forts, formed a corps of the
remainder, which he placed under the command of two
of their own officers, Dominique You and Bellouche.
The importance of this acquisition to Jackson's forces
cannot be overestimated. The Baratarians proved in-
valuable during the preparations for defence, and, when
the death-grapple came, their bravery and heroism was
dramatic in the extreme. Jackson never forgot their
splendid conduct and made good his promise to secure
from the President full pardons for every man of them.
In his general orders of January 21st, after the battle,
thanking his troops and particularly those from Louisi-
ana, he mentioned most feelingly the signal bravery
of Lafitte, Bellouche, You, and their men.

{ Meanwhile, Jackson put New Orleans under martial
law and impressed all able-bodied men, except British,
into military service. He summoned to his aid Gen-
erals Coffee, Carroll, and Thomas ; and warned General
Winchester, at Mobile, to be prepared for an attack at
that point. The British occupied Fisherman's Village,
at the head of the Bayou Bienvenu, twelve miles from
New Orleans, seized the Villere plantation, and made it
their headquarters. Carroll, Coffee, and other reinforce-
ments had reached Jackson and the following stations

The Mississippi in War 249

had been assigned to them : Carroll, at the upper branch
of the Bayou Bienvenu; Governor Claiborne, with his
Louisiana militia, farther up the Gentilly road ; Coffee's
brigade, Planche's and Dankin's battalions, Hinds's
dragoons, and the New Orleans Rifles, under Captain
Beale, and a small band of Choctaws, under Captain
Jugeat, were ordered to assemble at Montreuil's plan-
tation, thence to proceed to Canal Rodriguez, six miles
below the city, there to prepare for an assault upon
the British. Commander Patterson was ordered down
the Mississippi to the flank of the enemy at Villere's.

Jackson had run his lines across two plantations,
from the river to the edge of an almost impenetrable
swamp that ultimately became a part of Lake Pontchar-
train. The land lying between the river and the marsh
was known as the Plain of Chalmette. There the
famous battle occurred.

At seven o'clock in the evening of December 23d, the
schooner Carolina, Captain Henry, anchored off Vil-
lere's and opened fire upon the British camp, throwing
the troops into confusion. Thornton, in command of
the British troops at that point, attacked Jackson and
was repulsed. Coffee, following the levee, flanked
Thornton and made his defeat decisive.

Lieutenant-General Pakenham, " the Hero of
Salamanca " and fresh from the Peninsular War,
landed on Christmas day to assume command of the
British forces, now eight thousand strong. He ad-
vanced his troops close to the American line of defence
and began the erection of earthworks near the river.
The men engaged in this fort-building were attacked
by Hinds ; but the British destroyed the schooner Caro-
lina, causing her crew to abandon her. Another en-

250 The Mississippi

gagement occurred on the 28th, caused by an advance
of the British in two columns; Gibbs on the right, Keane
on the left, with Pakenham, in personal command, in
the centre. Keane was received with deadly fire and
forced to fall back. Gibbs, aided by the dauntless
Rennie who led an assault in person, made some pro-
gress but was ordered back by the commanding gen-»
eral. On the 31st, the British attacked again, threw up
redoubts, in which they mounted thirty guns, manned
with their best gunners. This battery next day shelled
Jackson's headquarters, at the chateau of M. Macarte,
a wealthy Creole, rendering it untenable. Jackson re-
turned the fire on January 1st, with all artillery that
could be trained upon the redoubt. The British fled
and abandoned five guns.

On January 2d, both armies were strongly re-
inforced. Brigadier-General John Thomas came with
two thousand militia from Kentucky; Major-General
John Lambert, also arrived by sea with Pakenham's own
regiment, bringing British forces up to ten thousand
veteran soldiers. The British troops were then divided
into three brigades, under Keane, Gibbs, and Lambert.
The American forces were in only two divisions, the
right under General Ross and the left under Generals
Carroll and Coffee. Second and third lines of defence
were thrown up by Jackson. General Morgan was
posted on the opposite side of the city and divining that
he would be attacked by Thornton, Jackson sent five
hundred Kentuckians to Morgan's aid. Thornton as-
saulted Morgan, causing his men to spike their cannons
and retreat; Patterson, three hundred yards in Mor-
gan's rear was next attacked and his troops took refuge
on board the Louisiana, Thornton, after this success-

The Mississippi in War 251

ful foray, rejoined the main army confronting Jackson.

What is known as the real battle of New Orleans
began on the following morning. The Americans fired
the first gun. Lieutenant Spotts opened fire on the
British; but General Gibbs advanced, under this fire,
against the Tennesseeans and Kentuckians, who fought
in a line four deep, protected by cotton bales. The
accuracy of the woodland sharpshooters under General
Carroll cut the advancing British line to pieces.
Pakenham, in person, then led one of his veteran regi-
ments to the support of Gibbs, and was mortally
wounded. Keane also supported the assault with the
famous Ninety-third Highlanders, who drove a wedge
into the centre of Carroll's defence. Gibbs was fatally
wounded. Soon after, Keane was wounded and the
command devolved upon Major Wilkinson, who met
the fate of his commander-in-chief. Of the nine hundred
Highlanders, with twenty-nine officers, only two hund-
red and thirty-five men and nine officers were mustered
at the close of this assault! All the attacking regiments
on this part of the field suffered terrible losses.

The British right was more successful, where Colonel
Rennie, with one thousand men, advanced in two
columns, one by the road and the other along the levee
at the river's bank, taking a redoubt at Jackson's extreme
right but only holding it a short time, for although
Rennie succeeded in scalmg the parapet of the Ameri-
can redoubt, the New Orleans Rifles, under Beale,
opened a terrific fire upon the heroic enemy, in which
Rennie was killed. At this juncture, Lafitte, who had
commanded a battery which was no longer serviceable
at the close range, called to his lieutenants, Bellouche,
You, and Sebastiano, to follow him. Seizing cutlasses,

2 52 The Mississippi

the pirate patriots swept upon the survivors of the
assault hke Arab fanatics, and although a few of the
British sprang into the ditches, Lafitte's men followed
them there and slew them mercilessly.

That night Patterson retook his line and at dawn
opened fire from his former position. His were the
last guns fired. The battle was over, and the British
withdrew. Their losses were seven hundred killed,
fourteen hundred wounded, and five hundred prisoners.
The American casualties were eight killed and thirteen
wounded. The British had to fight in the open, while
the Americans were behind defences.

The British, under Lambert, wholly withdrew from
the Mississippi banks on January 19th, and two days
later reached their fleet. They were prevented from
further attack upon other unprotected cities by receipt
of the official despatches announcing the signing of the
Treaty of Ghent, on December 24th.

Ill THE CIVIL WAR

The western frontier of the British colonial pos-
sessions in North America, even at periods of most
vain-glorious assumption, never had extended beyond
the Mississippi. With a stubbornness and an activity
that did not characterise the Spaniards in any other
part of the world, the race of Narvaez, De Soto, Ponce
de Leon, and Coronado claimed and held against French
and English the vast, unmeasured wilderness beyond
the mighty river that bisected the North American Con-
tinent. The same conditions existed when the thirteen
States freed themselves from the British yoke and be-
gan to work out their own destiny. No man had

The Mississippi in War 253

arisen, who, hke Rameses II. of Egypt, " fixed his
frontiers where he pleased."

Thomas Jefferson, as we have seen, aecompHshed
by one bold stroke the apparently impossible. The
necessities of Napoleon, the promptitude of Jefferson
to take advantage of opportunity, the acquisition of
Florida, the bravery of the Texans, the results of the
Mexican War, and the Gadsden Purchase extended
the territory of the United States of America from
the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Forty-ninth
parallel to the Rio Grande.

When the Civil War tore the Republic into two pieces,
the prescience of learned tactitians was not necessary to
comprehend that the rebellion ought to be confined to
the region east of the national waterway. The prob-
lem of blockading the Atlantic and Gulf ports of the
Confederacy is sufficient to excuse the Lincoln Adminis-
tration for not taking prompt possession of the Mis-
sissippi from Saint Louis to the Gulf. The South was
in a condition of preparedness; the North was in a
state little better than panic. The slave States of Mis-
souri, Arkansas, Texas, and three quarters of Louisi-
ana lay west of the Mississippi. All of them were
prompt to put troops into the field in behalf of the
Confederacy. The importance of segregating them
from the rest of their southern associates was too
obvious to be discussed.

The troubles in Missouri delayed the seizure of im-
portant strategic points on the river below. A gov-
ernor of that State declared for the Confederacy,
organised rebellion to the national Government, and as-
sembled hostile troops. Saint Louis was more turbu-
lentlv rebellious than Baltimore. Months of valuable

254 The Mississippi

time were lost in securing conditions of semi-peaceful-
ness within its borders. Although the battles in Mis-
souri distinctly belong to the reconquest of the
Mississippi, they need not be gone into. The redemp-
tion of the Mississippi does not begin with the trifling
and inconsequential fight at Belmont, almost under the
guns of Columbus, then held by the Confederates, but
with the occupation of Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio
River, by Ulysses Simpson Grant, then thirty-nine
years of age. He possessed a West Point training and
had seen active service in the Mexican War, — at every
battle except Buena Vista. Curiously, in that cam-
paign he had attracted the attention of General Scott's
staff officer, Robert E. Lee, whom he was afterwards
to confront in Virginia and defeat in the final campaign
of the Civil War.

Had Polk seized Cairo, as he intended, and had
other Confederate generals fastened hold upon Paducah
and Louisville, the probabilities are that Kentucky and
Tennessee would have* been dragged into the Con-
federacy, however unwillingly. Grant's second act was
to occupy Paducah, at the mouth of the Tennessee
River. The junction of the Cumberland with the Ohio
was less than ten miles distant. This coup made pos-
sible the subsequent flotilla advance upon Forts Henry
and Donelson. Grant's immediate objective point was
Columbus, situated a short distance below Cairo, on
the Kentucky side of the Mississippi, where General
Polk had a considerable Confederate force; but a de-
scent of the great river would have been bad military
art, as long as formidable bodies of the enemy occupied
fortified points at Forts Henry and Donelson, on the
Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, at the Tennessee

The Mississippi in War 255

State line. The extreme right of the Confederate de-
fence rested upon BowHng Green, Kentucky.

Forts Henry and Donelson

The movement upon the centre of the Confederate
line was inaugurated on January 30, 1862. Grant,
with a force of seventeen thousand men on transports,
escorted by four armoured and three unarmoured gun-
boats under Commodore Foote, began the ascent of
the Tennessee River. Here started a campaign that
was to include the victories at Forts Henry and Donel-
son and the two days' battle at Shiloh, and to culminate
in the siege and capture of Vicksburg. It is doubtful
if Grant expected this flank movement on the Missis-
sippi's fortified places to develop into a year and a
half of activity. This land campaign, b}^ which the
Confederate positions at Columbus, Fort Pillow, and
Memphis were turned is as much a part of the Mis-
sissippi's conquest as are the battles of New Madrid
and Island No. 10.

Taking events in their chronological sequence, the
fall of Fort Henry was inevitable, owing to the sud-
denness of the attack by Grant and Foote. Its com-
mandant, General Tighman, sent all of his thirty-four
hundred men, except ninety-six, to Fort Donelson and
maintained a show of fight until their retreat across
the twelve-mile neck of land separating the two rivers
and forts had been accomplished. Then he surrend-
ered. The importance of the capture was that a new
base for operating against Fort Donelson was created.
A good and direct road connected the two places.
Meanwhile, Foote's armed flotilla had to descend the

256 The Mississippi

Tennessee to the Ohio and to ascend the Cumberland
to a position for using its guns upon Donelson. Fort
Henry was occupied on February 6th.

The advance of the troops upon Donelson began the
morning of the surrender of Henry. This fort occupied
a fine position upon a plateau, elevated a hundred feet
above the Cumberland, and consisted of " two water-
batteries on the hillside, protected by a bastioned earth-
work of irregular outline on the summit, enclosing one
hundred acres." ^ Along the western ridge of the
plateau was a line of fortifications for field artillery
and some rifle-pits. About the time Grant had de-
ployed his troops, General Floyd, who had been
Buchanan's Secretary of War, superseded General
Pillow and took over the command of the eighteen
thousand Confederates.

