_Nov. 21st._ Marched in the morning. Cam_The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 1 (of 3) To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7.

was very narrow, and the channel blocked up. Were obliged to unload

our peroque and haul her over. The river having swelled a good deal at

this place the ice gave way with myself and two men on it. We seized

the sled that stood by us, with some little baggage on it, and by

jumping over four cracks, the last two feet wide, providentially made

our passage good without losing an individual thing. Encamped opposite

Clear [Platte] river. Killed one deer and one otter. Freezing.

_Nov. 22d._ Were obliged to leave our canoe at Clear river, the river

being closed. Made two trips with our sled. Killed one deer. Distance

five miles.

_Nov. 23d._ Having seen a great deal of buffalo sign, I determined to

kill one the next day--forgetting the elk chase. Encamped nearly

opposite our camp of the 15th and 16th. Thawing. Distance four miles.

_Sunday, Nov. 24th._ Took Miller and Boley and went in pursuit of

buffalo. Came up with some about ten o'clock. In the afternoon wounded

one. Pursued them until night, and encamped on the side of a swamp.

Thawing.

_Nov. 25th._ Commenced again the pursuit of the buffalo, and continued

till eleven o'clock, when I gave up the chase. Arrived at the camp

about sundown, hungry and weary, having eaten nothing since we left

it. My rifle carried too small a ball to kill buffalo; the balls

should not be more than 30 to the pound--an ounce ball would be still

preferable--and the animal should be hunted on horse-back. I think

that in the prairies of this country the bow and arrow could be used

to more advantage than the gun; for you might ride immediately

alongside, and strike them where you pleased, leaving them to proceed

after others. Thawing.

_Nov. 26th._ Proceeded up the river. The ice getting very rotten, the

men fell through several times. Thawing. Distance five miles.

_Nov. 27th._ Took one man and marched to the post. Found all well. My

hunter, Bradley, had killed 11 deer since my departure. Sent all the

men down to help the party up. They returned, accompanied by two

Indians, who informed me they were two men of a band who resided on

Lake Superior, called the Fols Avoins, but spoke the language of the

Chipeways. They informed me that Mr. Dickson's[II-23] and the other

trading-houses were established about 60 miles below, and that there

were 70 lodges of Sioux on the Mississippi. All my men arrived at the

post. We brought from our camp below the balance of 17 deer and 2 elk.

_Nov. 28th._ The Indians departed, much pleased with their reception.

I dispatched Corporal Meek and one private down to Dickson with a

letter, which would at least have the effect of attaching the most

powerful tribes in this quarter to my interest.

_Nov. 29th._ A Sioux, the son of a warrior called the Killeur

Rouge,[II-24] of the Gens des Feuilles, and a Fols Avoin, came to the

post. He said that having struck our trail below and finding some to

be shoe-tracks, he conceived it to be the establishment of some

traders, took it, and came to the post. He informed me that Mr.

Dickson had told the Sioux "that they might now hunt where they

pleased, as I had gone ahead and would cause the Chipeways, wherever I

met them, to treat them with friendship; that I had barred up the

mouth of the St. Peters, so that no liquor could ascend that river;

but that if they came on the Mississippi they should have what liquor

they wanted; also, that I was on the river and had a great deal of

merchandise to give them in presents." This information of Mr. Dickson

to the Indians seemed to have self-interest and envy for its motives;

for, by the idea of my having prevented liquor from going up the St.

Peters he gave the Indians to understand that it was a regulation of

my own, and not a law of the United States; by assuring them he would

sell to them on the Mississippi, he drew all the Indians from the

traders on the St. Peters, who had adhered to the restriction of not

selling liquor; and should any of them be killed the blame would all

lie on me, as he had without authority assured them they might hunt in

security. I took care to give the young chief a full explanation of my

ideas on the subject. He remained all night. Killed two deer.

_Nov. 30th._ I made the two Indians some small presents. They crossed

the river and departed. Detached Kennerman with 11 men to bring up the

two canoes.

_Sunday, Dec. 1st._ Snowed a little in the middle of the day. Went out

with my gun, but killed nothing.

_Dec. 2d._ Sparks arrived from the party below, and informed me they

could not kill any game, but had started up with the little peroque;

also, that Mr. Dickson and a Frenchman had passed my detachment about

three hours before. He left them on their march to the post. Sparks

arrived about ten o'clock at night.

_Dec. 3d._ Mr. Dickson, with an engagee and a young Indian, arrived

at the fort. I received him with every politeness in my power, and

after a serious conversation with him on the subject of the

information given me on the 29th ult., was induced to believe it in

part incorrect. He assured me that no liquor was sold by him, or by

any houses under his direction. He gave me much useful information

relative to my future route, which gave me great encouragement as to

the certainty of my accomplishing the object of my voyage to the

fullest extent. He seemed to be a gentleman of general commercial

knowledge, possessing much geographical information of the western

country, and of open, frank manners. He gave me many assurances of his

good wishes for the prosperity of my undertaking.

_Dec. 4th._ My men arrived with one canoe only. Calculated on

returning them two days later.

_Dec. 5th._ Mr. Dickson, with his two men, departed for their station

[in the vicinity of Thousand Islands, below St. Cloud], after having

furnished me with a letter for a young man of his house on Lake de

Sable [Sandy lake], and _carte blanche_ as to my commands on him.

Weather mild.

_Dec. 6th._ I dispatched my men down to bring up the other peroque

with a strong sled on which it was intended to put the canoe about

one-third, and to let the end drag on the ice. Three families of the

Fols Avoins arrived and encamped near the fort; also, one Sioux, who

pretended to have been sent to me from the Gens des Feuilles, to

inform me that the Yanctongs and Sussitongs,[II-25] two bands of Sioux

from the head of the St. Peters and the Missouri, and the most savage

of them, had commenced the war-dance and would depart in a few days;

in which case he conceived it would be advisable for the Fols Avoins

to keep close under my protection; that making a stroke on the

Chipeways would tend to injure the grand object of my voyage, etc.

Some reasons induced me to believe he was a self-created envoy;

however, I offered to pay him, or any young Sioux, who would go to

those bands and carry my word. He promised to make known my wishes

upon his return. My men returned in the evening without my canoe,

having been so unfortunate as to split her in carrying her over the

rough hilly ice in the ripples below. So many disappointments almost

wearied out my patience; notwithstanding, I intended to embark by land

and water in a few days.

_Dec. 7th._ An Indian by the name of Chien Blanche,[II-26] of the Fols

Avoin tribe, with his family and connections, arrived and encamped

near the stockade. He informed me that he had wintered here for ten

years past; that the sugar-camp near the stockade was where he made

sugar. He appeared to be an intelligent man. I visited his camp in the

afternoon, and found him seated amidst his children and grandchildren,

amounting in all to ten. His wife, although of an advanced age, was

suckling two children that appeared to be about two years old. I

should have taken them to be twins, had not one been much fairer than

the other. Upon inquiry, however, I found that the fairest was the

daughter of an Englishman, by one of the Indian's daughters, lately

deceased; since whose death the grandmother had taken it to the

breast. His lodge was made of rushes plaited into mats, after the

manner of the Illinois. I was obliged to give some meat to all the

Indians who arrived at the stockade, at the same time explaining our

situation. The Chien Blanche assured me it should be repaid with

interest in the course of the winter, but that at that time he was

without anything to eat. In fact, our hunters having killed nothing

for several days, we were ourselves on short allowance.

_Dec. 8th._ An invalid Sioux arrived with the information that the

bands of the Sussitongs and Yanctongs had actually determined to make

war on the Chipeways, and that they had formed a party of 150 or 160

men; but that part of the Sussitongs had refused to go to war, and

would be here on a visit to me the next day. This occasioned me to

delay crossing the river immediately, on my voyage to Lake Sang Sue

[Leech lake], as it was possible that by having a conference with them

I might still prevent the stroke intended to be made against the

Chipeways.

_Dec. 9th._ Prepared to embark. Expecting the Sioux, I had two large

kettles of soup made for them. Had a shooting-match with four prizes.

The Sioux did not arrive, and we ate the soup ourselves. Crossed the

river and encamped above the [Knife or Pike] rapids.[II-27] Wind changed

and it grew cold.

_Dec. 10th._ After arranging our sleds and peroque we commenced our

march. My sleds were such as are frequently seen about farmers' yards,

calculated to hold two barrels or 400 weight, in which two men were

geared abreast. The sleds on the prairie and the peroque were towed by

three men. Found it extremely difficult to get along, the snow being

melted off the prairie in spots. The men who had the canoe were

obliged to wade and drag her over the rocks in many places. Shot the

only deer I saw; it fell three times, and then made its escape. This

was a great disappointment, for upon the game we took now we depended

for our subsistence. This evening disclosed to my men the real danger

they had to encounter. Distance five miles.[II-28]

_Dec. 11th._ It having thawed all night, the snow had almost melted

from the prairie. I walked on until ten o'clock, and made a fire. I

then went back to look for the peroque, and at a remarkable [Little

Elk] rapid in the river, opposite a high piny island, made a fire and

waited for them to come up, when we partly unloaded. I returned and

met the sleds. When we arrived at the place pitched on for our camp, I

sent the men down to assist the peroque. In the afternoon, from about

three o'clock, we heard the report of not less than 50 guns ahead, and

after dusk much shooting on the prairie. I was at a loss to know who

they could be, unless they were Sauteaux, and what could be their

object in shooting after dark. Kept a good lookout. Distance five

miles.[II-29]

_Dec. 12th._ The snow having almost entirely left the prairie, we were

obliged to take on but one sled at a time and treble man it. In the

morning my interpreter came to me with quite a martial air, and

requested that he might be allowed to go ahead to discover what

Indians we heard fire last evening. I gave him permission and away he

went. Shortly after, I went out with Corporal Bradley and a private,

and in about an hour overtook my partizan, on a bottom close to the

river; he was hunting raccoons, and had caught five. We left him; and

after choosing an encampment and sending the private back to conduct

the party to it, the corporal and myself marched on, anxious to

discover the Indians. We ascended the river about eight miles; saw no

Indians, but discovered that the river was frozen over. This pleased

me more, for we would now be enabled to walk three times our usual

distance in a day.

I was much surprised that we saw no Indians. After our return to camp

I was told that a Fols Avoin Indian had met my party and informed them

that in the rear of the hills that bordered the prairie there were

many small lakes which by portages communicated with Lake Superior;

that in one day's march on that course we would find English

trading-houses; that the Chipeways were there hunting; that the Sioux

who had visited my camp on the 29th ult., on hearing the firing, had

prudently returned with his companions to the west side of the

Mississippi, agreeably to my advice. How persons unacquainted with the

searching spirit of trade and the enterprise of the people of the

northwest would be surprised to find people who had penetrated from

Lake Superior to lakes little more than marshes! It likewise points

out the difficulty of putting a barrier on their trade.

All my sleds and peroques did not get up until half-past ten o'clock.

Saw a very beautiful fox, with red back, white tail and breast. My

interpreter called them reynard d'argent [silver fox]. I had no

opportunity of shooting him. Killed six raccoons and one porcupine

[_Erethizon dorsatum_]. Fine day. Distance seven miles.[II-30]

_Dec. 13th._ Made double trips. Embarked at the upper end of the

ripples. It commenced snowing at three o'clock. Bradley killed one

deer, another man killed one raccoon. Storm continued until next

morning. Distance five miles.[II-31]

_Dec. 14th._ We departed from our encampment at the usual hour, but

had not advanced one mile when the foremost sled, which happened

unfortunately to carry my baggage and ammunition, fell into the river.

We were all in the river up to our middle in recovering the things.

Halted and made a fire. Came to where the river was frozen over.

Stopped and encamped on the west shore, in a pine wood ["Pine camp" of

Mar. 4th, 1806]. Upon examining my things, found all my baggage wet

and some of my books materially injured; but a still greater injury

was, that all my cartridges and four pounds of double battle Sussex

powder which I had brought for my own use, were destroyed. Fortunately

my kegs of powder were preserved dry, and some bottles of common

glazed powder, which were so tightly corked as not to admit water. Had

this not been the case, my voyage must necessarily have been

terminated, for we could not have subsisted without ammunition. During

the time of our misfortune, two Fols Avoin Indians came to us, one of

whom was at my stockade on the 29th ult., in company with the Sioux. I

signified to them by signs the place of our encampment, and invited

them to come and encamp with us. They left me and both arrived at my

camp in the evening, having each a deer which they presented me; I

gave them my canoe to keep until spring, and in the morning at parting

made them a small present. Sat up until three o'clock drying and

assorting my ammunition, baggage, etc. Killed two deer. Distance four

miles.

_Sunday, Dec. 15th._ Remained at our camp making sleds. Killed two

deer. Crossed and recrossed several Indian trails in the woods.

_Dec. 16th._ Remained at the same camp, employed as yesterday. Killed

three deer. I wounded a buffalo in the shoulder, and by a fair race

overtook him in the prairie and gave him another shot; but it being

near night left him till morning.[II-32]

_Dec. 17th._ Departed from our agreeable encampment at an early hour.

Found our sleds to be very heavily loaded. Broke one sled-runner and

were detained by other circumstances. Bradley, Rosseau the

interpreter, and myself killed four deer and wounded five others.