The first assault was ordered by Grant on the 13th.
It was little more than a reconnaissance in force. The
fleet and transports arrived next day with five thousand
fresh troops. Seven mortar-boats rendered valuable
service. The Confederate water battery was shelled at
a nearness of six hundred yards, although the gunboats
finally were driven away. About daylight of the 15th,
Pillow, with eight thousand men, attempted a sortie
directed against McClernand who held the road to
Charlotte, and opened a way of escape. Had Floyd
acted promptly, he might have got away with his en-
tire force. But, Pillow spent the precious hours in
another attack upon Lew Wallace until Grant had
time to reach the field and take personal command.
He saw that a fight to a finish then and there was
inevitable. He ordered a general charge upon all the
1 Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, pp. 11-28.

The Mississippi in War 257

outlying earthworks, which resulted in carrying the
ridge and extending the Federal line completely around
the bastioned fortress. With the aid of the mortar-
boats, escape by land was completely cut off, and the
Confederates had lost in the fight about two thousand
men. During the darkness of that night, Floyd and
Pillow escaped up the Cumberland in a boat. The
" unconditional surrender " by Buckner of Fort Donel-
son occurred next morning (16th) , and included fifteen
thousand prisoners, sixty-eight cannons, and seventeen
thousand muskets. This Federal victory was im-
mediately followed by the evacuation of Columbus by
Polk, who burned his buildings and went by steamer
to New Madrid.

In the field, Corinth, Mississippi, became the natural
point for Confederate concentration. Grant sent his
transports to the Tennessee and began to move troops
and provisions up that river to the nearest location for
a base of attack upon that town. Thus was Pittsburg
Landing chosen ; and Shiloh church, about two miles back
from the river, became the scene of a two day's battle that
has provoked more controversy than any other event
of the Civil War.

Meanwhile, Commodore Foote's squadron had been
ordered to dislodge the Confederates from Island No.
10, in the Mississippi, almost opposite New Madrid, to
which place General Polk had sent one hundred and
forty guns from Columbus and part of his force.

Brigadier-General W. T. Sherman occupied Colum-
bus on March 4th. Brigadier-General John Pope was
on his way through Missouri and arrived before New
Madrid, on that shore of the Mississippi, March 3d. A
siege of a month followed. Foote was banging away

258 The Mississippi

at the fortifications on Island No. 10, disabhng gun
after gun; and Pope was gradually tightening the lines
about the town on the mainland. Polk surrendered to
Pope on April 7th, about seven thousand men.

The intention of the Federals was to move down
the Mississippi in transports, guarded by Foote's gun-
boats, to Fort Pillow, a defensive position created by
the Confederates upon a high bluff on the Tennessee
side. Plans were made for a combined attack from land
and river on the 17th; but orders came from Halleck
directing Pope to reinforce Grant at Pittsburg Land-
ing for the attack on Corinth. Troops were hurried
aboard the transports which steamed up-stream, en
route for the Tennessee River. Fort Pillow was left
to its own destruction. It was subsequently abandoned.

Shiloh

Albert Sidney Johnston was in command of the
rapidly assembling Confederate forces at Corinth. That
a great battle would be fought in that vicinity was ob-
vious, even to General Halleck. Troops were hurried
thither from many parts of the Gulf States. The flight
of Floyd and Pillow had disgraced them in the eyes of
the Confederate Government and they were removed
from all command. Johnston's chief aid was Beau-
regard, who had ordered Fort Sumter fired upon, thus
precipitating the war, and had covered himself with
Southern laurels at Bull Run. Braxton Bragg was
brought from Pensacola, with eleven thousand men.

The choice of Pittsburg Landing, as a base of Fed-
eral operations upon Corinth, was made by Geri. W.
F. Smith. Endless discussion has arisen regarding

The Mississippi in War 259

the wisdom of selecting a site upon the west bank of the
Tennessee, by that act, putting the river behind the
Federal troops instead of in front of them. The Count
de Paris did not settle the dispute when he declared in his
History of the Civil War in the United States that " the
position was extremely well chosen." It was a fight-
ing man's selection, made for another fighting man!
Smith and Grant were of the same metal. It is fair
to state that Beauregard had seen the strategic import-
ance of the bluff at Pittsburg Landing and had occupied
it prior to the arrival of the gunboats; but these had
shelled his small garrison and driven it away before
Smith's arrival.

As long as the boats held the river, the position was
a strong one, — a quadrilateral enclosed on three sides,
by a river and two deep creeks, with an opening to the
south-west toward Corinth. This latter feature was
fully recognised as the weakness of the position, and the
contention of critics always will be that a triple or
quadruple line of Federal videttes should have been
posted along the Corinth highway. From left to right,
facing this obvious point of assault, if one were to be
made, lay the commands of Stuart, Prentiss, Sherman,
and McClernand. Inside this line were Hurlbut, and
William Wallace, who had taken over W. F. Smith's
command. Lew Wallace was on the Purdy road, near
Crump's Landing, five miles to the northward. Buell's
army was anxiously expected, because his advance guard
under Nelson, had reached Savannah, a landing on the
east side of the river eight miles from Pittsburg.

With an impetuosity that carried everything before
it, Johnston attacked in great force at 5.30 on the raw
Sunday morning of April 6th. The Confederate troops

26o The Mississippi

had deployed during the night within less than half a
mile of the Federal lines. The blow brought conster-
nation to the troops of Prentiss, upon whom it fell. If
it came not as a surprise, it was followed by a panic.
Many prisoners were taken in their beds. Grant had
his headquarters at Savannah and McClernand was the
only Major-General on the firing line, which did not
possess a single rifle-pit or other defence.

Johnston's attack was made in three parallel lines
of ten thousand men each, separated by half a mile.
Hardee led, followed by Bragg, and in the last line,
intended to cover and extend the flanks, were Polk with
ten thousand on the extreme left and Breckinridge with
six thousand on the right. In addition to the thirty-six
thousand infantry, some excellent Confederate cavalry,
that could have been used in the open, were valueless in
the underbrush of the forests. Of the forty thousand
Federal troops. Lew Wallace's seven thousand men did
not arrive in time to participate in the first day's fight.

Grant reached the battle-field at eight o'clock and
sent an order to Lew Wallace to advance at once.
Owing to a blunder in the transmission of the verbal
message or to ignorance of the roads, Wallace's com-
mand did not make those five sloughy miles until seven
o'clock at night, at which time the Federal line had
been driven back fully one mile, contesting every foot.
Prior to Sunday noon, great disorganisation reigned in
several parts of the Federal line. The loss of human
life was terrible. About 2.30 in the afternoon, General
Johnston sitting on his horse in the open was hit by a
rifle ball that severed an artery in his leg. It was not
a fatal wound, but Johnston paid no attention to his
injury until he suddenly collapsed and died from loss of

The Mississippi in War 261

blood. President Davis asserted, years afterward, that
" the southern cause perished then and there, on the
field of Shiloh." General Beauregard succeeded to the
command.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, twenty-two hundred
of Prentiss's men were surrounded and captured by the
Confederates, and William Wallace, who was command-
ing Smith's brigade, was mortally wounded. Before
dark, the gunboats took part in the battle and probably
checked the advance to Pittsburg Landing. Nelson
was the Bliicher of the day. He arrived in time to
cross the river and to defend the landing of McCook
and the rest of Buell's army.

The splendid bravery of the Confederates had not
given to them decisive victory. Bragg advocated a final
charge after nightfall, but Beauregard ordered a cessa-
tion of hostilities. " The battle is lost in that event! "
exclaimed Bragg, protestant. Beauregard's defence of
his action is to be found in Battles and Leaders (i., 590) .
He knew that fresh troops were crossing the river and
believed a repulse of the charge suggested by Bragg to
be inevitable.

In the Federal ranks, Prentiss was the chief hero of
that terrible Sunday, because his command stood the
brunt of the attack. About dark, Lew Wallace and
Nelson each added seven thousand men to the Federal
forces almost simultaneously. Crittenden arrived
during the night.

Monday morning saw the Federal line, stretching
from a bayou of the river (reading from left to right),
held by Majors-General Nelson, Crittenden, McCook,
McClernand, and Lew Wallace. Confronting them
were the four divisions, right to left, of Hardee, Breck-

262 The Mississippi

inridge, Polk, and Bragg. Grant assumed the aggres-
sive at dayhght. Nelson's fresh troops were thrown
against Hardee's ; Lew Wallace, anxious to retrieve the
misfortunes of the previous day that had kept him out
of the fight, made a savage attempt to get possession
of the Corinth road in the rear of the Confederates.
McCook did some brilliant work at the centre. Al-
though Lew Wallace did not wholly succeed in his
efforts, he compelled the beginning of a retreat by
Beauregard that only ended when the defences of
Corinth had been reached. During Monday afternoon.
Generals Wood and Thomas, with twelve thousand
fresh troops arrived, and Grant has been criticised be-
cause he did not follow and harass his retreating foe.

The battles of luka and Corinth were supplements
of Shiloh. The Confederacy had shot its bolt in that
battle, and, although the result was indecisive, the
Southern arms had suffered losses that could not be
repaired. Corinth fell by force of circumstances.

New Orleans

Upon the insistence of President Lincoln, as early as
January of that year (1862), the assembling of a fleet
of naval vessels and transports, for the capture of New
Orleans and the opening of the lower part of the Mis-
sissippi River, had been actively begun. Wooden
frigates and gunboats selected carried one hundred and
fifty guns of various calibres. A lot of extemporised
mortar-boats were added. The expedition was sup-
plemented by a land force of about thirteen thousand
troops, and Benjamin F. Butler was given command
of them. The fleet commander was David Glasgow

The Mississippi in War 263

Farragut, who, although a Tennesseean by birth, never
had faltered in his fidelity to the Union.

There was not an armoured vessel in Farragut's
fleet when it assembled in April off the mouth of the
Mississippi. The debt of naval architecture to the de-
signers of the Merrimac and the Monitor had already
been recognised in the historic encounter at Hampton
Roads, and the utter worthlessness of wooden ships
against armoured ones was admitted. Farragut's flag-
ship was the old Hartford, twenty-five guns; and with
her were the Brooklyn, Richmond, and Pensacola, even
inferior to her as fighting machines. Commander Porter,
son of a famous United States naval officer, and who was
afterwards to become an admiral of the Navy, com-
manded an auxiliary flotilla of nineteen mortar-boats,
each having a thirteen-inch mortar for throwing spheri-
cal shells. Its work in the subsequent battles at New
Orleans and Vicksburg proved to be of the highest
importance.

The distance by the Mississippi from the Gulf to
'New Orleans is one hundred and twenty miles, and two
antiquated forts, located at Plaquemine Bend, about
ninety miles south of the city, had been strengthened
to such a degree that the Confederates felt sanguine of
their effectiveness. Fort St. Philip stood upon the right
bank and twenty-four hundred feet farther down-
stream, upon the left bank, was Fort Jackson. The
former was an open work and mounted fifty-three guns,
but the latter was a casemated structure, with a ditch,
and possessed seventy-five guns, some of heavy calibre.
These strongholds had been well provisioned, were se-
cure from land attack because of their positions upon
the narrow strip of soil that served as a dyke to

264 The Mississippi

separate the river from the Gulf, and each was garri-
soned by seven hundred men. A few water batteries had
been begun between Plaquemine and New Orleans, but
they had not been brought to any condition of arma-
ment, because the defence afforded by the two forts was
considered ample. A line of schooners had been an-
chored across the river, held together by the heaviest
anchor chains. Ten small armoured vessels were kept
above Fort St. Philip; but the chief menace afloat — in
the light of the devastation wrought by the Merrimac
upon wooden ships in Hampton Roads prior to the
arrival of the Monitor — was an iron-armoured ram, the
Manassas, and the Louisiana, a small corvette, the bul-
warks of which had been cut down and a sloping deck,
similar in form to that of the Merrimac, added. This
iron-covered superstructure and gun-deck carried six-
teen cannons of large calibre for that period. The
naval part of the Confederate equipment was under
Commander John Mitchell; but several of the smaller
vessels, furnished by the city authorities, had been given
into the charge of a river captain, and conflict of authority
was inevitable. General Duncan was in chief command
of the Confederate land forces, with Lieutenant-
Commander Higgins at Fort Jackson. In the city of
New Orleans were as few as three thousand troops, all
others having been drawn to support Johnston in his
attack upon Pittsburg Landing.

Farragut was in readiness on April 16th, and began
to get his ships across the bar. It was before the days
of the Eads Jetties, and great trouble was experienced
with shallow water at the mouth of the river. Porter's
light-draft vessels were hurried up-stream and anchored
close to Fort Jackson, behind the narrow neck of land

The Mississippi in War 265

formed by a sharp bend in the river, — which in front
of the forts flowed ahnost west. The mortar-boats were
sheltered from view by a dense forest, but as an addi-
tional means of confusing the men on watch at Fort
Jackson, the tops of the masts were trimmed with
boughs from the adjacent trees. The appearance of
the snug little flotilla recalled the advance of the woods
of Dunsinane.

Porter began the bombardment of Fort Jackson on
the 18th and during its continuance for five days and
nights threw about seventeen thousand shells, exceeding
one per minute. So accurate were the calculations of
the gunners that Fort Jackson became a mass of ruins.
Attempts to shell Fort St. Philip, half a mile farther
up-stream, were not successful; but its guns were not
so formidable as those at Fort Jackson had been.

At the end of five daj^s, Farragut's patience was
exhausted. Porter's argument was that it would be un-
wise to run past the forts, even if it could be success-
fully achieved, leaving formidable places of defence in
the rear. In other words, he feared that the fleet might
be " bottled up " at New Orleans. While the bombard-
ment had been in progress. Lieutenant Caldwell had
been directed to take the two little steamers Pinola and
Itasca — how interesting that the name of the then ac-
credited source of the Mississippi should have been thus
attached to the battle at the mouth of the river! — and
break through the line of chained vessels that blocked
a passage-way up-stream. He successfully accom-
plished the hazardous undertaking on the night of April
20th. After failing to explode a mine under the cen-
tral vessel of the row, he worked round an end of the
line, in shallow water, ran up-stream a short distance.

266 The Mississippi

turned, and at full headway came down upon the chain,
breaking it, causing the vessels to drag their anchors
and to swing to right and to left, leaving the centre
of the river open. It was glorious service that the little
Itasca rendered that dark night.

Four nights later, at two o'clock, Farragut's squad-
ron got under way. Everj^ conceivable means had been
adopted to protect the magazines and boilers and all
light rigging bad been taken down. The credit of
leadership was given to Captain Bailey of the Cayuga.
After him came the sloops Pensacola and Mississippi,
the corvettes Oneida and Varuna, and the gunboats
Katahdin, Kineo, and Wissahickon. What was left of
the batteries in the two forts did everything possible
to destroy the ships. At this point, the gunboats, five
in number, closed in, going within two hundred yards
of the shore, and threw sufficient grape and canister to
drive the men from the guns of Fort Jackson. The
armoured ram, Manassas, failing to injure the Pensa-
cola, attacked the Mississippi. Owing to the attention
given to the other ships, Bailey got the Cayuga past
the forts without serious injury and became hotly en-
gaged with the ships above. The Varuna set four of
the enemy's ships afire, but in the contest was so seri-
ously injured that she had to be run ashore to save
the crew, which was rescued by the Oneida. The
Cayuga destroyed three of the enemy's boats; but one
got away to New Orleans.

About that time the Hartford, with Farragut
aboard, and the Brooklyn had arrived opposite Fort
St. Philip when the most serious complication of the
night occurred. A fire-raft was observed coming down-
stream, pushed by a plucky tugboatman. The channel

^ e^

H-i

::;

;3
o

■^^

^-^

The Mississippi in War 267

was not broad at that point, and as the raft held to
its centre, despite a storm of grape-shot poured into
the tugboat behind it, the Hartford tried to avoid the
blazing danger and went upon a bar. The raft was
jammed against the side of the flag-ship and the flames
leaped into the rigging. Farragut's supreme coolness
at that time enabled the crew to extinguish the burn-
ing mass, after which the Hartford backed into the
channel and, with thirty odd holes in her hull, proceeded.
While this crisis was occurring, the Brooklyn was
rammed by the Manassas^ far under the water-line, but
the hole was plugged and the dangerous ram driven
off. Three of the Federal gunboats met with mis-
fortune, among them the Itasca, that had so gloriously
distinguished herself by breaking the line of obstruc-
tions on the night of the 20th. The Manassas followed
the squadron almost to New Orleans, where, again at-
tacked by the Mississippi that she had rammed early
in the fight, she ran ashore, was set afire by shells from
the attacking boat, and finally blew up.

The actual engagement with the two forts lasted
less than one hour and a half.

A battery was encountered on the eastern shore,
not far from the historic battle-field on the Plain of
Chalmette, where " Old Hickory," with his Tennessee
squirrel and Indian hunters had defeated the British
veterans of the Napoleonic campaigns.

When the Federal squadron anchored off the Cres-
cent City, the people of the town were not complaisant.
The Cayuga went to a wharf -head and Captain Bailey,
accompanied by Lieutenant Perkins, walking alone to
the City Hall, demanded from the mayor the surrender
of the city. The mayor temporised and, as the

268 The Mississippi

demand could not be enforced until General Butler
arrived with troops, the Confederate flag continued to
float over the municipal building. Of course, Farragut
could have shelled the city, but he never contemplated
such an act of barbarism. Porter, who had remained
near the forts, compelled their surrender on April 27th.
The ascent of the transports followed, but before Butler
arrived on the 29th, a small body of marines had landed
and replaced the Confederate flag over the City Hall
with the Stars and Stripes. No sooner had the marines
departed than a man named Mumford tore down the
Federal flag, carried it to the street, where the populace
trampled it in the mud and afterwards tore it into frag-
ments. One of General Butler's first acts was to order
the trial by court-martial of Mumford for " insult to
the Federal flag." He was condemned to be hanged
and was summarily executed. The Count de Paris did
not think Mumford ought to have been hanged, but
the people of New Orleans never shed a tear for him.
He was a worthless fellow, like the chap, who, earlier
in the war, had killed Ellsworth at Alexandria.

Several historians agree that the capture of New
Orleans prevented a recognition of the Confederacy's
independence by the Emperor of France, Napoleon III.
That any negotiations were pending between foreign
emissaries of the Confederate Government, looking to a
surrender of a portion of Southern territory as a
military base from which France could with greater
assurance of success invade Mexico, is highly improb-
able. Much as Mr. Davis and his Cabinet would have
welcomed Napoleon III.'s recognition of independence,
any attempt to grant a foothold for French arms upon
the Rio Grande would have met with stubborn opposi-

C J

bjo

The Mississippi in War 269

tion from the most devoted adiierents of " the sacred
cause," and the Texans would have resented it to a man.
Vicksburg became the objective point. It alone
impeded the free passage of Federal traffic the entire
length of the navigable river.

Vicksburg

The Vicksburg campaign naturally divided itself
into two distinct enterprises, the first wholly military
and the second naval-military. An unsuccessful at-
tempt by Grant and Sherman in 1862 to capture it
becomes purely episodical considered in relation to the
subsequent siege, which covers a period of twelve
months. Farragut was restrained from proceeding to
Vicksburg by the Washington government. At any
time during that previous month of IVIay, a few thou-
sand men, accompanied by the gunboats of Farragut's
squadron, could have seized Vicksburg and held it.
The adjacent Federal army then could have been
provisioned by river from North and South.

The Vicksburg problem, by the time it was put up
to Grant, was one of grave seriousness and complexity.
For this delay, which probably added half a year to the
life of the rebellion, General Halleck always has been
blamed. It was a misfortune to South and North
alike. Farragut, with the same impetuosity he had
shown at the forts, had attacked the batteries at Vicks-
burg on June 28, 1862, and passed them only to find
the city impregnable to attack from the river. He
once more ran the batteries on July 15th, returning to
New Orleans.

General Grant urgently suggested the investment

270 The Mississippi

of Vicksburg and the destruction of the boats and traffic
on the Yazoo River, but Halleck took no notice of the
letter and Grant, after being kept idle at Corinth for
months, of his own voHtion moved to Grand Junction
and La Grange. The latter place is sixty miles east
of Memphis, which had been occupied during the
summer bj^ Sherman, after the abandonment of Forts
Pillow and Randolph. Grant then asked permission
to move down the Mississippi Central Railroad to Holly
Springs and Halleck consented.

About this time, Grant's troubles with McClernand,
who had been his subordinate, began. The latter se-
cured a leave of absence, went to Washington, and per-
suaded President Lincoln to organise an expedition to
proceed against Vicksburg and to open the JMississippi
to New Orleans. General Grant, on December 8th,
sent Sherman to Memphis, with one division, where
he was to mobilise all the troops he could gather; then
proceed down the river and, assisted by Porter's gun-
boats, to reduce Vicksburg. Although McClernand
had been directed to command such an expedition, a
message wired to Sherman to that effect never reached
him. Forrest had cut the telegraph lines. Sherman's
expedition was then readj^ to start, and, in ignorance
of McClernand's assignment, its commander was at
Vicksburg before McClernand had crossed the Ohio
River.

Sherman had asked the chief quartermaster at Saint
Louis to furnish transports for thirty thousand men
at Memphis at the earliest date. Sixty-seven steamboats
arrived at Memphis December 19th, and embarkation
began. Porter's gunboats were already at anchor off that
city. Leaving Memphis on the 20th, a stop was made

The Mississippi in War 271

at Helena next day to take aboard Steele's division, and
the boats ran their bows against the bank at Millikens
Bend, twenty miles up-stream from Vicksburg, before
dawn of the 25th. There, A. J. Smith's division was
landed to cut the railroad to Shreveport, which had
brought large quantities of supplies to the beleaguered
city. The three other divisions went to the mouth of
the Yazoo, anc^ ascending that stream fourteen miles,
disembarked. Smith's division was reunited with the
main force next day, having destroyed the railroad to
the west. Sherman hoped to take Vicksburg with his
thirty thousand men, but, if that was impossible, he
intended to cut the railroad to Jackson and, with the
co-operation of Grant's army, to isolate the town.
The hope of a surprise failed utterly; raids by For-
rest and Van Dorn destroyed the other part of the
plan.

General Forrest was raiding the region between
the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers and eluding
Grant's efforts to capture him. He fought about a
dozen skirmishes and battles but succeeded in return-
ing east of the Tennessee, after he had broken up
Grant's railroad communication with Columbus, his
base of supplies. Meanwhile, Van Dorn, another Con-
federate cavalry general, successfully surprised Holly
Springs and took fifteen hundred prisoners. He
burned Grant's supplies at that place, valued at
$1,500,000. The efforts of these two raiders compelled
Grant to retire to Grand Junction, Corinth, and
Memphis.

The Confederates began to pour troops into Vicks-
burg. Pemberton went thither from the field. Sher-
man soon faced twelve thousand men, intrenched. The

272 The Mississippi

bluff on which the city stands has a height of two hund-
red feet, which enabled the Confederates to maintain
close observation of every movement of Sherman's
troops in the Yazoo Valley. On December 29th,
Sherman made an assault upon an intrenched Con-
federate position at the top of a slope. The attack
was unsuccessful. The loss of life was severe, namely,
one hundred and ninety-one killed, ninety-eight
wounded, and seven hundred and fifty-six missing.
The Confederate losses were inconsiderable. It
was a Federal defeat and resulted in orders from
Washington despatching Grant to the scene. The
year 1862 closed dismally for the Federal cam-
paign.