Having 11 on hand already, I found it necessary to leave behind some

of my other lading. At night we dug a hole, four feet deep, three feet

wide, and six feet long, in which we put one barrel of pork and one

barrel of flour, after wrapping them up in seven deerskins to preserve

them from the damp; we then filled up the hole and built our fire

immediately over it.[II-33]

_Dec. 18th._ Did not get off until eight o'clock, from the delay in

bringing in our meat. Ice tolerably good. Began to see the Chipeway

encampments very frequently, but had not entirely left the Sioux

country on the western shore. Beautiful pine ridges.

_Dec. 19th._ Were obliged to take to the prairie, from the river's

being open: but the snow was frozen hard and the sleds did not sink

deep, so that we made a pretty good day's journey. Killed one deer

and two otters. River still open. Distance 10 miles.[II-34]

_Dec. 20th._ Traveled part of the day on the prairie and on the ice.

Killed one deer. Heard three reports of guns just at sunset, from the

opposite side of the river. Deposited one barrel of flour. Distance

seven miles.[II-35]

_Dec. 21st._ Bradley and myself went on ahead and overtook my

interpreter, who had left camp very early in hopes that he would be

able to see the river De Corbeau, where he had twice wintered. He was

immediately opposite a large island [Île de Corbeau[II-36]], which he

supposed to have great resemblance to an island opposite the mouth of

the above river; but finally he concluded it was not the island and

returned to camp. But this was actually the [Rivière de Corbeau or

Crow Wing] river, as we discovered when we got to the head of the

island, from which we could see the river's entrance. This fact

exposes the ignorance and inattention of the French and traders, and,

with the exception of a few intelligent men, what little confidence is

to be placed on their information. We ascended the Mississippi about

five miles above the confluence; found it not frozen, but in many

places not more than 100 yards over, mild and still; it had indeed all

the appearance of a small river of a low country. Returned and found

that my party, having broken sleds, etc., had only made good three

miles, while I had marched 35.

_Sunday, Dec. 22d._ Killed three deer. Owing to the many difficult

places we had to pass, made but 4½ miles.

_Dec. 23d._ Never did I undergo more fatigue, performing the duties of

hunter, spy, guide, commanding officer, etc., sometimes in front,

sometimes in the rear, frequently in advance of my party 10 or 15

miles. At night I was scarcely able to make my notes intelligible.

Killed two raccoons. From our sleds breaking down, and having to make

so many portages on the road, made but four miles.[II-37]

_Dec. 24th._ Took the latitude of the Isle de Corbeau, and found it to

be in 45° 49' 50" N. [It is above 46°.] The Mississippi becomes very

narrow above the river De Corbeau; and, as if it were the forks,

changes its direction from hard W. [read N.] to N. E. generally.[II-38]

Distance 10½ miles.[II-39]

_Dec. 25th._ Marched, and encamped at eleven o'clock. Gave out two

pounds of extra meat, two pounds of extra flour, one gill of whisky,

and some tobacco per man, in order to distinguish Christmas Day.

Distance three miles. [Not quite to Brainerd yet.]

_Dec. 26th._ Broke four sleds, broke into the river four times, and

had four carrying-places, since we left the river De Corbeau. The

timber was all yellow and pitch pine, of which there were scarcely any

below. Distance three miles.[II-40]

_Dec. 27th._ After two carrying-places we arrived where the river was

completely closed with ice; after which we proceeded with some degree

of speed and ease. Killed one bear. The country on both sides

presented a dreary and barren prospect of high rocks, with dead pine

timber. Snow. Distance 10 miles.[II-41]

_Dec. 28th._ Two sleds fell through the ice. In the morning passed a

very poor country with bare knobs on each side; but toward evening the

bottoms became larger and the pine ridges better timbered. Bradley and

myself marched 10 miles beyond the sleds. Killed one deer. Distance 12

miles.[II-42]

_Sunday, Dec. 29th._ Cold, windy day. Met with no material

interruptions; passed some rapids. The snow blew from the woods on to

the river. The country was full of small lakes, some three miles in

circumference. Distance 21 miles.[II-43]

_Dec. 30th._ The snow having drifted on the ice retarded the sleds.

Numerous small lakes and pine ridges continued. A new species of pine,

called the French sap pine. Killed one otter [_Lutra canadensis_].

Distance 12 miles.[II-44]

_Dec. 31st._ Passed Pine[II-45] river about eleven o'clock. At its

mouth there was a Chipeway's encampment of 15 lodges; this had been

occupied in the summer, but was now vacant. By the significations of

their marks we understood that they had marched a party of 50 warriors

against the Sioux, and had killed four men and four women, which were

represented by images carved out of pine or cedar. The four men were

painted and put in the ground to the middle, leaving above ground

those parts which are generally concealed; by their sides were four

painted poles, sharpened at the end to represent the women. Near this

were poles with deerskins, plumes, silk handkerchiefs, etc.; also, a

circular hoop of cedar with something attached, representing a scalp.

Near each lodge they had holes dug in the ground, and boughs ready to

cover them, as a retreat for their women and children if attacked by

the Sioux.

_Wednesday, Jan. 1st, 1806._ Passed on the bank of the river [1 m.

above Dean brook] six very elegant bark canoes, which had been laid up

by the Chipeways; also, a camp which we conceived to have been

evacuated about ten days. My interpreter came after me in a great

hurry, conjuring me not to go so far ahead, and assured me that the

Chipeways, encountering me without an interpreter, party, or flag,

would certainly kill me. Notwithstanding this I went on several miles

further than usual, in order to make any discoveries that were to be

made; conceiving the savages not so barbarous or ferocious as to fire

on two men (I had one with me) who were apparently coming into their

country, trusting to their generosity; and knowing that if we met only

two or three we were equal to them, I having my gun and pistols and

he his buck-shot. Made some extra presents for New Year's Day.

_Jan. 2d._ Fine warm day. Discovered fresh sign of Indians. Just as we

were encamping at night, my sentinel informed us that some Indians

were coming full speed upon our trail or track. I ordered my men to

stand by their guns carefully. They were immediately at my camp, and

saluted the flag by a discharge of three pieces; when four Chipeways,

one Englishman, and a Frenchman of the N. W. Company, presented

themselves. They informed us that some women, having discovered our

trail, gave the alarm, and not knowing but it was their enemies, they

had departed to make a discovery. They had heard of us and revered our

flag. Mr. [Cuthbert?] Grant, the Englishman, had only arrived the day

before from Lake De Sable [Sandy lake], from which he had marched in

one day and a half. I presented the Indians with half a deer, which

they received thankfully, for they had discovered our fires some days

ago, and believing it to be the Sioux, they dared not leave their

camp. They returned, but Mr. Grant remained all night.

_Jan. 3d._ My party marched early, but I returned with Mr. Grant to

his establishment on [Lower] Red Cedar Lake, having one corporal with

me. When we came in sight of his house I observed the flag of Great

Britain flying. I felt indignant, and cannot say what my feelings

would have excited me to do, had he not informed me that it belonged

to the Indians. This was not much more agreeable to me. After

explaining to a Chipeway warrior called Curly Head [Curleyhead in text

of 1807, p. 33[II-46]] the object of my voyage, and receiving his

answer that he would remain tranquil until my return, we ate a good

breakfast for the country, departed, and overtook my sleds just at

dusk. Killed one porcupine. Distance 16 miles.[II-47]

_Jan. 4th._ We made 28 points[II-48] in the river; broad, good bottom,

and of the usual timber. In the night I was awakened by the cry of the

sentinel, calling repeatedly to the men; at length he vociferated,

"G--d d--n your souls, will you let the lieutenant be burned to

death?" This immediately aroused me. At first I seized my arms, but

looking round I saw my tents in flames. The men flew to my assistance

and we tore them down, but not until they were entirely ruined. This,

with the loss of my leggins, mockinsons, socks, etc., which I had

hung up to dry, was no trivial misfortune, in such a country and on

such a voyage. But I had reason to thank God that the powder, three

small casks of which I had in my tent, did not take fire; if it had I

must certainly have lost all my baggage, if not my life.

_Sunday, Jan. 5th._ Mr. Grant promised to overtake me yesterday, but

has not yet arrived. I conceived it would be necessary to attend his

motions with careful observation. Distance 27 miles.[II-49]

_Jan. 6th._ Bradley and myself walked up 31 points, in hopes to

discover Lake De Sable [Sandy lake]; but finding a near cut of 20

yards for 10 [two?] miles, and being fearful the sleds would miss it,

we returned 23 points before we found our camp. They had made only

eight points. Met two Frenchmen of the N. W. Company with about 180

[qu. 80?] pounds on each of their backs, with rackets [snowshoes] on;

they informed me that Mr. Grant had gone on with the Frenchman. Snow

fell all day and was three feet deep. Spent a miserable night.

_Jan. 7th._ Made but 11 miles, and then were obliged to send ahead and

make fires every three miles; notwithstanding which the cold was so

intense that some of the men had their noses, others their fingers,

and others their toes frozen, before they felt the cold sensibly. Very

severe day's march.

_Jan. 8th._ Conceiving I was at no great distance from Sandy Lake, I

left my sleds, and with Corporal Bradley took my departure for that

place, intending to send him back the same evening. We walked on very

briskly until near night, when we met a young Indian, one of those who

had visited my camp near [Lower] Red Cedar Lake. I endeavored to

explain to him that it was my wish to go to Lake De Sable that

evening. He returned with me until we came to a trail that led across

the woods; this he signified was a near course. I went this course

with him, and shortly after found myself at a Chipeway encampment, to

which I believe the friendly savage had enticed me with an expectation

that I would tarry all night, knowing that it was too late for us to

make the lake in good season. But upon our refusing to stay, he put us

in the right road. We arrived at the place where the track left the

Mississippi, at dusk, when we traversed about two leagues of a

wilderness, without any very great difficulty, and at length struck

the shore of Lake De Sable, over a branch of which our course lay. The

snow having covered the trail made by the Frenchmen who had passed

before with the rackets, I was fearful of losing ourselves on the

lake; the consequence of which can only be conceived by those who have

been exposed on a lake, or naked plain, a dreary night of January, in

latitude 47° and the thermometer below zero. Thinking that we could

observe the bank of the other shore, we kept a straight course, some

time after discovered lights, and on our arrival were not a little

surprised to find a large stockade. The gate being open, we entered

and proceeded to the quarters of Mr. Grant, where we were treated with

the utmost hospitality.

_Jan. 9th._ Marched the corporal [back] early, in order that our men

should receive assurances of our safety and success. He carried with

him a small keg of spirits, a present from Mr. Grant. The

establishment of this place was formed 12 years since by the N. W.

Company, and was formerly under the charge of a Mr. Charles Brusky

[Bousquai[II-50]]. It has attained at present such regularity as to

permit the superintendent to live tolerably comfortable. They have

horses procured from Red river of the Indians; raise plenty of Irish

potatoes; catch pike, suckers, pickerel, and white-fish in abundance.

They have also beaver, deer, and moose; but the provision they chiefly

depend upon is wild oats, of which they purchase great quantities from

the savages, giving at the rate of about $1.50 per bushel. But flour,

pork, and salt are almost interdicted to persons not principals in the

trade. Flour sells at 50 cts.; salt, $1; pork, 80 cts.; sugar, 50

cts.; coffee, ----, and tea, $4.50 per pound. The sugar is obtained

from the Indians, and is made from the maple tree.

_Jan. 10th._ Mr. Grant accompanied me to the Mississippi to mark the

place for my boats to leave that river. This was the first time I

marched on rackets. I took the course of [Sandy] Lake river, from its

mouth to the lake. Mr. Grant fell through the ice with his rackets on,

and could not have got out without assistance.

_Jan. 11th._ Remained all day within quarters.

_Sunday, Jan. 12th_. Went out and met my men about 16 miles. A tree

had fallen on one of them and hurt him very much, which induced me to

dismiss a sled and put the lading on the others.

_Jan. 13th._ After encountering much difficulty, we [the main party]

arrived at the establishment of the N. W. Company on Lake de Sable, a

little before night. The ice being very bad on [Sandy] Lake river,

owing to the many springs and marshes, one sled fell through. My men

had an excellent room furnished them, and were presented with potatoes

and fille (cant term for a dram of spirits). Mr. Grant had gone to an

Indian lodge to receive his credits.

_Jan. 14th._ Crossed the lake to the north side, that I might take an

observation; found the lat. 46° 9' 20" N. [it is about 46° 46'].

Surveyed that part of the lake. Mr. Grant returned from the Indian

lodges. They brought a quantity of furs and 11 beaver carcases.

_Jan. 15th._ Mr. Grant and myself made the tour of the lake, with two

men whom I had for attendants. Found it to be much larger than could

be imagined at a view. My men sawed stocks for the sleds, which I

found it necessary to construct after the manner of the country. On

our march met an Indian coming into the fort; his countenance

expressed no little astonishment when told who I was and whence I

came; for the people in this country themselves acknowledge that the

savages hold the Americans in greater veneration than any other white

people. They say of us, when alluding to warlike achievements, that we

"are neither Frenchmen nor Englishmen, but white Indians."

_Jan. 16th._ Laid down Lake De Sable, etc. A young Indian whom I had

engaged to go as a guide to Lake Sang Sue [Leech Lake], arrived from

the woods.

_Jan. 17th._ Employed in making sleds, or _traineaux de glace_, after

the manner of the country. Those sleds are made of a single plank

turned up at one end like a fiddlehead, and the baggage is lashed on

in bags and sacks. Two other Indians arrived from the woods. Engaged

in writing.