General Grant reached Memphis on January 10,
1863, and prepared to go to the aid of Sherman at
Vicksburg. The project of a movement by river and
land was abandoned. An opinion of General Francis
V. Greene, who has written a book on this subject, is
that the original plan for an advance upon Vicksburg,
dowTi the Mississippi from Memphis is worthy of de-
fence and discussion. " The risks of such a movement
were far less than those of the final campaign from
Bruinsburg, through Jackson to Haines's Bluff," says
General Greene. He also points out that " a direct
movement from Memphis against the rear of Vicksburg
was the one suggested by Grant in his letter to Halleck,
of October 26th." There was not any co-operation from
New Orleans as had been expected. General N. P.
Banks had reached that city to supersede Butler on
December 14th; and he sent a large force, without dis-
embarking, to occupy Baton Rouge, which was done
without resistance. An attack was not made on Port

The Mississippi in War 273

Hudson until three months had passed. Its siege by-
Banks was dependent upon the success of General
Grant at Vicksburg. On March 14, 1863, Farragut,
(promoted to be rear-admiral on July 16, 1862), at-
tempted to run the batteries at Port Hudson with a
fleet of vessels but succeeded only in passing with his
flag-ship, the Hartford^, and a gunboat, which was lashed
to her side.

When JMcClernand relieved Sherman, after the fail-
ure of the assault on Chickasaw Bluffs, — the super-
sedence having been decreed weeks before and not
coming as a rebuke for defeat, — Sherman organised an
expedition against Arkansas Post, up the Arkansas
River. The engagement he fought there, on January
11th, was entirely successful. A Confederate fort that
had interfered with traffic on that river was captured,
several thousand prisoners taken, and sixty-six guns,
and the place destroyed. It was a small affair, but
Sherman was rehabilitated.

But the first movement against Vicksburg had been
a disappointment and Grant began all over again.

After the harassing raids of Forrest and Van Dorn
had been in part repaired. Grant began the investment
of Vicksburg. Five distinct battles and continuous
skirmishes occurred east of Vicksburg, all successful
to the Federal cause. Porter ran the batteries on the
night of April 16th, with the Benton, Lafayette, Louis-
ville, Mound City, Pittsburg, and Carondelet; followed
by three transports, convoyed by the gunboat, Tus-
cumbia. In the passage up-stream, these vessels were
under fire for two hours but only one vessel was lost,
the transport, Henry Clay. All the men aboard it
were taken off by another steamer.

2 74 The Mississippi

After preliminary fighting on the Big Black River
on May 17, 1863, made memorable by Lawler's charge
in his shirt-sleeves, Grant ordered an assault on Vicks-
burg on May 22d. It was unsuccessful. He then
decided upon a siege.

The jMississippi was in Federal hands from Port
Hudson to Vicksburg. This city was admirably de-
fensible. Eight roads led into it from the East. The
Confederate line was n-regular, because it followed the
crest of a ridge from the Yazoo River at the north,
first eastward, then southward to the Jackson road
(three miles behind the city), thence south-westerly to
the Mississippi bank. Deep ravines lay in front.
Grant's line of investment extended from Haines's Bluff
(on the Yazoo) at the north, fifteen miles to Bruins-
burg and thence to the Mississippi. Operating on
lower ground, Grant's problem was more difficult than
that of the Confederates. While intrenching, the ef-
ficiency of Grant's sharpshooters kept the engineers and
workmen from serious interference. In few places were
his lines of rifle-pits more than six hundred yards dis-
tant from the enemy. Many negroes, paid by the day,
helped on the fortifications.

The first important engagement in the Civil War
in which coloured troops took part was on the west side
of the Mississippi, during this siege, at Millikens Bend,
(June 7, 1863), where they showed excellent fight-
ing qualities. An attack by the Confederates was
repulsed.

Grant's forces at Vicksburg had been so strongly
reinforced that on June 14th, he had seventy-one thou-
sand men. He relieved INIcClernand of the command
of the Thirteenth Army Corps on the 19th and sent

'• mt y/.

p
^

The Mississippi in War 275

him back to IlHnois. The cause was a flamboyant
order by McClernand, praising his own men to the
prejudice of other troops.

Grant had two hundred and twenty guns mounted
by June 30th, but the grave menace of Johnston's army
in the rear still existed. Intercepted messages from the
latter to Pemberton indicated that he was about to
move westward to raise the siege of Vicksburg. This
necessitated two lines for Grant, — an emergency for
which he had carefully prepared, — one facing Johnston
and the other confronting the beleaguered city. A
mine had been exploded on June 25th, but the crater
had not been sufficiently large to admit the entrance
of the Federal column. In this situation, a general
assault was determined upon by Grant. The date was
fixed for the 6th; but at 10 a.m. on the 3d, white flags
appeared over parts of the Confederate works. Pem-
berton sent a member of his staff with a letter to Grant.
The Federal General would not entertain any terms
but "unconditional surrender"; after personal inter-
views between the two commanders, however, and an
all-night parley with his own general officers, some
modifications were made by Grant. He agreed to parole
the troops, to permit Confederate officers to wear their
side arms, and to allow all staff officers one horse. On
the night of July 3d, General Grant summoned all his
division commanders, which, he says in his Memoirs
was " the nearest approach to a ' council of war ' I
ever held." The surrender occurred on July 4th, the
day on which was completed the victory at Gettys-
burg. Grant says : " The fate of the Confederacy
was sealed when Vicksburg fell. Much hard fighting
was to be done afterward and many precious lives

276 The Mississippi

sacrificed; but the morale was with the supporters of
the Union ever after."

Port Hudson surrendered to General Banks on
July 9th.

Almost simultaneously with these two great Federal
triumphs, the Confederate General Holmes attacked
Prentiss at Helena, Arkansas, with eight thousand men
and was defeated by a force hardly more than half as
numerous. This was the final effort to relieve Vicks-
burg and was made too late to have been effective un-
der any circumstances. There were thirty-one thousand
six hundred prisoners surrendered at Vicksburg and
six thousand at Port Hudson. When Grant entered
the city, it was a community of cave-dwellers. Living
quarters had been dug in the sides of the clay cliffs
that afforded secure protection from shells that were
constantly thrown into the town from Porter's boats
upon the river. " The Father of Waters " was now in
Federal hands from source to mouth. Fiercely as the
conflict raged in the East, dwellers along the banks of
the Mississippi knew only peace.

History's verdict will probably fix Grant's master
stroke, as a military tactician, at Vicksburg rather than
at Richmond or Appomattox. There is not a career
in the annals of time exactly like his. A discredited
tanner's clerk, who had set out in his fortieth year to
fight such battles as the world never had known, ended
by having command of half a million men and twice
becoming President of the United States. It is more
marvellous than the tale of Joan of Arc!

CHAPTER XVI

**The Mississippi Bubble"

THE only one to give the " Father of Waters " a
bad name was a Scotchman named John Law.
His schemes of " frenzied finance " had no more
to do with the Mississippi than with the Ganges. The
Province of Louisiana never profited to the value of a
livre from all the notes issued in the name of " The Com-
pany of the Indies." Law's tremendous " gamble," is
known in history as " The Mississippi Bubble," and, as
such, it claims space in this volume.

It is the only Scotch twist ever given to the mighty
river.

From the view-point of the bankers of to-day, John
Law was misunderstood. In a broker's opinion. Law's
partner in the "flotation," the Due d'Orleans, "laid
down on him " and caused the failure of an elaborate
financial problem. Had Law hved in the twentieth
century, his methods would have been described as su-
perb finance. He was a promoter, and much is per-
mitted to that branch of the profession in extracting
money from the public. Modern "promoting" con-
sists in unloading upon people who have money se-
curities of real or apocryphal values. The problem is
to sell certificates representing shares in " soulless "
corporations and to get money for them. A writer in
the Bankers' Magazine frankly says:

•277

278 The Mississippi

Like many reformers who succeed in unchaining pent-up
social and financial forces, Law was unable to keep these
forces under command, and for the chaos that resulted he is
held responsible, although no one was more surprised than
he that the spirit of peace and prosperity, which he sum-
moned, changed so soon into a demon of discord and disaster.

There we have the American view-point, exactly as
the failure of the attempt to pool the Great Northern
and the Northern Pacific railroads under the title of
" The Northern Securities Company," in ISlay, 1901,
would have been explained by the small group of New
York bankers and promoters who attempted to carry
the plan into effect. But the French of to-day, as of two
hundred years ago, do not accept Law's ideas of finance.
In less degree, history repeated itself in France when
the Panama Canal " bubble " burst, at the close of the
nineteenth century, and the good name of a more de-
serving man than John Law, the Count de Lesseps, was
branded with similar disgrace. The historic imposition
of the Assignats of 1789 had its counterpart in Civil
War finance of the United States, in 1861-65.

John Law's preparation for a career that made him
so conspicuous in the history of the eighteenth century
was not that by which several of America's successful
multi-millionaires equipped themselves for the acquire-
ment and absorption of other people's money. He did
not enter a broker's office and learn to hypothecate
shares left with him as collateral, or to charge interest
on loans that were not made, or to collect and retain
interest upon stocks or bonds held as margins, and in
that way eventually to become the heartless creature
that the successful stock-broker must be. He did " get
near " to banking methods in Amsterdam, later, as we

"The Mississippi Bubble" 279

shall see, but only after he had failed to carry out plans
of his own.

The father of John Law was a wealthy Edinburgh
goldsmith. At twenty, young John left home, saw
Europe, and returned home an accomplished " specu-
lator." In Law's time, there was not a stock exchange,
and the only means of " speculation " was what is now
indecorously described as " gambling," or " bucking the
tiger." Otherwise, Law's morals were excellent. He
went to Holland to study the financial methods of that
w^onderful people. The Dutch would " plunge " on
anything from a tulip bulb to a new brand of schnapps.
That rich, resolute Republic had inherited all the push
of the Venetians, without their vices. Amsterdam was
the commercial metropolis of Europe. Money could
be had there for two or three per cent. Her celebrated
and mysterious bank promised inexhaustible resources.
Holland's financial system was an enigma. Law
fathomed it before he was thirty years of age. He
was a solver of riddles.

When Law returned to Scotland again and found
that business was stagnant, he suggested a remedy.
He ascribed the commercial lethargy to " a deficiency
of capital." What Law had not learned was the
difference between " capital " and " currency." He
thought them the same. Law's utterances at the time
are historic: " The proprietor needs money to clear up
his land; the manufacturer must have it to multiply
his looms ; the merchant cries for it to extend his opera-
tions." Law's meaning was that every business needs
funds for first materials and manual labour. It was
almost a gleam of our vaunted " protection," our
Government and State land-grants to railroads.

28o The Mississippi

When Law became convinced that the prosperity
of a country is gauged bj'^ the currency in circulation,
he lay awake of nights planning the creation of the
needed conditions. He offered the scheme to his own
country in 1700, but the canny Scots promptly
stamped it " Nae gude! " He exhausted all arguments
that the American " Greenbackers " employed at the
end of the nineteenth century. Then he crossed the
channel and was unsuccessful at Paris, although he had
the favour of the Due d'Orleans. Thence, he went to
Italy. He was told at Turin to get out of the country
and he took the advice. Next, we hear of him in Ger-
many; but no better success attended him. On the
green cloth, however, he won enormous sums. In
Germany, he gathered in fully two million livres. With
this capital. Law hurried to Paris, — much as a young
American takes his fortune, won in a wild-cat mine, to
New York, buys a seat on the Stock Exchange, and
plays broker and banker.

Louis XIV. had just died, after bankrupting the
treasury; but Law knew there were millions of livres
in the stockings, tea-caddies, and strong boxes of the
bourgeoisie throughout the beautiful land of France.
He saw an opportunity to try his experiment, — much
as Dr. Ox, when he reached the sleepy city of Quiquen-
done in the Low Countries, — and he sought his former
patron, the Due d'Orleans, who had become regent.
The way for his historic enterprise was made easy.

The specie circulation in France at the beginning
of 1716 was supposed to be eight hundred million livres,
or, — quoting the French livre as of equal value to the
English shilling,— roughly, $200,000,000. This was
thought to be an intolerable burden, although it was

"The Mississippi Bubble" 281

only one fifth that imposed upon the people of the
United States by the Civil War. Previous fluctua-
tions in weight of the livre were seized upon by Law
to issue demand notes, payable in livres containing a
specified quantity of " silver of established fineness."
Just what was to be " established " was not stated.
This act removed the stigma from the livre, when the
coin was supplanted by Law's paper money. He con-
trived, by that means, to float fifty-nine million livres
(say $15,000,000), of his paper! A mere bagatelle, as
shown by the ease with which shares of the United
Ship-building Company, having a capital of $100,000,-
000, were put out in this country.