_Jan. 18th._ Busy in preparing my baggage for my departure for Leech

Lake, reading, etc.

_Sunday, Jan. 19th._ Employed as yesterday. Two men of the N. W.

Company arrived from Fond du Lac Superior with letters, one of which

was from their establishment in Athapuscow [Athapasca], and had been

since last May on the route. While at this post I ate roasted beavers,

dressed in every respect as a pig is usually dressed with us; it was

excellent. I could not discern the least taste of Des Bois [_i. e._,

of the wood on which beavers feed]. I also ate boiled moose's head:

when well boiled, I consider it equal to the tail of the beaver; in

taste and substance they are much alike.

_Jan. 20th._ The men with the sleds took their departure about two

o'clock. Shortly after I followed them. We encamped at the portage

between the Mississippi and Leech Lake [_i. e._, Willow[II-51]] river.

Snow fell in the night.

_Jan. 21st._ Snowed in the morning, but we crossed [Willow portage]

about nine o'clock. I had gone on a few points when I was overtaken by

Mr. Grant, who informed me that the sleds could not get along, in

consequence of water being on the ice [of Willow river]; he sent his

men forward. We returned and met the sleds, which had scarcely

advanced one mile. We unloaded them and sent eight men back to the

post [on Sandy lake] with whatever might be denominated extra

articles; but in the hurry sent my salt and ink. Mr. Grant encamped

with me and marched early in the morning [of the 22d].

_Jan. 22d._ Made a pretty good day's journey. My Indian came up about

noon. Distance 20 miles.

_Jan. 23d._ Marched about 18 miles. Forgot my thermometer, having hung

it on a tree; sent Boley back five miles for it. My young Indian and

myself killed eight partridges; took him to live with me.

_Jan. 24th._ At our encampment this night Mr. Grant had encamped on

the night of the same day he left me; it was three days' march for us.

In the evening the father of his girl came to my camp and stayed all

night; he appeared very friendly and was very communicative; but

having no interpreter, we made but little progress in conversation. It

was late before the men came up.

_Jan. 25th._ Traveled almost all day through the lands, and found them

much better than usual. Boley lost the Sioux pipestem which I carried

along for the purpose of making peace with the Chipeways; I sent him

back for it; he did not return until eleven o'clock at night. It was

very warm; thawing all day. Distance 44 points.

_Sunday, Jan. 26th._ I left my party in order to proceed to a house or

lodge of Mr. Grant's on the Mississippi [opposite Grand Rapids], where

he was to tarry until I overtook him. Took with me my Indian, Boley,

and some trifling provision; the Indian and myself marched so fast

that we left Boley on the route about eight miles from the lodge. Met

Mr. Grant's men on their return to Lake De Sable, they having

evacuated the house this morning, and Mr. Grant having marched

[thence] for Leech Lake. The Indian and I arrived before sundown [at

Grant's house[II-52]]. Passed the night very uncomfortably, having

nothing to eat, not much wood, nor any blankets. The Indian slept

sound. I cursed his insensibility, being obliged to content myself

over a few coals all night. Boley did not arrive. In the night the

Indian mentioned something about his son, etc.

_Monday, Jan. 27th._ My Indian rose early, mended his mockinsons, then

expressed by signs something about his son and the Frenchman we met

yesterday. Conceiving that he wished to send some message to his

family, I suffered him to depart. After his departure I felt the curse

of solitude, although he truly was no company. Boley arrived about ten

o'clock. He said that he had followed us until some time in the night;

when, believing that he could not overtake us, he stopped and made a

fire; but having no ax to cut wood, he was near freezing. He met the

Indians, who made him signs to go on. I spent the day in putting my

gun in order, mending my mockinsons, etc. Provided plenty of wood;

still found it cold, with but one blanket.

I can only account for the gentlemen of the N. W. Company contenting

themselves in this wilderness for 10, 15, and some of them for 20

years, by the attachment they contract for the Indian women. It

appears to me that the wealth of nations would not induce me to remain

secluded from the society of civilized mankind, surrounded by a savage

and unproductive wilderness, without books or other sources of

intellectual enjoyment, or being blessed with the cultivated and

feeling mind of a civilized fair [one].

_Tuesday, Jan. 28th._ [My party joined Boley and myself at Grant's

house to-day. _Wednesday, Jan. 29th._[II-53] Took Miller and proceeded

ahead of my party; reached Pakagama falls about one o'clock; proceeded

to three deserted Chipeway lodges; found a fine parcel of firewood

split; cut down three sap pines and wove the branches into one of the

lodges to protect ourselves from the storm; had a tolerable night.

_Thursday, Jan. 30th._ Miller and myself] left our encampment at a

good hour; unable to find any trail, passed through one of the most

dismal cypress swamps I ever saw, and struck the Mississippi at a

small lake. Observed Mr. Grant's tracks going through it; found his

mark of a cut-off, agreed on between us; took it, and proceeded very

well until we came to a small lake where the trail was entirely hid.

But after some search on the other side, found it; when we passed

through a dismal swamp, on the other side of which we found a large

lake at which I was entirely at a loss; no trail was to be seen.

Struck a [White Oak[II-54]] point about three miles, where we found a

Chipeway lodge of one man, his wife, five children, and one old woman.

They received us with every mark that distinguished their barbarity,

such as setting their dogs on ours, trying to thrust their hands into

our pockets, etc. But we convinced them that we were not afraid, and

let them know we were Chewockomen[II-55] (Americans), when they used us

more civilly.

After we had arranged a camp as well as possible, I went into the

lodge; they presented me with a plate of dried meat. I ordered Miller

to bring about two gills of liquor, which made us all good friends.

The old squaw gave me more meat, and offered me tobacco, which, not

using, I did not take. I gave her an order upon my corporal for one

knife and half a carrot of tobacco. Heaven clothes the lilies and

feeds the ravens, and the same almighty Providence protects and

preserves these creatures. After I had gone out to my fire, the old

man came out and proposed to trade beaver-skins for whisky; meeting

with a refusal, he left me; when presently the old woman came out with

a beaver-skin; she also being refused, he returned to the charge with

a quantity of dried meat, which, or any other, I should have been glad

to have had. I gave him a peremptory refusal; then all further

application ceased. It really appeared that with one quart of whisky I

might have bought all they possessed. Night remarkably cold; was

obliged to sit up nearly the whole of it. Suffered much with cold and

from want of sleep.

_Friday, Jan. 31st._ Took my clothes into the Indian's lodge to dress,

and was received very coolly; but by giving him a dram unasked, and

his wife a little salt, I received from them directions for my route.

Passed the lake or morass, and opened on meadows through which the

Mississippi winds its course of nearly 15 miles long. Took a straight

course through them to the head, when I found we had missed the river;

made a turn of about two miles and regained it. Passed a fork which I

supposed to be [that coming from] Lake Winipie [or Winipeque, _i. e._,

the main Mississippi river coming from Lake Winnibigoshish], making

the course N. W. The branch we took was Leech Lake branch, course S.

W. and W. Passed a very large meadow or prairie, course W.[II-56] The

[Leech Lake branch of the] Mississippi is only 15 yards wide.

Encamped about one mile below the traverse of the meadow.

Saw a very large animal which, from its leaps, I supposed to have been

a panther; but if so, it was twice as large as those on the lower

Mississippi. He evinced some disposition to approach. I lay down

(Miller being in the rear) in order to entice him to come near, but he

would not. The night was remarkably cold. Some spirits which I had in

a small keg congealed to the consistency of honey.

FOOTNOTES:

[II-1] The village which Pike visited is marked on his map on the west,

upper, or left bank of the Minnesota r., which here runs little E. of

N. into the Mississippi. The hill on the point whence the Sioux

saluted him so savagely was the scene of many a more warlike

demonstration in after-years; for here was built Fort St. Anthony,

later known as Fort Snelling, one of the most important and permanent

military establishments in the United States, and for nearly half a

century the most notable place on the Mississippi above Prairie du

Chien. It was erected on the land which Pike secured by the

transaction his text is about to describe, and which extended thence

up the river to include the falls of St. Anthony, and thus the site of

the present great city of Minneapolis, with St. Paul the twin

metropolis of the Northwest. The location of Fort Snelling is in

Nicollet's opinion "the finest site on the Mississippi river"; and I

should be the last to dissent from this judgment, after my enjoyable

visit to the fort in 1873, at the invitation of General Alexander. The

bluff headland is about 105 feet above the water; the two rivers

separated by this rocky point are respectively over 300 and nearly 600

feet broad. The height of Pilot Knob, across the Minnesota r., is

about 250 feet. The plateau on the point of which the fort is situated

stretches indefinitely S. W.; 8 m. direct N. W. are Minneapolis and

the falls. The Mississippi receives the Minnesota at the point of

greatest convexity of a deep bend to the S., duplicating that bend to

the N. on which St. Paul is situated, the two together forming quite a

figure of =S=. Nothing came of Pike's recommendation of this site for a

military post till a report to the same effect was made by Major Long,

after his expedition of 1817, during which he reached the place at 2

p. m., Wednesday, July 16th. On Feb. 10th, 1819, the Secretary of War,

John C. Calhoun, ordered the 5th infantry to proceed to the

Mississippi and establish regimental headquarters at the mouth of St.

Peter's r. A detachment of troops, mustering 98 rank and file, under

Colonel Henry Leavenworth, who had become lieutenant-colonel of that

regiment Feb. 10th, 1818, was first cantoned at New Hope, near

Mendota, Sept. 24th, 1819, and preparations were begun at once for a

permanent structure. The winter of 1819-20 was disastrous from scurvy.

On May 5th, 1820, camp was shifted to a place near a spring, above the

graveyard, and was thereupon named Camp Coldwater. In the spring of

1820 Jean Baptiste Faribault located himself in the vicinity; Governor

Lewis Cass came from his exploration of the upper Mississippi during

the summer, and Lawrence Taliaferro's Indian agency was established as

Camp St. Peter's. As usual, the colonel commanding and the Indian

agent clashed, notably in the matters of medals and whisky. In August,

1820, Colonel Josiah Snelling, who had become colonel of the regiment

June 1st, 1819, arrived and relieved Colonel Leavenworth of the

command. He determined to build on the point originally selected by

Pike. The corner-stone of Fort St. Anthony is supposed to have been

laid Sept. 10th, 1820; and the building was so far forward in the

autumn of 1822 that the troops moved in, though it was not completed.

It is traditional that a tree on which Pike had cut his name was

ordered to be spared in the process of construction; but, if so, it

soon disappeared. On May 10th, 1823, the first steamboat, the

Virginia, reached the fort. It brought among other notables the

Chevalier Beltrami. On July 3d, 1823, Major Long arrived, en route to

his exploration of St. Peter's r. In 1824 General Winfield Scott

visited the fort on a tour of inspection. It does not appear to have

struck anybody before that the name of a professional saint of the

Prince of Peace was absurdly inapplicable to any military

establishment. General Scott very sensibly reported that the name was

"foreign to all our associations," besides being "geographically

incorrect," and recommended the post to be named Fort Snelling, in

well-deserved compliment to the distinguished officer who had built

it. The story of Fort Snelling, from its inception to the end of all

Indian collisions, is an integral and very prominent part of the

history of Minnesota; it is an honorable record, of which citizens and

soldiery may be equally proud--one replete with stirring scenes and

thrilling episodes, which in the lapse of years tradition has

delighted to set in all the glamour of romance. But the most sober

historians have found a wealth of material in the stern actualities of

Fort Snelling. The facts in the case need no embellishment. The

following are some of the many references that could be given to the

early history of Fort Snelling: Occurrences in and around Fort

Snelling from 1819 to 1840, E. D. Neill, M. H. C., II. Part 2, 1864;

2d ed. 1881, pp. 102-42. Early Days at Fort Snelling, Anon., M. H. C.,

I. Part 5, 1856; 2d ed. 1872, pp. 420-438 (many inaccuracies in dates,

etc.). Running the Gauntlet, _ibid._, pp. 439-56, Anon., believed to

be by W. J. Snelling, son of Josiah Snelling. Reminiscences of Mrs.

Ann Adams, 1821-29, M. H. C., VI. Part 2, 1891, pp. 93-112.

Autobiography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro, written in 1864, M. H. C.,

VI. Part 2, pp. 189-255 (specially interesting, as he was Indian

agent, 1819-40).

[II-2] Pike's speech at this memorable conference, the treaty itself,

and a long letter which Pike addressed to Wilkinson in this connection

on the 23d, 24th, and 25th, formed Docs. Nos. 4 and 5 of the App. to

Part 1 of the orig. ed. These are given in full beyond, Chap. V. Arts.

4, 5, and 6, where the text of the treaty is subjected to a searching

criticism in the light of subsequent events. Here we may conveniently

note the names of the chiefs concerned in the transaction. The best

article I have seen upon this subject is that by Dr. Thomas Foster of

Duluth, in the St. Paul Daily Democrat of May 4th, 1854, as cited by

J. Fletcher Williams in Minn. Hist. Coll., I. 2d ed. 1872, p. 379;

this, however, requires some additions and corrections.