On January 1, 1719, the regent, in the name of
France, took possession of Law's bank, due to some
dispute over *' graft " coming to him. His first act
was to discredit Law by omitting from the faces of the
notes the words, " of the same rate and fineness." The
printing-presses then got busy and, in eleven months'
time, issued ten hundred and ten million livres of paper
money. Let us call this $252,000,000.

Here is where the name of the Mississippi becomes
associated with Law. While the bank was in his hands,
he and his partners had been granted the exclusive privi-
lege of trading to the French possessions on the con-
tinent of America. This single fact has attached to
Law's bold financiering in France the name of " The
Mississippi Bubble." The charter also included the
West Indies and " all countries to the east of the Cape of
Good Hope." Law had incorporated under the title
of " The Company of the Indies." This corporation
soon absorbed remarkable powers. It " took over "
the mint, to coin the livres any weight its directors

282 The Mississippi

chose; it engaged to lend to the Government sixteen
hundred milhon hvres ($400,000,000) , at three per cent.,
and to do this the bank was restored to Law on Feb-
ruary 22, 1720. Five days later, the infamous arret was
issued which prohibited any corporation or individual
from possessing any bullion, or more than five hundred
livres in specie. The notes of the Company of the
Indies were made the only legal tender. This com-
pelled all hoarders of money to deposit it in the bank
and to receive notes therefor. The value of a French
mark of silver had been forty livres; but, on INIarch
5th, an arret appeared fixing the value of the mark of
silver at eighty livres. This was semi-repudiation; it
enabled Law to settle at one half, hut that was not
where the high finance came in. It was a lure to draw
into the company all the silver still outstanding. This
is made clear by the next step. The announcement
was issued that after April 1st, the value of the mark
of silver would only be seventy livres and after May
1st, only sixty-five livres. That was a " hurry up "
order of the rankest kind. The idea was worthy of Wall
Street. Naturally, unthinking men desired to get as
much paper for their coin as possible, and tlie rush to
the bargain counter was unabated. In three weeks,
in anticipation of the impending reduction in value of
the mark. Law was given forty-four million livres of
coin for his worthless paper. Thus, and through other
channels, this frenzied financier issued, between March
1st and May 2d, notes equal to 1,626,672,910 livres.
All told, notes were out for 2,235,085,590 livres, or
double the average amount of money in France. This
proves that people in other parts of Europe, looking
for " good things," got " stung."

*' The Mississippi Bubble " 283

" In less than three weeks after the last issue of
notes," says the unknown banker, writing in the
Bankers' Magazine, " the bank was murdered by the
Government: without that interference, the bank was
due to have lived exactly three months longer." The
misfortune that deprived Law of three additional
months, in which to rob the people of Europe, appears
to grieve the banker-author deeply. He had practi-
cally gathered in every livre of loose change in the
kingdom ; a fairly reasonable man would think the hour
to stop had struck.

The collapse in value of the paper money was
greater than that which came to the bills of the South-
ern Confederacy.

In the opinion of the editor of the Bankers'
Magazine^

The fatal errors of Law's " system " were : First, He held
that paper money, if it rested upon any basis of solid wealth
besides coin, was just as sound and as firmly established as
if represented by specie in the vaults of the issuer. Second,
He believed that an act of Government could give the potency
and value of money to paper which had not that support
of coin.

Similar theories have been argued in both Houses
of the Congress of the United States during the last
generation. Law's opportunity was offered by the re-
vulsion of sentiment in France following the death of
Louis XIV. During the King's life, he had been the
object of popular adulation; but hardly was he laid in
the grave before his statues were stoned and his name

1 Banker's Magazine, 1874.

284 The Mississippi

was execrated.^ Law had his play, however. He made

money " plenty."

1 Charles Mackay's History of the Mississippi Scheme is worth
reading; Emerson Hough's novel is highly entertaining.

o
1—1

a
o

<1
02

CHAPTER XVII

Great Cities of the Valley

FIVE great cities have developed along the Mis-
sissippi Valley. The one farthest north, Min-
neapolis, is at the head of navigation and within
six hundred miles of the river's source. The one
farthest south, New Orleans, is one hundred and twenty
miles from the river's mouth. Community of interests
makes of Saint Paul and Minneapolis one city. Saint
Louis owes its location to the nearby outlet of the Mis-
souri. Memphis occupies a point almost on an air line
between the industrial and commercial centres of the
North-east and the growing South-west.

Rivers are the foster-mothers of communities, small
or large. In most cases, streams upon which large
cities stand have been made to serve purposes of foreign
or domestic commerce. When too shallow for ships
that go down to the sea, they have been canalised and
made to furnish internal transportation. Moscow and
Madrid are two exceptional examples of cities indepen-
dent of usable rivers. Madrid was built by Philip II.
upon what he declared to be " an impossible site." It
stands upon the top of a truncated cone, having a de-
sert of sage-bush upon three quarters of its circum-
ference. Cairo, " the City of Saladin," owes much to
the wonderful river that has converted a long canon,
called the Nile Valley, and its own delta into the most

fertile land upon this earth. Paris, as Violet le Due

285

286 The Mississippi

demonstrates, never would have risen to greatness ex-
cept for an island in the Seine that suggested a site
for defence in a period when only the strongest and
most wary survived. Chicago is upon the Great Lakes,
having river outlet through the majestic St. Lawrence.
St. Petersburg has the Neva, London the Thames,
Vienna the Danube, and New York the Hudson and a
salt water strait. Berlin, for example, could do ^^ath-
out the Spree; but every city is made more self-reliant
and prosperous by association with a river, although
boats from across the seas may not come to its wharves.
The Mississippi is navigable for large freight-
carrying steamboats from the Gulf of Mexico to Min-
neapolis, a distance of two thousand one hundred and
seventy-nine miles. With the possible exception of
Memphis, the cities and villages along its banks owe
what they are to the river. Some communities that
promised to achieve greatness have failed of their ap-
parent destinies ; but all are prosperous and their people
are intelligent and happy.

SAINT PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS

The " Twin City " of Minnesota must one day be-
come united in name and municipal government. The
same fantastic, deterrent rivalry exists that deferred
for fifty j'cars a consolidation of Brooklyn and Man-
hattan, although the two cities were only separated by
a narrow strait connecting Long Island Sound with
New York Bay. The union of the two Minnesota
cities would give to that State one community of half
a million people.

Louis Hennepin probably was the first white man

Great Cities of the Valley 287

to see the great fall in the Mississippi, which he named
Anthony after his patron saint: therefore, he may be
credited with discovery of the sites of Saint Paul and
Minneapolis. That was in 1680, sixty years after the
Pilgrims had landed at Plymouth Rock. For nearly
a century, no record exists of any verification of Hen-
nepin's statement. Captain Jonathan Carver, of Con-
necticut, ascended the Mississippi, as far as the fall, in
November, 1776. The island now below the cascade
was then upon its crest. Lieutenant Pike, before set-
ting out upon his historic journey up the river, held
a council with the Indians above the fall. Not long
after (1819), Colonel Leavenworth, with ninety-eight
soldiers, established a stockade upon the heights over-
looking the junction of the Minnesota with the Mis-
sissippi, calling it Fort St. Anthony; but, in 1824, at
General Winfield Scott's suggestion, the name was
changed to Snelling, as a worthy tribute to the gallant
commander of the post. The first Mississippi steam-
boat, the Virginia, ascended to Fort Snelling on May
10, 1823. Steamboat traffic to the head of navigation
reached its highest point in 1857, when ninety-nine boats
plied upon the Upper Mississippi, the annual number
of their trips to Saint Paul exceeding nine hundred and

fifty.

/A town had grown at the east side of the fall,
taking name therefrom. On the admission of Min-
nesota as a State, and later, this town was a candidate
for the capital site. On the other side of the river a
highly important incident occurred. A Swiss watch-
maker, named Perry, tried to establish a home upon
the military reservation surrounding Fort Snelling.
He was driven away and became the first actual settler

288 The Mississippi

at the site of Saint Paul. In 1841, Father Lucien
Galtier built a rude chapel of logs upon the river bluff,
near what was then the steamboat landing, and named
it " The Chapel of Saint Paul." This humble church
gave name to the present capital of the State. The
city's history really begins in 1849, in which year
JNIinnesota was organised as a territory and Alex-
ander Ramsey was appointed its Governor. Statehood
followed in 1858.

JNIeanwhile, another town had begun to form upon
the west bank, at the Fall of St. AnthonJ^ In 1849,
the War Department gave to one Robert Smith, a
member of the House of Representatives at Washing-
ton, a claim to one hundred and sixty acres of land
upon the west bank and guaranteed to him the right
to purchase the water-power upon that side of the river.
It was not the first example of special favours to Con-
gressmen, but memory thereof still lingers in Minnesota.
The new town was called Minneapolis, although legal
titles to land could not be had until 1855. It was in-
corporated as a citj^ in 1867. The city of St. Anthony
was consolidated with Minneapolis in 1872, under the
name of the latter, — the two boroughs being dis-
tinguished as East and West. The State University
was located in Minneapolis, East, bringing much pres-
tige to the combined city. (" Rah, rah, rah! Ski-U-mah
— hoorah! hoorah! Varsity! Varsity! Minne-so-ta! ")
IMinneapolis was by that time the manufacturing centre
of the young State. The power of the fall at that point
was calculated at thirty thousand horses, and mammoth
saw and grist mills rapidly took form to utilise it. The
splendid timber of the Upper Mississippi was " logged "
to INIinneapolis, there to be converted into lumber.

o
O

Great Cities of the Valley 289

Grinding of flour grew to such mammoth proportions
that the output of the Minneapolis mills at present is
set down at eighty thousand barrels per day. The
United States Government in recent years has done
much to maintain the evenness of the water supply at
St. Anthony. A system of reservoirs has been built
for impounding the floods of the Upper Mississippi.
These barrages constitute a unique feature of the
economies of the stream. Like those on the Nile, their
purpose is to secure a more even water volume, and they
minimise the dangers of overflow by restraining the
spring floods. A new dam at Grand Rapids is a small
replica of that at Assuan, with its gates. In some in-
stances, the value of the dams is yet to be demonstrated.
They certainly have proved to be aids to navigation
by small craft. Water storage occurs at the following
points: The Winnebagoshish reservoir, with seventy-
five square miles of surface; Leech Lake reservoir, one
hundred and sixty-five square miles of surface; Pine
River reservoir; Pokegama Lake reservoir, ten square
miles, and Sandy Lake resen'^oir, area nine square miles.

Two features of special pride to the people of Min-
neapolis are Minnehaha Fall and Lake Minnetonka.
The little stream that flows over the rocky ledge and
creates the pretty waterfall often dries up in hot
weather. In the words of Metellus Thomson, " It is
like the Manzanares, at Madrid, it goes out of town in
midsummer." The lake, however, is a charming and
popular warm-weather retreat for the people of the
Twin City.

Saint Paul always has been the capital of the Terri-
tory and State and is its political centre. It was in-
corporated as a city on March 4, 1854, a trifle more

290 The Mississippi

than four years before Minnesota became a State of the
Union. Saint Paul has become the railroad centre of
the North-west. Seven different lines of rails connect
it with Chicago. Two trunk lines to the Pacific coast
start there. A magnificent State Capitol has recently-
been finished, at a cost of $5,000,000, and a Roman
Catholic cathedral that will excel in beauty any re-
ligious structure west of St. Patrick's cathedral in New
York. The Municipal Auditorium will seat ten thou-
sand people. An island in the river has been converted
into a public park and a comprehensive system of free
public baths established.