1. Little Crow and Little Raven are English equivalents of Petit

Corbeau, which latter is a French version of the name of the

hereditary chiefs of the Kapoja band, borne by successive individuals

through several generations. Pike's Little Crow is said by Long to

have been son of Little Crow, who was himself son of Little Crow; and

Foster identifies Pike's Little Crow "as the grandfather of the

present chief, Little Crow," _i. e._, of one of this name who was chief

in 1854, adding neatly that "he was the Great Crow of all," _i. e._,

the most celebrated of all those who bore the name. This reference

would seem to cover five generations, from Pike's Little Crow backward

to his grandfather and forward to his grandson. Riggs renders Pike's

Little Crow's name Chatanwakoowamani, Who-walks-pursuing-a-hawk; says

that his son's name was Wamdetanka, or Big Eagle, who flourished in

the thirties; and adds that the dynasty became extinct with

Taoyatidoota (or Towaiotadootah), who was the Little Crow of the Sioux

outbreak of 1862. He was a very black crow indeed, this last of the

_Corvidæ_, and was killed by a Mr. Lamson in 1863. Confining attention

now to the one who seems by this reckoning to have been Little Crow

III. of the series I.-V., we find him tabulated by Pike as

Chatewaconamini. We have already found him cited by Long as

Chetanwakoamene, rendered Good Sparrow Hunter. Beltrami, II. p. 191,

presents Chatewaconamani, or the Little Raven, as the chief in 1823.

Featherstonhaugh has a chief he calls Tchaypehamonee, or Little Crow,

living in 1835. Rev. Dr. Neill has in one place Chatonwahtooamany, Petit

Corbeau. Dr. Foster gives the Dakota name as Tchahtanwahkoowahmane,

or the Hawk that Chases Walking. Pike's Little Crow lived many years

after he "touched the quill" (signed his x mark) to the cession, and

was in Washington in 1824. Schoolcraft, who held a council with the

Wahpeton Sioux at Fort Snelling, July 25th, 1832, says, Narr., etc.,

1834, p. 146: "The aged chief Petite [_sic_] Corbeau uttered their

reply. I recognized in this chief one of the signers of the grant of

land made at this place 26 years ago, when the site of the fort was

first visited by the late General Pike." The death of this good man

(in 1834?) occurred from a mortal wound he accidentally inflicted upon

himself in drawing his gun from a wagon, at his village of Kaposia.

The circumstances are narrated with interesting particulars by General

H. H. Sibley, Minn. Hist. Coll., III. 1874, pp. 251-54.

2. The chief here and consistently throughout Pike's book of 1810

called Fils de Pinchow appears in the 1807 text as Fils de Penichon,

Penechon, or Pinechon; but nowhere are we told of whom this eminent

individual was the son. The name seems to have been one to conjure

with; and our curiosity is excited to discover Pinchow I., who was

such a personage that Pike's Fils de Pinchow, or Pinchow II., needed

no other title to glory. On looking up this subject, I find, first,

that "Pinchow," as rendered in the above text, and the three forms

given in the 1807 print, are four variants of a word which is also

written Pinichon, Pinchon, Penition, Pinneshaw, etc., in French or

English; and that these are corruptions of a Dakota word. Thus

Beltrami, II. p. 207, introduces us to one Tacokoquipesceni, or

Panisciowa, as being in 1823 chief of the old village on the St.

Peter's, three miles above its mouth. The shorter name which Beltrami

uses is obviously the same as Pinchow, etc., while the longer one he

uses is the same as that Takopepeshene of which we read in Keating's

Long, I. p. 385: "Wapasha formerly lived in that [old] village, but

having removed from it with the greater part of his warriors, a few

preferred remaining there, and chose one of their number as a leader.

His son Takopepeshene, (dauntless,) now [1823] rules over them." We

read further in Keating's Long, I. p. 419, of the Nanpashene, or

"Dauntless Society," as an association of young braves who feared

nothing: see further in this matter, Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, p. 96.

So the connection of all these words is obvious, though the genetic

relationships of the individuals bearing the name is not so clear. I

suppose that Pike, Beltrami, and Long all refer to one and the same

individual, _i. e._, to the son of that individual whom the warriors

who preferred to remain at the said village chose as their leader. Dr.

Foster, as above cited, says that Pinchon, or Pinichon, etc., was the

grandfather of one Good Road, and in his tribe the most noted chief of

the eastern Sioux; the name conferred upon this chief being

Tahkookeepayshne, or "What is he afraid of?" implying the affirmation

that he was afraid of nothing. This having been corrupted by the

French to Pinchon, etc., and taken up in English as Pinneshaw, etc.,

was readopted by the Sioux themselves as a common noun, rather than a

proper name, to designate a very brave man; so that they would speak

of such or such a one as a pinneshaw. Recurring now to the individual

whom Pike names Fils de Pinchow, we elsewhere find him listed by Pike

under the name of Wyaganage, as a chief of the Gens du Lac and head of

the village Pike visited at the mouth of the St. Peter's; this is the

Way Ago Enagee whose name appears above as that of a signer by his =x=

mark of the grant of land; and such appears to be the only name by

which he became officially known to us. It is spelled differently in

every one of the several places where I have found it in print or in

manuscript; but in no case irrecognizably.

3. We know no more of the Grand Partisan than this name or title. Dr.

Foster supposes him to have been only a principal soldier--certainly

not a chief.

4. "Le Original Leve" is decidedly original! The queer phrase stands

for L'Orignal Levé, given in the text of 1807 as Le Orignal Levé, and

thus nearly right. The individual thus designated is listed on Pike's

tabular exhibit as Tahamie, Orignal leve, and Rising Moose; he is also

mentioned in Pike's letter to Wilkinson of Sept. 23d-26th, 1805, as

Elan Levie. There is no doubt about the meaning of these phrases; for

_orignal_, _orignac_, _oriniac_, _orenac_, etc., are Basque forms of a

name of the moose, which animal, as well as the elk, is also called

_élan_, while _levé_ certainly implies that the animal had arisen, and

was standing on his legs, not that he was in the act of rising. Dr.

Foster evidently did not know what the French phrase should be, for he

presents Pike's peculiar cacographies, and is brought to book about it

by Mr. Williams; but he gives us some interesting particulars of the

chief who bore these names, and I transcribe his remarks in substance.

Tah'amie, L'Orignal Levé, or Standing Moose is believed to be

identical with an aged Indian whom most old Minnesotians knew by the

name of Tammahhaw, who had but one eye and always wore a stove-pipe

hat. He used to boast that he was the only "American" Sioux--by which

he meant that in the war of 1812, when the Sioux sided with the

British, and Little Crow and Joseph Reinville led a war-party against

the Americans, he refused to join them and went to St. Louis, where he

entered the service of the Americans in the employ of General William

Clark. In 1854 he still treasured a commission he had received in 1814

(or May 6th, 1816?) from General Clark. Dr. Foster remarks that if

there is no mistake in the identity, the friendship Tahamie conceived

for Pike stood the test of time, and the two fought together against

our common enemies--a fact which our government should not overlook.

One Joseph Mojou, an old Canadian of Point Prescott, told Dr. Foster

that Tamahaw was called by the voyageurs "Old Priest," because he was

such a talker on all occasions; and Dr. Foster remarks that the Sioux

word _tamwamda_, which resembles this Indian's name, means to

vociferate, reiterate, harangue, etc. Mr. E. A. C. Hatch informed Dr.

Foster that when he traded with the Winnebagoes, and with Wabasha's

band of Sioux, he knew the Indian and had seen the commission issued

by General Clark; also, that the Winnebagoes, who were acquainted with

this Indian, translated his name Nazeekah in their language--this

being their word for the pike, a fish, and _tammahhay_ being the

Dakotan word for that fish. According to J. F. Williams, Minn. Hist.

Coll., III. 1874, p. 15, Tahama or Tahamie was called by the French Le

Bourgne (Borgne), and by the English One-eye, or the One-eyed Sioux,

and that the loss of the eye occurred by accident in a game during his

boyhood. He was born at Prairie à l'Aile, the present site of Winona,

and died in April, 1860, "at least 85 years old, though some who knew

him well place his age at nearly 100." A daguerreotype likeness of

him, procured at Wabasha in 1859 by Hon. C. S. Bryant, is in the

possession of the Minnesota Historical Society.

5. "Le Demi Douzen" is not named elsewhere in this book, and does not

appear at all in the 1807 edition. If the phrase which represents his

name means Half Dozen, or Six, it would be better written Demie

Douzaine, or Demi-douzaine; but we have seen enough of Pike's French

to be already satisfied that he always saluted the letters of the

French alphabet with blank cartridges. The Indian he calls Demi Douzen

is thoroughly identified by Dr. Foster as the father of the present

(1854) chief Little Six, and the chief of the large Sioux village

which was situated 28 m. up the St. Peter's, 3 or 4 m. this side of

the modern Indian village of Shakopee. The father--the one who

attended Pike's conference--was known as Shahkpay, Half Dozen, and

Six; his son as Shahkpaydan, or Little Six, the former being the

second of the name, or Six II., and the latter the third of the name,

or Six III.; but who was the original Half Dozen, or Six I., founder

of this dynasty, we are not informed. Long speaks of Six II. as

Shakpa, chief of the village Taoapa; and Forsyth calls this one "Mr.

Six, a good-for-nothing fellow."

6. "Le Beccasse" of the above text was a stumbling-block. In the 1807

edition the term appears as Le Bucasse. It looks as if it were meant

for La Bécasse, meaning Woodcock. But Dr. Foster (whose text as cited

by Mr. Williams has Le Boccasse) informs us that the phrase should be

written Bras Casse--by which he evidently means Bras Cassé, as he

translates Broken Arm. (Pike's tabular exhibit presents a certain Bras

Casse; but this was a _Sauk_ chief, otherwise Pockquinike.) Broken

Arm's Sioux name is believed by Dr. Foster to have been Wahkantahpay;

"and as late as 1825 he was still living at his small village of

Wahpaykootans, on a lake near the Minnesota [river] some five or six

miles below Prairie La Fleche, now Le Sueur."

7. Le Bœuf que [qui] Marche, or Walking Buffalo, as we are informed

by Dr. Foster, was also called Tahtawkahmahnee; "he was a kind of

sub-chief of old Wabashaw (who was not present), being also called Red

Wing; and it is from him that the village at the head of Lake Pepin

derives its name. He was the father [Hancock says uncle] of Wahkootay,

the present [1854] old chieftain of the Red Wing band." Compare note

67, p. 69.

[II-3] Outard Blanche, correctly Outarde Blanche, means White Bustard.

The bustard is a very large bird, many species of which inhabit

Europe, Asia, and Africa, but none America. It may, therefore, be well

to explain that outarde was a name given by the early French in

America to the Canada goose (_Bernicla canadensis_); but that since

this goose is mostly black, the phrase outarde blanche would rather

indicate the snow goose (_Chen hyperboreus_), which when adult is pure

white excepting the tips of the wings. I remember seeing somewhere a

statement, the source of which I cannot now recall, to the effect that

the phrase meant White Buzzard, not White Bustard; in which case the

French form would be Busard Blanc. Major Taliaferro speaks of White

Buzzard in his autobiography, as printed in Minn. Hist. Coll., VI.

Part 2, 1891, p. 225, p. 234, etc. Major Forsyth calls him White

Bustard. However this may be, it is certain that there was a chief of

the name of Mahgossau, who was called Old Bustard, and for many years

known to the whites by the latter designation. For an account of the

stabbing of this chief in a whisky-bout, in the summer of 1820, see

letter of Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian agent at St. Peters, dated Aug.

5th, 1820, in Minn. Hist. Coll., II. Part 2, 1864, 2d ed. 1881, p.

104.

[II-4] Setting camp close to a small stream which falls in on Pike's

left, and which has acquired great celebrity for its pretty little

water-fall. For this is no other than the Minnehaha. It is a wonder

Pike missed Minnehaha falls; or that, if he was informed of them, he

did not take the trouble to go less than a mile up the stream to see

so pretty a spectacle. About 2½ m. from Fort Snelling, on the road to

Minneapolis, the stream spills over the bluff, with as clear a descent

as water ordinarily makes from the nozzle of a spout. The picturesque

features of this place may be imagined, or easily inspected by

ordinary tourist travel; the poetical and sentimental are well

developed by Longfellow in Hiawatha; the hydrographic are a creek 5

yards wide, falling 43 feet in an unbroken parabolic curve. This was

formerly plain Brown's cr. and Brown's fall; Nicollet named the stream

Cascade cr.; but it will doubtless always be best known by the name

which Longfellow transferred from its original to a new application,

to suit the exigencies of verse. This stream is the discharge of Lake

Minnetonka. In its course it receives the outlet of a chain of lakes

from the W., called Bass (modern), Calhoun (Nicollet), and Harriet

(Nicollet); nearer the falls is a set of smaller lakes, whose modern

names are Diamond, Pearl, Duck, Mother, Amelia, and Rice (latter, the

Lake Ann of times when Fort Snelling was Fort St. Anthony, an

expansion of Brown's cr. itself).

[II-5] The rapids Pike thus ascends to the falls, and the comparative

characters of the two gorges, of the Mississippi and Minnesota

respectively, which unite at Fort Snelling, indicate that in

prehistoric time the falls were located about the position of the

fort. But there has been no natural recession within the brief

historic period--merely a momentary flash on the screen of geologic

duration. The most marked alteration of the falls that we know of was

the accidental result of an unintended interference by man. This

happened from the bursting of a log-boom. "Behind the boom were

thousands of logs two or three feet across and twelve feet long. These

descending by the fall probably acquired a velocity of not less than

64 feet a second, and striking endwise on the débris of the hard

copping rock pulverized it so that the undermining of the soft sand

rock which this débris protected went on with great rapidity," Warren,

Ex. Doc. No. 57, 1866-7, p. 19. On July 5th, 1880, the Minn. Hist.

Soc. celebrated the bi-centennial of the discovery of the falls, and

there is no question that they were first seen of white men by the two

companions of Accault within a few hours of July 5th, 1680, if not by

the light of that very day. The occasion was a buffalo-hunt down river

from the great Sioux town on Lake Buade (Mille Lacs), when the Indians

brought the Picard and the priest (two of their three prisoners)

along. The falls were named by Hennepin Sault de S^t. Antoine de Padoü

(so map, 1683) "in gratitude for the favors done me by the Almighty

through the intercession of that great saint whom we had chosen patron

and protector of all our enterprises," as Shea's tr. Hennep., 1880, p.

200, puts it. What these favors were is not evident in the light of

history; according to Hennepin's own relation, God's gracious designs,

whatever they may have been, were effectually disconcerted by the

Sioux, who took this slavish son of superstition by the nape of the

neck and otherwise subjected him to dire indignities; while as to the

monk Anthony, that Franciscan was born at Lisbon, Aug. 15th, 1195,

died at Padua, June 13th, 1231, and there is not a scintilla of

evidence that he did anything whatever subsequent to this latter date.

We might laugh off even so glaring an anachronism as a mere

theological pleasantry which deceives no one, were it not for the

injustice it does to La Salle, who furnished the sinews of war for

Accault's, Auguelle's, and Hennepin's campaign, and was the only

person who patronized their trip, saving the said Sioux, who turned it

into a personally conducted tour like our modern Cook's. "Saut St.

Antoine" appears on Franquelin's map, 1688. The Sioux called these

falls Minirara, the laughing water, whence Minnehaha. In Dakotan _ira_

means to laugh, and the reduplicated form _irara_ means to laugh much

or often; but _ira_ is compounded of _i_, the mouth, and _ra_, to

curl; and in its application to the falls _rara_, which is simply _ra_

reduplicated, should be translated curling and not laughing waters.

Ungeographical transfer of Minnehaha to Brown's falls is simply

poetical license. The Chip. name was Kakabikah, alluding to the

severed rock. Hennepin calls the falls "something very astonishing,"

indeed "terrible," _more suo crasso_, and exaggerated the descent of

waters to 50 or 60 feet. Carver brings him to book about this, and

reduces the height to 30 feet. Pike's figures are very close indeed,

and his description is the most accurate we had in 1810; Long makes

the height practically the same, but Pike's breadth of 627 yards was

reduced by Say and Calhoun in 1823 to 594. In view of these good

measurements it is surprising that Schoolcraft elevates the falls to

40 feet perpendicular, and narrows the width to 227 yards. He was a

man of great ability and still greater industry, whose acquirements

were extensive and varied; yet he must be taken warily, for there is

many a loose screw in his handiwork, and no structure is stronger than

its weakest joint. The trouble with Schoolcraft is two-fold; he tried

to cover too much ground to go over it thoroughly, and never emerged

from the penumbra of that same theological occultation which kept

Hennepin's wits in total eclipse. The natural beauty of this cataract

was not destined to be a thing of joy forever; one's emotions, on

beholding it now, are those that might be aroused by any mill-tail of

similar dimensions. But the new beauty of utility has been conferred

by human skill and ingenuity in utilizing the vast water-power, to

which Minneapolis measurably owes her matchless progress and present

opulence; pop. 1870, 13,000; 1880, 47,000; 1885, 129,000; now or

lately, 220,000; thus surpassing the 190,000 of her elder sister, St.

Paul--in fact becoming the alter ego of the wonderful pair.

Considering the rapid building up of the fair interurban district, and

consequently the absorption of respective suburbs into mutualities, it

is logical to infer the complete Siamization of the splendid twins,

and a clutch at the laurels of Chicago or New York. By that time such

scenes as the Mississippi has here transferred to the canvas of human

art will be shifted to the Great Falls of the Missouri, where history

will repeat itself in another magnificent metropolis. Everything

begins in watery elements; the force of falling water controls the

course of empire; and the conversion of gravitational potentialities

into electrical potencies realizes dreams of destiny, without the

intercession of saints or the interference of God.

[II-6] Decidedly less than this; it is only 18-20 m. by river or rail

from Minneapolis to Anoka, which Pike does not reach till to-morrow

night; to-day's camp between Casey's isls. and Coon cr., in Anoka Co.

if on the right, in Hennepin Co. if on the left. The three rapids he

passed raised him from 792 to 808 feet above sea-level; one of them is

known as Fridley's bar, 5 m. above Minneapolis, 1½ m. below Durnam's

isl. He had made the usual portage of the falls on the right-hand side

(left bank); and soon after decamping this morning he passed on his

left Bassett's cr., which runs through the city, or recently did

so--what disposition may have since been made of it I do not know.

This was formerly called Falls cr., as by Nicollet, who maps it in

connection with his Lake of the Isles and two other sheets. Either

this or the next above on the same side is also traced on Pike's map,

without name. This next one is Shingle cr., called Omini Wakan cr. by

Nicollet and by Owen; it comes in on the left a mile or more below

Fridley's bar. Half a mile above Durnam's isl., and on the right, is

Rice or Manomin cr., which Nicollet calls Ottonwey r., and connects

with Mde Wakanton l. Pike also traces this one, but by no name. R. R.

station Fridley is near its mouth. (See further under Fridley, in the

index.)

[II-7] About 8 m., to Anoka, seat of that county, a logging town of

6,000 pop., at mouth of Rum r. Pike first passed Coon cr., right, and

the most difficult rapids he went up are those named for the same

intelligent and ablutionary quadruped, _Procyon lotor_. Coon or Racoon

cr. was formerly known as Peterah cr. Wanyecha (now Elm) cr. falls in

on the left, slightly below Rum r. The latter is a notable stream,

being the main discharge of Mille Lacs, and as such having acquired a

long history. Carver called it Rum r.: "in the little tour I made

about the Falls [of St. A.], after traveling 14 m. by the side of the

Mississippi, I came to a river nearly 20 yards wide which ran from the

north east, called Rum River," he says, p. 45, ed. 1796. This was Nov.

19th, 1767, and the river has oftenest been so designated ever since.

But here is a place where the involuntary exploration which the Sioux

forced on Accault's party comes in, and the Hennepinian canonical

calendar is obtruded as usual, making the following trouble:

"Eight leagues above St. Anthony of Padua's falls on the right, you

find the river of the Issati or Nadoussiou [Sioux], with a very narrow

mouth, which you can ascend to the north for about 70 leagues to Lake

Buade or of the Issati [Mille Lacs] where it rises. We gave this river

the name of St. Francis," Shea's Henp., tr. 1880, p. 201. In French

the name was R. de St. François: so Henp., map, 1683; on Franquelin's,

1688, it is "Riviere des Francois ou des Sioux," which turns it over

from the saint to the French nation, possibly less saintly on the

whole--that is, unless Franquelin intended to cover St. Francis de

Sales, St. Francis d'Assisi, and St. Francis de Paola, or unless _des_

be a mis-engravement for _de S_. But Franquelin's earlier map, 1683 or

1684, has only R. des François, which is there connected with R. de la

Madelaine (St. Croix r.) by R. du Portage, which latter stands for

present Snake r., a branch of the St. Croix. De L'Isle's map, 1703,

avoids any such question by turning the river entirely over to the

Sioux; he letters R. de Mendeouacanion, _i. e._, Mdewakantonwan or

Gens du Lac. A question affecting the identification of St. Francis

with Rum came up in Carver's time, and is still mooted. Carver says,

_ed. cit._ p. 45: "Reached the River St. Francis, near 60 miles above

the Falls. To this river Father Hennipin gave the name," etc. He

reached it Nov. 21st, 1687. This is the stream next _above_ Rum r. on

the same side, now best known as Elk r. But Pike's map letters "Leaf

R. or S^t. Francis of Carver & Henepen"; Long has it S^t. Francis r.;

even Nicollet gives Wichaniwa or St. Francis. Prof. N. H. Winchell

remarks, Hist. Sketch Expl. and Surv. Minn., 4to, p. 15: "On modern

maps the name of St. Francis is applied to the next stream above the

Rum, and that may have been the river to which Hennepin referred in

his journal, since by a portage the route by it to lake Buade is much

less than the course by the Rum river, and the Indians may have

followed that route." I quite agree with my friend the professor that

the Sioux who took charge of Hennepin's "explorations," in spite of

all the saints on the calendar, may have brought him that way from

Mille Lacs to the Mississippi; but the question is not by what river

he came; the question is, Which river did he call R. de St. François

and map by this name? To me Hennepin makes it perfectly clear that he

meant Rum r. Thus he fixes it 8 leagues = 23⅓ m. above the falls,

which is much closer to the actual position of Rum r. than such a

befogged geographer often comes; item, he makes his St. François r.

come from Mille Lacs, as Rum r. does and the other one does not (at

least not uninterruptedly); item, his alternative names, r. of the

Issati or Nadoussiou, point directly to Rum r.; item, for a clincher,

Hennepin's map letters R. de St. François precisely along the whole

course of Rum r. from the Mississippi to Lac Buade, _and traces the

other river too_, without any name. You seldom find a case clearer

than this seems to me to be. Carver was simply mistaken in identifying

Hennepin's St. Francis with the other river instead of with his own

Rum r.; and this malidentification on Carver's part seems to have

given later writers an unconscious bias in the wrong direction; Pike

makes the same mistake further on in this book. The strongest

counter-argument to my view is that I differ with Nicollet in this

case. It is always unsafe to disagree with that model of caution and

precision; but I must venture to do so in this instance. For the rest,

add to the synonyms of Rum r. the aboriginal name Iskode Wabo, as

given by Nicollet, and the variants of this phrase; also, R. de l'Eau

de Vie of Pike; also, Missayguani-sibi and Brandy r. of Beltrami. F.

_eau de vie_ is obviously the explanation of the "Audevies Cr." of

Lewis and Clark's map, 1814, though the stream thus designated looks

to my eye too low down for Rum r. The source of this river is noted

beyond, where the case of Mille Lacs comes up.

[II-8] The curious word "brelaw," elsewhere "brelau," which we owe to

Pike, is a corruption of F. _blaireau_, badger. This, of course,

originally denoted the European badger, _Meles taxus_, but was easily

transferred to the generically and specifically different American

badger, _Taxidea americana_. Other forms of similar perversity are

braro, brarow, brairo, braroca, praro, prarow, etc. See L. and C., ed.

1893, p. 64. Pike's original editor of 1807 had _blaireau_, correctly,

but Pike himself seldom got any F. word or phrase exactly right.

[II-9] Less than this, as Crow r. is not yet passed, though Pike is not

much short of that point. There is little to note: pass Cloquet or

Clouquet isl.; camp at head of Goodwin's isl. or foot of Dayton

rapids; a small body of water to the right called L. Itaska, not to be

confounded with L. Itasca! At or near the mouth of Crow r. Pike leaves

both Hennepin and Anoka cos.; he then has Wright on his left and

Sherburne on his right. Dayton, Hennepin Co., is at the mouth of Crow

r. The crossing there was called Slater's ferry.

[II-10] What Pierre Rousseau called a "prairie mole" was the

pocket-gopher of this region, _Thomomys talpoides_. This was first

made known to science by Dr. John Richardson in his paper entitled

"Short Characters of a few Quadrupeds Procured on Capt. Franklin's

late Expedition," published in the Zoölogical Journal, III. No. 12,

Jan.-Apr. 1828, pp. 516-520. He named it _Cricetus talpoides_, taking

this specific name from its mole-like appearance, and afterwards

called it _Geomys talpoides_, in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, I. 1829,

p. 204. Among the peculiarities of the animal, and indeed of the whole

family to which it belongs, are the strictly subterranean habits, and

the possession of large cheek-pouches external to the mouth and lined

with fur inside: see Coues and Allen, Monographs N. A. Rodentia, 1877,

p. 623. The common mole of the United States, from which Pike saw that

this gopher was very different, is _Scalops aquaticus_, of the

mammalian order _Insectivora_ (not _Rodentia_).

[II-11] To a position about halfway between Elk r., Sherburne Co., and

Monticello, Wright Co.--say Baker's ferry, at head of Dimick's or

Demick's isl., and compare note at date of Apr. 9th. On making Dayton

rapids Pike passed the mouth of Crow r., which falls in on the left

above the town and below Dayton isl. This river rises in Green l.,

Kamdiyohi Co., and by various affluents elsewhere, flows about E.

through Meeker and Wright, and then turns N. E., separating the latter

from Hennepin Co. (This must not be confounded with Crow Wing r., much

higher up the Mississippi.) It was discovered by Carver Nov. 20th,

1766, and by him called Goose r. Beltrami chose Rook's r. Nicollet has

Karishon or Crow r. This river needed an ornithologist to keep from

mixing up those birds so! Besides the three bird-names, Beltrami

produced Poanagoan-sibi or Sioux r., as he says it was called by the

"Cypowais." Elk River, 41 m. from St. Paul by rail, pop. 1,500, is the

seat of Sherburne Co. It is situated immediately below the mouth of

Elk r. This is the stream charted by Pike with the legend "Leaf R. or

S^t. Francis of Carver & Henepen": see for this case note 7. Pike

also calls it R. des Feuilles. Allen had St. Francis or Parallel r.