SAINT LOUIS

The proud claim of the people of " The Mound
City " is that Saint Louis " stands at the heart of the
Continent." Its site is very near the centre of the JNIis-
sissippi Valley, the basin of North America. It is
about midway between Saint Paul and New Orleans;
Pittsburg and Denver. Topographicall}^ it covers a
series of ridges between the Mississippi, the Missouri,
and the Meramec. Its general altitude is about two
hundred feet above the rivers, rising gradually to that
height. It extends about twenty miles along the west
bank of the Mississippi. It is one thousand three
hundred and seventy miles from the Gulf of Mexico;
one hundred river steamers are often seen at one time
upon its levee.

fSaint Louis dates from the arrival of Pierre Le-
clade Liguest, a New Orleans merchant who had ob-
tained an exclusive concession to trade in furs on the
upper Mississippi and JNIissouri rivers, and took up his

Great Cities of the Valley 291

claim on February 15, 1764. Auguste Chouteau, a
companion, cleared the first ground and built the first
house. Liguest had left New Orleans, with a party
of French voyageurs, in August of 1763, for the avowed
purpose of founding a city on the Mississippi near the
mouth of the Missouri. Shortly after his arrival in
the north, the cession to Great Britain of the Illinois
country occurred and many French, who disliked the
British, moved to Liguest's settlement on the west bank
of the river, already named in honour of the patron
saint of the King of France. When the territory of
Louisiana was retroceded to Spain, the French Gov-
ernor at Saint Louis died of a broken heart.

St. Ange de Bellerive became Governor- General in
1765. The first grants of land were made by Liguest,
— who often wrote his name Leclade in deeds, — to
Bellerive on August 11, 1766. The Spaniards never
exercised any control over the settlement; but, in 1767,
word was received that Spain intended to garrison the
site. This announcement created alarm and threats of
resistance. The fort was not built and the troops never
arrived. Bellerive was a warm friend of Pontiac, the
Ottawa chief, and after the Spaniards left, the famous
Indian visited him. At that time, with the single ex-
ception of Red Jacket, Pontiac was the greatest of all
living American Indians. His dream was to drive the
English into the Atlantic. To this day, French de-
scendants at Saint Louis believe that Pontiac was
poisoned by the British.

Don Alexander O'Reilly came from Spain to New
Orleans to assume command of the Louisiana territory.
He had three thousand troops and his reception by the
French population was very cold. He sent a deputy.

292 The Mississippi

Piernas, to Saint Louis in 1770. This man was suc-
cessful in ingratiating himself with the people. When
an Osage chief announced the intention of killing Pier-
nas, he was himself slain by a Shawnee. True to the
mercurial French temperament, the Osage was buried
with much honour upon the eminence that afterward
was to give to Saint Louis the title of " The Mound
City."

(The Governor who succeeded Piernas was popular,
but he was replaced by Don Fernando de Leyba in
1778. The American Revolution was then in progress.
Both French and Spanish hated the English and sym-
pathised with the Colonists. An intrenchment was
thrown around the village; but, in 1780, a party of
Canadian-Frenchmen, aided by one thousand up-river
Indians, attacked the town, killed forty of its citizens,
and took as many more prisoners. Francis Crozat, the
next commander, so thoroughly fortified the place that
it never again was attacked. The first recorded " June
rise " of the Mississippi occurred in 1785 and threw the
citizens of the town into consternation. Saint Louis
w^as flooded to the present line of Main Street. The
immediate effect of the overflow was to drive settlers
from the lowlands to the city upon the hills; but, in
1790, it did not possess a post-office, ferry, or manufac-
tory of any sort. The Saint Louis merchant of that
time kept his stock in a chest holding a few tools, rifles,
shot, powder, and red paint. A ferry was established
in 1797, that is still in operation.

The history of Saint Louis really begins with the
Louisiana Purchase (1803) that joined the destiny of
that vast tract of territory with the United States.
Lewis and Clark built their flat-boats and outfitted

S— '

-M

-IJ'

_&c

>»

• ^

Great Cities of the Valley 293

their epoch-making expedition up the Missouri and
down the Columbia River at this thriving village, then
having a population of six thousand: but their report
makes scant mention of the natural advantages of the
site. Lieutenant Pike began his memorable trip up
the Mississippi from the budding city. The first news-
paper in the West, The Republic, was founded there in
1804.

Jean N. Nicollet, whose footsteps we have followed
in the Itasca wilderness, was the first eulogist of Saint
Louis. " Future generations will inquire of us all that
concerns the origin of this Queen City of the majestic
Mississippi," he wrote in 1838. " Saint Louis was born
French," he said in 1842, " but her cradle was hung in
the forest, her infancy stunted by unavoidable priva-
tions, and her early maturity retarded by the terror of
the Indian cry. Abandoned by her Castilian guard-
ians, she was reclaimed by her first parent only to be
once more repudiated."

The great Territory of Missouri was organised in
1813 and in the same year the first brick house was
built in the young city, then boasting sixteen thousand
people. Saint Louis was so remote from the Atlantic
seaboard that her citizens hardly knew of, the second
war with Great Britain. The town had been incor-
porated in 1809 and a city charter was secured in 1822.
(General Lafayette was warmly welcomed in 1825.
Cholera ravaged the city in 1849. The first railroad
was opened in 1851. The Missouri Compromise gave
a check to the city's growth; at the beginning of the
Civil War, owing to the attitude of the Governor of
Missouri, it became turbulent, like Baltimore, because
many of its people believed Missouri to be in fact, as

294 The Mississippi

well as in name, a Southern State and obligated to
secede from the Federal Union.

Saint Louis was swept by a tornado on May 27,
1896. The storm approached from the north-west,
crossed the city from Tower Grove Park to East Saint
Louis, on the Illinois bank of the Mississippi, destroy-
mg $15,000,000 worth of property.

The phenomenal growth of Saint Louis is indicated
by an eight-fold increase in its assessed valuation in
forty years. It occupies a unique position among all
municipalities of the United States. It is a free city,
absolutely independent of the county government. It
has its own executive, judiciary, and legislature. In
Tower Grove Park is a mulberry tree, reared from a
slip brought from Shakespeare's grave at Stratford-on-
Avon by the late Adelaide Neilson. Unlike New
Orleans, the French characteristics of Saint Louis have
almost disappeared, although the French language is
spoken in many households. It is to-day the most
German city in the American Republic, except
Milwaukee.

MEMPHIS

Memphis occupies the only site on the Mississippi
adapted for a town of large size between the mouth
of the Ohio and Natchez. Prior to the treatj^ of II-
defonso, the Spaniards built a fort there; but the his-
tory of the city begins with a grant from the State
of North Carolina to John Rice, by which, for ten
pounds sterling per hundred acres, paid to the State,
Rice acquired five thousand acres of land upon Chicasa
Bluff. This elevated plateau had been the home of the

■^

^-^

t(,

-S

•^

1-^

54-1

--^

-1— '

4—

«fH

PLH

-t-T

;>.

Great Cities of the Valley 295

Chicasa branch of the great Muskhogean tribe. The
grant was recorded on June 24, 1784. The irregular
tract began one mile below the mouth of Wolf River
and extended north many miles: a description of the
plot is very complex. Upon this five thousand acres,
a large part of Memphis stands.

John Rice was owner of large tracts of land in mid-
dle and eastern Tennessee, — a very energetic man. He
removed from North Carolina to Nashville soon after
entry of these lands, and was killed by Indians in
1791.^ Judge Overton, in 1794, bought for $500 from
Elisha Rice, brother and an heir of the deceased owner,
the Chicasa Bluff tract. The Judge was timid regard-
ing the title to the land and insisted that Elisha Rice's
three brothers join in the transfer. Next day after
purchase, Overton conveyed an undivided half interest
in the land to General Andrew Jackson. The two men
were bosom friends, and the purchase was doubtless on
joint account.

The North-west, except a settlement at Saint Louis,
was unpeopled west of the Ohio. The Mississippi
Valley was without population, except at Natchez and
New Orleans. Jackson sold three quarters of his half
interest, so that Chicasa Bluff was owned thus : Judge
Overton, one half; Andrew Jackson, one eighth; Wil-
liam Winchester, one eighth; and James Winchester,
one quarter. The property remained in these hands
until President Madison's administration, when Isaac
Selby and Andrew Jackson were appointed a commis-
sion to negotiate a treaty with the native tribes. By
a covenant, signed October 19, 1818, the Chicagaws
surrendered all claim to lands lying north of the

1 Haywood's History of Tennessee.

296 The Mississippi

Tennessee boundary. Memphis was plotted in the fol-
lowing year, while General Jackson was in Florida.
Changes in the river front rendered a re-survey of the
Rice tract difficult. Many years of litigation followed:
but the Jackson treaty of 1818 extinguished all
the Indian titles. There was a grant to one John
Ramsey that conflicted, and although no considera-
tion was mentioned, its genuineness never was ques-
tioned.

! Memphis was named after the ancient city on the
Nile, which stood twenty miles south of the present
capital of Egypt, Cairo. The new Memphis was laid
off to the cardinal points, parallel with the Mississippi,
and upon the bluff, twenty-five to thirty feet above the
highest flood. A cluster of islands in the river north
of the city was known as " Paddy's Hen and Chickens " ;
three miles below is President's Island, containing sev-
eral thousand acres of land, mostly fertile.^ The first
mayor of Memphis, M. B. Winchester, took office in
March, 1827.

During the Civil War, Memphis became a point of
strategic importance in General Grant's campaign
which ended with the siege and capture of Vicksburg.
Major-General Washburn put the city under martial
law on July 2, 1864; but the rights of private property
were fully respected and the order was revoked on July
2, 1865.

Among heroes of the city. Colonel David Crockett
is the immortal figure. He crossed the Mississippi
from Memphis for the last time on his way to Texas
and to his glorious death at the Alamo, in San Antonio.
He had spent considerable time in Memphis in 1823 and

1 History of Memphis, by James D. Davis, p. 29.

•:: H

"+j

>^.

• r-l

j-t

Great Cities of the Valley 297

the local history literally teems with stories of Crockett.
Thomas H. Benton's name is also associated with the
early days of the city. An anecdote of Abraham Lincoln
is recorded by Davis : "In the summer of 1831, a steam-
boat bound up the river touched at Foy's Point, opposite
INIemphis. A young man landed and asked one Wap-
panocha Furgason for work, saying he had been robbed
on the boat. He was put to chopping wood and worked
until he had earned money enough to proceed to his
home in Illinois."

The revival season of Lorenzo Dow, in 1826, is
mentioned in all histories of Memphis. The parson is
described by the historian thus : " He was below me-
dium height, awkward, with swaggering walk and
gesture; but he possessed much natural drollery
by which he could rouse his hearers from tears to
laughter."

The recent growth of Memphis has been pheno-
menal.

NEVr ORLEANS

After Quebec and Mont-Real, New Orleans became
the "dream town" of France in the New World. It rose
upon the wreck of John Law's preposterous Mississippi
scheme which almost bankrupted the people of France
but served to draw universal attention to the Province
of Louisiana, that up to that time had received little
popular thought. The first act of Bienville's second
administration as Governor of Louisiana was to select
a site for the capital of the colony. He chose the spot
where now stands the City of New Orleans. There he
erected a stockade. Bienville not only showed his

298 The Mississippi

sagacity but his courage, because he dared to ignore
the preferences of the home government for Manchac,
where communication was open with the Gulf through
the Bayou Manchac and the Amite River. The land
now occupied by the " Crescent City " was marshy and
covered with a sci*ubby growth of semi-tropical verdure.
Bienville foresaw that ships of deeper draught than
those then in use would be built and that the river
must be the city's outlet to the sea. Remember his Cana-
dian birth and his close acquaintance with the gigantic
St. Lawrence, — the one river of this continent great
from beginning to end.

Then followed the capture of Pensacola, its re-
capture bj'- the Spanish, through bad faith of the Span-
ish commander at Havana, to which port the two French
corvettes carried their prisoners only to be seized, loaded
with Spanish troops, and sent back for the reversal of
a short-lived victory. But, additional aid coming to
Bienville at Mobile, whither he had gone, he returned
to Pensacola and turned defeat into complete victory.
Deserters from the French to the Spanish were sum-
marily punished with death. Bienville began to en-
counter renewed opposition to the transfer of the seat
of government to the site of the capital of his choice.
An unexampled overflow of the Mississippi that year
(1719) was urged, with much force, against the lo-
cation. Hubert, a special messenger from the King
of France, insisted upon Natchez; but his pleas were
inspired by self-interest, because he was a large land-
owner there. Bienville promptly exposed this propen-
sity to " graft " and stood firmly by his choice. Three
agents of the Company of the Indies appear to have
had more power than Bienville or the royal commis-

L'Uuion Francaise, New Orleans.