Beltrami said Kapitotigaya-sibi or Double r. Nicollet's terms

Wichaniwa and St. Francis belong to the main (East) fork of Elk r.,

now commonly called the St. Francis; he names the other fork Kabitawi

(which is the same word that Beltrami uses in another form). Above Elk

River is Otsego, Wright Co., with Orano's (Jameson and Wilson) isls.

below and Davis isl. above it.

[II-12] To vicinity of Monticello, Wright Co. In the course of the hard

water stemmed to-day are Spring rapids and Battle rapids, each of

which Pike marks "Ripple" on his map; the former is first above

Dimick's isl.; the latter is above Brown's isl. and Houghton's flats;

and the name no doubt commemorates the Indian fight of which Pike

speaks. The rise represented by the hard water is about 25 feet,

bringing the Expedition up to 898 or 900 feet above sea-level.

Nicollet's Migadiwin cr. falls in on the left, just above Monticello;

this is now known as Otter cr. Boom isl. is just below the ferry at

Monticello.

[II-13] To some obscure point about one-third of the way from Monticello

to Clear Water. It is past Lane's and Cedar isls., and above Cedar

rapids, which Pike marks "Ripple" on his map (the third such mark

above his Leaf r.), and below Silver cr.; but I cannot stick a pin in

the map, as there is no named place in the immediate vicinity; nearest

probably R. R. station Lund, Wright Co.

[II-14] Vicinity of Clear Water r., a sizable stream which separates

Wright from Stearns Co.; Kawakomik or Clear Water r. of Nicollet;

Kawakonuk r. of Owen; Kawanibio-sibi of Beltrami; and qu. Little Lake

r. of Carver's map? The whole distance from Monticello to town of

Clear Water at the mouth of this river is only 19 m., and thence to

St. Cloud, 14 m. = 33 m. for which Pike allows 12 + 20 + 3 + 16½ = 51½

m. This is over his average excess, and the case is complicated by the

position assigned for the wintering station of the persons named on

the 10th. Pike lays down Clear Water r., and his map legends, a little

_below_ this, "Wintering Grounds of M^r. Potier, 1797; & M^r. Dickson,

1805-1806." The names do not correspond exactly with the text, and as

the wintering ground of the text was not passed till the 10th, when

Pike was certainly above the Clear Water, this wintering ground is

simply legended too low on the map. Compare Apr. 7th, beyond, when

Pike reaches the post of Mr. Dickson and the other person, there

called Paulier, in one day's voyage from his stockade on Swan r. As

there explained, the post in question was only 4 m. below the head of

Pike's Beaver isls., thus in the vicinity of St. Augusta, while Pike's

station of the 8th was at or near Clear Water. To reach this town and

river Pike passes Bear isl., Smiler's rapids, and on his left two

small streams. The lower one of these is Silver cr., coming from a

small lake between Silver Creek Siding and a place called Hasty. The

upper one of these is Bend cr. of Nicollet (discharge of Fish l.), so

named from falling into what was a remarkable bend of the Mississippi,

now a cut-off with a large (Boynton's) island. This place is 3 m.

below Clear Water, in Sect. 6, T. 122, R. 26, 5th M.

[II-15] St. Cloud, seat of Stearns Co.; population 8,000; East St. Cloud

opp.; bridges; railroads converging by five tracks; rapids of 30,000

horse-power, dammed and utilized. This is a notable place, likely to

become more so. The whole descent from the upper part of the town of

Sauk Rapids to the lower part of St. Cloud, a distance of some 5 m.,

is 24 feet; of which Sauk rapids proper fall 17 or 18 feet in the

course of a mile. Pike camps at the foot of these. "Grand Rapids" of

the above text are mapped by Pike as "Big Rapids," the term also used

by Lewis and Clark; they are Nicollet's Second rapids. When I last saw

the place it was not easy to discern the natural course of the river,

it was so jammed with logging-booms. The "more than 20 islands" which

Pike passed to-day are in part included in the cluster called the

Archipelago by Beltrami, now known as the Thousand isls., smallest and

most numerous in the expansion of the river just below St. Cloud and

above Mosquito rapids; the latter, not bad, are between a large island

on the right and a creek that makes in on the left (S. 36, T. 124, R.

28, 5th M.). A short distance below these islands, probably not far

from Mosquito rapids, and thus somewhere about opposite St. Augusta,

was the above-named wintering place.

[II-16] The whole distance by river from St. Cloud to Pike rapids, where

he stops to build his winter-quarters, is only 33 m. He makes this

8 + 12½ + 29 + 17 + 5 = 71½! As there is no possible mistake about the

place we have brought him to, or about that where we shall drop him,

an error of over 100 per cent. is evident in the mileage of the

11th-15th. The text gives but one named point (his Clear r.) to

consider for the required adjustment; but there are seven definite

named rivers in this course and several rapids; so that we can check

him at every few miles, and only need to cut down his mileage a little

more than one-half. Camp of the 11th ("8" = 4 m.) is a little above the

mouth of Sauk r. On heading Sauk rapids, Pike passes the town of Sauk

Rapids, seat of Benton Co., 75 m. by rail from St. Paul. It is a

smaller place than St. Cloud, pop. 1,200, but enjoys the same 30,000

horse-power of the 18 feet to the mile fall of the Miss. r. Sauk r.

falls in from the W., opposite the upper part of the town; Pike

elsewhere calls it R. aux Saukes, and maps it as Sack r.; so does

Long, though he calls the Indians Sakawes and Sakawis: Nicollet's map

has Osakis r.; other variants of the name are Sac, Sacque, Saque,

Sawk, Saukee, Sawkee, Osaukee, Osauki, etc. The most elaborate way of

spelling Sauk that I have found is Sassassaouacotton. The form Ozaukee

is adopted by Verwyst, Wis. Hist. Soc., XII. 1892, p. 396, where it is

said that this and Sauk are corrupted from _ozagig_, meaning those who

live at a river's mouth.

[II-17] About 6 m., to a position near the mouth of Little Rock r.,

above Watab rapids and the town of that name in Benton Co. Pike first

passes on his right, about a mile from camp, a small stream whose name

has not reached me (it empties in the S. W. ¼ of Sect. 15, T. 36, R.

31, 4th M.). In another mile he passes Little Sauk r., a stream like

its namesake, but small. This is called Watab r. by Nicollet, Owen,

and Brower, Wadub r. by Schoolcraft, Wattah r. by Allen. This little

river was formerly important as the most tangible part of the shadowy

Sioux-Chippewa boundary of 1825. Starting from the Chippewa r., the

line cut across most rivers, at odd places the savages no doubt

understood, but geographers never did. It crossed the St. Croix at

"Standing Cedars" below the falls, struck near the head of Coon cr.,

crossed Rum r. at or near its principal forks, hit a "Point of Woods"

somewhere, crossed Leaf (Elk) r. low down, and reached the Mississippi

opp. the mouth of the Little Sauk, _which it followed up_, and then

went N. W., passed past Swan and Little Elk rivers to the watershed of

the Red River of the North, which it followed approx. N. to the Otter

Tail and Leech l. traverse. (See Allen's map.) The "narrow rocky

place" passed is Watab rapids, and the town of Watab is just above

these, on the creek to the right, 5 m. above Sauk Rapids. Sauk and

Watab are respectively the "2nd" and "3rd" rapids of Nicollet's map.

The word _watab_ means _spruce_; or, rather, as follows: "The small

roots of the spruce tree afford the _wattap_, with which the bark [of

birchen canoes] is sewed; ... Bark, some spare _wattap_, and gum, are

always carried in each canoe," Alex. Henry, Travels, 1761-66, N. Y.,

8vo, 1809, p. 14. In this matter we also have the support of the

highest possible authority; for the Century Dictionary, representing

the acme of English scholarship, defines _watap_ or _watapeh_ as "the

long slender roots of the white spruce, _Picea alba_, which are used

by canoe-makers in northwestern North America for binding together the

strips of birch-bark." _Cf._ Baraga's Otchipwe Dict., 1880, Pt. 2, p.

404, _s. v._ _watab_. Pike charts Watab rapids; see his map, place

marked "Ripple," first above his "Little Sack R." This is where his

boat sprung a leak, and he did not get much further.

[II-18] Say about 14 m., to a position between Platte r. and Spunk r.

Soon after decamping, Pike passed a river he does not mention above,

but which he elsewhere names Lake r., and maps conspicuously in

connection with a certain small sheet of water he names Elk l. These

are now known as Little Rock r. and Little Rock l. The stream is laid

down by Nicollet with the additional name of Pikwabic r. It falls into

a remarkable horseshoe bend of the river, which has not cut off an

island since the charts I use were drawn. Opposite this bend there is

a place called Brockway, in Stearns Co. Of Clear r. as above, and also

so charted by Pike, Lewis and Clark, and Allen, Pike elsewhere says

that it "is a beautiful little stream, of about 80 yards in width, and

heads in some swamps and small lakes on which the Sauteaux of Lower

Red Cedar Lake and Sandy Lake frequently come to hunt." It is

Pekushino r. of Nicollet, Bekozino-sibi and Pines Tail r. of Beltrami,

now commonly called Platte r., and occasionally Flat r., as on an 1850

map of Minnesota before me; it heads in the region about Mille Lacs.

At the place where the railroad crosses Platte or Clear r. is

Royalton, in Bellevue township, Morrison Co. One-third of a mile below

its mouth is the line between Stearns and Morrison cos., on first

section-line above town-line 126-7. One of the two rivers here noted

is Cold r. of Carver, 1767; but I am uncertain which one. McNeal's

ferry over the Mississippi is about a mile below the mouth of the

Platte.

[II-19] Making the requisite adjustment of this, we set Pike down in the

N. E. ¼ of Sect. 29, T. 128, R. 29, 5th M.; this will give us 3 m. to

fill the bill of the "five" to-morrow. To-day's itinerary furnishes

some nice points which we must determine with precision--not for their

intrinsic importance, but for their significance in connection with

Pike's winter-quarters. The matter must be attended to here, though

the text has not a word about it. But Pike elsewhere speaks of three

creeks along here, above his Clear r.=Platte, and below his Pine

cr.=Swan r., near which he builds his stockade. Pike's map has four,

on the left, beginning above Clear r.: (1) Wolf cr.; (2) a creek; (3)

Buffalo cr.; (4) Rocky cr.--all names of his own, none used now.

Proceeding up from Platte=Clear r., we have on the left in succession:

(1) Spunk r., whose mouth is in the S. E. ¼ of Sect. 22, T. 127, R.

29, 5th M. This is the Wolf cr. of Pike's, item of Lewis and Clark's

map, 1814; mapped, no name, Allen; Zakatagana-sibi of Beltrami;

Sagatagon or Spunk r. of Nicollet; Spunk brook of various maps. The

native name which we have translated means some sort of touchwood or

punk, which may be more plentiful hereabouts than elsewhere, or of

better quality. (2) A rivulet for which I can find no name, not even

on the local maps, and which is too insignificant to appear at all on

most maps; Pike's traces it without name. I will call it Maple brook,

because it falls in behind Maple isl., in Sect. 17 of the T., R., and

M. last said. Maple isl. is sizable, and locally well known; either

this or the little round one close by is probably Beltrami's "Island

of the Sun." (3) Two Rivers, or Two r., or Twin r., as the next stream

is called, which empties about the center of Sect. 8 of the same T.,

R., and M., hardly a mile above Maple brook. This is the one Pike maps

by the name of Buffalo cr.; it is also Buffaloe cr. of Lewis and

Clark's map; and the Kanizotygoga of Beltrami. This is a sizable

stream, giving name to Two Rivers Township, and does not fall in

behind any island. (4) Little Two Rivers, or Two Rivers brook, which

falls in about half a mile higher up, in the same Section, behind an

island. (5) A nameless and utterly insignificant brook, which falls in

at McDougal's eddy, behind an island, in the S. E. ¼ of Sect. 5 of the

same T., R., and M. I find it correctly laid down on a Morrison Co.

map, on a scale of 2 inches to the mile; but it does not appear on the

inch-to-mile charts I mostly follow. (6) Hay cr., which most maps run

into Little Two Rivers, but which is quite distinct, with the brook

(5) intervening. Hay cr. comes southward along the E. border of Swan

River township, turns S. E. across Sect. 31 of T. 128, R. 29, thence

enters Sect. 5 of T. 127, R. 29, and falls into the Mississippi behind

the three-cornered isl. which there lies opp. some rapids next above

McDougal's eddy. The only question seems to be, whether Pike's Rocky

cr. is Little Two Rivers or Hay cr.; but after pretty close scrutiny

of the country thereabouts, I incline to decide in favor of Little Two

Rivers, and could give various reasons for this identification. Pike

maps four rapids, in quick succession, above his Rocky cr. Two of

these I suppose to be those now known as Blanchard's and McDougal's,

both passed on the 14th; a third is surmounted on the 15th, but the

fourth finishes Pike's boat-voyage: see next note.

[II-20] Three miles, to camp at the foot of Knife or Pike rapids, W.

side of the Mississippi, about the S. border of Sect. 7, T. 128, R.

29, 5th M. These are the 4th or Knife rapids of Nicollet, apparently

so called from the narrowness of the two channels into which the river

is divided for most of their extent by an island, which is what Pike's

text above means by the "two narrow shoots." The designation of Pike

rapids is not recent; it occurs on the Allen map pub. 1834, and no

doubt this antedates the time that the next creek above Swan r. was

named Pike cr., and the township next above Swan River township was

named Pike Creek township. The ascent is 10 or 11 feet to the mouth of

Swan r.; and this is 4 m. below the city of Little Falls. Little Falls

is given as 115 m. by the river from Minneapolis, and as 105 m. by

rail from St. Paul (N. P. R. R.). We know where Pike sleeps to-night

within a few rods, and shall be able to locate his stockade with a

"probable error" of no yards, feet, or inches.

[II-21] "Lieu^t. Pikes, Block House or Post, for the Winter 1805-1806"

is legended on the pub. map, and marked by a zigzag line snug up under

his Pine cr. (now Swan r.). The orig. MS. map, now on file in the

Engineer Office of the War Dept., is large enough to show the exact

spot, on which is delineated a stockade 36 feet square, with a

blockhouse on the N. W. and another on the S. E. corner of the

structure. Notwithstanding such precise indicia, the site has been

vaguely stated by various authors, and even shifted down to Two Rivers

by so careful and usually correct a writer as my friend the Hon. J. V.

Brower, who is clearly in error in stating that "the south branch of

Two Rivers was named Pine creek, and the other Second creek," Minn.

Hist. Coll., VII., Mississippi R. and its Source, 8vo., Minneapolis,

1893, p. 126. This is simply an _obiter dictum_, by inadvertence. I

had satisfied myself of the true site within a few rods, when I first

learned from Prof. N. H. Winchell, State Geologist of Minnesota, that

traces of the building had been discovered by Judge Nathan Richardson,

Mayor of Little Falls, Minn. On writing to this gentleman, I received

a prompt reply, as follows:

LITTLE FALLS, MINN., Feb. 24th, 1894.

_Elliott Coues, Esq., Washington, D. C._

MY DEAR SIR: Yours of the 21st inst. is received making

inquiry about my discovering the location of a fort built

by Zebulon M. Pike in the fall of 1805. The location is on

the West bank of the Mississippi River on Government

Subdivision described as Lot No. 1, Sec. No. 7, in Township

No. 128 North, of Range No. 29 West, of the 5th Principal

Meridian, near the S. E. corner of said Lot No. 1, and near

80 rods south from the mouth of Swan river and four miles

south of this city. I settled at this place in 1855. I

wrote a history of this county in 1876. Then in 1880 I

revised it. Before writing the revision in 1880 I looked

over the books in our State Historical Society, where I

found an account of Pike's Expedition up into this region

of country that year. His description of the location was

so plain and explicit that I had no trouble in finding it.

At that time there were no logs or timber left. The place

was plainly marked by a pile of stone, about the size of an

ordinary haycock, of which the chimney or fire-place was

built. The fort was built of logs. The bottom layer was

imbedded about one-half their size into the ground when

built. The groove in the earth showed very plain when I

first visited the place. As near as I could judge the

building was 40 feet square. Built just on the brink of a

slight elevation, as described by Mr. Pike in his

narrative. Afterward in speaking about the location of

Pike's Fort to an old settler, Samuel Lee, now residing at

Long Prairie in this State, he told me that he had been at

the place many years before, and when he was first at the

place the bottom tier of logs were still there. I visited

the spot two years ago for the purpose of getting one of

the stones that were used to build the fire-place, and took

one that will weigh about 75 pounds, which I am keeping as

a relic. The pile of stone is getting scattered about; the

ground has never been cleared and broken up, but is used as

a pasture. Unless something durable is put up soon to mark

the location all trace of it will be obliterated. This

country commenced to settle with farmers in 1850, and has

become quite well settled up. I will say before closing

that the rapids at the foot of which he built the fort bear

the name of Pike rapids, so named in honor of him. I will

send you a copy of our extra paper [Daily Transcript, of

Little Falls], issued the 1st of January. If I have omitted

anything that you may wish to know write me again.

Yours very respectfully,

[Signed] N. RICHARDSON.

Judge Richardson is entitled to the credit of recovering and making

known the spot in modern times. The Hist. Up. Miss. Vall., pub.

Minneap. 1881, treating Morrison Co. in Chap. cxxxviii, has on p. 586

a short notice of the location, presumably upon Judge Richardson's

data, as the publishers' preface makes general acknowledgments of

indebtedness to him. In Oct., 1886, the place was visited by Mr. T. H.

Lewis, at the instance of Mr. A. J. Hill of St. Paul, and through the

friendly attentions of the latter I am put in possession of extracts

and tracings from Mr. Lewis' notebook, made on the spot at the date

said, when he found the extant remains. Mr. Lewis identified the site

upon his own observations, not being at the time informed of the

earlier discovery. So interesting a spot should be permanently marked

before all traces of it are obliterated, and I hope Judge Richardson

will interest himself to see that this is done. It need not be an

expensive or elaborate monument; probably the stones of the old

chimney and fire-place, now scattered about, would answer the purpose

if they were solidly piled up.

POSTSCRIPT.--_Little Falls, Minn._, _Sept._ 8th, 1894.--I have this

day visited the spot in person, accompanied by Judge Richardson and

Mrs. Coues. We have piled up the rocks in a conspicuous heap. I do not

recognize any trace of the original woodwork, or of the ground-plan of

the structure, except the place of the chimney; but the site is

unquestionable. To reach it, you go down the main road from Little

Falls, about 4 m. along the W. side of the Miss. r., crossing Pike cr.

and next Swan r.; a few rods beyond the latter, turn to the left into

Simon Kurtzman's cornfield, through bars, and keep on due E. to the

river. You will see the cairn we have made in the following position:

Sect. 7, T. 128, R. 29, 5th M., in S. E. corner of Lot No. 1, 80 rods

E. of Simon Kurtzman's house, about 80 rods S. S. E. of the mouth of

Swan r., near the E. border of the cornfield, 30 paces back from the

brink of the Mississippi, 50 yards S. by E. of a lone pine tree 50

feet high, on a flat piece of high ground in a copse of scattered

scrub oaks, overgrown with brush and weeds. Letter on the subject over

my signature in Little Falls Daily Transcript, Sept. 10, 1894, urging

the erection of a monument.

[II-22] Or windshake--not that the canoe foundered in the wind, but that

there was a flaw in the wood of which it was built, such unsoundness

of timber being called a windshock or windshake.

[II-23] For Dickson's trading-house of 1805-6 see note beyond, date of

Apr. 7th. Dickson's name frequently recurs in Pike, but I think never

once in full. Robert Dickson was an Englishman who began to trade with

the Sioux as early as 1790, and acquired great renown in the early

history of the country. The following occurs in Minn. Hist. Coll., I.

2d ed. 1872, p. 390: "Five years after Pike's visit he espoused the

British cause, and took a prominent part in encouraging the western

tribes in hostility against the Americans. Yet he is said to have been

very humane to American prisoners, rescuing many from the Indians, and

restraining the latter from barbarities and cold-blooded massacres.

After the war Dickson, some accounts say, did not resume trade with

the Sioux; but he did at least live at Lake Travers as late as 1817,

and was charged with alienating the Sioux from the United States, in

complicity with Lord Selkirk, who was there establishing his colony on

Red river. He was soon after arrested near what is now St. Paul, and

taken to St. Louis. He was probably soon released, however, and found

his way back to Queenstown in Canada, where he died. Dickson had a

Sioux wife and four half-breed children. One of his grandchildren was

wife of Joseph Laframboise, a well-known trader at Lac Qui Parle." To

this may be added that one of Col. Robert Dickson's half-breed sons

was William Dickson, whose name appears here and there in Minnesota

annals.

[II-24] There is no such French word as "killeur," which Pike elsewhere

renders "killieu," and which appears in the text of 1807 as "killien"

and "killein." On consulting the F. text, I. p. 95, I find that the

editor says, "Plutôt _tueur rouge_, car le mot killeur n'est pas

françois; c'est sans doute un barbarisme échappé à M. Pike." The son

of this chief Pike calls "Fils de Killeur Rouge": see Mar. 5th and

8th, 1806, beyond. There is a Canadian French word _pilleur_,

pillager, and the Leech Lake Chippewas were known as Pilleurs or

Pillagers; but this Killeur was a Sioux chief of the Gens des Feuilles

or Leaf Indians, now called Wahpetonwans: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p.

100. Pike translates Killeur by "Eagle"; and this clew to the meaning

of the word is carried on by Beltrami, II. p. 207, who has a chief

called "Ki-han or Red Quilliou"; _ibid._, p. 224, he speaks of "a bird

which the Canadians call _killiou_, and the Indians Wamendi-hi";

_ibid._, p. 307, he says "a plume of _killow_," making an English word

of it. Forsyth has "the killiew (thus named from a species of eagle),"

in Minn. Hist. Col., III. 1874, p. 154. So _killeur_, etc., is simply

a French way of spelling a certain Indian name of the eagle, whose

feathers are used for ornament. I once noted this word in the form

_khoya_. Riggs' Dak. Dict., 1852, has "_Ḣu-yá_, _n._, the common

eagle" (the dotted _h_ a deep surd guttural).

[II-25] Yanktons and Sissetons: see L. and C., ed. 1893, pp. 94, 100.

[II-26] More probably Chien Blanc, or White Dog--unless we could go so

far as to suppose he was called by the less polite and less

appropriate name of Chienne Blanche.

[II-27] About opp. the mouth of Pine cr. or Swan r., ½ m. above head of

Roberts' isl., and on or near the present site of Gregory, Morrison

Co. This place is marked as Aitkin's ferry, trading-post, and hotel,

on a Minnesota map, pub. Phila., Cowperthwait, 1850; it is about the

middle of the southwesternmost section of Little Falls township

(Township 40, Range 32, 4th mer.), say 3 m. below the middle of the

city of Little Falls. The head of Pike rapids is 1,071 or 1,072 feet

above sea-level. Swan r. bends up a little to fall into the Miss. r.,

so that its mouth is slightly over the S. border of Sect. 6, Township

128, Range 29, 5th mer. There is a flour mill on its S. side, at the

bend, half a mile or less from its mouth. Ledoux P. O. is on this

stream, a few miles up, in Swan River township, which lies between

North Prairie township and Pike Creek township; Swan r. runs over the

N. border of it a mile W. of the Mississippi. By whom Pike's Pine cr.

was first called Swan r. I do not know, unless it was Nicollet; it is

Wabizio-sibi of Beltrami, Wabezi or Swan r. of Nicollet, 1836, Swan r.

of Owen and later writers; but Lieut. Allen has it Elk r. on his map,

by error.

[II-28] Less than this, to camp on left or E. bank of the Mississippi,

in the present city of Little Falls, Morrison Co., probably about the

place where is the lower bridge, a few blocks from the Buckman hotel.

Painted Rock rapids is now Little falls. A high, small island at the

falls divides the river in two channels; it is Rock isl. of Nicollet,

now called Mill isl.; some mills are there, and there is the site of

the present dam, immediately below the lower bridge. Little Falls is a

flourishing place, as towns with a water-power of 35,000 horses may

easily be; pop. now or lately 3,000; dam built 1887-8, said to have

cost $250,000; two bridges span the river, the upper one for the N. P.

R. R., near the large sawmill which stands on the W. bank; chief

industry, milling flour and logs; city incorporated 1889; N.

Richardson, mayor for five years: see Little Falls Daily Transcript,

Industrial ed., Jan. 1st, 1894, large folio, pp. 28, maps and views,

price 5c. The Little falls--cataract, not town--are so called by Pike

elsewhere in this work; he also says that "the place is called by the

French Le Shute de la Roche Peinture," by which we may understand La

Chute de la Roche Peinte; his map legends "Painted Rock or Little

Falls." Beltrami names the falls Great Rock and Kekebicaugé. As to the

"5 miles" of to-day's journey, we may note that the distance is less

now than it used to be by the channel, because there was a bend of the

river to the E. which is now straightened out. This bend appears on

maps of 20 years ago; it is now city ground, and the march of

improvement has effected various other changes in the course of the

river. When about a mile from this morning's camp, Pike passed a place

where the river was fordable, and may be so still; here was the site

of Swan River P. O., on the E. bank, in Little Falls township. When a

mile further on, he passed the mouth of a creek from the W. which he

calls 2nd cr. (on the map "2^d Cr."), and which others have rendered

Second cr., though Nicollet and Owen both have it Little Fall cr.; it

is now known as Pike cr., and gives name to Pike Creek township. It

falls into the Mississippi at the middle of the E. border of Sect. 25,

Township 129, Range 30, 5th mer., through the 6th one of the 16

outlots of O. O. Searles, slightly beyond present city limits.

[II-29] To a position at the head of Little Elk rapids, a short distance

above the mouth of Little Elk r. This is a sizable stream which comes

from the W. through Parker and Randall townships to the S. W. corner

of Green Prairie township, touches the N. E. corner of Pike creek

township, and then curves a couple of miles to the Mississippi through

Sects. 6 and 5, T. 129, R. 29, 5th M. Pike elsewhere notes it with

particularity by the name of Elk r. Beltrami says Moska or Mosko and

Doe or Bitch r. This last name is a mistaken rendering of R. la Biche

or Elk r. of the French--he makes the same singular blunder in the

case of Lake Itasca, which he calls Doe or Bitch l., after the French

Lac la Biche. The river is the Omoshkos or Elk r. of Nicollet and

Owen. It is marked Little Fork cr. on the Minn. map of 1850; and

Allen's map makes it Swan r., by an erroneous transposition of names;

see note 27 p. 122.