Moss-eovered Oak, Audubon I'ark, New Orleans.

Great Cities of the Valley 299

sioner, for they fixed the capital at New Blloxi, on the
bay of that name. Extortionate taxation was then
imposed upon the colonists of Louisiana by the com-
pany's agents. Not until 1722 was the site chosen by
Jean Baptiste Lemoyne de Bienville officially pro-
claimed as the capital of the vast province. The exiles
from Acadia settled there in 1765. The people of the
town rose to arms in 1768, against the cession of Louisi-
ana to Spain, but were compelled to submit under
the menace of a large Spanish force in 1769. Two fires
devastated the city, the first in 1788 and the second in
1894. The destiny of New Orleans followed that of
the Louisiana Province, which was returned by Spain
to France in 1800 and by France ceded to the
United States. Aaron Burr's conspiracy was defeated
in 1807 and the battle of New Orleans occurred in
1815.

An interesting incident in early colonial days was
the arrival of " the Casket Girls," in the spring of
1728. Unlike predecessors, they had not been taken
from correctional institutions but were daughters of
respectable, although poor, bourgeoise parents. When
they sailed from France, the India Company gave to
each girl a casket containing some useful articles of
dress, and this fact gave to them the designation of
" les filles a la cassette/' The Ursuline Sisters cared
for them until they were married: owing to their good
character, it subsequently became a matter of distinc-
tion to claim descent from " the Casket Girls," rather
than from the earlier arrivals.

To this day, the nomenclature of the streets tells
the story of French and Spanish domination. Names
chosen by Le Blond de la Tour, when he plotted the

300 The Mississippi

city, remain, especially such evidences of French-Creole
gallantry as the pretty feminine names of Suzette, An-
gelic, Annette, and Celeste. Several hundred saints
thus honoured proves the religious character of the
early citizens. Although the Creoles were overawed
by the Spaniards, during the French Revolution they
imitated the classic tendencies of their " dear Paris,"
and named many streets in honour of Greek and Roman
heroes or statesmen. The three graces, twelve gods
persona grata on Olympus, and the nine muses were
thus honoured. The water-works had place in the
streets of the Naiades and Dryades.

, The Creoles regard the language they speak as " a
beautiful French." They are so much a part of New
Orleans that even their caressing, delicious dialect is
worth journeying thither to hear. One can begin at
253 Rue Royale, in " a region of architectural decrepi-
tude,"— where is the snug cottage of " Madame DeJ-
phine," with its bristling, sierra-like ridgepole of tiles,
— and, by the route of the French market, travel
through the dreamland of the Creole quarter, finding
wonderment everywhere. A typical corner exists at
Toulouse Street. A few steps' divergence along that
quiet lane is the French Opera and under its shadow
is the rendezvous of artists, " Au Point d'Orgue,"
where painters have congregated for more than a hun-
dred years to take cognac and absinthe. Once in a
generation, a new door is hung, but nobody remembers
when a key was turned in a lock. It is the abode of
yesterday and to-morrow. Its shabbiness endears it to
Bohemia, — and all the French quarter, like the Quartier
Latin of Paris, is Bohemian. At St. Anne and Royale
is the " Cafe des Exiles," where every chord of a happy-

A Typical Corner,

Cafe ties Artists.

Great Cities of the Valley 301

hearted life finds its responsive note. The Creole girl
is always attractive, rarely beautiful, and, as a matron,
she grows old with the same gracefulness that marks
eveiy step in her life. Mr. Cable is the troubadour
of the Creole; one may not intrude upon a field so
pre-empted.^

There is a street play and pageant in New Orleans
every February. " Mardi Gras " is conducted by car-
nival secret societies. It is a French importation,
brought over during the reign of Louis Philippe. Long
preparation and lavish expenditure of money charac-
terise these parades and the ball that closes the
festivities.

Voudouism is still practised among the negroes dwell-
ing upon the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. The an-
nual service of worship of the Evil One occurs on St.
John's eve.

The Cathedral of St. Louis, on Chai'tres Street,
the fourth church upon the site, embodies the history of
Catholicism in Louisiana. The Capuchins originally
gained control of the religious element in the province;
but in 1721, Father Charlevoix, a Jesuit missionary,
came from Canada, by the familiar Illinois and Mis-
sissippi rivers route. He found the Capuchins so
thoroughly intrenched that he threw mud at their service.
Some of his reports sent back to France contain
venemous attacks upon the morality of the Capuchin
priesthood. Similar bitterness between various

1 The writer of this volume is under obligations to Professor
Armour Caldwell for original photographs of the French quarter of
New Orleans. Mr. Louis Jonte Header, formerly of New Orleans,
kindly placed his library at the writer's disposal. If one wants to
understand the New Orleans of the eighteenth century he must study
Mr. Cable.

302 The Mississippi

branches of the Christian faith is seen in Jerusalem
to-day. Rehgiously, the Louisiana territory was ul-
timately divided into three districts. The Capuchins
retained jurisdiction from the mouth of the Mississippi
to that of the lUinois. The barefoot Carmelites were
given stewardship over Mobile, Biloxi, and Alebamos.
The Jesuits had the country watered by the lUionis
and Wabash, practically what is to-day Indiana and
Illinois. Governor Bienville was very intolerant; no
religion except that of the Roman Church was permitted.
All Jews were expelled. The arrival of the Ursuline
nuns in 1727 is an important episode in the history of
the city. They occupied a convent on Conde (now
Chartres) Street from 1730 until 1824, when they re-
moved to spacious quarters on the river's bank, south
of the city. During the intervening century, they toiled
namelessly and without earthly reward in the hospitals
and among the poor. War between the Capuchins and
Jesuits was most violent in 1755; but the former won
and the latter were expelled. All Jesuit property was
seized and sold at auction for $180,000, an enormous sum
in those times.

When Spain resumed authoritj^ over the province,
six Capuchin friars arrived from Spain in 1789, chief
of whom was Father Sedella, remembered best as
" Father Antoine." He was fifty years curate ; but the
actual founder of the cathedral appeared in the person
of Andreas Almonaster-y-Roxas, who, in 1792, under-
took to build a superb edifice in place of one destroyed
by fire. At the time the United States took control of
Louisiana (1803), there was not in the entire colony a
single Protestant church or Jewish synagogue. The
religious heroes of New Orleans are Father Dagobert,

fcJD

Great Cities of the Valley 303

Superior of the Capuchins in Louisiana, a typical
Amador of Turpenay, and Padre Antonio, mentioned
above under his French name. The latter came from
Madrid as Commissioner of the Holy Inquisition; but
the then Governor of Louisiana, Don Eslevan Miro,
promptly told the monk that heretics were not to be
arrested, tried, or burned while he held the post. The
zealous priest was forcibly shipped to Cadiz; but
he returned as a humble servant of the Faith to
become universally beloved.

Jean Lafitte, smuggler, pirate, and hero, the an-
tithesis of all that was good or noble, belongs to any
sketch of New Orleans, however brief. He has been
mentioned in our account of the final grapple with Great
Britain upon the Plain of Chalmette. His loyalty pre-
ceding that important event, at a time when such
fidelity was ungratefully received, and the splendid
heroism of Lafitte and his Baratarians in that decisive
battle go far to atone for his lawless acts.

In taking farewell of the grand river at New
Orleans, one comprehends for the first time the enor-
mous assemblage of forces concentrated in its majestic
movement toward the Gulf. It has received its last
affluent. The Mississippi, as we see it, is the product
of the drainage of one third of the territory of the
United States (exclusive of Alaska and the colonies),
divided into the following basins, with their respective
areas in square miles: The Missouri River, 518,000;
the Upper Mississippi, 169,000; the Ohio, 214,000; the
Arkansas and White, 189,000; the St. Francis, 10,500;
the Red, 97,000; the Yazoo, 13,850; and thirty small
tributaries, 28,688. This aggregates a drainage area
of 1,240,038 square miles.

304 The Mississippi

TO THE RIVER

" Chiicagna " and " Mechesepe " — these are names for Missis-
sippi,

Dead are now the scalping warriors! But the music of the

river,
And the sweet, syllabic rhythm of its name, shall live for

ever.

M. V. Moore, Harper's Magazine, 1883.

Men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.

Tennyson, The Brook.

The Tomb of Domiuique You, the IMiate Hero of Chalmette.

South I»a.ss, Kear Kaiige Lighthouse.

INDEX

Admiral's Map, the, 3-5, 63

Alexander VI., Pope, and his Bull
of 1493, 17

Allen, Lieut., U. S. A., his bitter-
ness toward Beltrami, 117

Allouez, Father, brings back a
name for the great river, 43

A-ze-wa-wa-say-ta-gen portage
between Red River of the North
and Mississippi, 142, 155

Beaulieu, Henry, famous guide
and woodsman, 133, 143

Beltrami, Giacomo C, his trip
down Turtle River to Cass
Lake and thence to Saint Louis,
102-105

Injustice done to, 116

Boutwell, Rev. W. T., guest of
Schoolcraft, at Itasca, 106

states purpose of expedition

of 1832, 107

suggests " ver-i-tas ca-put,"

111
Brower, J. V., estimate of Nicol-
let, 126

estimate of Pike, 100

explorations and surveys,

110, 127, 202-207

Capuchins, troubles between Jes-
uits and, in New Orleans, 302

Cartier, Jacques, voyage of, 18-20
Carver, Jonathan, at the Missis-
sippi, 81, 287
" Casket Girls," the, of Louisi-
ana, 299
Cass, General Lewis, trip to up-
per Mississippi, 99-102
Cass Lake, description of, 161
Chambers Creek, described by H.

Clarke, C.E., 152
Chicago Drainage Canal, 224
Chouteau, Auguste, builder of

first house in Saint Louis, 291
Clarke, Hopewell, C.E., estimate
of Nicollet, (note) 127; 128-
130

his survey of Itasca region,

128-130, 152
Columbus, Christopher, 3, 4, 5, 6
Crockett, Colonel David, a hero of
Memphis, 296

Delta of the Mississippi River,
208

Eagle's Nest Savannah, descrip-
tion of, 164

Eastman, Mary H., her fanciful
account of " Itasca," 117

Elk Lake, beyond Itasca, 148

how named, (note) 150

Fort Snelling, as it is to-day, 175

305

3o6

Inde

Freytas, Father Nicholas, chron-
icle of, 46

Frontenac, a pretty village on
Lake Pepin, 178

Galtier, Father Lucien, gave name
to city of Saint Paul, 288

Gambling on Mississippi steam-
boats, 191-195

Garay, Francisco de, equips Pi-
neda, 7-8

sends Narvaez, 9

Grand Rapids, the barrage at, 289

Groseilliers and Radisson, two
voyages of, 21-42

Harrower, Henry D., his valuable
investigations at Mississippi
sources, (note) 127

Hennepin, Father Louis, discov-
ers and names St. Anthony's
Fall, 66

Houghton, Dr. Douglas, his ac-
count of Schoolcraft expedition,
114-116

Iberville, Pierre Le Moyne d', gov-
ernor of Louisiana, 74-76

Inland Waterways Commission
and its purposes, 233

Inquisition, attempt to introduce
the, in Louisiana, 303

Itasca Lake, description of, 146

• how named, 111

■ length of, 146

Itasca State Park, description of,
2(|2

Jefferson buys Louisiana, 90
Jesuits, trouble between Capu-
chins and, in New Orleans, 302

Joliet, Louis, his first expedition,

45
his second expedition, 50

Lafayette, Marquis de, his visit
to Saint Louis, 293

Lafitte, Jean, smuggler hero of
battle of New Orleans, 245-
252, 303

Lake Pepin, description of, 176

La Salle, Sieur de, first visit to
France, 47

second trip to Northwest, 56

third trip : visits Missis-
sippi's mouth, 68

Law, John, and " The Mississippi
Bubble," 88, 277-284

Leavenworth, Colonel, at Fort St.
Anthony in 1819, 287

Le Seuer, adventurer, 76-79

Lewis and Clark at Saint Louis
in 1803, 93

expedition, 94-96

expedition, value to American

literature, 96

" Libby's," at Sandy Lake, 169

Liguest, Pierre Leclade, founder
of Saint Louis, 290

Livingston, Robert R., and the
Louisiana Purchase, 90

Long, Major, U. S. N., anC Bel-
trami, quarrel of, 104

Louisiana Purchase, the, 85

its area, 91

its cheapness, 92

" Maiden Rock," on Lake Pepin,

and its legend, 176-177
" Mardi Gras," in New Orleans,

301
Marquette's " Narrative," 50-56
Memphis, history of the city, 294

in the Civil War, 270, 272,

296

Index

307

Metoswa Rapids, description of

the, 160
Minneapolis, history of the city,

286
" Mississippi Bubble " and John

Law, 277-284
Mississippi River delta, 208

discoveries at the source, 151

in war, 237-276

• Indian massacres, 237

War of 1812-15, 242

the Civil War, 252

jetties at mouths of, 218

levees, 210

Narrative of a Voyage from

Elk Lake to the Sea, 131
philology of the word, 79

Monroe, James, sent as special

envoy to Napoleon, 90
Morrison, William, visited Lac La

Biche in 1802, 83

Napoleon I., and the Louisiana

Province, 89
Napoleon, the lost town of, 195
Nauvoo, the sacred town of Morm-

onism, 183-188
New Orleans, capture of, by Far-

ragut, 262
French-Creole quarter, 199,

300

history of the city of, 297

Newspaper, first, in upper Missis-
sippi Valley, the Saint Louis
Republic, 293
Nicollet, Jean N., expedition to
sources of Mississippi, 119-130

Pemidji Lake, description of, 159
Pike Rapids, dangerous to " run,"

170
Pike, Zebulon M., U. S. A., ex-

plorations on upper Mississippi,
98
■Indian council at St. An-

thony Fall, 287
" Pillagers," among the, at Turtle

River, 162
Pineda, Alonzo Alvarez de, his

expedition, 7-8
Pokegama Fall, 165
Pokegama Lake, scene of famine,

1850-51, 167

Radisson, Peter Esprit, his manu-
scripts, 21-42

Reservoirs on the upper Missis-
sippi, 289

St. Anthony Fall, considered geo-
logically, 173

St. Cosme, Father, his " Narra-
tive," 71-74

Saint Louis, history of the city,
290

Jean N. Nicollet's comments,

293

Saint Paul, history of the city,
286

Schoolcraft, Henry R., with Cass
expedition, 1820, 100

expedition to Itasca Lake,

106-118

naming of Cass Lake, 100

naming of Itasca Lake, 111

Soto, Hernando de, expedition,
13-15

Spirit Island, story of the, 138-
141

Steamboat traffic on the Missis-
sippi, 228

race between the Lee and

Natchez, 229

Thompson, David, traveller and
astronomer, 81

3o8

Index

Thomson, Metellus, characterises

Minnehaha Creek, 289
Thundering Rapids, description

of the, 167
Timber-cruiser, the, his solitary

life, 134-135
Tonty, Henry de, the one-armed

hero of the Mississippi, 57-62,

72, 74
Turtle River and Beltrami, 105

Upham, Warren, on Radisson
manuscripts, 30, 31, 38, 42

Vaca, Nufiez Cabeza de, his " Re-
lation," 10

Varnhagen's, Count de, defence
of Vespucius, 6

Verendrye, M, de La, in the
Northwest, 82

Vespucius, Americus, his claims,
5-6

Vicksburg, siege of, by General
Grant, 269

Virginia, the first steamer to as-
cend to Fort Snelling, 1823, 287

Voudouism still practised on
shores of Lake Pontchartrain,
301

White Earth Mission, in Chip-
pewa land, 133

White Oak Point, a landmark,
165

Winnebagoshish Lake, descrip-
tion of, 163

Jl Selection from the
Catalogue of

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS

Complete Catalogues sent
on application

merican Waterways

The Romance of the Colorado River

The Story of its Discovery in 1 540, with em account of the Later
ELxplorations, and with SpecieJ Reference to the Voyages of Powell
through the Line of the Great Canyons.

By Frederick S. Dellenbaugh

Member of the United States Colorado River Expedition of 1871 and 1872

435 pages, with 200 Illustrations, and Frontispiece in Color. $3.50 net

" His scientific training, his long experience in this region, euid his eye
for naturcil scenery enable him to make this account of the Colorado River
most graphic euid interestmg. No other book equally good cjui be writ-
ten for many years to come — not until our knowledge of the river is
greatly enlarged." — The Boston Herald.

" Mr. Dellenbaugh writes with enthusiasm and balamce about his
chief, and of the Ccinyon with a fascination that make him disinclined to
leave it, and brings him thirty years later to its description with undimin-
ished interest. — New York Tribune.

The Ohio River

A COURSE OF EMPIRE
By Archer B. Hulbert

Associate Professor of American History, Marietta College,
Author of "Historic Highways of America," etc.

390 pages, with 100 Illustrations and a Map, $3.50 net

An interesting description from a fresh point of view of the interna-
tional struggle which ended with the English conquest of the Ohio Basin,
and includes many interesting details of the pioneer movement on the Ohio.
The most widely read students of the Ohio Valley will find a unique and
unexpected interest in Mr. Hulbert's chapters dealing with the Ohio River
in the Revolution, the rise of the cities of Pittsburg, Cincinnati, and Louis-
ville, the fighting Virginians, the old-time methods of navigation, etc.

"A wonderfully comprehensive and entirely fascinating book." —
Chicago Inter-Ocean.

American W aterways

Narragansett Bay

Its Historic and Romantic Associations and Picturesque Setting

By Edgar Mayhew Bacon

Author of " The Hudson River," " Chronicles of Tarrytown," etc.

340 pages, with 50 Drawings by the Author, and with Numerous
Photographs and a Map. S3. 50 net

Impressed by the important and smgular peurt played by the settlers
of Narragansett in the development of Americain ideas and ideals, and
strongly attracted by the romcintic tales that are inwoven with the warp
of history, as well as by the incomparable setting the great bay affords for
such a subject, the author offers this result of his labor as a contribution
to the story of great American Waterways, with the hope that his readers
may be imbued with somewhat of his own enthusiasm.

" An attractive description of the picturesque part of Rhode Island.
Mr. Bacon dwells on the natural beauties, the legendary amd historical asso-
ciations, rather than the present appeareuice of the shores." — A'^. Y. Sun.

The Great Lakes

Vessels That Plough Them, Their Owners, Theit Sailors, and Their Cargoes /
together with A Brief History of Our Inland Seat

By James Oliver Curwood
244 pages, with 72 Illustrations and a Map. $3,50 net

This profusely illustrated book, as entertaining as it is informing, has
the twofold advantage of bemg written by a man who knows the Lakes
and their shores as well as what has been written about them. The gen-
ercJ reader will enjoy the romeuice attachbg to the past history of the
Lakes and not less the romance of the present — the story of the great
commercial fleets that plough our inland seas, created to transport the
fruits of the earth and the metals that are dug from the bowels of the
eavth. To the business man who has mterests in or about the Lakes, or
to the prospective investor m Great Lakes enterprises, the book will be
found suggestive. Comparatively little has been written of these fresh-
water seas, amd many of his readers will be ameized at the wonderful
story which this volume tells.

jimerican Waterways

The St. Lawrence River

Historical — Legendary — Picturesque
By George Waldo Browne

Author of " Japan — the Place and the People," " Paradise of the Pacific," etc.

385 pages, with 100 Illustrations and a Map, $3.50 net

While the St. Lawrence River has been the scene of many important
events connected with the discovery and development of a large portion
of North America, no attempt has heretofore been made to collect and
embody in one volume a complete and comprehensive nanative of this great
waterway. This is not denying that considerable has been wnritten relating
to it, but the various offerings have been scattered through meiny volumes,
and most of these have become inaccessible to the general reader.

This work presents in a consecutive narrative the most important
historic incidents connected wath the river, combined with descriptions of
some of its most picturesque scenery and delightful excursions into its
legendary lore. In selecting the hundred illustrations ccire has been taken
to give as wide a scope as possible to the views belonging to the river.

The Niagara River

By Archer Butler Hulbert

Professor of American History, Marietta College; author of " The Ohio River,"

" Historic Highways of America," etc.

350 pages, with 70 Illustrations and Maps, $3,50 net

Professor Hulbert tells all that is best worth recordmg of the history
of the river which gives the book its title, and of its commercial present
zind its great commercial future. An immense amount of carefully ordered
information is here brought together into a most entertaming and informing
book. No mention of this volume can be quite adequate that fails to take
into account the extraordinary chapter which is given to chronicling the
mad achievements of that company of dare-devil bipeds of both sexes who
for decades have been sweeping over the Falls in baurrels auid other
receptacles, or who have gone dancing their dizzy way on ropes or wires
stretched from shore to shore above the boilmg, leapmg water beneath.

merican IVaterWays

The Hudson River

FROM OCEAN TO SOURCE

Historical — Legendary — Picturesque

By Edgar Mayhew Bacon

Author of " Chronicles of Tarrytown," " Narragansett Bay," etc.

600 Pages, with 100 Illustrations, including a Sectional Map of the Hudson
River, $3.50 net

" The value of this handsome quarto does not depend solely on
the attractiveness with which Mr. Bacon has invested the whole subject,
it is a kind of footnote to the more conventioneJ histories, because it
throws light upon the life and habits of the earliest settlers. It is a study
of Dutch civilization in the New World, severe enough in intentions to
be accurate, but easy enough in temper to make a great deed of humor,
and to comment upon those characteristic customs eind habits which, while
they escape the attention of the formaJ historian, eure full of significance."

Outlook,

The Connecticut River

AND THE

Valley of the Connecticut

THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES FROM MOUNTAIN TO SEA

Historical and Descriptive

By Edwin Munroe Bacon

Author of " Walks and Rides in the Country Round About Boston," etc.

500 Pages, with 100 Illustrations and a Map. $3,50 net

From ocean to source every mile of the Connecticut is crowded with
reminders of the ecirly explorers, of the Indian wars, of the struggle of the
Colonies, and of the quaint, peaceful village existence of the early days of
the Republic. Beginning with the Dutch discovery, Mr. Bacon traces
the interesting movements emd events which are eissociated with this chief
river of New England.

American Waterways

The Columbia River

Its History — Its Myths — Its Scenery — Its Commerce
By Willieun Denison Lyman

Professor of History in Whitman CoUege, Walla Walla, Washington

430 pages, with 80 Illustrations and a Map, S3.50 net

This is the first effort to present a book distinctively on the Columbia
River. It is the intention of the author to give some special prominence
to Nelson and the magnificent lake district by which it is surrounded.
As the joint possession of the United States and British Columbia, and
as the grandest scenic river of the continent, the Columbia is worthy of
special attention.

American Inland Waterways

Their Relation to Railway Transportation and to the National
Welfare f Their Creation, Restoration, and Maintenance

By Herbert Quick
262 pages, with 80 Illustrations and a Map, $3.50 net

A study of our water highways, and a comparison of them with the
like chaimels of trade and travel abroad. This book covers the question
of waterways in well-nigh all their aspects — their importance to the na-
tion's welfare, their relations to the railways, their creation, restoration, and
maintenance. The bearing of forestry upon the subject in question is
considered, and there is a suggested plan for a continental system of
waterways. There are a large number of illustrations of the first interest.

The Mississippi River

And Its Wonderful Valley Twenty^five Hundred and Fifty

Miles from Source to Sea

By Julius Chambers

Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

In Preparation

Each will be fully illustrated and will probably be published at $3.50 net

1. — Lake George and Lake Champlain

By W. Max Reid

Author of " The Mohawk Valley," " The Story of Old Fort Johnson," etc.

2. — The Story of the Chesapeake

By Ruthella Mory Bibbins

^0:

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "The Mississippi River and its wonderful valley; twenty-seven hundred and seventy-five miles from source to sea"

See other formats