[II-30] From Little Falls to Crow Wing is only 26 m. by the river. Pike

does not reach Crow Wing till the 21st, and his party does not get up

till the 23d or 24th. Exactly what distance he makes it cannot be

said, as mileage is missing some days. He appears to have thought it

some 50 or 60 m. Thus the itinerary does not afford data for fixing

camps with precision, and hence we can only check him approximately

from day to day. The sledge-party does not average 3 m. a day, but

Pike himself seems to skirmish about for many more miles--perhaps the

excessive mileages represent his own activities, not the actual

advance of the Expedition. The average course is due N. On the 12th

Conradi shoal and Belle Prairie were passed, to camp in the vicinity

of Fletcher cr. Belle Prairie is a comparatively old settlement on the

E. bank, founded by Frederick Ayer, a missionary, in 1848; pop. 800.

This is only 4½ m. by rail from Little Falls. The town is directly

opposite the shoals. These are the Fifth rapid of Nicollet. A small

creek comes in opposite them from the W., in Green Prairie township.

Fletcher cr. is mapped by Nicollet without name; it is McKinney's r.

on the 1850 map of Minn. It falls in from the E. through Sect. 1, T.

41, R. 32, 4th M.

[II-31] In the vicinity of Topeka, a town and station on the N. P. R.

R., on the E. bank of the river.

[II-32] Camp of the 14th, 15th, and 16th seems to have been on the W.

bank of the river, at the head of Olmsted's bar, and was very likely

opp. the point of land in Sect. 15, T. 42, R. 32, 4th M., where one

Baker located his trading-house in 1831. It is formally named Pine

camp when it is passed on the way down, Mar. 4th, 1806: see that date.

Olmsted's bar is the Sixth rapid of Nicollet, at a place where the

river expands and contains a cluster of small islands, called The

Sirens by Beltrami, II. p. 466.

[II-33] This cache was in the vicinity of present Fort Ripley. The town

now so called is on the E. side; railroad; pop. 500. Old Fort Ripley

itself is on the W. side, a mile off; some of the buildings still

stand. This post, or another in the same place, was once called Fort

Gaines; Prairie Percée of the F. intersected the river a little below.

The fort is in the N. E. ¼ of Sect. 7, T. 131, R. 29, 5th M., about a

half mile below the mouth of Nokasippi r., which falls in from the E.

through Sect. 27, T. 43, R. 32, 4th M. This is a considerable stream:

Nokasippi and Noka Sipi of Schoolcraft; Nokay r. of Nicollet and of

Owen; Nokasele on one of my maps, Nankesele and Nankele on others;

Woco-sibi of Beltrami's text, II. p. 466, Wokeosiby and Prophet r. on

his map. This hint that the name is a personal one is correct. Noka

was a Chippewa, the grandfather of White Fisher or Waubojeeg. "It is

from this old warrior and stalwart hunter, who fearlessly passed his

summers on the string of lakes which form the head of the No-ka river,

which empties into the Mississippi nearly opposite present site of

Fort Ripley, that the name of this stream is derived," says W. W.

Warren, Minn. Hist. Coll., V. 1885, p. 266. It is mapped by Pike and

mentioned by him beyond at date of Mar. 3d, 1806; but he has no name

for it. Allen's map gives it as Long r. But the earliest name of the

stream I can discover is on Lewis and Clark's map, pub. 1814, where it

is called Scrub Oak r., no doubt from the prairie above it, to which

Pike gave that name. On reaching ownline 42-3, Pike leaves Morrison

for Crow Wing Co., on the right, but still has the former on his left,

up to Crow Wing r.

[II-34] To some point probably more than halfway between the Nokasippi

and Crow Wing rivers, perhaps not far from the station or siding

Albion (St. Paul Div. of N. P. R. R.). It is beyond Lenox, and a

little above that creek for which I find no name, but which falls in

from the W. through Sect. 24, T. 132, R. 30, 5th M.

[II-35] To a position immediately below the mouth of the Crow Wing r.

[II-36] Rivière à l'Aile de Corbeau of the F., usually shortened into R.

de Corbeau, though Eng. Crow Wing r. reflects the full name. The large

island at its mouth was called Isle or Île de Corbeau, and I suspect

that the similarity of _aile_ and _isle_ or _île_ may be concerned in

this nomenclature. The river sometimes appears as Crow r., rendering

the shorter F. form; in such instance it must not be confounded with

Crow r. much lower down the Mississippi: see note 11, p. 97. Crow

Wing also appears as Crow-wing, and I have found both Cow-wing and

Crowing r. in Schoolcraft. Raven r. is another name; Pike sometimes

uses this. Beltrami has Raven's Plume r. and Crow Feather r. Nicollet

calls it Kagiwan r. This is the largest branch of the Mississippi

above Little Falls. The unnumbered affluents which unite to compose

the main stream head in lakes and marshes of Hubbard, Becker, Otter

Tail, Wadena, and Todd cos. Having received most of its tributaries,

and coursed through Wadena, the river for a short distance separates

Todd from Cass Co., and then runs between Cass and Morrison to empty

opp. the town of Crow Wing. Crow Wing r. was important as a means of

communication between the Mississippi and Red River of the North. It

was navigated up to the mouth of R. des Feuilles, now Leaf r., in the

S. part of Wadena Co.; thence the route was up Leaf r., and by portage

into Otter Tail l., one of the principal sources of Red r. waters.

Crow Wing r. was also a route to Leech l. Schoolcraft made the trip

this way from Leech l. to the Miss. r. in July, 1832; his map, pub.

1834, letters some of the main branches Kioshk r., Longprairie or

Warwater r., and Leaf r. The chain of lakes on this route are in his

nomenclature as follows, from below upward: 1. Kaichibo Sagitowa; 2.

Johnston's; 3. Allen's; 4. Longrice (Long Rice); 5. Summit; 6. Vieux

Desert; 7. Ossowa; 8. Plé; 9. Birth; 10. Little Vermillion; 11.

Kaginogumag, source of the river. Four small ones thence to Leech l.

are called Lake of the Island, Lake of the Mountain, Little Long l.,

and Warpool l. The branch which Schoolcraft calls Kíosh is Nicollet's

Gayashk r., now called Gull r.; a lake on it has the same name, and

one higher up is Lake Sibley of Nicollet. Nicollet says that he

contracted Gayashk from Chip. Kagayashkensikang, "the place where

there are little gulls [terns]," Rep. 1843, p. 54. Gull r. comes from

the N., approx. parallel with the Mississippi, and falls into Crow

Wing r. only some 3 or 4 m. above its mouth; about the same distance

up it is crossed by the N. P. R. R., at or near Gull River station

(between Baxter and Sylvan Lake stations).

[II-37] This seems to bring the whole party up to Crow Wing isl., opp.

old town of Crow Wing. Pike says himself that he could scarcely make

his notes intelligible, but we certainly know where he is to-day, and

have probably checked him from Little Falls with all the accuracy the

case admits. The town was mainly in Sect. 24, T. 44, R. 32, 4th M.,

but settlements in 1857 were in Sect. 23; pop. in 1866, 600; Brainerd

killed the place about 1870: see Harper's Mag., XIX. 1859, p. 47.

Thos. Cowperthwait's map of Minn., Phila., 1850, letters "Morrison's"

on the town site.

[II-38] "Hard W." is a misprint for N., the general course of the river

as you ascend, for many miles, till the Crow Wing is reached; after

this the Mississippi bears N. E.; and as the Crow Wing comes in from

the W., and is very large, their confluence is, as it were, the forks

of the Mississippi.

[II-39] The whole way by river from Crow Wing to Pine r. (the next place

where we can certainly check Pike), is only 34 m. He makes it 10½ + 3

+ 3 + 10 + 12 + 21 + 12 = 71½ m., with something over for morning of

Dec. 31st. Hence we have to cut him down about half. His "10½" m.

takes him about 6 m. toward Brainerd, with nothing to note on the way,

excepting a small creek on the left hand, in Sect. 26, T. 133, R. 29,

5th M. From Crow Wing to Brainerd is 11¼ m. by the river; Crow Wing

Co. continues on the right; on the left is Cass Co., according to such

a presumably authoritative map as that of the G. L. O., 1893; but in

fact Crow Wing Co. also extends on the left-hand side of the

Mississippi from a point about 1½ m. above the mouth of Crow Wing r.

upward for many miles, its W. border being along the middle line of R.

29.

[II-40] To Brainerd, Crow Wing Co., called City of the Pines, now easily

first in this part of the State; pop. 10,000; junction of St. Paul

div. with main N. P. R. R., 136 m. from St. Paul by rail, 114 from

Duluth; recent utilization of the fall of the river furnishing perhaps

20,000 horse-power; water-works, electric lights, etc. It is a center

of the lumber interests, and a focus of roads from every direction;

the river is bridged, and the surplus population forms West Brainerd.

Brainerd was laid out by the railroad in 1870, and has no earlier

history.

[II-41] Beyond Rice r. or cr., Nagajika cr. of Nicollet, which falls in

on the right, in Sect. 18, T. 45, R. 30, 4th M., about 3 m. above

Brainerd, and is to be distinguished from another of the same name

higher up on the same side; also, past French rapids, the Seventh of

Nicollet, which were Pike's carrying-places to-day. Above these he

found the river frozen solid.

[II-42] Vicinity of Sand cr., from the right. This is mapped by

Nicollet, but without name. It falls in through Sect. 27, T. 46, R.

30, 4th M.; directly opposite its mouth is a smaller creek, from the

left.

[II-43] To a position at or near the stream called White Bear-skin r. by

the geologist D. Norwood, 1847, being the discharge of Duck l. and

Swamp l., two of the largest of the numerous small lakes that lie

close along this course of the river. They are close together; each is

about 2 m. long and at one point only a mile or so to the left of the

river. Lake Taliaferro of Nicollet is on this connection, but further

off. Pike is fairly within the great lacustrine region of Minnesota,

where there are more lakes than have ever been counted. Half Moon l.

is a little one, about half a mile below the discharge of Duck and

Swamp lakes. The most notable point Pike passes to-day is the mouth of

Rabbit r., on the right. This is a considerable stream discharging

from a set of lakes (one at least of which has the same name), at the

junction of Sects. 13 and 24, T. 46, R. 30, 4th M., at or near the

foot of Island rapids. A smaller creek, also from the right, empties

below, in Sect. 24. Higher up are some rapids called Big Eddy.

[II-44] Nearly to the mouth of Pine r. (not to be confounded with Pike's

Pine _cr._, now Swan r.): see next note. The new species of pine

"called the French sap pine," is the balsam-fir, _Abies balsamea_.

Pike meant to say "called by the French _sapin_." The text of 1807, p.

31, has "Sappine."

[II-45] Present name of the largest stream in the northern portion of

Crow Wing Co., falling in from the N. in the S. W. ¼ of Sect. 25, T.

136, R. 27, 5th M., at a sharp bend the Mississippi here makes. Pine

r. has been so called by pretty nearly all writers since Pike's time;

but Beltrami has it Singuoako or Pines r. It is connected directly, or

indirectly, with an immense number of small lakes, not all of which

have ever been counted, and still fewer named. Two of the largest are

called Whitefish and Pelican. This whole system of waters lies to the

N. and W. of the Mississippi, S. of Leech lake, and on Pike's left as

he ascends. It offered a means of communication with Leech lake much

more direct than the course of the Mississippi itself; this was taken

by Pike on his return journey, and the river is consequently to be

particularly noted in that connection: see under dates of Feb.

19th-24th, beyond.

[II-46] Curly Head does not appear in Pike's tabular exhibit of Chippewa

chiefs, and we are left without his native name, or any fair

identification; but Hon. W. W. Warren supplies the requisite data,

Minn. Hist. Coll., V. 1885, p. 47, p. 348 _seq._, p. 366; see also

_ibid._ p. 469 _seq._ and p. 495. The name of the old civil and

military chief Babesigaundibay is inseparably linked with the history

of his tribe. He belonged to the Businause family, or Crane totem, and

ruled for many years over the Chippewas of the Mississippi r., in the

vicinity of Gayashk or Gull l., eventually becoming the third man in

importance in the councils of his nation, sharing honors with Broken

Tooth of Sandy l. and Flat Mouth of Leech l. His people increased in

numbers, held the Crow Wing region against all enemies, and in 1852

numbered about 600. Curly Head was respected and beloved; "he was a

father to his people; they looked on him as children do to a parent;

and his lightest wish was immediately performed. His lodge was ever

full of meat, to which the hungry and destitute were ever welcome. The

traders vied with one another who should treat him best, and the

presents which he received at their hands he always distributed to his

people without reserve." This estimable man died on his way back from

the grand conference held at Prairie du Chien by Governors William

Clark and Lewis Cass, Aug. 19th, 1825. His signature to this treaty,

as printed in one of the copies before me, is "Babaseekeendase,

Curling Hair." I elsewhere find Babikesundeba. Curly Head died

childless; on his death-bed he called two of his pipe-bearers and

formally constituted them his successors. These were brothers; one was

Songukumigor, Strong Ground, and the other Pugonakeshig, or Hole in

the Day I. The latter exerted great influence for about a quarter of a

century, killed 36 people, and was killed by being bounced out of a

cart while drunk, near Platte r., Benton Co., Minn., early in 1847.

The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 1 (of 3) To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7. · 第 14 / 19 章

_Nov. 21st._ Marched in the morning. Came to a place where the river